thedaywecaughttheplane

2007-10-20T16:58:00.001+02:00

Once again we have messed up, La Paz is supposed to be with the rest of South America-
again we blame Blogger!!

The concrete maze that is La Paz, Bolivia.

Can you spot Dara and Alex, the new Where's Wally!!?

Dara got some guitar lessons from a local rising star :)

La Paz was our time for pampering, 'pampering for pennies!'
Treated ourselves to haircuts, 4star hotel (with OUR OWN rooms!), pedicures, manicures, massages and lots of shopping!

2007-10-19T17:57:00.001+02:00

Our Californian Adventures started in...

Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth!!

The wonderful thing about Tiggers...is Tiggers are wonderful chaps,
They're loaded with vim and with vig-rrr, they love to leap in your laps!!!

It all began with a mouse :)

If only all firetrucks looked like this!!

Loved everything about Toontown,
especially Goofy's house!

Mark's looking into property!

It really is a small world :)

Off to Neverland!!

Spot the 2 kids at the front for storytime!!

Mark (aka: Johnny Dipp!) better watch out...
Laura is finding him strangely attractive!

Winnie the Pooh, willy, nilly, silly old Bear!

Snow White's Castle

We had to ask about SEVEN tourists to take this picture,
ALL of them cut out the castle!
This is the best of a bad bunch!!

Took a spin on the teacups in

celebration of our very

merry unbirthdays!!

Watched The Parade of A Million Dreams...

In our desperation to get front row

seats we sat in totally the wrong place!

Then, in the panic to get good seats we left all our bags behind!! But of course no one would take them...it was Disneyland!!

The floats were as spectacular as always!!

Ended our magical day with Tinkerbelle flying through the sky and lighting up the castle :)
Remember Dreams Come True!

2007-10-19T17:42:00.001+02:00

Doing L.A. in style!!

In West Philadelphia born and raised....

managed to locate the house where they filmed the Fresh Prince of Bel Air so clearly it was time for another photo op!!!

Saw Graumann's Chinese Theatre where Laura even met Johnny Depp!
It is him...isn't it?!
We gave him $5 so it better be!!

Hello????

Some people stand in the darkness, afraid to step into the light!!

Met a real life Hasslehoff on Malibu Beach!

Flexed our pecs (or lack of!) on Muscle Beach!!

Sunset on Venice Beach :)

Stayed with Jonathan, our L.A. host!!
Had lots of fun nights with his UCLA buddies!

L.A. ended on a (VERY!!!) high note-well for Dara and Ulla anyway!!
Kim from Home & Away is even more beautiful in real life (and he had a guitar!!!)
We tried to find him in Australia but L.A. is where dreams come true!!
(Mark and Laura had no part in the writing of this comment!!)

2007-10-19T17:28:00.001+02:00

Travelled across the border to Tijuana and embraced the Mexican headgear!

We also noticed that they paint donkeys to look like zebra's!!
We were not impressed :(

In San Diego we visited the Hotel Del Coronado, the largest wooden hotel
in the world! (or something!!)

Went to our first Drive-In movie!!!
There's a niche in the market at home for this!!

Took a rosemantic Cinderella Carriage ride around the Seapoint area in the city
Its so pretty...sorry Mark!

The Gaslamp Quarter looked great at night!

Visited Newport and Laguna Beaches on the way back to L.A.

Laura (the OC fanatic) was in her element and made references every 2 seconds!
'This could be where Sandy worked!!' ..hmm

The houses were all amazing, with seafront views...

...ever feel like you don't belong? :(

2007-10-19T17:15:00.001+02:00

Dara's hometown: San Fransisco!

The Golden Gate Bridge, its longer than it looks!
Walked halfway then turned back! So technically we made it the whole way across!?!

Our budget crisis meant that this was as close as we got to Alcatraz!!

Third time lucky!
Dara finally got to
take a cable car ride down to the Wharf :)

This is how Mark spent his time in Sausolito!!
He had a 'Superbad' time!!

The beautiful Palace of Fine Arts, Dara is definitely wearing a wedding dress there
someday!! Any takers????

The Rainforest Cafe: could only afford the soup but it was worth it for the fake thunder and lightning storms every 15 minutes!

2 blocks straight and 23 blocks to the left...and this is where you'll end up!!
Eventually found the Matrix on Union street which Dan thought was 'just around the corner!'
It was great to see more friends from home :)

2007-10-19T16:19:00.000+02:00

The Grand Canyon.
Dara drove through lightning and thunder storms to get here.
The fork lightning was actually hitting either side of the road beside us!!
The silence in the car was deafening, but it was ok because we were in this....

Also saw the Hoover Dam on the way, were almost arrested trying to get this photo!!

The Vegas Strip

Our humble abode...

Felt very Oceans Eleven in front of the Bellagio,
Laura missed it as she was off trying to find Danny from Las Vegas!!!

Found it very difficult to get past the Irish Bar in New York, New York!
Who would turn down free drink-

Mark wouldn't,even if it was Bass!

Met more friends from home :)

The Venetian was the prettiest casino or maybe that's just us making it look good!!
Tee-hee!!

2007-10-19T16:03:00.000+02:00

Machu Picchu before sunrise.

We went on the world trip for this view....
and it didn't disappoint!

Inca-redible!

Inca trekking for beginners!!

Of course you'd see a county jersey in the ruins of an ancient civilisation!!
Ulla and Mark did not need the Elvery's reminder!

'Walk the llama, llama, view the panorama.'
Disney applies to everything! :)

Dara and Alex got lost and were led out of the ruins by this llama,
only to find...

...the llama peep show!

Beautiful Cusco, which we actually don't have that many photos of because we were too busy eating in the best restaurant of all time.....Jacks Cafe!!!!

And now for something completely different!!!!!

2007-10-19T14:45:00.000+02:00

The Floating Islands on Lake Titicaca were one of the highlights of our time in Peru.
The islands were so different to anything else we had seen before and the people were so welcoming we didn't want to leave!

The hut behind us had satelite TV! They have a good set up here
for people who live on islands made from reeds!

Dara was even able to ring her mum and Mark could get his Mars bar fix

from the well stocked mini market!!

Eagles know how to pose!!! Vogue!

In Puno, we spent a lovely afternoon on a steamship called the Yavari, in the capable hands of its captain, Carlos. The ship had been transported, in small pieces, up to the lake from the coast. Slaves and mules carried the pieces of the ship over the Andes to the lake, where the ship was rebulit in 1862.

We weren't expecting much from our visit to the ship but Carlos made sure that this is a must-do for anyone travelling to Puno :)
Finch: "Carlos is DEADLY!!"

The beautiful Arequipa, until we got to...

...Juanita, the Ice Princess.
She was a young girl who was sacrificed by the Inca's over 500 years ago. Her body was preserved by a glacier and was discovered by archaeologists in the 1980's.
Mark is still having nightmares!!!
Finch: 'She is rotten.' Mark: 'Yeah literally!!!'

Outside Arequipa lies the Colca Canyon which is actually twice the depth of the Grand Canyon in some places!!

We saw loads of condors and met the indigenous people who inhabit this canyon.

Princesca the llama was a big hit, the eagle was just big!

2007-07-29T23:44:00.000+02:00

RIO!!!

YAY ALEX IS HERE!!!!

Had the crazy idea of going for a gentle bike ride around the

lake.......

.........didnt realise just how big it was.

This is the view from ¨The Christy Mor¨statue

Our post cycling drinkies.

Felt we deserved it after all that exercise!

Jake and Ainslie were our hostel buddies, the only people in Brazil who didnt rob us blind!! Bit of an exaggeration.....but not much!!!

Part of the experience of Rio, still fell in love with it.

The death tram on the way to Santa Theresa.

Mark to driver : ¨I dont care, just turn around and watch the road¨

And here is Christy himself....this is a bit blasphemous but sure!!

¨Beautiful, I just want you to know¨

Sunset from the Sugar Loaf.

Also home of dodgiest cheeseburger EVER!!

An unmentionable for poor Mark and Laura.

The Kiosk on Copacabana Beach.

Our little friend Igo supplied us with endless amounts of ¨Caipshivodshka¨

Didnt quite get the hang of the Portugese accent while we were there.

The Favellas

Diego our tour guide and our amigo :)

Mark and the next Ronaldinho

The Rocinha Favella was the biggest in Rio.

We felt safer here than we did in Copacabana!

The view from the top.

The Live Earth concert on Copacabana Beach.

Spent the night with Pharrell,Lenny and O Rappa, our new fave Brazilian band.

We were very happy to be here at the right time and a great way to end our time in Rio :)

Our Brazilian amigos who looked after us that night!!

¨KISS ME¨

After the craziness of Rio we needed a break....no better place to do this than

Ihla Grande

Our hostel that could only be reached by boat!

Spent the first day at the Blue Lagoon.

It didnt disappoint

Football on the beach.

Guess which 2 are Irish?

The fiesta on the island.

Our memories of this night are as blurry as this picture.

Got battered by huge waves on Lopez Mendes beach.

Surfboards in the sand :)

The Irish Invasion!!

If only Ireland was like this, no rain since October.

We hear youre on week 11 of rain...hate tha!!!

