Aussie Adventures Part 1

We’ve almost reached the half way point of this adventure! It is hard to believe how fast time can fly. Some things we have done and places we have been seem like ages ago since we left Canada and in some ways it feels as if we just left. We are already starting to think about heading back to reality.

We arrived in Sydney on January 6th after a relatively short flight from Christchurch, New Zealand. We had 8 days in Sydney at a nice Airbnb with an excellent location near Darling Harbour. Despite the weather not always cooperating we made the most of our time in the city. Sydney has an amazing ferry and transportation system, which made it easy to get around and see all the sights we desired.

The Sydney waterfront is possibly the most iconic and beautiful in the world. The Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge make the perfect frame for this picturesque landscape. The area is alive with restaurants, street performers, live music and lots of people to watch. We contemplated doing the bridge climb but at $250+ per person and Chase’s insistence that “there is NO WAY I’m doing that” we opted not.

While in Sydney we scored some family tickets to a show about all creatures scary and deadly in Australia called “Deadly 60 Down Under.” The boys really enjoyed the show and it was a chance to get them inside the magical Opera House. As a special treat, David and I were lucky enough to manage a date night out to see La Bohème at the Opera House. A very memorable evening indeed! The performance was spectacular and the stage set and production was top notch.

Australia is of course famous for it’s beaches so on the first day the weather corporated we made our way to Bondi Beach. Bondi is only 8 kilometres from downtown Sydney, is over 100 meters wide and stretches for more that a kilometre. Beautiful blue water, golden sand and tons cafés, shops and bars make this Australia’s most famous beach area. In true Australian style the waves were rough with strong rip currents and apparently several people had been stung by jellies that day. We stayed close to the lifeguard station and kept a close eye on the kids. Remember to always swim between the flags when in Australia.

After spending a few hours near the Bondi Pavilion and grabbing a late lunch we headed out on the Bondi to Coogee Beach coastal walk. This 6km walk joins 5 beautiful beaches and took us along the coastline featuring stunning cliff top views and lots of rocks for the kids to climb. It was a highlight of our time in Sydney.

Sydney adventures also included:

– a fun day at Manly Beach

– a day at Taronga Zoo complete with a tree climb course

– a nice lunch and visit with a friend and patient who happened to be in Sydney at the same time

– a quick trip to Luna Park

– a day at the AustralianMuseum

– some shopping

– a movie (movies were much more expensive than in Canada!)

– relaxing and swimming at the spacious Airbnb before our next cozy camping adventure. Busy, busy, busy!

We checked out of our Airbnb and into camper van #2 on January 14th. Our first stop was wine country of course! We drove approximately 250kms to the beautiful Hunter Valley. After a bit of searching we managed to find a great tour guide to take us on a kid friendly wine tour. This 6 hour tour took us to three wineries, a chocolate factory and even a cheese and gelato tasting. It was a great day for us all!

A spot fire on a nearby hillside was a great reminder of devastating fires past and present both here and at home in B.C. as the planet warms up. Fires were on our mind as we drove north through dry eucalyptus forests. Eucalyptus trees are full of oil and they burn hot and with a blue flame.

From the Hunter Valley we headed toward the ocean to begin our east coast Australia road trip. Heading north our next stop was Nambucca Heads where we escaped the heat by swimming in the lagoon and walking the famous V Wall. The heatwave in Australia was extreme! While it was cool and rainy in Sydney, once we headed north the heat began – as hot as Africa and as humid as Seychelles – with temperatures most days exceeding 33 degrees. Luckily we weren’t in the Adelaide area where record breaking temperatures reached over 45 degrees!!

After Nambucca Heads we continued north to the famous Byron Bay. A haven for surfers, backpackers, hippies and tourists, Byron Bay was very picturesque and very busy. We spent 2 nights at a great camp ground complete with a water park for the kids. The boys (and Mom!) were hoping to see Thor (actor Chris Hemsworth) here as he is a local known to frequent the beaches, but no such luck.

