gem_and_sprack's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member gem_and_sprack on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/gem_and_sprack en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 12 Feb 2006 18:26:59 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com Saskatoon — Saskatoon, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1139353680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1139353680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1139353680/tpod.html Sun, 12 Feb 2006 18:26:59 -0500 Four Months of Holiday - get me, get me!!
Saskatoon, Canada

Ah, it's so nice to have family around the world so you can finally be somewhere comfy!! Saskatoon is pretty big, but there's not a lot to do in the winter so we just relaxed while we were her. We did manage to squeeze in some sledging and going to see some hockey! Our train arrived at 2am, but my cousins still came to pick us up which was pretty cool, then we just slept for a couple of days, and then finally we did a little bit of exploring...drove into downtown and had a look around some shops! We went out to dinner a couple of times, and my cousins and i (all girls!) indulged ourselves in a chocolate buffet. Yes you heard right. You grab a plate and everything on the buffet is chocolate-needless to say we all felt a little sick afterwards!! Then over the weekend we went sledging and it was so much fun, despite being about -10 degrees! We tried to make a video of us going down the hill, but our sledge flipped around so we were going backwards and could see so the video is mostly my face. I'll put it on anyway because it's so funny! Then later that night we went to watch the saskatoon blades play hockey. It's a pretty good game actually, once you get used to it! The stadium runs competetions throughout the game and one group of people won the chance to watch the whole game in a hot tub!! The blades lost, but it was pretty close at the end!
Today we went for a walk along the river, which was really pretty and then tomorrow is our last day here-then it's only 2 weeks till we're home which is just insane isn't it!!!! Really am looking forward to coming home, but still got some exciting things to do. After here we head off to Montreal to do some snowboarding, then Niagra, then Toronto and then home-where you'll all be waiting to meet us, at 6am!!! Anyway, got to go but love to everyone. we miss you lots xxxxxx
]]> Edmonton — Edmonton, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1139090640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1139090640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1139090640/tpod.html Sun, 12 Feb 2006 18:08:22 -0500 Four Months of Holiday - get me, get me!!
Edmonton, Canada

Wow, back into a huge city again. Edmonton is pretty cool too but think i prefered Vancouver to be honest! The snow was starting to disappear again when we got here-but it was still really chilly! We stayed in Old Strathcona which is one of the livelier districts, and decided to go to a bar and watch some hockey on the first night (apparently i'm not allowed to call it Ice Hockey) I didn't really understand it, but James throughly enjoyed himself!! We just spent a couple of days chilling here really-didn't get up to much. Watched some of the superbowl on sunday night, but that was pretty much it. Except for monday, when we went to West Edmonton Mall. It is the biggest mall i have ever seen-there is a whole waterpark there, and flamigoes and even a seal lion show. We must have got lost about 15 times as it is just enormous. You can even scuba dive in a big pool in the middle of the mall. We only window shopped, but it was enough to make me realise that i'm ready to come home to some different clothes and some high heels! Sounds silly, but i really miss them!!
Anyway, we spent a quiet couple of days here before we headed on to Saskatoon to see the last leg of the family!!
]]> Jasper — Jasper and Banff, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1138830300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1138830300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1138830300/tpod.html Sun, 12 Feb 2006 18:03:59 -0500 Four Months of Holiday - get me, get me!!
Jasper and Banff, Canada

