Since the island is rather small, we decided to discover it on a scooter. Here, it is literally a lifestyle. There are more scooters on the streets than cars or pedestrians for that matter. We packed a small bag and went on our 5-day adventure, well aware that it is rainy season here..

Our first stop was Ubud, a small town that really exploded with tourism in the past few years, as they filmed the movie Eat, pray, love there. The highlight of that region was a short 30 minute drive (scooter distance) away, in the peaceful rice fields. The scenery and just seeing the Balinese people work is so calming. Also, the area has tons of wood carvers, designing everything from small Hindu statues, beautiful dining tables (that would sell for several thousands back home), and larger than life temple decorations. Our adventures continue along the coast to the small towns of Padang Bai, Amed, Tulamben, and Lovina. These towns are a lot calmer and tourists are much less frequent, which is what we like. The best moments are stopping along the road to tiny shops owned by older Balinese people and ordering a meal that is completely unknown to us. Some locals do not speak any English but we’ve actually never encountered any problems in communicating with people. A few hand gestures and we’ve got ourselves a great meal!

Some of the highlights of our “road trip” are: getting caught in the rain and running out of gas in the hills of a volcano, stopping along the road for a beverage, later on known to be a ‘Es Teler’ which is basically a sweet white juice with tons of jelly candies inside, and finding a secret waterfall and staying with Mrs. Sintia and her family. What a great experience! But the most memorable would be Phil driving 2 hours in the pooring rain on the scooter to find the closest ATM machine to pay for our hotel room. We would still be in Tulamben if it wasn’t for Phil!

Here’s a picture of what the rainy season is like in Indonesia! It never rains for too long, but when it rains, it rains!

We have left the Australian laidback vibe for the Balinese welcoming culture. As soon as we arrived in Bali, we noticed that every single person had a genuine smile on their face. From the customs officer (and we know they are not the most smiley bunch in North America) to the unofficial taxi driver that tried to charge us three times the price from the airport, everyone seems to be smiling at all times. Children on scooters are constantly waving and screaming ‘hello’!

Money has a different value here, has we can find a meal for $1 and a refreshing fresh fruit smoothie for about $0.65. Phil’s ultimate favourite was the avocado juice with chocolate syrup. Quite delicious! One of our daily treats is buying fresh exotic fruits from the local farmer, or even from the lady carrying a basket of freshly picked fruits on her head. Rambutans, magoustens, jakfruit, tamarillos, coconuts, mangoes are a daily must!

And on the topic of the value of money, every single souvenir can be purchased for a rather small amount. Negotiation skills are required, and the Balinese are the masters and seem to enjoy a good negotiation. Sunglasses, t-shirts, dresses, sandals, bags and so much more can be found everywhere around Kuta, which is the main tourist spot. Away from there, the island is more relaxed and quiet. Which is what we like!

Read about our scooter adventure around Bali next!

Trying to stay active has been much easier in Australia. The weather, the sunshine, and the close to perfect landscape makes playing outdoors awesome!

The ocean currents are most of the time too strong for us to swim in, so we mostly enjoy our time at the beach to ride the waves, bodysurfing style. Tons of people, young and old, just play in the water and catch the waves by riding them all the way to the shore. Phil has become quite the expert!

As for swimming, it is probably one of the most popular sports in Australia. Outdoor public pools are found almost everywhere we go, from small town pools, to salt water olympic size pools, and not to forget the ocean baths. These are pools in the ocean with lanes for swimming. Also, one of the swimmimg highlights was a tea leaves infused lake with the water being stained by the tree leaves around it. It actually tasted like iced tea! It is really fun to be able to swim regularly and do it outdoors. And since people drive on the other side of the road, they also start their laps by swimming on the left side. Its really not that complicated, but it takes strangely some getting used to!

We spent the Christmas holidays on the Whitsunday Islands, in the Great Barrier Reef. There is no swimming here, as box jellyfish have made their way to this tropical area and if one were to get stung, they must be transported immediately by helicopter to the hospital. And since some varieties are only 1 centimeter wide, wetsuits have to worn at all times in the water. And swimming in lakes are no recommended either, as crocodiles are commonly found in this area.

Happy holidays from the land down under!

When we arrived in Surfers Paradise and saw that there was a surf IronMan, we were quite excited to see what it was all about. Being used to our typical triathlon (swim, bike, run), we expected it to be similar to our sport that we love. But lifeguards and lifesaving is actually considered to be one of Australia’s most popular sport. Kids and adults practise the sport, and surf club can be found all over the coast.

