Burren Junction and weird and wonderful Lightning Ridge

This a moon ring - we are told that they can sometimes be seen in New South Wales, Totally wonderful.Grey kangaroos - we see them everyday now - fantastic.
You big Gallah!! They are always in pairs and we've seen hundreds of them.
We were told to visit Lightning Ridge which is out west. It gets to 50 degrees here in the summer. It's full of eccentric folk trying to escape from life, police, government, exes etc.... Many of them mine for opals and dream of making it big. It's a weird place.

This is a castle made by hand from iron stone. It was started in 1983 by Amigo, an Italian man. There were loads of local kids playing in it (trespassing) and they showed me around and I took thier photos. They didn't know where England is. Why should they?

This is the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. It's the Astronomer's Monument - an insane castle built by a polish man who was imprisoned for a crime that he did not commit. Once released he built this temple in memory of famous astronomers. He started in 1983 (just like Amigo!) but died a few years ago when his fermenting aloe vera juice exploded.

Here is Nic fossicking for opals. No luck yet!

There are 2 more new entries below. Please read and enjoy and keep following us on our adventure. Australia is a wild and strange place but we are starting to enjoy it and keep finding wonderful free campsites in the middle of nowhere.

Boggabri Drovers campfire weekend!

We decided to attend a Drover's weekend. There were a few hundred people there and the average age was 70! However, everyone was friendly and we got a chance to see some new things and experience a few too!



This is a world-champion whip-cracker. It's not everyday to get to say that! He performed with his 2 whip-cracking sisters!!!

Poor sheep!

Nic riding the bike that powers the shearers. I had a go too and it was very hard work. It's much easier to cycle when you have 'granny gears'. We were the only foreigners there and we got a round of applause from the audience.

Bathurst/Vittoria/Parkes/Dubbo/Warrumbungles/Mount Kaputar/Sawn Rocks

We took a spin around the Bathurst racing circuit. Unfortunately we had to stick to the 60km speed limit! The views were good from the top though.
The Warrumbungle National Park at sunset.

A big Kookaburra. Very tame.
We walked up hundreds of steps to see the Bread Knife - very impressive.

They have so many colourful parrot-type birds here that we don't know the names of - here is an example. Very cute.

The amazing sawn rocks - preserved five-sided lava flows that looks like organ pipes.

Gorgeous Blue Mountains

We finally escaped Sydney on Friday 8th April and headed to the blue mountains. We had 2 nights in a paid campsite and then 2 nights in a stunning free site in the Megalong Valley. We saw our first kangaroos and lots of stunning scenery. We had the site to ourselves on the Nic's birthday and it felt a bit strange being so remote with no one around. The stars were pretty good though! On Nic's birthday we went for a 20km walk through the bush and then I cooked a birthday tea of sausages, mash, peas and gravy with ice-cream for pud - we know how to live it up!!!

Here is a pic of the blue mountains from Glovetts Leap lookout. Big hey?


The 3 sisters - very touristy but beautiful.

Here is Nic in Carl's workshop pimping our van! The bloke with the grey hair is Stan, he's a local retired guy who was a God send. He has a van like ours and gave us loads of great tips, free stuff and even fitted a water gauge for us. He is wonderful. Carl owns the workshop and fitted our bike rack for us and also a second battery. We've only been here a short while but we've already met some really great generous people. We even got to sleep outside the workshop for 2 nights with elec hook up and water.

This is me on the funicular railway carriage in Katoomba - the steepest in the world - 52 degrees!!! Great fun and great views.

Here is me in the megalong valley - birthday paradise!!

On our first night we found a leak in our grey water tank and had to go back to the Swiss Tony that we bought it from - he did get it repaired for us so it was OK in the end!

We miss the cycling but the van is total luxury and it really does give you total freedom. It seems to cope well on hills and gravel and isn't too rattly. We're just about to take it around the famous Bathurst circuit.

It gets dark here at 6pm so in the evening we drink our goon (big box of cheap wind) and play exciting games like dominoes and yahtzee. We should be pretty good in a years time!

We can't believe how many free campsites there are here so we'll be able to save lots of money, just as well as the fuel is expensive.

Goodbye fabulous New Zealand and Hello hot Australia

Well we arrived in Oz on 23rd March and have spent time doing some sight-seeing, getting used to the heat and buying our home for the next 11 months or so. We are staying in a great YHA in Glebe just out of town - the staff are really nice and it's not as big as the massive hostels in the centre. We are here for another week so we've got plenty of time to do more exploring and some shopping too! We've been to see an Opera Hits Show in the Opera House and Alice in Wonderland in 3D at the IMAX. Our favourite things so far are the Opera House and the Botanic Gardens as there are loads of tropical birds and massive,very noisy (they are mating at the moment) fruit bats.

Fruit bats dangling from the trees!

The iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge
A very bored Native Australian - having a rest from his didgeridoo

Our home for the next year - it cost a fortune - let's hope we like it and we get most of our money back when we sell it!