Te Anau and the Fiordlands (Oct 25 - 29)

After hours of driving, we made it to our destination, Te Anau, on the west side of the south island. This small town is a jumping off point to Fiordland National Park, the largest park in New Zealand. We spent a day here figuring out our plan for the rest of our time in New Zealand, and outside of that, there wasn't much memorable besides a really bad meal at a local cafe. We did however arranged for an overnight trip to Doubtful Sound.

To get to Doubtful Sound, we first had to drive a half hour or so to Manapouri where we caught an hour long ferry ride across Lake Manapouri. Next we were transferred to a bus that took us on an hour ride over a pass where we finally boarded the Fiordland Navigator. After a short safety briefing in the galley, we were assigned to our quarters which thankfully were solely ours even though they slept four. As the boat set underway, a young girl provided information on the sound over the intercom system. One of the first things we learned was Doubtful Sound was not a sound at all, but rather a fiord (a fiord is glacially carved where sounds are carved by flowing water). Upon deck this seemed quiet evident based on the steep slopes.

As we made it further into the sound, we stopped for activities. We chose the more active option, kayaking, which neither of us had done in awhile. After donning our life jackets, grabbing paddles and jumping in the kayaks, we started to move off with the rest of the group...well sort of. Tracy's kayak just refused to obey her, and she was convinced it was defective our somehow different that everyone else's. Screaming from frustration and spinning in circles, she realized she was stronger in one arm than the other and eventually she started making progress. After a half hour or so, she was even able to look up and realize she was sitting in the middle of an incredibly beautiful and remote place that few get to see. We paddled along the shoreline for the next half hour just absorbing the grandeur.

Back on the boat, Tracy decided she still hadn't had enough of the water, and along with a few other lunatics, jumped into the freezing water. She even convinced a fellow expat, Rodrick (see pic with Tracy above) to join her. While she was shouting with glee and adrenaline upon surfacing, her enthusiasm quickly faded and her teeth began to chatter, which I will never forget seeing as I have a wonderful series of photos to commemorate the whole experience (check out the slideshow for a few of them).

After a not so hot shower and piling on layers of clothes, Tracy began to warm up and joined me up on deck as we neared the Tasman Sea. Upon reaching the small islands and rocks and the entrance to the Doubtful, we were able to see some fur seals, and better yet, yellow crested penguins on the rocks (woohoo we bagged our third type of penguin in their natural environment!). The sun began to set and it made for some beautiful moments.

At the end of what seemed like a very full day, we headed to the galley for dinner. Much to our surprise, Rodrick, asked if he could join us and brought a nice bottle of wine with him. We spent the next few hours sharing stories with Rodrick's much appreciated and very good company. After our second bottle of wine, we had learned that Rodrick was a retired police officer with three daughters, living in Spain and currently travelling for a number of months. More than that, Rodrick was a very good storyteller, which made the hours pass too quickly.

Finishing up our last glasses of wine and telling Rodrick good night, we headed out on deck in the expectation of seeing some amazing stars since we were so far away from urban light pollution. Instead however, we found and amazingly eerie scene. Dark clouds above and a complete lack of lights on the shore or water, combined to make seem as if the boat was floating in a pitch black abyss! We could see absolutely nothing, not even the water a few feet below. It was like being deep in a cave with the lights out...really cool!

The next morning we arose and grabbed breakfast in the galley while we enjoyed the ride back. It was raining all morning, so the waterfalls in the sound were flowing nicely. Mist seemed to descend on the mountains, which made for a eerie yet beautiful setting. We made our way back taking the reverse route as before and spent most of the morning chatting more with Rodrick. We eventually made it back to Te Anau where we acquired caravan site for the night.

The following day we drove up to Milford Sound. Our first real stop was at Mirror Lakes, so named for the reflections of the mountains you can see in the water. It was windy, but we still got some great pics. Continuing the road, the scenery became more dramatic and we found ourselves on small mountain roads winding our way through forest along side streams of blue water. Soon we reached the Homer Tunnel, which is 1.2 km long, but while waiting for the light to change so we could enter we got our first glimpses of Keas., an alpine parrot species only found in the South Island of New Zealand. These birds are curious and have been known tear up the window seals on cars with their peaks. The ones we saw were definitely us to being fed and immediately made their way to the line of cars and parked themselves just outside the front doors of most of the vehicles. Occasionally, they would even land on the roofs and look over the sides into the front windows.

Upon emerging from the tunnel, we found ourselves in an entirely new world. Snow was coming down everywhere, and the steep walls on all sides of us were filled with hundreds of rushing waterfalls. It was truly majestic. Arriving at Milford Sound, we checked out the visitor center, but opted to pass on the boat ride as we had already seen Doubtful up close and wanted to save the money for more fun things in Queenstown. We had lunch in the camper and slowly made our way back to Te Anau and onto Queenstown.

