Fraser's fables

Twizel and Mt Cook

2012-01-05T09:00:00.006Z

After the wedding we had a few day to ourselves before we flew back to Melbourne and we drove to a little cottage just out of Twizel for some peace and quiet. We didn't do an awful lot, some walking aroun Mt Cook national park, a drive into Ohau and not too much else. We had great weather and the scenery was spectacular.

View from our little cottage at breakfast time

Fishing in the canal between Lake Tekapo and Pukaki

Catching fish out of the canal. Most of the fishing was done in the canal below the salmon farm...we were there for about half a hour and saw about five fish get caught - impressive strike rate.

Tasman Glacier in the background

A close up of the top of Mt Cook on our way up the Hooker Valley

Relaxing beside Hooker lake, Mt Cook in the background

Sealy Tarns on the hike up to Mueller Hut

Terrain starts to gt a bit more challenging..

Scenes from around the hut

Mueller Glacier

Behind the hut was Mt Olliver, the first mountain Sir Edmund Hillary climbed. We gave it a go as well, scrambling up the rocky ridge and then taking a short cut down the scree on the other side which had some hair raising moments.

Looking up the Hooker valley towards Mt Cook, Mueller Lake in the foreground and Hooker Lake and glacier beyond.

The next morning at the hut bought rain so after a quick descent it was off to the hot pools at Omarama to warm up ad get clean before heading back home.

Juliet's Wedding Snaps

2011-12-30T07:19:00.001Z

A small selection from the big day courtesy of Juliet and Kevin.

Bevan excited about people starting to arrive

Kelley receiving a horseshoe from Juliet and Kevin's daughter, Mikayla

Popping the corks on the bubbles on the church lawn

Dad, Kevin and Juliet and Kevin's daughter, Mikayla

The May family with their new son in law... aren't they happy about it...

Grandma

Wedding party and partners

Bridesmaid flowers on the head table

Mother of the bride and mother of the groom

The Green Green Grass of Home

2011-12-18T07:13:00.003Z

We arrived home in mid Dec to a sea of green. Steady, constant rain had left the area looking as green as I have every seen it, plenty of feed for stock and for silage and lots of smiling farmers.

Lambs in the lower pond block

Irrigator going in the former dustbowl that was the top of the bump paddock lamb feed in he foreground

Fat cows pigging out on clover in the calving block

Fence - finished

2011-11-13T01:04:00.002Z

Finally, after some hiccups with the painting / staining, the fence is finished!

Otways and the Great Ocean Road

2011-11-01T03:44:00.009Z

We took the Monday off before Melbourne Cup Day to make a 4 day weekend. The weather forecast wasn't flash but the trains were booked so we paked up our gear and took a train west to Colac where we started a 3 day ride through the Otways and along the Great Ocean Road.

Saturday morning wasn't so bad, with more fine periods than showers but it got progressively worse.

First stop, Otway Estate for some mid morning beer tasting.

Typical scene along the way, it seemed that there was so much grass they would bale it up and then forget about it.

Lunch at Gellibrand. This is a photo of the profile of the old rail line. Gellibrand is the lowest point and we had 16km of climbing ahaed of us.

The climb was actually really tough, especially as the rain and the mist closed in.

Kelley on the last stretch of uphill

A welcome break and an opportunity to warm up in this quirky shop / cafe / museum.

The second wettest spot in Australia, wettest in Victoria. Fittingly, there are raindrops on the lense and curious dairy heifers in the background.

Our accomodation that night was not flash but we cranked the heating and dried out a bit. The next morning was still misty and windy but as we descended down to the coast it slowly improved.

Warming up and drying out in princeton, the start of the scenic part of the Great Ocean Road.

Gibsons Steps

Twelve (well, 4) Apostles

Loch Ard Gorge

Typical Ocean Road scene, complete with kangaroo sign

The Arch

The Ocean...

London Bridge, or what is left of it. Used to be another archway to the mainland but it fell down on 14 Jan 1990.

Bikes parked up at 'The Grotto'

The Grotto

Bay of Martyrs and the weather closing in again. Made us speed up to get to our accomodation.

Our B&B for Sunday night which was comparative luxury compared to the night before.

On Monday we only had about 40km to get to Warrnambool which was relatively uneventful. The biggest excitement was a visit to 'Cheese World'. We had about 4 hours to fill in before out train left so we enjoyed a nice lunch and a beer at the friendly RSL club and a wander around town and down to the beach.

Unfortunately, our train wasn't operating so we had to bus back which was frustrating and long. We didn't get back until 9.30pm and had to bike home from town so it was late by the time we got home. Great weekend though, despite the weather and the bus.

Fence construction - Part 2

2011-10-10T03:32:00.002Z

Now starting to take shape, the first paling..

All the bottom rails on

Palings going on

Starting to look like a real fence

Gold Coast

2011-09-05T07:32:00.001Z

Like every good Victorian, late winter signalled the chance to head north to Queensland and we chose the Gold Coast for a few days at the theme parks. After a 6 hour wait at the airport following a flight delay, we were finally away. We arrived mid afternoon, took a wander around town, decided that Surfers wasn't much chop and we'd be better off just spend our days at the theme parks. We went to Movie World, Dreamworld and White Water World, which is a water park and part of Dreamworld.

View from the apartment

Superman roller coaster, Movie world. This was the first ride we went on and it was bloody fast and damn scary. After a couple more goes, it wasn't quite so bad

Kelley at Movie World

Me in front of the Bat boat, Movie World

Red kangaroo at Dreamworld

Croc at Dreamworld

Wipeout ride - Dreamworld

Giant drop, Dreamworld. You can see me, terrified, staring straight ahead focused on some point far in the distance. Either that, or I have my eyes closed.

This was probably the worst ride in terms of it not quite behaving like we expected. We went in a carriage together and every time we turned we swung dangerously close to the huge hydraulic arm. This was a 'one ride only' ride. You can see the Claw and the Giant Drop in the background.

The Claw, Dreamworld, a giant spinning swing.

Loq ride, Dreamworld. Boring up until this last slide where you get soaked.

On Sunday we took a day off from the rides and met Josh and Jody who were over for a wedding and went for a drive to Byron Bay. Was very fortunate timing that we happened to be in the Gold Coast while Josh and Jody were over and it was great to catch up.

Fence construction, Part 1

2011-08-10T06:59:00.001Z

As evidenced by the photos below, the back fence was badly in need of replacement. So I got to it, the replacement to be made with treated pine.

All pulled down. Luckily the grandson of our 95 year old neighbour was round to visit his grandfather and saw it all sitting there, he came and took it away to burn in his fire which was an excellent result.

Chris came round one morning to lend a hand, here he is circular sawing and chiselling out the grooves in the posts.

First posts in.

Lining up

Getting the rails on

Post and Rail. Much to Alan's disgust. Alan is the 95 year old neighbour. I get the feeling he'd prefer the fence to stay down so he could come over and chat six times a day, about the same thing each time. Anyway, he has been keeping an eye on progress with great interest and kindly offered to 'keep an eye on the place' while we were away. No idea what he'd do if something went down.

Whitsundays

2011-08-01T00:42:00.005Z

Kelley was fortunate enough to have a week long 'work' conference on Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays. I say 'work' because she had to attend all of three half days. The rest of the time was lounging by the pool, driving golf buggies and eating fancy dinners. But anyway, I've heard enough....she finished up early Friday morning so I took the day off and flew out to meet her. We made the most of the last hour of golf buggy hire and Kelley's work mate Julia took us for a spin around 'Hammo'. Hamilton Island is easily the most built up of the Whitsunday Islands.

Skye, Julia, Kelley and I

Hamilton Island Marina

We then took a ferry to long Island which was mainly a National Park and covered in bush. Nestled in amongst the palm trees was Long Island Resort, a little run down compared to some of the others around but fine for us.

Long Island Resort at Happy Bay

We arrived at the resort on Friday and we were both quite tired so we made the most of the spa bath and had an early night. On Saturday we set about utilising the facilities at the resort, tennis, basketball, a walk over the island, a demonstration, and practical application of observed coconut de-husking skills.

A break on our walk over the island.

Strange fungus

Sandy Bay

Happy Bay, where the resort was, was very shallow and when the tide went out there was a lot of exposed sandy mud - as these clowns found out, the hard way. Was a bunch of young blokes who had hired a boat for the day. They didn't really get their money's worth!

The whole Island had these strange wild turkeys wandering around. After a few discreet enquiries - 'can you eat them?' - I found out they were protected.

On Sunday we embarked on a full day sailing trip aboard 'Camira', a 26m catamaran and capable of moving along under some decent wind.

The trip left from Daydream Island which was a small island dominated by a very nice resort, complete with a living reef and a reasonably decent sized shark

The Camira was great fun and we circumnavigated the largest of the islands, Whitsunday Island. We stopped off between Hook Island and Whitsunday Island for a spot of snorkelling which was good, some coral and plenty of fish but not everyone was keen, probably about 1/3 of people did it. It was then on to the famous Whitehaven beach which was stunning and we celebrated wildly...

After a spot of beach cricket, it was back to the boat for lunch, around the eastern tip of the island where one of the crew was sure she saw a female humpback whale. God knows how she knew it was female and no one else has seen it yet..

It was good going sailing with the wind behind us and we made good time back to Daydream island.

Was such a shame o have to get packed up and leave on Monday morning. The ferry back to Hammo was rough and I was the only one to ride it out on the exposed top deck and although I got wet it was probably better than watching people throw up downstairs.

Al in all, a very relaxing weekend and a great place to really get away from it all.

Robyn and the kangaroos

2011-07-04T00:32:00.002Z

Robyn was over for a few days for a bit of a break and some wedding related shopping. She was also treated to the latest addition on the Kelley and Fraser tourist trail, a visit to the kangaroos at the Greswell Nature Reserve and it didn't disappoint.

Especially this scary dude who was obviously a bit shocked by this strange new person....

Table manufacturing

2011-05-07T00:19:00.000Z

A couple of shots to prove that the recent investments in power tool are actually being put to use. All is now in and advanced state and waiting the final coat of stain so by the time we get back to BBQ weather, we should be good to go.

Camping Mallacoota

2011-04-28T01:31:00.000Z

Everyone goes camping in Victoria at Easter time so we decided to brave the camping ground crowds and give it a go ourselves. Easter was much later this year so despite the fact that the weather is traditionally sensational at Easter time, being later in the month we were a bit worried. But the forecast was reasonable and the reality was even better.

Since we had an extra day (Tuesday as well, for ANZAC day) we decided that it was a good opportunity to go somewhere a bit further away. Mallacoota got the nod, on the coast near the NSW border. It was a 7 hour drive each way and in Easter traffic it was a bit testing at times but not too bad.

The population of Mallacoota more than triples over Easter, the town is about 70% camping ground. It was pretty packed out too. It would be fair to say we had the most amateur looking set up too - the public facilities were not extensive s people had BBQ's. fires, mini spit roasters...the works.

Mallacoota beach - Mallacoota is situated on a river outlet and was very popular for fisherman, surfers and swimmers. I took my wetsuit but it was warm enough without it.

Crashing out on the sand dunes in a race with the kid whose body board I stole... The sand dunes were great fun for those who enjoy watching their significant other take themselves out in such a determined fashion - not so funny dealing with the sore neck that resulted though.

We were surrounded by National Parks and managed to get a couple of walks in.

A stop along the river.

