We stayed in G’Day Backpackers right in the heart of Sydney and a stones throw away from infamous Kings Cross.  It was a little run down in comparison to some hostels but the atmosphere was welcoming and craic was good.  Most evenings after a hard days touring (or working for some) we’d sit in the the courtyard and have a few beers and somebody would bring out a guitar and play a few tunes.  There is something in it for everybody, if you travelling alone you will meet loads and make friends, if you’re a couple (like us) you can bugger off to a local bar for a few hours knowing your misus is safe with the girls in or outdoors.

That’s the good stuff, now the bad.  Generally these places are filthy, you have all kinds of weirdos staying and some messy tramps as well.  Few clean up after themselves so inevitably after a few hours the kitchen looks like a bombs hit it. The picture below is of our 10 bed dorm – what a mess.  Guys and girls come in at all hours in the night talking, shouting, lights and tv on all night.  Getting a half decent nights sleep is out of the question. And then there’s the all night shagging, yes it happens, guys and girls come in at all hours loaded to the gills with drink randy as tomcats and shag for all to hear – even a polite ‘be quiet’ is laughed at or even encourages them to up the tempo!

So there you have it, sometimes it’s good but mostly its bad and takes a little getting used to.  In saying that, we’ve had great times at most and it hasn’t deterred us in any way.  Is it for you, that’s the question?

That’s it for us here in Oz, we’ve had a great time and memories for a lifetime, next post will be from the green lands of New Zealand.

We arrived in Sydney feeling a little subdued having just handed back Larry (our camper) and the thought of hostel life again, but we soon got back into it and really enjoyed our time in the city. 

The first day or so it was all business having to clean the van top to bottom, pack our rucksack, check our airline tickets, banking and do a little research on our next destination Auckland, New Zealand and so on…  Once that was done it was time to relax and enjoy the city.

The easiest and most enjoyable way to see the city was via the open top hop on hop off sightseeing tour bus.  We bought a 48 hour pass.  Our first stop was the Australian Museum and the most striking display was the National Geographic Wildlife Photographs of the Year  – wow!  Jonathan, if you do make it down this far it is definitely worth a visit – awesome.  Then it was onto the Maritime Museum and for about $30 you could explore the Vampire gun ship, Oslo the submarine and an exact replica of James Cook’s Endeavour.

On the third day we visited Manley beach and the world’s largest IMAX museum which was awesome.  None of these activities come cheap but we managed to get almost everything half price with our fake student cards from Thailand .

In all we had a busy but relaxing time in Sydney and would highly recommend it as a city break.  It so like London in so many ways but without the sheer number of people which meant you could sit back and just take it all in.  Could definitely live here!

The mountains officially start about 60 kilometres to the west of Sydney so it was an easy stop off before we handed back our campervan, Larry.  The spectacular plateaus and epic gorges descend to over 700 metres below sea level and rise at their highest at over 1,000 metres. The majority of the Blue Mountains are listed in the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Area and is a conservation area that contains around seven national parks.

We had an amazing time bush camping and trekking and our days were easily consumed with tourists attractions such as Katoomba Scenic Railway, the steepest railway in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records, and originally part of the Katoomba mining tramways constructed between 1878 and 1900.  The cable railway line descends 415 metres through sandstone cliffs, via a rock tunnel with a maximum gradient of 52 degrees. Also, the Scenic Skyway, a glass-bottom aerial cable car that traverses an arm of the Jamison Valley, and the Scenic Flyway, the steepest aerial cable car in Australia.

Pictured below are some great shots of the famous three sisters, which is well worth a visit, and all walks and scenic tours seemed centred on views such as these.

Most evenings we headed off into the wild, or the bush, for for much needed relaxation.  As you can see I felt very at home building my fires and cooking outdoors.  The parks were the best in terms of facilities that we’ve ever seen.  Not only are you allowed to build your own fire, but wood is also provided and chopped in some cases – how mad is that!  Sometimes I went a little crazy with the whole experience and built a fire that would warm the whole campsite, but we were on our own so no worries there.

So, while in Byron Bay Sam and I had a three hour surfing lesson on boards the width of an elephant, both of us stood up on our first attempt.  Later I showed the instructor my board and he laughed and asked if they sold me a snorkel as well.  I thought that cheeky f**ker I’ll show him. Determined to prove a point, I went out that same evening for a few hours and eventually caught a large wave and was straight up on the board.  All the lads were on similar boards so if they could do it so could I – it just took a little longer!

