A bit more from the merry old land of Oz!

So the first stop in 2013 was to the mountains of New South Wales - but to be frank, they were more like hills!  Although they are called the Snowy Mountains any snow is pretty much non-existent (not like you guys in the UK at the mo!).  We took in some of the views, had a few scenic drives and got to see Australia's highest mountain (although at 7310 ft its a bit weedy really).  It was a nice relaxing way to spend a couple of days but there was nothing too memorable.

The not so snowy mountains

On the way back to Sydney (yep, we went back - bit weird you may think, but it kinda made sense honest!), we stopped off in the nations capital for a couple of days.  As a capital city we were expecting some good things from Canberra, but it was a little underwhelming really and there's no real notable landmarks.  That said, we visited the modern parliament building, checked out the Captain Cook memorial fountain and the war memorial which was nicely done.  The whole city was weirdly quiet though - felt more like a large town than a major city and had none of the hustle and bustle you'd expect.  On the upside, you can drive absolutely everywhere and park for free!

Canberra parliament building

War memorial

Captain Cook memorial

Back in Sydney we spent a couple of days chilling out a bit and doing a few tourist things.  As we'd spent quite a few days there back on 2009, we used the time to go to some of the spots we hadn't been before and have a good look around the harbour.  All in all, a nice city to spend some time.

After picking up yet another car we carried on following the coast and headed towards Victoria (and in particular Phillip Island), and trying not to get fried in any of the terrible bush-fires that were kicking off everywhere it seemed!  Not much to report on the way around the coast to be honest - more of the same in many ways.  Phillip Island was good - we didn't spend as long there are was thought we might, but stopped by the Koala Conservation Centre which was as good as remembered, this time we got to see a mum with a joey climbing around the trees.  We also stopped at The Nobbies (*snigger* - basically big rocks and islands off the most windy coastline ever!) and watched a few wallabies and geese along the roadside.  Also had some of the nicest crispy chips ever on the beach, so can't complain!

The Nobbies

Wallaby at The Nobbies

Off to the Great Ocean Road next and heading in the direction of South Australia.  The Great Ocean Road for part of it is as the name suggests however, around half of the road is actually inland which is a bit misleading!.   We took in the usual tourist spots and stopped to watch the sunset at the 12 apostles.  Just after sunset we got see a load of fairy penguins jump out of the ocean, huddle together and run up the beach to their beds - we were quite a distance away from them but it was still very entertaining to watch.

12 Apostles

After driving a fair few miles we took a break in a place called Mount Gambier where we saw the bluest lake we have ever seen, so blue it looks almost fake.  We also wandered around a wildlife conservation area and stalked a couple of echidna's for a while foraging for food. Continuing the drive we passed through the very arid and somewhat dull landscape of South Australia before arriving in Adelaide.  Adelaide was again more of a large town than a city.  It had a very good shopping centre, pretty river and a couple of new 'historic' buildings to look at, but apart from that for us there wasn't really too much to hang around for so we headed back south to get the ferry across to Kangaroo Island.

Almost fake looking blue lake

One of the echidna's we stalked!

We were much busier on Kangaroo Island (or KI as the locals call it), with plenty to see and do.  We stayed in a rural B&B which was so peaceful and the people here seemed really friendly, even giving a one figured wave as you passed them by in the car (not the middle finger either!). The island has a different feel to the mainland and it was really relaxing.  We visited Flinders Chase National Park where we saw some pretty sights such as Admirals Arch (where a load of New Zealand fur seals were relaxing), Remarkable Rocks and Weir Cove.

Admirals Arch

Remarkable Rocks

Weir Cove

One of the highlights of the trip to KI was a guided tour to see some Australian Sea Lions in their natural habitat - apparently the only place in the world you can do this.  It was a very cool experience and really interesting as we were walking along the beach alongside the sea lions. You really appreciate the sheer size of these animals when you are so close to them, but they are pretty lazy though - all they seemed to do whilst we were there was sleep or sun themselves whilst trying to avoid the water!!

In the evening we booked a tour to see the little penguins.  Sadly there are not too many around in Penneshaw nowadays mainly due to man made changes to the island, but we did get to see a few moulting penguins and youngsters waiting for their parents to come home so the trip was worth it.

After 3 days of really enjoying Kangaroo Island it was time to get the ferry back to the mainland and take the inland route back to Melbourne.  The day we left was the hottest we have experienced on the trip so far as the mercury tipped a massive 45 degrees - thankfully we were driving for much of the day, so the air con was working overtime!!  I think I (Lisa) would have died being outside that day - even the breeze was scorching hot.  Thankfully it has cooled down now (slightly) but that doesn't seem to have stopped the bush fires as they do actually have loads to contend with.

