CHILOE: Palafitos and the pig-snake

Maybe its just because its an island that Chiloe feels different from the mainland. There are no volcanoes, just rolling green hills dotted with old wooden huts and houses, all brightly painted and weather-beaten. Everything on Chiloe is made of wood - all the churches, boats and 'palafitos' - old fishermens homes that hover precariously above the sea on stilts.

But the pace is different too, as we found to our peril. On an afternoon trip to the National Park, we discovered that the local bus doubles up as a delivery service between farms. The driver was quite happy to stop three or four times within fifty yards to make sure every passenger was delivered to the door.

Unfortunately that meant the thirty mile journey lasted over an hour and a half, leaving us with precisely 40 minutes to 'explore' the Park before the last bus home. We walked briskly to the beach, saw the Pacific, and jogged back just in time.

If all this sounds like a rural backwater, don't underestimate the forward-thinking Chiloeans. They have an ancient local myth that warns of the dreadful 'Cuchivilu' - a half pig/half snake monster that lives in the sea. They couldn't be more vigilant of swine flu.

By now we've left the island, sleeping on overnight bus back up the Pan-American highway to Santiago. Thankfully this journey ran on time, and we've already moved on to Valparaiso - our last port of call in Chile.

PUCON: Campo o fath gwahanol

Dim ond ei gyfarch e nes i. Do'n i ddim wedi meddwl y byddai hynny wedi achosi i'r dieithryn llwyr ein dilyn ni am weddill y bore, na chasglu rhai o'i ffrindiau i ddod gyda ni!

Ro'n ni newydd gyrraedd Pucon ar y bws dros nos o Santiago. Pentref gwyliau hardd ar lan llyn Villarrica yn ne Chile yw Pucon, gyda un o losgfynyddoedd mwya prysur de America yn mygu yn y cefndir. Ond wrth i ni gerdded drwy'r strydoedd am y tro cyntaf, daeth haid o gwn cyfeillgar i'n dilyn ni un ar ol y llall - cymaint a phump ar un adeg, nes i Hywel holi os mai dyma wir ystyr 'codi pac...'

Mae fel pe bai bod cwn ymhobman yma - yn cynnwys Negra, ci yr hostal lle arhoson ni am ein noson gyntaf yn yr ardal. Mwy o gwn nag ymwelwyr falle, gan bod tymor prysur y gwyliau wedi hen ddod i ben. Y prif ymwelwyr eraill yn yr ardal ar hyn o bryd, mae'n debyg, yw Israeliaid ifanc sydd newydd orffen eu cyfnod yn y fyddin ac sydd eisiau rhyddhad.

Fe gwrddon ni a nifer wrth fynd i rafftio dwr gwyn. Roedd Hywel wrth ei fodd bod un ohonyn nhw, Tal, yn gwybod am Gorky's Zygotic Mynci yn ogystal a'r Super Furry Animals ar ol gweithio mewn siop gerddoriaeth am gyfnod...

Son am anifeiliaid, mae digon o'n hamgylch ni ar y 'Campo' lle ry'n ni'n aros nawr - rhai blewog a phluog. Fferm Mapuche yw Campo Kila Leufu, ac mae rhyddid gan foch Irma a'i gwr Antonio i grwydro'n brysur yn y pridd tu fas i'r ty i fwyta hadau'r castanwydden sy wedi cwympo o'r coed.

Ystyr Mapuche yw pobl y wlad, a dyna'r enw mae pobl gynhenid Chile yn galw'i hunain nawr. Pobl lwyddodd i wrthsefyll yr Incas am ganrifoedd o'n nhw, a'r Sbaeniaid tan ddiwedd y 19Geg. Er bod eu traddodiadau wedi dirywio dros y blynyddoedd, mae'n debyg bod adfywiad wedi bod dros y degawdau diwethaf.

