Sue's travels

Hibaldstow - home

2010-02-05T00:21:00.000-08:00

February 5th and today is a memorable day on 2 counts, the first as it is my daughter Kate's 36th Birthday,

Happy Birthday Kate

The second is an end to camping in my own home, the removal van arrives any minute and will have my much missed piano returned alongside all the detritus collected over the years.

And finally, Brazil

2009-12-28T03:32:00.000-08:00

Landed in Manaus, the state capital of Amazonia. A dirty, crowded and frenetic city of some millions, set in the middle of the Amazon rain forest and totally dependant on river transport for food and goods, usually from Belem at the Amazon estuary. Stayed 2 days too long in the stifling heat before boarding a ferry down the Amazon to Santarem, a journey of 36 hours. The ferry was full to capacity, and more, with barely room to tie your hammock. This forms the main transport for the local people up and down the river and not surprisingly I was one of only two English speaking people on board, but the compensation was the time I had to watch the river glide by and I gained a rapid appreciation of the sheer size of this great river and the volume of traffic using the waterway.
Stopping off at small ports on the way demonstrated, as I was later to find out, how far behind in its development this area is compared to most of Brazil, particularly the eastern seaboard towns and cities.

Five days in Santarem, on the Amazon passed quickly and finally arrived in Natal where I enjoyed the beach and had 2 more surfing lessons as well as experiencing my first capoeira lesson. The hostal was very friendly and I spent many evenings with fellow guests visiting local restaurants and also a rock concert.

The final diving opportunity came on Fernando de Noronha, an archipelago 300 km from the Brazil coast where I was able to spend 3 days diving, despite the rough seas, and exploring the beautiful bays and beaches around the main island. Though expensive, Noronha was well worth visiting.

Christmas was in Salvador with its street celebrations of the nativity over the Christmas period, and visiting it's many fine churches. I was able to spend Christmas Day on the beach, and even attend a service where Bach's Christmas Oratorio was being performed - a real bonus!

Two days in Rio de Janeiro completed this 14 month journey, before flying to Paris with a 10 hour stopover (took the opportunity to visit Notre Dame followed by a shopping expedition to purchase some winter clothes).

Arrived in freezing London on the 31st December and back home to Lincolnshire on the 9th January, despite the heavy snowfalls, having spent a week in London and Dorset meeting friends.

This ends my blog....

Based in Quito and visiting Banos and Otavalo

2009-12-08T14:20:00.000-08:00

The last week in Ecuador was spent taking local buses and visiting first Banos, four hours south of Quito and secondly Otavalo, 3 hours north of Quito, whilst staying in Quito between times at the Travellers Inn, a small, friendly and pleasantly civilised hotel in the Marischal district of Quito.

Bus journeys in Ecuador are incredibly cheap (about one to two pounds for each journey!) and the buses fairly comfortable. The highlight is always the vendors leaping onto the bus to sell icecreams, local foods or ´cheap´watches etc, this is closely followed in popularity by the onboard movie, which is always in Spanish, always violent, and despite the language barrier there´s no problem following the plot!
Banos is a popular tourist destination due in part to it´s recently erupting volcano, Tuahanau, in 2006, and the hot springs, for me always popular. Only 2 nights there staying in an inexcreble hostal with bed bugs......needless to say I gave a pretty dreadful review on the hostelworld website. The hike up to the viewpoint of the volcano was blocked after a 2000 ft climb so consoled myself by stopping off at the Runtun hot springs and spa for the rest of the day. Very enjoyable it was to, and for relatively little I had all day in the springs followed by a full body massage and 2 excellent meals. Returning to Quito the next day by bus I threw everything into the laundry, sorted through emails and then set out for Otavalo on Friday, the next day.
Otavalo has one of the largest street markets in northern South America, held on a Saturday, so I had time to orientate myself to the town, check in to the hostal (a great improvement on Banos) and find a great little restaurant (Lonely Planet recommended) where I had the best sea bass I´d tasted for some time. 3 nights there gave time to visit the market and the cathedral, as well as get a chance to meet some local people who, as in Bolivia, dressed in traditional costume. The second day I was able to hike (with guide and a Dutch girl) the volcanic Lake Coicocha, about 30 km from Otavalo. The 5 hour hike was truly worthwhile at this time of the year with many flowering shrubs and flowers, including orchids, and also a number of lizards at the higher points, sunbathing on the rocks. Sadly we failed to see a condor, but were assured by our guide there was a family nesting higher on the hillsides around the lake. It was great to be hiking again, particularly as had not hiked for 3 weeks or so, since Pasachoa.
The journey by bus back to Quito was straightforward with the usual competetive scrum by ticket vendors at the bus terminal to persuade you to buy a their company´s ticket! Back in Quito I prepared to fly to Manaus, Brazil, after taking a second yellow fever vaccination, having left my vaccination certificate in England......

Photo 1. Otavalo Market vendor dressed in traditional dress, the blouses were exquisitely embroidered and trimmed with lace.
Photo 2. A lizard egg at Lake Coicocha
Photo 3. A lupin-like flower at the lake.
Photo 4. A pink orchid on the higher hillsides around the lake.
Photo 5. Lake Coicocha from a high vantage point.
Photo 6. With Jaime, our guide.
Photo 7. The main plaza in Otavalo, the head is one of the Inca kings, with the cathedral in the background.
Photo 8. Early morning on the lake hike, as it warmed up the clouds dispersed.
Photo 9. One of the 4 hot pools at Runtun.
Photo 10. The cloud covered recently- active volcano at Banos.
Photo 11. Banos viewed from the hot pool!

Ecuador and over to the Galapagos Islands

2009-12-01T06:39:00.000-08:00

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pretty lively

A 3 hour flight from Quito and I reached Baltra Island airport on the Galapagos Islands and for the next 4 days was based on the Amigo, a tourist class cruiser which I shared with 12 other tourists. Given I was the 13th I was fortunate in having a cabin ( with bathroom) to myself so was able to retreat there when sharing a boat with a total of 18 (including crew) others became too much on a small boat.
The food was of a high standard and included most of my favourite foods, and the company at meals and other times was very entertaining. I met a Danish couple, Claus and Mette, and Wojcheck and Elizabeth from Poland, all of whom were very welcoming given they had already been on the boat for 4 days. The remaining tourists from Holland were in a group of 8 and apart from the odd occasion stayed together as a quiet and closed group. The last night of the cruise the intrepid 5 went into Puerto Ayora by dingy and sampled the delights of tequila and pina colada etc and used the water taxi to return to the Amigo, much later.

The days were spent either hiking and seeing the flora and fauna unique to the Galapagos, as well as climbing or walking on volcanic soil or lava deposits, in amazing formations. When not hiking we were able to go snorkelling in the bays on the islands we visited in the 4 days. The 3 or 4 currents that meet around these islands bring with them many fish seen at the Great Barrier Reef, Australia and from elsewhere. Some of the islands with mangrove forests on the shoreline are where green turtles are to be seen in large numbers, in fact their mating grounds areas also shared with white tipped reef sharks. Other fish seen when snorkelling include: damsel fish, stingrays, sargeant fish, parrot fish, lizard fish, king angel fish, sunset wrasse, and the dramatic Pacific Burr fish (also known as the puffer fish) and many more. Sea lions would often join us, swimming alongside when we were snorkelling, they are the most amazing creatures when in the water. Other animals seen from the dighy were the smallest penguins in the world, though their name escapes me.

Claus and I made a habit of diving off the boat and swimming before breakfast, a highly ennervating way of starting each day!

Dealing with the typical South American scrum at the airport when flying back to Quito was part of the experience though I was sad to leave this very special place.

Photo 1. The first sunset viewed from the boat.

Photo 2 (and 3!). A land iguana on Santa Cruz island. All animals here have no fear of humans so it is possible to get quite close, though we were continually warned not to touch any animals.

Photo 4. The Amigo viewed from Bartolame Island.

Photo 5. A pelican on the laval rocky outcrop.

Photo 6. The mangrove forest and a view of a green turtles´ back.

Photo 7. The pinnacle (the classic landmark of the Galapagos) and bay viewed from the summit of an extinct volcano on Bartolame Island.

Photo 8. The phototake on the summit.

Photo 9. The lava rocky beaches, great for snorkelling !

Photo 10. Red `Sally´crabs, seen on all the islands shores.

Photo 11. The formations of laval deposits on the younger islands (a joyful moment!).

Photo 12. The captain of the Amigo, a great bloke!

Photo 13. A frigate bird following the boat, an especially noticeable presence when the chef was preparing a meal. Sadly I did not see any albatrosses, though the others had in their first 4 days.

Photo 14. A sandy and laval shoreline, where marine iguana´s could often be seen particularly in the rockpools.

Photo 15. This type of ´tree cacti´was the main plant on this part of Santa Cruz where we waw many iguana´s, both of the land and marine variety.

Photo 16. A marine iguana, seen near to the shoreline.

Photo 17. A giant turtle, probably 150 years old or more.

Mainly seen inland again on Santa Cruz as they prefer fresh water.

Photo 18. A pelican waiting for food from the boat´s kitchen, there would orten be 6 or so pelicans, usually in the water, and the same number of frigate birds, as well as a collection of sergeant major fish under the boat!

Photo 20. Our final night on the town.

Quito, Ecuador and volcanoes

2009-11-26T15:55:00.000-08:00

Quito was a pleasantly civilised city after the experiences of La Paz. A couple of days orientating to Quito which included a tour of the Old Town with it´s amazing Basilica (only begun in 1929) was rewarded with the city having a traffic free day where people were able cycle around unimpeded, though fortunately for me the excellent `Trolle` bus service was operating. An added bonus of that particular Sunday was the entertainment held free in all the city squares, where most of the families in Quito appeared to be out on the streets, and added to all of that the sun shone.
After 3 days in Quito I retreated to the peace and quiet of Hacienda Patagoya about 20 km from the city. A lovely place, owned and run by Israeli´s, not only was the accommodation comfortable but the food was of a particularly high standard, and added to that there were peaceful walks nearby and a jacuzzi to untie knots in overworked muscles afterwards. From Pasagoya I joined 2 other hikers, from Denmark, and a guide and we completed a three and a half hour hike up to the rim summit of the Pasachoa volcano (4200m), where we had spectacular views of the other volcanoes surrounding Quito, including the highest, Cotapaxi (5600m). The only active volcano in this area was Cotapaxi, and it has been silent for 100 years.
After the peacefulness of Patagoya it was with regret I returned to Quito for 2 nights, before flying out to the Galapagos Islands.

Photo 1. The rim summit of Pasachoa.
Photo 2. Enjoying a rest on the lava before the descent from Pasachoa
Photo 3. Another one of those repeats!!!
Photo 4. Hacienda Bolivar (it belonged to the Bolivar family prior to 2000) now known as Patagoya.
Photo 5. Sunday entertainment in Plaza Grande, the centre of Quito old town.
Photo 6. The nave of the Basilica, Quito, viewed from the gallery.
Photo 7. The Cathedral in Plaza Grande.
Photo 8. The bells in the belfry at the Basilica. Rather a sad array and it looked as if they are not currently rung.
Photo 9. The Basilica seen during the steep ascent from the Plaza Grande.

A week in northern Bolivia in Rurrenabaque and 3 day stay in the Amazon Jungle

2009-11-15T11:10:00.001-08:00

Travelled north to Rurrenabaque, a small town downriver from the Amazon jungle. The journey, was an 18 hour bus journey on roads that can only be described as hazardous and at times hair raising.... Returning a week later I opted for the more expensive option (47 pounds, total, as opposed to 8 pounds on the bus) of flying back to La Paz, a flight of 35 minutes and worth every extra penny.
Rurrenabaque even boasted a decent sized swimming pool at the local hotel, which, needless to say, I made frequent use of even though I stayed in another hostal on the edge of town in a much quieter location and away from the locally popular karoake bars. The women of the town still wore traditional Bolivian costumes with very fine full skirts made from some very beautiful taffeta type fabrics, with decorated blouses and very pretty lace shawls, which were always topped with ´bowler style´felt hats, though given the heat, many of the younger women wore t-shirts and jeans or shorts, which was a custom I also adopted, with the usual flipflops.
The 3 day jungle journey started with a 3 hour journey upriver to our base, an eco-lodge situated in the jungle, about 15 metres above the river. The facilities were basic but clean, with mosquito nets provided for each bed in the dormitory. Washing and toilet facilities were suffering from a lack of water (the small river that normally drained into the main River Tuini, had dried up, due to its being the end of the dry season and the rains had not yet properly started) with the result that showering was by using a bucket of water, also used to flush the toilet! The camp dining room was, like the dorms, covered with a roof of palm leaves but perfectly effective in keeping out the rain (light) and the worst of the heat from the sun. The food was plentiful and provided by a cook who gave us the opportunity to try local dishes, all of which were popular with us.
Hiking journeys into the jungle were of 2-3 hours duration, usually twice a day , and our guide spoke very little English, (I spoke very little Spanish!) I teamed up with a New Zealand couple, James and Sandy, who both were able to translate our guides information. Each journey was full of information about plants (which were medicinal and which were poisonous) as well as help with spotting animals and insects (including the many varieties of tarantullas). Sadly we did not see many animals, though on our night walk we saw the alligators eyes (only!) gleaming in the torchlight! We did see some varieties of macaws though not the Tucaman parrots (Martin and I had one for a few years, though the parrot died recently) that I had hoped to see.
The last morning at the camp we had fun making necklaces from seed pods, and I took the opportunity to practice my archery with guide David´s handmade bow, even though I had to make my own arrows, which were pretty crude renderings of the ones I was used to, but you can only make use of the materials available! The boat journey back to Rurrenabaque took only one and a half hours, as we were travelling downstream.
It was good to book back in to the hostal and take a hot shower and generally clean up. 2 days later I took the plane, a small 16 seater Douglas Fairfield (similar to the Lukla plane in Nepal), back to La Paz.
On the 12th November I flew to Quito, via Lima, a surprisingly straightforward journey excepting the chaos of La Paz airport. Quito, on the equator and at an altitude of 2,480 metres was much warmer than La Paz, particularly at night, so I was back into my comfort zone!

La Paz and Conderira Mountains

2009-11-09T08:44:00.000-08:00

Crowded, dry, dusty and hectic La Paz provided me with the incentive to spend 3 days trekking in the Conderira Mountain Range, part of the higher Andes, and only a couple of hours away from La Paz. The local guide for the trek introduced himself as Felix, and his wife, Victoria, who provided the portering with the assistance of their mule, who carried the tents and cooking equipment and food. Though neither of them spoke much English we managed basic communication.
The 3 days were spent in the high Andes mainly in the vicinity of the 3 highest peaks, including Haughan Potosi, and their respective glacial formations. At times we were higher than some glaciers though did not walk on the glaciers themselves. We climbed passes up to 5,200 metres and I can state with honesty that I´ve now fells walked, though with my heart in my boots! The tents were pitched at 2 camps both with minimal facilities, showers were most definately not an option. Needless to say it was cold at night as on both occasions we were camped above 4,800 metres, and hot drinks of coca tea were very welcome in the early mornings.
The weather was sunny but with a persistant chill wind which brought the temperature down but there was still a need for sunscreen in the conditions. The landscape was of rocks and scree though the valleys had a covering of grasses with the presence of many lamma´s and alpaca´s, very hardy creatures and well suited to the climb.
After 3 days it was good to return to La Paz and the opportunity for a hot shower. Sadly my pleasure was short lived as a bogus policeman lifted my Ipod and camera (I was very annoyed that I´d fallen for the commonest scam in La Paz!!) therefore this blog will not include photos, disappointing as I´d promised Felix and Victoria copies of some of the trek photographs. Claiming on the travel insurance is fairly straightforward, and the Policia Turistica were very helpful in providing me with the necessary reports, so am optimistic that the claim will be paid , that is if the British post office delivers the claim (?).
The next stop will be Rurrabaque, where will be looking at an Amazon jungle trek, before flying on to Quito, Ecuador.

Bolivia: Copacobama and on to La Paz

2009-10-23T13:56:00.001-07:00

Arrived in Copacobama after a 4 hour journey from Puno through the Peru/Bolivian border control, which as these things go was pretty much straight forward. Copacobama is small town situated on Lake Titicaca and is seen as a place to relax for both foreigners and Bolivians alike. Copacobama, as with Cusco, has expanded exponentially in the last 5 years or so which has placed a tremendous strain on its` infrastructure, for example, roads and waste disposal are poor, then Bolivia is one of the poorer developing of South America, struggling to keep up with its richer neighbours. Despite all of this Copacobama had a laid back atmosphere and I found a hotel with a room with a view overlooking the lake, both cheap and comfortable, if a little worn around the edges.

