Chiloé

In Castro I Couchsurfing home Ana and Leo (Chile) and the wonderful family near the center of town. Jan and Gisele (Switzerland) are also staying here.

It looks like is another country very different from the rest of Chile.

Jan and Gisele have booked a tour to visit some of the wooden church heritage and to see also the island of Lemuy. I join them. We visit Nercón, Chonchi, and the island of Lemuy where we eat an "asado" at a home of some farmers from the island.
We had dinner all the people of the house together.

The next day visited Castro in a relaxed way. It is very hot and at the afternoon I cut my hair.

It is the anniversary of Gisele and for dinner I make a tortilla with tomato with pa amb tomaquet to join the mussels, baked salmon, carpacho of salmon and salads. Cake as a dessert. In the house were a couple more of Couchsurfing Florian (Austria) and Kim (New Zealand).

New South Wales. Horses, Sydney and New Years Eve......

I arrive at Sydney around 7 am after 10 hours of bus. Coffee and train to Winsord where I have to meet Veronica (Wwoofer, Australia) because she’s picking me up.

Winsord is a small village, well is one of the oldest village in the modern Australia.

Veronica takes me to the Cattle where she lives and where Statford Performance Horses is, in the very tiny Wilberforce area. There I meet her daughter Olivia and Cristopher (another Wwoofer, France).
The job here is to feed some of the 32 horses she have, clean the paddock and do some extra duties in the Cattle.
The place is beautiful!

A part of the job, we go sometimes with Veronica to some of the near villages to do some shopping, staff, etc. Good to go out a little of the
cattle.

Capricorn Coast

From Rainbow Beach to Agnes Water in some hours... I stay in a very charming Backpacker’s ... bungalows, swimming pool, dvd room, equipped kitchen, etc... Movie and bed.

In the morning I do another surfing course, the waves are good to practice how to go up to the surface.

At the afternoon I take one of the free bicycles from the Backpacker’s and I go to Seventeen seventy, place where Capitan Hook did his second stop over Australia in 1770... Reading and music next to the beach and dinner before I take the bus to Rockhampton.

I arrive there at 12 midnight and Scott (Australia, Couchsurfing) pick me up.

Gold Coast

I am in Australia!!!

I arrive early morning... Coffee and looking for a local bus to Burleigh Heads where I have to meet with Hinu (New Zealand) from Couchsurfing. I arrive when her kids are going to the school that they have just 500m away from home. Hinu offers to show me the National Park Burleigh Heads after my shower. She offers me to stay in her daughter’s room, she is in a camps for few days, single room!

Coffee “take away” at the beach of Burleigh with views of Surfers Paradise... a touristic zone with high buildings, shops, restaurants, night clubs and surfers.
The National Park is spectacular if we have a look all the buildings are close to (But they always try to preserve the dunes and characteristics places). I had a meat pie for lunch... nice!

At the afternoon I rest at Hinu’s place, and at night we went to have a look at the surfers Paradise, where we have dinner.

Hyuga and Beppu

I arrive at Hyuga around 21h... and Sally is waiting for me at the train station for going out with another couchsurfer, Gianni (Sicily) that sleep in another house. We take the backpack at my place and we go out with Japanese friends of Sally.
I finish exhaust. I sleep like a kid.
Next day we have lunch at Sally’s place and at the afternoon we go to the beach to try to surf... Hyuga is a paradise for the surfers. At least are 100 surfers at the main beach and a lot of surfers vans!

Kagoshima, Yakushima, and Kirishima-Yaku National Park

I arrive to Kagoshima with a very sunny day watched over by the looming bulk of Sakurajima! I walk around the city centre making time to meet Fiona (Uk) from Couchsurfing and like Cait, she is English teacher in the JET program (Japanese exchange Teachers) . We eat Vietnamese for dinner and we talk with a work college from United States.

Next day I take a ferry to Sakurajima where I do a trekking visiting a couple of volcan observatory, a park by the sea and finishing in a Feed Onsen! (Track)

Fukuoka and Iizuka

At Fukuoka I feel lucky because I arrive on the day that a music festival starts, the Music City Tenjin 2010. It’s free and all kinds of music... I’ve listen reggae, rock, singers, jazz and hip hop. I really need some concerts, so I spend all day around.

The ones that I liked more are: Susumoku (Singer), Motoki+Chikkaja (fusion) and Vic Bongo (Reggae).
Between concert and concert I went to see cheap options to travel the next days, after look everywhere, I found a bus 50% off to Kiroshima... I bought it.

Guangzhou (廣州) and Hong Kong (香港)

At Guangzhou I did couchsurfing in Chalne’s place at the same time as Adam (USA) and Bruno (Switzerland). My First experience of CS doing this trip has been so positive: People so nice and nice house.

The first day didn’t stop rain even for a second, and I finish completely wet... The second I visit the park Xuexiu were I expend almost all day.