Hi Folks,
Yep its that time again, we are packing the suitcases and getting on the big hairoplane. So look-out Eglinton, Berlin, London and Las Vegas!!!

Stay tuned for all the excitment.

Monty, Jim & Tess

On Top Of The World

Hi Folks,
Here we are almost on the top of Mt Cook, the highest point in NZ. As an early birthday gift Jim took me on a 45min helicopter flight up and over Mt Cook. We also landed on a glacier!. Fantastic stuff.
Later that day we drove back to Christchurch where we stayed overnight before flying on to Sydney for Mardi Gras.

The gorgeous Patrick met us at the airport as we were staying with him and the beautiful Brett at their Tamarama home. Let me tell you it is sheer luxury!. We spent the first few days having a wander through the city and doging the showers which thankfully cleared by Saturday, Mardi Gras day.
After getting 'all dolled up' Jim and I went off to watch the parade from the comfort of the Glamstand where we had the perfect spot to watch the passing parade..which took two and a half hours to do so. IT WAS FABULOUS!!!. Then it was a short wander down Moore Park to the Sydney Show Grounds for the after party.
And boy was that fun. Olivia Newton-John and Cyndi Lauper were two of the many shows throughout the night...although we missed both of them. We danced to the wee small hours (5am) then made our weary way home for a well deserved sleep. Sunday night I took myself off to HOMESEXUAL at 'Home' to hear the international superstar diva DJ Offer Nissim. He was fantastic and was still banging out the tunes when I had to throw in the towel at 7am!.

Today (Tuesday) we have been out for a wander down Oxford St for a bit of last minute shopping, ie. me buying records! plus the sun is shining and its 26 degrees. Bring on summer for Sydney.
We will be heading back home to Perth tomorrow after having a fantastic holiday.

Ivergargill to Timaru..whoo hoooooo

Hi folks,
Here we are at Jims sisters place in the beautiful coastal town of Timaru, which is approx 200 kms south of Christchurch.


After leaving Inverchargill we drove up through the stunning Catlin National Park to the very celtic city of Dunedin for a couple of days. Dunedin was full of university students on 'O Week' which is supposed to be for Orientation....more like - who can dress up the silliest, drink to excess and fall over!. We spent our time wandering the streets, checking out the architecture, having dinner (and whiskey) at the famous Railway Station and visting the Albatross Scantuary at Taiaroa Head.

The short journey up from Dunedin to Timaru was broken up by a stop off at Oamaru which is famous for its local white stone architecture. Lots of beautifully preserved 19th century buildings lining the streets and port area. Oamaru is also home to 2 penguin colonies, The blue penguins and their larger yellowed-eyed cousins. We unfortunately didnt get to see them as they dont come on land until dusk.

After a couple of days here in Tim (as the locals call it) we will be leaving in the morning to drive up to Twizel for a look at Mt Cook which is NZ's highest mountain and covered by snow all year round. Then its back to Christchurch for a night before flying on to Sydney.

If you would like to leave a msg/comment please feel free to below!

Riding The Otago Rail Trail

Hi Folks,
Here we are back in Queenstown after a magnificent 4 day adventure riding the Otago Rail Trail, 150kms from Clyde to Middlemarch. Amazing scenery, great company and very comfortable accommodation in Ranfurly. We got picked up each morning, deposited at the start of the days ride, picked up at the end of it and taken out to various old gold mining towns for dinner at the pubs. All in all a fabulous way to see the area. One of the many highlights was playing the ancient Scottish sport of 'Curling' (lawn bowls on ice..sort of) played in the only purpose built curling rink in the southern hemisphere. (The Australian Olympic team were there practicing too).It was such a hoot! Pic is of Jim after he knocked my stone out of the target and got his dead centre.. the bugger!.

We decidide to give Milford Sound a miss this time as it would have been a hurried trip down there and back (almost 600kms round trip). So we decided to stay an extra night in the beautiful town of Queenstown. Its a very laid back place with magnificent views, good food and coffee and very nice accommodation. I recommend that you all get down here for a visit as you will not be dissapointed.

Well, the follow picture says it all...I will let Jim fill you in!

Bungy Jumping 134mtrs from a pod suspended over the Nevis Gorge...Something I have always wanted to do and I thoroughly recommend it. You would not believe the sensation as you freefall for 8 seconds. So you all get down there now and give it a go........weeeeeeeeeeeeee

This morning, 20th Feb, we left Queenstown and are now in the town of Invercargill for a quick look around before leaving in the morning for Dunedin. The drive down through the Southern alps was fantastic.