Sadly had to tear ourselves away from this beautiful island but never fear Peru is next!!

2007-07-14T19:11:00.000+02:00

Buenos Aires:

Look who we bumped into!!!

The Pink Palace, Ulla´s future home!!

This was where Evita spoke to her people from the balcony!

Spent an afternoon in Recoletta Cemetery

Saw Evita Peron´s grave among many others

Sampled the nightlife in Opera Bay

Mark hit it off with the locals!!!
Mack Daddy didn´t like his style!

Mark and Laura learning how to tango in La Boca!

Dara and our new friend Julio in Toy Town-
he worked in La Barrica restaurant that had the best steak

IN THE WORLD!!!!

We embraced Argentina´s obsession with football...

...and visited Boca´s stadium, home of Maradonna, Batistuta and Messi!

While we were there La Boca won the Copa Liberatadores,

cue massive celebrations in the centre of the city!

For one night only we were Boca´s biggest fans!!

2007-07-11T21:16:00.000+02:00

The Iguazu Falls-Rapido!!!

2 amazing days :)

Our first sighting of the falls....

We decided to stay on the Argentinian side (the prettier side!) of the falls, there were more walks here and we were able to get up really close to all that water!!

The viewing platform from top & bottom!!

The following photos are from the Upper Circuit where you get right on top of the falls,

we´ll let the pictures speak for themselves :)

This is only a minor selection of photos...we took over 300!! Eek!!

If anyone wants to see them we will gladly arrange a viewing when we get home...yawn...

The Devils Throat was the most powerful waterfall we saw:

On our second day we took a boat trip underneath the waterfalls!!

How hot are we....

(oh! Mark has joined us again!!)
-------->

We went right under this one!!
-------->

An aeriel shot of our boat going in :)

Most people´s photos are taken in the middle of summer so we were delighted when the sun made a quick appearance, just enough time to get a rainbow picture!!

The Iguazu Falls are definitely up there with Maya Beach and Angkor Wat-all vying for Number One sightseeing spot of the trip!!!

2007-06-24T17:45:00.000+02:00

OLA!!! Bienvenidos to South America!!!

Started off in Santiago, Chile for a week :)

Went for a gorgeous meal our first night- marvelling at how cheap our dining experience was, only to discover we had got the exchange rate wrong and ended up paying US$64 for a meal we originally thought was &6.40

(So naive!!!)

Not something you see everyday... was very odd

seeing palm trees in the snow!!

Some pretty historic building
(not a clue, we're so cultured!!)

Antonio gets the award for sleaziest pose!!

Cascadas de Las Animas

Stayed in a beautiful cabin in the

middle of the Andes,

nearly set the place on fire...

women!!!

Poco, our little friend!!

Found him shivering outside in the snow

and offered him a home for the night!

Animal shelters 'r us!

(We won't mention the fleas!)

Narnia!!

Went horse riding in the beautiful snow-covered Andes!

Skiing never happened unfortunately but this more

than made up for it!!

Dara: "I am SO South America right now!"

Our hour long trek up the mountainside left us freezing, soaked (Ulla may as well not have been wearing shoes!) and muddy (Dara!!) but very very happy :)

An experience we'll never forget and a smell we'll never get rid of!!!

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" :)

We could have put loads of photos of this place up

everything looked so pretty in the snow!

An unexpected but lovely surprise!!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland :)

Argentina next!!!!

Markie will be there waiting for us, a new member for the fellowship :)

2007-06-19T22:36:00.000+02:00

Look who we found.....

Spent a Lovely Day on the Barrier Reef!!

Dara clearly 'deloighed' to have seen our little friend!!

Got to see clams and beautiful
coral while snorkling and from the
glass bottom boat!!

Then........

We got to fly over the Barrier Reef in a HELICOPTER!!!!
Much screaming and general mayhem ensued!!
Paul, our deafened pilot, did lots of dips and spins for us!

Even got to chase a huge manterray for a
while, it was brilliant to see the reef from
the air :)

Post-helicopter hysterics!!!

The lagoon in beautiful sunny Cairns!!

Things went from the sublime to the ridiculous, that night Dara and Ulla had
bought a gourmet meal of beans and toast (with cheese for added flavour!!)
Took so long getting ready that the kitchen had CLOSED by the time we got around to eating it so we had to sit on a bed, eating dry bread and cheese while drinking wine from a bottle...

Major Low Point!!!

Here's a selection of the antics from our nights out in Cairns!!

We took full advantage of the free champagne on
'Ladies Night' in the Mad Cow!!

Dara fought the Law...the Law won....

Met up with lots of people we had made friends with on the way up the coast!!

Emily from Fraser Island and Lalita from the hostel in Cairns!

Meeting more new people, in a 7-11 of all places!!! :)

Sadly, we had to leave the coast (and the warmth!!) behind and headed back to Sydney,

Just in time to visit.....

Summer Bay!!!!

We didn't see Alf though, very upsetting!!

Laura and Dara reenacting some of the touching moments
that have been witnessed during the years!

Dara's birthday was celebrated in dramatic drink spilling fashion in Kings Cross!!!
Eoin's shirt will never recover!!!

Our time in Australia ended with a pretty pink sky over the Harbour....

Now we are headed for South America!!!!!!

2007-06-12T07:18:00.000+02:00

Our 3 days on the Whits started off with a beautiful sunset...

which turned into a nights partying on the boat, complete with guitars and Tribute!!!!

On the next day we went to Whitehaven Beach, no photographs will ever do it justice!!!!!

The food on the boat was limited so Dara
made the most of it-much to the annoyance
of Steve and Phill!!!!

This was Benny our Captain!!!!
He let us drag behind the boat on the last day!!!

lots of extreme jumping ensued!!

We had our nite out on Reef'Os

Best place in Airlie Beach!!!

This is Rose and Mary, Donegal girls who were on our boat

-total legends!!!!!

2007-06-12T03:02:00.000+02:00

Sorry about the extreme lack of posts recently!!!!

Here's some of our coastal adventures!!

Our Fraser Island adventure began at the beautiful Lake McKenzie,

this was our amazing group!! Best craic ever!!

The lads were driving the jeep until
we encountered the first real
problem of the day, having to drive through Eli Creek!!
It clearly needed a woman's touch

as Dara guided 'The Goon' (our jeep) safely through the water!!

Ulla's birthday was celebrated in fine style with muffins and sparklers (Cheers Dara!!) at our campsite, all the groups were supposed to camp together but we were the only ones to make it through the waters of the creek!!!

We encountered lots of local wildlife on our second day!!

Dara (eternal dog lover) wanted to take this dingo home, 'But it's just like a dog' was her reasoning!!

The crazy lizard tried to eat our food when we stopped for lunch-cue much girlie screaming!!

Walked around Indian Head beach (and across many rocks!) to the beautiful Champagne Pools...

Now you can see where they got their name!!

One of the lads thought the pools contained actual champagne,
we can all dream....

Stopped at the wreck of a Greenpeace ship called the Mohena, this island has a bit of everything!!

It's the largest sand island in the world and according to the Lonely Planet (or Lonely Liar as we like to call it!!) it has more sand than the Sahara!!

We are still finding sand in odd places to this day!!

Our trip ended on the third day after a night of crazy drinking games,

"Lets all play the Hula Hula game!!" Good times!

Said an emotional goodbye to our jeep and headed on to our next mode of transport...

a boat around the Whitsunday Islands!!!

2007-05-13T06:41:00.000+02:00

Our adventure up the east coast began in Byron Bay.

We travelled to a crazy town called Nimbin where a mad festival was on.

The people in this town like their
'herbs'!

We had a groovy time ;)

Back to normality as we moved on to Surfers Paradise!!!!

Brilliant sand sculpture!!!! It even breathes fire :)

The Irish lads we met in Byron and have continued to meet EVERYWHERE else!!

"I was made for loving you baby' etc!!!

Arrived in Brisbane & checked out

the man-made beach.

This is all on a university
campus!! We want to go to college here!!

Have experienced a new low on this leg of the trip...

window shopping for food :(
Living on beans on toast will do that to you!

Cr-o-ckey!!

Weird being there without Steve, his crocs didn't let us down though!

An early birthday present for Dara,
She did contemplate making a run with Mash, the koala. (Mmm Mash!) but she didn't want
them to set the crocs on her!!!

Snoozy time!

Koala's sleep up to 20 hours a
day!!
We want to come back as one!!

Feeding time at the zoo, thought about taking the kangaroo feed home to eat for brekkie!!

We told you times were tough!! Looks just like muesli...if u squint!

Ended our week in beautiful Noosa, the Laguna Beach of the Sunshine Coast!

Off to Fraser Island next!!!

2007-05-04T10:46:00.000+02:00

'Pimp Daddy'

Jimmy was giving all the tips to the men in the bar that night on how to get the ladies!!

He was more popular than we were!

The Finchs and The Flynns togther at last!!
This was the last weekend we all had together in Taupo!! Sad but fun times!!

Left New Zealand (and Dennis our car) in a flood of tears!!

Thanks to everyone there who made our visit so special!!

Now on to...........

Sydney!!!!

Oh no!! We left Laura in New Zealand!!

Don't worry...she'll be reappearing on the blog in a few weeks!

