What to make of Melbourne

On the first part of our trip, people often asked where we were heading to next and Melbourne always got a mixed reaction, ranging from "you'll have a great time there....it's such a wonderful city", to "I'd miss out Melbourne altogether".  I'd been here before, albeit to see the cricket 8 years ago, and I liked it.  I knew it was going to be very different this time round.

We arrived late on Monday the 20th Jan, having spent the day travelling from Byron Bay.  After a wander around a very quiet city, we were done.

Up bright and early on Tuesday to take in a few of the sites, including Captain Cooks cottage, (the oldest building in Oz), a few of the parks, the shopping disctrict, Federation Square and the waterfront. Breakfast was first on the agenda though.  Melbourne has plenty of little, narrow side streets that are full of tiny cafes, all busy and all serving delicious food and coffee to tourists, locals and business people.  This was a real unexpected surprise and pretty much where we had breakfast every day.

Tuesday night we had tickets to the tennis, and were delighted to learn that it was Wawrinka v Djokovic.  Jokingly we said we wanted a 5 setter....and we were not disappointed.  A brilliant game of tennis, great atmosphere and a lot of wine.  

Wednesday we headed to St Kilda, a cool little suburb about 25 mins on the tram. Main street had outside bars, cafes, restaurants as well as the quirky shops we have seen in so many other places like this.  It even had an allotment...

After a spot of breakfast, we headed to the beach for the rest of the day.

On Wednesdy evenings the Queen Victoria Night Markets take place.  Wasn't really sure what to expect, but delighed to report that it's a foodies heaven.  A few clothing stalls, but rows and rows of red hot grills, steaming pots, open BBQs and wood fired pizza ovens all offering food from a different country.  It was teriffic.

But, that night we headed out for a very average steak and a few hands of blackjack at the Crown Casino.  

Thursday we had booked ourselves on the Colonial Tram Lunch.  This was a 2 hour, 4 course, all you could drink tram ride around Melbourne, and pretty fab.  The tram was kitted out with all vintage decor and Cazzie was in her element!

The trouble with an all you can drink 2 hour lunch is that it becomes a mistake to stop drinking once finished.  With that in mind, we embarked on a pub crawl round waterfront, taking in a bit of the tennis in one of several outside viewing spots.  

Friday's plan was to meet an old school friend of my Dad's for lunch...Real Robert, do some shopping and then have dinner with a couple we met during out Daintree Rain Forest tour.  Richard and Carina met us about 5.30pm, and after seeing that Chin Chin's - Melbourne's hottest restaurant had a 2 hour waiting line, found somewhere else to dine.  After visiting Carina's favourite ice cream place, and sinking a few beers in a bar while watching the tennis, we found a lovely rooftop cocktail bar before dancing the night away in a cheesy club!

 

Top night had by all.

We've been asked a lot that "if" we were to move to Australia, would we pick Sydney or Melbourne.  For me, Melbourne has the edge.  Sydney is great, and I know we didn't see all the outer suburbs, but, from what I've seen, Melbourne has more to offer.  

Love

Stuoobs

xxx

Nice Noosa and Bohemian Byron

After leaving Fraser Island, we collected a hire car and made our way to Noosa.  For me, this was going to be just a place to stop overnight on the way to Byron Bay. I'd never really heard of the place nor knew anything about it.  

What a surprise it was.  Noosa is right on the east coast with great weather, lovely beaches, fantastic restaurants, chic bars, top hotels and stunning houses.  We arrived mid afternoon, too late to sunbathe really, so grabbed a coffee and embarked on a little wander around, booking a fab restaurant for the evening in the process.  Cazzie was in her element as there are so many quirky little shops here, all selling clothing and trinkets you really can't find in the main cities.  We stumbled into a wonderful art gallery by Peter Lik.....and instantly realised that I've been in one of these places before...in Vegas!  Google him....his photography is amazing....with a price tag to match.  

Everything here is very cool, even the police...

The next morning, we decided to work on our tan before jumping back in the car and head to Byron. We wished we had one more night here as we both loved the place.

Byron is about 3 hours south of Noosa, and we were due to meet an Ozzie friend we met in Whistler 4 years ago.  We'd set a time of 6.30pm.  A couple of other friends, Ollie and Anna, lived a few kms and a 10 minute detour from our route according to Google map, we arranged to pop into see them to break up the journey.

