Friday, November 27, 2009

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.

View More Photos

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

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.

View More Photos

Saturday, November 21, 2009

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?

View More Photos

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.)

View More Photos

Monday, November 16, 2009

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.

View More Photos

Thursday, November 12, 2009

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?

View More Photos

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

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.

View More Photos

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.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

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.

View More Photos

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.



View More Photos