Final Leg oz

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As you all gathered from our last update we were in the middle of small town Oz......we continued on up the coast and with each step we seemed to leave the small town further behind. Its tough to really recall what we have spent the last 10 days doing but I'll try to remember. One thing that has struck us as odd (among many many things this stands out) is the countries obsession with bowling......not ten pin bowling but bowling on greens. Everywhere we went there were people (ok mainly from the grey-haired-brigade) bowling in their dozens......and advert on TV for young people to apply for bowling scholarships....weird!!! Interestingly as part of the club house for these bowling greens there were betting shops with mini (very mini) casinos. Anyway lets not linger on the thoughts of the number of pensions that are spent in these "bowling club houses" and move on to more important things.....like what we have been up to.

After we left the 90mile beach area we headed off to Katoomba, Merimbula, Batesman's bay, the Blue Mountains and the Hunter Valley. For the first three places the main attraction was the beautiful coastal scenery and the wildlife. We even got up close and personal with a group of about 15 Kangaroos. They were (to any golfers horror) on a golf course on the 15th hole.....and we were told that there were actually about 250 Kangaroo's that lived on that golf course.......bit of a nightmare for the golfers, but great for us. We then finally had a change of scenery and headed into the Blue Mountain.

Now I know most Australians would say that the Blue Mountains are beautiful (which they are) and that the haze from the trees makes them seem blue from a distance (which it does) but I think it would also be fair to say that you could probably find places of equal natural beauty in England or Ireland. Having said all that Ralph was really in his element in this walking country and proceeded to take me on a 3.5hr walk, which included 900 steps (downards thank God!!). What we had both failed to realise that after the walk the only back up was to either retrace our steps (literally walking up steps for at least 45 minutes - not bloody likely) or to get a cable car. Now I'm not sure if all of you realise my love of cable cars but suffice to say that I spent the entire 10 minutes with my head burried in Ralphs chest while millions of Chinese tourists rushed from side to side of the car to get the best views (and also to make the thing wobble....not fun). Luckily we were leaving the following day so I managed to avoid any further "walks", treks more like!

Our next stop was a much more pleasing envirnoment to both of us......the Hunter Valley wine region!! There are a lot of parralells between the Hunter Valley and Napa but also a lot of differences. I wont go into what we thought of the wines as I'm sure some of you would know more about them that us (or at least think you do - only joking!), but it was nice to be back in a place with decent places to eat, lots of free tastings, and nice weather. The only down side to all of this is that we had to take turns driving as the Winneries are so spread out.

We're now back in Sydney and are enjoying our last few days here before we got to Santiago (Chile) and then Medoza (more wine - Argentina). We are both really looking forward to a change of culture and more importantly getting back to countries where our money will go further.

See you all soon

Love Ralph & Jo

PS: Ralph is growing a moustache so look out for dodgy pictures on the next blog....

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Photos

Kangaroo Golf
The Kangroos decide who will tee off first.

Bleeding tree
This is a weird tree that looks like is is bleeding.

Don't do it!!!
The pain of being unemployed was finally being to take its toll on Ralph ;-)

Blue Mountains.....
Not sure this picture shows the blue colour but it does show where we walked....all the way down and around this mountain!

Farewell to Oz
Our final days in Sydney.

Comments

[Adele Wyse]

I love reading your news - keep them coming. Sounds like you are having much more fun that recruiting grads for 2007 campaign ! - continue to enjoy yourselves x

[Mike]

Sorry....
.... maybe I'm missing something obvious.... but WHY is Ralph growing a tache?

[J R]

Ralph is growing a tache because he is german...need I say anymore?