In June 2009 we came back to Canada to stay at Wendy's parents house in Brucefield, located in Huron County, Ontario, along the shores of Lake Huron. This vibrant rural community is the most agriculturally productive county in Ontario.

Due to my coming together with Wendy I've established a long lost connection together with my father, whom I have not seen for over thirty years and only met once when I was ten, and his two sons, whom I have never met, other then a few brief email exchanges. Thus during our three month stay in Canada in 2009 and following an invitation from Teresa, my fathers second wife, I've flew across to Georgia, Atlanta to meet the whole family. This also turned out to be a great expirience and well worth the trip.

Following my return from Atlanta I attended a ten day Vipassana meditation course in Barrie, after which I rode across four counties of Ontario and back home using my favorite mode of transport, my mountain bike. The counties that I rode through included the Simcoe County (middle mountain terrain plus lots of mosquitoes), Grey County (unexpectedly high mountain passes and killer headwinds), Bruce County (the lowlands with rollings hillsides) and the Huron County, the home of Wendy's parents or as I like to call it the "vibrant green flatlands". The distance I covered ended up being 460km with average riding days being from 9am till 6pm.

My start point was Egbert, ON and my end point Brucefield, ON. I rode on a steel frame mountain bike and carried clothes and food supply to last me around a week, bar water of which I had 8 liters with frequent refills. I also brought with me my small hiking ten from Oz and my sleeping bag. Most nights I pitched my tent wherever I could get away with it, but I did spend the first night in a motel in Orillia and two other nights in Ontario's provincial parks. I meet some great locals along the way and had a fabulous time exploring Canada's Ontario region from the seat of a mountain bike. I also rode across several closed railroad tracks now converted into multi use trails. I mostly stayed off the provincial highways, using as many backroad sections as possible.

Coming back to Brucefield, sore and tired, I took a weekend off and then commenced a five day B&B cycle tour of the Huron County together with Wendy. Our Average distance covered was 40km per day with the total ride being 220km on what proved to be a blast and a physical challenge for Wendy. She did however pulled through with flying colours!

Our time in Canada came to a close at the end of August 09, when we boarded a plane in Toronto back to Australia, Sydney and via Los Angeles.

The following are some of my selected images from this time in Canada:

Canada - ( see more )

Over the course of the year and on the way to visiting my mum, who has a house in Sawtell by Coffs Harbour, myself and Wendy explored a few great places in the area of Northen NSW. This took us from the magic of the wonderful little seaside town of Yamba, 100km above Coffs to the splendour of the Warrumbungle National Park with a few days stop over in Sydney. Starting with Yamba we both warmly encourage everyone passing on the Pacific Highways, between Sydney and Brisbane to at least make a short coffee stop in this very charismatic town or better still, spending a few days there, you won't be disappointed... As to Warrumbungles this Heritage listed National Park offers some great walks and amazing scenery. It was there that we did a seven hour 20km walk and were completely spent but also very glad that we did so, both for the scenery and the photos...

This Park covers an area of 21,004 hectares. Visitors share the Park with the hundreds of native animals and a picnic could introduce you to kangaroos, koalas, emus and an abundance of birdlife. The Visitors Centre in the Warrumbungles is staffed each day and provides walking maps and camping information. Visitors are encouraged to wander the walking trails and tracks through the National Park and experience the peace and tranquillity of a protected, fragile environment guarded by the lofty mountains.

Walking tracks in the National Park are clearly marked and a map will give details of the terrain, time and features and there is abundance of camping sites and fire places. Also for those less comfortable with roughing it, there are amenities with running hot water, showers, etc.

Lastly we spend a week in Sydney with our friends in Chatswood from where we explored the city during both the day and night, with and without our cameras!

The following are several selected images from the past few months activities:

Yamba - ( see more )

Sydney - ( see more )

Warrumbungle National Park - ( see more )

It was time to visit South Island in New Zealand and besides, I simply just could not resist the outrageously low prices of plane tickets right now.

We decided to travel by a car which would give us more flexibility. Truth be told, the campervan is the best way to get around in this country, however arriving here in autumn, we knew there would be plenty of readily affordable accommodation. We left our options open in regards to our itinerary since we only had a week spare. Once landed in Christchurch we picked up the rental car, making our way to the backpackers lodge. The first place we stayed was a bit below average but at least we had a private room and a warm bed for the night.

That very first night we headed out to the Cathedral Square and came upon a travel agency open late at night. In addition to getting some ideas for our itinerary we secured a booking on the Milford Wonderer, a ship cruise that would provide one night's accommodation, dinner, breakfast, sunset and sunrise forays into the fiord's entrance, nature guides and canoeing. All that for the attractive price of $147 NZ per person.

