Magnetic Island

That's us on Magnetic Island at the moment - just off Townsville, QLD. We got the bus down from Cairns yesterday, passed by loads of sugar and Banana plantations on the way. Apparently it is the place in Australia which gets the most Sunshine per year - 320 days! Its certainly been very nice weather here today, been up at Horseshoe Bay enjoying the sun, then went on a walk to Florence Bay and on the way I saw an Echidna - kind of like a Hedgehog (Native to Australia I think). Hostel here isn't very nice, we're setting off tomorrow, heading down to Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays.

The plans so far are:

• Whitsundays 29th June


• Brisbane 3rd July


• Gold Cost 6th July


• Byron Bay 8th July


• Sydney 10th July

So it's all a bit of a rush but hopefully we'll see the main sites!

On Tuesday we went Snorkelling on Fitzroy Island (on the Great Barrier Reef), it was absolutely amazing. There were loads of fish all around, and the colours of the Coral were great. Definately one of the best things I've done out here, the water seemed quite cold but you soon got used to it once we got in! Saw one of those Clownfish (like Nemo) hiding in a bit of coral and there was a shoal of fish which seemed to have thousands of fish kept swimming around us.

Anyway I've just been uploading a few more photos to flickr. We're planning to book a Camper Van for New Zealand shortly, going to be there for around 3 weeks, so it will be a long time in a small space!

Here's a snap of me in my Snorkeling gear on Fitzroy Island!

Cairns and the East Coast

That's us in Cairns now. Arrived yesterday and planning to leave on Wednesday. Had a look around the city yesterday, its a nice place but there isn't a lot to do as it is really only a base for tours to the Great Barrier Reef. We're planning to do a daytrip to Fitzroy Island, an island in the reef tomorrow.

Darwin went well, our last day there was really hot so we got to see a bit of the real heat!

We've ordered a bus pass with Greyhound today to travel down the East Coast from Cairns to Sydney with unlimited stops. It's a huge distance but hopefully with plenty stops it will be manageable!

I'm uploading my photos now so they should hopefully be up on flickr shortly. Heres a photo of Cullen Bay in Darwin to show off how tropical it was looking!

Kakadu, Litchfield and Mindil Beach Market

Been a busy few days these last couple of days! On Wednesday we went on the Tour Tub (Open-Sided bus) and did a circuit of the main sights in Darwin. We went to the Museum which had a really good exhibition about Cyclone Tracy which came here in 1974 and almost totally destroyed the city. Then we went to the Botanic Gardens, Fannie Bay Gaol and some WW2 Oil Storage Tunnels. Wednesday was apparently the coldest June day on record in Darwin - it was 22 degrees! There's also been a little rain and the locals can't believe it as usually in the dry season (April - November) they get absolutely none. It does mean theres been more rain in the waterfalls and things so it's fine in a way. It's getting steadily warmer and the forecast for tomorrow is 31.

Yesterday we went to Kakadu National Park. It's a vast park in the Northern Territory (bigger than Switzerland apparently). We went to a few cultural centres there, as there are still a lot of Aboriginals living there. We saw some ancient rock paintings, and we did a cruise on the Yellow Water Billabong. Saw loads of birds and a few wild crocs - one really big one. On the way home we went by Mindil Beach Market which is a night market which runs until 10pm at night. It had a real asian feel about it, and the temperature was quite nice for a walk around.

We went to Litchfield National Park today, a much smaller park and closer to Darwin so we didn't have to get up so early! We went on the Adelaide River first and saw some Jumping Crocodiles then went into the National Park and saw Florence Falls, Wangi Falls and Tolmer Falls. They were pretty spectacular and there were lots of folk swimming in the plunge pools (apparently they are thoroughly checked for Crocodiles before they are opened for the dry season!).

I'm going to try and upload my photos once I get a faster internet connection. Planning to have a look around Darwin again tomorrow, go to Cullen Bay and look around the centre.

