30th March

25th - 28th March

Cairns

Following a long, kangaroo-free drive, arrived in Cairns. We found a hotel on the beach and took a lovely stroll along the board walk into town. We were a little alarmed to see signs warning us of the dangers of wading in the Cairns lagoon. An 8 foot croc had been found cruising the waterfront just a few months ago. It was then that the giant fruit bats started circling overhead, fury creatures with a 4 foot wingspan. It is fair to say that there is danger everywhere in Australia.

Above: Trip from Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef

Above: Coral cay, sporting our stinger suits

We had a fantastic day on the Great Barrier Reef. We opted for the fast catamaran, versus the sailing option, no surprise there. Our first stop was a coral cay. Stunning and within minutes we had spotted a turtle swimming around the island. Following a glass bottom boat trip we snorkeled from the cay back to the boat. Amazing corals, giant clams and beautiful fish everywhere. Adam was in heaven.

Above: Adam last out of the water again

In line with our trip motto, "do something every day that scares you" we opted to dive at our next stop. I felt a little nervous as we entered the water, particularly as my mask kept filling to the brim. The lovely instructor sorted out my mask, then my next problem was over-buoyancy. After adding further weight to my belt, I sank to the sea floor like a sack of spuds. All good fun. Jules and I dived together and immediately spotted a green turtle - wonderful creatures. We dived down a wall of coral, found giant sea cucumbers, anemones full of nemos and swam amongst shoals of bright, beautiful fish. Another fantastic world just meters below the surface.

No sharks (this time), but Adam and I will be back in Cairns in a few weeks and there is plenty of diving on the agenda as we plan to complete a PADI course. We are booked in for a night time dive. That rather pushes the "do something that scares you", into the "do something that terrifies you" bracket.

Above: Views over the reef

Adam and Kirsten went for a bungee jump. Kirsten was terrified and I think is still suffering from Post Traumatic Shock. She was uncharacteristically quiet for the day following the jump. Nothing like the hyper-active rush that Adam experienced. Adam decided to do his jump backwards. Ekkkk.

Above: Kirst jumped first. Not bad for someone that is afraid of heights! Shame about the sicky burp.

Above: Filby jumps off backwards. Watch him spinning. What will he do for his next trick?

Enjoyed our last night in Cairns, after which Adam and I left Kirsten and Jules. Adam and I headed back to Sydney, and Kirsten and Jules went on to Perth.

30th March

13th March - 22nd March

Australia

Arrived in Sydney, excited at the prospect of meeting up with friends from home. Meeting point, steps of the Opera House at 2pm. We didn't move too far for several hours, enjoying a backlog of gossip, several cold beers and the fantastic atmosphere of Sydney Harbour on a sunny day.

Above: Me with bessy mate Kirsten, Jules and Richard. Richard has lived in Sydney for over a year and has no plans to return to the UK. Not hard to see why.

Jumped on the Manly ferry and enjoyed the late afternoon sun on the beach

Jules and I realised we had both been in Sydney 15 years ago, ekkk. Why had we never climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge? This popular attraction has only been available for the last eight years. Two million people have climbed into boiler suits, attached harnesses to the bridge and climbed over the catwalks to stand several hundred feet above Sydney Harbour. I was apparently walking quite tentatively, something like the secret lemonade drinker, a little nervous in parts I must admit. Walking over the arches to top of the bridge was the easy bit. What a great way to spend a couple of hours in Sydney.

Above: Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Above: Visit to Bondi Beach

Adam yet again threw himself in the surf for hours. Kirsten followed suit but quickly returned to the safety of the beach after she had been thrown 360 degrees and popped up in between an old man's legs, minus her bikini bottoms. It was the surf that had removed her bikini bottoms I hasten to add!

We said our goodbyes to Rich and headed for the tropical paradise of Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays. Hold on a minute, it doesn't rain in paradise!! The weather was pretty grim but we were cheered by our upgrade to a 44 foot yacht. Sunsail seemed very relaxed about handing over responsibility of this rather nice vessel (named Turn Twelve) and about the weather conditions, blowing 30 knots with 5 meter swells. I leaned over to Adam during the briefing, "is that not quite bad?" The skipper seemed quite relaxed at that point.

