Lins and Rich’s Travel Blog

Hi all, after six and half months we have finally touched down in a new country. Been in New Zealand for two days now and the first thing to notice is its cold. Think I’ve gone soft after living in permanent summer for a year. Lins was well prepared as she usually feels cold but have found myself shivering on a couple of occasions. 

First things first, Lins would like to point out that some of the photos on our website are hers. People have been kindly commenting that the photos are looking good and she is not happy that she’s not getting credit (drama queen!!) so I am now labeling the photos as to who took them. Anything for a quiet life! Back to New Zealand, at present we have been in Auckland for a couple of days and it seems a really nice, friendly place.

Flew in on Tuesday and the scenery on the way in looked amazing. A complete contrast to Australia, as far as the eye could see were lush green fields and everything looks so healthy. Take some getting used to after the outback. 

From the airport we caught a shuttle bus to our hostel and not exaggerating the driver must have nearly tail ended about ten cars on the journey. Constantly slowing down, speeding up and slamming on the brakes he was possibly the worst driver I have ever known. And that saying something as that’s usually me! With the adrenaline pumping we decided to go and find something to eat and it turns out we were spoilt in Sydney.

There is a distinct lack of restaurants in Auckland. After three quarters of an hour looking we settled on some authentic New Zealand food. Nanados!

Getting back to hostel at about eleven, everyone in our room started to fall asleep apart from one guy who sat up till one playing on his laptop. I asked him to turn the light off and he said “I’ve still got work to do, I need a light, ill be ten minutes” Half and hour later he left the room for quarter of an hour and left the light on. Off it went and when he came back it (was around one at this point) he turned it back on. A brief argument later he stormed out. He hasn’t said a word to us since and it is apparent he is a nutter after he started screaming down his phone last night. Woke later on in the night to find him standing close to our bed, looking out the window with the room in complete darkness. With the psycho music echoing around my head I slept with one eye open for the rest of the night!

Our first full day was spent touring the Auckland museum where we saw a great Maori cultural display of dancing and singing including the Hakka (really cool and powerful). It’s good to see that the European arrival did nothing to dent the Maori culture and they were a strong enough society to embrace the arrival and are firmly part of modern society here, unlike what happened in OZ 

For $200 you can throw yourself off attached to a wire. As a coward when it comes to heights I passed!

Today we spent looking around Kelly Tautens aquarium and arctic adventure which had a great Antarctic section with a penguin colony and stingray feeding. After a few hours learning about the fate of Scott of the Antarctic and looking at the fish and the hilarious penguins we wandered back towards town and admired the views across the bay.

Tomorrow we pick up a rental car and say goodbye to Auckland and make our way up to the bay of islands via Goat Beach. Looking forward to seeing some of the scenery the New Zealand is famed for and a bit of independent travel. We have taken quite a few tours recently and will be nice to move at our own agenda. Don’t worry Russ, make sure Lins map reads. Apologies for the poor English and grammar, you may have noticed it improved over the last few blog entries as Lins wrote them, I`m just a lost cause

Future plans include skiing and a visit to Rotoroua which I can’t wait for. Lins is also threatening to maybe throw herself out of a plane as it seems to be compulsory to skydive here. As for me, my feet are staying firmly on terra firma.   Hope everyone is well back home and everything is warming up weather wise. For once you can all gloat about it being warmer there! 

 We picked up the Dracula van after standing in line for a long time behind 3 fussy Germans, fueled up, panicked about our driving abilities (it’s been over 9 months now and all the driving either of us have done in that time was 30 minutes on a sand highway), and began our road trip.  Within minutes we realised that the radio in Australia is a) very poor and b) virtually non-existent in large areas of the country, so we made it our priority to stop early en-route to purchase an i-trip (a little excessive for 4 days driving you may think, but we were covering over 1300km in that time, and we’ve got 5 weeks of driving in New Zealand to do very soon so we thought it was fully justified). 

With the audio side of the trip sorted, we were soon able to concentrate on the visuals.  The whole of the first day was spent driving down the Albany Highway from Perth to, funnily enough, Albany.  The first few kilometres were simply industrial overspill from Perth - a West Australian Purley Way - but it didn’t take long before we were surrounded by fields and bush.  As we had the camper, we were able to pull over for a quick picnic, but other than that, we didn’t stop for much on day one.  In fact, we didn’t even make it all the way to Albany, in spite of our best efforts.  We were caught somewhat off-guard by the early sunset and realised at 5.30 that we simply wouldn’t be able to drive much further as darkness was falling quickly.  It is very inadvisable to drive in Oz after dark due to the hazards posed by kangaroos hopping into the road and, without a kangaroo bar, they can do some serious and very costly damage.  So we pulled up in a ‘town’ (a petrol garage/restaurant, caravan park and local shop) called Mount Barker and cooked up our pasta on the gas burner we’d been provided with.  After a very cold night (thank goodness for those sleeping bags) we dragged ourselves out of the van at the crack of dawn to get an early start to make up for the kilometres we hadn’t manage the day before.

We arrived in Albany less than an hour later and headed straight for ‘The Gap’ and ‘The Natural Bridge’.  The coastline there is rugged, beautiful and very dangerous.  Fortunately, we were there on a very calm day so the winds were not causing too many problems but, in the past, freak waves from this area have caused serious accidents.  In the bay around 50 metres from these attractions lies a boulder that weighs a ton (literally) that has been washed onto the beach in the bay by a wave.  The Gap is literally a gap in the sandstone rock of the area which the water flows in and out of at breakneck speeds and with immense force.  The same could be said of the water under The Natural Bridge, which is a bridge formed naturally by the rock (don’t you just love Australian names). 

We then went to the whale museum a little further around the coast; this is housed in an old, decommisioned whaling station and showing the importance of whaling in the Albany community in the past, the processes involved in whaling and the lives of those who were involved in whaling.  It contains some horrific pictures showing the fate of the whales, you can board an old whaling ship, and you watch a 3D film about whales.  There was some focus on the need for conservation, particularly, it seems, of sharks, but I wasn’t entirely convinced by their efforts in this area as there seemed to be more of an emphasis on what whaling was like.  I think, maybe, they were just trying to present the history of the local area in a matter of fact way, but I couldn’t say with any absolute certainty what the main objective of the museum is.  Nonetheless, it was fairly interesting.

