On Saturday I arranged to meet an old friend at Belgian Beer Garden. He's been in Melbourne for a number of years. So i was looking forward to catch up and find out what was the best places to go to from an insider. Shame he didn't turn up. Still, the Belgian Beer garden (St Kilda Road) is a pretty damm good place to spend the afternoon lot of different beers and mainly European. Later, I was fortunate to get tickets to the War of the Worlds concert. The show has an amazing Holographic computer generated image of a young Richard Burton narrating the story. Its not long before you actually start believing it is him. It's strange, that the hologram recieved a larger applause than any of the cast (including Jeff Wayne himself).

The following day, Sunday, i took the short tram ride to St Kilda. This is where i stopped last time i was in Melbourne. Thankfully it hasn't lost its charm, although it is more busy. The main street is still lined with cafe bars which were all packed. The previously closed Luna Amusment Park, which is a 60's style looking amusment park was now open and rammed. Also being Sunday (best day to go to St Kilda), the local art and craft market were strung along the prominade. Most of the stalls were pretty good and different to the usual tat you'd expect from a sunday market.

Monday was a chill out walking day, taking in a few parks, the massive war memorial, a view from the tallest building in Melbourne and a couple of exhibitions.

On tuesday I travelled on a tour down the Great Ocean Road. this is a long day trip,(about 15 hrs) but some of the best coast line you would see in all in the world, the hightlights being the Appostles and London bridge. Whislt travelling down the road if you have a keen eye you can see Koalas in their natural habitat.

Wednesday was another packing day, and another flight this time to Perth, where i am meeting up with friends Chris and Anna for a couple of weeks.

Melbourne has changed a bit, from when i visited last time. But it hasn't lost its cosmopolitan image. The restaurants (especally the ones within the Crown casino) are exceptional and the side streets lined with cafe bars are a great place to hang out. I can't say a bad thing about the place. (OK the weathers not as hot as Brisbane or Cairns).

Day 113 to 117 21-9-2007 to 25-9-2007 Melbourne remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Fiji

Good
The People - Friendliest in the world- bula
Just a great place to chill out

Bad
Expensive island boat transfers (thats all i could think of)

Auckland

Good
Viaduct harbour- Great restaurants
Decent place to live- lots to do and visit
Art Museum

Bad
Transportation. Its a serious nightmare to get around
Nightlife dissapointing for such an exciting city

Hamilton

Good
Witomo Caves nearby

Bad
Just a dull town - if you can get up early, do the caves and drive to Rotorua in one day

Rotorua

Good
Loads to do
Good Walks especially the coastal walk
Tour to Hobbiton
Luge - via the cable car - great views
Zorb (even though i missed out its still worth mentioning)
Polynesian Spa
Blue and Green Lakes
Te Puia - Great place to learn about the Maori culture and a big geyser to boot

Bad
It smells (but you can put up with it. in return you get the Geothermal stuff)
Nightlife was dissapointing for such a buzzing place- but it was Winter

Taupo

Good
The drive away from the town
It has a lake and on a clear day to can see Mordor (shame i didnt get a clear day)

Bad
If it rains theres bugger all to do

Wellington

Good
Great Nightlife in Courtney Place
Great Restaurants in Cuba Street
Street car to Botanical Gardens
Rings tour to surrounding places
Te Papa - Best Museum so far
Check out the chochlate fish cafe (favourate place of the RIngs Cast)

Bad
Nothing i can think of.

Christchurch

Good
More English than England
Very Cultural
The Scuplptures by McKennzie Thorpe
The train journey to Greymouth

Bad
Not much nightlife

Franz Joesph

Good
The trek up the glacier
Good Hostel YHA

Bad
Not much more to do but thats only what you're there for

Queenstown

Good
Good Nightlife
Loads to do (base jump, canyon swing, bungy)
Good Walks
Milford Sound (take the plane back you wont regret it)
Skiing resorts nearby

Bad
Full of Air heads

Overall

Best Bargains

- The walks,
- The Bus ticket from Greymouth back to Queenstown - there are loads of special deals for coaches and are more like tours than a bus service

Rip Off

Nothing i could find

Most irritating

Lack of Nightlife - excluding Wellington ( i put it down to being Winter)

5 Questions that need to be answered

1 Why is netball so popular - and there's no shirtswapping at the end! so why
2 Why do kiwis put avacado on burgers (its like the french using mayo)

Useful websites while travelling in New Zealand
www.wotif.com - good for late deals for hotels

Summary so far (Fiji and New Zealand) remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The following day we took a local tourist train following the route of the logging trains used to take. The afternoon was spent trying local wines and ciders ( there's a lot of wineries around here)

That night, we decided to try a different town for a meal, as their wasn't much choice in Pemberton. The nearest town was Manjimup About 20 minutes away. Driving in to town, it was noticable that it was larger, but, even quiter that Pemberton. As we approached the town centre. We slowed down in search of somewhere to eat. What we saw made us lose our appetite. How can i say it. There are Dog lovers in this world and there are DOG LOVERS. The man outside the bar, was one of the latter. Suffice to say, we sped off pretty damm quick back to Pemberton. Not to return to Manjimup again. I've seen some crazy S*** on my travels but nothing will top that.

