Racing the Luge at Queenstown

Queenstown was not what I was expecting, in my mind I had envisaged a big city but it was infact a small town. A great small town, perhaps its size is something that makes it so good.

View of Queenstown from the Skyline Gondola

There is so much to do here too. We were there in mid September and the ski season was still going. Combined with there were lots of mountain bikers around and Queenstown is also the site of the first bungee jump in the world. We declined on the bungee instead we took the Skyline Gondola and did the Luge. 

Luge Track at Queenstown

The luge is a 3 wheeled cart that you race down the hill on a cart designed specifically for it. It looks a bit tame and family oriented in their advertisements but its actually a lot of fun and you can go quite fast.

Luge Karts at Queenstown

Once you get to the bottom you take a ski lift back to the top and start again. They have intermediate and advanced tracks so you have plenty of opportunities for racing. We met an English guy in the queue who was traveling alone and the 3 of us ended up racing for the afternoon in the slippery wet conditions.

Race Day at the Luge!

Monster Trucks near Queenstown

On our way to Queenstown we came across a place that had monster trucks that you could drive. We thought this sounded like fun so we stopped to take a look. Sadly they were carrying out repairs on all bar one of the trucks. The one that wasn't being serviced as an old school bus but the lady advised us that it was very very slow and that we'd probably be bored. This monster truck was intended for families.

School Bus Monster Truck

School Bully

It was unfortunate that the other ones were being serviced as they looked like lots of fun especially as their wheels were almost the same height as our camper van!

Hiace versus Monster Truck

Quad Biking on the South Island

After the Irish game we made our way south to Wellington and took the ferry to the South Island. Everyone had told us that we'd have difficulty getting the ferry because everything would be booked out because of the Rugby World Cup but this turned out not to be the case. This was the same with renting the camper van, I think they overestimated the amount of people that would be visiting or else everyone assumed everything would be booked out so no one actually tried to book anything. We spent some time around Nelson, a sunny spot in the north of the South Island.

Sunny Nelson!

We headed south then to the Franz Josef glazier. Here we planned to do another helicopter ride this time with a snow landing on the glacier. Unfortunately it was very cloudy which meant it wasn't worth doing it as visibility was extremely poor. Instead we did a quad bike tour. Things were a little more strict here compared to Quad Biking in Bolivia, if you turned the bike over or crashed into the instructor you would receive a fine. The terrain varied greatly and was considerably more difficult than that in Bolivia. The result was you didn't have time for messing around or racing.

Quad Biking in New Zealand

The trip really showed what quad bikes are capable of, some of the water crossings were quite deep and some of the kills steep but the bikes had no problems especially when you put them into 4-wheel drive. The highlight of the trip for me was the river crossing. The photo doesn't really do it justice but the current was very strong, so much so that you could feel it pushing against the bike.

River Crossing on a Quad Bike

Finally to finish the day we had to clean the bikes and the overalls. They had a quick way of doing this!

Free Shower Included

Meeting Paul O'Connell

After our trip up North we went South to New Plymouth for the first Irish game in the Rugby World Cup. We arrived the day before the game and realised that most people had the same idea of us. Even though overnight parking and camping is illegal almost all car parks in New Plymouth were full with Irish camper vans. We were struggling to find somewhere to park up for the night until a random Irish guy came over to us when we were stopped at the traffic lights and told us of a place they had parked. It was the car park for an aquatic centre only a few minutes walk from the town centre. Perfect location, public toilets in the car park and hot showers in the aquatic centre. 


New Plymouth was full of Irish fans, everywhere there were people dressed in green and the two Irish bars in town were full from opening until closing. It rained and rained the day of the game and throughout the game itself but this didn't stop the Irish fans coming out. There were some USA supporters around as well although they were seriously outnumbered.

Green Army

The game itself wasn't the best but there was a great atmosphere around the stadium and everyone was enjoying themselves. The organisation of the event was excellent and everything worked as planned and without any problems. 

The rain wouldn't stay away

A few hours after the game we met Paul O'Connell in a car park. He passed passed by us on his way to the nearby gym and decided to come over to chat. He stayed for about a half hour talking, laughing and joking with everyone. 

Paul O'Connell with the group

We even got him to take our photo. This had been a running joke for most of the day but we never thought we'd end up asking Paul O'Connell. Some of the other fans didn't get the joke but luckily he did. It probably would have been better had we got a photo of us with him or sign our jerseys but possibly not as humorous.

The one Paul O'Connell took!

