Trinity Beach, heat and Roos

Flew up to Cairns on Wednesday, stepped out into bright sunshine, hired another Hyundai and drove North on Captain Cook Highway to Trinity Beach, our 3rd airbnb in a small flat near the sea. By sheer luck, our hosts are tour operators, so our first hour or so over a cup of earl grey was discussing the excursions we wanted to make. They were most helpful, if a little over zealous and competing with one another, he wishing us to do wild things like white water rafting and she suggesting much more realistic stuff, especially when I said I get sea sick!

Thursday set off on our own to Cape Tribulation. Stopped for a walk in Mossman Gorge, rainforest. Then on for lunch at the Beach Hut in a backpackers complex of wooden dorms dotted through forest down to a very empty and secluded beach. Met a young man waiting tables from Warwick, who like several others we have spoken to, told us of his travels and how easy it had been for him to get work and stay here. Having fruit picked and bar worked, he has decided he is a 'jungle boy' enjoying the thrill of coming across the odd crocodile and practising spear fishing. This is still a land of opportunity for the young.

On Friday we took an organised excursion with our hostess, Gabi to Wooroonooran NP on a mini bus with French and Japanese. The drive took us through sugar cane fields and banana plantations with a backdrop of tree covered mountains to rainforest canopy walks and waterfalls. The most stunning views, waterfalls with clear blue water pools which we could swim in and steamy heat all around. A huge handsome cassowary strutting the car park to finish it off! We stopped at a crocodile farm to view Fat Bill, Martin, Brian, Steady Eddie and many more! Ghastly creatures, prehistoric, ugly, lazy and evil! In my opinion, that is. On the other hand the tame kangaroos that came to feed from your hands were simply beautiful. Soft gentle and pretty. These are totally domesticated of course; rescued kangaroos who have been looked after by humans all their lives.

                                            Sculptural buttress roots of the red tulip oak

Golden Orb spider with spinning thread so strong it can be used for sutures
  












Smiling wallaby!

Hire car

We arrive in Melbourne early pm Sunday, finally evicting the last of the colony of Queensland ants that have hitched a ride from Mooloolaba and should have planned their holiday better! Our little Hyundai getz has covered 2800 kms. The voice activated navigation system has worked perfectly getting us to our various destinations without too much fuss but has to be turned off when it bursts into song.

Location:Melbourne

Signs

More straight-talking Aussie signage:








And on a theme park sign: 'Visit Aussie World - wet your pants!'

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I think this woman is rummaging in her bag for her purse:

Ice cream houses and a horse at Sandringham Beach

Albert Park, Melbourne

Our first taste of this interesting city and it looks like it's everything Nicky promised us it would be.
This airbnb near St Kilda is definitely a bachelor residence; no hair dryer or decent mirror! A renovation in progress of a 30s redo of a Victorian bungalow, we have an old pink suite-ed bathroom and a newly decorated bedroom with the most enormous comfortable bed! All this in another pretty district: wrought iron detail on the houses, wide tree lined roads, pomegranate and lemon trees in gardens, whistling magpies (very different to English magpies cackle), the sea and St Kilda pier just down the road!
As we left the house and battled with the locking system a large hound bounded up from next door followed by it's owner, who immediately befriended us as Aussies usually do. We asked if she could recommend a restaurant nearby because at this point we thought we would have to follow Lonely Planets recommendation of Fitzroy Street, which we had already walked and discovered to be a bit run down. She was only too pleased to assist us and directed us to a very lively area a walk away; stylish bars, delis, patisseries and cafes, where we found 'Kamel' the restaurant she had told us about. Another great meal: middle eastern style this time. And before that, a beer in a lively pub with a DJ looking uncannily like Olly in his topknot days!

Walked our socks off again today. Took the tram in to city, a fun experience and eventually found the little alleyways and back waters we had been told about. Old arcades with gorgeous shops and cafes. Investigated the beautiful library building and sat by the river at Federation Wharf. Took another tram to Brunswick Street and Smith Street, grungy areas and a different feel altogether.

Back by tram, beer in pub, shower and back to Ricardos Italian restaurant which was bustling for a Monday night. What a time we're having. Won't want to shop or cook when we get back.




Grungy alleyways versus elegant beauty

  






out of town houses yet to be done up....

  Albert Park seafront

Driving Australia

Coming back from the Blue Mountains to the coast was a different drive again. Prairie land for miles under a blue sky, ranches with palm tree-lined driveways, horses and cattle. At the spectacular Kangaroo Pass, we even glimpsed a mob of kangaroos in the distance, either that or some triangular cows (kangamoos!)

Ulladulla overnight stop on a pretty bay again and a cheaper, but good dinner at the golf club, which the motel owner tipped us off to.

On from here early because we need to do a 6hour drive to our next stop, in order to get to Melbourne and our next airbnb on Sunday. Had a break at Pebbly Beach, a National Park of which there are many along this road: Princes Highway. A beautiful secluded cove with lots of trees and birdsong. And our first close up of a roo, who posed beautifully for us, then hopped off, huge feet gently slapping across the tarmac! Magic.
But that's enough about Pete and his new flip flops!