Lionel Richie at Rochford

2011-03-28T02:57:00.000Z

Fortunately the rain stayed away and we had a great time Dancing on the Ceiling to Lionel Richie at Rochford Winery in the Yarra Valley. Kelley cooked up a storm for a great picnic and the wine wasn't to shabby either.

A stroll around central Melbourne

2011-03-15T02:01:00.003Z

A couple of snaps from the regular sight seeing wander, this time with Juliet and Kev on a perfect day for photos.

1. Looking down the river from the bridge between the Casino and the Aquarium

2. A few famous heads at Melbourne Park, outside Rod Laver Arena

3. The great Dennis Lillee in full stride outside the MCG

4. Street design out of beans, lentils and coloured rice at Federation Square

5. The laneways - Degraves St

View from the top

2011-02-21T10:56:00.001Z

Where we are heading....

Some artwork on the side of the Eureka tower

Southbank

MCG and Melbourne Park

Towards St Kilda and further south.

Australian Open

2011-02-05T10:49:00.000Z

Another super day at the tennis, some more big names including World No. 1 Caroline Wozniaki (who had a PR disaster at this year, claiming to have had a fight with a kangaroo) and Federer who made reasonably short work of his opponent, but didn't quite look himself.

But what's this, some real tennis players.....having a hit on Show Court 3. Didn't need tickets to see these guys.

Gippsland rail trail

2011-01-16T09:50:00.000Z

I'd finally got the car kitted out with roof racks to carry the bikes so we packed up and headed east for the long weekend to do the rail trail from Leongatha to Foster in Gippsland. It was a nice drive to Leongatha, it actually reminded us of New Zealand. It was very green thanks to all the rain. Anyway, we made it there fine but after we had stopped off at the visitor centre, the car wouldn't start. After trying to push start it (of course didn't work) and trying every garage in town, we finally called the RACV and paid the whopping fee to join up. The nice RACV man got us fixed up and restarted and everything appeared to be fine so we got going on the cycling.

The trail was a great surface and of course very flat. It was a nice ride and we made good progress as the day warmed up.

No, Kelley hasn't had a little accident in the picture below, just some friendly wildlife.

And some more, check out this prickly little dude...

After all of my best laid plans had failed to come to fruition, it was time for Plan C and a nice spot a few km from the end of the day provided the opportunity for me to pop the question. It wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind but with the background of some sheep grazing on the rolling hills and a view towards the appropriately named Wilson's Promatory National Park, I asked Kelley to marry me and thankfully she accepted. All felt a bit surreal really but after we'd rolled into town at Foster, set up camp and called home, it started to feel a bit more real. We celebrated with a bottle of bubbles and a feed at the local pub alongside guests from someone else's wedding who were getting a few under their belt before the reception.

I don't like these type of photos but since I had such a happy look on my face after recently getting engaged, I had to put it in. Appropriate that I'm still in full cycling kit too, I mean, why should I take my helmet off for a proposal, what if she hadn't reacted well?

We took a slightly different route on the way back including some time on the road and some fish and chips near the beach, and a paddle.

Unfortunately the car troubles resurfaced on the way home. Lights starting flashing on the dashboard with about 80km still to go and we pushed on - by the time we got to the BP station in Cranbourne (about 40km from central Melbourne) almost every light was glowing on the dash and none of the electrics were working. We pulled in to the BP and weren't going anywhere after we'd filled up so after another call out and some confusing and frustrating phone calls, we ended up waiting for the most racist tow truck driver in Melbourne to come and tow us home. Poor car....

Rail Trail

2011-01-04T10:57:00.007Z

We had a few spare days after the weddings in Hawkes Bay and Christmas at home so we managed to lure Jenny and Laurence down for ride on the rail trail. We picked them up from the airport and by the time we had lunch we were running a bit late to be able to do all of what we planned for day one so we threw the bikes on the back of the truck, skipped the flat boring bit and started at Hyde.

After about and hour's riding, the clouds rolled in and it bucketed down. By the time we got to Ranfurly we were soaked so we took the quickest route on the road to get to Naseby. That night was New Year's Eve, and Jenny's birthday so we went out for dinner and even paid a cover charge to get into one of the pubs but it wasn't worth it. It was a freezing night and by the time the bagpipes started playing to bring in the New Year, we were in bed.

Day 2 was a much better day and it was our longest ride, from Naseby to Ophir.

Art on the wall at a cafe where we had lunch, all the stops of the rail trail.

Poolburn Gorge, tunnels and viaducts

Ophir swing bridge

We had a day to relax in Wanaka at the end of the riding and peter and Robyn came up as well. Unfortunately the weather was bad but we did get a morning when it wasn't raining and made the most of it with a walk up Mt Iron.

A quick stop at St Bathans and the Blue Lake on the drive home

Shaun and Michaela's wedding

2010-12-18T10:29:00.001Z

The second wedding in two days and this time a groomsman role for me to play. The ceremony was in the church at Taradale and reception at 'the 'Old Church' just out of Taradale, a really nice setting amongst the vines. Everything went perfectly, unfortunately it all got a bit too much for me late in the evening and I fell asleep on a table outside and caused a small panic to those who thought I was lost...

The families outside the church

A big old double decker bus hired for the occasion. To transport everyone from the church to the reception and then do a run back to Napier that night to get everyone home. Also provided a platform for Burt to fertilise the road....

The handsome side of the bridal party

And one to capture the flowing locks

Josh and Jody's wedding

2010-12-14T06:53:00.001Z

The day didn't start out so well, in fact the whole weekend in Hawkes bay was rather damp. But the clouds cleared for Josh and Jody's outdoor wedding at Ormlie Lodge just out of Taradale. It was sweltering in fact and the only sign of the persistent rain was the girl's high heels sinking into the lawn.

Was a fantastic wedding, the clear highlight was Josh's father's band playing and getting everyone up on the dancefloor. It was going to be tough to back up for another one the next day!

Adelaide and the Ashes

2010-12-06T06:47:00.001Z

It was very hot on our day at the Ashes but we were lucky enough to snare a seat in the stand for the whole day.

After watching Bollinger take a wicket in his first over, the rest of the day was all England as they racked up the runs and their fans got louder and drunker. Super ground though.

We took a trip out to the beach on Sunday before our flight.

New camera, new house and a trip to the snow

2010-09-11T01:48:00.010Z

Well it has been a while since the last post way back in March, thanks largely to a damp winter, weekend spent house hunting,no annual leave and the lack of a functioning camera. But we finally made the call to buy one and the removal of the cobwebs around the wallet must have started something as soon after we were successful with our offer on a unit in Heidelberg Heights. We purchased in the first weekend of September and have a 30 day settlement so we'll be moving in early October. Very exciting, especially having a full sized kitchen, a freezer and a spare room for people to stay. I'd put up a link to the new place but it probably won't last so if you are interested, do a search for 3/21-23 Bamfield Road, Heidelberg Heights.

We'll miss our little tree house which has been home for the last year. It was supposed to be a very temporary arrangement but we have been treated so well by our brilliant landlord Shelagh so it was always going to be hard to leave.

Airing the bedding at the sleep-out / tree house / cubby house, home for a year

A couple of weekends earlier than all the house stuff, we took a drive out to Warburton in the Yarra Valley for a walk in the bush. I'd read about a 'treetop walk' which sounded brilliant but was rather disappointing- consisting of a platform about 10m off the ground.

There was a lot of traffic going up the hill and signs about road closures due to snow but I was sceptical, not this low and not this close to Melbourne. Curious, we followed the traffic, up Mt Donna Buang and sure enough there was snow, and heaps of parents with young children and toboggans. It looked like great fun. I wasn't exactly appropriately dressed (the shorts caused a bit of a stir actually) so we had a wander round for half an hour and then headed down the hill to where it was a bit warmer.

After a walk around Warburton, we went over the hill to Healesville for lunch at the RACV club.

Sculpture outside RACV club, Healesville

Golf course at RACV club

Grand Final

2010-09-06T06:37:00.000Z

A couple of snaps of Collingwood supporters before the first of 2 grand finals for the AFL. The first one was a tie so they had to come back the following weekend.

Magpie army on the way to the MCG

Fans parked outside - this van had a spit roaster in the back.

Cycling South West Western Australia

2010-03-28T02:25:00.028Z

Jimmy and Shani's wedding provided an excellent excuse for a holiday so we packed up the bikes and flew to Perth. From the airport it was a 20km ride along the Swan river into central Perth which was a very pleasant way of arriving into a new city.

Kangaroo Sculpture in a park in Perth

The wedding was in the backyard of Shani's parent house in Fremantle and it was excellent. It was perfect conditions and everything was very well done. We had excellent food, including an oyster bar, excellent drink and very friendly company.

James and Shani

The backyard, and marquee

We spent the next day looking around Fremantle before catching a train from Perth to Bunbury, about a 2 hour trip. We arrived late and had a quick look around town before turning in early.

Fish and chips at Fremantle

Fremantle beach.

Rocking out with Bon Scott, former ACDC lead singer who was from Fremantle.

Day 1 from Bunbury was very flat but the first 40km was on the bustling Bussell Highway. Fortunately, it was a pretty good surface with a reasonable verge but cyclists are not common and there are a lot of logging trucks, which are very long and seem to go forever as they thunder past. Once we got off the highway, it was nice riding along shady quiet roads. We stopped for lunch in Busselton, at the world's longest wooden pier which goes 2km into the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, it was under repair so we couldn't get out very far.

Bussell Highway

Busselton pier

Once we left Busselton we got onto Caves Road which would be the road we'd follow for the next few days. After a quick stop for some wine tasting, we arrived at our accommodation for the night made out of old train carriages. We dumped our bags and headed out to Cape Naturaliste for a swim and a look around.

Meelup beach

Looking towards Cape Naturaliste from Sugarloaf Rock

Sugarloaf Rock

Kelley getting acquainted with the friendly Dunsborough locals. Train carriage in the background.

Day 1 ended up being a very long day after our side trip, about 140km for me and about 115 for Kelley, so not a bad start.

Day 2 was a bit of a shock to the system, with a hill straight up. Caves road was undulating as we travelled along the coast, but not too bad. This was our day of wine and vineyards, only about 65km of riding to Margaret river so we took our time.

Caves Rd, Kelley climbing one of the frequent undulations

Very flash vineyard, including the 'chick on a stick', a golden statue in the middle of the lake

More view from the road

Giant karri (not kauri) tree, another type of eucalyptus!

Margaret River chocolate factory, a welcome break

We demolished a chocolate fondue, before and after photos, taken within a very short time of one another.....

Day 3 to Augusta was also along the touristy Caves Road. It was quite a hot day but luckily for us, most of the ride was through forest so it was quite comfortable. The main problem was sourcing water. Although there were place we could stop along the way, we couldn't drink the water as the tanks hadn't been properly flushed out for years as they always had to keep some for bushfires.

Parked up on the side of the road for a break, grass tree in the foreground.

Karri trees as far as the eye could see. The photo really doesn't do it justice, they are actually quite big trees.

Kelley cruising through the trees

It was always a tough decision to go down to a beach, they were always nice but so often it meant that we'd have to peddle back up a hill. Hamelin Bay was no exception, but it was sure worth it. There were plenty of fishing boats about and some were just coming in to fillet their fish. As always, it attracted quite a number of scavengers....

These giant rays would come right up on the beach where you could touch them or feed them with a few fish heads kindly provided by the local fishermen, as I am below

And after a bit of gentle persuasion, so did Kelley

Jetty remains at Hamelin Bay

After that eventful stop, we had about 25km to go to Augusta but finally we decided to justify the name of the road we'd been travelling on for days, and actually go to one of the caves. We picked Jewell Cave which was rated as one of the better ones and it was quite impressive. Unfortunately my camera is not very good underground and I think was already on its last legs as it stopped working after this (bar a 5 minute window the following night).

