A Travel Around The World

Snapshot of the week: A roadtrip into the Wild Wide West

2010-03-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

The red rocks' formations around Sedona, Arizona

The longest roadtrip: San Diego to Sedona

2010-03-12T09:57:00.000-08:00

Instead of figuring it out how to pass you on the feelings we had while driving for 800km on the Interstate-8 from San Diego leading east into Arizona, through Phoenix’s desert, continuing then north on the Black Canyon Freeway, I-17, till Sedona, we would leave those blurry pictures captured from the windshield of our quickly moving car to do the talking.

I guess for many Americans this will bring back memories of a family roadtrip and it might appear only as a short drive but to us it felt as an epic cross-country, roadtrip maybe because of the every-changing landscape and, apart the two big towns of Yuma and Phoenix, there where barely no one along the road, only us, the radio and our thoughts.

Finding Garibaldi in La Jolle Cove

2010-03-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

La Jolla made it a nice stop on our LA-San Diego’s route. The village of La Jolla is very pretty and set along the picturesque coastline, other than the parking is limited and, I'm imagining, it could drive you easily mad in the busy summer weekends.

What really stood out for us is La Jolla Underwater Park while, under the supervision of a lazy family of sea lions, we plunged into the shimmering deep blue water of the Pacific to swim among a marine forest of giant grass and side by side of a myriad of shining orange fishes, the popular Garibaldi fish which is also the official marine fish of the state of California.

Kiss by Kozyndan @Flickr

snapped it in nearby Catalina Island but is exactly the same scenario of La Jolla

This spot is also popular to catch a sight of the leopard sharks but the water was to cold to play hide and seek. Kayak rentals are also available from the main beach at $40ph for a double but if you got the gear just go head down from nearby Scripps Park, though climbing down the cliff is not really the easier and safer place to be.

A weekend in San Diego

2010-03-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

After disentangled from the trafficked LA’s freeways and few days of rest in Laguna Beach we were ready to hit the road once again and experience the truly American Roadtrip with lots of motels-hopping!

To familiarize with the frenzy of this new travel-style, we made our first stop just less than a couple of hours away from Los Angeles, San Diego. The city is not WOW but it’s very pleasant: it has a pretty waterfront ,which is the touristy heart and also includes the Maritime Museum, charming neighbourhoods such as historic downtown Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, Coronado, Del Mar, Escondido and a great urban-cultural park, the Balboa Park.

It’s this 1,200-acre’s city park that, for us, holds the most interesting features in town like the Spanish-style buildings, the botanical gardens, 14 museums, theatres and the world-renowned San Diego Zoo, the highlight of our short stay in San Diego. It is home to 4’000 animals from all around the world including endangered wildlife. We roamed around the park for hours ‘n hours through the many habitants, the Forest Tales, the Monkey Trails, the Elephant Odyssey, the Urban Jungles, the Rainforest Aviary and many many more, gazing at the most beautiful and exotics creatures like the elegant puma, the majestic California condor, the insatiable polar bears, the lazy giant panda, the playful gorillas, the curious meerkats... it is pretty cool.

As consequence of this exhausting, long-day “safari” we had a great appetite and, since we had to make up for the calories burned, what best than a classic fish&chips by the locals’ favourite Fishette? It’s the fast food alternative to the legendary Anthony’s Fish Grotto restaurant. It might not have a full service but the fish was great, cheap and we managed to eat al fresco within the pretty harbour, good enough for us.

Nevertheless, considering the proximity of San Diego to the Mexican border you will find also around town plenty of opportunities to have a taste of spicy Mexican specialities like enchiladas, empanada and burritos.

The damage:
Downtown motel $66 a night for a double room; entrance San Diego Zoo $29 each with a discount coupon; Fishette dinner $30.
If you plan to stay around for longer and visit also the San Diego Wild Animal Park, SeaWorld or the Balboa Park it worth to look around for one of the many combo tickets available that suit you best. Passport to Balboa Park one-day pass for 5 chosen museums is $35 or if you stick around every Tuesdays on a rotating basis each museums is free.

Snapshot of the week: let's fly away

2010-03-04T05:50:00.000-08:00

Huntington Beach, California

kite fliers maneuvering in the wind

A city misunderstood: Los Angeles

2010-03-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

Three movies, few high-flying turbulent naps and 9 hours up in the air separated us from Rarotonga to LA.

As landed, we were knackered and disoriented. Nevertheless, we had to sit in the plane for 20 mins waiting for the USA customs to give us the ahead, go through the caos of LAX international airport, the frustrating immigration (they surely didn’t appreciate my sense of humour, I wouldn’t do it again), before we could paid a visit to the almost inexistent tourist welcome desk trying to figure it out how to reach Laguna Beach, there were no choice than by taxi only.

But a couple of hours away from the merging, chaotic freeways of Los Angeles, Laguna Beach was a complete different story, a nice surprise. First of all, because we got the pleasure to stay with a cousin of mine which was so nice to kindly host us until we planned our next moves. After months where our home was on wheels, it was great to have a proper bed to slip into at night and no worry to rush away. I think I had my best sleep ever! Then, Laguna Beach is just such a charming, little city with a great thriving artistic community, fantastic little cafe’ and eateries, funky shops and pretty (big) houses nestled in a beautiful natural setting with pristine coves and the blue ocean plus the people are so laid-back.. not exactly what we would expected at first from a place like this.

Maybe that’s why Los Angeles didn’t have a chance to blow us away or perhaps we only didn’t understand it. Wandering around LA Downtown we felt like being trap in a concrete jungle, most of it filled with businesses, although there are few sightseeing worth to mention, like the huge stainless steel work-of-art of Walt Disney Concert Hall by Frank Gehry, which really stand out, and the Museum of Contemporary Art.
China Town, Little Tokyo and Olvera Street, the touristy Mexican street, felt ... kinda boring. Plus we were highly recommended not to venture in certain neighbourhoods, should you worry?

