St Patrick's day (my birthday)

Due to being so close to Ireland and the fact that my birthday is on St Patrick's Day I thought it would be rude not to pop over for a party with the Irish. I got time off work and jumped on a tour to the green isle. We took the bus up through the midlands and through the top of Wales (lots of sheep there) and caught the ferry at Holyhead. Up until then the bus ride was very tame but several drinks later on the 3.5 hr crossing and everybody was getting on well after that.

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Arriving in the pouring rain in a merry state we headed straight for a real Irish pub. The next morning we headed north and to the Giant's Causeway to look at the strange hexagonal rocks and the northern coast line. After a massive pub roast we slept on the way back before heading out on a black taxi tour of the Protestant and Catholic areas. The cab driver gave us a run down of the Troubles and we checked out the murals that both sides have put up around the area.



Dublin, Ireland - Off to Dublin, our first stop was the Guinness brewery. The tour wasn't anything special but at the top we got great views over Dublin and a free pint of Guinness. Because it was my birthday and some of the girls didn't like the taste I ended up with 4 free Guinnesses and feeling very full afterwards. Then we headed off to the parade which was very difficult to see because of the massive scrums of people. At least the weather was good. Then it was off to the pub and a lot of drinking and partying into the early hours of the night. The next day we were heading home again all feeling a little worse for wear but all the better for it. It was definitely a great birthday.

Last weeks based in London

London, UK - With winter winding down and the days getting longer again it was time for my working life in London to wind down and for me to get ready to get back on the road. So in the last few weeks I tried to get out and do as much as I could.

A short day trip outside the M25 motorway took me to Whipsnade Zoo to see the usual animals but there was a 3 week old baby elephant which was funny to watch playing in the mud. There was also a baby rhino but it didn't get up to much while standing next its mother.



Windsor, UK - A couple of days later it was off to see the queen at Windsor Castle. She seemed to have prior engagements somewhere else so I took the tour around inside and had a look at all the historical art, weapons and suits of armour including Henry VIII's suit which has a massive pot gut. As part of the tour I went into the St David's Chapel and stood amongst a lot of dead Kings and Queens who are entombed there. I also checked out the Knights of the Garter which the late, great Kiwi, Sir Edmund Hillary was a part of.



One Sunday we headed to Greenwich and I straddled the prime meridian with half of me in the west and the other in the east. We also checked out and scoffed at the local market and investigated the Royal Naval Museum.

Cann, UK - With two of my cousins, Rowan and Julia, also in London we thought it would be a good idea to make a trip to the small village of Cann in South-west England. On the way we popped by Stonehenge and the chalk Kiwi. We got the obligatory photos with road signs in Cann and then headed to a local Shaftesbury pub for a huge Sunday roast. Waddling from the pub we then headed further west to see the chalk man with the 12m penis and his friend Homer Simpson on the side of a hill. To finish the day we headed to Avebury and saw more ancient, massive rocks placed in a circle and had dinner at the local pub there before heading back to London.

Working and weekends away

London, UK - So it was back to London to start my job. I got a job working for an international freight company as a white van man picking up boxes kiwis and aussies want sent home. So pretty much for the last 8 months my travels and have been put on hold as I work 6 days a week driving around the obscene traffic in London trying to save for the next big adventure. Next time I'll get a 5 day a week job cos I get no time to do anything.

One Saturday night work put on a Thames river cruise for the staff with free drinks which was fun and nice to see London by night from the water.



Liverpool & Manchester, England, UK - I managed to get a couple of weekends off and checked out the northern cities to catch up with friends. Compared to London it is bloody freezing up there and that is saying something. It was good to get out of London and actually see English cities and English people as opposed to London which is completely full of immigrants including me. In Manchester we went to the Xmas markets, watched ice skaters fall over on the outdoor ring and went on the big ferris wheel similar to the London eye that overlooks Manschester as well as spending a Saturday night pub crawling.

Malta - Just before Xmas I was getting burnout from work especially with the Xmas traffic and rubbish weather here. Who has Xmas in winter anyway? Ridiculous! So I took a week off and headed to Malta in the Mediterranean and then Morocco. I went to Malta for a couple of days and biked around the northern island of Gozo and explored the rest of the mainland by bus. It was quite nice with its extensive history and sunny weather but once you've seen all that there isn't much to do in Malta cos it's so small.

