Niall and Zara Around the World

Leaving Brisbane!

2007-03-16T14:58:00.000+10:00

So thats us away from Brisbane, we hired a Toyota Yaris for a week and headed up towards Bowen were we met Carol who was a great host and lives in a beatiful place called Rose Bay in Bowen.

Before we left we needed to get a good last view of Brisbane so we went up to Mt Coot Tha to get some nice photos and then we went in the direction of Rainbow Beach

Motorshow!

2007-03-16T14:41:00.000+10:00

I (Niall) was delighted to learn that the Brisbane motorshow was being held in the convention center just across the street from us, so i had to drag Zara there just to see here jumping around as soon as she saw the toyota stand:

She could already see herself driving around in the brand new Rav 4!

But i also found the car of my dreams :-)

Weekend with John!

2007-03-16T14:25:00.000+10:00

John and Robyn always made us feel very welcome, lovely barbies and not to forget Johns great home brew :-) and we had a great guided tour around the sunshine coast.

John looking after the pool in Buderim

We also had a drive around the coast in the Mits Pajero, that john lent us for the day.

A good view of Moloolaba and Maroochydore.

Weekend in the Getz

2007-03-16T13:58:00.000+10:00

We hired a Hyundi Getz for the weekend and on Saturday we headed up to Mount Mee (north of Brissy) and visited Brisbane Forest and Fresh Water Sanctuary, and a Deer farm on the way, some beautiful scenery and it was suprisingly green in places.

On Sunday we headed south of Brissey and went through Beenleigh Historical Village on the way to Mount Tamborine one of the wine making areas where we did a forest walk and a couple of wine tastings!!

Australia day!!

2007-02-05T17:07:00.000+10:00

We were lucky enough to be in Australia to celebrate Australia day. We went to the free party at Southbank,where there was everything from face painting to free concerts, and of course, lots of Australian flags!!!

Moreton Island day 2

2007-02-05T16:19:00.000+10:00

Our second day on the island was a bit more relaxing, we discovered a few beautiful spots and beaches ...

We even went for a swim in a beautiful natural jacuzzi!! :

The nature was very generous with us during that weekend, after the big sea turtle we saw a huge goanna just in the campsite, and even saw a few dolphins before we left the island.

But snorkling in the shipwrecks was magic, so many fish, so close and so many bright colours, can't wait to go on the reef!

After our last lunch on the beach it was time to get the ferry back to the mainland, snifff, always too short :-(

A little taste of paradise....

2007-01-22T13:55:00.000+10:00

Last year on the 22nd of January Zara took me out for a walk at the Glenariff forest in Northern Ireland, it was our first date! To celebrate our year together we went for a 4wd weekend on the 3rd largest sand island in the world:

Our journey started saturday morning at 6.45 when a taxi was booked to take us to the ferry, our driver Nelson helped us to wake up with some nice samoan music. We got on the ferry after all the big 4wd's and got a cup of tea to keep us going for the two hour cruise that finally took us to Moreton island. The island is 98% national park, protecting the flora, fauna, sandy coastline, freshwater lakes, wetlands and forests. Moreton is 38 km long and 19,000 ha in area. It is one of the largest sand islands in the world.

Once landed we met our guide and driver Sol (pronounce soul), so the 9 of us jumped in the Land cruiser of we went to " THE DESERT", a huge dune in the south of the island where everybody comes to experience Sandboarding (or sandeating depending of your skills :-)

The whole first day was a bit of a rush because in our group there was a family of 3 that were only staying 1 day and they had to be back at the ferry for 3.30, so after the sand boarding we headed to the Blue Lagoon campsite and went for a dip in the freshwater lake, crystal clear and 25deg. water, delightfull!

Once we got rid of the sand stuck everywhere, we had our first lunch with the group of New Caledonian teenagers that Sol and his girlfriend Isa were trying to look after. Then we went to the north of the island where you can find the oldest lighthouse in Queensland, on the beach track going north we were very lucky to spot a big sea turtle going for a swin after having laid her eggs.

HAPPY NEW YEAH!!! BONNE ANNEE 2007!!

2007-01-11T15:24:00.000+10:00

2007 has started slowly, we went to South bank parklands with our Scottish Andrew on New years eve, it was packed with 100 000 people! It was a great night out, 2 great fireworks and lots of Dj's and just a little beer and Champagne... :-( So our first day of 2007 was spent on the streets beach with a very sore head.
It just took us ( or just Niall) a couple of days to recover form that one!! And since it has been very quiet, back to work and getting ready for our next trip which will be Moreton Island one of the largest sand islands in the world!

Christmas Holidays Down Under

2006-12-27T17:48:00.000+10:00

Its the Christmas weekend - Can't believe how time flies. We didn't do anything too exciting the last couple of weekends, just rented DVD's and went to the cinema to see the new James Bond film.

