Sa Pa

For the last few days of our around-the-world trip we decided to head up to Sa Pa in Northern Vietnam near the Chinese border.

Best known for the ethnic minority groups that live here we booked up for a two day trekking tour across the sloping rice terraces, forests and waterfalls that the locals call their home. 

Siem Reap

We arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia after a very trying journey and border crossing from Bangkok. Tired and hungry we were pleased to see our friends Toria and Adam and meet their friends Gary and Lucy on the first night and head out for a few drinks and some dinner.

We were to spend the next week in Siem Reap with our time split evenly between exploring the temples at Angkor and volunteering at a local orphanage. It seems wrong to lump the two together and with that in mind I will do a separate post on our time at the orphanage.

Where to start with the glories that are Angkor...

Pai

It takes about four hours to get from Chiang Mai to Pai on quite treacherous roads but the views make it worth it.

Pai is a small town in the Mae Hong Son province that excludes charm and captures the hearts of most visitors.

We had three days here and slowed the pace down a bit to sit back and enjoy the beautiful landscape around us.

Chiang Mai

From Bangkok we boarded a night bus to Chiang Mai. Twelve hours later we arrived in the heart of Northern Thailand.

Almost immediately we realised the city had a different atmosphere to the rest of Thailand, very laid back, boho with boutique shops and coffee houses. With only three full days to explore we set about getting to know the city straight away.

I'm the king of the swingers ...

So from Australia we headed north to the island of Borneo, via a layover at Singapore (more on that later).

Now ever since I first watched The Jungle Book, I have wanted to see an Orang-utan (Man of the Forest) in the wild... and lets be honest with his monkey obsession Mike was unlikely to object, so there was one reason and one reason only we chose to visit Borneo.

Fiji Time

Next stop after NZ was a week of chilling out in Fiji. Just what the doctor ordered - sun, sand and surfing.

Yep as imagined Fiji is just as beautiful and just what you expect from the movies. Photo above is testament to this. On arrival we realised we maybe were a bit quick on cutting our two week visit here to only one week.

We did however spend 6 lovely days on the coral coast  - about two hours away from Nadi on the main island of Fiji. We would have loved to have more time to explore other islands but as it was we decided just to base ourselves at the one spot. What a spot though. The home of celebrity love island 2006 - yes that's right the place where Sophie Anderton had a melt down, Abbie Titmuss flirted with Callum Best and Paul Danan got up to no good in the toilets. We had arrived (don't think Mike didn't spend ample time trying to find out where they had filmed the Love Shack - he did).

Adventures of Bertie: A Kiwi Kombi Adventure

So the day we had been waiting for finally came, the arrival of our 1966 VW campervan. We were very excited to hit the road and continue our South Island adventure. Bertie (our self-appointed name for the little red van) was a little beauty and got a lot of attention on the roads as we drove him through some of the most beautiful scenery in New Zealand.

We had a few trials and tribulations though, notably breaking down when we ran out of petrol even though Bertie showed that we still had a quarter of a tank. A hitchhike to the nearest petrol station and back averted disaster of spending half-a-day walking to find the nearest petrol station in the middle of nowhere (p.s. I told Mike to fill up the day before but he assured me we were fine - imagine how well that went down!).

Bertie also didn't like mornings so much so we had a job getting him started every day, much to the joy of the of the campsite.

Kaikora

Ok so I realise it has been a while since our last post. Don't blame us, blame NZ for its lack of Wifi access. Sorry New Zealanders - you have a lovely country but its true.

We were in Kaikora about three weeks ago now. Having been warned it wasn't that nice we weren't expecting much, only to be pleasantly surprised. The town is a little tourist hot spot with nice walks, beach and sea food restaurants.

Our time spent there was mostly about chilling out and getting prepared for our soon to start campervan adventure but we still managed to gather a few favourite things.

Nelson

Next stop on route was Nelson where we were going to stay with my dad's sister and her husband, Jan and Bob for a few days.

Staying with locals really helps to get a feel for a place and it was nice to have a bit longer to explore one area.

