Pt Moresby domestic airport, PNG

Flight to here went fine, but to Mt Hagen has been delayed by 2h. Sleepy and hungry. The cafe here has only cake, want meat.

MJ's, Parramatta

Spent yesterday with Maria Julia driving south along the coast until Kiama to see the Blowhole. On the way visited the Royal National Park, Sri Venkateswara Temple and Nan Tien Temple.

The day before booked a 10-day trip to Papua New Guinea (PNG) with Niugini Holidays. It's a custom-made tour taking into consideration our preferences not to spend (too much) time on the beaches and not to visit WWII sites, but rather the tribes and the village- and wildlife in the Highlands. Also the budget and safety concerns shaped the outcome quite much, e.g. we won't have domestic flights landing into fog-filled valleys where the pilot would have difficulties finding the runway, and the lodges where we stay have staff that is exclusively composed of non-cannibals. For reasons of high cost we decided to skip climbing Mt. Wilhelm and not to go to see the wigmen tribe.

This is the current (final?) schedule:

1. Flight: Cairns -> Port Moresby -> Mt. Hagen
2. Nature walks around Kumul Lodge to spot birds of paradise, orchids and marsupials
   
3. Transfer to Magic Mountain Lodge (via Mt. Hagen)
4. Village visits; Sing sing
5. Public Motor Vehicle (PMV): Mt. Hagen -> Goroka
6. Visit the Asaro Mudmen
7. PMV: Goroka -> Madang
8. Visit villages around Madang
9. Visit islands and snorkel around Madang
10. Flight: Madang -> Port Moresby -> Cairns

This afternoon will fly to Cairns.

Hostel Maze, Sydney

Still in Sydney. Staying in hostel Maze where floors stick of beer and wine, drunk teenagers shout and fight every night and breakfast runs out after 10 minutes.

Been hanging out with Maria Julia and arranging the visit to Papua New Guinea. Found a good travel agency down-town who is now putting together a 10-day trip to the highlands of PNG with visits to the birds of paradise, orchid gardens, and the Mudmen.

Sydney Airport, Sydney, Australia

Arrived successfully in Sydney. The morning sun was glittering on the Harbour Bridge when we landed over the city.

We have now been on all the longitudes around the world, not yet during this trip, but thanks to a flight from Sydney to Frankfurt taken in 2006.

Completing all the latitudes will be more difficult...

Will hang out here for a couple of days and then try to go to Papua New Guinea.

Hostel Nomads Fat Camel, Auckland (still here)

Today was ANZAC day. At 6AM participated in the Dawn Service at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Lots of people and the live video screen was placed too low, so didn't see much. Speeches were delivered by the Mayor of Auckland, the Minister of Defence and a couple of war veterans. The service was in English with little bits also in Maori. A plane was supposed to fly over the park but this was cancelled due to thick fog.

Then went on to the Auckland Zoo to check out the kiwi bird. Kiwi can be viewed in two places, in the BNZ Kiwi & Tuatara House, and during the NZ Fauna Keeper Encounter. As the kiwi is a nocturnal bird, to show an active kiwi, the BNZ House is dark, so one doesn't see much. The NZ Fauna Keeper Encounter takes place in day-light. A zoo keeper demonstrates various animals endemic to New Zealand: tuatara, some bird, and a green geko. The kiwi sleeps under a tree trunk throughout the show and appears as the highlight of the show when the keeper pulls away the trunk. It takes a while till the bird wakes up. It then pecks on some sweet-corn and finally runs away (kiwis can run faster than humans over short distances).

Hostel Nomads Fat Camel, Auckland

Today walked from Onehunga to the Auckland City Centre (16km, 5h) along the "Coast to Coast" marked trail which takes the walker from the Manukau Harbour (Pacific Ocean) to the Waitemata Harbour (Tasman Sea). The walk goes through residential areas with white-painted wooden houses and impeccable lawns; the dormant volcanoes Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill), Maungawhai (Mt. Eden), and the Auckland Domain which offer an overview of the city; rugby/cricket fields where along rugby and cricket players Harry Potter fans are playing Quiddish (?); large parks (e.g. Cornwall Park); and Auckland University buildings. We stopped before reaching the Waitemata Harbour as we had been there already.