So on the Saturday before Christmas we just went down to Streets Beach in Southbank, came back to the apartment got showered and headed back down to Southbank to watch a beautiful fireworks display before eating some fish and chips whilst sitting on a picnic rug watching an openair movie - a really brilliant experience - except we didn't take any pictures.

On Sunday (Christmas Eve) we headed down the Gold Coast to Dream World where we spent a full day walking around the park, looking at the animals, watching some shows and going on some of the thrill rides - although I watched Niall on most of them!!!!! Great day

Christmas day!!! So strange it was about 27C and the sun was shinning - we headed down to the Gold Coast again but this time to Surfers Paradise!!!

After a picnic on the beach and a hard days sunbathing we headed back to Brisbane for a nearly traditional "Chicken" Dinner -

Definately a Christmas with a difference - but I would definately prefere a good old Northern Irish Christmas with my family any day!!!!

Boxing day was quiet - it rained all day!!!!

In Oz

2006-12-14T19:11:00.000+10:00

We have finally arrived in Austalia. We were very kindly collected from the airport by John (Henry) who is a family friend - infact he was my Mum and Dads bestman!!! And we stayed with John for the first couple of weeks out at his house in the surburb of Birkdale.

On our first weekend we went up to Buderim with John and also met his partner Robyn, - we had a wonderful weekend and visited the beach at Noosa - beautiful. And a big thanks to John and Robyn for their hospitality. Although they haven't seen the last of us yet!!!!

One of the first big attractions we vistited was "Australia Zoo" What a fantastic place.

We are going to settle down in Brisbane until March and then we hope to spend 3/4 weeks exploring the East coast of Australia before we start our homeward bound journey.

So far we have been in Brisbane now for about a month and a half and we love it. The weather is fantastic always between 24-32C and it very rarley rains.

We have managed to find a reasonable priced small apartment based in central Brisbane just between the areas of Southbank and Westend. We are about a 5 minute walk from the bus and train station. We are about a 20min walk from Queens Street which is the cities main shopping street, and a15 min walk to Streets Beach which is a little man made lagoon and beach in the Parklands at Southbank. To sum it up we are within walking distance of all of the main city attractions and if its too far to walk, we just catch the bus or the train!!

This is just across the road from where we live and there is a french bakery, a fresh supermarket, a cafe, arestaurant and an off license in this little area.

We are both working - Hip Hip Horay!!! Niall is working in a little coffee shop from 7/8am - 2/3pm Mon to Fri and has also been doing a few evening shifts at an Italian restaurant. I am doing admin temping. So far it has worked out well for me and the jobs i get can range from a days too 2 weeks work and i could be on reception or doing general admin stuff, although there have been a few days when i haven't managed to get work. The picture below is both of Nialls jobs - the red building with the trees is Raw (the cafe) and the 2nd building is The Fox which is where the restaurant is. It is literally just around the corner from the apartment.

By chance one day when we were looking for jobs we discovered a FREE concert in Queens Street Mall by the Lovely Westlife. Well I could hardly sleep for excitment the night before. It was Fab (Niall loved them too!!!) They were so close and soooo lovely and I actually got to meet them!!!!!

One day i accidently fell down the step just outside our apartment - Don't know what happened to me because i am usually not accident prone!!!!!! But it was sore - i hurt my big toe and 3 days later after a visit to the doctor and a hell of a lot of pain and..........

No more big toe nail!!!

Last weekend (1-3 Dec) was the 1st weekend that we managed to start really looking at the city ( up to now its been finding our feet and getting settled)

So Saturday we went to the museum (Which is just a 5 min from our apartment) and had great day and we then went for a Turkish dinner in Southbank.

Sunday we hired some roller blades and headed off through Southbank over the Goodwill Bridge, through the Botanic Gardens and over the Storey Birdge before we made out way back into the city - It was such a laugh, and one stage we were both lying on pavement in the middle of the City because I had fallen and then Niall laughed that hard he fell too!!!

Last days as Kiwis... sniff..

2006-10-30T16:36:00.000+10:00

Day 12 Queenstown. Started the day with a morning of 4 wheeled excitement at the off road farm on 250cc quads. After a a fun and mucky morning we just had time for quick lunch and then on to an hour of jet boating around the Lake and up the Shotover River, driven by highly skilled but mad drivers.

Zara seems TERRIFIED on the 350bhp Jet boat!!!!

I think that Kirstys gun is better: Zara: 3clays out of 20

Niall: 6 clays out of 20

Getting ready for the terrific Australian sun, we found cheap sunglasses in Christchurch( well we could of found more expensive...)

Kia ora Auckland!!

