3 March 2008
Monday

9:00pm - Started snowing heavily in the evening, so drove down to Cary's to spend the night.

4 March 2008
Tuesday

8:00am Drove to Darrell's for taxi service to airport.
10:45am - AA flight to LA
12:10pm - Arrived in LA. Took shuttle to hotel, then walked to bus stop to take a bus to Santa Monica Beach. On way out of hotel passed a cop yelling at someone to come out with their hands up or he'd shoot. We met more cops at the door and Joe told them which direction to go. While waiting at the bus stop, a fire engine and then an ambulance showed up. We decided it was best not to stick around.
5:30pm - arrived at Santa Monica and walked out to the end of the pier, then ate supper at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. Got back to the motel around 8pm.

leaving DFW

in-flight selfie

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Beach

Santa Monica Beach

Santa Monica Beach

Santa Monica Beach

5 March 2008
Wednesday

Hollywood Blvd Stars, Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and
One California Plaza

8:00am Bought day passes at the train station and went to Hollywood & Highland. Looked at the stars in the walk of fame and the hand and footprints at Grauman's Theater. Went to Best Buy and bought noise-canceling headphones, then ate gyros for lunch at a little Greek shop. Rode buses to Hollywood Forever Memorial park and found the graves of Mel Blanc, Rudolf Valentino, Hattie McDaniel, Douglas Fairbanks, "Alfalfa" Switzer and quite a few others. Then went to Chinatown and walked around, and rode the train to downtown LA. Walked to Pershing Square and the Water Park, and then trained back to the motel where we picked up our luggage.
7:00pm Took shuttle back to airport, ate a sandwich at the deli, got on the plane to Melbourne, and left at 11:15pm.

32 PHOTOS

6 March 2008
Thursday

Lost this day when we crossed the International Dateline, but the 14-hour flight was passed in the most cramped quarters we ever hope to endure. The plane's entertainment system combined with exhaustion made it just barely tolerable.

7 March 2008
Friday

Landed in Melbourne around 0900, where we met our 14 traveling companions for the next few weeks, then flew on to Adelaide.

Arrived in Adelaide about noon. Took bus to Glenelg and the beach. Ate, exchanged all our paper money for Aussie currency, and activated our phone sims, then took a bus tour of Adelaide. Finally checked into the motel about 1700 hrs. Walked up to Rundle Mall, got milkshakes for supper, and wandered around to mall. Very, very hot, even after sundown.

landing in Melbourne

Adelaide airport

Adelaide airport

Glenelg Beach

Adelaide Oval	Light's Vision monument	Prince Alfred College	Rundle Mall
Rundle Mall bronze pigs
Oliver	Oliver & Truffles	Horatio	Rundle Mall

8 March 2008
Saturday

ferry, wildlife park, sheep dairy, Kingscote pelican feeding

Up early, breakfast at motel, then caught bus at 6:30am to Cape Jervis for 9am ferry ride (45 mins) to Kangaroo Island. Sat with a bricklayer & his mom from Wagga Wagga & had a nice visit. On arrival on Kangaroo Island, met Alex Buick - the tour guide/bus driver. Went to a Honey Bee farm, Eucalyptus Oil Distillery, ate lunch at the Parndana Hotel, toured a wildlife park to pet and feed kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, and wombats. Then to the Sheep Dairy and in the evening to Kingscote to watch the pelican feeding, eat supper and check in to our motel.

55 PHOTOS, 4 VIDEOS

9 March 2008
Sunday

Seal Bay, Kelly Hill Caves, Remarkable Rocks & Admirals Arch, Pennington Bay, ferry

Alex picked us up after breakfast and drove us to a beach where we walked amongst seals, then to a guided tour of Kelly Hills Cave, followed by a barbeque lunch at an RV park. After lunch, we wandered around in the woods looking for koalas. We found several, plus some wallabies. After that, we drove to the western end of the island to Remarkable Rocks (which were fairly remarkable) and to The Arch, which was also very neat. We stopped to look at a beach or two on the way back to the ferry landing at Penneshaw. We had fish & chips before boarding the ferry for the mainland, On the ferry, we talked with a fellow who manufactures a machine for processing sandy land by mixing it somehow with the deeper clay soil. Although we'd come from Adelaide to the ferry on a nice large coach, we returned in a little, cramped 18-passenger van. Not a comfy ride for our group of 16. Arrived at the motel about 2230 hrs. All hands were fairly tuckered.