Day 120 to 122 28-9-07 to 30-9-07 Pemberton remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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This time around i moved further affield. taking in the Rock ( the oldest part of Sydney), a few of the Parks and their famous Fish market? This comprises of a large unloading area with about a half a dozen fish stalls, a bakery and a deli. Thousands flock here, especially the chinese who demand that the fish they buy is live fresh. A couple of the fish stalls have a cafe attached so customers can have there produced cooked on the spot, it is always packed. It just shows, it doesn't take much to be become a tourist trap (take note NELC)

I took a wine tour around the Hunter Valley. (thats about as much as i can tell you). I also remember the tour guide saying not to drink all the wine, but to spit the wine out. I remember thinking sod that. Funny, that's all i remember.
I learn't whilst tasting wine, i could disitintivly taste difference between still wine, sparkling wine and vinegar. My pallet is not refinded, i just know not to pour it on fish!

The last day in Sydney i climbed the Harbour bridge. I figured that if it's good enough for Kylie. Yes, i have stood where Kylie has stood ( it doesn't get better than that). The climb is not scrary at all, unless you don't like heights, then it may be. You are strapped to an harness, which is hooked on to a continous wire sytem along the whole of the journey. so it's totally safe and a spectacular view especially at dusk when the lights start coming on (you have to pay extra for a dusk climb, but it's worth it).

Days 107 to 111 15-7-2007 to 19-7-2007 Sydney remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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But as Dirty Harry says "Opinions are like arseholes. Everyone has one." So, Firstly the bad points. Actually i'm struggling to think of anything too bad. Its not a great place for shopping, if you compare to Melbourne or Sydney. The bars and restaurants are very good, especially sea food. The transport is getting in to a bit of a mess, but at least they had the nonce to relocate the bus routes underground. If anything you could say it lacks sparkle, but on the other hand the gold coast is only a couple of hours away, the reef isn't too far and the weathers pretty good all year round.

On the plus side, the the South Bank Riverside, is a revalation. It's a great place to relax and spend the day or two. They are renovating the swimming pool complex at the moment, which is massive (and free) and will be amazing when completed. The swimming pool is connected to the paddling pool which links in to the waterway meandering around the complex. The waterways are shared by the local Ibis, which are seen to be pests by the locals but look facinating to any visitors. Surrounding the pool is a multitude of cafes, restaurants, an outside arena (where there is always a local band playing at lunchtime, great idea) and numerous childens play areas (including a giant wall for chalk art). All of this is linked by a walkway with floral covered steel steel structures, all different and contorting their way through the complex like a giant caterpillar, the effect is creatively stunning.

Also whilst in Brisbane, i took the chance to visit Austraila Zoo, (Steve Irwins Place), which is only and hour or so away from the city. I havn't been to a zoo since probably when Cleethorpes zoo was around. (so not a good yardstick to measure by). However, you couldn't help leaving being impressed with the size, dedication, and care that the staff at the zoo put in to help and conserve the wildlife. Nowadays, attractions are treated totally as money making schemes.
In this place the money goes back in to the welfair of animals, and it shows. They now have the adjoining land to expand the zoo (not that it isn't big already). So in a few years time it will be even better.

I never really liked Steve Irwin when he was alive (always thought he was mad and a bit of a prat). Having been to the Zoo my opinions have changed. I still think he was mad, but looking what he had achieved and tried to do. You can't help but admire his commiment and dedcation.

Anyway the rugby world cup started this week, so i've been avoiding as many rugby conversations as possible. The word cat and hells chance does come to mind. Having seen the All Blacks and the Aussies earlier in the tri nations, I cant help see anything but us getting completely stuffed, thats of coarse assuming we get out of the group stage. But at least we have beaten the Yanks.

All in all, i liked Brisbane, the pubs, restaurants are great and livley and the people are friendly, even though most of them like country music, but everyone has their flaws!!

