Australia

We left Cairns with 18 days to get back to Sydney and loads of things to see. The East Coast of Australia has some beauty spots but some pretty awful towns as well where people who didn't quite make it to Cairns seem to have settled!

One such place is Townsville. At least the humidity died off but we got there on a Thursday afternoon, went to the major shopping street and saw about 4 people (not including shop workers!). Stops like this break up the drive and remind you that the grass isn't always greener. I'd rather work in an off licence in Washington than live in Townsville although the people that we met were nice and everything looks a little better in the sunshine!

Next on the southern trail was Airlie Beach gateway to the Whitsundays which were just beautiful! We met up with our Irish friends from the reef tour and spent two glorious days in the sun. Airlie Beach is a funny place, very pretty and backpacker orientated with loads of bars and hostels down a one mile strip about 30 seconds away from the ocean. Getting to the Whitsundays was easy with an organised tour. First we went to Hamilton Island where we hired a golf buggy for a few hours to get us around all the sites on what is a bit of a playboys island. The hotels and activities here are very expensive and quite exclusive I suppose but still a ferry port for the masses wanting to see the islands on the cheap. Next we sailed through the islands to the main attraction; Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island. Here we spent two and a half hours on the gorgeous beach (don't worry, we had a UV tent so I didn't get burned)! All in all a good day and reasonably cheap (equivalent to a night in the Bigg Market without the associated risks)....

Next on the coast was another of those industrial settlements, this time a place called
Rockhampton where we stayed at one of the worst campsites in the world. So bad we gave up on the BBQ and hit Hungry Jacks (Burger King) and then went to the Cinema. Absolutely nothing else to report from a very populated and dull place.

The drive to Hervey Bay was a crazy one, with time on our side we took a "Tourist Drive" diversion which was supposed to reveal areas of outstanding beauty! None of this was evident however as we ploughed through tree lined lanes adding thrity minutes to our travelling time. Never mind it was worth it in the end as the Caravan Park was outstanding and the tour to Fraser Island the next day was again a cheap but enjoyable day on the worlds biggest sand island (lunch included)! We did the whole day tourist thing, drove in a 4X4 coach along 75 Mile Beach, saw a shipwreck, coloured sands, tropical rainforest and a freshwater stream flowing out to the beach. Highlight of the day was the freshwater lake of Birabeen. It was picture perfect and we had it to ourselves. Crystal clear waters, bright white silica sand beaches, sunshine and the cover of the rainforest surrounding it all. The swim was great although washing our jewelery, teeth, hair and coins had mixed results!! We spent three nights here in all, relaxing by the pool and watching thousands of bats fly overhead in search of food at nightfall. I'll never forget them, regular as clockwork at 7.10pm. Needless to say, Karen was scared at first but even tried to video them on the last night!

After Hervey Bay and Fraser Island came the drive down the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane which although pretty had very little to do other than eat, drink and shop. Nevermind, we bumped into Lou for a drink (another one from the reef trip) and spend more time with the Irish.

Leaving Brisbane after two nights was no real wrench. We drove to Surfers Paradise which was very like Majorca (full of tatty shops, bars, bungy shows and fast food). After that we drove down a pretty stretch of road which took us to Byron Bay. The place is beyond pretty but the town wasn't much to our liking. A spring break location for teenagers on the drink I reckon. The views from the lighthouse were fabulous. The lighthouse looks over the whole area and as the sun shone we got snap happy with the cameras and could even see Manta Rays in the water below. We then drove onto Ballina and had another couple of nights with the Irish on another great site. We drove into Ballina on the second day to visit the "Big Prawn' and learn about the crazy "Las Balsas" expedition at the maritime museum. The prawn was just a landmark with gift shops and a chip shop. We've seen tonnes of these, the big melon, the big peach, the list goes on and on. The Maritime museum was a find though. Loads of random memrobilllia but one great exhibition about Las Balsas which was basically about three rafts made from Balsa trees (yes balsa wood), occupied with crazy adventurers in the 70's and floated from Equador to Australia just to prove that it could have been done by early man! Crazy eh? One of the rafts was on show as was a fantastic documentary made by the crew en-route and loads of press clippings. All in all a great story!

Coffs Harbour was the biggest disappointment. Nothing to say, expected another Byron Bay and got Whitley Bay!!