117 PHOTOS, 5 VIDEOS

10 March 2008
Monday

A coach picked us up at the motel & took us to the Maui RV rental office. We got a quick briefing on operating the rigs, filled out a lot of forms, paid $924 for no-worries insurance, and headed off down the left side of the road. We stopped for a Subway sandwich for lunch, and managed to make it to our first camp in Tununda with our motor home and wits intact.

getting our Maui

11 March 2008
Tuesday

Drove to Murray Bridge via Springtown & Mannum. Much of the route was through wine country; a lot like Napa Valley. We ate PB&J sandwiches for lunch in Mannum, rode the ferry across the river just because we could, and walked all around town. We found a pub that let us use their wi-fi to check email. We got to the camp at Murray Bridge fairly early and went to the grocery store to stock up. We also checked out a couple of thrift stores.

Herbig Family Tree

the Herbig story (larger photo)	a brief biography (larger photo)	tree plaque
		Herbig Tree	interior
	Joe & Janene at the old gum tree

Mannum-to-Adelaide water pipeline

Mannum Ferry

crossing Murray River

Joe at Cowirra Ferry Terminal

Mannum ferry

drydocked houseboats

12 March 2008
Wednesday

Lake Alexandria, The Coorong, Salt Creek Replica Oil Rig, Mount Gambier

Murray Bridge to Mt. Gambier - a long leg of the journey (377 KM). A lot of this was through Texas-like terrain. West Texas, that is. Very hot and dry. We picked up the coast below Meningie, but it stayed hot. We explored most of the little towns along the way & bought steaks in a butcher shop in Kingstown. We found a store in Mt Gambier called George Taylor's - sort of a surplus/everything store. Janene bought a floppy hat and some Aussie hats. After checking in at the campground, several of us rode to Blue Lake in our leader, Greg's, van. Blue Lake is a REALLY blue lake in a volcanic crater. We also walked around downtown a little and did some grocery shopping. Back at camp, we had a group dinner around the barbeque pit.

34 PHOTOS

13 March 2008
Thursday

Mount Gambier, The Crags, Bay of Islands, The Grotto, London Bridge & The Arch

Mt Gambier to Port Campbell. On the way out of town, we stopped at George's and bought some carpet remnants for the camper. We accidentally parked in front of an industrial safety supply store where Joe found a floppy hat for $8, and Janene got a fleece jacket. Our last stop in town was the sunken garden, a good stop. Stopped at a beach in Portland to take pictures. Saw many coast views and stopped in several small towns, but nothing outstanding. Still, a good day. Bought fuel in Millicent 75.09L @$1.49/L = $112.56

67 PHOTOS, 3 VIDEOS

14 March 2008
Friday

Twelve Apostles Marine Park, Johanna Beach, Great Ocean Road, Sheoak Falls, Lorne

Drove from Port Campbell to Lorne. Just outside Port Campbell, we drove through 12 Apostles Nat'l Park. The 12 Apostles are stone formations in the ocean. Other formations included the razorback and arch. We also took a side road to Johanna beach. The drive from Apollo Bay to Lorne was along the "Great Ocean Road," which is extremely winding while providing some great views. We hiked to Sheoak Falls, but it was just damp. We were the last to arrive at the camp, but got a good spot. The campground was overrun with cockatoos, parrots, and kookaburras. We walked up town for pizza with Roger, Sheila, Pat, & Vi. Walked 9.94 miles today. Total thus far for the trip = 79 miles.

