Mission: Get to Cooroy!

Jonathan and I began our road trip with the mission to get to Cooroy, Queensland. It was a 3000 km journey but we had a great time and our little van was even better than we could have imagined!
Before we began our trip up North Jonathan and I decided to venture out West and see the Great Ocean Road. The Great Ocean Road, known as the Surfcoast Highway, runs along the Southeast Coast of Australia. We took this drive because of the outstanding views of the Australia coast and the unique rock formations found in that area. It was the beginning of a really long road trip in our new little van.
We camped in beach parking lots with other campervans or in the rainforests at designated camping spots. We found a delightful camp site outside of Lorne that had a little lake where the Kookaburras were fishing for Yabbies, otherwise known as crawfish. We drove along stopping at all of the lookout points, exploring lots of little walks down to the beach. In Victoria, due to the drought they have been having for quite some time, the black sand flies are overwhelming. They are everywhere and have no problem risking their lives at the chance to be ingested at any moment when you may smile or laugh or even try to talk.
We stopped at Apollo Bay to view the 12 Apostles. They are large limestone rock formations amongst the swirling waters of the ocean. They are massive in size and lovely to photograph. We ventured down to the beaches to be able to take photos up close and had a good time goofing off and playing on the beach. We stopped at a cheese factory to buy some cheese and wine which is our newest and favorite indulgence!
We visited Loch Ard Gorge which became a grave for the Loch Ard ship that wrecked there quite some years ago. There was a place called Thunder Cave which was the opening from the ocean to a long tunnel which lead to a saltwater lake about 100 meters inland from the ocean. The tunnel makes loud noises that sound similar to thunder as the waves rush through the tunnel and into the blowhole!
After our adventure on the Great Ocean Road we began our massive drive up to the state of Queensland, where my Grandpa’s wife, Alyce, was up at her sister and brother in laws house about an hour and half North of Brisbane. Family in Australia! WOOHOO! Of course the Eastern coast is the most traveled part of Australia and there is lots to see. We didn’t get to enjoy it this time but we will be traveling back down towards Melbourne after our trip up the coast to Cairns.
We made a few stops in little seaside towns and enjoyed the beach and the waves. Well… Jonathan enjoyed them, enough so that he volunteered his sunglasses as a parting gift. I, tried to get in only to have my swimsuit prove that it is not sturdy enough to withstand the waves…like a PG-13 take on the Waterbabies sunscreen bottle…oops. Enough waves for me.
We spent a day in Sydney on the hottest day of our road trip! We played in the fountains by Darling Harbor, enjoyed Starbucks on the water, went to Paddy’s market and visited the Sydney Aquarium. We did not make it to the Opera House but we will be back to visit within the next month.
Drive, Drive, Drive…… got new carpet for the van and installed it ourselves…Drive, Drive, Drive….
Finally, last Tuesday after about a week of driving we arrived at Rosella Roo which is the name of Daryl and Lynette’s property! It was absolutely breathtaking! They have made themselves a beautiful retreat out here! It was wonderful to meet new people and make new friends and be able to spend time with Alyce! Also at the house were Ronald and Sybil, Alyce and Lynette’s father and step mom, Evan and Les, caretakers and friends extraordinaire. They took us to Massimos, which is the best Gelato we have ever tasted! Jonathan was in heaven because Daryl let him use his shop to work on the van. Not only did he get to use the shop but Evan who happens to be allknowing when it comes to these “fix it” projects has been helping him out! The van got its pop top hinges fixed, rusted parts grinded away from the side and replaced new riveted sheet metal, 4 new tires on the rear (yes it has 6 in total) and we are getting ready to install a 2nd deep cycle battery for our fridge and fan! It already looks much better! We played endless games of SkipBo, had wonderful culinary journeys and experiments in the kitchen, shared favorite moments of Grandpa and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Oz East Coast - First 3500km.

Tasmania!!!

After four and a half months in Asia we finally landed in the wonderful world of Oz! Australia that is! The Western world has never seemed so fabulous!!! We met Catherine, Jonathan’s mom in the airport in Melbourne and hopped on a plane to head to Tasmania, a little island off the Southern coast of the mainland!
Tasmania was wonderful! Catherine had rented a car so we had freedom to explore and go anywhere on the island. The first day we drove through the Northern part of Tasmania from Launceston to Devonport. We stopped and got fresh cherries, raspberries, went to a cheese factory and a bakery! One of the things we were most excited about in traveling to Australia was that we would have access to dairy and wonderful dairy products. We hadn’t had good quality cheese or milk since we had left the US! Yum!
We continued to travel around the coast taking in the beautiful landscape and keeping our eyes open for any signs of wildlife! We explored parts of Cradle Mountain National Park and walked around Dove Lake in the freezing rain! The night we stayed in Cradle Mountain we got to go to the Tasmanian devil wildlife park and watch their feeding habits and we even got to pet one! It was really neat. After the park we got out our headlamps and while Jonathan drove Catherine and I searched the bush for wildlife. We saw wallabies, pademelons, a spotted-quoll, wombats and possums! It was so wonderful!
We celebrated our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Queenstown Tasmania. We went to mass on Christmas Eve and had a wonderful spaghetti dinner. On Christmas Day Jonathan made his State Fair winning green chili whiskey stew for dinner. He cooked it all day which of course made our little cabin smell delicious. I made chocolate chip cookies for our little something sweet on Christmas! We exchanged gifts and got some special little treats from home. That was really special for both of us! I especially loved getting a photo album that my family had put together for me!
The next day, which was Christmas back home, we got to call friends and family! I called my family who was all at my grandparent’s house from outside a café, while sitting in the car. It was pretty funny but we didn’t have any other way to get internet!
We finished up our trip in Tasmania by going to St. Clair National park to try to find the platypuses, going to Hobart to watch the end of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, exploring wine glass bay and nine mile beach!
On the 29th we headed back to Melbourne to spend a few days there before Catherine headed back to the US. On our first day we explored the Victoria Street market and other parts of the fascinating city. The next day we took a tour and got to experience some bush Billy tea, a ride on Puffing Billy a steam train, we did some wine tasting and got to get up close with some of the wildlife at the animal park! That night we celebrated New Years Eve by going to a wonderful dinner on Victoria Harbor and watching the fireworks off of the Yarra River! Happy 2008! It is going to be a wonderful year! Catherine left the next morning, we had a wonderful visit with her and it was such a treat to have her with us for part of our travels!
We had decided a while back that to explore Australia we were going to buy a campervan and than resell it before we left. And so we did! It is an old Ford Econovan that has been converted into a little camper! It has a stove, a sink, refrigerator and a bed! So now we are busy living, cooking, driving and sleeping in our little van! Mechanically it is a gem; it just isn’t the prettiest to look at…. So Jonathan and I have been busy doing things to spruce it up and coming up with ideas to make the outside more exciting!
We have been traveling in the van for about a week and are having a blast! It has been wonderful and definitely more cost efficient! We have beautiful pictures from the Great Ocean Road and are other travels but we will post those in the next blog since our Tasmania Album is already up!
Something to look forward to right?!
Love,
Tara and Jonathan


Tasmania and Melbourne