BTW, please dont text us unless you REALLY need to as it costs you to send them AND us to recieve them!!

Greetings From Queenstown (Where Else?)

Hi Folks,
Arrived safely into Christchurch, NZ, avoided the kerfuffle of the previous days hi-jacking attempt by a crazy Somali woman. After a two night stay at the fabulous ‘Dorothys’ guest house we picked up the hire car and drove 450kms up the east coast to Nelson via Blenheim. Beautiful rugged coastline, as the road weaved inland and out over the ‘flat bit’. Not really, it felt like driving through the French Alps, one hairpin bend after another. Took a lot of concentration and much longer than we expected.

Nelson is a nice town, with the ugliest Cathedral in NZ, it has to be seen to be believed. Its saving grace is some very nice stained glass. All was going well until disaster struck not once but twice!

No.1 My flaming iPod died and it looks like it is terminal. What made it worse is that I didn’t bring a back-up of CD’s. Fortunately I managed to find some choice 1970’s compilations (not original artists) and a splendid Doris Day CD at a roadhouse..well they were $10 each..whaddya want!

No.2 We got bitten by mozzies (or so we thought) on our first sleep in Nelson to discover the culprits the following night not long after tucking in…BED BUGS. I must have 30-40 bites that are slowly swelling up and itching like hell, all over my body, Jim didn’t fair so badly although he hardly slept the second night. We didn’t have anywhere else to go so we had to suffer with them the second night too. Ewwwwwwwwww



Anyhoo, enough of that. Yesterday (Wed) we drove down to Hokitika on the West Coast to stay overnight with our friends CJ & Drew. They moved there last May to run one of the cafes in the little seaside town. It was fantastic to catch up with them again. Thanks boys for the hospitality.



Today, 14th February is a special day, Jim’s birthday and to celebrate we are now in Queenstown and will be going out to a nice posh place for dinner. First impressions of Queenstown are that it’s a very nice place…we will be using here as a base over the next 5 days and I will fill you in when we have had a proper look around.

Until then..Happy Valentines Day to all you hopeless romantics!

Look out New Zealand...

Phew no sooner has one around the world trip finished when its time to get going on another. This time the lucky people of New Zealand's South Island get the pleasure of our company for 3 whole weeks. Follow the blog for just where we are. Then its on to Sydney for Mardi Gra's 30th aniversary..Parade & Party.whoo hoooooo

Sister or Wedding Cake?

Hi folks, we have hardly had time to pee never mind update the blog. So where were we?..oh yes in Paris. Spent the last couple of days inside museums and shops as the weather turned very wet, constant rain for 36 hours. The highlight would have to be a trip to the Musee d’Orsay to see the collection of paintings, sculpture and furnishings of the early 20th century. The building itself is an architectural masterpiece, previously a railway station built for the same Paris Expo that the Eiffel Tower was built for. Now it has been refitted into a stunning museum….see the pics!

Our last morning we spent climbing to the top of the Arc d Triomphe and a spot of shopping on the Champs Elysees before jumping onto the EuroStar back to London. It was all in all a very nice trip to gay Paris.

Back in London for three days shopping and dinners with friends (thank you Ray, Reggie, Nassem & Grant for the fantastic food!) before getting onboard yet another train. This time a journey up the east coast of England to Scotland where my sister Debbie was to be married in Edinburgh.

A lot of the Montgomery/Roden clan came across for the wedding too which gave us an opportunity to catch up with some of the relations we hadn’t seen, and I am glad to see that they are all looking great and haven’t lost any of the lunacy they are famed for! Who rocked the dance floor till the wee small hours???

The wedding and the reception were both held in the Queen Anne Rooms at Edinburgh Castle. A magnificent place for the two young things to tie the knot. For those who don’t know, my sister Debbie married Simon Tasker and they both looked absolutely gorgeous! Her in her big meringue wedding dress and Simon in his Royal Marines uniform (how did he get those boots so shiny, Debs, did you polish then for him?…lol).

80% of the guests were of Northern Irish/Scots decent so you can imagine the carnage once the formalities were through with and rugs got rolled back. Special mention goes out to all the ladies for flying the flag!

Today it was up for a relaxed breakfast, onto the train for the return trip to London and packing for the flight back to Perth on Monday evening..phew!