A Slice of Sydney

We had heaps of fun in Sydney!! (how am I doing speakin' Australian?) We arrived on a beautiful sunny Wednesday and were off to a good start celebrating at the pub with a pitcher of Fat Yak Pale Ale! The next day, we were climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. What a cool experience! If anyone plans on going to Sydney, and isn't afraid of heights...do this! We got to see the structure and design of the bridge up close, and the view from the top can't be beat! Looking down onto Sydney Harbour and the Opera House, and you can see for miles, the Blue Mountains in the West, the Ocean to the East...just incredible. And to top off an already amazing day, on our way to the grocery store we chanced upon a bar playing the Phillies on all the flatscreens! Halliday was on the mound, and they lost in extra innings, but this was the first time we have been able to see a game on TV instead of just catching up online, which was a huge treat.
On Saturday, we went on a backstage tour of the Opera House. This tour began at the crack of dawn, but was totally worth it. We knew nothing about the Opera House before the tour, but we got to see all 5 theaters, empty, and go backstage to see the behind-the-scenes happenings and dressing rooms. Outside, a crowd was gathering to witness the homecoming of Jessica Watson, the 16 year old who sailed solo around the world in 7 months! We found a nice grassy spot to hang out. There were thousands of spectators in front of the Opera House where they had set up a stage and a huge welcome back event for her. There were tons of sailboats following her into the harbor, along with an entourage of security and family, and helicoptors everywhere. Quite a scene!
Another highlight of Sydney was when we had a surfing session at Bondi. The weather had taken a turn and there were showers in the area, but the water was unusually warm and we had so much fun riding the world-famous waves. In all, we spent time in Manly Beach, Bondi Beach, The Rocks, and the CBD.  We were in Sydney for nearly 3 weeks, and could have stayed longer, but it was time to move on up the East Coast toward Brisbane!

Beaches & Brews

We finally gave in and traveled a way other than a relocation. After hanging around Perth for a few days, we took the train to Fremantle and Cottesloe, beach suburbs of Perth, where we did as the locals do...we were beach bums and microbrew connoisseurs.


After enough lounging (yes, there is such a thing), we wanted to explore the southwest of Australia, in particular the Margaret River region, which is best seen by car. We rented a tiny economy-size car and made our way down to some awesome beaches and beautiful wine country. The beaches of Yallingup and Margaret River were packed with surfers, the waves head high and clean. The water was cold, full wetsuits needed, but that was no obstacle. The weather felt like September to us...warm enough to lie on the beach midday, but once the sun goes down, make sure you have some warmer clothes to put on...and no more humidity! While in Margaret River, aside from lounging on the beach, we went on a wine tour, tried some local microbrews, and explored Mammoth Cave.

After those little side trips, our time on the West Coast was nearing an end. We drove back to Perth and caught a flight back to Melbourne. We had been in Australia about 3 months at this point, and we hadn't even seen any of the East Coast!! Back in Melbourne, we met up with our friends Tanya and Mario when we went to see "the footy" - Aussie rules football. We made another visit to the famous Queen Victoria Market, and did some sightseeing we missed the first time around. Then it was on to Sydney!

The Joys of...Driving?

One of the first things we realized after getting to Australia is that traveling in this country is tough on the budget. We started to get worried that we wouldn't get to see much of the country, as vast as it is. That is, until we discovered the amazing value of relocating vehicles!! A popular and expensive way of traveling Australia is to rent campervans. Because some people rent a vehicle for a one-way trip, there are vehicles that need to be returned to their original location. This is where we come into the equation. A relocation is a one-way rental in which you rent a campervan for under $5/day and deliver it to a certain location. Relocating campervans is not for everyone, but if you don't mind driving and are flexible with your time and itinerary, it is one of the best ways to see the country and is extremely inexpensive! We first tried it out to get from Melbourne to Adelaide. We had to be patient waiting for the right vehicle, to and from the right locations. When one finally came up, we were lucky enough to snag the booking before anyone else. It worked out so well, and they even gave us a fuel allowance! Since the vehicles need to be at the drop-off location by a certain date, you only have a given number of days to get the car there. This does limit some sightseeing, but if you plan well, it's not a problem.


We already had our second campervan booked before we even reached Adelaide! We spent a week in Adelaide, then began our road trip through the Outback to Alice Springs. The day after arriving in Alice, we had another relocation booked to drive to Darwin... and after several days in Darwin, we picked up our 4th and most ambitious relocation, from Darwin to Perth. Since arriving in Australia, we have driven nearly 10,000 kms. It's been a challenge, but we have seen parts of the country that we never thought we would get to experience. My advice to anyone traveling in Australia...Take advantage of this amazing system! It has served us well so far, and I don't think we have driven our last relocation.