Valparaiso Day 188 25/03/2015

Our hope of a good night's sleep was too much to ask for with the jet lag still taking its toll. We dragged ourselves out of bed just after 8am, packed and had breakfast. We had planned to get the metro to the bus terminal but looking at Lonely Planet it seemed that the cost of a taxi would be similar so we went for the easier option. It was a short journey and Simon went in search of the ticket office armed with his best Spanish, whilst Diane looked after the bags. We've decided to go to Villarrica when we come back from Easter Island, nearby Pucon but further away from the rumbling volcano, and wanted to get our bus tickets today whilst we were at the terminal. We boarded the 10.30am bus to Valparaiso and set off promptly, heading west towards the coast through agricultural land and vineyards. We arrived just after 12pm and with a bit of help from a lady from a tour company headed to find the local micro (small bus) to get us to the hostel we'd booked for the night, Luna Sonrisa. We found the bus stop and the bus we needed only to realise it was heading in the opposite direction. We crossed the road, couldn't find the bus stop so flagged down the bus with the driver happily stopping to pick us up. The micro sped up the hillside screeching around hair pin bends, providing us with a proper "white knuckle" ride to reach Cerro Alegre, still in one piece, where the hostel is located. A short stroll downhill and we arrived at our hostel, checked in and headed out to a nearby cafe for lunch. Valparaiso was originally the stopover point for foreign vessels heading for the California gold rush and quickly became the most important port in South America for over 60 years. However it started to decline just as rapidly following the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. In 2003 it gained Unesco World Heritage status to help protect development on the flatland by the coast noting the unique types of houses and murals. The city is a maze of steep streets and alleyways, surrounded by hills, although most seem to be crumbling or covered in graffiti (Diane didn't think much of them but Simon did!). Stray dogs are a major problem here and, although most seem to be relatively placid, the place is full of dog muck which is quite disgusting. After lunch we took one of the 15 ascensores (funiculars), built between 1883 and 1916, down towards the port area. As we passed the Plaza Sotomayor a tips only walking tour was just starting and we decided to join it. It was excellent, extremely informative and entertaining, walking past some of the key sights of the city which included another trip on a ascensor (the same one we'd travelled on earlier) and a trolley bus. We learnt a lot about the history of the city, the immigrants and current challenges. We definitely need to join the tour run in Santiago when we're back there next week in order to get a better insight into the city. We wandered back to the hostel and then later went out for dinner to a nearby restaurant. The waiter had lived in England for 10 years and very kindly helped to translate the menu. The food was very good washed down with a wonderful glass of Chilean red!

Valparaiso street art (graffiti!) 

The city landscape 

Heading down in the ascensor 

Pre Unesco World Heritage status development

Who needs a playground! 

 

The narrow streets and alleyways 

Paseo Atkinson 

Santiago Day 187 24/03/2015

We had planned to join a free, tips only, guided tour this morning but struggled to drag ourselves out of bed in time. We're both enjoying the benefits of jet lag and spent most of the night wide awake until it was time to get up, when we were fast asleep. We had breakfast at the hostel and headed out intending to walk the route of one of the tours. Santiago has apparently had millions of pounds of investment poured into the capital to support it's cultural development, not that we really recognised any effect of this. It's a big, grey Latin America city and certainly would never be described as glamorous. We headed towards Cerro Santa Lucia, initially thinking we'd have to miss out on walking up the small hill as the gates were still locked, only to see the security guards wandering down to open them, nearly 2 hours after the time shown on the sign outside. The hill was once a hermitage, then a convent, then a military bastion and now offers a respite from the chaos of the city. From the summit we got our first view of the snow capped Andes despite the grey skies and smog surrounding the city. Continuing our walk we reached Plaza de Armas, the symbolic heart of Santiago since it was found back in 1541 and after a quick pick me up coffee there we visited the National Museum of Chile (everything was in Spanish so Diane had to suffice with looking at the pictures and Simon being able to get the gist of some of the explanations) and the Catedral Metropolitana. We stopped for lunch at the cafe in the Precolumbian Arts Museum and then strolled on to Palacio de la Moneda where Chile's presidential offices are located inside an ornate neoclassical building. It had started to drizzle so we headed inside the Centro Cultural Palacial La Moneda but it was all too much for two jet lagged souls and we wandered back out into the fresh air and strolled back to the hostel for a bit more planning. We've decided to go to Valparaiso for a couple of days before heading back to Santiago to catch our flight to Easter Island. In the evening we walked to Bellavista for dinner before heading back for hopefully a good night's sleep.

