Claire and James's Round the World Travels

VISA Update

2010-09-23T19:18:00.004-04:00

So the news this morning was our visa has been Granted and we have the option to live here until 2014.

We're both pleased to have this chance as Australia really is a great place to live; but at the same time quite bitter that we will be so far from you all in the U.K -

A perfect opportunity for you guys to visit us in Sydney! Hoping to be back to the U.K now for a holiday in July so until then Skype is the way to go

VISA

2010-09-08T02:45:00.004-04:00

So we have managed to finally get our visa sent to immigration. So all going well we'll have a business working visas to continue the stay in Sydney. Should have an outcome in the coming weeks all going well.

I come from a land down under

2010-05-29T23:25:00.002-04:00

So it's been some time since we last updated the blog but to be honest quite a lot has happen since NZ.

It's now winter here but it's still hotter than England and it's summer in the northern hemisphere? We are feeling the cold however; 21c is too cold:)

So I am sure most of you know we have excepted the opportunity to stay here for a little while longer than first planned as Claire has managed to get a sponsored job over here. Meaning we can stay out here for as long as she works for this company.. So the traveling has ground to a halt and it's all things domestic again. We've managed to find a little place in Sydney which we are renting which is based in a suburb (Epping) north west of central Sydney. Been really busy fixing everything up for the house over the last month but we've finally finished setting up the house and have both become expert IKEA builders as a result. We have a great little place so you will all have to make the journey over and throw a shrimp on the BBQ.

So I guess you will all have to join up to Skype for free and Skype us until we return to the UK:)

NZ - The South Island

2010-03-30T19:54:00.016-04:00

We are now over half way of our NZ trip and have covered half of the stunningly beautiful south island.

After trekking around the town in Wellington, we met up with Chris and Lucie, our Kiwi ex housemates. It was lovely to see them over their side of the pond! Went to eat a Mexican and then stayed at their new flat. Oh how wonderful it was to stay in a bed that night! The next morning we drove around a pretty part of Wellington and ate lunch by the sea. It was then time to board the boat for our (expensive) ferry crossing to Picton in the South Island.

Upon arriving at the surprisingly small ferry town, we drove straight out and onto the Marlborough region to see some vineyards. So much wine, so little time. As it was past 5pm, the cellar doors were all closed, so we settled for a supermarket and brought some Sav Blanc there instead. It was then onto Haverlock to sample some fresh green lipped mussels from the green shell mussel capital. We went to the ‘Mussel Pot’ which was closed, but they luckily let us in and cooked for us as I told them we stopped in this town just to come and eat here. They were delightful! And not expensive. So I was happy after shovelling my face of the big green creatures.

The next morning we drove to the Abel Tasman National Park, via Nelson. The park is reknowned for being stunning and the most visited in NZ. We booked a boat cruise and 4 hour walk through the rainforest and beaches. That night we decided to free camp hidden off the road, which is an experience I won’t do again as James and myself spent the whole night paranoid that we were going to get busted. There was also no loo…. And it was very dark. The next morning we woke to the sound of a car at 7.30 in the morning. We were straight up and panicking, but then realised it was some guy walking his dog. We busted out of there and drove back to Kaiteriteri for our planned boat and tramping trip. The trip was a fantastic day out and I would recommend doing this to anyone. The tramping was stunning and by the end of it, we were both pretty exhausted. Five hours of walking… Felt amazing afterwards though.

After the days adventures we drove down to a little town called Tawerawera on the way to the west coast. We camped in the middle of a valley in the middle of nowhere on a campsite owned by a woman from East Grinstead! So we were sharing our stories of NZ and love of the cold (not) back in the UK.

This was the first night it was actually quite cold and we discovered our heater in the van. It was great to have some warmth that night.

The morning brought an overcast day and a bit of rain, as we drove to Westport, for the start of our West Coast drive. Apparently this drive is supposed to be like driving through the Big Sur and highway 1 in Cali, of which it is very similar. Except for Westport and Greymouth, which were both pretty grey and not a lot was happening. We ended up staying in Greymouth to go shopping the next morning, but did not end up doing much as there were not a lot of shops and the town was well boring.

We got to Punakaiki after lunch to view the famous pancake rocks and watched the rageging sea fly in and out of blowholes. This 15 minute experience was pretty cool as the rocks resembled stacked up pancakes somewhat. We also bumped into a strange looking bird which we thought could have been a kiwi, but decided later that it wasn’t. It just didn’t have wings. Apparently this bird is rare and can only be seen in this part of the entire world.

Then onto the town of Franz Josef to book our glacier trip. We stayed here overnight and rose early for our booked ice trek. We put on ‘crampons’ over our hired boots so that we could walk across the ice. The trek to get to the ice took around an hour, and there was a lot of steep climbing over rocks. Once we reached the ice though, it was so worth it. If you ever come here to do this, please book the ice trek. Don’t just walk up to it, as you can’t get very close without a guided ice trip. Actually walking onto the ice is one the highlights of NZ. And it only costs around 100 bucks. We were amazed at cave formations, running streams and the blue ice which gives the rivers there glacier blue colour. To walk amongst walls of ice coming up next to me was one of the NZ highlights of my trip and the waterfalls you get to see in amongst the rainforest clad valley are wonderful.

After the glacier trip we headed down the coast to Haast to grab some more petrol (you really have to plan this down here due to the lack of petrol stations!) and then onto the Haast pass road on route to Wanaka. I think it is safe to say that this piece of road is the most beautiful I have ever seen, ever. The mountains and snow-capped mountains, glaciers, blue water lakes and valleys really do make you awe inspired and you stop breathing for a few seconds. We stopped to camp in a halfway town before we reached Wanaka.

The next morning we travelled to Wanaka and planned to do some walking, however, the weather was cold, dull and rainy, remeniscient of the UK, so we carried on to Queenstown. Driving in to this place reminded me of being in a holiday town in Canada, surrounded by mountains and people from England and Europe.

Queenstown is an awesome town and we plan to stay for a couple of days before making the trek down to Milford for a kayaking sensation on Friday. Lets hope the weather is ok for our 4 hour morning boat trek. Off to ride the gondola now and to hopefully see some kiwis at the conservation centre if they don’t charge an arm and a leg.

More updates to come soon,

Claire and James. Xxxxx

Queenstown update:

We ended up having curry for lunch as it was on special and it was yum. We didn’t end up going in the kiwi conservation centre as it was too expensive. Shame but hey. But we did ride the gondola and watched the mentalists jump off the mountain on a bungy rope. The view over the lake was breathtaking and I brought myself a nice warm winter hat, just in case! I then found the same hat cheaper once we were back down the mountain. Typical.

The next morning we started our drive down to the Milford Sounds. We checked into the only accommodation down here and stayed inside due to the constant rain.

The next morning we woke bright and early to a much sunnier day and perfect weather for our kayak trip. This trip on the water for 4 hours was amazing. The scenery and mountainous backdrops were lush. I would definitely recommend ‘Roscoe’s Kayaks’ to do this trip. We even got to see a couple of seals basking in the sun. No dolphins or penguins though.

