I’ve been out to the town of Mindo for the weekend. Very different to Quito, very small and a simpler lifestyle. It’s a bit of a tourist town, as most people go there to see the waterfalls and wildlife. I went with two girls who are staying at my homestay – Becky [...]

Today I had my forth and final Spanish lesson – my head hurts, so much to take in!  Really enjoyed it though!  Not exactly fluent, but I can ask for directions, ask what things are, talk about myself, and order things in a restaurant!  All good, certainly helps as not too many folks speak English [...]

Arrived in Ecuadors capital city, Quito, mid-afternoon on Monday.  Flying in I got a great view of the city (Russ get a window seat coming in if you can) as the planes come in low almost brushing the rooftops.  The city is 2850m above sea level in the Andes and overlooked by lots of mountains [...]

Feeling a bit tender today, went out with a load of folks from the hostel last night to experience Santiagos nightlife!  Was really good, very lively and busy!  Think I got in about 4am, but then things didn’t get started until 10!  The beers not bad here either I can confirm, but not having any [...]

Wow February 16th was the longest day of my life! Think it lasted 40 hours from start to finish! The flight was eleven hours and I left Auckland at 17:25, I then landed in Santiago at 12:45 on the same day! I slept a bit on the plane though so didn’t feel [...]

Another month flies by!  Just about to head to the airport to catch my flight to South America!  I caught the bus four hours north from Rotorua to Auckland yesterday morning, returning me to when I started the NZ adventure.  Its been a brilliant month, NZ is a really great country, amazing scenery, friendly people, [...]

This town stinks!!! Literally, due to the large amount of geothermal activity in the area there is a lot of sulpher in the air, resulting in a ‘bad egg smell’! You get used to it after a while though, except at the geothermal parks where it is a little overpowering.  The town has been built [...]

Yesterday I travelled six hours by bus from Wellington to Taupo – a long journey but one I had to do at some point.  Taupo is a largish town in the centre of the North Island, at the north of Lake Taupo.  The lake is very large, 50km by 30km, with nice clean [...]

Today I caught the ferry across the Cook Strait (between  North and South Islands)  from Picton to Wellington.  I was up early to catch the bus from Motueka to Nelson, and then from there I caught another to Picton.  Travelling on route through NZ’s wine region, lots and lots of vineyards!  Apparently this is because [...]

Sorry to hear about all the snow back home, just to make you feel better it’s been absolutely scorching here for the past few days!!  I’ve spent the past two days sea kayaking around the Abel Tasman national park.  Paddling around in the  calm turquoise waters around the park has been excellent.

The sea is amazingly [...]