DAY TWENTY-ONE: Fitzroy falls

DAY TWENTY-ONE: Fitzroy falls


Today we drove to Kangaroo valley with the grand illusion of seeing kangaroos. Unfortunately after over an hours drive we arrived to see nothing but cows. It must be an Aussy joke telling tourists about Kangaroo valley. To be fair it is a lovely place to visit but you would only drive through, there doesn't seem to be much other than canoe tours which we will be visiting at a later date.
From here we drove to Fitzroy falls, it's only about 17KM away from Kangaroo Valley, I really enjoyed it there it reminded me a lot of Katoomba only with far fewer tourists. All around there were animals you could hear rustling in the bushes, callings from the tree tops and splashing from the rivers. Unfortunately we didn't see anything we could only hear, I was disappointed but the views from the escarpment of the falls made up for the lack of wildlife spottings.

Fitzroy falls. There is a view platform right next to the falls.

DAY TWENTY: Job hunting

DAY TWENTY: Job hunting


Today we continued to chill, the humidity over the past few days has been unbearable so we decided to keep indoors. Today's plan was to continue planning our travels, so far we have done a lot and seen a lot we've driven about 3,000 km which is considerable for only two weeks. We have priced up a few little excursions locally for a few days or a week then we will return to base. Also we're in the process of planning a big trip up and back down the eastern coast, starting in Melbourne up to Cairns and back to Sydney, to then return to base. Currently we're swaying towards greyhound buses with the hop on and off ticket. First we have agreed that before we travel any distance we should aim to get temporary jobs here to raise more funds. As well as looking for jobs we visited Wollongong our local city for toiletry supplies and lunch.

DAY NINETEEN: Stormy Sunday & home made pasta

DAY NINETEEN: Stormy Sunday & home made pasta

Today has been the most uncomfortable day of all because of the humidity with temperatures of 27 degrees celsius. There has been terrible storms over the past couple of days with more to follow, along with a tornado in Kiama which is only an hour away. The raging thunder and lightning through the night gave us a restless sleep, so today we walked to the beach to see the waves crashing in to nearby rocks and the lightning flickering in the sky. We spent the rest of the afternoon having a pasta making lesson with my uncle,Vicki loved making the pasta and is a natural. It was even more fun eating it.....

DAY EIGHTEEN: Nan tien temple

DAY EIGHTEEN: Nan tien temple

After our day of rest we decided to keep activities to a minimum so we went to Nan tien temple. Nan tien temple is a Buddhist monastery just out of Wollongong. It is the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere although I'm not a religious person it was an incredible place to visit, there is an incredibly calm atmosphere, maybe some of that was down to the strong smell of incense they use during prayer. Either way the temple itself is fantastic unfortunately you were not allowed to take photo's inside the beautiful buildings but we took some from the outside.

Dave and Vicki at the bell of gratitude

Before we left we went to one of their café's where we indulged in loose leaf tea. I normally wouldn't go anywhere near tea but since we were there I thought I would give it a try. I ordered Mountain high tea, Vic ordered lemon grass and ginger.

Vicki has never been happier

DAY SEVENTEEN: Day off

DAY SEVENTEEN: Day off

After the past sixteen days of being pretty much none stop and the fact that I still haven't slept a full night without waking up at some obscene time had gotten the better of us and today we crashed and did very little except buy a snorkel and mask.

DAY SIXTEEN: Hunter Valley

DAY SIXTEEN: Hunter Valley


Today we went to Hunter valley for a bit of wine tasting at the beautiful vineyards. We're not entirely sure why we decided to go especially since neither of us drink wine and one of us was the designated driver. Nonetheless it was a lovely area with fantastic views which anybody could appreciate. Along Mt View road which is a home to a famous vineyard tour maybe if we had booked onto one we would have learned something about the wine. We stopped at several lookout points, and the views were fabulous.

DAY FIFTEEN: Sand boarding

DAY FIFTEEN: Sand boarding

 This has been without doubt Vicki's favourite day. Arriving at the pick up point at lunchtime we were approached by a friendly man with a camouflage hummer we climbed in with another five people to head for the sand dunes (Stockton Bright Sand Dunes) while he told us some interesting facts about them for example, the dunes are 32 km in length and are the fastest moving dunes in the southern hemisphere. Whilst travelling through the dunes it was hard core off road terrain, we went over some large dunes which tilted the hummer into an almost 90 degree angle as if you were on a roller coaster. When we arrived at the sand boarding location we had a quick tutorial on what to do and we were off at our own pace, as getting back up the dunes was tiring. Speeding down the dunes was fast and exciting whilst getting sand everywhere. The views around were spectacular white, golden sands very smooth looking, built up like pyramids. After sand boarding we stopped off at the beach to see Pippi's in their habitat. This location is also home to the filming of the famous movie Mad Max. After the trip we ended the day playing in the surf.

