Christian's Travel Blog

Since my first encounter with the sea - eventually on my first holiday trip by car with friends to the mediterranian Cote d'Azur - I adore to observe the busy life in ports. The vessels in the docks and their departure towards the horizon always take me on a journey in my mind, whereas the arrangement of huge noisy machines and hard working people on and around cargo ships appear to me like a classical peace of music performed by an orchester - all just to get our food and goods in time on the shelves. And now, 20 years after my unforgetable trip on a cargo vessel touring the "iles sous-le-vent" - Huaine, Raiatea, Taha'a, Bora Bora and Maupiti - I am standing again at the commercial pier in Tahiti, looking up to the upper deck of the " Hawaiki Nui ", while several CAT forklifts are busy-like-ants moving all sorts of cargo into its big belly: containers, cars, freezing chambers, construction material, polyester outrigger canoes - the #1 regional sport

Tahiti, 08/02/13 - Suite aux mauvaises conditions mėtėorologiques, il a ėtė dėcidė d'anuler toutes les rotations de l'Aremiti Ferry, uniquement pour la journėe de demain, samedi. Les rotations reprendront dimanche aux heures habituelles. In a few words: the rainman has arrived! Well, it's not my presence alone. During the last two months - December to January - the Society Islands received 50% more rain than usual, with South Pacific's paradise island Bora Bora experiencing rain on 43 days (compared to the average of 15 days during the same period). Comme si, comme ça - a globetrotter should not complain about the weather. Eventually I was lucky, because arriving late night at Faa'a airport, I decided to walk into town in search for a place to stay overnight. Tahiti still isn't on-route of the backpacker stream, what consequently means there are only few places offering some kind of dormitory accommodation. After one hour walk along empty roads a

I just sold my car. 23 years of age, maybe not the prettiest one around the block, but indeed a reliable partner. Eventually my road trip around north to south island added another 6900 km to the mileage above 200000, but therefore I rewarded my road runner: it got a new pair of shoes. In exchange I cashed in an extra 100 bucks bonus - compared to the price I paid two months ago. I think I should hold on to my Toyota shares . The Corollas do run, and run, and run as the VW Beetle did. "Down Under" or "Middle Earth"? No doubts, no worries ... and the winner is ... the latter! Not only because it preserved its natural charm - be it in conversation with people, or driving for hours on well maintained, but basically empty streets along magnificent, and ever changing landscapes. Staying a few days with new friends  in " Hobbiton " feels like being "back". And tell me where a foreigner may buy a car upon arrival, register it in a minute at any p

The day before my departure from the south island - needless to say after weeks of great calamities of rain, floods and snow - I opened the newspaper to understand the myth of the rainman ... Here comes the sun, here she comes ... not one cloud I leave behind : ) ps: Thank you folks for 10.000 visits of my travelblogs ... "no worries", I'll keep you posted! Link to my pics: The Cook Straight - connecting North and South