Blogs from Australia, Oceania - page 16

Eat, sleep, repeat! Today was pretty much the same as yesterday! We didn’t need anything from the supermarket, so the truck didn’t get to go out today. Otherwise, we walked again in the morning and swam in the afternoon. Walking back from our swim we spotted a sizeable water dragon sunning itself on a rock beside Saltwater Creek. While we were relaxing during the afternoon it was to news that there is rain in Victoria and rain has delayed play in the Third Test in Sydney. It is hard to imagine as the weather is glorious again today in South West Rocks! Lucky us. Tonight, we went to the Thai restaurant, Thai on the Rocks, for dinner before returning to Chillati Gelato for dessert. We had to find a new walking route back to the motel ... read more

Tour Day 85 – Melbourne hosts a starting point for a wide variety of attractions, but the New Year holiday found several attractions not operating for much of my short stay and the weather kept this “fair weather camper” at home for another day. Few of the attractions are close to or within Melbourne (ala the Opera House, the Sydney Bridge and Bondi Beach in Sydney), so a significant drive is required both before and after the attraction and the tour duration is long by the day trip norms I’ve encountered – generally 9 1/2 to 12 hours. Grampians National Park is a bit too rugged for me, sampling the wine and produce of the Yarra Valley just isn’t my flute of champagne and the drive home from the “as the sun is setting” penguin parade ... read more

After our very late night/early morning we had a very lazy day today! We ventured back into the city heading for Kathmandu. We found that their toilet bags were on special again so purchased another toilet bag for Tracey … for the overflow toiletries. It’s handy to have a second toilet bag to organize the toiletries, etc that aren’t in use every day! After checking out the Christmas tree in Martin Place, we found our way into H&M where Bernie found some short-sleeved casual shirts that he liked. He really wanted another pair of shorts from Fjällräven so he asked Syri to guide us there. Unfortunately, they did not have a sale on BUT they did have the shorts Bernie really likes in a different colour. Sometimes if you really like something it is worth paying ... read more

Tour Days 75-81 – As soon as my friend, Arnold, learned I would be in Sydney for Christmas instead of New Year’s Eve, he suggested I join he, Frank, Mum and a few friends for Christmas dinner. I already knew Mum was visiting from Auckland, New Zealand for the Holidays. I accepted the invitation, and what a nice time I had. Somewhere along the way, I missed the instructions to life on the 36thfloor. Great views, wonderful food, nice folks and a memorable Christmas. Other that the Blue Mountains Scenic Drive (and its many variations), there was only one Sydney attraction that held appeal, albeit in a different lifetime – the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb. Yes, climbing up the eastern arch of the bridge to the summit and then down the western arch would probably reveal ... read more

We received an email yesterday from friends we met on our South American holiday thanking us for the Christmas card we sent. Yin and Gabriel live in northern Sydney, so we emailed back to let them know that we are going to be in Sydney for the NYE fireworks before heading further up the coast on the 2ndof January. After a couple of emails back and forth yesterday we confirmed this morning that we will meet them for lunch on Tuesday before we drive up to South West Rocks. We packed the car and drove over to the blowhole for a quick look. This morning, we were there about an hour before high tide and have to say that there was no appreciable difference in the spout! The sky was blue however as opposed to overcast ... read more