With great haste we retreated to Cessnock in the Hunter Valley and experienced two nights in another awful site. As we were drunk the whole time though it didn't seem to matter. Between the Australia Hotel and the wine tasting the six of us were well served and the hospitality of a NUFC support behind the bar was fantastic (even though the England / Holland match was awful).

Nelson Bay was the surprise package. We'd been looking for somewhere close to Sydney to end our trip and this was perfect. Went to the old fashioned cinema in the evening, lounged around the fantastic site in the afternoon and went dolphin spotting the next morning (saw 3 pods of Dolphins - about 12 in total - in 2 hours).

A return to Narabeen on the final night of our road trip saw the laundry and van cleaning get done and we managed to watch a bit of TV (more bearable in the van the further south we got as temperature and humidity dropped off). Dropped the van off in A1 condition and headed back to Manly where over the next 3 days we prepared for NZ, said goodbye to Family and Friends (old and new) and ate like kings for the last time at Ribs n' Rumps.

So, got off the plane and walked to the terminal building down a covered walkway. No point in covering the walkway really as in Cairns you're either wet with rain or sweat and it really doesn't matter which!

Our apartment for the 8 days in Cairns was great. Very big, very cheap, good aircon and piped movies on two channels for lazy evenings and days where it's just too wet to consider stepping accross the front door! Found ourselves needing to hire a car. As nice as Cairns is there's not a lot to do there and the day trip prices are very steep indeed!

Pretty lucky with the car really, got a free upgrade to the next size up so Corrolla for the price of a Micra! Not bad at all....

Cairns is all about two things, the reef and the rain forest. We went into the rainforest several times. Firstly we ventured to Kurunda (a mountain town spoilt by tourism). The journey to and from Kurunda were the highlights on an old train there and the Southern hemisphere's biggest cable car back!! Whilst we were there we went to Barron Falls (Huge waterfalls in the rainforest) which were spewing tones of mud out into the ocean especially for our reef trip it seemed. Back into the rainforest to visit Atherton (capital of the Tableland region) and to Rainforestation (An Adventure Park in the rainforest where you can learn to play didgereedoo and throw boomerangs as well as see traditional dances and wildlife up close and personal). This was pretty good and saw loads more Koalas.

We also used the car to get to Mossman, Cape Tribulation and Port Douglas although it rained pretty much all day spoiling the scenery somewhat.

The highlight of the trip was undoubtedly the boat trip to the Great Barrier Reef where Karen snorkelled and I tried my hand at scuba diving. I actually swam with a Reef Shark and about a million other fish on two fantastic dives!!! I found the experience very scary at first but once I was under I took to it well. As long as you don't think to hard about what you're doing and the trouble you could get yourself into It's great!!!

All in all a really good week. Picked up the Campervan on time and met some Irish couples with whom we'd spend most of the next 3 weeks together on our way back to Sydney! Pity Cairns has horrible weather and is all about the tourist buck as it's actually a nice place with generally friendly people and some good watering holes (pity the budget didn't cater for it!).....

Well that's Manly and Sydney well and truly done and dusted.

Karen and I spent 3 weeks at Lorna and Neal's apartment in Manly and it was a superb base for the Christmas and New Year periods. 2 of those weeks were in the company of my good friend Julian with whom we shared many laps of the Andrew "Boy" Charlton swimming pool in Manly.

We managed a round of Golf in 'the Hills' with Julian and his friend Chris which was great (and free). We also squeezed in the Blue Mountains which were a little less spectacular than I'd hoped.

A quick catch up with my Cousin Michael and his family brought out the fisherman in Karen. Two cast off's into the harbour and one Bream and a Snapper later and Karen was crowned champion angler!!! A fantastic BBQ brought the Aussie way of life into sharp focus and made me wonder what it would be like to live here for the first time during the trip.

New Year was an experience! Like many big city New Years there was a lot of waiting around and millions of people. After our boat on the harbour dream fell through we took to the Opera House. Karen, Julian, Cousins Jonny and Ian and I all outlasted the sunshine to see in 2005 with a bang which was pretty special to be together on the other side of the world even if the celebrations were a little muted in light of the Tsunami disaster. Only 2 cans of beer drank by me. A DRY NEW YEAR....must make up for that next year (my only resolution).

After handing the apartment back Karen and I moved back in with Gail and Ian in Manly and did all of the other Sydney attractions such as Darling Harbour, The Skydeck Observation Tower, Sydney Aquarium, the Southern Beaches (Bondi, Coogee, Cronulla, Botany Bay) and the relatively timid sleaze of Kings Cross and Darlinghurst.

