The forts
Originally uploaded by Toytown Mafia.
One of the forts on Magnetic Island and the mainland in the background
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Oz Experience day eight - Magnetic Island
On Wednesday we had a thankfully short amount of driving to do, heading north from Airlie Beach and arriving in Townsville at lunchtime. We got the ferry over to Magnetic Island, so called by Captain Cook because his compass acted strangely when he passed it. It turns out that the island doesn't actually have much of a magnetic field at all even though it has a huge granite core, so he must have just had a faulty compass.
Once we had checked into Base Backpackers, we headed out on a walk around the hills on the island. The 'forts' on top of the island's hills were used in World War 2 to observe and defend the coastline and the passage between the island and the mainland. The forts are meant to be one of the best place to spot koalas in the wild in the country, but being shy and reclusive creatures, we didn't manage to spot any.
So after a nice, relaxing day, we settled down in the evening and I got ready for my four day Open Water SCUBA diving course that would start the next day.
Once we had checked into Base Backpackers, we headed out on a walk around the hills on the island. The 'forts' on top of the island's hills were used in World War 2 to observe and defend the coastline and the passage between the island and the mainland. The forts are meant to be one of the best place to spot koalas in the wild in the country, but being shy and reclusive creatures, we didn't manage to spot any.
So after a nice, relaxing day, we settled down in the evening and I got ready for my four day Open Water SCUBA diving course that would start the next day.
Oz Experience day seven - on to Airlie Beach
Tuesday (the 9th that is) was our longest day of driving yet, with about nine hours in the bus in total. We drove first back to the coast, then headed north to Raglan, where we picked up our lunch for the day. We then continued to Rockhampton and then on to Sarina for an afternoon session of lawn bowls. It might seem a strange thing to do on a backpackers'bus, but it broke up the day nicely and gave us something to try which many of us hadn't done before. After that break, we were off to Airlie Beach, arriving at about 7.30pm. It certainly wasn't the most exciting day, but at least it was a rare one in the sense that it included so much driving.
Oz Experience day six - Kroombit
On Monday we left Hervey Bay and headed up the coast to the town of 1770, where we picked up ten people before moving inland to Kroombit cattle station. This was to be our first experience of the Outback and its culture, which is so very different from the commercial coastal towns. After a fairly long drive, we reached the station in the late afternoon, where we would also stay the night.
Australia is the world's largest exporter of beef and its cattle stations are what makes that possible. To compensate for the often less than ideal land, these farms need to be enormous and the average size of a station is a million acres. Many stations just leave their stock to run wild for most of the year, mustering them into a holding area to sort them and move them off once a year. To round up all this cattle, they have to use helicopters and teams of station hands on the ground on motorbikes. Not all of the cattle can be rounded up every time, so you get some animals which won't see a human being or even a fence for months or years at a time.
At Kroombit, one of the activities we got to have a go at was goat mustering on horseback. I hadn't ever riden a horse before and mustering seemeed to be more worthwhile than a simple ride, so I signed up and had a go at it. About eight of us headed out into the paddocks, guided by one of the station hands, looking for goats. Once we found them, we had to ride our horses around them so that they were always in front of us and we could then move them down the hill towards their pen. It was a lot of fun and even though I seemed to have the laziest horse in the world, we got the job done just as the sun set.
Now that we had the goats secured, we were given the chance to take part in a goat rodeo, which involved three of us running around an enclosure to catch and brand it (although not with a hot iron, just a cold one). Goats aren't the most agile animals, so it was fairly easy to corner them but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
After dinner we were invited to try a bucking bronco, which is one of those mechanical games where you have to sit on the 'bull'for the longest amount of time before you're thrown off. Most of the time they start really slowly and build up to higher speeds, but as we found out this one seemed to be set to 'hard' so almost everyone was thrown off within about two seconds. It was entertaining nonetheless and a good end to an enjoyable day.
Australia is the world's largest exporter of beef and its cattle stations are what makes that possible. To compensate for the often less than ideal land, these farms need to be enormous and the average size of a station is a million acres. Many stations just leave their stock to run wild for most of the year, mustering them into a holding area to sort them and move them off once a year. To round up all this cattle, they have to use helicopters and teams of station hands on the ground on motorbikes. Not all of the cattle can be rounded up every time, so you get some animals which won't see a human being or even a fence for months or years at a time.
