Summary;
1st Jan 2009 to 9th March 2009; Nine and a half weeks since we embarked on this adventure. During that time we have been fortunate to see some wonderful places and to meet some great people.
In trying to summarise I will break the journey down into categories.
1) Flights; The least satisfactory was the flight from Auckland to Santiago. Having returned the Camper van we were at the airport in plenty of time but could not be checked in because the Qantas computers did not speak to the LAN computers. We had to wait round for a couple of hours.
The best was without doubt the B.A. flight from Rio de Janerio to London. The cabin crew were the best we have flown with and they certainly made the journey more pleasant.
2) Transports (Self Drive); South Africa, Avis were very good. In both Durban & Capetown we were given upgrades on the vehicle which had been booked and this was good.
In Sydney we got the vehicle which was booked and that was good and reliable. The problem arose when we came to check the vehicle back in. We arrived at the compound as directed by the signs for 'car rental returns' and located the Avis area. There was however no personnel anyplace in sight and certainly no office. The Airport workers that we asked had no knowledge. Eventually we established that we were to lock up the car and within the Terminal building there was an Avis office where we should drop the keys. This was not good at 05.00 in the morning.
New Zealand; We had rented a camper van from MAUI. We got the courtesy bus from the airport to the depot and then ground to a halt. It took some three hours before we got away and on the road to our destination. In my opinion this was purely due to inadequate staffing. I also had the shock of having to pay out a further £300+ for insurance. Having read their terms in some detail it is my opinion that the insurances initially offered are worthless. Personally I will not be using MAUI again and will not recommend them.
Accommodations; South Africa, The 1st week we stayed at La Rochella Resort at St Lucia. This accommodation was adequate but not elaborate. The 2nd Week we stayed at Roland's Rendezvous and I have to say that this was a superb place to stay. Both Roland and his wife were considerate and took time and trouble to ensure that all of us enjoyed our time with them.
Australia, Here we stayed with Family and our thanks to Margaret, Hilda & Helen for taking good care of us.
New Zealand, Here we had our own accommodation in terms of the Camper van. We stayed on "TOP 10" sites every night as there are plenty of them. They may have been slightly expensive but they do provide a full range of services e.g. Kitchens, Laundry, Showers, Bar-b-Ques and some have restaurants if you do not want to cook. I found them expensive for Internet connection but I suppose we were spoiled in Australia where we bought a cup of coffee in McDonald's and got WiFi for free.
Chile, Grand Hyatt hotel, very posh and not something I am used to. It was nice but I did say that the staff would be better suited in an undertakers, they had no idea how to smile. Also their Internet connection was expensive.
Mendoza, The Park Hyatt Hotel, This was good and the staff here were good and cheerful. Again the Internet was expensive.
Buenos Aires, The Claridge Hotel, Again a good hotel in a good location. We were able to walk to all the surrounding attractions. The Internet was free.
Iguassu, The Sheraton Hotel, This is situated within walking distance of the falls and is priced accordingly. It is dated and in need of a bit of T.L.C. Internet here was unreliable and expensive.
Rio de Janerio, The Sofitel Hotel, Overlooking cococabana Beach which was nice. Their Internet was also unreliable and expensive. The attractions round Rio were convenient and within easy reach. The Staff here were generally very friendly and good.
Tours, South Africa we were fortunate on 2 days to tie up with the same Safari guide who was very good and we did see nearly all of the big Animals.
New Zealand, With me as tour guide sure you cant go wrong. The tours of the sights around Rotorua were superb and the sights have to be seen to be believed. Taupo with its waterfalls and steaming ground was memorable. Napier with its "Art Deco" was special and on the South Island the Glaciers, Arthur's Pass and so many other places have to be seen to be appreciated.
South America, Here we are in a totally new environment. The highlights were;
1) The drive over the Andes. The scenery here is awesome and cannot be adequately described in a few lines. We were collected from our hotel at 7.00 A.M. and off we went. The journey up the Chilean side was loads of hairpin bends with some severe climbs between the bends. This took us up to the Snow Line,(I mean permanent snow). There we went through the Chilean border post to get out of Chile. Then a short drive to the Argentinian post for immigration process. It did all go very smoothly thanks to our guide.
Once across the top of the Andes the surrounding landscape was a very different colour and texture from that on the Chilean side. Also the downhill road was devoid of hairpin bends and ran in a more or less uniform gradient down to the valley floor.
2) The next and possibly the most memorable and striking tour was the Iguassu falls. I expect you are all bored with the pictures but these do not do justice to the falls, they are magnificent and have to be seen to be believed. I fail to understand why we have all heard of Niagra and The Angel falls and yet Iguassu is virtually unheard of.
3) It was then onto Rio de Janerio and the sights here are memorable, Christ the Redeemer, Sugar loaf Hill, San Sebastian Cathedral, to name but a few.
Our Guides were very good and I am certain our No 1 was Marie in Iguassu. Marie was fluent in English, knowledgeable of her roll, caring and considerate and most importantly good fun. We owe a big thank you to all our guides.
The BLOG I guess this concludes this Blog. It has been a great interest for us and it is a shame that we will not know how many followed it. Those who sent us comments kept us very near to home and we did always look forward to your comments. To all who took the time to see where we were and to those who sent us messages we say thank you.
Will there be a sequel; Who knows????
ednkay-retiredmadness
