After an overnight layover in Copenhagen we arrived in Bangkok yesterday morning.  We are staying at Villa Cha Cha in the Banglamphu area close to the Chao Phraya River.  We had an easy day yesterday and had a tremendous thunderstorm in the afternoon whilst having coffee and watched the road fill with water in the space of an hour, reaching the top of the kerb.  This morning we took a river taxi down to Wat Arun, an important Buddhist temple which we'd seen on previous visits to Bangkok but never visited until today.  It was much more ornate up close than we'd realised; covered in mosaic tiles and sculptured carvings.

This morning we visited another temple which we hadn't previously seen.  Wat Saket, the Golden Mount.  After a half hour walk in 32 degree heat with high humidity, we entered the grounds and climbed the stairs to the top, pausing to take in the views and admire the golden Buddha statues along the way.  The temple was busy with locals performing their devotions which made it all the more atmospheric.  We then returned to a bar on the riverside to replenish the fluid we'd lost.

We arrived in Khao Tao on Monday and started work at Rescue PAWS at 8.30 Tuesday morning. It's a charitable organisation whose aim is to reduce the population of street dogs and cats in this province by means of sterilisation, vaccination and education (more info on their website).  There are 3 groups of animals here: a kennel for adult dogs who are awaiting possible adoption, clinic animals who are recovering from illness or have disabilities that share the office space with the staff and a kennel for abandoned puppies.  For the last few days we've been cleaning out poopy kennels first thing each morning (it's astonishing how much poop 12 puppies can produce), feeding and watering, taking the adult dogs and clinic dogs down to the beach where they are free to run and play, and doing feeding runs where we go out in a truck loaded with dog food and feed packs of street dogs.  Today we took the clinic dogs down to the beach, which included Fudge (see photo of her being fed treats by Paul); Fudge has no rear legs so she was strapped into a harness with two back wheels which she has got used to indoors but this was her first outing and it was lovely to see her running with her buddies.  The clinic employs a full time vet and veterinary nurses and offer free sterilisation and health care to Thai families and there's always a queue every morning.  Rabies is prevalent in the street dog population and the team often combine the feeding runs with vaccinations.

After a quiet weekend in Khao Tao, we got the bus back to Bangkok Airport on Monday (thanks for organising that Jacob - nice comfy bus) and we stayed overnight at the Novotel Hotel at the airport ready for an early flight to Kathmandu Tuesday morning.  When we landed it felt good to be back in Nepal; at once very familiar but also many changes.  After the serenity of Khao Tao we have had to adjust to the hustle and bustle of Thamel (the main tourist and traveller area of Kathmandu).

We are on Day 4 of our trek in the Himalayas and have climbed to 3700 metres.  It hasn't been easy!  Today was a shorter walk with beautiful views and we arrived at Therapati at lunchtime.  Had an easy afternoon to help us acclimatise to the lack of oxygen up here.  It's been great to be back in Nepal and experience the highs and lows of trekking from the sheer hard work to the amazing guides and porter.  Anyway as the wi fi is likely to be intermittent up here, we'll get a few photos posted to give you a flavour.

After a day in Kathmandu following our trek, we made the 25 minute flight down to Bharatpur and staying 3 nights at Green Park Lodge in Chitwan National Park where we started our safari.  We arrived on Saturday afternoon and took a canoe safari for an hour.  What better way of spending an afternoon than floating down the river in a dug out canoe listening to the sounds of the forest and admiring the abundant bird life.  We also got to see deer on the bank and crocodiles in and out of the water.

We left Chitwan yesterday after our final jeep safari.  We didn't spot any tigers but we saw rhinos, including one in the lake eating Lotus leaves (we were both surprised to find out rhinos are good swimmers).  This morning we drove five hours on a road under construction (so far from a smooth ride) to Lumbini.  We wanted to visit Lumbini as it's the birthplace of Buddha and we spent a few hours at the Maya Devi Temple soaking up the atmosphere and listening to the monks and lay people chanting.  The remains of the original palace are inside the temple and there is a bed which indicates where Buddha was born.  Fabulous place.  As you can see food is put out for the local macaque population.