Now back to the IronMan. The Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain IronMan Series and IronWoman Series featured 41 elite surf life saving athletes that compete in a race with three disciplines a little different from triatlon. The race starts with the board paddle (where the athletes sit on boards and paddle in the ocean), followed by an ocean swim, and the surf ski (similar to a single person kayak). The three are are separated by a 500m beach run through a transition zone. The distances for these races vary from 90 minutes to a full lenght 46k race. The distance doesn’t seem that great compared to triathlon ironman races, but just imagine that most of the sports take place in the open water with big Australian waves, and working the upper body. You can see for yourself that the elite athletes don’t quite have the same shape as triathletes. And for more details, check out: http://surfironmanseries.com. This is the champion of the race.

There’s always something going on in Australia, and mostly sports that we don’t see in Canada, rugby, cricket, grass bowling.. Although we did get to see a basketball game of the Australian league, and the Gold Coast Blaze managed to win the game coming from a 20-point gap. It was an awesome game! Go Blaze!

After a few hikes and multi-day hiking trips, Phil had this crazy idea to visit the Royal National Park in one day. There is a 26kms coastal track that runs along the coast from both ends of the park. The thing is that since we parked at one end we have to complete 52kms to return to our starting point. Phil did the math, and with us running and walking it seems doable. So why not! The day prior we find out that there might be areas in the park were it is still wet and muddy (since there had been 4 days of non-stop rain), but we decide to do it anyways.

The alarm clock rings at 4:32 am, it feels like a race day morning. It is dark out, our stuff is ready, a quick breakfast and we are ready to go. The sun is out right on time to show us the way on the coastal track. The first part is considered to be more difficult as we walk down from the lookout point where we started. A little added challenge was getting lost in the bush, and having bites or an allergic reaction covering our legs (mostly Jen, as usual!). But we are fully equipped and Benadryl comes to the rescue. We finally find the right track and what a difference it made! We start running in the forest, on the paved tracks, metal platforms, and everywhere else that it is possible for us to run. We have to remove our shoes once in a while to cross a creek or water along the beach. A quick refill of water and snack and we make our way to a secluded beach that is almost at the end of the park. Having done 21kms already, and thinking of our way back, Jen let Phil continue to the end for the remaining 5k. A little snack, stretching and shoes & socks drying break, and Phil quickly returned from the end of the track. Awesome job!

The return trip is a little more easy as we completed the first part quicker than expected. We run at first and walk for a good part of the way back as our legs are getting a little tired. We find the occasional waterfall and take a little cooling down break which is extremely refreshing! As we get closer to the end, we managed to get lost again to add a little more mileage to our day. Why not! We finally find the end of the track and see our beautiful camper van. Mission accomplished. Together we ran and walked 100kms! A few days of beaches afterwards were a great reward.

What will be our next crazy adventure? Stay tuned…

Its been a while since we gave some news, so here it goes! We have arrived in the hot land down under, and boy are we happy to be here. New Zealand had a lot to offer and was really spectacular, but the weather was a little chilly. Enough to buy used gloves and tuques from the Salvation Army, and catch a cold! Our last adventure was visiting glaciers in the Milford Sound National Park. We took a small cruise to visit the park, as it is the only was to see the glaciers, unless doing the multi-day trek that needs to be booked many months in advance. The views were trully breathtaking!

And now Australia! A few days in Sydney and off we go with our camper van. 20 days with a rented sleeper van should get us around alot of places that buses don’t get to. Also, this explains the lack of internet appearances as wifi is only free in all the McDonalds across the country. So guess where we are! We have been a bit unlucky with the weather as we got 4 straight days of non-stop rain. But that didn’t stop us from hiking in the Blue Mountains for two days. Its just too bad that we never got to see any of the views that are supposed to be magnificent, as all we saw was white fog 10 feet away. There’s no picture to show the views from the lookouts since they were more like look nots. Lets just say that our clothes needed a good wash after 2 days of wet and muddy hiking! It seems that $14 will get you a nice clean load of clothes around Sydney.

As the weather got nicer, we planned our crazy Jen & Phil 100k adventure. Stay tuned for the full recap!

With tons of national parks across both islands, New Zeland has hiking trails for everybody. Trails along the beach, in the bush (yeah they call the forest that), up mountains, and even glaciers. For a reason that we haven’t figured out yet, they call it tramping here.. And we have become quite the trampers!

