Sydney: Day Seventy-Three - Afternoon (31 December)

After buying a sandwich for later we caught a train to Milson's Point, which is just the other side of the harbour bridge with a fabulous view of the Opera House. We found a good spot on Stanton Lookout and sat down to wait.

There was a lovely atmosphere and the time passed very quickly. It wasn't cold at all.

A special timer on the bridge counted down to midnight and then fireworks went off across its whole span. They were reflected in the harbour and on the Opera House and there were lasers between the high rises in the Central Business District. It was brilliant :-). So good they even showed it on British telly.

Afterwards we walked home across the bridge where the fireworks had just been. Magical!

Barnaby

Sydney: Day Seventy-Three - Morning (31 December)

New Year's Eve in Sydney is one of the world's must see events and we arranged our trip specially to be here on this date.

We had quite a lot of time to fill before midnight so we posted some parcels back to England and then went to Sydney Aquarium. A moving walkway takes you through the underwater exhibits which is just as well because it was packed with people. We liked the seals best.

Barnaby

Sydney: Day Seventy-Two (30 December)

This morning we went to the service at St Andrews Cathedral and sat behind a family from Kent who had emigrated two years previously.

Afterwards we caught the train to Bondi Junction and visited Build-A-Bear for Australian souvenirs. I was hoping for a surfboard but all we got was a hat and some Australian flags. I suppose they will fit in the suitcase more easily.

Bondi Junction is where Miss Robb's sister lived when she was in Australia so we found her old house and then walked to the famous Bondi Beach. It still seems odd to see people sunbathing in December :-).

We got the bus back to Bondi Junction (the beach is at the bottom of a steep hill) and returned to Darling Harbour for dinner.

Barnaby

Sydney: Day Seventy-One (29 December)

My birthday so we had chocolate for breakfast :-).

We had arranged to meet another friend from England today, although she is actually Australian. She lives in Cremorne Point, right on Sydney Harbour, so we caught a ferry there from Circular Quay.

After a quick drink, we drove to Sirius Cove to join a beautiful harbourside pathway. We walked past Taronga Zoo and round to Clifton Gardens, where we had lunch in a little cafe.

We returned to our friend's flat for drinks on her balcony with its wonderful views before catching the ferry back to Circular Quay.

Barnaby

Melbourne: Day Seventy (28 December)

Our last day in Melbourne.

It was another lovely, sunny day so we went for a walk in Carlton Gardens before catching our lift to the airport.

The flight was fine and we had a smooth journey into the centre of Sydney. We are staying in an apartment this time but still near Darling Harbour so we had dinner at the Great Aussie Pie Place.

Barnaby

Ballarat: Day Sixty-Nine (27 December)

Ballarat was the site of the Australian Gold Rush in the nineteenth century and, after a quick look round the town as it is today, we went to Sovereign Hill, an open air museum recreating what it would have been like to live in those days.

It was a bit like the Wild West then and soldiers were needed to make sure people didn't behave too badly. Australia was still a British colony so we saw Redcoats marching down the Main Street.

The Sovereign Hill school wasn't open because it is the Australian school summer holidays but during term time children from today can find out what it would have been like to be taught in the Victorian era. It was much more strict and they used the cane so I wasn't too sad to miss that.

Instead we went on the Red Hill Mine Tour and saw how wheels are made at the Wheelwrights. We also had a coach ride and tried our hand at gold panning but we didn't find any.

Here I am in my prospector's hat.

Barnaby

Melbourne: Day Sixty-Eight (26 December)

Boxing Day morning was so lovely we had breakfast on our apartment balcony.

We explored the Southbank of the Yarra River and then caught the free tourist bus to the Botanic Gardens.

Then we walked along Flinders Street to Fitzroy Gardens, where there was the most beautiful conservatory full of gorgeous flowers.

We also saw Captain Cook's Cottage, the model Tudor Village and the Fairies Tree.

Barnaby

Phillip Island: Day Sixty-Seven - Afternoon (25 December)

The main reason for visiting Phillip Island was to see the Penquin Parade.

The island is one of several places where the world's smallest penquin - the Fairy Penquin - breeds. Special boardwalks have been built near the site so people can watch the birds come ashore without disturbing them.

It was a magical sight: a perfect special memory of my Christmas Down Under.

Barnaby

Phillip Island: Day Sixty-Seven - Morning (25 December)

We had our turkey dinner last night but we celebrated Christmas Day with a special breakfast of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon and gave each other chocolate as presents.