At Kroombit, one of the activities we got to have a go at was goat mustering on horseback. I hadn't ever riden a horse before and mustering seemeed to be more worthwhile than a simple ride, so I signed up and had a go at it. About eight of us headed out into the paddocks, guided by one of the station hands, looking for goats. Once we found them, we had to ride our horses around them so that they were always in front of us and we could then move them down the hill towards their pen. It was a lot of fun and even though I seemed to have the laziest horse in the world, we got the job done just as the sun set.
Now that we had the goats secured, we were given the chance to take part in a goat rodeo, which involved three of us running around an enclosure to catch and brand it (although not with a hot iron, just a cold one). Goats aren't the most agile animals, so it was fairly easy to corner them but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
After dinner we were invited to try a bucking bronco, which is one of those mechanical games where you have to sit on the 'bull'for the longest amount of time before you're thrown off. Most of the time they start really slowly and build up to higher speeds, but as we found out this one seemed to be set to 'hard' so almost everyone was thrown off within about two seconds. It was entertaining nonetheless and a good end to an enjoyable day.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Oz Experience day five - Brisbane to Hervey Bay
On Sunday (the 7th), we left Brisbane in the morning and drove up the East Coast, first stopping at the Glasshouse Mountains, named by Captain Cook for their appearance. It was a short walk to a lookout, where Jane, our guide told us the creation story for the area.
I'm not sure I've elaborated on this before, but the Aboriginal people believe that the world was once flat and that all of the geological features on it were created by spirits. So every river, mountain, lake and so on has its own little story behind its appearance on the landscape and although we only get the basics of the story, it's an interesting insight into their culture. The Glasshouse Mountains, for istance are a family fleeing from a flood. Don't quote me on that, but that's the general outline. It's the same everywhere else in the country. Rivers might be the tears of an animal and boulders might be an animal's eggs. Whatever the story behind them, they always have a moral which is used to educate each other and pass down a code of laws and values.
So after our stop at the Glasshouse Mountains, we proceeded onto Noosa, where almost all of the people on our bus got off and we picked up an equal amount for the journey North. We only stayed there for about an hour, but I was in for a surprise nonetheless. Getting on our bus was Nicky, one of the English waitresses from Heron Island, who I didn't even know was doing Oz Experience. I had worked with her for over two months and she left the island a couple of days before me, but I had no idea where she was travelling to next. So we caught up on what we had been doing and although she was only travelling as far as Rainbow Beach, a couple of hours away, it was good to see such a farmiliar face on a day when people were coming and going without much of a chance to get to know them.
When we got to Rainbow Beach, we had the chance to play around with a didgeridoo, a few boomerangs and a spear. It wasn't much of a cultural talk but more of something to break up the day's travelling, but it was fun to try out things that you see so often in shops but so rarely used. After that, we went for a walk along Rainbow Beach itself and then I said goodbye to Nicky as the rest of us headed to Hervey Bay where we would stay the night.
I'm not sure I've elaborated on this before, but the Aboriginal people believe that the world was once flat and that all of the geological features on it were created by spirits. So every river, mountain, lake and so on has its own little story behind its appearance on the landscape and although we only get the basics of the story, it's an interesting insight into their culture. The Glasshouse Mountains, for istance are a family fleeing from a flood. Don't quote me on that, but that's the general outline. It's the same everywhere else in the country. Rivers might be the tears of an animal and boulders might be an animal's eggs. Whatever the story behind them, they always have a moral which is used to educate each other and pass down a code of laws and values.
So after our stop at the Glasshouse Mountains, we proceeded onto Noosa, where almost all of the people on our bus got off and we picked up an equal amount for the journey North. We only stayed there for about an hour, but I was in for a surprise nonetheless. Getting on our bus was Nicky, one of the English waitresses from Heron Island, who I didn't even know was doing Oz Experience. I had worked with her for over two months and she left the island a couple of days before me, but I had no idea where she was travelling to next. So we caught up on what we had been doing and although she was only travelling as far as Rainbow Beach, a couple of hours away, it was good to see such a farmiliar face on a day when people were coming and going without much of a chance to get to know them.
When we got to Rainbow Beach, we had the chance to play around with a didgeridoo, a few boomerangs and a spear. It wasn't much of a cultural talk but more of something to break up the day's travelling, but it was fun to try out things that you see so often in shops but so rarely used. After that, we went for a walk along Rainbow Beach itself and then I said goodbye to Nicky as the rest of us headed to Hervey Bay where we would stay the night.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Oz Experience day four - Brisbane via Nimbin
On Saturday morning we left Byron Bay and drove inland for an hour to the small village of Nimbin. In the early 70s, a few students came up from Sydney to this out of the way corner of New South Wales and organised the Aquarius Festival and they never left.
