Australia
April 22nd
G'Day mate, we're in Australia now, and it is very nice. Sydney is a clean city, and very cosmopolitan. But first how we got here.
The flight from Bali was fairly un-eventful, and ther service was unusual. We hadn't seen the polite girls on Singapore Airlines throwing earphones from one side of the plane to the other, but the Oz stewards were quite happy doing this! We landed at Sydney Airport at 9:25pm Saturday night, and after clearing customs, we made our way Backpackers board, and found a cheap hotel in the heart of Sydney at Kings Cross, we then went to the shuttle bus. We sat for a while waiting for any other passengers, and a strange fella approached. He was wearing a bright red jump suit, and red shoes, and a red hat, HONESTLY!. He was American, and we think a little bit simple. He had come to see his buddy, but his buddy hadn't picked him up?. He got on the bus, mumbling to himself, and then he panicked, he had lost a white bag (maybe it had all the Kiddies presents in?), with his papers in, so he took his stuff of the bus, mumbling and almost crying, he had lost all his documentation, he apologised to us for holding the bus up, and I must admit I felt sorry for him, and hope he found his bag.
So the bus pulled off on the 45 minute drive to the hotel, the driver was nice and as we had sat at the front, he was able to point out certain parts of Sydney for us. We soon arrived at our hotel, and booked ourselves in. The room was small, no bathroom, but a TV and fridge, and sink. Then we took a walk to the main street to get some food, it was about 11:30 by now. The main street was different. There were souvenier shops, cafes, Normal shops, and Hungry Jacks (burger King to you and me), and plenty of Internet cafes, so far so good. There were also Adult shops, sex shops, sex clubs, Tattoo parlours, strip joints, and the occasional prostitute for good measure. Add to this locals, lots of gays, tourists, and tramps, and you have a very lively street scene. It was fasinating just to walk down there. (we have been along it about 10 times so far, it is at the end of our street, but we just find it entertaining.
April 23rd, Easter Sunday
Wandered back to Kings Cross in the morning for a 'good ole fry up' well Kev did anyway! Sat in a pleasant cafe and served by an array of 'international travellers'. After some munchies we found our way to an internet cafe where we could download the latest pictures, also looked up some info in camper vans. Managed to find a decent one who we later called to find out some rates, looks like we may be able to do a good deal for the amount of time we want it. We wandered out of the internet cafe about 3 hours later and then made our way into the next cafe, don't worry it was for some more munchies! After all of this eating and sitting we decided to take a stroll into the city. We visisted a beautiful church called 'St Marys' and then after paid a visit to the Australian Art Gallery, yes just because we are travelling it doesn't mean to say we can't be cultured at the same time! As it was a sunny day we took a stroll through Sydneys Hyde park where there were numerous people stood on their soap boxes shouting about all and sundrie. Kev was going to find a crate, stand on it and start doing one of his strange dances (if you know him, you'll know what I mean), he thought that it would pull in a bigger audience, I convinced him that he'd probably be arrested and taken to the nearest mental home! After a long walk back, attacking 200 steps on the way, we collapsed for a short rest. Our evening consisted of a wonderful Indian meal in a small cafe, followed by a train journey back into the city where we managed to find a cinema that was showing the 'Green Mile'. After both reading the book in Bali we were determined to see if the film did it justice, and it did. After failing to find our way back by foot, (Kev had the map up the wrong way) we jumped into a taxi and headed back to our 'Hotel'.
April 24th Easter Monday
Called 'Mauri' Camper Vans first thing to try and sort out the van for today, but the guy was so laid back about the whole thing he could have been horizontal! Apparently there was not 2 berth one available so he was going to look into up-grading us to a 3-berth, nice one! He'd e-mail us later with the details. Booked another night in the hotel and then wandered off for Kev's morning cholestreol intake. It was another glorious day so we wandered off around Sydney Harbour taking in the views of the 'Sydney Opera House' and 'Harbour Bridge' both of which looked much smaller in real life. After doing the 'Japanese' thing with the camera we headed for the shops (strongly lead by myself, I have a nose for bargains). Managed to get a couple of new t-shirts, I did need them on this ocassion after my new bikini spread it's green dye over two of my tops, Kev consoled himself with a lovely pair of speakers for the personal CD's. Had lunch at 'Taco Bells' which was pants, one of those places where the food comes out looking nothing like the pictures! Afternoon was spent setting the alarms off in shops everytime we wandered in and out. Un-be-known to us, a pack of stop snoring tablets (purchased earlier in the day for Kev) still had the tag in the bottom of the box, the fun ended for me when Kev removed the tag from the box and slipped it into my jumper! After treading down the streets of Sydney, we'd walked about 12km we headed back to the hotel for a rest. Checked the e-mail on the way and not good news about the camper. The only up-grade they had was a 4-berth one which we would have to pay another $10/day for, tried calling but they'd gone home, will have to try tomorrow. At 9.30pm we dragged ourselves from the bed and headed out for some food. After our usual entertaining walk down 'the street' we found a small Italian (restaurant, not person) where we indulged on some pasta. Wandered back for hopefully a 'snore free' night.
I think you know what that is. Syndey Opera House, and the Harbour Bridge

Us two taking in the view

The beautiful St.Mary's Church

April 25th Anzac Day
Yipheeeee, no disturbed sleep from Kevs snoring, I think even Kev felt the benefits. Tried calling Mauri again but no answer, assume they have a day off. Tried a new place this morning for breakfast called 'Fussys' very good. Wandered back to the hotel booked another night and then spent some time doing a bit of washing and drying, it's raining today so not too much sight-seeing in store.

April 26th - The day after Anzac Day (Ha Ha very funny)
Sorry haven't got our notes, so it's a little bit summarised
After packing our bags we checked out a few more van hire places, but decided to stick with Mauri. So we got the train to somwehere near the airport, and then a taxi to the depot. Malcolm met us, and was very nice, he waived a few fees for us, threw in a table and chairs for outside, and then we sorted out all the fees. We had to go to the airport to change travellers cheques, but it was only about 5 minutes in a cab, so they called us one. After 15 minutes I asked them to make sure it was coming, after all it only had to come from the airport. "it's on the way" they said. "where from Darwin?" asked Maria (her Australian Geography really paying off on that joke). 15 minutes later still no taxi. "It's been" they said on the phone. "oh yeah, fancy us forgetting our temporary blindness problem, do send another". 15 minutes (could have walked by now)no taxi. "it's due to a shift change" and we had no answer to that one. 55 minutes after original call a taxi appeared. Got in, the sign said 'If you require more than $10 change please say now'.Conversation went
US: "Hello mate, we only have $6, so you'll have to change $100 note for us", a fair and true statement.
HIM: "Can't do that, you have to say when you book the cab".
US: "We would have but it was pre-decimal then"
HIM: "Sorry, no change, we take all cards though"
US: "OK then, pheww lucky I've got VISA"
HIM: "Sorry we don't accept VISA"
US: "Oh sorry when you said cards I thought you meant credit cards, I mean VISA is not a world recognised card is it!
HIM: "Sorry"
US: "How far will $6 get us"
HIM: "It's $6.80 already"
US: "You'd better drop us here then"
And he did, we paid him $6 and walked the 200yds to thew airport, changed some USD, and got some small notes, came out the aiport and took an uneventful taxi back to the depot.
So we paid for the van, and had to have it in Melbourne a week later to swap for a bigger one. And we set off, first back tot he hotel to get our bags, then out of Sydney. We drove in the dark for about 2 hours, until we reached a small town, and had some dinner in Stellas cafe, this was nice and filled us up completely, then we took a walk, and eventually got back into the van and drove a further 30 minutes to a lookout point (there are several of them along the coast), it looked down onto a small town, and the sea. We parked the van, and assembled the bed. The road was a little noisy, but I assured Maria it would calm down. It didn't, we had huge trucks revving as they climbed the hill all night, and Maria got about 5 minutes sleep. I slept like a baby though, which is not unusual, and the view in the morning was spectacular.