So now, we are on our way to Melbourne and for those of you who don't know, we have tickets to see the Australian Open tennis quarter finals on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Rob has everything crossed that Federer will be making an appearance (he only needs to win one more match) and Lisa sadly won't get to see Nadal.

Anyhoo, that's about if from us for now.  After Melbourne we will be heading to Tasmania for about 10 days but we are starting to get a bit Australia'd out - we have been here over 7 weeks after all.  We've also decided that we are not going to go to New Zealand this trip as it may be a bit too soon since we last visited.  Therefore, after Tasmania we'll be heading in the direction of Hawaii - aloha!

Happy New Year and all that....

Now I know we're not the Queen, but here's our very late Christmas message ;-)

So, after flying from coast to coast we arrived in Cairns mid December and started off in some familiar territory in Port Douglas (we were here in 2009). Have to be honest - not much had changed, although this time round we had much better weather (nice & sunny, around 30 degrees every day and not too humid). We spent some time visiting the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation "where the mangroves meet the ocean" so they say, and took in the first of many nice coastal drives.

Daintree Rainforest

4 mile beach

We then started the very long (about 2800km) drive south in the direction of Sydney. Most of the drive was coastal, so unsurprisingly a huge amount of the trip has been all about seeing beaches and water - neither of which we are massive fans of, so probably a bit wasted on us! That said we made plenty of stops along the way which were all very nice and pleasing to the eye, but ultimately all a bit samey at times.

We did venture inland a few times for a few things. A couple of the highlights being Wallaman Falls where a steep and winding road took us to the highest waterfall in Australia (sadly slightly obscured by a bush fire on the day) and then to Eungella National Park where we got to see a few duck billed platypus in their natural habitat for the first time. We also took a look at the Glass House Mountains just west of Brisbane which were pretty good - but we're more like hills really :-)

Our first duck billed platypus

Glasshouse Mountains

That saw us through to Christmas, when we had a couple of nights in an excellent 2 bedroom apartment in Burleigh Heads. This was a lovely place to spend Christmas - just over the road from a very pretty beach and the balcony of our apartment overlooked the pool and tennis courts. All in all, a little bit different to our traditional UK Christmas - and not a sprout in sight!

To be honest though it didn't feel too much like Christmas as there was nothing really traditional about it - well for us anyway. I'm sure for the countless Aussies crammed on the beach on Christmas Day it was perfectly normal! Its certainly a Christmas we'll never forget though as wandering on the beach in the blazing sunshine on Christmas afternoon doesn't happen every year!

After leaving Queensland we moved into New South Wales, creeping ever closer to Sydney for New Years Eve. On the way we popped into the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie where we saw some of the very cute little critters as they rehabilitated from various injuries - more often than not caused by someone hitting them with a car. They do really good work there and all on a volunteer basis. We had a really good time and Lisa loved it - and guess what, she adopted one, his name is Buraneer Henry, wonder why she chose that one!

This is Barry having a snooze!

One final stop before the madness of Sydney was the Blue Mountains just on the outskirts where we had a relaxing day just looking around and checking out the scenery.

After finally managing to find a hotel room (on the outskirts) that wasn't absolutely extortionate, we got the train and headed into Sydney for one of the busiest things we've ever been to - to celebrate the start of 2013 near the harbour bridge, along with about a million or so other people!

Now we always knew it was going to to be mega busy, but it was more rammed than we had expected. It turns out they do pretty much close down the entire harbour side and only the designated vantage points are accessible in order to see the celebrations. A couple of the preferred ones near the Opera House and on Circular Quay had already closed by the time we got there, so we headed to Mrs Macquarie's Chair which was still open.

As we got there just after 3pm we thought we may have a chance of grabbing a reasonable spot. Wrong. It was insane - pretty much any half decent inch of grass, dirt, rock or anything else had gone - apparently some people had been there overnight (a bit tragic if you ask me). So we found ourselves perched on fairly steep and uncomfortable slope for quite a few hours waiting for the sun to go down.

Have to say that the organisation was pretty awful. We had managed to grab ourselves a really good vantage point right near a fence and we could see most of the bridge and the Opera House - good for photos as well!. It wasn't to be however as even though one of the "security gorillas" had told us we (and a load of other people) could stay there, a couple of his Neanderthal mates turned up about an hour later and unfairly moved us on, leaving us to find another spot - thanks.

Anyway, as luck would have it, we did managed to shoehorn ourselves into a spot where we got a half reasonable view of the 9 o'clock fireworks before moving on once again (there's another story there, but that's probably for another time). Ironically, just before the main thing kicked off at midnight, we ended up back pretty much where we started quite a few hours before and the security guy was a lot more reasonable and we actually managed to stay there this time!

