On Saturday 22nd March Matt and I flew to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia (but to you and me, its right in the centre). We met up with our tour group for the next 5 days and had a look around the town. The presence of Aboriginals was striking. They were much better represented here than anywhere else I'd visited in Australia. The next day we began the tour with a 5 hour drive to Uluru (Ayers Rock). This gave us time to get to know our gro...

Following a stopover in Rockhampton, which was lifeless and baking hot, I continued up the East Coast to Airlie Beach. This small town offers good links to sailing on the Whitsundays, which are a collection of small tropical islands off the coast of Australia. On Friday 14th March I began a 2 day 2 night sailing trip around the Whitsunday Islands. On this trip I snorkeled on some fringing reef, and later SCUBA dived too, both of which were great fun, as well as b...

Ozztrarlia - The start of 5 weeks I will spend here After a 4 hour flight from Christchurch, I touched down in Sydney at 7pm on Monday 25th February, and was met by Phil Gilroy. For those who are unaware, Phil is the husband of my Godmother, Gerry, and is the father of the family I would stay with for a week, whilst in Sydney. Upon arrival at their house in Mt Kuring-Gai (North Sydney) I was greeted by two rather excited boys, Jack and Liam. These two were gre...

We began our Southern Leg with a very scenic drive through the mountains and hills between Picton (where the ferry docked) and Nelson. Nelson was a cheerful town with more of a buzz than most of the places we had visited in the North Island. Unfortunately, because of our relatively late arrival here it meant that most of the hostels were full. We settled for a room above a bar, which seemed pleasant enough…until we woke up on Monday morning with fleas crawl...

40 hours after leaving the farm in Temuco, Southern Chile, Matt and I touched down on the tarmac of Auckland airport, on monday 4th February. It was 4am, but the jet lag meant that it felt like noon. Former Reigate Grammar School gap year student Mike Ryan met us at the airport, and after a short drive through Auckland we arrived at his house. I then relised that I'd lost my passport, documents and traveller's cheques. After lots of looking, worrying and calling ...