Chile

Extreme close up! Photograph of the moon taken from a telescope at the
Malalluca observatory!!


The Big Hand!
Awesome sculpture by Chilean artist Mario Irrarzabal.


View of the volcano from the Valley of the Moon, er, with the moon!


Gigantic sand dune in the Valley of the Moon.
Those little white specks on the top, right hand side are people!


Chris and Ben getting 'romantic' at The Broken Heart Rock!


Salt caving in the Valley of the Moon.

The buried village of Tulor, a major archeological site near San Pedro.


The main square and church of San Pedro.

The extraordinarily well preserved remains of an Atacamañan mummy,
affectionately known as Miss Atacama!

Traditional hairy band in a restaurant in San Pedro de Atacama.
(Pan pipe moods anyone???!!!)


Ruins of a very early church in Peine,
an oasis of a village in the middle of the Atacama desert.


More posing at sunset!

Pink flamigoes at the Natural Reserve National Park.


Er...parents look away now! Ben being silly on the salt flat!


Posing on the Atacama Salt Flats,
made up of thousands of hexagonal formations of salt.


Ben tackling a huge mountain of processed salt in the Atacama Desert.
Early October 2006.


The abandoned engines at the railway 'cemetery' in Baquedano,
Chile, Early October 2006.

Crossing the Tropic of Capricorn!


The greenery of central Chile before hitting the desert.


Flying over the awesome Andes mountains en route to Santiago.
Early October 2006.

Rio de Janiero

The weird UFO style Museum of Contemporary Art, Rio,
End September 2006.


Don't ask!! We saw this poor thing in a local Ipanema market.
Apparently he's done up like some famous bandit folk hero or something!!
(Sure is gonna get a kicking from the other local dogs!!)


Inside the crazy restaurant/bar/music venue/dance hall/antique shop
that is Rio Scenario!


A group of the local kids posing for photos so they can be famous!


Ben and two local children. The little girl here wants to be a model when
she grows up and as you can see she's been practicing
her sincere 'Posh Spice' smile!!


The jumbled rabbit warren that is Rocinha.


One of the beautiful little local girls in Rocinha, hopefully getting an education from
one of the four schools inside the favela.


Random baby pygmy marmoset in one of the alleys!
(How cute?!!)


Typical stairway in the favela.


Some of the artwork of local grafitti king YOU2,
Rocinha, Rio, End September 2006.

Inside Rocinha, the largest favela in Latin America.
(For favela read slum!)
Home to about 250,000 inhabitants.


Sharing the love at the Maracana football stadium for local Rio team
Fluminense versus the Argentinian Gymnasia.


As dusk fell and the lights of Rio sparked on an electrical storm gave us some
great scenes from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain!


Looking back towards the bay from the top of the mountain.


The ghostly view of the Christ statue in the clouds
viewed from Sugarloaf.


The cable car to the top of Sugarloaf mountain.
If it looks familiar, think James Bond and Moonraker!


The world famous Copacabana beach, Rio.
All together now: "At the Copa, Copacabana....!"


You do come to Rio for the views you know!
Weston beach it is not!!

Ipanema beach, Rio.
Everyone start humming 'Girl from Ipanema'!!

View of the world´s largest football stadium, the Maracana.


Chris and Ben make like the big dude!
Christ the Redeemer, Rio.

View of Sugarloaf Mountain from the Corcovado.

Welcome to Rio de Janiero!
Statue of Christ the Redeemer atop the Corcovado.
End September 2006.

North Island and the Cooks

Gotta love those Pina Coladas!
(Chris looks like she may have had a couple!)

Our place Samade from the lagoon.

And how clear is that water?!

The pristine white, palm fringed beach of One Foot Island,
Aitutaki Lagoon, Mid September 2006.

Life´s hard, huh?!

Honeymoon island on our lagoon cruise round Aitutaki.
(Yes, Honeymoon, Don´t be getting any funny ideas!)

Er...maybe one too many Long Island Iced Teas on Island night!!!

Shake that thang! Island night at Aitutaki.


Ben with book!! Call the press quick! Rare sighting!!!

Chris being just a bit of a poser in the lagoon at Aitutaki,
Mid September 2006.
(Oooh, look at me, I have arms, Ooooh!!)


Our lagoonside beach at Samade!!
Bounty chocolate bar commercials here we come!!!


Wearing our lovely leis in our beach bungalow.


Beautiful beach bungalows at Samade on the Beach,
Aitutaki, Cook Islands.


Heathrow it ain´t!!!


Flying over the fabulous lagoon at Aitutaki.


Yeah, white sand AND palm trees!! Not bad, huh?!!


It´s a hard life! Ben the beach bum on Muri beach, Rarotonga,
Cook Islands, Mid September 2006.

The groovy Skytower in Auckland where we ate proper food for the first time in
ages after saying goodbye to Ruby!!


View of Auckland from Mount Eden in the daytime.


She´s very photogenic!


Our beloved home for several weeks, Ruby!!!
(Ain´t she purty?!!!)


Auckland at night from the top of Mount Eden.


We warned you these things were big!!! This old Kauri tree has been made into the staircase
of a woodworking shop!


The great, long expanse that is Ninety Mile Beach,
northern North Island, NZ.


Chris being a cool sand surfer dude after a big run!!


Ben tobogganing down the huge sand dunes of Ninety Mile Beach.


A long way from home!!


Cape Reinga lighthouse, northern North Island, NZ.
(Where the Tasman sea and the Pacific meet.)

The famous (and imaginatively titled!) Hole in the Rock cave,
Bay of Islands.

More playing with the dolphins in the Bay of Islands, northern New Zealand,
Mid September 2006.

Chris dwarfed by a humungous Kauri tree stump at the Waitangi Maori treaty house,
Mid September 2006. (These things are BIG!)