Jul '0804
Here we are now, less than a 100 km from the Argentinian border (which means next door for Chilean!). Tomorrow is our last day in Chile and we are heading for Salta, Argentina tomorrow.
Chile was a huge country with an average bus ride of 20 hours, and unlike Laos, the average speed is more like 90 km/h than 20 km/h. And even at that speed, we have never been as confortable in a bus as in Chile. They drive safely (the speed is monitored inside the bus by passengers), there is room for shoulder and legs, the seat are confortable (even the most economic ones).
Anyway, here is a quick list of our visited places in Chile:
- Santiago: we did a great tour by bicycle, check our links & friends for info.
- Valpareiso: city walks.
- La Serena: nice city, the Hurtado and El Encanto valleys nearby are really worth it.
- Copiapó: initially to visit the nearby natural park Nevade de Tres Cruces, but we find out that it was closed in Winter. So in the same day that we arrived, we hopped on a bus to San Pedro de Atacama.
- San Pedro de Atacama: 4 days intense visits of the region. This place is a good example of mass tourism, but if you manage to find your own mean of transport (foot, bicycle or car) you can easily avoid that and still enjoy the region.
Jean-Christophe & Vera
Jun '0820
Here we are now on the South American continent! We just landed a few hours ago in Santiago De Chile. The weather is grey, with rain and a temperature of 9 degree celsius. So nothing to envy us 
But we won´t talk too long then of the wonderful weather we had in Rapa Nui (Easter Island). We did some great hikes there and seeing for real the huge and magnificient Moaïs was gorgeous!
We have now one month t explore the Northern part of Chile and Argentina before flying to Madrid. Yes, we are soon going back to Europe and the begining of our trip.
But for the moment we will enjoy every minute of our stay in South America, so cheers…
Jean-Christophe & Vera
Jun '0813
We just landed on Easter Island a few hours ago and we are enjoying local downpour rain (though it is not really cold here).
Quite a change from Tahiti and the atoll of Fakarava where we stayed and enjoyed sunshine, little rain showers (free hot water!!) and a whole range of blue colored waters, sharks and delicious parrot fishes.
More soon to come.
Jean-Christophe & Vera
May '0828
Quick stat: 5 weeks and 1800 km
We are now back in Christchurch after the difficult route from Greymouth via Arthur’s and Porter’s Passes, but so beautiful and rewarding.
Before Greymouth, we cycled through the West coast which was quite “wild”: we had to plan carefully in advance to have enough cash and food as shops and banks are scarced there! Now we are relaxing a bit in Christchurch, having sushi and salads with coffee 
Tomorrow, we are going to take the train+ferry+night-bus back to Auckland. Almost 24 hours to get there! And then, we will enjoy pretty soon some rest in Tahiti!
Cheers,
Jean-Christophe & Vera
May '0816
Quick stat: day ?? and ??? km (to be updated later)
We are now back in Wanaka after riding our ways through the Crown Range, Arrowtown, Queenstown, Walter Peak, the Mavora lakes, Te Anau and Milford Sound. We came back by bus to avoid doing the same route. Now we are ready to set sail on the West coast.
In a few words, the trail from Queenstown to Te Anau is fantastic, alone with the nature ! Then the fjords in the South were quite impressive and we enjoyed a day trip by kayak there!
Have fun!
May '0807
Quick stat: day 16 and 790 km
We are now next to the most thrilling city of New Zealand: Queenstown. But do not expect us to do bumjee jumping or other crazy kiwi stuff, we had our own amount of thrill going up the highest pass of New Zealand ! A mere 1060 m, which in comparison to the one in Norway we did almost 2 years ago at around 1400m seems relatively easy. This is without counting on the building road capacities of Kiwis ! They like it hard and steep, we mean really steep ! Even in the lightest gear it seemed hell to cross, but we did it and we are happy to have done it and not have to do it again
So now we are resting in Arrowtown (18 km from Queenstown) for a couple fo days, time to fix our tent! Well, yeah our brand new tent (2,5 weeks old) broke a pole 
hopefully it will all be sorted out soon. As our next stop will require “wild” camping, so we absolutely do need a tent !
So to resume our last days: we went from the Canterbury high country to the Otago region, had a rest day in Wanaka next to a beautiful eponym lake and took the road via the Crown Range to Arrowtown.
Take care,
Vera & Jean-Christophe
May '0803
Quick stat: Day 12 and 675 km
The high plateau of the central South Island is awesome! Since Fairlie, we visited lake Tekapo and had an enjoyable time in a Spa nearby. Then we had a great day to lake Pukaki, and went up to the base of Aoraki/Mount Cook where we could enjoy some real cold and snow!
We enjoyed every moments, even by rain or snow it was beautiful. When the weather gets really rainy, it reminds us a lot of Iceland and no worries, our tent’s resistence has been thoroughly tested by now! It stands the tests of thunder storm, high wind, heavy showers and a river streaming underneath, without letting us get wet!
Cheers!
Apr '0828
Quick stat: Day 7 and 420 km
We are now in Fairly after some nice rides through the coast and the Canterbury plains. We are now heading to Lake Tekapu and Mount John. We hope to be able to spend a couple of days there, though it might be snowing next Wednesday…
