Iceland: Where Continents Divide

Iceland is one of the most spectacular countries in the world and if you are a geographer... it's as near to heaven as you'll get. 

Iceland lies in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, just south of the Arctic circle, east of Greenland and North West of the UK.  It is a volcanic island created by the dividing North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. While it is correct to say it "lies on the mid-Atlantic ridge" it has actually been created by the mid-Atlantic ridge. Iceland is the only part of the ridge that is above sea level. Scientists believe Iceland rose from the sea floor about 20 million years ago. 

As you can see on the map, the mid-Atlantic ridge forks in Iceland before continuing south through the Atlantic on the 'left' fork. The famous (or infamous) Eyjafjallajoekull volcano that erupted in 2010 and grounded air traffic for weeks in Europe can be found on the map on the 'right' fork. The continuous spreading of the plates, accompanied by eruptions also widens the country by about one inch per year!

Þingvellir (Thingvellir)

You can visit the mid-Atlantic ridge and see evidence of rifting at Þingvellir National Park. It's a must do if you visit Iceland!  

A Rifting Valley

Massive Rift on the Eurasian Plate

New Zealand, Bungy and Male Pattern Baldness (My Love of Travelling Part 3)

This follows:

http://travelhappinesslife.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/how-travelling-changes-you-my-love-of.html

Culture Shock 

  

After two amazing weeks in Fiji I flew to New Zealand. Soon after arriving at the backpackers in Auckland I was surprised to experience culture shock. It was really weird especially as I'd been in Fiji for a relatively short period. I remember getting into the lift at the hostel and no one said hello. While that is normal in western society, in Fiji I had totally embraced the friendliness of Fijians and greeting everyone you met or passed was normal. Here I was back in 'western culture', the lift at that moment could have easily been the tube in London, it was so impersonal and I didn't like it. Thankfully the bar in the hostel meant it didn't last long and after a few days in Auckland, James and I embarked on the 'Kiwi Experience' backpacker tour bus. It was party time! Map below.

Briefly, the highlights of the North Island on top of partying most nights were the picturesque Bay of Islands (I would advise against the boat trip with a hangover though), the 'Black Water Rafting' which was going through caves on a rubber ring, the bubbling mud etc at Rotarua (I went with Sara who was also in New Zealand now), Lake Taupo where I did a skydive and River Valley where we went White Water Rafting.

White Water Rafting - I am front right

Abel Tasman National Park

While many opted to take the three hour ferry to the South Island for $40NZ from Wellington, I chose the flight for $45. For me, the South Island of New Zealand is one of the most beautiful islands on the planet. Whereas the North Island is rolling green hills and valleys, the South Island is home to vast mountain ranges and glaciers as well as beautiful fjords. the first port of call in the South Island was Abel Tasman National Park and while I did a one day trip, James had planned to hike and camp so it was time to say our goodbyes. Without sounding too melodramatic, it was quite sad. The amount of time you spend with people travelling means that you can form quite intense relationships quickly. We had got on great and been brilliant travel buddies. It was time for me to get on a new bus and make some new mates. 

Between Abel Tasman Park and Franz Josef Glacier there were more enjoyable sights and parties, notably mountain biking and a fancy dress party where you had to make an outfit out of bin bags. I looked rather fetching in a skirt I thought. A Japanese lad we were with made an eye mask. That's it. I laughed a lot.

On the way to Franz Josef, my receding hairline was brought up in conversation. I was understandably pretty sensitive about it. The first time hair loss became an issue for me was at 18 in the 6th form when my Geography teacher joked with me that he could see my hair receding. Now I was 25 and most of the front had gone. Hair loss can lead to significant issues like depression with many people and especially when it is at such a young age. It definitely bothered me because I felt it made me look older and definitely less attractive but thankfully it didn't have a major impact on my personality. I think it was because I knew there was nothing I could really do about it so I tried to forget it. One of the girls on the bus was a hair dresser and she offered to shave my head because she had never done it before. In her own words "Mate, when you are going bald like you are there's only one thing for it. You gotta shave it all off". So when we got to the hostel we did just that. Although I had thought about it before, I hadn't had the guts to do it especially working in the media environment I had been in. I knew I would have got so much stick, I was scared! It's a different world though when you are travelling or even on holiday. No one judges you... or really cares. So my future appearance was born in New Zealand and while I did grow my hair back for a while in Sydney, a visit to the barbers when he showed me the back of my head left me thinking 'who am I trying to kid?' and I have never had a haircut since. I needed to grow some facial hair though to prevent me looking like Zippy from the children's programme 'Rainbow'.

Aside from the head shaving, Franz Josef was a brilliant place. The hostel was at the foot of the mighty Franz Josef Glacier and I decided to do the 'Heli-Hike', a helicopter ride into the middle of the glacier and then a hike. It was my first time to do any of that. We got kitted up with shoes and sticks and went for it. It was one of the scariest and most difficult things I had ever done particularly standing right next to enormous crevices on the ice and having to support your bodyweight on one leg. Towards the end the inevitable happened and I fell into a mini lake on the glacier. Everyone laughed except for me. It was freezing. I also met another great bunch of travellers including another Canadian, Mark who would also become a great friend and who I would see again in Sydney and on my travel to Canada in 2001.

