TravelStream™ news feed for member chamblet on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/chamblet en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 21 Feb 2006 22:57:55 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1140075900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1140075900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1140075900/tpod.html Tue, 21 Feb 2006 22:57:55 -0500 My travels.

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Singapore, Singapore

The last country of my travels! We arrived very excited to see mummy and Frankie, was lovely to see them again and it did not take long to forget that it had been 6 months since we had last seen each other.Singapore is lovely, spent many hours in Chinatown wondering through the bustling stalls.It is lovely and hot (too hot at times) so I have been sunbathing and swimming, very relaxing!One evening we decided to go to a drag cabaret, it has to be one of the worst shows ever. It was cringe making especially when Simona had to go up and make rude noises in the microphone which she refused to do so she suggested that I go up instead, nice sister! Of course I also refused. I still cringe when I think of it!We also went to an island that is attached to Singapore by a bridge, Sentosa Island. Here we went to an aquarium, which was fantastic. We saw some huge fish, they were amazing. We then went to the pink dolphin show, unfortunately 5 mins into it the skies opened so it was cancelled. Therefore we had to go home, a very grumpy wet group!We also went to a Night Safari which was amazing. You jump on a tram and see all the nocturnal animals. They were so close you felt as though you could touch them, we saw lions, tigers, hyenas, deers, rhinos etc. A brilliant experience.Another fun experience was going to Snow City. This is basically an indoor snow area where we threw snow balls at each other and went down a snowy slope on rubber rings. This was great fun and even mummy came down. On a couple of goes I managed to spin round accidently and ended up travelling backwards ( we all ended up with very wet bottoms)!And that's about it. Last night was the last night the four of us were together so we had a meal out (and I had too much wine)! Today (Wednesday) Simona's friend Mark flew out and they are off travelling together later on tonight (Simona doesn't come home until April)which just leaves me, mum and Frank (I have to sleep on my own tonight!). Then we leave very late Thurs/Fri morning, mum and Frank fly to Dubai and poor me has to fly home alone for 14hrs, who will I talk to?! Luckily Katie is meeting me at the airport so that will be exciting.So that is the end of my 6 months of travels. I have had such an amazing time, yes it has been hard at times and I have moaned (!) but I have seen so much, learnt some things about myself, met loads of people and loved spending so much time with my sis, Sim. I can't believe that it has come to an end, I feel quite emotional.This is Caroline Hamblet signing off....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1139910720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1139910720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1139910720/tpod.html Wed, 15 Feb 2006 05:04:28 -0500 My travels.

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Fremantle, Australia

As soon as we got back to Perth from the tour we jumped on a train and headed to Fremantle, about 30mins South of Perth. We arrived and spent over an hour looking for accommodation, not fun with bags and in the boiling sun. Eventually we found somewhere which was rather grotty then headed into town, ate and went to the cinema (what a nice romantic Valentines!).The following morning dawned grey (I was so impressed that we'd had no rain and on our last day it's grey and drizzly). We caught a boat over to Rottnest and took a bus around the island, very pretty. Unfortunately due to the weather we couldn't sunbathe and it was too cold to snorkel (and those were the reasons why we went to Rottnest) so we only stayed until lunch time before heading back to Perth for our last night.So this is goodbye from Western Australia, really wished I had more time here but there's always next time!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1139472420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1139472420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1139472420/tpod.html Wed, 15 Feb 2006 04:52:14 -0500 My travels.