I stayed for a week in the town with one night on the Isla del Sol (the Inca birthplace of the sun). During my stay I completed the 17km hike to Yampupata and then caught a private boat over the strait to Yamuni on the Isla del Sol. A great walk from Copacobama to Yamputata was on dirt road which mainly followed the coastline. The weather was perfect, a clear sunny day, ideal for hiking, where the only person I met was Hilario at Sicuana in his reed boat. The Lonely Planet Guide had mentioned Hilario and I was still surprised when I was hailed and offered the opportunity to sail in her/him (male or female in Inca history with the panther prow?) for a small donation. Relaxing on the boat with 4 Frenchmen who were also taking time out from hiking though the other way, to Copacobama, was a peaceful experience as Hilario punted us through the reeds on Lake Titicaca, where I took the opportunity to enjoy my packed lunch in this unusual setting!

A further 4km hike to Yampupata and I found a boat to take me to the south of the Isla del Sol, for ten dollars, where I stepped onto a very basic pier, unexpectedly, this was about 3 km from Yumani. In Yumani it was relatively straightforward to find accommodation, though this involved a climb to the highest point of the village, which given I was rather tired was not entirely welcome! The one nights´accommodation was of a surprisingly high standard, bathroom ensuite, and cheap, giving spectacular views over Lake Titicaca. The next morning I set out for Challapampa, on the north of the island a hike of 4 hours, of between 12 and 17 kilometres, were again I climbed to high altitudes of 4,200m, along the spine of the island. Yet more spectacular views were to be had, and the weather was clear and sunny with a breeze at the highest points. Needless to say I was well prepared with sunscreen, hat and covered arms and legs. I met a number of other hikers on the way all of whom caught the same ferry back to Copacabama, a journey of one and a half hours that became a nightmare journey of two hours when a storm blew up. The small ferry was packed with people and it yawed and pitched in the high seas on the lake, half of the passengers were very seasick, though I avoided this as I kept busy by helping with the sick passengers (plastic bags were at a premium on this journey!).

I spent the next 2 nights recovering from the experience, in Copacabama, visiting some of the local sights, including Calvary Hill and enjoying a swim in the not-so-cold lake in the next bay along to the town.

Sadly I was unable to find a massage place in Copacabama, as my usual practice was to have a full massage after a hike, but that had to wait until La Paz. The 4 hour coach journey in a ´tourist´bus was not without its own entertainment when we disembarked whilst the coach was loaded onto a ´ferry´to cross the straits (see photo!). We were taken across on a small motor launch which, of course, was packed to the gunnells....

First impressions of La Paz, the highest capital city in the world at an altitude of 3,600m, was of a bustling, large and crowded city, fortunately, as always I had booked a hotel through Hostelworld, beforehand, and the bus dropped us about 200 yards away.

Photo 1. The Cathedral, Copacobama, viewed through the main gate.

Photo 2. Sunset over Lake Titicaca, seen from my hotel room.

Photo 3. A farmer waters his pigs by the lakeside.

Photo 4. Copacobama viewed from Calvary Hill overlooking the town.

Photo 5. Calvary Hill seen from the Inca ruins (in a very poor state of repair with much graffiti and destruction of the fabric of the ruins.

Photo 6. A wedding on the lakeside. The women all over Bolivia wear this traditional dress of bowler hat and full skirt with many petticoates. This group were dancing in pairs along the lake.

Photo 7. An island on the lake, complete with fish farm (trout are commonly farmed on Lake Titicaca and are standard food on all restaurant menues) . Alongside the farm is a floating island (a feature of the lake, and composed of a mat of reeds) where the farmer has his home.

Photo 8, 9, 10. The reed boat with its panther prow. This particular boat took Hilario 2 weeks to build with the help of 4 friends (and generous brewing of coca leaf tea, to be recommended when dealing with high altitudes). The boat will last for about a year when they will build another one!

Photo 11. An alpine flower seen at approximately 3,800 m.

Photo 12. The view of the lake from the top of the ridge along the island.

Photo 13. Sitting on the altar stone at the rather disappointing Inca Temple of the Sun.

Photo 14. The bus to La Paz, being driven onto the ferry, hazardous or what?

Lares Trail and on to Bolivia via Puno

2009-10-20T16:19:00.000-07:00

Setting aside the first day of the Lares Trail, making a 4 day instead of 3day trail, was a decision I did not regret. We arrived in Lares on a public bus (as in Nepal an experience to be treated with caution, and not too uncomfortable!) before lunchtime, and checked into a very basic hostal near the hot springs. As it was a Sunday the springs were busy but that did not detract from the pleasure of soaking in the various pools set at different temperatures, from about 38C to 42C

The next 3 days were challenging physically involving hiking to 2 passes of 4,200 metres through very sparse countryside where we met the few local people who mainly farmed alpaca, lama and sheep. Everyone we met dressed in traditional Peruvian clothes, mostly made themselves. Their homes were extremely basic and wither made from mudbricks or rocks and stones collected locally with grass roofs. The 2 nights I spent in a tent (though my guide and porter slept in the hut on the first night and complained of a lack of sleep due to the guinea pigs running amock!

This trek differed greatly from the Macchu Picchu trail as we did not see any other tourists in the whole of the 4 days, and were able to gain an insight into the lives of the indigenous people as opposed to being battered at every point on the trail by vendors selling their wares. The people I met on the Lares trek were so very much poorer than the people we met on the sanitised Inca Trail, and had been warned that this was so and took fruit (unavailable in their diet at the higher altitudes, the staple foods were potatoes, rice and some maize) and trinket gifts for the children, as well as willingly paying when permitted to take a photo.

The final day of the trek was approximately 17km with a climb along a narrow, treacherous path to the Marcoconcha Pass at 4,200m followed by a punishing (on the knees) downhill journey of two and a half hours to Yanahuara and a minibus to Urubamba and a local bus to Cusco and a welcome hot shower!

The next day was a day of rest in Cusco before heading, by tourist bus, to Puno and my first sight of Lake Titicaca. Puno was rather grim , and definitely without the charm of Cusco and also a lot less affluent and lacked the large tourist trade of Cusco. The town centre nevetheless was busy and the buildings(including the inevitable gothic style cathedral) having a strong colonial Spanish influence. The rest of the town was very typical and had many unfinished houses, many of which were mudbrick and unpaved roads characterised by the presence of mudpiles causing obstructions.

The 2 night stay in Puno was redeemed by a half day visit to Sillustani, a hillside cemetary with a history going back pre-Christian times. The whole experience was enhanced by an excellent guide and a decent tour bus for the one hour journey from Puno (all for the equivalent of 5 British pounds!). Returning from Sillustani we visited a farm and were able to view weaving and the livestock of sheep, lama, and alpaca´s at close quarters.

The next part of my journey was to Bolivia and the lakeside town of Copacabamba where I planned to enjoy stay for a few days and hike to the Isle Del Sol (taking a boat over to the island!) on Lake Titicaca.

Photo 1. The hot springs at Lares on Day 1. A very busy day, being a Sunday when families came from far and wide to enjoy the springs.

Photo 2. The mudbrick church tower in Huachuasi.

Photo 3. Two village children in traditional costume in the village of Huacahuasi, where we had our lunch on Day 2 in a horse paddock. This village was one of the poorest I´d seen in Peru.

Photo 4. The farmhouse where we took shelter during the worst of the hailstorm. We were fed delicious boiled new potatoes to help us warm up alongside the inevitable coca tea, which we supplied.

Photo 5. An earlier view of the approaching storm.

Photo 6. The shepherd´s hut where we stayed on the second night. NB my tent in the sheepfold (no visible grass just sheep sh!).

Photo 7. Looking back with a spectacular view of the high Andes in the background, taken from the sheperdesses hut on Day 2.

Photo 8. The valley as it appeared on reaching the Marconcha pass. From theron in it was a long haul downhill., Day 4.

Photo 9. A 100 year old working shepherd whom we met on the route to Patacancha where we had lunch in a farmyard on Day 3.

Photo 10. A further view of the distant road to Ollantaytambo from the approach to Marcaconcha Pass

Photo 11. A rather fine example of an alpine flower seen on Day 4 as we climbed towards the Marcaconcha Pass

Photo 12. The view from the route to the second pass, looking towards Ollantaytambo, on Day 4.

Photo 13. The advert for the village shop, a red plastic bag on a pole.

Photo 14. The hillside´s in Peru were often used to advertise a town or products.

Photo 15. The main surviving burial tower at Sillustani. The higher ranking Inca´s were buried here, mummified in a foetal position. There would be up to 10 mummies in the tower.

Photo 16. The remains of the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon at Sillustani.
Photo 17. A group of local children at Sillustani with their pet lamb.
Photo 18. Made it to the pass at Ipsaycocha (4200m), on Day 2.

Photo 19. The farmers wife with her lama, seen on our journey back from Sillustani.
Photo 20. Looking back down the valley towards Lares at the approaching storm on Day 2.

Photo 21. View down the valley towards Yanahuara after the pass at Marcaconcha.

Photo 22. The elderly sheperdess and her grandaughter in her hut where we stayed on night 2.

South America and the first stop, Peru

2009-10-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

Finally arrived in Peru following an arduous 17 hour journey from New Zealand, feeling disorientated and tired but went immediately to join the Gap Inca Trail tour starting on the 1st October for a 6 day journey to the Sacred Valley and then on to the 4 day hike of the Inca Trail with an international group of 15. I met with , Amanda, from Eire,

and we spent the next 7 days in each others´ company, sharing rooms and tents.

The Sacred Valley tour of Pisac, the ruins of the 14th-15th century Inca city, though crowded gave us our first site of Inca ruins in sunny and warm weather conditions, given the increasingly high rainfall through October and into November at this time of the year. Staying in a hostal in Ollantaytambo we viewed this towns` Inca ruins , which again involved some steep inclines through the now familiar Inca terraces, it proved good preparation for the hikes to come! The next morning we set out for the beginning of the Inca Trail, starting at the 82km marker point at Piskacuchu. Walking for 4hrs we climbed steadily, reaching higher altitudes and our night camp of Wallabamba at 3200m, stopping at Llactapata, an Inca ruin on the way. The sub tropical fauna consisted of mainly eucalytus trees (surprised by this)and some cactus and succulent plants, often edible. First night sleeping in tents was fairly difficult, largely due to a thunderstorm and heavy rain which hit us early evening. However rising at 0500 and starting on the trail by 0700 was to become the norm! The food was good, traditional Peruvian fare, cooked on site, every meal included locally grown potatoes and always with the option of fresh onion and fresh chilli peppers. The second day was the most gruelling with a climb to Warmiwanusca (Dead Woman Pass) at an altitude of 4,215m, a climb of 1300m in four and a half hours. A further hike of 2 hours, downhill on the old Inca Trail proved very tough on the knees, but we were rewarded with truly spectacular views of the surrounding mountain ranges with sub-tropical alpine vegetation (many bamboos). Tea and Dinner at the Papymayo camp filled the hole in our bellies after the 7-8 hour hike and despite more heavy rain I think everyone slept the sleep of the dead.

Day 3 of the trail was supposedly less gruelling though involved ascending to the Runkuraqay Pass at 3,760m followed by a visit to the ruins at Phutupatamarca, through similar terrain as on previous days, and still following the Inca trail, basically a rough and uneven stone footpath.

Before reaching camp we were able to walk through the ruins at Intipata, another agricultural community consisting mainly of wide terraces. The last camp before Machu Picchu itself was blessed with hot showers so there was generally a rush to clean up after 3 days of blood, sweat and near tears! The downside of Day 4 was the need to be up (0400) and walking (fast) on the final morning to reach the Sungate Temple by sunrise, which would give our first view of the city of Macchu Picchu. I made it at considerable personal physical cost but it was worthwhile and only requiring a further half hours´ walk down to the city of Machu Picchu.

Without doubt the remains of this civilisation, destroyed by the conquering Spaniards, rightly belongs in the category of a World Heritage Sight. The extent of this city, thought to be a place of rest and relaxation for the high Inca´s (though there are differing opinions on this), is breathtaking on first sight. The day was hot, but we arrived before the heat became generally too much, shelter being sparse, in time for a tour by Marcello, our guide, and also before the city become overcrowded with visitors who had arrived by bus from Agua Caliente. Walking poles were not permitted so we negotiated the steep steps in the city without their use, tricky when I was used to their support.

Afterwards we took the bus down to Agua Calientes where after having had lunch, 6 of us rushed up to the hot springs and soaked for half an hour before catching the train to Ollantaytambo, followed by a coach to Cusco. We booked back into the Prisma Hotel and spent the next 24 hours celebrating our achievement before we dispersed to our varied next destinations. I booked the Lares Trail, but first spending two and a half days in Cusco relaxing with full massage, and haircut etc. The Lares trail was a 4 day trail starting with a day at the Lares hot springs. This gruelling trail with guide, porter/cook with horse, was an opportunity to meet the rural people of Peru, and also very much off the tourist trail.

I must apologise for any confusion caused by the lack of a chronological order in displaying the following photo´s.

Photo 1. The group at the 82km point at Piskacuchu, the start of the trail.

Photo 2. Llactapata Inca ruins, and taking a well earned rest.

Photo 3. The view from half way up to Dead Woman´Pass.

Photo 4. The happy/relieved group at the pass.

Photo 5. Macchu Picchu viewed from the Temple of the Sun (taken at about 06.30).

Photo 6. The view of the surrounding mountains from the Temple of Water, including members of my tour group.

Photo 7. The Temple of the Sun, viewed from above.

Photo 8. The Sundial (the top was partly destroyed by Budweiser when filming an advert (!!) , evidence that the Inca`s were also interested in the sciences (detailed evidence of their skills in astronomy were well documented).

Photo 9. Relaxing in the heat on the site of one of the many temples of Macchu Piccu.

Photo 10. Peruvian Rail train to Ollantaytambu. An interesting journey, highly scenic, however the ´backpacker contingent´were placed in the two more basic end carriages (!) and obliged to finish their journey at Ollantaytambo, and complete their journey by bus to Cusco....

Photo 11. A colourful religious parade in Cusco, seen on my 2 day R&R in Cusco.

Photo 12. Lunch with my fellow Inca Trail hikers in a Peruvian Bar. We were lucky enough to arrive as the band started playing. They were so good on the ear that I purchased their CD.

Photo 13. Cusco viewed from the Inca Museum (not very impressive!) looking towards the main square of San Francisco.

Photo 14. The cathedral in San Francisco Square.

Photo 15. The Andes seen on Day 3 of the trail

Photo 16. Amanda and I, with Wanda in the background taking a break - again.

Photo 17. The ruins of Sayac Marca on Day 2.

Photo 18. Intipata, the final site viewed before Machu Picchu.

Photo 19. as above (still haven´t figured out how to delete......)

Photo 20. The dawn on Day 4, before we were able to pass the final official gate to Macchu Picchu.

Photo 21. A further repeat!