Our first tramping adventure was in the Abdel Tasman National Park, which is located on the south island and along the water. Beautiful bays, small islands, and trails up the hills and along the shoreline make up the route. There is no road access so we actually have to take a water taxi to near the end of the park to make our way back to the begining of the trail. They have what they call “Great Walks” in NZ, which are multiple days hikes that have huts and camp sites along the trail. We are 2 ambitious little trampers as we walked about 25 kms each day! The trail is supposed to take between 2-5 days. We have to admit that it makes for long days, but we like it! Day one was under a bit of rain, and day two was a fine day. That’s what their weather forecast calls a sunny day. What’s particular about the hike is that there are two areas where you can only cross the bays when the tide is low if not there is water above the head and for at least 500 meters long. It wouldn’t be a problem for us, but it’s not very convenient when you are carrying backpacks with all your stuff! And a fun thing about the trek was sleeping in the hut, with the Fench people on one side and the English on the other. Although for $35 each, it is not the finest luxury; sleeping with 30 other people on mattresses on two large platforms. But its definitely all part of the fun, and we like it!

On a different note, we arrived in Franz Josef, a small town with a large beautiful glacier that surrounds the town. We decide to hike up a mountain to have a great view of the landscape. It was a rather cloudy day at the bottom, and the clouds never cleared up, so all we saw at 1300 meters high was white fog and snow! We also got completely soaked on our way down and back to the hostel. Strangely enough, the clouds cleared and the sun appeared around 6:30 in the evening, and we were able to catch a clear view of the glacier in our tshirts and sandals. They say the weather changes quickly in NZ, and that’s quite true!

Stay tuned for more glaciers from down under!

On est rendu à Napier, dans la région de Hawkes Bay, une ville qui a été reconstruite en 1931 après un violent tremblement de terre. La Nouvelle-Zélande est souvent frappée par des tremblements de terre. Il y en avait même 3 il y a trois semaines dans différents coins du pays. Une des raisons pour laquelle il y en a beaucoup est parce que les îles du nord et du sud sont sur deux différentes plaques techtoniques: celle du Pacifique et de l’Afrique. La ville de Christchurch sur l’île du sud a été dévastée par un gros tremblement de terre en février dernier, et cette ville a même bougé de 170 centimètres depuis 70 ans à cause des déplacements des plaques. Et qu’on en apprend des choses dans les musées gratuits!

Mais la raison de notre arrêt dans cette région fut les vignobles. N’ayant j’amais visité de vinobles, nous nous sommes dit que ça serait une bonne idée d’en visiter tant qu’a être en Nouvelle-Zélande. Et pourquoi pas en vélo! Tout les gens nous on dit que c’était trop loin de la ville pour y aller en vélo (environ 40kms) et qu’on devrait prendre un tour organisé qui nous amène directement dans la région. Avec une bonne carte en main et le bon sens de l’orientation de Phil, on décide d’y aller quand même. Et quelle bonne décision! C’est une super belle journée et on se promène sur nos “ghetto bikes” de location sur le bord de la mer, dans la campagne, et à travers les vergers, pour finalement se rendre dans la région des vignobles. On appercoit un coq au loin, qui est la brasserie locale Roosters, notre premier arrêt. Même si ce n’est pas un vignoble, c’était bon quand même! Ça serait le parfait endroit pour prendre une bonne bière entre poulets après une belle promenade en vélo!

Ensuite on se balade en vélo et on visite plusieurs vignobles de la région de Hawkes Bay. On apprend que la plupart on beaucoup de difficulté à vendre au Canada à cause de certaines règlementations. Ici les vins se trouvent à l’épicerie, et les bouteilles commencent à partir de $7. Par contre il y a des bouteilles qui restent le même prix qu’à Montréal, comme le fameux Kim Crawford qui est $23 NZD. Mais il y a tellement de choix alors on peut pas se plaindre!

Moment mémorable de la journée: Jen qui enlève ses pantalons dans le milieu de la piste, fesses nues, pour mettre ses shorts de triathlon. Qu’est ce que qu’on ferait pas pour être plus comfortable sur une selle de vélo! Hoo ha!

Pour faire changement, voici des nouvelles en français! Nous sommes maintenant arrivés en Nouvelle-Zélande après un vol surprenament comfortable de 9 heures. Chapeau à Air New Zeland pour leur super service! Deux repas chauds (même végétarien), du vin néo-zélandais à volonté, un vidéo comique sur les procédures d’urgence fait par les membres de l’équipe nationale de Rugby, des écrans sur les sièges, et on en passe! Comme quoi les bonnes compagnies aériennes sont rares en Amérique du Nord.

