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Big4 Ocean Beach Holiday Park, Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia. 1115km

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Yesterday was great, today was wet. That sums it up, but here are a few more details. We left our campground yesterday morning and drove to the Apollo Bay lighthouse. On the road we encountered koalas once again. This time all the kids were awake and we had a fun time spotting the fuzzballs in the trees and watching them eat and climb. Koalas are usually quiet animals and you would expect them to have a soft voice when calling out, so nothing prepared us for the hippo-like roars that we suddenly heard from the koala in the tree next to us. Interesting. Read the rest of this entry »

Apollo Bay Holiday Park, Apollo Bay, Victoria, Australia.  885km

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Today we saw koalas in the wild for the first time! We were driving on the great ocean road and we saw a few people standing by the side of the road. Suddenly Paola spotted a koala hanging from a branch right over the road. I parked the car and ran to get some pictures. In the meantime Paola tried to wake the children who had all fallen asleep. Shir was the only one that wanted to come outside. The little koala was busy grabbing and chewing eucalyptus leaves, oblivious to the roadside commotion it had caused. When we looked around us we spotted several more koalas in the trees nearby, but this one was right smack in our face. Lovely. Read the rest of this entry »

Big4 ashley Gardens Caravan Park, Near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.  260km

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We got back this evening from 2 fun days at Wilsons Promontory, locally known as the Prom. It is a pretty national park, 3 hours south east of Melbourne. The park is surrounded on 3 ends by the sea, and is rich in flora and fauna. Read the rest of this entry »

Big4 Phillip Island Caravan Park, Newhaven, Phillip Island, Australia.  260km

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Yesterday, a gray and rainy day, we started our second phase of Australia with a new motorhome. We plan to tour the provinces of Victoria and South Australia for the next 4 weeks and I hope the weather will improve.

To get the motorhome yesterday, I took an early morning train from Melbourne to a suburb 45km away called Berwick where the rental company has its office. After the paperwork and vehicle examination, I drove back into the city and we loaded the kids and the bags, a task that took about 45 minutes with all the crap we have, and the “naglot” I had to make from the hotel room to the driveway. Read the rest of this entry »

Albert Heights Apartments, Melbourne, Australia.

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The last three days sped by like the wind that was blowing in the chilly streets of Melbourne. After Sunday’s short lived heat wave, we have had cold and rain for two days, and today just cold. That did not stop us from enjoying what the city has to offer. Read the rest of this entry »

Albert Heights Apartments, Melbourne, Australia. 3275 km 

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Australian word of the day:  Maxi-taxi. A mini-van/van taxi. The only vehicle that can fit all of us including our luggage.

Greetings from Melbourne, Victoria’s capital, and a lovely city indeed. We arrived last night and spent our first day sweltering in an unusually hot (30C) spring day. Nevertheless, we had a superb day. Read the rest of this entry »

First Sun Holiday Park, Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia. 3070 km

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 We left Murwillumbah rather early today on an overcast and slightly rainy morning. The drive to Byron Bay took about an hour and it was very scenic. Byron Bay is a very popular town. It is the easternmost point in Australia and it’s where the tropical waters of the north meet the colder water of the south. There is great surfing and great views from Cape Byron. There has been a real estate boom here in the last few decades and the town feels very vibrant, like Carmel in California but with an average age 25 years younger. Read the rest of this entry »

Green Cascades Caravan Park, Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Australia. 3005 km 

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Australian word of the day:  Walking Track – Hiking Trail. As in – today Shir and Orr completed a 1km walking track using solely their feet. Hooray!

Yesterday morning we had an enjoyable drive to Brisbane, passing by Glass House Mountains, a collection of small protruding mountains named by Captain Cook 250 years ago. Arriving in Brisbane in the late morning we tried to spend time in the center, but a big city is unwelcoming to large vehicles such as our RV. Just to find a place to park near downtown took us 20 minutes and when we did, it was a spot limited to 2 hours. Read the rest of this entry »

Dicky Beach Holiday Caravan Park, Caloundra, Queensland, Australia. 2690 km

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Australian word of the day: Crikey. Oh my Goodness! Coined by the late Steve Irwin, famous Crocodile Hunter/Conservationist.

The last two days were heaven for Shir Ron and Orr. Yesterday we visited Underwater World in Mooloolaba, and today Australia Zoo near Nambour. We saw almost everything Australia has to offer, and then some.

Our Sunday morning started too early at 5:45am with Orr crying for no reason at all. Read the rest of this entry »

Big 4 Palms Resort, Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia. 2600 km

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Australian word of the day:  Ripper. As in: have a ripper of a day

Today we visited Rainbow Beach, a beautiful piece of coast with colored cliffs that contrast wonderfully with the deep blue and turquoise ocean water. We drove up through a nice residential neighborhood that borders with a national park and after lunch hiked to Carlo Sand blow. Read the rest of this entry »