Franz Josef Glacier & me on the glacier 

Me doing the Pipeline Bungy Jump. Dec. 1998

The fun in New Zealand didn't stop there. The next significant destination was adrenaline town Queenstown where most of us stopped for a few days. It was here that I did my first bungy jump, at the time the biggest one in NZ at 102 metres (340 ft) and basically partied like it was 1999 despite it being 1998 but we didn't care.

Queenstown, New Zealand

From my base in Queenstown I was able to do another little trip out to Milford Sound in 'Fjordland' on the west coast of the South Island. The scenery at Milford Sound took my breath away as did the scenery getting there.

Me at Milford Sound

The final destination on the tour of New Zealand was to Christchurch where I stayed with an ex-colleague from Carlton, Jackie and her husband Peter. When you are travelling there is nothing quite like getting back into a home environment with proper beds, privacy, decent showers and decent food. On the way we stopped at Lake Matheson which is famous for the brilliant reflection of Mt. Cook.  

Mt Cook & Lake Matheson

My final exciting act in New Zealand was swimming with dolphins in Akaroa. That on it's own is an incredible experience but it just didn't have the same impact after the incredible month of excitement  I had enjoyed. And that is another fact about travelling, sometimes you can have scenery or excitement overload. 

On 20th December I got dropped off at Christchurch airport for my flight to Sydney, Australia where I intended to settle for a few months and earn some money. Looking back, the month in New Zealand was easily one of the best times I have had in my life. It was also life changing month where I changed as a person for the better and made lifelong friends. I was also only one and a half months into my eight month trip!  

next up:

http://travelhappinesslife.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/travelling-working-in-australia-my-love.html

Oktoberfest: Munich, Beer and Football

Let us get one thing straight. A visit to Munich for Oktoberfest is a MUST DO for everyone in their lives! Stick it on your bucket list.

Sam, James and I arrived in Munich on the Sunday night at the beginning of Oktoberfest. We thought it would be a good idea to get to the beer festival on a Monday morning anticipating it would be quieter than normal. With rain hammering down we arrived at 'Wirtsbudenstrasse' at 10.30am and with the street deserted except for a number of groups of primary school trips (??!!) we thought it would be wise to enjoy a bratwurst before commencing on the beer.  

After our sausage, we picked a tent and headed in. Tents at Oktoberfest are enormous wooden structures, bigger than football pitches. We headed into our first tent and suddenly realised why the streets were empty. Most of Munich was here already. We were shocked and also unable to get a table so we headed out, went next door and found a table near the edge. Within 10 minutes or so this bierkeller was full. It was not yet 11.00 am. 

Sam, James and I - first beer.

One of the things that struck us was the immense pride that Bavarians have for Oktoberfest demonstrated by the fact that almost all locals were in traditional dress. 
   

Meanwhile, while Sam was chatting up the ladies, I had made friends with a group of Aussies...and after I had bought a hat of course.

The beer sold at the Oktoberfest has to have been brewed locally and must be of a certain strength - around 6%. I knew we could be in trouble on day one when both Sam and James claimed the beer must be weak as they could hardly feel it. To cut a long story short - a couple of people underestimated the strength of the beer and I suddenly found myself alone in the bierkeller for more than an hour holding onto coats and cameras. Eventually I found Sam who had been walking around another tent for an hour getting more and more frustrated that he couldn't find me and then we managed to get hold of James by mobile phone who had woken up in the hotel room. Sam and I finished the day on some of the fairground rides which was as dangerous as it sounds, especially after a day on the beer.

The next day and feeling a little tender, the three of us decided to visit a few sporting sites in Munich before heading back to the festival for round 2. 

 












First up was the Olympic Stadium built for the 1972 Olympics. The stadium is hardly used now so we were allowed to go on the pitch and kick a ball about. This was the stadium that England beat Germany 5-1 in 2001 so we had to pay homage and recreated some of those goals. We also had a run on the track. I didn't win.

After the 1972 stadium we headed to one of the most modern football stadiums in the world, the Allianz Arena, home of Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich.

    

This was another good tour although if I'm honest I preferred the old Olympic stadium. 

After the Allianz Arena it was time to get back to the beer festival and exorcise the demons from the day before. 






We started with a cheeky one in an outside bar and before long were back in one of the tents. We managed to get ourselves on a very international table with Sweden, France and Brazil being represented. This time though, we had the most amazing time drinking and dancing on the tables to the live Oompah band for 5 hours. It was brilliant. 

With our Brazilian friend we named 'Pele'

Oktoberfest 2013 runs from September 21st until October 6th. 

Check out http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/ for more information.