On the drive back to Queenstown, we stopped at the mirror lakes and more stunning scenery, and checked back into the campsite we stayed at before. Only this time we were told off for waste dumping by some guy. I did inform him we didn’t have a water storage unit and any water in our sink comes directly out the bottom of the van. He started mumbling something about how they were trying to get these companies to put tanks on their vehicles. Not my problem! So we decided t start using a bucket under the car as I didn’t want his confrontation again. Found out later he didn’t even own the campsite. He was just some random. Arrrggghhh!

The next morning we went and had a nice hot chocolate from the famous choc café, then started the drive into Mackenzie country. Stopped off at the worlds 1st bungy jump and watched 2 people hurl themselves off. No I was not tempted. Although James said he might of if the price was right…. It was too expensive for him though. Saw nice rivers and scenery then stayed at some decrepid campsite which was a skank hole in some skank town, Twizel. We were a tad pissed off at the one shower and kids playing cricket around our camper.

The next morning we drove to Fairlie and Geraldine, and rocked up at a DOC campsite that was fully serviced in Peel Forest. Really lovely setting and cheap. Was woken up to gale force winds rockin the crap out of our campervan, and then the rain began. Good one to me for taking the washing off the line and putting it back in the camper as it would have been soaked, and probably would have ended up across the other side of the campsite as there were no pegs on any of it.

Woke up to rain, but it cleared around 12 so we decided to go for a walk. The camp store informed us that there were a couple of trails up the road, but of course we went too far and ended up on a gravel road again. Nice views though. When we found a walk, it was all uphill, so I nearly died again. Woohoo. Then we saw the biggest tree, like ever. So mahussive! Called a Togada or something. When we turned the corner, we were like, oh my god its huge!!

Next day we drove to Akaroa – the car started making well dodgy noises so we went and saw a guy at the garage. He couldn’t fit us in though so we decided to park it up and see what happened tomorrow. We ate fudge, ice cream and watched a heron fishing for its food. It was very tame and James thought it a good idea to stroke it with his foot. The heron wasn’t impressed. This was our second to last day with our campervan so we made sure we ate up all our food that we could. We were craving a bed big time!

Woke up to another nice day and drove across the mountains to Pigeon Bay. Had lunch here and then tried to drive over another mountain but we had to turn back as the roads were not suitable for campervans. So we trekked back on ourselves and then went via a toen called Lyttleton. Went ot the information office to find out what to do here, the poor girl found itdifficult to come up with something interesting to do…. So we had a drink in an Irish bar, then drove to Christchurch for our last nite in the camper.

In the morning we drove to the campervan depot to drop of the van. It was sad to see it go, but Brian, the English guy who checked us out the campervan, gave us a lift back to our hotel. Checked in here and immediately went and lied on the bed. It was heaven. And we had a bathroom just to us for 3 nights. Woohoo!

So now we are in Christchurch about ready to leave and jump on a plane back to Oz. But before qwe sign off on our NZ trip, I will tell u what we got up to in Christchurch. Firtsly, we went punting on the river Avon which was chilled and fun, apart from some guy who kept asking stupid questions aout what tree what called what and guessing what duck vbreeds were which. Noone cared, and he wasn’t impressing anyone. I cannot stand people who try and belittle others with (they think) their extensive knowledge about pointless crap. Shut up already!

So we left the boat and went for a walk in the pretty botanical gardens. I think we have seen all the botanical gardens in NZ now….!

I then had to go and see a Kiwi as I hadn’t come across one in the wild. So I went to this centre to view them. They are funny cute little creatures with no wings. They have to do everything with their beaks and have nostrils at the end of their bills…. Bet u didn’t know that! We then went to the ‘Honeypot’ for dinner, where I had beautiful lamb cutlets and James had a ‘not so good’ steak. It was burnt. So not so enjoyable for him. The next day was our last full day, so I went to get my haircut and they gave me a free spray tan! Not so good on the clothes front though, as the bronzer soiled my clothes I wore for that day. And I can’t really see much of the tan now…… The one I had in Melb was better and actually made me look brown. I then went to meet an old uni friend for drinks and got wasted. No surprise there then! All in all a great end to a fantastic 4 weeks in the land of NZ. I would recommend doing this trip if its one of the only ones you ever do. You will not be disappointed!

Signing off from the world of the Kiwi’s,

Claire and James
xxxxxx

New Zealand North Island

2010-03-08T19:59:00.011-05:00

We arrived in NZ on 28th Feb 2010. Luckily James did not have to contend with my bad flyer syndrome, as I was ok this time. No valium needed.

Checked into our fancy 2 bedroom apartment complete with large bathroom and kitchenette. Straight over to the Asian foodstore to stock up on foods that were reasonably priced, for James to create his masterpiece chilli. And what a delight it was, even if we both ate far too much and had stomach aches afterwards!

The next morning we decided to take a long trek around Auckland city centre. For a capital city is wasn’t very busy, which was awesome. We trundled down to the dock and found a Mexican that was advertising $6 Mojitos. As a sucker for a bargain, we went in and ordered a mahussive burrito each! Again, we ate too much, but if you had of tasted this fine piece of food specimen, you would have been delighted to fill your belly as much as physically possible before puking it back up.

Continuing onto the market at Victoria Park, we discovered that there wasn’t really much happening there apart from a fabulous dress I saw, and disappointingly, did not buy. James then spotted a ‘Kathmandu’ where we decided to go in and buy the whole shop. Hey, it was bargain central! A friend recently told me that it’s not a bargain unless you planned to buy it before, and then you get it at a cheaper price. I still think a bargain is when you spend lots of money and get loads of stuff, usually pointless shite. Maaaahaaaaa! Next stop was the big tower in the city centre. The tallest one there. Looks like the Toronto CN tower. Apparently the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. Don’t know if I quite believe that. It wasn’t that big. People were com8ng down from the top on a piece of rope. I actually considered doing this, but chickened out, then blamed it on the high price for a few seconds.

Did you know Starbucks out here do an awesome Chai Latte? I had never had one until a friend had them all the time in Oz and raved about them. So I tried one and it was YUM! So now I’m hooked. Try them, I beg you. Lush in a cup.

Day 3. We rocked up to the airport again to pick up our campervan. We were both a bit apprehensive due to paying a hefty amount for it and wondering how good it actually was. We met the lady in charge, Possibly Vera, and were introduced to our new friend.
GoWildCampervans. We walked in and discovered that we could stand up. A great upgrade to our Juicy we hired back in Oz which was just a bed and tiny fridge and tiny sink, when we did the Great Ocean Road. We were shown the choke…. What cars have a choke these days? So our van is ancient, but hey. James drives it. The van is very retro, but we both love it. The space is great and the amenities also, if you can call them that…! It’s very comfortable and I am fine to live in this for a month. There is even a power socket for my GHD’s for use when we are electrically attached!

We then drove to the Corromandel. Decided to leave out the Bay of Islands cos it was an extra 6 hours on the journey just to see some Islands. Glad we missed them, as we later found out that the Corromandel is much more scenic, which we did venture to.

