tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41402902024-02-20T02:27:37.528+00:00Anne and Stephen's Big Adventure<p><b>The story:</b>
Stephen and Anne, both in their late twenties, quit their jobs and left London. They took a year off. They first travelled to Australia, with a week in Tokyo on the way. After living and working in Sydney for three months they toured Australia for five months. They then spent two months exploring New Zealand using rental cars. They ended the year with two weeks of sun in Fiji, and a short jaunt in LA and San Fran. They then returned home, to a new life!</p>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comBlogger203125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1075454409898164732004-01-30T09:20:00.001+00:002009-05-20T13:53:20.582+01:00The final post(If you're looking for our current blog, post Big Adventure, it's here.)The book of this blog is available here.Well, it's all over. We arrived in Heathrow on Tuesday morning to be met by my mum and sister. It was odd to be home, largely, I suppose, due to our tiredness.What we did rightWe made lots of good decisions during our travels. We've done a lot of "assessing" of the Big Adventure latelyStephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1075450626219921562004-01-30T08:17:00.000+00:002004-01-30T08:18:41.826+00:00PhotosWe've uploaded the last of our electric photos to Yahoo photos. They on Big Adventure Photos 8 (link to left). The new ones begin with the one of the Hindu Temple.Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1075365604438137692004-01-29T08:40:00.000+00:002004-01-29T08:41:38.763+00:00UpdateWe've updated the blog for the last days of our Big Adventure, but the blog's not quite finished yet. We'll post a final entry of two in the next few days, and then it will all be over, and all our lives will be that bit more empty. Sob.Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1075360689746312752004-01-29T08:39:00.000+00:002004-01-29T08:39:49.950+00:00The final movie reviews postWe flew Air Pacific from Fiji to LA, and the film choice was poor. There was only one film that we fancied, and that was quite old: Ice Age. We dutifully watched it, and it was OK but not up to the standards of Pixar. The brightness on my screen was up far too high and couldn't be adjusted, so it looked rubbish too! Two and a half stars.
We saw Paycheck (Paycheque) at the flicks in LA. ThisStephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1074976948238824002004-01-24T20:42:00.000+00:002004-01-24T20:44:40.700+00:00San Fran FunFriday started well. On Thursday, we tried to trade in the ten or so old books we'd been lugging around Fiji, but the 2nd hand bookshops didn't want them all. So, on Friday morning we went to Union Square and left them spread around benches for people to find. We weren't being litter bugs - we'd registered them at bookcrossing.com, so whoever finds them can go to the website and register theirStephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1074881647205102482004-01-23T18:14:00.000+00:002004-01-23T18:21:06.793+00:00Where's my heart? I know I left it round here somewhere...Me: Anne, do you feel like the crew of the Enterprise in Star Trek IV?
Anne: No.
Me: How about Nicolas Cage in The Rock?
Anne: Are we doing this again?
Me: What about that wet lawyer (Harrison Fox) in Crazy Like a Fox?
Anne: Just get on with the blog.
That's right, we're no longer in LA, but we're still under Govenor Swarzenegger's juristiction.
We're in San Francisco.
I've been here before, Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1074881192194816962004-01-23T18:06:00.000+00:002004-01-23T18:08:01.390+00:00Land of extremesI both love and hate the US. The TV is so crap, and yet also has some of the best dramas in the world. Even the ads on telly, usually notoriously bad, can sometimes be short, sharp and witty. The people can be obnoxious and dumb, or really kind and intelligent.
George Bush is still a tw*t though.Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1074632194430407862004-01-20T20:52:00.000+00:002004-01-20T20:58:00.090+00:00LA is my LadyArriving in LA was very exciting. Everyone we know who's been there has been disappointed, so I think we were well prepared for it. A quick check of The Lonely Planet in a library in NZ had convinced us that Santa Monica would be a good place to stay (avoiding grotty Downtown and Hollywood) and this decision paid off.
