East Coast

Liz -

Our first day in Sydney and something didn’t feel right for me. Oh yes it was that homesickness back again. This country is amazing and I have no doubt that we could have a prosperous life in Australia and we are very excited about having a family in the near future and they too could benefit from life here. But I miss family and my friends. Don’t get me wrong, I’m having the time of my life and am not ready to come yet but my gut feeling is telling me I won’t be able to settle in Australia.

My mind is very changeable, talking about our future life in Australia one day and longing for home the next. Our house lease is up for renewal in June which doesn’t help my turmoil as it makes it easy to jump back into our old life in just a matter of months. This may come as a surprise after our last very positive post. This emphasises how changeable I am. After much discussion with Lee, we’ve agreed to renew the lease on the house for another 6 months which takes us through to end of November. In this time we‘ll carry on with our travels as planned, we are determined to make Cairns and beyond and finish this almighty journey as this country is so captivating. By November we will have made our decision whether to stay and start our new lives in Australia or come home. My preference at the moment is to come home.

Thanks for your comments guys, it really helps to know you’re there!

Lee -

Yo Peeps! So Sydney – another city on our list.

After Melbourne we didn’t want to attempt taking our bus into the city centre so we managed to find a right nice campsite snuggled only 30 minutes from the centre, ideal for a short commute. Not only is this site so close to Sydney, its in the middle of a big national park with pukka walks right from the site.

Also this campsite has wireless internet which was really nice because we now have a decent laptop and managed to get it all updated and more importantly was able to setup the digital TV tuner. As Liz wasn’t feeling up for a stroll I left her vegging in front of the TV and I went for a bowl on my own. What I did notice is how slow this bowl was when I‘m on my own! I had my camera on me hip and was “at one with nature”. Not far in and got a first sighting of a big water dragon then the usual fantastic bird shenanigans going on all around. Most evenings you get to hear the Kookaburra’s staking there claim on territory.

The next morning we got up nice and early and got a day tripper ticket which enabled us to use buses ferry’s and trains in and around Sydney. So we set off on the bus to the train station and got our train and that’s when I realised we had set of a bit too early as we were right on the back end of rush hour (nice).

Sydney is actually a nice city (never thought id say that) I mean I dislike city’s full stop, mind you Adelaide was a breath of fresh air too, maybe its because now I’m the tourist and not the commuter?

We actually got off a stop early which was advice from a fellow commuter, this enabled us to walk over the Harbour Bridge, albeit on the path and not the actual steel structure.

We spent the first hour or so mooching around getting our bearings, we then headed into the shopping part of the city as apparently we majorly needed cosmetics? So we proceeded into a Debenhams type store were we BLEW our daily budget in a 50ml bottle.

We then headed across to Sydney Opera House and had lunch in the Botanical gardens where they have a colony of fruit bats living which took me by surprise I must say cause I originally thought the noise was the Cockatoos or Galas but when I looked up it was Bats! Only in Oz hey. The gardens were immaculacy kept and refreshing to encounter a slice of tranquillity so close to the bustling city centre.

Between the hours of 12pm-2pm they were hundreds of city workers running, power walking or fitness training on the grass. Some of the groups were as large as 50 at a time – they certainly put us to shame!

Mid Afternoon we hopped on a ferry to Manly which is a well known peninsula just outside the bay of Sydney and full of trendy shops and nice cafes sandwiched between the bay and the ocean the other side which is a short walk. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening there, including an evening meal. The ferry ride back was nice as we were able to see Sydney by night.

The next day we moved on to a place called The Entrance which was a lovely place at the mouth of a lake/river and the sea, we had a very nice Pitch and enjoyed another pukka sunset soaked in red wine.

Today we moved further up the coast to a place called Port Stephens, we parked our bus in a nice site right by One Mile Beach we gonna spend a couple of nights here.

Speak soon Peeps.

Lee

 

 

 

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Monday 26th March

Lee-

Saturday afternoon we drove an hour or so to the Jenolan Caves which are Australia’s most well known limestone caves. The drive down the mountain side was the most challenging yet. We were constantly braking all the way down and the barriers were made of wood and were completely rotted. On the otherside of these barriers was a shear drop, it wasn’t long before I had a couple of motors behind me and it was really weird sensation when I had to use the hairpins on the way down because the car behind me during the turn was beside me and we waved at each other whilst negotiating the bend. At the bottom I thought the hub caps were going to melt as the brakes were on fire!

Jenolan Caves consist of about 160 caves altogether but they tend to only have about 9 open at any one time. We paid our fee and joined the group for an hours guided tour of one of the caves. We chose the least challenging one as Lizzy’s muscles were aching so much from the day before.

