Cairns (reef snorkeling) - Days 107-110

After the euphoria of the Witsundays we were back on the road further north. Cairns was to be our base for the next three days from where we would visit the Great Barrier Reef again and also take a 2 day tour of the rain forest over the Gillies Mountain Range. Snorkeling the reef was a little more commercial this time around but, rewarding none the less. A short 45minute cruise from Cairns into the reef on a large catamaran with 60 odd people brought us to the 1st of 2 snorkeling spots for the day. We spent an hour or so in the water (which is now a lot warmer).

There seems to an element of security snorkeling with so many people in the water - maybe because your odds of being shark food are diminished - but, the disadvantage is when you do manage to spot something of any significance then it doesn't take long before you're swamped by everyone else who wants a piece of the action. There was a fleeting moment where Kimmy and I managed to spend sometime alone with a turtle who seemed quiet content to swim an arms length away from us.....pity everyone else needed a glimpse!

A White tipped reef shark and a blue spotted Ray made an appearance and this time we were the only humans in the vicinity - There's something so much more special when it just you and the wildlife under the water and we regret not buting a waterproof camera to show you what we've seen, however, We're sure there'll be more opportunities in SE Asia.

Blog adim update

Hey all, Been slightly hectic the last 28 days so we have had very little time to do any updates. Have just posted 3 new ones below and have 3 more to come which include our visit to Macca and Gail in whoring hot K'town.

We're in Brisbane today waiting for our Bali flight - Can you believe that we're done in Oz already??!! Hopefully going into SE Asia with no fixed itinerary we'll have a bit more time to relax an fill you in on the balance of the Oz experience.

Macca, Gail and leBean lePoep (will explain later) we miss you already - it was so cool to see that life here in Oz is treating all three of you so well!!!

Basher and Nopiel, Happy B'day for the 4th and 5th respectively - we did think of you and had a few beers with Macca to celebrate.

Sailing Witsundays - Days 105-107

Although we both have no sailing experience our travel agent from PeterPan's insisted that this was an unmissable experience and we can't thank her enough for convincing us to include it in our package. We again opted for the more chilled out version with max 13 people plus 2 crew. We were greeted by our skipper Chris (a 22 year old Aussie) and deck- hand Rachel (a fashion designer from London) at Airlie Beach Marina. They introduced to the 63ft Raggamuffin II, once a contender in the Admiral's Cup (or so the brochure claims) - our home for the next 3 days. We sailed for 4 hours on the 1st day to Whithaven Beach where a beach party was being held as part of the festivities of an annual Regatta. We soon discovered that this was no ordinary beach party. A bit like Ascot with a tinge of Vortex. Approximately 3000 people of all nationalities were scattered across the beach. Pumping tunes, scantily clad women (and men) and more than just goon been consumed. Thankfully, by the time we arrived the party seemed to have reached it's ebb. There was simply no point in trying to play catch up, it just wouldn't have been possible, and anyway, we had strict instructions to meet the skipper back at the beach by 4pm. The 2 hours we had were spent on the beach were spent gazing at the revellers and wondering what might have been had we arrived a few hours earlier. As we meandered through the chaos who should we bump into? Stef and Darren if course! We're starting to make a habit of meeting each other in the strangest places. We've now solidified our plans in Bali and will probably try and extend our stay so that we can spend some more time with them before they take their flight home Ireland.

The Raggamuffin was easily one of a 200 boats anchored in the bay that afternoon but, after the day cruises returned only a hand full remained for the overnight stay. We anchored a little closer to the shore for night and were treated to a Thai Green curry by Rachel who had been battling the choppy waters down below in the kitchen. We spent the night 'slapping more goon', eating supper on the deck and getting to know our crew and fellow travellers a little better. Rafael and Luciana from Brazil; Stefan and Julia from Germany; Coalyn, Lynda and Claire (effervescent Irish postgrad students) and Claire, a teacher from England. We all exchanged stories about our origins and plans for the future and Raffa and I spent much of the night winding our skipper up about the fact that Aussies knew nothing about how to 'braai' properly. Chris was was an easy target (but took it like a man) but, the jury is still out on whether Brazilians or Saffas have the edge. Having sampled steak 'south American style' in London I have to submit that it may be an even contest but, Raffa and I agree that part of the winning formula is the 'gees' (spirit) that comes with the process and not the quick fix that gas barbies deliver. Chris, you'll have sail past Cape Town in your way to the Caribbean one day for us to explain.

