What we did on our holidays - Croatia

A quick guide to some bits of Croatia.

Zagreb: Worth a couple of days, no more.
The upper town (which is the old town) is charming and the lower town has some seriously civic buildings and  museums and parks. In between the old and new towns is the daily market- fabulous!
Favorite: The Museum of Broken Relationships.

Plitvice Lakes: an intagrammers' paradise! You can see it all in a day. Walk all the way to the top lake and then you can get a bus back to the gate - or vice versa.
It is very crowded - best tip, stay nearby and visit first thing in the morning.

Krka National Park: Spend a day here or visit as we did on our way from Zadar to Split. Nice walking tracks along streams ans past waterfalls. Same but different to Plitvice.

Zadar: A day or 2. A pleasant coastal town, not as touristy as some.
Best bits: the sea organ and the monument to the sun.

Split: Spend several days here. So much to see and do!
Wander the lanes of the Diocletan's Palace; walk, drive or ride a bike to Marjan Hill - a parkland with a view.
From Split you can take boat trips to access the islands - Hvar being a popular destination.
There are also car ferries to some of the islands and it may be possible to island hop that way.
Best bits: Hvar at the end of the tourist season

The drive along the coast from Split to Dubrovnik is stunning! although it is quite well-populated with holiday accommodation. You have to briefly pass through Bosnia and Herzegovina along the way.

Dubrovnik: It may be over-exposed but it is beautiful. If you stay in the old town, or nearby, you can get to the sights before the cruise tourists arrive and then you have the evenings and nights as well.
Walk the walls, catch the gondola up to the Imperial Fort overlooking the city and walk back down, cruise around the closest islands stopping off along the way, sunset kayak in the bay.
Best bits: Appreciating how Dubrovnik suffered in the Balkans war.

Pst: Dubrovnik isn't that far from the beautiful Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. You've come this far you might as well tack that on as well. You won't regret it.
Stay in Kotor town, climb up to the fortress, take a boat trip on the bay, swim in the blue cave.

How we travelled: We flew into Zagreb, hired a car and drove to Split via Plitvice, Zadar and Krka (not all in the one day!)
Picked up another car to leave Split (you won't need a car when you are in Split) and drove along the coast to Dubrovnik. If we'd had more time I'd have investigated the possibility of car ferries between the islands to get from Split to Dubrovnik.
Left the car in Dubrovnik and took a bus to Kotor as multi-country car didn't work for us as we were through-travelling. It may be possible to drive to Kotor and then back to Dubrovnik to leave the hire
 car.

*This is by no means an exhaustive tour guide to Croatia, it's just where we went in the time we had.

You really should go to Mount Cook

You really should go to Mount Cook.
It's in New Zealand, but.

Why?
1. it is spectacular!
2. It is easy to get to.
3. You will see (hopefully) Australasia's highest peak.
4. You will see glaciers.
5. You will see icebergs.
6. You will see incredible alpine scenery and plants.
7. It is so close to the east coast of Australia.

How?
1. Get a cheap flight to Queenstown. Or Christchurch.
   Takes about 3 hours from Sydney. We got flights for about $400 return.
2. Hire a car. Or a campervan. Or go by bus. Or take a tour.
   You work that one out.
3. Stay in Mount Cook village for a few days.
   Because the weather is somewhat changeable and you want to maximise your chances of getting out there in
   reasonable weather.
4. There are various accommodation options - White Horse Hill campground. Where we stayed.
   The Hermitage, posh-looking hotel.
   Other cabins and a YHA.
   Again - you can work that bit out.

What?
1. If you are lucky you'll be able to see Mount Cook from the village as well as many other peaks and glaciers.
2. Get out!
3. Walk. There are three fairly easy walks that anyone can do.
   - Hooker Valley. Starts from the campground. 10kms return. Takes about 3 hours or longer if you are like us and like to stop for lots of photos. Plus we walked down to the lake edge and sat there for a while.

   - Kea Point lookout. An easy walk about 45 minutes return. Views of Mueller Lake and up the valley towards
Mount Cook. (We didn't actually do this one). Also starts from the campground.
   - Tasman Glacier lookout. This one has a few steps, but you can do it! It's not far, maybe about 30 minutes return. You can also walk down to the Blue Lakes which are now green, but it's OK to look down on them from above.
The Tasman lake only started forming in the 1970's, before that the Tasman glacier came all the way down to the moraine wall! Now the glacier is receding rapidly and the lake is coorespondingly growing!
You need to drive out of the village and along the Tasman valley to get here. Or you could ride your bike.

- We also did the Red Tarns walk which starts in the village. It goes up! And up and up! There are many steps.
You ascend 300 metres, but take it slowly, have lots of breaks, you can stop as often as you like to admire the views down and across the valley. About 2 hours return.

The paths are all very well-graded. Sure they are very touristy. You're not going to get a wilderness experience but take in the vast beauty, and the closer details - the rocks and plants along the way. Enjoy the suspension bridges along the Hooker Valley track.

4. Spend time in the information centre. It is well-placed with a great view. Terrific exhibits.
5. Pop next door to the Old Mountaineers Cafe. Good coffee. Also spectacular view.
6. The Hermitage Hotel has the Sir Edmund Hilary Centre which sounded pretty good. Cost $20.
We didn't have time to go there.
7. If you are so inclined and have the dough you could take a boat ride on Tasman Lake and get up close and personal with the glacier and some icebergs. Or take a helicopter flight.

The drive to Mount Cook passes along the shore of Lake Pukaki which is the most amazing colour when the sun shines.

If you drive from Christchurch you can pass other wondrous places such as Lake Tekapo.
If you arrive in Queenstown you might be inclined to partake of some of the activites there.
You know - bungy jumping and the like.

