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Queenstown and Te Anau0
Audrey posted in Travel on October 30th, 2006

Someone else had purhcased our tickets to Queenstown so we had just a paper copy. I became convinced that we would travel with ET airlines. Fortunately I was corrected before rolling up at the check in desk. ET was in large print but stands for Electronic Ticket, somewhere in the small print which cannot be read by anyone over fifty it said Air New Zealand!
The flight was via Christchurch and on to Queenstown on propellor driven aircraft . The run into Queeenstown over the mountains with a 63 knot headwind was likened by Audrey to stepping from cloud to cloud. I thought it was like sliding down stairs on a tea tray. We picked up our hire car which had a different control layout to the ones in the UK and spent two weeks using the windscreen wipers every time we wanted to indicate a turn.

A visit to the tourist office got us an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound which seemed better than Milford Sound just because it was harder to get to. A drive to Manopuri ,then a trip across Manopuri Lake and a coach trip on a road which could not be reached by road (all vehicles got there by barge) down to Deep Cove and our overnight boat.
The accomodation arrangements on the boat seemed to be everyone under 25 was in 4 berth shared cabins and everyone else in twin/double cabins.

The evening consisted of a gentle cruise in the sound and nearly out to the Tasman Sea to get close to some seals on a rock.Somehow we were able to get just a few feet from the rock in quite a swell without being shipwrecked. The overnight ancorage was inland and much calmer. Before nightfall we had the option of kayaks,swimming or a nature watch on the ships tender. Obviously we took the least energetic one which was a close look at waterfalls and the trees growing without soil on the bare rocks. This was also our first introduction to the local menace of sandflies, bigger and hungrier than midges.
The water in the sound is interesting as there is up to 3 meters of fresh water on top of the salt water so it is realy a lake floating on the sea.
There is some technical distinction between a sound and a fiord but the scenery was of near vertical walls and very deep water in narrow valleys.
In such a remote area there should have been lots of native birds but they were relatively scarce being predated on by imported pests like possums and stoats.
The next morning was another cruise ending up at Deep Cove for our return journey over the mountain and lake. We had met some locals who get early season discounts and they persuaded us to take the drive to Milford Sound after our boat trip. Billed as the most spectacular drive in NewZealand It would have been a shame to miss it.
This was a drive into the hills and through a mountain (Hermons Tunnel) to get to Milford sound.

The tunnel was finished after the second world war but the road inside did not seem to have been resurfaced since,that and being not much bigger than a London tube tunnel made the trip interesting especialy as there were no lights in the tunnel. We did’nt do a trip on Milford sound as we had to get back for bedtime. On the way back there was one of natures rock gardens set amongst avalanche boulders as big as busses. This was only marred by the weather and a fear of getting in the way of the next avalanche.

The photos are here.

The White City1
Kate posted in Travel, Kate & Dave on October 27th, 2006

…and meanwhile in South America….

Our travels have taken us away from Lima (where we stayed longer than we anticipated because we met some very interesting people to talk to) and we have now arrived in Arequipa. Its called the Cuidad Blanca (white city) because all of the old colonial buildings around the central square were built using white volcanic rock. Looks pretty spectacular.

We came here from a tiny village in the desert called Huacachina, which is an oasis in the surrounding sand dunes. It looks very pretty, and the sand boarding and dune buggy rides were great, but the whole place was a bit too much of a resort for us. So it was on to an overnight bus and, 12 hours of hair-pin bends later, here we are. As we walked into the hostel at 8am, there were a whole lot of Irish boys still up drinking from the night before. Since they were so friendly, it seemed natural to join in for a beer.

We made one small exploratory venture into the city so far, and found a beautiful string of connected courtyards that wind round behind the cathedral on the main square. Also stopped in for a bite to eat in a little nameless place at the side of the road where I had 2 courses (and more than I could eat) for about 50p. So now we are busy planning what to do next. Hiking in the Colca Canyon and surrounding area and watching condors fly about are pretty high on my list.

But I have just heard about a trip where they put you in a jeep, drive you to the top of a volcano and then give you a mountain bike…

Further updates from New Zealand0
neil posted in Travel on October 24th, 2006

I just noticed some photos appear from halfway around the world. Until we get some text, go here to enjoy!

Oxjam Buskathon0
neil posted in Photos, Neil on October 21st, 2006

This October Oxfam have organised a month of live music to raise money called Oxjam. As part of this, there is a 24hr buskathon just off Princes St. All artists are performing for free and all proceeds to charity. It kicked off with the Edinburgh Samba school who had Lisa Drysdale out front charming the crowd. Very funky and plenty loud.

Stealer kicked off around 6pm and were a lot of fun unplugged. Bonus points to the bassist for playing the banjo and the drummer for having bells on his shoe!

The crowd they deserved never did turn up and rain drove the following act under the tenting. I left at 8ish with the organisers playing acoustic guitar and drums watching the rain fall outside. By 1am they called it a night and left a dreary empty square (and the 2-3am drunken clubbers) until 10am the next morning. October is’nt the ideal time
for a full night run!

10am on sunday they picked up again. The event ended at 1 o’clock, sadly without the traditional castle gunshot. Persona-B, who had spent 10 hours in a car from Wales, finished the busking along with the Edinburgh University Drum Society.

The bands were great, the weather was mixed but the crowds came and went. It is tough trying to get buskers out late in a shopping district on a saturday night, it is harder still to get the people there to appreciate them. Nevertheless I’m looking forward to next year.
Photos are here.

