Where are we?!

Our dopplr badge led to some confusion - according to dopplr Philipp is back home already. He's not! But we will be (unfortunately) soon: Arrival in Frankfurt is planned for Jan 31, 2010. If nothing happens to Gulf Air or we decide to simply stay in Thailand for the rest of our lives. ;-)

We are currently in Vietnam. But let's connect to our last "route description".

1. On December 26 we visited Karekare and Piha Beach. Great views and some serious magic.
2. Dec 27 we flew to Nadi on the Fiji Islands and spent the night with a couchsurfing host in a real Fiji village - not the ones made up for tourists.
3. Dec 28 & Dec 29 we enjoyed Manta Ray Island Resort - perfect snorkeling & awesome food.
4. Dec 30 - Jan 2 we spent on a very remote island, celebrating New Years until the generator was turned off and sleeping most of the time.
5. Back in Nadi for one night and a big day.
6. Another 2 nights in Auckland to watch Avater 3D and meet big fellas at the Auckland Zoo.
7. On Jan 5 we left Auckland for Hong Kong with a comfortable Air New Zealand Flight - love their entertainment program!
   Btw - question: How do you reduce your hotel prize by 30%? You book 1 night more than you actually need (sure, that was the plan ...) and pay less than you would have paid for 1 night less. Comprende? Ok, Hotels.com helped a little ...
8. Jan 6 strolling around Kowloon, exploring the markets and specialty stores. Either the Sushi that night or a rotten dragonfruit kept us busy with window-sightseeing from the hotel for the next day.
9. On Jan 8 Hong Kong lit up a little - time to visit the Peak. And meet up with some well known guys ...
   Ever wanted to be a Consultant? There is a consultant for every skill set! It's all about a self-explaining name, but we were not quite sure if it would help to make the description even bigger ...
   
10. Jan 9 was even more sunny and put Victoria Harbor and Hong Kong Island in amazing lights. And with a 3h delay we left to Vietnam that night. Arriving at 2am in the morning at an absolute fabulous hotel.
    
11. Jan 10 - City Sightseeing and tour bookings, but above all: enjoying 30 degrees celsius and a bustling scootermadness around us.
12. For Jan 11 we booked a 1 day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels (German) which were used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. Can you imagine living 3-10m below the earth, moving through tunnels about 60cm wide and 80cm high? We tried today - fun for 10 mins, no fun for any second longer. And the traps they used to "capture" soldiers hurt by looking at them.
    
13. When did you attend a guided tour the last time? We haven't for years so we decided to change that. On Jan 13 we leave for a 2-night tour to Mui Ne and on Jan 16 we will leave Vietnam towards Cambodia with another 2-night tour through the Mekong Delta.

So far our travel plans. What are you up to lately?
The Hong Kong pictures are online, start with picture 165. Vietnam pictures will follow soon.

Holiday ... actually

In about 9 hours we will waive "Good-bye" to the 3rd country of our apactravel and check into the Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Nadi, Fiji. We will spend 7 nights on the islands, 3 of them at a couchsurfing home in Nadi, and 4 nights on two different Yasawa Islands. New Year takes place somewhere here, 12 hours earlier than in Europe.

And we will actually be on holiday. We will not take the laptop, we do not take the hiking boots, we will not read e-mails or post pictures and I will finally finish nbr. 3 of the Millennium-Triology, can't wait. See you next year. Maybe. If we come back. Maybe.

Have a great New Year, a hell of a party and arrive safely in a fantastic, happy and successful 2010.

Finally ... big picture post

163 pictures were uploaded today. So brew a coffee, put on some music and enjoy a journey from the South to the North Island with us. Our last route description finished in Dunedin and on Dec 11. Let's get started:

1. Dec 12 - We start off with the steepest road in the world in Dunedin and then drive up the coast to the Moeraki Boulders. These "pearls" are formed below the surface and then washed out until they get stuck on the beach. We enjoy a hidden DOC campsite with a pet wild pig, a self-build dam and a geocoin in surprising dimensions.
2. Dec 13 - The day of the bush! From the DOC campsite there is a track towards some limestone rocks. After a loooooooooong breakfast (Thank God no check-out at 10). The climb is beautiful, even challenging, and the views are amazing. We decide to not return the same way but keep on walking looking for a track to go home ... 5h later we are back, exhausted, tired and so happy that apart from some heavy scratches all over our bodies we did not suffer from anything else, while crouching through dense "furze" forest and knee-deep swamp. But, anyhow, we saw wild horses ... and sheeps (of course).
3. Dec 14 - We meet Aoraki / Mt. Cook. After a few morning clouds it is a beautiful hiking day with crystal-blue water (glacier flour!). Only the Nazi-campsite and the snow at night weren't actually part of the "ideal holiday-day" plan.
4. Dec 15 - Again Aoraki / Mt. Cook, this time from the air, on a tiny helicopter. Amazing, breathtaking views and clear-blue sky with only some clouds. We did a snow landing and also flew over Fox Glacier. Well worth its money!
   A big part of the night we spend driving - and hoping - to catch the ferry to the North Island the next day (Dec 16; Dec 17 we drive up north to do the Tongariro Crossing).
5. Dec 18 - A 5:50 am alarm clock. Nuts! At 7:30 we are on track, walking/climbing the Tongariro Crossing - what a unique adventure ,-) But the blue is convincing. We enjoy two nights at the perfectly organized Whakapapa DOC campground - incl. UMTS *yeah*! It seems like all Germans (speak "I am fffrommm Tschöarmaniiiieeeee") have retreated to New Zealand by now ... they are simply everywhere here.
   
