tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695283608106940062024-02-21T02:37:37.049+01:00Our Big ExploreLisbeth & Eriks blog, from which we'll try to keep you updated on our travels through Asia, Australia and New ZealandErik Krafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10520862374999442880noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-75197295345497779492015-07-15T23:41:00.000+02:002015-07-27T20:09:32.939+02:00The return of two dedicated travelbugs!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Friday
6<sup>th</sup> March</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frankly
our bodies needed a break from alcoholic beverages, the last few weeks had been
hard on us. So it fitted us perfect that we were leaving the party island of
Koh Phi Phi. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We checked out from our bamboo hut, and sweaty as we were, we walked
to the harbour and caught the ferry to Krabi. We spend most of the day in a
hostel in Krabi town, using their wifi to catch up with people from home, while
we waited for our afternoon flight back to Bangkok. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It slowly became clear to
us that we were actually almost on our way home, but we felt as ready as we
could for it. At some point we were fed up with travelling, but on the other
hand the thought about going home made us anxious. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Going back to the cold and a
daily routine was demotivating for us, but at some stage we were dying to see
friends and family again, and were extremely excited to surprise everybody, but
we couldn’t help wondering how it would feel like to be back in “reality”. It
would probably only be exciting for a few weeks. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We talked and became nostalgic
about our long journey. We have undoubtedly changed and grown in unexpected ways, and none of us feel like the same people we were, when we got on our first flight bound for </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beijing. Our relationship has grown a lot the past 1½
year, and we actually feel addicted to each other. We have been together 24 hours
each day for the last 545 days. It’s crazy, that we haven't killed each other yet! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well back to some of our
last travels on our life’s journey. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our flight back to Bangkok went all right.
I tried my best not to whine about the aircraft’s movements, luckily it only
took about an hour before we landed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It suited us perfect that Christian and
Tanya picked us up in the domestic airport, Don Muang, as the queues to the
shuttle buses and taxi’s can be ridiculous long and tiring. The traffic around
the airport demands a certain kind of patience and are best described by two
words; time-consuming, and chaotic! Fortunately Tanya carries that patience and
she brought us “home” safe through the indescribable chaotic and at times
dangerous traffic. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We checked in at Ruamchitt Travellodge again. Then we went
out to Christian and Tanya’s favourite bar & restaurant, called Viva. Erik
and Christian catched up over a few beers beers while Tanya and I went for a
full body massage, just across the street. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Saturday
7<sup>th</sup> March</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today’s
mission was to buy some Thai mattresses, which we fell in love with long time
ago. It’s a relatively thin mattress with a triangular pillow attached to it.
We bought 12 of them and got them for a very good price. 5600bath (1120kr) in
MBK shopping mall. We browsed around the mall and found a cheap tripod for my
camera, which we had to buy as well. The rest of the day we enjoyed the last
bit of sun by the swimming pool… We just wanted to relax, as much as it’s
physical possible in a big city like Bangkok. We spend another night on Viva
and spoiled ourselves with our last Thai massage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Sunday
8<sup>th</sup> March</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After
a delicious lunch at Mercure Hotel with Christian and Tanya, we spend the rest
of the day sorting out our stuff and sewing the last land/flag patches on our
bags, while watching Danish tv-shows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unofficial
this was the last day of our travels, and because of this we started noticing
all these small things that we were fascinated about in the beginning, and the
things that we knew we would miss seeing and feeling everyday… For example all
the electricity cables hanging above the streets, all the colourful tuk-tuks,
the chaotic traffic, how warm it actually was and the strange people all around
us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
was unreal to think about that the following day we would be sitting on a plane
towards Kastrup airport and Denmark, our journey had come to an end, and soon
we would be facing that god damn reality again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only
a few people had knowledge about our arrival plans, as it was meant to be a
surprise for everybody at home, friends as well as family. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had told
everybody we were coming home in June, so no one expected us to knock on their
doors as we planned to do the upcoming week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everything
we did this day, we did for the last time… Actually everything we did the past
week we did for the last time. It was sad! We spend our last night on Viva, I
got my last pedicure and manicure, we drank the last Chang beer, ate our last
Thai curry, had our last night with Christian and Tanya and so on. It was scary
and sad -very sad!!!</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-l3izMnoY6D-XQioAaavQBOxMe8GxIJgfzZcpEIgG3B735hlRH20cg-76H4h6Y_cBp0hxc8dH80feNvnBlQki4a0PhmtQWjW8Nxs1f668rDnJf8gpz5EDgx9WyR2igTAxLmxL3Y49ZJ0/s1600/LTA_2417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-l3izMnoY6D-XQioAaavQBOxMe8GxIJgfzZcpEIgG3B735hlRH20cg-76H4h6Y_cBp0hxc8dH80feNvnBlQki4a0PhmtQWjW8Nxs1f668rDnJf8gpz5EDgx9WyR2igTAxLmxL3Y49ZJ0/s640/LTA_2417.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUIkY9b7Jzi7NYe7oQKYiwL25HcKq9SyojtCuadt5fNCOG3bsW6adQRQTf95huUCD-7x5PfW2B_GblYb-l2gFfxbNnWtEq6kmmIeW3xEuyBpLMuak0ZeyYptCT_hbM1k0wv2PjXtoCHo/s1600/LTA_2426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUIkY9b7Jzi7NYe7oQKYiwL25HcKq9SyojtCuadt5fNCOG3bsW6adQRQTf95huUCD-7x5PfW2B_GblYb-l2gFfxbNnWtEq6kmmIeW3xEuyBpLMuak0ZeyYptCT_hbM1k0wv2PjXtoCHo/s640/LTA_2426.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dessert was my favorite part of the lunch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjccQp3DEW5RSIZdREk0EQ89qXlONuiPUIZRDLiMFj6PMkOmLtzW8QMI1oAnVDO66dsS6g11_Lhg3bphICRmuEIUDtRLdn6jMfU1O1I6KTY9e_bHJiuk4RJI-zwqTT8XTs3Gnij0G0comc/s1600/LTA_2432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjccQp3DEW5RSIZdREk0EQ89qXlONuiPUIZRDLiMFj6PMkOmLtzW8QMI1oAnVDO66dsS6g11_Lhg3bphICRmuEIUDtRLdn6jMfU1O1I6KTY9e_bHJiuk4RJI-zwqTT8XTs3Gnij0G0comc/s640/LTA_2432.JPG" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tanya looooved the crabs </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcusEsz9HcxehiPThNOHY-jCM9AsTXP2JfGwoskfggi-RAqCBq_FZjBS1h3vPP_oOttpr4mXq55cHd-qcwiWxTTVjyNX2qx6guDAWJSyjafXg2E_Vom1Hqb9UOy-kquk2SxerRM9Uctl0/s1600/LTA_2444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcusEsz9HcxehiPThNOHY-jCM9AsTXP2JfGwoskfggi-RAqCBq_FZjBS1h3vPP_oOttpr4mXq55cHd-qcwiWxTTVjyNX2qx6guDAWJSyjafXg2E_Vom1Hqb9UOy-kquk2SxerRM9Uctl0/s640/LTA_2444.JPG" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cable Madness<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Monday
9<sup>th</sup> March</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After
1½ year of travelling we were ready to go home. Our backpacks were full of
countless and unforgettable moments, that has changed us and our lives forever.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">And especially after
waving good bye to Christian and Tanya, we realized THIS IS IT! The journey is
over! Soon a new chapter in our lives would begin, the chapter called “getting
use to a normal life again”. It’s very hard to describe how we felt in this
very moment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It
was our last cab drive in Thailand and we were kindly dropped off at the
international airport, and left 400bath (100kr) poorer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We
were on our way home! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We felt both excited and afraid. Excited to see friends
and family but afraid of how we would fit in, in the normal life again. We have
changed as persons and our perspective of life isn’t the same anymore, so we
wondered how we would fit our new selves into the daily Danish routine again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Thinking
back it’s indescribable what we have been through during this trip. We have
seen and experienced some mind blowing parts of the world, met overwhelming
friendly people and been blown away by the beauty of this world - thousands of
times. We have discovered that in</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> the end it’s not about how many breath we took, it’s about all the moments that
took our breath away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">To
sum up our journey we began in China, where we walked on the Great Wall, visited the Worlds
leading Giant Panda breeding base, experienced the stunning Yangshou River and
had our longest train rides ever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then
we crossed the border to Vietnam, where we trekked through the mountains to an
old tribe, saw breathtaking Ha Long Bay, did some rock climbing, were scammed
for the first time and did some seriously loooong off-the-beaten track bus
rides through the country, and into Laos. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then
we did the mandatory tubing down the river in Vang Vieng, saw unreal dinosaur
landscape, became friends with the locals and had a blast on the 4000 islands. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then
we paid Vietnam another visit to meet up with friends in Mui Ne, see Ho Chi
Minh city, the II World war tunnels and explored Phu Quoc Island. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then
we crossed the border to Cambodia (we were meant to go to the Philippines but
due to the devastating typhoon Haiyan we postponed our visit). We saw the
touching killing fields, went to a cooking class in Phnom Penh, fell in love
with Otres beach and experienced Angkor Wat by pump bikes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We
flew to Thailand where we celebrated Christmas in Bangkok with travel-friends,
spend time with family on Koh Tao during New Years, got certified divers and
tried our first live aboard diving trip, plus we trekked and slept in Khao Sok
National Park and ate bamboo dinner. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Next
stop was the Philippines, we
took the unbeaten track through the area where the typhoon hit and saw devastating
sights, we visited a far out island with no water and no electricity, we lived
with the locals, dived with thresher sharks, snorkeled with turtles, saw unreal
nature and left a piece of our hearts at Malapasqua and Siquijor islands. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then
we went back to Thailand to meet up with family, we experienced the
demonstrations in Bangkok, visited the Summer Palace, saw Chang Mai and Pai,
took care of rescued elephants, visited temples, did some island hopping and
saw our first manta rays while diving. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">By
boat we crossed the border to Malaysia, we travelled with our all time favorite
British friends (Tom & Verity), did a fair bit of trekking in Cameron Highlands, watched
Formula 1 in Kuala Lumpur. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We flew to Borneo, climbed Mount Kinabalu, cruised
down the Kinabantangan river, spotted crocodiles, monitor lizards, orangutans, gibbons and
proboscis monkies in the wild and became one with the nature. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We
crossed the border into oil-rich Brunei, visited Sultan Omar Mosque, hung out
with rich locals and sailed through Kampong Ayer water village. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Indonesia
was next, and the boattrip from Lombok to Flores are one of the most unique and
fantastic trips we have been on, we snorkeled with manta rays, climbed up steep
waterfalls, bathed in the ocean every day, saw komodo dragons and met some absolutely
awesome people from all over the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We
visited the far out Kilimutu lakes, dived in strong currents in the Komodo strait
and climbed the rewarding Mt. Rinjani. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We
paid the Philippines another visit, we lived like rock stars in Manila (thanks
to Christoffer), spend time with our British friends on Palawan, saw the UNESCO
World Heritage underground river in Sabang, and loved every second in charming
El Nido, we dived at Japanese shipwrecks in Coron islands and explored gorgeous
Boracay. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Singapore
fascinated us, with cheap sushi, brilliant Indian food and it’s cleanliness. We
splashed out on our last night in South East Asia and stayed at Marina Bay Sands
Hotel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We
flew to the World’s smallest continent, Australia. We bought our own car (Migaloo) and
travelled 25.000 km around the coastline of the country in 6 months. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Friends
from home visited us, we met new friends, and visited old friends. We camped on
Fraser island, watched humpback whales migrate to warmer water, we dived in
massive waves and were amazed by the desolated and death-inviting outback. We
were blown away by the white sandy beaches on the west coast and the rich
wildlife everywhere. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We did canoeing in Karijini National Park and visited
unbelievable many gorges. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We loved every second of the laid-back and friendly
Australian people and their wine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then
we flew to Fiji for the money we earned on our car sale, the Fijian people are
some of the nicest we have met, we dived with black and white tipped reef
sharks and witnessed hand feeding of bull sharks, we lived on a remote island
resort, drank cava and became friends with the natives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then
we paid New Zealand a visit, we lived with good friends in Auckland and are
forever thankful for their hospitality and how they took so good care
of us. We did a scary self-guided dive at Poor Knights, celebrated Christmas
and New Years like Kiwi’s. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We borrowed a car and drove around the two islands.
We did the Tongariro Volcanic Crossing, trekked in Abel Tasman National Park,
fell in love with adrenaline through bungy jumping and skydiving. We saw a lot
of the country’s fur seals. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then we flew to Indonesia (again), met up with a
friend from home, dived in crazy currents, saw hammerhead sharks and enjoyed
life by drinking a decent amount of alcohol every day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Second
last stop was in Thailand where we again met with a friend from home,
experienced Bangkok’s nightlife (again), paid Phi Phi Island another visit,
rock climbed and partied hard for the last time, before going home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We
prepared ourselves, as much as possible, for the culture shock we would
experience when planting our feet's on Danish ground again. We knew that nobody
would ever understand what we have seen, experienced and been though. And
actually we weren’t ready to talk about it with anyone anyway. We were just
blessed to have each other to share it with. Nobody else needs to understand! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In
the flight we were annoyed by all the Danish speaking people, and how well they
understood us... All of a sudden we couldn’t speak about people behind their
backs... Definitely an issue, that will take time to get use to again. In general
we were mostly depressed, but we tried to convince ourselves that it was the
right decision. I cried a minor tear when the crew announced that we were
getting ready for landing in Kastrup, we were in rush to get out of the plane. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The last couple of weeks (more precisely the past 10 months) we have spend endless time, on thinking about how we would surprise everybody at home, we've been looking forward to see people's reaction for ages and soon it was time to surprise everybody. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Erik’s
uncle Jørn, niece Christina and nephew Nicolai was some of the few people that
knew we were coming home, so they picked us up in the airport. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What we didn’t
know, was that we were about to get the biggest surprise in our life, so as we
were walking towards their “car”, a bunch of people started yelling and
screaming at us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It took us a few seconds to realize the situation; it was our
family and friends, who had come to surprise us, so all of a sudden the messers
become the messes. It was totally overwhelming and very unexpected to see all those people there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">They had all come the whole way to Kastrup to pick us up and give us the warmest welcome ever. Jørn had arranged a party bus, where we all fitted, we ONLY listened to Danish songs and had the greatest party in a long
time, on the 4 hour drive back home to Fredericia. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The party continued at Jørn’s
house where more people showed up, to welcome us home. It was fantastic and a
perfect way to surprise us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Thanks to all the people who were there, we really
appreciate it! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Next
morning when we woke up the reality kicked in, and we both cried a bit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> We
honestly weren’t sure if returning home was the right decision for us, we were
scared of the normal lifestyle that we would soon be a part of again. We were also
overwhelmed by the big surprise party that was thrown for us, and at the same
time we were extremely disappointed that we never got to surprise our family
and friends. Those plans got ruined completely. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It took us a few days to get
over all these mixed feelings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Looking back it was actually the most perfect
way to return home, and we were happy that family and friends had had something
to look forward to, even though we had planned our surprise for 10 months. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">First Danish breakfast in ages!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">People
say they wish they could go travel the world as we did. The truth is everybody
can do it; you just need to want it bad enough and have the courage to do it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The only thing holding you back is yourself and your fear of the unknown. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Forget whatever you thought “home” was and get out there and explore this
magical world that you and we live in. When you pack your life into a backpack
and turn your life into a journey with uncertainty, you grow in unexpected ways.
You think you know yourself before you start travelling, but you have no idea
of who you really are, until you venture out of your comfort zone and start
pushing those boundaries. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">You will face new challenges and get to know parts of
yourselves you didn’t know existed, you will be amazed by the world and it will
take your breath away – a million times!!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">For
the first time in your life you will feel the real freedom, you will be free as
the bird to do whatever you want, without any worries, plans or bills to pay… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">You
learn to make yourselves comfortable in every place you are, you learn not to
let fear stand in your way, you get the courage to try new things, push your
own boundaries and do things that you never thought you would do. Plus getting
to know yourself through travelling makes you capable of everything afterwards. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The
true beauty of travel comes from the sights you see and the people you meet,
not the clothes you wear or the expensive gadgets you have. The less you have
the happier you are. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When
you travel you meet people who will change your perspective of life and lead
you in another unknown direction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">You will realize there are things more
important than money and “security”, these things are called adventures and
experiences. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Remember
travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer and in the end we only
regret the chances we didn’t take. It's never too late and there's always a reason to go and explore. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There's is no doubt that we will be forever wanderlust and we will never loose the desire to see new parts of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We
gave up everything to go travel, and it’s the best decision we have ever made.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After
returning home we had to get use to a lot of different things again, like for
example:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When
parking your car you don’t necessary need to park it in the shade (as it never
gets too hot here)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Driving
in the right side of the road (oopsi)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Using
deodorant (I personally over do the spraying, just because I’m able to)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The
first couple of days Erik wanted to keep packing his stuff together in his
backpack, after he used them (we don’t necessarily have to do that anymore)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The
weather to be cold instead of hot and sweaty<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Having
a couch to chill in and watch TV from (not that hard)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Have
exaggerated much clothing to choose from, ridiculous!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The
use of a duvet at night<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Wearing
socks and closed shoes (this has not been fun at all!!!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Toilet
paper in public toilets<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Weather
conditions (no kidding)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Grey
concrete buildings (we miss colours)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Clothes
hangers (what a luxurious thing to have)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">That
we don’t need to cover in sunscreen/mosquito spray several times each day<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Worst
of all, the daily routine! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Erik
has made sure that we got all our travels written down in kilometers and hours.
He haven’t noted our many trips in tuk-tuks or ricksaws, or all of our free
rides, but besides that we got it all documented ;) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Chp –
Warszawa 672km = 1h. 15 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Warszawa –
Beijing 6942km = 9h. 5
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">3.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Siem Reap
– Bangkok 364km = 1h. 10 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">4.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Phuket – Singapore 957k<span lang="DA">m = 1h.
20 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">5.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Singapore – Manila 2391km = 3h. 10 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">6.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Manila – Legazpi 339km = 55
min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">7.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Cebu – Manila 571km = 1h. 02 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">8.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Manila – Bangkok 2211km = 3h. 16 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">9.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Bangkok – Chiang Mai 581km = 50 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">10.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Kuala Lumpur – Kota Kinabalu 1624km = 2h. 18 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">11.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">BSB Brunei – Kuala Lumpur 1483km = 2h. 11 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">12.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Kuala Lumpur - Denpasar Bali 1990km = 2h. 48 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">13.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Ende – Kupang 258km = 46 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">14.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Kupang - Lombok 815km = 1h. 12 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">15.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Denpasar Bali – Manila 2624km = 3h. 10 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">16.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Manila –
Puerto Princesa 591km = 50
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">17.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Coron – Manila 294km = 50 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">18.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Manila – Kalibo 355km = 39 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">19.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">San Jose – Manila 251km = 40
min </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">20.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Manila -
Singapore 2391km = 3h. 15
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">21.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Singapore
– Sydney 6305km = 2h. 26 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">22.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Cairns –
Goldcoast 1458km = 2h. 31
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">23.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Goldcoast – Cairns 1458km = 2h. 24 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">24.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Sydney – Nadi 3158km = 3h. 43 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">25.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Suva – Kadavu 106km = 32 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">26.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Kadavu – Nadi 160km = 44 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">27.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Nadi – Auckland 2144km = 3h. 06 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">28.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Auckland – Sydney 2159km = 3h. 40 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">29.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Sydney – Bali 4622km = 6h. 15 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">30.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Bali – Kuala Lumpur 2039km = 2h. 55 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">31.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Kuala Lumpur – Bangkok 1388km = 1h. 58 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">32.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Krabi – Bangkok 655km = 1h.
36 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">33.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Bangkok –
Copenhagen 8614km = 11h. 34 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Trains:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Beijing –
Shanghai 1318km = 4h. 55 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Shanghai –
Guilin 1621km = 19h.
58 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">3.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Guilin - Chengdu 1544km = 24h.
36 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">4.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Chengdu -Kunming 1100km = 20h.
09 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">5.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Chiang Mai – Bangkok 696km = 16h. 04 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">6.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Bangkok – Suratthani 644km = 12h. 28 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">7.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Bangkok – Suratthani 644km = 11h. 56 min</span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Busses:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">1.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Guilin – Yangshuo 73km =
1h. 28 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">2.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Yangshuo – Guilin 73km =
1h. 35 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">3.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Kunming – Hekoú 443km = 6h. 55 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">4.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Lao Cai - Sapa 38km = 50 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">5.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Sapa - Hanoi 350km = 10h. 35 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">6.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Hanoi –
Haiphong 105km = 2h. 3 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">7.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Cat Ba
Town – Cai Vieng 25km = 55 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">8.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Haiphong – Hanoi 105km = 2h. 11 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">9.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Hanoi – Vinh 261km = 8h. 34 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">10.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Vinh – Phonsavan 375km = 12h.
25 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">11.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Phonsavan – Luang Prabang 260km = 6h. 40 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">12.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Luang Prabang - Vang Vieng 228km<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a> = 6h. 5 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">13.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Vang Vieng – Vientiane 156km = 3h.
45 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">14.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Vientiane – Tha Khaek 337km = 5h. <span lang="DA">20 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">15.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Tha Khaek – Savannakhet 125km = 2h. 3 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">16.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Savannakhet – Pakse 242km = 6h. 20 min</span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">17.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Ban Nakasang – Pakse 145km = 2h. 24 min</span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">18.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Pakse – Attapeu 198km = 5h. 17 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">19.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Attapue – Ngoc Hoi 137km = 3h. </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">55 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">20.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ngoc Hoi – Danang 249km = 4h. 22 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">21.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Danang – Hoi An 29km = 1h. 12 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">22.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Hoi An – Nha Trang 509km = 11h.
41 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">23.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Nha Trang – Mui Ne 220km = 5h.
37 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">24.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Mui Ne – Ho Chi Minh 219km = 6h. </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">17 min</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">25.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ho Chi
Minh – Can Tho 173km = 3h. 20 min</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">26.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Can Tho –
Rach Gia 106km = 2h.
56 min</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">27.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Bai Vong –
Long Beach 15km = 25 min</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">28.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Long Beach
– Bai Vong 15km = 20 min</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">29.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ha Tien – Sihanoukville 148km = 5h. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">23 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">30.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Sihanoukville – Phom Phen 225km = 7h. 16 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">31.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Phnom Penh – Battambang 291km = 6h. </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">05 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">32.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Battambang – Siem Reap 170km = 3h. </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">10 min</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">33.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Bangkok –
Chumphon 452km = 7h. 02 min</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">34.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Don Sak –
Suratthani 44km = 1h. 03 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">35.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Suratthani – Khao Sok 232km = 2h. 25 mi</span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">n</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">36.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Khao Sok – Khao Lak 74km = 1h. </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">50 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">37.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Khao Lak – Phuket Town 100km = 2h. </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">14 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">38.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Phuket Town – Phuket Airport 30km = 2h. </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">05 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">39.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Legazpi – Donsol 48km = 1h. 15 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">40.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Legazpi – Sorsogon 60km = 2h. 20 min </span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">41.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Allen – Calbayog 82km = 1h. 55 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">42.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Calbayog – Catbalogan 73km = 1h. 24 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">43.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Catbalogan – Tacloban 102km = 1h.
57 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">44.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Tacloban – Naval 123km = 2h.
27 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">45.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Naval – Ormoc 87km = 2h. 06 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">46.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ormoc – Maasin 126km = 2h. 30 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">47.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Maasin – Bato 39km = 48 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">48.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ubay – Loboc 81km = 2h. 32 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">49.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Loboc – Tagbiliran 24km = 58 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">50.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Tagbilaran – Panglao Island 23km = 1h. 25 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">51.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Panglao Island – Tagbilaran 23km = 55 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">52.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Dumaguete - Dauin 15km = 35 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">53.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Dauin – Dumaguete 15km = 45 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">54.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Bato – Moalboal 58km = 1h. 38 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">55.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Moalboal –
Cebu 85km = 2h. 40 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">56.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Cebu – Maya 136km = 4h. 45 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">57.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Maya - Cebu 136km = 4h. 39 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">58.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Chiang Mai – Pai 130km = 3h. </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">16 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">59.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Pai – Chiang Mai 130km = 3h. </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">02 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">60.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Suratthani – Krabi 154km = 2h. 15 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">61.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Kangar – Butterworth 149km = 2h. 18 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">62.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Georgetown
– Tanah Rata 242km = 6h. 05 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">63.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Tanah Rata – Kuala Lumpur 205km = 5h. </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">19 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">64.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Kuala Lumpur – Melaka 136km = 1h. 55 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">65.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Melaka – Kuala Lumpur 136km = 1h. 49 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">66.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Kota Kinabalu – Sepilok 304km = 6h. 17 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">67.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Sepilok – Mt. Kinabalu 219km = 4h. 13 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">68.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Mt. Kinabalu – Kota Kinabalu 86km = 1h. 55 min</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">69.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Sanur – Padang Bai 42km = 1h.
</span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">8 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">70.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Labuan Bajo – Ende 384km = 15h. 16 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">71.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ende – Moni 60km = 2h. 12 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">72.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Moni – Ende 60km = 1h. 58 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">73.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Padang Bai – Kuta (Bali) 55km </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;"> = 1h. 23 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">74.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Puerto Princesa – Sabang 80km =
1h. </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">32 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">75.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Sabang – Salvacion 41km = 1h. 16 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">76.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Salvacion – El Nido 228km = 4h. 40 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">77.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">El Nido –
Puerto Princesa 228km = 5h. 25 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">78.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Coron Town
– Coron Airport 22km = 40 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">79.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Kalibo –
Caticlan 68km = 1h. 32 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">80.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Roxas –
San Jose 98km = 2h. 25 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">81.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">San Jose –
Concepcion Calitaan 40km = 1h. 08 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">82.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Concepcion
Calintaan – San Jose 40km = 2h. 12 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">83.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Kuta Beach
– Sanur 13km = 1h. 32 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">84.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Bangsal –
Senggigi 24km = 55 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">85.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Senggigi – Kuta (Lombok) 67km = 1h. 25 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">86.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Kuta (Lombok) – Bangsal 74km = 2h.
5 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">87.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Amed – Ubud 90km = 2h. 23 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">88.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ubud – Kuta Beach 33km = 2h. 10 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">89.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Suratthani
– Krabi 154km = 3h. 08 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">90.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">Krabi – Krabi Airport 13km = 21 min</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Boats/Ferries:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Haiphong –
Cat Ba 42km = 2h. 30 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Cai Vieng
– Haiphong 12km = 50 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">3.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Ban Nakasang – Don Det 2km = 15 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">4.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Don Det – Ban Nakasang 2km = 25 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">5.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Rach Gia –
Ban Vong 120km = 2h. 44 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">6.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Ban Vong – Ha Tien 45km = 1h. </span>28 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">7.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Chumphon –
Koh Tao 67km = 1h. 50 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">8.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Koh Tao – Koh Samui 62km = 2h. </span>10 min <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">9.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Koh
Samui - Don Sak 75km = 1h. 30 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">10.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Matnog –
Allen 28km =
1h. 55 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">11.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Naval –
Higatangan Island 13km = 1h.
04 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">12.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Higatangan
Island – Naval 13km = 1h. 02 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">13.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Bato – Ubay 45km = 3h. 05 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">14.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Tagbilaran – Siquijor 118km = 2h. 40 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">15.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Siquijor – Dumaguete 43km = 1h. 18 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">16.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Dauin –
Apo Island 17km = 1h. 35 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">17.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Apo Island
– Dauin 17km = 1h. 45 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">18.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Sibolan –
Liloan 4km = 28 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">19.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Maya –
Malapascua Island 8km = 1h. 12 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">20.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Malapascua
Island – Maya 8km = 50 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">21.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Krabi – Koh Phi Phi 42km = 1h. 45 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">22.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Koh Phi Phi – Koh Lanta 31km =
1h. <span lang="DA">18 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">23.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Koh Lanta – Koh Lipe 98km = 6h. 22 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">24.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA"> Koh Lipe – Langkawi 42km = 1h. 08 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">25.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Langkawi – Kuala Persis 32km = 58 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">26.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Butterworth
– Georgetown 6km = 18 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">27.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Kota Kinabalu – Mamutik Island 10km = 13 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">28.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Mamutik Island – Kota Kinabalu 10km = 12 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">29.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Padang Bai – Gili Trawangan 66km = 2h. 25 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">30.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Gili Trawangan – Bangsal 7km = 44 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">31.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Bangsal – Gili Air 2km = 17 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">32.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Gili Air – Padang Bai 61km = 2h. 0<span lang="DA">2 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">33.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Puerto
Princesa – Coron 400km = 13h. 20 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">34.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Caticlan –
Boracay 1km = 11 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">35.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Boracay –
Caticlan 1km = 10 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">36.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Caticlan –
Roxas 88km = 3h. 58 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">37.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Kadavu
Airport – Matana Beach 5km = 18 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">38.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Matana
Beach – Kadavu Airport 5km = 14 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">39.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Wellington
– Picton 102km = 3h. 48 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">40.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Picton –
Wellington 102km = 3h. 55 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">41.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Sanur –
Nusa Lembongan 13km = 30 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">42.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Nusa Lembongan – Gili Trawangan 84km = 3h. 08min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">43.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Gili Trawangan – Bangsal 7km = 28 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">44.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Bangsal – Amed 49km = 1h.
4 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">45.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Krabi – Koh Phi Phi 42km = 1h. 48 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">46.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Koh Phi Phi – Krabi 42km = 1h. 38 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Truck/Pick-up:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Pakse – Ban Nakasang 145km = 3h. </span>42 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Donsol –
Legazpi 48km = 1h. 35 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">3.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Sorsogon –
Matnog 62km = 2h. 08 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">4.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Maasin – Padre Burgos 32km = 1h. 22 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DA">5.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DA">Padre Burgos – Maasin 32km = 54 min</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">6.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Sembalun –
Senaru 36km = 55 min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Car:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Australia 24801km = 4,5 months (driving)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2.<span style="font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->New
Zealand 8094km = 6 weeks (driving)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>Returning Home Video</b><br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tKucHDbf_30/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tKucHDbf_30?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09828578618884464538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-42572492987195048622015-04-26T17:18:00.000+02:002015-04-26T17:18:57.752+02:00Visiting Thailand to see family and spend time with friends........<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b>Friday 27<sup>th</sup> February</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">We flew with Malaysian Airlines from Denpassar on Bali to Kuala Lumpur and
from there to Bangkok. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">I’m getting more and more scared of flying, I think it’s
after the missing flight from Malaysia Airlines, and then the recently crashed
Air Asia flight from Indonesia (but i'm not more afraid of flying with Malaysian Airlines than any other flight companies). Due to these facts I was a nerve wreck on
both of these flights. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">In Bangkok we took the public transport, the Skytrain to
Phaya Thai, and then the BTS to the Sukhumvit area, more precisely Nana station.
It’s easy to take the trains (especially at evening time where it’s less
crowded), but it’s a bit of a hassle when you need to buy new tickets on the
changing stations. The lines can be long and time consuming, and it’s a good
idea to always keep coins, as that’s the only thing most machines accept. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">On Nana
station Erik’s uncle Christian welcomed us... He recently moved from Beijing to
Bangkok together with his girlfriend Tanya, so we were obviously in good hands
when we arrived. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">We went straight to Viva Restaurant on Soi 8, (their favourite
place to eat, drink and hang out, and a sub-street to Sukhumvit). Here Tanya
and her nephew Nai waited for us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">Tanya quickly arranged a beer when she saw
us, and we sat down and relaxed for the first time that day. Christian had
arranged a hotel for us, called Ruamchitt Travellodge. It’s located across the
street from where Tanya and Christian lives on Soi 10. We knew Iben was there
waiting for us already, as she arrived an hour before us. </span>We contacted her via Viva´s
wifi and she joined us shortly after. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were really tired after a long day of
travelling, and going out drinking the night before we left Bali didn’t exactly
make the day easier to get by... Even though the beers tasted really good this
night, and time flew away as we were catching up with Christian.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNcHDbo8PE2-9bbTuKCicNS4kmHFyIaj5tutscG75mSevoOWr59-EjYsF__zTSQGm-KYpzm9CwyBYyqijarzuaSSNf1ObkAfUzQMRbVtcxLjzw9NIGKLebn1j9izPYuY54RVNRCxkdsYP/s1600/LTA_2044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNcHDbo8PE2-9bbTuKCicNS4kmHFyIaj5tutscG75mSevoOWr59-EjYsF__zTSQGm-KYpzm9CwyBYyqijarzuaSSNf1ObkAfUzQMRbVtcxLjzw9NIGKLebn1j9izPYuY54RVNRCxkdsYP/s1600/LTA_2044.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Candy World in KL's Airport</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Saturday 28<sup>th</sup> February</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Todays highlight was to pick up Jette from the airport. She had taken a two week holiday to spend time with all of us. Iben and I should pick her up,
and it became a bit of a hassle as it was busy on the train stations, we jumped
in line to catch the right train in order to make it in time. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Sadly when we
reached the airport we realized how dumb it’s built up... When you arrive with
the skytrain on the lowest level, you CAN’T go to the arrival hall on the 2<sup>nd</sup>
floor. It’s impossible, unless you have a plane ticket of cause. The only way
to get there is if you arrive with a shuttlebus or taxi, and then I’m not even
sure you are allowed to walk in, without a ticket. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">It was so frustrating to
stand at a spot where we knew Jette wouldn’t come unless we could contact her
in some kind of way. I tried to get on the airport’s free wifi and call her
through skype, meanwhile Iben contacted her via her Danish number. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Eventually
Jette called Iben, and we could guide her towards us. Shortly after we saw her
on the escalator, pushing some Chinese people out of the way and running down
to hug me... I realized how much I missed her, when we hugged each other. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">I
cried of happiness and so did she. It was the best reunion ever. Seeing her
made me realize how incredible fantastic it’s gonna be to surprise everyone at
home with our early arrival.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Jette was exhausted after 22 hours of travelling, but she was still keen
for going out for lunch with Christian, Tanya, Nai and us. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">We used the afternoon
on drinking reunion beers and spending time in the nice swimming pool attached
to Christians and Tanya’s apartment. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">In the evening we all went out for dinner
and drinks. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The Sukhumvit area is poor in traditional tourist attractions,
but very rich in shopping, eating and nightlife. We wanted to show the girls
the popular party vans in the sub-streets of Sukhumvit, but sadly we realized
that they had become illegal and the police had closed down for the so-called
party vans. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We were gutted!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, then we showed them one of the most sinful places, the red-light district also called the World’s largest playground for
adults, located on Soi 4. We ordered a beer tower and watched all the weird
stuff happening around us. The most shocking fact is that the most beautiful
girls here - often are men. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We did some serious people watching and was entertained
enough from sitting outside the bars, and had no interest in seeing the action
inside. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Iben was disgusted about this place; just as me the first time I saw it,
but it’s a part of Bangkok’s nightlife that everybody has to see. We actually
took it to the next level, as we were planning to watch a ping pong show. I was
on the arrangement team and already found a good offer (600bath per person =
120kr), but Erik thought it would be better to do the following day, when we
planned to see Khao San Road during the late night party hours. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">So we postponed
it, and instead we went for more beers with Jette. It became another late night
for most of us, we landed in our nice and air-conditioned rooms about 4am. Iben went home a couple of hours before. Good night
Bangkok!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4OySGHvHWg54rSCcovAkB10fclCskw8RavqIiu1XuWOlhCLiKaKYNvU8GvEfpaThlyxHAaQvvSCdMzi4z04npbUtR4W2ab68cUfpFmrawQZs8sTAkWNv_IN8kafykro2PfyAxgp7nlusQ/s1600/G0033505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4OySGHvHWg54rSCcovAkB10fclCskw8RavqIiu1XuWOlhCLiKaKYNvU8GvEfpaThlyxHAaQvvSCdMzi4z04npbUtR4W2ab68cUfpFmrawQZs8sTAkWNv_IN8kafykro2PfyAxgp7nlusQ/s1600/G0033505.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lunch selfie</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQvguVYefKhx-dGBkIAoW_KU1q7jpcNtjcUDfNkD__zWfImOjboiwTeEolQ13uwPmPGFtKlIOrYZSP_7_prIkAysTcl0ztV-tLD8IRVzTWgMfRpUAKVrdIbJT5cPpJc2bPpKYfupwuUZJ/s1600/GOPR3518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQvguVYefKhx-dGBkIAoW_KU1q7jpcNtjcUDfNkD__zWfImOjboiwTeEolQ13uwPmPGFtKlIOrYZSP_7_prIkAysTcl0ztV-tLD8IRVzTWgMfRpUAKVrdIbJT5cPpJc2bPpKYfupwuUZJ/s1600/GOPR3518.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Pool party</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday 1<sup>st</sup> March</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Chatuchak weekend market is one of the World’s largest markets, it contains
more than 15,000 vendors selling goods from every part of Thailand, it has over
200,000 visitors each day... </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Erik rejected to join us girls on the market;
probably the best choice he ever made!! He wouldn’t have enjoyed the girly day
with shopping and browsing around the thousands of stalls anyway. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">It was
completely windless out there and super hot, but we managed to enjoy it anyway.
The heat was just a good excuse to buy some of the delicious and fresh made
juices. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">While we were sweating on the market Erik and Christian browsed around
the significantly less crowded MBK Shopping mall, for some Thai pillows that we
wanted to bring home. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">We stayed on the market until the vendors started to shut
down around 6pm, then we found a cosy little market bar and sat down for the
first time that day, and that drink was much appreciated and needed after a
long day of shopping. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Erik started to be impatient, but for a good reason, time was flying for me and the girls, and if we wanted to experience
Khao San Road, see a ping pong show and get home early - the schedule started to
look tight. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">We rushed back to the hotel with all our new stuff and met up with
Chr., Tanya and Erik near our beloved noddle lady on Soi 11. She honestly cooks Bangkok’s best noodle dish for just 55bath (11kr), and she's located next to
7/11, but unfortunately her stall is only open in the late afternoon/evening.
After a unbelievable good dinner at hers, Christian and Tanya went home while
we ventured out in Bangkok’s nightlife again. </span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jette was dying to try a ride in
one of the famous tuk-tuks, so we arrived at Khao San Road with style and most
important; still alive! We quickly found a street bar to hang out in, bought a
booze bucket and enjoyed the best people watching ever. Iben decided to get
braids. Erik decided to get custom-made bracelets for him and his mates. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-size: small;">At
one point we were asked to move into the pedestrian street, as the staff had to move
all table and chairs from the street, before the police came on their routine
check. They check if anybody are serving drinks in the streets, which
apparently are illegal and the police will close the place if they catch the
servers in action. Obviously the police knows that the bars frequently move
their chairs and tables, just to please them, but they like to show off and
they turned up several times during the night and it was the same circus each
time. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-size: small;">It just a part of the Khao San Road experience, I guess. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-size: small;">What we thought would be a quiet
night, turned out to be the exact opposite. We got home 6.30am in the morning,
and we missed out on the ping pong show, because we had too much fun on Khao San Rd... Looking
back we should have watched the show instead of continuing drinking</span></span><span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;">!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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Chatuchak market</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvopluBy7mPoX0kjc6BO4z1OepO3vnNLCd1zj8dnRfLjVTXH12Wb6StSG6OZvHK1FyXOuqvPdLtMzFwQmkO7jxHMKzmdNgPBM04W2towLl2YAHl-OQl_KbJjG_BXe04pdshWJDhSmkI-cO/s1600/GOPR3551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvopluBy7mPoX0kjc6BO4z1OepO3vnNLCd1zj8dnRfLjVTXH12Wb6StSG6OZvHK1FyXOuqvPdLtMzFwQmkO7jxHMKzmdNgPBM04W2towLl2YAHl-OQl_KbJjG_BXe04pdshWJDhSmkI-cO/s1600/GOPR3551.JPG" height="436" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Toiletpaper holders</div>
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<br /></div>
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A protein boost! </div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Lamoon Cafe at Chatuchak</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Partying on Khao San Road </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
This lady spend a good amount of her time making custom-made bracelets for Erik</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Jette and one of the infamous frog ladies. Named because they all "play" on a wooden frog and it sounds awful.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The last official evidence from our night!!</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>!!!BANGKOK!!!</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RrNE0wGrf9k/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RrNE0wGrf9k?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday 2<sup>nd</sup> March</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">With a rumbling headache and four very tired bodies we checked out and
dragged ourselves over to Christian and Tanya on the other side of the street.
We filled their relatively small apartment with four large backpacks and four
exhausted bodies. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">In the afternoon we had pre-booked some tickets for a sleeping
train going to Surat Thani, and from there we planned to catch a minibus to Krabi and then maybe stay there or sail to one of the
islands and relax for a few days. But first we had to get through the day, and
it seemed impossible with the hangovers we started the day with. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Christians
idea of drinking beers to recover was bought immediately by Erik, Jette and
myself, but Iben was still feeling too sick to follow us. Not really surprisingly the
beers tasted good for us, and it’s no secret that we quickly got tipsy again.
Drinking was a perfect way to kill time, and we enjoyed ourselves that
afternoon.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Jette and I went to buy more beers, as Christians beer stock was
sold out quickly... Sadly (but good enough for the city), there’s a time limit on
alcohol sales in Bangkok, so everyday from 2pm-5pm, the shops can’t sell any
alcohol, unless they break the law of cause.. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">We decided to get a beer on a
restaurant and figure out what to do meanwhile. According to the waitress, it was all right to buy some take away beers from the restaurant.. So we
brought home pizza and beers for everybody.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">We were in a very good mood when we later left the apartment to go for hot
pot dinner with Christian and Tanya. Hotpot is actually a Chinese dish, it
refers to several east Asian varieties of stew and typical include thinly
slices meat, leaf vegetables, mushrooms, egg dumplings and seafood. It consists of a simmering pot with hot water or fond, at the center of the dining table.
It reminds a lot of fondue, but just healthier in general. Tanya and I love the food (we knew it from China), Christian and Erik were less enthusiastic
about it, and I was sure that Iben and Jette would love it as well.. Jette
really enjoyed it, but Iben didn’t even bother tasting it, even though she had
been looking forward to it for days.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Afterwards C & T ensured that we got on the right train and we felt
like movie stars when we waved goodbye to them out of the old school train
window. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Later the train staff made our beds, every bed was provided with a
curtain so we could sleep in privacy, it was luxury conditions for just 500bath
(100kr) each. Erik had arranged 6 large beers for Jette, me and himself, as Iben never got on the alcohol that day... Finally and as expected the fatigue
over-manned us at one stage, and we crawled to bed just before midnight.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A part of Christians apartment</span></div>
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Erik, Iben, Christian, Tanya, Jette and Me</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">One of Bangkok's huge malls</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
On the way to the islands</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Monkey boy</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday 3<sup>rd</sup> March</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">The train ride took approximately 13 hours. We prepared ourselves for a bit
of a hassle when we reached Surat Thani around 6am. Surat Thani is known for a
lot of tourist scammings - and as far as we remembered it’s a hassle and a
lottery to find the right bus companies that doesn’t scam you. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">We remembered there was something bad about taking the big buses, but it seemed like it was
the only choice we had know, a lot of things had changed since we were here a year ago. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Last time we were here there was far more mini buses
and they are more trustworthy. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We decided to play the lottery, as it was the
only option we had. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We booked a bus to Krabi, and from there we would arrange
the boat to Phi Phi Islands. Just as we thought, we got scammed. The first bus
transferred us to a far out bus station, here we were told to leave the bus and
wait for another, that would arrived 20 minutes later. When the open truck pulled
up we knew that they had fooled us, but anyway we jumped into the open truck and
was then transferred to another place. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">This time we arrived at a restaurant
when we were told to leave the bus. We were confused and annoyed. Just to get
an idea I asked one of the guys which city or town we were in, he answered
Surat Thani...! Brilliant I thought, so we had been changing buses and wasting
over an hour and were still in Surat Thani. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">I completely forgot how frustrating
this country can be... </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Well the third bus we got took us the whole way to
Krabi. We were dropped off in the city center, at a restaurant/tourist
information. From there we booked the trip to Phi Phi Islands - one of
Thailand’s biggest party islands! We waited for 2 hours to get on the bus/boat. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We were all completely exhausted when we finally arrived at our destination. Almost
24 hours of travelling had left a mark on us, we were done! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">On the harbour we
arranged a nice and peaceful place to stay, Golden Hill Bungalows, 800bath (160kr)
per room. I think Phi Phi is one of the only places we have been, where it
actually pays off to arrange accommodation immediately when you arrive. The
touts on the harbour doesn’t charge extra, as you would think, so you are much
better of by letting them arrange it for you. It’s the same price whether you
pay there or at the hotel, plus when you book it from the harbour they carry
your luggage to the hotel... Just what we needed this day. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We took advantage
of the swimming pool and cooled our overheated bodies down to normal
temperature. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Later we talked to a Danish girl at Princess Divers and booked some
dives for the next day. All dive shops on the island has fixed prices, which
means they all charge the same for dives. So the only way they can compete is
on the service level. We arranged that Jette could come on the boat and
snorkel, while we dived. We dined out at Cosmic Restaurant, which is one of the
restaurants that are always full of people and no wonder - cause they serve some seriously delicious food. Erik and I went for a stroll in the
narrow streets, while Jette and Iben watched a fireshow.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Phi Phi Islands</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Wednesday 4<sup>th</sup>
March</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We got out of bed quite late,
think we all needed a good sleep after the hectic days in Bangkok. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">After lunch
and smoothies on the beach we were ready to go diving. The harbour on Phi Phi
is almost as busy and chaotic as Bangkok’s traffic. Definitely not a untouched
or unique place to be anymore, but I’m still impressed about how the captain
nailed to get the big diving boat out without hitting other boats. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The dives
were average, nothing special, but sometimes it’s just about the diving
itself.. Just the feeling about being underneath the water and exploring the
marine life down there is sometimes enough.. Especially because we knew we were
going home soon, so we actually just wanted to dive as much as possible. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">God
knows when we will dive the next time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Between the dives we spend our surface
interval near Maya beach, also known as the beach, from the movie with the same
name. It’s far from being as beautiful as in the movie! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Most of the places we
have seen in Thailand is ruined by tourists, and this place wasn’t an
exception. It’s so hard to find an unique and untouched place here, and this is
one of the main reasons why we dislike Thailand - but it’s also one of the
places that Europeans have easiest access to, so it’s understandable why
everybody goes here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">From our point of view it’s
the worst country in South East Asia for many reasons. As a low budget
traveller you get treated like shit, you’re at the bottom of the food chain,
because there is so many tourists that are willing to pay the said price, they
never bargain. As a normal holiday maker, you don’t take care of your money and
don’t care about paying a little extra to the “poor” people, who actually earn
a lot of money on, sorry to say, the naive tourists. And these are the people
“ruining” it for budget travellers, because we bargain, as you should do.. No
matter what, in this country, you always have to bargain. But because a lot of
tourists just want to avoid the hassle, the touts have realized how easy it is
to scam western people.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">This makes it sooo hard for people like us to travel in
Thailand, as everything is overpriced and you never know what you get... Even if
you pay the full price!! It’s SO frustrating. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Thailand is undoubtedly the worst
country for scams and rip off's. Then due to the big amount of tourists the prices is raised
everywhere, restaurants in particular, but also accommodation, tours etc. and
you honestly never know what you get. Frankly we expect to get more service for
the extra money we pay here in Thailand, but again - you never know. It’s
always a lottery, and most of the time we loose. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We only came back to Thailand
to meet up with Jette, and of cause seeing Christian and Tanya, but if it
wasn’t for them we would never have gone back to travel in Thailand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">At dinner time we were fed up
with lying about our trip to India, as we never planned to go there. That
ticket have all the time been home to Kastrup Airport. It became very awkward
to talk about our future travels with Iben or Jette, as we were lying to them about
India. So in the night we decided to tell them the truth, and it was like a big
rock falling off our shoulders. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">They were of cause excited for us, but not
nearly as excited as we started to be. It was nice to finally relax and not
have to think about revealing something we shouldn’t, now it was out there in
the open and it was a big relief for both of us. We celebrated the news for a
while, but went home early in order to be ready for rock climbing the following
day.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Erik is showing off in his 'Princess Divers' wetsuit</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Lunch are enjoyed in nice surroundings </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Let's go SCUBA diving</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-pqPFhyS2EuB4megahrxAR-yIVBaSSaH_Z5Kgpogp6a-ZFvtu8FWIBeDdeaZoutkHNZnbZqAHEOCrXOk1D35UIObf2X9AKC5E6XEFro4TtFgOA4626yg3juXEpgz6E9emzqLene_u4eM/s1600/LTA_2281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-pqPFhyS2EuB4megahrxAR-yIVBaSSaH_Z5Kgpogp6a-ZFvtu8FWIBeDdeaZoutkHNZnbZqAHEOCrXOk1D35UIObf2X9AKC5E6XEFro4TtFgOA4626yg3juXEpgz6E9emzqLene_u4eM/s1600/LTA_2281.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Jette and Iben</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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It's illegal to fish in the sea around Phi Phi, so either this is caught by illegal fishing or it's old fish brought from the Phuket area. It's sad to see a sailfish like this, especially as a diver! </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Diving Koh Phi Phi</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_LMJjS8WaW0/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_LMJjS8WaW0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday 5<sup>th</sup>
February</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">It was a struggle to get out
of bed in the morning - and at the same time we were excited about the rock
climbing. A local climber named Kong met up with us and provided us with the
climbing equipment before we were off to the Ton Sai Tower - the climbing area. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We had a
good day of climbing, and sweated out most of the alcohol consumed the night
before. Each time we climbed up, we were rewarded with a stunning view over Phi
Phi bay, it felt so good to accomplish, and Erik and I loved being out there in the nature
again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Iben quickly picked up the climbing technique and it was awesome how she
pushed her limits from the first climb to the second. Jette had a harder time,
she wanted it so bad, but couldn’t get her head around the techniques. She
really tried her hardest and struggled a lot. Damn she’s was fighter! </span><span style="font-size: small;">Eventually she was rewarded and got up to the view. Afterwards she was
completely out energy, as well as the rest of us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Kong sat up the ropes for the
most difficult climbs first. He should have thought about the beginner
climbers, and sat up the ropes on the easy one to begin with instead of doing
it in the end, but apart from that he was an amazing climber guide and he did
everything in a good spirit. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Iben went home before we were done, as she wasn’t
feeling well. After the last climb we felt the tiredness from the morning, kick back in again, and after half a day of climbing it’s was every part of our bodies yelling out
for a rest. We were exhausted and sweaty when we were done. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Jette and I went
for a refreshing dip in the turquoise water, it had looked so inviting from the
top of our climb, but sadly when we got a little closer to it, there was plenty
of garbage floating around in the water... A sad development from too many
irresponsible tourists!!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">It was our last night
together in Thailand so it was time for a celebration. It was hard to get
started after our afternoon nab, but we slowly worked our way to our party
mood. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">One of our climbing mates (Jan) had recommended us to visit a restaurant
called Papaya. They served some brilliant food, and are especially known for
their Thai papaya salad. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Afterwards we were meant to meet up with Jan at Banana
Bar, and we made it there minutes before a severe tropical rainfall came over
us. </span><span style="font-size: small;">The raindrops were tremendous, so we were caught in Banana Bar with booze
buckets until the rain had taken of. There was no sight of Jan, so we decided
to do a bit of pub crawling. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">A bar with Muay Thai Boxing caught our attention
and to our luck Jan was sitting in there with his friends. Some guys were
walking around with signs saying, that if you participate in a fight you would
get a free booze bucket. What a fantastic and stupid way to entertain people.
We loved the idea, and watched a few fights between random tourists, while chatting and drinking beers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We ended the night on the party beach which was a true paradise for drunk
people like us at that time. Erik and I left the party earlier than we wanted
to, as we, to a surprise had to travel the following day... </span><span lang="DA" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-size: small;">As always when we are
having a good time!</span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
We stayed behind the red building, and had a fantastic view over the<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> artificial "lake".</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Rock Climbing</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Our climbing guide, Kong</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Iben</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Me </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Our reward</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Jette and Me </div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
F<span style="font-size: x-small;">ighter Jette</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
My monkey boy</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Partying </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Koh Phi Phi video</b></div>
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<br /><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ylZ-w7sYlCg/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ylZ-w7sYlCg?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Erik Krafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10520862374999442880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-67814282966045786492015-03-08T13:25:00.001+01:002015-03-08T18:28:52.083+01:00Diving in Amed & Visiting charming Ubud on Bali<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Friday 20<sup>th</sup>
February</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s typical of us to drink the night before we are
travelling, it’s has almost become a tradition now. We did it before leaving
Nusa Lembongan, then Gili T. and now here. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">So stupid of us, as being tired is
not really making travelling easier... </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Iben had decided to stay in Kuta Lombok
for some days and hopefully get more independent by being by herself for a
little while. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Erik & I got picked up from Banana’s Homestay at 7.30 am, we
then picked up 4 other passengers for the car that just fitted all 7 of us, but
on top of that came six large backpacks, six small backpacks, a couple of
plastic bags, camera bags and a surf board, so after spending 20 minutes on
strapping a lot of these items to the roof of the car, we finally hit the road. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We arrived at Bangsal harbour as planned, and booked our ticket to the public
boat going to Gili T. This actually wasn’t our destination, but because we
already knew the place, we had planned to break the trip up in two, before
reaching Amed on Bali the next day. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Just after we got our tickets, Erik started
talking to a local guy, that said he worked for the boat company to Amed, and
that he could sell us a ticket for 250.000 Idr. each. Erik knew that this was a
good price, the same as from Gili T. The friendly guy also offered to help us
get the ticket to Gili T. refounded, and we agreed to let him do so. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Bangsal
harbour has one of the worst reputations around Bali and Lombok, many people
get tricked to buy tickets for boats, that when it comes to it, aren’t valid.
So Erik was very sceptical with this young guy, but in the end he seemed honest
enough, to get Erik convinced of his good intentions. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The boat was suppose to
leave the harbour at 11am, but at 11.30 it still hadn’t arrived. So we both got
more and more afraid that we had been scammed even though we took all the
precautions we have learned... The guy was still around us, and insuring us
that the boat was on it’s way... Finally it also arrived, and we got on board
as the only passengers to Amed. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We quickly realized why the boat had been
delayed, the sea was the problem, BIG waves threw the big speedboat around like
it was an umbrella in a hurricane. This definitely was NOT the best way to
treat our hangovers, and on the open sea I watched the crew constantly, to see
how they reacted to this ride, most of them tried to sleep so I assumed that
this could be much worse, and when we were able to see land again, I calmed a
bit down. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The big waves disappeared, and only smaller ones and big swells was
left, this made the last part a whole lot better, as we could also see dolphins
jumping out of the waves on both sides of the boat. We never get tired of
watching those beautiful and always smiling creatures. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We made it to Amed on
Bali after one hour crazy boat trip! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In Amed we took the first homestay we came
across (Kubuku Homestay), and to our luck it was cheap, and very nice, by far
the nicest room we’ve had this time in Indonesia, and at the same time, also
the cheapest, 100.000 Idr. (50kr) pr. night incl. breakfast. We then had a good
and cheap homemade burger at a restaurant only 35000 Idr. (17,5kr) before
spending the rest of the day in our bed watching our rainy day/hangover
occupation, the series: Breaking Bad.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzBcld6q18SRBuA1XEPF8Qbk9avlV89UcyxXqOhmJYI7VMY-pYgZG1-RpZzlPDrnhhwq1XHUw_IlyGpjga0ndg7ALbF67IfUIgcwA-27PuBu_EFSIW2Tqlp3IEsoWjcpChbBAXxoKLVIz/s1600/LTA_1797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzBcld6q18SRBuA1XEPF8Qbk9avlV89UcyxXqOhmJYI7VMY-pYgZG1-RpZzlPDrnhhwq1XHUw_IlyGpjga0ndg7ALbF67IfUIgcwA-27PuBu_EFSIW2Tqlp3IEsoWjcpChbBAXxoKLVIz/s1600/LTA_1797.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting time in Bangsal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr816J64BotzZ_Tn6fRD5nOWT8r5zjvZ8yA_D2-1cWiAPuR5pXbuOkkMVxE-gCnML6Tp_RrNk_eU33cAleaksI2t59XkKqT484bnjQCWArsEBoxYsnPPmPfMpZkC2FxLzmmL3xt2kz1A73/s1600/GOPR3319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr816J64BotzZ_Tn6fRD5nOWT8r5zjvZ8yA_D2-1cWiAPuR5pXbuOkkMVxE-gCnML6Tp_RrNk_eU33cAleaksI2t59XkKqT484bnjQCWArsEBoxYsnPPmPfMpZkC2FxLzmmL3xt2kz1A73/s1600/GOPR3319.JPG" height="432" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxCEx63roi3WUK4DbsPwoO8s6eKDnqDxFjKpt2WDZapBS79RtsFvMfFjWiC7g4I7m3gt4NbW1lK47M2EzIX06xifpye_W1bu-MpbE78Dq2-sU_b06iiEeMIC3TLZVpMPapJHhnUYY4d0d/s1600/LTA_1790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxCEx63roi3WUK4DbsPwoO8s6eKDnqDxFjKpt2WDZapBS79RtsFvMfFjWiC7g4I7m3gt4NbW1lK47M2EzIX06xifpye_W1bu-MpbE78Dq2-sU_b06iiEeMIC3TLZVpMPapJHhnUYY4d0d/s1600/LTA_1790.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bangsal Harbour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Saturday 21</span><sup>st</sup><span style="font-size: 11pt;">
February</span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">At times it can be really
difficult to be productive with writing blog, we have to be in a certain mood
to get it done. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">To get some new and fresh energy we made up our minds about
renting a motorbike and get some diving arranged for the following day. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">At
lunch time on a small, open and cosy restaurant we met a couple of Danish
girls, Pernille & Lonnie. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We quickly got along with them and when a
tremendous rainstorm started outside we agreed that it was Bintang time, we
couldn’t do anything else than wait for the storm to pass by anyway. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A power
cut ensured us that we made the right decision. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">A couple of natives started to
cut down a tree, in the pouring rain, it had become too alive and exciting in
the heavy wind. Meanwhile we were in shelter sharing beers, experiences and
best travel moments. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">At sunset we jumped on the motorbike again and drove the
1½km back, we planned to take out money from the ATM, but obviously they didn’t
work before the power had returned. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">We delivered the bike back, booked our
diving, and told our friendly host, that we were out of money until the missing
power was fixed. He ensured us that we could go out on any of the nearby
restaurants and get some dinner, and get them to make a bill for us to pay the
next day, we just had to mention where we stayed - then everything would be all
right. It was awesome as we on the other hand would have gone to bed hungry. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">On
the local reggae bar ‘One Love’ we ordered our dinner and thanked them for
being so generous to us. After that we went straight to bed, our pick up for
the sunrise dive the next morning was at 5.15am so we needed a prober sleep.</span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUi4XxCNct_KLc8jVN9NS8-BLqqCvY5u2tOelJtIesoSoJeMQbjiXejt-yMitYCnzd9wcGFb4DrWj2wpZ0QG1EIAD2J68gb-cBR6uxZMNnh9PMJdBC1gm8UdGu7tLC3BDMxmPcXZ8TEo-/s1600/GOPR3437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUi4XxCNct_KLc8jVN9NS8-BLqqCvY5u2tOelJtIesoSoJeMQbjiXejt-yMitYCnzd9wcGFb4DrWj2wpZ0QG1EIAD2J68gb-cBR6uxZMNnh9PMJdBC1gm8UdGu7tLC3BDMxmPcXZ8TEo-/s1600/GOPR3437.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hubuku Homestay near Amed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcQ8YUBnGWIASgLpXmjObO5TGiEHqF6cF0qWYpkqObQ578WSTiEgTE462HcvCT2S30J1f7JqEF6WvpwB1gx61zkZYhRoXtxf9Nz0LlILOX5HgAzaCWO3OAuvx0tPvc1yS5HcX4SExsDMD/s1600/LTA_1809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcQ8YUBnGWIASgLpXmjObO5TGiEHqF6cF0qWYpkqObQ578WSTiEgTE462HcvCT2S30J1f7JqEF6WvpwB1gx61zkZYhRoXtxf9Nz0LlILOX5HgAzaCWO3OAuvx0tPvc1yS5HcX4SExsDMD/s1600/LTA_1809.JPG" height="420" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Views around Amed...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_u1OvHbSNfXNzvdFT0c8nHzbwK6CFWYXo8gZOnNQgY1viBWe2X7mDymLrxnNc_EpE_IeGE5Oe8UxiMC2BXLAHDq9FUlEwKCAUjyFru2hfzXmV7RyLxvFnbOwh9gyX-lgww1PoJl8nlG5/s1600/LTA_1817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_u1OvHbSNfXNzvdFT0c8nHzbwK6CFWYXo8gZOnNQgY1viBWe2X7mDymLrxnNc_EpE_IeGE5Oe8UxiMC2BXLAHDq9FUlEwKCAUjyFru2hfzXmV7RyLxvFnbOwh9gyX-lgww1PoJl8nlG5/s1600/LTA_1817.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sunday 22<sup>nd</sup>
February<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It was pitch black when our
driver picked us up, the electricity was back on again, so we could get money
out from the ATM to pay for our dives. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I wouldn’t in my wildest fantasy have
imagined that so many locals were awake already. We passed several villages on
our way to Tulamben and the activity in the streets surprised us. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In Tulamben
we geared up in the dark, as the power still wasn’t on back there, even though
it was only 25 min. drive from Amed. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">All three dives were just of the beach,
and an easy 5 min. walk from Dive Concept. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We did the famous Liberty Wreck at
sunrise, where the fishes are more active - the school of bumphead parrotfish
hanging around the wreck was massive and so funny looking with their
horse-look-alike overbite. Coral Garden offered us so much new stuff to
explore, the underwater temple and buddha statues were amongst our favourite parts of the dive.</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">They were all great dives
and we enjoyed during a bit of diving again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We hardly ever meet French people
that we like, but the French girl that we dived with was outstanding from
normal French behaviour. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">We really connected with her throughout the day. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In the
late afternoon we returned to Amed and ate at ‘One Love’ reggae bar again -
just to thank them for letting us eat there the night before, when we didn’t
have any money. Around 10pm we got a clear sign from the staff about their
closing time, because we were using their wifi, and they just switched it off,
and in that way they got rid of us quickly. Easy that they didn’t have to
communicate with us!!</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diving in Tulamben</b></span></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lCCFMjKoL04/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lCCFMjKoL04?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Monday 23<sup>nd </sup>February</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Our friendly and helpful
host drove us to Ubud, for just 350.000 Idr. (175kr). On the way we got a good
insight in the Balinese living style and how a workday looks like for the
natives working in tourism. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A good paid waiter is normally getting 800.000
(421kr) Idr. per month. A divemaster or diveshop helper, either foreigner or
local, is paid 1,5 million Idr. (790kr) per month. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In the more touristed areas
the wage is a bit higher, but there it’s also more expensive to live. Our host also told us about how the locals import rice from Vietnam, as a lot of their
rice fields has been bought by the big resorts, so they don’t have enough rice
fields to support themselves any longer. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The trip to Ubud took us through a beautiful area with mountains, nature
and rice fields. We got dropped off on Monkey Forest Road, where we immediately
sat down on a restaurant to have our lunch.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Afterwards I went hotel hunting.
All the hotels or guesthouses looked similar, they all had the classic
Indonesian entry with elephant statues made out of rocks, they had small cosy
green areas in the back and swimming pools. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After I had seen 10-12 different
places I was a bit confused cause they all looked the same... But I picked my
favourites to show Erik. I went back to get him and all our stuff on the
restaurant. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Then we walked to my favourite place, but we only stayed there
shortly, as the bathroom was really dirty and Erik couldn’t put up with
showering in a bathtub, where you couldn’t detach the showerhead (this means
you have to shower with bended knees, if you’re taller than 1,6 meters). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">On the
contrary the second pick went straight in ‘I love you’ with the boss, and my
choice was excepted. We got a nice big room, with a extra bed for Iben, and a
balcony with view over the pool. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Iben arrived later and we all went out to
explore the famous and charming town of Ubud. We quickly fell in love with it,
and loved all the special shops with all kinds of bits and pieces. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We sensed
that there was some innovative people in the town, as all shops DIDN’T sell the
same stuff. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The town is known for it’s brilliant handmade art and countless
amounts of galleries and exhibitions. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We only saw a small percentage of it this
night.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GwNGfa_CW4kCmoFlRcOsjyZNKHSbcaPtf0nlq34t-NC13f_phx8kAHcujf4-zfdwrVQjJiLmDDXz-bhIVUsolbOmNEwHtfjrlfEPsc22UTfqyVKgs-z5k41mxSjc7P5sLCxi-PM6ksW0/s1600/LTA_1825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GwNGfa_CW4kCmoFlRcOsjyZNKHSbcaPtf0nlq34t-NC13f_phx8kAHcujf4-zfdwrVQjJiLmDDXz-bhIVUsolbOmNEwHtfjrlfEPsc22UTfqyVKgs-z5k41mxSjc7P5sLCxi-PM6ksW0/s1600/LTA_1825.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Balinese people worship Buddha by putting these bamboo decorations everywhere.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXJYGtHl95VILNuU9Wh9h8E6PTQD3PuK6y6t1dtiv1PgzWdpEFxDNuGuqm41HkwzF0YNpGdV_1qisBMu-8aNgC3ybDFd4SkRmDdYG-YZge8CufEdift3bMbv71cGB65q4P3K-_uv3B-9h/s1600/IMG_3290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHXJYGtHl95VILNuU9Wh9h8E6PTQD3PuK6y6t1dtiv1PgzWdpEFxDNuGuqm41HkwzF0YNpGdV_1qisBMu-8aNgC3ybDFd4SkRmDdYG-YZge8CufEdift3bMbv71cGB65q4P3K-_uv3B-9h/s1600/IMG_3290.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stone carving is all around Ubud</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsosrGxnk0ma7UIIZ0B3bbs1nTvtHGcl345zQz5atgGvwm5z8-setSIjPq61lUx81upLNI0gn0rnqsQrDw_sxKl8wivwd5ccjhVCUPn7bQrUdo6gapiIZCtoDF049CFk1VYiO1CvDa0snJ/s1600/LTA_1926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsosrGxnk0ma7UIIZ0B3bbs1nTvtHGcl345zQz5atgGvwm5z8-setSIjPq61lUx81upLNI0gn0rnqsQrDw_sxKl8wivwd5ccjhVCUPn7bQrUdo6gapiIZCtoDF049CFk1VYiO1CvDa0snJ/s1600/LTA_1926.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Tuesday 24<sup>th</sup>
February </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We browsed around the small
streets and shops of Ubud. We visited the art market, where wood and stone
carving is displayed in almost every shop. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The shopping is amazing here and
it’s easy to spend money and several days just walking around and exploring. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The weather was warm and humid as always, so after some hours in the market
with zero fresh air we went back to cool down in the pool and relax for a bit. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We had bought tickets for a traditional dance show at night. It was held on the
palace and we made it up there seconds before a tremendous thunderstorm started
and the lightnings lighted up the sky for us. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The show started and we were impressed
by the way they danced with their eyes, all though it didn’t caught our
attention for very long, the movement quickly became monotonous to look at, and
the same music played over a long time also became annoying. 1½ hour was a long
time watching it, but it was an experience. Afterwards we went out for a few
drinks. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The thunder and rain didn’t stop at any stage, but we had a funny time with trying
to fit three people under my tiny umbrella, while we visited different bars and
eateries. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We stumbled across a dead snake on the road (a green viper), that
probably had been washed away by all the rain, and then hit by a car.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3xfxgjPUe7TAcC5z45U6xCFVBqqgEnHr0xnGKeQLN46pEcltVrfjpxP0NpwoQN-t5JmrZNIvxfBNQD2g-U-KNdWQbCXqpMmkrxc9pUwytdvwHvMfE3_SAABKZoeo4TJbcsUptzvHYjcv/s1600/GOPR3469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3xfxgjPUe7TAcC5z45U6xCFVBqqgEnHr0xnGKeQLN46pEcltVrfjpxP0NpwoQN-t5JmrZNIvxfBNQD2g-U-KNdWQbCXqpMmkrxc9pUwytdvwHvMfE3_SAABKZoeo4TJbcsUptzvHYjcv/s1600/GOPR3469.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Living the luxurius life</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More fascinating stone carving</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKMKqLCMY7Cnf1zj8Fw244Z7rnsenqmzF7_nU8mIr0rwnp1qXSmCTlOKDdTEQRdMVIpTSeBpgJ5wV8Kl7IbTBa4_oNUYn6oN-Xmfqvc3uYVJCaXFtShMUDfPCiBGkj3NQPA_gle78BPK4a/s1600/LTA_1871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKMKqLCMY7Cnf1zj8Fw244Z7rnsenqmzF7_nU8mIr0rwnp1qXSmCTlOKDdTEQRdMVIpTSeBpgJ5wV8Kl7IbTBa4_oNUYn6oN-Xmfqvc3uYVJCaXFtShMUDfPCiBGkj3NQPA_gle78BPK4a/s1600/LTA_1871.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erik loves the shopping...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bMmJzZNlCpUwBg2I4yaWV4Yis-PNOU859fZ3Vtor1RmPUo-KCzF4fxZBYw4gBZPNTbNbQ5ug-rxwsDurAs89vsyunTMqlYQx832t5r4pdSdt1IovIvJW74fGU25Glx4_UY-LsJAkxLv5/s1600/LTA_1875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bMmJzZNlCpUwBg2I4yaWV4Yis-PNOU859fZ3Vtor1RmPUo-KCzF4fxZBYw4gBZPNTbNbQ5ug-rxwsDurAs89vsyunTMqlYQx832t5r4pdSdt1IovIvJW74fGU25Glx4_UY-LsJAkxLv5/s1600/LTA_1875.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A busy day at the workshop...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUdzwHSvwE7gXFt2xPgzzvc3TlRIip45SOK_8Stkz3u3VPEljv3za4RiHVx8jqfZxDOYAYWEKC4WpzpkCWxjoLUMR1winwXBEyu-U5Aw5yOGEdVoeiSgCGV8FEwdKCq-X55la8WZtWS-wT/s1600/LTA_1882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUdzwHSvwE7gXFt2xPgzzvc3TlRIip45SOK_8Stkz3u3VPEljv3za4RiHVx8jqfZxDOYAYWEKC4WpzpkCWxjoLUMR1winwXBEyu-U5Aw5yOGEdVoeiSgCGV8FEwdKCq-X55la8WZtWS-wT/s1600/LTA_1882.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These wood carvings is in every shop, and I wonder who buys them!</td></tr>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Balinese Dance Show</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Wednesday 25<sup>th</sup>
February</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Erik felt lazy so he stayed
at the hotel and prepared some videos for the blog, meanwhile Iben and I went
out to look at more shops and do a bit of shopping. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We also went for a long walk to
the rice fields out of town. It was great to get out in the nature and it was
so peaceful and beautiful out there. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">Being away from all the chaotic traffic
and noisy motorbikes was much appreciated as well. </span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Iben had a couple of friends
that she met in Kuta Lombok by herself. They arrange to meet up for dinner
later, and invited us to join them. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">It’s was a brilliant initiative, we found a
cosy little restaurant with cheap food and drinks, and just as we were about to
order our food the power cut off... That gave us a limited menu card, as they
could only use the stove then. </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">Most of us ended up eating in the dark before
the light was on again. </span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Unfortunately the evening ended a bit suddenly, as Erik and
the Canadian girl had strong, but disagreeing opinions about tipping rules in
Canada and the States. So she and her friend ended up leaving suddenly, when they got too tired of listening to Erik.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9hJXTC2sN5U7bhNHbLSGUI4-5BRcR9z8TKDr6LbM65SFAW_xTzIiaxhuFOgvKdq6CvhPAlN7eeO5hVhU_IafZcYYTynf4GI1Sh_c087IjFUVMsXDd9S_htPnjBDft1OWmvHNaqn2UW6p/s1600/LTA_1946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9hJXTC2sN5U7bhNHbLSGUI4-5BRcR9z8TKDr6LbM65SFAW_xTzIiaxhuFOgvKdq6CvhPAlN7eeO5hVhU_IafZcYYTynf4GI1Sh_c087IjFUVMsXDd9S_htPnjBDft1OWmvHNaqn2UW6p/s1600/LTA_1946.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leftovers from the worshipping of Buddha.. It gives the locals a bit of cleaning everyday!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhzSc1nXDdqhWNJDJEPV6FDMxCVGfHWSWyc6MboJ_f8PD2Bhtp1jKyiymD1vU5EwHSa51lBpT_vJ2i_PpD9KEIkhncRqqWrMVrAhvRqRhG_IPVOd0ip-i70vCeLxRc14WE0lNkhj1CXwP/s1600/LTA_1948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhzSc1nXDdqhWNJDJEPV6FDMxCVGfHWSWyc6MboJ_f8PD2Bhtp1jKyiymD1vU5EwHSa51lBpT_vJ2i_PpD9KEIkhncRqqWrMVrAhvRqRhG_IPVOd0ip-i70vCeLxRc14WE0lNkhj1CXwP/s1600/LTA_1948.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ubud have countless beautiful stone carvings</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVJl3_q-umcYNFTZKdmc9k7DeQDLyt7O5aZ_UoWITrjgA4IJ3whRHxb75OInCa8zHkFwVG9neoBVBOmp-kKSpNd3XgTcW5ZiTp7P-OVZD0P-MTPAwncKdhAnhindzdAMTfnO2YrDGM2Qg/s1600/LTA_1967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVJl3_q-umcYNFTZKdmc9k7DeQDLyt7O5aZ_UoWITrjgA4IJ3whRHxb75OInCa8zHkFwVG9neoBVBOmp-kKSpNd3XgTcW5ZiTp7P-OVZD0P-MTPAwncKdhAnhindzdAMTfnO2YrDGM2Qg/s1600/LTA_1967.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visiting the rice fields</td></tr>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Thursday 26<sup>th</sup>
February</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;">We were useful with
preparing the next blog in the morning. Then we checked out, and was picked up
by our pre-arranged shuttle bus, which transferred us to Kuta beach, still on
Bali. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;">We choose to have a night there, because we wanted to be close to the
airport for the next day, as you can never depend on transportation times, so
better be safe than sorry.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></div>
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</span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We didn’t have time or
energy for being piggy about a place to crash, as we only stayed for one night
and we wouldn’t spend time in our room anyway. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Erik and I had made plans to
meet up with the Danish girls Lonnie and Pernille, who we met a couple of days
before in Amed. We invited Iben to join us and thought it was obvious
possibility for her to talk with other travellers, and maybe even travel with
Pernille on to the Philippines later on. Sadly Iben rejected the offer and went
home instead. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We, on the other hand, met up with the girls and had a lot of
fun. We ended in Bali´s biggest nightlife area, a building with 8 different
clubs, called Sky Garden. We had a blast in there, and Erik was, by a lot of boys, considered very
lucky to have three girls dancing around him all night. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We didn’t want to leave the party
as early as we did, we were having too much fun, but we knew we had to be the
party killers, because we had a long travel day ahead of us, and it could end
up being even longer if we woke up with hangovers. So we took the wise decision
to get something to eat and find our beds around 2am.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Lovely Indonesia</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><b>Monday 16<sup>th</sup> February</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Travelling time again, first we caught the public
boat to Bangsal Harbour on Lombok. Just as the boat touched the beach the
locals rushed off it, we took our time and geared up with all our bags, Iben
let a “helpsome” local carry her big bag off the boat, he was already halfway
on the beach before Erik realized it and told Iben that it was a bad idea to
get help, because the guy would expect some money for helping out. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Luckily Iben
has already toughened a bit up, so when she handed the guy 700 Idr. (roughly 40
danish øre) he got so disappointed, that she got her backpack AND her money
back, he was asking for 10.000 Idr. (5 Dkr) - maybe it was a bit rude and
insulting, because it’s the way those people make their income, helping loading
and unloading the passengers luggage, but it’s also rude to assume that
everybody will pay for getting into their trap.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Next experience was kinda the same, just the
other way around, we still had an hour drive to our destination Senggigi, but
we first had to find a taxi to take us there, we knew that the price should be
around 80-100.000 Idr. So we started walking towards the bus station, where the
Bluebird taxi’s are located. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">On our way, we got asked a hundred times by local
drivers: Transport, transport, at the same time they hold there hands like
they’re holding on to a steering wheel. Of cause they offered to drive us
there, but for a larger amount of money. So we told them that we already knew
the price, and that we were going to take a bluebird cab. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Eventually a guy in a
minibus said: Okay, okay 80.000 Idr. Perfect! We jumped in and drove for 2
minutes, he stopped and said, he just had to give his daughter some money,
after 5 minutes he was back, and we left Bangsal. Sadly the drive didn’t turn
out as we expected, after 10 minutes he stopped another car, a old truck, with
wooden seats in the back, a so called bemo. He told us, that his left front
tyre was flat, so we had to do the rest of the journey with his brother. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">We got
very annoyed, because we knew this was a trick, first you agree on a certain
price, but the price you agree on, is for the new nice car, with
air-conditioning and good comfort, and then when they have taken you too far
enough out of town, to find another transportation option, they stop the car
(which has had the flat tyre all the time), and then they make you drive in the
old shitty car, for the same price, and if you resist it, they leave you out
there in the middle of nowhere. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Luckily for us, the price we agreed on, was the
same it would have costed for the bemo to start with, so no extra costs for us,
just worse comfort. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">But before we totally agreed to jump in the other car, the
first driver got very angry with us, because we didn’t believe him, and in the
end of our discussion he ended his sentence with; “This is my country, I can
kill you here!” This definitely was a clear call, but it was easy to tell that
he was just upset, and he did not at all look like a guy with the balls to do
what he said. It still made the situation a bit more intense, especially when
Erik tried to bargain the price down from 80.000 to 60.000 because of the lower
comfort level. He didn’t succeed, but we carried on anyway with the original
price, and in the old truck. We were concerned if our new driver would make any
troubles on the way to Senggigi, but he had a much nicer personality. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">In the
township of Senggigi we checked in at Oz Stay Hostel, a huge but almost empty
hostel with good facilities. Erik and I planned to do some special dives on the
southern part of Lombok, near Belongas Bay. The dives are known to have a lot
of current involved, and only experienced divers with at least 50 dives are
allowed to dive there. Scuba Froggy are currently the only dive company diving
there, and they have an office in Senggigi where we would arrange our dives
from. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4NUREIP7lbryGg0IUBS269SLWFEOGPAcCBHIVl-C7SdNcwuMSqkPXgXFs8outOxA9vvhAQrqb1938aAoWT1G1taTgQg2oHbk8ZOrz7W-stKsBZTPHIbVvC-BbGp_SdvTZz4FJKxV-Pwmr/s1600/GOPR2897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4NUREIP7lbryGg0IUBS269SLWFEOGPAcCBHIVl-C7SdNcwuMSqkPXgXFs8outOxA9vvhAQrqb1938aAoWT1G1taTgQg2oHbk8ZOrz7W-stKsBZTPHIbVvC-BbGp_SdvTZz4FJKxV-Pwmr/s1600/GOPR2897.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our bemo after we got "kicked" off our minibus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAe3UPwAFv1mu1o2ZmSwW3CYjb2lrxP0Rx3pXCHjYCH6OdK4290xND9w2UDA_Im-5OffNUV74qU9BcFE8YPnnrj1fW8tMWnWwRaPlZO2gqLf4hcz36hfJ6DtnhEkdhuGig8BLJpbwu17HM/s1600/LTA_1711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAe3UPwAFv1mu1o2ZmSwW3CYjb2lrxP0Rx3pXCHjYCH6OdK4290xND9w2UDA_Im-5OffNUV74qU9BcFE8YPnnrj1fW8tMWnWwRaPlZO2gqLf4hcz36hfJ6DtnhEkdhuGig8BLJpbwu17HM/s1600/LTA_1711.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oz stay in Senggigi</td></tr>
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<b> <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Tuesday 17</span><sup style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">
February</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">After staying up late the night before, Erik and
I slept in. Meanwhile Iben went on a scooter trip to see some waterfalls and
rice fields in the north of Lombok. Our day went by with working on the blog,
and arranging the last details for our dive excursion the next day. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Iben got
home totally soaked in the afternoon, they had been unlucky with the weather,
as soon as they reached the waterfalls, it had started raining, so she had a long
warm shower before we all ventured out to try the local food market. It was
undoubtedly one of the worst food experiences, the food tasted awful, and the
small chickens that both Erik and Iben ordered looked like newborn chicks,
there were absolutely no meat on them, but they were served as whole chickens -
still with the heads on and everything... Very bad experience, but again it was
an experience... Especially for Iben, as she couldn’t get herself to pull the
head of the chicken, and Erik refused to help her, so she had to eat the
chicken with the head looking at her... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Ha ha, well she is definitely getting
more and more use to the way of living around here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AYS9SFqluDjAq3cxmgrlpIdjcrCarL2OJPjzvk2AtpOoEW-Xi8TAF3D9DMQaQybQBVrcYeOSeAuUYTSGmvsGZX0h25xMIuefBUT_cZlp1HbRqPH79-Z93LAqD1EMmfDV47TJvXwSWrS6/s1600/GOPR2914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AYS9SFqluDjAq3cxmgrlpIdjcrCarL2OJPjzvk2AtpOoEW-Xi8TAF3D9DMQaQybQBVrcYeOSeAuUYTSGmvsGZX0h25xMIuefBUT_cZlp1HbRqPH79-Z93LAqD1EMmfDV47TJvXwSWrS6/s1600/GOPR2914.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Worst food experience so far!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><b>Wednesday 18<sup>th</sup> February </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The transfer bus from Scuba Froggy picked us up
early in the morning, Iben wasn’t diving with them but they allowed her to pay
a little fee for the transfer to Kuta beach. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The outrigger boat seemed
vulnerable on the open ocean which this day offered severe swells. I was a bit
nervous if the small boat would survive the long journey or not. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">When we
spotted dolphins the captain stopped the boat for a moment, and it made me calm
to feel the swells, without the engine running. As mentioned before the dives
can be a bit dangerous due to the strong currents going in all possible
directions. We were one on one with an instructor each, which also gave us a
hint about the severity of the dives. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">At the first dive site called: The
Magnet, which is a big rock with a lighthouse on top, I jumped in the water
with my instructor, Tomas. The plan was that all four of us should go down on
the same time, but while we were hanging on the side of the boat the swells and
currents made it impossible for us to hold on any longer. We let go of the boat
and I got caught in the waves rolling towards the rock. The waves were huge and
when they were on their highest they almost covered the rock, there was about
3-4 meters difference from highest to lowest. I was getting quite nervous for a
moment there, so Tomas told me to go down. It was easy as the current was down
going and within seconds we were on 23 meters depth. But unfortunately we
didn’t get down to the right spot on the rock wall, so we had to surface and
try again. I actually didn’t know what was going on when this happend as I
didn’t check my dive computer at all. Thomas grabbed me and fully inflated my
BCD, this will usually send you straight to the surface, and is something you
NEVER do as a diver, but we were still stable on 20 meters. That’s how strong
the down current were. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">We got out of the current and went back on the boat to
try again. Meanwhile Erik had jumped in with his instructor Sascha, they had
been more lucky to get on the right side of the rock where there was less
current, all though they still had a strong down going current. Within seconds
they had reached 41 meters depth, and within the next 5 minutes they saw a
eagle ray, a turtle, many reef sharks, very big schools of Trevallys, hammerhead
sharks circling above them and the largest school of Barracudas Erik has ever
seen. When we met them underwater at our second dive attempt, they both showed
off by signaling the dive sign for hammerheads while dancing around in the
water. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">I was so happy for Erik, as that was his biggest wish to experience -
but I couldn’t help giving him the international finger sign for “screw you”,
anyway. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Back on the boat they were so overwhelmed by happiness, it was great...
For them! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Apart from Tomas getting caught in the currents again, the next dive
at: The Cathedral, was more successful. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">I jumped in with Erik and Sascha, and he
kept banging his tank until Tomas had found us underwater. We had two olive sea
snakes following us, they are listed as the most venomous of all snakes.
Obviously we didn’t enjoy that, they swam in between my legs and at one point I
hit one of them in the head with my fin. Luckily the hit didn’t upset it, but
it wasn’t enjoyable to have them this close to us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">I was relieved when we reached the surface again, and I just wanted to get away from there. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Both of our dives were
short, because they were deep dives, but also because we used our air so
quickly from working against the currents all the time. It was definitely a big
experience and challenge to dive in so strong currents. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Back in Kuta Iben had
arranged a shared room for us on Banana Homestay. This was a place filled with
Scandinavian and north European people, which were practising their surf skills
on the surrounding beaches each day and drinking Bintang’s every night. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">We were
too tired to socialize this day, so we went out for dinner by ourselves and went
to bed early. Iben met some other solo travellers and spend the night with
them.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcHoh2zEPz1ekK5Ypn7i8w0B8VtEu7SkcYsoHBpzdNfp-iHGbH0enp3lRMWEYZEYTzXZ9BErtvAQpm8ZE6eeqaSSz7imULYs512yYNCil7zAsIipWcePbpJ1GGMJXA08IsOHL6plqVrnF/s1600/vlcsnap-2015-02-18-16h44m17s125.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcHoh2zEPz1ekK5Ypn7i8w0B8VtEu7SkcYsoHBpzdNfp-iHGbH0enp3lRMWEYZEYTzXZ9BErtvAQpm8ZE6eeqaSSz7imULYs512yYNCil7zAsIipWcePbpJ1GGMJXA08IsOHL6plqVrnF/s1600/vlcsnap-2015-02-18-16h44m17s125.png" height="366" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hammerhead shark</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Diving @ Belongas Bay </b></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hChVYR_wRF0/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hChVYR_wRF0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Thursday 19</span><sup style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> February</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">We rented a
motorbike and drove to Mawun beach with Iben, a guy named Razhid and a girl that Iben had met - both
Germans. It was just a lazy day on the beach. Razhid was a nice bloke with his
heart and head in the right place, the girl on the other hand was annoying. We lost it
completely when she started telling us that she became a vegetarian, because
her sister got cancer, and to support her sister she stopped eating meat,
because it’s bad for the body, but she continued smoking, drinking and riding
motorbikes WITHOUT a helmet. Very clever girl! We did our best to put up with
her throughout the day, and we even arranged to watch the sunset together on a
nearby hill, together with other sunset junkies. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Kuta on Lombok attracts a lot
of young people, as it’s all about catching waves and getting drunk. It’s a
small town but it’s got a reputation of a lot of crime. All the long-terms we
talked to on Banana Homestay are very cautions about going out at night, and
specially driving out of town at night. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">There should be some strange natives
around. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Personally I don’t understand why so many people are staying here
long-term as it seems like everybody is afraid of going out. This is also the
reason why we left the hill and the sunset before it got dark. Back at Banana
we squeezed in on one of the small porches in front of a room and one Bintang
took over the other, while we shared stories with strangers from around the
world. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76pztVZ9MDhojneOaD0LAqmlzb9f8SaZLeB7taGXNdTg7lHRnTydnRbMaDEQiRhmMBetSfuokCPTaOPL_LEmFveKtodHt-SAcytsTXDFRBVyYvmFHl2IKj7M_lsGTfPu8zx0La8yQi4-G/s1600/LTA_1755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76pztVZ9MDhojneOaD0LAqmlzb9f8SaZLeB7taGXNdTg7lHRnTydnRbMaDEQiRhmMBetSfuokCPTaOPL_LEmFveKtodHt-SAcytsTXDFRBVyYvmFHl2IKj7M_lsGTfPu8zx0La8yQi4-G/s1600/LTA_1755.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnUkCyfnn-pV5NddHrYPD7BptWnF-yDgqpytgm1tc9Jk1b-tDswOLyWFHqul5JhUKTeHlGl5CKeMZ0QslxVqf8jK9K64yRvymJUzjVyDEH9_ewRC78Yxh80XYO3T9hdhhC1F9O33q9km0p/s1600/LTA_1768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnUkCyfnn-pV5NddHrYPD7BptWnF-yDgqpytgm1tc9Jk1b-tDswOLyWFHqul5JhUKTeHlGl5CKeMZ0QslxVqf8jK9K64yRvymJUzjVyDEH9_ewRC78Yxh80XYO3T9hdhhC1F9O33q9km0p/s1600/LTA_1768.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BINTANG TIME!!!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><b>Kuta (Lombok)</b></span></div>
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Erik Krafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10520862374999442880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-52923959100355530282015-02-23T10:55:00.001+01:002015-02-23T10:55:12.705+01:00Indonesia - Nusa Lembongan and another visit on Gili T. <div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sunday 8<sup>th</sup>
February<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In the morning Iben started
her open water certificate with Dice Concept, which would take three whole days. </span></span><span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Erik and I aimed
to do some diving, so we went for a browse around the different diveshops on the
island. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Along Jungutbatu beach there’s only one road, which makes it easy to
navigate around. We simply love the island atmosphere and realized how much we
had missed the local villages and the always smiling locals. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We discovered that
Dive Concept actually were one of the cheapest dive companies around, which is
also why we went back there to book our dives for the next day. By doing that
we would also get on the same boat as Iben, when she was going out for her
first ever dives - it would make her more comfortable and less nervous as
well... So it was by far the best option! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We hung around the pool and enjoyed
our stunning surroundings during the day, and at night we had arranged to eat
seafood barbeque with a Danish girl (Naja) and her Dutch friend (Sharon)... We
all waited for Iben to be done with her pool session, but apparently that took
longer than expected. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We left a note for her and went out. The seafood barbeque
wasn’t actually a barbeque, so we agreed to leave the restaurant again to find
something cheaper. The second place we went had a 10% service charge and
11% government tax on top of the displayed prices... We left again! It started
to get embarrassing so we made a plan to check the menu card before seating in
the third restaurant. Luckily the prices were reasonable so finally we could
order our dinner. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Afterwards we talked to Iben back at the hotel and she had
had a difficult time in the pool, practising her diving skills... But after a
long time she had passed all the tests, and came back extremely exhausted after
a long day. She was insecure whether she would try again or give up the next
day. We ensured her that it’s totally normal to be afraid and nervous the first
couple of times, and I think that helped her a bit.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTTLiQH-5Bym-8lUPwXKoFGSzrE92JlR7jj78lZTKmJrfpeLA3kOSEEUk1M-jQDUdt0eUbbqp4wqL1mqDAx2cXdk48DJiivNd4UVj6xpggnQj1ttHyx0JX-XVMYTgXm3-0NWhm4FkZDw/s1600/LTA_1241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTTLiQH-5Bym-8lUPwXKoFGSzrE92JlR7jj78lZTKmJrfpeLA3kOSEEUk1M-jQDUdt0eUbbqp4wqL1mqDAx2cXdk48DJiivNd4UVj6xpggnQj1ttHyx0JX-XVMYTgXm3-0NWhm4FkZDw/s1600/LTA_1241.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A different way to cut grass...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5wthuWKd49E_ZIfBUBwlWnv9Rb7AMUbF2a_z-ljSnN_7R_hPYxmn2LFBm_qTfjJ3LmIPfPPsKCVOA8OmaFow7SMGMNjLWGT3FbrVcd-l6q_z834HSwEHmgWgxUseQt4VjlBDtIxnZTE/s1600/LTA_1247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5wthuWKd49E_ZIfBUBwlWnv9Rb7AMUbF2a_z-ljSnN_7R_hPYxmn2LFBm_qTfjJ3LmIPfPPsKCVOA8OmaFow7SMGMNjLWGT3FbrVcd-l6q_z834HSwEHmgWgxUseQt4VjlBDtIxnZTE/s1600/LTA_1247.JPG" height="332" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All ages can ride a motorbike here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaYNWhqrU11j1hXNyhKtj5LAMXSj4TdRDLazuhgI_sLqk896d2VWcz-ULxoQRfSJPMyWJaRIJ3LFs6ELkHRnpwjzWcGa0mgU5zE_sWtbmQLwASHpbtTp06JhY4v4BfIhnFJHw7DK9D4s/s1600/LTA_1250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaYNWhqrU11j1hXNyhKtj5LAMXSj4TdRDLazuhgI_sLqk896d2VWcz-ULxoQRfSJPMyWJaRIJ3LFs6ELkHRnpwjzWcGa0mgU5zE_sWtbmQLwASHpbtTp06JhY4v4BfIhnFJHw7DK9D4s/s1600/LTA_1250.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A contrast photo.. Dirty shop with poor locals, next to a great beach and a rich round-eyed </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrfFIa93sWBXcUX_KCPyi68tatTRmeDBaWO-K5b7eiHfkC5jFOxkFGXdGbgWphiKISkZL6b1cbHb8sKcD0Ei9dP5oynbrz8zSho5-C5L5fgI5pbij9EOcGwe0Y_0RfKw38kgJZ_HpcJE/s1600/LTA_1254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrfFIa93sWBXcUX_KCPyi68tatTRmeDBaWO-K5b7eiHfkC5jFOxkFGXdGbgWphiKISkZL6b1cbHb8sKcD0Ei9dP5oynbrz8zSho5-C5L5fgI5pbij9EOcGwe0Y_0RfKw38kgJZ_HpcJE/s1600/LTA_1254.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jungutbatu beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif014vkVzH6mAguBezxgj1eisaEwG-Iavu2JLd0G-GRerF9AWCsVBx3szwiVt2a4ag02S53dbM658mwh17EEAQPeSXbU0wo7SFS93FbLZNE5OyTtDG6aK3GpImD_HPrm1uqwBiOGlwK4M/s1600/G0222436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif014vkVzH6mAguBezxgj1eisaEwG-Iavu2JLd0G-GRerF9AWCsVBx3szwiVt2a4ag02S53dbM658mwh17EEAQPeSXbU0wo7SFS93FbLZNE5OyTtDG6aK3GpImD_HPrm1uqwBiOGlwK4M/s1600/G0222436.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet as view..<br />
<br />
<b>Sunset from our guesthouse</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><b>Monday 9<sup>th</sup>
February</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">As organized we went to Dive
Concept at 7.45am. The low tide made our diving delayed, so we had time for
breakfast, before entering the boat an hour later than planned. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The water was
calm and nice, and we were looking forward to do some tropical diving again. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We
were in a small group consisting of Erik, myself and our divemaster Jack, a
local guy who was bad at English but awesome at finding the small things and
showing them to us. It didn’t matter that we couldn’t communicate above water
as communication underneath are international and more important in this case. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On our first dive at Santal we had a strong current at one point, it was
uncomfortable as our breathing got really heavy. Jack showed us to grab onto
one of the hard corals and then we hung there until the current took off and we
could continue our dive. It was sweet as to dive in the tropics again, and the
visibility was about 20m, which we consider as pretty good. We saw orangutan
crabs for the first time. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back on the surface, the water had become more
choppy. Iben, her instructor Roman and another newbie diver (Julia) had a hard
time getting back in the small boat, the waves and current were making it
difficult, not to mention the extremely horrible “captain”. He kept the waves
on the side of the boat, which made it sway a lot. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The newbies dive had been
a totally disaster, first of all a trigger fish had attacked Julia, both Iben
and her had paniced but continued their dive anyway, then a dive boat d</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">idn’t
see their dive flag as they were surfacing, so it sailed right above them almost
hitting them. And on top of that they came up to the choppy sea and struggled to
get on the boat again. No wonder they were nervous and scared when they finally
got back on board. Obviously they had tried a lot already, after only one dive
in the ocean. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Second dive at Pura Ped was freaking fantastic, a drift dive
along a wall and it was so beautiful and the fact that we could see so far was
just awesome. We saw a few turtles, clown and titan triggerfish, a huge
scorpionfish, a huge conch alive, and Erik by himself found another orangutan
crab - which by the way looks totally like a orangutan, but tiny and nothing
like a crab, and of cause all the normal tropical fish such as angelfish,
butterflyfish, anemone fish, etc. Iben had a much better dive the second time
and she seemed much </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">more confident afterwards.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">On solid ground we went home
to have a rest after lunch, and Iben had to study all night at the shop. We
found it odd that the dive instructor made her study in the late hours, she was
tired after the diving and couldn’t concentrate. They should have finished the
studies in the morning and dived in the afternoon, as diving really is tiring.
It didn’t seem like Roman planned it very good for their benefit. We definitely
got confirmed that our open water course on Koh Tao was very well organized and
planned. It might be a big factory there, but they really know what they are
doing. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Anyhow Erik and I were in for a treat and a big surprise, as we ordered
dinner in the theatre’s restaurant. Erik ordered tuna steak with coleslaw and homemade fries, and I had chicken breast. It sounds really casual but all the sides
and extra things on the plates really gave it a gourmet touch. It was soooo
good. It wasn’t the last time we would dine there, that was certain.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Turtle Selfie</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mfsHHJOuwFqpv0c2GmkO3Tqr9JheCtri14rzIPQIZjW_Cpigq1fTDY2Rat0iAiij4gaZOsD-7HITrQ771IiqdZD5AHlOx0FqozGXQbZuCVUWFW_YhaRBJlHWGSmn7Op3mlAs4WeIaQw/s1600/GOPR2586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mfsHHJOuwFqpv0c2GmkO3Tqr9JheCtri14rzIPQIZjW_Cpigq1fTDY2Rat0iAiij4gaZOsD-7HITrQ771IiqdZD5AHlOx0FqozGXQbZuCVUWFW_YhaRBJlHWGSmn7Op3mlAs4WeIaQw/s1600/GOPR2586.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Underwater Selfie</span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday 10<sup>th</sup> February</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Erik and me went for a jog
in the morning, we thought i would be a 5-6 km jog, but the tour around the
mangrove forest was 8,5 km in total. We were proud when we returned to our
starting point, as these warm conditions normally doesn’t allow us to run that
far... Usually I get a headache after 4 km and it’s just too freaking warm to
run longer than 5 k's. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Before scuba diving we enjoyed breakfast at the theatre, we
loved it there. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Fortunately the boat was bigger this day, but it was still the
horrible captain, who actually seemed like he had more control over the big
boat, than the small boat from yesterday. First stop was at Crystal Bay, we
descended to a sandy bottom and swam towards the blue. We didn’t see a lot of
marine life until our divemaster started to point out the macro stuff and all
the camouflaged flounders around. We saw a cool harlequin crab, a leaf
scorpionfish, hermit crabs and a frogfish. All stuff that is really hard to
spot. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Iben was doing very good with her instructor in another part of the same
bay, and finally she seemed excited about the diving, instead of being nervous.
One more dive and then she just had to pass the theoretical test, to become a
open water diver. We were excited for her. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">We spotted dolphins in front of the boat
and they even swam into the bay, I jumped in to see if I was lucky to see them
under water. But no, only one of the divemasters got to see them swimming. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Next
dive at Manta Bay was the highlight of the day, obviously we hoped to see manta
rays. Unfortunately after 65 minutes of diving we only saw one, and that was
right before our safety stop. It was a bit sad, as there should be plenty
around. We saw blue spotted sting rays though, they’re quite cool as well. We
were seriously dehydrated after the two dives and the morning jog... We had
forgotten to drink heaps of water, and now we were paying the price. While Iben
had to study again we went back to our room and felt sorry for ourselves. It
was late before she got back, and announced that she passed the final test. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">We
wanted to celebrate her but we all had a huge headache that didn’t seem to go
away no matter how much we drank, so we postponed the celebration. Erik and I
later decided to see if a beer would help on our headache... And for the record: It worked! We were feeling much better... Homer Simpson is right; Alcohol is
the cause of - and solution of all life’s problems. Instead of leaving the
following day we decided to stay another night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Morning Usfie</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Practising bouyancy </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Low tide</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Nusa Lembongan Dive</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uyAZGfFAyxM/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uyAZGfFAyxM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
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</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Wednesday 11<sup>th</sup>
February</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Until now we had stayed in
two separated rooms, at Ketut Losmen, but to save money Iben checked out from
her room and moved down to us. The massive bed in our room could easily fit all
of us without any problem. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We planned to see Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan
on a motorbike trip. Iben was too tired to join us, so we went by ourselves. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We
had breakfast near the mangrove forest in the north, which by the way was timed
perfectly, just as we were finish a whole bus of Chinese tourists arrived. We
started driving up the climbing road to Panorama point, it gave us a brilliant
view over Jungutbatu beach, we then followed the road leading to the suspension
bridge and Nusa Ceningan. By bumby and winding roads we visited seaweed farms,
a blue lagoon, small remote villages, resorts with infinity pools and incredibly
cozy beaches, Secret beach being one of the favourites. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On Lembongan we
witnessed a traditional cockfight. Hundreds of locals were gathering around an
enclosure getting their cocks ready for fighting, by attaching a huge knife-looking thing to the cocks foot. We came just before the action took
place and watched the locals gambling their money away on their favourite cocks.
