We were up early morning before breakfast for a morning walk and to really take  in our surrounds. We were truly spoilt in our location, right on the fringe of the rice paddies and so we walked and walked and still there were rice paddies. Its an inland tropical paradise with farmers working and people biking through the paddies on their way to work or school. There are so many variations of green, after a while there are no more words to describe the colour!

After our walk we enjoyed a hearty Nirwa breakfast of fruit salad, toast and eggs. This was certainly a good start to the day and we met Andrew and Martha who would be staying for the week. We decided to explore Ubud around the outskirts and trek along Campyuan Ridge, a hike explained in The Lonely Planet. We didn’t quite anticipate the levels of humidity along with the intensity of the sun, we were sweating immensely! The hike goes along a ridge on the other side of the valley from Ubud. The ridge itself goes by tall elephant grass, more rice paddies and lots of small villages. It’s around 8-9 km in total. It was a nice introduction to the area and again people really welcomes us.

We ate lunch at the Bali Buddah, a recommended restaurant specialising in vegetarian food. The food was really good with variations of Nasi Goreng amongst other dishes, plus the atmosphere and vibe of this place is so right. They have a health food shop downstairs along with a water refilling station which is becoming more and more popular in Bali due to all of the plastic bottles that end up on the streets and beaches.

Our afternoon was quiet and we later went to The Yoga Barn with the idea of doing a 4.30pm class but when we arrived after a 30 minute walk we realised that class had started at 4pm. They are a little way out of the centre of Ubud so its better to leave more than enough time to reach it and their yoga studios are pretty nice. They had a 5pm restorative class taking place so we decided to do this instead. It was a lovely class and we both felt ‘restored’ afterwards.

We finished our evening at Juice Ja Cafe enjoying soup and sandwiches and a wheatgrass shot for measure.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

We decided to have a “sight-seeing” day, and luckily for us we were able to borrow Jason’s car so we took ourselves off to the highly recommended area of Margaret River. It was quite a drive to this region south of Perth, taking over 3 hours to reach our first port of call at Cape Naturaliste. We had higher expectations of this particular area looking out to sea, but it was disappointing. The walk around the Cape is okay but doesn’t really take in the views until much further round and we were constantly beating off flies! This was the worst part and perhaps the biggest memory of this area…the flies. Perhaps it is the season for them but we were covered and they wouldn’t leave us alone, we were glad to leave. One of the positives was that we were able to have our own pack-lunch inside the cafe area. The Lighthouse was closed for refurbishment.

Further down the road we found a spot of paradise in Yallingup Bay. We’d stopped to take a few photos of the ancient coral and rocks before looking over at the beautiful bathing spot and so we decided we would spend a few hours there, swimming, sunbathing and reading. The water is crystal clear in these parts (and for much of what we’ve seen in Australia) along with a gorgeous aqua colour it just tempts us every time. So in we were, it was much chillier than expected but a relief from the hot sun. In some parts of the bay the current is very strong and there is quite a bit of rock on the ground but there are some great spots for swimming and the surfers were there too lapping up the waves.

On our way out of the bay we stopped at a quirky grocery store offering anything from souvenirs to ice-creams, umbrellas and camping food and they had quite an extensive menu. The air was very back-packer in vibe and we couldn’t help but sit and enjoy our ice-creams at this pleasant place.

Moving on along our drive we took the road to Margaret River and stopped off at one of the many many vine-yards in the area. Margaret River is renowned for producing great wines and so it would have been rude not to. We chose to stop at the very grand Laurance Vineyard and were greeted by a slightly out of place statue of an angel in the air along with fountains in the lake at the front of the property. The cellar door is a restaurant and they offer wine tastings including 6 taster of choice for $9 or 3 tasters, olives and bread for $9. They charge because they can, the location is beautiful and the venue is very appealing with large wooden furniture, big swinging doors and the toilets are particularly nice! We went for a tasting of 6 between us with Dave’s favourite being the Chardonnay and Helen’s the Rose. All wines were very good though and even in our post-beach scruffiness we felt quite grand sitting in their luxurious surrounds.