Darwin

Made it to Darwin on Monday. Flight was fine - much quicker than the train! On Monday we just had a look around the centre and got settled in. It was really warm on Monday, a bit like Singapore again. Yesterday we went to Aquascene in the morning - which is a place where you can hand feed all kinds of fish, they come right into the pier and swim around your feet. That was pretty good, then we went out to Crocodylus Park which is like a Crocodile Farm. They had hundreds of Salt water and fresh water crocodiles, which they farm for their meat and skins. We made it in for a feeding so that was really good, they seem so docile then all of a sudden they turn a bit crazy! There was also a little Zoo at the park so we saw lots of different native animals.

Today we're planning to get the Open Top Tour bus and go out to the Museum and Botanic Gardens and a few other sites. Then tomorrow we're off to Kakadu National Park and on Friday we're going to Litchfield National Park and doing a Jumping Crocs tour where they feed wild crocodiles off the side of a boat and they jump out of the water for their food!

I've put some new photos on flickr but haven't had time to title them yet!

Uluru and Kata Tjuta

Me at Uluru

Got out to Uluru yesterday. We did a day tour, left at 6am! Started off by going to Mount Ebenezer, then past Mount Connor, then to Yulara (Ayers Rock Resort). Saw some 'Brumbies' (Wild Horses), Wedge-Tailed Eagles and a Kangaroo on the road out. Got into the national park and went to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) first. They were pretty spectacular. Had a walk around them, then headed to Uluru. We got a few walks around the base and some of the caves and things are impressive and the rock paintings were quite good (although our guide told us a lot of them aren't very old). It is quite strange how it just rises out of nothing! We watched sunset over the Rock while we had a BBQ and it was pretty spectacular the way it changes colour at sunset.

Anyway the photos are up here.

I've also put up some Panoramas here

Been around Alice Springs today, we went to a baby Kangaroo rescue centre and held some baby Kangaroos. Planning to go to the Flying Doctor's Museum tomorrow. We're moving hostel as the one we're in at the moment (Annie's Place) isn't terrific!

Adelaide and The Ghan

Just arrived in Alice Springs today. First impressions aren't too bad, seems a bit rough around the edges!

Adelaide was good, went out to Glenelg (a beach-side suburb) on Monday, but as it was a public holiday lots of shops were shut. We went on a wineries tour on Tuesday which was really good, went out to the Barossa Valley and saw Jacob's Creek, VineCrest, Richmond Grove and Bethany Wines. Lots of samples at all of them! Saw Shrek 3 at the cinema in Glenelg - would highly recommend it!

Got the Ghan up to Alice Springs yesterday - got on at 12.20 got off at 13.40 the next day! It was a long trip but the time seemed to go by quite fast. There's a restaurant carriage and a lounge so you're not stuck in your seat all the time. It got dark quite early so we didn't see all that much until this morning, but it really gave the feeling you were in the middle of no-where!

We've booked a tour to Uluru (Ayers Rock) tomorrow - leave at 6am and get back at Midnight. Also thinking about going to the Devils Marbles on Saturday, but it depends on if we can find someone willing to hire us a car!

Great Ocean Road

Me at Great Ocean Road Memorial Sign

We're now in Adelaide, got the overnight bus last night from Melbourne. We're staying at a Hostel in the centre of town. Tomorrow is another public holiday-Queens Birthday this time! We're hoping to do a Winery tour, but not sure if it will be running because of the Holiday.

Great Ocean Road was really nice, we stopped the first night in Apollo Bay and the second night in Warrnambool. Saw all the main sights, and had plenty time compared to Tasmania. We hired a car again and did around 700km. The weather was ok, but not spectacular - only to be expected as it is Winter here now. The Twelve Apostles were very impressive, and there were lots of Arches and Gorges around the coast. Anglesea Golf Course was a highlight - as there are loads of Kangaroo's all around the course! My photos are up on Flickr

Heading upto Alice Springs on The Ghan on Wednesday.