There were a few interesting aspects to this cave, some of the highlights are below:

A root of a giant karri tree, it has burrowed right through the limestone, through the cave and further

Unusual ceiling formations, unusual because they seem to defy gravity

The third longest?...one of the longest narrow 'spikes' in the world

Trees above and below, the limescale formation resembling the karri forest above

From the cave it was a short ride into Augusta, the place where two oceans meet, the Indian and the Pacific. I rode out to Cape Leeuwin lighthouse, the official division between the two oceans and the end point of our ride along the coast. From here on, we'd be heading back inland.

Day 4 to Nunnup was always going to be tough and with temperatures in the low 30's it was even harder. The first 20km was fine, along quiet back roads but a couple of sharp hills. Our only chance to refill water was at a store at the 27km mark and from then on it was hard slog along the highway. Fortunately it wasn't too busy but it was hot. Although there we were surrounded by trees, being a main road they were far enough back to not provide shade. The last 15km was particularly tough, we were very low on water and every undulation seemed like a mountain, and there were plenty. We rolled into Nannup absolutely parched and went straight to the pub where we enjoyed a well deserved beer.

We weren't the only ones there though and a slightly odd, bedraggled looking individual soon quizzed us on our progress and made comment on our National Australia bank branded attire. This proved disastrous as the self titled 'Bank robber Dave' proceeded to tell us how he was no longer allowed to bank at NAB as he'd held up a branch once, shared a cell with the 3rd most dangerous criminal in Australia but it was all ok because now he was best friends with his father. Anyway, we got the full low down and he kindly queried where we were lodging that evening, needless to say we said 'umm, not sure yet...', made our excuses and left in a hurry.

Our lodgings at Nannup were quite different, a permanent tent covered by a big marquee which housed sink, microwave, fridge, jug, toaster and generally anything the required dodgy outdoor electrical fittings! These were the last photos my camera took.

Inside the tent

and outside.

Day 5 was our main haul back towards Bunbury, and our first day outside the lonely planet guidebook. We'd managed to quiz the locals and find maps showing good scenic routes that avoided highways so we set off along a river to Balingup, more undulations but a really good ride. We saw plenty of bird life from emus to black cockatoo. From Balingup, there was a 13km stretch along the highway before our next turnoff which was probably the worst ride of the whole trip. It was busy, with big logging trucks, bad surface, hot and uphill and we were very pleased to turn off again onto the back roads to Donnybrook. Again, it was a really nice ride and contained the biggest downhill of the trip which was great fun.

Donnybrook was a really nice little town, famous for apples and it was the start of picking season so we were forced to been to, the surrounding landscape was a dustbowl but the local cricket ground was an oasis of green. Donnybrook's was particularly nice, complete with a brand new white picket fence. We rode out to the local cidery for a well deserved drink and had dinner at the local country club which I was worried I'd be underdressed for (I certainly wasn't) and managed to avoid getting lost in the dark on the way back.

Our last day was a short haul back to Bunbury, in time for one last swim in the stunning Indian Ocean before taking the train back to Perth. We rode out to the airport in a few spits of rain (worst weather of the trip...) and filled in about 5 hours reflecting on a brilliant holiday before a midnight flight back to Melbourne.

Twenty/20 at the G

2010-02-06T21:40:00.003Z

It had been a rough day and we were doubtful if we'd get any play but the weather cleared for Australia to complete a whitewash over Pakistan in their tour, in all forms of the game. Pakistan should have won this one though, only some brilliant bowling, including a 160km screamer from Shaun Tait, saved Australia.

Men's Singles Final

2010-01-31T01:56:00.000Z

It was a great present from Kelley for my 30th the next day - tickets to the men's singles final at the Ausi Open. I was also surprised to see Josh and Jody waiting for us outside the gates with tickets that Kelley had organised for them too. First, we watched the mixed doubles final which was a bit of a walkover. It was raining during the doubles so they had the roof closed but it cleared up enough for the men's to open it up.

Cooling down with a drink and some frozen head wear before the doubles final

Federer and Murray about to do battle

Federer made short work of the final in straight sets but the third set went to a long tie break so Andy Murray didn't disgrace himself. Was such a great event to go though, given that it would be almost impossible to get tickets to any other grand slam final.

View through a sponsor's give away fan.

Winner's presentation

We were a long way up so it was hard to get good photos on my little camera, but here is one of Federer doing his victory lap.

Australian Open

2010-01-26T09:18:00.003Z

We had tickets to the first Sunday in Centre Court, Rod Laver Arena, and although we were well back in the stand, the view was excellent. We first watched Andy Murray vs big serving American John Isner, who was fresh off winning the New Zealand Open in Auckland. Although Murray won in straight sets, Isner played very well and it was a close match.

John Isner serving

Men's singles draw, with the background of the defending champion, Nadal

Nadal about to start his 4th round match against another tall, big serving Croatian. The match went to 4 sets and was again dominated by serving. The Croatian would regularly serve over 210km per hour, sometimes over 220km.

We had a brief wander round afterwards in the sunshine, round the outer courts.

And watched some mixed doubles, although for a while we were thoroughly confused as we were certain that one of the doubles pairing was two guys.

daAwat

2010-01-17T21:49:00.000Z

I almost forgot, the clear highlight of any visit to Wellington - a return to the greatest curry house in the entire world, daAwat in Manners Mall. To complete the experience, a booking under Bruce Taylor, polishing / cleaning / sterilising the crockery and cutlery, ordering a round of cokes even though they were part of the deal, avoiding white shirts like the plague and a catch up with the blonde waiter and Raj, who after all these years, still recognised me. Although the place has been spruced up a but, the food was still the same, and was sensational.

Barry enjoying a Chicken Korma, Matt a BC and me a hot labrador....

Two Weddings and a Road Trip

2010-01-16T10:14:00.001Z

Another whirlwind travel mad holiday home for two weddings. We got a great flight to Dunedin and I managed to get some time at home, both before and after the first wedding, Jacob and Jill Smythe at Glenfalloch.

After attempting to have the ceremony outside, and getting rained on, we moved in. The wedding party.

The food!

I went back home for a day and a half before meeting Barry to drive to Palmerston North. But first, a few photos of home, the new covered yards

The view looking up the hill from outside the yards. The weather pretty much sums up the summer, cloudy and cold, yet as you can see, no rain and horribly dry.

Kelley with Bevan's dogs, Dick and Moss

The front corner of the house from the garage, looking up through the roses

Lambs in the Front Paddock, Rock and Pillars in the background

The front gate and mailbox, minus all the poplars along the front that were ripped out over the winter

The back gate and cattleyards with Dad's horse Chester in the background

View from above, taken from helicopter back when the grass was green, in Autumn. This is the main house, Strathavon.

And the same, from further up showing the sheds and all the way up to the top of the hill and the Sister. Obviously taken before all the poplars were taken out.

Glyn -wye, where Bevan is living, looking towards Middlemarch.

We stayed the night in Kiakoura and in the morning, just up the road, we had a good view of quite a few seals on the rocks.

Our ferry coming in through the Sounds to Picton

The ferry route - you can just make out the thin dotted line

We had a great night out for Angus's Stag function, thankfully cameras were banned! It was then up to Palmy, but the trip was not without mishap given that it was the morning after the Stag do.

We were staying just across the road from where Pool B of the U19 cricket world cup was being played, so when we weren't busy, we just shot over the road for a few hours. It was a good spot for some cricket of our own the morning of the wedding too.

Pakistan vs West Indies, who actually met each other in the semi final, Pakistan qualified for the final

The chaps before the wedding

Kelley and I

The man himself, Angus the groom, visably excited...

Bride, Groom and bridal party in front of the church

New Year in Daylesford

2010-01-01T06:26:00.000Z

It was a bit of a lazy New Year, we got away early on the 31st and up to Daylesford in good time. We had natural fireworks kindly provided by a spectacular thunderstorm and Josh matched it with some spectacular cocktails which ensured we all stayed awake long enough to see in the New Year, and then some. The next day was very quiet, we were all rather tired, and I was feeling particularly poorly with a bad cold. Nonetheless, we managed a quick stroll around the lake on a grey and drizzly start to the new year. Many thanks to Josh and Jody for pretty much taking charge of food, drinks and preparation.

30 Years of Greatness......

2009-12-27T00:00:00.001Z

The day after Boxing day was Kelley's birthday and I had to hurriedly finish the lemon meringue birthday cupcakes before we left for a night at Werribee open range zoo. We met friends Dave and Allison for lunch on the lawns of Werribee mansion and enjoyed a good picnic. Kelley and I stayed at the hotel out there and had a wander around the mansion and the grounds the next day.

The Werribee mansion

The early owners were clearly keen hunters

Kelley in the 'sculpture park' you can see them but in the background are giraffes, rhinos and zebras in the open range zoo.

Boxing Day Test

2009-12-26T23:45:00.000Z

After a momentary panic on Christmas Eve, lack of sleep, and continued edginess on Christmas Day, I finally found the tickets for the cricket and we set off. We were there early to meet Josh and to see Ricky Ponting win the toss and bat. We were sitting near the front and close to the notorious Bay 13. To spice things up further, we were directly behind a particularly rowdy bunch of Pakistani supporters.

It was quite a slow day, Pakistan bombed a few chances and both Australian openers were dismissed in the 90's which was rather amusing, particularly the Shane Watson run out. Ricky Ponting made a quick 50 to liven things up and Australia finished well on top at the end of the day (and would go on to win comfortably).

Although it was only mid 20's, it was still hot enough to get sun burnt and the drunk crowd to get boisterous. They kept us entertained with chants, beer snakes, a 'streaker' who was absolutely pathetic, and the odd abusive racial slur (it wouldn't be Australia without it....) With about an hour to go there were people getting escorted out by security on a regular basis so we moved upstairs to find a quieter spot, which we did find but we were still entertained by idiots, including one who decided it was an appropriate time for a haka. That was rather embarrassing.

Nonetheless, it was a super day at the cricket and experience well worth repeating.

Cycling World Cup

2009-11-20T02:38:00.000Z

It was the first time I'd been to live indoor track cycling and it was really impressive. There was a full programme of finals, and a wide selection of events, including time trials, pursuits, points race, scratch race and the keirin. Australia pipped Great Britain in the final of the men's team pursuit and the crowd loved it, but the highlight of our night was the men's scratch race where NZer Tom Scully rode brilliantly to win gold.

Woman's points race, which was also really good to watch

NZ men's team pursuit who smashed the Dutch in the race for bronze

The half time entertainment was another highlight with the history of cycling on display, including the hobby horse, the first 'bike' ever made, with no pedals.

Penny Farthing

And a selection of others, inlcluding a pedal driven tricycle

Hobart

2009-11-14T02:52:00.001Z

A quick weekend trip to Hobart to visit Katie and Alastair was never going to be as enjoyable as I'd hoped when I got landed with 20 hours of pre reading to do before a course on the following Monday. Nevertheless, we visited the markets, a beer festival, wandered the waterfront and all around the gardens. It was a nice quiet weekend.

Salamanca markets, easy to fill in a few hours here

Salamanca Square and fountain.

