craigandcorrine

Dusting off the cold weather gear!

craigandcorrine — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT

So we are off jet setting again, this time a short trip to our friendly neighbour, New Zealand to check out the ski slopes and hopefully some wineries in Queenstown and a short stop in Dunedin to catch up with a friend that we made while in Zambia last year.

So we have had to dust of our cold weather gear pack our gloves, scarfs and beanies before heading to the land of the long White Cloud.

See you in Queenstown!

Linda Community School – Week Two

craigandcorrine — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

We learned so much this past week while volunteering at the school. We helped them with maths, science, social studies, English and of course more sport. We helped the kids write letters to students in Australian schools.

We were also able to put the money that everyone donated back at home to good use by going shopping with the principal of the school. We were able to buy much needed items such as teachers guides, work books, dusters for the black board, poster paper, reams of A4 paper, story books, cleaning supplies for the toilets, dictionaries, bags for all the balls that we took over and other bits and pieces. We were still unable to spend all the money so we gave the principal the rest to spend on more books and to go towards supplies for the new vegetable garden.

The money will even go towards one boy who doesn't have any shoes as his family are unable to afford to buy him any, that is if an old pair of Corrine's runners that she has given to the principal don't fit him. We are in two minds about the shoes that we have left. We hope that they fit him because they are still in good condition and at the same time we are hoping that they don't fit him because boys of that age should not have to wear second hand ladies shoes and will get a new pair from the money. Either way it will be an improvement on his current shoes that have been hand stitched back together.

We were able to see how some of the items we purchased make a direct impact on the school. The cleaning products for the toilets were put to immediate use as the toilets were in such a bad shape. After a but of hard work, and a few buckets of water along with the new disinfectant the toilets were now available for use by the students, the first time in months.

For our last day we gave the kids a special treat. We took in oranges, watermelon and fairy bread for them to enjoy but not before one of the kids (the one with out shoes) lead the rest of the class in a prayer to say thanks for us visiting the school and providing the food. It was amazing how much a couple of pieces of oranges and watermelon meant to the kids. Fruit such as oranges should not be seen as a treat for children, it should be something that any kid has the opportunity to enjoy. Some children even put the second piece of orange into their pockets for later on in the day but made sure it was out of sight from others so that they would be able to enjoy it on their own later on. This simple act of providing some fruit really highlighted to us the dire situation these kids face and some of the basics we accept as normal is not the norm for other places in the world. It was a huge reality check even after we thought we understood the situations the children faced.

We are absolutely amazed by the children and their ability to survive some heart wrenching conditions in their home environments and still turn up to class with a smile on their face and want to learn. We give a huge praise to Catherine, the head teacher at the school and the work she does, not only from an academic sense but also from a social welfare perspective. Although we have been out of the schooling system in Australia for a few years, the lengths that Catherine has had to go to to encourage the children to attend school and be involved, would surpass any community involvement that a principal would be required to complete in Australia.

The experience and time we spent with Linda Community School and the children is difficult to put into words, but one thing for sure is there will be a fund raiser held next year to raise funds for this school and to hopefully allow the teachers at the school to provide a more enriching learning environment for the children.

We now pack our bags for the last time on this journey, where we will then head to Johannesburg, a stop over for less than 24 hours, where we will catch up with some friends, before heading home.

See you at home!

Beautiful Botswana

craigandcorrine — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

After a week of volunteering and spending our third wedding anniversary sitting in our room eating instant noodles we thought we would treat ourselves to an overnight trip to Botswana to check out the Chobe River.

Getting to Botswana required about an hours drive to the border of Zambia to get our passports stamped then another short drive to the river that divides Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. Then we took a short trip via a tiny little dinghy to the other side of the river into Botswana. The dinghy took several attempts at getting it started. Through immigration on the other side and a walk through some disinfectant to help stop the spread of foot and mouth disease we were in Botswana.

The first day of the two day trip was fantastic. We went on the Chobe on a little jet boat and got nice and close to lots of hippos, elephants that were having a swim and loads of birds. We even got to see some buffalo and an assortment of different antelopes. One hippo even told us that he did not appreciate being disturbed and gave a half hearted chase.

We then went to the lodge for lunch and a bit of a nap before setting off on the afternoon drive through the Chobe National Park. The drive was awesome even though we didn't see any lions and still no cheetah. We were lucky enough to see leopards, big herds of elephants and buffalo which is a sight that can not be written down in words. The elephants and buffalo were crossing the river into Namibia in search for some greener grass. To see that many animals move at one time is something spectacular. (It has nothing on The Great Migration of the Masai Mara and seeing it on a small scale has made us want to visit Kenya at some stage).