Our next stop was at the River Mouth of Margaret River where huge sand-dunes build up around the beach and river area. Helen’s brother had talked of the sand-dunes and so we were hoping we would find the right place. The ocean here is perfect for surfers, wind–surfers and kite-surfers and we watched in awe taking in the speed of which they were travelling. Further round by the sand-dunes we enjoyed a windy walk taking in more dunes, grass and waves. It really is a beautiful area.

We ended our day at the fish and chips shop in Margaret River, perhaps the cheapest place to eat in what is a busy tourist town. We didn’t spend much time in the town itself but the region is beautiful and we could see why so many people had recommended us to visit there. The drive back to Perth was another 3 hours plus and so it was a long day indeed, but well worth it.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

For our last few days in Sydney we made the most of having a place to ourselves in a fantastic location. Just down the road and under the Harbour Bridge is the North Sydney Olympic Pool and so we decided to spend a good half day there enjoying it’s facilities. For $18 we could use the gym and pool for as long as wanted to, so we spent the first part of the morning in the gym and the second part enjoying the 50m pool. It’s in an amazing location right under the bridge and next to Luna Park, pretty surreal to have so much of interest built around this historic pool and with a famous restaurant overlooking us. We enjoyed the location and the workout. The pool still has much of it’s original art deco styling around the site and large windows line one side so you can people watch as passers-by walk past on their way to and from the ferry.

Later that afternoon we enjoyed a trip back to The Opera House, this time armed with the Leica so that we could get some better shots than our ones from a few days ago. We also walked around the Botanical Gardens home to many tropical parrots and birds and the Flying Foxes or Fruit Bats hanging from the trees above. The parrots are very tame and create quite a raucous sound as they come back to nest or feed from people gathering around.

Around the corner we could see an event taking place where the Open Air Cinema is located, it was actually the opening night for start of the summer season and the Australian Premier of Marilyn was being screened. So there was quite a buzz about the place with media and red carpets all around. What a location though if you have the money, some tickets are available each night on a first come first serve basis but you would have to queue early as they sell out pretty quick and all of the pre-booked tickets were already sold out for the entire month. We weren’t sure whether you’d spend more time looking at the city lit up than the film on screen. Luna Park greeted us as we made our way back to Kirribilli on the ferry, along with moody skies over the Opera House. The Diamond Princess Cruise liner still dominated the Sydney Harbour, impressive but ugly at the same time. Not quite seen one that big before!

We managed to fit in a beach day on the 12th and jetted off using the ferries to Manly Beach, described by many as being the nicest beach in the area. It is certainly a nice spot but it does get so busy during the holidays so perhaps on a quiter day you might find see a little more sand! The sea is good to swim in though and we were getting a bit of a beach day on the go!

On the 13th we enjoyed a pretty low key day which involved washing, shopping for food, planning and cooking some cookies and chocolate brownies. Helen wanted to bake something for the picnic later on and to take to her friends place where we would be driving to the next day. We also got a phone call to say that the Leica was now back so we planned to collect it on Saturday. We also enjoyed a pleasant walk around the Neighborhood and to Milson’s Park taking in the architecture around us. It is a very Art Deco area, perhaps more so than anywhere else in the city (well as far as we’ve seen!) and it has also been maintained to a very high standard. We could tell it wasn’t cheap to live in this part of the city, and so looked on in admiration to our surroundings. We had been very spoilt – BIG thanks to Rob, Monica and Lottie for letting us stay at their lovely flat.

On our final evening in Sydney we finally managed to catch up with friends Amy and Amit who moved here after a stint of travelling last year. They actually left the UK on the same day as us in 2010 and are now settled and expecting their first child! We had a lovely picnic in Glebe Park and an all round fab night catching up with them. Best of luck to them and wish we could have had more time with them whilst we were there!