The red centre of Australia, Alice Springs, and thereafter Adelaide

2009-09-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

Alice Springs and the surrounding 'red' desert met most of my expectations of high desert temperatures, and arid landscapes. A total of 11 days in the area, with a 3 day a tour to Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kings Canyon and Kata Tjuta (the Olga's) which involved 7-10kms of hiking a day at each of these spectacular sites. Camping for the 2 nights in swag bags was a new experience giving me a rare opportunity to see the night sky, thankfully unimpeded by light pollution. The tour also included visiting Uluru at sunrise and sunset, equally unforgettable experiences. Before returning to Alice Springs we had the opportunity to have a camel ride, not to be missed and very entertaining in itself with much laughter and jesting from the others!
A further 3 nights in Alice at the YHA was a chance to catch up on much lost sleep, swim in the towns surprisingly good olympic size pool and visit local places of interest, including the local control centre of the Flying Doctor Service. A short bus ride out of town to the Alice Springs Desert Park was a worthwhile visit especially the nocturnal animal house which contained many rare and endangered species of desert animals.
Alice Springs had many close links with the surrounding aborigine communities and many galleries selling their artwork, however many of the community members were homeless on the streets of Alice and a good proportion of this group had drink problems. Many of the street homeless aborigines had been rejected for many and varied reasons by their own communities out in the bush and Alice was a magnet to them.
I decided to travel to Adelaide 'the Ghan' train, a journey of 25 hours, but lightened by the fact that a couple of people from the Uluru tour were also travelling, the food was OK and we wiled away the time in the buffet car, though sleep in a recliner seat was decidedly elusive.
Stayed at the YHA in Adelaide, pretty comfortable but unfortunately next door to some of the Adelaide nightlife! Able to ring the bells at 3 out of 4 of the towers, even ringing for a wedding on the Saturday at the catholic cathedral. The ringers were a welcoming group of people who were short in number that weekend and therefore pleased for me to help out, even to the extent of chauffering me around the city to the different churches. I rang a total of 5 times over the long weekend in Adelaide and finished by ringing for a concert at St Cuthberts where I met Peter, probably the oldest ringer in the world at 100. The concert by a quartet of clarinetists from the South Australian Police Band was of a high standard and entertaining and a fitting end to my stay in Adelaide. Managed to squeeze in a trip to the Adelaide Botanical Gardens in between ringing, even taking a guided tour of the gardens with their Spring blooming.
I left for Brisbane on the earlybird flight at 06 15 on the 21st September, back to Yandina for a few days relaxation including a further visit to the observatory to view the sun, this time, before taking the train to Brisbane. Again staying at the YHA for 3 nights and the opportunity to buy some last minute things for South America, followed by an overnight stay in Sydney before flying out to South America.
Photo 1. The Flying Doctor Control Centre in Alice Springs.
Photo 2. Termite nests in the Alice Springs Desert Park.
Photo 3. A brief stop before tackling the rocky climb to the rim of Kings Canyon.
Photo 4. The dome rock formations of Kata Tjuta.
Photo 5. The 'crew' of the Rock Tour
Photo 6. Campfires and swag bag.
Photo 7. Uluru at sunrise, followed by breakfast from the 'kitchen' trailer.
Photo 8. The 'Rock Tour'bus. NB swag bags on the trailer.
Photo 9. Camel ride.
Photo 10. Post tour dinner with Isabella (Peruvian) and Tim (Netherlands) alongside the rest of the crew.
Photo 11. The excellent pool at Alice Springs.
Photo 12. The desert viewed from 'the Ghan'.
Photo 13. Midday and ready to leave for Adelaide.
Photo 14. Bluebells in the Adelaide Botanical Gardens.
Photo 15. The newly restored palm house in the gardens.
Photo 16. St Francis Xavier Catholic Cathedral, Adelaide. Rang the bells for a wedding here.
Photo 17. The separate bell tower at St Cuthberts church. Centenarian Fred on the left, with Graham, one of my chauffeurs.
Photo 18. St Peters Anglican Cathedral, Adelaide

Hiking in Tasmania, with a chill wind in Hobart

2009-09-07T22:32:00.000-07:00

After the tropical temperatures of Cairns and Cape Tribulation Tasmania was a shock to the system especially as I'd become acclimatised to temperatures in the high 20's celsius and Hobart only reached 10C in the day with a chill wind from the Roaring Forties. Hobart itself reminded me of England (especially Lincolnshire) on a cold,windy and wet February day with a relentless north easterly wind blowing across the flatlands. Altogether I spent 10 days in Tasmania, 5 of those days (3 and 2 respectively) in Hobart itself, and both of these short periods were marked by successful opportunities to ring bells. I was able to join the ringers for 2 Sundays of ringing, at both churches and also attended a practice night. The ringers were very welcoming and after Sunday ringing would always move on to the local coffee shop. After ringing at Holy Trinity (now a Greek Orthodox church) we were invited to join the congregation in refreshments that included much drinking of Greek coffee and a few slices of freshly baked and delicious chocolate cake. The other noteworthy activities in Hobart was a visit to the Cascade Brewery, which after a serious sampling session with a fellow guest of YHA, decided it was a pretty good beer, even if a tad cold! The town also had a fine arts cinema, (serving great coffee and cakes) where I found time to see Pete Postlethwaite in a post apocalyptic film on climate change.
Hiking in Tasmania was hosted by Tony, a 'tramper' I met in New Zealand who had a thorough knowledge of all the accessible walks in Tasmania, though I was disappointed in being unable to meet with Jean, a GP I met in NZ as she was out of the state on 10 days of my Tasmania stay but we are maintaining contact by email and may meet in England.
Nevertheless I spent 2 separate days hiking both on the Tasman Peninsula and near the west coast of the country visiting the Gordon Dam followed by shorter walks to 2 waterfalls , the Russell and the Horseshoe Falls in National Park , stopping on the way to view Lake Pedder. The peninsula hike was a worthwhile 11km hike to Cape Raoul with its amazing red dolomite volcanic rock formations and even the weather held without the downpours that were very much a feature of Tasmania at the time of year.
The most memorable area for hiking was on the Freysinet Peninsula where we spent 3 days, with 2 nights in the YHA 'hut', very reminiscent of tramping huts in NZ, ie basic but clean and dry. The weather held being sunny and warm with little wind, so we were able to complete a 11km hike on the Hazard Bay and Wineglass Bay Circuit Track as well as an unsuccessful attempt at the Mount Amos hike (too steep with slippery rock faces). The third day was spent travelling back to Hobart and stopping off at Sleepy Bay and Cape Tourville and having one of the best fish and chip lunches in Swansea (!) since I left the UK.
I flew back to Brisbane on the 1st September and took the train up to Yandina where I was able to relax and warm up for a week by walking, playing table tennis in the garden, and helping Lesley with some gardening before setting off again to fly to Alice Springs (on the 9th September)and hopefully some guided bush walking in the desert.

Photo 1. View of Hobart from the viewpoint on Mount Nelson.
Photo 2. The Antarctic explorer ships in Hobart harbour.
Photo 3. The coastline of the Tasman Peninsula.
Photo 4. The rock formations of Cape Raoul.
Photo 5. St Davids Cathedral tower, Hobart. (12 bells)
Photo 6. Daffodils in Hobart Botanical Gardens.
Photo 7. Russell Falls in National Park.
Photo 8. Horseshoe Falls in National Park.
Photo 9. Rainbow over Lake Pedder.
Photo 10. The Gordon Dam. Apparently one of the highest dams in the world, and its waters provide a large chunk of the hydro-electric power of Tasmania.
Photo 11. Wineglass Bay
Photo 12. Mount Amos.
Photo 13. Coles Bay viewed from the Hazard Bay/Wineglass bay circuit walk.
Photo 14. The YHA hut on the Freycinet Peninsula.
Photo 15. Coles Bay viewed from the garden of the YHA.
Photo 16. The bar at the Cascade Brewery.
Photo 17. The ringing chamber at Holy Trinity Church, Hobart.
Photo 18. Holy Trinity Church (8bells)

A brief respite on Cape Tribulation

2009-09-02T03:35:00.000-07:00

After the hectic time and steep learning curve of the dive course it was bliss to spend 4 days at Cape Tribulation. A very beautiful place of contrasts where the Great Barrier Reef meets the Daintree Rainforest, the oldest in the world. The two hour journey from Cairns to Cape Tribulation included a river cruise along the Daintree River where we were able to see crocodiles of all sizes, some of whom were up to 5 metres in length, though thankfully viewed from the safety of the boat! The stay at the cape was at a small budget resort, Ferntrees, situated in the rainforest where I met Christine and Stephanie, a mother and daughter from Vienna. We found the local water hole, a crocodile free Mason's Pool, where we were able to swing from a rope into the river and generally have a few hours of undignified behaviour and fun.

I took the opportunity to go on a three hour jungle hike, led by an extremely knowledgeable local man, who taught us about the plants, trees and local wildlife. I came away with a healthy respect for the jungle environment and how it protects itself... A further diving opportunity arose so having brought my snorkel and fins decided to make a further trip onto a different part of the Great Barrier reef. The weather was perfect and we snorkelled in the morning and scuba dived only to about 12 metres in the afternoon and again saw the rich variety of life that inhabits this unique environment. Visibility was about 15-20 metres and I saw 2 stingrays as well as "nemo" fish and more white tip sharks, as well as a vast number of different live corals (not much bleaching here) so a very worthwhile day.

The last evening was spent having dinner with Steph and Christine sitting by the poolside at the resort drinking Australian wine, a great finish to 4 days.

The final journey back to Cairns, included a stop at the Mossman Gorge (part of one of the national parks in North Queensland), and an hours stop at Port Douglas, an up-market edition of Cairns, where we had time to discover the locally made icecream (scrumptious - to die for!)before finally journeying to Cairns. A further 2 nights back at the YHA in Cairns (quieter this time....) allowed me time to prepare for the next leg, Hobart.

Photo 1. A jungle vine that has completely destroyed the prayed on gum tree, a process that can take many years.

Photo 2. A small-ish crocodile (?) sleeping on the side of the Daintree river.

Photo 3. The mangrove swamps in the Daintree Rainforest.

Photo 4. Cape Tribulation (the promontory on the left) as seen from the dive boat as we journeyed to the reef.

Photo 5. Steph, Christine and myself on the last photo opportunity before we left the cape.

Photo 6. The one that should not be there!!!!!

Photo 7. Part of Mason's Pool, it was about 8 feet at it's deepest and refreshingly cool.

Photo 8. Mossman river, apparently low at the present time as there had been so little rain this season.

Cairns and Diving the Great Barrier Reef

2009-08-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Cairns on the 8th August to find the town buzzing with Saturday night revellers, a definite party town, as the YHA was situated in the centre of town, needless to say sleep was somewhat difficult!
The course started on the Monday, lasting 5 days, the first 2 in the classroom and Pro-Dives' pool, followed by 3 days on the Great Barrier Reef on their boat. Our instructor, Dave, was very good in his role and were it not for his superb efforts many of us would not have got through the course. The first 2 days proved to be a steep learning curve but I was considerably relieved to pass both the medical and the water tests, the first hurdle. After an exam at the end of the second day, all 16 of us were ready to go to the reef and continue the course in open water, and what a truly amazing experience it proved to be. The weather conditions were perfect, and over the 3 day period we had 7 dives, including a night dive (quite daunting). After dive 4, having passed the Open Water Course allowing us to dive to 18 metre depths, we had the option of completing the Adventure Dive Course. This enabled you to dive to 30 metre depths, particularly useful if wanting to dive to wrecks, so for relatively little cost , only 3 further dives plus study, decided to take this extra challenge and 24 hours later became a certified PADI Adventure Diver. Returning to Cairns in the afternoon of the 3rd day at sea was quite sad as we had all worked well together, particularly my dive buddy, Jonathon (also from England). We all met that evening and had a night out on the town, though I was pretty exhausted and left fairly early, especially after the long day that started at 5.45am with the first dive at 6.30am!
To recover from the intensive work of the past week I booked a 4 day visit to Cape Tribulation starting Sunday 16th August, though managed to squeeze in a chinese massage before leaving for the cape. (unfortunately am unable to upload all my photo's onto the blog until returning to Yandina)
Photo 1. The green turtle we were able to photograph on our last dive.
Photo 2. Again the final dive showing the variety of coral, and fish on the reef.
Photo 3. My last dive though it would have been better to have taken the photo on an 'in' breath!
Photo 4. Jon and I before stating the last dive on the dive deck, all booted and suited ready to go.

The beginning of the Australia experience: Brisbane

2009-08-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

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I arrived in Brisbane, Australia on the 20th July to be met at the airport by Lesley, an ex-nursing colleague from London. It was a tremendous relief to see a familiar face and catch up with her news. She had kindly agreed to letting me use her home as a base in Australia, travelling out from her and , her husband Jez's home, to distant parts of the country, usually by plane as the distances are so very great. Their home is situated 100km north of Brisbane, and about 15km inland from the 'Sunshine Coast' and on my arrival, despite being winter in Australia, the daytime temperatures were in the low to mid-twenties, though the night temperatures dipped often into single figures. Travelling to Brisbane for a few days and staying with Lesleys' cousin, I attended bellringing practice nights at the 2 churches in the city with ringable bells, the cathedral, St Johns and St Andrews, south of the main city. The days in Brisbane were spent visiting the very fine botanical gardens, some retail therapy and finally a visit to the south bank centre which boasted an artificial sandy beach , with pools, as well as an arts complex not unlike the Southbank Centre in London. Sadly the beach and pools were closed for maintenance, but most of the restaurants were open and I had a couple of reasonable meals in the area.
Most of the first two and a half weeks were spent at Yandina, Lesley and Jezs' home village/ town, relaxing and planning the Australian journeys. My birthday was well celebrated by dinner at a Turkish restaurant followed by a visit to see the new Harry Potter film. The next day a surf lesson at Caloundra beach, generously given by Lesley for my 61st. Inbetween times I visited the local Astronomical observatory named after nearby Wappa Falls, run by an eccentric 'Patrick Moore' character and entirely privately owned. It had a surprisingly good series of telescopes, and was also very informative, particularly as it was my first opportunity to see the southern sky.
Hiking each day, exploring the local places of interest, for example, Mount Nindary, gave a focus to the days , and also insured I was fit enough for the diving course and more tramping in Tasmania. Yandina is renowned for its ginger farming and has a factory processing the ginger, much of which is exported to the UK. I duly paid my $10 (senior citizen rate!) and joined a group touring the 'Ginger Factory' which included the opportunity to sample some of their products including, of course, their excellent ginger beer. Other sightseeing included a visit to the macadamia nut factory, another homegrown industry in the area. Part of each day was spent arranging the visits to other parts of the country and arranging to meet up with people I'd tramped with in New Zealand, especially people in Tasmania. Having met a couple of groups of travellers in Fiji who'd recently been in Australia I decided to visit some of the places they'd been to, including bush walking in the Northern Territories, near Alice Springs, this latter journey was planned after the Tasmania visit.
The PADI diving course , starting from Cairns was booked for the 10th August, and assuming I passed the medical and the water tests, was optimistic about completing the course. The actual diving would be over the Great Barrier Reef, and for me this was probably one of the best places in the world to learn to dive, and would fulfil one of my ambitions for this journey!

Photos 1 and 2. The local observatory, surprisingly well equipped despite its ramshackle appearance!
Photos 3 and 4. Lesley and Jez's lovely home, set in a semi rural area and part surrounded by forest.
Photo 5. Post-surf posing with the surf instructor....
Photo 6. Post surf photo.
Photo 7. An Ibis at the botanical gardens in Brisbane, also seen in the fields near Yandina.
Photo 8. A view of the recently completed bell tower at St Johns' Cathedral, Brisbane. One of the few stone built churches seen in this hemisphere, a very fine building that has taken 150 years to complete, and this is being celbrated in November this year.
Photo 9. The view from the rocks on at the top of Mount Nindary. The coastline is visible, about 12km away.

