Dulce de Leche

***PHOTOS CROPPED WRONG, CLICK FOR FULL RESOLUTION***

I landed in Buenos Aires without problem, the flight itself actually wasn´t disagreeable for once. After a bus into the centre, I met with my host, Guillermo at his home, in which I was treated as if I were family. After exploring BA for four days, and swimming in Gil´s parents great swimming pool (it is hot here, like Brisbane) I booked (twice) and took a bus from BA to Rio Gallegos.

BUENOS AIRES











The bus trip began with a false start, due to washing my pants with the precious ticket in the pocket, then showing up to Retiro terminal and hour and a half after the bus had already left. Luckily the lady at the ticket office gave me a vastly reduced fare for the next morning, likely due to my pitiful show. The 38 hour trip was comfortable but boring, endless pampas (plains) as far as the eye could see for days.

BUS TRIP















I then took another 12 hour bus from Rio Gallegos to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, and trekked with some new-found friends to a nearby glacier. The glacier itself was not breathtaking, but the surrounding scenery certainly was. I plan to leave Ushuaia on my intact and assembled bicycle tomorrow (update: the day after tomorrow). Wish me luck!

USHUAIA

















GLACIER

















TREKKING

Queen Charlotte Sound

As a final goodbye to New Zealand, I decided to travel to the Marlborough Sounds at the top of the North Island for a kind of holiday with Sofia. Throughout the majority of the trek, the weather was fine, and the diversity and natural beauty of the area overwhelming. The pictures below were taken by Sofia, by far the superior photographer.




We trekked for three days, and camped along the way in some beautiful coves. The camping was great, even with a punctured mattress and all-round bad planning for the trip on both our parts.

I am now back in Australia, for Christmas, and waiting for the flight to Buenos Aires, which has been pushed back a few weeks due to ticket availablity and price. I now leave on the 20th of January. Check up after that date for some updates.

Windy Wellington winding down

Sometimes you don't realize how good something is until you have left it behind. This isn't one of those times. Due to a canceled overnight camping trip, my weekend was free and I decided to simply cycle around the hills surrounding the city of Wellington. Beautiful vistas and incredible winding roads have been right at my fingertips and I had not realized this until today! The weather created a picture-perfect day, and the temperature was not too hot in the sun and not too cold in the shade. T-Shirt weather has finally arrived. I almost feel like I miss the place already. I have six weeks until I hit the wide open roads of Patagonia shortly after navigating the cultural explosion and hustle of Buenos Aires, and then, such a serene, easy living, easy place like Wellington will be a distant and hopefully not too lusted-after memory.





I had a taste and reminder of Australia recently with a short visit for my mother's wedding, and while I loved seeing old faces, and I recognize Australia as a place of many foreigners daydreams, sadly it is not for me. I will spend Christmas there with loved ones, but it will be another short visit, South America's call is like the siren at sea, impossible to resist, but hopefully not as deadly!

New gear and setup

I have been updating much of my gear that I haul around for lighter, more high-tech stuff. I have also been working hard to cut down on the amount of stuff I needlessly haul around and I have been able to get rid of the need for my front panniers. I will likely strap extra water to the front rack, for those long stretches of desolate road in South America.

Everything I will take to the Americas for over a year