After a very uncomfortable sleep on the top bunk I was up at 5.30 the next morning to taken in the sunrise and take Chris up on his offer to use the stern as a lavatory. We sailed to Luncheon Bay to do some afternoon snorkeling. UK Claire was so excited we could here here screeches through the water as we were surrounded by hundreds of brightly coloured fish. An amazing day ended with another sail to Blue Pearl Bay, which until recently, had been voted one of the top ten snorkeling destinations in the world!

Kimmy has won a few fans in the Irish girls. They are of the opinion (after 3 days of knowing us) that we have the perfect relationship. They even want to grow up to be like Kim when they are 30+ - heaven help us! they will have to find Peter clones somewhere in Ireland. It's flattering to hear and testament to how much Kimmy and I are enjoying this adventure - no work stress makes a big difference.

More snorkeling on day 3 lived up to it's billing and before we knew it, it was time to make sail for the journey home back to Airlie. Half way home Chris thanked Kimmy and I for making this trip one of the memorable ones, he said it was like sailing with his mates which is ironic because I had just been thinking how much I enjoyed his company, it felt like Kim and I had known him for years. We said our farewells on deck but, agreed to move the party to a local pub in Airlie called Beaches. Rum, goon and beer flowed and the amazing 3 days were topped off with Kimmy and I losing our voices screaming for the Boks as they gave the Aussies a rugby lesson ( albeit against an uninterested looking Aussie line-up who obviously had on eye on the decider in a fortnight). Made friends with a 60+ year old Ausssie supporter who was convinced we were going to get another hiding - SORRY FOR YOU!

To our crew and fellow travelers - Your boundless enthusiasm and relaxed outlook on life has made this part of our Oz experience so worthwhile. Good luck for the rest of your travels. To the Irish lasses, we'll see you in Cairns to make up for such a short time together.

Chris and Rachel, see you in CT when your dreams move past Australia and you start traveling some more.

Rainbow Beach to Airlie beach - Days 104-105

After the Fraser adventure we had an overnight stay at Rainbow Beach. Someone upstairs seems to know that we're killing our budget in Oz cause after asking for an upgrade to a private room we only got charged for our key deposits! Woo hoo! We decided to spend our 'surplus' funds on a steak, pasta and salad at the backpackers and turned in for an early, goon-free, sober sleep. Our bus trip to Airlie Beach the next day was only departing at 7.30pm so the day was spent sleeping in and reading the paper and TIME. Rainbow is about half the size of Hermanus, so it turned out to be a lazy day with nothing much to do. The trip to Ailie Beach was a 14 hour overnight bus in which Kimmy and I both got buckets loads of sleep. Thankfully there were few passengers and we we allowed to stretch our weary legs across a few seats after watching the 'in- flight' entertainment 'We Were Soldiers'. We arrived in Airlie at 9.30am on day 105 and guess who walks off the bus with us? Stef & Darren, you know.... The Irish couple that we initially met in Fiji and then bumped into on the Ferry crossing from Wellington to Picton in NZ. Somewhere between Rainbow Beach and Airlie they got onto the bus in the middle of the night and whilst Kimmy and I laid sprawled across the aisle they climbed over us to get to their seats without knowing it was us. We caught up for a few minutes and decided that after a few admin bits during the day we would take the opportunity to get to know each other a little better.... More goon flowed that night, this time the Rosè variety - but the effects are the same, great fun and stories shared until the early hours. Although Stef and Darren are doing the same trip as us our dates are slightly out of sink but, we've arranged to meet them in Bali or Lombok a week before they finally have to return home to Ireland. We're looking forward to it- they're great fun, care free and on the ever growing list of people Kimmy and I are inviting to come to CT. Let's hope they all don't decide to come at the same time!@&$)&! Otherwise they're going to be camping in our garden!

Fraser Island - Days 101-103

As part of our east coast tour we had booked a 3 day 2night 4 WD
safari on Fraser Island. We had an option to do a self drive tour but
opted for the guided version which supplies all our meals and
accommodation. Within the 1st half hour of day 1 we realized what a
great choice we'd made!