We then began our drive along the south coast towards the forests of the south.  We took the ‘touristic scenic drive’, which was scenic indeed.  There were some beautiful coastal views and some excellent forest and countryside on the way from Albany to Denmark.  We arrived in Denmark at lunchtime; the perfect time to arrive in a town whose bakery has won the ‘best pie in Australia’ award - and who are we to argue with that, so we made a beeline to the Denmark Bakery for a quiche Lorraine and a steak and gravy pie.  And they were good.  We sat and ate them under the gazebo by the very attractive river running through the bottom of the town.  The river was teaming with birds who appeared to be waiting for us to throw them our leftovers (and surprisingly there were some, though we have been constantly advised not to feed the wildlife in Oz as it often does more harm than good, so the remaining quiche was fed to the bin instead).  I frequently found myself wishing I’d taken more notice of dad’s bird knowledge as it would have been handy to be able to identify more of the many birds we saw on this trip around the south-west corner.

From Denmark, we continued west to just outside Walpole.  Here, the forest really begins and it is home to the Tingle tree and the Karri trees that only grow in this tiny area of the world.  Much of the ecosystem here is a hangover (can I use this term positively?) from the days when Australia was part of the super-continent, Gondwana, and it is incredibly rich for it, being home to many plant and animal species that simply don’t exist anywhere else in the world, or only exist in other areas which were formerly part of Gondwana (Antarctica, parts of Africa and South America, and New Zealand).  In order to allow us to fully appreciate these trees, the Australians have contructed a treetop walkway (the 3rd of our trip), 40m above the ground, and 600m long.  The views from the metal structure were, to use the word Rich used at least 100 times that day, absolutely stunning (and I’m not exaggerating - I did have to ask him to find a different adjective as I got sick of hearing it but he could only come up with ‘belissimo’).  There was also a 450m pathway on the ground to allow you to get up close to the base of the trees, which are absolutely enormous, and largely hollow - I didn’t realise that a tree is only alive in the outside of its trunk and that the inside is dead, but these trees still manage to pump up to 200l of water a day through their trunks and into their branches and leaves.

From the walk, it was just a short hop into Walpole itself where we set up camp for the night.  The campsite had a kitchen so we thought it would be easier to use this than to use our single gas hob, so we cooked there and met a fair few Aussie holidaymakers who we chatted with for the evening - this was great as, other than at work, we’ve actually had very little prolonged contact with Australians; most of Australia seems to just be full of backpackers.

We awoke the next morning to pouring rain and made our way to the banks of the Nornalup Inlet.  From here we took a WOW Ecocruise, hosted by Gary Muir: conservationist, environmentalist, local man,  community project leader etc.  This guy knows everything there is to know about the local environment and ecosystems and is doing his utmost to ensure as many other people know about it too.  He passes on a wealth of knowledge during the boat cruises he runs and he is very involved with the local primary school - he runs a project 2 days a weeks for the children there teaching them about how to care for their local area and how ensure that their fragile environment can be self-sustaining.  He and his family also live their lives self-sufficiently, fishing responibly from local waterways, growing fruit and vegetables, maintaining the forests on their land is such a way that they are sustainable and using the wood for fires, furniture making etc.  The ticket was $40 for the cruise but a large percentage of the money actually goes back into his projects.  He also raised funds by completing the nearly 1000km Bibbulmun Track that runs from Albany to Perth in just 16 1/2 days - he would have done it in 14 but he was laid up for 2 days with a knee injury and had to wait 1/2 a day for the media as they didn’t expect him to get there so quickly!  These funds all help to support the conservation work of the local area.

 As you’ve probably guessed, I was impressed by this guy and the tour would have been excellent, were it not for the upper class twit and his wife who were on the boat with us.  They immediately started asking ridiculous questions and Rich commented very quickly that the guy was like Alan Partridge.  He even looked like him and, strangely enough, the wife also bore a cunning resemblance to Partridge’s assistant.  The guide was telling us about the local snakes and their behaviour and Partridge turned to Rich and I and asked us if it was too much information for us.  Then I had to ask one quiestion 4 times before I was able to get an answer as they kept interrupting as they were trying to show off how much they knew about trees, then the idiot asked the guide a quiestion about one of the tree species, got the right answer (surprise, surprise) and said ‘Ha, ha, ha, I was just testing.  I knew you’d know the answer.’  Then what the f**k were you asking for you tw*t!  I have never taken such a strong dislike to someone in such a short space of time.

The weather on the cruise was so truly horrific that, unfortunately, we weren’t able able to take the walk onto the Island of Black Snakes which the tour usually visits.  We were unable to moor as the water was rushing in to the inlet so fast (apparently the guide had never seen it moving at such a speed) and the water level was way too high, so instead we just cruised around on the boat, listening to a wealth of information and eating homemade cake (all from local produce - delicious).

That afternoon we had some miles to cover as we wanted to get up to Bussleton to stay overnight.  This is a samll town on the West coast that is home to the longest jetty in the Southern Hemisphere at nearly 2 km long stretching into the Indian Ocean.  Apparently this, in itself, is a tourist attraction, though we couldn’t really see why when we were walking it the next morning.  We had wanted to see the Ocean from the underwater observatory at the end of the jetty but this, unfortunately, was closed due to poor visibility (clearly someone just doesn’t want me to see any sealife on this trip!). 

The rest of the day was spent driving back to Perth.  We thought we were doing well for time so took the long road home and saw some lovely coastal views from Rockingham but, other than that, we regretted our decision as we were mostly just stuck in traffic for 3 hours all the way up from Madurah back to Perth and we arrived back at Peter and Jenny’s well after dark and only after Peter had come out in his car to find us as we’d got lost in the country lanes near to where they live (the perils of not having a map of the local area). 

I forgot to mention much about Perth in my last entry.  This is the sort of city that you cna imagine a city designer spent some time on.  It seems to have the perfect balance of parks, waterways, housing and skyscrapers and is really a very attractive city.  This is only improved further by the fact that it is immaculately kept.  I don’t think I saw a single piece of litter the whole time we were there and the buildings are clearly all cleaned regularly and King’s Park and the Botanical Gardens were perfectly manicured.  The people of Perth clearly take a lot of pride in their city.  On Saturday morning, we dropped Dracula back to Wicked and we headed to the Science museum.  What a great museum.  It is almost entirely interactive and we only managed to cover about half of it in the hour we had before we went into the planetarium to watch a presentation about the local sky at night and the life of astronaut.  This was well presented and very interesting, though it did make a me a bit queezy as the sky kept spinning around.  We had to leave without finishing the rest of the exhibits as we needed to get back to Peter and Jenny’s to prepare ourselves for going back to Sydney - and to have more lovely food - we had recovered from this point from the feast we had had with them and their kids, Anna and Kevin who are about the same age as us, the night before.