Vicki & Dave about to race

Pippi

   

DAY FOURTEEN: Swimming with sharks

DAY FOURTEEN: Swimming with sharks

Well it was more like paddling than swimming. We had managed to mooch a lift to Nelson Bay for a few days with my uncle while he was working. This was great since we were three hours north of Wollongong which gave us a whole new area to explore. We had been recommended to go sand boarding, dolphin watching, shark paddling and going to Hunter Valley. We agreed to try to do a lot of them only we wasn't going to do them all because we could always go again.
Today we went to Nelson bay to book ourselves onto the sand boarding trip for tomorrow. There were lots to choose from but we decided to go with safari tours purely because their tour bus was a Hummer H1. From here we drove to Port Stephens to go to the Shark and Ray feeding centre, for the pair of us it was about $90 and we could go into the pool with them. At first I thought this was great, we got changed and headed to the first pool, my initial excitement dwindled quite quickly, even though they were only small I had still seen Jaws and deep blue sea. After a short time of sitting on the step I waded in, There were lots of them all swarming around you presuming that I had food or that I was food, my apprehension quickly left me once I realised they were only curious and the fact they wasn't eating the small children who had jumped in at the same time as me was reassuring. Vicki on the other hand wasn't to keen on the whole experience, she went into the water and took some photos but was much happier feeding them from the side.

Dave making new friends

Eagle ray

Port Jackson shark

Tawny nurse shark

DAY THIRTEEN: Minnamurra rainforest

DAY THIRTEEN- Minnamurra rainforest

Oh it sounds so tropical and as though we have travelled hundreds of miles to the middle of nowhere. In fact we drove past a big water park and several houses along the road it is on. Minnamurra rainforest is a national park just outside of Jamberoo. It's apparently teeming with a huge diversity of life, today they must have all gone on holiday because we didn't see a great deal except two pretty large lizards and a hand full of Lyrebirds. There were dozens of birds calling and making a huge hubbub of noise strangely coming from one particular spot. We strained ourselves to see these different birds then all of a sudden a car alarm was sounding. We both looked perplexed since we are in the middle of the rainforest. It was a Lyrebird mimicking sounds, one minute it was a laughing Kookaburra and next it was a car alarm.

DAY TWELVE: Sunday, day of rest

DAY TWELVE: Sunday, day of rest

Today we went on a bit of a reconnaissance in pursuit of both our own car and a job. My uncle took us to a variety of places beginning with an outdoor shop, since we both have a lot of experience within that field it seems the logical place to start. I was reluctant really since I didn't really want to repeat what I had done in England but the shop didn't have any vacancy's. From there we moved on to the local climbing centre where I later wrote to asking for a job as the staff seemed too busy with a child's party. From here we moved on to another aspect of the trip that would be crucial, buying a car. We had originally accommodated $2,000 for a car but after minutes of looking it was evident we would need to invest more money into a car so getting a job is more important than ever. We was looking for either a 4x4 or a large estate something which will accommodate sleeping in, either choice is considerably cheaper than a camper van. When we got home I started to apply for jobs whereas there isn't much point for Vicki yet since she hasn't got a tax code yet and the tax is very high without.

DAY ELEVEN: Time to relax

DAY ELEVEN: Time to relax

After a none stop ten days our bodies were slowly shutting down, we needed a day off from doing too much. This being Vic and myself didn't mean have a complete rest day we still took my youngest cousin Tess out for ice cream in Wollongong, when we eventually arrived at 'Cold Rock' we had all worked up quite an appetite but none of us knew which ice cream and which mix to pick. I had a lemon sorbet with crushed strawberry's which was very refreshing where as Vicki had Aussy vanilla with crushed Oreo. We all really enjoyed it, on the way back we rode past the rock pool we went to on day three, Tess began to tell us about her teacher teaching them about 'petrified wood' and that there is an abundance along that area, need less to say I was intrigued and we set off in search of this fossil rock which was formally wood. Once we got to the beach it turned out it was everywhere all amongst the shells and rocks.

Cold rock and Petrified wood 

DAY TEN: Blue mountains

DAY TEN: Blue Mountains

The Three Sisters

Although the hostel was peaceful we had restless night but nonetheless we embarked on the three sisters walk approximately 4 hours.

As legend would tell, a powerful sorcerer turned three beautiful ladies into stone to protect them from the alluring males...... Unfortunately he passed before reversing the spell.

