You&meTraveling2

It was a very long day traveling from New Zealand via Australia to Singapore and we arrived in the big Asian city tired and hungry. After a big bowl of delicious noodle soup we went straight to bed to be ready to explore the city the next day. We had been to Singapore once before but were nevertheless excited to discover the city anew. It's a great place to spend a few days and indulge in the mix of cultures, the food, and the amazing architecture. Kampong Glam The center of small picturesque Kampong Glam, the Arab quarter, is the big Masjid Sultan mosque. The street leading to the mosque is full of coffee shops, restaurants, and shops selling souvenirs. It's a good place to buy beautiful scarves and textiles, but be careful: Vendors try to sell you "antique" textiles but they're probably just made to look old. Masjid Sultan The mosque is well worth a visit and Kampong Glam is a wonderful place to wander around, admire the small shops, the old houses, and the fant...

From Cape Reinga to Bluff There are so many bends in the New Zealand's roads, that the roads are much, much longer than they seems on the map. So many bends, that you forget how it is to drive on a straight road. That's exaggerating things a little but I guess you get my point. It means: plan much more time because the road is longer than it may seem and because you can't drive as fast as you'd probably like. Unless you're a Kiwi and take those bends as though they wouldn't even exists. Road Rules & Insurance (Or Not?) Every rental car company wants to make you believe that the road rules in New Zealand are completely different from the rest of the world. They hand out brochures and make you watch videos; if they could, they'd probably make you take a driving test. Of course, it's always a good idea to familiarize yourself with the road rules of the country you plan to drive in, some things are always different. What is really different in New Zealan...

South Island, New Zealand New Zealand's highest mountain, Mt Cook / Aoraki, is usually hidden in clouds. Everyone, including the Lonely Planet, told us not to get our hopes up and be prepared for clouds. Clouds? No clouds. Driving to Mt Cook Practically since the day we arrived on the South Island, we observed the weather forecast for Mt Cook and it looked invariably bad. Rain, snow, clouds; all the mean things. But nevertheless we wanted to go and see if we could see the mountain. So one morning, when the forecast looked quite ok, we drove the 2.5 hours from where we had spent the night, hoping that the weather would stay the way it was. Because it looked good. Very good. The view from the road along Lake Pukaki Once we arrived at Lake Pukaki and got the first glimpse of the famous mountain, it was only partially covered by a small cloud. It was a real WOW-moment: the turquoise water of the lake, the lupines on the lake shore, and the mountains towering majestically at the far end...

South Island, New Zealand The rugged, steep Otago Peninsula is one of the only few peninsulas on the South Island's east coast. Although right in front of the city of Dunedin and easily accessible, the peninsula - probably due to its hilly terrain - is only lightly populated. Driving is on narrow roads, along steep hills, and around impossibly narrow bends. It's not a place to drive fast. That's why it it also takes a lot more time than you think to get from one end to the other, no matter if you take the inland or the coastal road. Beaches Thanks to the hilly terrain, the peninsula has amazing views and lots of wild and isolated beaches. It's also a haven for wildlife: Fur seals live here, as well as the rare yellow-eyed penguins and the world's only mainland breeding colony of royal albatrosses. Sandfly beach is a wide beach backed by dunes overgrown with flowers. It's home to yellow-eyed penguins and supposedly there's a shelter at the far end of the beac...

South Island, New Zealand Not too many travelers go further south than Te Anau and   Milford Sound . Those who do, however, and travel between Invercargill and Dunedin, have the possibility to take the scenic route through the Catlins and are rewarded with amazing beaches, stunning waterfalls, and beautiful scenery. And lots of gravel roads, yes, that too. The Southernmost Point The South Island's most southerly point is actually at Slope Point in the Catlins. However, that place is rather difficult to access because it's far away from anything and only accessible via a gravel road. The small town of Bluff is almost as southerly and it's also where the State Highway 1, which runs through both islands, ends. That place is therefore much more convenient as the southernmost point of the island and so at Stirling Point in Bluff there's a sign where you can take your picture as proof that, officially, you've reached the end of the South Island. Or you can just go there a...

South Island, New Zealand Another must-do in New Zealand, apart from a visit to a   glow worm cave , (and to   the west coast ), is a cruise on Milford Sound. Getting to Milford Sound Although Milford Sound is the most accessible sound in the South Island's Fiordlands,  it's still a long way from anywhere. The drive from the closest town, Te Anau, takes almost two hours - not counting photo stops. But to drive to Milford Sound without stopping at least twice means you're either in a very bad hurry (e.g. your cruise ship is about to leave without you), or you're a robot and completely unimpressed by the stunning beauty of the scenery. The road leads through the beautiful valley, passes dark, calm lakes that reflect the surrounding mountains, goes up a pass where hundreds of waterfalls rush down the mountain sides and then into a long, dark tunnel through the mountains before it reaches Milford Sound. A Hike to Lake Marian Some kilometers before the tunnel, after a sho...

Franz Josef Glacier, Lake Matheson, Haast Pass. South Island, New Zealand Franz Josef glacier on the South Island's west coast is about 12 km long. Once, it reached the Tasman sea; today, it finishes about 19 km from the ocean. Franz Josef Glacier It's more than 10'000 years ago that the glacier reached the ocean. It's not so long ago however, when the viewing point, that can be reached with a 45 minute-walk from the parking lot, was right next to the glacier. Today, you need binoculars to get a close view of the ice. If the glacier keeps retreating at the same rate, in a few years it will probably be difficult to see it. Walking to the glacier from the viewing point is dangerous; several people have died from falling ice in recent years when they tried to get close to the glacier, ignoring signs and barriers. So in order to bring people to the ice, lots of companies in and around Franz Josef town offer scenic flights over the glacier and/or ice landings. The experience...