April 27th - The day after the day aft...Stop that it's silly

We packed up the bed, and drove in search of food. Afdter about an hour we came to a small town called Nyoma and shopped for food in Woolworths.
Town Names - We feel that we should mention the town names here in Australia, as they are often fun, and hard to say, or just plain familiar. e.g Our hotel was in Kings Cross, in the District of Woolloomooloo. And we have travelled past Tirri Pirri Tum, Wollongong, Poo Fellow Creek, and many more strange places. We crossed a river the other day it was called the Avon, then there was a small town called Stratford, the sign said welcome to Stratford on the river Avon, and yes old Billy Shakespeare made an appearance on one or two shops. So along with Newcastle, Liverpool, and many others Australia has some great names.

So where were we, Oh yeah shopping, that was fairly uneventful, apart from we only had $75, and it came to $73.75 so that was almost an embarassing event. But after loading the van we set off again. The journey to Melbourne is about 1100KM via the coast road, so we weren't too pushed for time. We drove a little further until the road went right next to a small bay on a very nice beach. It looked a lot like Summer Bay from Home and Away, we parked the van, and had a small brunch, and a cup of tea. We went down to the sea, and had a paddle, but the water was absolutely freezing, so we decided not to have a swim.
Maria by the van at 'Summer Bay' look-a-like

Back into the van and onward to find a powered site for the night. We found one, and parked next to a small lake. The site had a social club, so we wandered over for a beer (Maria had cider), and we had our first go on the Pokies (Oz fruit machines, very popular)and lost about $2, hadn't got a clue what I was doing, could have stood by the lake and tossed coins into there for what it was worth. Went back to the van and Maria cooked up a pizza, which was scrummy, and then we both fell asleep.

The lovely pizza, in our 'cozy' van

April 28th
Got up (banged my head, what's new) and got ready to move on out. We drove on again, and made good time, we stopped at a dam, in the middle of nowhere for lunch, it was a beautiful day, and the sun was really warm, so we sat outside and had a nice lunch. We decided to make it to Victoria (the next state) before we stoped again, and picked out a small coast town called Mallacoota. We drove on and got there just as the sun was falling. We stopped and bought a bottle of wine, and some fosters, then drove down a small lane until we came to a little lane that went down to a small secluded cove, with a little beach, and no room for anybody else.
This way to an idealic beach

It was dark now, and we sat outside and had a pasta meal that Maria just knocked up (very nice). Then we sat and listened to the surf, and watched the stars, it was the most idealic setting I had ever been in. I awoke the next morning, and crept out of bed, for I had a plan for this special place. I walked down to the beach, and there was a lovely clean canvas the sea had made for me.
Our van in our private beach

Our beach in Mallacoota

I found a stick, and began to write a special message in the sand, in 3ft high letters, I wrote the simple phrase -


"Will you marry me?", then walked back up to the van to wake Maria. She was still asleep, and not greatful for being woken up, but it didn't bother me. I took the video camera and wandered back to the beach, telling her she must come and see. She followed, a little sleepy still. She stood on a small flat rock (ideally placed for reading messages in the sand) and read my proposal. "What does it mean?" she asked, "what does it say?" I replied "Will you marry me" she read. "exactly that" I said. She looked again, and then stepped off the rock and hugged me, we both had a tear in our eyes, and she said "yes", then she took the stick and wrote 'YES' and drew a heart.


Just to make sure she was awake, I also got on one knee, and asked her again, she still said yes, so I was happy. We were happy, it was a beautiful morning on April 29th, at Quarry beach, in Mallacoota, in Victoria, in Australia in the year 2000.
We couldn't call anybody as it was a ridiculous hour in both Florida and the UK, so we had an engagement breakfast, and then walked around on 'our beach' and took in its beauty, before saying farewell and heading towards Melbourne once again. We didn't fancy a long trip, so we drove until early afternoon, and stopped at a place called 'Lakes Entrance' at the end of the 90 Mile Beach (Which actually is 90 miles long). We stopped on a site again, and took a walk to the beach, which stretched further than the eye could see,
90 Mile beach left... .....and then to the right

We walked around the small town, very much like a seaside town anywhere in the world. They had chippies, souvenier shops, cheap shops, and they had a great crazy golf course which we just had to play. We popped in a few shops but didn't buy anything. Then we walked back to the camp site. We tried to call Florida, but there was no reply. So we set about cooking a meal. We had steak, chips, corn on the cob, salad and a bottle of red wine, it was very nice, and fitting for the day.
An Al-fresco engagement dinner

Maria was itching to tell sombody our news, and took a bottle of red wine to the next van, to see if they would share it in celebration, they were very nice and invited us in. We sat and talked all night, sharing the wine, then coffee and homemade biscuits, it was a very pleasant night, and informative too. We came out and tried Florida again. This time we got through, and Maria was able to tell her Mum that she was engaged, which was nice, and her Mum was pleased for her. We headed back tot he van, cleared up and retired for the night.

April 30th

Got up and decided to stay in Lakes Entrance for another day, as it was sunny and warm, but by 11 o'clock it had started to cloud over and we changed our mind. So we packed the van up and drove off down the coast. It rained most of the time, and much of the driving was along straight dull roads, but we had the radio, and we stopped at a small town and bought 'The Beach" soundtrack tape for when there was no radio signal. We drove to the other end of the 90 Mile Beach, and parked up for some lunch. We again walked onto he beach, in the rain. There was a lone fisherman, and just beach forever each side of him. He was just finishing fishing, so we went back to the van to have a sandwich or something. Then the fisherman came past, and we said hello to him. He stopped and offered us a freshly caught fish, which he had just gutted. I told him I wouldn't know what to do with it, as I didn't eat fish, and he asked if we were sure, as it was just caught. We said thanks, and took it, it felt wrong to refuse, and he told us how to cook it, so we did it in foil, in a frying pan for 15 minutes, and then Maria had a lovely fish and salad lunch, and I had soup and salad, I tried the fish but it tasted fishy to me (!) so I declined.
Fresh fish anybody

The rain was still falling as we drove further along the coast, we had decided to visit Wilsons Promitory, the furthest point South on the Oz mainland. It was a national park, and for a small fee there were camping areas you could use. We got there and the office was shut, so no fee to pay, which is always a bonus. We were on the way in and saw some Kangaroos at the side of the road, and some Emus too. We got to a small bridge and there was the cutest little creature coming across the bridge, which we now know is a wombat. It stopped when it saw us and hid by a small post on the bridge. I got the video out, and it looked round to see if we were still there, then when it realised we weren't going anywhere it waddled off into the bushes on it's little stumpy legs. The sun was dropping now, and we drove down to Whisky Beach to catch the sunset, we walked onto the beach, and waited for the sun to drop. I was using the video, and Maria had the camera, so intent she was to get a good shot that she was standing in the surf, only around her ankles, or so she thought, because as she lined up her camera, a few waves came rolling in together, and suddenly the water was up to her knees, and splashing her all over. Realising she could be in trouble I ....... put the video on, and recorded her. It was well worth the effort, and we have some great sunset shots.
Sunset at Whisky Beach 1

Sunset at Whisky Beach 2

Then we drove down to the main camping area, it was dark now and there were very few other people there, so we chose a suitable looking spot and parked the van. I got out and stretched my legs, and a furry creature about 2ft long walked across my foot, and under the van. I was a little suprised, but instead of jumping or shouting i said 'Hello there boy' as if I was talking to our dog Mollie. I called Maria to come and see the wombat. It stopped by the van and munched on the grass, it didn't mind us at all, so we sat next to it, Maria fed it some bread, and we took a couple of photos.
A wombat