Kangaroo's at Anglesea Golf Course

Tasmania

Me in King Solomans Cave (With Limestone Column)

Thats us back in Melbourne tonight from Tasmania. Got a flight from Hobart. We're staying in Melbourne International Backpackers tonight then collecting another hire car tomorrow to do the Great Ocean Road for the next few days.

Here's a brief outline of what we did in Tassie! The scenery there was amazing and really enjoyed it, the weather stayed pretty good.

Sunday

Got hire car. We got an upgrade - we ordered a Hyundai Getz and we got a Toyota Corolla. It was pretty good, roomy, nippy and seemed to be pretty efficient on fuel. By the time we returned it we had done almost 1500km! First of all we went to Cradle Mountain, via a little town called Sheffield which had lots of murals painted on the buildings, but it was quite misty so didn't see much of the mountain. We went around the West Coast instead - past Zeehan, Strahan and Queenstown. Then we went to Lake St Clair, which was pretty nice, and drove back to our Lodge in Launceston along a gravel track. It was quite a bad road but luckily we didn't see any other cars - lots of wildlife so we were going really slow.

Monday

Went to Cataract Gorge just outside Launceston - it was pretty spectacular (see the photo). Then we went out to King Solomans Cave which was full of limestone formations, I really enjoyed it. All the sites were quiet as it is winter here so we almost had the tour guide to ourselves! Then we went along to Liffey Falls, again we had to go on a gravel track to get there, but it was worth the drive as it was very picturesque. Then we drove down to Hobart (The Capital) and checked into another lodge. They were pretty ideal as they cost around the same as a hostel but we got our own little cabin with a double bed and a set of bunks, and kitchen, tv etc. They were a little bit out of town but it is fine with a car.

Tuesday

We went out to Port Arthur, on the Tasman Peninsula. There are lots of old penal buildings here from when the UK sent out the convicts. It was quite different, and a nice drive out there. We went back into Hobart in the afternoon and drove up Mount Wellington (1300m) and saw some great views up there. It was absolutely freezing so we didn't stay up top for long! We went into Hobart and looked around the shops for a little while and relaxed at night!

Wednesday

We went to the Cadbury's Factory. They make most of the chocolate for Australia at the factory, and the tour was pretty good. You got right out on the floor of the factory - some of the machinery they have is amazing. Got a few freebies! We went out to Russell Falls in Mount Field National Park in the afternoon, which was pretty nice again. Then we went into town and looked around the shop and returned our car in the afternoon - thankfully in one piece!

Me at Russell Falls

Cataract Gorge

Most of my photos are up here

Panoramic Test

This is a wee test - hopefully there will be a Panoramic of Canberra below!

Made it back!

Kangaroo I saw at the start of my climb up Mount Ainslie.

Made it back to Melbourne last night. Had a good time in Canberra, on my last day I climbed up Mount Ainslie - a Hill (843m) behind Canberra. Got a really good view from the top of it so have taken loads of photos - they're on flickr here. In the afternoon I went out to a shopping centre beside the Airport called Brand Depot - sort of like McArthur Glen in Livingston. Flew with Virgin Blue - they are one of the main 'cheap' air liners out here. Staying in a hostel in the centre of Melbourne now - Greenhouse backpackers, on Flinders Lane. It is really handy as we don't need to get a tram pass, can just walk around.

Heading off to Tasmania tomorrow night, on the boat. I'm fearing it is going to be quite rough as the Bass Strait is supposed to be quite a rough patch of water. We've hired a car (A Hyundai Getz!) for the whole time we're in Tasmania as it's quite a big place - apparently the size of Ireland! We're planning to stay in Launceston one night, and Hobart two. Flying back to Melbourne on Wednesday evening, then we'll be driving along the Great Ocean Road Thurs, Fri and then getting the overnight bus to Adelaide on the Saturday.