Harbour, looking out to the Derwent river

Henry Jones art hotel

Melbourne and Surrounds

2009-11-10T02:21:00.002Z

A few snaps from some day trips around and about:

First, a few days with Jenny and Lawrence which included the following:

A trip to the races at Yarra Glen, on Cox Plate day (they play the city races on a big screen)

Looking out over the city from the Shrine of Remembrance

The scariest ride at Luna Park

Looking towards Melbourne from the North east

Then, on the first weekend of November when the mercury flowed over 35 degrees, a trip out to Maroondah reservoir, one of Melbourne's water sources. Its fair to say we struggled in the heat and didn't do much but we are getting better.

On Melbourne Cup day, a public holiday, we went with Josh and Jody for a flying visit to Geelong and on to Queenscliff.

Geelong has a variety of these 'human poles' along the waterfront.

Shedfest

2009-10-21T02:05:00.002Z

Shedfest involved jumping on a bus and cruising around some vineyards in the Yarra Valley. It was very relaxed, very low key and altogether rather pleasant.

Weather was perfect

But a few grey clouds appeared near the end of the day

Home again - Akaroa and another wedding...

2009-09-04T23:51:00.001Z

We were back again, this time for the Bernie Pye and Dougal Innes wedding at Terrace Downs near the Rakia Gorge but before we got there we had a couple of days to fill in. Neither of us had been to Akaroa so we took our super cheap rental, weaved our way over the hills and parked up for a day and a half. It was clearly off season as there were hardly any people around but Akaroa was a nice spot and I liked the French influence but was very disappointed with their 'French' bakery. Luckily for us, we got very unseasonal weather and it was a great day for a walk up the hill, but not right to the top, it was very windy.

At Purple Peak Saddle.

A great view of the Akaroa harbour

The track back down

We headed back inland for the wedding which was a very grand affair. Unfortunately it was still very windy but at least it was warm.

Rakia river bridge.

The day after the wedding was a big driving day, all the way home. To make it a bit more interesting, we decided to go over the Danseys Pass which was a real goat track and only achievable thanks to the sustenance gained from a huge ice cream at the Kurow dairy. The rental bomb made it up and over unscathed.

Looking up the road to the pass.

We had a day and a half at home, Kelley's parents and sister Shanon came up for the day before another long drive back to Christchurch and early Monday morning flight back.

Giant worms and little penguins

2009-08-16T04:37:00.006Z

The title is somewhat misleading as there are no photos of either giant earthworms or little penguins, but they were certainly the purpose of the trip. Following a tip in the Bill Bryson book 'Down Under', we set off for 'Wildlife Wonderland', the main attraction being the Gippsland giant earthworms, the largest earthworms in the world that can grow up to 3m long. Wildlife Wonderland wasn't very popular, we almost had the run of the place but it was really good. Almost all the animals were very friendly, we scratched a dingos ears through the cage, made friends with some hungry kangaroos, chatted to Sam the cockatoo and teased a lively wombat through the glass.

Sleepy koalas

Evil looking snake

Hungry roos...

...that were quite content

As for the worms, they didn't have any live ones and even if they did we probably wouldn't have seen them. They had a couple of preserved specimens in long test tubes which were rather disgusting but the highlight of the worms display was the repeating video of the live capture of a giant worm - pretty invigorating stuff.

We continued on to Philip Island and there was plenty for us to do. We went for a walk after lunch along the coast and up to the highest point on the island.

From the highest point, looking down the Island.

The Peninsula

Following a quick stop at the local chocolate factory, we cruised past the Grand Prix circuit on the way to the 'Nobbies' - a popular spot for seagulls and seals.

Then it was time to head to the penguins. We were a bit slow down to the beach and got a poor viewing spot but it didn't matter as seats soon became available as penguins came in. Although penguin numbers weren't high (about 500, it gets up to about 1,500 in summer) it was still very popular and there were thousands of people. The penguins are tiny, they grow to about 30cm tall and they can trek up to 1km inland to their burrows. They were quite noisy and aggressive if they mistakenly tried to take someone else's burrow. It was well worth seeing but just seemed to be over too soon.

Rail Trail to Warburton

2009-08-09T10:55:00.003Z

The forecast for the weekend was excellent and a good opportunity to get out and about. Kelley had heard about a rail trail from Lilydale (last station on our line) to Warburton in the Yarra Valley. We set off on a sunny Saturday morning but our planning wasn't so flash, the trains weren't running so we had to ride to the next station, not too far away.

The start of the Trail was quite difficult to find but once we were on it, the riding was good and the surface was excellent.

We took it pretty easy, we later found out we'd been on a slight uphill for the first hour and we were grateful for a couple of short stops and some sustenance.

Woori Yallock bakery - superb steak and cracked pepper pies.

We arrived at Warburton early afternoon and checked in to the Alpine Retreat, an old hotel that hadn't changed in any way for about 50 years. Warburton was a sleepy little town with a main street containing trendy cafes and some craft shops and not much else. A nice setting though, next to a river between the hills.

Warburton main street.

We had some fish and chips for lunch, said hello to the local ass (below)and just wandered about.

After some deliberation (concentrating on whether the Ashes would be on downstairs) we ventured down to the bar for dinner and were treated to a great night - a tremendous feast, Australia smashing England in the cricket and some interesting conversation where we learnt the following points:

- there was no water in Ballarat Lake (repeated several times)
- if we'd driven up, we'd have time to walk up the mountain
- we should get a cat, or a dog - it would put some love into our hearts

We were up and away early on Sunday and powered back along the Trail to be home by lunch time, 100km of riding done over the last 2 days, a good start to hopefully plenty more trips in the summer.

Yarra Bend Park

2009-07-25T09:20:00.000Z

Situated right near the CBD, Yarra Bend Park is a welcome retreat from the busy streets. It is very popular with walkers, runners and cyclists so we went to check it out. It was easy to fill in a few hours wandering up and down the river, we even stumbled on a flash farmer's market.

Kayakers on the Yarra

Dwight Falls, not exactly huge

Fruit bats, now these were huge, and there were hundreds of them.

Brent and Julia's wedding

2009-07-18T07:03:00.001Z

Our first trip back was for Brent and Julia's wedding. It was a rather rushed trip but it was great to catch up with so many friends and family while we were back. Even though it seems that Melbourne isn't far away, it still took a full day (after an early start) to get all the way to Invercargill.

The wedding itself more than justified the trip back, it was very well done. The ceremony was in the Wyndham Presbyterian church and it was packed. The reception was at Ascot Park in Invercargill.

Unfortunately, my photos were terrible, the one above was about the best of them.

We also caught up with Barry and Liz briefly as they kindly provided accommodation for us on the night of the wedding, complete with complementary mints on our pillows and cheese rolls for morning tea.

I managed to get home for a day and a half and following snow on Saturday night, the road reopened on Sunday afternoon so Juliet and Kevin could take me back to town. We stayed with Shanon and Martin and had Monday morning updating ourselves with the happenings in Dunedin before busing to Christchurch for my 5th different accommodation in as many nights before catching the early flight back on Tuesday morning.

Brighton Beach

2009-06-27T11:39:00.000Z

We had a great weekend with Josh and Jody at their new flat near the beach. The weather wasn't great for the weekend, and the pub wasn't even showing the Ashes but Sunday morning was nice and we walked along the beach to the famous Brighton beach huts.

We'll definitely be back when the weather is warmer.

A 5 Star bargain...

2009-05-15T06:47:00.000Z

Kelley stumbled on a super deal at a 5 star resort just out of Melbourne so we treated ourselves to a relaxing weekend away. We didn't do much, visited a couple of wineries, spent a lot at the supermarket on stuff for dinner, went for a swim and a walk around the golf course. Still, it was a nice spot and a very relaxing weekend.

From our room we could watch the kangaroos grazing the fairways.

Yarra Valley with Josh and Jody

2009-05-09T06:35:00.000Z

To introduce Josh and Jody to a little bit of rural Victoria, we left the city bound for Healsville. We'd heard good things about the Healsville Wildlife Sanctuary and it was pretty good. It had a good selection of Ausi animals - snakes, 'roos, Tasmanian devils, birds of prey, dingos, platypus to name a few.

The birds of prey display was a clear highlight, this giant was one of the biggest birds of prey in Australia. He is still young so didn't do a lot of flying around which made it far easier to capture on camera than the others swooping over the crowd.

One of the many deadly snakes....

We called in at one of the many wineries on the way home for some tasting of wine and fudge but we'd run out of time well before we could do any justice to the area. We'll definitely be back though.

Mornington Peninsula

2009-05-02T06:23:00.000Z

We went for a drive in search of the famous custard square in Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula. Sorrento was a very nice spot and we went for a walk along the beach before heading back up the western coast back to Melbourne. It was a nice area, plenty of golf courses and typical coastal scenery.

There were some unusual rock formations on the Sorrento back beach.

On the look out for Tasmania...

State of Origin

2009-04-27T11:30:00.001Z

Origin came to Melbourne (Etihad Stadium / Telstra Dome) for Game 1 so we went along. As always at a league game, the crowd was just as entertaining as the game. It was a predominantly Queensland crowd as the Melbourne Storm players played for Queensland. Queensland raced out to a big lead but it got exciting towards the end when NSW clawed their way back, but nothing could stop the mighty Maroons.

Welcoming the teams

Fireworks before Queensland turned on some of their own

We're going to Bonnie Doon....

2009-04-14T10:01:00.000Z

And that's the truth. While living in Coolaroo we had to complete the full Castle 'on location' tour and with Kelley's sister Katie over for Easter it was a perfect opportunity. Katie can almost recite the entire movie so we were all rather excited about the high quality serenity that would be on offer.

Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot to see at Bonnie Doon, although it did have a nice looking camping ground. The lake was all but non existent, there was barely any water in it and what was there had dead trees poking through it.

We then carried on through more bush fire hit areas, we'd come up through Kinglake and went home through Marysville. It was quite humbling to see the charred stumps and remains of burnt buildings. Just out of Marysville we ran into a local fair, the highlight being the snake / croc man.

It was slow going on the way home down the Yarra Valley with a lot of people heading back to the city so we stopped near another source of Melbourne water for a break.

Kelley and Katie.

Bells Beach

2009-04-13T09:36:00.000Z

Bells Beach is a very famous surfing beach near Torquay, south of Geelong. The Rip Curl pro surfing competition was on over Easter so we went down to see what it was all about.

The surf was disappointing and there wasn't any men's surfing but we saw the woman's semi's and final. The final was between the hot favourite Aussie and an up an coming Brazilian. The Brazilian one and her fans went crazy! It was quite warm and relaxing on the beach and we were kept amused by the people sitting near the water as the tide was coming in. Every now and then there would be a fit of screaming and scrambling as people rushed for a new patch of dry sand.

Hanging Rock

2009-04-09T09:18:00.002Z

We were pretty keen to get out and about in the new car and we had all of Easter available so we went headed West.

Hanging Rock was a great place for a stroll and for clambering about on rocks. It is quite a mysterious place, being the setting for a book and movie based on the true story of a class of schoolgirls and their teachers vanishing in 1900.

We carried on to Daylesford, famous for its natual mineral springs. This was a good spot for a huge feed of fish and chips beside the lake and another good walk, the highlight being spotting a couple of wallabies.

We came home through Ballarat after a great look around.

Formula 1

2009-03-12T09:13:00.001Z

Tickets were pretty pricey so we didn't make it to the race but we did take the tram down to the entrance and peered through the fence to catch a glimpse of the cars. We could see them flashing past, and the noise was incredible. We took the tram back to town and watched the rest of the race on the big screen in Federation Square. It was hard to hear any commentary, the noise from the cars drowning out almost everything in the CBD.