We rocked up at a campsite in Haikei beach, after seeing that camping was forbidden on the actual beach which was a bummer. So we paid the £28 ish bucks to stick a plug in our socket and park on some grass. Obviously the price covers the use of their toilets….!

In the morning we ate breakfast by the beach and went and lounged listening to the sound of the waves. The waves out here are so far bigger than what we have seen in Oz….. So why is Oz the surf capital? Round the corner from this was Cathedral Cove. We rocked up to the lookout to get a view of the bay and islands. It was STUNNING. Who needs the bay of islands? So we went off on a walk to the beach area which said took 50 mins. We soon decided just to see the rock pools as it was late and didn’t want to walk for 2 hours. Big mistake. Should have gone down to the cove. We viewed it from above and it was beautiful. The water was soo blue and the sand so white. But we were lazy and didn’t get that far. We read in the lonely planet guide later that the walk only took 25 mins unless you were on a ventilator….. Next, onto another beach, Cooks beach, wh8ich wasn’t as fantabulous as Haikei, but hey. They had a Tarzan swing where James and I spent 30 mins swinging on the beach. When we arrived back at our

campervan, we heard a whistling sound from the back; we had left the stove kettle and gas on, put on for a proper English cuppa….. Ooopsi! Luckily the van didn’t explode. The next stop, was hot water beach down the road. Sounds a bit random, but at low tide you can grab a spade (Only $5!!) and dig your own hole in the sand directing the hot water into your pit and then have a bath in it. It was so busy and people were fighting over the hot waters course! We actually met a nice group next to us who were leaving, SO THEY GAVE IUS THEIR HOLE. Worked a treat until a couple of guys decided to redirect the water stream to their hole. Arseholes! So 5then we left and drove down to the most memorable campsite of our NZ experience so far….!

Wangamata – A nice little town south of the Corromandel. We pulled up at a discounted campsite, called a DOC site (Department of Conservation). It is in the middle of nowhere, just about accessible with a rickety old campervan. Up a dirt track, which brought back memories of Yosemite, but luckily bear country was not around the corner and their were farms nearby. We [aid our $9 each to park on some grass and pay $1 for a 3 minute warm shower. Quite steep if you ask me, seeing as we pay not much more for full facilities in town! Then I walked into the dunny…. OMFG! I had a torch with me as it was getting dark, and it was a hole in the floor. And there were no less than 100 flies in this ‘hole cubicle’ flying around…. I still have nightmares! Anyways, I got over it, and used it, but didn’t love my experience.

We woke up to a beautiful morning and cooked breakfast in our van. For our woodland in the middle of nowhere walk, we got dressed in our hiking gear, walking shoes, fleeces, first aid kit, water and an apple each. The entire round trip would take 2 hours. We arrived at the most beautiful falls. Decided to climb down the hill amongst tree roots and dirt to get to the bottom, which was breathtaking. There was a pool at the bottom, totally secluded with a Tarzan swing! We hoped around the rocks taking pictures.

The afternoon was spent on a stretch of beach just chilling out and taking in the sun. Of course, I didn’t get a tan as I opted for factor 30 sun lotion. I just never change colour on the high stuff. We then ended up in Turanga to meet a friend who moved over here recently after being in Oz for a year. So drinks were on the cards that night, until we decided to drive home, so just 1 beer each.

The campsite we checked into was quaint and lovely and run by a lovely lady, who was very friendly. I would recommend this site as it was cheaper than others, and really neat and tidy. It was called ‘Tuaranga Tourist Park’ I think….. I forget the names as we have been to so many now…. Waking up in the morning we potted around the town for a little while, then went to meet Andy, our POMmy friend for lunch at his backpackers. Bare in mind, this backpackers had a lush balcony that people ate out on and it had a view over the harbour. It was one of the best I have seen yet. Harbourside Backpackers. We then went on a recommendation form he hostellers to go and trek up Mt Monganui (Mongaunai or something…) and the views were again, breathtaking. You could see over the entire bay, islands, everything. And the mountain sheep were funny when I chased after them. I did nearly die on the trek as it was about 2 hours up and down. But we got to see para-gliders jump off the top when we got there so that was also pretty cool. After our exercise for the day, we met Andy again and went to get fish and chips. It was sooo cheap and soooo tasty, even if we did have to wait an hour for it. Apparently it’s the place to eat, the queue was 10 deep and full of people waiting for their orders. So to waste some time for the next hour, we went and brought ice-cream. The best flavour in the world? It has to be Ferrero Rocher… Yes they do this flavour out here, and its LUSH. Jealous? Once we stuffed our faces with 4 pieces of fish, 4 sausages, 4 potato cakes and a mountain of chips, we went to sit on the beach and watch the sunset. Then we played UNO, James’ new fun toy, but then realised as we were playing, that by using only 1 pack, meant that we only had 2 colours. The other pack was the other 2 colours, and not a spare pack. So that was an eventful game of Uno. Then we watched the stars for a while, and this was very relaxing.

The next morning we left Tuaranga for the Lake Rotorua area. It is famous for it’s volcanic activity, such as thermal pools, smokey lakes and bubbling mud. Stopping off at a waterfall on the way, where a couple of guys kayaked down it, we found a great park near the lake that showcased these for free and we even got to dip our legs in. It stunk of rotten eggs due to the chemicals coming out of the ground. I certainly would not have had my picnic at the picnic table right by here. Apparently the big family with kids thought it was ok though. Quite frankly, I would want to throw up my food if I was eating it in amongst that smell, but whatever floats their boat…! Back on the road again, we came across a Maori village with cultural carvings. Then onto a great campsite with thermal pools. We figured if we camped here, we could use the pools for free. So we soaked in the thermal pools for the evening before downing a glass or 2 of NZ Sav Blanc.

Morning – we woke to another sunny morning and a dip in the pools. Then on the road again to hike around a local volcano valley. The steam coming off the hot pools were in abundance and the colour of some of these were beautiful. There was a crater full of baby blue steaming water, set deep in the mountains. We opted for the ‘fit’ persons hike, to see more craters, which we didn’t actually end up seeing, due to the overgrow ness of the plant life. But I did nearly die (again) after climbing up an abundance of steps and mountains. Although I felt great afterwards. Funny that – when you do exercise you feel better…!

We then drove down to Lake Taupo and ended up bagging a fishing trip at 4 in the afternoon with a guy named Marty, who took us out on his boat for 2 hours. We expected to catch maybe one fish, but we actually ended up with 3 trout’s…. And was acting like an excited little school girl – until Marty hit them over the head with a plank of wood to kill them. So, now we have 3 fish to eat in 3 days.

I am right now sitting at a campsite in the middle of nowhere on the edge of a National Park, having just BBQ’d 2 of the fish. The BBQ ended up on fire, with 5 foot flames whilst I went back to the camper and James went to the loo. We also realised that we are currently low on petrol, like nearly empty, and the nearest petrol station is 26km away…. So, if we don’t get there tomorrow, we may be walking or hitching a ride part of the way to pick up a jerry can and petrol and then hitching a ride back! Let’s see what tomorrow brings us, on another exciting, but cold, day in awesome NZ!!!