We were picked up from the Noosa backpackers at 8am by Brett, our Oz
guide for the next three days, in what can only be described as the
'big Daddy' of 4x4 tour buses. After a few more stops to pick up the
rest of the party (12 in total) Brett mentioned that because the tide
was slightly in our favour we would be taking a short cut to the barge
at Inskip Point, along the beach!

Fraser Island, a world heritage site, is the worlds largest sand
island at 127km in length and stretching to 24km at it's widest point.
The roads are pure beach sand made of 98% silica, soft and treacherous
to the point that a recent self drive tour ended with a number of
passengers seriously injured and one fatality!! It became clear from
the Offset that Brett knew the roads and the beaches well. On some
stretches of the beach our 'blue bomber' was doing 100km an hour but
when the sand became too soft the gears would be lowered all the way
into 1st to grind through. Brett's apparently been driving since the
age of six so we felt fairly safe all three days and found it amusing
every time we drove past a self drive tour that got stuck in the sand.

Day1 included trips mostly on the 75km east coast stretch to Indian
Heads where the views were simply surreal! Found an Osprey nesting in
the cliffs and drove past the wreck of the Maneho, a luxury liner that
had once been used as a hospital boat during WWI but was ironically
sold to the Japanese for scrap metal. On it's final journey it was
beached by a cyclone on Fraser Island. The remains seen in our pics
are only the top deck and another 5 stories lie buried below the sand.

Supper on day1 was a night of many introductions. My 1st 'goon'
experience (a 4litre red wine papsak @ $10) and getting to know the
rest of the tour group. Amazing how a few glasses of red and a deck of
cards can break the ice. Our accommodation happened to have the only
pub on the island adjacent to it, happy hour beckoned! As the evening
came to a close we made our way home in the dark along the beach under
and incredibly bright starry sky, Kimmy still managed to navigate her
way into a bush losing a stokie in the process.

Day2 was spent inland driving to the various lakes. Brett found great
joy in watching the passengers of the 'blue bomber' spending time
airborne off our seats for most of the trip as he negotiated the
narrow sandy tracks with.......let's call it, enthusiasm.! This
exhuberance was amplified with AC/DC and Guns 'n Roses tracks
emanating from various ipods streaming through the 'blue bomber's'
radio.

The first of numerous biology lessons for the day had Brett explaining
why the brown watered (but crystal clear) lakes were completely devoid
of any life forms. Surrounded by a species of teatree, these lakes
absorb the fallen leaves resulting in an acidic pH level. Many healing
properties for humans but still too cold to test whether a dip would
cure the 'goon' hangover. I was the 1st one in the water at the 2nd
lake and can confirm that it works! We ended the day taking a
beautiful walk through the forest along the 'whispering creek', a body
of water that although constantly moving, does so in complete silence
due to the fine sand found at it's bed - all really fascinating in
gorgeous surroundings.

Biology lesson 10x: Goon and beer - the lethal combination

More card games and pool in the dorm saw Kimmy and I as the last men
standing at 3am (we're getting booze fit again) showing the youngsters
how to party the South African way!

Day3 was slightly shorter as we needed to get dropped off at our
overnight stay at Rainbow Beach so we only had time for one more trip
inland to Maddy Lake. Brett dropped us off and the rest of the way had
to be done on foot through a stretch of bush initially but, the last
km of the trail was a massive set of sand dunes. Been a while since
we've done that much exercise but, there was a little more to come.
The dunes converged at the lake with a 100ft drop on a fairly steep
angle - the use of the body board that we had dragged with us on the
hike had now become clear! Only a few of us tried the slide to the
bottom, some a little more successfully than others, much to Kimmy's
amusement. Christopher, our resident research scientist (in applied
mathematics) managed to make it all the way down only to lose his
board in the last meter - the only part of body to make it into the
lake was his pip, to his credit he shrugged off the comedy act and
made it onto the lake with board and all on his second attempt.

The 3 days on Fraser Island were way to short. If not for the
beautiful scenery then certainly for the lack of time spent with Orla,
Cameron and Mike. Amazing laid back people that Kimmy and I clicked
with from the 1st introduction on the bus. Guys, we sincerely wish we
had more time with you and hopefully our paths will cross again someday.

Added to their great company they've also given is a lot of insight on
our coming travels to Indonesia and SE Asia and eased our mind about
the cost of living for the second half of our travels.

To Brett and John Boy, thank you for showing us Fraser the way it
should be done - in the safety of the Blue Bomber with AC/DC pumping
in the background!

