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We said goodbye to Australia and headed north. This time with Bali and Indonesia in our sights. Not too sure what to expect in Bali given all its negative press about over tourism and crowded beaches. Turns out that is not a worry I need have for the moment, given that my first accommodation is actually on the Island of Nusa Penida (where? Never heard of it...) I hadn`t actually realised that I had been staring at the island every single time I switched on my laptop, with that screensaver staring me in the face! Well, well.. 3 Slightly more excited bunnies now. Nusa Penida Bali airport, I`m sure you have all seen the film Ticket to Paradise, Julia Roberts/George Clooney, landing at Bali etc etc....Ha !!! Couldn`t be further from reality if it tried. Trust me when I say Bali airport is more akin to Manchester, Heathrow or Berlin than the tiny little paradise one room airport of the film. Putting that aside and leaving the airport, where is the greenery, the pretty sights of a beautiful island? Well it is certainly not present as you leave the airport, nor was it apparent on our 30 min cross city drive to the harbour where we were to catch our boat to the Island. Instead we encountered a scruffy drive through a scruffy town, we saw pockets of fabulous architecture and temples, but generally nothing to write home about. Our first impressions of Bali were not good. With mutterings of Bali being not great anymore we actually wondered if we should skip coming back here, and instead lean more towards the smaller quieter islands. Watch this space. From the tiny harbour at Sanur we boarded a small boat for the first of many little boats we would take over the next few days visiting the island destinations. First, to Nusa Penida. The journey took around one hour ish and was actually quite pleasant. We landed at Banjar Nyub and thankfully we had a taxi prebooked so no running the gauntlet of hassling taxi drivers. They are all so lovely, but it is quite intense. Our home on Nusa Penida was our first experience of a bungalow with their huge high arched thatched or in the present case, tiled, roofs. Such a lovely place to stay, with fab views towards the sea. This was to be our first mini holiday within a holiday. A pool, a sea view, a nice restaurant two mins walk away, we felt like we were in heaven. A couple of days doing nothing before these bunny feet twitched, and we booked ourselves a private taxi with driver. Sounds privileged? well we quickly got our dreams dashed there, when leaving the comfort of our bungalow paradise we hit the roads, along with every other tourist on the island, in their identical taxis going to the exact same places, along the craziest winding, pot-holed, roads ever. Yes, the roads are tarmac, but to clarify, imagine rolling out a piece of pastry, the neatest part goes on the widest busiest road, but the left overs, the edges, the bits you cut off when you fill your baking tray, that`s what is laid out on the rest of the roads. Bumpy winding narrow roads with more mud patches than a hippos bum. We had left our room at 9am, thinking this was nice and early and maybe the roads would be quite, after all we hadn`t really seen many other tourists. Ha! No wonder! as pulling up at Diamond Beach we probably found every other tourist on the entire island. Yes, it is beautiful, the colour of the sea is the most beautiful shade of turquoise, green, emerald, topaz blue imaginable, with around 1000 tourists and every car and driver hovering about trying to take the best photos in the best spots. Once again I curse Instagram. Personally this bunny spies the photo, stands, snaps, goes...but the Instagram brigade??? Yawn, pose like this, like that, from this angle, from behind, pouting down the sunnies, point the toes, kiss the lips, not to mention `does my dress look ok`... ITS A BLOODY PHOTOGRAPH, JUST TAKE THE SODDING PHOTO!! I will tell you for nothing that western girls manage the grab a pose, pout, photo quite quickly, but if your from Asia...its time to crack open the picnic basket Boo Boo...cos you are in for a long wait! and neither do they care either. Leaving Diamond behind we went to another point on the island called Teletubbies hills, no need to elaborate here, buts lets say calling it tourist worthy is a bit meh. It is a selection of green hills, woo hoo. We did have plans to visit the iconic view point of Kelingking Beach the following day, but with a monsoon start to the day, this was postponed. Do we feel sad, or unlucky, or frustrated when it rains? Nope, not at all. One little bunny is less than happy, but the older bunnies take it in our stride. We enjoy the rain, as long as we are not getting wet. Rain means cards, or writing, or Words with Friends, Netflix if the wifi stays or even just catching up on sleep. Sometimes doing nothing is doing something. With the weather behaving we grabbed an early morning taxi the following day, and headed directly to that view point. We drove straight there, bypassing other `must see` places. Getting there with only 3 other cars on the car park was excellent news. We were warned by the driver to avoid the aggressive monkeys, (those cute little things were aggressive?) we kept our distance, but found it difficult to accept they were aggressive when we watched one little guy plait a woman`s hair as she stood with her back to him. She was unaware at the time what he was doing, as clearly scrolling through your phone is far more interesting than monkeys and fabulous views. It was quite special looking down at the view which has greeted me for months, every time I pull out my laptop. We took all our photos, and left. We left just as a monumentally huge group of asian tourists arrived. We knew we were lucky to have got our photos as waves of bimbos and himbos in long floaty instagram stereo type dresses and cool shirts, swanned down the stairs towards the view point. If we had arrived only 15 mins later, we would have been in an Everest like queue. The view point was worth seeing, but at what cost are we getting to see these places? The next place of interest summed it all up for me. Hoards and hoards of people all aiming for the same place. These two bunnies took one look and decided we didn`t need to see anything that badly. We plonked ourselves down on a couple of stools and had a drink watching the hoards go by. It was called Angels Billabong, but to be honest, had we caught it on a bad day, or is it really that spit of flat land with a natural cove? Sorry but I didn`t feel the need to hike my bunny butt down to see that any closer. Our brief time on Nusa Penida has come to an end, and our journey now takes us to Lombok. This is the next island on from Bali. Many people commented that its so much quieter than Bali, but just as beautiful. This has to be worth a visit. Lombok. Our boat was due to leave at 9.30. or when its full. We arrived at the boat ticket office, purchased our tickets, watched the boats arrive, then we were collected by staff and hustled onto a open sided mini bus type vehicle and driven to the next dock down. More waiting. Finally the boat arrived, loaded first the luggage then the passengers, and we were off. The journey to Lombok was 2 hours and 20 mins and went via the 3 Gili Islands of Trawangan, Meno and Air. Then the fun started. As soon as you land you are bombarded with taxi, taxi taxi. We know from experience that these taxis, however nice, would be the most expensive. Green and cabbage looking tourist, what do you know about prices?. We got hounded all the way down the street until we took refuge in a supermarket that also offered hot dogs. There we sat eating, all the time being hassled by overly friendly taxi drivers, all of whom assumed we would just pay their silly prices, and instead I contacted our host and asked what a reasonable price should be. Naturally it was half what we had been quoted. A brief negotiation by our host to a willing driver and we were off. We saved a whole £5, but that`s not the point. We don`t like people trying to take advantage of us. Turns out our next accommodation was almost one hour and 35 mins away over the big hill. We felt a little bad about not paying the excessive £5 overcharge. Lombok proved to be quite an expensive island in which to find a place to stay. I can find any number of places, but boxes need to be ticked. Price, rooms, seating, kitchen etc and this one particular house in a place called Mataram ticked all our boxes. From the photos and even the outside of the building I was expecting a little more, but cute and practical were more realistic words. We had a detached house in large gardens, two bedrooms, a living area, bathroom and cooking space. Comparing it to the many properties we had passed on the way, it would be considered luxurious, and we treated it as such. We knew that the hosts had once lived in the house, with one child, but now lived elsewhere. Little bunny summoned up her pre school years experience and embraced the cuteness of her room with its child sized bed, furniture and pooh bear clock. Mr and Mrs bunny felt closer than ever in our room that contained a bed and a table, and a single sized duvet. We had some fun those 5 nights as we each wrestled for our corner. We didn`t dare turn the air con off as we would have quickly melted, but leaving it on and the room was fresh, too fresh to play single duvet wars. life is fun. Our biggest hmmm in the flat was the absence of a sink in the bathroom. Handwashing under the shower tap was fine, but teeth cleaning? As with everywhere we stay, we made it ours, moving furniture around, putting items away that we had no use for, and generally making the place ours for a short stay. We do this everywhere, if its necessary, but hasten to add that we always leave the places exactly as we find them. Call me a dummy, but in years gone by it never occurred to me that I should feel free to move the furniture around to make a room my own. I`ve always been very careful to not touch anything. ( Thank you @Rick Steves/You Tube). The hosts at this property were exceptionally lovely. They really couldn`t do enough for us. The door lock jammed on the first evening, so we spent the whole of the following day waiting for a repair. This caused us no problems at all as we had no plans to leave our place and used our time to make plans for the next leg of the journey. They came, tried to repair the door, failed, swapped door locks around, and promised us that they would take us to the local market and shopping mall when they realised we had no food and no transport. At this point I need to mention the fact that this house, booked by booking.com came with free breakfast. How does a self contained flat/house come with free breakfast? We found out the first morning, when the hosts turned up with eggs, bread, jam, fruit, tea, coffee, and fruit juice and proceeded to take over the kitchen to make our breakfast. We have never felt so uncomfortable. This couple live in the next town, have 3 small children, and they are here making us our breakfast?. We quietly ate everything they made, and swiftly washed and cleaned as they sat out side waiting for us to eat. Never again are we prepared to let anyone cater for us in this manner. The experience was quite humbling. We politely told them that we would not be wanting them to cook for us again. They actually looked relieved. We got the feeling that they were the property managers, but the actual owner was a bit of a donkeys rear end. George and Irma kept their promise to take us shopping, and the following morning, (after we made our own breakfast) they each came on their own scooter, along with a grab scooter rider, and the 3 of us took our very first scooter ride to the nearby town. A little scary but so much fun. We only chose to do one tour on Lombok and it took us to the tourist destination of Kuta, not the one on Bali, Kuta Lombok at the south of the island. Compared to the local vibe of Mataram Kuta is exactly what you expect from a tourist town. All the usual TS shops all selling the same products, numerous cafes catering for everyone from American to Chinese and everything in between. And rubbish. Don`t misunderstand, there is rubbish everywhere, but when its IMBY, its tidy rubbish, but get closer to a tourist resort and the refuse cannot be cleared quickly enough. Dumping on the roadside, down pretty valleys is rife. We spent an hour in Kuta, but these three bunnies were so much happier when we headed back home, back to where local children found us fascinating and yelled lots of Hello`s at us. We know that there is such more to Lombok, but without transport it is just too difficult to get around. We could get taxis, but its getting to be expensive due only to the frequency of need. One way or another we are either going to have to bite the bullet and hire scooters, or accept that big beautiful islands will remain out of reach. We will be coming back to Lombok as we wanted to see another coastline. With our short first stay on Lombok over, we headed back to the port, (an hour and a half) and caught a boat to the Gili Islands. There are many Gilis, meaning small island, but the three that are most prominent with tourists are Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air. Gili Trawangan, locally known as Gili T, is known as the party island and our first stop. With this in mind, it was decided that two bunnies would spend just 3 nights here, the little bunny spending four. Cheap and cheerful is the only way to describe our room, but when you spend a whole £9 per night including unlimited tea/coffee and breakfast and a pool, who are we to complain? Gili T like both other nearby Gilis are very small walkable islands. No cars are allowed on the islands, with the only transport being horse and trap, electric mini scooters, or bicycles. Knowing that our first accommodation was an easy walk from the harbour, we spared the horse, and used shanks pony instead. With the weather here in Indonesia very unpredictable, it is after all the wet season, we have to plan our days around the weather. Eg, Day one, we decided to wander around the island and get a feel for the place. Tiny narrow streets, not overly busy, not `real` shops, but tiny little local buildings selling simple handmade tourist souvenirs lined the alleys. Children wander about barefoot and cats are everywhere. Very well fed and happy looking cats I like to add. The horse and carts can be seen around each corner. Along the sea front are the bigger shops and the more touristic cafes and restaurants. Gone are the simple eateries, and here you find the more expensive places. It was whilst walking this street, we decided to see if we could hire and ride a mini scooter as a precursor to hiring a proper one elsewhere. Mr Bunny sampled the scooter first. With a very hesitant local guy showing him the basic controls, of which Mr B took very little notice, the next thing we witnessed was a big bunny on a very small electric scooter whizzy wobbling his bunny butt down the street sending walkers diving for cover as he careered towards them. The scooters barely touch more than 15km tops, so there was no danger, but watching that bunny butt wobbling so much on a scooter than 10year kids can drive was nothing short of hilarious. His return run was a little more dignified, after he realised that he had set off the first time with the throttle on full and his hand clutching the brake hence the flying speedy wobble, the return was a slightly more sedate bunny driving a little more slowly and confidently. The flying bunny had somewhat unnerved little bunny, whose nerves overtook her and was the reason why her bunny butt remained stationary, her little scooter not moving an inch. As the turn of Mrs B came closer, the heavens started to open and the moment came and went. Sensing this was more than just a shower, that this could be a proper tropical monsoon downpour, we ran as quickly as fast as two cronky bunnies could possibly run to the nearest restaurant, and dived in there just as the heavens fully opened. Luckily for us the nearest place was also the biggest hotel and restaurant on the island. The Pearl. Oh wow, what luck, it was just awesome. With a huge upstairs covered terrace overlooking the sea, we watched as the street turned from sandy to soggy from trickle to river. Under our beautiful bambooed roof restaurant, we sat and listened to the rain. With the downpour never ending, we decided instead to treat ourselves to lunch instead of a dodgy scooter. Best meal ever. And not expensive either. A double winner. As we chose to not venture far in an evening we cannot say as to whether or not Gili T lives up to its party island image, what can be said, is how dismissive the foreign tourist can be of local customs. Everywhere you walked had signs begging people to refrain from wearing bikinis around the village, to be dress modestly. Who ignored this? Constantly? Tourists. It really is shameful how much we, and I`m not aiming my observations just at the western cultures either, are happy to visit such beautiful places, but take its traditions so lightly. These bikini bimbos are not here to see, they are here to be seen, and its annoying, rude, distasteful and disrespectful. We bunnies are doing all we can to avoid upsetting any locals. Gili Meno. Our original plan was to stay on all three Gili Islands, but given that Meno is quite exclusive, and so much quieter and thereby more expensive than Gili T, we chose instead to go as a day trip. The island is close enough to almost think you could swim there. You can`t, the currents are treacherous, but it really is only a 10 min boat ride away. Gili Meno is also the island on which the Race Across the World ended 2024, and having already visited one finish hotel at Ushuai, it was exciting being able to say that we had visited another. Meno is tiny. We virtually walked its entire perimeter before finding the hotel. We had lunch there, but unlike the enthusiastic manager of the hotel at Ushuai, none of the staff here appeared to be able to recall the TV programme. Leaving little bunny on Gili T to enjoy an evening of films and unsuccessful bike rides (see miss.tiff.travel s on You tube, and all with become apparent) The two bigger bunnies boated our butts across to Gili Air, to the very appropriately named Follow the Rabbit bungalows. Seeing this place on Google maps, I didn`t even look at anywhere else to stay on the island. What could be wrong with a place that had bunnies on balconies? We were not disappointed. I am a little cross with myself that we agreed to take a horse taxi to get to the rooms, I would normally avoid animal transport at all cost. The carriage was tiny, the harness was loose, and the horse looked fit and well with nice feet. I bit my tongue and hopped on. Good job really as our room was the furthest point from the harbour. True to the description we had a white bunny waiting for us on our balcony. This place was lovely, and somewhere that we really enjoyed. During yet another downpour, and the observation that we hadn`t left our room for food, the staff brought us some supper on a plate. Gratefully received. Another quiet island, and somewhere to which we would return, we spent our brief time there walking the island, dodging 3ft monitor lizards (just the one, thankfully ) and sitting on beach beds with cold drinks and blue sea views. Gili Islands, long may you remain unspoilt. Lombok again. Whilst we did return to Lombok, our hotel was situated quite a way out of the main town, and though we had planned to venture further afield across the Island, the furthest we managed was 2 consecutive nights at 2 different restaurants across the road. What we know of Lombok is that it is a very nice much quieter island to its boisterous neighbour Bali. What we also witnessed, which is so sad, is the lack of pride in itself. There was a local 3 day holiday and this beach area was the biggest focal point. The locals came in their hundreds, with picnics, food, and just sat on the beach throwing whatever rubbish they had around them. Even a local peddler of bracelets, who had a good command of English, told us how much he despairs at the lack of care. Why can they not use the bin, he said to us, look at them, the bin is so close. We blame tourism for the additional refuse, but when locals ignore the islands beauty, what hope is there? Bali. The island we have been most looking forward to whilst in the UK, yet since arriving into Australia, became the Island we came to have the most reservations about. We landed back at the port and had a pre booked taxi to our accommodation. We had watched one of our favourite You Tubers about his trip to Bali and decided to follow his suggestions for places to visit. So, to Canggu we went. Over 2 hours of driving to cover just 40 ish km, such is the busy nature of the roads. Did we pass fabulous and beautiful places? No, not in the slightest. Just your average bustle of local towns and villages. As we got closer to Canguu we noted the quickening array of tourist shops and knew we were getting close. Now, it must be remembered that we are budget travellers, not holiday makers in search of a luxury hotel or spa resort. The rooms we chose were excellent, basic, but excellent. With 2 single beds on an upper floor, and 2 on the lower floor, they were comfortable and clean. The bathroom was practical. The promised kitchen turned out to be shared, clean and tidy, but still shared. Venturing into the town of Canggu was interesting. I had thought it was just the one long street with a couple of off shoots, but realised only when leaving that it actually covers quite a large area. The street was quite busy, the restaurants appeared to be exceptionally good, the one where we chose to eat had fabulous food. The glorious beaches of Bali.....I shall rephrase that, the black sand beach of Canggu was a mecca for the surfing brigade. The sunset there was quite good, but all in all, just a beach town and certainly not a place I would gush over. Day two we ventured along another road and came across a luxury hotel with the Host inviting us in to take a look. No doubt about it, this hotel was stunning, even though the hotels prize `for guests only` pool was central and completely empty, whilst the pool for all was an infinity pool overlooking the sea with comfy beach beds and a bar. Odd. With a blue sky day we sat there for a while enjoying the beach view. Is this Bali? perhaps, but stay at the resort and you really could be anywhere. We took a private taxi tour around the island, with a view to seeing parts of the island ending at our next town stay, the popular Ubud. Leaving the town all we saw was more and more and more building works. We passed a large rice field and passed comment that we thought we would see more of those, to which our young 24yr old taxi driver said, I remember when Canguu was mostly rice fields. 