Koalas and the blue haze

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My journey from Coffs to Port Macquarie involved that same mischievous driver named Trevor (classic guy who always wore his nametag upside down - which was really him in a nutshell!) who always anally stacked everyones bags perfectly and thus wasted about 30 minutes at each stop.. meaning by the time we arrived at our destination we were always 1.5 hours late. So we sat at Coffs and waited and waited. When he finally did arrive he proceed to waste another 30 minutes stacking bags blaming the Christmas rush for his lateness. Nice bloke but probably in the wrong line of work.

So arrived to Port Macquarie to find everything shut and it nearly sundown. Checked into my hostel and planned to see the town all in the following day. Port Macquarie is a really lovely town but I thought Australia was supposed to be flat! Boy was I wrong. Looking at the map and talking to some travellers I ascertained that the town was a bit too big to walk so I took out one of the hostels free bikes and set on my way.

First stop Town Beach which was really nice and framed by a rock jetty that people have taken to decorating. Sadly I had no paint to join the festivities and had to settle for reading other peoples messages. From Town Beach I was headed for the lighthouse about 9km away. Thinking I had the bike and would make it there in good time I set off only to be greeted with the largest number of long and steep hills I have found in OZ to date. I struggled up the hills (most likely due to my non geared bike that was stuck on 4th gear). Proud to say I walked very few hills however halfway to the lighthouse I gave up for fear of dehydration, lack of energy and perhaps laziness. What can I say I was downright knackered and I had already been riding hills for 4 hours.

Sat through the free movie and the rainforest centre and set back the way I came for a few hours rest on Flynn's beach. After a brief recovery I headed for the Koala Hospital (the only one in the world). Had a nose around the sleepy grounds (sleepy as koalas sleep 18-20 hours per day!), saw my first wild koala in the grounds around the hospital (sleeping of course!) and headed back for the feeding at 3pm. All the koalas happily awoke to a good meal and a look around before promptly drifting back to sleep! So cute, very informative and one of the best things I have done in OZ!

After my massive day on the bike I settled into the nearest hammock finished my book and headed to bed early (due to my 5:40 bus the next morning!). Awoke entirely too early and took my 10 turned 20 minute walk (fully laden with my bags- come back Ev my shoulders hurt!) to the station. Happily the bus turned up early and I had 2 seats to myself. Heaven! You know you have been travelling too long when 2 seats on the bus make your day! Sad isn't it!?!

Arrived in Newcastle, a strange town, one of the first convict colonies in Australia. Wandered through the uninteresting and deserted town centre before checking out the beach where I had my fill of the sandblasting wind and quickly left for the UK institutional feeling of the leather sofas in my hostel. Glad I only have one day here.. plus I am so excited to get to SYDNEY!

Took my last (very late) Greyhound bus to Sydney. We drove over the Harbor Bridge and straight downtown to Central Station. A short walk and a rip off taxi ride later I arrived to my hotel (a bit dodgy) and set out to explore the local shops 2 days before Christmas- what was I thinking. After waiting in line for hours I returned with my shopping and lost inspiration to explore any more.

Early the next morning Ev arrived back after his 24 hour flight. We shopped for our cold Christmas dinner and made plans for the next day. That evening we headed to Manly by ferry to catch up with Sam and Alison who we met on our 6 week tour in Africa (great to see you both again!). The ferry journey was complete with amazing views of the city, harbor bridge and the Opera House. Such a fantastic evening and finally some festive activities (Christmas crackers, lovely Aussie BBQ etc.). Returned back to Glebe after our evening out. A bit concerned that we were staying in the wrong sort of hotel when we arrived back at 2am to find all their 50 dollar rooms (50 dollars after midnight was the advert out front) were gone for the evening. We quickly found our room and locked the door!

We spent Christmas day in the park at the end of Glebe Point Rd overlooking the harbor and the ANZAC bridge. It was a lovely day full of sunshine and merry making.

Boxing Day we ventured out to the Blue Mountains via train and bus. The journey was beautiful. The mountains develop a blue haze due to the eucalyptus oils that heat in the midday sun. We visited Scenic World for a trip on the SkyWay across the range then took the steepest incline railway in the world (50 degree angle) to the base of the range. We did a bit of exploring in the rainforest before taking the cablecar back to the top of the cliff. We also visited the Leura Cascades. These collection of waterfalls are spring fed and tumble dramatically off the cliff to the floor of the valley.

Tomorrow we head to New Zealand for more beautiful scenery. Don't miss more new pictures up on the Tourist Trail blog.

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Photos

At the start of the day
and my 12 km bike ride

Bummed!
this poor boy is in the hospital not due to illness or injury but because the local council have cut down his trees to build houses! BOO!

Did I mention
koalas sleep 18-20 hrs per day.