Hey everyone,
Sorry it's been a while but we've been on the road for a bit and have only just reached civilisation - Sydney. Some more about the great city in a bit but first...
I did make it to Ramsay Street on Monday last week, fulfilling a lifetimes dream.. Yeah right! Actually it was a bit of a let-down. There were two massive coach loads of English and Irish tourists already there when we pulled up. These poor folks had actually paid money to get driven to Pin Oak Court, as it is otherwise known, whereas we had been tipped off by my sister that is was not worth doing the tour and to drive there ourselves. The street is a real residential close and therefore you aren't allowed to take any pictures of the residents themselves but I managed to get some pictures of the houses and the street... If you're on the tour you're allowed to stand next to a make-shift Ramsay St sign - all for only $20! Rip-off....
From Ramsay St we headed out of the City south towards Phillip Island. Famous for its Little Penguins, the smallest penguins in the world, the island is a 90km drive from Melbourne.
On arrival we found a great campsite in Cowes, named after the one on the Isle of Wight but a little more scenic!! We decided to head off to the see the Penguin Parade that evening and so as the sun started to set we drove to the west of the island. Every evening come rain or shine about 1000 Little Penguins come in from the sea after spending some time fishing to find their burrows and chicks on land. You get to sit in the freezing cold for about an hour before they decide it's quiet and dark enough to come on to the shore and then they start waddling past you... It's pretty incredible and they are teeny-tiny! No photos are allowed for obvious reasons but we'll always remember seeing them.
The second day we were on the island we went to a Koala Sanctuary and saw about 10 koalas. They really are as cute as in the pictures! They sleep for 20 hours a day and eat for the other 4, a practice which Carl is keen to try! We then visited a National Heritage island called Churchill Island just off the shore of Phillip Island where an English chap built his own utopia. He built a beautiful house, kept cattle, grew a kitchen garden etc... Very English and very beautiful.
Wednesday we drove from Phillip Island to a National Park at the southern most tip of the mainland called Wilson's Promontory. This was one of our favourite places so far... You can only access the park by one main road and when you get to the only small village in the 55,000 hectare park you are allowed to camp there. There are 480 camping pitches and it doesn't matter if you're a tent or a huge campervan you pay $21 for the privilege. We stayed 2 nights. On the first night we walked to the summit of Mt Oberon and saw the most incredible wild and rugged coastline. Day 2 we walked 20km to Sealers Cove, a secluded beach with only footpath or boat access... Very rewardng walk through woody glens and rainforest. We saw a snake too! It fell off a rock to the left of me as we were walking and so we both stopped dead.... Fortunately it didn't like the smell of us so moved on... Quite scary though because we were in the middle of no-where.
We were sad to leave here but needed to get back on the road towards Sydney. Our next destination was Mallacoota on the border between Victoria and New South Wales. Mallacoota is a sleepy village overlooking some incredible coastline and inland waterways. We found a campsite with a pitch for the night actually on the waterfront and so spent a very relaxed day doing nothing! We had dinner out at a local seafoood restaurant which was yummy.
Next stop was Batemans's Bay for the night, some beautiful beaches but it was a pretty grey day so we got back on the road... We stopped off at Jervis Bay another National Park and walked a 5.5km short walk along the coast and through heathland. From there we drove to Kangaroo Valley... What a great find! It's off the main road and about 25km inland and is a really quaint village with Ye Olde Post Office and The Friendly Inn... Campsite was great and we headed off to the pub after our dinner. There were lots of pokie machines (slot machines) and horse racing channels on TV which are huge over here and not a soul to be seen! We had a couple of pints and headed back to the van....! Possibly the quietest pub we've ever been to!
From Kangaroo Valley we decided to head straight to Sydney, only about 200km away. We found a campsite on the outskirts and checked in. As we parked up the van on site the heavens opened so we decided not to head into the city until the day after when we knew it was going to be sunny.
So on Wednesday this week we caught a ferry into Sydney Harbour.... It is pretty spectacular as you can imagine and was the most glorious day to boot. Definitely the best way to first glimpse the harbour. We headed to The Rocks area of the city near Circular Quay where we knew the BridgeClimb was based. Katie my sister had bought us two tickets for the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb as our wedding present, having lived there for nearly 2 years she strongly reccommended it, and so we went along to see if they had any spaces on the days climb. They did so we got our tickets and waited our turn... First they breathalise you, then they kit you up in a fetching grey and blue suit and then give you a harness and radio. Then you start climbing... It's not a particularly strenuous climb but I guess if you don't like heights it would be tough... It was a great way to see the harbour and we had some pictures taken of us which we'll try and scan. Thank you Katie! xx
Thursday we went to the Sydney Aquarium, saw sharks and seals and crocodiles, and then we went to Paddy's Market - a cheep and cheerful market with lots of tacky souvenirs.
Yesterday we went to the Royal Botanical Gardens and visited the Queen Victoria Building and had a look around the shops. We had booked a table at the famous Doyles restaurant so we caught the bus out to Watsons's Bay for 1900. Doyles is a fish and chip restaurant overlooking the harbour and when we got there the sun was just setting so it was pretty incredible. So was the food. The freshest fish and chips we've ever had.
Today (Sat) we visited the Australian Museum and saw an exhibit on the Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Since Carl and I bought our new camera in Singapore we are now budding photographers!
We're in Sydney until Monday am and then we'll drive to the Blue Mountains just outside of Sydney for a few days of walking and camping and then we'll start to head North towards Brisbane and Cairns.. Only just over 1 month to go in Australia....!
Love to everyone,
Beccy and Carl xxx