Days 100 to 104 8-9-2007 to 12-8-2007 Brisbane remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Top 15 Chill/ hangout out places
1 Central Park - New York
2 Granville Island - Vancouver
3 Stanley Park - Vancouver
4 Fraser Island
5 Melbourne- Riverside , Belgain Beer garden (St Kilda Road), narrow street cafe bars,
6 Darling Harbour - Sydney
7 Byron Bay
8 Mollolo - Fiji
9 South Bank - Brisbane
10 Lake Louise - Banff
11 Pier 39 - San Francisco...... not Grimsby
12 Newbury Street - Boston
13 Whitsunday Islands
14 Freemantle - Perth
15 St Kilda - Melbourne (especially on sundays)

Top 10 Shopping
1 Hong Kong
2 New York
3 Melbourne
4 Montreal
5 Sydney
6 Toronto
7 San Francisco
8 Calgary
9 Vancouver
10 Boston

4 places to Avoid
1 Seattle USA - Dull, except the pigs
2 Taupo NZ - dull, ( go straight to Wellington)
3 Manjimup Oz - Bling, Bling, Bling, Bling, Bling, Bling, Bling , Bling, Bling ( Banjo Territory)
4 Hamilton NZ - Dull (but go to the caves, just head for Rotorua afterwards)

10 important things in my backpack
1 My journal, with out it i'd be buggered.
2 My Credit card - Thank You Nationwide for not charging for transactions - shame on you Halifax
3 My Merrels- best walking shoes ever
4 Teabags- You can't survive on crap tea
5 My camera
6 My shades
7 My stubby cooler
8 After bite- liquid ammonia -strong stuff
9 Packing tape- for all kinds of uses
10 Aloe vera- its amazing where you get chapped!

5 mistakes made whilst touring
1 Bringing too much clothing- Ended sending some back.
2 Not booking the china trip in UK. - Thinking it will be cheaper and easier in HK. (still stuck there.)
3 Booking 3 nights in Taupo - What was in thinking.
4 Not staying longer in Vancouver, Fiji, Fraser island,
5 Staying longtime in Hong Kong- (yes i"m still here and if i'm asked if i want a fake rolex again!)

7 Freebies
1 Bus around Stanley Park - Vancouver
2 Tram in Calgary Central
3 Te Papa Museum - Wellington
4 BBQs all over Australia
5 Swimming Pools down the Australia East Coast
6 Tourist trams around melbourne
7 Nothing in New York and if it was, you'd still have to pay a tip.

Top 10 things - so far..... remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Byron is famous for the large amount of hippies that moved in years ago before it became trendy. The influence can be seen in the shops around with models of VWs and loads of flower power souveners. I didnt see full Hippies only a few wannabees (chilling out this week, back to the office next week)

Byron is also a great place for Surfing, and particular para-surfing?,( a cross between pargliding and surfing), and tricycle bikes being pulled the wind via a sail attached, great fun.

There's a great cliffside walk around the bay to the lighthouse, (which can be seen from the beach) and back to the town. Whilst at the cliff top, you can watch the whales heading south from the view that is the most easterly part of Austrailia,

Byron is another great place to chill out away from the stress of city life. Relax, have a coffee, read a book and watch the day go....zzzzz

Day 106 14-9-2007 Byron Bay remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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It's commendable how the Aussies embrace their history and achievements. If i looked around Grimsby, where would i find any sence of history and respect of the past? A cenotaph at Nuns Corner, tooked out of the way, is that it? Sad.

Yes, even Wagga Wagga has pride in their towns history and their achievements .They've immortilised them with bronze plates embedded in the pavements. I only been a day here but supprisingly learnt alot (plus they have a beach!)

Day 112 20-9-2007 Wagga Wagga remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Day 105 13-9-2007 Surfers Paridise remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The best i can describe Ailie Beach is like a ski resort but for sailing, not like Benidorm or Magaluf, so nighttime is a kinda apres-sail

The two main pubs at night are an irish bar and the local backpackers hangout. Both were livley. In particular the Backpackers where i was reintroduced to Cider. The seafront is a great place to hang out with a large man-made lagoon (free), BBQs (Free) and a good walk around to the local cove.

I spent 2 days out on the ocean. The first day was on an impressive Cat sailing around the Whitsunday Islands. The highlight being set ashore on Whitehaven Beech. The sand is almost entirely silicon,which gives an almost white look to the beech and when walked on, actually squeaks under your feet. The down side was once we had been set ashore, a storm moved in and drenched the lot of us (theres no undercover), on the plus side it was hot, so we all dried out pretty quick.

The second day was out to another Barrier Reef base, similar to the one stationed off Cairns. The water was a bit more choppy out there, which meant the visabilty wasn't as clear as last time but still just as much fun. It's amazing how many people suffer from sea sickness. About 15 people throwing up in sync is a sight to see- but not to video.

