Merry Christmas

Family reunion

We have arrived in Perth, on the West Coast of Australia, which is the home of Craig's brother, Tom. This will be our base for the next two months. After a long trip through Korea and Singapore, Craig's mom and his kids have arrived. We cooked some sausages on the barbie for dinner then headed down to the beach, where almost everyone frolicked in the Indian Ocean. We are looking forward to a relaxing Christmas in the sun.

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Melbourne

We rode into town in our white campa van and headed straight for the Apollo office. Amazingly, we negotiated the way quite easily. There was one wrong turn, but it was easily rectified with a stop at a petrol station. Within 30 minutes, we had returned the campa and were on our way to the Holiday Inn by the airport. That evening Craig had a night off from bbq duty. We merely took the elevator to the ground floor and sauntered into the restaurant. It was very strange not being in the campa van that night (no humming fridge to lull us to sleep), but Lynda was thrilled to have a toilet that was less than 500 metres from our bed. What luxury!

Our plan was to get up early on Saturday, head into town, see the city and fly to Perth on Sunday. Not a lot of time, but enough to give us a glimpse of what was there. So the next morning we walked over to the airport terminal and hopped onto the Skybus. Twenty minutes later we were in the heart of the CBD (Central Business District) looking for a reasonably priced place to eat. Notice that we do not say "cheap" place to eat. There are no $5.99 breakast specials in this country. Eating out is very expensive regardless of where you go. As we walked along, we passed a backpacker hotel. Since backpackers are notoriously thrifty, Craig popped in and asked for a recommendation. Sure enough there was a place right around the corner. "Great!" we thought. $32 later (hmm?) we had two coffees and two average sized meals. At least we didn't have to worry about leaving a tip.

It was very busy downtown that day, what with all the tourists, Christmas shoppers, and protestors. Yes, we happened to end up right in the middle of the Walk Against Warming as they congregated at the State Library. It was an impressive turnout with 40,000 participants. We didn't stick around for the march. Instead we jumped on the City Circle (free) tourist tram and saw some of the sites.

The best part of the day was taking another tram out to St. Kilda Beach to see our Whitsunday, sailing friends, Ben and Susie. While Susie was at a baby shower being held in her honour, Lynda and the guys hung out. Later that afternoon, we met up with Susie and went down to Elwood Park for a bbq with some of their friends. We had our bbq in the middle of Sunday's triathalon site, surrounded by gates, banners, and transition areas. Lynda was disappointed that we were leaving town and wouldn't be able to see it. We were there until well after dark when the mosquitoes drove everyone away.

Back on the Skybus. Back to the hotel. Back to the packing. We were sad to see the end of this phase of our trip, but excited about the prospects of seeing Jenna, Kristin, Peggy and Tom in Perth.

