Australia

Leaving Wollongong for the couple of hours drive up to the Blue Mountains (part of the Great Dividing Range), nothing too spectacular, but pleased to arrive in the town of Katoomba for one nights stay at the YHA.

Again, as with most places, we're pushed for time so waste none and Chris and mum head off to Echo Point to see the 3 Sisters (rock formation) at dusk, Paul curling up with the newspaper at the hostel.

Christine's Birthday today (31st October) - aged XX, looks 23. Any guesses, anyone???

After opening a mass of presents and cards (!), we kick off the day with a walk along the Prince Henry Cliff Walk, to Echo Point, then down the Great Causeway. Stats - 900+ steps originally constructed from 1909, taking until 1932 - stopped in 1915 ;cos of the war effort/lack of funds. Amazing views as we make our way down the steps, looking out to the valley.

Walked along the lower track to Furber Steps and began to climb (1040 steps!) back up to the top. Round of applause for Mrs N for making it back to the top - that new hip working just fine!

A short stop in the town for lunch before getting back on the road to Sydney, stopping in at Wentowrth Falls on the way, just a short drive out of the main Blue Mountains area. The Falls not too big at this time, but the views from the lookouts simply awesome.

Not great timing with our arrival into Sydney coinciding with rushhour, but we manage to find our way to Glebe, and the Wattle Guest House, with relative ease.

The GH is a lovely little place (max 26 folks) conveniently placed for (walking) access to the city, and run by the friendly owners, Veronica and Steve. Whilst probably not the cheapest accomodation around, it was a snippet of home life for us and we were all happy to be here to enjoy the comforts.

That evening, walked into the city, as far as Darling Harbour and celebrated Christine's birthday with a tasty Thai meal, and a couple of bottles of beer. Nice to be back in Sydney!

We spent about a week in Sydney altogether, doing the usual suspects - Harbour Bridge, The Rocks, around the Opera House/Circular Quay, Botanical Gardens, as well as around the city.

Mum only with us for a couple of days before she heads up Port Macquarie way to see some friends, so waved goodbye for another 8 months, though we'll be in New Zealand at time and maybe our paths will cross.

Highlights for us were standing (cheapskates) tickets for Pirates of Penzance at the Opera House. Great show, though would have really liked to have seen an orchestral performance here. PoP is a 'little' cheesy (I think that's the main ingredient for a Gilbert and Sullivan piece) but amusing and well done.

Also, we were very lucky to enjoy a meal at the Guillaume at Bennelong Restaurant at the Opera House, courtesy of my generous friends at Ladbrokes (www.ladbrokes.com). We were a little worried that bookings would need to be made well in advance, but we were thankfully squeezed in - our next worry being the standard of our couture. Again, thankfully, these scumbags managed to sort themselves some smart/casual. Probably a bit more on the casual end.

Having lived on cheap and cheerful pasta-based dishes over the last few months, our tastebuds were about to be given a real treat. The food was simply amazing, and we were expertly guided by our Sommelier (look it up!) for a perfect Reisling.

Just enough space to round off with a dessert, with its own accompanying dessert wine, as chosen by Guillaume Brahimi himself.

Walk-wise, the track from Coogee to Bondi (including the Sculptures by the Sea) was great, though Paul ducked out halfway through and made his way on foot back through Paddington (where he stayed back in 1999), and across town to Glebe.

Disappointingly the weather tailed off over our last few days in Sydney, so our plans to spend some time up in Manly were called off, though we did take a drive up on a rainy Sunday afternoon, and then on to Collaroy in the hope of dropping in on our friends John and Angie who we met a few weeks ago in Cambodia. John was home and hopefully not too troubled that we interrupted his chores, though unfortunately Angie was at work. Guys, your house is amazing!

Our penultimate day in Sydney was 7th November, Melbourne Cup Day. The Aussies (across the country) really go for it as a big day (it's a National Holiday in Melbourne), and we enjoyed our Guinness whilst watching the big race. No winners for us today, just glad that the sun came out for a bit.