Nimbin is essentially the Amsterdam of Australia; an outpost of hippydom caught in a timewarp where it's still the 70s. The one road village is covered from end to end in colourful facades and is partly dedicated to the campaign to legalise marijuana.
We were really lucky with our timing because we arrived in the middle of the yearly Mardi Grass (yes, you read that right) festival. All of the hippies in the country meet up to protest against the drug laws, turning the normally sleepy village into a hive of activity. Usually the village is pretty dead, but on Saturday it was in full swing with all sorts of market stalls and many times the normal population.
One of the main attractions in town is the Hemp Embassy, a mixture of shop and museum which is the base for the town's movement against the country's drug laws. Inside a couple of old hippes were running it and it smelt like, well, I'm sure you can guess! Aside from recreational purposes, the owners and their campaign pointed out the other uses for hemp, from clothing (Jesus wore it apparently) to fuel and food. MardiGrass may have seemed like a 70s reunion, but the was at least a serious motive behind it.
Our hour-long stop at Nimbin was amusing to say the least and we were extremely lucky to go there for MardiGrass. It's just one of those odd places that you can't quite imagine existing in a largely conservative country like Australia.
From Nimbin we continued to Surfers' Paradise on the Gold Coast. A huge resort town, it's got all the novelty and lack of personality that you expect, although it was certainly larger that I anticipated. We picked up a few passengers there, before moving off to go Zorbing up the road.
Zorbing is essentially where you and up to two others are put inside a large plastic ball with some water and rolled down a hill. There's not much more to it and it's a lot of fun, like an amusement park ride. It was an included activity on our tour, so most of us did it before we hopped back on the bus as we finished our day's travels by arriving in Brisbane.
Brisbane is Queensland's capital, a city of about 1.5 million and one that I didn't get to see a great deal of, staying there for just a night. From a brief evening walk, it seemed very pleasant though and I'm sure it would have enough to occupy anyone if they had the time.
Nimbin is essentially the Amsterdam of Australia; an outpost of hippydom caught in a timewarp where it's still the 70s. The one road village is covered from end to end in colourful facades and is partly dedicated to the campaign to legalise marijuana.
We were really lucky with our timing because we arrived in the middle of the yearly Mardi Grass (yes, you read that right) festival. All of the hippies in the country meet up to protest against the drug laws, turning the normally sleepy village into a hive of activity. Usually the village is pretty dead, but on Saturday it was in full swing with all sorts of market stalls and many times the normal population.
One of the main attractions in town is the Hemp Embassy, a mixture of shop and museum which is the base for the town's movement against the country's drug laws. Inside a couple of old hippes were running it and it smelt like, well, I'm sure you can guess! Aside from recreational purposes, the owners and their campaign pointed out the other uses for hemp, from clothing (Jesus wore it apparently) to fuel and food. MardiGrass may have seemed like a 70s reunion, but the was at least a serious motive behind it.
Our hour-long stop at Nimbin was amusing to say the least and we were extremely lucky to go there for MardiGrass. It's just one of those odd places that you can't quite imagine existing in a largely conservative country like Australia.
From Nimbin we continued to Surfers' Paradise on the Gold Coast. A huge resort town, it's got all the novelty and lack of personality that you expect, although it was certainly larger that I anticipated. We picked up a few passengers there, before moving off to go Zorbing up the road.
Zorbing is essentially where you and up to two others are put inside a large plastic ball with some water and rolled down a hill. There's not much more to it and it's a lot of fun, like an amusement park ride. It was an included activity on our tour, so most of us did it before we hopped back on the bus as we finished our day's travels by arriving in Brisbane.
Brisbane is Queensland's capital, a city of about 1.5 million and one that I didn't get to see a great deal of, staying there for just a night. From a brief evening walk, it seemed very pleasant though and I'm sure it would have enough to occupy anyone if they had the time.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Oz Experience day three - Byron Bay
So on Thursday after we left Surf Camp we took to the road again, heading north up the coast towards Byron Bay. We stopped at a highly recommended pie shop for lunch which sold pretty much every type of pie you could think of, including a few 'native' ones. I chose crocodile. I guess it tastes a bit like chicken. Oh, and lemon meringue, but that's not quite as exotic, is it?