The famous Bondi Beach!!!!

Paudie and Eoin, our 'husbands'!

They have kindly let us crash their bachelor pad for the last week, in return we have repaid them by trashing their luxury apartment...OOPS!!

Worst house guests ever!!!

Spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to get to...

Ramsay Street!!

As neither of us watch it we're not actually sure whether we were at the right place or not!

We had more fun trying to find the place especially when we got overly excited about this signpost!!

Spent a lovely afternoon in the Fitzroy Gardens, Dara decided to grow some new hair!!

Fitzroy Gardens are also home to Captain Cook's original house, transported all the way from...

you've guessed it....Yorkshire!!!! Very amusing!!

Dara made (another!!) doggy friend-his name was P.Smith!!!

The Funky buildings in Federation Square!!

How the Lonely Planet can get it so wrong:

We decided to visit the Victoria Markets on the strength of the description in the book which talked of jostling through the busy crowds, picking out the latest fashion items, eating from the many gourmet treats being sold at the market stalls....

This is what we got, a deserted wasteland filled with steel boxes...

'A thigh-slapping Melbourne must!'...we think not!!!

This is the Yarra river close to sunset :)

LOVED our time in Melbourne!!

Even managed to catch a comedy show (as part of the Melbourne Comedy Festival)

while we were there. Saw Maeve Higgins among others, a humerous time was had by all!!

We returned to Sydney to say (a very emotional) goodbye to Eithne & Jimmy

who had followed us over from New Zealand.

As we swam in the rooftop pool of their hotel in the harbour, they started setting off

fireworks above the Opera House!

It was the perfect end to a lovely time together :)

Dara & Ulla are now heading up the East Coast in search of sun, sand & surfers!!! ;)

(and the least amount of mozzy bites possible....)

2007-04-12T03:29:00.000+02:00

My first cloudy day :(

The trip to the Ice Bar was beneficial in preparing me for my glacial experience!! ;)

This is the Franz Josef Glacier on the west coast of the South Island!

What you can see in this picture is 'the tip of the iceberg!' so to speak!!

The glacier actually covers a distance of 36kms unfortunately obscured by mountains and cloud!

I enrolled in the half day hike (just about all my unfit body could take!)

Here's how it went...

Our guide Jules took us up the already
cut out steps (they need to be re-made
every few days!)

The group heading up the glacier!

My Brazilian friend Denise & I at the top of our trek! N-ice!!

The glacier looks a bit like Baked Alaska!!

A crev-ice!! (must stop with the puns now!)

Going down was a bit tricky-it was really steep in parts!!

Got to go through some ice-caves too!!

Look at that grin!! :)

Took the Transalpine train across to the East Coast & arrived in Kaikoura (below!)

The Alps had a snowfall last night, don't they look pretty!!

Was supposed to go whale watching today but it was cancelled :( very sad :(

The water doesn't look too rough to me!!

Anyway am off to meet the ladies in Taupo (via Wellington) Can't wait to see them!!

2007-04-09T07:12:00.000+02:00

My Weekend in Queenstown!

This is a view of the Remarkables mountain range-the cloud didn't take long to burn off & I was left with another beautiful day to enjoy...

well, not for long :( had to go on ANOTHER cablecar, boo, hiss boo :(

The guy beside me didn't like heights either so we had a little pity party all to ourselves on the way up!

The View from the top was well worth it though!!!

Spent the afternoon at the Chiefs v Highlanders match.
(Ulla has taken rugby support to a new level & is now travelling to away matches too!!)
Toasted our 6 month travelling anniversary with a can (or 2) of Speights (classy!)
Wish the ladies were here to celebrate it with me...
Here's to the next 6 months!!

Met some Irish dudes at the match-Briain (above) is now my new soul mate! The first person I've met who has read as far as me in "The Song of Ice & Fire' series of books!!

Never seen 2 people more excited trying to figure out what's gonna happen next!! Legend!

Minus 5 Bar!

Well the temperature was actually -8.7 while I was there!!

Fairly Baltic!

My cocktail was called a Frozen Kiwi which pretty much sums up how I felt in there!!
Erica Walsh you need to get down here! The glasses were made of ice but there was no fruit in sight! I feel there is an untapped market here for you to exploit!!

Le Poisson!

My nose is the same colour as the pink lights!!

Easter Sunday: Milford Sound

(a spectacular fjord on NZ's South West Coast)

Stopped at the Mirrror Lakes on the way,
did you notice that the left hand photo is upside down?? :)
Pretty Impressive!

Here's us 'cruisin' the fjord!

As you can see the weather was fab! (sorry Dara!!)

At least everyone's gettin to see both sides of Milford....silver lining etc ;)

Mitre Peak

A nice U-shape valley!!

(I DID listen in Geography...)

Happy Chees-ter Sunday!!

(I'm on my own, the ladies aren't here to censor the puns!!)
Mum: 'Paljon Kiitoksia hmmm' (as Dad would say!) for all the Easter eggs-Yum!
Noo: I know you've been eating Fazer eggs and I don't like it! :( I'm watching you...

Hope you're havin a P-Lapio time in Whinnie! Make a lumimies for me!!

Here's one of the many waterfalls that flow into the
fjord! Got totally soaked when we went up close to it!
Was sent flying out of the way by about a million
Japanese tourists! (no exaggeration!)

Am having a camera battery crisis so you are very lucky to be viweing these photos at all!!

To date since I left on Wednesday I have had to buy 28 AA batteries which has cost me $70!!!!

Bought some the other day that lasted for 2 photo's then died!!!

Cheers Kodak!! >:(

The world is just waiting now, no staring out windows now,

Our train stopped moving hours ago we're here, we're here, we're here!

When I can't move, I'll savour the pause for a while,
& lose myself in waves & mountains & the sky.....
The Guillemots

Have moved on to the Franz Josef Glacier now, more photos will follow later in the week!

2007-04-05T15:25:00.000+02:00

Any of you who know New Zealand at all are going to notice huge chunks of the country are unaccounted for!!

My new nickname for Melvyn is 'Battery Low' coz he NEVER had the camera charged.

The Sky Tower Auckland

There was a time I wanted to do the freefall jump from the top of this......

.....Now I can't even bring myself to stand on the glass floor without holding on!

Queen Kong!!

Aoife choosing the easier option of climbing the Sky Tower

Geoff and Yvonne!!

My absolute saviours!Many a night I've crashed on their floor in Auckland! Geoff and the Flynns go way back, he's spent many a night on the floor in our house....its a vicious circle really

Spot of golf anyone??

Now this is a life I could live, talk about doing it in style!This is Taupos driving range!!A far cry from the Celbridge attempt, no offense Dad!

Tough Guy!!

Melvyn and his fake smiles before his skydive!

Although noone has yet beaten Mark Connolly and his nail biting nervous fit.

Our first night in the South Island in Nelson-

Melv and Aoife stick me in possibly the scariest room I have ever stayed in (on my own),where I spent the night waiting for ghosts to appear out of the mirror/fireplace...dont even get me started on the curtains!!!!

SKY LINE RIDE-

Hurtles you across a wire over a huge New Zealand rainforest/bush type thingy...not that you get to enjoy the view that much!!

The smiles aren't fake, it turned out to be lotsa fun!!

2007-04-05T10:25:00.000+02:00

Abel Tasman-

Probably the nearest thing to Thailand that I have found so far,beautiful beaches and clear water!!Millions of people come here every year to go on kayaking tours and have an extremely enjoyable experience!!.......

Not us......LOST AT SEA!!!

We were out for 10 mins then a lightning storm came in and it was all hands on deck trying to get inland back over the huge waves!In a cave freezing cold and wet for an hour and a half waiting to be rescued!Our guide has worked there for 4 years, never happened before!!TYPICAL!!!

He did say that he'll have a hard time forgetting us, see we are unique!!Stop smiling Aoife,you're miserable and you know it!!

I've mentioned below how Melvyn loafed Aoife across the head while rafting, now he's trying to strangle her and throw her over a bridge in Bullers Gorge. Girls stay away from Mayo men, they're dangerous!!

Franz Josef Glacier

For those of you who have seen 'The Mission', this is exactly what this place reminded me of (bar the glacier) so I had the theme tune in my head the whole time! That and 'Sisters are doing it for themselves'-that one I cant explain!

Aoife searching for Hobbits and fairies in the Lake Matheson forest! She has named herself the Chief Fairyologist in Ireland!!

Bit of culture for you folks back home-

The Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa 'Land of the Long White Cloud' and here is an example of why it is! Dont say we didn't teach you things! Aoifes a lil obsessed with the culture!

Surprisingly the only decent pictures that we took of Queenstown were on Paddys Day!!

This was the view from our hostel, another fabulous place to eat our brekkie. Our loveably eccentric host has done over 500 Bungy jumps!He's great buddies with the inventor of the crazy sport!Handy!!You could even say he has friends in high places-oh groan Dara!!

2007-04-05T08:18:00.000+02:00

Lord of the Rings Tour:

Return of the Pink!!

This is a view of the valley used as the location for Edoras,

you can see it in the middle on the right hand side!!

And here it is up close!!!

Oh this is Ulla by the way, have set off on a lone trip to the South Island!!

