Australia continued... by Laura_Foster

It had been 5 months since I'd last seen my Mum so it was a little emotional for both of us when I met her at the airport. We did so much in three weeks... 
 
Whilst on a harbour cruise I managed to take yet more photos of the Opera House and bridge, I don't think I'll ever get bored of seeing them. We visited Fort Dension which was built on an island in 1850s due to fear of a Russian invasion. Before the fort was built criminals were hung in chains as punishment on the island. We went to Watson's Bay for fish and chips at Doyles, which is a Sydney institution which has been in business since 1885. We also went on a very informative walking tour of The Rocks and learnt more about the lives of the residents and the conditions they lived in. The Rocks is defintely my favourite area of Sydney, with all the tiny streets and narrow alleyways to explore. We also saw Midsummer Nights Dream at the Opera House. I've got to admit classical music is not my favourite, but thought it was still really good, but someone else (Mum) fell asleep with their mouth open! Tut, can't take her anywhere!
 
We also went to the Blue Mountains on a day trip and on our way there stopped at Featherdale Wildlife Park where we saw lots of animals and hand-fed kangaroos and wallabies - cute as!  We saw the famous 3 Sisters rock formation and went on the Scenic railway which is the world's steepest railway.
 
After a few days in Sydney we flew to Tasmania where we hired a car. The capital Hobart was picturesque, with lots of fishing boats in the harbour. We visited Port Arthur, the largest penal colony in Australia renowned for its harsh conditions and hard labour. We also visted Freycinet National Park and climbed a very steep hill to the lookout for spectacular views of Wineglass Bay. As we were in Tasmania it seemed apt to find some Tasmanian devils so we visited a conservation park which is home to a variety of wildlife including some devils, whose numbers have significantly decreased due to an aggressive facial tumour disease. The devils are nothing like the cartoon and are similar to a small yet stocky dog. Watching them fight over half a wallaby was very gruesome.  
 
We visited the Tamar Valley and partook in some wine tasting at a few wineries. We spenf one night in a glass fronted appartment on a vineyard which overlooked the vines and the Tamar river.  
 
Melbourne was the next stop. We went on the Watch House experience where we were 'arrested', confessed to our crimes which were detailed on a script and then taken to a cell where we had to sit in the dark! The Watch House was a holding area and was Melbourne's main lock up. There were padded, solitary and 'wet' cells (for drunks). Nothing has been changed since the inmates left the site in the 1990s, including the obscene grafitti on the walls. We visited the Old Melbourne Gaol next door, which housed the infamous Ned Kelly, who along with 134 other criminals was hung there. Along with Kelly's armour was his death mask too, which was an eerie spectacle. In the cells there were death masks of criminals and their crimes were described on the walls. 
 
I really liked Melbourne, especially all the cafes in the narrow streets which felt very European. We walked along the river, went to the Ian Potter Centre art museum and also the Australian Center for the Moving Image at Federation Square which was full of crazy modern architecture. 
 
We hired a car and drove to Mornington Peninsula and went to Phillip Island for the Penguin Parade which was amazing. At sunset everyday, the world’s smallest penguins, the Little Penguins, emerge from the sea and waddle ashore to their sand dune burrows. They seemed very reluctant to get out of the sea and would wait, whilst getting knocked over by waves, until there was a large group and then waddle together across the beach. 
 
We drove along the Great Ocean Road which was built in 1917 to provide work for around 3000 returning servicemen. The road winds along picturesque coast and we stopped off at to Torquay and Apollo Bay. I saw koalas in eucalyptus trees along the road, and I was surprised to see that they were awake as koalas sleep for around 22 hours a day to conserve energy. We stopped off to see the Twelve Apostles, which are huge limestone stacks which stand near the cliffs. We stopped off at a great place called Apostle Whey Cheese where we tried about 15 types of cheese!   
 
After Melbourne we flew to Uluru. We drove to Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) which are a group of domed rock formations. There are 36 domes were very impressive and are actually bigger than Uluru. In the evening we went to the Sounds of Silence dinner. We had champagne and canapes of crocodile and kangaroo and watched the sunset over Kata Tjuta. While we were eating a buffet dinner we were entertained by a didgeridoo player. We also had a star gazing talk but unluckily there were loads of clouds so we didn't get to see very much. 
 
After the all you can drink wine I was very tired for the sunrise tour of Uluru the next day! As the sun rose from opposite Uluru the colour of the rock changed noticeably, but have to admit I was expecting something more dramatic. We then went on an Anangu tour which was lead by an aboriginal guy called Sammy who spoke his native language and then a translator (who confusingly enough was Japanese and didn't have great English herself) translated what he was saying.
 
We went on the Liru Walk which follows the path of the Liru Ancestors through the bushland near Uluru. Sammy then demonstrated how traditional tools were used by his ancestors. He lit a fire without matches and carved wooden tools with only a sharpened stone. He also showed us how kiti (bush glue) is made by bashing spinnafex leaves until a powder is formed then heated on a ball in the fire. The girls in the group tried balancing the pretti (a bowl) on their heads and the guys learnt how to hold and throw a spear.
 
