Christmas in Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road

Christmas was a different one this year but brilliant all the same. We went down to St Kilda Beach for a picnic by the sea. We had beautiful sunshine but a cool breeze so no swimming. Our picnic was washed down with a bottle of fizz and then all but Mark napped in the sun. In the evening we made a turkey dinner and polished off plenty of wine, beer and whiskey. A great day had by all.

On Boxing Day we were treated by Marks work bosses (Neil & Libby) to a day at the MCG to watch the Boxing Day test match against Pakistan. As the morning wore on the sun crept into the stands and we roasted with beers in hand watching the cricket. We were also kept highly entertained by the many drunken Aussi fans in the seats below us - the famous Bay 13!! 96 people were arrested for anti social behaviour and we're sure many more had close calls with security. It was all highly entertaining!

On the 27th December we started our route along the Great Ocean Road. It took all day to get to our overnight stop over point at Warnambool with plenty of stops to admire the stunning coastline along the way. We arrived at 'Quamby Homestead' (our accommodation) at 8pm only to discover that Trailfinders had messed up Nick's booking and only booked one room. Fortunately the owner (Julie) phoned round the area to try to find extra accomodation. This time of year most places are fully booked but she had some friends in a nearby village who were happy to have us. It wasn't a B&B but Joan and Keith happily welcomed us into their house. We had a cup of tea with them before bed and chatted about our travels. They were fantastic hosts and incredibly generous to take two random strangers into their home at such late notice.

On the following day we had planned to travel to Adelaide - a 7 hour drive. The previous days journey and busy timetable since arriving had taken its toll on Nick and Sally and the thought of spending another full day in the car was not appealing. We decided to look at other options so we could spend more time sightseeing at a more leisurely pace. Julie from 'Quamby Homestead' fortunately had availability so we booked in for another night. During the day we managed to get a couple of rooms in a motel on our route back to Melbourne in a place called 'Camperdown'. With a plan in place we could enjoy the sights of 'Warnambool' and 'Port Fairy' for a couple of days.

Yesterday we travelled back to Melbourne and last night went to 'Phillip Island' to watch the Penguine Parade. At sunset thousands of people gather on the beach of the island to watch the hundreds of little penguins returen from their day at sea. They appear from the surf in groups of about 10 at a time and waddle up the beach to their nests and young. It was a fantastic sight and well worth the 2 hour drive to get there. Mark had done a lot of driving and deserved a beer when we got back!

Tonight we plan to celebrate New Year with the half a million people estimated to be on the streets of Melbourne to watch the fire work display.

A Happy New Year to all at home!

Loads of Love

Rach & Mark. xxx

Merry Christmas!

Hello all,
Merry Christmas from Melbourne! We will be spending Christmas and Boxing Day here and then travelling the Great Ocean Road with Nick (Marks Dad) and Sally. Boxing Day will be a treat as we have tickets for the Boxing Day Test Match at the MCG!
It was 39 degrees yesterday when we arrived but today only a mild 22 degrees with a few showers. The forecast is much the same for tomorrow but we still plan to have a picnic on St Kilda Beach.
Hope you all have a great festive season and the snow holds out.
Miss you all loads.
Love
Rach & Mark. xxx

Coffs Harbour & Byron Bay

From our last update from 'Port Macquarie' we travelled North near to 'Coffs Harbour' where we stayed in a fantastic campsite on 'Darlington Beach'. The unpowered tent sites were great as there was an open woodland area and you could pick your spot and set up camp. We did exactly that and once the tent was up we went to explore the site and surrounding area. The beach was stunning but incredibly windy so we settled for a chilled out afternoon by the swimming pool instead.

That evening after dinner we walked back to our tent in the pitch black struggling to see more than a few yards infront of us. This was made even harder by the fact that there were kangaroos everywhere and we nearly walked straight into a few of them; only realising they were there when they bounced out of the way.