It was again timed perfectly when we later arrived in Mushroom bay and enjoyed the best pizza in ages, in shelter from the only rain that came down from the sky this day. As
we finished our lunch the rain stopped and we continued exploring. </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We watched
the amazing rock formations of Devil’s Tear where serious wave power and action
took place. The nearby Dream beach took our breath away. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">All in all this day
had been very satisfying, and we found it incredible what those two small
islands has so much unique scenery to offer. We felt so lucky and spoiled... And at the
same time we felt sorry for Iben, for not experiencing all of this. It was a big shame! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyway in the late afternoon we returned to our gem of a hotel, opened
the days first beer and watched the sunset from the sunbeds facing the sea
together with Iben. We got a bit drunk this night, so we tried in vain to find
a party somewhere. We hung out at Mickey’s bar for a while but then decided to
go home to bed as the possibilities for a party happening there was close to
zero. To our luck, or unluck, a whole group of Canadians were having a beach
party when we returned, so we quickly decided to join them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Erik went to get
beers while Iben and I joined the party. A while after, Erik still hadn’t come
back, so we started to get worried and I went out looking for him. He was
nowhere to find. We started to get other people to look for him as well, and
started to get really worried. After what seems like forever Erik eventually
came driving towards us on a motorbike. He had been on the beer-buying-mission,
but apparently the bar was far away and when he had returned to the beach with
the beers, and we weren’t there, he had taken the motorbike to go and look for
us. It was a mess and we were all in a verbal fight. Looking back at it is
quite funny and stupid... Just a misunderstanding from all parts! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZY3mOtsK5Z1iZxDQaJcKUqpMyekI4QHwZgbOiuiJVlAu3ppu5pQCY_UFEKVuZFo5kb_vpxX52CToaRpHfhLuIbmjzQe-j5cev3GR_Pk92gG6LVUmuA5N0Q4XWGBL8LQJ0OMNGxgTSt0/s1600/LTA_1286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZY3mOtsK5Z1iZxDQaJcKUqpMyekI4QHwZgbOiuiJVlAu3ppu5pQCY_UFEKVuZFo5kb_vpxX52CToaRpHfhLuIbmjzQe-j5cev3GR_Pk92gG6LVUmuA5N0Q4XWGBL8LQJ0OMNGxgTSt0/s1600/LTA_1286.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seaweed farms and Mt. Agung on Bali in the back</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOICjE0Y3GFM8jNDY-7YaK44Rb9VzvcjFSomhvEQpV2zjzHadbYAdHIzlH1haarTW-IE3_jAwUL7nskyBv-L_T8ut6yz-8OhzCqLHeSu8V5kB2XsrbWp7f4TOhRZxJK24xLhvTKwnlBP0/s1600/LTA_1333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOICjE0Y3GFM8jNDY-7YaK44Rb9VzvcjFSomhvEQpV2zjzHadbYAdHIzlH1haarTW-IE3_jAwUL7nskyBv-L_T8ut6yz-8OhzCqLHeSu8V5kB2XsrbWp7f4TOhRZxJK24xLhvTKwnlBP0/s1600/LTA_1333.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Secret beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGuMJCf1-3AohY-mLONDwmnQZh6olNvCbb732Jff-iBlM9EzAKAm_9ijyTZfdpoqFP_-3KlRZvBtWNbbVjXzJD3GWwWczVJvh4PnKds_fS4rXsiN2SbZJJ6zusgXyzYCDCgXPMfhc790/s1600/LTA_1409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGuMJCf1-3AohY-mLONDwmnQZh6olNvCbb732Jff-iBlM9EzAKAm_9ijyTZfdpoqFP_-3KlRZvBtWNbbVjXzJD3GWwWczVJvh4PnKds_fS4rXsiN2SbZJJ6zusgXyzYCDCgXPMfhc790/s1600/LTA_1409.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The blue lagoon..</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"> ..Blue lagoon</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEAdnlY9PI1GY2zkFLblslndswz144oPcux3PIBNp16b8Zu0Ax0qbTCPzcsrU03f-ZyEoO9cGHj09nz7kZ2jADt6g4vnK1wv4I2zlHAEJpKTHIwNO2vY6qXApOIT83Vk5BQArjnZ_xN8/s1600/LTA_1450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEAdnlY9PI1GY2zkFLblslndswz144oPcux3PIBNp16b8Zu0Ax0qbTCPzcsrU03f-ZyEoO9cGHj09nz7kZ2jADt6g4vnK1wv4I2zlHAEJpKTHIwNO2vY6qXApOIT83Vk5BQArjnZ_xN8/s1600/LTA_1450.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Cock fight...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghLfVD7GyrQnZyHGnCnQROEwtJapmAGNyFRreGzNBv6UsXJtZ5q6-YH4SPplUKmsCIC85P9k_C96KAv9QIkNiBr_u1Xqmfafp4hzIONkKhrAxdjWkmu5S1NtfBNnaqSQdlL3qbpPRe0o/s1600/LTA_1522.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghLfVD7GyrQnZyHGnCnQROEwtJapmAGNyFRreGzNBv6UsXJtZ5q6-YH4SPplUKmsCIC85P9k_C96KAv9QIkNiBr_u1Xqmfafp4hzIONkKhrAxdjWkmu5S1NtfBNnaqSQdlL3qbpPRe0o/s1600/LTA_1522.JPG" height="356" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">And the winner is... The guy in the red suit...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfw1bwtqFvvd-tNtfTOR36PGboaWeCiG-gxSp4pk8AGu14KQSFwNcegMNDi7rQJq6wt0__S2ny0BIFqCKw36Tdy4wXyAdO5Ps-7D7N_oJH58wYGwQuV_PFgT-VHA4-Dw3smzgoCuHDznE/s1600/LTA_1530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfw1bwtqFvvd-tNtfTOR36PGboaWeCiG-gxSp4pk8AGu14KQSFwNcegMNDi7rQJq6wt0__S2ny0BIFqCKw36Tdy4wXyAdO5Ps-7D7N_oJH58wYGwQuV_PFgT-VHA4-Dw3smzgoCuHDznE/s1600/LTA_1530.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mushroom Bay<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0PmarBOjr-iMPJRdOa0-IxmLp2Fx8UgFVWuzyghlcobAkULLGiOm4GpavN1E07VtnrKSTD0i3PJQiAR2EuNLDSXwDoAKIPevrqk0nEoiorxp98Cz1IXPodMOKIpaQVse9WOT7ZpVPn8/s1600/LTA_1564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0PmarBOjr-iMPJRdOa0-IxmLp2Fx8UgFVWuzyghlcobAkULLGiOm4GpavN1E07VtnrKSTD0i3PJQiAR2EuNLDSXwDoAKIPevrqk0nEoiorxp98Cz1IXPodMOKIpaQVse9WOT7ZpVPn8/s1600/LTA_1564.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"> Devil's Tear</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Dream beach..</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Leave only footprints!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">View from Panorama Point (Jungutbatu beach & village, and Mt. Agung on Bali)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Another and more noisy way to transport reinforcement steel..</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9dhJ2Y2qXSikZgwzt9cuP4PbxK9jEhyphenhyphenEzuudANTuwIodp7EiQ82QI_RY6dnhTdK8_mdolZlZC9zJMrIQdzw4zY1vQrUt_P8tWMvPOd1doEraWg165je0qVM4cyLfKMNuyP1C6zlP8Z0/s1600/G0172708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9dhJ2Y2qXSikZgwzt9cuP4PbxK9jEhyphenhyphenEzuudANTuwIodp7EiQ82QI_RY6dnhTdK8_mdolZlZC9zJMrIQdzw4zY1vQrUt_P8tWMvPOd1doEraWg165je0qVM4cyLfKMNuyP1C6zlP8Z0/s1600/G0172708.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rain is coming</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Cockfight</b></span></span></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/69dkNfT3nd0/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/69dkNfT3nd0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Scooter trip</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Thursday 12<sup>th</sup>
February</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Despite that we all felt
like a train crash going horrible wrong, we got up in the morning and packed
our stuff to get ready for the truck picking us up from the main road at 9am.
The truck took us to the harbour office near the suspension bridge, a boat from
there sailed us out to a bigger boat that took us safe and sound to Gili
Trawangan, within 3 hours. We hadn’t seen this many western people since we
left Auckland. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Gili T. was packed with tourists, just as we remembered it -but
for some reason we love it anyway. Maybe because the only transportation is
horse carts and push bikes and a lot of the bars and restaurants are located
right on the beach with a very chilled-out atmosphere and easy going locals. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">On
the harbour we were met by the mandatory guys offering accommodation. We chose
to follow one of them as we didn’t want to end up the same place as last time
we visited. We wanted to try something new. Already at this time we were
shocked to see how much the island had developed within the last 10 months.
There are ridiculously many newly opened shops, restaurants and diveshops. This island is
spoiled and ruined very soon, if not already! It’s far out to see how fast a
bounty island like this can be ruined by tourists. Advice; go now,
not later! Gili Air and Gili Meno is undoubtedly better options if your looking
for a more romantic or quiet place. All though, Gili Air is also said to be
developing quickly. God, I feel lucky to have seen this before it turns into
disaster! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, while Iben and I were “looking looking” for a place to stay,
Erik sat in one of the bars with his best friend, a cold Bintang, and waited
for us to decide on accommodation. Sandy Beach Cottage, just 100m from the main
road was dirt cheap and a good value for 50.000 rupiah (25kr) each per night incl. breakfast.
Our host had a warm welcoming humour and a adorable daughter that Iben and I
fell in love with immediately, so we went back to get Erik and checked in.
Lunch was consumed on the nearby ‘Green Cafe’ which served some delicious
western food. Fried rice or fried noodles is awesome, but we’re not interested
in eating it three times a day. We browsed around a good amount of spa shops,
before we finally picked the cheapest one. Sadly they couldn’t fit us all,
which is why Erik surrendered and went to another one, then Iben and I were in
for a little lady time. The massage was on the top 5, of good massages we have
had. It was so enjoyable. As if we weren’t exhausted enough after last nights
party the massage definitely didn’t do it any better. We were all so natural
tired, that we didn’t even bother going out for dinner.. Our bed was much more
appreciated at this time.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi915DmQL63Cj011G-xM9oOE23QwnObDnKugWG9XghF42BHt07UPvYNo06WXwbsiHU14A5la_Z_SiYxlzq6QQ3StItHKeTZVarRaEIASRj8MGQDvmhrAJ-yIMi1x5Imic9dPbBBmCeBKzI/s1600/GOPR2766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi915DmQL63Cj011G-xM9oOE23QwnObDnKugWG9XghF42BHt07UPvYNo06WXwbsiHU14A5la_Z_SiYxlzq6QQ3StItHKeTZVarRaEIASRj8MGQDvmhrAJ-yIMi1x5Imic9dPbBBmCeBKzI/s1600/GOPR2766.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Friday 13<sup>th</sup> February</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We decided to sweat the last alcohol out of our bodies by
jogging around the island, a 7km run with a unique sunrise behind Mt. Rinjani
(the volcano we climbed last time we were in Indonesia). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This day was from our
point of view dedicated to our blog. Iben aimed to try some snorkeling off the
beach. We had lunch on one of the the countless restaurants fronting the beach,
and apart from a few dips in the water from time to time we spend most of the
day working. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Another countless thing on the island is all the diveshops, every third or forth
house is a diveshop slash restaurant. The one closest to our homestay; Dive
Central Gili had advertised about a beach cleaning project starting at 5pm. We wanted to support this project,
mostly because of the eco-friendly part of it, and because we saw it as a good
opportunity to meet some fellow travellers, and less because of the free beer
we got in trade for our participation. Of cause the beer was just a bonus for
us, but also a good way for the diveshop to catch peoples attention. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We picked
up rubbish for about 15-20min, and just as we were on our way back with our
bags filled with rubbish the rain came pouring down - luckily only for 10 min.
then it cleared up again. </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the diveshop we had our beer and found out that
all the diveshops on the island take turns each week to clean the beach. It’s
really nice, since there otherwise would be packed with rubbish on the beaches,
leftovers from stupid Chinese people not to mention all the young stupid
round-eyed who thinks it cool to throw rubbish in the nature. We chatted to one
of the managers of the diveshop, she was really cool so we arranged to go diving
with them the following day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At night we had dinner on a restaurant which
offered pasta dishes for 20.000 rupiah (10kr) including salat buffet, bread and
tomato soup. All right maybe we have tried better pastas and better soups, but
compared to the price it was freaking awesome. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOVIsXeuFP2E_H9PNneM7QPG36m7Mj24o5UgCcgUCraUoGg-i4Cc4tvi6p1cTrmB23ASMihUa5Fxc5ZHGHmniWpMSVs_IJhdykpAvhgDL5o8ZiE_sx_WYK0dVmxr3-UdVT3lBR3Pxt0c/s1600/GOPR2770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOVIsXeuFP2E_H9PNneM7QPG36m7Mj24o5UgCcgUCraUoGg-i4Cc4tvi6p1cTrmB23ASMihUa5Fxc5ZHGHmniWpMSVs_IJhdykpAvhgDL5o8ZiE_sx_WYK0dVmxr3-UdVT3lBR3Pxt0c/s1600/GOPR2770.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">3 million rupiah....</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD224Cmb5R4mXCaPQW8gjnynVqx7MG0606ZnNgx0rEqwV0aIM3ERp9rPB4f5_ulyjUcKOzC7fN2JWzuhNX-8MUUNQjkRoF6bD6JoYmyCjrUf17ooy9V0cliAb7dKNk9LGtL_ZqtCaNSzU/s1600/IMG_7595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD224Cmb5R4mXCaPQW8gjnynVqx7MG0606ZnNgx0rEqwV0aIM3ERp9rPB4f5_ulyjUcKOzC7fN2JWzuhNX-8MUUNQjkRoF6bD6JoYmyCjrUf17ooy9V0cliAb7dKNk9LGtL_ZqtCaNSzU/s1600/IMG_7595.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandy Cottages<br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><b>Saturday 14<sup>th</sup> February</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">They make a big deal out of Valentine’s day here,
aswell as they do at home, but we couldn’t care less about this day. We went
diving with the professional managers from Dive Central Gili on the divesite
called Turtle Heaven. Due to the turtle conservation happening on the island,
there’s a fairly big amount of turtles around in the sea. The conservation raises
the turtles for the first 12 months of their lifes, and then releases them into the
sea with a traditional ceremony, including local dance and music. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Anyway, it
was Iben’s first fundive, so she was really excited in a nervous kind of way,
but she was in good hands and was taken very good care of. We saw a lot of
turtles in different sizes - it was great. One of them came cruising underneath
me while I was getting close to another turtle, they are harmless creatures but
it scared me for a second there. The dive were a shallow dive so it allowed us
to stay down for a long time, so far it has been our longest dive, 68min. Iben
finished before that. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">In the diveshop later on, we splashed around in the pool
and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Gili T. has turned into a party island and on
the southern and northeastern part where we stayed, it’s basically only
backpackers and party people visiting, the western part has some expensive
resorts and a mush quieter atmosphere, but only flashpackers, honeymoon'ers and families go
there. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">We visited the local food market, where we amongst small dirty food
stalls, smoke from the barbeques and many other travelers seeking for cheap
food, met up with a Canadian guy that we met on Nusa Lembongan. We all quickly
realized that the beers tasted like more this night, many more! The canadian
guy Cole, invited us to come and join him and the rest of his “crew”, he was
travelling with a Canadian tour company, so everything was arranged on their
trip - for a whole month. Almost every night went by with drinking, as the main
part of the group was between 18-22 years... In fact they were only 2 guys, and
then the rest 10-12 people were young girls... We had a good night with all of
them anyway, and played some drinking games, as you do around that age. Later
we went to a bar called Sama-Sama, they had live music and a very big party. We
all got separated from each other, but met up again several times doing the
night. When the bar closed Erik and I continued partying in the streets with
a bunch of local guys. Apparently we didn’t get home before after 5.30am.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Turtle Heaven</span></div>
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Turtle selfie</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><b>Sunday 15<sup>th</sup> February</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 21.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Needless to say we had some evil hangovers when
we woke up. We were meant to leave to Lombok, but that quickly got postponed a
day. Iben was alive before us and she went out. I felt horrible but couldn’t
sleep any longer, so I packed my bag with my laptop, money, sunscreen and a
towel and were off to get some food and enjoy the beach. Erik was almost dead
and couldn’t get out of bed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">By coincidence I meet Iben on the street and
we spend the day relaxing on the beach. We returned to the spa place where we
went two days ago, the massage was fantastic there, so we were happy to do it
again. Sadly not all the therapist had been to the same school. My therapist
did a lot of uncomfortable and painful stuff to me... She squeezed my ears
several times, pulled in my hair, buried her knuckles into my spine and kept
hitting my head with her big tummy..! It was a nightmare of a massage! Probably
the worst ever! I found it odd that you can go to the same place and get two so
different experiences. The manager didn’t take our words seriously when we
tried to explain our frustration to him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the late afternoon when we returned to our
cottage Erik was finally out of bed and ready to watch the sunset. Instead of
taking the normal road around the island we decided to cross the island, via
the small walkways and villages inland. This proved to be a longer walk than
assumed, we asked for directions several
times, slowly realizing that we weren’t gonna make it to the beach in time. The
sun was setting while we reached an open field with a single horse cart and a
bunch of cows. The sunset was even more outstanding from here, and definitely
more unique with all the cows and palms. We continued walking towards the sun
as we knew we eventually would reach the beach then, and we made it to the road
just before it got dark. We decided to take a horse cart back, not
that it was that far away, but because we wanted to try it before leaving Gili
T. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> Erik's <span style="font-size: x-small;">Angels</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Sunset</span></div>
</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09828578618884464538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-28507758809577890632015-02-15T07:03:00.001+01:002015-02-16T00:34:43.711+01:00Indonesia - Kuta beach in Bali<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Wednesday 4<sup>th</sup>
February</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It felt so good to return to
Bali and the tropics, as soon as we stepped out of the airplane we were hit by
the well known hot and humid weather. We were both very excited to soon meet
Iben on the pre-booked hotel. She arrived 5 hours before us. We had upgraded
our standards to be able to meet her midway, so our hotel was with wifi,
air-con and a pool. We really splashed out to make her feel comfortable. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In
Denpasar Airport we quickly settled in to our new environment, and knew exactly
how to handle all the touts in the airport. When we told the few touts
following us that we knew the prices, and that we would just go outside the
airport area to find a decent prices cab, they started to cooperate with us. We
got to Legian, close to Kuta beach for 60.000 IDR. (Indonesian Rupiah) (30kr),
but there was no small talk or service for those money! Oh man we have really
missed the chaotic and noisy traffic, it felt like home to us and we seriously
enjoyed coming back to the Indonesian vibe and the tropics. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Kuta beach isn’t
exotic at all, but it was a good meeting point for us, and at the same time
it’s something that we wanted Iben to experience. On Sayang Mahe Mertha Hotel
we meet Iben, who already had hooked up with a native over a pool game. It was
awesome to see a familiar face again. We had booked the first three nights
together in a shared room that included breakfast. We had all travelled a long
distance and were a bit exhausted, but we ventured out in the buzzing area to
celebrate our reunion with Bintang beers. There was a lot of catching up to do,
but we were in no rush... We took one thing at a time! The beers only made us
more sleepy, so eventually we decided to explore the following day, after a
good nights sleep.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDv0CLeVUtPC5-oB8u1RUa69mgL-fAP4TSe3vqQWTuKs00xborFCKdqpex-uf3_o1iHb6Sr2RPjUiDV_Om12tw68JqpHGQi43GcNbbXBQX6TnbEGaY5oVia9AiQ_ZAgv610265KzUY9Y/s1600/IMG_7425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDv0CLeVUtPC5-oB8u1RUa69mgL-fAP4TSe3vqQWTuKs00xborFCKdqpex-uf3_o1iHb6Sr2RPjUiDV_Om12tw68JqpHGQi43GcNbbXBQX6TnbEGaY5oVia9AiQ_ZAgv610265KzUY9Y/s1600/IMG_7425.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An old friend</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Thursday 5<sup>th</sup> February</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Breakfast included toast,
jam, tea and coffee. None of those things can keep us full for very long, but
it was still better than nothing. We decided to see the beach, as Iben was very
excited for this part of the day. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She was totally overwhelmed by happiness when
she tucked her feet in the sand and walked towards the sea. It’s exactly that
feeling that we miss having... For us it was just a beach. All though I think,
by her being around, we both we feel more pumped with positive energy, plus
that we are back in Asia which we had missed for quite a while. Her happiness
also made us realize how lucky we actually are, imagine taking such a nice
beach for granted, that’s a good, but spoiled life to live. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After a few hours
on the beach Iben had conquered the mandatory I’m-on-holiday-sunburn, so we had
a stroll up to the streets of Kuta. All the identical looking shops can be a
bit confusing from time to time, but slowly we got a good feeling of it. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In the
afternoon we were in for a treat.. Massage, pedicure and manicure for the
girls, and a facial treatment and a massage for Erik, it came to 360.000
rupiah. To get the rate to Danish Kroner we remove the last 3 zero’s and divide
the rest by 2. Erik’s therapist was walking around on his back, and when Iben realized
it, she yelled out to her therapist “No walking”. It made us laugh hard. By the
end of the treatments it was already starting to get dark outside and it was
only 6pm. The day seemed so short for us. We are use to longer days from NZ.
Iben seemed really surprised too. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We felt like a bit more celebration would be
the only right thing to do, so after a shower back at the hotel, we went on a
small pub crawl and Iben got to feel the Kuta vibe. Kuta is a big party place
for young people, particularly Ozzie’s, but frankly we felt too old for the
young crowd. We had a good time but none of us were in the mood for getting
teenage crazy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORElTDH8f22xbSAQBQsLmGaSbUqO99SHXaGCM5pZhQ90OxEO71te6-0Gx6Jakq7GJZ8uteBw3w_8r70mSFx1qyrNTfsgLd1-VLBjMEmpIbdFRIptJtGeY8J6_QhG-qM3n5sPn-_iMDR0/s1600/IMG_7488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORElTDH8f22xbSAQBQsLmGaSbUqO99SHXaGCM5pZhQ90OxEO71te6-0Gx6Jakq7GJZ8uteBw3w_8r70mSFx1qyrNTfsgLd1-VLBjMEmpIbdFRIptJtGeY8J6_QhG-qM3n5sPn-_iMDR0/s1600/IMG_7488.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kuta beach<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVvXcP-g-1TH8JYa0OD4LNSBp_jrkYEID1C0vhC9nL9t0dd1NwREgsvlAi58tuAdGPlHTVPtT5jhOaa32JywpMh3gMTeWTRgoRHMwsLhugBiQ68cPFpsQBwTvqYOY15lvcYt5JlGeorY/s1600/LTA_1213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVvXcP-g-1TH8JYa0OD4LNSBp_jrkYEID1C0vhC9nL9t0dd1NwREgsvlAi58tuAdGPlHTVPtT5jhOaa32JywpMh3gMTeWTRgoRHMwsLhugBiQ68cPFpsQBwTvqYOY15lvcYt5JlGeorY/s1600/LTA_1213.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwPcgOOscZFcdw6UXutHK9QUhHtmIcXwUo_h353iHU7qrQvSjV3rMjQjdATtYl6l8LDBHcwzmG9IW2gNaRxYyQCgF0ZH1sgJFj-kwoarsf5jxh80gl277GwLXIn_8vF6u8bLl2BwFTIMQ/s1600/GOPR1750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwPcgOOscZFcdw6UXutHK9QUhHtmIcXwUo_h353iHU7qrQvSjV3rMjQjdATtYl6l8LDBHcwzmG9IW2gNaRxYyQCgF0ZH1sgJFj-kwoarsf5jxh80gl277GwLXIn_8vF6u8bLl2BwFTIMQ/s1600/GOPR1750.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luxurious pedicure</td></tr>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Friday 6<sup>th</sup>
February</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">
</span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We figured that ordering
some eggs, on top of breakfast would do a better job than just the toast and
jam. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We planned to see a fair part of the trading streets, and we had only just
got out of the shower before our clothes was soaked in sweat. That’s usually
how it is here. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We bargained our way through the day, and not every bargain
ended happily for both parts. It’s low season at this time of year, so the
shopkeepers are really hungry after money, which made it ideal for us to buy
some new stuff. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In the afternoon when we arrived tired and exhausted in the
hotel I decided to go for a jog, even though the weather conditions made it
feel like suicide, I managed to run 3km. People were looking at me like I was
crazy, and no wonder. Meanwhile Iben and Erik relaxed at the pool, which was a
way better option. I felt awesome afterwards though. ...... Our dinner destination,
was a burgerbar just around the corner. We all got some very good burgers, for
around 60000 IDR. each (30 Dkr.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Saturday 7<sup>th</sup>
February</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We all got up for a morning
jog along the beach... It was so quiet and peaceful, there was barely no one on
the streets... Only a few resort guards and some barking dogs welcomed us to a
new day in paradise. It was amazing to see the sun colouring the sky in rainbow
colours as we returned to the hotel. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We had arranged to travel to Nusa
Lembongan Island, by bus and boat. We knew exactly what to expect from the
timetables they had showed us, we clearly remember how delayed most travels in
Indonesia are. We prepared Iben for it, but to our big surprise the pick up bus
arrived on time, okay then it took the driver quite a while and a good amount
of patience to drive around and pick the rest up in the small streets, where
there’s only room for one car at a time and thousands of impatience motorbike
drivers, driving in between each others and the cars. Eventually we got out of
the busy area, and were on our way to Sanur. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In Sanur we had an hour waiting time.
I went to the toilet, which was a standard one (for me) with bucket flush and
zero toilet paper. Afterwards Iben asked me “how’s the toilet?”. I replied
“it’s all right”, even though I knew she wouldn’t consider it as all right..
But I thought she might as well get use to it! To begin with she didn’t mention
the standard to me, but when I asked, she ironically said, that she liked my
standards. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">After our waiting time we grabbed our bags and carried them to the
beach where the boat was waiting for us. At this time we had to sign some
papers before “boarding”, and we couldn’t help asking ourselves why they didn’t
make us do this in the waiting time we had... But we already knew the answer...
Coz’ they need to occupy as many people as possible! I find their way of
thinking fascinating and really dumb. I mean it’s awesome that they can work
like that, imagine how long a working day will feel like if you only work 1
hour out of the 8 you’re away from home. The rest of the hours you sleep in the
shadow of a tree, chat to friends, play chess or just simply hang around with
your mobile in your hand. And yet they are really happy people, even though
they only earn a tiny amount of money each day. Money really doesn’t make you
happier, I think the less you own the happier you are.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway the boat trip to Nusa Lembongan went smooth. On
the island a few touts offered us accommodation and we agreed to have a look on
one of the places, but we quickly regretted it because the guy kept following
us. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">First we went to the Dive Concepts dive shop and signed Iben up for her
open water certificate, meanwhile the guy was waiting for us to see his rooms.
We left our big backpack at the shop to have a look around on the options we
had. After we had seen his rooms we continued on to Jungutbatur beach... With
this guy right in our heals. We tried to get rid of him, but nothing worked...
He could sense that we were getting annoyed by him, so he kept a longer and
longer distance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;">Eventually we found a great hotel called Ketut Losmen Resort.
It was fronting the lovely beach with a infinity pool, sunbeds and a view over
Mount. Agung on Bali... It was a real paradise and we bargained it to 200.000
rupiah (100kr) per night. The rest of the day we spend in the pool area with
cold Bintang’s and a beautiful sunset. We chatted to some of all the other
Danes from the hotel. Never on our trip, have we met some many Danes gathered
together in the same place.</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEVgVA1g4k-3dLAC1xK7A5J19DK9UG09O0kD0o4s6SzygcqeRV9xc-NuPuqni8FZB1ExbRRMFk8xRYo5ftSUKt2dtcNRTCt7cYeuBXduhRIReIjFL8vl8b18z8SxabwH4I41IBVSLROA/s1600/vlcsnap-2015-02-14-09h28m10s188.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEVgVA1g4k-3dLAC1xK7A5J19DK9UG09O0kD0o4s6SzygcqeRV9xc-NuPuqni8FZB1ExbRRMFk8xRYo5ftSUKt2dtcNRTCt7cYeuBXduhRIReIjFL8vl8b18z8SxabwH4I41IBVSLROA/s1600/vlcsnap-2015-02-14-09h28m10s188.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This lady tried to teach her dog to be comfortable on a board, as she wanted to take in on a tour on her paddle board.</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09828578618884464538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-61909119057595898812015-02-04T03:39:00.001+01:002015-02-04T03:39:46.424+01:00Visiting seal colony's & roadtripping back to Auckland <div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b>Friday 23<sup>nd</sup> January</b></span></div>
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<span lang="DA">As most days we slept in and didn’t leave the
hostel before noon. We then visited the Bluff in the very south before we
continued our journey on the southern scenic highway. We drove towards Catlins
coastal native forests, high cliffs and golden beaches. Catlins coast is off
the beaten track but home to an incredible marine life; fur seals (often
mistakenly called sea lions) and penguins are regular beach visitors, while the
more rare Hector dolphins can be spotted in the shallow waters. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">At Waipapa
Point we experienced fur seals up close as they were sleeping on the beach. One
of them felt harassed by a younger tourist, and chased him away by getting up
and snapping at him.. He was obviously getting too close to the tired fur seal,
who was taking a nab after fish hunting. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">We visited Curio Bay afterwards, but
didn’t spot any marine life there. We didn’t want to stress through the area,
so we found our camp spot near Papatowai and close to other attractions that we
would explore the following day. We happened to meet a Danish couple in the
early 60’s, and started chatting with them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">They were just about to eat a
Danish traditional dinner (hakker bøffer med bløde løg og kartofler) but had
too much food, so to our big luck they invited us to join the. We were thrilled
and honoured to get such a great offer, and off cause we joined them. It was a
moment of weakness and discipline when we were offered red wine... And I am
happy to announce that Erik succumbed under the pressure while I’m still going
strong on my one month without alcohol. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGXufSNMHUDa5na5O77q4K9SYhCMuf5pTRyuTUz8P_mPP4XVqQ1BXa4Ci7olbOQ3o8jY2ESneoBglbliFvG3fIzxllu1xss-VD9Hn8SV99rECXWYIcLln-BOWxG-fV9VAaB5SM7dy0DDBG/s1600/LTA_0804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGXufSNMHUDa5na5O77q4K9SYhCMuf5pTRyuTUz8P_mPP4XVqQ1BXa4Ci7olbOQ3o8jY2ESneoBglbliFvG3fIzxllu1xss-VD9Hn8SV99rECXWYIcLln-BOWxG-fV9VAaB5SM7dy0DDBG/s1600/LTA_0804.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFT0jpN7iPoSR_Js06bzCirQSr7u1wcEPKyCKhNKq18FkHBsp8hFHIVOz2mZA8Mp5EGwSjfTXxqAxtLXagIfE3spew1JD4NL26Bi6mOwPBxRmgF2MpDyND1g0IFGlXpahYJruxCVkLGrWt/s1600/LTA_0814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFT0jpN7iPoSR_Js06bzCirQSr7u1wcEPKyCKhNKq18FkHBsp8hFHIVOz2mZA8Mp5EGwSjfTXxqAxtLXagIfE3spew1JD4NL26Bi6mOwPBxRmgF2MpDyND1g0IFGlXpahYJruxCVkLGrWt/s1600/LTA_0814.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some serious seaweed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9CV-pc_pmqG6nU6b5gt-_lxWh-y-y73o8y7z6Sx7PqPERm2BDn5w2OsSFIbua20TUa3v9J7F-4gY6wUtgfJsK5Sgr1OrOzJ4Hy9nfIq3B-rHaZoDm3GCx9MAIKOnzGOWD_YyUSr0b9LWz/s1600/LTA_0843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9CV-pc_pmqG6nU6b5gt-_lxWh-y-y73o8y7z6Sx7PqPERm2BDn5w2OsSFIbua20TUa3v9J7F-4gY6wUtgfJsK5Sgr1OrOzJ4Hy9nfIq3B-rHaZoDm3GCx9MAIKOnzGOWD_YyUSr0b9LWz/s1600/LTA_0843.JPG" height="398" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's more than 20 sheeps to 1 human on the south island<br />
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Saturday 24<sup>th</sup> January</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">We are actually quite comfortable in our tent
and we sleep in most of the days. It seems like we are the last ones out of
bed/tent each day wherever we camp, and since we aren’t in a hurry it doesn’t
matter to us. We started driving on a dirt road to Purakaunui falls, which is
amongst one of the most photographed waterfalls in New Zealand, and found on
various postcards, calendars and book covers. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">A short walk from Surat Bay, we
visited Jack’s Blowhole, a hole on 55m located 200m from the sea, it was formed
when a large section of a subterranean caves, gave after and fell down to the
sea. It was hard to see down in the big dark hole, and we had expected the
blowhole to be pushing the water up like a fountain, so we left a bit
disappointed by the big black hole. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Next stop was at Nugget Point, there we
expected to see all the aforementioned marine life, our only problem was that
we didn’t have binoculars and from the viewing platform behind the lighthouse,
they were quite difficult to see without a set of binoculars. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Back on the road
Erik got hungry and for once I let him go to the a supermarket by himself, as I
was sooo tired I couldn’t get out of the car. Erik came back with two Magnum
ice creams, again he had failed our mission (eating healthy). But I couldn’t
say no to that, so as two happy children we sat in the car and consumed our ice
creams faster than ever. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">In Dunedin we only spend a short period of time, by
using free wifi outside the library. We took the windy and long road out to the
tip of Otago Peninsula. The coastline is home to a colony of the world’s rarest
penguins (the yellow-eyed penguin), a breeding colony for Albatross and
frequently visited by New Zealand’s fur seals. We saw loads of seals and they
were definitely use to humans walking around them and taking pictures. There
was a restricted area to them as well, so if they didn’t want us to approach
them they were free to swim away, but most of them didn’t seem to care about our
presence. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">We saw albatross far away in the restricted area, but sadly no
penguins was in the mood to greet us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We drove straight to a camp ground north
of Dunedin where we had a wrap before going to bed. Wraps is the new black for
us!</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <span style="text-align: left;">Purakaunui falls</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Nugget Point</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyR5A2JsgJ38r05TwRVTh37YLZhzF0iv0doQfvQ-RbzqOQoHcWgiuHaa-iE4vEZg6H8PLiglqTL2TTO96j-ys6uMfqzQltf8CIJmenktQ-NubKn-0RThyphenhyphenWbAxN7wosibZsI6q6MWOZYrq/s1600/LTA_0915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyR5A2JsgJ38r05TwRVTh37YLZhzF0iv0doQfvQ-RbzqOQoHcWgiuHaa-iE4vEZg6H8PLiglqTL2TTO96j-ys6uMfqzQltf8CIJmenktQ-NubKn-0RThyphenhyphenWbAxN7wosibZsI6q6MWOZYrq/s1600/LTA_0915.JPG" height="392" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
New buddies</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday 25<sup>th</sup> January</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Lake Tekapo was today’s destination. So we
took a turn away from the coast and into the land again. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">On the way we passed
by a salmon farm and hand fed the huge salmons in the pond, then we decided to
buy half a salmon in the shop, to treat our taste buds for dinner later. Nearby
we stopped at Lake Ruataniwha, a stunning crystal clear blue lake, the water
was very inviting so we dipped our over-heated bodies in it. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">When we later
reached Lake Tekapo we knew that we could camp at at YHA hostel. YHA are the most
luxurious hostels you can find and their facilities are always better than
anywhere else. We paid $40 (200kr) for pitching our tent in the front yard with
great views over the lake. A bit overpriced, but it was actually one of the
only options we had. The other hostels we rang, were fully booked the next few
days. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">We checked out the little township, before we buried ourselves in our
laptops in the hostels lounge room, that to our luck, overlooked the nice lake.
We convinced ourselves that it was all right not to see and explore things in
Lake Tekapo, we felt a bit fed up with adventures, and just needed to unplug
ourselves and recharge for a few days. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">While the sun coloured the sky in pink
and purple rainbow colours, Erik went for a challenging run up a mountain, he
got lost and had been running on very steep parts without other than the
sheep’s paths to follow. In the end he was back on track, and it had almost
become dark before he returned to the hostel, exhausted and wet of sweat. Just
before midnight I treated us with an oven-baked salmon in vegetables and pasta,
the latest and greatest dinner in history. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Lake Ruataniwha</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Lake Pukaki</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisqqmxds_MKDeX91sLUhJm74c-Pk8MM5AejtNebYTovJCZ6mQA2x415ZYrer7iChhRbVumG2GSAtHnXlq4neXhES3SOqmFSgU6BEL6GRwzdue5uNYoG463_UA4QRRFje7Mmj_YPEeisf4/s1600/LTA_1065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisqqmxds_MKDeX91sLUhJm74c-Pk8MM5AejtNebYTovJCZ6mQA2x415ZYrer7iChhRbVumG2GSAtHnXlq4neXhES3SOqmFSgU6BEL6GRwzdue5uNYoG463_UA4QRRFje7Mmj_YPEeisf4/s1600/LTA_1065.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ridiculously expensive food.. 37,45kr per kg</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJ5_StLOIPvg74C4oQS7cUNd2_nGJR-EoTvv7j5KGRYyIAlw3raQKbQFSm-RnJNM8e0L7A6UZTeu-IbZ-UvDw96OE477p5WQzP2ih9NnND-Q0MUX7MtdQZRzIbUiJhVNp4m2z7TmRtDU/s1600/LTA_1066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJ5_StLOIPvg74C4oQS7cUNd2_nGJR-EoTvv7j5KGRYyIAlw3raQKbQFSm-RnJNM8e0L7A6UZTeu-IbZ-UvDw96OE477p5WQzP2ih9NnND-Q0MUX7MtdQZRzIbUiJhVNp4m2z7TmRtDU/s1600/LTA_1066.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="DA" style="font-size: x-small;">39,45 kr. for a pack with 10 plums</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b>Monday 26<sup>th</sup> January </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span lang="DA">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">After I also got lost while running, we named
Tekapo the place of confusion. It shouldn’t be possible to get lost in that
little town but yet, we both manage to do so within 24 hours. We were really
taking advantage over the free wifi this day, and we got a lot of work done -
actually we didn’t do anything else than working and catching up this day. The
blog can really be a time killer when we get too far behind, and it bugs us so
much that we just need to get it over with and out of our heads. </span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBXj0dM_arU-b-C-O1eyYZ2xbPzRX4JpoThniaATUKS8qbOtILCPnSJ20svINOcNVjYRkCJTe_nZe-mSdjcc0BOYb0gP4cNdh9vTHzvoRJtQPYIkp4dY5_sPF0NAkcGDyi4lbkGU1cAE/s1600/IMG_3181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBXj0dM_arU-b-C-O1eyYZ2xbPzRX4JpoThniaATUKS8qbOtILCPnSJ20svINOcNVjYRkCJTe_nZe-mSdjcc0BOYb0gP4cNdh9vTHzvoRJtQPYIkp4dY5_sPF0NAkcGDyi4lbkGU1cAE/s1600/IMG_3181.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDXRV0vOYfXYBSdwZpATnsKlrEzMs4iF2_N8_YH7ixYIDhdNjApRt1UfCTk1o2biL4RO4VsqfXZxU-h5gURYksQ7brmHRj02ohoQ2mwn7aDkbVpqxjNmyJJuW7maMT6BjqXYq25jd59o/s1600/LTA_1080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDXRV0vOYfXYBSdwZpATnsKlrEzMs4iF2_N8_YH7ixYIDhdNjApRt1UfCTk1o2biL4RO4VsqfXZxU-h5gURYksQ7brmHRj02ohoQ2mwn7aDkbVpqxjNmyJJuW7maMT6BjqXYq25jd59o/s1600/LTA_1080.JPG" height="208" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lake Tekapo</span></div>
<span lang="DA"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b>Tuesday 27<sup>th</sup> January </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span lang="DA">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">After another pleasant night in our tent we
left Lake Tekapo. The weather became more and more unstable, the closer we got
to Christchurch, but we were spared for the rain. </span>We didn’t expect a lot
from Christchurch, but decided to stop by and have a look around the earthquake
damaged town. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After spending a good amount of time navigating through the
countless one-way streets and roadworks, we finally found a car park. We walked
around town for a couple of hours, and were surprised that the town was still
looking like the 2011 earthquake hit yesterday - it seemed like all the
rebuilding of the damaged buildings had stopped totally, so the overall feeling
wasn’t good at all, it felt like walking around in a big construction site. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The
only two good things about our visit, was that the I-sit booked a hostel for us
in Kaikoura for Wednesday and Thursday. The other was our stop in a very
special shopping street, where all the stores were build out of old, but
colourful, shipping containers - here we got one of the best burgers we’ve had
in a long time... It’s definitely not hard to get a burger in NZ (or
Australia), you can get that everywhere, but getting a good burger, is a whole
other story! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We camped north of Kaikoura (Puhi Puhi Reserve) and by coincidence
we camped close the Danish couple from the other night, so we catch up with
them before going to bed.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-WUsAjvawkAU7jCf3i4JB0ztmOoQzM2hmoxeAfNcz8RJlW1yrwhqomNFZbYMoXm2TkjpU5GZNTkEcH101eNedSHvSi9rggHOH71PceTU2nq1vY6sphO5fTQ2Vx9qpvP3-Q5gbk0xTcA/s1600/LTA_1097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-WUsAjvawkAU7jCf3i4JB0ztmOoQzM2hmoxeAfNcz8RJlW1yrwhqomNFZbYMoXm2TkjpU5GZNTkEcH101eNedSHvSi9rggHOH71PceTU2nq1vY6sphO5fTQ2Vx9qpvP3-Q5gbk0xTcA/s1600/LTA_1097.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
At <span style="font-size: x-small;">Chrischurch's eartquake safe mall... BNZ Bank</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3LEdveEgFPBFn-jTYRhI3e3BTAFFKfBYNaLZRZaGhvMMWtMIVVt9RTaf56rNP_lTYvcWsMBPx94tRR34wORK2jRordTLAe7eOSmKJCWO5kIEb7VlClfKBEl_wx5qkLPPvJhBw7FZdq3M/s1600/LTA_1098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3LEdveEgFPBFn-jTYRhI3e3BTAFFKfBYNaLZRZaGhvMMWtMIVVt9RTaf56rNP_lTYvcWsMBPx94tRR34wORK2jRordTLAe7eOSmKJCWO5kIEb7VlClfKBEl_wx5qkLPPvJhBw7FZdq3M/s1600/LTA_1098.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCP46lfExxpV-OzQWETAjUb12QB-OzVu-in2GEU87H5fvBOxTEbO5Zj_A1wcPq_5oOe1hwGhcBPnM-XbrHb4PIaPHP-hTs5H6eprSPWFNYYG9YtkZr_vsuOORDqvHKP4NXE_MKkjO6Kps/s1600/LTA_1104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCP46lfExxpV-OzQWETAjUb12QB-OzVu-in2GEU87H5fvBOxTEbO5Zj_A1wcPq_5oOe1hwGhcBPnM-XbrHb4PIaPHP-hTs5H6eprSPWFNYYG9YtkZr_vsuOORDqvHKP4NXE_MKkjO6Kps/s1600/LTA_1104.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
C<span style="font-size: x-small;">hurch in the city centre, destoyed by the eartquake</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRF6n9nADqCg_i2u-fifniYkA16VSKMhhP2l2yG1zIVEFOW0DbHfle5geGrrf9uAgDPKZri-3unViJ0_MZMyy7AdV8awEBJqmjW_4mIj-ZKmdVxsWoJ-xKg9Aw1c9Fp0MYkXa2OrayNXk/s1600/LTA_1107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRF6n9nADqCg_i2u-fifniYkA16VSKMhhP2l2yG1zIVEFOW0DbHfle5geGrrf9uAgDPKZri-3unViJ0_MZMyy7AdV8awEBJqmjW_4mIj-ZKmdVxsWoJ-xKg9Aw1c9Fp0MYkXa2OrayNXk/s1600/LTA_1107.JPG" height="408" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Tourist tram </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMeZCB-lkaIoENrPCTsLSYIbBsIAaNtyGC6SQKJiDeBU99dbrgvnnqbPavKlIVuIL25DxmpRcymt3KLORZUU1VWwxEIwf7Tyxxw8aOmfTHjEhOS8oVkmUNTVqIlxtBmwHygJ7p1goTlE/s1600/LTA_1109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMeZCB-lkaIoENrPCTsLSYIbBsIAaNtyGC6SQKJiDeBU99dbrgvnnqbPavKlIVuIL25DxmpRcymt3KLORZUU1VWwxEIwf7Tyxxw8aOmfTHjEhOS8oVkmUNTVqIlxtBmwHygJ7p1goTlE/s1600/LTA_1109.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">We were suppose to camp in the forest, but jumped straight to plan B after seeing this.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b>Wednesday 28<sup>th</sup> January</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">While Erik started the day with a 12 km. jog,
I came to the conclusion that Australia had made a bigger impression on me than
this green lush country. NZ has a little bit of everything, golden sand
beaches, volcanoes, mountains, hot summer, cold winters. But it doesn’t beat
the feeling of being in the isolated, empty, hot and death inviting outback. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">Here we have spend a lot of time driving towards something, that according to
the brochures should be special, but frankly half of the places isn’t worth spending
time on... But because we have a car we have felt guilty for not driving
towards an so-called attraction, and half of the times it hasn’t been worth
driving for. There’s so many walks here and they make every single walk sound
so fantastic in the brochures but when you get out there, it’s nothing
magnificent. We have done a few really great walks, but a lot of the walks
around is blown up to be more special than they are. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">We often talk about how
lucky we are to be able to travel for this long, but it’s not just a bed of red
roses... Our biggest issue is that we don’t really appreciate our way of living
any longer, it has become a daily routine to travel and see new stuff each day.
Tourists are getting more value for their money than we are, and when they get
home they have time to process all the impressions and experiences. I don’t
even think we process our adventures any more, we just see, experience and take
pictures, and let it all accumulates somewhere. It feels like we have hit a wall,
tired of travelling... But we are both sure that when we get rid of the car in
Auckland, we will get new energy again. We argue a lot more when we have a car,
and off course that’s got some influence on the energy too. But just to be
clear, we are not ready to return home either. That would just be
a even bigger wall to hit. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">Well, in Kaikoura we shared room with four lazy and
messy Swedish girls, their stuff was spread all over the room. We couldn’t even
see which beds that wasn’t occupied. Surprisingly they had travelled for a
while as well, but still didn’t manage to hide their valuables, which we found
very naive and stupid of them. The day went by with a stroll in town and our
heads buried in our laptops.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozUQZ6NunJfcv14fVTdXVwAVuw1_CwYTne1icCkk3arDyDavMDoLzyyNYYxxh0apcpES9wSvhM2c9bLwhz_J-uzjZw9NSmI8vuicNyvyJLJ_H1VBBxcYWv_60YCUqlB2DFiS3tyaN1KU/s1600/IMG_2692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozUQZ6NunJfcv14fVTdXVwAVuw1_CwYTne1icCkk3arDyDavMDoLzyyNYYxxh0apcpES9wSvhM2c9bLwhz_J-uzjZw9NSmI8vuicNyvyJLJ_H1VBBxcYWv_60YCUqlB2DFiS3tyaN1KU/s1600/IMG_2692.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More expensive food... 50kr for just 800g.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM09jj-FlyO2bWeYLRnqjyNzl5ViAMI9l02Z7_jXLo9zylUYMwXJn3ILHMY5bngrHl3DO1IHWZ1z1eRRDL95Rf94HA4yJZ6FOaaO5zJ4flBUoljMbKH2FhGNfQwzEFI0BcflEm3vYYoqc/s1600/IMG_2700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM09jj-FlyO2bWeYLRnqjyNzl5ViAMI9l02Z7_jXLo9zylUYMwXJn3ILHMY5bngrHl3DO1IHWZ1z1eRRDL95Rf94HA4yJZ6FOaaO5zJ4flBUoljMbKH2FhGNfQwzEFI0BcflEm3vYYoqc/s1600/IMG_2700.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lime prices are freaking crazy.. 200kr per kg.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b>Thursday 29<sup>th</sup> January </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">Kaikoura is known for world class whale
watching, plus swimming with seals and dolphins. We had a look on prices, and
in our stage of mind we were afraid to get disappointed for the high price we
would have to pay. We were more than happy with our whale watching tour in OZ,
and we know ourselves good enough to say that we would compare the two tours,
and then there would be a slightly possibility for disappointment, as we were
really lucky back then. So we decided to save the money! Instead we used our
valuable time on a spin to the seal colony, just 5km out of town. That was the
most active we were all day. We were watching a guy in his early 20’s, who
aimed to pet one of the fur seals while it was resting on the rocks. We both wished
that the seal would bite him, as you are obviously not suppose to harass them
in their environment. Luckily the seal ‘walked’ away before the guy had
collected enough courage to pet it. Stupid people!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJCxKNVoobHUo0p5KsmbCphAcE3eEJ9933ItxjCPLLQG4YfkZwBCW-ha6Ky9XtZHU8-d9H7WQGXpOEWlFFgX6fjA1F7iBmtFcnWxfK4oUANk_XE1S6tL7iqiyIEBceXTpE78NMsv10uCU/s1600/LTA_0932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJCxKNVoobHUo0p5KsmbCphAcE3eEJ9933ItxjCPLLQG4YfkZwBCW-ha6Ky9XtZHU8-d9H7WQGXpOEWlFFgX6fjA1F7iBmtFcnWxfK4oUANk_XE1S6tL7iqiyIEBceXTpE78NMsv10uCU/s1600/LTA_0932.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9dRhj-ksxNCD9ERGxxCWgZztjh3lcYczBpMMjzWxJ5jommKIMxxjV2YXc97y8oXZy27qEcNGJOFFqYntyfGKMpT9Z7npSmWQnQpsDStvRi0JFqdDg8IbPOWQk39SYe5UeBWRUScBXgHk/s1600/LTA_1130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9dRhj-ksxNCD9ERGxxCWgZztjh3lcYczBpMMjzWxJ5jommKIMxxjV2YXc97y8oXZy27qEcNGJOFFqYntyfGKMpT9Z7npSmWQnQpsDStvRi0JFqdDg8IbPOWQk39SYe5UeBWRUScBXgHk/s1600/LTA_1130.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had to be careful not to step on one of the many seals.. There's six on this picture!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Friday 30<sup>th</sup> January</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">We were happy that we had decided to get up
early for a 11km. morning jog, as the Swedish girls were checking out at 10am
as well, but apparently hadn’t used forward thinking the night before, so they hadn’t
packed a single thing of their stuff, which resulted in them getting up really
early and starting to mess around. Luckily for them we were getting up anyway! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">It was a weird day because after we checked out we had no plans for the day, we
were basically just waiting for the ferry the next morning. We drove up to
Picton and pitched our tent on a DOC camp, then drove back to Picton to sneak into
a hostel and heat up our leftovers from last nights dinner. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">The day seemed
ridiculous long. And the upcoming days would be much alike this, as we didn’t
have a lot of plans, apart from driving back to Auckland of course. We were
actually just waiting for Wednesday to arrive, so we could leave this expensive
country and get back to Asia where we would get more value of our money. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="DA"><b>Last NZ video</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/m9v0XqlaADY/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/m9v0XqlaADY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="DA"><br /></span></div>
<span lang="DA"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b>Saturday 31<sup>st</sup> January</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">We crossed the Cook Strait to the north island
and again we were lucky to hit the sea on a calm day. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">In Wellington we had
arranged to meet up for lunch with Tom (Sam’s brother) and his boyfriend Adam
(who we spend christmas with). They are such a delightful and easy going
couple. We had our first beer in 30 days during lunch, and I was disappointed
not to feel tipsy after 500ml. of beer. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">Anyway it was awesome seeing and
catching up with them. As we told them we were heading north, Tom suggested us
to go and see his mom in Levin, he ensured us she would love seeing and hosting
us again, so when we left Wellington in the afternoon we drove straight up to
Vivienne and Simon. The three adopted children that we didn’t meet last time
was home this time. The youngest just turned 1, then there’s Brax nearly 3 and
Georgia on 5. All lovely kids! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">Before we realized what was going on, Viv had
made us dinner, which we didn’t expect at all. That women is simply amazing, I
would kill to get half of her energy, hospitality and her big hearted
personality. Soon Simon came home with the two older children, and a box of
beers. We were on it again! The night was spend in their lovely company. It's a shame that we didn't take any pictures while we were there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUlm9k0-QRkaxCx1B-x1zHOiOm7QaT3WmaAXJQ5taAdBofgwUefipTY3PfOy3uwFOj4cOlO_SlPTcyi0K0-gibwIL1nGgf6wa91PADyLTS5K6Cb95Pd7hxMxzt19sJol5lId-VOxmIE8/s1600/IMG_2706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUlm9k0-QRkaxCx1B-x1zHOiOm7QaT3WmaAXJQ5taAdBofgwUefipTY3PfOy3uwFOj4cOlO_SlPTcyi0K0-gibwIL1nGgf6wa91PADyLTS5K6Cb95Pd7hxMxzt19sJol5lId-VOxmIE8/s1600/IMG_2706.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boss, Tom, Adam and the slave...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday 1<sup>st</sup> February</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Not only have Iben recently announced that she
is coming down to see and travel with us, but this morning while skyping with
Jette, she announced her intentions about visiting us as well. All of a sudden
it felt overwhelming with all our future visitors. Jette is planning to meet us
in Thailand in beginning of March, and as I may have mentioned before Iben is
meeting up with us on Wednesday on Bali, Indonesia. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We have been looking
forward to her visit for a while now, and the excitement is only getting bigger
as the days goes by. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Time was flying in the morning and it was noon before we
went to see Viv & Co. While I played cards with Viv and the kids, Erik
fixed two attachment straps to my camera caps, and something with the car, then
we waved goodbye to our second family, and drove north in the pouring rain. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">We
planned to see the west coast on our way to Auckland, the west is a mecca for
surfers, which has given the highway its name ( The Surf Highway), but frankly
we didn’t even bother driving to the beaches to check what was happening, as
the rain literally poured down most of the day. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">At our destination point New
Plymouth, the lady at the I-site rang the hostels and checked availability,
facilities, wifi etc. for us. Our pick was Duck & Drakes hotel, a
surprisingly charming, clean and well decorated hotel/hostel. We got our own
room for $64 (320kr), but only because the owner was in a good mood, usually it
would be more expensive. The day went by indoor as the weather didn’t allow us
to do any outdoor activities, unless we wanted to get soaked. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday 2<sup>nd</sup> February </b></span> </span><br />
<span lang="DA"><br /></span>
<span lang="DA"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Weather hadn’t improved over night, so after
giving some advices to a sweet german couple on the hostel, we started our
drive towards Auckland. The rain was poring down, making it very dangerous to
drive more then 40-50 km/h. We went out and had a look at a very small but
popular surf town called Raglan, here we got to see the sun again, and we had
our dinner wraps before leaving again for the last leg of our NZ roadtrip. We
arrived at Lisa & Sam’s around 8.30pm, and while I carried all our stuff
inside, Erik went to buy a box of beers. We had a couple of beers while
catching up with L & S.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday 3<sup>rd</sup> February</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">During the day we arranged all of our stuff,
threw a lot of it out, both had a warm and exhausting run along the bays, and
we prepared us for backpacking in Asia again. We had invited Sam & Lisa out
for dinner in the sky tower at night, which turns 360 degrees every hour, so we
had a stunning panoramic look over the city. The food were amazing and so was
the sunset. It was a perfect ending of our journey in New Zealand. Back in
Mission Bay we finished off with a few more beers before we hit the bed around
1am.</span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">The boys are punishing the arcade machine</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Wednesday 4<sup>th</sup> February</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Our alarm woke us up a at 4.45am, we had
arranged a cab to the airport by 5.15am. We were tired, but at the same time
deadly excited to leave and meet up with a familiar face on Bali. All though
there were quite a good amount of turbulence we made it safe to Sydney.. I feel
like I have a big hole in my stomach whenever we fly in turbulence, I really
hate it. In Sydney we had 6½ hour layover before our flight to Bali would
departure. </span></span></div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">So long New Zealand.....</span></div>
<span lang="DA"><br /></span>
<span lang="DA"><br /></span>
<span lang="DA"><br /></span></div>
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Erik Krafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10520862374999442880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-21064524368682756422015-01-26T12:13:00.001+01:002015-01-26T12:13:05.507+01:00New Zealand - Queenstown & Fiordland National Park, <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Friday 16<sup>th</sup> January</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">We packed our tent together and was hoping to
find a hostel bed for the following few days, as the weather forecast predicted
a good amount of rain. Surprisingly the rain hadn’t arrived yet, all though it
could come quickly with that strong wind speed at the beginning of the day. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">Our
plans about a night in a hostel got ruined as they were all fully booked, it
was impossible to get a room for the night. Year around the town is busy, so we
had no luck in finding a room with such short notice, or at least not for our
budget. We hoped for the best as we planned to take another night in our tent. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">Queenstown is the adventure capital of the world and the country biggest
tourist draw. It’s considered one of the top scenic adventure venues in the world.
It simply (almost) have everything to offer, there’s over 150 activities to do.
Everything from a calm steamboat cruise, kayaking and golfing to the
heart-stopping bungy jumps, skydiving, river rafting, the worlds highest canyon
swing, bodyboard river rafting, mountain biking (in summer), snowboarding (in
winter), you name it, they have it. It’s just a matter of money and how much
your wallet will co-operate. </span>With all these crazy activities there is some kind
of magic attached to the town - that’s what we thought anyway. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First things
first, we wanted to see the town and book our bungy jump for the next day,
maybe do a walk or two in the area to get some nice views over the scenic
landscape. We visited the Bungy Shop, and after watching a few videos from all
the different jumps and swings, I thought to myself that it was gonna be easy
and it was nothing compared to jumping out of a plane in 4,5km altitude. The
bungy is NZ’s highest drop and the 8,5 seconds free fall apparently gives you a
ground rush like no other (up to 150 km/h). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before we got to NZ we didn’t plan
to do a bungy jump, as we’re both terrified of heights, and it’s never been on
our bucket list... Until about 2 weeks ago, when we spend time with Lisa, Sam
and all their friends. Then I realized that we had to do it, you just can’t
visit NZ or Queenstown in particular, and not do a bungy jump. If we didn’t do
it in Queenstown, it would be like going to Paris and not see the Eiffel Tower,
or visit Egypt and not see the pyramids or going out in Hamburg and not
experience Reeperbahn. It’s just something that you have to do. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As much as I
thought I had prepared myself, it still came as a shock to me, when Erik said
that we should do it straight away and just get it over with. I knew what he
was on about, cause the weather was clear, and if we were unlucky again we
could be forced to wait for the weather to clear up, again. So Erik made the
right decision with booking it straight away. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The trip to the canyon took about
40 min., those minutes went by to fast. When we arrived at the shop we were
provided with harnesses and off we went in a breath-taking cable car to the
small platform,/house permanently hanging in steel wires above Nevis canyon. I
started to get really nervous and I couldn’t help it, but I was feeling awful. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was only three of us so it all went really quickly, Erik was nervous as
well, but after his skydive he was much more confident than he thought he would
be, and he was really nervous back in Cairns when we watched people jump from
40 m. He was afraid now, but did it anyway. After jumping he came back with the
biggest smile on his face, and told me how fun it was. It made me less nervous,
but I was still shitting myself of nervousness. I have never been so nervous in
my entire life, and yet I have never pushed my own limits this much before. The
scary part is that you take the jump by yourselves, there’s no one there to
take the step for you, and seeing the ground underneath you makes it so
challenging to lean over the edge. I faced my biggest fear of all and convinced
myself to do it, only to be able to say I DID IT. It was mind-blowing and
scary. We had 8,5 seconds free fall and a serious ground rush. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We both pushed
our boundaries to a hole new leve this dayl, a level that I thought was impossible, but Hey life begins at the end of your comfort zone right..;) For the record it's a
thousand times more terrifying than skydiving. We were deadly proud of
ourselves afterwards, and we would love to face our fear like that again. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back
in the shop in town we had to buy a shirt from the company to tell the world
that we did it. It was awesome. We have to admit that we are slowly getting rid
of our fear of heights, it’s still there though, but we know how to deal with
it and face it now. We feel addicted to the adrenalin, and nothing beat the
feeling of that pumping around our veins. That’s just fantastic! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We spend the
rest of the day in town, hanging out and looking for ponchos. We found one of
the few hostels we hadn’t asked for availability and we were lucky to get two
dorm beds there for the next day. Late at night we drove back to the Twelve
Mile Delta Camp, located by the lake in unique surroundings, and after
consuming half a chicken each we went to bed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEh74PHKqFusL7O74z3Y8pHOmYvXiMeqKbsxyYx8zmAymToitEIBJra5JHR2Lxdart-U1iQPMSw3Ko6uzB4CsqSJkGjUAsszGB27LOC135ZZDAsWzFa5IorKssGUBSLBmgC2gZFo5Dzudo/s1600/LTA_0507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEh74PHKqFusL7O74z3Y8pHOmYvXiMeqKbsxyYx8zmAymToitEIBJra5JHR2Lxdart-U1iQPMSw3Ko6uzB4CsqSJkGjUAsszGB27LOC135ZZDAsWzFa5IorKssGUBSLBmgC2gZFo5Dzudo/s1600/LTA_0507.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> It's amazing how much stuff you can put into a single trunk. It's <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">a mixture of a wardrope, laundry room and a kitchen.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YdobkxdMfr1yo2X7BeBwNDIlZ5ll9h-EFDmh5hd1Fpv-oEO94025BT_EQ5NMQbv5v7d6bilCJ5oFTlTq3tbCAUvWb5O-9aHIr32kjNbBmmeG_4tp0ur-HFjYFtyXBMQ3qP9H0CaBA-Rp/s1600/LTA_0515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YdobkxdMfr1yo2X7BeBwNDIlZ5ll9h-EFDmh5hd1Fpv-oEO94025BT_EQ5NMQbv5v7d6bilCJ5oFTlTq3tbCAUvWb5O-9aHIr32kjNbBmmeG_4tp0ur-HFjYFtyXBMQ3qP9H0CaBA-Rp/s1600/LTA_0515.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the nice views in the city</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Bungy Jump's</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<span lang="DA"><b>Saturday 17<sup>th</sup> January </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">In the little township called Arrowtown, often
overshadowed by bustling Queenstown, I found the exact right poncho that I was
looking for. To my luck this shop, was the cheapest we had visited so far. I
got it for $153 (703kr), and saved over $40 (184kr), compared to the prices in
the other shops. I send it home straight away, as I’m not interested in
carrying it around, especially not in Asia, where I would have absolutely no
need to use it anyway. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">In Arrowtown it’s possible to hire equipment for gold
panning in the river, and you only pay for the hire, the gold is free if you’re
lucky to find some. We watched a lesson about how to do it right, and
considered doing it. But then Erik came to the conclusion that my patience
isn’t built for that kind of activities. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">On our way back to Queenstown we
deviated from the highway and ascended up the mountain to Coronet Peak, the ski
area closest to Queenstown. We were rewarded with spectacular views and a
scenic drive. We checked in at X-Base hostel, in the centre of the town and
went for a challenging run on the steep hills. To me Queenstown is magic for
several reasons, one of them is, that wherever you go there’s always a world
class view to get lost in and astonished by. We were lucky to avoid the rain
while running, as it poured down the rest of the day. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA">We were meant to do quite
a lot of our blog, but then we started chatting with our room mates, and we
didn’t get as productive as we had hoped to. No worries though, instead we
shared stories and experienced with our fellow travellers. That’s more fun than
blogging anyway.</span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNMdp5ndiXMdKs1wiqWQDn6tWo7IAyJnAhkFm2IO61s9Wj9eIFuirfi2sMrmz6fYUqEnxi_ZM6WHX3CAcFB5BVXVaUeYY7MuL6wD4DAgw4RF5QdYFtlSuwueKH4CUomRAQB2YSct0Ju2b/s1600/LTA_0547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNMdp5ndiXMdKs1wiqWQDn6tWo7IAyJnAhkFm2IO61s9Wj9eIFuirfi2sMrmz6fYUqEnxi_ZM6WHX3CAcFB5BVXVaUeYY7MuL6wD4DAgw4RF5QdYFtlSuwueKH4CUomRAQB2YSct0Ju2b/s1600/LTA_0547.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charming Arrowtown</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDlM7guyaxKYDvOEewVZuXyTgn4sdWtUoeEyt7JNqY6THEKX2WBR31n_GnDLTtrdRyBxTLBoUD5DOMdDa7TP7ZX1EFzc3p3mkb3IsJayWy8BZ3kqWzRc0lOKuiH2Hv8foU16K56ozm9ff/s1600/LTA_0566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDlM7guyaxKYDvOEewVZuXyTgn4sdWtUoeEyt7JNqY6THEKX2WBR31n_GnDLTtrdRyBxTLBoUD5DOMdDa7TP7ZX1EFzc3p3mkb3IsJayWy8BZ3kqWzRc0lOKuiH2Hv8foU16K56ozm9ff/s1600/LTA_0566.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Coronet Peak</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96UNG5zHaRnCa5o5I5jaH-QcE9zJbd1LpWSGxD1q4Mt8DNiDO6sGdYAM6oTmwnbMadG8EhThzeW8rYz2XkkjZhrwpjgaKOrM6tgV4S9NQPvOlZSYUEtlDf58m9BwJyj1KsyuhSjlN6zwK/s1600/LTA_0575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96UNG5zHaRnCa5o5I5jaH-QcE9zJbd1LpWSGxD1q4Mt8DNiDO6sGdYAM6oTmwnbMadG8EhThzeW8rYz2XkkjZhrwpjgaKOrM6tgV4S9NQPvOlZSYUEtlDf58m9BwJyj1KsyuhSjlN6zwK/s1600/LTA_0575.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More of Queenstown<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZm28-QNtO9JOJUoNq8ZBHo5ZFwS2jFJbKTx5R3sfmssW81bV_17Dh19Vpp2UaWOgrhWWHgY8FB6LK2vxcR-D8Q7GOuZbFdV6S69gOpOmbxAwGgQrS0AC6bU16P70ZxLopM4a7tU7qNavA/s1600/LTA_0586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZm28-QNtO9JOJUoNq8ZBHo5ZFwS2jFJbKTx5R3sfmssW81bV_17Dh19Vpp2UaWOgrhWWHgY8FB6LK2vxcR-D8Q7GOuZbFdV6S69gOpOmbxAwGgQrS0AC6bU16P70ZxLopM4a7tU7qNavA/s1600/LTA_0586.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a><br />
Some people are making some money around here<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-size: medium;"><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-size: medium;">Sunday 18<sup>th</sup> January</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">It was sad to leave Queenstown, it’s
undoubtedly our favorite place in NZ so far, and it’s understandable why its
such a big tourist destination. In Te Anau 180 km. further south and west we
had booked a hostel for the following two days, as the weather didn’t allow us
to sleep in our one layer tent. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">We stopped at the town’s I-site, to figure out
the best way to see Milford Sound. After having a look on the prices and seeing
pictures from the Sounds, we agreed that it wasn’t worth a day cruise for us.
Instead we planned to do some tramping, where one of the longer tramping tours
would reward us with stunning views over the Sounds, for free! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">When we went
back to the car, Erik realized that he had forgotten to switch the lights off,
so there was no power on the car. The hostel was only a short walk from the
I-site, so we asked for help there. The lady in the reception was the most
unhelpful person we have ever met, so we ventured back to the car, of cause the
heaviest rain was pouring down at this time. Erik borrowed a set of jump
starter cables at a petrol station, and I eventually managed to stop a car and
get a guy to help us. Unfortunately the cables didn’t work properly, so the
generous Scottish tourist offered to drive us to the other petrol stations to
borrow cables - but sadly they didn’t have any. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">The sun had worked its way
through the thick layer of clouds, so we thanked the Scottish gentleman for his
time, and walked back to the first petrol station. Erik knew they had a jump
starter battery, but the weren’t allowed to lend it out, when the mechanic was
off. We were almost down on our knees begging for help, when the lady
surrendered and let us borrow the starter battery. Most of the afternoon had passed
by, but luckily we didn’t have any plans, so I didn’t really matter that much. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">We got a luxury dormitory with bathroom, which we shared with two chatty
American girls. The beds were the most comfortable we have tried in a very,
very, very long time. At dinner time we chatted with an Austrian guy (Michael),
who aimed to walk the Kepler Track (62km and usually done in 3-4 days). But the
crazy Austrian hoped to do it in one day. We told him we would wait for him to
come back, and if he didn’t return the next day, we would start looking for
him. Erik arranged to pick him up at a carpark outside of town, if he was too
tired to walk the last 9km, also importent to say, the next day was predicted
to be nothing but heavy rain...</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday 19<sup>th</sup> January</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Cloudy, windy and rainy weather welcomed us to
a new day in the south. If it hadn’t been for the lake and mountain views, we
would have thought we were home again. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Our American roomies (Maggie &
Megan) and their friend (Rob) felt restless, so they planned to go for a run,
just to get some fresh air. When the sun came through the clouds we decided to
join them for a community run along the lake. It turned out really successful
for all of us and we were filled with energy afterwards. </span><span style="font-size: small;">At night we made
lasagne together, or actually I was the only one cooking, the rest cleaned up
after me. Just as I prefer it! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We were pleased to see Michael arriving alive
and sound around 8 pm. It had been a tough day for him in both heavy rain and 3
hours of snow on top of the mountain. We actually planned to do some blog most
of this day, but we barely got anything done, it annoyed us a little to be
behind again, but on the other hand we met some really cool people that made a
grey and sad day, memorable for us. Erik went for a small walk with Michael in
the evening, they really got along well.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Rob, Megan, Maggie and Erik</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday 20<sup>th</sup> January</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Around noon we went for a journey into the
heart of Fiordland National Park, a journey that ends in the world famous fiord
of Milford Sound. There was a few interesting things to see, as for example
some “mirror” lakes, a place called The Chasm; which gave us dramatic views
over powerful waterfalls, a beautiful walk called the Key Summit that rewarded
us with spectacular views over the National Park and of cause Milford Sound. We
visited a few less interesting places as well. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">The thing about having a car and
getting around so easy, is that you feel guilty if you don’t see it all, but
really it’s not all the sights that are worth seeing. The road to Milford sound
is long, steep and winding, and if you’re not going on a boat tour, you don’t
really see much of it anyway. We had decided to skip the boat tour and save the
money, for other activities, also the Austrian guy Michael told us that the
fiords in Norway is, if not as, then more beautiful than these. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">In the afternoon we drove
to Gunns Camp, which is located in the park and the closest camp ground to the
next day’s adventure, the multi award winning tramp, called Gertrude Saddle. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mirror lakes</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
View at the Key Summit</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
I had pulled on my<span style="font-size: x-small;"> very fashionable out-fit for the special walk</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Milford Sounds and a very little fascinated Mrs. Kraft</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Native kea bird</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The Chasm</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lake Gunn</span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Wednesday 21<sup>st </sup>January </b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">It had been a long and cold night by Lake
Gunn, so we were happy to get up and get out of there. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Gertrude Saddle is the
toughest one day tramp in the area, and requires high-level tramping skills,
head for heights (must say that we have that now) and good navigation skills. I
showed my bad navigation skills already from the starting point where we
climbed around on big rocks, before realizing that I had started at the wrong
point, so after this Erik took the lead. We followed orange signs (not always
easy to see), and rock towers that other people had built to help us navigate. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">After almost two hours of climbing up steep hills and waterfalls, we reached a
beautiful “black” lake - we enjoyed our wraps there before venturing further up
to Gertrude Saddle. Our effort was rewarded with breath-taking views through
the Milford Sound. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">We met three germans on the top and chatted with them for
over an hour, before we all walked down together. Here our navigation skills
was put on a test again, and a few times we had to do some challenging and
dangerous steps to be able to continue, but we made it back safe and sound. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">Most of the day had passed by at this time, and we decided to drive back south
to Te Anau and stay for a night there in a hostel. Erik was the brilliant chef
for the night and made karbonader, with potatoes, pickles and gravy - not the
worst food after a long day of tramping in the sun.</span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Almost got wet here </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The sounds </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Exploring The Milford Sound Region</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday 22<sup>nd</sup> January</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;">After borrowing plums for an unlimited time
from the holiday parks tree, we started our journey to the southern scenic
route and to the southernmost city, Invercargill. In the city we visited the
I-site, and they helped us book a hostel (Tuatapere backpackers) for the night.
We had a stroll around the inner city and spend some time looking for new
jogging clothes for Erik. Actually we didn’t have any plans except blogging and
getting a proper wifi connection, so we could upload our blog. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="DA"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Free plums</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Us? No we are not curious, we are just looking and wondering how you can walk on only two legs.. </div>
</td></tr>
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<b>Fantastic Nature!</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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Erik Krafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10520862374999442880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-85916921835468485162015-01-22T08:49:00.000+01:002015-01-22T08:49:04.580+01:00Tramping, roadtripping and skydiving in New Zealand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Monday 5</b><b><sup>th</sup></b><b> January</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The warm and welcoming
morning sun woke me up early and I took advantage <span lang="DA">of</span> the $6 (27kr) camping charge with a luxury shower in
a normal bathroom, but with cold water though. Erik did the same when he got
up. We were both pleased by a decent and normal shower, and took longer showers
than normal people would do in that kind of water temperature. The river
showers are great for a few days but then you kind of need to be washed
properly. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our breakfast was enjoyed on the busy parking lot outside the
shopping <span lang="DA">centre</span>
in Blenheim. We then cruised up and over to Nelson. The landscape reminded us a
lot about Austria, with narrow mountain roads filled with <span lang="DA">pine</span> trees<span lang="DA"> along side</span>, followed by long stretches of flat fields
with countless cows and sheep’s taking up the view. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In Nelson we checked out
what the I-site (tourist information) had to offer us in the area. We were keen
for some trekking in the Abel Tasman National Park, and searched for
information about the different treks. The most popular one is around <span lang="DA">50</span>km long, and provides
camping on the way, but unfortunately all camp grounds were fully booked, so we only had <span lang="DA">two</span> choice<span lang="DA">s</span>; to do the trek in one day or <span lang="DA">to do a part of it in one day</span>. We<span lang="DA"> didn’t wanna do all of it in one day, so we
considered how much of it, we wanted to do</span>, while we drove the coastal way further north. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We stopped at Mapua, a
lovely little settlement, which houses some of the best restaurants in the
region. The Smokehouse Restaurant is well known for its fine smoked fish and
other seafood delicacies. Walking between the nice smelling cafés made us
really hungry, and soon we decided to splash out and get a seafood lunch. We
also collected some smoked fish for our dinner. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we later reached Motueka
we had decided to do t<span lang="DA">a good part of the</span> long trek<span lang="DA">, around 20 km’s</span> in one day. So we found the I-site there and
got all the information we needed. The helpful lady also helped us with booking
accommodation for the night ($14 per nose = 65kr) plus she sorted out a water
taxi for us ($40 per nose = 184kr), so we could reach our starting point the
next morning. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a bit of grocery shopping we drove up to Marahau, a town
located in a sunny valley, just 400m away<span lang="DA"> from</span> Abel Tasman National Parks south<span lang="DA">ern</span> entrance. The
community is focused and based on tourism and offers everything from tramping
(as they like to call it here), kayaking and swimming with seals to wine
tasting, horseback riding and golden beaches. We checked in at our pre-booked
campsite<span lang="DA">,</span> the
Old MacDonalds Farm, and yes we did sing the song a few times while staying
there. In order to be in shade most of the day we pitched our tent underneath a
tree. At night I discovered it wasn’t the smartest idea, as there was a big
bird sleeping just over us and it pooped all over one corner of our tent. We
were also popular among the areas cicadas – a bunch of them had left their old
shell<span lang="DA">s</span> on our
tent and car wheels during the night, it was gross. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0AqWnDRq6Ocz4STIH0rOduBrcsudk9wWxvO_H8-aadVmpOyc-JIyvfWp73omP7AWavR2EV2W-q2twUM3J-Uqv5cB75dwA2HfKJE1EtsmJ8gNh0y0Ak3g7Ky86YRDWYK9CRO1KhbwODOMb/s1600/LTA_9651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0AqWnDRq6Ocz4STIH0rOduBrcsudk9wWxvO_H8-aadVmpOyc-JIyvfWp73omP7AWavR2EV2W-q2twUM3J-Uqv5cB75dwA2HfKJE1EtsmJ8gNh0y0Ak3g7Ky86YRDWYK9CRO1KhbwODOMb/s1600/LTA_9651.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A weird animal called Alpaca, looks like a mix between a kangaroo, a lama and a sheep.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tuesday 6<sup>th</sup>
January</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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</div>
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There’s undoubtedly a
rich animal life on Old MacDonalds Farm. The loud sound from cicadas, birds and
chickens woke us up early. We packed our daypack and were ready for some
outdoor adventures. </div>
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The water taxi company was very service-minded; they picked
us up in a bus, and transferred us to one of their boats on land and we were
provided with life jackets while a tractor pulled us, and the boat down to the
boat ramp. It was a different experience and a good different way to impress
people. We really got great value out of the $40 (184kr) we paid. Our skipper showed us
a famous rock formation, called the Split Apple Rock, and when Erik asked if we
could stop by one of the seal colonies on the way, the skipper was more than
happy to show us the wildlife. We saw a few seals hanging out on the rocks of
Pinnacle Island, and we were very satisfied with our so-called taxi boat. </div>
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We were dropped off at Bark Bay in the Abel Tasman National Park. It’s New Zealand’s smallest national park,
but the most famous. The track is a World famous coastal track renowned for its
cool native lush bush, the wide and golden beaches and sculptured granite cliffs.
The walk was far more beautiful than we had wished and hoped for, for some
reason we hadn’t expected anything spectacular but it was really unique and a
true paradise walk. We crossed Falls River by a lively hanging bridge,
something that I had been looking forward to, but when we were standing on the
swinging bridge I didn’t really enjoy the movement at all. </div>
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At Torrent Bay we
were about 1/3 of the way, at low tide it’s possible to pass the inlet of
Torrent Bay. Unfortunately we arrived there at high tide and had to walk the
detour around the inlet, which made the track 3,6km longer. We collected new
energy in the Cleopatra’s fresh water swimming hole, before we walked the last
bit to Anchorage, where we planned to have our lunch break. The pathways can
easily be walked by anyone; there are no tricky points or too steep hills that
are undoable. The landscape and surroundings is magnificent, it bothers me that
I couldn’t take a prober picture of it; it doesn’t look the same as in reality,
where it’s far more tremendous than what it looks like on the pictures. </div>
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At
Anchorage we were half way and it was hard to get started again after a long
break where our legs had gotten cold. It was a bit of a struggle really. We
gave Stillwell Bay and it’s golden sand beach at short visit on the way back to
Marahau, but only because I had to loo. My right knee wasn’t in the mood for
any more detours, I could only walk in a very slow pace, and it felt like I had
to crack the joint, but was unable to do so. The last 2km were quite painful
for me, but luckily it only happened in the end of our journey. </div>
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Erik struggled
with a blister between his toes. So the conclusion is that a distance on 26,9km
in one day, with the fitness level we’re on right now, is enogh for both of us.
It took us 6½ hour to walk it, and on top of that we had a 2h 15min break. It
adds up to 8h 45min in total. I was worried about how the night would turn out
with my knee pain, but as long as I didn’t walk it didn’t hurt, so it was all
right.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKSaJ0-qWMGWE8z-JX25QOOCRkQWdeq7JkDqg52SABETmEmVfxQpHUoFyY6dLpxr2SyT13pa1jFu6jivpCu7GL_C8z1vRrXXxpiK70Vtv6Kej8GU8DaYCT8cgR3kIZx4DaFht_PwNyWD5/s1600/LTA_9664.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKSaJ0-qWMGWE8z-JX25QOOCRkQWdeq7JkDqg52SABETmEmVfxQpHUoFyY6dLpxr2SyT13pa1jFu6jivpCu7GL_C8z1vRrXXxpiK70Vtv6Kej8GU8DaYCT8cgR3kIZx4DaFht_PwNyWD5/s1600/LTA_9664.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfL2CmFHsIC-cIynteezCeIZj8SQKR5X_j3OArRty5irHZaw5qXuH5i-jy_Aimj9DxdxDdEnO7KRXtuROyym9S5gf2ZbJtxb-T-QBnU7lDlTfYKHQbtLlxd8glzjI9lwgt5aAj49lGNu0/s1600/LTA_9670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfL2CmFHsIC-cIynteezCeIZj8SQKR5X_j3OArRty5irHZaw5qXuH5i-jy_Aimj9DxdxDdEnO7KRXtuROyym9S5gf2ZbJtxb-T-QBnU7lDlTfYKHQbtLlxd8glzjI9lwgt5aAj49lGNu0/s1600/LTA_9670.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Split Apple Rock</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjleLqpGGzh-IryFKFjDud-fE0rU2I2VrNXfl3UH8hM8jgSkRGbRJFjrkexVaQ9v0I_ZIp8bOL8v57f6niobkf0IYNICzltA4xWdaJMddtHwxI3tV40AH4qvMdTu4f5742xGbNvt25em_YB/s1600/LTA_9682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjleLqpGGzh-IryFKFjDud-fE0rU2I2VrNXfl3UH8hM8jgSkRGbRJFjrkexVaQ9v0I_ZIp8bOL8v57f6niobkf0IYNICzltA4xWdaJMddtHwxI3tV40AH4qvMdTu4f5742xGbNvt25em_YB/s1600/LTA_9682.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taxi boat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6AQxHCaNhwIwB3PTe69Azp2Yy4MgA3fWFTK3zXRDLbt5bmLqDjmgdk8TdCiiAHCZjfyBflP0PUV4EivW4_ChLTnn8Fd8F7t_HqK280qOmVm7Y201Fi6bnVDk7SRhH7zPDaJNcHBYK_0o/s1600/LTA_9700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6AQxHCaNhwIwB3PTe69Azp2Yy4MgA3fWFTK3zXRDLbt5bmLqDjmgdk8TdCiiAHCZjfyBflP0PUV4EivW4_ChLTnn8Fd8F7t_HqK280qOmVm7Y201Fi6bnVDk7SRhH7zPDaJNcHBYK_0o/s1600/LTA_9700.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_mmKg4s9_C0qT_7GUwZeUlG4ul_J9wrrV5sQ8mOU9YTd22-8Lc4bgEknL227P1x5DJm2nOgutqE1V5ZpmDJmSd6BjBznMHysnBWah732GbPKWRrzpjzCSGkdT9plrvyq0KEbySzbPCt8/s1600/LTA_9712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_mmKg4s9_C0qT_7GUwZeUlG4ul_J9wrrV5sQ8mOU9YTd22-8Lc4bgEknL227P1x5DJm2nOgutqE1V5ZpmDJmSd6BjBznMHysnBWah732GbPKWRrzpjzCSGkdT9plrvyq0KEbySzbPCt8/s1600/LTA_9712.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbI9jyEadgLz2IOhUEInFWAP-fHafYsoOK4f12QFRspMUHL91ovsWBy3y4uAIT4Rgoh67lwEbrOMLCkJPowLusyXVR4iPxYEMgpBnVpoiiPsKpJQJY_jGMuNPjOiHtXhJ1MttUeH675aw/s1600/LTA_9719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbI9jyEadgLz2IOhUEInFWAP-fHafYsoOK4f12QFRspMUHL91ovsWBy3y4uAIT4Rgoh67lwEbrOMLCkJPowLusyXVR4iPxYEMgpBnVpoiiPsKpJQJY_jGMuNPjOiHtXhJ1MttUeH675aw/s1600/LTA_9719.JPG" height="423" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhJb-JjYyArfIwNHf4y3tEAoY4vtxnB_4Vq7aKTJA2lqSgJl7w1f7RRJ92PVuUe9OnpIdTBQ_AGQr27s0zyaylKzG_IuVekKfDVg4F-5Nmr-jS8VYoFS49lzJJeNggxPqRHCAdq9T1Nrx/s1600/LTA_9729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhJb-JjYyArfIwNHf4y3tEAoY4vtxnB_4Vq7aKTJA2lqSgJl7w1f7RRJ92PVuUe9OnpIdTBQ_AGQr27s0zyaylKzG_IuVekKfDVg4F-5Nmr-jS8VYoFS49lzJJeNggxPqRHCAdq9T1Nrx/s1600/LTA_9729.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Torrent Bay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCX8l4DxFpRlUzSaoHZTGE1iqT8m1nDlNmApMf5eo39qEngwhiwcoMiCh5kU79wsyN-Bkj3mcJk0YsfxIiuIvhfMIp3K5hTm6IWAkQmBM0ultO5zl6Ww0u3eHfavHhX-H9Bq0P5pp3DUq1/s1600/LTA_9746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCX8l4DxFpRlUzSaoHZTGE1iqT8m1nDlNmApMf5eo39qEngwhiwcoMiCh5kU79wsyN-Bkj3mcJk0YsfxIiuIvhfMIp3K5hTm6IWAkQmBM0ultO5zl6Ww0u3eHfavHhX-H9Bq0P5pp3DUq1/s1600/LTA_9746.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_I4alXaHPBdtM_Ot5aCs1G019G61nxRnZ3yUf4ved-9GefWgda58kLc8ahedw2CU5r2XsQUWv27CARSnNmDlAIRlrN2yWns6HekQjiyCXkRfs-8d47eWA-mpfGG4xcanlWXDJA9cLO5WJ/s1600/LTA_9766.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_I4alXaHPBdtM_Ot5aCs1G019G61nxRnZ3yUf4ved-9GefWgda58kLc8ahedw2CU5r2XsQUWv27CARSnNmDlAIRlrN2yWns6HekQjiyCXkRfs-8d47eWA-mpfGG4xcanlWXDJA9cLO5WJ/s1600/LTA_9766.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRXu3JcsfJpxi9PsN2ORBP1MjZqy_9d8OcTMAAjDCo1QVEMByA2hsIp3UcOncOetIMhdAPIGR7PvfYTAu1xW_QBXYAg-ppFXzORDbFWn-q3AKlileSWQ93z2XjEct6sBS5ra-6m_Qb8dc/s1600/LTA_9783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRXu3JcsfJpxi9PsN2ORBP1MjZqy_9d8OcTMAAjDCo1QVEMByA2hsIp3UcOncOetIMhdAPIGR7PvfYTAu1xW_QBXYAg-ppFXzORDbFWn-q3AKlileSWQ93z2XjEct6sBS5ra-6m_Qb8dc/s1600/LTA_9783.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anchorage Bay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb1Eazfis-EXKqm-OYOBtPEnNQyKT4j5-2jEW1z56uE87CcodbdLs5e3QsExUNy0A1GfrPSY8jGGyJP-9IT7t9NiNcV3cWQXcq3uG7aUDFY4cUy37ctOObYd-EquwmUhitfVbsu59ptlEr/s1600/IMG_2642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb1Eazfis-EXKqm-OYOBtPEnNQyKT4j5-2jEW1z56uE87CcodbdLs5e3QsExUNy0A1GfrPSY8jGGyJP-9IT7t9NiNcV3cWQXcq3uG7aUDFY4cUy37ctOObYd-EquwmUhitfVbsu59ptlEr/s1600/IMG_2642.JPG" height="228" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTb_gBxcX1nt379HWNR2_0qaH1wWOmdou_c9H7ECof_N4dc6gGe6DXKxKAwXZnjW18tFrtX6ddUFUZVd8Yym_pBVk5VKiUGXnuJeSj-r58EknCvShbFymC1xvu3Duq4PL1DyihOt4Tmosl/s1600/LTA_9787.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTb_gBxcX1nt379HWNR2_0qaH1wWOmdou_c9H7ECof_N4dc6gGe6DXKxKAwXZnjW18tFrtX6ddUFUZVd8Yym_pBVk5VKiUGXnuJeSj-r58EknCvShbFymC1xvu3Duq4PL1DyihOt4Tmosl/s1600/LTA_9787.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heart-shaped bay (a name we came up with)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjSBSE-QCo-e5NHyOAi5Qxid6KlEaxTUsjJv3fhG0Ztw3fKVMok1cZas2fg1bTV96BTR6-6Khpxrl27Lir_K0mKefrqAXsDYynXYXIHoq8eCncfl34_fCad0JU_H_vqsZ8LqsEl-JUGM-/s1600/LTA_9806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVjSBSE-QCo-e5NHyOAi5Qxid6KlEaxTUsjJv3fhG0Ztw3fKVMok1cZas2fg1bTV96BTR6-6Khpxrl27Lir_K0mKefrqAXsDYynXYXIHoq8eCncfl34_fCad0JU_H_vqsZ8LqsEl-JUGM-/s1600/LTA_9806.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stillwell Bay<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCv-KGmCylYSLGsHSDoRgOzdPJVrki8KKmeWO79jEfDQLR0_ZOSOpAsy_zvjv_nrzJG0ODSjr9kdpoqXT1aPNfK7fTDa77a_JML_sMdOm-rsFIXsiCmD0uBZ9B1SAquvGz63xrYkUM8lCh/s1600/LTA_9811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCv-KGmCylYSLGsHSDoRgOzdPJVrki8KKmeWO79jEfDQLR0_ZOSOpAsy_zvjv_nrzJG0ODSjr9kdpoqXT1aPNfK7fTDa77a_JML_sMdOm-rsFIXsiCmD0uBZ9B1SAquvGz63xrYkUM8lCh/s1600/LTA_9811.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Odd post boxes</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIfptaGCcNbWfiD39bU5EO9Zjo2UM2qbXISFl9nnlT6_hIfqsXPeXui6x9Ar03sqour1gzltXeE1DpRIDOoszIp_F7qCvMNJwPn552tvUuAq_p7zVCmJ8aKqSZzWDTUUHl1bbJ7k8B1R5/s1600/LTA_9819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIfptaGCcNbWfiD39bU5EO9Zjo2UM2qbXISFl9nnlT6_hIfqsXPeXui6x9Ar03sqour1gzltXeE1DpRIDOoszIp_F7qCvMNJwPn552tvUuAq_p7zVCmJ8aKqSZzWDTUUHl1bbJ7k8B1R5/s1600/LTA_9819.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">New fashion</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<b>Abel Tasman Tramping</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/j-jsfiBxkKQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<b>Wednesday 7<sup>th</sup>
January</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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We left Old MacDonalds
Farm and drove across Takaka hills (we would call them mountains) to Golden
Bay. It revealed fantastic views over Tasman and Golden Bay. Golden Bay is one
of the nation’s best kept secrets, because there’s only one way in, so no
matter what we decided to do we had to cross the same mountain again on our way
back. Near Takaka we visited Te Waikoropupu Springs. The spring water lake is
the clearest of any freshwater lakes outside Antarctica. It’s bubbling
underneath the surface of the lake, and to Maori people it is a sacred
treasure, and that explains why we couldn’t swim in it. We were only allowed to
watch it from a footpath. </div>
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Our main purpose for driving up to Golden Bay was
because we had heard about a famous horseback riding tour at Cape Farewell, the
most northern part of the South Island. It’s meant to be amazing. Erik had
promised himself to learn two things on this journey; Horseback riding being
one of them, and learning to speak Spanish being the other. So far he hasn’t
learned any of them so he figured it was about time to fulfil some of his
expectations and dreams. Unfortunately it didn’t work out as we hoped for, as
the company was fully booked the next two days, due to the peak season. It was
a shame, but we knew there was a risk, that they could be very busy at this
time of the year. We considered booking the tour a couple of days before, but
then again we didn’t know how we were gonna feel after the long trek we did. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So
instead of riding the horses to Wharariki Beach we did the 20min walk out
there. The beach is very special, it’s got golden sand dunes, caves, arches and
a seal colony, when you add those facts together it comes to perfection. It’s
so beautiful and unique that we almost felt guilty about leaving it again. A
little further south we pitched our tent on a campground in Collingwood. We
used the afternoon and night in the common area doing the only work we need to
do, write and make videos for our blog. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocSd-dfyNIvtPfyYCNbOUF42b7SM4zFMirt0kvVC7MMFYNRU_eBWUHrcudquXRaOEtDQvOh-yHiv0e583In7tu9N5MFz5o6pS1eekp1p_Ox00qErWi0b2xTSSNoFn6uLW6ZP1PmNQ6796/s1600/LTA_9825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocSd-dfyNIvtPfyYCNbOUF42b7SM4zFMirt0kvVC7MMFYNRU_eBWUHrcudquXRaOEtDQvOh-yHiv0e583In7tu9N5MFz5o6pS1eekp1p_Ox00qErWi0b2xTSSNoFn6uLW6ZP1PmNQ6796/s1600/LTA_9825.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxoQw9M2gawXvr_7zGF1MQ8B6U9v4MPvlimYYrhTT-JoEfEKVaDRlqNbgrmuDwL6lEpF53TVqoUpxC37vKlAfqWZPXSbs8oLRsNTlUOjEN0rEAsUcmWEdY1aBK6ODxWfcCAAZFqM2AogcK/s1600/LTA_9826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxoQw9M2gawXvr_7zGF1MQ8B6U9v4MPvlimYYrhTT-JoEfEKVaDRlqNbgrmuDwL6lEpF53TVqoUpxC37vKlAfqWZPXSbs8oLRsNTlUOjEN0rEAsUcmWEdY1aBK6ODxWfcCAAZFqM2AogcK/s1600/LTA_9826.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Takaka Hills</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_btNENszBdNRyMwBHETVA_HHtzankmIhiy8bKpBil0b5fZ0k47MlqHV-p4GU1Z1mOxfkwUA3SPzRXbLgvQK0MgbwDZEclxZIn2oYfL2Ak8kW00_m2e0y_JFFHAlPW6tyKlR_aFk9fb-Hk/s1600/LTA_9834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_btNENszBdNRyMwBHETVA_HHtzankmIhiy8bKpBil0b5fZ0k47MlqHV-p4GU1Z1mOxfkwUA3SPzRXbLgvQK0MgbwDZEclxZIn2oYfL2Ak8kW00_m2e0y_JFFHAlPW6tyKlR_aFk9fb-Hk/s1600/LTA_9834.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Te Waikoropupu lake</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xPBYTkE0DtwrvD88LSBbAP3Lo7vDASz_m3f6RErqfeODodjnbXIVeELyx1t-BUsvvJtMAgHSdGEhHNB57G_DgC53YGNvMf3mO0MOtN8t37dt3hfccztqyN3LCGInN0WsaF4p62x1EJka/s1600/LTA_9852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xPBYTkE0DtwrvD88LSBbAP3Lo7vDASz_m3f6RErqfeODodjnbXIVeELyx1t-BUsvvJtMAgHSdGEhHNB57G_DgC53YGNvMf3mO0MOtN8t37dt3hfccztqyN3LCGInN0WsaF4p62x1EJka/s1600/LTA_9852.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheep Farm<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3vCB4frIOptJxC3h-PteFUiBlJHVfp6S6Z5had5l5Hk44v7-e4Xj6CXAn7eyp6e8ie_1280u0T0aKua4zzl_C9l_3rypzJKt88MoOXCl5mDX_tjuGfdFMazG36nDWRM1Rk4GIvKvgwqm/s1600/LTA_9856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3vCB4frIOptJxC3h-PteFUiBlJHVfp6S6Z5had5l5Hk44v7-e4Xj6CXAn7eyp6e8ie_1280u0T0aKua4zzl_C9l_3rypzJKt88MoOXCl5mDX_tjuGfdFMazG36nDWRM1Rk4GIvKvgwqm/s1600/LTA_9856.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9Xipdvy4eLPL7l5zIe1a_HJOcYvUr3oKAKlWbmc2BhK1JYhOfQCsZD8DxN64m8DkCgUdVk4utLBiC2E34TY9-rT_eW6EVjv6uXbB2kKyFbqHPbFhN5GB6Ld1sI_Y25gd1r8lhPhyphenhyphennlO9/s1600/LTA_9884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9Xipdvy4eLPL7l5zIe1a_HJOcYvUr3oKAKlWbmc2BhK1JYhOfQCsZD8DxN64m8DkCgUdVk4utLBiC2E34TY9-rT_eW6EVjv6uXbB2kKyFbqHPbFhN5GB6Ld1sI_Y25gd1r8lhPhyphenhyphennlO9/s1600/LTA_9884.JPG" height="423" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Wharariki Beach </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1u3Jj_H7LreByu-hWIIjJ0sNa69_oN6G1t7GNEi0sua6iCbFB2kbbdSeDkQ2kYSTh-oYPDtvOJROEU6KCcekbogUlbxl4klq1ipbBC1NvaJ_FnOuvRIGMfMGD-TXF5SX__qcWX6dbKdy5/s1600/LTA_9951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1u3Jj_H7LreByu-hWIIjJ0sNa69_oN6G1t7GNEi0sua6iCbFB2kbbdSeDkQ2kYSTh-oYPDtvOJROEU6KCcekbogUlbxl4klq1ipbBC1NvaJ_FnOuvRIGMfMGD-TXF5SX__qcWX6dbKdy5/s1600/LTA_9951.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This seal was so use to humans, and we got really close to it</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwLCZzYLs7ZKePsVdW8afhYXW0VCnKEX6BYxVkEuQgZbtd30gm_3BnElq5ECMW2WACW-Itp3kKVstrnCJqrXG7dugxP4SVOVLsKQEgWoUGtwyKGrq4eDFhOcHUuWht4xEP-_-Y2NrKCPh/s1600/LTA_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwLCZzYLs7ZKePsVdW8afhYXW0VCnKEX6BYxVkEuQgZbtd30gm_3BnElq5ECMW2WACW-Itp3kKVstrnCJqrXG7dugxP4SVOVLsKQEgWoUGtwyKGrq4eDFhOcHUuWht4xEP-_-Y2NrKCPh/s1600/LTA_0002.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBOjHo67znLVKd0RLLctj3dPSjZWqGcxxNwK9R1T995c4SJfVSs8elgV3jjeAPslc8mUivYfH_VI2K650sHt9-4qkXpfhQO_IoQ4_j0eiKqe3oEmfCF_bHll39romOIkvkMsF6gPgglU-/s1600/LTA_0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBOjHo67znLVKd0RLLctj3dPSjZWqGcxxNwK9R1T995c4SJfVSs8elgV3jjeAPslc8mUivYfH_VI2K650sHt9-4qkXpfhQO_IoQ4_j0eiKqe3oEmfCF_bHll39romOIkvkMsF6gPgglU-/s1600/LTA_0011.JPG" height="380" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQIJeCxk8nC0JIUZnFMq8Qfv_3x5nArsK51Pu2JaNzT1K_roc7x5JXxp7ImJUMgbg_2YXqgYgCdxVM-ABgmewC_ToCRdH-32r3SB3bnyx5BndXvRSP3LcpqTHDdpHoAmpzG-ubRhH2jXP/s1600/LTA_0030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQIJeCxk8nC0JIUZnFMq8Qfv_3x5nArsK51Pu2JaNzT1K_roc7x5JXxp7ImJUMgbg_2YXqgYgCdxVM-ABgmewC_ToCRdH-32r3SB3bnyx5BndXvRSP3LcpqTHDdpHoAmpzG-ubRhH2jXP/s1600/LTA_0030.JPG" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Nature's Arch</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbT1tdfn1tvCe5Ov_DQwjoQ5aPeK43W937G1sU2SV9msRuU88jGZngr685v-s5NbSP0zknWhMfKns-rwklMkNNfPVblXWULawk5R5O9I5rEVXM3X08OYQDSP7HmKX6IIH2__zNrwoLMbbZ/s1600/LTA_0050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbT1tdfn1tvCe5Ov_DQwjoQ5aPeK43W937G1sU2SV9msRuU88jGZngr685v-s5NbSP0zknWhMfKns-rwklMkNNfPVblXWULawk5R5O9I5rEVXM3X08OYQDSP7HmKX6IIH2__zNrwoLMbbZ/s1600/LTA_0050.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Thursday 8<sup>th </sup>January
</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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We drove back over
Takaka Hills, and the whole way back to Mutueka, before we could turn off
towards Murchison. We planned to drive across the country via Lewis Pass to the
east, and then down to Chritschurch and back to the west coast through Arthur’s
Pass. Erik have talked to several people who have mentioned Arthur’s Pass is
worth seeing, and we figured we had enough time to do it like that, as it would
only take us two days to do. </div>
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On our way to Lewis Pass we stopped at Maruia Falls,
where three crazy people were practising their kayaking skills by kayaking down
the falls. It didn’t succeed equally good for all of them. On the pictures you
can see how crazy it was. I wouldn’t dare to do it. We continued our roadtrip,
which by the way consisted of a lot of mountain views and beautiful rivers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We
had a hard time finding the DOC camp we planned to sleep at. The brochure
misinformed us about the distance from the turn-off, so we made a u-turn in
order to find it, we thought we had missed a sign, but after a short period we
decided to turn back again and hoped to pass it later on, then 6km further away
than mentioned in the brochure we finally saw a a camping sign. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As soon as we
got out of the car we were hunted and attacked by sand flies. The same kind of
flies that I told Erik a few days earlier not to panic over, cause sand flies
are invisible and doesn’t get that big, but in NZ they apparently DO get that
big, like the same size as banana flies. We quickly got annoyed but tried to keep
the frustrating to a minimum as there was other people around us. We chatted to
a family from Wellington and they seemed to love Danish people, especially for
our humour and sarcasm, so we couldn’t loose faces to them because of some
stupid sand flies. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our $47 (216kr) tent apparently isn’t made for more than two
weeks use, we had to fix one of the poles with tape as it broke during last
night. It was still not completely good after we fixed it, but it would get us
through the night. We could probably exchange it and get a new, if it wasn’t
because we bought it in an online store in Auckland. Well, it’s just a matter
of time before it falls apart completely, but we will see how we go. The night
was cold and wet, it didn’t rain but there was a lot of mist. The tent is only
one layer, so it’s not made for rain, that’s for sure.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSD1ebcf0OAdPicm-uSMXZskeRJVlMZfIynEZNKMP9_SUVeWaJtCNiCHgK53lT01f6A33x4iCpJ9C6Sy6lNdQqYWhjp_cshokpVJkU9QuSPvZpkKuxZWLulVmJ_IyObWrTQ77FsJChmpg/s1600/LTA_0081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSD1ebcf0OAdPicm-uSMXZskeRJVlMZfIynEZNKMP9_SUVeWaJtCNiCHgK53lT01f6A33x4iCpJ9C6Sy6lNdQqYWhjp_cshokpVJkU9QuSPvZpkKuxZWLulVmJ_IyObWrTQ77FsJChmpg/s1600/LTA_0081.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is plenty of people around crazier than us! Notice the kayak !!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4ipLs6FuxtXFRVpe8Tr-rqQN_OpPyqjckaJkYfvg1cLlyFyncaeTKsI9VoMY61TclLLTVkBLr8Iis7EqRKb-QigFEnYZfSKlm0gXEMgij0x53O33qf-f9caVEjm3miI5MzdGvGc5f3DS/s1600/LTA_0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4ipLs6FuxtXFRVpe8Tr-rqQN_OpPyqjckaJkYfvg1cLlyFyncaeTKsI9VoMY61TclLLTVkBLr8Iis7EqRKb-QigFEnYZfSKlm0gXEMgij0x53O33qf-f9caVEjm3miI5MzdGvGc5f3DS/s1600/LTA_0084.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maruia Falls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbotd0VB2-Q3nceXKo4mxL_MirJy0hjchgaXCHFBxFoLeoywFjhDBU3QN3Yniqq5H_z_RBVxdh5EPDEbCxb6pIOQaoepZmrKE0yKb0IwBDvIHuweoJTOHAMH4J38rW22z9vdLN9cNEtE4l/s1600/LTA_0089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbotd0VB2-Q3nceXKo4mxL_MirJy0hjchgaXCHFBxFoLeoywFjhDBU3QN3Yniqq5H_z_RBVxdh5EPDEbCxb6pIOQaoepZmrKE0yKb0IwBDvIHuweoJTOHAMH4J38rW22z9vdLN9cNEtE4l/s1600/LTA_0089.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A serious water irrigation system</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Htizu2Jg88IsI63dVpC1gq0Sfq7Y42cWFGZ_y31z89EtbPguw0bk8bMyHdSiZ5SOqjcE-Ltk60Fwv9ys6awuv3Ry72vi9_UiZ7W543GpzS3YrI1LMrUxvUlg3CX9-wwDTFB4myOYG2Pr/s1600/LTA_0099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Htizu2Jg88IsI63dVpC1gq0Sfq7Y42cWFGZ_y31z89EtbPguw0bk8bMyHdSiZ5SOqjcE-Ltk60Fwv9ys6awuv3Ry72vi9_UiZ7W543GpzS3YrI1LMrUxvUlg3CX9-wwDTFB4myOYG2Pr/s1600/LTA_0099.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLzzoS1MDz1-r_3FGs6sYT3FtlC-UMuW6tUWLGHCvP2X-ErhThwh37QECLQc2OMcNVDxzW8PKs4vbD-3gak5lnLV4Fow9MMziCLlIp-CPDyMTHys8N9lJYT7qPS314d4D7vDBQfmM7mpF/s1600/LTA_0103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLzzoS1MDz1-r_3FGs6sYT3FtlC-UMuW6tUWLGHCvP2X-ErhThwh37QECLQc2OMcNVDxzW8PKs4vbD-3gak5lnLV4Fow9MMziCLlIp-CPDyMTHys8N9lJYT7qPS314d4D7vDBQfmM7mpF/s1600/LTA_0103.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Friday 9<sup>th </sup>January</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To no surprise the
tent had gotten worse during the night, it was still standing but broke another
place on the pole. We gently packed it together and was in a hurry to get away
from all the sand flies. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We drove to Hanmer Springs, where we enjoyed our
breakfast on a hilltop with view over the town. Erik got in contact with his
friend Ib, and most of the morning was spend catching up with him and his
family. Hanmer Springs is a ski destination during winter, at this time of year
the activity offers includes mountain biking and tramping. We didn’t intend to
do any of these, so we left the town again, and next stop was Christchurch
Airport. Not to catch a flight, but to see if we could get the so-called
”Arrival” brochure that you are offered when you first arrive in the country.