On the 14th we were ready to make tracks and leave our little home for the past 7 days. We picked up a hire car in the city and packed ourselves in tightly into the little 3 door Hyundai Getz. Happily back together with the Leica we bought ourselves a 3 man tent and a new stove before making our way to Helen’s Uni friend’s family home close to the Blue Mountains.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

We started out early and drove to Westport to have our breakfast as there were less sand flies and a supermarket for us to stock up. Next we drove to Tauraunga Bay where we went on a 2 hour walk out to the lighthouse and back with a few stops to look at the beautiful newborn seal pups resting on the rocks. There is a historic lighthouse at the furthest point of the trail and it’s a good stop off point to stretch the legs whilst on the road to Punakaiki.

When we got to Punakaiki we decided to park the van at the Punakaiki Motor Park, they’re the only campsite located within walking distance of the rocks and we were cautious about where to park the van. After a quick check with the DOC office located at the I-site we decided to hike along one of the canyon paths for the afternoon and visit the pancake rocks later on for high tide. The hike took us through lush tropical forest along the Pororari River and ended at the swing bridge before turning around and making tracks back again. We came across kayakers on the river enjoying the few and far between rapids.

Back at camp we settled into our routine of cooking (Helen cooked a delicious curry from the Wholemeal Cafe cookbook!) and washing and after chatting to our friendly New Zealand neighbours, who offered us a sample of their whitebait fritters we walked up the road to the rocks. Punakaiki is a small place much to Dave’s surprise but it does hole a lot of charm and the shoreline heading up towards the rocks is really impressive.

At the pancake rocks it was a little on the quiet side in terms of actual blow holes taking place, however the roar of the ocean bellowing through the rocks below was impressive alone. We sat and listened to the waves crashing in whilst taking in the rare rock formations. On our way back we walked alongside the ocean and stopped to take it all in, the sea was pretty wild and we took our time.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

After a spot of skyping home from Hastings and a drive out to some of the beaches south of Napier at midday we got in touch with Roam located in Tongariro to see if the park shuttle service was operating for the next day. They answered with a yes and so we booked ourselves onto the 8am bus with the knowledge that the weather forecast was looking good for our hike.

The drive to Tongariro from Napier is via highway 60 which led us through some fantastic views across to the volcanic park and snow-peaked mountains. It took us 4+ hours or so to reach the campground in Mangahuia with a road-side picnic stop along the way. The DOC campground was already looking full and we found the last van spot. It’s only $4 per person at this campground but it does fill up quickly and by 7pm more and more people were driving in for the hike the next day. We ended up sharing our space with another van as they couldn’t get a spot. In anticipation of a very early start we were in bed by 9pm and wrapped up warm as we could tell it was going to be a chilly one.

It was freezing in the van over night and we did have frost on the windows in the morning for the first time too. We quickly changed from thermals to thermal layering and decided to get to Whakapapa village so we could get a parking spot early and have breakfast there. The campsite was packed so we figured it made sense to get out before the rest of the campground did the same. So we enjoyed breakfast as the sun was warming us up and we overheard locals talking about how good the weather would be today. Yes! We had picked a good day to do the walk which was confirmed when we got on the 8am shuttle bus and they kept going on about how it was the best day yet. After 30 minutes or so in the bus we arrived at the start of the track at Mangatepopo car-park and had a few safety briefings which took another 10 minutes or so. By which time more and more shuttles were turning up full of hikers so we could tell it was going to be a busy walk.