After an emotional farewell with my Mum, I started to travel up the east coast on the Greyhound bus. I stopped in Newcastle and saw the Bogey Hole, which is a convict carved pool at the base of some cliffs. I also was lucky to see the Mark Richards surf competition, although I had no idea how the marks were awarded it was still good fun to watch.
 
The next stop was Port Stephens where I stayed at a beuatiful hostel set in the bush called Melaleuca backpackers, where the large grounds were home to a baby wallaby called Jessie and a bird called Screech who loved to fly at people's heads and feet. I managed to avoid being attacked until the very last day when I was walking to the bus stop and he flew at my head, much to the bemusement of one of the owners who couldn't understand why I was screaming! I borrowed a bike and cycled to Stockton Bight sand dunes, which are the longest moving sand dunes in the southern hemisphere which strech along the coast for 35km. On another day I got the local bus into Nelsons Bay and walked along a few beaches. Also walked up lookout to on Tomaree Head which had great views onto Zenith, Wreck and Box beaches as well as Yacaaba Head and the lighthouse. 
 
Port Macquarie was the next stop which didn't have a great deal going on. I walked along the Breakwall which are rocks which line the river behind a carvan park, which have been painted and graffitied with art and lewdness by locals and tourists.  The Koala Hospital is the world's first hospital dedicated to the care and preservation of koalas. It was started in 1973 by a local couple who had a special room in their house to care for injured koalas. Now they see between 200-300 of Port Macquarie's 400 koala population every year. The koalas can be admitted for a variety of reasons - injuries sustained in car accidents, old age and chlamydia which is a common infection and can lead to 'wet bottom' where urine burns the skin and fur. I went on the afternoon tour and saw some of the residents being hand fed a soy based supplement by volunteers. It was a great cause and was good to see some koalas awake for a change! 
 
The next place I stopped was Coffs Harbour, where I went kayaking in the Solitary Island Marine Park and walked along a creek path and through mangroves and walked around yet another Botanic Gardens. Also walked up Mutton Bird island and watched some powerful waves crach into the rocks below and it also had good views over the town and harbour.
 
In Byron Bay I stayed at the Arts Factory, which feels a lot like a hippy commune and has teepees, domed tents around pond. It was lucky I liked where I was staying as it rained nealr everyday I was there! On a sunny day I walked up to lighthouse and saw some dolphins playing in the surf.
 
The weather in Brisbane wasn't much better and we got rained on at the Openair Cinema where despite wearing rain poinchos we got soaked watching Dirty Dancing! I went up to Mt Coot-tha which had panoramic views of the city and also went to pretty Botanic Gardens. Went to a few art galleries at Southbank including the Gallery of Modern Art and the Queensland Museum.
 
Whilst in Brisbane I visited the nearby Australia Zoo where I saw loads of animals (birds of prey, elephants, tigers, camels, goats, snakes, Tasmanian devil, tortoises, a pair of very cute otters being fed and lots of crocs.) I went to the Crocoseum show which Terri Irwin took part in and also saw the kids Bindi and Bob too. I did enjoy the zoo, bit it was pretty expensive and was very commercial and in a lot of the enclosures I only saw one type of each animal. 
 
Whilst in Noosa I went on a canoe trip where we paddled downstream along the Noosa River and across Lake Cooroibah. On the way back to the campsite we got caught in thunderstorm on the middle of the lake. We got absolutely soaked, the rain was so heavy and we had thunder and lightening too which sounded really close! On the second day we paddled against the flood waters to Lake Cootharabah, which was really hard work! 
 
Next stop was the tiny coastal towns of 1770 and Agnes Water, which were really chilled out places with deserted beaches. I went on the Scootaroo tour which involved riding a mini chopper around the local area, which was great fun. It was the first time I'd ever ridden a motorbike so was very scary at first and I was asked to go to the back of the group as I was going too slow and was causing a traffic jam behind me! Ooops.  
 
Airlie Beach was the next destination which is where the boats leave for the Whitsundays Islands. There are many boats to choose from and I decided to treat myself to a rather fancy catamaran called Wings II. We went to the beautiful Whitehaven Beach, made a few snorkelling stops. Whilst snorkelling we saw a turtle come up to the surface to take its first breath in the morning.
 
My penultimate stop on the eat coast was Magnetic Island, where a friend and I hired a pink MOKE which is a small topless car which looked like Barbie car! We explored the tiny island in our Barbie Car and went on the Forts Walk, where during World War II a defence base was built consisting of two gun emplacements, an observation tower and a command post. We also went to the pretty Horseshoe Bay and the tiny Alma Bay. We finished off the day by watching the sunset over the sea on a private deck which overlooked a small beach.

 I then caught the bus to Cairns and then a flight to Sydney to catch a flight to New Zealand. After four and a half months in Australia I was very excited to be heading somewhere new (and a lot lot colder!)