Search Results

Another destination that didn`t start life on our original plan, but when it is only a 50min flight and you get to spend a day at, in my opinion, the best airport ever, it was a must a do. After all the wonderful Patronus Towers are here and the Batu Caves... We landed at our latest bunny hutch after a 45 minute drive from the airport, and when we could see the Patronus Towers, or admittedly the very tips of them from our wonderful little flats bedroom window, we knew we had landed in the very heart of the city. Our location was just perfect and the flat had everything we needed. With our next flights such much cheaper at the end of the month, we opted for a much longer stay than we had originally planned in order to recoup some of the bunny budget that we managed to blow in style whilst in Singapore. At £35 per night for a city centre location, it was self contained so Mr Bunny could cook to his hearts content, aided by the fact that the best supermarket to date was situated just the shortest of walks away. Kuala Lumpur with the exception of being the home of the Patronus Towers, was somewhere that we had little knowledge of. Little B did our to do list, and apart from the first day, we opted to spread our wings just a little each day, rather than doing our usual 10k step marathon days. Very much a chilled out layover, we spent a number of days just watching the views from our 13th floor flat and not doing much at all. In fact, on the 14th when everybody was spending a silly amount of money on overpriced flowers and chocolates, we decided to go to the cinema. We had tried several times in other countries to see Paddington in Peru, but finally our chance came. The cutest little cinema ever with bear shaped seats, and family settees, it cost us a whole £8 for 3 bunnies to watch the film. Talking of films, we caught the lift downstairs one morning like we always did and emerged into a scene of cameras, directors, actors, clipboards and microphones! No one spoke any English so unfortunately we couldn`t get any answers as to what the programme was, although it would appear it was a regular occurrence as the security guard with a little broken English shrugged his shoulders and said `filming again, as always`. We took a tour on the hoho bus, (Hop On Hop Off) to try and get a feel for the city. Not the best tour I must admit. We spent almost 5 hours on the bus, doing both available city circuits back to back. With each route taking nearly 2 hours to complete, with added time due to the many traffic holdups, it made for a very bunny bum numbing few hours. Whilst it did yield places of interest I never felt the wows of Singapore. There are definitely some impressive buildings in the city, but nothing comes close to the magnificence of the Patronus Towers. We wandered around the area of the KL Tower, but it was very expensive to go to the top. With the Patronus on our to do list, we didn`t feel the need to spend time and money on what was essentially just another viewpoint. Another point of interest was the Thean Hou Temple, this was worth the journey. A very beautiful temple high above the city, lots of coloured lanterns and celebratory Chinese New Year decor made for a very pretty place to visit. Inside the Temple, the architecture was quite special, naturally it was of little interest to us in a spiritual way, but we could appreciate its ambience and beauty. The Patronus Towers. We managed to choose the nicest possible day to visit the twin towers. We were most excited. Tickets sell out quickly for the observation deck, and we managed 3 tickets for 10.30am. Just a twenty minute walk away from our flat, we arrived in plenty of time, to be frisked, x rayed, bag checked and corralled into our small group for the 10.30 lift. Their timings and efficiency were superb. Nobody was allowed more than their fair share of time anywhere. We were whizzed up to the 42nd floor first to walk the sky bridge, whoa, my little bunny legs had a minor wobble, that is quite some height, but after a brief pause there for photos, we were gathered together again for the final flight up to the 86th floor. Now that, my bunny friends, is high! The views are just stunning, but so is the chance to admire the second tower in all its glory. As far as buildings go, the Patronus are beautiful inside and out. Whilst standing looking across with legs of slightly off firm jelly, I was gobsmacked to watch two workman hanging on ropes and pullies cleaning the paintwork just below me. Who am I to be nervous inside, whilst he dangles on a rope outside? With Kuala Lumpur being the home of shopping due to its very low import taxes, little bunny and I decided to have a day wandering the shopping malls whilst Mr Bunny had a peaceful afternoon watching a green screen somewhere. Lets just say our afternoon was not a success. Without the budget for Gucci, Prada, Tiffany or Louis Vuitton, we tried, and failed to find more western and cheaper shops elsewhere. K.L is not the place for western clothing, everything is very much Asian and tiny. Really, really tiny. Like, do the women actually have bums and boobs here tiny! Never seen so much clothing in very petite, sizes 4 or less. Neither was I particularly amused when in the market I eyed a pair of trousers, tiny of course, to have to woman shout to me, its ok much stretch, very stretchy...sure, stretch to a whole size 10 with a good pull grrrr. Two bunnies went home feeling quite miffed and empty handed. There was one shop in which I really had a fun time, I like cute and fluffy, I admit it, I am a sucker for a teddy bear of any design. One particular shop was aimed at me through and through. We did buy our new Disney (watch this space) t shirts here. Not even a t shirt did we find. Mr Bunny arrived sometime later seemingly having had a much more successful afternoon! Batu Caves. We had been looking forward to this trip almost as much as we had been looking forward to the Patronus Tour. A short taxi ride and we landed into absolute chaos. So many people, taxis everywhere, buses, stalls, rubbish bags everywhere, litter, food waste, pigeons, monkeys, good grief what on earth had we come to? The Batu Caves are Instagram (curse you Instagram and your stupid filtered artificial photos) worthy, painted steps, a beautiful courtyard, the tall golden Buddha (?) statue. But our reality was hell on earth. Before I mention the Caves, I should admit that we had managed to time our visit just 2 or 3 days after a HUGE religious festival had just finished, to which approx 2 million people had attended. Our timing sucked. Was a shame really, as our taxi driver told us that under normal circumstances the area was normally clean, the food stalls didn`t usually exist with the exception of maybe one or two, and the steps were normally a pleasant experience. With nothing to compare it with, we climbed the mountain of coloured stairs, trying to avoid looking at the abysmal amount of plastic bottles and discarded rubbish, dodging scavenging monkeys and arrived at the biggest cave I have seen in a long time. I could understand why this cave and the shrine within could be deemed special, but an area still cleaning up after an onslaught of a million plus people, all I could feel was the ickiness of dirty monkeys and discarded rubbish. And the smell. Oh dear, the smell. In a nutshell we went, we saw, we left. Such a shame. Little bunny was so disappointed that she even went back a few days later in the hope that normality had been restored. It had not. Instagram really does have a lot to answer for. I personally refuse to look at anything of Insta, but when the younger generation appears to live on it, these disappointments are going to be frequent. Whilst we very much enjoyed our time in Kuala Lumpur, I cannot say that it would be a destination that I would choose to return to anytime soon. A one off for me I think. Perhaps if the people had made up for our lack of enthusiasm for the city with lots of welcoming smiles, it may have been different. They did not smile. Ever. Is it our western faces or their daily busy lives into which we are intruding that fails to raise a smile, we do not know. But it has struck us how naturally friendly and approachable we are as Brits and how very odd it is to smile naturally at people who all but blank you and offer nothing in the way of a facial gesture in return. Thank you for your hospitality Malaysia, we bid you farewell.

After leaving Australia we always knew that our trip would be more flexible. We had a pretty good idea where we wanted to go, but it was always going to be dependent on the cost of flights and the weather. I have no intentions of flying our bunny butts to a country if its the middle of their monsoon season. Next time however, I am also going to take notice of other public holidays such as Chinese New Year. (Ho hum). I study the map at length, aided by the wonderful Skyscanner app, and see what route looks the best. From Bali, we had intended going to the Philippines, but on closer inspection they are an incredibly difficult destination to pursue on a budget, with `must do` islands lying a flight distance away. Then I remembered a conversation with my Aussie friend David, who said that Singapore was well worth a visit. With flights very affordable, that is how we ended up visiting one of our most favourite countries/city/state to date. Singapore. Why have I only every thought of Singapore as an airport. A city in which to land en route to somewhere else? Never in my wildest dreams have I ever considered Singapore as must see tourist destination. I knew it was a bright lights, big city kind of place, but truth be known I had never looked at it with any degree of interest. That, my bunny friends was big mistake number one. Big mistake number two, was coinciding our visit with C.N.Y. I just thought Singapore was a phenomenally expensive city judging by Booking.com , but what I think happened was an ill timed visit. (a bit like Liverpool on Grand National weekend) As soon as we landed and caught our taxi to the hotel, I knew I had goofed. This was a city like no other. Stunning, beautiful, green and clean. Very very very clean. We immediately extended our stay by one more night and hit the ground running. Little miss `what` bunny gave us a list of must see places, and putting our best foot forward, our adventure in Singapore began. `what` bunny? Just in case I haven`t mentioned or you have forgotten our nicknames, Mrs Bunny is `where`....Little bunny is `what` and Mr Bunny is `kerching`. I decide where we are going, little bunny is in charge of deciding what to do when get there, and Mr Bunny pays /kerching for it lol. Kampong Glam. I could expand at length about this area, but in a nutshell it is an area where you will find shops and restaurants that sprung up from the time of the pilgrimages. A beautiful mosque stands at one end, and the lovely streets set out in a grid pattern are decorated with some of the best street art I have seen. Non of your so called graffiti art, these are superb wall sized art works of every day life. Place yourself in the picture by washing up, stroking the cat, or taking a seat at the table. From Kampong Glam we headed next to the HoHo bus. We purchased the 5 event Singapore pass allowing each of us to participate in 5 different experiences. The Hoho bus mis read our pass, and as they scanned just one pass, not three, we decided not to tempt fate and instead only did one of the two routes. We toured one part of Singapore, studied and listened to the hoho recommendations, then on the second loop around we jumped off at our next port of call. the Raffles Hotel. Im sure all you clever bunnies know the story of Raffles, but I did not. It was at the Long Bar of the Raffles hotel that the Singapore Sling was invented. Ladies once upon a time were not supposed to drink alcohol, the Sling was invented to create an alcoholic beverage with the looks of a fruit cocktail. When in Rome etc...We duly queued and entered the Famous Long Bar. With eye watering prices for a mere drink, we did exactly what good backpacking bunnies should do, we opted for the Singapore zero alcohol sling, 16 dollars instead of 27, whilst Mr Bunny who hates Gin anyway, had a beer. The proverbial bag of monkey nuts was placed on our table, and like a good bunnies, we ate the nuts and ceremoniously threw the shells on the floor. The Long Bar of the Raffles Hotel is the only place where you will find purposely discarded rubbish of any description. From the Raffles hotel we walked a few blocks back to a good looking bronze coloured hotel and entered just for a nosy. Oh my goodness what a stunning ground floor port of entry. You just stand and gaze to the high ceilings, a mass of beauty and architecture, that is the Atlas Hotel. Chinatown. Yet another wonderful part of the city, smart, tidy and Chinese culture. With a heavy emphasis on the CNY there were a lot of decorations devoted to such. Red lanterns line the streets, banners everywhere wishing you Happy C N Y, and so many restaurants it was hard to keep a smile on my face. I shall elaborate. in Chinese cuisine they eat everything. I seriously mean everything and the photographic food posters, whilst they may look appetizing to many, just churned my stomach. Whilst only a silly person would assume I mean cat or more appallingly a woofer, the food to which I refer is boiled chicken feet, duck head soup, fish of every description, boiled chicken soup (with the skin still on) every manner of crustacean with heads, legs and eyes, as a complete non foodie and a passionate hater of all things fish related, food wise I struggled in Singapore. Two other slightly less fussy bunnies did not. Sentosa Island. Whilst you can go by taxi over the bridge, little `what` bunny informed us we were travelling there by cable car. Omitting the fact until we got there, that said cable car started halfway up the biggest hill in Singapore. I was actually quite looking forward to this. I have to confess at times I wish I could, what`s the phrase?, have a stiff drink to calm the nerves. It was high. very very high. I am relieved to say that we travelled in the cabin alone, just the 3 bunnies, and thankfully there was no wind. Little bunny nearly got skinned when she insisted on swapping seats to take video making the cabin sway by 2 degrees, but other than that it was an exhilarating, albeit slightly scary ride. All I knew about Sentosa is the fact that Universal Studios is based there. With added cost to an already expensive Singapore pass, we looked, but didn`t enter. (next time...next time...) what we did do though, was the super awesome interactive Harry Potter Experience. Each given a wand we started our `tour` on the night bus, watching the streets of London and the countryside of Scotland whirl past us as we sat on the Knight bus beds. Getting off at the M.O.M (if you know, you know) we had to use the Red Phone Box, to dial our way in. Cue the look of disbelief when a certain little bunny when faced with a dial phone, asked `what do I do?` From the MOM to the Department of Mysteries, to Diagon Alley, even to Newt Scamanders zoo type lair, 10 zones in total, each time you saw a hint of magic, portrayed by a visual circle of light, you pointed your wand and watched the magic happen. lights would come on and off, words would appear, animals would move, hidden objects would be seen. Almost every person in the group of 30 seemed to enjoy the whole experience. At the very end Mr bunny had a lot of fun setting off the fireworks magic in the Battle of Hogwarts room, prior that is until the only brat in the group got there, and whirled dervishly from one side of the room to the other. The kids frustration was palpable, but that only made us grin more. Even I nabbed a few timely fireworks as said brat approached. From Harry Potter we walked across the very beautiful, and fairly tourist free, island of Sentosa. The signage is appalling, we got lost so often, but getting lost in such a lovely place is no hardship. We came across the fort and its reproduction army `sets` reproducing how the fort may have looked in its most active form. We walked along jungle paths and beach paths, through the very beautiful resorts part of the island, and could still have spent more time there. Everything on Sentosa is a paid entry. If we had chosen the all inclusive pass, which was a little too expensive for our budget, we could have done so much more. What we did was free, but also very enjoyable. Marina Bay Sand hotel was next on our list. That 3 part hotel with the ship on top. This was to be a highlight, but our reality was a slightly frustrating fully booked observation deck. We tried every which way to get to the top, but the only way to achieve that was to pay $35 dollars each in exchange for food/drink vouchers redeemable at the bar. Even then there was no promise or certainty that we would get a table, and not just have to hover at the bar. Whilst it would have been wonderful to get that awesome view of the city, no view is worth that cost. Instead, we sent little bunny up armed with the go pro and she used one of the passes that didn`t get scanned when we went on the hoho. From the Marina Bay hotel which is quite stunning btw, we went to the Gardens By the Bay, through the garden of the Super Trees, a spectacular garden area of tree like structures and gardens. Mr Bunny and I went to the top of the tallest tree via the nicest lift ride ever. If the outside of the tree represents nature of sorts, the lift roof was a visual view of rising into a forest of flowers and trees. Little bunny walked the tree walk. From the top of the tree we got a birds eye view of the Marina Bay hotel and had a lot of fun taking forced perspective photos. From the outdoor trees we walked to the two separate domes of the Cloud forest and the Flower Dome. There is no denying both places are just fabulous, but while I suspect a person with a greater interest in all things plant would be able to spend a couple of hours in the flower dome, we bunnies of the preferred artificial plastic pot plants were able to scoot around in around 30 mins. There was a huge Monet type live ish exhibition, but yawn, boooring...(sorry) The cloud forest housing the worlds largest indoor waterfall was so much more interesting, and personally more fascinating. You climb to the very top of the dome via lift, but return to ground level via a series of aerial bridges and walkways. A tad scary if heights are not your thing, but quite wonderful. Another favourite tour in Singapore was the night safari. This is part of the zoo, but instead of walking around by day, this particular part of the Zoo houses all the animals that prefer to be active by night. You board an open sided bus anytime from 7.30pm when the park opens until 11pm, and are taken on a scenic tour around the park viewing animals in the dark. Not pitch black, the pens are lit by an artificial night light so that you can easily see the animals as they wander about and eat. You lose the animals true colours, but any fool knows an elephant is usually pink. The track that the bus takes is quite narrow, and very very green, your are driving amongst bushes and along side the pens. It feels quite special. Once you complete the bus section of the park, you return to the start and can follow on foot one of 4 very different walking trails to see numerous other nocturnal animals. Hearing and seeing a Lion roar at 10pm is quite intense. The animal pens are superb, wide ditches that are so cleverly disguised you almost feel like the animals could run down and back up your side for a closer view of the human pond. We were to return to the zoo the following day, this time to do the River Wonders Boat tour. A boat ride through the Zoo this time. Followed by a walking tour that took in Pandas and a Red panda amongst other animals. A truly remarkable Zoo that still had 2 other sections of the Zoo that could, if you had time, have been explored. I could write so much more about this fabulous City/Country State, but I wont. Singapore should be on everyone`s bucket list. The greenest, cleanest City you can imagine. In four days I may have been able to fill a small carrier bag with the discarded rubbish that I spotted. Their commitment to a cleaner greener environment is just enviable. Everywhere you turn there is a wow factor. We didn`t see a single ugly building. No scruffy corners. No overflowing bins. We did see 5 giant river Otters swimming in the pristine river. No plastic bottles, no floating rubbish, just pristine green lands and clean water. The water here is filtered. You can drink from the taps. Singapore you are quite special. Just teach your population how to smile and you have cracked the mystery of enviable city living. Prior to leaving we realised we still had tickets left on our pass, so we got back on the hoho bus and this time chose route number two. Both a pity and a relief that we didn`t do this route sooner as we found the shops. ALL the shops. Split into many different areas, Singapore is very clever in design, China town, CBD, India, Shopping, and Entertainment. (that`s just for starters) A smile. allow the edges of your mouth to raise slightly, a slight parting of the lips, and et voila! The lack of emotion was our only dislike of Singapore. Absolutely no one smiles! In the most stunning architectural and visually stunning city that we have visited so far, it was by far inhabited by the most sour faced people. Changi airport. This really is a beautiful airport like no other. We had spent hours pricing flights to Kuala Lumpur so that we could spend time at this airport. It wasn`t to be. We could get a bus for a minimal amount. That is, right until the day before we planned to leave. I found affordable flights and booked us on a late evening flight so that we could spend the time enjoying Changi and the Jewel. What an amazing experience. This airport and its 4 terminals is a wow factor and an experience all on its own. I once saw a Facebook reel about 2 boys saying that they were going to try and spend 3 days at the airport without flying out. Totally believable. Cinema, shopping mall, swimming pool, hotel, spa, nails. luxury shopping, flight simulator, flower garden, butterfly garden are just the tip of the iceberg. Waterfall? aerial walkway? gourmet restaurant? It has it all. The airport is a destination all of its own. Singapore. You are quite special. And quite categorically not just a stop over airport.

