Lake Taupo

Well we had a great time hanging out with my friend Keith in New Plymouth. Lots of late nights and early mornings, but alot of fun. Yesterday we left there and traveled to Wanganui and through a National park which was absolutely stunning. We were heading for Whakapapa to snowboard and on the way we passed three active Volcanoes which were cool.

When we arrived to snowboard we could'nt see the mountain as it was raining as only it can in New Zealand. We decided to head on to Lake Taupo and are here now. It's very beautiful and also the largest lake in New Zealand. Well the plan is to go the Huka falls today and mabye go Jet boating as well. Our decision to leave Whakapapa turned out to be the right one as all the slopes are closed due to bad weather today.

Were off now to explore the lake and will head to Rotorua tomorrow to see the volcanic areas of the north island. Thinking of all those at teen st this week, it's strange not being there with them, but we could be in worse places than here I suppose. Talk soon.

Moving on...

Just to let you know that we're leaving New Plymouth now to head inland to Whakapapa, Tuapo, Rotorua and then Auckland. We have 5days to pack in a lot. We'll update you as soon as we get internet again. Only 3 and a bit weeks left before we're back in Ireland. Looking forward to seeing everyone. xo

New Zealand ~ North Island Part 2

Ok so we're in the North Island we had 2days in Wellington city before driving north/west for 4 1/2hrs to arrive at New Plymouth and meet Keith. Having a great time just hanging out and relaxing a bit more. It's nice not to be running around like lunatics and we're giving our legs a much deserved break. Well at least until we decided to take hike up a hill, well at least that's what we thought it would be. It actually turned out to be climbing rock faces a bit. But it was great, scary but great. We went to a rugby match as well tonight, which was great fun. We watched Genesis Taranaki and Tasman Makos play. They have an all blacks player on the Taranaki team. It was fun to be sitting with all the Kiwis and supporting their team and getting quite annoyed at the ref with them. Best of all was that for 2 tickets we only paid $10. Mine (Linda) was free and Alex's was $10 due to a voucher I got in a clothes shop when I bought some stuff, how bad eh. Tomorrow we're going to see Taranaki mountain and on monday we hope to head for a few days to the centre of the island to Whakapapa (pronounced Fhakapapa)village and go snowboarding. So hoping for good weather so we can head there, after snowboarding we're gonna see Rotorua and Lake Taupo. Then on the 2nd of August to Auckland for 2days before we leave New Zealand for our next destination Hawaii!! Will be nice to get to some heat again and sit on the beach ah yes that will be good. Will post up pics again so you can see what we've been up to. Enjoy.

Queenstown

Well we arrived late last night to Queenstown. This country has some amazing scenery. We had 10hrs travel on the bus even though we had been told it would be 5hrs. Anyhow we saw some fab scenery and even some Lord of the Rings places where they filmed. We were supposed to fly to Milford sound today (Saturday) but unfortunately the winds were high and the snow came down, which travel not possible. We could do a bus tour there but it would take 5hrs to get there for a 2hr cruise to come back 5hrs on the bus again and that’s as long as the weather is good. So we have decided since we only have 1more day here really that we will just enjoy the scenery here in Queenstown. After yesterday we’re sick of buses. So tomorrow we head out on a cruise round the lake here at Queenstown and then head up a Gondola to see a haka show and the views from the mountain. I think it hit us today that we’re actually wrecked from so much traveling so it’ll be nice to do some more relaxing things. On Monday we fly to Wellington and then head to New Plymouth to Alex’s friend. Alex is really looking forward to seeing him and I’m really looking forward to meeting this famous Keith. He’s always talking about him. So I’m gonna try and upload some more pics for ye to see and I’ll update again when we get to the North Island. Hope everyone is well. Despite all the traveling and all we’re seeing we do miss everyone and can’t wait to see you all.

New Zealand ~ South Isl Part 1

Hey guys,

So we've arrived at the south island and what an incredible place it is.We arrived into Wellington very late sunday evening. Stayed in a hotel for a few hours and got early to catch our flight to the South Island to Christchurch. Some of you will be happy to hear when we arrived into Christchurch we were greeted by freezing temperatures and even some fog and misty rain. Luckliy we had only Monday aft and Tuesday there as on wednesday we left for Franz Josef, where we are right now. We finally found a Christian bookstore on our travels. It was nice to meet some Christians and buys some books. We have been looking for a bookstore since we started to travel and had no luck in finding any until just tuesday. We were walking back from Pak n Save (food store) and I saw the word bible and manna and looked up and there was a store. We have no doubt it was good and we got so refreshed and recharged in that store with the Christians we met there. We meet some lovely people and have some contacts now in Christchurch.