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The Great Ocean Road

Several years ago we read an article in the Globe and Mail newspaper about a hiking trip called the Great Ocean Walk. This was prior to our West Coast Trail adventure, but we were definitely interested in what we read. As the planning for the Australia portion of this trip progressed, we knew it wasn't logistically possible for us to complete the Great Ocean Walk, so we decided to join the masses and follow the Great Ocean Road instead. It would be the last segment of our campa van journey before we returned the vehicle in Melbourne. We knew that we did not want to rush through it so we allotted ourselves six days and set out from Dan and Lisa's house on Sunday morning.
The first notable comment we could make is that the Great Ocean Road is the only place in Australia where we have seen so many road signs that direct people to drive on the left. As we passed tour bus after campa van after rental car, we realized why these signs are necessary. Hordes of tourists who fly into Melbourne rent a vehicle and set out on the Great Ocean Road. It is a classic long and winding road. Not as bad as the road to Hana on Maui (says Lynda) but she wouldn't have wanted to be sitting in the back seat as Craig negotiated all the twists and turns in the road. Granted, there are many sights where you only have the option of parking and walking out to see the view, but the coastline and the scenery are spectacular. For all those people who do it from Melbourne in one day, you don't know what you are missing. Craig particularly enjoyed this portion of the trip as some days he was only driving for one hour, and taking pickies a lot of the rest of the time.
Here are some highlights:
Day 1 Port FairyWe arrived in this quaint, little beach town on a sunny day. After attending John and Kelley's annual Christmas party via Skype, we spent some time exploring. We had a snack at a chique, little beachside cafe called Tide and Time, went beachcombing, walked along the river admiring the boats and did some window shopping. Based on the number of holiday rentals, we can safely say that Port Fairy is a popular destination.
Day 2 Port CampbellThis is the closest town to the famous limestone stacks known as the 12 Apostles. These stacks were created through the erosion of limestone cliffs that has taken place over the last 10-20 million years. There are currently only nine remaining. Our first encounter with the 12 Apostles was on a cloudy evening. We hoped we might see a partial sunset, but our main purpose in going was to see the Fairy penguins which come onto the beach after sunset. (Actually, we should refer to them as Little penguins since someone decided that Fairy penguins is politically incorrect.) We waited in the cold for a long time, and just before dark, groups of penguins started to emerge from the water. They are only about 30 cm tall and very cute. We also saw our first echidna in this area. It plodded along, oblivious to our presence, and continued to use its sharp claws and snout to sift through the dirt looking for insects.
Day 3 Johanna Beach
We spent the morning walking around the Loch Ard gorge. It was named after a British sailing vessel that ran aground and sank in 1878. The Loch Ard was one of over 200 ships that suffered the same fate, earning the rugged coastline the name "The Shipwreck Coast." That night we "free camped" beside Johanna Beach in Cape Otway National Park. We went to sleep listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.
Day 4 Apollo BayOur morning began with a trip to the Cape Otway lighthouse, the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia. It became operational in 1848 and was finally decommissioned in 1994. It's location is crucial because it is situated in the 90 km gap between Cape Otway and King Island. Navigating this strait was said to be as difficult as "threading the eye of a needle." Unfortunately for us, movie production on the grounds was just finishing up. Not only did we miss seeing any stars, but we were also unable to climb the stairs to the top of the lighthouse. Later that day, we arrived in Apollo Bay. The sun was shining and we headed for the beach. Craig was back in the water on his boogie board and Lynda was sitting on the beach reading her book. For both of us, life is good. Day 5 AngleseaWe had planned to do some hiking around Wye River and stay the night, but it was pouring rain. We kept driving along Australia's version of the Sea to Sky highway until we found the sun. After pausing for coffee in Lorne (pronounced Lawn) we stopped for the night in Anglesea. The rest of our day centred around getting organized for the return of the campa van. Lynda's usual hour and a half laundry job quadrupled in time after numerous problems (the first dryer wasn't heating up, the second dryer wasn't accepting coins and the third dryer turned out to be a washer.)
So here we are. The sun is setting on this portion of our trip. Last stop: Melbourne.

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Portland

We must apologize for our recent lack of postings. We have spent a delightful week with Lynda's rellies, Dan, Lisa and Jen, on their thirteen acre farm just outside of Portland, Victoria. This side trip took us away from caravan parks and tourist attractions and allowed us to be in a home and live a country life. We have enjoyed a variety of experiences. We attended and helped out at Jen's Gymkhana. Craig found himself in charge of an Aussie barbeque at the concession stand. A bit of a scary proposition, but there was a doctor close at hand and to date, we have not heard of anyone coming down with food poisoning. We enjoyed watching Jen manouevre Possum through the different events, and we were impressed with how well she rides. We also helped Lisa's friends make sausages from scratch with their own beef. It was fun, especially taste testing the various recipes. Another highlight was the May family cattle drive. Lisa and Jen saddled up their horses, Tex and Possum, and herded the cows from the front paddock to the back paddock. Dan, Craig and Lynda provided ground support. It all went off without a hitch, probably because the cows were delighted with their new food source. It wasn't all fun and games for Craig. He and Dan got out the shovels and cleared the storm water system. It would have gone much quicker if there hadn't been the matter of the freshly punctured water line in that same ditch. No worries mate. Lisa made a quick trip to town, got the necessary parts, and we only had to flush the toilet with a bucket for a few hours. While all this was going on outside, Lynda enlisted Jen's help and they made cheesecake (from scratch) to have with dinner that night. Garden fresh vegetables, homegrown beef and strawberry chessecake. What more could one want? Finally, we must mention the wildlife encounters. We found koalas a hundred metres from the house in trees over the driveway, Jen impressed us by catching the same Blue Tongue lizard twice over the week, and we spent hours watching the many species of marine life in Dan's salt water reef tank. It is surprising what appears from one minute to the next and the difference between day and night is huge. Then there was Pancho, the adorable, family dog, who was both cute and cuddly. All in all, we are very grateful to our gracious hosts. We had a wonderful time getting to know them and will miss them tremendously.

