tour2

Today was cold and damp, the coldest I think it's felt since leaving Heathrow! I had some of the free pancake breakfast in the hostel then walked down 'towards' the downtown area. I say towards as I don't think I actually found the 'town centre', there were lots of art shops and service industry buildings but nothing you could actually pinpoint as a town centre. The rain was still coming down and a could swear it started sleet at one point. A time/temperature sign on a bank said it was 6 degrees C and I could believe it. I wandered aimlessly around the streets and eventually made my way back to the hostel past lots of very bohemian houses with strange art works in the gardens and attached to the fronts of houses, I now realised the hostel didn't look too out of place after all!

I was aware that I needed to get some miles under my belt so today I set of on the long drive northwards, I fact I was on the road for about 9 hours up Interstate 5. I could have cut west and then up the coast but I've had enough of coast roads and it would also have added about another 5 hours to the run. The freeway ran for the first couple of hours through endless flat land of olive and fruit trees then started to climb up into the Klamath State forest as the road climbed up towards the Oregon State border. The weather also changes from being clear skies and rain started to come down. The sun went down just as I passed over the highest point on the freeway (4,310ft) which was just into Oregon and it became a little hairy on the road for the last hour or so but I had a load of BBC podcasts playing on the radio so that kept me going. ( BBC 4 Friday Night Comedy and Toby Foster's Bigger at Breakfast). Eventually I pulled up at the hostel which sort of stuck out like a sore thu...

On leaving the hostel I could hear music just around the next building. On walking around it I found a festival of somekind going on. I'm not sure what the celebration/protest was as everything was in spanish but there was a circle of classic and 'pimped' American cars around the square. As things were starting to wind up I made my way down to Old Sacramento. It's is at the end of the town and went down there today to wander around the wooden board walks along the shop fronts. The whole area was a tourist trap with shops and cafés. There was a 'chip shop' which sold chips from around the world, apparently English chips come with curry, but not salt and vinegar, I did ask! On the side of the old town is the Sacramento River not much was moving on it apart from a turtle I saw near the edge trying in vein to climb over a round steel flood barrier, unfortunately it had given up and swam away before I could get my camera out. At the end of the board walk area was the...

I had decided it was time to start heading north again and so I got back onto the interstate and drove around the top end of 'the bay and out north west to Sacramento. The drive was along a fairly flat straight divided highway, but luckily I had cruise control on the car (Ford Focus) 'cos 'CHiPs' (Does any one else remember that?) were hiding behind every bridge with speed guns! Sacramento suddenly loomed up on me and I drove into the centre to find the hostel. This proved to be a little tricky as the tall buildings made the sat nav a little slow in updating and I must have gone around the one way streets a dozen times before I got in the correct lane to turn down the right street to find it. The hostel is a beautiful Victorian town house right in the centre of Sacramento surrounded by huge concrete buildings and seems sort of out of place. I wandered down into the town centre and just happened to come a cross a brew pub, Pyramid. I tied a couple of the brews; Pyramid I...

Took a walk out this morning to go and see the Exploritorium, this is one of those hands on science museums, lots of buttons to press and things to play with, I should have realised it was a weekday and the place was full of primary school kids when I got there. The outside of the building which appears to be huge hanger is surrounded by a small lake and Greco-Roman columns -very similar to the surrounds of the Trafford Centre. The place is also referred to the Centre for Fine Arts, but there were none of these in evidence and I've no idea where they've gone. I spent a number of enjoyable hours in the Exploritorium – you have to be patient with loads of kids about, fiddling and playing with the exhibits. Walking back to the Hostel to get the car I called in at Safeway on the way to get some food as I had been warned there was not much available at the next hostel. Back in the car I jumped back into the San Francisco traffic and joined Route 101 North which runs through the town...

Easy start to day a relaxing Breakfast in the cafe watching a man from the parks service cut a grassed area outside the hostel with the most inappropriate mower ever. He has to change the grass box after doing just over 1 length of the grass each time and he is desperately trying to get straight lines when the ground isn't flat. To cap it all he has bright blue fluffy earmuffs and a white paper dust mask on (to go with the wellies and overalls) I was quite impressed he had left his hi-viz jacket and hard hat on the van; He'd never get a job at Middlewood! Back out into the big city and I walked down through the park towards Fisherman's Wharf which is at Pier 39 (the piers are odd numbered at this end of The Embarcadero and number downwards to the Ferry Buildings where they start to number evenly away from it) The strip along here is full of the usual restaurants and tack shops but hidden amongst them was the Maritime Museum – a pier with a load of boats tied up to it, you ...