Mae olion ohonyn nhw ymhobman - o'r boncyffion cerfiedig sydd i'w gweld mewn mannau, i'r bwytai lu sy'n cynnig danteithion Mapuche. Yn y pyllau thermal lleol, fe welon ni grwp bach ohonyn nhw'n ymdrochi. Ges i sioc a braint yn yr ystafelloedd newid o gael cais gan un fenyw Mapuche yn ei gwisg draddodiadol i'w helpu i ail-osod rhubannau ei phenwisg...

Ein swper olaf yn y campo oedd gwledd Mapuche yn cynnwys eu bara grawn tenau oedd yn flasus gyda salsa, saws chili neu fêl, yna cawl fel prif bryd a hadau piñons o goed yr araucania gyda mêl i bwdin - pob un cynhwysyn wedi'i gynhyrchu ar y fferm.

SANTIAGO: El lunes muy largo....

It was one of the longest Mondays on earth. After saying our farewells to friends and family in Auckland, we boarded the plane at about 5pm. When we landed in Santiago it was only 12 pm - on the same day. Travelling back through time is a very strange, if not entirely unrewarding experience. You do at least get to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner twice in the same day.


Things became more disorientating by having to speak Spanish, testing out all those phrases we'd rehearsed while travelling around New Zealand in the camper van.


But we managed to find our hostel, and take a wander around the city centre without too much trouble. We even ordered our first 'ceviche' and 'pisco sours' at a lovely restaurant set in an old hair dressing salon. We fell asleep just after midnight - the end of a 39 hour day.


It wasn't until Tuesday that the tiredness hit. We both felt a little dizzy and dehydrated walking around the Pre-Columbian history museum, looking at the fantastic burial masks and mummies. Then we somehow ended up ordering a large plate full of pickled pork for lunch at a cafe serving traditional Chilean food.


But with the help of three different guide books and some good strong coffee we are finding our feet, and enjoying the challenge of a new country. Soon we'll be heading south, to see the lakes and volcanoes - and try a few more delicacies that don't involve so much pig meat.

MY HAPU : fy nhylwyth

HAPU
Māori word for descent group or clan. Modern meaning: section of a tribe, secondary tribe. Literally: to have conceived

TYLWYTH
Welsh word for 1. household, 2. family, 3. tribe, 4. ancestry

It's been a long time since we've seen our immediate family, but seeing our Kiwi 'hapu' over the past few months has been fantastic. We're both so grateful for the welcome we've had in all corners of the north island. Before we leave, we just wanted to say thank you. Hopefully, it won't be too long before we'll get a chance to welcome our tylwyth back to Wales.

Thanks again, Kia Ora a Diolch!

Ffarwel Ynys y De a Kia Ora NZ

Mae'n cyfnod ni yn Seland Newydd yn dod i ben. Ry'n ni'n barod wedi ffarwelio a Ynys y De ar ol gweld rhewlifau Fox a Franz, ac yna mynydd Aoraki'n adlewyrchu ar lyn Matheson ar arfordir y gorllewin. Fe rannon ni fath a channoedd o bobl eraill yn nyfroedd poeth y ddaear yn Hanmer springs, bwyta cimwch yn Kaikoura, a blasu gwinoedd Cloudy Bay yn Malborough.

Nol ar Ynys y Gogledd, Fe ffarwelion ni a Wellington yng nghwmni Cofi alltud. Fe gwrddon ni a Taffy Parry nol ar ddydd Gwyl Dewi. Pan yn fachgen yng Nghaernarfon ym mhumdegau'r ganrif ddiwethaf, Alwyn roedd pawb yn ei alw e. Ond mae e wedi cartrefi yn Plimmerton, tu fas i'r brifddinas ers degawdau. Ro'n ni'n ddigon ffodus i gael taith yn ei gwmni o amgylch ei filltir sgwar newydd, a llwyddo i ddrysu'r gweinwyr yn ei hoff fwyty Indaidd lleol oedd erioed wedi'i glywed yn siarad iaith ryfedd yno o'r blaen!