Yesterday we drove from Lumbini to Bardia National Park in western Nepal, thankfully on better roads than the day before.  We're staying at Babai Resort for 4 days and today we had a full day jeep safari.  We had a day of assorted deer and monkeys.  But the highlight of the day was seeing a large male leopard walking down the path in front of the jeep.  We stayed with him for some time while he meandered around. It was a magnificent sight.  Some of you may have heard about the earthquake in Nepal which happened yesterday.  Just to reassure you that this occurred near the border with Tibet, far from where we are.  Unfortunately six people died in the earthquake.

Today was our final day in Bardia before flying back to Kathmandu for a few days.  We didn't really see a tiger up close but Paul got a glimpse of one crossing the river in the distance.  The best time of year for seeing tigers is April/May when it's hot and the tigers cool off at waterholes or river.  We'll have to come back!  But we saw a lot of wildlife including 3 leopards, monkeys, deer etc.

Today is our last day in Nepal (at least for this visit).  We had coffee with the tour organiser, Ghanshyam, and he shared some of his photos which we thought we'd share with you.  Plus a few photos of food from OR2K our favourite restaurant.  We have mixed feelings; it's sad to be leaving Nepal but excited at the prospect of the next chapter in our world trip.  We will be flying from Kathmandu to Indonesia via Singapore and Bali to a small island called Flores where we have a three day boat trip planned.

We flew from Kathmandu to Flores Island in Indonesia (three flights via Singapore and Bali) and returned yesterday from a three day boat trip around some of the smaller islands.  We hired a small wooden boat including a guide and three crew (we'll add a photo of our boat) and saw some stunning places as well as excellent snorkelling spots.  It's low season here so nowhere was very busy; our guide informed us that at peak times there could be up to 200 boats following the same itinerary but we saw about six boats on a regular basis.  One of the photos is from a viewpoint where you can see a black beach, a white beach and a pink beach.  The pink beach is due to the dark pink coral (again photos included).  Yesterday morning Paul and the guide went swimming with Manta rays (Sue stayed and watched from the boat as it entailed jumping over the side of a small motorboat into deep water).  Massive creatures.  We also got the opportunity to visit Komodo Island and did a walking trail with one of the rangers and were lucky enough to see three Komodo Dragons.  We're now back on dry land staying at a small beach resort for a few days before we fly back to Bali; we are in a beachfront room and Paul will doubtless be taking his snorkel in later to see what he can spot whilst Sue checks out the sun loungers.  Did we mention it's about 30 degrees here; presumably a little cooler than that in the UK!

Since our last post we have flown from Flores Island to Bali and are staying for 9 days in Ubud, a town inland north of Denpasar.  We've rented a house with a pool so that we can have a break from hotels and have the ability to cook for ourselves.  Paul was particularly delighted to be greeted by Ganesh when we entered the villa.

Yesterday morning we left Ubud and got a car down to the dock at Padangbai (the photo with all the boats) and spent one and three quarter hours on the ferry across to Gili Meno; because of the shallow depth of the water, the ferry couldn't dock so we transferred from the boat to the jetty via a small barge.  This is the smallest of the Gili islands off of the coast of Lombok (1 km long and 0.5 km wide).  There are no roads and we had to get a horse and cart to the Seri Resort.  We were pleasantly surprised that the horses looked well cared for.  We are staying four nights in a bungalow on the beach (you can see the view from our bungalow in the photos).  It's very laid back and days consist of snorkelling (Paul has seen three turtles already) and lounging on sunbeds in the shade (it's around thirty three degrees and very humid).  Did we mention the cocktails at happy hour?

