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Round half the world!
a travel blog by
Tim and Em
We are packing up our things, moving out and going to find ourselves.. not really - just in search of sunshine and of course some cultural experiences!
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Taupo to Christchurch
Christchurch
,
New Zealand
Huka Falls
After all the adrenalin excitement of the last few days, it was back to more sedate experiences. A long drive from Taupo to Wellington via a detour to Huka falls. It was rather weird to be in a city again with lots of people rushing around. Had a great fish & chip supper (again!) before having an early night to catch the ferry.
Inter-Island Ferry - Driving on!
We arrived at the ferry after initially going in completely the wrong direction at 730 to catch the 830 sailing to Picton. A very scenic ferry journey to South Island. From there, it was another long drive to Marahau, the gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park. Our hostel was literally at the end of the road which we quite liked.
Marahua Beach
The weather was noticeably colder but Tim insisted that he would not wear jeans. We booked ourselves on a water taxi the following day which would tour around to Split Apple Rock and then drop as at Tonga Bay.
We awoke to torrential rain and thought this was not the best day for what we had planned. We arrived at the water taxi office and were shepherded into the boat on dry land - seemed weird. Then a tractor pulled us down the road, onto the beach and into the water and we were off!
Split Apple Rock
Abel Tasman Aqua Taxi
The boat trip reminded us of Ocean rafting in the Whitsundays, the sea was very rough and the boat was boucing around all over the place - luckily we don't suffer from sea sickness. By the time we were dropped at Tonga Bay, the weather had worsened and now included the odd bit of thunder and lightening.
We now had to hike from Tonga to Torrent Bay via Bark Bay (the lunch stop), roughly 14Kms before being picked up again by the water taxi. Due to the weather, we were dropped off an hour later than scheduled. The first bit of the walk was fine if a little wet but by the time we got to Bark Bay, the weather had cleared a little.
As we finished lunch we realised the time and that we only had an hour and a half before we were to be picked up. We almost route marched the second half of the walk and we both had visions of being stranded and spending a night in a hut. Fortunately, we made it with about 5 minutes to spare - it was the last boat of the day.
Very wobbly bridge
We only took a few pictures on the walk as we didn't really have time to stop. There was a very wobbly suspension bridge at one point which was pretty high up and was so narrow two people could not pass at the same time. We both wondered how much we would ache the following day.
Christchurch - night in a cell
Luckily we didn't feel too bad (quite impressive) and the next day we had a huge drive to Christchurch. After getting lost several times around the one way system, we found our hostel, which was a converted jail, dumped our stuff and then went to see Jo and Kane for dinner, along with Cooper and Jo's Mum and Dad, which was lovely. After spending the night in our cell - which was very cool, we were up early to drop the car off, meet Karen and Phil and pick the camper van up. We will be seeing Jo and Kane when we drop the van off again in Christchurch after our South Island Tour!
written by
Tim and Em
on March 26, 2010
from
Christchurch
,
New Zealand
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South Island Circuit
Franz Josef Glacier
,
New Zealand
The van on another busy road!
It was great to finally meet up with Karen and Phil (Tim's Sister and her boyfriend), and after squishing all our stuff into the camper we left Christchurch and headed to Hokitika via Arthur's pass. As we arrived the weather started to go downhill and began to rain - just like being at home. In the evening we went to the glowworm dell, which was quite bizarre - like lots of tiny fairy lights - sorry, too dark for pictures. The next day we carried on to Franz Josef, light rain was now a full on downpour.
We were staying overnight, so thankfully the next morning was bright and sunny which meant that we could actually see some scenery, rather than just mist and rain.
Franz Josef Glacier
View from Lake Mathison
We walked up to the Glacier as close as we could, very amazing, and then continued on to Lake Mathison, which was beautiful. As the sky was so blue, we could see Mount Cook reflected in the water, yesterdays rain was just a memory! We continued on to Wanaka, and the road wound through the most stunning and dramatic scenery - sometimes slightly hair raising in a camper van!
