Around The World Gaby and Gu 2006-2007

It's another sunny day in Tekapo, yeah !! We are going to make the most out of it by first going on a hike to Mount John, a hill that surrounds all the area and then by spending a couple of hours on the lake on a nice and romantic private cruise on the only small boat that proposes tours :O). We continue to be completely in love with this place !! :O)

It's amazing what a clear day can do to your mood and to the landscapes around you. We left Akaroa in a rather desperated mood, hoping for some sun to lighten up our day...and fortunately that's exactly what happened on our way to Lake Tekapo. We arrived there around 15h00 leaving us enought time to prepare for a magnificient sunset with amazing views on the mountain ranges around us and great reflections on this beautiful turquoise lake. Tekapo was just supposed to be a stopover on our way to Queenstown but we liked this place so much that we decided to stay one more day ! An excellent decision we guess. Check by yourselves ;O)

Yes, Akaroa is potentially such a romantic place ! Potentially because if you go there and spend two days with bad weather like we had, it can spoil your whole stay in this lovely french concession located within what was once a volcano. We had a good time there anyway but why did the sun only appear when we were leaving !!! ;O)

Kaikoura, definitely the place to go for Whale, Dolphin and Albatross encounters !! An amazing experience with the dusky dolphins, a kind of shorter and very acrobatic type which is usually found in the southern hemisphere as we were told. The encounter was quite impressive since they are very sociable even though they are totally wild and nothing is done to attract them. They just come around the boat, let themselves flow onto the wave and don't hesitate to spin around to impress us :O). We were also lucky enough to see really huge albatrosses flying around the boat. Simply a fantastic bird !! Well, very recommended encounter unless you are prone to seasickness like a certain me !! (Gundi) :O)

On our way to the southern island, we thought it would be worth paying a forced (you have to get there to catch the ferry to the other island) visit to the capital. Wellington didn't quite meet our expectations. The city is OK but it seems pretty messy and dirty. Furthermore, there aren't that many things to do or see there except the excellent Te Papa National Museum. Well, we won't remember this city as one of the nicest we have seen.

Orakei Korako, The Hidden Valley, our last stop in the very geothermal area of Rotorua / Lake Taupo before heading to Wellington. Once again, we were amazed by all the fantastic silica terraces and geyser activity of this place, which generates amazing colours. That is definitely our favourite of all the ones we have visited these past days.

Te Puia is a big Maori compound aiming at preserving the culture in the area and beyond. There is a fantastic Maori performance including the famous Haka and some games they used to play in older times. The compound also includes a carving and weaving school where Maori people can graduate from and keep traditions alive. It's great and besides it offers another great Geyser experience. We liked this place very much !

Wai-O-Tapu ! Here's something that really impressed us. Here, it's all about Geysers, Mud pools and different geothermal phenomenons that can be seen around the Rotorua area. It's really fascinating, like walking on the edge of a boiler.

Being "fans" of the Lord of the The Rings, one of our mandatory stops was the movie set of Hobbiton, in Matamata, two hours south of Auckland. Unfortunately, there isn't much left of the hobbits hole, since the production covered most of them after filming was over. However, the owners of the field where everything was shot managed to preserve some of them under the condition that no painting or furniture be presented to tourists. The location is amazing and with the help of our guide, we really could see how it looked back when they shot most of the scenes !

Wherever you look at around Auckland, you can see beautiful hills surrounding the city. They are, for most of them, extinct volcanoes that look now fairy-tale-style. Ten minutes across Auckland lies Devonport, a very nice little town with two of those hills, Mt Victoria and North Head, from which you can enjoy a fantastic view of the Auckland Skyline. We loved every bit of this very relaxing and quiet little seaside village

Here we are in New Zealand ! At first sight, Auckland, our first destination, looks like a clone of Sydney in much smaller. But when you take a closer look at it, it has nothing to do with it. It's a sailing city (America's Cup ! :O) very pleasant to be walked around. The highlight for us is the Auckland Museum with a very interesting display of Maori and Pacific Islands' culture with a Maori dance cultural show. Lovely !

