Days 69 to 76 - San Francisco to Santa Barbara & Back!

Firstly, apologies that it's been so long since we last blogged. It seems the more easy it is to access a computer, the less we're actually doing so. Maybe it's that when we're with other people we have more to occupy our time. Does that suggest that we're not making the most of our time when it's just the two of us? I don't think so when I read back through our blog and see the hundreds of photos that we've taken.

We keep thinking about coming up with some statistics on miles travelled, places visited, number of beds slept in etc. Maybe that will be something for the 24 hour bus ride we have ahead of us on Wednesday or maybe the 72 hours we get on a train! More of that to come. Firstly I'll update you on the last 8 days...

Day 69 – San Francisco
I woke at 5:30am feeling surprisingly well but with a big thirst. I headed to the kitchen, downed a couple of glasses of water and congratulated myself on not having a hangover. The football that lay ahead at 2:30pm was still a possibility.
Back in bed I was restless. I couldn’t sleep and tossed and turned for what felt like forever. My head began to hurt and my tummy was swimming.
Eventually I got up and I was ill. I hadn’t avoided a hangover at all. I had just woken up before it had started!
I slept some more and eventually everyone else began to stir. Ben and Madeline decided to head to Starbucks to get some work done. Dave planned to write the blog. I planned to continue sleeping and try and get over my hangover.
1:55pm arrived. I was still in bed. Still feeling awful. Why is it that I can drink the same as everyone else, if not less, eat the same as everyone else and yet be the only one feeling so ill?! I really must learn from this!
Emily (Madeline’s sister) was due to pick us all up in 5 minutes so I hauled myself out of bed and got myself ready. We drove to the soccer ground and I decided that I was not really able to play. It wouldn’t be fair on the rest of the team. So I watched whilst Ben, Madeline, Dave and Emily valiantly soldiered their way through 90 minutes with only 1 sub – Ben was the only one who took advantage of him – finishing with a 4-3 loss with Dave scoring 2 goals and the team really looking like they could win it at half time.
The team have had a consistent season losing all of their games and coming bottom in the league. But it appears from their one game that they are in it for all the right reasons – the fun of playing a team sport and not necessarily just to be in the top 3!

Back to the flat we decided to walk down to Brainwash for lunch. I managed only a diet coke whilst the others tucked into delicious sandwiches. Back home I decided to continue where I left off and had a little snooze.
Waking feeling a lot better, I had a muffin and some water and we decided to take a walk to the grocery store to buy dinner and get a DVD.
Dave and I were choosing some cereal and saw a little mouse scurry across the aisle in front of us! Very cheeky!

Ben cooked us all a delicious dinner of turkey meatballs whilst Madeline made a yummy salad to accompany it. We all tucked in (I was finally able to face food) and we finished the evening off watching ‘Margot At The Wedding’. If you’ve not seen it, don’t bother! Very weird and we were all left wondering if we’d missed something. Madeline slept through the last of it so we called it a night and went to bed.

Not surprisingly, we haven't got any photos of today!

M x

Day 70 – Alcatraz & Sausalita
Dave and I were up early to get ourselves ready to head to Alcatraz. Ben, for all his plans the previous evening, laid in bed whilst Madeline fortunately got up and gave us directions on how to get there!
We eventually got ourselves on to the MUNI (we bought a BART ticket by mistake but the kind man behind the counter swapped it for us) and headed down to the water.
A fairly long but pleasant walk along the front and we arrived at Pier 33 where we were to board the ferry. The clouds were low and it was a little foggy so Dave was able to get his wish of seeing Alcatraz appear from the mist as we approached.


The ferry journey was really short – about 15 minutes – and we soon docked and made our way over to see Jon the Ranger who gave us an introductory talk about ‘The Rock’. We headed inside to see a short video with some history about the different uses of the island and the escape attempts that had occurred.

We had been told that Stan the Ranger would be giving a talk about the escape attempts at 10:00am so we waited patiently for him to arrive. An interesting half hour later we knew that there had been no-one confirmed to have ever escaped from the prison although there were 3 men who had managed to break their way out of the prison into the choppy, freezing cold waters around the island and were assumed drowned. They would be over 100 years old now so the authorities have stopped looking for them! One guy also managed to escape from the island having gathered together a navy corporal’s uniform over many months only to be taken to the next island where he was quickly brought back to Alcatraz and given an additional 30 years on his sentence!!

We decided that we’d heard enough about escape attempts so we broke away from the group and headed inside to the prison for the audio tour. The tour has been really well done. You have a head set each which talks you through the tour, all the commentary being given by ex-inmates and wardens of the prison. It was really interesting and kept our interest throughout.
Back outside in the real world we were a little chilly so treated ourselves to a hot chocolate before getting the ferry back to the mainland.

Whilst we’d been away, Ben and Madeline had been to pick up our transport for the next few days of the road trip so met us at the Pier.
The road trip began as we headed over the Golden Gate Bridge and into Sausalita, a beautiful harbour town with houses climbing up into the mountains and sheltered from the wind so a good few degrees warmer than the bay.
We stopped at a small store to buy sandwiches – freshly made and delicious – before walking along the front and to the harbour. We sat and contemplated the virtues of having a boat – deciding that we’d like one that someone else would look after for us and get ready when we wanted to sail away for the day – before walking back to the car via a shop to buy ‘Salt Water Taffy’. Yum!

Back in the car we took a scenic, wiggly, windy road up to a vantage point overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay.

Photos taken, the wind drove us back into the relative warmth of the car and we made our way back to the flat.
Quick change and we were back in the car heading for Ramblas, a Tapas restaurant that Ben and Madeline had been to a number of times before. We ordered a number of Tapas dishes along with paella and had a lovely relaxed meal.

Back home we watched the latest episode of ‘The Bachelor’ before I made an attempt to pack for the road trip and we all headed to bed. Another long but very enjoyable day.

M x

Day 71 – San Francisco to Monterey
Up early, Dave was first in the shower whilst the rest of us finished off our packing and readied ourselves. Ben went to collect the car from just down the road and crammed as much in to the car as possible. We managed it but with lots still in between the 2 back seats – good job we’d got a free upgrade on the car or we’d never have fitted everything in!

Heading south, our first stop was Yahoo! Ben had promised us a delicious breakfast and he wasn’t wrong. We all had our fill, and some, followed by a tour of the offices where Ben works. He was also due to pick up a tent and some other camping gear from one of his colleagues but unfortunately it had been forgotten. We were tent-less with 2 nights of camping ahead of us!

