wow - 11 1/2 hours from sydney and we went from 30 degree heat to freezing cold, we assumed (?! always a mistake) that the Taxi driver would know "crown plaza" or at least we could show it to him on the map...we were sadly mistaken and it was quite hilarious to have someone talking to you in a very animated exuberant way and you lietrally have no idea what they are saying! Hotel is fab, and we found food etc not expensive at all and really tasty, The f...

This is our last day in Australia before we fly out to Bejing and the cold weather! We enjoyed a last supper of Fish and Chips last night at Doyles on the Quay overlooking the bridge etc which was yummy, and today have booked our internal flights for China etc so all ready for the off......no more deadly spiders, massive moths, jellyfish....just no way of communicatin, noodles till they come out of our ears, cockroaches and a less than reliable airline safety re...

Making the most of the sunshine in the last few days of our Australian adventure out at Coogee Beach. It's not all sunbeams though, as the fab sun is inter-mingled with massive rainstorms, but it's all better than being at work, eh?! Heading back into Sydney Central tomorrow for our last 2 nights for farewell drinks with Tom and Emily and hopefully Jo Robbins too. Aus has been fab.. going to miss it, but lots more adventures to come in China, Thailand and beyon...

Headed out of Sydney for a couple of days on Thursday to see the Blue Mountains. Got to Rooty Hill (where we stayed) mid-afternoon and decided to drive up to the mountains for a couple of hours to see what we could see. It was an inspired decision, because yesterday, when we planned to do some serious walking and sightseeing, it absolutely chucked it down all day long! We got half way up the mountain in our car and ended up turning back because the rain was so he...

Yo! Back in Sydney now, as we enter the final leg of our Australian adventure... only 9 days to go and we're already bracing ourselves for the freezing temperatures we're going to encounter in Beijing. I figure that if i wear everything i've got packed in my rucksack, then i might be able to save a few of my fingers and toes... Really enjoyed our 15 days with the camper van.. I deliberately use the word "with" here, rather than "in" given tha...