Torres del Paine, Chile: Nov 21 - Nov 26

Torres del Paine might be described quite simply as the Overland Track (in Tasmania) meets Milford Sound (New Zealand) ...... on steroids! There are many similarities with the Cradle Mtn/Lake St Clair area, I think. The dominant Lenga Beech (Nothofagus pumilio) is closely related to the Beeches of Tasmania and Victoria. Paine receives upwards of 200,000 visitors per year and is a mecca for hiking in South America. I (Tristan) speak for us both I think when I saw words aren´t enough to describe the majesty scenery of this place. An amazing way to kick off the trip and super-highly recommended.

These spectacular mountains are separate from the Andes and the park covers 181000 hectares including Patagonian steppe and lush Beech forests. Wildlife was noticably absent, aside from birds. In fact in 6 days there (except for the drive in) we saw only one mouse-like creature that wasn´t a bird. No other mammals or reptiles. The flora was also not very diverse - seemingly only one tree species and one large shrub, with more diversity in the ground layer and herbaceous and aquatic species.

DAY 1 : Picked up from Puerto Natales we thundered up the highway, turned onto a dirt road and started to wind through scenic hills filled with Guanacos. We also spotted a family of Lesser Rheas. Columns of spiralling Andean Condors rode the thermals - I expected them to be larger, maybe that is another species but these ones, while large, weren´t larger than a Wedge-tail. Also present were Black-chested Buzzard Eagles. We arrived at Adminstracion, orientated ourselves and set off for Refugio Pehoe and the gigantic mountain it sits under. We walked the first 4hrs or so fine, observing a strange hawk or something hopping around after the tribes of ibis, cashing in on disturbed insects. We also saw a guanaco carcass. With a few hours to go the cold sideways rain began. We got soaked. It made our first view of expansive, aqua-blue Lake Pehoe not as magical as it might have been. With our packed the heaviest they would be, we trudged on around the lake for a few more hours despite being assured by another excursionista that it was just around the corner. We finally arrived underneath Paine Grande at the refugio (hostel), set camp and then met a couple of Aussies who were on the same flight from Sydney to Buenos Aires! Apparently the plane we were on was worse than I thought - during landing a piece of the plastic ceiling lining fell off and landed into someone´s lap. Hmmm.

DAY 2 : Lago Pehoe to Refugio Gray : Better weather, but still cloudy, we slowly climbed into undulating rocky terrain on the side of the mountains - as with most of the trekking here the going was tough and challenging with a 20kg pack, but do-able. We saw a Chilean Flicker. After hiking through low Beech forest we came upon a picturesque lake, elevated amongst the rocky hills. Between admiring that and the mountain we were rather satisfied already for the day, despite the spires of the Torres being tantalisingly hidden in cloud for most of the day. However when we reached the top of our first climb we saw the amazing Lake Grey, a gigantic grey-blue lake running alongside the mountain range, and on its other side beautiful mountains swathed in Beech forest and snow. After continuing further on to the main rise we came to an incredibly windy mirador (lookout) and saw the lake in its entirety, complete with floating icebergs and being fed by the gigantic Glacier Grey. After soaking it in we finished our hike exhausted and cold at forested Refugio Grey on the shores of the lake, after hiking through more Beech forest and past gushing creeks and waterfalls. We took a lot of photos on this day, not sure if the weather would improve to get better views of the Torres. Despite not being in the direct sun for much of the day, we both got quite sunburnt due to the complete lack of ozone layer here.