The following day we jumped into our little red rental Toyota, heading toward Mount Cook, with Queenstown as the final destination for the day. The main attraction along the way had to be Lake Tekapo, with it's crystal clear water, serene surrounds and beautiful views. The drive along Lake Pukaki toward the base of Mount Cook was also quite spectacular, even if without the same sense of magic and serenity that we experienced around Lake Tekapo. By this time, we were going quite shutter crazy, finally arriving in Queenstown at 10pm. Bit weary from the drive, we opted for an inexpensive motel instead of hunting for a backpackers.

The next morning we got up at 4.30am, with 5am as our target departure time to Milford Sound. The idea was to beat the tour buses that we heard greatly frequented the following stretch of road and catching some of the soft early morning light in the process. So via Te Anau to Milford Sound we drove, enjoying the vistas along this magnificent stretch of road, with countless stops along the way. Once we've exhausted ourselves photographically at Milford Sound, we boarded the ship that was going to be our home for the night. The cruise along the fiord was simply spectacular, with the sunset and sunrise jaunts to the ocean easily as the highlight. On our return to dry land, driving for five hours, we returned to Queenstown for the night, taking more photos along the way. We got there just in time for a sunset at the top off Coronet Peak which overlooks Queenstown and is a well known ski resort in the area.

The next day we headed to the South Island's West Coast via the scenic road to Wanaka. A great little town and an attractive alternative to the larger and more commercial Queenstown. In fact we liked Wanaka so much that we just had to stop for a coffee before moving on. The next part of our trip took us on the stretch of road between Wanaka and Haast. We found this scenic route simply breathtaking, making our drive longer, due to the constant photo stops. Nevertheless, two hitchhikers and a few hundred kilometers later, we finally made our way to the small tourist town of Fox Glacier, finding a wonderful little tourist park which suited our budget.

When the next morning arrived and thanks to a slight stomach bug of my Canadian companion, we canceled the guided glacier tour, opting instead to drive and walk there un-aided. This worked out much better as despite the cold chill and building showers, I managed to walk right up to and along the glacier, enjoying it's icy crystal majesty. The most significant feature of this part of the country is how the glaciers are sandwiched between mountains on one side and the rich, lush rainforest's on the other, making for stark contrast in the landscape.

Taking all this in, we drove onward, heading to Hokitika where we considered spending the night. However as this town didn't really inspire a warm and fuzzy feeling, we kept on driving, hoping for a town with more appeal. As we were heading back in the general direction of Christchurch, our drive inadvertently took us through Arthur's Pass, an area rich in history and hikers paradise. Besides being a man made mountain pass, along some very steep roads that made our little red Toyota grunt in agony, Arthur's Pass was also a place that we immediately fell in love with.

Calling into the local backpacker's we got a room in a quaint little cottage. Located in the vicinity of a local Kiwi bird population that one could hear at night and surrounded by both imposing and beautiful mountain peaks, it was a wonderful way to spend our last night in New Zealand, enjoying great conversations next to a cozy fireplace. The following day, having immensely enjoyed our stay, we decided that beside doing the Milford Track and staying overnight at Wanaka, this was definitely going to be a place that we would like to revisit.

We then drove onto Christchurch, returned our car, checked into the airport and proceeded to map out our next trip to New Zealand, while waiting for our plane home. All in all it was an outstanding, 2000km+ holiday with magical vistas, great people and mostly great weather which Wendy and I would both highly recommend....

The following are some of my selected images from this trip:

New Zealand - ( see more )

Wanting a bit of break from the city we decided to head down for a weekend of camping at Gillards Beach in Tathra, NSW Mimosa Rocks National Park.

This park features a rugged and scenic coastline with many beaches enjoyed by surfers, fishers, snorkelers, birdwatchers and sightseers. Many natural sculptures occur on headlands, cliffs and rock stacks.

Bushcamping is permitted at Middle Beach, Picnic Point, Aragunnu and Gillards Beach. Fees apply, payable on site. Picnic facilities with barbecues also available.

The park is located 22 km north-east of Bega, off the Tathra-Bermagui Road.

The Kangaroos were quite tame and used to human presence, almost peering into our tent. Paradoxically this added to the sense of camping in the bush and made for very pleasant mornings, once the city slicker Canadian squatting lessons were concluded and over.

We've really enjoyed this weekend with beautiful sunrises, wide expenses of beaches and bushland and even some Aboriginal sacred sites in an adjoining National Park.

All in all an excellent weekend with the following being some of my selected images:

Canada - ( see more )