Sydney to Canberra and Sapphire Coast

From Katoomba we decided to make a detour to Canberra, as I wanted to visit an elderly cousin of my mother's. On the way we drove past Lake George about 30 kms long by 20 kms wide. It was totally dried up. There were even road tracks marked across it, yet on the map it is marked as a water lake. First sighting that we had of the drought situation here, yet most place so far look quite green and fertile. We found Ted and June at home and spent a very pleasant afternoon with them catching up on all the family news and memories. I was so pleased that we were able to see them.

We then went to Lake Burley Griffin in the centre of Canberra from where you can see the National Library, the Carillion (whose bells were made in Loughborough) amongst other sights. It came over stormy so we headed for the camping park and settled down for the night. We were parked next to another Calypso Campervan with a friendly young Swiss couple.

Next morning we paid a visit to the Anzac War Memorial an impressive building with many monuments around it and a fine view down Anzac Parade to Parliament House. Canberra has obviously grown since we last visited but the heart at Burley Griffin Lake is still the same. We then took the road to Bateman's Bay back on the coast. Varied scenery – still quite green and very much cattle grazing country. As we dropped off the Blue mountains plateau, we travelled down through forest which was quite picturesque. We camped on the beachfront at Bateman's Bay and enjoyed a pleasant walk along the beach, good surf but very windy and a bit chilly! Met our Swiss friends again and shared a bottle of wine and conversation, as you do!

The following morning, we went to see the pelicans at the fishing jetty in Bateman's Bay then we followed the road along the coast, stopping at various coves/beaches for photo stops. We arrived early afternoon at Narooma and relaxed by the pool, before having a walk along this beach. Saw some bluebottle jellyfish on the beach. We had company for tea – some rosella birds who fancied our bean sprouts. They attached themselves to the awning guy ropes twittering away!

Sunday again and we find ourselves meandering along the pretty coastal route (not unlike South Wales UK) with folds of hills rolling down to beautiful beaches with pristine white sands and turquoise sea. We came across a little town called Tilba which was delightful. The buildings dated back to beginning of last century and all the stores were selling traditional craft wares, woodcarvings, clothing made from hemp or alpaca wool, a small cheese factory and teashop with home made fudge and an old fashioned sweet shop. We continued on to Bermagui, a fishing port and treated ourselves to a dozen oysters for lunch, sitting by the jetty. Our stop for the day was Tathra – another swim and another walk along the beach. While I was typing this blog, Peter was busy watching Manchester United playing Liga de Quito in the World Club Championship match. There's no getting away from football even at 12,000 miles away!

As I write this, now we have travelled on and we are in Mallacoota just inside the Victorian border. We are pitched right at the water's edge of the inlet with pelicans perched on the mooring posts in front of us. It is a beautiful spot and I hope to photograph the sunrise in the morning across the inlet.

Sydney and The Blue Mountains

The rain vanished and Sydney turned on the sunshine. We arrived at Roger and Hilary's (a relative of Dan's) in North Sydney. He made us very welcome and on the Sunday morning we went for a pre-breakfast walk along Bondi beach which was quite crowded even at 8.30 am with families having fun and games and surf races. We went along the cliff path to other coves and past the Iceberg swimming pool, where the hardy people swim. The sea was a beautiful blue as was the sky. We then had a tour of some of the sights of Sydney including exclusive bays - beautiful coves with all kinds of yachts moored and lovely properties.

The next morning, we caught the train into Sydney crossing the Harbour Bridge. We walked along to Wooloomooloo, where migrants used to arrive by ship and where Russell Crowe now has an apartment, then through the Botanical Gardens past MacQuarie's seat (where in 1800s the Governor's wife used to sit and look out into the harbour). On to the Opera House and environs – all these sights, the Opera House, Bridge and the Harbour and indeed the skyscraper buildings make Sydney an amazing city to be in. I felt very 'at home' here. From Circular Quay we took the ferry across the harbour to Manly where we walked to the surf beach and this time we were treated to perfect sunshine. The following morning, after going for a walk around the area in which we were staying, through some bushland and down to the river (what a lovely place to live), we again hopped on a train into the city and explored the 'Rocks' area before catching a ferry to Darling Harbour and explored this part of the city. I think we have captured every angle of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and the tall buildings on camera as you will see, all with a perfectly blue sky behind! Sydney is a remarkable city.

