Just to let everyone know that we are back. Got back a couple of weeks ago after the long trek across the Nullarbor. After the Barossa Valley we headed across the Eyre Peninsula intending to go to Streaky Bay as our overnight stop. But it was still quite early when we were getting close so we went as far as Ceduna and stopped the night there at the Caravan Park on the Bay (not one of the ones in town) Next day headed towards the border,stopping at the Great Australian Bight for a gander but not too close as I was worried Pete would push me over the edge!!! HaHa!!! He said he would'nt, but really, would you trust him??? HaHa!!!
Had to stop at the SA/WA border as they now have a quarantine checkpoint. No fruit or vegs allowed into WA - lucky we ate them all the night before at Ceduna. Stopped for lunch at Eucla and had some lovely hot chippies with lots of salt, vinegar and tomato sauce!!!! Called it a day at Caiguna where we stayed the night in one of their beautifully appointed motel rooms!! HaHa!!
Had a really good roast pork roast for tea at the roadhouse and this time I'm not being sarcastic. It was really nice.
Next day headed along the straight stretch of Nullarbor - 142 kilometres of straight road. I put the cruise control on and did nothing. Not even any cars or trucks to pass. Pretty boring. Stopped for lunch at Norseman - we wanted to go into town for lunch but there was'nt much there and it looked pretty run down - what a shame. So we had lunch at the BP Roadhouse.
Final stop for the trip was Kalgoorlie. Stayed at Quest Apartments for the night and got some takeaway Chinese for tea. Was hoping for a nice cafe but did'nt seem to be much.
Headed off about 9am for our last leg. We were listening to the footy on the radio - so good to hear WA ABC radio again. The footy was pretty exciting and we just won which was great!!!
It was good to see Perth again as we were driving down Greenmount Hill - its hard to believe we went all the way around Australia - 20,000 kilometres!!! And the truck was fantastic - no trouble at all.
Thanks to all our followers for keeping in touch and all your comments - it was great!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Melbourne
We had a great day on Saturday. We managed to sleep in for the first time in ages. Usually, having to be out of accommodation by 10am means getting up early. Headed into the city where we went to Hudsons for my favourite coffee (mocha of course!). Then to the south bank for lunch ( its a hard life but someone's got to do it!!). In the afternoon we went to a performance of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the Arts Centre. This was a first for us, apart from a free concert on the perth esplanade a couple of years ago. We sat in the choir stalls so looked over the orchestra as it played. It was riveting!! Later we caught the tram over to Harbourtown to have a look at the shops there, ending up at the James Squire microbrewery on the Quay where we had a couple of their excellent amber ales whilst watching the derby on the big screen (less said about that the better!!!!). Then on to the stupidly named Etihad Stadium (used to be Telstra Dome) to watch the St Kilda/Western Bulldogs game. We had not been here before,previously having gone to the MCG to watch games. The roof was closed so we expected it to be not so cold but it was still bloody cold!!!! The game was pretty good, although Western Bulldogs never got within 18 points of St Kilda but we found the stadium to be a bit 'soul less' compared to the MCG and Subiaco, even Fremantle Oval.
Sunday we headed down to St Kilda Esplanade to check out the Arts and Crafts Market. Yep, another market!!!! Afterwards we checked out Luna Park which was in full swing and then walked up and down Ackland Street which has all these lovely cake shops - it was pumping there too - very crowded. Finally walked along the pier then back to the apartment.
Sunday we headed down to St Kilda Esplanade to check out the Arts and Crafts Market. Yep, another market!!!! Afterwards we checked out Luna Park which was in full swing and then walked up and down Ackland Street which has all these lovely cake shops - it was pumping there too - very crowded. Finally walked along the pier then back to the apartment.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Melbourne
After Sydney (where we stuffed up again trying to get out of the city - we may have the record for going over the harbour bridge so many times!!!) we headed down the NSW south coast. Stayed the night in Bega (of the cheese fame) - very very cold there!!. Then headed over the Victoria border. Some lovely countryside on the way - lots of rolling hills and forests with winding narrow roads. Stayed the night at Warragul then headed down to the Mornington Peninsula to have a look around there. Drove down the coast hugging Port Phillip Bay through Rosebud,Dromona, Rye, stopping at Sorrento. Stayed the night here - a delightful town, it is a popular summer destination for Melburnians. It was very quiet when we were there and the townspeople told us you can't move there in the summer and there is a permanent traffic jam in the main street. Lovely coastline - further along we had a look at Portsea and a bit further on is Cheviot Beach where PM Harold Holt disappeared. ( for all you history nuts!!!)