Next stop was REI, a camping shop which also does rentals. Discovering that it was as expensive to rent a tent as to buy one, Ben took the option of buying, assuring Madeline that they’d use the tent again. I’m not so sure Madeline was convinced!

I took the opportunity to re-pack the car to allow everything to fit in (including the new tent) and we were soon back on the road.

Next stop, Monterey where Madeline had reserved tickets for the Aquarium. We spent a happy few hours wandering around seeing the many fish, sharks, jelly fish and otters and watching the penguins being fed.
A little further down the road and we arrived at the Travelodge which was to be our home for the night.
Checked in and unpacked, we strolled down the main street to Rosina’s for dinner. An All American Diner, we had the biggest dinner ever, all leaving feeling over full but very satisfied.

Back to the hotel for a quick change before back in the car to drive the short distance to the bowling alley – Monterey Lanes. We had a few games of pool before buying our game (it was buy one get one free after 9:00pm) and heading to the lanes. First game was won by Dave and the second by Ben. Madeline and I weren’t far behind but all were hampered by a less than flat lane!

Soon it was time to call it a night so we headed back to the hotel via the supermarket to get some supplies for camping and some ice-cream for dessert.

M x

Day 72 – Monterey, Carmel & Big Sur
Again, an early start with breakfast at the hotel. Ben and Madeline went for a run whilst Dave and I snoozed after which we all went for breakfast where we had our fill of bagels, muffins, eggs, cereals and toast. Picking up a few supplies for the next few days of tea bags and sugar we checked out of the hotel and set off towards Carmel.
Stopping at a supermarket to buy breakfast, lunch and dinners for the next few days then at the mall for Ben to buy a saucepan and for me to exchange some shoes that I’d bought only a few days before – the sole had started to come apart!

Carmel is a lovely little beachside town, near to Pebble Beach golf course where they sometimes hold the US Open.
Down at the beach, Madeline and I played smashball for ages – trying to get to a rally of 40. Having finally achieved it, Ben and Dave repeated our success on only their second attempt!
A quick stroll through the town, we stopped for refreshment before hitting the road again.

A short time later we arrived in Big Sur and to our first campsite of the trip. The campsite is set within a large redwood forest which is beautiful. All sites with their own fire pit, bench and space for the car and a tent. We cleared a space, removing acorns, twigs and large lumps of mud before finally erecting the tent. Very simple and plenty big enough for the 4 of us. Ben and I spent a little time trying to arrange the few mats that we had to try and make it as comfortable as possible for us all to sleep.
We’d bought a trek guide as we’d entered the park so decided that we’d do the 5 mile trek to Buzzard’s Roost. It was pretty steep in places with lots of cutbacks making it seem like we were walking a lot further than we needed to. Finally making it to the top, we had wonderful views of the Pacific Ocean and the hills the other side of the valley. Beautiful.The walk down was much quicker with the sun going down it was also a little chillier.
A quick stop at the store to buy some firewood and a tarpaulin to go under the tent before heading back to camp to make dinner.
Ben quickly realized that his paraffin lamp mantles had not survived the trip from San Francisco so another trip to the store was required to buy new ones.

With the light fading and the temperature plummeting, Ben lit his camp stove and cooked us all some delicious sausages which we ate with chips and dips all washed down with a few beers. Other than the chill in the air it was lovely! We attempted a game of smashball but the visibility was far too poor. Frisbee was a little better but once I’d thrown it at the window of our neighbour’s car we decided to call it a day!

A few games of cards later, the cold got the better of us all and we retired to the tent to wrap ourselves in as many clothes as possible before snuggling down under the sleeping bags for the night.

M x

Day 73 – Big Sur to San Simeon
Not a great night’s sleep for any of us and we awoke to a cold morning as the sun hadn’t quite made it above the hills that we were sleeping in the valley of.
We attempted to make toast but finally accepted that we’d have bread for breakfast.

We packed up the tent and I re-packed the car before we set off on a much shorter walk to Pfeiffer Falls. More on the flat than the previous night’s trek and considerably shorter we arrived at the falls pretty quickly. Having not had a lot of rain the fall wasn’t that spectacular but I think we were all feeling a little better for the fresh air.

Back to the car, we headed further South to San Simeon.
As I was looking out of the window towards the ocean, I noticed lots of large lumps lying on the beach. They looked like sandbags but it turns out they were actually elephant seals! There were hundreds of them. We pulled up at the next scenic spot and joined lots of other people walking along a path at a safe distance from the seals, taking photos and being amazed at their smell!


A short drive further to another campsite for the night, this time next to the beach and much less shady, with grass sites!
We erected the tent, had some lunch then the boys fell asleep on the grass whilst Madeline and I read.
Dave and I decided to walk to the beach but were held back by a river in our way and being too cold to be bothered finding an alternative route!
Having learnt our lesson from yesterday that being cold for so many hours is not that much fun, we got in the car and drove to the local store to buy some marshmallows, Graham’s crackers and Hershey’s chocolate to make s’mores over the campfire later in the evening.
We spotted a bar next door which had wireless internet so we popped in for a beer or two, a game of pool for Dave, Madeline and I whilst Ben did some work on his laptop.

All feeling a lot warmer we made our way back to the campsite for showers before playing a game of ‘marsh pong’. A bit like beer pong but with marshmallows instead of ping pong balls!

The light was fading so Ben lit his camp stove and heated through some soup which we had with baguette. Yummy!
He also lit the campfire and we were able to move the bench to sit as close as possible and keep warm. Madeline showed us how to make s’mores which involves holding the marshmallows over the fire until they’re toasted then putting them between two Graham’s crackers with some Hershey’s chocolate. So delicious!

We played a little more cards before once again being beaten by the cold and heading to bed.

M x

Day 74 – San Simeon to Buellton
Up for tea and breakfast (more soup) we all agreed we’d had a better nights sleep although both Dave and I were aching!
We walked down to the beach where we spent a lovely time taking some photos, playing Frisbee and strolling along by the water’s edge.
Back at the campsite we dismantled the tent for the final time and re-packed the car. As we were doing this, we were joined by a couple of chipmunks who were very interested in the Graham’s crackers than Ben offered them – coming up at one point and stealing one from the table! Very cute!

