Iguazu Falls

After the bright lights of Buenos Aires we moved on to the quiet of Puerto Iguazu to visit the Iguazu Falls.

The 16 hour bus ride was better than a long haul flight except for the food which was below average.

The bus arrived midday so we spent an afternoon walking around town in serious sweat inducing conditions with the highlight for the day being the overlooking where the Iguazú river and the Paraná river meet, forming the natural borders of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.

An early start allowed us to take in all of the trails established to view the falls from the Argentina side of the river which was truly spectacular with high and low level trails allowing viewing from various points above and below the falls, including the top of Garganta del Diablo (The Devils Throat) - the largest of all the falls.

We managed to meet two frenchies in the hostel who each spoke French, Spanish and English, which was nice as we took a taxi across the boarder into Brazil the following day with one of them to view the falls from the other side, and visit the bird park opposite the entrance to the falls. Nic (Frenchie) had spent a year living in Australia before travelling NZ for a month so was able to amuse us with the customary "Hey Bro!", then he started talking rugby...(enough said).

The view on the Brazil side was less spectacular than being up close on the Argentine side but gave a more panoramic view of the falls as a whole, given how easy it is to cross the boarder it is a most do.

On our visit to the falls in Argentina we had followed a two hour nature walk in the hope of seeing some wildlife but unfortunately we didn´t see anything - the Brazilian Bird Park was the answer to this and we were able to see the toucan we had hoped to see along with many parrots including one we we able to hold for photos and some snakes (Anacondas and Boa Constrictors).

Next we move off the tourist trail a bit to Corrientes, Argentina as we head for Bolivia.

Until next time,

Dave & Kim

Steak Paradise!

With no real expectations other than a hope to find the greatest steak on the face of the earth we boarded an early morning flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

We arrived mid morning Sunday and were keen to check out a football match that day so we didn't miss out. Unfortunately we had arrived a week to late to see Boca Junior (Maradonnas old club) play River, which is one of the biggest rivalry's in the league. Instead we joined a tour to watch San Lorenzo vs Independiente at Estadio San Lorenzo. There are simply no words to describe the atmosphere with both sets of fans singing and playing music through the game and on afterwards even when it became clear the home team would lose!

Most of the time in BA was spent on foot checking out the local barrios (neighbourhoods), including the Microcentro, Recoletta (BA's Remuera and home to the grave of Eva Peron), San Telmo (crafts, antiques and restaurants), La Boca (the famous coloured houses, and home of the Boca Juniors Estadio) and Tigre on the outskirts of the city where we enjoyed an hour long river cruise.

We went to two very different steak restaurants. La Brigada in San Telmo should be on the list of attractions for any visitor to BA. For $50USD between us we sat down to what can only be considered the best steak ever, although it must be said we were jealous of the guy next to us with an eye fillet that was near 10cm thick!!!, just be aware though if you order steak all you get is steak - salad is extra. The next place was an all you can eat down on the waterfront and for $15USD each you got a drink (bottle of wine or jug of beer), unlimited meat, salad, papas fritas (fries) and a desert, while the steak wasn't up to the standard of the last place we certainly got our moneys worth.

Highlights were the football match, La Boca (although I don't recommend walking here because it didn't exactly feel safe), a cruise on the river in Tigre and a Tango Show we attended at Cafe Tortoni which is the oldest cafe in BA. The architecture in and around the city needs to be seen to be believed.

The city is beautiful and we would like to come back and go shopping here in the future and check out the San Telmo markets on a Sunday.

Knowing we need to carry our packs for the next two months with anything we buy along the way acts as a great deterrent in the shops and means more money for steak as we continue through Argentina...

Should you be looking for a hostel in BA, we highly recommend El Firulete which is on Maipu Ave but you will need earplugs as every bus in town uses this one way street...

Next Stop Iquazu Falls (after 16 hours on the bus),

That's it from carnivore heaven - take care,

Dave & Kim

Santiago - Chile

Hi All,

We arrived in Santiago, Chile after the 11 hour flight from NZ at about 1 in the afternoon Santiago Time.

Leaving behind family was hard but thankfully the flight passed quickly and we both managed to get some good sleep that left us ready to get out and explore on our arrival.

We had planned to take a shuttle to our hostel but on exiting the airport a nice english speaking man pointed us to a cab to the hostel for $15 (US), which was about the same as the shuttle would cost. We hoped in the cab and arrived safely only to have an arguement with the driver who told us the 15 really was 15 thousand pesos ($30 usd). Needless to say Kim was not happy!

We set out that afternooon from our hostel, Hostal Forestal to see some of the city but it wasn´t long before we began to feel the flight catching up on us. The next day we walked up Cerro San Cristobal where we checked out the view of Santiago and the monument before catching the funicular (a cable car) back down. The view was impressive but would have been more so had the winter smog that impacts Santiago not been present, we just managed to grab a glinpse of one peak in the Andes. More exploring followed by dinner and a few beers with some of the hostel crowd followed.

Next day we visited Viña Cusiño Macul - Chiles largest family owned winery.
The winery we visited is essentially a museum now and there is a larger site further out of the city as the rapidly expanding city surrounded the existing winery. The wines (red) were divine and we would certainly recommend this place if you are in Chile. Interestingly the family has a special room in the underground cellar that contains wines from every vintage going back as the founding of the winery in 1856 for their personal use!

Day three had us checking out the city, which was great followed by a night drinking pisco sours (Chille´s national drink) at the hostel before heading to a pub with some hostel folk.

The next day was essentially a quiet day in preparation for the early flights to BA which after three days of cold showers would make a welcome change.

Overall Santiago was friendly and a great place to start out on the adventure we have planned...

