Day 268-270: Southern Scenic Route; The Grand Finale

The final leg of the Southern Scenic Route was upon us. We were creeping up the western-most road in the south of the South Island and by the time a day-long downpour abated we were at Te Anau; a bustling town that serves as a stock-up-on-petrol-and-food point and gateway to the great Fiordland Mountains.

The Fiordland National Park rolls in undulating mountain ranges, lakes, rivers and glaciers for around 12,500km2 – most of which is inaccessible unless you are very brave, very stupid or Peter Jackson; many of Frodo's infamous adventures where filmed around these ends, you know. But we weren't delving into Middle Earth – we were staying pretty close to civilisation along the winding 120km-or-so road to Milford Sounds, and we were taking our sweet time about it.

All along the road are DOC campsites and lovely clearly-marked walking tracks. The walks seemed to fall into two main categories; under and hour strolls that anyone [grandparents/children/500 Japanese tourists with 499 digital SLRs and 1 16-inch video camera] could do or multi-day treks to far-off destinations for mentalists that actually like walking up hills carrying rucksacks. I am happy to report a full sense of fulfilment and some fantastic photos are the result of completing all of the former and none of the latter.

There is one exception to this rule though; a 3-hour walk up to Key Summit [left] At about 920m above sea level it's not by any means the most challenging walk we've done on this trip but it was rewarding all the same and, though it was a little cloudy, the views from the top were excellent. There was even a self-guided alpine tour around the summit highlighting some of the flora and fauna and explaining how the mountains were formed. God I love the DOC (department for conservation.)

We spent our nights camping by crystal-clear streams and our days walking over swingbridges and past waterfalls until we reached Milford itself. As one of only two Sounds that are accessible to the public (the other, aptly named, Doubtful Sounds is reachable only by boat, then bus, then boat via about 300NZD) it is a truly unique experience.

Lake Milford [below] lies calmly surrounded by a cascading waterfall, curling clouds and endless outlines of almighty mountains.

For me the journey itself was the best thing about getting to remote Milford Sounds, and almost 250km might sound like a long way to drive to look at some old lake; but it is the end of the Southern Scenic Route and it is quite the grand finale.

Day 262-263: Icebergs and other unbelievable things

About 100km north of Lake Tekapo, via a winding and unsurprisingly scenic road, lies the small village at the base of Mount Cook - which goes to show just how bloody massive Mount Cook is. For obvious reasons it has become something of a Mecca for mountaineers and there is a beautiful Tourist Information Centre courtesy of the DOC (of course) that details it's history and provides loads of information on what present day visitors can get up to. And I mean up to.

Now obviously as people that have, over the last few months, scaled a few mountains and dare I mention the erupting volcano we positioned ourselves in close proximity to, one may be forgiven for thinking that mountaineering is the next logical step. One could not be more wrong; nothing about having to defy death at every step, put up tents in gale force winds and sleep surrounded by snow...all for potentially days on end, is appealing to me. We opted for some comfortingly-mapped out walking routes.

Of which there are many and all of varying difficulty and offering diverse scenery. All with Mount Cook looming large in the background, of course, with its glistening glaciers, looking like it's been photoshopped in or cleverly painted onto the inside wall of a huge conservatory in a sort of The Truman Show; Serenity in the Southern Alps type thing.

As you can see we had perfect weather for it so it was more than a little bit strange to turn the corner after two hours of walking in blazing sunlight, over swing bridges and through streams, to find icebergs floating calmly in a lake. Ice ages really are incredible things.

Coming up here to the mountains is a bit of a detour, but with time on hands and walking boots firmly on feet it is easily one of the most brilliant detours your likely ever to make.

Day 203-209: Sarah in Malaysia

Some people would have been forgiven for thinking that two people who packed their backpacks and said goodbye for a year didn't want to see their nearest and dearest for a good while. Well, if the wonderful liaison with friends wasn't enough to dispel these rumours, Team 365 is way overexcited to announce the arrival of Sarah, my best friend and big sis.

