See The World, They Said

North America

Los Angeles (2025)

Our last day of the trip. How sad. We're gonna make the most of a beautiful sunny day in LA though. Manhattan Beach is a new one for us, we get the feeling it's going to be nice and a bit suburban and less chaotic than

Central America

San Gerardo de Dota to Los Angeles

We wake up earlier than planned, as we just want to make sure our car is parked far enough up the road that we'll be able to get out (we've got a plane to catch!). We catch the road workers before they're about to

Central America

Manuel Antonio to San Gerado de Dota

Before we begin today, a quick recap on what we've learned about the area, thanks to our knowledgeable guide, Mega: Quepos was a working town of the Untied Fruit Company who came and built the banana empire which spread across Central America - a long and sordid history

Central America

Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

We're up early again (who said travel is relaxing) and have our DIY breakfast of yoghurt, granola and banana, ready to explore the Manuel Antonio National Park. It's a short drive to where we meet our guide, Diego, and the other people on our tour, which

Central America

Monteverde to Manuel Antonio

We check out early and head straight for the local Monteverde Cafe of the same organisation where we did the tour, since we liked what they were about. We grab a light breakfast of granola and yoghurt and fruit and the coffees that go with them are the best of

Central America

Monteverde, Costa Rica

We haven't got anything booked in until our coffee tour at 2:30pm but we're still up early as morning and dusk are the best times for animal spotting. We have a quick coffee while we're getting dressed and then it's take

Central America

Arenal to Monteverde

It's our last day at Arenal and one last item on the check list awaits... an early morning climb of the Observation Nest: a 28 metre viewing platform (just a set of metal stairs going straight up, held in place by wires) to get the best look of

Central America

Arenal, Costa Rica

"Do you wanna see a Toucan?!" - Courts wakes Jeff up with this question after looking out the window this morning. We slept with the blinds open last night and wake to a clear sight of the volcano, no cloud covering the top. We learn later that is

Central America

San José (CR) to Arenal

The plan was to be up early and go exploring San José. It didn't quite go to plan because we slept for 10 hours but it's OK because one of the main attractions in the city, the Mercado Central Market, doesn't get going until

Central America

San José (CR) - Day 1

After another almost 4 hour flight and what feels like 14 days of transiting we've finally made it to San José, Costa Rica! Getting through immigration and customs is quick and easy. We exit the airport almost immediately and by chance bump into a guy who works for

Oceania

Hawaii to LA to San José (CR)

Strap yourselves in, we've got about 24 hours of travel coming up... First stop, the Honolulu airport via a taxi from Waikiki. We leave at about 5am. There's a guy on a food delivery bike preaching the good word to a couple of hostel residents having

Oceania

Hawaii - Day 2

Apparently all we do is exercise now so we're up early again but for a hike this time. We strap up and scoff an iced coffee and banana and head for the Wa'ahila Ridge Trail to climb Mount Olympus. It's about a 15 minute

Oceania

Hawaii - Day 1

OK, time to see what this island looks like in the daylight. We strap on our shoes and go for a run. It's only 7:30am but it's fast approaching 30 degrees (c). We do a loop of a big park down the east end of

Oceania

Cook Islands to Hawaii

After a week on Cook Islands we're ready for our next stop - Hawaii! We're up early and see one last sunrise over Raro. Gorgeous. We do a quick workout to burn off some nervous energy and then jump in the shuttle to the airport. Our

Oceania

Cook Islands - Day 9

The gang are off early to the airport back to Sydney. So it's just Jeff, Courts and the new pet cat to carry on the journey. We check out of the villa and jump on the anti-clockwise bus back to Avarua. The bus is roughly on time considering

Cook Islands - Day 8

Today's our last full day with the gang as they head back to Sydney tomorrow morning 😞 Courts has been banging on about a run for most the week and today is the day. She's managed to convince Jeff to come along because misery loves company and

Oceania

Cook Islands - Day 7

Well, it looked like the weather was turning yesterday and it did. Wild wind and rain all night. It's no surprise to wake to the messages from some of the gang saying their trip to Aitutaki was cancelled; not before driving all the way to the airport at

Oceania

Cook Islands - Day 6

We rise and have brekky of eggs and coffee and discuss the day's plans. We're really getting into an island routine. We've got a snorkeling with the turtles activity booked for today but it's become quite windy and overcast. There's

Oceania

Cook Islands - Day 5

It's hike day! Up to The Needle. We've convinced most of the crew to come, although Jack has been a bit sick and sits it out. We set off to the North of the island where it's recommended to start the trek. You can

Oceania

Cook Islands - Day 4

As promised we're up early for our sunrise paddle. We slam down a quick brekkie for some fuel and hit the lagoon. Sadly, she's a bit windy this morning but we get out there anyway and see what we can see. We paddle out to the

Oceania

Cook Islands - Day 3

Later start this morning and straight downstairs for some homemade coffee and breakfast with the gang. Bacon and scrambled eggs for all. The weather is good and the water looks great so everyone is keen to get the sunscreen on (properly this time...) and get out there. Jeff and Cat

Oceania

Cook Islands - Day 2

We're up early and feeling fresh, as we should be after averaging about 11 hours sleep each. We want to get to the markets around 9, so we tuck into some coffee, toast and eggs. Just as we're fishing our hosts drop off our breakfast. Whoops.

Oceania

Cook Islands - Day 1

We take off from Sydney at 930pm Friday night and land in Raratonga at 7am Friday morning. Yep, the Cook Islands are 20 hours behind Sydney so we get to do Friday twice! Not a lot of sleep was had on that Jetstar flight, so we're feeling pretty

Asia

Ho Chi Minh City - Day 2

Our last day in Vietnam. We have a decent hotel breakfast. Not the best, but they have an omelette chef and cereal and a few other staples, so we are set up well for the day. The tour guide picks us up at 8am ready for our trip out to

Asia

Ho Chi Minh City - Day 1

We've got an early start for our flight to Ho Chi Minh City today. We get a taxi to Da Nang International Airport, about a 50 minute ride which cost about $25 AUD (less than the rort that was the cyclo ride in Hanoi). We line up to