Marrakech, Morocco - Then another cheap flight and my first trip to Africa. Anna and I flew into Marrakech where we stayed in a traditional riad near the centre of the old town and over the next 3 days we wandered though the attractions of the medina and through the souks (markets) which sell all manner of stuff. We ate a lot of tagines and couscous and drank huge amounts of 25c freshly squeezed orange juice from the main square. Marrakech is a cool city and I finally had a use for my high school French classes. It was the first time I had been to a Muslim country too which was an eye opener. Hearing the call to prayer was cool.

London, UK - It was then back to London for more work and my first winter Xmas and New Years. There was no snow and even if there was I still prefer it to be summer at that time of year.



So to while away winter I've been working solidly for 6 days a week and to break the monotony had the odd night out at restaurants with Anna, meeting up with my cousins Rowan and Julia, going to the Linkin Park concert at the o2 millenium dome and getting blind drunk on the Waitangi Day circle line pub crawl with thousands of other Kiwis.

Bath, England - One day at work I had a job in Bristol so Anna and I made a day trip out of it and went to Bath to see England's prettiest town. We walked around and had a look at the sights then had an expensive (£22 each!!) soak at the thermal baths, then a quick game of mini-golf before I had to go to work and do what I was actually being paid to do.

Bull running in Pamplona

Pamplona, Spain - A week after Milan I headed to work in Pamps for 2 weeks for the First Festival travel company. Basically we set up the campsite and ran it when the tourists (punters) arrived. We weren't paid but had our flights, food and accommodation for free. We just spent money on booze and snacks and boy did we buy a lot of that. There were 40 of us: 33 NZ, 6 Oz and 1 Pom (Anna).

Our first couple of days were spent checking and fixing 600 odd dome tents but then for the rest of the time we chilled in the Spanish sun playing touch rugby, cricket and going to the beach at San Sebastian. Every night there was a major drinking session and a lot (read hundreds) of funnels done. One night we invaded the local village for a toga party and partied with the young Basques.


Then 2 days before the punters arrived we put up 600 tents, all neatly lined up. Then 1200 odd people arrived and the madness began. The girls in our crew had to cook the meals and us boys did security every 3rd night. The general day was party all night then sleep all day. And then we had to fit in a couple of bull runs too.

So tired and with sangria running through our veins we went into Pamplona for the bull run. Here's the basic gist of the bull run. There is a run at 8am every morning for 7 days straight. You have to arrive on the 800m course before 7am and it is packed. And then they put the street cleaning trucks through while everyone can't move. At about 7:50 people start to leave the course and about 7:55 there starts a mad rush as all the scaredy-cats and newbies run away. At just before 8 the street clears out with the stupid people (me included) left. A cannon goes and the bulls are released in 2 groups of about 6 to 8 about a minute apart. These are the bulls used for the gruesome bull fights later in the evening. The trick is to run into the arena just ahead of either group of bulls and of course not get killed. On both days I did the run I waited for the 1st lot at 'Dead Man's Corner' then ran to the alleyway leading to the arena where I sprinted in in front of the second lot. So, the bulls are chased through the arena and the crowd goes crazy. About 300 of the runners who made it then stand around high-fiving and such in the arena. Then they let out a small (and very fast) black bull that proceeds to run around the arena taking out everyone in its way. You have to try and get as close as possible to the bull without being taken out. Trying to see the 5" bull amongst 300 6" people is difficult enough and if it comes for you you have to hope it fixes onto someone else. So this goes on for about 5 minutes until the bull is tired of taking people out (note the crowd loves the bull and cheers ecstatically when someone is nailed)and then they swap the bull for a fresh one who then proceeds to attack anyone it can get. This happens about 7 or 8 times.



I will have to say it is the stupidest thing I've done in my life so far but it was so exhilerating. I was literally standing in the arena trying to avoid being the bull's next victim thinking how dumb I was but I was so glad I did it. So I did it twice. I even lay down with about 20 others at the gate to the chute the bull comes out of. The bull comes running down the chute and you have to hope it decides to jump you instead of shunt you with its horns. My bull jumped us. Then at about 930am everyone heads home to bed or the pool before getting back on the sangria and San Miguel later in the afternoon.

