Twelve Apostles & More

24th Of January

The blow hole

David is in character on the coast

Angela & David

Oh so beautiful!

Waking up early in the free camp site was nice, facilities were lacking, but it was free so that didn't matter so much. We got clenaed up in a sports ground and set off to a Sunday market in Port Campbell. We met a lovely couple from England there, who were selling home made candles, so we chatted to them for ages as that is what Angela has experience of too. We had a hot dog each, and then it was time to start the journey back. But not before visiting the Twelve Apostles again, but during the day this time. The weather was great, and the colours were spectacular. It was one of the best sites we have seen on the trip, and a must for everyone. We spent many hours there, snapping photo's, eating picnics and just enjoying the scenic surroundings.

Razor Rock

A drive back closer to Melbourne was the order of the day then, as we have to arrive early on Monday morning to the city where Kellyanne is expecting us. On our way back along the twisty coastal route we get information about another free camping ground....seemingly there are many of them around. Boy do we feel like we wasted a lot of money on the caravan parks, but its all good anyway, we had a blast.

To the beach we went with a 4 pack of steaks, and some mushrooms fried with onions and a salad was the celebratory meal of the day. We met some fellow travellers (David and Natasha) at the beach side, and as it happens they are also going in the same direction around the world, so hopefully we can meet in Chile for a beer. Its a small world, or maybe the recession has everybody on the move, who knows.

Wild Koala up in the trees....sleeping, what else??

Angela

mmmm...Koala Steak! haha

Off to the forest for a cold night of cards and last night sleep on the ground, for now! Sofa bed awaits in Melbourne.


Angela & David

Great Ocean Road & Sunset

23rd Of January

Angela On Route

This Tiger Shark was caught between the flags!

Tiger Shark

After a horrific windy nights sleep, we awaken to drizzly rain and cloud cover. Everything is wet and people are packing up their tents in dire conditions. Breakfast was nice today, as the camp kitchen was well equipped with gadgets, and off we went on a windy, most scenic drive. Now thats what I call a coastal drive. Turquoise coloured ocean, slight breeze, the sun eventually coming out, and many people on the go. Stops are made at various loookouts, so to capture the beauty of this place through a lense, and it does not disappoint at all. Our aim today is also to get to the Twelve Apostles for sunset.

Twelve Apostles

On route we manage to nearly run out of petrol, as the towns are spaced out and only with one petrol station in them. By the end the car is going on fumes, as the petrol needle cannot drop any further. We make it to one petrol station, which has a not on it that says " This petrol pump is no longer operating". I get a shock, and start thinking of the worst case and thats sending Angela on foot to the next town, which is 30 km away.........no just kidding I wouldn't do that to my darling!

There actually is another working petrol station, and we have to queue up for a bit, as we are not the only ones that obviously cut it thin on the juice.
We get to Port Campbell (Twelve Apostles), but the caravan park is full. Angela finds out about a free camping area and everything is fine again, sunset it is. The limestone cliffs are gorgeous and very picturesque, while the waves splash around them. The sunset is magnificent, if a little bit cold and windy at the time.
We finish off the day with a bbq, and sleep!

Angela & David

I Like Driving My Car

22nd Of January

Today is all about driving and reaching our goal of getting to the other side of Melbourne and onto the Great Ocean Road. After a quick dip in the caravan parks pool we start the car and away we go. To make our journey more scenic and touristy we take the longer route o Melbourne via a the coastal route. It added an extra 80 km to our journey but nothing else as the scenery was not much to brag home about. So next time we would definitely be taking the quicker motorway.

Hello Melbourne, we are close now. So a quick pass through it and its gone, we are the other side again, and on our way to the coast. The time is ticking away and darkness is setting in. We arrive on the great ocean road at Airleys Inlet, at last with about 30 mins to spare before the caravan park office closes. Camp site, please we ask. We get one at a hefty price, but choice is limited during holiday season and Australia day weekend. We get acquainted with the neighbours who end up giving us lettuce and tuna as gifts, and that is that. Nearly bed time, but the high wind is picking up, and the tent is shaking like a leaf on a tree! Its going to be a fun nights sleep.

Angela & David

Killer Whale & Soy

21st of January

Soy sauce all over my sleeping bag!

Mornig time again, good morning everyone. We are lucky to be waking up in the garden of Eden this morning. It is a home to the killer whale museum which we intend to visit straight after breakfast.