2 things.  1) There is a 1 hour time difference between Noosa (in Queensland) and Byron (in New South Wales).  2) 10 mins detour on Google maps equalls a 1 hour detour in rush hour and roadworks.  This meant that we were 2 1/2 hours late meeting Tommy in Byron and only spent 20 mins with Ollie and Anna.  We did drive through Southport though...

We arrived in Byron, threw our bags into the apartments and met Tommy for a much needed beer and pizza.

We planned 3 nights here right in the middle of our honeymoon to relax, sunbathe and drink and Byron ticked all 3 boxes.  There are loads of really cool restaurants, but not the chic expensive ones like Noosa, but tiny, almost run down ones, that serve the most amazing food.   We ate in a mexican and thai place that you wouldn't look twice at as they looked so scruffy, but people were queueing out the door to get a table, with most just back from the beach in wet shorts or their surfboard propped up outside.   

And, as you would expect, there are several bars, all with a live band or solo artist playing funky hippy tunes hoping to be the next Jack Johnson.  And, not forgetting the street musicians, which were on every street corner or alley way.  

Saturday in Byron was a lot of fun.  The 3 of us headed to the beach in the morning, where I was informed that the surf was wicked.  After a few hours of sunning and getting battered by the waves, it was beer o'clock, so we found a bar that overlooked the beach for a few scooners.

After a quick shower and that mexican I mentioned, where we drank margaritas as if they were going out of fashion, it was time to hit the pub.  Top night had by all.  And no one, including Tommy, was sick.

Sunday was hangover day, and after trying to get rid of it in the sea, Tommy left us and we headed upto the lighthouse and the most easterly point on Australia's mainland.

Again Byron is a must visit place.  It's so easy to see the attraction and why so many backpackers spend time here.  It's easy to get bar / waiting on work, hostels are cheap, the weather is incredible and there is so much to do.  

Love

Stuoobs

xxx

Captain Fraser's Island

For those of you who don't know, Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world.  It's a world heritage site and one of Australia's finest tourist spots. You are not allowed to take anything off the island.  

It's actually named after Captain Fraser, an Englishman who was resposible for transporting cargo by ship from England to the new settlers and convicts in Australia.  I won't bore you with the full story, but Captain Fraser and his wife ended up marooned on this island and living amongst the native Aborigines. Google it.....it's quite interesting.

The island was formed by sand building up over 1000s of years, with more and more sand being deposited from each high tide. Grain by grain, the island got larger and larger. Trees and plants started to grow there, establishing roots which held the sand together.  Eventualy, these tree and plants would get covered over by more sand deposited either by high winds or high tide.  These trees would then slowly breakdown, providing nutrients in the sand for more trees and plants to grow. 

As the island is all sand, it acts like a giant sponge when it rains.  And, like a when you wet a sponge and put it down, the water flows out of it, creating 100s of fresh water creeks, all flowing into the sea.  This water is clear, pure and completely drinkable.  

During our organised tour, we were offered the chance to see the island from above in a little plane....

Really glad we did this as we got to see how dense the forest here is, but also where all the creeks and sand blows are.

There is a shipwreck here called the Maheno....not Captian Fraser's, but a ship that owas origially used as a luxury cruise liner in the early 1900's, before being asked to be a medical ship during WW1.  After the war, the ship was bought by a Japanese company, and towed back to Japan for repairs.  During the towing, the rope that connected the 2 ships was ripped by a cyclone, resulting in this ship crashing into Fraser Island. 

The place is full of wildlife too, including fruit bats, snakes, spiders and the Fraser Island Dingo.

Overall a really fab, diverse island.  Full of beauty and danger.  If you swim on one side of the island, you will either get eaten by shark or pulled under by the huge currents, but the other side of the island are clear, clam waters.  

We could have stayed longer and swam in more of the fresh water lakes or driven a 4X4 on the really bumpy sandy roads, but 2 nights was almost perfect.

Love

Stuoobs

Cruising Around The Whitsundays

This was the part of the trip that I was looking forward to the most. The postcard picture perfect Whitsundays.

Arrived in Airlie Beach on Thursday 9th Jan mid afternoon and decided to spend the rest of the day by the pool. The weather was glorious and our hotel was right on the ocean.