At 12.45pm we were picked up for our tour. This Christmas Day is definitely going to be different from usual :-). First stop was Warrock Homestead where we had afternoon tea - with mince pies - and then we drove over the bridge to Phillip Island and the Koala Conservation Centre. We were lucky to spot several koalas including a baby.

Barnaby

Melbourne: Day Sixty-Six - Afternoon (24 December)

We caught a train from Melbourne's famous Flinders Street station to the suburb of Williamstown. This is where another Australian friend lives (her English daughter-in-law used to be our hairdresser) and she had kindly invited us for Christmas dinner.

We enjoyed a fabulous three course meal, including roast turkey with all the works, before going to their local Midnight Eucharist service.

Barnaby

Melbourne: Day Sixty-Six - Morning (24 December)

Christmas Eve and we went on the Neighbours' tour!

As well as visiting the studios- we couldn't see the inside sets because they were closed for the holidays - we visited the location of Erinsborough High and then Ramsay Street itself.

Afterwards we went to St Kilda to meet Nell Feaney who used to play Janelle. She was ever so nice and answered all our questions as well as signing our commemorative postcards.

Barnaby

Melbourne: Day Sixty-Five (23 December)

Today we met up with relatives of friends from England. Alan and Lynda emigrated to Geelong many years ago.

We had a coffee in Lygon Street and then drove out towards the Dandedongs for lunch. It was still chilly and misty so we didn't stay long at Mount Dandenong Sky Lookout.

Back in Melbourne we went to the evening service at St Paul's Cathedral and then had dinner in Chinatown.

Barnaby

Melbourne: Day Sixty-Four (22 December)

It was still overcast and rainy today so we explored Melbourne on the City Tram and Tourist Shuttle (both free). The shuttle is hop on, hop off but we chose to stay on all the way round so we could see the whole city.

Afterwards we explored St Paul’s Cathedral and booked some tours. As you might know from Neighbours, there are lots of Italians in Melbourne. They have their own precinct - like the Greeks - so we went there for dinner this evening and then opted to watch ‘Carols in The Domain’ on television rather than being out in the cold. I still can’t believe Christmas is only three days away!

Barnaby

Great Ocean Road: Day Sixty-Three – Afternoon (21 December)

This afternoon we visited one of Australia’s best known surfing beaches: Bell’s Beach, where the world’s longest running surfing competition is held.

We also got to see more wildlife – at Anglesea Golf Club of all places. Australian golfers are used to being watched by kangaroos but we saw so many we thought they must be getting together for Christmas.

Our last stop was Geelong before we crossed the West Gate Bridge into Melbourne and were dropped at our lovely apartment overlooking Carlton Gardens. We had dinner in Melbourne’s Greek precinct.

Barnaby

Great Ocean Road: Day Sixty-Three - Morning (21 December)

Our route today took us through the Great Otway National Park. First stop was Maits Rest where we followed the Rainforest Boardwalk. The rainforest in Victoria is cool and temperate, quite different from the tropical rainforest we visited above Cairns.

Further along the Great Ocean Road we stopped at Kennett River, hoping to see koalas in the wild. Even though the weather was murky we were really lucky and managed to see thirteen! They looked quite ethereal in the gloom.

Our last stop before lunch was Erskine Falls at the other end of the park. It stayed misty all day so we weren’t able to see the view from Teddy’s Lookout in Lorne. We did have a photo stop at the Great Ocean Road Arch though and learned how the road was built as a memorial to Australian soldiers killed in World War One.

Barnaby

Great Ocean Road Tour: Day Sixty-Two (20 December)

Our first stop today was Mount Gambier and the Blue Lake. Apparently it only looks blue in the summertime so it's just as well December is summer in Australia.

Not long afterwards we crossed the border between South Australia and the state of Victoria. and officially joined the Great Ocean Road.

We stopped at the Bay of Islands, the Bay of Martyrs and London Bridge - a rock formation which looked like a double-span bridge until part of it fell down just like the song says.

We had lunch in Loch Ard, which is named after a famous shipwreck, and then saw the famous Twelve Apostles (except there are only eleven now because one has collapsed due to erosion).

Our final stop was Apollo Bay where we spent the night and went on a glow worm walk.

Barnaby

Adelaide: Day Sixty-One (19 December)

There were only four of us on our next tour: a lovely Malaysian couple from Perth, the driver (originally from Sweden) and us.

We were going all the way to Melbourne (in the state of Victoria) via the Great Ocean Road but our first stop was Hahndorf, a "German" village about 30 miles outside Adelaide.