"Old Tom" Killer Whale sceleton

The weather is hot once again, and the cool air conditioned killer whale museum is just the trick. We learn many facts about the migration patterns of whales via the east coast of Australia, and feel sad about not being able to catch a glimpse of these huge creatures in their natural habitat, as it is the end of the whale season for this year. On the road again after that for another 300 kilometer drive, or their abouts anyway. On route we pass many beautiful valleys, and countryside with green lucious trees, pretty coastline, and great contrasting colours of the sea and land together. We have time to stop in a small town for some picnic lunch, where we meet a friendly old couple who share their knowledge of Australia and give us a few pointers on things we should or should not do, ie drive under the influence of alcohol being one (we however already are familiar with that one). Also on our way we spotted a place that had mini golf....yes, of course we did :)

Davids favourite one.

I wonder why??

Arriving in Bairnsdale our sleeping village for tonight. We get a camp site and set up the tent in 6 minutes flat, a record so far.

A chinese restaurant also has been spotted across the road, so we ditch the tinned food and get a take away which we proceed to eat in the comforts of our tent, hunched over, breaking our backs. The food is okay tasting, not the real thing though, then all of a sudden Angela's hand knocks over a cup of soy sauce, and right onto the sleeping bag....that sleeping bag is now forever hers. Its a funny end to the night, as Angela kept saying that nothing will go wrong if we eat in the tent. Ha ha ha!



Angela & David

The whitest beach in the world!

20th Of January

Paradise on earth!

Jervis bay

We woke up this morning, to sunshine and a warm air outside the tent. Breakfast was once again beans and a left over sausage from the bbq, the night before. This caravan park, even though was the most expensive at 50 dollars, did not have a camp kitchen. We had to cook everythingon the bbq once again. This takes a bit of time, and we get to definitely wake up while we wait.

Jervis Bay

Angela & David

Angela

David

David

Angela

Couldn't restist rolling myself in the sand.

David couldn't either..

Packed up and ready to go to the worlds whitest beach. We got there at 10 am, and there were very few people on it at that time. It felt like a little paradise. We grabbed a cold beer from the eskie and had a bottle each before soaking in the sunrays, and swimming in the crystal clear waters. A snorkel would have been ideal hear, as it is a marine park, and home to many species of colourful fish. Hours passed and it was time for a picnic lunch. Then a photo opportunity. Then back on the road again for another long drive, on the way to Melbourne. On the Princes Highway many kilometers were put on the clock, and as darkness was about to fall we stopped off and camped in a place called Eden. The caravan park was mazingly equiped with a cooker, a tv, a swimming pool, and a sandwich toaster. So we had a feast that night and watched Californication. It was like home.

David in the campers kitchen

Angela & David

From Jervis Street to Jervis Bay

19th of January

Bloody freeezing

Blue mountain valley

That was some nights sleep! I am being sarcastic here, by the way. Going to sleep last night was cold but waking up was something else. It was 5am and the night sky was still with us. Our faces were like little cubes of ice, and getting out of the sleeping bag was an adventure in itself. But mind over matter is all you need, and we were up, pretty much wearing everything we own to stay warm. To see in the day we went equipped with a tripod, a camera and body heat. It was beautiful, as daylight was breaking over the three sisters mountain range we stood there snap happy. The colours were magnificent over the valley, as it started to get brighter. It was worth waking up early, definitely and the cool fresh air is very good to breathe once in a while.

After bbq beans for breakfast and a cup of tea, we set of to Echo's point for a view of the Blue Mountains. The green valleys stretch for miles, and make for a beautiful image and memories.

That was that, the next destination is the worlds whitest sand beach. It is in a place called Jervis Bay Marine Park. The beach itself is called Hyams beach. First we had to get there and it took a good 3 hours driving from the mountains, but it was pleasant. We stopped to camp in Husskinson town, about 10 mins from the beach itself. We ended up having a swim and a bbq dinner with a few beers to celebrate our return to the travelling ways.

3 sisters, Blue Mountains

David

On our way to Jervis bay we stopped off to take in this beautiful view

Good bye Sydney, Hello Roaad trip!!

18th of January

Back on the road again!

This morning all the bags were packed and ready to go. Car collected at 11 am, back to Manly to pick up Angela and the bags. Said goodbye to John, Karren and the baby Sartori. Thanks to them we would not have had such an opportunity in Sydney. We enjoyed it very much, thanks guys!

