Bolivia
After our relaxing time in San Pedro we joined Extreme Limited for a 4×4 3 day tour to the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.
In the tour agency we saw 3 Brazilian boys (Felipe, Lucas and Anthony) booking the same tour as us. They looked like cheeky lads and we thought they could be trouble… We couldn’t have been more wrong they were the 3 nicest guys. Brazilian to the core, proud, loud and fun- they carried a Brazilian flag everywhere they went. We got along so well with these 3 amigos that we have already planned a visit to their home town of Sao Paulo in Brazil. Lucas has promised us the finest meal in all of Brazil(we can’t wait). Felipe and Anthony said they would take us out for a few cervecas and a brazillain night to remember and we might even manage to squeeze in a local footy match.
The tour started by crossing the border from Chile into Bolivia, this was an interesting experience and it didn’t feel too legal! Nevertheless arriving in Boliviawe slowed down for our first breath taking stop the white lake.
Our next stop was at the green lake which was coloured due to the high arsenic content in the water.
After this we went to a thermal area in the mountains. Having been to a thermal area in NZ we didn’t think there was much more to see, but we were wrong. This place was so raw, so natural and with geysers uncontrollably steaming everywhere it was a real treat.
We then stopped at a natural hot spring at 4500 m and the wind chill made it a tough choice as to weather or not to get in-but hey how many chances will you get to bathe in a natural hot spring in the heights of the mountains. So we jumped in and it was well worth it, warm and soft water.
Finally, we saw the red lake which was a great finale as not only was it bright RED due to the red sediments and pigmentation of the algae but was also full of beautiful, elegant flamingos. We wanted to take one home!
After an exhausting first day we retired to our not so glamorous quarters to play cards and relax. However at 5000m our bodies had a different idea and when the allititude sickness kicks in its not so relaxing.
On the second day after many coca leafs (no no no not cocaine! Coca leafs in Bolivia are a great natural cure for allititude sickness) we headed to the Stone Tree. The Stone Tree of Arboles de Piedra is a strange rock formation that seems to grow out of the ground and bears some resemblance to an actual tree.
We also met a wild Chinchilla on the way and again we wanted to take it home.
Then we saw our last beautiful lake of the trip, the mirror lake (pretty self explanatory).
We also visited a cave in the mountains with some beautiful rock formations, an old burial ground and finally the rocks called the soldiers of the desert that span for miles.
Our accommodation was about 45 minutes from the edge of the salt flats, getting up early on the final day we eagerly jumped into the jeep and set off for one of the natural wonders of the world.
The Salar de Uyuni ( slat flats). The spectacular mirage views across the plains, the salt acting like a mirror haze reflecting the last remaining mountains giving the effect that they where floating in the distance with the heat rising as we drew nearer to the salt flats. The destination was a small mountain covered in cactus in the middle of the Salar de Uyuni, after crossing pure white salt for as far as the eye could see, it looked like a perfect show day – glistening in the sun in all directions perfectly smooth but crunchy to stand on. A place you would surely get lost with out the knowledge of the area, losing the sense of direction as you looked around this huge endless abyss.
Then the fun part; creating the depth of perception in your photos – it’s much harder than it looks. As a group we spent many hours producing comical memories and enjoying the novelty until the camera batteries ran out. This was a once in a life time trip to remember.
The final stop along the way was an old train cemetery and the local salt mining factory where an elderly local showed us how it was produced and packaged.
La Paz which means “peace” in Spanish was all but peaceful it was a bustling city with many things to see including the San Francisco Church, Plaza Murillo and its Cathedral and the Palacio Presidencial, the witches market, Sopocachi and much more. Its no wonder we extended our stay in the worlds highest capital and had a hard time saying goodbye.
Chile
Chile
Santiago is not only Chile’s capital but also the countries oldest city and the history was visible walking around. There were many period European architectural influences amongst new age big city buildings which gave the city a wonderful contrast between old and new. We took a steep Funicular up to see wonderful views of the city.
After discovering Santiago we decided to hope on the Pachamama (Mother Earth) bus and head North to San Pedro. We made many cool stops, were exposed to the ever so addictive pisco sours and met 3 lovely ladies (yes that includes you Felicity J) along the way.
First stop was La Serena which is the second oldest city in Chile and a very important summer destination because of its long coast made up of picturesque white sandy beaches. It is also in close proximity to the Pinguino National Park from which you can take a (bumpy but totally worth it) boat ride to see colonies of penguins, seals, dolphins and various birds.
These desert flowers bloom once every 4 years around September making this a rare occation to be seen and they strech over miles.