In that brochure is some important vouchers that gives discounts on activities
around the country. Sadly we received the old one in Auckland when we arrived,
so our vouchers expired 31-12-14, even sadder was it that we couldn’t get a new
one unless we passed the customer service. Mission failed! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back on the road we
found the turn-off to Arthur’s Pass, and expected a whole lot of mountain
driving, but in fact there wasn’t much of that, most of the times we drove
between the mountains in valleys on flat roads. It’s indescribable how immense
it is, it seemed like the mountains around us continued to all eternity. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At
Castle Rock we pulled over and had a walk around the big limestones, it mostly
looked like someone had thrown them up in the air and let them fall down in one
big mess and left them there. We climbed them and was astonished by their size.
When we got in between the rocks, it was almost like a maze to find our way out
again. After the warm and sunny walk we were hunting for drinkable water, not
that it’s hard to find, but in the direction we were going there wasn’t a lot
of options. After a failed mission we decided to drive to Arthur’s Pass town,
to get the water we needed - all though that was further away than the place we
wanted to camp. After getting some water we started considering last night’s
cold temperatures, and that it probably would be just as cold if we decided to
stay in this altitude, none of us were interested in another night like that,
so we continued further on and down, closer to sea level. All though we hadn’t
felt that we were driving in mountains and up at all, we discovered that we
were actually about 900m above sea level. So there was a good point in
continuing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were blown away by the natural beauty of the entrance to Lake
Mahinapua campground. The green lush forest and its wilderness appeared in a
way that is hard to describe, even harder to get pictures of, because
unfortunately I’m not a pro yet. The camp ground was big and located next to
the nice lake. It’s incredible that a location like this only costed us $12
(55kr) together. As most nights we had our beloved wraps, filled with lettuce,
pineapple or corns, avocado, dressing and most of the time tuna, this day we
had splashed out and bought chicken for the special occasion. As always we feel
the same; none of us is tired of the same meal every day yet, so it’s perfect.
This night we switched the sand flies out with thirsty mosquitoes - god damn
those small animals can drive us crazy!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwecmrbYWjzRwwO2aRtftN5YAUPtzWXz_dTLMv1ZF5lW-2qQhHTrDa26fsmw2YfR-JzO97akWgPRSZTkAtu9Dt4IGTOVei22DKs55_7WykSuV83EmOBXO9mE5bKjRO99UHsO7Aqptsphs/s1600/LTA_0123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwecmrbYWjzRwwO2aRtftN5YAUPtzWXz_dTLMv1ZF5lW-2qQhHTrDa26fsmw2YfR-JzO97akWgPRSZTkAtu9Dt4IGTOVei22DKs55_7WykSuV83EmOBXO9mE5bKjRO99UHsO7Aqptsphs/s1600/LTA_0123.JPG" height="423" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Castle Rock...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwNdywuRMgN_YHwzHOE_R4qvQCv6SRSx13yp2IqoShpKvPGeWKYjsDP28ti_U6qRFd-hR18BNMuFKqqAfHO1H9lqg7qaAZ_h7hWTK9LTJunW9da9m2i_qUlLOiowABfmMJznx2sPl0eHh/s1600/LTA_0130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwNdywuRMgN_YHwzHOE_R4qvQCv6SRSx13yp2IqoShpKvPGeWKYjsDP28ti_U6qRFd-hR18BNMuFKqqAfHO1H9lqg7qaAZ_h7hWTK9LTJunW9da9m2i_qUlLOiowABfmMJznx2sPl0eHh/s1600/LTA_0130.JPG" height="423" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My monkey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkJ0VlIa9BYCHUjtYCBLQ87_gMdOKk1spmWKn3jeA-Q94PkgDVwYFT3dTA-QPx1EofCCkqL8JMHB5odCU496XZI7DzVyYWDc0wF3857-ITpaP4MZ27oIQC62SE9UVl_tvBwRvX2YhAoY-/s1600/LTA_0136.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkJ0VlIa9BYCHUjtYCBLQ87_gMdOKk1spmWKn3jeA-Q94PkgDVwYFT3dTA-QPx1EofCCkqL8JMHB5odCU496XZI7DzVyYWDc0wF3857-ITpaP4MZ27oIQC62SE9UVl_tvBwRvX2YhAoY-/s1600/LTA_0136.JPG" height="423" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwc0bHafS5ABdc97uySm9-TK9A0CS2dPwxuh6_A2nVmngYCeAy2vBOw8HVj91V2u3QLZiOsCPKaX6e-p2mN_vFLyfrOopNnAclLzffrpD2RKr9Nt22TrhysyESPBY-_DiivK4XmvNmVlWS/s1600/LTA_0141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwc0bHafS5ABdc97uySm9-TK9A0CS2dPwxuh6_A2nVmngYCeAy2vBOw8HVj91V2u3QLZiOsCPKaX6e-p2mN_vFLyfrOopNnAclLzffrpD2RKr9Nt22TrhysyESPBY-_DiivK4XmvNmVlWS/s1600/LTA_0141.JPG" height="378" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Find me!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZTS5u7-QtB4lK76wdn_bzKKqyjpMAN0EXJ6jxOHinoxJu0oxSTc7ra7RKw9L7X63zR9nMG1JSZKEhCXTeTGpLOmgmw9HVsm6cVU8hW70rgWyDFxk_PD4TFmeJ6Xqu-7CBpT285XXoGyQ/s1600/LTA_0145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZTS5u7-QtB4lK76wdn_bzKKqyjpMAN0EXJ6jxOHinoxJu0oxSTc7ra7RKw9L7X63zR9nMG1JSZKEhCXTeTGpLOmgmw9HVsm6cVU8hW70rgWyDFxk_PD4TFmeJ6Xqu-7CBpT285XXoGyQ/s1600/LTA_0145.JPG" height="423" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">.......</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqwzd7RlhBFUXWEu-2P-hHidddkGFbHty5jU4reppzwKT_IasJaZI9rRdHm9SzajtvF0Sxrw_Xtyk86dKdIp7oPm5w5t9pocXstMpvT9RstrrkwM1a3VmcQoND8Wm9p_vqf48RyTz3boNN/s1600/LTA_0161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqwzd7RlhBFUXWEu-2P-hHidddkGFbHty5jU4reppzwKT_IasJaZI9rRdHm9SzajtvF0Sxrw_Xtyk86dKdIp7oPm5w5t9pocXstMpvT9RstrrkwM1a3VmcQoND8Wm9p_vqf48RyTz3boNN/s1600/LTA_0161.JPG" height="335" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMbn7yNdpItLEE1zNK1bV3mPObghlxvhpeieBouP7oPV-Rk56FxKjd-WYlyLnPVALKNe7YabuseTdSULawlKRsgBkW1CjbPZolGf4aormcnNi1eWWhQW21VCxmNoHwLf4i12yPwJ4_mYU/s1600/LTA_0167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMbn7yNdpItLEE1zNK1bV3mPObghlxvhpeieBouP7oPV-Rk56FxKjd-WYlyLnPVALKNe7YabuseTdSULawlKRsgBkW1CjbPZolGf4aormcnNi1eWWhQW21VCxmNoHwLf4i12yPwJ4_mYU/s1600/LTA_0167.JPG" height="423" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKMxOgU_DpGD1uDFa1ybTHvPnUPIjt_CSe88Ahvem2YKhk7ZBAPbvo4j_LPpvrj_GmcbtrQeAERdSwRDfZ_5Y0WqAAXHoCro-GO4zIS3jjfsFbMt9JMTCbtHiWwkzDGuFB7ItLa97jZ3Y/s1600/LTA_0179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKMxOgU_DpGD1uDFa1ybTHvPnUPIjt_CSe88Ahvem2YKhk7ZBAPbvo4j_LPpvrj_GmcbtrQeAERdSwRDfZ_5Y0WqAAXHoCro-GO4zIS3jjfsFbMt9JMTCbtHiWwkzDGuFB7ItLa97jZ3Y/s1600/LTA_0179.JPG" height="353" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A funny house we passed on our way.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDid7qHisjYV4oFE41Rhpp4Ey8Qf1vFPe8MgCeSG3na7JLXv0cEoMu5_e6Enzv-egmFHRGAUYQZJO6it8JvQ9yZrhu5KysOj3AOSCYzlhEBDwgqbZK8uYrdQQrP_Qu-5fKxUQoNVraqs1-/s1600/LTA_0195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDid7qHisjYV4oFE41Rhpp4Ey8Qf1vFPe8MgCeSG3na7JLXv0cEoMu5_e6Enzv-egmFHRGAUYQZJO6it8JvQ9yZrhu5KysOj3AOSCYzlhEBDwgqbZK8uYrdQQrP_Qu-5fKxUQoNVraqs1-/s1600/LTA_0195.JPG" height="414" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Manihapua<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Saturday 10<sup>th</sup>
January</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">It was cloudy when we
woke up, and perfect weather conditions for a morning jog. When we came back we
realized that the so-called shower building didn’t provide normal showers, only
self brought camp showers. It’s basically a big reusable water bag that you can
strap onto a rope in the room, and then shower underneath your self brought
water. We didn’t know about this before our jog, cause then we wouldn’t have done
it. Now we could smell for the rest of the day, until we found a proper shower,
but at least we smelled the same way. Our tent was still giving us a hard time,
but with a little bit of creative thinking we fixed it again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">At lunch time we
arrived in Franz Josef, a small settlement in the mountains on the west coast,
it’s known for it’s ice glacier with the same name, - the town adopted the name
from the glacier. It’s huge tourist drag is walking on the glacier, or flying
over it, in a scenic flight. We aimed to do the walk, as we thought we could do
it from the bottom. Sadly at this time of year it’s only possible to explore
the glacier by flying to the top, due to the melting ice in the bottom. We
changed our minds about the trip fast, when we heard the prices. It’s insane
what they charge people to walk on ice and fly in a helicopter for 6 min. <span lang="DA">Prices vary between $399-599 (1835-2755kr). </span>Seriously it’s just ice, luckily we both agreed
that it was too expensive, and there’s a lot of other stuff we would prefer to
use our money on instead. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">It did bother us a little that we wouldn’t get to see
the glacier, but only until we decided to do a skydive over one of the two
famous glaciers in the area. Then we would get to see the glacier from above,
plus skydive, for the same amount of money as a scenic flight and a walk on the
glacier. That was the right way to do it for us. We found out that the skydive
was cheaper , and more spectacular at the nearby glacier, called Fox.There we
could get a free night on a hostel if we booked the skydive through them. But
first of all we needed the weather to clear up, and it didn’t look like it was
gonna improve before Monday, so we were in no rush. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We located ourselves at
Montrose hostel in Franz Josef, and used the rest of the day online. Erik read
that the skydive at Fox is voted as the second best skydive in the world, in
terms of stunning views. We are not even sure we’re gonna be able to enjoy the
views after jumping out of that plane, but it sounded promising anyway.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujYj65J2PhQikUD_7Ks4Kg0Cs8DDJdkhfmOLkPbPC5JdrxGPqz-nI4nF4c5epwUkj5CIQoNKO9kIUCwazufLX_EshK5b90zuAvDUj50djqtLgAYakajOrGyVU1HxiBSz6ZJnDdeBfMA7q/s1600/LTA_0202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujYj65J2PhQikUD_7Ks4Kg0Cs8DDJdkhfmOLkPbPC5JdrxGPqz-nI4nF4c5epwUkj5CIQoNKO9kIUCwazufLX_EshK5b90zuAvDUj50djqtLgAYakajOrGyVU1HxiBSz6ZJnDdeBfMA7q/s1600/LTA_0202.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melting water directly from the glacier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOQPkAFvluJvGu73hTiqB9NuxsTaBY0M7vw-q1CZ6l3Pbafqjew_2TpM9frcrDaS9JYcm_a1C2Fr6VbA77Z2Z9g1lzgwF6exrmIbhpi3JZYwLdurGzmE6mz0ZVEv5VzwIG6zOK7MXRY-B0/s1600/LTA_0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOQPkAFvluJvGu73hTiqB9NuxsTaBY0M7vw-q1CZ6l3Pbafqjew_2TpM9frcrDaS9JYcm_a1C2Fr6VbA77Z2Z9g1lzgwF6exrmIbhpi3JZYwLdurGzmE6mz0ZVEv5VzwIG6zOK7MXRY-B0/s1600/LTA_0207.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Sunday 11<sup>th </sup>January</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We booked the skydive
for Monday afternoon, and crossed fingers for the weather to clear up soon.
This was our best day off in a long time, and we barely got out of the hostel.
The weather conditions didn’t change so we felt good about sitting inside and
updating our blog. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Monday 12<sup>th </sup>January</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We checked out from
Montrose hostel and ventured 22km further south to Fox Glacier Town.
Surprisingly none of us were afraid or worried about our crazy plans about
jumping out from a flight. This is one of the activities that we have planned
to do in New Zealand, since we left home. We’re not hesitating to do it, even
though the thought about it is crazy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At our arrival in Fox Glacier we already
knew that it would get postponed to later, as the clouds were still hanging low
and thick, the company obviously wouldn’t let us jump in bad weather
conditions. After a short stroll in the town we checked in at Fox Glacier Inn
hostel, where we got a night for free if we jumped. It didn’t seem like the
clouds around the mountains were moving anywhere, and the weather didn’t
improve during the day, so we prepared ourselves for another day of waiting. To
release the energy and annoying feelings about wasting another day on doing
nothing, we encouraged each other to a small jogging tour, which helped a bit. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tuesday 13<sup>th</sup>
January </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First thing we checked
immediately after opening our eyes was the weather outside. Sadly nothing had
changed. We got up anyway and when the hostel staff opened the reception they
called Fox Glacier Skydive and reported that it was postponed to later, as the
weather forecast again predicted a clear sky. We decided to wait and see what
would happen later. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we hadn’t been out and exploring for a few days, we felt
restless. I personally find it hard to relax, I feel like I need to see
something new everyday, otherwise I’m bored or annoyed. I guess it’s a travel
disorder I have developed. So during our waiting time we did a few smaller
walks at the bottom of the glacier, but we only saw a small percentage of it,
but really got a feeling about how immense and incredible it is. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the day
passed by we realized that today wasn’t our day either, and after walking
around lake Matheson in the early afternoon and seeing how the clouds didn’t
move at all, we decided to move on. We popped by the skydive shop to let them
know about our plans. The gentleman there offered to make a reservation for us
at Lake Wanaka for the next day at 2pm, and ensured us it would be better
weather down there, as we would be out of the mountains by the time we reached
it. So we were crossing everything we could for Wednesday to be our lucky day. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On our way down we had a quick stop at a salmon farm, here we were in for
another disappointment as the kitchen and café was closing just as we got
there, so no fresh salmon for us. Instead we ate our wraps with the last of our
pet food; some sandwich tuna that we bought by mistake. When we later passed by
Haast, we decided to get something to eat there... It turned into another big
mistake. The camp ground we stopped at near Haast River was overtaken by hungry
sand flies, so from the moment we got out of the car we were surrounded by
those small devils. In a hurry we pitched our tent, and had a quick look at the
river, and then escaped into our ram shackled tent. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6OL1dSLFF2Jgf7k9IucuS0JdIdPhpua-tmdG5Qug3E9kTIF7bkq0QIDgqGB7cLlYUtCmiawEIyaaDIMIfePIr4ZP7s17sh1nHm_ZUwaIeHKM37lpXLbkgM-8x7CruIh2RFVuo9UYP6xl/s1600/LTA_0225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6OL1dSLFF2Jgf7k9IucuS0JdIdPhpua-tmdG5Qug3E9kTIF7bkq0QIDgqGB7cLlYUtCmiawEIyaaDIMIfePIr4ZP7s17sh1nHm_ZUwaIeHKM37lpXLbkgM-8x7CruIh2RFVuo9UYP6xl/s1600/LTA_0225.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bottom of Fox Glacier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ3WrnRS78vHQRNF_h0ZLPuag1YZowjrLKaGbNGNJ3Nqre-Fv4cYfLTBPzUFx8zaVUEoOebjO7WXobop-NftghBgr7PqnqQ71AqZaNGNbsIbSV8jsoO2d3PYfcIKrHac7i6DfFO5OW9A4A/s1600/LTA_0229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ3WrnRS78vHQRNF_h0ZLPuag1YZowjrLKaGbNGNJ3Nqre-Fv4cYfLTBPzUFx8zaVUEoOebjO7WXobop-NftghBgr7PqnqQ71AqZaNGNbsIbSV8jsoO2d3PYfcIKrHac7i6DfFO5OW9A4A/s1600/LTA_0229.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4FdnrF00vZXD5NbDc1_5m6BYKZfGMmarKiVG5C1_Ci6pVC4wfvUx1CdnzSMROkzvwl0z1n2JKwWzbXXvJd5pd59v6xZ-usAkK9fazNpfJ9vV-SaAm9ZvOrn6a19re4B3_tzaHz7HKVdp/s1600/LTA_0277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4FdnrF00vZXD5NbDc1_5m6BYKZfGMmarKiVG5C1_Ci6pVC4wfvUx1CdnzSMROkzvwl0z1n2JKwWzbXXvJd5pd59v6xZ-usAkK9fazNpfJ9vV-SaAm9ZvOrn6a19re4B3_tzaHz7HKVdp/s1600/LTA_0277.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwrt2JICzszW_qfIvS340KK8UByzycOQBzr-ddNwljE70GJRW9lj8bwTVUvwi3p39lyBeSBwdpZKfBA_H7ttCcw98y3Av33ZsG9a7Ai7UXc5tELXG4efGCpxP9VDzA9Kzfi32HOp0YSjP/s1600/LTA_0290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwrt2JICzszW_qfIvS340KK8UByzycOQBzr-ddNwljE70GJRW9lj8bwTVUvwi3p39lyBeSBwdpZKfBA_H7ttCcw98y3Av33ZsG9a7Ai7UXc5tELXG4efGCpxP9VDzA9Kzfi32HOp0YSjP/s1600/LTA_0290.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Matheson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLRM1SLQ1UofLdwHMaFCZ_CKRKV0wiI9NthAcq_JywaPzfbVauNcOXKo4_OWFGCx6Ms6Hvh2angoUn3OEbqZN97Ez9L5RsoUQ1dYi15ZIkD7avG63VBm-5GVizLaly48SUO7WgwNeLSnq/s1600/LTA_0315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLRM1SLQ1UofLdwHMaFCZ_CKRKV0wiI9NthAcq_JywaPzfbVauNcOXKo4_OWFGCx6Ms6Hvh2angoUn3OEbqZN97Ez9L5RsoUQ1dYi15ZIkD7avG63VBm-5GVizLaly48SUO7WgwNeLSnq/s1600/LTA_0315.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The forest is so green and lush</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Xi8MR9rgbxnm1GzElDhNG9kFWNbTkhvqeZlLYAYZHFJOZ9ln9p6kWeVG2wCfe78UiFrS8p1LzOmIJtFR_dP-eK__uIB0WZjpbwifD8trKnC_1RgCEtzLvGHb9VWaRy7WR8tEVvOW1rEp/s1600/LTA_0343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Xi8MR9rgbxnm1GzElDhNG9kFWNbTkhvqeZlLYAYZHFJOZ9ln9p6kWeVG2wCfe78UiFrS8p1LzOmIJtFR_dP-eK__uIB0WZjpbwifD8trKnC_1RgCEtzLvGHb9VWaRy7WR8tEVvOW1rEp/s1600/LTA_0343.JPG" height="423" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Haast River</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizcwZBM9p2kJTPdfgs_MWx6KDr1wrfmBUOIR7FY-mYgdVARQGJALkm99KfXqYuYTAEGhoT_Ul6dSeQ-C6Dp2unGqTrHYjlUpuU7SkiO9-a-lUxv3-uwCHO1EF8Wcr7c911qYN17quoql07/s1600/LTA_0394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizcwZBM9p2kJTPdfgs_MWx6KDr1wrfmBUOIR7FY-mYgdVARQGJALkm99KfXqYuYTAEGhoT_Ul6dSeQ-C6Dp2unGqTrHYjlUpuU7SkiO9-a-lUxv3-uwCHO1EF8Wcr7c911qYN17quoql07/s1600/LTA_0394.JPG" height="423" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hawea Lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Wednesday 14<sup>th</sup>
January </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
A countless amount of
sand flies was waiting for us outside the tent. The small windows in the tent
was covered in small black dots, and getting outside wasn’t enjoyable. The
bastards are active in cloudy weather and this morning wasn’t an exception.
Today’s destination was Lake Wanaka, and it finally seemed like our lucky day. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we were driving along lake Wanaka to the town itself we passed lake Hawea
and the clouds finally seemed to be moving away and slowly it cleared up. The
first thing to do in Wanaka was to get a new registration label on the car.
It’s very easy compared to the process in Denmark, the car don’t need to go
through a check, we just needed to find a post office and buy a new
registration valid for 3 months. It costed us $77 (354kr), even cheaper than we
thought. A stroll around the town showed us how pleasant it actually is. The
mountain backdrop and the lake is so picture perfect, the town is not to busy,
not to quiet, it’s developed but still unspoiled. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sun were certainly coming out this day, and we realized that this was gonna be the day where we would
strap ourselves to a beautiful stranger and fall free in the sky. We started
driving towards the airport where the skydive company was located. The Skydive
Lake Wanaka is NZ’s most spectacular, multi award winning, high altitude tandem
skydive. When we arrived we started watching an introduction video where we got
all the information we needed to be able to do the tandem jump. We had several
movie and picture options, but we both choose a camera man to take pictures and
movies of us, he would jump at the same time as us and get all the funny shots.
After paying $1256 (6285kr) all together we went out to watch other people jump
and coming down in parachutes. We were deadly excited and a bit nervous. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Soon
it was our turn to put the one-piece suits on and get provided with a harness,
hat and glasses. Our instructor (the person we jumped with) came and picked us
up, my instructor Kim was Danish, but he pulled out a good English accent and
didn’t tell me his nationality before we sat on the plane. For some reason it
made me more calm to know that he was Danish. He had over 4500 jump and 6 years
experience with tandem jumps. Erik’s instructor was from South Africa and had
19 years experience, and Erik really felt comfortable on his stomach as well.
They were real professionals, and knew exactly how to handle our nervousness. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The scenic flight gave us brilliant views over the lakes, waterways, wilderness
and the Southern Alps chain (Mt. Aspiring National Park), which is a Worlds
Heritage Area. When reaching 12000 feet (3600 meter) we were provided with
oxygen masks, a few jumped in this height, but we continued up to 15000 feet
(4500 meter). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our instructors started strapping us to them and our adrenaline
pump was working overtime at this time. ‘Whenever you’re ready’ the captain
said, and it all went so fast after that. Soon Erik was sitting in the door
opening and swinging back and forth two times before disappearing into the blue
sky. It was scary but there was no turning back now - it was the only right way
to get down. You don’t realize how fast you’re actually falling, the air feels
like a cushion on you and you don’t get that well known roller coaster feeling
in your stomach, but you’re falling with 200km/h. It’s unreal to fall towards
the earth with such a speed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We had 1 minute free fall, and that was enough to
feel confident and to enjoy it. The rush was fantastic and much better than we
had imagined. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Erik was screaming the whole time, not because he was afraid but
because he was overwhelmed by the awesome free fall. Afterwards he told me that
he had thought if he would die, this would be in the happiest state of mind he
could think of. I was speechless on my free fall, but had the best time in my
life. It was so life-affirming when the parachute folded out and from that
point it was just a scenic paraglide tour back to solid ground. We couldn’t
wipe the big smiles of our faces again, it was such an incredible experience,
and very addictive. We both wanted to do it again straight away. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the hours
after I continuously tried to recall the adrenaline filled moment in the plane,
just before we jumped - it was simply the most fantastic moment in my life. It
took us the rest of the day to get over our accomplishment. My instructor are
going back to Denmark in May and starting his own skydive company near Herning,
so we will most likely visit him in the nearest future. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We talked about getting a beer after this
amazing experience, but instead of ruining our “ alcohol free January” we went
to a restaurant and both had a nice fresh salmon dish.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Skydive Wanaka</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Thursday 15<sup>th</sup>
January</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was delightful to
wake up and know that we could shower in the nearby river in Albert Town. We
didn’t have any plans for the day, so after our breakfast on the carpark
outside Countdown supermarket we walked to the beach beside the Wanaka lake and
recharged our batteries in the dazzling sun. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We also visited a knitwear shop,
cause ever since I borrowed Lisa’s wool poncho a night in Auckland I had
thought about getting one for myself. It was just so comfortable and warm, and
definitely a good purchase to bring home and wear during the danish winters.
The once I looked at in the shop was made of possum and merino, and even warmer
than wool. It would be special to buy one here, as there would be a story
attached to it, instead of buying one from home. We found out that they can
even send it home, and take the taxes of it, and in fact that way it ends out
being cheaper than buying it now and carrying it around. I wanted to have a
look around different shops though, but the ladies here gave me their business
card so I could call and order it any time I wanted. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We then left Wanaka - not
because we wanted to, but because we had to. It’s one of the most beautiful
places in New Zealand so far. I couldn’t stop thinking about yesterdays
adventure, and I tried in vain to recall the moment when time stood still. I
honestly feel the biggest desire for doing it again as soon as possible. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We visited Puzzling World outside of Wanaka, it's a place that messes with your head no matter what age you are, it's got bizarre buildings, puzzles for all ages and illusion rooms. To us it was a very interesting place to visit.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before reaching Queenstown we passed by Kawarau bridge, the World’s first permanent
commercial bungy jump site, started by A.J Hackett. A.J Hackett’s company have
remained as the largest operators both in NZ and overseas. The bridge is 43m
above the river. It didn’t look scary to us at all, we stood on the bridge and
saw people jump, and I thought it was a piece of cake. We definitely had to try
the 134m bungy to get some value for our money. It was late afternoon when we
reached Queenstown. Our first impression was that it’s more alive and busy than
Wanaka, but they seem similar in terms of being located by a lake, surrounded
by scenic mountains, but Queenstown have a lot more activities on offer. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We
only saw the town quickly this afternoon, we didn’t want to explore it this
late, so we drove straight out to a camp 12km out of town called Twelve Mile
Delta camp. After searching for a spot to camp in every single corner of the
area, we finally decided where to stay. We met some Americans that taught us a
really interesting card game and the night went by in their company, without
alcohol... It’s important to mention as most of the times when we meet new
people there’s often alcohol involved. But we are keeping our promise to each
other, both because of the unhealthy part of alcohol<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a> and
the very expensive part of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVaSKeOmIV6MpggcoecIYlyzFQ-9WcXfNIZTS0cxAXjQ3CECVNLF5SASkIuS9ByH89iMl9GWeqHySTtN9l1JA3VbsFQuG54MGJzwlwzyth18KpAlvIyN7yznKZFo7KOWXlUtfYhkrAEA-U/s1600/LTA_0430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVaSKeOmIV6MpggcoecIYlyzFQ-9WcXfNIZTS0cxAXjQ3CECVNLF5SASkIuS9ByH89iMl9GWeqHySTtN9l1JA3VbsFQuG54MGJzwlwzyth18KpAlvIyN7yznKZFo7KOWXlUtfYhkrAEA-U/s1600/LTA_0430.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's all about illusion</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJuvssUT20DmsxJoNNDKX6WKw60zxbrbRaw8AVu_S1vfPdN1Yt0WkGxuGKz4Vvs-b6snaJkeaR6Zx5pBg8IGFRViY-VY27FfTjySq-4CHgaHqC4d-ykt8f4TEZU7bx-W6fB8fcsyyvyW4/s1600/LTA_0432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJuvssUT20DmsxJoNNDKX6WKw60zxbrbRaw8AVu_S1vfPdN1Yt0WkGxuGKz4Vvs-b6snaJkeaR6Zx5pBg8IGFRViY-VY27FfTjySq-4CHgaHqC4d-ykt8f4TEZU7bx-W6fB8fcsyyvyW4/s1600/LTA_0432.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwB_4Y2LeQU34FLVkz5ektnQD2D9QEZbKMBl9nQGjGqYKenrlNCMWX3DNn4eaP__s3Bt6bq0FMBVrsVKWNlyyj02rRG_WPrQQTtUyeZGZxpxPxJXL6bQYzJtb3vPaXRLrgpY_neSQbxruX/s1600/LTA_0445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwB_4Y2LeQU34FLVkz5ektnQD2D9QEZbKMBl9nQGjGqYKenrlNCMWX3DNn4eaP__s3Bt6bq0FMBVrsVKWNlyyj02rRG_WPrQQTtUyeZGZxpxPxJXL6bQYzJtb3vPaXRLrgpY_neSQbxruX/s1600/LTA_0445.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYFKLbI7jZEllv-JswVGMjwDj_qtmSMF_2kZZPQA-tfsA7xrTFyyf7nPdADJp8qDDeYcpMOXzMd2Ihg4WvEGbEoNd_RbTEbf1LTrOglm427Juq4mv0zl4kW27Z0M2TowjJv6_icFBkXsRy/s1600/LTA_0448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYFKLbI7jZEllv-JswVGMjwDj_qtmSMF_2kZZPQA-tfsA7xrTFyyf7nPdADJp8qDDeYcpMOXzMd2Ihg4WvEGbEoNd_RbTEbf1LTrOglm427Juq4mv0zl4kW27Z0M2TowjJv6_icFBkXsRy/s1600/LTA_0448.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same construction as below..</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdrqtHD-2uC8V-MEW6GCu6QFFd94hXt4S06TI1ddBjGJhRWt3TsBuCyIUXWVPsOkGZySTCsOVGoI3K_pHzwu9s6-E3qDNH4MFvkVLLncKbgAse-MMppbJ3qx2rutAtjDNmJbB_AcQdOhgF/s1600/LTA_0451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdrqtHD-2uC8V-MEW6GCu6QFFd94hXt4S06TI1ddBjGJhRWt3TsBuCyIUXWVPsOkGZySTCsOVGoI3K_pHzwu9s6-E3qDNH4MFvkVLLncKbgAse-MMppbJ3qx2rutAtjDNmJbB_AcQdOhgF/s1600/LTA_0451.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmbYqPrqSskno8D2e9TvArA7RkT0hmpM1L5pqd4pbctYw5gbhsGcMyRmyXmM219lcR9rdYCO3N62hjqN2jXUsMr5FdOiJXDtA8pwTl9gMjBvW69lvfDHnlLoNiw8NLagFvwiqo01HXlZF/s1600/LTA_0459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmbYqPrqSskno8D2e9TvArA7RkT0hmpM1L5pqd4pbctYw5gbhsGcMyRmyXmM219lcR9rdYCO3N62hjqN2jXUsMr5FdOiJXDtA8pwTl9gMjBvW69lvfDHnlLoNiw8NLagFvwiqo01HXlZF/s1600/LTA_0459.JPG" height="412" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two faces... Or a sculpture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEFgCHiKkyejAZeWozYfbVrKVuyidXMvpncoQVY0uZ1IYm8tL0WI6uMAHBlXWco2rEmsY7E-mGRr9orPqtt503tWbyt7rpbbSRVY-cpvWo_CUtAGdK1qJia2DMR1a0gyj0qPlAsmsFZLN/s1600/LTA_0467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEFgCHiKkyejAZeWozYfbVrKVuyidXMvpncoQVY0uZ1IYm8tL0WI6uMAHBlXWco2rEmsY7E-mGRr9orPqtt503tWbyt7rpbbSRVY-cpvWo_CUtAGdK1qJia2DMR1a0gyj0qPlAsmsFZLN/s1600/LTA_0467.JPG" height="400" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common toilet..</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDX_go_UoJY_RRQwN9NseHENb-5r27pTqFjm1aExmhBzogFJTH87LnRxtU16rbnaMRbjbYvIuX4kbJaQnYKSgsi6iqyQQkOvUxlhXnX6A3dqcMmUh_eGx7o2CXl3Oc0H5GGbYg7FIUkS-_/s1600/LTA_0469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDX_go_UoJY_RRQwN9NseHENb-5r27pTqFjm1aExmhBzogFJTH87LnRxtU16rbnaMRbjbYvIuX4kbJaQnYKSgsi6iqyQQkOvUxlhXnX6A3dqcMmUh_eGx7o2CXl3Oc0H5GGbYg7FIUkS-_/s1600/LTA_0469.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illusion or...?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhVriuQNEvX8Mq8ojO1UD8_70SkDrMn3W3-CShypL-sp58aOtXebEHyDf1pEo4WLQU2KswX4hNqYoTmdV-V51bxILoEWjGUyw4-eYADQ5G6umCHQ0dvC8A30OfPmYR3w_KQeUZ7yp1BdZ/s1600/LTA_0480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhVriuQNEvX8Mq8ojO1UD8_70SkDrMn3W3-CShypL-sp58aOtXebEHyDf1pEo4WLQU2KswX4hNqYoTmdV-V51bxILoEWjGUyw4-eYADQ5G6umCHQ0dvC8A30OfPmYR3w_KQeUZ7yp1BdZ/s1600/LTA_0480.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back in the real world</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKNnjfpqhd9kHAwqQ2jDbQpQA3dn3dGgdy4lgSptr6iR_UOUKqAldYf7z9Abr3tHJ166N6Z5fmTiRhgmTIZce9EUMsFwOAspTGVRAuSwP52gi2bQwyZUQwoXrBwgpDV5YJjnj9kDr7psL/s1600/LTA_0496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKNnjfpqhd9kHAwqQ2jDbQpQA3dn3dGgdy4lgSptr6iR_UOUKqAldYf7z9Abr3tHJ166N6Z5fmTiRhgmTIZce9EUMsFwOAspTGVRAuSwP52gi2bQwyZUQwoXrBwgpDV5YJjnj9kDr7psL/s1600/LTA_0496.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kawarau Bungy Bridge<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Natures stunning landscapes</b></span></td></tr>
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Erik Krafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10520862374999442880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-34397030596175436972015-01-11T08:44:00.000+01:002015-01-11T11:33:37.581+01:00New Zealand - Christmas And New Years In The Sun Plus Some Serious Volcanic Activity<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Sunday 21<sup>st
</sup>December</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As planned
we left Auckland in “Birdie” the Nissan Bluebird from 1992, that Sam was so
generous to lend us, for the 5 following weeks. We also borrowed a pillow, a
sleeping bag and a quilt from them. All we had to buy by ourselves was a tent,
an extra sleeping bag and two self-inflating air mattresses. We got those
things sorted out during the day, both in Auckland and in Matamata,which was
our first real planned stop on the trip. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A short drive out of Matamata is the
area ‘The Shire’, home of the Hobbiton Movie Set. It’s where parts of Lord of
the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies were filmed. The location with sheep and
cattle farms is spectacular. Peter Jackson the movie director discovered the
area in 1998, when searching for suitable film sites. The construction began in
1999, and involved heavy earthmoving machinery that built the 1,5km road into
the site. Thirty-nine Hobbit holes were created with timber, ply and cardboard.
The mill and bridge was built of scaffolding and ply. The oak tree overlooking
Bag End was transported in from near Matamata and artificial leaves were
brought in from Taiwan and individually wired onto the tree. Our guide told us,
that just the tree process took several weeks. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">They did the same with some plum
and apple trees, and Peter Jackson made a local girl sit under the tree eating
plums for three whole hours while filming. In the movie you only see this girl in
the background for 2 seconds – if you watch the extended edition. Imagine how
much time they have used on each scene to get it perfectly correct. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Our guide,
a young fellow in his early twenties grew up with having friends who
participated in the movies as the small kids running on the pathways, and some
also got casted as hobbits. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When they rebuilt the area in 2009, the
constructions were built out of permanent materials including an artificial
tree made out of steel and silicon. The reconstruction took two years, and
today the set is maintained to keep the magic of The Shire alive. It’s now a
permanent attraction and a huge tourist draw. A 3 hours trip is $75 (345kr),
and there’s no other way to see it than pay those money. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Our guide revealed the
secret of how they made the Hobbits looks so small compared to for example
Gandalf. We were really impressed by the
stories, the spectacular landscape and all the small Hobbit holes. It made us
want to watch the movies. </span>We only watched two of the Hobbit movies so far, but
we are definitely keen to watch the rest of the movies after seeing the film
set.</div>
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In the afternoon when we were done with the ‘sightseeing’, we drove
further south, passed the beautiful Lake Taupo and stopped in Turangi. There
isn’t much to do in the town, but it makes a perfect stop-over for people like
us, who planned to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. We checked in at the
cheapest hostel in town – a special place with a lot of graffiti on the walls,
there wasn’t a single white spot left over, there were worn out shoes hanging
as decorations, the buildings were very old and used. It was easy to tell that
the owner didn’t put a lot of effort into maintaining it. He was cool enough to
give us a private room for the same amount of money as a dorm though, but the
bedding was dirty and the room smelled as if something had gone mouldy– but it
was cheap! </div>
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For once I let Erik cook dinner and it actually turned out great, so
maybe I should loosen up a bit and give him a longer leash in the kitchen.</div>
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<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Hobbiton Movie</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/xGyo6gNWSKw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Monday 22<sup>nd
</sup>December</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We rose
early to make our lunch and get ready for the long trekking day ahead of us.
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing (19,4km) is said to be New Zealand’s best one day
trekking tour and it’s FREE. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We started at the opposite carpark than most of
the other trekkers – it said to be a harder trek due to the 11km uphill, but by
starting there we had the pathways to ourselves most of the morning. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Erik hasn’t
done any exercise for 7-8 months, so he’s in a bad shape. I have banned him to exercise;
since he loses weight so easily. I have jogged frequently, but wouldn’t
consider myself being fit at all. Taking these facts into consideration I think
we reached the top faster than most people. I started to feel my broken pinky
toe, so I compensated in the rest of my body. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The landscape was the most dramatic
we have ever seen. We passed active volcanic terrain, saw steam vents and lava
flow. It became more and more spectacular the further we got to the top. It was
simply breathtaking to see the three emerald coloured crater lakes. It’s a view
that you can only dream about. </span>We enjoyed lunch in the most picturesque
surroundings you can imagine. After getting some fuel on the engines we continued
our journey to the top, 1886m. From here we got the view over the red crater. I
just can’t describe how dramatic it looked. It’s something that you need to
experience before you actually understand it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our descend was a piece of cake
(pis og kage), we both felt full of energy, which is why we started to run
downhill. We both felt pain in our knees, but it was the same pain whether we
ran or walked. And at some stage we both got stubborn and ignored the pain. So
we ended up running the last 5-6km down to the carpark in the other end of the
track. Then we were out of energy! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The normal time to finish the tramp is
between 7-8 hours, we did it in 6 hours, from the hard beginning point, and
with a 1 hour break. We were proud of what we had accomplished during the day
and just needed to get back to our car on the other side again, before the
mission was completed. There were shuttle busses driving between the two
carparks, $30 each way. Since there was so many on this southern carpark we
figured that it was easy to get a lift to the other carpark where our car was,
and it was located towards Turangi as well, so it shouldn’t be a problem. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A
friendly French guy gave us a ride. He was training to do an ultra-marathon in
Hong Kong in January. So his warm up was to do this crossing back and forth,
plus he made it to the summit of the tallest volcano in the area. He was
insane. He dropped us of at a crossing where he was going straight and we were
going right. We then walked while we waited for a new ride that could bring us
back to our car. An Australian ski bum picked us up, he had hitch hiked back to
the other carpark, picked up his car and was now on his way to pick his friend
up at ‘our’ carpark. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back in our car we were a bit indecisive of what to do and
where to go. We knew we wouldn’t get much out of the rest of the day. I was
already asleep shortly after Erik started the car, he drove towards the clear
blue Lake Taupo, but very quickly also got over manned by fatigue, so we had a
break near the lake in the shadow of a tree. I fell in a deep sleep,
unfortunate for Erik he couldn’t sleep. He was too tired to sleep, he said!! Anyway
we were both clear in our heads after the rest and decided to drive up to Taupo
town. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Taupo town is pleasant, busy and friendly. Its biggest attraction is the expanse
of Lake Taupo where there is countless activities to enjoy. Fishing for trouts
being the principal attraction, but there is also more adrenaline-pumping activity
such as bungy jumping, skydiving, parasailing etc. The town is pumping at this
time of the year, as the summer holidays for all Kiwi’s has just started. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We
visited the thermal spa park, with a hot spring pool. It was crowded as well,
with German tourists and a lot of them. They must have shut down Germany during
Christmas! The warm water was good medicine for our sore muscles and even
though we had to squeeze in between our neighbor country we still enjoyed it. Waikato
River’s cold water stream was running next to the hot pool, and we finished off
with a cold shower in the clean water. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Later we phoned a few campgrounds and
realized how unreasonable pricy they were, the cheapest was $22 (101kr) per nose
per night, for sleeping in our own little tent!! It was ridiculous – we could
get a dorm bed in a hostel cheaper than that! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A lady on one of the campgrounds
told us where we could camp for free. We were relieved and we now appreciated
that we had taken the ‘shower’ in the cold river, cause there was no showers on
the free campground. We were surprised to see how well located it was. Waikato River
was running right next to it and there were plenty of people out there. It’s a
really cool spot for budget travelers. We pitched our tent and arranged ourselves
in the best possible way. We then consumed cold wraps with tuna and salad
before we went to bed. We were both knackered after a long and exhausting day
so we passed out quickly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTig3WmnZvu0A4acNoGVm8XaAr0mAYL9rQPKJdZoIjYHg3reN5Ln-iJYyi6CR86l9masKlEU9eo_nuJD2IwLEearJ6shTqJnwemQJqtqk-K4kt0SRo4-78kEwO0rxVe81JKNg92lC-f5u/s1600/LTA_8825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTig3WmnZvu0A4acNoGVm8XaAr0mAYL9rQPKJdZoIjYHg3reN5Ln-iJYyi6CR86l9masKlEU9eo_nuJD2IwLEearJ6shTqJnwemQJqtqk-K4kt0SRo4-78kEwO0rxVe81JKNg92lC-f5u/s1600/LTA_8825.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">We started from Ketetahi and ended in Mangatepopo</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFqKgFd_WKyfYOkmIa4gsIHB0GpMLLcQC3iqZmu9FCvoMWhrfcstmKl-cYx_jAVX4G-rFOwImmDlOyXXHPdQbV1hmAC_zwgz8HOp7FGxEAJ3RUE-NgljaX_e5Nw-sFw8z3tlZ-lqNPTeY/s1600/LTA_8660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFqKgFd_WKyfYOkmIa4gsIHB0GpMLLcQC3iqZmu9FCvoMWhrfcstmKl-cYx_jAVX4G-rFOwImmDlOyXXHPdQbV1hmAC_zwgz8HOp7FGxEAJ3RUE-NgljaX_e5Nw-sFw8z3tlZ-lqNPTeY/s1600/LTA_8660.JPG" height="300" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJQXKCUfyJaZ8Pyu98hI2fHNDdWR5G1M_sn-cAs_HEhI7WC8xoSLLrqsZe55hElmNFGCOjfut3-pKNHF0yB_5aZ_IZBONjaYgYsuFHtcAPjLJpvXVcxy-GJn-w3TJ_yIMp1HKARFlqLjS/s1600/LTA_8663.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJQXKCUfyJaZ8Pyu98hI2fHNDdWR5G1M_sn-cAs_HEhI7WC8xoSLLrqsZe55hElmNFGCOjfut3-pKNHF0yB_5aZ_IZBONjaYgYsuFHtcAPjLJpvXVcxy-GJn-w3TJ_yIMp1HKARFlqLjS/s1600/LTA_8663.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steaming volcanoes </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnm_jHjFkmz5rFw2uroWTODcEB6hVMVOnXadJdsFBnv9VD01h4v6Hn0fGofmt8BN3GrZhfryPzWezCHx7Ld7ZykrCSgXPQZAGyhMmoSG4Pn2mIByRBVgoAg0hbhpvdeH_5aW-RSh0vcPR/s1600/LTA_8677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnm_jHjFkmz5rFw2uroWTODcEB6hVMVOnXadJdsFBnv9VD01h4v6Hn0fGofmt8BN3GrZhfryPzWezCHx7Ld7ZykrCSgXPQZAGyhMmoSG4Pn2mIByRBVgoAg0hbhpvdeH_5aW-RSh0vcPR/s1600/LTA_8677.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Valuable view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7B06RBrkaoMb9TWjIUs9ZGi_YEATlaz9QH7BNwry9GsCQp5h7ZdH9GkwmURwKByj4h0heUJCxyWfTljxNlafle_j_0-gvEG2QkRbNjXLkf0PiY3SPp9fuLG_EMxJ4JmyruQ6n5ofdVuzh/s1600/IMG_2573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7B06RBrkaoMb9TWjIUs9ZGi_YEATlaz9QH7BNwry9GsCQp5h7ZdH9GkwmURwKByj4h0heUJCxyWfTljxNlafle_j_0-gvEG2QkRbNjXLkf0PiY3SPp9fuLG_EMxJ4JmyruQ6n5ofdVuzh/s1600/IMG_2573.JPG" height="204" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The blue lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEE5hDuWh5SIzfq8TNDagYp4V2po_dYX5__H2coqnFpNj5OcFBA8fBbyLJUlIPLgCQ4m7BuQt0SzFGiG6veaXlAm2aDP4s3g1JHwsXL1NqIh1cMnQh37ANGTX6RKcmaEYGb79hAP7RyaFn/s1600/LTA_8702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEE5hDuWh5SIzfq8TNDagYp4V2po_dYX5__H2coqnFpNj5OcFBA8fBbyLJUlIPLgCQ4m7BuQt0SzFGiG6veaXlAm2aDP4s3g1JHwsXL1NqIh1cMnQh37ANGTX6RKcmaEYGb79hAP7RyaFn/s1600/LTA_8702.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Mr6NG8ngch8rocEt53NrIOVhbzyNfx1GLTD6ZCwnqGN9PO6c-d-0i8vxqLRdOzskBf2L9Jg9BKaxJoE5LsfpRTddnfjYVhaxkjZnyWvjBWCO3hQZpiefVLqkTj6acBy2zVd9lEQRGh4D/s1600/LTA_8722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Mr6NG8ngch8rocEt53NrIOVhbzyNfx1GLTD6ZCwnqGN9PO6c-d-0i8vxqLRdOzskBf2L9Jg9BKaxJoE5LsfpRTddnfjYVhaxkjZnyWvjBWCO3hQZpiefVLqkTj6acBy2zVd9lEQRGh4D/s1600/LTA_8722.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frodo overlooking the terrain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZr8wLittupmoAJD2wpEcRTtvx0y4V-_4uYk3OniV6vGQpc12bQ-fKR7PmpqhDulZ2xIBr6msnz9DQP4Jbv-SCARfiQvBdzgaZqyh8qfzA1ab90NGWc6I1Kej1lG9nIWRs9F_YAkOX2R9T/s1600/LTA_8749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZr8wLittupmoAJD2wpEcRTtvx0y4V-_4uYk3OniV6vGQpc12bQ-fKR7PmpqhDulZ2xIBr6msnz9DQP4Jbv-SCARfiQvBdzgaZqyh8qfzA1ab90NGWc6I1Kej1lG9nIWRs9F_YAkOX2R9T/s1600/LTA_8749.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Best lunch view ever</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uRNuvXg9OZ97nYBLKB8PKeSSNWzzUmE2b6aPKOZbEZ1Bpg4ve4HZTVCxkG7o-9Wq6hrUghG_DEVgdIW-P7A_i0F2oZxwU91svOkWqwyDDiKFsOkNZ4_Ar-xltCBiKcooXH7Lh0FQEwVk/s1600/LTA_8757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uRNuvXg9OZ97nYBLKB8PKeSSNWzzUmE2b6aPKOZbEZ1Bpg4ve4HZTVCxkG7o-9Wq6hrUghG_DEVgdIW-P7A_i0F2oZxwU91svOkWqwyDDiKFsOkNZ4_Ar-xltCBiKcooXH7Lh0FQEwVk/s1600/LTA_8757.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpehmc1JOJBkD2cz5rWXWhnBjAknRDcGBhUWyKbWkVS6VvEBwHEDuCeL4k6wRS6RPPKHlfiUvFv4GW4FqjeI8gpLqnSP7Ftk1cpCQYSIfOA38adg_DEqhNoYJ_ynQHqCUE1xGVAYvdfNtg/s1600/LTA_8761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpehmc1JOJBkD2cz5rWXWhnBjAknRDcGBhUWyKbWkVS6VvEBwHEDuCeL4k6wRS6RPPKHlfiUvFv4GW4FqjeI8gpLqnSP7Ftk1cpCQYSIfOA38adg_DEqhNoYJ_ynQHqCUE1xGVAYvdfNtg/s1600/LTA_8761.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoh4UOn438vv0MUCW9nLP-PIYw7MkRpy2m5M-DB1MeQJjKDRZhAr7zXD_h38UZ8FLgyCZ1Ij0tY9qshQ4m7Qv1_bzhxCc-nP6hy6_yL0MQkpec5RCWv7bRwQ0Zz8ajvn721CjQwEJ0Bc2Z/s1600/LTA_8774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoh4UOn438vv0MUCW9nLP-PIYw7MkRpy2m5M-DB1MeQJjKDRZhAr7zXD_h38UZ8FLgyCZ1Ij0tY9qshQ4m7Qv1_bzhxCc-nP6hy6_yL0MQkpec5RCWv7bRwQ0Zz8ajvn721CjQwEJ0Bc2Z/s1600/LTA_8774.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crater lakes, notice all the white steam coming up</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxBhvbVd-0IJYNiES-CY_UwwsF8-9olRWYCv-i87EB-NAp0gSePrLgXgwtBqxSnjuw5WapD0kZTWbFTjp1X6uU9iPiPGcvGbXVqURSBL_HGIVdycr4pbBTf7iBGCZAc31YkMHEwBwixqh/s1600/LTA_8793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxBhvbVd-0IJYNiES-CY_UwwsF8-9olRWYCv-i87EB-NAp0gSePrLgXgwtBqxSnjuw5WapD0kZTWbFTjp1X6uU9iPiPGcvGbXVqURSBL_HGIVdycr4pbBTf7iBGCZAc31YkMHEwBwixqh/s1600/LTA_8793.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was original taken as a raw picture, we tried to convert it, but we don't have the right program and that explains the red line on the right and the writing in the corner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5OOJmQW3u2a1FMb-YKaJ_RBQJ00IYVStoxh8MdZ6U4qBBocJm6nuMPi6G2fDKU1zW0XxdAzFW8ontZmE4hXoeschfQM2TRQhAdH5QsaHu8Mh0dzgB_mmJgpxLMtAByrOMdsiwwCcsTFst/s1600/LTA_8807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5OOJmQW3u2a1FMb-YKaJ_RBQJ00IYVStoxh8MdZ6U4qBBocJm6nuMPi6G2fDKU1zW0XxdAzFW8ontZmE4hXoeschfQM2TRQhAdH5QsaHu8Mh0dzgB_mmJgpxLMtAByrOMdsiwwCcsTFst/s1600/LTA_8807.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The red crater and the same story as above</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mnGpL9fEZn-v-Hrve240yo4eIXd6oJZNnC1d0akGawCr-q-JxQ-GSQKJ-TNJXuYQClXXjr9NbAbgkg1LdepSeL7kPzuOO5D17Q3SdainpEDVvKYkp6Xv0xa8EZU-9G0mnqU5U97I8Aqx/s1600/LTA_8815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mnGpL9fEZn-v-Hrve240yo4eIXd6oJZNnC1d0akGawCr-q-JxQ-GSQKJ-TNJXuYQClXXjr9NbAbgkg1LdepSeL7kPzuOO5D17Q3SdainpEDVvKYkp6Xv0xa8EZU-9G0mnqU5U97I8Aqx/s1600/LTA_8815.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtt_HtTdwfBmLexmYLw7UHYqDh_kWJVF0jhobIqO7VZF-iUPkBNxCd5XE8alOiCDIQBkFPqRgbCHCnLQ7EO4x5KTToPukc0RFr-UHEnON_VtKYktGcSxNvnoALQi6nnwfLkiq0m46RPQG/s1600/IMG_2578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtt_HtTdwfBmLexmYLw7UHYqDh_kWJVF0jhobIqO7VZF-iUPkBNxCd5XE8alOiCDIQBkFPqRgbCHCnLQ7EO4x5KTToPukc0RFr-UHEnON_VtKYktGcSxNvnoALQi6nnwfLkiq0m46RPQG/s1600/IMG_2578.JPG" height="138" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panoramic views</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauomzR_aueaHpz98aGCBsbCDLDYybZKoYI5fwkSQcZTol6ijgqVfdfloKj57F-4XoIsiiIWxiEM12h05UP3cNHI8BqQqIRt7aH4_xINrPpcXVR3MSTxSAsOrd1Y-PshodcI8MhPs27MSX/s1600/IMG_2579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauomzR_aueaHpz98aGCBsbCDLDYybZKoYI5fwkSQcZTol6ijgqVfdfloKj57F-4XoIsiiIWxiEM12h05UP3cNHI8BqQqIRt7aH4_xINrPpcXVR3MSTxSAsOrd1Y-PshodcI8MhPs27MSX/s1600/IMG_2579.JPG" height="214" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6IWXhf1YWniLojvthJ6bhEpu59mWX1Sdazdj_1ZQumEc9twSRjT-Y_T8_iA1Ad_vj-xuUUNsQrWsNdoKpDzHtOCn6F5O24UKkcWZ28RJn6dl1zOtjBNX-fnih5OXcT35fJS29edEO5yll/s1600/LTA_8823.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6IWXhf1YWniLojvthJ6bhEpu59mWX1Sdazdj_1ZQumEc9twSRjT-Y_T8_iA1Ad_vj-xuUUNsQrWsNdoKpDzHtOCn6F5O24UKkcWZ28RJn6dl1zOtjBNX-fnih5OXcT35fJS29edEO5yll/s1600/LTA_8823.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
..<span style="font-size: x-small;">Fordi vi kan..</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnoDBG_7rS5G1TNWPxbaVjFgz3pQChVwDC3SCApc7RZY6SqYWDbAkOdktdxjsfJeHxeT-ybcaE2U7J-FBH535LM1Ewb51rRv7t_eps3q37qXpLjvIs-41JJ7CdQ9N17dQ9q25sR6sEvEQS/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-12-30-10h13m42s118.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnoDBG_7rS5G1TNWPxbaVjFgz3pQChVwDC3SCApc7RZY6SqYWDbAkOdktdxjsfJeHxeT-ybcaE2U7J-FBH535LM1Ewb51rRv7t_eps3q37qXpLjvIs-41JJ7CdQ9N17dQ9q25sR6sEvEQS/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-12-30-10h13m42s118.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Taupo free Thermal Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiitT7UVpcetJO3fHAP2XwzUVQQolct2rcXiOOKNzsuZdyixBY50sz4hJDvxNsmDkXOPhZbZlMWRa1L21qWLmdai6z0FmJe6E75t59qnkki5KZofbTfsR95Y5xfl1rzO2_IysusF_EZzdh/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-12-30-10h07m33s13.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiitT7UVpcetJO3fHAP2XwzUVQQolct2rcXiOOKNzsuZdyixBY50sz4hJDvxNsmDkXOPhZbZlMWRa1L21qWLmdai6z0FmJe6E75t59qnkki5KZofbTfsR95Y5xfl1rzO2_IysusF_EZzdh/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-12-30-10h07m33s13.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hairwash<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tongariro Crossing</b></span><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/b_1ESepe1T4/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/b_1ESepe1T4?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/b_1ESepe1T4?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Tuesday 23<sup>rd
</sup>December</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It seemed
like a brilliant idea to run down the volcano yesterday, but after our first
night in the tent our legs were sorer than ever. We both had a great sleep, but
getting up wasn’t enjoyable. We were in pain, and could barely walk. Maybe it
hadn’t been the smartest idea to sleep in our tent after such a long trek. I
walked like a retard down to the river to clean our dishes from the day before. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I really enjoyed the fact that everyone uses the river for showering, shaving, doing dishes,
etc. That’s what we consider REAL camping! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After a short conversation via Skype with Erik’s mom & Jan, we
locked the tent and left into town to get our breakfast, cereals and milk. We
were out of energy and Erik was really struggling with his hay fever. He hasn’t
sensed it during most out our travels, but the climate here is so similar to
the Danish climate, and since it's summer here now, there is a lot of pollen in
the air. So the poor thing sneezed countless times during the whole day, he
just couldn’t get a break. </span>We rested our bodies on the beach for a few hours,
and swam in the cold, but extremely clean and clear lake. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our visit to the
library was mainly based on sending friends and family Christmas greetings. We
visited McDonalds (Maccas) as it is listed to be the most unique McDonalds in
the world. We haven’t quite figured out exactly why, but maybe it’s due to the
aircraft in the back of the “restaurant”. Back on the campground, I gave Erik
his Christmas present, a haircut near the river. Meanwhile we enjoyed the last
bit of sun and a cold drink, before we took our evening shower in the refreshing
river. We celebrated “small Christmas night”, sitting on our Danish flag, drinking
red wine and watching videos from our previous adventures.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqRcfAfgSfian-E6qOzhPigJMR5eAhbPXrNjLuY8geiUqUi7dSuazm5_KK1-pN74bHnrmSdtjIfybzHGiJ5-qW8QuyXUnCbBRO5W4wxstHyQUV0lP5iqsZeftcPgxNTwsZ2Hd2UbuBHfP/s1600/vlcsnap-2015-01-05-20h58m56s135.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqRcfAfgSfian-E6qOzhPigJMR5eAhbPXrNjLuY8geiUqUi7dSuazm5_KK1-pN74bHnrmSdtjIfybzHGiJ5-qW8QuyXUnCbBRO5W4wxstHyQUV0lP5iqsZeftcPgxNTwsZ2Hd2UbuBHfP/s1600/vlcsnap-2015-01-05-20h58m56s135.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Zealand's cheapest haircut<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRe4xY4dXKHHblAaGL7CzcCCinN0VOEga1PCRdSQZPYi85-OC-FJXckMyDuQ7H2CFeu0rNwfwxxZ_2gkxxI60aYfspB181BfQe4NJKDU_p_M9E0_cmISGK1uZf4JxAmafYYj0jouRLfJyI/s1600/LTA_8838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRe4xY4dXKHHblAaGL7CzcCCinN0VOEga1PCRdSQZPYi85-OC-FJXckMyDuQ7H2CFeu0rNwfwxxZ_2gkxxI60aYfspB181BfQe4NJKDU_p_M9E0_cmISGK1uZf4JxAmafYYj0jouRLfJyI/s1600/LTA_8838.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Wednesday
24<sup>th</sup> December</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Christmas
day and never have we felt the Christmas spirit being so little. Our plan was
to drive to Levin, where Sam’s family lives and as mentioned before, Lisa and Sam
had invited us to celebrate Christmas with them. Erik drove the whole way from
Taupo, meanwhile I got some blog and sleeping sorted out. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We arrived at Sam’s
mom’s house in Levin in the early afternoon. Sam has got a big family, his
parents are divorced, and his mom, Vivian has adopted five children, she also
has a teenage son with her “new” husband, Simon, and then there is Sam and his
biological Brother, Tom. Her husband has a big family as well, so it’s only
going to get more confusing from now on. Anyhow, we arrived at this lovely
house, the sun was shining and the beers were cold. The family was great and
really easy-going. They made us feel comfortable right from the beginning. We
spend the afternoon on their porch and later Lisa arranged a trip to the river
where we had a swim, more beers and a good time. Here they celebrate Christmas
on the morning of the 25<sup>th</sup>, they do barbeques and drinks, but
honestly Christmas isn’t big here at all. We were lucky to celebrate it two
days though, first day would be with Sam’s dad and his family and second day
with his mom and that part of the family. We (us, Lisa, Sam, Tom and his
boyfriend Adam) were supposed to be at Sam’s dad Nigel’s house at 4pm, we were
running late after visiting the river, but Kiwi’s are really relaxed and
there’s never an excuse for rushing through your life – just take it easy and
enjoy every moment. We just followed the laid-back life style. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was funny to
leave Vivian’s house and stepping into Nigel’s, as it was two completely
different worlds. It was like coming from a house on Christiania in Copenhagen
and stepping into a house in Hellerup. The difference was huge, but both houses
were great in their own way. When we arrived everybody put their presents
underneath the Christmas tree in the corner of the well decorated lounge room –
and that’s the only thing that reminded us a little about Christmas. Nothing
else during this wonderful day was like a danish Christmas, except for the 3-4
christmas songs playing in the loudspeakers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We all sat in the garden all day
and night. We were nine all together, with Nigel’s wife Sue and her son. Nigel
made us a delicious barbeque buffet and it was basically “just” a barbeque night.
Their friends came over for drinks and we had a great time. We were actually relieved
that it was so relaxed. I imagine it being awkward if we would have strangers
visiting during x-mas at home, mostly because our traditions are so strong and
we are definitely not open-hearted people at home. We are aiming to change that
though – cause in the end, that is what Christmas is all about! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A few hours after midnight I think we all had
enough to drink. We were provided with a huge air mattress in the living room,
and then we all went to bed.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMjUhibjcNG9wrNB4mVTSBb1e_SePeFwI1F75KmJLcWzEREoetGcabwwyG22Bzrhpv9l4l5SglmAIzAIBlBWTsgdFPDhQ2oSnTvHiYtz3EeElczxLup5fiwtb42G5mDcpUA11D_ThyhdqB/s1600/vlcsnap-2015-01-05-21h12m25s33.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMjUhibjcNG9wrNB4mVTSBb1e_SePeFwI1F75KmJLcWzEREoetGcabwwyG22Bzrhpv9l4l5SglmAIzAIBlBWTsgdFPDhQ2oSnTvHiYtz3EeElczxLup5fiwtb42G5mDcpUA11D_ThyhdqB/s1600/vlcsnap-2015-01-05-21h12m25s33.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa and I enjoying a cold beer after a cold swim </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvSpRGydy3bhyanThUOR67EjOIbERBOf58zbIJQiex3fm27xUERHKgclYqnWwwc6lR2ZqD-waaVZq2f4LfaX9V7MgZ1mjH8DqVs-MHXM8Ry8RMz7hW8wI1hlYIWmVQmjNsL-X9yNJVWYnG/s1600/LTA_8843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvSpRGydy3bhyanThUOR67EjOIbERBOf58zbIJQiex3fm27xUERHKgclYqnWwwc6lR2ZqD-waaVZq2f4LfaX9V7MgZ1mjH8DqVs-MHXM8Ry8RMz7hW8wI1hlYIWmVQmjNsL-X9yNJVWYnG/s1600/LTA_8843.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful Christmas day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuM1I-U04BveZZYaNQfQ1f8h5r4EMpEzb39gnd8WzkvXQde6LIAndaKYm_M5ALbPYZ4fKdWKuR_sks3GDBc2lEHRddNJ_ncZ_XwREvfLOB1OK-WjJcfZMU5erHsaZZVFZ6_GqtZTaRfceT/s1600/LTA_8941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuM1I-U04BveZZYaNQfQ1f8h5r4EMpEzb39gnd8WzkvXQde6LIAndaKYm_M5ALbPYZ4fKdWKuR_sks3GDBc2lEHRddNJ_ncZ_XwREvfLOB1OK-WjJcfZMU5erHsaZZVFZ6_GqtZTaRfceT/s1600/LTA_8941.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love the open fire place</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwXbKNHE3Ivx10KVnR8D3D3MRbgcMm3ev5cBMMlbu2DpiWCqiJMDgxK3VCPmizE_fqfhxpKsKMTBBfZqJ9qf8H2nEs-QmFrn_wn4tFmCsmssBwB6i589eQCwgxXrkXMdYJ7mS4vrKCxAso/s1600/LTA_8845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwXbKNHE3Ivx10KVnR8D3D3MRbgcMm3ev5cBMMlbu2DpiWCqiJMDgxK3VCPmizE_fqfhxpKsKMTBBfZqJ9qf8H2nEs-QmFrn_wn4tFmCsmssBwB6i589eQCwgxXrkXMdYJ7mS4vrKCxAso/s1600/LTA_8845.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Presenting Lisa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4pOj7XArGaYXmdKt6ozq7X48fvapjjlVKVV0Z6exvIl0Xl-VGYWTeqfzE73GB3Nb09qB-9vCRA41dNwZJdqPzuQsEQbBWXqZuLXY0QJU05A3RmUk9x35EVfQ8LpWrWPIDabszm1Akp3Q/s1600/LTA_8902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4pOj7XArGaYXmdKt6ozq7X48fvapjjlVKVV0Z6exvIl0Xl-VGYWTeqfzE73GB3Nb09qB-9vCRA41dNwZJdqPzuQsEQbBWXqZuLXY0QJU05A3RmUk9x35EVfQ8LpWrWPIDabszm1Akp3Q/s1600/LTA_8902.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicious X-mas dinner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgavbWWFGXin4z5piz3GDK-PH5qVOFhICsH9Xp-F-giQ3xYA7oX2pZi5XXQX2lRpQbpH-GEAmMLXP978TyIhz1TBwYc5bg2VGySyuXb-qVoc_4P9ucDJ_b3SztHyVqikKvYF0es-9LIoDB7/s1600/LTA_8903.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgavbWWFGXin4z5piz3GDK-PH5qVOFhICsH9Xp-F-giQ3xYA7oX2pZi5XXQX2lRpQbpH-GEAmMLXP978TyIhz1TBwYc5bg2VGySyuXb-qVoc_4P9ucDJ_b3SztHyVqikKvYF0es-9LIoDB7/s1600/LTA_8903.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Christmas in the sun</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/1b49dBMI2eg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Thursday 25<sup>th</sup>
December</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Woke up by my alarm
scaring the shit out of me, after realizing where I was and more important
where the door was, I knew why I had put my alarm that early - to skype with my
family at 7am (7pm their time). I reckon I was still a bit drunk when I got a
hold on them, we skyped for a little hour and after hanging up, reality kicked
in... I was missing out on a x-mas at home with the people I love the most. I
was in a sentimental mood when I walked back to Erik. Some of the others were
already up, and wished me merry x-mas – it made me happy and quickly I was
looking forward to how the morning would turn out. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Erik got a hold on his mom
and Jan as well and wished them a merry x-mas, before people slowly gathered
together in front of the x-mas tree in the lounge room. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Soon Sue started to
hand out presents. The first one was for their dog (that’s not very different
from home), and then she started handing out presents for everyone, all at the
same time (not how we do it at home), but being there and watching them
unwrapping their presents was so overwhelming and satisfying at the same time. I
truly realized how big hearted it was of them to let us be a part of their
Christmas, and let us watch them from the sideline (that’s how it felt, but not
uncomfortable or anything near that). It’s indescribable and undoubtedly
something that we will remember every x-mas from now on. It was amazing to
experience a different x-mas. The present thing was done quickly, as mentioned
before they don’t spend that much time and energy on x-mas here, and they don’t
get thousands of expensive gifts, but just a few really considered once. As
last night Nigel again created some awesome food, bacon and egg, the perfect
hangover breakfast! This was just the start of the day. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Around noon we drove
back to Vivian’s house, and started drinking again while we slowly got ready
for another x-mas celebrating there. It was excellent that we experienced it
twice. Viv and Simons house is so relaxed and full of love. I mean you need to
be a special breed if you can manage six kids living at home and still be so
calm about everything. It’s very admirable. We gave Vivian a Bombay gin - she’s
the queen of gin. We were surprise to receive a few presents as well… A bottle
of vodka, two boxes of chocolate and some Hubba Bubba gum – good thoughts! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We
didn’t know that we were going to another party later on, but after showering
and feeling new-borne, Lisa told us we were going to an even bigger party at
Simon’s parents’ house. They live in Levin as well, and threw a massive party
during the whole day and night. We were about 35 people, including a bunch of
kids/teenagers. We had a huge barbeque dinner, enough to drink and we were
completely overwhelmed to be a part of all their celebrations. All though it
didn’t feel like x-mas for us at all, it was still the best x-mas we have
celebrated, in terms of being special, memorable and different! A cab brought
us safe home to Viv’s house and I think we had a few beers there before we all
passed out.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJYHW2gk10s5CSEg61IGqDG-Sthlid6jEDtLEDpvM4JDcylsqEZ4l7yDqMUa-AexZrWrAOTAh7hKTvWWglBSw54iCU4t-UzH4aDD_hyphenhyphenG6fpGfVzelgXJQgx1FhUCXn_poohNZrvz32Pms/s1600/LTA_8922.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJYHW2gk10s5CSEg61IGqDG-Sthlid6jEDtLEDpvM4JDcylsqEZ4l7yDqMUa-AexZrWrAOTAh7hKTvWWglBSw54iCU4t-UzH4aDD_hyphenhyphenG6fpGfVzelgXJQgx1FhUCXn_poohNZrvz32Pms/s1600/LTA_8922.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgny8hpa0Iy8CO_sGWY1tTrfK6oSSz3qzK858zz4hilA_pLqs1TiLSiL6zFDSNI8Oa7ogSiAGSvC1rwnGY55FLHnQuvqWsv3R5COL59TUi1au0WQxf6QwaJXodJZqeLhzdgQ9IlXM5ubJpa/s1600/LTA_8939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgny8hpa0Iy8CO_sGWY1tTrfK6oSSz3qzK858zz4hilA_pLqs1TiLSiL6zFDSNI8Oa7ogSiAGSvC1rwnGY55FLHnQuvqWsv3R5COL59TUi1au0WQxf6QwaJXodJZqeLhzdgQ9IlXM5ubJpa/s1600/LTA_8939.jpg" height="404" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Presenting the family, from left Adam, Tom, Lisa, Sam, Sue's son Matt, Sue & Nigel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2maCWisxZZLfpKk-_sCBQODJSuXOG_V9OIrR8e67N1vVpZHvOGjP7ArlqDUGsHu1k2f3UI-jmlw6u4-rgPbvQuMm9eHLgeJYYcWU8Bvhd_DWo3eYdCtrikY9fKFD0hWuOILS4vvIPJ7s/s1600/LTA_8949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2maCWisxZZLfpKk-_sCBQODJSuXOG_V9OIrR8e67N1vVpZHvOGjP7ArlqDUGsHu1k2f3UI-jmlw6u4-rgPbvQuMm9eHLgeJYYcWU8Bvhd_DWo3eYdCtrikY9fKFD0hWuOILS4vvIPJ7s/s1600/LTA_8949.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas celebrations back at Vivian's house and my favorite present this year, a bottle of vodka.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbndJwgcyTuCg_5J02DM7m_v7PKlCN-JKGMxV-yOBB7dGHqn1qvDuuMF4DLv6hnxREnFGeWtyG4VadMOKMPYefrDTKRmGstVz9GK4zhngpeubkDYiq0zmDBoTVti1kQmYpZGOFHlXYg6uK/s1600/LTA_8950.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbndJwgcyTuCg_5J02DM7m_v7PKlCN-JKGMxV-yOBB7dGHqn1qvDuuMF4DLv6hnxREnFGeWtyG4VadMOKMPYefrDTKRmGstVz9GK4zhngpeubkDYiq0zmDBoTVti1kQmYpZGOFHlXYg6uK/s1600/LTA_8950.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH37LswVr6ElJpMg6WNreRHzjpf18KkBSLV4hRVM2yiz-6y-ZzO4Dvculxn-Hf1m0HoMfDorZ-mfBDDWFWpFPdJs93LS7TpSlHhSHxF5qxJBqj0L-8GkxJq82n9Diwh7IT3fMIs2gEAjYj/s1600/LTA_8952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH37LswVr6ElJpMg6WNreRHzjpf18KkBSLV4hRVM2yiz-6y-ZzO4Dvculxn-Hf1m0HoMfDorZ-mfBDDWFWpFPdJs93LS7TpSlHhSHxF5qxJBqj0L-8GkxJq82n9Diwh7IT3fMIs2gEAjYj/s1600/LTA_8952.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A puzzle for Sam revealing that he's going to be a certified diver in the new year.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPY75oEyL8l1yD0u0AghVzilVTQ4d9gE2uGYPrLlgoLFrnlVUobYi2zuK_g51KqxLW5q_Udc3-0iNmUUxsMvQTxdqKUjrJ2GSDn_3gqTKiUZknkbvMwVOXNq26ecGVyImec-uSZOqc-BS/s1600/IMG_2584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPY75oEyL8l1yD0u0AghVzilVTQ4d9gE2uGYPrLlgoLFrnlVUobYi2zuK_g51KqxLW5q_Udc3-0iNmUUxsMvQTxdqKUjrJ2GSDn_3gqTKiUZknkbvMwVOXNq26ecGVyImec-uSZOqc-BS/s1600/IMG_2584.JPG" height="252" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Party at Simon's parents house</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYfnkopebTc6wQpG__mWArfBfXTcCs42dfzLYFwlznGWPLHIn7NyfYlh1Liqz8-7NeS88Sxf_LhkTnnHF6O1erQywC2mBbRjb8LabD88fkOzI5Y9-LyLsya8AzpCiZANJtaMlafp7yf2a/s1600/IMG_2588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYfnkopebTc6wQpG__mWArfBfXTcCs42dfzLYFwlznGWPLHIn7NyfYlh1Liqz8-7NeS88Sxf_LhkTnnHF6O1erQywC2mBbRjb8LabD88fkOzI5Y9-LyLsya8AzpCiZANJtaMlafp7yf2a/s1600/IMG_2588.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam and Vivian</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6kWvDms5fBADKblwhicnkveabQgRQXsoxdNHtzb0dTPOZqzmWTXZuFFJoBWIUFuS8nGaXqv9hN7wODhOpuhKnyfggPLk4yYZP9_ldVUQX7ifheZU9-7JBxbggrBwV_nVN_i980kSmTaGG/s1600/IMG_2595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6kWvDms5fBADKblwhicnkveabQgRQXsoxdNHtzb0dTPOZqzmWTXZuFFJoBWIUFuS8nGaXqv9hN7wODhOpuhKnyfggPLk4yYZP9_ldVUQX7ifheZU9-7JBxbggrBwV_nVN_i980kSmTaGG/s1600/IMG_2595.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Friday 26<sup>th</sup>
December</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<span lang="EN-US">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a long and good
beauty sleep we didn’t feel too bad when we woke up. Vivian made us breakfast
and we said goodbye to everyone before we hit the roads again. We had two days
on the road before we again planned to meet up with Lisa and Sam. During New
Years they have rented a house near Mount Maunganui with some friends and
that’s where we were going to celebrate Erik’s 30<sup>th</sup>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The 26<sup>th</sup>
December (called Boxing Day) is the biggest sales day in the year, so in Palmerston
North we took advantage of that fact. We hadn’t thought it through though,
because off cause we weren’t the only ones going for the sales. There were a
shit load of people, and we struggled to get a parking spot. We realized how
little of the stress and hassle about Christmas that we actually had missed... It’s
close to none. I think we both considered leaving again when we walked into the
crowded mall, but we had also put our heads up to getting some stuff. We finally
found some new trainers for Erik (what we call my birthday present to him), and
I got a new top and my first haircut in 8 month (my x-mas gift). I was pretty
nervous, as my last haircut turned into a disaster, but luckily this time it went
fine. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After getting out of the nightmare
mall we drove up to Hastings, to our surprise we discovered a wallaby (small
kangaroo) killed at the side of the road. It was strange, we thought Australia
was the only country with those animals, but apparently they’ve spread to New
Zealand as well. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In Hastings we were quite unsure of what to do, as we didn’t
want to pay a lot of money for a decent campground. There’s campgrounds called
DOC, it stands for Department of Conservation, and they are owned by the
government, they have fewer facilities but are much cheaper, sometimes even
free. We were trying to find one of these, but the only one in the area only
allowed self-contained vehicles. Eventually we found a normal caravan park, to
a reasonable price, $24 (110kr) for both of us. It was actually really nice and
located on Clifton beach, just a short drive from Hastings. We got a great spot
sheltered from the wind, and we spend the rest of the night in the tent,
drinking red wine and making blog. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQL_wVK6zZM_xolUYTE7_jtN1WOHU6X8NB6msDjF-EpqHJ9b2jwe-4u_Hs8IRTWSLGqrzVQvPrOLDKs8CImWA22Qtl0tsZGJvF4ZNyog1VlFlEPVl5nJ-kIyS-3zGj44IhEvnHo73YceR6/s1600/LTA_8958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQL_wVK6zZM_xolUYTE7_jtN1WOHU6X8NB6msDjF-EpqHJ9b2jwe-4u_Hs8IRTWSLGqrzVQvPrOLDKs8CImWA22Qtl0tsZGJvF4ZNyog1VlFlEPVl5nJ-kIyS-3zGj44IhEvnHo73YceR6/s1600/LTA_8958.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjscYrresnTBvITDu6SmKRekcnYROf4eRlkbZN5Grutf2fVKjyi5r4jNZnuH_-8SW1SCkuVtpE5PHUuYHUxMS9IKsElh-l2YmUyjxUdN_tIDfZI18N6mmewBFDOMvR1YBztOEnvPiAh0N8G/s1600/LTA_8962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjscYrresnTBvITDu6SmKRekcnYROf4eRlkbZN5Grutf2fVKjyi5r4jNZnuH_-8SW1SCkuVtpE5PHUuYHUxMS9IKsElh-l2YmUyjxUdN_tIDfZI18N6mmewBFDOMvR1YBztOEnvPiAh0N8G/s1600/LTA_8962.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drove by this little settlement on our way to Hastings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQz5Wtaf8KuCnhuXOAKw-UtK8r_XAvLAUfIPDz7Ll53E48gjdpCSebb8LZuRxfhDnyf4nPq2cUSY-Dz4MWWvhH4qXb8ETJ3Yz3GUR47abxBMsigHCGKbHPjJ6V_NfBQBK3Z8P7WX195bwy/s1600/LTA_8966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQz5Wtaf8KuCnhuXOAKw-UtK8r_XAvLAUfIPDz7Ll53E48gjdpCSebb8LZuRxfhDnyf4nPq2cUSY-Dz4MWWvhH4qXb8ETJ3Yz3GUR47abxBMsigHCGKbHPjJ6V_NfBQBK3Z8P7WX195bwy/s1600/LTA_8966.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Saturday 27<sup>th</sup>
December</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<span lang="EN-US">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Around 9 o’clock the
sun had heated up our tent to a point, where it was impossible for us to sleep
any longer, even though last night’s 2 bottles of red, and going to bed late,
made it feel like we should. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well we got up, had some cereals and packed down our
“bedroom”, before we left to follow the east coast up for 3-4 hours. This plan
sadly didn’t last for long, as we discovered that the major part of the roads,
was going through mountains, and not along the coastline, as we thought it
would – so we decided to skip the east coast plan, and cross inland instead,
towards NZ’s geothermal hotspot, the city of Rotorua, a city known for its
active vulcanoes, colourful crater lakes, erupting geysers, many freshwater
lakes and boiling mud/hot springs. Beside all of these nature wonders, it also
is a mekka for spa and massages. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I did the first couple of hundred k’s, and
then Erik took over and did the other half. The landscape was outstanding, and
we wanted to catch it on a picture, but it’s simply impossible. At some point
we were surrounded by green hills, they were shaped like soft cones and the fir
trees were making a perfect shape around them. This landscape continued and it
was breath-taking. Around 10 k’s from our destination point, it started smelling
very bad in the car – we already knew about this phenomenon, it’s coming from
all the volcanic activity in the area. It smells like fart and rotten eggs. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We
drove straight to the I-site, and got some information and brochures about the
different spa and massage places in town – my other birthday present to Erik (and
myself) was to have a spa and massage treatment while we were here in the town
renowned for it! Erik started to ring the different places, but every time he
got the answer: Sorry, we’re fully booked for today. It is very high season in
NZ now, so we knew it could be difficult, but in the end we found a place that
could take both of us on the same time for a massage, and afterwards we could
relax in their spas. Before getting that sorted we had our lunch on a bench in
the middle of the town… Wraps again, and we’re still not tired of eating them! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The massage Erik got was as he asked for – a relaxation massage. But I wanted a
prober massage, since I’m still struggling with my back from time to time. The
masseuse seemed pretty professional to begin with, but after a short amount of
time, I actually had to teach her some basic massage skills, just to try to get
her to clear some of my pain, it didn’t seem like she had any idea of how to
actually perform a therapeutic massage! We enjoyed the hot spa afterwards and
took advantage over the hotels free wifi, before we left to find some fuel and
some wine for the night. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We then drove to a DOC campsite outside of town,
located next to Lake Okareka. The place was so idyllic, we pitched our tent and
had a stunning view over the lake and the landscape, for just $10 (46kr) per
person. As last night this night was also dedicated to wine and blog making. We
knew we had to get updated before reaching the house in Mount Maunganui and we
work best with wine in our veins. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdGNptWd1P1dZQ753I-Wv8PpDpo9qNy-KBK51g-venIQ8koYWz0oMaMGFI7TJBhByMlJYNkQJIH63w4x5a15_kPWwsHNe8ZmipK7o8XrXo6YOKJARXtrsmikPQOJrenUnaG2gsNoyA6ZU/s1600/LTA_9007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdGNptWd1P1dZQ753I-Wv8PpDpo9qNy-KBK51g-venIQ8koYWz0oMaMGFI7TJBhByMlJYNkQJIH63w4x5a15_kPWwsHNe8ZmipK7o8XrXo6YOKJARXtrsmikPQOJrenUnaG2gsNoyA6ZU/s1600/LTA_9007.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Okareka<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday 28<sup>th</sup>
December</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The remarkable day
where Erik left his twenties and started on a new decade. I would say it’s a
big day in your life, but Erik didn’t want to do anything special or make a big
deal out of the day. Off cause he wanted to celebrate it, and that’s the reason
why we drove up to “The Mount” or more specific Papamoa Beach. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The house Lisa,
Sam and their friends had rented was located near the beach, we just had to
cross the road and then we were there. The sand dunes and the beach itself were
like the west coast of Jylland, just much warmer. They were nine people in the
house, but apparently there would be people coming and going all the time, it
was fortunate for us that it was an open house like that, because it meant that
we wouldn’t be the only ones not knowing everybody. </span><span style="font-size: small;">We already knew a couple of
their friends from Auckland. Lisa made us comfortable and made breakfast for
us. Bacon, egg and toast, something that apparently couldn’t keep Erik full for
a long time, cause after pitching our tent in the back yard, we went into Mount
Maunganui and Erik was already hungry again. On a pub he ordered his birthday gift to
himself, a huge heart-attack-I-will-kill-you-slowly-and-in-seconds-burger. That
was probably the best gift he got, and the only. He hadn’t wished for anything,
and we haven’t really given each other presents while we have been away. The
travel is a present in itself. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Back in the house the girls and I went to enjoy
the beach, meanwhile Erik and the guys played cricket (New Zealand’s biggest
sport activity) in the garden, something that didn’t excite Erik at all.
Luckily they had switched it out with golf when we got back. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Soon Lisa was already
preparing dinner, she loves being in a kitchen, which I totally understand. I
helped her out, but she was the boss, not something that I’m usually
comfortable with, but I’m not even use to being in a kitchen anymore, so how
could I have anything to say in this situation! I just did as I was told. That
evening went by with a delicious birthday barbeque and drinks in the garden,
followed by some funny social games that made us laugh hard. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">My favorite guy in the world </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
From left Luke throwing handsigns, Jane, Moana, Steve and Natalie</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
I t<span style="font-size: x-small;">hink that should be enough alcohol for the night (Natalie)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Luke</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Sam and the birthday child</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Prinsess and the Pea</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">Birthday Party</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cHFcqaD7_ek/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/cHFcqaD7_ek?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/cHFcqaD7_ek?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday 29<sup>th</sup>
– Thursday 1<sup>st</sup> January</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We only planned to
stay in Papamoa for two days, but these people were just so great that we
decided to stay during New Year’s Eve. The days felt like a holiday away from
our travels, and it was a place where we could recharge and just relax without
exploring or doing anything. The days went by with visiting the beach, some of
the guys did a bit of surfing and the girls did a bit of body boarding (it’s
almost the same as surfing but on a smaller board without having to stand up),
I tried paddle boarding and liked it and Erik did his first 9 holes on the golf
course with the guys. Most days ended in the sunny garden with beers, drinks
and homemade food. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">On New Year’s Day we started drinking earlier and people
were obviously in a good party mood. We all had tickets to a party on a pub in
the evening. We arrived there 3 hours later than we planned, and when the big
taxi pulled up in front of the pub, Erik realized he had forgot to put his
shoes (flip flops) on. It was hilarious and very stupid at the same time. Even
though he tried to talk his way out of it, the bouncer wouldn’t let him in
without some kind of shoes. To his big luck the warehouse behind the pub was
still open, so in the last minute Lisa took the clever decision to run there and
buy him a pair of flip flops for $3 (14kr). Now he got in to the party without
further problems. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We had a blast of a New Year’s Eve, but missed the fireworks.
I reckon there was some, but at the party we didn’t see or hear any. We left
the party completely wasted a little after midnight and the rain was pouring
down. There was about 5km to the house from the pub, so we either had to get a
taxi or a ride from someone. I walked towards a group of people that I thought
we knew, but soon I discovered the faces weren’t familiar to me, so when I
looked back I had lost Erik. The rain was getting heavier and I figured he
probably found some of the others, so I hitched a hike back to the house by
myself. I was surprisingly the first one
home, and apparently Erik and I weren’t the only ones who lost each other on
the way. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Soon people were dumping in with different weird and funny stories
about their trip home. Erik was soaked after walking away from the pub in the
wrong direction and afterwards walking back to find the house. But he only got
back to his starting point, the pub, when he met one of the other guys from the
house and they got a bus home - safe but wet. Our tent was soaked as well, so
Lisa arranged a temporary bed for us in the living room, while the party
continued a little longer. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The day after was all about recovering and getting
ready for Friday where we planned to start our travels again. We watched movies
and made homemade pizza and “enjoyed” the last bit of our unhealthy lifestyle.
After so many days of huge alcohol consumption and unhealthy food we really
felt disgusted with ourselves. So from the 2<sup>nd</sup> of January we promised
ourselves to eat healthier and drink a lot less. We need a break from all that! </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mount Maunganui and the bay</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Lisa and I are testing how much weight the board can carry.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
New Years Day!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Me, Jane, Moana, Lisa, Dayna and Nat (Lisa & Sam's house mate)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Erik, Sam, Jake (Lisa & Sam's other house mate), Stella (the dog), Matt, Luke, Curley, Bryson and then we can't remeber the last guys name, but he had a hilarious laugh. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Friday 2<sup>nd</sup>
January</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We left Papamoa and
all the delightful people, and started on a new chapter of our road trip. I was
driving and we drove back south, as a driver you really need to be concentrated
on the roads, both because they can be tricky, steep and windy, but mostly
because my eyes preferred to focus and stare at the amazing landscape that
surrounds us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We passed Roturua the smelly town and geothermal capital of the
World. </span><span style="font-size: small;">A little south of the town we stopped in and experienced Wai-O-Tapu,
which is New Zealand’s most colourful and diverse volcanic area. The volcanic
gases introduce numerous minerals into the water of NZ longest river the
Waikato river, which also is the reason for no fish life in it. The whole area
smells like “rotten egg”, as all other geothermal areas in the World, because
of the high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide being released. The area is
literally covered with collapsed craters, cold and boiling pools of mud, water,
steaming gasses and lakes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The walk around took us to 25 different geothermal
sights and craters. Some craters were formed by eruptions, some by internal
chasms. The champagne pool is the largest spring in the area, its 65m. in
diameter and 62m. deep. The surface temperature is 74</span><sup>o</sup><span style="font-size: small;">C, and it
bubbles due to carbon dioxide. The pool was formed over 700 years ago by a
hydrothermal eruption. The Artist’s Palette is a part of it and the overflowing
water and minerals from the Champagne Pool draw the magical colours on the
Artist’s Palette. The colours vary as the waters cool down and the minerals are
exposed to our atmosphere. This was our favorite sight on the journey. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">After
almost two hours of exploring in the baking sun we drove further south to
Taupo. Last time in Taupo we enjoyed the free campsite near Waikato River so
much, that we decided to return and do another night at Reid’s Campground, just
5 min drive from Taupo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Champagne Pool</span></div>
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The Artist Palette</div>
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Lake Ngakoro</div>
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Champagne pool, again</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Devil's Bath</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-size: medium;">Saturday 3<sup>rd</sup>
January</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Probably the main
reason for us to like this place so much is that the river is good for
everything; cleaning dishes, washing hands/face, doing laundry and taking
showers. It’s perfect for budget travelers and its simply amazing to start a
day with a cold and refreshing dip in the river. </span><span style="font-size: small;">This morning it was quite busy
when we went for our shower, so we didn’t bother about washing us with soap,
the water is clean enough to skip it anyway. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We packed our tent and drove to
Huka Falls, just 2km from the campground. Then we started our journey to the
southern part of the island. We already drove this part once before, and there
wasn’t much to do or see on the way, except for the beautiful mountain ranges
in the background. Most of the day was spend on the road. Even though our
destination point was just a little over 300km south, it took us most of the
day. The traffic is said to be the busiest of the year due to all the kiwi’s
that are going home after their summer holidays. Not particularly this day did
we meet a lot of police cars on the roads, but we meet the police every single
day and multiple times each day. They are really out there in the public,
making sure that no one is speeding or drunk driving. This is also one of the
main reasons why we take really good care on the roads. We don’t want another
speeding ticket. Erik captured one in Australia that we never mentioned on the
blog, because we forgot. But it was $200 and way too much money to give away
just like that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In the late afternoon we found and arrived at the DOC campground,
Waikawa near Manakau, where we planned to stay for the night. At first we
hesitated to drive down the steep gravel road, as our car isn’t equally
satisfied with driving up and downhill. It normally gives us a hard time going
uphill, but Erik decided to take the chance and drive down anyway. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The weather
seemed a bit unstable and we didn’t know if we should expect rain or not, we
wished for the best but prepared for the worst. The evening was colder and more
humid than any other night, so I escaped into the car and eventually Erik
joined me in my opinion about the cold weather, then we tucked ourselves away
in the tent with a movie on the laptop. Fortunate for us we didn’t get any rain
that night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday 4<sup>th</sup>
January</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Just a short walk away
from the campsite we were lucky to be able to shower in the Waikato River
again. The river is 425km and is New Zealand’s longest. If you aren’t awake when
you jump in, you are definitely awake when you get out. We love the refreshing
feeling afterwards though! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I was a bit nervous about our trip up the hill this
morning but for some reason it didn’t seem that steep coming from the bottom,
so it was . There was about 90km to Wellington, which was our sightseeing city
for the day. Wellington is the nation’s capital, and is often referred to as
Windy Wellington, it’s said to have more than 195 days of high speed wind each
year, and it’s a swear to mention the wind in front of the residents. To get a
sense of the city we started the day at the Mt. Victoria Lookout, the drive up
there offered some brilliant views over the fancy and expensive houses, overlooking
the city and sea. The lookout gave us a 360<sup>o</sup>C over the city, the
bays, the harbours, the airport and the Cook Strait between the north and south
island. After watching a few flights take off from the tricky and windy runway
we drove down to explore the city. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">At Waitangi Park near the harbour, a sunday food
market was happening. We were strong enough to ignore all good looking food,
and went straight to the fruit and vegetable sections instead. We got some cheap
carrots, kiwi’s and plums. We visited the national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa. A
short time after entering we realized how interesting it was and how much there
was to learn and explore. We probably wouldn’t have gone in if an entry charge
had applied, and soon we discovered how wrong that thought was, because we were
really entertained. We didn’t have enough time to see it all, as our time in
Wellington was limited due to the pre-booked ferry to the south island in the
late afternoon. But the city had far more character than Auckland and there’s
definitely a reason for visiting that city again, and we already decided to do
so when we come back to the north island again. We had a short time to see the
waterfront, but there’s a really good atmosphere along the water to the Civic
Square. We passed a bunch of adrenaline junkies jumping off high diving boards
into a closed pool in the harbour, the cafés along the water makes a good
atmosphere as well, and so does the paddleboats cruising around. We had lunch
on a café in the city, Erik a burger with fries $22 (101kr) and me a salad,
also $22. It’s odd that a vegetarian salad is just as expensive as a burger,
that doesn’t really make sense and doesn’t exactly encourage people to eat
healthier. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In general the prices for fruit and vegetables are extremely high,
lime fruit is like gold here, a kilogram in the supermarkets is around $32 (147kr).
That’s insane. Apples are $5-6 (23-27kr) per kg. Milk is also very pricy, a
liter is around $2,50 (11kr). Everywhere we drive there are countless cows on
the grass fields around us; I mean how can the milk be so expensive when
there’s so many to produce it? The farmers must live a good life here. After an
overpriced, but good lunch, we sneaked into an YHA hostel to take advantage
over their free internet and power for a short while. Obviously we don’t have
anything to charge up our computers, unless we borrow some power in different
places. We planned to do it while we had lunch, but the restaurant didn’t have
any convenient power sockets installed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As we placed our butts back in the car
seats and sat off to the Interislander ferry terminal, we realized that the
company hadn’t sent us any address informations, Erik was trying to find it
online, while I was becoming nervous and annoyed by our missed planning. It was
even more frustrating that their website didn’t show any address, only a
terminal number. Erik typed the terminal into the GPS, but we weren’t sure if
we were on the right track or not, then a sign finally showed us we were on the
right way, and the drive was much shorter than assumed - that gave us a looong
waiting time before we could board the ferry. The Cook Strait between the north
and south islands connects the Tasman Sea with the South Pacific Ocean, and is
considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world. The
ferry journey went smooth though, and took around 3½ hour. As the sun was
setting we sailed through Marlborough Sounds on the south island and reached
Picton just as it got dark. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Next challenge was to find one of the cheap
campsites before it got pitch black. We drove for 23km east to Rurangi and were
actually on our way on a 6km dirt road to find a place to pitch our tent, but
then Erik noticed another and closer campsite on the map closer to Rurangi. It
turned out that we just passed it a few hundreds meter before. We were happy to
finally be there and we quickly sorted out our delightful “bedroom”, paid our
camping fee, $<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>6 (27kr) per person, and went to bed.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Wellington seen from Mt. Victoria</div>
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Steep streets in the city</div>
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Meeting orcs on the national museum </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJlpITHO5LShVuxzypdcU_j_7o_XQpGu6W5WkSDPlJuep2KxwVWQIxt9Tlsr5oDPX9WQB12jov3Gbgj1VLymN_ss2eTgNq17WyVf9ko7XepFvMhkbZXWrweDH1pFriZEbnRNIRG6T7XSD/s1600/LTA_9604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJlpITHO5LShVuxzypdcU_j_7o_XQpGu6W5WkSDPlJuep2KxwVWQIxt9Tlsr5oDPX9WQB12jov3Gbgj1VLymN_ss2eTgNq17WyVf9ko7XepFvMhkbZXWrweDH1pFriZEbnRNIRG6T7XSD/s1600/LTA_9604.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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The World's biggest squid, ever caught</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepfbyQ0R7nXHJ8GJdqQGJH4mb5wApDc2811Kdcd19Y1hTILtkBTYoBUsgEJsJcOlDRsVUuOG3sRR-kk_FEQMtmIaxi4eUhXMm1xUT1kmUL3v0jEbX9esUp9Xj55eKkdPgRQiO-V8uatbY/s1600/LTA_9612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepfbyQ0R7nXHJ8GJdqQGJH4mb5wApDc2811Kdcd19Y1hTILtkBTYoBUsgEJsJcOlDRsVUuOG3sRR-kk_FEQMtmIaxi4eUhXMm1xUT1kmUL3v0jEbX9esUp9Xj55eKkdPgRQiO-V8uatbY/s1600/LTA_9612.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Waterfront restaurant near Civic Square</span></div>
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Erik Krafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10520862374999442880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-91768492621486643982014-12-20T22:39:00.003+01:002014-12-20T22:39:52.714+01:00New Zealand - Auckland & Northland<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Thursday 11<sup>th </sup>December</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Living with Lisa and
Sam was like living in a hotel. Lisa served me tea in bed while I was skyping
with my family. She provided us towels, breakfast and even a ride into the
city. It was luxury. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We slenderer around Queens street in CBD. Auckland city
center is small compared to the population, but the surrounding area is
massive, and there a lot of water surrounding the island suburb. Just south of
the city there is only 15 km from east to west, and that’s where the north
island is thinnest. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our plan in the city was to find the money exchange store
with the best exchange rate, Erik read about a specific one, so after using
almost an hour, trying to find it, we gave up, and checked the rates at some
other ones, and finally found one with a much better rate than all the others.
