Bye bye NZ, hello Chile

We said goodbye to Jan and Ray yesterday in a blustery Auckland. We’ve had an wonderful time in New Zealand, hence the lack of posts on the blog.

We were only able to spend 7 days on the North Island, so trying to fit things in was a bit of a rush. Quite possibly the highlight was the glowworm caves at the Waitomo. There are hundreds of thousands of little specs of light on the ceilings of underwater rivers. The things themselves look like bits of snot close up but are beautiful from far off. They use the light to attract insects that are drawn into the caves along the rivers, and trap them on threads hanging down. You get taken on a silent boat ride on the river and just look up – just like looking up at the stars.

Jan and Ray got dragged (almost literally) up chairlifts to Mt Ruapehu, NZ´s largest active volcano – the one the erupted in 1995. We also visited close-by Rotorua, where there is some serious thermal activity with geysers, mudpools and thermal springs.

Last stop was at Whitianga on the Coromandel peninsula, a chilled and beautiful motel by a beach to chill out before our journey across the Pacific and Jan / Ray’s trip to the Bay of Islands.

Going across the International Date Line is a bit bewildering; leaving Auckland on Friday evening and arriving in Santiago on Friday afternoon after a 11hr flight. Becs is still in bed resting but I’ve been shopping and had a brief look around – just looks like a big city but there are these massive snow topped mountains to the east! Looking forward to exploring the bar scene after some free wine tasting at the hostel.

Internet is free at the hostel in Santiago so I should be able to upload some of the photos of NZ, maybe tomorrow.

We’re in Santiago for a couple of days, then Valparaiso on the coast, then flying to Easter Island for 5 days. We weren’t planning on going there but it seems rude not to being so close (3500km or a 5 hr flight) we thought we might as well. It will be amazing to see the statues (moai) up close. The diving there is supposed to be spectacular too, with 40-60m vis all the time, as well as hiking, cycling and surfing!

Send us some emails and let us know how you’re getting on.

Love Paul and Becs.

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