With no much to do Downtown, the next days we swung back to the airport and picked up a rental car to explore the other LA, the glamorous and cool neighbourhoods. We snaked across Beverly Hills, the super stylish - super expensive branded stores at Rodeo Drive, vintage Melrose Place, through the flashing lights of Hollywood Boulevard where we sought for the famous stars beneath our feet, up the hill to the infamous Hollywood’s sign. We went people-watching in Venice Beach, home to quirky people like the resides at Muscle Beach, oiled up men strolling along in small speedos, few bohemians around the 3th Promenade and, when we had enough, unwound around Santa Monica Beach, Long Beach and windy Malibu’ Beach.

What’s your view over this car-dependent city and its districts?

The Great American Road Trip, it’s all that’s left

2010-02-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, after an exhausting flight, we finally landed in the USA, the last part of our RTW trip. Originally we thought of driving cross-country from LA to NY but have been advised not to waste our time speeding along the epic route 66, through too vast empty spaces, too boring. So we decided to focus our energy and budget on two coastal routes, along The Pacific Coast and the Atlantic Coast, and on a tour across the wilderness of some of the best known Californian and Arizona National Parks.

Over the past months we were busy sorting out our travel, sitting behind the wheel for long hours, finding a motel for the night, eating fast food. As result leaving little energy and time for blogging.

This is because America is undoubtedly huge and its size makes even the most intrepid travellers dizzy to get around it. There isn’t really an extensive and efficient transport system that could get you everywhere with no hassle. USA isn’t either a backpacker budget destination, so we couldn’t really waste precious time and money to rest on our laurels and had to keep gaining ground.

Plus, if you consider that when Chris and I are tired we could barely think straight in Italian imagining it in English, you know... we are only two Wops who love travel around the world but far from being travel writers (even if we give always our best shot).

Maybe we should have followed the “Strategies for keeping up with your blog once you start travelling” by David or Anil’s advices on “Quick things to post on your travel blog when you are travelling too much to write”, aren’t they great?

Anyway, what we are trying to say is that we are now going to catch up with all our travel tales from our USA road trip, where the journey itself, rather than the destination, was the real protagonist and the nitty-gritty is that we managed to enjoy yet many sunshine days.

Chris living the American Easy Rider dream

(only for a second before he got caught playing with someone else, big boy, toy)

Web's best travel blog sites

2010-02-24T05:13:00.000-08:00

Great news!

ATravelAroundTheWorld is featured among the Travel Blog Sites of the day. Hey, we are also listed, along with other 99 great blogs, in the Web's best travel blog sites; we are not in the top 10, don’t exaggerate it, not even closer eh eh , but at least we made it! We are really so excited about it!

Louise, the community manager of TravelPod which runs this project, is doing a great job to put together such interesting blogs and she is always on the lookout for new independent travel blogs. Hence, since we stumbled upon TravelBlogSites a while ago, we are always back on a regular basis to discover new fellow travellers’ bloggers.

A while ago we also were thrilled to be invited by Matthew to join the BlogSherpa’s project to share our contents on Lonely Planet, so you could find many of our posts up on it in the relevant destination pages.

We are so happy to be able to contribute to the independent traveler’s community and, perhaps, helping more people to pursue their itchy feet.

Snapshot of the week: Rarotonga, Cook Islands

2010-02-22T09:55:00.000-08:00

Rarotonga: living up to the tropical paradise hype?

2010-02-18T04:15:00.000-08:00

Even though it was time to regrettably leave Australia, we couldn’t hide our anticipation and excitement about the last part of our journey which included a short stop in Rarotonga, our fantasised escape to a remote desert island. Together with other 14 tropical islands they form the archipelago of the Cook Islands, scattered over two million square kilometres in the vast South Pacific.

First, we had to catch 2 flight connections, waited 3 hours at the airport and boarded on a 7 hours flight. Hence, with the time difference, we landed in Rarotonga at night pretty tired out. But to cheer us up, on arrival at the airport we were all welcomed by a local performing the traditional Maori songs ... probably trying to cover up the sound of the pouring rain outside.
Little we knew that the weather wasn’t going to change for the rest of the week.

someone was having fun

In fact for the next days we were pretty much dictated by the bad weather. Yet, that didn’t prevent us to hire a scooter and try our luck exploring the island. We were told that while was pour raining on one side of the island, the sun was shining on the other side, so we played hide and seek with the sun. However, that didn’t seem to work quite as wished, considering the island it’s easily circling in less than 45 minutes, there were no much room to run away from.

Resigned, between each rainstorm, day ‘n night, we explored all beaches, hiked the peak through the dense, muddy jungle, visited the commercial hub of Avarua and the local Saturday’s market, experienced the traditional entertainments of an Island Nights and circumnavigated the island and its back-roads many, many times. We even had a fleeting glimpse of the underworld while snorkelling under the rain, in the cold, crystalline water but we regretted not to be able to truly relax in the dazzling, white sand beaches kissed by the sun and scanned for hours the azure waters of Muri and Titikaveka lagoons.

We even thought to escape to Aiutaki’s, one of the world’s top largest, untouched coral lagoons, but unfortunately the bad weather took its toll once again and we were stuck in our bungalow in Rarotonga. Well, this could be a reason to come back to this archipelago, maybe next time by boat.