We then relaxed for a bit to a small free concert, during the workers lunch. </div>
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We
were trying to find the backpacker area in the city, and by mistake we went to
another area, which we to begin thought was the backpackers, but after a long
walk we realized it wasn’t. No harm was done though, we got to see some of the
city and to our luck Ponsonsby, the area we walked to, is one of the most
stylish and fancy areas loaded with specialty stores, bars and restaurant, apparently
also one of the more expensive places to be. We decided to act rich and famous
and get a beer in one of the bars. At the same time Lisa was off work, and
offered to pick us up. She came to Ponsonsby and we had a few beers at happy
hour with her, before we ventured home in the peak hour. Auckland has a
horrible infrastructure, but it seems like we were lucky this afternoon. </div>
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The
night continued with drinks on the balcony and Lisa and I made homemade pizza
for us all. As said before Lisa and Sam live together with another couple, Jake
and Natalie. So their home is always alive, and they are all very friendly and
nice. It seems like their friends are coming and going as they want to, just
popping by to say hey. It’s very delightful, easy going and admirable how
relaxed they are about visitors and their home.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DQkpmueSRvpFbAqpBBWtjP6NRVIRkhJNeESiSvRKYSIXmJB0F4qcCt9HZtAh6CxKs9lD659UpbYviyt7zE1xVnjT2M0EYtVfgW12s7lRA1ikSR6IwO5nDcUU6wOOOawyZhFV01gQpns/s1600/IMG_3035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DQkpmueSRvpFbAqpBBWtjP6NRVIRkhJNeESiSvRKYSIXmJB0F4qcCt9HZtAh6CxKs9lD659UpbYviyt7zE1xVnjT2M0EYtVfgW12s7lRA1ikSR6IwO5nDcUU6wOOOawyZhFV01gQpns/s1600/IMG_3035.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas decoration in the city</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6IJJWTujVtR61Cau8v-2K9BRngiCJjDxvaq5dPl_EloiQeO1qWkRN2aQ8lwXyANs1imi48Gt0OntHqDMQTEQ5arsUqbuT8cCHYGpLf48ZbzhujnwVKqZjwCo7ZTPzkbJqvkGmcCpWegc/s1600/LTA_7979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6IJJWTujVtR61Cau8v-2K9BRngiCJjDxvaq5dPl_EloiQeO1qWkRN2aQ8lwXyANs1imi48Gt0OntHqDMQTEQ5arsUqbuT8cCHYGpLf48ZbzhujnwVKqZjwCo7ZTPzkbJqvkGmcCpWegc/s1600/LTA_7979.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jake's big dog Stella<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Friday 12<sup>th </sup>December</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Last night got later
than planned, not that we had a lot of plans for this day anyway, but Sam was
pretty knackered all day at work, and Lisa as well, luckily she could work from
home. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The easiest way to describe the weather is a regular Danish spring day!
Not freezing cold, but rain and wind. We stayed inside most of the day,
watching the Surfing World Cup from Hawaii live. It is world class
entertainment and unreal how those guys and girls act in the water.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">After a
lazy day we borrowed Lisa’s car (after driving them to a Christmas party – they
were on it again). We drove up to one tree hill, it’s supposedly the best view over
the city of Auckland, unfortunately the clouds were making the city look grey
and boring, and the view was nothing spectacular, but it was nice to get out
and see something anyway. Sadly we can’t control the weather and we don’t mind
the colder weather, it’s all right, but it gets a bit annoying when you wanna
see and explore things and the weather won’t let you. My choice of dinner was
disappointing. We got the most tasteless Mexican food ever. It was like
sticking your tongue out of the window. It wasn’t our day, which is also why we
just went to bed when we got back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Aucland city </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
My first real night shot, in Mission Bay</div>
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<b style="font-size: medium;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="font-size: medium;">Saturday 13<sup>th</sup>
December</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I was restless and
went for a jog to the beach front of Mission Bay. At this time I appreciated
the rain as it was cooling me down. Meanwhile Lisa and Sam had gotten out of
bed and Erik and them apparently went for a nice brunch at Coffee House. </span><span style="font-size: small;">I got
home, realized they weren’t there, went for a shower and then they had come
back. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t wait for me to join them,
but on the other hand I understand, because the hunger you get with hang overs
is uncontrollable, and there’s no time for bucking around then. Erik had
brought a chicken wrap home for me, so I least I got to taste some of the good
food. The weather wasn’t really improving and we didn’t feel like doing
anything. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Maybe Lisa and Co. wishes that we did so, but we couldn’t drag
ourselves out in the grey weather. We didn’t know what to see and do anyway, so
we figured we would have another lazy day. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Already the day we arrived in
Auckland, Erik had been in contact with our Spanish friend Ivan, who we
originally planned to explore the northern part with from Monday to Friday. He
could borrow his friend car and had invited us to join him. Unfortunately he
had changed his plans a bit, and wouldn’t leave before Tuesday. That was too
late for us, so we planned to take a bus up north Sunday morning, to get our
travels started. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We felt restless in Auckland already, not because we didn’t
enjoy the company we were in, but because we wanted to explore as much as this
country as possible. The plan was to meet up with Ivan somewhere in the north
then, and hopefully get a ride back to Auckland on Friday. We got our laundry
done and started to pack our stuff together. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sam and his mates are really into
surfing, so the world cup competition live from Hawaii was followed intensely
throughout the whole day. The Vikings (Lisa & us) decided for to make the
previously voted most traditional dish in Denmark; Fried and crumbled pork
bacon with parsley sauce and beetroots (Stegt flæske med persille sovs). There
was a lot of love put into it, and it turned out perfectly. The kiwi’s (and us
off cause) absolutely loved it. Erik made a little wine testing round for me
and the girls. It got us in a pretty good mood the rest of the night, so while
the guys skulled down a whole bottle of Jack D. and Coke, we finished every
single wine bottle in the house. It was a wonderful way to end our first visit
with them. </span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Wine tasting with Natalia and Lisa</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Erik and Jake</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Video !!</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipflzCbLkH6VZ163-aSCCHy07D6M-9urH7SD1ojD4kMXPM5ZvLm-XAyWbD27zG5ChKF-eYDKnXzYb-WzN9N2lykH7JDa72DbMWYe1UiLrkfLMwQJRG5wxtPmQy1UExSKtapZGug2ke53I/s1600/IMG_3023.MOV" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipflzCbLkH6VZ163-aSCCHy07D6M-9urH7SD1ojD4kMXPM5ZvLm-XAyWbD27zG5ChKF-eYDKnXzYb-WzN9N2lykH7JDa72DbMWYe1UiLrkfLMwQJRG5wxtPmQy1UExSKtapZGug2ke53I/s1600/IMG_3023.MOV" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday 14</b></span><b style="font-size: medium;"><sup>th</sup></b><b style="font-size: medium;"> December </b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As we planned
yesterday, we would now leave Auckland, to start our trip up to Northland (the
part above Auckland), but because of the many drinks we had the day before, we
didn’t get up to be able to reach the 10.30 bus. We already kind of knew that
yesterday I think, but the next bus was at 13.00, so we would catch that. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
thing about travelling for so long time is that small things like this doesn’t
really matter that much, as we are not on a tight schedule, as tourist would
be, but of cause we still wanted to get going. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We got up, showered, ate
breakfast and packed our stuff, and were ready to leave when we finally heard
back from Ivan. He now had changed his plans again, and would leave Monday
morning – so with our feet almost out of the door, on the way to the bus – we
decided to wait another day, and then go together with him in a car he had
borrowed from his friend. In the bus, we wouldn’t be able to stop wherever we
felt like, we would also save some money by going with him and most important
it would be much more fun. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">So instead of leaving Lisa and Sam, we borrowed
Lisa’s car, and drove a bit around Auckland, and ended up in the central, where
we met up with Ivan and planned the trip over a couple of beers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We actually got
it sorted out perfectly and covered everybody’s need. We would start on the
west coast, to explore the immerse Kauri threes, then see the Aupouri Peninsula
with its famous Ninety Mile Beach and Cape Reinga in the far north, possibly by
a bus trip. We planned to have at least two nights in the east around Bay of
Islands - to do some exploring of the bay and the last day we would dive the
Poor Knights, while Ivan would practice his surfing skills. </span><span style="font-size: small;">We arranged a pick
up time the next most and split up with him. We walked to the Sky Tower in
Auckland, the tallest building in New Zealand. I had made up my mind, that this
was the place to have our dinner (in the turning restaurant on the top). Sadly
we couldn’t get a table, since it is high season AND Sunday! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We will see if we
can plan that better when we again get back to Auckland in the beginning of
February. Instead we found a fantastic steak restaurant where we had two
monstrous steaks. We were rolling back to the car and drove home.</span> </div>
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The important thing is the size of the steak, not the quality of the picture.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday 15<sup>th</sup>
December</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We both woke up before
the alarm, probably because of the excitement for finally going out and explore
some of this remote and beautiful country. After having a quick shower we were
ready for our pick up. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Ivan arrived just as planned around 8am, and off we
went. Well it took a couple of small detours in the Mission Bay area before we
were on the right track, since we don’t have a very good GPS. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Erik quickly got
annoyed about Ivan’s driving, he seemed a bit unsecure, but I mean who wouldn’t
when they all of a sudden needs to drive in the other side of the road. Since
he was unsecure we both found it a bit frustrating that he was doing a lot of
other stuff while driving, for example changing music, sending text messages
etc. Anyway we tried not to get too carried away by these facts, since he was
taking us on this trip we couldn’t complain too much. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The weather forecast
predicted a lot of wind and rain for the following days, so we had planned to
do the most boring part of the trip and also the longest legs, these days.
Luckily the weather wasn’t as bad as predicted – not at all actually we even
had to turn on the air condition a couple of times, in the 21 year old and
small, BUT perfectly running Toyota Cynos 3. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Our first stop was at a coffee
shop in Wellsford. Ivan had to get his morning coffee and a break after just an
hour of driving. We were in no rush so it was fine. The main reason for driving
west was to see the huge Kauri Tree called Tane Mahuta. It is estimated to be
over 1500 years old and it reaches 51,5 meters in height and 13,8 in girth. It
was an awesome sight. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">In the waterfront village Opononi we enjoyed fish and
chips on the beach. Not because it was nice weather but because we couldn’t
bring our own alcohol near the kiosk. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We realized that Ivan was much more
relaxed outside the car, sometimes too relaxed, for example later when it was
raining and we were walking towards the car, he was in no hurry to unlock it
and get in. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We caught a ferry from Rawene to Hokianga, and after a lot of sharp
curves and winding roads during the day we decided to take the easy but less
pretty road up to Kaitaia. We saved some time as well and discovered it was a
clever choice, as every accommodation in Kaitaia was fully booked so we quickly
decided to drive the 15km further west to Ahipara to get a bed in the hostel
there before that was booked out as well. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Ahipara convenience store had very
limited food options, so Ivan offered to make us a Spanish Tortillia, which he
made sound very fancy. Off cause we were keen for trying something new, so
while we were working on the blog, off cause supplied with a cold beer on the
side, he made dinner for us. Spanish Tortillia is what we call egg cake at
home, served with potatoes inside and some bread on the side. The only
different was the tomato oil bread and the missing bacon. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>
looked into the different bus trip to Cape Reinga, already at this point of the
trip it became a tradition to make every decision and choice with a cold beer
while discussion the opportunities we had. We decide to go with the company who
we were told served the best lunch, as all the busses were all doing the same
thing during the day, this company seemed outstanding with their big lunch
buffet. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Kauri forest</div>
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I actually wanted a picture of both the car and the guys, but sadly you can't see much of the car</div>
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A social cuddle with Tane Mahuta ( the most famous tree)</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
View from Oponini Square</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Fish, chips and beers.. What a healthy lifestyle!</div>
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Ivan's homemade Spanish Tortillia (sorry if I spell it wrong)</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday 16<sup>th</sup>
December</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">As planned we drove to
Kaitaia to jump on the bus. The Aupouri Peninsula is the northernmost area in
New Zealand, and it’s the place where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea
meets and break into each other. We were only twelve in the bus this day, as it
wasn’t the most tempting day to go and explore a beach and do some sand
boarding. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Our bus driver and tour guide was very informative and told us a
little bit of everything, culture and his own views of the area. As we were
driving along the Ninety Mile Beach he revealed that it was allowed to spear
fish while diving in this area – something that caught Erik’s attention, even
though he was half asleep. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Another interesting thing, since we aren’t into the
historical part of it, is that a lot of trekkers walk down the beach from the Cape
to Ahipara in 3-4 days and in all kinds of weather. It’s an easy 53km walk
along the beach, and the camping is going on behind the high sand dunes. One of
the passengers on board was planning to do so. She didn’t seem completely
satisfied with her choice of the season as it was both very windy, probably the
worst part, but also rainy and grey clouds everywhere. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The beach looked very
similar to the west coast of Denmark. At the end of the beach we went up stream
and inland again, to reach the sand boarding area. The guys enjoyed the sand
boarding. It’s easy to describe as the name already gives it away. You get a
board walk up a sand dune and board down, lying on the board facing the low
tided river. I couldn’t be bothered getting that much sand on me, so I was the
camera woman. The sand was still a bit wet from the rain, which the guys later
discovered was probably better than dry sand, as they didn’t get a lot of
flying sand in their faces on the way down. Before we left the area there was
about four busses that had pulled up and ruin the spectacular part of the
experience. The place was suddenly crowded and we left at the right time,
before Erik killed some of the Asian that stopped on the boards in the middle
of the dune. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We were in for a big disappointment when lunch was served later.
First of all because we thought we would get a lunch buffet, but apparently
that was another company. Second of all because the sandwiches they served us
were all with cheese. Erik managed to take the shredded cheese out of his, I
didn’t even wanna try. Instead the bus driver was put on a job to get me
something else, luckily for him and everybody else he was able to change my
sandwich (with one of the other busses, which was in our tale all day), to
something just as boring, a white bun with two tiny pieces of salami, but at
least no cheese. Luckily the cold brought beers made us both feel less
irritated. The food situation was a misunderstanding from the company, so we
had to talk to the owners when we got back. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, after lunch we had one hour
to explore Cape Reinga. Walking towards the lighthouse was exciting, as we
couldn’t always see it. The clouds moved fast and made some brilliant views and
the views changed all the time. On top of the hill we were almost blown away by
the strong wind. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The northern region is full of avocado plantations and farms. While
we were passing them we were wondering why we didn’t stop to explore one of
them, but sadly that experience is ruined by too many tourists. The tour busses
use to visit a farm on the way back, but the farmers had discovered that they
were missing to many avocados after these visits, plus they gave a lot away, so
they stopped it, and visitors can’t come there anymore. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We stopped at an ice
cream store and were told they made some of the best ice cream in the area,
even though the weather wasn’t ice cream weather we decided to have one anyway,
since they should be so great. We continued our journey and after just 10 min.
we were given an ice cream voucher, which we could use when we got back to our
drop off point. So actually we shouldn’t have bought the other ice cream, but
the bus driver was told not to hand out the vouchers before the ice cream
store. What a rip off! Why would we want to have two ice creams within an hour?
This made no sense and it made the bomb explode, if you know what I mean. But I
had to wait till I could blame it on the right person, the owner. After
complaining to her about both eating issues we continued our journey in the car
to Bay of Islands. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Ivan couldn’t really understand why we had complained, he
thought it was rude to do, but after a long conversation with him, he
understood. We know it’s human mistakes, maybe not the ice cream thing, but the
lunch, and it’s not to be rude, it’s more so they can improved themselves and
be better. The problem lays in people not complaining, if they’re unsatisfied,
because if you never tell the company, or go on tripadvisor and tell them and
the future visitors they will never know what to do better. Plus you’re helping
the next visitor not to get in the same situation, and for example tell the
future visitor that they shouldn’t buy an ice cream in the store, because they
will get ice cream vouchers later (which is still a rip off in my opinion). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, in strong headwind we reached Paihia in the Bay of Island. Bay of
Island. It is the major tourist draw in the north, and offers visitors several
different water-based activities as well as superb coastal scenery. We had
decided to stay in Paihia, as we were told earlier that there were plenty of
hostels there, which equals plenty of backpacker and the social environment we
were looking for. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">To get the best out of our money and our stay, we went to
three different hostel and asked for availability, prices and compared
facilities. We decided for the last one, Centabay Lodge, which we soon realized
was a bad choice, as the dorm was full of long-term stayers, who lived in a
cave, and the kitchen where we would cook our dinner was a mess. Some people
just shouldn’t go travel, or they should bring their mom along, so she could
clean up after them. It’s shocking how little some people care about others. We
came into the kitchen and had to clean everything we should use beforehand, as
everything was dirty, the table was soaked in water and people even left their
table without taking their plates, glasses etc. away. It was a nightmare. Before
dinner we had walked around town in rain and looked for a better option for the
following days, and we manage to find a better hostel, Bay Adventure Lodge,
where we could get our own dorm for $26 (120kr) for just the three of us, get
free unlimited wifi and the place seemed slightly cleaner as well. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Ninety Mile beach (Mig & min kæreste)</div>
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I got it (Ja' har'en)</div>
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Cape Reinga</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Just an easy walk on 18029 km to London</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Enjoying the view of the lighthouse with drinking liquid</div>
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Dinner at the hostel</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Wednesday 17<sup>th</sup>
December</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The red wine tasted
too good the night before, so we were a bit tired when we checked out at 10am. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We were pleased to leave the shitty hostel though. While we were waiting for
the check-in time at the new place I went for a refreshing jog around the
waterfront of Paihia. The weather still hadn’t improved and the sight of the
water wasn’t comparable to the sight we had seen on several postcards. We were
crossing our fingers for better weather the next couple of days. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Erik and Ivan
used half of the day to arrange a boat trip to the Bay of Island, meanwhile I
was making our lunch. When the guys finally came back they had arranged both a
boat trip the following day and sorted out what we should do in the afternoon. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We packed our little cooler bag with cold beers and went on a smaller road trip
around the bays, then caught the ferry to Russell and enjoyed a beer on the
pier in the, to our surprise, liquor ban area.. Oopsi! When this was discovered
we finished our drinks and explored the long beach on the other side of the
little peninsula. It was one of the coldest swim we have had in a long time,
but it felt mandatory to try it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Back at the hostel Erik and I got in contact
with our friend Iben from home, who is planning to travel by herself in South
East Asia, but she’s quite nervous about it. We told her how we can meet up
with her, and how she can start travelling with us, before she jumps out in it
by herself. So fingers crossed that she will make the right decision and come
and see us in Bali. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Meanwhile Ivan had lost his patience about our barbeque
dinner, so he had started heating up the sausages already. I hurried up and
made some vegetables for us, before the sausages was totally dead. The night
turned out to another wet and late night. It’s our way to celebrate Christmas! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
That's what happens when you drink in a liquor ban area</div>
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Russells charming waterfront</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday 18<sup>th</sup>
December</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We were running late,
so I walked to the pier to register us on the 20 meter long sail boat, at the
same time the guys were in charge of buying some beers for the trip and get
there in time. They got it perfect timed, and off we went with the awesome sail boat. I was in my right element as I prefer sail instead of a noisy engine. We
were twelve guests onboard, a captain and a crew member taking care of the
setting of the sails and making food. We participated in setting the sails. </span><span style="font-size: small;">The
weather was finally improving, and we were lucky that it was warm and the sun
eventually came out and heated us up. It was an enjoyable sail tour. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We got
dropped off on one of the islands and went for a barefooted hike to the top of
the hill. I disliked walking barefooted, as the grass was tall and we couldn’t
see what was underneath it, but the spectacular view over the bays and islands
was worth the discomfort. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Back on the beach the water was literally filled with
tiny jellyfish, the same size as a fingernail. There were millions of them - it
looked like jelly drops in the water. Erik and some of the other went for a
swim in them. I can’t imagine it being very fantastic, but at least they
weren’t dangerous. That’s one of many big differences between Australia and New
Zealand. In Aus. everything can kill you, but New Zealand is like at home,
there’s no danger in the nature and no life-threatening animals either. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We
enjoyed the fresh made sandwiches on the deck before we were in for a treat.
The captain had found the well-known big group of dolphins in the bay, and they
were chasing the boat. Everyone was astonished over the many dolphins
surrounding the boat. It was incredible to see how they played around us. It
was a sight that you only see in movies and it was mind-blowing that it
actually happened right in front of us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The crew member told us to clap and
cheer, as the dolphins like that, so we got them to stay around the boat for
longer. It was amazing! Definitely a one-in-a-lifetime-experience.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"> The trip
back to Paihia was great, I tried to steer the big sail boat, to prove Erik
that I could sail it, and convince him that if we should ever have a boat
again, it should be a sail boat. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We were back in town in the late afternoon,
and we went to take advantage over the spa bath in the hostel and enjoyed the
last bit of sun and a cold beer, while discussing how to get the most out of
the night. We all had to pack, shower, cook, exchange pictures and sort out the
last stuff before leaving early the next morning. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Yesterday I had taught Ivan
what moisturizer means, but I forgot to tell him that it’s a word that can be
used in every kind of product. So he had bought some moisturizing body wash
which he thought was lotion. So after his shower he happily rubbed his face and
body in the body wash, believing it was lotion, but it started to make bobbles
the more he rubbed on it. We told him that he bought the wrong stuff and after
a while and a good laugh he started to realize it was right. It took a little
longer to convince him that he had to shower again to get it off. It was hilarious!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Before making
dinner we discovered that the original hostel kitchen was closed for a complete
cleaning process, since Ivan and other people in the morning had seen several
cockroaches having a party in there, and afterwards reported it to the staff
that then closed the kitchen. So we had misjudged the slightly cleaner hostel
from the appearance of it, but we are not fussy so off cause we still would eat
our food. The risk of the cockroaches harming our food was small, so no
worries. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The staff had opened two of the apartment on the other side and we
could use the kitchen facilities there instead, so we were satisfied. After dinner
I was tired and beered-out, no more alcohol for me, Erik joined me on that
decision. Ivan was keen for some girl contact and some more beers, so he went
out with all the young ones from the hostel.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Silly clown! </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Island walk</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Erik's new hobby.. Silly clown!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Dolphins and plenty of them</div>
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<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Northland Video</b></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Friday 19<sup>th</sup>
December</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Yesterday I hit my
pinky toe on a corner of the sailboat and this morning it had swollen up and
started to get purple. Later I was told it was broken. It was a bit awkward to
walk, but it wasn’t too bad. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">It was quite hard to get Ivan out of bed, due to
his huge alcohol consumption the night before, but we had to leave early to
make it to the dive boat further south in Tutukaka. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The morning turned out
quite stressful, as we all of a sudden couldn’t get into our food in the
kitchen, the door was locked! The only window in the kitchen wasn’t closed
properly so Erik managed to intrude through the window and get our food out. Ivan
had the funniest way to pronounce muesli, with his strong Spanish accent is
came out as mu-es-li. To begin with none of us got what he was on about, and
when we realized what he had said we used the word all the time. It was
specially used this morning, as he was still really drunk and silly! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">After
swallowing our breakfast we hit the road, 10 minutes later than planned, we got
even more delayed when we had to make a u-turn and drive back to town to fuel
up. The road was windy and sadly we couldn’t go as fast as we wished to do.
Eventually we reached the turn off to Tutukaka and could tell by the time that
we would make it to the dive boat just on the clock. Ivan dropped us off and
would hang around and wait for us to come back. It was so nice of him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The boat
was an immense catamaran with plenty of space for us twelve divers. There were
only two crew members, and that was the captains. We were really looking forward
to this day and it was our main drag to visit the Northland. The day started
really good with the spotting of a whole bunch of bottlenose dolphins that swam
and played in front of the boat. It was even more amazing that the day before
as the water was much clearer and the dolphins more colorful. So I guess it
possible to experience that two times in a life time then! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The dive sites at
Poor Knights is said to be listed in the top 10 best dive sites in the world.
What we didn’t know was that the dives was self-guided, that explained the
small boat crew. This was just the top of the iceberg. We both felt unsecure
about diving by ourselves, but apparently everyone else was satisfied so we
didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. After a small introduction to the dive
site, which should be much more detailed since we were going to be on our own,
we jumped into the blue and started our dive. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Already in the beginning I was
quite nervous and hyperventilated a bit. None of us liked the fact that we had
to navigate ourselves around, we didn’t exactly know where to go, as things
doesn’t look the same underneath the surface. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We started to swim towards the
arch, it was all right to find, and then the captain had said we could swim
around the cliffs, which we decided to do. He hadn’t mentioned anything about that it
was oval shaped, we thought it was round, so after swimming for quite a while
we got disorientated. We were afraid that we were swimming out to the blue and
away from the boat. We wanted to swim over some boulders, to cut our way
through it, but they were really shallow and all of a sudden we popped up to
the surface, it was the surf that washed us up. And we realized we were behind
the big cliff, where the boat couldn’t see us and we were caught in the waves
washing in for a while. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We both panicked when we saw and could feel the
powerful waves, especially because there was no help to get. I got out of the
waves and swam towards the corner to get in contact with the captains. Erik was
sucked in to the cliffs by the waves for a while, but eventually he got out. We
were both so frustrated, annoyed and scared after this experience. And when we
got back to the boat we told the captains about it, they just laughed and said
‘Yeah that’s what happens’.. They didn’t even bother helping us up on the boat
and getting our equipment off. It was the worst service and experience ever. We really felt
unsecure about these guys, they had definitely done this too many times and
didn’t care about the bad experience we just had, that was just another day and
more money on their accounts. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We haven’t felt uncomfortable one single time
during our 69 dives, except for this time. We consider ourselves as experienced
divers, but the dive briefing had been horrible and we were just left to
ourselves back there by the cliffs. They didn’t even have a dinghy boat to pick divers up, if
they got lost. While waiting for the other divers we saw several other popping
up just around the corner of the cliffs, they experienced the same as us. But
to our big surprise no one said anything when they got back on board. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">There was
no service to get for the oncoming divers either, the two captains was standing
on the bridge, relaxing and chatting. Already at this point we started to ask
ourselves what we actually paid for, cause there was no dive master, no service
and minutes after we realized there wasn’t even lunch included. We were
speechless. We paid $520 (2392kr) together and couldn’t believe that all those
money didn’t include lunch. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">I honestly can’t remember I have ever felt so
disappointed in my whole life before. It was a fucking rip off and we were mad
as fuck! We tried not to ruin everybody else day, so we didn’t say anything to
the captains. But we literally wanted to jump off that boat and ask the other
dive boat that had arrived if we could join them to the mainland again, I was
so angry. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">All the other divers was really nice and shared some of their lunch
with us, apparently we were the one ones who didn’t know about the lunch. We
had booked it through the phone, but on all our daytrip as diver there has
always been dive master and lunch included in the price. Later we checked
online and it doesn’t say anything about the self-guided dives. Anyway, we
couldn’t thank the other divers enough for the sandwich and the mu-es-li bars. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">For the next dive we asked if we could get a guide, the second captain
surrendered himself but didn’t seem passionate about the dive at all. There was
one other couple who would join us as well. There was absolutely no organized
system for us divers to jump in as fast as possible, it took ages, because
there wasn’t enough space for us all to get ready at the same time. They should
have separated us into two groups but they couldn’t even handle that. When we
started the dive there was all of a sudden a lot of people joining us, so my
guess is that most people felt unsecure but didn’t have the guts to say it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
water was only 20 degrees, so we very quickly got cold. Even though we had a
guide this time we didn’t enjoy it. I felt dizzy and weird at some point, maybe
because of the cold water. There was nothing to see, only a lot of seaweed that
made us disorientated. But the marine life was little to non-existing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">I reckon
these guys only sail to the easy dive sites, so they can get away with
navigating people from the boat. The disappointment just wouldn’t stop. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Ivan
had to be back in Auckland before 8pm, so we had specific asked when we would be
back and was told not later than 4.30pm. We got back at 6pm. We couldn’t wait to
get off that boat and get the hell out of there. Words can't describe how humiliated and disappointed we were.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We were already running late,
and felt bad on Ivan behalf, but luckily he was taking it easy. He had talked
to his friend, who owns the car, and he was all right with us getting back
later than planned. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We met the wife to the captain and told her in the sweetest
possibly way how our day had been and then we left. Ivan totally understood the
misery we had been in, so on our way to Auckland he stopped by a liquor store
to make us relax again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The trip went smooth without too much traffic. In
Auckland just as Ivan turned towards Mission Bay (our base) a police car pulled
up behind us and gave us the signal to pull over. Ivan was driving 78 km in a
50 km zone. Instead of blowing for an alcohol test he had to count to 10 while
facing a little machine that sensed his breath, and if there had been any
alcohol in it, it would sense that, but he hadn’t been drinking, luckily. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">He
got away with a verbal warning about the speed limits in the city, lucky bastard. At least HE was lucky this day! We started driving again, and off cause
you are a bit nervous after such a situation, but we had to laugh when we soon
saw he was speeding again. He was around 70 again. Oh my god, it didn’t seem
like he learned his lesson. Maybe he should have gotten that speeding ticket,
so he would think about it! </span><span style="font-size: small;">It was a funny ending of the roadtrip with
him. We had a lot of fun together and we hope to meet him again someday in
Barcelona or Denmark. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">He dropped us off at our base at Lisa, Sam, Nat and
Jakes. It felt good to be ‘home’. Lisa and Sam came home from a bar shortly
after our arrival, and we catched up before going to bed. They left the next
morning for Christmas holidays with Sam family. And we sorted out the last blog
update, got our laundry done and waited for our car to arrive. Sam had arranged
a car for us, which we can borrow for our travels to the south island. It’s
awesome!</span></div>
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<b>Poor Knights Diving</b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09828578618884464538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-76509684553721465122014-12-13T21:39:00.003+01:002014-12-13T21:39:49.225+01:00Fiji - Kadavu Island <div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Wednesday 3<sup>rd
</sup>December</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Last night
we were young, wild and free, whereas this morning was almost the complete
opposite. The words would be old, injured, knackered and tired but at least we
still felt free as the birds. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The cab was waiting for us right outside the hostel
doorstep, so we just had to get out of bed and walk down the stairs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There was
around 90km to the airport near Suva, and if it hadn’t been for the very
friendly and chatty driver we would have slept all the way, but he kept talking
and telling stories, we continued being polite (believe it or not) and listened
until our eye lids literally fell down and closed our eyes. We probably slept
for 30min, but it wasn’t enough to be complete unconscious. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Anyway we got dropped
off outside the small airport. It was the same size as two houses and still
provided all the necessary things. The check-in counter to Kadavu Island wasn’t
open before another hour, so we were ahead of schedule, but rather that than
being late. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We tried some chicken and fries in the small attached “restaurant”.
You should think the food would be fresh at this time of the day (8am), but the
fries were uneatable, Erik ate them anyway, and the chicken was as dry as a desert. It was awful, but he also ate that! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">All though we found a corner to steal a nab in, the
waiting time seemed long. Eventually we could check in and slowly go through
the security check. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The airplane was the smallest we have tried so far. It
could fit 20 passengers, but we were only eight. While flying the pilots kept
the cockpit door open, so we could keep an eye on what they were doing. We
thought a lot about my younger brother Søren, and remembered how lively he had told
us the small planes can be. We definitely got to experience that, particularly
the landing was exciting. The run way were between two mountains, so the wind came
from all directions, it was raining and the plane was tossed from side to side.
Out the cockpit window we realized how crazy we moved in the air – either we
saw the clouds, the run way or the mountains. The pilots seemed calm so
there was no need to be concerned, all though I did hold on tight to my chair
(as if that would help if something really happened). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Kadavu’s (pronounced Kan-da-vu) airport was
even smaller than Suva’s. I mean there wasn’t even a luggage claim area. We
just waited outside the little airport house and took our own luggage from the
carriage. Our airport pick-up was late = Fiji time!! The lady who eventually picked us up
is Australian, and the manager of the resort we were going to spend the next 5
days on, called Matana Beach resort. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As there are very few roads on the island,
transport within Kadavu is mainly by boat. The ocean around the island is the
highway. It started raining again as we sat on the boat, it was nearly a 15 min
ride to the resort. It appeared as a beautiful place and definitely provided
the nature and peace we had aimed for. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Erik had looked into the weather
forecast and, unfortunately it predicted a lot of rain while we were here, but
it was all right. We just needed to relax and adapt all the impression from the
last couple of days. We had arranged some diving three of the days, so we were
going to get wet anyway. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We got our OWN bungalow with view over the ocean and
the boat highway. We were on an all- inclusive deal, which in our opinion wasn’t
all inclusive, as it didn’t include beverages. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">They served us lunch at
1pm and after the awful breakfast we were starving and couldn’t wait to get
some decent food. It was surprisingly good. I think they could have served us
canned corned beef at this time and we still would not be fussy about it. We
were that hungry!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The rest of the day the rain poured down, and we spend most
of the time in bed, recovering from the night before. Around 7pm we heard the
drum sound, which meant it was eating time. We went up to the restaurant
straight away but the dinner was about 45 minutes later than scheduled.. Damn
you Fiji time. Every night we would get a 3 course dinner and at every meal the
guests would eat together. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In this case we ate with three Indian Fijians (who’s
working on maintaining the few roads on the island), their manager and Diane, the
manager of the resort. We found it a bit strange that we had to socialize at
every meal. I mean we don’t necessarily want to talk to strangers all the time.
By the way we had nothing in common with these guys. We jumped straight to bed
afterwards. The rain continued pouring down through most of the night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mOAhKdVqkWgZRn6H3iLy5UDJLXXqo1nZaRIa20CsDMu5pHTnx3aY4wN7lHcma5XxIy_DjHPGSYS9lDVJIVze41YI6-jvY9oUYHlSz2E15qeQLQ4PuLsuBVNrRGG5YzsUR5wlaWEe66k/s1600/LTA_7742.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mOAhKdVqkWgZRn6H3iLy5UDJLXXqo1nZaRIa20CsDMu5pHTnx3aY4wN7lHcma5XxIy_DjHPGSYS9lDVJIVze41YI6-jvY9oUYHlSz2E15qeQLQ4PuLsuBVNrRGG5YzsUR5wlaWEe66k/s1600/LTA_7742.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8mAGVxO8PUgYdxA3apKV_jm9y6yQRJiUXn8PvWYZXMKk_WrozVXScWoCNLtWHU2Bnvsppnk45VSAKkn5PxoDXTOD4Ev4CJedrlxLOucpnReyso25-QIua231eb3DledNksQ41xYh-ps/s1600/LTA_7767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8mAGVxO8PUgYdxA3apKV_jm9y6yQRJiUXn8PvWYZXMKk_WrozVXScWoCNLtWHU2Bnvsppnk45VSAKkn5PxoDXTOD4Ev4CJedrlxLOucpnReyso25-QIua231eb3DledNksQ41xYh-ps/s1600/LTA_7767.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had a nice view over the coral reef on our way to Kadavu</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzvsYjnB0UK0MQE4Tp0XrlHFfeacgtiiOGwjYrzmOP-kd7eSk-AQUxQf9Rm5wZPy9DN5VESztFllfGspUrK_36n9GRxLSEqMpff1Br7a3S2cBjA_D3igdwJCoOYTaBP_UNNYss_NSojg/s1600/LTA_7785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzvsYjnB0UK0MQE4Tp0XrlHFfeacgtiiOGwjYrzmOP-kd7eSk-AQUxQf9Rm5wZPy9DN5VESztFllfGspUrK_36n9GRxLSEqMpff1Br7a3S2cBjA_D3igdwJCoOYTaBP_UNNYss_NSojg/s1600/LTA_7785.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kadavu's airport pick-up area...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3f6HSwd0RXSAUZE_KM8ttWxYow_IKhW4m7OqeMoDF8kg2CthgxR8TO672jYRoz2dNrEzdIOwRDpjwyr2CWYyGPJphlBnPzB8bPk_yCzAl5QQxrK02NAIz8a1A5YaUIeYzK7xIJABDJwE/s1600/LTA_7787.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3f6HSwd0RXSAUZE_KM8ttWxYow_IKhW4m7OqeMoDF8kg2CthgxR8TO672jYRoz2dNrEzdIOwRDpjwyr2CWYyGPJphlBnPzB8bPk_yCzAl5QQxrK02NAIz8a1A5YaUIeYzK7xIJABDJwE/s1600/LTA_7787.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The airport</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYzUTqnNgz2FT24Y0HkuZX3uOzG0EzPCso3LZIUitizoIy9xTXwa74H5kagB_gax7DrvxCel5eNiZNvzxcXAqrILrq-SLZ_jsYzNAd4IKM5duwHDLhtuF9J77aaqufHdKDbbKAsMRqsOs/s1600/LTA_7791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYzUTqnNgz2FT24Y0HkuZX3uOzG0EzPCso3LZIUitizoIy9xTXwa74H5kagB_gax7DrvxCel5eNiZNvzxcXAqrILrq-SLZ_jsYzNAd4IKM5duwHDLhtuF9J77aaqufHdKDbbKAsMRqsOs/s1600/LTA_7791.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the worst place to spend some time inside<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Thursday 4<sup>th</sup>
December<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Breakfast
was tame and filled with carbohydrates – such as white bread, jam, juice and
fruit. Cereals were also available but only together with full cream milk –
none of us can drink or eat that. After we filled ourselves with all this sugar
food, the kitchen staff came out and served us scrambled eggs (and pancakes) –
it was about time and almost too late. We were disappointed about the service,
and forced the eggs down just to get something we could live out of. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We met up
with our dive master Saula, got our dive equipment and went for a dive, just
10min away from the beach. It was just the two of us, Saula and Captain Sam. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">The dive
was a soft coral dive and Saula took us through a few swim troughs which were
beautiful. We saw a turtle feeding on the corals, a big garden of anemone
(nemo) fish – they are so interesting particular the soft corals they live in,
but frankly there wasn’t much marine life to explore. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Our surface interval was
spend in a hot shower back at the resort, and at the beach bar drinking tea and
eating biscuits.. Hurrah for carbohydrates! The weather was unpredictable all
morning, most of the times we had light rain. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Our second dive was very alike
the first one, only this time it was more choppy waves. We saw popcorn shrimps
which jumped in the water like popcorn, obviously. Saula was good at pointing
out the few things for us. At the end of the dive he showed us a magical coral
that changed color when we touched it. Interesting and new for us! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The rest of
this day was spent inside, writing this, relaxing and watching movies. The
weather didn’t allow us to do more outside activities. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3lyHlhCvw7NBdfVW1lR3VRvpR2U14YqwFZ3IbqTCdTc4KQVxlohfLlVadHJ1-UrC4v4ClLcowuEj6QwZQSi8Xu7qYRHHAKlXopY2eqpIThuiY5VRCZsN3jM5lDDsjIJxuXAuXyBlHUk/s1600/LTA_7813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3lyHlhCvw7NBdfVW1lR3VRvpR2U14YqwFZ3IbqTCdTc4KQVxlohfLlVadHJ1-UrC4v4ClLcowuEj6QwZQSi8Xu7qYRHHAKlXopY2eqpIThuiY5VRCZsN3jM5lDDsjIJxuXAuXyBlHUk/s1600/LTA_7813.JPG" height="423" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Family Denmark</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Friday 5<sup>th
</sup>December</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">I didn’t
feel like diving at all. Saula tried to arrange some manta dives on the other
side of the island for the following day. Regrettably the waves would probably be
too rough for the boat to leave the island. We decided to skip the normal dives
this day, as the ocean seemed cold and uninviting. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We were lazy most of the day and
actually started to feel bored, so we arranged to visit the two small villages
next to the resort, Navuatu and Drue. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Kadavu is a very traditional island, so
we both had to dress properly in a sarong to show respect to the village
people. The local director (Cava) of the resort took us for a short walk
through it. The villages</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> economy is based on agriculture and the export of
produce to the mainland. They have countless mango trees, papayas, pineapples,
bananas and coconut palms. It’s mango and papaya season now. We hear the fruits
hitting the thin timber roofs in the resort all the time. It’s quite noisy and
the first few times we were sure it was coconuts, because of the loud sound. In
the village it was hard not to step on mangos – they were literally everywhere.
The people get so tired of eating them and at the end of the season everyone
have had enough, both the people and the animals. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">When we asked Cava about the
time, he told us the definition of Fiji time. The time is half past quarter too
from. That sounded just about right. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Back at the resort a PADI worker, named
Jen had come to visit. PADI is the world’s leading scuba diver organization,
and she had come to check out the dive center, the equipment and some dive
sites. What a good job!! Erik had a thousand of questions to ask her about
diving, and while they shared dive stories over a few beers, I took a short time
off and got my pictures edited. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">I joined them later again, and we both found this
woman interesting to be around. She had done a lot of travelling and made us
speechless with her stories and adventures. We got our theory about amazing Galapagos
confirmed, and put on the bucket list once and for all!! The Coco Islands also
deserves a spot on the list. Those two destinations and two diving live aboard
tours will cost us the same amount of money, as travelling 9 months in South East Asia. So it’s not gonna happen on this trip though!! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">For once it was
okay to eat dinner together, because Jen kept the conversations going, so it
wasn’t as awkward as most of our other meals, where there has been an awkward
silence most of the time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8Mgygo6mF3vVCcQrNYPJgHvnZlwPtgaUp1z9m-6Uj-qvoqO3CDvy2nhYJFLK7TXA_F_qvqo5WLyw0ofCRGltPU7kOKOQbLGTamklUiGVETj6buHtcNKHWX1DXnSY0OEFX0sJ2dwUqbA/s1600/LTA_7847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK8Mgygo6mF3vVCcQrNYPJgHvnZlwPtgaUp1z9m-6Uj-qvoqO3CDvy2nhYJFLK7TXA_F_qvqo5WLyw0ofCRGltPU7kOKOQbLGTamklUiGVETj6buHtcNKHWX1DXnSY0OEFX0sJ2dwUqbA/s1600/LTA_7847.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This woman is selling homemade mats</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0LTwrEJ7Tjwk4NHIYqDlRGEdFdBTKKpVV8Mow10LYGASgbw2NNWoFqXchyphenhyphenA87wzTTi2nx3I05cFc9Mqck6L80R8h_JJscmLa8a5gA7jWCEm6aEOBeQwChBSAmhGq-2eM3XHmMEWUZYC0/s1600/LTA_7850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0LTwrEJ7Tjwk4NHIYqDlRGEdFdBTKKpVV8Mow10LYGASgbw2NNWoFqXchyphenhyphenA87wzTTi2nx3I05cFc9Mqck6L80R8h_JJscmLa8a5gA7jWCEm6aEOBeQwChBSAmhGq-2eM3XHmMEWUZYC0/s1600/LTA_7850.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Village boys with a handfull of mango</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixF8Q7qkdob-V_ITV-4viF_iKTEXtMDCA0K6FuhFZnObJi-FzJBhtgIJMV9vuJ-gaSWSYijgHAZU5XeYHxiKiSFLfoeglzaFCvLdjrWUoBh06ZmG5tJqD9iJnVgyZhgZPtQdK3sK4JHwM/s1600/LTA_7858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixF8Q7qkdob-V_ITV-4viF_iKTEXtMDCA0K6FuhFZnObJi-FzJBhtgIJMV9vuJ-gaSWSYijgHAZU5XeYHxiKiSFLfoeglzaFCvLdjrWUoBh06ZmG5tJqD9iJnVgyZhgZPtQdK3sK4JHwM/s1600/LTA_7858.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What is there NOT to like about this place</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSEPz-IDv8t1AaYvq3Jh1aHNHoL4VwEkjRmedMnCQ1oYJ3GoCkKq1kr-MyB35_6WLatVXkWuXx88ly2N54HXrHtFVPJkOKn23ZFMzj7LEK7w9AIUTTrZfN0ObsQ00hNp-zbBb2-ZR7PY/s1600/LTA_7864.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSEPz-IDv8t1AaYvq3Jh1aHNHoL4VwEkjRmedMnCQ1oYJ3GoCkKq1kr-MyB35_6WLatVXkWuXx88ly2N54HXrHtFVPJkOKn23ZFMzj7LEK7w9AIUTTrZfN0ObsQ00hNp-zbBb2-ZR7PY/s1600/LTA_7864.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2YEdHT3DhvpSdYSe_92mQv7kbAWsebho7tbxcvuzqDOLAZQzdxzfYKIGNQEZdbqQSblfBVWBZluVf4TIe3So2Ym6fiweh1DX19By9laC2AY28dQnLmEMRi9tRiMADisaR3UOIqrd1MI/s1600/LTA_7868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2YEdHT3DhvpSdYSe_92mQv7kbAWsebho7tbxcvuzqDOLAZQzdxzfYKIGNQEZdbqQSblfBVWBZluVf4TIe3So2Ym6fiweh1DX19By9laC2AY28dQnLmEMRi9tRiMADisaR3UOIqrd1MI/s1600/LTA_7868.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vsAn2QxQBn66gkm_lpTxfG6oZHn0J_Xza_idxmZtlYIXfu9gNLU0Mx4nCegC74Eg3Lo_1psNIqUTNMbFB1UeMG5hKytPCAD4pV7UvfiATuXof93v_UATURAqi63IuzW0IYOd_LDgKjk/s1600/LTA_7860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vsAn2QxQBn66gkm_lpTxfG6oZHn0J_Xza_idxmZtlYIXfu9gNLU0Mx4nCegC74Eg3Lo_1psNIqUTNMbFB1UeMG5hKytPCAD4pV7UvfiATuXof93v_UATURAqi63IuzW0IYOd_LDgKjk/s1600/LTA_7860.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I admire how these kids play and have fun together.. <span style="font-size: 12.7272720336914px;">Notice the little guy hanging in the branch in the back.. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRp7aj3mPxgx5jnGs5i_hQ-WBH_iXerKoufFn2GZkI7_ZxVxcNkb04oWZ22gx9s_aZUM3rc2YkNObbdmdQnuy4Ega8idb0at0qcYViGg6doLGrEtwo0-sqUYgPZJj6pb-sro7IYfF1izQ/s1600/LTA_7872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRp7aj3mPxgx5jnGs5i_hQ-WBH_iXerKoufFn2GZkI7_ZxVxcNkb04oWZ22gx9s_aZUM3rc2YkNObbdmdQnuy4Ega8idb0at0qcYViGg6doLGrEtwo0-sqUYgPZJj6pb-sro7IYfF1izQ/s1600/LTA_7872.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My turn to drum the guests to dinner<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Saturday 6<sup>th</sup>
December</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The manta
dive was off the schedule for sure, the weather on the south side was too
rough. Instead we went diving on the north side where the wind wasn’t that
strong. We were impressed by how the captain, without a gps could direct his
way to the dive sites, without them having buoy's in the water. He really knew what he was doing! It was
comfortable to know. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Jen came with us on the first dive, and it was a great
dive, with a few swim through channels and soft corals. The second dive was
slightly boring, plus that I got really cold, so I had a hard time to fully
enjoy the dive. It was raining and windy when we came back to the boat, and the
hot shower was much appreciated. I must say it’s the perfect place to be in
such bad weather conditions, because there’s nothing to see around, so we
really didn’t needed</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> to get out of our bungalow, only to consume our meals and
diving, but that was all optional of cause.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Lunch together.. We hated the old 'stand in' manager next to me </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Our bungalow</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday 7<sup>th</sup>
December</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We have
definitely slept way too much since we got here. We have napped every day, and
not just 30min. We have done it wholehearted as we like everything to be done,
so we have at least slept two hours each afternoon. It makes us constantly
tired and lazy. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">This Sunday we had to enjoy the laid back environment
completely, since it was out last full day on the resort. Well, breakfast is
said to be around 7.30am every day, so we haven’t slept in any of the days. This
morning I had enough of the kitchen staff, because they drummed as if the
breakfast was ready, but when we got to the restaurant we waited another 25min
for our food to be ready. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">It annoyed me, and it really hurts inside me, the way
they waste our precious time like that. I mean we could have slept another half
an hour then. I know I shouldn’t complain, but I do what I’m best at!! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Today
was also the last day of diving with our local friends Saula and Sam. It seemed
like it was gonna be a great day, at least we could see some blue skies and feel
the sun burning every now and then. We left the beach and Sam ensured we got to
our first dive site of the day, called the yellow wall, due to all the yellow
corals. I’m not sure what happened with my air consumption on this dive, but I
must have taken deep breaths without noticing it, because all of a sudden I had
a decent amount less air than Erik. Usually we use about the same. I hand
signaled Saula about it and he navigated us back to the boat, by then I lost a
lot more air, much more than usual. I must have gotten nervous on the way. We
did our 5 meters safety stop and I surfaced with just 20bar left, whereas Erik
surfaced with 70bar. It was strange! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The little beach where they took us for
the surface interval was full of eremite crabs. As we sat on an old bamboo
trunk we realized that almost every shell on the beach was alive. It gave me goose bumps, but not enough to leave them by themselves. We picked them up
and whistled for them – then they usually come out of their shell. We also had
a smaller crab race against each other. Erik deserved to win, since he never
caught any fish the other day! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The second dive I would consider as the best we
have done in this area. It’s called crazy maze, and the name speak for itself.
We went through a lot of small and bigger caves the so-called swim through
tunnels it was unique to swim in between the big pinnacles. Actually it was
like a canyon under water. A very enjoyable dive. We played with the magical
corals again, on the video you can see how it lights up when we touch it. I
fancied it was like lighting up Christmas lights. We also played with a anemone
(nemo) fish. Erik and I had tried switching regulators to see if there was
something wrong with my regulator, or if my breathing had been the issue on the
last dive. Erik was fine with his air, which proved it must have been my
breathing. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Because it was our last night, the local director invited us to a
kava session in the afternoon. He convinced us that his kava mix was much
stronger and better than the once we had before. The taste of it was the same,
but the fatigue and how our bodies relaxed afterwards, was nothing we had tried
before. We were comfortably tired for the rest of the night. Luckily the power
shout off every night at 9.30 so it was our excuse to go to bed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Finally we could get a good picture of our view</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllkJVi9dRcgh02NGzQRHpKgih6G13c5RbES38ipaxWyYguag11JrzkjdKAwdqD7IUefJohf4jCgskpT0BBegxUv5q5H2d0M2HsftezIi548m-XQiw3m_jsjZIpNzBuAByhrixG4V17_Y/s1600/LTA_7910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllkJVi9dRcgh02NGzQRHpKgih6G13c5RbES38ipaxWyYguag11JrzkjdKAwdqD7IUefJohf4jCgskpT0BBegxUv5q5H2d0M2HsftezIi548m-XQiw3m_jsjZIpNzBuAByhrixG4V17_Y/s1600/LTA_7910.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Kava time</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Diving Kadavu</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/v0Eh4srPXVQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday 8<sup>th</sup>
December</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Our great
captain Sam made sure we got to the airport in time. We were only three
passengers on the plane to Nadi, so the boarding went pretty smooth. The flight
back was a very scenic one, as there weren’t as many clouds as on our way out,
so we had the most beautiful views of the turquoise waters with small bounty
islands, surrounded by healthy reefs. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">In Nadi, which felt 10 degrees warmer than
Kadavu, we took a taxi back to the same hostel, as we stayed at when we arrived
in Fiji. Again we choose the cheapest option (15 dollars each), two beds in one of their 16 bed
dorms. We didn’t do anything else than hang around the bar, and taking
advantage of the free wifi, as we had now been without internet for a week.. I
went for a siesta in the afternoon, meanwhile Erik was drinking beers in the
bar area. He was a tipsy when I came back, and after another two beers and a
heart-attack burger he went to bed. I spend my night online, catching up with
friends and family, and letting them know we were still alive. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
We felt like V.I.P's in the little aircraft</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Nadi run way</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tuesday 9<sup>th</sup>
December</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Erik got up
early to skype with his family. I woke up because of my itchy body. To begin
with I was sure that all the red and itchy spots on my arms was mosquito
bites, but after a shower I noticed they were all located in a very small area.
Soon I realized it was bites from bedbugs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As the staff was already in the
room, changing all beddings, I was suspicious about their knowledge about the
bedbugs. Either way I told them and showed them my bites, and if they weren’t
aware of the problem before, they sure were by now. A girl across from my bed
woke up. She told me she got bedbugs the night before, from the room upstairs.
So this was apparently an issue around the hostel, and unfortunately those
bastards spread like crazy. </span>The staff cleaned out the whole dorm, took all
mattresses and bedframes out and cleaned them. Even though I did NOT want to
stay there for another night. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I went to tell Erik, and we are actually amazed
that it didn’t happen before, after all the dirty places we've stayed. You can’t
do much about the bites, except for avoiding the temptation to scratch the hell
out of them. At the front desk I asked for our money back. The lady asked if I
wanted money back from one or two nights (we had already paid for 2 nights there)... It was a strange question - I mean
off course I wanted money back from both nights if it was possible. She ran on
Fiji time so it took me a while to get the money back, but I got all the money
back. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just around the corner, at Horizon Hotel I arranged another room for us.
It was $50 (150kr) for a night, including breakfast. I got the $60 back (180kr),
from the other hostel, which meant that we actually saved money as well. Plus
we got a private room. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As yesterday most of this day was spend together with
our laptops. Before another kava session took place in the outside dining area,
we enjoyed the last bit of sun and the last Fiji beers at the pool area. For
dinner we went back to the bedbug hostels restaurant, which made some delicious
food. We both ordered a heart-attack burger and were ready for bed straight
after. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijnxufVEMPueNJ80Ku7nuCEjNC9wRoC9Hn7e9E2gR303RGBQNfE-O4hvlIq2yXn715r_kOAcGEEPbIH3SsghU16h39x2MdH8xJjyuXtuZ-h7rqj2X3wszFxgRU3IBpO_mA7-KuQceszjM/s1600/LTA_7967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijnxufVEMPueNJ80Ku7nuCEjNC9wRoC9Hn7e9E2gR303RGBQNfE-O4hvlIq2yXn715r_kOAcGEEPbIH3SsghU16h39x2MdH8xJjyuXtuZ-h7rqj2X3wszFxgRU3IBpO_mA7-KuQceszjM/s1600/LTA_7967.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Some of the first christmas decoration we saw on Fiji</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Wednesday
10<sup>th</sup> December</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Even though
we, the night before, had agreed not to eat the included breakfast, because of
the fact that it just consisted of white toast bread and jam, we still found
ourselves in the breakfast area just before they closed and we didn’t realize
before we had consumed it, that we actually didn’t mean to eat it. We had so
much white bread the last week, and it was about to get disgusting. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This day the
weather had improved, and every now and then we had a clear blue sky. It was
ridiculous hot – and we were looking forward to get to some colder temperatures
in New Zealand. We always want what we can't just have. If it’s too hot we wish it
would be cooler, and when it's cold, it’s too cold. When we can’t go
snowboarding, then it’s what we’re dreaming of. If we can’t have Thai-food, we
want that damn Thai-food. When we’re in the civilized world, we wish to go back
to third world countries and the other way around. Humans are rarely satisfied
and there’s always something to complain about, and always something that can
get better. That’s just how we are screwed together. We have talked to a lot of
travelers about this and they totally agree. Even though you might be in the
most beautiful place on Earth, you can always think about something better and
something impossible, that you wish you could do at that very moment. We work
against these feelings all the times, and we have gotten better, but not perfect
yet. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Anyway in the airport we were counting our money and acted like two kids, who only have a certain amount to spend, and it took us ages to figure out what
we were gonna use our last Fiji dollars on. We ended with two chocolate bars
and a key ring. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The flight to Auckland went smooth, until we were about to
land. The captain announced that there was something wrong with one of the wing
flabs, and they needed to go through a safety procedure before landing, it
would take 10-15 min. Calmly he said there was no need to be concerned. We were
curious about what happened in the cockpit the next 10-15 min., we would like
to know what’s going on when something like this happens and which precautions
they need to take. I guess younger brother Søren, can help us with that when we
come home. We flew around for the amount of time the captain had said and then
he announced that we were ready for the landing and that it was going to be a
normal landing. That was a relief to hear and it felt good to be back on solid
ground. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It took us ages to get out of Auckland Airport. There were a lot of
security checks and a lot of people. In the departure hall Lisa and Sam was
waiting for us. They had offered us a bed in their house, which was perfect. We
know them through Erik’s mate Buller, who worked with Sam in Fredericia, when
they lived there. Sam is Kiwi and Lisa is original from Fredericia, but they
moved here two years ago. They share a beautiful house with another couple, in
Mission Bay which is located 4 km out of the center of Auckland. They made a room for us in
their living room, by using their table tennis table as a room divider, so we
got a little privacy. The night went by fast and we had a good time. It’s
funny to meet someone from home so far away, and Erik, Lisa and I know a lot of
the same people at home, so the conversation quickly turned into gossip, which is
always entertaining. Both Lisa and Sam has travelled quite a bit as well, so in
that way we also have a lot in common with them. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9C_-uuxTwrwy3Zsh0HicdM4sYTqSe07XqkYkmweOzEteXsrmiDQN9PLj1sZwxT6gyCXLiISrdqUg_0ZF-y8ZmNNkYz8gElesdL_v8h3Dnc0g2pSJF4WinSQD0Zglo_JMsdibWVSwCU48/s1600/LTA_7919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9C_-uuxTwrwy3Zsh0HicdM4sYTqSe07XqkYkmweOzEteXsrmiDQN9PLj1sZwxT6gyCXLiISrdqUg_0ZF-y8ZmNNkYz8gElesdL_v8h3Dnc0g2pSJF4WinSQD0Zglo_JMsdibWVSwCU48/s1600/LTA_7919.JPG" height="412" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Fiji Dollars</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqDjgDezUhYgioUkDN0sN0sjBhLvtU11NLy4PZ0Q9jB2eTiidywbj4EsYPnnBzswgY4Gpg5tGVte-OiHQn35TRCJqc02mGl3c8VwWCC7GfXbNWsoroj1A-0QVqTbovPDNM7-aJnTxMbQ/s1600/LTA_7921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqDjgDezUhYgioUkDN0sN0sjBhLvtU11NLy4PZ0Q9jB2eTiidywbj4EsYPnnBzswgY4Gpg5tGVte-OiHQn35TRCJqc02mGl3c8VwWCC7GfXbNWsoroj1A-0QVqTbovPDNM7-aJnTxMbQ/s1600/LTA_7921.JPG" height="416" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09828578618884464538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-6972761678182616522014-12-09T23:03:00.000+01:002014-12-09T23:03:01.670+01:00Shark diving, fishing and meeting locals on Fiji<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Friday 28<sup>th
</sup>November</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We said goodbye
to Malene and Zandra in the morning, and at 9.36am we left Ashfield with a
directly train to the airport. We queued up in front of Fiji Airways counters
together with all the chocolate people, Fijians and Indians. Apparently there
is a lot of immigrated Indians on Fiji. The flight went smooth and we landed in
Nadi (pronounced Nan-di) on Levu Viti, Fiji in the late afternoon. Now 12 hours
ahead of Denmark. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was cloudy and rainy outside. It’s not the best time to
visit Fiji, but since Erik was dying to dive with sharks we had to go. It was
obvious that we had arrived in a third world country again, and people admired
our vanilla European look. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The so-called airport pick-up ended out in a cab to
the hostel, because their pick-up car was rented out. Erik had booked two
nights at ‘Bamboo House’ in a 16 bed dormitory for $7 (36kr) per nose per
night. It’s located about 5 km out of town, to begin with it seemed far away,
since there was no light or life as we drove further away from the airport. But
then a little village and a few lights appeared in front of us, and we were got
dropped off right in front of the hostel. They paid for our cab ride, and
welcomed us. </span>It's a lovely place, with loads of life and a fantastic
atmosphere. The place have both a pool area, and restaurant & bar attached,
plus a nice hang out area with hammocks and couches. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we were checking in at
the front desk two Danish guys passed us. We noticed one of them was wearing a
T-shirt with a Danish football logo on, so we started talking to them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And after
dropping our stuff in the room, which by the way was great value for money, we
went down in the bar to taste some Fijian beer and hang out with the Danes. It
was two young guys that had been studying in Brisbane (Australia) the last
semester, and they were now travelling a bit before they continue their study back
in Denmark in January. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After hanging out with them we ventured over to a group
with a mix of locals and backpackers. A few of the guys played guitar and every
now and then we all sang along. They locals served us ‘Kava’, which is Fiji’s
national drink made from the kava root, that apparently cures a lot of deceases
(I’m not sure if we should believe that), but it’s primarily consumed to relax.
There’s no alcohol in it, but the drinks makes your tongue go numb and there’s
a whole ceremony attached to drinking it. When it’s offered to you, you
have to clap once and say ‘Bula’ (Hey in Fijian) then finish the bowl, clap
three times and say ‘Vinaka’ (Thanks). The bowl goes around the table and the
locals decide when the next is offered. We had countless of ‘Kava’ this night,
and we met a lot of Americans, and by the way also another Dane from Vejle.
It’s the biggest amount of Danish people we have met in one place and in such a
short time. Funny little world! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we decided to go to bed around 2am we were
surprised to see the visitor in our bed.. A homeless cat, that obviously was
use to sleeping in that bed, since it wasn’t in a hurry to move when we trying
to get it out of there. It’s no secret that Erik isn’t a big cat fan, and I
must admit I wasn’t either at this point, I kindly asked Erik to move the cat. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He grabbed the cat in its neck and was meant to throw it out the door, but misjudged
the distance, and literally threw it into the wall instead. Well, by the force
he used and if he had hit the door, the cat wouldn’t only have gone out the
door, but all the way out over the balcony. So hitting the wall was the better
option, all though I think everyone in the room woke up by the loud sound. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It
seemed violent and it was not how I imagined it to turn out. Erik was shocked
as well, but on the other hand who wants a homeless cat in their bed. You never
know what kind of diseases they are carrying around. I bet that cat isn’t gonna
come back the next couple of days.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFComScZpFAJfnXTooMByy3BNs-yXlUKrDWZWk0tlH0y9i3kVnnWc_3Te4Koyw_FnQtoqgs1yN_tX_h1E37MDaImn8FUp9ecwjH9brIoOJTCWntxb8pPpcpFwsT4__mwVnHRsuoqhqHU/s1600/LTA_7446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFComScZpFAJfnXTooMByy3BNs-yXlUKrDWZWk0tlH0y9i3kVnnWc_3Te4Koyw_FnQtoqgs1yN_tX_h1E37MDaImn8FUp9ecwjH9brIoOJTCWntxb8pPpcpFwsT4__mwVnHRsuoqhqHU/s1600/LTA_7446.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cloudy Fiji..<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Saturday 29<sup>th</sup>
November</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">After
having a heavy breakfast at the hostel, we caught the public bus into the town
of Nadi for F$ 1.15 each (3,5 kr). It actually felt very nice to be back in a
50 year old public bus again, we don’t know exactly why, but we both felt home
again in some way. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">In Nadi we dumped into some village people, as they liked
calling themselves. Two older oversized ladies and a younger more reasonable
sized girl. We doubted if they were real village people or not, but anyway they
asked if we wanted to see the local market, and of cause we would. We already
knew that they probably would expect some money in return, but they also seemed
very friendly, so we followed these big human beings. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">In their shop we were
invited to a ‘kava ceremony. Free of charge off cause. We sat down on the
blanket with them and drank their kava. It’s no surprise that they afterwards
expected us to buy some of the handmade bits and pieces in their shop. We told
them that weren’t normal tourists, but travelers and we seriously couldn’t fit
more stuff into our bags, but that we appreciated what they did for us. We left
them disappointed at the shop. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Our main purpose in town was to exchange our
Aussie dollars to Fijian dollars. It was a bit uncomfortable to exchange them.
First of all because we did it in an Indian run exchange shop (we have a hard
time trusting these people – but they offered the best rate), and second of all
they would become aware of how much cash we carried around. We considered
jumping into a cab and back to the hostel straight away after the money
exchange, but giving it second thoughts we went for a stroll to the REAL local
market, the fresh food and vegetables market. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">There was for sure some fresh
food, but also a lot of old food. For instance you can always tell whether the
food is fresh or not, by the flies surrounding it. We were brought back in time
when we saw fresh pineapples on a stick; we grabbed one each and went to
explore the big section of kava root selling hawkers. The town was busy and
filled with people, indeed a lot of Indians and a lot of overweighed people. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Back
at the hostel we went for an afternoon nab. It was hot humid outside and the
fan in the dorm was the only thing that could keep us from sweating. At night
when we ate dinner, I had a Fijian style fish with sweet potatoes in coconut
milk and Erik enjoyed a heavy round of mash potatoes and bangers (sausages). We
were joined by a really shy American guy, Jared, who we both chatted with the
night before. He tried to teach me how to take good night shots with my camera;
unfortunately he couldn’t teach me anything I didn’t know. A Spanish guy, Ivan, who
we met on the bus earlier also joined us, he was less shy and easier to talk
to. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The hostel has a kava slash guitar session every night, so we went for
another one of these, with the so-called Kava-holic band. Unfortunately they
didn’t serve as much kava this night, and we also discovered that it’s not as
good and healthy to drink as the locals says. In big amounts and if it consumes
on a daily basis, it can provoke liver damage and liver failure. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">It was
bedtime for us, and in a peaceful moment while I was brushing my teeth’s, Erik was
fighting to get a huge cockroach out of our bed. He tried to sweep it away with
a folded blanket, the cockroach apparently grabbed on to the blanket, so as
Erik thoughts it was gone and looked on the floor for it, he sensed something
crawling up on his arm. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">I would have loved to see the reaction of how fast he
must have swept it away from there. You can imagine the goose bumps I got when
he told me about it. I wanted to turn on the light to make sure there weren’t
more of them in the bed, but that would have woken up all the people already in
their beauty sleep. The light from the hallway outside shined through the
window and after a little while we saw the big cockroach crawling on the wall.
It was massive, the biggest we have seen, and as long as a ring finger. We had
to kill it, to be able to get some sleep.When the shoe hit the wall we woke up
a few people, but at this time we didn’t care. We did not want to share our bed
with this fellow. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The weather had luckily cleared up in the morning </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The dormitry </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Erik quickly settled into Fiji Time!!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The smart ringing system in the bus.. Just pull the line..</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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Kava Ceremony</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Market </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The kava root</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Fresh crabs</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
"Fresh" capsicum.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
This guy is selling a little bit of everything</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
We enjoyed the beautiful decoration in the cab</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The hostel restaurant and bar</div>
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The Kava-holic band</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday 30<sup>th</sup>
November</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">In the
morning when we enjoyed our breakfast, Ivan the Spanish guy popped by. He was
keen for doing some island hopping and both Erik and I looked into it online
for him, we just tried to help him decide what to do the following days. When
he told Erik that he was a certified diver, Erik quickly convinced him that the
shark dive, we were going to do, is without a doubt the best way to spend time,
and money on the main island of Fiji. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Afterwards Ivan got the front desk to contact the
Beqa diveshop, but no one answered the phone. What happened next was very
spontaneous and I admire Ivan for taking that quick decision about packing his
shit together and go with us to Pacific Harbour. He just planned to show up in
the dive shop and let them know he wanted to do the dive. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">For me it was a
little stressful, because it seems like we were running late, and waiting for
Ivan, even though it only took him 10 min to pack, seemed like a bad plan. I
hate to be late and I was already stressing myself out. He made it, just in
time, before Erik was going to kill me for making stress. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We jumped into a cab,
didn’t even have time to negotiate the price, we only told the driver we had to
catch the bus at 11am. We were, as most of the times when I make stress, in
good time and didn’t need to worry about not catching the bus. In this part of
the world they run on their own time – Fiji Time, which is obviously always a
bit delayed. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The bus was as we know them from beloved South East Asia.. Cheap
(11,5 Fiji $ = 34kr), old, rusty and overcrowded. I thought we had enough of
this, but we are filled with new energy and patience, so we enjoyed the 3 hour trip
to Pacific Harbour. The area is a perfect spot for adrenaline junkies like us.
The shark feeding being the most popular one. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">After arriving on Fiji, and as said
before we are both filled with new energy. It feels good to be back in a third
world country, where we can explore things just by a stroll in a town and
experience new stuff in the daily Fijian routine, without having to pay for it.
It’s just a new and exciting environment and there are plenty of new things to
see and explore. We love being back in the bamboo house culture where we don’t
need to think about how we dress or look, no one is judging us on our
appearance. Here we can be totally relaxed by ourselves, and wear our worn out
clothes without feeling underdressed. In the end of the day that’s what we
want. Fiji has already made a really good first impression on us. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Australian culture reminded us a lot of being home, everyone is dressing up and
it’s all about looking good, money and business. In the end it felt awkward to
be in a developed country like that, and not have anything to do, no work, no
duties. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyhow we checked in at Tsulu Backpackers and realized we were the only
three in the hostel. The Indian owner was thoughtful and gave us to separated
rooms. We got a dorm room, original for 8 persons, but it was just the two of
us. Ivan got his own 4 bed dorm. It was luxury! The owner Imraz promised to
call the dive company and sort out the dives for Ivan for the next day,
meanwhile we checked out the pool and bar area, where Mindy, Imraz wife, was working behind the bar. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">She's american and we got along with her pretty well, and as we told them we were
leaving to check out the beach and the village, they invited us to come with
them to the beach. One of their employees, a huge American guy called Laize,
drove us to the supermarket where he picked up a box of beer and afterwards
drove us to the beach. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">While we were waiting for Mindy & Imraz we all had a
quick dip in the tempting ocean, it was well deserved after a warm bus ride in
the morning. We were the only pale humans on the beach, everyone else was local
and it’s was pleasure that no one stared at us, just because of our vanilla
skin. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Mindy and Imraz brought some more of their employees, and we made some
new friends. They were all overwhelming friendly and very fun to be around. The
afternoon went by with drinking beers in the traditional way. The rules is that
one serves an equally amount of beer in a small glass and you finish the glass
before it’s passed on. In that way everybody gets the same amount of alcohol
and everyone is on the same level. This is called Taki in Fijian, it the same
they do with their kava. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">It took us a little while to get in to, cause we enjoy
having a bottle or glass in our hand at all times. It was strange for us that
someone else was in charge of when we got our next sip. As it was getting dark
and we were getting hungry, plus we were running out of beers, we moved to the Tiki
pool bar at the hostel. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We had a nice and filling fried noddle dinner, and then
Erik started playing volleyball with the guys while Mindy and I connected in
the bar. The traditional drinking continued for a little while longer. I left
the party a bit earlier than the guys, we all (Erik, Ivan & me) had to get
up early in the morning to dive, so it had to stop at some point. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The local beach </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Ivan & Erik</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Laize wanted us to adopt him.. Just if we were bored, he said!!</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Don't remember all their names, but they were good fun.</div>
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It doesn't take much to entertain children here. They don't need an Ipad or Iphone..</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday 1st
December</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Our alarm
was set for 7am as we were getting picked up at 7.30 for the famous shark dive.
Even though Erik went to bed later than me, he was so excited about the dives,
that he couldn’t sleep after waking up at 6am – so he finally got me dragged
out of bed a couple of minutes to 7. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We quickly sorted out our stuff for the
trip, and met up with Ivan, who was running around himself cause his passport
was missing – he already went down to the bar, to have a look for it, but
without any luck. At this time of the day on Fiji there aren’t a lot of people
awake, so we would have to wait until we got back from the trip, to ask if they
found it in the bar, which almost was the only place it could have dropped out
of his wallet. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The pickup didn’t deviate much from the used Fijian expression:
Fiji time!!! This works exactly like the times in some of the other countries
we’ve been to, such as the Philippines and Lao (Filipino and Lao time). The
best way to describe it is: that they don’t really use the watch, more points
on the watch as references. In this case our pick up was supposed to be at 7.30
but didn’t show up before 8.05. Coming from the western world, this is a thing
that can be VERY annoying, but we already learned to deal with it for so many
months in Asia, so it didn’t take long to accept it here as well. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">In the dive
shop we quickly got the standard stuff sorted, as getting diving gear and
filling in the reliability form, as well as proving our dive qualifications and
number of dives. We then boarded the dive boat together with 6 other divers –
so a total of 9 divers (paying customers) and 6 crew members for the shark dive,
and the captain. Normally there would be one dive master for every 4-6 paying
divers, so this already told us a couple of things about these dives: They
wouldn’t be anything close to what we’ve tried before (or probably ever will),
and that the company is putting our safety as their VERY top priority! A 25
minute boat ride and a dive briefing later, we were at our descending point.
The water was calm and clear, which made me less nervous. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">On the first
dive we dropped down to 30 meter depth and were showed to our position behind a
little wall of dead corals. The sharks were already there – waiting for us.
They circled around on the bottom a few meters ahead of us. We kneeled down and
were as ready as we could get for the action. It was literally unreal what we
experienced the next 17 minutes... A shark diver with green rubbish bin dropped
down big chunks of fish to the 18 circling bull sharks in front of us. The
biggest of the bull sharks was probably between 2½-3 meters, and the belly was
as fat as a cows. It was simply mind blowing; I just could NOT believe what was
happening, it was magical. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">We were like invisible to the sharks. All they concentrated about
was the fish heads dropping down to them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">They are very lazy animals in terms
of not bothering about us, we were too much alive and it would be a hassle for
them to eat us. They prefer the easy food. While we were laying there and
watching this magnificent scene take place, a small fish kept biding me in my
fingers, I must have been in its territory, because it just wouldn’t stop again.
While I was getting frustrated by the little fish, Erik was struggling a lot
with his Movember beard, as the mask wouldn’t tighten properly around it and it
let a lot of water into it. So he had to clear it every minute in order not to
get it flooded. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">When our dive masters banked on their tanks, we knew it was
time to get up in the shallow water. On 10 meters depth there were another
small wall where we hung out to see the shark divers hand feed the grey, white
tip and black tip reef sharks. They were only half the size of the bull sharks,
and not considered dangerous at all. They usually escape when they see divers,
and they tend to be shy most of the times. But at this stop it was important
that we kept our heads down, as these sharks were used to humans and would get
really close to us. Several times we discovered they were right on top of our
heads, sometimes to close. </span><span style="font-size: small;">While the hand feeding was taking place one of the
guys by mistake dropped a piece of fish, exciting enough, it was falling down
just behind, and over Erik and Ivan. Luckily one of the other Shark divers saw
it and grabbed the fish before it landed on Erik or Ivan’s legs. I bet none of
them would have enjoyed a shark grabbing it from there. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">After this close
encounter we continued up to our safety stop at 5 meters. There we hold on to a
rope while they hand fed the smaller white and black tipped reefs sharks. We
were in the middle of the feeding area, and the sharks literally swam in
between our legs. It was intense and undoubtedly the best safety stop ever. We
surfaced straight after and then reality kicked in... We had just dived with over
40 sharks, from the biggest to the smallest. It was unbelievable
and indescribable. We felt more alive than ever.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">A few
biscuits and a too sweet cup of tea later, we jumped in the water for our
second shark encounter. This time I was less nervous and more excited.
Definitely keen for another shark adventure. Now it was time for some real action. We dropped down to 25 meters this
time, and were told to lay flat on the bottom as this wall wasn’t as tall as
the other. None of us were interested in a shark tale or fin hitting us so we
did as we were told. A guy that has been working with sharks his whole life and
the oldest guy in the company started hand feeding the massive bull sharks. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">He
was right in front of us, and they sharks have learned to recognize him by his
yellow hood, plus they have taught the sharks to get hand fed, but only if they
approach him from his left hand side, sometimes they will even line up, and
wait for their turn. If they came from the right it was most likely new ones
that haven’t figured out the system yet, and they wouldn’t get fed, if they
approached him from the wrong side. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The reason for this is that he needs to be
in control, and that’s hard if the sharks approach him from all directions.
It’s amazing that they have achieved this respect and control over the sharks.
The sharks are wild animals, not kept in cages or anything like that, so they
come of their free will (and maybe their laziness for fishing) to get handfed
by these guys. It was absolutely incredible to experience. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">It kind of shows us
that the media gives us a wrong and distorted picture of these incredible
creatures. I’m not saying they aren’t dangerous, but they are not as life
threatening as the media wants us to think, particularly not for divers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The 20
minutes went by fast, we heard the banging on the tanks and we went to the more
shallow water, in order not to get decompression sickness. They shark divers took us for a
normal dive around the soft corals, there wasn’t anything special to see, but
it was different from other normal dives, as we could see the sharks hanging
around 15 meters under us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">In both dives and at every feeding, the shark divers
who didn’t participate in the feeding were around us and protected us all the
time. If some of the sharks came to close, they guys had a metal stick to push
them away with. This was mostly used around the feeding guys though, and to for
example grab lost pieces of meat. The guys were professional and had done this
a thousand times, so we felt safe all the time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Back home
again, Ivan got his passport back, one of the staff members had found it on the
floor in the bar. So together with a less worrying Ivan, we went out to have
our first meal of the day (around 2 o’clock in the afternoon). We decided for a
burger meal at one of the local restaurants, during the lunch we talked a lot
about what to do the following day. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Apparently last night, after I went to bed,
Erik talked with Imraz about going on a fishing trip with one of his friends,
who owe him a favor. It sounded like a brilliant idea. I had wanted to do that
for a long time as well, and after reading about the big fishes to catch in
Fiji we were all hooked on the idea. We just needed to find Imraz and let him
know we were keen. After almost falling asleep over our empty plates, we had a
stroll around the little village and shopped a few things in the local souvenir
shops – such as Fijian flags for our backpacks and some postcards for our
family. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Our worries about the next day quickly disappeared and changed into
excitement, as Imraz pulled up next to us, on our way back to the hostel, and informed us, that he arranged
the fishing trip. He also arranged that we could try both trawling with fishing
rods after the boat, but also the local Fijian fishing style, just with holding
the lines in your bare hands, and pulling in the fishes without rods. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">In the
worst case scenario that we would be so unlucky not to catch anything, he also
arranged that we could try spear fishing. Such an amazing guy is hard to find.
He blew us away with his hospitality and his generous mind. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Super
excited we went back to the hostel to get a siesta as our Spanish friend likes
calling it. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We met up in the bar in the afternoon, and decided to go for
dinner, on the nearby Uprising Resort. It’s a 20 minute walk from where we were
staying, and we got there just as the very last light from the sun disappeared.
The menu was a bit more expensive than the local restaurants, but we kind of
knew that beforehand. Ivan and I both ordered an Indian inspired Fijian curry
dish, while Erik kept to the European part of the menu and got a chicken
parmigiani (he rarely tries something new). The curries were delicious and
Erik’s isn’t worth mentioning. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We were all pretty knackered after the big day,
so we killed the time with sharing traveling stories, even though me and Erik
had the biggest share in these, as Ivan, haven’t been travelling a lot, but
it’s his intentions to do so in the future. So he seemed very interested in our
adventures and definitely got some good ideas to upcoming trips. Back home at
the hostel again, it was too hot to go to bed, so we killed some time by
watching a movie on our laptop, while the temperature slowly decreased.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjopIiFDyoTqV5Q6J7LLzl4NTstAI8vs4NRM-A0O7H6wJeG-MCR_hk2NQHKpzQCfVhsF5WNtqxxj0hWS5MXzHSYpVQuq7Dly6KUTLO4oKjqtPxpEc-0Z-1X89Gwig-jcJ6IqGjXdygOHAE/s1600/LTA_7628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjopIiFDyoTqV5Q6J7LLzl4NTstAI8vs4NRM-A0O7H6wJeG-MCR_hk2NQHKpzQCfVhsF5WNtqxxj0hWS5MXzHSYpVQuq7Dly6KUTLO4oKjqtPxpEc-0Z-1X89Gwig-jcJ6IqGjXdygOHAE/s1600/LTA_7628.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Outside the hostel</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zeY9LsH9Y0kM3hWCmFHy7Tm36bCIsv4VJM5IYaqSf6ScyGPuwId58mac0nOBEXFJtWYyvMyEjMyNzDplOAYhyphenhypheny5ieX2N8uG3bRf4CdXgusanwC9ReMjeajlT4SdLYObZmqlPzEpbxhY/s1600/LTA_7638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zeY9LsH9Y0kM3hWCmFHy7Tm36bCIsv4VJM5IYaqSf6ScyGPuwId58mac0nOBEXFJtWYyvMyEjMyNzDplOAYhyphenhypheny5ieX2N8uG3bRf4CdXgusanwC9ReMjeajlT4SdLYObZmqlPzEpbxhY/s1600/LTA_7638.JPG" height="423" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Shark dive!!!</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zIqIX7Qo_JQ/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/zIqIX7Qo_JQ?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/zIqIX7Qo_JQ?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Tuesday 2nd
December</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Imraz had
arranged breakfast for us when we got up– so after having some of that, we left
the hostel and stopped by the local supermarket to get some water, snacks and a
box of beers for the fishing trip. Then we drove 5 min out of town to meet and
greet our captain Rob. A 18 year old boy with a profession as a captain, dive
master and later we realized he’s a legend at spear fishing as well. Quite a
lot of talents for such a young guy. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After we all have had several cuddles and
playtimes with Rob’s and his parents dogs we eventually could pack the boat
with all the fishing gear, snorkeling gear, beers, snacks etc. It looked like
it was going to be a great day on the water. The clouds were hanging over us
but it didn’t look like it was going to rain and if it did, it would be warm
rain anyway, so we had no worries! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At our first fishing stop the competition started.
Imraz was the first one the catch a fish by line fishing, which made him get the
first beer and he elected everyone on the boat to join him. And that’s how the
day started. I caught the next two (with a big help from Rob’s friend Daniel).
One of them was a red coral cod in a decent size, I was so proud. I have to thank
Daniel for telling me when to pull the line. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The competition continued through
the whole day, Ivan was the third to catch something.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Mindy was really showing
patience, she hates fishing and water in general, so it was a big thing for her
to join us this day. In the end she caught a good amount of fish, so she was
happy as well. Unfortunately Erik was the last one the catch something, and as
I was already in water with my snorkeling gear and the GoPro, he wanted me to
film his catch. So instead of taking the fish of the line and put it in the
eski (cooling box), Erik put the line and the fish back into the water so I
could film his catch underneath the surface, it was predictable what happened next; The fish escaped it’s misery,
got off the hook and swam away as fast as it could. It was hilarious, but
unfortunate for Erik!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Daniel showed both Ivan and Erik how to spear fish, and
Erik was really struggling for his goal during the whole day. But he’s gotta
face it – fishing is not his thing!! Daniel and Rob were awesome at it though.
They do it often and make money out of it, so they were hardcore. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I could not
be bothered trying to hold my breath for such a long time. I did really enjoy
watching the guys hunt, and I would love to try the spear fishing, but it needs
to be more shallow water and I need to practice holding my breath first. </span>Daniel
tried to catch a small white tipped reef shark at one point, I really didn’t
like that and I’m happy that it managed to escape again. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We had a long day on
the water, and even though the sun hadn’t been out, we could all feel a little
sunburn in the afternoon, from the reflecting water and the fact the most of us
had snorkeled quite a lot, so our backs was the more painful part. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back on
solid ground we counted the fish - it came to 37 in total. We brought six of
them back to the hostel where Imraz and Mindy cooked for us. The others went to
the local market where Rob and Daniel would earn their daily wage. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Usually we
are against fishing in the tropics, it doesn’t seem right to catch the beautiful
and colorful fish, but on the other hand we can’t stop it from happening. It
was a perfect place to do it and particularly a good place for me, since I lose
my patience easily. Plus we got to taste some of the beautiful fishes, and they
were delicious. I could have figured out a better way than to deep fry the
fresh caught fish though. It was a shame, but we are very thankful for what
they did for us and we appreciate their time and company a lot. It was
undoubtedly a fun and memorable day! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Already before we had dinner we had met
and joined the Shark Team in the Tiki pool bar. They were all off Wednesday,
since there’s never feedings on either Wednesday (or Sundays). So these
giggling guys are apparently always going out before their day off. It was
great to meet them off work and we had a great time with them. We admire that
the Fijians laugh so easily, guys in all ages giggles like teenage girls -it's very
entertaining. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s a tradition, specific in Pacific Harbour,
where if someone wants your shirt, they just need to claim it and the person
can’t say no. This is why some of the locals were wearing their shirt inside
out – they didn’t want anyone the claim their shirt. The youngest of the guys told me
about this, and after enough beers I claimed his Shark Diving Team T-shirt. I
really wanted it, but I mostly did it, to see him wearing my tank-top through
the whole night. He was very dissatisfied with my decision, meanwhile I was having
a blast in my new dress ; the shirt was way too big for me!! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It became a messy
night, with dancing on tables and punishing the dance floor. It was 2am before
we landed in our bed. We had to get up 4 hours later to catch an already
arranged cab to the airport near Suva. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were a bit gutted to leave Pacific
Harbour, and all the wonderful people we met there. It’s absolutely a place
that we will consider visiting again in the future, not to mention doing the
shark dive again. To our big luck it wasn’t a “goodbye” to our Spanish friend,
but a “see you in Auckland” in just over a week. There was never a dull moment
in Ivan’s company, so we look forward to seeing him again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2K4EJO4AP2YruYgY6bgCzQyh5HRHCkf-c9U2GGBbcPT5qnWPnduspW9asaNgBV_junsGt0ewb8dyzRelPWrMdPFWhAzir9gUXh4nc6WUic7Mqw_1wE8-87iXk2zC8Ld2O3cnKPx8sjOM/s1600/LTA_7647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2K4EJO4AP2YruYgY6bgCzQyh5HRHCkf-c9U2GGBbcPT5qnWPnduspW9asaNgBV_junsGt0ewb8dyzRelPWrMdPFWhAzir9gUXh4nc6WUic7Mqw_1wE8-87iXk2zC8Ld2O3cnKPx8sjOM/s1600/LTA_7647.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Erik, Daniel, Rob, Mindy and Imraz</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1GlzlaAaroQ7bSkspqxo9kstKa904137LeVP6TRTwItU7cdenyRO4mcpb1bZRRPzFcCls9SdiWtGu2taSg52C4WRUmohscSvBhWzqzfKH8yz8T8HuuZR2wju1MAJ3S0EmrhGOmV1lp0/s1600/LTA_7663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1GlzlaAaroQ7bSkspqxo9kstKa904137LeVP6TRTwItU7cdenyRO4mcpb1bZRRPzFcCls9SdiWtGu2taSg52C4WRUmohscSvBhWzqzfKH8yz8T8HuuZR2wju1MAJ3S0EmrhGOmV1lp0/s1600/LTA_7663.JPG" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Red</span> c<span style="font-size: x-small;">oral cod</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_J8rI8zhV-tAOSK_j8yYZ16fOKj_rY5w9ofmNZKrZvFiCKceTV6NQ0tLFUbKa2aOmUpo0YV6egMsGqOSsQAS1d1KHzLCWkcelfS7BJvwMERSj_0Osa1wp24bbS3xIcnWZOzXbGJmbm4/s1600/LTA_7678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_J8rI8zhV-tAOSK_j8yYZ16fOKj_rY5w9ofmNZKrZvFiCKceTV6NQ0tLFUbKa2aOmUpo0YV6egMsGqOSsQAS1d1KHzLCWkcelfS7BJvwMERSj_0Osa1wp24bbS3xIcnWZOzXbGJmbm4/s1600/LTA_7678.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Ivan with Daniel's catch of parrotfish</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBMfM8oHkwF3YksxbSOl6t6RaSNWrhTy0laIUXl4b-wz-S6qAba_nLtn7nbVPml2pCizPBmU88ta06aDMRI3tUJ0i8e64DrREm8CERNVdmBKwry9r_P-qQwIoydKj57kVJ_SAfAOydyVA/s1600/LTA_7700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBMfM8oHkwF3YksxbSOl6t6RaSNWrhTy0laIUXl4b-wz-S6qAba_nLtn7nbVPml2pCizPBmU88ta06aDMRI3tUJ0i8e64DrREm8CERNVdmBKwry9r_P-qQwIoydKj57kVJ_SAfAOydyVA/s1600/LTA_7700.JPG" height="222" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKODzwNmPH8wVfidC7trJ_nxMq7eZ-l9Wa04YXvwUww6NifY14FxBKbPUGdQ-weyavT7qRvYacft-Pu1A4ZPENPX_5jVJYkWoT9HTqmLhipygHGT73POlB7ksUJ_dIofWt7THhotdNKSs/s1600/LTA_7721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKODzwNmPH8wVfidC7trJ_nxMq7eZ-l9Wa04YXvwUww6NifY14FxBKbPUGdQ-weyavT7qRvYacft-Pu1A4ZPENPX_5jVJYkWoT9HTqmLhipygHGT73POlB7ksUJ_dIofWt7THhotdNKSs/s1600/LTA_7721.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Catch of the day; parrot fish and a lot of different cods</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">It's obvious why it's called a parrot fish</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The boatcrew; Daniel, Rob, Mindy, Imraz, Erik and Ivan</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqLZYM9vOYyQBoa3ZUJycuahBad1pmajgul87djNzlVRQ6VIHVCbP5xYyfkZlEtPiAX9qldn9gnYC5ITu075nQrOXDWfFNu8TBeWOMfuSEjO4a-aspX_0dHf69Fk8OuxSYQr9ENKo16HM/s1600/IMG_2484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqLZYM9vOYyQBoa3ZUJycuahBad1pmajgul87djNzlVRQ6VIHVCbP5xYyfkZlEtPiAX9qldn9gnYC5ITu075nQrOXDWfFNu8TBeWOMfuSEjO4a-aspX_0dHf69Fk8OuxSYQr9ENKo16HM/s1600/IMG_2484.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Dinner time</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiywveNy2BMQ5sj2O-dQeqqRkv9N0MkQB_I2MPvx8J077EynOIeyqrfFrm6fKGOs6vA7rAFAP1P8tMb5vgDpVpdgY5QAoXvQI2n8oiXFc3jXpzHqmfdHykQeGiL3GPsk-Sm3eins8-h0/s1600/IMG_2498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiywveNy2BMQ5sj2O-dQeqqRkv9N0MkQB_I2MPvx8J077EynOIeyqrfFrm6fKGOs6vA7rAFAP1P8tMb5vgDpVpdgY5QAoXvQI2n8oiXFc3jXpzHqmfdHykQeGiL3GPsk-Sm3eins8-h0/s1600/IMG_2498.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> The shark diving team </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8jEaXzB7urb8hdHfIMnF372n0FbOWH0rUmalgMjfP9qG0TkiYVCL8AiuCzGiE4ZayRdq6KOhbVmd5djiOrGusBpHmJ1dOgN2m5fzEkB5HNjOpU1-_Dcn0YPeoqZMNQD8S_XwNCf8eLw/s1600/IMG_2501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8jEaXzB7urb8hdHfIMnF372n0FbOWH0rUmalgMjfP9qG0TkiYVCL8AiuCzGiE4ZayRdq6KOhbVmd5djiOrGusBpHmJ1dOgN2m5fzEkB5HNjOpU1-_Dcn0YPeoqZMNQD8S_XwNCf8eLw/s1600/IMG_2501.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Aby in my tank top.. Still laughing!!</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Fishing in Fiji</b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09828578618884464538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-3063988218440060632014-11-27T14:20:00.001+01:002014-11-27T14:20:37.079+01:00So long Australia.. Good to see ya! <div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Wednesday
19<sup>th</sup> – Thursday 20<sup>th</sup> November</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Caused our “welcome
party” on Tuesday night, we slept until 10.30 and when we finally got out of
bed, is was with two sore heads… Malene was feeling exactly the same, so we
were all in the same boat, except that she had several plans during the day –
and luckily we hadn’t. We still had to buy some groceries for the next 9 days,
so we walked the 1 km’s to Ashfield Mall, where we had our breakfast in the
food court – I had a Subway sandwich, and Erik had a mega portion of rice and
Asian chicken curry. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We were lazy most of the day, but in the afternoon I
wanted to figure out what was wrong with my knee, it still hurts when I walk.
As I see it there are two options, either too little exercise or the age fact.
I ventured out for my first jog in 1½ months, and I manage to jog 6km without
knee pain. Problem solved – exercise is the cure! Afterwards I took Erik for a
5km walk to the bay, he needs some exercise as well, but doesn’t need to lose
more weight. He already lost too much weight, and I keep gaining weight. It’s
impossible to keep a diet while travelling. We live everyday as if it was our
last, and at the moment we drink too much alcohol, which doesn’t make it easier
to lose weight either. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Thursday was a resting day as well, when I say resting I
mean we’re just staying at Malene’s, most of the time here is spend on the
internet, watching TV and cooking. This
morning we went with Malene to Ashfield swimming pool, swam 1km and was tired
for the rest of the day. The last two days we have been more active than the
last 1½ month together. It feels good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Friday 21<sup>st
</sup>November</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We figured
it was time to do some sightseeing again. I wanted to do a cliff-top walk
between Bondi Beach and Coogee Beach. Erik didn’t have any wishes, so he just had to
follow. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was tropical weather outside, 38 degrees and not the most ideal day
for a 5,5 km walk in the sun – but armed with a lot of sunscreen, and a big
bottle of water, we caught the train to Sydney Central and from there, a bus to
Coogee Beach where our walk started. The walk is said to be one of the most
exhilarating experiences around Sydney, we passed 5 panoramic beaches and bays,
all beautiful and full of friday happiness. We were so jealous on the people in
the refreshing ocean, but stupid enough we hadn’t brought our swimmers, I had
mentioned it for Erik in the morning, but we had misunderstood each other, so he
thought I would bring it, and I thought he said I shouldn’t bring it.. So
apparently no swimming for us on this smoking hot day, unless we ventured to
the nude beach up north!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This was probably the last time we would experience
the coastal cliffs of Australia, since we’re leaving in 7 days, so we tried to
get the most out of this picturesque part of Sydney. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the end we reached
famous and not so crowded Bondi Beach, where everybody fits in as long as
they’re wearing swimmers and sunblock, even better if they also carry a
surfboard under their arm. We had our lunch on the beach esplanade of Bondi.
Then we took a bus up to Watsons Bay to catch the ferry to Circular Quay. We
got there just in time to see the ferry leave the jetty, and us swearing it
away. We went down on the jetty and had a look at the timetable, it was another
48min before the next and last ferry of the day would depart. Hmm… I turned to
Erik and told him how we could kill time, by visiting the nearby restaurant and
get something cold to drink, so the 48min went by with queuing up in front of
the bar, ordering and drinking our cold beverages - Erik with a beer and me
with a fresh coconut. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The ferry tour in Sydney Harbour was magnificent; with
views over the city and all the bays and we got to see the Opera House and the
Harbour bridge from another perspective than last time we were here. In
Circular Quay we did it again, just barely reached the train, this time only 2
seconds too late. Arrgh, it was frustrating to see the train leave right in front
of us, couldn’t help thinking what we could have done differently to catch up
on those 2 seconds. Luckily it was just 15 min to the next train, so we saved
some money on cold beverages this time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the evening we celebrated Malene’s
sons 11 years birthday. He’s crazy with Lego, and every surface in his room is
covered with the latest Lego construction. We sleep in his room, so we know
what we are talking about. Anyway we had bought him this random Lego
construction in K-Mart, and it was spot on. He was overwhelming happy about it,
so it was perfect! Erik had spoiled himself (and me) with an Italian wine, something
we didn’t have had since Denmark, so it was hard to get Erik to bed, since he
thought it was his duty to finish the 1½ l. wine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdl4jI07V-rJQUFQfEXQbXiAANngM5gMJ8i2SKh8gwutPt12k7xxMDoM0n7M3VcuHmmS1cx844C8qL_DEnzaQY7fNtG1reAJ9aDhAtd-pI1jixNVa9w6VllO7c-wlITLtU8ch-nFBrpI/s1600/AUS_7172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdl4jI07V-rJQUFQfEXQbXiAANngM5gMJ8i2SKh8gwutPt12k7xxMDoM0n7M3VcuHmmS1cx844C8qL_DEnzaQY7fNtG1reAJ9aDhAtd-pI1jixNVa9w6VllO7c-wlITLtU8ch-nFBrpI/s1600/AUS_7172.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A luxurious cemetry with a spectacular view, but why??</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWR4dhSAFdEKRZb4jRZwbO16sQ2wMwNrawFew4bz-_TsXBjGDJ9_0tZ532MX837aO1TEeBsTocB4gzgctG3bhlEK7ku0I1E3zAfNf4w357Wm9B_lKH4N6CMQzS0KSEoubm1R2olk0gpiE/s1600/AUS_7179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWR4dhSAFdEKRZb4jRZwbO16sQ2wMwNrawFew4bz-_TsXBjGDJ9_0tZ532MX837aO1TEeBsTocB4gzgctG3bhlEK7ku0I1E3zAfNf4w357Wm9B_lKH4N6CMQzS0KSEoubm1R2olk0gpiE/s1600/AUS_7179.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglBw1kKIJnGyssTcw7Nr396eoqPoeFc6S6uN4hjWghVktw_SXWwkynorYgY-FylnEJsJEE4PkB4o1HGMBpeH6Gs_Qu1AS93W17YuFg6CSMj8Rqf8gbI8gbzMtcocQFnyr7Gr8aX3-gx4g/s1600/IMG_2375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglBw1kKIJnGyssTcw7Nr396eoqPoeFc6S6uN4hjWghVktw_SXWwkynorYgY-FylnEJsJEE4PkB4o1HGMBpeH6Gs_Qu1AS93W17YuFg6CSMj8Rqf8gbI8gbzMtcocQFnyr7Gr8aX3-gx4g/s1600/IMG_2375.JPG" height="246" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bondi Beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Saturday 22<sup>nd</sup>
– Sunday 23<sup>rd</sup> November</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I was happy
to see there was still some wine left in the big bottle on the kitchen bench. The
morning went by with me writing blog and Erik researching about our Fiji tour.
In me and Malene’s case also a bit of sunlight on the balcony. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At around 2pm
our friend Paddy, who we met on our snowboard holiday in Thredbo in June,
picked us up and we went for afternoon drinks in the suburb, Balmain, which is
Paddy’s hometown. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He showed us around the different pubs and different beers.
Later we were joined by two of his mates, and even later by his girlfriend,
Freya and her friend. It was nice to meet some new people and we had an
enjoyable time in their company. Before Paddy and Freya put us on the bus
around 10pm we arranged to have dinner together and experience “The Escape Hunt
Experience” together on Monday, which I will explain later. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We realized that
Sydney’s main train station was far behind modern development, I base this on
the non-existing information screen in the departure hall. So instead of just a
screen that tells you where every train is going, we had to walk to every platform to look at the 10 different screens to figure out which train was going
in the direction we had to go. Erik figured it out by asking some train
employees, we then found the train and arrived safe and sound in Ashfield. Apart
from Erik watching the last Formula 1 Grand Prix together with Rubert (Malene’s
friend), there’s nothing interesting to report from Sunday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8yaBRuosncQGPrRYSULX2W8JdSsf3U6rUwab4NfQZeYo81B7zSQBLxCvxD1JclFiVSN3aSwsWObdayie9-GzJEuMgZrQoYGeZL2eWM-fUbf3eMHLvjsihoz38Bny7CKOy7Y1EeI44Bc/s1600/IMG_2388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8yaBRuosncQGPrRYSULX2W8JdSsf3U6rUwab4NfQZeYo81B7zSQBLxCvxD1JclFiVSN3aSwsWObdayie9-GzJEuMgZrQoYGeZL2eWM-fUbf3eMHLvjsihoz38Bny7CKOy7Y1EeI44Bc/s1600/IMG_2388.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRDIWvkW-sCZTdguLRP1HG5yBvCcSEwSwD6D4e1JXrXSW5V7gfaQ-FA2av3Ik0WYMWSvxsbqf0Rq05ZJ7eZ8JI4p_Q9NlJsnn_T5pio-9Y8CBu9j8oaHyM0RSjZHyPhpij8KFgN7DOP4/s1600/IMG_2395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRDIWvkW-sCZTdguLRP1HG5yBvCcSEwSwD6D4e1JXrXSW5V7gfaQ-FA2av3Ik0WYMWSvxsbqf0Rq05ZJ7eZ8JI4p_Q9NlJsnn_T5pio-9Y8CBu9j8oaHyM0RSjZHyPhpij8KFgN7DOP4/s1600/IMG_2395.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erik with his new mates. Paddy is to the right</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3-Xi4zFJyaU-W6M_RFLz0x__qAWfVJFxFXY60xuTbiwGTpcDPMXJYWzP7oZMhXOhkb7QWrTg1SDm9Ba8pHgTzuQ92mr5cFU2PR-XY99oAdre3JJ_YOgJPzD-vxUrOwRjn-TwP8D0lmc/s1600/IMG_2411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3-Xi4zFJyaU-W6M_RFLz0x__qAWfVJFxFXY60xuTbiwGTpcDPMXJYWzP7oZMhXOhkb7QWrTg1SDm9Ba8pHgTzuQ92mr5cFU2PR-XY99oAdre3JJ_YOgJPzD-vxUrOwRjn-TwP8D0lmc/s1600/IMG_2411.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVokTpSH7aVhXjBmBULSU74k6HHkuj_VLsmOeiTktqSQj6K16vM_3i0QAy0ljWo1RAT2qeojsKSV-zBXs0jprvzGSfmPa2eXswEHUA7wjIRzom-d7lsGkQzz5r_41HrywL9uv-Qkanuc/s1600/IMG_2438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVokTpSH7aVhXjBmBULSU74k6HHkuj_VLsmOeiTktqSQj6K16vM_3i0QAy0ljWo1RAT2qeojsKSV-zBXs0jprvzGSfmPa2eXswEHUA7wjIRzom-d7lsGkQzz5r_41HrywL9uv-Qkanuc/s1600/IMG_2438.JPG" height="640" width="496" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Monday 24<sup>th</sup>
November </b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After
Erik’s late night and a bottle of wine to himself, he needed to recover and
wasn’t worth much during the day, I couldn’t even drag him to the outdoor
swimming pool for a refreshing dip. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I ventured out by myself, even though it
was clear that a thunderstorm was rolling in over the city, the clouds were getting
darker and darker as I was swimming and just as I was about to leave the
swimming pool the lightning and thunder slowly started. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I didn’t even bother
taking a shower, because I was gonna get soaked before I got home anyway. So I
put my clothes outside of my swimmers, and biked homed with wet hair and
clothes. I looked like a retard (mostly because the rain hadn’t really started
yet, and yet the water was dripping of me), I was too busy to put my shoes on,
and the sharp spikes on the pedals hurt my feet, but my one and only goal was
to get home before the severe rain kicked in. It was unfortunate that I didn’t
make it, but it was all right and just as I expected. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile Erik had
researched more on our trip to Fiji, there was so many choices we had to make,
and Erik is very good at double checking everything and he really does his
research whole hearted, where as I am much more loose, I don’t have the
patience for it, and I’m more old school, I prefer to read it in a book instead
of using the internet – there’s too many informations and it gets me confused. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the evening we had a date with Paddy and
Freya, and after circling around in Chinatown in the rain, both getting
annoyed, we finally found the restaurant where we were about to meet them.
