New Zealand in a Nutshell - The South Island

We had a wonderful time in the South Island. Silje was only with us there for a couple days because she had to go back home; Super Hero Sally, Ash and I missed her a lot but we kept on rolling along!

We really tried to see a bit of everything in the South Island, we zig-zagged across the Island and drove through all 4 passes - Lewis, Lindis, Arthur's and Hasst. The South Island has some of the most beautiful scenery and it actually reminds me quite a bit of Canada.

We started in Picton where we walked part of the Queen Charlotte Track which was absolutely an amazing place to see, the Cook Strait is stunning and the water is a mix of so many beautiful blue's. We made our way up and around through Nelson to Abel Tasman National Park where we did a boat cruise to see some wildlife. Punakaiki was a favourite stop for all of us on the way down the top half of the West Coast towards Arthur's Pass. Arthur's Pass was amazing ... it definitely took us all by surprise. It was our first real glimps of the Southern Alps and the beautiful glacial waters and vegetation ... as well as the Kea Birds (Arctic Parrots). Onwards to Christchurch where we had the best Indian food and a fun last night with the three of us drinking wine in Sally at Sumner Beach. After Silje left us we made our way down to Ashburton and onwards to Lake Tekapo (so beautiful!) and Mt. Cook (Aoraki) National Park where we absolutely froze to death in the van!!! It was worth it though because we woke up to a beautiful day in the Hooker Valley and decided to do the Hooker Valley Trek to the bottom of Mt. Cook.

By this point it was getting close to Christmas so we decided to base ourselves in Queenstown. We took the Lindis pass down to Queenstown with a pit stop in Alexandra :) Queenstown is a very cool little city, it's definitely the adventure capital (as they say!). For me, Queenstown reminded me of Banff with the mountains and the cute little city and shops. We spent 4 nights in Queenstown. We actually had quite a random Christmas Day. I got up very early to see the sun come up and sat on a swing by the Lake, it really remined me of home! Once Ash got up we went to Starbucks and ended up meeting some young Ozzies who were traveling. We spent all day with them - eating Thai and Indian, drinking Starbucks, chatting about life, receiving numerous calls from Family and Friends and swimming in freezing Lake Wakatipu. It was definitely a different but good Christmas for us.

While in Queenstown we did the Queenstown Hill Track, we went jet boating and we did a day trip to the Milford Sound. It was a very wet but beautiful day on the Sound and we saw gorgeous waterfalls and lots of fur seals. After Christmas we made our way up the West Coast via Arrowtown, Wanaka and the Hasst Pass. it was such a beautiful drive. We hiked in to see Fox Glacier and then did a full day hike on the Franz Josef Glacier which was such a good day, so impressive! To end our trip we bought Jade in Hokitika and cut across the Island via Lewis Pass to Kaikoura where we saw the beautiful Coast, had up close and personal encounters with Fur Seals, slept on the beach and saw dolphins! An amazing trip ... you all need to visit New Zealand!!!

I'm in OZ now, heading home in two days. It's bittersweet ... I want to keep traveling but I really want to be home with Lee and the furbabies. I hope you all had a wonderful New Years! I'll post our adventures in OZ once I return home.


Stunning views from the Queen Charlotte Track - Picton


Split Apple Rock on a gloomy morning at Abel Tasman National Park

Sway bridge at Buller Gorge

Punakaiki - The very cool Pancake Rocks and Blowholes

One of the blowholes

Sally taking a break on the drive through Arthur's Pass

Beautiful Arthur's Pass

Our last night together in Sally! - Silje left us early

Stunning Lake Tekapo - the water was so amazing!

Hooker Valley - Mt. Cook National Park

The view of Mount Cook from the Hooker Valley track

Looking out over Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu

Ash and her Fergburger - delicious!

Jet boating on the Shotover Canyon - lots of fun!

Eglinton Flats - Fiordland National Park

Sailing through the Milford Sound on a very overcast but magical day (the sounds were alive with waterfalls)

Welcome to my Town!