Ha ha, finally some snow! We had rather an uncomfortable overnight train journey to get here (took about 16 hours from Vancouver to Jasper!)but when we arrived there was some snow, not a lot but enough! Apparently Canada is having a really mild winter this year which mean there's not much snow about but that is probably best for uas as it means it's not too cold! The only hostel that was open was about an hours walk from town so thought best to get a taxi there, rather than walk! When we got there we decided that the best way to get down to Banff, and to see some scenery was probaly tohire a car. we phoned around and eventually got ourselves a bit of a barry-bargain, and decided to head off the next day. Basically the only road from Jasper to Banff is the Icefields Parkway, which takes you through the 2 national parks, and through some big icefields (which are like big flat glaciers) All pretty cool, but the only problem is that during winter all of the rest stops are shut-and whoever 'guestimated' that it would take 2 and 1/2 hours was so wrong!! Try more like 4 hours! It was really good though, we saw frozen waterfalls, frozen rivers, frozen lakes and lots of snow! It was really scenic, and well worth the trouble! When we got to Banff, we realised that the hostels were the same price as some of the hotels so we decided to upgrade. I throughly enjoyed a bath, some free coffee, sky tv and a HAIRDRYER! Oh my, it was actually bliss! We also got to sleep in a massive bed-easily 6ft wide!! Unfortunately we could only stay for one night but it was so good! The next day we reluctantly checked out, and headed off to do some sightseeing around Banff. We went to another frozen waterfall, and went to see the Banff Springs Hotel (I wanted to stay there, but it was probably a little out of our budget!!) Then we went up to the Cave and Basin which is a natural hot spring in the ground-and it smells so bad! Yuck, just really eggy sulpher smell, but it is nice and warm! Then we went to look at the outside pool which has loads of endangered snails in it-they are only found in the Banff springs-and at the bottom you could see all of this goo just bubbling. We tried to get some pictures but not sure how well they'll come out! Then we had to head back up to Jasper as we didn't want to be stuck on the road when it got dark as the sky was looking ready to dump a load of snow any minute! WE spent one more night in Jasper before catching the train up to Edmonton.
]]> The longest day ever! — LA/Vancouver, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1138472520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1138472520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1138472520/tpod.html Sun, 12 Feb 2006 17:50:07 -0500 Four Months of Holiday - get me, get me!!
LA/Vancouver, Canada

This was officially the longest day ever-we left Fiji airport at about 10pm on the 28th Jan, and got to LA at 1pm on the 28th Jan, then we were in Vancouver by 8pm on 28th Jan so we got to our destination befopre we left Fiji-Confused? We certainly were!!! It's that damn dateline that does it-we weren't sure what time it was, or what day it was or anything but after a nights sleep i think we found our feet alittle!
LAX is the worst airport i have ever been to-The Americans are quite hot on security so they don't just scan your hand luggage-they make you stand behind a little rope so they can searcg through it too, then they swab you and your luggage and then finally let you go. Also, don't even let me get started on their bizarre transit between flights luggage system-all i need to say is that because they're so backwards about it one of our bags didn't make it on to our flight. But now is not the time for this sort of rant-i'll tell you all about it when i get home (which is soon and i'm rather excited!)
Anyway, back to Vancouver. It certainly is chilly, but that is rather nice after the hot temperatures in Fiji!! There wasn't any snow here, but thats ok because i guess we need to adjust slowly!!
Unfortunately my Internet time is about to run out so i'll have to fill you in on the last few stops another time!! Hope you're all well, and we miss you all lots. lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(Part 2)
I'm back!! So where were we, Vancouver. Yeah, really liked it here-and guess what.it rained! But luckily not on the day we decided to go siteseeing which was nice! We walked upto the harbourfront, and went up the lookout tower (which involved an outside lift made of glass-scary!) Then we wandered around Chinatown and went into a beautiful Chinese Garden which was still pretty, even though it was winter and most of the flowers were not in bloom! Then on the way back we stopped off in a cool shop which printed t-shirts and made belts and stuff-but you'll have to wait and see if we bought anything there!!!
Then we decided that probably the best way for us to get across this massive country was to use the train-but it only runs three times a week and doesn't stop everywhere! It's ok though, we figured out our route and headed on up to Jasper-and hopefully some snow!!
]]> Yasawa Islands — Naviti, Fiji http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1138212780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1138212780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1138212780/tpod.html Sun, 12 Feb 2006 17:42:28 -0500 Four Months of Holiday - get me, get me!!
Naviti, Fiji