Woolgoolga (Spot X) - Days 95-96

After a minor adjustment in our bus time table, we left Sydney at
10.30pm to travel north on the east coast. The bus wasn't that great
for, Peter got a good couple of hours under his belt, I only managed
about 2 hours of the 7 hour overnight journey.

We arrived in Woolgoolga at 6.40 am and were met at the bus stop by
one of the Mojo crew. Mojo is the company that will be teaching us to
surf.

We arrived in surf camp, shown straight to our dorm room and given a
very quick breakfast. Our surf lesson started a 7am.

Darren, our blond hair blue eyed Aussie surf teacher ran through the
basics with us. We were first given a few rules that we had to abide
by, EG: no speedo's allowed, no peeing in wetsuits etc. We were all
(14 of us) given a wetsuit and a board and headed to the beach which
was about a 2 min walk.

Once on the beach, Darren showed us which direction the current was
going, this was an important piece of information, if we weren't told
or didn't know, we could easily ended up 2km further down! Darren
showed us how to stand up on the board in 4 easy steps. After a few
practice runs on the beach, it was time to head out into the surf and
give it a go.

Peter and I being the co-ordinated, highly trained athletes that we
are got up first time! Much to our excitement. Granted that the waves
we were learning in were tiny! Darren stayed in the water with us to
give us all a hand and more instruction.

We absolutely loved it! After about 2 hours in the sea we headed back
to surf camp to warm up and have some lunch.

Bus loads of tour groups come into Spot X, some just for a morning
lesson and then hitting the road that argue, we opted for 2 days 2
nights.

There were only 5 of us staying over the first night which was pretty
relaxed, we had dinner, a couple of beers around the camp fire and
watched a DVD in the comms room with the staff.

Day 2 of surf camp didn't materialize for Peter, he somehow picked up
a 24 hour bug, we won't bore you with those details! I left Peter in
bed and went off to the second days lesson. We had such a blast, there
were only 2 other girls, Rachel and Courtney (both Yanks) and me with
Darren in the water. The objective of the day was to progress from
standing up in 4 steps to one movement. After a few practice runs in
the baby waves, Darren decided that we could handle some serious
waves. Getting out to these big ass waves takes a lot of work, I even
managed to smash by board into my nose after the mother of all waves
broke right on top of me. Lesson learnt! With Darren behind us
shouting that we need to paddle hard we realised that we either had to
have sore arms from paddling, or be slammed by the in commng set!

That's when the real fun began, with Darren choosing our monster waves
again shouting at us to paddle hard and then to stand up, we were up
and away. What a feeling! After a few successes and many wipe outs I am
most certainly hooked on surfing, more do than skiing. This is
something I definitely going to continue doing.

After an exhilarating morning, it was time for a shower and and some
much needed lunch. While we were out in the surf, 90 people
materialized in the camp. Travelers from all over the world. Made for
an interesting night. I was introduced to Goon (cheap wine) which is
just what we call papsak. After drinking the night away, we were
woken up at 5.30am to go to the bus stop to catch our bus to Byron
Bay. A mild hang-over meant that I slept most of the 3h30 journey.
Again lesson learnt, in order to sleep on the bus, drink the night
before!!!

Sydney - Days 93-94

A three hour flight from Christchurch to Sydney brought us a few steps
closer to the dreaded Australian customs. Guess Kimmy and I have been
watching too many episodes of 'Nothing to Declare' on SKY but once
again our fears seem unfounded as we breezed through. The
customs official (a SAFFA expat) quizzed me if I had done my
military service at home and then also offered Kimmy that he could
arrange for me to be returned to my more respectable passport photo
look ( no beard, shaved head) - Kimmy seems to favour the beard and
politely declined.

The differences between New Zealand and OZ are stark to say the least.
Maybe it's just Sydney but, you get an immediate feel of a sense of more
urgency, that this is more of a 1st world type of place. Organised
public transport, vast urban skylines and the people are definitely
more conscious of their appearance and what car they drive. SUV's,
'label' sunnies and posh looking eateries aplenty. Feels a little like
San Fransisco but without the historical landmarks like the Golden
Gate Bridge and the old tram system. It certainly has it's
own significant landmarks but, the Sydney harbour Bridge and the
iconic Opera House, have more of a 'new world' flavour about them.