Off to Melbourne on Wednesday, arrived OK with NO traffic dramas at Quest Beaumont Apartments at Kew Junction. Staying here until Tuesday morning. Comfy apartment with a kitchenette, which is good, as we had been staying in motels for the last 3 nights with no cooking facilities.
Easy to get into town here - tramstop for No.48 just a few metres away.
Thursday we went on the MCG tour. For a cricket and footy fanatic like me it was blissorama!!! We got to walk on the ground - albeit the artificial turf where the dug outs are. Then off to some of the myriad of rooms - the changerooms used by Richmond the week before, the umpires and drug testing rooms, medical rooms, media rooms, the cricket team viewing area before they go out to bat, the Long room of the Melbourne Cricket Club - all the cricket areas have a lot of memorabilia and statistics. It was absolutely fantastic. But wait, there's more! Afterwards we went to the sports museum (in the MCG) this was really fascinating and very interactive. Again the cricketing memorabilia and information was great, so was the footy. They had separate histories of all the AFL clubs listing their premierships, brownlow medallists, norm smith medalists etc. Of course, the dockers list just contained an anchor.......sorry eileen!!!!
If anybody is a cricket and footy nut like me, I recommend the MCG tour and a visit to the museum afterwards -the tour took about an hour and a half and we spent over an hour in the museum as well.
Afterwards we went shopping at the DFO store next to Southern Cross Station.
Friday we headed into town to spend time at the Queen Victoria Markets. Whilst we like the general markets, I really like the food markets inside. The choice and quality of the meats, seafood,cheeses, delicatessens is overwhelming. It is a foodies' paradise. And the prices are better than Perth and the range is much better too. The presentation of food is top class and the sellers are good to talk to.
Off to Melbourne on Wednesday, arrived OK with NO traffic dramas at Quest Beaumont Apartments at Kew Junction. Staying here until Tuesday morning. Comfy apartment with a kitchenette, which is good, as we had been staying in motels for the last 3 nights with no cooking facilities.
Easy to get into town here - tramstop for No.48 just a few metres away.
Thursday we went on the MCG tour. For a cricket and footy fanatic like me it was blissorama!!! We got to walk on the ground - albeit the artificial turf where the dug outs are. Then off to some of the myriad of rooms - the changerooms used by Richmond the week before, the umpires and drug testing rooms, medical rooms, media rooms, the cricket team viewing area before they go out to bat, the Long room of the Melbourne Cricket Club - all the cricket areas have a lot of memorabilia and statistics. It was absolutely fantastic. But wait, there's more! Afterwards we went to the sports museum (in the MCG) this was really fascinating and very interactive. Again the cricketing memorabilia and information was great, so was the footy. They had separate histories of all the AFL clubs listing their premierships, brownlow medallists, norm smith medalists etc. Of course, the dockers list just contained an anchor.......sorry eileen!!!!
If anybody is a cricket and footy nut like me, I recommend the MCG tour and a visit to the museum afterwards -the tour took about an hour and a half and we spent over an hour in the museum as well.
Afterwards we went shopping at the DFO store next to Southern Cross Station.
Friday we headed into town to spend time at the Queen Victoria Markets. Whilst we like the general markets, I really like the food markets inside. The choice and quality of the meats, seafood,cheeses, delicatessens is overwhelming. It is a foodies' paradise. And the prices are better than Perth and the range is much better too. The presentation of food is top class and the sellers are good to talk to.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sydney
Stayed at the Sebel Hotel in Manly Beach for 4 nights. We were going to give Sydney a miss because I was scared of the traffic but we thought if we drove to Manly and stayed there we could catch the ferry into the city and not drive at all. Thats what we did but we still managed to stuff up the drive into and out of Sydney!!! No amount of preparation or sat navs can prepare you for the overwhelming choice of lanes when nearing the harbour bridge and tunnel.
We have been really lucky with the weather, no rain at all really, that could have made life miserable.
I love Sydney, it is so interesting and has so much character. So many places to go to, not enough time.
Manly Ferry was a breeze straight into Circular Quay. Walked thru city and went up the Sydney Tower. Now, I did'nt give much thought to the lift going up which was just as well or I'd have chickened out!!! I got a bad dose of claustrophobia going up, not helped by being stuck in a corner with a lift full of people. But the views were worth it, absolutely breathtaking. We watched lots of planes landing at Botany Bay and we were higher than the planes!! Lift back down was much better as I made sure I was at the front near the door. Later we went to Paddys Markets - yep more markets! But this time even I had had enough!!!! I think I'll leave them alone now till we get to Melbourne and go to the Victoria Markets.