Liz -

Saturday night was a particularly cold night and we woke numerous times to snuggle together with the covers over our heads. Despite night clothes, a duvet, wollen blanket and a small heater blowing directly on to us, it would be true to say we were freezing! I was pleased to actually get out of bed this morning and into a hot shower followed by two cups of tea before I felt any warmer. Looking around the campsite, it was strange to see everybody in their winter clothes, when only the day before we were in our summer clothes baking in the sunshine. Whilst doing a little food shop, which consisted of lots of warming soup, we bought an extension lead so the heater can sit on the floor and circulate the hot air from underneath the bed. Nice and toasty!

As our last day before heading into Sydney, we drove to Lithgo which is mainly known for it’s Zig Zag railway nearby. We found a recreation ground by a lake to camp for the night and bagged the only powered site available which was half the price we normally pay. We’ve become used to the conveniences of campsites and the electric hook up but we’ve spoken to a lot of people who regularly bush camp where you’re totally self-sufficient, and we’d like to give it a go as many of the allocated spots are completely free! It was a cold day but it didn’t dampen our mood. We sat inside our cosy little camper for most of the day with our woolly jumpers on and the heater pumping (hence electric hookup), the Sunday papers strewn out in front of us and making lots of cups of tea. We attempted a walk around the lake but came back after about 20 minutes as it was too cold. It almost feels like we’re having a romantic weekend away in England but we’re loving it, every minute.

Although Lee and I didn’t initially have any interest in heading to the centre of Australia, the more literature we read and the more people we speak to, the more we want to do it. After all, you can’t come to Australia and not see the real Australia. In WA we would drive for hours through the outback and only see a few cars but we were not very far inland. We want to go into the centre at some point and experience that feeling of total seclusion. This country is addictive, we just want to see more and more.

After we return from New Zealand in early May, we’ll both find work in Brisbane and carry on living in our campervan. Lee already has two contacts for work, one came about whilst I was using the toilet in a visitor information. He had a brief chat with a couple and explained his trade and voila call this person! I on the other hand will probably step back into temp office. When we’ve got enough money together we’ll carry on our journey up the East coast to Cairns, Cape Tribulation. If we can we’d also like to go to Cape York and Northern Territory too. Have a look at a map guys, it’s a hell of a long way and we don’t wanna be rushing it!

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Saturday 24th March

On Wednesday we arrived at the Blue Mountins after yet another full day driving.  We found a campsite right on the edge of the National Park and just round the corner from the famous Three Sisters.  Also nearby was Scenic World where they run a skyway, railway, cablecar and walkway thorugh the forests.  See link www.scenicworld.com.au. After picking up plenty of leaflets from the tourist information, we were pleased to see that some horse riding firms operate locally.

We woke the next day to see bright blue skies and sunshine so we donned our comfortable shoes and slung our bags on our shoulders and headed off towards Scenic World for a day of tramping which was great.  The railway was cool, aparantely it’s the worlds steepest railway. 

The next day was thankfully was just as sunny so off we trotted (sorry for the pun!)  to the Megalong Valley for a two hour horse trail ride.  I thought we were paired quite well with our horses.  Mine, named Puddin was graceful, controlled and well mannered.  Lee’s horse on the otherhand was frisky, stubborn and a speed demon!  The track took us through the 50 acre forest and alongside the creek.  We tried trotting (ouch) and cantering.  It was good fun.

In answer to your wake boarding question Mummies, it’s a water sport like water skiing.  Instead of skies, you use a board like a snowboard and ride the wake of the boat that is towing you.  You can do jumps etc off the wake.  Sounds cool!

We just wanted to say congratulations to Lee’s brother and sister in law, Ian & Tra on the birth of their beautiful baby girl called Harley.  It was great to see her on the web cam.  It’s very difficult for us at times like these as we want to be there.  Love you guys!

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Wednesday 21st March

Hi guys, sorry for not being in touch lately, we hope you’ve not been too disappointed!

Lee and I left the beautiful, picturesque Bright after two nights and drove for a very long time in our very non air-conditioned van to a town called Coryong.  There didn’t seem much going on and as we didn’t like the look of the town campsite, we came back on ourselves and stayed in a little placed called Colac Colac (pronounced Clac Clac).  That quite simple was the best nights sleep we’ve had in a long time as it was such a quiet spot.  I developed a strange set of small itchy blisters on my angle which Lee thinks  was the result of a small burn but I’m convinced it was the result of an insect bite which doesn’t surprise me as the walk from the van to the toilet block in the middle of the night was dark, damp and grassy so anything could have been lurking there.  We really must invest in a torch me thinks!