Bahia Inglesa (English Bay) is a very small village (200 inhabitants) just outside of Caldera which has lot of character, more beautiful beaches and a restaurant that has 50 different types of empanadas!!
In the middle of the desert we stopped at an old minors cemetery. It was definitely an experience to see the colourful burials and showed how strong the wind was in this part, as it would lift whole coffins from there graves.
The scorched moonscape of Atacama stretches for hundreds of miles on both sides of the Pan-American highway, undisturbed by any sign of human activity.
About 75km south of the town of Antofagasta, in Roca Hornos the continuity of the desert is shattered by a sight even more alien then the desert itself, and yet undoubtedly human: an 11-meter-tall hand protruding out of the sand.
Built in the early 1980’s it was called the “Mano de Desierto”. The work of the Chilean sculptor, Mario Irarrázabal and was financed by a local organization Pro Antofagasta. The motion of hands rising from the ground is definitely a must see for anyone who finds themselves in the middle of the Atacama Desert.
La Portada is a natural archway in the ocean about 20km to the north of Antofagasta. It has become an icon of the region and one of the most recognizable landmarks of Chile.
The Tropic of Capricorn or Southern Tropic in Chilemarks the most southerly latitude at which the Sun can appear directly overhead. This event occurs at the December solstice, when the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum extent. The Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth.
Another stop was at the famous train station in Baquedano which is featured in the newest Bond movie ”Quantum of Solace”. There we also visited a train cemetry which had many abandoned old English and German trains.
The Atacama Salt flat is the greatest saline deposit inChile. It was amazing to experience this huge rough surface estimated to be 62 miles long and 49 miles wide. Our guide explained that the salt plain is the product of water underground that outcrops saturated salts, and evaporates leaving hard rich scabs in salt and minerals. It was very cool to see crystallised salt stretching for miles and eventually cracking as water ran down it from the nearby mountains.
Flamingoes National Park
San Pedro de Atacama was a quaint very cute small town. To be honest it was more like what we had imagined Chile to be with mud built building in a themed old town. We visited the nearby R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum, which holds a large collection of pre-Colombian relics and artifacts from the region and strolled down the peaceful sunny square.
The final stop was the MoonValley and caves where we watched the sun set between the mountains.
New Zealand
South Island
Christchurch had been devastated by the earthquakes; the whole city had been disturbed by this unfortunate natural disaster. The prominent issue when we arrived was the Rugby World Cup as Christchurch could no longer take part in the competition and New Zealanders live and breathe the sport. This was only masking the deeper issues the city faced, lost homes, small businesses, collapsed historical buildings and the whole infrastructure has been turned upside down.
The wife of a structural engineer told us about the demolition of the inner city and the daily controlled detonations of the buildings they had to demolish. The inner city had been quarantined off almost like a war zone, with danger signs on every corner. We had planned to stay in the Holiday Inn in the centre however the building was in the process of being demolished and thus we stayed on the outskirts of the city in one of the five remaining standing hotels. Amongst all this devastation and chaos the locals were very friendly and optimistic about the regeneration of their city.
A few days later we picked up our Kea camper which was absolute luxury and we started our next adventure.
Lake Tekapo set the bar high for scenery in NZ; it was a magical lake especially with the sun setting creating multitudes of colours with the mountains in the backdrop. The next day we drove up to Mount Johns Astronomy Observation Centre.
Mount Cook is the highest mountain in NZ at 3754m and the drive up to it was something from a painting. We also ventured to Kea Point in knee deep snow to view the Mueller Glacier.
Omarou
The town itself had a lovely seaside feel with quaint little shops, themed old town streets and friendly people. The reason we stopped in this town was to see the colony of the world’s smallest blue penguins. The penguins arrived on shore just after sunset, for this time of the year they expect around 60 a night. Once these little fellas arrived on the beach you can’t help but be captivated by their personalities. The way they waddled up the rocks staying in packs all huddled together. At one point they had a bit of a fright as they spotted a seal which had made a bed for it self that night right in front of the entrance to their huts.
There were some comical moments ahead as the groups tried to find a way past the seal. One group pushed the first penguin out and he was so scared he rolled backwards down the hill. After a few attempts they all decided to make a run for it in different directions falling over each other. It was like watching happy feet. This cute colony full of personalities makes it a fulfilling experience for any animal lovers. Unfortunately photos are not permitted as these nocturnal creatures are very sensitive to light so you will all have to go and see them for yourselves!