Insights:

• the island is not really a backpackers’ haven; groceries are quite pricey and they lack on choices and if you are travelling on low budget eating out here will surely blowing it away;
• you need to obtain a Cook Islands Drivers license if you want to hire a scooter, which include also a short practical test, otherwise there is a bus that ran anticlockwise every hour each direction;
• the flight from Rarotonga to Aiutaki takes only 50 mins run by Air Rarotonga; prices are around NZD 300-450 return pp but there are last minute offers if book directly with the airline the day before the wished departure;
• we stayed at Rarotonga Backpacker (hillside) and managed to knock down the price while there at NZD 50 at night for a room with private bathroom and kitchenette; we also hired the motorbike directly from the hostel at NZD 90 for a week;
• be prepared to pay a tax of NZD 55 when leaving the island;
• internet is also pricey at NZD 6 for 20mins.

Our 3 Best Kept Travel Secrets

2010-02-16T04:30:00.000-08:00

Hooray! Finally, we too have been tagged by fellow Aussie hikers’ lovers and experts Sue and Frank from Ourhikingblog to contribute to “3 Best Kept Travel Secrets”.

Worthless to explain the game started by Katie from Tripbase but, if there are still few out there that haven’t heard about it, she had the great idea to create a list of top travel recommendations put together by us, fellow travellers, to be spread across the net.

So, ready for our travel gems? Here we go, our travel secret for a retreat in paradise:

Koh Tao, Thailand

Thailand is no longer a travel secret and, even if it’s not everybody style, we all know about the full moon party islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand.

However, nearby there is a little island worth to be discovered: Koh Tao. Its beauty is starting quickly to catch the attention of travellers, yet it has such a great relaxing atmosphere and it feel like you are miles away in a tropical paradise especially when avoiding the main beach of Sai Ree. Whatever is your style of holiday in Koh Tao you will never get bored: you got the buzz at night in the main beach, you could spend a day kayaking around the island exploring its beautiful beaches or bake in the sun in complete relax as everyone would probably have gone out diving. Of course is great for snorkelling too and if you don’t mind to get your hiking boots you could find your own private beach to unwind. Plus, budget wise, it is still a great backpackers’ destination.

Matapouri Coast and Whale Bay, New Zealand

We couldn’t imagine that New Zealand could have such a tropical setting and the Northland, while we visited it, was surely up to its fame of winterless. The Matapouri Coast is really the place to be during the Kiwi winter to lie on the beach kissed by a warm sun with no one around but only the sound of the birds and the waves breaking ashore. This coastline is scattered with quiet, charming fishing villages and secluded bays and, while the sun was shining, on a trekking expedition along the coast with stumble across Whale Beach, a utter bliss where we lazed the day away.

Orosei Golf, Sardinia -Italy

We might be cheating here as this place is not actually on our RTW route but we discovered Sardinia few years ago and felt in love at first sight. Sardinia is not much of a secret for the Italians yet it holds some pleasant surprises even for us. First of all, wherever you might be, in Sardinia you got a myriad of delicious food to taste, the people are as friendly as the New Zealanders (although you might have some trouble get it for the language barrier) and you got stunning beaches. What we only discovered on our second trip to this magnificent island is the Gulf of Orisei, 40km of pristine coastline dotted with white powder sand beaches and aquamarine bays. Likely, some of those bays are still off the beaten track even for the Italians as some are accessible by few hours of hike along the rugged coastline but the most by boat only, in which case you could drop the anchor in a “cala” and have it blissfully all for yourself. A hint: avoid in any case travelling in the months of July and August, too pricey and too crowded.

We gave it a go to our best travel secrets, what’s your take?

Now it’s your turn:

Our unforgettable Top 10 of Australia East Coast

2010-02-12T08:07:00.001-08:00

Our time in Australia is coming to an end (noooooooooo) but before we leave, we have picked the best stuff we are surely going to miss about the land Down Under and would like to recommend to any fellow backpackers passing by this huge country.

The number one has to be undoubtedly diving and snorkelling along the Great Barrier Reef. Coming face to face to some of the most amazing and colourful creatures in the marine world is truly a not-to-be-missed natural wonder;

Cape Byron, spotting the humpback whales on their migration from the Antarctic to Hervey Bay from Byron Bay's lighthouse. Within hundred meters from this Australia's most easterly and scenic point, we could admire these magnificent endangered creatures gracefully jumping out the blue water and slapping their tales. It felt like watching a show set up exclusively for us, an awe-inspiring experience that even now, just thinking about it, gives me the goose bumps;

Sailing the Whitsundays and land on the purest and whitest sand of stretch we ever saw, Whitehaven beach, it was simple enchanting;

Experiencing the exhilaration and panic of surfing in Byron Bay, that's why I was then better off just taking picture of the other surfers;

Going into the jungle at Cape Tribulation, spotting crocodiles in the wild and walking through the tropical rainforest where every noise comes alive;

The stunning colours of Rainbow beach and its chill out, off the beaten track atmosphere which made it the perfect spot to recharge our batteries;

Camping in Jervis Bay (NSW), with its white-powder sandy beach fringed by the lush forest. I really felt like Snow White as I was awoken in the morning by the curious locals: kangaroos, possums (a pest for the Ozzies yet I found them so adorable), parrots and many other birds;

The buzz of the cafes and glamorous nightlife mixed with the laid-back lifestyle of cosmopolitan Sydney, plus its beautiful beaches, picturesque harbour and the remarkable Sydney Opera House, made Sydney a great destination to be;

Catching a small shark in Sorrento (VIC). It had shiny yellow-cat captivating eyes and smooth silk-like skin that it was such a beauty to end it up on our dinner plate (although shark fish 'n chips is very popular) so we released it straight away but I felt honoured to see it up close;

Getting a taste of the Australians' great hospitality and their attitude, sometimes laidback, others "hippies", at times adventurous but surely always very welcoming. We are missing already that "G'day" and having a barbi on the beach.

Click here to see our Australian photo gallery

Australia backpacker tips - Selling the van (second part)

2010-02-08T04:33:00.001-08:00

where we were ..... right we placed the ad on Melbourne Gumtree and left Sydney for a long 990 miles drive. In a day and a half we were exhausted but in Melbourne and, although we had just few energy left, we saved the last bit for our sales speech.