Next day we drove a long way inland through the fabulous Snowy Mountains which were spectacular in the summertime so I can’t image how fabulous they must be during the winter months when they are covered in snow. The snowies form part of the Great Dividing Range where it straddles the New South Wales and Victoria Border. We could see evidence of the parks regeneration after the bush fires in 2003. It took two months to control the 160 fires which started following an electrical storm. Over 321,000 hectares of the parks 690,000 hectares were damaged.  You just can’t imagine the extent until you see it for yourself.   We did spare a thought for our little koala friends and the other wildlife.

We drove along the tallest highway in Australia (about 2228ft) amongst the clouds and scary diesel spillages left behind by other motorists.  There’s a charge to stop in the park but as it was an overcast day we chose not to pay the permit and instead drove the two hour drive through the winding, steep mountains and took in the sites.  We were excited about the possibility of seeing some Brumbies (wild horses) but unfortunately we only saw evidence of the Brumbies which they’d left behind on the road.  There’s so much to do here, white water rafting,  horse riding, mountain biking, swimming, sailing, wakeboarding, bush walking, so with enthusiasm we agreed to stop for the night in a ski resort town called Jindabyne with the intention of returning to partake in some of these activities the next day.  Unfortunately for us the weather did not improve and I’m surprised that some of our fellow campers tents didn’t drift away with the rain during the night!  We had it all planned, horse riding in the morning, walking up Mt Kosziusko in the afternoon (Australia’s mainland tallest mountain) and bush camping in amongst nature at night.  Boy did we change our minds when we saw the big black clouds looming and learnt that the weather wouldn’t be changing for the better for a number of days.

We left Jindabyne with the intention of getting back on the coastal road and ended up in a town called Meribula.  On route we stopped for a quick toilet stop at a road side public toilet.  The alarm bells should have started ringing if I’d taken in the lush green countryside that we were now driving in.  I entered in to the toilets and noticed a rather large spider curled up on the wall in front of me.  Although posing no great threat I decided to skip the toilet and called Lee over for a look. Before I had the chance to point out the spider Lee said ’sweet, check that pups out!’ and pointed to another spider twice the size which I hadn’t even noticed. Identifying them as the Huntsman Spider I consequently ran out of the toilet screaming my head off!  Lee however stood in amazement taking pictures of them and when entering the cubicle for a closer look, noticed one behind the door about 15cms in diameter.  I just can’t image I would ever have got out of the cubicle again if I’d actually gone in there.

Meribula campsite had a nice big pool and a spar so we thought it would be rude not to make use of the facilities.  The campsite had the company of little birds called Bell Birds which constantly from sunrise to sunset chirp like little bells from one side of the valley to the next.  We thought it would drive us potty but after a while and a couple of bottles of wine we didn’t even notice them. Saturday night concluded with a trip to the local cinema.

Leaving Meribula we drove to another coastal town called Norooma for the night.  We took a walk on the boardwalk over the mangrove and round to the beach.  We saw people looking over the boardwalk into the sand and noticed thousands of Soilder Crabs scuttling towards the shore.  With their armoured body and congregating it small groups, from above they looked like little soldier’s planning their next attack on the battlefield.  We were also treated to see some magnificent Sting Rays gliding through the shallows by the boardwalk.  One of the stingers tails was half missing, cut off by an apprehensive swimmer perhaps?  I don’t blame them!

Every time we enter a new area we experience varying climates, laws and restrictions but most days we’re treated to a new form of nature which will always excite us.  We’ll  never get bored of the nature here thats for sure.

We just spent two nights in Shoalhaven Heads after a day of driving in the rain.  We purchased a spanking new flashy laptop hence the reason for this chunky blog entry! 

Today we’ve been travelling more to the Blue Mountains just west of Sydney.  It’s nice to finally be in the east coast.  We just stopped for a pit stop to re-fuel, food shop and add an entry to the blog and then it’s onwards again to the Blue Mountains by dinner hopefully. 

So have we found anywhere to live you may be wondering.  Not yet.  Perth is still the clear contender however we’ve still got a fair way to go before we have to make that decision and a lot more of Australia to see.  Talking to people, they all seem very confident that Lee’s trade will do very well here, especially in the mining areas and marine industry.  For now thought we’re trying our best to chill out and enjoy this experience. 

Catch ya later and thanks for reading this blog.

Wednesday 14th March

Liz -

Our Anniversary meal was fabolous, we chose by recommendation to go to a restaurant run by a German couple.   We weren’t disappointed and later waddled back to the campsite.  One thing I noticed about the aussies is there very casual and bad dress atire even when going out for meal.  Some men even chose to leave their coats on all evening.  Bizzare? 

Next day, from Phillip Island we drove to Wilsons Prom National Park and spent a day admiring it’s outstanding beauty.  We bravely took on the walk that climbs slowly up Mount Oberon for fabulous 360 degree views of the park and out to the ocean.  Shame about the wasps that accompanied us all the way but they helped me get up the hill a bit quicker!  After taking some pictures we headed back down the same path which was much more leisurely and then drove to a beach called Squeaky Beach.  We just had to experience it for ourselves.  Quite rightly so, the lovely soft white sand squeaks as you walk across it.  Someone said it was due to the fine particles of coral in the sand.   All in all it was somewhere we’d like to return one day as we didn’t realise there was camping in the National Park.