Fiji and nursing on Vatulele

2009-07-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

Finally left for the island of Vatulele on day 12 of my stay in Fiji, with Taina, the Fijian nurse practitioner. The one and a half hour journey from the mainland to the island in a small boat was marred by seasickness, which was quickly forgotten on arrival. The 10 days on this island were absolutely amazing, we worked hard at the health centre seeing patients from the 3 villages on Vatulele and we had some great experiences outside working hours. The local village chiefs made me welcome in their traditional ceremonies of drinking of kava and the very talented local church male choir adopted my after having congratulated them on the high standard of singing. The 'adoption' involved their visiting us at our residence in the medical compound and giving an impromptu concert, as well as an invitation to a beach picnic near the locally famous 'prawn pools' on the other side of the island near the very expensive resort. Other celebrations included a lunch in the next village where the local women were having a lunch as they had reached their church money raising targets for a young peoples project. Food consisted of locally caught fish and locally grown vegetables, such as cassava, breadfruit, yams and vundi (a banaana-like plant). Fruit such as papaya, banaanas and coconuts were falling from the trees as you walked passed, and no villagers were without food. Cooked dishes of fish would appear on our doorstep resulting in 4 meals of fish on the Sunday, feeding us 'til Tuesday! The last night on the island saw us attending 3 kava ceremonies as part of various celebrations in the local village. The final one was held at our residence where my 'adopted' choir presented me with gifts of a fine piece of masi (the local art form made from tapa tree bark and stencilled using natural dyes) and a local sulu, all followed by the inevitable drinking of kava. Various villagers brought gifts of masi to the house in the final 24 hours, their generosity of spirit unmatched anywhere else on my travels, I felt very honoured to receive all the gifts. It was with regret we left Vatulele on day 10 due to my inability to practice alone (Taina was returning to the mainland to teach on a 5 day course) as the Fijian nursing service had not delivered on my nursing verification certificate despite numerous attempts to contact them. The return journey, in the larger of the 2 ferry boats was much smoother and we then made our way to Loatoka by bus where I stayed for the weekend at Taina's apartment where nI met her family,yet again the hospitality was generous and warmly given.
I booked 3 nights at The Beachouse, on the recommendation of a fellow backpacker in Nadi, a budget resort which proved to have excellent facilities and most meals of good quality food included in the price. Spent a total of 4 nights at the resort meeting many fellow travellers over a few local beers in the evenings. Much of the days were spent snorkelling, seeing my first live coral reefs with their array of amazingly colourful fish, but sadly did not see any reef or tiger sharks as I'd hoped.
Apart from 24 hours back in Lautoka visiting the senior nurse manager to exchange some information about nursing protocols in England, I spent most of the last week of my stay in Fiji at The Beachouse relaxing on the tropical beaches.
My final nights stay in Fiji before flying to Australia was at the friendly backpacker 'homestay' near Nadi airport where I met Emily again, my young hostess from Suva.
Flew to Brisbane early on the 20th July and stayed with my nurse friend I'd worked with in the UK. It was so good to see a familiar face at the airport and am able to use her home as a base for my Australia visit.
Photo 1. Sunset on Vatulele
Photo 2 and 3. The Beachouse resort, apparently used by in the tv series "celebrity love island', though this did not affect the enjoyment of the resort!
Photo 4. Emily, m indispensible hostess in Suva.
Photo 5. The Lautoka hotel, a comfortable and relaxing few days spent here.
Photo 6. The village chief, Taina and a village elder after the greeting ceremony on Vatulele.
Photo 7. The celebratory lunch held in the village meeting house.
Photo 8. Standing outside the after the welcome ceremony with the chief .
Photo 9. Leila, the village health worker, working on a piece of masi, in her home.
Photo 10. A red prawn in the pool, Visitors who see many prawns are regarded as being blessed with good luck - there were many.
Photo 11. Swimming in the second prawn pool, a tidal pool.
Photo 12. The return journey, by boat, after the picnic.
Photo 13. The formal gifting ceremony conducted by the choir.
Photo 14. The formal thanks (on my behalf) given by Manasa, the chorus master.
Photo 15. The giving of gifts was finally celebrated with kava.
Photo 16. Drawings of Vatulele man on the cliff face close to the prawn pool. When they were drawn is unknown.

Auckland and Coromandel Peninsula and on to Fiji

2009-06-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

Rangitoto Island, is a volcanic island created 600 years ago and is situated a 25 minute ferry ride from New Zealand's largest city, Auckland.

The 11k tramp around the island included the hike to the top of the volcano. The coastal path section of the tramp was by far the most interesting with some unusual alpine flora normally only found at alpine heights, also the photo's clearly show the piles of volcanic outpourings of 600 years previously. The weather for the previous 2 days had been very wet and cold but the day at Rangitoto was under brilliant blue skies and a warm sun. After having rung the bells at the cathedral on their practice night, where I was made to feel very welcome and spent a happy hour in the local pub with the ringers.

With only 5 days left in NZ I hired a car for 3 days and drove to the Coramandel Peninsula for a last opportunity to hike in the very beautiful countryside and practice my driving skills on narrow, twisting, unpaved roads. I found a 3 hour long tramping track on the Pacific side of the peninsula, again on a beatiful day, and did not see another person other than the camp site warden. Staying for 2 nights in a YHA which was more of a motel than hostel and very quiet given the time of year. The last night was back in Auckland, in a motel where I could pack in peace and also enjoy a swim in their outdoor lap pool.

The journey to Fiji was uneventful other than some turbulence in the middle of the 3 hour flight, though the food was poor, and I was convinced that we were suffering from Air New Zealand cutting their running costs! Arriving at Nadi on the main island was very reminiscent of conditions in Nepal though as I found out over the next week or so Fiji did have a reasonable infrastructure in place, unlike Nepal. For 2 nights I stayed in Nadi at a homestay run by Dee, a lovely Fijian lady, who then booked me to stay with her son and daughter in Suva. I was immediately made welcome, particularly when I made enquiries about the local anglican church which I attended the next day. It was very obvious that the Fijians were avid church goers, to all different denominations of Christian churches. Most of Sunday afternoon was spent in Dee's lounge being regaled with the loudspeakers blaring out across the road at the Church of God!

Travelling to Suva by bus (the main form of transport here) was on unpaved roads at times but arrived their safely to be met by Dee's 21 year old daughter, Emily and taken to her home in the suburbs of Suva, by public transport, bus. I visited the nursing registration department at the Ministry of Health and as half expected paid my 10$ dues but had to wait for the director to return from holiday to sign the authorisation for me to practice nursing in Fiji. All rather frustrating as I'd originally emailled her three and a half weeks previously.....

A journey back towards Nadi to the town of Laukota enabled me to meet the medical director of the Western Divisional Health district who at the time of our meeting (day 6 of my 30 days in Fiji) was in panic mode dealing with the latest cases of H1N1 virus so he quickly passed me on to the district senior. Sister Marisia was delighted to have me work in the district and quickly arranged for me to work with a nurse practitioner, Tiana, on one (or more) of the remote islands for the remaining two and a half weeks. The plan was for me to travel back to Lautoka on the 17th July and work with the senior nurse on some nursing protocols used by my ex-team in London.

I joined Tiana at one of her clinics on the outskirts of Lautoka where we had a most interesting time dealing with the sick patients of all ages, one of whom was quite challenging in their behaviour.

The 4 days in Lautoka were spent in relaxing at the quite luxurious (for me) hotel with a room next to the pool, finishing final arrangement details for nursing. The Fiji v Samoa rugby match for the South Pacific Cup was on only 300 yards from the hotel, so for the princely sum of one pound ten pence(!) I watched from the sidelines. Everyone was very friendly and easily answered my queries re the match , a great occasion and atmosphere.

Tomorrow, the 30th June I travel, by boat to Votuele(?) and stay at the island health facility.
Photo 1. Bellringers at the cathedral, Auckland.
Photo 2, 3, 4. Rangitoto Island.
Photo 5. The view whilst at the summit of the tramp, showing Kennedy Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula.
Photo 6. The beginning of the final tramp on the peninsula.

Lake Waikeramoana Tramp and afterwards

2009-06-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

The roundabout journey to the lake was worthwhile and the New Zealanders description of the place as one of the countries best kept secrets well founded.There were only 2 people staying at the DOC owned and leased lake motor camp, so very quiet, as was the walk itself. The whole tramp of 50km over four and a half days, involved staying in 4 huts around the lake. The toughest part of the hike was climbing the Panekiri Bluff, a climb of 600 metres, a steep ascent characterised by muddy degraded pathways which were snow covered at the higher altitudes, and needless to say the cold northerly wind added to the chill factor. The Panekiri hut itself was situated next to the trig point (at an altitude of 1185 metres) and given the clear, cold weather the sunset was quite spectacular. This hut was the only one of the four where I shared the minimal facilities with any other trampers. Given the drop in temperature at nightfall we all slept by the gas fire and were thus able to keep relatively warm. The solution to dealing with the early morning cold on this tramp was to start moving asap and would quickly warm up to be able to negotiate the mainly wet and slippery paths of the next few days. The whole tramp was very similar to the Abel Tasmin Walk, the difference being the views were of a lake as opposed to the open waters of the Tasmin Bay. The forest walking was broken by sudden amazing views of this beautiful lake with its small sandy bays and inlets. Sadly, unlike the Abel Tasmin experience it was too cold to swim in the lake but there was an abundance of wildfowl to be viewed, including paradise ducks and black swans with their families of cygnets, surprisingly the cygnets were the same colour as white swan cygnets. Despite the lateness of my shuttle back to Waoroa I was able to complete all the cleaning of kit at the motel I stayed at in the town, in plenty of time to catch the bus to Rotorua the next morning. Peter, the motel owner very obligingly threw all my luggage into the back of his pick-up truck and took me to the travel centre in the town centre.
Rotorua was an attractive town located by Lake Rotorua, in a very active area of volcanic thermal springs, where the smell of sulphur was very pervasive. I stayed 2 nights in the town, the main intention being to visit the most popular of the local hot pools. Here I had the most relaxing massage you could wish for, spending the remainder of the day in the hot pools and then finally the larger pool, suitable for swimming.
After Roturua, Hamilton, was not the most attractive town to stay 3 nights at the YHA. Due to a miscalculation on my part I had great difficulty booking a bed as it was the week of the NZ equivalent of the county show in the UK, here given the label 'Fieldays' . The weather was atrociously wet so apparently the whole experience was the usual mudbath to definately be avoided in those conditions. I was able to ring the bells at the cathedral and attend my first Maori church service afterwards. It was a well attended service with an even mixture of Europeans and Maoris, very reassuring to think the anglican church can get something right for once.
As ever I located the local swimming pool and completed a further training session and was able to use the pool the half price of 2$ for a senior citizen swim! The pool was empty and not nearly as well used as the New Plymouth equivalent, particularly at the weekend.
I discovered the local museum was hosting the international Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition, an interactive exhibition of his many inventions, including a model of his helicopter design. The guided tour was excellent, and included people of all ages, and was presented by Leonardo's 'senior apprentice' who had everyone completely rivetted for the whole hour of his presentation. Again I was able to buy my ticket at the senior rate of half price.
My time in NZ was sadly nearly over and I made the penultimate journey to Auckland on the 15th June, though the final place visited will be to Ahip Ara and 90 mile beach, for 24 hours, before flying to Fiji from Auckland on the 20th June.

Photo 1. The cabin stayed in the night before the tramp, at the Lake Waikeramoana Motor Camp.
Photo 2. The view of the Panekiri Bluff from above the motor camp.
Photo 3. Lake Waikeramoana from the near the DOC Visitor Centre.
Photo 4. The forest at the outset of the tramp, before the climb to the bluff. NB no snow at this altitude (560metres).
Photo 5. The lake from a viewpoint near the top of the bluff.
Photo 6. The lake viewed from a point near the first hut.
Photo 7. The trig point, usually constructed of wood, not as attractive as the stone trigs in England!
Photo 8. Sunset at Punekiri Bluff.
Photo 9. The frost covered forest, a forest with an abundance of mosses and lichens coating the trees of mainly black or mountain beech at this altitude.
Photo 10. Marautui Hut. The onle hut with a log stove, had to cut timber to feed the fire, as luck would have it a saw and axe were provided.
Photo 11. Unusual (?) purple mushroom on the side of the track. Unable to identify it in available literature.
Photo 12. Looking down at a stream close by the final hut, the Whanganui hut, by far the worst hut of the tramp as the gas fire died at 7pm and it was extremely cold, so walked around the area to keep warm, and came across this attractive small waterfall and stream.
Photo 13. Many paradise ducks at the lakeside, sadly unsuccessful in getting a close-up of the black swans.
Photo 14, 15, and 16. Relaxing in the hot pools at the Polynesian Spa in Roturua. This spa is rated as one of the top 10 in the world, and worth every penny.
Photo 17. St Georges Cathedral in Hamilton.
Photo 18. Overlooking the Waikota River at Hamilton.

National Park Village and the Tongeriro Crossing

2009-05-30T21:54:00.001-07:00

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National Park Village is the nearest location to the Tongeriro Crossing, the most popular day tramp in NZ, though attempting it in winter provided an additional challenge with the presence of snow and ice and as a result, the need to use crampons. I was very fortunate in meeting Eric again, a fellow tramper from the Able Tasman hike, and his friend, Dave, an experienced tramper and one time outward bound instructor. Undertaking this hike alone is not a sensible option in winter! The YHA manager, Thomas, was very helpful in his advice, as well as providing the necessary equipment for hire (crampons) and transport to the starting points of the hikes.
We accomplished the crossing in 6 hours with additional stopping time for food, photo's and crampon 'fixing'. Altogether a spectacular tramp despite variable levels of cloud and on higher ground winds of 40 - 65km an hour. There were times were the snow was above our knees (a more frequent occurrence for me with the shortest legs!), but we were able to negotiate the steep incline and descents with the use of walking poles to give extra stability and prevent being blown off the ridges. Sadly there was too much snow, ice and wind to climb Mount Tongeriro or Ngauguhoe to reach the craters of either one.
The backpacker hostel was next door to the local bar, serving a very acceptable pint of Speights beer, and after the hike we retired there for dinner and a few pints, a very hospitable watering hole with good food served in large quantities, quickly demolished by all, as the cold and energy needed for the crossing gives you a significant appetite. National Park village though small also had a decent cafe at the old railway station, and whenever the opportunity arose I would make use of their special offer of good coffee and cake for 5$ (NZ dollars).
I stayed for 3 nights at the village and after a days rest, completed another 6 hour tramp to the Tamu Lakes, on the other side of Mount Ngauruhoe. For me the lakes were of even more spectacular than the Emerald Lakes on the Tongeriro Crossing, also the weather was bright and sunny with no wind or snow, so much easier to negotiate this track. I had remembered to take sunscreen on this tramp but despite this finished the day as brown as a berry, and feeling really fit and alive.
My final tramp in NZ was to Lake Waikeramoana, though the journey to this Lake was very circuitous and therefore long over a few days. I stopped off at Lake Taupo for 2 nights and received a thorough soaking as the weather deteriorated and the volcanic lake looked grey and depressing. A 2 night stop at Napier, on the coast, was much more interesting with thermal hot pools available at the local recreation centre overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Here I managed a 50% reduction in the entry price for being a senior citizen! The final town before arriving at Lake Waikeramoana was Waoroa, also on the coast and perhaps the most laid back town in NZ. Unfortunately no cheap accommodation so stayed in a brilliant motel with a helpful manager who, with the I-site people enabled me to arrange the transport to the lake ( a 50km journey ) and also transport to the beginning of the tramp and collection from the other end. Fortunately I'd allowed a day to organise all of this, not easy to do as it was the end of the main tramping season with few takers, and the lake is known as one of NZ's best kept secrets.

Photo 1. Mount Ngauruhoe, this was used in the Lord of the Rings trilogy as Mount Doom (an amalgamation with Mount Cook).
Photo 2. Dave and Eric, happy snappers on a cold day.
Photo 3. David and I looking perished, but happy to be there. NB At this point the lowering cloud base was beginning to obscure Mt Tongeriro in the background, also note the ice formations in the foreground, crampons essential footwear at this point!
Photo 4. The Emerald Lake from the highest point of the trek.
Photo 5. The Mount Ruapahoe range taken from National Park village. The volcanic lower slopes of this range were also used in the final scenes of the journey to Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings.
Photo 6. Mount Tongeriro viewed from the Southern Crater early on in the crossing.
Photo 7. The final descent from the crossing, were we passed the thermal volcanic vents along the hillside, the all pervasive smell of sulphur.
Photo 8. The YHA backpackers hostel in National Park Village. The climbing wall hall was used in the Lord of the Rings filming as a rehearsal hall. The whole trilogy generated a lot of income to people in the area.
Photo 9. The Teranaki Waterfall viewed on the Tamu Lakes walk.
Photo 10. The upper Tamu Lake viewed from the narrow ridge of the final ascent.

