Two years ago we came up with the list of countries we wanted to visit on our travels. We had decided that after almost a year of touring, we wanted to our last stop to be somewhere nice and warm where we could just relax. We first thought of Hawaii as it would have been on the way home, however we discounted it for obvious reasons. We then thought about Fiji. We knew people who had been and loved it, but knew little else about it. I imagined us being on an isola...

During the drive up from Franz Josef to Nelson we experienced so many changes in weather. One minute it would be bright sunshine, the next minute heavy rain, then back to sunshine five minutes later. It was crazy, however it did mean that we saw some of the brightest and most defined rainbows we'd ever seen. When we actually arrived in Nelson it was quite sunny, and there were actually people sunbathing on the beach and swimming in the sea. We had two full days i...

We arrived in Wellington very late at night and got a taxi straight to our hostel in Plimmerton. Due to our late arrival (and no staff at reception) we were given special instructions telling us how to get through the hostel security and into our room without disturbing anyone. The email said it would be very 'cloak and dagger' but not to worry. By the time we got to the hostel it was 12:30am and the building was in darkness. Thankfully we found the correct door,...

We arrived in Sydney in the afternoon and Lauren, a friend and former colleague of mine, came to pick us up at the airport. I last saw her 4 years ago when she finished her travels and work in England and was going back home to Australia. It was good to see her. She took us to our hostel in an area of Sydney called Stanmore. It was a very residential area however it was within walking distance of a long street of shops and restaurants, and Stanmore train station....

It was 9 years ago since I last visited Ayers Rock, and that visit was with my parents. It was my mum's favourite place in Australia, and my parents still recall the time we cooked up some steaks on the barby whilst listening to 'Waltzing Matilda'. When we arrived at Ayers Rock (or Uluru as it should now be called) I could see nothing had changed since my last visit. We were picked up from the airport by the free resort shuttle bus. When visiting Uluru, everyone...