The same wombat

We took a walk about the site, and there were lots of them. all munching the grass. We went into the toilets, and when I came out there was a Possum sitting by the doorway looking at me. But it wasn't as brave as the wombat, and soon headed for cover when it heard Maria come round the corner. We walked around for a while and watched the wombats before retiring to bed.
May 1st
Woke up to lovely blue skies, and the sound of birds singing, so we got out of bed, and went outside, it was a lovely day, and there were parrots all around, green ones, and red and blue ones, they were really bright, and there was loads of them. I took a piece of bread, and stood by the van, soon I had one or two seagulls interested, then a few more, and before long I had about 20 of them squawking at me, then they came. Parrots from all over, and they wanted bread, they sat on the van, and then sat on me, on my head, my arms, my back, they were really gentle, and took the bread from my hands, I gave it to Maria, and she then became a bird table.
Marias' parrots

... and some more

It was amazing, and we got it on video too. After the birds left, or should I say we ran out of food, we packed up the van and headed for Mount Oberon. We parked in the car park and started our steep climb. It took about 1hr to reach the summit, we could have easily punched the smug walkers who were on their way back down but the collapse of the lungs and almost heart attack was well worth it. We could see for miles.
Mount Oberon Us on top of Mount Oberon

Kev conquers Mount Oberon Maria follows

The view from Mount Oberon

The proof is in the plaque

After a much quicker walk down we climbed back into the van and started making our way back down Wilsons Promitory, stopping for a brief lunch at squeaky beach, (yes, the sand does squeak when you walk on it) and another visit from some more parrots. The drive to Melbourne was un-eventful, we parked up at the Twin Bridge Tourist Park, where apparently there was some more people from Southampton staying. We had a fry up for tea as we had almost run out of food. The smell attracted a few local weirdos who came up to the van to investiage, I think they thought that they could purchase a burger and a mug of tea, not a bad idea if we get low on money!
May 2nd
Left site quite early as we had to make our way to the airport to change the van to a bigger one, should however have left at dawn as the guy at Sydney had given us completely the wrong information. Hire place was not near the airport but in the centre of Melbourne. We made our way back along the toll roads, (which we didn't pay for, perhaps Maui Rentals will get the bill later) and found our way to the correct address. Our new van was much larger, twice as long with a Queensize Bed, Toilet and Shower, no excuses now Kev, you'll have to have a wash!
Inside the van the other end

We stopped of at Safeways and re-stocked the van with food, after doing this we then (quite strangely) went to the nearest cafe and bought some lunch. Found our way to the nearest camp site where we parked up, only to find an hour later that we hadn't got any drink, so off we went again on search of alcohol. We went to a 'drive thru' and bought a 4 litre box of wine for about 3.50pds and some beer. We quite happily spent the rest of the night munching on cheese sandwiches and watching the level drop on the wine!
May 3rd
Raining today, we caught the tram into the city where we headed for an internet cafe. Spent 3 hours there followed by a trudge around the shops to find a small TV for the van, (Kev can't stand me beating him at scrabble any longer) and a 'make-do' engagement ring. After no joy whatsoever, we hopped back onto the tram and arrived back at the camp site at 7pm. Kev showed off his culinery skills by throwing a lasagne in the microwave and preparing a hearty salad (by the way, this was the last time the microwave worked)! The food was good and the wine was better. After no luck with the TV during the day, we played cards, Kev seems to have mastered beating me at this, I hope we get the TV soon.
May 4th
Made our way back to Safeways to purchase a small (12cm) B/W TV that we'd seen when we'd done the latest shopping. Then started the journey from hell (part 2) out of Melbourne. Traffic was hectic and Kev was still getting used to the new van, well I assume he was, either that or he just likes jumping red lights! After a heated moment of jumping up and shouting at me to drive, he sat quietly back in his seat where he remained calmly. We found our way out of the city and then stopped for a 'Free' cup of tea in a lay-by where Kev re-plenished his hunger with a huge burger. We joined the 'Great Ocean Road' just after 'Geelong' this followed the coast for about 300kms.
The start of the Great Ocean Road
We stopped at the apt named town of 'Torquay' and watched some surfers at 'Bells Beach' the waves were reasonably large but no comparison to the ones we will see in Hawaii. Weather was dull but the views alon the way were amazing. We stopped at several places including 'Lorne' where we climbed down 250 steps to see the 'Erskine Falls'. It was getting dark by now so they weren't all that impressive.
Erskine falls

We climbed our way back to the van and then headed to 'Horden Vale' which was a Rain Forest up in the mountains. We pulled into a car park where another Britz van joined us later for the night. Spent the evening reminissing over India with Chicken Korma and Rice.
May 5th
We left the car park and carried on along the great ocean road, it was still raining but the weather proved apt when we stopped at Otway Lighthouse. It was very windy and was most amusing whilst climbing the lighthouse and walking around the platform at the top. The next part of the route was the most impressive, we stopped at several places, the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard, (where we had a lunch of sausage sandwiches), Bay Of Islands and London Bridge.
Otway Lighthouse Us and the 12 apostles

The 12 apostles (well 5 of them) London Bridge (it fell down)

The weather was a little breezy today, you had to hold on to your hat! Hold on to your hat!

Tighter!

We continued on our way to Warrnambool, our stop for the night. On the way Kev spotted a most amazing sight "Cheese World".
Heaven (in Kev's eyes)

We stopped the van and went in for some cheese tasting. We emerged about 1hr later laiden down with freshly made cheese, butter and an extra thick milkshake! We arrived at a site, parked up and then promptly made our way over to the indoor heated pool, where we didn't work off the cheese and milkshakes but just sat in a heated Spa Pool for 15 mins, it would have been more but we run out of 1 dollar coins! Kev cooked up a special, Salad again but with some steak thrown in this time. We followed our meal with a walk into the town. We visited an Irish Pub which was empty, there had been a big Race Meeting in town the day before and most people were still recovering, that is except for the few weirdos that decided to talk to us. Bid drunk bloke with what looked like a wombat on his head, young bloke who was far too young for the bushy beard that he had and a following of surf bum and his mate 'Gus'. The were fairly harmless and we ended up spending most of the night with them which ended up at a club. I managed to have a bit of a boogie while Kev managed spend most of the evening mixing his drinks, this he later regretted. We left at about 12.30am with Kev staggering to Australias nearest equivalent to a Kebab House where he promptly ordered a 'Yorkshire Pudding Filled With Beef'! After almost carrying him back to the van and putting him to bed he slept soundly until the next morning when he thought that he'd woken in hell!
May 6th
Kev awoke with a thumping headache at 6am moaned a bit and then went back to sleep until 9am. After 2 asprins and a hot shower he felt slightly better until he couldn't find all our money that he'd put 'in a safe place'. After turning the van up-side down he suddenly remembered where he'd put it, in the back of the journal. As this was about the 3rd time Kev had put something in a safe place and then couldn't find it, I suggested that he told me in future where he'd put things. It would at least save his loss of hair! We put some washing in and then made our way back into the town where we managed to find a decent ariel for the TV and a temporary engagement ring (Kev says he will get a proper one from the Jewelry Quarter when we return home). We headed back to the van, collected our washing and headed off. We stopped at Wildlife Reserve on the way which had been formed from an old volcanic crater. Here there were more Kangaroos and Emus.
An Emu, but no sign of Rod !