All of us by Lake Mathison
We also stopped at an amazing beach, where people had stopped and made towers out of rocks on the beach.
Beach art at Bruces Bay
We left early the next morning for Queenstown, and the weather was still good. Once there we wasted no time and headed up the mountain on the Gondola/Cable Car - which gave us an amazing view over the lake - we also went on the luge (similar to a go-kart), which was good fun, and left injury free!
Gondola view over Queenstown
Karen & Phil on Queenstown Gondola
The next morning Tim and I went on the shotover jet - which is a jet boat that zooms through the canyon at up to 80km per hour, narrowly missing rocks and performing 360 degree turns - just what you need first thing in the morning to wake you up!
Shotover Jet - Queenstown
We then all had a wander round Queenstown and then set off for Milford Sound. As we neared Fjordland, the weather started to go seriously downhill again.
As we drove down the road to Milford Sound, the sides of the road were littered with landslides - people had been stuck there the previous week, due to the weather. The only upside of the rain was that there were literally hundreds over waterfalls - it was as though the mountains were bleeding.
When we arrived at the campsite, I asked them if it would stop raining the next day, I knew it was not a good sign when people started laughing at me! After a restless night - (how much wind would it take to blow over a campervan?) and despite the fact that it was still raining, we decided to go on a cruise up Millford Sound. Having driven all this way, we thought we might as well! Although we didn't see the beautiful blue sky etc. that seems to be on all the postcards, we did enjoy it - the waterfalls were amazing, and it was all quite eerie and surreal through the mist.
Us - Milford Sound Cruise
Waterfall Milford Sound
We then headed back to Te Anau, which felt like civilisation again. We stayed the night and then headed off to Dunedin the next morning. Dunedin was quite a nice place although we spent most of our time in an internet cafe sorting some bits and pieces out. Again, it flet strange to be in a city so big it even had a department store! Had a lovely last dinner in town and then we were up early again the next morning, as Karen and Phil were deserting us to fly up to Auckland for a couple of nights before flying to the UK.
Sunrise over Dunedin
We saw them off at the airport, having tried to persuade them to come to Bali with us - they declined - most uncharitable of them! It was lovely spending a week with them - the camper will seem empty for the last couple of days!
written by
Tim and Em
on April 1, 2010
from
Franz Josef Glacier
,
New Zealand
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Dunedin to Christchurch
Christchurch
,
New Zealand
After the tearful farewells at Dunedin, we decided we would head to Mount Cook diverting a few times on the way. First diversion was Moeraki Boulders, large spherical boulders clustered together on a pristine beach. I guess it might not sound hugely exciting but they really were quite a odd, its as though a giant had thrown huge marbles onto the beach! Stopped at a cafe on the beach for an obligatory coffee!
Moeraki Boulders
We then stopped at Oamaru, mainly to stock up on some provisions and to use the internet (again!) It was Good Friday and unbeknown to us, everywhere seems to shut including supermarkets - how bizarre! We did manage to find a tearoom though which had internet access - we didnt hang around as the place seemed to be in a bit of a time warp!
Finally we arrived at Mount Count, we stayed at a department of conservation campsite which was at the foot of the mountain. I think this was possibly the best view we have had from the camper itself, we could sit there and see the snow capped peak - amazing! When we awoke the following day it was fairly grey and drizzling with rain.
Mount Cook
Mount Cook
From the campsite, we headed to Tasman Lake which was around 10Kms down an unsealed road. This was pretty surreal as it was almost like a moonscape and the lake had icebergs floating in it - to give you an idea look at the photo with the boat - they were enormous!
Lake Tasman Icebergs
Mount Cook - Tim & Em
After fixing a quick snack in the van, our next stop was Lake Tekapo. On the way we stopped at Mount St John Observatory, which is quite high up and had incredible 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains and Lakes. We camped right next to Lake Tekapo which is an amazing aqua blue.