Sorry to be moving on, would have enjoyed a bit more time on the East Coast, especially for us to do Fraser Island and the Whitsundays together (we've done them before but not together).

So, all packed up again for the next leg and we make our way to the airport bright and early on 8th November. Dropping the car off a bit of a hassle - thanks Budget for trying to overcharge us, and surprising us with an additional 25% 'tax' when we settled up. Can't wait to use you again!

New Zealand, here we come...

Our route through to the Australian Capital of Canberra takes us to Kosciuszko National Park - Kosciuszko being the tallest mountain in Australia at 2228 metres - via the Alpine Way, through dense forest, stopping at various lookouts on the way.

A little wildlife on the way, including naughty Kangaroos not looking where they were going and Paul having to pull up sharply, as well as another Emu family - this time, 8 kids! Actually, I've since found out that the collective term for a group of Emu's is a 'mob'. Interestingly, the collective term for goldfish is a 'troubling'. Fascinating.

We spent the night in the ghost-town that is Thredbo - a skiing village, though they haven't had snow for months apparently. Hardly anyone around, and nothing open, though we get a nice warm room at the YHA.

Up early the next morning to find a couple of inches of snow lying around us and lots of icicles hanging! Unbelieveable, though thankfully the roads are remarkably clear, but we make an early exit anyway. Shame, seems like the walks around here would be good, especially taking a ski lift to the top.

Via Jindabyne, we make our way on to Canberra itself. Luckily we arrive at the weekend, making parking easier for our stay at the huge Central YHA. We track down a Starbucks and use our BOGOF voucher, but using the saving to buy a cake.

We walk along the main road up to Capital Hill and Parliament House, an impressive building, finished in 1988 at a cost of $1.1bn. Arrived just in time to catch on to the 4pm guided tour. By the way, the building houses one of the original Magna Carta's - one of the better specimen's apparently.

Finished the day walking back via the loop of Lake Burley Griffin in the warm sunshine. Watched Austin Powers in bed that night!

Next morning, walked back up towards the lake, but around up ANZAC Parade to the Australian War Memorial and Museum - brilliant museum, I wish we had more time here. The museum houses 'George' - the 'lucky' Lancaster Bomber and there's an interesting film/re-enactment to watch. MUST SEE!

Leaving (underrated) Canberra on the Hume Hughway again, taking the coastal turnoff through Moss Vale to Wollongong. Nice to sea the see again.

Arriving late afternoon, we check in to our hostel and, soon after, make our way towards the harbour/lighthouse to see some waves crash in, as well as seeing some whopping pelicans.

Watched the Australian Music Awards - Midnight Oil receiving a Lifetime Achievement-type award.

Wandered around town and along the waterfront the next morning, before heading up to Bulli Scenic Lookout, giving views over the Illawarra Escarpment. Saw, but again didn't hear, another Kookaburra.

Another walk nearby, from Foothills Road through gorgeous (Cabbage Tree) palms and Eucalyptus trees.

Blue Mountains and Sydney to follow...

Touched down in Melbourne International Airport and straight on the blower to our friend Richard, who emigrated over here a couple of years ago and lives with his lovely wife, Emma, in Williamstown. Not forgetting their foster-cat, Tuesday, who is a little bit scared of strangers, and also likes to attack if you get too close following her down the hallway.

Anyway, picked up our hire care (boo-hoo, no cruise control) and headed down towards downtown - only made one turn-off mistake on the way.

Richard and Emma have a lovely place just 30 seconds (quick walk) from the beach at Williamstown - what a lovely place.

Haven't seen Richard since last Christmas in London, so we caught up as we strolled along the waterfront and through the botanical gardens.

Monday night is spaghetti night in the Payne household - never had Tofu Bolognese before. Tip-top. But that wine was nice too.

Only one night in Williamstown before we hit the (Great Ocean)road and off we go via Geelong with a mostly sunny sky.