Onward we progressed into sugar cane country, arriving in the small resort town of Byron Bay at about 6. We checked into a backpackers and then went for a big night out at the bar across the road, finishing up in the early hours of the morning around 3. Most of us had the next day there including me, so we could afford a late night. I also stayed an extra night so that I could keep the same driver guide. Ours, Jane, is really good and once you've got a decent guide you should make sure you keep them. The route may be the same, but it's the guide that can make your trip that extra bit better.
After a late start on Friday, I went on the Internet in town to check my emails and update this, then headed down to the beach. I had lunch there before meeting up with some fellow backpackers off of the bus. We spent a good few hours lazing around before heading back to our hostel. Before dinner, I went shopping with Susie and Alix and I actually ended up buying something and one of them didn't get anything, which doesn't really do much for that stereotype. Anyway, we cooked ourselves a meal and then went out again, although just until midnight as we had to get the bus at 8 the next day.
Byron Bay itself is a small town dependant almost entirely on tourism and is home to one of the best surfing beaches on the east coast; its arc ensures that there's a decent amount of surf on most days even if the wind blows in all sorts of different directions. It's got a fairly laid-back feel to it and the council is trying to keep it that way with no traffic lights or MacDonald's, but the amount of travel agents and bars seem to be pulling it away from its past self. Nevertheless, it's a nice little party town and one that you're sure to find great if you're into surfing, shopping or the nightlife.
Onward we progressed into sugar cane country, arriving in the small resort town of Byron Bay at about 6. We checked into a backpackers and then went for a big night out at the bar across the road, finishing up in the early hours of the morning around 3. Most of us had the next day there including me, so we could afford a late night. I also stayed an extra night so that I could keep the same driver guide. Ours, Jane, is really good and once you've got a decent guide you should make sure you keep them. The route may be the same, but it's the guide that can make your trip that extra bit better.
After a late start on Friday, I went on the Internet in town to check my emails and update this, then headed down to the beach. I had lunch there before meeting up with some fellow backpackers off of the bus. We spent a good few hours lazing around before heading back to our hostel. Before dinner, I went shopping with Susie and Alix and I actually ended up buying something and one of them didn't get anything, which doesn't really do much for that stereotype. Anyway, we cooked ourselves a meal and then went out again, although just until midnight as we had to get the bus at 8 the next day.
Byron Bay itself is a small town dependant almost entirely on tourism and is home to one of the best surfing beaches on the east coast; its arc ensures that there's a decent amount of surf on most days even if the wind blows in all sorts of different directions. It's got a fairly laid-back feel to it and the council is trying to keep it that way with no traffic lights or MacDonald's, but the amount of travel agents and bars seem to be pulling it away from its past self. Nevertheless, it's a nice little party town and one that you're sure to find great if you're into surfing, shopping or the nightlife.
Oz Experience day two - Surf Camp
On Wednesday we left Barrington and headed back towards the coast to Crescent Head, where we would spend the afternoon and next morning at a secluded surf camp. After stopping for lunch at Port Macquarie, we arrived at the Mojo Surf Camp at about 3. The purpose-built beach house that we stayed in was pretty modern and just a walk away from the sea.
After a quick briefing on the basics of surfing and its culture, we got suited up and headed down to the beach. It turned out that we were the only people there, so there wasn't anyone apart from ourselves to see how bad we would be!
The instructors gave us a demonstration and then it was up to us to learn the skills over the next two lessons. Essentially, all you have to do it wait for a wave to come along, then paddle quickly to 'catch' it so that you're on the front of the wave. Then you've got the hard bit, jumping up to your feet whilst keeping your balance. Once you're standing up it's fairly simple, but to get there you've got to keep your movements quick and smooth.
By the end of our first lesson, most of us had been able to stand up, even if it was just for a second. It seemed that as we got the hang of the basics, we ran out of energy and time. As we walked back across the beach as the sun set, we were all reasonably confident that we could improve and be able to surf properly the next day.
So on Thursday morning we got up early and headed down to the beach again after breakfast. The conditions were perfect and the waves were higher and more consistent than the previous day. I'm pretty sure everyone was able to stand up on their board and surf for a few seconds, including me! I only managed to do it properly a few times, but it was great fun when I did. After I'd done it for myself, I can appreciate surfing more and why it appeals to people so much. I'm not sure I'd do it again without being prompted, but it was definitely a lot of fun.
After a quick briefing on the basics of surfing and its culture, we got suited up and headed down to the beach. It turned out that we were the only people there, so there wasn't anyone apart from ourselves to see how bad we would be!