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Exmouth, Australia

We decided that the easiest way to get see everything we wanted to see in Western Australia in the short time we had was to book on a 6 day backpackers tour. We were a bit apprehensive because generally we hate tours but we had a really good time and met some lovely people.The downside was that most days started at 7am and we arrived at our final destination at about 6pm, at least 8 hours of this was spent on the big yellow bus (what with the big yellow boat in Fiji and now the big yellow bus, I hate yellow!). We did however get to watch Troy and Outbreak on Pete's (the guide) DVD which ran out of battery half way through so had to watch each over 2 days!Day 1 - Perth to KalbarriSo off we went on our first day, there were about 8 of us (7 girls and 1 boy) and our driver/tour guide Pete. Our first stop was the Pinnacles which were quite cool (they are made of limestone), I only expected to see a few but there were hundreds. Our next stop was a place called Hangover Bay (very pretty) where we had lunch before going for a swim, well 3 of us did the rest chickened out as it was too cold! Following that there was a long drive to our first hostel and to watch a beautiful sunset over the water. We all went out for dinner, fish and chips (and some alcohol) and the headed back to our room for an early night.Day 2 - Kalbarri to DenhamAnother early start and a short drive to the Z-bend gorges where some of us decided to go absailing (this was one thing I was upset not to have done in NZ). So we did 2 absails down the gorge which was fantastic fun, I actually was not as scared as I thought I would be but I did chicken out of going down front ways. After that we scrambled up rocks, in the boiling sun, to a lookout where we had a great view of the gorge. We then went to a gorge called The Loop where we walked to Natures Window where again we had a fantastic view of the gorge, very impressive. Our last sight of the day was the Stromatolites (things like coral that were the first things to produce oxygen apparently), have to say I wasn't very impressed. We finally made it to our hostel, had a quick swim, joined the other for steak, wedges and wine, then to bed for another early night.There are flies everywhere, they drove me mad!Day 3 - Denham to Coral BayWe started off the morning at Monkey Mia where dolphins choose to come up to the shore because they get fed. They only get fed a small amount so they still have to hunt for themselves. I was very lucky and got chosen to feed one of the dolphins so I held the fish up, the dolphin swam up, took it in her mouth and then decided she didn't want it! So even though I didn't actually feed her it was still a cool experience. There were also loads of pelicans which were huge. After that we had a quick stop at Shell Beach where we posed for photos and paddled! We also stopped at Ocean Beach a place that one man is building where he has fish etc and gives tours round. Quite impressive, we saw turtles, loads of cool fish (my favourite was a Long Tom), sharks and a very poisonous sea snake.Following a very long journey we got to our hostel, Simona and I were separated from the rest, sob! But after a home cooked meal of pasta we joined the others in the bar and actually managed to stay there until closing (after 11pm). Day 4 - Coral Bay to ExmouthWoken up nice and early by the worst snorer ever, ended up getting out of bed and reading outside! One girl got up and was pushing him in the back and he still snored away. That day we started off with a snorkel at Coral bay, to be honest I was not that impressed especially as after 5mins I felt a sting on my ankle, not long after that everyone else also got stung, apparently it was a Blue Bottle - a relation to the jelly fish! After the snorkel we had to say goodbye to 2 of the girls (Katie they were from Cambridge) as they were staying a few nights longer (the tour was a jump off, jump on tour so people could stop when they wanted which means we constantly had different people on the tour which was good). We headed to Exmouth, checked in (stayed at a caravan park) then went to Turqouise Bay. This bay was lovely, we went snorkelling and this time it was fantastic. We saw loads of gorgeous fish including a Long Tom and some fish were absolutely huge. After that we sunbathed for awhile before heading back. Dinner was in the pub with some more alcohol and another early night.Day 5 and 6 - Exmouth to PerthThe next two days basically consisted of driving back to Perth so we spent the days on the bus with only stops to use the toilet and buy food/drink. Oh what fun.So all in all I had a good time but am glad to be off the bus!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1139223180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1139223180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1139223180/tpod.html Tue, 14 Feb 2006 03:07:04 -0500 My travels.

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Perth, Australia

We arrived in Perth around 10pm in a storm so we had to wait on the plane until the lightning moved away! Luckily the rain did not stay and the next day dawned bright, sunny and hot.Perth is lovely, a very bustling city with loads of outside cafes. We pottered around the shops as we tend to do, got lost trying to find a park and went to the cinema. The hostel we are staying in is not very nice and far too hot (and they gave us blankets).On our 2nd day in Australia we decided to learn to surf so we headed with a tour to Lancelin, a stunning beach about 1 and a half hours away. After about 5mins of instructions we were in the cold water (again looking sexy in a wet suit). Surfing is much harder than I thought, I only managed to ride the wave all the way in twice, which was quite cool. The rest of the time I either stood up and fell off, or didn't even manage to stand up! I spent most of my time battling my way back out and being dragged under or falling off and hitting the sand. I ended up feeling battered and bruised. So all in all I am not sure if I had fun or not, but glad that I did it. I can imagine how much fun it would be if you could do it properly!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1139110320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1139110320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1139110320/tpod.html Tue, 07 Feb 2006 00:41:13 -0500 My travels.

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Auckland, New Zealand

We were meant at the airport by Margaret and Trevor which was nice. At night Jen, Sim and I went to an ice bar where everything was made of ice, that was pretty cool. We had a couple of meals out with the 3 of them and then Monday we were off. So that is NZ over with, I was very sad to leave. Apart from weather issues (!) I had a great time and some amazing experiences. Also met some lovely people.Just Western Australia and Singapore to go!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1138415940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1138415940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1138415940/tpod.html Tue, 07 Feb 2006 00:36:10 -0500 My travels.