Christchurch to Dunedin (Oct 19 - 25)

The first thing we realized upon landing in Christchurch, after a short flight from Melbourne, was that it was much, much colder in New Zealand than Australia. Looking back on our decision not to start our trip with New Zealand, we realized we made the right call. Luck also seemed to be working in our favor as we were upgraded from a Hippie Camper to an Apollo Hitop Camper. In retrospect, the Hippie would have been a bad choice in NZ as you have to stand outside to cook and it has been cold and frequently wet since we arrived.

The next few days we spent stocking up the camper, catching up on our email and exploring Christchurch, which is a very beautiful and serene little city. Everywhere you go, there seems to be a quaint river inhabited by a variety of ducks and lined with beautiful foliage with picturesque bridges. One afternoon we enjoyed a long, slow jog through the extraordinary botanical gardens. The stocking of the camper nearly took as a day, but we were able to find everything we desired. Tracy even found an intersection populated with tea shops, herbal medicine stores and whole food markets...everything her little hippie heart needed!

After a few days in Christchurch, we headed for Akaroa. This town was the site of the only French settlement in New Zealand. Of course, the English arrived first, so the settlement eventually fell under their rule, but not before the French left their mark. The town is situated out on the Banks Peninsula and nestled in the heart of an ancient volcano overlooking a small harbour. The hills are also topped with what we thought were beautiful yellow flowers. We only found out later that this flowering plant was named Gas Weed and is actually an invasive species wreaking havoc on NZ's environment.

Upon checking into the local Top 10 holiday ark, we were greeted by a horde of ducks. Based on experiences so far, we have deduced that it is NZ law that every every holiday park keep at least three families of ducks on site and train them to beg for food from the tourists while simultaneously postings signs everywhere not to feed the ducks. One particular duck couple adopted us while in Akaroa and camped outside our door nearly the entire time. When we weren't playing with the ducks, we once again enjoyed exploring the town by running through it. One day we ran out to the historic lighthouse and then randomly weaved our way back through forest trails. On another occasion, we ran up to the tree farm, which proved extremely challenging as the hills are very steep here. We faced down a few sheep on the trail, as often happens here, and even one loudly barking down. The highlight of Akaroa for us though was our trip to see the Pohatu Penguins at Flea Bay. We were picked up along with seven other tourists by a local lady, Shireen Helps, whose family owns most of the land around Flea Bay. What they don't own has been entrusted to the NZ Department of Conservation to look after. We also learned that Shireen and her husband have been looking after the penguins for more than two decades often without government support or funding. They protect the penguins by setting traps for introduced possums and stoats and try to help increase their numbers by providing small wooden boxes the penguins can use for nests so they don't fight each other for the prime spots. Their efforts have not been in vain either as the numbers of mating pairs in their colony has been increasing as of late. Needless to say, Shireen is Tracy's new hero.

Before actually setting off to look for the penguins, I helped feed some lambs along with a few others from our tour group as they wouldn't let Shireen leave otherwise. We then set off on a hike to through the penguin colony. We were not disappointed as we saw many penguins in their nests guarding eggs and even some males emerging from the sea and marching up their penguin trails to their nests where they would take over watching the eggs from the females so they could go eat.

The next stop on our journey was Oamaru, home to rare and endangered, yellow-eyed penguins (YEPs). After getting directions from the local info center, we went immediately to the cliffs overlooking the small colony of YEPs. We soon started chatting with a very funny and nice man named Colin, a Glaswegian, who volunteered for a group known as the Friends of the YEPs. He told us his nice love story. As a simple petrol station worker, he came travelling with his girlfriend from London. Afterwards, they both decidied to leave their history behind and make a fresh start by following his passion of bird protection in NZ. He was nice enough to point out the YEP we thought we had spotted was actually a dummy placed on the cliffs to trick the local predators. It wasn't long before we spotted our first real YEP though, and others soon followed. Tracy even made a cuppa which nicely warmed our frozen hands. Before heading out the following morning, we again went for a run, this time along the town's Skyline Track where we pushed our ways through herds of sheep closely watching where we stepped.

Next we headed for the town of Dunedin. This town like many in the area appears to have been heavily influenced by Scots. ( Tracy disagrees now't like Scotland) The town center is formed streets in the shaped two concentric octagons with streets heading out away from the center. The major attractions in town are Railway station, which we visited, along with a Cadbury's factory and a Speight's brewery, which we didn't visit. At the railway station, we ducked into Scotia, a scotch bar boasting the largest selection in NZ and enjoyed a dram of Laphroaig...tasty. While enjoying our scotch, we struck up a conversation with the bartender who was a Scot herself from Edinburgh. She patiently answered our questions and increased our knowledge about scotch. The next morning we hit the local farmers market at the train station where we once again ran into a Brit. This time he was English though. Tom is one of the owners and managers of the Green Man Brewery, and he moved from Adlington, England, which is very near to Tracy's hometown, about 16 years ago. Tracy took some time reminiscing on her home with Tom before we set off though with a small box of various beers in hand (Tom - If you are reading this, we've really enjoyed your beer so far, you need to get it to the states!).