This is Shadowfax our trusty steed!!
<--------

Able to navigate through any river!
What more could a Fellowship ask for??

This one's for you Finchy!!

"Remember what Bilbo used to say:
'It's a dangerous business Frodo, going out your door,
You step onto the road & if you don't keep your feet,
There's no knowing where you might be swept off to!"

Sam to (Mr.) Frodo :)

I could totally have been in this film!!!
The resemblence is remarkable!!!! ;)

Unsafe

'Crazy, I'm thinking - just knowing that the world is round,

And here I'm dancing on the ground,

Am I right side up or upside down?

Is this real, or am I dreaming...?'

Dave Matthews

2007-04-05T07:25:00.000+02:00

This will probably one of the greyer coloured blogs on the website, the weather wasn't really on our side here, it was still fantastic!

I couldn't document our trip without discussing Aoifes obsession with feeding the ducks.

She half loves it, half wants to scream when they do actually come over to her!

The entire South Island is like a scene from Lord of The Rings- it was great fun trying to decide what scene was filmed where and acting it out! Well ok, that may just have happened in my head.....but it was still great fun.

Mirror Lakes-

The railing is kind of in the way but everything around the Lake is perfectly reflected in the water.

'Speak friend and enter'

We may as well have been driving into Khazadum to escape the Orcs because this is one of the scariest drives I have ever been on, this tiny tunnel cut into the biggest mountain I have ever seen with no lights and no sign of it ever ending!We have a video of it and Aoife is comical in the back-TERRIFIED!

But it was worth the terror because beautiful Milford sound in the Fiordland was waiting on the other side,although it rains 200 days of the year....we def didnt get it on a good day!!

We tried braving the storm.....

But eventually it got too much for us

So we decided that we would watch

it in comfort,with a nice cup of tea!!The best of both worlds

The great thing was that because of the rain hundreds of little waterfalls appeared absolutely everywhere you looked and made it absolutlely amazing, you see there is always a silver lining

2007-04-04T03:45:00.000+02:00

These Blogs are not going in order at all but I had to put this up straight away because it was one if not the best experience of my life and something I have wanted to do as long as I can remember...

SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS!!

They are 100 % wild so you have to entertain them by singing, diving, splashing etc or they wont bother with you! They obviously loved my version of 'Under The Sea' coz we were surrounded by a pod of 300-500 dolphins! They told me the number but I can't remember, I was too busy freaking out!

Just look at the world around you,

Right here on the ocean floor

Such wonderful things surround you

What more is you lookin' for?

Under the Sea!!!

They were so close I could not believe it!!

WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE!!!!!!!

Then there was the White Water Rafting in Rotorua-

I could have put a million of these up but they all look the same in the red boat! Although there is a great one of Melvyn loafing Aoife in the back of the head but I dont know where its gone! If you would like to see it, email me directly!! He said it was an accident but ???? I'm watching you mister!!

This is the reason why it was a Grade 5 run!!

A 7 metre drop over a waterfall!Thats me in the front, they told me to look straight ahead and smile at the camera...yeah right,2 chances of that happening!! So much fun though!

1 in 3 boats flip at the bottom, luckily they had nothing but skill sitting up front!!

2007-04-03T04:05:00.000+02:00

Waitomo Caves

You abseil down the very faint red rope on the left (you can just about see the platform in the sunshine), then you pothole and raft through the glowworms before climbing up this very scary looking rock face-greatest day ever!!There were some very impressive bruises going around the following week, in my case month!!

The abseil in was my fave part, I'm not sure Melvyn and Aoife shared my enthusiasm for it! They were way better at the potholing though!

Luckily Melvyn wore his protective white T-Shirt....hold on a minute??

I felt a bit like Winnie-the-Pooh when he gets stuck in Rabbits Hole from eating too much honey-

'OH!Oh!Help and Bother'

How cute is Aoife here?

This was so amazing! I know the picture looks fake but I promise it isn't!

We got to turn off our lights so we could tube through the glowworms in the dark!
Does anyone else think Melvyn looks like he is impersonating Neil Armstrong when he landed on the moon??

'I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy'

Not quite Finding Nemo but we did find a friend down there!

The calm before the storm,our gentle tubing up to the rock climbing.

But here we are all safe and sound and happy after the climb!! (I think I'll leave out the name calling that went on during the between part!!)

2007-03-22T01:35:00.000+01:00

A BIG BIG QUEENSTOWN PADDYS DAY HUG TO YOU ALL!!

From the girls (The good)......

The Boys (The Bad)......

AND THE UGLY............

........dont ask us??? We were there and we still don't know what his buzz was!!!I do know he wasn't Irish which is a relief!

Thanks to all the Paddys that made this day so much fun, especially Terry from Longford - The Garden of Ireland!!! For those out there who think I'm drunk, coz we all know Longford is a dive, I just need floor space in Las Vegas....see you in a few months Terry!!

More blogs comin up soon!!

2007-03-19T09:04:00.000+01:00

Friday night kicked off with the Chiefs v the Lions at the Waikato Stadium!

<---- This man is a regular fixture, his name is Possum & he

stands on a cherry picker at one end of the pitch.

After every score he starts up his chainsaw....random!

Ok so I missed the fireworks entirely!! Here's some smoke!!

The Chiefs won their first match of the campaign (must have

been the Irish luck Ulla brought!!!!)

<---- This is Simon (who works with Ulla) enjoying a drink in the pub where Laura works!!

A fun night (in which Ulla went to a Casino for the first time, &

lost her money!) ended with the now ritual Friday night singing of Naive!! Best busker-dude ever!!!!

St. Patricks Day began with 'Is it breakfast time back home??' at the Cook,

Eggs Benedict (ok not truly an Irish meal but..) a great way to start the celebrations!!

Irish stew with green bread: Bia-licious!!! ;)

Laura : (in her best Irish!) An bhfuil tu ag...needing help??

2007-03-19T08:37:00.000+01:00

As George Hamilton would say...

'Danger Here!!!'

Ulla attempted to uphold an Irish tradition...

The pint was finished in record time!

In the words of Mr. Farrell: "Delish man!!"

As shamrocks were painted on faces/arms/legs/forheads etc
the green mist descended on Hamilton...
(we think our camera was affected by all the greenness!!)

Best t-shirt EVER!!!

Hearts of steel, and heads unbowing

Vowing never to be broken, we will fight, until we can fight no more,

From the four proud provinces of Ireland!!

(Ireland's Call)

Crowds of Fanta-Filled Feckers!! ;)

Biddy Mulligans was the place to be where the Irish (& those who claim to be!!!) danced all day & night!!

Hey dude, those eyebrows don't make you Irish!!!!

The night ended celebrating Ulla's 'Best Dressed Competition' win in The Londoner!!!

'It was the session to end all sessions, the kind of one that you read about in the Great Book!'

Hope you all had as much fun as we did!!!!

Happy Paddy's Day, Slainte!!

2007-03-11T08:23:00.000+01:00

Once Upon A Time...in a faraway land,

Two fairytale princesses received an important letter.

It came from the magical kingdom of Tedd-a-rote!!

The letter announced the imminent arrival of two noble princes,

seeking refreshment and hugs!

Alas, when the princesses went inside they discovered that there was much housework to be done....

Jasmine rubbed the lamp, but the Genie wasn't in :(

Tinkerbell tried pixie dust, but her wand was empty!!

They even tried the Wishing Well too but to no avail :(

Jasmine thought if she slept for a hundred years the mess would disappear...

'A dream is a wish, your heart makes,

When you're fast asleep'

Having never done housework before, the princesses began looking for guidance,

'It's not right for a woman to read, she starts thinking, getting ideas,

She needs to concentrate on more important things....'

Jasmine took Gaston's advice & began admiring herself in the Magic Mirror :)

'Just whistle while you work, and carefully together we can tidy up the place...'

As Tinkerbell busied herself with the housework, Jasmine began combing her hair...

with a Dinglehopper!?!

2007-03-11T07:42:00.000+01:00

Jasmine was the King of the Swingers, while Tinkerbell worked her magic (its all those car grooming muscles!!)

'Arabian Nights, like Arabian Days,

More often than not, are hotter than hot, in a rather good way' :)

The housework was beginning to get a bit stressful...

'All it takes is faith and trust, and something I forgot,

Dust, dust?, dust?....just a little bit of pixie dust'

'And as you sweep the room, imagine that the broom

Is someone that you love & soon you'll find you're dancing to the tune!'

Thankfully our pretty tale has a happy ending :)

The housework was finished just in time for a Teddy Bears picnic!!

'Every dream that you dream will come true'

Ok-huge apologies!! We had way too much time on our hands-it was a Sunday afternoon, we had costumes! (Disney fans will appreciate this blog if no one else!!)

The real reason why we had the costumes was because we wore them to Laura's cousin Richard's 21st birthday party!! Here are some party photos:

Opa & Oma (the cowboys!), Danielle (Ms Incredible!), Laura (Jasmine)

Christiena (Catwoman) & Luke (the Gangster!!)

This is for Christiena's friends!! ;) Don't she & Liz (her sister) look amazing!!!
Liz came as Liza Minelli

The Usual Suspects including Susan (Richard's mum) as a flapper girl & Monique as Lara Croft!