6. Dec 19 - We continue north to Lake Taupo and come across floating beaches, curious swans and warm rivers. 360 degrees Jet Boat spins sound a lot more dramatic than they actually are, but squeezing through canyons with 40 degrees hot waterfalls is actually fun. And I am so thankful to Philipp that he actually did not mention that there were waterspiders running around where I had my nose ... The treat of the day is the Lake Taupo Top 10 Holiday Park - best facilities ever, close to hot springs. A must-stay! And it didn't even rain. Lesson-learned: Being a camper does not mean you cannot turn on the x-mas lights!
   
7. Dec 20 - belongs to the hot and boiling elements. Volcanic valley, bubbling mud pools, fuming busses and sparkling camper-x-mas-trees fill the day.
8. Dec 21 - The Pueroa Forest contains some left overs, some 50 others 2,000 years old. The Deer Jaw-Inbox is another reason why hunting is not on my fun-thing-to-do-list. Groce!
9. Dec 22 - 100m down, water, rocks, crawling, climbing, swimming, jumping, screaming, eating. This is our Waitomo Epic Cavetour experience in a few words.
10. Dec 23 to Dec 26 - Our campingtour is over. We say good-bye to Pippilotta after we "checked-in" with our lovely couchsurfing host in Auckland. 4 nights in Auckland, no driving, sunshine (finally!) and good food are waiting for us! We visit sparkling Franklin Street and celebrate x-mas with a bunch of couchsurfers from around the world. Santa was here. But not only he, also Markus flew in from Guzbach to make sure we keep up the BBQ-spirit.
    

Wow, by now it is 3am in the morning and the SD card already holds about 100 new pictures from our day out at the famous Karekare and Piha Beach. But for now I am going to say "Good night!".

All pics from this post can be found in the new picture album on facebook.

Yesterday Offroad, today snow and a week ago Kangaroos - what day is today and where are we?

Good question! I have no clue (most of the time)!

Based on the Halloween decorations that party must be close and considering that people all along the coast buy gadzillions of kilos of food a long weekend seems to come along. So, let's see ...

• We are driving on the wrong side of the road - must be Australia (too sunny for England, too sorted for India, too peaceful for South Africa).
• This is confirmed by the road signs which range from "Kangaroos", "Wombats", "Wallabies", "Trucks", "Ducks" and "Aged" ... you name it ... crossing
• Halloween = Oct 31, 2009 coming up (Make sure you don't open the door for Freddy!)
  
• Long Weekend = Melbourne Cup - the race that stops a nation; 3200m, 3 year and older - also coming up (Oh God, I didn't bring my hat!)
  
• We have snow and bright sunshine as well as surfer's on the beach - must be winter ;-)

Ok, for those who like to get a short understanding where we went so far, this is the list:

1. Adelaide - Nice couchsurfing
2. Down south to Kangaroo Island - don't miss Maslin Beach
3. 2 days on Kangaroo Island - Offroad, animals, rocks, Coastline - you can easily do 4 days to a week
   
4. Via Fleur Peninsula & Victor Harbor into the Grampians - Road-side BBQs are great stuff!
   
5. 2 days at the Grampians - you can do easily a full week there - bring your 4WD ;-)
6. Down to Great Ocean Road - Bimbi Campground is an amazing place, close to there is also an interesting Tree-top walk
   
7. Along Great Ocean Road to Melbourne - look out of the windows, an that is not just because of the many, many, many curves
8. 2 days in Melbourne - Great couchsurfing, fun city with good weather and very good food
   
9. Along the coast via Lake Entrance to Buchan - that is the center of the world ... with caves, no honestly: plan to stay there longer - it is "true holiday" at Buchan Lodge
   
10. Through the snowy mountains or Australian Alps to Jyndabinde - yep, snow, fun skiing area and very steep roads as well as just the perfect accomodation for Glenf & Soeren
    
11. Back to the coast at Narooma - make sure you watch out for whales, seals, penguins and birds on Montague Island and meet YHA Momo
    
12. Thats a little bit more than 2,000 kilometers so far. More the 3,000 still to go. 3 weeks left.

And that is about the only time and place which we should not forget.
Hope all is well with you and the weather plays nicely. Have a good day!

Bye-bye, Uluru ...

We are saying Good-bye before we even set foot on any plane. After 3 days of searching optimized travel routes, checking flight schedules and fares, memorizing kilometers on Google Maps we have made a big decision. We will not visit Australia's red heart. With "just" 6 weeks in Australia and soooooo many kilometers to get from one location to the other it would just end up in endless hours in a car or hundreds of euros/dollars on the plane.

Therefore we have noted one lesson learned: Never start travelling Australia from Sydney - that is the middle. Not the beginning. Not the end.

We decided to leave Sydney immediately, fly to Adelaide, get a car and drive to Cairns - bypassing Sydney where we fly back towards the end of our journey to continue travelling to New Zealand. This way we have more than 5 weeks for about 5,000 kilometers which should work out fine (considering I already did 12,500 kilometres in 28 days over in the US). Uluru would take away 1 week and cost an additional EUR 500 just for flying. We simply come back one day and do the other half of Australia, we figured.