Back in the car we headed South again, our destination Buellton. Stopping off for Subways for the boys and toiletries from the supermarket for me I called Emma to wish her a happy birthday.
We soon arrived in Buellton where we checked into the Quality Hotel, showered then back to the car for a wine tour.
Ben had kindly volunteered to be the designated driver so took us to Sun Stone, the first vineyard of the day. We sampled some delicious wines then on to Kalyra (a vineyard owned by an Aussie) where we had more wine – a delicious rose which we bought a bottle of – and some girl scout coconut cookies. Madeline and I devoured the cookies as we got back to the car – regretting having not had lunch before starting on the wine tour!
On to Gainey for the final vineyard of the day, Madeline and I befriended Rafael who spoke English, French, Spanish and Japanese and allowed us to try lots of wine!
I think Ben had had enough of our giggling as we drove back to the hotel for a quick shower and change before heading out for dinner.

AJ’s was our dinner location – there was more meat than you could possible ever want and lots of stuffed animals around the place. Everything was served with a huge bowl of soup with black beans, salsa, pilau rice, potatoes, onions and finished with a root beer float or liqueur. A ridiculous amount of food, Madeline and I shared a half rack of ribs and had more than enough.
We all left feeling a little bloated and made our way to the Sport’s Bar for our favourite past time of pool and darts.
Madeline and I were both feeling the effects of drinking wine so early in the day so stuck to water!

The walk back to the hotel was refreshing and we all settled down for sleep, please to be back in beds rather than on a mat in a tent!

M x

Day 75 – Buellton & Santa Barbara
Up for breakfast at the hotel then drove to Santa Barbara. Madeline had been to uni here and I can’t think of a better location. The sea, the mountains and a lovely warm climate. So many shops too!
All feeling a little out of sorts, Ben decided to go to Starbucks to get some work done, Dave wandered around the town, also calling in at a Starbucks, and Madeline and I set off in search of a hairdressers.
After being unsuccessful in about 5 salons, we decided that we would try one more and were fortunate enough to both be able to get appointments immediately. Both feeling better for having been pampered for an hour or so and for having beautiful new hair cuts, we re-joined the boys for lunch at Pescucci’s, a delicious Italian restaurant.
A quick drive to the old court house where we climbed a tower that overlooked the city. Beautiful views and a huge lawn where we spent a little while snoozing in the sun.
On to the beach we played Smashball and did a little more snoozing before we made our way back to Buellton.

A short detour to Cachuma lake, we were able to see more of the beautiful countryside. A very quick drive around the lake complex (we only had a 15 minute courtesy ticket!) and we were on our way back to the hotel.

We noticed a Firestone brewery just down the road from the hotel which also served dinner so I booked a table for 8:00pm.
Back at the hotel we showered, changed, had a glass of wine then strolled the short distance to the brewery.
We were able to try 4 different beers and get a souvenir glass for $6 each. Bargain!
Dinner was a much healthier affair than the previous evening and we all left feeling full and comfortable.

Back at the hotel we watched TV for a very short while before tiredness got the better of us all and we were off to sleep.

M x

Day 76 - Buellton to San Francisco
Up for breakfast at the hotel. Packed up and I managed to get everything into the car for a fairly comfortable journey back up the 101 to San Francisco. I confess I've enjoyed trying to get everything to fit as neatly as possible into the boot (or 'trunk' as I keep being told it's called). The endless hours of tiling ladybird books when I was younger have certainly paid off!

Fairly uneventful journey. Madeline drove, Ben read the remainder of Dorien Gray, Dave snoozed and I wrote this blog in draft.
A brief stop in Gonzales for lunch - Subway's foot longs for only $5! Bargain.

After about 4 hours of driving we were home. Ben took to taking a huge pile of clothes to the laundry, we all unpacked and tidied a little and then decided that we should head out for a game of soccer. A week of eating, drinking and generally being slobbish getting on top of us all.

We drove a short distance to a park near Emily's house where we met with Emily and her friend Cory. Cory had also brought her little dog Ruby with her. So cute!

The wind had got up and we were all freezing so we quickly got stuck into a game. Ben, Madeline & Cory versus Dave, Emily and I. I never have been able to play football and calling it soccer didn't change that! I did score two goals though - Dave noticed both with my left foot. Maybe I could have been a great football star if I'd started younger!..

Emily received a good kick in the leg from Cory (accidentally I might add) which halted the game after about 45 minutes. I was pleased as the inactivity over the past few months was very noticeable. I was shattered!

We drove a few blocks away to Emily's house where we cracked open the champagne, donned our swim wear and headed for the hot tub. How cool?! Very much needed and appreciated.
After not too long we decided that we were all starving so the four of us left Emily & Cory to it and headed home.

A quick shower & change and we walked the short distance to Basil, an amazing Thai restaurant.
Delicious starters and main courses and a really nice atmosphere. We chatted the night away.
Home for a bit of TV, Ben to do some work and tidy the flat and we were soon all tucked up in lovely comfy beds.

M x

Days 63 to 68 - Melbourne, Auckland & San Francisco

Day 63 – Melbourne
M woke early to take Leah to the station as she was away for a couple of days on business, giving us the use of her car – thanks again Leah!
Both had a bit of a lay in. D then spent a few hours doing the blog and huge amounts of laundry whilst M sorted out our finances (ouch) and tried to get the headphones that we’d bought to work on Skype - very frustrating as they wouldn’t. Today was possibly the hottest day so far which only made things seem even worse.

Eventually we gave in and seeked refuge in the air conditioned shopping centre to buy some supplies for a Bar-B-Q dinner which included lamb back-straps – Yum!

Lazy evening back at the house, with D doing the Barbie and M phoning her granddad to wish him a happy birthday! (Happy Birthday Alec!)

Bed quite late after an evening chatting about….. stuff!

D x

Day 64 – Melbourne
Another lay in followed by another morning of sorting our stuff and packing our bags ahead of tomorrow’s flight to Auckland. Leftover sausages for lunch with a quick visit to the barbers for me. (Classic moment when a bloke sat next to me asked for his hair to be cut short on top and left long around the sides. Basically, he’d asked for a mullet!)

Then we got the train into the city, spent an hour so people watching in Federation Square and wandering around the shops. Watched some giant chess at a nearby café before meting up with Leah and Rob. (A friend from school who now lives and works in Melbourne) All had a couple of drinks in a nearby bar before M & Leah headed back for an Italian meal and a few drinks whilst Rob and I drove back to his for some beers and food at his local pub. Great night spent drinking and chatting about everything and anything.