Not much else to say at the minute, keep the comments coming, it's good to hear from folk!

Canberra - Day 2

Australian Parliament Building

I have been pretty busy today. Got up early and went out to the National Museum of Australia first thing. That was really good - quite a new Museum building and lots of interesting stuff. Came back into town and went to the Australian National War Memorial - which is really a War Museum, it was also pretty good, and in a really nice setting. Walked down ANZAC Parade which is where all the War Memorials are, and then went to the National Capital Exhibition, which is all about Canberra - how it was planned; what was here before, etc. Everywhere I went I seemed to just beat the bus loads of School kids which was good!

Went to the Cinema tonight to see 28 Weeks Later - was o.k. but not great, passed some time as everything is closed in the evening.

Been quite a nice day but again it was quite cold. There was a lot of rain last night but seemed to have dried up by this morning.

I've uploaded some of my photos to flickr but I've not had time to title them yet, so I've put some of the best ones in here.

Captain Cook Memorial Fountain & The National Library in the background.


Parrot outside the National Capital Exhibition


Me with view towards ANZAC Parade and across the Lake to the Old and New Parliament Buildings.

Canberra

Made it to Canberra! Flight was good, up at 5.15am and got into Canberra at 9. Hostel is fine, I'm in an 8 bed dorm but not sure how many of them are taken. It is really Central, right beside a Cinema so might see something there. It was pretty cold when I landed - 7 degrees! But it soon seemed to heat up and was quite a nice afternoon.

I went over to Capital Hill to see the Parliament Building. They are in session at the moment so I got to Question Time to see The Prime Minister (John Howard) and all them! Building was pretty impressive, it was built in 1988. Also went to the Old Parliament Building, Parliament Gardens and the National Australian Art Gallery.

Its quite a strange city as it was purpose built so there are lots of circular roads and things which makes it very difficult to navigate! It seems to have been more designed for Cars than pedestrians and at times the pavements would just come to an end. Have taken lots of photos - I got a Canon Ixus 70 at the weekend so will get them uploaded ASAP.

Tomorrow I am planning to go to the National Museum of Australia, The Capital Exhibition and the War Memorial. Might go to the Science Museum if I have time - it's great because most of these Museums are free.

Electronics Troubles!

Thought I'd update this as we're at the weekend again! Was working on Monday, and we moved flat on Tuesday (as Heather is away to Kuala Lumpa, we're in a smaller flat for this week). On Wednesday I went out to Werribee - a Suburb in the South. It was fine but wasn't too much to see there. I tried to take some photos and my Digital Camera died - must have been over used! Now it just takes black photos, so since then I've been looking for a new one. Been looking at the Canon Ixus 70, and a Nikon Coolpix (Possibly L5). Would like a Digital SLR but it wouldn't be very practical so I may just get a 'cheap' camera to do me until I get home. There's alot to think about with warranties and things though. It's annoying as I was very happy with the camera I had - and my camcorder just went bust a few months ago!

Nothing much else to report. Going to Canberra on Tuesday, back on Thursday night and off to Tasmania on Saturday night. Will be strange getting back into living in Hostels. We've been looking into a few tours to do when we're in Darwin. Thinking about going to Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks and do a cruise to see jumping Crocodiles!

Going to see the new Pirates of the Carribean tonight. Anyway must get back to the Camera research. Any suggestions welcome!

Latest News

This week seems to have gone really fast! I got some temp work through the week working for www.realestate.com.au - doing some data entry and checking work mainly. Working on Monday for a Chiropractor doing some data entry for Statistical data so that will be fine as it'll be a bit of extra money!

On Friday I went to watch 1 vs 100 being filmed. It was filmed at the Melbourne City Centre Studios which are the biggest TV studios in the Southern Hemisphere apparently. They are at Docklands in the City. It was really good, had to wait for about an hour and a half before we actually got into the studio but they were quite well prepared for it and had lots of free food and drink! It's one of the main prime time quiz shows on one of commercial the channels out here, and the host is the same person who does Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The woman did quite well and won $74,000 so that was a good.