Back at the lodge somewhat dusty from our drive it was time for dinner, on the menu was pasta with crocodile and eland (a sort of antelope) stew. Corrine was not even able to get through her entree of soup. The heat had been getting to her and she was not feeling the best. After Craig ate all of his meal including desert it was time to go to bed so we were nice and refreshed in the morning for another boat ride on the river... Unfortunately that did not happen. Corrine had taken a turn for the worse overnight and the thought of moving made her turn a deeper shade of green. The self diagnosed stomach bug was really making moving and the thought of breakfast unbearable. Craig enjoyed a romantic breakfast for one and was able to organise to get back to Zambia before the heat of the day really set in.

After getting to the Botswana check point it was on to a cargo ferry along with two trucks and a handful of other people wanting to get to the other side a short walk to the immigration office and that is where the fun began. Corrine still not feeling well started to feel really bad and fainted. All the workers were really good and helped and even got a taxi through to where taxis are not usually allowed to so we did not have to walk further than we had to. After the ride back in the taxi and getting ripped off by the driver of the cost of the fare, we settled back into our accommodation in Zambia only to find out the power had been out for the last few hours. We later find out there is a rolling stoppage every Tuesday and Sunday for an undefined period.

Back to school for Craig while Corrine spends some time recovering.

See you later

Volunteering at Linda Community School - Week 1

craigandcorrine — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

It has now been a full week of volunteering at Linda Community School. If we said we have loved every minute of it so far, that would be a big, fat. hot and sweaty lie! It has been pretty tough. Both physically and emotionally. The only thing that we would change would be the heat though. It is getting to about 45 degrees Celsius. The school doesn't have any cooling system in place including fans.

We we got to the school on Monday we glad we had worn our walking shoes. The first thing we did was go for a walk to see how some of the children lived. One child lives an hour walk from the school and sleeps in a tiny little mud and straw hut that he has to share with his brother. The hut would be about half the size of a disabled toilet cubicle you would find in a shopping centre. His three sisters share a slightly bigger hut that is also the kitchen. There is no electricity and closest source of water is about a kilometre and a half away at the communal pump. This pump also occasionally breaks so the village is has no real access to water when that happens. The pump was not working for a couple of days this week. When that is the case the school attendance drops dramatically until people are able to access water again.

The school is lucky that it has its own water pump so the children have access to water all day. This pump also provides half of the community with water too.

A lot of the children at the school are orphans who are being cared for by relatives. One child is being cared for by his uncle who is only 21 himself. Not only has he cared for this boy by himself since we was 15 he also has a small farm that is his only source of income. The children only go to school for half a day so that they can work for the other half and help their parents or relatives if they need to. The kids might be put to work on the small farms, collecting firewood to sell or even crushing rock in extreme heat that is sold by the wheelbarrow full for the equivalent of $1.

It sounds as if these kids live a pretty bleak existence but they all come to school with bright smiles and are ready to learn. When asking the kids what they want to be when they grow up their answers are the same as kids in Australia. They want to be pilots, soldiers, teachers, nurses and farmers when they grow up.

For the next couple of weeks the school is a couple of teachers short for various reasons. There are no substitute teachers so we have been given the grade six class to teach. The high light of the day for both them and us would have to be the sport. This week they learned how to kick an Australian Rules footy. There are some kids that there that I imagine talent scouts would take a keen interest in. They seem to be naturals. Today they played T-Ball... Well a very modified rules version. It must have been quite a sight as we gathered a pretty strong crowd of kids and adults from the community. It was great fun. The Wombat Team beat the Platypus Team.

This week did not come with out any dramas though. There was in fact a Malaria scare that involved taking Corrine to the doctors clinic. It turned out to just be a cold which she had tried to tell people but no one was taking any chances and two injections in the backside later. One of them just in case it was very early stages of Malaria and not registering yet and another for the nausea (probably caused by the incredible heat) The trip to the clinic was quite an adventure. We both thought were seeing things when a cat came strolling out of one of the examination rooms into the waiting area and out of the door. There was also a dog just wandering around. It did make us wonder if we were in fact at a veterinary clinic instead of a human one. At least all is good and we do have a bit of a story to tell. Isn't that what traveling is about?

We are off to Botswana for the weekend so we will surely have a tale to tell after that.

See you soon.

Pool with a view

craigandcorrine — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

We made our way from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe to Livingstone in Zambia. What a crazy journey! It only took about 45minutes all up, including going through immigration in Zambia but it was a crazy 45 minutes and a little bit nerve wracking too.

The trip took two different taxis. One to get us to the Zimbabwean border and then another to cross the bridge to the Zambian boarder. Leading up to the bridge there were a load of trucks and their drivers finalising their last bits of paperwork before heading into Zambia. There was quite a queue lining up but that could have also been because only one truck is allowed onto the bridge at any one time.

