I have been on Christmas Island for a few days now, but haven’t really had much chance to get out and about. I have had some minor financial challenges, and had to make some quick decisions to avert further, bigger problems over the coming few weeks.
For the past 6 or 7 months I have been using my US funds from my US bank account, but I am down to the dregs now, and am going to have to start dipping into my Australian funds, from the sale of the house.
Prompted by arriving here on Australian soil, I got my AU $ and bank cards out. I have about $100 in cash, my bank card’s expiry date has already passed, and my credit card expired yesterday, at the end of November. I presume that there are new cards in an envelope stored away somewhere in Perth, but I have yet to figure out how to get hold of them.
So for the past couple of days it has been a bit of a mad dash to book as many of my forthcoming flights as possible and get them paid for on the credit card before it expired yesterday. I have been in front of the computer almost full time for two days, but have made great progress.
I had originally planned to head down to Perth after Christmas Island, and spend Christmas there before setting off on Trip 3, but plans there fell through, and I have decided to continue travelling instead. The following is an outline of what I have managed to book for the next few months:-
12th Dec – Christmas Island to Kuala Lumpur
13th Dec – Kuala Lumpur to London
15th Dec – London to Reykjavik, Iceland
23rd Dec – Reykjavik to London
1st Jan – London to Cape Town, South Africa
20th Jan – Johannesburg, South Africa to Santiago, Chile
23rd Jan – Santiago to Easter Island
30th Jan – Easter Island to Santiago
30th Jan – Santiago to Lima, Peru
2nd Feb – Lima to Cuzco, Peru
9th Feb – Cuzco to Lima
9th Feb – Lima to Buenos Aires, Argentina
There are still a few more things to arrange, including figuring out accomodatio too at each place, but at least the major flights are now booked and paid for
Still to arrange:-
South Africa
– trip to Victoria Falls
South America
– Flight (or bus?) to Iguazu Falls
– Flight (or bus?) from Iguazu Falls to Rio, Brazil
– Rio Carnival
– Flight Rio to London
Can I ask a bit of a favour from any friends or family in the UK? The above timetable means I will be back in England over Christmas and New Year, and mum still thinks I am going to be in Australia then. Can anyone that is in touch with her please not let the cat out of the bag, as I intend to do the “Surprise!” thing on Christmas Eve. Lets keep it a secret until then, shall we? Thanks.
So I have only seen a little of the island so far. On Sunday afternoon Braydon took me on a bit of a tour, and pointed out several places I should go and see – caves and lookout points and so on. We also got a dinner invite from his National Parks work colleague Clare, and it sounds like I might get a chance to do a bit of volunteer work with them in the forest one day, plus perhaps fit in a bit of diving too.
There are crabs all over the place, wandering around on the roads and footpaths, climbing up the walls stairs, and hiding in damp corners. You really have to watch your step in flip-flops (or thongs as we call them here!) We even had a crab wander into the living room the other evening.
Time to get out and about now and see some more of the island over the next few days. Braydon has kindly lent me his bicycle, so I should be able to do plenty of exploring.