Mae'r camper nol yn y garej erbyn hyn, a Hywel a fi'n cael ein sbwylo wrth ffarwelio a'n teulu Kiwi, yn gyntaf yn Cambridge, a nawr yn Auckland. Ar ol bron i dri mis yn Seland Newydd, ry'n ni ar fin gadael am Dde America, a gobeithio bod antur arall yn aros amdanon ni yn fanna...

Return of the Camper

OTAGO in all the colours

We'd not seen an autumn since 2007, or much of winter, but this week we've been through both. As we drove south towards Wanaka, the colour of leaves changed from yellow to red to rust, and the air became crisper. But the sky was still blue, and so we went walking - rewarding ourselves with the by now regular treat of fish'n'chips by the lake.

And then came the rain. 250mm in a day to be precise. We'd planned to go canyoning in Queenstown - a combination of abseiling, swimming and jumping your way down a river gorge. Its not quite bungy - but appealed a bit more as it lasts hours not seconds.. You'd think the heavy rain would help - but the river level was rising too fast for our instructor's liking, and he pulled the plug.

Never mind - because there's one place where you want rain in New Zealand. The cliffs over Milford Sound gain dozens of extra waterfalls when its raining - and lose a few annoying tour groups. From our boat we could spot dolphins and seals - but it was the force of the water and the sheer scale of the rocks that was really spectacular.

And then came the snow. Just up the road from Milford we camped beside a little lake - getting there at dusk to see the light fade over the mountains. When we woke, those mountains were white - we'd slept just below the snow line, and there was more drifting in.

That sent us back north towards Queenstown - where, in a river this time supplemented by snowmelt, we finally went canyoning. It was cold - the kind of cold that deprives your hands and feet of any sensation while the body pumps adrenalin. Feeling we've earned our adventurer stripes, we've now retreated northwards, back to where there's blue sky.

Akaroa i Aoraki a mwy...

Ro'n i'n dechrau meddwl ein bod ni wedi neud camgymeriad yn llogi campervan eto. Ro'n i wedi mwynhau aros mewn hosteli clyd cartrefol, hyd yn oed yr hen garchar arhoson ni ynddo fe yn Christchurch.

Roedd y ddau ohonon ni'n rhynnu ar ein noson gyntaf yn y fan ar benynys Banks. Beth o'n ni'n ddisgwyl yn yr hydref, heb drydan i gynnu'r gwresogydd? Ond, pe na baen ni wedi aros yn y gwersyll coediog wrth lan y mor, fasen ni ddim wedi casglu cregyn glas oddi ar y creigiau, na phêr o'r goeden wyllt gerllaw a'u bwyta i swper.

Ro'n ni wedi mynd i'r penynys i weld pentref 'Ffrengig' Akaroa. Roedd rhyw 63 o Ffrancwyr wedi glanio yno ym 1840 ond i ddysgu bod y Prydeinwyr wedi hawlio'r tir dan gytundeb Waitangi rai dyddiau ynghynt. Er bod eu breuddwyd o sefydlu trefedigaeth Ffrengig ar ben, fe arhoson nhw beth bynnag, a nawr mae'r diwydiant twristaidd yn gwneud ei orau i geisio pwysleisio Ffrainc-eiddiwch y llecyn trawiadol.

Erbyn i ni gyrraedd Llyn Tekapo, ro'n ni'n gwybod ei bod hi'n werth cael trydan. Felly er ei bod hi'n agos at y pwynt rhewi tu fas, ro'n ni'n dwym tu fewn ac yn gallu cysgu, cysgu... A dihuno i olygfeydd gwych o'r haul yn codi dros y mynyddoedd ben draw'r llyn.

A dweud y gwir, mae pob tro ar yr hewl yn datguddio golygfa anhygoel newydd sy'n ddigon i dynnu'ch anadl. O fynydd uchaf Seland Newydd, Aoraki, i fan hyn ar lan llyn Wanaka. A'r gwir yw, heb y 'gwib-gerbyd-gwersylla' 'ma fasai'r golygfeydd jyst ddim yr un peth.