We walked through Darling Harbour and saw one of the guys from 'Chasers war on everything'. I think it was Chris Licciardello and he was dressed as some sort of magician with a big red cape - he had a camera crew with him, but we did'nt hang around to see what he got up to. So if you are watching Chasers this week or next have a look out for that one.
Next day we were back in the city for lunch at Aria restaurant near the Opera House. We had a good look around the Rocks and the Opera House first, it is a pretty awesome place.
Lunch at Aria was absolutely fabulous - the food was exquisite and the wine was divine!!! We won't talk about the bill!!!
When we watched the Masterchef final on TV last night we noticed that the dessert the 2 finalists had to make was the same one Peter had at Aria! We bought Matt Moran's cookbook too.
It was lovely staying at Manly Beach. Apart from our apartment being really comfortable, Manly itself is great for walking around - it has a good shopping area (nice cake shops and bakeries)and lots of lovely walks along the beach and coast. It is very popular and there are lots of apartment blocks here. People obviously live here and catch the ferry to work in the city. It looks like it would be quite an expensive place to live.
We have been really lucky with the weather, no rain at all really, that could have made life miserable.
I love Sydney, it is so interesting and has so much character. So many places to go to, not enough time.
Manly Ferry was a breeze straight into Circular Quay. Walked thru city and went up the Sydney Tower. Now, I did'nt give much thought to the lift going up which was just as well or I'd have chickened out!!! I got a bad dose of claustrophobia going up, not helped by being stuck in a corner with a lift full of people. But the views were worth it, absolutely breathtaking. We watched lots of planes landing at Botany Bay and we were higher than the planes!! Lift back down was much better as I made sure I was at the front near the door. Later we went to Paddys Markets - yep more markets! But this time even I had had enough!!!! I think I'll leave them alone now till we get to Melbourne and go to the Victoria Markets.
We walked through Darling Harbour and saw one of the guys from 'Chasers war on everything'. I think it was Chris Licciardello and he was dressed as some sort of magician with a big red cape - he had a camera crew with him, but we did'nt hang around to see what he got up to. So if you are watching Chasers this week or next have a look out for that one.
Next day we were back in the city for lunch at Aria restaurant near the Opera House. We had a good look around the Rocks and the Opera House first, it is a pretty awesome place.
Lunch at Aria was absolutely fabulous - the food was exquisite and the wine was divine!!! We won't talk about the bill!!!
When we watched the Masterchef final on TV last night we noticed that the dessert the 2 finalists had to make was the same one Peter had at Aria! We bought Matt Moran's cookbook too.
It was lovely staying at Manly Beach. Apart from our apartment being really comfortable, Manly itself is great for walking around - it has a good shopping area (nice cake shops and bakeries)and lots of lovely walks along the beach and coast. It is very popular and there are lots of apartment blocks here. People obviously live here and catch the ferry to work in the city. It looks like it would be quite an expensive place to live.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Airlie Beach
Stayed at the Big4 adventure whitsunday caravan park at Airlie Beach. Cabin was nice and comfy but they do like to squeeze us all close together at these parks and of course, being school holidays there was screaming,whining kids everywhere!!! No worries though, because we were hardly there. Airlie Beach the town is a really pretty scenic town with a huge marina to cater for all the boats cruising the whitsundays and lots of homes and holiday units clinging to the sides of the hills.
The main drag is Shute Harbour Road and there are lots of travel agents and cruise shops to organise cruises and holidays on the islands. We could have stayed at Hamilton Island for $111 per night!!
We decided on a 3 island cruise on the voyager. Bus picked us up at 7.45am and took us down to the marina .Set off about 8.30. weather was pretty cool but no rain. Too cold and choppy for me to go snorkelling though!! There are 74 whitsunday islands but only a few are inhabited, the rest are national parks. First stop was Hook Island - some people went snorkelling and the rest of us went to the underwater observatory and later a cruise to the reef on a glass bottomed boat to view the coral. Back on to the catamaran, which is a very smooth ride out in the open water. Then on to whitsunday island where we had lunch then disembarked onto beautiful whitehaven beach. The sand here is pure white . By now it was warm enough to do some sunbathing and Peter went in the water for a dip. Back on board again to continue our cruise. We passed Hamilton Island and this is the most developed island with quite a few high rise buildings and lots of development going on - apparently this island is not just a resort but a town as well where people live,having its own airport. Last island to visit was Daydream. This is a lovely little resort - very picturesque. It has a unique little coral lagoon in the resort with fish in. It also has a lovely pool area overlooking the water. We had some 'whitsunday dreaming' cocktails at the pool bar. Back on board the voyager for the last time to return to the marina at 5.30pm for our bus trip back to accommodation. The cruise was really good value for money and we really enjoyed it.
