Rio De Janeiro

In some ways Rio hasn't been quite like we expected it to be. I think we probably thought it would be more vibrant and maybe more tropical or exoctic or something. Maybe the fact the weather wasn't all that great until yesterday has something to do with it. It's a huge sprawling city, that's kind of worn around the edges for the most part. But in other ways it's just like the postcards with the beautiful long sandy beaches, including women in skimpy bikinis. (All the women wear thongs to the beach, regardless of age, shape or size.)

We took a very steep and very scary cable car ride up to the top of SugarLoaf mountain, where we really got to see just how big the Rio is. It just went on and on as far as the eye could see. It's really unusual how many little mountains/big hills are dotted here and there, right in the middle of all the highrise development. We got to see how busy Rio is as a port too, there were loads of huge tankers and cargo ships all milling around the bay. There were great views of the beaches up there as well. It's amazing to have such spectacular stretches of sand just beside busy built up areas.

We took a spin up to the top of Corcovada, to see Christ the Redeemer. It was a bit cloudy, so he was appearing and disappearing at will. Sometimes we could just about make out his outline, and then the clouds would blow over and he'd be unveiled again.

We had a trip to Rochina favela yesterday. It's one of over 1000 slums in the city. The conditions there were unbelievably cramped. It's just house upon house with barely walking space between them. It really reminded me of India.

Besides all the sightseeing we've been enjoying Brazil's rodizio cuisine too. Rodizio basically means all you can eat. We've been to a few BBQ type rodizios where theyhave buffets of veg, salad, rice, potatoes etc. and then they come around with meat on skewers, and slice it off onto your plate. Pizza rodizios are fairly popular too. As long as you're there the waiters just keep coming around with different pizzas and you can take slices of whatever ones take your fancy. When they notice you're slowing down, or look like you're going to burst, they roll out the dessert pizzas. The white chocolate and strawberry went down well, but the banana, cinnamon, and cheese wasn't such a hit. They put cheese on everything over here, so we should have expected it.

Today was Fossie's birthday and after having Happy Birthday sung to him and his candles blown out by the nutters in Carrigmore, we hit Copacabana. Chilling out will a beer on the beach in the Brazilian sunshine isn't the worst way to spend your birthday.

This morning we said goodbye to Emily and Andy who had been our travelling companions for
the last 2 weeks, and tomorrow we fly to Campo Grande for a trip to the Pantanal. Hopefully we'll spot some wildlife there.

Jan and Paul

South America 1 - Santiago to Rio

Way back on the 27th of August we decided we'd had enough of regular travel so we tried our hand at time travelling. Only managed to go 5 hours back in time but still...
Since we left Auckland flying at 5pm flying in one direction, and with the sun going the other, and crossing over the international date line and all of that, we actually arrived in Santiago 5hours earlier than our flight took off. At 40 hours, it was literally the longest day of our lives.

We didn't spend too long in Santiago so just explored the city a bit. It was really nice and more developed than I was expecting.

From there we caught a bus up and over the mountains and the Argentinian border to a town called Mendoza. It was really nice there too and just as developed as Santiago had been.

Then it was the first of our night buses as far as Buenos Aires. It was great. We had fully reclining seats with footrests, that basically folded into beds.

We got dinner and breakfast on board, and we were even offered a nightcap (although we didn't make use of that because our Spanish was very rusty so we didn't know what we were being offered).

In Buenos Aires we walked around a lot of the city and did lots of sightseeing. One of the evenings we went to a tango show, and even get some tango lessons! It was great craic, although we weren't much good.

We also visited Recoletta Cemetery, where Evita is buried. Well, actually she's not quite buried. It was really strange there. It was like a miniture town, with loads of little streets and alleys, that were all lined with these one room buildings that are mausoleums. So these little buildings have doors into them (glass doors in a lot of cases) and on one side they had shelves for all the coffins. It was a bit spooky and very wierd that you could actually see them.

We managed to get to the Boca Juniors stadium too, although we just missed a game there.

Another night bus brought us to Puerto Iguazu, the Argentinian side of Iguazu Falls. On that side we got to walk along the top and the bottom of the falls, and did a boat ride underneath them too.

Then we crossed over to Foz do Iguacu, the Brazilian side. The national park there is on the opposite side of the river to the falls, so you're further back from them but that means there were some really amazing panoramic views of the whole falls. they were pretty impressive, definitely a whole lot more to them than Niagara.

So from there we cut out to Florianopolis, on the Brazilian coast. The evening we arrived there was a gay pride parade going on so we went to have a look at that. It was great fun, just like a big street party.

We managed to get to the beach there one day, and it was lovely just to be able to lie out in the sun again (the weather has been very mixed most of the time, a bit like summer at home).

We also did a little bit of sandboarding on the sanddunes there - great fun.

From Florianopolis we headed up along the coast to a really cute little place called Paraty. It was so quaint with its cobbled streets, lined with white house with brightly coloured windows and doors. We loved it there, and probably more so because it was one of the first small towns we'd been to, everywhere else was big and busy, but Paraty was small and quiet and laid back.