96 PHOTOS, 4 VIDEOS

15 March 2008
Saturday

Deans Marsh carvings, Teddy's Lookout, Lorne Swing Bridge

Everybody else stayed in camp. We drove to Torquay, where we did our laundry. Had a fish-n-chips lunch from the place next door to the laundry. The laundry owners told us about an alternate route back to Lorne, via Dean's Marsh. We fueled the caravan: 1.459/L = $97.70. Stopped in Deans Marsh to look at carved tree stumps along the road. Ate a pastry called a pavlova in a local café. YUMMY! When we got back to Lorne, we hiked to Teddy's lookout. Met a bloke from Queensland, Colin Young, a rancher of Brangus cattle. Walked 5.5 miles today.

37 PHOTOS, 1 VIDEO

16 March 2008
Sunday

Birregurra Market & Auction, Ferry from Melbourne to Tasmania

Broke camp about 0900 and drove to Birregurra via Dean's Marsh for the annual market & auction to benefit the local Fire Brigade. Janene bought some socks and plastic plates & glasses for the caravan. We ate burgers from the barby there before heading on toward Melbourne. The highlight of the stop may have been the duck-plucking machine. We took the Princes Highway to Geelong, then the M1 to Melbourne. Our directions to the ferry terminal were horrific, but we all eventually made it and finally got aboard about 1930 hrs. We're aboard the Spirit of Tasmania now, well under way to Tasmania. Scheduled arrival time is a little after 0700. Our room is snug, but adequate, and the ship isn't pitching about unreasonably - yet. 5.5 miles walking today.

38 PHOTOS, 3 VIDEOS

17 March 2008
Monday

Platypus House in Beauty Point (platypuses & echidnas)

Arrived in Devonport, Tasmania at 0700. We were the 4th vehicle off the boat. After a quick meeting with the group, we all scattered and headed toward Launceston. We cut across some back roads through farming/ranching country to Beaconsfield and Beauty Point. At Beauty Point, we toured platypus and sea horse research facilities, which were well worth the trouble. The neatest thing was Cuddles the cuttlefish, who could change colors in an instant. We then drove to Westbury for the St Patrick's Day Festival, but learned that the festival was over the weekend, so we got a map and took a historical walking tour of the town. We visited the local butcher's for supper fixins, then drove on to Launceston to our campground. Walked 3.5 miles.

28 PHOTOS, 5 VIDEOS

18 March 2008
Tuesday

Joe reporting: Pat arranged an afternoon fishing trip out of St Helens (our next camping spot) for himself, Larry, and I, so we broke camp early. Janene & JoAnn wanted to go to Hollybank Treetop Adventures, where one glides through the forest 150 feet above the ground on cables. Larry and I left them with our RV and proceeded to St Helens via Scottsdale on the A3 highway in Larry's RV to meet Pat for the fishing. We made it on time despite the extremely winding, narrow roads, but just as we were meeting the fishing guide, a front came through and the wind kicked up to 30+ mph. All hands agreed that we should postpone and re-assess at 1500 hrs. We went on to the RV park and parked Larry's RV. I rode back to town with Pat & Vi around 1430, but it was still blowing a gale, so we canceled the whole trip. Of course, it was much calmer an hour later, and dead calm by 1800, but who knew? I spent the next couple of hours having a bit of a wander around town. I stopped by the local lawn bowling club, where the rules of the game were explained and I was presented with a club pin and a sack of apples from one of the member's trees.

Meanwhile, Janene & JoAnn had a good day gliding through trees and hiking and looking at things along the route. If they had any difficulty herding the RV through the narrow, twisty roads, they kept it to themselves and arrived at the campground shortly after I hiked in. Since there was no fish, we got Greg to take the four of us back to the grocery. We had steak, grilled potatoes, and stir-fried veggies for supper. Louise brought fresh-picked blueberries, and we had some of them with ice cream for dessert. Walked 3.56 miles.