The Moeraki Boulders looked like meteorites that have crashed on the beach from outer space. With centuries of weathering the cliffs and the beaches have receded to show circular rocks that appeared from the earth. The huge rocks have formed over millions of years originally small fossils with different sediments eventually creating these circular solid boulders. These were a fantastic contrast against a picturesque shoreline.
Dunedin-A big town on the coast with lots of history. It is home to the oldest railway station in NZ and The Cadbury’s factory.
Milford Sound
On the way to Milford sound we visited the Chasm waterfall, the Fjiord lands National Parkand drove through the avalanche danger zone on either side of the Homer pass. Rudyard Kipling called Milford Sound the “eighth wonder of the world” and the pictures of this breathtaking 10 mile long inlet will show you why – with cascading waterfalls pouring over mountain tops and steep granite cliffs rising straight out of glass waters, it is difficult to imagine a more stunning location.
We got stuck in our hometown of Kingston which was ironic due to the worst snow ever. Tony and his team at the fire station towed us out of the snow and helped us put our snow chains on- we were ready to go again. To get to Queenstown we had to take the legendary road called the Devils pass.
Queenstown is considered to be the adventure capital of the world, but due to the worst snow in 60 years it prevented us from experiencing some of the extreme activities. Nevertheless it’s a beautiful city which has alot offer.
Glenorchy is the home to many film sets such as the famous Lord of the Rings, Wolverine and the new anticipated release The Hobbit. A spectacular countryside with views to die for – no wonder filmmakers use it so much.
We decided to drive the Wanaka pass at twilight through the mountains and it was one of the best drives in NZ.
In between Wanaka and Haast we visited Thunder Creek falls and the blue pools trek.
Along the way to Fox Glacier we drove by the shoreline stopping at shipwreck creek and lot of beaches.
Glacier country
Fox Glacier
We booked our Glacier tour with the I-site in Christchurchas we were told it was a must but to be honest didn’t know what to expect. We arrived at the Franz Josef Glacier just after visiting Fox Glacier and it just looked like another mountain from a safe viewing distance. The tour company was very professional and supplied us with all the equipment that was needed including crampons.
The estimated 14k hike started in a tropical forest with trees, ferns, and wild birds. We finally arrived huffing and puffing at the base of the glacier and started hiking in the sections of the normal public access areas and thought there must be more to this guided tour… and we were right. After strapping on our crampons we were ready to go past the point of no return with warning and danger signs everywhere, this seemed a bit more like it. We climbed onto the glacier using ropes and steps that were craved in the blue solid ice. It was a very fulfilling hike with spectacular views of different formations of ice. That evening we relaxed in the mountainous hot pools soothing our tried bodies.
Punakaiki is wonderful haven for seals as well as the home of the pancake rocks.
We finally arrived at Nelson.
The Able Tasman National Park is similar to a tropical coastline apart from the weather; it reminded us in some parts toFiji. It has tropical forests, untouched beaches and crystal clear water making this a national treasure inNew Zealand.
The park is 23,000 acres so we had to decide how we could make the most of our time and getting an Aqua Taxi up to the middle of the park and hiking the costal trek of 14k back was the best option.
We finally arrived in the beautiful little town of Picton we took the ferry across to the North Island with the camper.
North Island
Wellington is the capital of NZ, we didn’t have much time in this vibrant city but we did visit the Te Papa museum which is critically acclaimed as the best New Zealandhas to offer. It had the world’s largest squid on display.
Huka falls is an impressive waterfall due to its remarkable pressure; it’s on the Waikato River that drains from Lake Taupo.
We managed to see the Aratiatia Dam open its flood gates releasing tonnes water and the odd rainbow trout; it was a beautiful site with the clear blue waters exploding from the dam and running down the river bed in-between the smooth naturally carved rocks.
Lake Taupo and the Skydive
We decided to skydive over the lake because of the beautiful area offering glorious views with the mountains in the distance.
The experience started nervously. We hopped onto a plan with our instructors. Mikes instructor was called Damo: a 40 year old adrenaline junkie that was like iceman from Top gun- cool, calm and collected. The total opposite went for Andreas instructor called Amos who was the local funny man making Andrea very nervous by cracking jokes that he had just come from the pub after 5 pints and a few puffs of weed! Andrea saw the funny side until it came to the actual skydive at 12,000ft. Mike was the first to jump; the scariest part was the door opening and the green light to go…
Having your legs dangling from a plane with 200km winds in your face really puts the experience into perspective-the moment that defines how scared you really are! Mike loved it and was eager to jump with no fear.