We stopped at Robe for lunch and then visited the caves at Naracoorte. They are a World Heritage Site due to the fossils found in the area.

There was an opportunity for yet more wine tasting at The Poplars in Coonawarra and then we stayed overnight in Chardonnay Lodge.

Barnaby

Adelaide: Day Sixty (18 December)

Our last day in Adelaide. We visited an opal mine inside a shop where there were also lots of aboriginal artefacts and we heard the didgeroo played again. (I still don't think it's very tuneful).

Afterwards we went to St Peter's Cathedral to admire the new stained glass window and then bought some goodies from Haigh's famous chocolate shop :-).

Barnaby

Barossa Valley: Day Fifty-Nine (17 December)

Today we went on a tour of the Barossa Valley, one of Australia's largest wine producing areas.

As well as visiting a couple of wineries, we went to Angas Park Dried Fruits,had a very nice lunch at the Nuriootpa Vine Inn and admired the fabulous views from Menglers Hill Lookout. We also visited the Whispering Wall and tried it out.

Barnaby

Adelaide: Day Fifty-Eight (16 December)

It was a Sunday so we went to the morning service at Holy Trinity Church (the oldest church in South Australia) and then explored the Rundle Street markets.

In the evening we went to our first carol service of the year in Adelaide's Town Hall. For the first time we felt Christmassy.

Barnaby

Adelaide: Day Fifty-Seven (15 December)

We had a transfer to the airport this morning for our flight to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It was quite a shock being in such a big airport after the smaller ones we’ve been used to but it all went smoothly.

We had to change our watches again because the time in South Australia is half an hour behind the time in New South Wales and then we explored Adelaide on foot. It is considered to be the most English of Australian cities.

Barnaby

Sydney: Day Fifty-Six - Afternoon (14 December)

Afterwards we explored the beautiful Botanic Gardens, immediately behind the Opera House and right beside the harbour.

We walked all the way to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, which is actually a seat carved in the rocks. The wife of one of Sydney’s first governors (Captain Macquarie) is supposed to have loved this view, although it probably looks a bit different today.

Barnaby

Sydney: Day Fifty-Six - Morning (14 December)

This morning we took a guided walk round The Rocks, the oldest part of Sydney where the first European settlers lived.

In the afternoon we went on a tour of the Opera House, which was fascinating. It contains three separate theatres: one especially for opera, one for drama and the main theatre.

Barnaby

Sydney: Day Fifty-Five (13 December)

Another early start today. Our friends kindly took us to Coffs Harbour airport for our flight to Sydney, the capital of New South Wales. Sydney airport is built near Botany Bay where Captain Cook first landed in 1770.

We took the AirportLink to Town Hall station and joined a tourist train past the entrance to the Chinese Gardens and Paddy’s Markets before arriving at our hotel in Darling Harbour.

After lunch in one of Darling Harbour’s many sandwich places (and a chocolate milkshake :-)), we walked across Pyrmont Bridge and round to Circular Quay where the Opera House is. We returned to Darling Harbour via the Queen Victoria Building (QVB), which was looking very festive. This tree was decorated with diamonds!

Barnaby

Emerald Beach: Day Fifty-Four (12 December)

We explored more of the countryside around Emerald Beach today. The scenery is quite similar in parts to England rather than (New South) Wales (sorry Captain Cook), apart from seeing the odd kangaroo :-).

We visited Nana Glen where the actor Russell Crowe has a house and generously contributed to the cost of the local swimming pool. We drove home via Woolagoolga and bought snapper for supper, which was just as well. There was a really big rain storm tonight.

Barnaby

Emerald Beach: Day Fifty-Three (11 December)

In our friend's house the lounge is upstairs and the bedrooms are downstairs to make the most of this amazing view.

We had a relaxing day reading our books and walking on the beach. In the evening we went back to Woolgoolga and had a delicious dinner in a Thai restaurant.

Barnaby

Emerald Beach: Day Fifty-Two (10 December)

Today our friends took us to Woolgoolga (which means river mouth) for coffee and to explore.

In the afternoon we went for a walk along Emerald Beach and Fiddemans Beach. I didn't see any emeralds but I did see lots of people surfing. In the evening we spotted this fantastic rainbow: the first time I've ever seen a whole one. The arc started in the sea and ended on the beach - there was no sign of the pot of gold though :-).

Barnaby

Coffs Harbour: Day Fifty-One (9 December)

We had to get up at 5 o'clock this morning to catch the train from Brisbane to Coffs Harbour. The journey took six hours but it was worth it because the countryside on the way is very pretty.