I spent 5 days here, which is about the right time to spend. Theres plenty to do and loads of islands to explore. There,s also lots of boats to choose from for 2 and 3 night sailing trips. I decided against the later due to the very dodgy weather reports. Probably a good idea, a spoke to one girl, who looked totaly drained after her sailing trip ( the impression i got was not much food stayed down)

Days 92 to 97 31-8-2007 to 5-9-2007 Airlie Beach remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Fraser Island is the largest sand based island in the world, stretching well over a 100 miles long the coast. I was expecting an extra large sand pit. But the island is almost covered with rainforest and Flora, untouched for millions of years. The place is incredible and is one of the places you are likely to see a dingo in the wild as there are quite a number on the island ( i've no idea how they got there).

There is 2 choices of accomodation on the island. Either go camping (which means you have to stay in Hevey Bay for a day for induction) or go to the Kingfisher Resort, which can be expensive. Fortunatly i got a good deal on the net. (this also turned out to be a good idea. 2 girls i met that went camping, got soaked and the rest of the party didnt tidy up after themselves so thay got invaded by starving dingos and then got fined for not obeying the rules.

My hotel room a was an ajoined cabin on stilts out in the forest which is a 4 minute walk from the main hotel through very dimmly lit forest. At night time it's a bloody long 4 minutes, especially after being told that there are numerous poisonous snakes and spiders on the island. The 5 five mile bush walk i took was equally intimidating. (not quite Blair Which, more Deliverance - cue the banjos)

The resort is Amazing and has great ECO tours including a 4 wheel drive tour around the island and a loads of hikes through the forest. The resort also had bush tucker tasting and cooking which is great fun. Fortunatly no grubs to eat on this occasion

I wish i could have stayed for a couple of more days and gone further north on the island. But its best to leave wanting more, so i've been told

Days 98-99 6-9-2007 to 7-9-2007 Fraser Island remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Cairns is a great resort, hot all year around and the ideal place to either go to the barrier reef or up to Cape Tribulation, Port Douglas and the Rainforest tours. Its also idel to go in the winter here, since most of the poisonous spiders and snakes dont come out until the Summer.

Supprisingly there isn't much of a beach, but to make up for this, they have created a large outdoor pool called the Lagoon. Alongside this and continuing along the seafront is a part park part activitives area, including a skateboard/bmx park, 2 kids play areas, a multitude of monuments / sculptures and a boardwalk continuing in to the distance. it's like Cleethorpes could be, if someone actually sat down and planned something for a change (in fact Cleethorpes has a much better beach, so we have an advantage over Cairns who would have thought that!)

One thing i have noticed, is that alot of activities are free.....e.g. the lagoon the skateboard parks. There are even barbecue areas where people can come along, turn on the electric hot plate and cook their meals. AND YES ITS FREE! Plus, people clean them before they leave. Everyone here has a sense of pride in the town. Even though most people are not from here. I wonder what state a BBQ would be in say in Peolples or Grant Thorold Park. It would be a great idea, but probably vandalised or stolen before the morter has set. If nothing else it would give the druggies something to cook up some munches!!

Cairnes is the best place to access the Barrier Reef, however if you were thinking of going to the reef, best make it in the next few year. Climate change is expected to wipe out some of the reefs coral in the next ten years or so, nows the time to see it.

Its also worth taking a day trip to Cape Tribulation to take in a few walks in the rainforest, and see the crocs in their natural habitat or if youre lucky (or unlucky) a cassowary. They may be flightless birds, but they are big, have massive claws and love to chase down their pray. plus their indangered, so you cant hurt them!!

Cairnes is a good place to come for about a week. Just to chill out and take in some diving.

Tried Morton Bay Bugs whilst here. Yum. Yum.

Day 85 to 91 24-8-2007 to 30-8-2007 Cairns remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Once at the Canyon, there's a choice. Either the easy garden walk or the difficult rim walk, which takes you around the top of the canyon. I opted for the rim walk being the model of fitness that i am!?

The first part of the walk is the hard bit climbing Cardiac Ridge. I don't know who named it, but they had good reason. I'm sure there's been many heart attacks trying to climb to the top of the canyon on this route. Fortunately, the rest of the walk is pretty straightforward including the walk down to the garden of Eden, a tiny lake amongst the canyon surrounded by sub tropical greenery. Almost like an oasis amongst the multi layered canyon walls. A couple of the areas have been cordoned off, due to the inpending rockside. For some reason, some people think of this to be a sign of a challenge, and ignore the ropes and signs to take a look at the view point. Probably americans. If they had seen the view of the ledge for the other side of the canyon, id think they would thought twice against it.