But we have to move on and the next day headed for the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. At Katoomba, we found a nice campsite within walking distance of the scenic railway. This railway used to serve the coal miners and drops practically vertically into the rainforest. We wandered along the boardwalk through the forest until we reached the cable car station to ascend to the clifftop again. We saw the local tourist attraction called the Three Sisters – 3 pinnacles of rock. The story goes that the sisters were turned to stone by a sorcerer to protect them from the advances of three young men. However, the sorcerer died before he could turn them back into humans. AAh! The Blue Mountains are apparently so called because of the vapour exuded from the eucalypt trees causes a blue haze.

Next instalment: Bateman's Bay to Melbourne via the coast! Watch this space!

Sunshine Coast to Sydney Rain

From Fraser Island we continued our journey southwards, hugging the coast. Noosa Heads was a very chic place full of little boutiques and surfboards everywhere. We decided to spend two nights at Maroochydore. First impressions were of a Spanish Costa del Sol resort, but the beach was very pleasant. We visited Buderim and Nambour (the big pineapple plantation) during the day. We were keen to see how the big pineapple had developed as we had visited it during our Queensland trip in the 70s. Then it was a novelty of a giant pineapple and a small plantation which distinguished from the other farm shops. Now the two way road that it stood on, has been upgraded to a major dual carriageway with a pedestrian bridge. The farm shop has become a significant tourist attraction, the farm sheds replaced with a big complex and the plantation now has an Australia Wildlife Reserve and mini zoo.

Next day, we moved on to Brisbane, stopping at the Australia Zoo, run by Steve Irwin's family. We saw the crocodile, reptile and bird shows before stroking wallabies, kangaroos and koalas – definitely the creature with the "Aah" factor. The zoo is very well maintained and the keepers were very informative about the animals and the ongoing Conservation programmes.

We just made the campsite at Brisbane before a thunderstorm. It's amazing though, the ground can flood quickly but an hour later it all dries up. We spent a day wandering round Brisbane, very busy like most cities, office workers having lunch on the lawns. We crossed the river to Southbank on a catamaran, where there was a huge lagoon with a beach right next to the river. There is also a 'Brisbane eye'. Late afternoon, we came across a cinema so went to see 'Australia' with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman – very good even if only for the photography and scenery (worth seeing).

Next day, moving further south, we arrived at a lovely little fishing/yachting town called Yamba, where we had a glorious sunset and decided to stay for the weekend. We walked along a large breakwater which provides shelter for the harbour and we saw dolphins and pelicans. We climbed up to the lighthouse for a great view along the coastline, then back down through the town.

If we thought we were having "Adventure before Dementia"(a sign we have seen on several of the Grey Nomad caravans), how about a couple from Shropshire that we met in Yamba. He was 80 and she was 79 and they were in a Backpacker van hoping to drive up to Cairns and back to Sydney in a couple of weeks. They had tried 6 years ago but went too slow and only got as far as Brisbane, so this is their second attempt. Way to go!! We met another couple who run a 5CL caravan park in Holt, Norfolk, so I expect we will see them there one day.

From Yamba we moved to Port Macquarie via Coff's Harbour and Nambucca Heads with great cliff scenery. I had a go at bodysurfing in the sea at Port Macquarie. The temperature is now starting to get cooler.

Next stop was the Booti Booti National Park where we camped with the ocean on one side and a huge lake on the other; a really pretty area south of Forster. We then arrived in the Hunter Valley and lost the sun!! However, it didn't stop us from a bit of wine tasting at Rosemount, Lindemans, and McWilliams wineries.

We are now in Sydney and have had two days of solid rain and wind. Oh dear, my umbrella went inside out at Manly Beach where we had a relaxed lunch with Faye and John (friends of Fiona's). We had to stay longer and have chocolate fudge cake whilst we waited for the rain to stop – which it didn't. The sun is due to return tomorrow with 31 degrees. Let's hope so.

On a political note here, in order to boost the Aussie economy, the Prime Minister of Oz has given 1000 dollars to each child and each pensioner as a Xmas bonus, in the hope that they will spend it. However, I rather think people will either pay off their credit card bills/mortgage or put it into savings. So the scheme could backfire on him.

