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

NEW YEARS IN SYDNEY

31st December

NEW YEARS EVE 2009!!!!!

Angela squashed inbetween everyone else

Good morning to the last day of 2009, it has been one of the best years that we can remember. This is all of course because of the travelling that we have done and the fun we have had. This morning the hamper was ready, the sandwiches packed, snacks taken care of, and enough food to last the whole day. We also came equiped with scrabble, chinese checkers, and cards and enough drink to see in the new year in style. It was going to be a long day like we thought, as we got the bus to Bradley Head at 10 am. On route we picked up some much needed ice to fill the eskie and refrigerate the only important items, like BEER and WINE!

The walk to the waters edge took awhile, and the eskie was beginning to way David down. We made it finally and luckily our friend Dawn was sitting in a perfect place overlooking the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. We could not wish for anything better, as the crowd was getting larger and larger, by 3 pm it was packed and the party atmosphere was starting. Weather was changeable with a few light drizzle showers and some spells of sunshine peeked through the clouds. Overall perfect for a 12 hour wait. We played, we talked, we drank a little. We listened to music, we took too many pictures, and we really had a blast and this was all before the 9 pm fireworks......

The party has begun!

Angela, Dawn & David

Oh so nice!

Dawn is ready!

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Angela (The Monster)

Daaavid

At 9 pm the noise of explosion in the sky rang through. The cheers from us and the rest of the crowd rang through with excitement. Everybody were happy to see the nearly the end of the year. I (Angela) even drank a can by bursting a whole in the bottom and opening the top.......gone in 10 seconds. In true spirit of the New Year.

Midnight.......bang bang bang! The fireworks were up in the sky, the bridge was lit up with a jing and jang sign to welcome in 2010.The display of fireworks was great, it all was over in about 15 mins however. We popped the champagne and toated to the new year ahead, and sure enough it was time to get home.

Way home took awhile, as the public buses were a 20 mins walk away. Not an easy task after 12 hours of festivities. New Year was definitely here, and the dehydration was setting in. Feeling like 2010!

And this is only the 9 o'clock one!

Waiting for the clock to turn 12, David, Dawn & Angela drink some more

and play with glowsticks

Angela and the guy that said he invented that sort of beer drinking

(yeah right)

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Happy New Year everyone!

Around 1 o'clock

Poor cleaning lady

(we put all our things in the bin!)

Angela & David

Waiting for the new year

25th - 30th December

Christmas Day - New Year's Eve!

Some homemade Mango Mohitos!

They don't look very appetizing, but they were...

Post the Swedish Christmas, the 25th was a complete wash out. Rain clouds gathered all over Sydney and rain came in slowly. It was not what the doctor ordered as we had a plan to go to Bondi Beach, it being a christmas day tradition here in Sydney. That didn't happen. Home sweet home instead.

The following days we polished of the remains of the food that graced our table for christmas, we cooked many wonderful new dishes. We discovered a fantastic Fairlight Walk that John and Karren recommended. Its 2 km one way, so pretty good exercise after all of the chistmas food. So we walk every evening.
We popped into the city for some sales bargian shopping, which I do not recommend as its too packed in there. But we mainly relax in Manly these days, catching up on the reading and a bit of sunbathing weather permitting. Life is pretty good.
New Year celebrations to look forward to, and we plan to go to a view point, of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge with a picnic and some beers. It should be great fun.

Lussebullar, Knack & Pepparkakor!

yumyumyum

Fairligt Walk looking over the sea

Fairlight Walk

It started with one cockatoo coming to visit every day.

One lead to another and the good word spred,

"Angela gives out great fresh bread"

And then they were 5

Angela & David