I had to swap the car today so off down to the Airport to swap it over. I dropped off the Pontiac (on which the Central Locking doesn't work) and picked up a Ford Focus (on which it does!) I also found out I didn't need to fill the tank and should have brought it back empty (I hadn't grr) but I think I got a refund for the fuel I'd put in. So I must remember to take this one back with an empty tank. Back to the hostel to drop of the car – Free parking included (I bet you cant get bed and breakfast any where else in the city with free wifi, parking, and parkland location for about $27/night) Out on the street I walked down to the end of one of the Cable Car lines and got a 3 day ticket for the local transport network. I then jumped on the next Cable car an road it up to Lombard Street. This is the Crooked Street that is often shown in films with cars zig zaging down the steep road between the neatly trimmed hedges. I stopped off for a Coffee then took another cable car...

Set off this morning with the 2 German Girls (didn't get their names, only just occurred to me!) up the coast on Highway 1, this stretch was actually better than the 'Big Sur' run as the road was wider and easier to pull off to see the coastline. We did this at a number of places, on top of sheer cliffs looking down to rocky outcrops and sea bridges and down onto bays with the surf breaking over jagged rocky outcrops. Eventually I dropped them at the hostel they had booked which was about ¾ of the way to San Francisco. Driving further up the road I came to Daly City (Joe they even named it after your dad!) just out side of the main city. Back onto crazy Freeways the satnav took me in to the city following Route 101 now (Which eventually goes over the Golden Gate Bridge) Off the Freeway the route dropped onto a main road through into the heart of the city to the tip of the peninsular. And then into a park area. The Youth Hostel I'd booked is located in probably some o...

I had a full day to explore today but ended up not going far. A read of the Lonely Planet had mentioned 'The Mystery Spot' a quirky attraction not far from the hostel and just out of the town. I drove up there and nearly turned back at the sign which read $5 for parking and a $5 entrance fee. I didn't and I paid. Essentially the who thing is a series of optical illusions but is wrapped up in a series of elaborate stories and clever design. The place is in a narrow red cedar valley just outside the town and allegedly was found by some surveyors working through the land. Compasses fail to work properly and there are places where people appear to grow or shrink just by changing places, also balls and objects can roll up seemingly downhill or flat planks of wood. There is a wooden shed halfway up the hill through which you pass to see most of these 'mysteries' which apparently slid down the hill by 'the forces' to rest here and is now at a ridiculous angle that ...

This morning I returned to the Hamfest as it was on the way out of the town and stayed for a couple of hours before driving on and up to Santa Cruz. I arrived here late afternoon and checked into the Hostel which is in some restored tiny wooden houses on top of 'the hill'. Each 'house' has a couple of bunk rooms and it's own lounge and wash rooms with the communal kitchen and office in another. The only downside with this hostel is that it has a strict 11pm curfew, so much that the electronic door lock will not open the door from the outside after 11pm so you have to been in your dorm building by then. The sun was still up – just, so took a stroll out and down to the beach front which is very Blackpool'esque with a promenade, pier, amusements and a small pleasure beach. I wandered into the amusements arcade and was amazed to see a mechanical shove penny machine, alas you had yo use tokens and you only won tickets exchangeable for prizes ( this make it a skill ga...

One of the reasons I'd decided to stay in Monterey for 2 nights was because I had found on the 'net that there was to be an Amateur Radio Rally or HamFest as they call them here. It was billed as a 2 day even so I assumed it would be a rather large affair. Actually it was very small but there was lots to do and see. Every hour there was a talk or demo by one or another area of interest (some more interesting than others). Outside a 'Mission Control' (They like grand names over here) was set up for a couple of radio amateurs who are also parachutists. They got in a plane and jumped out at 18,000ft and made radio contacts with people on the ground – not easy apparently as you're supposed to need oxygen when you get near this height, and they didn't just free-fall but actually opened their chutes which add's complications because they were on a flight path for a local airport! They had permission to do this and they had GPS plotters connected to them so 'mi...