The lucky man in the middle is Richard who came as Davy Jones!!

A very merry Unbirthday to you!!!!!

If people are noting the lack of a certain lady in our photos, Dara has left us briefly :( to travel to the South Island with her sister Aoife & Aoife's boyfriend Melvin!

Photos of their weird & wonderful adventures will follow shortly!!

We miss you Dara, your Batgirl costume was sadly missing at the party xx

2007-02-25T05:56:00.000+01:00

"I'm wishing..." Morning after a very mad night out!

Celebrated L's birthday with a yummy fry & an impromtu game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey!
Christiena was the eventual winner!!! much to the amusement of Laura!

Finch's birthday night out!! in Fat Bellies-our new favourite place!

This was the night that Ulla procured a job grooming cars!!!! how random is that!!

Laura has also gotten 2 jobs!! (lucky her!!) working in a confused Irish pub called 'Fox&Hounds' and in a nursing home, busy lady!!

Tequila...it makes me happy! (no it does not!)
'An evil spirit'

Came home to find Humphery waiting with a card & lollipop!

The original Humphery had been lost with Laura's bag :( but Brona kindly sent over Humphery's brother Humphery 2 (have we said Humphery enough times!!) Thanks so much Brona, you saved Laura many sleepless nights! ;)

2007-02-25T05:37:00.000+01:00

Karangahake Gorge

'Adventure, excitement, danger around every corner...'
(The Little Mermaid)

Gorge-ous hehe :)

X-Air Wellington

Got tickets to a BMX/skateboarding/FMX/breakdancing/lots of other weird stuff competition and made the 8 hour journey to wellington minus our reliable digital camera...d'oh! Apologies for the 'quality' of the following photos!!

Met these guys at New Year's and kept in touch, they kindly put us up for the last 2 nights after we got kicked out of our hostel as we failed to book it properly Oops!

They're all skateboarders - made us look really cool ;) (thanks lads!!)

Lee-Rok our breakdancing friend!

Saw history in the making when Mike Spinner did a 10-80 (that's 3 full 360 degree turns for those of you who aren't up to speed in the world of BMXing!)

The Water Jump

No skill involved here!

So... can you guess which photos are ours and which we got off the x-air website??
It's tough, we know!!

2007-02-25T04:51:00.000+01:00

Spent a Lovely Day :) at the

Hamilton Gardens

Made a delightful picnic (in the bag modelled beautifully by Christiena!)

'Oh!' said Pooh 'Will there be those little cake things with pink sugar icing?'

The Ea-talian Garden was the scene of our wonderful picnic!

Ok the pun is a stretch!!

Went to a sunset showing of

A Midsummer Nights Dream!

"Love makes fools of us all.."

Denis has been replaced by a new mode of transport!!

At least there are no air-con problems here!!

Saw our first proper Haka at the Gardens-very scarey!!

No its not Paddy's Day yet...went on a Scavanger Hunt around Hamilton,
the prize was 4,000 dollars, sadly the Lucky Charms didn't find the gold at the end of the rainbow...
Go Raibh Mile Maith agaibh to Ciara (from Lucan!) & Monique who helped to make it a great night!!!

2007-02-03T03:09:00.000+01:00

Ok, this hasn't turned out in the correct order-

you'll figure it out!!! Blame Blogger, not us!!

The last supper :(

Had a lovely meal in the Sahara Tent to send Mark off in style!

Met a crazy barman called Greg

He was the creator of these odd looking shots!

This is his attempt at Irish dancing...

feel he should stick to barwork!!

The Merka Fantastic Show!!

And it was all...Hello!!

Couldn't get Mark off the stage for the night!

Think those dodgy shots may have had

something to do with that!!

The Last Goodbye :(

We miss you Markie....COME BACK!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-02-01T07:57:00.000+01:00

In the pit waiting for the Killers at the Big Day Out!! The photo below is the only one we managed to get of the band before we ended up in a rather large scrum at the front of the pit!! Dara & Mark both lost flip flops....Scarey Times...

Luke ended up having to carry Mark (Did you have a jandal blowout??) Connolly!! Despite that we had a great day & got to see Kasabian (a major highlight!) Jet, Muse, Tool & The Streets & even got to meet Daniel Beddingfield. The next morning we discovered that Daniel had been staying in the same hostel as us (what a comedown!!) Markie was chuffed when Bedders recognised him on the street!! Who's more famous now??

Auckland, the city we love but the city that hates us!

Can't seem to get parking right there, overcharged & fined all over the place :(

Roll on the $200 fine we incurred on Queen Street.... :(

Someday my prince will come...

Came across this castle (called Pamela!!) in Tirau :)

It's a toy museum with teddies everywhere, so cute!!

Us 'Loitering with-in Tent!!'

Unfortunately we can't take credit for that pun-

it's a Simon Devitt classic!! Cheers Dad :)

Had a great night out in Taupo,

the A1 Grand Prix was on & Ireland had a team in it! They came last but it didn't stop the celebrations, they came first in the fun stakes anyway!!

2007-02-01T07:23:00.000+01:00

The fake smiles of fear!!!
15 minutes to jump!

Mark's contemplating his escape route

-it's not too late!!!!!!!

Oops!! Left it too long...

It was worth it for this view over Lake Taupo :)

The skydive seemed to have a strange effect on Mark, it took a while for his face to revert back to normal!!!

Zorbing: 45 seconds of pure laughter, rolling down a hill in a giant plastic ball filled with water is highly recommended!!
Simon Devitt (on the phone) Well, was it ab-zorbing?? (groan...)

Mark's passport didn't take too kindly to Zorbing!!

A couple of spins & it had disintegrated completely!!

Cue a mad dash to the Irish Consulate to get an emergency one-

thanks for sorting us out Mary!!

The Lady & The Tramp!!

Dara in doggie heaven on a mad campsite in Whangarei! A dog show was taking place there so the campsite was filled with our waggely-tailed friends!!

Dara: I'm so ha-pu-ppy!

2007-02-01T05:52:00.000+01:00

Taking Outdoor Living to a new extreme-

there's a 1 hour window every day when the tent is at the proper temperature..

a sauna or a fridge....take your pick!

Took the Excitor Speedboat out to visit The Hole in the Rock...

they must have spent hours trying to come up with that name!!

Spent the rest of the day cruising around The Bay of Islands,

we'll let the pictures do the talking!

A Maori longboat in Waitangi, a true New Zealand sight :)

Could we be any more skanky??

Is it because I'm a Traveller?!

Fairly obvious that there were no mirrors on this campsite!!!? Ignorance is bliss :)

2007-02-01T05:22:00.000+01:00

Hokianga Harbour

Unexpectedly beautiful!

Dara nearly crashed a couple of times, trying to check out the views!

It's a far cry from the Fonthill Road!!!

Tane Mahutu: a really big tree :)

Kai Iwi Lakes, blue sky, blue water & blue toes in the tent that night!!

Dara ended up using Mark as a hot water bottle ;)

Made ANOTHER Yorkshire friend, (Stephen-the singing sailor!!) who entertained us, and the rest of the campsite in Kai Iwi!! Were joined by Stephen's daughter & her friend, an English couple called Dan & Fran, a random Kiwi man (didn't catch his name) & an even randomer Kiwi lady who, despite not knowing any of the songs, proceeded to hum along to all of them & even produced a recorder at one stage!!! An unexpected night all round!!

The sun set on our time with Markie :(

But there was still time for one last night out.....

In an ideal world, the Last Supper blog would have followed this-

so much for ideals...

2007-01-21T00:33:00.000+01:00

This is Cathedral Cove in Coromandel

Another disastrous hike to get back from the

cove but the view was worth it!!

We're getting a boat into it next time-much more our style ;)

Introducing the newest member of the world trip:

Denis!!!!

We managed to get Denis, a service & insurance for 500 euro!!! Sweet as...bro!

He asked us, (SNORT) "Be you angels?"

And we said "NAY! We are but men-ROCK-ON!!"

First concert of the world trip-Tenacious D: what a way to start!!

Yay!! Markie's here!!!

He got attacked by 3 blondes & an Irish flag when he walked through the arrival doors-

we make a good welcoming party!

You know what this is......

Mark's embracing the lifestyle straight away!!

This is NOT Dollymount Strand on a Thursday in January!!

Beautiful Raglan Beach, poor Mark got a bit scalded!!

We're heading off for the next few weeks with Mark-lots of adventures in store, we'll have more photos for you all soon!

2007-01-07T04:19:00.000+01:00

Bridal Veil Falls

Our first accident free waterfall experience!!

We went to a lodge for 3 days & went kayaking at sunset on lake Karapiro. The purpose of this expedition was to see glow worms in the gorge just off the lake. All was well at the start when this photo was taken, the peacefulness of the lake was shattered when Laura & Dara took off-steering ('Laura TURN US!!!!') was not the strong point. A new style of kayaking (the zig-zag bang!) was invented that night. Thankfully the glow worms didn't seem to mind & put on a gorgeous display after dark :)

Just around the river bend...

Dara's solo kayaking turned out a bit better, this was the view from the deck of the lodge where we were staying :)

Lake Taupo with Mount Ruapehu (an active volcano..oooh!) in the background,

still covered in snow :)

The view from Taupo Bungee, if you're going to pay to throw yourself off a cliff

this is the place to do it!!!

