Author name: jolecko

Kakadu National Park, NT, Australia After an eventful night in Darwin, we left town for a 300 km drive to Kakadu National Park for a couple of days of eco tourism at it’s finest – Not enough time! We stopped at a few places on the way, taking in some scenes of the Northern Territory. […]

Cairns, Queensland, Australia Splurging for a night in posh Cairns. We arrived at our hotel this am only to find it was over booked. Luckily, they had made arrangements with a 4 star resort hotel to have us stay there instead for the same price…. gotta hate that – not! 🙂 Once again, the Grant

Port Douglas, QLD, Australia We’ve checked into our new home for the next 2 nights, the Port O’Call Lodge . Tomorrow’s our big trip to the Great Barrier Reef, with HABA Dive . We’re planning to do 2 or 3 dives (hoping and praying that Grant’s ears don’t have any issues clearing). ——————————- Port Douglas

Cow Bay, QLD, Australia The drive down from Mareeba to N. Cairns was spectacular. The road winded through lush tropical rain forest, with bright green waxy folliages, palms, vines, etc. while providing us with a view of the ocean. I wish we had stopped to view some of the waterfalls, but at the same time

Yungaburra, QLD, Australia We traveled all day (ferry and car), to get to the Atherton region by sunset. This part of Australia ( Atherton Tablelands ) is quite different from anywhere else. It’s an elevated hilly plateau (looks like mountains from the coast), and a lot of the forest up there is part of the

Magnetic Island, Queensland, Australia A retreat to magnetic Island for some cabin camping, Kayaking and Koala cuddling. ———————————– We spent 3 nights on the island, enjoying the jungle like atmosphere of our cabin at [missing text.  If memory serves me well, it was Bungalow Bay Koala Village ]. We ran 6k through the forest, up

Airlie Beach, Queensland, AustraliaFriday, July 7, 2006 Sailing, diving, and lounging about in the tropical sea for about a week in the Whitsundays. ————————- We were quite tired of driving, so we decided to fly from Brisbane to the Whitsundays (Arlie Beach). This is where we’d get to really practice our sailing skills. As luck

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia On Canada day, we arrived at the home of an old friend from my (Joanne’s) youth. Aimee was my best buddy throughout elementary school, but moved away when I was 13. We kept in touch through letters and audio tapes early on, which turned to Christmas cards as we got older, and

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

Hobart, Tasmania, Australia We landed in Hobart around 10:00 at night, a little too late for a decent meal. We managed to find a pub that was open, serving fine cashews and crisps. With a side of beer, and some fine live music, we were set. In fact we were in heaven. The music was

Melbourne, Australia After long day of travel, finally arrived in the land down under. Checked in at YHA Metro in Melbourne. Tired… ————————————— ————– We landed in Melbourne at the start of their “cold” season, to get away from the heat and monsoons of the tropics. We really hadn’t prepared ourselves for the psychological effect