New Plymouth and Mount Egmont National Park

2009-05-29T21:54:00.001-07:00

Travelling from Whanganui to New Plymouth, as usual, by bus, was the next stage of my journey northwards on North Island NZ. After only 2 nights in the YHA, New Plymouth, I decided to move to the Shoestring Backpackers nearer to the town centre which had a far better quality of accommodation, in fact the best place to stay so far in NZ. The stay in New Plymouth was extended to 9 nights due to the onset of winter and a general deterioration in the weather. I waited for 5 days before the weather improved enough to safely hike up to the higher altitudes of Mount Teranaki region, and then only with the hiring of crampons due to the risk of snow, which was just what transpired. Whilst waiting I made use of the local swimming pool and continued to train for the diving course in Australia, now booked and confirmed for mid-August. Local hikes included some quite spectacular walks along the coastal path at a time of high seas, and an inland trek to Lake Mangamahoe, a local park created when a dam was built in 1931 and the surrounding area landscaped and given to the people of New Plymouth. The Pukekura park, closer to the centre of town, provided some very fine walks as well as a decent cup of tea in the tea rooms in the centre of the park, particularly useful when the weather was changeable and getting soaked was an all too frequent occurance!
I spent many evenings in the hostel chatting to other backpackers, over a few beers, an opportunity to meet people from all over the world, and other evenings spent watching DVDs, of some films I'd not seen, with the same group of people. The local Arts Cinema had a one night showing of the French film, 'the Diving Bell and the Butterfly' a biographical film of one man's experience of dictating the story of his extreme disability (a stroke at 52 years). His only means of communication was by blinking one eye. A film very movingly portrayed, and I had not had a chance to see it in London.
Finally the weather cleared sufficiently to attempt the Pouakai circuit walk, the mountain range facing Mount Teranaki, where there would also be good views of Teranaki. The Pouakai range was another volcanic range thought to have been formed 250,000 years ago, 180,000 years before Mount Taranaki. The European colonists named it Mount Egmont, however the Moari people had named it Teranaki, one of the Maori sacred mountains in the area alongside Mount Tongiriro and Ngauruhoe and it is generally referred to as Teraniki today. The advice of DOC was to start at the Mangerei track, and avoid the higher altitudes of the Holly hut tramp starting at the Mount Egmont Visitor Centre, as the weather is very changeable at this time of the year and the track icy with some snow and also the wet weather had caused some significant landslips at the higher altitudes. The Mangerie track proved to be quite challenging as the track itself was poorly maintained by DOC and therefore extremely muddy in places with large areas of erosion. The lower half was very muddy and when I reached an altitude of 850m snow had fallen and started to fall again making the journey slower. A two and a half hour tramp took three and a quarter hours to reach the Pouakai hut, where I stayed the night. Climbing a further 50m brought me to a plateau with some spectalular views of Mount Teranaki where the sunset was bathing the mountains in incredible colours. By this time I was joined by Suzanne, a Czech tramper, and Mark, a teacher with ten 14 year old boys on an outward bound course who were spending the night in tents! The boys were well behaved but whenever possible sneaked into the hut to warm themselves by the fire.
The weather next morning was, in contrast to the previous day, diabolical, and conditions were blizzard-like. We waited for two hours with only a slight improvenment in the conditions and finally with great reluctance decided to go back down the Mangerei track and abandon the circuit, not a good day...
Whilst in New Plymouth I was able to make contact with Rena's friend, Geoff, and spent one night at his family home in Normandby. It was an enjoyable stay, and Geoff gave me the 'grand tour' of his caravan business. Wendy, his wife, made me feel very welcome and I stayed in the 'bach', their guest accommodation and though only there for 24 hours ate and drank my fill of good NZ hospitality!
Photo 1. Lake Mangamahoe
Photo 2. The Tasman Sea viewed from the Coastal Walk, this was taken from beyond the swimming pool in New Plymouth.
Photo 3. The lake at Pukekura Park, viewed from the tea rooms.
Photo 4. The Mangerie Track at the beginning of the snow line.
Photo 5. The sunset looking towards the sea, from the plateau above the Pouakai Hut.
Photo 6. Mount Teranaki, again taken from the plateau, facing east.

Abel Tasman and Nelson, final journeys in South Island

2009-05-08T00:51:00.000-07:00

Booked the Abel Tasman trek on arrival in Nelson, literally the city at the centre of New Zealand. Spending the first day in Nelson buying supplies for the trek and found it to be an attractive town but generally possessing a warmer climate with a lower annual rainfall than further south.
Started the 4 night trek on the 2nd May, staying in huts with fewer facilities than on other treks, so it was necessary to buy a small camping stove and fuel. The trek is another of the NZ 'Great Walks' probably the most famous and popular of these walks but differs from others I'd completed as being entirely a coastal walk situated in the Able Tasman National Park. As with other national parks in NZ there is very careful conservation of the environment which is greatly emphasised to trampers by the hut wardens. This tramp/trek was outside the main season (from the 1st May) and therefore hut bookings were much cheaper by about 40%. By the end of the first day I'd teamed up with 2 other trampers and we continued tramping together for 4 of the 5 days. Each days tramping took us through black beech and treefern dense forests with sudden spectacular views of sandy bays and inlets which most days we traversed and on 3 occasions negotiated tidal river crossings (at times with water up to and above our knees)as well as taking the opportunity to swim in the bays. The last day involved retracing our steps to the water taxi pick-up point and I had 2 hours in which to collect mussels for dinner that night, and very tasty they were too!
The final 2 days in Nelson were spent sightseeing, visiting the cathedral, hiking to the 'Centre of New Zealand' viewing point and then on to the Japanese Mizuli Gardens and finally in Nelson again making use of the local swimming pool facilities.
The YHA are able to book accommodation and arrange transport to other destinations with no booking fees so I booked my bus to Picton and from there the ferry to Wellington on the 9th May.
Photo 1. A view of Bark Bay from the footpath.
Photo 2. A view of the largest island and the city of Nelson in the distance.
Photo 3. Anchorage bay viewed from the hut, with the incoming tide.
Photo 4. Anchorage Bay at sunset.
Photo 5. Russell, a fellow tramper at Cleopatra's pool.
Photo 6. The forest at Bark Bay, in the evening light.
Photo 7. Sue at Cleopatra's Pool, after a brief paddle as the water was very cold!
Photo 8. A motley crew of trampers waiting for low tide on the 3rd day at Awaroa hut.
Photo 9. A weka bird, with attitude. I had to rescue my boot liners from his grasp and he also bit my undefended toe shortly afterwards.
Photo 10. Nelson viewed from the 'Centre of NZ' vantage point.
Photo 11. Wellington 'Old Cathedral', built entirely of New Zealand timbers and now deconsecrated but still has 5 functioning bells.
Photo 12. Wellington Anglican Cathedral, the foundation stone laid by Queen Elizabeth in 1953.
Photo 13. The old cathedral, again of wood including the bell tower.

Franz Josef and through to Nelson

2009-04-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

Franz Josef is a small town on the west coast of South Island, arriving there by the usual mode of transport, the Atomic Shuttle bus, was both cheap and fairly cheerful. I decided to fulfil one of my lifetime ambitions of a helicopter ride, with, in this location, the opportunity to go hiking on the Franz Josef Glacier can be combined. The whole experience was unforgettable and added to the experience the weather was perfect, with clear skies and not too cold even on the glacier! Hard to beat the experience but the next day went on a three and a half hour 'tramp' on a local hike where the good weather held and I met a Finnish girl for company at the tail end of the hike. The day finished with a relaxing bathe in the glacial hot spring pools on the edge of town where I managed to ease all the lactic acid out of my weary and quite sore calf muscles. After 3 nights at the YHA in Franz Josef I returned to Greymouth (the cap fits the name here) and took part in a tour of the local brewery, Monteiths, and had a fine sampling of their many brew varieties, alongside a couple from Bristol, who agreed with my analysis of the beer as being too cold but otherwise as good as many English beers. After the tour we had a buffet dinner in the local hostelry, all for 6$, with a further sampling of Monteiths, but in larger amounts!
After one night in Greymouth I headed to Arthurs Pass, in the mountainous Southern Alps, central South Island. By the time I arrived at 10am the weather had greatly deteriorated and continued in the same vein for the next 36 hours, with torrential rain and very poor visibility. Predictably the local DOC centre advised against any hiking on the high paths, so over the next 24 hours I undertook one to one and a half hour walks on local paths into the bush and visiting the local waterfall, the Devils' Cauldron, aptly named and in full spate, so very dramatic and worth the soaking. Fortunately the YHA had a convenient drying room so no problem drying all my gear, but it did confirm that my hiking boots had developed a leak which I had repaired in Christchurch 2 days later. Spent much of the time catching up on reading and visiting the cafe next door which served very good coffee. I had pre-booked the Tranz Alpine train to Christchurch, on various peoples recommendation but the weather prevented the passengers from seeing very much, other than the fact that the rivers were beginning to rise with the heavy rainfall. Next day Greymouth (west coast)had severe flooding in the town and some roads to Christchurch (east coast) were closed due to raised river levels.
It was good to be back in Christchurch, where I spent 3 nights, at the same YHA, Rolleston House, situated near the town centre. Sadly the weather caught up with me on the second day when the ride in the gondola and Port Hills walk were a washout though I managed to get a full refund, so a free gondola ride.... The weather stopped me from going bellringing at Papanui, by local bus, which didn't arrive and I had another soaking! However all was not lost as I was able to go to the theatre and see a new comedy "The God of Warm Beer", funny, but definitely an 'X' rated play with some pretty bad language though I'd been warned by the ticket office and decided to take the risk.
The final stopping off point in South Island was Nelson, where I made plans to do my last 'great walk' in the south, the Abel Tasman Walk, primarily a coastal walk this time. This takes up to 5 days and DOC gave the weather the OK so after one and a half days in Nelson I would start this walk on the 2nd May. Nelson is an attractive town that reminded me of Queenstown without the high prices, and the YHA one of the better ones. The cathedral has a ring of 8 chimed bells and when I return from the tramp will go and have a look. Also was able to sample the swimming pool, and get more dive training practice.
The photo's this time are in random order, so keep that in mind when viewing!
Photo 1. A Moari street musician in Nelson High street.
Photo 2. Nelson Cathedral, a surprisingly modern building with chimed bells. The organist was playing during my visit and she agreed to play the fugue she was playing for morning service on the following Sunday, as well as giving me details of the steeple keeper.
Photo 3. The Devils' Cauldron, Arthurs Pass.
Photo 4. The west coast and the Tasmin Sea near Greymouth.
Photo 5. Franz Josef River of waters draining from the glacier.
Photo 6. Post glacial hike lunch with fellow hikers.
Photo 7. Exploring one of the many glacial crevices with our excellent glacier guide.
Photo 8. Walking on glacial ice, once adapted to wearing crampons it became much easier.
Photo 9. The great height of some of the ice flows.
Photo 10. Landing and walking on the ice before putting on crampons was tricky!
Photo 11. The first view of the glacier from ground level.
Photo 12. View of the glacier as the helicopter came in to land on the ice.

Nurses Hiking in the Mount Cook National Park

2009-04-23T00:21:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Mount Cook Village in the early afternoon of the 16th April having again met Meeake, a young Danish nurse, whom I met on one of the days of the Kepler Walk, two weeks previously. We were quickly joined by an Italian nurse, living in Zurich, as well as a Japanese girl from Osaka, and, despite the persistant rain, went walking on 3 of the local 2-3 hour long hikes over the next two days. The local office of the Department of Conservation (DOC) advised the weather would be very wet until our third day when we decided to go for one of the toughest hikes in the area, the Mueller Hut hike. We had been warned, and no one exaggerated, it was harder than the Everest Base Camp trek. The terrain was tough, particularly the last 100 metres of the 1100 metre climb, climbing a steep scree face (3 steps forward and 2 back) however the panorama on reaching the summit was worthwhile and having lunch in the Mueller Hut sitting outside on the verandah with views of the Mueller glacier and the added spectacle of snow avalanches roaring down the mountain side opposite onto the glacier was a dramatic site indeed.
This 'tramp' was fittingly ended in the local bar where I was able to sample some Speights beer one of the south island local brews, my only reservation being the temperature - too cold, but nevertheless an entertaining evening. The next morning I journeyed by bus to Wanaka, for one night, before a journey to Greymouth, on the west coast of south island.
Photo's are yet again in reverse order...
Photo 1. Sampling the local brew with the intrepid crew, including Dow, the very kind Canadian who waited patiently for 2 hours for us to finish the tramp, and then drove 3 very tired girls to the local bar.
Photo 2. The Mueller Hut at 1400 metres. This was the 4th hut built here in the past 60 years, others were swept away in avalanches. All the components for this were helicoptered to the summit, 150m higher, and brought down by sled.
Photo 3. 2 of 3 nurses and Japanese friend on the swing bridge on the way up to Red Tarns on Day 2 of the Mount Cook Village stay.
Photo 4. The Mueller Glacier viewed from the hut.
Photo 5. Taking a rest break on the long climb with a view of Mount Cook in the background. Apparently Edmund Hillary gained much of his climbing experience on this peak before climbing Everest.
Photo 6. Mount Wakefield viewed from Mount Cook village.
Photo 7. Mount Cook with the Hooker Glacier and lake (with icebergs) in the foreground, taken as we climbed the Mueller Hut tramp.

Dunedin the Edinburgh of New Zealand

2009-04-14T22:43:00.000-07:00

Arriving in the city on Wednesday 8th April was in way of a contrast to Te Annau and Queenstown in that the city is not only larger but despite its' close location to the Pacific with attractive landscapes all around the city, and is more of an industrial city with some poorer neighbourhoods. The YHA is situated in one such neighbourhood in an old hospital, and is an attractive building with many nooks and crannies. The city has close connections with Scotland with many of the early settlers from Scotland and is built on a series of hills, boasting one of the steepest streets in NZ.
I rang the bells at the First Church of Otago, a presbyterian church, on Easter Sunday, a light ring of 8 bells. The treble is the bell situated furthest south of any bells, a good bell to ring but requiring a light touch. The ringers made another visiting English ringer and myself very welcome.
I stayed in Dunedin longer than originally planned due to the problem of having to wait for my new credit card to arrive from England, combined with the Easter weekend it took 7 days. The compensation was that I found a great olympic standard swimming pool with a diving pool which enabled me to continue training for the dive course in July/August in Australia. Also found a local train which followed the coast for a return 3 hour journey, sadly I assumed it was a steam train but as you can see from the picture the engine was a deisel but the carriages were from the late 19 and early 20th centuries, something of a compensation!
The second journey from Dunedin was a wildlife tour to the only mainland albatross colony on the peninsula, sadly the conditions were too calm for the adult albatross' to land and feed their chicks but we were able to see the chicks from the hide at the centre, but we visited a private beach near the peninsula and were able to see penguins and sea lions. We were able to walk within about 15 feet of both animals.
Photo's are shown , yet again in reverse order!
Photo 1. The Botanic Gardens, Dunedin. As with all similar gardens in NZ this is a fine example of the genre.
Photo 2. Octagonal telephone box in Dunedin main square, The Octagon, note the cathedral in the background (no bells).
Photo 3. Hooper Sea Lions on the beach at the peninsula, not chased this time.
Photo 4. A tame yellow eyed penguin, as with all the 10 or so penguins seen this one was walking away from the beach and would spend the night up on the hillside overlooking the beach, hidden amongst the low shrubs, away from his fellow penguins. These are not a sociable penguin, unlike the king penguins etc.
Photo 5. An albatross chick, sadly I was unable to get a clearer picture from the hide.
Photo 6 and 7. The view of the coastline from the train.
Photo 8. The deisel engine pulling the 'classic carriages', somewhat disappointing as expected a steam train!
Photo 9. The 'classic' carriage(s).
Photo 10. The sea lion on St Kilda beach, this one chased me, I ran.
Photo 11. St Kilda Beach, a great walk of about 6 km, a friend dropped me at the city cemetery, the furthest point from Dunedin.

2009-04-09T01:35:00.000-07:00

Stayed in Te Annau for 2 nights before setting out on the Kepler Trek. Cheated a bit ( about 10 kilometres off the total trek of 60km to be precise)and took the water taxi speedboat to Brod Bay and started walking from there, more fun that taking the shuttle bus. The first day was spent climbing about 850 metres uphill through rainforest, which I completed in 2 hours. The first hut took three and a half hours and I was joined by 3 fellow YHA trekkers, Mike, Luke and Nathan who persuaded me to climb Mount Luxmore, a further 250 metres, as it was still only mid afternoon amd perfect weather.
The effort was well worthwhile, the views over the lakes and mountains fantastic. Though very tired we played the usual card games (!) before collapsing into the bunks. The next day was even better, and we all made an effort to be up and see the sunrise. The remaining incline of 300 m brought us to the Jackson Peaks, walking across the peaks, with narrow ridges and steep drops either side for about 2 km required much concentration, people had been known to cross on their hands and knees in windy conditions! The first 4 hours of the 6 hour trek were above the treeline in the sub-alpine region, and the panoramic views awesome(sic). The final 2 hours were a steep descent through the rainforest to the Iris Burn hut at the base of the long decline, situated near a waterfall and deep bathing pool on the river. This was one of the few times were I declined the opportunity to swim since leaving England, but was completely without any energy at the end of 6 hours trekking.
The next day was a 6 hour tramp to the Moturua Hut, mainly through rainforest with some clearings where I ate lunch perched on rocks. The flat terrain was easy walking and I arrived at the hut before the others to be greeted by a scene of chaos and kids. Apparently as the hut was nearest to the Rainbow Reach exit, by 2 hours, and had been booked out by about 8 families with a total of 16 children - all under 8. The families made the trampers, 6 in total, feel very welcome and plied us with food and joined us for a new card game patiently explained to us all by an Israeli couple. Before the evenings games we swam in the lake and retreated to the beach to light a fire and read our books in relative peace! Needless to say the nights sleep was disturbed by bumps and bangs from the large bunkroom upstairs and the sound of heavy rain on the corrugated roof, not the best nights sleep ever.
Two of us set off for the last 2 hours of the trek in heavy rain, the other two went on ahead. We had a lift from one of the families at Rainbow Reach the 12 km into Te Annau. Signing in at the YHA again Mike and I went to view the 1/2 hour movie of the Fjiordland area filmed by a local helicopter pilot and his friends, so good that I bought the DVD. We met the others for dinner at the local pizza hut (buying in BYO wine) and celebrated a superb walk before we all went our separate ways.
I stayed in Te Annau for a further day, partly to sort out my credit card which had been stopped as it had been fraudulently used (in the UK!. Fortunately MINT were very quick to pick this up. Also I needed some time to relax and recoup after the trek. The next move was to Dunedin via a night in Queenstown, with the aim of ringing the bells at the 8 bell tower in the city with luck for Easter Sunday.