We said goodbye to Australia and headed north. This time with Bali and Indonesia in our sights. Not too sure what to expect in Bali given all its negative press about over tourism and crowded beaches. Turns out that is not a worry I need have for the moment, given that my first accommodation is actually on the Island of Nusa Penida (where? Never heard of it...) I hadn`t actually realised that I had been staring at the island every single time I switched on my laptop, with that screensaver staring me in the face! Well, well.. 3 Slightly more excited bunnies now. Nusa Penida Bali airport, I`m sure you have all seen the film Ticket to Paradise, Julia Roberts/George Clooney, landing at Bali etc etc....Ha !!! Couldn`t be further from reality if it tried. Trust me when I say Bali airport is more akin to Manchester, Heathrow or Berlin than the tiny little paradise one room airport of the film. Putting that aside and leaving the airport, where is the greenery, the pretty sights of a beautiful island? Well it is certainly not present as you leave the airport, nor was it apparent on our 30 min cross city drive to the harbour where we were to catch our boat to the Island. Instead we encountered a scruffy drive through a scruffy town, we saw pockets of fabulous architecture and temples, but generally nothing to write home about. Our first impressions of Bali were not good. With mutterings of Bali being not great anymore we actually wondered if we should skip coming back here, and instead lean more towards the smaller quieter islands. Watch this space. From the tiny harbour at Sanur we boarded a small boat for the first of many little boats we would take over the next few days visiting the island destinations. First, to Nusa Penida. The journey took around one hour ish and was actually quite pleasant. We landed at Banjar Nyub and thankfully we had a taxi prebooked so no running the gauntlet of hassling taxi drivers. They are all so lovely, but it is quite intense. Our home on Nusa Penida was our first experience of a bungalow with their huge high arched thatched or in the present case, tiled, roofs. Such a lovely place to stay, with fab views towards the sea. This was to be our first mini holiday within a holiday. A pool, a sea view, a nice restaurant two mins walk away, we felt like we were in heaven. A couple of days doing nothing before these bunny feet twitched, and we booked ourselves a private taxi with driver. Sounds privileged? well we quickly got our dreams dashed there, when leaving the comfort of our bungalow paradise we hit the roads, along with every other tourist on the island, in their identical taxis going to the exact same places, along the craziest winding, pot-holed, roads ever. Yes, the roads are tarmac, but to clarify, imagine rolling out a piece of pastry, the neatest part goes on the widest busiest road, but the left overs, the edges, the bits you cut off when you fill your baking tray, that`s what is laid out on the rest of the roads. Bumpy winding narrow roads with more mud patches than a hippos bum. We had left our room at 9am, thinking this was nice and early and maybe the roads would be quite, after all we hadn`t really seen many other tourists. Ha! No wonder! as pulling up at Diamond Beach we probably found every other tourist on the entire island. Yes, it is beautiful, the colour of the sea is the most beautiful shade of turquoise, green, emerald, topaz blue imaginable, with around 1000 tourists and every car and driver hovering about trying to take the best photos in the best spots. Once again I curse Instagram. Personally this bunny spies the photo, stands, snaps, goes...but the Instagram brigade??? Yawn, pose like this, like that, from this angle, from behind, pouting down the sunnies, point the toes, kiss the lips, not to mention `does my dress look ok`... ITS A BLOODY PHOTOGRAPH, JUST TAKE THE SODDING PHOTO!! I will tell you for nothing that western girls manage the grab a pose, pout, photo quite quickly, but if your from Asia...its time to crack open the picnic basket Boo Boo...cos you are in for a long wait! and neither do they care either. Leaving Diamond behind we went to another point on the island called Teletubbies hills, no need to elaborate here, buts lets say calling it tourist worthy is a bit meh. It is a selection of green hills, woo hoo. We did have plans to visit the iconic view point of Kelingking Beach the following day, but with a monsoon start to the day, this was postponed. Do we feel sad, or unlucky, or frustrated when it rains? Nope, not at all. One little bunny is less than happy, but the older bunnies take it in our stride. We enjoy the rain, as long as we are not getting wet. Rain means cards, or writing, or Words with Friends, Netflix if the wifi stays or even just catching up on sleep. Sometimes doing nothing is doing something. With the weather behaving we grabbed an early morning taxi the following day, and headed directly to that view point. We drove straight there, bypassing other `must see` places. Getting there with only 3 other cars on the car park was excellent news. We were warned by the driver to avoid the aggressive monkeys, (those cute little things were aggressive?) we kept our distance, but found it difficult to accept they were aggressive when we watched one little guy plait a woman`s hair as she stood with her back to him. She was unaware at the time what he was doing, as clearly scrolling through your phone is far more interesting than monkeys and fabulous views. It was quite special looking down at the view which has greeted me for months, every time I pull out my laptop. We took all our photos, and left. We left just as a monumentally huge group of asian tourists arrived. We knew we were lucky to have got our photos as waves of bimbos and himbos in long floaty instagram stereo type dresses and cool shirts, swanned down the stairs towards the view point. If we had arrived only 15 mins later, we would have been in an Everest like queue. The view point was worth seeing, but at what cost are we getting to see these places? The next place of interest summed it all up for me. Hoards and hoards of people all aiming for the same place. These two bunnies took one look and decided we didn`t need to see anything that badly. We plonked ourselves down on a couple of stools and had a drink watching the hoards go by. It was called Angels Billabong, but to be honest, had we caught it on a bad day, or is it really that spit of flat land with a natural cove? Sorry but I didn`t feel the need to hike my bunny butt down to see that any closer. Our brief time on Nusa Penida has come to an end, and our journey now takes us to Lombok. This is the next island on from Bali. Many people commented that its so much quieter than Bali, but just as beautiful. This has to be worth a visit. Lombok. Our boat was due to leave at 9.30. or when its full. We arrived at the boat ticket office, purchased our tickets, watched the boats arrive, then we were collected by staff and hustled onto a open sided mini bus type vehicle and driven to the next dock down. More waiting. Finally the boat arrived, loaded first the luggage then the passengers, and we were off. The journey to Lombok was 2 hours and 20 mins and went via the 3 Gili Islands of Trawangan, Meno and Air. Then the fun started. As soon as you land you are bombarded with taxi, taxi taxi. We know from experience that these taxis, however nice, would be the most expensive. Green and cabbage looking tourist, what do you know about prices?. We got hounded all the way down the street until we took refuge in a supermarket that also offered hot dogs. There we sat eating, all the time being hassled by overly friendly taxi drivers, all of whom assumed we would just pay their silly prices, and instead I contacted our host and asked what a reasonable price should be. Naturally it was half what we had been quoted. A brief negotiation by our host to a willing driver and we were off. We saved a whole £5, but that`s not the point. We don`t like people trying to take advantage of us. Turns out our next accommodation was almost one hour and 35 mins away over the big hill. We felt a little bad about not paying the excessive £5 overcharge. Lombok proved to be quite an expensive island in which to find a place to stay. I can find any number of places, but boxes need to be ticked. Price, rooms, seating, kitchen etc and this one particular house in a place called Mataram ticked all our boxes. From the photos and even the outside of the building I was expecting a little more, but cute and practical were more realistic words. We had a detached house in large gardens, two bedrooms, a living area, bathroom and cooking space. Comparing it to the many properties we had passed on the way, it would be considered luxurious, and we treated it as such. We knew that the hosts had once lived in the house, with one child, but now lived elsewhere. Little bunny summoned up her pre school years experience and embraced the cuteness of her room with its child sized bed, furniture and pooh bear clock. Mr and Mrs bunny felt closer than ever in our room that contained a bed and a table, and a single sized duvet. We had some fun those 5 nights as we each wrestled for our corner. We didn`t dare turn the air con off as we would have quickly melted, but leaving it on and the room was fresh, too fresh to play single duvet wars. life is fun. Our biggest hmmm in the flat was the absence of a sink in the bathroom. Handwashing under the shower tap was fine, but teeth cleaning? As with everywhere we stay, we made it ours, moving furniture around, putting items away that we had no use for, and generally making the place ours for a short stay. We do this everywhere, if its necessary, but hasten to add that we always leave the places exactly as we find them. Call me a dummy, but in years gone by it never occurred to me that I should feel free to move the furniture around to make a room my own. I`ve always been very careful to not touch anything. ( Thank you @Rick Steves/You Tube). The hosts at this property were exceptionally lovely. They really couldn`t do enough for us. The door lock jammed on the first evening, so we spent the whole of the following day waiting for a repair. This caused us no problems at all as we had no plans to leave our place and used our time to make plans for the next leg of the journey. They came, tried to repair the door, failed, swapped door locks around, and promised us that they would take us to the local market and shopping mall when they realised we had no food and no transport. At this point I need to mention the fact that this house, booked by booking.com came with free breakfast. How does a self contained flat/house come with free breakfast? We found out the first morning, when the hosts turned up with eggs, bread, jam, fruit, tea, coffee, and fruit juice and proceeded to take over the kitchen to make our breakfast. We have never felt so uncomfortable. This couple live in the next town, have 3 small children, and they are here making us our breakfast?. We quietly ate everything they made, and swiftly washed and cleaned as they sat out side waiting for us to eat. Never again are we prepared to let anyone cater for us in this manner. The experience was quite humbling. We politely told them that we would not be wanting them to cook for us again. They actually looked relieved. We got the feeling that they were the property managers, but the actual owner was a bit of a donkeys rear end. George and Irma kept their promise to take us shopping, and the following morning, (after we made our own breakfast) they each came on their own scooter, along with a grab scooter rider, and the 3 of us took our very first scooter ride to the nearby town. A little scary but so much fun. We only chose to do one tour on Lombok and it took us to the tourist destination of Kuta, not the one on Bali, Kuta Lombok at the south of the island. Compared to the local vibe of Mataram Kuta is exactly what you expect from a tourist town. All the usual TS shops all selling the same products, numerous cafes catering for everyone from American to Chinese and everything in between. And rubbish. Don`t misunderstand, there is rubbish everywhere, but when its IMBY, its tidy rubbish, but get closer to a tourist resort and the refuse cannot be cleared quickly enough. Dumping on the roadside, down pretty valleys is rife. We spent an hour in Kuta, but these three bunnies were so much happier when we headed back home, back to where local children found us fascinating and yelled lots of Hello`s at us. We know that there is such more to Lombok, but without transport it is just too difficult to get around. We could get taxis, but its getting to be expensive due only to the frequency of need. One way or another we are either going to have to bite the bullet and hire scooters, or accept that big beautiful islands will remain out of reach. We will be coming back to Lombok as we wanted to see another coastline. With our short first stay on Lombok over, we headed back to the port, (an hour and a half) and caught a boat to the Gili Islands. There are many Gilis, meaning small island, but the three that are most prominent with tourists are Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air. Gili Trawangan, locally known as Gili T, is known as the party island and our first stop. With this in mind, it was decided that two bunnies would spend just 3 nights here, the little bunny spending four. Cheap and cheerful is the only way to describe our room, but when you spend a whole £9 per night including unlimited tea/coffee and breakfast and a pool, who are we to complain? Gili T like both other nearby Gilis are very small walkable islands. No cars are allowed on the islands, with the only transport being horse and trap, electric mini scooters, or bicycles. Knowing that our first accommodation was an easy walk from the harbour, we spared the horse, and used shanks pony instead. With the weather here in Indonesia very unpredictable, it is after all the wet season, we have to plan our days around the weather. Eg, Day one, we decided to wander around the island and get a feel for the place. Tiny narrow streets, not overly busy, not `real` shops, but tiny little local buildings selling simple handmade tourist souvenirs lined the alleys. Children wander about barefoot and cats are everywhere. Very well fed and happy looking cats I like to add. The horse and carts can be seen around each corner. Along the sea front are the bigger shops and the more touristic cafes and restaurants. Gone are the simple eateries, and here you find the more expensive places. It was whilst walking this street, we decided to see if we could hire and ride a mini scooter as a precursor to hiring a proper one elsewhere. Mr Bunny sampled the scooter first. With a very hesitant local guy showing him the basic controls, of which Mr B took very little notice, the next thing we witnessed was a big bunny on a very small electric scooter whizzy wobbling his bunny butt down the street sending walkers diving for cover as he careered towards them. The scooters barely touch more than 15km tops, so there was no danger, but watching that bunny butt wobbling so much on a scooter than 10year kids can drive was nothing short of hilarious. His return run was a little more dignified, after he realised that he had set off the first time with the throttle on full and his hand clutching the brake hence the flying speedy wobble, the return was a slightly more sedate bunny driving a little more slowly and confidently. The flying bunny had somewhat unnerved little bunny, whose nerves overtook her and was the reason why her bunny butt remained stationary, her little scooter not moving an inch. As the turn of Mrs B came closer, the heavens started to open and the moment came and went. Sensing this was more than just a shower, that this could be a proper tropical monsoon downpour, we ran as quickly as fast as two cronky bunnies could possibly run to the nearest restaurant, and dived in there just as the heavens fully opened. Luckily for us the nearest place was also the biggest hotel and restaurant on the island. The Pearl. Oh wow, what luck, it was just awesome. With a huge upstairs covered terrace overlooking the sea, we watched as the street turned from sandy to soggy from trickle to river. Under our beautiful bambooed roof restaurant, we sat and listened to the rain. With the downpour never ending, we decided instead to treat ourselves to lunch instead of a dodgy scooter. Best meal ever. And not expensive either. A double winner. As we chose to not venture far in an evening we cannot say as to whether or not Gili T lives up to its party island image, what can be said, is how dismissive the foreign tourist can be of local customs. Everywhere you walked had signs begging people to refrain from wearing bikinis around the village, to be dress modestly. Who ignored this? Constantly? Tourists. It really is shameful how much we, and I`m not aiming my observations just at the western cultures either, are happy to visit such beautiful places, but take its traditions so lightly. These bikini bimbos are not here to see, they are here to be seen, and its annoying, rude, distasteful and disrespectful. We bunnies are doing all we can to avoid upsetting any locals. Gili Meno. Our original plan was to stay on all three Gili Islands, but given that Meno is quite exclusive, and so much quieter and thereby more expensive than Gili T, we chose instead to go as a day trip. The island is close enough to almost think you could swim there. You can`t, the currents are treacherous, but it really is only a 10 min boat ride away. Gili Meno is also the island on which the Race Across the World ended 2024, and having already visited one finish hotel at Ushuai, it was exciting being able to say that we had visited another. Meno is tiny. We virtually walked its entire perimeter before finding the hotel. We had lunch there, but unlike the enthusiastic manager of the hotel at Ushuai, none of the staff here appeared to be able to recall the TV programme. Leaving little bunny on Gili T to enjoy an evening of films and unsuccessful bike rides (see miss.tiff.travel s on You tube, and all with become apparent) The two bigger bunnies boated our butts across to Gili Air, to the very appropriately named Follow the Rabbit bungalows. Seeing this place on Google maps, I didn`t even look at anywhere else to stay on the island. What could be wrong with a place that had bunnies on balconies? We were not disappointed. I am a little cross with myself that we agreed to take a horse taxi to get to the rooms, I would normally avoid animal transport at all cost. The carriage was tiny, the harness was loose, and the horse looked fit and well with nice feet. I bit my tongue and hopped on. Good job really as our room was the furthest point from the harbour. True to the description we had a white bunny waiting for us on our balcony. This place was lovely, and somewhere that we really enjoyed. During yet another downpour, and the observation that we hadn`t left our room for food, the staff brought us some supper on a plate. Gratefully received. Another quiet island, and somewhere to which we would return, we spent our brief time there walking the island, dodging 3ft monitor lizards (just the one, thankfully ) and sitting on beach beds with cold drinks and blue sea views. Gili Islands, long may you remain unspoilt. Lombok again. Whilst we did return to Lombok, our hotel was situated quite a way out of the main town, and though we had planned to venture further afield across the Island, the furthest we managed was 2 consecutive nights at 2 different restaurants across the road. What we know of Lombok is that it is a very nice much quieter island to its boisterous neighbour Bali. What we also witnessed, which is so sad, is the lack of pride in itself. There was a local 3 day holiday and this beach area was the biggest focal point. The locals came in their hundreds, with picnics, food, and just sat on the beach throwing whatever rubbish they had around them. Even a local peddler of bracelets, who had a good command of English, told us how much he despairs at the lack of care. Why can they not use the bin, he said to us, look at them, the bin is so close. We blame tourism for the additional refuse, but when locals ignore the islands beauty, what hope is there? Bali. The island we have been most looking forward to whilst in the UK, yet since arriving into Australia, became the Island we came to have the most reservations about. We landed back at the port and had a pre booked taxi to our accommodation. We had watched one of our favourite You Tubers about his trip to Bali and decided to follow his suggestions for places to visit. So, to Canggu we went. Over 2 hours of driving to cover just 40 ish km, such is the busy nature of the roads. Did we pass fabulous and beautiful places? No, not in the slightest. Just your average bustle of local towns and villages. As we got closer to Canguu we noted the quickening array of tourist shops and knew we were getting close. Now, it must be remembered that we are budget travellers, not holiday makers in search of a luxury hotel or spa resort. The rooms we chose were excellent, basic, but excellent. With 2 single beds on an upper floor, and 2 on the lower floor, they were comfortable and clean. The bathroom was practical. The promised kitchen turned out to be shared, clean and tidy, but still shared. Venturing into the town of Canggu was interesting. I had thought it was just the one long street with a couple of off shoots, but realised only when leaving that it actually covers quite a large area. The street was quite busy, the restaurants appeared to be exceptionally good, the one where we chose to eat had fabulous food. The glorious beaches of Bali.....I shall rephrase that, the black sand beach of Canggu was a mecca for the surfing brigade. The sunset there was quite good, but all in all, just a beach town and certainly not a place I would gush over. Day two we ventured along another road and came across a luxury hotel with the Host inviting us in to take a look. No doubt about it, this hotel was stunning, even though the hotels prize `for guests only` pool was central and completely empty, whilst the pool for all was an infinity pool overlooking the sea with comfy beach beds and a bar. Odd. With a blue sky day we sat there for a while enjoying the beach view. Is this Bali? perhaps, but stay at the resort and you really could be anywhere. We took a private taxi tour around the island, with a view to seeing parts of the island ending at our next town stay, the popular Ubud. Leaving the town all we saw was more and more and more building works. We passed a large rice field and passed comment that we thought we would see more of those, to which our young 24yr old taxi driver said, I remember when Canguu was mostly rice fields. 15 years to go from peaceful rice terraces to tourist central. So sad. Our first stop, on a rainy blustery day was Tanah Lot. For anyone who is a fan of the George Clooney film Ticket to Paradise (supposedly set in Bali) this was featured. Atop a grassy palm tree hill they stood and viewed the paradise temple of Tanah Lot.....bloody tosh! Artistic license with a whole lot of rabbit poo! Tanah Lot is accessed by a very large car park, several hundred t.s. shops, countless bars and eateries, and is generally my idea of Tourist Hell. Granted the weather didn`t help, but I would truly hate to be there in the height of tourist season and on a blue sky day. I imagine once upon a time this stunning peaceful temple on its tiny island would have been something special, but now? just another overcrowded money grabbing attraction. Bali, you are just not floating my boat. To the rice terraces next. Now this was special, and being a UNESCO site protected and peaceful this was more the Bali I was hoping for. We had breakfast there, but considering the wait time in a cafe that only had 3 customers, us, we waited an hour! We didn`t mind too much as the view was something special. From the rice terraces we continued further north to the temple area of Ulun Danu Beratan. Online it looked beautiful, and it was, a huge open pristine grass area with temples, play areas, flowers, fish ponds, but it was created for tourism. It felt so false. Get dressed up in traditional costume and take your photo here. No thanks. Still got the bunny blues in beautiful Bali. Last stop Ubud. Oh my goodness, we have never encountered as much traffic in all our travels. Busy Bali lives up to its name. Ubud may have pockets of beauty, but the sheer number of scooters and tourists is quite unbelievable. The streets were gridlocked, and our driver told us this was quiet compared to Christmas!!! Where is the Bali of my dreams? Still on a budget, we encountered our worst room ever. With no Air con and a humidity of almost 90% the room felt damp, clammy and just dismal. Ubud? not for me thanks. 2 nights we stayed before getting our sad bunny butts out of there. Our dislike of the place additionally hampered by the room being situated at the back of the tourist market, the likes of which we had to run the gauntlet of each time we left. We would support the little guy, but we are just not in the market for the weight of extra T.S. Little bunny ventured to the twice weekly local show which she found `ok`..we older bunnies just couldn`t be bothered. The monkey forest was a nice break from the noise and chaos of Ubud but other than that, not for me thanks. Even the nicest walk in Bali, was challenged by the ever present building works on pristine land. The spa resort was undeniably stunning, but if they hadn`t built it, I am quite certain that the green landscape would have been just as special. Our last stop in Bali was Nusa Dua. Or as close as I could possibly get us to it. Nusa Dua is a gated area in the southern tip of Bali. Full of beautiful expensive hotels, with manicured lawns, sea views, private bars on white man made beaches, this is possibly the Bali to which every one comes to see. However yet again, you could be anywhere. Maybe we didn`t venture far enough, stayed in the wrong places, or just got unlucky I am not sure. What I do know is that Bali is too busy for these bunnies. Our little bungalow a few kms from the overly pampered and spoilt brats of Nusa Dua was the closest we came to the touch of Bali paradise that we had hoped for. One of just 3 bungalows that had guests, we had a pool to ourselves, the most stunning bedroom to date, not biggest, just visually stunning (4 poster bed anyone? ) and the loveliest chatty host an ex cruise ship server, who made us a beautiful breakfast each morning serving it to us on our huge patio. Whilst Bali didn`t float our boats as budget travellers, with a lot more research I suspect we could have found the real beauty of Bali somewhere. Indonesia you have been interesting and varied. With more time I think we would have stayed longer and travelled further, probably to the more outlying islands. Until next time, Terima Kasih xx

