One Year on ...

We returned to Perth two weeks before our flight out of Oz as we were nervous about selling the van, having heard horror stories from other travelers of having to leave their van at the airport with the keys inside. We imediately set about cleaning her up and putting up posters on hostel notice boards and in local papers. Then, amazingly, we sold her, on the first day of trying, to two English girls who are traveling to Sydney so with the NSW plates it was perfect for them. They kindly let us stay in the van for the remaining two weeks while the money was transfered but this still left us with two weeks with little to do but bum around Perth and Fremantle (not such a hardship!). We spent a few days sorting out our affairs, closing our Aussie bank acounts and Holland sold his beloved guitar. We also visited Rottnest Island, just off the Fremantle coast line, cycling round it on hire bikes for a day and visiting the many beautiful beaches and spotting the local population of Quokkas (giant rat-like creatures). Holland made the most of being able to swim again and snorkled amongst pink coral but Becky stayed on the beach thinking it was far too cold for those kind of shinangans!

Finally the dreaded day came and it was time to say goodbye to the van, we were relieved to have sold her so quickly but also extremely sad to say goodbye after so many months traveling in her (sniff).

We leave Oz with some money in our pockets, and our backpacks on our backs again. We have now been traveling for a year but somedays it seems like we have been traveling forever, its hard to look back to a time when we weren't on the road using communal bathrooms, wearing scruffy clothes and waking up somewhere different every day. It will be strange to leave Australia which has become a home from home, but we both feel its time to move on and are excited about our next adventure: Asia.

Sharks and Rays

Whale Shark

Our next stop on our journey north from Monkey Mia was an overnight stay at some blowholes. As the sea waves pound the cliffs, air and water are forced through holes in the side of the cliffs creating a huge roar, like the engine of a plane, and a huge spurt of water. Unfortunately the main blowhole had been bombed by the Allied forces during the second world war as the water jet could reach 20m high and they were worried the Japanese would use it as a landmark. However whilst they were not as big as they could have been, they were still pretty impressive.

Our final destination, Coral bay was HOT HOT HOT (averaging 35C every day), with a beautiful white beach and tons of amazing snorkelling. Holland was still unable to swim and resorted to pouring water over himself to cool down, it had to be salt water as drinking water is restricted here and carries a $50 fine if anyone is caught using it for anything other than drinking. All showering, washing up etc in Coral Bay is done with saline water from an 800mn deep artazine bore which comes up boiling hot and smelling of eggs. In Coral Bay it is hard to get hold of cold water and even the sprinklers have extra fine heads so they don't scorch the grass. Luckily for Becky she was able to go snorkelling from the beach to cool off and immediately saw turtles and small rays amongst the coral and tropical fish. We aso took an early morning stroll to a shark breeding ground and watched the ominous black shapes from the safety of the sand dunes.

The main reason for our visit to Coral Bay was to swim with the huge marine life and by the end of the week Hollands leg had healed enough for us to enjoy our first such encounter - 'interaction with manta rays'. We were able to snorkel above two huge rays (3-4 Metres wide) as they gracefully swam on the sea bed filter-feeding for plankton with their bucket mouths. We also saw a shovel head ray which looks exactly as its name would suggest.

Later on this same tour we took a 50 minute dive in a shark-cleaning station, we saw a couple of sharks, a huge white bull ray with its sting tail broken off and a black sail finned catfish native only to the Ningaloo Reef. Hollands air tank came off and he had to have it re-attached mid-dive which was a bit of excitement but he was fine and continued to enjoy the dive once his air tank was safe.

The next day we returned to the same cleaning station to have a snorkel and 12-15 grey reef sharks were circling below and around us - they had previously been frightened by the scuba bubbles but with the snorkels they didn't seem phazed so we got a really close up view. We got an adrenaline rush as we saw our first one (about 2 meters) "are we really swimming with sharks?" but by the end of the snorkel we were duck diving closer to take pictures.

Then came the highlight of the whole week, swimming with whale sharks. These awesome creatures are the biggest fish in the sea and can grow up to 18m. Although sharks, they, like the manta rays are filter feeders so we were in no danger (as long as we kept out of the way of its tail). A spotter plane flew up to find one for us and once located (only at end of the day) they radioed the boat captain and we were plonked down in front of it and watched as it swam towards us. Beautiful, graceful, massive, it serenely floated past and we swam back to the boat to be dropped in front of it again and snorkel along side it. The one we saw was about 7 meters and had a beautiful speckled pattening. Smaller fish continually swam in the whale sharks slip stream as if on a joy ride. One of the most amazing experiences of our lives.

We then took the two day drive back to Perth to sell the van, stopping briefly to take in a few costal views in Kalbarri.

Love Holland and Becky

Monkey Mia

Bex Snorkeling with dolphin - Monkey Mia
Originally uploaded by Hol Riz.