Photo 1. Atop Mount Luxmore
Photo 2. Sunrise from near the Luxmore Hut
Photo 3. First view of Lake Te Annau on from the Kepler Track
Photo 4. View of the Murchison Mountains from the beginning of the Jackson Peaks
Photo 5. Another kilometre or so along the Kepler looking at the the Murchison Mountains
Photo 6. Nearing the end of the Jackson Peaks and the view of the Kepler Mountains
Photo 7. The first sight of the rainforest on the decline to Iris Burn Hut. NB the tree line is clearly defined.
Photo 8. Moving down through the forest and glimpses of the mountain peaks where we climbed down.
Photo 9. The beginning of the rainforest at the treeline.
Photo 10. The great density of the rainforest and the presence of mosses and lichens is an indicator of the lack of pollution here.
Photo 11. The waterfall near Iris Burn Hut.
Photo 12. Iris Burn Hut as with all the huts had cold running water, flushing loos and gas for cooking. Food for 3 days and utensils were in our backpacks.
Photo 13. First views of Lake Motorua and beach.
Photo 14. Repeat of photo 9!!
Photo 15. The forest between Moturua and Rainbow Reach, where the forest is less dense.
Photo 16. Luke and me grabbing some peace and quiet from the noise and crowds in Motorua Hut
Photo 17. The river from Lake Moturoa to Lake Te Annau. This river was used in the Lord of the Rings, and named the Anduin River.
Photo 18. The farewell dinner at the Pizza restaurant in Te Annau. Left: Mike and me, Right: Luke and Nathan. A blindingly funny evening!

2009-03-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

It has been a hectic journey from Bangkok to Sydney and then onwards to Christchurch, NZ. My question was "if you had one day in Sydney what would you do?" the advice of an Aussie fellow traveller was to take a ferry round the harbour and see the city from the water, so for the princely sum of 10 dollars I did. The city panorama was brilliant and after an hour or so visited the opera house where I could have bought a ticket for Die Fledermaus for 250 dollars.....
Arriving in Christchurch the airport shuttle dropped me outside the YHA where I stayed for 6 nights and met some interesting people including fellow trekkers who advised me were to obtain the best deals, mainly through the Department of Conservation website. Was able to ring the bells for evensong at Christchurch Cathedral, bells that were very similar in many ways to Lincoln Cathedral and most were either Taylors or some older Warnes(?) bells. Christchurch is a very attractive garden city with a large botanic garden where I was able to carry on with my walking training every morning. The museum had a comprehensive Antarctic Expeditions display from the time of Scott until the present day, some interesting geological exhibits and a clear history of the Maori people. I spent many hours at the museum and also discovered the local swimming pool with senior citizen rates(!) and included jacuzzi and steam rooms in the price. Everything is very well cared for in NZ and therefore everywhere is clean and litter free, quite a contrast after 5 months in countries where those issues had if anything only just begun to be addressed. I spent a day in Akorua, about a 3 hour coach drive from Christchurch, where I had booked a "swim" with Hector dolphins (the smallest dolphin in the world and also an endangered species. A bumpy ride on a speedboat took 8 of us out into the mouth of the river, to the Pacific Ocean where we were able to get into the water (with wetsuits, as pretty chilly) and watch the dolphins swim around us. Had a great time and just avoided being sea sick by climbing into the water first and it went away!
A 6 hour bus journey took me to Queenstown where I again stayed at a YHA (decided to join the organisation as the accommodation in NZ and Australia is of a high standard - and inexpensive). My first trek in NZ, the Routeburn, one of the NZ 'Great Walks'starting point was from Queenstown and I decided to trek as an independant rather than guided as it was 6 times less expensive and the routes are clearly signed. The weather was poor, raining but with a temperature of about 18C and as all the accommodation huts had been booked for the 4 days I went anyway. The trek was 32 km long through fjiord forests and up to sub-alpine altitudes, about 1250m and all in one of the many NZ national parks. Conservation of the environment is very high on the agenda here to the point were trekkers (aka trampers in NZ) are issued with waste bags and expected to bring all their rubbish out. The trek was, for me, the wettest I've ever been on, my boots were soaked through but we were able to dry our socks etc on drying racks over the coal stoves in the huts. As in the Nepalese treks most evenings were spent playing cards,usually a variant of 'shithead' as played in Nepal, all highly entertaining particularly when played in a large group. Most huts were full to capacity despite the weather so there were no shortages of players. Cooking was on gas stoves, usually dried food (all carried in our backpacks, no porters - heaven forbid) and accommodation on bunks in unisex bunk rooms, and washing in cold water but flushing loos, thank goodness. Sadly saw only a little of the scenery but enjoyed the experience nevertheless and finished by being collected by coach and cruising on Milford Sound. The coach was full of tourists from Queenstown and on boarding I noticed a lack of enthusiasm in giving me a place to sit, I had been warned however that I would be one of the great unwashed after trekking and there may be a reaction to this!
The next day I caught the local bus to Te Anau where after a 2 days rest I would attempt the Kepler Trek. A shorter journey of 3 hours meant there was time to explore Te Anau and stock up on food for the YHA and the trek. This small lakeside town (on Lake Te Anau)must be one of the prettiest towns around and even the air smelled perfumed). The YHA is also one of the best I've stayed in and again full of a mixture of backpackers, families, both young and old.
Photo 1. Christchurch Cathedral
Photo 2. View of Akorua Sound on Banks Peninsula (70km from Christchurch)
Photo 3. First views of Murchison Mountains on Routeburn Trail
Photo 4. Routeburn Falls hut, first nights' stay on trail
Photo 5. Routeburn Falls in full speight after heavy rain.
Photo 6. Lake MacKenzie close by is the MacKenzie Hut where I spent the last night. The hut warden, Clive,entertained us all greatly with his rich store of anecdotes of his 15 years as a warden.
Photo 7. The first view of Milford Sound from the cruise boat. Waterfalls, waterfalls and lots more!
Photo 8. View of Lake Te Anau and part of the rainforest of Kepler Mountains
Photo 9. This requires no introductions! Though it should have been number one!

2009-03-15T02:47:00.000-07:00

Finally managed to take a minibus day trip to the Golden Triangle, stopping at all points on the way. Met 2 more Aussie girls on this trip and am hoping to meet them in Australia. We stopped at the hot springs (not nearly as extensive as the Tatopani springs in Nepal) and were able to soak our feet in a footbath of springwater. We spent time at the White Temple, a very beautiful new temple designed and largely built by one man, and still being extended. The trip included a buffet lunch, very much enjoyed by all of us, 90% went back for seconds and even thirds!
The Golden Triangle, (from the viewpoint you can see 3 countries, Laos, Burma and of course Thailand) was worth seeing. Other sights seen included the ruins of the ancient city of Chang Saen. We would not have stopped there had I not insisted, having read about it in the guidebook! The final visit was to an Akha hill tribal village, (the same tribe I'd visited and stayed overnight with on my Chang Rai based trek) fortunately we only stayed for half an hour but were thoroughly harassed by villagers selling bric a brac, most of which was the same as at the various night markets, very little made by the villagers themselves, and mostly imported from Burma. This day trip of 600 km was good value for money and finished by delivering each of us to our respective doors by about 21.30.
Other than this day away am spending time preparing for New Zealand and swimming most mornings as well as making farewells to various people I have met in Chang Mai.
The night sleeper train is booked to Bangkok for Tuesday 17th March and fly to Sydney and then on to Christchurch, NZ arriving there on 19th.

Photo 1. Vendors cooking eggs in the hot springs
Photo 2. The White Temple
Photo 3. Closer details of some of the stone craft at the White Temple.
Photo 4. The Aussie and English contingent at the Golden Triangle.
Photo 5. The Golden Triangle, 3 countries visible in the background.
Photo 6. The Ancient Stupa (? 12th century) at Chang Saen
Photo 7. The famously welcoming Gekko Bar in Chang Mai

2009-03-10T03:02:00.000-07:00

Sue, Liam and I chose to fly into Cambodia as we had been warned that walking across the border could be problemmatic. Flying from Ventiane to Siem Reap brought us within tuk-tuk (taxi) distance of Angkhor Wat and we wasted no time in buying our 3 day pass giving us access to the whole site, Angkor Wat being only a small part of it. The ruins include Angkor Tom, the ruins of cities, including libraries and temples. It was also possible to explore some of the more peripheral sites, such as, Ta Prom, and Ta Kao. One evening was spent seeing Angkor Wat from a hilltop temple nearby, where most views of this Wat are taken. Again the whole experience was awe inspiring, especially as you were able to inspect the ruins quite freely, unlike in England where health and safety is paramount and the result is a more anodyne experience. The only sadness was in the damage done to the sites during the Khmer Rouge era and their deliberate destruction of many of the temples (they tried to eradicate religious sites, be they Hindu or Buddhist), and also after this era, much looting happened in the early 1990's.
I was able to see most of the significant ruins in 3 days, and evenings were spent visiting the night market and dining at a variety of restaurants in the centre of Siem Reap. It was also possible to buy some more secondhand books in the town centre and as in most other places visited you were able to part exchange books.
Travelling to Phnom Penh by bus was a 6 hour journey, in the relative comfort of airconditioning and with the bonus of adequate leg room! My original plan was to only visit Laos this time, and Cambodia (and Vietnam, discounted in the end as outside my budget) later, so booked only 2 nights in a reasonably priced hotel with the intention of visiting the Killing Field site (15 km outside Phnom Penh) and S21(the Genocide Museum, in Phnom Penh itself) in one day. Found a tuk-tuk driver who agreed a good price, and steeled myself to visit these sites, and pay my respects to the memory of the 2 million (the figures quoted are different, depending on their source)Cambodians and some foreigners killed by the Khmer Rouge. An estimated 1/4 of the population was wiped out in their ethnic cleansing genocide. Coincidentally the trial of some of the perpetrators had started the week I was visiting Cambodia. The experience was a harrowing one, but worthwhile and I flew back to Chang Mai with only brief 2 hour stopover at Bangkok.
It was good to be back in Chang Mai (also much cooler than Cambodia) after 18 days of travelling which had started out as a visit to Laos of only 10 days. I now have the opportunity to regroup, a daily swim, and time to plan accommodation in New Zealand around the 2 treks already booked. Unfortunately the extra days away from Chang Mai meant that my camera batteries ran out and I was unable to take photo's of other parts of Angkhor (though had not planned on taking photo's of the Genocide sites, out of respect for the dead). However Sue and Liam are sending a disk of their photo's to England at a later date.

Photo 1. Finally reached Ankhor Wat.
Photo 2. Ankhor Wat.
Photo 3. One of the galleries encircling the temple of Angkor Wat.
Photo 4. The scale of this world heritage site is beyond belief and this is one very small part of it..
Photo 5. This frieze encompasses the whole of the actual temple of Angkor Wat

2009-03-03T18:29:00.000-08:00

Chang Khong, on the Mekong River and the border between Thailand and Laos, is a 6 hour bus ride from Chang Mai. A journey which was fairly comfortable and included the always essential, air conditioning. Quickly found a cheap and clean hotel for the night, and booked a 'slow boat' journey from Hui Xiang, on the opposite bank of the Mekong, in Laos. This was a 2 day journey on the Mekong river to Luang Prabang with a one night stopover at Pak Beng, both days involved 7 to 8 hours on the boat. I joined forces with a young Australian couple, and we subsequently travelled together through Laos and Cambodia, it was fun being with younger people again and I took part in some activities I might not otherwise have attempted, for example, swinging over a river on a rope swing and jumping 10 metres into the river, very exhilerating! (See photo, later).The boat journey took us through some unspoilt sub tropical forest, lightly populated, and also with many steep sided rocky hills and small attractive sandy beaches, some of which were used to grow crops of mainly vegetables. The main activity by local people on this stretch of the river was fishing, usually in the early evening, from small hand made boats powered by small engines.
Despite the rather cramped conditions on the boat I met many fellow travellers and gained a lot of information re some of the places I am travelling to over the next year or so. We stayed in Luang Prabang for 3 days, and enjoyed the local sights, including the very fine Wat (which had 'Buddha's 7 ft footprint') set on the hill overlooking the town. Luang is one of the cleanest and prettiest towns I've visited so far and I'd recommend it as being well worth a visit, the people are also friendly and helpful. The Night Market was the best yet and there were many restaurants serving food from many countries and of course Lao food which has strong French influence with a good culinary reputation, particularly in Luang Prabang. We visited the 7 tier waterfall 15 km outside the town, by tuk-tuk, and swam at 2 of the levels and swung from ropes into the second pool (see photo's).
The next town of Vang Vieng was again by a 7 hour minibus journey, a very uncomfortable experience with frequent stops as the driver stopped to buy his groceries at local markets much to mine and many of my fellow passengers irritation. Vang Vieng was a small unattractive town, though surrounded by spectacular limestone cliffs with many accessible caves. The most popular activity there is 'tubing' ie travelling 4km or so back down river to the town in a tractor inner tube and stopping off at bars on the riverbanks (they pull you in by rope) where you can also jump from a 15 or so metre high platform by swing and fall into the river..... great fun if so inclined, I managed 2 jumps in 2 days, Sue and Liam jumped from every swing at every bar on the way down, a not inconsiderable feat. Vang Vieng is also the most hedonistic place I've yet visited, it is full of young people from all over the world, and sports more bars in the high street than anywhere else of its size (population of 30,000), so if you like peace and quiet, avoid it. We also spent a day visiting caves were you could swim in underground lagoons (we did) and climb over rocks and through narrow spaces to see stalactites and stalactmites in cavernous caves that could only be viewed by torchlight, absolutely spectacular, and my photos do not do them justice! We finished this day kayaking 8 km downriver back to Vang Vieng, passing people tubing on the way. Despite an energetic 2 days we hired bikes on the 3rd day and cycled 3km out of town to explore more caves, that were equally spectacular.
After 4 days in Vang Vieng, I then travelled (again by bus, but not minibus) to Ventiane, the capital of Laos, and spent one day sightseeing local Wats and the Laos equivalent of the Arch de Triomph (see photos and ?correct spelling). The hotel was a bit more expensive than elsewhere in Laos, but comfortable and peaceful after Vang Vieng. The food in Ventiane was international and we finished our stay in Lao with Italian food and some decent wine.
I decided to fly to Cambodia, as it was, apparently, easier to go through immigration and sort out a visa at an airport as some people had reported problems at the border crossings undertaken on foot.
List of Photos (unfortunately in reverse order to events!):
Photo 1 One of the many impressive fountains in Ventiane
Photo 2 The only floodlit caves near Vang Vieng
Photo 3 The swing over the river, I had only just swung and jumped.
Photo 4Trekking through jungle to the limestone caves near Vang Vieng
Photo 5 Last dinner in Luang Prabang, with Sue and Liam - the food was very good!.
Photo 6 Part of the 7 tier wwaterfall near Luang Prabang
Photo 7 The Reclining Buddha at the Wat on the hill overlooking Luang Prabang
Photo 8 Breakfast in a cafe overlooking the Mekong at Luang Prabang
Photo 9 A small village on the Mekong
Photo 10 My first view of the Mekong River, taken from Chang Khong, the opposite bank is Laos

2009-02-18T02:09:00.000-08:00

Chang Rai was only a 3 hour bus journey north of Chang Mai. The buses in Thailand are cheap and efficient and also air-conditioned, which is essential in the current and typical heat. Booked a hotel with a swimming pool which proved to be an excellent choice and only a 30 minute walk into the centre of town. Met a couple of fellow travellers poolside and spent time in the evenings visiting the night market that also had a cheap and cheerful food court in the centre with free entertainment. This market is cheaper than Chang Mai with a larger selection of food and is set in much pleasanter surroundings with more space and less hassle from stall holders! The Hilltribe Museum was a worthwhile place to visit, not only informative about the various tribes but also specialised in providing 'ethical' treks that tried to avoid exploitation of the hilltribe people. Booked a 3 day/2 night trek with 5 other trekkers from Germany, Holland and a couple from Eire. The guide, Goy, was a member of the Yao tribe and very knowledgeable, and also spoke good English. The trek was mainly through tropical forest, much up and down hill climbing starting with a long tail boat ride up river to the elephant camp followed by an elephant ride (my second also left me with a tender spot on my backWe stayed in 2 villages at night, in mixed dormitories, and ate tasty basic Thai food, cooked by our guide. One lunch was had in the forest cooked using bamboo utensils and plates etc and followed by a swim in a waterfall. We all played cards in the evenings and generally got on well together as a group, drinking a lot of beer together. The final day was spent journeying to the hot springs, and relaxing there followed by a pick up truck ride back into Chang Rai. Though a bit more expensive a trek than the Chang Mai based one it was very worthwhile experience with a better quality guide and organisation. Am unable include pictures of this trek until return to Chang Mai.
Photo 1. The Akha Hilltribe village were we stayed the first night of the trek.
Photo 2. Swimming in the waterfall visited on the trek.
Photo 3 and 4. Our guide made utensils from bamboo for our forest lunch on the final day of the trek.
Photo 5. The jungle view from the first hill climbed on the trek.
Photo 6. A boatload of intrepid trekkers.
Photo 7. Wat Phrau Kew, the principle wat of Chang Rai.

