Cyclone Oswald....we've had enough of you!

 This last week has been an interesting one.  I'm very glad that we have flexible travel plans and didn't book anything after our time in Lady Elliot (except a cheap flight to Sydney, which we missed!)  Up to this point Australia had been hot and full of fires, but this week another side came rearing its ugly head.  We planned to spend five nights on Lady Elliot diving with turtles and manta rays.  When we went to board our flight to the island the no fuel light wouldn't turn off, so we were delayed 2 hrs waiting on a new tiny single engine aircraft - have I mentioned that I HATE tiny planes!  The new plane arrived and landed us safely on Lady Elliot's dirt runway.  We had our orientation and decided to eat lunch instead of push for a dive since we had 5 full days to dive (we thought).  Our reef room turned out to be more of a garden view then a reef view which was disappointing, but we soon recovered and snorkeled in the lagoon.  That night we noticed a storm brewing in the distance.

The next morning we awoke to pouring rain.  Luckily you can still dive in the rain and we got 2 dives in.  We were lucky enough to see multiple turtles and sharks as well as a couple manta rays (and I saw an octopus!!).  At the end of the second dive Adam and I had mantas circling our head as we tried to hold our breath since our air tanks were running low.  We were really glad we stayed down that extra few minutes as it turned out to  be the last time we would dive at LEI.

We figured the rain would pass in a day or so, apparently we should check the forecast more often.  The "storm" ended up being ex-cyclone Oswald, and Oswald must have loved LEI because he hung around for the next 3 days!  Our second full day on the island was spent seeking shelter in the main dining area as the wind and rain whipped around the island.  The staff did an amazing job of entertaining all of us with trivia, bingo, and a belly dancing class.  It was a bummer missing out on being in the water but we still had fun.

Day 3 on the island was more wind and rain.  Diving was canceled again.  We decided that the rain didn't matter and snorkeled in the lagoon to try and stave off the insanity that was beginning to take hold.  While snorkeling we found a ton of turtles and got to pet them.  They were just like dogs, they would turn into you and wait for  a scratch on their shells, and when you stopped they would follow you around.  I love turtles so had a great time.

By day 4 we were losing it.  We'd played approx. 500 games of slap jack, 500 games of 3 handed Euker and spent countless hours reading.  We tried snorkeling in the morning but visibility was terrible, you could barely see your hand in front of your face.  They offered to take us out in the boat to try and find better vis.  We hopped on the boat with about 10 other people and headed out.  The current in the normally still lagoon was ripping.  Within 30 seconds of entering the water people were freaking out.  Six minutes later we had drifted the entire length of the lagoon and half the group was freaking, ready to be back in the boat....that was the end of boat trips!



Day 5 we awoke to sunshine, and of course it was departure day.  While we were eating breakfast Maggie, the activity director, came in and said that a turtle nest was hatching.  I pretty much stopped everything I was thinking and ran to the nest.  All you could see was a couple tiny heads poking out and we thought they were going to wait until sunset (when we would be gone) to come out.  Luckily about 30 minutes later a couple turtles crawled to the top and made the run to the water.  It was amazing to see, I was in heaven!  Around 30 minutes after the first two left, about half the nest decided it was time to make a run for it.  It was basically a mosh-pit of little loggerhead turtles as they all pushed their way out of the sand and headed for the ocean!  I even got to get into the water for a swim with a couple of the baby turtles, a truly amazing experience.  It was really nice to end on a positive note.

We caught a flight back to Bungaberg with plans to drive our camper back to Brisbane and return it.....not so much.  We flew over the town and discovered people being plucked off roofs by helicopters.  Oswald LOVED Bundaberg and created the worst floods in the history of the town.  We our now stuck on a new island named Bundaberg.....all the bridges out of town are underwater so there is no way out.  Luckily we found some food at the grocery store (gummies, soda, and pasta are good right!?!?)  We are spending another night in Bundy, hoping the water crests tonight and maybe, just maybe, we can make it towards Brisbane tomorrow.  Right now 1 of the 20 roads we need to take are open, so we shall see.  Although we are supposed to be in Sydney right now we are happy to be safe and dry, with no real need to leave town for a few days.  We do have a flight to catch on Feb 8th, but things should be better by then, fingers crossed!

More Australia

The window repair worked out okay, and it also gave us a day to kill in Sydney, so we did what all good tourists do and took a train into the city where to photographed the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  But since our plans call for us to be back in Sydney for four days later in the month we spent the rest of the day taking care of some paperwork business for future outings (Africa and Antarctica).

The window repair wasn't finished until late in the afternoon so we stayed close to the city and got up early the next day to head to Featherdale Wildlife Park.  We arrived shortly after they opened at 9:00 am and enjoyed a couple of hours with very small crowds.  We were able to feed kangaroos, pet a couple of koala bears and saw tons of other native and non native Australian wildlife.  I even had an emu take the kangaroo food (they put it in ice cream cones) out of my hands because he didn't want to wait his turn!  It proved to be a very worthwhile experience and we were very pleased with early arrival because by the time we left it was getting very crowded.

After the animal sanctuary we headed north up the coast and found ourselves staying at a holiday park beside Soldiers Beach where we had a surf lesson scheduled for the following day.  All three of us managed to stand up on a couple of waves but Julie proved to be the big winner on the day with more successful rides than Tyler and I combined.