The view from Cerro Santa Lucia (the Andes are in the background ...honest!)

Plaza de Armas 

Catedral Metropolitana 

Palacio de la Moneda 

Santiago Day 186 23/03/2015

We'd hoped that the kingsize bed with crisp white linen at the Citylife Hotel would be conducive of a good night's sleep but unfortunately it was not to be. Must be missing our campervan already! We left the hotel just after 9am to go shopping for Simon's new boots. It's only when we got back to Auckland that we observed how little cultural diversity there is outside the city, especially on the south island. Thanks to Lesley and Richard's tips on where to go, we were successful in purchasing some boots at the first store which meant we had time for breakfast and headed to a near by cafe. We popped in a camera shop, the post office and the pharmacy (again) before returning to the hotel for the final attempt to fit everything in our bags. We checked out and got the shuttle bus back to the airport where, after checking in and being allocated 'good seats' by the lady at the desk, headed into the lounge to use as much wifi as possible and have lunch! The flight boarded just before 4pm and we were disappointed to be on the back row. After a quick chat with the air hostess we moved further up the plane. We left as scheduled at 4.15pm and had an uneventful flight. Despite our move neither of us slept and both felt jaded when we arrived in Santiago at 11am the same morning (Chile is 16 hours behind New Zealand). We'd decided that trying to navigate Santiago's buses would be too much for when we first arrived and had booked a shared minibus to take us to our hostel. It was all straight forward and after a short wait we drove the 20km into the city. We're staying at Hostal Rio Amazones just near Barrio Bellavista. We checked in and, knowing that it wasn't the best thing to do, couldn't resist having a sleep for a few hours. We dragged ourselves out just after 2pm and headed to Bellavista to stretch our legs and get something to eat. Back at the hotel we did a bit of planning for the next few weeks. The ferry that we've booked from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales has been delayed by 3 days due to bad weather conditions. We assume the bad conditions are now and it's delayed their ongoing schedule, otherwise they must have a good crystal ball! Also a volcano near Pucon is looking a bit lively and we're wondering whether we should re think our plans and avoid the town. We went out early evening to get something to eat before heading off to bed - wide awake!

Enjoying dinner at Galindo's

Highlights - Part Two

Another 3 months has gone by and it's time for us to leave Australasia and move on to the next part of our adventure in South America. We've had a wonderful time here and are very sad to be leaving. The top ten highlights for part one was difficult, this has been almost impossible (notice the absence of any mention of the cricket!) so we've managed to settle on 12!

1. Catching up with family and friends, being put up, fed, watered and entertained. Their friendship and company has made our time in Australia and New Zealand very special. Thank you to all of you
2. Bringing in the New Year in Sydney and watching the amazing fire works display over the Harbour Bridge with Wendy, Sue and Paul           
   
3. Taking the ferry into Sydney, sailing passed islands and headlands and just taking in the views. Surely you couldn't get bored with this if it was your daily commute! 
   
4. Standing on top of Ayers Rock and marvelling at the 360 degree views across the red desert
   
5. Climbing Cradle Mountain in clear skies and warm weather and looking out into the wilderness of Tasmania
   
6. Going caving in Waitomo, crawling through small tunnels and climbing up waterfalls
7. Walking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, bagging two active volcanos along the way. A geology lesson on speed
   
8. Watching sperm whales come to the surface to breathe before diving back into the depths of the South Pacific Ocean
   
9. Sitting on top of Mt Ollivier, taking in the fabulous views of snow capped mountains including Mt Cook, glaciers and alpine lakes in absolute silence
    
10. Experiencing the peace and tranquility of Doubtful Sound from a kayak, and the inclement weather just adding to the thrill as well as the 1000m waterfalls!
    
11. Attempting to reach the top of Barrier Knob with wonderful views over Milford Sound and the surrounding peaks, especially from Gertrude's Saddle
    
12. Kayaking in the crystal clear green sea, past isolated golden sandy beaches in Abel Tasman National Park
    

And it would be remiss to finish this part of our adventure without mentioning our travelling companions for 8 of the 12 weeks! Our New Zealand "Stan" covered 6625kms and our Tassie "Stan" did around 1700kms, with no complaint from either and both proving to be reliable, comfortable and enjoyable way of experiencing the places we went.