We headed out to the nearby Otago peninsula in the afternoon. There were plenty of interesting sites, like NZ's only castle, we had to bypass on the way in the interest of time, but the drive was beautiful, most of it on a small two lane road the hugs the shoreline. At the end of the drive, we arrived at the tip of the peninsula, Taiaroa Head, which is home to a Royal Albatross colony. As the albatross where nesting, tours to the top of the cliff weren't running, but we still managed to see many of these magnificent and massive birds flying overhead. We also walked to another observation point on a cliff around the corner from the colony where we could see shags and fur seals. We ran into an Irish tourist we met the previous night in our holiday park and we started comparing notes on New Zealand. He gave us a lot of good information, so we chatted for awhile. It was just long enough for the rain to start setting in and on the way to the car it turned into a gusty little hail storm. Even though we were only two minutes from the parking lot, we still ended up drenched and cold in our camper. That Antarctic wind blows real cold!!!

The Great Ocean Road (Oct 17 - 18)

Driving again, but this time on The Great Ocean Road... Great is an understatement!!!

But first let me explain our error... a four day error. We had managed to get all the way to the airport when we decided to review our paper work. The date on our complete itinerary is the 17th, but our flight to New Zealand was suppose to be the 21st... um oops! It was not even nine o'clock in the morning. Thankfully the attendant took pity on us and was able to move us the one on Sunday the 19th in two days time. We had already given our hippie back the previous day. Not to worry though. An English post woman we had previously met said her favourite part of Australia was the Great Ocean Road, so we hired a car and set off driving to Torquay, the beginning of the famous road (not the only English named town here...). We moved from the M1 to the A1 ( Princess Coast highway) to Surf Coast High way in time for brunch in a cute town where we burnt our photos to DVD and picked up a map. Our map being previously posted back including our Australia travel bible. After being inland, popping out in Torquay was a big bright blue surprise.

The ocean road is a weaving and winding road that went up and down, along the hills, by the side of cliffs. We drove a little and stopped, drove a little and stopped, each time being accosted by flies. The view along the cliffs where a beautiful colour palate in every direction. There were so many tantalising greens, white, blues with golden sands. Tyler's temp rose as the flies had won the hour, but we quickly learned that the flies where bugging every one, with a few swats here and a discreet slap there. So we took pleasure in fly swatting. These flies seemed to like eyeballs, very friendly flies.

After a few too many stops with no food, we arrived in Apollo Bay. Another glorious little town over looking a grass bank onto the hidden sea beyond. The flies had gone, but Tyler had a bee in his bonnet. He wanted to see the Twelve Apostles, and I wanted to eat. The sun was soon to go down though, so in true British form, I picked up a bag of fish and chips and we munched them while Tyler guided our little rental car around all the winding corners that this road had to offer. Tasty! (Fyi, this was our first true bag in the whole time.. i think??). There were a few lookouts left on the way, including driving though a forest, farm land then back to rolling cliffs. At the Gibson Steps lookout, even though these where closed, we were delighted to see our first apostle. A very big slab of sand stone in the middle of the sea. Very nice to meet you too Mr. Apostle!

We were off to the visitors center up the road, a fancy, sustainable building with a water recycling and a wetland. A short walk away from the Twelve Apostle. There seems to be a debate as to how many apostles there actually are. One sign stated you couldn't see all twelve apostles from the viewing area, while other literature we've read says that as many as five were eroded. We've also heard that there were never twelve, but the name was selected for marketing purposes. Regardless, it is a wonderous sight.

We read the sunset was the best time to visit, and we arrived with half an hour to spare. Not quite though as the paper we were using had forgot to factor daylight savings time into the sunset time, so we had an hour and half spare. Not to worry the bird life was plentiful, and the scenic heather land was beautiful. Even the monster size ants were fun to look at. The glorious sun descended into the the sea without so much as a pretty look. Bollocks but wait the horizon began to light up clouds and the colours brought the previously sleepy apostles to life. Such a glorious sight! The violet hours rules! Happy with Tyler's mistake ;-), we headed to Port Campbell to find somewhere to rest our heads. Luckily we found a near empty hostel and food within walking distance where we had our first Kangaroo meat - strange duck/game taste.