After four nights on the quiet island of Gili Meno, we crossed to neighbouring Gili Air by slow motorboat about twenty minutes away.  By contrast Gili Air is much more developed and has a greater variety of restaurants, hotels, shops etc but still there are no cars and the only forms of transport are horse and cart, bicycles and electric motor scooters.  We stayed on the east side of the island where the corals are more plentiful and hence more fish which Paul found more diverse and interesting than Gili Meno.  However we did walk round to the west coast to catch the sunset whilst sipping cocktails and both the sunset and the cocktails were stunning.  Today we returned to Bali by one of the ferries that do a circuit from Bali, then round the three Gili Islands, across to Lombok and then back to Bali.  Were staying in Bali for a couple of nights before we fly to the Maldives on the 17th.  We've loved our time on the Gili islands and were lucky with the weather as it's supposed to be the rainy season but we've had blue skies almost continually.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Arriving into Delhi a few days ago we were shocked to experience 13 degree temperatures after the 30 degree temperature of the Maldives.  Fortunately we have our cold weather clothes with us.  The following day we flew even further north to Rishikesh in the foothills of the Himalayas, with similarly cool climate.  When the sun is out during the day, it's like a spring day in the UK but the temperature dips when the sun goes down.

We thought we'd do a brief update on our departure from Rishikesh.  We had stayed for four nights at The Lemon Tree hotel in Rishikesh where all the staff made us feel very welcome despite being a big busy hotel with many guests.  Yesterday afternoon whilst waiting for our transfer to the railway station the hotel manager came and offered us coffee and when it arrived, he and three of his front line staff presented us with a cake to say thank you for staying with them.  We aren't sure if this was because of the length of stay (most guests seemed to stay for one or two nights) or whether it was because we were the only Europeans.

We are currently staying at the Ranthambore Heritage Haveli hotel (first photo) and today went to Ranthambore Fort.  The Fort is alongside and overlooks Ranthambore National Park.  The road there was choked with traffic; these days the Fort is a site of pilgrimage as there is an ancient Ganesh temple that draws people from all over India and particularly at auspicious times of year, including new year.  The Fort dates from the ninth century and covers a vast area; the path to the top (and it was high) is via stone steps which were run alive with monkeys, due to being fed by the worshippers as part of their devotions. From the top there is an outstanding view across the National Park as far as the eye can see.  When we were picked up from the hotel we were surprised that it was in an open jeep but that meant it was perfect for spotting wildlife on the drive there and back, and you can see what we spotted from the photos.

We arrived into Udaipur, the city of lakes, via overnight train from Delhi and been staying at Oolala Guest House with a room overlooking one of the lakes.  

We left Udaipur this morning by car and had a long drive to Jodhpur so we decided to break the journey in a couple of places, the first being Kumbhalgarh Fort.  As you can see from the photos the views from the top were magnificent and the Fort itself very impressive.  We were sorry we couldn't spend more time here but we needed to hit the road.

We've had two full days in Jodhpur, the blue city.  Although not as blue as you might expect as many of the buildings in the old city are now either white or pink.  We stayed in a 500 year old Haveli in the old city, where the lanes are so narrow that they can only be accessed by motorcycles and tuktuks.  The location was perfect being right under the walls of Mehrengarh Fort (yet another fort!) and the first photo is from the rooftop.

After a six hour train journey from Jodhpur, we arrived into Jaipur, the pink city (more pink than Jodhpur was blue).  As we knew we would be too late for dinner in Jaipur, we opted to buy food on the train from the myriad of vendors who ply their products through the carriages.  We had stuffed puris and samosas (costing less than 50 pence for both of us) and cups of coffee.

After Jaipur, we flew to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, via a short layover in Bangkok.  This is our third time in Chiang Mai so as you may have guessed, it's a place we really love.  Also, because we know it well there's no need for us to rush around exploring; we came here for eight days of rest and recuperation after the madness of India and before we start two weeks volunteering work in Sumatra.  We've rented a lovely apartment near Thapae Gate so we're close to everything we need.  And directly opposite a laundry so we have all clean clothes - a rarity!  We had to pay a visit to the local Decathlon store to replace Sue's travel bag which had completely worn through.

On Friday we both went to Lila's Massage Spa; Paul had a Thai massage and Sue had an aloe vera body massage.  Lila's is a unique Spa in that all the therapists are ex-offenders from Chiang Mai correctional facility where they are taught their skills and offered employment upon release.

We have been in Sumatra for a week volunteering at Batu Kapal Conservation Sanctuary (www.batukapalconservation.com) and took the opportunity on our day off to come into the village of Bukit Lawang, twenty minutes by motorbike, for an overnight stay (with the bonus of being able to access Wi-Fi.  

