Not-so-deadly Australian Animals

So as to make sure that Australia had more than just dangerous, deadly animals (like crocs, snakes and jellyfish), we visited a place near Melbourne named the "Healesville Sanctuary". This place was a cross between a zoo and a safari park - set in a natural bushland environment where paths wind through different habitat areas showcasing wallabies, kangaroos, lizards and over 200 native bird varieties.

The highlights included seeing koalas close-up (Lesley's favourite), watching swimming platypus and attending the "Birds of Prey Show" - a thrilling aerial display demonstrating the magnificent flight and hunting skills of Australian species such as the Wedge-tailed Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Black Breasted Buzzard and Barn Owl.

Catching the Cafe (and plant) Culture in Melbourne

From the waterside in Sydney to the exclusive suburbs of Melbourne, we continue to take advantage of friends rather than hostels for our accommodation, and thoroughly enjoyed exploring Melbourne and it's surrounds by day, and the company of Hugh and Jenny in the evenings.

1 year old Oliver coped very well with sharing his bathroom with us, and their 12 week old puppy George kept us all entertained!

Sydney (Tor's Tour)

We had a fantastic weekend in Sydney with Tor and Tom as our delightful hosts! Tor had arranged our itinerary, so we got to leave the guidebooks behind and follow instructions - as we explored the city and it's beaches by ferry, bus, taxi and travel weary feet. The weather was glorious and we could understand why it would be hard to leave they weather, the lifestyle and the gorgeous pad by the harbour bridge.

We thoroughly enjoyed a break from the campervan and backpackers hostels, and the chance to revert to our London identities as frequenters of nice bars and restaurants - although those in Sydney generally had a better view!

Sorry for the predictable photos - we just had to proove we'd made it all the way to Ozztralia...

A Whale of a time!

From the Whitsundays we made our way South down long, long roads and staying in random campsites. In Hervey Bay we had to make the choice of whale watching and Fraser Island, and as we were short on time we went for the whaling option. It was quite incredible to see these huge creatures up close - mothers with young calfs who seemed to enjoy showing off for the groups of tourists. One pair swam right underneath our little catamaran - about twice as long as the boat we were on!

In Hervey Bay we ended up sharing the caravan park with a group of long term residents who were well into their VB by the time we got back from the whales...our neighbour (Mark - pictured with his home grown radishes as ear ornaments) entertained us with jokes, impersonations and general madness until we escaped to find dinner. It was an interesting insight into another part of Australian life, and a complete contrast to the campsite in our final east coast destination of Noosa. The view was a lot better - looking out of the river and estuary, but the company (mainly families in extra large caravans!) wasn't nearly as entertaining.

We left the campervan in Brisbane and weren't particularly sorry to see it go...I'm not sure either of us ever had a decent night's sleep and it was not the easiest or most comfortable drive! A good change from hostels though.

Camping in the Whitsunday islands....

We left the campervan behind for a night and took a boat and rented tent out to Sandy Bay on South Molle Island...one of the many beautiful beaches on the Whitsundays. It was a great escape from the crowds of Airlie Beach and random caravan parks along the east coast, and we had the beach to ourselves, apart from a group of locals from Mackay on a weekend break, with whom we ended up playing 'who's in the bag' until all the pieces of paper blew away.

Rick showed his ingenuity by improvising pegs from rocks, sticks and bits of coral...if not I think we'd have blown away in the night, and been eaten by ants.

Camping is lovely as long as you can forget about the bugs and other wildlife, we were bitten by ants, woken by birds, and scared by a perfectly innocent jellyfish when snorkelling (as a result of their being so much publicity about stingers in the area). I did particularly like the brightly coloured lorikeets though, who came to say hello while were were having lunch.

While not the most remote of the Whitsundays, we could walk up to the top of the island and get a great 360 degree view of the others, and down on the other side was luxury resort where we treated ourselves to an icecream!

The wonderful land of Oz

No wizards here, but it is great to be warm again! We started our trip in Cairns for an obligatory snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef (keeping an eye out for Stingrays!).

Whilst in Cairns, we also went to crocodile park, which included the "biggest surviving croc ever caught and held in captivity" (although we think there might be a claim like this at every crocodile park in the country?) - don't worry, the crocodiles in the pictures are all caged, depite what the photos might show - Lesley very bravely and carefully poked her camera lens through the bars for maximum effect!

It seems there are all manner of things that can kill you round here - swimming in the sea is fraught with danger, whether it be crocodiles at the water's edge or stinging jellyfish further out... and I'm trying not to think about snakes and spiders.

We have a little campervan in which we are making the journey along the East coast, not the most comfortable bed, but at least it's our own little home for a while (and was suitably untidy within 5 minutes of putting our bags and rubbish in there!).

First stop was Cape Tribulation, where we parked in a little campsite rather than by the side of a road (well showers are important... it's hot here!) and explored the virgin rainforest, which was very beautiful, and a lot more accessible than the Amazon. There were still plenty of sounds in the night to keep us awake, but at least we had doors to keep the monsters out!