Wagana, a Japanese Restaurant where we ordered our food on a flat screen
attached to the table, all the information about the food and drinks was on the
screen, so we didn’t have any contact with the waiters, apart from when they
delivered our food, which they did very quickly after our orders. </span>I was impressed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We tried a Sushi-Roulette, consisting of 6 nigiri’s where one of them contained
a small handful of wasabi, and the rest contained rice. The plate got a little
spin around before we choose our nigiri. I lost, the wasabi was obviously
uncomfortable to eat in such a big potion, and I didn’t even eat a quarter of
it. Afterwards we went to the evening’s main purpose, The Escape Hunt Experience. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s an experience that takes inspiration from computer games, and players are
detectives who are locked into a simple room with objects and a little
decoration and it feels like being inside a computer game while searching for
clues, solving puzzles, and in the end escape. We had picked the theme ‘murder
in the pub’ and against the clock (60 min) we had to find the murder through
clues, puzzles, the suspect profiles and so on. We were all dressed up as
detectives, which was a hilarious part of it. We could ask for help and clues
from our game master, and since we apparently picked the most challenging theme,
we had to do this several times. It was exciting and a fun way to spend time
together. We nailed it, and found the murder just 6 min before our time ran
out. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The experience was $40 each (208kr). We found it a bit pricy, which is
also why we took advantage of their luxurious lounge area, and solved more
puzzles afterwards. We then said goodbye
to Paddy and Freya and took the train back to Ashfield.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9ZKf1kOWOmrgNoyJ1NP7XsBcZdSp4UdpQxlsKDcoiE1LFbaF2GHZ6C130snyrwSKWQVxtvIadBiZopHAN91ISOmE5ZLfQ8i5-hjNZwOn25ccJpPUjIP3L7MM-1CEbAA3vc1COtZZVy0/s1600/LTA_7397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9ZKf1kOWOmrgNoyJ1NP7XsBcZdSp4UdpQxlsKDcoiE1LFbaF2GHZ6C130snyrwSKWQVxtvIadBiZopHAN91ISOmE5ZLfQ8i5-hjNZwOn25ccJpPUjIP3L7MM-1CEbAA3vc1COtZZVy0/s1600/LTA_7397.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Tuesday 25<sup>th</sup>
November</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yesterday
we rented dive gear at Frog’s dive, so we were ready to go diving in the
morning with Malene and Zandra (the Danish girl that is working here and living with Malene,
while she is saving up money for her travels). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Malene recently became a dive
master, so she’s familiar with a couple of the dive spots around Sydney, and
this day she took us to Bare Island, on the southern part of Sydney. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When we
arrived and unpacked all the dive gear, Malene realized that one of the tanks
was missing a connecting piece, like its valve. It was retarded because she
said that she would bring her spare tank, in case of something like this should
happen, but for some reason she hadn’t packed it in the car in the morning. We
couldn’t dive without that piece, so Zandra and Malene left to find a nearby
dive shop who could fix it, meanwhile the wind picked up and the waves got
choppy. Erik and I got the rest of the gear ready and waited for quite a while
before they came back with a useable tank. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Then we walked down to Bare Island,
and slowly on rough rock surfaces entered the water. Zandra had a problem with
her descending , caused by too little weight in her weight belt, I gave her one
of mine, but that resulted in me having problems with descending, so I got one
of Erik’s, while all this happened, Malene already started her dive, and didn’t
even realize what was going on. Sooner or later she appeared on the surface and
that’s when our dive could finally start. Quite a tough start if you ask us. Especially
for a new diver as Zandra, who only has had around 10 dives. The visibility was
only 3-5 meters (our average visibility in all our dives has been 12-15 m.), so
it was pretty bad, maybe because the wind had picked us so fast and the waves
had become choppier than before. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Anyhow, it was a shallow dive, maximum depth
was 14 m. We dived around boulders and some corals. The water was filled with
jellyfish, sometimes so many, that the water in front of us was totally blurry,
we saw loads of sea urchins, but the fish life was almost non-exciting. I
realized that there was plenty of nudibranches to explore, since there wasn’t
much else to see I focused on finding these small, tiny, colorful, slimy
creatures. They are really magnificent, but usually hard to spot. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I was in my
own little world, when I sensed something on the right side of my viewing area,
I turned my head and literally screamed into my regulator, the first few
seconds I was terrified… An immense blue grouper swam just 10 cm in front of
me. Erik heard my scream and as he turned around the grouper was swimming in
his direction, and he got scared as well for a few seconds. Oh my god, it was
intense… Quickly we realized he didn’t mean to hurt us or scare us away. He swam
further on up to Malene and Zandra. Malene started feeding him with sea
urchins. He’s apparently so use to divers and since he can’t get into the sea
urchins himself he’s begging divers to do it for him. We are happy that we got
to see this, and that Malene knew about this shiny-blue friendly and hungry
grouper. It spiced up the otherwise boring dive a bit. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Diving always makes us unbelievable
hungry, so the first thing we did back in Ashfield was to eat. I then went for
a sleep, I had been up early to jog in the morning as well, so I deserved a
nap. Meanwhile Erik was helping Malene’s daughter Hannah with finding a roof
rack and a bike carrier for her car. After a two hour nab I was ready for the
night, and so was Erik after his shower. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This night we met up with my old
school friend Rene and his girlfriend Sarah, they’re living in Sydney and have
been here the past 3½ year. They both grew up in Erritsø, so Erik also knows
who they are, from back then. Sarah was in the class below Erik, and Erik and
Rene was kind of in the same outer friend circle back then. It was really funny
to meet up so far away from home, and yet we all have our childhood memories in
the same little suburb on the other side of the world. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We met up with them on
the Oaks hotel in Neutral Bay, and spend most of the evening there with good
pub food and plenty of beers. We enjoyed our last beers of the night in their
apartment. Rene is working for LEGO and we were lucky to get a super hero LEGO
construction box home with us, which we can surprise Adam with. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US">At midnight we catched the
last bus to Ashfield and we were knackered when we arrived. It had been a memorable </span>night in Danish company. Unfortunately we forgot to take a nice picture of us all in the pub, and the one below is pretty bad, but better than nothing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KSFK3d7H3JvSBPvqoyVMzurJOFAkLFGf78BTFyYWlCk1wATmwuUo3KenRCjnkRiPpCiL295tlkpJXj5To3FogJsTaXkn1zAKwMjTnyORSP_HjU0aIw1oOxlG6ACaWmgNW7YY4565xzvp/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-11-27-19h09m06s225.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KSFK3d7H3JvSBPvqoyVMzurJOFAkLFGf78BTFyYWlCk1wATmwuUo3KenRCjnkRiPpCiL295tlkpJXj5To3FogJsTaXkn1zAKwMjTnyORSP_HjU0aIw1oOxlG6ACaWmgNW7YY4565xzvp/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-11-27-19h09m06s225.png" height="318" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bare Island, the divesite.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOeAds-h5MQbWbx-ad8NANU77L9b_7VZDqUYWJf4VgRRmEvs-wBa0M5asZ82a3Oi-w68_yeqMl70wZouMFg7oIDIOSUOjyDC-X0aCN3J4J2AZ271dRqR0C9U6bl-gNZUIabVPN5PQWk1Y/s1600/IMG_2945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOeAds-h5MQbWbx-ad8NANU77L9b_7VZDqUYWJf4VgRRmEvs-wBa0M5asZ82a3Oi-w68_yeqMl70wZouMFg7oIDIOSUOjyDC-X0aCN3J4J2AZ271dRqR0C9U6bl-gNZUIabVPN5PQWk1Y/s1600/IMG_2945.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah, Rene & Erik in the end of the night.<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Wednesday
26<sup>th</sup> – Thursday 27<sup>th</sup> November</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Our last
days Down Under was spend on getting ready for backpacking again. It was kind of
strange to pack our bags, we almost forgot about how little space we used to
have, all of a sudden the amount of space we had in the car seemed massive. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We were
both struggling a bit to fit all our stuff, and more important the weight of it.
Some of the flights in Fiji only allow us 15 kg luggage and 7 kg carry-on
baggage. We are both a bit over the limit, which means we’ll have to throw out
more before the domestic flights. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We got our Australian bank accounts closed,
and can now look forward to a couple of days with a lot of cash on us. We have
kept our money belts, so it’s not a bigger problem than using them for a while. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We bought ourselves a couple of early Christmas presents – I got a small board
with plastic sheets on, to have around my arm when we dive – so that we can
communicate by writing under water, instead of only using sign language, and
yelling into the regulators. Erik got a new smart camera light that attaches to
our GoPro camera (underwater camera), so hopefully we can make some even better
underwater videos from now on. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Erik is acting like a little child these days,
not because Christmas is near – but because we have booked 2 dives on the World’s
best shark dive, not that I’m not excited about it – I definitely am, but more
in the nervous kind of way!!! We feel
ready for our next adventure, and are looking forward to the good diving and
luxury that waits for us on Fiji. We deserve and needs a holiday away from our
travels… How good is life treating us!? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Thursday night Malene paid our fabulous
Indian dinner, and we said goodbye to Hannah. Malene’s daughter who is gonna visit us in Denmark when we eventually get back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-No6rty1VWPoMfiOU7MKGP9NW-2pk7stsqsTSO3CN9tt1eCW2CLPILxtZWv_kkb1XHcz6pGmbvNJ23Jju-ltg3vv42QGKbR0BnAmagbcq5FzBn7ewMbdsidIsctLW5DSD_TraTjzhGVc/s1600/LTA_7424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-No6rty1VWPoMfiOU7MKGP9NW-2pk7stsqsTSO3CN9tt1eCW2CLPILxtZWv_kkb1XHcz6pGmbvNJ23Jju-ltg3vv42QGKbR0BnAmagbcq5FzBn7ewMbdsidIsctLW5DSD_TraTjzhGVc/s1600/LTA_7424.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the best shot in the world, but a memorable moment with Malene and Hannah</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzicPrO0HUlRqy5ILXGYwJdVE0oRawHDENIJdX3bC6qrw9Z_cW-F76ytCkanHTbWD_95SEY-eoC1UzkA6_4mnJJE1WG2mc0prEVpXGq_tIWcVoeW4p8PgOtK4lCArDliReMvL3UW0vvXY/s1600/LTA_7431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzicPrO0HUlRqy5ILXGYwJdVE0oRawHDENIJdX3bC6qrw9Z_cW-F76ytCkanHTbWD_95SEY-eoC1UzkA6_4mnJJE1WG2mc0prEVpXGq_tIWcVoeW4p8PgOtK4lCArDliReMvL3UW0vvXY/s1600/LTA_7431.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The moment of truth<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdPP7zT60aM6P9C2sGedbxhZGzLwK5XDjyQYjiYfQIR9sxWtQDmX9duWq9IKqypyBZuGeGp0rLW_IP6RADCJxGuSYRB8WA7Jr8feAoNsLwFu9NLjB_k3JRGph9mi6ODVLpNLU_ytpibY/s1600/LTA_7378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdPP7zT60aM6P9C2sGedbxhZGzLwK5XDjyQYjiYfQIR9sxWtQDmX9duWq9IKqypyBZuGeGp0rLW_IP6RADCJxGuSYRB8WA7Jr8feAoNsLwFu9NLjB_k3JRGph9mi6ODVLpNLU_ytpibY/s1600/LTA_7378.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a><br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8uVoFisYk8oI_l9ze1sUO9UZwLSbR6P_QMNev09YgJftxxsJp3qQYrjvODFDiriB-RMIJCl6kCdIbFoojVquH0z12qxy_xgYA1uzJ1PirAz1DkyGQsj6o1TjtbbF8QTzog4nE46ChCLM/s1600/AUS_7256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8uVoFisYk8oI_l9ze1sUO9UZwLSbR6P_QMNev09YgJftxxsJp3qQYrjvODFDiriB-RMIJCl6kCdIbFoojVquH0z12qxy_xgYA1uzJ1PirAz1DkyGQsj6o1TjtbbF8QTzog4nE46ChCLM/s1600/AUS_7256.JPG" height="368" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks for this time Australia.. See you in the future!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09828578618884464538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-46208710121115465232014-11-20T13:25:00.001+01:002014-11-20T13:25:16.360+01:00Melbourne & The Great Ocean Road<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tuesday 11<sup>th</sup>
November</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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We rose early, packed
the car with our last stuff and said goodbye to Haley before she went to work.<br />
We were heading towards Goolwa beach, where the family member, Phil, from the
party last saturday had set us up for a free surf lesson. He really wanted us to
enjoy surfing as much as he does, and he was sure the reason for us not to like
surfing, were because of our bad teachers in the past.<br />
We wanted to give
it a third go, and it is much appreciated that he spend his time with us, and
tried to get us to like it – and he even did it for free.<br />
Despite the good
intentions all the three of us had, Erik & I still weren’t hooked after
about an hour in the water. Phil almost didn’t believe that we didn’t surf more
in the past than we did, he kept saying we were natural talents, and by the way
we acted on the boards, he thought we had had at least 10 lessons before. Even
though we got these nice compliments, the waves were perfect beginner waves and
all the circumstances were right, we still didn’t enjoy it as much as we should
– none of us got that special kick, where you just know this is it.. We know the
feeling from snowboarding, but the surfing dosen’t give us anything like that.<br />
As
written before, it’s too much effort for the little fun you get out of it, plus
we both hate to get washed over by the waves.<br />
Well, at least we tried it again
and are now 210% sure that we won’t use more time on that.<br />
Well, Phil was a
beautiful person and even though we let him down, he took us for a spin in the
little town and showed us where the Murray River empties into the sea. Then we
drove (by ourselves again), a little backwards down to Victor Harbor (Yes,
that’s the correct spelling).<br />
Just off-shore of that is Granite Island, which
we wanted to explore. There’s a causeway from the city you can either cross by
a horse-drawn tram or by foot. We needed some exercise, so we choose the last
option. The island is only 2,5km in diameter, and easy to walk around.<br />
The main
reason for exploring it, was to see the magical little penguins, but
unfortunately there aren’t much of them around anymore. There used to be
thousands, but the numbers had unfortunately declined dramatically the last
decade. Unfortunate for us there wasn’t a big change of spotting these
beautiful creatures. Anyhow the island were magnificent with immerse boulders
all around it, and the power of the waves hitting them, made us once again
realize how powerful and fascinating the ocean is.<br />
This was the most active we’d
been for weeks. That car sure makes us lazy as f…! The rest of the day we drove
east towards Melbourne.<br />
Our dinner was absolutely horrible – unfortunate caused
by my eternal seeking for new tastes and dishes. To begin with I thought I
could cook the bad taste and “cat food” smell away, if I just cooked it long
enough, but it kept being uneatable. What else to do than to force it down, and
think of something nice meanwhile!? Tried that in Asia so many times so why not
now!<br />
Apparently we had watched Wolfe Creek too early. The older couple camping
next to us, seemed strange to me, not that I had any special reason to think
this, but they didn’t greet us when we got there, and that’s basically what I
base my opinion on. I just knew I wouldn’t have had those thoughts, if we hadn’t
watched that stupid movie.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUzqh5MpMmE7ife2rooiiv3wHAaiaVBp8oNgbUE6DXLFhIPL6FmgJHaggcreIbE1fFiGH82qhqlWWkdBBFY3qrBM592kdsN6x3QTGTn9BTjvAI_92PUD_XIF0y4MlLoaEu0dicQbrqb4/s1600/AUS_6643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUzqh5MpMmE7ife2rooiiv3wHAaiaVBp8oNgbUE6DXLFhIPL6FmgJHaggcreIbE1fFiGH82qhqlWWkdBBFY3qrBM592kdsN6x3QTGTn9BTjvAI_92PUD_XIF0y4MlLoaEu0dicQbrqb4/s1600/AUS_6643.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phil and his little surf trailer</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwb5MijsADEpmqPq_-CTME9uGiVfWGWTemE1AS4UiAZNOnGF_zG_1QnhrzGuvtNHE6c13_3ffL0OXnTjw-fuHjor-KnvAEwr5CwOywmLSHtI5CNn1Tu3x_gKjdZfdAMxk8r0n3PFzyKdw/s1600/AUS_6707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwb5MijsADEpmqPq_-CTME9uGiVfWGWTemE1AS4UiAZNOnGF_zG_1QnhrzGuvtNHE6c13_3ffL0OXnTjw-fuHjor-KnvAEwr5CwOywmLSHtI5CNn1Tu3x_gKjdZfdAMxk8r0n3PFzyKdw/s1600/AUS_6707.JPG" height="374" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The little horse-drawm tram</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1Ppjz_yW27XsDSP9iGbN_HaU2HGjVM-KzDtKATsmhjh7r9Bc-ffjTgK-SUz3FLv3pNCfyyTwEZaT76QlmwERcbCBy60QJiAu34IOWhga4jxK1SuSh3u0p1aIiOgnNf1cGWr8YKb_wuE/s1600/IMG_2212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1Ppjz_yW27XsDSP9iGbN_HaU2HGjVM-KzDtKATsmhjh7r9Bc-ffjTgK-SUz3FLv3pNCfyyTwEZaT76QlmwERcbCBy60QJiAu34IOWhga4jxK1SuSh3u0p1aIiOgnNf1cGWr8YKb_wuE/s1600/IMG_2212.JPG" height="264" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Granite Island</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9R7ENqZeZfgt7k_8-7igvlfAEF8zjM77ZAiSKzBGhYMJbheEZ_8UodFj8tTYMkczTf61HnjBJ78QsFMoHZpda2FpsZDl0oGLS4tmoGpKf2QLeFI9fO4NXy0gpD1QiMCfiWdHcfoo9Lw/s1600/IMG_2216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9R7ENqZeZfgt7k_8-7igvlfAEF8zjM77ZAiSKzBGhYMJbheEZ_8UodFj8tTYMkczTf61HnjBJ78QsFMoHZpda2FpsZDl0oGLS4tmoGpKf2QLeFI9fO4NXy0gpD1QiMCfiWdHcfoo9Lw/s1600/IMG_2216.JPG" height="152" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Wednesday 12<sup>th</sup>
November</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Luckily we survived
the night... Ha ha. Erik was busy already in morning with people writing him
concerning the car he had put for sale online. There were a lot of people
contacting him, interested in the car and he planned to meet up with people
already thursday afternoon and friday morning, which was great, but on the
other hand we didn’t want to rush through the most magnificent and stunning
drive in Australia – The great Ocean Road. Apart from having world-class
surfing (we love watching surfers by the way) and calm seaside towns, it’s got
the world famous sheer limestone cliffs right of the coast (it’s the once you
have never been able to avoid on any folder/add/commercial/postcard from
Australia – well at least we haven’t), and the area has got Australia’s biggest
population of wild koala’s as well. It’s the best win-win situation you can
get.</div>
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Before crossing the S.A-Victoria border where the fun begins, we explored
the Umpherston Sinkhole near Mount Gambier. This place was created when the top
of a limestone chamber fell to the floor, caused by waves and water from the
sea, it collapsed and people created a natural sunken garden in it. It’s
stunning and a great quick escape from the road. </div>
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Afterwards we crossed the
border and began our drive on ‘The Great Ocean Road’. We made six stops on the
coast where the Twelve Apostles are the most famous one. They’re rocky stacks
that have been abandoned to the ocean by the headland. All the stops were mind blowing
and outstanding. By watching the sunset from a look-out point, away from the
tourist crowds, we felt that we’d got as much out of it, as we possible could. While
I was writing blog Erik made sure we got to the right camp spot, at Johanna
beach. We went to bed straight away. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmRVkYQhKtK4MnYEyM2L_Cpv37jLUV2SvxW43CcdUKYL4uQWtgz0zD9PvIk3MFBd9MuihWe0cZ3rVMUxXZ8u0H3nQsLNuq2-XEd-iFuoOYSH6dpXbxrk9R-lLm-1k6NuhxaYFTmOTiqQ/s1600/IMG_2221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmRVkYQhKtK4MnYEyM2L_Cpv37jLUV2SvxW43CcdUKYL4uQWtgz0zD9PvIk3MFBd9MuihWe0cZ3rVMUxXZ8u0H3nQsLNuq2-XEd-iFuoOYSH6dpXbxrk9R-lLm-1k6NuhxaYFTmOTiqQ/s1600/IMG_2221.JPG" height="140" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sinkhole</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMDDJ4Zbh8ZRXJZ5Ojk0n-h4tbpEupFfH8QYYUFpI6jExuEwUrNVCaPhjgRwiGIHlUXQIDGOQKWphjNFPhJezM_o0o100o-tIqUno_k2GPuUu_7AzshRXvyT_BzH9jlUTaV2SBWjl3ek4/s1600/IMG_2222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMDDJ4Zbh8ZRXJZ5Ojk0n-h4tbpEupFfH8QYYUFpI6jExuEwUrNVCaPhjgRwiGIHlUXQIDGOQKWphjNFPhJezM_o0o100o-tIqUno_k2GPuUu_7AzshRXvyT_BzH9jlUTaV2SBWjl3ek4/s1600/IMG_2222.JPG" height="442" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We didn't quite agree with this sign...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq12gYzqkzQqIL1mjF9yccUcpb-rXFQu0hBR0evv8rwqqtMIOqzoDALyZCaHBk_2KZxqW-C4Kg9hhKTx69vnoKbKN21j9YwM4MoCDVPOqHxqLgKFE_lXgI_1EG215d67TzXMTCA4PMRBs/s1600/IMG_2223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq12gYzqkzQqIL1mjF9yccUcpb-rXFQu0hBR0evv8rwqqtMIOqzoDALyZCaHBk_2KZxqW-C4Kg9hhKTx69vnoKbKN21j9YwM4MoCDVPOqHxqLgKFE_lXgI_1EG215d67TzXMTCA4PMRBs/s1600/IMG_2223.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">....Because unfortunately this was what welcomed us.. Poor Koala! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8GLC8G0OxfRWg_CURi1cIMdOfPzY19knKEpYgkmiV6C6VY5a_7mS0pN6An96AAZ-C4bLbfWZgbGfVpd1PcW129Cgy-yAW79s68IESDgkQiy9In9G-ZmEzWtPbdtquUhlObWtkiVhkyo/s1600/AUS_6759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz8GLC8G0OxfRWg_CURi1cIMdOfPzY19knKEpYgkmiV6C6VY5a_7mS0pN6An96AAZ-C4bLbfWZgbGfVpd1PcW129Cgy-yAW79s68IESDgkQiy9In9G-ZmEzWtPbdtquUhlObWtkiVhkyo/s1600/AUS_6759.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Great Ocean Road</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vKSpZpq-C9ms2tlHmPv5HHfWLkpu1-d9IUZfyK6IwULKBF5IQm7EGvVArxlxjHB8BQUCWmHm8Gb6jdlDYk9PpQ1e83G2kzcsjqKkI86QDqUrS7ZBtwckEfzZQZpdgDXfibWBbYZL_RA/s1600/AUS_6766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vKSpZpq-C9ms2tlHmPv5HHfWLkpu1-d9IUZfyK6IwULKBF5IQm7EGvVArxlxjHB8BQUCWmHm8Gb6jdlDYk9PpQ1e83G2kzcsjqKkI86QDqUrS7ZBtwckEfzZQZpdgDXfibWBbYZL_RA/s1600/AUS_6766.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bay of Martyrs</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Q1nD0j8WXnQy1fL-YaCeeuoLiNbbqXaJpvPt5TWOoNYjn0tXInMmXkv6aafKkdVEXwYUblrK6NY-ZZBjM9JVLNZfkD8YvnYK0_DbENuvzeyOtiipt6eyZOHAp15OHz7I2798bDhoIAY/s1600/IMG_2227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Q1nD0j8WXnQy1fL-YaCeeuoLiNbbqXaJpvPt5TWOoNYjn0tXInMmXkv6aafKkdVEXwYUblrK6NY-ZZBjM9JVLNZfkD8YvnYK0_DbENuvzeyOtiipt6eyZOHAp15OHz7I2798bDhoIAY/s1600/IMG_2227.JPG" height="152" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bay of Islands</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybf4bmRBfHrk3yQ1b5IO3WmcuyZ4qrU7KXrm4XsMGO6yZnythIZW7UmIcTSFZFlhhqmwg_jjVWPlEDQORKBTrEFyKEEFeDYRZOfVF4fmk95Wa22hZumtRAub10zyGquA6TARom4wPdu4/s1600/AUS_6777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybf4bmRBfHrk3yQ1b5IO3WmcuyZ4qrU7KXrm4XsMGO6yZnythIZW7UmIcTSFZFlhhqmwg_jjVWPlEDQORKBTrEFyKEEFeDYRZOfVF4fmk95Wa22hZumtRAub10zyGquA6TARom4wPdu4/s1600/AUS_6777.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Grotto</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqIvIjeF0OYRJqKv9nEpP_2q6GmHb8DaIKvhNfDMOQMhgkKiecjDrvNVJLKTW-DbjkEeE2qG-VUgDPCv8W5TkFbTR0qAP6PGR3XqjUhzkAQ3ldp92STrOt3DrXp2rR_lZMXS7-VggKew/s1600/AUS_6790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqIvIjeF0OYRJqKv9nEpP_2q6GmHb8DaIKvhNfDMOQMhgkKiecjDrvNVJLKTW-DbjkEeE2qG-VUgDPCv8W5TkFbTR0qAP6PGR3XqjUhzkAQ3ldp92STrOt3DrXp2rR_lZMXS7-VggKew/s1600/AUS_6790.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">London Bridge</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR7Ah00wZhyphenhyphenUkiVgbGM0E5YswARtwqxuPiv-Gp2VTIf7TaldpSpyOgFVkRl3EIfexGU2jZ-r-lPadeK2eAa8uhaU2coPmEhhZDF4yPeo9ZY_PZlSWZfmvUz_XXvJqUH-46tF8Xx771flg/s1600/AUS_6802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR7Ah00wZhyphenhyphenUkiVgbGM0E5YswARtwqxuPiv-Gp2VTIf7TaldpSpyOgFVkRl3EIfexGU2jZ-r-lPadeK2eAa8uhaU2coPmEhhZDF4yPeo9ZY_PZlSWZfmvUz_XXvJqUH-46tF8Xx771flg/s1600/AUS_6802.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhA-UqI1i_5l_OCJiCm7hV_nid752QNDUmNWSFQjRdtd9DDoc_z-5NCEPpgkLKxOBAbJuccM5hfMxZru0u2-HHrOd6Z2LWPqI8XjWZlWmw3IejHqbkBgMKHV2Zw_GpZLmR1FWuhSfGEW8/s1600/IMG_2239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhA-UqI1i_5l_OCJiCm7hV_nid752QNDUmNWSFQjRdtd9DDoc_z-5NCEPpgkLKxOBAbJuccM5hfMxZru0u2-HHrOd6Z2LWPqI8XjWZlWmw3IejHqbkBgMKHV2Zw_GpZLmR1FWuhSfGEW8/s1600/IMG_2239.JPG" height="236" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK0z4rhKzDiprpsV0fQc9dBodMTwihgUmYZn3xph_p-ki_sI5CjoiWOR1H2UPqomVOXXWFo2D1fyHNX99H4CXBvpjgbxABVpV67T9lVnIc_8fwGDedDJpjBIk-o5Fe_irhNTUNl7CkOi4/s1600/IMG_2241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK0z4rhKzDiprpsV0fQc9dBodMTwihgUmYZn3xph_p-ki_sI5CjoiWOR1H2UPqomVOXXWFo2D1fyHNX99H4CXBvpjgbxABVpV67T9lVnIc_8fwGDedDJpjBIk-o5Fe_irhNTUNl7CkOi4/s1600/IMG_2241.JPG" height="212" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lord Ard Gorge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zFtQesVfEOBjXJaZf9N0ucDCw-cZixEyOydl1jrBhbH03uS0rbEG9VrXt4WlkxQdqI-5F6Iqz4Oh98uO-k661CMF0JjWMH9Bj9_pF5_xCrKVOJ2fa4Ti7bqjolx8RpB3zag20PYs2nI/s1600/AUS_6830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zFtQesVfEOBjXJaZf9N0ucDCw-cZixEyOydl1jrBhbH03uS0rbEG9VrXt4WlkxQdqI-5F6Iqz4Oh98uO-k661CMF0JjWMH9Bj9_pF5_xCrKVOJ2fa4Ti7bqjolx8RpB3zag20PYs2nI/s1600/AUS_6830.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 12 Apostles ( I'm aware that there's only two on the picture, but they're separated from the others)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9FTlnbOk_eXX2-MOx2SOrB4vR2vDKt8QCfPn8hmWY7qtROCa4cy-WyfHMr4E_XbgGJPu8ApAxe8lYgFrU3e8cCwcmV-VcKByeRXUlMGiEqnDVctJq_FHr_jT5OClNUKeZrnnf4uiXwdg/s1600/AUS_6845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9FTlnbOk_eXX2-MOx2SOrB4vR2vDKt8QCfPn8hmWY7qtROCa4cy-WyfHMr4E_XbgGJPu8ApAxe8lYgFrU3e8cCwcmV-VcKByeRXUlMGiEqnDVctJq_FHr_jT5OClNUKeZrnnf4uiXwdg/s1600/AUS_6845.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another part of the 12 Apostles<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday 13th November</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">In the morning we only brushed our teeth, before we left Johanna beach again. We were in our continuous search for milk for our breakfast. I was also very obsessed with a morning shower. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">The Great Ocean Road had changed from steep limestone cliffs, into small windy mountain roads with rocky beaches. </span><span style="font-size: small;">We stopped at Kenneth River for two reasons: 1. To spot the wild koala’s in the area. 2. To get a shower in the Holiday Park. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">Just when we entered the sleepy village Erik thought he saw a dog in the side of the road, but by the way it walked we could quickly - and to our big surprise see, that it was a koala that had ventured out to the road. We pulled over immediately and I jumped out of the car to take pictures, I didn’t want to scare or stress the poor guy, so I kept a fair distance to him. There was a fence into the campground behind, so the koala had a hard time escaping from me, although he found a little walking path that lead into the campground, and there he could crawl back up into the trees where he belonged. </span><span style="font-size: small;">I was speechless - this is exactly what we have been aiming to see – WILD koalas. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">We parked near the campground and went in, to spot more of these furry, fantastic and unfortunately extinct creatures. Erik spotted one more up in a tree – we spend quite a while watching him. It was amazing. Our so called shower wasn’t as big a success though, the doors were locked = we had to pay for it! High on emotions we left the park without a shower. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">Next stop was our breakfast stop, and we found a “cheap” $3,2 (16,5 Kr) milk to enjoy with our cereals. At the holiday park in the back of the kiosk, I went to pay for my shower in the reception, and my bad luck just wouldn’t let go of me, so I didn’t get my much needed shower, because they didn’t let strangers into the park. A short time after, Erik booked a hostel for us in Melbourne, the good news made me see the light in the end of the tunnel – we were gonna get washed later! </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">After a little chaotic tour through the city in peak hour, we eventually found Hotel Oslo in St Kilda. A crappy hotel with a very uninviting façade, and no staff to welcome us, or check us in. We ate our lunch in the common kitchen while we waited for the staff to come back. When they came back from their coffee break, they offered us a private room for just $6 more than 2 dorm beds ($50 in total = 260kr). It was perfect since we had to empty all our stuff out from the car, in order to get it cleaned and ready for the future owners. After circling around St Kilda for a while, we eventually found a carwash, where we cleaned the car completely and wiped all surfaces, so it looked brand new – there wasn’t a dry eye when we were done. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">The night was spend in our new home/room, where Erik started to get nervous if we could get the full price for the car, and some of the people he was in contact with texted him, that they’d already bought other cars, so it seemed like there was less people, meaning smaller change to sell the car for the full price. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We were both excited for the next morning, where Erik had arranged to meet up with three couples, who still seemed very interested. We had a heart-attack kebab for late dinner, and went to bed with our minds set up for getting rid of Migaloo the next day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The cutest wild animal we have seen, and also the laziest. They sleep 18-20 hours a day!</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
There was plenty of wildlife to discover in the Holiday Park</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyjqJz20LJuiduO0mSb6hHPf1UQULPjrOY2TNzSHFmO24h87yxHdgyUu8P9lpMEKfQujrCwMzIfuUMqTqNrNUTTscdIWgYnsJY5Yc6kETO2gPxmqxaR5C3TjYnwonztoL5bARZnfal-0/s1600/AUS_6960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyjqJz20LJuiduO0mSb6hHPf1UQULPjrOY2TNzSHFmO24h87yxHdgyUu8P9lpMEKfQujrCwMzIfuUMqTqNrNUTTscdIWgYnsJY5Yc6kETO2gPxmqxaR5C3TjYnwonztoL5bARZnfal-0/s1600/AUS_6960.JPG" height="390" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Aussie's claims that they drive in the right side of the road, but if they drive in the right side of the road, why do they need to put up signs that tells people which side do drive in??</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Great Ocean Road video</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/dZkOk4ABB94?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Friday 14<sup>th</sup>
November </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;">Poor Erik wasn’t even
hungry in the morning – he was too excited. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;">We met up with the first people at
9.30am. A young German couple who lived in Melbourne at that moment, but were
gonna start their travels in Australia, in the beginning of December. We
already knew that they had seen other cars, so we thought that they would be
picky, especially because they still had a couple of weeks, before they needed
a car. We showed them how the bed worked, and they both tried if they could fit
in it, but luckily they weren’t taller than us, so they just fitted in there,
exactly like we did. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;">We showed them all the storage space in the car, and all
the equipment that came with it. The German guy went for a test drive with Erik
by his side. And afterwards the German girl tried it, with me as passenger…
When we came back to the guys, it was clear to us, that both the Germans had a
hard time hiding there smiles. They knew they had to decide quickly, since Erik
already told them about the next couple that should see the car. They talked a
few quick lines of German, and turned towards us and told us, that they wanted
the car, without a doubt. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;">I then started to ask if they were sure, but they
seemed confident and sure about their decision. I also asked if we should meet
up tomorrow and arrange the paperwork and money transfer – but Erik quickly
disrupted me, and said that if they had the time now, then he thought we should
do it straight away. Apparently his experiences have taught him, never to give
people time to reconsider if they already had made up their minds… Luckily it
was alright with them to sort it out already, so while Erik and the German guy
walked, me and the girl drove the car to there bank. When they had got the
money ($5000), we went to their house and sorted out the paperwork. We shacked
hands, and wished them all the best for their travels. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;">We were relieved to get
rid of the car so fast, and even earn money on it (we earned a bit more than
$1500 on it = 7800kr). It has been a bloody long journey around this massive
country. The world’s longest highway, highway 1 is 14,500km, if you do the trip
anti- clockwise it is 6,5 km shorter, because you are travelling in the inner
lane all around. With all our detours and small trip away from the highway, we
ended up travelling around 25000km in Migaloo. It wasn’t JUST happy days. In
times it seemed like our roadtrip was a too big mouthful for us, and it seemed
unmanageable from time to time. Now we wouldn’t be without it, and we wouldn’t
have been able to decide which parts we wanted to see – cause we DID want to
see them all, just as we did. So it’s been the best decision for us, and next
time we hit Australia, we know that the WEST IS THE BEST. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, we walked
away from Migaloo and his new owners. It was time for public transport again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;">We
bought a couple of tickets for the tram, and eventually found our way back to
Grey street in St. Kilda. We stopped by at a bottle shop on our way to the hostel,
and bought 4 liters of cheap red wine – it was time for celebration. While Erik
was at the counter paying for the wine, I kept reminding him to get cash out,
so we could pay for our accommodation – but Erik kept telling me that it wasn’t
necessary, even though we both talked about it in the morning. He gave me time
to re-think the situation, but that didn’t help – it wasn’t before he reminded
me that my purse was filled with 50 and 100 $ notes, that I knew why it wasn’t necessary
to take more cash out… Stupid me! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;">We walked back to the hostel, and while I
prepared us our last can food from the car, Erik went to the nearest Westpac
bank with most of all the cash.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;">The night went by
with drinking wine, skyping with my friend Musse. We were really happy that we
ended up earning money on the car, even though we’d had it for 5 months and
drove over 25000km’s in it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We ended the night on
Carlisle Street, where the street party atmosphere already had sat in. Erik
swallowed a big Burger and I had a portion of fish and chips, before we escaped
from the noisy street and back to our comfy room. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Don't mention the war...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Saturday 15<sup>th</sup>
November</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We started our day
with a skype date with my parents. We are 10 hours ahead now, so it’s harder to
get in touch with each other, not impossible, but it just needs to be arranged
ahead. It was already noon before we had
breakfast, so half of the day had passed already, but it was good to be updated
with news from home though – and we didn’t plan to do much anyway. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We went for
a stroll in St. Kilda. On the pier there’s a colony of over 1000 little
penguins, so off course we went out there, with the hope to spot some of these
cuties. They live underneath all the big rocks which form the St.Kilda Breakwater.
By the time we got to the breakwater, we found out, that the best time to spot
the penguins is around dusk and dawn. The reason for this is because the adults
swim to the bay in the morning to catch fish all day, for themselves and their
chicks. And at sunset they return home, and feed their chicks by vomiting. It
was in the middle of the day when we were there, so not any big chances of
seeing penguins. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">But the good thing was that there weren’t any people either,
so we had loads of time to look in between all the rocks, and see if we could
find any chicks – and we actually found 5-6 penguins, so our mission was accomplished. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We then left the cold winds on the breakwater and strolled through the streets
of St. Kilda We saw the little amusement park on the Esplanade, called Luna
Park – not exiting at all! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We had finally ate the rest of our can food, so
tonight was time to do some real cooking again, I made a big portion of green
curry to the big envy of all the other backpackers in the common kitchen area.
Many of these people only know how to cook pasta (or rice – Asians). So their
worlds totally stopped for a couple of minutes, when I unpacked all the
vegetables for our Thai green curry, and started chopping it up. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We ended up
eating at the same time as other people that were only cooking pasta. But the
fact that many of these young people, probably never have been cooking before
they started travelling, makes it a bit hard for them – even to cook pasta…
Yesterday I saw a young girl coking pasta for 2 people, but when she added salt
(which a lot never does), she added two HANDFULS to it… I would have loved to
see their faces when they had to eat it! My green curry was the best to date,
so I still keep improving it! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The night was spend on drinking the other half of
our 4 liters of red wine, and moving around our stuff in the room, as it had
started raining outside, and we apparently had a couple of leaks in the ceiling.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The city</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYr-XdMCaPXGyPbXwfml0JrqWeAzZFd7WFScDpqv8khsH602moxW4CQwhEO42ki9EfE0QM7H1D1CVjVhhMMVyWRlCn1l1VKH0_4jyqZiqEB-CWLRIePS-hacuHXlXvNL5XtowCYO0xZE/s1600/AUS_7040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYr-XdMCaPXGyPbXwfml0JrqWeAzZFd7WFScDpqv8khsH602moxW4CQwhEO42ki9EfE0QM7H1D1CVjVhhMMVyWRlCn1l1VKH0_4jyqZiqEB-CWLRIePS-hacuHXlXvNL5XtowCYO0xZE/s1600/AUS_7040.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN1bEIwsJwuNAXwskc9b50UEuEhVDO_2Y0iqTa4L2vhZS1WfRn7hV5RcBavD6FIQmjl_iKmlYRRsv3g1T1qxOzYU6YKdW1oN2jYW6stmO64Uzmc_Fg7zmZQr6LcWCrWk-DaIUjN0PynEQ/s1600/AUS_7058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN1bEIwsJwuNAXwskc9b50UEuEhVDO_2Y0iqTa4L2vhZS1WfRn7hV5RcBavD6FIQmjl_iKmlYRRsv3g1T1qxOzYU6YKdW1oN2jYW6stmO64Uzmc_Fg7zmZQr6LcWCrWk-DaIUjN0PynEQ/s1600/AUS_7058.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Luna Park</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday 16<sup>th</sup>
November</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The weather forecast
predicted predominant cloudy weather and rain – which gave us the perfect
opportunity to get updated with our blog. We spend the day on Peter Pan’s
travel agency and used their free wifi connection. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Erik booked tickets to Fiji
and researched on all kinds of stuff, while I was doing the hard work – putting
the blog together online. Unfortunately it’s a nightmare most of the time, due
to the webpage that sometimes won’t let me insert text to the pictures, removes
the pictures for no reason, and changes the font from one to another
etc.etc. It’s really frustrating and with my short temper it’s not a good
combination.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">It was almost 5pm before we had our lunch, which consisted of
leftovers from the day before. I had become grumpy already before this and I
wasn’t happy with the fact, that our lunch had gotten postponed half a day, and
the blog had made me angry as well. It leaded to an unnecessary discussion and
it didn’t really end, before I had something to eat. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">In a much better mood,
after eating, we decided to see some of the city. The weather had changed to
the better and we still had 3-4 hours of daylight, plenty of time to explore
and see another suburb. We took the old fashioned tram to Richmond. It’s a bit
complicated to travel in this city compared to other big cities, because most
of the trams haven’t got any loudspeaker that tells you which is the next stop,
and the maps aren’t showing all the stops. In the days we traveled with the
trams, we didn’t figure out any easy way to do it, except for telling the
driver where we wanted to go off, and at the same time checking Erik’s
navigation system on his phone, in that way we managed to get off at the right
places. Even on a cold Sunday afternoon, the main street in Richmond was lively,
and there was a lot of bar hopping going on (Sunday Sessions). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We wandered
along the street and did a lot of people watching on our way. We were actually
just in the mood for a stroll, but the temptations of cheap drinks made us stop
at one bar, and sit down for a short rest. After another stroll, we both had
become hungry, but we both felt indecisive. The restaurants was about to close,
so we didn’t have all the options we had hoped for. Final decision fell on
Nando’s (a Portuguese food chain). It was all right, but we remembered it being
better last time we had it, in Kuala Lumpur. The trams stopped running before
midnight, and we caught one of the last once home. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Melbourne tram </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="font-size: medium;">Monday 17<sup>th</sup>
November</b></div>
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<b style="font-size: medium;"><br /></b></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">I was dying to try the
Restaurant Tram that takes you around the city, while serving a 3-4 course
lunch or dinner menu – to my disappointment it was fully booked the whole week.
It was a shame, but there was nothing to do about it. We couldn’t have booked
it in advance, because we didn’t know it existed before we got here. I blame
Lonely Planet! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Anyhow we got up early, like 8pm, had our delightful cereals and
left with the tram to the city. The visitor centre had small maps of self
guided walking tours in the city. We were especially interested in the laneway
and arcade tour, which is, as far as I’m concerned, Melbourne’s “trademark”.
It’s where the great café environment takes place. We weren’t exactly hungry
yet, so we started on Federation Square where we visited the Australian Center
for the Moving Image. A center dedicated to moving images in all forms from the
last couple of centuries. </span><span style="font-size: small;">When we got back outside to the daylight, we wandered
along the Yarra River and crossed the different bridges, one of them had
information about the foreign population in the country, last updated in 2001.
The Danish population back then was 47666 people.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">It was hard to figure out the weather this
day, we took our jackets off several times, but only to put them back on a few
minutes after. They say that Melbourne can have four seasons in just one day,
and there’s definitely something about that saying. We started our laneway tour
near the river and it took us through the heart of the city’s restaurant and
café area – which is also home to some of the best galleries and bars in the
city. We wanderer in and out of lanes, alley’s and arcades, and every arcade
and lane are all breeding grounds for café’s, the city’s biggest café society
takes place in there, some of the cafés are so small you can barely stretch and
stir your tea. It’s very intense, and forget all about personal space when you
eat/drink. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We sat down on one of these café’s (Olio), the walking path was
right next to us and the café on the other side was not more than a meter away,
so that gives you an idea of how intense it was, when people were walking
between the café’s. Our food was delicious, Erik had a pizza and a beer, and I
had a prawn and chorizo salad and white wine. People couldn’t help staring at
our food when they passed by, it’s a human instinct I guess, and surprisingly
enough, did we not get annoyed by it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">It was busy on every little café and the
waiters there work for their money, you would blame yourself if you came sleepy
or hungovered to work as a waiter here. Not fun! The service we got was world
class, compared to the price we paid ($59 = 307kr). This food experience was
more brilliant than I had dared to hope for. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Afterwards we strolled along more
beautiful and unique laneways, alley’s and arcades. We ended our trip back at
the visitor centre, on Federation Square. The sun was finally coming out, and
apart from having too much clothes on, it was nice to sit in the sun and enjoy
it for a bit. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Back home at the hostel, after getting off the tram one stop
earlier than planned, due to tiredness and disorientation, we rested our old
bodies in our hostel bed with a movie. My knee has started to hurt when I walk
longer distances, maybe because the word exercise currently isn’t existing, so
my so called muscles is turned into natural human fat, after sitting in the car
for so long… Or maybe just because there’s something else wrong.. Age! Time will
tell. It’s definitely time to become a bit more active again! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We hadn’t really
made any new friends or contacts at the hostel, it has been a bit hard because
most of the people were French, and they tend to stick together and socialize
with their own ones, plus a big percentage of them are absolutely horrible at
English, so for us to talk with them takes quite an effort, because they don’t
understand what we’re saying or they’re just not on the same page. We just
couldn’t be bothered! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The rest was Germans and seemed to be traveling together,
so it was impossible to interact with them as well. We just couldn’t be
bothered to even try! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">At sunset we walked, me with a small limp, down to St.
Kilda Pier to watch the penguins come onshore with their catch of the day, and
vomit it out to their babies, who had been waiting for a meal all day. It was
packed with people, so after seeing a few penguins coming in from the bay we
left again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The night went by with packing our stuff into grocery bags. Through
an add that Erik had posted online on Gumtree.com, he had arranged a ride from
Melbourne to Sydney the next morning. It was a guy going in that same direction
anyway, and as well as us he just wanted to share the costs of the
transportation. He already planned to rent a car and drive to Sydney, because
he hates flying, so he didn’t even want us to pay 2/3’s. We should just pay $50
each, and then he would be happy. A day bus would have cost us $90 each and
would have taken much longer, so this was apparently the best solution for everybody.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Federation Square</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
School uniforms are very common here.. T<span style="font-size: x-small;">hey get a thump up from us, it might seem old school but it's better for everyone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Art of Melbourne..</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
...Or what they call art</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Isn't that Franenstein!?</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Olio Restaurant </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Little penguin</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Haha</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday 18<sup>th</sup>
November</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">It’s was almost
embarrassing to leave the hostel with all our gypsy bags, luckily most people
were still sleeping at the time we left. The Chinese guy, Gen that picked us up
gave our bags a weird look as well, but was polite enough not to say anything.
Erik quickly told him why we had the bags, but apparently Gen didn’t hear it,
because a little later he politely said he thought it would be easier for us to
travel if we bought a luggage case instead of carrying eight bags around. We
then told him about our circumstances, and how we sold the car faster than
assumed and that our backpacks are back in Sydney, then he caught what we were
on about and understood why. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We were happy that we didn’t have to be seen
outside with our stuff more than one time more, before we got back to our
beloved backpacks. Gen was a nice guy who’s been living 16 years in Australia
now, all though he haven’t forgot ALL of his Chinese manners, for instance he
put all of his used gum on the dashboard in the rental car, and the sticker
from the apple he ate, was placed on the steering wheel.. Still wonder if he’s
gonna clean up after himself before he deliver the car back.. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Well we arrived at
Malene’s place in the Sydney suburb Ashfield around 19.30, and were greeted by
her, with her always sweet and helpful personality. So nice to be back! Because
Malene already had another Danish backpacker living at her place, in the room
we stayed in last time we were here, she had asked her son, Adam, if we could
borrow his room for 1,5 week? Which he had agreed on. So after carrying all of
our gipsy bags up to the room, Malene was ready with a bottle of red wine for
us.. That bottle didn’t last for long, so another one got opened – then one of
Malene’s friends came along with a third bottle of red wine so the night
eventually ended up as a party, where we got turned all of the world’s
problems. Malene’s friend Mary was one of the most hilarious people we’ve met
in a long time, we laughed our lungs out, because of all her crazy stories and
not at least the way she told them… Such a good night – that ended up in a good
split: 4 people = 4 bottles of red wine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Arrived safe and sound at Malene's.. Thanks to this guy.</span></div>
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Erik Krafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10520862374999442880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-36290075305396798692014-11-16T13:05:00.001+01:002014-11-16T13:05:11.901+01:00Hanging out with old and new friends in Adelaide<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Tuesday
4<sup>th </sup>November</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">t seemed like our car almost blew away during
the night, due to the severe wind on the eastern part of Eyre Peninsula. It was
refreshing to get out in the sea breeze in the morning, and see the waves
rolling in over the rocks just 30 meters away. We quickly transformed our
bedroom into living/steering room and left the free camp area. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Our plan was to
reach Adelaide around 5.30pm, where my/our friend Haley was off work and could
host us for as long as we wanted. Within the last days it has been easy to tell
that we’re approaching one of the more populated parts of Australia. There is
more traffic on the roads, the distance between gas stations isn’t far anymore,
which means we don’t need to plan beforehand where to fuel up. The landscape
has also changes into big flat stretches of corn fields and green fields with
cows, small hills with windmills and we suddenly have got clouds over us again.
It actually feels like home, apart from the ‘missing’ rain. We have been
driving on the most empty roads for such a long time, so concerning the traffic, we had to be much more concentrated now than what we had been used to. Before this we
could drive up to 50km without meeting any other vehicles, now they are
everywhere. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Most of this day we spend on the roads, only with a small stop at a
roadhouse, where we were meant to spoil ourselves with a nice meal, and by
putting our expectations to high (cause we were so hungry) we were also in the
risk of getting disappointed. It was undoubtedly the most boring overpriced
food we have tried in a long time, but the staff was nice and friendly, which
made the experience better. Just north of Adelaide we drove by a pink lake
(salt lake), it looked so unreal that we had to pull over several times to
stare at it and take pictures, of course. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">We reached Adelaide as planned,
around 5.30pm. When we pulled up in the driveway on De Laine Avenue we weren’t
exactly sure if we were in front of the right house or not, but then when I
heard a little happy scream and someone coming running through the door, we knew
we were right. Haley ran out the door, hugged me and had the biggest smile on
her face, the reunion joy was big. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I met Haley in Banff 6 years ago. Last time
WE saw her was 2 years ago when she visited us in Denmark. Currently she is
living with her dad and sister Renee, but soon she’s living and working in
Ireland. So we got here just in time to catch up with her, before she’s gone
travelling again. Little travel bug! </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Anyway, her dad was away (working in the
mines), so it was just the four of us. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">She quickly offered us her bed and she
would then move into her dad’s bedroom. The Aussie hospitality is just continuous
and we appreciate it a lot. Our mattress in the car has become a bit of a pain
in the ash - it’s not as comfortable as it was in the beginning, so off course
we said yes to her offer. Otherwise the plan was to take the car mattress out
and sleep on it, in another room they provided for us. But now we both got Haley’s
bed to sleep in and the other room to put all our stuff in. How lucky are we? All that extra space quickly got very messy but that’s another story.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This day was
one of the most special Aussie days (apart from Australia day) since the
Melbourne Cup, Australia’s major horserace was over, it was a big party day
even though it was a Tuesday. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">We felt a bit underdressed when we (Haley, Renee
and us) approached Warradale Pub, all the ladies were dressed nicely in fancy
dresses, high heels, modern hats, and fourteen layers of make-up. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">We came in
jeans, worn out jackets and natural faces - usually Erik wears make-up when
we’re going out, but not this night!! </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">It was a bit of a fancy pub, but oh my
god the food was fantastic. To every meal there was also a buffet included, and
that was actually the best part of it. It had warm creamy potatoes, roasted
beetroot, six different mixed very special salads all consisting of at least
one thing that we rarely have had in salads before. They were so amazing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes
I find it hard to catch up, when you haven’t seen people for ages, like what are
you gonna tell into details and what should you refrain from telling. This was
NOT one of those moments. With Haley it just seemed so relaxed and natural… And
it felt like we saw each other yesterday. She’s still the same lovely girl that
I met 6 years ago, and we both very quickly felt completely comfortable in her
and her sisters company. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">We rolled out of the pub, all so full and tired and we all
wanted to escape from the drunk and uncontrolled people. Haley had to work the
next morning so it was a quiet one for us… Exactly what we needed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9sPoIa5kokimcyNWxPhys0gPH5rqIq_Rt_mDdJslOghcbNaxCX3QzHHJcIwkYpcqJqbOxelMNabXbuT6IMbi9L3zbFH0KcKp7noQVrRuF1NdyD8fA5pdCnX5v1moo-RxOGQBkc1IM0mg/s1600/AUS_6289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9sPoIa5kokimcyNWxPhys0gPH5rqIq_Rt_mDdJslOghcbNaxCX3QzHHJcIwkYpcqJqbOxelMNabXbuT6IMbi9L3zbFH0KcKp7noQVrRuF1NdyD8fA5pdCnX5v1moo-RxOGQBkc1IM0mg/s1600/AUS_6289.JPG" height="308" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A spectacular and colourful minesite</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4HFbPmAJfnMfyz0mb4bvbxiPY9ZH1cTzTtVZJFPRf7Sj1SA5nW-hQPD92ivQLqvMeCKPiTaLwHI0jlXImxAH_wKp3RFYomk0fCOZAs52dYsGeLy1Ka5WYWNJDiNlcQHedZIlAEogpyk/s1600/AUS_6307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4HFbPmAJfnMfyz0mb4bvbxiPY9ZH1cTzTtVZJFPRf7Sj1SA5nW-hQPD92ivQLqvMeCKPiTaLwHI0jlXImxAH_wKp3RFYomk0fCOZAs52dYsGeLy1Ka5WYWNJDiNlcQHedZIlAEogpyk/s1600/AUS_6307.JPG" height="276" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pink lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSnfzoZcElff3CjREduH8MfEUcLl04nNtii-CTvVMlNmFWVWkLcj9NFTgbx3W1vygljwC3rDsmFkfIizHk6rUQVjUxJwCAfrUwAx0RBTV7CvbC0PqxSOhZ7K2pkRzYkKTpZuPRgDAI5U/s1600/AUS_6637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSnfzoZcElff3CjREduH8MfEUcLl04nNtii-CTvVMlNmFWVWkLcj9NFTgbx3W1vygljwC3rDsmFkfIizHk6rUQVjUxJwCAfrUwAx0RBTV7CvbC0PqxSOhZ7K2pkRzYkKTpZuPRgDAI5U/s1600/AUS_6637.JPG" height="380" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our new home for a little while<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Wednesday
5<sup>th</sup> November</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">After
sleeping like the king and queen, we dragged ourselves out of bed. Renee drove
us up to the mall, where we did some groceries. We really miss eating bread and
cold meat for breakfast. It’s just one of those things that we really
appreciate – and now we had access to a fridge, which allowed us to buy this
type of food. It also made us really full and exhausted afterwards – since
we’re not use to it, it felt like the yeast kept raising inside us. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">We then
took off to Harbour Town – a big outside mall near the coast in Adelaide. Our intentions
here were to shop around for a light “summer” jacket for Erik, and for a bit
warmer jacket for me. Since it’s the start of the summer here, we found that
all jackets were on sale, even those ones we call “summer jackets”, because
here that’s a spring/autumn jacket – it’s simply not necessary with a jacket in
the summer time here! We both ended up finding a jacket that we liked – and
just as important, they were cheap. I bought a leather jacket (not real leather
but looks like it) for 40 dollars in kids size 14, and Erik got a light
“summer” jacket in size xxs for 30
dollars. This brings me to the next subject, the Australian sizes! It reminds a
lot of American sizes, because normally in Europe, we would both need a medium
size in jackets. So there’re really some BIG people Down Under! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Very happy
with our purchases, we ended the shopping with ice creams from Mc D. Back at
the house again Erik started to make dinner, Danish meatballs (frikadeller)
with cold homemade potato salad. The dinner was a success, Haley and Renee both
liked it, though Renee only had the potato salad, because she’s vegetarian. We
rounded off the day on the couches, with a good movie. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday 6<sup>th
</sup>November</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">After
another fabulous sleep-in, Haley dropped us off in Adelaide city center, where
we explored the free Australian Wine Center, which for our disappointment were
having a big conference, so the exhibition area was reduced down to only one
big room instead of the normal three. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We still learned some things about the
making of wine, and some of the many different grapes used. They had a test, on
a touch screen, where you could try to make you own wine, depending on how you
would like it (red/white, dry/sweet etc. etc.), and how much attention you’ve
been paying in the exhibition room. The finally result wasn’t very good at all,
I made an average wine, but Erik’s was very bad, almost toxic! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The Wine Centre is located just in the
outskirts of the botanical garden, so we had a walk through that, and found our
way up to the shopping streets. On one of the big restaurant and café streets,
Rundle Street, we found a sushi restaurant that had an offer we wouldn’t miss
out on. All plates on the sushi train, 3 dollars each! We emptied 10 plates,
and then continued our browsing through Adelaide CBD (Central Business
District). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We wanted to have a look at the nearby Central Market, and with free
tram rides in the CBD, this would by easy done. We found the tram, but weren’t
quite sure which direction to go, so when the first tram showed up, I went
inside it to ask a guy for directions – Erik followed me because he thought
this was the right train. As soon as we got in, and the guy told me that this
was going in the opposite direction, the doors closed, and the tram started
moving. Erik wasn’t so happy about that, especially when we could just have
asked some of the 10-15 people outside the tram. Well it was free, and only an
15 minutes detour. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We got to the market, had a walk around it, but left quickly
again, as it didn’t have anything special, just a lot of cheap Asian shops,
trying to sell you, everything that you certainly don’t need in your life. We
brought home some bottles of wine and beer, and for dinner we had left-overs
(meatballs and potato salad). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">This evening was one of the funniest ones we’ve
had in a long time. We had a good amount of alcohol and played Pictionary (Tegn
& Gæt). Haley and Renee were against me and Erik. That combination is never
the best, because we are both very bad drawers, and playing the game in
English, didn’t help at all. Haley and Renee won in the end – but most
important was that our laughing muscles got put on a big test. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The botanical garden</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Friday 7<sup>th</sup>
November</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Haley took
the day of work, so she could spend some time with us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After our late night we
felt a bit lazy and wasn't keen for doing much. Haley and Renee on the other
hand were planning a day on the beach for us. The temperate should reach 37
degrees, so there was a good point in a beach visit and a place to cool off
when we got too hot. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We picked up some supplies (actually Danish Somersby
ciders and Carlsbergs) from a drive-in bottle shop, before our driver Renee took
us to Moana beach. The beach was wide and flat enough to bring the car down to
the waterfront, it was windy and the temperature felt 10 degrees lower than it
was. It’s a dangerous fact that skin cancer is one of the most common diseases
in Australia, especially the southern parts, where there is a big hole in the
ozone layer, which means it very easy to get sunburned (=skin cancer).
Obviously we were aware of this and made sure to put sun lotion on, basically
all the time. </span>When we didn’t play with the footie (an Australian football), the
freeze bee or the hula hoop, we listened to music in our beach chairs with a
cold drink in our hand. The time was flying, as usually in good company. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Renee
drove us up to Brighton beach where we all ordered burger and enjoyed them on the
beach. It had been an amazing day, and the fact that Renee drove us around made
it so relaxed for us, and we enjoyed the tour much more, than we would have
done by ourselves. We weren’t worth much in the night, daytime drinking in the
sun had made us drowsy. We kept ourselves awake for a movie and when Renee was
off work Haley (and I) gave her a lift into the city – at this time we figured
that Haley digested all the alcohol she consumed earlier.. Maybe not 100%, but
Renee really wanted a lift and after driving us around all day it would have
been mean to say no to her. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second heart-attack burger this day was
bought at Hungry Jacks (the exact same Restaurant as Burger King – just another
name). Oh my god, how unhealthy can we possibly be in just 14 hours. We felt
disgusting afterwards. It was around 1am before we hit our bed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After such a
long day you should think that it was easy to fall asleep, well at least it was
for Haley and Erik. For some reason I couldn’t fell asleep, which was very
annoying cause we had another “busy” day tomorrow.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Drive-in bottleshop</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Renee, Erik & Haley</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Haley</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Not the worst view to enjoy in the baking sun</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Saturday 8<sup>th</sup>
November</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When I
could hear the others starting chatting in the morning it felt like I just fell
asleep and was away for a few minutes. Well I had to get up because, apart from
meeting Haley, today was our highlight of visiting Adelaide… The Barossa
Valley! One of the world’s greatest wine regions, with hot, dry summers and
cool moderate winters they produce 21% of Australia’s wine, mostly big luscious
reds. Best known is their Shiraz. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was 1½ hour drive north east of Adelaide,
Haley had offered to drive us around and visit a few of the 80 plus wineries,
60 of the with open cellar doors (which means free tastings). After a beautiful
drive through the Adelaide hills and seeing, and almost hitting the biggest
kangaroo ever, we arrived at the first cellar door, Shild Winery. We didn’t
hesitate when the guy asked if we wanted to try all their wines. Obviously we
said yes. He introduced us to a very special SPARKLING Shiraz. A strange taste
to begin with, but a very satisfying aftertaste. Apparently that little brewery
delivers wine to a wine shop in Brøndby (a suburb of Copenhagen). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Haley joined
us in the tasting but unfortunately she had to use the provided buckets to spit
the wine out again.. I felt sorry for her, but had to laugh of her spitting out
the expensive wines, it was definitely not her preferred way to do a wine tour. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We visited two other wineries; one of them was Jacob’s Creek. It’s considered
as some of the cheapest wine here, but since we drink it from time to time at
home we wanted to check it out. It was a big place compared to a lot of the
other wineries, we didn’t bother the free tastings, since there was a lot of better
options around. We enjoyed our lunch on a small café in the town of Tanunda. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Now time was running faster than us. We had to be back in Adelaide at 6.30pm,
to participate in a family party with Haley’s family. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We rushed up to Maggie
Beer’s Farm Shop, it’s one of the most successful places with a range of
condiments, preserves, pâtés and gourmet tastings. We rushed though the
delicious tastings and bought a few things as a present for Haley’s aunt and
uncle. Before we left the valley we had to visit Whistler Winery (recommended
by Haley’s mom), but by the time we arrived there we were a bit tired of wine –
never thought this sentence would come over my lips, but I had enough. We were
all wined-out at this time. We made a quick stop at the Shild Winery on the way
back, and bought some of that special sparkling Shiraz (also as a present). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Back
in Adelaide a bit later than planned we quickly dropped off our stuff, changes
clothes and picked up Renee and Haley’s mom. The family party was to everyone’s
surprise a lot bigger than assumed. It was said to be a going-away party for Haley’s
aunt Petra’s german sister, but we figured it was just an excuse to throw a
party. The house was full of people, and a lot of them were unknown to each
other. Even Haley didn’t know half of the people – so we fitted in just
perfect. The food was absolutely fantastic, five big tables spread out in the
living room and kitchen with the best finger food we’ve ever had. We ate so
much. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jeff (uncle) and Petra was totally overwhelmed by our present to them. They
thought it was way too much, they hadn’t expected anything, he kept saying. So
before we took off Jeff opened the sparkling wine so we could have some of it
(the “tired of wine” time was passed already again), and then secretly Jeff and
Haley arranged that she should bring the other bottle home, so we could enjoy
it now that we bought such a nice wine. They DID appreciate it, but they knew
we were travelers and that the wine hadn’t been cheap ($25 per bottle = 130
kr). It was such a delightful party though. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We got in touch with a family
member that runs a surf school in Goolwa down south, he invited us down for a
free surf lesson (by the way we loooove free stuff, almost no matter what it
is). He ensured us that we would like surfing after trying it on this specific
beach. We told him already that we were done with surfing, but he made us
reconsider trying it again and give it the last change. After a silly dance
with a few kids and a lot of laughter we left the party around 10pm. Exhausted
and absolutely ready for our beauty sleep. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Shild Winery</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Haley and her favorite bucket </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Sunday 9<sup>th</sup>
November</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Stayed in
bed and catched up on Facebook, when we all of a sudden heard a man's voice in the
hallway. Erik and I looked at each other and thought that their dad had come
home earlier than expected. We felt a bit awkward, cause we had our stuff
laying everywhere in the house, so we got up quickly and planned to clean up
straight away. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Haley and her sister were in the garden, probably with their dad
so we walked out there to greet him. The next sight wasn’t anything like we
expected. Renee was cuddling with her python snake, and it wasn’t their dad but
their older brother Josh popping by. Luckily for us – then we could still feel
at home and leave stuff everywhere. Renee had tried to convince herself to take
the snake out a few days before, but she hadn’t got the balls to do it. She
absolutely loves her snake, but can’t convince herself to put her hands into the
cage and grab it, but Josh apparently didn’t mind. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The snake was hanging out
with us most of the ‘morning’, he seemed mellow, but I didn’t feel like holding
more snakes, been there done that. Erik wasn’t in the mood either, but he didn’t
want to appear as a chicken, so at one point he gave the snake a cuddle anyway.
Then Erik disappeared for quite a while, no one was sure what he was doing, but
later we found him in the driveway, where he had taken the front wheels of the
car, fixed the brakes and serviced the car. There was a good reason for this
though. He had put the car for sale in Melbourne, and there were already a lot
of people interested in it, so he wanted to make it ready for the next
travelers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Haley’s friend Hayley (pronounced the same way) came around and hung
out with us, so after washing the car we drove up to Hahndorf - Australia’s
oldest surviving German settlement, a pretty little town with European trees
and German shops, with sausages, sauerkraut, chocolate etc. It was a sunny day
and the main street was booming of tourism. We sat down on the busiest café on
the main street, and enjoyed a big mug of beer for $13,5 (70kr) each. In a
butcher store we found one of our favorite sausages – liver sausage, perfect
for the last bit of bread we had at home. The Aussies found it weird to eat
cold meat on bread in the morning, so we had it all to ourselves.. Even more
perfect! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The 2 x Haley talked about going for a sunday session, apparently that’s a hip
thing here in Australia. It was the same we did in Perth. So it’s basically
just getting together with friends and going out on a sunday. Sundays are
always cheaper as well, so it makes sense. I bet the employers aren’t big fans
of it though – from the stories we heard there’s a lot of monday sickness.
Anyway, for once I offered to be the driver – time to make a big X in the
calendar. The suburb Glenelg has a beautiful square with bars, restaurants and
easy access to the beach. The Jetty Bar served $5 (25kr) drinks, so the girls
and Erik were in for a treat. We did some serious people watching this
afternoon. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Later back home I made red curry for us all, the best I have made so
far. While Erik planned to go to bed early - in order to get up and watch
Formula 1 at 2am, the girls and I planned to finish those Somersby and the
sparkling Shiraz (that Haley had brought home from the party). We skyped with
Steffi in Berlin for an hour and arranged to meet up in Europe, when we get back home and Haley is in Ireland. Hurray for future travel plans!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnbcLXC1io12ywnmULZ7-Mr-ZNceC7vvAuGxl4zMp9VgDMg30GbMi355Y0os5f7qrdClAw18hjNJ7k8h7oqOKzYZI-PYUhoYJH1amQrQUGBUNqaqtvl1aqimZykSs0IEI4aq_CKuMB3tw/s1600/AUS_6591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnbcLXC1io12ywnmULZ7-Mr-ZNceC7vvAuGxl4zMp9VgDMg30GbMi355Y0os5f7qrdClAw18hjNJ7k8h7oqOKzYZI-PYUhoYJH1amQrQUGBUNqaqtvl1aqimZykSs0IEI4aq_CKuMB3tw/s1600/AUS_6591.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcsf0KIbB7eRhTWpQslFZo_QTBdEAvJIcdbJqlL6OgMgXvXMpm8Lx79e4Hby2A3RCwA3pksnEmpZ_QCLIjrPV_tyrMpd02Z8sbJOBPJcmkjpgRaEX5DFkzsvS41vL1e54VYKvgSj_GXo/s1600/AUS_6594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdcsf0KIbB7eRhTWpQslFZo_QTBdEAvJIcdbJqlL6OgMgXvXMpm8Lx79e4Hby2A3RCwA3pksnEmpZ_QCLIjrPV_tyrMpd02Z8sbJOBPJcmkjpgRaEX5DFkzsvS41vL1e54VYKvgSj_GXo/s1600/AUS_6594.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Renee was trying to do the dishes, but had to give up halfway, the snake needed her attention..</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu5jwzLWRHmm6r5jyDWHtxPuE21bfzUUUoHCaGncCzG2pwZVxiEZwbJgHI8WKWOA-hkCHG9YaygmMSzWkMKdT4R65rm_SvNFvLyWlMkfQqbN3sqZT5lmIZbvBAh11b9a1MT3ZzJX9OlWM/s1600/AUS_6600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu5jwzLWRHmm6r5jyDWHtxPuE21bfzUUUoHCaGncCzG2pwZVxiEZwbJgHI8WKWOA-hkCHG9YaygmMSzWkMKdT4R65rm_SvNFvLyWlMkfQqbN3sqZT5lmIZbvBAh11b9a1MT3ZzJX9OlWM/s1600/AUS_6600.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCyL0Xsp7eCZhl4GYmQ4bLSrQaLv-WU0xZJgYQIMv8kFX7_2O8gukwDcO3JkMlrDfetferWTCdOmzgyvGnINbdRSs9EdZH_wuSocf_ER3XweCS1WCY8QEBDzzsa_G4wq_kMctLqwHnp0/s1600/AUS_6612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCyL0Xsp7eCZhl4GYmQ4bLSrQaLv-WU0xZJgYQIMv8kFX7_2O8gukwDcO3JkMlrDfetferWTCdOmzgyvGnINbdRSs9EdZH_wuSocf_ER3XweCS1WCY8QEBDzzsa_G4wq_kMctLqwHnp0/s1600/AUS_6612.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Meanwhile Erik was giving Migaloo a service</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Dn8f7kQ4fUvsULZ663C6vSslGQ7ucsPPFnThVPpc9TmP1UvyN2MxzqJZHL0j7GS-Rk8_t7AR9R9YHaBfj8Ht2pnLqpLwpAOi3WftKintUEdqyoudJbaTkvPtCf4BmquGo03tTYJipVE/s1600/AUS_6615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Dn8f7kQ4fUvsULZ663C6vSslGQ7ucsPPFnThVPpc9TmP1UvyN2MxzqJZHL0j7GS-Rk8_t7AR9R9YHaBfj8Ht2pnLqpLwpAOi3WftKintUEdqyoudJbaTkvPtCf4BmquGo03tTYJipVE/s1600/AUS_6615.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY8GbTMu8z-xuwZabjQhdnAn-yZWa8KsDHbAONyGzZaWNRec1BrGGhoHXd1PPCujYxRiNexTCFpnTHseMCkDF7Ko7kZrl3qHQ_B9uDY3DspHbTGu92QFHpecHpi1kG45vFC_lP6XHAhdg/s1600/AUS_6603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY8GbTMu8z-xuwZabjQhdnAn-yZWa8KsDHbAONyGzZaWNRec1BrGGhoHXd1PPCujYxRiNexTCFpnTHseMCkDF7Ko7kZrl3qHQ_B9uDY3DspHbTGu92QFHpecHpi1kG45vFC_lP6XHAhdg/s1600/AUS_6603.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Afternoon beers in Hahndorf</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxpI-fihsG-HHP3cGQ0EAomBYv5n3Fteec7W6EIDgm-ZJ5F63UJvHH4kGqReSzsEZ0XLt2M9obIBAa6FMuBJa0fsrRfZYUFaW0xMRbkGBpdN-PxpxfeMXpOmTecXNkRGJUXgFeElAWDI8/s1600/AUS_6608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxpI-fihsG-HHP3cGQ0EAomBYv5n3Fteec7W6EIDgm-ZJ5F63UJvHH4kGqReSzsEZ0XLt2M9obIBAa6FMuBJa0fsrRfZYUFaW0xMRbkGBpdN-PxpxfeMXpOmTecXNkRGJUXgFeElAWDI8/s1600/AUS_6608.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old cars in the streets</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQ5-slgEA4rXTCSoSjRU42n5E6P4pHX0gCjbOYPvVhX5HVbonRnREv5Y5lWaXbo_Hq8ckyai-67KM17gKJvJLU3tHR_EbGSkQoRWVGWLNmZ7aZ0prLQrV7HhiIkPq2rz7k0jeJjqiZ5k/s1600/AUS_6610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQ5-slgEA4rXTCSoSjRU42n5E6P4pHX0gCjbOYPvVhX5HVbonRnREv5Y5lWaXbo_Hq8ckyai-67KM17gKJvJLU3tHR_EbGSkQoRWVGWLNmZ7aZ0prLQrV7HhiIkPq2rz7k0jeJjqiZ5k/s1600/AUS_6610.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7p5NlKZMptv-LSvJgYsJ38yVj4_ojOxW0GqqeC3NchJYm-PDaqklyyXsBnwHZXEgPeOGvXhDLQ4AOhLd1zMHiD-Oo8FFAUSX0sBUFr-Y2yXIT7m5IbdjzaD8wGSykLXAAHKvNetXRCOE/s1600/IMG_2871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7p5NlKZMptv-LSvJgYsJ38yVj4_ojOxW0GqqeC3NchJYm-PDaqklyyXsBnwHZXEgPeOGvXhDLQ4AOhLd1zMHiD-Oo8FFAUSX0sBUFr-Y2yXIT7m5IbdjzaD8wGSykLXAAHKvNetXRCOE/s1600/IMG_2871.JPG" height="408" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 X Haley and me (taken with Iphone, which explains the bad quality)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHx7AmgrklXUHUfrll-5u2zZHg1DuGFsVjkWa2HDZdtb-0R-9AwbCf-0nD2_cHP1XStez4qZEo_6GoXYaPs6paG4RVMTmKrTgPJwQ9vRYrM7JHMthLQJMvZ9THiixwcpOuj91o3xKQ0iE/s1600/IMG_2878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHx7AmgrklXUHUfrll-5u2zZHg1DuGFsVjkWa2HDZdtb-0R-9AwbCf-0nD2_cHP1XStez4qZEo_6GoXYaPs6paG4RVMTmKrTgPJwQ9vRYrM7JHMthLQJMvZ9THiixwcpOuj91o3xKQ0iE/s1600/IMG_2878.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice cream, I am not even sure we have in Denmark..!?<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="font-size: medium;">Monday 10<sup>th</sup>
November</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Even more
people started replying on the car add online, so we started to prepare
ourselves for selling the car in Melbourne. It means if we sell the car, we
have to buy some bags for all our stuff, since our backpacks are back
in Sydney. So we will have to take a bus or hitchhike as gypsies back up to
Sydney. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We planned to leave Adelaide tuesday morning, so this day was dedicated
to get the car ready and packed again. Already back in Sydney we have heard
horror stories about a movie called Wolf Creek, it’s based on a true story
about tree backpackers that got killed in the outback by a local freak, that
original should “fix” their car. Apparently so scary that we were warned by
several people not to watch it, before we were done with our travels around
Australia. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We are in the end of it now and it’s not even close to being as
remote here as the northern parts, so we felt like it was about time to watch
this horror movie. It was freaky enough, and we’re glad that we didn’t watch it
before, because the murder reminds us of some of the personalities we've met north
– they are a bit strange and have that strong Aussie accent, but the movie
wasn’t as horrifying as we thought. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">As all four of us love sushi, there was no
disagreement when Renee suggested sushi for dinner. It’s so cheap here anyway,
one roll is between $ 2,50 – 4,5 (13 – 23,5 kr). Usually 3-4 rolls are
enough, but this night Erik and I shared four rolls and got full. I reckon it
had been a long week for all of us, Renee and Haley seemed just as tired and
exhausted as we felt. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Tomorrow
was time to leave and do the last part of our road trip around this massive
country.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGN9C4ShHuuBNqHYgzs9ZKfvkPTEJfDPGShWyBT1CV5grfBFmxAR9NkWdS03Y59y6sND4Rs4DZzLSj3C0-S2x6K0UYSWZKbgVMgpu8LMInlsUHZ5rJ1OV6rkQ_lJN6ny7Sv_IB-OHOnmM/s1600/AUS_6624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGN9C4ShHuuBNqHYgzs9ZKfvkPTEJfDPGShWyBT1CV5grfBFmxAR9NkWdS03Y59y6sND4Rs4DZzLSj3C0-S2x6K0UYSWZKbgVMgpu8LMInlsUHZ5rJ1OV6rkQ_lJN6ny7Sv_IB-OHOnmM/s1600/AUS_6624.JPG" height="410" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">Beautiful avenues in Adelaide</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>South Australia Video</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/lcfzTEze-uk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br /></div>
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</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09828578618884464538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-64679722366146613802014-11-10T03:14:00.000+01:002014-11-10T03:14:52.908+01:00Margaret River Region And The South Coast of W.A.<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Monday 27<sup>th</sup> October</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Since our sunday session didn’t get that wet, we
both woke up without hangovers. We had a quick shower and said goodbye to Timmy,
before we left Perth. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Next goal was the southern part of Western Australia –
which in many Australians opinion, is the most beautiful area, OF ALL, in
Australia! So we both were very excited to see, if we would be able to share
that opinion afterwards. We drove south for an hour or so, missed out on a town,
that we originally planned to stop in, but that’s how it goes, when you’re
getting old and have been drinking most days the last week – we therefore also
agreed to not drink any alcohol before reaching Adelaide. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">We had our first stop
in Mandurah, a quiet and very beautiful town, which is mostly known for its
retirement-haven image. After a quick lunch on the esplanade, consisting of
wraps with canned tuna, pre-made mixed salad, canned pineapples and a nice
dressing (our favorite lunch on the road), our next planned stop was at a free
rest area, some 150 km’s south, but we had to break this journey in two, cause
we both were too tired to drive that distance (because of the “terror”, our
bodies has been exposed to, during the last week). </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Well after a power nap, and a bit more
driving, we made it to the area where the rest area should be…. Here we were in
for a big surprise, just as we drove around to find the free rest area, we
decided to have a stroll on the beach first, since we still had 2-3 hours of
sunlight left. There on the parking lot, just as we came up from the beach, a
man and his daughter in their 4wd had showed up, and straight away he asked if
we wanted to camp there, cause if, we were better of going a bit further down
the road, since it was illegal we we were . We told him that we were going to
the free camp area, so we should be alright. After some talking back and
forwards, he ended up telling us, that we could just camp on his land if we
wanted to. Of course we would, as we like new adventures, and all the sweet and
helpful Australians. We followed him for a km. down a private dirt road, and
ended up in front of his house. He told us to have a look around, while he made
some tea. Ian - the nice man, had around 30.000 acres of land there, including
a big vegetable/fruit garden and a nice lake just outside the house. I was in
love! This is the kind of property I’ve always been dreaming of. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Well after he
showed us around the garden and house, we made our bed ready for the night, and
started on our dinner, we actually started with an entré for the first time on
the roads, since we both were very hungry…</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Just after opening the can of pumpkin soup that made out our entré, Ian
came out from the house and told us, that he would make some dinner for us, so
we shouldn’t worry about that…. Such a nice guy! Ian’s partner Jude was having
a power nap, after some hard days of working full time, and studying full time
– so meanwhile, we chatted with him, and his youngest daughter – Courtney. We
ended up having a great night, with delicious lamb chops, salads and boiled
potatoes in oil and fennel, and we even had our best wine on our entire trip to
go with that, a locally made Barolo red wine…. I was sold!</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Ohh yeah and we also got some fresh
watermelon with yoghurt for dessert!</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">It
was luxury. Total of 220 km this day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5NYJpxwRvrVM7_ry4db9O6wSQKixjVUK-bm_28TKdfOHKcf1jhLl5jCwwAUT43GZHQrh3-12B3ik8X99XoiDBa7x1O5jemQcWcqtL9igEFIXW628SV-elWT-nAbn76PUbyNWg2YH8zY/s1600/AUS_5744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5NYJpxwRvrVM7_ry4db9O6wSQKixjVUK-bm_28TKdfOHKcf1jhLl5jCwwAUT43GZHQrh3-12B3ik8X99XoiDBa7x1O5jemQcWcqtL9igEFIXW628SV-elWT-nAbn76PUbyNWg2YH8zY/s1600/AUS_5744.JPG" height="362" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're guessing this must be a possum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6BZp1sKqQUjI91n3Ngulh7nNjYju4UfEmxdrxAmd8ccQ2zRsUtNXUwo-iMLSaMXaQ6gYh2XHxHQlI98DMKsEKeFtg2BEm8mCdM52EYzpCsMKGj2e7vKehDb9AOfhhisBgbqHwqTFwdo/s1600/AUS_5733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6BZp1sKqQUjI91n3Ngulh7nNjYju4UfEmxdrxAmd8ccQ2zRsUtNXUwo-iMLSaMXaQ6gYh2XHxHQlI98DMKsEKeFtg2BEm8mCdM52EYzpCsMKGj2e7vKehDb9AOfhhisBgbqHwqTFwdo/s1600/AUS_5733.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ian had collected a lot of useable stuff during the years.. He had plenty of sheds looking like this </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_v5IwG9gWN4fZi1H2Rn9yfIMQ3eDGIGYhQgv-fn0q-CaCCtKXSq2CUaC4t_95FYFyK9jyBdv9fjfwFYNmLF0fdn6lA4dAIBRh4n-mrLc93NbJGx8887cavm0VAGTQdiUcjtZIPPJ-2iE/s1600/AUS_5740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_v5IwG9gWN4fZi1H2Rn9yfIMQ3eDGIGYhQgv-fn0q-CaCCtKXSq2CUaC4t_95FYFyK9jyBdv9fjfwFYNmLF0fdn6lA4dAIBRh4n-mrLc93NbJGx8887cavm0VAGTQdiUcjtZIPPJ-2iE/s1600/AUS_5740.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner with Courthney, Jude & Ian<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday 28<sup>th</sup> October</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">After a good night sleep, a hot shower
in the morning and saying goodbye to the nice people we stayed at, we started
our trip in the Margaret River region. The Margaret River region is, if not the
favorite Australian wine region, then definitely one of the top ones. There’s
vineyards and breweries everywhere you look, and in between those, there’s
small factories producing ciders, nougat, honey, ice creams, chocolate, cheese,
olive oils…. you named it – they’ve got it! </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Best of all are that almost all of
these places have free tastings. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">First stop was Busselton, here we had our
breakfast and a look at the Busselton Jetty, the longest wooden jetty in the
southern hemisphere… Apparently it’s possible to see a lot of marine life if
you do the 1,8km walk to the end of it, or take the little train – but sadly
they even wanted to charge us, to walk on the jetty, so stubborn as we are, we
didn’t put our feet on it – the more touristed the places get, the more it
reminds us of Asia, EVERYTHING costs money, and since we’ve already seen
similar places here in Australia, where it’s free – we just feel that it’s a
tourist rip-off! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We had a quick stop at the dive shop in town, to hear more
about the 3 good dive sites in the area – but I quickly realized that they
weren’t worth spending our money on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Our next 4 stops, was at different
locations on Geographe Bay, a very beautiful coastline on the top of the
Margaret River region, the sights we were treated with here, was fine white
sand and small to middle sized boulders spread out in the shallow turquoise
waters! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Later we ventured out on a 5 km walk around the lighthouse, on the
Northern Cape, called Cape Naturaliste. We then drove to Yallingup, a small
town known for some of Australia’s best surf breaks. But since we didn’t find
any surfers trying to ride the waves, we continued a bit south, to see if we
could reach a chocolate shop/factory before they closed. We got there just in
time to get some free samples of their goods. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We ended up seeing all the stuff
we wanted, in the northern part today, which meant that we could drive the
30-35 km more south to a cheap rest area, without having to drive up north
again tomorrow. At the campground we had kangaroos jumping around our table,
while we were cooking and eating dinner. They are simple some of the sweetest
looking animals in the world – and they do not try to steal our food, as a lot
of the other animals in this country do! 165 km.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnyKr5zADc-7NpmXtirZLGwdKs2OPHh8bYkA34XATEU88BOH3lJxQClNYEiD_UtaGCrSTlkMVQd2DQNalKmu8ohLiJd8nA2kT4sVbMA-H3VdHhyri8w-1WGXbwMZkXZTI8oNtk2rloqWU/s1600/AUS_5755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnyKr5zADc-7NpmXtirZLGwdKs2OPHh8bYkA34XATEU88BOH3lJxQClNYEiD_UtaGCrSTlkMVQd2DQNalKmu8ohLiJd8nA2kT4sVbMA-H3VdHhyri8w-1WGXbwMZkXZTI8oNtk2rloqWU/s1600/AUS_5755.JPG" height="304" width="640" /></a></div>
Thounsands of birds living in that tree<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhyphenhyphenSeGx4_gbluUrm0g3ubft-WEXmDeddQWsp5RIb7hV2K3MJuxuntVCQLfsp3ie1FSTdBOquzLZw26ywSAT0sykIOy192ZvCozOBTaDSA2FqpEj_YJ5Szqrn656TG4QxyboGZi5EEc_E/s1600/AUS_5760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhyphenhyphenSeGx4_gbluUrm0g3ubft-WEXmDeddQWsp5RIb7hV2K3MJuxuntVCQLfsp3ie1FSTdBOquzLZw26ywSAT0sykIOy192ZvCozOBTaDSA2FqpEj_YJ5Szqrn656TG4QxyboGZi5EEc_E/s1600/AUS_5760.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
This is the above picture zoomed in<br />
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Busselton Jetty<br />
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Castle Rock<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNulHt5ZGYE5yAxMn0XuhwfHITzntKfiUKnegbYUEYGkGH1A28CJ3q7q335jvXVUDNuP0x_QIKVKj-NeBsOtY-cWPI5n7poxP3sqsEJV63-lfRVdY5yHZL2IZzf2YkYk3pMDENkZlCh4s/s1600/AUS_5839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNulHt5ZGYE5yAxMn0XuhwfHITzntKfiUKnegbYUEYGkGH1A28CJ3q7q335jvXVUDNuP0x_QIKVKj-NeBsOtY-cWPI5n7poxP3sqsEJV63-lfRVdY5yHZL2IZzf2YkYk3pMDENkZlCh4s/s1600/AUS_5839.JPG" height="328" width="640" /></a></div>
Castle Rock<br />
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Castle Rock<br />
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Eagle Bay<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsmtFPuS20XFpFWdYZMQT0BntODyXXGWyuE8OMvqny-L01gZc4OUuPmYFT-M3ffZ3WXNOxszGYdEqgpwxfZDi_9ZUV5pQ0g0OxUsmbLFpMjNdFa4HalTXtLvpjjT5p2lJtjabBG_uSXg/s1600/AUS_5889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsmtFPuS20XFpFWdYZMQT0BntODyXXGWyuE8OMvqny-L01gZc4OUuPmYFT-M3ffZ3WXNOxszGYdEqgpwxfZDi_9ZUV5pQ0g0OxUsmbLFpMjNdFa4HalTXtLvpjjT5p2lJtjabBG_uSXg/s1600/AUS_5889.JPG" height="302" width="640" /></a></div>
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Eagle Bay<br />
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More Eagle Bay<br />
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Cape Naturaliste...</div>
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Yallingup Beach<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Kangaroo's</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Wednesday 29<sup>th</sup> October </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">I woke up around 5am with some serious
stomach aces, hoping that it would soon go away, I tried to get some more
sleep, but quickly when the sun started to heat up the car, I surrendered to
the, luckily for me, nearby toilet. Not a long time after Lisbeth got enough of
the heat as well, and we both started to get ready to hit the roads again –
saying that I mean, Lisbeth took care of herself and all the things concerning,
changing the car over, while I was just running back and forth between her and
the toilet… It was clear to both of us, that I wouldn’t be able to participate
in any duties or activities, as I was feeling like shit at that time – especially
because I was feeling more and more sick from every minute that passed by. Just as we were to leave the campground the
ranger pulled up to collect the 2 x 10 dollars, for our night there, damn it,
if we had been 2 minutes faster, we would have avoided him, and saved ourselves
20 bucks! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Well off we went, and luckily we did most of the things we wanted
yesterday, so today we “only” had 5 or 6 things we wanted to see, we started
off with Prevally, a small town with some great lookouts over the coast –
perfect for sitting in the car and feeling sorry for myself next to a public toilet,
while Lisbeth had some cerials for breakfast. My private driver then took me to
the town of Magaret River – but when arriving there, we actually didn’t know
what to see there, nobody told us any specific reasons to go there, and lonely
planet didn’t convince us either, so after a slow cruise through the town, my
driver took me further south to the beautiful Hamelin Bay, a popular family
beach with excellent snorkeling especially when the bays iconic attraction
comes to shore – the stingrays. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We only had some quick looks around the place,
since I was still not feeling any better. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We ended our journey in the Margaret
River region, by going to the town of Augusta, and further out to the
lighthouse on cape Leeuwin – the most south-westerly point in Australia, and
also the point where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean! Again we saw
some amazing, but rough, landscape, which appear when big rock formations on
land, fights the extremely forces of wild oceans and strong westerly winds,
over thousands of years! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">My private limo
then left the Margaret River region to find a free camp area for the afternoon
and night, so I could finally give my useless body the only thing it had been
asking for all day – a bed and some rest… This ended up taking double the
amount of time, since all the free camp areas was a bit out of the directing we
were heading – but also because both of us were craving for a hot shower. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">So we
ended up driving all the way to our next planned stop on the route, Pemberton. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Here we got a campsite in the caravan park, and a very good advice for
tomorrows planned activity. After learning the inside of the gent’s toilets
very good, I found my big love Lisbeth in the camp kitchen, ready with her late
lunch/early dinner, and my only meal for the day. Wraps with tuna, salad,
avocado and dressing! We then took one of the longest hot showers on this trip. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The weather has now within 3-4 weeks, changed from around 38 in the north-west,
to kind of like Danish summer with 25-28 around Perth, to only between 20-25
here in the most southern part of western Australia. This is mid day
temperatures, so when/if the clouds role in, and the strong western winds
doesn’t decide to take a break for the night, it means that the afternoons,
evenings and nights, are more and more as the ones, we had back in Sydney when
we started our road trip with the Augustini’s… Cold and winter-like. After our
long showers we went directly to bed – Lisbeth with a movie on the laptop, and
me accompanied by a headache pill and a much stronger pill “Dolol”, that my
dear mom gave me a couple of extras of, back when they visited us in Thailand
in February… Which was also the last time I was sick – I still remember the big
difference of having a night sleep with and without this little mixture, when
being sick – The closest thing I can come to compare it, is: From hell to
heaven! Total km 278.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Margaret River Mouth<br />
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Margaret River Mouth<br />
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Cape Leeuwin<br />
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Wineyard near Karridale</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday 30<sup>th</sup> October</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">After having exact the kind of night that I
hoped for (slept like a baby on sleep medication). I was again feeling fine when we woke up. It
was early, but that was good, because we wanted to climb the 60 meter high
karri tree (The Gloucester tree), which is the icon of this little town, and
probably also the most famous tree in WA! </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The good advice we got from the lady
in the caravan park yesterday, was that if we wanted to save some money, we
should go there early, before the rangers got there, or go in the late
afternoon, when they’ve left… Also did I think, that the earlier we got
there, the bigger would the chance be, that we got the tree all to ourselves.
Not because I didn’t wanna share the experience with others, more because there
is only one way to get up and down, and this is the same for everybody. And
with Lisbeth, who is not getting younger or more fearless as the days go by – I
quickly figured</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> out, after seeing pictures of the small walkway, that if I had
any expectations of her going with me all the way up, there definitely
shouldn’t be people going the opposite way than us! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">We got there around 7.30,
and we were the only ones there… First mission accomplished, but also the
easiest one… When I saw the tree, I wasn’t really sure that I wanted to climb
it to the top anyway, but I was certain, that Lisbeth wouldn’t get up many
steps! I was wrong… So wrong. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">As most
times when I feel a little intimidated by things, I quickly forget about it
again, when I see the amount of fear in Lisbeth eyes… Well she wanted me to
lead the way, but already after climbing 6-8 meters up, Lisbeth was only half
the way, and the way the words came out of her mouth, when I asked if she was
alright, and the way her eyes turned into one giant black hole of fear, made me
understand, that she already made the decision, now it was just a question of
steps, before she would chicken out, and crawl down again. But anyway, then she
would be able to shoot some good pictures of me in the tree. Because even
though she brought the camera up the tree, there was no way that she would let
go of one hand, to operate it, if she got further up. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Anyway I carried out my endless
song, this time the song about: Taking one step at a time, keep focus all the
time, never look down, make sure to have a good grip with both hands and feet,
before taking the next step, think about how good you’ll feel if you do it,
plus about the good pictures you can take when we reach the platform on the top,
and of course keep answering: NO you won’t die. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">The reason why I do it: I hope that she’ll try
to push her boundaries every time she faces them – As I like to do, because the
feeling afterwards is indescribable… No matter what kind of boundaries we’re
talking – as soon as you feel your body is about to paralyze itself of fear,
it’s the biggest win afterwards, if you do it anyhow! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Lisbeth is the perfect
example of this, and it’s such a frill every time it succeeds to make her
follow me, of several reasons… 1. Because she pushed her limits! 2. Because I
was a part of helping her doing it. 3. But also because, for me focusing so
much on getting her to follow me, I almost completely forget my own anxiety,
and therefore pushes my own limits, at the same time… 4. It’s just the best energy
in the world when we succeed one of these “séances”! Of some reason, that even
Lisbeth can’t describe, after 10-15 minutes we actually found us self on the
very top platform, of this 61 meter tall Karri tree, overlooking the surrounding
karri forest, and it’s treetops. Lisbeth got a couple of pictures, but was
still a bit worried about getting down, for as in many of the other things
we’ve been doing, getting down is many times harder than getting up – and that
is safe down I mean! After some time, we got down, safe, and just 3 seconds
before Lisbeth put her feed on the solid ground again, it started to rain. How
good timing is that?! Once again did we do it, not only did we climb the tree,
but we also did it before the rangers turned up and collected money from us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Now since we can’t get enough of free things,
or discounts, we decided to go back to the caravan park to have a nice hot
morning shower – we did after all pay for the camp site, and the check out time
wasn’t before 10am. On the way back, we stopped in at the local supermarket to
get some cold milk for our breakfast – what then happened in the shop</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">was, that we decided to skip the milk, and
planned to make some eggs and bacon instead… Then when we were searching for
the bacon in the cooler, we stumbled over some chicken gordon bleu from the delicacy,
but the dates ran out the day before, so we thought, if we could get those for
half price, that would be cheaper, and we would get more food! When Lisbeth
showed the guy in the deli, that they had some stuff in the cooled with expired
dates on, he was almost embarrassed, and took it straight of the shelf, and apologized… </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">He thought Lisbeth was being a bitch, and was annoyed that they had all stuff
in the store. Ha ha. Then she asked if he could maybe sell it to us cheaper,
since it was expired. But he wasn’t allowed to sell us old meat – but we could
have it for free if we wanted! Thank you… and off we went. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">No actually before
we left the store, we bought a chocolate milk, just to pay for something at the
counter. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Back at the caravan park we had our hot showers and special breakfast
consisting of chicken gordon bleu with pasta before hitting the roads again.