The walk is about 3 hours to get around and the views are amazing.

Day 84 23-8-2007 Kings Canyon remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The tour boat i went on, was recommended by most people in Cairns and it had the advantage of a station permanently based at the reef. The boat took a couple of hours to get there, but there was plenty to see on the way including whales travelleing back to Antartica.

Once at the reef station, there was a lot of activities to do including a glass botom boat, semi sub, even the new type of air filled helmets for people who can't swim, (they just stand on a gantry that lowers down).

I decided to give scuba diving a go, i'd kicked my self not doing it when i visted the Cayman Island last year. Since the tour was to try lots of new things and diving was on the list, it seemed the best place to try it. After a brief instruction and breathing checks 5 minutes later we were in the water with the instructor and diving amost the reef.

The 45 minutes whilst under is probably the most memorable experience i've had so far on the tour, and that's saying a lot. Swimming amost clams 5 feet wide, diving and investigating sea cummbers and starfish and lots of other marine life around was. . .

There are no words i can think of that explain how amazing it was. Just no words.... not even Awesome.

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The highlight though was meeting the local Maori Wasse fish "I called him Dave, he looks like a Dave" who is about 4 to 5 feet long and is named afer the markings tattooed in his face.

There was hundreds types of different fish swiming around and hiding amongst the reef. these included various Clownfish (nemos), Angelfish and countless types of coral all in vivid colours, shapes and sizes (I was very lucky with the sun being out all day)

After the diving, i went back to snorkling around the reef, for about another hour. But the time raced by. Before i had chance to take many photos, the boat was signalling me in to return.

The reef streches for hundreds of miles, passing the whitsunday islands, so with a bit of luck i'll get another chance to visit the reef further down the east coast. Once is nowhere near enough, neither is twice.

Day 89 28-8-2007 Great Barrier Reef remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Arriving at the Uluru Resort is strange. Its the same as a typical all-inclusive place, but in the middle of nowhere. The whole resort, hotels, shops, backpackers everything is owned by one company, which means only one thing BLOODY EXPENSIVE. In their defence the shuttle bus around the resort is free- but thats the only thing. The barbecue at the backpackers is the livleist place to be at night, with a live band on whist you cook your meat ( you can't blame the chef this time!!)

The first night, i booked a trip to Uluru to see the sunset, which is about 15 minutes away from the reort. The sunset happens quickly and you dont notice the rock changing colour too much. It's only when i looked at my pictures that i was taking every 30 seconds did i see the dramitic change. Equally dramitic was the sunset over the rest of the landscape, with the sillouettes it cast over the continous scrubland and ghostgum trees in the distant.

The sunrise is much slower and therfore less dramatic, but still worth getting up at 5 in the morning for? i think

The rest of the morning was filled with a cultural tour of Uluru, with one of the true natives. He proclaimed that he had killed 5 kangeroos that same morning. He then went on to show the weapons that the native used including spears , clubs, and boomerangs. He then explained that he prefer to use a shotgun (how else would he kill 5 kangeroos in a morning). He made fire out of wood, bark and hair and told some traditional fables about the rock. At the botton of the rock there are various plaques dedicated to people who have attempted to climb Uluru and killed themselves. The local natives request that you dont climb the rock because it makes them sad when an accidient happens. The Goverment see it differently and allow it. Alot of Aussies think of it has their "God given right to climb it" (someone actually said that) and although the percentage of visitors who decide to climb it has dropped, thousands still try to climb it. As the rock is smooth, like i pebble, it would be a nightmere to climb. The only comparison i can think of, would be trying to climb up the slide when you was a kid, but for 300 metres high)

I respectfully decided to abide by the locals request and did not climb- (Beside Kings Canyon's much more fun).

In the afternoon we travelled an hour or so to Kata Tjuta (also known as the olgas). Kata Tjuta is actually higher than Uluru and much more interesting. From a distance it looks like a series of domes, and depending from the view and the position of the sun will completely change in colour, shaddow and shape. On closer look there are a number of canyons. The walk to one of these is worth doing if you have time. On closer inspection, Kata Tjuta is totally different to Uluru, as the whole of the range is made up of tiny rock formations that have over the years been pebble dashed by the rusty sand and baked over thousands of year. Whislt Uluru is just a rock.- Most people dont bother with Kata Tjuta- Their Mistake.

Later that day was another Uluru sunset, but from a different vantage point- Same outcome. Funny that.

