Team No Job - The Great Escape 2007

Yosemite national park was not the first choice for our destination after San Francisco, we had intended to travel immediately south along the pacific highway to LA and then head across to Las Vegas to visit the casino’s and the grand canyon. We however decided due to the distance and the cost that it wasn’t possible to do that so we headed across to Yosemite straight after San Francisco for a couple of days.

Due to restrictions on young drivers in the US which meant that every driver under 25 had to pay a surcharge of $25 a day I did all the driving to keep the costs a bit lower. We used Alamo car rental and got a new Toyota Corolla to play with complete with cruise control which is my new favourite toy in a car, Lazy mans driving!! Driving on the wrong side of the road on multi lane highways isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be although we actually managed to avoid the main roads for much of the trip. The road up to Yosemite was very long and windy (I think I have mastered mountain driving now - It will prove useful when I get back home!) and it was a slow trip. We ended up taking the long way round to where we were staying as we weren’t exactly sure where it was but it allowed us to see some of the park.
We stayed at the Yosemite bug hotel and hostel, our accommodation for the two nights we were there was a tent cabin which gave it quite a wilderness feel. It was comfortable enough even if it was a little cold at night after the sun went down! There was however a lodge on site serving cheap hot meals which proved useful for dinner.

We spent one full day exploring the national park itself. Unfortunately there isn’t the wilderness feel to the place any more. It is all rather tame in the respect that there are two lane paved roads right through the valley and every service you could possibly want available in the village. The scenery however did make up for it. We thought that we may not be so impressed having seen what was on offer in New Zealand as we now count ourselves as scenery connoisseurs but it exceeded expectations. Yosemite has two of the tallest waterfalls in the world which are very impressive and the views over the valley also have to be seen. We spent most of the day exploring various trails through the valley, with transfers to each by a shuttle bus. If you don’t have to walk in America you don’t! As the evening drew nearer we went to visit some of the famous giant redwood trees which I have to say are the biggest trees that I have ever seen.

After Yosemite we crossed back across the flat plains of California to the coast. The things they say about American roads and corners are completely true. There sometimes isn’t one for miles and miles and miles which is where cruise control comes in handy, you just have to keep an eye out for stop signs that appear in the middle of main roads in the middle of nowhere on the odd occasion, very strange. Our first stop on the coast was the town of Monterey which seemed to be quite asleep when we visited, to be fair it was midweek and I guess it is still off season but there didn’t seem to be much going on. After Monterey the real coastal road kicked in. I had heard before coming out here that this was the best drive in the world and I have to agree that it is probably the best one that I have ever done, better than the Great Ocean Road in Australia. Around every bend in the road was a place that deserved a picture to be taken so very often we didn’t get very far down the road before stopping again for more pictures. The only major stop we took on the first day traveling down was at the Big Sur state park for more forrest walks to the top of the valley to take more pictures of the impressive scenery, In the afternoon I spotted a large bird of prey flying overhead which I though could have been an eagle, we came across a group of people who had found more of the birds flying overhead and we were told that these were in fact the endangered Californian Condor, very inquisitive birds who gave us some excellent pictures by swooping down and flying right overhead, further down the road was also a colony of seals, far too many to count, there looked to be hundreds, probably close to over a thousand just lazing about.

Further down the coast the scenery was less impressive and we only stopped in a couple of the bigger towns to have a look round, we spent a night in San Luis Opisbo as it was the half way point of the road and further down we stopped in the rich town of Santa Barbara and drove through the mansion filled suburb of LA, Malibu. Unfortunately our arrival into LA was at rush hour and it took a further 2 hours of driving to complete the last 20 miles to our motel.

We stayed in a motel in San Fernando on the outskirts of LA for 2 nights as Rich and I wanted to go the nearby theme park Six Flags Magic Mountain before we headed into LA proper. If any of you roller coaster fans are ever in the area of LA I highly recommend the park. It is billed as America’s extreme park and it contains 12 roller coasters of all shapes and sizes. Our favourites were Deja-vu which sent you flying around a corkscrew and a loop and up a vertical section before repeating the track backwards, X which is the strangest roller-coaster i’ve ever been on as the seats move independently of the train so you really hadn’t got a clue which way up you were for most of the time and Goliath which was just a very fast roller-coaster but probably exerted the most G force on the body. The park was completely empty as it was a thursday so the most we ever had to wait to go on a ride was 15 minutes so we definitely got our monies worth however our bodies were not particularly thankful for the punishment.