15 years to go from peaceful rice terraces to tourist central. So sad. Our first stop, on a rainy blustery day was Tanah Lot. For anyone who is a fan of the George Clooney film Ticket to Paradise (supposedly set in Bali) this was featured. Atop a grassy palm tree hill they stood and viewed the paradise temple of Tanah Lot.....bloody tosh! Artistic license with a whole lot of rabbit poo! Tanah Lot is accessed by a very large car park, several hundred t.s. shops, countless bars and eateries, and is generally my idea of Tourist Hell. Granted the weather didn`t help, but I would truly hate to be there in the height of tourist season and on a blue sky day. I imagine once upon a time this stunning peaceful temple on its tiny island would have been something special, but now? just another overcrowded money grabbing attraction. Bali, you are just not floating my boat. To the rice terraces next. Now this was special, and being a UNESCO site protected and peaceful this was more the Bali I was hoping for. We had breakfast there, but considering the wait time in a cafe that only had 3 customers, us, we waited an hour! We didn`t mind too much as the view was something special. From the rice terraces we continued further north to the temple area of Ulun Danu Beratan. Online it looked beautiful, and it was, a huge open pristine grass area with temples, play areas, flowers, fish ponds, but it was created for tourism. It felt so false. Get dressed up in traditional costume and take your photo here. No thanks. Still got the bunny blues in beautiful Bali. Last stop Ubud. Oh my goodness, we have never encountered as much traffic in all our travels. Busy Bali lives up to its name. Ubud may have pockets of beauty, but the sheer number of scooters and tourists is quite unbelievable. The streets were gridlocked, and our driver told us this was quiet compared to Christmas!!! Where is the Bali of my dreams? Still on a budget, we encountered our worst room ever. With no Air con and a humidity of almost 90% the room felt damp, clammy and just dismal. Ubud? not for me thanks. 2 nights we stayed before getting our sad bunny butts out of there. Our dislike of the place additionally hampered by the room being situated at the back of the tourist market, the likes of which we had to run the gauntlet of each time we left. We would support the little guy, but we are just not in the market for the weight of extra T.S. Little bunny ventured to the twice weekly local show which she found `ok`..we older bunnies just couldn`t be bothered. The monkey forest was a nice break from the noise and chaos of Ubud but other than that, not for me thanks. Even the nicest walk in Bali, was challenged by the ever present building works on pristine land. The spa resort was undeniably stunning, but if they hadn`t built it, I am quite certain that the green landscape would have been just as special. Our last stop in Bali was Nusa Dua. Or as close as I could possibly get us to it. Nusa Dua is a gated area in the southern tip of Bali. Full of beautiful expensive hotels, with manicured lawns, sea views, private bars on white man made beaches, this is possibly the Bali to which every one comes to see. However yet again, you could be anywhere. Maybe we didn`t venture far enough, stayed in the wrong places, or just got unlucky I am not sure. What I do know is that Bali is too busy for these bunnies. Our little bungalow a few kms from the overly pampered and spoilt brats of Nusa Dua was the closest we came to the touch of Bali paradise that we had hoped for. One of just 3 bungalows that had guests, we had a pool to ourselves, the most stunning bedroom to date, not biggest, just visually stunning (4 poster bed anyone? ) and the loveliest chatty host an ex cruise ship server, who made us a beautiful breakfast each morning serving it to us on our huge patio. Whilst Bali didn`t float our boats as budget travellers, with a lot more research I suspect we could have found the real beauty of Bali somewhere. Indonesia you have been interesting and varied. With more time I think we would have stayed longer and travelled further, probably to the more outlying islands. Until next time, Terima Kasih xx

If you like the North Island, you will like the South Island even more. Every one told us such, saying that the South Island is so much more beautiful. How? How can anything get better than what we were seeing? Well, Yes it can. By the bucketload. If North Island is the Prince, then South Island is surely the King. The beauty of this wonderful place is just jaw dropping. From the moment we landed at the airport it wasn`t hard to see what people meant. Goodness me it is so so beautiful. Our driver was the loveliest most chatty Kiwi we had met so far, asking us our plans, giving us pointers where to go, where to add, what to miss (nothing...) as he drove us to our first 2 night break in the city of Christchurch. Whoops, guess Mrs B didn`t quite get the scale of Christchurch. We were in the suburbs, and though the map said opposite the beach with just a golf course between us and the sea, this wasn`t strictly true. A bit more of a walk than we had thought we headed for the beach and the pier regardless as directed by the property owner, but we were not particularly smitten by the sea front, so decided that as we were so very tired anyway, we would do a `bit of food shopping` then take a taxi back to our loft apartment, and hit the main city of Christchurch the following day. Let me explain the `bit of shopping`....after the very poor choice of food options in South America, New Zealand is quite the opposite, and we simply cannot help ourselves. The food is like the scenery. Awesome, tasty, fresh, and varied. To say we eat well is quite the understatement, especially now that Bunny the Cook has so many more ingredients to play with. Christchurch. A much smaller city than we expected, but like every other town here, ridiculously pretty, cute, tidy and friendly. Not knowing where to go, we followed the scenic tram tracks, we could have gone on the tram, but we do prefer shanks pony, and let the tracks determine our path. First stop the Cathedral. If you recall Christchurch was hit by a short but massive earthquake that destroyed a good portion of the city, and in particular its very iconic and old Cathedral. To date it is still in a state of renovation such was the desire to repair, not knock down and rebuild this old church. We saw many of the newly rebuilt buildings, other buildings with massive reinforcements to keep them standing, others with half tin half tile roofs, and some, like a very large derelict looking building, once a hotel we were told, still awaiting its turn to be refurbished. At the garden of remembrance we walked amongst the many white crosses, each of which was adorned with its own red poppy ( we are very close to the 11th November, but although it is a date of remembrance, the New Zealanders and Australians I believe, prefer to commemorate Anzac Day which falls in April) we tried to assist an elderly gentleman find his uncle, but alas the name was not to be found. He was a lovely guy, who proceeded to guide us to the more central part of Christchurch and its Town Hall, which was next to the most amazing concert hall. We had hoped to take a peep at the hall, but it was closed....or at least it was closed to everyone else bar us, when Mrs Bunny begged a town hall employee to let us take a look. The big act tonight? Jason Mamoa of all people, who knew he played in a rock band, cos I sure as heck didn`t! Obviously we didn`t get to meet him, but the hall in which he was due to play was empty, but pretty special. The next big act to play there will be Sir Cliff Richard. From the concert hall to dining hall, as once more our bellies rumbled and food beckoned. We had been given strict instructions that we could not leave Christchurch without visiting the Riverside Marketplace. A multi venue eating place with just about every genre of food you can hope for. Naturally Mr B swayed towards the liquid venues, whilst bunnies 2 and 3 hit the food stalls. We chose Spring Rolls, and Nepalese dumplings, and the best mango lassi drink. Of course we had to sample the cake stall as well, sharing the best Millionaire shortbread imaginable. He told us his wife, who came from Liverpool (we can forgive her that oversight) made them. Like everything else here, they were pretty darn tasty. Van time. Can I just say, that Mr Bunny absolutely went straight to the top of the class, 3 gold stars and an Oscar, after deciding that the campervan we had prebooked whilst in the UK was going to be far far far too small for us. By now, we know each others quirks, sleeping preferences, and privacy needs, so he spent many an hour negotiating with the company to secure us not only a bigger campervan, but a 6 person motorhome for exactly the same hire fee!! We barely slept that night with giddy excitement to see this new and bigger bunnybus. Collected from the airport from a rental company that was super busy, they gave us the briefest set of instructions and sent us on our way. This briefest of briefings would haunt us later. First stop, Lake Tekapo, whilst back in the UK little bunny asked if we would be in New Zealand in November. With yes being the correct answer the excitement was palpable when she said Oh goody, we will get to see the Lupins. Lake Tekapo, after passing every scenic eyes on stalks vistas, we made it to the lake. I admit, I cried. I cannot describe to you just how blue, scenic, picturesque and utterly beautiful this Lake is. It is the colour of a perfect summer sky, on a blissfully sunny day. Bedecked by the gorgeous lupins that adorn the lake side, and backed by snow capped mountains it truly is a sight to behold. Very sad to know that the locals hate the lupins as they are an invasive species of plant, their colours of pinks and purples complement the lake so charmingly. The utterly charming little Church of The Good Shepherd stands on the bank of the lake, and I swear if that little church charged a dollar for every photo its been in, it would be the richest little church building in the world. We spent a long time just gazing at the beauty of this lake, before we headed off to a yet `more beautiful` lake, Lake Pukaki. Yes, the lake itself was equally blue and beautiful, but the lupins there had quite clearly been doused with a plant killer leaving sad dark stalks. Lack of lupins aside, we set up to spend our first night freedom camping on the Lake side. Table and chairs set up. cold drinks poured, now for some food.......ever tried lighting a gas hob with no spark and no matches? Mrs B had to don the best smile as she wandered from van to van begging matches. After a long day driving, and a great meal, bedtime beckoned . Problem number 2. How the heck does the swinging, height adjustable table disassemble??? This nightly occurrence was to incur our wrath of 'urine extraction' for a further 10 or so nights until we gave up and left the darn bed made up. Learning that weather was closing in on the west side of the South Island, we decided to head straight for Milford Sound rather than visiting other towns on the way, and made the best decision in doing so. We spent the whole day driving but given the beauty of the South Island, this was no hardship. The whole of the road leading to Milford is geared up for camping, motorhomes and caravans on every level. There are at least 7 freedom sights, some paid sites, fully fledged holiday parks and lots of others. NZ is geared up for Motorhomes, and it is no more difficult finding space for a motorhome than it is a car. Anywhere. We camped in a large semi shale, hard decked field, and we call it the place where Mr B swore he saw a Kiwi but didn`t. To clarify, this bird had wings and a long beak. It was bold and brash stealing from peoples picnics, and it was 6pm. A true Kiwi is flightless, long pointed beak, is super timid, lives in deep dense quiet forest areas, and only comes out at night time. Long story short, the only true Kiwi we saw was the one Kiwis backside in the North Island bird sanctuary. Milford Sound. There are many `Sounds` similar to fjords, or the same? I truly do not know the difference. We chose the popular Milford Sound for its ease of accessibility, rather than Doubtful Sound with its reputation of being slightly more spectacular. There are many boats, and many boat operators, I chose the biggest looking boat Milford Haven. The trips are not cheap, but whichever boat you chose, the views are the same. Amazing, spectacular, and just wow on every level. The boats drive along the cliff edges, passing by the magnificent cliffs and massive waterfalls. Our weather was picture perfect, and made for a superb 2 hour boat trip. At the end of the Sound as we approached the sea, a pod of local dolphins appeared. Some bright spark on the boat kept spotting the odd penguin, but given that he was glued to his size 36 magnifying telescope, most other people on the boat deigned to give his sightings no more than a cursory glance in the approximate direction. Doubtful Sound, you may(?) be more beautiful but you really don't need to be, happiness fulfilled in the most perfect tranquillity of Milford Sound, Heading Northwards again, our journey continues...

A dream come true. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would get to visit this beautiful country. A 14 hour flight from Santiago to Sydney, followed by what should have been an easy 2.5hours bunny hop to Auckland. All I can say is that its a good job I was so tired that I actually couldn`t care, as that flight took on the persona of a wild cat rollercoaster. We ducked and dived and rolled around so much that my tired brain wondered if we had got on a boat instead. I asked the air steward as we disembarked if that was a normal flight, to which he laughed and said, `no way, that was quite challenging and most unusual` I feel quite proud of myself as this flight hating bunny didn`t utter even the smallest of squeaks. From moment one, the beauty of New Zealand hits you full in the face. It is everything you wanted it to be, and so much more. Clean, fresh, vivid, tidy, are all words that I will no doubt be using often. We started our trip with a short stay in Auckland. Day one saw us visiting the All Blacks Experience near City Tower. For a short tour it was exceptionally brilliant. Even the two less than avid rugby loving bunnies enjoyed every second of the tour, whilst Mr I love Rugby Bunny was quite in his element. The tour was a superb presentation of the development of the All Blacks rugby team from early days to present day kick ass team. We wandered from room to room learning as we walked, nothing was boring, no endless waffle of dates and ex players, blah blah blah, just a quick fire positive, informative, knowledgeable talk about all things All Black, both the male and female teams. The talk progressed from early days to sitting in the changing rooms, to lining up to enter the stadium, (so well presented, I actually felt nervous myself!) to then standing facing the All Black team as they performed the Haka. After the tour was over, we spent time in their simulated sports room where you could kick the rugby balls, make throws at targets, or dodge the opposition as you eliminated lights on the ground simulating fancy foot work. Mr Bunny blaming his dodgy back and wonky hip for his lousy scores, did manage a satisfactory 3/5 on target hits. Mr B did fancy himself an All Blacks rugby shirt in the shop afterwards, but at a paltry $250 (ouch) opted instead for a photo wearing said shirt. Little Bunny set her sights quite high, literally, for our next visit, of which us two terra firma loving bunnies opted against. Little B went up the Sky Tower for a bunnies eye view of Auckland. We had a drink at the bottom and waved up at the distant glass windows of the tower in the vague hope she may see the two tiny specks of bunny fluff far below her. Day two, and a little more rested, we set off walking across Auckland. First stop, the very interesting War Museum. From Maori culture, insects, dinosaurs, birds, art, strange creatures, and a` real` volcano experience, we finally came to the War museum itself. The museum was excellent, but a single line of text was all it took to bring a lump to my throat. On both sides of the wall were marble tablets filled with names of lost NZ soldiers from the various wars, with one plain white Marble Plaque having just one inscription. `May this blank space remain forever so`. Quite poignant . From the museum we walked along the Whitehaven Marina. The day was exceptionally windy and with clouds fast approaching we cut this long (and on a nice day) very picturesque walk short, and headed instead to Ponsonby Road. Here we walked a cafe lined road, until we found ourselves at the food market. So many choices of food, there doesn`t seem to be a food or meal unique to New Zealand, with the food culture most definitely influenced by the huge influx of South East Asian residents. We could chose to eat any amount of noodle or rice dishes, but with a view to visiting Asia in the near future we preferred to wait and eat that genre of food there. Mr Bunny having been on his paws all day took a shine to the nearest pub, whilst the sweet toothed bunnies fancied a cake. Or at least we did until we saw the prices! I kid you not, $17 each ( £8.50) was the average, so instead we headed for the aptly named `Grownup Donuts` and had the yummiest donuts. Meringue and passion fruit for one, and orange custard for the other. Yum Yum, and at $8 dollars (£4) still expensive granted, but not by NZ standards. After a long long day and many steps, we caught an uber home, and Mr B amused the Kiwi driver by uttering his thanks in Spanish, with many Si Si ! and Gracias, Some habits fade slowly. (ditto put loo paper in the loo not the bin, just saying) Day 3, we picked up yet another car. There is not a hope in heck of moving around North (or South) Island without a vehicle. It was always the plan. What I hadn`t planned for was the huge driving distances. We spent hours on the roads in South America, very very long, straights roads, and pot holes excepted, very easy roads. New Zealand is so beautiful, but the roads? Yes, they are tarmac, with no potholes, but they are so so bouncy and the roads wind like a twisted ball of yarn. Every journey is quite the challenge. The scenery is spectacular, that you cannot complain about, but endless beautiful green meadows, and tree covered hillsides, can be difficult to admire when your butt is bouncing around like a bunny on heat. We have even taken to regularly switching seats between back and front to give the other some respite. First stop, Coopers Beach. Chosen for its beachside location and cute accommodation. It did not disappoint. The blue water of the Tasman Sea was a stones throw from our front door. A long sandy bay, palm trees and blue sea, what more could you ask for? Meant to be a relaxing 3 day stay prior to the non stop wanderings of South Island, we managed a whole day of nothing, before our bunny butts twitched and we longed to see more. Cape Reinga beckoned, and on the most gorgeous blue sky day, we drove the 2 hours to the lighthouse, and the most sacred of Maori sights. 