In fact, luckily, during this anxious rush, not only once but so much as 8 times our phone rang, all madly in love for "Manuschka" (our van).

Things got even better. We arranged all viewings for the same day and 7 out of 8 possible buyers wanted to take her straight away home if... it wasn't for two small details: a big truck the previous night kicked up a stone on our windscreen (which didn't worry us since we were covered by the insurance) but, mainly, they were all after the legendary RWC, roadworthy certificate. We needed it to sort this asap.

The day after, with no hassle, we replaced the windshield and set on a search of a trustworthy mechanic. This was the tricky part: though we hoped there are honest mechanics out there, they surely know that at this stage all backpackers are desperate to get that piece of paper to sell their van, so some of them MIGHT try to take advantage.

"Luckily", a friend of us, suggested an Italian mechanic, friend-of-a-friend, and, as we also are Italians, after a bit chit-chat, we hoped to have an honest evaluation. Unfortunately, that was not the case AT ALL. He meticulously analyzed all the van upside-down, in 'n out, as result advising us on an endless list of little parts to be changed (including a stupid attachment of the seatbelt that, since you couldn't find it on the market, we would had to change the whole piece). Total estimate damage: $800/1000. What?

We were not convinced, not even 1%.
We are not mechanics but comparing the itemised bill of the previous RWC, which was made only 6 months ago, many parts were the same. Something smelled fishy, it was just ridiculous! We then visited another garage but same story.

We wouldn't pay for something that our van didn't need it. As last hope, we thought of pay a visit to that garage where Manuschka got her previous, very expensive remake. We crossed all Melbourne till the northern outside suburbs.

Desperation, anxiety, frustration were only few of our feelings in that moment. The van was checked through once again.

Result: only the back wheels weren't matching. Phew!! Maybe was the mercy of the mechanic or, perhaps, it was just the right thing but with only $190 (including a pair of wheels obtained from the nearby car wrecker) we got all the paperwork sorted. HURRAY!

No need to haggle and with the RWC on hand the deal was done! The fate wanted a lovely Irish couple as Manuschka's new owner and she were now ready to take them on their big loop.

Even if now we had to take that atrocious 12hours bus ride back to Sydney, we were smiling again! Now it's on to the USA!

Our final tally: $4350 spent for purchasing the van, $368 for 6-months fully comprehensive insurance, $190 RWC check, $490 for previous mechanic issues and touch-up, $4500 the selling price = we ended up paying out from our own pockets $898. Having covered 11,000 km in OZ over almost 4 months this is equal to less than $10 a day plus of course the petrol's costs, not bad!

Australia Backpacker tips - Selling the van (first part)

2010-02-05T02:10:00.000-08:00

Our time in Australia is coming to an end. We really enjoyed driving along the East Coast from Melbourne to Cairns through this huge continent but we have to move on and the last thing to do it’s one of our most unpredictable challenges: selling our van.

We bought “Manuschka”, our backpacker-style ford econovan, in Melbourne with a Victoria REGO and originally planned to sell it in Sydney, from where we would have jumped on our next flight RTW.

We thought Manuschka was in pretty good shape considering her age (’94), quite well accessorised and were pretty confident she would have find a new owner among Sydney Gumtree’s ads within a blink of an eye. Just to play save, we made quickly our way back in Sydney to give her enough time to find a new house but one week had gone and no one called. We invested a big chunk of our budget in her ($4350) and want it back for founding our next part of the journey.
What it’s wrong with her?? There was something not quite appealing to buyers but what could it be? We scanned other ads and Manuschka seems even better than many other backpackers’ vans out there but we realised the problem was the REGO.
No one was willing to get her just because she came from another state.

We then changed sales technique: placed more ads this time but with no rego details, got few calls but when explained we could sell it either with the current long-expiring VIC rego or alternative unregistered they all lost suddenly interest. That’s because in order to get all the paperwork done for the sale of a VIC registered vehicle it has to be checked by a licensed garage in Victoria so either the seller (us) or the new buyer has 30 days to do so.

Worryingly, no one was interested to take Manuschka for a romantic drive on the Great Ocean Road. We couldn’t let our van get smashed from a car wrecker losing our investment.

Fearing failure, we decided to get back on the road to Melbourne, our best bet to have a chance to strike a quick sale....

Tale from the road. Australia 4x4 warning

2010-01-28T05:03:00.000-08:00

You might have seen it before driving around Australia’s roads, especially in the Outback, that strange sign “4x4 only” but did you wonder (like us) what will happen to your backpacker-style van if you would have taken that track? I can only tell you now, you are better not :- )

Along our conquest of Australian East Coast, we came across many national parks with that annoying sign that forced us unwillingly to reverse. But that was until we reached Inskip Point near Rainbow Beach. We couldn’t give up to such beautiful place but the only problem was getting to that pretty sandy spot to set camp. It looks just fine, compact sand and my driver (chris) was confidently smiling. So here we went, set the first gear, all good, we were moving slowly, yes we were almost ....stuck, nooo!! Dammit! We got bogged. No panic. My boyscout had already a solution. We started digging away the sand from the wheels, grabbed some wood sticks to put under it and it worked just fine.... after a good half hour of attempts. Lesson learnt???