2006-10-15T15:17:00.000+10:00

My mum's very good friend Chantal gave us a very warm welcome to Auckland after a quiet but tiring 13 hour flight, it was great to see a familiar face over here on the other side of the world, Chantal, thank you again for your welcome! Our exploration of the area of Auckland was condensed but very efficient, after a couple of hours kip, our Kiwi Perrosienne guide took us just outside the city, thru a dodgy, bendy, gravel road down the mountain to reach a black sanded beach just before a glass of red wine on the top of Mt MacDonald where we had a great first view of New Zealand's breathtaking scenary. The rest of the day just went flying between visiting all the beautifull spots Chantal had for us and trying to cope with the jet lag.

Our second day was a bit of a rush at the beginning, we collected our huge volkswagen campervan just outside the airport around 8 o'clock, and went shopping to fill up the fridge, it took us a while to get everything sorted, but finally got moving towards the Coramandel Peninsula in the early afternoon. The scenary of New Zealand definately deserves it's reputation, the views are stunning! Our first night in the campervan was nice and comfortable, we slept in a carpark beside a nice little lake on the coast in a place called "Whaihi".

Day 3 and we made our way to Rotorua, where we were welcome by the wonderful smell of the sulphur (Smells like rotten eggs). Its because the area is a on a thin part of the earths crust making it a thermal wonderland with a smell to match!! We visited the Maori park Te Puia where we saw one of the largest natural geysers and boiling mudpools. We went for a horse trek into the forest and then to the Polynesian Spa with natural hot waters.

Day 4 We headed down there the thermal area to a park called Wia O tapu. It was a park with all sorts of thermal wonders, mud pools, craters, different coloured pools ( all to do with what gases where coming up through the ground), an amazing place, it was like being on a different planet. After that we went down to Taupo and had our dinner looking over the lake and then made the drive down to Waitomo ready for our next adventure.

Day 5, and we went for a half day black water rafting in the Waitomo Caves to see the glow worms ( which in the dark caves look like the stars in the night sky). After an hour looking around the local museum we spent about 45mins just trying to get into the wetsuits then into the caves. It was brilliant, but wet and cold!!!

A long drive down to Wellington with just a fuel stop and a couple of breaks although we did find an interesting car and the lovely Raukawa Falls

Day 6 and we woke up in Wellington. We did a bit of window shopping, a trip to the museum, and a drive around including up to the Victoria Lookout for some fantastic views of the city. Then to bed early for the early rise for the ferry. Good bye to a fantastic week in the North Island.

Day 7 up bright and early for the 3 hr ferry crossing to the South Island with the beautiful entrance through the Marlborough Sounds.

When we got off the boat we drove down from Picton to Blenheim and then Nelson, through wine making country to the small town of Motueka where we arrived just in time to fill up the cupboards and fridge, have dinner and park up for the night.

Day 8 and we headed around the coast to Taikerikeri and Motueka where we spent a wonderful afternoon treking on two horses (Joe and Mac) with our guide Brian. We went on to the beach through the sea and on to a couple of picturesque little bays.

Day 9 and the sun was still shining so we headed of for and full day around the Abel Tasman National Park. We started with a 3 hour sea kayaking followed by a water taxi to the seal colony and then we were dropped of at Tonga Bay where we did a 1 hour walk through the bush to Bark bay where we were collected again and sailed back to Kaiteriteri on the water taxi. - the most beautiful scenery!! Then we had a long drive to Westport on the West coast to camp up for the night.

Day 10 - its raining, such a contrast to yesterdays brilliant weather, but no big deal, we drove all day down to the Fox Glacier, and parked up ready to do our half day hike the next day.

Day 11- The sun was shinning again for our half day hike to the Glacier. It was about 30 min hike up through bush to the glacier and about 1.5hr on the Glacier. The Glacier is 13km long and about 350m deep and is advancing at about 1 meter per day, amazing stuff!! After a bite of lunch we hit the road and headed to Wanaka. It was the most beautiful drive down the West Coast. We had a Thai dinner when we arrived in the town, camped up and then the next day headed for the adrenaline capital, Queenstown.

San Francisco!!!

2006-10-09T12:23:00.000+10:00

Nous voila arrives a la premiere etape du voyage, on a eu un super vol entre Londres et San Francisco, 10h et 20mn quand meme, j'avais jamais pris un long courrier, c'est genial, selection de films a volonte, musique a volonte et nourriture idem, il manquait juste quelques heures de sommeil! Apres avoir recupere nos baggages on a donc pris la navette pour le centre ville (downtown) ou on avait reserve 3 nuits a l' auberge, direct au lit et 14h de sommeil plus tard, on est parti pour la decouverte des environs. En tous cas on peut dire qu' on a bien choisi notre week end, y avait un grand show aerien et la meteo est super.
Pour commencer la journee ( 7h du mat qd mm!!) on a loue une sorte de quad a 3 roues de 50cc avec un system GPS pour se retrouver dans les rues, super rigolade!!!