Next destination was Ilha Grande, and island about 20km off the coast. Like Paraty, it was small and laidback. There are no cars on the island at all. We got really lucky with the weather and had a scorcher of a day at Lopes Mendes beach on the island. It was beautiful.

Tried our hand at a bit of surfing but realised we forgot everything we learned about in Australia - we were awful at it but at least the surfboard looked good.

So now we've just hit Rio this evening, fingers crossed the weather holds out for us to get a day a Copacabana!!!

Jan and Paul.

Farewell NZ.

After our day on the ice at Fox Glacier we headed further north (but still in the South Island) and paid a visit to Abel Tasman National Park. The national park runs along a beautiful stretch of coastline so we got a water taxi out  and walked back 15km through the trees and beaches that make up the Abel Tasman. It was incredibly picturesque.

After Abel Tasman, we had a few days of solid driving to make our way back up the North Island, where our first real destination was the Waitomo Caves. Their claim to fame is the glowworm colony that lives in one of the chambers of the cave. They were so cool. As we drifted underneath in a little boat in total darkness and silence it was like looking up at a night sky that was filled with more stars than imaginable. It was just amazing. Unfortunately there's no photos allowed because it dims the glowworms' lights and that's how they catch food.

We went to the Ruakuri cave there too. It's better known for the cave formations there and they were fantastic.

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Then we drove cross country all the way over to Whitianga on the Coromandel Peninsula. They have this beach there called Hot Water Beach and it lives up to it's name. When the tide is out you can access hot water from the springs on the beach by digging your own little pool. I swear the water was roasting. A rush of cold water from an incoming wave was more than welcome.

While we were in the area we called out to see Pam and Tony (we met them in Fiji) and they brought us on a tour of their farm. We whizzed around on these cool little 4WD's.

It was interesting to see an operating farm and how they do things there. Because the farming industry is so big in New Zealand we felt it gave us a bit more insight into the country and they way of life for so many Kiwi's.

From there we headed back to Auckland to finish up our loop of NZ. Haven't done too much sightseeing here just a bit of last minute souvenir shopping.

Tomorrow it's on to South America, which is kind of like the 3rd and final leg of our adventure!
Can't wait to see what it brings,
Jan and Paul

More NZ

After all the excitement during our first week in New Zealand, we slowed the pace a bit. We spent 2 days in Christchurch and really liked it there. One day we just wandered around the city, which was really pretty. The next day we took a spin to a little town over the mountain. On the way there we went through a tunnel which was fine, but on the way back we took the scenic route. It was probably the narrowest, windiest, road I've ever been on and it just wound its way along the ridge of the mountains, with steep drop-offs on either side. Obviously, we barely got the van out of second gear we were crawling along so slowly.
From there we went to Mt. Hutt and got in a days skiing there. We were lucky that it snowed the day before and there was some great powder on the slopes. Unfortunatley it was closed the following day because strong winds meant it they couldn't operate the lifts. :(
So we motored on to Dunedin then. Just outside the city of Dunedin there's a peninsula called the Otago Peninsula that's reknowned for its wildlife. We tried in vain to spot a sealion, penguin or albatross, but the weather was terrible and apparently they're much harder to catch a glimpse of  in the winter.
To make up for the disappointment we decided that we'd treat ourselves to a visit to Cadbury World. We loved it, it was like being Charlie in Willy Wonka's factory. We loved it. We got to see Easter Eggs being made (They spend 6 months making easter Eggs from June-January and they're all scoffed in one week!). We got to see how they make Curly-Wurlys. We loved it. Oh, and we got loads of free samples too. Did I say we loved it. At the end of the tour we hit the gift shop hard, needless to say it was all chocolate products and we nearly made ourselves sick for the next 2 days. But we still loved it.

Unfortunately there's no photos allowed inside the factory

After our chocolate binge, we went to Te Anua for a cruise on the Doubtful Sound. It started off with a trip across the Lake as far as the West Arm Power Station. There we went 2kms underground to see how they harness the power of water and turn it into electricty. It was actually quite interesting. From there we took a bus up and over the mountains via the Wilmot Pass (took the photo just for you Robert if you're reading.)

Then it was on to the sound itself, well technically it's a fjord but anyway, we spent about 2 hours cruising along admiring the clouds, I mean spectacular scenery.

Next stop was Queenstown. We squeezed in another day skiing there and did some jetboating too. Got to meet up with Hoggy and spent a few nights in Winnie's, the bar he's running. It has this retractable roof that you open when it gets too warm and they serve the most delicious pizzas ever.
After Queenstown, it was on to a little place called Wanaka. We were hoping to ski there but the weather didn't oblige. We went to an quirky little place called Puzzling World and passed a few hours there. Our two favourites things were the Perspective room and the Gravity Room. In the perspective room I got to be a giant while Fossie was made fun sized, all using optical illusions. Apparently they used the same technique in Lord of the Rings for the Hobbits. The gravity room had me totally confused and off balance. I have no idea how they did it but you go into this room that with a sloped floor and whatever way the walls and everything else are lined up I really struggled just to stay standing. It was so wierd. (You can't really see it in the photos though!)

This was one of the optical illusions there. From far away the lines seem slanting but they're actually straight.

