Here's a quick list of some of the highlights of our trip so far.
with a double-century under our belt we're off to Australia
November 01, 2002
christchurch, new zealand--
200 days! That's how long we've been on the road, and after finally dropping off our campervan, our home for the past two months, we finally bid adieu to New Zealand. Two amazing months of some of the most spactacular scenery imaginable. Now we're off, back to Australia, Cairns this time, to dive the Great Barrier Reef before heading on to Asia.
** itinerary changes **
October 20, 2002
dunedin, new zealand--
It now seems like a good thing in the wake of last week's bombing, but we've been forced to cancel our stop in Bali, instead flying straight on to Singapore from northern Australia. Our plane ticket allows us to change the date of any flight on our ticket, but here's the catch...subject to availablity. When we went to change our Bali flight we found that there wasn't a seat to be had for weeks, though I'll bet there are plenty now. So we decided instead to pay the US$75 price to change the routing of our tickets and will now skip the troubled island.
And since were already paying to reprint our ticket, we've also decided to skip the north island of New Zealand entirely, and will fly from Christchurch on the 2nd of November instead of Auckland.
adventure junkies
October 05, 2002
queenstown, new zealand--
They call New Zealand 'the land of the long white cloud', but it also certainly holds claim to the title of 'the land of the ever seducing activity operators'. Everywhere you go, from the small towns to the big cities, there's someone there ready to guide you in some sort of activity...whale watching...hiking...fishing...kayaking...you name it. Up until now, we've been pretty good about being selective and mindful of our budget...
Well not this time!!! Now were in Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world, where we've just laid down a wad of cashola for bungy jumping, skydiving, jetboating, fiord cruising and this crazy contraption, Fly By Wire, that can't possibly be explained.
Bunnnnngggggyyyyy!!!!!!
one month just isn't enough
September 30, 2002
greymouth, new zealand--
We've been tooling around New Zealand in Esmerelda, our van, for about month now and we're nowhere near done. In fact, we've decided that another month is in order so we've phoned up, extended our booking and are looking forward to really seeing it all.
wedding plans
September 22, 2002
nelson, new zealand--
As many of you know, the members of notworkin.com are soon to join the members of notsingle.com. Our plan has been to find a place that we like somewhere along the way, settle down for a few days and get married, get hitch-a-rama-ding-donged, get de-single-ized. Well, as much as we're loving New Zealand and would spend ages here if we could, we've actually decided to wait until Thailand before, wait for it..."thai-ing the knot"...I love that one!
The reason is that New Zealand is just coming out of winter and it's still pretty cold and rainy here...and frankly we don't want to be all freezin' and pasty white and blotchy when we get married. So we've been doing our research and there appear to be some really cool, and legal, options for us, most notably in northern Thailand.
we're cookin!
September 10, 2002
kaikoura, new zealand--
In what must be an all time record for both of us, we've just completed one full week of cooking! Having rented a campervan, complete with mini-kitchen, for our travels around New Zealand, we were determined to make it pay and 'self-cater' our way around the islands. So far, so good, after a week in Christchurch, Banks Penninsula, the mountain resort of Hamner Springs and now the costal adventure town of Kaikoura. And it hasn't been all mac & cheese and tuna sandwiches, either! Thai chicken, tacos, chicken curry and hamburgers have all been on the menu. Tomorrow's our anniversary (two years together) so our run will probably end there.
Don't worry, this is the last you'll hear of our eating habits, but we were feeling a little proud of ourselves.
a short stay in australia
September 01, 2002
christchurch, new zealand--
Notworkin.com arrives in New Zealand! Southern Australia didn't get much time, less than two weeks in fact, but Sydney was great and we'll get to spend more time in Oz (this time Northern Australia) after we leave New Zealand. For now though, we'll rent a camper, load it up and head out to explore the "land of the long white cloud".
goodbye africa, hello australia
August 19, 2002
melbourne, australia--
We still find it amazing, but a full three months have passed since first arriving in South Africa. And now it's time to say goodbye and head across the southern hemisphere to Australia and New Zealand.
we say sayonara Umkulu
August 08, 2002
vic falls, zimbabwe--
After nearly three weeks of overlanding, we've finished with Umkulu (our safari company) and our truck full of Dutch nitwits. The sites, spread over South Africa, Namibia and Botswana were breathtaking and unforgettable. The aggravation of living and traveling with a bunch of children was entirely forgettable. So in the end, we said "screw you, Umkulu" and bailed a couple of days early. Much to our great pleasure. We still enjoyed the hell out of Vic Falls and did so in peace. Three cheers for traveling independently!
one step closer to tying the knot
July 18, 2002
cape town, south africa--
You've heard us talk about (or...maybe you haven't) how we're planning to get hitched somewhere during our travels. Well we're a step closer, now having bought our wedding bands...simple, nice, white gold rings that'll go in our pockets for the next couple of months until we decide on the perfect spot. Maybe somewhere in New Zealand? Indonesia or Thailand (assuming it's legal there)? Stay tuned and we'll let you know more.
we've hit the three month mark!