Tomorrow will probably go to the zoo to finally check out the kiwi bird.

Hollywood Bakery Espresso, Auckland

Wondering what to do in Auckland: Skywalk at some 200m, see Rotorua with the geysers or the glow worm cave at Waitomo or Hobbiton, cruise the harbour in an America Cup boat, visit Auckland Museum to see what Maori art inspired Gauguin, see THE kiwi in the Zoo or just go to Fiji asap?

Sumo Sushi @ Fort St., Auckland

Just had a delicious Chicken Katsu Don (10 NZD). Before that checked into Nomads Fat Camel (backpacker accommodation). Now thinking of what to do next.

Auckland is very pleasant: the climate is refreshingly non-humid and people here speak good English.

Airport, Auckland, New Zealand

Arrived safely in New Zealand. Almost got fined 400 NZD when the biosecurity officer found a piece of ginger and a piece of garlic in one of our bags. Why are we carrying ginger?

Port, Papeete, Tahiti

At the Papeete port again, using a free wireless...

Yesterday (2010-04-19) visited the Gauguin Museum at the other end of the island some 55km from Papeete. The way the public buses work here is confusing and unreliable, so it took us 3 hours to reach the museum and to come back we had to hitchhike because the last bus back to Papeete seemed to have left already at 14.30. After 10 minutes of hitchhiking we got picked up by a nice Chinese businessman (2nd generation Tahitian) who seemed to own everything on the island, from flower farms and quarries to supermarkets and pearl shops.

In the museum we learned that Gauguin was obsessed with his Peruvian ancestors which made him consider himself half-savage, the nature which he tried to explore and connect to more in French Polynesia. Upon arriving there the Polynesia was unfortunately already too French. Gauguin had a wife and 5 kids but for the most part of his life they seemed to be living in Denmark away from Gauguin (the wife was Danish).
Anyway, his paintings are interesting, mixing motifs from different cultures, consider e.g. Le Grande Buddha (1899) which features the Last Supper, Buddha, a Maori woodcarving, two Tahitian ladies, and a dog.

The day before yesterday (2010-04-18) traveled for 9 hours from Bora Bora back to Papeete. The ferry King Tamatoa is new and comfortable but the food on-board is expensive and comes in tiny quantities and the audio-video program consists of the same hula-girl show played over and over.

Bora Bora is a small island (38 km2) with a big tourist industry (1218 hotel/pension rooms). The big and expensive resorts (Four Seasons, InterContinental, Sofitel, etc.) are mostly located off the main island on the smaller motus (islets) surrounding the main island on the coral reef. The people who stay there probably never visit the main island as they are shipped to the resort directly from the airport (located on another motu), unless of course they choose to dine out at the Bloody Mary's restaurant which has hosted many celebrities over the years, from Kareem Abdul Jabbar to Sen. John McCain (240 names are listed by the front entrance).

On 2010-04-17 bought the snorkeling equipment (it was not possible to rent it anywhere) and biked around the island (35km) looking for a nice beach. Unfortunately, the nice beach is only found on the southern tip of the island, where all the resorts and pensions are as well, so one cannot find a solitary beach experience on Bora Bora...
(While snorkeling on the main public beach saw two manta (?) rays hovering over the bottom of the lagoon. One can easily spot them from the distance because the water is so clear.)

Huahine came much closer to paradise. It is bigger in area (74 km2) but much less developed touristically (236 hotel/pension rooms). We had a private bungalow on the beach on the south coast of the island. One could take a kayak, paddle out into the lagoon, and dip into the clear and shallow water. (It was difficult to swim by the beach because of many sharp dead corals and sea urchins.)

On 2010-04-15 rented a scooter and biked around the island. There is quite a lot to see considering the size of the island: a vanilla plantation, a pearl farm, tame eels that eat from your palm, old stone platforms for human sacrifice (marae). The local people are friendly, smiling and waving all the time.