2009-02-10T23:51:00.000-08:00

The weather varies very little and continues to be sunny and warm, usually reaching 30C most days. Everyday have made full use of the local outdoor swimming pool which also has an excellent restaurant serving good Thai and English food at a very reasonable cost. Whilst in Chang Mai have managed to find a reasonable optician where I have been able to replace both pairs of specs (one pair lost while trekking in Nepal) at a fifth of the cost in England and this included a free eye test.

Staying in Andreen and Martin's condominium has provided me with a good base for Thailand and also boasts a bistro on the ground floor with free internet access. Our respective stays in Thailand overlapped by a few days , this enabled my hosts to show me significant places in the city, including the night market and good eating places, for example the Gekko Bar, run by an ebullient American, and some riverside restaurants. Having a base in Thailand that is situated in the north of the country whilst staying here makes a lot of difference enabling me to relax between travelling to other places such as Chang Rai, Laos or Cambodia. Northern Thailand is also cooler than the more popular southern part of the country and slightly less 'touristy'. Whilst in Chang Mai I managed to acquire a ticket for a piano concert which was part of the Chang Mai Music Festival. Met a number of ex-pat Brits who gave me some useful ideas for places to visit in Laos. The concert was a showcase for 3 music students from Korea, all of whom played to a very high standard in a concert of music from the Romantic era ie Grieg, Tchiakovsky and my favourite composer, Chopin.
Trekking in Thailand tends to be for shorter periods than Nepal so a 3 day trek to the hill tribal areas in the mainly jungle area typical of Northern Thailand was a great experience, but with less trekking than I have been used to.Experienced my first elephant ride , swim in a pool by a waterfall and finally a bamboo raft ride through rapids as well as trekking, all in the space of 3 days. The first night was in a hill tribe village of the Karen people, where we were made to feel very welcome. The villagers lit a bonfire and gave an impromptu rendering of their traditional songs, and we were expected to reciprocate with some of our own (I sang 'Amazing Grace' jointly with a Canadian fellow nurse). The second night was in the jungle in huts at the side of the waterfall, falling asleep to the sound of the fall.
Finally before leaving Chang Mai for a visit to Chang Rai I visited the flower festival which took place around the old town moat, the parade taking most of the morning to complete! A really spectacularly colourful occasion where I was able to take lots of photo's.

Photo 1 Tuk-tuk 'float' at flower festival

Photo 2. Start of parade , somewhat disappointing!

Photo 3 Waterfall close by Karen village. We slept in huts at the side of the falls

Photo 4. Chang Masi flower festival, leading float.

Photo 5. Sue at waterfall pool, cooling off.

Photo 6. Karen House (slept here) , hilltribe village.

Photo 7. Sue and fellow trekker feeding elephant.

2009-01-30T01:22:00.000-08:00

Again an uncomplicated journey to Chang Mai, however would have travelled by train were it possible but Chinese New Year meant all sleepers booked out and sitting for 15 hours on a train had little appeal.Before Andreen and Martin left for England they gave me a guided tour of the city and we enjoyed a number of excellent meals, usually in restaurants by the river, excepting their favourite bar 'The Gekko' managed by an ebullient American by the name of Rudi and situated downtown.
Photo 2 Andreen and Sue enjoying cocktails at The Riverside Restaurant, Chang Mai
Photo 1 Martin and a beer at same venue.

2009-01-30T01:07:00.001-08:00

Arrived on the 21st following a punctual flight from Delhi. Stayed in Holiday Inn where stayed 10 years ago with colleagues on way to a conference in Melbourne. Was immediately struck with how much Bangkok has changed. It is now much cleaner with an efficient transport system, a metro and a skytrain and walkways (linked to the skytrain) that separate pedestrians from traffic. The hotel had a decent outdoor pool so swam twice a day, in my 2 day stay in Bangkok. A useful means of staying cool as the temperature was in the 30'sC and humid, though every building has airconditioning to compensate. Also used the river ferries to travel around and visited Wat Pho, the reclining buddha temple, very beautiful and also many elaborately decorated Stupas.Food was fairly cheap and Thai food as good as I remember, as long as you check the spicieness when ordering!
Flew from Bangkok to Changmai on the 23rd to meet Andreen and Martin from England and stay in their condminium when they return to England on 26th January.

2009-01-25T01:24:00.000-08:00

To me a new city excepting the previously bad experience of the transit lounge on the way to Kathmandu. Good news, the hotel sent a car to collect me from the airport. Smarter hotel than previous cities with comfortable facilities which sadly did not include a swimming pool, but that would send it into a higher cost bracket and Delhi is very expensive these days.
Managed to visit the last day of the Faberge exhibition at the National Museum, very well displayed and accessible exhibits which were breathtakingly fine examples of jewellery and artifacts which naturally included the 'eggs'.
Second of the 2 full days in Delhi was able to find a travel agent who gave me a good deal to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Spent day being driven to Agra (400km round trip), and with a guide was shown round the Taj. Many predominantly Indians also visiting but managed to appreciate the beauty of this monument and the story behind it, spending 2 1/2 hours there. Resisted the temptation to buy momentoes of visit (an awful lot of tat)but guide took many photo's with my camera. On returning to Delhi had a pleasant dinner with the owner of the travel agency at a restaurant off the tourist beat. Delhi is on a parr with Kathmandu for being crowded and extremely dirty, which provided me with the perfect 'excuse' to stay in a decent hotel. The next day flew to Bangkok.

2009-01-13T22:08:00.001-08:00

A brilliant 10 day trek and am now back in Pokhara for 3 days R&R before flying to Delhi on the 17th January. The trek was with an excellent guide, Hari, an ideal companion for a venture that took us up to 3,800m to Muktinath, through and above the alpine region to barren open landscapes with the most amazing rock formations I've ever seen. Across ex-glacial river valleys were you had clear views of some of the highest mountains (Dhailagiri, Nilgiri and Annapurna1,2,3,4 peaks) in the Himalayas. The whole area, previously a seabed, was very reminiscent of the Dorset Jurassic coast, and the stones lying everywhere were identical to Dorset. Most of the gift shops in the towns and (mainly) villages we passed through sold fossils collected from the surrounding hills and river beds. Hand made scarves from sheep and wool were sold directly from the wooden looms, often placed outside the houses, so you were able to watch the scarves being woven as well as the wool being 'carded' at the beginning of the process.
I purchased one such scarf and wore it round my waist to keep warm, particularly in the mornings, which were often below freezing at the beginning of the days trek. This trek forms part of the Annapurna circuit trek as you would often see trekkers going up or down from Muktinath to Jomsom or Beni. Sadly people were not trekking on this section as much as going by jeep on very basic roads to start trekking higher up from Muktinath. The local villages were adversely effected, economically, by this change and many of the tea/guest houses were seeing significant falls in the number of trekkers/tourists staying overnight. Muktinath is a destination for Hindu pilgrims, rather akin to Mecca for Muslims. A very large and impressive shrine rivalled only by the Buddhist shrine and monastery next door. Muktinath as a place was disappointing and Kagbeni, the next town down, far more memorable and I took many photo's of this town with it's ancient mud walled fort. It also snowed in Muktinath so we beat a hasty retreat the next morning before the paths became icy. We spent 2 days staying at Tatopani on the way down, spending as much time as possible in the hot springs, this time I remembered a swimming costume!
Given that the general recommendation is not to eat meat the higher the altitude as it is not very fresh, arriving back in Pokhara was celebrated by a large meal of meat and much fresh salad.
Photo 1 Hari My excellent guide on trek. Sitting on a rooftop while waiting for lunch. The roof is used to store wood for the winter - the more wood the richer you are seen to be.
Photo 2 In Marpha, the center of apple growing in Nepal. They make an excellent cider and an apple brandy (very potent)
View of Mount Dhailagiri about 7th or 8th highest in world.
Photo 3 Sandstone rock with many caves, some occupied until 16th Century.
Photo 4 Local weaver in village on way to final stop at Muktinath. Many women weave out in the open as even in ainter the afternoons are warm, with temperatures reaching the low 20C. Bought a yak and sheep wool scarf from her.
Photo 5 & 6 Views sown the valley from Kagbeni with Nilgiri on the left (no 5)

2009-01-03T03:35:00.001-08:00

Back in Pokhara today and will be flying to Jomsom for a final 10 day trek in Nepal before flying to India on the 17th January. Previous 4 days spent at the Osho centre retreat sitting on my backside and meditating alongside a once a day session of yoga starting at 07.30. The centre is situated in the subtropical forest surrounding the Kathmandu Valley, very beautiful and lush within the sound of a waterfall. Many westerners as well as Nepali people staying. The accommodation was very comfortable and even included air conditioning, unheard of here, though availability was dependant on 12 hour a day power cuts (referred to here as 'power loading!). The 20 euro's a day included 3 meals albeit vegan, but managed to adjust to the lack of meat and dairy products. We celebrated New Year with a bonfire and music in the forest, this included an excellent cake made without eggs or butter, baked for the occasion.
After 4 days felt suitably relaxed and ready to cope with the final trek and yet again made the 6 hour + bus journey to Pokhara.

2008-12-27T00:48:00.000-08:00

Made to (5,350m)on the 20th December A spectaaacular journey that was personally the hardest physical challenge ever. Managed to avoid altitude sickness as we acclimatised at 2 points along the way. Despite the lack of evidence of a base camp('tis winter and climbing Everest starts again in the spring), therefore the ground was shale, no snow, but the most arresting feature was the glacial ice formations at the bottom of the incline. Alongside the absolute silence the colours of the formations were highlighted by the sun shining through, absolutely unforgettable. The base camp is also on the Khumba Glacier but the site is covered in shale and dust and only identifiable as a glacier if you scrape away the layers or slip on the ice, which needless to say I did with great style!
We (my guide Phodi and Nema, the porter) came down to Lukla by the 26th and until then the weather held and was clear and sunny - daytime temperatures reached 20C but nighttime went down to -15C at the highest lodge/tea house, 3 hours from base camp. Fortunately had taken advice from Pam and Steve (archers) and purchased a down jacket which I wore day and night (after trekking) though it was a tight squeeze in the sleeping bag but necessary for survival. Christmas Day was celebrated whilst walking the last 3 hours to Lukla, I gave various renditions of Christmas carols I could remember the words to.At Lukla the weather broke and it sleeted and froze, I was convinced I'd be stuck for days before a plane could land, but my luck held and I flew out the next morning. The experience of taking off from Lukla was pretty similar to how I imagine it would be taking off from an aircraft carrier, the runway was the same length and dropped away to nothing at the end. Took full advantage of looking through the cockpit window as this 16 seater Douglas 227 (?) took off as it did not even have a curtain between the pilot and passengers. We waited to board hanging around on the tarmac watching other similar planes land - all very informal and in keeping with the Nepali 'Heath Robinson principle. After one days R&R will be going to a 4 day retreat run by the Osho organisation at Topoban, a few miles outside Kathmandu, and then a final 10 day trek to Jomsom before India. Am looking forward to meeting some of the people from the Everest trek at Pokhara, for dinner at the Jazz Cafe at Lakeside on the 3rd before flying to Jomson. Have many photo's of the amazing scenery from this trek and will be including them when I reach Thailand.
Photo 1 Everest Memorial to a group of climbers who died on Everest, sadly there are many of these in a 'Memorial Park" on the way to the last village, Gorak Shep, on the way to base camp.
Photo 2 Lukla Airport and the 16 seater Douglas 227 that flew me down to Kathmandu
Photo 3 Lukla Airport Very small and very cold!
Photo 4 Sagarmatha Gate (on its side, unable to right it!)The entrance to the National Park, Everest is part of this park.
Photo 5 Everest (middle peak) on way to EBC from Gorak Shep, viewed from about 5,300m. elevation.

Greetings

2008-12-11T00:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas and New Year

Greetings to all my friends and family who have supported me on this Journey

My best wishes to you and I will be thinking of you all.

Much love and best wishes

Sue

2008-12-10T01:55:00.000-08:00

Finally started this 20 day trek at 05.30 on 8th December - my guide Reshi collected me from the Kathmandu Peace Guest House (am tending to stay there in- between treks etc) at thios godforsaken hour to catch the plane to Lukla. Said plane didn't take off until 07 15 as they waited for dawn and clear skies as the Nepali system does not have radar, as well as a very short runway at Lukla. We were the only 2 passengers on the plane and the other 12 seats were taken up with cargo - this whole country runs on the 'Heath Robinson' principle! Landing was sudden and bumpy but unlike some landings we did not bounce once. Spectacular views as we climbed up through valleys, often we were lower than the mountain tops.

We met our porter at Lukla after having grabbed our bags from the trolly and without much ado we made for a guest house, had breakfast and were off, first stop Phadring, only a 31/2 hr hike, at 3218m whereas Lukla is 3,300m. Day 3 we arrive at Namche Bazar at 3,600m following our first view of Everest. Unfortunately the first guide got sick and I have another guide, Phadi, a pleasant 24 year old with more than 30 treks to Everest behind him, and also he was involved in the organising the Skydive from 29,000ft of 38 skydivers, landing at Namche Bazar heliport.

The prospects of reaching base camp are good as the weather is holding and it is sunny and warm during the afternoon, and the high pressure system is predicted to last for the next week or so. If all goes well we should reach base camp on the 19th December. Succeeded and the weather held, but the effort was very great and lost 1/2 stone in the process, purely through the effort of breathing!
Photo 1 Ice flows at EBC (Khumba glacier)
Photo 2 The site of EBC NB No snow at this time of year - or tents.
Photo 3 Crazy ex-British soldier - plays a mean game of poker!
Photo 4 Rome Cathedral (should be elsewhere but unable to change it....)
Photo 5 Everest (middle peak) from viewpoint of Kala Pattar

2008-12-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

May have confused anyone reading the Pokhara blog entry re Everest, the mountain visiblke from Pokhara is Machupuccre known locally as 'Fishtail' , Everest is much further East and will be, if all goes well, trekking to within sight of it by the 14th - 15th December. Am back in Kathmandu amidst the smog and pollution - definitely a city that could have survived better without the internal combustion engine. 5 days here and am preparing for a 20 day trek to Everest base Camp (EBC), my guide has a greatly improved , compared to the last one, command of the English language. Temperatures here have dropped since I first came in October, though midday it is about 21C, but nighttime is chilly. Must not complain as it has been in the 30's centigrade up until a week or so ago in Pokhara.
Have had an opportunity to catch up with some Nepali friends I met in October, and have had the chance to visit some of the sights of Kathmandu and the surrounding countryside, from the back of a motorbike, again!