Next stop was Toora.  More of a stop over than anything.  A small historial town aparantely but we didn’t get to find out why.  The campsite in particular was nice, even though it was packed with noisy kids enjoying the bank holiday weekend.  We took a walk up a steep cow field to a wooden bench situated at the top and enjoyed the sunset over the mountains we’d climbed earlier that day.  Oh yeah, we are so fit and healthy!

The next day we drove to a town called Sale and stopped off their for the night.   Another evening walk but this time to the port and watched the boats returning from their day in the ocean.   It was nice to see the seagulls catching fish rather than scrounging food from the locals BBQ nearby.  

Bairnsdale was our last stop on along the coast before heading inland up the Great Alpine Road – a recommendation from Uncle Frank and Auntie Wendy.  Thanks for that

We booked out pitch for the night at Bairnsdale and then took a drive up to Lakes Entrance.  This was still during the bank holiday weekend and the town was packed with people jetskiing, fishing, swimming, windsailing, surfing, the lot.  We were quite envious that we didn’t have our own boat to join in the fun so we just chose to watch instead.  The drive back to Bairnsdale was er pretty scary for me to say the least.  The sidewinds were blowing our little van all over the road.  Naturally Lee loved it.

To make up for the overeating every evening, we’ve been trying to go for a walk most days so this evening we did a loop walk up the Mitchell river and back again.

Our budget has been slowly declining as our overspending was increasing.  We’re now budgeting ourselves to just $100 per day which equates to 40 english pounds.  This must cover fuel costs, campsite, food/drink, sightseeing costs, the lot.  Some days can be hard but others are easy if were just spending the day on the beach or something.  One thing we learn’t from a couple was the ‘Chateaux de Cardboard’ which is boxed wine and very cheap prices.  It’s cheap, it’s tasty, it gets ya drunk and it doesn’t give you a hangover! 

Lee -

So next morning I woke up all excited looking forward to driving the Great Alpine Road. Man I wasn’t disappointed, it is truly breath taking bend after bend after bend and going up all the time. Our camper was doing bout 40kph up most hills and if there is ever a road I’ve needed to be on my super-bike, this was it! I was gutted but was still leaning into most bends with my knee out! lol

I must say that we as with most, knew of the Great Ocean Road and its awesome views but this road (for me) was much more exciting to drive, oh and its a walkers paradise there are lay-bys with walking tracks that just disappear over the crest of the mountains.  Mummies, you would love it.

As with most of our Australian animal encounters, it’s been a case of seeing the road kill version before we see the live one, so we are pretty excited now because we have seen many roadside Wombats on this road so anticipate a live one soon.

Large parts of this region has been burnt by massive bushfires that ripped through in December time and was a shame but did not spoil it’s beauty at all.

We stopped at a village called Omeo for one night, this town appeared when they found gold in them hills! We went for our evening walk along the gully/river and was well chuffed to have our first sighting of a Echidna, naturally we saw a dead one the day.  An Echinda is a cross between an anteater and a porcupine.     Half way through our walk we came across a warning sign stating… ‘Unprotected cliffs, Unmarked mine shafts, Collapsing tunnels, Falling tree limbs’ only in oz hey I thought SWEET! Liz thought SH…T.

Our Omeo campsite was not the best equipped but it was far the most relaxing. I got talking to an Irish man who came out in January 1968 for a better life.   As he was now a migrant was drafted into the Australian army and by August 1968 he was sent to Vietnam to fight. Like he said to me ‘you gotta laugh’.  Man that’s crap luck as he was injured quite bad 1 year later.

Now we are up in the hills it is noticably cooler at night and we have had to purchase a little heater for our camper who would of thought it hey!

We’re now in a town called Bright for a few days, not much further up the Great Alpine Road.  There’s plenty to do here despite it being a small picturesque town in the middle of nowhere.  I took my first Tandem Microlight Flight this morning and were fortunate that as he had a quiet day, he gave me extra time for a lesser price.  Sweet!  I was up there for half an hour and I got to fly the pups too.  We’ve got some pictures, but again this pc is too slow to upload them.  Will post them soon hopefully.

Anyways still enjoying this pace around oz its nice to know we still dont have to rush round as we have booked our flights to New Zealand 1st of May.

Cheers for all your comments its nice to know your all looking it makes it worthwhile, oh and I’m still carrying the Burgin t shirt for a appropriate photo opportunity. 

Picture only 1.. slow pc again!

Pics 8th March