On the bus ride from the airport I was very excited. Anne, less so.
Me: DoStephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1074465193187073422004-01-18T22:29:00.000+00:002004-01-18T22:34:37.373+00:00From the future to the pastOn Saturday 17th January at 4pm, Anne and I were walking on the beach in Fiji. We had seven hours until we had to get on a plane.
On Saturday 17th January at 4pm, Anne and I were checking into a motel in Santa Monica. We'd landed in LAX three hours earlier.
Stephen - you've gone mad! Everyone knows you can't be in two places at once. I'm starting to lose faith in your Blogging abilities
AhStephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1074215591770591592004-01-16T00:54:00.000+00:002004-01-16T01:15:53.590+00:00Anne and Stephen's Island AdventureOn Monday we were taken by boat out to Waya Island. We'd booked three nights at the Octopus Resort there (click to see web site). We'd have liked more, but it was expensive!
We had a garden bure (a bure is a traditional Fijian building, made of sticks and things). The resort is quite small, but they have lots of activities and some good facilities. We did hardly anything there. We went to Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1074214180289529492004-01-15T23:53:00.000+00:002004-01-16T00:55:28.013+00:00To LautokaOn Saturday it was back on with our packs, and onto a bus to Lautoka (on the West coast, just north of Nadi). It was a long long bus journey - five hours! The novelty of the local bus rides soon wore off and we got very bored. We were please to arrive in Lautoka and check into the hotel we'd booked.
We had a nice room (if all a bit seventies in decor), and best of all it had air-conditioning.Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1073709211475669732004-01-10T04:06:00.000+00:002004-01-10T04:34:47.043+00:00Books Etc.We've had lots of time to read in Fiji - it's very relaxing and we're making the most of it, as we'll soon be home and looking for jobs (see countdown on left - thanks to our man in Archway for that).
I've recently read:
Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason - like the first book, a lightweight but hilarious book. I hope the film turns out good, though am sick of reading about Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1073519303805896022004-01-07T23:48:00.000+00:002004-01-08T14:45:12.186+00:00Heaven on EarthWe did a silly thing on Monday morning. We were so intent on sending stuff home, to lighten our load, that we went down the post office with tunnel vision. The choice was to send the stuff surface mail or air mail. The first option would have taken 4-5 months, so we chose the second. It cost us $111. When we left the post office we realised that it'd probably have been cheaper to throw the Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1073519053593443352004-01-07T23:44:00.000+00:002004-01-07T23:57:43.233+00:00And now, the learningThe internet services here in Fiji are a bit rubbish, so I'm having trouble here. I will, however, valliantly attempt to educate you all abot the place. We were too tight to splash out on a guide book, so travelled in ignorance for the first few days. We've now found some info though, so no longer have to make up facts about the place to amuse each other.
Population - well, that was around Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1073190680337312922004-01-04T04:31:00.000+00:002004-01-04T05:01:55.796+00:00Bula FijiAfter a good Turkish meal out on Friday night, we were up early on Saturday morning and hopped into a taxi to the airport. We were ridiculously laden with bags, since we couldn't post stuff home in Auckland due to National Holiday issues. Grrr!
We treated ourselves to a cooked breakfast at the airport. Unlike in British airports, Kiwi airports's main aim isn't to rip you off, so a cooked Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1073024512965920122004-01-02T06:21:00.000+00:002004-01-02T06:23:00.670+00:00Goodbye 2003The new year scares us a bit. 2003 was very much our year off. Now it's 2004 we're thinking more and more about what happens now. As I've said, we intend to continue to rent out our flat in Ealing, and have decided to try to live in Cambridge. This means starting all over again, in rented accommodation for six months or so, and each of us has to find a job. A whole new adventure! At least Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1073024342516149052004-01-02T06:19:00.000+00:002004-01-02T06:20:10.263+00:00Road SageNow we've dropped off our last rental car of our Adventure, we no longer have to worry about other drivers (except when crossing the street, obviously).
