Carl Travel 06

Wellington

Hi all,

Thought I would send a few pics of Wellington, for those who haven't visited here yet.

Wellington's world-famous (in Wellington) bucket fountain.

Cuba St.

Wellington Harbour.

Bouldering at Fly Boulder (Red Rocks, on the south coast near the city) a couple of days ago.

I still don't own a working camera, hence not too many photos...

I'm working for a small organisational psych consulting firm, mostly doing selection and developmental assessment of managers. It's interesting work, and going well so far. I've found myself a nice apartment with a couple of cool flatties near town -- there's plenty of couch space and spare matresses if any of you happen to visit NZ.

Estoy en casa... ¿y porque nadie entiende español?

By popular demand (well, one person asked for them once, anyway), here are some photos of around home - dredged up from my Dad's computer using Picasa, so they're not new, but things don't change very fast around here :)

The farm.

New Zealand native bush.

Sheep... (for those of you who, like one of the customers in the cheese shop this morning, might confuse them with goats).

Our farm again.

My mother, Sharon, and my niece (Ruth's daughter), Rosa.

My sister Ruth.

My sister Marion, and my grandmother, Pearl.

Marion and my brother, David, hiking ("tramping" is the New Zealand word).

David at the family bach (holiday home), which is where Ruth and her husband Kieren are living at the moment.

Near the bach.

Near the bach (the girls are relatives of Kieren).

Mmmm.... cheese.

Neudorf Dairy cheeses, for sale at the local market.

Dad, with the official Neudorf Dairy van.

Way down South (Stewart Island 50km).

The Most Dangerous Road Home - La Paz to Machu Picchu to New Zealand

After leaving the refuge, I headed out to Santa Cruz for some good food, Christmas shopping, and to finally do my washing. Very nice city. Another overnight bus trip later, I arrived in La Paz, highest capital city in the world (pictured).

... and from here I descended the Most Dangerous Road in the World on mountain bike, from La Paz to Choroico. It's 3600m of vertical descent over a one day ride - that's the equivalent of mountain biking down Mt Cook. It's kind of nice, because as the day goes by you get more and more oxygen, so you feel more and more energetic instead of more tired.

After La Paz, I took the bus to Lake Titicaca, and then the boat to Isla del Sol.

Young sheperds on the island.

Incan sacrificial altar

View from the island at twilight

Sunset.

From Lake Titicaca, I took another long bus ride up to Cusco, and then by complicated means managed to get to Aguas Callientes (view from my hostal is pictured).

Machu Picchu was a short bus ride away, early the next morning (pictured). The ruins are extensive and interesting, and deserve their status as South America's biggest tourist destination.

Llama.

Walking near Machu Picchu

View of the main ruins, from the ruins of the city's watchtowers.

Ruins at Pisac, near Cusco.

Leaving Cusco, I took a 52 hour bus journey down to the trendy beachside resort of Vina del Mar, near Santiago de Chile, where I recovered for a couple of days and did some wine shopping, before catching my plane home for Christmas.