Naviti is one of the biggest islands in the Yasawa group, but you wouldn't notice. it is almost as peaceful and quiet as the last two islands that we went to. Again, the setting was perfect, the resort was in a large sandy bay which meant the sea was calm-but a little too shallow to swim in. However that didn't matter, as they had a pool!!! Also, forgot to mention but the last 2 resorts had saltwater showers-which is really not great, but when we got here we were actually delighted to find that they had lovely fresh water showers!!! I think that of the 3 resorts we stayed at this was our favourite, the Korovou eco resort was really good. We had a really big room and a better beach than before. we could swim in a pool and shower in fresh water-paradise! Plus the food was really good, and in the evening they had these shows of traditional Fijian dance-we even got the chance to learn one, which was great fun as you can imagine!!!! The rain knid of died down once we got here, so that gave me plenty of time to sunbathe. On the last day James went scuba diving (I wasn't aloud because i had a wheezy chest) but when he came back he was absoultely full of it-they'd seen loads of coral and fish, he got to hold a sea cucumber and a starfish, and he got to do soe underwater acrobatics! I, on the otherhand, got most of the day to myself, which was really quite nice!!! And again, before we knew it our 2 nights were up and we were back to the mainland to spend one last night in the Aquarius hotel and then heade onto Canada-which we're both really excited about. Believe it or not, it can be rather annoying to be too hot all the time, so we're looking forward to being cold for a change!!!
]]> Yasawa Islands — Nanuya Lailai, Fiji http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1138039560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1138039560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1138039560/tpod.html Sun, 12 Feb 2006 17:38:40 -0500 Four Months of Holiday - get me, get me!!
Nanuya Lailai, Fiji

The second stop of our island adventure, Nanuya Lailai-the next island over from Tavewa! The beach here was exactly as a Fijian beach should be, long white and sandy, and there were hammocks to relax in! The food was not as good as the last place we stayed at-but there was plenty of fresh fish, which i enjoyed. What we didn't check before we left home was whether Fiji had a wet season, and guess what-they do!! We were there smack in the middle of Cyclone season, so we had a few days of rain, but in between those the weather was perfect, and so we still managed to come away with a suntan!! While we were at this resort we did nothing, and it was lovely (i think James was a bit restless towards the end though!) there isn't really alot more to tell you about this place, as we really didn't do anything-but we took plenty of photos, so you can see tham in a week or so!! After 2 nights here it was time to head back towards the mainland, but not before we stopped at Naviti.
]]> Fiji — Nadi, Fiji http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1137779340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1137779340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1137779340/tpod.html Sun, 12 Feb 2006 17:34:47 -0500 Four Months of Holiday - get me, get me!!
Nadi, Fiji

Bula! After a rather early start out of New Zealand (plane left at 6am) we had a horrendous day of travelling. When we booked there were no direct flights to Fiji as it was the christmas/summer holiday period, so we had to fly back to Brisbane and wait 7 hours for a connecting flight to Fiji-it's so much worse than it sounds!! But, by now we are both seasoned travellers so we just slept at the airport, and then when we could eventually check in we were excited by the scenery change, and the prospect of lunch!!! Anyway, we survived it and caught our flight to Fiji. It more than made up for the horrible day, and is one of the best short haul flights we've ever been on. There was a film on, free food and the staff just kept handing out drinks-although, obviously we were sensible and drank responsibly!!! Anyway, we landed in Fiji in the evening and when we got off the plane there were three guys playing their guitars and singing which just made me even more excited than i was anyway. The airport was nice and simple and was one of the quickest to get through so far. we found the guy who was taking us the hotel and set off on another adventure!! The hotel was lovely, and the room had a view right out over the beachwhich was pretty cool! The next day we got up early and headed off on our island hopping adventure, unfortunately i had forgotten to pack the brochure on the trip so we had no idea where we were going or even what the islands were called so when we checked in, they just assigned us a resort and we were off!
]]> Yasawa Islands — Tavewa, Fiji http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1137866220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1137866220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1137866220/tpod.html Sun, 12 Feb 2006 17:33:22 -0500 Four Months of Holiday - get me, get me!!
Tavewa, Fiji

