Walking the end of the Line

Our mission to travel as much of Australia as possible (while simultaneously living there) has been a major success. We covered as much of the vast country as we could before departing to our next leg of the journey (which is beginning to bring us closer to home). NEW ZEALAND. We have less than three weeks in this majestic country with only a campervan, rain boots and a few good maps.

Currently - we are over half way through this journey. We have finished our tour around the South Island and have just arrived in the North Island (after crossing an extremely overpriced ferry). We delayed a couple days before venturing across after news that one of the volcanoes in the North had started to burp hot ash and rocks into the air. SCARY. It seems to be settling but we are now avoiding that area of the island. It’s unfortunate because Mike had wanted to do a volcano walk! Ha ha. The South Island was absolutely spectacular. I won’t even try and put into words the pure beauty that stretches out in every direction. The first few days were extremely rainy and we quickly tired of the deep fog which limited our sights to just the roadway. But after that the weather and views have been spectacular. One of the highlights of our entire worldly trip was partaking in a glacier heli-hike on the Franz Josef Glacier on the west coast; a truly remarkable experience. We were airlifted to a safe spot on the glacier and then hiked with our guide through massive ice pinnacles - which at some points towered over our heads. Milford Sound was quite a treat with scenery that takes your breath away. And then there was beautiful Queenstown; a remarkable city with mountains in the backdrop. From here Mike went on the shotover Canyon Swing has an early birthday gift. Talk about adrenaline rush. We cannot possibly list all the amazing places New Zealand has provided for us!

Before we left Australia we spent 6 days in Bali, Indonesia. That was a real treat and luxury. Although an extremely affordable country we broke the bank by indulging in a few luxuries – like a Balinese massage! What a unfruitful country with such rich culture and religious influence! We were there with two of good girlfriends, Elaine and Rachel. It was to be our goodbye week with them as we were parting ways: They are staying on in Australia as we head home. After Bali, Mike and I flew into Darwin and headed out on a “7 day Red Rocket adventure” which toured us through Kakadu National Park, down to Alice Springs and out to Uluru Rock. What a blast. Early mornings, extreme weather, swags, beautiful sights and awesome people sum up this tour!

That is the update for now! This may be the last blog... as we will be heading from New Zealand to Fiji and then Hawaii before going home, thus concluding our amazing adventure! Cheers and great thanks to all the amazing people who have been an amazing part to this journey! It truly has, in every sense of the saying been "A Trip of a Lifetime"