The following day we made our way up to a campsite in 'Lennox Head' just South of 'Byron Bay'. We stayed there for 3 nights and although the weather wasn't very kind to us with some heavy rain we had a great time. The campsite was packed with families planning to stay over the Christmas holidays. Our little tent seemed a bit inadequate amongst all the giant caravans with all the mod cons! On our first day we explored Byron and visited the lighthouse which is the most Easterly point of Australia. It was quite a walk up to it but gave amazing views of Byron Bay and the other beaches. In the afternoon despite the cloud we found a great beach called 'Broken Head' to spend the rest of the day relaxing with our books and newspapers. Unfortunately by Saturday night the rain had arrived and it continued to pour all day Sunday. We didn't let it dampen our spirits and spent the day shopping and went to the cinema in a nearby town called 'Ballina'.

During our time in 'Lennox Head' we met some lovely people and had some amusing beer fueled evenings, including one involving Marks hair clippers and some poor victims of drunken decision making. By the morning with three Australian heads shaved Mark was known as 'The Bloody POM' responsible for some rather amusing new hair styles.

We are now in Brisbane for 2 nights before flying to Melbourne to meet Nick (Marks Dad) and Sally for Christmas which we're very excited about.

Love to all at home and Merry Christmas!

Mark & Rach. xxx

Beach bumming in Port Macquarie

Today we woke up early as the sun heated the tent. We had breakfast and were down at the beach by 9am. The surfers were out in force which gave us great entertainment. While watching them Rach noticed a group of fins in the water and it was a pod of dolphins. They were about 50 metres off the shore and hung around all day swimming up and down the coast. Near to the beach there was a viewing point called Nobby's Hill. From up there we could see that there were actually 3 pods of dolphins and some were frollocking in the waves. The picture was the best of a bad bunch but sort of shows them.

In the afternoon we retired back to the campsite and spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing in the sun by the pool.

Tonight we plan to BBQ again and then tomorrow are heading up to Coffs Harbour.

Thank you for all the messages and hope you are all organised and ready for Christmas. We heard a Christmas song on the radio today and it sounded so out of place. Just can't get in the spirit when it's 35 degrees! Sorry but can't help rubbing it in.

Love

Rach & Mark. xxx

Port Stephens, Manning Point and Port Macquarie

After spending the first few days near Sydney we headed up the East coast in our little car packed full with gear. Our first port of call was in a place called Karauh which is just north of Port Stephens. We pitched the tent in quick fashion and headed out to explore the area. We've discovered that there are too many beautiful beaches to visit but we chilled at several around the area, namely Shoal Bay and Fingal Bay. That evening we had the whole camp kitchen to ourselves so just chilled and ate, oh, and a drink!
The next day we headed off to the Hunter Valley for a bit of wine tasting. Mark was driving - yes, Mark was driving so Rach had to do all the drinking, something she found difficult - not! We visited five vineyards and picked up a couple of bottles for consumption and a couple for Christmas. On the way back we stopped off at a drive through pie shop to make our dinner that evening easier - again we had the kitchen to ourselves.
We left Karauh very relaxed and looking forward to our next stop - Manning Point. Again we took the scenic route rather than staying on the Pacific Highway. We stopped for lunch at a place called Seal Point and despite the weather being cloudy the scenery was still stunning. Arriving at the campsite at mid afternoon we pitched (getting quicker) and walked to the beach with a beer and a packet of Salt and Vingear crisps! Manning Point is a very small place with not much regarding shops. The general store had to be everything - petrol, takeaway, grocery and coffee shop but it closed at 6pm! That night we meet a great elderly couple and chatted about everything until it was time for bed.
Today we cleared up the pitch and travelled to Port Macquarie. It' s a lot busier than the other sites we've been to so far with more backpackers! We got ourselves settled and then went to a Koala Park near to the town. They had other animals there and Rach took plenty of pictures of cuddly bears! Tonight we're going to explore the town more before having a BBQ.
Hope all is well at home and thanks for all the messages.
Love
Mark & Rach. xxx

The Northshore Beaches of Sydney

As expected we woke early this morning with it being our first outdoors for a while. Mark disappeared down to the beach around 05:30 and took pictures of the sunrise and the surfers who were already out looking for that wave (mad 1 percenters).