We have now finished our second week of volunteering at Batu Kapal Conservation in the Sumatran jungle.  It was sad to leave, both the project and the people who have become like a family to us.  

We left Sumatra and the Batu Kapal Conservation project and flew across to Bali where we spent a few days catching up on laundry as most of our clothes were muddy, dank (as nothing ever really dried out in the jungle) and smelt revolting!  Luckily we had a washing machine in the apartment in Bali and got through almost a whole packet of Rinso washing powder.  From Bali we had a short 40 minute ferry crossing to the tiny island of Nusa Lembongan where we are staying for one week in an Airbnb at the top of the island overlooking the surrounding woodland and the sea beyond, and Mount Agung on Bali in the distance.  We hired Scoopy the Scooter mainly so that we could go shopping as there's nothing within walking distance of the house.  We found Island Fresh, an organic shop selling fresh fruit and vegetables, as we are self catering.  It's good to be able to cook for ourselves when and what we want.  Some of the restaurants on the island offer free pick up and drop off, so we did go out one evening and had a pizza down in the "town".  It was a bit of a culture change after the tranquility of our villa.  On Friday we are transferring down to a hotel on the beach for our last few days on the island so that Paul can give his snorkel and fins an airing.

On 24th February we moved down from our villa to Ohanas Beach Club which was a big change from the tranquility of the hills to the comparatively busy village by the sea.  Ohanas was weird in that it was the biggest collection of western tourists we'd seen since the Maldives.  It's a surprise that this small island seems to be attracting mainstream tourism and families with young children, given that the main draw in these parts is surfing.  The weather wasn't great for these last few days with some tremendous thunderstorms (as you can see from the photos before and after the storm).  On the Sunday evening, there was live music at Ohanas which was surprisingly good.  Many of the bars and restaurants, including Ohanas, support a local charity, Paws of Lembongan, which has a sterilisation and vaccination programme looking after the street dogs and cats which sounds very similar to Rescue Paws in Thailand.  Also pleased to see that some of the eateries are looking to become plastic-free and reducing their carbon footprint, whilst providing delicious vegetarian food.  During our stay in Indonesia we have been delighted that many dishes substitute chicken/meat with tempeh and tofu.  On 27th February we were picked up by Rocky's Fast Cruises for the 45 minute crossing back to Bali and onwards to the airport for our flight to Singapore.

We arrived into Singapore on Monday evening.  Having looked at the weather forecast before we arrived, it didn't look hopeful with heavy rain and thunderstorms predicted.  This was our second time in Singapore, the first time being about twelve or thirteen years ago and we had wet weather then too.  The city has changed considerably in that time with the addition of the Gardens by the Bay and the Helix Footbridge, and the skyline has developed dramatically.  On Tuesday morning the rain looked set for the day so we opted for the hop on hop off bus as a means of getting round the city without getting drenched.  Although by the time we got to the Gardens by the Bay we were far from dry and the icy air conditioning in the Flower Dome left us feeling chilled - we don't know why all public buildings in Singapore have to be quite so cold.  Having said that we thoroughly enjoyed our time in both the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest.  We didn't explore the outside gardens and Supertree Grove on Tuesday but we did get back there Wednesday and this morning in rather better weather.  Fortunately it stayed dry on Wednesday evening when we returned to watch the stunning light show.  This morning we went to the Sky Park on the 56th floor of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel with an almost 360 degree view of the city.  Unusually the sun was shining!  Today we are sad to be leaving Asia after more than four months but being in Singapore it feels like we had already left.

We left Singapore on Thursday evening and after an almost ten hour flight arrived into Christchurch, New Zealand.  We were stopped at immigration as there is currently an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Indonesia and Singapore, and our luggage was searched and all footwear was taken away to be disinfected, and then we had to walk through a footbath before we were allowed to leave the airport.  We spent a couple of days in Christchurch, the capital of South Island but which felt more like a small market town in the UK.  Most of our time there was spent shopping as there were a few bits we needed although that wasn't easy because the shopping malls were limited in both size and stock.  Maldon High Street would have been more forthcoming!  One of the highlights of Christchurch was finding Dosa Kitchen where we had a fairly authentic Masala Dosa.