Tyler read whilst I took a early morning jog around the coastline where I came across a sunning sea lion. Nice! Back to Melbourne we had to go, but we had read about a few walks which tickled our interest. Were we in for a treat! The great road had not finished with us yet. Pictures will do better that I can explain, but to give you an idea...the waves on the coast are so powerful that water splashes against the soft cliffs creating a network of underground caves. The inlets are inviting but treacherous as death comes quickly for anyone marooned along the coast (as we read in accounts of old shipwrecks). The waves continue the erosion process and arches and holes are created, accessssable by the birds. This results in unstable ground, and eventually, when the arches collapse, a lone rock, or Apostle, is left. The trails run through heather so high that one move off the path and you are completely lost. There are also hidden rivers and wetlands leading to secluded beaches where steps aid the descendant. Crystal clear water so refreshing but bloody freezing to touch (our picture getting wet was not intentional). The weather fooled us with a 30-40 degree change from morning to evening. We got scorched as our little walked turned into hours of discovery and fun. We left in time to go back to Apollo Bay for a late lunch which at 3 o'clock is dead time. Nothing is open except the famous fish and chips, so we hung out awhile for dinner. I lazed on the grass and Tyler in a cafe. Later, over a beer, we reviewed our time in Oz. This time we really would be leaving, but what a fantastic mistake. Best one Yet!

The Road to Melbourne (Oct 14 - 17)

After some swimming, light breakfast and some time on the hotel computers, we jumped back in the Hippie and headed south. Our goal was to make it to Melbourne by the second night, but that proved out of reach.

After escaping Sydney and the surrounding suburbs, we found ourselves in a beautiful countryside of rolling hills dotted cows and sheep of all types - the colours had reversed solid black, black/white cows and white sheep possibly a few (Jersey cows and Suffolk sheep Tracy say isn't that right, Rachel?). As a very heavy thunderstorm set in, we stopped in the town on Milton for a meal in small by very hip cafe. I enjoyed a burger that had a small amount of beetroot on it, which the Aussies feel the need to include on everything from time to time. After dinner, we stopped at the local caravan park for the evening.

Before setting off the next morning, we talked with the managers a bit about the local wildlife and played with the new puppy, a twelve week old half-Rhodesian Ridgeback, half-something I forget. On the road to Melbourne, we stopped in Bega, which is the home of a famous Aussie cheese factory, where we of course sample the local goods. After that stop, the countryside, known as the Sapphire coast, continued to astound as the hills seemed to get more pronounced. We stopped hear and there for pictures including backtracking to get a picture of one living echinida (like a porcupine) and one dead wombat. The wombat road kill nearly brought Tracy to tears. We finally ended up stopping in a small tourist town named Lake Entrance where we strolled the entire main street, chatting with our neighbours from Singapore before selecting a restaurant for dinner. A popular place that was very brightly lit.

The next morning we headed for Melbourne and found a caravan park in the green belt area, but a bit far from the city center. This turned out to a good choice however as the site was surrounded by a narrow park and undeveloped land (under telephone pylons) which made it animal sanctuary of sorts. While checking in, one of the managers pointed out a koala high in a tree just outside. He educated us a little on the furry creatures. Apparently, the reason they sleep about twenty hours a day and have terrible eyesight is that they are perpetually drunk. That's right drunk! This is because the gum tree leaves they dine on ferment in their bellies. This seems like a life fit for a few of our friends. ;-) There were also ton of ducks, parakeets and other birds in the area. At the suggestion of the manager, we went on a short hike where we also spotted countless little bunny rabbits.

The next day we had to turn in the hippie. It was sad saying goodbye, but we knew our time in Australia was drawing short. After checking into a hotel near the airport for the evening, we caught a train into the city. Melbourne from all appearances was an easy to navigate, vibrant city. We also found it to be a very beautiful city, particularly where the inner city loop meets the river. It is there were we wandered for a while before finally selecting a place for dinner. We snapped a few more pictures of the city before being driven back onto the train to our hotel by the cold night air. All the time chatting to an interesting older couple from Brisbane. We both found Melbourne to be a very nice city, but because of our limited time there it is impossible to say that we enjoyed it as much as Sydney.

Blue Mountains and Sydney (Oct 10 - 13)

Before heading to Sydney, we opted to check out the Blue Mountains, and after driving into the afternoon, we made it to the town of Katoomba which offers the best scenic view in the area. The Three Sisters rock formation is a particularly well known sight (see pic above). We spent a little time in this town wandering the streets and chatting. We planned on staying there for the evening, but as the caravan park was all booked up, we headed to the next town, Blackheath, in the Hippie in the hopes of getting a spot in their caravan park. As it turned out, they did have an open spot, and we ended up checking out the local pub and fish chip shop. This town, like so many in the area, was very quaint and had a mainstreet lined with older buildings with their historical features still well preserved. Our experience turned a little sour the next morning, as the caravan park owners wouldn't allow us to stay an extra 30 minutes to finish our laundry despite the fact that we offered to move our car across the street and that the reason we were done yet was one of their drying machines not working. After a few heated words with the crotchety managers, we gladly hit the road for Sydney.