First stop of the day at Torquay Beach to watch some surfers, then on to the famous (Point Break was filmed there) Bells Beach. Further down the road we see our first lighthouse, at Aireys Inlet and take a walk to the Erskine Falls at Lorne. Not a lot of rain lately, so the falls not so impressive - greenery surrounding us is nice though.

At Lorne we also took a drive up into the coastal hills to Teddy's Lookout, giving breathtaking views of the bay and the snaking road. Wow, saw our first 'wild' Koala here, though it was fairly inactive, even after a prod. We told Christine's mum that she shouldn't do that, it's not very nice.

Further along the GOR we get to Apollo Bay, and more fantastic beaches and settings - then slightly inland and on through the Otway National Park with amazing green hills, with clear blue skies behind.

Arrived at Port Campbell National Park next with its sheer cliff faces and the amazing 12 Apostles - tall limestone columns formed over many millenia from the effects of the sea. In fact, there's no longer 12 structures, only 6 left standing with the most recent collapse a few years ago. Got here fairly late in the day, but hoped for a fancy sunset - not today, with the clouds now surrounding us.

Stayed at the old YHA in Port Campbell, though didn't get up to much and moved on early next day, though making a return trip to the 12 Apostles next morning - showers unfortunately.

A few km's up the road is Loch Ard Gorge, site of the shipwreck of 1878, only 2 survivors from this wreck, on the last night of the voyage from England. Very windy, thus impreesive waves.

Then along the coast to 'London Bridge' - a limestone archway, where one of the spans collapsed in 1990, alledgedly leaving to secret lovers stranded, needing a rescue by helicopter.

Next, Bay of Islands, with similar gorgeous scenery to the 12 Apostles.

The small town of Warrnambool was where we went to see if we could see some whales at Logan's Beach, which is a nursery area. Sadly, nuffink.

Stopped in Port Fairy for some elevenses - yummy 'Mars Hedgehog' (chocolate cake). Took a walk through to the small harbour, and on to the huge stretch of empty beach. Also here are the remains of the fortification and gun battery set up to protect the area from the prospect of invading Russians! The Russians never came, at least not with a view to invading - probably just here on holiday.

The road trip takes us on along the Portland-Nelson Road and we stopped at the windswept Discovery Bay Coastal Park, then on to the freshwater Piccaninie Ponds - a favoured spot for inland snorkelling. Too cold today!

Last tourist spot of the day was to visit the quirky Umpherston Sinkhole - a curious sunken garden/cave-thing, that you can walk down into - even has BBQ facilities!

Tonight's bed will be at Mount Gambier, where we'll get our first stay in a jail - this place was a jail until 1995, but is now very interesting backpacker accomodation. Got ourselves a cosy cell with bunks. Took up the free internet offer here and played with the Llama and little dog who likes to climb ladders.

First thing next morning and we take a walk around the extinct crater rim, which surrounds the most beautiful Royal blue water, then onto the Engelbrecht Caves - fascinating underwater caves, used by divers. The caves used to be a junkhole, where 400 tons of rubbish were excavated back in the 1980's leading to the first public visits in 1992.

A change of plan to the schedule here - we worked out that driving all the way up to Adelaide and taking in all the proposed stops would simply be too much rush and we wouldn't be out of the car, so, we turn inland at this stage and head North to The Grampians National Park.

The drive through the burnt forests, following the huge fires from January 2006, is an amazing sight with the new greenery growing against the charred tree trunks, though the volume of destruction is immense and of course, you think about all the poor little critters.

Just before we arrived into Halls Gap, we see our first Echidna (a sort of tropical hedgehog). The eco-YHA in Halls Gap is amazing, and perfectly positioned - in fact HG in this sunshine reminds us of Yosemite National Park in California.

Enjoyed a big 3-scoop ice cream while we planned our stay, then Chris and mum took a late afteroon walk through to Fyans Creek to watch Kangaroos. Paul went back to the hostel to relax in the cosy and quiet lounge.

Weather not so good next morning and it rains as we walk the path to the top of Mount William (1167 metres - highest point in the Park). As with a lot of tall peaks around the world, this one is also topped off with some kind of radio station, spoiling the view somewhat, and no doubt emitting some kind of fancy radiowaves, nibbling away at my bonemarrow.