The walk starts from the three sisters lookout point and goes clockwise around, taking you through the spectacular rain forest. It begins with a 900 step decent which is exactly why you go clockwise, you really wouldn't want to walk up them. Towards the bottom of the escarpment you walk along the cliff edge, this is where we saw dozens of different bird variety's and one black, green bellied snake.

Diamond Python

It was a lovely bush walk which is clearly signed and almost impossible to get lost along, we would recommend wearing shoes for the walk and taking water. Towards the end of the walk there is Katoomba falls which is also a beautiful sight to see. Furthermore, we suggest an early set off time to avoid larger quantities of people, whilst enjoying the awaking wildlife.

DAY NINE: Valentines day

DAY NINE: Valentines day <3

Today we set off to spend the night in the blue mountains. Along the way we decided to go to the Jenolan caves which was a beautiful area and definitely worth a visit, we took a tour of the caves which cost $30 (Imperial tour) which is necessary as they won't allow you to just wander off like we were hoping to do.
Before the tour began we went outside to the small green lake to take some pictures. During our little photo shoot together I caught glimpse of a little lizard who appeared to be posing for us. Having taken photo's of the lizard we set off to begin our tour. The tour is unfortunately only about an hour long, but its very fascinating to see the rock formation form thousands of years in the making.   

Later after the tour we headed to Katoomba where we were staying in a small cosy hostel in the style of a cottage. Whilst in Katoomba we visited a chocolate shop which served real hot chocolate drinks. Mmmmm.... 

DAY EIGHT: Attack of the White Tail

DAY EIGHT: Attack of the White Tail
13-02-2013

Just recovering from last nights White Tail spider attack, when we say attack we actually mean running away with our arms in the air screaming.... It all started when Vicki saw something crawling on the ceiling light, we quickly grabbed to camera to get a close up shot to try to identify it. Vic suspected it to be something dangerous so we verified with my auntie who is an expert in the matter. She confirmed it was a White Tail and insisted we were to dispatch it.
We had to do this because the White Tail carries a bacteria on its fangs which causes the skin to ulcer.

Female White Tail

You can see it is tiny by the size of the LED on the camera in the reflection.





On to lighter things, during the day we decided to go on a bike ride, we liberated two of the bikes in the garage and took a leisurely ride along the cycle paths of the local area.

DAY SEVEN: Home and away

DAY SEVEN: Home and away


We can't believe it has been a week already! We've done so much, today was no exception.
Vicki is a fan of Home and Away, she used to watch it at home with her mum. So today we decided to go for a drive to Palm beach which is better known as Summer Bay so Vic could take a look at the set. It was over cast today which meant we wouldn't see anyone filming which was a shame but Vic was happy none the less. Unfortunately there isn't much to do there so we continued our little road trip to Manly Beach, where Vicki and her friend Cara had previously visited. There we had traditional fish and chips which reminded us remarkably of Cornwall as we were mobbed by the local seagulls.

Dave at Manly Beach

Vicki at Palm beach

DAY SIX: Going mobile

DAY SIX: Going mobile

Fortunately for us I had been added to Mark's car insurance and he has gone to Chicago. Today Vicki and myself took full advantage of free motoring. A few days earlier my cousin Tess had told us about a chocolate shop at Shellharbour so went in pursuit of it, before we went for our yearly sugar intake we went for lunch which came with two chocolate cookies. after eating half one I was that horrified with how different the chocolate is here we didn't bother going to the shop.
We continued our trip to Jervis bay, on the map it looks as though it is right next to Wollongong, but in fact it is 125 km which would have been absolutely fine in my little Citroen C4 with cruise control and climate control, unfortunately that was in Luton and with my sister. We had my Uncles Ford Focus which was nice but didn't have all the buttons I formally enjoyed. The lovely scenic drive to Jervis bay was pleasant however I found the roads and drivers made no sense, every speed limit is so slow compared to what I'm used to and other drivers undertake each other and never giving way, it seems like a free for all until you adopt the same driving style.
After what felt like an eternity we arrived at our destination. Jervis bay was Vicki's choice to make because it seemed close on the map and we had been told about it by Mark, Jane and the kids. To enter this national park it cost $11 but we didn't mind, we drove to a few view points, seeing wallabies and red parrots along the way.