They kindly dropped us at the airport on Sunday morning for our flight at stupid o’clock and we are now back in Sydney for the last time.  There is no doubt we are both going to be very sad to leave Oz but we are looking forward to New Zealand tomorrow.  We’re off out in a second to say our final goodbyes.

We thought that, after the last journey, the trip around Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks would seem comparatively short as Darwin and Kakadu seem to be much closer together on the map than Alice Springs and Darwin so we were a little surprised to hear that we would be comvering another 1200km in 3 days. 

The first day was devoted to doing a bit of exploring of Litchfield.   In the morning, we had a short walk through the rain-forest like terrain of this area of the Park to descend to a large swimming hole with a couple of waterfalls flowing into it, which would have been a serene and peaceful place if it wasn’t for the bus load of teenage kids who had arrived as we did!  After a short swim there and the hike up 135 steps (made more bearable by seeing the rock wallaby living in the rocks by the steps) to get back to the truck, we were taken to another swimming spot; a series of rock pools and small falls.  These were lovely, particularly as we got to get fairly close to the local water monitor lizard who was roaming the area.

After lunch, we headed on to the Mary River and, after Rich had held a python around his neck, we were all taken onto a boat for a ‘jumping croc cruise’.  We spotted our first wild estuarine or salt water crocodile sun bathing on the bank opposite and assumed we were probably going to be in for a lot of crocodile action.  And so we were.  The crocodiles here, although wild, are fully aware that the boat goes up and down the river a couple of times a day, tempting the corcodiles with meat on a string and then feeding it to them, therefore the ‘wild sightings’ are a bit contrived.  Nonetheless, to see the corcodiles approaching the boat, surfacing for breath then disappearing again as they close in on their prey, then watching them circling the meat and eventually jumping for it with their jaws open, was still a spectacular sight and it created great photo opportunities.  I’d like to say that I learnt a lot about the crocodiles from the 1 hour commentary accompanying the cruise, however, ‘Peter’, our friendly commentator, actually told us very little about the life of a crocodile.  Instead he chose to make the whole thing into a bit of a horror show, telling us repeatedly that there are 60-80000 crocs in the Northern Territory and that they are in all the local waterways; that the locals know all about them but tourists just don’t listen to the warnings; that tour guides are not telling the truth when they say that some of the water holes are safe for swimming in etc. etc.  My favourite line was “ Some people think these animals should be kept in a zoo. Well, they are in a zoo:  The Northern Territory is the zoo, and you’re in it with them.”  Talk about scare-mongering.  In fact, if this was his intention, he clearly achieved his aim as 2 of the Danish girls in our group hardly slept the following night as they did not realise that crocs really only hang around by water and were worried that one could get into their tent!

The following morning we got a lie-in (until 6am) and then continue on into Kakadu.  When we got to the first roadhouse, we were told we were going to be taking an extra passenger.  A shy Aboriginal called Abraham climbed into the cab of the truck for a lift to the nearest town as he needed a new fuel pump for his car which had broken down at the roadhouse the night before.  His mother was in the car with him and couldn’t understand why she couldn’t come too - she felt this should be her right as the matriarch, and our guide had to explain that there simply wasn’t room!  After we had dropped him off, we went for a walk of about 3km that led to a couple of swimming holes.  One of them was called the Garden of Eden and, as with the other Eden in the Red Centre, this one lacked the idyllic nature I think is necessary when naming a place so grandly… the water was murky and the place was overrun with mosquitoes.  However, the swim in the other pool there was refreshing and just what we needed on this very, very hot day (around 40 degrees).

In the afternoon we headed firstly to the cultural centre to look at the displays and watch an interesting short film about the cycle of life in Kakadu over the course of a year, then we headed over to Ubirr, an ancient Aboriginal rock art site.  This truly was the highlight of the trip.  Our guide, who had a fairly extensive knowledge of Aboriginnal culture (for a non-aboriginal) gave us detailed talks about the lifestyle of the local clan and the reasons for and the meanings behind many of the pictues.  We then hiked up to the top of a rocky lookout over the Nardab floodplain to watch a stunning sunset.

On Saturday morning, the 4WD was really brought into play as we headed a long way along a very bumpy road (luckily Rich and I had taken the fornt seats up in he cab with the driver for the day so didn’t have to suffer as much as those in the back).  Once we arrived at our desination, we were faced with a very steep climb up a rocky cliff.  This took about 20 minutes and a lot of breath to accomplish but once we reached the top we were duly rewarded with a plethora of rock pools and small waterfalls which all led into one large waterfall.  We were able to swim in all of the pools, sit under some of the small falls to get what felt like a head massage, and sit in one of the pools and look down over the large fall - it was spectacular.  And we were fairly certain, for the first time, that there was no danger of crocs as we were so high and the lazy reptiles would never bother to climb to such a height!  We weren’t quite so convinced when we headed for a swim in the pool at the bottom of the large waterfall though (the big ‘Warning, crocodiles may swim here’ signs were of grave cause for concern in spite of what the guides said).  Nevertheless, I ventured in at the clear water’s edge to wash off the mud wrap I and a few others had given ourselves from the mineral-rich mud surrounding the water.

We visited just one more swimming hole in the early afternoon before beginning the long drive back to Darwin.  Here we had drinks with Dianna and Glenn to say goodbye to them as we had been travelling with them for the past week - they had been on oth our tours and we’d been sharing a room at the hostel in Darwin for a couple of nights in between the tours, before we packed up our rucksacks once again ready to fly to Perth at the crack of dawn the following morning.