Sizing up the Franz Josef Glacier

We reached the blue ice! - Franz Josef Glacier

A beautiful morning on the beach in Kaikoura

Our little friend - New Zealand Fur Seal in Kaikoura

Happy Holidays!

Wishing everyone a very Happy Holiday Season and a wonderful New Year!



Love,

Super Hero Sally and Crew :)

New Zealand in a Nutshell - The North Island

We are crusing around New Zealand as quickly as we can because we want to see everything in the three weeks that we have! Super Hero Sally is doing great, she has no pick-up whatsoever and she is constantly thirsty but she's getting us to all of the gorgeous places we want to go. It's definitely been fun living in the van. We can cook, eat, clean and sleep in her quite comfortably. Most of the time we just park overnight in a parking lot, at a park or at the lake front and crash. We've only gotten one notice so far that said we were camping illegally ... oops! We are however dirty backpackers because we only get showers every 2 or 3 days ... thank goodness for dry shampoo and deodorant!!!

The North Island was fantastic. Everyone says go South and we definitely are but we have found many hidden gems in the North Island as well. We started out in Auckland and were lucky enough to stay with a very generous friend who showed us around the City, Piha - the Black Sand Beach, KiteKite Falls and Rangitoto Island - an extinct Volcano. We also hit up the Bay of Islands which were amazing and then drove up to Cape Reinga and 90 Mile Beach ... both are definitely worth the long winding drive. We've experienced the wonders of Hot Water Beach and the beauty of Cathedral Cove, the smells of Rotorua and the adventure of Taupo. We also spent some very nice days in the art deco city of Napier and the Wine Region of Hawke's Bay where we saw Te Mata - The Sleeping Giant and fantastic views of the vineyards. Finally we made our way down to Wellington and crossed through the Cook Straight by Bluebridge Ferry to Picton. Whew, it's been fun!

I'll update again in 10 days from OZ with a post on the South Island :)

Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year! We are going to be celebrating Nomad style with Santa and Sally some where in the South of New Zealand.

Some pics from the North Island:

Driving in Superhero Sally for the first time - Ash doing a lane change, Silje navigating and Me testing out the self shot.

The crew at Piha - Black Sand Beach with Lion Rock behind us

The gals at the top of Rangitoto Island - an extinct volano

Pohutakawa Blooms on Rangitoto Island (volcanic rocks in the background)

The Hundertwasser Toilets in Kawakawa (most photographed toilets in the world)

Sailing in the Bay of Islands on "The Edge"

View from the top of the Track on Motuarohia Island (Bay of Islands)


Superhero Sally and Crew on 90 Mile Beach

Cape Reinga (Northern most tip of New Zealand) where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean

Loving Life at Cathedral Cove (on the Coromandel Peninsula)

Hot Water Beach (Coromandel Peninsula)

New Zealand has great road signs!

Silje and a gorgeous view of Rotorua

Silje lugeing in Rotorua

The gals with the Pohutu Geyser at Te Puia

Yes we went Zorbing!

Kayaking on Lake Taupo to see the Maori Carvings

The gals Wine Tasting in Hawke's Bay - I was the designated driver :)

Sally and Te Mata - "The Sleeping Giant"

Cooking and Cleaning in Sally in Napier

Wellington at night (view from the Bluebridge Ferry)

Cruising New Zealand

We have 3 weeks to cruise around New Zealand in our little campervan, also known as Super Hero Sally. Oh the places we will go!!!!

Here she is on 90 Mile Beach:



What do you think???!!!

Beautiful Southern Thailand

or in other words ... the beach!!!

We spent a beautiful 12 days in Southern Thailand and we really had a fantastic time. The weather was gorgeous and the company was good too!