Reflections of New Zealand

It's hard to believe we've been here for 6 weeks and about to head off to South America. When we first arrived in Australia we both felt a bit despondent with everything being very familiar and easy, lacking the challenge we'd experienced in South East Asia. After 3 months we've fully adjusted and feeling slightly apprehensive about getting back into the travelling mode in strange surroundings again (language, food, climate, noise etc)! We've really loved New Zealand. Our only regret is that we've not had longer here. Definitely a place to come back to if we get the chance; Simon's got grand plans for us to come back for the maximum time allowed on our visa of 6 months. Here's our reflections of the country from our time here:

• It's a staggeringly beautiful country with so many extremes from volcanos to alpine peaks to fiords. The differing colours and the brightness of them have also taken our breath away
• The weather has been excellent. We've had a few days of rain over the 6 weeks but it has just added to the beauty of the place filling rivers and waterfalls
• There's a real absence of animal wildlife, with the exception of roadkill we saw a few rabbits and nothing else. It's made up for with an abundance of bird and sealife. A plus has to be that there are no snakes (in fact nothing that will kill you)
• It's really easy to get around although we don't know how accessible places are by public transport. The roads are mostly single carriageway, windy and undulating but the quality is good. You just need to allow time when planning your journeys but the driving is not stressful (Kiwis in the main are courteous drivers)
• Everybody we have met has been extremely helpful and friendly. New Zealanders are very proud of their country and it's history and rightly so
• It really is set up to support the outdoors and people appreciate and treat the outdoors with the respect it deserves. From multi day long distance tramps to short strolls around scenic reserves. The investment in the infrastructure from the Department of Conservation must be significant and appears to maintain the balance between human access and preserving the beauty and wilderness of the country
• There are hundreds of campervans! The facilities at the campsites we stayed on were excellent. We didn't get the opportunity to stay in any huts but from what we understand they are well resourced (although you need to remember to take food, sleeping and cooking equipment unlike the huts in Europe)
• Food and drink isn't cheap here, being slightly higher than UK prices. Like with the Aussies' the country has a serious problem with obesity. Whilst pies and chips are definitely on the menu there is an abundance of good healthy food easily available. Petrol is probably a similar price to the UK at the moment
• Don't come here to avoid the midgies, the sandflies are as bad if not worse!

Auckland Day 185 22/03/2015

We were up early in hope of seeing the sunrise and to set off on the drive back to Auckland. There was still some cloud in the sky and we weren't able to see the sun although it was lovely to see the day break and the small fishing boats heading out to sea. We left the campsite just before 8am, heading south. The journey took a bit longer than expected with a 30 minute diversion due to roadworks. We stopped just near Auckland harbour and had our last lunch in our van before driving to the rental depot near the airport. Simon had managed to push the dints out of the bonnet and they agreed not to charge us for repairing the scratches from our collision on the ferry (the bonnet needed respraying anyway so we would have been pretty unhappy had they charged us). We got a lift to the airport and the shuttle bus into Auckland where we checked in at the CityLife hotel. Our room must have been at least four times the size of the campervan! We'd got some shopping to do so headed out to replenish our medical supplies, deciding to leave buying Simon's new boots for tomorrow, before returning and starting to sort out our bags. Our contents have definitely grown over the last 3 months as we've travelled around in cars and campervans and we need to do some serious reorganising to get everything in. In the evening we met up with Lesley and Richard for a farewell dinner at Wynyard Quarter. It's hard to believe it's nearly 4 weeks since we saw them last in Wellington. We had a great meal and shared stories of the places we'd visited over the last 6 weeks before saying our goodbyes and heading back to the hotel for more reorganising.