2008-12-02T01:50:00.001-08:00

A 14 day trek from Pokhara to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) started on 18th November with high hopes of success, sadly the weather was against us and at Himalay (2900m) a blizzard caught us out and the 3 of us (my guide, Diness and porter, Dil) attempted to move upwards towards Duarali but the ice and snow were too difficult to traverse and at 3,200m we turned back. However the scenary was spectacular, alternating between forests of bamboo, banyan and conifers and lower down many fruiting banaana trees, as well as , much to my surprise, rhodedendrum trees. During the day we turned back the mountain rescue helicopter past us on its way to rescue some trekkers, we felt we had made the right decision.
The highlight of the remaining trek was Poon Hill at sunrise, which necessitated getting up at 04.45 to join a torchlight procession climbing 320m up the hill in time for the dawn. Our luck was in and the sky was clear and the stars were brighter than you will ever see them in the UK. At dawn we (there were about 200 people) were greeted by a view of many Himalayan peaks, including all 3 Annapurna peaks and the first shaft of sunlight as it caught the highest. See some of the many photo's of this when I can load them! On the climb down you could then see that the landscape was bathed in frost, lit by the newly risen sun, an unforgettable sight which some people here compare to being at ABC and argue it is a better view. During the trek we came across many varieties of butterflies, some , for example the small blues are common to the UK. The buzzard was also seen on more than one occasion, recognisable by their distinctive call, and today in Pokhara I saw many swallows flying around the Phew Lake.
The 15 day trek was very strenuous, climbing, descending and climbing again often more than 1000m ascending in a day. Accommodation was at 'tea houses' along the way, basic and with no hot water in most or you arrive too late for a hot shower as there is limited solar heated water and others beat you to it - a cold shower at 06 00 is an excellent wake up call to a sluggish body first thing! Nepal is fairly limited as to washing and toilet facilities, and you are continually being reminded not to go to the toilet whilst in the wild within 50m of a water course. This is not as easy as it sounds, as Nepal has a lot of water courses including some awe inspiring waterfalls. The country is still without electricity in many places or daily power cuts are common, so my wind-up torch has proved very useful.
We arrived back in Pokhara on 1st December, a day early, and my porter and guide left and I have spent time relaxing and catching up on emails etc. The hotel is luxurious compared to the last 2 weeks with a proper bathroom (perhaps more aptly described as a wet room) and a TV that spews out some dreadful Indian programmes but includes BBC world news, which I value. Whilst trekking I was able to tune in to the Indian vs England cricket , but sadly only on one occasion so do not know the final score - could someone let me know, probably best by email.
Tomorrow am taking the tourist bus to Kathmandu as opposed to the rough and tumble 0f the local bus. It takes 6 hours but for a little extra lunch is provided.
Am not looking forward to Kathmandu (for 5 days, before tackling Everest Base Camp for 20 days), due to the pollution levels being far higher in Kathmandu than Pokhara. Will probably be back to Pokhara if for no other reason than it has many great second hand bookshops which will do part exchanges. Whilst meeting people from all over the world is stimulating, am finding a quiet read of many books I have wanted to read and not had enough time, is also great.
Photo 1 view of Fishtail and Annapurna 1 Mountains from Phew Lake Pokhara
Photo 2 2/3 of way up to Annapurna Base Camp, about at Bamboo
Photo 3 The morning after the blizzard that sadly led to our turning back.
Photo 4. View of Fishtail Mountain from Sinewa, on the way back down.

2008-11-16T22:14:00.000-08:00

Much has happened since Kathmandu. Finished a13 day trek between Tressilu and Gorkha. Averaged 18 kilometres a day walking with my guide, Deepak, and a young porter, Ram. We walked up and down the undeveloped rural area of the Himalayan foothills, staying in cafes in villages or in farmhouses or barns. The conditions were quite primitive in some cases and most houses did not have running water (water from village tap) and the electricity supply was unreliable at best or non-existent. Most people had seen very few tourists, so the children were often quite excited by a pale skinned Brit with short hair, most people were welcoming. Washing was infrequent and basic as most people, men and women would wash themselves and their clothes at the village water tap, and there is quite a taboo about covering oneself so it was difficult, and at times frustrating, particularly after a long arduous trek in temperatures reaching 39c by mid afternoon.
The hillside farms are not mechanised as the steep inclines were terraced and many hillsides were forested with pine, banyan, banaanas and mandarin orange and papaya trees. Sadly my favourite fruit, mango, was out of season! Farm animals are plentiful, most farmers will own goats, now is currently the time of year for breeding and saw many 1 -2 day old kids. The main method of ploughing is using buffalo and they also provide milk, in rural areas diary cows are not seen. Have grown to like buffalo milk, fresh from the beast but boiled.Most people in Nepal own some land, even if urban dwellers, they will arrange for other family members to farm the land.
Took many photo's at this time though still no success with uploading photo's, internet cafe's here cannot cope.
Pokhara was reached on 15th November by bus from Gorkha which took 3 and a half hours, on a local bus - not the most comfortable but a real eye opener as to how most rural dwellers travel. The bus was always full of not only people but sacks of rice ('tis being harvested at the moment), various goods and chattels that the UK buses would not take!
Pokhara is a lovely town and the hotel is on the Lakeside area with a stunning view of Everest and Annapurna from my bedroom balcony. It's a much more cosmopolitan place tha Kathmandu as it the launch point for trekking to th above. Even had a pizza with Deepak before I changed guides and he went back to Kathmandu. I can't begin to describe how good it was after a diet of Nepali food with copious quantities of plain boiled rice and lentils. Am making the most of Pokhora before trekking to Annapurna base camp starting tomorrow and have purchased the obligatory down jacket as it is pretty cold up there , and managed to negiotiate a good price. Will be back in Pokhara on 2nd December, and then Kathmandu - so no further blogs until 2nd.
Photo 1ATATA bus: note the truck chassie, well suited to the poor roads
Photo 2 View of hydroelectric damn (built by the Indian Govt) and the countryside around Tressuli, W aNepal.
Photo 3 TATA Bus - where much of the Scunthorpe steel goes!
Photo 4 A typical haystack complete with a backview of Deepak, my guide.
Photo 5 An elderly Nepali couple, who gave up their beds for the night for us. No electricity or toilets or running water in the home (only at the village tap and communal loo).
Photo 6 A herd of buffalo wandering down the road. The only milk available in this area is fresh from the buffalo.
Photo7 A typical bridge crossing, this one was in better repair than many.
Photo 8 and 9 Staying in Deepaks village, Achone, with his brother and wife. The photo's are of aunts, cousins, 2nd cousins and family friend's, all of whom made me very welcome, even to the extend of lending me a sari, NB they are worn wrapped around the waist, unlike other areas where part of the fabric is worn over the shoulder,very comfortable in the heat.
Photo 10 nDeepak 'holding up' a maize stack, avoiding wandering goats and buffalo eating the winter supplies.

2008-10-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

Arrived on 29th October following an overlong journey from Rome, however at Delhi airport met a delightful Nepalese couple who have since then shared their Tihar "brothers' festival with me. The whole family have made me feel very welcome and with their business connections have facilitated, in a matter of days, a 32 day trek to Annapurna base camp at a reasonable price. Remal's family are attending the Hindu Temple today and have invited me, and tonight they are giving a dinner for me and others in their family who helped arrange the trek, to send us on our way on Monday (3rd).
The first full day in Kathmandu was spent on the back of a motorbike seeing the layout of this surprisingly large city. My guide took me to the 'Monkey Temple' a Buddhist temple on a hill overlooking the city which gives the appearance of being overun with red faced monkies. When approached they are not friendly, though they seem to live in relative harmony with the monks and the many dogs living at this enormous temple (one walled side is approximately 3/4 mile long).
Kathmandu is a surprising city in which to spend time, a mixture of third world facilities and environment and 21st century living. There is a great sense of activity in the narrow streets and the noise from car amd bike horns is incessant and loud. The motor bike dominates the mainly single lane roads which are largely dirt tracks or unrepaired metalled roads with enormous pot holes,that is, once you move off the main roads. Narrow roads with 3-4 storey buildings are crammed with vendors selling from small stalls or shops. There are many shops selling beautifully embroidered and colourful fabrics, and for trekkers, shops selling cheap kit - I purchased two walking poles for 1100 Nepal rupees (ten pounds ), but will not need a down jacket until Pokhara, for the higher altitudes. Other than these 2 items have managed to bring the right kit!
Walking back to the Kathmandu Peace Guest House in the early evenings has proved challenging as the electricity is cut in areas of the city, apparently on a rotational basis, and the experience is fairly hazardous due to motorbikes and cars and the lack of pavements.
Sadly the uploading of photo's is still proving difficult and annoyingly will need to wait for another time, in the meantime am tempted to place all photo's on a disc.
Given that the trek will mean the internet is inaccessible for much if not all of the time , it may be December before this is updated.
Photo 1&2 The Brothers and Sisters Festival at Ram Rimal's home.

2008-10-28T23:36:00.000-07:00

This 40-ish hour journey to Kathmandu consigns Rome to my memory file. A great experience despite the need for prophylaxis for strep meningitis when my room mate had a nasty episode. Fortunately 2 of us managed to persuade the ambulance crew that A was in need of treatment and was suffering more than 'flu symptoms!
The penultimate day in Rome was not finding the route to the Appian way but by default touring the Roman cathedral of San Giovanni. The cathedral's bronze doors were another example of the re-cycling of ancient Rome's artifacts.
My third attempt was successful in walking part of the Appian Way, the bonus was visiting the St Cecelia Catacombs. This experience finished the Rome visit on a high note.
Photo 1 The main Square in Kathmandu

2008-10-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

5 days in this city are fast disappearing.
The accommodation, whilst basic enables me to meet many young and older people (mainly young) also travelling . The dorm I'm sharing at the moment is a reflection of the Commonwealth, an Aussie, Kiwi, and Canadian, all are in the middle of their travels.
It reminds me of being in a YHA hostel with the added luxury of an en suite! So far have taken the tourist route of visiting the Colosseum, Forum and Trevi fountain in one day and the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St Pietra Basillica on the second day. Day 1 was spectacular and the Forum worth a second visit. The Vatican was breathtaking and took some time to absorb the truly amazing artwork.
Tomorrow will be a chance to visit the Appian Way and a catacombs if all goes well.
Achieved both and despit difficulty in locating catacombs did finally go down to level 2 of St Catherines catacombs after walking about 2 miles down the Appian Way from Circus Maximo.
Photo 6 The Trevi fountain
Photo 5 The palatine Hill with its jumble of palaces built one on top of another.
Photo 4 The Colosseum
Photo 3 The Roman Forum
Photo 2 The Appian Way
Photo 1 Leaving Rome for Nepal, Termini Stazioni.

2008-10-19T10:11:00.001-07:00

An interesting day spent bellringing and attending the St Mary's church service, my last in the country for some time. Following an hours walk along the River Thames, seeing herons, swans and cormorants, I reflected on some of the good memories of my grandchildren, Josh and Chloe, and my daughter, Kate, given that all is not well between us . Helped Josephine and others count monies for the Macmillan charity collection .
Josephine(sister-in-law) and Desmond have made me feel very welcome in their home for an unexpectedly long stay, given the delay in leaving on my travels. I am very grateful for their unstinting hospitality.
Have now booked 2 tours in Rome, for the Colosseum and the Vatican, and am relishing the thought of spending 5 days in Rome.

London pre-travel

2008-10-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

6 days in London staying with Josephine and Desmond in Barnes whilst waiting for the passport and visa. Spending time in Barnes is very much a reminder of the 11 years I have spent here whilst working in South London. Being here without working has a different feel to it and is infinitely more relaxing.
The two achievements today were booking the flight from Auckland NZ to Lima, Peru, am now booked for 2/3rds around the world, and the passport has now reached Grimsby and is on it's way to London. I can't begin to describe the relief after the trials and tribulations of the past 16 days, it has taken exactly one month to process!!
So now the fun can begin.... am flying to Rome on 22nd and then to Kathmandu on 29th October, all being well, that is.
Will be able to attend an ex-colleagues leaving party tomorrow and hope to ring the bells at Barnes church on Sunday, and in the meantime take advantage of the river walks along the Thames between now and Tuesday..

Dorset

2008-10-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

The coastal path and Durdle Dore

Dorset Journey

2008-10-11T08:37:00.000-07:00

6 days in sunny Dorset have been very relaxing and ennervating. Gareth has been an excellent host and we have taken advantage of the brilliant weather (average temp 22 C in October!) and walked part of the Dorset coastal path. Attending bellringing practice in Cattistock has enabled me to catch up with old friends in the area. Friday night supping a few beers with the ringers in the local hostelry reminds me of past times in the village with many happy memories.
The train to London is on Tuesday and the flight out to Rome on 16th October.

Travel beginnings -update

2008-10-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

Today is a good day. Promised arrival of passport and visa on Monday 13th October , plan C is to start by journey to Rome on 16th Oct. Sadly have had to cancel stay in Venice, but will leave that to another journey sometime in 2010.
My frustration levels have reduced and there has been enough time to recoup some losses whilst staying with Maggie in Grimsby - she has been a brick and given me the space and facilities to email etc to my hearts content. I have been asked to up the profile of the Grimsby stay by adding the following:
' best place - Grimsby;best view - Grimsby; best company - Grimsby; best humour - Grimsby'
- Maggie!!!
Yesterday we re-visited our childhood holiday memories and walked from Cleethorpes to Humberston fitties. It could be described as 'bracing' and Gareth, a Dorset person's perception as 'BIG SKY'.
Wednesday, 8th Oct will be travelling to Dorset for a 5 day stay, but more of that later...

2008-10-02T07:25:00.000-07:00

Today is not a good day, still no news of arrival of passport /india visa. 3 days before leaving UK, appears increasingly unlikely that will be delay in setting off on 6/10/08. However there is still 1 working day left. May need to activate Plan B starting Sunday!!

Train time

2008-09-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

Hi Lou,
Eurostar leaves at 12.30.

Travel Itinerary 6/10/08 to 1/4/10

2008-09-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

6/10/08

Travel Eurostar via Paris to Venice.
7 nights in Venice, sightseeing.

15/10/08

Train to Rome. 4 nights in Rome and vist Coliseum etc.

20/10/08

Fly to Delhi via Doha
5 nights in Delhi.

25/10/08

Fly to Kathmandu
Book treks including Everest base camp.

16/1/09

Fly to Delhi. 2 night stay.

18/1/09

Fly to Bangkok.
Overnight train to Chang Mi
Staying at friends flat as a base and visiting Wats in N Thailand, Cambodia, and possibly Laos

4/09

Fly to Christchurch NZ via Sydney
Trekking in Southern mountains
Travel; through South and North Island to Auckland, ringing at churches on the way

7/09

Fly from Auckland to Fiji

8/09
Fly to Brisbane.
Overland travel to Cairns and visit Great Barrier Reef

10/09
Fly to Lima via Santiago
Join party for Cusco to Machu Piccu trek.
Visit locality around Cusco.
Travel overland by train/bus to Aquitos, N. Peru
Amazon river journey to Belem at Amazon estuary
Travel overland from Belem to Rio

1/10

Belem to Rio de Janeiro
Stay in Rio with friends
2/10 Rio Carnival

4/10
Fly home

2008-09-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

Travel planning is a continuum that currently does not progress in an orderly forward direction. If only it were so easy, but it is not so.
Departure date is set for 6th October 2008, a month away from this posting.
Before this date a home is to be converted into a house for renting, work on said house is a game of 3 steps forward and 2 back.... But progress is being made.
The travel planning side is somewhat impaled on Indian and Nepalese visas. You do question the need for some of the information requested for the first visa, an example is, supply 2 referees based on the Indian subcontinent. Given the fact that it is the first time this area has been visited by me how the .... are you supposed to know anyone who can furnish you with their personal details.
However the travel bookings are looking more positive despite the re booking of a Delhi to Kathmandu flight 3 times with a subsequent price hike.
Finally the wind up to going is becoming a reality when you meet friends and acquiantances who remind you that this is the last time you will see them until April 2010.