Now for the English:

Our flight from London to San Fransisco was great but long (10hrs 20 mins). We grabbed a taxi to the center of the city to the Downtown Youth Hostel were we stayed for the 3 nights. When we arrived we decided to have a quick nap, but didn't waken up until the next morning (14hrs sleeping) We headed out to discover San Francisco and realised that we had chosen a great weekend as it was Fleet Week. This meant that there was lots of events on, held by the US Navy, and we watched a few aeroplane acrobatic shows, on the bay - they were fab!! We also went for a GPS guided tour in a yellow mean machine (see photos below) It was scary on the roads but great fun.

Apres un ptit plat de nouilles thailandaises ( delicieux et vraiment pas cher), direction Fisherman's Wharf (promenade des anglais pleine de touristes) on a passe l' apres midi a flaner, a regarder les acrobaties aeriennes et a faire du shopping, super premiere journee!! Il est 20h, il est temps d' aller chercher un ptit resto sympa dans chinatown.

After Thai Noodles (yum yum) for lunch we explored Fishermans Wharf, watched the aeroplanes and did a bit of window shopping. A great first day ended with a lovely sweet and sour in Chinatown.

Le bay bridge une belle americaine...

The Bay Bridge and a car!!

A typical San Fran Street, we were so lucky with the weather its was fantastic.

On day two we had some lunch in Wasington Square in Little Italy and then caught the bus down to Pier 33 and caught the boat to Alcatraz for a great audio tour of the prison.

After a look around the island we headed back to the main land and took a look around the wax musem and then took an open top double decker tour bus of the city. Then we had our dinner in a 50's style American Diner. And unbelievably we were in bed and sleeping for 10pm.

Day 3 came so quickly were catching our plane for NZ. Today was the world famous Golden Gate Bridge!!! We caught one of the cable cars down to the Fishermans Wharf area where we rented 2 bikes and headed off to 'Bike the Bridge'!!

We cycled through Mason Fort Park and along the Marina and then up over the bridge for stunning views of San Francisco and back again, leaving us only enough time for a bite of lunch and to make our way back to the Hostel to leave for the airport.

Mason Fort Park The Golden Gate Bridge

Some advise in the middle of the bridge, for those there for a more morbid reason than admiring the view!!!

Time goes so fast we can't believe that our time in San Francisco has already come and gone, but we both were more than impressed by San Fran and had a fantastic time - Here we come New Zealand!!!

Nearly there...

2006-09-26T22:48:00.000+10:00

So that's it, we are starting to get organised and to know a bit more of our program, we have a room booked in downtown HI hostel in San Francisco, we will be there on 7th and 8th of october, whaouhhh, CALIFORNIAAAA!!! Don't know what the craic* is for the 9th yet, but i m sure we ll get sorted once over there ( if anyone has a good adress, it would be very welcome...). Our next 2 nights will be spent in the plane before we land in Auckland on the 12th at 6:30, where Chantal ( a good friend of my mum who used to live in Lannion) will have a room waiting for us, i m sure she ll be a great guide in Auckland ( and she can keep Zara busy while i try the bungy jumping from that huge 320m high tower, lol [saut a l'élastique pour les francais] she might faint if she even looks...) We will just stay one night in Auckland, we have booked our huge Volkswagen (6.60m long!!!) campervan from the 13th and we have to get moving, we only have two weeks!

*craic: irish or scottish or i don't know what word meaning story, fun, news, délire, histoire...

Ready to rock and roll?!?...

2006-09-19T03:32:00.000+10:00

15 days before i leave Brest to meet Zara in Belfast and spend a few days with her to get all the last details sorted (for those who know me you all know i'm a very organized guy, LOL)

For those who don't know or remember here is our flight schedule:

Belfast-London, 07/10/06: dep: 06:45; arr:08:25
London -San Francisco (California),07/10/06: dep:11:00; arr:13:50
San Francisco- Auckland ( New Zealand, North island) 10/10/06:dep:21:30; arr: 2days later 06:30
Christchurch (N. Z, South island)-Brisbane (Australia, Gold coast) 26/10/06:dep:15:50; arr:16:40
Sydney (Australia)-Hong Kong, 06/04/07:dep:14:35;arr:21:55
Hong kong- London, 09/04/07: dep: 23:25; arr: 1 day later 05:25

ps: désolé d'avance pour les francais qui comprennent rien a l'anglais, vous trouverez bien quelqu'un pour vous traduire! :-)