240km north of Rockhampton and 100 km south of Mackay, in the middle of nowhere, exhausted we had no choice than stop in Carmila beach, a resting area next to a long beach accessible by 1km of dirty road and last few meters of soft sand, OMG, but this time no warning sign... In the same situation was Jacqui, a lovely Aussie woman, on a nomadic journey around Australia with her kid and a huge campervan. She too (at first) was hesitant but, after tested a bit the sand, off she went on second gear. Incredible Jacqui made it to a nice spot just in front of the beach, too sandy for our taste. However between us we thought “she is Australian and has been on the road for a while, she must know surely what she is doing” so we followed her and parked our beloved van to a nearby spot next to some trees, where the sand was harder. We spent a lovely night chatting under the stars but next morning... when the time was up for all to leave, this time it wasn't us but Jacqui's camper got bogged. We tried pushing, digging, towing with a rope stuck to a passing fisherman's 4X4, used the jack to stuck under the wheel whatever we found around to give some grip but after few hours of useless efforts we realized the camper was actually burying itself deeper and deeper. She need rescue.

Likely, the local fisherman, knew exactly who to call and, after few hours of waiting, an enormous 4x4 tractor arrived, engaged the four wheel drive and pulled the car out the sandy bog with no difficulty.

Anyone brave to share their story?

Australia backpacker travel tips- all you need to know about buying a van.

2010-01-24T09:10:00.001-08:00

It might not sound at first the cheapest and easiest option for your big loop around Australia, but buying a car has been revealing to be a good investment for many backpackers and that's why is widely use for traveling cheap around Australia at your own leisure. This make sense if you are planning to spend few months on a nomadic life on the road as finding, buying and re-selling a car can be a time consuming and stressful experience but could save you many nights at the hotel. Yet, for some, it can be even fun and, if you plan smartly, you could get yourself a bargain, buying from a fellow backpacker with a high desperation level leaving in the next days, and sell it with a profit. There is no need to say, the more you spend the better vehicle you will get, although that's not always the case. A realistic figure is around $3000-4500 but, choosing a good van to fit with your budget, it's a bit like hitting the jackpot and the experience could be for many quite daunting.
So what you need to know?

The Most important: The registration, the safety certificate and insurance.

In Australia, registration (rego) is a compulsory tax for all vehicles and is a complicated matter as every state has different regulations. For that reason is best to buy a vehicle with the rego within the state you are looking to re-sell it, in which case the rego would be easier to renew and will attract more buyers. Always try to find a car with a long rego so you don't have to worry about renew it before you sell the car, saving you $600-$800 for one year renewal. Selling out-of-state registered car is not impossible but it can be a lot of headaches, time and money-wasting.
It's compulsory for the seller to provide the buyer with a RWC (Roadworthy certificate) or pinkslip, a certificate that stated that the vehicle has undergone a mechanical inspection by a licensed garage and it's "safe" to drive. The cost to obtain this document is around $90, if no repairs are needed, otherwise the seller is required to carry on all the necessary works. That's why is import for you to ask the seller for this document so you could see what it has been done to the car.
Third Party Insurance (CTP) is compulsory in every state. In some state a basic third-party personal insurance is included in the rego (like VIC), in others you will have to arrange one before or with the rego, providing proof of address and that the premium is paid. CTP in any case only covers you for personal injury. We took a comprehensive insurance ($384 for 6m) which at the end it turned out almost to paid for itself as we got a free windscreen.

Where to buy?

Sydney and Cairns are both good places to look for great bargains as major hubs both for backpackers leaving the country in desperate need for a quick sale and travelers, potential buyers, in search for a fast purchase in order to start their adventures.
Where to look for?

Online through private sellers: Gumtree is extensively used among backpackers and is where we discovered our van. Since you will be dealing most certainly with fellow travelers, for the above reason, the price is HIGHLY negotiable but you should consider that the vehicle has already attempted at least once the big loop.My advice is to consider instead buying an utility van and convert it yourselves, it's easier than you think and you could adapt it to fit your needs at best.
Car auctions: it could be the cheapest way to buy a second hand vehicle, which is where Australian's car dealers find their bargains, but in most cases the vehicles cannot be inspected.
Through rental companies: many of the major backpackers' rental companies such as Autobarn, Wicked, are selling their ex-rental vans with a buy-back guarantee which, for a bit more of your money, it would give you some extra peace of mind.
Car Market: the most known is the Sydney Car Market which used to be a garage where backpackers parked their vans for potential buyers to inspect but it's now only online, a sort of gumtree, so you have to get in touch directly with the owner even for a viewing. The only service they give is providing info for the rego but this can be easily obtained from the Australian transport authorities .
Notice boards: hostels and internet cafes are plastered with ads for auto, 4X4, campers and much more for sale.

What you need to check?

Whatever you get, wherever you look for, make sure you take a good, closely inspection of the vehicle even if you might not know a thing about it these little tips could save you from a fiasco.

A trick to check an unleaded engine is a simple test: ask someone to start the vehicle and vigorously accelerate, while standing behind it, check out the smoke from the exhaust pipe. The gas should be uncoloured or lightly white, if it's gray or black means the vehicle is burning oil and this could lead you to pay an expansive mechanic's bill.
Always have a look at the engine head: if it is very dirty and covered by oil it's not a good sign either.
Take in account the miles in the odometer: a car with low mileages could suggest less probability to incur in mechanical problems, less than 200.000km is a good option.
It's vital that you take the van for a "Joyride": take an half-hour drive, turning-on the air conditioning, testing all gears, accelerating sharply and driving fast (not too fast), keeping an eye on the temperature needle that should be stable on the cold side. Australia can be very hot and you don't want to stop every 100 km just to cool down the engine.
General shrewdness: the vehicle should have a good working air conditioning, good tyres with a good grip, one good spare tyre, a good battery (better if with warranty), and you should have a good look at its paperwork and the mechanic history trying to detect if there is any suspicious signs of upcoming breakdowns (signs of previous huge works is not always a good thing, an old car is an old car).
Inside: the space should be well organised especially if you are looking for a place to spend your nights in. You don't want to get mad every time you need to search for something so look out for practical solutions as it will be your home for the next months: maybe a foldable bed than can easily become a sofa by day and bed at night, some room to stand and some space to safely cook inside during the rainy days in which case look also for a good ventilation to prevent mould's formation.
Gadgets: many of the backpackers vans come with extras such as bicycle, surfboard, three way fridge (propane, battery), mosquito net, beach games, black out curtains for some privacy, shower running on 12V, camping equipment, travel guides and power inverter of 240W to recharge your laptop and camera while on the move. The more you could get, the better.