Actually we forgot all about our chocolate milk in the fridge, so we left
without even tasting it! Bummer! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">First stop was not a real stop, but a scenic
4wd route through an exceptional red tingle and karri forest. Our first real
stop after Pemberton was at Parry Beach, we had a walk around the cliffs
separating the beach from the ocean, took some pictures and left quickly again
– not anything special in our opinions. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">The next place, on the other hand, was
definitely something not to miss out on, when being on these latitudes! The
little town of Denmark’s most iconic attraction: Elephant Rocks. It’s large
elephant-shaped boulders resting in the shallow waters in a small cove. And
just a few minutes’ walk from here, is Denmark’s most beautiful beach, called
Greens Pool, it’s a large sheltered rock pool, offering great swimming and
excellent snorkeling in the crystal clear waters. We spend some time here, especially
because we took a wrong turn on our way back to the car park, so we ended up at
Elephant Rocks again, but they were just as majestic the second time around,
and our lazy bodies needed some exercise anyway! A really beautiful place, one
of the best we’ve seen, since we left Perth! Drove through the little township
of Denmark, towards Albany, around halfway we stopped for the night at a free
rest area at Cozy Corner Beach. 286 km.</span></div>
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The ladder to the tree top<br />
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On top of the world<br />
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Ocean Beach<br />
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Elephant Rocks<br />
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Elephant Rocks<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6o-dWrZZz-yWoyR6HRdSyF_xWTRHj82CowZPsqkCLnwDjWwUbCftdhFqS-xBc1zfQh8F2QGC6aq_-CshbHvsy7oin5mDDpOFt_o-bSgFGG5AGG12F3Q-fc1a66zwZ42BfCsWIuaafuo/s1600/AUS_6142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6o-dWrZZz-yWoyR6HRdSyF_xWTRHj82CowZPsqkCLnwDjWwUbCftdhFqS-xBc1zfQh8F2QGC6aq_-CshbHvsy7oin5mDDpOFt_o-bSgFGG5AGG12F3Q-fc1a66zwZ42BfCsWIuaafuo/s1600/AUS_6142.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
Elephant Rocks<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-ZfFwt_h3cVTFsHFBEqHXZJ4FIzlGdiwY9wIJy_q0vnUOzRpAzwHBoOPwnY0ZAsrB387uBmMkShCI3G2rBzQJYiS3xGecvb-4Wy63aNApvFT96ldovIxptA9s-Emzd3_dWy8pos0bII/s1600/AUS_6170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-ZfFwt_h3cVTFsHFBEqHXZJ4FIzlGdiwY9wIJy_q0vnUOzRpAzwHBoOPwnY0ZAsrB387uBmMkShCI3G2rBzQJYiS3xGecvb-4Wy63aNApvFT96ldovIxptA9s-Emzd3_dWy8pos0bII/s1600/AUS_6170.JPG" height="336" width="640" /></a></div>
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Near the town Denmark.. Sure looks danish to me...</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE28EtKviykVkafnG-3aLZUO9Nr1gdOewR0aFEkirhfVc8PyODUPIQHaSLJI1qLcxfA26b65v_SWPu_S5bqI1KuwtVaFLI8yqhwJ8T5Bgp0NaM-srVpXyE_iWcdoQF0m4S5bhoEnSaHgU/s1600/AUS_6169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE28EtKviykVkafnG-3aLZUO9Nr1gdOewR0aFEkirhfVc8PyODUPIQHaSLJI1qLcxfA26b65v_SWPu_S5bqI1KuwtVaFLI8yqhwJ8T5Bgp0NaM-srVpXyE_iWcdoQF0m4S5bhoEnSaHgU/s1600/AUS_6169.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Driving slowly in order not to hit this little fellow...</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Gloucester Tree</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/At17-k_E2iw/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/At17-k_E2iw?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/At17-k_E2iw?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Friday 31<sup>st</sup> October</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">The nights are still getting colder,
that’s easy to feel, this night we luckily had some good shade from the sea
breeze. We rose early and after jumpstarting the car from our second battery we
were moving towards Albany. During the last two weeks, our “starting” battery
has gotten worse and worse every day, but still just managed to have enough
power to start the following morning – but not anymore. Not the biggest problem
in the world, both because our second battery still works perfect, as a backup
battery to start up with, and to charge all our electrical items such as
laptops and cameras, but also because we already, several days ago, planned to
buy a new battery when we got into Albany. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">The next big trip we have in sight
is to cross the Nullarbor Plain, where there is 1181 km between the two nearest
towns, so we don’t wanna be stuck with a stupid battery on that stretch! After
an hour drive, and about 100 of road works areas, we finally arrived in Albany
– next couple of hours went by with driving around to the different auto part
stores, to find the best battery for the price that at the same time would fit
in the car. I got one for 120 Dollars, fitted it in, and then Migaloo started
up as a lightning again! Problem solved – we checked the old battery at the
auto part shop, and it was collapsed inside, just as I expected… No wonder with
all those bumpy dirt roads we’ve crossed the last 20000 km. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">With Migaloo ready
again, we bought some milk, and had a late breakfast in the car just east of
Albany. We had the last couple of days been getting on each other’s nerves to
easily, so we had a big discussion about that and why, we came to the
conclusion, that we both were very tired of seeing 5-10 new things every day,
without being able to accumulate the impressions. But also the fact that we sit
or lie next to each other 24/7, and has been doing it constantly for the last
13½ months, it can be pretty hard at times. So we decided to just keep on
driving towards Esperance, only to supply up, before our big Nullarbor
adventure – and at the same time skip out on one or two places around
Esperance, that we originally planned to see. But also did we agree to put some
music on in the car, and not talk for some hours, just to have a little time
alone – even sitting next to each other… </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">Yes, it’s not, JUST, a big happy dance
on gold and red roses, to travel the world… But almost. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">In Ravensthorpe we got
some more fuel on, and continued to the little town Munglinup, where we camped
for the night. A very cold one that was – and I had some stomach problems again
during the evening and night– mostly because I hadn’t been eating much the last
couple of days, but even more because I forced a can of liver pate in it,
accompanied by 600ml. of coke… That made some serious rumble in the jungle, and
Lisbeth was struggling to get through the night and my smelly outlets. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">414 km.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfHN-P5aL1LXWCzmABE64rfr9pmEOLAwjYL06k9aC3g57nHcYRsmxaQv57kwxCoaToSFn_fv0pmgpX76SXHGvV93DWGuGZKaB0-kLO6haLNRTliPapkgkWgknuMulgL2-jEqEkIaq1Lo/s1600/AUS_6181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfHN-P5aL1LXWCzmABE64rfr9pmEOLAwjYL06k9aC3g57nHcYRsmxaQv57kwxCoaToSFn_fv0pmgpX76SXHGvV93DWGuGZKaB0-kLO6haLNRTliPapkgkWgknuMulgL2-jEqEkIaq1Lo/s1600/AUS_6181.JPG" height="412" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Our first spotted Torny Devil.. Seconds after the picture was taken a motorbike ran it over.. Poor thing.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9R1iaLeawVv5C9aribOJEbEnxcCbRMS9hXAc21pAUaK5WHOiGdV0nQhXHgR6L_ihVSdvnsCp_WenbwNCGJ_MaJ6rg2NFb4-EJgiPIOXj3LDcE5ExVkuZM-FqB3XfcEn8owOCgUcxNLNU/s1600/AUS_6187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9R1iaLeawVv5C9aribOJEbEnxcCbRMS9hXAc21pAUaK5WHOiGdV0nQhXHgR6L_ihVSdvnsCp_WenbwNCGJ_MaJ6rg2NFb4-EJgiPIOXj3LDcE5ExVkuZM-FqB3XfcEn8owOCgUcxNLNU/s1600/AUS_6187.JPG" height="354" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Saturday 1<sup>st</sup> November</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">Rose around 6am after a very cold night,
we drove into Esperance and agreed on, that we deserved something special after
yesterday’s smelly evening, and the very cold night that followed. So instead
of our normal milk and cereals for breakfast, we bought fresh baked bread, some
slices of cold meat and a chocolate milk. Lisbeth is starting to have a lot of
pain in her back, caused by sitting down all the time. So we also found a
massage clinic, where she could get some help. </span>We had breakfast in the car, and while Lisbeth
went to get her back fixed, I had a power nap on the front seats. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The rest of
the day was already planned. DRIVING! We started our next big task.. Crossing
the Nullarbor Plain – which is one of the biggest iconic trips to do in
Australia. From our starting point in Esperance, to our destination in Adelaide
is 2370km, and of course, we always do some deviations from the route, so we’re
probably talking 2500km for this next, but also last, long leg of our Aussie road
trip. From Adelaide we only have around 2000km left before we are back in
Sydney.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">We drove the rest of the day, until we
ran out of sunlight. 557km in total.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAGAOSA76oyK_aOlO4d5-U7Cu3T7aXqXe_xfEg2bwJgDwyJdfC54Ly9d8gyhusaATyQrHffxdZskQX7XKr090uuSHYXfP1lGmiCtMjVeOAotweUdMWh3WcdF7JH-3hJw_gpk7GCQyUZQ/s1600/AUS_6193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAGAOSA76oyK_aOlO4d5-U7Cu3T7aXqXe_xfEg2bwJgDwyJdfC54Ly9d8gyhusaATyQrHffxdZskQX7XKr090uuSHYXfP1lGmiCtMjVeOAotweUdMWh3WcdF7JH-3hJw_gpk7GCQyUZQ/s1600/AUS_6193.JPG" height="368" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A water tab for humans aswell as animals... </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ob6b_frjfeA2Z-sPNcoY-6YAVNrLBptH3u4NqWvfrs1fc7RSjjE2soNat4MuLK5aBUVMRD_OSv4sjKfgo2U7kNKwQ6y7kIqrSpdVwRyzx7HqlkfR_wGeyqkibMzrJBuwKj9S3sFaPK8/s1600/AUS_6197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ob6b_frjfeA2Z-sPNcoY-6YAVNrLBptH3u4NqWvfrs1fc7RSjjE2soNat4MuLK5aBUVMRD_OSv4sjKfgo2U7kNKwQ6y7kIqrSpdVwRyzx7HqlkfR_wGeyqkibMzrJBuwKj9S3sFaPK8/s1600/AUS_6197.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIuJpqmZcbwmc9JkgtRln4MD0LyoVgo3bhQJmjMT1Q3AYQf9TVRe45P6_9GrsRJCzNpZhTf3l7Rkm4I2qYxvYgQMuNcsXoJ_o2oo8dUzV7x7QRIRpAwcKkhvllBAW0cjBg-8ahbBqCUs/s1600/AUS_6202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIuJpqmZcbwmc9JkgtRln4MD0LyoVgo3bhQJmjMT1Q3AYQf9TVRe45P6_9GrsRJCzNpZhTf3l7Rkm4I2qYxvYgQMuNcsXoJ_o2oo8dUzV7x7QRIRpAwcKkhvllBAW0cjBg-8ahbBqCUs/s1600/AUS_6202.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgtklFljs_RVur6nmRsI1uqd65ZcJFgsZqBsqHtv8ttldqTp-d6pm_9I5x4bud5Ng-EEF372wbpVeJCXxSRv6CL3mOhjrY5J2e8ze1Z9cz1WLdMrpO8dJNfgrtRW5JCFbtrpmhKf_KCw/s1600/AUS_6234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgtklFljs_RVur6nmRsI1uqd65ZcJFgsZqBsqHtv8ttldqTp-d6pm_9I5x4bud5Ng-EEF372wbpVeJCXxSRv6CL3mOhjrY5J2e8ze1Z9cz1WLdMrpO8dJNfgrtRW5JCFbtrpmhKf_KCw/s1600/AUS_6234.JPG" height="388" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Bye.. Thanks for entertaining us during our lunch break</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Sunday 2<sup>nd</sup> November</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">An even colder night again, the last 3
nights have we both been lying awake for several hours in the middle of the
night, simply because we were too cold to fall asleep again. Almost even more
annoying is it, that as soon as the sun rises over the horizon it doesn’t take
more than maximum 2 hours, before it’s so unbearable hot in the car, and we
then have to get out of it! That’s just the tough life in the deserts!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">Today we didn’t do much else than
driving and fueling! In the end of the
day, when we had crossed the border to South Australia, we stopped to fuel-up
at Nullarbor roadhouse. Lisbeth had read that there should be some caves behind
the roadhouse, so after getting directions to them, we drove the 10km out to
the biggest cave, on one of the worst dirt roads we’ve experienced. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">The cave
was in the middle of the outback/desert, so no matter which direction we looked
there was just totally flat. Not that we haven’t seen that a 1000 times on this
road trip, but the facts that we were the only ones there and we had 307 km to
the nearest town, and we were about to climb down the cave with our headlamps
on, and explore, just as the sun was setting over the flat horizon, made it
pretty special anyway. </span>It smelled really bad of bats down
there, but we explored some of the cave, amongst spiders, lizards, and a couple
of bigger “things” that we couldn’t see, only hear, when they moved around in
the high grass just next to us. When we got back up to the car, Lisbeth made
some soup for dinner – none of us were very hungry – probably because of too
many sweets on the roads… Even though we were in the middle of the desert,
there was a quite strong wind and the car was much higher than the vegetation
around us, this evening didn’t feel as cold. We had a nice warm night for the
first time since we left Perth. We drove 683km.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjND0o9nBXcYow4nL8PwAAk-WfGUgPYDTWB-ZKxDVGsWuR4cxKLP7fzKr1REvWrKYdKWkTeGxPSH9E_sFZK-990K0jP0AfhkxlL0nD3MYkkiSGBZGKRjkYodTF5gb4Z7xlmXNy244AY8sQ/s1600/AUS_6248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjND0o9nBXcYow4nL8PwAAk-WfGUgPYDTWB-ZKxDVGsWuR4cxKLP7fzKr1REvWrKYdKWkTeGxPSH9E_sFZK-990K0jP0AfhkxlL0nD3MYkkiSGBZGKRjkYodTF5gb4Z7xlmXNy244AY8sQ/s1600/AUS_6248.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1WGGUr6I2in6npmvOty_fAvE4H5kZDWxpUv-oCjMMKp0K4kOvAAJrZ9XMI7jaHOQ12sIUkVWyKI3CJDBmaIG_MZ38A8wynmAqeJiwdqnOXSfA8ARywCAwerldVU57TSzCWOnzM_KaDA/s1600/AUS_6270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1WGGUr6I2in6npmvOty_fAvE4H5kZDWxpUv-oCjMMKp0K4kOvAAJrZ9XMI7jaHOQ12sIUkVWyKI3CJDBmaIG_MZ38A8wynmAqeJiwdqnOXSfA8ARywCAwerldVU57TSzCWOnzM_KaDA/s1600/AUS_6270.JPG" height="248" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Isolated and flat = Nullarbor Roadhouse</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Western Australia Video (Southern part)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/l9DUqBrajcM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Monday 3<sup>rd</sup> November</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">Another day on the roads, but more
important than the others, because we decided to make the 230km detour down to Port
Lincoln, the Tuna Capital of the World! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">It was my plan all the time to go here,
because it’s the only place in Australia where you can dive with white pointers
or great white shark. But sadly for me, “we” canceled those plans, of several
reasons – the price being the biggest! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">Apart for being known world-wide for
being a place to dive with great white’s, and the place, where the scariest
scenes from “Jaws” was shot, this town is also a big fishing town, and well
known for its sublime seafood options. This is the reason why we ventured here
anyway. Lisbeth has been talking about getting a good seafood dinner, at a
restaurant, since we came to the West coast more than a month ago. That didn’t
happen, so now we decided the time had come. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">We got some cheap gas on when we
arrived in Port Lincoln, autogas is a widely used fuel for cars in the southern
states, so not only can we get it everywhere, compared to the north, but also
the prices is almost half of what we paid in the Northern Territory. We like
that! At the gas station, we got the name of a couple of good seafood
restaurants in town, and picked Marina Hotel… NOT a bad choice at all, we
splashed out, and got a glass of white wine as well. Lisbeth got a spicy
seafood and pasta dish, with scallops, king prawns and whiting wrapped in
pancetta. I chose the atlantic salmon served on a bed of hot potato salad,
lemon butter sauce and fresh asparagus.
We were in heaven! All together we paid 65 dollars (338kr). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">Another thing that made us very happy,
was when we realized that because we now are 2500km’s more east than Perth, the
sun is also setting later in the evenings – so while enjoying our dinner on the
Marina, we had sunlight until 8.30pm. That’s a new record, since we started
travelling…. Yeehaa! We drove around 80
km’s north of town, and then 8 km on a very good dirt road, until reaching a free
camp spot with toilets. The next day we would reach Adelaide. This day came to 799km. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrtfhRSL-dzjDSwfs1Ak2CbGJ6S8BUmV2G2k2Tvghb5YkXc9LpfBYGArkacBWj9efjCvPfk2F_wL-oKVckt_D9zuQ07sFz6Hf3ZCJsSN_S9YX7jrkhkEiosztvp02VbqKS7KyddDwKB8/s1600/AUS_6251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrtfhRSL-dzjDSwfs1Ak2CbGJ6S8BUmV2G2k2Tvghb5YkXc9LpfBYGArkacBWj9efjCvPfk2F_wL-oKVckt_D9zuQ07sFz6Hf3ZCJsSN_S9YX7jrkhkEiosztvp02VbqKS7KyddDwKB8/s1600/AUS_6251.JPG" height="272" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Camels, wombats and of course the kangaroos</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Unreal coastline</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span id="goog_1264277236"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09828578618884464538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-63344932070811536252014-11-05T13:57:00.001+01:002014-11-05T13:57:27.980+01:00The Coral Coast & Perth<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Wednesday
15<sup>th</sup> – Thursday 16<sup>th </sup>October</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We left
Monkey Mia and drove towards Kalbarri National Park (the Aussies are crazy with
their National Parks – every big green area is classified as a national park!) This
day we reached Murchison River, just north of the park. Here we decided to get our
12 hours beauty sleep before exploring the park. Distance = 334km. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Thursday we explored
the bushland in Kalbarri National Park, saw beautiful gorges (think we have
seen enough of them now), and visited the natural rock arch called Natures Window.
The ocean drive south of the park, had some spectacular lookouts and impressive
eroded cliffs. We stopped several places and went for small walks on top of the
cliffs. In the afternoon we reached Geraldton and soon it was time to stop in
and have a rest again. We drove 429km.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxYc8_a2E6Mx3G7DZ5oyRWa8TwhIhH2fVKaTR_qY0tdpQVdMCVUbqtsjfqrK9OCvZm3Ug6slx5fG8bLbENm27d8EdYPoVAl7wcrz6CQHgCQ87Jiqyr-l1sDoPNkYiMTE25cueMxE7dTY/s1600/AUS_5033.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxYc8_a2E6Mx3G7DZ5oyRWa8TwhIhH2fVKaTR_qY0tdpQVdMCVUbqtsjfqrK9OCvZm3Ug6slx5fG8bLbENm27d8EdYPoVAl7wcrz6CQHgCQ87Jiqyr-l1sDoPNkYiMTE25cueMxE7dTY/s1600/AUS_5033.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0HRbB2vMrmtv5j1nga7esSLQXRhGHyRR__7XnE4nglU93lvTfzLFKidEDh0eReuNR-MIMoindwL53Og6nXVLEKmwqX7AaOOl3FZ15jXaChHWlHGcRW0GgoiXonrwbrUke8DkFXdUCro/s1600/AUS_5064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0HRbB2vMrmtv5j1nga7esSLQXRhGHyRR__7XnE4nglU93lvTfzLFKidEDh0eReuNR-MIMoindwL53Og6nXVLEKmwqX7AaOOl3FZ15jXaChHWlHGcRW0GgoiXonrwbrUke8DkFXdUCro/s1600/AUS_5064.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kalbarri National Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEk3kAmmGkTT4YqTM2WP8rabJC6uJXxzk8VfCq0nX4egB_tB2q5SrJNKOx6XWXHImvVnIrqWNal4ff6JFTgdBrR8IWEiiSy_xncFg2GY2P1EBFOGf_zUBBhP-PJ29rtYcZR91CI6CN0xk/s1600/AUS_5080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEk3kAmmGkTT4YqTM2WP8rabJC6uJXxzk8VfCq0nX4egB_tB2q5SrJNKOx6XWXHImvVnIrqWNal4ff6JFTgdBrR8IWEiiSy_xncFg2GY2P1EBFOGf_zUBBhP-PJ29rtYcZR91CI6CN0xk/s1600/AUS_5080.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nature's Window</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGR1MmJQ3PTvyCmWzStTikSihGkYtWlaZJ9969LIMjUlimMYmcYO3Qk4Xf2xj6W8fCiUC93fBCro8okrjqavtSG4RCjX2Xt2M3Ol4cj04aFYO_YnOBI6eBwsA8ROWvwO0lnHmGZzyma0Y/s1600/AUS_5086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGR1MmJQ3PTvyCmWzStTikSihGkYtWlaZJ9969LIMjUlimMYmcYO3Qk4Xf2xj6W8fCiUC93fBCro8okrjqavtSG4RCjX2Xt2M3Ol4cj04aFYO_YnOBI6eBwsA8ROWvwO0lnHmGZzyma0Y/s1600/AUS_5086.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31n1iIaIyOFg-VvcmIbaEQidDb5tZvD7Eg5R9oatG4eOJTpE-8s-boXScmaxnSz-uqYRK__FCMIjzs8wHm3XnBFDMMXyK04WNJgg0_p4uZFC6baRsxKSp3AVLkQHxO21jLTBrqP55C5Y/s1600/AUS_5109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31n1iIaIyOFg-VvcmIbaEQidDb5tZvD7Eg5R9oatG4eOJTpE-8s-boXScmaxnSz-uqYRK__FCMIjzs8wHm3XnBFDMMXyK04WNJgg0_p4uZFC6baRsxKSp3AVLkQHxO21jLTBrqP55C5Y/s1600/AUS_5109.JPG" height="396" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A commen blue-tongue lizard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvAhjen2vFu5XV0FWGOhT29MFmQS4miO11hD0Hc0iOLti2N6b4-Yhr4zdGy4WyQHe0jCYr20IP2D7bxnlpA_oLW4WM270uk45zw4mvc_9uUDmaCc-56nEda8jGJdV8KSrVE_KQnsa3QY/s1600/AUS_5205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvAhjen2vFu5XV0FWGOhT29MFmQS4miO11hD0Hc0iOLti2N6b4-Yhr4zdGy4WyQHe0jCYr20IP2D7bxnlpA_oLW4WM270uk45zw4mvc_9uUDmaCc-56nEda8jGJdV8KSrVE_KQnsa3QY/s1600/AUS_5205.JPG" height="318" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was the same size as an big foot. We see them a lot on the roads.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglloaKatBUx3LjJCQdNN1eYSU-133ItGiHQGTWIxvMHjVH6nJKCX5_9hi2wvv2ttPVsFRbblqPam5XHwfstJMhwnu7xYuboIVLdXBYVW5nsQ7KN42_Mlx500u2WssLN8Gn1DnuUyHz0r4/s1600/AUS_5291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglloaKatBUx3LjJCQdNN1eYSU-133ItGiHQGTWIxvMHjVH6nJKCX5_9hi2wvv2ttPVsFRbblqPam5XHwfstJMhwnu7xYuboIVLdXBYVW5nsQ7KN42_Mlx500u2WssLN8Gn1DnuUyHz0r4/s1600/AUS_5291.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The west coast when it's best.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Friday 17<sup>th</sup>
– Saturday 18<sup>th</sup> October</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We drove
out to one of Green heads beautiful bays and enjoyed our breakfast and the
morning there. In Jurien Bay, 35 km further south, we had lunch that almost got
stolen by a seagull – if it hadn’t been for Erik’s quick reaction we had lost
our toasted bread. At night we planned to watch the sunset over the Pinnacles
Desert, it was close by so we took it easy all day, and relaxed in the places
we went. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">During the last two days had our car got a scratching sound from the
engine, Erik new what it was – and would change it (a bad bearing in one of the drive
belt idlers) when we would reach Perth in two days. But in Cervantes the bad
idler decided that it didn’t wanted to travel with us anymore. We just finished
a short walk on the beach and started the car again, when it started to smell
burned. The bearing in the idler was totally stuck, so the drive belt slided
over the idler wheel, instead of running together with it. Luckily Erik had an idea, he took
as much tension of the belt, so it still drove all the important things around,
but the pressure on the bad wheel was minimal, and to reduce it even more, he came
a bit of oil on the outside of the belt, so it slided almost friction-free over the stuck idler. Luckily, there was under 2 km to the nearest gas
station, where the helpful owner happened to have a big garage and some race
cars behind the gas station. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Erik got a used idler from the owner, who was
cleaning the garage just as we came, and he had just thrown the used idler in
the bin. When Erik dismounted the old broken one on our car, he realized that
it was exact the same size as the one the nice guy had. Just another shape,
Erik got around that problem pretty fast, so within 15 minutes the car was
running soundless again! It’s amazing how helpful and friendly the Aussies are
– In Denmark there would have been a charge on every single thing that we had used,
but here Erik borrowed the tools, and was given the wheel for free. We even got
a nice chat and a free beer while Erik replaced the spare part. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">In Denmark we
have a lot to learn from the sentence: What goes around comes around! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We were
on the road again, and on our way to the Nambung National Park, which is home
to the spectacular Pinnacles Desert. It’s thousands of limestone pillars that
rise up from the desert floor. A 4km loop road runs through the formations.
Just before sunset we started walking one of the trails around all the
magnificent stones. It was a very unique experience. We drove back to Green
Head and slept near the beach on a free campground. It was cloudy and we could
see a thunderstorm far away. We started cooking our dinner (pasta and pesto),
and soon it began to rain. The first rain we have had since we were in Cairns
(middle of July). We hurried up with our dinner and seeked shelter in the car
afterwards. Distance = 250km. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The day after we woke up to warm, windy and dry
weather. We explored the white sand dunes in the morning, and drove down to Lancelin.
Here we worked on the blog for a bit, and just when we started driving again,
it started raining again. A couple of days ago we had arranged to visit the
family we met in Karijini National Park, and they had time to see us on sunday. </span><span style="font-size: small;">They live in Fremantle, south of Perth. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We didn’t want to book a hostel in
Perth for just one night, although it was tempting, taking the weather into
consideration and the fact that we were close to Perth. But NO, we stayed on a
free campground near Moore River. Luckily there was a concrete bench with roof
over, so we could cook our dinner without being soaked. We even had good
company from home (Erik’s mom, husband and aunt via Skype) while we were eating.
So frankly we felt like home (windy, rainy and well-known people). We drove
110km this day.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Green Head's surfing spot</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Green Head Bay</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Magic...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The invisible chair</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
This little fellow was just crossing the road when it got distracted by some stupid tourists.</div>
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What should I do without my travel partner...</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The Pinnacles Desert</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
This was Erik's discovery.. He's pretty good at spotting wildlife!</div>
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<b>Wild life on the roads - video</b></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/uCQtGfzU0tg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Sunday 19<sup>th</sup>
October</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">
<span lang="EN-US">We made our
way to our friends in Bicton near Fremantle (Scott & Andrea and their two
children Ruby 12 & Sauley 14.) They had invited us to stay with them, so we
could get our laundry done and sleep in a prober bed for a few days. Again the Aussies
hospitality is amazing – we have learned a lot from their kindly and easy going
behavior. So we checked into our 5 star hotel room with free wifi, free rental
of bikes and a nice view over the park. We couldn’t ask for more. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Andy (Andrea)
advised us to check out the sunday market in Freo (Fremantle). It was great -
it had a wide selection of homemade products, fresh and CHEAP fruit and
vegetables, and lots of nice little shops with paintings, souvenirs, clothes
etc. We stocked up on fruit and veggies and planned to cook dinner for the next
couple of days. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Freo has a lot of microbreweries and we sampled one of ‘Sail
& Anchors’ beers before we went back. Andy cooked us dinner that night and
we had a great time with the whole family.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">This is one of the reasons why it's best to have a 4 wheel drive 'Down Under'..</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Monday 20<sup>th</sup>
– Tuesday 21<sup>st</sup> October</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Sleeping in
a normal bed made us sleep like little babies. It was awesome just to relax and
do nothing. In the afternoon we biked into Freo. It’s such a gorgeous bike ride
along the river, passing the harbours and the esplanade. Freo is such a
beautiful city with plenty of cafes, restaurants and small special shops. We
quickly fell in love with that place. </span>We cooked Andy, Scott and their children
a nice barbeque and had another good night in their company. </div>
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The next day we
ventured into the city. We started in Kings Park and the botanic garden.
There’s a wonderful view from the top of the park over Perth city. The flowers
had just started to bloom, so it was quite beautiful everywhere. We then spend
most of the day wandering around in Perth city. </div>
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We found small hidden laneways
with plenty of food and beverage options – there’s a lot of Asian food options
all around Australia’s cities, and I must admit that we really like those
carbohydrate filled dishes, and especially because they’re the cheapest ones.
We got two dishes for $15 (78kr), that’s the same price as one burger without
fries would have cost us next door. </div>
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I found a cheap beauty salon (owned by
Asians, off cause) where I got my eye browns tinted for $15 (78kr). It’s one of
the only personal pamper treatments I can’t live without. </div>
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In the afternoon we
drove ‘home’ and spoiled ourselves, and the family with homemade pizza – and a
lot of it. They had provided us drinks for the first two nights, so it was now
our turn. The best thing we could come up with, was to introduce them to Carlsberg.
Yes, we can buy them in most liquor stores, but they’re expensive 45-47 dollars
(240-260kr) for a box with 24 bottles. Actually they’re the same price as most
of the Australian brands. They are all god damn expensive! Anyway, Scott knew
the brand, but didn’t know it was Danish. We enjoyed another night in their
company. It’s amazing how easy going they were, and their children were so well
behaved (maybe because we were there), but they really seemed like a solid
family with their hearts in the right place. They put a lot of energy into
remembering holidays and special moments together. One of the things we
especially liked, was their flat screen tv facing the kitchen and dining room,
showing pictures from all their holidays and funny moments together ALL the
time – No normal television on it! </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Kings Park</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">View from Kings Park</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Candy makers</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">London Court (a hidden laneway in the middle of Perth)</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> Near </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cottesloe Beach</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Happy Happy</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Wednesday
22<sup>nd</sup> October</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Our time in
Perth have all the time being dedicated to catch up with old and new friends. I
had some friends, who I met back in Canada that I wanted to meet up with, and
we both met another friend in Indonesia, who we were gonna hang out with as
well. It didn’t quite worked out the way we hoped, however they could all meet us
during the weekend, but none of them had time before. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We had some mixed
feelings about our circumstances, we didn’t want to bug Scott and Andy more,
they had already let us stay there for three days. I mean they probably had
other stuff to do, than to hang out with strange backpackers. We also thought
it was a long time, just to hang around and wait for people to be ready. We talked
about booking a hostel in the city and stay there till friday. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">When we told
Scott and Andy about our situation, they were totally cool and ensured us that
it wouldn’t be a problem, if we stayed at theirs till friday. Pure luxury that was! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">This day
we jumped on the bikes again, brought some fresh fruit and wine, and then we
were ready to explore some of the unique surroundings. This area is definitely
a place where we could see ourselves living, it’s got everything – it’s
surrounded by water, close to spectacular beaches, good diving spots and a nice
city, not too big not too small, but perfect. We just need to figure out a way
to earn enough money, to be able to live in one of the big houses. A part from
the daydreaming, we saw black swans for the first time. Erik wasn’t as excited
as me, but they were gorgeous. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We had a hard time finding a spot, good enough
to do some more daydreaming and consume the alcohol we brought. Here in
Australia you get fines for drinking in public areas – we didn’t want to risk
that, so we found a remote place on the beach, away from the big group of newly
baked moms and their new born babies. We got the world’s problems turned up and
down this afternoon. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Later when we biked back towards home, we found ourselves
spending a lot of time, watching a bunch of kids jumping of 10m high cliffs.
After two bottles of wine we were in a good mood. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We agreed (luckily) to bike
into Freo and try some of the local beers from some of the microbreweries.
While we were sitting at ‘The Monk’ sipping our beers it started raining, so we
moved inside. Here we started missing going out at home, and not have to worry
about money all the time, but just enjoy it. We got hungry while watching other
people eat, to save money we finished our drinks and went across the street,
where they served CHEAP kebab, compared to the food prices at ‘The Monk’. The
rain had luckily stopped when we decided it was time to go home, so we biked
the 6-7km ‘home’ without getting soaked. Oh what a day!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday 23<sup>rd</sup>
October</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We planned
to do as little as possible. We had to get our last laundry done, wash, vacuum
and pack the car before we were leaving the next morning. We just placed ourselves
outside on the terrace with our heads buried in our laptops, when our plans got
changed. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">My friend Terry, who I met in Canada 6 years ago (he visited me in
Fredericia five years ago and that’s the last time we spoke) messaged us saying
him and his Misses (Nadya) could meet us in Freo the same afternoon. It was
great and exciting, but we had to begin working on getting the car ready then -
however getting away from our laptops can sometimes take a while. It all worked
out fine in the end, and we were only half an hour behind schedule. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We met up
on Norfolk Hotel and the afternoon and evening went by really fast with
chatting, catching up and drinking beers in the bar. They invited us home for
late dinner, but unfortunately we ran into a problem. We couldn’t get any big
cabs that could fit our bikes, and we got lost when we tried to bike to their
house. I was getting cold, and thinking about how early we had to get up the
next morning, made us realize it was a bad idea to drink more beers and stay
out later. It was a shame because we had a good time, but we also had a day
tomorrow (that’s a sentence you only say when you are getting too old for
drinking). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Friday 24<sup>th</sup>
October</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We woke up
as planned, and definitely didn’t regret that we went home early last night. We
had absolutely no energy and our heads felt like a train crash. Thinking about
the food and wine tour we signed up for didn’t make us feel any better. Anyhow
we got our last stuff sorted in the car and said goodbye to Andy, Scott, Ruby
and Sauley. It had been a pleasure staying with them. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We went into Perth and
dropped our car off at the hostel we perhaps had to stay at for the night. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We
hadn’t planned any specific accommodation with my friend Tim (also one of the guys
I met in Canada – us travelers stick together, there may be years in between,
where we don’t talk or see each other, but we will stick together for a
lifetime – last time I saw Tim was in Copenhagen two years ago). So we left the
car at the hostel, and jumped on a free city bus to the city center, and then
further on to the ‘Food and wine tasting aka. Speed Grazing’ tour bus. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We were
lethargic and drowsy (no wonder after four days of constantly drinking – it’s
gotta stop at some point!). The tour was $85 (442kr) each and would take us to
9 different venues in the Swan Valley, just 30 min. out of Perth. We collected
new and fresh energy by napping most of the way out there. First stop was at a
coffee factory – still, none of us drink coffee, but it was a perfect way to
get the last bit of energy and get fit for fight, for the busy day ahead of us. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We visited a honey farm, different shops with all kinds of spreading, chutneys
and jams, a nougat factory, a chocolate shop, a homemade ice cream boutique –
all with free samples of cause. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We were a bit disappointed when we found out,
that we were only going to visit one vineyard (maybe it was for the best). The
Asians in our group poured most of their wine out in the buckets provided...
However we ensured that we got some value for our money. Clever people don’t
throw out alcohol! We got back to the city around 1pm, had a quick bite and
then went back to check in to the hostel. Tim finally messaged us and we
arranged to meet up the following day. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Erik had been chatting back and forth during
the day with Tony, a guy we met back in Indonesia. He was keen for meeting us
and catching up, all though he also had his parents from New Zealand visiting.
We were knackered and exhausted but it seemed like our only chance to catch up
with him. We met up in a park across the river - a beautiful spot with view
over Perth. Tony and his parents had already made barbeque dinner when we got
there, so we sat down and joined them. It was great and we got a new contact in
New Zealand. A win-win situation! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">They planned to go to a jazz concert later
on. It was impossible to book the ticket beforehand, so we went to the place but
was turned away together with a lot of other people, apparently the tickets
were gone already, and the ticket sale had started an hour earlier than written
on their homepage. The jazz seems to be really popular here, maybe that’s our
key to earning money here – opening a jazz house! We found out that there was
some comedy going on at Brisbane Hotel, so after driving around the city,
killing time plus watching the sunset over the city, we went to watch
Australian comedy. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Erik was asked for ID at the entrance, but only had his MasterCard
with him – luckily the bouncer accepted and believed Erik when he with the
biggest smile ever, told him that he was 11 years older than the age limit.
What a compliment though! </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">The place was the same size as ‘pakhuset’ I Fredericia, and
the comedy was great considering the money we paid for it, $20 (104kr) each. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We
were extremely tired when it was over, and called it a night. Now it was time
to get a rest and some prober sleep. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The hostel we stayed at, was owned by
Asians, very low standard compared to Australia, and all the visitors was
surprisingly, also Asians. It was like stepping back in time, if it hadn’t been
for this weird older woman staying in our room. At first sight she didn’t greet
Erik and when I entered the room she came out from her cave, her lower bunk bed
was covered in blankets and I didn’t see her before she asked me “How long are
you staying for? Usually we don’t have men in this room”. She didn’t even want
to speak to Erik, and she didn’t seem happy about his appearance. You could
tell on her hoarse voice and her nicotine yellow teeth, that most of her daily
consumption was consisting of cigarettes and a lot of them, probably quite an
amount of coffee as well. We ensured her that the manager was well informed by
Erik’s appearance in the dorm room, and she went back to her cave. We were happy
that we should only stay one night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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Goodbye picture.. From right: Ruby, Andy, Us, Scott & Sauley<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmQBhREdgTo9d3MDyzpNqtblve9xlsa0T3ZhdyFe97e168sQlQsLzxGntyDpio57zkNu5yqhpTTok8Jz70VPIgb_mgUn1KxD-Bnad6eFPuq-MmH9QD6yhCealgW0phWxXHQ2QL0NtClCU/s1600/AUS_5662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmQBhREdgTo9d3MDyzpNqtblve9xlsa0T3ZhdyFe97e168sQlQsLzxGntyDpio57zkNu5yqhpTTok8Jz70VPIgb_mgUn1KxD-Bnad6eFPuq-MmH9QD6yhCealgW0phWxXHQ2QL0NtClCU/s1600/AUS_5662.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
Coffee is the new black..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6vP3vd41vqN2Fv89MImbvQu4qO7BL6wXhIJn0DAyRX2c9NfZNjDFcNwk7l_MQYif44kVBy6Pf0xszj0zJqd0QazkzwXHMup1dPryu5EPe0iHihmSx6tDT2qd9OIkX6zaopsJanI-XMY/s1600/AUS_5664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6vP3vd41vqN2Fv89MImbvQu4qO7BL6wXhIJn0DAyRX2c9NfZNjDFcNwk7l_MQYif44kVBy6Pf0xszj0zJqd0QazkzwXHMup1dPryu5EPe0iHihmSx6tDT2qd9OIkX6zaopsJanI-XMY/s1600/AUS_5664.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
Coffee with alcohol taste..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VaPm6_o-dJuSDVudlHO9_Z4189UocYlgb3uVH7ZMDOUTrzL3FWv03DwqwrDV6qD5zYzfJwdOQYUd30MXgQoHihudtlmgn5CqsCevOVNydvEGaenmMzDQvDmIT_DKDEIFsxSFQiQ04N4/s1600/AUS_5667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VaPm6_o-dJuSDVudlHO9_Z4189UocYlgb3uVH7ZMDOUTrzL3FWv03DwqwrDV6qD5zYzfJwdOQYUd30MXgQoHihudtlmgn5CqsCevOVNydvEGaenmMzDQvDmIT_DKDEIFsxSFQiQ04N4/s1600/AUS_5667.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
We got tired of honey tasting, so we went out to chat with these guys...<br />
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This is what happens when I don't get enough sleep...<br />
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Wild flowers VS<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Chocolate flowers</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-size: medium;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-size: medium;">Saturday 25<sup>th</sup>
October</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We felt fit
for fight after a long beauty sleep. There was breakfast included in the $25 (130kr)
we paid for each dorm bed, and honestly we knew we shouldn’t have high thoughts
about it – it was exactly what we thought it would be, toast bread with jam.
That wasn’t gonna keep us full for very long. You get what you pay for! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We had
arranged to go and see Timmy, he used to live in Perth, but is currently
staying everywhere and nowhere. His girlfriend is Canadian, so when he’s not
working in the mines north of Perth, he’s in Canada or staying at mates places
in Perth. At the moment he was living on a mate’s couch, so we went to see him
there. Funny enough this mate of his (Adam), was also in Canada when I was there. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">I remembered his face and hearing his name sounded familiar, but we never
really communicated back then. I looked him up on facebook and found a picture
of him and Steffi hugging – so he had definitely been around at the same time
as me. Anyway now we were in his apartment, hanging out and doing some serious daytime
drinking. It was great. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">In the evening we went out, first to a casino where
both Erik and I were asked for ID. I think it was awkward for the doorkeeper, because
she was at least 5 years younger than us. So the conclusion is: we might feel
old but, we don’t look older than 18. However I think the main reason was based
on our clothing. We don’t really have any ‘going out’ clothes, it’s all worn
out and a bit dirty here and there. After this coincidence it was probably most
clever to go back home and get our passports, so we could experience Perth’s
nightlife scene. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We went to ‘The Elephant Bar’ and got inside without further
problems, now that we had our passports. All though a couple of hours later, we
were leaded out of the bar by a bouncer, yes for some unknown reason, we were
asked to leave the bar – it’s probably for the same reason as it was back in
Sydney. We had too much fun, and according to their strict rules about drinking,
they didn’t want us there any longer. We went to grab a quick bite before we
headed ‘home’. Then the cab driver was giving us a hard time, and when Timmy
started swearing at him, he threw us out on the street. What a circus! Some
Aussies swear a lot though, and Timmy is one of them. After a while we got another cab.
There are no more crazy scenes to report from this night. We had parked Migaloo
just outside Adam’s apartment. We slept out there, and could use his toilet and
shower, as much as we wanted. So it was fine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Perth by night - bad quality cause the picture is taken with an Iphone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sunday 26<sup>th</sup>
October</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We were
feeling like crap when we woke up. Very shocking considering our big night out! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The day went by with recovering, feeling sorry for ourselves, eating unhealthy
food and watching movies. Timmy had been on about a “sunday session”, meaning
more alcohol and going out again. Frankly I wasn’t in the mood for drinking
anything except for water. All though in the late afternoon when Steve (another
guy from my time in Canada) and his girlfriend Natasha popped by, we were on it
again. I consider a sunday session to be more down to earth and relaxed than a saturday
night out. At least that’s how it was for us this day. We went into a pub in
the city, the guys called it a shithole, but cheap on sundays! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">A random guy in
the pub had too much fun and wouldn’t leave when the bouncers ask him to. We
didn’t see the whole confrontation, he might have been acting provocative against
the bouncers and resisted to leave, but no matter what happened it didn’t give
the bouncers the right to beat the shit out of him like they did. They were big
enough to drag him out if they wanted, but they decided to beat him up in the middle
of the pub. It was crazy. The bouncers here are dedicated control freaks, they
use their power the wrong ways, and the worst thing is that they get away with it.
I guess we were lucky yesterday then! An there's a reason why they call it a 'shithole'. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Terry came along just when the show was
over. We all sat down and enjoyed a few ciders together, and again time was flying and
soon it was time to say goodbye, to a part of the old Banff crew (Terry and
Steve). We went home to Adam with Timmy again and slept like babies during the
night. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Next morning we left Perth. It had been a crazy and drunk weekend and we
were beer’ed out. No alcohol or what so ever the next week or two. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Tim, Terry and Steve</div>
</div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Western Australia (North) Video</b></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/JlJKR0KSwL8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09828578618884464538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-38466523837424059612014-10-26T07:30:00.001+01:002014-10-26T07:30:38.812+01:00Volunteers at Monkey Mia DOLPHIN Resort<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Friday 10<sup>th</sup>
October – Wednesday 15<sup>th</sup> October</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We had our
induction about the dolphins in Monkey Mia and how a normally working day is
there. Monkey Mia is located in Shark Bay World Heritage, which is one of the most
popular tourism destinations in Western Australia. Visitors come from all over
the world, to experience the wild encounters with the dolphins. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The dolphins
visit the beach every day, and five specific female dolphins are offered fish
three times daily. The feeding times are up to the dolphins. There are days
when they don’t visit the beach, however those days are rare. The rangers
constantly have an eye on the beach and report to us (the volunteers) which dolphins are in the
area. We write the times and the dolphins names in the diary. There’s about 1600
dolphins in the bay and surprisingly enough, the rangers can tell the difference
on most of them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the office where we are, there’s a thick book with pictures
with dorsal fins and about 200 different of them. They are the ones visiting
the beach regularly. All dolphins have marks or rakes from either boat
propellers and/or shark bites. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When the rangers discover that some of the five
dolphins we feed, are in the area, we start an experience. That means we have 25
min. to prepare the fish for the dolphins, while the rangers gather the visitors on
the beach and tell them the history behind the dolphin project in Monkey Mia. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The indo-pacific
bottlenose dolphin story started in 1950’s, when local fishermen began sharing
their catch with some local dolphins, which followed them into the inshore area.
The dolphins continued to follow the fishermen, and when the jetty was built they
began to seek hand-outs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In 1964 a lady hand fed a dolphin from her boat and
soon the feeding became a routine for the dolphins. Over the years the dolphins
grew trust to humans and with time, also got fish from the beach, by locals and
visitors. As a result to that, the dolphins lost their wild instincts and their
ability to hunt. The calves of some overfed dolphins starved to death because
of neglect by their mothers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The public feeding was stopped immediately, when
this was discovered, and today the dolphins are only fed under strict
supervision of Departments of Parks and Wildlife officers (rangers). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">They only get a
small amount of fish from us, actually only a snack between 300-500g per
feeding. That keeps the dolphins wild. Their average food intake is between
10-12 kg per day. So they are able to support themselves in the environment and
hunt naturally, plus they teach their calves the important survival skills.
When the rangers have finished their speech, we go down to the beach, with the fish in buckets. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sometimes there are only two or
three dolphins at a feed, and other times we have all five of them. Again it’s
up to the dolphins. We take it as a good sign when they don’t show up. It means
that they get enough to eat from their own hunt. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was a bit chaotic one of
the days, when we had some dolphin males in the area as well. The males are not fed
because they tend to be more aggressive towards humans and other dolphins. At
this specific feeding, they were interacting with the females and tale slapping
in front of the whole crowd, right on the beach. It was quite entertaining, but
also a bit dangerous for us in the water. Quickly the males left the
feeding area again and we could begin picking people out from the crowd, and
invite them to hand feed the dolphins - what everyone is there for!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
dolphins are very gentle and nice to us, one of the dolphins are pregnant, at the
moment she loves to rub her big belly on our legs, others put their nose
between our legs, or push our legs with their fins to swim backwards. We’re not
allowed to touch them, but they touch us all the time… It’s amazing! <o:p></o:p></span>We work 4½ hour per day, and most of that time is spend on preparing the fish and interacting with the dolphins, the rest of the time is almost just spend on relaxing and chatting to the other volunteers.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9M25Zbvlr3Q8jsOoUFELPLKNNBAGPv9xZ-HC0lCESLKwFOeVNQciNjYOV_p-6fusiOW-m8rifdM-UApDVE8Y0BcfwugQ0lWGlqA4MKDzlQKWXjw0jkyK5Q2NPVTWv37AgQMzBcKL934Y/s1600/AUS_4680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9M25Zbvlr3Q8jsOoUFELPLKNNBAGPv9xZ-HC0lCESLKwFOeVNQciNjYOV_p-6fusiOW-m8rifdM-UApDVE8Y0BcfwugQ0lWGlqA4MKDzlQKWXjw0jkyK5Q2NPVTWv37AgQMzBcKL934Y/s1600/AUS_4680.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shark Bay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJmUpvoP651bqxPODX544u7pOlRu7ZK2g3Y3w1d1iy7awxcO1UL65MmP36xp060GEjhQ1ANKF5D1EcclnEeQP4MIflCMCxQhPy8t9fDsEKu6ghAzVIbMRO6lqiX4p42Oxve1Ewe-iaeQ/s1600/AUS_4718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJmUpvoP651bqxPODX544u7pOlRu7ZK2g3Y3w1d1iy7awxcO1UL65MmP36xp060GEjhQ1ANKF5D1EcclnEeQP4MIflCMCxQhPy8t9fDsEKu6ghAzVIbMRO6lqiX4p42Oxve1Ewe-iaeQ/s1600/AUS_4718.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A normal day in the parking lot </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4WcidkvKl-S0RDw-ewbpJHyHKhUaYO9DHKTYM1xFC6VAaBLb7WbLg1aDPEMapiKz7ATP1_C4JBAEj38S59n3P0UO_NR2MtHUaGMh064f6WHyLJ2_7ynEIWY9NkH00xsm79BQFfpTFz0I/s1600/AUS_4779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4WcidkvKl-S0RDw-ewbpJHyHKhUaYO9DHKTYM1xFC6VAaBLb7WbLg1aDPEMapiKz7ATP1_C4JBAEj38S59n3P0UO_NR2MtHUaGMh064f6WHyLJ2_7ynEIWY9NkH00xsm79BQFfpTFz0I/s1600/AUS_4779.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The volunteer office</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1-Aem8IP1C5SmHF2jqNj7z6kZACEdFHbwI_YH7xzglSx-UOZWSc_IcUk7mMobeTwvI8bS7fUUasftvVl08YK8qO4H61d2D-HTwu5n6OE5SiJzF8GhMv7oqDLYHU3FvHsgVwp1_eaLJU/s1600/AUS_4797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1-Aem8IP1C5SmHF2jqNj7z6kZACEdFHbwI_YH7xzglSx-UOZWSc_IcUk7mMobeTwvI8bS7fUUasftvVl08YK8qO4H61d2D-HTwu5n6OE5SiJzF8GhMv7oqDLYHU3FvHsgVwp1_eaLJU/s1600/AUS_4797.JPG" height="640" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We have each dolphin record and family tree in the office. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwSsYgfrquW5Mp7oWrBFsWkBtylijQTr-SHbF-xRiqwWCVXXjmCOQ9JesXnvsaYqUpMoFaqXaG7xRuTICiatK4WEHWDp5Fp0uPPKD4ua0_IamUC44ImaPabMJA1u4ARoOvc2lefwRfQLg/s1600/AUS_4756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwSsYgfrquW5Mp7oWrBFsWkBtylijQTr-SHbF-xRiqwWCVXXjmCOQ9JesXnvsaYqUpMoFaqXaG7xRuTICiatK4WEHWDp5Fp0uPPKD4ua0_IamUC44ImaPabMJA1u4ARoOvc2lefwRfQLg/s1600/AUS_4756.JPG" height="392" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglf-SSpndHsfBkmJsRCrnErQthurNxRUOd7ZHoWOuj_wunEw_2N7fnP33cpUmR3Kn1QunY49YUXHH6D-EqGV2e7KSmm9WON0VEa2zn4X9aWz-b7QmrbQ_HLMjssGQt9rFTtN6ZK916PS8/s1600/AUS_4956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglf-SSpndHsfBkmJsRCrnErQthurNxRUOd7ZHoWOuj_wunEw_2N7fnP33cpUmR3Kn1QunY49YUXHH6D-EqGV2e7KSmm9WON0VEa2zn4X9aWz-b7QmrbQ_HLMjssGQt9rFTtN6ZK916PS8/s1600/AUS_4956.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the office.. Loved it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6yA22eWg60gEkYFCrIwNIVgjbl51Wl4yE-lsSFNphv8tqwegW_s_XDn2YxHwDqidVI85GQFMXivdy1TB2USmOh78OdlcEkvlxwl8Y2lwV5vVqYMKwlls2_pAFsCsvCKzKiM6hjSdljE/s1600/AUS_4802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6yA22eWg60gEkYFCrIwNIVgjbl51Wl4yE-lsSFNphv8tqwegW_s_XDn2YxHwDqidVI85GQFMXivdy1TB2USmOh78OdlcEkvlxwl8Y2lwV5vVqYMKwlls2_pAFsCsvCKzKiM6hjSdljE/s1600/AUS_4802.JPG" height="640" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was the best reason to get early up in the morning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUM31uYlVIOEgh_1NIJb50AzazPNEPbJr-D4D9Od-_y0-PWrLHArMmlH7guUSCG1HMu9tfI_md73SIknxWysg7yBiTXHY5TfFJVl6JTPi98JR9kOsd_PqtPw-iZ44xHFkll1zdRgbvuHk/s1600/AUS_4990.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUM31uYlVIOEgh_1NIJb50AzazPNEPbJr-D4D9Od-_y0-PWrLHArMmlH7guUSCG1HMu9tfI_md73SIknxWysg7yBiTXHY5TfFJVl6JTPi98JR9kOsd_PqtPw-iZ44xHFkll1zdRgbvuHk/s1600/AUS_4990.JPG" height="416" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erik loved having Surprise (the pregnant dolphin)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcVuM5jGQlrulfMxG6wxMK7F5az8NOyl0MzI7QKFCpogGyc0n3Pv1MWCL7BzX7zklyHNFDPQV5ZKKG-L-S3nYU5jJcJ0RDDTC2-8o1qc7Dy_t6rUJSBtAM-VF54XOjtco10mC6ZIwIp-Y/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-10-12-21h58m22s96.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcVuM5jGQlrulfMxG6wxMK7F5az8NOyl0MzI7QKFCpogGyc0n3Pv1MWCL7BzX7zklyHNFDPQV5ZKKG-L-S3nYU5jJcJ0RDDTC2-8o1qc7Dy_t6rUJSBtAM-VF54XOjtco10mC6ZIwIp-Y/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-10-12-21h58m22s96.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piccolo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZ72qaf_8jam-Fty_rr63rwA09zVmc2kv3f0cj3kVHde3gP52rxWhZkEivQFbZNaK2SYWY35wKRU6fL2Nbh1hAlhQ5HDdD3OWTF-2LFJZ1LGBkPoB7T9IsuXqRMztYtY_xffWpIj9Svk/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-10-12-22h07m00s141.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZ72qaf_8jam-Fty_rr63rwA09zVmc2kv3f0cj3kVHde3gP52rxWhZkEivQFbZNaK2SYWY35wKRU6fL2Nbh1hAlhQ5HDdD3OWTF-2LFJZ1LGBkPoB7T9IsuXqRMztYtY_xffWpIj9Svk/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-10-12-22h07m00s141.png" height="362" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pure enjoyment from Piccolo's point of view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibU-j8w_isETEZ8SaE7WVSkJ7NjJY2DbucSRq6yaQXcqHLuyir60VImXxJYnpan8COHLJI3f1D2P4xDQBjVQOweatciRilOuiydzP42xxspfJeISU-Zugae0SXVYavMkPCBFyKQZljisM/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-10-12-22h07m39s74.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibU-j8w_isETEZ8SaE7WVSkJ7NjJY2DbucSRq6yaQXcqHLuyir60VImXxJYnpan8COHLJI3f1D2P4xDQBjVQOweatciRilOuiydzP42xxspfJeISU-Zugae0SXVYavMkPCBFyKQZljisM/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-10-12-22h07m39s74.png" height="298" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See you later Piccolo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While the
dolphin feeding is taking place there is one of us volunteers, distracting the
pelicans further up on the beach. </span>It’s not at every feeding the pelicans show
up, but most of the times we have to be there and entertain them. If we don’t
do so, they will steal the dolphins fish and make the experience on the beach
difficult for everyone. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The pelicans know they get a piece of fish from the
yellow bucket we bring out, and during the dolphin feeding they sit and stare impatiently, at the yellow bucket. When the dolphin feeding is over, we throw a small piece
of fish to each pelican. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A few times we couldn’t distract them enough, and they flew
right down to the dolphin buckets. With help from the rangers, and a tempting
fish, the pelicans returned to the yellow bucket. It’s a long time we need to
distract them, with JUST a bucket. We don’t want to feed them too much, that
will just result in more pelicans coming to the beach, and then they will lose their
ability to hunt just as it happend with the dolphins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigDd_jv9EhnOs_jJOYdTAAGLn45yy88KIN5wx-zJF7A-cQc80DAON1S888QmvEeip8MS8Tw5I-2amSKR9bm5sDLGLeClhsNgRxT4qcXvSiCDyDxKLJCuPNcYrqbSLjhVOaMatdYFEOLp4/s1600/AUS_4945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigDd_jv9EhnOs_jJOYdTAAGLn45yy88KIN5wx-zJF7A-cQc80DAON1S888QmvEeip8MS8Tw5I-2amSKR9bm5sDLGLeClhsNgRxT4qcXvSiCDyDxKLJCuPNcYrqbSLjhVOaMatdYFEOLp4/s1600/AUS_4945.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In Monkey
Mia there is only one resort, and it’s the one and only place with
accommodation. An unpowered campsite is $16 each per night. We found that very
expensive, but on the other hand, we didn’t pay anything to be in the volunteer
program. Most places we know about, charge money, when it’s got wildlife
involved. So we were lucky that this was free. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We were also lucky to be able to
work for our accommodation, instead for paying. The working hours were the same
whether we stayed at the campground or at the hostel, so we moved into the hostel
for three days to get some value out of our shitty work. One day we cleaned
their tour bus, the other day we cleaned the ceiling for spider webs in the outdoor area at the restaurant on the beach, and swept the whole outdoor area. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">During the two days
we stayed at the campsite, we already got quite annoyed and frustrated over the
wild emu’s there. They were stealing food, and we couldn’t sit outside with
the back of the car open without an emu sneaking around us and looking in the
car for food. They are so use to humans and know where to get easy food. To
begin with we found it funny, but when the emus started to attack the dogs
around the campsites, and walked into people’s tents, we kind of lost our
interest in them. The rangers should start a program with the emus, as they did
with the dolphins. The issue is, that they can’t earn money on them!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50y64r6U3-qIHf8_mzdAq7Zg7qDc7LZ28US-kVH9w-PI9NZaVUPVCJMXe7ygqqTE7niORH5ORDkMLVxAbJ7UE7XpK5k2SOkNnqUdDKcP2kPRfQENroH4wRki2cjRc2AdtoJkXwLL1wIs/s1600/AUS_4661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50y64r6U3-qIHf8_mzdAq7Zg7qDc7LZ28US-kVH9w-PI9NZaVUPVCJMXe7ygqqTE7niORH5ORDkMLVxAbJ7UE7XpK5k2SOkNnqUdDKcP2kPRfQENroH4wRki2cjRc2AdtoJkXwLL1wIs/s1600/AUS_4661.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYImKH1JzJqFlfFD5ceHWeo2vMQiw-posP7Q-EuOXK_PinR26K0pQYdgMQZhkHhO2VSvMXBt4Px5A5ui7pLDOuI6WAuxKwW2uJQSKYNOqA1adCVnsALNJMLyE4m9LwSWG9MKxVro03QH4/s1600/AUS_4703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYImKH1JzJqFlfFD5ceHWeo2vMQiw-posP7Q-EuOXK_PinR26K0pQYdgMQZhkHhO2VSvMXBt4Px5A5ui7pLDOuI6WAuxKwW2uJQSKYNOqA1adCVnsALNJMLyE4m9LwSWG9MKxVro03QH4/s1600/AUS_4703.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The forbidden emu dance....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHfAIS7BgYbeY_9SH9ZM5YWJ_0vqaqS8UL2S5ohduzw5hA1SxT7Dd8mGLdT4Tvbw-GNTS4jH0rgbHfOMgcnDWHGjdvmqvv21ep9drEsi51h0VRvn83VV27N_s4a0KXl6Jc5aoqJr6MGms/s1600/IMG_2770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHfAIS7BgYbeY_9SH9ZM5YWJ_0vqaqS8UL2S5ohduzw5hA1SxT7Dd8mGLdT4Tvbw-GNTS4jH0rgbHfOMgcnDWHGjdvmqvv21ep9drEsi51h0VRvn83VV27N_s4a0KXl6Jc5aoqJr6MGms/s1600/IMG_2770.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was sitting where the emu stands, seconds before this picture was taken.. They get that close!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The experience and interacting with the dolphins has been amazing and absolutely magnificent. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We really enjoyed every moment working there, and is thankful for the opportunity we were given. Normally people book the volunteer work well in advance. We were lucky to get on the program just a few days before we arrived. We will never forget those big bright eyes looking up at us, and the natural smile these creatures have, it's nothing less than fantastic. I left a piece of my heart with the dolphins at Shark Bay!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MpFevfRO81sItgsEDJ7lO8nVMPmmq0NlZCqu39DMnwcDweBbczu4eUdWP07AOFETbjXzgPuJSi__hB4hmV6E_6nBB7XUjwYxMXO9CU7Z7Ekk8Tv6mCwpZ9hYpNJJj9pczR0eHCL0OAM/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-10-12-22h06m03s147.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MpFevfRO81sItgsEDJ7lO8nVMPmmq0NlZCqu39DMnwcDweBbczu4eUdWP07AOFETbjXzgPuJSi__hB4hmV6E_6nBB7XUjwYxMXO9CU7Z7Ekk8Tv6mCwpZ9hYpNJJj9pczR0eHCL0OAM/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-10-12-22h06m03s147.png" height="390" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piccolo (my favorite)<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Working With Wild Dolphins Video</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/0E-teketJis?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09828578618884464538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-84470719080305751582014-10-22T11:10:00.002+02:002014-10-22T11:10:35.539+02:00New adventures and challenges in Western Australia<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Monday 29<sup>th</sup>
September – Tuesday 30<sup>th</sup> September</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
We left
Emerald Springs and all our worries behind...<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Now we were going south, down to
Katherine and then further on into Western Australia - apparently the most
magnificent state in this country. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In Katherine Erik arranged to get our aircondition
re-gassed. It has needed to be re-gassed since we bought the car. We haven’t
desperately needed it before, but considering the warm temperatures, we
couldn’t survive without it now. It was a fantastic feeling to now sit in the car
and not being soaked in sweat within 5 minutes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the afternoon we uploaded
our blog, by using the wifi in Katherine’s one and only shopping center, we
headed south/west. We had about 460km to the WA-NT border, but needed a good
night sleep before driving that distance. We drove just 231km this day. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
next day we calculated on our autogas consumption and figured we would make it
to the next autogas pump in Kununurra, if we just started to drive on petrol
for the first 70 km. Unfortunately we had calculated a bit wrong… In the
afternoon we were running out of gas and the car was too hot to use the petrol.
Bummer! </span></div>
<span style="text-align: center;">My little mechanic says that the problem is when it gets too hot in the
engine compartment (40 degrees outside temp+midday+hot engine) there’s a
component in the petrol injection system that shuts down. That’s the reason why
the car won’t run on petrol, but the autogas injection system apparently don’t
use the signal from that component, so it works fine all the time, no matter
how hot it gets. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Anyhow, we pulled in to a rest area and tried to cool it down by
parking in the shade and opening the hood. We considered staying there for the
rest of the day, and drive when the weather would get chilly at night. After an
hour or so, Erik tried to start it and it seemed to be working fine, so we took
the risk and continued our journey. We drove just about 20km and then it died
again, this time in the blazing sun. We cooled it down and drove another 20km.
Then it died again. This story repeated itself one more time, after that we
used our last autogas, and we finally reached Kununurra (Western Australia, WA)
115km later. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US">Just as we thought our problems were over, we discovered that the
gas station in Kununurra, had had a leak on their gas tank, so the hose wasn’t
in use at the moment, and hadn’t been working the last couple of weeks. They
didn’t know when they would get it fixed – things takes time in the isolated world!
So there we were... We had about 400km to Halls Creek (the next auto gas
station). </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US">We got a bit concerned on how that journey would turn out, but there
was nothing else to do than to try and drive in the night time. Maybe the car
would be cold enough to let us do so! </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US">To our big luck it worked fine for the
first 100km, but died just 5km before our planned break at Doon Doon Roadhouse.
A friendly local towed us the last 5km. We cooled the car down for a bit and
afterwards reached Turkey Creek (93km south) with no further issues. So one
thing is sure now – it is the heat that’s the issue. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">We saw countless wildlife
on the roads from Turkey Creek and south. It was amazing to experience horses
running free on the roads, cows hanging out with kangaroos and countless big
(red) kangaroos jumping across the road. We love driving at night time, since it’s
the best time to experience wildlife. All locals warn us about night driving,
but it’s just a matter of driving carefully enough, so you don’t risk hitting
the wildlife. Even with a unhappy car we still managed to drive 706km this day. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">The next morning after a good night sleep we reached Halls Creek and Migaloo -
our jeep, got the autogas that he had been thirsty for – the same with our
wallet. Ha ha, cause autogas is only around 2/3 of the petrol price. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US">It was a
bit of a shame that we missed out on Lake Argyle and the Bungle Bungle ranges
in Kimberley - both places is supposed to be spectacular, but with the car problem
in the back of our minds, we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy them anyway. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US">We
reached Derby tuesday afternoon and did a station stay 20km out of town, at
Birdwood Downs. They offered sunset horseback riding and riding lessons –
something that Erik has been dying to try since we left home. All tours were regrettably
fully booked – and by the way very costly. So it suited us okay that they
couldn’t fit us in. Total km = 685. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6T_6ZB2-3ghXV2A-SS_LZmI-H7Qf9WqWOnWxnfEewpehjCQ0dnXsjGCbf-IlRPbcQkfVnQCkVnArYVfcsNuvvOXlLlxH9YYbi7_Av3okJJ5a47_fhuTBQN_z1oGtKFo1rw72hMfGq4k/s1600/AUS_4090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6T_6ZB2-3ghXV2A-SS_LZmI-H7Qf9WqWOnWxnfEewpehjCQ0dnXsjGCbf-IlRPbcQkfVnQCkVnArYVfcsNuvvOXlLlxH9YYbi7_Av3okJJ5a47_fhuTBQN_z1oGtKFo1rw72hMfGq4k/s1600/AUS_4090.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erik is trying to become friends with kangaroo's..<br />
They were too shy and jumped away straight after this picture was taken.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNUCwLA9CHuemfprF-fYTyNrgFXuoOy-bLK4B711-926tPEwVkfJlj0mu5D1bjm5vwsZDTUTIX1VjCQ3sUURifwhZv0EcEhVK_or3Ec6CqrMHqENWvq9VuAfF40EKNTHHPoMHnbJbqqA/s1600/AUS_4098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNUCwLA9CHuemfprF-fYTyNrgFXuoOy-bLK4B711-926tPEwVkfJlj0mu5D1bjm5vwsZDTUTIX1VjCQ3sUURifwhZv0EcEhVK_or3Ec6CqrMHqENWvq9VuAfF40EKNTHHPoMHnbJbqqA/s1600/AUS_4098.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Kimberley is full of these beautiful Boab trees.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2JVCs3Q-CEn-mXFaUi0tBGlqrncB8cQPF3Aihftf2Z_aDo2HXCtlp7pxsoNhSi6x2R6Fn_rloqwrQ00sHQCCWzJgBPJXsyTBE4z1QGxogbxBT_PcPpKzPFG5cWkgInfFEwcwDMOle_4/s1600/AUS_4123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS2JVCs3Q-CEn-mXFaUi0tBGlqrncB8cQPF3Aihftf2Z_aDo2HXCtlp7pxsoNhSi6x2R6Fn_rloqwrQ00sHQCCWzJgBPJXsyTBE4z1QGxogbxBT_PcPpKzPFG5cWkgInfFEwcwDMOle_4/s1600/AUS_4123.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Wednesday 1<sup>st</sup>
October – Saturday 4<sup>th</sup> October</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We arrived
in Broome, the western edge of the Kimberley. It had been a short day on the
road, only 248km. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Broome is a magnificent town that exports pearls around the
world, produced on sea farms. It’s a good 2000km to the nearest capital and is
a true nature wonder. It’s got mangroves, mudflats and crocs on one side, the
other side has got turquoise waters and a beautiful long wide beach stretch,
called Cable beach. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We had been told that there was one caravan park in the
town that could provide accommodation in trade for a couple of hours work. So
we drove around and asked at the different park entries to find the right one.
Eventually we found it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s located close to Cable beach and an unpowered site
is usually $35 per night, but for 1 hour and 15 min. leaf raking we could stay
there for free. For us it was a great deal. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was a beautiful area to stay in,
and we relaxed and enjoyed the facilities at the campground. Even in the shade
it was ridiculous hot, and due to the almost unbearable hot weather, we finally
pulled ourselves together and got our mosquito net sorted out – which meant
that we now could open both front windows and the back during the night,
without getting eaten alive by mosquitos and other small devils. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cable beach
was amazing, although we weren’t big fans of all the stingers in the
water and on the beach. They are or can be really dangerous. There were a lot of people in the water that didn’t seem to care
about them, but I couldn’t drag myself into the mystic water – I just didn’t
want to be stung by one. Erik had a quick dip and was lucky to survive! Haha! It isn’t
the season for the deadly ones at the moment (the box jelly fish), but anyway! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We
enjoyed a few drinks and the view from the beach bar, and later on we splashed
out, and ate unhealthy burgers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Friday we drove out to Gantheaume Point - a
lookout point with fabulous red sandstone rocks overlooking the turquoise
waters of the Indian Ocean. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In order to reach Karijini National Park on Monday,
we had to leave Broome and work our way down there, and hopefully the guys at
the park would be able to fit us in, on the canyoning trip, we tried to book.
We drove most of saturday and planned to stay at the Eighty Mile beach. A
corrugated dirt road led us to the caravan park and it was beautiful out there,
but we found the campground to be kind of a rip off. Before we left and hit the
road again, we accidentally bumped into the family that towed us, the first
time Migaloo was complaining about the heat. It was odd to meet them again
about 2000km from the last place we met, and about 4 weeks has gone by since…
After all we just got confirmed that Australia isn’t as big as everybody says!! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back on the empty road we were surprised by the great wifi connection, so Erik
skyped with Ib his friend, for a long time, actually most of the night. We go
to bed so early when we sleep in the car, it’s getting dark early, like around
7-8pm, and since we can only hang out either in the car or outside with all the
weird bugs, we prefer to go to bed early, and then get up with the sun in the
morning. It’s impossible to sleep in anyway. To damn hot and bright! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We pulled
in north of Port Hedland and stayed there during the night. Saturday = 572km.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5gDj9t6HgECbPFmQty7rwHIX6SNGwhxW0JBUenZoj63v_HKBXUpn6PCfo13Iw2JiLEbtdKu1W06dEZCbVUnrQm9t7ksyBn_Z-U_8FzPF0PDRYHWDfwDXUrZ4-q2eUkXFtRk8KwlBvuM/s1600/IMG_1996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5gDj9t6HgECbPFmQty7rwHIX6SNGwhxW0JBUenZoj63v_HKBXUpn6PCfo13Iw2JiLEbtdKu1W06dEZCbVUnrQm9t7ksyBn_Z-U_8FzPF0PDRYHWDfwDXUrZ4-q2eUkXFtRk8KwlBvuM/s1600/IMG_1996.JPG" height="182" width="640" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE9hM8yl5AMDCSfd0qTo0hTHzG4SQgvHIZEU_RwxwuubAvQD1gImw82FsEMvWA9OPpSRVtGqqA1SEdFYU4SVg8JH8VsX1LRp6aRjvJ0d03XH04lOj1zxs1E1fBuYDbKLzQAiyT7qUTQbM/s1600/AUS_4127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE9hM8yl5AMDCSfd0qTo0hTHzG4SQgvHIZEU_RwxwuubAvQD1gImw82FsEMvWA9OPpSRVtGqqA1SEdFYU4SVg8JH8VsX1LRp6aRjvJ0d03XH04lOj1zxs1E1fBuYDbKLzQAiyT7qUTQbM/s1600/AUS_4127.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready for a night with air and without mosquitoes in the car.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BB8Uvm1D-K9K0Szj1cSNzl3eSCU5WDgaVZONm55RBoi6prpzGb6dnA5iMV2me9BuFG85ERh_4N_nxTkAA2aGVKTHj_ILuML1bFDrhf3AbKtbnYHW9s3jV1h85PLPfYM_EMAxreRQQyI/s1600/IMG_2001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BB8Uvm1D-K9K0Szj1cSNzl3eSCU5WDgaVZONm55RBoi6prpzGb6dnA5iMV2me9BuFG85ERh_4N_nxTkAA2aGVKTHj_ILuML1bFDrhf3AbKtbnYHW9s3jV1h85PLPfYM_EMAxreRQQyI/s1600/IMG_2001.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Working hard......<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2KC4Okq8BmRxHrYhulr-QgOwyCUc91lxzkka_oPuL4KboqNCnx36T1UNOfW6ZWovqbu1HCrPDsmQXLGJ12zf9tPgcjIj_iVRuJ0xagrLMaS1cS6VtVz_ivbFMZ4QoutpO4UixaSbgTc/s1600/IMG_2006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2KC4Okq8BmRxHrYhulr-QgOwyCUc91lxzkka_oPuL4KboqNCnx36T1UNOfW6ZWovqbu1HCrPDsmQXLGJ12zf9tPgcjIj_iVRuJ0xagrLMaS1cS6VtVz_ivbFMZ4QoutpO4UixaSbgTc/s1600/IMG_2006.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZZseWJeN0x1R0vzvLOg2Kphzmm8yCNW5MwCkSMx8hFUpLrg0at8P0PBh7WdqDN8vmvHFpp9SsZwF8mC7m4zTVcOI1txtPon0DkW5vfOWfQNVWPmtCEsyGpfl1xRXINldaKpmiSY89wQ/s1600/AUS_4129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZZseWJeN0x1R0vzvLOg2Kphzmm8yCNW5MwCkSMx8hFUpLrg0at8P0PBh7WdqDN8vmvHFpp9SsZwF8mC7m4zTVcOI1txtPon0DkW5vfOWfQNVWPmtCEsyGpfl1xRXINldaKpmiSY89wQ/s1600/AUS_4129.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cable beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLqFMZgOnrc04xXM9MZamRIHMaVdObhI1EloyOujlVN1DOBR1Qjf7FXrRPkWDFQSYIV04lmgIQBBAnLesYPx1gVLhMVYua8ZRIekrJx3TTF13WyxvgdCpyCY5NK6a9_0ppmPrStoA7HCY/s1600/AUS_4139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLqFMZgOnrc04xXM9MZamRIHMaVdObhI1EloyOujlVN1DOBR1Qjf7FXrRPkWDFQSYIV04lmgIQBBAnLesYPx1gVLhMVYua8ZRIekrJx3TTF13WyxvgdCpyCY5NK6a9_0ppmPrStoA7HCY/s1600/AUS_4139.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stingers on Cable Beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4W3oJyGAlweNJnE9X9upMx9vC1Es5TjaJWnlHH2oST9J_PSQd8-aZXg-c367t0EvEinTrm-eFf4Os0zHV0Eag_VTfFVqu9Lgy_2-PsHQXBANRTwfMWWo7XjvU454iop6VPc0NNckJ4hk/s1600/AUS_4146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4W3oJyGAlweNJnE9X9upMx9vC1Es5TjaJWnlHH2oST9J_PSQd8-aZXg-c367t0EvEinTrm-eFf4Os0zHV0Eag_VTfFVqu9Lgy_2-PsHQXBANRTwfMWWo7XjvU454iop6VPc0NNckJ4hk/s1600/AUS_4146.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing with my camera</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBy_boRBW_aXY2wysNZ87J8ubX-HuzPrLtUBqDAekYrtVcK8n-WGpAl6J-jOJ0A6uHQDGVHxZxBW7PhMTpeFgJHvUuZhRTeokKdMLmjuCqPuNkR9ldyV50OmJIXc8I7AfS2GXJfXHmeJE/s1600/AUS_4170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBy_boRBW_aXY2wysNZ87J8ubX-HuzPrLtUBqDAekYrtVcK8n-WGpAl6J-jOJ0A6uHQDGVHxZxBW7PhMTpeFgJHvUuZhRTeokKdMLmjuCqPuNkR9ldyV50OmJIXc8I7AfS2GXJfXHmeJE/s1600/AUS_4170.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGC8OoPY3EX_havZiCKiG4qSM3oEFDc8zVDnkViQC6uX10PWG6TljFru8ZD6YlUIyj-njntqXyMCUhr1Ft_eB6lI8IBUqcBB8bYB2U96jQopVRU-WDWvYbIY26NkBn52_LVXby1wdzW8/s1600/AUS_4206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGC8OoPY3EX_havZiCKiG4qSM3oEFDc8zVDnkViQC6uX10PWG6TljFru8ZD6YlUIyj-njntqXyMCUhr1Ft_eB6lI8IBUqcBB8bYB2U96jQopVRU-WDWvYbIY26NkBn52_LVXby1wdzW8/s1600/AUS_4206.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gantheaume Point...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNvpQTm_gyOB0TIsJo4SUOJtF19P4Kvaemm3ZQ7vMTFfe6rbJu71y71KyYKE0SKU_IPHrdyTsq7430GIA9XLkzQ6Q1jrN3IDRPQAEuC-I199OouenI5z-Cagv9ntb8hExGmhiNJC2v84/s1600/AUS_4240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNvpQTm_gyOB0TIsJo4SUOJtF19P4Kvaemm3ZQ7vMTFfe6rbJu71y71KyYKE0SKU_IPHrdyTsq7430GIA9XLkzQ6Q1jrN3IDRPQAEuC-I199OouenI5z-Cagv9ntb8hExGmhiNJC2v84/s1600/AUS_4240.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviTcBW-x7psalNzm5bFqddgrEYbQf-EyEy6fj1x4Wp7epi-i9hRE3XnWVOAw5oWIhWg-dKTQ3YMEVigl45NN8eM5N74MqtUugCFIJ6TbP9C4fFfwIr7uhA0V-jGuFIkp8nbv_71FIJE0/s1600/AUS_4342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviTcBW-x7psalNzm5bFqddgrEYbQf-EyEy6fj1x4Wp7epi-i9hRE3XnWVOAw5oWIhWg-dKTQ3YMEVigl45NN8eM5N74MqtUugCFIJ6TbP9C4fFfwIr7uhA0V-jGuFIkp8nbv_71FIJE0/s1600/AUS_4342.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgum8Khv1WlmdwDy7ZdBrWh4Uug9HXNxtQ8RrwdNOJsQKBLbi1ppo8fQEtkdLHRu-vWlgtEfjo2DH1rs91h5smrRb9-oBAQB0u8Y6zto_RD9mtlUiaIqYzKW75Og22DTUKxB-WklqXmN54/s1600/AUS_4354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgum8Khv1WlmdwDy7ZdBrWh4Uug9HXNxtQ8RrwdNOJsQKBLbi1ppo8fQEtkdLHRu-vWlgtEfjo2DH1rs91h5smrRb9-oBAQB0u8Y6zto_RD9mtlUiaIqYzKW75Og22DTUKxB-WklqXmN54/s1600/AUS_4354.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eighty Mile Beach...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN19pH-D9mTtZFQh7cWwQRdx7exu-qVKnI5Rvv_lLG0ZNW07CgASBFhUvrqaD-K8NTROiklzs5aVI-3JUrhSkg9p1DRk-Nfya4NlK9To6HmRs34NaSmie6fTlokN_5pUXf9BnBHVbxMpo/s1600/AUS_4367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN19pH-D9mTtZFQh7cWwQRdx7exu-qVKnI5Rvv_lLG0ZNW07CgASBFhUvrqaD-K8NTROiklzs5aVI-3JUrhSkg9p1DRk-Nfya4NlK9To6HmRs34NaSmie6fTlokN_5pUXf9BnBHVbxMpo/s1600/AUS_4367.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beach is that way...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Sunday 5<sup>th</sup>
October</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Most days
on the roads we plan to sleep near by a roadhouse or town, where we most likely
can get a liter of fresh milk in the morning. We love our cereals in the
morning. </span>Out of all our food and beverage it is the only thing we actually aim
for as being cold, when we consume it. So we are really not asking for a lot!
We got our $2 FRESH COLD milk in Port Hedland. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The town itself isn’t tempting
to explore, I would consider it as a ghost town. The only people living there
is miners. So we quickly ventured south and inland towards Karijini National
Park. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We got a message saying that they would fit us in on the adventurous
tour, so we were happy and excited. The trip down there was horrible, due to
all the road trains going the other direction and hitting our windshield with
stones. Very annoying! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We stopped at Munjini roadhouse, just before the park.
We spend some hours there, because Erik really wanted to watch the Formula 1 on
their TV. When that was finally over, we had shared a big meal and none of us
were hungry for dinner. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We drove into the national park, paid the entrance fee
and slowly worked our way up to the Eco Retreat Resort (the place where the
tour started form the next morning). We drove on a very badly corrugated road
for about an hour, in the glare of the sun, which almost made us blind. We
couldn’t see anything in front of us! It was awful! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since we already paid for the entrance
fee and the canyoning trip was $255 each, we took the risk and camped for free
on one of the parking spots in the park, even though we knew it was illegal. We
figured that the chance of getting caught was very small since we haven’t seen
a car for over an hour. And who would patrol those bad roads anyway! Km = 477.<br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rH7ofiPogoAiLymW9vJ66Pgjzw3vHgzsjli6YAuF7UvPLnhSGQ7n1RWNQy-wYPYsFgz_Dfi-fOhiRTlwDRDP1R0IbMcjp9hqMPDq8JB5egv3_l7RVegmLS8FJgj139W-s9P-yCL3BFw/s1600/AUS_4380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1rH7ofiPogoAiLymW9vJ66Pgjzw3vHgzsjli6YAuF7UvPLnhSGQ7n1RWNQy-wYPYsFgz_Dfi-fOhiRTlwDRDP1R0IbMcjp9hqMPDq8JB5egv3_l7RVegmLS8FJgj139W-s9P-yCL3BFw/s1600/AUS_4380.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast with cows walking around the rest area</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LzMLi5kRN5wmg47taMf1JyTtJmalF9IfDp_1qgBp7nBxQnsMk-bVFU-khc0qpLcOAOJK95_7F1xa47mS_Yl5ymzS06Zw4lipPly2_rj7XkcPSVC4a2Kesik17BzS6yL2N1Uftm505Zc/s1600/AUS_4381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LzMLi5kRN5wmg47taMf1JyTtJmalF9IfDp_1qgBp7nBxQnsMk-bVFU-khc0qpLcOAOJK95_7F1xa47mS_Yl5ymzS06Zw4lipPly2_rj7XkcPSVC4a2Kesik17BzS6yL2N1Uftm505Zc/s1600/AUS_4381.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lot of the grey nomads live in their motorhomes, and they've got everything with them on the roads!<br />
Impressing, but slow!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6k0ilizbKV3xHGurIQYPRHfZaBVtac3bZG_Mm4igkdOiiaZq3cnTCLVFhCyE33nvitkGEhesjZe960YhRugBYVercc4tTQRzeAmkliPt8firqvSz8FhrSp6tBTtncX-3FI0lmTYdqZ9o/s1600/AUS_4389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6k0ilizbKV3xHGurIQYPRHfZaBVtac3bZG_Mm4igkdOiiaZq3cnTCLVFhCyE33nvitkGEhesjZe960YhRugBYVercc4tTQRzeAmkliPt8firqvSz8FhrSp6tBTtncX-3FI0lmTYdqZ9o/s1600/AUS_4389.JPG" height="324" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salt mineral mine in Port Hedland</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv3tScSID-c9gEYt6kkB64i__RTJqNAm73Hf-XcWkhrbii8WaFd7QOlPGfUMV4kSp73LhFQ2nOpOlpPP65iMl8vOWOYXdZ0IsJXwmZwhJWosQkm6-gW8iNIIe1GypwnVpN7Nr-z75z7EM/s1600/AUS_4395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv3tScSID-c9gEYt6kkB64i__RTJqNAm73Hf-XcWkhrbii8WaFd7QOlPGfUMV4kSp73LhFQ2nOpOlpPP65iMl8vOWOYXdZ0IsJXwmZwhJWosQkm6-gW8iNIIe1GypwnVpN7Nr-z75z7EM/s1600/AUS_4395.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everything is the same colour in the outback.. The red dust colour!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGA3hRE0VhyphenhyphenRJRIHIq_VzlqHr2MeyHNoVQ8Y-GeLFK_pYlDUERPfQe49EVaTildP8cc4C2flJVta9idXDuP-MkGOnKsp4TMfJZr9OwO3IRr9yVnCu_11YInQFzougQs1Gmmvbukcsk5U/s1600/AUS_4399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGA3hRE0VhyphenhyphenRJRIHIq_VzlqHr2MeyHNoVQ8Y-GeLFK_pYlDUERPfQe49EVaTildP8cc4C2flJVta9idXDuP-MkGOnKsp4TMfJZr9OwO3IRr9yVnCu_11YInQFzougQs1Gmmvbukcsk5U/s1600/AUS_4399.JPG" height="336" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWheEqBEFYWEWalkcV3hhBag7jgzGXa95YZ6H8uO9YXbUJdSPLTxXzp5CXEE9lJ6JmQx-hTyYfHkdwROF6rWu_YPxQsWXMH5lc4SWffeYMj6372zVrMyMRsAevnbnQFuPnOrrUT_cPngc/s1600/AUS_4417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWheEqBEFYWEWalkcV3hhBag7jgzGXa95YZ6H8uO9YXbUJdSPLTxXzp5CXEE9lJ6JmQx-hTyYfHkdwROF6rWu_YPxQsWXMH5lc4SWffeYMj6372zVrMyMRsAevnbnQFuPnOrrUT_cPngc/s1600/AUS_4417.JPG" height="382" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Worst gravel road ever.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monday 6<sup>th</sup>
October</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">It was a
big day for us. We were excited about the canyoning adventure (called The Red Gorge
Adventure). It was time to test if our adrenalin pump still was working, or
needed a recharge! Canyoning is a mixed up word for canyon/gorge, abseiling,
climbing and rafting! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">The day started early when our guides kitted us out with
wetsuits, outdoor shoes, harnesses, helmets and inner tubes. We ventured into
the first gorge (Knox Gorge) and dipped our warm bodies in the freezing pool.
After a sunny stroll we were off to the restricted area, with the gorge
shrinking rapidly to a single body width. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">We met one of the guides, who had set
up a 5m abseil. Awesome. We walked carefully on a rough, steep and slippery
surface before we sat down on a natural slide, pushed off and over a 3m drop
into an enclosed pool. It was a lot of fun and we would love to do it again,
but once over the edge, there’s no way back up. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We controlled our own abseiling
the second time, down to the next pool. It was shady and cold, we escaped by
crawling up and in between some rocks and on the other side, we jumped into our
tubes and paddled towards a little sunny “island”. Time for lunch. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Soon we were
back on our inner tubes, and we paddled across long and tranquil pools. Our
surroundings were absolutely spectacular - the vertical red gorge walls raised
100m above us. It was magnificent. We had a little break before we headed into
the Hancock Gorge, the guide sat up a rope leading through the Centre of the
Earth (as they call that place), and we climbed up the steep, tight and
slippery cascades. We walked though small pools on narrow edges. As we ascended
the 9m climb we were all a bit exhausted. A traverse along the cliff with our
security ropes clipped into the anchor rope, we slowly left the restricted area
and entered Kermits pool, our final swim. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Soon we were through the final gorge
and finished at the car park. It was 4pm, we had been out all day, and it’s
been an action-packed and adrenalin-charged adventure. </span><span style="font-size: small;">It’s without a doubt the
best day we have had in a long time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Afterwards we socialized with a family we
met on the tour – they were great. They were from Perth, a good contact for us
to have, since we are heading that way soon. We were actually pretty exhausted
from the long day and the drinks we had, but we didn’t want to sleep illegal
again or pay the camp fees in the park. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We drove just outside the park and got
our beauty sleep, on a free campground 70 km away. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2WSutuF9Rc_MPPxydmMsOC8XX66BRyC89JWwUuEor6jJujKi4_jC4rwo8FrqcxHdhrrdVWFWUmpB_vrT56vcqs-ojomz3Mrnz59_R1-UaQtdEmS2qLWPvrXvZ3b6F_jIxyod2G8N8hOM/s1600/PA060001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2WSutuF9Rc_MPPxydmMsOC8XX66BRyC89JWwUuEor6jJujKi4_jC4rwo8FrqcxHdhrrdVWFWUmpB_vrT56vcqs-ojomz3Mrnz59_R1-UaQtdEmS2qLWPvrXvZ3b6F_jIxyod2G8N8hOM/s1600/PA060001.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Ready for a adventurous day</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbykAzQBt9eagBwiarzrKHckIfefjaGOKDO9_2Q8vinNTIrwiB4lH73oFJi_1XmgscL5o079imRt9cl1htZ4XypBq5ZXHdduGpsWVrtvc9mRAb2Wj0ho9UPFMtFk2JLknxQS5CCKTRpOc/s1600/PA060008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbykAzQBt9eagBwiarzrKHckIfefjaGOKDO9_2Q8vinNTIrwiB4lH73oFJi_1XmgscL5o079imRt9cl1htZ4XypBq5ZXHdduGpsWVrtvc9mRAb2Wj0ho9UPFMtFk2JLknxQS5CCKTRpOc/s1600/PA060008.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Red Gorge Adventure Video</b></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/B8nfVrn3OfE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday 7<sup>th</sup>
– Wednesday 8<sup>th</sup> October</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We were
meant to do a mine tour, near Tom Price. Would be great to learn about all
those mines, we pass all the time, but unfortunately they don’t run the tour
for less than 10 people. And since we were the only ones there, there was no way
they would do the tour. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Instead we started our journey further towards the west
coast. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">We reached Exmouth in the afternoon. I skyped and catched up with my
friend Musse, meanwhile Erik was busy and searched for information about the national
park and the dive sites. Australia’s largest fringing and most accessible reef,
Ningaloo Reef is located just north of the town. It’s stretching 300km south.
There are a number of snorkel sites only 50m offshore, and it has more than 500
species of fish, which makes it a must-see for snorkelers, divers and nature-lovers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Erik planned our stay in this area. We started close to the Cape Range National
Park by watching the sunset from Vlamingh Head lighthouse. At the top of the hill
we had a brilliant view, all though the sunset wasn’t anything special. We
drove into the national park straight after. The wildlife that we experienced
on the road was going beyond our wildest imagination. We really didn’t think
that the amount of kangaroo’s could be so big in one “little” area. It was
crazy and we loved it! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">When we got to our beach campsite we were joined by a
kangaroo mom with her little joey (that’s what the babies are called) in her
pouch. She stayed around our campsite most of the night, together with a lot of
glowing spiders in the low grass. The weather got chilly at night again, and
we’re pleased with the colder temperatures – the same is the car – no more
“running on petrol” problems. We drove 732km. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The next morning we snorkeled
with colourful fish at popular Turquoise Bay. We drifted with the current along
the beach, but had to take care and make sure we got out of the water in time,
before the current carried us away. At noon when we got signal on the phone
again we booked a dive at Navy Pier. It’s in the top 10 of best shore dives in
the world! It sounded very promising to us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">The dive site was quite small, easy
to navigate and apparently we couldn’t get lost. We all got the opportunity to
go self-guided. We found it as the perfect opportunity to try it for the first
time, together off course! Under the pier we saw an amount of marine life,that
we have never seen before, in such a little area. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">There’s a bunch of big
groupers that always hang around there. One of them is called George, he’s very
friendly and used to divers. It’s the only fish that we were allowed to touch,
if we got the change. George likes to be tickled on his chin, and sometimes
won’t leave you alone, if you don’t tickle him. It’s the weirdest fish ever,
but off course we wanted to meet this guy. Unlike all the stories he wasn’t in
the mood for a tickle, even though we tried to tempt him. During the dive Erik
was mostly focusing on filming and I was navigating us around the pier. We had
an amazing dive and simply loved to be in control of our own dive. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">That
afternoon we continued our further travels south and away from the costly national
park. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Km = 138. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9QoWQJUosrdta7bf6xYAi3FsinJYUtEatH0_c3ZKjClDdF_NsPmwzWZqCc5J1RdbxCR_oyz1K3aqGX5VHmGK0AJvP9e8_h91mkTLywzDsiDOA2lNQy_g-Q-EJYePYw5g6NQRc0PS_W54/s1600/AUS_4426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9QoWQJUosrdta7bf6xYAi3FsinJYUtEatH0_c3ZKjClDdF_NsPmwzWZqCc5J1RdbxCR_oyz1K3aqGX5VHmGK0AJvP9e8_h91mkTLywzDsiDOA2lNQy_g-Q-EJYePYw5g6NQRc0PS_W54/s1600/AUS_4426.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Our house </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTi6JmM7yubFQmH_HmrByqBjDM_pHkp4bgNZdoD44dwhaentjQd6Aweqj_C_cL9p4mxrWqIXO9nvyc5zIwty0GzunBXEDchNw7pAAD-BAkg6hSiy1_HphFejatecoYovNfTkhGodx_hyphenhyphenk/s1600/AUS_4446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTi6JmM7yubFQmH_HmrByqBjDM_pHkp4bgNZdoD44dwhaentjQd6Aweqj_C_cL9p4mxrWqIXO9nvyc5zIwty0GzunBXEDchNw7pAAD-BAkg6hSiy1_HphFejatecoYovNfTkhGodx_hyphenhyphenk/s1600/AUS_4446.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Unfortunately a common sight on the roads </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UFotebukJe6OW5EvxSvXBYB7Qe5b5BUnmNOgruTimGyi-9FoD-IdqdDCoEBv2oC72Wbm6kS5WlPgKBO9jpf-vay4o9Thkon3BVCjKl2Bp2ftg-5IWpqYbteqnAt-8nFZOVz3GHodLYQ/s1600/AUS_4462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UFotebukJe6OW5EvxSvXBYB7Qe5b5BUnmNOgruTimGyi-9FoD-IdqdDCoEBv2oC72Wbm6kS5WlPgKBO9jpf-vay4o9Thkon3BVCjKl2Bp2ftg-5IWpqYbteqnAt-8nFZOVz3GHodLYQ/s1600/AUS_4462.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Emu is an uncommon sight.. But definitely more enjoyable than the road kills.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjPRcQwyXVMwYJoUpGg1Aa3GPftPj-2gJdxDegZPUuV41HO5YLmxyPEvjw3GDTDakeFL_CSFROzcGK691moG1PPKVDJ6f_er5NGBUwCgk7lYuFoRbL3won-6lOPiSrivWCOfPj1sXqek/s1600/AUS_4467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjPRcQwyXVMwYJoUpGg1Aa3GPftPj-2gJdxDegZPUuV41HO5YLmxyPEvjw3GDTDakeFL_CSFROzcGK691moG1PPKVDJ6f_er5NGBUwCgk7lYuFoRbL3won-6lOPiSrivWCOfPj1sXqek/s1600/AUS_4467.JPG" height="398" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_BdL67JZyDEeBpE81SpabJbDTe5WwtOzLDv5c_6CoBIITSl4zUQHtMB0UJMVFD8G2QzYx7Y7GA1KwYBrAcn_wt6zLen5H10A8YfM27iQPmaBX-NA5FlyzH7iu7UaDbhLT4r6wmdenApY/s1600/AUS_4498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_BdL67JZyDEeBpE81SpabJbDTe5WwtOzLDv5c_6CoBIITSl4zUQHtMB0UJMVFD8G2QzYx7Y7GA1KwYBrAcn_wt6zLen5H10A8YfM27iQPmaBX-NA5FlyzH7iu7UaDbhLT4r6wmdenApY/s1600/AUS_4498.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Curious kangarooo</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nQZaVr0GWLeiM-cN5d92z33QnIutNv3sWihA1qylrwIj7KFbOn2AVB9ToWKEcg60OrUdtmoWF_EHcv46lpGwP56lvD8Sk16yWF42_0yj9nqeI7Bori56il4DKHb1qbDjT8_hHWXbvG8/s1600/AUS_4524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nQZaVr0GWLeiM-cN5d92z33QnIutNv3sWihA1qylrwIj7KFbOn2AVB9ToWKEcg60OrUdtmoWF_EHcv46lpGwP56lvD8Sk16yWF42_0yj9nqeI7Bori56il4DKHb1qbDjT8_hHWXbvG8/s1600/AUS_4524.JPG" height="414" width="640" /></a></div>
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Australian Bustard.. A huge bird!!</div>
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<br />
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Navy Pier Diving Video</b></span></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/UbEPtdABtfM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday 9<sup>th</sup>
October</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We rose
early in order not to be caught sleeping illegal on a rest area. We drove to
Coral Bay, an absolutely stunning bay, very family minded and very idyllic. We
spend half of the day on the crystal clear beach. The most fantastic thing
about this place is that there is world class snorkeling just off the beach
(Ningaloo Reef) and at the same time white sand and shallow water in the bay. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">It’s a perfect place and we wished that we had the time to stay longer, but the
day before we got confirmed that we could work as volunteers with dolphins
further south. So in order to reach
Monkey Mia (the dolphin place) in time, we had to get back on the roads again
the same afternoon. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We stocked up with food and supplies in Carnarvon and then
worked our way down south. Thursday it came to 412km. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Friday we reached Monkey
Mia just in time for our induction. We planned to volunteer for 5 days there. Distance
this day = 281km<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Coral Bay</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHw_UuAo3my31FqvBC15nbSt6kjEPlR5j_17BCVtIz71sKEpa4gSVxfXvxPyymuApUFd1Rgcy4KZUS5NWoDX7s2JOHymBMta04E0cAXzhhcKxf4IAR7Bug-nDKwUJganv1sgbgPEjXWOE/s1600/AUS_4573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHw_UuAo3my31FqvBC15nbSt6kjEPlR5j_17BCVtIz71sKEpa4gSVxfXvxPyymuApUFd1Rgcy4KZUS5NWoDX7s2JOHymBMta04E0cAXzhhcKxf4IAR7Bug-nDKwUJganv1sgbgPEjXWOE/s1600/AUS_4573.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09828578618884464538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-71305508514859797792014-10-11T11:23:00.002+02:002014-10-11T11:23:28.722+02:00Last weeks working!!!<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Thursday 11th
September</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were lucky to get
another day off, together. This time we went to see the famous and gorgeous
gorge, called Katherine Gorge. It’s located 30 km east of Katherine town. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s a big tourist boat from which you can explore the gorge, but we decided
to do it by ourselves, so we hired a double canoe for half a day and ventured
out in the gorge. During the first 200m we already saw two freshies (freshwater
crocs) hanging out on the river banks. It was a bit intimidating to pass them
in the little canoe, I felt very vulnerable in the little boat, meanwhile Erik
felt like the king of the world and was dying to paddle back and get closer to
the freshies, to get a good picture/video - that leaded to a smaller discussion
about safety and dangerous wildlife! Erik was disappointed and upset with me for
not letting him paddle back! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When it comes to paddling we’re not exactly
agreeing on how it should be done, so very quickly we arranged that only one of
us were paddling, while the other could relax. It worked out best for us. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The gorge
was stunning and very peaceful. In the end of it, we left the canoe on the
river bank and went for a little walk around to explore some aboriginal rock
art, and dip our overheated bodies in the cold and refreshing gorge water. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On
our way back we were hoping to get another sight of the freshies. The big
tourist boat, in front of us, spotted a croc on the river bank. They pointed
out the croc for us, and then pointed at us. All the old people on board looked
like they were gonna shit themselves any moment, when we passed by in our
little canoe, between them and the croc. It was a funny moment. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The croc didn’t
seem to care about us, and Erik got (almost) close enough to be satisfied with his
adventure. So in the end everyone was happy and we had enjoyed our day off and
away from Emerald Springs. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the night we tried some of the food and drinks
that we make and serve each day in the restaurant, while celebrating that we
have been away from Denmark for 1 year!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi845CSPqvKl6aw3YwlWYTbk5LKiq4UWf19oPPE88Rtp_zTZPIjBQnlxCcY2a_qi0bwo4FFvrcm5Fse_ljSPwslQS69UO-YsLsdC5OfjIkpCILT1VXjUvI_BnNoaPthL8LaVECHs_Z8HH8Q/s1600/AUS_3812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi845CSPqvKl6aw3YwlWYTbk5LKiq4UWf19oPPE88Rtp_zTZPIjBQnlxCcY2a_qi0bwo4FFvrcm5Fse_ljSPwslQS69UO-YsLsdC5OfjIkpCILT1VXjUvI_BnNoaPthL8LaVECHs_Z8HH8Q/s1600/AUS_3812.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spot the bats?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9uAhQusP3mp1ISAmYqBH9Dx9ofuh2cmKT_8CUU7xFQxK3s4Hnhuf2OCXIWp_OjeqDkixd_wJ1mGJ0TaVpfo4dYm3XU9JZTwUjuri5twTBfmZscjLA6l4MRb9tjEf_c3UuGsARAmO3ZQ-/s1600/AUS_3822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9uAhQusP3mp1ISAmYqBH9Dx9ofuh2cmKT_8CUU7xFQxK3s4Hnhuf2OCXIWp_OjeqDkixd_wJ1mGJ0TaVpfo4dYm3XU9JZTwUjuri5twTBfmZscjLA6l4MRb9tjEf_c3UuGsARAmO3ZQ-/s1600/AUS_3822.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katherine Gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0Zv5I5eLGzdHY3BK1wN7WHOEUQULinuvPdmGfmCKxfcjxdor6eSHiiMlxh3Tk2nVdre4l98DxjAgR8gLoxJyOCWDIInJTHPzA9o45_a_GE73cdGyAdlNiIPSHfCXNIhUyBvXUgzQZqFG/s1600/AUS_3848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0Zv5I5eLGzdHY3BK1wN7WHOEUQULinuvPdmGfmCKxfcjxdor6eSHiiMlxh3Tk2nVdre4l98DxjAgR8gLoxJyOCWDIInJTHPzA9o45_a_GE73cdGyAdlNiIPSHfCXNIhUyBvXUgzQZqFG/s1600/AUS_3848.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhVfgh9mTvoSn72UkNrwCEmgc0OJ2IQNAizbMLbYyFUWR65YWz78ugJzmboxP1GoPQ7tEenjHyXJnqVOYuzBpJrhX9dYQCBPOb6SfLT1FcSvJFulXESmjcXYmAw2Yjfls3Bs-tfYkjv6pF/s1600/AUS_3859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhVfgh9mTvoSn72UkNrwCEmgc0OJ2IQNAizbMLbYyFUWR65YWz78ugJzmboxP1GoPQ7tEenjHyXJnqVOYuzBpJrhX9dYQCBPOb6SfLT1FcSvJFulXESmjcXYmAw2Yjfls3Bs-tfYkjv6pF/s1600/AUS_3859.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful day off</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmvpQyg_JjUsm-KupFiNuTg9xyfeMcGjC2ZP24f8tfR8CKX0wAxbHGmUKaudXpcrqKZD_ryrZbIT0YM53qbK6K4U_Tpk6nJbs71_AH_-W4Up8W4FTcvDb5BjbSky-1pYWfmmwpNPySaQ-I/s1600/AUS_3864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmvpQyg_JjUsm-KupFiNuTg9xyfeMcGjC2ZP24f8tfR8CKX0wAxbHGmUKaudXpcrqKZD_ryrZbIT0YM53qbK6K4U_Tpk6nJbs71_AH_-W4Up8W4FTcvDb5BjbSky-1pYWfmmwpNPySaQ-I/s1600/AUS_3864.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Aboriginal rockart</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaocGrDX5JcdvIp1vHKKgvp8HfvzqZuTZvMCG7O-2sM8oDaNYGcbsRkEua9jYPURTo3iiUa07Rrel_LBsalYxhr-J3BhjKU_rboxDIbXjw3ZXcOOyvukpi7d_LPVeAWiQvIESby04SS81/s1600/AUS_3871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaocGrDX5JcdvIp1vHKKgvp8HfvzqZuTZvMCG7O-2sM8oDaNYGcbsRkEua9jYPURTo3iiUa07Rrel_LBsalYxhr-J3BhjKU_rboxDIbXjw3ZXcOOyvukpi7d_LPVeAWiQvIESby04SS81/s1600/AUS_3871.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cowboy babe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vqEfQClD9VinNTjq2tlL6C210yHhBt7bPf3dmiOPtqvsFPgfGddlEwyl_t8P8ylR3FmUP5JZPNHJQuyczsfFqYIO4a3JZb-aAey4qR2uNBdo_7OIIdST6U_FbyCO7X3Ki9gnokpYR3d3/s1600/AUS_3882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vqEfQClD9VinNTjq2tlL6C210yHhBt7bPf3dmiOPtqvsFPgfGddlEwyl_t8P8ylR3FmUP5JZPNHJQuyczsfFqYIO4a3JZb-aAey4qR2uNBdo_7OIIdST6U_FbyCO7X3Ki9gnokpYR3d3/s1600/AUS_3882.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hasselhoff #2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgyS3yvLb2hlrRknF2-2NdG2sHVnIQkZ8140Qgc3KsNE5Ulg52nsF7JXfviMMws4tH6H-Yz6fXNDcGCn8K1HZBtU3EJeeoJZc-9FlA9vvnfQwRbcxr0_P1eYTyHZbUcPvPhmLj8n2Fq87K/s1600/AUS_3884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgyS3yvLb2hlrRknF2-2NdG2sHVnIQkZ8140Qgc3KsNE5Ulg52nsF7JXfviMMws4tH6H-Yz6fXNDcGCn8K1HZBtU3EJeeoJZc-9FlA9vvnfQwRbcxr0_P1eYTyHZbUcPvPhmLj8n2Fq87K/s1600/AUS_3884.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbp5G1PO2rKZi36E8-JSEenfU7LnPmedYRQQ4bcakWxZJq5tN93uVzkVxZG5rRUEJi-6Wd_k6zufbm-0EZOUauN9fAfyx3LaO3MdQwgxGVyDqS0OH5l6vPGcA-ZV0xWUhaLVmSp1Fs87Q9/s1600/AUS_3903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbp5G1PO2rKZi36E8-JSEenfU7LnPmedYRQQ4bcakWxZJq5tN93uVzkVxZG5rRUEJi-6Wd_k6zufbm-0EZOUauN9fAfyx3LaO3MdQwgxGVyDqS0OH5l6vPGcA-ZV0xWUhaLVmSp1Fs87Q9/s1600/AUS_3903.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyday sights in the Outback</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjci1ke9yWl0NX7HL9b8jXV6HgGPICIyylE1fe5n07U28K3ceCARdfAeTgp0LrM2utF1ZVOFqhmrKe4Nrn5BF25kQhpxQv-ALQoMP0Xqw3Kha2x7blpCcS3Zx_GEifv7sCOZIKEjBHEHJxq/s1600/AUS_3911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjci1ke9yWl0NX7HL9b8jXV6HgGPICIyylE1fe5n07U28K3ceCARdfAeTgp0LrM2utF1ZVOFqhmrKe4Nrn5BF25kQhpxQv-ALQoMP0Xqw3Kha2x7blpCcS3Zx_GEifv7sCOZIKEjBHEHJxq/s1600/AUS_3911.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset at Emerald Springs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIXu3SZTr5-NgbSWq48aDC-J_5vRuK79pqd_JEXyr0YPdXgYVssAEO5hhknkULUCq6tE3zWOpVDR9SjQIGb1_6THUhUzUg6fBXPRtKLH4_4jO_iNhSjt318w1TxnodhscXwM-TGMIoZqx/s1600/AUS_3917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIXu3SZTr5-NgbSWq48aDC-J_5vRuK79pqd_JEXyr0YPdXgYVssAEO5hhknkULUCq6tE3zWOpVDR9SjQIGb1_6THUhUzUg6fBXPRtKLH4_4jO_iNhSjt318w1TxnodhscXwM-TGMIoZqx/s1600/AUS_3917.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Katherine Gorge Video</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/kv2OOhCZv1M?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<b>Friday 12th September
– Friday 26th September</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s getting
considerable warmer from each day passing by. The air is more humid and during
the mid-day hours it’s unbearable hot in the restaurant and kitchen. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One thing
that we will never get used to, is all the god damn flies. They are really
annoying! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another thing that gave us the headache was the Aussies laid-back
working attitude – it drove us crazy! They really don’t know how to work, and
seriously wouldn’t last long in any given place in Denmark or northern Europe. </div>
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In a small remote place like this the atmosphere get a little intense from time
to time, everyone is getting on each others nerves, and you feel that people
are talking behind your back. Just like an episode of Big Brother. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not
really fair to anyone (seen from a bigger perspective). So after too many speculations and smaller
arguments we decided to move on. We gave Dallas our two weeks notice, and were
then supposed to leave the 3rd of October. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some new staff members (an Irish
couple – Megan & Johnny) arrived a few days after our notice, and they were
really lovely. We enjoyed their company a lot. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the first time since we got
here we actually sat down and ate dinner together all of us, thanks to another
great staff member - Faye. It was great, she cooked all of us a very nice thai curry dish. </div>
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I also got to practice my massage skills on
one of the truck ladies one day, and after just an hour massage she gave me
$200. See that’s a good business! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNWhdI2Twv7DgRhbZAyAuu0pems3Cd1E05216mIWpxDlKfJDL0NI5MMqO1C74Xcg_Fb-f4DJKq34BGr2vVm04Ag1Sdj3KKcsn2dST0DjN6LSKV2CVgZ_u36kSewv4DKFAIl7fJLjA8rMCG/s1600/AUS_3980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNWhdI2Twv7DgRhbZAyAuu0pems3Cd1E05216mIWpxDlKfJDL0NI5MMqO1C74Xcg_Fb-f4DJKq34BGr2vVm04Ag1Sdj3KKcsn2dST0DjN6LSKV2CVgZ_u36kSewv4DKFAIl7fJLjA8rMCG/s1600/AUS_3980.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local gas station & shop in Pine Creek</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2U9B89Zz6agugagC4Z9qrY4bJBrg4eZ_1y4ykEuKiD5iHQk6r9YLgdlRWC1gV8dAA9OYRMCWwwMRBurYDgQoJy8-oFpqICEcu46WtuM-UxHhugz9Rh0CixpeDO7-eRYLaWHNykPv2jwST/s1600/AUS_3990.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2U9B89Zz6agugagC4Z9qrY4bJBrg4eZ_1y4ykEuKiD5iHQk6r9YLgdlRWC1gV8dAA9OYRMCWwwMRBurYDgQoJy8-oFpqICEcu46WtuM-UxHhugz9Rh0CixpeDO7-eRYLaWHNykPv2jwST/s1600/AUS_3990.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Faye - Erik - Johnny and Megan at our "family" dinner night</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Saturday 27th
September</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The last saturday of
the month it’s again time to participate in the cowboy/country party, held at
Grove Hill Hotel. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s such a special experience to be there in the middle of
the desolated outback, and get pissed with all the locals. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We had a blast this
night and luckily we were both off sunday, so we took advantage of the free
camping and stayed out there for the night. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we got back to Emerald
Springs, Dallas (the owner) showed up in the staff house and told us he didn’t
put us on next weeks rooster, and he wanted us to leave his property
immediately. There was really no reason for him to kick us out like that. It
pissed us off that he treated us this way. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I mean he could have given us a few
days warning, so we would have had time to pack our stuff together. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He knew
that we were tired this day, so he just showed us once again, how big an
asshole he really is. We refused to leave before he had paid us out. He didn’t
pay the previous staff members their last money, so we knew it could cause us
troubles if we didn’t react on that fact. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Monday he told us he would charge us
$150 if we stayed another night, so we were forced to leave. Although we still
hadn’t seen any money rolling into our accounts for our last 2 weeks working.