Everyone has told us, watch the West Coast, it gets very wet, a lot of rain, flooded roads and closed roads. Despite being billed as being the most beautiful coastline, we are happy to chase the sun and follow our own paths. In this case, Arrowtown, followed by Wanaka. New Zealand Arrowtown, a cute little place dating back to the Gold rush era. Leaving out the gold part, and the lake this town is Ambleside or Bowness all over (sorry for any confused non Brits who read my blog). Pretty little overpriced tourist shops albeit made of wood not slate or stone, small artisan shops, a few boutique shops, an excellent bakery and an even better sweetie shop. We paused there for a while, spent a whole 5 minutes in the Chinese Village. It would appear that the local New Zealanders were non too keen on said race, (fancy that...) but anxious to reflect on all aspects of local culture, good and bad, the Chinese village remains as a tourist interest. Onto Wanaka. Wanaka, the town with `That` tree !! Every sign, everywhere, refers to the tree as `That Wanaka tree`. It was here that we decided to take some down time, we booked an electric pitch site so that we could quite literally recharge our batteries, both human and electronic. Showers !! Yeah !! Whilst we had a shower available to us in the bunny bus, we had neither the inclination to wait a full 30 mins to heat the water, nor the energy to shower in such a petite and bijou space. This site had real showers. Oh the luxury. Day one was a little damp, but with energy levels running on empty, it was nice just doing nothing. well apart from rescuing a baby bird that had fallen from its nest, and was replaced into said nest by Mr B with the aid of the motorhome bed ladder. Little birdie we hope you survived. By late afternoon the damp morning turned into a glorious evening, so we decided to wander into town, see `That Wanaka Tree` and visit the best cinema ever for a night of much overdue entertainment. That Wanaka Tree. In a nutshell, Lake Wanaka is stunning, like every other lake, but on the edge of Wanaka town, a small tree is making its mark by growing out of the lake itself around 8-10` from the lake shore. Like the gloriously situated Church at Lake Tekapo, this tree hogs the limelight. When in Wanaka you take a picture of said tree. Mission accomplished. Paradiso Cinema. What a wonderful little cinema. From the entrance with its little cafe of food to order, for now or the interval, to the posters that adorn every wall of popular modern films, the bathrooms that are akin to your cute wooden cabin bathroom at home, wood log burning fire (not heated now, as its summer) and the cinema itself with 2 or 3 seater settees, single arm chairs, a couple of rows of regular cinema seating, love bug cars at the back, home from home cinema at its very best. A cinema manager who commanded respect by his most cheering and hearty `are we all ready for the film guys?`.. and absolute silence followed. Gladiators Ready!! (number2) Queenstown. Oh my golly gosh, just when you think there is absolutely no way South Island could get any better, you reach Queenstown. How and why this town is so much nicer than anywhere else is hard to say, but within 5 mins of arriving any of us could quite easily of scoured an estate agent to price up a house. We have a friend from years ago, an old band friend, who came to New Zealand for a short working holiday, fell in love, and stayed. We had plans to meet up with Emma after sampling the towns very famous Fergburgers. A burger place that is so easy to find, simply look for the shop with a queue half way round the building. Worth it?? Absolutely !!! We had a short walk around the town, to the harbour area, but with Emma promising us a tourist tour, we kept our wanderings short. At the end of the beach/lake side was a children`s playground, with a very adult sized slide. Yes, Yes I did. Several times. In fact all 3 bunnies had a turn. We started a trend, as by the time we left, at least another 5 adults had a quick whizz down this slide. We met Emma at the large Supermarket, and it was lovely to meet up again with a woman who was always a pleasure to be around. Emma took us around the town, pointing out all the little quirky places, especially the towns silly monument, which some clown decided that a boat was a good idea. True to form, as Emma pointed out, there were several traffic cones in said boat. One nice touch for the day, we met a bagpiper, who on request played Highland Cathedral. Happy memories. Queenstown jet boat. Mrs Bunny is a slight coward, and despite making promises to do anything and say no to nothing, boats are just not my thing, they have a jet boat ride called Shotover, it is the most famous trip offered in Queenstown, however ridiculously expensive, 150 dollars plus expensive, but on Lake Wakatipu a similar jet boat ride was so much more affordable, just as fast and not quite as scary. all the bunnies went on the jet boat, and it was crazy fun. We loved Queenstown so much. I could add that it is the home of bungee jumping from the nearby gorge bridge, and it was a place that we freedom camped for one night. Did we watch the bungee jumpers?? Yep, did we.....what do you think lol psst maybe the 300 dollar pp is the clue. Blue Penguins!! Who knew that penguins came in blue as well as the Lakes? Not quite the same shade of blue, but blue non the less. These little guys inhabit the town of Oamaru, which was to be the next town we hit. Unfortunately, literally. At the time we were not aware that the penguins from the reserve were out at sea all day, returning home to nest in the early evening. We got offered entry to see the newly hatched chicks, but when the receptionist showed us the chicks on the penguin cam, it seemed a little odd to pay another 60 dollars to visit them in person. that and the fact the penguins were under a red light? We cut our losses, accepted that penguins were not on todays agenda, and continued our journey north in our search for bigger fishy things, the Sperm Whale. With the bunnybus running low on oil???, a quick stop was in order, and here we bumped into a something, not a someone. A brief lapse of concentration, the need to get the bunny bus butt off the busy road, Mr B ducked left down the wrong side of the petrol pumps, and crash bang wallop we were stuck. Wedged firmly at the edge of the petrol station building. Obviously it was necessary for the petrol station worker to point out that we should have driven down the middle aisle ( no sh.t sherlock!) and so stuck are we. Naturally Mr B has the all events covered insurance, and a quick call to the hirers meant that the tow truck arrived within an hour to drag us free. With the bunny bus free, and sporting only a few minor war wounds, we drove along the coast road until the sun was nearly set, then freedom camped to lick our wounds for the evening. Kaikora, Whale Watching. Watching the Whales has always been on Mr Bunnys bucket list, not so much Mrs B, as those silly whales tend to prefer open water, which invariably means a boaty mcboatface thing. I did try ! I promise. We booked three tickets to see the wet whales in the water, but on booking in it was advisory that passengers took sea sickness tablets, as the waters were forecast choppy. Mrs B, already green and wobbly from walking along the solid and exceptionally stationary sea shore, grabbed the option for a refund with both bunny mitts, and charged her bunny butt back to the bunny bus for a brew and biscuits. The relief was palpable I assure you. The two whale watching bunnies returned around 4 hours later happily excited to have seen a whole tail come out of the water. Pardon the lack of enthusiasm, but you wanted me to spend 4 hours on a boaty thing to see a bloody tail?? Ive seen Jaws you know, If I was doing a wet boaty thing to see fishy stuff, I want the whole darn shebang, teeth, fins, the lot not just its sodding tail!!! Pretty confident I got the better deal that day, with my tea, chocolate and mountain view, all from the comfort of the bunny bus. Abel Tasman. the Jewel of the South Island. An area of South Island that we had been looking forward to the most. Prior to driving everywhere else, and realising that just about everywhere is glorious. Abel Tasman is a national park with reported exceptional beauty, and guess what,? mostly accessed by sea taxi! We booked yet another electric pitch, showers, showers, showers, the wet soapy variety, yeah baby. We were almost at the start of the Abel Tasman hiking trails, (two days, three days even 5 days) but lucky for us, there was a lovely coastal walk to the next sandy bay. This short (an hour) walk, was deliciously easy, and landed us at a picture perfect paradise beach. Palm trees, white sand, driftwood logs, blue seas, it had the lot. We stayed there for a couple of hours, on a beach, in November ! it was heavenly. Little bunny really fancied the water taxi ride to a further point, (arranged for the next day) and it was agreed that we would meet up for lunch at the beach we were on. The next day, bright and early, little bunny set off on her water taxi, and rang us an hour later shouting and screaming, I could hear water, and muffled words like xxx in the water. I kid you not, my heart ran cold. It was Mr B, hearing the conversation from further away who explained to me that she was screaming that she had seen an orca pod. Orca! off the coast of New Zealand. Little B was still grinning 4 hours later when we met up.*( This evening I rang my mum and dad, it was late in the evening and for peace and quiet we chatted from the camp laundry. Little bunny came to join me and told them all about seeing the Orca that morning. We giggled that night as recalled the usual good natured banter between my parents as neither could decide which way up to hold the phone. ) This conversation would later haunt my soul. Hokitika. A long drive from Abel Tasman, we planned to do this journey over two days. We originally planned to stay at Greymouth on the coast, but a slight misheard directional call sent us inland, not coastal, causing us to pause overnight in a tree forest, not a sea view. Nothing matters, and it all adds to the adventure. To be fair going the wrong way, put us closer to our end destination. Once at Hokitika we had two real things planned. First, send home our winter and surplus clothes. Two, walk the gorge, and the third unplanned activity, get eaten alive by evil little black sand flies. Box filled, sealed, labelled and ready for collection, we went to walk the Hokitika gorge. It was 38km inland from Hokitika but so worth the visit. Its a good job we gave little bunny the title of `what` as otherwise it would be yet another amazing little gem that we wouldn`t have chosen to go and see. Sand flies aside, (evil little barstools) it was a journey well worth taking. Arthurs Pass. This long road connects Hokitika on the West coast, to Christchurch on the East. For a long stretch of road, this is a road that you drive along saying, `that`s nice` and that`s pretty, right up to Arthurs Village where you pause and say Wow !! and for a further 30km or so, its just wow after wow after wow. At Arthurs Pass there was a big waterfall, a short 30 minute walk from the car park. 30 minutes my bunnybutt.!!!!! It took us at least 45 minutes and every second of it was up hill and up flight after flight after flight of stairs. We did it, but my poor bunny knees had quite the tantrum for many days afterwards. Whilst at Arthurs Pass village we saw many signs saying don`t feed the Kea. Kea? Beautiful chunky parrot type birds, and quite rare. We spotted two outside the cafe and went Kea stalking, with success, cute. International Antarctic Centre, Christchurch. For the last 50 or so years, Christchurch has the served as the main hub for transporting scientists to Antarctica. The excellent Antarctic Centre was a wonderful museum of education for all things snowy and cold. A 4D cinema gave you a tour around the ice caps, the Ice room provided us with a snow storm simulation, brrrrrrr, thankfully they provide you with coats, but I did wish for several minutes that I hadn`t chosen to wear cropped leggings, my ankles were freezing. There was a snow mobile on which to sit and take authentic pictures. From snow room to snow dogs. Huskies, the softest, calmest, most peaceful dogs I have ever had the pleasure of being allowed to cuddle and stroke. Their handler was a Maori guy (Joe) with his beautiful Maori story tattooed on his face. Knowing that Maori tattoos tell a story, he explained his story to us. Quite moving. A man to whom we could have listened to all day. Snow dogs to snow birds, Penguins! and not just any penguins, blue ones, yay. The penguins in the Centre are all rescued birds with extensive problems. One leg, no tongue, broken shoulders or wings. Each bird is hand fed, with an excellent handler talk. Did you know that penguins have hooked bills, get grumpy, and frequently bite. Even the cute blue ones. Outside we rode in Hagglund vehicles, (little 10 men transport machines once used to transport people across the ice), to a nearby track they were put through their paces, up hills, down steep inclines, across bridges, it was the bumpiest ride ever, but a lot of fun, an idea of the sort of terrain and how it feels when you cross the Ice Fields. Our time in the fabulously awesome country that is New Zealand has come to an end. Just time for one last quick meal, and shortbread biscuit at the Riverside, and its off to the airport. Goodbye New Zealand, you are without question, the most beautiful country so far. We will return.

Galapagos. A bucket list experience, and one that we were the most excited about. I have watched Master and Commander, I had that same feeling of excitement that the doctor did. Big bunny is an animal lover, and little bunny was about to land in Instagram heaven, follow her @ miss.tiff.travel s. We flew from Quito to San Cristobal Island, via Guayaquil, and landed in paradise, granted my wild imagination far exceeded the reality, I really had expected scrupulously clean buildings, and streets, zero litter and picture perfect town, but the reality is a living town, with everyday people going about their every day business. It is so clear that once upon time the local population wasn`t expecting the deluge of tourists that it is encountering today. Was I disappointed? Not in the slightest. San Cristobal is just raw and beautiful. Yes, you are going to encounter building works and litter, and why? Tourism. It comes at a price. Take the photos and leave only footprints, everything about that statement applies here. From the moment we landed all we saw was the raw beauty, spoilt only in places by the every expanding need to accommodate tourism The road was less than perfect, we loved it. There was building taking place, we accepted it. We saw the wild animals, we respected them, their privacy, their space. they were here first. Who didn`t? Tourists, not all I assure you, but we saw more than one silly bint with a camera and a ` I`m going kiss a seal because you can`t and shouldn`t but I`m going to anyway because it looks good on my insta` attitude * disclaimer I am not and I emphatically repeat NOT referring to my little highly respected miss.tiff. If you cant be bothered to respect the delicate balance that is the Galapagos, stay away. Rant over. San Cristobal. Yes, you can fly direct. The cutest little airport ever. You can see the entrance, exit, both sides and the baggage claim without moving your feet. Our room was less than 5 mins away from the airport, we could have walked but the taxi driver was just so obliging. Yes, I know about the carbon footprint etc, but our bags are heavy, it has been a very long day and the taxi drivers need to earn/eat as much as we do. We dropped the bags at our room, locked up and left again. We only have 4 days on this amazing Island and we were not for wasting any time. Are we here on a budget or are we planning to splurge? Budget. I assure you. First place, walk and explore the town of San Cristobal. Nothing prepares for you more for this beautiful island than this pretty little town. And seals. Everywhere. When the huge signs at the airport warn you to keep more than 2 metres away from any animal, I wish they had mentioned "watch your feet" the seals/sealions literally lie anywhere they chose. In the road, the gutters, park benches, on the beaches, on boats, in the middle of the narrow path you are walking down  cue seal stand off.  they are everywhere, how many photos did I take? 100s of course! We walked slightly out of town to the Interpretation centre, it was free to enter and was the start of many different walking trails. We aimed for the one that ended at a beach. Beach, Pelicans, Seals (seals or sealions or both, we never could quite figure out which was which) delicately scented Paradise is the best way I can describe it. To sit on a beach, with beautiful clear blue water, surrounded by these amazing and charismatic animals was a dream come true. You chose your spot, keeping to the two metre distance rule, and there you have your own little spot in paradise, fabulous right up to the part when Stuart the Seal decides your patch of sand is way better than his. You move. Not him, Shift. Now. Its his sand, his beach, and he knows it, you common little human, shift your little bunny butt right now. Do the seals smell? yes. yes they do. very much so. My little .1 bunny said I shouldn`t mention this, but I cant help it. My poor little bunny nose was assaulted all afternoon, little bunny and big bunny have no sense of smell, so they were in blissful ignorance of my poor traumatized nose. Would I sit all day on that beach again? Of course I would, id just bring a small scent bottle and apply it frequently. Our day ended at a beach bar with hanging seat hammocks, before making our way to the town beach with the best sunset. The sunset was 6.15pm according to Google, so at 5.45 we plonked ourselves on said beach and waited. and waited. Everyone else seemed to think the sun set at 7.15, which it did, but we didn`t question it. The reason why will come later. Day 2. El Junco/Tortoise Sanctuary/Beach. We took a taxi, (we were initially quoted $80 but we agreed on 60 as all research online had suggested that $60 was the accepted fare for this trip. El Junco, first stop. the largest freshwater lake in the Galapagos, with a great view. Unless of course it is completely shrouded in mist and you cant actually see anything. What does it look like? I don`t know, because... Next stop, the Tortoise Centre. We arrived to an empty car park and a desk with one man and a piece of paper. Had we pre booked? No, we hadn`t as we couldn`t find any relative information online. Never mind the guide said, pay your taxi driver 10$ each (?) and I`ll take you on a personal tour now. That suits. San Cristobal Tortoise Sanctuary. Absolute joy of a place. The guide spoke beautiful accented English, was funny, droll, informative and clearly loved his job. We learned so much about tortoises that trip, and they were everywhere. They were in a free, but protected environment, they could wander as far as they liked, but given their food was growing all around them, they stayed close by. From the Tortoise Centre, we then went to Punta Chino, or Puerto Chino beach for 2 hours of paradise. Day 3 found us back at the Interpretation Centre, this time heading for the snorkelling cove of Muelle Tijeretas. A small but slightly crowded decking area served as the jumping in point for swimming. Calm clear waters and more seals! You can try as hard as you like to avoid them and to stay the required 2 metres away, but if they want to come and say hello to you in the water, they will. Santa Cruz Island. We had ferry tickets booked for the 7am crossing with instructions to be at the dock at 6.15am. We were there. Nobody else was. Silent. Dark. Still. How odd. Eventually the harbour master came to us and asked our business, we pointed to our watch and said 6.15 for 7 am Ferry?, to which he laughed and pointed to his watch. 5.15. Yep, we just spent 4 days on San Cristobal, having not adjusted our watches to Galapagos time. Hence the sitting on a beach waiting for a sunset that was an hour later than we thought. Well at least we got to see the Sun rise! The ferryboat, more a large speedboat with seating for 30 ish people than an actual ferry was exceptionally comfortable if you`re into boats and water. This bunny is not, so the 2 hour crossing was a miserable affair. Bunnies and boats just don`t mix. Puerto Ayora. The largest town on Santa Cruz, actually the only town, unless you count the tiny 2 or 3 house villages scattered along the road from town to airport, and a compete contrast to Puerto Moreno on San Cristobal. A much bigger town, and quite the maze. Definitely not as pretty as Puerto Moreno, and with a lot less seals. Our first stop was the Darwin Centre, rated as the finest tourist attraction/conservation centre on Santa Cruz. To say we were disappointed would be an understatement. We had most definitely been spoilt by the Tortoise centre on San Cristobal, the Darwin centre, with its insistence that everybody has a guide (to stop tourists picking up/stealing tortoises...What!!!!) whilst excellent, was a poor comparison. Our group was large, the guide spoke very limited English and was very difficult to understand, and the whole experience was an unenthusiastic tour of a tortoise conservation centre delivered in a of matter of fact mumbling monologue. What they are doing there is exceptionally brilliant. The Giant tortoise, or Tortuga Grande has had a traumatic history, and the Galapagos sanctuaries are doing an amazing job restoring their rightful place on the islands. Don`t miss the Darwin centre, our experience was probably the exception rather than the norm. Day 2 Tortuga Beach. Without doubt a long long walk, but not difficult. A well paved path meanders from town to beach. You cannot get lost. Go prepared with water and food if required, as there is nothing at the beach but sand, sea, seals, sharks and Darwin finches. Delighted to say no cafes, no beach huts, no silly banana boats, just pure white unspoilt beaches and beautiful waters. Tortuga beach is just so picture perfect, apart from the fact that you cannot and should not swim there due to the exceptionally dangerous currents. Never fear, just a short walk up the beach and take a right and behind, I cannot describe it any other way, but behind the wild sea shore of Tortuga Beach, is Tortuga Bay. A perfect little millpond bay of crystal clear waters, small hammerhead sharks, and an infinite number of Darwin finches. the cutest, and nosiest little birds you will ever come across. If you do not fancy the long walk back, there is a water taxi that calls by for any wanting passengers.  Day 3. little bunny fancied a boat trip, whereas us two older bunnies did not. For $35 little bunny did the Bay Islands trip, a 4 hour trip taking in lava tunnels, shark snorkelling, blue footed boobies and Iguanas. follow the trip @ miss.tiff.travel s . Whilst waiting for the boat to appear we watched a huddle of Pelicans quivering at the dockside, on closer inspection, the Pelicans were watching a fisherman carve up a freshly caught yellowfin tuna, and their excitement was palpable. With little bunny on her way to the Lava tunnels etc, Mr and Mrs Bunny took the opportunity to take the challenge of walking through town, with a mission to find coffee, cake, beer, and no TV. This was the day England were playing Holland, and 2 footy mad people wanted to watch it on catch up. Day 4. Not the driest start to a day, so instead a very leisurely breakfast, a walk into town for some window shopping, then as the day got brighter, we caught a taxi to Playa El Garrapatero. In our short but perfect time in the Galapagos we had only spotted one blue footed booby, and El Garrapatero was our last chance to see this elusive bird. A perfect beach, yes, a blue footed doofer with a beak? nope, we lucked out on that. There was a chance we could have spotted one from the kayaks that were available from the beach, but 2 chubby bunnies and a little bunny with a very expensive camera didn`t think it was worth all the effort. Leaving day . With a plane to catch in the afternoon, we got a taxi to the airport, via El Chato, about $10 each, more Tortoise! you simply cannot have enough Giant Tortoise photos. The Tortuga here are amongst the biggest on the Islands. And they are allowed to `run` using the term loosely, wild. No boundaries, no fences, these fabulous reptiles, can be seen in the fields as you drive to El Chato, on the roads, near the trees. For a bunny more used to seeing sheep and cows in fields, spotting giant tortoises in the wild made me proper giggle. What an amazing end to a bucket list dream destination. But Wait !!! What`s that? After arriving at the airport, taxi, boat, bus.. we spotted our last elusive animal, another reptile, the land Iguana. $300 unaffordable trip to see them, or free at the airport. Galapagos, you are beyond amazing. A dream come true, and one we shall all treasure for a lifetime. May your shores remain ever pristine, and let not tourism spoil your magic.