Anyhow back to the travels, we arrived into Franz Josef which is on the West coast at about 5pm yesterday. We had a beautiful scenic train journey, which we highly recommend if any one is ever out here. Then we got a bus at 1.30pm till 5, which brought us through some stunning scenery of the Southern Alps and coastline. Then we arrived at this tiny little town called Franz Josef. It is so peaceful here. We went for a random walk last night through a forest and saw tons of glow worms. It was amazing and there were thousands of stars in the sky. It was something I think we'll never forget. Then this morning we went on a heli-hike. It was FLIPPIN amazing!!!!! We have brill pics just trying to upload them. We went on a 10min helicopter ride up through mountains and the glacier. It is one of the most amazing experiences I think we've ever had. We spent 2hrs trekking round part of the glacier, going through ice caves and seeing blue ice and crevasses. God is amazing what a world he has created and today and last night were incredible examples of that. We head to Queenstown tomorrow and have a 5hr coach journey ahead but are looking forward to more of God's creation. This place is the most beautiful we have ever seen. So diverse right now I'm sitting on a red bus, which is an internet cafe looking out at glaciers up on the mountains in front of me and looking at rainforest beside me and then to my right we have streams and green fields and the sea. Oh and blue perfect skies with snow on the mountains. Amazing huh!!! Praise God for an amazing time and all his faithfulness and blessings to us so far. They are new every morning. What an experience.

Sydney Part 2

As we write this we know this will get us into trouble but we're sorry to say that the weather has been great since we blogged last. We had one day of rain and it's been cold but sunny and cloudy with blue skies peeking through for the last week. For us it's been great as it would have made horrible sight seeing. So since we last blogged our legs are in bits from all the walking but we think we've lost some weight so that's a good thing.

We met Tracey and Vera and their cousin last tuesday and hung out at the Rocks and the bridge for the afternoon. It was great to see them and catch up with them. they were in great form but just cold from lack of winter clothing. But they were buying some warmer gear when we met them. We've done a bit of shopping and even got to buy another bag which will be great as we can put all the bits and pieces we've been carrying as hand luggage in it. We've pretty much stayed in the city over the last few days as it's too cold and unpredictable weather wise to travel out anywhere. It's been nice to just stay in one spot for awhile. We're off to New Zealand on Sunday so we'll have plenty of sight seeing to do there so the rest (ha kind of rest) has been good. Anyhow we'll blog when we get to New Zealand enjoy the pics. We've put up more and even put up a few of the barrier reef. Talk soon. we miss you all sooooo much. Lots of love, Linda & Alex

Arrived in Sydney

Well we've made it to Sydney. Had a lovely last few days in Cairns going to the rainforest and seeing so much fab scenery. Left fab temperatures of 24oC to arrive into Sydney to winds, rain and temps of 10oC so we're frozen but feeling like we're at home hehe. Loving Sydney it's a fab city and we've only been here a few hours really. On our way to Harbour bridge and Opera house. We're wrapped up in vests, and layers of clothers and have gloves an hats it's that cold. Will update soon.

Cairns Part 2.

Hey all hope this finds you well. Cairns is so cool, you have to come here and check it out for yourself. The temperature is 25 degrees with no wind and sunny all day. The people are friendly but it is a bit expensive.

Yesterday we had a really fun day, although we didn’t end up going to the reef because we were both not too well instead we went to Cairns Tropical Zoo. Animals we saw included wallabies, kookaburras, macaws, eagles, wombats, koalas, cassowaries and some seriously big crocks. Linda got to hold a Koala, which she has wanted to do since I met her. We both held a small crock and I held a pretty big snake which was a little scary. We saw a bird show with all sorts of birds, which was amazing. It was a good day, not to stressful but really nice.

Hell yes, today we got to go to the Great Barrier Reef. It was truly incredible, we got to see Nemo, Wally, a giant turtle, held some reef life and there were even Minky whales hanging around the boat.

We went snorkeling for three hours, which was great. The water was 24 degrees so spent some of the time without a wettie. I spent a very nervous morning contemplating whether or not to do a dive to the ocean floor, to a depth of between 30-40 feet. In the end I bit the bullet and gave it a shot. Unfortunately Linda was not aloud to dive today because a combination of her cold and titinitus, meant that she could not equalize her ears and therefore her dive was cancelled, this absolutely sucked and we were both very disappointed.