Wanaka had the coolest cinema too. For seats they have cozy couches and armchairs, and even this old Morris Minor with a sofa fitted inside it.

Like the Opera House, they had an intermission for your meal. You ordered before the film started, went out at half-time for your dinner, and if you weren't finished then you could bring it in to the 'theatre', with a tray for your lap. If that wasn't enough to impress, they served the most devine homemade cookies (still hot from the oven) and homemade icecream to top it off. Yummmmm! Oh and the film was good too, we went to see The Reader.

From Wanaka we drove as far as Fox Glacier. There was this lake there that had amazing reflected views of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman.

But the whole point of going to Fox was to walk the Glacier. It was a bit of a trek before we got onto the ice - up 800 steps to be exact. I was having second thoughts at that stage but it I soldiered on. Nedless to say I was gald I did. We had such a great day. Got to go into some ice caves and through some crevasses. It's amazing how much the glacier changes all the time. Apparently it moves about 90cm everyday, and our guide was telling us how one day a there might be a cave or arch or whatever and the next day it might be gone. In some places he had to carve steps into the ice for us because the path from previous days was gone. It was defintely an experience that won't soon be forgotten.

So now it's just under 2 weeks until we fly to South America. Can't beleive how fast the time is flying by, but we're loving it all,
Jan and Paul

Action Packed New Zealand

Well we've been in New Zealand a week and we've managed to squeeze a lot into those 7 days. We landed in Auckland but only stayed long enough to have a peek at One Tree Hill ( long story short - there was a native NZ tree planted there as a monument to the Maori people, the British cut it down and replaced it with a foreign tree, a few years back the Maori's attacked it unsuccessfully but went back to finish off the job more recently, so that really it should be called One stump Hill.)
Next stop was Rotorua. It's situated in a volcanic area, by the side of a thermal lake. It was incredible to see vents of steam just coming up from the drains and out if the ground in scrub areas.
Besides the lake and thermal springs there isn't all that much to do in the area naturally, so of course they have developed a few attractions.
First up for us was Zorbing. We climbed into a giant inflated ball, had some water thrown in on top of us and then got rolled down a hill - great craic altogether.

Fossie's actually in there!

Another pose-y one!

Then we did the Luge. We got a cable car up a hill then went down the hill in what was kind of like a go-kart with no engine, and really basic steering and brakes. We probably would have enjoyed that a bit more if it wasn't bitterly cold, we didn't have wet hair from the zorbing and it hadn't just rained making the seats (and our bums) soaking wet. It was still fun though.

To engage our cultural sides, we took a visit to Tamaki Maori Village. We got to see some traditional Maori weapons, songs and dances, and enjoyed a lovely hangi meal , that was supposedly cooked in a traditional ground oven. The food was good but the rest of the evening felt very fake, a bit like New Zealand's answer to Bunratty.

After Rotorua, we headed to Taupo, stopping of along the way at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, to admire volcanic features like craters, hot springs, mud pools and most impressively the Lady Knox geyser.

Taupo is another lakeside town with a few natural attractions and lots of manmade ones. This time we decide to do a high ropes activity course. This was brilliant fun. It was all walking beams, ropes and shaky bridges that were 12- 15m above the ground. We both loved it and even though Fossie is afraid of heights he still managed to do the whole course.

Foss on the shaky bridge!

Once you got to the top of the pole all you had to do was stand up and jump off - Easy!


Yes - he did have to trust me not to drop him.

After all that we went to Tongariro National Park and got some crazy notion that we should climb a mountain. So we did - just about. (I lay equal blame on an overload of adrenalin from all the other activities and an enthusiastic email from Curran - thanks a lot for that Kev!) And what better mountain to climb than the active volcano, Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. Well actually, the itinerary was to climb the saddle of Mt. Doom and Mt. Tongariro, the mountain beside it like this guided tour.But on the day the weather was so fine that we actually got to go all the way to the summit of Tongariro. The guides made out like this additional extra was a good thing, that we were lucky. I swear it nearly killed me. I have to say it was really full on. We were given crampons (spiky things for you shoes so you don't slip in the ice or snow) and ice-axes in case we did slip so we wouldn't slide right over some edge or halfway back down the mountain, and you really had to climb in some parts. But I suppose it was worth the effort. The views were amazing.

Looking enthusiatic at the start - not having any idea what was in store!

At the summit, with Mt. Doom behind us. I still don't know how we managed to muster smiles!

Since we were up in the snowy mountains, we said we might as well do a bit of skiing too. I have to say I much prefer being transported up the mountain in lifts and coming down it on skis.

If you look closely you can see the top of Mt. Doom above the cloud line in the background.

After all that we headed to Wellington and caught the ferry across to the south island. As we were driving along the coast to a little town called Kaikoura there were loads of seals just basking all along the shore.

And just nearby there was a little stream with a small waterfall that had a pool at the bottom. The female seals swim up the stream to have their cubs and leave them in the pool, so it's like a little seal nursery. It was so cute to watch them all playing in there.

(The 2 black things on the right are seals, one is jumping)

So it's on week inNZ done, 4 more left. Let's hope they're going to be as much fun!

Jan and Paul.