We will keep keeping you posted when we can access free (we r cheapskates) and/or available wifi.

Claire
Xxx

9th March 2010

So, we woke in the morning a bit fearful, of the possible breakdown ahead of us. We got on the road and tried to drive in 5th gear around the mountains, then roll down the hills. James’ expert driving managed to get us into the petrol station at Turangi, 26km backwards to where we were yesterday. Oh well. So we missed out the national park and drove down to just above Wellington. The road was much better to drive on on this route, which will save our costs on petrol.

We ended up at Otaki beach, and checked into a campsite with some half decent facilities at around 3pm. Sunbathing by the pool was a great option, and we seemed to be the only people here ap[art from a couple of people who obviously lived here on a permanent basis. James then gave me a tennis lesson, which was a cross between hilarity and frustration on his part… But I did finally manage to hit a few balls over the net. For dinner, we started to trawl through the vast amounts of trout we have left over and made a chilli trout pasta with a massive can of peas. It tasted awesome. We now have 2 trouts to get through.

We are right now sitting in a café at the Te Papo Museum in Wellington as I write this, and James has managed to skank free internet. My pathetic laptop won’t pick up the signal though as per usual. This evening we are meeting Chris and Lucy, our Kiwi London housemates, on their side of the world for drinks and dinner. We are also staying at theirs and I am quite excited about staying in a place tonite, as much as I do love the campervan.

So hello to all of yous, I hope you have enjoyed our NZ adventiures so far. I will next update you when we reach the South Island.

Toodaldoooo!

Claire
xxx

New Zealand

2010-02-26T23:18:00.002-05:00

Off to NZ tomorrow!!

Next leg

2010-01-27T20:39:00.002-05:00

So we are coming to an end of our stay in Melbourne and we're sad to be moving out of the Manor very soon for the next adventure..

Melbourne has been a good choice for us to begin the travels in Oz, we've been lucky to meet a lot of friends and have generally had a ball over here much like we did in the US. It's going to be hard actually to move on and find a place we like more than Melbourne. I'm told the Gold Coast is the place to be esp during the winter months; so we're thinking of heading there following a few months of traveling armed with a tent and camper van for the travel in New Zealand!

My brother Tim is flying into Melbourne today after a 22 hr flight and we're going to drive up to the Gold Coast via Sydney to give it a once over before Claire and I decide exactly were we'll be looking to live over the winter months. Claire is still in work and wants to save some $$ for New Zealand, so is going to stay here for a few weeks with friends, while we travel.

New Car

2010-01-12T07:32:00.003-05:00

Brought a car for the travels the other week. Ford Falcon 3.8L - V6. Runs pretty sweet and has some serious power as you would expect from a V6 sedan. Brought it with about 60k miles on the clock will be interesting to see what it has on it come the time to sell.

Did a drive out to the Grampians this weekend which was a cool trip camping next to a Kangaroo Paddock. Plan to leave Melbourne for New Zealand in March where we'll reside for a month, before returning to Oz.

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T19:52:00.003-05:00

Very different being out here over Christmas / New Year. Just doesn't get into the same spirit with it being 40 degrees around the Xmas period. Thankfully we had a cold day on Christmas day around 24c.

Thanks to everyone who sent us presents and cards etc to open at Christmas. We did surprisingly well with loads to open; considering we're the other side of the world!

Happy New Year.

Found work

2009-12-02T03:29:00.001-05:00

So we have both found employment on the same day within hours of each other.

Keeping calm and carrying on obviously worked!

Keep Calm and Carry On

2009-11-30T02:21:00.003-05:00

Thought I'd just write a quick travel update and quick it will be, as there isn't too much excitement to report since my last post.

We are continuing in our efforts to find employment down under and both are coming up against a few challenges shall we say, as the end product still hasn't really materialised; namely because of our shite 'holiday working visa' status. We're pretty restricted with opportunities firstly, as we can only work for a company for up to 6 months. Hence no decent company with a half decent role wants touch us in the worry that we'll 'up and leave' . Understandable but pretty challenging, as our intentions are to work over here and not just travel.

On the plus side Claire has a few options which are progressing nicely and I have an interview for a potential 3 week position, but that is about as good as things get with the work front right now.

Australia is treating us pretty well for the most part, excluding their unwillingness to employ us for anything other than picking cotton or pulling apples from a tree. We have a really good house as I wrote before and we've managed to meet some cool people from around world who are living with us in Brighton down under.

Hoping to visit Phillip Island in search of a live Kangaroo this weekend as so far my only sights have either been on the side of the road or on the BBQ.

Looking for a job

2009-11-16T18:08:00.002-05:00

Claire and I have been pretty busy since moving into the new house looking for jobs which has been so far a complete waste of time, as we are both still looking and not coming up with a lot. There seems to be a lot of work in bars and cafes which we may have to resort to if we start running out of $$.

So not much is happening on the travels right now apart from searching websites for employment...

Brighton Beach

2009-11-12T03:15:00.003-05:00

So Claire and I have now moved into our lovely house in Melbourne which is actually located in a placed called Brighton Beach! Such a great area just a few minutes from the beach which actually has sand and sun:)

From a hotel, to a hostel to the back of a van!!

2009-11-08T06:45:00.002-05:00

We've been traveling from Melbourne today along the great ocean road seeing all the many scenic sights a long the route.

Now paying the price for it though as we've are sleeping our first night in a van. Possibly the smallest camper on the market also so pretty interesting times for us both.

Will update later as just off to bed now:)

Oz

2009-11-06T03:50:00.002-05:00

So, we finally get to Oz after a brief stopover in Singapore (40 minutes). We get a cab to the hotel, which turns out to be actually quite nice, and a 15 min train ride into the centre. We knew it was expensive here, but didn’t realise how much. This country is eating up our pounds. So me and James are looking for work as soon as.

The jet lag has only just been conquered, I think that Dubai messed it up half way. We found we were sleeping twice a day. Once from 9pm till 4am, then 5.30 am till 7am. A stupid bird was always wailing from that time. We think someone shot it in the end cos this morning it was not about. They got to it first.

This week has been interesting. We started looking at a place called St Kilda to rent a room. It’s a cool arty bustily place with a lot of youngens. We then spoke to a bloke from Brighton, Yes, There is a Brighton here. And its on the beach. He showed us round a few places on the famous ‘Melbourne Cup’ day, for 2 hours, which was jolly nice of him. Melbourne was dead as everyone had flocked to the races.

We ended up driving up to some mansion house, which I thought was his. Turns out, he rents the rooms out here too. Doesn’t live in it. We enter through a grand hallway after wowing at the outside and auto metal gate. There is a stature here. Through to the lounge and kitchen, its bloody massive. He tells us there are 9 rooms here each with a maximum of 2 people in each room. One kitchen. 2 Jacuzzi baths, one on the roof, with a view to die for, and sun lounge’s. The other one is the size of a small pool and out the back.

