Australia isn't quite up to the standards of New Zealand when it comes to campervans, they're also more expensive here. We opted for a budget ride but longed for our old Jucy van, the clunky old manual gearbox would take some getting used to. As we bumped and grinded our way out of the city the urban sprawl slowly started to fade away to be replaced with dense bush.

We'd been told to only drive the van in daylight hours, 7am till 5pm because we weren't insured if we hit any wildlife. We coined the term 'Roo watch' to signify Kangaroos which would be used lots of times as we made our way across Australia. It turned out there would also be 'Wombat watch' , 'Koala watch' and 'Emu watch'. The wildlife would be one of the highlights of the drive. Our 42x zoom camera was put to good use as you can see in the pictures.

As we made our way through New South Wales we took in lots of small beach towns, including Kiama where we were treated to a very active blow hole, delicious fresh fish and chips and a imposing old lighthouse. We snorkelled in Bermagui although the freezing winter waters didn't keep us in for long, we were however rewarded with a stunning red sunset.

We were a little naughty as we came into Wilson's Promontory national park as the sun had most definitely set. This did mean that as we crawled along at 20kmph, both our eyes on stalks, we were treated to lots of Kangaroos, Wombats and even an Echidna the Australian version of a hedgehog, a spiny anteater. As we set about cooking dinner in the van the Wombats marched around outside looking for food, a trip to the toilet was greeted by shining possum eyes as it made its way up a tree.

This wasn't the end of the various wildlife. A trip to Phillip Island wouldn't be complete without seeing the hundreds of penguins that come ashore each night. This turned out to be a bit too touristy for us, as we were herded onto the viewing platforms having chosen from the various viewing packages available, all we wanted to do was see the penguins. Once the first huddle had manoeuvred their way up the beach all this was forgotten. The sqweeks and chirps as the 600 odd birds all said goodnight to each other was a sight and sound to behold.

We'd definitely put some serious miles behind us. As we drove into Victoria towards Melbourne having completed nearly 1000km we'd properly settled back into life in a campervan.