Above: One of the many Cockatoos on Hamilton Island

That evening, as well as consuming large quantities of booze, going to the island's only nightclub, being thrown out of the island's only nightclub, (nothing to do with Adam), me missing the boat and falling into the marina, we were also assigned sea-going names for our pending adventure.

Adam - El Capitan George Mullet (the first)
Me - Lady Broadside (far too many cakes in NZ)
Kirsten - Lady Hornblower, later Lady Hornblower-ASBO (yes, it was her fault we were kicked out of the night club)
Jules - Lady me'Julie Bilgez

All very childish but we had to amuse ourselves at sea for the coming week.

Sailing on day one was pretty good fun. We were racing along at 9 knots, the sun was shining, marvellous. It wasn't until we arrived at our anchorage that we learnt of the Whitsunday 'bullets'. A bullet is a very sharp gust of wind that takes you by surprise, particularly as it spins you around on your anchor. Ummm, not the best nights sleep as Adam and I alternately poked our heads out of the cabin hatch to ensure we had not lost our anchor and beached on the Great Barrier Reef.

Day three of the sailing trip was the most eventful. Rounding Hook Island, the waves were pretty dramatic. Life jackets on, sea sickness all round, a passing storm with "white out" conditions and a rendezvous with boat that was delivering us fresh fish, all made for quite a journey. We arrived at our chosen anchorage exhausted, ummmm, why are there no other boats here?

Adam and I took the dingy and a short rain forest track to Wilderness Lodge, a backpacker retreat and the only dwelling on Hook Island. We informed the odd crowd that we would join them later that evening for a drink. Whilst preparing dinner, Jules became sea sick thanks to the rocky conditions. We needed to get ashore, but not before Jules managed to eat sausage and mash - brave performance for someone that had just thrown up. We had scared ourselves before we even crossed to the island. We were the only yacht in sight, an eerie howling noise filled the bay and an underwater observatory tower threw creepy shadows into water.

We knew we had to go through the forest by torch light to reach the hippies. We had just reached the end of the jetty, when Adam started doing wobbly backwards steps, accompanied by expletives. A long, brown snake was lying in our path, which reared up and came towards the torch light. Adam pegged it (snake-phobic). We all ran back to underwater observatory, at which point a fat rat started sprinting towards us, followed by a large ozzie coach roach. It seemed we were facing our phobias, one by one. We didn't hang around for the large, stray dog (Jule's phobia) that no doubt, would have shortly followed. Mr Rat swam under our dinghy to give me a final scare - yuk. We gave up on beers at Wilderness Lodge and decided that the marina at Hamilton Island seemed like an attractive option for the following night. El Capitan George Mullet drank half a bottle of gin!

Above: Crew at the helm

Above: We spent the day on Whitehaven Beach. Pure white sand for miles - stunning!

Above: Feeding the Bat Fish at Blue Pearl Bay

Above: Looking out for turtles and seals at Sid Island

Above: Hamilton Island, Catseye Bay and having a drink at the Yacht Club

Above: Ferry crossing from Hamilton Island to Airlie Beach

Above: Airlie Beach - nice to be back on dry land

13th March

10th - 13th March

Goodbye New Zealand

Arrived in Kaikoura but sadly helicopter whale watching was cancelled due to a thick sea mist. Sitting on the beach however, we were treated to a display by local dolphins, surfing and flipping somersaults.

Above: On route north, stopped off for a freshly caught, freshly boiled crayfish. Delicious!

Above: Heading north to Picton

We took the ferry from South to North island, took a long drive and at 7pm met my second cousin Neil at a rendezvous point just outside of Rotarua. We followed Neil to a lakeside cabin and had a great evening catching up on news of my Kiwi relatives. The following day, visited family friend Trudy at her pad on the seaside at Papamoa. Got a drenching and then headed north again to Auckland.

Above: Me and Neil after the rain shower

Back to Aunty Pat's, a lovely lamb dinner (what could be more appropriate for our last meal in NZ), a quick trip up One-Tree Hill and a final visit to Pat's son, Andrew (known as Joe) and family. Joe presented us with a vintage bottle of Hawkes Bay red which we were instructed to open during our Whitsunday sailing trip.