We then slipped off for 3 days in the Hunter Valley which was beautiful. I became a bit of a wine addict, we spent a fortune and found a grape we can happilly share into old age now providing we can get it back home (Verdhelo). Our return to Sydney was via Newcastle which was a bit of a laugh although I can see why we haven't been twinned with our antipodean namesake as it's a bit of a dump!

Our Sydney experience was completed with an open air picnic / jazz festival in the Domain (park) which was a cool and drunken affair. The very next day saw us aboard HMAS Newcastle, an Australian Navy Frigate moored in Wooloomooloo, as the personal guests of Commander Brian (Gails new beau) which was a frank and interesting tour of the gubbins of a war ship.

All in all a splendid 4 weeks with 2 trips to Ribs and Rump's (my third favourite restaurant in the world behind Egg Harbour, Vernon Hills, IL and El Torerro, Newcastle Upon Tyne)....

Merry Christmas!!!!

Karen and I returned to Manly on the 18th December to flat sit for friends of friends which is working out fantastically well for a little break. We have a lodger as well, my old friend Julian who I met at university. It's been good to catch up and share the festive season with friends (both old and new!).

Christmas Day was a blast. We joined in a group of 8 ex-pats including Karens sister and two cousins at our host's (Rebecca) flat. BBQ Breakfast - beach for the afternoon - BBQ for dinner was fantastic. The beach was busy but not overcrowded as the clouds kept the sun out and the temperatures down. It made for a better day though in my opinion as there was no risk of burning whilst playing beach cricket, football and chucking 'vortex' balls at each other.

We all called home and opened our Secret Santa presents to make it feel a little more like Christmas. As good a day as it was I would prefer to never have another Christmas Day in Summer. Christmas Jumper, mulled wine, mince pies and the Queens speach for me in future!

I'll leave it there and post some piccies of New Year. We plan to be in Sydney for the festivities and soon after we'll be heading to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef so more details soon...

All the best, Kevin & Karen.

So, the road trip is over and what have we seen since Phillip Island?

Well loads is the answer...

We hit our first real set of major roads on the M1 entering Melbourne. The road network here is an odd mix of dirt tracks, unsealed roads, cement roads, tarmac roads, highways and freeways....each one getting progressively better and speed limits getting hirgher on each one. It's only the highways and freeways which are anything like roads back home with some dual carriageways (mostly overtaking lanes) on highways and freeways being multi lane monsters.

Entering Melbourne gets very like spaghetti junction and there are threats of toll roads everywhere. Signs are very vague over here, places disappear and appear from one sign to the next! We found our caravan park in Melbourne just in time to head into the city for our first glance.

Melbourne was superb, one of my favourite places ever! It has everything that you want and is easy to get around either by foot or by tram. We visited the immigration museum, the old gaol (where Ned Kelly was imprisoned and the scene of Melbournes last public hanging!), the Australian institute for moving images, the parliament buildings, the Rialto Tower Observation deck, China Town and thousands of cool bars and shops. The parks are fantastic and there's loads of development going on to make it even bigger and better. It really is a fab city....

Then the Great Ocean Road! Even in the overcast weather we had a blast. Tons of walking and snapping the wonderfull scenery as well as some pretty hairy rides on the cliff edge highway in a camper with me at the wheel!!! Saw all the sights, the 12 apostles, london bridge, the grotto, bay of martyrs, bay of islands, lock ard gorge (all rock formations) and loads of lighthouses / maritime buildings. There are loads of stories of a whaling history and many shipwrecks of the treacherous coast. Many of the stories harked back to the killer whale museum at Eden in NSW.

My only real disappointments of the Great Ocean Rd are 1. The weather (which was overcast or stormy much of the time). 2. Not having the weather or the time to visit the Otway Fly (www.otwayfly.com) 3. Not doing a scenic flight somewhere along the way!

There are plenty of great little towns on the Ocean Road including Torquay! We stayed in a variety of places. Some quet and off the beaten track such as Wye River and some much more touristy such as Port Campbell. All had there own charms but my favourite was Warrnambool (pronounced war-num-bol), so much to do and a beautifull lake / park / beach environment. Warrnambool was the best example of what a little bit of sunshine and some public spending can do for the kids. There were tonnes of school kids on tours around the lakes in Warrnambool and with all the provisions there's little surprise the schools made use of them. There were public use BBQ's, showers, boats, play parks, permanent cricket wickets (great little astro turf wickets with steel stumps), fun mazes, shaded areas under awnings and loads of parking! A really great environment.