[NOTE: Photo marked with ^* was provided by Norm Czepiela]

Launceston very old elm	Launceston Basin Chairlift longest chairlift span close-up of info
	planted by first settlers in 1884	Hollybank Treetops Adventure   lavender farm
THIS ELM WAS PLANTED BY WILLIAM AND SARAH ROWEN FIRST SETTLERS FIRST BASIN 1884 TASMANIA'S FIRST TRIPLETS WERE THE DAUGHTERS SARAH FAITH, LOUISA HOPE, GRACE CHARITY BORN 1905
Rainforest Walk

	*
	JoAnn on walk	St Helens campground

19 March 2008
Wednesday

Bicheno Blowhole, Spiky Beach & Bridge, Buckland church, Tessellated Pavement

Joe made pancakes for the group in the campground kitchen. It was a challenge, since the grill got really hot and couldn't be regulated; either all the way on or off. After some trial & error, he finally developed a recipe & technique that produced an acceptable product. All cakes were consumed, so the operation must have been a success.

Left camp a little after 0900 & went back into St Helens to the op shop (thrift store). Janene bought 2 blankets for 50 cents each & Joe got a book for a dime. We finally left town and drove south. We bypassed St Mary's, driving along the coast to Swansea. We stopped in Bicheno at The Blowhole, where sea water blasts up in the air. Lunch was eaten at Spikey Beach, south of Swansea. We also visited Spikey bridge, an old stone bridge built back in the convict days. Bought fuel in Triabunna - 65.43L @ $1.51/L=$99.39 - and visited the local op shop where Joe got a free towel for cleaning the windshield, and a bakery where we bought meat pies for supper plus a selection of desserts. In Buckland, we stopped at the St John the Baptist Anglican church. It was built in the 1850s and has a stained glass window dating from between 1350 & 1500. Joe played the organ there. We arrived in Sorell in time to pick raspberries and strawberries at a local produce farm. Made it to the campground in Port Arthur shortly before dark. The campground is fairly teeming with wallabies and some other kind of hoppy little critter. It's finally cool enough to need to bundle up a bit and run the heater in the RV. Walked about 4 miles today.

60 PHOTOS, 3 VIDEOS

20 March 2008
Thursday

Port Arthur boat tour & The Penitentiary

Cool weather for the first time! Actually ran the RV heater last night. Probably about 50 degrees this morning. Left the RV in the campground and Greg shuttled 12 of us to the pier where we took a boat tour of the waters surrounding Port Arthur. The trip was great. We saw a lot of seals, cormorants, and albatrosses, plus unbelievable cliffs, caves, and arches. A front came in toward the end of the 2.5 hr trip and the water got rough, but it was no problem.

After getting back to our RV, we ate a quick PB&J sandwich and drove to the old convict station. We toured the grounds and harbor. It would not have been fun to be "transported" in 1800. On the way back from the prison, we stopped at a small family-run chocolate factory, so we're set for treats for a day or so. Our stop for the night is in Cambridge, just east of Hobart, so we stopped for supplies and to top up fuel in Sorell. 26.57 L @$1.52/L = $40.57. We also bought pizza in Sorell, figuring we'd be too tired to cook. We made it to camp just before dark. Hope to check/send-email tonight. 4.59 miles walking.

104 PHOTOS, 9 VIDEOS

21 March 2008
Friday

Bonorong Wildlife Centre, Franklin River, Nelson Falls, Iron Blow Copper Mine

Today, we drove from Cambridge to Strahan (pronounced strawn). Most of the trip was on twisty roads through the mountains, either ascending or descending sharply. After leaving camp, we drove into Richmond to look at an old church and bridge, then rendezvoused with the others at the Bonorong Wildlife Park near Brighton for a 0930 tour through their Wombat, Tasmanian Devil, Koala, and Kangaroo areas. After the wildlife park, we drove the A10 to Strahan. We circled through the business district of New Norfolk, but most things were closed for Good Friday. Lunch was in a roadside park in Oust. At Tarraleah, we stopped to view a hydroelectric station, then proceeded on through the Franklin Gordon Wild Rivers Nat'l Park, where we stopped and hiked to the Franklin River and Nelson Falls. Franklin River had a neat 1-person suspension bridge. We also drove down a side road with a sign that said "Iron Blow." It took us to an overlook of an old open-pit gold/copper/silver mine. They apparently never mined any iron, so we're unsure about the name. It was very impressive. We made it to camp just barely before dark and fixed supper. We have a pretty full day planned for our last day in Tasmania, so we hope to get up & around early. We'll see. 4.25 miles today.