Once on the bridge our taxi driver had to weave in and out of people making their way to the other country. Cars did not seem to be staying on their side of the road. People on bikes loaded up with with so many things your wonder how they can actually push the pedals. Once we got to the other side that is where the fun began.

As soon as we got out of the taxi people were trying to grab our bags to help us and make a quick buck at the same time. We were able to fend nearly everyone off. It also seems that people here do not have respect for people's personal space. Either that or they are just really nosy! While showing our passports to guy in immigration the people were standing so close behind us they could have read the passports. It wasn't only the people behind us the people behind them got really close too. The guy going over all our paper work was not phased by this. He was too busy chatting to his friends on Facebook! After what seemed like forever we were finally issued the appropriate visa for volunteering in the country, charged $50 each (a figure he just seemed to make up out of the blue, although he did give us a receipt) stamped our passports. Then went back to Facebook, probably telling his friends that drinks were on him as he had just duped two Australians out of $50 each!

We finally me our contact and driver while we are here and headed to the backpackers that will be home for the next two weeks.

We have had a quick look at the school but we will tell you more about that later when we have some more to talk about.

On Saturday night we went out to dinner at a little Italian restaurant called Olga's Italian Corner. All the staff their come from disadvantaged backgrounds. People who did not have access to schooling when they were younger so have no skills now. Olga's teaches them about the hospitality trade, (something Livingstone is not short of considering the many tourists about.) cooking and even carpentry. They are even opening a guest lodge and make a pretty good pizza. You can check them out at www.olgasproject.com. It was nice to see how eating out can make a difference.

Today we went for a swim... Going for a swim, that's pretty boring you say.. Well it just wasn't any swim. We went swimming on top of Victoria falls itself. We went by jet boat to Livingstone Island and then for a short swim and walk out to the little pool named Devil's Pool and then took a big leap of faith into the water where we found ourselves right on the edge of the waterfall with only a natural ledge made of rock stopping us from going over. It was amazing to see the rainbows that the mist forms from such a birds eye point of view. We both did the jump without to much hesitation. We were both more nervous going gorge swinging than jumping off a rock metres away from the largest waterfall in the world. It was such a exhilarating experience. Once back on dry land we enjoyed a fantastic lunch on Livingstone Island. Hopefully the photos do what we did some justice and you can see how silly we both really are!

We start our first full week at the school tomorrow so will hopefully have something to tell you at the end of the week. In the meantime if we have anymore crazy adventures we will be sure to tell you about them.

See you all later.

Finally the Waterfall!

craigandcorrine — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

We arrived in Victoria Falls without any dramas but were in for quite a shock when we landed though. Victoria Falls International Airport is the smallest airport we have been to. When we landed we were greeted with 37 Degree Celsius heat, then we herded towards immigration and customs like cattle. Even in big flash airports you feel like cattle waiting to go through but when the airport is no more than a shed with a couple of ceiling fans... Well you get the picture.

Once at the hotel we were welcomed with iced tea and a cold towel. After settling in we hit the pool, AHH BLISS! We then dragged ourselves out of the pool to get ready for a sundowner cruise along the Zambezi. Then we found out that we had our days mixed up and the cruise was not until the next night. Disappointed that we dragged ourselves out of the pool for nothing we walked down the main street (which also seems to be the only street in Victoria Falls) to have a look whilst dodging all the illegal street hawkers trying to sell their dodgy wares.

After an early night we got up early to go white water rafting down the Mighty Zambezi. From all accounts it is the best white water rafting in the world and we conquered it. We were all feeling pretty smug that we hadn't capsized and made it through grade 5 rapids, then we saw the climb up!! Our smugness was soon gone. The 2km walk up a 250m high gorge in 40 degree Celsius heat was an absolute killer! It took about 45minutes to climb up but at the time it felt a lot longer. That night we relaxed while having a few drinks cruising down the top of the Zambezi whilst taking the sights of hippos wallowing, an elephant and a magnificent sunset.

The next day we hobbled like a bunch of grannies to see what we had come to see. The Victoria Falls. The sight was breathtaking but unfortunately there was so much mist from the falls around we were unable to get any decent photos of one of the wonders of the world. It would be a sight to see in the wet season when the falls are at their peak!

After a quick dip in the hotel pool there was no time for relaxing as we had to head out for some serious adventure! We were picked up and soon after and taken to one of the gorges to go flying foxing, zip lining and gorge swinging! Gorge swinging is not as "adult club" as it sounds. It is similar to bungee jumping although you are strapped in at the waist. You then jump and free fall for about 100 metres, the rope then catches you and swing through the gorge! The flying fox was 200 metres above the gorge as was the zip line.

After the action packed days we said our farewells to Tracy, Bruno and Marc and we are heading on to Zambia where we will be volunteering at a community school for two weeks.

See you in Zambia!