We spent our first days together exploring Kuala Lumpur, a city that is as beautiful and modern in parts as it is derelict and crowded in others. We were staying in China Town, where the largest and cheapest vegetarian buffet (look! it goes further than the camera can see!) kept us going between wanders through the park, ventures into Bangkok-style huge malls and speeding around town on the 'Rapid KL' sky-train (more transport geeking. Apologies.)

But Sarah had come from the big smoke and the weather hadn't really improved too much since our 'Samui days so we headed to, well, yes, a rain forest actually. But not just any old rainforest! A very old rain forest - 130 million years old to be precise. Taman Negara, which we travelled to by bus and a stunning 3-hour boat ride, has remained unchanged by ice ages or tectonic activity and we were going to trek through it...at night.


It was only a short night trek that we did but it was brilliant; by torchlight we saw snakes, huge spiders (pictured), moths and even 'fished' for scorpions which basically involves enticing them out of trees just long enough to blind them with a thousand camera flashes before they return to the safety of darkness.

We also undertook some less scary but definitely more strenuous walks, which lead us to some beautiful vistas and some murky waters. It was brilliant, but with the only 2 weeks to spend in Malaysia with Sarah we were keen to head on.

And onwards we headed to where strawberries, scones and tea are the order of the day, the weather was cool and the hills rolled in glorious shades of green; no, not England. I am writing from the Cameron Highlands (not to be mistaken for the Cameroon Islands...Sarah)

Here we have been happy to indulge in some cream teas (who needs Wimbledon to be on? So good!) and a great tour of a local tea plantation, strawberry farm, honey farm and a butterfly farm that also offered the opportunity to get close to some over-sized and very well camouflaged insects.
It has been so good having Sarah with us and, scarily, we are already half way through her holiday - but rest assured that there is plenty more fun to be had and we'll be telling you all about it.

Day 163-166: Welcome to the jungle

Is there a better way to relieve almost 48 hours of sitting in various modes of transport than to sign up to an all-action 3-day trek into the jungle surrounding Chiang Mai? No, we didn't think so either so we signed up (managing to wangle a free massage on return) and set off!

The morning of the first day was filled with all the usual sorts of crap that no-one really wants to do on a tour but always get thrown in so that the tour operator can display a long list of bullet points and charge that little bit more and make their mate down at the market an easy bob or two. We visited a highly average Orchid & Butterfly Farm then went to a local market under the guise of buying water and insect repellent. It was a good chance to get to know our companions for the trip; a lovely selection of Americans, a kiwi, a Swiss guy and our joke-loving tour guide Tonny.

Then we drove into the jungle, stopped for lunch and the real trekking began! And the scenery here really is something else, by this time the sun was high in the sky and as is evident in the pictures there was much sweating to be done all round - this became something of a hallmark of the trip. We stopped to eat local fruit that Tonny picked on the way (delicious) and eat chilis that he told us were "Thai sweet chilis" - please see Rob's face (left) for evidence of their non-sweetness.

On our first night we spent the night in the village of a local tribe that are known as 'long-necks' because the women of the tribe, beginning at 5 years old, add a metal ring around their necks every 3 years (we think) for as long as they live. The result is that by adulthood their necks, now completely covered by rings, are much longer than your average neck.
I got the feeling that the 'village' was a bit of a tourist spot and the tribal people that were there probably didn't live their full-time but it was interesting to get a taste of the tradition and we whiled away the evening around a bonfire.

Rising early on the second morning we took again to the jungle paths to reach the centre of the all-action part of the trip. Rob, Jeff and I had opted to fly through the jungle on 19 zip-wires which was so so much fun! It took about an hour to get all the way round the wires and vertical drops and ended in a magnificent swoop over the river.

Then, from the same spot, we were able to enjoy a short elephant ride. Obviously Rob is already semi-professional in this department but for me it was my first time on an elephant and felt really lucky to be able to sit on her neck, as well as in the carriage on her back.