It was in Warrnambool we met up with a few other travellers who advised us to head inland rather than do the whole coast thing again so with that in mind we headed inland to the Grampians, a range of pretty big mountains where we saw some fantastic views from areas such as 'the balconies' at Reeds Lookout. We also hiked up to massive waterfalls including McKenzie Falls. All of which was better because the weather was picking up.

Canberra was a disappointment apart from the Australian Institute of Sport. Too much space, too fabricated and no real soul for me. Like Washington, Tyne & Wear.....

Drove some more hairy roads accross the Great Dividing Range back out to one of our earlier stops - Batemans Bay. This was a masterstroke as the weather came up trumps! Batemens Bay is a lovely place and our stay there was fun, just the right mix of sightseeing / shopping / relaxation. The highlight of this stay was a cruise up the Clyde river on the Excapade ferry which took us to very remote places such as oyster farms, loggers jetties, some small villages and some very expensive properties for big Aussie business men / recluses. The Batemens Bay experience is all the better for two things 1. Literally millions of massive golden jellyfish and 2. a bridge which lifts its middle section of road straight up out of the way so boats can get through! A really relaxing few days before heading back to Manly to hand the van back.

Our road trip so far has brought us face to face with a wild Kangaroo in Booderee National Park whilst we were using the phone and less than a foot away from Karen's favourite Penguins at the Penguin Parade in Phillip Island.

Bertha the campervan is doing a sterling job and we've covered 1200km in four days with stops at Booderee in Jervis Bay NSW, Two Folds Bay in Eden NSW, Lakes Enterance VIC and now at Cowes in Phillips Bay VIC. We've seen loads of fantastic scenerey and have seen everything from 38 degrees and sunny to 14 degrees and raining (as we crossed from New South Wales to Victoria!). We visited the Eden Killer Whale Museum to find out about 'Old Tom' and at Booderee we saw what are alledgedly the whitest beaches in the world! Lakes entrance was more of a seaside town, but nice all the same but Phillip Island has been the star of the trip! The penguins were amazing but as no photo's are allowed we've got nothing to share (except some sneaky video footage on the way out!)....

Off to see Koalas today and into Melbourne tomorrow before the Great Ocean Road! I'll post more photo's soon and maybe start a links page to websites of places we've been and are visiting e.g. http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/

Left Manly on Monday 29th to pick up our Campervan in Kings Cross, Sydney. Had a cool drive to Borderee National Park in Jervis Bay which is a massive 'spit' or headland you might call it about 200km south of Sydney. Driving in the country is fine, the roads are pretty good and the AirCon is a god send. Thankfully the other drivers are pretty sensible so no scares as yet!

Once we got to Green Patch (a camping area of Borderee) we took a stroll along the beach as the sun went down, very cool indeed. Jervis Bay is rumoured to have the whitest beaches in the world and I can't dispute it as I've never seen one whiter.

Last night was the first in the van and there were loads of strange noises to keep us awake. The site has a phone and after Karen hung up on her parents I tried to call my mam & dad. As I did a Kangaroo came up behind us which was pretty amazing. Karen was really scared and I was slightly worried. Some plonker had left a loaf of bread out for it to eat so it was there for ages. Eventually we gave up on the phone and went to bed. When we woke up the 'roo was outside our van! I guess i6t thought that we were going to feed it.

Looking forward to more adventures tonight when we get to a place called Eden at the southern tip of New South Wales before heading into Victoria tomorrow towards Melbourne.

So, after the Hong Kong experience we've spent a week with Family in Manly, a suburb of Sydney. We've done quite a bit but we are leaving the full Sydney experience until after the road trip to Adelaide.

We've drank a fair bit and eaten well, blowing quite a bit of our budget but it's been worth it. A hire car has got us to wonderful beaches such as Palm Beach ('Summer Bay' where Home and Away is filmed) and Dee Why where we saw some pretty good surfing and a Christmas Tree on the beach.

The Manly Ferry has also served us well getting us to Sydney on a few occasions to see the Opera House and the Bridge. We've strolled through Hyde Park and the shops and we've also visited 'The Rocks' which seems to be the old part of Sydney.

I'll write more when I have more time. Suffice to say all is well and we're having fun!