Visited the interesting cultural centre, then took a lengthy drive around the Park area, visiting MacKenzie Falls (270 steps to climb), Lake Wartook, then onto part of the Park not affected by the fires. Saw our first Emu, with its 5 kids (not sure what baby Emu's are called).

Did several walks and lookouts - views over Mount Difficult Range and Victoria Valley.

Stayed a second night at the YHA, thankfully we were able to get a spot - they're very busy at weekends.

Met some 'ologists' over breakfast, who are here to look at the regeneration of the area. Lots of the new growth coming through is here for a short time only, so they're all getting very excited. About plants.

After brekky, we took a walk to the Venus Baths, just off the main street. Saw, but didn't hear, a Kookaburra and lots of spring flowers, before jumping back in the car for the drive on to Daylesford.

Daylesford is a popular Spa area and we spent the late afternoon on a nice walk around the lake, though it was a little chilly for mum. The YHA here is a homely affair, and we enjoyed the evening watching a Battle of Britain documentary, presented by the nice man who does all the fancy charts on Election night.

Further walks the next day - Golden Spring to Hepburn Mineral Springs via Jackson's Lookout. Quite low on the wildlife count, 3 Echidnas and 1 Wallaby - no Koalas. Left town early afternoon for the final strectch back to Melbourne.

Sunday afternoon and the weather in Melbourne is sunny and warm, bringing the masses to the Botanical Gardens, where we spent a fine couple of hours, before driving back out of town to Yarra Junction where we'll be dropping mum off for her stay with Joyce and Eric for a few days. Got back to Melbourne late evening for some wine before a cofy sleep, back in Richard's Casio Museum.

Our 4 days (Mon - Thurs) in Melbourne very enjoyable - checked out the (fairly) new Federation Square, site of the old railway sidings. We saw the Melbourne mayor here, meeting'n'greeting some schoolkids. Enjoyed our walks along the Southbank, to the Casino, then along the Yarra out to the MGC. The free tram still runs the circuit of the city centre, though it drags it out a bit - you could probably walk faster. Took the tram out to the seaside area at St Kilda, which is a little more chilled out than the city. Had hoped to see some little penguins out past the marina, but no luck today. Also spent some time in Williamstown itself - braved a swim in the freezing water. Saw our first possum in a tree in town.

Picked up mum from Yarra Junction on Thursday morning and she and Chris did their thing in town that afternoon, Paul enjoying a sit down against the fence in the sun in Richards garden.

Wow, time has flown and we're now moving on from Melbourne - really good to see Richard and Emma and big thanks to them, and Tuesday, for letting us stay at their lovely house.

Hume Highway to Canberra follows...

Both very excited about our return to Australia, and I guess quite looking forward to the relative ease of travelling here, compared with other parts of the world.

This part of the trip will be slightly different, with Christine's mum joining us.

Also, the weather 'should' be good - not the tiring humidity of Asia, and with the start of summer around the corner, there'll be some great days....hopefully....

These short few weeks will see us in Perth, Ayers Rock, Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney - lots to do and ground to cover in a very short time.

Perth

Aah, fond prior memories of Perth, and WA as a whole. Albeit a days broken-up travelling from Asia (Bangkok to Singapore to Perth), we get in to Perth Airport late evening on Friday 6th October and our chum, Billy Whitmarsh, meets the three of us at arrivals.

30 minutes later and we're 'home' and for the next 7 days staying with Bill at his lovely place in Mullaloo, just 10 minutes stroll from the beach.

Wow, how nice it is for the evening air to be fresh and cool, and a real bonus to benefit from snuggling up under a duvet. A great night's sleep had by all.

First morning the treats come thick and fast - not just a beautiful clear sky to kick off the day, but the best fryup in a long, long, time.

An easy day followed, with a drive down to the sea and a wander along the coast for our first cold beer (and a coffee for mum). Eek, $8 for a beer!