We arrived in Perth yesterday and checked in to our ‘eco-friendly’ hostel (the showers are solar-powered, there is enough space for people to hang clothes on the washing line rather than having to use a tumble-dryer etc) and then Rich called his uncle’s sister who lives nearby and who we had been told we should call if we were in the area as they’d love to meet up.  Rich then tells me we were going to meet them that afternoon - an idea that initially filled me with horror as all I wanted to do was sleep - we’d been up since 3.30 a.m. which, with the time difference between Darwin and Perth was now the equivalent to having been up since 2 a.m.   So we got ourselves ready and got the train to Midland, about 30 minutes outside Perth, where we were met by Peter and driven to their house in the hills.  The house is lovely and they have a view to die for.  We sat out on their veranda and had coffee then Peter and Rich began to talk in a foreign language, speaking of filters and spiders and various other phtographic terms I didn’t understand (Peter is a keen photographer and used to be a forensic photographer for the police).  Then we had dinner with them and exchanged travel stories - Peter and Jenny are retired and now seem to be more busy than they possibly could have been when they were working. volunteering for numerous organisations, travelling around remote areas of Australia in their 4×4 etc - and before we knew it it was gone 8 o’clock and the tiredness really hit me so we headed off home - we had raced down the hill to catch the 8.30 train but it pulled away as we got onto the platform and, rather than leaving us to stand there for another 30 minutes waiting for the next one, Peter gave us a lift all the way back to our hostel. 

We had been trying to weigh up whether to hire a car and stay in hostels or to hire a capervan for the next few days while we explore a bit of the south west.  I was worried about the cold, but Peter and Jenny have lent us their -5 degree sleeping bags (along with a load of maps and campsite details) so we’re now ready to take our campervan on the road.  This morning we went into Wicked campervans, which is conveniently situated directly opposite our hostel, and we have booked a van for the next 4 days with Dracula on the side and ‘Guess where I’ve been pierced’ written on the back.  We strangely both remember someone we met earlier in our travels telling us that they had this van and kept getting hooted at by passing cars reading the back of their van, but we can’t remember who it was - strange though, that we should end up getting this van as well.

So, tomorrow we’re heading south to Albany, exploring the National Parks down there, then we’ll head back up the coastal road at the end of the week.  Apologies for the lack of photos on this one - there seems to be a lack of decent internet cafes in Perth and we haven’t been able to upload any pictures.  We’ll get them on as soon as we can.Â

After the amazing and vivid reds, greens and blues of the Red Centre, we had a day off to catch up on some sleep before our next very early morning.  We were picked up from Annie’s Place  (a decent hostel in Alice Springs) at 5.20 am  (horrible) by our lovely guide, Natalie, who was managing to be bubbly and smiley even at that time in the morning.   She told us that this tour was more of a road trip than a tour and to prepare ourselves for spending lots of time on the bus; we had to cover a distance of over 1500km in the next 3 days.

A short way into the first day we paused briefly for a mandatory photo at the troic of cancer as we passed out of the arid into the tropics; needless to say, the change in climate and terrain was not that instantly obvious, though as we made our way up the Northern Territory, the mercury made its way up the thermometer and today it is a hot and humid 31 in Darwin and it really does feel like the tropics (in fact, we’re only a couple of hundred kilometres from Indonesia here so we’re much closer to Asia than we are to most of the inhabited areas of Australia).

We then had a brief stop for breakfast at Ti Tree; a town with a population of just 80 - though I have to wonder how even that few people manage to live there as there is quite literally nothing there other than the petrol station and roadhouse which doubles as a gallery for indigenous art and, beautiful though Aboriginal art is, I’m not sure it could engage you day in, day out!

Shortly after, we visited Barrow Creek, an original telegraph station.  Only its shell remains, along with the pub next to it.  Although there is very little here, this place is steeped in history, both distant (by Aussie standards) and more recent.  John Stuart took 3 attempts to travel through the Northern Territory to plot the ideal route for the telegraph wire that would run from South Australia to the UK, cutting communication time between the two countries from 3 months to 9 days.  As a result, the highway that runs the 3000km from Adelaide to Darwin, is named the Stuart Highway.  It is possible, however, that many of you may have heard of this place for a very different reason: the disappearance of Peter Falconio in 2001.  This is the spot where the incident allegedly took place and, on seeing the place, we did all comment on the fact that it is no wonder his girlfriend’s version of events has been questioned - the bush in which she claims to have hidden is extremely sparse and it does seem a bit difficult to believe that she was able to hide away from a hunting dog there for 3 hours without being discovered by her captor - but who are we to question the Australian Justice System?  The pub here is covered in signed money - apparently miners used to come up and work the mines in the North, stop here for a drink on their way back to the South, know that they would blow all their wages once they got home, so they would leave money pinned to the wall with their name on it so that they would definitely have enough to stop for a drink here on their way back up for their next few weeks work.  Peter Falconio’s parents have left some money on the wall for him if he should ever pass through.

 

The next stop was the somewhat impressive Devil’s marbles which got their name not because it seems as though it must be some sort of miraculous work of the devil that these massive boulders balance so precariously on each other, but because people used to stop their with their cattle and other livestock when moving them through the country and the livestock used to die shortly after their arrival there.  Initially this was thought to be the work of the devil, however, it was later established that it was actually because the livestock were eating poisonous plants at the site! 

The rest of the day was spent in the bus to Banka Banka, the campground / cattle station / home to turkeys and numerous other creatures, which is owned by the man who owns more land than any other man in the world.  Apparently he has one cattle paddock (that is one paddock; not even the whole cattle station) that is 500km squared - just inconceivable.  We got the campfire going after dinner but most of us didn’t last long before we wanted to get to our tents to recover from one early morning and to prepare our bodies for the next.

So we awoke Monday morning for another day on the road.  The stops were largely not all that memorable as they were mostly just at various roadhouses for toilet stops and snacks, though one of them was home to a couple of blue-tongue lizards and a snake that people were able to hold and photograph.  The final stop of the day, however, was the most impressive for 2 reasons.  The first reason Mataranka is special is that it is home to thermal springs which are 34C - just like getting into a luke warm bath, and we eased our aching bodies there for an hour.  While we were in the water, the guide commented on how she’d seen a massive snake here before but has just seen it crawl under a rock.  I asked if the snaked were in the water and she assured me that they weren’t.  About 15 minutes later, Anya and Frank, who were also on our tour, called us all over to see the 4 metre long olive python they had just seen emerging from the water!  It was so large you couldn’t fit the whole thing into one photo - I’m not exaggerating; it really was 4 metres long, and I think it must have been well-off for food too as it was really quite fat.  I didn’t get too close.