Lake Tekapo - Tim & Em
The next day it was time to head to Christchurch to return the van. Once this was done, Jo and Kane picked us up and we went to their house. In the evening we went to a great pizza place in Christchurch - our pizzas included Tandoori Lamb, Cranberry, chicken and brie and roast pork. They sound wierd, but the Tandoori Lamb was one of the best pizzas I have ever had - really hot and spicy!! Was great to spend some more time with Jo, Kane and Cooper but sadly the next day we had to leave - after a wonderful nights sleep in a proper bed, they took us to the airport. Thanks so much guys - it was great to see you again!
Good bye Jo & Kane, goodbye New Zealand
We sadly said goodbye to New Zealand - a beautiful country - next stop Bali - via Sydney and Singapore!
written by
Tim and Em
on April 5, 2010
from
Christchurch
,
New Zealand
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Mid air drama
Bali
,
Indonesia
To keep us entertained on the flight from Sydney to Singapore, a man had to be restrained by the flight crew and other passengers. Whilst we saw the fracas, we weren't really aware what sparked it or what he had done. A subsequent internet search reveals he was threatening to down the plane using his mind - obviously a Uri Geller type!! He was actually handcuffed to the seat after the incident and the captain informed passengers that the flight deck was on full lock down after a secuirty incident. That kept us amused for all of 10 minutes!!
Other breaking news is that we have caved in and finally bought a netbook to ease internet use.
We have arrived safely in Bali and after being ripped off in a flea pit for the first nights accommodation, we moved to a very nice hotel in Legian. We haven't taken many photo's but the couple we have taken are of the sunset on the first night, check it out! Its great to be back in hot weather.
Bali - Legian sunset, awesome!
Well herein the real adventure starts as we lose independent transport and we have no accommodation booked in advance. Will we obviously keep you posted......
written by
Tim and Em
on April 6, 2010
from
Bali
,
Indonesia
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Bali
Kuta
,
Indonesia
After a false start with our first hotel/flea pit, we spent our first day looking around Kuta and Legian for alternative accommodation. We eventually found somewhere nice in Legian, it had a lovely tropical garden which was a bit of a maze and a big pool for cooling off in. We splashed out a little on a spacious room! If any fellow travellers are reading, would recommend the 3 Brothers Inn as a good place to stay. It was quite a culture shock in Legian, particularly after
New Zealand
, you cannot walk a few yards before being asked if you want to buy something, have massage or need transport. Our politeness started to wear a little thin some days.
The other thing that took a little getting used to was traffic, in the form of hundreds of mopeds, most piloted by Kamikazees!!
To be honest, other than having a good look around, we just relaxed, caught up with some folks back home on Skype and chilled out. We did have a few very good massages though, they do become a little addictive. We also made some plans for our time in
Indonesia
, after Legian, decided we would head to Senggigi in
Lombok
, from there we would go to Gili Trawangan and then back to Ubud in Bali.
Although we hadn’t done a huge amount in Legian, we were extremely sad to be leaving the comforts of the 3 Brothers Inn.
written by
Tim and Em
on April 10, 2010
from
Kuta
,
Indonesia
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Senggigi, Lombok
Lombok
,
Indonesia
We had a fairly interesting journey to Lombok. Firstly, there was a 3 hour journey in a rickety old people carrier – it was literally falling to bits inside with holes in the dash where instruments should have been. The driver took no prisoners on the road and undertook some imaginative overtaking manoeuvres which many a sane man would not have attempted.
We then arrived at a tourist office at the ferry port, most journeys seem to end at a tourist office (more about this later). After only a short wait we were told it was time to go, so we start to walk over when the guy from the ferry office says we need to hurry up because the ferry is leaving. With this, a guy appears out of nowhere to carry one of our bags. We were told to run, as we were nearing the ferry, cars were still being loaded but we guessed that pedestrian passengers must have to get on first. Slightly breathless, we got onto the ferry and the guy carrying one of the bag put his hand out, this is when it becomes apparent that we have been scammed, the ferry didn’t leave for another 20 minutes!
