Fourth Day Yet another waterfall! Great big torrents of water that only seem to remind me of a toilet flush at which point I fell the need to relieve myself. I've been to so many over the past year that I find them quite tedious now - that's the downside of travel I'm afraid.Nelson Falls are nice...on the 10 minutes it took to walk to it we went through temperate rainforest - a canopy of at least seven species of fern. And when the rains come and the rivers swell all falls look spectacular... Nelson Falls here... But, I can safely say that nothing so far on this trip has compared to these that I have visited: Anisakan Falls (Hampshire Falls) in Burma/... read more

'It is acknowledged even by all the rival colonies that of all the colonies Tasmania is the prettiest… may be said of the small island that, go where you will, the landscape that meets the eye is pleasing, whereas the reverse of this is certainly the rule on the Australian continent. And the climate of Tasmania is by far pleasanter than that of any part of the mainland... Everything in Tasmania is more English than is England herself.' (Australia and New Zealand, by Anthony Trollope, 1873) This is why Tasmania was always on my list of things I definitely wanted to see when arrived in Australia. I’ve since discovered other interesting things about the place: Mainland Australians use Tassie as the butt of all jokes, namely they are a bunch of red-necked, convict-bred, incestuous simpletons. I ... read more

Cancelled trips Road trips: Australia is great for 'em; the seemingly endless tarmac, the wind in your hair, loud music pumping from the speakers, and that glorious scenery. The fact that I can't drive nor hold a driving licence is not an issue! In fact I quite like NOT driving - all that concentration and no alcohol. Borrrrring! But, maybe I should grow-up - learn to drive... I waited for Doreen’s arrival in the foyer of the hostel, I was fully packed and it was a beautifully sunny day. Doreen arrived in tears. Thrifty the hire car company - renamed Shifty by me - refused to let her have the car. They wouldn’t accept her international drivers licence without her actual driver’s licence from Germany - for some reason Doreen hadn't thought it was a useful ... read more

My last day of work was on Friday the 18th of December... The last fortnight didn’t seem much like 'work' at all - in fact the Aussies also call Christmas the ‘silly season’ - for ‘tis the season to be silly, namely endless Christmas parties, lunches, morning coffees, secret Santa’s... One particular day in mid December was the university’s Christmas lunch a three-hour outdoor event where all staff received a staff token for a meal at one of the food vendors (Greek, Turkish, Vietnamese etc.) and a beer/glass of wine - which of course was taken advantage of to the utmost effect. Oh and I was also given a free university water holder - the type you take on camping trips... how very thoughtful of them! It didn’t stop there however, earlier that morning, library services ... read more

Here's a revelation: having a car is very useful in actually seeing stuff in Australia. Since my time in Brisbane I've been wanting to visit Lamington National Park; a paradise of waterfalls, wildlife and trails only an hour's drive away from from Brisbane. But since I don't have a car and the one person I know that does works weekends, I've had to accept that I shall never see it. I've therefore had to make do with visiting places that are reached by public transport instead. Surfers Paradise (yes, an actual place on the Gold Coast) despite the long sandy beach and gleaming high-rises is a remarkably dull place. A pedestrianised town centre and sort of Costa Del -less) feel to it - it's not Nice or nice. the weekend we visited had the V8 races ... read more