The instructors gave us a demonstration and then it was up to us to learn the skills over the next two lessons. Essentially, all you have to do it wait for a wave to come along, then paddle quickly to 'catch' it so that you're on the front of the wave. Then you've got the hard bit, jumping up to your feet whilst keeping your balance. Once you're standing up it's fairly simple, but to get there you've got to keep your movements quick and smooth.
By the end of our first lesson, most of us had been able to stand up, even if it was just for a second. It seemed that as we got the hang of the basics, we ran out of energy and time. As we walked back across the beach as the sun set, we were all reasonably confident that we could improve and be able to surf properly the next day.
So on Thursday morning we got up early and headed down to the beach again after breakfast. The conditions were perfect and the waves were higher and more consistent than the previous day. I'm pretty sure everyone was able to stand up on their board and surf for a few seconds, including me! I only managed to do it properly a few times, but it was great fun when I did. After I'd done it for myself, I can appreciate surfing more and why it appeals to people so much. I'm not sure I'd do it again without being prompted, but it was definitely a lot of fun.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Oz Experience day one - Barrington
My trip on Oz Experience began on Tuesday with an early start to meet the tour bus outside my hostel in Sydney at 6.30am. Out of a maximum of 25, there were 15 of us travelling on it, mostly Brits with a few Germans and Swedes. After stopping off at the Oz Experience office on George St., we left the city and headed north to Barrington.
Barrington is about 100km inland and 200km north of Sydney and lies in prime agricultural and gold mining country. It looks a bit like parts of New Zealand or Britain, except with more gum trees and wallabies. Our destination was a small backpackers on the Barrington river, just over the hill from the adjacent national park. It's got a great atmosphere to it, with all the buildings built by hand from local materials by the guys who run it.
Various activities were on offer, with absieling and horse riding, but almost everyone opted for the most interesting of them; white water kayaking... at night! The Barrington river has rapids of grades 1, 2 and 3, which are used by the Australian Olympic team to train on, but they don't go on them in the dark as we did. It sounds like a crazy thing to do and it probably is; this is the only place you can do it in the country.
After a BBQ lunch and a quick practice session on the river, we had a homemade pizza dinner and then headed off to be kitted-up. With wetsuits, helmets, fleeces, life jackets and torches all on, we were ready to go and jumped in the bus to make our way upstream.
Instead of using normal solid kayaks, we had inflatable ones which are more suits to this sort of trip. After hauling them down to the river bank from the bus, we got into the water and were off. You're meant to stay in single file and follow the exact path of the guide in front, but it's practically impossible as people get stuck on rocks and you lose sight of the guide. If you're at the front, you could stay out of trouble, but further back it turned into a guessing game of where the rocks would be and if you could get through.
It was great fun and all but two people managed to stay in their kayaks, even with several collisions and near-misses. Doing it in the day would have been just as good, but the uncertainty added by the night made it that bit more exciting. Even better was the hot tub that you could jump into afterwards!
Barrington is about 100km inland and 200km north of Sydney and lies in prime agricultural and gold mining country. It looks a bit like parts of New Zealand or Britain, except with more gum trees and wallabies. Our destination was a small backpackers on the Barrington river, just over the hill from the adjacent national park. It's got a great atmosphere to it, with all the buildings built by hand from local materials by the guys who run it.
Various activities were on offer, with absieling and horse riding, but almost everyone opted for the most interesting of them; white water kayaking... at night! The Barrington river has rapids of grades 1, 2 and 3, which are used by the Australian Olympic team to train on, but they don't go on them in the dark as we did. It sounds like a crazy thing to do and it probably is; this is the only place you can do it in the country.
After a BBQ lunch and a quick practice session on the river, we had a homemade pizza dinner and then headed off to be kitted-up. With wetsuits, helmets, fleeces, life jackets and torches all on, we were ready to go and jumped in the bus to make our way upstream.
Instead of using normal solid kayaks, we had inflatable ones which are more suits to this sort of trip. After hauling them down to the river bank from the bus, we got into the water and were off. You're meant to stay in single file and follow the exact path of the guide in front, but it's practically impossible as people get stuck on rocks and you lose sight of the guide. If you're at the front, you could stay out of trouble, but further back it turned into a guessing game of where the rocks would be and if you could get through.
It was great fun and all but two people managed to stay in their kayaks, even with several collisions and near-misses. Doing it in the day would have been just as good, but the uncertainty added by the night made it that bit more exciting. Even better was the hot tub that you could jump into afterwards!