Now for the journey ahead, first stop on the trip from Sydney to Melbourne is the Blue Mountains. On the way there I did manage to get slightly lost, by not taking the right lane on the motorway and I ended up in Parramatta, and then ended up driving aimlessly looking for the motorway again. Ooopsie! Ah well when Angela woke up and looked at the map, then we were back on track. The ears were popping as we ascended into the lush green valleys and the spectacular scenery of the surrounding mountains. On the way we stooped for a burger in Blaxland, and we got the served the biggest burger I have ever seen. It was packed with everything from bacon, to beetroot, etc. It was no match for McDonalds. If McD were serving this type of burger then they will be out of business very quickly. Anyway, stuffed we continued and arrived at Wentworth Falls, the first stop. The scenery was excuisite, and the high winds nearly blew us of the side of the mountain. Luckily the railing did its job.



Next stop Katoomba and the Three Sisters. We set up camp for the night, and went exploring the various walking tracks around the mountains. Darkness was setting in, and the bitter coldness was something we have not experienced in a long time. We were slightly unprepared for these conditions. In the morning we are going to see sunrise over the mountains.That should be a fine start to the adventures.

Blue mountains

David is feeling the blue mountain joy!

Angela

veeery windy

Angela & David

16-17th of January

Bad Boy Bubby and Avatar

Angela & David

Slap slap slap!!

What a great night was had by me (David) and John at the Destroyer 666 gig, a lot of hair flying around and a very slippery floor, which caused me some considerable pain on the left side of my body due to a circle pit fall. So Saturday was a complete zombieland in the apartment, so the only right thing to do was t owatch a dvd. This dvd was recommended to us from the first day of our arrival in Brisbane. It is called "Bad Boy Bubby" and its an Australian film shot in 1993. I won't go much into detail, because you all should see it for yourself, but if I was to decribe it a little bit then I would say that it has scenes of nudity, violence, animal cruelty, child abuse, and moments of pure happiness. To sum it all up, a must see film for everyone out there, but you have to over 18 years old, otherwise you might be scarred for life.

Sunday came, and it was sadly our last day in Sydney. The sun was shining a big farewell and the larakeets were full of song outside the balcony door. John brought us around Manly for a last sightseeing of the North Head for some great views of the city skyline nestled behind the cliffs of the harbour. Then we progressed to a nearby dam, which house many bbq goers and black swans chillin' in the waters. We crossed the dam and had a few snapshots for memory with our good friend John.

David & John

phoney business

Angela & David

yes...after all this traveling, we're still MADLY in love ;)

The last supper as we know it was prepared by John, we were looked after like kings and queens. Delicious tarragon chicken with spring onion mash and tomato salad.......I can still taste it now. We caught the ferry to the city for the very last time, we were about to see Avatar 3D on the worlds biggest screen, standing at 8 stories tall. It's just a pity that we were in the front row, but it was still fantastic and the film was great aswell. Fantasy like that is not usually my cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it. It had some very emotional and predictable parts, but what hollywood production doesn't eh!

Angela and David

EXPENSIVE FOR TRAVELERS

Dear lord!! $12 for one hour of internet...and you still have to buy coffee! No way!
We have found a place that is a bit cheaper, but not much time.
The blogs are coming, we have them written down and we have LOVELY pictures. Just wait one or two more days and they'll be up!
xx Angela & David

I kissed another man!!

8th - 16th January

We've had a quiet week this week.

Still we've managed to do a lot of things.

One night we went down to Fairlight Walk. It is beautiful down there. We brought wine, beer, hummus and scrabble! The sun went down and we layed down and watched the stars. Uhuh so romantic!

One night we went for some pizza. And of course David couldn't resist the kangaroo pizza.

Me myself couldn't stay away from the blue cheese pizza! Deeelicious!

Blue Bottled Jelly Fish

On one of the hottest days we decided to go down to the beach and cool down in the sea.

We were just about to go in when the life guard announced that you go in on your own risk as there was blue bottled jelly fish everywhere. They wont kill you but they sting you pretty bad! I quote from a woman on the beach "No No, they wont kill you dear, but the sting will hurt you so much it'll kill you!"

We didn't want to risk it so we just stayed lying in the sand for a while.

(Next day we went to the beach again but the jelly fish were still there. This time we saw a little 3 year old got stung! I can tell you I've never heard a child scream so much!)