'A place to find yourself' is how it is portrayed, and they were not wrong. We took so many photos, the seas, the rocks, the lighthouse, the skies, the landscape was just awesome. Once again, just us, and a couple of other tourists, in this normally packed to the gills tourist destination. How we manage to get places to ourselves is amazing. The only other visitor, just happened to be a lass from Yorkshire, as they say, small world. From Cape Reinga, we drove back to visit the 90 mile Beach. A long stretch of beach that cars are allowed to drive on, with the same driving rules and etiquette as a normal road. Alas for us, it does specify 4x4 cars only, or others at very low tide. We ticked neither box, so satisfied ourselves by opting for a few photos instead. Our last day at Coopers Beach, found us at the very odd Gumdiggers Forest. It sounded too interesting to miss, and with a comparatively low entrance fee, a must see for us. Gum diggers, dug holes in the wetlands, to find the gum, or amber secreted by a certain tree. They wore rubber boots, which in turn became the Gum boots we know today. It is ancient amber, but not prehistoric. We thought we were going to be seeing old ancient trees of fantastical sizes, but clearly we had our wires crossed, as these trees were long gone, with just their roots and traces left behind in the big holes mined by the gumdiggers. A nice walk in essentially a wood full of holes. From Coopers Beach we came south to Whangarei . One of the biggest towns on the Peninsula and the home of a family friend from years ago. All I can say is, when I finally decided to retire...oh, yes...I am retired...hmmm....well I think what I am alluding to, is when I am retired and ready to live in a gated paradise of people of a similar age, then this is where I want to be. Very very beautiful. Of course we very nearly knocked on the wrong door, when Mr B failed to correctly read the address, whoops, but a brief turn around and we found the gorgeous little bungalow of a lady so lovely, we could have spent all day with her. Such a chatty chatty lady, she was so easy to listen to. With Mrs Bunny fading rapidly due to an ill timed bout of flu/cold symptoms, we bade Carol farewell, and left for our room in the nearby town. Mrs B lay down in the bunny hutch and slept, caring little about exploring the town. Mr Bunny played chauffeur and took little B on a drive around the neighbourhood to get a feel of the area. Whangarei to the Coromandel. Every Aussie or Kiwi we had met prior to our trip, said the Coromandel was an absolute must see. So must see we did. With accommodation so expensive in all of the most touristic towns, we found a nice little caravan/cabin on a holiday park in the town of Te Puru and opted to drive to the various points of interest. I do wish I had researched distances in advance, every drive was super beautiful, but ohhhhh those bumpy roads....First stop, Driving Creek Railway. A little scenic railway built by Barry Brickell. A man who started as a potter and combining his love of pottery with a passion for engineering and conservation, he single handed built this incredible little narrow gauge railway with its multiple bridges and little tunnels, that wends its way up through the forest to the most incredible viewpoint, the `Eyefull Tower` A super fun couple of hours. From there we headed to my much longed for view of the very famous Cathedral Cove. You will have seen this cave picture so many times in films or as a screen saver, and it features in one of my favourite films, Narnia. A huge high cave that leads onto a beach. The beach itself was amazing, such soft sand, and the bluest blue sea. ***** At this point I must add, that I have known for quite some time that Cathedral Cove itself had suffered quite a bad rockfall and landslide, and that the path was closed to the public. Remember Yorkshire lass at Cape Reinga? We mentioned to her we had wanted to visit the cove, and it was shut, but she said `go anyway, the paths are closed but walk round the barriers, just do it, cos everyone does it, the path is clearly well worn`. With this in mind, and ignoring just about every single signpost in the town saying `The only way to visit the cove is by water taxi` we forged ahead regardless. We found the path to the cove, we came across the steel barriers, and yes, there was a very well worn and well defined path showing where people had walked around the barrier, so we too walked around, not once, but twice. At this point sense prevailed. The barriers are there for a reason. The kiwis would not willingly block off their most famous tourist spot if it was in any way safe. We knew full well that the only people ignoring those barriers would be tourists, and we made the conscious decision to not be `one of those people`. Who are we to deem what is safe and what is not? If something is not meant to be, its not meant to be for a reason. We will be visiting many more iconic sights, without putting ourselves, or any one else for that matter, in danger. We sighed and with disappointed hearts, we turned back. Perhaps you will forgive us for tempting fate, when I tell you that the water taxi was a hefty $80 dollars pp. For a short boat ride, to take some nice pictures? We are not that desperate or reckless. We tried to appease our failure to visit one iconic sight, by visiting another. Hot Water Beach. Now this beach wasn`t a patch on the previous one, and insult to injury we had to pay a car parking fee!! (New Zealand has a refreshing mostly free parking rule) We knew the best hot water is found at low tide, but with tours offering twilight visits, we figured there must be hot water to be found at the end of day as well. Around the rocks on the beach are geothermic patches of hot water, you find your spot, dig a big hole, and wait for the hot water to fill your little pool. Did we find Hot Water? yes, and no....we found warm sand, sand that got warmer not colder the more you dug, but the water stayed stubbornly out of reach. Our disappointments are short lived. The beauty and sheer joy of just being here, in New Zealand far outweighs any fickle beach trick or costly boat ride. Our next stop was supposed to be the town on Whakatane but a last minute message from the booked property saying they had a water leak forced a rapid change of direction. Lake Taupo was ultimately our next must see place, but then I found the Nutshed. Oh joys of joy, I couldn`t believe my luck. For the same price as the little caravan cabin we found ourselves in the middle of an orchard in a newly converted milking barn. We only got as far as opening the door when Mr B announced that I needed to contact the owners Right Now! and see if it was available for 4 nights. (it was). In our little house of paradise we had 3 bedrooms which together yielded beds to sleep 10. 3 bathrooms, 2 living rooms, a laundry section, a huge kitchen, dining area and living area. Not to mention endless amounts of outdoor space and an orchard to which we had free rein. If the season had been favourable we could have feasted on oranges, lemons, macadamia nuts, walnuts and home grown asparagus. We did nab a couple of lemons and the asparagus, but alas the oranges and nuts were not suitable for eating. A quick change of heart in the places we chose to visit, we managed two very busy days, and one whole day of nothingness in our `little shack`. Ah the bliss of relaxation. Taupo. First stop, Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland. I never knew that New Zealand was such a minefield of natures wildest events. I knew about the terrible Earthquake in Christchurch 2011, but hadn`t appreciated just how many volcanoes or thermal springs the land sits on. Even from our bedroom window in the NutShed we could see a volcano. The Thermal wonderland was a geothermal park of bubbling springs, to steaming ponds of mud, and an active landscape. Wild and raw it was quite fascinating, but nothing could have made me believe that water could be bright luminous green, if I had not seen it for myself. From green ponds to green trees, big trees, in fact huge trees! We headed next for the forest of the Redwoods. We walked amongst natures giants, and enjoyed the peace of the forest. We had our picnic sat under the trees. There was a tree walk that we had hoped to do, but again at $40 each, we decided that why pay to walk in the middle of the trees, when it was far more satisfying admiring the sheer size of the trees from ground level. Our last visit of the day was to the Living Maori Village. Have to say this was one of the stranger tours we did. From start to finish we were a little bemused. A one hour guided tour plus up to 2 hours free time to wander the village, was the websites description. What it didn`t say was the village closed at 4 prompt, we had the 3pm tour. ( your extra two hours could be taken the following day between 8 and 10am (almost as the village only opened at 9?)....That the guide would be a child intolerant feisty bitch who had zero tolerance for stupid questions, and that we would be shepherded around the village at a rather quick pace. did we enjoy it? Yes !! of course we did. It was actually refreshing to have a guide telling parents of a squawking annoying child to actually remove said child or move to the back of the group, wow, thank you lady! The guide, a Maori who lived in the village took great pains in telling us all about the cooking of food in the steam ovens, how they bathe in the free open air concrete pools of geothermally heated bath water, the teaching of Maori language and customs in the school. How they bury their dead above ground (no digging of holes in the unsafe active fields) Her patience ran to zero, when a guest asked her what food they cooked. ( We knew they were asking special food, eg Turkey at Christmas) but the poor guy was subjected to class dunce status when feisty guide asked the rest of the group to tell him what foods she had just mentioned! Day two, and our favourite day of all. First stop, Huka Falls, the most popular destination in North Island, and not hard to see why. Not quite a waterfall, but more your water rapids ride minus the rings, in the brightest turquoise blue water. So very beautiful. We walked the banks of the river following the path of these majestic fast moving swirling blue waters, before we left, heading to blue waters of our very own. The Wairakei Thermal Spas. What a gorgeous place, like a mini paradise with blue pools, all geothermally heated, palm trees, and white rocks, it was gloriously peaceful and relaxing. With pool temperatures ranging from 34 degrees to 40 degrees there was a pool to suit each of us. Like 3 bears, or bunnies we tested them all, too hot, too cool, ahhhhh just perfect. And with hardly any other guests we could relax and swim in the pools to our hearts content. (and adult only as well, so no annoying squawkers to spoil the ambience) There we spent the most blissful two hours before our bunny bellies beckoned to be fed. Feeling so hungry we headed to Taupos most famous and iconic restaurant, steak? lamb? BBQ? gourmet burgers? not quite. Mcdonalds of all places. But not just any McDonalds, this one has its tables in an airplane. For every reason going, we just had to take a nosy at this unique fast food takeaway. Our first fast food of the trip we chose not to sit amongst the group of foul mouthed teenagers in the plane itself (quite the first for us in New Zealand, and in fact anywhere on our trip) but instead we sat under the wing of the plane and troughed our big macs with gusto. After we had sated our appetites, we meandered along the banks of Lake Taupo, the largest lake in the North Island, until we came to a Golf Challenge. An artificial island sat just off shore (120yds) with 3 flags and a big sign offering 10,000$ for a hole in one. With a penchant for golf and a pretty good swing, this had Mr bunnies name written all over it. To cut a long story short, we still had noodles for tea. But, to give him massive credit, Mr B did hit that island a creditable 4 times in conditions that were anything but easy. Hobbiton Saving the very best of all North Islands visits to the very end of our trip, we went to the magnificent Hobbiton Movies Farm Studios Tour. I will quite truthfully say, that I have never read the books nor seen any of the movies, but Hobbiton was the place I wanted to visit more than anywhere else, and for which I actually had to proper stamp my little bunny feet to get Mr B to agree to go, and this was back whilst still in the UK. He absolutely did not want to go, too expensive, better things to see, never seen the films, were all the reasons he gave for not wanting to go. Mrs B knew better. If the films were as good as the Harry Potter movies, and lets face it, the following is just as huge, then the film set would be something special. You arrive at a car park and immediately see many of the mini buses lined up and ready. The set itself is only accessed by bus and a guide. And the system works beautifully. The tours leave every 10 mins prompt, and from the moment you arrive at the Shire with your guide, and go through that first pathway, we, and everybody else, were just smitten. The landscape is undeniably beautiful, and so incredibly pretty. The attention to detail beyond compare. Every house, every garden, stand, tree, pole and accessories are immaculate and perfect. The original hobbit houses were demolished, but on making the second film they made the wise decision to build them as permanent structures. Every single little house is perfect and cute. From the curtains, to the door knobs, flowers and washing on the washing lines, the only things missing were the hobbit inhabitants. The tour runs so well that as you approach each house and get a brief description of the part it played in the film, everyone has sufficient time to take all the photos you could possible desire before moving on allowing the next group to quietly and efficiently slide into your spot. Every Hobbit house got better and better and better, leaving the most perfect hobbit house to the end. Two simple unassuming doors, one half of the group went through one door, the other half through the other door. and what did we find? Heaven. so much heaven I cannot even begin to start to describe. In a nutshell, the most perfect hobbit house you could ever wish for, with not just a few bits of details, but thousands. My jaw hit the floor and I never retrieved it. I think I just found my own special place. Would I go back and do it again? yes, and again and again. The tour ends at the Green Dragon pub where we were each given a free drink, either alcoholic or ginger beer, you can guess which bunnies had which. And we also bought a pie each. Oh my goodness, the Kiwis sure know how to make a good pie. Leaving Hobbiton, and the highlight of our North Island tour, we packed our bags, said goodbye to our car, and headed once more for the airport and to our next destination, South Island.

From El Calafate we flew north to Santiago, once more we hired a car and drove to the coastal town of Valparaiso. We could quite easily have got one of the the very many and frequent Flix Buses, but time was short, and we admit we had grown tired of lugging our bags about. From plane to bus station, from bus station to bus station, from station to accommodation , and the same in reverse. Mr Bunny took matters into his own paws, and decided for all the hassle, the extra cost of a car would be worth it. We had a very fussy apartment booked, with a super strict and unmovable check in time of by 9.30pm or else. A rather bolshy text to the property owner, suggesting that I could always ask the pilot to fly a little quicker failed to move the apartment owner into agreeing a later check in so time was precious. It should be noted that we were flying via Buenos Aires with a 4 hour layover. Thankfully the superb organisation of Rental Cars at Santiago airport, meant we were collected, driven to the car hire office, the car was ready and waiting, and we left their office with sufficient time for a leisurely drive to Valparaiso. Ha !!! Lets just say we spent around 40 mins of our precious time just trying to leave the damned airport. How many blocked entrances? Road Blocks, One ways...we encountered them all. The road to Valparaiso was luckily blissfully traffic free, landing us at the apartment at 9.15pm. Good job we had a person waiting for us, we were on the 13th floor...the car park was on 9th floor, but was in the basement...reception on 11, via 2 lifts...what a crazy block of apartments. Valparaiso More than once we were told, `that`s not a safe place these days` Not helped by the fact that for the first time I had chosen an apartment for its views and not for its location in the safest district as per every other stay I had booked. We admit to being a little nervous there. Day one we just sat on the balcony in the hot sun and chilled. Watching the seals on the pier down below provided adequate entertainment. Day two however we decided we couldn`t stay in `the former jewel of South America` without seeing it for ourselves. We followed guidance to the letter, we dressed discreetly, kept phones and cameras packed away, and kept constant vigilance to our surroundings. I had read that the street vibes changed street by street, and that was quickly apparent. We only ever walk by day, we never wander far from busy streets, and are always careful. Valparaiso used to be the hub of the South America sea trade, and its not hard to see why. It really is, or rather was once, very beautiful. Old colonial buildings with stylish decor, shutters and graceful beauty stand looking forlorn shabby and unloved. Many of them empty. a sad reminder of better times. We spent the day walking the sea front, along which are far too many reminders of the sad situation of the homeless migrants mostly from Venezuela. As we headed for the `safe` area of Valparaiso, the Cerro Alegre we really did feel the ever changing ambience of the streets, bright and cheerful, turned into dour and cold, happy go lucky teenagers milled around the colleges/universities, whilst beady eyed teenagers eyed us moodily around the less savoury streets. At Cerro Alegre there is a multitude of colourful street art, and felt like a safe touristic place to spend some time. We had a coffee and cake break at a cafe high above the town, with a wooden barrier so rotten it would have crumbled at the slightest touch. No health and safety here, so use common sense and lean lightly. The cafe of choice was clearly an original from the hey day of the town. The wooden interior, the uneven floors, very old black and white pictures, and gorgeous old wooden furniture. One piece I thought was a strange box cupboard turned out to be an original fridge! Santiago Once again we return to Santiago, to Maktub hostel, with its wonderful beds and squeaky floors. Again we chose to spend our day at the rather wonderful Costenera shopping mall, rather than wander yet another city. Mr Bunny had left over Chile doofers which he divvied up between us in the hope we could each buy a last South American treat. Have you any idea how difficult it is to buy anything, when you have zero baggage space and a super strict baggage allowance? Little bunny opted to buy a better daybag, as hers was a little on the small side, and didn`t have dedicated laptop space, where as Mrs Bunny purchased yet another white t shirt, of the vest variety in the hope of visiting warmer climates. Mr Bunny treated himself to a rather nice steak dinner. And that, my bunny friends concluded our stay. We have loved our time in South America, but we are ready for a change. New Zealand awaits. We shall pick up the story in Auckland. Bunnies One, Two and Three are hopping to see you there.