We started out in Phuket and we really lucked out because the Phuket King's Cup Regatta event was on in Kata Beach where we were staying. The day we flew in to Phuket we took a long walk on the beautiful white sands of Kata Beach and we ended up at the far end where we had dinner. There was a great little beachside bar called Ska Bar where we stopped in for a drink that night. As the night went on more and more people kept pouring in to the bar and we soon found out they were mostly sailors who were participating in the Regatta. That night we ended up meeting loads of people but more importantly a really nice young Kiwi sailor - Chris who was staying at our resort with the rest of the crew from Skandia (the sailboat).

We quickly became friends with the young Skandia crew and early on in the week some of the guys; Chris, Rob, Andrew and Kal took us out sailing on Skandia for the practice race. The weather was beautiful and we sailed for a few hours while watching the flying fish jump out of the water, the other boats sailing and of course listening to some great tunes. It was fantastic to be out on the water and it really was a perfect day!

While in Phuket we spent most of our time laying out on the beach and swimming in the Sea during the day, making or way to the resort pool to meet up with the Skandia crew and heading out for dinner as a group or crashing the regatta parties, dancing up a storm on the beach every night at Ska Bar, watching the fire shows on the beach and really having the best time! We also hit up the Chang Beer Full Moon Party on Karon Beach and I honestly haven't gone out dancing like that in ages, we had so much fun dancing all night in the sand under the full moon with thousands of other people. All in all a fantastic time in Phuket and we definitely have to thank the Kiwi's and the Skandia Crew for it :)

We also spent some time in the Phi Phi Islands and in Koh Samui, both of which I loved. Phi Phi was somewhere I've always wanted to see and I will definitely go back some day. It has such a laid back, easy going, backpacker vibe to it. I could just hang out there for weeks! We did get a chance to see Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Ley (which are even more beautiful than what you see in pictures) with visits to Monkey Beach and Maya Bay which we all loved.

Koh Samui is a really beautiful island as well and definitely worth the flight over from Phuket. We spent our days walking on Lamai Beach and lazing by the pool since we knew our next destination was going to be quite busy and jam packed. I think Koh Samui is the kind of place you can definitely visit with someone you love, it's so beautiful and quaint, we didn't see much a night life there but December is also the start of their down season.

I absolutely loved Thailand and can't wait to make my way back some day (hopefully much sooner than later!)

Hope you are all doing well!

Southern Thailand Photos

The view of Karon and Kata Beach in Phuket


The lower pool at our resort in Phuket


Sitting on the rocks at Kata Beach in Phuket

Beautiful Kata Beach Harbour full of sail

boats for the King's Cup Regatta, Phuket

Taking a ride in a longtail out to the boat

Sailing on Skandia

The gang sailing on Skandia

Team Skandia at Ska Bar (partying on the beach)

Silje, Chris, Alex, Rob, Andrew, Ash dancing on Kata Beach, Phuket

The frog - ask me and I'll explain

Chang Beer Full Moon Party on Karon Beach, Phuket

The ladies crashing a King's Cup Regatta Party with the Skandia crew

The fire extinguisher event - ask me ... it's a great story

(Kiwi's partying + fire extinguishers = a terrified Alex)

The Pier at Phuket City on the way to Phi Phi Islands

Koh Phi Phi Ley Island

The ladies on our way out to Koh Phi Phi Ley

Me and Silje on Monkey Beach - Koh Phi Phi Don

The ladies on Maya Beach - Koh Phi Phi Ley

Me at Lamai Beach in Koh Samui

The ladies walking along the beach in Koh Samui

The ladies in Koh Samui near Hin Ta and Hin Yai rocks

Trekking Northern Thailand

We took the first class sleeper train up to Chiang Mai from Bangkok, it was a much better experience than the train in Vietnam! Once we arrived in Chiang Mai we set out to explore the city. It's really a charming little place, full of beautiful architecture, quaint little restaurants, loads of lovely Wat's and of course the best shopping in Thailand!