Huka Falls, just down from the Bungee spot.

Rapido ;)

2007-01-07T03:39:00.000+01:00

Mud Yokes!!!

Watching the crazy smelly mud bubbling in Wai-o-Tapu!

Further downriver we discovered a natural hot spring & got in for a dip!

Dip-appointing it was not! ;)

(its 23.54, we're very tired, the puns are bad, we're trying...)

This is the Geo-Thermal Wonderland of

Wai-o-Tapu. Don't be fooled by the

beautiful blue lake-the water is toxic!!

You probably wouldn't even get close enough to it anyway-the smell of the sulphur would kill you first!

Lady Knox Geyser,

when the lady knocks, the geezers answer.....

Ulla: I'm so sorry :(

Swimming in the crystal clear waters of the Waikato River

'Just keep swimming, just keep swimming....'

Ulla, Laura & Dara going for a sunset swim on Lake Taupo!

2007-01-06T06:58:00.000+01:00

Christmas Eve, Eve!!

He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake!!

Santa Claus is coming to (Hamil)town :)

Went to see the lights at the Mormon temple on Christmas Eve
<-----

Think the houses near it were trying to out-do it!!

Christmas morning!!
Santa managed to find us, even though they don't have a chimney!!

A totally tropical Christmas....well without the Lilt....or the Jamaicans!!

Flynn it's not your family, get out of the way!

Pap Tav NY 06!

Spent New Years in Papamoa in Laura's cousin Monique's beach house :)

You'd think that the people there had never met an Irish person before the way they reacted to us!!

'If I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me & just forget the world!!'

New Zealand boys taking Snow Patrol too literally!!

2006-12-24T07:19:00.000+01:00

...And so we're offering this simple phrase from kids from 1 to 92,

Although it's been said many times, many ways...

Merry Christmas To You!! :)

We had a 'genius' idea that we would try and capture a photo of us all jumping in the air at the same time!! It sounded easy in theory but after half an hour of jumping around like idiots and 50 photos later the following is the closest we could get to achieving our vision..........

Dara nearly getting there....longest legs ever!!!!

Dara finally getting there!!
Its tough to soar with eagles when you are working with turkeys!!

The turkeys finally get it, Dara has given up!!

Dara storms off the photo shoot in disgust!!
Ulla and Laura are still trying to keep the vision alive!!
Look at the pure determination on Ulla's face, we were jumping so long that Laura managed to grow a beard in the meantime!!

We only discovered when we got home that there was a sports action setting on the camera!! Ah well!! We had such an hilarious time trying to get the elusive photo that it didn't bother us too much!! We hope you get as much amusement looking at them as we had taking them! The only person who really suffered was Laura's mum Christiena who wasted her precious sun bathing time on this unsuccessful mission!!!

Have a lovely Christmas and we'll be back in the New Year with more ridiculous photos of our travels!!

2006-12-17T23:54:00.000+01:00

We're Here!!!!

Have finally arrived in New Zealand, Christchurch was our first stop & we spent the day sightseeing by tram :)

Met two Scottish dudes who offered to drive us to Wellington- a decision I'm sure they came to later regret!

Stopped at the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch & posed beside the roses.

So pretty...(we're talking about the roses of course!!)

On the ferry crossing between the South & North Islands-

Dara dragged herself away from a gripping game of Spoons to take this photo. The Scottish lads got the rules of the game a lot faster than the boys in Malaysia. They obviously looked up www.Styles-is-blonde.com to see how the game is played!

Finch-doing her best Little Mermaid impression at the Te Papa Museum in Wellington-stick to the day job lady!!

2006-12-16T09:02:00.000+01:00

We came across these two Pacific Islanders, Joan & Lomu, in Wellington.

Laura thought Lomu was pretty hot-it's the hair that wins her over every time!!

Our first Bulmers since we were in Heathrow airport! Laura nearly hugged the barwoman when she discovered that they stocked it-it's the little things :)

It was so cold in Wellington that there was nothing else we could do but go to the cinema, ended up total weeping messes after watching this film, 'The Holiday.' Had to put on sunglasses when we left the cinema to mask the tears-it was 11 o'clock at night!!!

From Wellington Dara drove to the Finch home in Hamilton-a long 8 hour drive 1 & a half of which were spent driving around Hamilton coz Finch 'knew exactly where we were going!'

Dara was given the honour of placing the star at the top of the tree because while travelling we found out that her name means Star in Cambodian *naww*

It's prettier than the Irish meaning...fertility!

Christiena made a poster for us of all our travel photos! It was in our room when we arrived-such a lovely surprise! :)

PETER & STEWART!! :)

Our knights in shining sunglasses, these are the boys from Aberdeen who drove us from Christchurch to Wellington. They sacrificed a quiet, comfortable drive north so they could help three motorless, penniless damsels. What ensued was a not so quiet, not so comfortable journey-even without Laura's bag we don't travel light! William Wallace is not the only hero to come from Scotland! Cheers lads ;)

The Sky-Tower in Auckland, Dara is trying to talk herself into doing the Freefall Sky-Jump from the top of the tower! Don't tell her mom anyone!!

'Three Wise....Three Wise....Three Wise...Women!!'

(That's for you Markie-can't wait til you get here!)

On a random drive we stumbled across a Carols by Candlelight service beside a lake in Cambridge. The nativity scene had real sheep & donkeys in it!! At the end there was a HUGE fireworks display, Dara-'It's like something Gandalf would do!'

Got us in the Christmas spirit!

2006-12-06T06:40:00.000+01:00

Singin' in the rays :)

From Malaysia we went back to Singapore-here we are on Sentosa Island (the Southernmost Point in Asia) Dara had an accident here where an electronic sliding door squished her face & her sunglasses. (This was the 5th pair of sunglasses that has either been lost/stolen or has escaped from her on this trip!!) Get a glasses case!!!

Had another very touristy moment when we got our photos taken with dolphins-but how could we not...they were PINK!!

Saw an evil crab that decided to have a staring competition with Dara!

Laura & her Paw at the Merlion in Sentosa

Clarke Quay in Singapore - Laura's favourite place from when she lived her in The City of Blinding Lights :)

Our last night in Asia *sigh*

Our Asian experience ended on a humorous note-while we were in this bar,the Crazy Elephant,we were sent 2 tequila shots each by a 'mystery' man-still no idea who it was but had a lot of amusement trying to discover who it was!! We made fools of ourselves a few times by waving over at the wrong people-Oopsies!!

The next day we left Asia (toasting all the way on the plane with our free wine!-best flight ever!! entertainment system was way up there ;) love Qantas!) & headed Down Under!

Ulla in Perth having to prove her age!! The 'Oil of Ull-ay' works wonders ;) makes me look 6 years younger in fact!!

Randomly met this guy, Anthony, in a bar in Perth-we had met him 2 years ago in the Quays Bar in Dublin-its a small world after all..

Met up with more 'world trip' friends while in Perth :) Norah & Sarah (who we were travelling with in Thailand) were also in Perth so we had a few good nights out with them-even got to go to a random house warming party in a house by the beach!! It was nice to meet familiar faces again :)

Ulla 'just happened' to have an Irish flag with her on the night out so when the band (Big Shorts-they were AMAZING!!) played U2 we gave the lead singer our flag :)

Ye Olde English-e Court-e, loving Christmas in shorts & mini skirts!!

We apologise for the random nature of the next group of photos-spatial relations aren't our strong pint!!-we've had some cider already today!!

Met these dudes in a bar by the river & they took us out in their speedboat (NARLY!)

It was fun-they were flying down the river-it was a 'hair raising' experience...literally!!

Our Canadian hostel friends-meeting them ended up being a stroke of good fortune as Luke (the one in the cap) took Laura to see Jackass 2 - Ulla & Dara were none too keen!

Scarborough Beach - were there 2 days previous to this & there were TONS of hottties on the beach playing volleyball....honest....

Robbie was in town while we were there-tried but failed to talk ourselves into the concert (the tickets were $149.95) No way we were paying those prices! Got to hear our fave song-Lovelight-as we *sniff* stood outside & listened & danced on the street-what a tune!! We're not sad at all??!

Night-Night, Sleep Tight-don't let the bed bugs bite!

A moment of madness in the hostel-Dara desperately trying to protect herself from bed bugs by sleeping in her Transponster (our made-up word for our rucksack transporter bags!!)

No more 4 star hotels for us!! :(

Were very upset to leave Perth but looking forward to our next stop-

New Zealand!!

2006-11-26T02:39:00.000+01:00

Its 'Not' beginning to feel a lot like Christmas-Pretty tree though. Us at Clarke Quay in Singapore!!

The best discovery of the trip so far has been this man!! Steven Strait-inspiring Dara's noodle creation while in the poshest revolving restaurant Malaysia has to offer!! Went to the cinema three times in Singapore just to see him-girls go see 'The Covenant'-rubbish movie/beautiful men!! We have now each bought a copy of the dvd too!! Obsessed!

Dara-'We did not need to know that a creature this size existed'

A scary tail!! Biggest crocodile we have ever seen, thought they only existed in horror movies!! But if we were to be in a horror movie, at least Steven could rescue us!!

