Kangaroo Island is the third largest island off the Australian mainland and it's a wildlife haven. It's illegal to take rabbits, foxes, honey or raw potatoes there and cats and dogs have to be registered with the council. This protects both the native wildlife and the local agriculture. A lot of people seem to do Kangaroo Island as a day trip from Adelaide. It's a very long day, as it takes 1.5-2 hours each way to Cape Jervis where the ferry leaves and 45 minutes...

I arrived in Adelaide late in the evening of Saturday 12th November. The following day I discovered that I had missed the annual Christmas Pageant which had taken place just hours before my arrival. I saw the biggest model of Santa on the front of a building that I'd ever seen. I saw a bus displaying "Merry Christmas" on its front, a full six weeks before the big day. My impression of Adelaide? The city that loves Christmas.  Adelaide is a highly planned city, ...

(I wrote this earlier, I'm now in Adelaide) I'm just on a plane from Perth to Adelaide. The view out of the window is areas of dense dark green forest and yellow and brown fields cut in squares out of the forest. So many straight lines and geometric shapes. There is the occasional small town, also a perfect square. I really enjoyed my time in Western Australia and I'd like to go back again as there is so much more to explore. I stayed in Fremantle which is Pert...

I'm at Auckland airport, waiting for my flight to Perth. It's going to be 7.5 hours without any food, because I'm tight and didn't want to pay extra for plane meals. I think I can purchase food on board if I want to, although at their prices that may require an extra overdraft! I've got some crisps and sultanas so hopefully I'll be ok. This airport actually has a nice view, of the sea and hills. Auckland is pretty hilly, being made up of a series of dormant volc...

I'm now in New Zealand! I didn't manage to blog again in Malaysia because the wifi was pretty patchy and I was busy and tired from the heat and humidity. Thankfully it didn't rain much at all after the first two days there and I was able to get out and enjoy it more. I saw lots of monkeys (macaques), some Asian water monitors which are huge swimming lizards, geckos, other big lizards, terrapins, lots of birds, a frog and a snake. I spent quite a lot of time explo...