Just do it!

Travelling west - how we got there

It's 4187 kms from our house to Perth!
Such a loooong way for us dragging our little home on wheels behind us.
We don't travel very fast.
For safety and fuel economy sake we usually travel at about 80kph....sometimes sneaking up to 100 on a good straight not-uphill stretch with the wind behind us!
Yes we are those slow old annoying travellers on the road.
When we went through Queensland and the Northern Territory 2 years ago we'd do, maybe, 400kms a day...
We're not early risers and we like to get to camp in time to set up properly (OK, it doesn't take that long!), have a look around, a cuppa or "happy hour" drink and relax a bit.
Nothing worse that rushing around every day!!

In our old camping days we'd often keep travelling after dinner and arrive at our campspot at 10 at night, set the tent up by the car headlights....haha! Those days are gone!

Anyway...on this BIG journey we put in some big days to cover a lot of distance in a short time so we'd have more time frolicking through the wildflowers.
We still always have a cup of tea in bed and breakfast, we stop to make a cuppa for morning tea and also stop for lunch - all very civilised.

Day 1: Kempsey to Dunedoo
Mr google told us to go towards Newcastle and up the Hunter Valley to get across the Great Dividing range. This is something we haven't done before but it sure beats going up and up and up through Wauchope to Walcha and Tamworth (not to diss those wonderful municipalities).
Yeah, it worked well and we were ensconced in the well-serviced little caravan park there.
Plugged in to the electricity in anticipation of a cold night and morning.

Day 2: to Emmdale Roadhouse
There are not too many choices along the Barrier Highway between Cobar and Broken Hill that have powered sites.
Not the best place we've ever stayed but they do have home-made cakes.

Day 3: to Broken Hill
It was a short day to Broken Hill so that we could do some shopping.
Importantly to replace the plastic step stool that someone ran over in the caravan at Dunedoo, that is temporarily standing in for the caravan's own inbuilt doorstep which got smashed at a tight turn in a petrol station a while back.
We have stayed at the racecourse at Broken Hill before but were a bit concerned this time that it wouldn't be open due to all the rain that was apparent.
Luckily for us it was and the lovely chatty caretaker Sam was there as well.

Day 4: to Kimba, South Australia
There are 3 camping options in Kimba, 2 free and the caravan park near the highway.
It was still cold so we opted for the caravan park.
The roadhouse adjacent is run by people who really know how to make the best curries!

Day 5: to Nullabor Roadhouse
I guess the Nullabor Roadhouse is a bit of a legend.
It's a good overnight stop.
It was my birthday and we had a pretty decent meal at the roadhouse.
No complaints from me when I don't have to cook!

Day 6: to Eucla
We left the van at the Nullabor Roadhouse and drove back a little and down to the Head of the Bight to see the whales which spend winter there and mate, give birth and loll around until it's time to head south again.
There were lots of whales - several mum and baby pairs and it's a beautiful spot on the cliffs.
So worthwhile.

Then we had a short hop to Eucla, just over the border into Western Australia, where there is a nice campsite with a view down to the ocean and a drive and walk to the old telegraph station and the old pier.

Day 7: to Newmans Waterhole somewhere along the Nullabor
Another long day but we reached a nice quiet free camp near a waterhole.
Yes it was a bit chilly in the morning but we toughed it out!

Day 8: we reach Kalgoorlie
OK we're still a fair way from the west coast, about 600kms actually but we feel that we have arrived!
This is where our explorations really begin.

Our longest drive was just over 600kms, but hey, there's no traffic!

We hit the road between 7.30 and 8 most mornings and got to camp around 4pm.
We swap driving every couple of hours.
This is a good easy day for us.

Five of the best. The best places we stayed in South America

Choosing the best places we stayed is a bit like picking your favorite child.
Favorite places we stayed in our three month journey in South America - in no particular order.

1. Churrup guest house

We were told about this place on the train back from Machu Picchu.
By a lovely Canadian couple that we had also shared a guest house with in Arequipa.
It is also recommended in Lonely Planet.

It was a very comfortable, friendly place.
Breakfast was included - and it was the best breakfast of the trip!
Also breakfast was a very social time and we met some awesome people there that we went on day trip with and swapped travel stories.
The breakfast room is at the top of the building and so you have an amazing view of some  peaks of the Cordillera.

2. Ushuaia Ukurj apartment, Andres

I was so lucky to find this place!
I's been having trouble finding something that met our criteria...and then this popped up on Bookings.com.
We loved it!

photo from Bookings.com

It was within a handy walking distance of the town and harbour.
It was fairly new and nice and clean and neat.

photo from Bookings.com

Andres, our host was so welcoming and helpful.
He even gave us a lift up the hill to the start of the walk to the Martial glacier.
It would have been great to have spent more time with him.

3. El Chalten. Cabanas Paso de Viento

Another Bookings.com find, the cabins were compact, quiet and near the start of one of the walking tracks.

The cabin was cute and comfortable and the host was just delightful. Nothing was too much trouble.

4. Colca Trek Lodge, Canon de Colca

Perhaps the best place we stayed....for the shortest time!

We did an ovenight trip from Arequipa to Colca Canyon with Colca Trek Adventure Travel.
They have their own lodge in the small village of Pinochollo.
It is amazing.

Unfortunately we arrived late, went for a walk to look into the canyon and left early the next day for a bike ride.
It would have been great to chill out here for a couple of days.

The biggest, softest, warmest beds!

5. Tatiana's airbnb in Barranco, Lima

Places like this are the reason I love airbnb.

photo from airbnb website