The second night was spent at another more remote campsite and we just played a couple of games around the fire before heading to bed.

Day 3 involved the least travelling, though we were still on the road for hours in the afternoon, the morning was spent at the beautiful Katherine Gorge.  We hiked up to a lookout to look down onto the river and were just about to descend to get into our canoes when our guide shouted ‘fucking hell, look at that crocodile; it’s fucking massive’.  And she wasn’t winding us up!  Having assured us that the river had been scanned for crocs and was considered to be croc free, there was an enormous croc in the water.  We were told by the canoe hire booth that it would only be a fresh water crocodile, therefore we didn’t need to worry about it but that they can still give a nasty bite so if we were to see one while we were on the water we shouldn’t get too close (and I’d planned to go up and pet it on the head!)  The canoeing took about 2 hours as we meandered through one section of the gorge and it was certainly a lovely way to spend a morning.

  

We then journeyed on to Edith falls where we stopped for a picnic lunch before we headed down to the water.  This place really is idyllic.  The water tumbles down from the rocks at one end of a large pool surrounded by lush greenery, then a river meanders off from the other end.  I swam the distance of the pool over to the waterfall and the force of the water there was much stronger than the size of the fall suggested it would be.  By this point, the weather had really hotted up so the cool water was exteremely refreshing.

We finally arrived in Darwin yesterday evening and we’re off to Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks in the morning for another 3 days.  We’ve used our day off today to sort out wht we’ll be doing next as, unfortunately, my allergies haven’t cleared up sufficiently for me to go on the diving trip so our final destination in Australia is going to be Perth and its surrounds.  We’ll be heading there on the morning of the 18th and will have a week there before we have to go back to Sydney for the final time.  We’ll write again once we’re there as we won’t get the chance to do so before we leave Darwin.  As ever, the photos are there for you to look at on the link.

Yes once again im an unemployed traveller and its great. Currently sat in an internet cafe in Alice Springs after returning from a three day tour of the area and it was amazing.

Tour started four days ago at the stupid hour of quarter to six in the morning when we were picked up by our tour guide Tony, who was the spitting image of one of ZZ top, with a huge long beard and cowboy hat he really did look the part.

The tour we decided on was called Wayoutback which specialised in a smaller tour and getting off the beaten track and staying away from the other tours as much as possible. So after we had picked up the rest of tour (Heather, Clare and Ros (teachers from england, cant get away from them!), Chantelle and Kym (who were in town for work), Regina and Michael (brother and sister from Germany) and Tehila (girl from Israel who had given up on Aussies getting her name right and had changed it to Tequila or Jess!) we were on our way to Uluru. The fact that we were in a small group was really good as everyone got to know each other well and meant that we were in a small 4 x 4 bus so we could really get off road.

 Now many people think that Uluru is next door to Alice Springs, eh no! Its 500km away, a huge distance and this set the scene for the tour. Lots of driving through some of the most amazing terrain I have seen. Now the outback is one of the most awe inspriring places ever. As we flew in by plane you realise the stories are true, there is nothing but hundreds of miles of the most inhospitible terrain, tough bushs, dead trees and bright orange sand as far as you can see in any direction.

We travelled for hours through the terrain stopping a few times along the way. The first time was in a camel farm. Now I have always associated camels with the Arabic countries but Australia has a huge amount of both wild and domestic camels. Chantelle and Kym went for a camel ride around the paddock and screamed alot after being told “what ever you do dont scream”. The really are massive things camels so I kept my feet on the floor, that and the fact I was starving and my stomach won out!

Now the thing about our guide was he was not the usual type of hypoactive guide but very quiet. When promted he had a huge amount of info but seemed embarrased to know it and share it. It was strange at first but over a few days I grew to like this and it made for  a relaxing tour, however I never worked out why we were late everywhere, we would go from being on time to hours late and we couldnt work out why!

Second stop before Uluru was to collect firewood. After hurtling off the road and across the outback we found oursleves in litterally the middle of knowhere. Every direction we looked was nothing and its quite a spooky feeling. There are loads of old trees that are dead and our task was to basically to rip them down and collect wood. Feeling a bit bad it was explained that while it feels destructive it actually aids as the smaller branchs are left and help hold the fragile soil together.

After another hour or so travelling we saw what we thought was Uluru, getting all excitied we flew past it and after asking were told it was mount conner, an amazing looking tabletop mountain that if it wasnt for the others would be famous but as such its relegated to relative obscuruty. Around the corner (well 80km around the corner) and we finally got our first glimpse of Uluru. Words can not really describe the place, its massive and the fact 7km of it is below the surface shows how massive a rock it really is. The colours are stunning, a rich orange starkly shown against a brilliant blue sky makes it stand out and you can see why the Aborigines belive it has a spirutal significance.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around the base, taking in the ever changing colours and shapes and exploring the nooks and crevices. Its a stunning place. After a few hours it was back on the bus and over to a sandune to see sunset. The colours change as the sun goes down and the rock burns orange before fading to black. The sunset was amazing and i have never seen such vivid colours. (check out the photo link on the side of this page) After the sunset and we had enjoyed sparkling wine and nibbles we headed back to the roaring campfire for dinner before crawling into our swags (canvas sleeping bags) and falling asleep under millions of stars. Vivs place in France is amazing for stars but this takes it to the next level.

Morning mean we jumped up and headed out to the lookout to watch the sunrise before we headed to Kata Tjuta. Kata Tjuta is a very spiritual place for the indigionous people and as such they allow no commercial photography and we had never seen it before arriving (Unlike uluru). Made of 36 sandstone domes we took a fantstic walk through the centre and it was stunning. Lins prefered it to Uluru. I think uluru is more impressive from a distance as you can take it all in, Kata Tjuta is better close up and there both really special

After our walk we headed to the cultural centre at Uluru and leant a bit about the area. The whole area is deeply religious for the Aboriginal people and it highlights why. Its still shocking how people think they have a right to climb the rock. As is said in alot of books you wouldnt jump on the alter of a church or walk through a mosque at prayer time so why is it ok to walk a sacred path that signifies entrance into manhood for a people.

 While we didnt learn enough about the people what we did learn is they have had a horrific life since the white folk got here and we should hang our heads in shame. Finally they are getting land back and getting the rights they deserve but looking at the western influence on their society and the devastating effects of oppresion, alcohol, drugs and even petrol sniffing you can not help but think to little to late.

