Oceania

Travel through Oceania by country:

Australia, Indonesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

Travel through Oceania by popular city:

Auckland, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Wellington

Travel through Oceania by popular things to do:

Cook Islands, Sydney Opera House

Travel through Oceania with our writers:

In the Corner of the World, Work and Play in Queensland

London to Sydney: The Return of Overland Travel

by Brett Atkinson on

In this world of cheap(ish) airfares, the thrill and romance of overland travel has largely been replaced with the hassle of negotiating airport queues and potential immigration shakedowns straight from a lost episode of The Sopranos.

Of course not so long ago, the famous Hippie Trail from London to Asia was the trip du jour for any self-respecting traveller. Now a new company is promising to bring back the excitement of multiple border crossings on the long trek from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere.

Ozbus is a new overland travel company that covers the 10,000 miles from London to Sydney. The entire journey takes 12 weeks and covers 20 different and incredibly diverse countries including Finland, Iran, Laos and East Timor. I’m getting serious wanderlust just writing about it.

Trips run from London to Sydney and vice versa and cost around US$7500. You’ll be staying in a mix of tents and cheaper hostels and guesthouses. Twelve weeks with the same crew is a long time, so don’t blame us if you want a complete break from the human race once you land in England or Aussie.

Thanks to Ozbus for the pic.

Toilets Back On Gadling: This Time With An Arty Spin

by Brett Atkinson on

For some strange reason, posts about toilets go down well here at Gadling. (Click here and here for more than you ever need to know).

Here’s the latest but I’m going to raise the tone a little by at least introducing an arty angle.

This weekend I’ve headed north from Auckland to the Bay of Islands. In the quiet New Zealand town of Kawakawa is a unique public convenience designed by the renowned Austrian artist and architect Frederick Hundertwasser. Strongly influenced by

The Ritz Of Treehouses

by Brett Atkinson on

I was a bit of a fan of treehouses when I was a kid, but the ramshackle collage of plywood and plastic I built on the edge of Auckland’s suburbs had nothing on the luxury treehouse I’ve just been staying in at Kaikoura in New Zealand’s South Island.

With handmade furniture, a Scandinavian wood-burning stove and a spa bath, and an iPod sound system pre-loaded with jazz standards from Ella Fitzgerald and Cole Porter, staying at Hapuku Lodge has been pretty special as New Zealand’s weather gods kept debating whether or not to let the country transition to spring.

Waking up near a surf beach is always good. When you’re several metres above the ground it’s even better, and it’s been the ideal background to an exciting weekend swimming with seals and whale watching by helicopter.

Thanks to Hapuku Lodge for the pic.

Swimming With New Zealand Fur Seals

by Brett Atkinson on

I’ve just come back from a couple of days in Kaikoura on the South Island of New Zealand. I’ve been whale watching by helicopter and staying in a luxury tree house, (more about that tomorrow), but the coolest thing was bobbing about in the ocean with a colony of New Zealand fur seals.

After being poured into an essential winter weight hooded wetsuit I ventured with Sealswim Kaikoura to a local landmark called Barney’s Rock, about 300 metres off the coast. A layer of kelp surrounds the base of the rock and adolescent seals were spinning and diving amidst the tangled marine forest. My guides, father and son Graeme and Matt Chambers, provided an essential tip to maximise the experience. “Imitate the seal, and mimic whatever they’re doing.”

It was excellent advice and by just floating on my back in the gentle swell, the seals didn’t regard me as threatening. Out of the water it would have been a different story for the territorial older bulls, but joining them in their own environment I was regarded as just another benign species.

The younger seal pups swept recklessly towards me, made underwater eye contact, and then darted playfully away. On the rocks a few older seals kept sleeping in the sun, and I got the idea that none of the younger ones in the water felt the need to wake up their dozing uncles and aunties.

Thanks to Sealswim Kaikoura for the pic.

Hanging Off A Rope In the New Zealand Rainforest

by Brett Atkinson on

I’m pretty happy I live in Auckland. Just over a million people with an increasing cultural diversity, loads of good restaurants, and a surprising number of international concerts (although that means for every visit from Interpol and Ryan Adams we get, we also have to host Tommy Lee’s woeful Supernova).

Across recent weeks I’ve been exploring Auckland’s wilder side in a series of articles on “Urban Adventures” I’m writing for a local magazine. An earlier post was on Bungy Jumping off the Auckland Harbour Bridge , and I’ve just returned from canyoning in the Waitakere Ranges to the west of Auckland with my nephew Matthew.

Togged up in wetsuits and safety helmets, we’ve just spent three hours working our way down the Blue Canyon‘s cavalcade of eighteen different waterfalls. Each of the cascades has required a slightly different technique. On some a spectacular and energetic leap has worked best. On others we’ve been forced to slide on our backsides down mossy natural water slides. Throw in a couple of watery abseils for good measure.

All the while we’ve been surrounded by native birdsong in a stunning chasm that’s only a few metres across at its widest point.

It’s been a great day. Not bad for somewhere that’s only 45 minutes from downtown Auckland .

See Canyonz for more information