You'll meet all sorts when on the road. The trick is to have an open mind and you could end up being entranced and amazed.

You definitely shouldn't be shy around the locals. Why not join the resident Australian fur seals sun-baking on the rocks? I did. If you can overlook their funky smell, they're fantastic company for enjoying the calm coves and turquoise waters of Narooma.

But remember kids, whether you're at home or abroad, there will ALWAYS be a group who are just too-cool-for-school. David tried to make friends with a bunch of Pelicans, but was unceremoniously shunned. Don't worry David, it has happened to the best of us.

My favourite fury friend was the highly sociably, if not overly talkative, Roo*; who had an awful lot to say, even if it seemed to be the same things over and over again?

*Roo being a character-of-an-old-man who we got talking to over the camp BBQ one night...not, as you may have believed, a Kangaroo.