Made it through the rain!

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We made it back to Sydney...
Once the road opened the following morning we managed some BIG driving days. With coffee as our drug and Cordy as the in-car DJ we had some 6am starts and just drove south for hours at a time! We even had time to go to the Blue Mountains before going back to Sydney.
Unfourtunately we didnt have time to go to Fraser Island, big shame, but we hear the road was closed to it anyway 😞
Note to self...dont visit Queensland in the rainy season though apparently its has been a particuarly bad rainy season. But we dont regret the trip, despite the rain we saw some BEAUTIFUL scenery (through the hard-working windscreen wipers!). Cape Tribulation was worth the trip alone. We also went through some stunning National Parks, including Booti Booti where we stayed a night next to a beach that we had pretty much to ourselves. We drove through New England - which looked like English countryside and with the rain we could have been there!

The Blue Mountains are definately worth visiting for a couple of days. Echo Point is breath-taking, you can see for miles and watch the clouds rise from the forest. Its true there is a blue haze that rises from the Eculyptus trees (smells yum too)
Had possibly the most interesting cafe experience in Katoomba (the main town to explore the Blue Mountains from) We thought there was a 19th Century re-enactment going on as there were several people milling about a cafe in smocks and linen trousers. Ever a sucker for a cosy cafe we went in. It soon became apparent there were not dressing up but part a religious community called the Twelve Tribes. The cafe had only opened that day and was busy, decked out with wooden alcoves and a roaring fire - it was like being in an Swiss Chalet Cafe/time warp! Had a yummy hot chocolate - its pretty cold up in the mountains! Recommend it for an experience - The Common Ground 😊

Driving about, you just cant believe the scale of Australia - we think we pretty much drove the equivalent of Lands End to John O'Groats FOUR times!!

Now we are just sorting ourselves out in Sydney before flying to Auckland tomorrow morning.
Cant believe the time has gone so quickly - there is SO much to see still of Australia, we are ditermined to return! Its a FANTASTIC country 😊

We will write from New Zealand!!
Lots of love Issie and Cordy x x

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