Food and Wine Festival

2009-03-04T09:04:00.000Z

Kelley got us tickets to the wine tasting along Southbank. It was a roasting day and the tasting started for us at about 12:30.....by about 1:30 we were about ready for an uncontrolled fall into the river.

The Yarra

There were vineyards from all around the region, and some very nice wines, far too many for us to try but it gave us a bit of an idea for places to go for a look with any visitors.

Dandenongs

2009-03-01T08:47:00.000Z

There was a bit of an international flavour to our trip out to the Dandenongs. Our Chinese landlord, her Chinese friend, her frind Pete the Greek and us two Kiwis. In terms of mountains, the Dandenongs are pathetic but it is quite a nice place for a BBQ and a wander. Its also a very popular place for cyclists.

Pete the Greek and his favourite Chinese ladies.

Unfortunately, the views of the city weren't so flash, it was a bit hazy.

Welcome to 'Strayer

2009-02-24T02:04:00.005Z

Well, we have been in Melbourne almost 2 weeks now. Kelley has managed to get a temp job for 3 weeks which starts on Monday. We have had no trouble filling in time, the local library has been getting a workout, so has the computer and some of the pavements around our house are taking a pounding.

It has been hot, ranging between 25 - 32 degrees, forecast for 38 degrees on Friday. Everything is very brown and sometimes smoke haze settles from the bush fires but no where near to the extent that I thought it would.

We are living about a 35min train ride north of the CBD in the most basic accommodation you have ever seen but it was so cheap and easy we couldn't turn it down. Our landlord is a Chinese woman who thinks we are her new best friends and a new housemate has arrived, an Indian guy who is absolutely impossible to understand.

We haven't done much looking around but we did stumble on a large sports stadium (some of you may recognise it) the first Sunday we were here, there was cricket on, Victoria vs NSW and at $5 to get in, who could resist.

MCG, not exactly a full house....

But why not, what a perfect day for it.

Crank up and the start of my 30th year

2009-02-01T04:44:00.000Z

The last weekend of January neatly coincide with a school reunion for Dad, Crank up weekend in Edendale and my birthday so south was the most logical place to be.

The weather wasn't great for Crank up but we went along for a look at all the old tractors.

Traction engine

Parade on the streets of Edendale on Friday night

Stunt biker

Sunday was a very windy day and we went for a drive to Maple Glen, a huge garden.

We carried on to Fortrose, on the coast and nearly got blown off the face of the planet.

A couple of fishermen braving the wind

Rough seas

On the way home we stopped in Mosgiel for fish and chips, great birthday tea.

Northland

2009-01-12T04:58:00.000Z

I got a bit of a shock when I came back with the rental car in Auckland as Gabs came out to greet me, I had no idea she was coming back from the UK. It was her birthday and after a long drive north, we celebrated in style in a caravan in Paihia.

The next day we went to Waitangi and enjoyed our look around.

Huge kauri stump.

Maori waka.

The girls under a Rata tree?

We caught the ferry over to Russell for lunch and walked up to the famous flagpole.

The beach at Russell.

Fern

That night we went to a very nice pre wedding BBQ and the next day was the big day. James Patterson and Allison Corbett's wedding. It was a great day, a nice church and a good chance to catch up with a lot of people I hadn't seen for years.

James and Alli

The ladies

Brent and Julia

Yep, nice guns J Ro

On Sunday we drove down the Kauri coast to see the huge trees. We stayed the night just out of Auckland at a camping ground and flew back the next day after a good weekend.

Seagulls at Opononi

Tane Mahute, huge tree and very impressive

Seven Sisters

Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T03:37:00.000Z

It was great to be home for Christmas, and even better since all families on Mum's side and all cousins were together for the first time in about ten years. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't up to much so we all had to pack inside. Bevan still managed to BBQ.

Everyone!

Barry and Liz's wedding

2008-12-20T03:22:00.001Z

The first duty upon arrival was to try and be Best Man for Ross Henry at his wedding to Elizabeth McManus in Invercargill. To be fair, I was a terrible best man and this was demonstrated with poor organisation of the stag party, however, we still had a great time with a bit of BYC and a night out in Invercargill, made better by Barry's blow up breasts and a badge saying "Helen Clark is a babe"

The big day ran smoothly, due to everyone elses excellent organisation and my speech even got a couple of laughs.

The chaps ready to go, looking dapper in their kilts, from left: Ross's Dad Alasdair, Ross, me, Angus, Warren (Burt)

For more photos, and everything wedding related, go to their website.

Busy days in LA

2008-12-16T02:24:00.000Z

We were only there for 2 and a half days, but we packed a lot in. First of all, a full day a Disneyland which began with a hitch when our tickets, provided by the hotel, weren't valid. We bought our own which saved us money so worked well in the end.

Disneyland was great, it would have been even better if I was 5 or if the total number of visitors was not greater than 5, but we still managed to go on all the cool rides at least twice. The best ride for us was Space Mountain, but we were also fans of the Indiana Jones ride, going on it four times!

About to take the teacups for a spin

Space Mountain

Walt and Mickey

Small World

Merry-go-round. Fitting that there is a rather large lady in the background pushing a pram, there were numerous numbers of both around.

Splash mountain

Lights at night

Fireworks

The next day we had a full day at Universal Studios which was much less crowded. The best ride here was the new Simpsons ride, a very clever simulator, and very funny. Also worth mentioning was the haunted house, which was terrifying!

Studio tour - flash flood

Scene from War of the Worlds

Set for the very impressive Waterworld show

The real Terminator, check out how I own that bike!

Universal City

After Universal Studios, we went on a tour of Hollywood. We were very tired but it was still a god look around.

Hollywood Boulevard

Names in the stone outside the Chinese Theatre

Well, really, I'd just like to thank everyone who made it possible....

Our last day in the Northern Hemisphere was spent going for a stroll around Anaheim and a spot of Christmas shopping. Then it was off to the airport for a very pleasant flight home with Qantas in a new Airbus. A quick inspection of my tent was all that slowed us down in Auckland before I arrived home to a busy reception in Dunedin and was whisked off for a kilt fitting.

More ruins, waterfalls, crocs and Zapatistas

2008-12-11T01:19:00.000Z

The trip to Mexico was relatively hassle free which was surprising as we'd heard a few horror stories. Our introduction to Mexico wasn't great when we were stopped by armed military and ordered out of the van for a quick search.

We managed to get out to El Panchen, just out of Palenque where we discovered that Mexico had hot water. We had one night there before embarking (in comparative luxury - a huge van with at least a seat each) on a day trip to the Palenque ruins, a couple of waterfalls, a transfer to a nice bus and on to San Cristobel.

Goods for sale at Palenque ruins

Largest temple at Palenque

Palenque ruins

Roof comb

Time out, checking the Lonely Planet

Misal - Ha falls, from the front..

..and from behind

Agau - Azul falls, very impressive

Close up views

A perfect spot for a quick dip before a long, winding bus ride to San Cristobel

We arrived late into San Cristobel but had met a couple on the bus who knew a good place to stay so we followed them. It was a nice, family run hotel and our time in San Cristobel was a real highlight of the trip. One night we went to a movie about the Zapatistas, an indigenous rebel group that shot to worldwide fame when they took over San Cristobel. It was very graphic and rather frightening when we realised they were still around!

We also did some shopping at the markets and went on really good trip down a canyon before going on to another city in the hope of going to a zoo but it was closed. Then we got lost but finally found a bus to take us back to San Cristobel.

Looking down the canyon, it was very deep in places but hard to capture on a small camera!

This was bizare, strange moss like plants growing on the side of the canyon

Croc!

San Cristobel was alive with colour and sound. There were constant homemade rockets going off all day and many street processions. We later learnt that this was largely because the day of the Virgin was only a day or two away.

Viva la Virgin!

Church at one end of town

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Church in town, and more flags!

It was sad to leave San Cristobel as our Central America adventure was drawing to a close. After 13 hours on a bus, we arrived in sprawling, dirty and uninspiring Mexico City.

We had a day to fill in Mexico City, so we took an open top bus tour and went to the free zoo which was impressive but there were a lot of sad animals due to poor conditions. As always, the highlights were the big cats.

Sightseeing highlight of Mexico City....

Cacti in the botanic gardens

Puma

Panda

Tiger

Jaguar, a few of these throughout Central America

Black Panther

The time came to leave and we were ready to get out of Mexico City. We were at the airport with plenty of time to spare and quite excited about our next stop, LA.

Tikal

2008-12-04T00:31:00.001Z

We arrived at Tikal mid afternoon and pitched our tent at the camping ground. We were the only ones tenting as most people just visit on day trips. Tikal is in the middle of the jungle but there are a few lodges and eating establishments at the entrance.

We wandered in for a look around before dark but left it a bit late to get back. When we wandered past the exit sign on our way out, it didn't look like the way we came in and when a couple of friendly locals suggested it wasn't, we were inclined to believe them. Turns out, the locals had no idea either and we wandered around for hours in the dark which was not ideal. Fortunately, Kelley and I had head torches with us and after backtracking we eventually got ourselves out, much to every ones relief.

After a poor nights sleep due to hard ground and howler monkeys, we got up early and ventured in for a good look at the ruins.

Strange peacock like birds at the campsite

Ceiba tree

Temple 1 and the Gran Plaza

Temple 4 through the jungle and the mist

Howler monkey. Very hard to get a good photo of these dudes.

Gran plaza

Steep steps up Temple V, quite nerve wracking

Raccoon like creature, they were everywhere

Impressive Temple I again

Final shot of Guatemala - a chicken bus

From Tikal we bussed back to Flores for our last night in Guatemala, we were up and away early on another bus - boat - bus travel combo to Mexico the next day.

Belize

2008-12-03T06:19:00.000Z

It was nice to arrive in an English speaking country and compared to Guatemala, Belize had it sorted. There were a lot of similarities but a lot of important differences like half decent roads, uncrowded buses and ATM machines that worked.

We got straight on a bus and headed up the coast in search of beach, we were not disappointed when we arrived in Placencia but the weather wasn't the greatest. We still managed a good day and a half of quality R & R.

Placencia beach, early evening

The longest legs I've ever had

After another early start and long day of travel (bus and boat) that took us through the capital Belmopan and Belize City, we arrived at Caye Caulker. This was a very cool place and we had a great time.

Welcome to Caye Caulker

All the streets were sand and the main way of getting around was by golf cart.

Dinner was at Jolly Rodger's grill - Roger was huge but cooked a fine feed of lobster.

How about the serenity

The highlight of Caye Caulker was the snorkelling trip we went on. It was for a full day and it was nice and hot, the snorkelling was incredible and the rum on the way back was pretty good as well....

We got our fair share of sea life, swimming with nurse sharks, sting rays, green turtles, barracuda and countless other species in crystal clear water.

Taking the dinghy out to the sail boat.

Me snorkelling

A couple of nurse sharks

After a few rums, with 'Captain' Charlie. He was impossible to understand and after a few rums even worse, but a good chap and he made superb conch salsa.

Don't put this one on your mantelpiece

From Caye Caulker, it was time to head back toward Guatemala via San Ignacio which was near the border. We wanted to camp out near the jungle but due to the lack of transport options to get there it was not worth it. Instead, we were talked into a trip to the ATM caves and met a very friendly chap who ran a hostel. We were normally very suspicious of anyone who approached us but this guy was great. He drove us to his hostel, gave us the best room in the place, took us to our first Maya site, regaled us with plenty of stories, gave us breakfast and when we left he took us to the border in his truck. And, the room had a hot shower, our first since Antigua!