Well thats where I’m going to leave it, we’re now in LA and we’ll no doubt fill you all in on that later on,

For now I bid you goodbye
Chris

Hi everyone,

First of all I would like to thank all the people that sent me cards/emails/text messages etc on my birthday. I didn’t expect to get anything sent to me as I didn’t think it was possible(!) so it was a really nice suprise :o).

Right back to our news and an update on our week spent in San Francisco....
As Chris may have already mentioned, we managed to get an earlier flight to San Francisco, arriving an hour earlier to our hostel but still feeling just as knackered! 11 and a half hours flying does wonders for you, seriously! That night all we could think of was food and bed, so we wandered down past some rather ‘exotic’ bars near our hostel - ladies get in free with a guy (why a lady would want to visit one of these places is beyond me!), but we politely declined! - to a little italian restaurant round the corner. With one of our goals achieved, we headed straight to bed like true party animals!

The next day (Monday) brought our first real taste of San Francisco and I instantly fell for its quirky, eccentric charms. This city is not the cleanest we have seen and it definitely has its problems (the amount of homeless people is quite shocking), but the people are friendly, the buildings (excluding skyscrapers) are charming, and the whole city has a very eclectic atmosphere, which makes you feel right at home. After looking around a few of the shops I realised why you should always bring an empty bag with you to America, and proceeded to shop for a new birthday outfit.

After an afternoon spent pottering about, we were all still suffering with a bit of jet lag so we headed back to the hostel where we were given a free dinner (this happened on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays!) and then fell asleep pretty early - another action-packed night for team no job!

Tuesday required more shopping time, so I left the boys to themselves for the morning again - much to their relief as their present shopping for me turned out to be a whole, long, problematic, saga in itself (apparently), but you will have to ask Chris and Rich about that one! In the end I found a new top and shoes, so I was pretty happy with myself. Then in the afternoon when I met up with the lads, Chris decided to take me on a nice long mysterious walk to the Post Office of all places (I was very confused by this point!), to pick up some cards that had been sent to me...only to find that the collections counter closed at 2pm - Doh! Ah well, I said, at least I’ll get your present tomorrow morning. Only to be told that actually they couldn’t pick it up until the afternoon due to some complications. :o( Now if anyone has experienced one of my birthdays first hand you will know that this was disasterous for me as I do like to milk the day for all it is worth! So I went home empty-handed and not expecting anything to open in the morning :o(

Well the morning came very early as we had to be at the Pier for 9.30 to get the ferry out to Alcatraz at 10am. But the guys came through for me as always and managed to produce a card from each of them and one from Ginny that Chris had been carrying the whole way from London! (thanks to Ginny for being so damn organised x) and also one from Andy who had been travelling with us in New Zealand. I was pretty chuffed by this point, after expeting nothing and we all headed off to Pier 31 and Alcatraz in high spirits.

Once on the island we were taken into one of the buildings to watch a film about the history of the island. Apparently it used to be used by the US Forces as a military base, and then a military prison before later being transformed into the high-security prison that it is now famous for. Once inside the main prison block itself we were given audio headphone sets and left to explore the building ourselves. The prison cells were suprisingly tiny - literally enough room for a small bed, sink and toilet - and the ceilings were very low, giving it a rather claustrophobic feel. It was really hard to imagine that people actually lived in them for years on end. The cells used for solitary confinement were even worse with only a small window in the solid metal door that was usually kept locked. We got to step inside these ones, but once you are in there it is not the type of place that you really want to stick around in! After been taken all around the cell blocks and wardens office, with its amazing view of the San Francisco skyline, it was not hard to imagine why some prisoners went mad here, having to look at freedom just across the bay.

Back on dry land, me and Rich went to the post office to pick up my packages and we all met for lunch where I opened the cards and my present from Rich and Chris (a framed photo of us at Australia Zoo, and some cheesecake from the Cheesecake shop!).

In the evening we actually just walked round the corner from our hostel to a jazz and seafood bar that we had seen on earlier nights. There was a live band playing blues that night with vocals from Darlene Langston, unknowns but good nonetheless. After a few songs me and Rich decided to go halves on one of their CD’s, but when they found out it was my birthday they gave me one for free, and sung me happy birthday later in night! Plus I got a free cocktail off the waiter, so it turned out to be a pretty awesome night! I even got the boys onto the dancefloor at the end of the night for a bit of a boogie on down to R.J. Mitcham - an international recording artist he’ll have you know! - in a saloon bar. All-in-all, very enjoyable.