We'd just about given up on the Kolas until I spotted one from the van on our way out. We quickly parked up and grabbed the video, it's not very often you see them so we were pleased. We headed off in the van and made our way to Halls Gap which was up in the Grampians. After a long drive we found a site by a lake where we decided to stay for 2 nights as there were lots of good walks nearby. Microwave broke so dinner took longer than ever, oh well we can cuddle up and watch TV. No such luck, even with our new ariel we couldn't get a picture, we could see why the next morning when we woke and saw that we were surrounded by mountains.
May 7th
Set off on an exploratory tour of some of the local beauty spots, first we went up to MacKenzie Falls, and after a walk down 300 steps, all the time thinking 'we've got to come back up these', we got there. There was a serious lack of water, but what there was, was quite impressive.
MacKenzie Falls

We climbed back up the steps (slowly), and then set off to the 'Balconies'. These are rocky overhangs that you can walk out on to, if you've got the head for heights, unfortunately the best overhang was shut for repairs!
Kev on the balconies

Back in the van, and a short drive to 'Wonderland', which prompted the singing of the 'Hair Bear Bunch' theme tune. We ate our packed lunch here, which Maria had made earlier, it felt like a family outing. Then we walked up the 'Grand Canyon' path, which was quite trecherous at times, but we managed to climb part of the way up, until we were too tired to go any further, so we started back down, we managed to get almost to the bottom when Marias' feet slipped away, and she fell forward onto her knees. Luckily she wasn't hurt though, and the only mark was a dirty one on her trousers (and a bruise the next day).
Maria conquers the Canyon (before her fall)

Stopped on the way back to the site to get some wood for our bar-b-q later that evening. Also picked up a tart (a custard one that is), and Maria had some kangaroo to eat (Biscuit one that is). We bought some sausages, rolls, and a bag of wood, then returned to the site.
I started to prepare the fire when we got back, and Maria sorted out the food, then she decided to feed the parrots again (I think she is Dr Dolittle sometimes), anyway they came in their multitudes, and soon the van, our bed, and Maria were covered in brightly coloured parrots again, and we said good bye to our cookie supply.
Dr Dolittle and her friends

I lit the fire about 5 o'clock, and we let it burn away for a while, until it was hot enough to cook on. Whilst waiting we were interupted by a kangaroo, who was interested in our bread rolls, so we fed him some, I started by throwing him bits, then timmidly feeding him by hand. Maria was better than me, and a little less scared I think, but we have that on video.
Our kangaroo friend

A timmid kangaroo feeding

The BBQ was hot enough now, so we put some jacket pots in the embers, and started to cook sausages on sticks we had sharpened, these turned out to be very nice, if a little burnt at times. We also placed a tin of spaghetti in the fire for good measure, which was also very nice.
Maria warms up her sausage

Kev joins her to warm his sausage

The main course was delicious!, and then Maria had a desert which probably requires practice to learn to eat. It was a banana, split in the middle and filled with chocolate, then wrapped in foil, and heated up. She tells me it is very nice, but I'm still out on that one. We sat outside for hours, with some wine, and a beer, until the fire died down, and we retired to the van.
May 8th
Travelling day, we left Halls Gap at about 11am, and then set off for the outskirts of Adelaide (about 450km). All driving today, and nothing worth mentioning, apart from roads that are totally straight for about 30 or 40km, very dull I'm afraid. We got to Murray Bridge just as darkness fell, and found a site by the river. Maria called Martyn (her brother) to wish him a happy birthday, and we finally managed to watch some TV on our portable.
May 9th
Left Murray Bridge and drove into Adelaide, we dropped into the Mauri office to get the microwave changed. They did tyhis with no bother, and they asked me anything else, so I told them that the cold water taps were running hot every so often. Three of them looked at the system but couldn't suss it out. I assumed it was the return valve on the hot water tank. They said that it was not good , so we could have a new van the next day. We said fine, and ewent off to find a site. We found one juast down the road, which was beautiful, voted best site in Adelaide for about 6 years running, and we parked up. There was a bus that ran into the city, so we caught that, and found an internet cafe, where we updated the site, and brought you these fabulous pictures. We were in there for about 4 hours, but the bloke gave us backpacker rates (we must have looked scruffy). It was getting too late to go back and cook, so we ate out for a change, and had a nice italian. We then went for the bus, but missed it by about 2 minutes, so we had to walk around the dodgy part of town for an hour, but that wasn't so bad. We got back by about 11:30 that night.
May 10th
Took the van back (1/2 a fuel tank), and swapped all our thing intio the new one, which was exactly the same (full fuel tank), and then returned to the site. It was a nice hot day, and we fancied having a relaxed time before heading North. Maria decided to write some postcards, and I took a walk over the golf course, and chatted with the pro for a bit, but it made me feel a little homesick, and I didn't hang round long. (I do miss golf with the lads). Later on we walked to , and posted the cards, then returned to the van to have a meal. Maria had by this time fed several pidgeons, sparrows, and other weird looking birds. (Maybe she wants to be a vet!). We had a brilliant meal that night. Mexican tacos, potatoe skins, minced beef, and lots of salad. A joint effort, and very filling indeed.
A superb Mexican meal

We watched the X Files before retiring. (sound like an old'un don't I). May 11th - The long haul North
We have to drive 1700km's over the desert now to get to Ayres Rock, and there isn't much to see, so the next few days will be pretty short I'm afraid. Thats if we can find an E-mail place.
Well we stopped at Hungry Jacks (Burger King) before hitting the A1, and filled up, and just before leaving civilistation we stopped at a lookout, to see what was ahead. Maria was obviously till hungry, as she decided to swallow a fly at this point, which she ddin't find to her liking.
The rest of the day was aong drive (400km)
This for 4 or 5 hours can be quite boring zzzzzzz

before it started to get dark, when we stopped at Pinba at a truckstop for the night. A petrol station and a couple of vans for company. It drops to abotu 2 or 3 degs at night, which is quite cool, and our heater only works if we are plugged in......
May 12th
Drove for 4 hours to Coober Pedy (here). This is where they filmed Mad Max, and also 'Pitch Black' and it looks like they didn't have to do much work on the scenery. There i nothing here but Rusty cars, loads of dust, people who live in the ground. Underground churches, schools, bars etc (it gets up to 50 degs in the summer). We are stopping here for a break, then tomorrow we'll carry on up. It's quite dull, but every so often something passes by, or there is some interesting road-kill to look at! The road changed into a runway a few miles back, used for the flying doc if needed! Only another 700km's to Ayres Rock them! Apparently they filmed Pitch Black here too, and we have a picture of a crashed US space craft from the film.
A Ha, here it is, the crashed space ship from Pitch Black

May 13th
Wanted to get near to 'The Rock' today, but it was over 750kms away, and that was a little too far for us to do in one day, or so we thought. But with shared driving, a quick nap in the passenger seat, and a couple of petrol stops we arrived at Ayres Rock just before sunset. Which is the time to be there, so we followed the other vans and cars to the 'Sunset viewing' area, and parked up. The with camera at the ready we took far too many pictures of the rock as it changed from orange to deep purple (not the group, that would have been too spooky). The sight was quite spectacular, and the rock looks quite awesome from close up.

Joke Warning !
We were intrigued to learn a little more about the rock, and visited the culture centre, and watched several videos, all of which was very inetresting. But (here it comes) the most interesting point of all, which we learnt was that the rock was actually owned by Bjorn, Benny, Agneta and Freda, of Swedish super group fame. This was trully an amazing fact. we weren't sure if we had heard right. But we'll let you know soon, if it is actually the
ABBA Originals that owned Ayres Rock.........

I know, I know it's right up there with the best, thankyou so much...
After the sunset (come on stop laughing now please) we moved off to the ONLY caravan site you are allowed to use. MONOPOLIES I think!. We drove in, deciding not to stop at reception. The price for a site so far in Oz has been between $10 and $18, for some very nice sites indeed. This one was $35, and it wasn't so brilliant. So we parked in as spot, plugged in to the power, and watched TV, and cooked ourselves a nice meal. Then after using the power, and clearing away our stuff, we drove 10 mins down the road, and parked in a truck stop, bargain. We set the alarm for 6:00am so we could see the apparently as good, sunrise on Ayres Rock.
May 14th
Alarm went off..........and again. I ventured out of the bed into the cold (about 1 deg), and got dressed. Maria had decided to stay in bed. I started the van up, and headed back to the rock, there was a queue at the entrance kiosk to pay the $15 entry fee, but I had paid, and saw a lane for coaches and took that, again following the crowds to the 'sunrise viewing' area. It was cold, as we waited, but again worth it, as the rock did a reverse performance of the previous nights show.