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Nadi and the Islands, Fiji

Well our week in Fiji had its up and downs.We arrived on the main island and the main city Nadi to rain! Yes it is the rainy season and yes it will rain. The hostel was very nice so after wondering to town and getting wet, we went for a swim, had dinner and sipped a cocktail!Island 1 - Nanuya Laila.The following morning off we went on the big yellow boat to our first island (yep still raining). After 4 hours (and a couple of sick bags) we reached our first island. We went for a walk across the island to where the Blue Lagoon with Brooke Shields was filmed, very pretty. The walk basically was following a mud trail up and down, Sim ended up rather muddy whereas I managed to stay on my feet! At the blue lagoon we went for a swim, the sea was lovely and warm. After that we headed back to our accommodation called a bure, basically a kinda hut (no toilet door just a sheet) and had a shower (no hot water). All of the islands are very basic, no internet, phones, only cold showers and electricity at certain times. The bures are quite shabby. There are no shops or anything so you eat what you are given, lots of rice and noodles, actually the food was ok. Basically all that is on the island is accommodation. The following day we walked around the island and did some snorkeling (managed to cut my foot so spent most of holiday hobbling around and broke my flip flops), saw a fantastic electric blue starfish. We did find a little place attached to another resort on the island that did chocolate cake, yum! The rain stopped and we actually got a bit burnt but then the rain returned. A long boring evening as absolutely nothing to do. The next day caught a small boat to some underwater caves (got soaked through on boat) which was fab. You swim around in them and to get to the next chamber you have to go under water which was a bit scary as you don't know what to expect and it is pitch black. We had to sing songs as we swam. It was really good. Back at the resort we met some nice people and sat chatting until the boat arrived to take us to the next island.Island 2 - NavitiBack on the boat, again rather a rough ride. It is quite weird as you get to the yellow boat by going on a small boat. I was told to climb onto the yellow boat from the small boat, luckily I hesitated as at that point the boats pulled apart and I would have gone straight in!This was resort was lovely and made us realise how poor the other place was. We went for a swim in the swimming pool and wondered around the beach. In the evening we met 2 nice couples and sat chatting with them. We also watched a show they put on the best part being when we all went outside and they put a fire show on. It was fantastic, at one point they lit up the decking! That night we were both ill and the following day which sucked. Apparently about 10 people from the first resort had food poisoning. We didn't feel a hundred percent until our last day!Island 3 - KuataWe had heard awful things about this resort but it was really good with lots to do. At dinner time they had a kava ceremony. Kava is a Fijian drink and tastes awful. Basically the make the kava and then hand it round to everyone to drink and you have to clap 3 times before you drink and once after, as I was still ill I only had a sip but they made me drink it all, not good. Early to bed. Still raining. Nice to go to sleep to the waves crashing against the beach. The following day we had some sun so made the most of it. In the afternoon we got on another boat (nearly missed it)and went to a nearby island where there was a village. We went to the village school which was really good, got a child's address so that I can write. So different to home, some kids were carrying huge knives for cutting things down in the garden. the children were really friendly. We then went to a little market and weaved a bracelet. When I say village I mean a school, church and houses, still no shops etc. By now all my clothes are wet or damp, as it's so humid nothing dries!The next day we went on another boat and went snorkelling to see reef sharks. I saw one about 1 metre long, very cool. We also saw loads of gorgeous fish, it was stunning. ALthough at one time the 4 of us snorkelling looked up to find we had lost the boat and the guide had lost us! After we got back we sunbathed and swam. There was a part on the island that was my favorite place in Fiji, where the waves crashed against the rocks.That afternoon we moved on.Island 4 - BountyWe arrived at Bounty Island in the sun and it was gorgeous. The smallest island so far and the best (you can walk around it in 30mins). Really nice bure right on the beach, slept to the waves lapping. Meant to finally get a hot shower but it was broken! Finally feeling better and ate steak for dinner (stomach did not appreciate this). Woke up early the next morning and went for a swim in the sea, followed by breakfast and a full body massage, this is the life! After that I relaxed in the sun and had a swim. I then got my hair braided, this should have taken me 2 hrs but I have very thick hair (as poor Katie knows after having to curl it on occasion) so it took 3 and a half! Simona was meant to have hers done as well but we ran out of time. We had a quick kayak and tried to snorkel but water to shallow. We then caught the big yellow boat back to Nadi. Just seeing the yellow boat made us feel nauseous and many other felt the same!NadiBack at Nadi, we had dinner and a cocktail by the beach and watched the sunset. Sim then had her hair done while I chatted to people in our dorm who were about to go to the islands, imparting my knowledge.The next morning we got to the airport and got told that unless we had proof that we had an onward ticket from NZ we couldn't leave Fiji. Our onward tickets were in NZ and the air hostess very helpfully said there was noting she could do we would just have to sort it! So we had to go to arrivals, find internet and print off our itineries, she suggested that we would then have to queue up again but she must have seen my face as she served us straight away! Luckily flight was delayed otherwise we would have missed it.All in all I had a good time in Fiji, was a shame about the rain but many people had non-stop rain whereas the last few days were nice. I loved being able to swim every day and we met some lovely people both tourists and locals.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1138075260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1138075260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1138075260/tpod.html Thu, 26 Jan 2006 00:26:06 -0500 My travels.