140 PHOTOS, 7 VIDEOS

22 March 2008
Saturday

Tasmazia, Sheffield murals, Railton topiaries, ferry back to Melbourne

Today's mantra is, "Don't miss the boat!" We left Strahan and drove up B27 to Zeehan, then the A10 to the C132. The roads were once again extremely winding and narrow, constantly climbing or descending, with frequent hairpin turns. We stopped along the way at a lookout just north of the Henry river, then again in Zeehan, where we strolled about town and looked in a local rock shop. We also stopped in Rosebery for a bit of a wander before heading on. We drove out to the Cradle Mountain Nat'l Park, but they have a shuttle bus system which we elected to not use.

Lunch was at the Wilmot Power Station lake, just a short drive off the main road. We took a shortcut through the C140, which took us out of the woods and along ridges through ranchland. It also took us past Tasmazia, reportedly the world's largest hedge maze complex. We decided we dared not enter, lest we become lost and miss the boat. In Sheffield, the big attraction is many, many murals scattered about town. An international mural competition was just underway, with the artist doing the outline sketching. Some of them looked like giant paint by number projects. The next stop was Railton, noted for its topiary. Some were nice, but it seems to be a fairly new project, so a lot haven't really grown in yet. Finally, we drove to Devonport via Latrobe, We wandered about town for a couple of hours, then bought a sub sandwich and got on queue for the ferry. After parking, we got out our lawn chairs and sat in the shade of our RV to eat our sandwich. Loading on the ferry from this end was much quicker than the trip down. The ride over was a lot rougher and noisier, but tolerable. The boat docked on schedule and we disembarked - then the fun began. Walked 4.79 miles.

69 PHOTOS

23 March 2008
Sunday

Bus tour, Fitzroy Gardens, Royal Botanic Gardens, Colonial Tramcar Restaurant

After leaving the ferry terminal, we had to navigate through Melbourne. Fortunately, it's Easter morning, so traffic was very light. We made numerous wrong turns, u-turns, and circle-the-blocks. Street signs, when they exist, are very small and often hidden, so not knowing what street we were on, or what the crossing street was, was par for the course. At a lot of intersections, we needed to turn right, but it was prohibited, so we had to make 3 lefts instead. Throw in a few roundabouts, and it turned into a pretty big goat rope, but we eventually prevailed and were the 3rd of our group to arrive at the caravan park. Maybe the others stopped for breakfast. We took a bus tour of the city at 1000 hrs, then were on our own till the evening when we ate dinner on a trolley as it cruised the streets of Melbourne. We looked through the Victoria Market, a huge conglomeration of venders of about every kind of genuine Australian souvenir that can be made in China, then just wandered around the area, including a visit to the Immigration Museum, till trolley time.

The trolley meal was possibly the highlight of the trip so far. The menu started off with a sparkling Chardonnay accompanying a cream, liver, & cognac pate, and a roasted red capsicum dip, served with assorted crisp bread (crackers). I'm not sure what all of that is, but it was yummy. Then we had grilled kangaroo loin, followed by prime eye fillet of beef (on a potato & herb rosti). The next course was a selection of Australian cheeses served with fruit & crackers, and finally, white chocolate & passionfruit mousse with vanilla raspberry syrup. All of this was accompanied by assorted wines served in never-go-dry glasses. The whole thing lasted about 3 hrs. A good time was had by all. It was a really good thing that we had a bus waiting to take us back to the RV park. The walk from the street to our rigs was challenge enough for most of us. Walked 9.2 miles today.

