TravelStream™ news feed for member mattamyhuey on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/mattamyhuey en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 17 Mar 2006 14:31:38 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1142466840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1142466840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1142466840/tpod.html Fri, 17 Mar 2006 14:31:38 -0500 5 continents in 365 days: Two Americans set off with a few guidebooks, dreams, and many prayers!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Seattle, Washington, United States

After over 360 days and 30 countries it is hard for us to comprehend we are now back home. Our return flights (Amy travelled for 26 hours and Matt for 52) gave us ample opportunity to sit back, reflect and process. What we have experienced this year continues to be mind-boggling to us and will undoubtedly affect us for years to come. We have seen places we have only dreamed of in the past and it has given us new heart for this world we live in. We felt extremely well looked after and blessed as we never had anything stolen (almost unheard of amongst travellers abroad) and never had any major accidents (other than Amy's hospital visit for an allergic reaction). In response we thank God and those that prayed for our safety and protection! During our last few days driving in the car in New Zealand we reflected on our favorite places this year. In preparation for the question 99% of people who ask us about our trip..."What was your favorite place"....we came up with a list. After a year of traveling it is hard to narrow it down, but here goes. Our top 15 sights in chronological order:1. Angkor Wat, Cambodia - the temples are huge and like being in an Indiana Jones movie2. Gibbon Experience, Laos - 3 days in tree house zip-lining with a Gibbon ape3. Koh Tao, Thailand - beachtime simply cannot get much better than this4. South Africa - Cape Town, Garden Route and shark cage diving5. Okavango Delta, Botswana - dug out canoe trip through grassy waters to camping on a rural island6. Masai Mara and Serengeti Wildebeest Migration7. Mt. Killimanjaro climb - Matt's amazing accomplishment8. Uganda - meeting our two sponsor children in their native villages, it was a profound experience9. Ancient sights in Egypt - The Pyramids, Valley of Tombs, and Luxor really are impressive10. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador - the animals have no fear and are as curious about you as you are of them11. Amazon, Ecuador - 3 days sleeping out in the rainforest and canoeing on the black rivers amongst pink dolphins, snakes, sloths, monkeys, etc, etc, etc.12. Machu Picchu, Peru - You can sit for days staring at this remote ancient village on top of a mountain13. Patagonia, Argentina - 3 day hike right to the edge of a glacier and the world famous mountains14. Iguazu Falls, Argentina - the falls go on for miles and we could stand right on top of them on boardwalks15. New Zealand - loved our Able Tasman 3 day kayak trip and swimming with 250 dolphins in KaikouraFinally, we are extremely thankful to the missionaries and friends who opened their hearts, lives, homes, families, ministries, churches and organizations to us during our journey. The experiences we had with them were what made this trip so meaningful in ways that we are continuing to discover even now. Through them we were offered a chance to experience the various ways people live in other countries and the places and ways that God is continually moving in this great earth he has created. For that we are forever thankful, this trip simply would not have been what it became without these friends' hospitality and generosity. Thank you!!! Now that we are home we are continuing to process through everything that we have experienced and know that it will likely be a constant process. In the meantime we are very excited for this next stage of life and looking forward to reconnecting with friends and family. We hope that you have enjoyed travelling with us through this website, and we want to say THANK YOU for all your prayers and support we received along the way, it meant so much to us. We hope and pray that in some way you may have been moved by the ways that God is continuing to show his beauty and power through his two-fold creation: the amazing sights and experiences in the world, and by how he continues to move in the hearts and minds of his people.Blessings to you all, and thanks to God for his protection and leading.....Matt and Amy
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1111169820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1111169820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1111169820/tpod.html Fri, 17 Mar 2006 13:18:32 -0500 5 continents in 365 days: Two Americans set off with a few guidebooks, dreams, and many prayers!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Seattle, Washington, United States

We just headed off to start our adventure. Is this really happening? Are we actually going to travel for a whole year!?!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1142290620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1142290620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1142290620/tpod.html Fri, 17 Mar 2006 01:36:04 -0500 5 continents in 365 days: Two Americans set off with a few guidebooks, dreams, and many prayers!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Christchurch, New Zealand

On our last morning we sadly drove to Christchurch and visited the Antarctica Museum for a few hours. It was a "cool" place even with an Antarctic storm simulator with wind chills up to -24 degrees. We were amazed by the tough conditions people live in while researching in Antarctica. My uncle Kurt was there during research in 1981 and it was a great way to learn more about what he would have experienced during his time there.Midday we headed off to the airport for our final departure of the year! It was an emotional time as we said our final goodbyes to our year away, but we were excited for what was to come.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1142117700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1142117700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1142117700/tpod.html Fri, 17 Mar 2006 01:34:47 -0500 5 continents in 365 days: Two Americans set off with a few guidebooks, dreams, and many prayers!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Akaroa, New Zealand