Phase II: Peru0
Kate posted in Travel, Kate & Dave on October 21st, 2006

Having survived the week-long party in Ireland, Kate and I have now successfully made it to Peru. We arrived yesterday morning after two very long flights (to New York, then on to Lima) and went straight to bed. We are staying in a hostel in the suburb of Barranco, which is really quite pretty. It sits on the cliffs above the beach looking over the Pacific and is apparently the artist/intellectual hangout. It is also completely full of cafes and bars. The rest of the city has the reputation of being big, dirty and ugly, but we havent seen any of it yet…

In keeping with the costa rica theme, we seem to have picked up a local.  While struggling to decipher yesterdays lunch menu a very nice retired fellow came over to us to help. He also offered to take us sight-seeing and invited us over for a cup of Earl Gray (his sister lives in England and keeps him supplied). We have also been given directions to the bar run by his brother, which sits on a point of land overlooking the Pacific. Thats tonights plan!

Colin Prior @ Stills0
neil posted in rants, Neil on October 19th, 2006

Colin Prior (famous Scottish Landscape photog) gave a slideshow and Q&A in Stills Edinburgh yesterday. He was promoting his book “Wild places“. The style of photography we know him for is panoramic landscapes, empty of people and this comprised most of the show (and the book). It was refreshing to see some wildlife in the mix and even a picture of a person. For me, the Q&A afterwards was the most interesting part of the talk. Fresh back from photokina and well connected in the rumour circles, he produced a lot of interesting hardware info:

He did’nt envisage a portable panoramic digital camera of the quality he wants in the immediate future. However, he saw digital as very much the way forwards. The high pixel count sensors fitted now in pro-DSLRs means that medium format’s dominance of the very large print photograph is coming to an end. He also emphasised the flexibility of a digital camera in the field as it allows him to shoot landscapes one second and moving wildlife through a long lens the next. The only problem at the moment was that Canon wide angle lenses were not of the exacting quality he wanted. He also likes RAW, Apple computers and Aperture. He saw the future as Canon eventually developing the do-it all camera which could crop photographs (APS?) to be any aspect ratio you are used to. If he told us more Canon would have to kill him.

I have a promise of more travel updates soon, watch this space. Audrey & Eric get back from NZ on monday and Kate & Dave are in Peru, we think.

Its not broken! Its ADVANCED!0
neil posted in Neil on October 12th, 2006

Two PC’s broken in one day. The one on the left has a bizarre habit of forgetting its hard drives when it boots. The problem is so intermittent that you can almost forget about it before it happens again.The one on the right does’nt believe in its graphics card. Its been one of those weeks.

Phase I complete0
Kate posted in Travel, Kate & Dave on October 11th, 2006

Well, we have now completed the first chunk of our Big Trip, having toured round the USA, Canada and briefly Costa Rica. The last few days were spent watching lava and burning rocks come crashing down the side of Volcan Arenal in Costa Rica, and stewing in the thermal baths nearby. (Want to jump into 67 degree C water anyone??) Then 4 flights in 4 days, including an unexpected stop over in Charlotte courtesy of US Airways. Very tiring.

We have returned safely to Ireland - just for a week - for Kates cousins wedding. This promises to be a huge party, with plenty of relations from all over the world joining in.

Photos are here.
Phase II: Peru

After Auckland1
Audrey posted in Travel on October 10th, 2006

We have now left Auckland and are staying with our hosts Ken and Robyn in their apartment in Mount Maunganui.It is across the road from a very nice beach which is looking out on the Bay of Plenty.

Animals so far the Tui bird and porpoises in the bay.

Yesterday we were at Rotorua where there are geothermal activities.We have seen a Geyser and a mud pool all run by the Maoris.

The highlight of the day was a bathe in a river. Yes a river. It was a confluence of two rivers one was an ordinary river and the other was coming down from some hot springs.Think of a bath where the cold and hot taps are left running.If you want to be warmer/colder just move. To add to the atmosphere we were treated to a mini picnic with apples, cereal bar and a lemon and lime drink. Toasted when we came out and the effects lasted all evening.

Today the weather is very spring like think sunny periods and hail showers just like in the UK.We are at lake Taupo and have seen a fish hatchery but no good views of the mountainns due to the frequent showers. Also watched bungy jumping with a young lady from Leeds making her first attempt in tandem. Wow!!! She is now sitting next to us in the internet cafe.

Wedensday (tomorrow) we are off to the South Island and Queenstown and hope the bad weather is over .

Photos are here.

Portion of Kate with a side of Dave!2
Kate posted in Travel, Kate & Dave on October 6th, 2006

So we spent the last few days in the deepest darkest jungle. Where the bugs live……a lot of them! I appear to have been the dish of the day. My legs have been thoroughly munched and daves knees and knuckles for some reason. On the plus side we got to hike through the jungle at night, saw both the most poisonous snake they have as well as tarantulas, went on horseback to another fine jungle waterfall, swam in the river…..etc.

Now we are in La Fortuna staying at the base of the worlds third most active volcano. Last night we sat on the porch and watched it spark and lava flow down the sides. Today we are going for a closer inspection (only to a viewing platform mum, no need to panic), keep your fingers crossed that the pictures come out. We are off to sit in the park and eat mangos.

See some of you in Ireland next week.