61 PHOTOS

24 March 2008
Monday

The camp didn't stir very early today. We left the park a little after 1000. The route out of Melbourne to Phillip Island was another navigation challenge. We seemed to drive about 70% of Melbourne's streets, but today was a holiday, so traffic was light and we eventually found our way out of town. We only stopped at a few places along the way today, including a grocery store, fruit stand, and gas station. We were the first ones to tonight's RV park, so got set up and did our laundry. We had a Subway sandwich for supper before Greg shuttled us to the beach to watch the penguins come ashore. Walked 4.15 miles.

Coburg Caravan Park

Penguin Parade on Phillip Island

Janene, Pat, Vi, Sheila, Roger

Pat, Vi, Sheila, Roger, Joe

No flash photography

Welcome to Penguin Parade

25 March 2008
Tuesday

Penguin Parade & the Nobbies, Koala Conservation Reserve, drive to Foster

Stopped by the local "Op Shops" on the way out of town. Joe got a genuine New Zealand wool stocking cap for $1.50. A souvenir that's not made in China!! We drove southeast to Wonthaggi, where we strolled around and finally found working internet access for a reasonable price. We decided to drive south to Cape Patterson, then along the coast to Inverloch before going on to Tarwin and ultimately Foster. That meant we didn't have time to drive out to the national park on Wilson's Promontory, but we figured we wouldn't have time to do any hiking there anyway. As it was, we got into camp in time to grill the steaks we'd bought and be finished with supper before dark. We, along with Norm & Evelyn, walked to the local Bowls Club for bingo. None of us won anything, but we had fun and provided a change for the locals, most of whom seemed to be from the WW2 generation or older. We did come home with some vine-ripened tomatoes. Walked 5.76 miles.

41 PHOTOS

26 March 2008
Wednesday

Sale Powder Magazine, St Mary's Church in Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance

A fairly long drive today (300 KM) but good roads. Windy conditions kept our speed down, yet we still stopped and explored all the towns along the way and arrived in camp before 1800 hrs. We bought fuel in Sale for $1.59/L, and also spent a lot of time walking around Bairnsdale. We went in a Catholic church there that an artist originally from Italy had painted during the 1930's. The entire arched ceiling, 45 feet in the air, was painted with murals, much like the Sistine Chapel. He also did a lot of other artwork there, and later moved to Melbourne, where he was reportedly quite successful. The story goes that he came to Australia in the 20s, and was doing well until the depression. He was picking peas for a living when he met the local padre and asked if he knew of better work available. The priest said he needed some painting done and put him to work touching up some statues. One thing led to another, and 6 or so years later, the whole place was covered in art.

We arrived in Lakes Entrance about 1800 hrs. It was threatening rain by the time we got set up in camp, so we walked up the street with Sheila & Roger to a fish-n-chips shop for supper. We made it back ahead of the rain. Thus ends another day. We managed to walk 5 miles today.

27 PHOTOS

27 March 2008
Thursday

Paddle Steamer Curlip II, rainforest walks, commercial fishing boats at Eden wharf

Left the campground around 0830 and drove toward Orbost on A1 for about ½ hr, then pulled into a Nat‘l Park campground and cooked omelets for breakfast . In Orbost, we stopped at a city park to view an old cabin, then visited with the people building a replica side-wheel river boat. Saw a very friendly cat that looked just like Smokey. Before we left town, Janene called Cary & Chad. Both professed to be doing well. Took the McKenzie River Rainforest Walk east of Manorina, then a little later, east of Cann River, the Drummer Rainforest Walk, where Janene lost her pedometer. Both walks were very pleasant and informative. We crossed into New South Wales at 1500 hrs and kept on truckin' to Eden, where we spent some time walking around the waterfront and watching crews unloading the day's catch from fishing boats. We got to Bega at 1700 hrs and cruised the business district before going to the RV park. Janene bought a new pedometer, and we bought 2 packs of dessert rolls from a bakery for $2. Cooked fish, rice, and sweet potatoes for supper. Walked 3.5+ miles today.