THE FREEFALL
The first few second are a total sensory overload whilst your brain is trying to process that you’ve just jumped out plane. The force is something totally different that you’ve never really experienced before, no theme park ride can compare! It’s a life changing experience not to be missed. Once the parachute opens you are relived to say the least. After that it’s a joy with spectacular views and you finally acclimatise to the situation and start enjoying the ride.
Rotorura in the heart of the volcanic and thermal explorer highway.
We stopped for a night in a lovely little campsite with its own private beach. This beach was a special beach because you could dig under the sand and create your own little hot pool. It’s hard to explain when you’re standing in a cold lake waist high and you shuffle your feet under the sand below you and it’s boiling hot. Sitting on the edge beach watching the sun go down in a hot pool that you have dug out of the sand was a very novel an amazing crazy experience.
Wai o Tapu Thermal Park
Today we visited the land that time forgot or that’s at least what it looked like. We drove along the thermic highway and went around a geothermic park with real hot spas, mud pools, steaming vents, geysers, craters, and bubbling lakes in a variety of different colors (this was due to different chemical unbalances). The first geothermal area we came across was a spectacular bubbling 100C mud pool. This was like being on a film set of Jurassic Park; it’s hard to explain how unusual this kind of geology is.
The rest of park was themed around the devil and understanbly as a lot of the craters, vents, and pools looked like something from the underworld.
The next day we woke up early to see the Lady Knox Geyser which looked like a 1/100 scale model of a volcano especially when it was erupting. The guide explained that this geyser was originally set of by soap from a prisoner that was doing the washing in the hot pools. The soap reacts with the chemicals in the water and creates pressure until the moment of eruption which reaches nearly 20 meters high.
Auckland was our final stop along this wonderful fulfilling trip, out of all the cities Auckland had an air of central London and a homely feel. Andrea wanted to see sharks up close so we booked a snorkelling shark cage experience in the Kelly Tartons underwater world. It was an awesome experience swimming with the sharks and finding out about their ecosystem. It was very interesting to find out that all the other fishes in the tank are farmed and have no perception of predators and that once sharks are released back into the wild their natural instinct takes over instantly and they start hunting again instead of there tranquil state.
New Zealand as a whole was an incredible place to visit with vast landscapes, culture and geology, having the freedom to drive where you want and do what you want was an extraordinarily liberating experience. Camper vans all the way!
Fiji time…
22.07.11 We arrived at Fiji in the evening, tired and ready for our night on the main island, Nadi. We thought it would be a lovely ‘holiday atmosphere’ Cocktails and a nice meal over looking the swimming pool or even a beach! Not so lucky! We arrived at a breeze block apartment on the main road called The Grand Malaysian Hotel. Let me just say it was not so grand! more like a very low budget hostel. No air con and 24 hour road noise that kept us up all night along with bed bugs galore. This memory was however quickly forgotten once we got to the crystal clear seas and the picturesque islands.
In a quick snapshot we saw- flying fish, green seas turtles and an abundance of different types of corals in various colours. Luckily we also arrived right during the magnificent Manta Ray season! We also found a Fijian clown fish (nemo) and he bite Andreas finger as she pointed him out to me - feisty little one. A Fijian native told us that there are actually 28 different species of clown fish and the ones in Fiji are a newly discovered species cleverly named the ‘Fiji clown fish’.
We did go to the Bula Festival in Nadi before we departed for the Yasawa islands and this was an eye opening cultural experience with a taste of real Fijian life.
We met a very cool couple, Amanda and Ian, on the Yasawa flyer boat up the islands and ended up spending 8 days with them at 8 different resorts. Amanda and Ian where on their honeymoon in Fiji - Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!
Nabua lodge and Safe Landing
Fresh water caves
Korovou resort – The clearest we have ever seen the stars and the Milky Way – very little light pollution - A magical sight.
Bay of Plenty
A SURPRISE and must have experience in Fiji. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to visit the local school and village. It gave us a real insight into Fijian culture and local life. The views were stunning from the top of the hills across the bay. It truly was a bay of plenty… We also tried a traditional Kava ceremony, high tide anyone?!?
Set in a marine protected area Manta Ray resort had by far the best marine life and snorkeling we experienced in Fiji – the coral and different species of fish are world class.
Octopus – A lovely resort with amazing beaches. We tried traditional Fijian cooking here which was very tasty.
Waialaya- where Ian made a sand baby for his daughters 1st bday..how cute ( it did look a little scary though:)
Beachcombers – The party island! It was a lot of fun partying till the early hours of the morning drinking our precious bottle of Fijian Bounty rum:) shame we don’t have more photos which are all on some randomers camera that Ian thought was his whilst slightly intoxicated! lol
In the morning said our farewells to Amanda and Ian with promises that we would visit each other in the near future.