We are finding petrol very reasonable, they have been coming down and now on average they are around 1.05 dollars (50p) per litre unleaded; since Cairns, so far we have covered 3,858 km. (We also covered around 1400km in NT). The campsite fees are generally between $AU20 and $AU30 per night (half UK costs). Food costs are about the same as UK, the good news is the meat is a lot cheaper though and the bad news is that beer & wine is more expensive.

The Fraser Experience

As we found out, Fraser Island was definitely an "Experience"! The briefing on the previous day already had me a bit apprehensive –how not to overturn your vehicle in soft sand etc. However at 7.00 am we picked up our White Suzuki Jimny 4WD, ESKI ice box and dome tent and headed for the barge crossing to the island. Once on the island, we followed other likeminded people down twisty, sometimes tortuous sandy tracks where there were deep furrows of soft sand. We arrived at Central Station which used to be a forestry camp and there were a mixture of trees: huge kauri pines, satinay pines, the wood of which was used for the construction of the Suez Canal.

Moving on we arrived at Eurong Resort by the beach. To cross onto the beach we crossed a cattle grid which had added electric stinger wires to stop dingoes crossing. So, here we were on 75 mile beach. I spent most of the time calling out "wash out" which meant there was a fresh water outlet running out to the sea and these caused banks and rivulets that you went into. Some were a lot deeper than others and we bounced about. I have to say, I admired Peter's driving because it certainly wasn't easy especially when we hit the soft stuff – like driving in deep snow, but he kept to a low speed and tackled 'most' of the wash outs without turfing me out of the car!

So what did we see? We had to bypass the Poyungan Rocks to avoid the seawater, stopped briefly at Eli Creek which is a deep fast flowing freshwater creek running down to the sea. Had a paddle there but due to loads of other tourists, we continued on to Maheno Wreck. This was a cruising ship which capsized in 1935 and is now in a very sorry, rusty state. Fascinating photostop though. Our intention had been to get as far as Indian Head and Champagne Pools which was the limit for our hire car, but the tides dictated that we turned around and we headed back along the beach to find a place to pitch the tent for the night. Finally, as the tide was coming in a little too fast for my comfort, we found a nice patch in the sand dunes at a spot called One Tree Rock. It was getting quite gloomy and looking stormy out to sea, so we got the tent up quickly and Peter erected the tarpaulin over the top in case it did get stormy. Talk about "Robinson", I am not sure if I mean Crusoe or Heath Robinson, but I'm jolly grateful Peter was a boy scout and knew how to lash things together. Needn't have worried though, because it didn't rain and we woke up at 5.00 am to glorious sunshine. Oops! Missed the photo opportunity for a sunrise!

The Ranger called by to check our permit and ask whether we had seen any dingoes. Sadly no, but there were fresh pawprints around the tent so they had visited during the night! Spent the morning reading the Weekend paper, as one does, waiting for the tide to ebb. We had an early Sunday lunch of sausage in a roll and headed North again to Eli Creek, a cool freshwater stream, where we walked along the boardwalk and then I floated down with the current to the seashore, which was all very nice until I spotted an eel! The day was beautiful – hot with a perfectly blue sky so we continued northwards to the Maheno wreck again for some more photos, then it was 4WD back to Eurong via the washouts. At one point a small light aircraft flew over the top of the car and landed on the sand ahead of us. There was a bridal couple on board getting married on the island, as one does!

When we got back to Eurong, we almost got bogged in the sand ruts, but Lewis Hamilton-Roscoe got us out of them. On the road back to Central Station campsite we saw two dingoes. We found the campsite and pitched for the night. I started to cook some lamb steaks; went back to the car to fetch the salad and while my back was turned, a kookaburra had nicked one of the lamb steaks! He sat on a log and proceeded to bash the steak on the log to break it in to smaller pieces. After that, he stayed on the log glaring at us and would have dived in for seconds if we hadn't eaten quickly! They warn you about dingoes but not kookaburras. He then flew off and you could hear him laughing all the way through the forest!! Heard dingoes passing in the night, but the only wildlife we encountered next morning was a very large goanna.

On to Lake Mackenzie, a beautiful azure blue freshwater lake with pure white sand , where we spent the morning sunbathing and swimming. Then it was time to attack the 14 kms of sandtrack back to the ferry. We just had to get bogged didn't we. The car wheels sank into the sand, not surprising when the ruts have been formed by huge trucks and we were just in a little Suzuki, but Peter persevered and we spun our way out again. So, we have experienced Fraser Island.

