OZStory

As we had expected, Australia was truly a magical experience. The sun, surf, beaches, bizzare animals, deserts, rainforests, scorching heat, and torrential down-pours have played an integral part of our time in this unusual land. We were captivated by such spectacles as the Sydney Opera House and Ayers Rock but found that much of Australia's true beauty lay between our major destinations in small little towns, deserted beaches and friendly roadside taverns. The Australian people are delightfully comical and carry with them a heart of gold. We have had such a beautiful time in Australia and are certain that this corner of the globe will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

We arrived in Sydney at the end of February and ended up partaking in a wild few days with our friends John Early and Jon Ringham. Mardi Gras was in full effect and the energy was pulsating throughout the veins of the city. The clubs were pouring out huge music, costume shops were running out of anything that sparkled and there were too many smiles to count. Fortunately, we survived the debauchery of the parade (and the afterparties) and were able to slow down at Bondi Beach for a few days. There was a massive storm raging in the Tasman Sea which caused for day after day of 6-8 meter swells to pound Australia's East Coast Beaches (this storm had a profound effect on about half our trip in AU). Sydney soon began to take its toll on us and the time to head up the east coast was upon us. Thus started the first of our incredibly long journeys.

We had hoped to buy a van in Sydney but opted, much to our dismay, to count on the bus system for getting up the east coast. The bus is one of the best ways to come to grips with the country's size and variety of terrain but the rides are just a nightmare. The coaches are modern, clean, and comfortable but the distance from stop to stop can take 12 hrs. Although they did show the occasional movie, they were about as hard to handle as the ride with shows like "The Flintstones: Viva RockVegas" and "You've got Mail".

Our first stop was scheduled to be Port Macquarie, about 420 km north of Sydney. As we waited patiently at the dodgy bus station we were informed that much of the roads on the coast were under water due to the storm. Coming to the conclusion that another wallet-damaging night in Sydney was not a good idea, we chose to march ahead and go as far as they would take us, which resulted in us making our first stop in Newcastle. For many Aussies, Newcastle conjures up images of belching smokestacks and shady little pubs. It has the feeling of a city that once was and the boarded up businesses and broken windows surely don't do much to lift the spirits. Day after day the rain came and day after day we were politely informed that there would be no busses. Our hopes of getting to Port Macquarie were diminishing so we decided to make the best of the situation. Summer found that there was a quaint little town just to the north that was accessible by local bus.

Shoal Bay, located on the massive Port Stephens, was a delightful little town that became our home for a spell. It's incredibly slow pace was intoxicating and allowed for ample free time to catch up on some reading and finally fully recover from the Sydney mayhem. The highlight of the region was that the waters are home to a couple hundred resident dolphins. Obviously this got us (esp. Summer) quite excited! We went out on a lovely sailboat for a few hours (no one else aboard except us and the captain) to "see dolphins". That we did! Swimming so close to the boat that Summer almost had to be restrained from jumping in. This was just the appetizer of our dolphin entertainment.

We woke up very early to climb a small mountain and watch the sunrise on our last day. There was a cloud layer which swallowed up some of the colors but it was beautiful just the same...looking out over the massive ocean with several small islands in view and watching the world awake to a new day...the feeling was spectacular! The reward for waking up early was even more grand than the display in front of us though. To our astonishment we could see about 40-60 dolphins playing in the water. Of course, Summer about did a backflip with excitement so we ran/stumbled down immediately! Once we hit the beach we stripped down naked and ran into the water. It was about 7:30 am by now but the beach was still uninhabited except for a motivated sufer at the far end. We swam out past the rough surf and they were everywhere! We'd go under water and you could here them talking, we'd look to the left and they would be riding in the waves Kelly Slater style, and we would look to the right and they would be jumping clear out of the water in a fantastic arial ballet. The feeling of oneness with the ocean and the incredible adrenalin rush of these animals playing their games and allowing us not only to watch but to participate was enough to tingle our fingers and cause us to glow with energy for the rest of the day.

After a while it became clear that we were just not going to get up to Port MacQuarie. Another option presented itself to bypass the town via a huge western loop and head farther north. Eager to explore more of the coast we hopped on another bus and wound up in the surfing mecca of Byron Bay. Byron is a relatively small town that has been the meeting place for alternative cultures since the 1960's. The mellow vibe still permeates throughout every aspect of the town and it's funky soul is still inviting. There is no need to move fast for anything and the idea of having a schedule for the day is totally foriegn to the local people and backpackers who come to visit. As you might expect, we were ready to call this place home. We extended our stay longer and longer as we got to know the town better. All you can eat vegetarian Indian food, Yoga, massages and floatation tanks, BYO Beer or Wine movie theaters, sitting on the beach with your closest neighbor 1km away were just a few of the highlights that made this town ideal. We took a day trip to a funky hippie town called Nimbin where living in tepee's and chillin' in groovy coffee shops were the norm. Nimbin is the heart of Australia's 'back to the land' counterculture movement. The area is sacred to the Aboriginal people and has been regarded for 1000's of years as a place of immense spiritual power. All too soon, though, our extended Byron Bay stay had to come to a close. If you ever make it to Australia please allow yourself enough time to fully enjoy Byron Bay, it truely is one of the gems of Australia's East Coast.

We left New South Whales and trekked it up to Queensland's largest city, Brisbane. We didn't expect much of Brisbane except a cosmopolitan city with expensive accomodation. Much to our surprise the town was beautiful...leisurely markets, an energetic esplanade, and San Francisco style cafe's. This river city kept us busy re-supplying the bathroom kits and answering the over-due emails we had been constructing on note pads for the last few weeks.