We then spent our second week relaxing at the Mana Island Resort in the Mamanuca islands.
The last boat ride back to Nadi and the final night in Fiji.
It’s a shame we could not take photos of the marine life – we have truly seen spectacular coral reef fish -the world famous clown fish -nemo, blue spotted stingrays, morray eels, reef sharks, black and yellow sea snakes - the list goes on and on. Next time an underwater camera is coming!
OZ
5.07.11 The journey in our super camper van dubbed the crikey mobile!…
Our proposed route was starting in Sydney, via the Blue Mountains and then making our way up the coast to Cairns stopping on the way to see the spectacular beaches, landscapes and culture!
The Blue Mountains – After 3 hours driving out of Sydney going inland we found ourselves in the what was described as a natural disaster site. The gale force winds and freezing temperatures damaged much of the beauty and nature in theBlue Mountains. However after buying hats and gloves we found out the scenic tours were still up and running and nothing prepared us for the grandeur of what we were about to see…
Port Macquarie and and Byron bay were both beautiful towns with raw wild incredible beaches. The landscapes were breathtaking and we enjoyed getting our feet in the sand even though it wasn’t the warmest. We also discovered the lighthouse at Byron bay which really was a hidden gem and the pictures don’t do the views justice.
Surfers Paradise-Gold Coast
So after the quaint beautiful small towns we arrived at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Cost and wow the difference was unbelievable. As we drove down the pacific coast highway and we started to see the big high rises-we thought wed made a wrong turn and ended up inMiami(we did drive a very long way lol). The Gold Coast has numerous activities you can indulge in and we had a hard time deciding what to do.
Movie World
Being big movie lovers we decided to give Warner Bros Movie world and we had a brilliant time jumping on the Superman, Batman and Lethal Weapons ride and we even managed to get a photo with Batman himself hehe (big kids yes I know). Mike also spotted cat women and couldn’t resist her charms.
Australia Zoo
So we actually nearly missed the home of the crocodile hunter ‘Steve Irwin’ and this would have been a massive mistake – it was one of our highlights! A must see and one thing you should plan in to your visit to OZ. The park is everything that he inspires in his documentaries – interaction, learning and fun. You get up close and personal with nearly every animal. We held a kola, baby crocodile and pretty large snake! That’s without feeding tropical birds, kangaroos, wallabies and an Indian elephant! This place will bring a smile to anyone’s face. One word ‘magical’ He was a loved man and this place keeps his sprit alive.
Airlie Beach- Whitsundays
We were told the Whitsundays especially Whitsunday beach was something not to miss so we headed to Airlie beach a small town built around a port to experience it. Even though it wasn’t a particularly nice day Ocean Rafting the company we went out with was absolutely brilliant and we ended up having a jolly old time especially on the way back when Brian the driver decided to pick up some speed and do donuts in the water we videoed a few bit and will try and upload.
Mission beach
Cairns- Great Barrier Reef
19.07.11 Finally arriving inCairnsafter 5 thousand km we decided we deserved a treat to end Oz in style. So we booked a day trip on a Giant catamaran to the Great Barrier Reef and Michelmas Cay island. Michelmas Cay was a beautiful haven and bird sanctuary where we were able to relax and enjoy the considerably better and warmer weather. At the Great Barrier Reefwe did a guided snorkel by a marine biologist who took us through the different types of coral (there are over 200!) and introduced us to some extraordinary sea life, Our high light were swimming with the green sea turtle - Mike also did some diving (lucky bugger) and saw the splendours of the ocean.
21.07.11 Sydney Opera House: backstage tour
The weather was glum and it was a dark day but once we got to the opera house – it stands tall off the river bank with its impressive angles, it stands out white and crisp in stature from its surroundings. A master piece in architecture, design and innovation – we were fighting the stigma of visiting the magnificent opera house in the beginning because it’s what everyone does – however once you actually go and see this wonderful building it really is visually stunning and believe it or not it gets even better inside!
We also saw the world famous Bondi Beach in the pouring rain, and we decided we should make another trip during the summer!
So along our journey from Sydney to Cairns via Blue Mountains we saw a lot of funny and crazy signs!