DAY 3 : Lake Grey - Glacier Grey - Lake Pehoe: We had planned a much larger walk for this day but decided instead to day walk to the glacier instead. The more exposed forest here was about 6 or 7m high, with older, larger-girthed trees quite rare. The view from the mirador of the glacier was amazing, as you can see from the photo. To the left you can see La isla, which looks like being swallowed by the glacier. Mountain streams and waterfalls were frequent - you can drink all of the water here, even from the lakes. It was icy-cold and re-energising, pure and delicious. After we returned and collected our packs we trekked back to Pehoe in the beautifully clear day. Today we saw a Chilean Hawk, I think. By this time we were quite tired and sore, but pushed on - as we were in site of the refugio at Lake Pehoe we could see a catamaran crossing the lake to arrive at the same place we were going. Michelle said, ¨I´m racing the cat ¨and sped off ahead. Soon after discovering the battle was lost she decided to vent her fury by attacking the nearest rock colony, headbutting one and kneeing and kicking the others. At least she wasn´t keeping her anger inside. Later after calming down I checked to see if everything was OK - the rocks were non-comittal and I didn´t really understand their rapid Spanish anyway.

DAY 4 : Lake Pehoe - Camp Italiano - French Valley: This was a shorter pack-hike by previous standards - as usual we passed through beautiful lake and mountain scenery. I decided to sample the local bushtucker, a Lily-pilly looking fruit which tasted better and grew on a spiky plant everywhere. The Park is most popular in January and February, but still there were many hikers trekking in various capicities (full self-sufficient hikers to credit-card reliant sight seers). After another glorious day we crossed the bridge over the River del Frances and set camp under the Beech at Camp Italiano. Free of our backpack burdens we ascended into the valley. The trek beside the river was fantastic - highlights include the small (ish) Glacier Frances and numerous mini-avalanches heard cracking throughout the evening. We climbed steeply and rock hopped over wobbly rocks through more inspirational Nothofagus forest that reminded me a lot of what I thought Fangorn forest from Lord of the Rings might be like. Ü . After a huge effort Michelle´s injuries from the previous day were starting to take their toll and she turned back. I continued on to Camp Britanico, little more than a few cleared sites in the forest with a few signs and a tarp for shelter. Before getting there I passed a massive slew of rocks from a glacier slide about 150m wide with competely no vegetation. From there I was able to get a preview of the entire Torres from the inside of the Valley. After more climbing and passing a dieback section in the forest I arrived at the snow line and finally the final mirador. The photos of the Torres above are from there. Indescribably awesome place. After that I essentially ran back down the valley to camp, pausing only to watch more avalanches and eat Lily-pillies. Lots of fun.

DAY 5 : Camp Italiano - Refugio Torres : Essentially today was a travel day - we needed to get to our final destination and we both very tired but shouldered our packs and pushed on. It was also the windiest day of our lives. Upon reaching the magnificent Lake Nordenskjold, I decided to get skinny and brave the icy blue water... for about 5 seconds. That was enough. We soon left the Lake´s beach and eventually found Refugio Cuernos and ate lunch. The rest of the afternoon dragged a little but we eventually arrived at our ultimate destination. It was here that I wish our camera battery had not ran out already, for I so wanted to capture the final amazing image of the Park. A set of three large flag-poles marked the Hotel del Torres (not where we stayed), a plush Hilton-like establishment complete with 3d geographical aerial diaramas and swanky bar and yuppies. The only flag present however was the red and white of a 5m x 1m Coca-Cola bandera.

DAY 6 : Relax in the morning and transfer back to Puerto Natales. Second windiest day of our lives.

Buenos Aires to Puerto Natales: 17/11 - 19/11

Once we left Buenos Aires (and more big city disinterest) behind (11.00am Tuesday) we found the people much happier and friendlier. This might be in part because of having siestas for half the day. Stuff it, why not¿ The journey from BA to Puerto Madryn lacked any kind of visual stimulus. Vast flat plains converted to rich cattle fields exhibited a colonial attitude toward the environment that surpasses English standards. Poplars and eucalypts were the trees of choice - I think the eucalypt was Blue Gum (E.globulus). Also present in varying degrees were Artichoke Thistle, Fennel, Spear Thistle and big roadside billboards advertising Roundup. Ü . The next morning the landscape had changed completely to Patagonian steppe, a dry desert with low shrubs and minimal ground cover. In this sparse landscape we saw Rheas and Guanacos and possibly some native hares. Also some rather large raptors.