On the Thursday we got up late and wandered down to the harbour where we found Pier 39 - a wonderous place of bizarre tourist shops like the ‘cable car store’ and the ‘magical magnet shop! Then we took the famous tram ride up and down the hills of the city - slightly scary at times, especially when we had to stop and push the tram back from the brim of the slope so that we didn’t go rolling down to our deaths! In the evening we re-visited the pier for our first ever Hard Rock Cafe experience, and made the rookie mistake of ordering a starter as well as a main - the onion rings were almost as big as our heads!!

On the Friday we only had one tourist thing left to do - bike the Golden Gate bridge. We ended up arriving a bit late to the bike hire store, so we couldn’t travel down to Sauselito like we had hoped, but just had to bike over and come straight back again.

After braving a few rather steep hills we finally made it to the bridge, and realised how windy San Francisco actually is! It was a beautiful day but I swear at one point I almost froze over! There were some beautiful views from the other side though and it was definitely worth cycling instead of walking, especially to see Rich miss the exit to get off the bridge and go crashing into the verge! Luckily him and the bike were ok, but his beloved shorts unfortunately didn’t make it. Rich says his injury on his knee still hurts *sniff sniff*.

The Kaiserchiefs were playing in town on Friday night, so we thought we would pop down and say hello. They were hoping for an Angry Mob and they Predicted a Riot but the San Francisco public’s Heat had Died Down - apparently this was the Modern Way. Ricky exclaimed that he could Do It Without You, and Thank You Very Much for the English support, as he’d never been This Far Away From Home.

Saturday we picked up the car and left San Francisco for The Yosemite National Park.

Sorry if this ran on a bit, but if I can’t milk my birthday at home then at least let me write about it!
Laura :o) x x

Hey everyone,

Just a quick entry to let you know that I've uploaded a load of new spangley photos for you all to enjoy!

San Francisco blog and photos from the USA to come shortly.

Watch this space.....

Laura x x

Hi everyone, just time for a quick catch up on what we got up to in Fiji

Friday 13th April - Just a short hop flight from Auckland to Nadi in Fiji. We were staying at Smugglers Cove hostel which included a free transfer so that helped as we didn't have to deal with any of the taxi touts waiting outside the airport. The cashpoint in the airport refused to give Rich and Laura any money so they had to take a taxi later in the evening to one of the 2 McDonalds on the island to try another one.

Saturday 14th April - Took a trip into Nadi town center which was "interesting". The streets were full of people and cars and we stuck out like a sore thumb as obvious tourists so we were the target of touts every few meters. We did manage to find our own way back to the hostel on a local bus which which at one point drove along the beach to find the road again. We had to wait quite a while for the bus so we just sat in the bus station and did a spot of people watching. Wherever you went in Nadi there were people, but none of them seemed to be doing too much. Everything in Fiji happens on Fiji time, i.e slowly!

Sunday 15th April - This was the first day of a 6 night/7 day tour of the Yasawa islands. We had an early transfer to the dock and then a 4 1/2 hour boat ride to the outer islands. Although it was a catamaran it was much much smoother ride than the trip across to Koh Tao. Our first stop was Coral View Resort, a tiny little place on the edge of the island. Our accommodation was a little basic and as it had been raining so much it was rather damp but the people were really nice and friendly so that made up for it in a way. All our meals were included in the package as it was so remote there really wasn't any other option in the way of food but it was all freshly cooked and actually wasn't that bad.

Monday 16th April - We had two nights at Coral View so this was a full day to sit out and relax. Laura and I took a walk down to the end of the island (20 mins - the island was pretty small) and went snorkeling on a coral reef. We had been snorkeling off the beach at the resort the previous day but we saw many many more fish of all colours on the second trip out. The afternoon was reserved for just being lazy, we each found a hammock on the edge of the beach to sit back and relax and it was only interrupted by the rain late in the afternoon. The evening entertainment involved a traditional fijian welcome from the staff at the resort and some dancing which we all had to participate in, no choices.

Tuesday 17th April - The morning was spent waiting for the boat to come and pick us up to take us to the next location, another excuse to just sit in a hammock, the Catamaran picked us up after lunch and took us down to the Wana Taki boat which was cruising round some of the other islands, this was our home for a night. We found time for a spot of kayaking but other than eating the huge dinner they put on for us and reading we didn't get up to too much. The boat was really comfortable as it was dry and air conditioned and a nice change after the damp beds previously but the one downside was that the water pump had broken so there was no running water to the showers or sinks.