After a 4 hour ferry journey, we then get into a less knackered old people carrier for an hour and a half to be dropped at yet another tourist office – a pattern has already started to emerge! In between power cuts, the guy at the tourist office phoned around a couple of the places, that we wanted to stay but strangely there were all full, miraculously the hotel that he suggests has room! Fortunately, the place is just down the road but when we get there we’re not hugely happy. Despite being very tired, we head out and check out a few other places to stay so that we can move in the morning.
The following morning, we moved to nicer and cheaper accommodation. Senggigi itself is quite a nice beach resort although the Lonely Planet built it up as something idyllic which I don’t think it is. We checked out the town, local eateries and bought ourselves a SIM card. Chilled out by the pool from which you could see the ocean.
Senggigi - sunset
On day 2 we hired a moped so that we could get out and about and see some of the island. I considered this great fun although Emma seemed to insist on leaning in the wrong direction around corners.
Lombok with Gili's in background
We had a really nice ride around with only a few close shaves with other road users. Stopped at a forrest which was home to a lot of monkeys who seemed pretty happy for us to be relatively close to them and take pictures. Also went to a temple which is right on the beach.
Senggigi - Temple
written by
Tim and Em
on April 13, 2010
from
Lombok
,
Indonesia
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Gili Trawangan
Gili Trawangan
,
Indonesia
Another boat journey but this one only an hour long, took as to Gili Trawangan – this is the
biggest of 3 small islands off the coast of Lombok. Pretty much as soon as we got there we knew we were going to really like it.
Gili T - pass me the Bounty
Firstly, There is no motorised transport on the island at all, the options are walk, hire a bike or pony and trap (known locally as a Cidomo). We had already booked accommodation at a place called Martas. A short stroll took us there and to say the place was fantastic would be a vast understatement.
Gili Trawangan - pool at Marta's
We had our own bungalow built in traditional style, a porch outside with a day bed where our breakfast was subsequently served to us every morning. The pool was fantastic and the garden was very pretty. Originally we planned on staying for 3 nights but we ended up staying 5.
The snorkelling from the beach was truly incredible, it was like swimming in an aquarium. You only had to swim out for a few metres before you saw fish. Saw so many fish, I only wish I knew all their names – there were tiny vivid powder blues ones only a few centimetres long to big silver fish almost two feet long. A lot of work has taken place (and still is) to maintain the reef and regenerate the coral, from what we saw they are doing an excellent job.
Really need to mention the food here as it was fantastic. A couple of places had barbeques where you choose the fish you want to eat (giant prawns, snapper, tuna, mahi mahi, etc) and they then barbeque it for you. Without doubt, we ate the best Tuna we have ever tasted here.
We hired bikes for the day and cycled round the island, well we cycled some of it, in a lot of places it was too sandy to cycle so we ended up pushing.
Gili T- Boats at dawn
To give you an idea of the size of the island, you could walk around it in 2 hours. There is a lot of development taking place on the North of the island, hopefully this will not spoil it. Currently, most of the places to eat, sleep and drink are on the South part which contrary to Lonely Planet is the best beach.
Gili T - Boats at dusk
We were both very sad to leave Gili Trawangan, it was a really really chilled out place and we loved it.
Ferry From Gili T
written by
Tim and Em
on April 18, 2010
from
Gili Trawangan
,
Indonesia
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Ubud
Ubud
,
Indonesia
Small boat, walk, bus, walk, small boat, big boat, small boat, walk, bus – this was the sequence and 8 hours later we arrive in Ubud. The journey was incredibly hot so as soon as we found somewhere to stay, we jumped straight in the pool to cool off. I won’t ramble again about the place that we stayed but it was good and it was only 18 quid a night – bargain. After our swim we had a stroll but it started to rain, we were forced to seek shelter in the form of a massage table!! It was very therapeutic to look up from the massage table and see the rice fields. By the time the hour was up the rain had stopped.
Day two we checked out the town properly and did a big circuit of the main streets. It was incredibly tempting to buy lots of different things but unfortunately budget and space in our rucksacks would not allow. We did contemplate buying a teapot and some other cool crockery to send home but the thought of it arriving smashed prevented us.