If you’re piss’n around in training waves you have no hope of standing on a small board, but with the larger waves you get the speed and you’re away.  It wasn’t all glory, I have far too many bruises and cuts to prove my efforts – the board doesn’t half hurt when you’re being tumbled with it like a washing machine.

Sam took these few pics when I first managed to surf and I’ve improved no end since which you’ll see in the last few. We’ve been to some 10 different surfing beaches along the coast to try out the different waves and swells.  The best was Garie Beach in The Royal National Park (the last few pics), absolutely awesome.  The waves were averaging 10–12ft and if you fell off it was hell – tumbled for a good 10–15 feet.

If anybody out there is planning on learning to surf, get some lessons and it will save you so much time and effort.  I can now see why so many people are addicted, catching and surfing a wave is one hell of a buzz!

The Lonely Planet has a rather amusing description “Landing in Nimbin can be like entering a social experiment, particularly at noon, when the Byron day-trippers arrive en mass and find themselves hectored by dreadlocked, tie-dyed pot dealers on the main street.  This is the stereotype, of course (not all the pot dealers wear tie-dye), and Nimbin’s residents and culture are actually far more eclectic.  A day or two here will reveal a growing artist community, a new age culture and welcoming locals”.

Exactly right. It’s just a mecca for pot smokers where the local police seem to turn a blind eye most of the time – it is so obvious and on show, you’d think it was wholly legal.  We stayed two nights and enjoyed every minute, albeit a few pounds heavier having scoffed several bars of chocolate in trying to soften the munchies!

We had an amazing 3 days trekking the jungle and seeing some varied wildlife – satin and regent bowerbirds, pademelons (a type of small wallaby) and rare and threatened species such as the coxens fig parrot and eastern bristlebord.  Thankfully, the only species that posed any danger were snakes and we seen none.

Lamington has around 160km of walking tracks within the park.  Our favourites were the tree-top canopy and the 21km Border Track circuit that follows the dividing range between NSW and Queensland.  In all we walked a good 20hrs. We seen the most amazing creatures, waterfalls and trees.  You’ll see a great shot of me sitting on a waterfall edge – where we shouldn’t have been – looking down was the most amazing adrenalin rush ever!

UNESCO World Heritage Site #21

We knew we were in for a real treat as we drove through town, beautiful houses with yachts parked in marinas at the bottom of their gardens – the place had style written all over it!

Serious rest and relaxation was needed and it’s exactly what we got; 3 days chilling in the pool in-between walks and coffee breaks at the local restaurants and, we slept in a comfortable bed for the first time in months – thanks Diarmuid :-).

We were so chilled out we forgot to take the camera out apart from the few shots we took of us messing around in the pool – Jonathan and Diarmuid took plenty with their underwater camera.  When Diarmuid finished school it was straight into the water for some acrobatic dives and general fooling about.  In the evenings and until the early hours Jonathan and I would put the world to right over a few bottles of beer or wine.

We had a great few days and enjoyed the catch up and their company so much – thank you guys for your hospitality and we’ll see you all again in August. 

We spent a few hours playing ball games on the beach and generally just relaxing.  I picked up my new surf board just minutes before and having had a few hints from Jonathan I was ready for the off.  That great action shot taken by Sam was the first time I stood on the board, but just for a nano second.

In the evening we went went out for a lovely meal, had some wine and laughed lots – it was really great to catch up.  We agreed we would stay with them for a few days in Brisbane.

Sorry for the lack of photographs, we spent too much time chatting and playing and the day was over before we knew it.

The sun was cracking the stones, the first time we’d seen this intensity in over two weeks – well over 30 degrees.  We spent most of our time on Main Beach, a real surfers’ paradise with waves over 12ft, went shopping and caught up on some chores.

We stayed at Noosa River Caravan Park – the best yet – the facilities were awesome and we tied up our hammock for the first time in months and just relaxed. Oh, and had a few tinnies!

The pink inflatable was my training for the real surf!

Once we crossed the Rockhampton border and headed for Agnes Waters it was like a switch being flicked; the clouds cleared, the sun shone on the sand and there was no mention of box jellyfish so the beach was an all go area. We camped in Agnes Waters for a couple of nights chilling while watching the surfers – wow, for the first time we felt like we were actually in Oz and on the east coast.

We were expecting the whole of East Coast route to be close to the beaches – which is not the case (so far) – you are on average between 17 to 35km inland, so taking a quick look en route is out of the question.

Having watched the surfers I had convinced myself that the whole process was mere child’s play and set about getting a board – watch this space.