They say you have to have "A little adventure before dementia" and I think this trip is turning out to be quite adventurous. Next stop, the Sunshine Coast.

Queensland Coral Coast

When we left Cairns for the second time, we set off South for Mission Beach via the Atherton Tableland.

Travelling inland we passed through lush tropical rainforest, sugar cane and banana plantations. We climbed up to over 1000 metres, twisty hairpin bends until we reached the Atherton plateau which was very fertile and mostly dairy farming. Stopped at Yungaburra, a quaint old fashioned town for lunch and where they promised 'free beer tomorrow'!

We then went on to see the famous Curtain fig tree which we first saw 36 years ago. Next stop was Malanda Falls and the Millaa Millaa falls where we saw terrapins and a beautiful kingfisher.

Arrived at Mission Beach late afternoon – such a beautiful beach and a good place to stay put for a couple of days. 4.00 a.m – 10.00 a.m. we had 6 inches of rain fall – a super electric storm to watch, but by morning all gone and dried up. So had a lovely walk along the beach.

It is difficult to comprehend that while we are beachcombing like this, in the local shops they are playing Christmas songs – heard ' Silent Night' and 'Sleigh bells ring' yesterday!!!.

Next day, we are on the move again through sugar, banana, mango and pineapple plantations, dairy cattle and goats. However, on Reaching Townsville the scenery dramatically changed from lush tropical flora to dry bush and eucalyptus trees. We went to the top of Castle Hill in Townsville and had a beautiful panorama 360 degrees overlooking Magnetic Island. Stopped the night at Ayr where we had fresh iced mangoes and a fantastic tropical thunderstorm.

Next stop was Airlee Beach. However it was 'Schoolie Week'. The town was packed with school leavers (a bit like Newquay in early July). 'Schoolies' are strange Australian creatures. They are aquatic mammals who invade the swimming pools with cans of cold drinks and they are nocturnal, listening to loud music and noisy all night!! Seriously though, Airlee Beach is a vibrant town with a beautiful freshwater swimming lagoon where we spent several hours.

But the 'piece de resistance' here was our trip to the Whitsunday Islands – so called because James Cook arrived here on that day in the 18 th century. We cruised on a catamaran to Daydream Island, where we walked through the resort and saw lemon sharks, manta rays and all sorts of pretty coloured fish including nemos, starfish and lion fish.

We had a swim at Hamilton Island and then a Barbecue lunch before we went to Whitehaven Beach. Wow!! Pure white silica sand and crystal, clear turquoise water. We had to wear stinger suits (see photo- don't we look cute) because of the danger of being stung by the irukandji jellyfish which are deadly. We had 3 hours of pure desert island bliss here.

We have now moved South to Yeppoon, where Peter and I got engaged 36 years ago and our next report will probably be after our camping trip on Fraser Island. The weather is still sunny every day and 30 deg C plus each, but not quite so humid. By the way, the climate suits us very nicely. In 4 weeks, I've lost half a stone and my hair is blond, bleached by the sun!! Bye for now.

- Sheila.

Captain's Log

As you may have realised, the blogs so far have been written by the First Mate, so I thought I would add a few words.

I really enjoyed returning to Singapore after a period of forty years. In those days when Malaysia and Singapore couldn't decide if they were one or two countries, Singapore still had the colonial air about it. Now Singapore has developed so much to become one of the major tourist centres and a commercial capital of the Far East. I was slightly disappointed that the sense of adventure has diminished somewhat. A shopping trip to Change Alley used to be an exciting experience, when you were relieved to arrive at the other end with your watch and wallet intact. Now it is probably safer than going to Lakeside. Orchard Road was once a road with lots of individual airconditioned camera shops owned by Asians, and it is now a street full of Bluewater type shopping malls, with most of the shops selling designer goods.

It was really good to have the opportunity of travelling around the NT Top End. The only part of NT we visited during the 70s was the Centre, when we got to Alice Springs and Ayers Rock (as it was called). Arriving at the beginning of November, we missed the peak season, which coincides with the "Dry Season", but were ahead of the Wet Season. This meant that the campgrounds were all pretty quiet and the roads were virtually empty apart from the road trains. It also meant that the crocodile cruises were on the smaller boats allowing us to get closer to nature!