If you feel still unsure, consider getting some mechanical help and spending an extra $80 to have the vehicle inspected independently by a local garage before the purchase.

What to buy?

Station-wagon, utility van, campervan, 4X4, hoptop campers are the choices and it' is up to you and your style decide which one suite you best. If you are looking to cover a lot of mileages it might worth consider getting a car that run on LPG but check that it comes with a certificate of conformity which has to be done every 10 years and costs around $100. If you are thinking to get to remote places, driving through dirty roads or sandy track to reach many national parks along the coastline than get a 4WD, even if more expensive is the only way to go. We only now regret it as we have to skip many beautiful remote spots.

This is what we got for $4350. Want to find out if we sold it? Stay tuned.

Well, good luck!

What is the Australian Outback?

2010-01-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you don’t have to go far to feel you reach the Australian Outback, it’s easy as all the population is gathered along the coastline the rest could be quite untouched, and that’s the case of Davis Creek National Park, one hour drive west of Cairns, 21km north of Kuranda up in the hills.

To reach the park we had first to go through a rough, 7km red, talcum powder-like, earthy, dusty unseal road which gave our white van (us included since the van’ windows were pull down for the heat) a nice reddish tan.

Despite our blurry sight, we slowly reached the camping area but had to go another 2 km further up through a narrow, winding road on top of the hill in order to reach the Falls Circuit. However, once there, it was finally an easy path through the bush and grass-trees that led us down the lookout over the tremendous, 75 meters Davies Creek Falls which cascades over huge granite boulders.

Back to the QPSW campground, we found ourselves the perfect picnic spot on a sandy area on the creek’s side, hoping to spot some platypus in the rookpool but the only encounter was with a rat-kangaroo (which looks to me more like an ugly rat, which is not that great while eating) played along by a serenade by some colorful little birds (much better, at least they took my mind away from staring that marsupial).

This experience makes me arise just a question: what and where is the Australian Outback? Is a harsh, desert land in the middle of this huge continent or a feeling of being somewhere naturally remote?

Snapshot of the week: What an elephant!

2010-01-20T01:42:00.000-08:00

Davis Creek National Park – west of Cairns

I never saw before such a giant termite mound, higher than 2 meter. I found it very impressive and curious as it reminds me of the shape of an elephant. Do you see the big trunk, the eyes and the big jug-handle ears?

Deep in the forest @ Cape Tribulation

2010-01-17T08:42:00.001-08:00

We made it that far up to the north east of Australia, to Cairns, that it seems evident we have to stretch a bit further to Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest, another Aussie natural wonder listed among the world heritage sites.

The road to Cape Tribulation was quite twisting but spectacular, for some part driving along the blue ocean, on a side, and the tropical forest on the other.

There aren’t many people up here and once we crossed the Daintree River by a tiny vehicular ferry (which only takes 2 minutes to get to the other side) it virtually felt in my imagination like entering into a Jurassic world: warning signs of fearsome saltwater crocodiles and the endangered Cassowaries are abundant along the way, snakes crossing the road, only one winding, narrow road leading the way through the lush, dense tropical forest that has been flourishing for more than 135 million years and no signs of a campground available, sh*t.

However, apart the mad rush finding a place to park our van, the ferocious mosquitoes and the threatened jellyfishes possible infesting the waters (so we couldn’t have a swim), I am not sure why Captain Cook named it that way as it turned out to be a great place to kick back.

Feeling a bit adventurer, we spent few days exploring the mangroves, trekking along the forest and getting closer to the habitants of this land particularly the resident crocs at Myall Creek.

We were advised that we could spot one small female of 2mt on the river bank but these crocodiles spend most of their time submerged, either escaping the heat or hunting, and the rest hidden amongst the mangroves, so it wasn’t an easy job. We patrolled for few hours this creek’s estuary when finally we caught a glimpse of the croc coming back from her busy day in search of a place to rest. We stayed silently to admire her for a bit, trying to capture with our amateur camera her beauty but the reflections from her dazzling armour made it very difficult to get a good shot.

Just when we were about to leave, a local came by and, like a bolt from the blue, he warned us not to stay so close to the river as on this bank’s side, exactly where we were standing, a resident male crocodile of 3 meter like to wander around. Time to go!

Insights:

the cost of the Daintree river ferry is $11 one way or $20 return; note that after Cape Tribulation the road to Cook Town (110km) is mainly unsealed and arduous, only for 4WD;
although Cape Tribulation it’s less then 150km from Cairns it took us a good 3 hours to get there;
it was almost impossible to find a spot to stay at the last minute but luckily, at the end, we were allowed to camp at the Jungle Resort for $20 a night, mainly just because the owner got pity on us and let us shares a spot with a fellow campervan.

Snapshot of the week: Get closer...

2010-01-11T11:09:00.001-08:00

A tropical paradise but where is the reef in Green Island?

2010-01-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

Further to our exciting, magical, snorkelling adventure out to the Great Barrier Reef we could now cross it off on our RTW “to do” list yet, captivated by this marine world, we decided to take one more chance to experience the reef, this time in a more relaxed way.

We were to pick among two coral fringed islands off Cairns: Green Island or Fitzroy Island. We were more tempted for the second option as it looks wilder and more remote plus, at first, it seems we could camp overnight there other than the campground was currently unavailable and we missed the only boat out, clearly there wasn’t any choice any longer.