It only took a couple of hours, and we found ourselves in the heart of beautiful Sydney. Our little Hippie was quite the attention getter in downtown, particularly when we pulled up to our hotel, the Sheraton, directly across from Hyde Park. As we pulled up to the valets, I got the distinct feeling that they were more use to business men in expensive suits, but we were greeted warmly nevertheless. As soon as we were checked in, we strapped on our running shoes and went for a jog through Hyde Park and the Botanical Gardens before finally arriving at the famous Opera House, a specatular structure. We hit the gym as soon as we returned, and Tracy found time for a little yoga on the balcony while enjoying the view of Sydney from the 22nd floor.

The next day we enjoyed a little breakfast at a cafe in the park before setting off again. We took a similar route as before, but this time we had cameras in hand. As it was a warm, spring day in Sydney, there were plenty of plants in bloom and many wedding parties having their pictures taken. We also passed a few hours exploring the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

After snapping a few pics of the Opera House, we headed for the area of Sydney known as the Rocks and Circular Quay. This is the oldest area of Sydney complete with old stone buildings and a few cobblestone streets. As we passed the Fortune of War, we noticed that it claimed to be the oldest pub in Sydney, so we of course stopped for a pint. Inside we found a small band led by a elderly female singer belting out old jazzy numbers and that included a gentleman playing a washboard. I'm not kidding a real washboard.

After exiting the Fortune of War, we decided we really liked this area of Sydney and would spend the rest of the afternoon there. We wondered through the streets checking out more pubs, ducking into pie shops, and trying to decide what sumptuous cake to buy at small bakery. We finished up the evening with a very nice tapas style meal.

As we wandered back to our hotel late in the evening, we played around taking some pictures in the empty streets of Sydney and wondered what we find along the coast when we headed out in the morning. We both agreed that more time in Sydney would have been welcomed and that it was our favorite Aussie city to date.

Hunter Valley and Willoma Pine (Oct 8 - 10)

White cows and brown sheep are scattered across the landscape, while dark green areas show the last remnants of the tropical trees within the deep crevasses. Something like a warm Britain passes before our eyes whilst driving south though the heart of New South Wales. The architecture is changing from modern boxey prefab California style homes to Victorian brickwork. We continue on wide two-lane roads in a British country side. Our goal to reach Hunter Valley was a little ambitious. Along the way, we are joined by French Canadian named Lucas, a knowledgeable traveller that kept the conversations diverse. We stop for the night at a caravan park in Maitland, which also appeared to double as the local hospice :-( . In the morning, we met an friendly, elderly farmer on the way who was in need of some company. He was quick to mention that he had cancer and was living his last days out there. Heart breaking. I wanted to chat longer, even share a cuppa, but short of time, we head off to Hunter Valley.

The Hunter Valley is know for the wine, White Semillon in particular. We only manage one winery called Peacock Winery and met a lively local with a lot to say and proud of his wine(see picture of me with him above). We walked away with a bottle of Shiraz and a Fortified wine (port) both red even though white is suppose to be better - not to our highly attune taste buds. This wine country seemed new even though the peacock man had been there 13 years. All other things including a Village with a British Toffee shop complete with military guard statue seemed no more than a couple of years old. We were left wondering what lay there before.

We took a famous Tracy short cut inland through a national park which had hair raising bends and several steep drops and no towns in 60 km. The view was beautiful. We hit a petrol station as night fell and learnt of a close by camp site. An option to go into town 23 km or stay in this national park called Willoma. We opted for the campsite. Unbeknownst to us, a long journey down a dark, one-lane unpaved road to the very bottom of the valley awaited us. We went over a scary bridge and passed a wonderfully smelly orange blossom field, but not a soul was around. Frustrated and lost, we find the nearest lit up building, a lodge. Tyler ventured in to ask directions. Apparently, we had gone too far. We retraced our steps over the bridge and took the only other turn available. We had landed in the middle of a large valley, a very, very dark valley just before 8 pm. A family was camped near the entrance, and we learned from them that the ranger would come by to pick up our fees 6 dollars each. A little nervous as booking is required, but since there was a lot of space we took our chances. A friendly ranger gave advice on how to get out, whilst we prepared our food. We cooked sausages and squash, but were unable to taste either as we got carried away with the garlic. Good thing we were on our own. The surrounding were highly memorable. In the pitch black of night, the moon and stars illuminated the ring of surrounding trees that completely enveloped us while gazing upwards. A valley of stillness. If only we could of stayed out longer to enjoy the human silence with the perfect chorus of the local birds, but the drop in temperature gave a chill to our bones and the warmth of the Hippie called us. By the way, Willoma Pine has the oldest living tree around that area of Australia, aged over 1000 years. We did not get to see these first hand though as only bush walkers can get close. Too close as unfortunately, they have been dying off since the arrival of western settlers...history repeats itself, real shame!