So we pretty much gunned it down with a day stop in Puerto Madryn, then straight through to Rio Gallegos. In RG we explored town a little. The Grim Reaper was painted on the side of a primary school. The march was a protest for equal rights by a group of people from a certain part of town, wanting basic services such as gas, light and running water. I left my excellent book, ´In Trouble Again´on the bus, Dieter. Bugger. Anyway from there we travelled another 5hrs to Rio Turbio, a coal mining town with its coal deposit and transfer operations right next to the river, within easy leaching access. So we stopped there for a few hours - the posse in the photo reluctantly let us pass after I described what I had done with the baseball bat and showed them my tattoo from the joint. Then to the border with Chile, formalities and to Puerto Natales (10.00pm Thursday). As soon as we came through the pass to Chile the scene was spectacular. Awesome snow clad mountains, deep valleys and bays surround this great little town. I would have had a photo from the esplanade where I jogged this morning but the weather has come over (edit: there is one now). But nonetheless the next part of the trip to Torres del Paine will more than make up for this, I think. A warning to anyone considering coming here, it´s very expensive, even by Australian standards. Anyway, take care, see you after a week the in Torres. ¡Pray for no rain!

Spanish word of the day: garabateaba : unintelligible sribbling

Buenos Aires: 14/11 - 17/11

(Warning: the following post contains a big rant and could possibly bore you a lot... time to spit the dummy) Forget Friday the 13th - it´s Saturday the 14th you have to watch out for... Having been busy and stressed for essentially the last 2 months and having to pack/organise our stuff on Friday, we arose like fluffy spring chickens at 4am Brisbane time, prepared, left and caught the 6am flight to Syd-on-my-knee. It was a turbulence ridden flight. I felt like shit already. We then got our luggage and transferred to International, checked-in, changed some money and got a little food before the flight. Then we boarded an old 737, which thankfully lacked the in-your-face televisors on the back of each seat, but also seemed to lack regular maintenance checks - (water dripped on us as we approached Buenos Aires and the plane rattled like an old XE Falcon). The service was not particularly good. Our request for special meals apparently got lost in the wash, but when the gluten-free meal came, I realised they had perfected the alchemy of converting dry porous soil into a bread-like substance. The only exception being that the gluten-free bread roll didn´t taste like anything let alone dirt. We landed in Auckland, endured a few ´Ím beitched iz, bro´jokes, stretched and reboarded. The flight passed well enough for Michelle but I slept for a total of 2hrs. Painful. To add to my uncomfortableness I had to watch Ben Affleck trying to act. After we landed we collected our luggage and exited customs relatively quickly. Then we had a few touts try to get us into taxis and buses etc. but Michelle simply put them to sleep with her Ju-jitsu neck hold. So we changed money, found our pick up point and waited, discovering in the meantime that Argentians haven´t heard of soy milk. After we arrived in the city and fumbled our way to the Subte, we caught one of the regular and on-time trains to Palermo and finally arrived at Tango Backpackers. It was 8pm local time. A total of 30hrs travel and transfer time. We (I particularly) were shattered.

Buenos Aires is a bit of a contradiction, and also a great example of the failings of the capitalist system. Advertising is everywhere, including street-signs and subway train-timetable televisors. Large corporations and hotels and businesses construct shiny new buildings but yet there is not enough money for basic amenities. Rubbish collects on sidewalks where it is left - at least some people are considerate enough to put it into plastic bags. Not so the dog shit. It litters the parks and occurs less so on footpaths. The parks are mostly poorly maintained except for a few like Rosedal, which is meticulously manicured and fertilised. The pollution here is horrendous, mainly due to exhaust from hundreds of diesel buses and constant car traffic being caught in the sheer walls created by groups of buildings shaped like entire block-sized cubes. This is certainly a car-addicted city. Bicycles are few and far between. We have not found the locals to be very amiable (you were right Joaquin) and to add to this my Spanish has awoken like a cranky bear after hibernation. But nonetheless we have managed to achieve most of what we wanted and will hopefully leave tomorrow organised. The photos (yet to come) are of local graffiti around Palermo and a bit of ´Spangrish´- our word for Spanish translated literally which turns out funny in English. The literal translation (I think) of the hungry Jacks ad is ¨Feel the music in the meat¨. Hmmm. Like that one, Joycey¿