Today I drove up the Highway 1 – The Big Sur. This is one of the 'classic routes' of road you arr supposed to do in the states and the scenery was certainly rugged. The road tightly clings onto the side of steep mountains twisting in and out of ravines and then runs high up along cliffs above the sea. The road surface is no where near as good at the Great Ocean Road I drove in Australia on becomes quite narrow in places, even down to a single lane where repair are being done to the roadway. It's also not as long as the Great Ocean Road and before I knew it I'd dropped into the outskirts of Monterey. I drove on down to the Fisherman's Wharf here which is little more than a string of restaurants and tacky tourist shops on what was once a thriving fishing port. Next to the Wharf is the Customs House which is said to be the place where the American Flag was first raised when California became a part of the USA, it used to be a part of Mexico) After checking into the hos...

Today I had breakfast of waffles and syrup in the hostel before leaving to drive to the Hostel in Cambria just up the road and at the south end of the 'Big Sur' Drive. The town it's self is split in two for some reason by a small rise in the road but I wandered around the very touristy (and expensive) gift shops and then went down to the beachhead to have a late lunch. Just as I got there a heavy sea fog rolled in and at times it seemed like I was the only one in the car park as you couldn't see more than about 20ft in the fog. Just as I was about to leave the beach the fog cleared but I wanted to get to the hostel as it opened to get a good bed. As it turned out I was the only one staying in the particular dorm which was a small room with four bunks at the front of what was originally the parson's house for the neighbouring church. The whole house was beautifully restored and laid out in turn of the century décor and I wished I had booked 2 night here. The staff we...

I had a chill out day today, and went down to Avila Beach which is just down the road from the Hostel and relaxed on the Beach Front for a bit then drove onto Prismo Beach which is a huge 11 mile sandy bay. It was great to do nothing for a day and I think I needed it after driving for so many days. Back in the town in the evening I called back into the town centre to get some photo's of 'Bubblegum Alley'. This quirky tourist attraction apparently started years ago when someone stuck a piece of gum on a wall in a small narrow alley just off the main street, it was never removed and the tradition has continues and both walls down either side of the ally are covered in pieces of gum, it even smells of gum! And is now registered as a tourist attraction with the local council. It was also getting quite raucous in the town centre even though it was only early evening. It is St. Patrick's Day and the American's go slightly crazy at the pub on this day. Many of the reveller...

I'd done a bit of Internet digging the night before and found there was a Scout Camp not far from Santa Barbara; Rancho Alegro, so I set off up Highway 154 to find it. After about 40minutes of winding up a mountain road and over a pass the road started to drop down into a wide valley. I passed a wooden sign at the side of the road with a fleur-de-lys on it but my sat nav still said I had 5 miles to go so I continued on. 5 miles down the road I realised the sign must have been the entrance as I was now in huge rolling fields and not a camp site in sight. I turned round and went back (Sorry Dad! I know you should never turn round!) and headed back to where the sign was however I came across another on on the same side but before the first so I turned off the main road and up the dirt track, I passed numerous signs about 'no trespassing', 'private land' and 'no hunting' that I was a little nervous about being here and I eventually pulled up at what looked like...

I was glad to be getting away from Oxnard in the morning, grabbing a quick coffee from a Diner next door and then trying to get some call price information from a T-Mobile shop across the road (the usual poor Customer Service as Frys Electronics). I had taken the use of the Internet the night before to book a night ahead for tonight in a Motel6 which is a national chain and a lot cheaper than the Ripoff Regal (almost ½ the price) but would be at least a better standard. I drove on, out of Oxnard back onto the Freeway and headed to Santa Barbara. I pulled into the Tourist Info office and got a map of things to do, The main thing here is to see the County Court Building, which, not only being the place where Michael Jackson's trial was held is a beautiful cool building. The building is still a working court but you can wander the corridors and look in on the Mural Room which is painted on all four walls with the ornate murals of the history of California. There is also a staircase wh...

Last night I after checking in I realised I had left my Power Supply for my laptop at the hotel in Williams, I was really annoyed but there was no way I was doing a 14hr round trip to get it! Les whom I had me it LA the other day had told me about a huge Electronics store in LA so I decided to head down there and see if I could get a new one. It turned out the store in LA was still another 3 hours away – I was glad I had stopover. I found the store in Burbank, next to the Bob Hope Airport; I don't know if that's a good name or not – 'Bob Hope' reminds me of 'No Hope'! The Store was huge, really huge and has a spaceship which has crashed into the entrance and appears outside and inside the store. Once inside the Customer Services is laid out as an old time Gas Station, Huge models of 50's Sci-Fi caricatures are spread all over the store. The store sells everything electrical and electronic from a resistor to a washing machine. I had good look round but the ...