Once we crossed the border from Queensland to New South Wales we had to change our watches: Queensland does not have daylight saving time and is always ten hours ahead of the U.K. Because it was summertime in New South Wales we were now eleven hours ahead.

The friends we were staying with (they live half the year in Tunbridge Wells and half the year in Australia) met us and took us for a nice lunch.

This is the view from the house they rent, complete with wild kangaroos in the garden :-)

Barnaby

Brisbane: Day Fifty (8 December)

Our last day in Brisbane and we have a very early start tomorrow so we made the most of exploring this beautiful city.

Can you see the Australia Zoo water bottle in the picture on the right? Green and yellow are the team colours for Australian cricketers and rugby players.

I also got to enjoy a chocolate milkshake :-).

Barnaby

Australia Zoo: Day Forty-Nine - Afternoon (7 December)

After lunch we went to Kangaroo Heaven, where we could feed and stroke the roos. Then it was onto the shuttle again to explore the rest of the zoo.

The rainforest aviary was amazing: fine water sprays created a mist like in the real rainforest and there were lots of parrots. We also saw wombats being fed and had our photo taken with a koala.

Barnaby

Australia Zoo: Day Forty-Nine - Morning (7 December)

We went on another excursion today to Australia Zoo. It's huge so we took the shuttle bus round the edges first and saw the elephants feeding.

Then we went to the show in the Crocoseum. It wasn't just about crocodiles, although it did feature Mossman (a great, big Saltie) being fed and jumping around, which was quite scary.

But the show was mainly about conservation and how to be safe around animals.

Barnaby

Brisbane: Day Forty-Eight (6 December)

Another early start as today was the date for our free City Sights morning tour, including a visit to Queensland's oldest residence - Newstead House. After lunch on the South Bank, we had a relaxing afternoon on our hotel balcony.

Barnaby

Byron Bay: Day Forty-Seven (5 December)

We had to get up early this morning as we were going on a tour to Byron Bay, just over the border in New South Wales. We travelled in a minibus similar to the one that took us around Kakadu.

The weather was very different though. We drove through a massive rainstorm and, as you can see from the picture, it remained overcast and damp all day. The lighthouse at Byron Bay marks the most Easterly point in Australia.

A few brave people were swimming and surfing but we did the British thing when at the seaside and had an icecream.

Barnaby

Brisbane: Day Forty-Six (4 December)

Today we explored more of Brisbane on foot including visiting the Goodwill Bridge and the City Botanic Gardens.

I can't believe it is only twenty days until Christmas Eve. Christmas in the summertime feels very strange but there were still lots of decorations in Brisbane.

We even found a special box to send our postcards from.

Barnaby

Brisbane: Day Forty-Five - Evening (3 December)

The CityCat Ferry was included in the price of our hop on/hop off bus ticket so we got on that after we had been to the end of the bus line.

First we went upriver towards Brisbane University and then back down to Bulimba, which was the stop for Oxford Street. (Yes, there is an Oxford Street in Brisbane. It's quite a popular road name in Australia - there's one in Sydney too). We had dinner in a Thai restaurant and then got the night ferry back to the South Bank. We walked along the Boardwalk and along a flower scented path back to our hotel. Brisbane is really pretty by night as well.

Barnaby

Brisbane: Day Forty-Five - Morning (3 December)

Today we explored Brisbane on a hop on/hop off bus. First stop was the City Lookout with more fabulous views. We also saw Story Bridge (Brisbane's equivalent of Sydney's Harbour Bridge and designed by the same person) and visited the little Chinatown.

Then we got off at Anzac Square, where there is a flame of eternal remembrance for the Australian soldiers killed, to explore St Andrews church and St John's Cathedral, the oldest church in Brisbane. We discovered a service of Holy Communion was about to take place in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit so we stayed for that and then got back on the bus. This time we took it all the way to Mount Coot-tha Lookout where the views were even more spectacular.

Barnaby

Whitsundays: Day Forty-Four (2 December)

We took the ferry to Hamilton Island, which is much larger and more developed than South Molle. It even has its own airport and we flew from there to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It turned out to be a longer walk to our apartment hotel than we thought but when we got there it was very nice, with wonderful views.

Barnaby

South Molle Island: Day Forty-Three (1 December)

Our last day on South Molle Island. We went for a walk along the seafront towards Paddle Bay. The views were fabulous.

Dinner was a typical Aussie BBQ.

Barnaby