Hula Hula

David & Angela

The Old Manly Boat Shed

You see that guy crawling on the floor? thats the guy that kept us very entertained with his dancing one night when we, very spontaniously, went out for 1...2....3...4...5....6....7....??....beers. It's a very small dark place, but it did remind us a lot about an old Irish Pub :)

Obviously we were dying the next day when David's old friend from collage, Johnny, came to visit us in Manly.

Harbour Bridge, Sydney

David & Angela

Yesterday we went in to town to go and see the Harbour Bridge and Opera House...again! You can never get enough of it i tell you! We also went in to meet up with David's friend Johnny and his girlfriend Barbra for some beer and tapas! But before that we went for a stroll around town and also got to see Darling Harbour where there was a man in a HUGE dinosaur suit running around scaring children! We went to a museum that had a free exhebition about dragons, unicorns & mermaids. And here is probably the story you all have been waiting for! I kissed another MAN!! Well i wouldn't call him a man, I'd call him weird mythic creature!! What happened was that i was going to get a picture with him, the first one was just normal, next one he asked for my han (picture down below) so i gave him my hand, he kissed it. Then he pointed at his cheek, so i pretended to kiss his cheek for a picture, when David pressed the button he turned and kissed me! I couldn't believe it! In front of my fiancee and everything! haha, and he really went for it aswell! The most annoying thing is that the camera never took a picture! I'd love to see my expression when it happened!

Angela & David at the Rocks.

David beside the aboriginal man that was playing the didgeridoo.

We bought his cd and he explained to us how you play the instrument and the history behind it!

Aboriginal man playing the didgeridoo

The picture befor this creature kissed me!!

David, Angela, Johnny & Barbara

After meeting up with Johnny and Barbara for lovely tapas and beer i went home to Karen and little Sartori. We had a lovely Ice cream and a walk along the wharf in the middle of the night, as they're still jet lagged from the journey all the way from Irlenad.

David on the other hand was not finished his business in town. He met up with John and they went to a Heavy Metal gig called "Destroyer 666" (haha) They were not back untill after 2am and they were pretty fucked up!....VERY drunk!

They had to pay the price today.

We are only a few days away from leaving Sydney now. We have a car booked and will drive down the coast to Melbourne where we're going to stay with Davids friend. Of course we will stop along the way and see things, camp and have BBQs!!

Thank you John, Karren & Sartori for letting us use your apartment when you were away! We had a blast!

Angela & David

Party time is over! Or is it?

1st - 7th January

Party is over and 2010 has begun. Now its time to look forward to other things such as more sightseeing, more eating, more drinking, more planning the future and of course more sleeping too.

Angela

David

Cockatoo (Our friend, who likes bread)

We went into Sydney CBD to say goodbye to Dawn as she was leaving for her adventures in the farming community, and picked up some Yellow fever vaccines while there for our onward trip to South America. We managed to eat a huge buffet dinner in Maloney's Hotel for 3 dollars each thanks to hostel vouchers Dawn gave us. Then popped into Bar Century for a quick 3 dollar beer (the cheapest in town). And that was that, goodbye Dawn.

Sydney CBD and Opera House

Dawn, Angela and David

(Goodbye Dawn it was fun)

The next day was a day to get active and visit Palm Beach (for those who don't know where that is, its where Home and Away is filmed). It was a fun day with wave surfing (without the surf board) and beach relaxation true and true, with some sand angels being created.A picnic on the beach and some beautiful views while on the bus to Palm beach. It is a very scenic area with some cliffs, beaches and a windy road in parts. Good for a day out for sure.

Palm Beach (Home and Away Set)

Sand Angel

The next day again did not disappoint, as we stayed local this time and went snorkelling in Manly. There are some big big fish in these waters, and it didn't help us as they are showing all the Jaws films at present on tv. So a lot of the snorkelling was spet looking for the shark rather than the colourful fish on the reef.

During the evenings we of course go for our favourite Fairlight walk, and then eat a fantastic meal. Everyday something tasty and new on the menu. We had steaks, we had fish, we had chilli con carne and much much more. Delicious.

Sweet Potato Frittata

Steak Dinner with homemade bearnaise sauce

And we have also managed to plan our trip ahead, and we are leaving Sydney on the 18th of Jan to travel to Melbourne. Car is booked, the flights to NZ are changed and we are due to arrive back in freezing Ireland on the 24th of March. There is still a tonne of stuff we will get to do and see before that day, so stick around.

Angela & David