One of the main streets in Ubud is called Monkey Forrest Road, very aptly named as on it is a forrest with....you guessed it! We decided to take a stroll through the forrest to see the monkeys and to see one of the temples within.
Nit Nurse Anyone?
Very stupidly, we purchased some bananas to give to the monkeys. Almost as soon as we went in, the monkeys smelt banana, Em was forced to throw several decoy bananas so that I could stuff the remainder in my pocket.
Who stole my banana?
There were hundreds of monkeys, they were everywhere in all sizes – from tiny babies clinging to the underside of Mum to quite scary looking Dad monkeys! There was one or two occasions where we had to run, as these monkeys can be a little scary, they have a tendency to jump on you if you give them a chance. The temple was small and some of the stone carving were amazing, I particularly liked the Komodo Dragons!
Ubud - Stone Komodo's
We hired another moped for a couple of days to try to get off the beaten track – we managed to do this quite successfully. We visited Tirta Empul which are holy springs allegedly discovered in 962 and holding magical powers
Tirta Empul - Holy Waters
.
Then we went to Gunung Kawi, these are ancient monuments which have been carved into the rock, standing 8 metres tall. The site is at the bottom of a steep valley which you have to walk down god knows how many steps to get to.
Gunung Kawi
The bonus though is that the site is surrounded by terraced rice paddies – although these views are the typical tourist pictures you see in magazines, it was so beautiful to see the lush greens – stunning!
Easy Rider!
By now, we were getting pretty good with the moped, I was able to go quite fast without being told off and Em was not only leaning the right way she had stopped clinging to me like a limpet!! The next day we were really adventurous and took an 80km round trip to see Gunung Batur, a volcanic cone by a lake – again very picturesque. Most of the tourists stay at the top of the plateau but we went right down to the lakeside which rather intrigued the locals. One guy offered to take as to his village to see a dead body in a tree – we have subsequently learnt that this is, in fact, a tradition in some parts of Indonesia where the dead are put in trees – not sure for how long and what happens afterwards. Whilst it was an extremely kind offer we declined!
Despite a couple of scams, the Indonesian people are lovely, they are extremely friendly and are inquisitive of where we are from, what our names are and whether we are on honeymoon!! I think this is what has perhaps struck us the most on this trip is the sheer friendliness of complete strangers where there is sometimes a language barrier.
To close a few stats – a litre of unleaded costs 33p, yes thats 33 pence folks, an hour’s massage is £4, a bed for the night can cost as little as a tenner, a small beer £1.40, moped hire for day is £2.96, the local dish of Nasi Goreng can cost under a pound but strangely a box of tampons is £5.11!
Next stop Java but we’re not looking forward to the journey!
Nice view for lunch
written by
Tim and Em
on April 23, 2010
from
Ubud
,
Indonesia
from the travel blog:
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Smoking volcanoes
Probolinggo
,
Indonesia
We left Ubud and headed to Denpasar to catch a bus that would take us from Bali to Java. As we boarded the bus, the TV was playing Indonesian Karaoke, we had visions of people getting up and singing for the next 10 hours, much to our relief, the TV was switched off as the bus pulled away. Most Indonesians seem to drive like they are possessed and our bus driver was no exception despite it being a 52 seater coach. Every single small gap in traffic was an overtaking opportunity not to be missed irrespective of how close the oncoming traffic was.
After about 7 hours, we stopped for dinner which was included in our fare. This caused much amusement amongst fellow passengers as the menu was completely in Indonesian – everyone was looking at us as we were advised by the cafe owner what was what. By now we were well off the usual tourist trail and there was much interest in Em & I – more to follow on this.
We eventually arrived in Probolinggo, this was to be our rest stop for the night. We found somewhere to stay and had spotted a KFC when we came into town. Whilst I am slightly ashamed to admit it, we feasted on the Colonel’s finest chicken that night – sometimes you just have to do it!