For obvious reasons Sydney is a very well established budget travel
destination with an abundance of backpackers and associated activities
to choose from. We booked our spot online in NZ with one eye on our
bank balance and the other on anything different. The D'lux Hostel in
the 'Bohemian' Quarter of Kings Cross ticked both boxes...... I mean
really, how many dodgy Kings Cross' can there be in this world?

The answer is, two! Turns out that 'bohemian' stands for 'red light' in
OZ. Titty Bars, budget hotels, the smell of weed and some unique dress
code greeted us at our dorm but, at no point did we feel unsafe -
everyone just calmy went on with their business. D'lux had an
affiliation with a night spot that was giving away free supper if you
bought your own beer so we decided to test it out to see what the
catch was. Turned out to be your basic 'walkabout -type' spot that was
just looking to fill seats before ladies night.

The other significant change is in the weather. We've traveled about
2000 miles north eastish and it's 10 degrees warmer when you're not in
the shade. It's almost time to don a pair of boardies soon!! Post
blogging note: I have now ripped an almighty big hole in my jeans and
my affinity to go commando now as a few risks attached! Thank fully
it's starting to get warm enough to wear shorts.

We're flying out of Brisbane to get to Bali on the 10th of September
so our time in OZ is limited and we have to get cracking on planning
our Oz adventure making sure that we leave enough time to visit our
mates in the outback and the newest father and mother to be, Mac and
Gail.

The town the McLoughlins reside in, Katherine, is not
as accessible as we had hoped. Like the US, we've once again
completely underestimated the distances required to travel from A to
B. We've booked a 3 week tour of the east coast that will take us from
Sydney to Cairns, along the way the tour includes surf lessons, a 4x4
guided tour of Fraser Island, a 3 day sailing trip around the
Witsunday Islands, a rain-forest safari outside Cairns and a sail
around the Great Barrier Reef. We're looking forward to this route as
it will be the 1st time that we're not actually driving ourselves so
we should hopefully have more time to take in the sites.

Cairns to Darwin is over 2000km and will take a lot longer that
originally anticipated so we've decided to book flights to Darwin and
then back to Brisbane. Doesn't really make sense to us as Bali is
literally a stones grow away from the North of Oz but flights from
Darwin to Bali are more expensive then London to Cape Town! So it
seems that going back to Brisbane is our only option.

Looking forward to seeing Macca again and comparing our respective
receding hairlines. Wonder if living on Oz and the thought of
fatherhood has calmed him down at all? Somehow doubt it. Off surfing tomorrow - should be fun!

Last Day in NZ - Christchurch - Day 92

23 days in NZ isn't nearly enough time to see everything. We have much preferred the South Island to the North. We've kind of raced through NZ with no time to chill out and just take it all in. We would definitely come back here, preferably in spring because it would probably be even more beautiful seeing everything come into bloom. This really is such a beautiful country, everything is a lush green (even in winter).

We can see why so many Saffa's have come to live here, however, Saffa's here seem to have made a bit of a bad name for themselves. In Auckland, we heard a story where some parents have tried to force the schools to teach their kids Afrikaans, I mean really, this is not your country, culture or heritage, if you want your kids to learn Afrikaans, either teach them yourself or go back to SA. End of.

Kiwis themselves seem to be a little stuck in the 80's, even the radio stations consistently play hits from the 80's. Kiwis also seem to be so uncomplicated, there is no need, or rather, they feel there is no need to keep up with the Jones' They are very happy driving an ordinary car, we have only seen 1 flash car while here and that was a Porche in Christchurch! Houses make no statements about the owner either. They are very eco driven, with any new builds all being environmentally friendly. Recycling is huge, everything is recycled, campsites even have wormaries for scrap food. NZ is definitely a model for other countries. It has been a little confusing though, with them being stuck in the 80's yet completely eco driven, we need to ponder this a little more.

It's been difficult to update the blog while in NZ, it's bloody expensive for one and we have been blazing on through! Thanks to all who have sent Peter and I emails in the last couple of weeks, we promise to reply to all of them as soon as we can.

Onwards and upwards to Australia for a jam packed 28 days, surfing, rain forests, snorkeling on the great barrier reef, etc, etc, etc!!

