http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Maria and Ben/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Maria and Ben en-us Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:04:19 UTC Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:04:19 UTC BulaWe've just spent 4 days and nights in Fiji. We had thought about going to Fiji on and off for a while but it was just weighing up the cost etc but luckily the cost of flights had gone down and down in various sales so we thought it had to be done as we are over this side of the world and we never may be this way again.After much researching on the net we booked a place called the Hideaw http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/Viti-Levu/Coral-Coast/blog-346046.html Hello everyoneWe have just returned from a magical few days on Fraser Island.We started the day by picking up the Landrover 4WD from Hervey Bay at around 6am and heading for the barge. The 4wd took a little getting used to but was great fun. The barge journey took about 40 mins and we arrived on the west side of the island. From there we had to go through the inland tracks to get to the beach whi http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Fraser-Island/blog-344236.html We've just got back from a little trip to the Whitsunday Islands which are a group of 74 picturesque islands on the North East coast with white sands and beautiful blue waters.There are so many different kinds of boats you can explore them on but we went for a ship called the Solway Lass. It's an old 1900's pirate ship and it's got so much more character than one of those big white plastic ca http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Whitsundays/blog-337530.html G'day folksHere's what we've been up to recently.We finally got round to visiting Australia Zoo the one owned by the Irwin family. We've been to loads of zoos and wildlife parks since we've been here so a lot of things we'd seen before obviously but one good thing about this place is that the animals all have really nice surroundings and loads of space. I finally hugged a koala and got my ph http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Brisbane/Moreton-Bay/blog-327707.html Hi everyoneRight sincere apologies for being lame again but we have good excusesSince we last blogged the first couple of weeks we were preoccupied with settling into our new jobs. Ben has got a 6 month contract with the Australian Government in the Justice and Legal department doing admin bits and pieces. So he has basically got work for as long as we are in Brisbane he doesn't actuall http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Hervey-Bay/blog-322171.html Hello everyoneJust a quick note to say we haven't been eaten by Great Whites or bitten by Redbacks or anything like that. We are alive and kickingSince the last blog we went to a place called Cape Tribulation where the Great Barrier Reef meets the Daintree rainforest a pretty unique experience. It's like going back in time there no petrol stationscash machines for miles and no mobile sig http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Brisbane/Eight-Mile-Plains/blog-305840.html Hello EveryoneWe are now in Cairns. We have been here for a week and it is a lot hotter which is nice We are staying at a Caravan park which although it sounds a bit rough is actually really good value for money. It has everything you could possibly want apart from a shower and toilet but they are just across the way so no problems. On our first outing we decided to hire a car and head off for http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Cairns/Cairns-City/blog-294183.html Hello everyoneSo a little catch up of what we've been up to since the Blue Mountains.As Ben mentioned we were going to rent the spare room from a guy we found on Gumtree. It would mean saving a bit of money so we headed over to his place in another district of Sydney called Newtown. Turns out perfectly nice guy but the place was....dirty basically. I think it was my fault but we kind of http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Potts-Point/blog-290577.html AlrightBob here We decided to get away from the city for a few days so we jumped on a train and headed for the Blue Mountains to a little town called Katoomba to be precise. We are in a hostelGuest house called No.14. It is too nice to call a hostel really its a sort of home from home. We are apparently a few thousand feet up and the air is very fresh and smells of Eucalyptus. Yesterday it http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Blue-Mountains/blog-288331.html G'daySo we are in Sydney now been here 2 days so far. It's supposed to be the Winter over here but it's been about 1920c so far and sunny most of the time so quite different to the Winter's we are used to Think we're gonna melt when Summer arrivesSydney is cool but quite expensive so it's probably a good thing we are only here for two weeks before we head up to Cairns in the North.Our f http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/Kings-Cross/blog-286824.html Konnichiwa Hello in JapaneseSo we're at our first stop in Tokyo. So far so good The apartments we are staying in are amazing such good value for what we paid and so many cool gadgets much to Ben's joy and electrical goods that actually work efficiently We are making the most of this as the rest of our trip will be hostel galore.Tokyo is just what I imagined really in a good way http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Shinjuku/blog-284975.html Hello everyoneOur first blog wowSo the tickets are booked the notices have been handed in and the leaving drinks have been planned It's just a question of counting down the days now...Here is the itinery as it stands6th June Heathrow to Tokyo10th June Tokyo to Sydney25th June Sydney to CairnsBetween 25th June and 31st October we'll be doing an extended road trip from Cairns to Melb http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Canary-Wharf/blog-278265.html