Anyway, after all of the hassle and hanging around, we both got to see the main event. It was pretty spectacular (the bridge and the Opera House make it special really) and we managed to get a few snaps to share. It didn't go on for as long as we were expecting and to be honest the fireworks seemed to be over far quicker than the 13 minutes they apparently lasted. That said, it was certainly a New Year we'll remember.

Would we do it again? No, probably not. Unless you paid a few hundred dollars for a ticket and got to see it from a more organised and civilised vantage point, then I doubt we'd bother. However, we have said that one year we would maybe go to London to see what they can do...

Anyway, that just leaves us to say Happy New Year to all our friends and family - and anyone else that may be reading this blog. Here's hoping that 2013 is a good one.

Western Australia - part 2

Last Sunday we started to head south of Perth to checkout the area and as most of the tourists appear to head south in their vans we were expecting good things.

There were a couple of things that immediately struck us.  Firstly the scenery was quite different.  After the barren looking flatness of the north, the south gave us hills, countless trees and loads of farmland.  To be honest it is all a bit reminiscent of the English countryside - maybe that's why so many Brits live here?!?!

The weather also changed, it became much cooler (no complaints there).  After the first couple of days it changed to low to mid 20's but with it came overnight storms and rain. 

To be honest we initially weren't that thrilled with this part of Oz.  There were more people to contend with, things didn't have the relaxing laid back feel of the sparse north and everything just seemed that little bit more complicated!

Anyway, what we got up to in a nutshell was:

• drove around the coast which was very much the same as up north.  Got a bit choppy and rough on the south coast though - quite different from the tranquil Indian Ocean bays of the north.

• saw lots of big trees - Karri and Tingle trees.

• went for a tree top walk - on a suspended platform which was level with the top of the trees, a bit wobbly in places but we really enjoyed it.

Monkey Adams!

• paid a visit to the Gloucester tree, which is a 60m Karri tree that was used back in the day as a fire lookout across the national park.  You can climb to the top of the tree using the series of metal poles which have been shoved into the tree.  The poles spiral to the top and there is no harness - just a net over the poles to help you bounce to the ground in a slightly more orderly fashion!  We thoroughly enjoyed climbing to the top and were commended by the locals for our speed and obvious natural ability ;-)

Rob on his climb!

• ate some shark and chips from the local fish and chip shop.  Bit sceptical about it before we bought it, but the very friendly chippy owner fried a bit so we could try it.  Turned out Jaws is very tasty after all.

To be honest apart from driving, seeing camping sites and small towns that was pretty much it for the south of Perth.  Surprisingly for us it was all a tad underwhelming and no where near as enjoyable as the north.  

Onwards .... We fly to Cairns on Saturday to drive the east coast to ultimately end up in Sydney for New Year's Eve - looking forward to seeing the new year in at the harbour bridge!  For this stretch sadly no camper van - we've decided that sleeping in a tin can in all the tropical humidity may be a bit much.  So for at least the next 2 weeks we'll have a car and accommodation.

Western Australia - part 1

So here we are in sunny and very hot Western Australia. After a couple of decent flights and a bit of loitering waiting for connections, we arrived on Friday 30th November.  Having yet more time to kill and not knowing exactly when we'd next get the opportunity, we decided to use the rather handy showers at the airport, before getting the shuttle bus to Perth.

The bus trip took what seemed like a lifetime.  This was mainly due to the fact that we were welcomed with the dulcet tones of Rolf Harris and it soon became clear that Bill (our driver) must have a Rolf fetish.  90 minutes later Rolf was still going, so you can imagine our excitement to finally leave the bus and collect our lovely little Toyota Hiace camper van!

The whole camper experience was new to us so we received our camper induction from the Travellers Autobarn and we were on way, heading north of Perth to check out the outback.

This was quite an experience. You can drive hundreds of miles until you see anything that resembles civilisation and the scenery does get a bit dull after the first few hours - just lots of bush and red dirt.  Emus and kangaroos often distracted us and provided a fair few minutes entertainment.

The van gave us freedom. It's great just to pull over on the side of the road and cook lunch, grab an ice cold drink from the fridge or have a nap.  Just a small tip on that one - if going for the nap option, then set an alarm.  One 30 minute siesta turned into 3 hours - Oops!

So, the things we did in the outback:-

• Yanchep - this was our first overnight stay in the camper van, Rob put the gas stove to the test cooking some kanga bangers. This was all after we had called roadside assistance as the camper decided to illuminate the engine warning light after driving a massive 30 km's.  Not the best start, but the RAC  man sorted it quickly.  The next morning  it was great to wake up to the sun rising over the Indian Ocean.

Yanchep lagoon

• visited the Pinnacles (limestone formations).