Cahal Peck Maya ruins near san Ignacio

Maya pottery at Cahal Peck

Maya skeleton

We had heard a lot about the ATM caves and they lived up to reputation. Similar to the caves at Semuc Champey, we again had to wade and swim in the cave but this time we had good head torches that didn't go out when they went underwater. Eventually we came out in an old riverbed in the cave and were guided around the Mayan remains.

River crossing on the way to the cave

Cave entrance

Walking around the remains

Inside the cave

Skeleton, they don't know if they were all sacrifices or not

Pottery

Skull

So with a sound introduction into Maya ruins and skeletons, it was time to say goodbye to brilliant Belize and head back across the border to shocking roads and cramped minivans for a visit to the mother of all Maya sites, Tikal.

We're in Guatemala now Dr Ropata

2008-11-27T02:28:00.002Z

We almost didn't get on the plane, as we had no proof we were leaving Guatemala. A flight out of Mexico wasn't good enough but after digging our heels in, we were eventually let on, complete with fake ticket out which if course was not necessary for the laid back Guatemalan border control. For my second flight in a row, I was feeling terrible, and was sick on the plane so not in a wonderful state upon arrival. Kelley had organised a direct transfer to Antigua, a much safer place than Guatemala City and this was demonstrated upon departure as we drove past a group surrounded by armed police. Our hotel in Antigua was brilliant, and represented the last 'nice' accommodation for 3 weeks.

Part of the hotel deal was a guided trip up active Volcano Pacaya. The adventure began as soon as we picked up and set the tone for travel in Guatemala - disorganised, bumpy, crowded and slow. Eventually we got there, powered up the hill, got very close to flowing lava and stumbled back down in the dark.

Looking back toward Antigua (behind the mountain)

Lava - not a very good photo. I got to within about 10m of it and bits of it kept breaking off and rolling down the mountain.

Street entertainers in Antigua

Antigua - where a few people would do their washing...

Our next stop was San Pedro on Lago de Atitlan. To get here we took a shuttle to Panajachel and then a boat over the lake. It was rough and I got soaked, Kelley managed to avoid the worst of it. We had a TV in our room at San Pedro screening endless Bruce Lee flicks which was outstanding.

Kelley in the boat, about to cross the lake

Locals doing the washing in the lake

Indian's nose in the background, which we walked up. It was recommended that we take a guide, for protection, so we did. Antonio come up to my hip and was wearing gumboots but he smoked it up the hill. Don't know how great he would have been if the men with machetes turned on us on the way up though.

Road works - Guatemala style

At the top of Indian's nose, Lake Atitlan and another volcano in the background

Coffee plant

Coffee and cake (banana bread) admiring our achievement

Our boat ride back across the lake was even rougher and our 'chicken bus' to Chichicastenango was packed. We had a couple of days here, including a morning at the market where we tried our bargaining skills. They weren't great, but the stuff was cheap, and we didn't buy much as we'd only have to carry it anyway.

Our room looked out over the very colourful cemetery, which we didn't visit as it was supposed to be rather dangerous.

To market - pottery

Cloth, bags...

and masks, to name but a few goods on offer

Our trip from Chichi to Coban was a nightmare. Three different minibuses, about 9 hors of travel, this was the worst trip of our holiday. The last leg was supposed to be incredible scenery, but it was dark for most of the trip. The 'road' was a bumpy dirt track, and it had recently rained so it was slippery. Our van was full, thankfully the driver was very good but we ran into a broken down van and people piled in and on. We were absolutely packed, 25 people in a 13 seater van, including 5 on the roof, plus all our gear, on a rough slippery road. I never thought we'd make it but hours later, we did.

Coban was nothing special, after another terrible backpacker experience (probably the worst) we caught another bus to Lanquin, a nice bus, and arrived at a brilliant spot and secured a very cool thatched hut beside a river. We had a few days here and explored Semuc Champey, including a cave trip, swimming up the stream inside the cave with only candles to guide us. Very cool.

Relaxing in the hammock outside our hut

Bar and restaurant, all the buildings were styled like this

Kelley and the bats, they flew out of the cave on dusk and we just stood in the way and they'd fly round us. There were thousands.

Hiking up for a view over the pools at Semuc Champey

Caterpillar

The pools at Semuc Champey. The river flows underground beneath them.

They were good for swimming, but the day wasn't very warm and we'd seen a lot of water in the caves. Nevertheless, we gave it a good go and I flung myself off a bridge into the river for good measure.

It was a long trip to our next stop and again a bit of a nightmare as our van driver dropped us in the middle of nowhere and tried to rip us off. When we arrived in the dark in Rio Dulce we didn't have much of a clue about where we would stay but a short boat trip down the river took us to some more thatched huts in the mangroves, rather a nice spot apart from all the biting insects.

Rio Dulce

The next morning we took a boat along the Rio Dulce to Livingston, right on the coast and only accessible by boat. The trip took us past a spot where hot water flowed into the lake and we stopped for a quick dip. It was very hot and the lake cold and quite hard to keep a constant temperature so one side would be burning and the other freezing. The trip took us through a bush laden gorge where parts of one of the Rambo films was shot.

Fishing on the Rio Dulce

Fish out to dry in Livingston

While we were in Livingston, there was a festival celebrating the Garifuna people and the night before the main festival day there was a double murder in a night club / travel agency in town. Fortunately we were well tucked up in bed but a bit close to home given that we'd been in the travel agency the day before.

We went for a stroll along the beach to some fresh water falls

Kelley at the falls

A nice spot to relax, we spent most of the afternoon swinging in hammocks in the hut on the end of the pier.

Livingston was also the spot for one of the best meals out of the tour, Kelley had grapefruit prawns and I had Topado, a Garifuna specialty - huge bowl of coconut cream soap containing plantain, a whole fish and almost every other type of seafood imaginable.

Our main reason for stopping in Livingston was to get a boat to Belize, unfortunately this proved a little more difficult than anticipated but we eventually got away on a calm but drizzly morning. After the double murder, we were rather keen to be heading away!

Florida 'Porno' Keys

2008-11-14T23:13:00.002Z

Never had we seen as many adult stores and tacky t-shirts as on the Florida Keys. Of course, we didn't visit those kind of shops, well, I didn't anyway....

It is fair to say neither of us were particularly impressed with the Keys. It was certainly hot, and we finally found a good beach for swimming on Key West but when we went back the following day it was covered in weed that had washed up overnight. Nevertheless, we drove the length of the Keys, over 7 mile bridge, had a good look around Key West and sampled Key lime pie, BBQ'ed and camped so still had fun.

Iguana at Key Largo

Seven mile bridge

Southernmost point of Continental USA - Key West

Hire car and tent at Key West

Getting back to Miami and dropping off the car was a nightmare, we got lost and got scared about where we were driving so locked the doors, eventually we made it to the rental company and then to our airport hotel.

Josh left early the following morning to head home after a great catch up.

Snakes and 'Gators

2008-11-11T22:30:00.000Z

Once we arrived in Miami and claimed our rental car, top priority was to find food and a tent. Josh navigated us superbly to Target where we picked up cheap tent and airbed.

It didn't take long to hit air boat country and we soon made it to Shark Valley Park where we continued our run of bad decisions, foolishly deciding to walk, in jandals, to a wildlife viewing platform. Hours later, hot and sore, we turned back. At least we saw an alligator.

Alligators at Shark Valley

We camped up that night and managed to wash using a sink, The following day we called in again at Shark Valley and then went south to Flamingo. It was another hot, muggy day and we went for a short walk and got eaten alive by sandflies despite insect repellent. We did see a couple of snakes, nearly stood on them actually.

Lunch at Flamingo

Snake!

On our final morning we hired a canoe and paddled around the mangrove. We were promised abundant wildlife but didn't see anything which was a shame.

Paddling through the grassy mangroves

Washington DC

2008-11-09T06:54:00.000Z

On Shaun's recommendation, I caught a dodgy, cheap, Chinese run bus to Washington from New York. The bus was basic and fortunately nearly empty and the scenery was boring so I slept most of the way.

I had a couple of good days in Washington, the weather was great so I spent my time wandering around the National Mall visiting monuments, memorials, museums and famous buildings. My highlight was probably a visit to the Supreme Court, and the huge Washington Monument.

Jefferson Memorial

Old ad for slaves in the Jefferson Memorial Museum

Spiral staircase in the Supreme Court

Reflecting pool looking towards Lincoln Memorial

Korean War Memorial

White House

Capitol Building

World War II memorial at night

Big Abe

The magnificent monument in all its glory

My last night in Washington was spent at the airport where I met Josh. We flew out early the next morning to Miami and saw little point in paying for a nights accommodation for a few hours sleep. The airport website said sleeping there was possible so we gave it a go. They lied. Sleeping was impossible, the floors were hard stone and there was no suitable seating. So Josh produced a bottle of rum (proved to be a bad idea) and a tennis ball (good idea until stopped by security) and unlimited internet access which was the only good idea for the night. Needless to say, the flight to Miami was a disaster and we felt awful.

New York, New York

2008-11-06T06:05:00.001Z

My first stop on my grand trip home was New York, actually that is not quite accurate as for some stupid reason I had to get there via Miami. I arrived late on Halloween night to an awful hostel engaged in a full on Halloween party. My 'shared room of 4' turned out to contain 4 bunk beds and it was full, full to overflowing after 2.30am when the party goers arrived with their partners. Needless to say, I was not in a good state the day before the marathon. Fortunately, the day was not too strenuous, I got myself registered and looked around the marathon expo, claimed a free lunch at a sports shop, planned my route to the start line, ate a huge free pre race dinner, watched the marathon fireworks and went to bed early.

Finish line the day before

Manhattan skyline

The ferry to the start at Staten Island took us close to Liberty Island. It was a sunny and clear morning so we got a good view of the Statue of Liberty. There was a very cold wind which was not nice to be hanging around in for hours (another free meal helped - breakfast) but some runners had been there since 4.30am.

The race finally started, luckily for me I was in the first wave and quite near the front. The course went through all 5 New York City boroughs, Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx and Manhattan, finishing in Central Park. It is a reasonably tough course but the support along the way was up there with the best. I ran the first half fast but faded badly to finish in 2 hours 48 mins, good enough for 309th place but disappointing given my first half pace. There are photos, heaps of them on this link, I'm not sure how long they will last.

That night I went to the marathon after party which was a bit of a let down but I was tired and sore anyway.

The next few days I spent sightseeing in New York. I also caught up with Tom and Alex (Alex had also run the marathon and could barely walk)and we went out for classic American BBQ. I changed hostels as soon as I could and moved to a nicer one in a dodgier area in Harlem. I was also able to catch a Knicks game with my 2 English friends that also did the marathon.

Ice skating in Central Park

Wall Street Bull

Navy memorial with Statue of Liberty in the background

New York Stock Exchange

Wall Street and Broadway cornerNew York Stock Exchange

Ground Zero

Grand Central Station and Crysler Building

Rockfeller Centre, night before the election

Times Square by night

Brooklyn Bridge

At the Knicks game

Final score, it was a good close game, the Knicks were down but came back to win.

My English mates

Virtual Golf

2008-10-28T05:53:00.000Z

As a break from a week of administration and pascking duties, Kelley, Gabs, Hamish and I headed for the centre of London for a round of golf in a basement. It was quite a set up, there were several 'tee areas', a bar and a huge selection of courses to play. We played the old St Andrews course. We hit the ball into a screen which would calculate the distance and direction. Chipping and putting took a bit of getting used to bit it seemed reasonably accurate.