We moved off after the show and stopped to have breakfast, then took a short walk up to the rock, and a watering hole at it's base. We then visited the cultural centre, and read up on the Aboriginal people, and their history and beliefs. There story was quite interesting, and many times either in text or words they asked people not to climb the rock, and more out of respect for that, than the fear of the climb we decided not to ascend the monolith.
A short drive away are some smaller, but equally as spectacular rocks called the 'Olgas', we took the van over to these and had a look at them, the only problem was the flies, who were now emerging in the rising midday heat (around 28 degs).
Here we are in front of the Olgas

We decided then that there really was no reason to stay for another day and we should head North to Alice Springs, and that is where we went. Again we shared the driving, I took the first leg this time, and after 250kms we swapped. I was in need of a doze. Maria had been driving for about 30 mins when the petrol light on the dash came on. Wisely (knowing what a flap i get into a the first sign of trouble) she didn't tell me, until I woke up properly. Then I started to panic. Out came the calculator, what is the Km/ltr? How much is left? How far have we got to go? PANIC PANIC. Maria just stayed calm, and drove along at a steady 80kmh. We coasted down a few hills, and hoped we would make the 35kms to the petrol station, we had already travelled 40kms with the light on! Ahead we could see hills, and didn't fancy having to climb them with an empty tank.......will we make it, I really didn't fancy a walk in the heat of the desert............................... Well, don't panic, we made it, just. Filled up with fuel, and drove the remaining 100kms to Alice Springs. Where we found a site and stopped for the night.
May 15th
The spring after which the town is named

Woke late, and drifted into the main town for some shopping, grocery only , nothing too exciting, although I am tempted to buy a Didgereedoo. Despite the fact I can't play one at all (at the moment). After filling the stocks of food we looked around the town, and found an internet cafe to update the site. Then we looked at a couple of local places of inerest, Anzac Hill which overlooks the town, and has a memorial to the Anzacs. Then Telegraph Station, an orginal telegraph station from 1827, funnily enough. This was quite interesting to look round. After another walk, we returned to the van, and then back to the site.
Not much to see round here is there?

Tomorrow we leave for Sydney, it should take about 15 days, and we probably won't be on-line until we get there. So see ya then.
May 16th
Made our way this morning to Britz office again another problem with the water pump. They took a look and decided that it would take them an hour to fix, damn, I was hoping for a new van with a color TV and one of those beds that you don't need to make up! Instead we got an automatic car for 1 hour which we drove back to the town in, I think Kev prefers the car and now wants to spend the rest of the holiday kipping in the back seats, NO WAY JOSE! We drifted around the shops and then I managed to persuade my new found aboriginal friend (known to you as Kevin) into a local salon for a haircut, she reached for her shears and was finished in a little over an hour, I think they then shut up shop for the day and traded the remnants of his hair to the local wig making factory! We re-calimed the van and then headed off (little did we know it was for hell journey No.2)! We turned right just after Alice Springs down the 'Plenty Highway' which according to the lonely Plant book was suitable for conventional vehicles. 6.1/2 hrs later, tired, hungry and thirsty we arrived back to the turn off. The road was hell, started of as a normal sealed road and then about 80kms later a drivable gravel track and then after that, well just a road full of rocks and dust, totally impassable. It was the equivalent of driving to Southampton from Birmingham and back at 50mph with the van feeling like it was just about to collapse under you. We had a simple tea and collapsed into bed after a wasted day!
Quite cozy isn't it?

May 17th
Got up early and set off to make up for lost time yesterday. Stopped off on way at 'Wycliffe Well' hot spot in Australia for UFO sightings. I thought I spotted a little green man but it was just Kev coming out of the toilets!
It must be something we ate!

Passed on through the Devils Marbles and then stopped off after at a gas station.
Maria in the marbles

Kev took some photos of the latest model cars in Australia
Is this the car park mr? Is that a spot of rust on the wing? A tractor? Aye reckon I did!

while I made aquaintance with the other local form of transport.
Food anyone?

Feeling a little horse?

Sorry mate, we're going North!

And people SMOKE them?????

Carried on driving stopping off at Tennants Creek to do some shopping. Spent the night at a rest area, surrounded by burning bush, we were assured by some other campers that this was controlled burning done by the local abbos, even so we went to bed with the Fire Extinguishers!
May 18th
Travelled about 300K today and stopped in Coomoweal, parked up at a site and rested in the sun, it was hot today, about 30 deg c. Cooked best meal yet, Cottage Pie, and then went for a walk. After waking up all of the local dogs in the neighbourhood we headed back to the van and took some experimental night shots with the camera, it's taken us this long to sit down and look at it properly.
The Moon? An eye? or whatever you want.

May 19th
Drove all day to Kynuna, didn't see much apart from 'Walkabout Creek' which was the hotel/bar used in Crocodile Dundee. Parked up for the night next to a bar and had a few beers. Met the landlady who was South African, also met her 2 dogs, Mr Smith and Wally. Had a cuddle with them and reminissed about home.
May 20th
Drove on again making a stop for some shopping and to enquire about the FA Cup Final. It was on Sky TV late in a couple of the bars but Kev decided not to watch. We parked up in Barcaldine at a really good rest area where there were a few more campers. Kev went out for a chat with some of them while I got dinner and sipped on some red wine. Afterwards we went for a walk back into the town, we were stopped in the way by a policeman offering us a lift, we declined. Made a few phone calls but as per usual everyone was out. Made our way back to the van, Kev went to bed wondering about his team.
May 21st
Kev woke very early and walked back into town to call home for the results. I guessed what it was as I saw him walking back about 1/2hr later. I think he was glad that he didn't watch it after watching some of the highlights on OZ TV. Made up for his loss later in the day when we stopped at Emerald, we parked the van at a site and then he had a game of golf at the adjacent course while I caddied for him. He had a good game and I think that he was suprised that he hadn't lost the nack especially with the poor clubs that he had to play with.

Hello It's me, and Maria is quite right, I was totally suprised, that I could still hit a ball. I borrowed 'Hire clubs', and they were there usual standard, 3,5,7 and 9 iron, and a lump of lead on a stick (putter), there was a metal wood too. So, to the first tee, and unbelievably a sweet 5 iron down the fairway............. and then putted on the 9th for a par. I shot 42 for a par 35, including 4 pars. TOP GOLF! Here are a few highlights...........
A perfect tee shot...

Keep your eye on the ball...

5 iron please caddy!

Another birdie

Go on you ********, another missed putt

Watched TV in the evening and prepared for another long drive.
May 22nd
Made our way at great haste, back to the coast. Stopped in a town called Yeppon in a site that was literally on the beach, it was lovely to see the sea again and civilisation!
Near to the beach !
We were running out of food again so had some sort of sausage curry. After we took a stroll along the beach in the moonlight.
May 23rd
Woke early and took another walk along the beach, it was a beautiful day.
Another beach another town

Came back and had breakfast in the van with the back doors open and the beach in the background. Packed up the van and made our way along the coast to Tannum Sands. We found a good rest area and parked up early. Decided today that we were both getting a little bored of driving and stopping and not really getting out and doing much. We packed up the van again and set off for Brisbane and the Gold Coast. We were going to find a good site and park up for about a week and spend some money enjoying ourselves. There are some theme parks and lots of other tourist attractions around so we are going to make use of them. I drove until about 11pm and then we parked up in a small rest area for the night
May 24th
Drove into Brisbane, and found a site for the night, it wasn't anything special, but it would do, and it was close to the city. We took the bus into the city, and went straight to the internet cafe (the time we spend keeping you lot informed). 3 hours later we came out, and all the shops were shut. So we decided to find an Indian restaurant and have dinner. But there weren't any, so we ended up in Pizza Hut again.
Brisbane !