Wednesday 18th April - This was the day of our first dive in Fiji. We transferred across to Manta Ray Island for a beach dive. I was amazed at the amount of fish that we saw. This was by far the best dive that we had on the entire trip. The amount of fish that we saw far outweighed what we saw at the great barrier reef and the coral was completely undamaged. In the afternoon we transferred to our next island was Kuata. Kuata was much like Coral View in that the beds were damp but unfortunately it did not have the charm of the earlier island. The people were not as friendly and the food was average and at times terrible. We were due to stay on the island for 2 nights but we had spoken to people before we arrived who had warned us about it so we had managed to change our booking to only stay for 1 night.

Thursday 19th April - We did absolutely nothing productive on Thursday. We sat outside reading and playing cards for the entire day until the boat came to collect us in the afternoon. We transferred down to our last island called South Sea Island which was the smallest island we visited. From the one building on the centre of the island/sand dune you could sea all four sides and a walk round took all of 5 minutes. The island unlike the previous ones we had visited was run by Awesome Adventures Fiji so had more of a resort feel to it and the standard of the dorm and the food was much much better.

Friday 20th April - This was the first day where the weather was as befitting a tropical island, hot and sunny. This therefore required much sunbathing. This was the pattern for most of the day broken up by snorkeling over the coral reef next to the island.

Saturday 21st April - Laura and I got up early and went on our second dive in Fiji, Rich didn't join us on this one as he had got sick of having to promise to the instructors that he wasn't going to die under water from an asthma attack. There had been problems with every dive previously because as soon as he ticked the asthma box they didn't want him to dive. This dive was a wreck dive and was the deepest that we had been to at 20m. The dive was excellent. Our instructor showed us the wreck and then took us back up stopping and pointing out various different things for us to look at including a sting ray. This was also the cheapest dive that we had done at $45 or 15 pounds! The rest of the day was spent sunbathing until the storm passed overhead in mid afternoon and the heavy rain started again. This made our transfer back to the boat a little interesting. Each transfer from the island to the catamaran was made on a little boat which had to be waded out to so with the high waves and driving rain our little trip out to the main boat soaked us pretty well. The journey on the main boat back to the mainland was much better smoother.

Sunday 22nd April (the first one) - The day was very uneventful, we had returned to Smugglers cove hostel the previous evening to stay the last night and we just spent the day doing laundry and waiting to go to the airport. In the evening we traveled out to catch our flight. Unfortunately they we couldn't talk our way into first class but we did end up with seats at the front of a section so it was a little more comfortable than otherwise would have been. The flight was uneventful (all 10 hours of it) however the entertainment system in our seats didn't work too well which was annoying

Sunday 22nd April (the second one) - Our flight from Fiji landed at lunchtime, the process of entering America was actually much quicker than i had expected. It only took them 45 minutes! Unfortunately for us a China airways flight had emptied in front of us and nearly every one of them without fail hadn't filled in their visa forms correctly and require translators to help them with the customs officer which slowed things down somewhat. We managed to transfer terminals in good time and check in to our next flight to San Francisco so early that we were put on standby for the next flight which left 3 hours earlier. Although the plane was late by an hour we managed to get seats on board and arrived in San Francisco two hours early at 6pm on Sunday (our flight from Fjii departed Fiji at 10pm on Sunday).

Overall Fiji did what it was supposed to do. Gave us time to sit about and do pretty much nothing. We met some cool people on the trip which helped make things a little more fun. Much of the time you had to make your own entertainment but it's nice to sit and read a book sometimes!.

Laura is going to write the a blog about San Francisco shortly, we might finish that before we get home in a couple of weeks. See you all soon

Chris

Hello again,

I hope you are all well. Don't read anything into our recent lack of posts, we are still alive and we still love all of you blogees, but its difficult to have time to blog on the move (NZ) and when there is no internet to blog with (Fiji). So to make up for a few weeks of neglect - I'm going to blog you up-to-date over the next couple of days!

Firstly can I say that we're safe and sound in San Francisco, and appear to be jet-lag free at the time of writing. Soon after writing this I'm going to have my second night's sleep so all should be well (same for Chris and Laura). For the first time in the trip you guys are ahead of us time-wise (8 hours whilst we are on the West coast) so enjoy your eight hour head start to the day.

