June 2006

Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia Staying at J’s Byron Bay YHA (http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/details. cfm?hostelid=13) Hard to believe, but we’ve spent the past 2 days learning to surf! No major injuries, just some very stiff muscles. We took lessons through Style Surfing . These guys were great. They got us up on the boards quickly (Grant […]

Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia Stayed at the cold and metalic YHA in Cessnock (floors and walls made of aluminum?). Enjoyed some fabulous wines in one of Australias premier wine regions ( www.winecoutnry.com.au ). So many wines, so little time 🙁

Sydney, Australia If you’re checking these postings regularly (i.e. not signed up for auto-updates), please note that we’ve uploaded some photos from China and Australia. We’ve also added journal entries for everything leading up to our stay in Melbourne. Cheers!

Sydney, NSW, Australia Plan to stay for a week in the very hip Darlinghurst district – at the Sydney Star Hotel http://www.sydneystar.com.au —————————– We had such a great time in Sydney. We camped out in a low budget hotel for 8 nights, and spent the time exploring and enjoying the vibrant city, while taking in

Nowra, New South Wales, Australia Stopped in Nowra – a fantastic region about two hours south of Sydney for some catching up with our friends from the China tour – Judi and Wendy. Judi was a fantastic hostess, putting us up for a couple of nights in her B&B/castle, complete with a yummy feast on

Mallacoota, Victoria, Australia Mallacoota is a town of about 1200 on the ocean close to the border of New South Wales and Victoria. It’s also about the half way mark between Melbourne and Sydney – a great place to stop on the way right?!?! It is a summer resort town in Victoria, on the edge

Apollo Bay, Vicotoria, Australia We decided to take a slight diversion and head a little further West from Melbourne along the Southern Coast and the famous Great Ocean Road, before heading North for warmer climates. The scenery was worth it, but we must be getting soft. It feels rather chilly in June on the bottom

Melbourne, Australia Back to Melbourne for a couple of days after a great week in “Tassie”. We set up base at a cool little hotel/hostel that is the second oldest still standing in town. Apparently Ned Kelly made a stop here a few years ago (prior to his death in 1880 presumably). Ned Kelly was

Launceston, Tasmania, Australia We decided to spend our final night in Tassie’s other major city, Launceston. We drove up the coast, and inland a bit. The sky was clear finally, so it was a beautiful day to hang out at the blowhole and beaches. Ring of fires bay has the second best beach in the

Cole’s Bay, Tasmania, Australia We spent 3 nights in Frecinet National Park. It’s a beautiful park, with gorgeous beaches and cliffs, and great hikes. Unfortunately it was still quite chilly and rainy, but again it was convenient having the hostel almost to ourselves. With the down season comes reduced service hours. So, for our first

Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia Port Arthur Historic Site is an old convict settlement, for the repeat offenders from mainland. It’s one of the few preserved convict sights, because it managed to get turned into a tourist destination by ex-convicts, almost right after the prison shut down. Apparently it was cool to come spend the night