We headed from the West Coast back over to Christchurch to spend our last few days together. We settled in the cute town of Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula for two nights. The french village is only an hour south of Christchurch but feels like it is very isolated from the surrounding area. It can take half an hour to go 10 miles as you climb over steep hills and windy roads past amazing viewpoints. While in Akaroa we had the privilege of staying at possibly the best hostel we have stayed in all year during our travels. It was named the Le Bons Backpackers and felt more like a fancy bed and breakfast than a New Zealand backpacker hostel. They offered an amazing 5 course gourmet dinner for $8 US and our private room even had an electric blanket and 2 comforters on the bed! We felt very blessed to been given such luxury on our last night to finish off strong.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141166880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141166880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141166880/tpod.html Thu, 16 Mar 2006 18:45:09 -0500 5 continents in 365 days: Two Americans set off with a few guidebooks, dreams, and many prayers!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Mt. Cook Village, New Zealand

From Christchurch we rented some wheels and headed off on a 13 day tour of the southern south island. We were very excited to check out all the sights we had seen on the postcards and in the picture books. Our first stop was to go the interior lakes region where the turquoise Lakes Tekapo and Punakaki reside. At Lake Tekapo there is a very famous church set right off the water which is in many pictures that you see of New Zealand. It was indeed a very pretty little stone church (probably 20 people can fit inside), and we even arrived as a wedding was just finishing as well. It made for a very pretty scene, although it was quite challenging trying to get some good pictures while hoards of tourists were jumping off their tour buses all trying to do the same. It seemed so surreal to be in such a remote area and yet have so many tourists at one spot. There is definitely a tourist trail in New Zealand.From Tekapo we drove to Lake Punakaki which is famed for it's majestic backdrop of Mt. Cook 50 kilometers up its shores. Unfortunately for us this was also when the weather began to change and we had our best view of the mountain right around sunset, but it's peak was still shrouded in clouds. Due to the inclimate weather in New Zealand we would not get another opportunity to see it unfortunately. Nevertheless we drove up to its base and did a short hike in the blustery cold winds and rain up to a swinging bridge, then forced ourselves to turn around. Then off to Wanaka for some more indoor adventures and mountain scenery.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141512780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141512780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141512780/tpod.html Thu, 16 Mar 2006 18:44:50 -0500 5 continents in 365 days: Two Americans set off with a few guidebooks, dreams, and many prayers!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown is basically known as the adrenaline capital of the world. You can pretty much find every imaginable way to throw yourself at the mercy of the forces of gravity here. The town itself is brilliantly set in a valley beneath some mountains aptly named the Remarkables, and right on the sea as well. It is probably one of the prettiest settings for a town we have seen. Once you get into the town you will find a wealth of tourists jumping from shop to shop looking for the next adrenaline temptation. At one intersection in the heart of Queenstown there is a "tourist information" center on each corner. Once we started looking at some of the options we became more and more turned off by the prices. Adrenaline is what everyone craves here, but for some reason we just weren't feeling it at the time. That, and the weather wasn't the best either. We kind of made a decision that we'd opt out of the thrill seeking paradise and head down toward the fiords of Milford Sound. But one thing we did enjoy in town was the some best and most creative pizza we've had this year at a place called Winnies. The place itself had a great fireplace that you could eat next too and had a roof that could fully open with the assistance of hydraulics. One of our favorite pizzas there was the Thai Curry pizza. We know, it sounds gross, but trust us, it was SO GOOD!!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141339740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141339740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141339740/tpod.html Thu, 16 Mar 2006 18:44:33 -0500 5 continents in 365 days: Two Americans set off with a few guidebooks, dreams, and many prayers!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Milford Sound, New Zealand

South to one of the most famous areas in New Zealand, Milford Sound. It is actually a fiord we were told, and frankly we didn't know what constituted the difference. What we did find was an area that gets so much rain that there is a permanent fresh water layer on top of the seawater (this day it happened to be 3 meters) which makes the water a blackish color. So much so that it has the shallowest instances of black coral in the world at about 18 feet. In case you happen to wonder, black coral grows thousands of feet underwater where there is virtually no light. So you can imagine how dark it is just under the surface.We drove about two hours from our hostel on a deer farm in the town of Te Anau through beautiful golden fields, dark forests, huge valleys, and even some lakes. The weather again was not that great but the mist and rain actually added to the mystique. By the time we arrived in Milford we were blown away already by what we had seen, and couldn't really imagine what it would have been like if it was clear out. We boarded our boat for a 2 hour tour of the sound and travelled the 7 kilometers along the fiorded (is that a word?) shoreline out to the Tasman Sea. Along the way we were able to take pictures of the immense cliffs, huge gushing waterfalls (a product of the 8 inches of rain the night before), seals, and even just missed seeing a penguin. It was well worth the trip out, and for the two hours on the boat there was no rain!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141858260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141858260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141858260/tpod.html Thu, 16 Mar 2006 18:44:09 -0500 5 continents in 365 days: Two Americans set off with a few guidebooks, dreams, and many prayers!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Fox Glacier, New Zealand