Hotel Blue and Leura, Blue Mountains

The Hotel Blue was a faded 1930s establishment that hasn't been decorated since! Over the top chintz furnishings, wallpaper and curtains, dusty mirrors, swirly carpets and a faint whiff of woodsmoke. It appeared to be run by teenagers who had flunked out of the customer relations course after half an hour. Lots of smiles, 'have a nice day' and ' no worries'.
We are still laughing over the breakfast incident in the dining room where mad jazz music was playing (same as the previous evening and adding to the bizarre atmosphere of the place) where a young Uriah Heap character shuffled up and obviously pretended to carefully write down our order. He returned some while later with 2 plates but not with the ingredients we had ordered. Maybe he was rushed off his feet? Maybe he got the wrong table? ........Obviously not though, because the other 16 tables in the dining room were empty! We weren't surprised at the wrong order, but we were surprised he managed to get it to the dining room!

Echo Point this morning in clear weather. Enormous views that the camera can't do justice to. We won't go on about the beauty of this and the Leura cascades, here are the pictures.











  




Houses in Leura are very quaint and English in feel with some 30s details like patterned stained glass windows and lawned gardens.

Food, beer, rain and socks

The Welcome Inn (Rozelle, Sydney: http://www.thewelcomehotel.com.au/about-the-welcome/) is a themed pub with an Irish influence complete with Guinness posters and surprisingly , Guinness and even more surprisingly Speckled Hen. If a history of the pub as displayed on the wood panelled walls of the cosy bar are to be believed, a stray dog , having wandered off a ship in the nearby docks, presumably evicted from England for weeing on the pavement , received a generous welcome and the name stuck. Apart from the date of 1725 and the fact that the picture of the dog in question looks suspiciously like the one in the Guinness adverts it all adds up!
I proudly asked the barmaid for a schooner of Speckled Hen adding I hoped that it was as good as the real stuff. It was soon apparent by the 'I've just been stabbed in the neck by a screwdriver' expression she obviously thought that Speckled Hen was Australian.
The food was good.
We have concluded after painful research that Aussie radio is reassuringly average, the one highlight being an advert for home insurance . The strap line being, 'We cover you for cyclone, flood, earthquake and fire.' At this point I was thinking that the premiums might be a smidge on the high side.....then she added ,'and much more'!!! What more could there be? Oh hello I've accidentally washed my whites with a grey sock. Am I covered? -........



We arrive in Leura in the Blue Mountains, a pretty village , ..... .the high street Megalong Street was over exaggerated in length and full of Sara -like shops
expensive gifts, tut and hand made dot -dot emporiums (chocolate, for those who don't know the family jargon.) It was getting cool and atmospheric. After lunch we travelled the 2 miles to our night stop Katoomba where it was much cooler and more atmospheric , ie, it was raining , and the visibility was <100 blue="" br="" check="" fog.="" hotel="" into="" metres="" or="" the="" we="">( more of which later) and drive the 2 miles to scenic lookout of the Three Sisters to see fog and drive back to the hotel and walk through the atmospheric drizzle to town where we admit defeat and buy a 3.99 umbrella. K mart is the next stop for Sara to purchase something warm, having left all her woollies in Brisbane. The choice it has to be said is somewhat limited but eventually an oversized striped hoodie is bought. It's like going out with a faded Everton mint.



                                                  Can't see your hand in front of your face, let alone the 3 sisters!     Strange 'time-stood-still' shopfront.


Shabby chic gone mad at the Hotel Blue


One way of passing a foggy evening. My pool skills had us in stitches as usual.

Location:Between Balmain and the Blue Mountains

Sydney

Our first experience of 'airbnb'. We are staying with a family with 2 huge teenage boys, have a lovely tucked away room and own luxurious bathroom. The family are unintrusively friendly and helpful in that straight -forward Aussie way. Notes saying to leave our food in our fridge, because boys can't differentiate in family fridge; it's all FOOD. Their neighbourhood has charmed us, we love it. The Crouch End of Sydney. Darling Street, Balmain - a mix of trendy cafes, bars, restaurants, shops and the most pretty houses. Formerly a dock workers district, so a mix of old and new again. We met a couple in a great fish restaurant on first night, who tipped us off to various local places... We got on well with them, he a boat builder and rowing coach, she an artist!
We trudged the length of Darling Street to Darling Wharf, Balmain East, caught the ferry to Circular Quay and walked ourselves stupid through the city, botanic gardens and its many flying foxes, then to the opera house ( has to be done! )
Next day, more ferries ( the best way to travel and they are so convenient and frequent) to Manly (the new Bondi apparently). More walking: the Manly Scenic Walkway, into Sydney National Park where I had hoped to hear my first kookaburra, but it was not to be.
Obviously so much to see and do in this vibey city that we haven't time for, but we certainly have had a good taste of Sydneysider life.























Balmain houses



down to the ferry port


        







Manly