Our three favourite things however were...

Wellington

From Rotorua we headed south to Wellington, the capital where we were going to be for my 31st birthday.

Stinky Rotorua

 

From Bay of Islands we moved down to the centre of north island to Rotorua, an area famed for its Maori culture and thermal activity. It is also quite near to the Hobbiton movie set from Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

 

Bay of Islands

After the city lights of Auckland we headed up for a few days in the Bay of Islands (BoI), at the top of north island to undertake some more 'beach time' and spend some time around the islands.

Hello New Zealand

After nearly five months in South America we flew to New Zealand last week and started our five week trip here in Auckland.

As we are going to be moving from place to place much faster here I have decided to borrow a tactic from my friend's blog (thanks Kate) and sum up each place we visit with our three favourite things.

So here goes.

Santiago & Vina del Mar

So we headed from Mendoza back across to Chile to Santiago where we would catch our flight to New Zealand.

It didn't start off to well. Fairly hungover we boarded our bus, which was due to take 7 hours (the shortest one to date). In true South American style it actually took 10 hours, including 3 hours at the border crossing leading to two very grumpy English travellers on arrival in the city.

Unfortunately it didn't get much better the next day. We got up and set off to explore Santiago by foot.

Red Red Wine ... stay close to me

Instead of heading back into Chile from Bariloche (we couldn't face another border crossing and/or another long bus journey) we headed back into wine country to Mendoza.

On the first day we checked into an HI hostel which wasn't very nice (Mike's choice) so spent the rest of the day getting to know the city pretty well as we looked for alternative accommodation. In the end we settled for dorms in Damajuana, by far the nicest hostel in what can only be described as the 'Notting Hill' area of Mendoza.

Our first night was spent in the grotty hotel so we made the most of it by joining in a pizza party and drinking lots of beer.

Bariloche

After Calafate we headed up to the land of lakes, Bariloche.

Also known for it's beautiful surroundings (becoming a bit of a theme in Patagonia) and the major ski resort in South America, the city followed the theme of Calafate and Ushuaia - chocolate shops galore, tourist driven and lots of restaurants and bars.

We planned to be there for three days before heading up to Mendoza.

El Calafate

Moving on from Chile, we headed back into Argentina for some much needed ´r n r´and headed to the ski resort town of El Calafate.

Obviously during the winter ski-ing is the main attraction and the town is set up to give the perfect apres ski effect.

It works well in the summer too. Calafate marks the entrance to Parque nacional de los glaciares. A haven for hiking but of course most people come here to see the glaciers, namely Perito Moreno Glaciar which is one of only two in the world that is growing.

Fin del Mundo

After Puerto Madryn we headed onto Ushuaia, the city at the end of the world. Most people come here to travel to Antarctica and although we were sorely tempted at US $4000 per person (last minute price) we had to be sensible and forgo the experience this time..

There was lots else to do though in and around the city. The centre itself is a tourist haven set up to cater to the influx of foreigners it receives every summer when the boats start going out as well as those that come in the Winter to enjoy the ski season. As such it has a very Swiss feel about it. It is also tax free so very good for shopping! We spent a morning just wandering around.

Who needs a puppy?

When we last left you we had just arrived in Puerto Madryn, a welsh settlement on the east coast of Argentina, in the north part of Patagonia. It is famed for whale watching as well as other abundant wildlife that live or migrate to the Peninsula Valdes.

Once again we arrived too late to see whales (what is it with us - we missed them by a few weeks, same thing happened in South Africa on our honeymoon - determined to see them in NZ or Oz!)

We heart Buenos Aires

Ok where to start...

12 days in BA, Christmas and New Year included. In summary lots of steak, lots of wine, lots of people equals lots of fun.

No stranger to being away from home at Christmas (this was our third time) we had decided some time ago to hire an apartment with friends in the trendy part of BA, Palermo, rather than stay in a hostel. We had planned to share the apartment with Neil but ended up picking a lot more people along the way including Kat and Kate from Cafayate, Anne from Colca Canyon and one of Neil's friend's Shaz.