The South Island of New Zealand, dear reader, is one of the world's most beautiful travel destinations. While most of the population and industry are concentrated on the North Island, mother nature has blessed the South Island with an abundance of natural beauty. In fact the stunning surroundings are enough to take your breath away. The journal continues from where we left off in Wellington, in company with the Kiwi Experience bus team that started our adventures out of Auckland. Our driver loaded the bus and his passengers on to the Interislander ferry, and we settled down for the three hour crossing of the Cook Strait before arriving in Picton. We'd landed in the south, and were ready to explore…

I crossed the Tasman Sea on a three hour flight to reach destination Auckland, the largest city of our closest neighbour and great mates from New Zealand. The country of four million people is blessed with sublime natural scenery, friendly people, superb tourist infrastructure and world class beer. Oh, and it's also the adventure capital of the world! If you have a taste for adventure and wanna do something wild and crazy ... sweet as a nut bro, just come to NZ and the Kiwis will take care of you. I was out of the airport like a shot, and had a few days to explore Auckland before joining a pre booked bus trip with Kiwi Experience. I chose the…

Perth is the most remote capital city in the world, dear reader. If you cast your eyes east the vast expanses of the Nullabor Plain stretch to the South Australian border and way beyond; if you cast your eyes west the vast expanses of the Indian Ocean stretch all the way to the South African coast and the nearest city of Johannesburg. The inhabitants of this booming city feel removed from the goings on in the Eastern States, and methinks maybe they like it that way. Perth is situated on the Swan River with a population of over one million people, who are bathed in sunshine for three hundred days per year. There's plenty to see and do if you…

The far north of Australia is one of the most remote places on Earth, and every day in the top end features stunning scenery and a sense of wonder at the vast distances travelled. There are three major towns stretching from the East Coast to the West Coast, and a whole lot of nothing in between. But this is the real Australia, where you can ride on the bus for an entire day and be lucky to pass a single car travelling in the opposite direction. I had a five week opportunity to explore the Far North, and a bargain three flight package from Qantas helped make some my destinations achievable given the short time frame. My top end adventure…

Sumatra is a travel destination that few people are knowledgeable about, and even fewer people visit. It is, surprisingly, the sixth largest island in the world and well and truly off the beaten track. The previous journal left off in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, from where I organised a bus ticket to Bukittinggi in West Sumatra. Unsurprisingly the bus was jam packed and my travelling companion, although not a tall man, spread his legs luxuriously for the thirty hour journey so that my legs were almost fused together by the end of the trip. This travel caper can be quite a gruelling experience in Indonesia. We arrived at Merak in north west Java, dear reader, and boarded the ferry…

There's so much more to experience on the Indonesian archipelago than just paying a visit to Bali. Australia's nearest neighbour to the north is home to 220 million people, and the world's largest archipelago has 1700 islands which span more than 5000 kilometres. Mind you, no visit to Indonesia is complete without stopping off in Bali, a beautiful island that holds a special place in my heart. When the flight arrived from Sydney I checked into the same Kuta hotel as previously, and enjoyed a few days relaxing with the smiling Balinese before setting off to explore Java and Sumatra. So then, it was time to embark on exciting new travel adventures... starting with a taxi ride to Denpasar and…

Singapore is an intriguing country that has always fascinated me. To use a sporting parlance, the country reminds me of the little guy who is always punching well above his weight, the guy who gets extraordinary results despite what seems to be overwhelming physical deficiencies. For example it's incredible to note that Singapore, with a population of over four million people, has the fourth largest foreign exchange trading centre in the world. This country is a serious player on the world stage in spite of it's tiny size, an island state of sixty three islands situated just below East Malaysia. Continuing from the previous journal, dear reader, I caught a bus down the south east coast of Peninsula Malaysia into…

Malaysia is an unheralded destination on the South East Asian backpackers trail, and definitely fits the description Truly Asia! I flew in from Sydney to land in Kuala Lumpur on the Peninsula Malaysia, kicking off a backpacker trip in the most populous part of the country. Only five million Malaysians out of the total population of twenty four million live in Borneo on the other side of the South China Sea. Kuala Lumpur is the very modern capital of this regional economic powerhouse, and I spent an enjoyable few days exploring the city, which included a brush with a conman straight out of the KL warning section in the Lonely Planet. This smooth talking, but very dodgy looking character started…

The United States dropped more bombs in the Vietnam war than were used during the entire course of World War ll, and it's not too much to assume the Vietnamese would harbor a great deal of resentment toward foreigners. However, it's amazing to experience nothing but kindness from the local people when visiting this extraordinary country, with a predominantly youthful population of 75 million people. The reality of travel in Vietnam means unfailingly gracious hosts greet travellers from around the world with a welcoming smile. Vietnam is a highly recommended travel destination in South East Asia, and I was excited to board a flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to commence my visit to this fascinating and beautiful country.…

There is an indefinable quality that makes Buddhist countries superb travel destinations, and possibly the most famous of these is Thailand. Tourists flock to this Asian paradise from all over the world, and when it comes to the tourism industry the Thais do things better and with more grace than anyone else ... and who can resist the world famous Thai cuisine! When I arrived in Bangkok I mysteriously slotted into Thai lifestyle as if they had cast a magic spell over me. It hardly seems possible to be in a foreign country for the first time, and yet from the moment of arrival feel so relaxed and at ease. But that's the mystery of Thailand; in a country of…