July 14, 2002
cape town, south africa--
Somehow, some way we've managed to make it through three months! It's been exciting and challenging, but mostly it's been an absolute blast. We've finished our Baz Bus journey, four weeks of some of the most beautiful sites we've ever seen, and landed safely in Cape Town. Cape Town's a bit like Boston with a mountain dropped in the middle of it. We're here for a week then we load into the truck with 20 strangers for three weeks of camping across Southern Africa.
notworkin.com finishes with the wild coast
July 09, 2002
wilderness, south africa--
We've moved on, with mostly fond memories, from one of the more unique places we're likely to visit on our entire trip. The South African region of the Transkei, a former homeland, is home to what's also known as the 'Wild Coast'. One look and you know why. A mostly undeveloped, rural part of South Africa, the coastline of the Transkei is some the most remote, serene and beautiful parts of the earth we've yet seen.
Next stop, the Garden Route and then Cape Town.
michael gets advanced scuba certification
June 27, 2002
umkommas, south africa--
After leaving Durban, we headed about 50km down the road to the tiny beach town of Umkommas for some diving on the (apparently) world renowned Aliwal Shoal. Taking full advantage of how cheap things are here, Michael enrolled in the advanced certification course...five dives covering different aspects of diving. Highlights include diving near a tanker ship that sunk nearly 30 years ago, seeing about 30 dolphins swimming right below us and the best...5 ragged tooth sharks no more than ten meters away.
notworkin.com bunks down in Durban for the week
June 17, 2002
durban, south africa--
After week in the Drakensburg mountains we've arrived in Durban (on the south coast) for a week of relaxation. We'll take it easy, find a gym for getting back into shape, and catch up on our journal entries, emails, get photos on the website, etc. From here we'll make our way to Cape Town along the coast, stopping as often as we can to take advantage of the available activities.
fraud exposed within notworkin.com
June 10, 2002
pretoria, south africa--
In a shocking tale worthy of tabloid television, it was revealed today that the often referred to 'friends' of notworkin.com, lottery winners Leonard and Louise of Tulsa are fake. Made up. Do not exist. It was learned that Leonard and Louise were, in fact, concocted simply to keep the two senior members of notworkin.com entertained.
Says Chief Executive Officer, Michael Schmidt, "We had these funny teeth that Janna's sister gave us, so we thought we'd put them in whenever we took a picture doing something that we might otherwise be embarrassed of. You know, like holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We'll from there it just grew out control, I guess, and we made as if they were real people. It was all in good fun though, but when we got the pictures back, they sucked pretty badly, so we decided to come clean."
Crochety old Henry F. Potter, a board member of Notworkin.com isn't so impressed, "I'm calling for an investigation...misappropriation of funds, malfeasance!" The Oklahoma Lottery Commission is also investigating.
Janna Murphy, when confronted with these accusations, simply said, "it was all Michael's idea."
plans laid for next 5 weeks
June 08, 2002
pretoria, south africa--
After the success of Janna's surgery, it's time to move on from Pretoria and make our way towards Cape Town for our 21-day overland safari which departs in five weeks. We've decide to book passage on the Baz Bus. The Baz Bus is a great way to travel South Africa as a backpacker. We've bought a ticket from Pretoria to Cape Town, via Durban, allowing us to get on and off at any of 30 or 40 backpacker's hostels along the way. Door-to-door service! There's no time limit on the ticket, we just hop off and hop on whenever we want, all the way to Cape Town.
Cool.
janna can see!!
June 07, 2002
pretoria, south africa--
Janna's eye surgery, done yesterday, was a complete success and she can now see without glasses! The surgery went off without a hitch, we were finished two hours after we arrived at the clinic. After the surgery, Janna experienced only mild discomfort, much less than expected, and wore protective shields for the day. Today, the doctor removed the shields and all was well with the world.
michael gets scuba certification
June 05, 2002
pretoria, south africa--
After getting stormed out of our final dives in Mozambique, we headed off to a local watering hole turned scuba training ground to complete our certification. Unfortunately, Janna was again denied by her clogged ears and had to postpone. Michael, however, managed to get through the two dives in the coooolllld water. Say Michael, "it was f***ing freezing, Mr. Bigglesworth".
21-day overland safari booked
June 04, 2002
pretoria, south africa--
After loads of advice from our friend Patty as well as our own research, we've booked ourselves on a 21-day overland safari, departing from Cape Town, visiting Namibia and Botswana before finally arriving in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. We leave on the 20th of July.
new member of notworkin.com welcomed into the world
May 28, 2002
kruger national park, south africa--
Notworkin.com is proud to announce the birth of our newest family member. Niece Anna Katherine was born to Michael's brother David and his wife Sally. Everyone's doing well.
janna booked for eye surgery
May 23, 2002
pretoria, south africa--
A week before leaving London Janna had been scheduled to have Lasik eye surgery. After talking to several friends and even consulting the UK optometrist originally schedule to do the surgery, we've decided to do it here in South Africa. The quality is reputed to be as good or better than the UK...at 1/4 of the price. The surgery will happen the week we get back from Mozambique.
first three weeks of africa stay determined
May 23, 2002
pretoria, south africa--
After several beer-soaked planning sessions, the plans are laid for the first few weeks of our Southern Africa visit. First, this weekend will be a trip to a private game park, owned by a friend of our host. Next week we'll drive to Kruger National Park for game watching and then on to Mozambique for scuba diving. Stay tuned for more details.
notworkin.com arrives in south africa
May 21, 2002
pretoria, south africa--
After a hellish 11-hour plane ride from London, we've finally touched down in South Africa. No agenda for our stay yet, but the planning is about to commence.