The crossing starts a little like the Miners path at Snowdon; very steady gravel paths and it’s pretty much like this until we reached the Soda Springs. We had both peaks surrounding us; the Mount Ngauruhoe Volcano aka Mordor in Lord of the Rings and the Mount Tongariro. We took the path out to the springs to get a few photos and then re-joined the main path along with what seemed to be around several hundred other hikers. It was busy! We zipped up the steps which has the name Devil’s staircase and at times does feel very devilish, passing by hikers along the way. It does get annoying as the paths aren’t that wide so we ended up backing up behind hikers who didn’t really let us by which annoyed Dave immensely. It took us around 2 hours to reach the first summit area which then gives you the opportunity to take the path up to the volcano. We decided to do the Mt Tongiriro Summit instead and so continued onwards along the plains below the two peaks. Its a flat muddy plain which leads you unto another steep path. This is where it starts getting volcanic. At the next rest stop we took the path toward the Mt Tongiriro Summit which is around an hour and twenty detour, not everyone does this so we got to avoid the busy paths and enjoyed less tourists making this crossing. We hiked along rocky to very unstable ash like terrain before eventually walking up the path on snow. The snow then led us back onto a rocky ridge and we enjoyed a little cereal bar break whilst taking in the views. We could see the car-park where we started from and across the valley to the mountain ranges.

On making our way back to the main path we skidded down the snow as others went down on their bums and rejoined the main path. At this point we came to the red craters which were different from the surrounding landscape and then along a very scree-rocky path which with the amount of hikers going down was really dusty. This path led us down to the Emerald lakes; a group of small aqua pools with sulphur smoking out from the rocks behind. We enjoyed another tuna lunch and then set off past the Blue Lake. This is the most volcanic and active part of the hike bringing in spectacular views all around. When we left the lake area we were on our way down.

It was a long path back to the car-park at Ketetahi and the terrain went from volcanic to grassy meadows and had a very Scottish highland feel to it all. We could see out to Lake Taupo and were really blown away by the contrast in landscapes from the start of the walk. We got down to the car-park at 3.45pm ready for the 4pm bus, the last bus was leaving at 5pm so we had given ourselves plenty of time. On the bus back to the main village we felt very satisfied with our hike, it goes on the list of epic hikes we’ve down so far. The shuttle service with Roam cost $35 each for a 2-way service. We didn’t really want to use the shuttle both ways but it’s difficult getting back to the car-park where the hike starts and its supposedly not as secure as leaving your car at the main car-park in Whakapapa so we decided to go for the easier option.

Back at the van we freshened up and decided to make our way to Wanganui which is around 100km south of the park. It took us a couple of hours to reach Wanganui and we stayed at Avro Motel and holiday park which cost us a measly $20, not bad with free showers and kitchen use. This was our second night of eating out since we made it to New Zealand and we opted for Thai Villa in the centre of town, the food was reasonable and it was nice to have someone else cook for us.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

We drove from west to east but the distances are never too far in this country. Although when you’re driving Po it does take a little longer! We were heading for the Coromandel Peninsula and it took around 3 hours via Auckland which was a mistake. The road signs over here a little hit and miss! We based ourselves in the Kauaerranga Valley DOC campground at Wainora. The DOC information site there is really good in fact, it seems to be newly built and contains loads of info on the area as you’d expect with the addition of some very helpful staff! We picked up an area hiking map so that we could plan a few hikes whilst on the Peninsula and went off down another gravel dirt path to the 4th campsite on the left.

When we got to the campsite which has some nice tables and fire pits around the camp areas there was one other camper on site. He’s been there for a while already and walked passed us with a freshly killed possum in hand! He just chatted to us as if everything was fairly normal and told us that the hike up was a good one, especially as the sun was out! After settling into camp we got our boots on and hiked up the Waoimu Kauri path. It starts on a fairly easy trail over bridges and streams,  and through dense forest, then come the steps. There are a lot of steps to climb and for the most part we decided to run up them, couldn’t quite manage all of them but weren’t far off.

We reached the Kauri trees after about an hour and fifteen, again big trees that stand out as a phenomenon from the forest around them. The path then continues onwards towards Crosbies Hut, it would take a further 3 hours to reach the hut but we didn’t want to go that far. So we hiked for a further hour through muddy paths, over fallen trees following the orange signs. We then turned around and made our way back to the campground. We only passed 2 other hikers on the route and back at camp no-one else joined us so it was quiet night. Dinner was good; omelette, lentils and pitta bread! Camping meals”us! We hope to get more adventurous!