Day 82 and 83 21st and 22nd-8-2007 Uluru and Kata Tjuta remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Alice Springs is all you expect from an outback town in the middle of nowhere. There is lot of native aboriginies here, but they don't do alot. All they do is well ... nothing. A few sell their dream paintings ( which are ridiculesly expensive. Even the cheapest ones will cost over 200 pounds). At those prices all they have to do is sell one a month.

Before i landed in Alice, i had seen on TV that they had banned drinking in all outdoor areas. It became news here because it was seen to be victomising the natives, since that is all most of them did all day on the grassy knolls scattered around the town centre . All the tourists would generally drink in the pubs, which wern't effected. So the locals just sit there like zombies wondering what to do with their day." I know i'll sell my join the dot to dot painting i did when i was six, some american will buy it for a few hundred dollars for sure"

Alice has a a few decent restaurants, in particular the famous ..... not to be forgotten... .ok i forgot its name , but it serves up a platter of Aussie grown tucker such as crocodile, emu, kangeroo, and camel. Yes camel

Years ago, before trains went across Oz. Most travel was by camel. However after the railways were built. There was no use for the camels so they let they go in to the wild. There are now thousands of them all over the bushland and are thought of as pests. However, they are well sort after in the middle east, since they are classed as pure blood and very healthy.

The whole area, for hundreds of miles, is a mass of red. This is due to the iron content which has eventually rusted and has coated everything including the famous, Uluru, Kata Tjunta and Kings Canyon. (All places i shall be visting over the next week). However, whilst i was at Alice Spings, i took the tour to see the McDonnald mountain range. This is a long ridge of mountains, which was created by two plates colliding, one being forced up. At the time they were created, the range was higher that Everest ( how they know this i've no idea ). But due to errosion, all that left now is two sets of peaks, which resemble a train of caterpillers (which ironicly is what the natives call them), but enough history. The tour was a full day and had some good walks and wildlfe on the way

Alice is the best place to go as a base if you want to tour the red centre landscapes. The other places are over priced, although you will have to stop in Uluru to be able to see everything (but make it only 2 days)

.......and restaurant was called the Overlander. not quite yet gone senile.

Day 79 to 81 18-8-2007 to 20-8-2007- Alice Springs Aus remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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5am the bus picked me up (this doesnt sound like fun) and at that time it is bitterly cold. We may have been in the Red centre, but parts of me were blue. The journey took about 45 mins to the site and after a wind direction test, we relocated to the start position, and was ready to unload the balloon. It took about half an hour to get the balloon in an upright position. Thankfully by then the heat from the burners were taking the chill from the air. There was 10 of us climbing in to the basket. All of us had never done this before and didn't have a clue what to expect. The balloon initally starts to slide across the floor for the first few seconds and then gracioulsy slowly begins to climb. The ride was completly smooth, no sudden jolts just gentle movments and a feeling of just hovering over the landscape, like snorkling and looking down on the sea bed.

A second balloon, which took off at the same time floated underneath us. It looked like it was on the groud ( we were so far up by then it gave the appearance it was stationary on the floor). Not long after, the sun climbed out of the distant horrizon. the sky in both the east and the west were amazing. blazing reds and golds in the east, blue, green and violets in the west where the clear sky was catching up to the night. 45 minutes later it was over. We were taken to a clearing to enjoy a traditional bush breakfast. Quiche, chicken legs and friut? (bugger eating grubs)

When a arrived back at the hotel i turned on the TV to find that there had been a ballooning accident in Vancouver. (i'm gald i saw that after i had returned)

Ballooning is an amazing experience. One word of warning, take lots of layers of clothing or expect retracting nads!

Day 85 24-8-2007 Alice Springs remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Queenstown is the extreme sport capital of the world and therefore airhead capital of the world. Brains are generally left at home in the sock draw for most people who come here. e.g. One guy actually spent over half an hour trying to decided who his favourate friends character was (this was the level of conversation in the hostel).

As for Queenstown, the scenery is spectacular. The view of Lake Wakatipu and the snow capped Remarkables mountain range behind, make the long journey alone worth while. My plan was since it was Winter, to either to improve on my dodgy skiing skills or try snowboarding. This was totally torpedoed by the weather. The first few days threw it down. The only sunny day, i was away at Milford Sound, and the last two days there was serious Avalanche warnings (one came down and just mised the nursary slopes at the Remarkables). Having said that there was still loads to do. There are some great walks. In particular there is one you can take via the skyrail, which will lead you to some mountain views out of sight from Queenstown.

The famous Milford Track walk is not too far ( on the way to Milford Sound ), this is a 3 day walk, but is closed for winter for obvious reasons and also needs to be booked well in advance.