Left Rob (who’d conveniently arranged to work from home the following morning – never was good on hangovers) to get the train back to Leah’s. Train took forever so got back around 1’ish to find M fast asleep. Night night!

D x

Day 65 – Melbourne to Auckland
Leah woke us early, around 6:20, to get the train into the city with her, where we said our farewells, before we got the skybus to the airport. Took forever to check in but had a really good flight to Auckland (about 3.5 hours) with great food and loads of leg room.

Usual routine when we arrived, M to the information desk whilst I drew yet more cash out. Straight on the shuttle bus which conveniently dropped us off right by our hostel. Pretty good room on the top floor with great views out across the city. Sun was setting so we headed straight out and went directly to the Sky Tower. (The tallest tower in the southern hemisphere) where we booked a table for dinner at The Observatory restaurant, some 200m up. We had an hour to kill before our seating time so we spent it wandering around the observation level one floor below the restaurant taking in Auckland’s beautiful harbour and surroundings. M even managed to stand on the glass floor looking down 200m to the pavement below – although she has since blocked it out and can’t remember doing it!

Dinner was great – an all you can eat seafood buffet with sushi, sashimi, oysters (which both of us thought were disgusting) and lots lots more. Both stuffed after SEVERAL visits to the buffet, we waddled back through the city to the hotel for bed. We both liked Auckland – very relaxed feel to the place.

D x

Day 66 – Auckland

Up early, breakfast at Starbucks (no surprises there!) and then walked down to the ferry terminal where we got the 9:15 ferry to Rangitoto – a 25 minute trip. Rangitoto is a volcano that was formed about 600 years ago. Got there before the heat of the day and walked the hour or so to the summit (270m above sea level).

Great views across to the city and the surrounding islands. The walk up is through fields of black volcanic rock and quite dense forest. Also stopped off at some lava caves en-route which was quite eerie! Both put our new camel packs to the test, successfully, despite them still tasting a bit anti-septicy (is that a word?) – Ugh!

Back in time for the 12:45 return ferry and grabbed a sandwich and strolled down to the harbour to people watch for a bit whilst eating our lunch. Saw the Americas Cup sailing boat and lots of other very expensive yachts. We considered doing a harbour cruise but thought we’d already seen it whilst on the ferry so decided to save our pennies!
Wandered back through the city, stopping off at Albert Park for a bit or reading, sun bathing and snoozing before booking tickets to see ‘I am Legend’ at the IMAX cinema later on that night.

Back to the hotel, power nap and then out for dinner at a nearby Japanese restaurant before the film. Both really enjoyed it – definitely made all the better because of the massive screen and great sound!

Again, wandered back to the hotel before crashing out after another long days sightseeing!
D x

Day 67 (first one) – Auckland
Lazy start, walked in to the city to find virtually everywhere closed as it was Good Friday. Finally found a really nice café tucked down a side street where we both treated ourselves to a fry-up… perfect!

Then with time on our hands before the evenings flight we strolled about for a bit – another hour so in the park. M refusing to let me lie down in peace and constantly poking and tickling me… I think she was excited about flying to San Francisco and seeing her brother!

Both agreed that as everywhere was shut, we may as well go and check in at the airport as at least that’d be open! Got the return shuttle bus and checked in 4 hours ahead of the flight. As we were so early we managed to get them to give us an extra seat so we had a row of 3 for just us – bonus!

Flight left on time so we settled back for some good films and good food – Air New Zealand are great!

D x

Day 67 (again) – San Francisco
As we flew over the International Date Line, we’d been given an extra day, so we landed 8 hours before we’d left Auckland…. Brilliant!

Despite the flight being 12 hours, it went fairly quick. M, as usual managed a healthy 6 hours sleep. I was less fortunate.

Met at the airport by Ben, wearing his shorts which was a good sign. We’d both expected it to be a bit cool but the sun was shining so things were looking good.

Back to Ben & Madeline’s flat, we had some tea, showered and then set off for a tour of the city a la Ben Dalziel. Met with Madeline in the city centre and then walked, and walked and walked, and walked a bit more, before eventually getting a taxi to a bar called 'Mars Bar' where we had some beers and played some pool. (Very American)

Mandy & Madeline spotted some little plastic eggs dotted around the pub. Curiosity got the better of them and they opened them up to find sweets and in one, a piece of paper saying ‘Zen MP3 player.’ We then found out that there was to be an Easter Egg Hunt in the pub later – having jumped the gun by about an hour we hung around till they announced it, M & M in particular, keeping a very close eye on the eggs. When the hunt was announced, they pounced on their eggs and gathered up a load more as did Ben and I. (although not with quite the same level of competitiveness as M & M)

Between us we won an MP3 player (surprise, surprise), a T-shirt, a $15 i-tunes voucher, a $100 bar tab and lots of sweeties – all in all, a good afternoons haul.

Met Madeline’s sister who gave us a lift home. Plans to go out were dashed when both Mandy and I crashed out on the sofa at about 7:30 – I think the 48 hour Friday had taken its toll!

Early to bed on a not so inflatable mattress – what a great day!

D x

Day 68 – San Francisco
Fairly lazy start after an interrupted nights sleep. The mattress had a slow puncture so every 2-3 hours we had to roll off and pump it up again. M gave up after the 2nd time and retreated to the sofa, a wise decision, whilst I persevered and woke up lying on the floor with a half inflated mattress either side of me.

Madeline had a job interview so she left us at about 11 as we set off to explore the city. Got a train to an area called Haight Ashbury. It’s the slightly alternative quirky part of town that’s left over from the seventies – very friendly with lots of characters about.

Stopped off for some Mexican food (the biggest Burrito’s I’ve ever seen – they weighed about the same as Mandy) and then wandered around Golden Gate Park (still no sight of the bridge though!) where we saw loads of stuff including a couple of baseball games. Stopped to watch them for a bit and were soon joined by some humming birds (very cool) and a rather talkative tramp who seemed to enjoy commenting on the baseball – STTTTTTRRRRRIKE! After a few minutes, we realised he wasn’t leaving so we did!