Leaving Akaroa, we took the "scenic drive" route which wasn't worth doing on the way in as the rain was so heavy and visibility was poor.  But   it was brilliant sunshine when we left Akaroa and it was a stunning diversion.  The road climbed up above the coast with spectacular views down to Akaroa and the Pacific Ocean.  In Tekapo we stayed in a suite overlooking the lake with the mountains behind.  We could see the towering peak of Mount John from our window and it seemed rude not to climb it.  So we did.  It proved to be a challenging climb but well worth the effort for the views from the summit.  Unfortunately the weather wasn't so great yesterday, with heavy rain all morning, but in the afternoon it cleared and the sun came out so we walked round the lake to the Church of the Good Shepherd (one of the highlights of this area, although we're not sure why!).  Lake Tekapo is within the Dark Sky Reserve and last night was the first chance we had to see the stars as the sky cleared.  All the street lights are small and fairly dim to prevent too much light pollution, so all we had to do was climb up onto the golf course behind our accommodation for a good view of the Milky Way.  Unfortunately we couldn't see the Southern Cross, but today we have driven to Aoraki Mount Cook which is also within the Dark Sky Reserve so fingers crossed!  Watch this space.

On Friday we drove from Lake Tekapo to Aoraki Mount Cook where we stayed two nights at the Aoraki Alpine Lodge with great views down the valley to Mount Cook.  We arrived at lunchtime having stopped en route to do the hike up to Lake Tasman Glacier; the glacier, as with glaciers throughout the world, is receding fast and now can be seen in the distance from the viewpoint when at one time would have been much closer.  After lunch we did a one hour hike which climbed up through the forest.  Many of the shrubs that are familiar in UK gardens are trees here in New Zealand.  Yesterday (Saturday) we hiked the Hooker Valley Trail which is the most popular trail in the area and at times seemed like a procession (as you can see from the photo below).  However there were stunning views all the way to Hooker Lake, a glacial lake with many floating icebergs.  Whilst walking back we heard a tremendous rumble and crash; some people said it was an avalanche and some said it was the glacier carving.  It was a four hour return hike and we were both pretty weary by the time we got back to the Lodge.

After leaving Aoraki Mount Cook we drove south to Wanaka, a small town on Lake Wanaka.  En route we crossed Lindis Pass (the first photo) so you can get an idea of what the scenery was like on this journey - mountain views most of the way.  We had a few days in Wanaka and climbed up Mount Iron (we just can't resist climbing mountains!) and many of these photos are from the upward path or from the top.  The lakeside was bustling with swimmers, kayakers, and sunbathers.  Fortunately the weather was good during our stay and the night sky was stunning.

We drove south from Wanaka to Te Anau which is the last town in Fiordland before the start of the road down to Milford Sound.  After Te Anau there is no Wi-Fi, mobile signal nor any petrol stations.  We stayed in Te Anau a couple of nights but the weather was rather grey and damp so we only managed a walk round the lake and a visit to the bird sanctuary.  The scenic drive down to Milford Sound (the Milford Highway) was beautiful with very rugged scenery, lakes, mountains and forest.  On the way there are well marked stops with walking trails ranging from 20 minutes to all day.  

We arrived into Queenstown from Knobs Flat on Monday in the pouring rain.  We stayed in a small townhouse overlooking Lake Wakatipu with stunning views although they were hidden from us that day.  However, once the weather changed, we were able to appreciate the lake and the mountains beyond.  The last few days in Fiordland felt definitely autumnal with chilly mornings and evenings; Tuesday in Queenstown we had a blast of winter with 9 degree temperature plus a biting icy wind, feeling much colder.  Fortunately on Wednesday when we hiked up Queenstown Hiill the temperature increased to a balmy 15 degrees and the sun came out.  So the views from the summit were magnificent (that's where the photo of us is taken).  Queenstown is one of the major towns in the South Island and much busier than we'd been used to.  When we left there on Thursday morning, we were stuck in our first traffic jam in New Zealand.  But the drive from there to our final destination of Oamaru was beautiful as we travelled through the mountains from the west coast to the east coast.  Parts of it reminded us of the scenery of the Yorkshire Dales, parts of it like the Lake District, until you looked further into the distance and saw the snow covered peaks.