The latest exteame contraption in Queenstown is the canyon swing. Which consits of a 60 free fall (this is how long it takes for the wire to tighten), then a 100 m radius swing. Once you've conquerered that fear, there are various positions you can take (backwards, upside down or other positions such as "Gimp Boy goes to Hollywood" or the "Elvis Cuttaway". Id like to say i couldn't attempt this due to bad weather. In fact i will! Mind you the people who did it in the rain said it was better!

The night life is pretty good but mainly a restaurant and bar scene rather than clubbing, having said that you're usually too knackered to go clubbing ( or is that acting my age)

On a plus note most some pubs show the live footy games (earliest one being at 11 at night), Shame about Man U

Days 71 to 76 10-8-2007 to 15-8-2007 Queenstown remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Just flown here the other night, where my bags are i dont know.
Ten hour flying, over to the outback to be stuck in a long que..... hell.
Stop apologising, about where my luggage went.
Time is short. The tea is gruesome.
And my duds they need a change
I'm in a town called Alice...... YEY A YEY YER!!!

Rows and rows of disused buildings.
Painted dots on shops and bars.
And a 100 miserable Abos, sitting all day on their Arse.
Hanging out on grass or corners, but no drink its banned.
its enough to make you want to bugger, off to another land.
I'm in a town called Alice...... YEY A YEY YER!!!

(Aliice Springs recently banned drinking outdoors, which has seriously upset (Peed/Off) the local Aborigines
)

Day 79 18-8-2007 Alice Springs Aus remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The journey to M. S. wasn't too bad either and went very quick. Partly due to the stops every 30 min or so, for photo opportunities, (there lots to see on the way as there has been on all the coach journeys ive been on). But mainly due to sleeping through half of it, thanks to large quantities of wine drunk from the previous night. There are lots of wineries in New Zealand and i've prpbably sampled bottles from most of them.

Once at Milford Sound, a boat takes you down the waterway to the mouth where the Tasmin Sea begins. Because of the large amount of rain form the previous day, there were buckets of waterfalls cascading on both sides of the Sound. Sadly no penguins to be seen, but a few seals were spotted along the way. The boat journey lasts about an hour and half. The highlight being getting soaked from one of the waterfalls (the boat backs in to it for a closer look). Once off the boat its back on the bus for a tiring return journey. But not for me.

I decided to take a different route back. So i hopped on a tiny fixed wing 6 seater plane to take the more direct route. Flying in these things is a totally different to nomal planes and was fortunate enough to sit at the front with the pilot (im a co pilot- not). So armed with my camcorder and fresh underwear i was ready to go.

The first thing you notice when flying in these planes is how fragile they seem to be. Any small ghust of wind was like a slap across the the planes face. Maybe not as hard as the ones i got in the Dolphin, but neverthertheless just as effective when your as close to mountains as we were. Flying the plane looks quite easy, at least the pilot made it look that way. he didnt press many switches, which is prpobably a good thing.

The journey took us over and between mountains, over glaciers, lakes and forests of Fiordland National Park. The journey was about 45 minutes, roughly about the same amount of time i had my mouth open, gasping at the views in front and at the side of me.

The flight back had the additional advantage of returning from the trip 3 hours earlier than expected. Time for more wine me thinks!

Day 74 13-8-2007 Milford Sound remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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So not supprisingly the weather wasnt good. In fact is was throwing it down. In some way this was good, at least there would be plenty of waterfalls to see. The coach ride from the township was only 10 minutes. Once off the bus we went straight in to the trek, which comprised 45 mins walking through rainforest, 30 minutes walking across moraine and 4-5 hrs treking up and down the glacier.

Climbing the ice involved climbing in spiked books, utilising footholes and steps that were being carved by the guides with pickaxes. Every so often we would come across crevasses which had to be jumped if small or crossed via a narrow bridge if larger (at this point you DONT LOOK DOWN). By contrst walking through crevasses is an experiance. trecking through wall to wall blue ice towering 30 ft or more is great fun.

During the whole of the journey the rain increased, creating small rivers. these would dissappear into ice formed pot holes, which would glug every so often ( like the sound water makes after youve emptied the bath but 10 times louder). It was advised to keep way from these holes, some of these being quite large and meandering through the ice to the bottom undreneath the glacier.