Back towards Haight Ashbury we met Madeline, whose interview had gone well. Stopped for a quick drink and then got a taxi through the city to the shore near the Golden Gate Bridge! Saw the steep rolling streets that San Francisco is so famous for and then got our first view of the bridge and the Bay with Alcatraz sitting in the middle.
Hour or so on the beach people and dog watching, playing ‘smashball’ and Frisbee. We then wandered along the beach and into an area called The Marina to meet with Madeline’s sister. The pub was rammed so we went somewhere else where we were introduced to Beer-pong!

Basically, teams of 2, trying to throw a ping-pong ball into some cups at the other end of the table which have got beer in. Once you get the ball in, the other team has to drink the beer. There were some pretty serious players there with a lot of whoopin and a hollerin! Pretty funny. Needless to say, the rookies, M and I, cleared up and thought we would beat our hosts at darts too whilst we were at it. Really good fun.

Madeline’s sister and a friend joined us for a few more drinking games before we got a taxi back to get changed before heading out for the evening. All a little worse for wear by this stage we headed out to a bar called ‘Top of the Mark’, a penthouse bar on top of The Mark Hotel where we had some drinks and danced to the live music – very classy place so obviously we fitted right in???

Then on to a Mexican place because it was the only place we could find that served food. I think we had food, though my memory gets a little hazy here, but I do remember there being Karaoke, run by an Iranian guy called Mel who seemed to want to join in with the singing – All very amusing!

Several hours and lots of singing later (complete with sombrero’s and mini guitars) we got back (not sure how) to the flat and I dare say fell asleep pretty quickly!

D x

Days 52 to 62 - Uluru, Great Ocean Road & Melbourne

Day 52 – Uluru to Coober Pedy
Thought we’d get up at the correct time today and hot footed it to the sunrise viewing point at Uluru. Drove past the masses and found a quieter spot with an Aussie who was expecting the sun to rise from behind Uluru – he seemed pretty disappointed!

Again, the sun brought beautiful changes of colour and lots of flies though we were far better prepared today with our fly nets – a great purchase.

You could also see the Olgas in the distance which made for some more great photos. Then a final farewell drive around Uluru (saw 3 camels – alive this time) before heading back to the camp site where we treated ourselves to Bacon & Egg rolls a la Dave.

Showered, packed up and then set off for the return drive. Couple of fuel stops and a lay-by lunch stop later we pulled up in the opal mining town of Coober Pedy where most houses are sunken underground to escape the heat. The town is the set for films like Mad Max & Pitch Black….. basically, a ghost town in the middle of the desert.

Luckily the camp site had an icy cold swimming pool so we had a dip before M cooked a delicious curry – Yum!

Both pretty tired after a long days driving so we fell asleep pretty early…. Again!

D x

Day 53 – Coober Pedy to Port Pirie

Not much to hang around to see in Coober Pedy so we set off fairly early with hopes of reaching Adelaide, some 1000km’s down the road. Probably a bit ambitious so we ended up calling it a day in Port Pirie (about 250km north of Adelaide) but not before visiting the longest wooden jetty in Australia at Port Germaine.

We found a nice spot next to a lake but the heat was almost unbearable as were the swarms of mosquitoes.

Eventually we dozed off though the night which didn’t bring a great deal of relief from the heat so we couldn’t wait to get nearer the coast for some cooler weather… possibly the most uncomfortable nights sleep so far.

D x

Day 54 – Port Pirie to Robe
Woke up for breakfast and a mosquitoe bite count – about 40 combined we reckon! Ouch!
The milk was off so we had our morning cup of tea en-route at a service station. The nice man behind the counter was instilling in us the importance of wearing a good hat as the O-Zone over Australia is depleted. He then went on to try and sell us some for $50 each… and I thought he was just being friendly! (we didn’t buy any)

Soon we were south of Adelaide and stopped off at Mount Lofty Summit for great views over Adelaide and the surrounding areas.

No rest for the wicked so we soon hit the road once more bound for Coorong National Park. We were a little disappointed as you couldn’t get to the best parts without a 4x4 but we did do a walk to a Pelican lookout 'hide' at Jack Point only to discover that it wasn’t the breeding season and that they were all somewhere else… still, it was a nice walk.
We passed through Kingston Southeast which is home to Larry the Lobster, a 50 ft high lobster who welcomes you in to the town as you drive in from the north. (Australia seems to do a lot of things like these; big lobster, banana, pineapple… even a giant Ned Kelly!)

Finally arrived at Robe at around 6pm and found a nice site right next to the beach so we hot footed down to the sea (ocean) and I managed to get Mandy to have a dip despite it being pretty cold. Finally, we were both cool. I told her that it was called the Southern Ocean. She didn’t believe me claiming that that was a ‘crap’ name for an ocean. Needless to say, I was proved right when we looked at the map later… J I did feel a little smug.

Dinner in the camper and then a short stroll into town for a beer. I think M even wore trousers as the temperature had dropped significantly. Quite busy with a good atmosphere as it was a bank holiday weekend.

Another long and enjoyable day.

D x

Day 55 – Robe to Mount Gambier
Up at a reasonable time and then did some internet stuff before setting off for the day. Went to the coast near to town and walked around a headland or 2 to the Obelisk which is a marker for sailing ships. Beautiful scenery and we even saw a big lizard en-route. (we were however on the lookout for snakes after being warned by the camp site owner. She thought it wise to warn us as we were after all “internationals!”)











First stop on the days drive was at Beachport where we stopped briefly at Siloam Lake (very salty lake) where we “floated like we’d never floated before!” It was very bizarre, lying back, hands behind head, feet crossed and floating on the surface with ease.
M stood on a wasp and got stung whilst showering after our quick dip/float but luckily the pain seemed to ease fairly quickly.

Stopped off in town for a few supplies and yet more fuel and then it was on to Mount Gambier via a huge windfarm (literfally 100’s of turbines) which was pretty impressive.

Arrived in Mount Gambier at around 3ish and checked in to a site where we got the last powered hookup before setting off to explore the area.

First to Umpherston Sinkhole which is a formal garden set in a deep sinkhole. (A sinkhole is a piece of land that has been undermined by rainwater over years and years and then finally collapses in on itself leaving a large ‘hole’)
Not many people around but there were loads of bees. We could see their honey combs hanging in the crevices in the rocks.

