| We crossed the river at McKillops Bridge, set in the landscape that inspired "Banjo" Paterson's famous ballad, 'The Man from Snowy River'. Made Terry's day as he's wanted to come here ever since seeing the film. Couldn't stop long though because time was ticking by and petrol was getting low, we drove on through the mountains, passing Dead Calf Creek and Dead Bull Creek - farmers round here obviously don't have much luck - and then through rain forest as we headed back to sea level. We finally made it to Orbust at 7pm and after the petrol light had been on for about half an hour!! Found petrol, but nowhere to stay, all the motels and hotels etc were booked up, so we drove to Marlo on the coast, but found the same thing - there were so many caravan parks etc, but all were fully booked. Everyone in Oz must go away over Xmas and New Year! A kind woman at one of the campsites phoned round everywhere she knew and finally managed to find us a caravan another 17km down the road in teh middle of nowhere. It ended up being really cheap too. We drove there and dumped our stuff before heading back to Marlo to get some dinner, but the only restaurant had stopped serving food 10 mins before we got there!!! Managed to find a small cafe that served fish & chips and sat overlooking the sea, with the very last of the sunset and a lonely pelican - what a day!! 30th Dec 2005 Had breakfast overlooking where the Snowy River meets the sea and then left it behind. We drove along the coast in the blistering heat, stopping at Seaspray (near Sale and part of the 90 Mile Beach) to cool off - the temperature was 39 degrees! Terry played in the surf for a few minutes and managed to find a 5 dollar note floating by! As we drove away again we could see smoke in the distance - looked like a big fire. We then stopped at Toora, where there were great views over to Wilson's Prom - a jut of land with a big National Park, but the holiday park there was fully booked there. On we went to Venus Bay, which looked nice on the map!! Same story though, not even a tent pitch left, but the woman in the camp park said there was a lodge in the next road with a room spare, so we went to have a look and found a beautiful 4 star, romantic gettaway lodge - our last hope so we treated ourselves with our Xmas money - it was perfect, apart from the ceiling fan which I managed to get my hand caught in..... twice.... bit of a low ceiling!!! Driving to it we saw a skink in the road! Spent a couple of hours on the beach a few minutes walk away and then changed for dinner (seafood basket including an oyster - yuck!!!), watched the news while getting ready and heard about a bush fire near Sale that was still raging - must have been what we saw. After dinner we took a bottle of wine down to the beach and sat watching the sunset - got chased away by the mosquitos though! 31st Dec 2005 Lovely fully cooked breakfast before leaving the lodge. Went back to the beach for a few hours, but it was really windy and we got covered in sand - sticking to the sun tan lotion! It was actually a little chilly sitting in the wind, can't believe that now, because we then drove back to Berwick and it got hotter and hotter as we approached. Temperature reached 43 degrees in the shade in the afternoon - spent it in and out of Zach's paddling pool!! Had a New Years Eve bbq with the family and a friend of Paul's, by midnight it was a refreshing 31 degrees!!!! So weird - have always been freezing on New Year!! So hot that me and Terry slept outside on Zach's new trampoline! 1st Jan 2006 Complete change in the weather, cooler and raining!! I spent the day sorting bits out and using the computer and the others went out to see some wild cockatoos and galas and other parrots at a picnic area. 2nd Jan 2006 Went to Arthur's Seat in the afternoon. A big hill on the Mornington Peninsula, where the road winds it way up giving some great views down the peninsula and across the sea. Went to an enchanted garden, full of diffrent mazes and sculptures, then went to Portsea right at the end of the peninsula to have a look. Quite a quaint area, a bit quieter than nearby Sorrento. Found a sign post to London Bridge so went to have a look, but not sure why it was called that - there was a beach with a cave like thing on the beach and the rock looked like honeycomb! Wanted to go out for dinner, so drove to the Dandenong Hills, but the restaurant was closed, so we ended up with fish & chips instead. 3rd Jan 2006 Time to take our car back, so our final drive into the city. After dropping it off, we walked along the Southbank of the River Yarra. A bit like the Embankment except it was warmer, cleaner, quieter.... actually it wasn't much like the Embankment!! Lazed on the grass for a few hours, before getting the train back. 4th Jan 2006 Letf Berwick and got a flight to Sydney and found somewhere to stay rather easily (though expensive for what it is). Went for a wander and found Chinatown and then wandered all round Darling Harbour, with it's many restaurants and bars - a bit like St Katherine's Dock. There was a naval ship with a submarine docked near the maritime museum. Had dinner and then went to the cinema to see Narnia!! 5th Jan 2006 Drizzly day - what is up with the weather in Sydney??? Jumped on the monorail that took us on a circuit of the city and after going round once we stayed on until we got to Paddy's Market again - had a look round all the stalls and found some cheap didgeredoos - might have to go back there! Then we walked in the drizzle down George Street all the way to the Harbour Bridge. Got some photos of the bridge and Opera House, but so dreary we'll have to come back if the sun comes out! Found a nautical antique shop so we escaped the rain in there - Kevin would have loved it! We liked the canons but not sure they'd have fit in the rucksacks and the excess baggage could have wiped our funds!! Had a drink in an English looking pub in the Rocks and sat writing some postcards, then headed back towards the hostel and stumbled across Scruffey Murphys (had to be done) - just popped in for a quiet drink at 5.30, but ended up staying for Pommey Andy's quiz night (don't ask how we got on) and then the live band afterwards!! Got talking to a couple of girls from Suffolk - we ended swapping answers in the quiz - should have joined together in the first place!! Finally left at 1am - so much for an early night!! 6th Jan 2006 Left the city behind and caught the Manly ferry to Manly!! The ferry went right past the Opera House so we go a few more photos but we're still waiting for that blue sky background!! Arrived in Manly - a small seaside like town - and found a small hostel where we caught up on some sleep for a couple of hours, before Chris (met him on the bike ride in Bolivia, he lives in Manly) picked us up for a bbq at his. On the way he drove us up to North Head for a grat view over to the city - cloud rolling in though!! |