43 PHOTOS, 2 VIDEOS

28 March 2008
Friday

Tathra Headland, Beares Beach, Bergamui Blue Pool, Mummuga Lake Walk

Joe reporting: We were officially the last ones out of the park this morning. We made omelets in the camp kitchen - much easier than in the camper. On the way out of town, we stopped at the St Vincent DePaul thrift store (Vinnie's). I bought 2 long-sleeved shirts for $2 each. The weather's getting cooler and I realized I didn't bring enough long sleeves. We drove to Tathra, where we walked around a memorial park run by the Lions Club before driving north along the coast to Bermagui, where we ate lunch in a city park. We turned inland to Cobargo so we could stop by a leather shop, then returned to the coast and drove to Bateman's Bay, our stop for tonight. We did a 2-km walk through the woods at Mummuga Lake, just north of Narooma. Janene finally found a garage sale along the way. Didn't buy anything, but the bloke gave us some lemons from a bush in the yard. Shortly after, we saw a fox bounding through a nearby field, but he moved on before we could get situated to take his picture. Before checking in at the campground, we bought enough fuel to run us tomorrow. $48.85 for 30.55 L. $1.59/L. Hoping fuel will get cheaper closer to the big cities, but probably not. Cooked chicken fried rice with mixed veg and nectarines in the camp kitchen for supper. Walked 5.89 miles today.

40 PHOTOS, 1 VIDEO

29 March 2008
Saturday

Batemans Bay fishing trip, fish fry in Sutton

Joe reporting: Greg drove Pat, Larry, Roger, and me to the boat harbor at 0600 for our fishing trip. We met up with Captain John and two Aussies from the Murray River area, Tony and his 13-y.o. daughter Paige. We went out about 30 minutes from the harbor, not too far from shore, but around the bend. We were drift-fishing in about 120 feet of water, using squid and cut fish for bait. We fished till about noon, and ended up with 4 pretty decent snappers and an assortment of fish whose names none of us can recall. I'm pretty sure Paige caught the most. The ladies had moved our rigs from the RV park and headed out on the town. Greg picked us up when we returned and took us to where the RVs were parked. We walked over to a nearby Woolworth's, which in Australia is a supermarket , and found a friendly produce man who gave us 3 styrofoam shipping boxes plus a generous helping of ice. The ladies returned just as we were getting the fish iced down, and we all headed for Sutton via Braidwood and Bungendore, stopping in both towns to look around. Finding our assigned RV park has been a challenge most nights, with questionable directions being the norm, but tonight may have topped them all. After a couple of u-turns and stopping twice to ask directions, we found our way in - last again. Greg set to work preparing the fish for a community meal and everybody else emptied out their fridges and cupboards. Janene's in charge of rice and fruit salad. I'm in charge of journal, moral support, and drinking beer. Janene walked 5.09 miles.

26 PHOTOS

30 March 2008
Sunday

Parliament House, War Memorial, Mount Ainslie, National Museum

Joe reporting: After a much needed rest, I got out early to look for kangaroos. I spotted several in a nearby field, but they were too far away to get a good picture. I was walking down one of the streets in the RV park and a big one hopped out in the road about 30 ft from me. He sat there for a bit but hopped away before I could get my camera engaged. I also met an Australian couple getting ready to break camp. He is a firefighter from Queensland. We traded a few stories, email addresses, and ball caps.