We flew into Melbourne, Australia, on 25th March and after an overnight stay in a local motel we picked up our camper van on 26th March and have spent the last five days driving the Great Ocean Road.  Our first stop was in Anglesea where we had our first sightings of kangaroos around the campsite.  Just after we arrived, we were walking through the site and Paul thought he saw a dog laying outside a cabin and suddenly realised this was no dog, but a kangaroo.  The site was also home to plenty of birds including cockatoos who spent their time digging holes in the grass, and beautiful Crimson Rosellas although they were too flighty to photograph.  The following day we drove to Apollo Bay but the weather wasn't kind to us until the next day when we were able to do a walk up to Marriners Lookout and there's a couple of photos of the view back down.  After two nights in Apollo Bay we drove further west and stopped at the Twelve Apostles which are limestone stacks that have been formed by the erosion of crashing waves and the wind.  This was the first day we were blessed with sunshine.  A little further along the road we stopped to view London Bridge, another rock formation which resembled its namesake.  We stayed for two nights at a campsite in Peterborough which is described as a town but comprises three or four roads with scattered houses and one general store.  However we did have a lovely walk to the Bay of Martyrs where we met a couple from Upminster and shared our mutual travel experiences.  This morning we drove back to Melbourne via an inland route and spending the night close to the airport ready for our early morning flight to Hamilton Island/Airlie Beach tomorrow.

On 1st April we flew from Melbourne to Hamilton Island which was a little disconcerting as when we were coming in to land, getting lower and lower, all we could see beneath us was water.  The runway starts at the water's edge as you can see from the photo.  So it was a very short walk to the ferry and our one hour crossing to Airlie Beach on the mainland.  We had a couple of days at a studio apartment in Airlie Beach.  The Sunlit Water apartments are situated at the top of a steep hill and had great views down to the harbour but a challenging walk up from the town.  When Sue booked this it looked close to the town centre on Googlemaps but of course that doesn't show the gradient. The first day we struggled up the hill with two days groceries on our backs, in thirty degree heat.  On the second day we managed to climb the hill twice!

When we were planning this world trip and Australia was part of our itinerary, the Great Barrier Reef was the main attraction.  We had been recommended the Whitsunday Islands and booked the four day trip to give us time to explore.  We were on the Blizzard (not the most appropriate name for a craft in the tropics!), a monohull sloop as we were informed, along with eight other passengers - a couple from Hamburg, a couple from Santa Fe and a family of four from, would you believe, Leigh on Sea.  Plus the crew, Sarah from Lincolnshire (but now an Aussie) and Sam from Canada.  Luckily we gelled as a group and everyone got on really well with each other.

On Saturday 8th April we left Airlie Beach for our next destination, Cairns.  Originally we had hoped to get the train but that was unavailable due to work on the track, and a flight would have meant either an hour on a bus to Proserpine and a connecting flight via Brisbane or a ferry back to Hamilton Island and another connecting flight.  So we decided to try the Greyhound bus for the ten hour journey up to Cairns.  However ... after about 90 minutes into the journey it became evident that the air conditioning wasn't working and the temperature inside the bus rose to 35 degrees and passengers were visibly melting.  An unscheduled stop was made for the driver to report the fault and attempt to get it going again.  That didn't work so we all got back on the bus and sweated it out for another two hours when we pulled in to Townsville and changed to a replacement bus for the remaining seven hours to Cairns and arrived forty five minutes late at 8.45 pm.

On Friday morning we boarded the Reef Magic boat for a 90 minute journey, approximately 45 km, to the outer reef.  We arrived at their pontoon, which appeared as though it were floating in the middle of the ocean, where we would spend the day.  The pontoon itself is large and comprises two decks and an underwater observatory.  We had the option of participating in a range of activities; predictably Paul spent much of his time snorkelling (the visibility was much clearer than on the Whitsundays and Fitzroy), and we also went out both in a glass bottom boat as well as a semi-submersible.  Just about squeezing in time for a delicious buffet lunch.  Although Sue wasn't keen to be photographed in hers, there's a picture of Paul wearing his very fetching stinger-suit.  We got back to Cairns around 6pm.