Ah, the Yasawas. They look just like they do in the pictures-crystal blue water, white sandy beaches, coral reefs everywhere, perfect!! The first resort we stayed at was the coral view. It didn't have much of a beach, but the resort was actually really nice. It's on the island of Tavewa, which is right at the end of the Yasawa group-takes about 4 hours to get there from the main land. The food was delicious, the room was....traditional, and the showers were outside, which was fairly liberating! (Not as bad as it sounds, you weren't standing outside naked you were covered by a bit of fence!!) The resort run a trip daily over to the Blue Lagoon-apparently there was a film by the same name in the 80's, starring brooke shields that was shot here, so we decided to head over there for the day-it was definately a good idea! The weather was wonderful, and we decided to take our snorkels to check out the coral-the water is so clear, you could see for about 10m underwater. saw loads of fish, and some really cool blue starfish!! Once we'd got bored of snorkelling we headed back to the shallows and just chilled for an hour-bliss! Then we headed back to the resort, and before we knew it the day was over and we had to head onto our next stop-Nanuya Lailai!
]]> Christchurch — Christchurch, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1137779040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1137779040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1137779040/tpod.html Tue, 07 Feb 2006 16:38:13 -0500 Four Months of Holiday - get me, get me!!
Christchurch, New Zealand

Well, back to the family safe and sound and having thoroughly enjoyed New Zealand. Could have quite happily spent another week here, but unfortunately it was time to leave-need to head on to Fiji!! Just wanted to say thanks to all the family out in NZ, had a wicked time and will almost certainly be back-sorry!!! Anyway, we tidied up the mess we'd made while we'd been there and repacked our bags ready for the next leg of the adventure!!!
(Just like to apologise for not putting the bungy photos/video on yet-it takes ages and internet access is not cheap, so bear with me and i should have it on in the next week or so, and also it was about 45m high at the original bungy site just outside of Queenstown!)
]]> Wanaka/Queenstown/Mount Cook — Wanaka/Queenstown/Mount Cook, New Zealand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1137292200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1137292200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gem_and_sprack/round_the_world/1137292200/tpod.html Tue, 07 Feb 2006 16:35:55 -0500 Four Months of Holiday - get me, get me!!
Wanaka/Queenstown/Mount Cook, New Zealand

Wow, this was a really busy day!! We started off by going to a place called 'Puzzling World' which was really cool. there is a big maze there, which we managed to crack in just over half an hour, and there is also a cool little exhibition full of illusions. it starts off with a load of holograms which are really amazing, and there are loads of optical illusions all over the walls which are quite whirly to be honest! Then you through to this wicked room, where you change size!! On one side you look relly tall, then on the other side you look really tall-we made a video of James just so you guys can see how it works!! From there you go into the room of following faces. It's full of huge plastic faces that follow you around the room-it's so strange! There are 168 famous faces-Beethoven, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, Einstein, Mother Theresa and some one else, who i can't remember. And then the best room ever, it's the tilting room. The room is tilted at an angle of fifteen degrees and it is so weird. It really trips your brain out, and makes you feel a little bit motion sick! We quickly took some photos and then went off on our way-but before we left we stopped off at one of the best toilets i've seen so far. Check out the photographic evidence!
Once we left Wanaka we headed down to Queenstown so that James could take on the ultimate challenge of BUNGY, while i watched quietly from the sidelines. When we got to the bungy site there was a little tour that you can do where you learn about thehistory of bungy, and how the bungy cords are made which was really cool-i got to get strapped in to the harness without actually having to jump! Then we headed outside, and onto the bungy bridge. I left James to get strapped in, and went to get a good viewing point so that i could make a video so that you could all share in the experience!! I'd love to tell you that he chickened out, but he didn't and he absolutely loved. Don't think you can see it in the video clip but he got absolutely soaked when he hit the water!!!
Then, after all that excirtment we were offon the road again. We were planning to stay the night in Twizel (disappointingly pronounced twy zel, not twizel!) and head up to Mount Cook the next morning, but when we got there it was absolutely booked up so we booked into a hostel a little closer to the mountains in Glentanner. The drive up was absolutely awesome. The mountain was straight ahead, with the sun lighting up it's snowy peak, and then in front of us was a powder blue lake-called lake Pukaki. It really was like nothing i've seen before. We were planning to go walking the next morning to get some better views of the mountain-but as it happens the weather was against us, again! When we woke up the mountain was completely covered over with cloud. As it turned out we were quite lucky to see the mountain when we did as it normally covers itself over with cloud. WE decided to cut our losses and head back to the family in Christchurch.
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