May 25th
Left Brisbane and heade 40kms south to the Gold Coast, it was noticable when we arrived, as it was more like Florida than Oz, with theme parks, shopping Malls, and loads of advetising along the highways. Found a nice site and booked in for a week. A good rest from the wheel. Stocked up on food at the local super, and then wandered across the local mall. to see what was there, and also to check out the pictures. We wanted to see Pitch Black as we had been to the site where they had filmed it earlier in our trip. And yes it was on, so we would go tomorrow to see that.
Came back to the site and went to have a spa, there were two of them, which was good, because one was occupied by a young couple !. We took the other one, as they seemed to be 'enjoying themselves.'
May 26th
Breakfast, and then across to the Mall again. Maria had spotted a hairdressers, and wanted to book an appointment to have her mop sorted out. As the Mall was so quiet, they were able to do her hair there and then. So I waited for a couple of hours for them to work their magic. She emerged afterwards looking blonder and tidier, and a whole lot happier. We then did a little shopping and headed back to the van for lunch.
Trampoline Time Well near to our van were two trampolines, one small one and a larger one for 'Big Kids' like us. We just had to have a go, as I have never before, and Maria had once or twice before (many years ago). So I climbed on, and immediatley fell over. Then i managed to stand up, in a sort of crouching type movement, then proceeded to do a fine impression of an ape, my arms were flaying about, and it took all my skill to actually stay on the damn thing. Maria was next and although equally shakey, she did put in something of an effort, with a few acrobatic moves for good measure.
So the pictures beckoned, and we made our way across in the rain, to the pictures to see Pitch Black, we paid, sat and watched in silence, and then we emerged, and both agreed. It was the biggest load of pants we had seen. The acting was very poor, the style of filming was hazardous to the eyes, and as for the fact it was filmed in Oz, it was totally unaparent, and it could have been filmed in a car park in Brixham for the amount of scenery you actually saw, or were able to make out. TOTAL PANTS. May 27th
Caught the No.1 bus (relevant later) into Surfers Paradise, and went to the beach. It was a hot day, and we hadn't come prepared for the beach, perhaps we would come tomorrow. (No chance. This was the last warm day we had 6.6.2000)
The beach at surfers.

Next we had a very tasy and large lunch on the sea front, and then went to Ripleys - Believe it or Not Museum, where there were all sorts of oddities, and hands on fun to be had.
Robert Wadlow - The Tallest man in the world

Maria, with the founder of Weightwatchers!

After a walk round the shops we decided to catch the bus back to the site...............
The No.1 Bus>
Excuse me, which bus do we catch to Treasure Island Camp site?
Oh, you'll want the No.1, it will be along in a minute.
Shortly afterwards the No.1 bus turns up
Hello, how much to Treasure Island Camp site please?
Sorry mate, you need the No.1 bus, it will be along next.
But you're the No.1 bus.
Not the right one mate, along in 5 minutes or so.
OK, thanks (I think)
5 minutes later, amd the No.1 bus arrives
Hello, Labrador please.
$2.40 please
Great, we're finally on the bus and heading toward.........hang on.......where are we going...........what are we doing stopping in this shopping centre..........
Excuse me, we wanted to get to Treasure island camp site.
Oh, this is the wrong bus, you needed to No.1, but there will be another one along in a minute
The No.1, are you sure it's the No.1?
Yes, definitely the No.1
Along comes the No.1 bus
Do you go to Treasure etc etc?
No, you need the No.1, but i'll drop ypou at the corner, and you can walk from there it's only 5 minutes

Someone should tell the Gold Coast there are more numbers than 1!

Eventually got home and had dinner, watched Cool Runnings on the TV.
May 28th
Cooler today, the weather woman said. In fact the weather people had all been telling us to wrap up, as it was very cold, and wintery outside, in truth it was about 15 degs and sunny. But the Oz's are all wrapped up in coats, gloves and hats...
Took the van up to O'reillys in the Lamington National Park, it was a long drive up hill, and when we got out at the top it was cold, about 5 or 6 degs, reckon. Walked through the forest, and along the tree-tops walk. It was literally in the tree tops, and quite un-nerving, especially for Maria and her new found fear of heights. We rested halfway, and there was a ladder climbing up. I just had to have a look. So I climbed about 20ft up to a platform, the wind was a little stronger here and very cold. The tree was swaying a little to. There was another 20ft of ladder to climb, so I started up that, it was slightly angled and also hung away from the tree, which made it hard going. But at the top it was breat taking, above the trees on a small platform, being swung about in the bitterly cold wind. I didn't stay up there too long. We stopped into the hotel to look at the history of the place, and read about the plane crash that had occured in 1937, this was quite interesting to. Then it was time to drive the 30kms back down the narrow roads, and we just happened to get stuck behind Miss Careful Driver. She went at about 25mph all the way down, and had atleast 6 cars behind her all the way, which took about 1 hour or so. With no chance of overtaking I had to wait until the bottom before flooring the old Merc and passing her. Back at the site we had roast beef dinner at the restaurant on the site.
May 29th
Movie World
We wanted to visit atleast one of the theme parks in the area, and we were told that Movie World wasthe best of these, so we bought our tickets at the camp site, and headed off for the day. It was very quiet there, and this meant that there were no queues for anything. The first place was toon town, but we didn't stay long here, although Kev fitted right in
F-F-F-ill her up Doc !

We went on BATMAN ride, which was a simulated chase through Gotham City, very bumpy and far too short, but fun. WILD WILD WEST was the water ride, and this was good fun, especially the part that went backwards much to everyones surprise, and we got really wet. GREMLIN MOVIE was outakes from Warner Bros movies, which were funny, but the Gremlin part after was pants.LETHAL WEAPON was a nemesis like rollercoaster, and was very good indeed, and had me screaming continuously.GOTHAM CAFE - lunch. MAVERICK show, which combined stunts, comedy and magic was entertaining. POLICE ACADEMY stunt show was the best, with a really good plant in the audience, and some top stunts, especially the driving. BATMAN STREET SHOW saw the batman characters fighting and dancing! in the street.
The ACTUAL Bat Car

The poison ivy dancers

Mr Freeze

The Bat crew ready for a fight

THE SPECIAL EFFECT SHOW. Here they show you how they use a blue screen for special effects, and also sound effects to. They were looking for volunteers to demonstrate, and they picked a bloke in front to be a pilot. Then they pointed towards me. I assumed there was sombody beind me, but there wasn't, it was me they wanted. Then they picked a girl too. We were taken backstage and asked to dress up. I was to be Superman, and fly through the air. they told me to pull faces, and do the appropriate actions as the man narrated. So I did............You'll have to ask Maria what the final peformance looked like. But here are some feint screen shots
Ready for action

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No it's SUPER KEV

We walked round the rest of the park, and also had our picture taked in an oldfashioned style, like in the westerns
I think we'd have fit in nicely....

We spotted Pikachu making an appearance, and I though that my Nephews wouldn't forgive me if I didn't get a photo, so we took these two.
Maria finds it all quite weird

Pikachooooo....oooooo.oooooooo

Headed back to the site for a curry, but the chicken was on the turn we think, so it was a snack tonight, and then Ally McBeal, the one where Billy dies (oops sorry), it's a good one.
May 30th
Bored today, so we went for a short(!) walk down to the sea, and then round some really nice housing areas, and then somewhere else, and on and on, and Where are we?, haven't got a clue, lets just walk this way, or maybe this way. And then we were eventually back near to the back of the site. We took a short cut through the trees, and that soon ended, so we had to climb onto the mud river bed, and slowly walk along the river, until we could climb out and scramble through some bushes, and then we were finally back at the site, and absolutely knackered. Maria went to lie by the pool for a couple fo hours, but once I had sat that was it. So I did a sketch or two. Dinner was at Hard Rock Cafe Gold Coast, and was very nice. A rather small Hard Rock I thought, but they had some good memorabilia in there, including a Zeppelin guitar, and A Harley that belonged to Guns and Roses.
A great place to eat.