The next morning we were off again, this time we were heading north. En-route we stopped at Coromandel town to find some wifi and pick up a few food items. Coromandel town is an idyllic seaside town, with a small harbour and old colonial buildings throughout. We found The Chai Teahouse in the centre of town next door to Umo. There is a lovely vibe to this little tea house, old sofas, home-baked delights and a big assortment of chai tea! We opted for the chai and took advantage of their cosiness and wifi offering. They offer the first 30 mins for free and thereafter it should e $6 per hour, we used it for 2.5 hours and only paid for the one, but we did have 2 chai teas and a soup. The staff are really friendly too.

After re-fuelling and getting our much needed blog posts online we set off for the most northern points of the peninsula. It’s quite a long drive although the distance isn’t that much mainly because the last 30km or so is on gravel roads. We stopped off at a few places along the way before eventually arriving at the DOC Port Jackson campsite, this and the previous night had cost $9 each. They have good facilities at this campground including sinks and a sheltered picnic area, plus the other folks camping were friendly locals asking us all sorts of questions and offering advice on where to go in NZ.

We took a round trip 3 hour hike along the coast-line along the Muriwai Coastal track (we notice repetition occurring in name places!). This was another blustery walk with more steps and steep sections, but once agin the views were pretty amazing this time looking out over to the Great Barrier Island. When we reached the metal plate illustrating the places that we were looking out to we turned around and took the road back to the campsite. On our way back we were stopped by staring cows on the hillside and back at camp after dinner the clouds began to clear and we took in the beautiful colours forming fro the sunset. Delicious!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

Up early we were back up at the viewing point doing some exercises in the morning sun! Trying to keep fit is part of the plan on our 9 month trip! We followed this with our usual cereal and fruit with additional toast as the kitchen at the campsite has a toaster, it was good to be using someone else’s gas!

We set off along the coastal scenic road which does take longer than the normal routes and sometimes involves gravel roads. En-route to our next destination planned to be north of Doubtless Bay we stopped off at another lovely little beach called Touranga Bay, still not as pretty as where we’d just stayed but people were already out in their bikinis catching the hot sun! As we were heading back out to highway 10 from the coastal road we passed by a few hitchhikers, they were locals looking for a lift to Keri Keri, we thought they wanted to go north and they thought we said we were heading south. Anyway they were with us for 5 minutes in total as they hopped out when we got to the highway when they realised we weren’t going the way they had hoped. Still we got them to a better point for hitching their way home. They did smell though and had a dodgy story about running away from their sisters, so perhaps it was for the best!

We stopped off at Doubtless Bay for lunch and asked around for some WIFI, most places sent us back and forth to the other. So there was no WIFI to be had! But we got some info on the area and decided to continue to Maitai Bay which would be more secluded. Maitai is on the Karikari peninsula with a different beach at every corner, you can choose where to go if the wind isn’t in your favour or the sun is out somewhere else. For us though the sun was still shining and we picked our spot to avoid the wind at the upper campsite, plus it seemed a little more sociable. After reading and chilling out we went for a walk, one that had been instructed on the DOC information board, but a path that was impossible to find! Still we walked along to the next beach and later on after dinner we went for another stroll and watched the moon rise. It was yellow and just beautiful. Neither of us have seen it like that before.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

First of all was a lovely sunny walk around the block with Sarah’s best friend Madison her beautiful golden retriever. This was followed by an hour and a half class with Erich Schiffmann whom Helen and Sarah had both trained with in August. It was good for Helen to be back at Exhale, although the $22 class fees are pretty high, luckily we had a free pass between us too. The class was full, although it wasn’t to Dave’s tastes, Helen was definitely in her comfort zone and enjoyed some un-interrupted yogi time, feeling much more confident with Erich’s free-form approach.

