Blogs from Australia, Oceania - page 4780

Wow the place is amazing, huge but amazing. My cousin Tom and Jo his wife are gorgeous and I'm staying with them.... taken some great photos... doesn't seem like the opera house is that big, well it is! But just not as big as the harbour bridge! Been wandering around the city which is awesome, so much water everywhere! Heading to meet Adam and when weather picks up gonna go down to bondai beach and to the heads of the harbour! Getting better today so fingers crossed! Still not caught a tan but its cold. Trying to sort out east coast there are some good deals. Have to get a certificate to serve alcohol over here, experience doesn't matter, and they're well into their gambling so need to get a certificate for that too cause there's ... read more

After North Queensland we set off South towards our next major stop, Fraser Island. Before we got there we managed to catch up with our friends who are travelling round the world for a year. We caught up with them in time for Steph's birthday and spent a great day on the beach getting in some kiting as well. (Thanks for making my birthday really special guys, great bbq!) We stayed near the pretty town of Hervey Bay for one night before catching the ferry across to the largest sand island in the world! Fraser Island is out of this world! The sand is the whitest, the water the bluest and the Jeep Wrangler we hired was the best toy in the world! We had a brilliant (if a little bumpy) three days exploring the 150 ... read more

At 8:30 this morning it was already HOT - like mid-day in July in Canada. Yesterday we took a sailboat cruise and snorkeled on the great barrier reef. Spectacular! Not only the fish, but also the coral comes in an amazing array of colours, shapes and sizes. The kids were spoiled as they were the only children on the expedition, and hence got lots of attention. Went on a hike through the rainforest afterwards, before sunset - about 45 minutes. We got a little sweaty! Kept our eyes open for snakes - eleven of the twelve most poisonous snakes on the planet are indigeonous to Australia - mostly up here in the tropics. We spent Monday on a bus tour of Fraser Island - largest sand island in the world. 128 km long and no exposed ... read more

Drive to Bingara But first a walk in the mud Again I slipped. Doh! Early wake up at about 6AM since there were 23 of us and only one toilet and shower for us all! Thank goodness I made the tactical move of showering before bedtime as most others either woke up super early or queued up for the showers. So I had a nice relaxing breakfast of toast and cereal (Oh how I miss my milk!) in front of the TV after packing up my things. Someone had the television set to “Mork and Mindy”. Now that's an oldie! We were supposed to be ready by 7 but it was more like 7:30 and then 7:45 by the time we went on our little nature walk by the river. We saw quite a few colourful ... read more

Melbourne is not your average city although its central business district could convince you otherwise. It boasts everything a modern day metropolis has to offer but somehow manages to keep the community feel that most cities lose. It probably has a lot to do with the numerous suburbs which make up the majority of the city's mass, each one pocessing that individual vibe that makes a visit an adventure in itself. Whether it's the 'Camden-esq' individuality of Richmond, the fashionable, bistro laden streets of Prahan/South Yara or the party mad beach scene at St. Kilda there is always somewhere that matches your mood (or your wallet). We arrived at the airport with our normal vague ideas of where?, when?, how?, what? and do we have enough cash for that? It took a good forty minutes on ... read more