Open the door to a room downstairs which is being vacated next week. Its massive. And a king bed. And an en-suite. And flat LCD TV. Spotless. Oh and did I mention a fireplace? In the room? He told us the price and we were sold. We move in next wed. It’s the same price as a nice place closer to the centre, but its only a 15 min rain ride in. and the station and beach is on our doorstep. It’s gorgeous. The downside: Potentially we have to share with 16 others in one kitchen!

We are both still on the job hunt. I have been put forward for an online marketing position which actually sounds fabulous and right up my street. And the bonus is that it’s a walk from my new place. I believe in fate. So surely I will get an interview??!! We shall see. I brought a ‘job interview for dummies book’ today just in case. I’m going to ace this interview if I get it. So, I could be working for the next 6 months in Melbourne.

James is still sorting out his CV which I said was too long and no-one would read all of it. So he got it down from 4 pages to 2. Good going! It’s a bloody pain having to rewrite everything when u leave a job. How many jobs can a person have? I added up all mine and including all my part-time stuff, its 8. This is a lot of jobs!

We have just moved into our hostel where we will be spending the next few nights. Its actually really nice! It opened early 2009 and is right b the centre. You can only get onto each floor with your room key or even access the lift! Everything is nice and new and clean and our room has a balcony. The downsides – hostels here are expensive and we have the main road right outside and not a lot of noise is being blocked out. Well hey, we have ear plugs.

So the plan now is to secure jobs, then we can start paying for trips and do some fun stuff. We will keep u posted!

Dubai

2009-11-06T03:50:00.001-05:00

We left the UK last month to start our travelling escapades. Boarded a plane at Gatwick, to go to the realms of the United Arab Emirates. First stop: Dubai!

Dubai was so much more than we expected. Our money went fairly far and we had a self-contained apartment to keep food costs down. However, we calculated later that it probably would have been just as cost effective to go out for our dinner. You live and you learn.

The first day we trekked down to the nearest beach. The weather was hot, hot, hot and the beach was calm and beautiful. We decided on a sun lounges and umbrella. Used our towels the following day! Took a stroll to one of Dubai’s vast malls and purchased a couple of cool tops. Bershka was the shop. It is a chain and I’m loving it. Google it. We landed back at our place to cook a pasta meal. Opened up the cans of tomatoes we had just purchased to find they were tomato puree. So our sauce had a lot of water mixed with it. Wasn’t bad though. Lasted a couple of days.

Day 2, we went to the beach park. Just like the free beach, but you have to pay to get in. We positioned our towels underneath the coconut trees for some shade. It was ridiculously sweaty hot. I didn’t think anything of it till James said ‘I hope those coconuts don’t fall on us’. It took me back to something I heard about the most deaths in Indonesia are caused by people walking under coconut trees and having one fall on their head. If youn think about the heaviness of them and the gravitational pull and the height of the trees…. Makes sense. I soon moved James to the front of the beach. Neither of us got anymore of a tan than we already had, but it was all good fun.

That evening we asked the hotel reception where a good bar is. She told us Dubai doesn’t have bars, except for the ones in the hotels. So we crossed the road and went in a five star place. Took advantage of their bar, and for being a lady, I was given 2 free drink vouchers! Good times! We did leave after 2 though as it was like a club, with 2 others in here. They had about 10 staff working, and they kept coming over to straighten your drinks and mats. We heard one song at least 15 times. It became so ridiculous that me and James were in hysterics. It is a good job I liked the song. But that really was too, too much. Its not like they didn’t have the staff to sort it out!

Day 3 we jumped in a cab down to the Burj Al Arab, the worlds only 7 star hotel. There is a helipad and tennis court on the roof. They wouldn’t let us in, the riffraff that we are! No, we just needed an appointment, such as a dinner reservation or afternoon tea. That is something that we have to do on our way back. So we settled for the public beach along the road and took a couple of photos then continued with our swimming and sun worshipping.

Half way into the day, a group of girls came on the beach, I think from India and were lo9ving the water. They were in, saris and all, splashing around. They beckoned me to come over and take a picture for them. Then they wanted a picture of me. They took turns each standing with me while the others took a picture. I actually felt like a celebrity. It was also a bit weird. I guess they don’t see westerners all that much, if ever.

That eve, we went home to enjoy a lush vegetable curry made by James, then ventured ourt to the Emirates towers and went up to the 52md level for a drink in their bar. The views over Dubai were stunning at night. Next tower, the Burj.

So, we ended up at Dubai’s largest tower, to find a new shopping mall. It was humongous. So big. There was an aquarium in the centre. Two people were scuba diving in it. Mental. There was also a huge fountain with silver men diving off. The food was in abundance and we went for a burger…..! After all that gallivanting, it was time for bed.

Next stop: Oz, finally!

Our new Mansion house in Melbourne

2009-11-04T21:07:00.004-05:00

www.abodeonline.com.au/maysbury.html

Arrived in Oz finally

2009-11-03T18:52:00.000-05:00

So quite a lot has happened since I last posted to the blog. Claire and I returned home for about 3 weeks to get Claire checked over before beginning the travels again.

We managed to book our flight from London to Oz with Emirates and got a deal which goes via Dubai on the way there and back to break up the punishing journey. (I’ve been here in Oz for a few days now when writing this and am still in a world of pain from the jet lag, getting up at 4am still).

So we took a morning flight to Dubai on 26 oct and arrived into 30C .8pm Dubai time. We stayed in a 3 star hotel as needed to save on the $$ after a costly trip home so unfortunately the 7 star hotel had to wait this time round. We were here in Dubai for 4 nights and what a place it is. The buildings over here were second to none, by far the most modern place we’ve traveled to. Didn’t get to visit as many hotels as we probably should of this time, but we have a week planned there on our return; so will do so then. This time around we just mainly chilled out by the beach relaxing in preparation for the 18 hour journey to Melbourne.

The flight to Melbourne was harsh as expected with a quick break in Singapore for a stretch of the legs and a refuel, arriving in Oz the next day about 9am. Headed straight to the hotel and slept for a very long time..

First impressions of Oz / Melbourne have been really positive. Melbourne looks a fab place to live for the next few months. A city that reminds me of London in many ways just 1000% less people so much more chilled out. We’ve been pretty busy over the last few days looking for a place to live and actually found something yesterday so we’ll be moving to Brighton Beach south Melbourne, in a mansion house by the sea☺ The house we’ve landed is a share house with about 8 other rooms so not as great as it first sounds but nevertheless it is a beautiful building and our room is pretty amazing & fully kitted out with everything so we can just move in with our cases which is ideal. We’ll post so images when we’ve moved in..

So the next steps are to find a job☹ just heading into town now to have a look about. Australia doesn’t appear to be in recession like the rest of the world so fingers crossed.

Making the long flight back to OZ

2009-10-23T04:00:00.002-04:00

So Claire and I will be heading back out to Oz this Monday now as Claire has the all clear to travel from her Doc.

We'll be flying to Dubai for 4 nights then taking a 16 hour journey via Singapore (for gas) to Melbourne where we hope to settle for a few months and actually do some work!

Really looking forward to finally reaching Oz although some huge apprehensions from us both at this stage, as we've just discovered how expensive Oz is esp with the £ being so low. Hoping to find work pretty soon after arriving.