Port, Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia

After a 4-day-visit to Rapa Nui we have arrived in French Polynesia. Our goal here is to find the paradise-feeling that Tahiti and its neighbouring islands are supposed to create.

The first two days here (Papeete, Tahiti) were spent on arranging a week-long visit to three of the islands: Tahiti, Huahine, and Bora Bora. There are approx. 100 islands here, this choice was partly random, partly guided by tourist agencies, partly determined by our budget. This is the final plan:

• 2010-04-14 (Wed): Ferry: Tahiti → Huahine (0800–1210); check in to a pension; snorkel and/or relax on the beach
• 2010-04-15 (Thu): Visit a pearl farm
• 2010-04-16 (Fri): Snorkel and relax; ferry: Huahine → Bora Bora (1230–1640); check in to a pension
• 2010-04-17 (Sat): Bike around Bora Bora
  
• 2010-04-18 (Sun): Ferry: Bora Bora → Tahiti (1200–2040)
• 2010-04-19 (Mon): Hike up to Mount Orohena (2241m)
• 2010-04-20 (Tue): Visit the white sandy beaches and the Gauguin museum (on the South side of Tahiti)
• 2010-04-21 (Wed): Flight: Papeete → Auckland (with Air Tahiti Nui), 7000–1055 (arrives the following day because crosses the date line)

Making the required bookings has taken pretty much all of our time, only yesterday afternoon had finally a chance to go to a beach, a black sand beach at Pointe Venus. No paradise-feeling there: it looked like a mud field where children play and pigeons wrestle with a piece of half-eaten baguette. (The water was warm and super clear though.)

The campsite, Hanga Roa

Yesterday Ahu Akivi and Puna Pau (24km on foot), today Tongariki, Rano Raraku, Anakena beach + many ahus (106km by car). Next Tahiti.

A campsite, Hanga Roa, Rapa Nui

Yesterday visited the Rano Kau crater and the Orongo houses (14km on foot). Today will rent a bike and go to see the heads.

Santiago Airport, Santigo, Chile

Waiting for the flight to Easter Island which is scheduled to leave in 2h. Flight here from Sao Paulo offered nice views to the Andes, and lakes, rivers and swamps somewhere in Argentina that I did not know existed.

This was our 4th entry into Chile during the South America leg. Strangely, we have entered Chile the most, but spent time here the least compared to other South American countries.

São Paulo Hostel Downtown, São Paulo

Arrived in São Paulo yesterday evening and checked into a HI hostel close to Praça de Republica. Activities done today:

• Had a sumptuous breakfast at the hostel, including sausage and eggs and no traces of the comida tradicional (spaghetti + rice + beans).
• Called British Airways (BA) because discovered that our tomorrow's flight to Santiago had disappeared from the BA online booking system. Now it's fixed and we are flying tomorrow at 10am to connect in Santiago to a flight to Easter Island. (It is remarkable how often we have to communicate with BA regarding our round-the-world ticket. Sometimes it's because we want to shift our flight dates, but more often it's because the online list of our future flights has got messed up, and most often because BA calls to inform us that the time of our flight from Helsinki to Budapest (which is going to happen sometime in July according to the current optimistic schedule) has changed by 10 minutes...)
• Posted 4.8kg of stuff to Europe (107 BRL including the box). These are the useless kilos that we have gained during the 4.5 months here. It's mostly paper (brochures, maps), but also coins for my coin collection, gifts, and some Yerba Mate (which will probably be classified as gift). The estimated time of arrival is in 15 days, so the package probably won't beat the record currently held by a wooden giraffe whose journey from Lilongwe to Utrecht lasted 3 months.
  

It's raining in São Paulo (although not as heavily as in Rio where it's flooding) so we haven't planned any activities for the evening. Will probably try to have lunch now in the vegetarian restaurant Apfel (that is only open for lunch) and then drink a "good bye" Caipirinha.

rodoviaria, Campo Grande

Back from Pantanal. Rode horses, fished piranhas, fed mosquitos, 6-banded armadillos. In 1h bus to Sao Paulo, our last stop in SA.

Feliz Páscoa!