After telling him about our contact with Fair Work Ombudsman (a independant statutory office, that helps regulate Australia's workplace relation system.) He ensured us that we would get our last payment before friday. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was actually
a big relief to leave that place and never had to deal with him again, it felt
good to move on and continue our travels around this massive country, b<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>ut on the other hand we were still so upset with that guy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our time on Emerald Springs had been very disappointing, and we didn’t even
have high thoughts about it to begin with. I can’t remember another time in my
life where I’ve had so many worries and constantly have had a stomach ache,
caused of speculations, worries and wonders about all kinds of stuff. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With that
said we have to remember that we are actually living a dream right now, and
during our 5 weeks of working we earned enough money to make our dreams come
true, for the rest of our journey. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So we raise our heads up high and praise the
life we have been given! Now it’s time to see some more of this massive and
spectacular country. Western Australia is up next!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKPpZ4qHR9aqqnTLt779utIyc-eMBwBILM6qItOSDBiIKoa_j78zEQpcIMp3KLAP6gA0BaujXEaAoE_2aFfYzinMisAqUTV5G8pgUVzHx9mL7A2tzYNvUyOGWzrn-L_WZ0y7yQxhRapyV6/s1600/IMG_2745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKPpZ4qHR9aqqnTLt779utIyc-eMBwBILM6qItOSDBiIKoa_j78zEQpcIMp3KLAP6gA0BaujXEaAoE_2aFfYzinMisAqUTV5G8pgUVzHx9mL7A2tzYNvUyOGWzrn-L_WZ0y7yQxhRapyV6/s1600/IMG_2745.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cane toads at Emerald Springs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BwUGq4Ph4pr6VQgYANltaDvh_ymFxFlDHjfXJbltx2abMbedFDcTpHRI5N9VROh9uddetgnN8_rRKCdzqtHsOn8Ys4jk8xB7JrJEUOuDw9zhAiCZsPAPfX8-hpPt4BMNrtX9OmohXx4T/s1600/AUS_4030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BwUGq4Ph4pr6VQgYANltaDvh_ymFxFlDHjfXJbltx2abMbedFDcTpHRI5N9VROh9uddetgnN8_rRKCdzqtHsOn8Ys4jk8xB7JrJEUOuDw9zhAiCZsPAPfX8-hpPt4BMNrtX9OmohXx4T/s1600/AUS_4030.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surroundings near Emerald Springs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9xXcmWDD2DfaysjMICYoUF3vM1iWZyiYgV50rc-5BcPaEI6p4Lbt_ccD7ZUm0LMOOaNijGkgGNGJKaEqHpTywgwlJksd5nulCcDCLp8-B9QfvbUucw3toI7QKCnyrR4SvEDdDv1n0z0j/s1600/AUS_4001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9xXcmWDD2DfaysjMICYoUF3vM1iWZyiYgV50rc-5BcPaEI6p4Lbt_ccD7ZUm0LMOOaNijGkgGNGJKaEqHpTywgwlJksd5nulCcDCLp8-B9QfvbUucw3toI7QKCnyrR4SvEDdDv1n0z0j/s1600/AUS_4001.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Migaloo in his environment</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5cSSKW2g9H3YYFuXZUoIDhltXlE-ejA8vPd5z69K7Hgn3lfu6neVscvXEyMqDIu2oBhvssu9RhihkfOIJcTVvlEkffWDJFqmkRuKL8i0PwSRGZl75ytj5nO8yNp8FXC4bYh7EsrMZuz2/s1600/AUS_4008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5cSSKW2g9H3YYFuXZUoIDhltXlE-ejA8vPd5z69K7Hgn3lfu6neVscvXEyMqDIu2oBhvssu9RhihkfOIJcTVvlEkffWDJFqmkRuKL8i0PwSRGZl75ytj5nO8yNp8FXC4bYh7EsrMZuz2/s1600/AUS_4008.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bye bye Emerald Springs (Fuck you)!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Erik Krafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10520862374999442880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-54937464153482488282014-09-29T10:20:00.002+02:002014-09-29T10:20:36.649+02:00Working at Emerald Springs in the Northern Territory!<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Friday 15th
August – Thursday 21st August<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><br /></strong></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After
asking for jobs on every single roadhouse on our way from Alice Springs to
Darwin, we felt more and more keen for doing some more job hunting in Darwin.
Although we would prefer a job on a roadhouse, we would like to know what our
opportunities would be in the city. </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We spend most of a day in Peter Pans travel
agency. It’s a travel agency especially for backpackers, and they’re located in
every big city here in Australia. They provide free wifi, which a lot of
backpackers, like us, are taking advantage off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The worst thing about getting into the bigger cities is that it’s a
constantly problem to figure out where to sleep safe (in the car). We don’t
wanna pay for the accommodation, so as a result of that, we always feel very rootless
when we get into the cities. It leads to the same discussions and questions
every time – like where should we park, where do we shower, where is the
nearest toilet and so on. One of these days we had decided to sleep 10 km out of
town, behind a caravan park (they charged $40 for a site, which we had no
interest in paying), but we did want to use their showers though, and
preferably for free, but it doesn’t always feel safe and possible, which is why
we arranged that Erik should walk by the reception first, and then I would walk
in there and pay for my shower (at least we would pay for one shower then),
apparently they didn’t allow outside customers to take showers in there, so I
was hating myself for be honest and polite. At this time I was desperate to get
a shower (the midget bites we both got, started to itch like crazy and only
cold water can reduce the itch). I was going out of my mind, couldn’t go
another night without a shower. So I walked into the campground and filled up our
5 liter water bottle, and started showering behind our car on the silent street
– only one car passed me and I don’t think they realised, that there was a
crazy naked backpacker showering behind the car. At least the bites weren’t
that itchy anymore. Erik got his free shower and got out of the campground without
anyone seeing him. Lucky him! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">During that night the midget bites got a lot
worse. I think we got the bites in the outback somewhere, and apparently you
can’t see the small flies, to begin with the bites isn’t visible either, but
will show after a couple of days. Anyway we were getting crazy, none of us
could sleep, and even though we knew that scratching the bites just made it
worse – we just couldn’t help it.. Had to scratch the hell out of them – ALL
NIGHT! It was a living nightmare – we had been eaten alive, by those small
bastards. We have never experienced anything as awful as this – it was simply
unbelievable that small flies can harm us so much. We counted our bites that
night and it came up to a little over 600 together. The wounds looks horrible
and it can take a long time to get rid of the red spots. After that night, we
decided to check in at a hostel, and get all our bedding and everything in the
car cleaned – to make sure we didn’t carry anymore flies around. We paid $34
each for a dorm bed, the social area was great with a swimming pool and a bar.
And it was nice to belong somewhere! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I handed in my resume to different
restaurants in the city and Erik went to a job interview with a VW and Skoda
dealer, they offered him a job as workshop leader for VW, and a sponsorship for
4 years, incl. Australian citizenship (something that most backpackers can only
dream about), but we’re not planning to stay that long, so he turned the offer
down. Erik showed off at the hostel later on with his sponsorship offer – so
embarrassing, ha ha, but also a little funny, course all the young backpackers
there can’t get any jobs! And actually I never heard from any of the restaurants
where I applied for jobs. We both got offered jobs at Apollo (car and camper
rental company). </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">All these days we were actually just waiting for a roadhouse
to call us back, and tell us we got the job we applied for there. We weren’t
really interested in all the other jobs. We kept calling one specific roadhouse,
but the owner was never available. Always too busy to talk! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thursday we decided
to do some tourist stuff. We went to the Northern Territory museum and art
gallery - a very inspiring place, with a small exhibition about all the deadly
animals around here, and whole room devoted to Cyclone Tracy. We also visited
the Mindil beach market, it’s main attraction is food from all over the world.
Here we found an interesting stall, advertising for a big rodeo show on
saturday night. Very quickly we decided that it was on our to-do-list, and
definitely something we had to experience.</span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFk37MfUObDPaWee09t9loK5-uMxTe5hp4ImjhFSptrI1mLsNmFQ2Lq4ZJt2RHgqcPpRA26YK756wAMoFtjiGyc1u4htxHDHeGUdN1jrmF1SWRcn62EcMsHi6C8WPNz2k0Z2ubZParjdr7/s1600/AUS_2552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFk37MfUObDPaWee09t9loK5-uMxTe5hp4ImjhFSptrI1mLsNmFQ2Lq4ZJt2RHgqcPpRA26YK756wAMoFtjiGyc1u4htxHDHeGUdN1jrmF1SWRcn62EcMsHi6C8WPNz2k0Z2ubZParjdr7/s1600/AUS_2552.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's so convenient to travel with a mechanic.. Here he's removing a part from the wheels that made a lot of noise. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOS4yD15y8oFd-VoSiiVmkwpSVW86ih_RQEF7tlLsnbsH39oxSKUHXqCBMZX1v8nnIKevIbK-AdaA-eqXTvzI62rJPiqfJGWZ2zEi07bgohngXzebpAxpj85Gc0onYEzq-LvmwbVFmh3J/s1600/AUS_2563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOS4yD15y8oFd-VoSiiVmkwpSVW86ih_RQEF7tlLsnbsH39oxSKUHXqCBMZX1v8nnIKevIbK-AdaA-eqXTvzI62rJPiqfJGWZ2zEi07bgohngXzebpAxpj85Gc0onYEzq-LvmwbVFmh3J/s1600/AUS_2563.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only some of all the sandflies bite that we got.. It looked sick.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimKZwh9L-f_vDQurDmjkHZwz6womw1b00Fu-ZJN2MV6sVTF488Yh6hNDqJZU0f3vd52z24EMykY4jsgu2_mAznTOltUquR40mchP8dkhcUNYqnvlT62tPQJjPeDhIKy5aY88PKampWcP0/s1600/IMG_1906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimKZwh9L-f_vDQurDmjkHZwz6womw1b00Fu-ZJN2MV6sVTF488Yh6hNDqJZU0f3vd52z24EMykY4jsgu2_mAznTOltUquR40mchP8dkhcUNYqnvlT62tPQJjPeDhIKy5aY88PKampWcP0/s1600/IMG_1906.JPG" height="192" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hostel pool and bar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35uAsKZf_HDcpAyBSvwXsbM3WohevjNRex0KcBoepXtyQZDjSltda_iG9ZUUjhMfy8NDyitgn0Z_qpxxwaan2eFHZAJ-stfrVLylHc2u6iXB0w11IdoU_1Jb1ebW1GV-8_4VKJy_0B1bk/s1600/AUS_2642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35uAsKZf_HDcpAyBSvwXsbM3WohevjNRex0KcBoepXtyQZDjSltda_iG9ZUUjhMfy8NDyitgn0Z_qpxxwaan2eFHZAJ-stfrVLylHc2u6iXB0w11IdoU_1Jb1ebW1GV-8_4VKJy_0B1bk/s1600/AUS_2642.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most wrecked car we have seen so far</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVhFJNeQqcZsL3oDog1R0ZQA1FjXHlYqybINtleGGQ7t_3eoC9qHWw71dRVccepuFJMoo1f8TpnWd6rHCKMvybV8NQ2SPM9VUymvkf8RRIcIWoH6RqhYzvsOdGCzKuUGbTekMVikSAAi4/s1600/AUS_2660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVhFJNeQqcZsL3oDog1R0ZQA1FjXHlYqybINtleGGQ7t_3eoC9qHWw71dRVccepuFJMoo1f8TpnWd6rHCKMvybV8NQ2SPM9VUymvkf8RRIcIWoH6RqhYzvsOdGCzKuUGbTekMVikSAAi4/s1600/AUS_2660.JPG" height="372" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow masked lapwing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqf4dSLo5I9hCj7l4dxJKG6hfZGGBsmzt94lXzTEGY4wsp_sf50AQQynwktLVN7BPqcoYeN5hzm6ACR5KyMWur5ue7s88emkUpj_61QKiymmpzJ-Vj6IQQgChDNkJ_8zujYUgqnxdk90m/s1600/AUS_2664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqf4dSLo5I9hCj7l4dxJKG6hfZGGBsmzt94lXzTEGY4wsp_sf50AQQynwktLVN7BPqcoYeN5hzm6ACR5KyMWur5ue7s88emkUpj_61QKiymmpzJ-Vj6IQQgChDNkJ_8zujYUgqnxdk90m/s1600/AUS_2664.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cullen beach promenade</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk05K4b-1tf8TT9AlzGnwGSbD_jbkQ699_CAagS0yYjCG2J7CE0ftmM4mY6c_CJOH892mp-WzvfgXRHOotcEqYIhK8DWye1uhSoqdt93vKOmaagNm3kEw4w2qNywVutlwLriOmi6nEqFeQ/s1600/AUS_2682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk05K4b-1tf8TT9AlzGnwGSbD_jbkQ699_CAagS0yYjCG2J7CE0ftmM4mY6c_CJOH892mp-WzvfgXRHOotcEqYIhK8DWye1uhSoqdt93vKOmaagNm3kEw4w2qNywVutlwLriOmi6nEqFeQ/s1600/AUS_2682.JPG" height="330" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do not want to meet one of these bastards, while having an innocent swim</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaL126evrkxa2E4W7fg6gWJ9OQVpGR6IfZrBWl7p16uAIlEnCUOXpN_LOvKIKTcNAS0pE6qOM8LWjKqwcEuHPfSQEQsqZTagLEzBTKGqFWD78T4Hw6tiZcLhOWEkaY-NBv3NMQn69bZar7/s1600/AUS_2700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaL126evrkxa2E4W7fg6gWJ9OQVpGR6IfZrBWl7p16uAIlEnCUOXpN_LOvKIKTcNAS0pE6qOM8LWjKqwcEuHPfSQEQsqZTagLEzBTKGqFWD78T4Hw6tiZcLhOWEkaY-NBv3NMQn69bZar7/s1600/AUS_2700.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Mindil beach market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXgjk6LGMrBFbdoqemTQ0tE-52xynw6BZn6F9moCQZFasYx0mEySZUH_0LSj9c2IrsWZiJLEKYvVFnZ9zQXDSQXil0E57I5fviRMEqBwmNhcl8TTITBHZmWiP6C2iSK08I402lyrSPxaO/s1600/AUS_2705.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXgjk6LGMrBFbdoqemTQ0tE-52xynw6BZn6F9moCQZFasYx0mEySZUH_0LSj9c2IrsWZiJLEKYvVFnZ9zQXDSQXil0E57I5fviRMEqBwmNhcl8TTITBHZmWiP6C2iSK08I402lyrSPxaO/s1600/AUS_2705.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrMW7AFcNcc_zZcRY9mNy1XmtKV182zpONATmlp1AQfmYMHsMRBjnCYuibNtCwXUaCAUYEu6qdjwnyCP9Z5WtMb0LKLHCkP_UNQ-HNmKRPQKReETqWbYsawIEbzT3eylPDoU8tABHS2BA/s1600/AUS_2708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrMW7AFcNcc_zZcRY9mNy1XmtKV182zpONATmlp1AQfmYMHsMRBjnCYuibNtCwXUaCAUYEu6qdjwnyCP9Z5WtMb0LKLHCkP_UNQ-HNmKRPQKReETqWbYsawIEbzT3eylPDoU8tABHS2BA/s1600/AUS_2708.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dijurido's (a famous playing instrument in the aborignal culture)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Friday 22nd
August - Saturday 23rd August<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was the
day when we had to give our final answer to Apollo. We spend the morning on the
beach and tried in vain to get a hold on Dallas, the owner of the roadhouse,
where we preferred to work. He still didn’t call us back, so around noon we
decided to drive out to Apollo, and tell them we were keen for the jobs there. Just
before we started up the car, Erik tried to call the roadhouse for the last
time… And finally we got an answer (still didn’t talk to Dallas), but the staff
ensured us that we got the jobs and we told them we could be there sunday
morning. We were so happy, first of all because we would earn and save more
money out there, than in the city. We wouldn’t have to worry about
accommodation, as it was already a part of the wage. We would stay in a very
small community where everybody knows everybody, plus that we would get to
experience the life in the outback. It was great and it was time for a little
celebration. We splashed out and bought some nice wine, and went out for
dinner. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On Saturday we went to the rodeo show – it was so much fun and very
entertaining. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-3vT6pyHDLdS8G1Di9TYstmu3Vr14M0wd3vpWwK0YxOyWH94ZsQdA2UgMro8ZsBgVBTeEQ5tlt38jwK33YEK2Gsr7Ljj8M_SUjFqNVA0dTg6JqThzEzhYJXf8oDtd6hHeWcduRnd4STZ/s1600/AUS_2609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-3vT6pyHDLdS8G1Di9TYstmu3Vr14M0wd3vpWwK0YxOyWH94ZsQdA2UgMro8ZsBgVBTeEQ5tlt38jwK33YEK2Gsr7Ljj8M_SUjFqNVA0dTg6JqThzEzhYJXf8oDtd6hHeWcduRnd4STZ/s1600/AUS_2609.JPG" height="420" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darwin beach. It's all fenced in and the safest place to take a swim around here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZNxU_CesQqyWUqwofBMEVfAc3fD3mT9nSloa13hMT3PcsNMk7YrLaqvGAxjCpapwMZGU1ig6TjNmlCELWNCEFw0g9nrGeUIbJEqdbtPZfU4nNagMPKzMFOiAlI8xR32Tg-JuHd6d8WDq/s1600/AUS_2630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZNxU_CesQqyWUqwofBMEVfAc3fD3mT9nSloa13hMT3PcsNMk7YrLaqvGAxjCpapwMZGU1ig6TjNmlCELWNCEFw0g9nrGeUIbJEqdbtPZfU4nNagMPKzMFOiAlI8xR32Tg-JuHd6d8WDq/s1600/AUS_2630.JPG" height="306" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwbctze5ePpL5eLZv8f5RpogWdWf6RmO-hmw8hbTqxJZusk8KIW1M_KYS33Zy4n1FAzlXJIfyIUt77zF4wf_XuNIlKf8ky5ZQrY-B4zTymqgE5lN3HNbVpynCBsGZi6EnAeTqm5_dJFOB/s1600/AUS_2727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwbctze5ePpL5eLZv8f5RpogWdWf6RmO-hmw8hbTqxJZusk8KIW1M_KYS33Zy4n1FAzlXJIfyIUt77zF4wf_XuNIlKf8ky5ZQrY-B4zTymqgE5lN3HNbVpynCBsGZi6EnAeTqm5_dJFOB/s1600/AUS_2727.JPG" height="338" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating that we finally got the job that we wanted</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3r2MwuCHc1wONKwlnjHdTK7zX9noSdvEseLWvYWaX9xgpi2njA7_mNd-WFuECDtzGrvqt3MV09B6b0hfvFS_FcI3iDmlle13ZWZAKWg5QMTS3ReW76jFYuSzB-dWlaUYeQP2DHbmDmcJZ/s1600/AUS_2740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3r2MwuCHc1wONKwlnjHdTK7zX9noSdvEseLWvYWaX9xgpi2njA7_mNd-WFuECDtzGrvqt3MV09B6b0hfvFS_FcI3iDmlle13ZWZAKWg5QMTS3ReW76jFYuSzB-dWlaUYeQP2DHbmDmcJZ/s1600/AUS_2740.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAob3838uoxXXPXdocZNooSqaSixZNUAWH5UmTlu7e90wYoXS3NPBfw-ju7TTOdDoeDlox-k2yHbm5wp_9uJxajepCZFy4po8fkDNDrAlg2N6hVntpsdcaFwA3_9f7jqfWPvj2YTNlbjz/s1600/AUS_2763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAob3838uoxXXPXdocZNooSqaSixZNUAWH5UmTlu7e90wYoXS3NPBfw-ju7TTOdDoeDlox-k2yHbm5wp_9uJxajepCZFy4po8fkDNDrAlg2N6hVntpsdcaFwA3_9f7jqfWPvj2YTNlbjz/s1600/AUS_2763.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rodeo, and time to play with my new camera...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv1r9rcJ5HkfFQB_2h8hU1H7c0Q0KmRLCVdqJZ5ELqK5nGclCj47SUe8x8qf3jCS8c52N7wu3tmCoI68ZgCH0KymYRfXGd2sMkPdg38bjLYMfcoUv9HLe8fMZ5CY9ReSZ_NLE4srOuZNHj/s1600/AUS_2804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv1r9rcJ5HkfFQB_2h8hU1H7c0Q0KmRLCVdqJZ5ELqK5nGclCj47SUe8x8qf3jCS8c52N7wu3tmCoI68ZgCH0KymYRfXGd2sMkPdg38bjLYMfcoUv9HLe8fMZ5CY9ReSZ_NLE4srOuZNHj/s1600/AUS_2804.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulRRtq2YHmMJcAmmNevhhYxP_mFayAJ7qwG8pEUx81PQEOyd0uwa22fhrmQB2XzyASDmOVWg6-QlakDpFaYbLJwOQEglkfJh1kmpM228fU6mQ6ySccT9zA4bczlwVs5xfFaGt6H0NOXVg/s1600/AUS_2928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgulRRtq2YHmMJcAmmNevhhYxP_mFayAJ7qwG8pEUx81PQEOyd0uwa22fhrmQB2XzyASDmOVWg6-QlakDpFaYbLJwOQEglkfJh1kmpM228fU6mQ6ySccT9zA4bczlwVs5xfFaGt6H0NOXVg/s1600/AUS_2928.JPG" height="344" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bull fighters were really making an effort to get the bulls out of the way.. No one got hurt, although it looks like it here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnbj5GIdQs-_-ajg6rIPkRt9If5j64Je2HvZWxFVO880-wF6kpcRlyXecJYyyQxc5gGf3HdvCPKfVSsb2AW9nq7lKqGba19qs7O8xT0FkTaXx8_5sCVrGlkjSWEtTxdfAYU0Axcj4k4Vg/s1600/AUS_2939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnbj5GIdQs-_-ajg6rIPkRt9If5j64Je2HvZWxFVO880-wF6kpcRlyXecJYyyQxc5gGf3HdvCPKfVSsb2AW9nq7lKqGba19qs7O8xT0FkTaXx8_5sCVrGlkjSWEtTxdfAYU0Axcj4k4Vg/s1600/AUS_2939.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice all the chickens in the chicken cage</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Rodeo Video</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/c4mTA4_b6vE/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/c4mTA4_b6vE?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/c4mTA4_b6vE?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Sunday 24th </strong></span></span><strong style="font-family: Calibri;">August- Wednesday 3rd September</strong></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We drove to
Emerald Springs in the morning. We were extremely excited about our new jobs,
and as a matter of fact, we have only been taken money out of our accounts the
last year, and now all of a sudden, we were gonna do the opposite. It was an
incredible feeling actually. At the same time we knew that we shouldn’t expect
too much from a place so isolated from the civilisation. It would most likely
be a very monotonous and easy job. And we were right! No big challenges for me.
Erik has on the other hand shown a whole new side of himself as a waiter and
barista. It took him a couple of days to get into it, but now he’s almost
professional. For the first time, probably ever I earn more money than Erik – I
get $24,60 an hour and he gets around $21. The staff here is backpackers like
us, so it changes all the time. People only stay for a month or two. We’re
living in a house together with the other 3-4 employees. We work 8-10 hours a
day, 6 days a week. The roadhouse has accommodations and a small campsite, most
of the visitors are truckers passing by on their way to or from Darwin. 5 days
a week we have a tourist bus visiting, they get scones/muffins and coffe/tee in
the morning and dinner on their way back in the evening, so those days can
sometimes be busy. During the days we are in a constant fight against flies, they’re
everywhere, and when the night kicks in we get all kinds of different bugs
flying around, like big muffs and huge grasshoppers, and off course some
mosquitoes and sand flies. </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of our first days here there
was a tiny python in the kitchen – WELCOME TO THE OUTBACK!!!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> An old staff
member also told a story about a 3-4 meter snake, living underneath the staff
house, also a python, not venomous, but definitely not pleasant to step on
either. One night it came into the house through a hole in the floor. That was
awake up call to get that hole covered. Another thing is that we have to take
care not to step on cane toes when we walk outside at night, not that they are
dangerous, just very disgusting. Cane toes are huge frogs that were brought
into the country, to get rid of all the beetles in the cane fields, but
apparently they eat everything BUT the beetles, and they breed like crazy.
They’re really disgusting. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Emerald Springs is located 130 km north of
Katherine, which is the closest town, and 170 km from Darwin. Imagine driving
that long to do your groceries –welcome to our world!!! The other day I drove
22 km north to the nearest roadhouse (Hayes Creek) to get alcoholic supplies, on
my way I discovered a bushfire, which is really common at this time of the
year, everything is so dry and the gum trees are just waiting to get burned
down to the soil. I reckon most fires are caused by cigarette fags, thrown out
of the windows of cars and road trains. Frankly it’s shocking how many fires we
have seen already. 32 km south of us we have Pine Creek, a very small community
with a post office, a kiosk and a gas station. The last saturday in every month
there’s a party at an old historical hotel (Grove Hill), all the locals (that’s
people living within a 100 km radius) come there to socialize and have a good
time. We went to check it out, first 11 km on the highway and then 16 km on
dirt road and then we finally arrived at the little gem. There was country style
live music, and the atmosphere was awesome. People were enjoying themselves. Everyone,
except us, was wearing check pattern shirts, cowboy boots and cowboy hats. Next
time we will have to do the same! The hotel is ancient and can’t provide
accommodation any longer, but before the highway was developed, it was the
biggest stop-over you could make between Darwin and Alice Springs. All the
workers used to stop here, change their horses and get smashed, before they
continued their travels. Now it’s basically only used for this party every
month.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen in the staff house</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6k4FB6dzqxU_9hjGkRnhC7a2QwqyZhp4gCMuGt8oYqPtvP7qGSBQlJvOQ3W4t0snqSU82DwXSXDSoyXZyCKBNishhxlx0h_ktpGa1WkhV9Kys_Tf56ZoQ1nhXRj6sZPWLA3zd_hJ6xWn/s1600/AUS_3331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6k4FB6dzqxU_9hjGkRnhC7a2QwqyZhp4gCMuGt8oYqPtvP7qGSBQlJvOQ3W4t0snqSU82DwXSXDSoyXZyCKBNishhxlx0h_ktpGa1WkhV9Kys_Tf56ZoQ1nhXRj6sZPWLA3zd_hJ6xWn/s1600/AUS_3331.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lounge room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEiiYcerlxKgMbt1aURzy5UwUZEwX3_mwiyjh_S-2rfwqQfMTGvXIqWtfJL-Nt7bWySsLE4SjP1rJk7VbkITBo2kLgTtNDlDaWO531I4ApsW3yW1Sur4wYSW0hJ96ZYqMFGUN07Xc31vKt/s1600/AUS_3358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEiiYcerlxKgMbt1aURzy5UwUZEwX3_mwiyjh_S-2rfwqQfMTGvXIqWtfJL-Nt7bWySsLE4SjP1rJk7VbkITBo2kLgTtNDlDaWO531I4ApsW3yW1Sur4wYSW0hJ96ZYqMFGUN07Xc31vKt/s1600/AUS_3358.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The outside restaurant</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwO9OePLIpKJLGrU2ITNgMhyphenhyphenPWYqV8rJGZ9U2jd5NT7Napj6uA0GuRnE1Yj4ThHL0SIeBmMqJ_PrD1Jek7czYyr_yk3FOM-NCqXuN2gP0q7mKXzvszdgFTQemL4PcBf-puOKTWUCphmcCz/s1600/AUS_3370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwO9OePLIpKJLGrU2ITNgMhyphenhyphenPWYqV8rJGZ9U2jd5NT7Napj6uA0GuRnE1Yj4ThHL0SIeBmMqJ_PrD1Jek7czYyr_yk3FOM-NCqXuN2gP0q7mKXzvszdgFTQemL4PcBf-puOKTWUCphmcCz/s1600/AUS_3370.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The inside restaurant really shows that it's mosty a place for truckers</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_q3ofztstOFwfwQ4KQowR1Tb3ORR3fURVAPepgSxIuxQlkQ3jBwYH32ybNXCnsF36VGpJ_Xn7nGCF_VcvTOcJgd_mjFqV8dA4cjNYiFWelgdRtJcStY72Jc4KjWkNsHYPNkz3wyRaCnL7/s1600/AUS_3419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_q3ofztstOFwfwQ4KQowR1Tb3ORR3fURVAPepgSxIuxQlkQ3jBwYH32ybNXCnsF36VGpJ_Xn7nGCF_VcvTOcJgd_mjFqV8dA4cjNYiFWelgdRtJcStY72Jc4KjWkNsHYPNkz3wyRaCnL7/s1600/AUS_3419.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erik showing off as a waiter</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVTcYbMuOumqxl1EcJtZYfZ3399Yel3p9SxZz9YAAB8t_MELWD8HIjeM9xCnzLoUmbpaMcxWV_3FUDLYycg-nxLdckVUAhEYfFBj5ktwHy96MWeEr__jNQq3YmNiZjIM4JPBt2Dh1UUE/s1600/IMG_2718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVTcYbMuOumqxl1EcJtZYfZ3399Yel3p9SxZz9YAAB8t_MELWD8HIjeM9xCnzLoUmbpaMcxWV_3FUDLYycg-nxLdckVUAhEYfFBj5ktwHy96MWeEr__jNQq3YmNiZjIM4JPBt2Dh1UUE/s1600/IMG_2718.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A huge stick insect in the kitchen</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Thursday 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
September – Friday 5<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> September<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our first
day off in ten days. We had decided to visit Litchfield National Park. It’s one
of the best places, in the top end of the territory, for bushwalking, camping and
especially swimming. It’s got gorgeous waterfalls plunging into safe swimming
holes, and with safe I mean no saltwater crocs (salties), has been spotted
there since last wet season. The freshwater crocs (freshies) lives there, but
they are not dangerous to humans. It’s actually scientific proved that the
freshies isn’t a threat to us. A signpost told us the pool was safe, so
together with all the other people we enjoyed a swim in Wangi Falls. We also
visited Tolmer falls, which was another neat waterfall, only for looking
though. To avoid driving the same way out of the national park we decided to do
the loop, which included 50 km on dirt road. It was fine in the beginning, but
all the potholes and corrugation makes it uncomfortable after a while. Just when
we got out on the normal road again we ran out of LPG gas, so we tried to
switch to petrol, but Migaloo (our car) wouldn’t run on that, so we had to pull
over. It came as a shock to both of us, we didn’t have any problems with that
before, and now when we finally had a day off, we ran into problems and off
course right in the middle of nowhere.. Well everything here is in the middle
of nowhere, so it didn’t really matter where it happend. It’s bad news no
matter where you are. We tried in vain to get Migaloo going again, but without
any luck. We were stuck, the nearest gas station was at Berry Springs, at least
15 km away. We were fucked! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then eventually we could see a car coming towards
us, going the same direction as we were suppose to. We stopped them and asked
for help. They were from Sydney and on their vacation up here, luckily they had
time to help us, and towed us out of our misery and into the gas station.
Unfortunately they didn’t have LPG, the next gas station, Noonamah, was another
10 km away. Erik now tried to start the car and all of a sudden it started –
the family now followed us to the next gas station, to make sure we got there
safe. Erik reckon it’s got something to do with the heat. It’s pretty hot up
here at the moment, so it´s possible that the heat is the issue. Well, when we
got the LPG on, Migaloo was good to go again. We arranged to meet up with the
family at the Mindil beach market in Darwin that same night. We wanted to thank
them and buy them a beer or something.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> After the car was fine again we decided
to drive back to Berry Springs, and visit the swimming hole and hot springs
there, before heading to Darwin. We so needed to cool down after that hectic
afternoon. Unfortunately this was also the reason why we never found that
family on the market – we got there too late! It was a shame! It wasn’t really
our day! I got my cowboy hat though, which was our main purpose to visit the
market (now I’m ready for the next cowboy party). </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We drove down to Adelaide
River and camped for the night. The next morning we rose early to drive the
last bit to the jumping crocodile operators. As all our time in Asia, we didn’t
book the tour in advance, but got on the boat in the morning anyway. We were in
for a treat, watching wild salties jump out of the water to catch a silly piece
of pork chop, isn’t something you see every day. It was like a circus act, the crocs
know where to get free feed and they seem well-trained in jumping for their
prey, which by the way is their natural behavior. They use their powerful tail
as a propeller to get themselves out of the water. It was really fascinating to
experience. And all of this happens in the wild, no enclosures or anything –
just as we prefer it! Afterwards we cuddled with a Western Australian carpet
python and I just couldn’t get enough so I swung the black headed python around
my neck as well. The black headed python is one of the rarest pythons, and
unfortunately a lot of them die, from eating those disgusting cane toes (the
frogs). Erik had to start work at 1 pm, so we headed “home” straight after the
croc show.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBZyqJVCjCdqPuWM_A0ZoOL05UUg42Kf61VEh4u34p3Qql4PpXnD6447AcKlLaAVhdSJIbMTs2RMK6dELgg9K59STkl7N-BfzHosCs-Hjmz8IzU0tkT5V-HgPJ58721P8AtbDOpr-2ZOB/s1600/AUS_3456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBZyqJVCjCdqPuWM_A0ZoOL05UUg42Kf61VEh4u34p3Qql4PpXnD6447AcKlLaAVhdSJIbMTs2RMK6dELgg9K59STkl7N-BfzHosCs-Hjmz8IzU0tkT5V-HgPJ58721P8AtbDOpr-2ZOB/s1600/AUS_3456.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful outback colours</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGOxyehlVejQHv5CYNlgGbuCFBnhWsPtUNnegdrFZgW4sm-OCSUYL4RwjX0XxiK53z1beu46y1I3NqlPLmLrZcdpQQ3GhewJUFHUYeGmhpNu_tv33UpOQUWo8QDzJNQtjIIz3Emfq4Sj0/s1600/AUS_3481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGOxyehlVejQHv5CYNlgGbuCFBnhWsPtUNnegdrFZgW4sm-OCSUYL4RwjX0XxiK53z1beu46y1I3NqlPLmLrZcdpQQ3GhewJUFHUYeGmhpNu_tv33UpOQUWo8QDzJNQtjIIz3Emfq4Sj0/s1600/AUS_3481.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tolmer falls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8QDXIZiYob8DBKzd8IjbHuH9gnRCYSMVuUwG3LD-CZL4eNXWHmmWImlzsQ0Vx1KEJ-Rrp715k0j0N15q7x2ywXFE2wWR9NKaHAG1RSHgklvGeCQJCSyaISJ9tsFSsPhSxBP4PE__Mvze/s1600/AUS_3508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8QDXIZiYob8DBKzd8IjbHuH9gnRCYSMVuUwG3LD-CZL4eNXWHmmWImlzsQ0Vx1KEJ-Rrp715k0j0N15q7x2ywXFE2wWR9NKaHAG1RSHgklvGeCQJCSyaISJ9tsFSsPhSxBP4PE__Mvze/s1600/AUS_3508.JPG" height="408" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wangi falls.. And more playing with the camera.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxwkYo4mbDlGkGEStBI8ZNfOzzRfRUbaQpN9UDdr_9IhGai62nBmpdopMjq7cZ22lVyHfSVpU9VLysoEQIzJVGeZ1eFS5oU92jv_m8a2mEqNrX7VBktUopl5UHzj1ybCMgADgrXTatSwM/s1600/AUS_3550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxwkYo4mbDlGkGEStBI8ZNfOzzRfRUbaQpN9UDdr_9IhGai62nBmpdopMjq7cZ22lVyHfSVpU9VLysoEQIzJVGeZ1eFS5oU92jv_m8a2mEqNrX7VBktUopl5UHzj1ybCMgADgrXTatSwM/s1600/AUS_3550.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A free ride....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbMJGp6Pur8Ur9u2ekzGNZL4uyTKdkuYizLhj2yhipmpZn_oFc4ghc7MQBZxcz1xxlwvu4qSHl5HzqyUiXMihd_BWGLflNBDRiAltBmIfhdQGpog_xv6CNtWjfldKX0WM2HX8_VEJALle/s1600/AUS_3554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbMJGp6Pur8Ur9u2ekzGNZL4uyTKdkuYizLhj2yhipmpZn_oFc4ghc7MQBZxcz1xxlwvu4qSHl5HzqyUiXMihd_BWGLflNBDRiAltBmIfhdQGpog_xv6CNtWjfldKX0WM2HX8_VEJALle/s1600/AUS_3554.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berry Springs was gorgeous</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdeHDO2x1lbqQPcgtjTPYS4sywAjM_RkaeRUBbhXsRDLGWn0oKFQoIAGWMDG3jUc2rBsaagjPi9kzN97FL7VgLy49i1unir7R0ginc64feDIOHSTJ6Upo2WQVCJa52rOyhIvdyBRHcAprg/s1600/AUS_3567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdeHDO2x1lbqQPcgtjTPYS4sywAjM_RkaeRUBbhXsRDLGWn0oKFQoIAGWMDG3jUc2rBsaagjPi9kzN97FL7VgLy49i1unir7R0ginc64feDIOHSTJ6Upo2WQVCJa52rOyhIvdyBRHcAprg/s1600/AUS_3567.JPG" height="284" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Croc tour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JAuuNL1RIIiOim-uV-yJlghbh8LF6QOk6ALelbLbRLQmCOXgoqoql940KR73p52LkxM6WgXOS0FO_YXoAZYhDoUkq0514sLaZ48cNKtzsGO2QdJLSsR-8KEth5TZCDYSJJOtpkoGAz4a/s1600/AUS_3714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JAuuNL1RIIiOim-uV-yJlghbh8LF6QOk6ALelbLbRLQmCOXgoqoql940KR73p52LkxM6WgXOS0FO_YXoAZYhDoUkq0514sLaZ48cNKtzsGO2QdJLSsR-8KEth5TZCDYSJJOtpkoGAz4a/s1600/AUS_3714.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They can be hard to spot on the riverbanks.. But the dragon look-a-like tail give them away most of the times.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqCwEUUSOy8xfVSxNd6RDdrA7Gj-bXFEkEsS8gAOs6j4weTKEeJ_8xPCuklF9Z6yGXz00I7CVi8W3ObQIWwarCpPp0vlQxh2ekX9AFV3yfFwHzLV7WE9wdyPL6R6BiCLvVar6xEd8xNEHe/s1600/AUS_3734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqCwEUUSOy8xfVSxNd6RDdrA7Gj-bXFEkEsS8gAOs6j4weTKEeJ_8xPCuklF9Z6yGXz00I7CVi8W3ObQIWwarCpPp0vlQxh2ekX9AFV3yfFwHzLV7WE9wdyPL6R6BiCLvVar6xEd8xNEHe/s1600/AUS_3734.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frontpages on newspapers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSR5bmVIl_2mLXsj3hYp9HMl3QB_PMy9svEyVnDIbtIR5DLW2Rtdf846oLn0bKGKc4E7yK7pL5kqk9VCVx_bM10j-TOZjH81rpzV-O0PvW2shWfJf7F1cuavjktrnwCuwd1im9q6e3Z60d/s1600/AUS_3740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSR5bmVIl_2mLXsj3hYp9HMl3QB_PMy9svEyVnDIbtIR5DLW2Rtdf846oLn0bKGKc4E7yK7pL5kqk9VCVx_bM10j-TOZjH81rpzV-O0PvW2shWfJf7F1cuavjktrnwCuwd1im9q6e3Z60d/s1600/AUS_3740.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snake dundee, with the western carpet python</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfMN-EVJxU2N2KLrCMfm2H9C4IXPnqSXdPu2TE3emn-U3owaf7jhZo1IG09q77NtiHIasSvKjY-USxaTznIH0CsGsAetO9PKwclSg6jYU1zSC4z8YC360qc1fmkSkrkZI3TSB9SHiUevHo/s1600/AUS_3748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfMN-EVJxU2N2KLrCMfm2H9C4IXPnqSXdPu2TE3emn-U3owaf7jhZo1IG09q77NtiHIasSvKjY-USxaTznIH0CsGsAetO9PKwclSg6jYU1zSC4z8YC360qc1fmkSkrkZI3TSB9SHiUevHo/s1600/AUS_3748.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erik is really comfortable with his new friend<br />
<br /></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Jumping Croc video</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Saturday 6<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
September – Wednesday 10<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> September<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We have gotten
use to a lot of different and weird looking animals, especially bugs and
bettles – one thing we probably never will get use to is the snakes. It’s
almost daily that one of us see a snake around the roadhouse, and they have all
been different so far. So there’s a few around! Erik almost stepped on one the
other day when he walked out from the staff house. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The owner of the roadhouse
(Dallas) is from time to time driving all of us insane, he’s using his energy
and time on all the wrong stuff. Like for example he thinks it’s more important
that he uses time to tell us which corner of the plates the tomatoes goes on,
than to drive the two weeks old rubbish to the dumb. The yard smells so gross
from all the bad food in the rubbish bins, and it’s literally a pigsty. No
wonder there’s so many flies and animals around! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He thinks he can solve the problem, if he just
move the rubbish further away from the restaurant. So his big truck is hidden
by a tree in the backyard – loaded to the max with ancient rubbish. So
disgusting! We can’t have a normal conversation with him, frankly he’s out of
reach, and every now and then he blames us for all kinds of stupid things, and
afterwards uses his sick wife as an excuse for his weird behavior. One day he
came stomping into the staff house and started to look into kitchen drawers,
our common cupboard, the fridge and the freezer. When I asked him what he was
doing his answer was ‘I found some weird stuff in here from time to time’. He
obviously doesn’t trust us at all. His childish head makes him think that
people steal food from the kitchen and hide it here. At night time we have
caught him several times, sneaking around the staff house and listening by the
windows. He talks unreasonable loud to us, sometimes in front of costumers.
Luckily most of the costumers knows that he’s a freak. He’s unreliable and
unpredictable. Between costumers the place is called Dallas’ kingdom’. He’s a sad
sad human being to be around. I could continue telling stories about that guy,
but he’s not worth the time! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There’s some really nice things happening as well.
There’s this local guy that visits us frequently and he’s got two wallabies
(small kangaroos) as pets, and a dog. It’s such a different world to have them
coming and jumping around in the restaurant. They do get a lot of positive
attention from the other visitors. It’s so great! There’s a lot of truckers
coming frequently as well, Erik has begun to recognize them and share travel
experiences with them. A lot of them are transporting cows, and sleeping here
for the night. It can be really noisy at night with all those trampling cows,
but on the other hand I find it extremely cozy to get up in the morning, and
start my morning jog with saying good morning to all these animals looking
down at me, from the big road train trailers. I run on the highway, but it's never really busy in the mornings. Usually I only meet 8-10 cars during my run, so it's all right and not to dangerous. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We will stick around for another three weeks, and will have to put up with Dallas weird behaviour for still a little while. Then we will continue our journey through Australia.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0RW_7_cerwbprfAIRwoRRz3MgwEyKeHAkSXb_omBTpOeRUFue50038S1ameGkElK1sCPDuuB0oDoE1S_ti_OVGGUJB1QSlJsFJTXhuEdJnvptUl2nro4xYPCEMFImICkD4ryHL1uG7U/s1600/AUS_3967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0RW_7_cerwbprfAIRwoRRz3MgwEyKeHAkSXb_omBTpOeRUFue50038S1ameGkElK1sCPDuuB0oDoE1S_ti_OVGGUJB1QSlJsFJTXhuEdJnvptUl2nro4xYPCEMFImICkD4ryHL1uG7U/s1600/AUS_3967.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The little fellow that Erik almost stepped on</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5LwTjOadwR-A30qA4o4ThS5QiaYhOk8G6LvHfJTRbSzX5wSyeT3l0Ii14sVP6a0kyM8LGMC9VLvK6j4yr0KXKp6LdnW2sDZBi74SdlIrXBQKrp6LyHZrzRX6_bFnxGVt1lrkyWFut_iA/s1600/AUS_4035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5LwTjOadwR-A30qA4o4ThS5QiaYhOk8G6LvHfJTRbSzX5wSyeT3l0Ii14sVP6a0kyM8LGMC9VLvK6j4yr0KXKp6LdnW2sDZBi74SdlIrXBQKrp6LyHZrzRX6_bFnxGVt1lrkyWFut_iA/s1600/AUS_4035.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the highway it's a sad apperance of the roadhouse.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdv0-GN4-JJKWF1V_Sm5BGV2ANi1pUoPomGnRb6IXmjACwNWBNnlIi8f6YPrPvek8myuxu2H6mMPefe0-IYD-wxKe4Rpphgv1WJIk3uZI6AYOG-p5aVdtOVBg-2nxG8Sj334XSnT0TAks/s1600/AUS_4038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdv0-GN4-JJKWF1V_Sm5BGV2ANi1pUoPomGnRb6IXmjACwNWBNnlIi8f6YPrPvek8myuxu2H6mMPefe0-IYD-wxKe4Rpphgv1WJIk3uZI6AYOG-p5aVdtOVBg-2nxG8Sj334XSnT0TAks/s1600/AUS_4038.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The main entrance is the dark door on the left hand side.. From outside it looks like the place is closed down..</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6365G-j0EOswFE4rGT8ffpvT4bzMgKAFGhN0LTWnQRO8lWJ1Ebtcz6PgLobP-KSHQuQmWpm8u30XJDI8Ai1UFI0KLo1jZIU4Gp78lgDO2aM8p1CMGcy0E4m5kra7ukn5IrSC1WTLc0FQ/s1600/AUS_4042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6365G-j0EOswFE4rGT8ffpvT4bzMgKAFGhN0LTWnQRO8lWJ1Ebtcz6PgLobP-KSHQuQmWpm8u30XJDI8Ai1UFI0KLo1jZIU4Gp78lgDO2aM8p1CMGcy0E4m5kra7ukn5IrSC1WTLc0FQ/s1600/AUS_4042.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An left bus in the end of the caravan park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGMaJ-x7GNFJPuEqCIDP5rob4IXLdeB9ECFAz2fFFIC7ur7_o6XuVFTuEGFW_UA_RTteP1RusdRrZKaYZJx32eU1p5R2atcyLDqBle1eXP7eIIJRPdwsPeCw6GgcQJG3s_gLP2G0Ysg8/s1600/AUS_4043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGMaJ-x7GNFJPuEqCIDP5rob4IXLdeB9ECFAz2fFFIC7ur7_o6XuVFTuEGFW_UA_RTteP1RusdRrZKaYZJx32eU1p5R2atcyLDqBle1eXP7eIIJRPdwsPeCw6GgcQJG3s_gLP2G0Ysg8/s1600/AUS_4043.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The outside restaurant, seen from the back of the caravan park</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></span></div>
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Erik Krafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10520862374999442880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-78635053279915959642014-08-21T05:55:00.002+02:002014-08-21T05:55:16.976+02:00The Outback Tour (Cairns - Alice Springs - Darwin)<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Friday 1<sup>st</sup>
August</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We left
Cairns before noon, pointing our direction north to Port Douglas and Cape
Tribulation. Dean & Courtney had told us, that we needed to experience that
area before we left the east coast, and we’re so happy that we did so. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
drive from Cairns to Port Douglas was absolutely beautiful, the road swings along
the coast and the views was breathtaking. It was exactly how we had imagined
the whole east coast to be like, but apparently it’s not starting before north
of Cairns. There is so many beautiful look outs and picture perfect sceneries.</span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We explored the Mossman gorge, and walked by an aboriginal community. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s up in
these regions that crocodiles are a common sight and before entering beaches we
are warned by signs to be aware of crocodiles. Erik also saw one floating
around in a river, we drove over. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Apparently the locals aren’t taking the signs
as serious as we do. They’re still swimming and even letting their kids play in
the waterfront. Probably the signs are just a warning that there have been
sights of crocodiles in the water, perhaps it’s long time ago, but we didn’t
dare risking it. We preferred to stay dirty, instead of dead. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At Wonga beach we
enjoyed our dinner, and then ventured inland to find a free place to camp for
the night. We realized that Daintree National Park was closer than assumed, and
by coincidence we drove straight into the cable ferry. The park is only accessible
by the ferry and is a unique area where the tropical rainforest meet the sea.
We drove 5 km on dirt road straight down to Cape Kimberley in the southern
part. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We couldn’t figure out whether if we should pay money for camping and
sleep safe or save the money and sleep somewhere outside. It was pitch black
and a bit spooky. The thought of sleeping in no-mans-land with crocs nearby,
wasn’t really tempting, but our final conclusion was to save the money.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4Aw0RyMAxv6ju2uc0X2Wb2W2eORHNaHHEq9rMjzjcLt6GPKLw77s0cJsa-nfiYyzjTTs_JHLLLX6zAf0YpcZWa_U-xHabYIMKt9QXqWvlQrIpZ0L92Xt8t2Tqrwcx5g0W-wIV47V5Go/s1600/AUS_0557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4Aw0RyMAxv6ju2uc0X2Wb2W2eORHNaHHEq9rMjzjcLt6GPKLw77s0cJsa-nfiYyzjTTs_JHLLLX6zAf0YpcZWa_U-xHabYIMKt9QXqWvlQrIpZ0L92Xt8t2Tqrwcx5g0W-wIV47V5Go/s1600/AUS_0557.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picnic area in Port Douglas...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1J5AgtwM9RkkZ-bqmGh-dbOzElG5SQ_oSx9dzSM-1LAXv94PgA4tJ-tSc2XtqWktO9KtuXxfBmQscAvwT83D2rIxvsW94VvwH4-MGEOr6dPfhGb4fGXaIvz49V26ygAldbyLMBRPQJg/s1600/AUS_0571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1J5AgtwM9RkkZ-bqmGh-dbOzElG5SQ_oSx9dzSM-1LAXv94PgA4tJ-tSc2XtqWktO9KtuXxfBmQscAvwT83D2rIxvsW94VvwH4-MGEOr6dPfhGb4fGXaIvz49V26ygAldbyLMBRPQJg/s1600/AUS_0571.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...Not the worst view to enjoy lunch and a nab.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7v6BggIMUvE4qpB6UKwxlOcUks2kRyLNWV2sJSmXyayG9OefHDDvNVYcHCbwY2cWqysWws0Hmnm-dU_SsfjTb-hIZ-44EQxC38Duk87iJGXFrDQrB-XY38o45czjLfNHt_XCCuGqoJW8/s1600/AUS_0667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7v6BggIMUvE4qpB6UKwxlOcUks2kRyLNWV2sJSmXyayG9OefHDDvNVYcHCbwY2cWqysWws0Hmnm-dU_SsfjTb-hIZ-44EQxC38Duk87iJGXFrDQrB-XY38o45czjLfNHt_XCCuGqoJW8/s1600/AUS_0667.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The aborgines are very territorial, just like animals...</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgpFn74AdBrteyQMOfaIx5pUrCqmmUl1mrqrVvQvJEq2gViLkbHAHXMb6wqJ-QksuBNM1yk50ExuCCC8OnQyMoBCZ_6JcLHYud3PWRafvDk-hD5MphdZC0rbnphCKjm-8sM65gnZ4U9U/s1600/AUS_0676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgpFn74AdBrteyQMOfaIx5pUrCqmmUl1mrqrVvQvJEq2gViLkbHAHXMb6wqJ-QksuBNM1yk50ExuCCC8OnQyMoBCZ_6JcLHYud3PWRafvDk-hD5MphdZC0rbnphCKjm-8sM65gnZ4U9U/s1600/AUS_0676.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD7G5uR5gjjJPrwm2UZ1sohEqVPBNFW7LivBCyFJPFEyxmpSbVguW8bOEmtUC6EAjzlScQOUtFUiA7vZsJ_idk58XvKKiZqK80ooYs5f-QGDE2evDa5aGu8FHZ917DjCdSzG_DkRbda8Q/s1600/AUS_0680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD7G5uR5gjjJPrwm2UZ1sohEqVPBNFW7LivBCyFJPFEyxmpSbVguW8bOEmtUC6EAjzlScQOUtFUiA7vZsJ_idk58XvKKiZqK80ooYs5f-QGDE2evDa5aGu8FHZ917DjCdSzG_DkRbda8Q/s1600/AUS_0680.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crocodile warning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0cv7-GAgfTlo2mEYps9IBVsu3SYQ0Uo6WPGtW_rQZsjgbwyzwnjcETycdaMeV7Pn4lLr76jeb1PFiVhAQFPOMruWamginsuDjYWHffG7sjiwh0X50C8LdwFB-Mqc3dmWQOX4bJ5V4ow/s1600/AUS_0688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0cv7-GAgfTlo2mEYps9IBVsu3SYQ0Uo6WPGtW_rQZsjgbwyzwnjcETycdaMeV7Pn4lLr76jeb1PFiVhAQFPOMruWamginsuDjYWHffG7sjiwh0X50C8LdwFB-Mqc3dmWQOX4bJ5V4ow/s1600/AUS_0688.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This nice beach is inhabited of crocodiles and not suitable for swimming.. Such a shame!<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Saturday 2<sup>nd</sup>
August – Sunday 3<sup>rd</sup> August</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We explored
the national park on our way up to Cape Tribulation, we then headed back down
to Port Douglas again. In spite of the croc warning signs we followed the crowd
and ventured out in the ocean for a quick dip. There were plenty of people on
the beach, so we assumed it would be alright. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On the parking spot, while we
were measuring and sewing curtains for the car, some friendly Aussies came and
offered us beers and wine. It would be retarded to decline such a good offer,
and we quickly got along with them, more people soon joined us and it turned
out to a party on the parking spot. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Some government workers warned us against
sleeping on the parking spot, but none of us were keen for driving so we didn’t
take serious notice of their comment. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Next day we felt like a train crash – why
did we do this to ourselves!? Aaaw! Luckily no ticket in the window, or any
signs that the police/ranger passed by. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Erik was fortunately okay to drive, so we
started our trip into the desolated emptiness. Even though we didn’t meet many
cars on the road it was interesting to see the beauty of the nature, and the
surroundings changed all the time, we drove from curved mountain roads with
fertile forests surroundings, into dry open areas, where the roads are so flat
that you could see your dog run away for days. The areas are so remote and uninhabited
– it even astonished us jaded travelers. We felt so fascinated by the nature. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Due to the rich nocturnal animal life everyone has warned us about night
driving, despite the warnings we tried it anyway, but of course with very low
speed. It’s the first time we have seen so many kangaroos, they were everywhere.
A big truck passed us and we decided to follow him closely, which meant that we
could drive faster and not worry about hitting kangaroos. The truck would do
that for us – if it happened. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">That night we slept on a small parking spot
beside the road, 30 km east of Normanton. The worst thing about sleeping in the
car is when you wake up and need to pee, because you never know what kind of
animals are waiting for you out there, and you can’t really focus on everything
around you, plus it’s super cold and you wake up the other person by the light
and the sound of the door opening. But other than that we sleep perfect in the
car, it’s really comfortable, everything taken in to consideration of course!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A
couple of months ago I read some quite interesting facts about Australia. It
said that it is the world’s sixth largest country, and the largest island. It
is the only island that is also a continent, and the only continent that is
also a country. It is home to the largest living thing on earth - the Great
Barrier Reef. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It has more things that will kill you than anywhere else in the
world. The 10 most poisonous snakes, are all Australian. 5 of the country’s
animals – the funnel-web spider, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, paralysis
tick and stonefish – are the most lethal of their type in the world. It is the
driest, flattest, hottest and most aggressive of all the inhabited continents. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This day we (or Erik) drove 680 km.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioKY6vLhRcevI83nFUV4xSTbd9_1q3IUAifUCpIdOYCNs2Bcn2R5Bu5s6MYblJOjuHtNn1MJz6UWDfaZHzkRIbekkCLd_BGJUh7E3XMlwpiU0qhwRROke9ZZ3XMoWdIqhwArtnnLu1T4c/s1600/AUS_0813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioKY6vLhRcevI83nFUV4xSTbd9_1q3IUAifUCpIdOYCNs2Bcn2R5Bu5s6MYblJOjuHtNn1MJz6UWDfaZHzkRIbekkCLd_BGJUh7E3XMlwpiU0qhwRROke9ZZ3XMoWdIqhwArtnnLu1T4c/s1600/AUS_0813.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making sugar cane juice.. Good for hangovers!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEuswQioEyB-DhG2iNhGQMq_Tj0eVttDrksEcSodZBV5hDUk4MWxh4i6ol75OlemVJ1joFyFZlxJ8FBYcZB3BUxYUrmUMVNBEeDoyLarnZUnj2DEflnHypz13ABYDRK2HrZjlxx_Ej_w/s1600/AUS_0823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEuswQioEyB-DhG2iNhGQMq_Tj0eVttDrksEcSodZBV5hDUk4MWxh4i6ol75OlemVJ1joFyFZlxJ8FBYcZB3BUxYUrmUMVNBEeDoyLarnZUnj2DEflnHypz13ABYDRK2HrZjlxx_Ej_w/s1600/AUS_0823.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese blossom tree</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtiXbqfs1Ok8lTKPwo076lBWA5HwqRYvV7ELH7z5nlUn1mhtKCTZx1FDd_UqUh9_N2abgWESFzESMHuAKOksXThJzi62js2FG5E1jgxjg68o6xmdu_qxYva46-w7ekS77ACPfl1EyTls/s1600/AUS_0844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtiXbqfs1Ok8lTKPwo076lBWA5HwqRYvV7ELH7z5nlUn1mhtKCTZx1FDd_UqUh9_N2abgWESFzESMHuAKOksXThJzi62js2FG5E1jgxjg68o6xmdu_qxYva46-w7ekS77ACPfl1EyTls/s1600/AUS_0844.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unfortunately we couldn't afford one of these</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGhvkLeZz5o3wO5FqrjVEFTGfEf3Q8rEHoPxVSuUuMdwv54MUvDgG8N_LfC4qwbbKDdAYH4Z_p7khMheR2yo5spsN_IHUpj4YvTpGNZH5iWAFMeflsdlCCQEyThr4mKlRIjTmVb_gMZk/s1600/AUS_0855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGhvkLeZz5o3wO5FqrjVEFTGfEf3Q8rEHoPxVSuUuMdwv54MUvDgG8N_LfC4qwbbKDdAYH4Z_p7khMheR2yo5spsN_IHUpj4YvTpGNZH5iWAFMeflsdlCCQEyThr4mKlRIjTmVb_gMZk/s1600/AUS_0855.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We haven't seen these kangaroos yet..</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2V0GSI1dsdCd-HHGtoHJHBE7cjlUewc9KWizIzn39yuQxkU5OQBvAoGkz46_pDFAVjF5aXfti59t8_wmoztNmVRN_VAPTst5wNq-VcBuQkNS2wxtLCCNyV-L8Ob48rXp5f6YdkQOHCU/s1600/AUS_0887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2V0GSI1dsdCd-HHGtoHJHBE7cjlUewc9KWizIzn39yuQxkU5OQBvAoGkz46_pDFAVjF5aXfti59t8_wmoztNmVRN_VAPTst5wNq-VcBuQkNS2wxtLCCNyV-L8Ob48rXp5f6YdkQOHCU/s1600/AUS_0887.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch break</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxgIslmIamcdG6L2fLi2E2OC0hxdp0izbHa2ki3Er7PH682bZrmtQOrFdpH_UAUfbOW_NkLAeY6bFkMqQqzgGpNJo_3G3JXXNYiVsRYl852UAWoZK-_n6S0kX1eZEgcwwjYMGdxIetZgs/s1600/AUS_0888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxgIslmIamcdG6L2fLi2E2OC0hxdp0izbHa2ki3Er7PH682bZrmtQOrFdpH_UAUfbOW_NkLAeY6bFkMqQqzgGpNJo_3G3JXXNYiVsRYl852UAWoZK-_n6S0kX1eZEgcwwjYMGdxIetZgs/s1600/AUS_0888.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danish lunch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCoq1ow3BYv_3fHImQy_Zg2WngmqvSIeJPVS5tHqznLULzRtYINXfOlBpXbrllaR6bE5t0WIAzzzZG9suob0s0NopwXAX4AvHBwAkYQl5NVsXflFzuiYUlJ5WfY0PLcxA7C8Wdv1TVyw/s1600/AUS_0892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCoq1ow3BYv_3fHImQy_Zg2WngmqvSIeJPVS5tHqznLULzRtYINXfOlBpXbrllaR6bE5t0WIAzzzZG9suob0s0NopwXAX4AvHBwAkYQl5NVsXflFzuiYUlJ5WfY0PLcxA7C8Wdv1TVyw/s1600/AUS_0892.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffO0_d1WG58BLTSDnXoELPW8doqYmvsJULmoR3jwLPgTSjRz3llJo_rW0j3YD7Ckl2OyGCzeIA4iYWhwe9QXYyHfsSiGPpkBB-e9QGMQj6n_I6EXjBFcxoGZwvB5MPLPaT1K4zlcGh_c/s1600/AUS_0947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffO0_d1WG58BLTSDnXoELPW8doqYmvsJULmoR3jwLPgTSjRz3llJo_rW0j3YD7Ckl2OyGCzeIA4iYWhwe9QXYyHfsSiGPpkBB-e9QGMQj6n_I6EXjBFcxoGZwvB5MPLPaT1K4zlcGh_c/s1600/AUS_0947.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Monday 4<sup>th</sup>
August</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We sneaked
into a campsite in Normanton and had a shower (free of charge). Normanton is
considered as a big town in these regions, but honestly there’s nothing there. </span>It’s hard to believe how remote the bush actually is. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We took a little detour
to Karumba, to enjoy breakfast and to see the only coast town in the gulf of
Carpentaria, that you can reach by paved roads. Then we headed south to the big
mining town Mt. Isa. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The biggest town between Cairns and Alice Springs. After
only a few days in the outback we have been astonished and blown away by nature
so many times. It’s fascinating how empty and uninhabited it is. Our travels
from Cairns and down to Mt. Isa have all the time been exciting. We are so
happy to finally get away from the east coast, away from the tourists crowds
and just experience the real Australia. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For us the east coast has been
disappointing, it’s like everywhere else with nice beaches etc., but nothing
can beat the outback – it’s what we consider as the real Australia. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our passion
for travelling is now back on track, it seemed completely gone at some point,
but the wilderness brought it back. This wonderful day we drove 716 km.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpOorGPb1VLdDEkqiLVyw5lAlHrFdus651a9FKw__QbLJk0BxjycExg0-1vpcQEmJWX6Mys6q2gfRqqS73hZao1mNK6IvDJlAuPHIRG_NKyY8Yuv9c5OAXdji5fvbRl4MP4WsQCZIP-4/s1600/AUS_0924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpOorGPb1VLdDEkqiLVyw5lAlHrFdus651a9FKw__QbLJk0BxjycExg0-1vpcQEmJWX6Mys6q2gfRqqS73hZao1mNK6IvDJlAuPHIRG_NKyY8Yuv9c5OAXdji5fvbRl4MP4WsQCZIP-4/s1600/AUS_0924.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The highway</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbw0ZvunhtK_UQwfgx2yLacur9OySsuvA9C9sPJmmoMD-oEDqAxc-MwsssXQ-ofVk8g257HsWVyyvBVw0XD5BQeLe1Nvn8QuYoJ3vMP1nR4biBVHej9P0MvMB8yiVtB-yEjZ32KJIPe0/s1600/AUS_1082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbw0ZvunhtK_UQwfgx2yLacur9OySsuvA9C9sPJmmoMD-oEDqAxc-MwsssXQ-ofVk8g257HsWVyyvBVw0XD5BQeLe1Nvn8QuYoJ3vMP1nR4biBVHej9P0MvMB8yiVtB-yEjZ32KJIPe0/s1600/AUS_1082.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsbW9c_Ht7NpIEU7vJbuPTO_Y1JKSx-oMxm443XXgu3ux7hk2-uomWJ7t5GE3ElMF9nhBEJhXNBC6D5xyxAmxANAQgUis8Z5LkFJDZM18PZS1qzIL8xFNThVVXsfD-_eekJCQRvRwZis/s1600/AUS_1189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpsbW9c_Ht7NpIEU7vJbuPTO_Y1JKSx-oMxm443XXgu3ux7hk2-uomWJ7t5GE3ElMF9nhBEJhXNBC6D5xyxAmxANAQgUis8Z5LkFJDZM18PZS1qzIL8xFNThVVXsfD-_eekJCQRvRwZis/s1600/AUS_1189.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first and only snake we have seen.. Was hit by a car and dead in the side of the road, but a big boy on 2,5 meters. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Tuesday 5<sup>th</sup>
August</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We crossed
the border to Northern Territory. The great virtue about driving through
emptiness is that when you come to anything –anything at all – you get excited
to see what it is. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We thought it would have been nice with a stop-over in
Tennant Creek, but after seeing all the aboriginals on the streets, we changed
our minds. They’re causing a lot of troubles, mostly because of alcoholism leading
to violence, and mostly it’s mutually, but they sure don’t look friendly. So we
happily continued our journey further south. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We drove to Devils Marbles, and
there we saw something quite fabulous - enormous piles of smooth granite
boulders, scattered over an immense area. They’re a lost wonder in the middle
of a boundless nowhere. If they had been located anywhere in Europe they would
have been a huge tourist attraction, and people would drive hundreds of
kilometers to see them - here they don’t really count for anything, except a
nice stop on your way to Alice Springs. They glow warmly during sunrise and
sunset, so we watched the sunset there and had a romantic can food dinner. We
drove 863 km this day, and slept north of Ti-Tree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIZFkUGn49ZJrKSBlEvESp9C8AMLy3p-UKgJ5v6NkGdSV_ByiF5MKOXpE_bY7M6eT-25Yv-417JPXbMJbiMw3KH1G-2sQNc0BA0K_8l8JAarEyRzk2XNpqWO9gHOELteaPoKq8aPSOc4/s1600/AUS_1161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIZFkUGn49ZJrKSBlEvESp9C8AMLy3p-UKgJ5v6NkGdSV_ByiF5MKOXpE_bY7M6eT-25Yv-417JPXbMJbiMw3KH1G-2sQNc0BA0K_8l8JAarEyRzk2XNpqWO9gHOELteaPoKq8aPSOc4/s1600/AUS_1161.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The state of crocodiles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBar17lXz-HeqGj04Nk1yHUgWUhQwWxjLf0kzvx9ga5n6DP3dfsg8sAQC7RqteEtRBnVq2x7XHlPjbq63AvFvzY8ofggqYDvIwAbg0x0JcCSDmaGsQ6qzxPirA8InRCC1nTz0xVfo20A/s1600/AUS_1168.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBar17lXz-HeqGj04Nk1yHUgWUhQwWxjLf0kzvx9ga5n6DP3dfsg8sAQC7RqteEtRBnVq2x7XHlPjbq63AvFvzY8ofggqYDvIwAbg0x0JcCSDmaGsQ6qzxPirA8InRCC1nTz0xVfo20A/s1600/AUS_1168.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fYhKy-J4L6wCE-aDFFgREA3iKDvePm79feRCUWhhhfw3wIVSxcC3wht1ThvZX-iVBpVANvgA_R7sa_qtlvc2_sn7K_hAZMj2gqnTwZHceNL1eJNm_GS_657eE7323tzhAN-gbd6teOU/s1600/AUS_1173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fYhKy-J4L6wCE-aDFFgREA3iKDvePm79feRCUWhhhfw3wIVSxcC3wht1ThvZX-iVBpVANvgA_R7sa_qtlvc2_sn7K_hAZMj2gqnTwZHceNL1eJNm_GS_657eE7323tzhAN-gbd6teOU/s1600/AUS_1173.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qqvXgxbRIecWjAY0HgrbTBB7ZjN1dYAb2tWSsGqMv7EBN-_Vm-m2c1zKsyx1WIaCa9WrxzEce61eXAv3Au0Epuy73bm8vC4pA1WHuY7AOlYXi_CwfkYdkgcq1PYYykhs1lqpAFuINho/s1600/AUS_1198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qqvXgxbRIecWjAY0HgrbTBB7ZjN1dYAb2tWSsGqMv7EBN-_Vm-m2c1zKsyx1WIaCa9WrxzEce61eXAv3Au0Epuy73bm8vC4pA1WHuY7AOlYXi_CwfkYdkgcq1PYYykhs1lqpAFuINho/s1600/AUS_1198.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a common sight when driving in the outback.. This is two cows, probably killed by roadtrains.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwpnYrAYFKlJDpKCee1PXhYL9MBfBIaZH0hYd0CsupF5yydIK6PWKOsSKj6p3eKNSTsbu66N10y1_5oy3mub4z8sejUiGddRzH1aqHHYP0h7pzs3re62TLehmVEaE3WaDcvvBLI4Cbiw/s1600/AUS_1228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwpnYrAYFKlJDpKCee1PXhYL9MBfBIaZH0hYd0CsupF5yydIK6PWKOsSKj6p3eKNSTsbu66N10y1_5oy3mub4z8sejUiGddRzH1aqHHYP0h7pzs3re62TLehmVEaE3WaDcvvBLI4Cbiw/s1600/AUS_1228.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Devils Marbles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD8gx-UwGMjWe1N7bQGVKPVvHMbXlg6P9o5EGwA_1m6ZNPiS9dE0WaJX6kPMi1yAkRAcpHBITJh5bwwnhe3OxTkH9e84haxmmYIU8WHgfwmCBugBrwADcH1vS-77Ky8EwTdjhsDpyt-aY/s1600/AUS_1235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD8gx-UwGMjWe1N7bQGVKPVvHMbXlg6P9o5EGwA_1m6ZNPiS9dE0WaJX6kPMi1yAkRAcpHBITJh5bwwnhe3OxTkH9e84haxmmYIU8WHgfwmCBugBrwADcH1vS-77Ky8EwTdjhsDpyt-aY/s1600/AUS_1235.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzsg1iB8ygJTk1HOT41SZswYTBd_aRDnH64p7_YOrNAwolz9srpc7Vse6NxtGN3INAq2n5zgZhAVYEwhIzNnKQzJRE6yPT0rTzKlXJvrLiR-lmT4Y5xSlw5rP64YPTOYgsc3JeCsutzk/s1600/AUS_1277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzsg1iB8ygJTk1HOT41SZswYTBd_aRDnH64p7_YOrNAwolz9srpc7Vse6NxtGN3INAq2n5zgZhAVYEwhIzNnKQzJRE6yPT0rTzKlXJvrLiR-lmT4Y5xSlw5rP64YPTOYgsc3JeCsutzk/s1600/AUS_1277.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">European kangaroo jumping</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogXoQH4OhLpdqDuUSEe63S0ulhrxXnvy1xzM98JBL7JIpioPLWou1XBb5vcI4O0bb5KZsczznUk9NQsT-hH9ausBuAue7qXtmGnVyv-hakAi5y3oTZH9Xh7nL7Eae_Akq6fQZwztVHsY/s1600/AUS_1278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogXoQH4OhLpdqDuUSEe63S0ulhrxXnvy1xzM98JBL7JIpioPLWou1XBb5vcI4O0bb5KZsczznUk9NQsT-hH9ausBuAue7qXtmGnVyv-hakAi5y3oTZH9Xh7nL7Eae_Akq6fQZwztVHsY/s1600/AUS_1278.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3IPWrQZbyxy8B7cdKbD9bMGVP2Cbj4FAoyztVli_OvgftxOrKT1pqvhlJV9zyZI0Gu97I5j49eB75bzbM4Io8NRpIOH_HS32Sg7WHTt0_NN3C50toprEpKkXA43CJ1vuSw_pzKoRLtE/s1600/AUS_1289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3IPWrQZbyxy8B7cdKbD9bMGVP2Cbj4FAoyztVli_OvgftxOrKT1pqvhlJV9zyZI0Gu97I5j49eB75bzbM4Io8NRpIOH_HS32Sg7WHTt0_NN3C50toprEpKkXA43CJ1vuSw_pzKoRLtE/s1600/AUS_1289.JPG" height="410" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We loved the Devils Marbles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDAjqR-2mCbmxFyHQ_sydV9YtaPVKNSjJcBoRfd0T3mmZColxpSXumU1vbH4ERpoQKjc5QUxs3xcMGex19vbFdozZImun2AuwQwXgkfhp0ot7zwXxejh9AFkVLmuOrPgmTMyOaIB_4_Y/s1600/AUS_1405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDAjqR-2mCbmxFyHQ_sydV9YtaPVKNSjJcBoRfd0T3mmZColxpSXumU1vbH4ERpoQKjc5QUxs3xcMGex19vbFdozZImun2AuwQwXgkfhp0ot7zwXxejh9AFkVLmuOrPgmTMyOaIB_4_Y/s1600/AUS_1405.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All by ourselves at this spectacular place.. Only disturbed by flies!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Wednesday 6<sup>th</sup>
August</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We paid for
our morning shower in Ti-tree, and took good advantage over the $3 each bath. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Then
we finally reached Alice Springs. Between Tennant Creek and Alice Springs,
there’s a roadhouse every 60 km, but that’s it, nothing else than roadhouses on
that 507 km long stretch. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We spend the day in Alice Springs. A town that used
to be so remote that no one dared to go there, but these days the town has not
only become accessible (most people fly in), but it’s become a destination. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s full of motels, hotels, resorts, shopping malls and restaurants. It’s
crazy really. A town that was once
famous for being remote now attracts thousands of visitors, who come to see how
remote it no longer is. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We decided to stay one night and then head out to the MacDonnell
Ranges. Aboriginals are a big part of the population in town, and again they’re
mostly out for troubles, so it’s not a place we want to spend too much time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At
night after splashing out with an Italian pizza, we parked outside the “Desert
Park” to sleep there. We doubted if it was allowed or not, but we decided to
give it a go. Unfortunately there was a guard who had to close the gate at 10pm
and he noticed our car, which we thought we had hided in the shadow of a tree.
He knocked on the window and kindly asked us to leave. Alright we can’t be
lucky every time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Erik got out of bed and drove us to another parking spot,
where others were camping too. We got our rest there. A short day on the road,
only 236 km.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8BKpN1E9qxAIdGQh53j2LA3-Qukx4XUSL38CUVvuoH6-YvZF3pe96LPg-Fbdw9KC4j3ktUx7zGddXItwKbMFXcU9h0BBnvRmIZtROtoqKis1KMeFxRmJwi8Y2HIqIY-YEhyHzO00UcgA/s1600/AUS_1418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8BKpN1E9qxAIdGQh53j2LA3-Qukx4XUSL38CUVvuoH6-YvZF3pe96LPg-Fbdw9KC4j3ktUx7zGddXItwKbMFXcU9h0BBnvRmIZtROtoqKis1KMeFxRmJwi8Y2HIqIY-YEhyHzO00UcgA/s1600/AUS_1418.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outstanding sunrise at the rest area</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOuekpZv-BXIEv9cwkSc0_p54yUBrgLJQB7fBOajs6_-fn3r466eaR-2zdU3WGWvUsJ06mDH0ofdo4FffzmFEd3AW3YCDM9fp1wPa6lAKh1L0xJPAywtB3USwIlG8CY8wAMAeFulQdVcQ/s1600/AUS_1421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOuekpZv-BXIEv9cwkSc0_p54yUBrgLJQB7fBOajs6_-fn3r466eaR-2zdU3WGWvUsJ06mDH0ofdo4FffzmFEd3AW3YCDM9fp1wPa6lAKh1L0xJPAywtB3USwIlG8CY8wAMAeFulQdVcQ/s1600/AUS_1421.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mail boxes, but not a single house to spot..</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Thursday 7<sup>th</sup>
August</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We went to
explore the beautiful West MacDonnell Ranges. It’s an area filled with gorges and
creeks. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Each of them was impressing and unique. There were several scenic walks
and spectacular lookout points. We had our shower in Ellery creek, it wasn’t
the most enjoyable shower due to the low water temperature, but the importance
of feeling cleaner made it worth it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At lunch time the flies was driving us
crazy, with their constantly search for moisture in our ears, nose, eyes and
mouth. That was our que to jump in the car and drive again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We camped at Neil
Hargrave lookout, a free campground for people like us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJq_ijt7w9DZGlGT5dMGCsw5LBtQLb9bmlxohoVWHEX9uGiqZ30ggTOyjdIMyfjUGhzxzF4wh_ttMxmKQfn_aE8DxvRufd1a1QbfT-n2x3DEgp_RQLnUvZYoFUpi6VooyOu30ifsCA9U/s1600/AUS_1474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJq_ijt7w9DZGlGT5dMGCsw5LBtQLb9bmlxohoVWHEX9uGiqZ30ggTOyjdIMyfjUGhzxzF4wh_ttMxmKQfn_aE8DxvRufd1a1QbfT-n2x3DEgp_RQLnUvZYoFUpi6VooyOu30ifsCA9U/s1600/AUS_1474.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simpsons Gab gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxgBrvnMT71tNdVzX3ccdAu_yVlAnNsVVkUDnbXZhZ03BZNo9TYPnkBGUBJzUJcvi5IsAvViEtbQSknzDeTXkA1ojJ4sRClXC1Adwtw0_oYi_up_SfF4bbzZiSU35-vtS2NVYywMnGIQ/s1600/AUS_1503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxgBrvnMT71tNdVzX3ccdAu_yVlAnNsVVkUDnbXZhZ03BZNo9TYPnkBGUBJzUJcvi5IsAvViEtbQSknzDeTXkA1ojJ4sRClXC1Adwtw0_oYi_up_SfF4bbzZiSU35-vtS2NVYywMnGIQ/s1600/AUS_1503.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simpsons Gab gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEsvifn-9JRTUludcO2YQaqPDVSldpIdyuIKot7iJrTetnEd45d06Cd5AzdOUDxELW5E3hnpLf_ay4DNSE7JxWWUiC5YJMXKwHrjc7yFxrCicnB9VunWX35EvPWLMzGbcWfCbpzgM4qE/s1600/AUS_1508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqEsvifn-9JRTUludcO2YQaqPDVSldpIdyuIKot7iJrTetnEd45d06Cd5AzdOUDxELW5E3hnpLf_ay4DNSE7JxWWUiC5YJMXKwHrjc7yFxrCicnB9VunWX35EvPWLMzGbcWfCbpzgM4qE/s1600/AUS_1508.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simpsons Gab gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6WQAijo3RCsn3n6LXzEgqyl6SsDOv_DB42hldVh2Ck9XKwSaDvkguDpubDF_dB0FY_baaWKl14xNiDm_wwOMYXR7xCrJVHh4M6Gpt6nZAPxIdkLRqSbgvusDrDqxwtHidqQxSEzsGw0/s1600/AUS_1561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6WQAijo3RCsn3n6LXzEgqyl6SsDOv_DB42hldVh2Ck9XKwSaDvkguDpubDF_dB0FY_baaWKl14xNiDm_wwOMYXR7xCrJVHh4M6Gpt6nZAPxIdkLRqSbgvusDrDqxwtHidqQxSEzsGw0/s1600/AUS_1561.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPouYSm0u0ySmKO8dwLJ_rTtV4GksdkTAaxyN3B-4k4f2Y27O000sEIVOBX8hpiXsVUQ07fn_6CYjF4mVSPG7TH3CRsTiGMSeFxjMUmNUvjgxK0g1ZdXN9iOS2x_wndRm0eSxbvdOZbpM/s1600/AUS_1592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPouYSm0u0ySmKO8dwLJ_rTtV4GksdkTAaxyN3B-4k4f2Y27O000sEIVOBX8hpiXsVUQ07fn_6CYjF4mVSPG7TH3CRsTiGMSeFxjMUmNUvjgxK0g1ZdXN9iOS2x_wndRm0eSxbvdOZbpM/s1600/AUS_1592.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standley Chasm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0fl6zekz0TBlyxVLVRPr2WkcU1Q7ATaV4DRwl3HuM5GujpJc4UDenudoNnYlmTBK4LfOIBpeveT4YodtR7pUs4u0b23MfBPbjYr46dTgkgLIVD4tkmpxlTpv42t-MvL4tlScOFBSFQs/s1600/AUS_1604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0fl6zekz0TBlyxVLVRPr2WkcU1Q7ATaV4DRwl3HuM5GujpJc4UDenudoNnYlmTBK4LfOIBpeveT4YodtR7pUs4u0b23MfBPbjYr46dTgkgLIVD4tkmpxlTpv42t-MvL4tlScOFBSFQs/s1600/AUS_1604.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellery Creek hole</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj3NNRZSHxEozgLVo9XsLTTTjUb8hCR1YD3eYtNK_W-nu1Iv4e6s_ZDNKWTIgF7Ne62_CxrvKSek9xNfpp0Ey8MnaPW3ehuA-2vU6qbvRQmFXULbX-OUw6AQDVSNtGei3Ljpe_31rQdkM/s1600/AUS_1619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj3NNRZSHxEozgLVo9XsLTTTjUb8hCR1YD3eYtNK_W-nu1Iv4e6s_ZDNKWTIgF7Ne62_CxrvKSek9xNfpp0Ey8MnaPW3ehuA-2vU6qbvRQmFXULbX-OUw6AQDVSNtGei3Ljpe_31rQdkM/s1600/AUS_1619.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellery Creek hole</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4B5ZMZxYdeCHDigKPKDwTVtrGMpiB1L2h_2rVplKsvwZrLCyUgWsL_Lx8hgSuxakPD54-1y4Zm2kfNw5xnMFIq65pUdzfXVjovxGeedvP8xAZOux-1Bm1_RDo_3zLjuV7NtoWcY59Lm0/s1600/AUS_1689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4B5ZMZxYdeCHDigKPKDwTVtrGMpiB1L2h_2rVplKsvwZrLCyUgWsL_Lx8hgSuxakPD54-1y4Zm2kfNw5xnMFIq65pUdzfXVjovxGeedvP8xAZOux-1Bm1_RDo_3zLjuV7NtoWcY59Lm0/s1600/AUS_1689.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serpentine Gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitE9tPiYmv9Z06Jxbo-YdKP-TZZCTt4trwB4qF6jXHivgTLQVYdQGrdmOCBJc3IgkGBdLvujDPokaxNmbl4611ZoypeJz3fV6Ns4RZmhU0JHbJcqMsTdTMP9y7LZppiaxI4FIDirs7xSE/s1600/AUS_1692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitE9tPiYmv9Z06Jxbo-YdKP-TZZCTt4trwB4qF6jXHivgTLQVYdQGrdmOCBJc3IgkGBdLvujDPokaxNmbl4611ZoypeJz3fV6Ns4RZmhU0JHbJcqMsTdTMP9y7LZppiaxI4FIDirs7xSE/s1600/AUS_1692.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Friday 8<sup>th</sup>
August</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Another day
spent in the West MacDonnell Ranges, seeing more gorges and stunning look outs. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We’re so happy that we decided to explore this area. It has been the best part
of Australia so far. We planned to drive to Kings Canyon, and further down to
Ayers Rock, through dirt road, but after hearing bad things about the road
conditions to Kings Canyon, we decided to drive back to Alice Springs, and then
take the highway to Ayers Rock (or Uluru, as the aboriginal named it when they
found it). </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">That afternoon we sneaked into a campground in Alice Springs and had
our “daily” shower. We drove south of town, to Mt. Polhill rest area (towards
Uluru) and camped there for the night. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the popular imagination Alice Springs
and Uluru are so connected to each other, but in fact they’re 463 km apart. So
we still had a long way to go. This day we drove 340 km.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcCdWkBB8z_HPxC5ZuYSUmQz2hyHI63wFd-stYHWTjM71jhlGU1THE2A8K6f98Cm2hCciBhJ8MWNqZ_PqChCKCU-IVRxSIlUnPYltf24Dx6NECACC4V420aipIrBImNYchGkB49ql-Vs0/s1600/AUS_1713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcCdWkBB8z_HPxC5ZuYSUmQz2hyHI63wFd-stYHWTjM71jhlGU1THE2A8K6f98Cm2hCciBhJ8MWNqZ_PqChCKCU-IVRxSIlUnPYltf24Dx6NECACC4V420aipIrBImNYchGkB49ql-Vs0/s1600/AUS_1713.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ormiston Gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwu3sLs227703lEDQBbM2zC0ygXCk3wVv2HF_OQbAqesGp-S1ZxrV1vgKNXsktVduj2D3wniGnjUO4XTOicL9SYYjm5fn1DcYL65PQ9v8wx2C9p3GmLU4j_0M-0OZ50anelmCTgAyDNPY/s1600/AUS_1730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwu3sLs227703lEDQBbM2zC0ygXCk3wVv2HF_OQbAqesGp-S1ZxrV1vgKNXsktVduj2D3wniGnjUO4XTOicL9SYYjm5fn1DcYL65PQ9v8wx2C9p3GmLU4j_0M-0OZ50anelmCTgAyDNPY/s1600/AUS_1730.JPG" height="350" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEdYVjrlLwssJnDqOIHHGD8cYLDMUQX7KXeX_G67GASU3el2X4EOyDY5bT09MIYVlZxUy3ky1jdXCGa5WBOMvyWcmNCGTVb6XM2sSIU4Il3L97rQdqbU3mX4fB7Bhgd_2dBrZkJeusFU/s1600/AUS_1740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEdYVjrlLwssJnDqOIHHGD8cYLDMUQX7KXeX_G67GASU3el2X4EOyDY5bT09MIYVlZxUy3ky1jdXCGa5WBOMvyWcmNCGTVb6XM2sSIU4Il3L97rQdqbU3mX4fB7Bhgd_2dBrZkJeusFU/s1600/AUS_1740.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ormiston Gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcgKiyPUxtRJ2Qs9ZBjMIp7Fu8tUiX7mx0bg-3bPr0haZ-XpXamdtqVsoKhXP0WxlxE3e1MSJYjvj8NmTINfVb1Us7gK9YT5GevU6CnQD3eNYj2dOeDvo-Hnw7foK1xxC-ZWc5qyOo8GU/s1600/AUS_1751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcgKiyPUxtRJ2Qs9ZBjMIp7Fu8tUiX7mx0bg-3bPr0haZ-XpXamdtqVsoKhXP0WxlxE3e1MSJYjvj8NmTINfVb1Us7gK9YT5GevU6CnQD3eNYj2dOeDvo-Hnw7foK1xxC-ZWc5qyOo8GU/s1600/AUS_1751.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ormiston Gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5LJZhPowHzLHTSQX4-KZ_lPBuUeXhMNV0-QGyjViX9cT8gnlr5VYFNjwjwyxpKY1x6CoxAX2GXtgNYzf4o_hNKkVxlA47l9ueBNvg_6-PlEzIXLv1ZR6OhyphenhyphenaGdLth9GXP3zDNde_o78/s1600/AUS_1765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5LJZhPowHzLHTSQX4-KZ_lPBuUeXhMNV0-QGyjViX9cT8gnlr5VYFNjwjwyxpKY1x6CoxAX2GXtgNYzf4o_hNKkVxlA47l9ueBNvg_6-PlEzIXLv1ZR6OhyphenhyphenaGdLth9GXP3zDNde_o78/s1600/AUS_1765.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ormiston Gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5-gc3x4qhfxiUreVzCqeLz5s5IPdJnJsXQcEj6P0w8NBtQRJX5TD9pwLW6bZW_ekzBomzYmhNwdwbOSJse0bbaP0ggSX79pm16jG9v7Z_BHMlCynz34nfOzmT089-LuCXMYpT_ILm4o/s1600/AUS_1781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5-gc3x4qhfxiUreVzCqeLz5s5IPdJnJsXQcEj6P0w8NBtQRJX5TD9pwLW6bZW_ekzBomzYmhNwdwbOSJse0bbaP0ggSX79pm16jG9v7Z_BHMlCynz34nfOzmT089-LuCXMYpT_ILm4o/s1600/AUS_1781.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oatmeal for me and omelet for Erik</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUCinwNziJWLyEb9mIwkythGVOXBCF99YXLMaqhP0VMP94YP2sfWRG122eFtXmc-IXHNnXPsA9mr-od7EABZBoiF28FAZPOZQ0y7kZ7CCaUMjazH3B_DZoLKmhr0aIsNKklJ5WZ1Btijw/s1600/AUS_1786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUCinwNziJWLyEb9mIwkythGVOXBCF99YXLMaqhP0VMP94YP2sfWRG122eFtXmc-IXHNnXPsA9mr-od7EABZBoiF28FAZPOZQ0y7kZ7CCaUMjazH3B_DZoLKmhr0aIsNKklJ5WZ1Btijw/s1600/AUS_1786.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redbank Gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmwYmG7FXXEKivgTIwInq-exKxbNiqZcUZW4OnxWsGaKkSzxb-EpthyyLKyv32lkPFWF4UUaqg6VHwGPFaFxQjxlzFNd6tFHsm1owDbUTie80P7qyOY-Ytw-iWG08qO4QtYvUn27uAtA/s1600/AUS_1793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmwYmG7FXXEKivgTIwInq-exKxbNiqZcUZW4OnxWsGaKkSzxb-EpthyyLKyv32lkPFWF4UUaqg6VHwGPFaFxQjxlzFNd6tFHsm1owDbUTie80P7qyOY-Ytw-iWG08qO4QtYvUn27uAtA/s1600/AUS_1793.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fantastic rock formations at Redbank Gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iDjRCj7OX0V0p4OU_q9RWbv9IqG78RzqAK6dyCq1SVITIS0mqsMO9_uoxIR5793SJ8836fqzxI51wYSxWZn5IKP4tS7u9ArSp550ubwDe9rT9ikDKeLpJ9rIu7-b3qtYgL_xbDS_Gac/s1600/AUS_1796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iDjRCj7OX0V0p4OU_q9RWbv9IqG78RzqAK6dyCq1SVITIS0mqsMO9_uoxIR5793SJ8836fqzxI51wYSxWZn5IKP4tS7u9ArSp550ubwDe9rT9ikDKeLpJ9rIu7-b3qtYgL_xbDS_Gac/s1600/AUS_1796.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another chilly dip in the ice cold water</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwsiJ-5fLNKGDxUVskVM8cmuIhS1Dsee5-N9jc2qm7-wuRF-aMjcu4FZt0xHgRmZixSwzd1txtFS-02X2i83CnIBfp1jfj97Gc87kK3YJstJAJhs7Ikz4SQ7Z3QDiRmIVqetmxjPWBTtQ/s1600/AUS_1812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwsiJ-5fLNKGDxUVskVM8cmuIhS1Dsee5-N9jc2qm7-wuRF-aMjcu4FZt0xHgRmZixSwzd1txtFS-02X2i83CnIBfp1jfj97Gc87kK3YJstJAJhs7Ikz4SQ7Z3QDiRmIVqetmxjPWBTtQ/s1600/AUS_1812.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breeding dragon flies </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0OXwk-dopsdC5Nu-7hMAGMatAZHHbF7TI9-bYs_15qW7LiMryNI-pHt6LLe3aVOqpzB7ANlBtNHJmjVAhej9SMIXtZd4YpWqAlqnvzLATefWazL5IwSiR_5TfumfhNfSo10IyIc9wp4/s1600/AUS_1840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0OXwk-dopsdC5Nu-7hMAGMatAZHHbF7TI9-bYs_15qW7LiMryNI-pHt6LLe3aVOqpzB7ANlBtNHJmjVAhej9SMIXtZd4YpWqAlqnvzLATefWazL5IwSiR_5TfumfhNfSo10IyIc9wp4/s1600/AUS_1840.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still Redbank Gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKte1uQOGtVm_IsLmVowe5U8Q9CIn7qmeyW29aJzkHIuLLxz_XeE0tfW2KfJPVjLheG1cA6oUoJzs1VoI_6_EpMRviDOrtqi5dCUsvHeiHAfShuRufa5FNkMvCm-UymqOKi9Ie6SnIeM/s1600/AUS_1843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKte1uQOGtVm_IsLmVowe5U8Q9CIn7qmeyW29aJzkHIuLLxz_XeE0tfW2KfJPVjLheG1cA6oUoJzs1VoI_6_EpMRviDOrtqi5dCUsvHeiHAfShuRufa5FNkMvCm-UymqOKi9Ie6SnIeM/s1600/AUS_1843.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redbank Gorge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3Yqk-5FzcfNVCaI63teto51Nv13U2PJrqP4ilTm3nLhK52gsF2JTK-eEGoq_2nDlD9pgLdGb1hiwxXUbC9pK-8BwcKoxA5jIxtbI1N18LfibbQUiMQ0uyUhadTsu8yJ6gIqARwU1GZk/s1600/AUS_1865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3Yqk-5FzcfNVCaI63teto51Nv13U2PJrqP4ilTm3nLhK52gsF2JTK-eEGoq_2nDlD9pgLdGb1hiwxXUbC9pK-8BwcKoxA5jIxtbI1N18LfibbQUiMQ0uyUhadTsu8yJ6gIqARwU1GZk/s1600/AUS_1865.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gosse Bluff & Tyler's Pass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19zmhdxvFTOcIOvY2sKha2A4Le0K2hH3isK56sT7U0sbdKJGN7RJDFarXGoUSg3uAJXJKD3tgQQ_5T4GHpH6RFBAM8tknAlwIg9QoLvmJkJd20EY4bQ2_EBdVmtLyjBL0e5g4oE7Ax00/s1600/AUS_1884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19zmhdxvFTOcIOvY2sKha2A4Le0K2hH3isK56sT7U0sbdKJGN7RJDFarXGoUSg3uAJXJKD3tgQQ_5T4GHpH6RFBAM8tknAlwIg9QoLvmJkJd20EY4bQ2_EBdVmtLyjBL0e5g4oE7Ax00/s1600/AUS_1884.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner at a carpark in Alice Springs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Saturday 9<sup>th</sup>
August</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">On our way
to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park we stopped by Curtin Springs, a roadhouse in
the middle of nowhere. Here we talked to a dutch guy working there, and he made
the work and the life on a roadhouse sound quite interesting. It must be
special to live so far away from everything, and it actually speaks to us. We
hope that we can find a job on one of these unique places, somewhere along the
way. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In Yulara, the town connected to the Uluru national park, we collected the
information we needed about Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Uluru is one of Australia’s
iconic symbols of the outback, in the shadow of that you have Kata Tjuta, which
is equally (some say more) impressive than Uluru. We took time to see them
both.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">After seeing the rock on countless postcards, posters etc. around the country,
it was amazing to finally approach the immemorial rock. It was exactly what we
expected, only bigger and more fascinating than we could have imagined. It’s
3,6km long and rises 348m from the surrounding sandy desert. It belongs to the
aboriginals, and is a sacred site to them. </span>They don’t want people to climb it,
it’s not a part of the experience, its a question about respect to what they
believe in. I don’t blame them keeping it like that, because so many visitors
climb it every year and get injured, some have even died of heart attacks up
there. </div>
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So there’s more than one good reason to stay on solid ground, and that’s
why we decided to walk the 10 km base walk around the rock. </div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The walk is
beautiful and we enjoyed it a lot. The most amazing thing about the
sunset/sunrise over the rock is that the rocks changes colors all the time,
from brown and into deep red. After watching the sunset we drove into Yulara
and slept on the parking spot in there. Today = 441 km.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4eV62GyvWcLmbrTW8axVmMY4k1KPPHzXJpGODyDpkpk4GDf6VYPc37pvI4WEhBxXqKBUh8df6I01AD3tUwWPAGL88Gz3SQwSIMuGxk24UDW5nwwC8exwO6eHXOkPzTubHoyqk3vxc1J4/s1600/AUS_1898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4eV62GyvWcLmbrTW8axVmMY4k1KPPHzXJpGODyDpkpk4GDf6VYPc37pvI4WEhBxXqKBUh8df6I01AD3tUwWPAGL88Gz3SQwSIMuGxk24UDW5nwwC8exwO6eHXOkPzTubHoyqk3vxc1J4/s1600/AUS_1898.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fascinated over the red soil... Its NOT Uluru in the horizon, but Mount Connor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmiy9qooFGvg3tVBxKXpwUtnvFMIbfHGF1bJCtXQroV7TZKMzql14Y4GQBAutgbW_Ynr_-YSmXA7XcNHCrZCyiNSZHabqqXy40B5sowZe3eMr3STbrjp3GWdnJhbNcmylKkM6DuwRf2Q/s1600/AUS_1909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmiy9qooFGvg3tVBxKXpwUtnvFMIbfHGF1bJCtXQroV7TZKMzql14Y4GQBAutgbW_Ynr_-YSmXA7XcNHCrZCyiNSZHabqqXy40B5sowZe3eMr3STbrjp3GWdnJhbNcmylKkM6DuwRf2Q/s1600/AUS_1909.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terrifying nasty spider.. Can probably kill humans in seconds!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp3N9rBmoGwLcpjm_ULA-K1GFbLoMVc7NLpwYB2lP1bloHAMP3fQYJP1COlHLE4AEJHwjk8UQz3GFIR5AGP5iSRuVcCAx7QivPtGWJ0PTPbycWoVPNgz3hyphenhyphenFeVvO_KK_X6yB-j7ykoq2Y/s1600/AUS_1911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp3N9rBmoGwLcpjm_ULA-K1GFbLoMVc7NLpwYB2lP1bloHAMP3fQYJP1COlHLE4AEJHwjk8UQz3GFIR5AGP5iSRuVcCAx7QivPtGWJ0PTPbycWoVPNgz3hyphenhyphenFeVvO_KK_X6yB-j7ykoq2Y/s1600/AUS_1911.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7n3LYLGM54fPj2zrGJuZo4NkosymPGV-MawFuhWe1fgCu4wvTKYjDcgt3Z8QdRLYKLMDuF53eijwVczBfkK2nfSWGvzGh6XpILZN2C52CxGSCiESyUzvIooa0xbwxrcjFR20TER6IGs/s1600/AUS_1914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7n3LYLGM54fPj2zrGJuZo4NkosymPGV-MawFuhWe1fgCu4wvTKYjDcgt3Z8QdRLYKLMDuF53eijwVczBfkK2nfSWGvzGh6XpILZN2C52CxGSCiESyUzvIooa0xbwxrcjFR20TER6IGs/s1600/AUS_1914.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curtin Springs Roadhouse</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6k4CQa-3FjJTz3tflDeubSS0UuOmskptGtROctauVUYdiQEVjXFyLWOUi-R6liAvZFDba0cO6l504Ow7RILuUOlK2SqQEcU6HgXwIrvHV6ndCJ_48NEOhyphenhyphenZs9w49X7oZrDU3cwEYRjs/s1600/AUS_1924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6k4CQa-3FjJTz3tflDeubSS0UuOmskptGtROctauVUYdiQEVjXFyLWOUi-R6liAvZFDba0cO6l504Ow7RILuUOlK2SqQEcU6HgXwIrvHV6ndCJ_48NEOhyphenhyphenZs9w49X7oZrDU3cwEYRjs/s1600/AUS_1924.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqF3LBJKfeEpWTnVSbMOWG8L8HABdOGf-dybLtJ9384V2gvwSWZa1aCPg4zcocFBoCS6121PhkBgryAWYA2Jyv2ah6ehwPvjb2DIdn_pvTJckUsoZvNChQL9UrrW-6hSn9_ESpFZ8gy4Y/s1600/AUS_1941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqF3LBJKfeEpWTnVSbMOWG8L8HABdOGf-dybLtJ9384V2gvwSWZa1aCPg4zcocFBoCS6121PhkBgryAWYA2Jyv2ah6ehwPvjb2DIdn_pvTJckUsoZvNChQL9UrrW-6hSn9_ESpFZ8gy4Y/s1600/AUS_1941.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbers on Uluru</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkmLthO5s9E8F6xgJlRySS0WrWB7to-_AlAdO2wULh7zSUaJlwcw-xJeR9FNbJeAv6S6akyqF8IUHWMAOThiYHOeCFL6PzU_0qrkeLxa3hlZrpbNot2PKg-twJ-XFar_ZP4IzN7S7ASU/s1600/AUS_1945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkmLthO5s9E8F6xgJlRySS0WrWB7to-_AlAdO2wULh7zSUaJlwcw-xJeR9FNbJeAv6S6akyqF8IUHWMAOThiYHOeCFL6PzU_0qrkeLxa3hlZrpbNot2PKg-twJ-XFar_ZP4IzN7S7ASU/s1600/AUS_1945.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yCmmiCI-pzI87eoWcBKWh4dBXNbdgV5lldy1ix_SXHBscog_DKACTbchpWgxEjOY8iNKj3Xq_bauaLTNuX1pI8fZZ5n648wkLQXz1T7KqgCJ73aNneMd5IDtOBey9L8oVr2QZps6Fb4/s1600/AUS_1962.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yCmmiCI-pzI87eoWcBKWh4dBXNbdgV5lldy1ix_SXHBscog_DKACTbchpWgxEjOY8iNKj3Xq_bauaLTNuX1pI8fZZ5n648wkLQXz1T7KqgCJ73aNneMd5IDtOBey9L8oVr2QZps6Fb4/s1600/AUS_1962.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9wQfk_638RVWVmL7P9tXOGioxrs-9RKp5NGxG6ZvVq3yffFJjzO-TnOSc-GIyROht6BDozMLw6KR7knqtbHzXNhG2Og6M8Fi3fVXTMSlHPHYTdQE_ueCbGlilB4R3OspviCkVyYSJGA/s1600/AUS_1968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9wQfk_638RVWVmL7P9tXOGioxrs-9RKp5NGxG6ZvVq3yffFJjzO-TnOSc-GIyROht6BDozMLw6KR7knqtbHzXNhG2Og6M8Fi3fVXTMSlHPHYTdQE_ueCbGlilB4R3OspviCkVyYSJGA/s1600/AUS_1968.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On our way around the rock</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0M64JvTYp5gKUwk0oY6uUkCw1pVjeaoo3sbwY-DOUmS7IyeGX0WXr8em3bYbOjT5bZZr8-uVUDug870JcLrk27oXfWxOBd6CwF3VmzYRl_bwLKAis6IZTvX0t4LhK7QAA5X_qKPMZuc/s1600/AUS_1995.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0M64JvTYp5gKUwk0oY6uUkCw1pVjeaoo3sbwY-DOUmS7IyeGX0WXr8em3bYbOjT5bZZr8-uVUDug870JcLrk27oXfWxOBd6CwF3VmzYRl_bwLKAis6IZTvX0t4LhK7QAA5X_qKPMZuc/s1600/AUS_1995.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The very rare human kangaroo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VfvZ4VZ3zx99n5kzy6M_F9G9B99HAoyjsuoeodM0ATFVL2FCO9lJH6AHGl6RfDjxwxKtlypztZIrrIWXed1akf8W94OpEmUDb-MWUFGWz5JC9Cz3LnBeWRx49sJZkv6swdbWsZc9MYU/s1600/AUS_1997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VfvZ4VZ3zx99n5kzy6M_F9G9B99HAoyjsuoeodM0ATFVL2FCO9lJH6AHGl6RfDjxwxKtlypztZIrrIWXed1akf8W94OpEmUDb-MWUFGWz5JC9Cz3LnBeWRx49sJZkv6swdbWsZc9MYU/s1600/AUS_1997.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6UWTECeXnKB9Px5QOMwGsEjDBYCQ4SIOauFUmu05GYJ3kK-YT71EkDxjMTpERLCQuZSv0yrW_bLVR0sg868aYKwGEDp8giCpduG3bsmGv1EY_tpjgh70oxtZP7C4JisHLVFFeLPV1D4E/s1600/AUS_2016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6UWTECeXnKB9Px5QOMwGsEjDBYCQ4SIOauFUmu05GYJ3kK-YT71EkDxjMTpERLCQuZSv0yrW_bLVR0sg868aYKwGEDp8giCpduG3bsmGv1EY_tpjgh70oxtZP7C4JisHLVFFeLPV1D4E/s1600/AUS_2016.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXm6jZCIO7aVoWavrZa22Ib84kZAlxNLMV1JHYcYMluQ8fZ-0c7DiwNyCazvv33YGrqp4SYuX7aUxNKXcITS6QZpQrb52Byw6-O_FEnnOE8kBsqhyDz0gQIWwXOhVPR0pIT5RIRlUAIA/s1600/AUS_2038.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXm6jZCIO7aVoWavrZa22Ib84kZAlxNLMV1JHYcYMluQ8fZ-0c7DiwNyCazvv33YGrqp4SYuX7aUxNKXcITS6QZpQrb52Byw6-O_FEnnOE8kBsqhyDz0gQIWwXOhVPR0pIT5RIRlUAIA/s1600/AUS_2038.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4_CVHOIF8V42rPfZIssQI2UrR0zzbNviv98sPTeLcoZfWuLdoiqGpRvNJSSwK-Xp9_zfmuDbDTTBxCeFdaHKH8xXv1az9pZtEleLHawm_58GFWloaPBNDNwCmQDPjuxyhKYh6p4hI7I/s1600/AUS_2056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4_CVHOIF8V42rPfZIssQI2UrR0zzbNviv98sPTeLcoZfWuLdoiqGpRvNJSSwK-Xp9_zfmuDbDTTBxCeFdaHKH8xXv1az9pZtEleLHawm_58GFWloaPBNDNwCmQDPjuxyhKYh6p4hI7I/s1600/AUS_2056.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uluru </td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicR6thfQlo_cSodlW5NCfFwJUjSj4lqWJjc4jp7zTy7wNIDItcfcLeWohtSvm0a2_un0o-p5XTkGXEdO_V3Vjl2dJE70T7S-brDAyFkUi-pNcWP-AgXdFD9NEwIN7y_HmS3JgWoat4nds/s1600/AUS_2062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicR6thfQlo_cSodlW5NCfFwJUjSj4lqWJjc4jp7zTy7wNIDItcfcLeWohtSvm0a2_un0o-p5XTkGXEdO_V3Vjl2dJE70T7S-brDAyFkUi-pNcWP-AgXdFD9NEwIN7y_HmS3JgWoat4nds/s1600/AUS_2062.JPG" height="398" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE64MdtPvA2SgY7frP2N3oTswKRDW8TIiwSbxDFuf3ADYLNsOpWA2g2cFdqjY1yRaAh642DqSy3ofGWnWwGhdk6Jx-TcZKIJcHpdFfAsEsJZWmcT6H94X-sigTxJ-vpbRkcrfzoxX-DZg/s1600/AUS_2209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE64MdtPvA2SgY7frP2N3oTswKRDW8TIiwSbxDFuf3ADYLNsOpWA2g2cFdqjY1yRaAh642DqSy3ofGWnWwGhdk6Jx-TcZKIJcHpdFfAsEsJZWmcT6H94X-sigTxJ-vpbRkcrfzoxX-DZg/s1600/AUS_2209.JPG" height="322" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset behind the huge rock</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Sunday 10<sup>th</sup>
August</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s said
that no journey to Uluru is complete without a visit to Kata Tjuta. So we rose
early and set off for the sunrise over Kata Tjuta (and Uluru in the horizon). It’s a group of domed rocks huddled together,
and shoulder by shoulder they’re forming deep valleys and gorges. The tallest
rock is 200m higher than Uluru. After sunrise and breakfast we ventured out on
the 7,4 km ‘valley of the winds’ loop walk, which is considered as the most
rewarding bushwalk in the park, it gave us excellent views of the domes and the
wilderness surrounding it. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Back in Yulara we watched a cultural dance show,
before we headed back on the road again. At Finke river rest area we couldn’t
keep us selves awake any longer. We drove 432 km.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRVeMZ4Z4eli53MpZxlmzyf-Wwh1tL4NRd-l1lwT3DkPBgCTkwTAblhRYJerP9jNa3JLKDugqpEToDrPqV2uMmqLaJUzlodi198xL4yBIdIk-hV1m3lWwRa-6ADhWbQ_icdyrcQbqQMRQ/s1600/AUS_2236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRVeMZ4Z4eli53MpZxlmzyf-Wwh1tL4NRd-l1lwT3DkPBgCTkwTAblhRYJerP9jNa3JLKDugqpEToDrPqV2uMmqLaJUzlodi198xL4yBIdIk-hV1m3lWwRa-6ADhWbQ_icdyrcQbqQMRQ/s1600/AUS_2236.JPG" height="284" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kata Tjuta sunrise</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looping around the rocks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrSg-N-ukV3qfN5MUn1gSt-cG7v8Axpjjt77AsdjelB-Dbarh80aOvpy9p5TarbeU4BHMlVKjZXw2jUNiDGGByWiJjWX7W-OZSnqSY-OJE8xxu9vl0NtAKJ0GEBqAS3we9Xg-wOg-Ks4/s1600/IMG_1887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSrSg-N-ukV3qfN5MUn1gSt-cG7v8Axpjjt77AsdjelB-Dbarh80aOvpy9p5TarbeU4BHMlVKjZXw2jUNiDGGByWiJjWX7W-OZSnqSY-OJE8xxu9vl0NtAKJ0GEBqAS3we9Xg-wOg-Ks4/s1600/IMG_1887.JPG" height="184" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure that one out....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zJbpaSxfjz__pgGV_tv9cfh-MBAirZ1Ac4bD_FvWinneLRVlQBOWI9zgG9-uHLNU_eC2CRyTlASv6QZD8woDdmv7xEevDfPQgOVI67XPnLqoMUwx1zLZPypMsFLiu8IVb1KiGsaoEiQ/s1600/AUS_2282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zJbpaSxfjz__pgGV_tv9cfh-MBAirZ1Ac4bD_FvWinneLRVlQBOWI9zgG9-uHLNU_eC2CRyTlASv6QZD8woDdmv7xEevDfPQgOVI67XPnLqoMUwx1zLZPypMsFLiu8IVb1KiGsaoEiQ/s1600/AUS_2282.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gossip in Yulara</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pkoI6Z-sdEfNxHSYr08pWr_CGhpDAbhe1YvZYDJ6F2TIDxYKRCZ5phU3QAvZ9ylK16MLHOlmeG_RKw2uvLbLGu_GLyuzSb02m54ViDW0P-aeHfpGEk0J7Akaui1lk7QvOJqGlMJKEWs/s1600/AUS_2357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pkoI6Z-sdEfNxHSYr08pWr_CGhpDAbhe1YvZYDJ6F2TIDxYKRCZ5phU3QAvZ9ylK16MLHOlmeG_RKw2uvLbLGu_GLyuzSb02m54ViDW0P-aeHfpGEk0J7Akaui1lk7QvOJqGlMJKEWs/s1600/AUS_2357.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching the moonrise!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Monday 11<sup>th</sup>
August </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We had a
morning walk around the Henbury meteorite craters. It is 12 small craters
formed after a meteor crashed in to the earth many years ago. Then we headed
back into Alice Springs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We’re thinking a lot about our job situation, and what
our possibilities are. We visited some auto workshops, and talked to some
people about a job for Erik. You might think that he should do that by himself,
but here they’re so use to backpackers and searching for a job can be very
casual. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">By coincidence a man overheard that Erik is a mechanic, he needed his
head gasket changed on one of his cars soon, so they exchanged data. Erik said
it would be very easy earned money, but apparently the man didn’t need it
desperately, and we didn’t wanna stay in town to wait for his reply. Erik could
have earned $400 for us, but we doubt that the head gasket would be in stock in
Alice Springs, if not, it could take several days, or weeks to get it shipped
into the middle of Australia – which is why we decided to continue our journey
up north, to Connor well rest area. Total km = 305.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZMtYpawmqgz_O1ia7K329D2GQiz00O_W8mIz3C7J6yliP-OtirOPoLLB5kliJzFszleUo83ylIQ9N1cnG0pOumArpP78zEO0bKa6O7l1tb2IsFWqjTYbjCua81LAOPoiVlHAxGRoq_eo/s1600/AUS_2366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZMtYpawmqgz_O1ia7K329D2GQiz00O_W8mIz3C7J6yliP-OtirOPoLLB5kliJzFszleUo83ylIQ9N1cnG0pOumArpP78zEO0bKa6O7l1tb2IsFWqjTYbjCua81LAOPoiVlHAxGRoq_eo/s1600/AUS_2366.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Henbury meteorite craters</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52UJ0VWQ-R5NbVeWtcV-DQ9GVA888rbEg76gMu9B8yGTJemF67jZor6Z4-56FehQETGc5GVGZBAqsjs4HAW5l2-S1PBmIV7fj24mye8z44W_qHZ_iDjhhEv1B71Gvdsfo030Cw83u85w/s1600/AUS_2389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52UJ0VWQ-R5NbVeWtcV-DQ9GVA888rbEg76gMu9B8yGTJemF67jZor6Z4-56FehQETGc5GVGZBAqsjs4HAW5l2-S1PBmIV7fj24mye8z44W_qHZ_iDjhhEv1B71Gvdsfo030Cw83u85w/s1600/AUS_2389.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erik discovered this little guy sun bathing on the road<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tuesday
12th August </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We regret
that we paid for our shower at Aileron Roadhouse, because they were trying to
fool us, and make us pay more money than the actual price. Felt like we were
back in Asia for a moment there! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We visited rustic Barrow Creek, one of the
highways popular pubs, where the tradition once was to leave your name on a
banknote and pin it to the wall. But people leave everything there, like study
card, driver license, old used train tickets, pictures, t-shirts - basically
everything. The toothless owner then keeps it, and shows it to the next people
coming from the same country. We left our passport photos there, together with
a little note. A funny little place in the middle of nowhere! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Erik kindly asked
the owner if he could use the outdoor car ramp, to change the oil on our car –
of course he could. It only took him 10-15 minutes, then we were on the road
again with 5 liters of fresh engine oil in Migaloo. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">Another funny place is
Wycliffe well roadhouse, where the locals seem to believe that UFO’s fly over
them regularly. The place is decorated with Alien figures, UFO newspaper
clipping and a spooky doll collection. We stopped at Attack creek, and enjoyed
the afternoon and the night there. While we were cooking our delightful chili
beef dinner, we discovered some light in the horizon. For a short while we
wondered what it could be, until we realized it was the moon rising – full
moon. The sight of it was so outstanding and extraordinary. It was crazy really.