Within hours of arriving in Darwin we were joined by our Navigator, Bruce (well actually TomTom). Just round the corner from our campervan pickup in Darwin, there was a Dick Smith Electronics where we bought an Australian satnav. Having already down loaded a lot of Australian POIs, we can readily find our next campsite or Coles Supermarket. Interestingly it appears that some of the Australian mapping has been simplified or is still being developed. When we travelled North along the tortuous route along the coast, from the Daintree River Ferry, to Cape Tribulation, the satnav would suggest that we should Turn Right in 80 metres. This was a bit worrying as any right turn off the twisting coastal road would have taken us over the cliff into the sea. The satnav has also been very useful for planning the different legs of our journey, working out our daily itinerary.

During my stints at the communal BBQs cooking the evening meal, (when Sheila says I am networking), I have met several interesting characters. At Hayes Creek RoadHouse Campground, I was chatting to a Road Worker, who drove a Grader. He was complaining about the fact that the Wet Season would mean no work in the Top End of NT for three months, so he was travelling to Alice Springs to find continuous employment.

At Katherine Gorge campground I met an Asian from Sydney with a Kea 4wd camper on some relocation deal that meant he had to get from Cairns to Darwin in less than five days. It is strange to hear the Chinese guys with a strong Aussie accent.

Then in Ayr I joined a lot of Japanese students who were envious of my Sirloin steaks as they cooked their noodles and beans.

During our trip, we have met many different nationalities. The people we meet travelling appear to fall into one of about four different categories. Firstly there is the definite backpacker brigade with vans or station wagons of varying vintage, or Wicked campers.

At the other end of the spectrum there are the Grey Nomads who may or may not have a fixed base somewhere. These Aussie pensioners have often either sold or rented out their home and taken to the road. Most seem to have come from the South and travelled North to benefit from the warmer weather.

There is another group of Australian travellers who seem to be economic migrants, like the road worker above. These are generally young families where the menfolk are often working close to the campsite, and in a couple of instances are hoping to get a house locally.

Then there are the SKIers like ourselves, recently retired and are taking time out. I think some of the Grey Nomads are SKIers who have already spent their kids' inheritance. Like the old chap at Hayes Creek who has told his children that all they will inherit is a clapped out Winebago.

- Peter

Far North Queensland

Having arrived in Cairns we had a few days of luxury in an apartment. Cairns is a very nice city well laid out in grid lined streets, but even I lost my bearings once or twice. As there isn't much of a beach, there is a man-made lagoon which was very much appreciated for swimming.

After a couple of days of sightseeing we picked up 'Vicky 2' our second campervan and headed north to Cape Tribulation, stopping off at Trinity Beach and Palm Cove on the way, beautiful palm fringed, white sand beaches but because of the deadly stinger jellyfish (some only the size of one's little finger nail), you have to swim where there are stinger nets. Moving on through the Daintree Rainforest to Cape Tribulation and crossing the Daintree River on a ferry, we passed sugar and tea plantations and the dense forest and mangrove swamps which come right down to sea level.

We camped at Myall Beach near to the Cape and managed to eat some fresh coconut which had dropped off the palm trees on to the beach. Felt like Robinson Crusoe! Cape Tribulation was so called by Captain Cook when his ship the Endeavour nearly floundered here in 1770. He went on to find a natural harbour further north which he called Cooktown. We walked through the mangrove swamps to the Noah river outlet, lots of vines and rich tropical flora.

On our return from the Cape, we headed for Mossman Gorge and had a very invigorating cool swim (coldest water yet) in the waterfalls - along with some very large jungle perch fish! The day ended at Port Douglas, a very upmarket resort and home for Australian TV stars. From here we set sail for the Great Barrier Reef, to the Agincourt reef which is part of the outer reef, on the edge of the continental shelf. We visited three reef sites and snorkelled at each one wearing our stinger suits. Wow! We saw amazing coral formations, nemos (anemone fish), butterfly fish, angel fish, parrot fish, pretty blue fish and some called many spotted sweet lips! Best of all though were the giant purple clams and the reef shark which swam right below us! What a fantastic day.

We are now back in Cairns having stopped off at Kuranda on the way. Tomorrow we head south for Mission Beach and Dunk Island. Watch this space!!