Airlie Beach is a backpackers paradise. Full of bars, cheap eateries and hostels. It is a really buzzing little town with a constant turnover of people. It's a base for exploring the 74 islands that are here. We decided to frequent a couple of these bars on Thursday night and, after a meal and a little pub crawl, ended up in Paddy Shenanigans where a one man acoustic session was taking place. The bar was lively and full of young party goers, and we blended in perfectly ;). As soon as the acoustic session was over, a band started in the other corner. All in all a pretty good place. After several VodCrans and a couple of Jagerbombs, it was time to leave them all to it.
The plan for the friday was to get up with a hangover, have some breakfast and sunbathe all day by the pool. 2 out of 3 were ticked off as there was an almightly storm over head.

So, Saturday was the 2 night Whitsundays Cruise. Turned up at the Marina with a crate of VB and a couple of pairs of trunks. The boat consisted of 18 guests and 3 crew members. Left the Marina at about 12pm and headed off into the Islands.

The trip consisted of a couple of scuba dives, some snorkelling, some paddle boarding and a walk to Whitehaven Beach. If you have not heard, this beach is 99.95% silica sand. Not like the sand you get on normal beaches, but softest, whitest sand you have ever felt. The beach is a National Park and you need a license to be able to remove sand from here. Only 1 of these have ever been granted, and that's held by NASA. They collect 1 bucketful every year to use in their telescopes. It's so soft you can even give your jewellery a polish

The cruise was a brilliant 2 days. Everyone on board got on really well and there was a great mix of people ranging from backpackers to honeymooners to parents who were visiting their kids that are working in Oz. Each night the Captain found a secluded, calm spot on the ocean, lit the BBQ everynight and took turns to put our iPods on. And, when it got dark, the lights came on at the back of the boat which attracted marine life such as little crayfish, turtles and dolphins. We were so well looked after by the crew, who took care of everything. And, even though we are up very early to begin our day, you could never tire of having breakfast with views like this....

If you ever find youself in Oz, this is a must do trip.

It would have been great to go out for a few beers afterward with our newly found chums, but we were due to catch a plane at 4pm.
Photos on Facebook,
Love
Stuoobs
xxx

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There's a rain forest too????

Our next destination was about 1 hours drive north of Cairns in a town called Port Douglas. We picked here simply as it was the best place to dive the Great Barrier Reef and arrived on Sunday 6th Jan.

 

We booked a full day's diving for the Tuesday as there are certian rules about diving too close to flying, which left us Monday free. When booking dive, the operater we chose also suggested a day trip to the Diantree Rain Forest. I had no idea there was a rain forest here, but thought it would be a fun day out.

 

Ross, our guide for the day, picked us up at 7.20am and, having collected 6 others en route, made our way to Daintree.

 

We've been to forests before, namely Yosemite and Yellowstone, but Daintree was very different. It was bloody humid to start off with and very warm, but what I noticed most was the sheer density of the plants and trees. You could barely see the sky if you looked up and could only see a few metres infront of you.

 

Ross, was a very informative Aussie chap, dishing out facts such as the Daintree and the Amazon used to be part of the same forest about 100 million years ago and that they are discovering new plant and animal life all the time.

This place is full of activity. Bats, birds, crocodiles, spiders, crabs and fish. This beast, which was as big as an open hand, was hanging around the ladies loo at one desintaion.

 

Harmless (by all accounts) but I really didn't want to take any chances so snapped it at a distance!

After a BBQ and some light refeshment, we headed to one of the clearest rivers I have seen for a bit of a dip to cool down. The water was about 25C but very refreshing.

 

Absolutely brilliant day out and a real surprise. We were in need of a few VBs that night!

The Tuesday was our Great Barrier Reef diving trip. Very excited about this one.

Glen, our private instructer for the day, picked us us at 7.45am and drove us to the boat, where we met 50 more excited divers. We had no idea we were getting our own chap all day, but it made the whole diving experience even better as we were away from the main groups of divers and snorkelers.

Cazzie and I both did 2 dives and they were both spectacular. Went down 12 metres and spotted all sorts of marine life including sharks, parrot fish and baracudas, as well as swimming through some magnificent corals.

Again, the whole day was brilliant. Very well organised with the friendly crew making us all feel very safe and the lunch buffet was top notch.