Inyati

craigandcorrine — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

We got to Port Elizabeth without any dramas to catch our two flights to get to The Sabi Sands Game Reserve which is a part of the Greater Kruger National Park which is where we were to spend the next four nights.

Our flight was delayed in Johannesburg which in fact turned out to be a blessing as there was a slight hiccup and we left some things on the plane from Port Elizabeth. Thankfully we were able to get them back.

After a rather bumpy ride into Kruger/Mpumulunga International Airport we were almost at our destination, just another hour and a half bumpy car ride separated us from the animals. You could feel the excitement in the car with Marc and Tracy both snoozing away and everyone else other than the driver fighting with their eyelids to stay open.

Once at Inyati we were welcomed with spectacular views of a heard of elephants grazing not so far away. It was an amazing sight for us who had been there before but even more so for the others who did not know what to expect. A quick refresher and some afternoon tea we were ready for the first game drive.

Every game drive we went on offered a new adventure from leopards in trees, lion cubs playing, sundowner drinks with rhinos walking past through to seeing nature at work with a buffalo being a meal for lions first, then vultures and hyenas.

Whilst on the drives, we had Piet as our guide and Nelson as our tracker, who also were our guide and tracker on our previous visit. Time and time again these guys were able to track and locate many animals, the list of animals was very extensive but the highlights were the big 5, zebra and giraffe. During the quieter time during the middle of the day Craig went for an afternoon jog with Piet through the park.

The first morning drive after a awesome thunderstorm, we headed out only a few hundred metres from camp and the car was stopped. Nelson had spotted some tracks, a leopard dragging an impala. Following the tracks we come across where the leopard had dragged its kill, only to find lion tracks leaving the area. Later on we found the lions basking in the sun after they had enjoyed the remainder of the impala.

We had some great people join us on our drives including Peta and Manfred from Germany.

This post could go on forever but we are now in J'burg heading to Victoria Falls.

See you in Victoria Falls!

Knysna, a geyser and a few elephants!

craigandcorrine — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The higlight of our trip along The Garden Route happened in Knysna. While here it was Craig's parents Tracy and Bruno's 30th Wedding anniversary. We had planned a pretty awesome Surprise for them (even if we do say so ourselves) We organised an exclusive sunset walk with elephants at Knysna Elephant Park. After feeding them with the rest of the group we got to hang around and have extra cuddles (well as much as you can cuddle a four tonne giganton elephant!) and pats and got to walk with them before they bedded down for the night. The experience was incredible and left us lost for words. After the ellies were in bed we got our own private dinner and just reminisced about what we had just experienced.

The fun didn't end there!! Once back at the guest lodge Corrine somehow managed with the strength of an elephant pull the shower tap out of the wall!! This left a giant hot water fountain coming out of the wall causing localised flooding to not only the bathroom but the bedroom and floor below when it seeped through the ceiling. Thankfully the owner was really good about it and got us into a different room that we are proud to say we didn't destroy. No photos were captured at this event.

The next day a sheepish Corrine and the rest of the crew headed towards [[South-Africa/Jeffrey's-Bay]] with a quick stop at Monkey Land and Tenikwa Cat Sanctuary where we got up and close to cheetahs!

Our next big stop will occur at Kruger National Park. See you then!!

Mosselbaai

craigandcorrine — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

We set off to Mossel Bay from Hermanus, this was to be our longest road trip and all just to get to the begining of The Garden Route.

There is not a huge amount to report on this particular leg of the journey other than having to stop for some more baboons which is quite the novelty for us.

Even that night we didn't really do much other than get a free shuttle bus to a restaurant, something I think they should do at home.

Next stop Knysna!

Hermanus... Strange name great place.

craigandcorrine — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

We said goodbye to Cape Town and made our way to Hermanus (for those of you playing at home it is said Her-mar-nes) via The Cape of Good Hope, or as we called it “The Cape of Goodness me it is Windy I hope I don't blow away.” We still cannot figure out if the two and a half hour detour was worth it or not. We did tick off the obligatory photos in front of the sign that told everyone the co-ordinates of where they were along with the other tourists. The best thing about the visit was when a lady asking Craig if he could take her photo was almost knocked off her feet by the wind into him. I would not recommend taking small children here as they may get picked up by an updraft and blown out to sea... On the other hand if you are on holidays and want to get rid of your pesky kids The Cape of Good Hope would be a perfect place to take them.

Feeling slightly wind blown we hopped into the car for our journey to Hemanus, we were treated with spectacular scenery of where the Atlantic Ocean meets the rocky cliffs. We drove along the cliffs and felt like we were in one of those emails you get of dangerous roads.. We saw some ostriches and even had to slow down for baboons. Baboons have no fear of cars it seems and will take their sweet time in getting out of the way. We were all on the look out for whales playing close in to shore but were not lucky enough to see any.