Yamba (Oct 6 - 8)

After a some friendly advice from a fellow camper, we left Byron Bay for Yamba, which is located on the tip of a river inlet. We arrived in the simple town while it was still daylight. Excited about our fresh veggies, we had drawn straws to see who would cook first. Tyler cooked a delicious stir fry the night before, and tonight was my turn, but I faced a dilemma as I had located a mediation class I wanted to attend. So being the adults we are, we split the task and both enjoyed our own mediation. Mine with a knowledgeable spiritual pagan priestess who had many hats including being the local astrologist. Whilst Tyler enjoyed his meditation - slicing, dicing and mashing our spices (garlic, chili, lemongrass, ginger) with a beer and his iPod. Perfect.

The caravan site was next to the ocean with a super view of the surrounding land. We didn't note this earlier, but we both found ourselves being drawn together by a beautiful sunset. So beautiful in fact that no words where spoken just acknowledgement of our blessing. We turned around in time to see a rainbow that will only be in our memories as it disappeared before we had chance to lift our cameras. We were in awe. Still our entertainment was not yet over as my favorite time of day, the violet hour, approached. Again, we found ourselves unable to leave, but luckily we were only a stone's throw away from our camp. Not to mention Tracy's Tantalising Soup awaited us, with Ty's finely chopped spices. We ended up replicating a very spicy soup with spinach, kangkung, we had in Indonesia.

My secret, naughty love of sweet stuff also began to take hold, and Tyler is reaping the benefits of my stored knowledge - old fashion toffees, crisps and ... fudge, which we enjoyed nightly with a tisane (herbal tea). Several aptly named vintage British toffee shops we have been lucky to locate.

We had one more day luckily, and we awoke with a wander around the town. We managed to bump into a famous English footballer who played for Crystal Palace and the Tottenham Hot Spurs - who the heck are they? ;-) english jk. I didn't ask his name and it was not given, but he had retired to aa island off Yamba. His grandson was to follow his dad and grandad's footsteps, but in Australia, not the UK. We picked up seafood mix on Tyler's insistence as it was after all his turn to cook again.

Later that afternoon, we decided to explore and get some exercise, so we set off for a run. A run like no other. As the sun set, we ran out to sea on the stone jetty on to rocks, back again along the beach, up through a grassy area overlooking a rocky cliff that reminded me of Silverdale, down to a private beach with a strange forgotten house and abandoned pool, through a forest, into town streets, and finally up a hill for fun. Oh so much fun, we felt like little children! When returned to our camp site, we cooked Ty's seafood curry...Yum!

Brisbane and Byron Bay (Oct 2 - 6)

Our first order of business upon reaching Brisbane was to return our rental car and pick up our new Hippie Camper van. We had checked out a bunch of different options, but the Hippie Camper was definitely the best. We immediately set to unpacking our stuff and stocking the camper with food and drinks. Once that was done, we checked into a caravan park. We had planned to head into Brisbane, but instead found ourselves heading back to the airport in the hopes of getting Tracy's purse back. Luckily, the rental car agency found it in the car which had not yet been rented back out.
The next morning we headed into town in our camper, but found parking rates similar to that of downtown San Francisco (almost $75 a day). We immediately located another camper site on the edge of town, checked in and then headed for town on the bus.
We found Brisbane immediately likeable. A very walkable city with many nice views created by the river sweeping through town and the spacious parks. The people were also very friendly. We spent the afternoon and evening wandering through town checking out museums, historical sites and cafes. Tracy found about three different tea shops, so we headed back home loaded with a variety of teas.
The next morning we were forced to move on even though we found Brisbane very inviting. We hit the Brisbane markets on the way out of town and loaded up the Hippie with fresh fruits and veggies. Next, we hit a national park with a koala santuary where we enjoyed a nice little hike. There were no koalas to be seen, but we spotted some intersting birds and a few wallabies. We even had time for a nice picnic. After that we head straight for Byron Bay.
We arrived late into Byron, but found it also to be quite accessible. This is a hot vacation spot in Australia and is surrounded by bunch of little alternative communities (aka hippies), so Tracy felt right at home ;-). The town was full of little cafes, art stores, and street performers/buskers. We enjoyed some gourmet fish and chips the first night a few drinks before settling in for some sleep.
The next morning we enjoyed a nice long run on the beach and played in the water a little. Tracy of course found time to squeeze in some yoga. We also started to get to know our camper neighbors a bit. They were a fairly rowdy crew and were nice enough to share a drink or two with us. We enjoyed another evening exploring the town before setting off the following morning in search of some quiet and solitude in Yamba. As we left, one of the young girl's camping next store had a brief, but touching exchange with Tracy, which brought a tear to her eye.

