Rugged Road Trip down the West Coast, New Zealand

IMG_4458Continuing down the west coast from Northland, we wanted to do an off the beaten path road trip. Our plan was to stock up on supplies in Raglan then head south along the rough gravel roads hugging the coast. Along the way, we had quite a few sights in mind that we wanted to visit.

IMG_4543Just south of Raglan, there was a budget campsite that we planned on staying at before leaving town. When we arrived, it was just a field with some toilets in the far corner – not appealing especially for $10 per person. The information center in town tipped us off that further down the road was a car park at the top of a ravine where freedom camping was not illegal yet. Even though it was only a few kilometers down the road, it felt like we were completely isolated. Continue reading

Scuba Diving the Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand

IMG_3832For my birthday, Sara took us on our first non-tropical dive. She decided on diving the Poor Knights Islands using the only company that charters out there, Dive Tutukaka. The Poor Knights Islands are off the east coast north of Auckland. It has been named one of the top ten dive sites in the world and one of the best non-tropical dive sites.

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Seeing the Sites in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

The bus ride from Mui Ne to Ho Chi Minh was uneventful. The bus stopped right in the tourist part of the city for once! (Yet another reason Vietnam is my favorite so far). We didn’t have a hotel booked but knew where to look. We pushed through all the taxi drivers who couldn’t believe we didn’t need a taxi and a few minutes later we had a place to stay.

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We did mostly touristy activities Ho Chi Minh with our first stop being the war museum. It was very interesting to see their perspective on the war. After reading all the history from their perspective, I am more confused then ever. On the walk from the museum to the street with all the restaurants, Sara made sure to take us through a large market. As we walked between the stalls, we were continually bombarded with hawkers asking if we needed a shirt, dried fruit, a watch, or anything else imagineable. Continue reading

Kiteboarding in Mui Ne, Vietnam

To finish off the Southeast Asia portion of our trip, we wanted to go to a beach and relax. After doing a bit a research, I learned that a great kiteboarding spot was only a few hours away and just south of Ho Chi Minh City. This turned our relaxing beach time into something a bit more exciting.

When we left Can Tho in the morning, we didn’t know if we could even get to Mui Ne that day or not. We only had bus tickets as far as Ho Chi Min. Once in Ho Chi Min, there were no English signs and it seemed like nobody spoke English. Continue reading