For once we didn't have to drag our heavy bags around trains and buses from the airport as we were lucky enough to be picked up by Brenda's cousin Erica, who we were staying with. We went straight from the airport to the Eureka tower, where you can take the elevator from ground level to 88th floor in about 30 seconds, with only a slight stomach churning feeling. At the top are panoramic views of the city. Of course we managed to leave both cameras in the car! ...

We started our trip to Alice Springs weaving through the Sydney traffic in a taxi driven erratically by our talkative Lebanese driver. Hostel to airport in 12 minutes flat, crazy b*****! In case you're wondering why we brave backpackers are forking out for a taxi instead of investigating all the varied forms of public transport, it is actually cheaper than the train because that section of the line is owned by a private company. A journey that would normally c...

Ever heard of a place called Katoomba? Nor had we, but it is the main town in the Blue Mountains where we headed for a two day trip to the famous national park. Now, I know you are desperate to know why they are called the 'Blue' mountains, so let me tell you right off. It is nothing to do with the colour of the stone or anything at all to do with sale of adult material but mostly because the mountains appear blue due to the refraction of sunlight through the o...

Hello from Sydney! After a swift but sad farewell to Nemo we jumped onto a plane to Sydney arriving late at night. The next day slightly refreshed we decided to take our own self-guided historical tour of Sydney. We headed to Circular Quay home to the world famous Sydney opera house and harbour bridge. However when we got there it was cool, cloudy and raining - can you believe it! (Well we couldn't anyway). We started off in an area known as the Rocks, where the...

Hello from Hervey Bay in Queensland. We thought the Whitsundays would be tough to beat (it is after all the 7th wonder of the world according to Australia) - we were wrong! We took the plunge and drove about 800km on Sunday to Hervey Bay. We had an early start to get straight on the road as soon as it was light and made good initial progress. Most of the landscape stayed the same with the occasional kangaroo roadkill (we call them a stiffaroo). However at presen...