The following morning we went in search of transport to Cemoro Lawang, a small village in the mountains which is the base for seeing the active volcano Gunung Bromo. After quite a long of hanging around in for enough people to fill a mini van, we finally set off for the hour’s journey which winds up the mountain side to Cemoro Lawang. When we got there, we checked into our lodgings and booked a sunrise trip to Bromo for the following morning. We had a look around the village, at one stage we were almost mobbed by a bunch of school kids who wanted to have their photo taken with us – there would be a recurring theme of random strangers wanting photo’s of us.
Bromo at sunrise
As we were so high up it was refreshingly cool, particularly at 3am when we had to get up! We squished into a 4 x 4 with 4 others and then trundled up to an old extinct volcano to see the sunrise over Bromo. Unfortunately it was pretty cloudy, but the mists cleared for a couple of minutes to give us a decent view.
Bromo at sunrise
Bromo view
We then drove to Bromo, and climbed what felt like 10,000 steps up the side of the volcano! Although I exaggerate with the steps, we were really high up and it was pretty challenging due to the reduction of oxygen in the air! The volcano was pretty amazing, as it was smoking, fortunately no eruptions while we were there. After our early start, we then went back to the hotel for breakfast (jam sandwiches!) and then we were off to Jogyakarta, on yet another epic 10 hour bus journey.
Bromo - smoking!
written by
Tim and Em
on April 25, 2010
from
Probolinggo
,
Indonesia
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Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta
,
Indonesia
After our usual first night, dodgy hotel charade, we found somewhere decent, which conveniently was near a decent coffee shop – heaven! It felt strange to be in a city again, but quite nice in a way. We explored some of the sights, including the local markets. The bird market was interesting but a little sad to see some of the birds in such small cages. Despite being it being a bird market, there were also bats, cats, dogs, lizards and poisonous snakes (much to Em’s relief, they were safely locked up!) Less impressive were the live maggots and various bugs and creepy crawlies that also were for sale, presumably as bait or food.
Yogyakarta - Spice stall at the market
The local produce market was huge and really interesting. We had a personal guided tour of a spice stall by the owner where he insisted we sniff, scratch, smell and taste everything presented to us! The array of chillies for sale was incredible and we managed to get some good pictures. Our visit was cut a little short by Em sighting a rat as big as a cat, this was somewhat perturbing as you could barely move through the labyrinth of stalls. We made our exit as quickly as possible!
Yogyakarta - Chillies at the market
We made friends with a becak driver and, after several different journeys, Tim insisted on having a go. The driver was most amused to sit in the front for a change and let the tourist do the pedalling.
Yogyakarta - Tim Becak
After pedalling for about 3 Kms with this guy in the front, Tim was pleased to get out of the saddle and hand the responsibility back to the driver!. These Becak drivers are incredibly fit and some are relatively old. One guy, cycles 20 Kms into town each day to pick up his Becak, then spends all day pedalling other people around town before cycling home again.
Borobudur
We had booked a bus trip to Borobudur, which is the largest Buddhist monument in the world. Unfortunately 5 minutes before we were due to leave, they told us it was fully booked and the only way we could get there was by private car i.e spending a lot of money! As it was our last day and, not to be defeated, we hired a moped, and managed to navigate the 40 Kms there without incident.
Borobudur
I don’t think pictures prepare you for the sheer scale of some of these landmarks, Borobudur was no exception – it was immense with 5 or 6 different levels and some extremely steep stone stairs in between. We had a good look around, it was quite sad to see that some of the ancient Buddha heads were missing due presumably to stealing. We were meant to be there for the sunset but we were kicked out just before which was quite annoying –unbeknown to us, you had to buy another ticket from the local hotel to watch the sunset at further expense!
Borobudur - Tim & Em
Borobudur is the top tourist attraction in Indonesia but, once again, Em & I seemed to be a walking tourist attraction to the Indonesians. We were asked for numerous photo’s including one large group – each one wanted their own picture, so a bit of a photo-shoot followed. We thought this rather amusing so we took our own photo of the group. It had now got to the stage where I suggested that perhaps we should start charging!
Borobudur - New found friends!
written by
Tim and Em
on April 29, 2010
from
Yogyakarta
,
Indonesia
from the travel blog:
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