As I start this very long and much overdue blog/diary, I must apologise and explain why. Leaving England I knew my mum was struggling with her mental health, Alzheimers is a slow cruel illness. Little was I to know that the call I made to her from that laundry in New Zealand would be the last time I would hear her voice. My lovely mum was to pass whilst I was in Australia, and my heart lost the will to write this blog. However, I shall continue now (however late) in her memory, with her and my dads great love of travel forever in our minds. To Travel is to Live. My Mum 3/6/43 -3/12/24 Uluru Our journey through Australia would start in the Red Centre. Uluru, how I have longed to stand before that Red Rock and gaze upon its wonder with my own eyes. I hadn`t quite realised that I would get to see it the moment we landed, and I assure you I was one exceptionally speechless and utterly confused Bunny. We were supposed to land, drive for 3 hours, then drive a further 3 hours to see the great rock, but there it was, right there!! Next to the airport, who moved it ??!!! My mind was working overtime. Long story short, Uluru really does have an airport of its own, whereas I had assumed Alice springs some 5 hours away was the Airport for Uluru, hence big red rock being exactly in the right place. This also placed our hotel several hours drive away, with a very bewildered car hire lady telling us, you can`t drive there at night, (told her where it was and our plans to return to both sunrise and sunset) it would take hours. You have to drive very very slowly to avoid the kangaroos, emus and camels (?) say what..... We had one full day to see Uluru and our plans were scuppered at the first hurdle...until she suggested we stay at the Outback lodge. A very kind booking.com transferred our accommodation to the Outback, and suddenly there we were in the heart of the red centre, with the rock actually visible to us from outside our little cabin. For a flying visit, we saw one distant sunset, one up close sunrise, one up close sunset, and a further close sunrise. The photos speak a thousand words. Staying near Uluru is easy for somewhere so remote. Airport, car hire, short drive to the resorts, with its varying accommodation options, tours, well signposted directions, walking paths, walking platforms, cute places to eat, drink or shop, it really is all there on hand with little effort. You cannot wander freely around the rock, and you certainly cannot climb upon it, but you can get up close and personal when you purchase the compulsory park ticket. Melbourne. With one previous memory of a whirlwind tour of Melbourne some 21 years ago, my list of places to visit were very much guided by my wish to recreate old memories with Mr Bunny, visiting the places I had previously, and to create new memories for me and brand new ones for him. I did have a whole list of places to see, and we did our best to see them all. We went to the Melbourne Gaol , a fascinating jail with such history, to see the death mask of Ned Kelly, Australia`s most infamous bandit. Aged only 27 when he was hung at the jail, his weird homemade armour was also on view nearby at the local library. A sad tale, and maybe he wasn`t quite the bad guy that he was made out to be. Certainly seems to have been made to go rogue by the appalling treatment of his family. From Gaol to Yarra River. We walked to wonderful riverside with its many Christmas decoration (yeah, we have found Christmas at last) and sat and watched the new evening Christmas lights show, passable but personally worthy of 4/10. The Gas Brigades outside the Crown Plaza were our main reaon for being on the waterside, and I was happy to see that their shooting flames were every bit as good as I recalled. Sovereign Hill was next on the list. A place like Beamish (for all you brits) an old recreated gold mining town with shops and character actors and actresses. I had such fun memories here, listening to two shop women discussing my mums frightful (yes, the were quite bad, but made by a friend, she was determined to wear them, kangaroo patterned cullottes...) the in character actors all had something to say, and it truly made for an authentic experience. Now?? it would appear that the `characters` are no longer allowed to interact in such manner such is the modern wussy attitude to political correctness and appalling soppy over protected children whom cry at any person daring to say anything even remotely firm to them. Sovereign Hill was still a wonderful place to be, and panning for gold is definitely a highlight, but such a shame to be blighted by present day stupidity. Ballarat Wildlife Park . Kangaroos and Koalas. This fabulous little wildlife park has so many Koalas, at close quarters, and free roaming Kangaroos that you could feed. As with everything nowadays, we would have had to pay quite a decent amount of dollars to hold or even stroke the Koalas, whereas my visit all those years ago, the keepers were happy to let us hold the Koalas with supervision. Even Mr Bunny, enchanted by most animals, fell under the cuteness spell of these adorable little `drop bears`. Werribee Mansion . A stately home just outside of Hoppers Crossing. In terms of age this house is actually modern by UK standards, built 1877, but for a house built 150 ish years ago, it has required a lot of renovation. I remembered head phones and holographs, now it was just a voice recording as you enter each room. Vic Market an excellent busy market with everything to please a foodie from fruit, fish. meat, cakes to the vast arrays of nicer end TS. (thats tourist sh.t to you) Paddys Market this was where we found the mass produced ts, but also a lot of closed stalls? I have memories of a never ending market. I guess time changes everything. A change of accommodation to Geelong gave us chance to drive The Great Ocean Road to see the 12 apostles. This was another destination that has changed massively since I was last there. From a little patch of gravel to park up, take a few pics and move on, this whole area is now a vast purpose built car park, toilet blocks, information centre, and vast walkways. Everything changes over time, and I`m not convinced for the better. For better or worse, the explosion of massive tourism is definitely having an impact on our most special places. As is the dislike of possums. We tried to feed the cute possums, as we had done all those years previously at Fitzroy park, after the constant unsettling sights of the numerous flat ones in New Zealand " damn pests, we don`t try to avoid them on the roads " we failed miserably as they are now considered city pests, and feeding is an absolute no no. We also visited Warnambool and Flagstaff, but I shall breeze over these places. Our last place to visit was Straws Lane and Hanging Rock. At Straws Lane you experience the very bizarre optical illusion that despite parking your car on a downhill, it rolls backwards, uphill. We managed a very credible 15km per hour rolling uphill. It was at Hanging Rock, where fictitiously 3 school girls and their teacher disappeared, that I learned that my mum had also vanished, from my life. 3rd December 2024. sleep peacefully mum x Our last visit in Melbourne was to visit our oldest friends. This was such a lovely day. We first met in 1977, and my mum remained firm friends with Gay until her passing in 2007. From then on, we have kept in touch with her family, and to see them again was wonderful. The children have grown up, and the next generation were a delight. To be able to talk about my mum was brilliant (apologies for the out of order blog, this day was obviously just prior to learning about my mums passing) Philip Island Penguin Parade One of our favourite and much enjoyed evening past time. At last, after being thwarted at so many previous places, both in South America and New Zealand, we were finally going to see Penguins. Little Fairy Penguins. Every single evening, 365 days per year, these beautiful little penguins make their nightly appearance. Emerging from the sea to run to their burrows is one of the funniest sights we have seen. We arrived at the Penguin Sanctuary, a huge brand new purpose built building, not quite the little box hut that I last remember, and waited for the moment we would be allowed to take our seats for the Penguin Parade. Wandering about the auditorium I was to learn that not only are these the smallest penguins in the world, they are also not called Fairy Penguins anymore, they are now known as Little Penguins, or to give them another name Blue Penguins !!!! Hurrah !!! I did not know prior to arriving that the cute blue penguins that I so desperately wanted to see in New Zealand, were these little guys. More excited now. There are around 5 sets of bench seating on the beach, separated by strips of sand, which face the sea. And then you wait. Once the sun sets and all cameras are put away, NO filming or photos please (unless of course you are that instagram twit who cares not for penguin safety and films anyway) Losing that battle, as every person alive seems to carry a phone, you are offered the chance to download professional photos, taken without flash...foc. I would truly say 95% of all people present, took photos. I did not. Personally I think they just need to emphasise that its the flash element which upsets the birds, and let people film away, as they clearly already do that anyway..Back to the penguin cuties. As the sun sets and darkness sets in, you start to see little black dots on the waves. The penguins have arrived. They arrived in little groups called rafts, and huddle to gather at the waters edge. FOREVER. I could hear the voice of Marlin from Finding Nemo so clearly as we watched these adorable little birds decide who would be the brave one to be the first up the beach. ......First we go out, then we go back, the we go out....then we go back....and just to be certain we go out again.. They stood and dithered, walked forward, ran back, four run forward two follow, and 6 run back to the sea. You sit there willing them on, to be brave and waddle their little butts up the beach. Up and down the beach you can see the little huddles of penguins at the waters edge, all vying with each other as to who would be the brave little penguin to start the beach dash. Once the beach dash starts, the soft hurrahs from the audience seems to give them encouragement to keep going until they reach the safety of the sand dunes and their burrows. Once the main bulk of the penguins have waddled up the beach you are allowed to leave your seats and watch these little dark blue cuties as they wend their way amongst the dunes. You also see a vast amount of possums, but all of a sudden, possum or penguin? Penguin usually wins. We visited Philip Island from the home of my mums friends. I had never met these people before, but trusting my mum and dads excellent judge of character we knew that they would be lovely people, and boy were we right. These two amazing people opened up their home to us, and we spent a wonderful 3 days with them, learning about what they did when my mum visited them on a Cruise a few years back, and other things that I didn`t know. New friends were made by all. After a farewell meal and a last sunset, we packed our bags to continue our journey. Sydney (and that damn bridge) These 3 crazy bunnies landed in Sydney with one day spare to prepare for the biggest adventure of at least two of our lives. Little bunny has climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge before, on her 13th Birthday, and this time all 3 daft bunnies would be doing the same thing. We had a walk out to see the bridge but I think nerves and a sense of dread and fear were a little at the forefront of our minds as it was clear that each of the older bunnies were wondering what the heck they had signed up for, and tempers, also induced by heat and being tired were a little frayed. Looking back I can quite clearly tell you which bridge photos were taken before the climb, and which ones after.! A little back story. Little bunny and her grandpa did this climb together whilst my mum and I climbed the stairs of the Pylon tower to watch. We saw them climb the bridge. We could see the steps. We could see what they wore and how they were strapped to the bridge. What we couldn`t see was the amount of pre climbing they had done to get to said point where they were visible. I was told about the practise steps. That the bit (read that again bit ) above the road was the worst. You could see the road below you through the mesh. Armed with that knowledge, Mr Bunny and Mrs Bunny have been walking Blackpool pier for around a year prior to the trip in order to try and desensitise their fear of heights . Oh how we laugh about that one now! Friday 13th. Yes. I chose that date. Bridge Climb day. Quite probably for the first time ever Mr B was not allowed to calm his nerves with a drink. First thing they do when you get there is a breathalyser test. Zero alcohol tolerance. A pre climb questionnaire filled in had alerted them to my wonky knees, but they assured me that there would be a chance to test my physical climbing ability prior to the ascent. A superbly organised climbing structure and climbing apparatus/body rigs meant we felt safe enough. We each tested the clip on rigs and reassured ourselves we couldn`t fall. All was good. We tested the ladders, not too high, good, tested the mesh walkways, yep, that was doable. And then it was our turn. Everyone wears headphones to hear the guide, and only she can hear you, and trust me, that was. awesome news. We clipped on, Mrs B at the front behind the guide, oh bother, now I had no choice but to move fast and to not hold up the group. Not for anything was I going to be the reason the group moved slowly. And we were off. Through the door, into a room, and once clipped and no going back, the enormity of that sodding bridge, and what it entailed, slapped you firmly across the face. If I used the F word once, i used it several times. Frogs were everywhere. There was a frog on the bridge, the handrail, the ground below us, on the cars, the low sided handrails, even the wind was froggy !! ` The first bit is the worst `my bunny butt !!! From the offset, the path is narrow, mostly open sided, mesh floor, hand rail on the left side only with your right hand guiding your life line alongst the narrow metal wire. Its also breezy. And did I mention that it is a long long long way!!? All my walking practise over Blackpool Pier ? absolute zero use. I have never been as utterly terrified in my entire life!! Its froggy high, froggy narrow, got frog all to hang on to and did i mention that it is froggy high!! That blissful bit of torture lasted around two weeks. Once my hand had secured itself into the grip of a thousand nations never to uncoil, the delightful guide yelled, that`s the easy bit over !! sorry, but wtf? easy bit ? Stairs next. Three flights worth. The sort of stairs that go in side tall hollow structures, that you look at and think nope, not for me! Nope, Up we go. Bunny balls and buttocks joined the party of frogs as once more I climbed. We reached the top and I breathed once more...until the guide says, we call this next bit the squeeze... I do hope you are kidding me? Nope, she wasn`t, between the rails, under the girders and along the frog laden path that joyously spanned more road. And just to add insult to injury, she then ever so kindly added " we are nearly at the ladders"... Well just look at those cute little ladders, exactly the same as the ones we practised on in the practise room, just 3 times higher, and 3 times as many, and over fresh air so that you can take in the lovely views. Chimps, chocolate, bananas and a whole other host of random objects now invade my thoughts and my mouth as I endeavour to give the frogs a rest. I solemnly declare that If I ever mention doing something so utterly stupid again, you may section me!! Finally, and not a moment too soon we stepped out onto the bridge itself. and this my bunny friends was the easy part. The steps are very wide, you cannot see over the edge, you cannot see the road below your feet. You can however see the whole of Sydney and the Opera House. The view is worth a million frogs. Cue music and fireworks, we`ve done it and I have the photo to prove it. I could tell you all about the numerous steps, ladders and other challenges that we met on the way down, but my favourite bit of the whole climb was the amazing ladder to nowhere, this gorgeous cute little ladder, connecting the lower path to the upper path. It really was the most beautiful steel mesh rung ladder you have ever seen and as the leader of the group, I, Mrs bunny, had the delight of standing at the bottom of this ladder for around 15 mins waiting for the rest of the group to slowly descend the ladders from hell behind me. The view below me through the wide mesh rungs was incredible. Absolutely nothing whatsoever obscured my view to the ground, and to my left I could see forever, such a shame my right hand view into infinity was partially obscured by train tracks. I forgot, must tell you, that ladder had special effects as well, every time the train and the numerous carriages went over, it shook like a jelly. It was a great feeling trying to hang on. 3 hours of hell later, and I am at last back on terrified firma. Having shared with both Mr B and little B the most incredible views of Sydney, I am delighted to announce that I will never do anything that daft for as long as I live ! Our time is Sydney was brief, but once the fear of that bridge climb abated, and the celebrations of survival set in, we could at last appreciate the beauty of said bridge with the back drop of the Opera House. We wandered the parks, to the Anzac memorial, The Rocks, we found the Christmas market, not great but the pancakes were pretty decent. The Christmas tree was quite special, as are most Aussie decorations. We love seeing the decorated Koalas, red nosed Kangaroos pulling the sleigh, Santa in board shorts, we have seen them all. We ate at the Wahlburger restaurant, an excellent burger place partially owned by Mark wahlburg and his famous chef brother. The East Coast beckons. We enjoyed our time in the bunny bus so much around New Zealand, and hated the buses with equal passion in South America, Mr B arranged to hire another big bunny bus to take us up the east coast. Envisaging a road trip of endless beaches, easy camping stops, and parking with the ease of New Zealand, our hopes were quickly dashed at our very first port of call. We had a 15 day plan of short drives and long stops at a multitude of different destinations. Leave early. Park, See, Camp. that was the plan. Port Stephens, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Noosa Head ,Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Airlie Beach, Townsville, Cairns. All the places we hoped to see, along a road that skirted the coast. whales here, railway there, caves anyone? On paper the suggestions look fine, but our reality was so so different. First and foremost we needed a powered site every night. Without Air Con we wouldn`t have survived. The heat has been incredible, and its only going to get hotter the further north we go. No free camping for us. The main road, is not a multi lane highway. neither does it touch the coast except in the rarest of places. How rare? Twice. that`s your lot. Parking. Complete nightmare. There is zero allowance for a motorhome with almost every parking space saying 6 or 7 feet or under. The most popular places are chocka by the time we arrive at lunchtime, so even if we can park its quite busy. Took us 3 days of travelling to know that if we had had hindsight, the east coast requires either a huge 4x4 and caravan, or a really decent car and cheap hotel stays. Not that any hotel is a cheap stay. We could have driven a little off the beaten track, but if we thought the main roads were dodgy, bouncy and hard to drive, goodness knows what off road would be like in a big bunny bus. The answer to most of our problems would have been to arrive at each