North Queensland...The End of the East

There were plenty of sights to keep us occupied in Townsville for more than a few days. The city was getting ready for the Townsville 400 and there was a lot of preparation going on. We managed to enjoy ourselves by visiting the Riverway with beautiful public swimming pools along the Ross River. We met up for a great dinner with Cathy, a friend of mine from the YMCA Hurricanes swim team. Another day we strolled along the 2km Strand (a walkway along the ocean) to the Rock Pool-- a public saltwater swimming pool, much like the Lagoon in Airlie Beach. Along the Strand we got our fix of fish & chips and also a treat from Cold Rock (the Aussie version of Cold Stone). Kent and I hopped on the ferry to Magnetic Island to stay for a couple of nights, do some kayaking, and enjoy being one with nature.

From Townsville it was north to Mission Beach, THE place to skydive, apparently. I spent the time trying to recover from a bout of sore throat. Our last leg of the trip north was the bus ride to Cairns. We finished traveling up the east coast a week earlier than expected, but are looking forward to staying in one place for 9 days!

Airlie Adventures

  After we recovered from the overnight bus ride, Airlie Beach was heaven. We were finally in tropical weather and ready to soak up the sun, especially after hearing about the heat wave back home.  Airlie Beach has an awesome "lagoon" - a man made pool designed to look like a beach or lagoon, right next to the harbor.  We relaxed and swam; it was preparation for our sailing trip in the Whitsundays Islands!  When it was time to set sail, we couldn't have asked for better weather.  Wind 10-12 knots, sunshine all around. We raised the sails and headed east.  The first stop was Hayman Island, where we we spotted a humpback whale!  They migrate north this time of year to have their calves and fatten them up for the trip south.  Hayman Island is also where Kent and I did our first ever scuba dive!  We got a quick lesson from our instructor and next thing we knew, we were surrounded by tropical fish...yellow tailed fusiliers swam all around and over us, and a huge (1 meter long!) Maori wrasse came to see what all the commotion was about.  We were on cloud 9.  We saw some great coral and amazing fish, including parrotfish, anemonefish, giant clams, coral trout, barramundi cod, and tons more.  We were totally hooked by this underwater world and did another dive the next day!  Getting certified is now on our to-do list.  Another highlight of our sailing trip was when we visited Whitehaven Beach.  We walked up to a lookout point and I was able to get a postcard-worthy panoramic picture, so you can all see the amazing view!  We spent a few hours on the beach; the sand was the whitest and finest I have ever seen.  There were some stingrays and batfish in the water, but luckily there were no jellyfish!  We didn't want the tour to end, but we eventually had to step back on land and continue north to Townsville!

Movin' On Up

Our journey up the east coast has been busy busy busy! There are so many charming little beach towns, and it would be impossible to stop at them all, so we have been picking and choosing where to spend time.  Keeping in mind that it is winter here, the beach towns are in their low season.  When we left Sydney, it was not quite beach weather, so we were ready to move north in search of warmth!  So far we made stops in Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Byron Bay, Nimbin, Surfers Paradise, Brisbane, Noosa Heads, Hervey Bay, and we just returned from Fraser Island....and we still have three weeks to go until we plan to be in Cairns!  Here are a few highlights: In Newcastle, Kent and I won a trivia contest.  In Port Maquarie, we sampled the local shrimp.  In Byron Bay the beach and light house were beautiful, but the highlight was our trip to Nimbin, a tiny hippie town stuck in the 70's. Surfer's Paradise found us in a one-bedroom apartment for the same price as staying in a hostel.  Brisbane is a great city with a man-made beach right along the Brisbane River and some great parks and gardens.  Noosa Heads is a relaxing beach town with a great coastal walk and from where we made a trip to the Australia Zoo ("The Steve Irwin Zoo").  We got to pet koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, and wombats!  Hervey Bay was highlighted by our 2-day tour to Fraser Island, which was incredible.  We visited a shipwreck from 1935 (SS Maheno), crystal clear lakes and creeks, huge sand dunes, and rainforests. The weather was slightly warmer than in Sydney, but we still needed to grab our sweatshirts in the cool evenings.  The hostel has a great woodburning stove in the middle of the bar/restaurant which was really toasty and reminiscent of home.  From Hervey Bay we took an overnight bus to Airlie Beach to continue our journey north!

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.

Stay On SEALED Roads With a 4x4?? Are We MAD??

Kent, Hannah, Emma, and I picked up the 4x4 with direct instructions not to go off-roading since we were relocating the vehicle. A relocation vehicle is a one-way rental for a fraction of the price since the company needs the vehicle in a certain location. Well, needless to say, we knew that rule was not going to be adhered to. We drove to Port Fairy to complete our tour of the Great Ocean Road and head towards Adelaide. From our research, we knew that Canunda National Park had beach camping, so we made a stop there. The Lonely Planet described it as having "big sand dunes" and campfires allowed. Perfect!! So we put the vehicle in 4wd and set off on the dirt roads. Our first obstacle was called "Khyber Pass," which was a narrow path through soft sand dunes with rocky walls on either side. I took the driver's seat. Heavy on the acceleration, we gunned it through Khyber Pass, with only a few minor setbacks and luckily no scratches on the vehicle. Phew! Glad that was over with.....until after several more kilometers of packed sandy roads, we came to the "big sand dunes." A dune 8 meters high loomed in front of us. My heart was pounding. All 4 of us were stoked, but a bit tentative, after all, we were not supposed to be off-roading. After some pep talks and mental preparation, we soared up over the dune. Total chaos in the vehicle. But we made it!! The back looked like an earthquake had hit, and poor Hannah was stuck under all the bags!! Now, where is that ocean with the packed sand we can drive on?? Well, imagine a scene from Egypt. The dune didn't have an end. Sand for miles. Soft mounds piling up everywhere, and thinking you will be able to see something "just after we get over the next dune." We had to admit that finding the ocean was not to be. It was getting dark and not a soul would be passing through anytime soon. We had to give in and turn back to find a place to set up camp, preferably on solid ground. But again, more difficulty. On the "dune" the sand was softer that ever and we found ourselves stuck yet again. I put it in low gear, but no luck. There were no sticks or stones in sight to put under the tires. The other three were going to have to push! We dug out the tires and after immense effort from Hannah, Emma, and Superman, we made it free. But not without nearly 4 heart attacks. Luckily we didn't have to go through Khyber Pass again, we were just looking for the closest sealed road - by now it was beginning to drizzle! We made it to Beachport Conservation Park with about 15 minutes of light left for us to set up camp. After this adrenaline-packed day, we were all grateful for the box of wine waiting in the back.