After 2 weeks in the Basque sun we left the Spanish to party the rest of the festival away and we got on a bus and made our way back to London via the French motorway system and a ferry across the English Channel.

Off to see the Queen

London, England, UK - So I eventually arrived in the UK broke as buggery and seriously needing a job. For the first 6 weeks I mucked around trying to get used to staying in one place and sorting myself out. I managed to see a little bit of London and got myself acquainted with the tube (London Underground). I eventually found a flat and after 2 months of half-hearted searching I got myself a job. Until then I was using my NZ credit card to access my savings at home and that was not going very far in London. But before I started my job I had to get back on the road.

Milan, Italy - Anna and I got a £20 return flight to Milan with good ol' easyjet. So for a 3 day weekend we chilled out in Milan and experienced a little of Italian food and culture and we climbed to the top of the massive cathedral for a great view of the city.



Bergamo, Italy - On our last day we headed to the small old town of Bergamo near the airport and had a look at the beautiful and peaceful classic Italian town.

Cricket World Cup 07 in the Caribbean

Georgetown, Guyana - As I was travelling around Brazil I decided to head up to the Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean for a couple of weeks to watch the NZ Blackcaps. I missed my connection in Guyana so I spent the evening with a local guy who showed me around the crazy streets of Georgetown.

Gros Islet, St. Lucia - Next stop was where the Blackcaps were playing their pool matches. I made the second innings of the NZ/Kenya game for the Kiwis second win. At the NZ/Canada game I met up with Brendon Kropp from summer camp and we partied in the stand with the other Kiwi supporters including the Beige Brigade. After a day of beers, rum and sunburn we headed out for the night to carry on the party from the Kiwis 3rd win. While at one of the bars, some of the Kiwi players turned up and had a few beers with us. It was cool having a few beers with Vettori, Fleming, McCullum, Patel and Oram after their successful pool games.



Kroppy and his mates Mike and Emur and I went to the England/Kenya game to support the Kenyans but they had no luck from us. We hired a car and then did a couple of trips around the island. On the first day we went for about 5 swims and saw some waterfalls and went to the drive-in volcano. There we had a mud bath in the creek and covered ourselves in mud. After cleaning up we travelled further around the coast passed the Pitons.



Les Pitons, St Lucia - The next day we decided to climb the largest Piton. The Pitons are two large volcanic towers that rise up from the sea and stand high above the surrounding area of the island. After a couple of hours of had vertical slog in hot tropical weather, we made it to the top and celebrated by drinking a bottle of the national beer, Piton.



St. Johns, Antigua - Next stop was the Super 8 round in Antigua. The Blackcaps took on the West Indies at the new Viv Richards stadium. I met up with the hard-drinking kiwi supporters and cheered the Blackcaps on to a convincing win over the local team. I spent the rest of the time there checking out the town and surrounding area.



With my money running out quick I headed to London via Puerto Rico and New York where I am now in search of a job.

Brazil's north coast to the mouth of the Amazon

Olinda, Brazil - Just out of Recife we got to another colonial town. Olinda was also the first capital of Brazil. I again walked around the town looking at the buildings and churches but I was getting a little colonial-towned out so spent the rest of the day in the hotel pool.



Praia de Pipa, Brazil - It was then off to the real small beach towns of Brazil. At Pipa I went dolphin watching just off the surf beaches and saw several dolphins playing and chasing fish. The rest of the time was spent swimming and sun bathing and watching the marmoset monkeys playing in a tree in town. I also had my first go at surfing, ever. First go I got up on the board and surfed the wave. Admittedly it was white-water but I made it up. I surfed the white-water for another 40 minutes with mixed success and then went and recuperated afterwards with a beer or two.



