Well - the drive from Taupo to Hastings via Highway 1 and then Highway 54 was really quite splendid - such a beautiful country - from Alpine meadows to gorges to mountains to forests to high country covered in gorse & heather to lush valleys and pastures - it's almost like someone from a design agency has put this country together - It's just as well New Zealand is tucked away in the furthest corner of the earth - all the other countries must be seething wit...

The mainland trail has come to a close, And floating on an island tide, The Continental Drift, Has finally crossed the divide........ Greetings from Auckland - this is the start of day 3 in New Zealand. You should have seen the place yesterday - anybody would think that St. Patrick was the Patron Saint; Saviour and Governor General of New Zealand all rolled into one.... Still, any excuse for a Guinness..... I missed Lauchlan & Abbie in Auckland - they l...

Greetings from Hanga Roa in Easter Island (Rapa Nui). Somewhere out in the South Pacific - 2,500 miles from Chile - 2,000 miles from Tahiti and 1200 miles from Pitcairn - the nearest inhabited island. The statues & the culture here have always fascinated me as it all seemed so mysterious. As it transpires there's not that much mystery to it - but the story of the island and its people is a sad one - which i wasn't expecting. I won't relay the whole story but ...

I got an early flight from Santiago (06.45 in case you think i've forgotten what early is) to Calama - which is in the Atacama desert. From Calama airport it is a 90 minute drive through the desert to San Pedro de Atacama. The drive from Calama is pretty boring - it has to be said and it wasn't until i started exploring the area around San Pedro de Atacama that i started to appreciate the spectacular scenery (needless to say the drive back was amazing & i was...

Greetings from sunny Santiago - bright blue sky, bright sunshine about 30 degrees - very nice! The centre of Santiago seems quite nice - bustling without being hectic - several pedestrianised streets make wandering around easy..... - although - beware! - there is a chain of department stores in Chile called Ripley. They have 39 stores in total in Chile and 17 in Santiago - so wandering through the central streets for the first time can be a bit alarming as you k...