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The Grampian Mountains

A short, two hour drive from Portland took us across miles and miles of flat grasslands covered with sheep to the Grampian Mountains.The Grampians are known for their steep rock cliffs, unique plant species and Aboriginal rock art. These mountains seem highly out of place in this landscape. We spent three days driving and hiking to spectacular viewpoints. The first night we camped at the remote Smith Mill campground. It was a scenic spot, but there wasn't much there except for picnic tables, fire pits and outhouses. Craig reverted to Boy Scout mode and cooked our lamb dinner over an open fire. We were excited about the possibilities for wildlife viewing. Sadly, it was not until the next morning when we were leaving that we saw one lonely kangaroo on the side of the road. After our second day of outdoor adventure, we stayed just outside of Halls Gap at the caravan park beside the Bellfield Dam. It turned out the wildlife was plentiful. It seems the kangaroos, emus and feral deer love the easy pickings of the fresh green grass shoots, much to our delight and the dismay of the campground manager. On day three we hiked to the top of Mt. William. Admittedly, we drove 10 km to the carpark and walked the final 2 km to the 1168 metre summit, but the final ascent was very steep and the wind was blowing us about. Craig was not deterred and went off the path to get the best camera angles. It is evident now that he is going to be researching cameras when we get home as our little digital is becoming inadequate. We spent the rest of the day driving to the other side of the park to view Aboriginal rock art. We saw a variety of objects, including hand prints, stick figures and animal tracks. Although no one knows the exact age of the paintings, Aboriginal people have been camping in these shelters for the last 22,000 years, so anything is possible. Yet again, our time here was inadequate. We could easily have spent a lot more time trekking and exploring the area.

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Barossa Valley

The Barossa Valley is quite different from the lush, green Hunter Valley. As you drive to the Barossa, you pass through farm country. Hay field after hay field. The closer you get, the more swaths of green you encounter. We spent three relaxing days here. We sampled at some of the bigger wineries, such as Wolf Blass and Penfolds, where we knew the quality of the product we were trying, but we also found a hidden gem. It reminded us of our coffee plantation tour in Mareeba. Villa Tinto is a family run, boutique winery. We had our tasting with the owner Dianne, who also happens to be a teacher. Needless to say, there was a lot of chatter between the tastings. We also found the Raven's Parlour bookstore in Tanunda. Craig waited very patiently while Lynda checked out the selection and received recommendations from Colleen. Finally with her new book and a newsletter of book reviews in hand, Lynda left the store a happy camper.

Time was ticking and we had to head south. More farm land and a couple of tacky sculptures and we were on our way to the south coast and back to Victoria. After many hours on the road, our trip took us to Kingston, the home of the Big Lobster. We were happy to stop for the night and set up camp. The air was oppressively hot. This concerned us because history told us that a storm was approaching, but it was much worse than we expected. It began with the wind blowing so violently that we had to take down our tarp. Uh oh! There goes our water barrier. Then the rain came. Buckets of rain. Even though all the doors and windows were closed, water was streaming into the van. We scrambled to sop it up before all of our bedding was soaked. Then there was thunder, lightning and hail. Now we were huddled in the van like hermits. Luckily, we were in a powered site and we could use the microwave to re-heat leftovers for dinner. It was a very long evening!

Off to Portland to visit more rellies and hopefully, better weather.

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Adelaide, SA

We were very pleased with how things worked out in Adelaide. The caravan park was located in an upscale neighbourhood on the River Torrens, just two kilometres from the city centre and was very affordable at only $27 per night. Best of all, the sun was shining. On our first night there we walked along the river to the University of Adelaide. The university has beautiful, old buildings in a park-like setting and it is adjacent to the city centre. The park was alive with people jogging, biking, and fishing in the river. There were soccer and rugby practices going on all around us. The place was a hub of activity. As Craig is always scheming about ways to return to Australia, Lynda suggested she enroll in a Master's program at the university. On second thought, maybe not.