More of China
23-25/06/11 So we knew the next stop was the two nights in a traditional Chinese monastery at the bottom of Emeishan mountain but we honestly didn’t know what to expect! The monastery itself was a peaceful heaven for all, a breathtaking place of habitual Chinese culture and a strict institution for religious life. The appropriate place to breathe in, reflect, take in the relaxing atmosphere, aided with daily chanting rituals and incense to calm the senses. The candle lights of an evening made the monastery look like something out of film set. Spectacular! There is without a doubt a down side to seeing this way of life and that’s starts with the sanitary conditions – no man made products that harms the earth so the toilets were something to be desired, damp rooms crawling with bugs and a coal boiler for the heated showers that looked like it something from WWI.
From the monastery we did a walk on one of the routes up Emeishan mountain and took in the scenery when we caught our breath from the 1400 steps we went up. We also enjoyed walking through a monkey’s sanctuary along the mountain even though they were quite scary jumping on people and stealing food.
25-27th/06/11 Yangtze river cruise 6 president cruise
3 Gorges Dam and ship lock- Even though you can’t go inside the dam we were able to see it from the boat as we entered the ship locks to go downstream. The water levels upstream are150 meters and downstream at 60 meters-so through five locks we slowly descended 90 meters from upstream to downstream- you could literally feel the boat go down as the water drained in each lock.. As we entered the first lock we saw this huge concrete structure and were enclosed by huge doors in every lock it was a very cool experience.
The 3 day cruise down the Yangtze river was lovely and relaxing. We were also able to see some of Chinas different landscapes as well as witnessing their industrial revolution.
We also were able to do excursion off the cruise and our first ones was to visit the temples of Heaven and Hell. The temple of Heaven was this lovely peaceful place unusually decorated all in red which is normally associated with danger however this colour represents god luck in China. The temple of Hell was like an old scary fairground ride that had been deserted for centuries – it had statues of scary demons and evil sprits all over the place. You would not want to spend the night there. It’s a creepy strange monastery in a beautiful setting where the local people pray to the bad gods to keep them away – you would think it was once used for human sacrifices! Nevertheless it was intriguing as we have never visited a place that worships “the dark side”.
For another excursion off the cruise we were transported along the Shennong Stream (a stream off the Yangtze River) in a wooden boat by local farmers who showed us some incredible scenery as well as singing us love songs in their native tong, Tang Chinese.
28-30/06/11 Yangshuo in Guilin, Guangxi province
Bamboo rafting in Yangshuo was a lovely relaxing experience. It was a great way to see the area with fantastic views of the surrounding small but perfectly formed mountains that make this a must place to visit – it’s one of the most picturesque regions in china. Once we came to the end of the river ride we saw the legendary fishing birds with their master. Mike had a picture with these fantastic birds that humans have trained to catch fish for decades. As cool as this was it was a slightly different story from the HSBC advert as the birds actually have a small piece of rope tied around their necks so they can’t swallow the fish the catch. As tamed and well looked after they are in reality they are still wild in nature and it was quite sad to see these remarkable birds exploited for their special gifts.
Rock climbing in this region is renowned all over the world and often is a place used in competitions because of its unbelievable mountains and different routes. So we thought when in Rome-only 3 of us wanted to brave it out of a group of 16!…So Andrea, Dutch and I braved the idea and went off to climb the picturesque mountain. Our instructor was a local guy called ‘sky’ and it was quite scary at first because this was for real – no practice walls or easy routes – this was full on hardcore rock climbing with a safety rope and vertical decent with an overhang! The look on all our faces was quite the picture once we saw what we where about do. I think we started on about a 9.5 route bearing in mind none of had ever climbed before and this was a real rock face with no nice handhelds. Nevertheless it was a spectacular day, great fun and gave us the drive to want to join a rock climbing club once we get home. It is the scariest and most physically demanding sport we have ever tried.
Hong Kong 1.07.11 to 5.01.11
After an overnight train we arrived to our final destination with the tour- Hong Kong- and spent our first few hours going through strict customs and changing our Chinese Yuan to Hong Kong dollars. The group then made its way to the hotel and we headed into the centre for our farewell lunch. Having spent almost 4 weeks with the group it was very sad. Needless to say the farewells lasted until the early hours of the morning celebrating also Mikes bday (old man now).
Our next few days in HK we tried to visit all the city had to offer such as:
Firstly the world’s largest coordinated light show on the avenue of the stars, the Longest outdoor escalator in the world and the
Star Ferry that took us across to Victoria Peak for fantastic views.
No trip to Hong Kong would be complete without a visit to the world’s tallest, outdoor bronze Buddha located at Po Lin Monastery.
Wild card: just like the Bruce Lee chain of fast food… Amazing stuff!
Finally the UPDATE!