Gabs - probably putting for eagle

The Beard Experiment

2008-10-27T09:45:00.007Z

After a couple of months of living like a caveman, it was time to lose a couple of kgs for the marathon.

Here we go: firstly, hairy Fraser in full glory....

The beard always provided something to chew on.

It was a tough choice, which should go first, the top or the bottom. I chose the top, but it was tough cutting. The poor old machine was nearly smoking. So I took a break to capture the axe wielding maniac look.

Finally most of it came off...

Then, it was time for even bigger choices. What look to go for? In the end, I decided the weakest point should go first, and that was clearly the thinning, sun bleached mo so off it came.

A little bit of experimenting with filthy goatees, I think this is my best look, I really should have tried to get through airport security like this.

Aaron Slight?

1920's sideburns. Awesome.

And then, back to weedy looking me, looking optimistically into the future. What a strange feeling without the beard, it feels very drafty.

France by Velo

2008-10-22T18:42:00.029Z

The Grand Depart

It was a good chance for me to test out the bike with the trailer on as I made my way from Wimbledon to Clapham Junction to meet Dean and Helen and catch the train to Poole. Although rather difficult to get all our gear on board the train, we made it to Poole and onto the boat without too much trouble and began to get a sense of what it would be like travelling in this manner, ie attracting plenty of attention from various onlookers, particularly the loaded tandem.

The trip over was quite fast and easy, passport control was non existent, the ferry was quite pleasant and very quick, the sea was calm and the skies clear, the highlight was a stop at Guernsey.

Boats moored in Guernsey harbour

Lighthouse at Guernsey

We arrived into St Malo just before darkness fell and saw a nice sunset. St Malo was actually one of the nicest towns we saw on the whole tour which and was a very unexpected highlight.

Sunset over the bay from the camping ground

Looking over the walled old town

A gun emplacement the next morning, different to anything at home, this one had clearly seen some serious action.

Stage 1 - to Mont St Michel

We set off late from St Malo as it was raining in the morning - not a good start. It remained overcast for most of the day so actually quite good conditions for our first serious day. After a couple of teething problems with the map reading, we rolled in to Mont St Michel at about 5.30 and claimed a cabin for the night because of the dubious weather. Mont St Michel was very impressive, basically a big church / monastery on an island, which is quickly losing its island status due to silt build up (and the fact a road goes out to it!)

Mont St Michel on an overcast evening

A rare shadow as the sun came out from behind the clouds

Leaving in the morning

Stage 2 - Brittany, Normandy back to Brittany, did we actually ever leave....

For the next couple days our main purpose was to get to the start of the Loire Valley so we did a lot of cycling and not a lot of sightseeing. The cycling was mainly on back roads and a lot of it was traffic free. We think we went into Normandy for a while but couldn't be sure. Bothe areas are well known for the cider so there were plenty of apple trees along the way. The weather was pretty good during the day but each morning was cold and dewy which meant we didn't get away until late morning which was a bit frustrating.

Trying to dry washing on the church lawn at lunch time

We camped next to this river at Chateauneuf-sur-Sarthe

Stage 3 - Loire Valley

The Loire Valley is a World Heritage site, one of the largest of such sites in the world. There are many huge and impressive chateau in the vicinity and its fair to say we were done with looking around inside them after we had been to a couple. Nonetheless, they were very impressive.

Chateau numero uno at Samur

Houses built into the limestone cliffs, this used to be where all the workers lived, after they carved out the stone for the chateau they lived in the caves. Now they are highly sought after and are almost as trendy as the chateau.

One of the nicest villages along the way, Candes-St-Martin at the junction of la Vienne river and la Loire. There were millions of fish in the river under the bridge where this photo was taken.

Chateau at Azy-le-Ridaeu, build in the middle of the river!

The cycling was reasonably easy compared to what was coming up. We followed the route in Dean and Helen's Lonely Planet guide and this took us well of the Loire and explored some of the tributaries. Again, we were blighted by cold damp mornings but by lunchtime it was clear and sunny.

We were able to check out some genuine caves where the stone had come from. The workers were known as troglodytes and one chap had set it all up like it used to be, complete with all the animals. We decided that live would have been rather nice as a troglodyte, apart from when pesky bandits came calling.

Troglodyte living room, and kitchen, and bedroom, and dining room. The stable was next door so living conditions would not have been particularly pleasant.

Underground caves where they hid from the bandits. The tunnel on the right was a decoy and the cavity on the left was where the guard stood and would nail the bandits with an arrow through a small hole in the wall.

..and back to how the other half lived. This was inside a very impressive Chateau called Chenonceau....

and outside

Spanning the river

Some sort of vegetable growing in the gardens. I think more for decoration rather than eating.

Then, on our last day in the Loire, we ran in to this huge thing.

Stage 4 - Train to Clermont Ferrand

We took a train from Orleans to Clermont Ferrand in the Massif Central which proved to be a pricey exercise. The train left early on a Monday morning so we tried to find a hotel the night before in Orlean which was impossible with most of them being 'Ferme' (closed) because it was Sunday. This was the beginning of true frustration with Ferme time.

Anyway, we got on the train and after hearing all sorts of stories about how difficult it was, it turned out to be a breeze and we flew to the hills without anyone even checking our tickets.

Bikes all staked up on the early train.

Stage 5 - Massif Central

What a shock we got on the haul out of Clermont Ferrand. It was hot and steep and unlike anything we had come across so far. The terrain and surrounding landscape had changed, and apart from having to bike up the hills, we all agreed it was a change for the better. The Massif Central is relatively untouristy compared to other areas in France an is quite a volcanic area.

Looking back onto what had been day one in the Massif Central - a row of Volcanoes

To be honest, the quality of the farmland and the professionalism of the farming was pretty rubbish, it reminded us a bit of the Otago Peninsula, without gorse.

Dean admiring some volcanic formations, which we later walked around....

...and walked up....

...and took photos a bit closer.

Crazy mountain sheep about to leap over the edge.

A lake a bit further down the road.

From the lake it was a long descent down to Le Mont Dore, where we had a day off.

From Le Mont Dore there was a short steep bike ride to a skifield where we took a gondala up Puy de Sancy

and walked back down.

We were dreading the next day. We allowed ourselves a brief stop to check out a 'cascade'...

..before a 6km climb out of Le Mont Dore over Col de la Croix St Robert nestled in fog...

..and we were stoked to make it.

The next day bought another couple of climbs, the biggest being to a col just below another peak, Puy Mary. We stoped at the restaurant at the top after riding up through the fog and got down with some much needed local nourishment.

Then we hiked to the top, we clearly weren't the first to do so but that didn't stop Dean claiming the peak for NZ.

The views on the way up were good, when the fog cleared. This was another road heading up to the col.

Typically, all the fog cleared when we were on the way down.

Our last morning in the Massif Central was in Murat and we woke up to a frost. That was a fairly strog signal that it was time to head south so we got on a busy road in the hope of a quick getaway but struck some tough climbs along what we thought was going to be a flat river valley. However, we were rewarded with a long descent and a brilliant campsite at the end of the day, boasting a lake, a bathroom almost like you'd find at home and a good spot to make a fire.

How about the serenity.

Warming up by the fire, we even had marshmellows!

Lakeside the next morning

France by Velo, Part 2

2008-10-21T06:45:00.021Z

Following on from where I left off, we were on our way out of the Massif Central and heading for the Lot and Dordogne river valleys. On the way, two of our worst fears were realised:

1. Camping ground was closed so we pitched tents in the dark and slept near the tennis courts. We were woken up by kids going to school the next day.

2. Personal injury. Dean did something to his knee when we were packing up, rendering him incapable of riding, walking, pretty much everything except for postcard writing! Also, I had a nasty rash on my hands and ankles which was beginning to get very irritating. It provided much amusement trying to explain to the chemist what was wrong.

With this in mind, we were forced to have a day in St Cere and a night in a motel which had its benefits, like a good shower and a comfortable bed.

Town Square, St Cere

We got going the next day, Dean's knee was almost back to full strength which was just as well as our day's cycling was quite tough as we hauled ourselves in and out of the Dordogne valley.

There were some very nice villages along the way, most of them had beautiful villages of France signs.

Our first haul and one of the toughest

Helen making friends with the locals while Dean and I went and collected about 15kg of windfall walnuts.

We stopped at some huge caves along the way which were quite good, we were punted along an underground river but all the commentary was in French and we didn't understand anything. Dean lucked out on the boat trip and had to sit beside a honeymooning couple who were trying to swallow each other.

Finally we arrived into Rocomador and there were plenty of camping grounds. Rocomador was a very nice village built on the side of a cliff and was a place of pilgrimage (to see the 'black virgin') so we joined the pilgrims and the tourists the next morning for a look around.

Rocomador

On the edge of the cliff...

Looking down

Buildings built into the cliff

That afternoon we continued along the river to Domme and more Autumn scenery. It rained that night so everything got wet but that was nothing new as our tents would get wet every night from dew anyway. So we packed up, rode up to Domme (on top of a hill) and continued on for a loop up and down the Dordogne. At lunch time we made the late decision to hire canoes and paddle the river for a while. Unfortunately it started raining but it was still great fun.

Where we hired the canoes, another cool village

Canoeing the Dordogne

View from the river

After our canoe trip, there was no time for mucking around so we rode quickly to Salviac where we had fluked a night with an American couple we had got in touch with on the 'Warm showers' website (where people offer a bed for cycle tourists). Bob and Mary cooked us a great feed and they did have a wonderful warm shower. I had tried to dry my tent but as I was doing so it rained again so I spent the night inside.

Bob and Mary left early the next morning to go harvesting grapes so we had their place to ourselves. We caught up on email and used their free phone to call home. We finally got away about midday and rode solidly to Figeac, arriving just before another bout of rain. Most of the ride was on a main road and it was fast, we knocked off 76km for the day in about 3 and a half hours so very good going.

Again we struck closed camping grounds so we stayed in a 'gite' which was basically a backpacker. This turned out to be a good decision as it rained again overnight and was quite cold. We went for a wander around Figeac, another pilgrimage town and visited a giant copy of the Rosetta stone as this was where Jean-François Champollion, the first translator of Egyptian hieroglyphics, was born.

Rosetta stone

We were up and away in good time the next morning but it was an awful morning for cycling with low freezing fog for the first couple of hours. We were now cycling along the Lot river and when we finally got out of the fog it was a ripper of a day. We finished our cycling for the day at 1:30pm at St-cirq-Lapopie and checked into our cabin and waited for Kelley, Gabs and Helen who were coming for the weekend. It was nice to see some friendly faces and we had a few wines that night and a quiet day the next day involving a drive into Cahors and a walk around St-cirq-Lapopie.

Lunch on the banks of the Lot

Kelley, St-cirq-Lapopie in the background

The girls left the following morning to drive back to Rodez to fly back to London and after some disagreements with the camping ground man, we finally got away too. Our ride for the afternoon was quite tough and when we found a closed camping ground that we could still stay in, we did. No shower though. Again it was a nice ride along quiet bush lined roads.