Continuing along the coast we next stopped in Port Macquarie for a visit to the Koala Hospital. This facility houses and rehabilitates between 200 and 250 sick and injured Koalas annually and is also involved in Koala research. There were some adorable Koalas here, including a blind Koala named Ocean who was injured by a motor vehicle while just a joey in her mother’s pouch.

Our next destination was the Gold Coast and a wonderful visit with some new friends in Surfers Paradise. Back in September while on our Mediterranean cruise the boys met some great kids at the pool and they spent a good deal of time together for the remainder of the trip. We shared contact information and reconnected when we arrived in their neck of the woods. In true Clampett style we spent 2 nights parked in their driveway while the kids swam in their pool, the adults sipped Australian wine and the Ryan family showed us their beautiful part of the world. They are a great family and we thoroughly enjoyed our time together and are greatful for their hospitality and friendship. It seems Australians and Canadians share a similar outlook on life, sense of humour, and temperament. Despite the heat and critters, Australia is truly somewhere we could comfortably fit in and call home; probably more so than any other place we have visited.

Here’s to new friends who will become old friends!

While in Surfers Paradise we took the super fast elevator up 77 floors to the top of the Q1 tower and SkyPoint Observation Deck for a panoramic birds eye view of the city and famous Surfers Paradise beach. Q1 is one of the tallest residential buildings in the world and SkyPoint has one of the worlds fastest elevators taking you up the 77 floors in 42.7 seconds. For the adventurous there are 1331 steps to climb instead.

Also, because the Gold Coast is known as Australia’s playground, we spent a day at Dreamworld theme park and another at White Water World water park. Both were extremely hot but tons of fun!

Moving on, our next stop was Brisbane where we visited Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary . Here we had the opportunity to get up close to many of Australia’s native animals including kangaroos, Tasmanian Devils, and of course Koalas!

To further enhance our koalafications as Australian animal experts we visited the Australia Zoo after leaving Brisbane on route to Mooloolaba. The zoo, which began as a wildlife park in 1970, and later renamed the Australian Zoo by the crocodile hunter Steve Irwin, is now run by his family since his tragic death in 2006. The zoo was fantastic! We happened to be there on January 26, Australia Day. As a treat for the crocs we got to witness them being fed a whole bush pig. Apparently they only do this once a year, on Australia Day.

We will omit the pictures of the reptiles, spiders and insects and other creepy creatures we’ve seen, but let’s say there have been plenty, especially when heading to the campground washrooms! Definitely NOT my favourite thing about Australia!

While in Brisbane David contacted a fellow dentist whom he met during his LVI training and we got together for a nice dinner with her and her husband. It is always good to reconnect!

Mooloolaba (try saying that 3 times fast after some Australian wine!) was our next stop and was a pleasant surprise. The town has a perfect beach holiday feel, with lots of cute shops, coffee houses and of course a stunning beach backdrop.

In an effort to get up the coast the last few days have been a lot of driving in what feels like the middle of nowhere Australia. One long drive to Tannum Sands was followed by another long drive to Mackay (pronounced Ma-Kye), which basically were just eating, sleeping, driving days (approximately 600kms each day). There seems to be not much to see in this stretch besides frequent kangaroo road kill and smouldering bush fires.

We are currently in Mackay at a coffee shop (The Coffee Club is a franchise here; highly recommend checking it out and trying the delicious coffee and food) awaiting news on road closures. Not only did we book Australia during a record heat wave, it is now apparently monsoon and cyclone season in the northeast. Many roads north of here are closed due to flash flooding and excessive rains. We’ve got 5 days until we have to return the camper van in Cairns, and attempt to catch our prepaid live aboard adventure out on the Great Barrier Reef – so wish us luck as several roads we need to pass are currently blocked with flooding water!

With Love,

The Travelling Babins

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things – Henry Miller