Left: Dave Right: Vicki at Hole in the wall

DAY FIVE: Surfs up

DAY FIVE: Surfs up

It only took a 200m stroll to the beach whilst dragging two sit top fishing kayaks. On arrival we could see the waves crashing in to the beach, making the activity more problematic than we hoped. Vicki, Amy and Kayla were all unsure about entering the sea, whereas Luke and myself saw no danger in what we were about to do. Feeling pretty confident since one of my hobbies is kayaking and having already kayaked on the sea a grand total of three times I was sure this would be easy. Turns out once we began to paddle out it wasn't as simple as it was in my little play boat, we were thrown around, bounced off the boat into a turbulent sea. After a few rough waves we hopped back on and carried on paddling out to deeper sea. once we were there we turned, waited for the biggest wave we could see, and paddled, paddling as fast as we could so we would get caught up on the crest of the wave.
"I'm surfing" I excitedly burst to myself. I found it a lot harder than in my own boat because you're not as stable on a sit top but it was still great fun.

Left: Dave Right: Luke 

The picture doesn't quite do it justice but it became a lot stronger once we went out there.

FROM BEACH VIEW
The guys slowly dragged the kayaks into the sea pushing through the larger waves to avoid the current. Then they were off surfing wave after wave. I had trouble photographing them after they reached a certain point, so the camera was abandoned. After 20 minutes or so in it started to get more sketchy from what I could see and they were capsizing more often. It's quite a panicking sight as you can't do anything only stand there helpless. They both kept drifting into and out of sight behind the waves which panicked me. Eventually, they both make their way back in looking rather exhausted.  

DAY FOUR: Symbio

DAY FOUR: Symbio

For years I have had an interest in animals I have a huge percentage of David Attenborough films and I've read some of his books, and consider myself to be quite knowledgeable when it comes to identifying animals. Symbio was a great place to practice this skill, every time Vicki and I go to a zoo we play a little game were she covers the sign and I have to guess what the animal is called. A lot of the time I'm right with the basic identification but I'm not detailed enough to pin point an exact species.

Today was no exception there were Monitor lizards, Pythons, Echidnas, Dingos all as fascinating as the next but what really captivated us both was the Kangaroos and Wallabies. The grey kangaroo is a small breed which is quite tame. So tame in fact, we could hand feed them, along with baby Emus and Alpacas.

Vicki with a Wallaby

Dave with a male grey kangaroo

DAY THREE: Rock pool

DAY THREE: Rock pool

After such a long walk yesterday we decided it would be better for us to experience public transport, so we caught the train to Wollongong. We were both a little deflated to find it was only a ten minute journey but we didn't mind since we had seen so much. The plan for the day was to organise all our paperwork, so the bank account, tax form and Medicare card were all applied for within a few hours so we had the whole day to ourselves. Along the walk we went past the continental pool, next to that was the original rock pool my dad was telling me about. Vicki was captivated by this natural rock, there are no tiles on the sides or bottom, just the sandy sea bed. We both enjoyed this, Vicki being a geography student from years ago appreciated the rock formation and how they've made it, where as I was captivated by the little fish. Both armed with our waterproof cameras we took dozens of photo's of little puffer fish and various other animals which were swimming at our feet not phased by our presence.

DAY TWO: Meeting the Gong

DAY TWO: Meeting the Gong

We took it upon ourselves to visit the local town of Wollongong. my auntie Jane was kind enough to take us. Stepping onto the high street I couldn't believe how far behind they appeared to be compared to where I live, we was stuck in the 80's all the shops on the high street were tiny and the fashion sense is from a Duran Duran music video. After lunch at 'Maccers' Mac Donald's to the rest of the world. We walked by the lighthouse which was surreal for me because my dad had been here twenty two years previous before I was born with work, before I left he showed me some pictures of where he had been and what he had done and one particular photo is of his sitting on the grass verge next to the light house so I recreated it.

1990

2013

After the photo shoot we decided to walk along the coast line back to Bellambi. The sand between our toes and the fresh sea air against our skin as we plodded hand in hand on the ever winding coast. After an hour we began to realise that our gentle stroll was much further than anticipated the late afternoon breeze became considerably stronger and picked up the sand and began to exfoliate our legs which to begin with felt quite liberating but after another hour it became a bit of a nuisance. We was convinced that the next head land would be the last but it was only after three hours did we eventually reach our goal. On the positive side we now intimately know each beach along the ten mile journey.

DAY ONE: DAVE'S DAY

DAY ONE: D-DAY

Monday 4th of February was quite an eventful day. We embarked on our adventure.. leaving our homes of north west England and travelling to Australia. After a gruesome and lengthy flight made as pleasant as possible with British Airways. We arrived in Sydney, Australia, you guessed it two days later than we set off with the dramatic time difference. Followed by the monotonous four am wake ups. Fortunately, for the pair of us we both have families who were more than happy to take us in for as long as we needed their help, so living in luxury accommodation made this endurable. SLEEP....SLEEP....