Once in Hermanus we were blown away by the bed and breakfast were we were to spend the night. It was amazing. It was just like being at home but only better! All the rooms overlooked the ocean and the cliffs. The owners there have done a really amazing job. It made us want to retire and open our own B&B there. It would be great to go back and spend a few nights there.

One thing that we were hoping to do was Great White Cage Diving, we unfortunately didn't get the chance as when we went to book the weather forecasts all said that there was going to be bad off shore storms and all the companies had canceled the trips at that stage, We are still holding a bit of a grudge against the weather man for being wrong and denying us a chance with the big fish when the weather turned out to be fine! Oh Well there is no use on dwelling on things that could have been, we still have a great adventure ahead of us.

Next Stop – Mossel Bay!

A Big Table

craigandcorrine — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

After spending three days in Cape Town I think it is safe to say it is one of the most pretty cities that we have visited. The views from Table Mountain looking down on the city and out to the Atlantic Ocean and the view from the city up to Table Mountain, Lion's Head and Signal Hill and the surrounding mountains are equally as breath taking. Put that together with tasty wines and a fantastic water front, (for those at home think a cross between the restaurants at Hillarys Boat Harbour and the working harbour of Fremantle but bigger and you get an idea.) Cape Town is a great place to visit!

Cape Town was not all smooth sailing unfortunately. Our hotel that we were meant to stay at was having an issue with the hot water system. There was no hot water! Everything else was fantastic there though. To the hotel's credit they moved us to another hotel free of charge, they went above and beyond though and moved all five of us to The Westin which is a part of the recently built Cape Town International Convention Centre. But for those of you who come to Cape Town we highly recommend Hollow on the Square.

There were two clear highlights of the Trip to the Cape, for those who know Corrine it would come as no surprise that one of her highlights was the wine! Even Craig's mum who likes to declare herself as a non drinker even got in on the act. We are even hoping that we can get one of the bottles home to share with Nathan and Mel!! When people think of South Africa wine is probably not on the forefront of their minds but if you enjoy a drop or two Cape Town should definitely be on your list to visit.

The other highlight is quite understandably Table Mountain and the surrounds. A trip here is not complete with out a trip up to the very flat peak. Once up there the views were spectacular. Unfortunately the "Table" is often covered up with a "Table Cloth" a think blanket of cloud. Luckily the day we chose to go us was the day the sky was the most clear.

One thing that stands out in Cape Town is the devastating effect that the apartheid had on the town. There are still areas of the town that have not finished rebuilding since almost everything was demolished in District Six. Hopefully in the coming years this can be rectified and the town can be rebuilt.

We are leaving today for Hermanus and will be sad to leave behind Cape Town and all her friendly citizens including the little rabbit like creature called a dassie that is the closest living animal to an elephant.

The Journey

craigandcorrine — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Every journey has its hurdles.. Our first hurdle was when Craig's brother Marc couldn't find his passport less than 24 hours before we were meant to fly out! After a full scale search of three different houses it was finally located and everyone breathed a big sigh of relief.. Marc needed to be there, what else are we going to feed the lions with!

Our second hurdle was it seemed no matter how hard we tried and how we packed our cases and the boxes of donated sports equipment we could not get everything in and come close to our weight limit. Thanks to Craig's parents who came to the rescue and packed the extra stuff.

The third hurdle was when our luggage still came in heavier than what we were allowed. We all had our fingers crossed that the person checking our luggage in was compassionate to our cause and would let it go through. Our crossed fingers did the trick and there was no extra charge.

We were finally on our way! The flight to Singapore was a dream flight, not many people on the plane so we were able to spread out. The stopover at Changi airport went relatively quickly with a visit to the Butterfly Garden and a quick bite to eat. The second leg of the journey we were not quite as lucky, with the flight being packed! Corrine had her knee caps almost shattered when the man in front could not work out his chair and rammed it back.. This was even before takeoff. It was a long flight.

We eventually made it to our destination after one of the longest journeys that either of us have ever taken. We were rewarded with the beautiful scene that is Cape Town and with renewed energy we all looked forward to what laid ahead of us!

The Preparation

craigandcorrine — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

A sample of the sporting equipment to take to Zambia with us!

We are five days away from leaving on a big jet plane to Africa. This time we are taking Craig's parents Tracy and Bruno and his younger brother Marc with us.. We thought we might need some big cat bait!!

Over the last couple of months in preparation for our volunteering stint in Zambia we have organised morning teas and had a hot roast beef roll night at our place to raise funds to buy much needed items for the school. We have been astounded by the generosity of our friends, family and work colleagues. THANKS GUYS!!

