The next stop after a 12 hour overnight bus journey was Salta, a delightful town set in the heart of a valley surrounded by snow topped peaks on one side and forrestry on the other. I knew that if I had any chance of sticking to my schedule, i could only spend the bare 12 hours here before moving on, on another overnight bus, so I had to make the most of it. First stop was a gorgeous deli set in the heart of the 9th July Square. Many streets and important landmar...

I left off last time after an incredible fancy dress party in Lake Mahinipua. Our next stop was somewhat more cultural! We travelled down to Franz Josef which is the home of a very unique glacier. The glacier descends from the tops of the Southern Alps into rainforest at 300m above sea level, so off we went in full gear, lunch in tow up the steep incline into the heart of the ice. Whilst the bottom sector is quite dirty and almost unsightly, once you climb an hou...

I left off flashpacking it in Taupo. Aswell as being the Sky Diving capital of NZ Taupo is also the closest large town to use as a base for embarking one one of the world's best 1 day hikes. The Tongariro Crossing is rated aas the worlds 4th best, and it did more than live up to expectations. We started at 8am and were greeted with whats called the Devils Staircase, a huge steep climb to limber up the legs for the forthcoming 18km of rocky, sandy, snowy terrain....

The next day in 1770 was absolute class. Instead of lounging around on a beach and generally recovering from the mayhem of a previous night, I decided to get active. I was up bright and early and headed off for a surf lesson. A bargain at only $16.50, probably the cheapest thing in the whole of Australia! Although tough at first, and a huge amount of time spent paddling in the wrong direction, I finally managed to get on a few very basic waves, sailing them back ...

As chance and luck should yet again have it, the morning of my departure from Para Surferdise I got a facebook message from an old school buddy Anthony McDonnell, telling me that he and another lad, Brian Kennedy, were in Brisbane living and working, and that I could stay with them for a couple of days. The apartment was not quite up to Sufers Paradise standards, but pretty good all the same, and only about 10mins from the city centre. Friday during the day I ven...