Yoga was followed with an appointed with a chiropractor to help sort out Helen’s neck problems and then lunch at Wholefoods on the edge of Venice. The healing part of the day was over, next we were ready for some less-charming enthused Hollywood action. Sarah very kindly played host and drove us around some of the famous landmarks and areas we have so far purposely missed off our list! We drove around Rodeo Drive, Sunset Boulevard and Moholland Avenue taking in some of the mansions and the Hollywood sign.

Moving onto Hollywood itself where a film premier was taking place for Leonardo DiCaprio’s new “J Edgar” film, although we were around 2 hours early for this so could only take in the hype and crowds of fans starting to form. So it’s nothing really to shout about but now we can say we went to Hollywood. We would have liked to enjoy a drink at the roof bar on top of the W Hotel, but it was closed so we had a sneak peak and then enjoyed a beer in the lobby bar.

We ate at a really good Thai restaurant down on Hollywood Boulevard called Jitlada Thai, recommended as THE best Thai in LA!! What a statement! We love our Thai food, and yes it was pretty good especially the green curry and a fish dish. But THE best?? Hmm! It has a good authenticity about the place, family run, not too fancy but the service was slow at the end.

The next day we didn’t really do much but we did get to spend a few hours working with Sarah for her yoga portfolio. Helen shot some images for Sarah’s profile on the Santa Monica beach and grassy sidewalk, involving a mixture of portrait and sequence poses with some lovely natural one’s thrown in too. Dave had already snapped Madison the day before and so we could leave Sarah with a nice series for images for her to treasure (we hope!).

It was a rainy day after a hint of sunshine and later on it cleared up. The perfect day for a film so we watched Martha Marcy May Marlene. A little of a suspense thriller, something we think takes on a Charles Manson inspired story. Then we ate at Fresh ‘n’ Easy over the road from the cinema which has recently opened and offers good salads, sandwiches, soups and so on.

On our last day in LA and after a quick Skype call home to the Roscoe’s we went to another yoga class. This time we were back at Yoga Glo, a studio that offers free yoga to people with an array of top class teachers in LA. It makes its money from the subscribers who follow the yoga classes online, so each class is filmed. We were back with Jo Tastula and she co-taught with meditation teacher Harshada Wagner. Another lovely class which was perhaps more up Dave’s path; more physical basically with guided meditation.

We then made our way to the Getty Centre, which Helen has visited before and remembers the photos she took there. It was a saturday so it was busy, the bonus is free entry but you have a $15 parking fee. It really is a must-see for visitors going to LA. The building sits on a hill overlooking downtown LA and the coast-line. It was a really clear day too so we had great views. The exhibitions were pretty good, the Bauhaus photography exhibit was not really all that good but the one exhibit that stood out for us was Crosscurrents in LA Painting and Sculpture featuring LA artists from the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s including David Hockney’s Splash. This exhibition is part of Pacific Standard Time, art taking place around central LA.

The buildings, architecture and the gardens are perhaps the best thing about the Getty, plus the views. It’s modern, tasteful and very white. Perfect against a blue sky. Lunch there is over-rated and over-priced, we saw a few people taking in a picnic and this seemed the more enjoyable option.

We didn’t have long left so we packed our bags, and after saying goodbye to Madison we went to the Bergamot Station Arts Centre to stop at an exhibition opening. One of Sarah’s colleagues was involved in the opening fettering layered photo montages and photography, this was at the Tag gallery. There is a great hub of art galleries at this location. We then enjoyed perhaps our best sushi yet, one of Sarah’s all time favourites in La. It was excellent and a steal at only $20 each! Again authentic to Japanese culture and their sashimi was fantastic we could have easily been back in Japan! After a filling of sushi Sarah dropped us off at LAX, this was our final goodbye and a little tearful. 3 months in North America, it was strange to be moving on but it also felt good. Thanks to Sarah for being the perfect host and making fantastic home-made granola! Go into business with that Sarah! ha! Oh and her aunty’s pumpkin loaf was amazing, another best seller surely!