This will be good, as New Zealanders aren't very good at driving. Like people in the UK, they see speed cameras as an infringement on their personal freedom. However, it's not necessarily their speeding that bothers me. It's the tailgating. Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1073004935801590032004-01-02T00:55:00.000+00:002004-01-02T06:20:32.140+00:00The Return of the King reviewWe saw The Return of the King at the Megascreen cinema in Auckland. I think it's an Imax screen, though a lot of the screen wasn't used (different ratio, you see). It was very big though, and another bonus was we got to see a good trailer for Spiderman 2 before the film.
I enjoyed the long, third LOTR film. A common complaint is that it goes on a bit after the climaxes, but I think that's Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1072913356868814482003-12-31T23:29:00.000+00:002003-12-31T23:30:23.326+00:00More photosI've added 27 photos to Big Adventure Photos 7, and created a new folder, predictably titled Big Adventure Photos 8. Enjoy!Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1072844509481645462003-12-31T04:21:00.000+00:002003-12-31T04:53:32.780+00:00A bad dayWe had a bad day driving up the coast to Paihia - the Bay of Islands. First, I found that I'd left my shower gel in the shower room at the hostel overnight and someone had nicked it. Grrr!
I wanted to be home. I hate sharing a hostel with a bunch of bloody theives. To be fair only a small minority of travellers are theives, but that's all you need. We're all on tight budgets here, so Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1072661177090121322003-12-29T01:26:00.000+00:002003-12-29T01:54:28.420+00:00Stephen's Cold Water CrecheOn Boxing Day afternoon, the weather turned nice and sunny. We'd finally managed to get through to our families on the phone in the morning, and drove out to Cathedral Cove in the afternoon. Cathedral Cove is a pleasant, picturesque beach, with a large cathedral-like gap in a rock, through which you have to walk to reach the beach. It was a 20 minute walk from the car park, with good views, Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1072225440804481332003-12-24T00:24:00.000+00:002003-12-24T04:34:24.810+00:00On to TaurangaWe left Taupo and drove to Tauranga. On the way we stopped of at Wai-O-Tapu, the other geothermal area we'd missed (due to bad weather) on the way south. It was really good - the colours of the rocks were amazing. Looking at steaming ground loses its novelty after a while, but there was enough here to keep our interest up. (Expensive though!)
At 10.15am we were told we had to drive on to seeStephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1071715236106440752003-12-18T02:40:00.000+00:002003-12-18T02:42:23.560+00:00Pushing thirtyI turned 29 on Tuesday. Crikey! I'll be 30 next year. 30's really really old!
(Apologies now to anyone reading this aged 30 or over. But it is old.)
The day started well, with Anne making me a cooked breakfast in the hostel in Wellington. Bacon, mushrooms, scrambled eggs, toast, tomatoes, juice and coffee. Yum!
We then began the five hour drive to Napier in a balloon-filled car. WeatherStephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1071468725241294712003-12-15T06:12:00.000+00:002003-12-15T06:15:13.546+00:00Christmas is a-comingBeing away from home at Christmas will be odd. I'm trying to help Anne keep in the spirit though. I've bought her a big plastic bowl. Each day of December, up until Christmas Eve, I get her to punch a hole in the botton of the bowl using a spike. Eventually, with 24 holes in the bowl it'll be suitable for draining boiled vegies and pasta.
Despite her initial scepticism, I think Anne likes Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140290.post-1071468435846873392003-12-15T06:07:00.000+00:002003-12-15T18:02:34.966+00:00Cinema treatThis afternoon, as I've said we would, we saw The Two Towers (Extended Version) at The Embassy (where the premiere was held). The cinema was lovely - an old one that's been restored - and we had luxury seats, leather ones with big arm rests. We splashed out on this as a birthday treat for me (29 tomorrow!) It was loads more expensive than the cinema usually is here, and costs us thirteen quid Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com