We did visit some Wat's here even though we didn't think we would. There are two that I absolutely loved. Wat Phra Sing is right in the Old City and it has over 700 practising monks. It's so interesting to see them interacting with all of the local people. The architecture of Phra Sing is quite lovely as well and they have lots of beautiful walkways throughout the property with inspirational quotes hanging from the trees. Krissy and I also made our way up Doi Suthep Mountain to Wat Doi Suthep which is probably one of the most amazing Wat's we've seen. It has a 306 step staircase leading up to the Wat that has 2 ornately decorated dragons going up the sides all the way up. There were quite a few special prayer practices up here that we'd never seen before. One being the bells hanging all around the Wat, you can buy a bell and write a prayer or person's name on it and hang the bell in the Wat after your prayer. They are quite lovely.

Mom don't read this paragraph! We did a lot of shopping in Chiang Mai, the shops were full of beautiful raw silk and silk scarves, sterling silver jewelery, cute dresses and skirts, etc. The Sunday Night Market was also a great experience. The City closes down one of the main streets and local people set up hundreds of booths full of merchandise. What we really loved about it was that all of the local people and the Hilltribe people were shopping at the same market, which made for a great interactive experience.

After some lovely days in Chiang Mai we embarked on a 3 day Trek through the Mountains to visit the local Hilltribes. Our first stop was an Orchid Farm which housed thousands of beautiful orchids. Up next we learned how to make paper from elephant poop ... they don't like to waste anything here! We dropped our bags off in the Lisu Village and then we started to trek, up and up and up to the top of the mountain in the sun. It was a very hot trek, we were sweating our butts off climbing up the steep mountain path and through the riverbeds. Luckily we had kung-fu walking sticks to help us (see photo below). The trek was beautiful despite the heat, the hillsides of Northern Thailand are something you should definitely experience if ever in Thailand. We passed some beautiful waterfalls along the way as well.

Once we reached the top we found ourselves in a Lahu Hilltribe village where we had a village tour to see their way of life and then found our accomodations for the evening. We had a really delicious meal and spent the night relaxing on the deck with the mosquitos. It was just like being at camp ... we loved it. The next day we were up pretty early and we hiked down the steep mountain path, swam in waterfalls, rode elephants, went river rafting, toured an Akha Hilltribe village and saw the Karen Long Neck Hilltribe ... whew, it was an exhausting but amazing day!!!!! Our accomodations for the night were in the Lisu Hilltribe village.

Riding elephants was definitely a highlight for all of us, these creatures are so gentle with the humans ans we were so impressed with them as they can climbed up the steepest and rockiest paths. Our elephant was balancing on a very slim beam during part of the walk which we found quite impressive. We bought some bananas to feed him along the walk and he would stick his trunk up at us for another banana every few feet until they were gone, such a cute big guy!!!

Our third day was spent touring the Lahu village by foot and by ox-cart and then making our way back to Chiang Mai where we unfortunately had to say goodbye to Krissy as she was flying home.

Northern Thailand was fantastic and I'm inclined to say that Thailand is my favourite Country thus far. Stay tuned for a post from the Beautiful Islands of Thailand where we've been having the BEST time during the Phuket King's Cup Regatta.

Northern Thailand Pics

Getting on the sleeper train to Chiang Mai


all of our bags at the train station (we have a lot of stuff!)


Al and Krissy at Wat Doi Suthep (with prayer offerings for Grandma)


Doit Suthep is such a beautiful Wat


View of Chaing Mai from Doi Suthep


At our Thai Cooking class with out instructor Liu


Chiang Mai at night


The ladies at Bai Orchid Farm


Learning how to make paper from Elephant Poo


Stopping at a little waterfall during our Northern Thailand Trek


Trekking in the scorching heat


The view from the top (Lahu Outpost)


Kung-Fu Trekkers!


A Hillside Tribe kitchen


Ash feeding our elephant during our elephant trek


This guy loved me! He kept coming over to stand by me


Silje and Krissy on their elephant


The beautiful view during our elephant trek


Getting ready to go rafting


Visiting the Karen Long Neck Hill Tribe


The view from our ox-cart


Krissy and Al taking an ox-cart ride

Adventures in Thailand - Part 1

Our tour ended in Thailand. Harry - our guide made sure we had our Visa's and walked us across the border no problem. We made our way to Bangkok in fabulous air conditioned vans - definitely riding in style (and so much better than the bus!).

