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Matt Ward's Travel-Log!
 


There is an amazing 310 travel-log entries on 16 page(s) and your are on page number 7


Travel-log entry by Matt on 25 February 2006 at 04:19
Day 240 (23rd February 2006)
Got the money for the car from the bank first thing in the morning and caught the bus to the place I was picking the car up from and got there around 10am. First of all I went to a cheap tyre place and got one of the rear tyres replaced because it has a split in the tyre wall. I managed to get a second hand tyre with good tread fitted for $30 I also got the guy to check the tyre pressures and fit some new wiper blades. Next it was straight to the camping shop to pick up some items:- Gas stove, Sleeping bag and an invertor. The invertor allows me to charge items like mobile phone and mp3 from the car battery. After getting the camping gear I went to get some food from the Pak N Save and then eventually got on the road at around 1pm heading first for Lake Tekapo. After a couple of hours of driving I found myself driving through an amazing landscape with the alps in the distance. I arrived at Lake Tekapo at about 4.30pm, the lake is amazing, a turquoise blue water in an amazing setting. I visited the church of the good sheperd - a small little church right on the edge of the lake. Next it was a drive of around 40 mins until I reached Lake Pukaki. It appeared quite suddenly after I took a corner on the road. Here I had the most amazing view across the lake with Mt Cook in the far distance. The scenery here in NZ is really amazing it has to be seen to be believed! The road follows the side of the lake until it reaches Mt Cook Village. I pulled into a campsite about 25Kms from Mt Cook village and set-up my tent. I was eager to try out my new gas stove so I cooked some noodles - Ha! I have decided that tomorrow I am going to do 2 walks around the Mt Cook area, I'll let you know how they go in tomorrows log for now I am literally going to hit the sack and if your wondering why the logs are so long it's because I have nothing else to do! I am writing this by hand in my book and then transferring it to the website when I get the chance.
Matt is currently in Mt. Cook National Park, South Island, New Zealand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 25 February 2006 at 04:07
Day 239 (22nd February 2006)
Only hanging around here waiting for that money to go in so I can pay for the car and get the hell out of here, I've been way to long in Christchurch but poor planning on my behalf is the cause of the situation. Oh I managed to pick up a tent off a guy at the backpackers for only $15 - what a bargain. Tomorrow will be going to pick up the car and then get some bits before I head off out of this place.
Matt is currently in Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 25 February 2006 at 04:05
Day 238 (21st February 2006)
I went back down to the backpackers car market today. I managed to find a car that I liked, being sold by a danish girl that had just finished her travels in NZ. The car is a 1991 Honda Concerto, the car has got electric windows, mirrors, sunroof, air con and comes with a load of camping stuff. I took the car to a garage to get it checked by a mechanic and there were only a couple of small problems with it so I agreed to buy the car, but I can't pay until Thusday when some money I transferred comes into my account. Managed to get the car a little cheaper than it was being sold for and I am happy with the car, it's solid, nice to drive and has got that Honda reliabilty! I got the vehicle transferred over into my name and sorted out some insurance cover - only $150. In the evening I started to plan where I am going to go in NZ.
Matt is currently in Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 25 February 2006 at 03:59
Day 237 (20th February 2006)
Met up with Mark and Louise today (the couple from Fraser Island trip in Oz) they arrived yesterday in Christchurch. We headed out down into town and did some Punting on the Avon river, you coast along the river in a boat with a guy pushing you along with a stick. WE then went to grab some beers at "The Bog" irish pub in town and then went for a nice big curry at an indian restaurant. I was really needing a curry, haven't had one since I was in Malaysia.
Matt is currently in Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 25 February 2006 at 03:55
Day 236 (19th February 2006)
Didn't do much at all today, was milling around at the hostel most of the day.
Matt is currently in Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 19 February 2006 at 08:08
Day 235 (18th February 2006)
I decided today to go and ride the tram. There is an old tram that does a loop around the city with a running commentary about local landmarks. After that I went to check out the "Gondola" which is a cable car that takes you to the top of a mountain, from which you can see across the city and lyttenton harbour. In fact it was really worth the money - the views were spectacular and now I'm getting a taste of what's to come in NZ. I'm looking forward to getting on the road and seeing some of these fantastic landscapes...
Matt is currently in Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 19 February 2006 at 08:04
Day 234 (17th February 2006)
Didn't do too much today, had a pretty relaxing day. In the evening though I met up with a buddy I met in Australia and we went for a few beers down at "The Strip" - this is where it all happens in Christchurch, basically a long row of bars each trying to out-do each other with their food and music.