Canoa Quebrada, Brazil - Saturday and onto another great beach town. At the campsite the girls made some homemade caipirinhas, then some of us went into town and partied up large. Next day we went on a dune buggy adventure along the coast out to the pink sand dunes. On the way we stopped at a spot where there was quicksand and Brendan (Exodus tour leader) and I jumped in to experience it. It was weird and the guides with us told us that 5 people had died in that hole we were in. Me and a couple of the boys spent a day chilling on the beach and then went sand boarding. It wasn’t as fun as Peru but we still had fun going down the dunes on a board. At the bottom of the dune was a waterhole that we would slide into. After a few days of relaxation on the beaches and checking out the sights it was time for a couple of long truck days.



Parque Nacional de Ubajara & Parque Nacional dos Sete Cidades, Brazil - Away from the beaches we went to a couple of National parks where we went into a large cave system at Ubajara and amazing rock formations at Sete Cidades.



Belem, Brazil - Then it was the end of another overland trip and the end of South America for me. I finished in the city at the mouth of the Amazon river. We went out for my birthday on the first night and I spent the next day walking around the Amazonian botanical gardens and zoo nursing a bit of a hangover.



Overall my trip to South America was absolutely amazing. Over the 4 months I saw and did so many wicked things and had very few troubles at all. I definitely recommend everybody else to go even for just one month. The language is not really a problem. Just the basics can do and sign language and pointing works wonders, most of the time. It is a continent of wonders and contrasts and is particularly cheap which is always a bonus.

Eastern coast of Brazil after Rio

Even though the tour was over I decided to stay in Brazil and jumped on an Exodus overland tour that went up the coast of Brazil.

Ouro Preto, Brazil - So back on another truck with a new group of people we headed out of Rio absolutely shattered and went to the colonial gold mining town of Ouro Preto. The new truck had 18 people on it including the 2 tour leaders, from Spain, Canada, Wales, England, South Africa and NZ.

While in town we went on a mine tour and went 350 metres a hill to have a look. While there me and a couple of others went swimming in an underground pool. The guide advised us not to put our heads under the water due to the massive levels of arsenic. After a 10 minute swim we went on a tour of the town and its churches.



Bahia beaches, Brazil - We then headed back out to the coast where we spent several days camping near the lovely, tropical beaches of the Bahian state. Still trying to recover from Rio, we spent most of the time relaxing on the beach and swimming.



Salvador, Brazil - After a long drive day and a ferry ride with the truck we made it to supposedly the city of most muggings. Salvador has a strong African influence in its culture and capoeira (Brazilian dance/martial art) is very popular. Salvador also has a lot of old colonial buildings so we spent a couple of days walking around town and checking out the markets and we went out on the town at night. On our last night there we went to a local dance show. It was amazing and the guys who did the capoeira were so fast and skilled. They were extremely muscly and capoeira is done topless so the girls were very pleased. We all left Salvador without getting mugged and came away with a lot better impression of it than we started with.



Maceio, Brazil - Back to the beach for a day. Most of us went on a morning boat trip 2 km out to a reef with ‘natural swimming pools’ where we went snorkelling for about 10 minutes. After seeing the few small fish that were out there we swam over to the floating bar that followed us out and started drinking cheap caipirinhas (Brazil‘s national cocktail: limes in a glass and crushed, sugar, ice and cachaça which is a spirit made from sugar cane). For the next couple of hours we sat in the water as a storm came through and drank caipirinhas until we were quite drunk by 11 a.m. When it was time to go back I stupidly decided to swim the 2 kms back (possibly brought on by the alcohol). So I swam back with my mask and snorkel on. With a short way to go to shore, I stood up and stood on a sea urchin getting 8 spines in my toes. I made it to shore, got the spines dug out and we jumped on the truck to head north again.

Carnaval in Rio

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Time for the tour with Bukima to end and to party up large to finish the tour. We arrived on Friday afternoon for our 5 days of fun. On the first two nights, in between seeing the sights like the beaches and Christ statue, we went to a couple of street parties. The first night was just groups going through the streets with massive drums and people doing samba in the streets around them.



On Saturday we went to Maracana Stadium (one of the largest football stadiums in the world) to watch a local derby between Fluminense and Vasco da Gama. The stadium only had 13,000 in attendance but there was still a lot of atmosphere, especially from the Vasco supporters who were the home team. It was a good game that ended in a 4-4 tie when Vasco tied it up with 10 minutes left.