Our first stop in the search for warmer weather north of Perth was the Pinnacles, mis-shapen Limestone pillars strewn across the desert where the land around them had eroded away. We spend an hour exploring these structures, some of them amusingly phallic, which was a welcome break from driving through vast and featureless landscapes. We then ploughed onward, until we could drive no more, to the seaside resort of Monkey Mia, famous for its pod of friendly wild dolphins who come right up to the beach for daily feeds. Unfortunately Hollands leg was still healing and he was unable to swim but we did take out a glass bottomed boat for two, with a tiny electric engine, and zoomed around the off-shore weeds for half an hour. Aside from a pretty beach, the dolphins were really the only thing to see at Monkey Mia. Snorkelling from the beach in search of other marine life, Becky only saw sand and seaweed, although she did manage to miss seeing a dolphin which had taken an interest in her and continually swam away from it as it followed her splashes much to the exhasperation of Holland who could see it clearly from the beach. We ended up spending a peaceful 2 days here watching the feeding sessions, playing chess and occasionally spotting emus striding through the campground. The emus got a bit feisty one day and one of them chased Holland with it's mouth open as if to bite him on the butt! :D

Disaster in Perth

Burns on the mend

Upon arrival in Perth area we headed straight for the low key suburb of Freemantle south of the river and prepared for a few days sightseeing.

The next morning disaster struck. A chain reaction involving a guitar, Becky and a freshly poured cup of boiling tea (no milk), resulted in Holland receiving second degree burns to 3% of his body. After screaming in agony and sitting under a tap we eventually went to A&E. The pain was the worse he had ever felt in his life. He was eventually tended to and injected with large doses of Morphine and after being made to sleep it off under observation for a few hours was patched up and released.

This was bad news for our plans to head north for warmer weather and to dive with Whale sharks and Manta Rays as he was told not to swim for at least two weeks (until the oozing stopped).

But as they say 'every cloud has a silver lining' and we met some cool new English friends Gemma and Howard who came and offered us an ice pack for the burns. We hung out with them for a few days and went out for drinks in town to subdue the pain.

With almost daily agonising visits to the hospital for bandage changes the next few days were hard, but as the wound started to heal we decided to head north in search of warmer weather and to escape the colder winds of the South West's autumn.

Now begins the arduous task of selling the van. We have three weeks left to do so and we are planning to drive 1300km north and back during that time! We are worried about not being able to sell the van before we leave as there is less demand here and we have NSW plates but we are trying to remain positive and have been putting up posters everywhere we go. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

love Holland and Becky

The South West coast

Cape Le Grand National Park

Esperence has been voted to have the best beaches in all of Australia so we thought it would make a fine first stop in our Western Australia leg of the trip. The town its self is pretty small but only an hours drive took us to the Cape Le Grande National Park with dazzling white beaches and clear blue water, we spent a few days happily exploring the many beaches the park has to offer. A welcome rest after the long drive across the Nullarbor.

As we drove westward from Esperence we drove through a huge swarm of locust like bugs which absolutely covered the front of the van which we had just washed that morning (typical) but this was about the most exciting thing that happened en-route to uninspiring Albany the next main town. We stayed at a nice campsite called Cosy Corner which was free and right on the beach but it was really only a stop over as we continued along towards Perth. The weather is turning cold and we are trying to head north to the sun!

Further West we entered Tall Timber Country, where (as the name suggests giant trees reign supreme. We did a tree top walk which explained the history of the trees from swinging platforms nestled in the topmost branches 50 meters above the ground. We also climbed the famous Gloucester Tree which was once a fire lookout tower but is now a tourist attraction where the game, or stupid, can climb a series of metal stakes curling up the trunk to a platform at the top. Holland decided to climb so Becky followed not wanting to be left out but regretted it when her legs went to jelly and her head started to spin, she made it to the top but didn't enjoy the view as she was unable to look down! A great thing about this area was staying in national parks with personal fire pits on each van site and piles of ready chopped wood allowing us to enjoy great evenings around the camp fire.

Our next main town was Margaret River, famous for it's great wine, food and vineyards. We stayed for one night went to the pub and decided it was too cold, so we packed up the van and headed north as fast as we could!

Perth was only a days drive away but on the way we stopped for a stroll and some lunch on Australia's longest jetty (2km long!).

The Nullarbor plain

The Nullarbor
Originally uploaded by Hol Riz.

1200 Miles of flat treeless road, with 360 degree vistas as far as the eye can see, the Nullarbor plain is one of the driest places in Australia, with an average of only 20cm of rain annually its aboriginal name Oondiri literally means 'the waterless'.

However when we crossed this 'dry' expanse the tail end of a cyclone struck and the place received half it's annual rainfall over the 3 days we took to us cross it. It tipped it down in buckets, every service station we stopped at joked that the Pommes had brought the rain with them and thats what it felt like! Maybe we should rent out our services to drought stricken nations - one visit from us and rain would be sure to follow!

The driving was tiring and pretty monotonous with the only break being the checkpoint at the border for Western Australia - our final Australian state - where we were made to peel our onions and make a salad out of our lettuce an green peppers because of some weird quarantine rules - how a salad will stop fruit fly we are not sure but we dutifully abided and chopped up our fruit and veg.

