The Movie - Part 2

This is part 2 of our movie covering the 16 weeks spent in New Zealand and Australia. The video is embedded below (it's from facebook, but you don't have to be a member watch it). To switch to full screen, hit the white square in the bottom right, after you've hit play.



If that fails, a lower quality version is embedded below.



Part 1 of the movie can be found here, and part 3 will be posted as soon as Kirsten makes it.

London Calling

So, after a 85,000km (53,000 mile) journey we find ourselves back in Blighty. To break it down, we've travelled 32,000km by plane (and 30 flights), 21,000km by train, 19,000km by car, 10,650km by bus/truck and 2,250km by boat.














We've driven 13 hire cars, gaining one knackered battery, three punctures, and three speeding tickets. We've flown around Mount Cook and over the Okavango Delta. We've been entertained by Karaoke whilst sailing from China to Japan and slept on a boat deck with tanks of live fish in the Philippines. We've trekked the shores of Lake Baikal in Russia, the Tongariro Crossing in New Zealand, the jungles of Borneo, and have penetrated the Impenetrable Forest in Uganda.














We've slept in beds in over 150 different locations from a nomadic ger tent in Mongolia to a mud rondavel on the Wild Coast of South Africa. We've camped for around 50 nights, shivering in Siberia, listening to the howl of the jackals in Namibia and dodging giant crabs Palau.






We've seen at least ten, 'eighth wonders of the world', well at least according to the tourist literature. We've soaked up the atmosphere of the rice terraces of the Philippines and the temples of Kyoto and Bali. We've gazed on in awe at the Great Wall of China, the Terracotta Army and the Forbidden City. We've wandered through the gardens of Okayama, the Summer Palace in Beijing, Catherine the Great's palace in St Petersburg.















We've seen the Nazi concentration camps in Poland, the memorial to Hiroshima, the shell damaged buildings of Sarajevo and Mostar, and have dived the wrecks of the Japanese Imperial Navy in the Philippines. We've witnessed tools of oppression at the KGB offices in Vilnius and Budapest, and the prison of Robin Island in Cape Town. We've visited the battlefields of Blood River, Insandhlwana, Roke's Drift, and Peleliu, the site of the bloodiest battle in the Pacific Campaign.














We've watched orang-utans swing from trees, Japanese macaques bath in hot pools and been charged by a mountain gorilla. We've seen lions chewing on zebras, cheetahs courting and a leopard resting. We've nervously observed Komodo dragons, crocodiles, scorpions and tarantulas. We've swum with jelly fish and Great White Sharks (well, in a cage for the latter).














We've listened to drums in Zimbabwe, Opera in Sydney and Beth Ditto in Serbia. We've eaten bee larvae and Kobe Steak (well just Kirsten on those ones). We've drunk vodka on the Trans-Siberian railway, Pinotage in Stellenbosch, Sauvignon Blanc in Hawke's Bay and fermented mare's milk in Mongolia.

We've conquered the white water of the mighty Nile and Zambezi, of rivers in Slovenia and Bali, and dropped down a seven meter waterfall in New Zealand. We've logged over 60 scuba dives each, exploring depths to 40 meters, penetrating wrecks, swimming through caves, and coming face to face with turtles, manta rays and sharks. We've paraglided and parasailed. We've jumped off bridges, off mountains and out of a plane, and have climbed the highest mountain in Africa (well Richard has at least). We've explored strange underground environments in the caves of Borneo, Australia and the Philippines.





In summary, it has been an amazing adventure. We would like to thank everyone along the way who has provided us with accommodation, entertainment or moral support (and in many cases all three). We hope you have enjoyed following us on our adventure.
















Acknowledgements

• In particular we would like to thank the following people (please don't hate us if we inadvertently missed someone out!):
• Ben, Steve, Narelle, Rob & Rachel, for their vodka drinking and card playing skills on the Trans-Siberian
• Jamie for his company in Beijing and accommodation in Tokyo
• Richard's mum, dad and brother, and my mother for their company in New Zealand and their support and patience throughout our trip
• Rosemary, Mike, Julia, James, Hamish, Sarah, Heidi, Graham, Janice, Dylan, Nick, Mark, Kiri, Bill and my Granny for all their hospitality in New Zealand
• Jade for showing us a good night out in Melbourne
• Glen for his entertainment and flat in Sydney
• Ben and Steve for showing us around Sydney
• Narelle and her parents for looking after us in Canberra
• The passengers and crew of the Waltzing Matilda in The Whitsundays for their wide variety of drinking games
• Ian and family for their company in Sydney and accommodation in Adelaide
• John and Ciara for their company in Perth
• My mum for staying calm whilst we ragged it along the dirt roads of Namibia in the dark
• Celia and Jacques for all their hard work in Southern and Eastern Africa
• Yola, Emerald, Megan, Ed, Anne and Luke for their company from Johannesburg to Vic Falls
• Ed, for keeping us sane
• Our fellow passengers on the Gorilla Express for their cooking, cleaning and general merriment
• Kiri for all her work organising our Mara safari and for the pleasure of her company in Kenya
• Katharine and Lee for the use of their flat before and after our trip, for storing our stuff during the trip and for their friendship

Of course we now have the fun of finding jobs and a place to live, and trying (possibly in vain) to slot back into society. All of this will be detailed (probably with less frequency) on our new blog http://whitecloudlife.blogspot.com/