The pathways in the parks are in such great shape that the next day we decided to look into renting bicycles. To our surprise we discovered that the city of Adelaide will supply you with a free bicycle for the day in exchange for a piece of i.d. "Wow, what could be better than that?" Craig dealt with a minor seat repair and jubilantly, we set off on a 15 kilometre ride from the city centre to the beach. It was good to see the sand and waves again. We went to the Surf Club and enjoyed lunch on the balcony. After lunch we headed back to the city. We wanted to walk the streets and do some "window" shopping. Our plans were foiled halfway home by a flat tire on (wait for it....) Lynda's bike. Now we were walking our free bikes. It all worked out with a little help from an autobody shop. We made it back in time to enjoy an iced latte at a city bistro, but there was no time left in the day for "window" shopping.

We could have spent more time here, but our departure date from Melbourne is quickly approaching and the Barossa Valley was calling.

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Down the Murray

For about a week we have been inland traveling from the start of the Murray River in the Snowy Mountains to the mouth here in Adelaide. The Murray River, along with its biggest tributary, the Darling River, is the world's fourth largest river system. Towns along the river are marketing the history of when this area was opened up. As a result, we saw a lot of old things, i.e. riverboats, townsites and farm implements. Too many farm implements, actually. This makes sense considering the area produces 41% of the country's gross agricultural production.

Quite often during our touring of old things, we had the added experience of rain. While we continue to see it as a detriment to our travels, Australians in this region get quite excited. After it had rained all night in Swan Hill, the comments ranged from "beautiful" to "wonderful" to "spectacular." Understandable considering they haven't had rain in three months and probably won't have it for another three more. For us, it meant another night with the tarp up.

By the way, rain does not deter the flies. The farther we traveled inland, the more flies we found. They don't bite. They just buzz around your head, in your ears, up your nose, eyes etc. When you shoo one away, there are twelve more to take its place. Ever hear of the Aussie wave? We now know how to execute it perfectly. We are thankful that we are not driving across the Nullabor to Perth. Fellow "holidaymakers" inform us that they are ten times worse there. Some things we don't need to experience. Thank goodness for air travel.

All kidding aside, there is a lot of history here. We took a ride on an authentic wood-fired steam driven paddlewheeler in Echuca, enjoyed camping in several places along the Murray, got Lynda into the water for the first time since Queensland and saw some beautiful countryside.

Finally, the flies won out and we made a one day, 600 km dash across the Mallee highway, through what must be the heart of Australia's wheat production. Grain fields as far as you can see and lots of small towns where the highway only slows down along the length of the main street. The town may or may not have a petrol station, but it definitely has a grain silo.

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Mount Kosciuszko

We turned inland and made our way up the Great Dividing Range onto the plateaus above. It was a lot of driving in the lower gears, burning fuel. Over the last few months we have discovered that the size of the name of the town in print does not reflect the size of the town. Case in point. Arriving in Nimmitabel at the bottom of our fuel tank, we discovered that there were no petrol stations. So we detoured to Cooma, 45 km away, fingers crossed. All fuelled up, we found a lovely campsite in Kosciuszko National Park(sorry, no hot showers this time.) We spent the evening watching the sunset and kangaroos bounding through the tall grass in the fields behind us.

The next morning we arose early (earlier than usual), had a hearty bowl of porridge and headed for Thredbo, Australia's ski hill. Our goal was to climb Mount Kosciuszko. We did cheat a little bit by getting a lift ticket on the Snowgums chairlift which elevated us up to 1800 metres. From there it was all us. Two hours and seven kilometres later we were standing on the summit of mainland Australia. We started the hike in t-shirts, but by the top wool and jackets were much needed as winds were gusting at 50-60 km per hour. We were proud of our accomplishment. Hopefully, it is only the first of many summits to come (Mount Kilimanjaro?)

By the end of the day, we had made our way to Khancoban, the base of the Snowy Mountains and the head of the Murray River. After a big, steak dinner, we watched "The Man From Snowy River," the first television we have watched in three months. We enjoyed seeing the movie with its familiar surroundings, however, the 13 inch screen was smaller than we are used to. We wonder how our big screen tv is doing?