The rain continued to fall over the 3 days it took us to cross the Nullarbor, which included Australia's longest road in a straight line - 90 miles without even a little twist makes for very tiring driving. At one point there was road works and the tarmac had been taken off the road leaving a 20km mud track, we were stopped here for an hour as a large lorry slid off the road and jackknifed and had to be righted before the traffic could continue. The mud covered the van and just as the end of our journey was in sight the muffler fell apart leaving our engine sounding like a bulldozer on the rampage.

Again the Toyota proved worthy to its indestructible reputation and waited until we reached our destination of Esperence, and the West Coast before the exhaust finally gave up the ghost and clanked and spluttered inconsolably - we think she was trying to tell us something - it was great timing as we were, by some extreme stroke of luck, just passing an exhausts only repair shop (the first one we'd seen in 1800 Miles), so we chugged in and within half an hour we were on the road again with a shiny new muffler - hurrah. We crossed the Nullarbor with only one slight disappointment that we didn't see it as the fabled dry land we expected - we will have to add it to Iguazu falls in the list of places to see again when the weather is more favorable!

Adelaide and The Barossa Valley

Wine Tasting at the Barossa Valley
Originally uploaded by Hol Riz.

We arrived in Adelaide with low expectations after talking to other travelers, we half expected to drive straight through, however it turned out we had arrived during the annual fringe festival and the town was buzzing with fairgrounds and comedy acts so we decided to stay and partake in a bit of local culture. We were glad we did as we hadn't had a big night out for a while and we ended up seeing a few comedy acts, riding the big wheel and getting pretty merry.

The next morning we explored Adelaide's botanical gardens which were really beautiful and had the Womad festival on within their grounds. We loved Adelaide but going that little bit further north the weather had heated up again to a sweltering 40 degrees at lunchtime and as we drove away in 37 degree afternoon heat with no air con it felt like our faces were melting and the air from the windows was like a fan oven.

We decided to do a self guided tour of the Barossa valley, Australia's premier wine growing region. It's comprised of a few small German-style villages and some of the biggest wineries in the country including a well known brand we get in the UK ' Jacobs Creek' - yes we drove past the actual Jacobs Creek! The whole valley is filled (I mean filled) with grape vines as far as the eye can see. Nearly all the wineries offer wine tasting and cellar door sales and we stopped at the Langmeil (long mile) winery to try some of their wines. The wines were scrumptious and included a tasting of a red called 'freedom' which is made from grapes grown on the oldest surviving Shiraz grape vines in the world at 160 years old! Becky is not normally a fan of reds but even she thought this one was superb. We also had a mini tour of the vines and the machinery used to proess the wines. We leant how rose and Brandy is made and will bore with the details when we return. Becky left feeling a little squiffy but poor Holland had to drive so had had to 'swish and spit' many of the wines. The staff at the winery were really lovely and happy to answer all our questions without making us feel ignorant. We also popped into the largest and oldest family run winery in the valley and tried a fortified wine of over 100 years old - yum. But all good things have to end and that afternoon we said goodbye to South Australia and started the attempt to cross the huge 1200 Miles of bare expanse into the west.

The Great Ocean Road

Great Ocean Road - Apostles

After a Week in Melbourne seeing the sites, going to night markets and film festivals we reluctantly moved on. The van had had a few problems with a smokey cabin so we took it to a mechanic who immediately solved the problem - the whole end of the exhaust pipe was missing! Oops not sure how we didn't hear it fall off! Any way the van is good as new now and ready to tackle The Great Ocean Road.

The Great Ocean road runs between Melbourne and Adelaide and follows the cliffs of the ferocious southern ocean. Massive waves pound the limestone cliffs day and night and have created a series of stacks and arches along the coast line referred to as the 12 apostles (although one fell down a couple of years ago so now there are no longer 12). The rock formations were pretty impressive and we spent a few days exploring them but also along the G.O.R we passed crater lakes of bright cobalt blue and read tales of the many shipwrecks caused by the angry sea which has nothing separating the coast from the Antarctic. The weather was a big shocker for us as its freezing down south and we had to rug up in what was left of our winter clothes having sent most of them home with Hollands parents brrrrrrr.

We took a small detour near the end of the G.O.R to a little town called Cape Bridgewater where we walked through a petrified forest (trees that have been turned to stone) and beside ocean blow holes up the highest ocean cliff in the state to see a colony of about 650 seals all frolicking, showing off with big jumps and dives and relaxing in the sun. Wildlife spottings have become more and more frequent since we arrived on the south coast with kangaroos and wallabies such a constant presence in the campsites we stay at that we don't bother to take photos. However near the end of the G.O.R we saw absolutely loads of kolas in the trees surrounding the road, and we were pretty chuffed. We are not sure of the collective noun for a group of kolas but a "snooze" seems to adeptly describe their lazy manner so we claim we saw a whole snooze of koalas.

We spent our last night before arriving in Adelaide beside the Murray river. Australia is currently in a severe drought and the Murray is the largest river providing a lot of drinking water and we did our bit by drinking the local beer brew in a traditional aussie pub on the river where we got the suspicious looks usual to foreigners in local pubs!

love Holland and Becky