We split our One Year, One World tour into three four-month "terms," the first covering parts of Europe and Africa, the second covering Asia, and the third term encompassing bits of Oceania and South America.

Covered in this Third Term Report Card: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina. We arrived in Australia in mid-March and returned home at the end of June.

Now that we are back, it is strange to think back that just three months ago, we still had a long journey ahead of us. While we continued to enjoy our travels, the pace and style did change a bit towards the end. We started to get a bit lazier and did not make 100% efforts to see "everything"; we also began to spend a bit more on accommodations and meals.

Arriving in Australia after spending several months in Asia was a shock to our wallets. No longer could we count on spending $5 for both our meals; instead we were looking at AUD$30 per person at times! We almost felt as if we were spending more than we would at home.

Continuing on to New Zealand, we had grown accustomed to the clean bathrooms, dependable roads and high price tags. We spent two weeks in a campervan (where Jen thought it was going to be the coldest that we would ever be - she was wrong) and truly enjoyed the wonderful landscapes of the South Island.

Fiji was a contrast to New Zealand; everything about it was different. From the people, to the climate and houses. It certainly was a treat to be able to wander around in shorts and tshirts again. We spent the whole week with our siblings and enjoyed lounging around on the beaches and islands.

We had a brief two night layover in California while heading down to South America (due to our flights with the Star Alliance network). While it would have made much more sense to fly directly from Fiji to Ecuador, unfortunately we had to get there via LA, Sao Paulo, and Lima.

We spent a week exploring the area around Quito before visiting the Galapagos Islands for a week. This was certainly a highlight of our trip; sailing on a comfortable boat with great food and company was a wonderfully different way to experience life. Seeing all the different wildlife and islands was obviously a huge attraction for us too. We joined a GAP (http://www.gap.ca) tour combining our Galapagos trip with a two week tour of Peru.

Unfortunately Jen's camera stopped functioning as Winston went diving to see hammerhead sharks. Apparently the ubiquitous "E18" error on the Canon S400 camera is quite common, but that was little consolation to us.

We took a quick hop over to Buenos Aires before heading back to Peru for our final two weeks. We abandoned our plans to go to Bolivia and Chile (those will have to wait for another trip). Returning to Cuzco for the Inti Raymi festival was definitely worth it.

BEST FOOD: Sushi boat in Lima, Peru

MOST EXOTIC DISH: Deep fried guinea pig, or cuy, in Peru

BEST NATURAL SCENERY: South Island, New Zealand

MOST IMPRESSIVE RUINS: Sacsaywaman and Machu Picchu, Peru

LARGEST FISH WHILE DIVING: Hammerhead Sharks

COLDEST SNORKELLING: Galapagos Islands

STINKIEST CITY: Rotorua (thermal sulfur smell)

MOST EXPENSIVE MEAL: Quito, Ecuador

MOST CARNIVOROUS MEAL: At the Opera Pampa in Buenos Aires

CRAZIEST CROWDS: Bulldogs vs. Roosters Rugby League game in Sydney; Boca vs River soccer game in Buenos Aires

BIGGEST VIOLATION: Parking in a 'reserved' spot in Wellington, New Zealand and getting our campervan towed, but only up the block

MOST STRESSFUL MOMENT: When we realized that we had lost Jen's ticket from Buenos Aires to Lima

MOST MEMORABLE JOURNEY: Sailing around the Galapagos Islands

MOST ORNATE CHURCH: La Compania in Quito, Ecuador

MOST INTERESTING FESTIVAL: Inti Raymi in Cuzco, Peru

WETTEST DAY: Kayaking in Milford Sound, NZ

BIGGEST HANDICRAFT MARKET: Otavalo, Ecuador

BEST SHOPPING: Buenos Aires, Argentina

BEST HOSPITALITY: Ecuador

COLDEST DAY: Colca Canyon, Peru

MOST INTERESTING ACCOMODATION: Beach bure in Fiji with 5 beds and mosquito nets

MOST SIMILAR TO HOME: Sydney & Melbourne, Australia

LEAST SIMILAR TO HOME: Amantani Island, Lake Titicaca (Peru)

MOST SMOKE-PLAGUED CITY: Lima, Peru

MOST BEAUTIFUL SQUARE: Arequipa, Peru

MOST SMOKERS: Buenos Aires, Argentina

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS:
- Heli-hike on Fox Glacier, New Zealand
- Snorkelling/diving with sea lions in the Galapagos
- Watching a local wedding in Cotacachi, Ecuador
- Walking on Amantani Island, Peru by moonlight