Day breaking over Tauranga Bay

Packed up and ready to head back to Auckland 

Enjoying a farewell dinner with Lesley and Richard 

Bay of Islands Day 184 21/03/2015

After breakfast we packed up and drove the short distance north to Pahihia, the main entry point to the Bay of Islands. New Zealanders refer to the area as 'up north'. It's made up of over 150 islands and is a very popular tourist venue for boat trips and swimming with dolphins. We had a walked along the shorefront, enjoying coffee in the local cafe, before driving a little bit further north to visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, one of New Zealand's most significant historic sites. Across the bay was one of the larger islands, Russell, was where all the British undesirables located themselves in the early 19th century, referred to as the 'hellhole of the Pacific' by Charles Darwin. The Maoris asked the British Crown to get rid of them and protect them from the threat of the French, who were illegally claiming they owned land there and trying to sell it again (as our guide explained "double dipping"). On the 6th February 1840, intially 43 Maori chiefs, then over 500 subsequently signed the Treaty of Waitangi with the British Crown, establishing British sovereignty and the right to govern but not ceding the land to the British. This was a bone of contention 50 years later and led to the Maori wars (everyone's friends now though!). We joined an excellent guided tour and learnt about the treaty itself, the Treaty House built in 1832 and now preserved as a memorial and museum, the Meeting House completed in 1940 to mark the centenary of the treaty and the War canoe also built for the centenary. After lunch back in Pahihia we headed north to Tauranga Bay where we planned to stay for the evening. It's off the beaten track and seemed very fitting for our last night in our campervan. The coastline here is breathtaking with golden sandy surf beaches. There's no wifi so it really was total peace and quiet! The wreck of Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior, sunk in Marsden Wharf in 1985, lies just off the coast here, resunk among the Cavalli Islands and is a popular diving area. We found a spot on the campsite overlooking the beach and had a stroll along the sandy shoreline. The beach faces north and we had hoped to see both sunset and sunrise. The skies were still grey shrouding the sun and an orange glow was the best we got. We had dinner sat in the van with the back door open looking out to the sea. A wonderful and tranquil place.

Pahihia 

Looking out to Russell Island 

The Waitangi Treaty 

The Treaty House 

The Meeting House

Carvings depicting the local tribesmen 

Ceremonial canoes 

Flagpole flying the British Union flag and two New Zealand flags 

The lovely beach at Tauranga Bay 

Enjoying the early evening sunshine 

Our view over dinner 

Whangarei Day 183 20/03/2015

We're both keen to visit the Bay of Islands before we leave New Zealand. It's in Northland, north east of Auckland and a long drive from Hawke's Bay, but we were up for journey and set off just after 8am. It had been cold overnight due to the tail end of Cyclone Pam, and was still chilly with clear skies as we packed up. We headed north to Hastings and on to Napier before turning north west towards Taupo, where we'd stayed on our journey south. As we got closer to Taupo we could see the huge snow capped mass of Mount Ruapehu and the conical dome of Ngauruhoe in the distance. We discussed, very briefly, heading back there to do some more walking but decided to continue as planned. From Taupo we continued north west, stopping for lunch by a lake, to Hamilton to join the highway to Auckland, only to find it was closed and we had to follow the division for a short while. As we approached Auckland we slowed to a near stop as we had joined the rush hour traffic. The weather on route had been glorious sunshine but the skies were now black and it wasn't long before the rain started. Once eventually through Auckland we headed north along the east coast. As it was nearly 7pm we decided to stay at Whangarei for the night. We'd driven nearly 600km in the day and we were both ready to stop (plus our bums were very numb!). Whangarei is the Northland's only city and is surrounded by rolling hillside and forests, just south of the Bay of Islands. We just managed to park up and have a beer before the sun went down.

Hawke's Bay Day 182 19/03/201

It's hard to believe that we left home 6 months ago today. We've had a fantastic adventure so far, who knows what the next 6 months will bring! Our very good friends from home, Gillian and Mark, had bought us a voucher for Craggy Range Winery in Havelock North for our 50th birthdays. We'd booked dinner in their Terroir Restaurant (actually for last night but luckily they could accommodate us tonight) and so we set off from Martinborough heading north. The landscape as we left was a patchwork of pasture fields and grapevines. It's famed for its wineries which draw in the visitors to the area. It was a relatively short, leisurely drive to Hastings where we planned to stay the night and we arrived early afternoon. We had lunch sat outside in the sunshine and then wandered into the town which is only a few kilometres from Havelock North, separated by rows of orchards. Back at the campsite we did a bit more planning for Chile and chilled out for a while before getting ready for our evening out. The winery overlooks Te Mata Peak which we thought was quite apt as Lonely Planet describe the peak as having a 'Scottish Highland' atmosphere. We parked the van in the carpark and headed into the restaurant, a cathedral like wine barrel. Dinner was superb and the wine was exceptional. A real treat and a lovely way to celebrate our birthdays and the mid way point of our adventure!     