After a hearty lunch we were taken for a relaxing trip down the same river we'd just done our best superman impressions over on bamboo rafts, which was rather pleasant. But the relaxing was not to continue and in the afternoon we undertook what was the hardest bit of trekking in the trip. It was hard but so rewarding; the views were spectacular and it made scrambling up and down steep slopes and thick greenery more than worth it.

On this evening we camped in a small village and after bathing in the nearby waterfall (really, there was no shower) we again settled in for a night of great food, star-gazing and games around the campfire.

All too soon it was day 3 and our final day was a wet one! We trekked to a beautiful waterfall that cascaded into various small pools that were perfect for swimming in and you could even sit behind the largest waterfall in an air pocket, which was really fun - you can see me emerging in the most graceful way possible, above.

Then we went white water rafting! For obvious reasons the camera did not join us on this part of the adventure but it was brilliant. Paddling full speed into the rapids, hanging on while getting bounced about and soaking wet - we were even able to jump out of our raft in quiet spots. It was just the getting back in that was challenging. Prepare to read again of Team 365 flying down rapids in a dingy; we're officially hooked.

And that was it! Our 3-day jaunt was over; we were bitten, scratched, sweaty and soaking wet when we departed again for Chiang Mai. Here we washed, got a foot massage (looks of all-round disgust from staff at the state of me feet; all blisters and bites) which was amazing nonetheless and scrubbed ourselves up as best we could for a night out.

Even our wonderful guide came along to show us the hot spots in town and generally oversee the carnage that ensued (above). For those interested in seeing the affects of drinking cheap whiskey after walking for 3 days the full album is here but be warned; it's not pretty.

What a fantastic three days - a special massive thanks to Tonny, Jess, Yvone, Silvio and Nick for making the hard bits fun and the fun bits even better.

Day 109: A walk in the woods

From Phnom Penh we traveled to Kampot, a comparatively small town that spends most of it's time chilling out near the coast of Cambodia. Come the wet season, however, the main draw of the town moves away from the sun and sand and towards Bokor National Park, situated in the jungle coated hill side that loom over the sleepy town's shoulder.

This is exactly the reason we were here, and although slightly worried by combining a day long trek up a mountain with Asian monsoons and over three months of no exercise, our concerns were soon put to rest by Brett; an American anthropology teacher and part owner of the restaurant we stopped in for lunch. We booked the trek for the following morning, only to delay it a day following Brett's offer to watch an Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view (he and the locals go wild for professional fighting) and take a cycling trip to the Kompong Traach caves on the same day over far too many 'Klang' (literally meaning 'strong' in Khmer) beers.


The day began early, being transported to the foot of the hill in the back of a flat bed pick-up truck. We checked we had enough water and insect repellent on us and off we went. Climbing over fallen trees, clinging onto hanging vines whilst navigating steep slippery slopes, squeezing through narrow gaps in trees and hearing gibbon calls layered over the sound of free flowing water... we really were trekking in a Cambodian jungle and it was truly magical. We would stop for water and our guide told us about how he was forced to escape imprisonment from the Khmer Rouge after witnessing his whole family be killed. He spent the following two years living in the jungle alone, not seeing another soul for the duration. Our insect defenses turned out to be a trifle underestimating too, the guide completing the trek with an AK-47 slung over his shoulder.


The remnants of old French colonial buildings lay scattered on the summit of Bokor. The buildings have not been used for years and just the shells survive now. The thick fog of the clouds swirling in and out of the remaining weathered concrete structures create an incredible atmosphere. It's as if it's straight out of a horror film. As we approached the ruins - including a particularly eery Catholic Church - they would just appear from the fog, only visible from 10 meters or so.

We walked/slid our way down after exploring the summit and finished our day with a relaxing boat ride down the Kampot River. We had dinner at our new favourite restaurant with some new friends; pretty much soaking wet from a day in the clouds. No beers and pledges to watch people knock each other out this evening, it was early to bed and early to rise for a whole day of travelling to Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor Wat.