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Apres Sidney

We were very happy to leave the noise, traffic and congestion behind and hit the road, travelling south to the beaches of New South Wales. We spent two nights at Green Patch which is a deluxe campsite (that means it has hot showers) in Booderee National Park, then one night at a caravan park in Bateman's Bay. We spent our time walking through the bush and down the beautiful white sand beaches. The ocean has become so cold that even Craig's snorkelling was limited to less than five minutes. That being said, there was no point in Lynda even trying. (Ahh yes, memories of the bath water temperatures in Queensland to the north.) Regrettably, we realize that the beach weather is gone so we are going inland to make our way across to Adelaide (and the Barossa Valley.)

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We interrupt our regular broadcast to bring you a moment at the beach.

O.K. back to what you were doing.

Sydney, NSW

We did it and we survived! For a huge city it is very clean, and in our meagre three days we saw some beautiful sights. We stayed at Lane Cove National Park, a campground very close to the city. Just a block or two away (on the other side of the cemetary and crematorium) was the North Ryde train station, four stories below street level. On a good day, twenty minutes put us downtown.
We refrained from signing up for any tours and meandered around the city on our own. We walked around "the Rocks," over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and past the Opera House. We were impressed with the fact that Sydney has built a modern city and yet still maintained its historical areas. One evening we did some "uncity" like things. We signed up for a nature talk at our camp site. We learned the names of many of the birds we have become familiar with and armed with our torches, we went on a night walk. It was surprising the number of bush tailed and ring tailed possums and bandicoots that were lurking in the bushes around us.

On our last full day, we were happily reunited with our Swiss friends, Daniel and Marina. We took the ferry to Manly, walked around another National Park, went for a swim (at least three of us did), and had dinner out. Later we stopped for coffee and chocolate cake and enjoyed the blue lights of the Opera House. Upon parting, Daniel and Marina gave us the heads up on spots to see south of Sydney. So we are off to Jervis Bay and the beaches of southeast New South Wales.

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Blue Mountains

We said goodbye to Daniel and Marina. Although we were going the same direction, their pace had to be faster than ours as their time in Australia was running out. Our path took us down windy roads, and through narrow valleys and rolling countryside. We stopped for lunch in Windsor, an old haunt of friends of ours. On our way out of town, we hit a small dip in the road which brought everything we owned (and we mean everything) onto the floor. Twenty minutes later, we made our way to Bilpin, Australia's apple capital. Craig was dying for a "free" camp and although there was one in Bilpin, we decided to purchase a "hot out of the oven apple pie" and forgo the rest area. This brought only smiles from Lynda. After another hour on the road, we arrived in Blackheath, in the middle of the Rhododendron festival. As we pulled in so did the celebratory steam train which resulted in complete chaos. Afraid of missing a life-changing photographric moment, Craig pulled over and jumped out with the rest of the hordes and tried to snap a "picky." It had been an exhausting day on the road and we were happy when we were able to secure a site at the caravan park for two nights.


One of the many interesting facts we have learned is that the Blue Mountains appear blue because oil dispersed from the blue gum euculyptus trees comes into contact with rays of light thus creating a bluish haze which is always present. The proximity of the mountains to Sydney makes them a popular weekend camping spot for Aussies and a "must-see" day trip for tourists. We extended our stay to five nights, but could have stayed longer as there are over 140 km of hiking trails, and we barely scratched the surface. Lynda will even go out on a limb and say that it has been one of her favourite parts of our journey so far. Of course, it was all good because of Craig and his handy tarp system which provided protection from the rain and shade from the sun.

We won't bombard you with all the details, but here are the highlights:

- walking the cliff top from Govett's Leap to Evans Lookout and back at Blackheath (in spite of the rain)
- navigating the windy, narrow road up to the Jenolan Caves and spending 3 1/2 hours underground looking at crystal formations within the limestone caves
- camping in the National Park at Black Range and Euroka, amongst the exotic birds and Eastern Gray kangaroos
- hiking a circular route from our campsite at Katoomba Falls to Leura and back. This took us along the cliff, by the famous Three Sisters, past numerous waterfalls, over the edge to the forest below and back up via the Scenic World gondola (no more steps, thank you)
- a walk to view the red ochre Aboriginal hand stencils on the walls at the Red Hands Cave (reported to be 1600 years old)
- reacquainting ourselves with the warmth of the sun (which only seems to present itself intermittently in New South Wales)

Now where? We have skirted the edges and are now within 60 km of Sydney, so we will venture forth for three days in the big city and then head south back to the beaches. We have less than a month to travel across to Adelaide and then down to Melbourne. Where has the time gone?