The 45min ferry ride from Cairns to Green Island turned out to be quite choppy but I couldn’t care less, my only thought was to reach in a great hurry the 15ha coral cay island and plunge in the tropical water of this marine park.

While approaching the island’s dock, from the upper deck it looked so picture-perfect: a tiny white sandy island covered by lush forest and surrounded by emerald water, ahh.

However, the answer to this trip to us was to be discovered below the water’s surface. We speedily reached the beach, geared up and splash, off we went snorkelling. Did I forget to put on my contact lenses? Was my mask foggy? Where all the fishes have gone? Where is the reef? It wasn’t only me but Chris too was hysterically scanning the ocean around us for some form of sea life. There was nothing wrong with our masks. Disappointingly all we found was sand, seaweed and more seaweed. Only sporadically we came across few minuscule fishes. It might be cause the ocean was suck away by the low tide that you really would had to swim a good amount, behind any of my capability, before the water would go deeper then 1mt.

After a good while patrolling around the water, shattered and with a bitter taste in mouth, we gave up. There was only one thing left we could do: jump on the glass-bottom boat tour, which luckily we got it for free instead of the hire of the snorkelling gear (if not we would have paid $15 extra each).

This time we could ventured to deeper water and, with a bit of help, it turn out to be a fish feeding fest, at least, with huge and various fishes floating over corals beneath our eyes.

We could now spend the rest of the afternoon beachcombing among many other families, tourists, the kind “who don’t want to get wet” as the island offers among many other activities also a “seawalk” experience, which seems much appreciated by the Japanese. Indisputably, against our expectations, Green Island turned out to be a day-trip tourist trap; maybe we should have opted for more pristine Fitzroy Island.

Tips:

you can stay overnight on Green Island but there is only one pricey resort (room starts at over $500 per night). If you want to visit this island on a budget you are better off bringing your own lunch if not you could use the facilities and shops of the resort;
the campsite in Fitzroy Island should open up soon; check it with the Cairns’ Council who run the facility;
the ferry rate from Cairns out to Green Island is $73 and you could opt for a full day or even half day cruise.

Need some tips for your first dive ever on the Australia’s Great Barrier Reef? Simply don’t do it like me!

2009-12-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

There is no better place then get an introductory dive right in the middle of the ocean and, even better, among one of the living wonder of the marine world, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

You might think it requires a lot of preparations, me too, but actually not at all. This can be easily (??) done on a-day snorkelling trip out to the reef from Cairns and that’s exactly what we signed up for.

On the short journey to reach the first destination of our snorkelling day-out, we were briefed onboard about the reefs, the species marine and, most importantly, the diving’s fundamentals to do it “properly”: simple techniques how to equalise the pressure on the ears while descending, how to place the masque (a good spit is focal to avoid misting it) and few basic signs like “I’m ok”, “help” or “be aware of the big shark behind you” eh eh. We also had to complete a medical’s form and a statement we understood a long list of possible risks of diving insomuch as in my mind I became just a bit paranoid.

Once on the spot, the Saxon Reef, we waited for our turn since the instructor would only take down 4 wannabe divers per time. In the meantime Chris and I decided to kill the time and made myself more confident by going right into the water. We put the fins on and plunged in to explore the reef. By the time we returned to the boat our turn was up. The master diver asked our group to get ready, stepped into the water from the back of the boat and holds on a bar below the surface to put in practice two learned skills: taking out the respirator from the mouth and put it back and clear the steam from the mask, all of course while underwater. Our 2 diving buddies couldn’t make it and pulled out straight away. Me?? I was indeed nervous but I couldn’t back out now; I paid for it (well not technically as it was almost free due to a special offer). Yet I came so far I felt I had to go, actually I wanted to go. The moment of the truth: ....thumb up for me.... Chris too so we were good to go.

Escorted on each side of the instructor, as he deflated our devices we started descending into the deep blue water. I felt disorientated, my sight was unclear and my senses of perspective seemed vanishing.The adrenalin was pumping madly through my body, my heart beating hard and my breath was heavy and fast. I was nervously acting exactly the way we were told not to.

I tried to calm down but I couldn’t help myself noticing we were already 3/4 meter below the water surface and hell lots of water were below my feet when my mask started misting. I got the attention of the trainer which started gesticulating oddly. Probably he should had instructed us a bit more on the earlier lesson since, after few misinterpreted signs, I found myself lifting my mask ...ups, all the water was now coming right into my face and nose.

At that point, the instructor had to slowly take me back to the surface. I could see clearly on his face his disappointment and probably want to shout at me “what the hell did you do that for” but, seriously, I didn’t understand a thing what he wanted me to do down there and my only concern was not to drink more water than what I already had. Women like attention, right? But not when you emerge in the middle of the ocean with all the eyes of the boat’s crew staring at you. He then asked me that obvious (to him) question if I wanted to go back onboard but, call my mad, I wanted to carry on with the dive; I hardly started to explore this new world and was already hooked up. Hence, after a good damn spit to the mask and few shrewdness from the instructor, we were back deep into the water. We probably went down to 6-8 meters and swam towards the swallow water of the reef. As Chris and I marvelled at all the creatures passing by and the one the instructor would pointed out while trying to hide among the corals, I simple forget about my fears. We admired “Nemo” playing around in its anemone and a monster 1,5mt clam to which he insisted we stuck our hands inside, I excluded the mussel fancy it since it kept snappily shut as we touched it.

It felt pretty surreal to be deep in this wonderful world that time seemed to me to stop. Sadly, our 30minutes dive was over.

Nevertheless, we had 4 more hours of amazement on our own, drifting over the dramatic coral formations and hundreds of enchanting colourful marine life: big schools of colourful little reef fishes, parrotfishes, playful angelfishes, sea stars, multi-coloured Christmas tree worms popping out from the corals, barracudas running after their catches, a huge green turtle, clown fishes, an impressive maori wrasse, batfishes are only few to be listed among the many reef dwelling creatures we came across while snorkelling in these coral gardens.