Bay of Islands by boat and helicopter

We planned on doing a speed boat trip around the Bay of Islands as it had been well recommended. We had paid and booked the trip but they called us to say that the skipper had called in sick. We needed to get south for the Irish game so we didn't have time to wait another day. As an alternative we decided to hire our own boat and do a short tour of the islands.

Alternative to a jet boat

This was fun even if a little slow but after it we felt that we hadn't really seen the islands nor the hole in the rock. We'd never been in a helicopter before either so a 20 minute helicopter ride around the islands seemed like a good option. 

Bay of Islands, New Zealand

View from the back seat

The 20 minute ride took us around the islands and our pilot give a brief history of the islands and the area in general. We did a loop around the islands going out as far as the hole in the rock and then returning.

Hole in the Rock

Aerial view of the Bay of Islands

HEALTH WARNING - Collection of shellfish not recommended

The next day while traveling further north we stopped at another beach. Here we met some locals who were collecting shellfish. Friendly as all kiwis are they came over and started talking to us. They showed us what they were collecting, from where and explained how we should cook them. It was lunch time so we decided we'd collect some and cook them as well.

Fresh from the sea

We cooked them in boiling water with some garlic, onion and chili and served with some bread and lime. They tasted great, it was only later that we noticed a nearby sign advising against collecting the shellfish.

Health Warning

Luckily we didn't experience any health problems although I figure the locals wouldn't be eating them if there were problems. The sign looked to have been there a while so it may have been from an earlier time when there were problems.

Beach front property on wheels

After stocking up on food supplies we decided to head north in our new home on wheels. I can see why so many people go camping in New Zealand. Everything about the country promotes camping, great roads, great landscapes, clean public toilets, lots of picnic areas and lots of places for camping, some expensive, some cheap and some free.

New Zealand - perfect for camping

We spend our first night in a Department of Conservation campsite on our way to the Bay of Islands. We arrived after dark so we had a brief conversation with the guy running the place. We just parked up and slept after a long day of driving and sight seeing. The next morning we awoke to the sound of the waves and an amazing sea view with a deserted beach.

deserted beach

The Internet is closed for Winter

You got to have teeth

This is the dress code from Takapuna Bar in Auckland, New Zealand.

And you got to have Teeth

My mate Dave has a camper for sale eh!

After almost a year in Latin America I took a flight from Santiago de Chile to Auckland in New Zealand. I almost missed this flight due to snow on the roads between Argentina and Chile. My bus was cancelled so I ended up having to fly to Uruguay to get a connecting flight to Chile. The plan for NZ was to spend a month traveling around in a camper van watching some of the rugby and seeing some of New Zealand. It was strange to be back in an English speaking country although it did take a short while to learn kiwi. Here's a quick lesson: finish almost every sentence with 'eh!', call everyone 'bro' and use the phrase 'sweet as, bro' as much as possible.

Auckland City Skyline

We had free use of a friends camper van, the only problem was it didn't start. We found a mechanic who got it started and performed the Warrenty Of Fittness. The WOF is the New Zealand equivalent of the NCT. Not surprisingly it failed, 2 small problems that would take time and money to fix. The mechanic was advising us not to go ahead with the repairs saying that we'd be wasting money as we couldn't trust it and we could end up spending more and more money on it. He seemed rather negative considering we'd be paying him to do this work. We thought this a little odd and even joked that he was probably trying to sell a camper van.


We decided to take some time to consider our options, collect the van and maybe even find a different mechanic. As we were about to leave the garage he told us that his friend Dave had a camper van for sale and that it would be perfect for us! Later that day we passed a camper van rental place in the city center. We decided to venture in and see if they had any cancellations. Everyone had told us that there was no way we'd be able to rent anything due to the world cup. Surprisingly they had one available that we could take the next day. Only downside is that they spray paint all of their campers with graffiti so each has an individual design. This I could have done without.

Escape Rentals Camper

San Pedro Prison in La Paz

San Pedro Prison (El penal de San Pedro) in La Paz is talked about a lot by backpackers I've met in south and central america. It received fame due to the book 'Marching Power' by Rusty Young. Marching Powder describes the experiences of a British Inmate Thomas McFadden. The book will soon become a movie with the rights now owned by Brad Pitt's production company.

San Pedro Prison La Paz

From the outside San Pedro maybe look like a regular prison but it has some characteristics that make it very different and far more interesting than regular prisons. San Pedro prison contains a society based on self-governance. The primary job of the prison guards is to keep inmates inside the prison. The guards do no maintain order inside the prison nor do they enter it expect on rare occasions. The inmates are allowed to trade within the prison, for example they can open restaurants, workshops, shops, hairdressers. A property market also exists with prisoners having to buy or rent their accommodation. Some prisoners even have their families live with them inside the prison.