Above: Aunty Pat and Adam on One Tree Hill

Aunty Pat kindly took us to the airport for our early departure, next stop Sydney.

10th March

Beautiful South Island, New Zealand

Heading out of Queenstown, 7th March

It is not particularly easy to see a Kiwi in the wild, due to them being shy, nocturnal, fairly rare etc. so we took a trip to the Queenstown Bird Park. The bird house allowed us a close-up view of these lovely creatures. Not so lovely if you're trying to catch one by the way. They have razor sharp claws and their beaks will give you a nasty stab.

If that wasn't enough excitement for one day, we headed for the Kawauri Bridge, home of New Zealand's bungee jump craze. The Polynesians actually invented bungee. They tied vines around the ankles of young warriors and nerves were tested as the men jumped from a high wooden platforms. The Oxford University dangerous sports club decided to give it a go in the 70's. A.J.Hackett saw this footage and jumped to fame, from the Eiffel Tower in 1986. He now owns a global bungee empire.

It is only now that I realise, Adam is basing his new look on A.J.Hackett, back in the 80's.

Above: Filby takes the plunge

Queenstown to Mount Cook, 8th March

We arrived at the Mount Cook campsite in the pouring rain. We sat in the car trying to muster the energy to erect the tent! Yuk, puddles and not much of a view. After a restless night where Tonto was nearly ripped out of the ground, we awoke to gorgeous sunshine. Horay.

Above: On route to Mount Cook. A woolly obstruction

Above: The Hooker Trail, a walk through Hooker Valley to base of Mount Cook

Above: We left Mount Cook, heading for Christchurch. A final view point of Mount Cook, over the perfectly blue Lake Tekapu.

Christchurch - 9th March

It is said that Christchurch is like England. The churches looked pretty British, but overall we were not that enamoured with the city. Enjoyed the facilities of the city, did a little shopping, had a nice indian meal, used the internet cafe etc. Could not face the city tourist tram!! Headed out of Christchurch and reached Hanmer Springs by 9pm.

Hanmer Springs to Kaikora - 10th March

Had a lovely morning soaking in the hot, thermal spa at Hanmer Springs. Smelly but relaxing. Drove through amazing Lord of the Rings countryside to Kaikora on the sea. Hoping to spot Sperm Whales from a helicopter in the morning. Will keep you posted!!!

9th March

More of New Zealand

Queen Charlotte Track - 28th February - 1st March

As one of New Zealand's Great Walks, we should have taken the hint, and walked. However, with so much to see in such a short space of time, we decided to cycle it. I am sure I had read that it was a 'flat track' but I guess that meant the surface of the track, rather than the contours of the hills. Whoops!

The track runs within the Malborough Sound and is spectacular.

After a tough 4.5 hours of pushing our bikes, we arrived at Portage Cove and relaxed for the afternoon.

Above: Me in a big mood pushing bike up hill for 1.5 hours on day two. I am sure this wasn't my idea.

Above: Cheeky Weka (Bush Hen) jumped out on us, looking for a snack. The Weka, a past dietary favourite of the Maoris and settlers.
Above: Views from the Queen Charlotte Track

Abel Tasman National Park - 2nd - 3rd March

Following our heroic bike pushing, with occasional cycling, took the water taxi back to Picton and made our way towards Abel Tasman National Park. Stayed just outside of Nelson on a rock hard camping pitch, where we were offered the 'whacker' (pronounced 'wheeeker') ie. club hammer and pointy thing, to get Tonto the tent secure for the evening.

Above: Kaiteriteri beach - not a bad view!

Travelled through wine country and fruit farms and reached Kaiteriteri by mid morning. After pitching the tent, headed for the gorgeous beach and hired a double kayak for the afternoon, (referred to as divorce kayaks). If only we were married (maybe one day, for those that keep asking!), we may well have been divorced by the end of our little trip.

We received instructions on the boundaries for our kayak adventure. We headed for the Split Apple Rock, which should have been an easy hours paddle. After 2 hours of kayaking into the wind and waves, with no rock in site, we headed for home. It wasn't until an hour later, we turned into a bay and there it was.