We arrived into Sydney at lunchtime on 16th April and, much to our surprise, our luggage arrived with us.  When we left Cairns, the luggage conveyor had broken down and when we landed we were warned that an amount of luggage hadn't arrived.

On Saturday afternoon we boarded the cruise ship which went surprisingly smoothly.  At no point did it involve queuing and we were in our cabin within twenty minutes of arriving at the terminal.  Our cabin is spacious and comfortable with plenty of storage and a veranda and we have completely unpacked.  We're located on deck 9 with the top deck being 15 (where there's a large lawned area).  We've included a few photos around the ship taken on a port day when most of the passengers were ashore.

After our Groundhog Day and another couple of days at sea, we arrived into Tahiti on Sunday 30th April.  We had a snorkel excursion booked but the government banned all water based activities both Saturday and Sunday due to a "big swell" which was a pity as it was Paul's birthday (thank you for all the good wishes).  Fortunately the swell wasn't too noticeable on the ship and we went ashore and had a walk around but most things were closed as it was Sunday.  

After leaving the French Polynesian islands, we sailed for four days before arriving into Maui, Hawaii.  As this was our entry point into the United States we had to go through immigration.  US officials came onboard to process the 2500 guests plus 1500 crew.  We'd expected long delays and queues but it went like a dream and we were through and onshore ahead of our allotted time slot.

As we mentioned previously, we didn't go ashore on the first day in Honolulu as there were a lot of comings and goings to and from the ship, so we took the opportunity to enjoy quiet time in the gym, lounges and restaurants onboard.

We returned to Maui for another two days.  On the first day we walked, mainly around the historical old city of Lahaina (although the buildings don't look particularly historic).  There's a small park with a very impressive Banyan tree which has rooted itself in many places and now covers the whole park.  Lahaina is a beautiful town and we really enjoyed it.

We sailed from Maui to Hawaii Island, also called Big Island, where we moored off the east coast for one day close to the town of Kailua Kona, before sailing overnight to the west coast where we docked at the town of Hilo.

We've had a couple of days in Vancouver between cruises (we are embarking on a three day cruise up to Alaska later today, and then an overland trip around Alaska before we head south to the national parks in the US).  This is our second time in Vancouver; last time was several years ago and we had persistent rain for the whole time we were here.  It's been better this time with some sunshine but not overly warm.

After our few days in Vancouver we boarded another cruise ship, the Volendam, which was our home for three nights before disembarking in Skagway.  We've added a couple of photos of sailing out of Vancouver under the Lionsgate Bridge heading north.  As you can imagine, the weather got chillier by the day.  We docked for a day in the town of Juneau where we visited the Mendenhall Glacier which is right next to Nugget Falls.  The scenery was stunning.

We disembarked the Volendam in Skagway early morning and had a few hours before we were due to board the train to our next destination.  You could walk round the whole town in less than an hour so we went to the visitor information centre to ask about walking trails in the area.  We had the choice of two: an easy one and a challenging one, so you can probably guess what we opted for!  It was a good climb up to Dewey Lake but well worth the effort.  We had sufficient time to do the easy walk but the wind was icy cold and we gave it a miss and had a coffee instead.

It was an early morning flight from Whitehorse to Dawson City on a flight which was chartered just for our tour party.  It was weird because the bus which took us to the airport (and we use the term "airport" loosely) pulled up onto the tarmac and we got off the bus and straight onto the plane.  A short 40 minute flight later we touched down in Dawson City, another town which wouldn't exist if it hadn't been for the Goldrush.  And yet another town that you could walk round in less than an hour.  We took ourselves off to the visitor centre and was recommended the waterfront trail which followed the banks of the Yukon River. Most of the tour group opted to see the can-can show at Diamond Tooth Gerties but we chose to have a delicious Thai curry instead.