Next stop is Buenos Aires - until then take care,

David & Kim

Leaving Party

Getting close now...

Departure date is really starting to get close, only three weeks of work to go and three and a half weeks until our flight on the 7th of May.

Our visa applications are with the British High Commission and we hope they will be back in the next couple of weeks.

We are selling up most of our things before we leave which has been interesting, with Trademe again proving to be rather amusing. The last two sales have been memorable - the first was the bed, which was collected by a couple of South Africans who managed to fit the whole thing into a Civic Hatchback despite the large size of the headboard, even worse they had to take it the whole way to Waiuku! Next up was a set of bedroom drawers, a mother and her two daughters came to collect but had forgotten to check if they would fit into the car! Needless to say they had to sit in the driveway for half an hour while they called Daddy to come around with a bigger car...

Last night we had a leaving party at the flat for our friends. It was always going to be interesting with an open home today at midday, although we seem to have come through unscathed.

It was a different crowd with the usual suspects joined with some of the crew from Kim's work.

It was good to catch up with those who have now moved on from the bright lights of Auckland to the greener pastures of the Waikato and our friendly civil servant from Wellington, cheers guys!

Some of the guests I know are feeling worse for wear, particularly one who enjoyed sleeping on the floor after a few calls on the big white telephone.

There were the usual pranks pulled and at one stage I was very concerned for the wellbeing of our trusty Corolla.

As usual Martin got fixated on something later in the evening, only this time it wasn't pixie juice but rather beef & garlic sausages followed by a series of slurred text messages as his potent garlic breath distracted the dial a driver. Captain Porteous was looking stunning in purple.

It was inevitable that the airbed we are using would be deflated. The only question was who would be the one to pull the plug, and this time it seems Stretch may have been responsible. I'll no doubt run into him in the UK and I will get revenge.

Hopefully we can catch up with a few of you again before we leave so until next time take care,

Cheers

Dave & Kim

South Island Trip - Fi & Calebs Wedding

Last week we went on a trip around the South Island. Originally we were going for Fi & Caleb's wedding in Queenstown and the weekend before I was to ride the Le Race (100k from Christchurch to Akaroa).

It turned out that Le Race became Le Races as a lack of training had us take up Nick and Laura's offer of a night at the races at Addington - a big thanks to Ron (Laura's Dad) for the tickets.

We spent three days in Christchurch where we caught up with Nick & Laura, Chris (thanks for the cheap shoes dude), Nan and the Kings (Daves Family), we also managed to find a few things for the big trip to South America we had been struggling to find in Auckland, the end of year sales certainly appealed to the accountant in me!

On Sunday we picked up a rental car and started the trip south:

Sunday – after finally getting on the road we headed for Tekapo via Methven and the Rakaia George. We made a few stops but unfortunately had to miss the Brown & Blue Pubs this time... Once in Tekapo we checked out the church of the good shepard and took a few photos before setting up camp for the night. A fairly strong wind blowing down in the lake into the campground made for a cold night...

Monday – we woke early and got on the road to out next campsite at Glentanner on the road to Mt Cook. On the way we stopped at Lake Pukaki hoping to see Mt Cook but unfortunately the clouds weren't playing ball and we were left staring at blue lake and clouds, which was spectacular none the less (see picture). Next we took a detour to Twizel and managed to see a bit of the Maadi Cup at Lake Ruataniwha which was certainly impressive. Next stop was Glentanner to setup the tent before continuing on to Mt Cook Village where we checked out the Hermitage, The tasman glacier and a few other sights before the sun went down.

Tuesday – again we woke early and set off to our next destination Wanaka. Once there we found our campsite and setup before heading to Puzzleworld where we took on the maze and checked out the illusion rooms. Next stop was the local Speights Ale House where we had a drink or two while checking out an amazing sunset before retiring to camp.

Wednesday – we had a few sights to see so we made an early start. We planned to take in the Crown Range Road and Arrowtown before moving on to Glenorchy (at the top of Lake Wakatipu).
In Queenstown we checked out the Gondola and Luge. The day was nearing and end so we looked to cancel the Glenorchy campsite and find a place in Queenstown, fortunately the cost to cancel was more than the cost to stay at the campsite so we decided to carry on.
This 40 minute drive undoubtedly now ranks as my favorite NZ drive, and the lowering light along with flat calm lake made for some impressive photos. That night we went to the local pub which was very rustic and felt like taking a step back in time.

Thursday – Thursday was a very early start as we had to meet some of the wedding party in Queenstown and head to Milford Sound for an overnight cruise. After the trip to Gelnorchy the day prior we were not expecting to be that impressed, but how wrong we were, the drive (especially between Te Anau and Milford) was nothing short of spectacular.

The Cruise – overnight on the Milford Wanderer (www.realjourneys.co.nz) was excellent and is well recommended. We were privileged to get a nice day on the first night while some of us ventured around in kayaks before rain set in overnight which saw waterfalls seemingly coming out of everywhere you looked.

Friday – we made the return trip to Queenstown for the wedding, most notably we managed to devour on of the infamous Fergburgers for dinner that evening.

Saturday – was basically a day to check out the Queenstown, prepare for the wedding and to attend the respective Hens Party / Stag Do before the wedding on Sunday.

Sunday – Kim was off doing bridesmaid duties so for me it was just a chance to relax and take in some of the sights of Queenstown before heading to the wedding venue at Stoneridge overlooking Lake Hayes later in the day. The weather held off for a spectacular wedding and we certainly all had some fun at the reception.

Monday spelled the end of the adventures although not until our flight had been cancelled which ment a fair bit of waiting around, a small place to a pay for such a great adventure, once we get back from our OE we will be back to see more of this magic land...

Until next time,

Dave & Kim