Kenilworth Forest Reserve - Conondale National Park: 08/11 - 12/11

This is classic subtropical lowland rainforest. Red cedars, white cedars, silky oak, strangler figs and hundreds more plant species compete for light and devour adjacent sclerophyll forest. Two types of nasty stinging trees occur here - Gympie Stinger and Shiny-leafed Stinger. The Gympie Stingers grow to over 30m high. Speaking of height, many of the emergent Rose Gum and Hoop Pine would measure higher than 50m, with some reaching 60m, from my calculations. This is one of the only areas that Bunya Pine grows naturally. Gubbi Gubbi, Wakka Wakka, Jinibara and Kabi Kabi people lived a traditional lifestyle in this area for thousands of years. Natural resources were plentiful and families were self-sufficient in all seasons. Bunya pines growing throughout this area were a very significant food source. The diverse forests provide homes for a wonderful variety of wildlife including more than 120 species of birds and many mammals. The threatened but seldom-seen yellow-bellied glider lives in the open forest.

Zephyr, Oisin and Tristan camped beside the beautiful Booloumba Creek for four nights. We were rained on for a few days of our stay but that didn't dampen our spirits - on the contrary the funnest thing for me was running through the rainforest with the boys in the teeming rain. Beautiful. While the boys played floating bowls in the creek and spaceships in the fire, I pondered what life might have been like here without Lantana. I also wondered how I might inflict the most possible destruction upon the ever-present Brush-turkeys. Frogs croaked loudly at night and Wompoo Pigeons vocally dominated the twilight times. We also visited an abandoned gold mine inhabited by Common Bentwing and Eastern Horseshoe Bats. However the area where we were is not currently National Park and "sustainable" (plantation) logging still goes on in that reserve. A highly recommended and accessible rainforest camping spot.

Spanish word of the day: Hablaba - used to speak/spoke

Lamington National Park : 03/11 - 06/11

World Heritage status was bestowed on Lamington in 1994 in recognition of its high biodiversity, and the fact it contains a living museum of the evolutionary steps taken in the development of Australia's modern day flora. It now includes 20,200 hectares of varying forest types, from temperate Antarctic Beech forest high on the border ranges through the sub-tropical rainforests, to the dry eucalypt forest of the northern escarpment.

Lamington National Park provides food and shelter for a huge array of sub-tropical birdlife (over 160 species), reptiles, frogs, mammals and invertebrates.

My sons Zephyr and Oisin joined us for this trip. We were greeted on the range up by some Whiptail Wallabies on the road - very cute. We camped there for 3 nights and experienced the full brunt of the human-adapted wildlife - currawongs, rosellas, king parrots, catbirds, brush turkeys, red-necked pademelons, satin bowerbirds, regent bowerbirds and many more all looking for an easy feed. On our daily walks we heard Albert's lyrebirds and saw many other bird species. The highlight for me was the trek to the ancient Antarctic beeches (Nothofagus moorei), that coppice as they grow and die. The roots of the oldest in Lamington were recorded at 5000 years old! I walked around a group of trunks from one tree - the circumference measured 30m. We climbed the Tree Top walk and laddered our way to the canopy. On our last morning we saw a rather full diamond python (carpet snake) that had just eaten something quite big. A magical place (photos to come)... next stop Conondale National Park.

Spanish word of the day: Leotardo - thick tights