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Rotorua, New Zealand

Feeling a little bit worse for wear, we drove 8hrs to Rotorua (have had better journeys).The next day we went sledging and white water rafting. Sledging is basically where you hold onto a plastic thing (!) and go down the river (see photos to understand what I am going on about). We got out of the bus and were told we had to carry the sledges on our heads, I was pathetic so carried it with the guide! We then got to the river but to reach it you had to climb over a barrier and climb down, not fun! We then entered the water with our sledges (the water was not that cold) and learnt some basic rolls which I really struggled with! And then we were off. It was fantastic fun, helped by the fact that we had a good group of guides with us, and not scary. ALthough at one point we were playing in the rapids and when you were pushed out of the rapid you had to swim back up the river to avoid heading towards a huge waterfall, this was very difficult and the guides had to keep rescuing us! After a quick toilet break (!) we were off white water rafting. We were on the same river but further up. It was very different to the other rafting we have done because the river was very calm except for the white water areas whereas before most of the river was bumpy and quite scary. At one point we were about to go down the biggest waterfall when the guide told Sim and I that we know what to expect as when sledging we had got in where the bottom of the waterfall was, we were not amused as we had seen kayaks coming down and thought they were mad. But it was cool fun, once we got to the bottom we were told that it was the guides first time taking people down the river!All in all an excellent day. (Have to say these are not the most flattering photos, in fact one is the most unflattering ever).After all that excitement we jumped into the car and headed to Raglan (managed to get an excellent tan line on my arm from wearing a t-shirt and having the window open) , where we stayed in a lovely hostel by the river. We were staying in a room called the penthouse (a twin room), basically it was a shed outside with the electricity coming through the window from the hostel. To go to the toilet in the night we had to enter the code to get into the hostel first!!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1138162620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1138162620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1138162620/tpod.html Wed, 25 Jan 2006 23:29:41 -0500 My travels.

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Auckland, New Zealand

Woke up in Raglan aching all over! Also woke up to rain, very upset as Raglan is a surf place so we had planned to sunbathe and learn to surf. The forecast was for further rain so we decided to leave and head to Leigh. Not the best decision ever as the rain turned to a storm and a 3hr journey took 7hrs due to accidents and parts of trees in the roads!Arrived in Leigh and stayed in a dingy hotel, it was quite funny as in the past we would not have been impressed by this hotel but we were so excited to have a big room all to ourselves, with an en-suite, proper towels (not trek towels that don't really dry you), a TV and carpet! Oh the simple things!The next day the rain was still around therefore we couldn't do our planned snorkelling at Goat's Island or our horse ride on the beach so we headed back to Auckland. Met our cousin Jen for lunch then headed to our Aunt's place. They are away so we have the place to ourselves. I had bath, bliss! We also had to clean the car, I think it might be the first time I have cleaned the inside of a car (yes my car is filthy)!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1137815520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1137815520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1137815520/tpod.html Wed, 25 Jan 2006 23:01:13 -0500 My travels.

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Wellington, New Zealand

From Kaikoura we drove to Picton and caught the ferry back to the North Island and Wellington.Simona realised that we had managed to leave her sleeping bag behind, yeah no more getting cold while camping (Nina is collecting the sleeping bag for Sim so it is not lost).Spent some time sitting in the sun, yes it was out. We also went to an event sponsored by Vodafone which had breakdancers, skaters, music, bmx and other things going on. The event was huge and packed. We watched the breakdancers and skaters, not really into skating but we got so involved, clapping and cheering them on! Had a really good time.That evening we went out with the NZ Junior Chambers (Junior Chambers in an international organisation for young professionals which Simona is part of back home). We had dinner (and wine) and a really good laugh. We then separated for a bit while Simona and I went to meet up with some people we had met on New Years Eve. We then all met up again, once again in the pub we were in on New Years. All in all had another fantastic night out in Wellington.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1137620160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1137620160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chamblet/travels_05-06/1137620160/tpod.html Wed, 18 Jan 2006 22:03:19 -0500 My travels.

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Kaikoura, New Zealand

Arrived in Kaikoura, due to rain stayed in a hostel (have really had enough of camping in the cold and rain now). Simona very happy to have a double bed to herself, I was on a top bunk!Woke up at 4.45am (lovely to get up when it is still dark but it was worth it) and headed down to the harbour as we were going dolphin swimming with Dusky Dolphins. The dolphins were wild so we had to first find them. I was expecting to see just a few but altogether there were about 200! We swam with them in about 4 different places. It was amazing (much better than last year in Key Largo and I thought that was good), they swam very close and all around you. They liked it when you swam round and round with them which I did until I got dizzy! They also like you to sing and I sang some James Blunt songs them and even if I do sing quite badly and don't know the words, the dolphins seemed to like it.
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