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So, we made it to the east coast. After a few days milling around Cairns and Townsville doing some diving we went and worked in Mission Beach at the Sanctuary -an ecolodge on a massive hill in the Rainforest surrounded by sea views. As part of the Wwoofing program we were more than happy to oil tables and help restore the place since their big cyclone hit in Feb 06. We felt we were giving something back to Australia, but at the same time we ate feasts and lived a life of luxury for 2 weeks. Our only squeak of complaint was the rowdy yoga meditators.
Following this Cairns was calling again and Jo went to do her advanced dive whilst Lou did some fun dives on the Reef. The Woolshed became our second home and we had some cracking nights out.
Once Cairns was accomplished Bernie took us to Mission Beach again with keen enthusiasm to work on another Wwoofing programme. To say chalk and cheese was an understatement. Ok, we didn't expect 5 star luxury like the Sanctuary but we didnt expect to be staying in our tent with no toilet facilities amongst dead animals, a rickety caravan and with 2 owners who look like escaped convicts. With dust clouding the air as the wheels of Bernie spun we hastily left the 'house' and patch of land in hope to find a campsite as far away as possible.
We spent 3 days sightseeing and then took a road trip to Airlie beach in hope that our guardian angel would return. With the wind and rain and the dark sky, we quickly put the tent up.....in 2 hours! We only bent all the pegs and it was hilarious that the campers next to us didn't offer any help. Airlie beach was pretty mellow, we sat at the lagoon, saw a good live band, but for us it was the gateway to our trip to Hayman island to be with Lou's family.
10 days of baths, springy beds, tv, and.....luxury! It was a bit of a tease really because it made us realise how we had come to live as professional travellers living on rice, pasta, rice, pasta and...rice. But now we are eating salmon, the best mussels in Australia and wine that made lambrusco look not bad but really bad. And it was all to be taken away again in 10 days. Back to rice and pasta, oh and lambrusco.
Back to backpacking with freshly ironed, pressed and folded knickers we headed to Rockhampton for an overnight stop before hitting Brisbane. Brisbane hit us, rush hour - a big city, one-way streets! The drive got a bit nervous and tense as we drove round and round. Oh maybe we should have pre-booked a hostel. Once settled in West End we ventured out to see the city. We had a good night out and we also went to Moreton island where we went sand boarding - its the 3rd biggest sand island and we also spotted dolphins and whales. We took to keeping fit, albeit, only lasting the duration we were in Brisbane. We swam 1000m per day in their olympic size local pool which gave us a bit of a boost. We also saw Hard-Fi at their version of The Academy - a very intimate gig we were right at the front of a crowd of 300 and were blown away by the talent. It was great to see such a great popular band playing a down town venue in hope to gain popularity in Australia. No attitude, No arrogance, just a good band with some good tunes.
From here we went to Surfers Paradise and Byron Bay for a quick drive through before arriving in Newcastle on our overnight stop.
On the 7th October we arrived in Avalon at Kate and Nicks. Here, Mr Real Estate Jack Burnett (9 years old) took great pleasure in showing us how Monopoly is really played! Nick and Kipper walked us over the rocks around Avalon beach and we saw in the start of the new season of nippers on a sunday morining where the children gather for surf and swim activities. We caught up with the family, had a smashing time reminissing and Kate showed us her photos of her travel days.
Time came to hit Sydney! We drove the Harbour Bridge, excited to have completed Bernie's journey in one piece. We stayed in Surrey Hills, sold Bernie in 2 hours at the local car market which gave us 3 weeks to explore. We went to the opera to see Julius Ceasaer, 4 hours of....Warbling! An experience, but never again.
Boredom struck, in that we needed to find work. Within days we were suited and booted (Marigolds, cloths and bog brushes) and we set to work cleaning Kangaroo bakpak and Gracelands hostel for 2 hours every morning. We also found work with the fair ground (an eye opener). We had a great time, we saw parts of Sydney that we would have otherwise never have seen and Jo got to do some waiting and catering work. In our Geeky ways and in preparation for Melbourne we went to the Neighbours night to meet the stars. We met Lynn Scully, Boyd Hoilland and Alf Stuart from Home and Away.
Having driven round most of Australia, we decided we wanted to drive to Melbourne and got a reloacation deal with Maui campervans and through pure luck we found ourselves with a 6 bed brand new campervan with satnav, tv, playstation and dvd player for $5 a day....off we went to Melbourne.
But this wansn't enough! Once in Melbourne we just had to hire a car to do the Great Ocean Road. An amazing drive with breathtaking views of the oceans, cliffs and the Twelve Apostles....upon return, Colac! (any Neighbours fans will know who comes from Colac.)
And this brings us to the most exciting part of the trip - The Neighbours Tour! We waited years for this day. We went to Erinsborough High, saw some of the studios, met Harold Bishop and got to go to Ramsay Street. We were unlucky though, none of them were at home...you name it, Toadie, Susan, Karl, Stingray...they must have all gone out for the day!
To wrap it up, we're off to another Neighbours night on Monday - our last night in Australia! Its been a long journey (15,000km), we've experienced so much, learnt so much and collected some priceless memories! Australia...to be continued January 2007!
Lots of Love
Jo and Lou
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