• got to see some sheep shearing in a place called Hamelin.  The farm we stayed at kindly showed us the shearing sheds and we got to see the real stuff in action.  Looks like hard work especially in the heat and it's very competitive apparently.  The top shearer doesn't want lose his ranking especially as they get paid $2.70 per sheep and can do around 200 per day - new career maybe?

• visited a resort called Monkey Mia, where dolphins arrive everyday for a small feed.  This was very different to what I (Lisa) expected.  I found it a bit hypocritical to be honest.  Apparently they only feed a small amount of fish to specific dolphins each day as they don't want them to become dependent, but given that one of the dolphins has been arriving everyday for 36 years it seems pretty dependent to me.  Frankly it was all a bit too gimmicky for our liking and making money was the real reason for feeding the dolphins.  Without suckers like us paying to view the dolphins this place would be a ghost town soon enough.

•  we snorkelled at Coral Bay.  The Ningaloo reef is very close to the shore so we got to see a few pretty fish and a dolphin swimming very close to shore.  Also got properly sunburnt here - next time we'll be swimming in burkas ;-)

• visited Kalbarri National Park on the hottest day so far. It got to around 38 degrees, and I (Lisa) felt a bit heat stricken so needed to escape the sun for a bit - not always easy when there are no trees!

• Lisa has become addicted to Subway Surfers and is playing it every night in the van hoping to beat Rob's score (trying for you Gem!) and she's also disappointed at the lack of ginger nut or rich tea biscuits available in Western Australia ;-)

So in short, the road trip north has been pretty interesting.  As well as the stuff above we've had fun getting used to our new 4-wheeled home, seen some amazing sunsets, a few lizards basking in the heat on the middle of the road, lots of road kill (sadly mostly kangaroos) and fortunately we haven't encountered anything venomous at the moment which is pretty good going!

And we're off (again!)...

Flights have been booked and our trip will re-commence on Wednesday 28th November. We decided to head to Australia and will arrive in Perth on Friday to pick up the camper van.  The lovely tent will be staying in the UK!

Our last blog for a while...

 Hello all.  Since we last blogged a lot of things have happened, some good, some bad.

In short, we have headed down the east coast just in time to avoid "Frankenstorm" Sandy and had a few pleasant days driving through Virginia and into North Carolina along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It was all very nice and relaxing, but the 400+ miles did seem to drag on a bit.  We then headed into the Great Smoky Mountains - bit of a mistake.

A nice mill scene

A nerdy road shot!

We had been told that quite by accident we had got there on the busiest weekend of the year due to the fall colours and it was heaving with people.  This made our time there a little less enjoyable to be honest - it was nice enough, but frankly had seen better elsewhere.  Moving on from there we didn't do much really - we thought about going to Graceland (or Dollywood -joke!) as it was on the way through, but neither of us were that bothered as it happened, so we just drove through and had a chill out until we got to Texas.

We only skirted across the top of Texas and went to Fort Worth to see a rodeo and try our hand at horse riding.  The Red Steagal rodeo was in town and it was actually really good.  We'd never seen anything like that (apart from in the movies) and we both really enjoyed it.  There were bucking broncos, wild cow milking (yes, its as weird as it sounds) and other cowboy things.  The highlight had to be 'mutton bustin' - basically seeing small children hanging on to a mad angry sheep running at full speed - hilarious!

Ouch!

Mutton Bustin'

The following day we went for our first horse ride - what better place to do it than in cowboy country?!?  Lisa was pretty worried about it, but after our cowboy guide Raul let her make friends with her new horsey chum (Pancho) she got into and we both really enjoyed our hour ride - not sure our bums would agree though!

That was the good stuff.  Right after the horse ride, Lisa received the very sad and unfortunate news that her nan had passed away (29th October 2012).  She had been taken into hospital for a few days prior and the outlook wasn't too optimistic, but naturally any news like this still comes as a shock.

In light of this news, we will be temporarily heading home for a short period in order to attend the funeral and allow Lisa to pay her respects and say goodbye - it just wouldn't feel right not to.

So after travelling over 14,000 miles through 30 states (plus 4 Canadian provinces), we have now begun an 1800 mile drive back to where it all began in Seattle 3 months ago in order to return the hire car and get a flight back to the UK. 

We have discussed things at length and despite the sad news, we've decided that it would not be right to end the trip abruptly under these circumstances.  This experience is something we have both talked about doing for quite a few years and it feels far too soon to call it a day - and it's certainly not something that Lisa's nan would have wanted.

So, we shall be continuing our trip after all of the personal matters have been sorted out and once we've worked out where we'll head next - lots of decisions over the next couple of weeks.

For the time being however, this will be the last blog post about our adventures.  Thanks for reading and all of your comments so far and be sure to check in once we get back on the road...

RIP Nan - we will really miss you x x