Well, Nov 5th has come and gone and we haven't seen, or heard, a single firework. It was very weird - quite logical seeing as the Houses of Parliament are in London but, to be honest, it hadn't occurred to us that we would miss the fireworks!! This led us to consider the other differences that we have noticed the most, such as the Melbourne Cup. What a build-up to a horse race, very different to the Grand National. The whole country seems to get involved with most restaurants and bars offering 3-course meals but you have to book early! Not being horse-racing buffs Bob and I actually booked a 4WD tour for the exact same time as the race (more in the next blog). However, we still wanted to be part of the experience so we biked down to the local club. In Oz, there are many clubs that you have to be a member to join. However anyone can turn up, hand over your driving licence as ID, and enjoy the facilities for that day as a temporary member. These clubs are awesome - all have coffee shops, restaurants, bars, pokies (gaming machines) and a betting area much like our bookies. So you can go to a club, have a coffee, read the newspaper and bet away to your heart's content - on anything from dogs to rugby to footie to tennis! It is quite mindblowing as to how easy it is, and to how many people gamble regularly. Apparently it is the money raised from the pokies (most clubs stay open to at least 4am!) that allows them to pay for the entertainment, usually a really good band at weekends, and to subsidise the coat of the drinks and food. Anyway, back to the Melbourne Cup. Bob and I visited the local club at about 10am. Ladies were already arriving in their finery that would rival Ascot - hats, fascinators etc etc. I felt really underdressed in my T-shirt, shorts and cycling helmet! Betting slips were not quite as in England, and the odds are expressed in a completely different way so help was needed, but we eventually placed our bets. Needless to say we needn't have bothered!!!!

These very same clubs also attract loads of people at least 3 times a week by having huge meat raffles. By huge I mean at least 30+ prizes of large packs usually containing steak, chops and sausages. Bob and I have managed to win one and were quite chuffed! Some of the clubs are bowls clubs, which is quite weird for us as bowls is not a popular sport in England. Out here the smallest villages seem to have a club, which is the hub of the community, that has at least two greens and a club attached, which usually do very cheap, but good, food and drink. Some also offer free camping, which we have availed ourselves of - you are just asked to patronise the club, which we find a real hardship, lol!

The last thing we have struggled with is the time zones. I know Australia is big and that there will be lots but why do some time zones differ by just 0.5 hour and not 1 hour? And why does NSW adopt daylight saving and Queensland not (they are both on the same coast)? That causes problems for people living one side of the border but working on the other. There was also no warning when you crossed the border, just a sign saying "Welcome to NSW" so people must get very confused. It takes the news-readers minutes to announce the time in all 5 time-zones, let alone the weather!

But enough of the differences and onto what we have been doing. We finally left beautiful Grafton after a week of being stranded waiting for the wiper blade motor to arrive from Melbourne. During that week Winnie developed another issue - every time we went round a corner, or over a bump, there was a nasty scraping/grinding sound. Off to a suspension specialist (we had loads of time to get it sorted, lol!) who informed us that the suspension was fine but one tyre was misshapen, the inside had shredded and it was dangerous to drive. So a new tyre was found and the noise ceased. I wanted to mention that Bob had 'nudged' a kerb a few days earlier which might have exacerbated, even caused, the problem but I promised I wouldn't! The rest of the week was spent enjoying the Jacaranda Festival, eating Jacaranda (blackcurrant) ice-cream, body-boarding and even geocaching when we found ourselves with an hour or so to kill. This was mainly at the weekend when we have noticed another big difference - the Aussies actually have a weekend! To be fair we haven't been in a big city on the weekend yet but everywhere else shuts at lunchtime on the Saturday and doesn't reopen to Monday morning. It's a bit like England used to be! One consequence of this is that you see families out together, enjoying the beach, a walk or a bbq and no bored teenagers hanging around on street corners. Food for thought?!

Moving down the coast we visited some spectacular white sand beaches with turquoise water, namely at Urunga and Nambucca Heads. However, the weather has been quite windy since and the surf has been too heavy for swimming. One night we were woken up at 1am by howling winds and had to rush outside and take our awning in before it was damaged. We weren't the only ones taken by surprise and there were a few red faces and damaged caravans in the morning! It seems we are in stormy season as we have witnessed some awesome storms with magnificent lightning and torrential rain. Good job we got those wipers fixed!

We loved South West Rocks and stayed there for a few days. The highlights were Trial Bay Gaol, Smoky Cape Lighthouse, the kangaroos at Little Bay and joining in with the tennis mix-in. People were so friendly, the tennis wasn't great but the people were so helpful with where to go and what to do, showing us pics on their phones etc. It was a lovely morning! We saw a lot of whales travelling back on their annual migration and also a few dolphin pods enjoying the waves just offshore. Then on to Port Macquarie, stopping at Frederickton on the way for the famed Fredo Croc pie! We visited the koala hospital, run by volunteers, where they care for, and try to rehabilitate injured and sick koalas. However, there were some that, because of their disabilities, could not be returned to the wild and so were being cared for indefinitely. The keepers were very careful to make sure they were not humanised despite this. They felt very strongly that they are wild and should not be treated as pets. It was explained that it is now illegal in NSW for a member of the public to hold a koala, although you can still do it in Queensland, as we did on our trip 7 years ago. Knowing now that it confuses them as they have a very developed sense of smell, and it disorientates them being passed from person to person, I would not do it again. If only we had known then what we know now we wouldn't have even considered getting the picture!

Port Macquarie was also memorable for "Flip Flop Man". Most people on campsites are sociable and say 'g'day'. Some want a chat and we are happy to oblige but some want to chat for hours, which we avoid. We also avoid the 'Happy Hours' where everyone takes a chair and nibbles and shares their day - not for us! So I guess we are not the most sociable, but "Flip Flop Man", as he was named in hindsight, took the biscuit for being the most rude. To park his car he had to drive up right beside us - however, every time he and his wife managed to get out of their car and disappear into their van, heads down, without even a glance or hello. It actually annoyed Bob and I to the extent that, on the day they left, they drove off and left a pair of flip flops on the site -they must have been under their van. Now, normally, I would have run after them, and I could have caught them up, but the nasty side of me (yes, I do have one, lol!) said "They haven't even said hi in three days so why should I bother?!" So Bob and I continued packing up ourselves and actually pulled up behind them at the site exit. Bob hopped out to give the amenities key back to the office and, being so nice, I honestly expected him to go and tell them they'd left their flip flops. However, he got back in the van and, when I looked at him, he looked at me with not a flicker of remorse and said we should call every other unsociable s*d "Flip Flop Man"! So be warned fellow campers!

We are now in the Blue Mountains after an amazing few days in the Port Stephens region. We have had no wifi, hence the lateness of this blog, so apologies if the next blog appears quite soon!