After this visit we went on another trip towards kings canyon. Again we stopped along the way to collect firewood and saw wild kangaroos and ants that form nests with plants around the edges to stop rain entering which I thought was really clever. The camp site we stopped at on the second night was 5km from civilistaion so we all felt really isolated as we drifted off.

The final day saw us head to kings canyon. Kings canyon is a little diffrent as it wasnt really part of the culture of the people but is massivly impressive. Huge blocks of stone in amazing patterns combine with hundred metres drops and deep crevaces. The whole area is again stunning and the tour goes down as one of the most memorable we have done.

 After a massive drive back to Alice, Lins and I were glad to crawl into a none sandy bed and after a few beers with the tour group we passed out. Today was our one day to sort things about before we set off on a six day tour to darwin and kakado national park so unless we are eatten by crocs expect a blog entry in a week! Plans after that depend on Lins alergies. If their good then we will be diving again in Cairns, if there bad I think were going to try and book a cultural tour from darwin to try and understand the Aboriginal life a bit more.

Sorry its a monster updated but there are plenty of photos if you want the pictoral highlights. Hope everyone is well and its now not that long till we get back! Boooooo

Well ive finshed work, were packing up and on Tuesday were off on our travels again. I can not wait, this last couple of weeks has involved some very long hours and im in need of a nice relaxing three month miander home.

Left work yesterday and had mixed feelings, wont be sad to see the back of the job as it was a nightmare but will miss the people there. Everyone is a really good laugh and I will miss the friday beer in the office when i get back home (think England should relax and encorage it!) Before I left I got some inside knowlege from Nilesh and Luxon on New Zealand and Fiji. Not sure, try the local 58% rum in Fiji is the best advice ive ever recived but why not!

 Went out last night for mine and Jonesys leaving do and am still suffering now at twenty to nine at night. I finally crawled into bed at about three after a pub crawl down Oxford street and am feeling it really badley. Im getting old I think!

 Tuesday we head to Uluru which I cant wait for, it will be fantastic and we finally have our return to England date of the 2nd August but this may be subject to change depending on how I get on gambling our savings in Vegas!

 Can not belive that everything is moving so fast, can still remember boarding the plane to India.

It’s been another month since either of us wrote anything and Stu is nagging again (though, as he went to the trouble of setting this blog up for us and sorting out all our problems with it, I guess he has the right to moan when we don’t use it!) so I’m here to give a quick update, though there’s only so much to say…

 I finished work last Tuesday and last Friday - as I’ve been working 2 jobs I got double the thanks in speeches and double the pressies!  I really had a great experience at both schools and they will certainly stand me in good stead for the return to work in September.  That said, I’ve now got another 4 months off so I may be well out of the habit again by the time September comes around.  As you can probably tell from that, we have decided, after much deliberation, that we are going to return to Blighty in August as was originally planned and make full use of our round-the-world ticket (more on that in a minute).  I was sad to leave both jobs but it’s good to know that there’s 2 offers of work available if (when?!) we decide to return to Sydney.

As for Rich, he’s got another 3 weeks in the working world before his holidays begin again (the start of the school holidays meant that I had to finish earlier than him).  His company have also been pretty impressed with him and would like him to stay in Oz to keep working for them, but we’ve realised the whole idea of just not coming home is really rather impracticle!  He’s working extremely long hours at the moment trying to get finished the stuff he has started before we head off on the next leg our trip so I’m just hanging around Sydney on my own again like I was in January.  Still, he is paid by the hour!

I have taken the spare time as an opportunity to do something I’ve wanted to do since going on my Uncle’s boat in Canada when I was considerably younger than I am now - I’m learning to sail - Thanks to mum and dad for the lessons which they bought me as a birthday present, and yes, for the next birhday “I want a yacht, daddy!”  I had my first lesson on Saturday when the weather was beautiful.  Unfortunately, beautiful weather often isn’t accompanied by strong winds and we had to spend the morning covering theory and knots - I do a mean reef and an even better bowline, though the others now seem to have slipped my mind and will probably slip from the ropes when I attempt them again in the next lesson.  In the afternoon, after lunch on the boat, we got out on the water and started to really sail.  We were gybeing and tacking (good - these are ways to turn the boat to catch the wind) and skirting (bad - this is when the sail gets caught up) and by the end of the 6 hours, I had a fairly sound idea of what to do when manning my rope - I’m not sure how i’ll cope if they put me on a different rope though.  We also learnt to anchor and some of the directional and technical terms but I think I need to do some more reading on some of these as I was left a bit confused by the whole idea of who has right of way and why.

 Rich has continued with his photography course over the past 5 weeks and tonight is the student show so we’ll be going along to that to see everyone’s work - he seems to have really enjoyed it and continues to drive me mad with wanting to stop to take photos everywhere we go.  I’m sure this will only get worse once we hit the new sights of the Outback and New Zealand.

Which brings me on to the next part of our adventure…  We will be leaving Sydney on the 6th May and flying to Alice Springs.  From here we plan to take a short tour around Uluru - we’ve found a company that looks as though it goes the extra mile out of the way to get away from the crowds a bit in the outback as well as covering the major sites in the area.  They also seem more concerned with the Aboriginal connections to the land and include talks from the local custodians of the land at a couple of the sites we will visit.  Then we’ll take a tour up from Alice Springs to Darwin over the course of 6 days.  This includes a tour of Kakadu National Park.

 The following week is entirely dependent on my bloody allergies and whether they’ve cleared up - I have been seeing a specialist to treat the allergies and have even been to a Chinese herbalist and am drinking the foulest concoction you could possible imagine three times a day to try to deal with the trouble my lungs and sinuses are giving me - why, you may ask, am I putting myself through this and spending extortionate amounts of my travel budget on it?  Well, it’s because I still plan to dive the Great Barrier Reef before I come home.  I hope that, after all this treatment and a couple of weeks out of Sydney, my boy will have recovered sufficiently fo me to be able to dive again.  If it has, we’ll be going back to Cairns; if it hasn’t I’ll be very despondent and will either hang around in Darwin for a week or so, come back to Sydney for a bit, or head over to the West for a week - perhaps to Perth.