Arriving at Craggy Range overlooking Te Mata Peak

The Terroir Restaurant on the left 

A very fine bottle of Merlot 

A toast to our birthdays 

Artichoke Agnolotti 

Beef Fillet Béarnaise

Martinborough Day 181 18/03/2015

The sky was blue when we woke but it was still chilly and we waited for the sun to appear on the van before having breakfast. We'd booked the 1.15pm ferry back to Wellington so had a few hours to spend before heading off to the port. Simon decided to get his hair cut and we found a local barbers who gave him a good shearing, which will hopefully last for the next few months! We had time for coffee on the harbour front before heading to the port and checking in for the ferry. We waited in line with what seemed like hundreds of other campervans and motorhomes, finally boarding just after 1pm. We set sail around 1.45pm with relatively calm seas as we sailed through Marlborough Sound. There was then an announcement over the tannoy that there were unfavourable conditions out to sea, a notoriously bad stretch of water as you sail through Cook Strait. The outside deck was closed and everyone was asked to sit down. Staff handed out ice cubes and sick bags. The ferry pitched in 45 knot winds with a 4m swell, the sea splashing up on the window of the 8th floor lounge. Despite the crews best endeavours to move people who got sea sick to the stern of the ferry, a number stayed on the bow and were subsequently ill. We eventually turned into Wellington Harbour and calmer seas. Once docked we headed down to the car deck to find our van and the van in front had collided, the driver of the other vehicle accusing Diane of not putting the hand brake on! His vehicle was OK but ours had a couple of dints and scraps on the bonnet. We had to wait for the duty officer to fill in an accident form before finally disembarking. We planned to head to Martinborough which is just over an hour north east of Wellington. It was gone 7pm by the time we arrived and the local supermarket had shut. Luckily the guy at the campsite told us about pizza Wednesday at the Martinborough Hotel and so we headed there and enjoyed delicious pizza for $10 each washed down with a nice bottle of Pinot Noir from the local Margrain winery.

Leaving Picton Harbour 

Passing the ferry from Wellington

Approaching Wellington Harbour 

The collided vans 

The Martinborough Hotel 

Picton Day 180 17/03/2015

The weather was a bit inclement when we woke. We planned to head to Picton today after driving to Farewell Spit, the most northerly point on the south island. We packed up and headed west. It was only a short drive from Pohara, past Collingwood and the access point for the Heaphy Track, another of New Zealand's great walks. Farewell Spit is a bleak and exposed wetland and it certainly looked very bleak when we arrived in low cloud and light drizzly. It's a renowned bird sanctuary, the summer home for thousands of migratory waders. It's a 35km stretch of beach with crescent shaped sand dunes and a vast low tide salt marsh. After stopping for a view across the marsh we went to the visitors centre where we read about the frequent beaching of whales in the area. There's clearly a lot of debate about the rights and wrongs of human intervention to refloat the whales. It's heart wrenching to see the pictures of the stranded whales and knowing the distress they are in. The expression on the volunteer in the photo below very much portrayed how we felt. The larger whales are too big to be refloated and eventually, because they have no bone structure like a human skeleton, their weight crushes them to death if they are not put down. There was an interesting small exhibition on the work of the Department of Conservation and local volunteers to refloat beached whales. From Farewell Spit we headed back through Motueka where we'd stayed a few days ago and on round the Tasman Bay through Richmond to Nelson, stopping for a late lunch at a funky, "boho" cafe. After lunch we continued east through Havelock and over the 35km Queen Charlotte Drive to Picton. The road runs alongside the Marlborough Sounds giving wonderful views out to sea and of the numerous hill clad islands. As we dropped into Picton it was impossible to miss the Queen Mary 2 docked in Shakespeare Bay. We checked in at the campsite and then walked through the marina into the town centre, spotting a very large stingray as we walked over the bridge, to buy a few provisions. Back at the van we started to do some planning for Chile. The sun was still shining but the temperature had definitely dropped and we had dinner in the 'warmth' of the van.

Farewell Spit

A photo from a beaching in 2014 

Nelson high street 

At the funky cafe where we stopped for lunch 

The view from Queen Charlotte Drive 

Queen Mary 2 in Shakespeare Bay 

A stingray in the harbour 

Picton Harbour