After many months of planning you would think that we are all ready to hop on to that plane, well you would be wrong. Even though we have had our immunisations and our safari suits are all ready to be packed we still need to do just that, along with 40 Australian rules footballs, 15 basketballs plus some t-ball gear and a bunch of other bits and pieces of sporting equipment.

Now to finish getting ready for our big trip, next on the list pick up our plane tickets!

See you in Cape Town!

PS Don't forget to leave your comments or crazy ideas for photo suggestions. If you leave a suggestion for a crazy photo for example different poses, we will try and do it and put it up next time!

Las Vegas, M&Ms and a big hole in the ground

craigandcorrine — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We arrived in Las Vegas on the bus from hell, it was the hottest bus in the world, well that is probably a slight exaggeration, but it wasn't pleasant. We checked in to The Luxor and then went in search for food. The casino in the hotel was not as impressive as we thought it was going to be. Maybe it is because we have a casino at home so it wasn't really anything new for us.

The next day it was an early start to go the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam, it didn't take that long to get the dam which didn't look as big as we imagined it was going to be. Although you can't actually get as close to is as you used to be able to since there are always threats to it. Security had to search the bus before we could even drive over it. Not only does the dam provide water for many people it also provides electricity for LA. From there it was a long drive to the Grand Canyon which included a couple of stops in very unusual places. We even saw “coon hats” which seemed to be fury hats with some sort of animal tail attached to the back of it.

We finally arrived at the big hole in the ground, it was a great sight to see. It looks just like it does on post cards, which make you wonder if you are looking at a giant back drop. After seeing two different places around the canyon it was time to head back to Vegas, but the fun did not stop there, five minutes from our stop the bus blew a water hose. Another bus and driver came to our rescue and we were back to the hotel. We had a bite to eat with a new friend that was on the tour with and also had a cocktail that made Corrine rather ill. There was cream on the top and that is the only thing that we can think that made her ill during the middle of the night.

The next day we walked the strip and checked out the was going on. We picked up tickets for Cirque du Solei, Mystere and had a great time at the show that night. The performance was stunning and every act that came out was better than the one before. The show blurred the lines between human and animal with the way that the performers moved and the things that they were doing such as climbing up poles like monkeys.

As we were leaving the theater extremely satisfied we were handed coupons for buy one get one free cocktail at the bar where we happened to have lunch just next to the theater. We figured lunch was good we will go and have a quiet drink there. The coupon said one per person. After two cocktails each the bartender who happened to look like Toadie off Neighbours told us to go grab some more so we could continue to get half price cocktails. We did and thats when the night took a turn. There was also a competition for the bar tenders to see you could throw the cocktail shakers around the best when making a cocktail, for some reason which eludes our memories this turned into free shots for everyone in the bar, one was given to us in a glass and the next was given to us poured into our mouths straight from the bottle by the bar tender who was standing on the bar at this stage. The bar eventually closed and we hung around with our new friends that we had met for a while longer. It was time to make our way back to the hotel which was at the other end of the strip. We caught the bus but somehow missed our stop. We ended up a 45minute walk past our hotel. When we finally went to bed it was close to 6 in the morning.

The next day after less than three hours sleep. Crawled out of bed and made our way down to the all you can eat buffet. You pay $30 and you can keep going back all day. After picking at breakfast which we were sure our very hungover bodies were going to reject we went and had another look at the strip including the Coca-Cola and M&M's store. At the Coke Store we bought a sample tray of all the different soft drinks of around the world. There were some very strange things on the tray. After trying them all we decided it wasn't the smartest idea in the state that we were in. (we are not talking about being in Nevada either). From there we went to the second M&M's store of our American Leg of our trip. Even though the Las Vegas one is the original and the apparent best we both thought that the New York one was better. We checked out the old Vegas where all the wedding chapels are and even saw the chapel that Britney Spears got married in.

That night we went to the Criss Angel BeLIEve show, it was so good. Corrine is in love. The illusionist is a master and every trick he did kept us wondering how he did it. The show combined just enough comedy with the magic. Even though our bodies were screaming for sleep we ignored the screams and went and checked out the Mirage Volcano show and the Bellagio fountain show. Both shows were quite impressive and certainly worth a look. We then walked back to the hotel to get some sleep before the early bus departure for Anaheim.

LA - Round One

craigandcorrine — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We arrived in LA after flight made very long by awful passengers behind us, they were a teenage brother and sister who's mother was sitting next to them but didn't care that they were hitting and kicking each other and our seats at the same time. Craig had to say something to them it got that bad, the mother of the brats gave Craig a dirty look.

It was a flying visit to LA starting with an NHL game at the Staples Center which was fantastic. Unfortunately LA Kings lost to the Edmonton Oilers is a 10 round shoot out. We went back to the hotel tired and ready for a good nights sleep.