And that will be the end of the Aussie stint of our trip - a very scary thought - and we will be on the return leg.  We’ll be spending a month or so in New Zealand, a week or so in Fiji then whatever time we’ve got left in the States.  We’ll let you know more when we know it.  

Hopefully, like the deer the python ate on ‘Life in Cold Blood’,  this has satisfied your hunger and will keep you going for 3 weeks when we will, obviously, have far more to say and will be updating far more regularly as out lives will (hopefully) once again be filled with back to back adventures!Â

Hey everyone and happy Easter, hope your all well and yes I am doing a blog entry before I get harassed. So since the last blog entry we have really been doing more of the same, working allot and going out a bit. Really just living life in Sydney. It’s a really nice place and could happily live here. Its allot more chilled out than London and everyone is really friendly though I think that’s an Australian thing more than anything. Anyway this weekend saw Lins and I get back into the traveling vibe. As it was the long Easter weekend we decided to use this as an excuse to go and visit the blue mountains which lie about 110km outside Sydney CBD.Rather than mountains they are a series of huge impassable cliff faces and valleys covering a million hectares. They originally posed a huge problem for settlers who could not find a way across them and many died trying. If they had just listened to the Aborigines instead of trying to wipe them out they would have got across a lot sooner as they had been strolling across for hundreds of years! To get an idea how vast the Blue Mountains are, even though it’s a short journey from Sydney there are still loads of areas unvisited by humans as it’s so inhospitable.Getting up early on Saturday Lins and I took the train west to Katoomba, the heart of the Blue Mountains. It’s a small town which basically thrives off the tourist trade with an influx of cafes and hiking shops but pleasant. While the town was pleasant the weather was not. Pick up a piece of white A4 and stare at it and you get some idea of the fog and rain that greeted us when we stepped off the train!!.Not people to be defeated by the weather we checked into our hotel (think shining, I swear at one point Jack Nicholson ran past me after two twins!) which despite first looks was actually quite cozy. Then armed with a guide we booked onto a bus that tours the area stopping at all the major sites. After a lovely meal in a nice cafe we headed out to one of the walks. We decided that the cable car and train was pointless in the fog and we would give it time to clear. The walk was only about 2.5 km but really nice, despite the rain lashing down. It followed the valley and tracked past waterfalls on lookouts. On a clearer day I’m sure the view would have been amazing but below is the view that greeted us 
After an hour’s walking we caught the bus again and headed to the edge cinema which has one of the largest cinema screens in the world. Here we watched a film about the world’s rarest tree. A number of years ago a botanist had been walking in a remote area of the park and stopping realized that he was next to a tree that dated back 60 million years. Thought to be extinct, when they were around we were the equivalent of mice!! Yet here this frankly bizarre tree was, 1 hour’s helicopter flight from Sydney. Standing at 30m tall it was not subtle but so remote that it lay undiscovered for all these years. Its location is now a closely guarded secret but gets you wondering what else is out there that we have never seen!After more eating in a nice cafe (and I wonder why I’m putting on weight) we retired with fingers crossed that the next day would be better. Waking in the morning the fog had lifted a bit and showed potential for the rest of the day. We jumped on the first bus and walked to Luma falls, the waterfall is 200m straight down and spectacular despite only getting glimpses of it. Following the track round we arrived at scenic world. This place houses the world’s steepest railway, now when they say it’s steep there not kidding. 52 degrees and around 250m down it’s like riding a roller coaster, its great fun. It descends through natural valleys and rock faces and I we wanted to ride it again!!To get back out of the valley you catch a skyrail back up (short cable car), on the way up for 50 secs then fog lifted and we saw across the valley at the breathtaking views then in an instant it was gone again! After the skyrail there is another cable car that stretches all the way across the valley with a glass floor which would have been better if it had not been for the solid fog though we did catch an up close view of the falls again.Time was now running out and we were starting to get a little annoyed that all we could see was fog. We stopped in the small town of Lura which appears to be the gourmet capital of Australia, everything is gourmet which in my opinion means all the food is the same level and not gourmet at all. After eating a distinctly none gourmet chicken Turkish we made a last effort to see the famous site of the three sisters. The three sisters were apparently girls from an aboriginal tribe that were turned to stone by a witch doctor. Have to say they were very big girls! Walking down to the view point via the blue mountain chocolate shop (mmmmmm, again getting fat!) a miracle occurred, the fog had lifted and for ten minutes before the bus to the train station we got to see the stunning views across the valley.  Despite the fog and the rain we had a great time and I think we appreciated it more because we only got a glimpse. Well better go now, do not want to spend all my time on a computer on my day off! Currently planning our return date and will advise shortly!! Can not believe we have been travelling 225 days. The time is flying past at a stupid rate! Booooo

So, I’ve got your attention with that title!  Well, that is just one of the many poetic phrases I now hear on an almost daily basis.  Others include ‘You F@#%ing bitching f@#%ing c#*ting bitch’, ‘F@#% you!’, ‘Suck my cock!’, and ‘Kiss my arse!’  And that’s all before the bell goes.  It’s not personal.  Apparently!

I’m mostly working as a drama teacher but the role does vary from day to day.  A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to cover a class for the day.  The testosterone in the class of 4 boys was clearly raging and 2 of the boys began to ask what you may call ‘inappropriate questions’.  It began with ‘Miss, do you wear a bra?’, moved on swiftly to ‘But howcome your boobs are so big if you wear a bra?’ and descended from then on to ‘Were you attractive when you were younger?!’  Having answered all these one way or another, and refusing to be shocked, they then asked ‘Miss, do you finger yourself?’  I pointed out they’d gone too far.  One of the boys then spent the rest of the afternoon with his eyes fixated firmly on my chest.  He really couldn’t avert his gaze.  I told him that I needed to speak to him and explained that his behaviour could be construed as sexual harassment and that he really ought to be careful in the future (using far less complex vocabulary than that, of course).  He seemed suitably chastised and settled to do some work.  A few minutes later he said ‘Miss, I know you said we wouldn’t speak about it any more because you’ve dealt with it but how is it harassment if I’m not touching - I thought it was only if you touched someone.’  Again, I duly gave an explanation.  This was shortly followed by ‘Miss, I know we’re not meant to keep talking about it, but it’s just that we think you’re attractive’!  I pointed out that, although it was very nice of him to say so, as he is half my age (he had found out earlier that day that I was not the 19 years old he thought I was), and as I’m his teacher and he’s my pupil, it really isn’t appropriate.  Aaaah, bless.  And so the day ended…

Not personal though!