Matt is currently in Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 19 February 2006 at 08:02
Day 233 (16th February 2006)
Today I took a walk around the city centre, it's actually quite a nice little city, lots of flowers everywhere and nice buildings. I also went to go and have a look around the backpacker car market, my intention is to buy a car, drive it around the south and north island and finally sell it in Auckland when I get there. I'm not intending to spend much, maybe around 500GBP but I want something that will be reliable and that I can sell at the other end!
Matt is currently in Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 16 February 2006 at 05:55
Day 232 (15th February 2006)
Hello from NZ! I had to get up at 5am in order to get the taxi from the hostel to Cairns airport. My first flight was from Cairns to Sydney then it was a case of hanging around in Sydney airport for about 6 hours until my flight from there to Christchurch. We touched down in Christchurch at 10.10pm local time (it's 12 hours difference from the UK now) and I caught a local bus into the city center. I managed to find a hostel, quite lucky really as most places were booked out. My first impressions of NZ are good, it definately reminds me a lot more of England than anywhere I went to in OZ. Now I have got to decide what to do from here, do I get a bus pass or buy a car? Who knows I need to decide a plan and then get working on it!!
Matt is currently in Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 16 February 2006 at 05:50
Day 231 (14th February 2006)
Today it was my last day in Australia and I decided to go into Cairns city centre to try and get a couple of souvenirs to keep as a momento of my time here. I got a Great Barrier Reef T-Shirt, an Australia keyring and the obligatory indigineous boomerang! Cool thing about the boomerang is that I got all my friends from the Fraser island trip to sign it! Nearly all of them are in the same hostel at Cairns. In the evening tonight we all went out into the city centre for a farewell drink. We went to P.J.OBriens and then onto The Woolshed...I got back a bit late!
Matt is currently in Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 14 February 2006 at 03:28
Day 230 (13th February 2006)
I got up for my free breakfast (bacon and eggs on toast!) and decided to head out for a walk around with a Scottish girl that I met. We first went to the Cape trib lookout where I took some pics of the Cape. Cape Trib is actually one of the only places in the world where the rainforest actully meets the sea - it comes right up to the seas edge. In fact there is one point where the rainforest meets the edge of the great barrier reef.
We then continued to walk and decided to try and go crocodile spotting at Myall Creek - it was a bit of a jaunt and meant a walk of about an hour and when we got to Myall Creek we didn't see any which was gutting. The weather was very hot and humid and showers were on and off but we managed to hitch a lift back up the road to the beachouse which saved us some time as I was due to be picked up by the tour company at 1.15pm. The afternoon was spent on the bus driving back, on the way we stopped off at the Alexandria Range lookout and then onto Mossman gorge for some swimming in the river. Our last stop was at Port Douglas, now Port Douglas is a rich area with lots of swish shops and stuff, apparently Madonna and Bill Clinton both own pads there. I liked the place it had a cool feel to it but we were only there for 45 mins which was just enough to have a quick look around before we headed back on the bus to Cairns. In the evening I hooked up with a few buddies from my Fraser trip that are also staying at Bohemia resort. Tomorrow we are all going for a farewell meal as we are all going our seperate ways on Wednesday.
Matt is currently in Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 14 February 2006 at 03:18
Day 229 (12th February 2006)
Today I did the first day of my 2 day trip to Cape Tribulation. I got picked up by the tour bus at 8am and we did the coastal drive north along the coast to Daintree, here we stopped for some light breakfast before jumping onto a boat to do a daintree river cruise. We managed to see one small crocodile that was perched on a log and also fruit bats hanging in the trees. Next it was back on the bus to head further north, we stopped at a place to do a rainforest walk. Well in fact it was where two different forests merged together. Part of the walk was through the normal rainforest and the other was through the mangrove forest. Our guide was actully really informative and I learnt some interesting stuff about the forest. We also got to see some big spiders and stuff and after that it was on to Cape Tribulation. I was booked into the Cape Trib Beachhouse, this place was set right in the heart of the rainforest. It was actully quiet there but I met some people that I had seen in Mission Beach - we played a few games of yatzee to pass the time but it was an early night at 10.30!