Our aim now was to get south to the Pyrenees as quickly as possible so we were up and away early the next day with the aim of getting some km's behind us. This we achieved, doing 109km for the day and it was reasonably tough riding. The morning section was very nice, again along a river and through some very nice villages. The clear highlight of the day was finally finding a vineyard where the grapes hadn't been harvested and we had a huge feast and left with gallons of grape juice running down our chins. The day ended poorly again, we couldn't find a camping ground that was open so we pitched our tents near the tennis court and children's playground and received a few strange looks! At least we had a tap this time.

It rained overnight but cleared up so we could pack up and get away, only to settle in again. We were wet and cold and it was not very pleasant but we pushed on to Pamiers where we found an open camping ground with a 'mobile home'/cabin which was warm and dry and gratefully received.

The next day we were faced with terrible weather forecast and it was the day we were due to get into the hills. After much deliberation we decided to push on. We stopped for lunch of extremely fresh, warm baguette beside the river at Foix and carried on to a nice camping ground at Tarascon-sur-Ariege, at the bottom of the valley with daunting mountains towering around us.

The mountains were calling

On our wander around Tarascon-sur-Ariege, cloud formation

In the park

Crucifixion statue

It was the first day of hitting the big time. We rode steadily up river to the start of our first big climb, Port de Lers.

Dean and Helen riding up Port de Lers...

... and nailing it!

Then conquering Col de Agnes

Looking down at the huge, steep descent to come. This was incredible, so steep and so long, about 17km of descending. Pleased we didn't have to go up it from this side.

Time for a well earned lunch, and what a view. Slightly daunting when we realised that is where we would be going.

Writing from a tour gone by.

We were supposed to go over another Col that day but it was closed for road works so we cruised down the road to Seix and camped by a river. We were discovering that the Pyrenees was like a different country, camping grounds and shops were open.

The next day was misty but we were now in our getting up and away early mode so away we went. First up was Col de la Core, 13km long and we were led up the whole way by a local dog.

We soon got out of the mist and could look back on it.

Our dog, grateful for a chance to cool off

Looking east again on La route des cols, pretty much the route we were taking

Our second col for the day started slowly but it was an absolute killer for the last 3km. Its fair to say that Col de Portet d'Aspet was given a few other choice names by the time we made it to the top.

Dean - exhausted

Fabian Casertelli memorial, Casertelli ran of the road and was killed on the very steep descent of this col during the 1995 Tour de France. He was an Olympic gold medalist in 1992.

The last col for the day was Col de Mente and this was an absolute killer. We were totally broken when we reached the top and we were late as Dean and Helen got a flattie on the way up. I had gone ahead so had to ride back down with the pump, fortunately the tyre stayed up on the descent to St Beat which we were very pleased to reach!

The next day we ventured across the border into Spain and climbed Col du Portillon. The summit of this col was on the border again so we crossed back into France and ate our lunch under cover during a passing shower.

At the old border station, no such worries now and we just cruised through.

The top of Col de Portillon, France on the left and Espana on the right

After much deliberation, we decided to push on and got wet climbing the huge 14.5km Col de Peyresoude but by the time we reached the top, the rain had stopped. This was a good climb.

Dean and Helen on the way up

Almost there

A bit of encouragement!

At the top

Another ripper of a descent followed and we spent the night in Arreau.

The next day we were packed up and ready to go but the rain came and settled in. Somewhat reluctantly, we parked up for the day and wrote postcards and checked email etc. Although it was a bit frustrating, it was nice to relax for a day.

We were itching to get going the next morning, today was the day we'd been waiting for with two spectacular and very well known climbs, first of all the Col d'Aspin and then the big one, the Col du Tourmalet. Col d'Aspin was tough enough but it was a wonderful climb, very scenic and the weather was perfect. We met a French couple at the top who posed with the tandem and pretended they'd just ridden up it - cheats. Quite amusing though.

Quick stop for a break and a photo

Looking up to the top of the col, about 6km to go. The pass will be at the lowest point.

At the top

It was time for the big one, it started ok, a slow gradual climb but soon reached 8% gradient and steeper, up to 10 - 11 % in places. We continued through a ski village near the summit and wound our way up the final switch backs. It was unlike anywhere else we'd been, this was really the mountains. It was an incredible feeling to reach the top.

Dean and Helen about to power over...

there they go

Me at the summit

Looking down at the descent

We felt a bit ripped off at the top, there was supposed to be a tacky souvenir shop but it wasn't open, and a huge statue of a cyclist which was being repaired so we took the tandem up and took a photo of it instead.

Old photo in the cafe at the top.

The descent was something else, about 20km of steep stuff and then another 24km of gentle downhill and we flew into Argeles Gazot where we found another ripper of a camp ground with an indoor pool where Dean and Helen had a quick swim.

After the Tormalet, it was hard to get fired up again, but fired up we had to get as we were faced with a huge day - 4 cols and over 100km for the day. The main col was Col d Aubisque and the ride up was incredible, along a rock face and riding alongside feral ponies.

On top of Col du Soulor, looking towards Col d Aubisque. You can see the road cut into the hillside.

Riding amongst the ponies

Sign before the climbing started again. It shows how it starts gradually but gets steep near the top.

From the top, looking back

Our last col for the day was a frustrating one, the overall average gradient wasn't too bad but only because there was a long stretch where it reached a plateau and was flat before getting very seep again. We were pleased to make it to the end of the day, but ran into a closed camping ground and in the end rolled into a place that didn't really have camping facilities so they open up a cabin and we just slept on the floor in there.

The next day was our last major climbing day in the Pyrenees but the col we struck was the steepest of the lot. Named Col de Bagargi, it was easy to think of an alternative name that suited it better. The gradient was over 12.5% in some places and it was nasty. Our last climb was comparatively easy, Col de Burdincurucheta and we were left with a strong sense of achievement when we reached the top but also a little sad that we were leaving the Pyrenees, by far the highlight of our trip.

Setting up to pose for our last photo at the top of a col.

We arrived at St Jean Pied Port at 3pm and we were exhausted. So we found a camping ground, did our laundry and went for a stroll around town, it was a really nice we spot and very Basque influenced. We treated ourselves with dinner out to celebrate our conquest of the Pyrenees.

I packed up the next morning, did a spot of shopping and took off on my own as I had changed my ferry sailing time and had to get to Bilbao. Dean and Helen still had a week to fill in so we said our sad good byes and I rolled down the road thinking of all the great times we'd had over the last month or so. It was strange being on my own and a little daunting at first but I enjoyed the ride and it was a real thrill to see the sea and descend the last hill in France!

Red chillies drying on a building, these were a Basque icon

Beach at Hendaye

Breakfast the next morning consisted of the best patisserie of the whole tour, in my opinion, a choco - almond croissant, outstanding. I needed it too, I had a huge day's cycling including two big hills which was surprising as I stuck to the coast. I had to navigate through San Sebastian, which nearly proved impossible but finally I made it. I found a nice campground at Lekeitio and didn't take much rocking!

On the hill above Hendaye

After another tough morning the next day, I arrived in Bilbao and had an awful afternoon trying to find the port and somewhere to stay. It was a terrible place to navigate around but eventually I checked into a nice youth hostel and was able to clean and dry out my gear.

The next morning I was away in plenty of time and stopped for some supplies for my long trip. I had no trouble getting onto the ferry and checked into my own room. There were plenty of people on board, most of them settling in for a long night on the booze and a lot of them coming back to the UK as part of a 'mini cruise'.

Windmill in Bilbao harbor.

The trip was long but there was quite a bit to do. The weather was nice to start with so the top deck was a good place to be. They had wildlife officers on board spotting whales and they gave a couple of presentations about whales as well. We saw Finn whales and Cuvier's Beaked Whale, one of the rarest in the world so we were told. There was also a gym on board but it was tough to use in the rolling sea, and a sauna which was quite good. The trip was reasonably smooth although we slowed down overnight as it got rougher. There were a few around with poor sea legs.

Land Ho - in sight of England again

I was nervous about my arrival into Portsmouth as my visa had expired but it wasn't a problem. Finding the train station was frustrating, and it seemed to take forever to get to London but I finally arrived at about 8pm to a fantastic dinner and a warm reception!

Harvest in Hampshire

2008-08-10T10:44:00.006Z

After two weeks of filling in time we finally got started on oil seed rape. My accommodation fell through so I lived with Bevan at Chilton Candover and drive a landrover 3 minutes up the road to Preston Candover to work.

A rape seed head, with all too familiar grey skies in the background

Lone tree in a wheat field

There are five permanent staff on the farm, plus me. The farm is owned by Lord Sainsbury, former boss of Sainsbury supermarkets.

My main job during the harvest is simply to cart the grain from the header to the grain shed and drier. Basically I drove a tractor and trailer backwards and forwards all day. The challenging part is getting all the grain in the trailer and a nice even load. This isn't easy as the trailer is higher than my tractor and it is hard to know where the back is. The other bit that requires some practise is backing the trailer into the pit to tip but I got better.

Bevan getting filled up

Harvester on the place I worked at harvesting oil seed rape. You can see that the stalk is very green, this is unusual as it is normally all sprayed off to even up the ripening. However, this is destined to be used as seed for nest year's crop and spraying would ruin the germination.

Harvesting barley on a rare sunny day

We had a terrible summer weather wise and still had about 200 acres of wheat to harvest when I left. The terrible summer was capped off when the Alresford A&P how was cancelled after too much rain made the show grounds a bog. We had a few visitors that weekend though, Kelley, Nicola, Clare and her sister Jessica all came down and we had a great time, capped off with a Hawaiian Young Farmer's party in a barn which we all got in theme for - fortunately I have no photos of it....

Royal Garden Party

2008-07-22T09:55:00.001Z

It was a bit of a rushed trip back to London for me to arrive on time for the Garden Party in the Buckingham Palace Gardens. We had been quick on the uptake a few months ago to get tickets, the New Zealand embassy has a certain allocation to give away on a first in first served basis. It was even luckier the Hamish, Gabs, Chris and Sara were coming as well.

There were no cameras allowed but we managed a couple of sneaky photos on our phones on the way out, and now my stupid phone has wiped them too...

We got to with 3 metres of the Queen and Prince Philip, and Prince Charles and Camilla but the real highlight was the almost limitless afternoon tea of which we took full advantage. Everything was very nice, from the cucumber and mint sandwiches to the chocolate fudge slice with a golden crown emblem. I certainly didn't need dinner!

The British Open

2008-07-20T08:17:00.002Z

We travelled from London to Liverpool on a Friday night and arrived late only to find that the hostel where we had booked had no record of our booking. After another couple of hours, we were eventually checking in to a hotel in the centre of town, all paid for by the hostel. This was a great result and got even better in the morning when we discovered that a full buffet breakfast was included.

Nonetheless, we were still rather shattered on Saturday as we made our way up to Royal Birkdale. The weather forecast was terrible but we were quite lucky, no rain but a strong cool wind. We were not allowed to take cameras in which was a shame. We saw some great players and eventually settled on a spot on the 8th green where we watched about the last ten pairings go through, including Greg Norman who was the crowd favourite and really the hero of the competition.

The wind was making it very difficult for the players and the leader board changed throughout the day. the crowds were making it difficult for us but we moved to the par 3 14th green and watched the last few play that hole before making our escape in an effort to beat the crowds.

We went out for dinner in Liverpool which was an eye opening - actually an eye closing - experience. It seemed every female in Liverpool 'dressed' the same with the common theme being to reveal all of what they did not have!

We filled in Sunday morning with an open bus tour of the city and then it was back to London a slightly different way so I could pick up my cycle trailer that I had bought on ebay.

Liverpool

We got back in reasonable time and Bevan met me at the station to take me back to the farm.