That night we went to a parade with the smaller samba schools going passed with their floats. We could go right up to the parade as it went down the street with people of all ages dressed up and dancing and street vendors yelling out “Agua, Coca, Schkol”.

Sunday night was the big night that we went to the Sambadrome to watch the professional samba schools do their big party with their massive floats and extravagant costumes over a 1.6km stretch surrounded by grandstands. We were in the last grandstand so didn’t get the best view but we were with all the locals partying it up. The show started at 9:00pm and went to 5:30am but still only half the schools went through. The rest went on Monday night. Because we were at the end we managed to score some items of costume from the people off the floats and we had fun dancing in the stands withy locals in sweat drenched hats and jackets covered in feathers and plastic jewels. The party was absolutely awesome.

BA to Rio - Road to carnaval

Buenos Aires, Argentina - Into a big smoke after 7 weeks in tourist towns and camping in random places. On the first day we went to Boca stadium, home of the Boca Juniors soccer team, for a look and then around the area of Boca where tango dancers were dancing in the streets trying to suck money from the gringos as we walked through cafes and markets.

That night was a boys night out in the city. We went to a couple of seedy joints where we were overcharged for drinks and people tried to scam money out of us, so we went for a quick feed on empanadas (pastries filled with meat) and after about 3 hours of people trying to rip us off we went and met up with the girls in an Irish pub. The booze was taking affect on us all and we got kicked out for having a popcorn fight so we went around the corner and drank some more at an all-hours, outdoor café until 7:00am. Then stupidly several of us decided to catch the ferry over to Uruguay to get another stamp in our passports.



Colonia, Uruguay - So with no sleep for about 24hrs, a belly full of booze and bar snacks and a US$70 return ticket we jumped on the fast ferry (1hr) to Colonia, Uruguay. The town was very nice and chilled out and nothing like the hustle and bustle of BA. Some of the group went shopping while I went to the beach with Anna and slept under a palm tree in the beautiful white sand. We went for a couple of swims in the river which looked more like a sea cos you couldn’t see the other side and then walked around town before catching the ferry back to get a good night’s sleep.



The last day was a shopping day and then we lost some more passengers and gained a group that were coming partying with us to Rio.

Camping heading north, Argentina - The next 4 days we headed north towards Iguaçu, camping in mosquito country again. On the way we checked out some Jesuit ruins and spent each afternoon swimming in the pools or rivers closest to the camping grounds and having some quiet drinks.



Iguaçu Falls, Argentina and Brazil - On the Argentinean side we caught a speed boat which took us up the river towards the falls where we took photos. They then advised us to put our cameras into dry sacks because we would be going closer. We all expected to get a little damp from the spray of the falls but we had no idea that they would take us right up the falls where we got saturated. A couple more dunks under the world’s largest falls and then they dropped us off so we could walk around the falls and dry off. We spent the rest of the day in the 42°C heat walking through the forest, checking out the falls from different viewpoints while dozens of different butterflies floated around us and a caiman (South American crocodile) or two swam under us.



Just as I was nailing the basics of Spanish, we crossed into Brazil and where we had to start speaking Portuguese. It is a lot harder than Spanish because the pronunciation is a lot different than how the words are spelt.

The first day in Brazil we went to a bird park next to the falls, full of Amazonian birds including toucans and macaws. I’m not much of an ornithologist but I liked the park a lot. We then checked out the Brazilian side of the Iguaçu Falls to get a different perspective. While there we saw some coatimundi which are like raccoons but with long noses. We were warned not to let them come up to us cos some carry rabies. Then another day chilling out in Foz do Iguaçu before we left towards Rio with less than a week until Carnaval.



Paraty, Brazil - In the small colonial town on the coast we had our last nights of camping of the 3½ month trip. The town was the last stop before Rio and all the overland trucks were there gearing up for the big party. There were 200-300 overlanders in town and much alcohol was consumed. The first day we got on a sloop with the passengers from three other trucks and sailed around the bays in the area. Sas made up a caipiroska punch in a chilly bin and we spent all day drinking that, laying in the sun and swimming in the sea when the boat stopped in several bays. It was a very relaxing day with a lot of sunburn and drunken antics.