Swimming With Dolphins!

In our last week of camping, we met up with Megs and Pat from Sydney in an area called Seal Rocks. With great surf, a Nurse Shark reserve, and clear water, we spent the weekend enjoying good camping, fishing, and heaps of swimming. As we were leaving Lighthouse Beach, a large pod of dolphins started slowly swimming in our direction. Pat suggested we "swim with the dolphins". Brilliant idea! We ran towards the water, stripped back down to our swimmers, and swam out to the wave the dolphins were frollicking in. They are great surfers, riding the waves and jumping out of the water. The closer you get, the more "sharky" they start to look...

Springbrook Rain Forest

If you love steep canyons, waterfalls, and sweeping views of lush rain forest, then Springbrook is a strong recommendation! Climbing up into the hills off of the Gold Coast, a former volcanic crater has left behind a tropical oasis. We hopped on our bikes and toured all the waterfalls, then hiked down into the forest and took a swim down below!

Koalas Aren't Bears

Koalas are marsupials, and if you call them Koala Bears, it just gives the locals another reason to tease you. They aren't cute, cuddly, friendly, or soft. Their fur is rough, their claws are sharp and very large, and they fight like maniacs when they're about to breed. I didn't care about any of these details, I almost payed money to snuggle with one at a zoo. Despite all the horrific facts about the fascinating unbear, I was determined to find one. We headed to a reserve boasting hundreds of Koalas. I saw one of the elusive marsupials in a tree at the entrance, probably fed up into it each morning before the tourists come. The pictures included are of a captive one, which was still cute, to me. We kept a safe distance and managed some really cute photos!

Noosa and Sunshine Coast

After flying back to Brisbane after the wedding, we continued our Kombi adventures up north to the Sunshine Coast. The waves were just the right size for Heather to practice her surfing, and she caught her first real "green" wave. Other highlights included lots of wildlife, kangaroos (check out the big alpha male!), more big lizards, feeding sea eagles fish on the beach at sunset, and surfing at Caloundra beach with a big group of sea turtles. Lovely area. The Kombi's annex even managed to weather a storm and remain intact!

Pat & Elissa's wedding

One big treat for me being home at this time was that I would be able to attend Pat and Elissa's wedding. So we jumped on a plane (extravagent, after travelling in the Kombi) to Melbourne for the weekend festivities. Amazing what a hot shower, a good shave, and a borrowed suit can do to clean one's image up (we hardly look like Kombi dwellers at all). Patrick is an old uni friend of mine, so the whole Newcastle crew were there, and all in fine form. The wedding was lovely from the ceremony to the delicious meal and wine and the recovery BBQ on the Sunday in the park. It was a great celebration, and a fun chance for Heather to meet all my great friends from Newcastle days.

Ballina-South of Lenox

Well, the Kombi didn't quite make it to Byron Bay, our destination. So we ended up just "South of Lennox" in Ballina. A quaint little costal town with less tourists and bigger surf (not so good for me!). Fortunately, Mike purchased premium roadside insurance, which sported us for a week at the Leisure-Lee Apartments, with "Magical Water Views". I can't totally complain! We caught our first legal fish for dinner and enjoyed beautiful sunsets from our balcony! Next stop....Byron Bay, so Heather can work on her surf!

Billy Tea

To say that Tea is an important part of the Australian culture is like saying that the Universe is kind of big. Everything begins, and ends, with a "cuppa" to the point where sometimes I wonder if I'm going to dissolve. That said, I like a good cup of tea. Not just for the tea itself, but the whole ritual. One such tea ritual that is part of our cultural heritage, is that of making "billy tea", perfected by the various swaggies (essentially travellers of "no fixed abode") that used to roam the country looking for work, and camping by the sides of billabongs and such. A billy is essentially a tin-can with a handle. My Dad, no doubt proud to have a homeless son, fashioned us a billy out of a can he found in his workshop and gave me fatherly advice as to the proper technique of preparing the billy tea. Bring the water to the boil first, then add a tea-spoon of tea for each cup, and an extra one for the pot. Add the sugar. Bring back to the boil for a few minutes. Then (preferably outside the kombi van), the billy is swung rapidly in giant circles to settle the tea. Apart from being a lot of fun, the tea actually tastes really good.