Bijou Vans-R-US

We've now now set up camp in our little van – christened PIG, for no better reason than we were “slightly disappointed”(putting it mildly) that it wasn’t a bit smarter and a lot better equipped! (2 teaspoons, 2 knives, 2 forks – 2 mugs etc etc. - you get the picture) The fact that it needed it’s leaky hot water system replacing before we could set out, didn’t endear it to us at all.

Having now managed to stow away all our “stuff” (with the help of a few cardboard boxes under the sofas  - very little cupboard space), and get to grips with how to make things work,(you can’t actually plug the kettle in to the electric point, as the lead won’t reach without the help of an extension lead – no available workspace!!)  we are slightly fonder of it than yesterday, and fully expect to grow to love it over the next 6 weeks.

When we return home, we shall probably start new careers redesigning camper-van interiors. Andy – if you fancy bringing a few tools out and doing a bit of DIY, we’d be delighted to see you!

Hot off the press - now have a new challenge. Drying out the duvet!!!

Caught the edge of a cylclone last night -  Note to self:-  impressive rain and an open overhead vent do NOT make for a dry bed!! Derrr!

NZ - First Impressions

 First impressions of NZ ;

 Relief at more manageable temperatures – first couple of days have been nice and warm, but not baking like Oz.

It’s FULL of bungalows. And they’re TINY & most have tin roofs!

The accent takes some pinning down – a cross between Australian and South African we reckon.

“kin yi giss where it is yit?”

MUCH more reasonably priced wine and beer. Hurrah (Rick is still in shock after Oz prices!)

From the ridiculous to the sublime!

Last night, we had an "eat it up supper, comprising of all the leftovers from a week's self catering before leaving Cairns! Very strange meal indeed

Whilst tonight, we have finnally arrived in NZ, and celebrated with a lovely meal at Mecca - half Kiwi and half Indonesian resturant. yum

Sue's Pan fried red snapper fillets on lemon mash with lime hollandaise & fennel salsa



Rick's Lamb rump on bed of couscous with a tomato & herb sauce

Now, That's more like it!

Tomorrow we pick up the camper van and start exploring. Will let you know where we get to.......

Goodbye OZ, Hello NZ!

Well, too soon we’ve come to the end of our week here North of Cairns, and are soon setting off for NZ – still without seeing a roo!  The closest we’ve come is a group of little wallabys,sharing  a pasture right next to the main road with half a dozen horses.

Apart from our brilliant day on the Barrier Reef, we’ve also visited Kuranda village up in the hills – heading up there by cable car over the rainforest canopy – but the most spectacular bit of the day was the trip back down again on the Scenic railway – a staggering feat of engineering, cutting a railroad into rock faces and over gorges on so many flimsy-looking bridges.

Have also spent lots of  time here  just taking it easy, enjoying the pools and beaches & generally being lazy. Being the rainy season this also meant some time watching the rain come down, but it’s warm rain so, No worries!

We gave ourselves a treat on our last day here; hired a car and headed north to the Mossman Gorge, on the SE corner of the Daintree Rainforest & National Park.

Some of our day was spent  with a lovely Aboriginal guide called Harold – Wawubuja in his tribal tongue. Our guided walk was fascinating – saw all sorts of plants in the rainforest which could easily prove fatal! Often growing close by a natural antidote – if only you knew which one it was!  A real privilege to spend a few hours hearing about the spiritual sites, rituals and customs of his tribe – the Kuku Yalanji.

The rainforest here is magical, with sparklingly clear streams and rivers, huge strangler figs, towering  red cedars, massive ferns & vines, all covered with epiphytes. And the beaches – wow - Awesome.

We’ve had a really good first “taster” of OZ, and will look  forward to returning for an extended stay another year.  If we do, we’ll be making sure we fit in a bush camping trip with Wawubuja near his home village of Laura - just as long as we don’t have to eat whitchetee grubs!- (prob not the right spelling)

So….packing up and flying off in the morning.  Can’t wait to get exploring in the camper van.

NZ here we come

Matt's very own bit of Upolu Reef

Matt never did get out to Australia,or visit the reef, but we thought this would be a place he would have loved, so decided to bring a part of him here with us to leave  forever in this beautiful natural environment.

 One of the lovely crew from Ocean Freedom took us over to an isolated part of Upolu Reef, where the coral is so near the surface you  can almost touch it. What a wonderful place for him to be a part of.