The next day had us diving in Nelson Bay where we got to take our new GoPro Hero 3 underwater for the first time.  We swam with a bunch of sharks on the second dive and took some pretty awesome footage!  It's was Tyler's first time diving after he got certified and he did a great job.  Two days later we dove again at Julian Rocks in the town of Byron Bay and he was able to stay under almost as long as Julie and I.  That dive also provided us with some spectacular video footage, this time of sting rays, turtles, and a leapard shark all of which were beautiful to see.  Based on the three places we have dove in Australia I would say they are pretty blessed with their sea life!

When Two Becomes Three

We've been waiting to make the announcement, and it is finally official MY BROTHER HAS JOINED US!! Apparently he just couldn't handle the stress of working life, and wanted to make my parents really proud, so he quit his job and flew to Australia to join us! It's been nice having someone else around (especially someone who likes to work-out, something we have been slacking on).

Tyler's arrival also means we are back to rocking it campervan style. Although 3 people in a van is much tighter, I'm sure we can make it work. We spent the first couple days with him re-driving the Great Ocean Road. The weather was much cooler this time so we got to go and walk around a lot more. As we looped back towards Melbourne we stopped at Grampians National Park for some hiking. Unfortunately, there was a high fire danger so we were limited to shorter hikes. The scenery was fantastic and we got all of our hikes in early, before the heat started to really sink in. We finished the day back in Melbourne to pick up yet another guest (aren't we just popular all of a sudden!).

Jenn flew over from Adelaide to spend the weekend. We decided to explore Melbourne since we've been around the city for over 2 weeks but haven't spent much time actually in it. We found a campsite close to public transportation and made that our base camp. I wouldn't recommend 4 people in a van for very long but we are cheap and on a budget, so we all squeezed in. On day one we walked ALL over the city: took a tour of the MCG (giant cricket stadium), watched a street performer in Federation Square, walked through the Victoria Street Market, and managed to wander through some sketchy parts of town in search of dinner which turned out to be amazing!!!

On day 2 we found a sports bar to watch the Broncos game at 9 AM (kickoff was at 8:30, but they didn't open til 9). The game was nuts and we probably should've gone back into town instead to save the stress! After the disappointing ending we headed back into town. Because the game went into overtime we missed out on a chocolate tour, so we made our own tour and stopped buy Haiges for some delicious treats. We walked around a little bit more and all decided we were done walking so we headed back to camp for an evening of cards. I was glad to finally use the cards we have been lugging around since day 1.

The next morning we dropped Jenn off at the airport and headed out of town. Melbourne was fun but we are ready to see something new. We are taking the interior roads to Sydney and then will hop back to the coast for some beach time. I haven't driven much, but I took a turn today and about 30 minutes in we head a thud, followed by a crash (and then raining glass). A passing car flung a rock at our side window and destroyed it!! Adam about had a heart attack, as he was sitting in the back at the time of the explosion of glass. Now we have a lovely plastic window waving in the wind until we can make it to Sydney to get it repaired. Like Tyler said...it wouldn't be a trip with out some car trouble!

You can see more pictures here

Staying With Friends

Australia so far has been very busy, very hot, and very fun.  After landing in Melbourne and spending an hour in line to go through immigration we picked up our rental car and headed downtown to our hotel.  The next day we toured around the central business district where we visited the Queen Victoria Market and walked around federation square.  That afternoon we called our new found friends Paul and Ruth and headed out to their place in Patterson Lakes.  They graciously allowed us to stay with them and proved to be outstanding hosts.

Our first night at their house we took a ride around the neighborhood in their boat and looked at all the Christmas lights that were still up.  The next day they took us to the Innocent Bystander cellar door for lunch and then on to the Healesville Sancturary to look at native wildlife.  Julie made the journey on the back of Paul's Harley while I chose to ride in the car!

We celebrated New Years eve at their house the next evening and had a great time with their friends and family eating great food, playing card games, and watching an awesome fireworks show from the back yard.  The first day of 2013 was relatively tame as we were all a little sleep deprived but we did manage to catch the Hobbit on the big screen.  On Wednesday we joined Ruth and her sisters for a morning of walking along the coast near Phillip Island and after lunch Julie and I drove around exploring the area.  Tuesday was a day for diving where Julie an I got to see weedy sea dragons, sea horses, and a huge sting ray for the first time along with several other outstanding sea creatures.  It was our first diving experience in cold water, we quickly missed to 80 deg water of Thailand and Fiji!!!

We can't thank Paul and Ruth enough for letting us invade their house for 6 days, showing us so much of the area, and allowing two strangers into their lives.  I hope someday we can repay the hospitality shown to us by our new friends.

12 Apostles

After leaving Paul and Ruth to get on with their lives we headed along the southern coast toward Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road.  The scenery was absolutely outstanding but with air temperatures approaching 115 degrees Fahrenheit we only ventured our of the air conditioned car a couple of times.  We did manage a stop and short walk at the 12 Apostles (of which only 7 remain) and the London Bridge. There were tons of people on the beaches, but I think it was too hot for that!  We spent the night in Mt Gambier where we had a lovely dinner at a local downtown eatery.  It was just a short 5 hours of driving the next day before we reached Jenn's new apartment in Adelaide.   We spent the afternoon catching up and learning about her new job and the move to Australia.  The next morning we boarded a small tour bus and spent the day visiting lovely wineries in the Barossa Valley.    

 

The next step of the journey involves picking up another camper van and a special appearance to be discussed further in the next post....