camp site, then Uber to town, but after a while this just gets expensive. First stop Port Macquarie and the op shops. The op shops are the same as our charity shops but a million times better. These shops, our favourite, run by the Salvation Army and called Salvo, contains just about everything and anything you could possibly need, second hand, very cheap, and no tat. We had designs on everything Christmas. Bunny hopping from one salvo shop to another we Christmassed the bunny bus within an inch of its life. Lights and all. And 2 trees. Everything was stuck in place with either sellotape or blue tac, so we could drive at will knowing Santa was safe. With places difficult to access or park, we actually did very little sightseeing up the east coast. We did visit the Koala hospital and rehabilitation centre, a sad, but also inspiring place where they care for hurt or sick Koalas, placing the cured ones back into the wild, and loving and caring for the ones that can no longer care for themselves. Main cause of injuries? Humans. Loss of habitat, chopping down trees forcing the Koala to wander nearer and nearer to roads, we are their biggest cause for injury. The next injuries are by natural causes, mostly fire. One little koala, with the prettiest little face you have ever seen, was in the hospital for her own safety. She preferred one particular tree near a town, but would frequent the local court house on her way to said tree. After being rescued from `prison` several times, they decided the local hospital was the safest home for her. Byron Bay next Quite possibly one of the nicest beaches we visited, but in the most Aussie stereo typical vein you have ever seen. All three bunnies felt old, over dressed and out of place here. Young male surfer dudes in their board shorts, bare feet, shaggy blonde hair, bare feet and surf boards are followed everywhere by dizzy blondes in their 3 pieces of string bikinis, flip flops and endlessly sucking, but not depleting on the ubiquitous straws of iced latte drinks. With an average apparent age range of 21, we were clearly of the `mom and pop` generation. We loved Byron Bay, but wouldn`t chose to stay there. We would however love to have stayed longer at Brisbane. That is one lovely city. So chilled, easy going, and very pretty. We all felt very comfortable here. They have a lovely city beach called Streets Beach. My boss of 42 years, chose to to send me a photo of himself whilst on that beach last year. I felt it appropriate to send him the same picture back with me in said photo. Adding the caption, yep, Its great here. I felt it was a fair trade for his total lack of correspondence and interest in our trip. His sister, from the same company emigrated to said place many years ago, but I felt it more appropriate to enjoy a leisurely breakfast with an ex work colleague. We all met up at the best Cafe E V E R, in the town of Redcliffe, and fell in love with both cafe and town. (Cafe 63) Redcliffe was around 80 mins outside of Brisbane and is without any shadow of doubt the nicest town we have ever visited. Easily comparable to many of the towns of New Zealand, even Queenstown which I didn`t think could ever be bettered. Cafe 63, if you get a moment, just google their menu for a laugh. You will clock what I mean about best cafe ever. Australia Zoo. When little bunny added zoo to our to our What list, I had thought it was to pamper to Mr bunny's love of animals. What I hadn`t realised is that Australia Zoo is, or sadly, was, the home of Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter. This is not just a zoo, This is THE zoo. The most spectacularly beautiful and well kept zoo we have ever had the pleasure of exploring. This is the type of Zoo that every animal structure in the world should aspire to copy. Think endless acres of natural forest and open spaces, change nothing, just add a few strategic walkways, fences, and view points, and et Voila! The family still live and work at the zoo, and their legacy to animal conservation is second to none. Noosa Head, Rainbow Beach, both beautiful and spectacular. Rainbow is the jumping on point for tours to Fraser Island, the biggest Sandbar Island in the world. You can drive there when the tide is low and your vehicle is a huge big tyred 4 x 4 , but for mere mortals in a bunny bus, the only option was a ridiculously expensive boat trip. We would have made the trip with bells on, but how do you justify £200 each to visit another beach? Another fun fact, no matter how utterly beautiful the beaches are, they are also deadly. This is Australia, land of salt water crocodiles, stingers and jellyfish. Beautiful beaches are to be laid on or admired from a distance. Swim if you like, stinger suits are available to hire. Sorry, but sandy beaches have never been a favourite of mine, and now you want to add crocodiles and stuff that`s likely to sting me?? No thanks. Rockhampton. Christmas shopping time!! This was our only shopping town. We kept Christmas presents to a minimum spending very little. We kept to four categories , eat, drink, wear, read, with gifts to be practical, needed, liked and light. Who knew T bags would suddenly become a much appreciated Christmas present? We had intended purchasing food for a Christmas BBQ, free gas BBQs are to be found along most coastal towns. However, we chose to spend Christmas at Airlie Beach (awesome) at a gorgeous camp site, with a cute little swimming pool situated right behind our bunny bus. The pull of eating in an air conditioned bus, with a pool for dessert, was far greater than our desire for a hot BBQ. We have been to many English camp sites, and compared to the Aussie sites , we suck at it!. Never once have we encountered spoilt whinging brats, no crying babies, no barking dogs, no foul mouthed idiots or fish wives screeching. Every site has been so quiet, well behaved considerate people, superb cleanliness in the wash rooms and kitchens. Australia, you take camping to the next level. We stayed at Airlie Beach for 5 peaceful nights. We did go on a day trip to Hamilton Island, one of the many Whit Sundays, it was lovely, but to truly experience the magnificence of the Whit Sundays, you need to have cash to burn. Once again the trips are just so expensive. My mantra of ` a little bit of everything, but not a lot of something` is helping us find the places we would love to spend more time ( and money) at, whilst ticking off places that maybe we wouldn`t choose to go again. With 7 months of travel still ahead of us, and many many magnificent places, we have to be cautious and picky. Cairns. This is our last destination in Australia. After a journey of almost 2,400km, our time in Australia is coming to a close. In 2018, whilst on a trip to China, we met the most wonderful older solo (solo, not solo) traveller, and with whom I have kept in touch. She lives here in Cairns, and I always promised myself, that if I made it to Australia we would visit. On the best night of the year, and incidentally the last night of the year, we spent a glorious 5 hours with Margaret and her lovely husband Peter, on their balcony overlooking the Esplanade watching the fireworks with a birds eye view. It was an absolute joy to stand on that balcony and see for ourselves, the wonderful views that Margaret regularly posts on her Facebook page. The Bunny bus has gone to bed, and we are spending our last few nights in the best hostel (as voted by Hostel world several years running) in Cairns. A proper home from home little palace, the Travellers Oasis, is just that. an Oasis. One last trip in Australia and we saved the best until last. The Great Barrier Reef. Alas I have no photos, waterproof or not I wasn`t taking my phone into the sea. Or my go pro. A superb half day snorkelling trip, we, just the two older bunnies on this occasion, set off on a fast boat to the reef, with a lovely staff of 4. Everyone was given a floatation belt (or not if a competent swimmer) mask, snorkel, and fins. Being unable to wear and flap fins in the water, mrs b was given the opportunity to hang on to a life belt and be towed around the reef. We arrived at the reef after an hour of boating, we were prepped, the back of the deck was lowered, and we were off. We are also all wearing stinger suits, still in Australian waters after all. The water was the pleasant temperature of a warm bath, not a single cold shudder as you entered the water. My `tow lady` said to me after a brief swim, look down, we are over the reef. A little nervously at first and not using my snorkel, I stuck my head under the water and the beauty and size of the reef was incredible. Grabbing my snorkel knowing I was never going to take my eyes off the reef, I put my head down and watched the best underwater television. I have never been a big lover of open water, or snorkelling, but the reef and its huge variety of fish were just insane. I had such a mixed feeling about visiting the reef, we have heard about the bleaching, the sad state of parts of the reef, the ethics, but though we could see some effects of the bleaching, we could also see vast fields of very healthy coral, and a huge abundance of brightly coloured fish of all sizes. We also saw a clam shell. A living breathing clam shell, larger than any human! I missed half the commentary given by my `tow` guide, such was my desire to not miss anything below the water, but I did hear her say that this clam was very very old, probably over a hundred years, that he would have landed there as a small clam, dug in, and ate his way to this incredible size. Don`t misunderstand, the reef is far from the abundant day glo colours as perceived from fish tanks, but it definitely does have many different colours, shades of blues, greens and purples. The reef is incalculably huge. We were in the heart of the reef at the Whit Sundays, a 3 day drive away, and still that wasn`t the start of the reef. As a world, we need to learn to protect the reef. It is suffering. The fish are stressed. I was deeply saddened when my tow guide told me about the rainbow fish I was seeing below me, saying that they come in all sorts of bright colours, but when stressed they tend to be blue. My fish were blue. They get stressed by the presence of divers and snorkellers. I was one of those people causing my fish to become blue. Seeing the reef is one thing, but knowing your presence is causing the fish to visibly change colours in fear, is not right. There are 100s of tours available to the reef. At what point do we cross the line? Saving the reef v stressing the reef... To clarify, little bunny went to the reef the following day. She had a similar sort of day, but had the added pleasure of seeing a turtle up close. Our time in Australia has come to an end. For a country that Mr Bunny had thought that he wasn`t entirely sure he wanted to visit, I think it is fair to say we all enjoyed our time here so very very much, with frequent mutterings of `when we come back` not If. Good Bye Australia, you are truly awesome.

If you like the North Island, you will like the South Island even more. Every one told us such, saying that the South Island is so much more beautiful. How? How can anything get better than what we were seeing? Well, Yes it can. By the bucketload. If North Island is the Prince, then South Island is surely the King. The beauty of this wonderful place is just jaw dropping. From the moment we landed at the airport it wasn`t hard to see what people meant. Goodness me it is so so beautiful. Our driver was the loveliest most chatty Kiwi we had met so far, asking us our plans, giving us pointers where to go, where to add, what to miss (nothing...) as he drove us to our first 2 night break in the city of Christchurch. Whoops, guess Mrs B didn`t quite get the scale of Christchurch. We were in the suburbs, and though the map said opposite the beach with just a golf course between us and the sea, this wasn`t strictly true. A bit more of a walk than we had thought we headed for the beach and the pier regardless as directed by the property owner, but we were not particularly smitten by the sea front, so decided that as we were so very tired anyway, we would do a `bit of food shopping` then take a taxi back to our loft apartment, and hit the main city of Christchurch the following day. Let me explain the `bit of shopping`....after the very poor choice of food options in South America, New Zealand is quite the opposite, and we simply cannot help ourselves. The food is like the scenery. Awesome, tasty, fresh, and varied. To say we eat well is quite the understatement, especially now that Bunny the Cook has so many more ingredients to play with. Christchurch. A much smaller city than we expected, but like every other town here, ridiculously pretty, cute, tidy and friendly. Not knowing where to go, we followed the scenic tram tracks, we could have gone on the tram, but we do prefer shanks pony, and let the tracks determine our path. First stop the Cathedral. If you recall Christchurch was hit by a short but massive earthquake that destroyed a good portion of the city, and in particular its very iconic and old Cathedral. To date it is still in a state of renovation such was the desire to repair, not knock down and rebuild this old church. We saw many of the newly rebuilt buildings, other buildings with massive reinforcements to keep them standing, others with half tin half tile roofs, and some, like a very large derelict looking building, once a hotel we were told, still awaiting its turn to be refurbished. At the garden of remembrance we walked amongst the many white crosses, each of which was adorned with its own red poppy ( we are very close to the 11th November, but although it is a date of remembrance, the New Zealanders and Australians I believe, prefer to commemorate Anzac Day which falls in April) we tried to assist an elderly gentleman find his uncle, but alas the name was not to be found. He was a lovely guy, who proceeded to guide us to the more central part of Christchurch and its Town Hall, which was next to the most amazing concert hall. We had hoped to take a peep at the hall, but it was closed....or at least it was closed to everyone else bar us, when Mrs Bunny begged a town hall employee to let us take a look. The big act tonight? Jason Mamoa of all people, who knew he played in a rock band, cos I sure as heck didn`t! Obviously we didn`t get to meet him, but the hall in which he was due to play was empty, but pretty special. The next big act to play there will be Sir Cliff Richard. From the concert hall to dining hall, as once more our bellies rumbled and food beckoned. We had been given strict instructions that we could not leave Christchurch without visiting the Riverside Marketplace. A multi venue eating place with just about every genre of food you can hope for. Naturally Mr B swayed towards the liquid venues, whilst bunnies 2 and 3 hit the food stalls. We chose Spring Rolls, and Nepalese dumplings, and the best mango lassi drink. Of course we had to sample the cake stall as well, sharing the best Millionaire shortbread imaginable. He told us his wife, who came from Liverpool (we can forgive her that oversight) made them. Like everything else here, they were pretty darn tasty. Van time. Can I just say, that Mr Bunny absolutely went straight to the top of the class, 3 gold stars and an Oscar, after deciding that the campervan we had prebooked whilst in the UK was going to be far far far too small for us. By now, we know each others quirks, sleeping preferences, and privacy needs, so he spent many an hour negotiating with the company to secure us not only a bigger campervan, but a 6 person motorhome for exactly the same hire fee!! We barely slept that night with giddy excitement to see this new and bigger bunnybus. Collected from the airport from a rental company that was super busy, they gave us the briefest set of instructions and sent us on our way. This briefest of briefings would haunt us later. First stop, Lake Tekapo, whilst back in the UK little bunny asked if we would be in New Zealand in November. With yes being the correct answer the excitement was palpable when she said Oh goody, we will get to see the Lupins. Lake Tekapo, after passing every scenic eyes on stalks vistas, we made it to the lake. I admit, I cried. I cannot describe to you just how blue, scenic, picturesque and utterly beautiful this Lake is. It is the colour of a perfect summer sky, on a blissfully sunny day. Bedecked by the gorgeous lupins that adorn the lake side, and backed by snow capped mountains it truly is a sight to behold. Very sad to know that the locals hate the lupins as they are an invasive species of plant, their colours of pinks and purples complement the lake so charmingly. The utterly charming little Church of The Good Shepherd stands on the bank of the lake, and I swear if that little church charged a dollar for every photo its been in, it would be the richest little church building in the world. We spent a long time just gazing at the beauty of this lake, before we headed off to a yet `more beautiful` lake, Lake Pukaki. Yes, the lake itself was equally blue and beautiful, but the lupins there had quite clearly been doused with a plant killer leaving sad dark stalks. Lack of lupins aside, we set up to spend our first night freedom camping on the Lake side. Table and chairs set up. cold drinks poured, now for some food.......ever tried lighting a gas hob with no spark and no matches? Mrs B had to don the best smile as she wandered from van to van begging matches. After a long day driving, and a great meal, bedtime beckoned . Problem number 2. How the heck does the swinging, height adjustable table disassemble??? This nightly occurrence was to incur our wrath of 'urine extraction' for a further 10 or so nights until we gave up and left the darn bed made up. Learning that weather was closing in on the west side of the South Island, we decided to head straight for Milford Sound rather than visiting other towns on the way, and made the best decision in doing so. We spent the whole day driving but given the beauty of the South Island, this was no hardship. The whole of the road leading to Milford is geared up for camping, motorhomes and caravans on every level. There are at least 7 freedom sights, some paid sites, fully fledged holiday parks and lots of others. NZ is geared up for Motorhomes, and it is no more difficult finding space for a motorhome than it is a car. Anywhere. We camped in a large semi shale, hard decked field, and we call it the place where Mr B swore he saw a Kiwi but didn`t. To clarify, this bird had wings and a long beak. It was bold and brash stealing from peoples picnics, and it was 6pm. A true Kiwi is flightless, long pointed beak, is super timid, lives in deep dense quiet forest areas, and only comes out at night time. Long story short, the only true Kiwi we saw was the one Kiwis backside in the North Island bird sanctuary. Milford Sound. There are many `Sounds` similar to fjords, or the same? I truly do not know the difference. We chose the popular Milford Sound for its ease of accessibility, rather than Doubtful Sound with its reputation of being slightly more spectacular. There are many boats, and many boat operators, I chose the biggest looking boat Milford Haven. The trips are not cheap, but whichever boat you chose, the views are the same. Amazing, spectacular, and just wow on every level. The boats drive along the cliff edges, passing by the magnificent cliffs and massive waterfalls. Our weather was picture perfect, and made for a superb 2 hour boat trip. At the end of the Sound as we approached the sea, a pod of local dolphins appeared. Some bright spark on the boat kept spotting the odd penguin, but given that he was glued to his size 36 magnifying telescope, most other people on the boat deigned to give his sightings no more than a cursory glance in the approximate direction. Doubtful Sound, you may(?) be more beautiful but you really don't need to be, happiness fulfilled in the most perfect tranquillity of Milford Sound, Heading Northwards again, our journey continues...