May 31st
Ah the joy of shopping, more food, god knows where it all goes....Took a drive down the coast road, and found a crazy golf course (I'll take any golf these days). Only just managed to beat Maria this time, after a little more coaching I may be in danger of losing. Back at the site we took another spa, but the water was too hot, and after about 15 minutes, I was having trouble breathing.
Just need some veggies, and we're a human stew!

June 1st
Drove southwards leaving the Gold Coast behind, and heading towards Sydney. Passed some small coastal towns on the way including Coffs Harbour where we had lunch. The sea was quite rough and we made our way out to the sea wall to watch the huge waves breaking on the wall.
Spot the looney with the video

Can you surf these?

Proof of the trains steepness (tahst 52 deg drop)

Stopped late in the evening at Yamba. Couldn't use microwave for an hour or so, due to the power cut, but eventually got the heating on, and cooked some dinner. The little black and white TV is only so good, and Maria took to the TV room, where there was a massive screen for her to watch. I meanwhile (about 9:30pm) went to talk to a fisherman for a while, and watched him gutting some fish (ummmm nice). June 2nd
We are going to spend a few days in the Blue Mountains before going to Sydney, so we turned off and headed towards them, pulling into a small site in the middle of nowhere when it started to get dark. A VW ute pulled in behind us, and the young couple followed me into the office. The manager asked me where I was from (as usual), and I said England.
England
whereabouts?
Birmingham
And us, where in Brum
Solihull
No, and us
Where
Monkspath!
Would you believe it, travel half way round the world, and meet someone from a couple of miles from home.......what home......errmmm.......my old home town.......good point though, where the hell is home these days?
Mexican dinner again, and sleep.
June 3rd
Chatted to John and Clair for a while, they were on their way North to Cairns, for some sun. We however were going to the cold zone. The Blue Mountains are so called, becasue of the blueish haze from the eucalyptus trees. Personally I think it's from the people who are all blue coz its so bloody cold! We got to the heart of them and proceeded to camp for the night, it was soooo cold, even in the van, luckily we have a good (but noisy) heater, otherwise we would have been deep frozen, as the temps dropped to well below freezing during the night.
June 4th
Up, and out the van for a breath of fre................back in the van to put some more jumpers on. The steepes railway in the world was just a stones throw from where we were parked, so we drove there! (are we getting lazy or what). The train looked a little unconventional
Proof of the trains steepness (a 52 deg drop)

Maria inspects the train...Are you sure its safe?

What a drop, 52 degrees doesn't sound too much, but put yourself in a rickety old train, with lots of Japanese tourist who have learnt a new game called 'scream loads'......whatever next.
This doen't do it justice really

Just as the adreneline in running the ride stops, it only goes 250 metres, but we were glad we went on it though. At the bottom we walked to see another yawwwwwnnnnnn water yawwwnnnnn fall. No more unless its Niagra or Victoria. One can only see so much water falling of a rock before it becomes just that.
There was another way to view the Blue Mountains, but it looked somewhat familiar, and not very invitng
Tour anybody ?

Further along the road we came to Echo point Echo point, sorry very poor joke I know, but it had to be done, one, ne, e. Here we saw an Aborigine playing the Didgereedoo.
Playing the 'Doo' must keep you warm, its about 2 degs and he's wearing shorts, just shorts.

Into Katoomba for some E-mail collection, and then we exchanged some books and moved on. We then drove around some incredibly steep roads, and then round some incredibly dull places, and turned towards Sydney, driving through Windsor, and Richmond before stopping at a site for the night. We watched some TV and had a meal and then got ready for another cold evening.
June 5th
Woke early and Kev went of to have a shower as I think he's spotted some mould growing under his arm pitts the previous night, unfortunatley the site cleaner decided that it was a good time to clean the mens toilets between 8.30am-10.00am. He returned to the van where I managed to persuade him to use the small but cosy shower, he emerged about 10mins later feeeling (and looking) a lot more re-freshed, although a certain amount of facial hair still remained, I think he's going for the aboriginal look.
Dudes, wheres the grass, yeah baby, i'm vegging!

We set off to try and find a campsite that was about 10K from the city of Sydney, but as usual the signs were all pants and we ended up just driving around in circles. We decided to head for the airport instead and sort out our van for NZ, they were going to do us a good deal for a bigger van. After a successful meeting with 'Malcolm' we emerged feeling quite happy, he managed again, to help out with a really good price. We drove on again to another campsite which was near the airport and beach, ideal to stay at a couple of nights, ready to pick Ray & Cath up from the airport in a day or so, unfortunately they wanted $29/Night just for a bit of electric, so you know what I told her to do with that! We stopped off at a little cafe for some lunch and a mug of top tea and then stocked up on some more food. Headed off for Silver Beach camp site which was a little further out of Sydney, it was much cheaper and far nicer. Filled the van up with water and ourselves with food and settled in to watch the TV, first really good picutre in a long while. The new series of Ally McBeal is really good so we couldn't miss it. Slept well except for the ocassional 'jumbo' flying over, yes we were in the flight path for the airport!
June 6th
Headed back into city, stopping off on the way at the airport to find out what time Ray & Cath flight arrived in the morning. After Kev trying to get into a car park without paying and then driving the wrong way up a road (we told you the signs out here were terrible) I ran in and found at that they arrived at 6.30am in the morning, oh well, we haven't had a nice early start for a while, it will be like getting up for work at home! Eventually parked up in Kings Cross where we'd originally stayed, spent a few hours on the internet up-dating the site. Headed back out of Sydney, stopped off on the way near the runway to watch some planes come in (we were slightly bored today). Decided just to park up in a car park for the night, had a bowl of soup as we weren't all that hungry and then the boredom (and the cold) really set in. We decided to go for a stroll, around the supermarket of course, well it is warm in there, after getting a few funny looks (I think they throught we were lifters) we decided to make a couple of reverse charge calls home, that at least would pass some time. Unfortunately family in England have better things to do and we found that they were all out. Picked up some old carboard outside the shop and headed back for the van (you know the homeless use boxes to keep themsleves warm).
June 7th
Woke at 6am and headed for the airport, we actually saw Ray & Caths flight land at 6.25am. Headed into the arrivals hall along with our plackard (well did you really think we'd use the boxes to sleep under)! Kev held a sign up saying "Ray, Cath & Shannon" and I held one up saying 'Transport' just in case they'd forgotten about their Bali holiday already! They came through about 7.15am and I think that they were amused with the signs. We had a chat and then drove them to Kings Cross where they booked into a backpackers place for one night, it was very comfortable, (especially the bed) much better then the one we had stayed in. They'd decided that they really didn't want to stay here for the whole time, they'd like an apartment where they could cook some of their own meals and have some space. We Spent most of the day driving around, but either places were on a long lease or the cabins at the camp sites were too dear. Headed off to Bondi Beach where I made some sandwiches and then we wandered down for a look and the 'Olympic Volleyball' pitch they were making. The whole place was disappointing and not how we imagined it.
Bondi Beach, nothing special really

Winter on Bondi with our friends

We didn't stay long but stopped off at the swings and slides, no not for Shannon but for Ray & Kev, I think that they had fun but they got a few strange looks from some of the locals!
My turn on the slide..........