Toast and coffee in the hotel breakfast room and then out into the freezing car park surrounded by snow (sorry I've not seen this much all 'winter' it's been mostly t-shirt weather for me.) It took me about 45minutes to drive to the Grand Canyon Park Entrance and paid the $25 dollars to get in and park the car. The wind was howling across the car park and it was bitterly cold, there was huge piles of snow piled up at the sides where it had been piled up to clear the car park. I had to put on not only a jumper but a windproof jacket as well, I'm not used to this! I walked through to Mather Point which is one of the lookout points on the edge of the Canyon, and took a few photo's. I don't know whether I'm getting 'tourism weary' but I just felt like it was just a bloody big hole in the ground, and I just couldn't get over excited about it (and I was getting cold) I looked into the visitors centre and then went back to the car and decided to hea...

Had breakfast with Mum and Dad this morning before saying Goodbye and heading off towards the Grand Canyon. It was fantastic to see Mum and Dad and spend sometime with them just a pity it was only for a short time. I left Vegas and set the SatNav for Williams which is a town not far from the Grand Canyon. Onto the Freeway and I got stuck on the outside lane and ended up doing an unintended tour of Las Vegas Airport to get back onto the Freeway. Driving here is not for the faint hearted the SatNav is a big help but trying to work out the correct lane whilst people pass you on both sides and read the road signs can be quite a challenge. After about 45 minutes I got to the Hoover Dam and parked up in an extortionately priced car park ( which was even more gnawing when I found out there was free parking on the far side of the dam on the way out). I walked out onto the Dam which controls the flow of the Colorado River. It was built in the '30's and you can see this in the art deco s...

Up nice and early at 8:30 and met my Mum and Dad down in the 'food court' (aka, Starbucks, McDonalds, Subway, etc.) Opted for a McD's breakfast and it seemed the only 'normal' thing available, Iy was huge and came with pancakes & syrup, a sausage and egg muffin, hash browns and scrambled egg, Was way too much (not that it seems to bother the locals!) Feeling well stuffed and in need of a walk to get rid of the umpteen million calories we'd just ingested we set off down The Strip. It was a clear blue sky but was still a little chilly in the shade, but pleasant in the sun. We walked down though the Mandarin and on to the Bellagio with its ornate decoration, which is one of the places the high rollers go. We walked out to the front of the complex so see the fountains alas they weren't working in the morning whilst we were there. We continued down to the past Caesar's Palace to Treasure Island Casino where we had a cup of tea in Starbucks of all places. ...

After a good nights sleep, I was up about 8:30 and down for breakfast, with Mum and Dad, We went and packed bags and then drove round to pick up my car from Allamo, rather than be assigned a specific car you are given your documentation then go out into a huge car park and just choose the one you want from the group you have booked, all the cars are open and they all have the keys in them so you can try them all for size, I picked a Pontiac G6 as it has a closed boot, but I could have had a rather racy looking Pontiac (but everything was on show) or a huge people carrier but I figured for just me and nobody else it was a bit over the top (and probably was heavy on juice). Once you've decided on your car of choice you drive to the exit and it's checked off and you leave, simple. First stop in LA was to the Boy Scout's of America HQ in California, They have a huge Office/Training/Store complex jest to the west of Down town LA. I picked up a Scout Shirt and some badges and the...

Today I left New Zealand,I had a lazy morning getting up about 10am packing my bags and then I drove down to the Airport and dropped the car off and checked in. My flight was due to leave at 3:40pm but I was at the Airport for about 1pm. Check in was OK and I went through Security to the Departure area, grabbing a quick meal at Burger King. I was aware that there was extra security checks for US flights and the PA was also constantly advising to go straight to the gate so I joined the queue for the gate. First we had all boarding cards and passports rechecked then we had to queue to have a full pat down check including removing shoes and checking though wallets, then queue again to have all hand carrys checked by hand finally I was able to get to the gate. I was glad I had had the Burger King meal as there was nothing to do but sit and wait for about an hour at the gate with no access back to the main part of the Departure Lounge. Finally we boarded the plane and took off for the 12 ho...