A dream come true. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would get to visit this beautiful country. A 14 hour flight from Santiago to Sydney, followed by what should have been an easy 2.5hours bunny hop to Auckland. All I can say is that its a good job I was so tired that I actually couldn`t care, as that flight took on the persona of a wild cat rollercoaster. We ducked and dived and rolled around so much that my tired brain wondered if we had got on a boat instead. I asked the air steward as we disembarked if that was a normal flight, to which he laughed and said, `no way, that was quite challenging and most unusual` I feel quite proud of myself as this flight hating bunny didn`t utter even the smallest of squeaks. From moment one, the beauty of New Zealand hits you full in the face. It is everything you wanted it to be, and so much more. Clean, fresh, vivid, tidy, are all words that I will no doubt be using often. We started our trip with a short stay in Auckland. Day one saw us visiting the All Blacks Experience near City Tower. For a short tour it was exceptionally brilliant. Even the two less than avid rugby loving bunnies enjoyed every second of the tour, whilst Mr I love Rugby Bunny was quite in his element. The tour was a superb presentation of the development of the All Blacks rugby team from early days to present day kick ass team. We wandered from room to room learning as we walked, nothing was boring, no endless waffle of dates and ex players, blah blah blah, just a quick fire positive, informative, knowledgeable talk about all things All Black, both the male and female teams. The talk progressed from early days to sitting in the changing rooms, to lining up to enter the stadium, (so well presented, I actually felt nervous myself!) to then standing facing the All Black team as they performed the Haka. After the tour was over, we spent time in their simulated sports room where you could kick the rugby balls, make throws at targets, or dodge the opposition as you eliminated lights on the ground simulating fancy foot work. Mr Bunny blaming his dodgy back and wonky hip for his lousy scores, did manage a satisfactory 3/5 on target hits. Mr B did fancy himself an All Blacks rugby shirt in the shop afterwards, but at a paltry $250 (ouch) opted instead for a photo wearing said shirt. Little Bunny set her sights quite high, literally, for our next visit, of which us two terra firma loving bunnies opted against. Little B went up the Sky Tower for a bunnies eye view of Auckland. We had a drink at the bottom and waved up at the distant glass windows of the tower in the vague hope she may see the two tiny specks of bunny fluff far below her. Day two, and a little more rested, we set off walking across Auckland. First stop, the very interesting War Museum. From Maori culture, insects, dinosaurs, birds, art, strange creatures, and a` real` volcano experience, we finally came to the War museum itself. The museum was excellent, but a single line of text was all it took to bring a lump to my throat. On both sides of the wall were marble tablets filled with names of lost NZ soldiers from the various wars, with one plain white Marble Plaque having just one inscription. `May this blank space remain forever so`. Quite poignant . From the museum we walked along the Whitehaven Marina. The day was exceptionally windy and with clouds fast approaching we cut this long (and on a nice day) very picturesque walk short, and headed instead to Ponsonby Road. Here we walked a cafe lined road, until we found ourselves at the food market. So many choices of food, there doesn`t seem to be a food or meal unique to New Zealand, with the food culture most definitely influenced by the huge influx of South East Asian residents. We could chose to eat any amount of noodle or rice dishes, but with a view to visiting Asia in the near future we preferred to wait and eat that genre of food there. Mr Bunny having been on his paws all day took a shine to the nearest pub, whilst the sweet toothed bunnies fancied a cake. Or at least we did until we saw the prices! I kid you not, $17 each ( £8.50) was the average, so instead we headed for the aptly named `Grownup Donuts` and had the yummiest donuts. Meringue and passion fruit for one, and orange custard for the other. Yum Yum, and at $8 dollars (£4) still expensive granted, but not by NZ standards. After a long long day and many steps, we caught an uber home, and Mr B amused the Kiwi driver by uttering his thanks in Spanish, with many Si Si ! and Gracias, Some habits fade slowly. (ditto put loo paper in the loo not the bin, just saying) Day 3, we picked up yet another car. There is not a hope in heck of moving around North (or South) Island without a vehicle. It was always the plan. What I hadn`t planned for was the huge driving distances. We spent hours on the roads in South America, very very long, straights roads, and pot holes excepted, very easy roads. New Zealand is so beautiful, but the roads? Yes, they are tarmac, with no potholes, but they are so so bouncy and the roads wind like a twisted ball of yarn. Every journey is quite the challenge. The scenery is spectacular, that you cannot complain about, but endless beautiful green meadows, and tree covered hillsides, can be difficult to admire when your butt is bouncing around like a bunny on heat. We have even taken to regularly switching seats between back and front to give the other some respite. First stop, Coopers Beach. Chosen for its beachside location and cute accommodation. It did not disappoint. The blue water of the Tasman Sea was a stones throw from our front door. A long sandy bay, palm trees and blue sea, what more could you ask for? Meant to be a relaxing 3 day stay prior to the non stop wanderings of South Island, we managed a whole day of nothing, before our bunny butts twitched and we longed to see more. Cape Reinga beckoned, and on the most gorgeous blue sky day, we drove the 2 hours to the lighthouse, and the most sacred of Maori sights. 'A place to find yourself' is how it is portrayed, and they were not wrong. We took so many photos, the seas, the rocks, the lighthouse, the skies, the landscape was just awesome. Once again, just us, and a couple of other tourists, in this normally packed to the gills tourist destination. How we manage to get places to ourselves is amazing. The only other visitor, just happened to be a lass from Yorkshire, as they say, small world. From Cape Reinga, we drove back to visit the 90 mile Beach. A long stretch of beach that cars are allowed to drive on, with the same driving rules and etiquette as a normal road. Alas for us, it does specify 4x4 cars only, or others at very low tide. We ticked neither box, so satisfied ourselves by opting for a few photos instead. Our last day at Coopers Beach, found us at the very odd Gumdiggers Forest. It sounded too interesting to miss, and with a comparatively low entrance fee, a must see for us. Gum diggers, dug holes in the wetlands, to find the gum, or amber secreted by a certain tree. They wore rubber boots, which in turn became the Gum boots we know today. It is ancient amber, but not prehistoric. We thought we were going to be seeing old ancient trees of fantastical sizes, but clearly we had our wires crossed, as these trees were long gone, with just their roots and traces left behind in the big holes mined by the gumdiggers. A nice walk in essentially a wood full of holes. From Coopers Beach we came south to Whangarei . One of the biggest towns on the Peninsula and the home of a family friend from years ago. All I can say is, when I finally decided to retire...oh, yes...I am retired...hmmm....well I think what I am alluding to, is when I am retired and ready to live in a gated paradise of people of a similar age, then this is where I want to be. Very very beautiful. Of course we very nearly knocked on the wrong door, when Mr B failed to correctly read the address, whoops, but a brief turn around and we found the gorgeous little bungalow of a lady so lovely, we could have spent all day with her. Such a chatty chatty lady, she was so easy to listen to. With Mrs Bunny fading rapidly due to an ill timed bout of flu/cold symptoms, we bade Carol farewell, and left for our room in the nearby town. Mrs B lay down in the bunny hutch and slept, caring little about exploring the town. Mr Bunny played chauffeur and took little B on a drive around the neighbourhood to get a feel of the area. Whangarei to the Coromandel. Every Aussie or Kiwi we had met prior to our trip, said the Coromandel was an absolute must see. So must see we did. With accommodation so expensive in all of the most touristic towns, we found a nice little caravan/cabin on a holiday park in the town of Te Puru and opted to drive to the various points of interest. I do wish I had researched distances in advance, every drive was super beautiful, but ohhhhh those bumpy roads....First stop, Driving Creek Railway. A little scenic railway built by Barry Brickell. A man who started as a potter and combining his love of pottery with a passion for engineering and conservation, he single handed built this incredible little narrow gauge railway with its multiple bridges and little tunnels, that wends its way up through the forest to the most incredible viewpoint, the `Eyefull Tower` A super fun couple of hours. From there we headed to my much longed for view of the very famous Cathedral Cove. You will have seen this cave picture so many times in films or as a screen saver, and it features in one of my favourite films, Narnia. A huge high cave that leads onto a beach. The beach itself was amazing, such soft sand, and the bluest blue sea. ***** At this point I must add, that I have known for quite some time that Cathedral Cove itself had suffered quite a bad rockfall and landslide, and that the path was closed to the public. Remember Yorkshire lass at Cape Reinga? We mentioned to her we had wanted to visit the cove, and it was shut, but she said `go anyway, the paths are closed but walk round the barriers, just do it, cos everyone does it, the path is clearly well worn`. With this in mind, and ignoring just about every single signpost in the town saying `The only way to visit the cove is by water taxi` we forged ahead regardless. We found the path to the cove, we came across the steel barriers, and yes, there was a very well worn and well defined path showing where people had walked around the barrier, so we too walked around, not once, but twice. At this point sense prevailed. The barriers are there for a reason. The kiwis would not willingly block off their most famous tourist spot if it was in any way safe. We knew full well that the only people ignoring those barriers would be tourists, and we made the conscious decision to not be `one of those people`. Who are we to deem what is safe and what is not? If something is not meant to be, its not meant to be for a reason. We will be visiting many more iconic sights, without putting ourselves, or any one else for that matter, in danger. We sighed and with disappointed hearts, we turned back. Perhaps you will forgive us for tempting fate, when I tell you that the water taxi was a hefty $80 dollars pp. For a short boat ride, to take some nice pictures? We are not that desperate or reckless. We tried to appease our failure to visit one iconic sight, by visiting another. Hot Water Beach. Now this beach wasn`t a patch on the previous one, and insult to injury we had to pay a car parking fee!! (New Zealand has a refreshing mostly free parking rule) We knew the best hot water is found at low tide, but with tours offering twilight visits, we figured there must be hot water to be found at the end of day as well. Around the rocks on the beach are geothermic patches of hot water, you find your spot, dig a big hole, and wait for the hot water to fill your little pool. Did we find Hot Water? yes, and no....we found warm sand, sand that got warmer not colder the more you dug, but the water stayed stubbornly out of reach. Our disappointments are short lived. The beauty and sheer joy of just being here, in New Zealand far outweighs any fickle beach trick or costly boat ride. Our next stop was supposed to be the town on Whakatane but a last minute message from the booked property saying they had a water leak forced a rapid change of direction. Lake Taupo was ultimately our next must see place, but then I found the Nutshed. Oh joys of joy, I couldn`t believe my luck. For the same price as the little caravan cabin we found ourselves in the middle of an orchard in a newly converted milking barn. We only got as far as opening the door when Mr B announced that I needed to contact the owners Right Now! and see if it was available for 4 nights. (it was). In our little house of paradise we had 3 bedrooms which together yielded beds to sleep 10. 3 bathrooms, 2 living rooms, a laundry section, a huge kitchen, dining area and living area. Not to mention endless amounts of outdoor space and an orchard to which we had free rein. If the season had been favourable we could have feasted on oranges, lemons, macadamia nuts, walnuts and home grown asparagus. We did nab a couple of lemons and the asparagus, but alas the oranges and nuts were not suitable for eating. A quick change of heart in the places we chose to visit, we managed two very busy days, and one whole day of nothingness in our `little shack`. Ah the bliss of relaxation. Taupo. First stop, Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland. I never knew that New Zealand was such a minefield of natures wildest events. I knew about the terrible Earthquake in Christchurch 2011, but hadn`t appreciated just how many volcanoes or thermal springs the land sits on. Even from our bedroom window in the NutShed we could see a volcano. The Thermal wonderland was a geothermal park of bubbling springs, to steaming ponds of mud, and an active landscape. Wild and raw it was quite fascinating, but nothing could have made me believe that water could be bright luminous green, if I had not seen it for myself. From green ponds to green trees, big trees, in fact huge trees! We headed next for the forest of the Redwoods. We walked amongst natures giants, and enjoyed the peace of the forest. We had our picnic sat under the trees. There was a tree walk that we had hoped to do, but again at $40 each, we decided that why pay to walk in the middle of the trees, when it was far more satisfying admiring the sheer size of the trees from ground level. Our last visit of the day was to the Living Maori Village. Have to say this was one of the stranger tours we did. From start to finish we were a little bemused. A one hour guided tour plus up to 2 hours free time to wander the village, was the websites description. What it didn`t say was the village closed at 4 prompt, we had the 3pm tour. ( your extra two hours could be taken the following day between 8 and 10am (almost as the village only opened at 9?)....That the guide would be a child intolerant feisty bitch who had zero tolerance for stupid questions, and that we would be shepherded around the village at a rather quick pace. did we enjoy it? Yes !! of course we did. It was actually refreshing to have a guide telling parents of a squawking annoying child to actually remove said child or move to the back of the group, wow, thank you lady! The guide, a Maori who lived in the village took great pains in telling us all about the cooking of food in the steam ovens, how they bathe in the free open air concrete pools of geothermally heated bath water, the teaching of Maori language and customs in the school. How they bury their dead above ground (no digging of holes in the unsafe active fields) Her patience ran to zero, when a guest asked her what food they cooked. ( We knew they were asking special food, eg Turkey at Christmas) but the poor guy was subjected to class dunce status when feisty guide asked the rest of the group to tell him what foods she had just mentioned! Day two, and our favourite day of all. First stop, Huka Falls, the most popular destination in North Island, and not hard to see why. Not quite a waterfall, but more your water rapids ride minus the rings, in the brightest turquoise blue water. So very beautiful. We walked the banks of the river following the path of these majestic fast moving swirling blue waters, before we left, heading to blue waters of our very own. The Wairakei Thermal Spas. What a gorgeous place, like a mini paradise with blue pools, all geothermally heated, palm trees, and white rocks, it was gloriously peaceful and relaxing. With pool temperatures ranging from 34 degrees to 40 degrees there was a pool to suit each of us. Like 3 bears, or bunnies we tested them all, too hot, too cool, ahhhhh just perfect. And with hardly any other guests we could relax and swim in the pools to our hearts content. (and adult only as well, so no annoying squawkers to spoil the ambience) There we spent the most blissful two hours before our bunny bellies beckoned to be fed. Feeling so hungry we headed to Taupos most famous and iconic restaurant, steak? lamb? BBQ? gourmet burgers? not quite. Mcdonalds of all places. But not just any McDonalds, this one has its tables in an airplane. For every reason going, we just had to take a nosy at this unique fast food takeaway. Our first fast food of the trip we chose not to sit amongst the group of foul mouthed teenagers in the plane itself (quite the first for us in New Zealand, and in fact anywhere on our trip) but instead we sat under the wing of the plane and troughed our big macs with gusto. After we had sated our appetites, we meandered along the banks of Lake Taupo, the largest lake in the North Island, until we came to a Golf Challenge. An artificial island sat just off shore (120yds) with 3 flags and a big sign offering 10,000$ for a hole in one. With a penchant for golf and a pretty good swing, this had Mr bunnies name written all over it. To cut a long story short, we still had noodles for tea. But, to give him massive credit, Mr B did hit that island a creditable 4 times in conditions that were anything but easy. Hobbiton Saving the very best of all North Islands visits to the very end of our trip, we went to the magnificent Hobbiton Movies Farm Studios Tour. I will quite truthfully say, that I have never read the books nor seen any of the movies, but Hobbiton was the place I wanted to visit more than anywhere else, and for which I actually had to proper stamp my little bunny feet to get Mr B to agree to go, and this was back whilst still in the UK. He absolutely did not want to go, too expensive, better things to see, never seen the films, were all the reasons he gave for not wanting to go. Mrs B knew better. If the films were as good as the Harry Potter movies, and lets face it, the following is just as huge, then the film set would be something special. You arrive at a car park and immediately see many of the mini buses lined up and ready. The set itself is only accessed by bus and a guide. And the system works beautifully. The tours leave every 10 mins prompt, and from the moment you arrive at the Shire with your guide, and go through that first pathway, we, and everybody else, were just smitten. The landscape is undeniably beautiful, and so incredibly pretty. The attention to detail beyond compare. Every house, every garden, stand, tree, pole and accessories are immaculate and perfect. The original hobbit houses were demolished, but on making the second film they made the wise decision to build them as permanent structures. Every single little house is perfect and cute. From the curtains, to the door knobs, flowers and washing on the washing lines, the only things missing were the hobbit inhabitants. The tour runs so well that as you approach each house and get a brief description of the part it played in the film, everyone has sufficient time to take all the photos you could possible desire before moving on allowing the next group to quietly and efficiently slide into your spot. Every Hobbit house got better and better and better, leaving the most perfect hobbit house to the end. Two simple unassuming doors, one half of the group went through one door, the other half through the other door. and what did we find? Heaven. so much heaven I cannot even begin to start to describe. In a nutshell, the most perfect hobbit house you could ever wish for, with not just a few bits of details, but thousands. My jaw hit the floor and I never retrieved it. I think I just found my own special place. Would I go back and do it again? yes, and again and again. The tour ends at the Green Dragon pub where we were each given a free drink, either alcoholic or ginger beer, you can guess which bunnies had which. And we also bought a pie each. Oh my goodness, the Kiwis sure know how to make a good pie. Leaving Hobbiton, and the highlight of our North Island tour, we packed our bags, said goodbye to our car, and headed once more for the airport and to our next destination, South Island.

From El Calafate we flew north to Santiago, once more we hired a car and drove to the coastal town of Valparaiso. We could quite easily have got one of the the very many and frequent Flix Buses, but time was short, and we admit we had grown tired of lugging our bags about. From plane to bus station, from bus station to bus station, from station to accommodation , and the same in reverse. Mr Bunny took matters into his own paws, and decided for all the hassle, the extra cost of a car would be worth it. We had a very fussy apartment booked, with a super strict and unmovable check in time of by 9.30pm or else. A rather bolshy text to the property owner, suggesting that I could always ask the pilot to fly a little quicker failed to move the apartment owner into agreeing a later check in so time was precious. It should be noted that we were flying via Buenos Aires with a 4 hour layover. Thankfully the superb organisation of Rental Cars at Santiago airport, meant we were collected, driven to the car hire office, the car was ready and waiting, and we left their office with sufficient time for a leisurely drive to Valparaiso. Ha !!! Lets just say we spent around 40 mins of our precious time just trying to leave the damned airport. How many blocked entrances? Road Blocks, One ways...we encountered them all. The road to Valparaiso was luckily blissfully traffic free, landing us at the apartment at 9.15pm. Good job we had a person waiting for us, we were on the 13th floor...the car park was on 9th floor, but was in the basement...reception on 11, via 2 lifts...what a crazy block of apartments. Valparaiso More than once we were told, `that`s not a safe place these days` Not helped by the fact that for the first time I had chosen an apartment for its views and not for its location in the safest district as per every other stay I had booked. We admit to being a little nervous there. Day one we just sat on the balcony in the hot sun and chilled. Watching the seals on the pier down below provided adequate entertainment. Day two however we decided we couldn`t stay in `the former jewel of South America` without seeing it for ourselves. We followed guidance to the letter, we dressed discreetly, kept phones and cameras packed away, and kept constant vigilance to our surroundings. I had read that the street vibes changed street by street, and that was quickly apparent. We only ever walk by day, we never wander far from busy streets, and are always careful. Valparaiso used to be the hub of the South America sea trade, and its not hard to see why. It really is, or rather was once, very beautiful. Old colonial buildings with stylish decor, shutters and graceful beauty stand looking forlorn shabby and unloved. Many of them empty. a sad reminder of better times. We spent the day walking the sea front, along which are far too many reminders of the sad situation of the homeless migrants mostly from Venezuela. As we headed for the `safe` area of Valparaiso, the Cerro Alegre we really did feel the ever changing ambience of the streets, bright and cheerful, turned into dour and cold, happy go lucky teenagers milled around the colleges/universities, whilst beady eyed teenagers eyed us moodily around the less savoury streets. At Cerro Alegre there is a multitude of colourful street art, and felt like a safe touristic place to spend some time. We had a coffee and cake break at a cafe high above the town, with a wooden barrier so rotten it would have crumbled at the slightest touch. No health and safety here, so use common sense and lean lightly. The cafe of choice was clearly an original from the hey day of the town. The wooden interior, the uneven floors, very old black and white pictures, and gorgeous old wooden furniture. One piece I thought was a strange box cupboard turned out to be an original fridge! Santiago Once again we return to Santiago, to Maktub hostel, with its wonderful beds and squeaky floors. Again we chose to spend our day at the rather wonderful Costenera shopping mall, rather than wander yet another city. Mr Bunny had left over Chile doofers which he divvied up between us in the hope we could each buy a last South American treat. Have you any idea how difficult it is to buy anything, when you have zero baggage space and a super strict baggage allowance? Little bunny opted to buy a better daybag, as hers was a little on the small side, and didn`t have dedicated laptop space, where as Mrs Bunny purchased yet another white t shirt, of the vest variety in the hope of visiting warmer climates. Mr Bunny treated himself to a rather nice steak dinner. And that, my bunny friends concluded our stay. We have loved our time in South America, but we are ready for a change. New Zealand awaits. We shall pick up the story in Auckland. Bunnies One, Two and Three are hopping to see you there.

