An Australian Driving Primer: “Tired Drivers Die!”
I think you can tell a lot about a country by driving its roads. Based on the 1600 kilometers we’ve covered, driving from Cairns to Coolum, and without an Australian drivers license, I would say that Australians are...
Visiting Tahiti: Heaven on Earth
If you’ve ever wondered what a heaven on Earth would look like, you should visit Tahiti, the most breathtaking island of the Pacific Ocean. Along with Moorea, Bora Bora and more than a hundred other beautiful islands, Tahiti...
Top Four Ways to See Australia on a Budget
Despite the cost of living, which in Australia is far from low, this is one of the countries you most certainly want to visit in your lifetime. Of course, travelling on a budget means cutting out a few things such as scuba diving...
Panicky Moments Diving the Great Barrier Reef
Success! We are certified divers. Well, that treading water for 10 minutes and swimming 200 metres on Tuesday, February 3rd was only the beginning of one of the most exciting and eventful parts of our journey so far. As of...
A Kookaburra, in a Tree, in the Rain
The morning starts with rain – it has been raining since we went to bed last night. The monsoon here comes normally during the nights. This year Queensland is getting more rain than normal, after 5 years of significantly lower...
Searching for ‘Roos on Kangaroo Island, Australia
This is one of those days that Greg has been dreading. Up at 5:30!!!!! On the bus at 6:30 for the 2-hour ride to the ferry (45 minutes) that takes us across to Kangaroo Island, where there is a huge wildlife sanctuary, Flinders...
Everlasting Salvation at the Barron Gorge
I awake from a somewhat sleepless night of unfamiliar rainforest bird calls and various forms of cicada boisterously screeching in a constant crescendo and decrescendo, each species trying to outdo each other in noisy leg...
Cape Reinga: New Zealand’s Very North Tip.
Today is our first official family road trip. Ruth, John and I pack up the car and head north for the 2-hour drive to the very northern tip of New Zealand, Cape Reinga. John skillfully and successfully drives one of the cars on...
Views From Our Campervan: South West Rocks
Today is the 25th anniversary of the day that we met. We were introduced by friends, Dan and Lisle, at a bar late on a Sunday afternoon. Who knew that all these years later we’d still be talking to each other, happily ensconced...
N 01
E 103
The BEST of Australia:
Eric, Graham, Leanne, Michael, Brian, Lynne, the woman at the Maui Campervan return who didn’t charge us extra, Graham’s Mum Elizabeth, Miss Pastie DeKline, Guy, Mark, Robert, and the generous citizens of Sydney. (Oh, did we mention Eric and Graham???)
Art Gallery: The National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Beaches: Bondi; Coolum, Back Beach, Southwest Rocks.
Beer: Draught Schooners of VB or Carlton
Bookstore: The Bookshop Darlinghurst
Bars: Manacle, The Columbian Hotel
Department Stores: David Jones, Sydney; Gowings, Sydney
Disco: Midnight Shift (Video Bar)
Dive Instructors: Leanne; Chris
Market: Central Market, Adelaide
National Park: Kangaroo Island
Pool: Cook + Phillip Wave Pool, Sydney
Restaurants: Adelaide: Lime + Lemon; Melbourne: Red Orange, Gluttony: It’s a Sin; Sydney: Yipiyiyo; Trinity Beach/Cairns: Trattoria L’Unico
Suburbs: Waterloo, Surry Hills, Mossman
Wine: All of them!
Wine Tour: Yarra Valley with Victoria Winery Tours in Melbourne
Books we read in Australia: Wicked, The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire; The Turn of the Screw and Other Stories, by Henry James; The New Yorker and the World It Made, by Ben Yagoda.
I find it difficult to believe that we are no longer in Sydney and Australia. It feels like we are just out for the day and will be back at Francis Street this evening or meeting Eric or Graham for dinner or drinks. Or finishing off our Sydney must see list before we go. But we have left and are jetting off to Singapore for phase three of our trip.
Bye Bye Oz: Hello Singapore!
Singapore Airlines gets the “best airline so far” award hands down. I mention to John that it doesn’t feel like we are in an airplane at all. Incredible service, beautiful staff and wonderful diversions to keep you busy. The eight hour fly just “flew” by. We arrive to low, threatening thunder clouds in Singapore and 36 degree temperatures. Yes, we are in the tropics again. Singapore is well manicured, lush and very cosmopolitan. We are preparing ourselves for the weather forecast of rain and thunderstorms for the four days that we are here. Our cab (clean!) drops us at the Peninsula- Excelsior Hotel and our room is a retro 70’s tribute to a by-gone era of splendour and luxury. We are only here for four days after all and it is air conditioned. We head out to do some exploring and shopping. We buy two Polarized lens filters for our camera we had been eyeing in Sydney. With the exchange rate, they are less than 1/4 of what they were in AU. We find a Szechwan restaurant inhabited by the locals and have a wonderful, spicy meal and a pitcher of Tiger draft for less than $40 CDN. We are going to love SE Asia!!
One final note on Sydney: We cannot thank Eric and Graham enough for unselfishly looking after us so well in Sydney. They never expected anything in return and their generosity and friendship will always be one of the incredible things that we will remember about our time in Sydney.
Best of Australia: Next Stop: Singapore
N 01 E 103 The BEST of Australia: Eric, Graham, Leanne, Michael, Brian, Lynne, the woman at the Maui Campervan return who didn’t charge us extra, Graham’s Mum Elizabeth, Miss Pastie DeKline, Guy, Mark, Robert, and the generous citizens of Sydney. (Oh, did we...