Back to the UK

2009-10-05T04:52:00.002-04:00

So Claire and I are now back in the UK following a harsh 20 hr plus Journey from Singapore.

Claire hasn't been feeling too great since leaving the US so the travels are now on hold. - Everything is fine with Claire's health so no been to worry!

Pretty confusing feeling being back. Will be good to enjoy a good Indian and see everyone again though.

Anybody fancy going for a drink

Woken up by an Earthquake

2009-09-18T22:35:00.002-04:00

Survived the Bail Earthquake!!

Got woken up this morning to an Earthquake about 30 miles from us! Was a little strange but nothing too major..

Off to Ubud for the day now inland so hopefully no more shocks..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8264169.stm

Road trip update

2009-09-04T23:19:00.001-04:00

August 28th

Just now making our way from Palm Springs to Flagstaff, which according to the Tom Tom will be taking us about 6 hours.

Since I last posted quite a lot has happened; we now have Ross, Carrie Katie and Laura travelling with us along with a massive people carrier for the Rd trip. The others arrived about 3pm pacific time after a long 11.5 hour flight from Heathrow. That evening we headed to the forum to see Kings of Leon which was about 2 miles from our Inglewood Super 8 motel (possibly the worst place in America). Kings of Leon was awesome however so that defo made up for the grotty location for that evening.

The next day Sunday 23rd we headed to Ihop for a typically large American breakfast then to Venice beach for some summer followed but some window shopping in Rodeo Drive. That evening we drove to our hostel in Hollywood which was surprisingly expensive and not surprisingly a shack. The location was actually OK to make up for the Banana bungalows rooms as we could get a shot of the Hollywood sign.

Monday 24th was spent at Universal studios. We went on quite a few rides, including Jurassic Park and The Simpsons Crusty Simulator. We all agreed that the Mummie Rollercoaster with it’s unexpected twist and turns was the hi8ghlight. After getting our pictures taken with Bart and Homer, we then drove that evening to San Diego via an Outback Steakhouse which was really good food enjoyed by all and then onto our Holiday Inn on San Diego bay. Spent the evening drinking on the balcony playing never have I ever… we were then told to shut up at 2 in the morning and take our shananagans into the hotel room!

Tuesday 25th

Due to the amount of driving and drinking from yesterday, in that order! We decided to have a chilled one by the pool today. The weather was perfect and pool was gorgeous. Then we ended the day with more drinking shananagans.

Wednesday 26th

Went to the Pacific Beach on Mission Bay. The beach was a lot more normal, ie normal looking people without ridiculous boob jobs, fat lips and no meat on their bones. Went out in the evening to the gas lamp district for a Mexican and a margarita or two. Tried to get into a bar after our meal, but San Diego were very hot on ID and wouldn’t except our driving licence so we could get in which suxed. Since when are drivers licences not proof of age, eh?

Thursday 27th

Drove to Palm Springs and spent the evening in a hotel / Casino. The weather was grim when we arrived late in the evening about 100 degrees. Didn’t do a lot except sneak six of us into our 4 person booking by dropping 2 of us round the corner.

Friday 28th

Drove about 400 miles to Flagstaff via Phoenix…. Phoenix was stupidly hot and not much was happening there. We went and ate at a Greek restaurant, which everyone agreed was one of the best meals had since in the US!

Saturday 29th

Drove to the Grand Canyon to see the stunning natural wonder of the world. There were breathtaking views of lots of different coloured rocks and erosion evidence. Bloody huge it was. Then that evening to Las Vegas. Coming up over the horizon to the sight of the Vegas lights was as breathtaking as seeing the canyon! We went to the casino and I bet $20 on the black. I won so doubled my money. Good gambling start!

Sunday 30st

Spent the day in Las Vegas chilling after checking into our 5 star suite at the MGM grand. Went out in the evening to the MGM Grand – some saw the lions – in the hotel! Then we went to Plant Hollywood hotel to see girls dancing on poles by the roulette tables and then had a PF Changs. After, we went to the Bellagio to see the exquisite inside.

Monday 31st

Spent the day in Vegas, chilling by the pool in about 110 degrees. In the evening we went out to Outback Steakhouse again. Then off to see the fountain show at the Bellagio. Then off to Caesars Palace for Cheesecake and then the Mirage and Harrah’s for a few drinkies. Then back to the MGM Grand to win more money in the casino. Apparently the nightclubs don’t open on Sunday or Monday so we didn’t get to do any dancing…

Tuesday 1st

Drove to Bakersfield from Vegas… not a great place. Warning signs on the hotel that the building had cancerous causing chemicals in it. Straight to the shop to buy water for our consumption…!

Wednesday 2nd

Drove for a long time to Yosemite via some off road dirt road which was eventful…We should have not continued with Tim, the sat nav as we ended up on ‘non county maintained roads’ which should have rung a bell in our heads. Once we ended up on blatant only 4 wheel drive roads and scrapping the car along them, we decided to turn back for a bit more scrapping and find the main road. All the girls hesitantly exited the vehicle in bear country to make the scrapping lighter. We had a green noodle to protect us from the bears, coyotes and mountain lions…. Finally ending up at our cool cabin in the mountains with an upstairs fit for Alice in wonderland. A few well deserved beers were consumed after a fantastic homemade meal of vegetable curry was consumed, made by Carrie.

Thursday 3rd

Chilled at Yosemite after finding out about National Park fires that would limit our visit to the beautiful places. Laura got stung by a wasp and then Claire and Laura made up a synchronise swim which was caught on camera. That eve, Claire and James made chilli. We then set our alarm for 7.30 the next morning to rise early and go to Lake Tahoe.

Friday 4th

All woke up at 10 except Ross who drove to get more food for our fridge that was to be emptied 2 hours later. Cleaned the cabin and left for our rather long drive to Tahoe. We are now currently sitting in the car.

Rd trip images

2009-08-31T22:22:00.002-04:00

Here are a few images from the first week of the Rd trip with Ross, Laura, Katie & Carrie...

http://picasaweb.google.com/Jsbeswick/RdTrip?authkey=Gv1sRgCPSKm_PfkI-Ucw&feat=directlink

Middle of the Desert - Blythe

2009-08-28T16:38:00.001-04:00

We are now traveling to Flagstaff for the Gran Canyon tomorrow. Currently in 117 degrees in a Starbucks in Blythe!! Crazy heat here

LA

2009-08-22T12:05:00.000-04:00

August 22nd

LA - Claire and I are now in LA just returning from a day out in Hollywood, back to our hotel which is by LA airport. We have just been to the Universal studio shopping centre and managed to spend over $300 between us in Abercrombie which is pretty bad especially as I've put it all on my card! Some nice stuff and fun however. To make up for the spend we will be eating in Dennys tonight I think!!

Got everyone coming in LA tomorrow to officially begin the RD trip "Bucks and Brighton do America". Meeting the jet lagged crew tomorrow at 2:15pm Pacific time. 12:15am GMT. Following this we will be going to a gig in the evening Kings of Leon which should be a great way to kick start the trip. Just hoping the other aren't too jet lagged.