Toilet.. I love a good toilet, don`t you? In the UK lets admit it, good public loos are few and far between. Not so here in South America. There are toilets (Banos) everywhere! Public toilets, toilets in cafes or bars, just pay a few pence and take your own paper. Down side streets (now I admit these are loos that we never had cause to use, so I cannot comment as to their cleanliness or function) middle of the highway, car parks, public buildings, if you have the urge to spend a penny or a peso, there will be a place for you. All western types. Carry your own paper, and stick the after use (you get used to it) in the baskets provided. In the 5 months here I think I have only been challenged by a questionable loo once. Altitude. I know I have mentioned this before, but altitude can be quite challenging at times. You don`t notice it for a long time, then suddenly without warning you find yourself out of breath, the stairs suddenly become so much more tiring. One night you may find yourself breathless, or you look at a hill and dismay and frustration hits you when the puffing starts again. I`m sure younger bunnies will struggle less, or even the well seasoned hikers, but if like us, you are sea level living bunnies, the constant living at a height equivalent to three times the height of Ben Nevis can be a struggle. I know from a an excellent source on You Tube, Wolters World that the need for oxygen on rare occasions is very real, but I do think some of the silly questions asked on the travel groups are a little dramatic, asking about altitude tablets, where to buy certain tablets, how to cope etc... Look people, I am an older bunny with proven limited lung capacity, I`m no hiker, I live at sea level, and though I puffed and panted, (and I admit got thoroughly and vocally fed up) I managed quite well. Yet by comparison it was super breath holding capacity, I can blow a brass instrument for 20 bars on one breath Mr Bunny, who struggled. Don`t stress. Follow every good suggestion online particularly the drinking of extra liquids and taking it easy, the rest you will figure out. Buses Every blog I read declared buses are freezing . I beg to differ. Buses differ massively and it all depends on where you sit. I have sat on a bus and darn near melted whilst the people just 2 seats ahead of me piled on just about every layer of clothing they could get their hands on. I sat in a cotton vest t shirt and shorts and wished I was naked with a bucket of ice water. That, my bunny friends is how wildly different bus seats can be. I was sat that day on the bus heater over which I had no control. My only personal advice would be to dress in layers, cool stuff first, not thermals. Cooking Cooking at home has saved us a whole lot of money. We save more when mrs and little bunny let Mr Bunny shop alone. We have been banned from accompanying him. Not our fault that those biscuits fell into the basket, or that bar of chocolate. We try not to complain though as neither of the girly bunnies has cooked a meal yet ( bar one or two) and though he does keep trying to produce a meal we do not like, in 5 months Mr bunny has so far failed. Miserably. I really thought this would be a trip of Ramen noodles and Water, but not at all. We eat chicken most evenings, steak, sausages, eggs, pastas, rice dishes, risotto, there is no end to the talent of Mr B. Fry a mushroom and an onion and the smell of cooking makes our bunny noses waffle. Mr Bunny even cooks delicious meals with wine, sometimes he puts it in the food... Clothing and what to wear/pack I retired from work and decided that I wanted to be a whole new me. I packed a different selection of clothing to my normal colours, wanting to be brighter, more colourful. I found out the hard way, If you don` t like it or wear it at home, you wont wear it abroad either. bit by bit I have replaced my backpack with the styles and colours that I am more accustomed to wearing. Even little bunny is so glad she packed jeans, despite their weight. Mr B wishes he had. I`m grrring that I sent home my straight legged trousers. I cannot emphasis enough to listen and learn when every single you tube video without fail, says pack less. less. less. less. I am carrying multiple socks that I probably will not wear, ditto underwear. You can only wear one at once, you can wash overnight, seldom takes more than 2 days to dry, so why take multiples? Wear. Wash. Go. Merino socks. just buy them. You will never regret it. Stuff. Needed or Not? My best stuff. A plug , its a round flat grey plug and probably our most used object. Our Philips rechargable toothbrushes in their own cases. (charged before we left, and she says, tempting fate) still on the same charge. Useful when the only place to put your toothbrush down may be the sink or the loo cistern. Sellotape ! resealing packets of curry powder, salt, sugar, sauces, drink crystals, lids on loose items. A small torch , mine has different options including wide beam. Used when I don`t want to be forever using my phone. An airflap . simple flat bendable piece of leather coated metal. Mr B uses it all the time when watching horses on his phone, or generally just surfing on the net on a table. Kindle , with a long lead charger. My kindle fire , a bit heavy but i have used it often. Easier to watch in bed than the laptop. Decent ear plugs . If you enjoy a decent hot brew, my best on the road buy is a plastic thermal mug , with lid. So nice to have a decent sized drink from a pot that keeps it warm for longer. The second best buy was a cute little hot water bottle . Ladies buy one, guys thank me later. Small plastic tubs . (yep, same as the ones we bought to bring, and left behind) but proof that you can buy what you need, when you need it, along the way. Too much rice? in the tub, sugar bag too big? In the tub. Half a tube of butter? In the tub. Slippers. Paper/pens. both get constant use. The pen keep handy at the borders. Decent hand cream or moisturiser . Your skin gets very dry at altitude. Toilet Roll . always have a spare handy, you never know when someone will accidentally chuck one down the loo. Sit pads , they take up a bit of space, but we use them so often, quite the envy of people when we plonk ourselves down on wet rocks, or damp grass whilst they stand. We do not have, but wish we did, an airplane friendly screwdriver set. Lost count of the times Mr Bunny waves a loose handled saucepan at me. Go Pro with or without a small handle. I do have ready made ( ahem) breast pocket in which to store mine out of sight, whilst little bunny prefers the handle attachment. Here I emphasise, you do NOT need the all singing, dancing battery included official go pro, £100 plus handle as per the advice of a knows everything, but knows nothing idiot I once knew. It is a heavy p.i.t.a leave it at home, along with the brainless clown that also thinks it had a use!!....just saying.... (private joke) Talking about that brown stuff, Wype has been a brilliant little bathroom addition. when paper is at a premium, the smallest amount of this stuff goes a long long way. (google for a better description, but it really is quite excellent) Packable day bags . We use two different ones. a Patagonia black hole, and a Tripped pack away, both used very often. Small grrr here, small packable shopping bags, exactly like the 6 or so I have at home but managed to leave without. These would have been very useful, instead I saved a heavy duty plastic bag that takes up more room than I like. A buff, have to admit I wear this far more than I thought I would. Thin warm blanket I carry mine in a neck shaped pillow case, multi function. Need a pillow but not a blanket, you got it, need a blanket and a pillow? swap blanket for coat or spare clothes. A tried and tested reusable drink flask . I personally carry two. One functions exceptionally well for cold drinks, but warm drinks cool far too quickly, whilst my other keeps hot for up to 10 hours. I didn`t intend to leave with 2, but one was a gift, and I am very grateful that the gift flask is the one I use most often. Pillow case. used on multiple occasions when only one side of the bed (or neither) has access to a table. We each carry a bright coloured pillowcase in which we can stuff phones, kindles, glasses cases, bedtime munchies.. Water shoes had frequent use, from private slippery bath tubs and showers, to shared bathrooms and hot tubs. Tea Towels . used frequently. Not required As per my notes above, anything heavy including a Go Pro handle. A carbon dioxide monitor . Don`t ask, ( if you must know, it was suggested on a well respected you tube blog, and seeing as we cook often, yadda yadda yadda) no, not needed. A bit of common sense and an open window works just as well. Justin Case . If you are carrying anything at all, just in case, you probably do not need it. A super dooper pac safe handbag . Yep, absolutely brilliant, but when your clothes are ultra casual, a pac safe handbag screams `I contain something important` I sent mine home in favour of a canvas bag that can be bought anywhere. Little bunny carries a cross body bag in a low key colour. Mr bunny wears a bum bag. sore point. It works best at airports and on buses. For casual day wear, he too carries a `local bag`. Shower Gel it is liquid, comes in big packaging, usually expensive, and solid soap ticks exactly the same box. Solid shampoo bars either I haven`t found a good one, or they are all the same. Pointless. I have had 3 now, and they haven`t lasted more than 2 or 3 washes without disintegrating. To date, most of our rooms have provided shower gel and shampoo, for those that don`t , supermarkets in tourist towns tend to have single sachets available. Hot Water Cannot begin to tell you how many times we have needed it, but not had, had but not needed, we have washed up in Cold water more times than I would like, but solid washing up paste is there for a reason. It works. If we have hot water we can cook with oil, cold water and its pasta or rice. Washing your face in cold water is quite refreshing and good for the skin, but running a bathroom tap and finding warm water is bliss. Bidets also provide an excellent face wash. Too many times now I have leaned over, turned on the tap and got a face full of water. Note to self, sit first. Also note, find the cold water first, I can assure you hot water sprayed directly onto your hoo hoo is not fun. Doing Nothing Doing nothing is doing something. It is recharging batteries. Embrace the fact that you really do not need to be doing, walking, hiking, travelling every single day. Stopping is good for body, mind and soul. Doing Something Prior to leaving the UK, we would work all day, cook in an evening, play cards, watch TV. It worried the heck out of me before we left, what are we going to do to pass time? I had visions of long quiet evenings and early nights. We could play cards, but that doesn`t take much time. We cannot sight see all day, every day!! I admit I panicked. I am not very good at sitting around doing nothing. Reality. I wish I had more time. The last time we played cards was almost a month ago. We are never bored, nor do we clamour for entertainment. Ours days are fulfilling, little bunny is working hard producing her You Tube channel/Instagram. miss.tiff.travel s. I write my diary and this blog, far more time consuming than you would know, and Mr bunny is becoming quite a dab hand at backing the horses with 4 legs and mining for Gold. Netflix and Disney are there for us in an evening. Life is good. Backpacks and Rucksacks . Researched at length, I cannot begin to tell you how many bag videos we have watched. We are each carrying a Stubble and Co backpack. 42 litres, compartmented. The compartments make packing exceptionally easy, one bunny choosing to use packing cubs, 2 bunnies do not. All 3 bags have split across the seams. I still advocate these bags are excellent, but it is proof that with less stuff the bags wouldn`t have been under so much strain. Will they last the entirety of the trip? Yes. Will they need attention in the future, also Yes. Would I bring again? debatable. We have two Osprey Fairview and Farpoint bags at home, that might just take a trip of their own one day. Rucksacks/day bags. Again, researched at length, but still problematic. I absolutely love to bits my LoveNook bag. Pockets!! so many pockets!! I have a pocket for everything, it is brilliant and I love it, but I`ve since bought a Patagonia rucksack to use instead ! Why??? My lovenook does not like to be carry turtle fashion. Problem one. Problem two, buses are used frequently and my little bag was just a little too wide to fit under the seats, ditto on a plane. When we intend to be travelling for many more months yet, I need a bag that ticks those extra boxes. My new Patagonia ticks all the boxes bar the pockets. Oh how I miss my pockets. A problem I have sorted by utilising the small zipped cotton bags that I have with me. Mr Bunny has no issues at all with his 30litre Berghaus rucksack, whilst little bunny, who had intended just using her anti theft backpack, quickly realised that it didn`t quite fit all her tech. Nor would it carry the weight of. Borrowing a cheap 30 litre trespass rucksack has that problem now covered. I'm sure I will have many more lessons to learn as our trip progresses, but for now, 3 happy bunnies are signing off. PS Google Translate. Brilliant brilliant app, but not fool proof. Please note that when asking for chocolate without nuts, you request the correct version of nuts. Mr Bunny had a red face when he asked for chocolate without balls....

Leaving behind all things hotel and comfortable, we headed for the Airport at Calama, returned our hire car, and boarded a plane to El Calafate in the heart of Argentina`s Patagonia. A rather expensive bunny hop into town on arrival, not that we had a lot of choice given that the airport manager informed us that the airport was about to close. We had neither local money nor internet. Informed that all taxis have a means of taking card payment, we were directed to the last taxi available. A £20 taxi ride and 20 mins later we arrived at our little home in El Calafate. We were due to spend one night here, but a series of events and a high jacked day led us to stay put for 2 nights. Such a beautiful place, so no hardship. We did not get the chance to see the town up close this time around but hope to return here for a couple more nights when we return the car. All I can say about our accommodation is that it was warm, really really, really warm. To be surrounded by snow capped mountains but needing to have the front door open to lessen the heat in our `sauna` is proof enough as to the warmth. Granted it was lovely to be so toasty, but not so much in the early hours when you cant exactly fling the door open to cool down. We bought food in the town supermarket, and it was as we expected a little expensive. Mr Bunny and his cooking skills as always prevailed. He really does feed us well on very few ingredients. Day 2. Our journey today takes us to El Chalten , via the awesome Perito Merino Glacier. Quick note here, there are two places called Perito Merino, which caused said Mr bunny to have a minor meltdown when I showed him the route (whilst still in the UK) , stamping his overly large bunny feet insisting we go to the Glacier. It was on the route, just not where he expected it to be. There are two my bunny friends, a place name, and a glacier of same name, in two very different places. Perito Merino Glacier. Nothing short of spectacular. I admit to feeling a little meh about seeing a glacier, a big wall of ice, where is the fun in that? Nothing could have prepared me for the sight before my eyes. The road we travelled on through the National Park Los Glaciares to the glacier took us along the lake edge. It was there we saw our first iceberg. I felt daft at first pointing out that iceberg, but then it occurred to me, when had I/we ever seen a real one before? We have been to Norway and Sweden but that was Summer, we didn`t see icebergs there, in a land where you would expect to see them, yet here in Patagonia, sat the cutest little iceberg you ever did see, right there in front of our very eyes. An iceberg of the palest blue. If the giddiness of seeing that chunky lump of ice made me smile, it was nothing to witnessing the sheer size and scale of the Perito Merino Glacier. It really is quite breath taking, and far more impressive than I was expecting. Once the shock and awe of the phenomenon you are witnessing passes, you then start to take in the colours. Blues of every colour, the whole blue spectrum from the palest baby blue, to more vivid striking cobalt, deepest turquoise and neon blue. How can white ice be so blue? The Glacier is a visually striking wall of cracked ice, with every crack harnessing its own blue colours. There are so many well constructed paths that lead to and around the glacier in every direction. We chose the easiest path, and meandered down toward the river and the glaciers edge. Every set of stairs that descended increased the grandeur and majesty of this spectacular glacier. At home I thought meh its only ice...in reality, I couldn`t have be less meh if I tried. This ticked one of Mr Bunny`s bucket list items, and it added to mine. We would have liked to have lingered longer, but the need to push on to our next destination dragged us away. We did have a rather annoying kit kat moment, after we had turned our backs on the glacier for just a few moments, it chose that very time to crack and cascade into the lake with the most deafening rumble. We heard the roar and the resounding splashes, but alas a wall of trees spoilt our view for those crucial seconds. We heard a glacier crack.... but accept some things are not ours to witness first hand. El Chalten. After 5 hours of the most breath taking scenery, and a whole lot of nothing else, we arrived at the town of El Chalten. When I say a whole lot of nothing, that is quite literal. No people, no house, no towns, no shops, not even a stray dog. Plenty of trees and Guanacos (snooty faced llama type animals), and views beyond compare, but other than that, a whole lotta nothing. Just straight roads of nothingness. The northern parts of Patagonia offers little conversation other than `wow` `wow` and yet more `wow` Sheer raw beauty of nature at its best. We are coming out of winter and heading to spring. Lambs are being born, trees are bare, the land is barren, but it is beyond compare. As the mountain ranges close in and the snow peaks grow ever larger, the peak of the distinctive Fitz Roy mountain comes into view, and the tiny town of El Chalten. This is quite clearly a town that is developing quickly, and I suspect the land is valuable. The hiking around this area would be enough to keep any seasoned and hardy hiker busy for months, and I would guess that every spare bit of land is being purchased and utilised for the purpose of hiking accommodations. The trails here are many and varied. The houses of the town differ wildly, from wooden lodges, small hotels, converted caravans, large well cladded garden sheds, small concrete housing units, to the one I liked the most, a small rowing boat, upwardly extended in a manner Mr and Mrs Weasley would be quite proud of. The cost of staying in El Chalten is quite steep comparatively, and even at the outer edges of the town we paid just short of double our usual budget. Our little apartment was tiny and cute. Tiny enough to serve a purpose, big enough not to feel crowded. On our first full day, the sun shone brightly, we first drove, then hiked up the easiest hiking trails to be rewarded with yet more awesome views. Patagonia does not disappoint. Our trail was called the Condor Trail and we were rewarded with said birds. There were many condors, soaring and gliding the wind currents high above us. The next trail was the Eagle trail, not convinced we saw the eagles, but then again they are much smaller and harder to spot. The trail ended with yet more views to behold. Back at our `ranch` we enjoyed our home cooked bunny food, before settling in for an evening of Netflix. It snowed this evening, all night long. We knew snow was forecast, but it only mentioned a flurry. Ha!! It snowed big time, and we woke to a blanket of white. This was not a problem for Mrs Bunny who has no hiking desires, but caused quite a stir in the world of two other bunnies who had planned...and still planned, to hike the longest most challenging hike in Patagonia. Today. In the snow. Fully kitted out I hear you say? Nope. Walking trainers, no crampons, no walking poles, no waterproof trousers or gaitors, nothing, nada, zip. So, at 8am, two foolhardy and determined bunnies, dressed to kill in everything warm they could muster, set off to hike Fitz Roy, all 14 miles of it. In the snow. Mrs Bunny settled down with a good cup of tea, a book, warm slippers, and a cat for company. The cat had sat on the windowsill for many minutes staring in at me meowing until I let him/her in. Stalked in like it owned the place, demanded water from the bathroom tap, then casually draped itself on the bed and promptly went to sleep. For 4 hours! It was actually nice having a furry body in the room for company whilst the 2 daft bunnies hiked up a steep and snowy mountain. 