So farewell America, for the time being. We’ll do a highlights feature soon and we already have plans of what and where we’d like to visit when we return. New Zealand awaits and we are excited about more new beginnings. We just need to embrace the 13.5 hour flight first.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

We were up fairly early, enjoyed our usual breakfast; fruit, cereal and yoghurt, packed up the tent and our belongings and set off on the next part of our journey. It took around 5 hours to reach the South Rim of the Grand Canyon with a few stops along the way. Our route from Zion took us out of the north exit of Zion National Park, along the 89 and 89a to  rejoin the 89 and exit onto the 64 which took us straight towards the Grand Canyon Village. We noticed many native American stalls on the road side as we drove, of which over half were empty, a sign of the times.

Our first stop at the Canyon was along the East Rim Drive at Desert View. We had lunch and took in our first proper views of the canyon in the Watchtower, a building built to fit in with the landscape… kind of! Inside are some really interesting wall murals and to be fair the views were amazing. Moving on from Desert View we made our way to the Mather Campground where we had booked to camp for 2 nights at $18 per night.

After setting up the tent we drove out to Pipe Creek Vista and picked up the yellow shuttle bus to Yaki Point. We stayed here until the sun set, photographed, meditated and joined in with the fellow onlookers. The canyon turned from red, to yellow to blue over the course of time. On our way back we picked up some supplies for dinner at the Market Plaza and then enjoyed our first showers in 3 days!

The following morning we were up early and ready for a hike. We had looked into a few options for hikes down into the canyon and knew that making it to the canyon floor in a day and back out again was out of the question (and not advised by the rangers). So we looked at day options and chose the Hermit’s Rest trail so we could enjoy the views and hike without so many tourists. This time we drove into the village and took the red bus shuttle to Hermits Rest. The trail down is steep and we would only recommend it if you have some hiking experience. In the heat and at this time of year we were still advised to take more water and food than normal. It took around an hour and a half to reach the Santa Maria spring where we logged into the trail book, enjoyed some rest and then continued for a further mile before having lunch and making our way back up. It actually took less than we had anticipated at around 4 hours total hike but again it was steep and getting back up out of the canyon was tough. We endeavor to come back and do a 3 day hike down into the canyon floor and out again sometime in the future!!

Not satisfied with the 7′ish miles we continued to walk along the rim for a further 5 before getting back to the car in the village. This was to be our last night of camping in America, so we enjoyed more camp food, showers and an episode of Peep Show (we have been religiously watching and downloading all series since we have travelled!).

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

When we got up the following day the fog had cleared and we spent a few hours at the Indian Creek Cafe topping up our writing for the blog. It’s a popular place for those passing through on-route and we felt a little bad for taking up a table for just a coffee and an orange juice, friendly and funny staff though.

We drove in and out through the fog and stopped off at various places along the route. It’s a rugged coastline with rocks jutting out all along the way, there are so many stopping points it takes ages to get anywhere. We drove through some of the well known Redwood Forests and State Parks but the weather was not so good so we decided not to camp there for the night. A little further down Highway 1 and we landed in Trinidad and decided that we weren’t going to camp, instead we wanted a room…a bed!! After searching and stopping off at a few B&B’s we ended up at The Emerald Forest Resort, where we got a log cabin for a AAA reduced rate because Helen’s aunty is a member! This was our first night in a bed in nearly 2 weeks and we were pretty excited!

We walked up to Trinidad Head, which proved to be very rewarding, it’s a good little walk up to a point with more fantastic views. Trinidad is a nice little town but does seem to have most property on the holiday rental lists so it’s hard to find the community there. Back at our cabin we enjoyed food and Finding Nemo, oh how easy it is to get sucked into TV.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)