Sadly, no pics from this trip, but we are planning on getting some underwater ones when we are on the Whitsundays cruise in a few days time.

What made both of these trips brilliant were the people we were with. If you get a happy bunch the day has a different feel about it.

There had been quite a few weird coincidences the past 3 days too.

There was one chap on the Rain Forest Tour that was a) born in the same village that Cazzie grew up in, b) lived in Nottingham where Cazzie went to uni, c) lived on the same road at the same time as my brother did in Sheffield, d) lived in Bollington for 12 months and has tickets to the same session as us for the Aus Open tennis.

On the diving trip we met a chap that used to drink in the Grapes in Formby and knew a load of people we did.

And, to top it all off, when we checked into our hotel in Cairns, in the same hotel was a mate from the Freshie. Utterly bizzare but very cool at the same time.

Of course, beers were enjoyed with all three of these people!

Photos....as always, can be found on Facebook.

Lots of love

Stuoobs

xxx

 

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7 Days In Sydney

Sydney is a wonderful city, perhaps one of my favourites. It has everything. The sunny weather, the beaches, the nightlife, the restaurants, the sport and the iconic landmarks. You really can't go wrong here.

 

Cazzie and I have spent 7 very busy days.

 

Day 1. We arrived on Sunday very early. Couldn't check in to our apartment, so wandered around the city, mainly Darling Harbour and some of the numerous parks on offer as well as heading up the tallest building to get a great view. We needed to keep busy because as soon as we stopped, we knew jetlag would hit us. After a few beers late afternoon and a Hard Rock cafe burger, we were done. A good, but gentle start to the trip.

 

Day 2 - Monday. We headed up to see the Blue Mountains. Ian, our tour guide, collected us at 6.45am, which was fine with us, seeing as we'd been awake since 4.30.

This was my second time here, but the place is just as impressive. We rode the worlds steepest railway and a couple of scenic cable cars, giving us greats views of the mountians. This is must do when visiting Sydney.

On the way back to Sydney, we popped into Featherdale Zoo for some Kangaroo and Koala spotting. Zoos aren't quite the same for me since our Kruger Park safari.

Day 3 - Tuesday was New Year's Eve and we were lucky enough to spend it on a boat with a magnificent view of the fireworks, all courtesy of Ollie and Nadine's Dad!!! There were 15 of us with plently of food, booze and cheesy music to keep us entertained inbetween fireworks. We only realised how lucky we were to be on this boat when we saw people queueing up from 9am just to get into the parks to get a good spec. It really was a terrific evening and we could not have been more grateful.

Day 4, Wednesday....woke up with the expected hangover. Plan today was to have a few beers in the afternoon to shift the headache, before heading up to the 36th floor bar at the Shangri La for cocktails and views of the city. Another must do, although the drinks are a bit pricey.

Day 5, Thursday. Today we were climbing over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, so after wandering around the botanical gardens, which gave great view of the Opera House and the Bridge, and after lunch right by the Opera House it was time to climb.

 

The climb took about 3 hours, with the first hour taken up with saftey briefings to ensure no one dies. The climb was brilliant, and the views would have been even better if it wasn't so cloudy, but still a really awesome afternoon.

 

Day 6 - Friday. We managed to get hold of 2 tickets in the Barmy Army section of the SCG to see Australia v England and what a day to pick. We witnessed the England seam attack reduce the Ozzies to 165 before tea and then saw Cook and Carberry knock a quick 150 in the evening session without any trouble at all. I must point out the we were also drinking all day, so my memory is not quite 100%.

Day 7 - Saturday. Hired a car and took a trip north to visit Palm Beach and Manly. Palm Beach is where Home and Away is filmed, so Cazzie was a very happy bunny. The beach itself was beautiful and full of surfers and it's made me want to learn...watch this space!!!!

Then it was on to Manly Beach. A real buzzing seaside town (for want of a better phrase). Loads of restaurants and bars dotted along the marina with a street full of surf shacks and souvenir shops which lead to a very crowded beach. It was the weekend and the weather was perfect for sunbathing so it was always going to be packed.

Overall Sydney is a fab place to visit, especially at this time of year. Over 1 million people descend here for NYE and the place is buzzing.

A selection of our pics from Sydney can be found on Facebook for those who care!

Love

Stuoobs

xxx

 

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