Yesterday I got punched in the hands twice.  Today I got punched in the arm and spat at.  Also not personal.  Apparently!

Actually, it genuinely isn’t personal.  The principals of both schools generally receive the same torrent of abuse and questioning as us mere mortal class teachers.  Some of these kids just have no idea of what’s appropriate and what’s not; others behave like that for effect.  Of course, after a few days and the realisation that this is just the norm in schools for kids with emotional disturbances, behavioural difficulties and mild intellectual disbilities, all impact of these words has become completely lost on me and, therefore, those who are using them for effect are, in fact, having completely the opposite effect from the one they’re aiming for. 

 That said, I am enjoying the work, believe it or not!  I have spent a lot of time in Croydon working with kids who struggle to control their emotions and this bunch are just a few rungs up the ladder.  They are certainly challenging but most of them do have a much more endearing side and the breakthroughs, when they come, are all the more rewarding as a result.  The staff at both schools are generally very supportive and I have met some great people who are also putting themselves voluntarily through the same daily routine. 

And, I finish ridiculously early every day.  The other day, one of the permanent staff saw me doing some work after school and said ‘Are you still here?’

‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘It’s only 3.20.’

‘But you’re only a casual.’

‘Yes,’ I said once again, ‘But it’s only twenty past three.’

He was genuinely surprised that I was still in the building 20 minutes after the bell had gone.  Crazy. 

 Other than work, I don’t have very much to write about.  We’ve had a few good nights out and it’s been great to see people as they’ve been passing through Sydney - Mel, who we met in India was here for a few short days and Emma Newton managed to get a trip here for a one night stop-over with work and it’s been great catching up with people.  We’ve also had to say quite  a few goodbyes over the past couple of weeks as nearly everyone we met here during our time in the hostels in Sydney in October and January have now, unfortunately, moved on to pastures new. 

Oh, and I bought a keyboard - impulse buy when we popped into a music shop.  I began to play the $22,000 digital grand in the showroom, but settled for a significantly cheaper Yamaha 5 octave keyboard!  With all this extra time on my hands from coming home from work so early, I thought I could use it to spend my time a bit more constructively than watching the myriad of reality TV shows on Australian telly.  I plan to have mastered the moonlight sonata by the time I leave Sydney - though there aren’t quite enough keys on the keyboard for me to play the whole piece acurately!

Well, we’re sorry we haven’t been updating things very regularly but, as you can see, we’re pretty much leading the same lives as we would if we were home - working by day, TV, DVDs and a few nights out in the evenings and at weekends - we’re just doing it on the other side of the world.  Hope you’re all well.  xxx

Hi all, once again I’m getting stick and have been harangued into updating the blog. Yes we are rubbish! Well what the hell have you been doing when you disappear without a trace for weeks? Well in a word working. I’m currently putting in around 50hrs+ a week with my job and really enjoying being there. Work is good and there is a really good social scene and some good people there. Lins is currently as mentioned before, working in two challenging schools with some very difficult kids. I kind of imagine it like dangerous minds. Every day she gets sworn at, spat at or asked some inappropriate question. One of my favorites to date is “miss, were you attractive when you were younger”. Charming little souls aren’t they! Despite that she seems to be getting on really well and sounds like she has made some good friends but ill harass her to write a blog entry which does justice to the challenges of the delightful little rapscallions! Since our last blog update we have been out quite a lot. Sydney has a great night life and we have been making the most of it. We have met up with loads of people that we have met travelling and the other week finally managed to get round to meeting up with Katie Shepherd. They sound like there having a great time as well, especially as they have been knocking back lemon bitters and not realizing there alcoholic! We have managed to go diving once since the New Year to a place called bare island which is where they filmed the ending to mission impossible II. Think I’ve been spoilt with the Great Barrier Reef because it’s a bit murky and a little bit lacking in fish life on the two dives we did. We did have one huge grouper follow us for the dive. Apparently they wait for divers to pick up sea urchins so they can attack the underneath and devour them. Did not actually do this as felt a bit like it’s unfair on the poor urchin! The day we picked to go diving was lashing it down with rain. Very funny scene when wet already from the first dive we sat in the pouring rain and ate a picnic in our wetsuits! The Other night I was roped into taking part in an 11 aside football match (or soccer as they wrongly insist on calling it out here). Now anyone who remotely knows me knows I’m awful at football. I told them this at work but would they listen Noooooooooooooooooooooo.The day came and the boots I was promised did not turn up, did this get me out of it, nope. I was bought a cheap pair and the game was on! Now I have not had to wear football boots since school the fact I didn’t get my studs caught and break my ankle in the warm up was a good sign. I wisely was started on the bench.Just a brief aside about football in Australia, the half time beverages were light beer. No water, no Gatorade but light beer because full strength would be bad for us! It was a high class affair. Our team had some good players and after the first third (3 x 30mins) we were 3-0 to the good but had lost one guy to an ankle injury. (Did my physio bit sprinting on with a bag of ice, taken from the esky full of bottle tops!)  Start of the second period on I went on the left wing. Now don’t get me wrong I was awful but I was not as bad as I feared. First touch I went in for a ball on the edge of our box and with a slight nudge (read thundering shoulder barge) sent him sprawling across the ground whilst reliving him of the ball. I wont repeat what he said to me but it would have made a sailor blush! They managed to get two goals back in this period (think I did have an impact on the game!!) so it set up a tense third!The third section was a defensive battle, we all got stuck in with lots of tracking back and one great sliding tackle by me (I think its the best feeling in the world when it comes off) and we hung on for a tight win! Think Coventry could have learnt a lot.  Have to say football is as exhausting as I remember it, its a killer! Got another game in two weeks and may have ago again! To keep ourselves entertained in the evenings Lins has bought herself a cheap keyboard and is frantically playing piano now. She will be as good as Joules in no time. I have signed up for another photography course so I’m busy practicing with the camera and trying to be artistic! Check out flickr link on our blog to see the results! Anyway, better go. I’m having a DVD night tonight after I drank way to much last night and Lins is off to her friend’s house for a party.  I will get Lins to write an update tomorrow, hope everyone is well and speak to you all soon