Whitsundays and Hervey Bay (Sept 28 - Oct 1)

After handing in our sheets and key, we gained our deposit back and headed off in search of coffee - this was a hard task to accomplish at 6 in the morning on a Sunday in the small town of Ayr. Disheartened, we left town and later enjoyed a cuppa whilst lots of people on bikes rode past us down an large main street in the town we had stopped in. This left us confused until we realized a triathlon was in the process. To me, it looked like the women where in the lead! :-) This day was mostly driving. We exchanged driving and reading and even learned who has the superior map reading skills. Yep, you guessed it. (Thanks Dad or was it really my Mum). We arrived in Whitsunday late afternoon in time to book a tour for the following day. We located a hostel for the night and took to the town for a wander. Whitsunday is a sleepy town by day on the sea with a beautiful little bay surrounded by sand and then a grass embankment where we lazed under the trees listening to a local man play music on his electronically boosted guitar. At the hostel, I met a talented young musician called Brendan Cleary. We hit it off and spent hours talking whilst I fixed his hair with lessons I had previously learned - we're just like monkeys, aren't we? We were up early the next morning to join the tour, and they kindly picked us up at our hostel. Arriving at the harbour with a few other bus loads, we headed to our catamaran (very popular boat in Oz). We enjoyed tea and coffee on board whilst we signed in. Our intention was only to snorkel, but since there was an option and a slightly proud dive master, our interest was peaked. We ended up joining the safety briefing as you can always back out after. Tyler was hooked, and I was on the bench with the rest of the morning to decide.

At our first boat stop, we enjoyed a walk to the Hills inlet scenic lookout, a fabulously changing view of the islands. We were in a deep bay and to get to the shore we had to be transferred into a small dingy, but not before several turtle sightings. This peaked my interest and I asked more about diving. "Not in this water!" was the response I got due to the amount of sharks. Recently they even heard the loud cracking of a turtle being crushed between the jaws of a shark. The little dingy ride was a little to close to the water for my liking. After our cattle tour, we were back on the boat to White Haven Beach where Tyler and I played. Not being ones to sunbath, we found enjoyment in cartwheels and playing checkers/draughts with coloured leaves in the white sand. Incidentally, if you were caught taking this sand a hefty fine you would pay. This sand is also apparently the finest, naturally occurring silica currently known.

Back on the boat, we enjoyed lunch and decided to dive; temptation was just too much as it was the Great Barrier Reef! It was sold. There was only one other certified diver. We changed and hopped into the water whilst all the people on the boat watched. Immediately things went wrong. Ty's BC was too small, my face mask glass popped out and both of the boys' goggles kept fogging up. We were not even a foot down. We all surfaced, fixed our equipment, made adjustments and headed back down. The dive master tipped upside down and headed straight down in the the very murky water. Panicked, all of us being relatively inexperienced, we followed keeping close as possible without hitting each other. You could only see a little more than a body length in front of you. Later we were told this was typical 3-8m visibility...umm, not up the coast dude! This certainly is a different world. The coral and pinnacles the size of small trucks seemed to emerge from nowhere. Very small bits of life clouded the water as we swam close to the live coral which was older than our age combined. Swimming very slowly, barely kicking, we looked up at the brain coral in awe where we surprised several turtles possibly mating. One stuck around and looked as curiously at us as we at her. Awesome!

We had some how befriended a lot of people of the boat, so upon our return, we enjoyed beers and conversation with people from all over the world, English, Turkish, Australian, Austrian and Italian. We decided to meet for dinner and drinks later on if we could find somewhere to stay. Unable to get another night at our previous hostel, we headed further into town and lucked out at Magnum's. Just to give you an idea, a double bed with shared showers and toilets runs around 50 where as a hotel runs at 150 a night.

We were joined at the Rum Bar and fish stall next door by our new friends. We enjoyed a nice dinnner and some great Aussie style mojitos while we go to know each other...perfect! We ended up meeting the brother of our fellow diver. A late night followed with a strange VB Plastic Bar Server as a souvenier!

The next day we headed to Hervey Bay with the intention of booking a tour of Frasier Island. The lateness of our arrival, our desire to sleep in and our ever shrinking budget comspired to prevent this. Instead, we lazed about town meeting interesting people and took some time to catch up on our laundry. We even bumped into the Austrian lady from the boat whom I had made friends with. The next morning we set off for Brisbane.