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The Hunter Valley

We met Daniel and Marina at the Information Centre. They had already found a campsite and we booked a wine tour for the following day. As the sun was out and the day was young we were off to check out some wineries on our own. By 4:00 pm we had explored wine, olives and chocolate and had enjoyed Tapas for a late afternoon lunch. We had a wonderful time comparing travel notes and experiences.
The next day put us on a bus. Oh yes, another bus! We toured around the valley, through vineyards, big and small. More chocolate and olives and best of all "The Smelly Cheese" store. With the help of our Swiss friends, we explored many new options including the goat and sheep varieties. With all our new delicacies, we went home and had a wonderful meal.
We were having a good time and considered staying another day, but apparently somebody was singing in a vineyard. Thus it was a "special event" weekend and the price of everything doubled. We were on the road again. This time our destination was the Blue Mountains.

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Hawks Nest

We went to Hawks Nest because it came highly recommended. Apparently, there are some beautiful beaches there. Unfortunately for us it rained and the flies were thick. We stayed a couple of days and huddled under our tarp. The best part was the people we met. Some new friends and some old friends. On the second day, a Swiss couple, in our sister ship (also an Apollo van), whom we had met in Suffolk Park turned up. They were also unimpressed with the weather. So the next day we all bolted for the Hunter Valley.

Arrawarra to Coffs Harbour

Our next stop was Spot X at Arrawarra beach, a caravan park that serves as a base for backpacker tours. It is a popular surf beach, but the wind was up and it made for poor surfing. There was also a problem with the camp kitchen. The bbq was out of order which meant that we had to cook in the camper (something we nornally don't do.) Craig had to open the utility hatch to turn on the propane . Where are the keys ? After tearing the camper apart while the sun went down, we resolved ourselves to the fact that the keys were gone. No fancy dinner tonight. We settled for microwaveable rice and Heinz beans in the dark. The next morning took us into Coffs Harbour where we saw a locksmith and waited two hours for a $100 set of keys. Not too bad for our first big screw up.

By noon we were back on the road, with a few scheduled stops for Lynda to pose with tacky, giant fiberglass icons and a few unscheduled stops for Craig to take some artsy, fartsy photos. When we arrived at Hawk's Nest late in the day, the heat was stifling. Not a good sign as apparently a storm is coming.

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Surfers Paradise to Byron Bay

We had no intention of going to Brisbane, but our plans changed when we found out that a former student of Lynda's was living and working there. So after a day at the zoo, we headed into Brisbane and had a short visit with Lauren. Craig did double duty in the dark, driving and navigating our way to a caravan park in south Brisbane for an overnight stay. We happily headed out of the big city early the next morning driving to Surfer's Paradise which turned out to be another big city, but a city along a beach. The parking meter gave us two hours which was long enough to snap a few photos and then we quickly headed south along the coast road.
We passed many beautiful sandy beaches and little towns until Byron Bay. Everyone says that you have to go to Byron Bay and everyone did. It was quaint, but very crowded. We did the compulsory stops (town centre, lighthouse, Main beach), but we found a quiet place to stay at Suffolk Park, just five km south. A couple of days on the beach allowed Lynda to read her book and Craig to practise his boogie boarding. Then came the BIG rain. With our laid back beach attitudes, we decided against putting the tarp up. Oops! Now we know all the places where the camper van leaks. The next morning we headed for the hills. We took a scenic drive through the towns of Bangalow, Clunes, Channon, Nimbin, Uki, Murwillumban and back home to Suffolk Park. We avoided the rain and saw some beautiful countryside. Macadamia nut orchards and hippies are abundant.

While putting on some more miles the next day, a lunch break in the town of Grafton was a pleasant surprise. It is known for its spring festival which celebrates the beautiful, purple Jacaranda trees that line the streets. Our timing was perfect.

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Australia Zoo

We spent the day at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. It gives visitors the opportunity to see a lot of Australia's wildlife (kangaroos, dingos, koalas, cassowaries crocodiles, and all those venomous snakes) in one location. For a zoo, they try very hard to keep the animal enclosures spacious and as natural as possible. The Crocoseum is an amphitheatre that holds 5,000 people and the location of their two daily shows. Craig, feeling uninhibited, won the grand prize for his ape impersonation and was selected to repeat his performance in front of everyone on the Jumbotron. A small prize was awarded. For the rest of the day, we endured his new found celebrity status.