Sien jou

Queenstown(Coronet Peak) - Days 86-88

Queenstown has a really cool vibe. It is evident from all the new buildings and current construction going on that it is gearing itself up as the southern hemisphere premier alpine resort. It still nowhere near the scale of Whistler but vibe is very similar with loads of young boarder types flocking from all over the world to partake in the variety of adrenaline fuelled activities like bungying, sky diving, rafting etc. We had to have a little giggle at one of the retail stores selling All Black parafinalia, their brand includes the phrase 'champions of the world' ??! (see pic attached) - we have only one thing to say, "where are your trophy at!?" Our 1st and only alpine experience was 4 years ago in France so I've been chomping a the bit to get out onto the snow since we booked our travels. Some of you will remember that Kimmy and snowboards are NOT mates. Half way through the week Kimmy switched to ski's after badly bruising her tail bone on the icy fields in La Plange. With Rona's help she found a bit more confidence on ski's so we agreed that this time we would both ditch the boards and try our luck on ski's. We found an amazing package deal in Queenstown - for a meager $380, our package included accommodation, 3 day ski pass (incl. Night skiing), gear & clothes hire and more importantly, free unlimited lessons! Our instructor Jeremy, a French graphic designer doing a ski season in NZ, had been skiing since he was 3 years old. He managed to fly through the basics on the morning of day one and out of 12 starters only 5 came back for the follow-up afternoon session. We had two lessons per day starting at beginner level and ending the 3rd day going down a fairly steepish Blue run. Thanks to Jeremy for his laid back attitude and handy tuition. Rona & Basher, have to say that I gave been converted! Skiing is the dogs bollocks! I'm chugged that Kimmy convinced me to give it a try. There'll be no going back to snowboards for me anymore - way more freedom on ski's, you don't need to drag your board behind you at the bottom of the run and more importantly, you spend more time on your feet enjoying the decent than OK your arse trying to pick yourself up off the snow- oh yes, and no bruises to report apart from the nice one on Kimmy's bum after a small nudge from me coming off the chair lift on day 2. Wish we had more time to gather some more confidence on the steeper slopes but really looking forward to the next time - you're gonna be eating my powder! As mentioned before, the further south we've travelled the colder it has become (my beard is coming in really handy) but the bonus is that the sun has finally won it battle against the long white cloud. It's made for amazing views and left us with memories of how beautiful NZ really is. Our advice to those travelling to NZ (Tam, can you send us Dex's email address) is not to bother with the North Island if you're on a tight schedule. SI has way more to offer, both in terms of activities and visual splendour. We're in our way to Christchurch tomorrow to catch our flight to Sydney on the 14th. We've decided to give Milford Sound and surrounds a skip( budget & time really) but have agreed that the next time we're here it will be one of our stops. 2011 Rugby WC will be upon us soon and it would great to cone back here and watch the perennial 'WC Chokers' plan for another 4 years to 2015.

Queenstown (Skippers Canyon) - Day 85

We'd heard so much about the jetboatimg experience in NZ that we thought we best give it a go. There had been a few operators to choose from along the way but with one eye on our swiftly diminishing pennies we opted for the cheapest version in the area. At $95pp, the Skippers Canyon operators seemed our best bet, as it turned out - we made the right choice for a number of reasons. We had no idea where skippers canyon was but when the driver came to pick us up in a custom built 4x4 we suspected we were in for an interesting ride! Halfway up to the Coroner Peak ski fields our driver Mel, stopped the mini "Samel", got out the car to let the pressure out the tires - at this point he decided to put on his seat belt and engaged the 4wheel drive. Kimmy and I exchanged looks in the back, made sure our belts were on and gripped the seats in anticipation of what was to come.

Not sure which part was scarier, the drive to the jet boat in Skippers Canyon or the jet boat itself but both had more than sufficient adrenalin rushing through veins to last a lifetime. The canyon road was not for the faint hearted - a meter wide on both sides of the truck most of the way, muddy tracks a foot deep, a couple hundred meters vertical drop to the river below and hairpin bends called 'bus crash corner' ensured that we all but left hand prints on the grab rails in the car. If anyone ever comes to NZ, then we highly suggest you try the jet boating. Turns out that the skippers canyon operators were the original designers of the jetboat engine. A propeller situated within the hull of the boat pushes up to 360 liters of water per second from a vent under the hull through the back. The results are speeds of up to 85km/h in water that in some parts is only 3 inches deep and maneuverability that allows the driver to weave the boat through fairly narrow canyons at high speeds.