Nous sommes arrivés le matin à Auckland, la plus grande ville de NZ. On trouve une auberge pour y déposer nos trucs, et ensuite on part à la découverte. Nous commençons la journée en encourageant les participants du marathon d’Auckland qui terminent leurs derniers kilomètres. Quelle belle ambiance dans la ville! Pleins de gens heureux et en forme. Les championnats du monde de ITU (triathlon de distance olympique) sont le jour de notre départ de NZ. Après le Ironman à Kona, ça l’aurait été l’fun de voir ça aussi! La ville porte encore fièrement les couleurs des All Blacks, les gagnants de la coupe du monde de Rugby qui avait lieu il y a une semaine. C’est dommage d’avoir manqué toutes les festivités, mais en même temps, nous aurions du mal à trouver un endroit où rester alors c’est pas grave.

Ensuite, nous découvrons les quartiers de Auckland; ville qui ressemble un peu à Montréal, beaucoup de diversité, d’histoire, l’architecture. Un énorme port occupe la ville, qui est celle qui a le plus grand nombre de voilier par habitant au monde. Il y a un amalgame de nationalité dans la ville, les locaux (Maoris), des asiatiques, en pleins de gens de partout à travers le monde qui ont tous adopté l’accent de la Nouvelle-Zélande. Autre petite adaptation est que les gens conduisent à gauche, alors systématiquement on regarde des mauvais côtés avant de traverser les rues. En plus qu’il ne semble pas trop avoir d’arrêts stop en ville, alors les voitures arrivent de tous bords tous côtés. Aussi, c’est le printemps ici, donc on passe nos journés en jeans plutôt qu’en maillot de bains. Tant qu’a changer de pays, aussi bien tout changer! Bonus: le soleil se couche à 20:00, alors on a des belles longues journées! A+!

A quick 50-minute flight and we arrive in Honolulu. We find out that we can get to our hostel with public transportation, which makes things a little easier than on the Big Island. But we have been really lucky so we have nothing to complain about! The bus drives through Honolulu, which is the downtown area where the core of businesses are and shopping centers. It feels like being in Miami or Las Vegas; luxury car dealerships, fancy designer stores and restaurants along one long strip, and tons and tons of tourists. Somehow we dont’t fit in at our hostel of ultra laidback (if you get the meaning) surfers dudes, which itself doesn’t really fit in with the luxurious hotels and resorts located around it. Until we can escape the busy lifestyle of touristy Waikiki, we made the best of it: jog along the strip, swam in the ocean, enjoyed this great band playing on the street, and went out with other hostel world travelers to a typical tourist bar that shall remain nameless!

A 2-hour bus ride and we have escaped to the North Shore! A little more resprentative of Hawaii: relaxed people, surfing, nature, and their “hang loose” lifestyle. It takes about 2-3 hours to go around the entire island, so we decide to spend our last week here. Our great rental home/hostel is located across a snorkeling bay and just a short walk from the most popular surfing beaches on the island. In the winter time, it is common for them to get 30-feet waves. They have several surfing competitions in the winter time, and they even had to cancel the competition for 2 days one year, because the waves were just too big!

Our water activities have led to a few small hiccups.. We borrowed 2 “ancient” surf boards (that’s what a lifeguard referred to them) from the place we were staying at and decided to hit the waves. With our tiny glued back together boards, we managed to spend a bit of time in the water and tried to catch a few waves. One too generous wave decided to wipe out Jen’s cotact lense, which cut the session short. The second was on a big swell day, when we decided to go check out surfers and bodyboarders at Sunset Beach. The waves were about 2 times overhead, which means a good 12 feet high. Phil wanted to give a shot to body boarding by borrowing someone’s board and got slightly washed up by the waves. A small cut under his big toe has led us to some relaxed days on the beach. Its all good, we are on vacation!

A few other fun things that we did on the island were to go to the farmers market, visit a taro farm, the Kualoa Ranch, where they filmed many movies like Jurassic Park and the show Lost, walk around the small town of Haleiwa, and basically just relax and enjoy life! We don’t take enough time during our busy lives to do that, so we are enjoying every moment.

Our stay on the beautiful hawaiian islands is coming to an end, and we are heading to the land of kiwis and the All Blacks, the 2011 World Cup Rugby champions. It will be quite a change as we are going from palm trees and beach weather to mountains in the spring time. Mahalo Hawaii! We will be back!