From the main cycle path we get a perfect view of the beach and the surf - unfortunately no swimming today, probably a bit chilly anyway...

No meal that night, making plenty of room for some expert Mojitos, and then some more Mojitos. And a beer or two. The cool evening air soon forgotten under the cover of beer jackets.

Day 2 and we drive over to 'Freo (Fremantle) via a couple of the small seaside spots along the way. Our long awaited fish and chips well worth it, though we probably spent more on one meal here than we spent on several days worth in Asia.

Other than a wander around the nice town, not a lot here - saw the Sunday market. Oh, and had some icecream, including my flavour of the month, Rum Raisin.

In the afternoon, joined Billy at a BBQ at a buddys house - wow, lovely place - pool, jacuzzi, games room. Good bunch of guys and girls (scousers!) and we didn't find the car mounted on bricks when we left.

Day 3 - first stop at King's Park, overlooking the city. Had a nice easy walk around, then made our way into town for a nibble, then more walking... Spent some time down on the beach - whilst a bit rough for swimming, managed to catch a couple of waves body-boarding. Didn't even 'nearly' drown. More refreshing beverages later that evening.

Day 4 - a little bit of exercise in the morning and Bill, Chris and I take a bike ride along the coast track, stopping for a coffee on the way. Avoided several Bobtail Lizards along the track, as well as various walkers, runners and other bikers. Fantastic views - what an amazing place to have on your doorstep. Caught up with mum who had taken a walk up the track in the other direction, towards Hillary's Boat Harbour.

In the 'arvo, drove up to Yanchep National Park, less than an hour's drive. A great time to go - hardly anyone there, and it's free after 4pm. Very lucky - saw several Koala's, including an 'active' one (they're usually snoozing), just a few feet away. Of course, there were plently wedged up in the trees, snoozing. Also, Kangaroos here, with their Joey's and along the edge of the lake we found some Long Necked Turtles.

Day 5 - boo hoo, weather not so good, so we seek some inside activities and make our way to the interesting, if not quite small, Western Australia Museum. Part of the old jail sits within the museum, also a pickled Megamouth Shark. The Art Gallery of WA is next door - the Aboriginal works, most interesting. Had hoped for a nice sunset from the beach - unfortunately got rained/blown off. Dinner at a local, and delicious, Thai restaurant.

Day 6 - what?, more drinking? - yep, a day out visiting the wineries of Swan Valley. Before getting to the wineries, we stopped off in Guildford - Heath Ledger was apparently born there, but a quick beer whilst the girls walked along the main street was the key attraction.

We visited a handful of wineries - some keen to offer free samples, others keen to charge a little here and there. Paul signed up as designated driver, on the basis that we could make a return visit to the Chocolate Factory, for plenty free samples. Aah, wine and chocolate....

Pub dinner to finish the day, and met up with another ex-Northwood-er, Gordy, and his wife Anne-Marie.

Last (full) day - no rushing about today, just the Aquarium on the agenda and we arrived just in time for the feeding of the sharks. The aquarium is very well done - the main exhibit is a 98m long moving tunnel, with, er, fish, turtles, sharks and stingrays swimming above you. Chris got very excited about touching a Cuttlefish and a Stingaree (a 'ray' type thing) in the petting pool. The seahorses were beautiful, but the 'Prettiest Underwater Thing Award' would need to go to the Leafy Dragons.

Last night spent at the pub (after a great meal courtesy of Billy), looking across the sea - a great finish to a great week in Perth. A big thanks to Billy for looking after us - geezer!

Next morning, off to the Domestic Airport for the plane ride into the Red centre....

Ayers Rock

It's amazing when you consider the size of Australia - it's a 3 hour plane ride over to the centre from Perth. 'Spose it beats driving!

Also, with the centre being so far from anywhere else, you'd think that maybe the weather doesn't even bother to go there. Wrong, shortly after leaving the clear skies of Perth, cloud surrounds and covers the barren land underneath, though we get some breaks as we descend into Uluru and get a good view of both Uluru and The Olgas whilst in the air. That'll save paying to go on a separate plane excursion around the rocks! Cheapskates!