As you descend you have to keep breathing constantly, which might seem obvious but is difficult to remember when you are swimming to the bottom equalizing your ears and clearing your mask of water. Anyway apart from all that it was a cool experience and got a good photo on the bottom of the reef. We are both pretty tired tonight and everything is still moving from the boat, and diving made me feel like someone was sitting on my chest so should sleep well tonight. Another great day on this incredible trip. Tomorrow we head to the rain forests in a cable car so should be good. Take care will keep you all updated.

Cairns Part 1

Ok so we’re in Cairns and the place is brilliant. It is so relaxing here, the pace of life is just to chill out and enjoy the surroundings. We arrived into Cairns after many flights and transfers through three countries in one day. But so glad to be here. We worked out how many miles we’ve flown and how many hours we’ve traveled so here’s what we’ve done so far. Now this isn’t including all the hours of sightseeing, shopping and TONS of walking. But we thought you would find it interesting ~

Total miles flown so far 13,601
Total hours in airports 21½ hrs
Total hours in transport to & from airports 7¾ hrs
Total number of countries so far 4 (Hong Kong, Bali, Malaysia, Australia)

So now you know what we’ve covered so far. Our plan here for Cairns is to go to the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow for 5hrs of snorkeling and we’re even going diving!!! We are going take the opportunity and take the plunge hehe. We’re both really nervous as we asked about what we might see and apart from fish and MASSIVE fish we should see giant sea turtles and reef sharks. Now that part freaks us out, oh and the fact that we’ll be diving. So please pray for safety and fun, I have this fear that I’ll (Linda) panic as we go under. Also Alex isn’t feeling the best and I think I’m coming down with a cold so would appreciate prayer that we would get better. It’s hard to enjoy everything fully especially if we’re going to go diving tomorrow we need to be in good health.

We’ve been so blessed with the weather everywhere we’ve gone so far, which makes a nice change considering we always have freaky weather when we travel and the weather at home is always way better. While we were in Hong Kong there were floods and mud slides in China while in Hong Kong we got rain but it wasn’t awful. While we were in Bali we had amazing weather everyday and when we went to Kuala Lumpur the weather was hot but fab. When we came back to Bali for the day we heard that for the last 3days (while we were away) they had terrible freak rain and it flooded Bali, but the day we came back it was fab again. When we arrived in Cairns yesterday we were told that last week and the month of June had been awful and that everything was dull and misty rain and we would have seen nothing on the Great Barrier Reef and everyone came back from tours sick due to high winds and a lot of bobbing around on the sea. This week is forecast to be perfect with clear skies and temperatures around 24oC and the sea winds only 10-15 knots, which apparently is perfect. So whoever is praying for a great trip for us THANK YOU and keep it up. God is really blessing and watching over us. Well gotta go and get ready for tomorrow morning. We get up quite early and it’s already nearly ten in the evening. We will be sure to blog how the diving and the Reef goes. Talk to you soon. Linda & Alex. Xo

Australia!!!

Well we have landed on Australian soil!!! So tired from lack of sleep but excited to be on our next part of the trip. Just waiting on a flight from Darwin to Cairns so found decent internet connection and thought we'd drop you a quick line to update you. Will load more pics up of rest of Bali. Oh speaking of which when we got into Bali today there was a big Hindu ceremony on the beach so have great video clips and photos and will upload them soon. But thing was it was really sad to see so many lost lives. It was heart breaking to see them offering up their gifts to so many Gods instead of the one true God who created all things. Mad experience though, God is certainly exposing us to sooooo many cultures, religions and experiences, it truly is a trip of a lifetime where he is teaching and showing us so much.

Kuala Lumpur Final Cut

We arose this morning to find somebody (Naomi) hadn't slept too well and was pretty grumpy form (poor thing) ; ) Lots of complaining going on about no sleep, the new skirt she bought and the manky breakfast we had to try to eat at 7.15am!!! etc perhaps had a lot to do with a pretty nervous young woman who was about to go on a big adventure to Thailand. You could really see the reality for going setting in last night and this morning. Anyway back to our story, God has such a great sense of humour... in the midst of her complaining these gentle tones of elevator music came flooding across the room and as we listened closely we realised it was the tune to 'Give thanks with a grateful heart', have to say it made our morning as we looked across and sung to Naomi. She was not impressed but eventualy gave in to laugh as well. What a blessing it has been to hang out with this brave young woman. She truly is an encouragement, a warrior and an inspiration to us. She is such a doer and not just a talker. We love her to bits and have loved being in KL with tons of laughs with her. On our way to board our flight back to Bali now. Talk soon. xo