Leaving behind all things hotel and comfortable, we headed for the Airport at Calama, returned our hire car, and boarded a plane to El Calafate in the heart of Argentina`s Patagonia. A rather expensive bunny hop into town on arrival, not that we had a lot of choice given that the airport manager informed us that the airport was about to close. We had neither local money nor internet. Informed that all taxis have a means of taking card payment, we were directed to the last taxi available. A £20 taxi ride and 20 mins later we arrived at our little home in El Calafate. We were due to spend one night here, but a series of events and a high jacked day led us to stay put for 2 nights. Such a beautiful place, so no hardship. We did not get the chance to see the town up close this time around but hope to return here for a couple more nights when we return the car. All I can say about our accommodation is that it was warm, really really, really warm. To be surrounded by snow capped mountains but needing to have the front door open to lessen the heat in our `sauna` is proof enough as to the warmth. Granted it was lovely to be so toasty, but not so much in the early hours when you cant exactly fling the door open to cool down. We bought food in the town supermarket, and it was as we expected a little expensive. Mr Bunny and his cooking skills as always prevailed. He really does feed us well on very few ingredients. Day 2. Our journey today takes us to El Chalten , via the awesome Perito Merino Glacier. Quick note here, there are two places called Perito Merino, which caused said Mr bunny to have a minor meltdown when I showed him the route (whilst still in the UK) , stamping his overly large bunny feet insisting we go to the Glacier. It was on the route, just not where he expected it to be. There are two my bunny friends, a place name, and a glacier of same name, in two very different places. Perito Merino Glacier. Nothing short of spectacular. I admit to feeling a little meh about seeing a glacier, a big wall of ice, where is the fun in that? Nothing could have prepared me for the sight before my eyes. The road we travelled on through the National Park Los Glaciares to the glacier took us along the lake edge. It was there we saw our first iceberg. I felt daft at first pointing out that iceberg, but then it occurred to me, when had I/we ever seen a real one before? We have been to Norway and Sweden but that was Summer, we didn`t see icebergs there, in a land where you would expect to see them, yet here in Patagonia, sat the cutest little iceberg you ever did see, right there in front of our very eyes. An iceberg of the palest blue. If the giddiness of seeing that chunky lump of ice made me smile, it was nothing to witnessing the sheer size and scale of the Perito Merino Glacier. It really is quite breath taking, and far more impressive than I was expecting. Once the shock and awe of the phenomenon you are witnessing passes, you then start to take in the colours. Blues of every colour, the whole blue spectrum from the palest baby blue, to more vivid striking cobalt, deepest turquoise and neon blue. How can white ice be so blue? The Glacier is a visually striking wall of cracked ice, with every crack harnessing its own blue colours. There are so many well constructed paths that lead to and around the glacier in every direction. We chose the easiest path, and meandered down toward the river and the glaciers edge. Every set of stairs that descended increased the grandeur and majesty of this spectacular glacier. At home I thought meh its only ice...in reality, I couldn`t have be less meh if I tried. This ticked one of Mr Bunny`s bucket list items, and it added to mine. We would have liked to have lingered longer, but the need to push on to our next destination dragged us away. We did have a rather annoying kit kat moment, after we had turned our backs on the glacier for just a few moments, it chose that very time to crack and cascade into the lake with the most deafening rumble. We heard the roar and the resounding splashes, but alas a wall of trees spoilt our view for those crucial seconds. We heard a glacier crack.... but accept some things are not ours to witness first hand. El Chalten. After 5 hours of the most breath taking scenery, and a whole lot of nothing else, we arrived at the town of El Chalten. When I say a whole lot of nothing, that is quite literal. No people, no house, no towns, no shops, not even a stray dog. Plenty of trees and Guanacos (snooty faced llama type animals), and views beyond compare, but other than that, a whole lotta nothing. Just straight roads of nothingness. The northern parts of Patagonia offers little conversation other than `wow` `wow` and yet more `wow` Sheer raw beauty of nature at its best. We are coming out of winter and heading to spring. Lambs are being born, trees are bare, the land is barren, but it is beyond compare. As the mountain ranges close in and the snow peaks grow ever larger, the peak of the distinctive Fitz Roy mountain comes into view, and the tiny town of El Chalten. This is quite clearly a town that is developing quickly, and I suspect the land is valuable. The hiking around this area would be enough to keep any seasoned and hardy hiker busy for months, and I would guess that every spare bit of land is being purchased and utilised for the purpose of hiking accommodations. The trails here are many and varied. The houses of the town differ wildly, from wooden lodges, small hotels, converted caravans, large well cladded garden sheds, small concrete housing units, to the one I liked the most, a small rowing boat, upwardly extended in a manner Mr and Mrs Weasley would be quite proud of. The cost of staying in El Chalten is quite steep comparatively, and even at the outer edges of the town we paid just short of double our usual budget. Our little apartment was tiny and cute. Tiny enough to serve a purpose, big enough not to feel crowded. On our first full day, the sun shone brightly, we first drove, then hiked up the easiest hiking trails to be rewarded with yet more awesome views. Patagonia does not disappoint. Our trail was called the Condor Trail and we were rewarded with said birds. There were many condors, soaring and gliding the wind currents high above us. The next trail was the Eagle trail, not convinced we saw the eagles, but then again they are much smaller and harder to spot. The trail ended with yet more views to behold. Back at our `ranch` we enjoyed our home cooked bunny food, before settling in for an evening of Netflix. It snowed this evening, all night long. We knew snow was forecast, but it only mentioned a flurry. Ha!! It snowed big time, and we woke to a blanket of white. This was not a problem for Mrs Bunny who has no hiking desires, but caused quite a stir in the world of two other bunnies who had planned...and still planned, to hike the longest most challenging hike in Patagonia. Today. In the snow. Fully kitted out I hear you say? Nope. Walking trainers, no crampons, no walking poles, no waterproof trousers or gaitors, nothing, nada, zip. So, at 8am, two foolhardy and determined bunnies, dressed to kill in everything warm they could muster, set off to hike Fitz Roy, all 14 miles of it. In the snow. Mrs Bunny settled down with a good cup of tea, a book, warm slippers, and a cat for company. The cat had sat on the windowsill for many minutes staring in at me meowing until I let him/her in. Stalked in like it owned the place, demanded water from the bathroom tap, then casually draped itself on the bed and promptly went to sleep. For 4 hours! It was actually nice having a furry body in the room for company whilst the 2 daft bunnies hiked up a steep and snowy mountain. 11 hours later, my two crazy bunnies arrived home. I had given them the ultimatum of home by 7pm or I send out a search party. They pushed their luck timing their return 6.56 ! The floor definitely had pace marks. Having decided that Laguna 69 (Huaraz) was the most challenging of hikes, they both scoffed and declared that Laguna 69 was actually a mere walk in the park compared to Fitz Roy. Ushuaia From the first day we watched the Race Across the World, ending in a place called Ushuaia, ( how do you pronounce it and where the heck is it..) the thought of visiting the city at the end of the world was totally on our radar. From El Chalten to Ushuaia is around 18 hours by car, the distances here are quite eye watering. We opted to break up the journey by pausing for a night at Rio Gallegos. I don`t intend to dwell on the past, but this was the port that served the Argentine Naval force during times of conflict in the mid 80s. Not knowing quite how we would be greeted or welcomed in Argentina so close to the islands we chose to avoid the museums and the monuments. Let me add, every sign post and reference points to the Malvinas, the English version is never ever referred to. A muted sore point in the history of Argentina? Our apartment wasn`t quite ready on arrival, so we took a drive to the sea front. It looked like the sea but it is just an inlet. Every part of this ride was Lytham to St Annes. (English seaside towns) Sea wall on your left, beautiful house of every size and shape on your right. One night in the bunny hutch at Rio Gallegos and back in the car. pssst do you want to know how to get from El Chalten to Rio Gallegos? simples, Leave El Chalten on the main road, turn right at the t junction. Turn Left at the next junction, straight on forever and Rio Gallegos will be in front of you. Two turnings we made, in 8 hours!! The next part of the journey would be long, varied, challenging, boring, wow, two border crossings, Argentina/Chile/Argentina (they nicked our eggs!.....and on the return journey we got in trouble for an onion, so be warned!) and lastly a ferry crossing. Around 8 hours in total. All I can refer to along this early stretch of the journey was the fate of the daft Guanacos. I saw their furry butts so often that I renamed them either Guanacant`s or Guanacans There are many many herds of these beautiful snooty faced animals all along both sides of the fence line that stretches the length of Patagonia. The guanacos/cans/cants graze peacefully on both sides of the fence, the guanacants were the ones who failed to clear the fence and hung pitifully either draped like a furry rug, their sad little fluffy butt tails waving in the wind, or hung by the one trailing leg that didn`t quite clear the 4ft obstacle. Pretty sure these departed animals make for a proper feast for the elusive Pumas and Cougars, not to mention the condors as the number of furry butt tails and dangling bods was numerous. Guanacans troughed the grass on both sides of the fence. Departed guanacos aside, we have seen a number of the other animals/birds that fly/roam the Patagonian plains. Grey Foxes, Eagles and Hawks, a Skunk (alas flattened, but still spotted) wild Horses, Rhea and even a flamboyance (isn`t that a nice word?) of Flamingos. I thought I was seeing things when I saw what I thought were herds of ostrich in the field, but a google search revealed they were wild Rhea. The last leg of our journey took us across the fantastic plains of Tierro del fuego. The original indigenous people used fire to keep warm (what else....?) and passing sailors saw the flames, called it the land of fire, Tierro del Fuego yadda yadda yadda. The wind across the never ending flat plains was quite scary at times, the car shook like the bunny in Fatal Attraction, and Mr bunny`s knuckles were quite white at times from gripping the steering wheel. It is hard to recall at what point the scenery changed, but the change was rapid. From a blank canvas of sandy plains, trees started to appear, first one, then another and suddenly huge forests loomed out of nowhere. Then hills, which grew into mountains, that developed into snow topped mountain ranges. The change in scenery was nothing short of sudden and dramatic. Did I mention the absence of cars? Pretty sure during the entire 8 hour plus journey the number of cars in either direction wouldn`t top 50, if that. If there is only one road to The end of the World, and the number of cars we saw barely made it past 50, just how tiny a town is Ushuaia? Huge, really really huge! We were so surprised to find a town this large. Not London or La Paz huge, but pretty close to Harrogate or Halifax (uk) It would seem that living here is so good, why leave? Ushuaia . The City at the End of the World. And it is spectacular. I am so so happy to be here, it was worth the very long journey. The town itself is pretty enough, but backed by snow capped mountains, and facing the Beagle channel, the scenery surrounds you on all sides. This is a city in which you can live and breathe. Hiking, fishing, boating, skiing, mountains, nature and wildlife are just some of its many attractions. Tourism is definitely developing quickly here, and the number of cruises to Antarctica doubles year on year. Still this city remains unique. We drove around the streets away from the touristic centre today, and just marvelled and laughed at the huge array of housing. Of course there are a few blocks of same same buildings, but mostly every other single building, be it house or shop is unique. Bungalows, houses, sheds, caravans, wooden lodges, wooden houses, concrete houses, isthatreallya house type houses, ultra modern stands next to original wooden multi storey constructions. Made from chipboard, metal panels, wood or even glass. Single glazed windows, or high tech shutters. Square concrete boxes reside next to triangular oddities. British Building regulations go eat your heart out, take a look at how amazing and functional these houses/homes/one mans castles, are, and get off your silly high horses about 3.5" cladding and 2.3 ft deep drains...boo sucks to you. This is how people should be allowed to live. Practical, functional and personal. Self made and proud to call them home. Tours. Seriously expensive. This is not a place to come thinking you can do all sorts, at least not on a budget. £50 pp to ride the train, one and half hours, but you must, not optional also purchase the national park ticket @£20pp. Beagle Channel cruise? £135, pp. Some eye watering costs. I am both glad and a little sad about not riding the train, but was it a must or a touristy `you must do this when here` ? I feel the latter. The train whilst cute, is not the original. The journey is painfully slow, the scenery may well be nice, but isn`t the whole of Patagonia pretty awesome without paying to sit on a very slow train that travels just 18km? the station is quite lovely, but it is still a facade for a journey of limited options. Instead we purchased the compulsory park tickets, took a picnic, and hiked our bunny butts around a few of the many walks around this beautiful, peaceful and scenic national park. Bit miffed that we were charged full price when many hikes were still closed, but it is what it is. Our last visit of the day, and something we had each promised ourselves. A visit to the Post Office at the end of the world. Stamp our passports and send a postcard home. Nope. Apparently the Post Office is no longer there, due to some issues about its legalities. Damn you Google, telling us it was open until 4pm daily, grrrrrr. Penguins? closed for refurbishment (the King Penguin sanctuary) Boats rides, expensive and with the channel windy, choppy with white horse tipped waves, probably not running. Patagonia was becoming a challenge. We did have a very nice meal with quite probably one of the best views to date at the Tolkeyen hotel, not overly expensive at all. And coffee and cake the following day at Tanta Sara in the centre of town was just sublime. Leaving Ushuaia, we just had to pay a visit to the Hotel that ended the Race Across the World. Not exactly certain how the challengers got there, this hotel sits high up above the town, not the gorgeous looking hotel building we could see from our room, the sat nav took us to what we thought was a plain old green factory warehouse perched high on another mountain side. Oh My Goodness, how looks can deceive. The Arakur hotel. Just google it, is all I can say, as words alone cannot do it justice. We were greeted by `the man` the same guy on reception who greeted those tired racers. He welcomed us in and told us to wander freely and admire. And wander we did. Numerous seating areas, all heated, bar, restaurants, private restaurants for intimate dining, and the spa. With an outdoor infinity, heated pool. If anyone fancies getting married, this hotel ticks so many boxes. From Ushuai we made the long trek northwards again, this time to Punta Arenas . We were supposed to going via Porvenir where the Penguin refuge was , but given that the refuge was closed for a refurb, we opted for the shorter car ferry crossing near Puerto Progreso, the same way that we crossed earlier and ultimately the alternative road to Punta Arenas. Must say I was expecting a lot more from this town. Quite disappointing to be honest. We visited the few must see places, but given that these included the Plaza de Armas which was closed for maintenance, an old rusting ship that floundered here in 1909, a boat yard of `life size replicas`, not convinced by the life size, they looked rather small to me, and with an entry fee of $7 each, we were not convinced we needed to see them further up close. If you want to see real ships, you are hard pressed to beat Portsmouth (UK)! (been there, done that) The Cemetery ranked by CNN as the most beautiful in the world, (decide for yourself, I have no intentions of defining beauty when it comes to a place of rest) and lastly parts of the town which were decidedly meh. What is good about this place, is our accommodation. A 3 bedroomed log cabin above the town with views over the harbour. We were supposed to be staying in a 2 bedroom log cabin, but some silly female bunny booked 2025 dates instead of 24, so the kind owner sensing the goof gave us the last available 3 bedroom cabin. And it is Warm!! phew, we were told by some guy back at Huachachina that gas is either free or very cheap in Patagonia, and I swear it must be true, as heaters are large and restrictions on usage not applicable. The cabin is very small but very very comfortable. To prove it was a cabin made for us, we have a bunny, a real little bunny living under our cabin. I think he must be a home bunny as we have spotted him 3 times now. From Punta Arenas to Puerto Natalas, another 3 and half hour drive and another Border crossing in the middle of nowhere. Note to other bunny travellers, for heavens sake if you overstay your welcome either by design or accident, just pay the darn fine and quit bleating about how you have just spent a lot of money as a tourist in their country. We couldn`t believe our bunny ears, as these two loud mouthed foreigners ponced about telling the authorities it was their (the border control) mistake, and why should they pay the $20 fine !! Seriously, $20 for a 4 day illegal stay, and your complaining ?? Note to the more advanced bunny traveller, be careful when or if you hire a car, there is an endless amount of car paperwork that they scrutinise with an 50 x magnification spyglass! Be confident that you have all the correct paperwork before you try to cross the border and don`t even think about smuggling an onion! Puerto Natalas. Quite the contrast to Punta Arenas. This is a very pretty little town, no high rises, just a small town quite spread out, with a lovely sea front. We didn`t quite find the time to walk the sea front, but did managed to take `that` photo, of the old pier at sunset . An Instagram hotspot. Not my favourite past time, recreating the same photo as 1000s of others, but it is a nice place at sundown. We drove to Puerto Natalas via the Cueva del Milodon Cave National Monument. (Mylodon) This is must see tourist attraction that caught my eye as a must see. The remains of a prehistoric sloth bear were found here, with remains of prehistoric man. I personally hope bear ate man for a change. No bones to see, or even a skeleton, but a life size replica sloth bear does greet you at the cave entrance to give you an appreciation of size. Located around 15km out of P.N. we called here on our way to our room. From the road you can see the cave, but just not how big it is. To do that, you must pay (of course) There are many walks around this area, but all we wanted to see was the Milodon replica, and the cave in which it was found. I cannot begin to describe the size of this cave. Huge is an underwhelming word, Think Ginormous, humungous, cathedral sized and you are getting close. I chose to stay near the cave entrance to take photos of my bunny to give an idea of scale. spot him if you can . Accommodation here is again expensive, and with a needs must budget we nabbed a little wooden cabin, or as little bunny called it, the hutch at the bottom of the garden. I shall breeze over this place. It was clean with comfy beds, but challenging. Bit too small. It served a purpose. Puerto Natalas This is the town that sits closest to the Torres del Paine National Park. You only need to look at a map to see how special a place this is. If the bunny budget was a whole lot bigger, we would have chosen to stay within the park boundaries, but as I decline to camp in the cooler months, and 5* hotels not on the radar, Puerto Natalas works just fine. It is however a good 95-105 km/1 and half hours away. First stop in the park took us to two different view points. Well researched hiking trails we quickly learned that `easy hike ` is in comparative to the Mirador Torres del Paine Base definition of `challenging hike` 3 of us made almost to the top of the `easy` hiking trail however we 2 older bunnies, after watching a much younger bunny with hiking poles and crampons sit and shuffle her way down the last part of the walk, decided that this was the perfect place to break out the flasks of coffee, and instead we sent our own little bunny to scout the highest part of the walk. Watching her return like bambi on ice, we knew we made the right choice to stay were we were. The second 6km easy hike proved to be just that, we first walked to the waterfall, then continued onwards to the Mirador Cuernos. A very pleasant walk indeed, and an awe inspiring view at the end as a worthy reward. Day 2. And the day of the biggie. The hugely demanding and very challenging Torres del Paine Base hike. Luckily there was no snow today, we had checked the walking conditions and all was good, the lake was melted at the view point, and crampons were an optional rather than a necessity, (not that we had any). Flasks were made, rucksacks filled, and clothing donned. Woolly socks, hats, gloves, thermal base layers comfortable slippers, favourite t shirt....hmmm, you didn`t actually think Mrs Bunny was quite that daft to even consider this particular hike? Another day off for me, no cat this time, but I am still happy on my own. The two crazy knackered bunnies returned a mere 14 hours later, and once again declared they had upped their hiking game. Mrs Bunny was allowed in mr bunny`s kitchen today to make tea. Mr Bunny did not complain. One of the many challenges of the national park, are the unmade roads. I had found us a gorgeous route back to El Calafate that traversed the many winding roads of the National Park. However the reality would have been 8 plus hours on a mostly unmade, or if it was made, a deeply rutted potholed road. Now iykyk, but lets just say that my bra wouldn`t quite cut it..... We took the fast route. Leaving the utterly beautiful and stunning Torres del Paine national park it was with a heavy heart we waved goodbye, and continued once more back to the town of El Calafate and the end of our car hire rental. Dropping the car off, it served us well managing a little over 3000km during our 19 day rental period. Could you see Patagonia by bus or public transport? Yes, you could, but it would be very very challenging. The distances, the speed of the bus, the frequency. Unmade roads, and the off the beaten track destinations that would require taxis or tours. We did see one or two crazy people on bicycles, but when we knew we had a 4 hour journey of nothingness in front of us in a car, what must it look like from a bike perspective? Without personal transport I suggest a very big budget and a whole lot of time and patience. Even with a car we only managed to cover a small area of the incomparable land that is Patagonia. A destination beyond compare. Our journey through South America is coming to a close. With just one destination left prior to getting on our longest flight to date, this bunny has only one thing to say. South America. We love you.