So from finishing Camp Claire and I took the bus the camp laid on to NYC; which was a yellow school bus in true Towanda fashion. The trip was pretty grim to be fair but we finally made it and our hotel in Wall St defo made up for the shite journey. Stayed at the Guid Hall Thompson hotel which was really great, I really enjoyed being in Wall St for the few days. NYC was pretty busy as you would expect, we actually managed to chill as best we could for the two days. Camp pretty much exhausted us both so we missed out on the parties everyone else had at the Mean Fiddler and such Irish bars in Times Sq.

Following NYC we took a long flight for 5 hours to LA. Decided to fly this time and not drive:) Much easier. Virgin America our airline were really good also; especially liked the online shopping for your food and drinks at your seat. You could also get on the net while flying which I thought was pretty cool.

After arriving in LA we headed to the car rental place and picked up a white Mustang which again I enjoyed probably more than Claire. So we had a Mustang for three days and spontaneously decided to drive to the Big Sur and do the Highway 1 route. Had a really great drive for 5 hours and saw some amazing sights.

I've nearly arrived at LAX now so will stop....

August 11th

2009-08-15T15:14:00.000-04:00

Just three days remain of employment before Claire and I now are officially unemployed. Getting quite excited now to leave camp and begin travelling.

Really excited to have a bed that isn’t in a cabin full of 11 year olds, looking forward to some real food that isn’t camp sloppy joes or hotdogs and burgers, looking forward to being able to actually spend more than 20 minuets at a time with Claire, looking forward to no morning bugle and no evening 12pm curfew. The time has come to leave now for sure, although I think we both will say the summer has been a lot of fun and a great experience certain things are finality starting to take its toll.

August 2nd

2009-08-15T15:12:00.000-04:00

Raining again – not been the greatest weather this summer at camp. We seem to have a day of clear very hot weather followed by a day of 4 inches worth of rain. Hoping that the weather picks up a little of the last couple of weeks. We now actually only have 12 days remaining until camp ends and Claire and I officially become unemployed and get to enjoy some free time and travel.

Camp for the most part has been positive for Claire and I; hard work and long hours but worth it. A good experience for Claire, great for me to catch up with some friends from a few years back and great for us both to get the opportunity to make so many new friends from around the world.

We had a Football match last night against another camp. Managed to sneak a 1-0 win. Kick-off was about 11pm (after we had finished for the day). Which might give you an idea of how long the days are at times here. Typically we finish up after the evening activity at around 9:30pm and head straight for the bar for a couple of pissy American beers (Bud / Corrs Light) which cost around $7 for about 3 pints. Last day off a guy from the U.K Adam Ditch and I managed about 7 hours of drinking in Scranton and didn’t even get pissed because the beer is so weak here. Not like the Stella back home. But I guess for £1 a pint you cannot complain.

I think after we finish up here on August 14th we will head into NYC and stay a couple of nights the leave for LA on the 17th. When in LA we have a Mustang booked for the first week Claire and I are together, then on 22nd we meet with Ross, Carrie, Laura & Katie for the Road trip where we’ll be hiring a full sized SUV for 3 week. Firstly we plan to see the King Of Leon in LA on the 22nd then travel from LA to San Diego

Fun at Camp

2009-07-28T10:19:00.002-04:00

Hi All!

Gosh we are both soooo busy at present and do not get a lot of time to update you all. But I have a couple of minutes now, so can give you a little update on what is going on in the world of Claire and James.

We have 17 days left of camp.... really not long, and the time has flown by. We have been so busy over here taking care of the kids and taking pics, me and teaching soccer, James. Its been fun but tiring. We are looking forward to starting the travels in LA soon afterwards.

I hope you are all well and if there is any gossip or anything i need to know, just drop me an email. Obviously we are a bit out of the know over here.

I am going to do Yoga on my next day off and then go to the falls that are near to the camp. only if the weather is good though. My phone will not work as I have no credit on it, so no-one contact me on this unless u are sending me a text which I may get. I will be getting a US sim card soon, or you can contact James on his US phone if you need to.

Love u all, and miss u loads,

Claire xxx

Camp

2009-07-22T20:31:00.000-04:00

So a lot has been happening over the last month since flying back from Costa Rica. So much that the last month has really been only a blur for Claire and I. We've been so busy with our jobs, that we have hardly seen each other so hence why the blog has hardly been used.

I've been running the Football department for the last month and Claire has been taking thousands of photos. For the most part things have been good. Made a lot of new friends from all around which will be great when travelling.

Managed to get some travel in while working and have been to NYC, Philly & Atlantic City on our days off which have been pretty cool.

We have just four weeks now left of camp and then onto California to meet with Ross, Carrie, Katie & Laura for our Bucks and Brighton do the USA tour.

Manhattan

2009-07-16T12:22:00.003-04:00

Just sitting in a cafe in Manhattan on our day off.

We have been sooo busy so haven't had time to write - but we are having a blast and will update again soon.

Blog fix

2009-06-18T23:47:00.002-04:00

I have fixed the blog Claire setup so all should be able to make comments now...

I can also post with my own account too

Juan Santamaría airport

2009-06-18T22:15:00.000-04:00

So I'm back to Juan Santamaría airport a week later. Staying in a little budget hotel in Alajuela called the Green Day hotel which is actually really quite accommodating. They have fixed me up with a bed, hot shower and a Corona, so I cannot complain.

Anajuela is about 5 mins from the airport too and seems much safer than the grot hole that is San Jose.

Drove here today from Palo Seco going via Jaco. Parked up right outside the hostel I stayed in to get internet access and grab a KFC (couldn't resist). Upon parking the Toyota I had a bit of a mare however; reversed into some old dear' flower pot and sent it flying. She had conveniently placed it just behind the parking bay. Luckily no damage was made to the Toyota but some considerable damage was made to the flower pot, so feeling guilt decided to through her 10,000 costa rican colones for the troubles. This is about £10. She seemed pretty delighted with the gesture so all was well.

The drive from Jaco was pretty intense to be honest. Was armed with nothing but a little map of the country which Manuel kindly supplied. Luckily one road takes you from Palo Seco to San Jose (or at lease Manuels map implied that). Didn't find this was actually the case but was not too much bother as their road signs were pretty good to be fair. The difficulty cane about when I started to hit the rainforest. Had some serious mountain valleys to slalom. The sights were very beautiful so driving for about 3 hours of today was worth the trip.

Flying in Newark tomorrow and am looking forward to seeing Claire and catching up with all the fun I have been missing at Camp this week.

Costa Rica

Playa Palo Seco

2009-06-17T10:37:00.000-04:00

Playa Palo Seco

Checked out of the hostel and was pleased to see the back of the place. Picked up my hire car for $35 p/d and set off on my journey to find my next hotel. First time I'd drove in CR, but they have one road which connects San Jose, Jaco & Manuel Antionio so I figured it would be OK to navigate. Although I did push for a GPS the hire company in typical Costa Rican fashion couldn't get me one until the next day; or so they said.