We then drove up to view the volcanic lakes. Our first stop was Blue Lake which has the most ridiculously blue water you’ll ever see. Then on to Valley Lake which was home to lots of families playing with their speed boats water-skiiing, jet biking etc… so we sat back and did some quality people watching and judging. (the water skiers that is)

Then it was back to the site for the usual; dinner, dip in the pool, read and then bed! (very hot again)

D x

Day 56 – Mount Gambier to Port Fairy

Up and out and straight away to the nearby Englebrecht Caves for 9:30. Waited there for a while until we were told that it wouldn’t be open today due to an illness in the family…. Sounded like a case of a bad hangover to us! So we headed off to Valley Lake again for a wander around their small wildlife park which bordered the lake and had boardwalks through the reeds etc…. Saw lots of birds, a few kangaroos, a pottaroo (a small kangaroo) and the highlight was a sleepy koala high up in one of the eucalyptus trees. (We later learned that there are only 2 koalas in the park so we were lucky to spot him)

Both pleased with our koala spotting we drove and then walked the final steep bit to Centenary Tower, a lookout tower (now used to spot bushfires) which had fantastic 360 degree views of the area. (Visibility up to 80km on a clear day)

Spoke with the friendly guy on the door who told us about a few attractions that were ‘sort of’ on our route if we had the time. He seemed very knowledgeable about the area and gave us some good tips.

The best one was when he asked “Are you cave people?” I felt like replying that we’d evolved a bit personally but I kept that one to myself.

So we treated ourselves to an ice-cream after the steep climb and headed off for the Princes Margaret Rose Caves. It was then that we both agreed that we weren’t really cave people and decided to head straight to Cape Bridgewater on the coast. (That and the $12 entry fee)
Got to Cape Bridgewater and headed up the coastal footpath which was about a 2hr return walk. Amazing views across the bay and we reached the highest coastal point in Victoria. (Our 3rd state/territory of the road trip) There was a viewing platform at the end of the walk from which we could see a seal colony playing in the surf which was great and made the walk so much more worthwhile. We also saw snakes and large cricket/butterfly insects with bright yellow wings!
We then drove the short distance to a petrified forest (that wasn’t actually a forest, just rock formations that look like one) and saw a blowhole (which didn’t blow). Both a bit disappointing but nice to look at all the same.

For the first time in a long time the temperature was more than bearable – I think we may even have worn a long sleeved top as the temperature plummeted to 25!

Eventually arrived at Port Fairy so we booked into the park, settled down and relaxed for the evening and enjoyed being able to sit still without sweating.

D x

Day 57 – Port Fairy to Port Campbell
I woke Mandy up by reading (I didn’t realise I was reading out loud) so we had breakfast, went into town for a cup of tea and spot of internetting before we started on the ship-wreck walk. When we got to the start of the walk it was clear that we weren’t actually going to see any shipwrecks so we decided to go for a run along the beach instead. We both really enjoyed it and vowed that we’d run every day from now on…?

En-route to Port Campbell we stopped off at Warnambool for lunch at Logans Beach. It’s in a large bay which is where whales are often spotted although not at this time of year unfortunately.

Passed an outdoor activity shop and both treated ourselves to Camel Packs ahead of our planned treks in Canada (a bargain for the pair of us).

Finally we arrived at the long awaited Great Ocean Road.

Somewhat ironically it starts at Peterborough though it couldn’t be more different than ours.


We first stopped off at the Bay of Islands where there are lots of limestone stacks left in the bay whilst the headland retreats. We walked down to an amazing beach which we had all to ourselves. Got a bit wet as the tide was coming in pretty quick. – awesome!

Driving out of Peterborough we saw a small group of Pelicans so we felt some sort of payback after our efforts at Jacks Point. We then drove along what can only be described as the most beautiful coastline. We couldn’t drive more than a couple of km’s before pulling over at various scenic lookout points or scenic walks. Our many stops included The Grotto, London Bridge, the Arch, Blowhole & Thunder Cave.All of these are amazing limestone rock formations created by the wind and the sea.

Both pretty tired by this point, we pulled into Port Campbell, reserved a powered site and then drove the final few kilometres to the eagerly awaited 12 Apostles. (12 enormous limestone stacks sticking out of the ocean) Although you can only see 6 of them from this view point it was incredible. We took loads of photos, none of which do it justice. We contemplated waiting for sunset but as it was 2 hours away we headed back to the site and agreed to go back tomorrow for another look.

Back at the site we rewarded ourselves with a couple of beers and then out for dinner. We found a great little restaurant round the corner called Waves where I had lamb and Mandy had trout…. Delicious especially when washed down with a bottle of wine.. Ahhhh!

D x

Day 58 – Port Campbell to Apollo Bay
Usual morning routine saw us leave by around 9:30 and stopping off at Loch Ard Gorge (the site of a famous Australian ship wreck) on our way to the 12 (6) Apostles.

Once we’d checked that they were still all there we took another load of photos and then headed the 0.5km along the coast to the Gibson Steps which are carved into the cliff face and allow you access to one of the beaches alongside the apostles. Absolutely amazing setting. Nice stroll along the beach although the sun was hiding from us a little bit. M didn’t quite manage to avoid all the waves and got a bit of a soaking on one, perhaps two occasions.


Back on the Great Ocean Road for a while we then took an inland detour to The Otway Fly, a 25m high elevated walkway through the canopy of the rainforest with a 47m high lookout tower which we discovered swayed quite a lot. Despite Mandy’s fear of heights/falling she did it all, and with only a few tears. Once back on solid ground we walked back to the centre for an ice-cream and tried to spot the resident platypus on our way… No joy!

We pulled into Apollo Bay and got the last powered site in the town – very lucky! We wandered down to the beach where we rested our weary feet and read for an hour or so. Then, as the evening drew in, we wandered along the sea front and had fish and chips. (both been craving it for a few days so it was long overdue)

Back to the camper for bed for the final time!

D x

Day 59 - Apollo Bay to Melbourne
Lazy start to the day then hit the road for the final time. The stretch of coast from Apollo Bay hugs the coastline for about 50km’s and requires a bit more concentration. Luckily M was driving so I could just enjoy the views.

Came around one sharp bend to find about 5 or 6 cars pulled up in a layby with people staring up into the trees. So we pulled over and spotted about half a dozen koalas snoozing and stretching in nearby trees – brilliant. Proper wild koalas at last! So we got loads of photos, M clambering through bushes and trees to get the best shot. They seemed only too pleased to pose for photos so we got plenty.