Potosi or Uyuni? Potosi had always been on our radar, one as a centre for which to purchase anything shiny and silver, a bunny can always dream and hope, and second as a bunny hop breaking up yet another long tedious bus journey. In the end we decided to bunny hop, skip and jump over Potosi and suck up yet another sauna bus of endless miles and misery. This bus was due to leave Sucre at 10pm, but left at 9.45, and was supposed to arrive at 8 am, but pulled into the station at 5.30 am. Prior to leaving Sucre (altitude 2790) for Uyuni ( 3700) we asked our host what the bus journey would be like. Frio !! Muchas Frio! he was quite adamant.... (cold, very cold) I thereby erred on the side of caution, and wore layers. Yep, another bloody (sorry) sauna! My patience and tolerance for these buses is wearing thin. Yet it would seem only I was ridiculously hot. My seat was on the only bus heater, and the heat stayed local to me. Two seats in front, and two behind the passengers were piling on scarfs, hats, jumpers, coats and wrapping themselves up in furry blankets. Me? This bunny? I wore shorts and my thinnest cotton vest top. and darn near melted. Hardly surprising that I got many curious looks as the bus doors opened at Uyuni at 5.30 am and temperatures in the minus!!! Grab the layers onion girl, grab the layers! Uyuni  When you arrive at a destination at 5.30am after a long, hot stuffy sleepless journey, wake a sleepy hotel owner to beg for an early entry, who in turn then agrees to come and get you from the bus station, it does not put you in the best frame of mind to appreciate your surroundings. I clocked nothing was open (well it was 5.30am) and I did get the feeling that the town was quite desolate looking..(understatement). Jhony, apartment owner did try to engage us in conversation asking if we had a trip booked, but he quickly got the hint to shut up, let us get some sleep, and we would converse with him later that afternoon. So so cold. Utterly grateful that for the first time on our trip we had a room with heating! We have never been particularly cold anywhere we have been so far (except maybe the one night in Quilotoa) but Uyuni was something else. Comfy beds and a warm room, we slept so well that morning, walking at 1pm ready to face the day. We arranged for a one day tour to the Salt Flats the following day, and headed into town searching for some bunny fodder. Oh my goodness where on earth are we? Unmade roads of sand, no markings, no traffic lights or roundabouts, small scruffy buildings, I felt myself wanting to hum the theme tune from The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly such was this strange sand ridden town. Barely any traffic, the few cars we did see were so so old, rust buckets mostly, old buses with doors that no longer closed. A true old western looking town. We did come across a couple of slightly more finished buildings, restaurants, and cafes, but nothing particularly sparkling. Diving into an `italian` restaurant that promised pizza or similar, I did manage to procure a rather good cup of coffee, with milk! but alas my choice of `chicken soup` made my stomach churn. Best described as dishwater, with a boiled egg, a boiled potato, and (eek) a boiled chicken leg, complete with soggy boiled skin. From the sublime soup of Sucre, to this... little bunnies orange chicken, was distinctly lemon flavoured, she`s not a fan, while Mr bunny fared a little better with his beef (we hope) steak and rice. Uyuni Salt Flats, Train Cemetary , Picked up from the hostel at 10 am, we collected our other 4 passengers, and headed out to the Train Cemetery. Having watched so many different You Tubes about the Salt Flats, and in particular the Train Cemetery, it was a brilliant feeling to finally be there and see these rusting deserted abandoned trains for ourselves. We didn`t have the longest of time there, but did have long enough to explore these old relics of times gone by, you can climb on the trains if you so wish. From the trains we made a quick pit stop to collect food and wellies, before we headed off to the Salt town of Colchani. Yes, it entirely true that this town thrives, or at least used to, from the production and preparation on the mined salt, but a more accurate observation, this little town is quite clearly making all its money from the endless stalls of T.S.   * tourist sh.t  the vast number of tourist land rovers and range rovers parked along the road bearing testament to that . From Colchani it was time to drive to the Salt Flats themselves. What an experience! We drove from sandy covered almost tarmac roads, to a surface of pure salt, and a pristine vision of endless nothingness. We passed by the worlds largest salt hotel, but alas didn`t stop to investigate. Carrying on into a white oblivion, the lack of scenery and landmarks became quite unnerving. There are no roads across the Salt Flats, but endless tourist visits has marked a flattened slightly dirty car wide path along which we travelled. Sunglasses were an absolute must. The endless white of the salt flats coupled with the bright sunshine made for a blinding vista. On and on we drove, heading for who knows what. How did he know where to go? suddenly our grubby path went off at an angle, and so did we. The spanish speaking mother of the family who we were with did voice what we were all thinking, `how do you know where you are heading for`. Our young guide and driver simply smiled and said, `road and sun`...hmm....not vague or reassuring at all. But all of a sudden, there it was, looking out of the whiteness a vast spectacle of colour. Flags. From every country, and the giant obelisk of Dakar. From 2009 to 2019 the Dakar rally ran across South America, and the salt flats of Uyuni. We lunched ( rather well in fact) at the salt restaurant. Each tour group had brought their own food, obviously by mutual discussion of what food was to be served, given that every table, made of salt, along with salt stools, appeared to be eating the same things. Hot rice, meat, potatoes, salad, coke and water were available, with oranges for dessert. From the restaurant we headed out once more onto the vast whiteness of the Salt -Flats. For 45 minutes we drove heading to who knows where. Tried playing I Spy, but Salt and Sky where the only things to spot ending the game ended quickly. A lump? Is that a lump we could see? It was, yet it took forever to get there. We passed, most unbelievably 2 people on bicycles!!! How? Why !!! We had no answers, just shocked disbelief. Finally our lump turned into a desert island called Incahuasi. or Cactus Island. Quite amazing to see this large lump of rock, with its many many tall handsome cacti. We paid our price, got the ticket, `no ticket no loo` declares the sign, and started our ascent of this big black volanic rock. Quite the challenging uphill hike, was a hot cloudless sky, and the altitude and thin air quite debilitating. 2 bunnies almost made it to the top, but decided that a view of endless nothing wasn`t really a view at all. Little bunny pushed onto the top, but didn`t come back sounding particularly enamoured about the view, muttering something about, its the same in every direction. We left Incahuasi and pushed on again deeper into the salt flats. and Stopped. Here, in the middle of nowhere, in a pristine untouched environment, we had the most fun ever taking forced perspective photos. Being `chased` by a dinosaur was so much fun, but looking back at the photos, mrs bunny has to accept that acting isn`t her strong point. Mr bunny however had the actions off to a tee. Last stop, as the sun begins to set, we headed off in the approximate direction of land, and stopped in a pool of water. We donned the wellies, and as the sun was setting and the temperatures plummeting, we also added our extra layers of puffer coats and gloves. Standing in a pool of salt water, watching the most spectacular cloud free sunset, reflected in the ponds of water, was quite something special. The colours of the sunset so vivid against the white of the salt. To the west the sun set in a blaze of colour, whilst to the east the full moon rose with equal speed. to see both at the same time, with nothing to interrupt the view was nothing short of awe inspiring. One full day on the Uyuni Salt Flats, is a day we will never forget. the cost? £20 pp. there are 2 and 3 day options, but our mantra is a little of everything and a lot of nothing. One day was enough to have a day to remember. So ends our very brief time in Bolivia. short, sweet and spectacular. Would I return? not sure. True the food in Sucre was quite special, but do I want to face the awful buses again? Somehow I doubt it.

Sucre, The white city. Both La Paz and Sucre are Capital Cities in Bolivia. La Paz houses the President and the Law Makers, whilst the Sucre is the legal capital. Two, very very different cities. We arrived into Sucre after taking the bus from hell. The journey took around 10 hours, travelling on a bus that resembled a sauna, windows that refuse to open, zero air con, ignorant people sat in front, (no need to guess from where) people sat with phones blaring and no headphones, it was very nearly the bus journey that broke the camels back of bus travel. Good job that the flat that I had booked came with 3 bedrooms, bathroom, separate shower room, kitchen, balcony with table, chairs and views of the town of Sucre, Netflix and Private pool, Sauna and a Jacuzzi the size of a small swimming pool!! Bus woes quickly vanished as we surveyed our latest pad. (by the way, if curious, this apartment cost a whopping £32 per night) Whilst the pool was lovely, it was a tad chilly for the 3 bunnies, the sauna? given the bus sauna of the night previous we chose to give that a miss, but the Jacuzzi? Yeah Baby!! Sucre, part two. Leaving behind our glorious pad in the high hills above Sucre, it was time to relocate to the city centre itself. You cannot leave Sucre without exploring the old town. Sucre is named the White City, and it wasn`t hard to see why. It truly is the most beautiful place, with its many white walled streets, white cathedrals and churches, and a festival to end all festivals! Once again this city, like every other, has a Plaza de Armas, or Plaza de Mayo. And it was packed !! Yet again we had landed on a festival weekend, but this was a festival like no other. Every street around the square was lined with chairs, tables, stools, benches, deck chairs, folding chairs, plastic chairs or just cushions. The two widest streets had multi tier bench seating, and every inch of space had a body occupying it. We have never seen so many good natured, happy, excited people since we left the parade route of Walt Disney World last year!. September is the Patron Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a 2 day (really?) event that involves thousands of people. A carnival atmosphere of epic proportions ( or are we just English, and this is ordinary?) We managed to find the smallest gap, and stood for over an hour watching dance group after dance group, band after band parade past us. Not just ordinary dancers, but dancers in the most exquisite costumes and an energy level that would put any duracell bunny to shame. Sparkles, sprinkles, sequins, flowers, dayglo, iridescent, feathers, masks, balloons, we saw them all. They danced barefoot, in heels, boots to their thighs, sequined boots, platforms with tambourins attached, ankle shells, knee drums, whistles and gaudy batons. The dresses were long, short, tight bodiced, floaty, skimpy, sequined or flowered, sparkles and colours...oh the colours! Fire Red, Brilliant Blue, Cocoa Brown, Sunshine yellow, Vivid Orange, Sparkling Green, Purest Black we saw the entire spectrum as they paraded by. Then the bands. the bands all seemed to be playing the same or very similar tune, and it was played in one fashion, and one fashion only  LOUD  !! never mind tuning, or split notes, just hoof it ! Dancers then band, dancers then band, dancers then band. Every aspect of the community, or from what we guessed, seemed to be included. Young children, teenagers, special needs groups, wheel chairs, disabled, elderly and everyone in between. The noise levels touched your core, and the bands with the most drums made darn sure you knew they had arrived! We had come across the Festival at 4pm, but at 11pm it was still going strong, you don`t sleep in Sucre town centre whilst this takes place that`s for sure. Sucre, day 2 and Dinosaurs In 1985 a local cement company unearthed strange footprints, unsure as to their authenticity they called in local palaeontologists who confirmed that the footprints found were indeed genuine, and not just genuine, but the largest array of dinosaur footprints ever found in the world. This I just had to see for myself. We took a cab out of town and headed for Cal Orck`o cement quarry. At this point I have to confess this bunny had expected heat and dust and dressed accordingly, but hey ho, this is the one day that the weather chose to be cool! You arrive at the quarry and you do think, `where on earth am I?`...It is a fully functioning quarry, with little to suggest that this is a huge site of importance as you stand in the dusty car park. Take heart. climb the ramp. At the top the smell of new paint, the remnants of building materials, tiles and the lingering remains of dust sheets, it is quite apparent that this site is slowly accepting that tourists like dinosaurs. Movie quote, `If you build it, he will come` comes to mind. The quarry floor tour starts at 12 pm, there is a second tour at 1pm. At these times, the sun (ha!) is usually high in the sky, thus avoiding shadows on the wall of footprints. This was not to be an issue for us on this cold day. Arriving early to avoid the crowds (there were no crowds..) we had a couple of hours to kill prior to our tour. We had already toured the museum (one room)..the 3D spectacular (an empty room, newly tiled), the shop, (one glance and you saw it all) and viewed the life size dinosaur models, all that was left was the cafe in which we sat to get warm and await our tour time. Cafe. Do you want Tea. Coffee ( no milk) . Water. Coke or Inca Cola. Salchipapa, chicken nuggets/chips or a burger. The menu isn`t hard to recall. At 12pm, we were invited into the auditorium to watch a dinosaur documentary, in Spanish, no subtitles. Chilly bunny here had to beg for a jacket off a workman, I didn`t care what I was lent by this time, but have to say the procured denim jacket was quite neat, though I do suspect that the owner was a painter given the jackets pungent odour of paint stripper. 12.15, our tour started. A group of 6 locals, 2 Dutch, we three bunnies, and an English girl we had met at Lake Titicaca couple of weeks earlier (small world) . Prior to being escorted down to the quarry floor, we were each issued with hard hats. Having already had the huge expanse of crumbled wall pointed out to us, we had no qualms in wearing said hats. To clarify though, the local insta bimbos decided the hats made for useful water carriers... We then proceeded down the steepest path to the quarry floor and the wall of dinosaur footprints. A lot can happen in 68 million years of evolution, hence the once horizontal dinosaur path rising to reveal the now vertical footprints. something about a shift in tectonic plates and rising sea levels. Research in the area has ascertained that the entire land was once covered in water, and that it was probably a watering hole for the dinos. To stand in front of that huge wall and see those incredible prints left by a now extinct animal species was quite humbling. There are just so many tracks. I could name a couple of the dinosaurs but I much prefer to call them meatysaurus , veggiesaurus, gigantasaurus, and the longest set of baby T Rex prints ever found. Over 400 continuous paw marks! A lot of buses invite you to travel from La Paz directly to Uyuni, but to miss Sucre, for both its white city cente, and its eerie wall of dinosaur footprints, would be a crime. Sucre, day 3 Today we are to be leaving Sucre, but knowing the festival had now finished (like I said earlier, really?) We decided to see what a peaceful Plaza de Armas looked like. Passing a cafe called Azkaban halted our progress for a while, A Harry Potter Cafe, here? in Sucre? beckoned this Harry Potter loving bunny, and it did not disappoint. I have to say they had done a very good job recreating all the little aspects of the books. I had Cerveza de Mantequilla (hot butterbeer) butter, brown sugar, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. , whilst Mr bunny had Espresso Patronum, ( cafe solo) . As we left the little cafe, the now familiar sounds of yet another band beckoned to us. Still more dancers, not quite the same flamboyant costumes, but still the same energy, and yet more bands. It would appear that if your turn didn`t arrive in time during the previous two days, you were allowed to perform and parade on day 3 as well. After a fabulous lunch in the square, chicken soup, thick, creamy, big chunks of white cooked chicken, add in chips, garlic bread and a charcuterie board of epic proportions for big bunny we felt like two overstuffed bunnies. One last drink on the roof of the most fabulous, yet well hidden hotel, it quite literally had a sign saying rooftop bar 65, and a simple door yet yielded the most impressive and sumptuous interior. We headed back to our tiny room and the joys of yet another overnight bus. PS Must tell you, Sucre has a fabulous chocolate shop called Para Ti, ...im saying nothing, not another word, except who puts plums, raisins, and liqueur in a chocolate bon bon? heaven in a mouthful.