Our trip in Australia is coming to an end very soon. Since we were (very) tired from our fantastic 2 weeks with my sister, we decided to take it easy and enjoy some well deserved quiet and relaxing days (the first ones in a long time) spending our last 2 days like locals do : going to the movies, for a walk and have a coffee on a terrace and last but not least going to Bondi !! The place to be in Summer...the problem is that the summer's gone and despite the sun we don't feel like swimming...it's soo cold !!!! Anyway, we had a great time in Australia and having seen only a little part of it gives us an excellent reason to come back !!

Sister !! You are leaving this morning, oh nooo !! We will miss you. We had such a good time with you during those 2 weeks. Hope you enjoyed as much as we did ! Se ha de repetir en este pais o en otro en cuanto antes ! Hasta pronto y que tengas buen viaje !!!

On our way back to Sydney, we decided to stop by the Featherdale Wildlife Animal Park, which differs from a Zoo or other parks because it actually allows most animals to be around people within a pretty large enclosure. A very nice experience to be able to approach a kangaroo or a koala without seeing them run away from you. And there's one typical aussie animal, which we didn't manage to see in the wild, that we finally could see, the cute and kinda lazy wombat. Animals are definitely amazing !!

We are back in the Blue Mountains for a short 2-day-stay in order to show my sister the beauties of the area ! Of course, we couldn't stay anywhere else than in our favourite Guesthouse, Kurrara (again, some free advertising here, guys :O) with our nice hosts. Hope you liked it Sister !! We loved to re-do it with you ! :O)

After lovely Broken Hill, off we are back for a short stay to the Blue Mountains, but before, we have a 12 hour drive ahead of us with a stopover in a caravan park in Cobar for the night. Yes, we have spent a lot of time on the road but it was well worth it, since the landscapes are simply stunning ! We love the red soil ! We love seeing nothing but empty landscapes in front of us ! :O)

Broken Hill known in the past as a prosperous mining town is, at least for us, a pearl in the outback. It's right in the middle of nowhere but it really gives a feeling of modernity ((it has everything a town can expect to have) and art (there are lots of art galleries) in contrast with the building's old-and-far-west-style architecture. It's really like travelling back in time. We loved it !!

Our day trip to Mungo was great but it's already time to move forward. We have a four hour drive ahead that will take us to Broken Hill, a town...somewhere...in the middle of nowhere...just like the Silver City Highway...a magnificient and empty road that gives you an incredible feeling of space and freedom...there's nothing around and you'd better not breakdown because kangaroos, rabbits and emus are more popular than cars on this road. Unfortunately, they aren't of any help ;O). Anyway, the Outback is fascinating !

The long dreamed Mungo Lake is finally within our reach !!! After spending 2 hours in our 4WD car, it was finally there in front of our eyes. The Mungo area and the now dry shore of its lake shows evidence that burial ceremonies already existed 40'000 years ago. All sorts of stone tools, human bones and even footprints where found in this area !!! What's left of the lake is eroded sand formations which are quite amazing to see ! Mungo...definitely the highlight of our aussie trip !!

We have little time to show Australia to my sister but we will make it !! Our first destination : Mildura, about 1200kms south west of Sydney. It takes about 12 hours to get there and the landscapes are absolutely stunning. Our objective in Mildura - Mungo National Park - but before going there we want to relax and enjoy the town and have a look at The Kings Billabong Wildlife Reserve for a walk. Follow us :O)

My sister has had the great idea to join us for 2 weeks in Australia !! Yeah ! After picking her up at the airport at an undecent time, we decided to take her for a 2-day visit of Sydney starting with the Taronga Zoo, followed by a walk in the city and some tasteful coffees at The Opera House cafe :O)! Sister we want you to enjoy those 2 weeks as much as possible !!!

For our last day at the Royal National Park, we decided to go for some exercise. Yes, it doesn't look like it but we are getting ugly and fat :O). The food in Australia is OK but far from being balanced. Anyway, we had a great time during our walk and saw many many beautiful places...so many we couldn't stop walking !!