I had to confess that, despite we saw many more fishes while snorkelling over the Great Barrier Reef and my initial fiasco, diving was all together a complete different experience that opened up my eyes into this enchanting world and made me rise just one question: when would I make it back to Thailand for that scuba diving course?? I am craving for more!

Merry Christmas from A Travel Around the World

2009-12-25T05:39:00.000-08:00

Wherever you are, whatever you are up to, Merry Christmas to all you and thanks for your great support!

Marta 'n Chris

Below the Great Barrier Reef, a truly natural wonder

2009-12-22T02:18:00.000-08:00

We got big expectation for today. We were going to float over the marine wonderland of the Great Barrier Reef, the world largest coral reef system with over 2900 individual reefs, more than 1500 species of fishes, 600 tropical islands, 300 coral cays, all stretching over 2300km larger even that the Great Wall of China and the only living thing on earth to be visible from the space, impressive isn’t!

Probably the best way to experience this ultimate natural attraction is by being down amongst it. As a result, on top of the 4 hour snorkelling in two sites of the Outer Reef we gave ourselves a reason more to take also an introductory dive.

Our adventure started at 7.30 when we checked in at Cairns’ Harbour. By 8.30 we were on board of the Down Under vessel ready to sail away to the reef. The water was quite choppy at the start due to some wind. We could see already some fellow passengers battling to reach the toilets or holding their paper bags which it can’t be said for us, as usual “prevent is better than cure” and a little magic pill does the trick.

During the journey, we were called to gather among the others that sign up for the dive for a brief theory’s class, that’s it??? One hour past and we reached our first stop, the Saxon Reef. I really started worrying and becoming nervous, very nervous. I slipped on the fetching penguin’s style wetsuit, tried to relax and just didn’t think about the dive, till....

Long story short, after few initial troubles and made fool of me undersea, when our 30 minutes dive was up and we retreated to the boat, the spectacular view that opened to my eyes from the vessel’s deck over the coral patches oozing out to the water (due to the low tide), I couldn’t resist taking another plunge into this amazing world.

This time we were back on the water only Chris and I for a snorkelling self-tour. It was still windy and the waves kept crashing over us. Consequently the visibility wasn’t at its best, yet in the deep water below us we noticed a huge turtle resting on the sandy ocean bottom. I was simply thrilled by this encounter. We continued peering the water for more creatures. We swam to the swallow water of the reef over spectacular coral formations (though not as colourful as I would imagine) and a colourful variety of fishes, it really felt like be inside an aquarium with all these tropical fishes of so many colours and sizes passing by regardless us, it was wonderfully surreal. I was so captured by this beautiful underworld that without realizing a found myself alone and so far from the boat and Chris which got hung up too forgetting about me, but couldn’t care less. I had been soaking for a while now that, for once, I haven’t even thought about eating until the whistling from the boat called us back.

After lunch we dropped anchor to the second reef the Hastings Reef. We didn’t want to lose a minute and we went straight into the water head down when I got an unexpectedly sight of Wally, the resident giant wrasse, that was coming suspiciously towards me, possible expecting some food?? After this first scary encounter Chris and I got separated once again gazing out among the corals. Once more we were the last people to board recalled back only by the sound of the whistle, we couldn’t simple had enough.

Around 4isch this fantastic voyage was coming to its end and we were on our way back to Cairns. We were now sharing with each other our experiences when I found out that Chris got even the privilege of seeing a reef shark silently glide along him but, truthfully, I felt as much privileged of sharing the ocean for few hours with such a great diversity of marine creatures.

I have so much to tell you about it but, since this post is already too long, if you tune back I will share my diving success, eh eh! Until then ciao.

ps. apologize for the crappy quality of the pictures, hope can still gives you the idea of this spectacular world.

We made it to Tropical Cairns!!!

2009-12-18T02:12:00.000-08:00

Yeeehh! Finally we are here in Tropical Cairns. It feel a bit weird though: maybe it’s because we are reluctantly aware that this amazing trip is getting closer and closer to its end, on the other side, it feel like we just conquer the whole Australia, though we only had driven a small part along the East Coast embarking on this roadtrip in Melbourne. Can’t believe we actually made it to the Far North Queensland all in one piece with our van still running!

First impression of Cairns? Well I have to say is a backpackers mini-urban jungle, a bit too commercial for our taste, packed with hostels, bars, heaps of travel agents but when you have so many natural wonders all at its doorstep such two greatest World Heritage zone that meet together, The Wet Tropical Forest and the Great Barrier Reef, and so diverse and so spectacular landscapes such long sandy beaches, sugar cane fields, banana plantations, lush forest vegetation, countless waterfalls like the one encompassed by the famous Milla Milla waterfall circuit, streams flowing through deep gorges, then it’s hard to blame it for.

When you have enough of the hot and muggy days down in Cairns you could easily cool down within a short, winding drive in the green rolling hills of the Atherton Tablelands and, trust us, you will need more than a sleeping bag to keep you warm if you planning to camp up here. If you feel like getting wild then there are lots of occasions to meet the local big crocodiles or get a chance for a Jurassic encounter with the cassowaries up at Cape Tribulation or just go wildly crazy in Cairns’ nightlife. Fancy instead pampering yourself and mixed with style among the holiday makers? Then hit upmarket Port Douglas. If adventure is what you are after, get a 4x4 and gear up to get full of dust by driving north through the dirty road to Cooktown.

For us, as million other travellers, we flock here first of all for one very specific reason: see one of the 7 wonder of the World, The Great Barrier Reef and its acclaimed coral gardens. An armada of boat is waiting in the harbour to take us to the reef. Now, we only have to decide which one, any suggestion?