Once at our peak ( the galcier goes on up for 10's of miles) the view down the valley was erie. It was like being on earth millions of year ago, surrounded by rock faces thousand of feet high with cascading waterfalls plumiting down the sides. I'm not sure if the picture below does justice to the view, but in distance you can see the rainforest from where we started

Looking in to the distance, you could forget that there is any sign of human existance whatsoever (apart from the 20 or so dripping wet trekers and 4 guides). It was about then a mist began to drop down, covering the tops of the rockfaces, but this just added to the ambiance of the place. Going back down was alot quicker, but just a trickey, climbing down seamed more awkward than climbing up

We returned back to the coach, exactly at sundown, Either excellent timing by the guide - more pure luck i think.

It was another thing i'll never forget. Totally knackering, cold,wet, scary but Wow

For anyone who is scared of heights the trek is a no goer- for anyone else it should be on the top 5 things to do list whilst in New Zealand

I understand the Fox Glacier, which is nearby is just as breathtaking.

I stopped at the YHA hostel while at franz, which is a pretty damm good hostel and very friendly. The town itself is small (no ATM beware), but there are a couple of good restaurants and bars -so sorted.

(nb For travelling 2 days is only required here then move on, either to fox, or towards Queenstown.)

Days 69 & 70 8-8-2007 & 9-8-2007 - Franz Joseph remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I drove in to Wellington just after lunch, and first impressions are not what youd think for a capital city. It's a very chilled place. More importantly it has night life, THANK GOD SOMEWHERE WITH NIGHTLIFE. Courtney Place is very lively, lined with bars and clubs ( no bingo), whilst Cuba street is a more chill out place with some excellent restaurant and a very laid back vibe.

Wellington is right on an earthquake fault (they usually have 3 earthquakes a day although most go unnoticed) and is the reason why most of the buildings are made of wood, this helps towards the charm of the place. Particularly on the outskirts were most of the buildings are positioned on hills and mountainsides.

The Main Museum is Te Papa and is excellent. You can easily spend a day there , plus it's totally Free (donations are appreciated). Its more of a natural history of New Zealand than just artwork ( there is at the moment a great exhibition on in the form of a murder mystery, which is great fun)

I went on another Rings tour and is also well worth doing. Since Wellington was at the hub of everything and is the location of the main studios, there's plenty to see. Sets surrounding Wellington include Rivendale and Helms deep which is now revertied back to a working quarry. You even get your photo taken with elf ears complete with bow and arrow, but thats another story. Peter Jacksons home is here and he is god in this town. Another good reason to take the tour is that it take you to

Its also worth taking the cable car up to the botanical gardens for half a day. it's a decent trek up some steep hills - youll need a pint afterwards or two - Dehydration is very common and must be delt with!!

I noticed Ian McKellan was in town next week doing a Shakesphere play ( I keep thinking of the scene from Extras 2). " I play King Lear, but i'm not really a King" I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face.

For anyone thinking of travelling in NZ, i would suggest 4-5 days here, making sure one of them is friday or saturday. nightlife in NZ is not like the UK, so you need to maximise the nightlife where you can.

I took the ferry over to Picton, which has great scenery along the way, (another roll of film required for the journey, thank god for digital cameras) as it meanders through Queen Charlotte Sound. I stopped in Picton for a night, since it was about 5 PM and i didn't feel like driving another 5 hours to Christchurch.

Picton is a tiny but picturesque port, which can be walked around in 10 minutes, most people opting to travel to Nelson which is not too far away.

So another 4 hrs driving down another spectacular coastal road ( rugged coastline to the left, mountain range to the right, winding roads in front! ) and i hit Christchurch.

Days 62 to 65 1-8-2007 to 4-8-2007 Wellington remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I decided to lose the pimp wagon here (the depot was around the corner). Mainly because i'd been told that the train to Greymouth was one of the best rail rides in the world. Also its hard to take photos and steer a car at the same time.
(It had nothing to do with the scrape i made down the side on the first day trying to get out of an underground carpark, where did that collumn come from?)

The train to Greymouth is spectacular, taking me from the east coast to the west coast and passing some of the highest mountains on the island. Although the train journey was cut short, due to repairs being made in the tunnel at Arthurs Pass. However, the coach from Arthurs pass almost took the same route (except going through the mountain), so nothing was missed. Once at Greymouth i hopped on to another bus and headed for Franz Joseph, (nothing in Greymounth worth stopping over for) where there's an impressive glacier trek i'd been told was worth doing.

The coaches here act as excursions buses, stopping at any points of interest and with the drivers giving a running commentry about the history of the area meant that nothing was missed. How they keep track of every river, mountain and bridge name ( in English and Maori) i'll never know

Days 66 to 68 5-8-2007 to 7-8-2007 - Christchurch remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Days 59 to 61 29-7-2007 to 31-7-2007 Taupo remains copyright of the author I Langley, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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