11 hours later, my two crazy bunnies arrived home. I had given them the ultimatum of home by 7pm or I send out a search party. They pushed their luck timing their return 6.56 ! The floor definitely had pace marks. Having decided that Laguna 69 (Huaraz) was the most challenging of hikes, they both scoffed and declared that Laguna 69 was actually a mere walk in the park compared to Fitz Roy. Ushuaia From the first day we watched the Race Across the World, ending in a place called Ushuaia, ( how do you pronounce it and where the heck is it..) the thought of visiting the city at the end of the world was totally on our radar. From El Chalten to Ushuaia is around 18 hours by car, the distances here are quite eye watering. We opted to break up the journey by pausing for a night at Rio Gallegos. I don`t intend to dwell on the past, but this was the port that served the Argentine Naval force during times of conflict in the mid 80s. Not knowing quite how we would be greeted or welcomed in Argentina so close to the islands we chose to avoid the museums and the monuments. Let me add, every sign post and reference points to the Malvinas, the English version is never ever referred to. A muted sore point in the history of Argentina? Our apartment wasn`t quite ready on arrival, so we took a drive to the sea front. It looked like the sea but it is just an inlet. Every part of this ride was Lytham to St Annes. (English seaside towns) Sea wall on your left, beautiful house of every size and shape on your right. One night in the bunny hutch at Rio Gallegos and back in the car. pssst do you want to know how to get from El Chalten to Rio Gallegos? simples, Leave El Chalten on the main road, turn right at the t junction. Turn Left at the next junction, straight on forever and Rio Gallegos will be in front of you. Two turnings we made, in 8 hours!! The next part of the journey would be long, varied, challenging, boring, wow, two border crossings, Argentina/Chile/Argentina (they nicked our eggs!.....and on the return journey we got in trouble for an onion, so be warned!) and lastly a ferry crossing. Around 8 hours in total. All I can refer to along this early stretch of the journey was the fate of the daft Guanacos. I saw their furry butts so often that I renamed them either Guanacant`s or Guanacans There are many many herds of these beautiful snooty faced animals all along both sides of the fence line that stretches the length of Patagonia. The guanacos/cans/cants graze peacefully on both sides of the fence, the guanacants were the ones who failed to clear the fence and hung pitifully either draped like a furry rug, their sad little fluffy butt tails waving in the wind, or hung by the one trailing leg that didn`t quite clear the 4ft obstacle. Pretty sure these departed animals make for a proper feast for the elusive Pumas and Cougars, not to mention the condors as the number of furry butt tails and dangling bods was numerous. Guanacans troughed the grass on both sides of the fence. Departed guanacos aside, we have seen a number of the other animals/birds that fly/roam the Patagonian plains. Grey Foxes, Eagles and Hawks, a Skunk (alas flattened, but still spotted) wild Horses, Rhea and even a flamboyance (isn`t that a nice word?) of Flamingos. I thought I was seeing things when I saw what I thought were herds of ostrich in the field, but a google search revealed they were wild Rhea. The last leg of our journey took us across the fantastic plains of Tierro del fuego. The original indigenous people used fire to keep warm (what else....?) and passing sailors saw the flames, called it the land of fire, Tierro del Fuego yadda yadda yadda. The wind across the never ending flat plains was quite scary at times, the car shook like the bunny in Fatal Attraction, and Mr bunny`s knuckles were quite white at times from gripping the steering wheel. It is hard to recall at what point the scenery changed, but the change was rapid. From a blank canvas of sandy plains, trees started to appear, first one, then another and suddenly huge forests loomed out of nowhere. Then hills, which grew into mountains, that developed into snow topped mountain ranges. The change in scenery was nothing short of sudden and dramatic. Did I mention the absence of cars? Pretty sure during the entire 8 hour plus journey the number of cars in either direction wouldn`t top 50, if that. If there is only one road to The end of the World, and the number of cars we saw barely made it past 50, just how tiny a town is Ushuaia? Huge, really really huge! We were so surprised to find a town this large. Not London or La Paz huge, but pretty close to Harrogate or Halifax (uk) It would seem that living here is so good, why leave? Ushuaia . The City at the End of the World. And it is spectacular. I am so so happy to be here, it was worth the very long journey. The town itself is pretty enough, but backed by snow capped mountains, and facing the Beagle channel, the scenery surrounds you on all sides. This is a city in which you can live and breathe. Hiking, fishing, boating, skiing, mountains, nature and wildlife are just some of its many attractions. Tourism is definitely developing quickly here, and the number of cruises to Antarctica doubles year on year. Still this city remains unique. We drove around the streets away from the touristic centre today, and just marvelled and laughed at the huge array of housing. Of course there are a few blocks of same same buildings, but mostly every other single building, be it house or shop is unique. Bungalows, houses, sheds, caravans, wooden lodges, wooden houses, concrete houses, isthatreallya house type houses, ultra modern stands next to original wooden multi storey constructions. Made from chipboard, metal panels, wood or even glass. Single glazed windows, or high tech shutters. Square concrete boxes reside next to triangular oddities. British Building regulations go eat your heart out, take a look at how amazing and functional these houses/homes/one mans castles, are, and get off your silly high horses about 3.5" cladding and 2.3 ft deep drains...boo sucks to you. This is how people should be allowed to live. Practical, functional and personal. Self made and proud to call them home. Tours. Seriously expensive. This is not a place to come thinking you can do all sorts, at least not on a budget. £50 pp to ride the train, one and half hours, but you must, not optional also purchase the national park ticket @£20pp. Beagle Channel cruise? £135, pp. Some eye watering costs. I am both glad and a little sad about not riding the train, but was it a must or a touristy `you must do this when here` ? I feel the latter. The train whilst cute, is not the original. The journey is painfully slow, the scenery may well be nice, but isn`t the whole of Patagonia pretty awesome without paying to sit on a very slow train that travels just 18km? the station is quite lovely, but it is still a facade for a journey of limited options. Instead we purchased the compulsory park tickets, took a picnic, and hiked our bunny butts around a few of the many walks around this beautiful, peaceful and scenic national park. Bit miffed that we were charged full price when many hikes were still closed, but it is what it is. Our last visit of the day, and something we had each promised ourselves. A visit to the Post Office at the end of the world. Stamp our passports and send a postcard home. Nope. Apparently the Post Office is no longer there, due to some issues about its legalities. Damn you Google, telling us it was open until 4pm daily, grrrrrr. Penguins? closed for refurbishment (the King Penguin sanctuary) Boats rides, expensive and with the channel windy, choppy with white horse tipped waves, probably not running. Patagonia was becoming a challenge. We did have a very nice meal with quite probably one of the best views to date at the Tolkeyen hotel, not overly expensive at all. And coffee and cake the following day at Tanta Sara in the centre of town was just sublime. Leaving Ushuaia, we just had to pay a visit to the Hotel that ended the Race Across the World. Not exactly certain how the challengers got there, this hotel sits high up above the town, not the gorgeous looking hotel building we could see from our room, the sat nav took us to what we thought was a plain old green factory warehouse perched high on another mountain side. Oh My Goodness, how looks can deceive. The Arakur hotel. Just google it, is all I can say, as words alone cannot do it justice. We were greeted by `the man` the same guy on reception who greeted those tired racers. He welcomed us in and told us to wander freely and admire. And wander we did. Numerous seating areas, all heated, bar, restaurants, private restaurants for intimate dining, and the spa. With an outdoor infinity, heated pool. If anyone fancies getting married, this hotel ticks so many boxes. From Ushuai we made the long trek northwards again, this time to Punta Arenas . We were supposed to going via Porvenir where the Penguin refuge was , but given that the refuge was closed for a refurb, we opted for the shorter car ferry crossing near Puerto Progreso, the same way that we crossed earlier and ultimately the alternative road to Punta Arenas. Must say I was expecting a lot more from this town. Quite disappointing to be honest. We visited the few must see places, but given that these included the Plaza de Armas which was closed for maintenance, an old rusting ship that floundered here in 1909, a boat yard of `life size replicas`, not convinced by the life size, they looked rather small to me, and with an entry fee of $7 each, we were not convinced we needed to see them further up close. If you want to see real ships, you are hard pressed to beat Portsmouth (UK)! (been there, done that) The Cemetery ranked by CNN as the most beautiful in the world, (decide for yourself, I have no intentions of defining beauty when it comes to a place of rest) and lastly parts of the town which were decidedly meh. What is good about this place, is our accommodation. A 3 bedroomed log cabin above the town with views over the harbour. We were supposed to be staying in a 2 bedroom log cabin, but some silly female bunny booked 2025 dates instead of 24, so the kind owner sensing the goof gave us the last available 3 bedroom cabin. And it is Warm!! phew, we were told by some guy back at Huachachina that gas is either free or very cheap in Patagonia, and I swear it must be true, as heaters are large and restrictions on usage not applicable. The cabin is very small but very very comfortable. To prove it was a cabin made for us, we have a bunny, a real little bunny living under our cabin. I think he must be a home bunny as we have spotted him 3 times now. From Punta Arenas to Puerto Natalas, another 3 and half hour drive and another Border crossing in the middle of nowhere. Note to other bunny travellers, for heavens sake if you overstay your welcome either by design or accident, just pay the darn fine and quit bleating about how you have just spent a lot of money as a tourist in their country. We couldn`t believe our bunny ears, as these two loud mouthed foreigners ponced about telling the authorities it was their (the border control) mistake, and why should they pay the $20 fine !! Seriously, $20 for a 4 day illegal stay, and your complaining ?? Note to the more advanced bunny traveller, be careful when or if you hire a car, there is an endless amount of car paperwork that they scrutinise with an 50 x magnification spyglass! Be confident that you have all the correct paperwork before you try to cross the border and don`t even think about smuggling an onion! Puerto Natalas. Quite the contrast to Punta Arenas. This is a very pretty little town, no high rises, just a small town quite spread out, with a lovely sea front. We didn`t quite find the time to walk the sea front, but did managed to take `that` photo, of the old pier at sunset . An Instagram hotspot. Not my favourite past time, recreating the same photo as 1000s of others, but it is a nice place at sundown. We drove to Puerto Natalas via the Cueva del Milodon Cave National Monument. (Mylodon) This is must see tourist attraction that caught my eye as a must see. The remains of a prehistoric sloth bear were found here, with remains of prehistoric man. I personally hope bear ate man for a change. No bones to see, or even a skeleton, but a life size replica sloth bear does greet you at the cave entrance to give you an appreciation of size. Located around 15km out of P.N. we called here on our way to our room. From the road you can see the cave, but just not how big it is. To do that, you must pay (of course) There are many walks around this area, but all we wanted to see was the Milodon replica, and the cave in which it was found. I cannot begin to describe the size of this cave. Huge is an underwhelming word, Think Ginormous, humungous, cathedral sized and you are getting close. I chose to stay near the cave entrance to take photos of my bunny to give an idea of scale. spot him if you can . Accommodation here is again expensive, and with a needs must budget we nabbed a little wooden cabin, or as little bunny called it, the hutch at the bottom of the garden. I shall breeze over this place. It was clean with comfy beds, but challenging. Bit too small. It served a purpose. Puerto Natalas This is the town that sits closest to the Torres del Paine National Park. You only need to look at a map to see how special a place this is. If the bunny budget was a whole lot bigger, we would have chosen to stay within the park boundaries, but as I decline to camp in the cooler months, and 5* hotels not on the radar, Puerto Natalas works just fine. It is however a good 95-105 km/1 and half hours away. First stop in the park took us to two different view points. Well researched hiking trails we quickly learned that `easy hike ` is in comparative to the Mirador Torres del Paine Base definition of `challenging hike` 3 of us made almost to the top of the `easy` hiking trail however we 2 older bunnies, after watching a much younger bunny with hiking poles and crampons sit and shuffle her way down the last part of the walk, decided that this was the perfect place to break out the flasks of coffee, and instead we sent our own little bunny to scout the highest part of the walk. Watching her return like bambi on ice, we knew we made the right choice to stay were we were. The second 6km easy hike proved to be just that, we first walked to the waterfall, then continued onwards to the Mirador Cuernos. A very pleasant walk indeed, and an awe inspiring view at the end as a worthy reward. Day 2. And the day of the biggie. The hugely demanding and very challenging Torres del Paine Base hike. Luckily there was no snow today, we had checked the walking conditions and all was good, the lake was melted at the view point, and crampons were an optional rather than a necessity, (not that we had any). Flasks were made, rucksacks filled, and clothing donned. Woolly socks, hats, gloves, thermal base layers comfortable slippers, favourite t shirt....hmmm, you didn`t actually think Mrs Bunny was quite that daft to even consider this particular hike? Another day off for me, no cat this time, but I am still happy on my own. The two crazy knackered bunnies returned a mere 14 hours later, and once again declared they had upped their hiking game. Mrs Bunny was allowed in mr bunny`s kitchen today to make tea. Mr Bunny did not complain. One of the many challenges of the national park, are the unmade roads. I had found us a gorgeous route back to El Calafate that traversed the many winding roads of the National Park. However the reality would have been 8 plus hours on a mostly unmade, or if it was made, a deeply rutted potholed road. Now iykyk, but lets just say that my bra wouldn`t quite cut it..... We took the fast route. Leaving the utterly beautiful and stunning Torres del Paine national park it was with a heavy heart we waved goodbye, and continued once more back to the town of El Calafate and the end of our car hire rental. Dropping the car off, it served us well managing a little over 3000km during our 19 day rental period. Could you see Patagonia by bus or public transport? Yes, you could, but it would be very very challenging. The distances, the speed of the bus, the frequency. Unmade roads, and the off the beaten track destinations that would require taxis or tours. We did see one or two crazy people on bicycles, but when we knew we had a 4 hour journey of nothingness in front of us in a car, what must it look like from a bike perspective? Without personal transport I suggest a very big budget and a whole lot of time and patience. Even with a car we only managed to cover a small area of the incomparable land that is Patagonia. A destination beyond compare. Our journey through South America is coming to a close. With just one destination left prior to getting on our longest flight to date, this bunny has only one thing to say. South America. We love you.

Potosi or Uyuni? Potosi had always been on our radar, one as a centre for which to purchase anything shiny and silver, a bunny can always dream and hope, and second as a bunny hop breaking up yet another long tedious bus journey. In the end we decided to bunny hop, skip and jump over Potosi and suck up yet another sauna bus of endless miles and misery. This bus was due to leave Sucre at 10pm, but left at 9.45, and was supposed to arrive at 8 am, but pulled into the station at 5.30 am. Prior to leaving Sucre (altitude 2790) for Uyuni ( 3700) we asked our host what the bus journey would be like. Frio !! Muchas Frio! he was quite adamant.... (cold, very cold) I thereby erred on the side of caution, and wore layers. Yep, another bloody (sorry) sauna! My patience and tolerance for these buses is wearing thin. Yet it would seem only I was ridiculously hot. My seat was on the only bus heater, and the heat stayed local to me. Two seats in front, and two behind the passengers were piling on scarfs, hats, jumpers, coats and wrapping themselves up in furry blankets. Me? This bunny? I wore shorts and my thinnest cotton vest top. and darn near melted. Hardly surprising that I got many curious looks as the bus doors opened at Uyuni at 5.30 am and temperatures in the minus!!! Grab the layers onion girl, grab the layers! Uyuni  When you arrive at a destination at 5.30am after a long, hot stuffy sleepless journey, wake a sleepy hotel owner to beg for an early entry, who in turn then agrees to come and get you from the bus station, it does not put you in the best frame of mind to appreciate your surroundings. I clocked nothing was open (well it was 5.30am) and I did get the feeling that the town was quite desolate looking..(understatement). Jhony, apartment owner did try to engage us in conversation asking if we had a trip booked, but he quickly got the hint to shut up, let us get some sleep, and we would converse with him later that afternoon. So so cold. Utterly grateful that for the first time on our trip we had a room with heating! We have never been particularly cold anywhere we have been so far (except maybe the one night in Quilotoa) but Uyuni was something else. Comfy beds and a warm room, we slept so well that morning, walking at 1pm ready to face the day. We arranged for a one day tour to the Salt Flats the following day, and headed into town searching for some bunny fodder. Oh my goodness where on earth are we? Unmade roads of sand, no markings, no traffic lights or roundabouts, small scruffy buildings, I felt myself wanting to hum the theme tune from The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly such was this strange sand ridden town. Barely any traffic, the few cars we did see were so so old, rust buckets mostly, old buses with doors that no longer closed. A true old western looking town. We did come across a couple of slightly more finished buildings, restaurants, and cafes, but nothing particularly sparkling. Diving into an `italian` restaurant that promised pizza or similar, I did manage to procure a rather good cup of coffee, with milk! but alas my choice of `chicken soup` made my stomach churn. Best described as dishwater, with a boiled egg, a boiled potato, and (eek) a boiled chicken leg, complete with soggy boiled skin. From the sublime soup of Sucre, to this... little bunnies orange chicken, was distinctly lemon flavoured, she`s not a fan, while Mr bunny fared a little better with his beef (we hope) steak and rice. Uyuni Salt Flats, Train Cemetary , Picked up from the hostel at 10 am, we collected our other 4 passengers, and headed out to the Train Cemetery. Having watched so many different You Tubes about the Salt Flats, and in particular the Train Cemetery, it was a brilliant feeling to finally be there and see these rusting deserted abandoned trains for ourselves. We didn`t have the longest of time there, but did have long enough to explore these old relics of times gone by, you can climb on the trains if you so wish. From the trains we made a quick pit stop to collect food and wellies, before we headed off to the Salt town of Colchani. Yes, it entirely true that this town thrives, or at least used to, from the production and preparation on the mined salt, but a more accurate observation, this little town is quite clearly making all its money from the endless stalls of T.S.   * tourist sh.t  the vast number of tourist land rovers and range rovers parked along the road bearing testament to that . From Colchani it was time to drive to the Salt Flats themselves. What an experience! We drove from sandy covered almost tarmac roads, to a surface of pure salt, and a pristine vision of endless nothingness. We passed by the worlds largest salt hotel, but alas didn`t stop to investigate. Carrying on into a white oblivion, the lack of scenery and landmarks became quite unnerving. There are no roads across the Salt Flats, but endless tourist visits has marked a flattened slightly dirty car wide path along which we travelled. Sunglasses were an absolute must. The endless white of the salt flats coupled with the bright sunshine made for a blinding vista. On and on we drove, heading for who knows what. How did he know where to go? suddenly our grubby path went off at an angle, and so did we. The spanish speaking mother of the family who we were with did voice what we were all thinking, `how do you know where you are heading for`. Our young guide and driver simply smiled and said, `road and sun`...hmm....not vague or reassuring at all. But all of a sudden, there it was, looking out of the whiteness a vast spectacle of colour. Flags. From every country, and the giant obelisk of Dakar. From 2009 to 2019 the Dakar rally ran across South America, and the salt flats of Uyuni. We lunched ( rather well in fact) at the salt restaurant. Each tour group had brought their own food, obviously by mutual discussion of what food was to be served, given that every table, made of salt, along with salt stools, appeared to be eating the same things. Hot rice, meat, potatoes, salad, coke and water were available, with oranges for dessert. From the restaurant we headed out once more onto the vast whiteness of the Salt -Flats. For 45 minutes we drove heading to who knows where. Tried playing I Spy, but Salt and Sky where the only things to spot ending the game ended quickly. A lump? Is that a lump we could see? It was, yet it took forever to get there. We passed, most unbelievably 2 people on bicycles!!! How? Why !!! We had no answers, just shocked disbelief. Finally our lump turned into a desert island called Incahuasi. or Cactus Island. Quite amazing to see this large lump of rock, with its many many tall handsome cacti. We paid our price, got the ticket, `no ticket no loo` declares the sign, and started our ascent of this big black volanic rock. Quite the challenging uphill hike, was a hot cloudless sky, and the altitude and thin air quite debilitating. 2 bunnies almost made it to the top, but decided that a view of endless nothing wasn`t really a view at all. Little bunny pushed onto the top, but didn`t come back sounding particularly enamoured about the view, muttering something about, its the same in every direction. We left Incahuasi and pushed on again deeper into the salt flats. and Stopped. Here, in the middle of nowhere, in a pristine untouched environment, we had the most fun ever taking forced perspective photos. Being `chased` by a dinosaur was so much fun, but looking back at the photos, mrs bunny has to accept that acting isn`t her strong point. Mr bunny however had the actions off to a tee. Last stop, as the sun begins to set, we headed off in the approximate direction of land, and stopped in a pool of water. We donned the wellies, and as the sun was setting and the temperatures plummeting, we also added our extra layers of puffer coats and gloves. Standing in a pool of salt water, watching the most spectacular cloud free sunset, reflected in the ponds of water, was quite something special. The colours of the sunset so vivid against the white of the salt. To the west the sun set in a blaze of colour, whilst to the east the full moon rose with equal speed. to see both at the same time, with nothing to interrupt the view was nothing short of awe inspiring. One full day on the Uyuni Salt Flats, is a day we will never forget. the cost? £20 pp. there are 2 and 3 day options, but our mantra is a little of everything and a lot of nothing. One day was enough to have a day to remember. So ends our very brief time in Bolivia. short, sweet and spectacular. Would I return? not sure. True the food in Sucre was quite special, but do I want to face the awful buses again? Somehow I doubt it.