A Day on the Reef

What a day we’ve had out here! Joined our boat early – a 3 deck catamaran capable of carrying 70+ guests but fortunately there are only 30+ today, so large crew to passenger ration which was great for us. Lots of enthusiastic informed attention and guides. The sea was glassy on the way out - cruised for over an hour to pass through the inner reef and reach the outer and moor at our first snorkeling point – the Wonder Wall on the outer edge of Upolu Reef. The water is warm - like a tepid bath and visibility was excellent. The sea is alive with all shapes and sizes of coral/fish/starfish/ sea cucumbers. Spotted a Hawksbill Turtle guiding effortlessly through the water & followed him/her as it feeds,  surfaces  to breath and do other turtley things. Magic!  Small sharks here also, but mainly really pretty fish of all colours & sizes. Several sessions of snorkeling throughout the day, interspersed with rest stops and views through the glass bottomed boat.

Lunch was a smorgasbord of prawns, smoked salmon, cold meats and salads. which slipped down well after all that exertion, although after consuming enough of the Coral Sea to satisfy our liquid requirements we didn’t need anything to drink.

Moved to a different location after lunch, to a part of Upolu Cay which is SO shallow, you can stand on the sand in-between the reef sections & the views of the corals are spectacular!.

All in all a really special day – even more so as when we arrived back to shore, we discovered it’s been raining heavily on land for most of the day – and we missed it!  

Early to bed tonight – we’re both knackered. Tomorrow we’ll give ourselves a well deserved day off.

Mango Lagoon, Cairns - Let it rain, this'll do nicely!

Wow – the temperature difference on arrival in Cairns was vast. Is about 30+ degrees and very humid. Lovely sunshine when we got here, and now settled into a lovely apartment for a week’s  relaxation and a bit of an explore  in between tropical storms. As you can see……..

 

…….this place is lovely, so don’t worry too much if we have to put our feet up and catch up on a few books because of the rain

And with this apartment, we can catch up with some home cooking for a change

Last night’s menu was:

Brushetta with spinach, feta and cashews;  then

Pan-fried Nile Perch fillets spiced with chilli, garlic, & cumin;  and a few veg

And today, after a day spent taking it easy, doing a few lengths in the pool,  and exploring the local beaches, Ricardo is about to try his hand cooking! On the menu tonight: some very nice Porterhouse Steaks with a nice salad,  after a few huge local prawns. Yum.

Tomorrow we’re booked to spend the day on the reef.  Can’t wait

Melbourne

Well – our stay in Melbourne was brief, but sociable, with just one full day to explore the city.

Our first night was spent catching up with Anna and Andy in Bar-Humbug

Of course, predictably it was a late and rather “over-indulged” night, so our tour of Melbourne’s Golden Mile the next morning got off to a bit of a slow start! Had an interesting couple of hours checking out the Immigration Museum – Surprised to find out how “picky” and prejudiced  Australia was when selecting immigrants – only really got more “PC” relatively recently (1960’s & 70’s). Before then, if you were black, yellow or with no English,- forget it!

Our next stop was at the Old Treasury building, where we were adopted by a wonderfully quirky volunteer guide, Anita,  who was a dead-ringer for Dame Edna.  She took us under her (substantial) wing for a couple of hours of fascinating tales of Melbourne’s development, scandals, prosperity c/o the goldrush and political wranglings with Sydney over who best deserved to be the Capital – both  settling on Canberra in the end, as a half-way compromise. Only the Ozzies would dream that one up! Once Anita  “let us go” we scampered back to the hotel, packed up ready for an early flight next day, then out to spend the evening with James, who we’ve known since he was a wee lad in Cambridgeshire, and now lives in Melbourne with his lovely Malasian lady.

Enjoyed a wonderful meal at Pure South in the smart heart of Melbourne. Thoroughly recommend it, food just too gorgeous to brag about!

Thanks to James and his lovely lady for getting us home . Now it’s goodbye Melbourne and hello Cairns

Where are the Kangaroos then????

So WHERE are all the Kangaroos then???  We’ve been driving for 2 days now, through some really remote scenery, and never a sniff of one!

But we did see warning signs…. 

Fascinating story at the Killer Whale Museum in Eden about “Old Tom” –  the leader of a pack of Orca Whales who worked in “partnership” with the local Whalers; driving the huge whales into the bay here for the whalers to catch & kill! They  were then “rewarded” by getting first pick of the tasty bits to eat – normally feasting on the lips and tongue (which are favorite delicacies for Orcas apparently) before the whalers towed their prize in to shore to strip off the blubber. Is the only known partnership between Orcas and man, and went on for several years until Old Tom died of natural causes. Quite spooky.

 

Overnighted at Lakes entrance – a very miss-able, but convenient stopover! But were rewarded by finding  The Fisherman’s Seafood Café.  Brilliant supper last night ….



Pistachio-crumbed Flathead tails,tomato,cucumber,avocado salad + ouzo aioli for Rick

And

Crab-stuffed Atlantic Salmon slow-baked in creamy garlic sauce with salad for Sue

YUM

Next stop Melbourne