Debating our options, we decided to head up the West Coast to, in typical fashion, see as much as we could. After another night in Queenstown we shot up to Fox Glacier, which is one of two immense glaciers easily accessible here. We walked about 30 minutes to the face and it was massive. Not as big as Perito Moreno in Argentina, but still pretty darn impressive. There was a huge river coming out of the bottom of it and there would be periodic rock and ice falls off the terminal face. The glacier has receded quite a bit over the years. Driving in you actually see signs along the road showing where the face was years and years ago. Starting in the 1700s you see that it was about a kilometer further down toward the coastline. Even 50 years ago it was probably 1/2 kilometer further.After leaving Fox Glacier we wanted to try to glimpse Franz Joseph Glacier but the weather was completely socked in. We actually sort of viewed it through the clouds, but bailed half way through our hike due to the poor visibility and rain. So, we headed further up the coast and went to a place called the Pancake Rocks, which are really quite interesting. Apparently they are limestone rocks that have been formed over time by the shells of dead crustaceans mixing with mud and packing down. What results is what looks like a stack of pancakes on the shoreline. They get continually pummeled by the sea waves and they say they will eventually disappear as a result.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1140507960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1140507960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1140507960/tpod.html Thu, 16 Mar 2006 18:35:42 -0500 5 continents in 365 days: Two Americans set off with a few guidebooks, dreams, and many prayers!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Abel Tasman, New Zealand

We met back up with our friends Rob and Sarah that we stayed with in Hamilton. It was great to see them again and hit the road on a weeklong vacation together. The four of us headed to the Sauvignon Blanc Wine Country region in Blenheim and rode bikes for a day around 10 wineries. By the end we were ready for a nap from all the tastings and 10 mile bike loop. Great place to visit if you love Sauvignon Blanc wine.For the rest of the week we headed over to Nelson at the top of the North Island and then to one of the highlights of our year....Abel Tasman National Park. The park is famous for it three day long trek or kayak trip. We opted for the kayaks for three days to camp in tents on remote beaches (Watering Cove and Mosquito Bay campsites) and get away from the crowds on the trail. I think we made the perfect choice having campsites to ourselves on the most gorgeous golden sand beaches. All of us loved the campsites because both of them were located in secluded bays and so few people were on them. Matt and Rob found a prime rock covered with tons of mussels. We enjoyed around 20 huge ones for dinner one night cooked over our little cooking stove. We paddled for around 5 hours a day and were in the sun and beautiful aquamarine ocean. Some of the paddling was rather difficult in the open ocean. The weather report was predicting 30 knot winds on the ocean, but we are unsure if they were that rough even though the paddling was really tough at times. The highlight of the kayak trip was an early morning hour-long kayak ride we took up to this inlet called Shag Harbor (named after the Shag bird found there). At 7am in the morning we had the ocean to ourselves and the water was as calm as a water ski lake. We came across the cutest sight similar to one we had a few months back in the Galapagos Islands where we fell in love with these baby sea lions we got up close to. We were blessed with a similar experience in Shag Harbor where we paddled 2 feet away from 15 little 2 month old baby seals. They were such curious little guys and kept swimming up to us to play. We had seen a photo of a baby sea loin that had climbed on one of the kayaks but didn't get one to climb onto our boat. We couldn't get enough of them over a hour we spent with them just watching them. At one point four of the swam up really fast in a little line and all popped up their heads at us with their huge eyes. Then we all swam away from us in unison. An unbelievable morning!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141026420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141026420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mattamyhuey/aroundtheworld/1141026420/tpod.html Thu, 16 Mar 2006 16:59:55 -0500 5 continents in 365 days: Two Americans set off with a few guidebooks, dreams, and many prayers!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Christchurch, New Zealand

We were sad to leave Rob and Sarah after a week together but needed to keep moving further south on the island with only 2 weeks to go in our trip. After an all day bus ride (that would only take 4 hours in a car) we made it to Christchurch. It took us awhile to find a hostel, but after hiking across town and dropping into quite a few of them we found one.The town is very English and quite cuter that we had expected. We toured around town to the Art Gallery (fancy and modern), Canterbury Museum (outdated), Botanical Gardens (fantastic rose garden) and the Christchurch Cathedral (the bells have been ringing the last hour and a half). It is a cute town but we are ready to hit the road tomorrow morning on our rented car and get to the mountains.
]]>