After a healthy breakfast of Crunchy Nut cornflakes we set off to explore. We had a full packed day visiting 7 beaches just north of Sydney. We did some sunbathing at some, took photos at some and had a great packed lunch with the seagulls. It has been a fantastic day for weather with bright sunshine and a cooling breeze. It's a great start to our camping experience and we are really looking forward to making our way up towards Brisbane before Christmas.

Thanks to cousin Jen and Joe for the recommendation of seeing this brillant area of the country.

Tonight we are going to make fajitas and chill out maybe with a drink or two in the eating area of the campsite.

Tomorrow we head for Port Stephen (about 150km) up the coast.

Love to all at home.

Mark & Rach. xxx

Sydney

Early Tuesday morning we arrived in Sydney after a good flight from Singapore. We collected our hire car and set off towards Hornsby (North Sydney) where we were staying with Rach's friend Kate who used to work at Haydon. After a few hiccups with the directions and a bit of a detour through central Sydney and over the Harbour Bridge we found our way and arrived at Kate's flat. It was great for Rach to catch up with her, however, Mark was soon bored on the teacher talk!
After a cup of tea we decided to get the essential shopping trip done to buy our camping gear. Mark had seen a place online and Kate knew where it was so we set off. We bought a little but adequate tent and an inflatable matress, then went to Kmart and got plastic cutlery and crockery. Once the shopping was done we were both exhausted as neither of us had slept at all on the flight. A nap was in order, so whilst Kate took our washing over to her sister's house we got a couple of hours kip. We woke about 6pm feeling refreshed and ready for a beer.
That evening we walked to a great cafe nearby for dinner and then went to a pub before going back to the flat for a good nights sleep ready for our full day sightseeing on Wednesday.
After breakfast we got the train into Sydney, getting off just before the Harbour Bridge. Kate was our tour guide and had a route planned. We walked across the bridge, getting fantastic views of the harbour and Opera House and then walked down to the rocks and along to the Opera House where we sat outside for a coffee. After lots of photo taking we wandered through the Botanical gardens before getting some lunch. After lunch we walked through town to Darling Harbour and went for a drink at Bungalow 8 bar looking out at all the big yachts. When we were in Sydney 3 years ago it was raining and cold so it was great to see the sights in the sunshine. By 4.30 we were all pretty tired and had covered lots of ground so we got the train back to Hornsby. That evening we had been invited for a BBQ at Kate's sister's house with her husband and two children. We had a fantastic evening and were very spoilt with a sensational Aussie BBQ - the first of many we hope!
This morning after breakfast we left Kate's flat behind and started the camping expedition of our trip. All equipped with our new gear we arrived at 'Sydney lakeside holiday park' and pitched our tent for the first time. The campsite is really well equipped with a camp kitchen, BBQ areas and best of all it's situated 5 minutes walk from a stunning beach. We did some food shopping, made lunch and then walked down to the beach. Sitting on the golden sand we watched the surfers catching waves. As per usual when we first arrive somewhere the weather wasn't quite as we expected. Fortunately it has dried up now but we've had a few rain showers. Fingers crossed for sunshine tomorrow!
Hope all is well at home and everyone is getting set for Christmas.
Lots of Love
Rach & Mark. xxx

