10th Destination!: Tautuku Bay, New Zealand

Tautuku Bay, New Zealand is the final destination on my journey, and what a great place to finish. My Coast trip.

It’s beautiful here, with all the clear turquoise water and the soft sand. It is surrounded by forest and Florence Hill is a very popular place to sit. From this position the view is spectacular. The bay is in a shape of a U and the beach stretches for kilometres. No one lives on Tautuku Bay but instead in the nearby towns. The temperature is just comfortable at about 23°C.

Thank you so much for following me on my trip around the world. I had an EXCELLENT time and I would recommend it for anyone looking for 10 very different places to go.

9th Destination: Annapurna, Nepal

I arrived in Annapurna, Nepal a few days ago for my Mountain. I am getting very close now to the end of my expedition.

The best time to visit Nepal is in spring when the Mountain slopes are covered in beautiful and colourful flowers. Nepal has 22 million people living in it and 70 different spoken languages.

There are four main treks for travelling up Mt. Annapurna, ranging from one week to three weeks. My trek was amazing but I didn’t have time for the three week expedition. When I finally reached the top, I was exhausted, but stunned at the wonderful things I could see.

With the blue skies and the magnificent mountain views, Nepal was marvellous. One day, I might even attempt to climb Mt Everest!

8th Destination: Pripet Marshes, Ukraine

The Pripet Marshes in the Ukraine is an area which is extremely waterlogged. They are the largest swamps in the European region. They lie in the thickly forested basin of the Pripet River which is around the bottom section of the River. The marshes cover 270 square km of the Ukraine. Its about 25ºC at the moment.

I went here for my Wetland trip.

The Pripet Marshes is a very lush area. I can’t say it’s beautiful but it’s still extremely different from anywhere else I have been.

7th Destination: Moriusaq, Greenland

GREENLAND IS BEAUTIFUL! I am now in Moriusaq Greenland, however it’s certainly not green.

It’s very dry here and the temperature is getting cooler and night falls. The temperature can drop as low as -40ºC but it’s not that cold now. The climate is so cold that the earth below is frozen solid. I don’t know how anything can survive.

Moriusaq has direct TV and radio for the people living there and a small power station for electricity. Moriusaq has a small store, a school, a church and a library. Each year the village is visited by a doctor and a dentist.

Hunting in the area is good, particularly fish, seals and polar bears. There are a small number of people living here, only 21 actually. They will sometimes move to a near by town called Qaanaaq where the supplies are better.
It’s very dry here and the temperature is getting cooler as night falls.

A cold but a great trip to Greenland for my Tundra, where the land is not green!

6th Destination: Saskatchewan, Canada

I’m missing my two best friends Grace and Nicola already, as I had so much fun with them.

I am now in Saskatchewan Canada for my Grassland. I have noticed that the skies are all blue and very sunny. I learnt that Saskatchewan has 2,000 hours of bright sunlight every year. It is absolutely beautiful! All the sunlight, blues skies and green plants and grass covering Saskatchewan. People do live here and it is just a town. From what I’ve heard it is a great place to live if you like the open and the sunshine.

I am hoping that my next destination is a wonderful as here.

5th Destination: Glacier Bay, Alaska

My plane landed in Alaska at 11:45am and there I waited until 1:30 for my best friends Grace and Nicola to arrive. We greeted each other with smiles and open arms and then caught a taxi to Hilton, located in Anchorage, where we stayed for our stay in Alaska.

The girls and I had a few days to recover from the many places we had been and the extraordinary things we had seen. After we felt 100% again, we headed off for Glacier Bay.

Glacier Bay was incredible. When the ice split off a glacier and landed into the sea, water shot up from the impact, hundreds of feet into the air. It sounded like thunder. As I held my breath, wondering by any chance it would happen again, and it did. Many times actually. Grace, Nicola and I were captivated by the amazing things we were witnessing. On our way back from the glaciers, we also saw some wildlife. Humpback whales, sea lions and harbour seals with their pups just topped off an amazing trip with my best friends.

4th Destination: Amazon River , South America

The Amazon River was my next destination. I flew into Peru and stayed in a town called Ayacucho. There is plenty of rain here and the temperature is warm. There are some towns around the Amazon, although flooding is a massive problem to them. The Amazon River is approximately 3200km long so I only went to a part of it.

It rains most of the year here and during the ‘rainy season’, the river level rises and floods some nearby forests and villages. Flooding is a huge problem so most people build their homes on stilts. Many people also build their houses on rafts so if it floods, the whole house rises and then goes back down when the river level falls.

There are millions of different species of animals here including mammals, birds, insects and spiders. However, dozens of animals are becoming extinct every day. I hope I don’t come across one of those anacondas! Apparently they can eat humans.

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3rd Destination: Kalahari Desert, Botswana

Once driving from the airport to Tshane, (Botswana) where I will be staying, I was getting tired. After settling down that afternoon, my friend Grace rang me. Following a long talk about our rips, we decided that we would meet up with our friend Nicola, at Glacier Bay in a few destinations.

The following day, I travelled to the Kalahari Desert. The Kalahari is mostly flat except for the sand dunes. The sand is red, brown and white in some places. It is an unbearable heat, around 40°C. There aren’t many people living in the Kalahari Desert as the conditions are so hard but I’ve seen a few.

After going to the Rainforest and it being so moist, and then coming here to the Kalahari where the rainfall is so low and the place is in drought is most of the year, it is absolutely amazing how different parts around the world can be so different!

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2nd Destination: Masoala Peninsula, Madagascar

It was disappointing to leave the Great Barrier Reef as it was breathtaking. But then, I thought of all the great places I am going on my trip, and I couldn’t wait to get to my next destination!

I am now in Masoala Peninsula, Madagascar for my Rainforest expedition. The temperature is quite warm at about 25ºC. The rainforest was incredible! The animals were magnificent and the sound of the birds and the rushing water was extremely soothing. I saw some of the tallest trees I have ever seen. They nearly touched the sky. The canopy overhead was like a blanket that made everything dark and cool from within.

The rainforest was just as good as The Great Barrier Reef, but one was under water!

1st Destination: Great Barrier Reef, Australia

I can see why the Great Barrier Reef is listed as World Heritage. It is absolutely spectacular. It's my first destination on my 10 stop trip around the world and I'm extremely excited to be here. I arrived in Queensland two days ago and I then drove to Cairns were I will be staying for the next week. The weather is hot and humid but I'm getting used to it.

I caught a sea plane at 8 this morning. Then the plane dropped the tour guides and I right in the middle of The Great Barrier Reef. It was amazing! The water was clear and warm and the creatures were beautiful, especially the coral. Snorkelling enabled me get right up and personal with the tropical fish.

The Great Barrier Reef is an extremly popular place for tourists. My tour guides were some of the best and they love taking people out to show them the reefs. Marine biologists also come to the Barrier Reef often to do their research and take samples.

I loved going to The Great Barrier Reef and I believe that it was an excellent place to start my trip!