I have yet to read 'Marching Power' but there is lots of information available on wikipedia, travel blogs and guidebooks concerning the prison and how it operates. For example according to wikipedia Coca-Cola has exclusivity deal whereby their products are advertised and sold inside the prison and rival brands are banned. In return Coca-Cola provides cash, tables, chairs and umbrellas for the grounds of the prison. The reason for all of this information for tourists is because another method the prisoners have of making income is by providing tours of the prison for foreigners. Tours are illegal and prohibited by the prison officials yet there the tours have been offered for years hence being mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide for South America. Supposedly some Australian backpackers have been caught leaving the prison with cocaine and they got deported. This is another way the prisoners make money by selling cocaine. As a result of the Australian deportations there is a clampdown on prison tours so we weren't too hopeful about getting in but we decided to try. The tours are illegal so you have to get smuggled in and pay bribes along the way. To start with we asked at our hotel how we could get to the prison, after a short lecture on how it was illegal and we could get deported they explained how to get there and told us not to take any valuables. It was walking distance from our hotel, located right in the center of La Paz. We weren't so worried about getting deported for entering the prison as we were both leaving in two days.

We'd heard that the best time to get a tour was early in the morning but we ignored this and arrived in the early afternoon. We took a walk around the outside of the prison and then sat in the park watching entrance. There was a big queue outside the prison and quite a few police so I wasn't hopeful about getting in. Anna suggested that we just join the queue of locals and try get in that way but I talked her out of it convincing her that it would work. Surprisingly later that day Anna found a blog post by some guy explaining how he queued with the families of the inmates and then told the prison guard he was there to see Juan (a common name in Latin America) and he was allowed in. I can't find the blog post anymore so no link to it. It turns out I was wrong about joining the queue but maybe it was for the best. Soon after we sat in the park about 50 police arrived in full riot gear and entered the prison. At this stage the queue disappeared with people crowding around the entrance. About a half hour later the riot police emerged and the queue reformed. We've know idea what happened possibly there were doing the daily role call for the imates or maybe there was something else happen. At this point it was late afternoon so we decided to call it a day and try again the following morning.

Visitors queuing outside San Pedro Prison

Once again we didn't manage to get there in the early morning instead early afternoon. This time there was a vehicle outside which was obviously being used to transport inmates. We walked around and took some photos then we heard the police calling us. We waited and one approached, we chatted in Spanish, he said we couldn't take photos, Anna asked why and argued that it was a street and there shouldn't be a problem. He explained that it was a problem and we had to delete them. He was friendly and seemed somewhat amused by Anna's questions and our Spanish. At this point we realised the chances of a tour were pretty slim with all the police around so we retreated to the park. We saw another group of tourists take some photos but they ignored the police and walked off. They were immediately surrounded by police and had their cameras briefly confiscated.

Police escorting prisoners out San Pedro Prison

Talking was obviously the best choice. As soon as we sat down we were approached by "New York Dave". We'd read about him in Lonely Planet and also on various peoples travel blogs. He also goes by  the name "New York Nick". After reading so much about him it was interesting to get to meet him and have him attempt to scam us. Thats his deal, he scams tourists by offering them tours of the prison. He told us some of the history of the prison, told us how he was on work release and that prison tours were now legal. It was fairly obvious it was a scam as he backtracked lots of times and frequently contradicted himself but we still it was interesting to hear him tell how he'd be released in 2 weeks when you've read blog posts from last year from people who met him then and he said he was being released in 2 weeks. I never considered getting a photo of him but Juergen from Bolivia for 21 days have kindly allowed me use their photo in my blog.

New York Dave (photo from Bolivia for  21 days)

I can see how Dave cons people with his prison tour scam. He says he'll take you to the police station and there you pay 7 Bolivianos for the documentation and then you go to a side entrance of the prison and pay a bribe for the guards. (contradicting himself here as he's already said that they are legal and his work-release job is to find tourists!). Even if you think it is a scam I can see how some people would be tempted to try it just incase it isn't as it is not an enormous amount of money but I'm sure thats part of the scam. I don't know what happens when you go to the police station but I expect you end up handing over more than 7 Bolivianos when you go to a police station asking for the documentation to get you illegally smuggled into a prison. We declined Dave's offer and as it was late afternoon concluded that we weren't going to enter San Pedro prison on this trip. We never made it into the prison but it was fun attempting to do so. Maybe next time...

We communicates to the housed gentlemen

Sign from a hotel room in Uyuni