A new country. From Lake Titicaca we travelled to Bolivia, and the capital city of La Paz This was going to be our most challenging destination to date due to the fact that our trusty O2 internet didn`t cover Bolivia. Yikes, No internet, no maps, no google translate, no taxi app, all of which we rely on far more than we should. We caught an early bus, Transalia? (or something similar sounding) at 4am. Such a comfy bus, and the best journey we have had for a long time. a bit like the three bears, not too hot, not too cold, just perfect. After all my research online that the border crossing at Copacabana was by far the best, and that Desguadero, our route, was a little more sketchy, I was a bit apprehensive as we approached the border line after driving along the shores of Lake Titicaca for around 3 hours, wow that lake is so big and very beautiful. Reality? Super easy, no drama llamas, just off the bus with your gear, into the building ( you get a scan code on the bus as you leave, on which you pre enter all your destination and personal details) someone scans it as you wait in line. Queue up, get an exit stamp, put all your backpacks through the scanner being super cautious not to be caught with anything you shouldn`t have like fresh meat, certain fruits, animals, bunnies you know the sort of things...( I had a ham sandwich, oops, to which our bus driver winked at me and said `shove it in your pocket...` ) Once the bags were scanned, it was back on the bus and off we went. Absolutely no issues whatsoever. La Paz, highest capital city in the world, here we come. First challenge. A taxi to our destination. Now, if you are staying at the Hilton, or the Ritz, or other brand name hotel, that isn`t a problem as most taxis would know those places, however our privately owned apartment was unhelpfully named Villa Florita, in one of South Americas biggest cities! Taxi driver number one knew the approximate area, (we had access to the address, but not the map) and took us there. Adamant he had taken us to the correct place he insisted we got out. The nearest building, (on the most ridiculously steepest hill imaginable, in the worlds highest city, was numbered 1038, whereas our building was 1379. We knew we were nowhere near, and asked two lovely elderly ladies for additional directions. Both immediately pointed up the hill, with gestures of up up up.... :-( We could barely manage more than a few steps without gasping for air. Taking a break right next to a taxi office was a sign that our guardian bunny was taking pity on us. Taxi number two, took us to the nearest number he could find, a restaurant called Qaytu. Three relieved bunnies found to a woman standing waiting for us, without we would never have found our accommodation, and our most perfect apartment. We were so delighted with our little apartment with its views over La Paz city.....oh how we would giggle about this later in the stay!! Our first venture into La Paz was to find a certain camera shop. Our little bunny has a broken camera, which I shall elaborate a little more about given the appalling customer service received by Sony. skip this paragraph unless you are curious or affected by Sony and their shocking customer service. Nutshell version, as brief as I can. Purchased new camera August 23, with 2 years extended warranty. A vlogging camera. June 24, South America, camera goes faulty. We get fault diagnosed at a Sony repair centre , emailed Sony for confirmation on how to proceed, who replied ` we cannot help` Numerous emails exchanged with Sony , who insisted the camera should be repaired, not refunded. Sony refusing to acknowledge the logistics of such a repair. Repair timescale btw, 6-8 weeks..  by the way we don`t offer repairs in South America. Eh? Sony refuse point blank to help or offer support. We have no choice but to purchase a new camera and take them to task on our return in 12 months. (Both barrels they are going to get!) Considering Sony`s appalling lack of help or acceptance of the problem, I have no qualms telling the world which camera to avoid. Sony ZV1 , and guess what people, if you buy a vlogging camera expecting to use it abroad on your holidays, Sony will void your warranty!!! Isn`t that just wonderful customer service NOT.  rant over. La Paz . They have one camera shop. One. or at least we could only find one shop listed. After a 20 minute somewhat hair raising downhill taxi ride into the city centre, why would said shop be open, when every single other shop to our destination, without exception, was?!! Grrrrsss. Finding a few touristic streets nearby we wandered around before heading off to find the weird stalls of the Witches Market. I really wish I knew what earth people do with dried out llama foetus, hmmmm. We didn`t find La Pax particularly appealing. Maybe it does have nice parts, but we certainly didn`t feel inspired to go hunting for said areas. We did slog our way up to the `oldest street in La Paz, adorned with restaurants and artisan shops`... but found them all shut. Last chance to salvage the day, we opted to ride the Teleferico (cable cars) across the city. By chance we had come across a couple of backpackers who told us the Blue and Red cable cars would take us over the city and up to the market of El Alto. This nervous bunny tried hard to drag her bunny feet and dawdle in the hope that said Cable Car would also be shut, but alas, it wasn`t. We purchased a round trip ride taking in the Orange line, the Red Line, then the Blue line, and back. What started off as a hair raising bunny toes tingling ride, turned out to be quite fun and wonderful. Remember I said we had `views of the city, and that we would giggle later?`...this is when we started giggling. To give La Paz and its size some context, If La Paz was a dart board, from our apartment window what we could see was merely the bulls eye. wow that city is ridiculously big. The Teleferico. Orange line over the city, jumping stations to the Red Line that proceeded to climb steeply up the mountain, my poor bunny nerves sorely tested, we arrived at the landing point for the Aimara Market. Our sights were set on the cable car ride, not shopping, so, and very thankfully, we boarded the Blue Line. As we boarded the cable car and rose up high, we each said, look there is the market. What we didn`t realise is that we would still be saying `look there is the market` for another 10 or so minutes of travelling overhead! I cannot begin to describe how big that market is. It stretched across what appeared to the main road road through the town/area of El Alto. Around 8-10 stalls wide, as far as the eye could see, in both directions, and down every side street as well!   the only side streets that didn`t appear to have market stalls, were filled with taxis and vans. Given that this 5 square kilometre market runs twice a week they must have this jigsaw puzzle off to a fine art. Seriously impressive. For any travel bunnies thinking this could be a must visit, take heed, it is not for the faint hearted, it is there purely for the essentials of local people, and us bunny tourists, we would stick out like ears on a rabbit. The ride over the city was fun, it would appear that the city architect was a Marvel fan, so many of the buildings that sided the Teleferico resembled the distinctly Marvel type facias, one even had a giant Iron Man head, which alas I saw too late to take a photo. Our time in La Paz was brief, we have had enough of cities and chose accommodation to reflect the same, allowing us peace and space. We spent one of our few days re jigging our trip, Mr bunny had a rather large hissy fit, deciding that if we left for Patagonia on the 26th of the month we wouldn`t have enough time to enjoy the area. He huffed and puffed, decided to hire a us a car (collection El Calafate) , so now we are leaving for Patagonia on the 26th but now we have more time.....(go figure) Prior to leaving La Paz we opted to try the restaurant that quite literally backed onto our apartment, Qaytu. it had some rather good reviews and decided to try for ourselves. Now, much as Mr Bunny loves cooking and inventing rather good meals in very small and challenging kitchens, why did we wait until we were leaving to sample the wares of this particular restaurant? Greeted like old friends by the owner, he then lovingly described every meal on his menu, using terms such as ` a beautiful experience` `palate teasing`, `flavoursome and aromatic` Was he wrong? Nope!! We had 3 dishes of the most exquisite tasting food, two desserts, four drinks, (mr bunny always seems to require the urge to sample a second beer) and our bill was a staggering £33. If any travelling bunnies fancy sampling the delights of this culinary establishment, with its lovely staff, fabulous food and spectacular vistas, head off to the Mirador Killi Killi, ( ask any taxi , its worth it) then follow your bunny noses around 5 minutes in a downhill direction to this wonderful restaurant. Even this bunny with an aversion to all things food, enjoyed the meal. My choice if you care to know was the* non vegetarian meat/no meat burger. *was designed for tourists, but the restaurant owner says that he gets more locals than tourists, hence the veggie meat, no meat description

Puno We had heard mixed reviews about Puno, the town that sits at the edge of Lake Titicaca, and couldn`t decide whether or not this was a town to visit. However, if you wish to visit the floating islands of Uros, this is the place to start that journey. We reluctantly left our lovely hostel one afternoon for the shortish ( 6 hours) bus ride to Puno. Humph, not only did it take us a very slow plodding one hour to finally leave Arequipa, thereby appreciating its sheer size, but 3 hours into our journey we stopped. For a Very Long Time. Turns out there was an accident on this very narrow winding road which created nothing short of chaos and a huge tailback. We finally arrived almost 3 hours late to yet another of Marlon`s Houses. When you find something good, why change? Marlon said he had a place in Puno, so that`s where we stayed. Equally good. No bath however, but still perfect. We had planned to spend the next day, our 13th Wedding Anniversary, on Lake Titicaca, but a 9 hour bus journey had tired out these bunnies, so instead we spent our special day wandering around Puno, and eating a quiet lunch at the towns oldest cafe postponing our trip to the Lake until the following day. Why Puno is described as feeling unsafe, or gritty, another term we had heard, is unknown to us. Puno is just your average small town, nothing special, nothing to write home about, and odd to us, not a town with a lake side path however. Personally I think Puno is missing a trick there. All I can say honestly about Puno is, expect a town, and you will get a town. No frills, no smart plazas, just a nice little town. Lake Titicaca / Uros floating islands Marlon (again, he of hostel name) was also a tour operator, and arranged for these three bunnies, a two day Lake Titicaca Island tour, perhaps it is a good job my bunny ears, big as they are, were a little deaf to the trips intricacies as I may never have gone, but I am so glad we did. Picked up from the hostel at 8am we were driven to the port and there boarded our smallish riverboatish type cruiser boaty thing, along with around 15 other travellers. The day started well, the Lake beautifully calm, a gentle breeze, all was well. We landed at the Uros Islands, hmmmm, local they may be, and yes they do float, but do they now exist purely for the tourist trade, or are they still a genuine source of local habitation? We had passed very many floating islands, but if you look into any tour shop window or on booking.com , you will note that these islands contain picture perfect little bungalows, with terraces, bathrooms, and views onto the Lake. So local habitation or tourist destination? I admit I fell briefly for the lure of one of these rooms, but nothing about it felt `right`. They are undoubtedly lovely, but very expensive comparatively. I chose to cancel in favour of experiencing something a little more authentic. Uros Islands. We landed at one these tiny islands, which contained 3 or 4 little reed houses, an arena of reed seats on which we sat, surrounded by a small array of locally produced handicrafts set out on gorgeous eye catching table cloths. We listened to a short talk by the village elder, translated by our guide, about how they make the islands, the houses, the textiles. We were then invited to board a large reed boat for a short punted ride amongst the reeds, where our `punter` (boat captain, pusher alonger....) pointed out some birds eggs. hmmm....Fair enough we are in the middle of a ruddy great lake, but birds eggs?? As a tourist I would have been happy just to enjoy the ride, sat on the floor of this large handmade reed boat, without the need to see birds eggs. Once back on the floating island we were invited to spend 15 mins of free time to peruse the local handicrafts. They are undoubtably lovely, and well crafted, but it is also very difficult to just look and walk away. To appease our guilt we purchased a small boat, a reminder of our yellow reed boat punted lake ride. From the Uros Islands we motored on to the next island, Amantani, another one and half hours away. As we pulled up at the harbour wall, I waited for the ladder to appear, or steps, or plank...nope. We quite literally had to climb from boat deck to dock side. Absolutely no problem if you are tall, agile, nimble or athletic, but Mrs Bunny here took one look at that wall and had a vision of being stuck on the darn boat! Being hauled up by two handsome Peruvian men whilst your bunny hubby shoulder hoisted me up, was not fun. Still, at least I`m on terra firma at last. The group were met by our local hosts for the night, and we were all allocated a family. Leeta, was to be our host (apologies if the name is misspelt) and we, and another family from Peru, were designated to be her guests. For a lovely lady of ample girth, Leeta fair shifted up that hill, followed puffing and panting by her 6 guests. Whilst the altitude of Lake Titicaca is comparative to the altitude of Cusco, the position of the Lake, makes the air even thinner, and oxygen even more precious here on the island. After a breathless uphill route march of around 20 mins, we arrived at Leeta`s house and shown our rooms. Perfect. Simple, local, and with a view to die for. The Peruvian family with whom we were paired were delightful. Santiago, the nineteen year old son was an absolute joy. He spoke perfect English, was well educated, well travelled, and knowledgeable about many unusual topics, from the monarchy,(ours) to Downton Abbey, Harry Potter and James Bond films, we had quite a laugh, all while he translated to his mum and younger sister. (They had their own room, just to clarify) We were served a satisfying local lunch of vegetable soup, and a plate of potato, roots, and other veggies, and a block of what appeared to be egg, but alas for Mrs Bunny, turned out to be fried haloumi cheese. Mr Cheese Face Bunny, and even little bunny both waffled their little bunny noses in appreciation. After lunch we walked once more down the path to the village square, where we met the other members of our boat, to start the climb to the viewpoint, the Pachamama monument (aka rock pile) and sunset. Already suffering from the altitude, this bunny had no desire to climb yet another big hill, the views of the lake from the square where I sat were perfectly adequate thank you very much. After sunset, the group descended, and once again we climbed to our hosts house. Our evening meal was much the same, except this time with the addition of rice to the other carb laden items on our plates. Once replete, we were offered the chance to dress in local attire and attend the `party` in the square. Super touristic though it felt, we happily donned these gorgeous local outfits, the ladies in skirts, blouses, waistbands, and head shawls, the men in simple ponchos and woolly beanie hat, and headed once more into the village. The party, a gathering of tourists in the bar with music supplied via a mobile spotify was a bit of a laugh. Not wishing to diss the mentality of certain travellers, ones from a certain country do leave a lot to be desired with their secular attitude and lack of (ho hum) personality.... If the cap fits, wear it, though you probably don`t realise that I`m referring to You! We retired to bed at 10pm, in preparation for an early morning start. Day Two. Started at 6.30 with a call to breakfast. Pancakes! With jam, tea, no milk of course and coffee. Then at 7.30 our final climb back down the hill to the port and that boat. Oh what a contrast to the calm lake of the day before. The Lake was so choppy, and the ride to the next island was an hour of sheer panic and hell. I think I mentioned in my post about Galapagos, that bunnies and boats don`t mix, and once more this rang true. I don`t think Mrs Bunny has ever felt so upset, or unwell or scared as on that particular boat. That small boat rocked and rolled like an aged drag queen for over an hour as we crossed the lake to Taquile island. Needless to say on landing, this green wild eyed motion induced vertigo suffering bunny fell off that boat, and promptly vowed to never get on a stupid boat ever again! Mrs Bunny and her utterly adorable and protective Mr Bunny had no choice but to insist the tour group set off as planned on their trip, where as these two bunnies would stay put on the harbour side and wait for their return. Oh the hardship.... We sat and watched as the group trudged slowly up yet another long steep hill, from the comfort of a park bench, in the sun, with a cushion for comfort, the best view of the Lake Titicaca, a cold drink,( water for one, beer for the other.) Darn, it was tragic, and such a shame we couldn`t join them. Oh dear, what a pity, never mind, the disappointment lasting a whole 32.5 seconds. For 2 hours, we had to sit there in blissful contentment, until once more the group returned. From what we were told, we missed an over enthusiastic discussion about marriage, much to the chagrin of little bunny, a village square of limited interest, and a meal of scrambled egg or trout. Here`s to Vertigo!! The hours of peaceful relaxation had also transferred to the Lake which in turn had turned calm once for the long, rather tedious, two and half hours return to Puno. I wouldn`t discourage anyone from doing this 2 Island, 2 day trip on Lake Titicaca, yes it is super touristic, but it really is excellent. Just be aware that the hikes are challenging, the paths are steep, and the altitude sucks ! Lake Titicaca ends our time in Peru. We have had the most wonderful adventures here, the country in amazing, the history incredible, the ambience of the Incan Empire resonating in our hearts. This country should be on every persons bucket list, and time should be spent here to do it justice. We could easily have spent many more weeks or even months here discovering its rich history, but time marches on, as we prepare for yet another country, and more discoveries.

We opted to fly to Arequipa as the bus suggested it would take several hours, whilst a flight would get us there in around 65 mins. As flying goes it was also a relatively cheap flight. It was also the most unusual flight, it was quite an odd feeling seeing mountains out of both windows and quite close by, immediately prior to landing. We had been very much looking forward to this town as it is quoted as being a beautiful place and one of Peru`s safest places. Odd when we have felt perfectly safe no matter where we have been in Peru. Arequipa, in this bunnies mind, Arequipa was a quaint small town, with old colonial buildings, narrow streets, small markets etc , oops my mistake, turns out that Arequipa is quite the city! As per all our accommodations, we were placed in very close proximity to the city square, which as per all city squares is named Plaza de Armas. ( turns out this actually translates to parade square, now the name makes sense, so the sheer size of Arequipa was lost on us until the day we departed. Our room in Arequipa was by far the best we have had so far. It was a room that had all the things we had been missing to date. You would think that the owner, Marlon, had listened to all the whinges of travellers, and put in situ all the things you need. A bathroom shelf, so simple, yet it takes not having one and the wandering about with toiletry bag in hand, wondering where to put it, and settling for the floor, makes you realise just how much you miss a bathroom shelf. A towel hook, bathmat. A bath!!! a real bath. We have got used to the description of `bath` to mean the 3" of raised tiles surrounding the shower, but here we had a real chunky dunky bunny bath. Little miss bunny took advantage of said bath, whilst Mr and Mrs Bunny applied sunscreen and watched the mountains/volcanoes from the hostel roof, under a cloudless blue sky. In our room we also had shelves, we could actually unpack our bags for the duration of our stay. A lamp, a coat stand, big chunky pillows and extra blankets for the finishing touches. Add in lovely staff and the tiniest but perfect little kitchen, ascended to via cute little spiral staircase, we were just so suited. Marlons House. Arequipa had always been on our radar as a place to stop, to do nothing, to rest and recoup, to address the contents of our bags, and generally do not very much. We made a pretty good job of this. The town square was a very short walk away, and reaching it meant we had to pass our favourite restaurant of Peru, Tanta. Needless to say we spent a pleasant six days, ambling aimlessly from hostel to local shop, to the supermarket in the main plaza, back via Tanta, and back to our hostel rooftop. Arequipa is also the town if you wish to, to purchase silver jewellery. I have never seen as much silver jewellery, a lovely lady on the artisan market told us that around Arequipa there were ( please don`t quote me) 27 silver mines. Of the 757 silver mines around the world, 126 are in Peru. Lady bunnies, if you fancy a little silver treat, this is the place to make those big bunny eyes flutter at your probably reluctant, but resigned Mr bunny. This bunny managed to squeeze a silver bracelet out of her Mr Bunny. Even little bunny treated herself to a tiny little humming bird ring.