We never saw the moon rising before. We’ve seen tons of sunrises and sunsets,
but never the god damn moon. 478 km.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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Pit stop/oil change at Barrow Creek<br />
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Alien at Wycliff Well<br />
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Our cozy bedroom</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Wednesday
13th August</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We stopped
at Daly Waters, it’s another famous roadhouse on the way north, actually it’s a
detour from the highway, but I read it should be a unique place. The place were decorated with all kinds of stuff from previous visitors. It had its own bra
and thong collection, plus a massive T-shirt collection – all left by visitors. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">We very quickly liked the place and after talking to the nice staff we decided
to stay on their campground for the night. Every night there’s live music, it’s
quite fascinating that this place is right in the middle of the outback, and
still so well visited and well known. We had a fun night in the bar, and
actually applied for jobs there as well. 336 km.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGprY-SEjfgJKhOTOaOarfzOSUlcfXEWaROXoFdh8gfZilypMbKFfL1PGBEPBOJ8kr84BxV9wj13Ipjxo14jUDp2v_8CQdyjgWISFfE1EPvEMGXafHtG8SN60hIdTbj-i3E6tJ7yPVAE/s1600/AUS_2458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdGprY-SEjfgJKhOTOaOarfzOSUlcfXEWaROXoFdh8gfZilypMbKFfL1PGBEPBOJ8kr84BxV9wj13Ipjxo14jUDp2v_8CQdyjgWISFfE1EPvEMGXafHtG8SN60hIdTbj-i3E6tJ7yPVAE/s1600/AUS_2458.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78kyEUCyvmrW-uHAxJkZvSNF4ETJ4CbOt8HmtKiSPunU_5jnF29voGnbkFuneGOg3k5rSNfVEq_FHHRBEJVBAH18LxduLk0i8O83twmL_PxXs8bRnjvrxALw-58nyebpDmcIM4Yrivb0/s1600/AUS_2460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78kyEUCyvmrW-uHAxJkZvSNF4ETJ4CbOt8HmtKiSPunU_5jnF29voGnbkFuneGOg3k5rSNfVEq_FHHRBEJVBAH18LxduLk0i8O83twmL_PxXs8bRnjvrxALw-58nyebpDmcIM4Yrivb0/s1600/AUS_2460.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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Daly Waters Pub bra collection</div>
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Our pictures at Daly Waters Pub</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzEV_qzXXQadBzFv_YHI0hio10ORPGby2RQ7-DTuL2mdGw_JhpKl5bA1OnadAOW7TrLQVx4hmCEYcNIgSvKKcIee6JBUw4QKFOjE5JYh1g_D4Gvt316vw1ZRlo7ur8Oy66h-ZmTMDwVY/s1600/AUS_2482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzEV_qzXXQadBzFv_YHI0hio10ORPGby2RQ7-DTuL2mdGw_JhpKl5bA1OnadAOW7TrLQVx4hmCEYcNIgSvKKcIee6JBUw4QKFOjE5JYh1g_D4Gvt316vw1ZRlo7ur8Oy66h-ZmTMDwVY/s1600/AUS_2482.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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Nearest Mcdonnalds... 286 km.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ZvqujguTWUZjPUlOwIXGODJG8SIAAueM3hSPLjBNo6opH7sZoZVlrjtvFE3hTDQ37r6k69-_Krk4mIEdqykZNaYe_C66eVCxdb2J4G39n01CKr93WTB7Is40FBDUSYKgs84Ni1-90GI/s1600/AUS_2471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ZvqujguTWUZjPUlOwIXGODJG8SIAAueM3hSPLjBNo6opH7sZoZVlrjtvFE3hTDQ37r6k69-_Krk4mIEdqykZNaYe_C66eVCxdb2J4G39n01CKr93WTB7Is40FBDUSYKgs84Ni1-90GI/s1600/AUS_2471.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Number plate collection at Daly Waters Pub</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thursday
14th August</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">On our way
up to Darwin we stopped at every single roadhouse on the way and asked for
jobs. We are really into the thought about working on a remote roadhouse, just
be far away from everything, save money cause there’s nothing to spend them on
and the feeling of feeling like a cowboy/girl for a while sounds amazing in our
heads. The wage is also better, than in the cities, we will get extra money for
being in a remote place. At some of the places it sounded like they needed new
staff soon, so we had to send our resume and then wait for a hopefully positive
answer. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;">When we arrived in Darwin it was dark and late – we decided to stay out
of the city, and found a shaded and hidden spot on the wharf and slept there
for the night. It had become a lot warmer now, even at night time it was
obvious that we were in the tropics again. The next couple of days we will be
job hunting in Darwin and the surroundings. 614 km.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>From northeast to the middle of Australia</b></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/xUcS1TjPFSY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09828578618884464538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-25256386058779303212014-08-08T14:09:00.001+02:002014-08-08T14:09:20.859+02:00Cairns & Splendour In The Grass<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Friday 18<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">After
saying goodbye to the Augustini’s in the morning, we drove out to the AJ
Hackett adventure park. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Last year I got a voucher for a jungle swing as a
birthday present, from my missed friend Malene, and now was the time to use it.
The park specialises in bungy jumping and have the worlds fastest jungle swing. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">After watching people bungy jump I was pleased that I got a voucher for the
swing. It would take too much courage to take that one step – some people
couldn’t even do it, and lost their money on it. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I was very satisfied with my
swing, it took me up to 45m., and up there I had a self-release strap that I
had to pull to get down again – meaning when I was hanging up there I had no
other way to get down, than to pull the strap, no opportunity to bail out,
which for me is the best when it comes to heights. Although my fear of heights,
more or less, seems to be cured, I was still screaming my lungs out, when I
realized how fast I was falling. It was fun and definitely the swing of my life
– A great adventure! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the early afternoon we drove home to my friend Dean,
who I know from my time in the Rocky Mountains in Canada. He’s living in Cairns
with his girlfriend, Courtney and their adorable 10 month’s old boy Arlie. It’s
4 years ago, since we saw each other. I felt it overwhelming that he (and her)
was so hospitable to us. It’s amazing to travel to the other side of the world,
and meet an old friend, and then he’s so friendly and easy going - just like
that! We got our own room at their house, they cooked us dinner and served us
ice cold beers - no wonder we felt like home straight away!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Jungle swing video!!</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lwBP_0hed48/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/lwBP_0hed48?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/lwBP_0hed48?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFrqkS92hjNzL7z23M-hHkk_jt2VfPVEozDA6z2iOllduPjXhGxTbZvppduUXO6Um5iJS0t1m0aCmjiKgV9CMUFHt_ppcpRIUfoxSGw7YR8tk00IeOtNyQE7Iti9JjPQBBXLkdQ7KUCQ2k/s1600/edg10712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFrqkS92hjNzL7z23M-hHkk_jt2VfPVEozDA6z2iOllduPjXhGxTbZvppduUXO6Um5iJS0t1m0aCmjiKgV9CMUFHt_ppcpRIUfoxSGw7YR8tk00IeOtNyQE7Iti9JjPQBBXLkdQ7KUCQ2k/s1600/edg10712.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UokvSra0oHdjZd7rH54-dS-ouWeI3M8DmQRF2A7iSBPuVG6Ch3NkcEPdgIi-Ub5n6GaQXXohelA6lYt8vqHylBpqgf1TED6EHgmW827MsRkD4VlP4xIIjijjR-fq6YtI8abkkzfZr5BD/s1600/DSC00005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UokvSra0oHdjZd7rH54-dS-ouWeI3M8DmQRF2A7iSBPuVG6Ch3NkcEPdgIi-Ub5n6GaQXXohelA6lYt8vqHylBpqgf1TED6EHgmW827MsRkD4VlP4xIIjijjR-fq6YtI8abkkzfZr5BD/s1600/DSC00005.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our hosts</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBR33gi80gaJI_Q4b-RgAGAC5i7CA8xL8_NFl8xfq9gXlUbP7ZQo2JzwOmm1nS-4Lk5w8ixEmIKbmX8Ba7vwarJp5g7o7aua3q0RH2sKjP3U9FASNd3vr-kVX7g2siDhVUzJwm7UETnytk/s1600/DSC00010.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBR33gi80gaJI_Q4b-RgAGAC5i7CA8xL8_NFl8xfq9gXlUbP7ZQo2JzwOmm1nS-4Lk5w8ixEmIKbmX8Ba7vwarJp5g7o7aua3q0RH2sKjP3U9FASNd3vr-kVX7g2siDhVUzJwm7UETnytk/s1600/DSC00010.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26IqJs5RoxGw87cDtF1vsS1FVCInQamHjj_IIJvNIA5uEmDdQA5CjZyJMvsWlOAbZ61v-gRLaFs1l56er8gTA_1zbI_OMu73C6zf55-LL6AfFUiJm7AlOz8mnpYnUhr6CFsfiKub4xCyp/s1600/DSC00013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26IqJs5RoxGw87cDtF1vsS1FVCInQamHjj_IIJvNIA5uEmDdQA5CjZyJMvsWlOAbZ61v-gRLaFs1l56er8gTA_1zbI_OMu73C6zf55-LL6AfFUiJm7AlOz8mnpYnUhr6CFsfiKub4xCyp/s1600/DSC00013.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYlvhGjtCNPDtFhe-rzhY_nf-BzlIE_WsN5wtYTGTbE6fHJSIq4D-qK7_4pFUSNHbgkjfWNjTlnUgnMI91uCJ9luHud7On2a6dD4umeMx1oKglQl-ZFq4324AqpE4p1mOvm7knfjIW816/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-21-15h04m12s172.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYlvhGjtCNPDtFhe-rzhY_nf-BzlIE_WsN5wtYTGTbE6fHJSIq4D-qK7_4pFUSNHbgkjfWNjTlnUgnMI91uCJ9luHud7On2a6dD4umeMx1oKglQl-ZFq4324AqpE4p1mOvm7knfjIW816/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-21-15h04m12s172.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the big ones we saw</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Saturday 19th - Wednesday 23th July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">On Saturday morning Dean took us on a boat trip around the rivers to spot crocodiles. It’s easiest to spot them during low tide, at that time of the day they’re hanging out on the river banks and enjoying the sun. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We spotted around 5, but they’re really shy, so as soon as they saw us they went into the water to hide. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Did a bit of fishing as well, but none of us catched anything. We spend time with Dean and his family during the weekend, and enjoyed their hospitality. Erik fixed our loose spare wheel, and a few other things on the car, so it could be ready for the outback. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tuesday we went out for dinner to celebrate Dean’s 34<sup>th</sup> birthday, Courney had made a chocolate cheese cake, and Erik finally discovered that cheesecake dosen’t actually taste like cheese. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We didn’t do any touristy stuff during those days. We felt like we needed a break away from all the crowds and we needed to save some money too. We were far behind with blog, so we spend a lot of time to get that updated, while Dean and Courtney was working.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2OoCHeuapngyxgFZe8BfXsHhtZNU4WOm5Gvj4Ct7rrPTB4i5gEPeJCV7lOK4KDk4v9VALMN0Xoty_WkBTb2v7aPQdnjchyphenhyphenFAu-4tF23mrOYe4W8OE2YiKmmBM_vV0xnzQV7leDmMGeeb/s1600/DSC00015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2OoCHeuapngyxgFZe8BfXsHhtZNU4WOm5Gvj4Ct7rrPTB4i5gEPeJCV7lOK4KDk4v9VALMN0Xoty_WkBTb2v7aPQdnjchyphenhyphenFAu-4tF23mrOYe4W8OE2YiKmmBM_vV0xnzQV7leDmMGeeb/s1600/DSC00015.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out for a walk with the little family</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZCDIs-NXYb4w5FZuh4_UOC6aZRvSbHwRFxNwFQ-iXFJoSIxb7KbxyNgmXA9E2TrQcjzBBrZQl6npr0pSZ-InS1Eb0Ind9cYbsP15eUV7aHIiVpbhOIVV0mrXknNaxRpi2rB_CE1mlVEc/s1600/DSC00023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZCDIs-NXYb4w5FZuh4_UOC6aZRvSbHwRFxNwFQ-iXFJoSIxb7KbxyNgmXA9E2TrQcjzBBrZQl6npr0pSZ-InS1Eb0Ind9cYbsP15eUV7aHIiVpbhOIVV0mrXknNaxRpi2rB_CE1mlVEc/s1600/DSC00023.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arlie loves to help mom in the kitchen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Thursday
24th- Monday 28th July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We flew
down to the festival, Splendour In The Grass, between Byron Bay and the Gold
Coast. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Malene (the lady we lived with in Sydney) came and picked us up in the
airport. We were really excited about our job in the Danish hotdog stall and had
been looking forward to an awesome weekend in good company. The festival is the biggest in Australia, and there's around 25.000 visitors each year. To us that's a small festival, and it turned out that it wasn't half as developed as the ones at home. There was hundreds of foodstalls, and very few bars. People had to buy tokens to buy alcohol, and the lines to both the tokens and the bars were unreasonable long. We found it unfair to charge people so much money ($380 =1976kr ), and then letting them stay in lines through half of the festival. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Well, thursday was in the very beginning of the festival,
so the business was very slow during the whole day. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US">We all had time to go out
and explore the festival area. At night we had some wine and beers in the stall
and the atmosphere was great. Our boss didn’t give us any specific working shifts,
so apparently we should all be in the stall from opening, at 9am to midnight or
later. If we weren’t busy we could figure out mutually who should go out and
enjoy the festival. Friday was slow as well. We went out and listened to The Presets and Spiderbait. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We
had got a few beers during the day and since the business still was slow when
we came back, we assumed it would be okay to drink a few beers to kill the long
night. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The later it got the more frustrated the boss became, until then we
hadn’t sold even half of what he thought, and if we didn’t do something drastic
to make people aware of what we were selling and some obvious price signs, he
would lose money – LOTS OF MONEY. But it sure wasn’t easy to convince that old
stubborn man that we needed some signs that made people notice us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He was more
stubborn than the two of us together, but eventually he let us put up the signs,
saying Danish hotdog $8 (42kr).It helped a bit, but it was still too expensive
compared to the young crowd, who’s use to buying hotdogs for $2-4 (10-21kr). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
next day the boss still was grumpy and he started being unkind to us, mostly
because we came with some suggestions about how we thought we could sell more
and probably also because he knew we were right. But wouldn’t admit it! He started
to annoy us more and more. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Malene and her daughter, Hannah have worked for him
many times, so it’s a while ago since they stopped suggesting new stuff to him
– they just do it his way, without further comments. Frankly that’s not how
Erik operates, if there’s something wrong he’s not afraid of letting people
know. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Saturday afternoon the boss decided to put the price down to $5 (27 kr),
and finally we got busy. Although there was still an uncomfortable and awkward
silence in the stall. The boss knew he was losing money and after he treated us
and talked to us so disrespectful, we didn’t feel like we owed him anything, so
none of us was talking or trying to make anything good again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At night we went
out to listen to Rufus, an Australian band we really like, and of course the
boss was making a scene when we came back to the stall. Erik stayed there while
I escaped out and listened to City And Colour. Our boss was a nightmare to be
around, and he basically ruined the whole weekend. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We both really tried just to
forget about him, and have fun and enjoy ourselves, but it was impossible when
he was around. That’s what you get out
of taking time out of your calendar and travel around 1700km to help people!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The good thing was that we earned more money than we thought we would, but then
again he promised us $600 (3120kr) each, and we only got $500 (2600kr), cause
he didn’t earn as much as he thought. But if it had been the other way around,
and we had been smoking busy all weekend, would he have given us $100 (520kr) extra?
Dream on! And we wouldn’t have asked for it! All right, the complaining round
is over. Had to get it out of the system! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Monday morning we took a bus to Byron
Bay to explore the little surf town, sadly we were too exhausted to do anything
when we got there, but we got to see the beach and the inside of our eyelids.
Then a helpful lady from the tourist office gave us a lift up to Coolangatta,
close to the airport, and we strolled around in the beach town before we flew
back up north to Cairns. It had been a long and sadly also an irritating
weekend, due to our boss’ grumpy appearance. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Our friend Dean picked up us at
the airport and we were pleased to be back in there company, and sleep in a
normal bed again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtt_fO-Si7eD1qg_wuQ-abAq5nefRM9drgSMO3IKUHvXMFyng3p_hjIl-j9o87Opjn5QN-nBfgNWLOp4SYijuA9EhRkihoycC44j03TZuvOEQxk2d-TgA7LMFfnkNLcGnx_75HpT74S7u/s1600/DSC00039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtt_fO-Si7eD1qg_wuQ-abAq5nefRM9drgSMO3IKUHvXMFyng3p_hjIl-j9o87Opjn5QN-nBfgNWLOp4SYijuA9EhRkihoycC44j03TZuvOEQxk2d-TgA7LMFfnkNLcGnx_75HpT74S7u/s1600/DSC00039.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1r5iBwjfLVwoiemDRQk9fHX8Qv6fIKvFh6aM1WjgMqF-mo67wo_2MB0y8kZOhkzufUBciPPkBaamE5qotfRT7gWK8YHSoQkGNZ3sp0VonZWq1BabEuPUNbJcrD2TeHX883tEsPMXhyZo/s1600/DSC00042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1r5iBwjfLVwoiemDRQk9fHX8Qv6fIKvFh6aM1WjgMqF-mo67wo_2MB0y8kZOhkzufUBciPPkBaamE5qotfRT7gWK8YHSoQkGNZ3sp0VonZWq1BabEuPUNbJcrD2TeHX883tEsPMXhyZo/s1600/DSC00042.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signs hidden under the tent!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Q4pV7drbEfFZLlVYMzxYbyxrKQt9k6C6E3wZzGJz-Bfs0JM7QizOrHstIIyBzplkygOBzrzibAf2LLzfZ70k8mhm80PT5nzDdmOkjWo80dIipujT761BrpwqDL1TTGPQhkDIYo_aq8w6/s1600/DSC00049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Q4pV7drbEfFZLlVYMzxYbyxrKQt9k6C6E3wZzGJz-Bfs0JM7QizOrHstIIyBzplkygOBzrzibAf2LLzfZ70k8mhm80PT5nzDdmOkjWo80dIipujT761BrpwqDL1TTGPQhkDIYo_aq8w6/s1600/DSC00049.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl9sqZ5YADg5uHlzDvGebLyefzF0iY6oShy1rXBGX0sPVowO9b1oa9ShdRCfK_x1BC5nvXmB1Z0oOn9ZzrWFSUmAlBdcezNuzvdU-IpkJb4ZCCM3-ECTOvsgKR6eEe8rnBwQfqfaLErc-G/s1600/IMG_2582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl9sqZ5YADg5uHlzDvGebLyefzF0iY6oShy1rXBGX0sPVowO9b1oa9ShdRCfK_x1BC5nvXmB1Z0oOn9ZzrWFSUmAlBdcezNuzvdU-IpkJb4ZCCM3-ECTOvsgKR6eEe8rnBwQfqfaLErc-G/s1600/IMG_2582.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuSmGWibHnifykpVGgEH1He90XG5zJTCY8kbjlep3YZjzHLPxZQGA7waoRW6JoFx15n67ymiQ_i47GiP6DTguo8TZ2qk_RSpDqbLK4mefhyphenhyphenb27IefSYR_7sY_iS1WJXOY1fJkCRg41t_0v/s1600/IMG_2599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuSmGWibHnifykpVGgEH1He90XG5zJTCY8kbjlep3YZjzHLPxZQGA7waoRW6JoFx15n67ymiQ_i47GiP6DTguo8TZ2qk_RSpDqbLK4mefhyphenhyphenb27IefSYR_7sY_iS1WJXOY1fJkCRg41t_0v/s1600/IMG_2599.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mainstage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNugjGgnYUiMzOFA1Ys2lzROcEi_o361rdMoxZAo75BakJW6IbINWFCiPSLpszclGWLWgePWMcaj9mGOgJJtxGaIyi3a-yUfV6AI7natv1MC6v3ONh3IsiymVqFQdVvQ5S8J2_3uzBQdZ/s1600/IMG_2603.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNugjGgnYUiMzOFA1Ys2lzROcEi_o361rdMoxZAo75BakJW6IbINWFCiPSLpszclGWLWgePWMcaj9mGOgJJtxGaIyi3a-yUfV6AI7natv1MC6v3ONh3IsiymVqFQdVvQ5S8J2_3uzBQdZ/s1600/IMG_2603.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrw6weNuUSzKul72ISXTPLS7jLmth8WYR7StditY9Pkl2WzpS3Fj3ZsJ-2xvEMmFTRgyRMgjz-ew29Vn7_iceiLgWR37k_knn2aCOCyWDZcFpjGBPkGvhMx9uVt3Y7pNoT1kCp0b1TgiRu/s1600/IMG_2610.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrw6weNuUSzKul72ISXTPLS7jLmth8WYR7StditY9Pkl2WzpS3Fj3ZsJ-2xvEMmFTRgyRMgjz-ew29Vn7_iceiLgWR37k_knn2aCOCyWDZcFpjGBPkGvhMx9uVt3Y7pNoT1kCp0b1TgiRu/s1600/IMG_2610.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2623VXL-jyJPntahysByaOT1dXKojyzOvkSbc8Rskyr2OavBgle2nEE9ztaQOKjhfZYb2os0xon5rxlWxWTR6d6LzhV9l7Ob4AV1pg5Cuy1-KSgzQq3t2WRMiaU2ELErlMCXgyN-kdPLQ/s1600/DSC00052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2623VXL-jyJPntahysByaOT1dXKojyzOvkSbc8Rskyr2OavBgle2nEE9ztaQOKjhfZYb2os0xon5rxlWxWTR6d6LzhV9l7Ob4AV1pg5Cuy1-KSgzQq3t2WRMiaU2ELErlMCXgyN-kdPLQ/s1600/DSC00052.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Byron Bay beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Tuesday
29th July – Thursday 1st August</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We slept
like babies, and we didn’t get out of bed before noon. Courtney was making fun
of us, cause Arlie was going for his second nap when we got up. So actually we
slept more than babies! My new investment arrived on tuesday, a Nikon D7000. We
were flat out with getting the blog ready, and hoping that it was the last time
that we would spend hours and days on an update. We celebrated my birthday with
burgers and a swim in the cool blue lagoon, located in the middle of the city.
No crazy party this year! Haha! Friday morning, we said goodbye to our friends
and left for our big roadtrip into the outback.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPjwEOpaB3FiZYlDrhlIxBcCUbBkkK0yYpUzUudl34XyvkVorFzbecrmgpdL9gbfoNtb9MQeVbukrp_cBDCOGSEEyCnQjVikSpsSp-mEoGHCqKi9vrZvl7qfUcju9sA13Ce7g0heaywC6/s1600/AUS_0330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPjwEOpaB3FiZYlDrhlIxBcCUbBkkK0yYpUzUudl34XyvkVorFzbecrmgpdL9gbfoNtb9MQeVbukrp_cBDCOGSEEyCnQjVikSpsSp-mEoGHCqKi9vrZvl7qfUcju9sA13Ce7g0heaywC6/s1600/AUS_0330.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cairns Esplanade</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRdHmK6hMuSfAYHPrmSHK1PXl5yGY-RmF0FHDmXORUBH-mq5c1S6u5LhhqlcXIaY_C-Mk1OvrKt2sI-GDu9DIWFZVclR-pbzun_ZnuBbGYIKmzGGjdbVpRhBeYnH3BSlIh-6RA4-cpOZG/s1600/AUS_0340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRdHmK6hMuSfAYHPrmSHK1PXl5yGY-RmF0FHDmXORUBH-mq5c1S6u5LhhqlcXIaY_C-Mk1OvrKt2sI-GDu9DIWFZVclR-pbzun_ZnuBbGYIKmzGGjdbVpRhBeYnH3BSlIh-6RA4-cpOZG/s1600/AUS_0340.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The blue lagoon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdrzYQjQjvBODBIMuJcMMUSh7S1X4pdcap90vDizfwGBj7M9YZMsksb8rwMGtKt36VN8uOvqISsmGGMCWMdEnMrJDOO4BwBzNrh8rRohCJh58ZR2TlpzFC4aO5qYeEQS_Io4kJ7s6YZy5/s1600/AUS_0394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdrzYQjQjvBODBIMuJcMMUSh7S1X4pdcap90vDizfwGBj7M9YZMsksb8rwMGtKt36VN8uOvqISsmGGMCWMdEnMrJDOO4BwBzNrh8rRohCJh58ZR2TlpzFC4aO5qYeEQS_Io4kJ7s6YZy5/s1600/AUS_0394.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arlie is the happiest little child, always ready for a smile!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDdKvHOldyoDdgwdqlYFT66d1OJ2zZ_uQUClg24IIhKqlCQWKwyMppf9oZfYIqBWI2id40gmBaQrflHieHf57MfarM_t8uuf7YKxCKXJazcOURdBoB9BgVrRBnI0D9TfZw0xggoga7CLV/s1600/AUS_0476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDdKvHOldyoDdgwdqlYFT66d1OJ2zZ_uQUClg24IIhKqlCQWKwyMppf9oZfYIqBWI2id40gmBaQrflHieHf57MfarM_t8uuf7YKxCKXJazcOURdBoB9BgVrRBnI0D9TfZw0xggoga7CLV/s1600/AUS_0476.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday girl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
Erik Krafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10520862374999442880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469528360810694006.post-79571012749966485502014-07-31T16:06:00.001+02:002014-07-31T16:06:25.885+02:00Roadtrip along the east coast of Australia<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Monday 30<sup>th</sup>
June</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Todays
highlight is to surprise Ib & Charlotte and their two daughters, Signe
& Sarah, in the airport. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As the proud Vikings we are, we bring our semi-big
Danish flag along, and show the whole arrival hall where we're all from. It’s
so great to finally again get a visit from home. Honestly at this time we
really needed some well-known company, and after looking forward to this visit for
several months, we are quite happy to see some familiar faces. They’re all
pretty knackered after travelling for 32 hours. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We take a cab with them into
their hotel near central station. The gals are starving and Ib is thirsty, we try
in vain to find a place that suites everybody, but unfortunately it’s
impossible at this time a monday night. They end up ordering pizza from a "hole in the wall", and even though we already ate, we share a nasty big kebab..
Which we regret seconds after swallowing the last bite... Typical us! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We sit
down at a pub afterwards and start catching up, plus we try to figure out our
priorities to explore in Sydney. We’re on a tight schedule, but we'll try to get
the best out of every moment. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We only have 16 days to reach Cairns. Well,
actually these next 3 weeks is all up to Ib & his gals, since it’s their
holiday and they decided to travel this far “just” to visit us. We arrange to
meet up the next morning, and I must admit that we kept our fingers crossed, that the jetlag wouldn't hit them to hard!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUAkcMGknX0PyyGJC3N65Z3sM5J5iu74KU5jBOKa2Rxnk9hXhWX97qkBgoPNxOBkdUDKcKdWdNd5OR1qPdywwrEnvstQ_xsNBE-3xrdqLrIg2S-ggizNKUt4b0CFKO9mZuqWKTCIHVllM/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-31-17h56m11s214.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUAkcMGknX0PyyGJC3N65Z3sM5J5iu74KU5jBOKa2Rxnk9hXhWX97qkBgoPNxOBkdUDKcKdWdNd5OR1qPdywwrEnvstQ_xsNBE-3xrdqLrIg2S-ggizNKUt4b0CFKO9mZuqWKTCIHVllM/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-31-17h56m11s214.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome to Sydney</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tuesday 1st July</b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We take the
train from Ashfield to Cenral station and meet up with the Augustini's (Ib,
Charlotte, Sarah & Signe) We decide to take the hop-on-hop-off bus around
the city. It’s a long time since we felt so much as tourist's. It’s so obvious
that we are “them” - the round-eyed “Japanese” who takes pictures of
everything!! We explore all the must-see tourist attractions, such as the Harbour
bridge, Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, the Opera house and the Botanical
garden. Sydney is a beautiful city, surrounded by water and countless harbours
and beaches. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We walk through the botanical garden to Kings Cross, it seems to
be close on the map, but again distances here is always longer than you think. We
introduce the Augustini's to thai-food. They aren’t as excited as us about it,
but at least they tried something new. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After another long walk to the
hop-on-hop-off busstop, we catch a bus to Bondi beach. We get there just before
sunset, but unfortunately we don’t have time to hop-off the bus. It’s too cold
for a swim anyway, so no one seems to bother. We are all getting cold on the
way back to the city. ere we find a restaurant in The Rocks. A hot chocolate for
some and beers for others help us getting warm again. After a long sightseeing
day in Sydney we’re all knackered as soon as we finish our dinner. So we split
up and call it a day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-GjKt4bV4Rfo8g6fTnbEWpSsS8Y_fKpz9Gx1zYpzSyKz7gDxY1tShUf15KUli3Mj777XlNvj7iYwgHKsxsbRH8Y0Pbs6xNwNvjadlpnSonOa7N4pOy07EvgPis4F6EEPURDdlE_33ng/s1600/DSC00016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-GjKt4bV4Rfo8g6fTnbEWpSsS8Y_fKpz9Gx1zYpzSyKz7gDxY1tShUf15KUli3Mj777XlNvj7iYwgHKsxsbRH8Y0Pbs6xNwNvjadlpnSonOa7N4pOy07EvgPis4F6EEPURDdlE_33ng/s1600/DSC00016.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEm3w31cvBTDvP4KUV1A2Qtu19dwxvLn9O9HiFCmxN1IB6SjCYJKenn6JlpbNNG-fHXxY5BQh0Ue-QQbXZN2ATePsLWc6hFs1pubpGxagi-MjlFiFaV-ja7Ipw12FxHXJqCjgKrRlsgts/s1600/DSC00035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEm3w31cvBTDvP4KUV1A2Qtu19dwxvLn9O9HiFCmxN1IB6SjCYJKenn6JlpbNNG-fHXxY5BQh0Ue-QQbXZN2ATePsLWc6hFs1pubpGxagi-MjlFiFaV-ja7Ipw12FxHXJqCjgKrRlsgts/s1600/DSC00035.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Opera House</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0_vL9mmOashnkno93aOQ4m-hmN-1EoMkDY-SHqWWHgE2dCbhCKoP3hfJgQg40pK0s99I17od0wzlkC3Ays92n22u5nV0ZuiNuAM_E9E0tmwwjpVovdpLKM3DBRzv_mIzl4ljew73_F8/s1600/DSC00036.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0_vL9mmOashnkno93aOQ4m-hmN-1EoMkDY-SHqWWHgE2dCbhCKoP3hfJgQg40pK0s99I17od0wzlkC3Ays92n22u5nV0ZuiNuAM_E9E0tmwwjpVovdpLKM3DBRzv_mIzl4ljew73_F8/s1600/DSC00036.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfyRNaVROwjtV1DVUCgAgQc1i0LEqkzXwmJKsvMmzzyFxpeCSuJISp-c7WZRoYW5KfiuH14B5tOsIn7Ib6stw2mmuoMyOe2ULawxwFEUFy0yeXJNQX0qb8mAfxzi9B_1KY1YS6UOFfZA/s1600/DSC00040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfyRNaVROwjtV1DVUCgAgQc1i0LEqkzXwmJKsvMmzzyFxpeCSuJISp-c7WZRoYW5KfiuH14B5tOsIn7Ib6stw2mmuoMyOe2ULawxwFEUFy0yeXJNQX0qb8mAfxzi9B_1KY1YS6UOFfZA/s1600/DSC00040.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzGgvWa3lZ86iziItfZktbyV1nPsZaV1JN1digDxAGv-yAosPg3cpFTV3ysWogmpu6gJxZTToceoyTR1r69A9DkzvTtqXobCr6QkcYVr2Ir-h9w4vasM9Q1W6580iTrnsV_labI6JJ5Y/s1600/DSC00043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzGgvWa3lZ86iziItfZktbyV1nPsZaV1JN1digDxAGv-yAosPg3cpFTV3ysWogmpu6gJxZTToceoyTR1r69A9DkzvTtqXobCr6QkcYVr2Ir-h9w4vasM9Q1W6580iTrnsV_labI6JJ5Y/s1600/DSC00043.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harbour brigde</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQA7YyxWC7bFa_PMrHylxJhB6wgbrP4CKhdtjn-054EORTMfNZ5xkUrCvn2abHxcup4GCJPdpDDMvy5ZEzZwTUQCuLFmxmeZYMgdeB1erkESPzI5SwhNDQEnVSEGO3l8Jp3W5PAfu4r4/s1600/DSC00063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQA7YyxWC7bFa_PMrHylxJhB6wgbrP4CKhdtjn-054EORTMfNZ5xkUrCvn2abHxcup4GCJPdpDDMvy5ZEzZwTUQCuLFmxmeZYMgdeB1erkESPzI5SwhNDQEnVSEGO3l8Jp3W5PAfu4r4/s1600/DSC00063.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQmhXXipq7C0iHIK1WXeHIPJLhkzJgJbCUituaSrAieNR3q3nc3rclr-fJTi34e9HXuHyyXwC7bw8EWA01JrocF653T3d62cpkqDORaldKG_Z_xiLiHHoEGf6uZiwHuTdflUUXb-kfVY/s1600/DSC00069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQmhXXipq7C0iHIK1WXeHIPJLhkzJgJbCUituaSrAieNR3q3nc3rclr-fJTi34e9HXuHyyXwC7bw8EWA01JrocF653T3d62cpkqDORaldKG_Z_xiLiHHoEGf6uZiwHuTdflUUXb-kfVY/s1600/DSC00069.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inis bird</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b>
<b>Wednesday 2<sup>nd</sup>
July</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s the
first day of our roadtrip with the Augustini's. They rented a motorhome, already
before they came. Which by the way is huge, and not really made for city driving.
Ib seems annoyed by the big monster already before we leave Sydney, apparently
all plates, cups, cutlery, pots and pans, shakes and rattles loundly when they drive. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It's driving them crazy. Well, of we go.. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Our first stop is a little drive inland to
Katoomba, to see the Three Sisters - a rock formation in the Blue Mountains. We’re enjoying the stunning view and taking
loads of pictures and then continuing our journey. We’re not getting as far as
planned that day, at dusk we stop at Richmond to stay for the night. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Here we
discovered that our car isn’t allowed on the rest area, it’s only made for big
campers and motorhomes. The Augustini's get a powered site, and we plan to sleep
at the parking lot outside the hotel (which is attached to the rest area). The
manager tells us, he can get a fine if the police catch us sleeping in the car,
and we can risk that we have to get up in the middle of the night to move the
car. That left us with two options, either doing it anyway or sleep in the big
motorhome with the others. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The last one was probably the best, so after dinner
and some red wine, we sleep four adults in the kingsize bed. It was actually
not as bad as it sounds, but I think I speak for all of us when I say, we have
had better sleeps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN8uDUTa7Oxe0tLk8BHNayeJjigHMFDglHn8uueEHhj3JiEe4eV_3yQQ4P_4HVSro260wtbApc5VRJWYrap0pFqmp6iwKcG05JdMUhNwz6Jt60fzWPKavtPSnAUD18qtKR2EPjzCnJHCw/s1600/DSC00083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN8uDUTa7Oxe0tLk8BHNayeJjigHMFDglHn8uueEHhj3JiEe4eV_3yQQ4P_4HVSro260wtbApc5VRJWYrap0pFqmp6iwKcG05JdMUhNwz6Jt60fzWPKavtPSnAUD18qtKR2EPjzCnJHCw/s1600/DSC00083.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The blue mountains</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJK2bbmzCNi0KbBlLMhSi3vj6vSKtsQ2t9zoKqpwtodizwznO1vxjUu5fOc2SSF2cKNws87gkl8WEP8-RBZlDQM0WXj9bk3OdgslX5hDufo2BZf3MHH3GdePE61zdRJoH4shvKv9eQpk/s1600/DSC00090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJK2bbmzCNi0KbBlLMhSi3vj6vSKtsQ2t9zoKqpwtodizwznO1vxjUu5fOc2SSF2cKNws87gkl8WEP8-RBZlDQM0WXj9bk3OdgslX5hDufo2BZf3MHH3GdePE61zdRJoH4shvKv9eQpk/s1600/DSC00090.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tree sisters</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8d49Wv0IGp2nX3-AzWSdapHkJn-J8iEOaLXxPQ5xpMY82c26JTI2a_f3U91Pux8fBkjp-M1ARqGDvBAoszQOnZrX49jdWfcrQai_bLv6YRB1RxJB8u_i1RfR42bPf5URPXe45cb-Tv-U/s1600/DSC00101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8d49Wv0IGp2nX3-AzWSdapHkJn-J8iEOaLXxPQ5xpMY82c26JTI2a_f3U91Pux8fBkjp-M1ARqGDvBAoszQOnZrX49jdWfcrQai_bLv6YRB1RxJB8u_i1RfR42bPf5URPXe45cb-Tv-U/s1600/DSC00101.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Thursday 3<sup>rd</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We wake up
to a clear blue sky and enjoy our breakfast on the provided benches outside. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We’re driving most of this day. We have a stop-over in Singleton for
grocery shopping and some lunch, before we continue our journey up to a
campsite in Wingham. We get there around dinner time, but as everyday, it’s dark
around 7pm. The caretaker at the campsite welcomes us and is obvious happy to
have someone staying at his campsite. At this time we are the only once there,
the summer hasn’t really started yet, he said. It gets cold at night, as
soon as the sun sets, so we have to put on jumpers or jackets. Due to the low
season period, we only pay him 30 dollars (149kr) for a night, including power,
toilets and hot showers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Friday 4<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was
our first night sleeping in the car, and we had a surprisingly good sleep. The
mattress passed the test, we had enough space and pillows are great. The only
issue is our quilt, we bought it in the same size as the cover, but for some
reason they don’t fit together. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Anyway, this morning we deviate from our route
and drive to Harrington to see pelicans, we've read that there should be plenty of
them there. The fishermen go out in the morning, and before they go home with
their catches, they clean and fillet the fish, and the leftovers goes to the
pelicans. They just sit around the
cutting boards and wait for the fishermen to throw fish skeleton at them. </span>The
fishermen seems to enjoy having an audience on, and we’re very entertained by
the action.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After breakfast we head further north. Our travels seems to be
going very slow. The highways often runs through a town or city, and there’s
lots of constructions on the roads, so we get delayed all the time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we get
to Broadwater we phone a campground, book it and stay there for the night. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhf8iLeRk0jlJVJAi3ZI6FNf9xPvaKIMoI08JTnN5ddDJQBrTnChkH7zvfIIAcdH8iwq_oyqyxL1MZaPK1UYzUQQfXmDjIXp1n2Q3yBeGAakvs-7auHRkwhnZ682v-S5jvUoK0135HV3g/s1600/DSC00022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhf8iLeRk0jlJVJAi3ZI6FNf9xPvaKIMoI08JTnN5ddDJQBrTnChkH7zvfIIAcdH8iwq_oyqyxL1MZaPK1UYzUQQfXmDjIXp1n2Q3yBeGAakvs-7auHRkwhnZ682v-S5jvUoK0135HV3g/s1600/DSC00022.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast time</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxMJa9qTlCTG0NdkNdkJ_QzvUmYsNj7b6xl1ZPEGHWtCIHvtTWCfOWyg743o0NnwiSvnMviOhyqpOT2Db3p7_3_fZD3W1TUFbEXBHy7rnMptQHbTh3-8oqzGueNvYfIhBY1KZlM0J8XY/s1600/DSC00033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxMJa9qTlCTG0NdkNdkJ_QzvUmYsNj7b6xl1ZPEGHWtCIHvtTWCfOWyg743o0NnwiSvnMviOhyqpOT2Db3p7_3_fZD3W1TUFbEXBHy7rnMptQHbTh3-8oqzGueNvYfIhBY1KZlM0J8XY/s1600/DSC00033.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow lorikeet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lo2UWGpf3lI2FV_ygkFCkQZ044vXr3tIhQ29yDsymjEKjt88dZpCl8euhSwGSZA-chpmpoDfhBSRWe1OVpdlkoRuDNXM-hNGm7RYG9UrfsmB5m7Ymj3JJiJyEZ2RdjcVYQ06vPxkkms/s1600/DSC00038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lo2UWGpf3lI2FV_ygkFCkQZ044vXr3tIhQ29yDsymjEKjt88dZpCl8euhSwGSZA-chpmpoDfhBSRWe1OVpdlkoRuDNXM-hNGm7RYG9UrfsmB5m7Ymj3JJiJyEZ2RdjcVYQ06vPxkkms/s1600/DSC00038.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Saturday 5<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Surfers
Paradise is only a short drive from Broadwater, but it takes us ages to find a
parking spot for the big motorhome. It’s shocking that none of the car parks in
the city is made for motorhomes. We drive back and forth on the Esplanade and
eventually find a free spot. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The city name speaks for itself, and does attract
a lot of surfers from all over the world. For me it felt unreal to be there, I
have seen so many pictures of this place – and it’s as awesome as the pictures
shows – with a long and wide beach stretch, big skyscrapers in the background,
a unique esplanade and a lively city. Unfortunately there isn’t a lot of
surfers to watch, water is still cold, so there’s only a few real enthusiasts
who dare to surf the cold waves this day. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We get a good and cheap 10 dollar
lunch in the city centre. It’s a few days since we have had access to a wifi
connection, and we need to book flight tickets to Byron Bay, plus we need
to find a campground with availability for us for the next two nights. We place
ourselves in a Starbucks café (they always have wifi), and sit there most of
the day, researching. Meanwhile the Augustini's are shopping. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Erik phones a
campsite near Palm beach, where we can stay. Out there we try to arrange next
day’s activities – the Augustini's definitely want to visit Sea World, we are
more into the whale watching tours. We discover that there’s a combo ticket
between the two, and arrange to do them both in one day. The only problem is to
book it, cause the whale watching offices voice mail says that they are fully
booked for the weekend, which means we have to wait till next day, before we
can arrange anything. It’s still too cold to sit outside at night, but we all
fit around the table in the motorhome, it’s actually quite cosy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bjSu-MKxcZuAC3QIuRa9E_8lbC-cqDmdpX1AMq0SaxNmWiag5Ddab88-0oNm3_3fGzE0ZeABhG4HT4cjwdXla2aLR2_aY_UldhDnvUg-eo_qpFB-cGwGk_4rIvWvnLQhRbQvyH3waAs/s1600/DSC00060.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bjSu-MKxcZuAC3QIuRa9E_8lbC-cqDmdpX1AMq0SaxNmWiag5Ddab88-0oNm3_3fGzE0ZeABhG4HT4cjwdXla2aLR2_aY_UldhDnvUg-eo_qpFB-cGwGk_4rIvWvnLQhRbQvyH3waAs/s1600/DSC00060.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKYYC2FMaIy0g91JPeg1IHgGTe3VC-YGRvJDcJejqMPPqoI0MBE73ncesyZIfERQJSnkCe7rAso-Tb8qF1XzFXrhX98J03i1U4WMBthi8XO0dvoOEk8VZDmOM5SRSUOjgzU8ue1Cp3QA/s1600/DSC00079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKYYC2FMaIy0g91JPeg1IHgGTe3VC-YGRvJDcJejqMPPqoI0MBE73ncesyZIfERQJSnkCe7rAso-Tb8qF1XzFXrhX98J03i1U4WMBthi8XO0dvoOEk8VZDmOM5SRSUOjgzU8ue1Cp3QA/s1600/DSC00079.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the campground</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Sunday 6<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Erik phones
the whale watching company early in the morning, this time they answer the phone, and
luckily it turns out that their voicemail isn’t updated, so they still have
space for us. </span>We leave the campsite and point our direction towards Sea World
& the whale watching (located at the same place) area. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unfortunately this
day there’s a marathon in the city, and we haven’t expected the traffic to be
that chaotic. We sit in a big traffic jam for more than an hour, when we arrive
at our location, we are short on time to see both Sea World, and still catch the
boat at 1.30pm to see whales. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Augustini's decide to do Sea World, they don’t
wanna rush through it. We decide to rush through the animals in cages, and go
experience the real nature instead. We only pay 15 dollars (75kr) extra for the
S.W. entrance. The whale tour comes to 90 dollars (448kr), combo ticket is 105
dollars (523kr) per person. Even though we didn’t expect anything Sea World
disappoints us. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The whale tour is anything but disappointing. It’s fantastic to
watch those big creatures playing in their natural environment. We’re pretty
lucky to see so many humpback whales at the same time, one of them is really
comfortable with our appearance and keeps swimming around the boat for more
than an hour – just playing and enjoying itself. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The winter in Antarktis is too
cold for them, so at this time of year the humpback whales are on their way up to
warmer waters, in northeastern Australia. I can’t describe how amazing it
was to watch. We visit the skypoint and get a fantastic view over the city at sunset.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we get back to the campground we find it hard not to be too excited about the whale tour – we don’t wanna show off, but on the other hand we
want to show all the amazing pictures and videos we took!!
Wow that’s gonna be one of my favorite experiences ever.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUQt-lKw4m7B10YLETcpLiIH_iXrpWxcDJZ11aQC-9fh_5TRqd2AqFtbIFkcsrjUPT01VeRQk0BRx7uAPPiHjyUyrUQWdAznauYIMYBObz2tuL7LHlfv4syn-3yXiuWfTerzm8QEu_EI/s1600/DSC00115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUQt-lKw4m7B10YLETcpLiIH_iXrpWxcDJZ11aQC-9fh_5TRqd2AqFtbIFkcsrjUPT01VeRQk0BRx7uAPPiHjyUyrUQWdAznauYIMYBObz2tuL7LHlfv4syn-3yXiuWfTerzm8QEu_EI/s1600/DSC00115.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surfers Paradise</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJu3sNdBkFtYUS5ilsH-bh5qnMkk-GTeRcfME3pTruV2zqHygz-OGQijFCyO75wQRHhHxLsdjOY9CfqbH9fOqCkUz0YsWVHqCSBS5oZdoRPBk6WFBF7heKDZQAYNFtyi2gjQFock80iw/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-07-08h31m07s19.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJu3sNdBkFtYUS5ilsH-bh5qnMkk-GTeRcfME3pTruV2zqHygz-OGQijFCyO75wQRHhHxLsdjOY9CfqbH9fOqCkUz0YsWVHqCSBS5oZdoRPBk6WFBF7heKDZQAYNFtyi2gjQFock80iw/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-07-08h31m07s19.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUdCEyiymuDptts-CXo_P8a9hZi_v32s40CTDWSucE1Xgkey8flLpsHtyuwzlESBcyqX0-HahWfgY3CBbhbOAgjwtkuyCnbvdClTtWC5Lhinjitw0vHFuJ0UF60h3sMsmwo8mXCR-F-us/s1600/DSC00129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUdCEyiymuDptts-CXo_P8a9hZi_v32s40CTDWSucE1Xgkey8flLpsHtyuwzlESBcyqX0-HahWfgY3CBbhbOAgjwtkuyCnbvdClTtWC5Lhinjitw0vHFuJ0UF60h3sMsmwo8mXCR-F-us/s1600/DSC00129.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fantastic view from the skypoint</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC_wi7OuEIHyeZFE7ENJEZfdNrmZ7H5Qy2Q4Z1ZjLH7wYHDIwendTBM9XQRmVNeVGYctTC5lZ2P0tXjUK1v41SywAkMjWQHbwQPeNx8yS1nsQC2oGvfYZ7qe1yf5C06rQTweHv1w4A31o/s1600/DSC00142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC_wi7OuEIHyeZFE7ENJEZfdNrmZ7H5Qy2Q4Z1ZjLH7wYHDIwendTBM9XQRmVNeVGYctTC5lZ2P0tXjUK1v41SywAkMjWQHbwQPeNx8yS1nsQC2oGvfYZ7qe1yf5C06rQTweHv1w4A31o/s1600/DSC00142.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Whale watching</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/NTBLj3-DC8g?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Monday 7<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We get up
early and drive to Australia Zoo, near Beerwah. We have a great and fun day. We
are impressed by a bird show. It’s crazy what they can train them to do. I’m
almost crying the first time I see a koala bear, they’re the most adorable animals in the whole world,
especially when they’re asleep. We all make some new friends in the kangaroo enclosure, and after a long day in the zoo we drive up to Hervey Bay and check in at
a powered campground. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We are all tired, so pizza for dinner seems to be the
perfect decision. A few glasses of red wine makes us more tired and we’re off
to bed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiZX8seFVf8JaRCG39vkMLiGBAHG-VjqhlUNqdwyZpi8sTAnTOvZOtQ6CkXLGhpW0Ofi2ASXOyrPWo8KdxFgw_3oeG4GCq2BKsZw85G8IRbRmcCZUwcn8N9qrM0_dgc8Apkr24_bfK6k/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-12-08h40m48s179.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiZX8seFVf8JaRCG39vkMLiGBAHG-VjqhlUNqdwyZpi8sTAnTOvZOtQ6CkXLGhpW0Ofi2ASXOyrPWo8KdxFgw_3oeG4GCq2BKsZw85G8IRbRmcCZUwcn8N9qrM0_dgc8Apkr24_bfK6k/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-12-08h40m48s179.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZzjLzoQSeBzMJWKtyh0wJqHrWW2Fn5DIRd8-m5r3kvTCEubvDGJW68oO5kV1pRctTQ5_1mW9e2_B5IZEp8Lr2vfTP7ax-AJALu8VpmAyNAhUIU4FzsR8kie2iXnVDNGZS0HFblbHd9c/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-12-08h41m23s38.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZzjLzoQSeBzMJWKtyh0wJqHrWW2Fn5DIRd8-m5r3kvTCEubvDGJW68oO5kV1pRctTQ5_1mW9e2_B5IZEp8Lr2vfTP7ax-AJALu8VpmAyNAhUIU4FzsR8kie2iXnVDNGZS0HFblbHd9c/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-12-08h41m23s38.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Koala and Kangaroo Video</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/UWu0nmm7CsA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Tuesday 8<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We have to
arrange our 2 days trip to Fraser Island, the world’s biggest sand island. Only 4X4 cars is allowed out there, so the Augustini's are renting one with camp
gear and everything they will need for the camping. We will bring our own car,
and hopefully it will pass the test. </span>After getting that sorted out we spend
some time on the beach. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Later we get our permission to the island at the car
workshop where they rent their car. We are doing groceries for our adventure
the following day. Red wine is now being drinked on a daily basis. It
makes us sleep like babies. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NgrwRODkMEeGRBIX9GUv4YwxPRhxT4-Am1svaBdJ1uOaDEXs51TtLpDMrj7MoLygt4coKcVtkJpPr_OICCCf7QfYmreqZHckpz3J07HwYC1mIF1aHtEE3As5Vhbe2I11v_sRvOA_Vzs/s1600/DSC00250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NgrwRODkMEeGRBIX9GUv4YwxPRhxT4-Am1svaBdJ1uOaDEXs51TtLpDMrj7MoLygt4coKcVtkJpPr_OICCCf7QfYmreqZHckpz3J07HwYC1mIF1aHtEE3As5Vhbe2I11v_sRvOA_Vzs/s1600/DSC00250.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hervey Bay beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Wednesday 9<sup>th</sup>
July</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We get up
together with the sun, as most days. We still haven’t got curtains in the car, so
even when we drink a certain amount of wine each night, we’re still not able to
sleep in. It’s too bright and hot! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We take the ferry to Fraser Island in the
morning. It’s the largest sand island in the world with rainforests, eucalyptus
woodland, mangrove forests, swamps and sand dunes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On the island we realize the
nature is wilder than first assumed. Our 4 wheel drive is switched on and some
air is taking out of the wheels, to make a better grip. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The inland “roads” are bumpy, steep and at times with very loose sand. Soon we agree that it’s more
exciting than fun. The car is doing okay, but it’ makes a lot of loud noises
from time to time. We get a bit concerned, and decide to take it easy on the
harsh “roads”. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We swim at Lake Mckenzie – the water is cold, but the appearance
of the stunning lake makes it too tempting not to take a quick dip. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We then
continue our journey towards the wide beach, luckily it’s easier to drive
there and isn’t as hard for the car. Considering that we can only drive maximum
80 km per hour on the beach, and 20-30 km per hour inland, the island is huge,
approximately 120 km long and 24 km wide. Due to the high tide we’re not
allowed to drive on the beach after 2pm, the beach gets narrow and wetter after
that time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We drive to the nearest campsite and get our lunch there. We
discover there’s humpback whales swimming and playing around out in the
horizon. It’s easy to spot them as soon
as they exhale. Some are jumping as well and often we “just” see them splash
into the water again. It’s very exciting and entertaining to watch. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We venture
inland in the afternoon to see turtles in a lake. Our spare tire on the back of
the car is starting to get serious loose after all the big bumps, we’re thinking
we shouldn’t have driven this far “just” to see some turtles. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We head back to
the campsite where Sarah & Signe cook us an excellent chili con carne can
dinner, meanwhile we’re sipping red wine, watching more whales and enjoying us
selves. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Erik is the last one in bed that night and has to scare a few dingoes
away from the area, before he gets in the car. Dingoes are wild dogs and are
attracted by food. Due to their role in the top of the food chain on the
island, they’re protected by law, and helps keeping a healthy balance in the
natural environment. They can be dangerous to humans and attack, but mostly
because people feed them, or they get use to humans and don’t see us as a
threat. As long as you take your precautions, you will be fine. Erik yelled at
them and that was enough to scare them away, luckily!!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOlv0qWFJFPjdrjKVRrnkNXkRoQc66F_x_-BFt7SbbJqacrw98Ivqx_bteBrkZDEDznN6tZzCdk2M5hyphenhyphenvUO4n9fDDIGl1Cmiw66yHtmUWnq4oL1AAsL2i8zIjXh1P7WpxR9UdY_Uod_8/s1600/DSC00268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOlv0qWFJFPjdrjKVRrnkNXkRoQc66F_x_-BFt7SbbJqacrw98Ivqx_bteBrkZDEDznN6tZzCdk2M5hyphenhyphenvUO4n9fDDIGl1Cmiw66yHtmUWnq4oL1AAsL2i8zIjXh1P7WpxR9UdY_Uod_8/s1600/DSC00268.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandy road</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhke1HhRyIN7SFSEazcLv7VghDSNL33972K-l0gI6j-WbWC26p1hHJDJacqeg6WAQs2Q49Efzlw0sPuVhhHEk9uOS9vWdhErstAtF_ADd5exAG2tatCAieZPTxKTquycCJ3GqhzZAYWZB8/s1600/DSC_1047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhke1HhRyIN7SFSEazcLv7VghDSNL33972K-l0gI6j-WbWC26p1hHJDJacqeg6WAQs2Q49Efzlw0sPuVhhHEk9uOS9vWdhErstAtF_ADd5exAG2tatCAieZPTxKTquycCJ3GqhzZAYWZB8/s1600/DSC_1047.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake McKenzie</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFwOPPY-YE6s9dYcIa_71HLbZGXtz0aTf1K-73izDW8zEnS1bYHIOcmtnBcbYyFaW6RWgPn7S98X1z9m5XS_sxcaUpvGH2pn0M2RGGxFAm6O98zF-Ygj7mw3j6t47gRSsypUx-Q0uxwI/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-14-17h39m25s17.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFwOPPY-YE6s9dYcIa_71HLbZGXtz0aTf1K-73izDW8zEnS1bYHIOcmtnBcbYyFaW6RWgPn7S98X1z9m5XS_sxcaUpvGH2pn0M2RGGxFAm6O98zF-Ygj7mw3j6t47gRSsypUx-Q0uxwI/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-14-17h39m25s17.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How to escape snakes...!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT78if1Gk-bDONVNERVFUc6cgbbovdXDkEkx2jrd5CX3Xpm-2gq5LqgDsIr-bt083g6bXjYizwc1G8UMvTHL9J5q7eOCtcRCPLERFnH6vhJK6NrGzUiLBpJrsz_oKVg_yGmWLM_Y1280M/s1600/DSC00313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT78if1Gk-bDONVNERVFUc6cgbbovdXDkEkx2jrd5CX3Xpm-2gq5LqgDsIr-bt083g6bXjYizwc1G8UMvTHL9J5q7eOCtcRCPLERFnH6vhJK6NrGzUiLBpJrsz_oKVg_yGmWLM_Y1280M/s1600/DSC00313.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dingoes might seem harmless, but they're dangerous wild animals</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVo1m3XjwTT_KgL6HvmTpDvWnXqw8XVf9sSsAZpDuuoUZSnRN9sX3KUjiyrIzmD9kRk2sUJQxx3r1c2lchpZ1D03aZhhhsEQzVwtQHhS9jRAcOcjdDzSk0mBaX83IK5JOaY8LzRoJZL8/s1600/DSC00327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVo1m3XjwTT_KgL6HvmTpDvWnXqw8XVf9sSsAZpDuuoUZSnRN9sX3KUjiyrIzmD9kRk2sUJQxx3r1c2lchpZ1D03aZhhhsEQzVwtQHhS9jRAcOcjdDzSk0mBaX83IK5JOaY8LzRoJZL8/s1600/DSC00327.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUq_cRtFFY3oCvgn6GPVcaR7Zjqeeih4DlOJh0YVvOmVr8bRMZrprDEkpygVNwWpxn-VoMWQPv5coNpz0mRbZ7xIWZiK3dRcXFD3Ge9fZNGLjWivHN1xpaJCKn_78bKFe2h9rm8dadHc/s1600/DSC00335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUq_cRtFFY3oCvgn6GPVcaR7Zjqeeih4DlOJh0YVvOmVr8bRMZrprDEkpygVNwWpxn-VoMWQPv5coNpz0mRbZ7xIWZiK3dRcXFD3Ge9fZNGLjWivHN1xpaJCKn_78bKFe2h9rm8dadHc/s1600/DSC00335.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whale watching</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9oKL-eV5-riP-SPL8YDiAMx26sVvfQD0YdE5ZQMRhHZ3PxNiqEYuCq1gsG1i07vmFTGcKSuCWXcHLQx5dyMqdmdwBXhl_fcs5owiaK5SkrM0Zn64jAoHAWjLRsrTtNJsXCaO4iblAu8/s1600/DSC00338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9oKL-eV5-riP-SPL8YDiAMx26sVvfQD0YdE5ZQMRhHZ3PxNiqEYuCq1gsG1i07vmFTGcKSuCWXcHLQx5dyMqdmdwBXhl_fcs5owiaK5SkrM0Zn64jAoHAWjLRsrTtNJsXCaO4iblAu8/s1600/DSC00338.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wine drinking</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3W9c7snp2IVhqoZxKveslZzQj1A2AvN7OAtBW4o5pKG7fDdeAzEGDJIgtrQ2z5sfgUfMI8SibKaF7yLqdtLtKY5b7YyeN7wrMZnhyphenhyphenh7oY771p4f7t0gHd503vTGoeDjtNaGWRDBi71uE/s1600/DSC00340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3W9c7snp2IVhqoZxKveslZzQj1A2AvN7OAtBW4o5pKG7fDdeAzEGDJIgtrQ2z5sfgUfMI8SibKaF7yLqdtLtKY5b7YyeN7wrMZnhyphenhyphenh7oY771p4f7t0gHd503vTGoeDjtNaGWRDBi71uE/s1600/DSC00340.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxU0WB7MeHFY6_uqXGRcygZvEgdX4YlXMROntxsRUpaHIDfXRBRCTWwDnzo89ElOlZ2lYfzicf0qE5D4Re6YlrPhr4Yb9kyk73PYR38tnVky3dOIPLU3lNMhG_Seqg8KZHge9RJXvYUME/s1600/DSC_1102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxU0WB7MeHFY6_uqXGRcygZvEgdX4YlXMROntxsRUpaHIDfXRBRCTWwDnzo89ElOlZ2lYfzicf0qE5D4Re6YlrPhr4Yb9kyk73PYR38tnVky3dOIPLU3lNMhG_Seqg8KZHge9RJXvYUME/s1600/DSC_1102.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Thursday 10<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We wake up
to a beautiful sunrise, we take a stroll along the beach and watch the waves
wash over parts of an old shipwreck that has been on the beach since 1936. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We
drive to Indian Head, a look-out point, where we spend some time looking out on
the massive ocean - we spot both humpback whales, turtles, rays and dolphins out there. It’s
an incredible day for seeing these animals. We’re enjoying lunch on the beach
and then working our way slowly through the deep and loose sand towards the
ferry on the other side of the island. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US">Back on the mainland we’re having
troubles finding a campsite with both availability and power. We
decide to drive out of Hervey Bay and follow the route we’re gonna take the
next day anyway. 60 km out of town we find a campground, free – but without
power and showers. We all desperately need a shower at this point, but we will
have to wait. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDqNb3DzCXbIzNcoFN06zP15v5C7X3aNdtX051YCSfFHBdqPYJrXLyiLMdKeOuwhEl6AhdrLulqDjf9ouvPyOeRfwUPTYGG9wXYX0nARlk4joTkkNw2jr34WcalRGQj5gyJaygoXOr8s/s1600/DSC00358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDqNb3DzCXbIzNcoFN06zP15v5C7X3aNdtX051YCSfFHBdqPYJrXLyiLMdKeOuwhEl6AhdrLulqDjf9ouvPyOeRfwUPTYGG9wXYX0nARlk4joTkkNw2jr34WcalRGQj5gyJaygoXOr8s/s1600/DSC00358.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dingoes has been wandering around during the night</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiHFadwsfO2rFHAImNYIv70ef2C1WyvVKp5dNL__KjE42oC8ryU2yK3BgPOX4v11HleMBqZFuO72ckBNaBsHStvBZOX1cvfYcvP05c1hHH8ocG02I1UrEnV6NMHk5DaAd9ZF6Ah0RWOgA/s1600/DSC00365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiHFadwsfO2rFHAImNYIv70ef2C1WyvVKp5dNL__KjE42oC8ryU2yK3BgPOX4v11HleMBqZFuO72ckBNaBsHStvBZOX1cvfYcvP05c1hHH8ocG02I1UrEnV6NMHk5DaAd9ZF6Ah0RWOgA/s1600/DSC00365.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LPwss3ETZXingaOZn_cctcYm970kUIWzvSBmtDPm_GSxrYa2R-LQW4jimANb44JQMQ3hdPPXmPQpYbDa52u6N8BN8jsGRINK_3cPeWO6KfR_Bf7suDQwaGZWS7uVXp027kGEfc89RnM/s1600/DSC00469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LPwss3ETZXingaOZn_cctcYm970kUIWzvSBmtDPm_GSxrYa2R-LQW4jimANb44JQMQ3hdPPXmPQpYbDa52u6N8BN8jsGRINK_3cPeWO6KfR_Bf7suDQwaGZWS7uVXp027kGEfc89RnM/s1600/DSC00469.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ship wreck</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-Z6U9lSf0IC0ovlMXAj9bEHIiGi8ykLs9ltXq40zoa4hbozvioPdHfl5DAilmtZJmE2bB0xaAaSstI_8CqIXG0BTxY4eGEMMfPS2aGrw0plHjZ3bxH1-sPeja0wbmdv3BiFuFq0xu7c/s1600/DSC00377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-Z6U9lSf0IC0ovlMXAj9bEHIiGi8ykLs9ltXq40zoa4hbozvioPdHfl5DAilmtZJmE2bB0xaAaSstI_8CqIXG0BTxY4eGEMMfPS2aGrw0plHjZ3bxH1-sPeja0wbmdv3BiFuFq0xu7c/s1600/DSC00377.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ship wreck</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArLB2OdF4DKvm0OSY7llswEfYkEUIcpJFnKqDosUOt1kBbWGJy1-9fmJ05dQ0IIYAUMpT9GP31k15I7EpjrWJm_6mnYx3JxzYwjmMAOCRhubHGVZDoDwdYHdzW42cqExOmXXV4eYbkHs/s1600/DSC00383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArLB2OdF4DKvm0OSY7llswEfYkEUIcpJFnKqDosUOt1kBbWGJy1-9fmJ05dQ0IIYAUMpT9GP31k15I7EpjrWJm_6mnYx3JxzYwjmMAOCRhubHGVZDoDwdYHdzW42cqExOmXXV4eYbkHs/s1600/DSC00383.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZc14YH25JMR7KTacHsmvamN1cZ-ezmRXy71wbk-snYqYvkUEt6OoZBuflAe449OqAKI8iBpyrXMwCiAv_0HU_tR1GXVZLsxByXv6nfRbGYlLFvx0EsEEURdMhQviXJJfge3_AhKb16nY/s1600/DSC00401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZc14YH25JMR7KTacHsmvamN1cZ-ezmRXy71wbk-snYqYvkUEt6OoZBuflAe449OqAKI8iBpyrXMwCiAv_0HU_tR1GXVZLsxByXv6nfRbGYlLFvx0EsEEURdMhQviXJJfge3_AhKb16nY/s1600/DSC00401.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Indians head</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbU1ncy2ARuY650LWbOHmfYyPBrpkUNZWaEt7hNa3f9ZKMzz5gugtF7L-_1skdTexNe7oR6OgdWJiMSxSF9iM78i9ZnpSiiK7xyGtj3RcEbaYJQMRzGzKDY-FqujlzWm_e7ASg0gcFYSo/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-12-09h03m43s117.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbU1ncy2ARuY650LWbOHmfYyPBrpkUNZWaEt7hNa3f9ZKMzz5gugtF7L-_1skdTexNe7oR6OgdWJiMSxSF9iM78i9ZnpSiiK7xyGtj3RcEbaYJQMRzGzKDY-FqujlzWm_e7ASg0gcFYSo/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-12-09h03m43s117.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Humpback whale</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihK8bpEh2PVAommtWFp2MaqXChj8ya7Wg1SyXyGLaMhO3pYEEYN_u-8UAy9lraDpvZO7Orm6OVeoTvI1NIQWVJjMJUevhs6aa05Q38ltxyF5bMvyvKV49z-r32LrM0pp-0N__IIOJQHxk/s1600/DSC00410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihK8bpEh2PVAommtWFp2MaqXChj8ya7Wg1SyXyGLaMhO3pYEEYN_u-8UAy9lraDpvZO7Orm6OVeoTvI1NIQWVJjMJUevhs6aa05Q38ltxyF5bMvyvKV49z-r32LrM0pp-0N__IIOJQHxk/s1600/DSC00410.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPHKs4k_ZHY5wwfT8DixYkIdwLqH9DkSA5r6elohxjnA1fQr0BsG028NDybpvCaCGdGXpxC7yRtZPnp_i0ZqAPrCd4ual6omYpod3doq_MwOZ1XKWFAtol0JXcKrNkYCMow7HAA7yXyM/s1600/DSC_1304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPHKs4k_ZHY5wwfT8DixYkIdwLqH9DkSA5r6elohxjnA1fQr0BsG028NDybpvCaCGdGXpxC7yRtZPnp_i0ZqAPrCd4ual6omYpod3doq_MwOZ1XKWFAtol0JXcKrNkYCMow7HAA7yXyM/s1600/DSC_1304.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBO37upYVsBye8hsUasth3ogpRj52rHINoEKK9xahDcclpXbEwu32UABGMzhJiBkDgirCJS-rFFzQoxsUoEaVbKLZ7miES7HXMfVbgUWuRuCEYBlUscKxC2PHAtjlwy2XzjI6Pdaksjs/s1600/DSC00478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBO37upYVsBye8hsUasth3ogpRj52rHINoEKK9xahDcclpXbEwu32UABGMzhJiBkDgirCJS-rFFzQoxsUoEaVbKLZ7miES7HXMfVbgUWuRuCEYBlUscKxC2PHAtjlwy2XzjI6Pdaksjs/s1600/DSC00478.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch break</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Fraser Island Video</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/YH2aj2yIrrY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Friday 11<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We’re
driving to Airlie Beach, it takes most of the day. So when we arrive we’re
running into the same troubles as the night before. Campsites are closing down,
or are fully booked. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We’re starting to get nervous, none of us is keen for
another day without a shower or power (to the motorhome), our last shower was
wednesday – things are starting to smell pretty bad. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the last minute we find
a campsite (Airlie Cove) and we all get our deserved shower. After a whole day
of driving we definitely deserved some red wine as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Saturday 12<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Finally we
have a day without anything on the program. We hang around in the town and
arrange our trip to the Whitsunday islands for the next day. We’re dining out for lunch
and are making homemade burgers at night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KbfZRncq7eqvwH57bV3bZbako9LFYedBeFhBxqqTCyr-CrkkOA9ajVZSt0H6GvPiOwFj8LXX-XLJUa25a165Agz1RZKaVn3M3MENUjKQSHExBB9NbQ-89-02etSde8g75_7RcywcJoU/s1600/DSC_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KbfZRncq7eqvwH57bV3bZbako9LFYedBeFhBxqqTCyr-CrkkOA9ajVZSt0H6GvPiOwFj8LXX-XLJUa25a165Agz1RZKaVn3M3MENUjKQSHExBB9NbQ-89-02etSde8g75_7RcywcJoU/s1600/DSC_0003.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Airlie Beach town</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLMtF1GDJbK_wn_VAC2nYgdY_fXqDJ2NBkiFe7HxBvHxnvWZTiO3tAwg08QenLqP1l0B7131H75KRkhXsxjHxSkeerTq4wH4EcUN7EsZePtEWQ8M5WydTROrqmaDt9udEoo0eFUB4tGs/s1600/DSC_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLMtF1GDJbK_wn_VAC2nYgdY_fXqDJ2NBkiFe7HxBvHxnvWZTiO3tAwg08QenLqP1l0B7131H75KRkhXsxjHxSkeerTq4wH4EcUN7EsZePtEWQ8M5WydTROrqmaDt9udEoo0eFUB4tGs/s1600/DSC_0007.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Sunday 13<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We get
picked up from Airlie Cove at 7am and get transferred to the harbour where the
boat is waiting for us. We’re going on a daytrip to the Whitsunday islands, a collection
of different islands and a place of stunning natural beauty and breathtaking
views. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Erik & I are booked in for diving as well, and Signe & Sarah
decides to try scuba diving for their first time. </span>First stop is at Whitehaven beach - here we have some time to enjoy the views and the beach. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The
sand is as white as snow, it’s unbelievable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a great lunch served on the
boat, we have our next stop, where some are going snorkeling and the four of us
are going diving. We’re diving with the girls, to make them more comfortable
and perhaps help them if they don’t understand the instructor. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They’re both
doing great in the beginning, but unfortunately Signe isn’t comfortable with
the equipment, she decides to quit in the middle of the dive. It happens a lot
with beginners. Sarah is luckily enjoying it, so she continues the dive. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Erik
& I have paid for two dives, but we’re so cold when we get back on the
boat, that we decide not to do the second dive. We get our money refunded. It’s
getting chilly on the boat, and we’re all knackered after a long day on the
water. We’re all cold when we finally get to the harbour again. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Signe has been
begging for sushi ever since they got here, so at night we split up – the four
of us are eating sushi, while Ib & Sarah is hunting douwn a good pizza. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Erik and I
are hopefully going diving the next day, we haven’t been able to get in contact with the
dive company, since we haven’t had a phone signal the whole day. We don’t know if
they have space for us yet, but we will drive up there and ask them in the
morning. We realize that it’s a long drive, but apparently the SS Yongala dive is
one of the best in the world, so it’s worth trying. We pull in at a rest area close to Ayr late at night and sleeps there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPPMYNpocNcl-x6bg7kCwQz_Ldhxs6iyurxcfQVsThHrwBtHxCXa4ST7x-82a_C2H0u83w_s2z7MQnr9VwlwwUpAEkWWqxqVFcrpqhrmzzuSjVCrTiZ0YgR_AdqcNeWOWQsetTp1WK-o/s1600/DSC_0065.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPPMYNpocNcl-x6bg7kCwQz_Ldhxs6iyurxcfQVsThHrwBtHxCXa4ST7x-82a_C2H0u83w_s2z7MQnr9VwlwwUpAEkWWqxqVFcrpqhrmzzuSjVCrTiZ0YgR_AdqcNeWOWQsetTp1WK-o/s1600/DSC_0065.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9jkOBL2BN_9xxvokuXttgqqxlmLG17NZ2mbHdedMnbN8h4FWWq2m0msm9IIXEyMv8AXawqZ-e7ep0tgPDtRCvc5L_FxiQ3RnsmAdF1dG8N_bt2_7b-hdw_PtgkpKUod6VLlTyO4ZN2U/s1600/IMG_1738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9jkOBL2BN_9xxvokuXttgqqxlmLG17NZ2mbHdedMnbN8h4FWWq2m0msm9IIXEyMv8AXawqZ-e7ep0tgPDtRCvc5L_FxiQ3RnsmAdF1dG8N_bt2_7b-hdw_PtgkpKUod6VLlTyO4ZN2U/s1600/IMG_1738.JPG" height="214" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whitsundays</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-X-0zqx1fmJ3gMqp9-HkijO4PQfmGHILFZAihD-6oLkWLbIKZq_B6njdisld9olmqTRKz2PEuKR1HMXav-ty89n7Qc50hs5GsDsHtzEfDG481sWNYA7WcNMeGzUu-XJ3Yn7-UcfMIdn8/s1600/DSC_0067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-X-0zqx1fmJ3gMqp9-HkijO4PQfmGHILFZAihD-6oLkWLbIKZq_B6njdisld9olmqTRKz2PEuKR1HMXav-ty89n7Qc50hs5GsDsHtzEfDG481sWNYA7WcNMeGzUu-XJ3Yn7-UcfMIdn8/s1600/DSC_0067.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whitehaven beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietm8NM6PQcNax1_H7eUPbhPQox-JKG-vywSnz8hOngBRB9_i9g57TuZnOEI8RT3CALFKjyMcH_hwZv5B3jFQE3nMnK-YuHWCGsTl9pQU0HgkOqqTCCijmkgWvNbTaSj3F0145yPx6Kx8/s1600/DSC00507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietm8NM6PQcNax1_H7eUPbhPQox-JKG-vywSnz8hOngBRB9_i9g57TuZnOEI8RT3CALFKjyMcH_hwZv5B3jFQE3nMnK-YuHWCGsTl9pQU0HgkOqqTCCijmkgWvNbTaSj3F0145yPx6Kx8/s1600/DSC00507.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIU9rMdEWpxZiVYxQrtFHqFGZqJUc2orZZqUGM5oF2ytIk1fdkGVg6Jjf1jtKmPeWgyZw2C4uOslo6wX30QrY8n7HBFfhfmUM1PPAFin4dDAg-CpyCgRJvWV5V8Yg8d6rgEiJiWm5MM-M/s1600/DSC_0099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIU9rMdEWpxZiVYxQrtFHqFGZqJUc2orZZqUGM5oF2ytIk1fdkGVg6Jjf1jtKmPeWgyZw2C4uOslo6wX30QrY8n7HBFfhfmUM1PPAFin4dDAg-CpyCgRJvWV5V8Yg8d6rgEiJiWm5MM-M/s1600/DSC_0099.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah and Signe discover scuba diving</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYfOfBEhqFdpqpsRfDwS2OWF_wpUIBh1vfVCuRzn2tL23UPQAhRySyGmmEb336p7EQxqn0Qm0r5QdIQLhlW095CHQ86OucZ4M-5yFcd2fAq2tyvEGPh-0VmrRN03J6kIWwrdjgoXPfFJw/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-14-20h57m31s127.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYfOfBEhqFdpqpsRfDwS2OWF_wpUIBh1vfVCuRzn2tL23UPQAhRySyGmmEb336p7EQxqn0Qm0r5QdIQLhlW095CHQ86OucZ4M-5yFcd2fAq2tyvEGPh-0VmrRN03J6kIWwrdjgoXPfFJw/s1600/vlcsnap-2014-07-14-20h57m31s127.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Sarah looking cool (actually the most important thing about diving - always look cool!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3d3DkSFU1LYKNVX-9RQ35Da9I-tpajcZcYxiEkb-kInAkQ1mAaNS1ohd7hfLhTeBJFd-wJPUQfBco_tM476HXn_DWaOHeOlHN2eikJThxEJZVA_odoTmKXUdtzfwQoGj-3w0JwGcaavY/s1600/DSC_0103.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3d3DkSFU1LYKNVX-9RQ35Da9I-tpajcZcYxiEkb-kInAkQ1mAaNS1ohd7hfLhTeBJFd-wJPUQfBco_tM476HXn_DWaOHeOlHN2eikJThxEJZVA_odoTmKXUdtzfwQoGj-3w0JwGcaavY/s1600/DSC_0103.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Sarah & Signe's first dive</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/BRgmzAU8zd4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Monday 14<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Luckily
it’s only half an hour drive to the SS Yongala dive company on the beach in Ayr.
And yes they have space for us. We pay 259 dollars (1290kr) for 2 dive each. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We’re 7 divers that day, the boat is a large size denghy, the water is really
choppy, and it’s a wild and crazy boat trip out to the wreck. Out there the waves
are big and the boat is rocking from side to side all the time. We both have a
weird feeling in our stomachs, don’t know if it’s seasickness or not. It gets
better when we get in the water. We have never experienced such big waves on a
dive before. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’m a bit nervous about how it’s gonna be underwater, my breathing
is heavy, which means the divemaster have to put more weight on me, so I can do
my descend. We descend by the bouy line, we can feel how powerful the water is,
we’re holding on tight to the line until we get down to 10 meters or so, then
it’s getting more calm, we can still feel the current, but it’s nothing
compared to the current close to the surface. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s blue everywhere around us,
when we get closer to the wreck we realize how big it is and how amazing it
looks in the water. It’s an incredible and mysterious feeling to experience
this black shadow in the clear blue water. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There’s loads of marinelife, fish
are massive, and some really curious. We both get attracted by the shark
look-a-like fish resting on the bottom – but only till the time where we
discover it isn’t sharks. We see olive sea snakes and a giant Queensland
grouper over 250kg. It’s a deep dive, which also means it’s a short dive, to
avoid decompression sickness. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The water temperature is only 21 degrees, so
we’re all shaking when we get back on the boat. It’s so cold, and the boat is still
rocking like crazy, so we’re starting to feel a little sick. The surface
interval seems long in the little boat. I’m almost quitting my second dive, because
I’m so cold. The helpful guys cover me up in their jackets, and pour hot water
down my wetsuit. I’m ready to go again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Meanwhile the others are listening to
the history about SS Yongala. The ship sank in 1911 during a cyclone, all 122
passenger onboard died. In 1958 the wreck was found and is now a tourist
attraction and a world-known divesite.
It’s a burial site, and some of the bodies are still inside the wreck, so we’re not allowed
to penetrate it. Wouldn’t want to anyway! Second dive is just as awesome as the
first. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The way back to the beach is just as crazy as the way out there.
Apparently I’m exhausted after the dives so I fall asleep, and with nothing to
put my head on, I have been looking like I did some serious head banging on the
way back. A great entertainment for the other divers! We get lunch before we
head 400 km north and meet up with the Augustini's on a campground in Innisfail. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>SS Yongala</b></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/DR8psMPl40I?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Tuesday 15<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
Augustini's want to see some waterfalls and a famous tree, called the curtain
fig tree. We drive inland to Millaa Millaa and Josephine falls. We watch all
the backpackers swimming in the water, and ask us selves why they’re doing that
– it’s really cold and slightly raining. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We get the worst service ever at a
local restaurant near the falls. We wait for our premade microwave heated pies
for a little more than an hour. We’re all on our way to leave, when the food
finally gets served. After complaining to the staff we end up paying only 35
dollars (182kr) for 6 pies and 4 soft drinks. A pretty cheap lunch for 6
people( it would have been 76 dollars), but we also wasted an hour of driving while we waited for our food. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We
drive to see the tree, which is big, but nothing really special. We feel short on time to
reach Cairns before the campgrounds close around 6-7pm, so we’re in a rush,
again, to find an available spot with power. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We end up driving back to the
first one, just in time before the office closes down. This is one of the first
nights where we sit outside without freezing, or at least one of the first for
me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6_Na_bEprbADZgK58pRuuKXBgrj8vnPX8yFH-nwX1ktGnfDLE_dl2lIcJ-vCNrrl2ti-8njr1ML4XLauIg9fbOJ7wU6UGMA2w7rYthCjLU1IxYZbPygxuqPavmuL3gDHmouqVD8-XNrE/s1600/DSC00003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6_Na_bEprbADZgK58pRuuKXBgrj8vnPX8yFH-nwX1ktGnfDLE_dl2lIcJ-vCNrrl2ti-8njr1ML4XLauIg9fbOJ7wU6UGMA2w7rYthCjLU1IxYZbPygxuqPavmuL3gDHmouqVD8-XNrE/s1600/DSC00003.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OqoiGzHAI29DGed8qQyjE9dgokmaemSPSjfsN3hz5MW7TFpoUNENzkHLxXxYS8-27y43DCtOYXDZC7qy-UREeubsBGvOzKQlPM2PaVYFDvhSh26DMgMKxFCBRxJSwX4cQzwHam-hYeE/s1600/DSC_0134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OqoiGzHAI29DGed8qQyjE9dgokmaemSPSjfsN3hz5MW7TFpoUNENzkHLxXxYS8-27y43DCtOYXDZC7qy-UREeubsBGvOzKQlPM2PaVYFDvhSh26DMgMKxFCBRxJSwX4cQzwHam-hYeE/s1600/DSC_0134.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Augustinis!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2iaNlFB3G6L4Q04g8XsNFUii9Yc0rsTBZ0CDgPPo6Qlyya5ujfnD2qqtLsRXCDWfjOxGwqbXrMf3lpOr5wvoH3RjcJqVhGgKtwYN_Pdx7u5NjtPYHywSZiyZM0aQsNdHGBIkW0H2DUU/s1600/DSC_0159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2iaNlFB3G6L4Q04g8XsNFUii9Yc0rsTBZ0CDgPPo6Qlyya5ujfnD2qqtLsRXCDWfjOxGwqbXrMf3lpOr5wvoH3RjcJqVhGgKtwYN_Pdx7u5NjtPYHywSZiyZM0aQsNdHGBIkW0H2DUU/s1600/DSC_0159.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curtain Fig Tree</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VCuxS9AZQKm3pV_hRvkCWyCg_M2L5m3bJhplNrasGVtCHyxrVA4OyTbLt0zWF9XMANNHBkIDcvSLX3Z3sm7jW27hIW87qLRh4MlKuMtnECstEQgHuKhcMwX3Y6L_X2WEwb4gAU2l5C4/s1600/DSC00006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VCuxS9AZQKm3pV_hRvkCWyCg_M2L5m3bJhplNrasGVtCHyxrVA4OyTbLt0zWF9XMANNHBkIDcvSLX3Z3sm7jW27hIW87qLRh4MlKuMtnECstEQgHuKhcMwX3Y6L_X2WEwb4gAU2l5C4/s1600/DSC00006.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ourdoor kitchen at the campground</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Wednesday
16<sup>th</sup> July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We drive
out to a luxury campground, Coconut Holiday Resort, we decide to spend the last
two days out there. We have free access to a swimming pool, gym, tennis court,
volleyball, outdoor chess and an outdoor kitchen. We take a stroll on the
esplanade in Cairns and eat our lunch in a cheap food court before we split up.
Erik & I are going back to the campground to relax and enjoy the sun (now that the temperature finally is above 25 degrees again), while the others are shopping. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We are shocked to find out
that the autogas up here is so expensive. 1 liter = 1,05 dollars (5,45kr). In
Sydney we paid 0,73 dollars (3,79kr) per liter. The car is only going 6,5km per
liter. Petrol is even more expensive average is 1,59 (8,25kr) dollars per
liter. This country is ruin us, and we're still in the cheap fuel area, as soon as we go into the outback, the prices gets much higher! The car drives on both. We all go out for dinner at night and take another stroll around the
city, we stumble over a place with cheap massage, and we’re all in for a treat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnjzV2-k_jBNj6CtBp5Ml9biV0xy7aBDtM8vOJ87_djpmp3DW6UpYAuIMniZVbzcS5ccvOpo_Mxpena-C3V_W9dcBdB3DNcrDnte7Es-VJp7jGN_yBGlMWUVSe_fenBfXLGI7jL3jXGw/s1600/DSC00008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnjzV2-k_jBNj6CtBp5Ml9biV0xy7aBDtM8vOJ87_djpmp3DW6UpYAuIMniZVbzcS5ccvOpo_Mxpena-C3V_W9dcBdB3DNcrDnte7Es-VJp7jGN_yBGlMWUVSe_fenBfXLGI7jL3jXGw/s1600/DSC00008.JPG" height="332" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cairns Esplanade</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4xbTu09XfUt-JJB69qTlxHnKevE_c2J707Y1BoZNf66sZEZ_tzFXiOb_6C6_J1MS2N01EF71DC_FdDOxx2UMy3aIbpxtATS1WmxE0EXucu5j1Lm41dZxuBhmyls-x-Yevy5rX3DjYkxI/s1600/DSC00022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4xbTu09XfUt-JJB69qTlxHnKevE_c2J707Y1BoZNf66sZEZ_tzFXiOb_6C6_J1MS2N01EF71DC_FdDOxx2UMy3aIbpxtATS1WmxE0EXucu5j1Lm41dZxuBhmyls-x-Yevy5rX3DjYkxI/s1600/DSC00022.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Thursday 17<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We’re all
relaxing around the swimming pool most of the day – just a day of total relaxation, and the Augustini's are collection energy to go back to work on
monday. We order pizza at night and sip the last glasses of red wine together.</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBX_KJA4ZvxdySibaq1CJQDI-8NXfPZhyKYN5v492kLPhZAiX2rlA54wWGLSTdQT8dVXREPMpmcswAqT_rw-zixsj0-330RlmPS-r4t7UW-s__ZZp2bbyYlQ6807_AgP5zQKxQoOzEHlk/s1600/IMG_1763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBX_KJA4ZvxdySibaq1CJQDI-8NXfPZhyKYN5v492kLPhZAiX2rlA54wWGLSTdQT8dVXREPMpmcswAqT_rw-zixsj0-330RlmPS-r4t7UW-s__ZZp2bbyYlQ6807_AgP5zQKxQoOzEHlk/s1600/IMG_1763.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool dude...!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Friday 18<sup>th</sup>
July</b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Time to say
goodbye to our friends. It haas been some amazing weeks, and we have enjoyed the
company a lot. They leave in the morning to bring back the car and start their
long travel home. Our plan is to stay in Cairns with my friend Dean, who I used to hang out with in Canada. He lives up here with his girlfriend and their
child. </span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Erik Krafthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10520862374999442880noreply@blogger.com0