As it was Monday, Phil and Wendy were back in work so I took a drive down to Devonport which is a small village like area across the water from Central Auckland. I had a wander around the small shops here and had a browse around a huge secondhand book shop. On the Water front is the ferry terminal and I took the small ferry across the harbor to Auckland it self. I wandered around the shops here and found a Borders Book shop – I was looking for a Lonely Planet for the USA and I found one but it worked out it would be 10 pounds dearer than buying it in the US so I decided to wait. I grabbed a coffee and went back down to the ferry terminal and back over to Devonport and called in a 'British Shop' I had seen earlier selling all the traditional sweets, toffees and lollies you get back in the UK to get some reminders of home! Adjacent to Devenport is North Head which is is a defunct volcano, it was used by the New Zealand Navy as a Defence Observation post for many years and it is r...

Was woken at around 10am by a phone call from the party in my house back home celebrating my birthday (well it was still the 6th there!) I'm not sure who was under the influence more; them just getting going; or me feeling the effect of last nights Whisky, but trying to blow candles out on a mobile phone to a cake 12,000 miles away is a little tricky! Thanks for the wake up call though! After a brunch of bacon and egg sarnies (which Phil made) we went out to another local creek about 15minutes away and followed a tiny path through the forest and came across a rock pool where we went for a swim – my god it was cold!

Spent some time in the morning uploading Pics to Flickr and then we took a drive in the afternoon over to Piha on the Western Beaches and then took a walk up into the rain forest following a small river to a waterfall. In the evening we went out to Gengy's Mongolian Restaurant. This is a buffet style all-you-can-eat restaurant where you choose what you want and then the chefs cook it for you on a huge circular hot-plate. The food was great and I went back for a 3rd plate full! Back at Phil's house we celebrated my birthday with a couple of drinks and all I can say is the Whisky bottle came out – and ended up in the bin, and it wasn't me that was pouring the drinks!

I left the hostel this morning and headed out onto the road towards Auckland to meet Phil Duckett, whom I used to work with as a Broadband Engineer. The road to Auckland was fairly busy and got busier the closer I got to Auckland. Finally I was on the motorway and hit the Friday afternoon traffic, this is the most traffic I have seen since navigating round Melbourne! After a couple of disjointed calls to Phil he eventually met me at the exit of the Motorway and led me to his house in Waitakere. That evening we went for an evening meal at Juan Kelly's house, who also used to work on the same Broadband Engineering Team as me and completely independently decided to move out to New Zealand at the same time as Phil and they both ended up living about ½ a mile from each other and working on the same Telecom NZ team, uncanny.

I had a wander around Taupo in the morning. The town was filling up with athletes for the Ironman Challenge, so I had to constantly dodge bikes and runners on the roads (luckily they only did the swimming in the lake).I called in at McDonald's for a coffee, this must be the only McDonald's with a Plane half parked on the roof which you can go and sit in and eat your meal. I filled up with fuel and headed out of town towards Rotorua. After about an hour I came to the Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland. The name sounds a bit naff but the walk around the area wasn't. The area is home to a load of thermal springs and hot mud pools. Sulfurous steam pours out of cracks in the rocks and grounds everywhere and strange coloured water bubbles in pools. The walk took me about 2 hours around the various pools, rock formations and streams, and was very impressive. Back in the car I drove the final 45 minutes into Rotorua and booked into a 'boutique' hostel for the night although I thin...

The drive up to Taupo was longer than I thought and took about 6 hours most of it on 2 lane roads. The last part was up on the 'The Desert Road' which is a high tundra like area. The NZ Army has a big base up here and for a large part of the drive there were warning signs along the road stating that it was a live testing and training area and not to leave the highway. Eventually the road dropped into rolling bush and strange rock formations finally dropping onto Lake Taupo itself. Driving into Taupo I pulled up and flicked through the Lonely Planet for a hostel. I chose the Berkenhoff Lodge which was on the outskirts of town. They had beds so I booked in then went back to town to get some food for tea from the supermarket. The hostel had it's own bar so I savored a few beers before heading off to bed.