Everybody boarded a tour bus at 0930 for a guided tour of Australia's capital, Canberra. We spent about 3 hours being driven around to various sites, including the capital building, embassy row, the war memorial and assorted museums. We were only able to really look around at the war memorial, but got a good idea of where things are. 6 of us stayed in town when the bus brought the others back. We went to the National Museum of Australia, then walked around to the National Gallery of Australia. Greg was fixing supper for the crowd at 1800 hrs featuring the snappers we caught yesterday. Fortunately, we met up with Mike and Lynn as the art museum was closing, so we split a cab back to the RV park. We did laundry tonight, but the dryer was a rip-off, required special tokens, and didn't dry worth anything. We ended up hanging clothes all over the RV. Janene went kangaroo hunting while I did laundry and had a very successful trip. Saw at least 19 kangaroos, but too dark to get a good picture. Walked 7.14 miles.

96 PHOTOS, 1 VIDEO

31 March 2008
Monday

Drive to Katoomba, Katoomba Falls & Mine, Scenic Tramway

We drove north. Saw a lot of dead wombats, thousands of live sheep and cattle, and 1 emu. Walked to bottom of Katoomba falls, rode cable tram back up. Got packed up for move to New Zealand.

37 PHOTOS, 1 VIDEO

1 April 2008
Tuesday

Joe reporting: We're in Sydney tonight, in the Marque Hotel. The drive from Katoomba to the RV rental place was a convoluted goat-rope, but everybody made it and we got our rigs returned and boarded a bus which took us to the hotel. Janene and I, along with Larry & JoAnn, Lynn & Mike, and Louise had reservations for walking the top of the harbor bridge at 1555 hrs. We took cabs to the bridge. The whole experience takes about 3 hrs, much of it getting suited up. You wear special coveralls, headsets, caps, etc, and are tethered to a cable so you can't fall or jump off. At the apex, we were about 450 ft above the water. It was fun, with great views and a guide to tell interesting tidbits of info, but pretty pricey. Pretty much a 1-time sort of thing. After the bridge, we shared a cab to the Darling Harbor area. Larry, JoAnn, Janene and I split from the others and walked toward the hotel through Chinatown. We stopped and ate supper along the way at a sidewalk café, then walked back to the hotel.

Central Station clock tower

Bridge Climb taxi ride video (3:05, 32.5MB)

Harbour Bridge

photo packages

Famous Climbers

		Joe & Janene ready to climb	Aussie BridgeClimb group

Starting the climb

climbing group

Janene & Joe

more of the group

heading up

2 April 2008
Wednesday

Opera House, Harbour Cruise, Aquarium, Maritime Museum, Queen Victoria Building

Joe reporting: After breakfast at the hotel, everybody boarded a bus for a tour of Sydney. We drove all around downtown, plus some of the fancy suburbs. A guided tour of the Opera House, a lunch cruise, and admission to the aquarium were also included. Janene and I elected to decline the bus ride back to the hotel and instead toured the Maritime Museum. When it closed, we just wandered the streets. We went to the Queen Victoria Building, which is a three-level shopping complex, and got free opal hat pins at the National Opal Museum. We also bought a roll of duct tape so we could package up 5 lawn chairs into one bundle for transport to New Zealand. The highlight of the day may have been 30-cent ice cream cones at McDonald's. We walked 10.39 miles, getting to the hotel about 1930 hrs. The lawn chairs have been bundled, and I think we're all packed for the airport in the morning, so off to bed.

148 PHOTOS, 3 VIDEO

3 April 2008
Thursday

We ate breakfast at the hotel, then hopped our bus for the airport at 0800. While at the airport, I got all of my pictures copied to the laptop. We were an hour late boarding, then sat in the plane for about 40 minutes before leaving the gate. All this due to bad weather in the southern part of Australia. They had hurricane force winds in Tasmania and around Adelaide and Melbourne. Sure glad we got out of there first. The result of all this was our arriving in Auckland over an hour late. Our New Zealand tour directors were waiting with a bus to take us to the hotel. We took our bags to our rooms, then had a group meeting before turning in for the night.
2.39 miles walked.

Tired Travelers

Sandy

Louise

JoAnn & Larry

Flight to New Zealand

Sydney Harbour

Sydney Harbour

Botany Bay

Janene & Joe in-flight selfie

NZ airport security beagle