We arrived in a town called Lorne where we headed inland for about 10km to Erskine Falls, a 38m waterfall in the forest. Being the end of summer it was more a trickle than a raging waterfall but still worth the journey. Then a quick stop at Teddy’s Lookout for a view back along the Great Ocean Road.




On to Airey’s Inlet where we wandered up to the lighthouse, couldn’t go in as there was a school trip arriving so on to the world famous surfing spot, Bells Beach! Both watched as the serious surfers rode some pretty big waves. (Thought of you Rob!) Stopped off at Torquay for a bit of shopping and then it was the final push to Melbourne – hooray!

Arrived to an empty house where we let ourselves in and unpacked the van (which by the way we’d called Smudge!).

Leah (Mandy’s friend from when she lived in Japan) soon arrived back from work and in no time we were drinking beers/wine and throwing snags on the barbie… finally an aussie bar-b-q! Drank, ate and chatted into the early hours before crashing out in a BED at last! What luxury!


D x

Day 60 – Melbourne
A late start (surprise surprise) and we were off to return the camper before getting a tour of Melbourne courtesy of Leah who’d taken the day off work.

First stop was a Japanese restaurant for lunch where M shook off the remains of her hangover. The heat seemed to be following us as it reached 39 – absolutely sweltering!

Shuffled around town wherever there was shade and visited the cathedral, Federation Square where we stopped in at the centre for visual arts. Then Flinders Street Station, ice cream at South Bank on the Yarra River and then up to the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower for views of the city. (could see the Formula 1 practice session at Albert Park which was pretty cool) then back to earth for a wander up to the public library (nice and cool in there) and then back home on the train. The city has a great feel about it and seems very relaxed.

Time for a quick drink before getting back for another bar-b-q and a fairly early night as we had an early start ahead of us.

D x

Day 61 – Melbourne & Anglesea
Up at 7 for a 2 hour drive back along the coast to Anglesea where the 3 of us checked in for our surf lesson. Kitted up with wetsuits and a board we had about 11 seconds of instruction before waddling out into a fairly big surf to give it a go. I seemed to have more success at first but I think it was because I had the bigger board. Once M and I swapped we were all getting up on our knees and then our feet and can honestly say we were surfing! We all enjoyed it though found it very tiring, especially on the arms.

Drove back to Melbourne and stopped off for lunch en-route for much needed sustinence. On the way back we stopped off at St Kilda, the trendy beach part of town where we wandered around for a couple of hours, had another ice-cream, walked along the beach and down the pier before driving back to Leah’s.

Hour or so relaxing and showering before getting the train into town for dinner. We went to a Thai restaurant on Chapel St, the drinking part of town. The meal was fantastic in a really great atmosphere. M bit into a chilli which looked painful. Leah’s brothers girlfriend Elise (nicknamed Scribbles) joined us after for some dodgy wine before getting a train to the centre of town for Karaoke. M and Leah were in their element and sang till gone 2 in the morning. I’m afraid I sang a couple too for which I can only apologise.

Taxi ride home and then straight to sleep… another late one.

D x

Day 62 – Melbourne
Very lazy morning as predicted before Leah & M drove to Chadstone (nearby shopping centre) for an hour or 2 before I joined them around 2:30 at the cinema to see The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson & Morgan Freeman. Really good film + it was air conditioned… relief!

Back to Leah’s before meeting up with Leah’s brother and Scribbles and Leah’s Mum & step-dad Clint at a Vietnamese restaurant. Very noisy and full of locals with lots of atmosphere and really good food. Couple of hours spent eating and chatting, then back to Leah’s for bed, all pretty tired.

D x

Days 44 to 51 - Hua Hin, Bangkok, Adelaide to Uluru

Photos now added. Sorry it's taken a while but I'm sure you'll agree it's worth the wait!

Day 44 - Hua Hin
Another lazy morning. D did the Blog whilst I sunbathed.
Lunch at the resort followed by train to Bangkok. We got free pastries which were very yummy!
Arrived in Hua Lamphong station and got the MRT to Silom and sky train to our final stop. Checked into a hostel in downtown Bangkok and instantly regretted it as we had to lug our suitcases up 4 very rickety flights of stairs into a shoebox of a room.
Out for dinner - crappy Chinese meal - then on to The Moon Bar at Vertigo which was an open air bar overlooking the city. Great sights and we got to wear lovely 'spare' shoes.
Glad we did it but next time we'd eat in the restaurant and wear nice clothes!
Back to the hostel where we finally fell asleep to the sound of a small helicopter over our heads (the very large ceiling fan!).

M x

Day 45 - Bangkok to Singapore
Awoke early and straight to Starbucks for breakfast. The wonders of commercialism!Off to the tailors for what would be the final fitting - either it would be OK or we'd insist on our money back! Thankfully it was great and made of much finer material. A bit like mole skin! Hooray!

Taxi to airport where I had a massage thanks to Ben's Birthday present - thanks Ben!
Reasonable flight to Singapore with 3 seats between us. Woo!
Transferred on to the flight to Adelaide after a little bit of window shopping at the airport.

M x

Day 46 - Adelaide
Arrived to Adelaide where the sun was shining. Jumped into a taxi to the motel. Our driver was a very friendly Greek chap by the name of Ted!

Arrived at the hotel (Princes Lodge Motel) to discover our booking hadn't been received. Fortunately they had a spare room but it caused the new owner (Andy) a lot of concern and we were later to hear him on the phone trying to resolve the issue. Both shattered, we grabbed a couple of hours shut eye before walking into the city.

Stopped for lunch which was delicious then on to the Botanical Gardens. Fairly small but this meant we were able to walk around it all very comfortably and we did as the temperature meant we were able to move withoiut sweating! Lovely stroll there then on to Rundle Street for a spot of shopping.

Saw a juggling, fire eating skateboarder - our first taste of the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Deciding we were in need of refreshment, we went on to a couple of bars before dinner at an English pub!
Bought a couple of tickets to see Mark Watson (UK comic highly recommended) for tomorrow night then walked back to the hotel via a nightcap at The Archer.

A great first day in Australia.

M x

Day 47 - Adelaide
Up early and walked to Victoria Square where we got the tram to Glenelg, a beach side town.

Spent an hour or so on the beach sunbathing and reading then lunch at a lovely deli and a spot of shopping - I bought some nice trousers!