Difficult to describe but we have a movie clip that shows it all, will try get it up on the blog but need to try and compress the 100MB file (anyone have any ideas?). We've put some pics up in the meantime to try and give you an idea of what it was like - my favourite is the one of Kimmy staring down the bottom of the canyon when Del gave us a chance to step out of the car on the canyon road to take in the amazing views. All in all, an amazing experience that we highly recommend you set aside some pennies in your NZ travelling budget. We're off skiing tomorrow, can't wait!

West Coast, South Island - Days 80 - 84

It's getting progressively colder the further south we travel. We have now finally bought Peter some "lovely" trakkie pant! I've bought some thermal long johns and socks, it's dipping down to about -2 at night. We are warm enough in Foxy, however, we do wake up with the condensation inside the car frozen! The camp sites that we are staying at are pretty well set up. There are hundreds of travelers in camper vans of all sizes and from a dozen different companies on the roads, so the campsites are really geared towards the likes of us. Most have kitchens and decent lounges. So our routine has evolved into getting into camp going straight to the lounge and cranking the heater up! Because we have access to a kitchen our meals aren't as basic as they were in the states, we've even treated ourselves to a great steak, chicken, veggies and rice! We've also managed to catch some of the Olympics in the camp lounges which has been really cool, except the coverage here is obviously on all the Kiwi athletes.
The sun is shining a lot more which allows for a lot more photo opportunities.
Peter has received a gold medal of his own. He is the first person on the Kimmy and Peter team to receive a speeding fine - $170!! The traffic cop, which I fondly named Anal Al, was perfectly positioned 100m from where the speed limit goes from 100kmh to 50kmh. So Peter was caught doing 75kmh. Anal Al was way too polite and had way too much time on his hands, chatting to us about the weather, driving conditions, and other dead boring stuff. Peter being the one who talks to anyone and everyone was being equally as polite. All I wanted to do was take the ticket and tell Anul Al to piss off!
We've also had our first viewing of the Southern Alps, and they really are beautiful. We think we would probably have been more in awe if we hadn't seen the Rockies first. None the less it's a gorgeous sight and once again we have loads of pictures of mountains with snow on them!
On our drive south along the West Coast we have been lucky in that we have gotten to see two glaciers. The Franz Joseph Glacier and the Fox Glacier. Both glaciers are currently in retreat. The glaciers themselves are huge, it's like a huge, incredibly deep river frozen in time, with the front of the glacier about 5 stories high. There are signs along the way which indicate where the glaciers were in 1750, about 1km from it's current location. The rocks all around are scarred from the glacier movement, they look like deep scratches which all go in the same direction. The vegetation around is also an indicator of where the glaciers used to be. You can see actual lines of growth along the valley.
We are on our way to Queenstown for 3 days of skiing. Whooo hoooo!!!!

Cable Bay, NZ - Day 79

Maori's got it right when they named NZ, Aotearoa (roughly translated means - Land of the Long white Cloud) ....no sh*t!! We've crossed the north island and still not seen a ray of sunshine. So we were hoping for some excitement on the ferry but our crossing went by without incident and the sun has finally started breaking through the clouds in some places as we sailed into Picton (allowing for a few better pics). We had some unexpected company during the crossing. Steph and Darren, an Irish couple we met in Walu Beach(Fiji) were checking in on the same ferry that morning at 7am. Steph has died her hair neon pink so have no idea how Kimmy recognized her. We're pretty much doing the same route but they have decided on using a hop-on-hop-off coach so will hopefully be seeing them on route all the way to Bali.

Disappointed at the lack of excitement on the ferry we trudged off to the info desk in Picton to try and figure out if our planned route to Nelson was still available. The weather was taking it toll with mud and rock slides across the entire country blocking national roads everywhere. A small slice of luck - our route to Nelson was the only one that was open! routes to Christchurch and further south are going to be blocked for days - there were a few grumpy travellers at the desk, thankfully it wasn't us.

We counted about 20slides covering the road and even a sink hole that had obliterated one side of the very narrow Queen Charlotte Crive. Drove in 2 gear all the way through the pass (about 50km) but, the drive was worth it - we finally have a little sunshine as we've reach the West coast at Cable Bay. Hopefully things are starting to brighten up for our last few weeks.

We've booked our ski packages for Queenstown on the 8th so the next few days will be spent making our way south through glacier country. Can't wait to go skiing!