Bangkok is a really busy city and there's actually quite a bit to do and see. The first thing we did was take a nap, the second was to find Krissy! One of Ash's good friends from Uni who was with us for 10 days.

While in Bangkok we had a mix of sight seeing in the City and cultural experiences. We made it to the obligatory Wat's to see the various Buddha's (we are now officially Wat'd out) and the amazing Grand Palace as well as several of the markets. We ate out on the streets of China Town (rats and all!) and shopped Khao San Road. We saw Siam Niramit, the tallest and largest stage show in the world and it was fantastic, I would definitely recommend it! This country is definitely wealthier than Vietnam and Cambodia, and they definitely cater to us "Westerners".

Two days after our arrival we were greeted by another visitor, Silje will be with us for the next 5 weeks or so. Silje is Norwegian but she met Ash in Oz ... we are quite an eclectic mix of travellers!

We spent some time outside of the city as well, we took the train to Ayutthaya for the day which was well worth it. We had a great lunch overlooking the water with our delicious fruity drinks and we saw several sights within the city, one of the most famous being the embedded Buddha face in Wat Phra Mahathat. Ayutthaya is a beautiful little city, it's one of the Ancient Capitals of Thailand and it's the kind of place you can spend a relaxing couple of days if you need a break.

Our other trip out of the city we organized ourselves by hiring a car to take us to the places we wanted to see and they were Damnoen Saduak Floating Markets in Ratchaburi, Erawan National Park and Tiger Temple in Kanchanburi. We arrived very early to the floating markets and we basically had the whole place to ourselves, as we floated through the canals we watched the market get busier and busier until finally it was full of floating boats and vendors. A very cool experieince and some of us came out of the market with out pocketbooks a little lighter, haha.

Our next stop was Erawan National Park, which was my choice :) The park is beautiful and houses a 7 tiered waterfall where you can hike to and swim in all 7 levels. It's absolutely beautiful and we had a great time there, even though the nibbling fish are in the water (yech!) which makes swimming interesting. There was a movie being filmed at the first tier so there were loads of actors dressed in aboriginal costumes who kept smiling and laughing at us and even taking our photos!

Tiger Temple was up next. Tiger Temple is a Wat run by monks who take in and care for stray tigers, the monks raise them by hand and teach them to live in "harmony" with humans. I had some serious reservations about this place before going because I've read some negative reports online about the tigers being mistreated ... and you all know how much I love cats. We did have a good experieince there in that we didn't see any of the tigers being mistreated and the tigers looked very healthy with nice shiny coats and no wounds. Our visit was very short and rushed, they allow you to take photos with the tigers, but they rush you through the area, we figure it's for safety reasons, but it doesn't really allow you to observe much about the treatment of the tigers. The girls loved it but I'm still a little unsure, I did notice that some of the issues brought up in the report were resolved or responded to in the brochure which is good but I still don't like the fact that the tigers are being exploited for money. In the end it was a cool experieince and I do feel that it's better for the tigers to be there than being poached in the wild.

While in Bangkok we were staying in a really posh hotel (for a very good rate), and we took advantage of the delicious buffets and the luxurious pool and spa :) Ahhhh, the life of a Beverly Hills Backpacker!

We're in the South Islands now and we are having an amazing time, I'm hoping to put up a post from Northern Thailand before we fly out to our next destination on the 8th.

Bangkok and Area Pictures

Krissy and Ash with the delicious fish, our first night out in Bangkok


The ladies on Khao San Road


Street meat in China Town


Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho)


Me at the entrance to the Grand Palace


The stunning Grand Palace


The ladies hard at work at the Grand Palace (you have to wear long sleeves and pants/skirts in the temples)


The pool at our resort (Beverly Hills Backpackers!)