The next day we went to Universal Studios and checked out all the things to see there including the back lot, we were not lucky enough to any celebrities though. Highlights of the back lot would have to be the Desperate Housewives Wisteria Lane set, and the war of the worlds set where the plane crash is. We also saw where Jaws was filmed. It was very interesting to see some of the tricks of the trade. We went into the “warehouse" to see where Back Draft was filmed and saw the place “on fire”.

We checked out some of the rides, there was no lining up for us because we bought front of the line passes, something that I would recommend for an extra $20 each. the Simpson's ride was very good considering we didn't move anywhere, it is a 3D screen and a “car” that you sit and shakes and jolts you around. The Mummy ride was pretty crazy with a sudden jolt then you go backwards. It was a warm up for what is to come at Disneyland.

New York, New York, Yankees, Knicks and Rangers.

craigandcorrine — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We left Europe and headed towards the USA. We left from Frankfurt in Germany, going through baggage screening Corrine's bag got taken aside. There was a butter knife in there left over from one of our long train journeys. The man screening the bag was very good and was even going to let Corrine take it on board with her. We let him keep it.

Once in NY we struggled our way to our hotel with our bags which weighed 21 and 26kg. The subway was one of the most scariest thing that we had ever experienced. We finally got to the hotel with out any stab or gun shot wounds. Yay we had survived our first 45minutes in The Big Apple.

It was time to eat so we headed to a burger joint that we had heard that was good. The place offers 50 different types of burgers. After struggling through the menu and after asking lots of questions, there were so many strange words on there. The food lived up to it's reputation.

After an early night and a very good night's sleep we went out for breakfast and hired bikes for a cycle around Central Park. We saw lots of squirrels. Since it was Superbowl Sunday we headed into Times Square, we were lucky and snagged a spot at the ESPN Zone, which is a bar/restaurant. We didn't really understand but we had a great time. Everyone seemed to be very happy that the Giants won, and every one was saying what a great thing it is for New Orleans.

The next day we went up the 82 floors to the observation deck of the Empire State Building. The elevators were very fast. It was extremely windy on the deck and you couldn't spend much time up there as it was so cold. We also made the ferry trip to Liberty Island, home of The Statue of Liberty. The statue really wasn't as big as we imagined. We also both thought that Lady Liberty looks like a man in a dress.

We went and had a look at Times Square and discovered that there is a whole store dedicated to M&M's! Could you even get a better shop?? After catching a stand up comedy show that was in a basement starring Craig Carmean, and getting made fun of by the comedians we stopped by a street vendor selling kebabs on the way back to the hotel, (just like in the movies) We grabbed one and it was fantastic and full of late night kebab goodness.

One thing that New York has to offer is sports! We started our sporting tour off with as mentioned above in a bar for Superbowl Sunday, we continued it with a tour at Yankee Stadium including going into the players locker room and the dug out. It was by far the coolest thing we did while in New York. Even though neither of us really follow baseball we will be coming home as fans of the Yankees. That night it was off to see the Knicks play at Madison Square Garden. The home team blew a 16 point lead in the 4th quarter and went down by 4 in overtime. We thought that the atmosphere was going to be a lot more intense that it was but it did pick up in the 4th and overtime. We are also the proud owners of a big bright orange foam finger that we bought at the Garden.

Our sporting excursion did not end there, we found the NHL store and marveled at all the merchandise that one can buy, including a golf putter that looks like a hockey stick. The next night we went to a game to see what this crazy game is all about, we still don't know. Since the game was not a sell out we decided to upgrade our selves to better seats. We sat down and a kid next to us threw up!! Karma is a bitch, although we must have done something nice cos we moved closer to the rink (using the spew kid as an excuse) and ending up talking to some really nice people who gave us a couple of Rangers beer cups to take home with us, all because we were from Australia.

Our trip to New York had finally come to an end and it is now off to LA for a couple of nights before going to Vegas and Disney Land.

Blog You Later.

Red Lights and Bum Bum

craigandcorrine — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Our final night in Europe was in Frankfurt. Another long train journey but we arrived with spirits high, a little tired but spirits high. After forgetting to write down the address of the hotel, the first time in all of Europe, we set about navigating blindly the 5-10 minute walk from the central station. We read the hotel information display and found an address. Karlrhustrasse was the street name we were looking for. We had a good look on a big map as we left the station and headed towards Karlstr. This was where our 5-10 minute walk turned into a good 30-40 minute walk, including a stop at an English Pub for directions, walking through the local red light district and finally returning back to the train station carrying all our luggage. Turns out Karlstr. stands for Karlstrasse not Karlrhustrasse!

