It's time to leave behind the Pacific Islands and move on to mainland South America. French Polynesia was a bit of a disappointment. I left Tahiti the day after I arrived to go to the nearby and more picturesque island of Moórea. I had hoped to find a diving course to get myself a PADI qualifiaction but was not in luck - a shame given that thay are supposed to have some of the best diving in the world with warm water, great visibility and good reefs. Alas, i...

Well that's about it for NZ. The past 6 weeks have whizzed by. Travelling by car with janet and Pete (friends from Plymouth) has allowed me to venture deeper than I could have on public transport. You two have been great over the last month and a half - big thanks. can't remember when I last posted a card!! Probably from North Island. Since then I've survived the earthquakes in Wellington (5.5 on the Richter scale) and the flash floods in Dunedin (30mm in 20 mins...

Well, I've arrived in Wellington ready to take the ferry from North Island to South Island. The last fortnight has been on of constantly changing scenery... from the empty beaches of the North to the thermal area of Rotorua and the volcanic landscape of the Tongariro Crossing and the Forest lands in the South. It's been superb and they say South Island is even better!! The highlight so far has to be the 8 hour walk on the Tongariro Crossing which Pete and I di...

I've seen some 'dodgy geysers' in my time but these are the real thing. Just arrived in the geothermal centre of NZ. Plan to see as much as we can in the next few days; taking in some Moari culture as well as some of the stunning volcanic scenery and tramping (walking as we call it at home). Set of from Auckland and travelled as far North as we could! Not a bad move in the weather we had. 70mm of rain was forecast for the day!! Have found some cracking forest...

Greetings from Lesotho. This, I'm led to believe is one of only 3 countries surrounded completely by another single country. The other two.... answers on a postcard trivia buffs! After leaving Cape Town I passed through the wine region - a spectacular fertile plain trapped by mountains on both sides. Quite stunning scenery which I'll have to investigate further next time (how often will I find myself saying that I wonder?). Travelled along what they call the G...