Lynda's mission was to get her picture taken, up close and personal, with a cute, cuddly koala bear. Interesting facts: koala bears defecate approximately 160 times per day and are rather smelly. Need we say more?

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Noosa/Coolum Beach

We had a rather extensive stay at the caravan park outside of Noosa on Coolum Beach, partially because we liked it there so much, and because Craig got sick (what's with that?) and had to recuperate. During that time we outfitted ourselves with new beach apparel (bikinis and surfer shorts) and got up early to run on the beach. Craig bought himself a boogie board and was very stylish as he attempted to master the waves. We also camped beside some Calgarians and together we cooked a sumptuous meal of Moreton Bay Bugz. Yes, Jim, we finally did it and they were to die for! Our cooking skills on the Aussie hot plates/barbeques are becoming more refined. We have moved from steaks and bangers to the aforementioned Bugz, garlic and rosemary lamb chops and Red Emperor in a coconut, chile Thai sauce. Not bad for camping.

One of the best walks we've been on so far was 6.9 km through Noosa National Park. It was one of many walks, but it took us through wetlands and along the coastline. The views are spectacular. We saw the usual birds (scrub turkeys) and some bigger lizards, but the best part was that we saw our first wild koala bear fast asleep in a gum tree. How unusual! We've been told they sleep 18 to 20 hours a day.

We were very lucky to connect with some friends of Bryan and Katherine's upon our arrival in Noosa. All of the Watts were very hospitable and welcomed us into their homes. We appreciate all of their travel advice and hope to meet up with them again one day (Canada/New Zealand ?)

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Tin Can Bay

Leaving Rainbow Beach our travels started with an early morning stop in Tin Can Bay where we observed a daily ritual that has been going on for 30 years. Every morning after the high tide a small family of wild Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins comes into the bay to be hand fed by anyone willing to part with a small donation. The donations go towards buying the 3 kilos of fish eaten by each dolphin, plus some extra to lure the pesky pelicans away. The senior battlescared male dolphin called Mystique determines who can and cannot eat. Currently, it is him and his son Harmony. There was a female called Patch who was visible just off-shore, but she knew her place and kept her distance.

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Fraser Island

Well friends, we broke down and went to the dark side. We joined a tour of 30 other holiday-makers and headed over to Fraser Island. It is not our preferred style of travel, but it was an enjoyable trip and it gave us a good overview of the island.

We were picked up early Thursday morning by our driver Mark, a fast talking Aussie version of Harrison Ford, equipped with a vast repertoire of one liners. The vehicle? A bus chassis mounted on a 5 ton Man diesel truck frame with "true" 4 wheel drive with locking hubs all around. A real machine. (You know what I mean girls?) The first test of our driver and his machine was at the end of the road where he had to cross the dry, sandy beach at full speed and launch us onto the ferry which was waiting at the water's edge.

Once we were on the island, most of the travel was done on the hard sand at the edge of the water. There are so many vehicles traveling the beach, the Australian government has designated it as a highway with road rules and police enforcement. Several attractions took us on inland roads that were a real mess. The men were put to work pushing out vehicles that had bottomed out in the soft sand.

There were many amazing sights along the eastern coastline: 75 Mile beach, the Maheno shipwreck, and the champagne pools. We elected not to join the throngs and climb to the top of Indian Head. Instead Craig headed for some surf fishermen on the beach and struck up a conversation. Within minutes an offer was made and Craig was casting out into the ocean. Before the big one was landed, it was time to get back on the bus and head to Eurong Beach resort for an overnight stay.

On the second day we went to two very different lakes. At Lake Mckenzie, a rainwater pocket, the sand is bleached pure white and the water is crystal clear. After a 4 km trek across the Hammerstone Sandblow we arrived at emerald green Lake Wabby. We were happy to dive into the cool water and swim with the resident catfish (and three fellow Canadians.)

As well as all of the scheduled events, we were lucky enough to see some native wildlife: an Asian dingo, a mother and baby humpback whale, and a dead sea snake (a casualty of the highway traffic.)
Fraser Island is definitely at the top of our "places to return to" list.

(without the bus and the 30 holiday-makers, of course.)

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