10% of internet sites are blocked in China…
…and of course WordPress, Facebook and Google were amongst them! But we have just arrived in Oz and will upload the rest of our incredible adventure in China in no time so be prepared!! We still have so much to catch up on – it’s amazing how diverse China is and history of the country.
11/06/11 Mike & I visited The Summer Palace today and it was incredible! Firstly it’s a World Heritage Site and built up of hundreds of small temples and bridges surrounding the Kunming Lake. The main feature is The Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddha that has about 700 steps to the top of the temple. The scenery at the top was astonishing and you can see the whole of Beijing. It was however very heavy with pollution on the day and it blurred most of the images until there was a thunder and lighting storm which cleared the air and brought out the sun. It was very bizarre – all of a sudden the colours of the landscape came to life; it was like window wipers removing the dirt from your window screen! The palace is magical and it was wonderful to see Chinese culture from the old dynasty, it was like the film Mulan we even saw “Mushu”.
We then travelled back to the hotel, got ready and went out searching for some good western food-so we decided on Pizza Hut! Well that was an experience we won’t forget. Food was great, filled a void and then it came…we paid and were about to leave but behold a crazy waitress who started shouting at us and because no one spoke a word of English we couldn’t communicate or understand what was going on. It was a surreal situation, the whole restaurant went silent! Here’s to us thinking someone would speak English in a Pizza Hut J so we have come to the conclusion that we must start making a picture book with signs in it! Hehehe. PS: we still don’t understand what happened!
To chill out we watched the Hangover Part 2 or Masnaposok 2 as it called on the DVD (not illegal we swear) it was funny but disturbing, seriously who came up with the story line!?! But we found it really cool when they were in the Lebua Hotel; we stayed there for a few nights when we went to Bangkok – amazing hotel.
12/06/11 we had an extra day to explore the city before we met up with the STA group so we decided to visit the Temple of Llama; this is still an active place of worship for the Chinese people and has the largest buddha statue in the world carved out of one tree! All of the temple areas are large in size and have elaborate buildings, it was very busy and full of smoke because of the incense that they use whilst praying to the Buddhist statues. In the afternoon we wanted to get a first view of a Panda so we thought we would head to the Beijing Zoo! It was quite a nice Zoo for an international city but the standards are still moderately below the zoos we have in England. We did see some amazing white tigers though!
13/06/11 we visited The Great Wall of China today and all we can say is WOW, its everything and more than we expected – the views are to die for and the images just don’t do it justice. It was a truly amazing experience for both of us and definitely one of the highlights of the trip you can see why it is a world heritage site and one of the 7th wonders of the world. The great wall was united by the first emperor of China called Qin Shi Huang after the countries unification in the Qin dynasty. He also built the Terra Cotta Warriors and the first person unify the country with one currency – the famous round coin with the sqaure in the middle cut out. He joined the walls to unite China as a country, before he ruled the China was divided into many different provinces and over thousands of years the wall continued to be built to protect the country from Mongolia. They say it is one of the only manmade structures you can see from the moon! We were also very fortunate to visit the Mutianyu section of the great wall which has a toboggan slope down!!! Great fun at the end of a long hike!!!
14/06/11 Tiananmen Square is the largest square the world and where Chairman Mao is buried; he was a successful leader in WWII and founded the People’s Republic of China, people travel all over the country to pay their respects. The Forbidden City is where 24 emperors once lived and ruled over China with their reign lasting over half a century. It was great to see where so many films have been filmed, not surprising with its stunning back drop and history.
15/06/11 The Temple of Heaven – All the temple grounds are surprisingly large considering they are in normally in the centre of a city, covering acres of ground with the temple in the middle surrounded by lovely flowers and lust green vegetation – they are all beautiful and peaceful compared to the rest of the bustling city!
16/06/11 Over night train from Beijing to Shanghai –all I’m going to say is this image was taken of Andrea after that experience! Need I say more…
FOOD
Beijing is renowned for peaking duck,Shanghai for steamed buns and dumplings and finally Hong Kongfor Dim Sum so we are not losing weight! Mc Donald’s on every street corner is not helping the situation, some insects ever so often as well just to keep the balance!
17/06/11 Arrived in Shanghai after a long sleeper train, not for the faint hearted!
18/06/11 Ancient Shanghai garden and that evening we visited a world famous acrobat show! – Words cannot explain but the photos show how amazing their discipline is – the true home of acrobat displays.
19/06/11 Overnight train to Xi’an-orientation and Muslim quarter in Xi’anand Mosque. The fountains at night are the largest sequenced display in the world, it was fascinating. The performance from the dancing fountains mixed with powerful dramatic music attracts thousands of people per night to see this impressive show.