Tram back to Victoria Square when Dave realised that the guidebook was no longer with us - we'd left it in the internet cafe (well, Dave had)! So, back on to the tram to Glenelg. Good job we bought a day ticket!

Back at the hotel we had a quick change then to La Pasaena for an Italian dinner.
Strolled to the cinema where Mark Watson was showing and laughed our way through an hour of his show. Really funny and lived up to the recommmendations.

Back to the hotel where I fell asleep and Dave sat up watching Superman 3.

M x

Day 48 - The Journey Begins!

Up around 8:00 for breakfast and check out of the hotel. Taxi to Apollo to pick up our camper van. Very exciting!
Got to watch a video all about how to use the van and had a cup of tea. Finally we were allowed behind the wheel and set off.
Stopped at supermarket for supplies and to arrange our belongings in the camper.

Finally set off around 13:00 ish and headed North, 1600km of open road ahead of us!

The landscape seemed to change every few hundred km's from towns to mountain ranges, dense bushland and finally into barren scrubland - the bush! 600km later we pulled up in Glendanmbo and hired a powered site for the night.

We agreed that this was possibly the most remote place we had ever been with the most flies. The stars were incredible with no light pollution to spoil them. The toilet blocks weren't great but for only one night it was fine.

I cooked spag bol then we considered our journey for the following day before deciding to hit the sack. Unfortunately we discovered that the table couldn't be converted properly into the bed - we had a 3 inch diameter pole sticking through where the middle of the bed should be that couldn't be removed!

So, we settled ourselves down on the bench seats and slept. Surprsingly well!

M x

Day 49 - Erldunda
Up and out by 9:00am for yet more driving. Stopped at Marla for lunch and continued through to Erldunda - about 300km short of Uluru - as the light was fading. Not much change of scenery today - lots of nothingness - but we did discover that in such a remote location everyone waves at each other as they pass. We only saw about 50 cars tops all day but we had a great variety of waves. Its amazing what will pass the hours when your driving all day!

Also saw some emus drinking at a watering hole which was jolly exciting and some huge birds of prey munching on a dead kangaroo.

Really nice campsite at Erldunda and we even had a dip in the pool. Friendly kangaroo for petting and cat for cuddling. The only other kangaroos we've seen so far have been dead at the side of the road.

Both really looking forward to seeing Uluru (Ayers Rock) tomorrow.
M x

Day 50 - Kings Canyon & Uluru

Deciding that we had a 'spare' day we had another early start and drove around 250km to Kings Canyon, arriving about 11:00.
The temperature was 37 degrees C as we started the 6km rim walk - you'd have been impressed with me mum as we walked across wooden bridges spanning plummeting gorges! Only a few tears. I thought I did quite well considering.

The canyon is around 2km long with 100m sheer sides made of reddy coloured rock. Incredible. The heat definitely got the better of us both but it was awesome and we are both really pleased we made the effort to drive the extra distance to see it.

At the end of the walk the temperature had crept up to 41 degrees C IN THE SHADE!!!
Madness.
Back in the relative comfort of the air conditioned cab, we drove back South and took a turn West for Uluru. Brief stop at Mt. Conner which is a very impressive table topped mountain and then finally got our first glimpses of Uluru in the distance. Even bigger and more impressive than I had imagined.

Arriving at Kata Tjuta National Park, we paid our 25 dollars each for a 3 day pass.
Straight to the sunset viewing point where we finally managed to set up the tripod on a collander balanced on top of a slanty post - an American lady thought it was genius. Me too as it was my idea!

The sunset was spectacular. Lots of different colours and shadows. It was well worth the journey. Thanks Mark & Em for urging us to do it!

Sunset over, we drove to Yulara, the resort for Uluru where we hired another powered site and set up camp. Both shattered and headachy from the heat of the day.

Plans for sunrise at The Olga's for tomorrow - another early start awaits us!

M x

Day 51 - The Olgas
Awake at 5:00am. The camp was deserted. Not a soul in sight.
We got ourselves ready and drove to the entrance to the park. Only one other car was there and it didn't seem to be moving. I was getting a little annoyed as I wanted to get to the sunrise view at The Olgas before the sun rose. Dave decided to find out what was going on.
It turns out that Northern Territory time is one hour behind South Australia time. We had arrived at 4:55am not 5:55 am as we had thought!
Thoughts of the extra hour that we could have had in bed set in. Also looking back, there hadn't been anyone around at Erldunda when we'd left there. Not surprising as it had only been 7:00am, not 8:00!
We used the time to call mum and dad and have a cup of tea and finally the park opened.

The Olgas was pretty much deserted. Only 3 other people there. We sat and watched as the sun peaked over the horizon and started to show the brilliant colours in the rocks. A few photographs including a few of Uluru in the distance and we decided to drive into the Olgas for a walk before it got too hot.
Breakfast at the start of the walk then a 2.6km walk into Walpa Gorge. The wind was blowing so we had a nice breeze. A tour group was there so we hot footed past them and had the rest of the time in isolation. Incredible the sheer size of the rock formations around us.

Deciding that we needed to rest during the worst heat of the sun we drove back to Yulara for a snooze, some internetting - which didn't work - and a spot of shopping for food. Also spoke with Apollo about the bed and found out that we needed to 'waggle' the pole or hit it with a hammer as it was on a taper. Tonight we could sleep well. Hooray!

Refreshed after lunch, we drove to the scenic route around Uluru. A brief stop at the Cultural Centre which was packed with tour groups before the Mala Walk.
The 2km walk starts at the smame point as the climb up Uluru. The 'rope' up the side of the rock looked far too flimsy to be of any help if you did slip. I'm glad we'd decided not to do the climb.
It was closed anyway due to the heat - in excess of 36 degrees C.
The Mala walk was lovely. In the shade for a lot of the way and allowed you really close to Uluru.
I was surprised how many ridges and holes there were in it. I had always imagined it to be very smooth sided but there was evidence of massive waterfalls and wind erosion.
On to The Olgas, this time for sunset. Deciding that we'd started taking photos at 7:00pm the previous evening of Uluru, we decided that we had time for dinner before the sunset would start.
The sun looked pretty low in the sky but we decided the sunset couldn't be at a different time just one day later.
After dinner we got out of the van to see the sun dip behind the horizon. Of course it had been an hour earlier that we'd been stood at Uluru. The time difference getting us for the second time in one day! Oops!

We drove back to the camp site both tired after our very early start.

M x