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Sydney’s Diamond Jubilee

February 22nd, 2007

December 31

When New Years Eve finally arrived, we took an early train into Sydney and arrived at Macquarrie’s Point around 11AM (along with about 10,000 other people).

From Holidays in S…

After standing in line for an hour and a half to get through the security checkpoint we finally reached the point and staked out our spot beneath a shady tree with a good view of the Sydney Bridge.

From Holidays in S…

Now all we had to do was wait. Read the rest of this entry »

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Sydney for the Holidays

February 20th, 2007

Dec 24 – 31

As the days wound down to Christmas, I reflected on what I was doing this time last year – namely, stressing out about Christmas sales while rushing around madly to get all the shopping and wrapping done. Last year, I felt like I had missed out on Christmas with my family and was determined not to let that happen again. It was after nearly burning out trying to be everything to everyone that I had come to the decision to take a break and put my family first almost exactly one year ago. Now, I was secretly glad to only have to worry about buying a few small gifts for my immediate family and find ways to make this unique Christmas special for my children. Family and friends were on my mind, so I spent some extra time on a Christmas email and made several calls to loved ones at home (thank goodness long distance is incredibly cheap in Australia). Even though we were far from home, we felt more connected to our family and friends than ever before. Read the rest of this entry »

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Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast

February 20th, 2007

Dec 9-22

From Queensland, A…

After our adventures in the Whitsundays and Fraser Island, we were ready to chill out for a while. We spent the next few weeks working our way down the Queensland to Brisbane and then on to Surfers Paradise. Along the way we stopped to enjoy the beaches at Rainbow Beach, Noosa (loved Noosa!) and Caloundra before bidding farewell to Queensland and heading into New South Wales. Read the rest of this entry »

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Fraser Island II

February 17th, 2007

Dec 7-8

On Day 2, we had to get up really early and leave by 6AM in order to drive on the beach before the tide was too high. Our plan was to drive to Indian Head, at the north end of the beach, and hike across to another beach and into the Champagne Pools. We made it to Indian Head by 8AM and there were only two other trucks there ahead of us deciding whether or not to attempt to cross the bypass.

From Fraser Island

The guy at the rental agency had told us not to attempt to cross at Indian Head due to the deep soft sand so, considering our experience at Eli Creek, we decided to take his advice. Claude parked the truck as high up the beach as possible and we made a sort of double retaining wall around the truck to keep the tide at bay.

From Fraser Island

I’m sure if the tide had come high enough our wall wouldn’t have lasted more than a few minutes, but it made us feel better. Read the rest of this entry »

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Fraser Island I

February 12th, 2007

December 3-8

You would think that after a busy and expensive week of sailing that we would have taken it easy for a while. However, geography dictated that our next adventure follow closely on the heels of our last. We arrived in Hervey Bay two days after returning from our sailing trip and immediately began planning a three day 4WD safari on Fraser Island, a huge sand island with more sand than the Sahara Desert. We rented a Toyota Hilux dualcab and camping gear from Bay 4WD and, with the help of the rental company, planned our itinerary. Because you have to drive on the beach, everything must be planned meticulously, taking tides into account. The next morning we caught the ferry to Fraser Island to begin our adventure. Read the rest of this entry »

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Whitsundays II

February 8th, 2007

Nov 30 – Dec 2

On Day 3, we woke up early and set sail for Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island, one of the top ten most beautiful beaches in the world.

From Whitsundays

We had our best sailing day yet

From Whitsundays

and made excellent time, reaching Whitehaven by 10:30AM where, to our surprise, we saw that “No Ties” was already anchored a few hundred metres from the beach. Read the rest of this entry »

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Whitsundays I

February 8th, 2007

Nov 27-29

After an exhilarating afternoon of sailing, we spent our first night in the Whitsunday’s in Nara Inlet.

From Whitsundays

It turned out to be very easy to navigate in the islands as our charter company, Queensland Yacht Charters, had provided us with a books of charts entitled “100 Magic Miles” which mapped out every rock, shoal and buoy in the entire islands. Read the rest of this entry »

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Our Little Slice of Heaven!

February 8th, 2007

Nov 24-26

After our adventures on the Great Barrier Reef, we continued south toward Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands with a pitstop in Townsville. Simon had been so spoiled by the playground and pools in Cairns that he actually cried when he saw the tiny pool and pathetic playground at the caravan park in Townsville. We decided to check out The Strand, Townsville waterfront, and discovered that, like most of the towns on Queensland’s coast, they had a swimming lagoon and a free waterpark for kids. This one was the best yet! The best part was the enormous bucket that was continuously filling with water and then dumping its contents on the revelers below.

From Queensland, A…

It was so awesome that I actually had a great time splashing around with the kids for a good half hour. Next, it was on to Airlie Beach and our Whitsunday sailing experience which was to be the highlight of our trip thus far. Read the rest of this entry »

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Cairns to Mission Beach

January 21st, 2007

Nov 21-23

One of the things we discovered in short order was that produce prices in Australia are astronomical. Thanks to Cyclone Larry, which swept through Queensland’s banana fields last February, bananas were over $5/kilo and a single mango cost $3! Therefore, we were thrilled when we discovered a stretch of highway north of Cairns which was lined with mango trees overburdened with ripe fruit. Fifteen minutes with a long branch and a little patience rewarded us with a half a dozen fresh mangos which tasted even sweeter because we had harvested them ourselves. Read the rest of this entry »

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Cape Tribulation

January 21st, 2007

Nov 18-20

After our croc farm adventures, it was on to Cape Tribulation, the northernmost point on the Queensland coast you can get to without a four wheel drive. As we drove north, the lush rainforest encroached on the road and there were cassowary crossing signs everywhere. The most effective one was one that had been altered by a local artist to demonstrate the effect of a car/cassowary collision.

From Queensland, A…

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