I decided this morning to go visit Sidon and Tyre thinking I could do it myself cheaper and control what I wanted to see and do. Well it was a lot of hassle and discomfort for little gain, oh I saw what I wanted to see but there is a shortage of guides and literature regarding tourist sights here which is no surprise really. I travelled in local transport and paid taxi drivers to much to get to places because the heat here is just unbearable near the coast. I went to Sidon first which is only about 45 km south of Beirut to visit the Sea Castle a fortress built on a small island by the crusaders in the thirteenth century, the castle had a number of Roman columns imbedded in the walls. I then ... read more

My first destination will be Dubai where I have a brief stop over before continuing on the Persian Gulf state of Kuwait. Kuwait gained independence from the British in 1961 and was invaded by Saddam in 1990 triggering the first Gulf War. Accommodation expensive here but comes with various luxuries including free Wifi and importantly airconditioning because the heat here is extreme. After leaving Adelaide just before 10 pm I finally arrived after 19 uncomfortable hours, I then had to go get a visa which was annoying before passing through customs and stepping out into the furnace. I decided to take a taxi and was surprised when my driver was an Arab, I was expecting an Indian of Pakistani. The man was very pleasant and friendly but drove way to fast relying heavily on his breaks, ... read more

Departing Cervantes for the final mobile leg of our journey was a relief although a little bit more dangerous because with a long weekend beginning today hundreds more vehicles are on the roads exiting Perth, one of which came very close to hitting us near Lancelin. Our first stop of today was at the Yanchep National Park, there are a variety of activities here including caves and indigenous displays but we decided to give these a miss. We did however go view some very sleepy Koala and go for two kilometre walk around the lake. Our next stop was the Aquarium of Western Australia at Hillarys Harbour, it was extremely busy and we couldnt find a park for a motorhome so we thought initially that we would miss out. My gps had other ideas and lead ... read more

Today we needed to pickup provisions from Woolworths and use McDonalds' free wifi before setting off on the days activities. Our first stop was the Princess Royal Fortress which commands the main harbor of Albany; the fort was built in 1893 after a pre-federation agreement to share funding by the existing colonies. Britain supplied the armaments and the fort remained combat ready between 1895 until 1956 when all Commonwealth shore defenses became redundant. The site served a variety of purposes over the decades but has since been restored and now houses a first rate memorial to those who once manned the site and/or fought for Australia in the First World War. Albany is important as the first and second waves of troops left here for Egypt and then Gallipoli and the town was the last sight ... read more

Driving out of the Ceduna the last major town in South Australia’s west, I had visions of an endless lifeless plain stretching west to the gold mining town of Norseman. How wrong can a person be, apart from a “short stretch” around Yalata there was an abundance of trees and birdlife, although we saw no animals until we visited Eucla. The South Australian stretch of the Nullarbor rewarded us with sightings of the stunning Wedge tailed eagle and the stunning coastal views at the head of the Great Australian Bite. The views of the cliffs and dunes were superb and the chance to stop for lunch and to stretch our legs was welcome. It was then on to the Nullarbor Roadhouse for a very expensive fuel stop ($2 per litre) before driving two further hours to ... read more