We're out of our current flat on Tuesday so will be cleaning it this weekend getting ready for that. The landlord is hopefully going to give me and Julie a smaller flat for a week (Heather is away to see family in Kuala Lumpa), but she is waiting to hear back from some people who had already viewed the flat before she can tell us for sure. Otherwise we will be in a hostel.

Been lots of rain here these past few days, and more forecast apparently. The people at work got quite excited when they saw all the rain!

Neighbours Night

Me and Harold Bishop!

Finally made it to the Neighbours Night last night, which was really good. It was a new one which has been set up by one of the stars (Toadie) as a rival to another one which has been running for years, so as not many people knew about it, there was hardly anyone there which was great as we got much longer with the stars! Toadie, Harold, Elle and Janae were there. See my photos here and Heathers photos here.

Not been much else happening lately. At the weekend we were planning to go to an Australian Rules Football game at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) but it was sold out so we're going to try and book tickets for a game shortly I think. Went into town and had a wander around the centre on Sunday.

On Friday I went into Albert Park and had a walk around the F1 circuit. Theres a lake in the middle of it with lots of Birds so it is quite a nice area. The circuit is used as a main road when all the F1 stuff isn't in the way.

Starting to think about packing all my stuff again which is a bit of a thought! Looks like it will be Cold when we go to Tasmania and very warm in Alice Springs and Darwin so going to need clothes for all weathers. Little bit of rain today but seems to be clearing up now.

Flight Plans (Revised!)

I've gotten the flights booked so here's the plans:

Melbourne - Canberra 29/5 08.10 (arr 09.10) <- Virgin Blue Flight
Canberra - Melbourne 31/5 20.00 (arr 21.05) < - " " " " " '' "

Melbourne - Tasmania 2/6 20.00 (arr 07.00) <- Spirit of Tasmania Boat
Tasmania - Melbourne 6/6 18.15 (arr 19.25) <- Virgin Blue Flight

Great Ocean Road 7/6 - 9/6 <- Hire Car

Melbourne - Adelaide 9/6 20.30 (arr 05.20) <- Greyhound Bus Overnight

Adelaide - Alice Springs 13/6 12.20 (arr 14/6 13.45) <- "The Ghan" Train

Alice Springs - Darwin 18/6 11.50 (arr 13.50) <- Quantas Flight

Darwin - Cairns 24/6 06.45 (arr 11.00) <- Quantas Flight

Then we are planning to get an unlimited stop bus pass for the East Coast from Cairns - Sydney, and planning to leave Sydney for Auckland on the 15/6. [EDIT - The 15/7!]

Rodeo

Went to a Rodeo at the weekend, which seems to be quite a big thing out here. It was in an arena with a few thousand seats and almost a sell out! Was a bit of an experience - don't know if I would go to another ever - the horses/bulls seem to get something tied around their behind which makes them buck, don't think it can be too comfortable for them!

Also went to see the Overland train on Saturday, as it was having an open day. It is the train which runs from Melbourne to Adelaide, and is in the same group as the Indian Pacific (From Sydney - Perth) and the Ghan (Adelaide - Darwin) so it was interesting to see what the facilities were like on those. They are quite nice, incredibly big.

There was a photography exhibition on at the weekend too so that was pretty good. They had lots of demonstrations and talks by all the big camera companies and you got to see some of their new products (Blu-Ray/Hard Drive recorder!)

Not much else happening, still trying to finalise the dates for the next few weeks. Weathers staying pretty good, there has been a little more rain lately which everyone is delighted about as the drought has been getting quite serious.

The Lounge on the Overland Train (Melbourne - Adelaide)

Trip Plans

Thought it was about time I got this updated again! The time just seems to fly past. Not had a very exciting week just been living quietly! Job hunting isn't going great, just doesn't seem to be many going up.