Ash and Silje on the train to Ayutthaya


Our first group tuk-tuk!


The most amazing fresh fruit drinks (lunch on the river in Ayutthaya)


Me at Wat Phra Mahathat with the embedded Buddha head


Krissy and Al floating through Damnoen Saduak Floating Market (Ratchaburi)


A busy market canal (Damnoen Saduak Floating Market - Ratchaburi)


Erawan Falls (7 tiered waterfall) - Erawan National Park


Me at Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi


Cute tiger nose!


The Asian Squat (apparently I do it the best)

An Amazing Week In Cambodia

We spent a week in Cambodia, a very hot and sweaty week ... we'd start sweating as soon as we walked out the door, but in the end it was well worth it.

Cambodia is a really amazing place, in some ways similar to Vietnam (countryside, vegetation, weather, etc). It is a Country where you can really see distinction between rich and poor people. Many people are very poor, living in houses built from what we would consider as scrap metal and wood, begging for food and money and some people are living in beautiful homes and driving Lexus and BMW SUV's ... like I said, a major distinction between rich and poor. Cambodia has suffered some horrific tragedies within the past 20 years and they are still feeling the effects today. More and more tourists are visiting Cambodia which is great! but at the same time it's estimated that only 20% of our tourist dollars are really going back to the people of the country who need it most, the other 80% disappears somewhere within the Government.

The people of Cambodia are truly amazing, so kind and helpful, friendly and happy. They thank you for your business after every purchase and you can tell they really appreciate it. The food in Cambodia is amazing as well, not spicy but very flavourful, just the way I like it!

Our spent most of our time in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Angkor Wat Complex and Battambang. Phnom Penh is a busy city centre along the Mekong and it was the first place we were told that we should really dress modestly so that we wouldn't offend the locals (shoulders and knees covered at all times). In Phnom Penh we saw many sights. I found it very interesting yet horrific to visit and learn about the Tuolsleng Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ex Genocidal Museum (the killing fields) this is a part of World History I knew very little about. We also spent some time visiting the markets and we saw Wat Phnom (pit stop in this season's amazing race!) where we encountered some local monkeys and an elephant. (A baby monkey tried to steal the beads from my bag!) We also saw the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, both of which are very beautiful and have some stunning architecture.

Siem Reap and Angkor Wat Complex were of course my favourite. I thought I'd be templed out but I probably could have spent a few more days there walking through and learning about all of the remarkable architecture and temples. I'm not going to write much about this as it's just something you have to experience for yourself to really understand how amazing it is. I do have to admit though that I didn't love Angkor Wat Temple as much as I thought I would, it is really remarkable but I found Bayon Temple to be so much more interesting. In Siem Reap we shopped the Night Markets (they are really good markets, lots of beautiful quality items) and we saw a traditional Cambodian dance show which was pretty interesting. Their traditional dance is quite unique.

Near the end of the week we took a skinny river boat along Boeung Tonle Sap Lake to Battambong. This was a great experience as well, we got to see how the local people live along the Lake in river boats, floating houses and houses on stilts. Their lively hood is on the river, they raise animals on floating rafts, they eat and sell fish, prawn, etc from the river, they wash their clothes and bathe in the river, they go to school there, etc We experienced the river toilet which is basically a square cut out of the floor that goes directly into the lake while fish swim under you ...

In Battambang we did a motorbike tour, we visiting our Guide's home and saw how he and his family live, we visited a fish paste plant, a rice paper plant, a street vendor where we ate crickets (they taste like really crunchy chicken), we learned how they make bamboo sticky rice, saw some local temples and statues and took a ride on the bamboo train.

Whew .... we packed in the sights in Cambodia! This Country really left an impression on me, the Cambodian people have overcome so much and hopefully it will continue to get better for them. I very much enjoyed my visit here and as I did for Vietnam would reccomend a visit to anyone considering it.

Hope you're all doing well! I'll post our Bangkok travels in a few days.