So drove from Jaco to Playa Palo Seco with pretty much no problems apart from the pot holes. Never seen anything like it. I thought I'd killed the Toyota on a number of occasions leading to the hotel. Luckily all was well and I arrived in the most secluded beach resort I've ever been, with all four wheels in tacked.

Checked into the Timarai Bamboo Resort, was told there was no electricity due to a big storm last night but I would be upgraded to a sea view room. I was pretty pissed about the electric as needed relax and shower after the drive but thought it was good of Manuel to upgrade me.

Manuel the owner turns out to be a legend and has upgraded me to their best room; two double beds, kitchen, living room, study area, two bathrooms, balcony with a hammock. The place is amazing and all I paid was $65 a night. Total contrast from the shack hostel in Jaco (a bit of luck I needed). Just chilled for the rest of the day around the resort and enjoyed the sea views, isolation & hammock.

Playa Palo Seco day 2

Headed to Manuel Antionio for the day. Such an amazing place. Went into the national park which set me back $10 and well worth it. Got to see loads of animals, such as monkeys, sloth’s, snakes, poisonous crabs, lizards. The beach in the park was stunning, I'll upload some images. Today has made the travels to CR seem worth the troubles. Just chilled in the evening at the hotel zzz.

Jaco

2009-06-17T10:34:00.000-04:00

Jaco

Arrived in Jaco by taking the hotel transfer which was $27! Considerably more than the regular bus but due to not feeling safe at all in San Jose opted for this. A good choice also as I was dropped off at my hostel XYZ. The drive was pretty awesome as we made our way though the rain forest which was such an amazing sight. Just wish I could have seen more of those sites.

So I arrive at my hostel in Jaco and things seem ok at first; I was shown around given a quick overview to Jaco (where I could obtain booze / food / access the beach) and finally given the keys to my room.

I decided to get a private room as this was my first hostel experience in some time and it was like a prison cell which costs $30. No windows, bugs in the room, most uncomfortable bed, a tiny sheet but thankfully air con, so I didn't have to swelter in the cell. That night I decided to head into the town to get some food and grab a couple of beers with the intention of returning to the hostel to meet some fellow hostel friends I met while being shown around. Ended up just getting some food then going back to my cell, as I was too tired from the jet lag.

Jaco Day 2
Just chilled on the beach for an hour or two first thing. Then back to the hostel to plan my day tomorrow and for the rest of my time in Costa Rica. I decided hiring a car would make sense as Costa Rica is a bit of a mission to get around by public transport; at least in comparison with Europe that is. Also decided after the hostel that I could do no more hostelling and had a hunt for a basic hotel around the Manuel Antionio area as I was hoping to visit the park.

At Camp!

2009-06-13T20:17:00.000-04:00

Hello! Bonjour! Hola!

I've been at Camp for 2 days now. Everyone makes u feel really welcome and i'm taking tons of pics of stuff around camp. The kids aren't here yet. Just getting into the swing of things first.

Last Wednesday me and James spent the day in Central Park in the boating lake- on a boat and I rowed!, Then we walked the length of central park, went to the World Trade Center site, and then walked down Fifth Avenue. There were so many lush shops. We walked into Abercrombie and Fitch and there was a half naked guy with a woman taking pics. She asked if i wanted one, so I posed with the shirt off bloke! Got a polaroid and will post here soon!

We went into FAO Swartz too. A toy store which is as awesome as Hamleys. The sweets looked amazing. We didn't buy anything. Just used their loo then left and went to TGI's!

TGI's: THE place for travellers to hang. Happy hour at the bar was all night. $3 drinks. And a free food buffet. You could go in and get a drink and dinner for $3! aAlright if you love their food, which we both do! They also had half price apetizers which was very appealing. Especially when the buffalo wings appeared and they tasted deeeeelicious!

At 11pm we decided we needed to post some headphones back to the UK. Hey we had had a few! No, really. James picked up his families Skype headset so they couldnt contact us for free. Have u ever heard of a post office that opens past 5pm in England? No... not ever. And this one was in a columed building the size of massive train station. So respect to the Americans for this amazing postal service with equally amazingly helpful staff.

We then went onto Times Square where I told officers from the New York Police Department how amazing they were. Hence they posed for a picture with me. We then made it back to our "local" hotel in 2 hours...!

It was an awesome day!

So now I am at camp as the photographer and media team. It's been raining a lot since I got here, but it was nice yesterday and this morning. I have 2 pairs of wet trainers due to me not having any wellies. Hey, they wouldn't fit in my cases! Which fell off the trolley at the airport about 15 times!

I have stayed at camp for 2 nights now. Each nite after camp, went down the pub. Or bar. It's a bit of a driving trek, but its sooo fun. About the only time you can get dressed up. I'm a hoodie, shorts and sneakers gal now!

And James is in Costa Rica with very similar weather. I bet it's hot over there still in the UK.... Don't tell me if it is! I will post again soon.

Please note: The comments don't seem to be working at the mo.... I need to fix them. So if u want to make a comment, just add it to my Facebook page for now.

Let the fun times continue!

San Jose

2009-06-13T13:36:00.000-04:00

So I've been in San Jose now for two nights and am very glad to be leaving in a few hours.

The place is rank. Nothing to see here, pretty dangerous, weather is shite; I could go on.

Am getting a shuttle bus to Jaco @ 3:30pm. The trip is about 2.5 hours so should be checking into my hostel around 6pm. Really hoping Jaco is an improvement to SJ.

Written by James

Costa Rica

2009-06-12T11:23:00.000-04:00

Arrived in Costa Rica San Jose last night after a long day of traveling from NYC. In Costa Rica on my own as Claire stated work in the US a week early. I was offered $25 a day to work at camp this week, work involed painting / general labour so I declined the offer and traveled to Costa Rica.

Seems pretty nice from what I have seen so far. Staying at the Best Western in San Jose which is pretty nice. Weather is hot also but much cooler than I was expecting a mere 80 degrees right now. Having a bit of a nightmare with their currency it is about 1000 Costa Rica Colones to the pound so my wallet is pretty heavy with notes (only about £100's worth of cash).

Written by James

Touch Down!

2009-06-09T20:53:00.000-04:00

Touched down in NY at 12.30. Plane journey went prettu fast as their were lots of films to choose from.Now staying at a hotel near the airport where aeroplanes keep flying over us. Ordered a Dominos pizza online at 1.30 UK time! Looking forward to pizza, sleep and a day hanging out in Manhatten tomorrow.

1 Day to go!

2009-06-08T13:19:00.001-04:00

Today is the last full day in the UK for a year and a half. Tomorrow at 4pm, we will be jetting accross the Atlantic for a stint in New York at Camp America. Exciting times! During all the excitement, you realise how much you are going to miss those who are close to you and cannot visit when you want to. Its gonna be awesome, but will take a while to get into the fried food that is being served up for us at the Camp. Lets hope I don't come back with a huge belly and look like Mr Creosote, eh. You can contact me at anytime through skype, msn or email and you can keep uptodate with our adventures on this blog. We will try and update here at least twice a week.

Let the fun times begin!