Another short chartered flight from Dawson City to Fairbanks but this time we crossed the border from Canada into the US so we had our passports checked and we had to go through customs.  Fairbanks was a bigger town, again a mining town, and we spent the best part of the day taking a cruise down the Chena River on a paddle-steamer (with complimentary blueberry doughnuts and coffee!), stopping to see a sled-dog demonstration and visiting what used to be a traditional Athabaskan village to learn about their culture and way of life (see the beautiful traditional dress in the photo).

After our day in Fairbanks, we took the coach to Denali National Park, further into the interior of Alaska, where we spent the next two nights.  Unfortunately the weather was (supposedly) unseasonably cold and wet and we couldn't see the peak of Mount Denali but the views and the landscape were still beautiful.

We were sad to leave Denali National Park as we could have spent longer hiking the trails, but this morning we boarded the McKinley Explorer railroad for a nine hour journey down to Anchorage.  The train was very comfortable and all the seats were upstairs with 360 degree views thanks to the glass dome roof.  This is a tourist train so it travelled very slowly to allow time for photos and soaking up the amazing scenery.  The weather wasn't perfect and again we had snow and rain along the way but this made the scenery all the more dramatic.  Each carriage had a restaurant downstairs and we had breakfast and lunch down there.  Downstairs also gave access to the outside deck at the back (and luckily we were the rear carriage so this was easy).  We did see wildlife along the way but obviously the train doesn't stop so you had to be prepared and lucky with your camera.

We had a few days in Anchorage at the end of our Alaskan leg of the trip before flying down to Las Vegas where we spent the night before collecting our rental car for the next 26 days.  From the cool temperatures in Alaska we flew into 30 degree heat in Vegas.

After driving for about five hours from Grand Canyon, we arrived at Bryce Canyon Lodge yesterday afternoon (losing an hour as we'd crossed a time zone).  The Lodge is very close to the rim of the canyon so we walked around to Sunrise Point to check out the trail down into the canyon in readiness for tomorrow's hike.  We were both puffing a bit after minimal exertion due to being over 2500 metres high.

We stayed for three nights in a cabin in Zion Lodge inside the national park.  It was a short two hour drive through beautiful landscape from Bryce Canyon so we had time to savour the views en route.  We made good use of the park shuttle bus to get us to the trailheads for a couple of uphill hikes and a flatter hike along the river.

After leaving Zion, we had a lot of miles to cover to get up to Grand Teton so we broke the journey and had two nights in a lovely Airbnb in Salt Lake City which was about 315 miles both to and from.  And it gave us the opportunity to cook a couple of meals for ourselves and get our laundry up to date.

We left Grand Teton on a grey drizzly morning and drove about sixty miles to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park.  Yellowstone is so big and comprises two loops, north and south, so we decided to base ourselves for three nights in the south at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge and then four nights in Gardiner by the north entrance.  So the photos below are from the southern part of the park.  Fortunately the weather improved and we have had glorious sunshine.  When we arrived we went to the visitor centre to chat to a ranger about what to see and do, and he said we were fortunate that the snow was finally melting.  

For this second northern area of the Park, we stayed in a small cowboy town called Gardiner about a mile from the entrance gate.  We had three days here and the accommodation was fully equipped for self catering so we were able to prepare our own meals as well as making use of the washer/dryer.

We've been in Glacier for three days and it's been hot and sunny.  It's very beautiful and the scenery dramatic with big mountains and, not surprisingly, glaciers and lakes.  We've driven across Going to the Sun Road twice which is the road which runs through the centre of the Park and has many viewpoints to stop at and soak up the scenery.  There are also a lot of hiking trails and yesterday we hiked up to Avalanche Lake and also around the boardwalk Trail of the Cedars.  We're staying in a cabin on Lake Macdonald which is lovely.  Tomorrow we board the Amtrak train bound for New York which will take three days so we may not have Wi-Fi but will catch up with you again before we leave the Big Apple.

After dropping off our rental car at Glacier Airport, we got a taxi to Whitefish Amtrak Station, ready for our 7.30 am train, only to be told it was running two hours late.  Whitefish wasn't exactly a bustling town but rather a one street town that could be explored in less than half hour.  Fortunately there was a bakery open and we were able to get a coffee and pastry to keep us going.  Whilst waiting on the platform a couple of deer wandered across (which is the photo below).