Matt is currently in Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 11 February 2006 at 06:35
Day 228 (11th February 2006)
Got up early this morning to catch the free courtesy bus down to the reef terminal to check in for my trip. Got on the boat around 8 and had some boring safety breifing (as usual) - it took around 2 hours to get out to the first reef location which was Saxon Reef. We had around 1 and 1/2 hours to snorkel around the reef and see all the wonderful fish and coral - it was fab! There were also loads of jelly fish in the water but they wern't stingers so I was alright. After the snorkelling we had a nice lunch on the boat which was just like some meats and salad and stuff. We were then back on the boat for about another 30 mins until we reached the next reef "Hastings Reef" I actually thought this reef was slightly better than the previous one, there seemed to be more variety of fish and coral there. I also managed to do the glass bottomed boat trip where a guy drove us around the reef and gave us some info about the different types of coral and fish etc it was quite informative. After another short snorkel I decided that was enough for me, the best part of the trip was still to come when on board we were all asked if we wanted to take a helicopter tour over the reef - there were two options - first was an 8 minute flight, the second was a 20 minute flight back across 6 reefs back to Cairns - I decided to take the 2nd option as it was only a little bit more expensive than the first and lasted so much longer. There were only 7 places so I had to get in there quick, the helicopter trip was amazing and one of the best things I have done and the views across the reefs were absolutely stunning. So glad I done it as I know I would have regretted in not doing so. When I get to NZ I intend to upload the rest of my Australia photos and there is a lot! Tomorrow I am going on my Cape Tribulation trip to the rainforest and up the Daintree river crocodile hunting - "Crikey mate, look at her, she's a biggen"
Matt is currently in Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 11 February 2006 at 06:25
Day 227 (10th February 2006)
Today I went to explore Cairns. Cairns is a pretty small place really but there are loads of restaurants and places to drink. There is also a massive lagoon right close to town it actually looks really nice, I haven't been in it yet but it looks very inviting. Tomorrow I do "The Reef"
Matt is currently in Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 09 February 2006 at 07:17
Day 226 (9th February 2006)
The bus was about an hour late and it was a hot morning too. We arrived in Cairns at about 2pm, I am staying at a place called Bohemia resort (http://www.bohemiaresort.com.au/) - it's really nice and there are no bunk beds! Excellent! Well my next little excursion is to do the great barrier reef snorkeling trip that I will be doing on Saturday, until then I am chilling around the pool in the super hot climate.
Matt is currently in Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 09 February 2006 at 07:14
Day 225(8th February 2006)
Spent all day travelling today on the bus from Airlie Beach to Mission Beach. I left around 9.30am and arrived in Mission Beach at 6pm so it was a long journey. There are aparently loads of cassowary birds here, they are like emus but bright blue and apparently they can disembowel people! Anyway I had a good meal at the hostel it's a pretty nice resort actually, with a nice pool area. The dorms are clean and spacious but I am only staying one night because tomorrow I leave again for another bus journey to Cairns - this time it's only a 2 hour journey and my last trip by Greyhound in Australia...
Matt is currently in Mission Beach, Queensland, Australia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 07 February 2006 at 03:27
Day 222-224 (5th-7th February 2006)
Been chilling out in Airlie Beach at the lagoon during the day and at the bars in the evening. I leave on the 8th to head straight up to Mission Beach for 1 night and then the following day I am on the bus to Cairns...
Matt is currently in Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 07 February 2006 at 03:25
Day 221 (4th February 2006)
We sailed back to Airlie beach today arriving at around 11am, I was really tired so I took a snooze in the afternoon. In the evening there was a table booked at beaches bar for all of us on the boat...
Matt is currently in Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 04 February 2006 at 02:59
Day 220 (3rd February 2006)
We were all up at 6.30am for breakfast before we sailed to our next location. Today we just spent the day pretty much just snorkelling, we went to about 4 different locations and the snorkelling was excellent. We also went to do a forest walk on one of the islands and got some time on Whitehaven beach. In the evening again we drank the rest of our alcohol and played card games...all the people onboard are sound....
Matt is currently in The Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 04 February 2006 at 02:56
Day 219 (2nd February 2006)
In the morning I met up with some of the people that were on my Fraser Island trip as they arrived on the bus this morning. We went down to the lagoon for a few hours and then it was ready for me to catch the bus to the marina ready to board the boat. The boat is called 'The British Defender' and was sailed by the British armed forces in the 1990 round the world yacht race. Nowadays it just gets used for Whitsudays sailing trips and has been re-fitted with bunks and a few toilets/showers and common area etc. Anyway got onto the boat at 1.30pm and we left to sail at 2pm. There are 26 of us and 4 crew members. We spent the afternoon sailing out to one of the islands and when we arrived did some snorkelling...wicked! In the evening we all drank beers and had a good laugh on the boat getting to know everyone....
Matt is currently in The Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia

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