Made our way next to Coogee Beach, which was really nice and just out of the city. They managed to get a really good deal on an apartment right near the beach, reduced from $650/week to $350/week and they could move in in the morning. We went back to Kings Cross and dropped them off, we then parked up just down the road and I started to prepare dinner while Kev went on the hunt for some wine. The five of us had a great night in the van catching up on things. We ate mince and mashed potato along with a multitude of veggies.
Weary travellers enjoy English food

They piled out of the van about 11.30pm and we shut up the curtains and made up the bed for the night, it had been a long day and we were really tired. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz..... Bang Bang Bang, "If there's people sleeping in here, it's not allowed around here". I jumped out of my skin, Kevin was happily asleep and snoring, Bang Bang Bang again, this time he heard it and sat bolt up-right. We sat still for a while and then looked out of the window, no-one around, must have been the police. So not wanting to be disturbed again, I hopped to the front in my sleeping bag while Kev quickly got dressed. We drove about 5 mins down the road and parked up right by the sea. Neither of us could sleep now due to the rude awakening!
June 8th
Awoke to a lovely view, and a few council workmen waiting to dig the road up around us. Moved the van on again up the road and had a quick breakfast, it was very cold and we'd had no heat in the van for a couple of nights now. Collected Ray, Cath & Shannon, who were all feeling a little dodgy, no, it wasn't from my cooking, it was from the last meal they'd had in Bali, they think there was something wrong with the fish. We eventually found our way to Coogee Beach and the apartment, it was really lovely, a real home from home, and it had "a lovely comfy bed'! Oh well only 7 more weeks of sleeping in a van! We wandered off to let them settle in, had lunch and looked in a few shops, did some washing, (Kev had no pants left and had been swinging in the wind) we rounded up the afternoon in an internet cafe. We wandered back to the apartment about 7pm and had a wonderful roast chicken dinner that Cath had prepared. We then spent the evening watching each others videos of our travels, it was great. About 11.30 Kev & I left the warm, cosy, comfortable apartment and made our way back to the cold, small, un-comfortable van. We drove just around the corner and parked up for the night on a headland. We jumped into about 25 sleeping bags and hoped for a warm nights sleep, with no disturbances!Maria has found a way of keeping herself warm, it looks alittle morbid, but it's very effective (for one)
It'll stop you coughin' !

June 9th
We set off to do the Harbour walk, atking in the Sheds (Opera House) and the harbour, then back through the botanical gardens, but first we stooped at Harrys Pie on Wheels Shop, famous for serving some very famous people over the last 40 odd years. And here's another one for there list!
Ray the Pie Man!

Onward to the Sheds, so called because that's what they remind me of. A good light gave me the opportunity to take some good photos (I think).
The Classic shot

Slightly less popular angle

ummf phwwrrr oo wwckkk ffffff

After doing the toursit thing we headed back through the botanical gardens, and sat at a small cafe surriunded by birds of all varieties. One huge bird jumped on the next table and stole a womans lunch (Chicken and Pasta). I shouted to her that she wasn't supposed to feed the birds, and pointed at a sign. I think she saw the funny side.
June 10th
Olympic Stadium - TAKE 1
Well, we're in Sydney and in September a few people are coming here for some games or something, so we just had to visit the stadium. Only a 30 minute drive out of town, and we were there, it was very quiet, and quite awesome looking as we approached, then something caught our eye. Balloons, green ones, and people lots and lots of people marching towards the stadium. 1000's of people marching towards the stadium, on a Saturday who were they. We asked a local bobby. "Dunno mate, some Christians or something!". Ah ha, a religious parade, and were they enjoying themselves singing, and shouting about some fella called Jesus. Anyway we walked to the stadium, and spotted several thousand more people with blue balloons going in through another door, and realised that today was not the day to visit the olypic stadium. So we turned around and returned to the van, and went back to Sydney. Me and Ray took Shannon to the beach while th girls did some shooping. In the evening we had a wonderful Mexican meal which Maria cooked at Ray and Caths, followed by a video "Analyse This". From what I saw it was pants, but I was asleep most of the time! Spent the night in the van on the hill again, I think the residents belive we have made this a permanent thing!
June 11th
Olympic Sadium - TAKE 2
Up, in the van, 30 minutes drive, awesaome stadium (not quite so awesome the second time)
First site of the Stadium

Walked down again, almost alone this time, and paid a small fee ($24) for a guided tour of the stadium.
Quite a building

This lasted 1 hour and we got to see lots of the stadium including the changing rooms and VIP Suites,we were also allowed to go trackside.
A very impressive looking stadium

On your marks, set........

a $34,000/year seat in the best of best positions

Great Britian take the GOLD

and SILVER in the world tour event.

After the tour, went on our own tour of MacDonalds for lunch. Tried to park up in Sydney on the way back but no room for the van as everywhere had height limits. Made our way back to Coogee and had a walk around the shops. Had Spag Bol for dinner and watched "Bicentenial Man" on video, it was really good. Left about midnight and made our way back up the hill!
June 12th
Lay in late, and didn't get together with the others until after midday then we decided to drive out of Sydney to the Royal National Park., this turned out to be a good idea, as it was as beautiful as the others around the country. We walked onto the beach, and had another game of chasing waves, but unfortunately I got caught, and the water came up to my knees soaking me with slightly cold water.
Oh S**T, I'm gonna need new trousers!

Whats she thinking?

The crew on a lovely winters evening

On the way back we stopped at a supermarket and got some Naan breads and Butter Chicken sauce for our curry, this proved to be a big success all round. Watched another great Ally McBeal (No info this time Martyn)!
June 13th
Today we are splitting up our activities. The girls are off to the shops for new trousers and things. The boys and Shannon are off to Sega World for games, games and games. One admission price and all arcade games are free (TOP BANANA!)
We managed to get a parents reduction, by claiming we were both parents of Shannon, and we didn't get too strange a look for that one, and then we were in. As well as all the normal rides like Daytona (4 times), and Skiing (4 times), snowboarding (3 times), even skateboarding (6 times), there was Indy 500, eight fullsize F1 cars, with hydraulics racing against each other (13 times, 8 wins, 4 seconds, and a third). Also there was a small coaster, and seven other VR rides, or 3D type simulators all of which after 7 hours left Ray and I feeling a little sick.
Quite fast for a Kiddies Ride!

Back at the flat the girls had also had a good day and managed to get what they wanted in Sydney, lunch at Planet Hollywood, and a FREE show on the Outback at Darling Harbour which included some great Digeredoo Playing.
Darling Harbour at night

In the evening we popped in to Dominos for a pizza before driving to our spot overlooking the sea to enjoy it.
June 14th
Our last day, and we woke to a nice beautiful blue sky and the promise of 18 degs (not bad for winter eh). We picked up Ray, Cath and Shannon and headed off to Palm Beach, about 30kms North of Sydney. We got there about 11:30, and looked around. It was the location for Home and Away outdoor shots. There was the beach, the surf club, the lawn, everything.
Anybody seen Ailsa (wasn't that a lion)

Is this the right way to Erinsborough?

Whatever happened to Lance?

Ahh, the famous surf club

Just then a TV van arrived, followed by several more then Zak (Will in the program) arrived, and got ready to film. Maria walked over to 'Will' and asked if he minded a bit of a photo shoot with Shannon, he quite happily obliged!
Will from Home and Away

We got talking to an extra, Justin, who was waiting to do his bit(a very small bit as it turned out for $180/hr). We hung around for an hour or so, and watched them film a scene outside the surf club. It was something I hadn't seen before and we all enjoyed it, but they didn't sign us up for a part. I watched two actors for a while, but then Ray pointed out they were trees, shame really as they had promise......!
We headed back to Coogee Beach, and the joy of packing. We fly at 10am tomorrow morning to Auckland. We are both looking forward to New Zealand and being on the road again after our break from driving. Went out for a small meal in the evening with Ray, Cath and Shannon but none of us were really hungry which was a shame because the food was brilliant. We took a walk after along the beach and then rounded up the evening with a drink back at the flat. Made our way back to the hill for our last night.


And so we move on 15th June to New Zealand

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