Ulla is the king of the swingers - 'The Jungle V.I.P'

AW!! The ickle penguins!

Pretty white tigers in 'lush' Singapore zoo!! Laura never use that word again, it's disgusting!!

Worst backpackers ever- The Shangri-La Hotel in Penang Malaysia!! Our 4th 4 star hotel of the trip so far!!

Dara ignoring the hotel dress code yet again!!

Sweatiest day ever!! Disgusting ladies, this is the only photo we could put in from that day that did not show the sweat patches!! How attractive!! Kek Lok Si Temple in Georgetown did not need to witness that!

From the fanciest hotel to the smallest room ever! Couldn't even swing a cockroach !

On to Langkawi!

Met up with Lauras cottage mate Kathryn and her 2 friends Maeve (Sponge) and Edel!! Took an island hopping boat trip which consisted of sticking our feet into toe-sucking cat fish infested water (slimy yet satisfying) and eagle feeding!

Ulla (doing what she does best) trying to sneak in a quick bite between photos!! Too slow Ulla-you're caught!

A very unimpressed Ulla, wasn't digging the cable car action! Heights are her nemesis!! Regarde Le View-I don't think so!

The view from the top was amazing-Ulla nowhere to be 'scene'

Rocked up to the Four Seasons Hotel for a drink in the dodgiest car ever driven by Kathryn (the hottie on the bonnet)! Tried not to draw too much attention to ourselves, failed miserably when we drove in the goods entrance infront of all the staff!!

'Glassy Boirds'

6 drinks here in the 'Shake your Rude Bar' (Markie) cost more than our entire meal in the floating restaurant that we went to after this!

Laura's idea of heaven part 2-see we weren't lying last time! She nearly got dreadlocks until she found out at last minute that she'd have to shave her hair off to get rid of them! Not a good look! This was in the Reggae Bar where they played U2 and The Cranberries for us in reggae stylee! There was no Radio-dread played Neil!!

How many drunks can you fit in a mini-van??

All 16 of us piled into the scariest Reggae van ever on way to 'Enigma' night club!

Debbies Irish Bar

We spent most of our time here playing violent games of Spoons! Check out Finchys excitement!The only card game where you may lose a hand-thanks for that Edel, Dara still has chunks missing from her finger, she still won though!! The English boys were just not getting the rules at all!

Styles (in the photo with hands in the air) -'But I HAVE four cards'

Rest of us (screaming and holding spoons)- 'It's not about the cards it's about the spoons'

For copy of the rules go to www.Styles-is-blonde.com , we absolutely love him-the English Joey Tribiani. Even when he cheated he lost!

'Dell Boy' and Zach, our friends from Debbies place! Obsessed with Cork, Maeve was a happy Cork girl! They are coming to Ireland next year so you can all meet them then! Smiliest people ever!

The beach across from Debbies was our fave place to go for pre-sunrise swims! The plankton sparkles when you move through the water! It looks like the stars are in the water, this is a must do if you ever go to Langkawi! The stars were amazing too, saw lots of shooting stars everynight! Good times :)

Boys giving it socks (.......and jumpers, trousers, shirts-everything they had) on the dancefloor!! Nothing we could do but watch and laugh!

Dara (in awe of the dancing) - 'I've been speechless before but I have never been danceless'

'I bet you look good from the dancefloor'

Bid Langkawi a fond farewell to go to Kuala Lumpur. We should never have left! Lauras bag went missing off the bus, she is now bagless and her lil teddy bear Humphery is lost! Crushed and heartbroken isn't even close to describing it! She doesn't care about the other possessions. Poor Finchy :(

The Petronas Towers are cool though-This is the view from our 5th 4 Star hotel!! We deserved a treat after all that bag hassle (any excuse)...hotel staff have been more helpful than the tourist police!

Sean (Canadian boy)-' My care factor is like zero'

His phrase sums up the attitude of the evil bus company and "tourist police"

Still holding out hope that it might turn up!Keep your fingers and your toes crossed people!!

2006-11-25T03:51:00.000+01:00

We apologise for the current lack of posts-especially to David O!!,

at first it was because there was way too much fun, sun, sand & sea to be enjoyed for us to bother with posting but now we are just having technical hitches all over the shop so we will try & attempt one asap!!!!

2006-11-10T08:47:00.000+01:00

Finchy crossing the border into Cambodia - four hours wait in the melting sun!! Attractive!

Dara: MISERY!!! Why dont they have outdoor airconditioning?!!

Aw the puppies!!! Dara finds love on first night in Phnom Penh :)

On to Siem Reap... the temples await...

First night in siem reap watching the sunset over Phrom Bakheng, lovely :)

Laura bumps into yet another randomer!!A nurse from Tallaght waving as we reached the top of this ancient temple in the middle of Cambodia....as you do!!

First day at Angkor Wat!

"A fine bunch of water lilies you turned out to be!!"

Not looking so bad from here ...we're well able for these steps!!...

Eh...on second thawt ...

The brave & daring Indiana Dara!!!

This is Angkor Wat ...

And this will be Eh-BIG!!!

(this product is in no way linked to the Ryder Cup!)

Outside Bayon Temple where Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was filmed!

Discovered we are not as fit as Angelina Jolie (Shocker!!)

There are 264 carved faces in this temple - never felt more stared at...except for in Phnom Penh during the water festival, 1-2 million people on the streets and we were a main attraction being 3 of the 14 white people present!!! People were cheering, touching, clapping ... and a little bit of pinching ... hmm ... "cheeky" to say the least!!!

"And I know you're baldy!!"

Got totally swindled by old, bald holy women in all the Buddha shrines, we were afraid they'd curse us if we didn't give them any money! Dara was already cursed with bad luck outside by a small boy - now have enough of Buddha's "good luck" to do us for the rest of the trip!! Sadly now broke tho... :(

Ulla fits right in!!

Just another face in the crowd!!

Tah Phrom Temple

Hooge trees!! This temple was left to go to ruin and now the jungle has taken over!

This is our favou-root temple! (Ulla responsible for ALL pun making!)

Si-em and weep (pun copywrite of D Fly!!)

The kids here would break your heart - we are all going to adopt Cambodian boys!

They all managed to swindle us out of our money as well, another reason to cry!! But they were worth every penny :)

Birds eye view of Temple Land from a hot air balloon - another of life's ambitions achieved, just keeps getting better!

Aerial view from hot air balloon of Angkor Wha'??

Most amazing sunrise - was worth getting up at 4.00am to see it!!

Dara: I'm making it sexy!!

No arm clots for Dara who chooses to wear flight socks on her arms when things get chilly! She thinks she can pull it off...?? In a few hours maybe!!

Aspera dancing carvings

MORE Aspera dancing carvings!! Not quite as convincing!

Banteay Srei - the fairytale temple :)

"Come with me and we'll be in a world of pure imagination..."

We met this very poor family living in the temple, bit of a reality check and made us realise we haven't much to complain about...

No touchies!! (she's behind you Ulla!) We're so mature :)

First selfless act of the trip!! Giving blood in siem reap at the children's hospital :)

Dara: This was HOOGE for me!!

Cue Dara asking a million questions regarding the sanitation, vein strength and general all round situation! She, being the one who wanted to do it in the first place!!

The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, on their national day of independence!

Very sad leaving Cambodia :( ...

Exceeded all expectations and now... on to Singapore!!!! :)

2006-11-03T16:15:00.000+01:00

Good Morning (from) Vietnam..

(too cliche?? probably..)

Here is L in Hanoi dressed as an Asian selling bananas

(stating the obvious...yes!)

Hanoi was odd, the twilight zone is how we are referring to it, not the happiest time for Ulla (hence no photos of her) as she got SLAPPED in the street on our first day there-BOO :(

(Lady didn't agree with her fashion sense clearly...)

The highlight of our time in Hanoi with Finch & Dara playing the smallest game of Jenga EVER!! This was just after we had found an ''Irish" pub!! The front of the pub was green & it said Failte Pub!after much Hurrah-ing outside..on closer inspection we discovered that it did in fact say Polite Pub & not Failte at all!! oh dear :( we felt slightly silly & moved on...

This is Tortoise Island on Haon Kiem Lake in Hanoi...we actually look like the water puppets that we went to see in an attempt to embrace Vietnamese culture!! Cue hysterical laughter from Dara & confusion from the rest of us...no idea what the show was about really..

Claff: I think I would understand what was going on...

if I knew Vietnamese...

Outside the grotto's in Halong Bay

Our songs of this trip were:

Halong, Halong must we sing this song and..

(while staying in a town called Cat Ba)

Rock the Cat Ba..

(we'r so sad!!)

Grotto Fabulous

Dara's attempts at being artsy!!

Barbie does NOT do trekking!!!!!!!!!!

We thought we were going to the beach & sea-kayaking (which ended up being a total disaster for Claff & Ulla as we paddled our boat onto the beach!!!!)

but ended up on a trek in a national park-BOO!! :( had to climb up a MILLION steps (no exaggeration!) in flip flops & skirts..sweating profusely doesn't even come close..

Dara: I think I died a little inside..