Above: Split Apple Rock

We had kayaked past the rock as we were so far out to sea and heading for an island which was completely out of bounds (due to the dangerous boat-tipping type waves). Filby was blamed immediately for poor map reading. I bratishly downed paddle. We then realised our kayak was long overdue. Quick! For the first time during the day we were co-ordinated.

Above: Me with the kayak. Filby seemed to have a little problem with my unique style of kayaking which involved holding my paddle at almost head height with a little pause and jerk between strokes.

Above: However, as you can see, even though divorced before we are ever married, this little beach was enough to make anyone dance. A must watch video clip.

Above: Abel Tasman National Park

The following day we took a boat trip along the stunning coast line of Abel Tasman National Park, lined with white sandy bays and native forest. We were dropped at Bark Bay and walked for a few hours to Torrent Bay, enjoying the blue lagoon views on route. Who needs the Caribbean?

Big Driving Day, West Coast Highway 1 - 3rd March

We were bound for Queenstown and broke the journey with a stop in Greymouth. Not much to note here, except for the fact that everything was shut at 8pm. New Zealand's media are focused on the country's increasing crime rate, young drunks, car theft, home burglaries etc. all on the rise. We have not experienced any threat or vibe during our travels. I guess it is all relative and some what new to the average New Zealander.

In Greymouth, there is a liquor ban, so no booze allowed in the street, on the beach etc, due to young folk and their fistycuffs. The lady in the chip shop warned Adam of the dangers of Greymouth and encouraged us to stay safely in our tent for the evening. We didn't have much option as everything else was shut!

Big Driving Day, West Coast Highway 1 - 4th March

Via Frans Joseph Glacier

A great stop to break up our journey, as we took the short hike view Frans Joseph Glacier. An impressive, receding glacier. I will also remember it as the place I pulled a caterpillar out of my salad.

Above: More views on route to Queenstown

Queenstown - Milford Sound - 5th - 6th March

Voted New Zealand's number one place to visit, we booked onto an overnight tour to Milford Sound. The coach departed at 9am and Ben the driver gave a very colourful commentary for the duration of the trip. He particularly liked to focus on the potential dangers of our journey, hill slides, tree fall, sheep crossing etc. Not one of life's optimists.

Above: We broke our road trip, boarding the Kingston Flyer steam train, for a half an hour trip from Kingston to Fairlight. I didn't notice any hoody wearing gypos, so not the Kingston we know and love. Travel in the early 1900's must have been quite romantic compared to the super coach we were riding.

The scenery on route was spectacular as we headed into Fjordland National Park.

Above: Naughty Keas, moutain parrots, found to be the most intelligent of all birds. Between games of chess and advanced suduko, the also enjoy chewing rubber window wipers and the bending ariels of passing camper vans.

Above: The Wanderer and Mitre Peak in the background

We arrived at the Wanderer at 4pm and set off on our cruise of the fjord. Sheer faced mountains rise 2,000 feet all around. Incredible to think this landscape was carved by glaciers millions of years ago. I had never felt so small. The cruise took us to the mouth of the Tasman sea, where things got a bit rocky. We headed into a sheltered cove which has been used over centuries by whaling and sealing ships.

Today, just two boats settle regularly for the night in the cove. The Endeavor, which is designed for comfort with en suite cabins, and The Wanderer, the party boat, with dorm style cabins and booze flowing into the early hours. After an initial feeling that I should have been on the other boat, I got into the swing of things, we met a great crowd and had a smashing evening. A few youngsters jumped overboard at midnight which was very foolish, particularly as the water is fed by glacier rivers. Southern Fur Seals circled the boat, feeding late into the night.

Fjordland is one of the wettest places on earth, and when we awoke, it certainly felt like it. We took another cruise to the open sea and marvelled at the newly flowing waterfalls that cascaded vertically down the mountain sides. To quote Ben the coach driver, 'Fjordland was not made on a sunny day.'

Above: View of Milford Sound


During the journey back to Queenstown, the landscape literally burst to life. Streams and waterfalls flowed dramatically all around us.