So, back to NZ:

Tuesday 10th April - We leave Taupo earlyish and head to Rotorua as planned. At this point I have a full blown cold (my second in NZ) and so have no sense of smell - which is fortunate as Rotorua centre has a fairly pungent sulphur smell (eggy/fart smell for those of you unfamiliar with sulphur) due to our volcanic surroundings. After lunch we head out to a volcanic spring for a dip. We continue driving around Rotorua and head out to do Zorbing, a crazy activity where they stick you in a big plastic ball filled with warm water (which maintains your sitting position) and roll you down a hill (think of that Gladiators event with the cage balls but its clear rubber and downhill with water!). Laura, Chris and Andy do a triple wet ball and get soaked (but love it). I'm denied an attempt at a waterless solo run down the hill (there is a hall of fame for those who have done it without falling over at all!) so assume photographer duties. In the afternoon we drive to Hamilton which was a planned stopping point but no hostel space means we continue onto Auckland a day early (Hamilton does have a 'Cheesecake Shop' though - Ipswich locals should know of that - Laura threatens violence if we don't stop there so we do and all enjoy cheesecake!). Auckland reminds us of Sydney a bit but with added large hills in the city. For example, the drive up to the Auckland hostel has pretty much a 45 degree slope!. We arrive at night so have a budget $6 chinese buffet in a box for dinner - a mixed bag/box in terms of taste and texture (for me, cold still rife).

Wednesday 11th April - Me and Chris rise early to return our loyal hire car, only to find its been broken into. Nothing's missing but a small rear door window is smashed in and the steering column has suffered an unsuccessful hot wire attempt. Quick phone calls follow to the hire company who have been made aware of the break-in already by the police during the night and apparently all is well as long as we can drive it!! We return the car, where they sting us with a $90 tire damage extra (watch out for that one - check your tires when you pick up a hire car!). We explore Auckland (already a tad annoyed at the place) and find that theres one huge street through the middle where everything pretty much sits. Chris, Laura and I attempt to book our boat tour of Fiji with varying degrees of success. One failed booking later we go to STA Travel who sort out the long process for us. With very little activity in the city centre we go up the most obvious tourist attraction the Sky Tower (tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere and visible pretty much all over the city). Having watched someone jump off the tower from a great height (in a harness of course), Chris and I decide this would be fun so pay our money and prepare to wait. We all head up to look at the panoramas of Auckland, and down at the red target square where jumpers descend to (its far away). We head down again to jump and are put in our blue suits and harnesses and a whisked back up to jump down(!). After a short wait Chris goes first and then I follow. Each jump takes around 5 minutes to prepare for (checking your gear, hooking you onto two harnesses and a huge wheel of wire), a ten second leap off/wait of faith where they take your photo dangling off the tower and a further ten seconds to complete the jump down. A great rush and a good laugh (see the video in the previous blog for more detail). For those who have watched the video and are unsure of my jump attempt, my wild movements are not in fear, they in jest! In the evening we have a few drinks in some local bars.

Thursday 12th April - More exploring and walking around Auckland. We collect our Fiji tour tickets (having had to pay more because we were quoted last year's prices which changed on April 1st). In the afternoon Chris and Laura go to the Auckland Harbour Bridge which AJ Hackett allow people to bungy off in an attempt to find a I [Heart] NZ t-shirt. Unfortunately theres no shop like in AJ Hackett Queenstown so the trip is a disappointing one. They apparently get rained on too. Andy and I go to the big cinema to watch Danny Boyle's space thriller Sunshine (and as such avoid the bulk of the rain). Its very good. In the evening we say goodbye to Andy and New Zealand in traditional style...a Japanese meal (ok...not so traditional then!). We try sushi and tempura and its an all-round nice end to our time in NZ.

Friday 13th April (ooooh!) - Andy leaves us early in the morning for his 7am flight to Sydney, I wake up a few hours later and am sure I saw a random stranger doing a text on his phone sat in the dark of our room (Chris see's nothing). We leave for the airport mid-morning and with little fuss board our to Air Pacific plane to Fiji but discover that they run on Fiji time (where timings and deadlines are slightly streched to take into account the relaxed nature of the locals) so we leave a bit late. We arrive in Fiji three hours later where the skies are cloudy but its fairly warm and humid and go to our accomodation in Nadi (you don't fly into the capital Suva). We get a warm (literally - haha) welcome from everyone particularly at our hostel Smugglers Cove which is really nice (it has a piratey theme hence the name) which has fortunately got air conditioned dorms. We have a nice meal and enjoy some Fiji Gold Stubbies (ENG Translation: Fiji Lager bottled).

I think I'll leave that for now. I'm unsure whether to continue with the whole date thing, but it might work for Fiji. If anyone has a huge issue with my use of dates use the comments section to complain and we'll choose to ignore as appropriate!

So to bed for me shortly. It is strange to think that you lot are now enjoying the day before us (most of it while we sleep). We're also closer to home than ever before and there's an intangible sense of the denouement to our trip rushing up on us (hows that for some pyscho-analysis and use of big words!?) despite just over three weeks to go.

Anyway, on that reflective note take care all and speak soon!
Richard