Next morning heading south again, but first a visit to the Airlie Beach markets on the front!!!!
Travelling downQueensland's coast means driving on the awful Bruce Highway. We got on this at Mission Beach and it travels all the way down to Brisbane. It is in very bad condition with lots of pot holes and uneven. It is also a single lane highway with few overtaking lanes and has a lot of traffic - especially long trucks and slow caravans!!! Joy!!!!
The main drag is Shute Harbour Road and there are lots of travel agents and cruise shops to organise cruises and holidays on the islands. We could have stayed at Hamilton Island for $111 per night!!
We decided on a 3 island cruise on the voyager. Bus picked us up at 7.45am and took us down to the marina .Set off about 8.30. weather was pretty cool but no rain. Too cold and choppy for me to go snorkelling though!! There are 74 whitsunday islands but only a few are inhabited, the rest are national parks. First stop was Hook Island - some people went snorkelling and the rest of us went to the underwater observatory and later a cruise to the reef on a glass bottomed boat to view the coral. Back on to the catamaran, which is a very smooth ride out in the open water. Then on to whitsunday island where we had lunch then disembarked onto beautiful whitehaven beach. The sand here is pure white . By now it was warm enough to do some sunbathing and Peter went in the water for a dip. Back on board again to continue our cruise. We passed Hamilton Island and this is the most developed island with quite a few high rise buildings and lots of development going on - apparently this island is not just a resort but a town as well where people live,having its own airport. Last island to visit was Daydream. This is a lovely little resort - very picturesque. It has a unique little coral lagoon in the resort with fish in. It also has a lovely pool area overlooking the water. We had some 'whitsunday dreaming' cocktails at the pool bar. Back on board the voyager for the last time to return to the marina at 5.30pm for our bus trip back to accommodation. The cruise was really good value for money and we really enjoyed it.
Next morning heading south again, but first a visit to the Airlie Beach markets on the front!!!!
Travelling downQueensland's coast means driving on the awful Bruce Highway. We got on this at Mission Beach and it travels all the way down to Brisbane. It is in very bad condition with lots of pot holes and uneven. It is also a single lane highway with few overtaking lanes and has a lot of traffic - especially long trucks and slow caravans!!! Joy!!!!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Mission Beach
We have been having a good bludge here at Mission Beach. This is our last day and its raining. Balinese style bungalow is lovely - very comfy. Got mobile and internet reception and austar (foxtel). We went to the rainforest for a walk looking for the local cassowaries but didnt see any - only their shits!!! We didnt really want to run into one as they're a bit scary!!! A bit like Barry Hall only more colourful!!!! Went to the local markets on sunday markets. Poor Pete has had enough - too bad!!! I've not much of a shopper but I do like markets.
Sunday was our wedding anniversary (29th) and we went out to tea at the Greek Tavern down the road.
Yesterday caught the ferry over to Dunk Island, about 25 minutes away. We climbed Mt Kootaloo for some spectacular views over the mainland and neighbouring islands. There is a big resort on this island and it looks pretty nice - very tropical.
Its very tropical here at Mission Beach too. Some of the plants are fantastic - I wish we could grow some of these plants at home. But then this is close to Tully which has the dubious honour of having the highest rainfall in Australia - over 4000mm per year!!
We are off to Airlie Beach tomorrow - gateway to the Whitsundays. We wanted to go on a day cruise around the islands but the weather is forecasting rain and 20C. As we go south the weather will get cooler and we won't like it. The last time it rained on our trip was at Karijini.
Sunday was our wedding anniversary (29th) and we went out to tea at the Greek Tavern down the road.
Yesterday caught the ferry over to Dunk Island, about 25 minutes away. We climbed Mt Kootaloo for some spectacular views over the mainland and neighbouring islands. There is a big resort on this island and it looks pretty nice - very tropical.
Its very tropical here at Mission Beach too. Some of the plants are fantastic - I wish we could grow some of these plants at home. But then this is close to Tully which has the dubious honour of having the highest rainfall in Australia - over 4000mm per year!!
We are off to Airlie Beach tomorrow - gateway to the Whitsundays. We wanted to go on a day cruise around the islands but the weather is forecasting rain and 20C. As we go south the weather will get cooler and we won't like it. The last time it rained on our trip was at Karijini.
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