Singapore

Our journey from KL to Singapore took just over 5 hours. We had booked seats on a coach recommended by the Balfour mob and unknown to us it turned out to be a luxury coach service! So we reclined in our seats and watched 'Pretty Woman' on our individual screens! We were also given dinner which wasn't bad either.
Arriving on the the outskirts of the city we jumped into a cab and headed towards Clarke Quay where Sharon (KPMG friend)had kindly offered her place while she was away - its great knowing people around the world (thanks Sharon). The apartment was ideal - great location and very comfortable. Our first evening was spent walking along the Quay to grab a quick bite to eat before calling it a night so we could make the most of the following day. We woke and made use of the complimentary breakfast before heading to Sentosa Island. Unfortunately the weather wasn't kind so we spent the day dodging the rain and visiting the various sights on the Island like the Lion monument and the aquarium. That evening we walked along Boat Quay stopped for a drink and admired the skyline (in the rain) and then went to Tent for dinner, a Mongolian BBQ restaurant we had been to before back in 2006.
On our second day Rach wasn't feeling too good so we had a gentle start and got the chores done - more washing. In the afternoon with Rach feeling better we went to the Singapore Zoo and then to the Night Safari which was next door. Both venues were fantastic and a recommendation for anyone. Unlike most zoos the one in Singapore used moats to keep the animals in which allowed you to get closer and take better pictures. The Night Safari was the real highlight though. Being able to walk around and see how various creatures behaved after dark was incredible and you gained a different perspective on their lives.
Our final day in Singapore was spent wandering through Chinatown and Little India before finishing off the packing a grabbing a taxi to the airport. As we sat in the airport having a drink we reflected over our 3 months spent in Asia and how different our experiences have been in the 6 countries visited. It has been an amazing adventure so far and we are really excited about getting to Australia.
Hope all is good at home and you've done your Christmas shopping.
Love
Mark & Rach. xxx

Penang and KL

Checking out of our hotel we received the cashback as promised due to Mark not being happy with the room and the original price associated. The ferry trip back to Penang flew by due to both of us chatting to an Australian family about almost everything.

Arriving in Penang we were met by Stuart shouting amongst the 'other' taxi drivers for our business. Clara was waiting in the car and after packing our bags into the boot we headed for a quick drink before going to a gallery opening of one of their friends. We looked quite scruffy compared to all the other guests but they didn't mind! We stayed for a while and then went for some food in 'Batu Ferringo' along the coast from Georgetown. We met up with more friends of Stu and Clara's and spent the rest of the evening catching up. It was fantastic to see them and as ever with Stu on the way home we popped into the local for one (several) for the road. The bar was called 'Daya' and Stu told us a story of how this bar used to be just a fridge and some lights when he first stumbled upon it. Since then and obvious support (buying drink) from Stu it now had tables and chairs out the front. In typical Stu style he told that story several times before realising he'd already told us!

The following day we woke up at their Penang pad and chilled for the rest of day in the town and by the pool in their complex. Well, it wasn't very chilled by the pool as Stu was asked to leave due to his shorts being to long and not the correct attire despite them being swimming trunks! He told the security officer in no uncertain terms 'if you want my shorts then you'll have to get in the pool and physically remove them!' - Very entertaining!

We travelled back to KL on the Sunday, kindly driven back by Dave and Sukhvin, the friends we met a couple of nights before - thanks guys. Straight away we started the chore of the washing our clothes. That evening Stu had hockey training so after dropping him off we went grocery shopping with Clara and Alex. After picking Stu up from hockey we went to the local food hall for dinner.

Yesterday we went into KL centre and spent the day walking around the various districts (Golden triangle, Chinatown & Little India) and using the MRT/LRT. After spending the last week or so chilling on beaches it was great to explore again and feel like travellers rather than holiday makers. We met up wth Stu, Clara and Alex for an evening meal at a local German restaurant and Mark had proper sausages! Thanks to having internet on tap we also booked some tent pitches for Austalia and booked our bus ride to Singapore this Friday. Its been great to stay with the Balfour clan in KL and much appreciated. Alex has kept us entertained throughout our stay with her cheeky smile and chatter!

Hope all is well at home and you are all getting into the Christmas spirit!

Love

Mark & Rach. xxx