20/06/11 The Terra Cotta Warriors! Mike had been looking forward to this since we first decided to go travelling and it didn’t disappoint. The terra cotta statues where originally created by the first emperor of China for protection in the after life and to preserve his eternal sleep. They were discovered by farmers one of which we had the privilege to meet and say ‘ni hao ma’ to. The excavation is still on going; pit one is still being excavated by archaeologists, it’s the largest of the three with the front line infantry, pit two is the generals that would lead the 7,000 strong soldiers. Finally there is pit three, the decision was granted that this pit would be left undisturbed until technology advances so they can excavate this section without damaging the treasures beneath, these terra cotta warriors where once painted in vibrant colours and that’s what they are hoping the preserve. The only statue that is whole and not damaged is a kneeling archer, they all have different faces and unique detail that’s incredible, and they all even have different shoes! The guide said that kneeling archer’s shoes where equivalent to a new pair of Nikes!
We decided to rent a tandem and ride 14K around the Xi’an city wall which is the only city wall in China still intact. It was a very cool experience to see how the wall surrounded the city and how well it had been preserved. We also had a good laugh racing some locals (Yes we won but barely!) and also breaking a tandem (don’t ask). Bumped into MJ that afternoon to!
21/06/11 Flight to Chengdu and we had a quick orientation of the city before having a fab lunch and some bing pea gels! aka BEER!
22/06/11 The Panda sanctuary & the world’s biggest Buddha carved into a mountain looking over the river that joins into the sea.
Arriving at the sanctuary we were both very surprised- we expected it to be on a secluded mountain some where hard to access and quiet. Instead it was on the side of a BUSY road. However, when we got inside it was the most serene peaceful place where you forgot about any roads and just admired pandas, eating and playing. Our highlight from the day was holding a 7 month old panda called Honey-the experience was indescribable-it was a “butterflies in your stomach” moment and we loved every second. The hightlight of China for us so far.
Plenty more to come!!!
Beijing – where to start…
We arrived in Beijing at 10:35 am on the 8th June – The flight left much to be desired as Mike had an old Chinese man after him, we shortly understood that the personal boundaries we are accustomed to be very different to Chinese customs! But after the films “Unknown” and “The Rite” we thankfully met a lovely young native who wrote down the name of our hotel in Chinese which was a godsend as NOBODY speaks one word of English; no joke no one! trying to find your way around is like finding a needle in a haystack. If that doesn’t get you, the heat most definitely will! Beijing city centre is as bad as Vegas; like being in a sauna and with the heat rising from the concrete. The food however is unbelievably tasty and it’s true what they say you haven’t tasted REAL Chinese food until you have been to China, OMG its almost enough to get me to move here (for all of those who know me I love my food!) We found the best local place last night and had a feast we also had the joy of coming back to this wonderful view from our room.
9th June- We visited the 2008 Beijing Olympic Stadium (Bird’s Nest and Water Cube) it was like stepping into another world; architecture that’s been designed by a different species; the only way it can be described was like War of the Worlds or a film set. Then we decided to grab a quick McD’s and head to the 798- Dashanzi Art District. This area of Beijing looks like it once was the industrial revolution development of the city. Now all building being transformed into small chic Art galleries from sculptures to oil paintings. A must see for Art lovers as it’s raw and innovative.
It’s only been our first few days and it’s been a great introduction to the culture! Our tour starts today and we are meeting up with the group this evening at 6pm!
Me and my buddy Bray at the new visitor experience within the tunnels
ITINERARY
The route is booked and we are getting ready to let loose, relax and let the world change our perceptions!
The Great Wall of China
The flight details
Departure: London Heathrow: 08-Jun-11 – 16:45
Arrival: Beijing Capital Apt: 09-Jun-11 – 09:30
Departure: Hong Kong Intl Apt: 04-Jul-11 – 20:55
Arrival: Australia, Sydney: 05-Jul-11 – 07:55
Departure: Australia, Sydney: 22-Jul-11 – 13:10
Arrival: Fiji, Nadi: 22-Jul-11 – 18:55
Departure: Fiji, Nadi: 07-Aug-11 08:00
Arrival: New Zealand, Christchurch: 07-Aug-11 – 12:00
Departure: New Zealand, Auckland International Apt: 01-Sep-11 – 16:10
Arrival: Chile, Santiago: 01-Sep-11 – 11:40
Departure: Brazil, Rio De Janeiro International Apt: UNKNOWN
M & A