A fine example of health & safety precautions in action

This trip to Halong Bay would have been good if we had've organised it ourselves!! ie. no trekking, no waiting around & none of the d-og(iest) food ever

Can't look at Pringles or Oreos ever again!!!

Watching the sunset on Monkey Beach..

Went back to Hanoi after this & Claff left us...

The 3 stooges embarked on a 2 day, 2,000km bus trip through Vietnam,

our bums will never be the same...

Here is the Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An-we LOVED Hoi An!! Finally some good food & new wardrobes that were made for us in 4 hours...between us we got 2 winter jackets, 7 pairs of flip-flops, 3 dresses, 2 skirts & a hat!! Not bad for an afternoon, the purses took a hit though..

Beach time in Nha Thrang, totally unaware that a Typhoon was sweeping in!! Just thought the waves were big that day!!

After 2 days of bad toliets, lack of sleep & noisy Russians :( we arrived in Saigon & were pleasantly surprised by it!! so we decided to stay an extra night :)

This is Finch disguised as a Vietcong rebel in a very small hole...

We decided to go all historical & visit the Cu Chi tunnels to see what it was like during the war against America (they weren't biased at all!!) Americans: "a flock of devils!!"

Us grinning on a killing machine, tourists to the core :)

Once again smiles are masking our terror...the tunnels were TINY!!!!!! dark, small, cramped & very very sweaty!! they lived here for years in tunnels 240km long we made it thru 15m!!

BEST experience in Vietnam so far, were in the post office & randomly got talking to a girl called Moon. She invited us back to her house & we had dinner with her & her family & sang Gareth Gates songs together...see what we mean about twilight zone..she also told us that she likes Boney M....?????!!!! Dara got her first motor bike experience in crazy beeping-moped land! 3 people to a moped!! Are leaving Vietnam exhausted but happy :)

2006-10-26T15:00:00.000+02:00

Pink Elephants on Parade :)

Dara covering up fear with the largest grin known to man!!

This will be her new mode of transport when she returns to Dublin!!

Finch - deloig-hed!! (delighted in scangtalk)
Post-Heffalump Happiness (look how colourdy we are!!)

I Love Lamp!!

This was in the restaurant in The Little Creek Resort in Kanchanaburi-nicest resort & food ever!! (our last good meal before Vietnam)

This is Lily, our monkey friend :)

The Laughing Cow!!

(Us at Erawan 7-tiered waterfall!!) This is where Dara discovered her 7 inch diet, lose 7 inches off your ass in 7 seconds!! (Dara unfortunately was in First Aid during the taking of these photos as she grated her bum off a rock in a waterfall!!! -OUCH!!)

Cheese spreads!!

Ulla (deeply cheesy!)

This is for Aoife Flynn 'The Heart of the Tiger!!' (hee-hee!!)

I'm so happy I feel like

B-Ouncin!!

Wise words from Tigger!

(if u click on the photos,

they get bigger!)

2006-10-21T09:08:00.000+02:00

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as if everything is - Albert Einstein

This is one of the prettiest beaches ever!! Its Leela Beach in Koh Phangan where we went for a sunset swim :)

There are no restrictions to swimming at any time of day as the water is a bath all day and all night!!!

Leela Beach before sunset

If the above photos have made you jealous turn away now.....

Koh Phi-Phi by day and by night

What were we doing on other islands????? The minute we got here we realised that nowhere else will compare to the paradise we have found here...

(even Lanzarote!!!)

The only downside to the island is the constant playing of UB40!!!!!! NOoooo!! Death!

Kingston town is not a place i long to be, drinking red red wine in a kitchen full of rats!

Even though we are on the most beautiful island ever, Ulla still managed to get sad while looking at a map of Ireland...it just looks like a little green teddy bear!!

On 'The Beach' beach!! Maya Bay-most beautiful place in the world-no photo we could take will ever do it justice.

We spent so long recording it on the video camera but nothing compares to seeing it with your own eyes! Everyone needs to leave whatever they're doing in green teddy bear land & get out here!!!

Thankfully we made it to shore minus any shark attacks!!

Oh No! Ulla just spotted a shark behind Finch!!

Dara was too Ha-Phi-Phi to notice!!!

We had the best picnic ever, eating our food in the water...our two favourite things combined!!

Got to feed real live monkeys on Monkey Beach & we saw dolphins too!! What a day!!

These are our Israeli Boat buddies-they made our trip lots of fun, kept singing & clapping all day! Their English let them down at times instead of asking us our ages we were asked 'How much are you???' Hmmm...

There are no words.....

2006-10-16T06:56:00.000+02:00

'On Boat'

We were in Koh Tao from Thurs to Sat & LOVED it!! So pretty & peaceful.

Got a 'taxi boat' around the island...just lovely

Stopped the boat for a while & got to do a bit of snorkeling in the clearest water ever :)

We then moved on to Koh Phangan for the Half Moon Weekend...

These are for Mary Claffey...Laura's doing great-we're having a ball!!

Look at our crazy new camera that takes mad night time photies! Had a fun nite at the beach party.. Ulla fell spectacularly while dancing energetically...Ohh-er!

Look at the place in which we are staying for 4 euro a night!!!!!!! Beautiful..& scorching hot!

Heaven....according to the Finch...hmmmmm...

Dancing away at the half mon party-look at our pretty flower arms!

We're off to Phi-Phi island 2mo-where The Beach was filmed!

Watch out for more beautiful photos over the next few days :)

2006-10-11T11:16:00.000+02:00

The Internet Cafe -

where we seem to be spending ALL of our time!!

How many chins does Ulla have in this photo!?!

The Grand Palace in Bangkok -

Dara got sick of Ulla & Finch & found a new Buddh(ie)!

Look at the RIDICULOUS clothes they made me wear!

Ulla was of course 'Inappropriately' (to be said in a Yorkshire accent-Markie!) dressed...no surprises there!

Ooohh where's this??

I think it's The Peninsula Hotel!!

(voted best Hotel in Bangkok in 2005)

Look at us chillin in our sallas!!

Shortly after this photograph was taken we were engulfed by a 5 hr long thunder & lightning storm but we managed to escape to....

2006-10-11T10:51:00.000+02:00

....the complimentary fitness centre

where we had full use of sauna, steam room & jacuzzi!!

Three Ladies in a Baht!!

(Anyone who has ever used Thai money will appreciate my misspelling of bath ;) & fans of Little Britain can say that caption in a Florence & Emily-esq voice!! (Rego!)

Another One Please?

Our Hotel at night-time!

This one is HUGE for me! - Dara

Pool-type area!

Biggest breakfast ever!!! on the prettiest riverside garden terrace!

LOVE Peninsula living!

Look at Finchie's little head!!

Cutest small boat man ever!! He kept bowing at us & smiling & calling us M'am!!

Finch - I'd be so proud if I was his mother!!!

Soo all in all we've been having an AMAZING time here in Bangkok!!

Off to the islands now in 3 hours time!!!

2006-10-09T09:37:00.000+02:00

The Journey Begins...how hot are we???

That¨s Disgusting!! The Ugliness continues but the socks r necessary on longhaul flights! Note to self... always wear long trousers to disguise them!

Ko San Road.. Girls hitting the town...the unattractiveness continues..that didnt stop us stayin out for 11 hours!!!!

Welcome to the Twilight zone...Spot the Irish??? Yeah neither could we!!

Liam and Stephen in Gullivers, the first of many randomers...

Heaven...according to Dara the preacher..

Scrumtastic

Heaven...according to Ulla..the Yorkshire obsessive

Tuk'Tuk urselves in there!!!

Ulla and Russell Bland!

We're Here!!!!!!
Just a quick post to let everyone know we have arrived safely!!!
The madness has begun in earnest!! we have already met crazy people including some from Yorkshire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We also listened to an Asian band (in an Irish bar) singing Zombie, the Arctic Monkeys, Audioslave & Come On Eileen-v v random!!!! We also met an Australian rugby team.... :)
Food is wonderful & cheap, hotel is lovely & the humid weather is already playing havoc with Ulla's hair!!!
4 star hotel 2mo night-bring it on!!!!

2006-10-02T12:06:00.002+02:00

Going Away Party!!

The combination of fairy lights, Dara t-shirts, balloons, a fluffy donations bucket, all of our favourite people AND the best DJ in the world-bar none!! helped to make our party the best send off we could have hoped for!!
(Sadly our photo taking on the night did not live up to the greatness of what was going on around us so I (Ulla) only have 24 photos to show for the night-most of which are either out of focus or HIDEOUS!! so any photo donations from our already generous friends would be most welcome!!)
Thanks to everyone who came for making it such a brilliant night & we apologise for the tears...but we were just showing how much we love everyone!!
Here are some of the passable photos...

Laura looking slightly demented, Neil (in his own words) "Lookin' Good!" & Brian-nervously laughing!!

Getting the dancing started!
I do believe we were dancing to 5ive here!

Dara's T-Shirt Posse!!

Aww-the lovely ladies :)

Really we totally failed on the photo front-we apologise to the other 100 or so people who were in attendance but somehow managed to escape being photographed!! Sorry!

2006-08-23T21:45:00.000+02:00

Could be, we three. Get along so famously coz
you two have me, & I have you two, too!!