Went to the Queen Victoria market on Friday, its great for fresh fruit and meat and stuff, quite cheap - especially towards the end of the week. Went to the Art Gallery at Federation Square on Sunday, it was quite good. Planning to go to the Parliament one day this week see if I can get in for Question Time. It is the Victorian Parliament so will be a bit like a council chambers discussion! Been looking into Canberra and I'm thinking I might take a few days to go up there in a couple of weeks as there seems to be lots there I would be interested in.

At the weekend we tried to work out dates for the rest of Australia and our flights to New Zealand/Fiji/Los Angeles, as these need to be changed shortly. Easier said than done, as there is a lot to think about! Distances here are so huge, it takes 48 hours constant travelling on the train to get from top to bottom! At the moment we're thinking about:

• Sat 2nd June Leave for Tasmania (Overnight boat from Melbourne)
• Thur 7th June Get back to Melbourne and hire a car to see the Great Ocean Road
• Sat 9th June Return hire car and get the (overnight) bus to Adelaide
• Wed 13th June Get the Ghan (Train-24 hours) to Alice Springs - to see Ayers Rock
• Mon 18th June Get the Ghan (another 24 hours!) from Alice Springs to Darwin
• Sun 24th June Fly to Cairns on the East Coast and get a bus pass from Cairns to Sydney so we can take as long down the east coast as we need to.
• Sun 15th July Fly to Auckland, probably hire a car. Looking at a spaceship!
• Sun 12th Aug Fly to Fiji
• Fri 17th Aug Fly to LA

These are very provisional at the mo! Means I'll miss Perth but it is so far away and having looked into it seems quite like Sydney/Melbourne.

Anyway that's almost my time up at the Library so I better go!

Ballarat

Another lovely day here! Just a short update to tell you what I've been doing. Had a lot of rain at the weekend, which most people around here was delighted about! The drought has been really bad and they are saying that the price of fruit and veg is going to sky-rocket shortly.

We went out to Ballarat on Sunday and although it rained all the way from Melbourne to Ballarat by the time we got off the train it had stopped and stayed away all day which was very lucky! Ballarat is a city inland in Victoria. It was build for all the gold diggers who came looking for gold! We went to see Sovereign Hill which is an open air museum set in the middle 1800's. It was really good and there was lots to see there - we went to a Gold Pouring demonstration, Sweet Making demonstration and got to tour two underground gold mines. I had a go at panning for gold but didn't find any unfortunately!

Pouring gold into a mould. $80,000 Australian Dollars worth!

Yesterday I went a walk from St Kilda beach to Brighton Beach, which is one of the big beaches around here. The walking and cycling paths around here are excellent, you are totally detached from the road and they usually even have separate paths, bridges etc for cyclists and walkers!

From Elwood Beach looking towards Melbourne

I'm still on the lookout for a job. There's another public holiday tomorrow (ANZAC Day- a holiday to remember Australia and New Zealand War Veterans) so I think all offices, shops will be closed.

Must dash as this internet cafe is quite expensive!

Puffing Billy

Puffing Billy Steamtrain

Been a lovely weekend out here, very warm. Had a bit of a shock last week when I lost my job on Thursday! They were taking on more (permanent) staff, and they didn't have enough computers, phones, etc for all of them and me! So back to the job hunting this week. At least now I've got some experience in Data Entry should be easier to get another job.

We went out to Dandenong Mountains on Sunday, and went on an old steam train called "Puffing Billy". It was pretty good, very impressive how much work has gone into preserving it all. I'm uploading some photos from it now. We stopped off in a little village called Lakeside and had lunch.

Not been much else happening over the weekend. Still got a few places to go to when we're in Melbourne - Ballarat and Bendigo we're looking into. Probably going to go to Tasmania when our flat lease runs out (towards the end of May).

I've added a counter to the bottom of the blog so I know how popular the page is!