Got up late this morning as I didn't have to rush off anywhere. I took a walk around the site then went down to see Ian, one of the staff on site. He actually hails from Yorkshire many years ago but has spent most of his life in New Zealand, and most of that in Scouts New Zealand. Ian gave me some details of Scouting contacts around the North Island and then I went into Wellington to have a look around. Getting into the central area of Wellington took about 40 minutes from the Campsite driving in I passed the 'Beehive' the rather strangely built New Zealand Parliament which ironically looks like a beehive but I've no idea why. I made my way to Te Papa which is the National Museum of New Zealand. I ended up spending about 4 hours in here, and I didn't see it all. This museum was much better than the Australian one. It seemed to have more respect for the indigenous peoples and was just a lot more interesting. By the time I got out it was going dark so I never saw much...

My ferry out this was not till 2:15pm so I took my time this morning, making use of the free hostel breakfast and then I went up to a view point above the town and watched the comings and goings in the harbour until about noon when I had to return the car. Dropping the car was no problem and then I checked in the bags for the ferry then wandered back into the town to get a snack before boarding the ferry at 2pm The ferry left on time and sailed down the fjord at time the steep sides of the mountains either side really towered over the ferry. Eventually the ferry was out in open water and headed over to the North Island. The unusual thing about this journey is that it takes 3hrs on the ferry but is only 'in open sea' for about 40minutes and even though you travel from the South Island to the North Island you actually go West to get from Picton to Wellington. Whilst on the ferry I got a call from a Scout Camp I had emailed and they said I could stay at the site for the night – so...

Gave a lift to a German lad called Han to Picton today as he was traveling the same way from the hostel. We took the scenic route around Queen Charlotte Drive which winds it's way along the coast instead of the faster road I had come in on the other day. The views across the waters were amazing and we pulled in at a little bay are about halfway along the road and went down to the small bay. The sun was blazing down but there was also a cool breeze of the water. Around the bay was a small campsite and I wish I had found this the other night when I camped – it was Idyllic. Back on the road we soon dropped down into Picton and I dropped Han at the hostel he had booked and I went on to the hostel I had booked. I checked in and then went for a walk down by the water front and just watched the world go by as the big ferries constantly came and went. Today was the day theyy were broadcasting Tsunami Alerts on national and local radio here but strangely nobody saw it fit to let the hundred...

I slept really well last night until about 6am. And then it got really cold enough to wake me up, however having the trusty spare-jumper-in-the-sleeping-bag I was soon warm again! I planned to pack the kit up and drive up the site to the toilet block and have a shower and be off, unfortunately, I must have left the interior light on in the car overnight and had flattened the battery. Lucky it wasn't too flat and a chap with an RV near to me had jump leads and I got a start off him but by now it was 10:30 and not wanting to get charged for another night for not clearing the site by 10am I set off straight away without a shower. The road to Nelson wound it's way up a long pass surrounded by pine forests and then dropped down onto the bay at Nelson. I parked up in the central car park, went for some cash and then phoned around a couple of hostels for a bed for the night. The first 2 were full but the 3rd; The Green Monkey had a bed so I drove the short distance round to it. It was...

Back on the road North the road now tightly hugged the mountains on the left and was squeezed in between the sea on the right. Every so often there were huge dry fords where I assume the winter rains would flood the roads. Along side each of them are single lane bridges for when they're in spate. Eventually the road turned away from the coast inland through strange undulating mounds that were bright yellow because of the dryness of the grasses,on further and the vineyards started again massive plantations of them as the land flattened out into the Blenheim Plain. I drove on through Blenheim, deciding to go further round the top of the island and headed towards Nelson. Having been driving for nearly 2 hours I decided to stop at Havelock a small town at the point where the Pelorus and Kaiuma rivers meet. I parked up next to the marina and had a wander round. The sun was out, it was a warm still day and it was beautifully quiet. Noting that there was a campsite just behind the marina ...

I filled up with fuel in Waipara and chatting to the Guy in the Petrol Station he told me that the preserved railway line at Waipara was only operating at the weekends but to go to the engine sheds and have a look if the volunteers were in, as they usually show people around if they are there. Unfortunatly they weren't but I took a couple of photo's then headed north. I have until Monday to get to Picton for the ferry so there was no rush. I only drove for about an hour when I came across Kaikora, this is a small town on the east Coast and is now famous for Whale Watching. Not wanting to rush, I found a hostel in town, complete with spa, pool, and en suite rooms for only $29. I drove back into the town and got some cash and then Fish and Chips and drove onto the sea front to look for Whales. No Whales spotted but a lot of dolphins out in the bay. I chilled out back at the hostel later, glad to be taking it easy.