Monday, May 01, 2006
Back to Sydney and off again
Last Tuesday I flew back to Sydney, going from Gladstone to Brisbane and then from there to Sydney. The first leg was typical for a small domestic airport; no security or ID checks whatsoever and a tiny plane that you're only meant to take 4kg of hand luggage in (I don't know how I got away with over double that!). Once I got to Brisbane normal service was resumed and I arrived in Sydney at about 3pm. I got the train into the city centre and checked into Base Backpackers, where I had stayed before.
The next day I checked out and went to the Work and Travel Company office around the corner to spend much of the day organising everything. They've got free broadband Internet access there for members, so you can imagine how good it must have been after being stuck with dial-up on the island for 3 months.
After checking my email and a few other bits on the Internet, I went to the in-house travel agent and booked my bus tour. I'm going with Oz Experience, who are one of the few bus companies in Australia to have passes that cover more than one state or region. As opposed to coach transport, this is a small guided tour, going to places that aren't neccessarily on the tourist trail, although you do end up at the most obvious spots like Uluru.
My tour takes a minimum of 30 days to complete and you can jump off and on it whenever you like within a 6 month period. It'll take me from Sydney, up the east coast to Cairns, then west across to Darwin, then south through the red centre to Uluru, on to Adelaide, before sweeping back eastwards to Sydney via Melbourne. All in all, that's over 6000 miles on the road!
I'll probably stop at Magnetic Island on the east coast to do a scuba diving course to get my license, and might also have breaks of a few days at Cairns, Adelaide and Melbourne. I did a similar trip in New Zealand in 28 days, but I can see this one being a bit more tiring because of the distances you've got to travel.
Sydney has turned out to be my 'base' in Australia like Auckland was in New Zealand. This is the second time I've been here and I'll be back twice again; when I finish my tour and just before I go home. However farmiliar the city is, some things still keep their novelty. The Opera House, for instance, doesn't seem to lose any of its imposing sense of grandeur. It's impressive and iconic when you first see it and it still gives you that impression when you return to see it again.
Apart from my first night here, I've been staying with Vanessa and Brian (plus their excitable dog Bentley) who are friends of mine in Sydney and who I met up with when I first got here three months ago. Vanessa's parents live next door to us back at home and they've been our neighbours for all the time we've lived there (which is all of my life). Vanessa and Brian live in the northern half of the city and run a business together from home. Talking of home, it seems like such a long time since I've been away - nearly seven months now - so it's nice to stay with friends in a comfortable and homely environment for a while. I do miss home, but I'm not quite finished out here yet; I've got Australia to see!
The next day I checked out and went to the Work and Travel Company office around the corner to spend much of the day organising everything. They've got free broadband Internet access there for members, so you can imagine how good it must have been after being stuck with dial-up on the island for 3 months.
After checking my email and a few other bits on the Internet, I went to the in-house travel agent and booked my bus tour. I'm going with Oz Experience, who are one of the few bus companies in Australia to have passes that cover more than one state or region. As opposed to coach transport, this is a small guided tour, going to places that aren't neccessarily on the tourist trail, although you do end up at the most obvious spots like Uluru.
My tour takes a minimum of 30 days to complete and you can jump off and on it whenever you like within a 6 month period. It'll take me from Sydney, up the east coast to Cairns, then west across to Darwin, then south through the red centre to Uluru, on to Adelaide, before sweeping back eastwards to Sydney via Melbourne. All in all, that's over 6000 miles on the road!
I'll probably stop at Magnetic Island on the east coast to do a scuba diving course to get my license, and might also have breaks of a few days at Cairns, Adelaide and Melbourne. I did a similar trip in New Zealand in 28 days, but I can see this one being a bit more tiring because of the distances you've got to travel.
Sydney has turned out to be my 'base' in Australia like Auckland was in New Zealand. This is the second time I've been here and I'll be back twice again; when I finish my tour and just before I go home. However farmiliar the city is, some things still keep their novelty. The Opera House, for instance, doesn't seem to lose any of its imposing sense of grandeur. It's impressive and iconic when you first see it and it still gives you that impression when you return to see it again.
Apart from my first night here, I've been staying with Vanessa and Brian (plus their excitable dog Bentley) who are friends of mine in Sydney and who I met up with when I first got here three months ago. Vanessa's parents live next door to us back at home and they've been our neighbours for all the time we've lived there (which is all of my life). Vanessa and Brian live in the northern half of the city and run a business together from home. Talking of home, it seems like such a long time since I've been away - nearly seven months now - so it's nice to stay with friends in a comfortable and homely environment for a while. I do miss home, but I'm not quite finished out here yet; I've got Australia to see!
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