We loaded up the packs again and continued heading north to another sea-side town called Noosa. This sleepy town also made it as one of the "let's-move-here,-we-can-sell-frozen-yoghurt-during-the-day-and-chill-next-to-the-beach" type of towns. The hostel had daily BBQ's, free surfboard use, and shuttles to the spectacular national park that encompasses the vast majority of the head-lands. We figured out that the best way to explore this sleepy paradise was to rent a little motor boat and meander through the rivers and canals that divide Noosa.

A few hours north we reached the sketchy town of Hervey Bay...not much happening except the misearble park with a concrete stage where the local talent plays ultra load nasty metal rock on Fridays. The only reason we hung around was so that Summer could get her PADI Open Water Certification. In Shawn's days roaming the town, an incredibly nice woman gave him a free pass for a day aboard the Fighting Whiting to go deep sea fishing. Summer met a fantastic group of people in her diving class and we signed up with the crew for a few days on Fraiser Island...let the fun begin!!!

Supplied in the package is food, water, tent, cooking gear and a massive diesel Toyoto Land Cruiser for three days on the world's largest sand island...an adult traveler's playground. The island is massive, 120km by 15km, with freshwater lakes, lush rainforests and hundreds of kilometers of beach. We explored trails, swam in lakes with unlimited visibility, saw packs of dingos and camped along the beach. It was a rush racing the wobbly jeep with it's deflated tires down the beach and beating the tide. Many a jeep has been crushed against the rocks if one fails to get to the next pull-off, often an hour away, when the tide comes pounding in.

After the ferry ride back we boarded another Greyhound north to Arlie Beach. This rowdy little back-packer stop, filled with internet cafes, cheap beer, and late night food stands, is the gate way to the WhitSunday Islands. It is a sailing paradise with over 74 uninhabited islands smothered with thick forests and surrounded with white sand beaches and ultra clear waters. We boarded the Solway Lass, a 127 ft traditional tall ship full of many a sailor's tale. She was built in 1902 and served in both world wars....once for England and once for Germany. After many days of sun, delicious food and loads of snorkeling we pulled back into Arlie Beach for a reunion with our friends Sharon and Teena. We had a couple of days filled with BBQs, wild drinking before hitting the road once again....this time landing in Cairns.

Like Arlie Beach, Cairns is a gateway...this time to the world's largest living organism, the Great Barrier Reef! We stuck around a few days drinking cheap beer, eating free food (the bars give dinners away to get the backpackers in for the booze), and playing college-style drinking games before venturing off on our live-aboard dive boat. We were able to get in 7 great dives including a spectacular night dive with literally dozens of sharks surrounding us. It was a brilliant site to sit on the bottom and look above as they circled in the dive boat's lights.

It was now time to say good-bye to the east coast and fly to the capital of the Northern Territory; Darwin. It's a traditional frontier town that Crocodile Dundee probably flew out of on his way to New York in the 1980's hit movie. It is an outpost for many before "Going Bush". There is a huge Aboriginal population that has migrated over the years in the hope of opportunity. Darwin is a busy place but you hardly want to move due to the extreme heat. Not only is it so hot that you can hardly breathe but there is no relief. The fantastic ocean that is visible is only a tease. It is totally off limits because as one local said, "if you go near the water mate you will be eat'n or stung, that's a promise". All the water, salt water and fresh, is teaming with crocodiles and box jelly fish which will stop your heart within minutes.....scary.

We rented a small Pop-Up camper van and started our 5000 Km journey straight through the heart of Australia. Our first stop was in Litchfield National Park which consisted of sparkling waterfalls and had Kangaroo's hopping here and there. There were many warnings not to get near the streams - it seems the local wild life have figured out where to find a cheap fast meal. We continued south on the Stuart Highway towards Alice Springs stopping in dodgy towns for rest each night. The land is vast and desolate...nothing to be seen anywhere except scrub brush and red sand. It is an amazing feeling to stop the car and lay down in the middle of the road or jump up and down and yell any thing you please knowing there is no one anywhere near to hear you. We turned some of the drive into an "outback pub crawl" stopping for a beer every few hours at the different pubs in the small towns that dotted the sides of the road. The trip took several days until we reached the center of the continent.

Alice Springs is a relatively small town consisting of an Aboriginal community s well as tourists wanting to catch a glimpse of The Outback. Alice Springs is a pleasant place in a beautiful but harsh environment and is a long long long way from anywhere. The true beauty of this region though is why everyone flocks to this arid destination...Uluru (aka...Ayers Rock).

Uluru is not only the center of Australia but also the heart and soul of Australia and the Aboriginal people. It is a magical place and it's energy can be felt by all. It is grand, rising 348m and is 3.6km long. One giant rock in the middle of nowhere. The amazing part is that it used to be much bigger but it has been worn away by erosion over the centuries (over 2/3 of the rock is below the sand). Actually, it is the rain that gives it it's deep dark color. The rock and sand has an extremely high iron content so it is actually rusting with every rainfall causing it to get a deeper red. You have the opportunity to climb the rock but we chose not to. The Aboriginal people have requested people not to climb from a point of respect and it seems to be having a profound effect on people's conscious. After witnessing sunset and sunrise and spending countless hours staring at the rock with our mouths open in awe we packed the van up and headed north. After a brief stop in Kakadu National Park to admire the stunning landscape exploding with wildlife and Aboriginal culture we headed back to Darwin. We turned in the little camper, known as the "White Lightening" and began preparation for the next stage in our world tour.

It comes to no surprise why we fell in love with such a special place. This bizzare land is as close to perfection as can be imagined. We can't tell a story or look at a picture with out us both laughing and smiling. The people we met along the way only added to experience. Australia truly was a magical experience.

Next Adventure: Bouncing Around Bali, Flores and Sulawesi Indonesia