Tablelands: Wetlands, Wineries, Waterfalls, Wildlife and Weirdos (Sept 24 - 27)

After our night in Cairns, we were excited to get up replace our little white car with a camper van. Unfortunately, everything was booked up, so we ended up getting another car and making a reservation on a small camper for pickup a few days later in Brisbane.

We weren't too disappointed though, as the Tablelands awaited. We had heard this was a beautiful area from various Aussies, and were looking for to exploring it ourselves. We spent a good chunk of the day in Cairns, so we didn't set off until it was already getting late in the afternoon. We could tell the climate was changing as the road climbed higher, but didn't see the spectacular beauty we were expecting just yet.

We finally arrived at our first stop, Mareeba, a little after sunset, and quiet honestly didn't think much of this little small town. Stopping to eat a the local KFC before getting a room, we overheard some local teenagers talking about a fight and the word knife was mentioned a few times. Thinking these kids were probably more talk than anything, we headed across the street to grab a room at the local pub motel. We grabbed a pint before we asked about a room and were immediately chatted up by a group of completely inebriated Aborigines. This sadly is not an uncommon sight in Australia. This group was friendly enough though, and the bartender, a former bike gang member, kept them in line.

After we finished our pints, a nice lady who owned and managed the place with her husband showed us to our room. She was a genuinely sweet old lady and kept the place immaculate, but she added to our growing concerns as she told us that we needed to park the car around back in the gated area they lock up a night as break ins were not uncommon. Apparently, some local kids even blew up a car with a gas tank the year before.

At this point, we decided it would be best if we simply enjoyed another drink at our place and then went to bed. What a terrible idea that turned out to be! As we sat back down at the bar, we noticed one new gentleman with a "thousand yard stare" sitting against the wall. No sooner had we ordered our round than another character entered the room. I'll refer to him from here out as Sammy the Serial Killer. We've actually blocked his name out of our minds, but Tracy and our pretty sure that we got his occupation right. This guy was legitimately nutz. Hell, even the tough as nails bartender later told me that he hoped the guy never came back.

Sammy took a spot at the bar a couple of feet from Tracy and started blabbing. His bizarre smile, twinkling eyes and not stop maniacal laughing were an immediate give away, but the subsequent comments about loving English skin, travelling to the US in his mind and the "evocative" Aussie women were enough to cause Tracy and I to down our drinks and head to our room constantly looking over our shoulders and around corners.

If you know Tracy, you know she is a strong woman, but she was definitely freaked out by Sammy. My way of dealing with the whole episode was to crack jokes about Sammy and Mareeba which somewhat settled her nerves. In the end, we locked up the place tight and settled into an uncomfortable nights sleep.

Fortunately, tomorrow really was another day. We headed straight for the wetlands north of Mareeba where we saw an awesome variety of birds and enjoyed a short boat tour on the lake. After that, we stopped at winery that primarily used mangoes and had a tasting. The morning definitely did a lot to improve our opinion of the area and the little termite mounds on side of the roads decorated like people by the locals gave us a good laugh.

We made it to our next destination, Yungaburra, late in the afternoon, which was perfect for our purposes as we were hunting the elusive platypus. We stopped at a creek that was known for having them and began meandering along its banks with our eyes peeled. It took a while, but being the avid animal spotters we are, we soon spotted a platypus. It total we saw three that night, which apparently was very fortunate, as others there told us they rarely see them. We even saw a copper tailed possum climbing a tree as we were leaving.

After a short dinner in Yungaburra, we apprehensively grabbed a room at local backpacker spot. We were immediately put at ease though as the nature and vibe of the patrons was the polar opposite of our previous night's accommodation. We even stayed up talking to some of the people who were working and staying there. Tracy of course found the one English woman there, who had apparently moved to New Zealand while working for Green Peace, which set Tracy dreaming.

We woke up the next morning and set off again. This time however, we found the Tablelands we had heard so much about. The area was absolutely beautiful. It was an English countryside with pockets of rain and pine forest, a truly tranquil setting. As we drove, we stopped here and there to explore the many waterfalls and massive old strangler fig trees marked on our tourist map. This area had so much to offer that I can't detail it all, but I can say the Cathedral Fig took our breath away. We even found time in the day to stop for a cheese plate and tea while it was drizzling, which made Tracy feel right at home.

Before the day ended, we had descended from tablelands back to the coast and made our way, after much driving, to Ayr. We only stopped here as it was time to rest and we hadn't made it to Whitsunday as we had hoped. It turned out to be an interesting experience though as we stayed a working hostel that catered to people working on local farms. We had a drink while doing our laundry and watching some newly arrived Russians get completely smashed to a company of people playing bongos and guitars.