We planned to start our adventures in Peru in the mountains of Huaraz, what we didn`t know was what the journey would entail. Faced with a journey of 24 hours by bus including one border crossing, this was going to be epic. Now epic, bus journeys and retired more relaxed bunnies do not go together well in my book, so it was decided we would bunny hop our way to Huaraz stopping first at Chiclayo, then Trujillo, finally arriving at Huaraz. First the border crossing, I diligently read everything online, safety, what not to do, how to do it, corrupt border crossings, you name it, I read it. the truth? Peasy !! more easy peasy orange squeezy than anything I was expecting. We departed Cuenca at 9pm, expecting to be at Chiclayo by 9am (ha, we actually arrived at 1.30pm). At 1am we arrived at the border crossing. 2 buses in front of us, so we sat on the bus, and waited. A very long time granted, but there`s nothing difficult about sitting on a bus. Around 2.30 am we got off the bus taking with us all our on board bags, at the same time the bus staff removed all the luggage from the hold. We queued in the border crossing building, got our passports stamped to leave Ecuador, and moved to the next booth to have our passports stamped to say we had arrived in Peru. And that my bunny friends was as scary/complicated as it got. We had to grab our bags and put them through a security scanner as you would an airport, but that didn`t take long, and by 3.45 every bunny and all the bags were reloaded onto the bus and we were on our way to Peru. Chiclayo, we eventually arrived here 15 hours after leaving Cuenca. Just a quick stopover so unfortunately I cannot comment on the town of Chiclayo. Food,(nearest cafe) Netflix and sleep were the only things on our mind. 15 hours on a bus was a bit hard work. The younger bunny generation make it look easy, but for us older retired bunnies, we tend to need to fidget a bit more, and stretch aching body parts. Early morning saw us on the next bus to Trujillo. 5 hours later and we arrived at what looks like a pretty city, but alas this was another city with a priority of food, the large and well advertised restaurant of El Rincon de Vallejo, provided our evening meal, and the Hotel Jorge Chavez, our bunnybeauty sleep. The hotel promised us breakfast in bed, that was a first, but alas the early morning breakfast tray consisted of cool black coffee, a fruit juice of unknown origin, 2 bread rolls (no butter) and jam. Planning on arriving at our destination of Huaraz today we set off for the bus station nice and early (unfortunately not quite early enough), and goofed. The bus to Huaraz left twice a day, we had just missed the morning bus so now had a wait of 10 hours until the evening one at 10pm.. Cue quick google search found ourselves heading for an impromptu day at the beach at the nearby town of Huanchaco. Very pleasant indeed. Not a sandy beach, but clearly an easy going beach town popular with backpackers and locals alike. Big shout out to the Chocolate Cafe, a pitstop of perfection. Back to the bus station for an overnight bus, and Huaraz our destination. Huaraz Mrs Bunny found the journey here very difficult. With a pitch black view from the window, and an inability to see the road ahead, the bus took on the persona of a wild mouse rollercoaster. (or for any Disney fans, a slower paced Space Mountain) Not only were we climbing through the Andes, we were also on a multitude of switch backs. This bunny had a green face and a belly that threatened to make food reappear by magic. Add in the altitude headache and I for one was not a happy bunny. We arrived as dawn was breaking, dropped our smallest bunny at the busiest hostel in the town and headed for own which was a slightly more remote hutch. We were welcomed by a lovely host, who showed us to a box room housing a single bed, and an old shelving unit on which perched a 1970s box tv. If you could kindly wait here a few minutes whilst we prepare your room, were our instructions. Given how ropey we both felt, we quite happily perched on that small bed and even managed a catnap, desperate as we were for rest and sleep. A short while later she returned and invited us to join her on the terrace for a hot drink.....I cannot deny it, that hostel roof terrace view was just spectacular. The altitude was a killer, but the view, wow. Add a tiny cute puppy called Laya, who was wearing fluffy pjs, and we thought we had hit the jackpot. Until we were shown to our room. Turns out, that tiny box room with the single bed, zero space and 70`s tv, was ours! Only now it contained a double bed. Gutted was an understatement. Booking.com what have you done to us! " 2 double beds, flat screen tv, shared kitchen with electric kettle, bathroom with bath and shower" where are you !!? Long story short, was a festival weekend and the hostel was overbooked. We were offered a reduction in price, and we made the decision to suck it up and deal with it. the bed was comfy, the small tiny roof ceiling height window, wasn`t too big to be draughty, the shelf unit with cupboard was useful and the private bathroom had a shower with hot water. winner. Then we found the kitchen. Truly you couldn`t make this up. The fitted kitchen as per the photos, was actually the kitchen in the hosts private apartment, and the shared kitchen/ours was a wooden hut on the roof. But you know what, we came to love this place. Sometimes first impressions need to be shelved, and Mr Bunny does like a culinary challenge. The Mountains of Huaraz . Huaraz sits in a valley surrounded by some of the most spectacular hills and mountains and is known for its superb hiking trails. Hiking here had never been on my bucket list, and being there at such high altitude meant it would be a non starter for me even if I had wanted to hike. Im finding as a retired bunny, my need to climb every mountain has been surpassed by more relaxing itinerary Our super fit smallest bunny took herself on some some glorious hikes see miss.tiff.travel s for more information, but one hike, the famous and utterly spectacular Laguna 69, was a must do for Mr bunny and little miss.tiff. They set off at 4am, leaving on a bouncy bus for 3 hours, followed by a 4 mile uphill challenging hike to the Laguna 69. I saw the photos on their return, and for once, Instagram is absolutely 100% accurate. that laguna is every bit as blue and beautiful as every picture you see. I had to admit I was a little jealous and sad that I was physically unable to see this for myself, but I am so proud of the efforts of my bunny family. Huaraz the town. In my opinion this is a town to be used as a base only for hiking, or in my case, for sitting on a roof top terrace under beautiful cloudless skies with a cute pup and a good book for company. It is not a pretty town at all, in fact I would go so far to describe it as slightly run down, scruffy, dusty, and with a lot of air pollution at ground level due to the extreme age and condition of most of the cars there, coupled with the terrible state of the roads. Would I recommend it? If you like your hiking, absolutely. If hiking isn`t your thing, I would probably give it a miss. Lima A tale of 2 halves, from Huaraz to Lima, a bus journey of around 8 hours, but this time, with recommendations from hostel guests, we discovered the bus company Cruz del Sur. Game changer! Every other bus journey we had made we had either travelled with whoever shouted the loudest, departed at a time when we wanted to go, or was the only company we found at the bus terminal. Now, Cruz del Sur have their own bus terminal, and their own schedules and for us it was like travelling business bunny class instead of regular hutch seats. We didn`t find them particularly expensive, just on a par with everyone else, but the buses are beautiful and so much more comfortable. If only we had found them sooner :-( . Knowing we had booked accommodation in Miraflores, we knew we had to disembark at the second bus station. And so we travelled from Huaraz. Passing desert landscapes, tiny village, smallish town, and more desert landscapes, and more, and more and still more. So much land, so few people. Until that moment when a small shop was next to a larger shop, next to a street, next to full blown neon lights, a beautiful and huge city. Lima really did seem to arrive out of nowhere. For 3 bunnies who really enjoy the green country side, after our time in Huaraz, Lima arrived like a cool drink on a hot day. We thought the first side of the city, ( as viewed from the bus) was pretty special, but travelling another 30 mins to the second terminal and the area of Miraflores we felt quite giddy. Our hostel I want to describe as the little house from Up, just at that bit prior to the balloons when the little house is surrounded by high rise buildings and blocks of flats. It was a 2 story building painted orange, with arched windows and a small garden, totally out of place within the area, but oh so perfect. (So perfect in fact we returned to stay here again, but more about that later). Less than 5 minutes from the promenade and the Pacific Ocean, and 15 mins walk from the centre of Miraflores, we couldn`t have had a better placed hostel. True we took more than 15 taxis during our stay to reach other parts of the city, but as hostels go, Great Partners is perfect. Sunday, a perfect day. Bright, sunny and warm, we geared up for a walk along the beach front. (Actually the road runs along the beach front, the promenade itself runs for around 6 km along the cliff). There are many different parks and green spaces along the promenade, we watched dogs at the dog park play (all wearing coats or jumpers of course as seems to be the norm in Peru), boys at play flexing their muscles and rather nice bods on the climbing frames/gyms, people playing tennis, brave bunnies floating around in the air on paragliders, wet bunnies flopping off surf boards, and the skinny bunnies in their micro leotards and earphones jogging. (not sure why, but hey ho, each to their own). Such a perfect day. Monday came and we found out that we had seen Lima weather at its best. Apparently Lima is notoriously grey, cloudy and chilly, at least during the winter. Chilly has to be a description best used loosely, the locals wore jumpers, puffy coats, scarves, some wore t shirts and loose jackets, us brits wandered quite comfortably in just our t shirts and jeans. Take our hostel, it was difficult to tell what difference opening a window made, the ambient temperature inside and out were pretty similar. There are archaeological ruins in the centre of Miraflores an easy walk from the hostel. Afraid I`m no more a ruins fan than I am of birds, we did a guided tour but all I managed to glean from said information is that this big pile of bricks, shaped a bit like a pyramid are made of mud and have sat here for around 1000 years. Yes, its interesting, but as far as archaeology goes, I far more enjoy seeing the collected artifacts than the piles of bricks left behind. (See Larco Museum). Day 3 found us at the Larcomar Shopping Mall. I am in need of a long sleeved thin jumper, but this was not to be the place to shop. Very tiny, situated on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, Larcomar consists of mostly super expensive shops, and a cinema, but it was there that we found the Tanta restaurant chain. Oh Yum. The food looked superb, but so did the cakes. 3 guesses which we had. So ends our brief time in Lima, but we are to return.... Huacachina . I proper had to stamp my little bunny feet to persuade Mr Bunny that this was a place worth seeing. He was very much of the opinion that our destination of Atacama later in the trip would be much the same, so why do we have to go here?. His little bunny nose waffled in frustration, but Mrs Bunny won the draw as usual. A short bus ride from Lima (about 4.5 hours) and we arrived in Ica, from there to Huacachina is the shortest bunny hop ever, literally just over the sand dune, (or round the sand dune if you are driving) you could walk if needed, but that is only recommended on weekends and holidays, and for bunnies without heavy backpacks. We caught our first glance at the oasis of Huacachina just as the sun was going down, and an instant apology from Mr Bunny ensued. He even dared to say those 3 little words we all crave, You Were Right. The tiny town oasis of Huacachina is picture postcard perfect. It was hard to tell that first evening just how much we were going to enjoy our brief stay there, but morning came, and all was revealed in a blaze of glory. What you see is what you get, it really is that tiny. The only natural oasis in South America (yes, it is natural, but yes, it is also topped up by hosepipe as and when required) Huacachina is also surrounded by the biggest sand dunes on the continent. And sand dunes mean only one thing, tired legs, dune buggies and sandboarding!! (ok, 3 things if you want to be picky) The morning of day one we paid our tourist tax (no ticket, no dunes) and duly climbed the tiniest little sand dune ever, just to get a giraffes eye view of the Oasis. From that view point we also found all the ticket sellers for dune buggy rides, and the dune buggies themselves! Oh wow. They come in all sizes from small and cute, think small children and pregnant woman, to full on adventure types with roll cages and bull bars. We each knew there and then that this was a must do activity. We also knew that we wanted to go armed with cameras, go pro, buffs, glasses, jackets, water, and a private buggy driver who would respect our individual needs. Back into town, we found a tour guide with impeccable English to ensure no misunderstandings, and one hour later we had a private buggy tour booked, leaving at 4.30pm that day so that we would also catch the sunset. Excited was an understatement. We stressed that whilst we or rather Mr Bunny could endure a lot, we didn`t think his back surgeon would condone a wild buggy ride! Turns out the buggies need driving at a certain speed (super fast) simply to get up the dunes. We have never had as much fun ever, we traversed those dunes so fast, we had the ride of our lives. To compare, the "Adventure Buggies" were flying over dunes, driving down massive dunes, with hard speedy landings, whereas we just went flat out keeping all 4 wheels on the sand. Sandboarding next! Who knew. We hadn`t realised that we had body boards strapped to the back of the buggy. One biggish dune and down we went, then up a second smaller one, finally boarding down a third. Not a sport I could do all day long, at least not without a sandwinch, not to eat, but to hoist my bunny butt and its sandy board back up the dunes, what a leg killer! Finally as the sun started to go down, we were driven at full hop to the highest dune our driver could find to watch a perfect sunset. What an amazing couple of hours. Once the sun set, Myself and Mr Bunny waited whilst our little bunny was taken on a wild ride around the dunes, we heard the screams of laughter from quite some distance away. Day two. Mr Bunny quite fancied the wine tasting tour. Who knew Peru made wine? Turns out they don`t, well not much anyway. He described the vineyards more like small fields, where wine is only produced in March. Still, he had fun, and enjoyed the small wine samples offered. Whilst big bunny did wining and dining mini adventure, bunnies two and three had a picnic at the waters edge. Huacachina is all about dune buggies, sand dunes and sandboarding. To be honest, there isn`t a lot else to do. You cannot even take your picnic onto the dunes without paying the tourist tax again. (disclaimer, yes you can from the road or further afield, but I am referring to the immediate area around the oasis) You could if you so wished exert a little effort by hiring a pedalo to enjoy the lake, or even hire a small boat that came with its own rower if you didn`t fancy any more leg work, but other than that, and eating/drinking/late night Karaoke, im not sure what else there is to do in the immediate area. A tour to Paracas could have been an option, but when it is described as Peru`s mini Galapagos, we figured we would just stick to our memories of the real place. Day 3. Another day that wasn`t to go as planned. It had been my intention to get a taxi to Ica, a bus to Nazca, and take a flight over the Nazca line the same afternoon. But the bus company I researched, and I think what the tour guide tried to tell me, but I failed to understand, was that the buses don`t leave Ica in sufficient time to arrive at the airport before the flights stop for the day. My bus times were either 2.30am getting in at 5am or left at midday arriving too late. Time for another organised tour!. Nazca. Picked up at 7am by car, with a 4th person, we were driven to Nazca by a lovely tour guide who talked continuously for the whole 2 hours 30 mins journey. Our ears ached, but his information was enlightening and interesting. Including facts such as his two children were representing Peru in a maths competition in Malaysia. (well done kids!) He himself was an ex cycling champion, and that asparagus grows 15 cm in a day and can be cut twice. He also drove like Nigel Mansell. To say our journey was hair raising at times would be an understatement. I could tell you that we stopped at an aqua duct, but truthfully to me it was more rocks and water. The museum dedicated to Marie Reiche was a little more interesting, despite the fact that all the original artifacts dedicated to her life had been stolen and what we saw were copies. Marie Reiche is the German woman who spent a lifetime studying and mapping the Nazca lines. A truly incredible feat given the sheer size and area that they cover. So, to the airport. This may have been a bucket list experience for me, but it still didn`t calm my overwhelming nerves or fear. Oh my bunny knickers, what on earth was I thinking! Those planes are like oversized remote control toys, flown by geeks in anoraks on Sundays afternoons, and you want me to go in that !!! Insult number one, we each had to be weighed. Humph. If those scales are accurate I`ll plait fog. Anyway, turns out Mr and Mrs Bunny cannot fly together. Mrs and Miss could, but Mr Bunny would be going in a separate plane. Once we boarded our respective planes it was clear that this didn`t really matter. Its a bit like riding a super cool rollercoaster, your friend may be next to you but you each enjoy the experience on your own. Mine and little Miss plane was super tiny, I sat in the front, little miss at the back. You each wear headphones so that you cant hear the screams...I mean so that you can each hear the commentary of the co pilot, and we were off!. We had been given a map of what we would see and where to see it, on the ground or on a mountain side, or on a plateau, and the plane would first fly so that everyone on the left could see, then did a wide circle to back track in a way that everyone on the right could see the shapes. The plane and the terrain were both terrifying and fantastic at the exact same time. The Nazca lines are incredible. I never knew just what an immense area they covered. There are shapes, and patterns, animals, birds, a cat, a `baby dinosaur` and lines. Perfect straight lines that go on for miles, yet nothing of which can be seen from the ground. The flight lasted 35 mins which seemed to be the limit of most people on board. I think any longer and the bags located in the seat pockets may well have come into play. For someone who hates flying, I am so proud of myself for managing to overcome this fear long enough to fulfil my dream of flying over the Nazca lines. Mr Bunnies experience of the lines was very different to mine. Their co pilot failed to give enough information as to where to look for the shapes so he missed seeing quite a few, and their plane was a small jet shaped plane, more modern looking than ours, so they had to bank further so that the passengers could spot the lines at the wing tips. For any bunnies out there wanting to experience the lines from above, make sure you stamp your little bunny toes and get the information prior to take off. Return to Lima We returned to Lima with the intention of staying in the same hostel, Great Partners, it ticked every box including comfy bed, hot showers, decent price, why go hunting for anything else?, and also to visit the must see tourist spots that we missed first time around. These included the `famous` water fountains/water park, Lima Zoo, Larco Museum and Barranco. The fountains and the park were nice, nothing spectacular, but it passed a pleasant evening. Lima Zoo, for a zoo tucked away in the City Centre, it wasn`t bad. They do have a large array of the more unusual animals and birds, but personally the animal enclosures are far too small, and lack stimulation for the inhabitants. It was sad to see the walking path in its entirety for 2 full grown tigers. Sadder still was the very small aviary housing the worlds largest bird, the Andean Condor. For a bird that can soar at heights of up to 16,000ft his cage was pitifully small. I just hope he was a rescue bird with a story to tell. We did meet the real life Paddington, aka the Spectacled Bear. They were fun, and their play space a little better than most. Larco Museum. A very pretty museum, with an equally pretty (and expensive) restaurant on site, most definitely not your average museum cafe. The museum itself is unique in such that it has many of its archived artifacts in visible floor to ceiling glass cabinets. Much as I like seeing old artifacts, once you have seen one old vase with an eagles head, the other 155 start to look pretty similar. The more precious artifacts, gold jewellery and other fine objects are displayed with the decorum they richly deserve. If you chose to visit with younger bunnies, especially those under the age of 16, you may wish to skip the erotic pottery exhibition, but for older bunnies it was quite fun seeing the artifacts depicting you know what....and not just the what, but the where and the how !! Barranco, in order to appreciate this district we opted for a free walking tour. Have to admit though, we were very glad it was a free tour, for if we had paid to be shown just one square block in the district of Barranco we would have been stamping our bunny feet with the greatest of displeasure. In a nutshell we covered the Bridge of Sighs or Punta de los Suspiros, (hold your breath as you cross and make a wish), a little artisan market, buy the Picarones! yummy yummy, a bridge tunnel covered in wall art, and an advisory of the best (or as it turned out for us the worst) restaurant in which to eat. Walking tour of Barranco? Pah, go yourself, you will see so much more. By the way, the best restaurant serving the local speciality, Cow Heart, meat on an skewer, was voted a resounding failure. ( I wont reveal the restaurant name as that would be unfair, they were very busy, but with a local clientele). Perhaps Cow Heart is an acquired taste. There was nothing about the taste or texture of this traditional dish that floated big bunny`s boat, and he is usually a proper meat foodie. Mrs Bunny had chicken, and corn on the cob, but nothing at all like the yellow sweet corn we are used to at home. to say we were disappointed in our choices in what was advised to be the best restaurant, would be an understatement. With our time in Lima at an end, it would be true to say we were a little sad to be leaving. Lima, we have loved you. Cusco From Lima we opted to fly to Cusco rather than endure a 21 hour bus ride. such a good decision. What a fantastic flight, the scenery was just fabulous, watching mountains out of both the left side and right side of the plane simultaneously, hitting the deck as we landed at the airport whilst still viewing said mountains was quite special. Take a deep breath everyone, Cusco, we are here. Located in the middle of the Andes Mountains at an altitude of 3399 metres above sea level, Cusco really does quite literally, take your breath away. Everything you read about visiting Cusco implies that it is simply an overrun tourist city, a place for which a couple of days will suffice, and the starting point for Machu Picchu. Where on earth do people get these ideas? Cusco is just beautiful. We loved every minute of our time in Cusco. We stayed for an extended period of time for a couple of reasons. Acclimatising, we aimed to give ourselves 3 days to adjust and adapt to the altitude. We then needed a further 4 days, allowing little bunny time to walk, sorry, hike the very challenging Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu. A hike of some 4 or 5 days covering a distance of up to 46 miles. We then spent a further 2 days at Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu, before returning to Cusco for a further 2 days, giving glutton for punishment little bunny a chance to visit the Rainbow Mountain (for full details of these hikes, visit miss.tiff.travel s) Personally Mr and Mrs Bunny had seen enough photos of Rainbow mountain to know that the vivid colours as portrayed via Instagram or other adverts were a little exaggerated. We really didn`t find it necessary to endure more long drives and high altitude to take photos of coloured mountains with a multitude of other tourists. Cusco . What a beautiful old city, so very different to anywhere we have been. cobbled narrow streets, winding paths, large open squares, tourist shops galore, Cusco has a lot to offer. Yes, we did find ourselves overwhelmed by the hassle of the street sellers, most, but not all understanding that No, really does mean NO, and not yes I want to buy something I neither like nor want... but they are friendly and their pressure selling is a genuine need to make money. Many of the items are very nice, but so is your money, and if you don`t want something, be firm but kind with your rejections. The main square of Cusco, Plaza Mayor is a fabulous place to people watch, or even watch a parade,(we saw three in our brief time there). There are many balcony restaurants dotted around the square, and all have great views. We had a personal favourite, it faced the old cathedral and was situated in one corner. The food was pleasant, the coffee ok, the beer was cheap, the tea tasted like smoked sausages, but the view and the hospitality made up for everything it lacked. When you cannot cope with the altitude, have no desire to hike or go on endless days trips or face the barrage of street sellers, or the endless tat of t.s. shops these restaurants make for great bolt holes. Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley Where to begin? The biggest bucket list destination of our entire 5 months South America trip. To sit at home and see pictures of Machu Picchu in all its enigmatic glory, perched high in the Andes Mountains, built by the Incas, and knowing that there was a chance I could go? What a dream. We planned our entire first half of South America around this special place. What I didn`t expect after endlessly researching how to get there, was how easy and relatively cheap it is to visit. It is no harder to visit MP, than it is to visit the Eiffel Tower. From the moment you enter Peru you are battered with tours to Machu Picchu (MP) day trips, two day trips, 3 day tours. Every single tourist shop flaunting pictures from every angle, fridge magnets, t shirts, mugs, cups, plates, toys, pin badges etc of this wonderful place. Truth be known I became quite sad and disillusioned. The MP of my dreams, was a quiet, special, remote, and unique place, not a glorified over booked tourist destination. The reality prior to my visit, and especially in and around Cusco, bordered on a disappointment that such a magical place be treated with such irreverence, to an overwhelming excitement that I really was going to go and see it for myself. Even acquiring tickets for your circuit of choice (do your homework bunnies) is not the nightmare people insist it is, unless you want circuit 2 classic which is booked up months in advance. We purchased 2 tickets, for Circuit 2 lower, twenty days prior to our visit, peak season. You buy the tickets online, being careful to use the correct official Ministry website www.machupicchu.gob.pe you must then purchase the transport of your choice. MP, or rather its closest town of Aguas Calientes, (AC) is accessed by train only. There are many trains each day, and you can choose between IncaRail or PeruRail. You could choose to pay £1000s and experience the very beautiful Bingham Luxury trains, or simply take the cheaper, but still fabulous Peru Rail bus to Ollantaytambo, then the train to AC. All buses go via Ollantaytambo, and all trains take the same fabulous 27 miles route through the Sacred Valley from there as well. We opted for the very beautiful Peru Rail vistadome train/coach, with a return journey in what we thought was going to be a normal train carriage, but turned out to still be a vistadome carriage, with just a few less trimmings. The return Bi Modal transfer was approx £57 ppew. The Journey. Still apprehensive about the over commercialisation of Machu Picchu, and how the journey would pan out, my fears of en mass cheap coaches leaving busy bus stations, filled with chatting tourists, backpacks and cameras quickly abated as we approached the Peru Rail Railway/Bi Modal Station. Greeted by a smartly dressed railway host we were escorted quietly to the most beautiful waiting room with its peaceful ambience, tranquil sounds of the Beatles music played on pan pipes, the smell of roast coffee, comfortable chairs and carpeted floors. Guests were appropriately dressed as befits the majesty of Machu Picchu, and suddenly I felt calm and relaxed. We were escorted across the railway lines to the small but smart little transfer buses, the whole process of transferring people immaculately organised. On board the coach for around 2 hours of the most glorious scenery, we finally arrived into Ollantaytambo. Whilst we were not given chance to view anything of this small town as we were briskly escorted to the soon departing train, I have a feeling Ollantaytambo is a place that we could quite happily have spent (and dearly wish we had) several days. The train the station, the feeling of excitement is almost palpable. Every aspect is exquisitely managed, from the railway station cafe to the boarding of the trains. You are left in no doubt of where you need to be at any given time. Of course you will always find one set of `those` people, the instagrammers who believe a place belongs solely to them, the overly loud person who thinks everyone and their dog should listen to their conversation, and the travellers who are convinced you need to take oversized suitcases to every destination.... (get a life people!) We all boarded the trains to the sounds of Inca chanting and bells, as dancers whooped and chanted along the trackside and we were off. The Sacred Valley. No amount of research or videos could have prepared us for the majesty, serenity, peace and vistas of this glorious train ride through the Sacred Valley. We had eyes on stalks as we surveyed every inch of the views through our multitude of glass windows in our beautiful railway carriage. The extra few dollars spent choosing this particular carriage was more than worth it. Truly Magnificent. Any other words would diminish the beauty of this valley. It truly does seem sacred and unspoilt. As the train joins the river side you are treated to the scale and sheer size of the rocks and boulders with which the Incas had to work. Even the river itself offers a taste of beauty. Every now and again we caught glimpses of the hardy trekkers and their devoted porters ( our own little bunny included) as they traversed on foot the paths the Incas made before them. We salute you. For twenty seven miles and one and a half hours of spectacular scenery we wended our way through the mountains to the town of Aguas Calientes and the valley home of Machu Picchu. Aguas Calientes. From the sublime to the ridiculous. This town is the epitome of tourist central. As soon as you disembark the train the mass commercialisation hits you full in the face once more. Aguas Calientes serves only for tourist to sleep, eat, drink, shop, and to catch the bus (or walk) to Machu Picchu, which thankfully cannot be seen from this blight on the landscape of The Sacred Valley. A slight miscalculation in my timings put us in the town for 2 nights. With better planning and a little knowledge, one night is more than sufficient. There are pockets of beauty within the town itself, but nothing compared to the journey you have already done. Purchase yourselves a return bus ticket up the mountain, the shop is well sign posted and easy to find, 12 dollars ppew. And now, with tickets in hand, eat, sleep and awake fresh and excited at 4.30 am, your visit to Machu Picchu has begun. Machu Picchu. The bus queue, which you simply cannot miss as it winds down the street by the river, starts at around 4.30am, with the first bus leaving at 5.30am prompt. Your tickets and passports are scanned as you queue, and the boarding is fast and efficient. The little buses are boarded quickly and leave immediately. The speedy journey up the mountain takes around 25 minutes. As you depart the bus, clearly signposted Banos( bathrooms) are in front of you, with very clear indications that there are no toilets within MP, nor will you be allowed to back track or leave/re enter once in this sacred place. We had planned to arrive at dawn, to see the sunrise over M.P. Alas mother nature, or in Peru ,Pachamama will always dictate the weather. We arrived onto the classic viewpoint, a cloudy morning meant that we were unable to view MP in all its glory, but instead it did give us a very atmospheric almost eerie view of the sheer height and splendour of this amazing place. Due to new regulations and visitor numbers, the authorities have produced `circuits` limiting numbers of people to certain routes, and guiding people along on well marked but very specific pathways avoiding hot spots and overcrowding by maintaining a strict one way system, but this does actually work. There were many many people at MP, but at no time did we ever feel crowded or rushed. The guides are knowledgeable and respectful, giving you sufficient time in each place to talk and discuss the building and daily life of the Inca people of MP, before moving on as the next group arrived. We never overlapped, nor did we ever have to jostle for space. Is it everything we ever dreamed of? Oh yes. Very much so. It was also very respected and with zero tolerance for noise or silliness. Once more I felt at peace, knowing that Machu Picchu was truly respected for the sacred place that it is. I feel proud, privileged and humble to have been able to fulfil my dream and tick off yet another bucket list item that is Machu Picchu. Salineras de Maras and Moray A short trip away from the centre of Cusco brings you to these 2 places. We were picked up from the main square of Cusco at 8,45, driven for around one hour to a nearby town where we had a short but interesting demonstration of textile making, (why has nobody marketed that plant shampoo?, I have never seen dirty wool wash so clean with good old Persil..one quick grate of a certain plant, add water and wash, voila, pure white wool, was amazing!) anyway, every good demonstration( attentively watched by 3 nosy alpacas), has to end in a shop and this tour was no exception. A wonderful shop granted, but like any tourist tour shop, just a little overpriced. A note of consternation, the pens in which we had our little demonstration had a small run to the side of us containing little guinea pigs, they looked ever so cute and tame, I couldn`t help wondering if they knew they were destined to be spit roasted..... We continued onto Moray, which is an old Incan ruin of unknown purpose. It is thought that they served as agricultural terraces as it does have an irrigation system. Looking down on the site from above it was hard to appreciate its true size and scale, but when you note that your average sized person would have to climb, not step from terrace to terrace, the scale becomes pretty impressive. From Moray to Maras, only a short drive away further into the mountains, and suddenly you are confronted with the mountain side view of Salineras de Maras, the Salt plateau. A truly impressive sight. Over 4700 salt pools cascade down the mountain side, each fed by natural hot water spring that has flowed through the mountain for over 110 million years. The salt is collected on a monthly basis and each salt pool can produce over 150kgs. The amount of salt produced by these salt pools is quite staggering, 4 million kgs per year has been the estimated production. That`s a lot of salt if you ask me!

Galapagos. A bucket list experience, and one that we were the most excited about. I have watched Master and Commander, I had that same feeling of excitement that the doctor did. Big bunny is an animal lover, and little bunny was about to land in Instagram heaven, follow her @ miss.tiff.travel s. We flew from Quito to San Cristobal Island, via Guayaquil, and landed in paradise, granted my wild imagination far exceeded the reality, I really had expected scrupulously clean buildings, and streets, zero litter and picture perfect town, but the reality is a living town, with everyday people going about their every day business. It is so clear that once upon time the local population wasn`t expecting the deluge of tourists that it is encountering today. Was I disappointed? Not in the slightest. San Cristobal is just raw and beautiful. Yes, you are going to encounter building works and litter, and why? Tourism. It comes at a price. Take the photos and leave only footprints, everything about that statement applies here. From the moment we landed all we saw was the raw beauty, spoilt only in places by the every expanding need to accommodate tourism The road was less than perfect, we loved it. There was building taking place, we accepted it. We saw the wild animals, we respected them, their privacy, their space. they were here first. Who didn`t? Tourists, not all I assure you, but we saw more than one silly bint with a camera and a ` I`m going kiss a seal because you can`t and shouldn`t but I`m going to anyway because it looks good on my insta` attitude * disclaimer I am not and I emphatically repeat NOT referring to my little highly respected miss.tiff. If you cant be bothered to respect the delicate balance that is the Galapagos, stay away. Rant over. San Cristobal. Yes, you can fly direct. The cutest little airport ever. You can see the entrance, exit, both sides and the baggage claim without moving your feet. Our room was less than 5 mins away from the airport, we could have walked but the taxi driver was just so obliging. Yes, I know about the carbon footprint etc, but our bags are heavy, it has been a very long day and the taxi drivers need to earn/eat as much as we do. We dropped the bags at our room, locked up and left again. We only have 4 days on this amazing Island and we were not for wasting any time. Are we here on a budget or are we planning to splurge? Budget. I assure you. First place, walk and explore the town of San Cristobal. Nothing prepares for you more for this beautiful island than this pretty little town. And seals. Everywhere. When the huge signs at the airport warn you to keep more than 2 metres away from any animal, I wish they had mentioned "watch your feet" the seals/sealions literally lie anywhere they chose. In the road, the gutters, park benches, on the beaches, on boats, in the middle of the narrow path you are walking down  cue seal stand off.  they are everywhere, how many photos did I take? 100s of course! We walked slightly out of town to the Interpretation centre, it was free to enter and was the start of many different walking trails. We aimed for the one that ended at a beach. Beach, Pelicans, Seals (seals or sealions or both, we never could quite figure out which was which) delicately scented Paradise is the best way I can describe it. To sit on a beach, with beautiful clear blue water, surrounded by these amazing and charismatic animals was a dream come true. You chose your spot, keeping to the two metre distance rule, and there you have your own little spot in paradise, fabulous right up to the part when Stuart the Seal decides your patch of sand is way better than his. You move. Not him, Shift. Now. Its his sand, his beach, and he knows it, you common little human, shift your little bunny butt right now. Do the seals smell? yes. yes they do. very much so. My little .1 bunny said I shouldn`t mention this, but I cant help it. My poor little bunny nose was assaulted all afternoon, little bunny and big bunny have no sense of smell, so they were in blissful ignorance of my poor traumatized nose. Would I sit all day on that beach again? Of course I would, id just bring a small scent bottle and apply it frequently. Our day ended at a beach bar with hanging seat hammocks, before making our way to the town beach with the best sunset. The sunset was 6.15pm according to Google, so at 5.45 we plonked ourselves on said beach and waited. and waited. Everyone else seemed to think the sun set at 7.15, which it did, but we didn`t question it. The reason why will come later. Day 2. El Junco/Tortoise Sanctuary/Beach. We took a taxi, (we were initially quoted $80 but we agreed on 60 as all research online had suggested that $60 was the accepted fare for this trip. El Junco, first stop. the largest freshwater lake in the Galapagos, with a great view. Unless of course it is completely shrouded in mist and you cant actually see anything. What does it look like? I don`t know, because... Next stop, the Tortoise Centre. We arrived to an empty car park and a desk with one man and a piece of paper. Had we pre booked? No, we hadn`t as we couldn`t find any relative information online. Never mind the guide said, pay your taxi driver 10$ each (?) and I`ll take you on a personal tour now. That suits. San Cristobal Tortoise Sanctuary. Absolute joy of a place. The guide spoke beautiful accented English, was funny, droll, informative and clearly loved his job. We learned so much about tortoises that trip, and they were everywhere. They were in a free, but protected environment, they could wander as far as they liked, but given their food was growing all around them, they stayed close by. From the Tortoise Centre, we then went to Punta Chino, or Puerto Chino beach for 2 hours of paradise. Day 3 found us back at the Interpretation Centre, this time heading for the snorkelling cove of Muelle Tijeretas. A small but slightly crowded decking area served as the jumping in point for swimming. Calm clear waters and more seals! You can try as hard as you like to avoid them and to stay the required 2 metres away, but if they want to come and say hello to you in the water, they will. Santa Cruz Island. We had ferry tickets booked for the 7am crossing with instructions to be at the dock at 6.15am. We were there. Nobody else was. Silent. Dark. Still. How odd. Eventually the harbour master came to us and asked our business, we pointed to our watch and said 6.15 for 7 am Ferry?, to which he laughed and pointed to his watch. 5.15. Yep, we just spent 4 days on San Cristobal, having not adjusted our watches to Galapagos time. Hence the sitting on a beach waiting for a sunset that was an hour later than we thought. Well at least we got to see the Sun rise! The ferryboat, more a large speedboat with seating for 30 ish people than an actual ferry was exceptionally comfortable if you`re into boats and water. This bunny is not, so the 2 hour crossing was a miserable affair. Bunnies and boats just don`t mix. Puerto Ayora. The largest town on Santa Cruz, actually the only town, unless you count the tiny 2 or 3 house villages scattered along the road from town to airport, and a compete contrast to Puerto Moreno on San Cristobal. A much bigger town, and quite the maze. Definitely not as pretty as Puerto Moreno, and with a lot less seals. Our first stop was the Darwin Centre, rated as the finest tourist attraction/conservation centre on Santa Cruz. To say we were disappointed would be an understatement. We had most definitely been spoilt by the Tortoise centre on San Cristobal, the Darwin centre, with its insistence that everybody has a guide (to stop tourists picking up/stealing tortoises...What!!!!) whilst excellent, was a poor comparison. Our group was large, the guide spoke very limited English and was very difficult to understand, and the whole experience was an unenthusiastic tour of a tortoise conservation centre delivered in a of matter of fact mumbling monologue. What they are doing there is exceptionally brilliant. The Giant tortoise, or Tortuga Grande has had a traumatic history, and the Galapagos sanctuaries are doing an amazing job restoring their rightful place on the islands. Don`t miss the Darwin centre, our experience was probably the exception rather than the norm. Day 2 Tortuga Beach. Without doubt a long long walk, but not difficult. A well paved path meanders from town to beach. You cannot get lost. Go prepared with water and food if required, as there is nothing at the beach but sand, sea, seals, sharks and Darwin finches. Delighted to say no cafes, no beach huts, no silly banana boats, just pure white unspoilt beaches and beautiful waters. Tortuga beach is just so picture perfect, apart from the fact that you cannot and should not swim there due to the exceptionally dangerous currents. Never fear, just a short walk up the beach and take a right and behind, I cannot describe it any other way, but behind the wild sea shore of Tortuga Beach, is Tortuga Bay. A perfect little millpond bay of crystal clear waters, small hammerhead sharks, and an infinite number of Darwin finches. the cutest, and nosiest little birds you will ever come across. If you do not fancy the long walk back, there is a water taxi that calls by for any wanting passengers.  Day 3. little bunny fancied a boat trip, whereas us two older bunnies did not. For $35 little bunny did the Bay Islands trip, a 4 hour trip taking in lava tunnels, shark snorkelling, blue footed boobies and Iguanas. follow the trip @ miss.tiff.travel s . Whilst waiting for the boat to appear we watched a huddle of Pelicans quivering at the dockside, on closer inspection, the Pelicans were watching a fisherman carve up a freshly caught yellowfin tuna, and their excitement was palpable. With little bunny on her way to the Lava tunnels etc, Mr and Mrs Bunny took the opportunity to take the challenge of walking through town, with a mission to find coffee, cake, beer, and no TV. This was the day England were playing Holland, and 2 footy mad people wanted to watch it on catch up. Day 4. Not the driest start to a day, so instead a very leisurely breakfast, a walk into town for some window shopping, then as the day got brighter, we caught a taxi to Playa El Garrapatero. In our short but perfect time in the Galapagos we had only spotted one blue footed booby, and El Garrapatero was our last chance to see this elusive bird. A perfect beach, yes, a blue footed doofer with a beak? nope, we lucked out on that. There was a chance we could have spotted one from the kayaks that were available from the beach, but 2 chubby bunnies and a little bunny with a very expensive camera didn`t think it was worth all the effort. Leaving day . With a plane to catch in the afternoon, we got a taxi to the airport, via El Chato, about $10 each, more Tortoise! you simply cannot have enough Giant Tortoise photos. The Tortuga here are amongst the biggest on the Islands. And they are allowed to `run` using the term loosely, wild. No boundaries, no fences, these fabulous reptiles, can be seen in the fields as you drive to El Chato, on the roads, near the trees. For a bunny more used to seeing sheep and cows in fields, spotting giant tortoises in the wild made me proper giggle. What an amazing end to a bucket list dream destination. But Wait !!! What`s that? After arriving at the airport, taxi, boat, bus.. we spotted our last elusive animal, another reptile, the land Iguana. $300 unaffordable trip to see them, or free at the airport. Galapagos, you are beyond amazing. A dream come true, and one we shall all treasure for a lifetime. May your shores remain ever pristine, and let not tourism spoil your magic.