Thursday 20th January – From Countryside to Seaside Sadly, we say goodbye to wonderful Tamworth but not without a final musical fix: Golden Guitar Showcase – Early morning sets by three bands at the Golden Guitar venue and we then had enough CDs to keep us going on the long road to the coast. For the record we liked The Wilson Pickers and McAlister Kemp. A long Road to Port Macquarie – A long, slow and slightly treacherous route through the mountains took us back from the bush to the coast at Port Macquarie. Coastal Run – Great to stretch the legs alongside some of the prettiest secluded beaches we had seen for a long old time. Friday 21st January – Kicking Back in Port Macquarie A relaxed day taking some time out for R&R: Beardie ... read more

Sunday 9th January – Back to Big Brash Sydney Goodbye to the Melbourne gang before flying back to Sydney for some serious tourist activities: Fond Farewells – How lucky we are to have such good friends and how sad to say goodbye, although only for now… Lord Nelson Brewery – Allegedly the oldest hotel in Sydney but we happened across two “oldest pubs in Sydney” by accident (and it is a big place), so perhaps someone is telling porkies. This beautiful old building comprises pub on ground floor, bistro on first and hotel rooms on top floors, plus brews its own ale on site! Le Grand Cirque: Adrenalin – A hugely entertaining circus show with some real death-defying moments, with the added bonus of being housed in the iconic Sydney Opera House – great views at ... read more

Sunday 2nd January – Big Red Rock and Dust Left Sydney to explore the red centre: Fond farewells – How lovely to have experienced such wonderful hospitality and met such great characters as Rhubarb and Jackson! Restores your faith in human (and canine) kind… In hot water – Straight into 40C heat for a base walk around Uluru (Ayres Rock), but caught in a huge thunderstorm and watched the splendour of water cascading down the big red rock. Champagne sunset – Surprise champagne/juice and petit fours as we watched sunset over Uluru, which dulled the sense for the later bug-fest… Bugs, bugs, bugs – If you want to share your dinner, shower, ablutions and bed with bugs, this is the place to do it! An abundance of wildlife and distinct absence of bath-robes, fluffy towels or ... read more

Saturday 25th December – Arriving in Hong Kong on Christmas Day Touched down at 2PM in Hong Kong and then off to the Langham Palace hotel in “gritty Mongkok”. Thoughts and experiences: Changing rooms – Checked in after 19 hours travelling to find shattered glass all over the bathroom floor. Apparently no more rooms at the inn, but after keeping cool and staying friendly, got an upgrade to a Spa Room on the 40th floor. Bit of a result then! People power – If you thought London was busy, you won’t have been to the most densely populated district in the world – can’t imagine what rush-hour is like here. Christmas dinner – Not sure if fried rice, spare rib noodles and beef curry count for traditional Christmas dinner in HK but perhaps we have started ... read more