We went back to the English Pub for tea where Craig had a meat pie and chips and Corrine enjoyed a nice seafood salad. Aside from the meals with our families this meal would be one of the best we had in Europe. On the way back to hotel we called into a supermarket and a couple of items caught our attention. The first one was Dickmans puddings but the one that really caught our eye was the Bum Bum icecream. It was cold outside but like two little kids we decided we couldn't resist buying one each and trying it out. Our first Bum Bum experience was quite an enjoyable one.

Off to the airport and head off to New York City.

Blog you later

Vaduz – Liechtenstein

craigandcorrine — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

After briefly seeing the country on the way through to Feldkirch and only 20 minutes away by bus we decided to visit Vaduz, the capital city of the 6th smallest country on the planet. It was a nice walk around the city (it only has 35,00 residents) and is amazing that a prince who lives in his castle up on the mountain overlooking the city still rules. We did read that once a year he opens the castle and invites all the residents of the town to join him for a drink. Was quite strange seeing postcards of him in all the souvenir shops.

Also we visited the Prince's winery and tasted some local wine and even saw some Australian wines showcased with other wines from around the world in the Cellar. Saw some strange looking horse statues and enjoyed the balmy weather of 8 degrees which saw us eat lunch outdoors and earn the name “Vikings” according to one of the locals.

Blog you later

Feldkirch & Kegelbahn

craigandcorrine — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

What looked like a complicated journey from Ispra to Feldkirch with train changes at Milan, Zurich, Schaan, Buchs proved to be a breeze. Maybe this was due to the Italian food given by Mario and Liboria. 2 bottles of prosecco (sparkling wine), some cheese, bresola and salami. We had a great feast on the train whilst watching the lakes and mountains pass by,

Feldkirch, Austria is a little town that is close to the Switzerland, Lichtenstein, German borders, a total change from what we are expecting when we head to the mayhem of New York over the weekend.

It was another place where English was not very common at all we navigated around the town quite well on the buses and footpaths. It was a very quaint little town with a medieval square one of the highlights. Also for those who are travelling through smallish towns, don't trust the churches as a location marker as we found out. What Craig thought may have been church across the road from the hotel, turned out to be wrong and we had to wait another 15 minutes in the cold for the next bus. Although this was a great time to let the beer, just purchased from the supermarket, chill off in the ice on the footpath. Ended up being a sign that the beer was very ordinary and the worst Craig had tasted all trip.

On our final night we went to the basement level of the hotel and found the local Kegelbahn alleys. A game with nine pins (all attached to strings, no need for fancy machines) and smaller balls than ten pin bowling, provided for a couple of hours entertainment. We even got to witness a local competition happening on adjacent lanes. For the record Corrine's name goes down as the Copes Kegelbahn Champion and gets her name on the wall alongside plaques from competitions dating back to the 60's between Austria, Germany and Switzerland held at this venue. It is a shame we had to rub her name off the blackboard and leave it clean for the next players.

Blog you later

Pasta, Pizza, Pizzoccheri and Polenta

craigandcorrine — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Deciding we needed a holiday within our holiday we headed towards Ispra in Italy, town where some of Craig's relatives live. After a marathon 10 hour – 3 different trains – journey we got picked up at a train station by Giambi and Luca, some of Craig's Italian cugini (cousins). After the formalities of the hugging and kisses on the cheek (3 in Italy) we headed off to Ispra. 'Casa di Mario e Liboria' was our accomodation for the three nights over the weekend. We got a great feed that night of pasta, schnitzels and potatoes, and as always we finished with some good chunks of cheese. We also got a quick refresher course in Italian with Luca and Robi (Giambi's wife) doing a bit of translating and teaching...

After a nice sleep in, and waking up to temperatures above zero whilst being in mainlaind Europe, it was time for some more of Liboria's wonderful cooking, Pizzoccheri. Strange sounding name, strange looking pasta but lots of potatoes, pasta and plenty of cheese make up this pasta dish.

We stuffed ourselves to the brim and decided we needed to walk some of it off so we headed into Varese, the local city. Giambi, Robi and Luca showed us the sights of the city, some shops and we stopped by a local cafe for some hot chocolate. For those that have not tasted European hot chocolate, imagine melting a block of Cadbury chocolate, pouring it into some mugs and serving with a hefty blob of whipped cream on top. Very rich but also very nice.

That night involved going out at a local restaurant with some of Giambi and Robi's friends and having some more traditional Italian food, rissotto and pizza with sausage and potato chips on it.

Our final day in Ispra involved a healthy serving of Polenta (mmm, more cheese) for lunch, a nice walk near the lake, saying hello to more of Craig's family, eating some freshly made pastries by Giambi and finally watching a game of football with a drink in hand. Juventus ended up drew 1 all but a great day to end our trip to Ispra.

Next stop Lichtenstein, the 6th smallest, country in the world. We will actually be staying in Austria, near the border as there are not many hotels in Lichtenstein, can't blame them really, as the country is only 6km wide!

Blog you later