Blogs from Australia, Oceania - page 4011

Port Douglas is lovely, there is a long golden beach and a very small relaxed town. Unfortunately we are over here in their Wet Season. The last few days prior to our arrival there was torrential rain, flooding and a cyclone threatening the area. The temperatures are really high, but it is muggy, overcast and raining off and on all the time. We have been unable to go on the beach, normally there is a net sectioned off part which is used and has coastguards but due to the recent bad weather there is a lot of debry being swept on to the beach and to ensure that the nets are not damaged they have been taken down. So although it is now calm, warm and the sea has temperatures of 29 degrees, we have been ... read more

Got woken up by the construction noise outside of Tim & Toni's house. They're expanding the highway... and unfortunately for T & T, it's going to dump everyone right outside their front door when it's done. PUNISH... Went for brunch with Toni in Thiroul. Poor Tim had to work in the morning so exited stage leftus at 6:00 am. Talk about dedication! They're heading to New Zealand for three weeks next Saturday so hopefully we'll be able to catch up again before I leave. After being fed and watered, Dave and I headed back to Sydney via the Royal National Park. Encountered hardcore parasailers plunging from the cliffs (= crazy!). I don't think I'll be trying that as it's not covered in my travel medical insurance. Saw a giant lizard crossing the road, but still no ... read more

Wow I have to say Tasmania is great and I am really enjoying my time here. The Ferry ride over wasn’t very exciting. I left Melbourne at 8:00 pm and arrived in Devonport at 7:00 am. The Ferry was huge; it had about 4 different bars, pokie machines, travel agent, store, restaurant, and a cafeteria. You think for the price they charge you to come across that they would have fed you gourmet meals and you would have had a king size bed with fluffy down duvet covers, but you got a chair similar to airplane seats and had to bring your own food or buy onboard. I did get to see the Comet McNaught that was visible in the southern hemisphere and won’t come around again, not sure if that was worth a $270 ferry ... read more

hello again... It has been a while since i have last posted. The main reason for that is because at our place, we are completely out of internet service. When we signed up for internet we signed up for a 200 mb per month plan, the guy at the store said that this would be plenty for us...however when we found out that our account was 4 times the limit in about 2 weeks, we had to cut it out for the rest of this month. Were not looking forward to the massive bill that we will be getting for this. So i am writing from the internet cafe down the street. We can change our internet plan for next month, so things will be better. 2 weekends ago was the weekend retreat with the church, ... read more

Well here I am...I'm finally in Australia, my final port of call...a place I now call home. Just gotta learn the language! Australia's an amzing place. The first thing I noticed was how BIG it is. Australia's BIG. Actually, it's not just BIG it's HUGE-MONGOUS!!!! I flew in to Sydney from Kuala Lumpur on the 21st January and spent two weeks travelling up the east coast towards Brisbane, stopping off at Port Stephens, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay and Noosa along the way. Everywhere in Australia seems to be named after one of three things....Back in the 17-1800's I imagine the early explorers who arrived here conquered different towns and decided to name them in one of the following ways: The homesick named them after where they came from in the UK; the arrogant named ... read more