Pleasantly unhelpful carhire agents at the airport advise that they're fully booked, so the freebie shuttle bus into the Uluru resort for the 15 minute ride is snapped up.

The YHA accomodation is a good set up, with good facilities and located near the supermarket and info centre. Whilst there are hotels within the resort area, it's pretty expensive - though the YHA isn't cheap either but the only budget option - cost about $30 a night in a dorm. Glad we booked months in advance, and we're not yet in high season.

A combination of the journey here itself, as well as having to put the watch forward 90 minutes, we don't have a great deal of daylight left, so have a walk around the site and to one of the lookout points, towards the 'rock'. Shame about the clouds, doesn't help the view, though we can see Uluru, some 20 kms away.

Christine and Mum enjoyed a bottle of cider and no doubt tapped their toes to the onsite 'man with guitar and drum machine'. Referred to as a 'good, old sing-song'.

Managed to sort out a hire car for the next morning, though can't pick it up till 10, which becomes 11. Thanks Thrifty, and sorry we had to trouble you to record all the dents and scratches that you missed, and would no doubt have blamed on us.

Uluru is a formidable sight as you drive closer and closer - a real oddity on a generally flat landscape. Again, weather not much of a help today, so the red of the rock not getting much contrast against the grey sky. At least it's dry....

Being 'nice' travellers, we opt for the walk around the base of the rock, rather than up it, and just under 3 hours later (9.4kms) we return to the carpark. Paul kicking himself that he didn't wear appropriate footwear, but was rewarded with a perfect circle of worn-away skin on his right foot.

As well as various birds along the way, we came across a lone Dingo who took a wide path around us - not sure if he was scared, or stalking. Also, another Dingo who seemed quite comfortable in the company of the Aboriginal kids who were clambering around the rock and playing in one of the pools.

I mentioned that it had been dry, well.... a bit of a downpour came as we walked the final 500 metres.

Quite glad that there's the compassionate option not to climb up the rock - it looks pretty steep in parts, and there's only a chain rope to get you up there. With the rock as smooth as a pebble, there wouldn't be much to stop you tumbling all the way back down to the bottom, probably dead. And the Aboriginal people get upset when folks die, or are injured, on their land.

Whilst we enjoyed the walk very much, and clearly Uluru is equally an impressive as it is an odd sight, I reckon that the view was less good down to the amount of cloud. As our time in the red centre is very limited, we'll keep our chubby fingers crossed for better conditions tomorrow.

Making the most of our hirecar, we next zoom over to The Olgas (aka Kata Tjuta) to see (bits of) the 36 steep-sided domes, covering an area of 3500 hectares! Also, fact fans, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is the world's only twice listed site in the UNESCO World Heritage list. I got this off the internet, so it must be true.

It started to pour with rain so I stayed nice and dry in the car and played Backgammon whilst Chris and Mum went for a 2 hour walk into the valley, aptly named the Valley of the Winds. Apparently the scenery was stunning but Chris got rather anxious a few times as her Mum tackled the slippery terrain. The three rainbows were pretty cool - didn't expect to see those in the red centre.

Next, and final, morning up at 5.30 am and drove to Ayers Rock in the hope of seeing a spectacular sunrise. Unfortunately it wasn't a great one but at least it was dry and we saw a pack of Dingo's, though they ran in the opposite direction to the crowds of folk up for the sunrise view. Whilst the sunrise itself not all that impressive, the sun shining against the rock was and the different shades of red/orange stood out magnificently.

After a sniff around the cultural centre, we met up at the base of the rock to join a 'free' walk'n'talk from one of the Aborignal Park Rangers.

Sadly not much time to spare, so we buzz down to the airport for our lunchtime flight on to Melbourne.

We've changed our plans slightly - rather than the arduous (nigh on 2 days, and still quite expensive) coach journey to Adelaide, we'll fly to Melbourne, and take a hire car from their towards Adelaide, and back again. Shame we'll miss out on the underground world that is Coober Pedy.