We left Phillip Island with a couple of options of where our next stop would be. Toying with the idea of going skiing in the snowy mountains, we made enquiries at various information centres, but there just hadn’t been enough snow fall and so it wouldn’t really be worth it! Ryan was not best pleased, but with a promise of a ski trip sometime soon, we changed our route plan and had coffee and cake instead. Always a good idea!

As the weather was still looking good, we decided to stay on the coast and make our way to Lakes Entrance. We had done some research on Wikicamps and it seemed there was a free camping spot in Lake Tyers, just outside Lakes Entrance called ‘The Waterwheel Beach Tavern’, it had powered camping spots with showers (hot water) and it was all absolutely free! It is advised that you go for dinner or a drink at the tavern, as a little thank you, which seemed very fair, but there were really no strings attached, so we made our way there.

We drove through Lakes Entrance in the late afternoon – the town was a bit sleepy as it is winter, but being right by the water was gorgeous. We admired the view and went on to Lake Tyers, which was even more picturesque. The Tavern was right by the water, the sun was setting whilst the ducks bobbed along – It almost looked like a polished floor, the water was so flat. We could see the rain in the distance, so we went to check out the camping spot and alas it was all legit – there was power, showers and hot water! Result!

It started to drizzle so we started cooking dinner for the night, with a bit of shelter. Dinner was already sorted, so we cooked our barramundi fillets in garlic and butter, with a little lemon and I made a cous cous. We cooked some kale and Ryan drizzled the garlic, butter and lemon sauce from the fish on it and we were good to go – it was scrumptious and another very yummy (easy) camping meal!

Even though we were on our detox from the masses of wine we had been drinking, we felt we should go for a drink at the Tavern (we didn’t need to be forced) so we had a cider and as it was Friday night, joined in with the local raffle. It would have been nice to win the $40 butchers meat voucher but unfortunately we didn’t, but anyway it was a lovely friendly place with lots of locals and we had a good nights sleep in the camper once again!

The next morning we got up early and went for a run!!!!!! Crazy, I know – I can hardly believe it myself! We ran past the sand dunes and on to the beach, enjoying the view and the sound of the sea. Ryan went off ahead and I half jogged, half plodded through the sand until Ryan was way in the distance. After I couldn’t deal hack running on the sand anymore, I turned round to go back to running on the road (much easier), briefly getting attacked by a dog with short dog syndrome and before long Ryan was back, also being attacked by the short dog.

After showers, brekkie and putting the camper back together we drove through Lakes Entrance and planned our next journey. We decided to do a longer stint today and get to Eden (mainly because Ryan wanted to watch the England vs Australia rugby match) as it seemed promising that they would be showing it somewhere up there. I drove quite a bit and the scenery was gorgeous, hilly, green and quite English really.

We stopped at the NSW border for a star jump before getting to Eden, a nice seaside town. We had heard that a lot of the wharf had been washed away in the recent storms, which was shame, but it was still a pretty town and we drove through in search of campsites,coming across one with a games room that was showing the rugby. Wahoo! Great success!

We parked up next to the water and watched the sun setting, with the lights from the houses across the way reflecting on to the water. It was one of the best ‘back of the van’ views we have had so far. The rugby wasn’t until 8pm so we set up camp and cooked lamb steaks on the picnic bench by the side of the van. I made sweet potato mash and we enjoyed our scrummy dinner in the warmth of the van!

With full bellies and a bottle of wine (Ryans decision – detox is NOT going well) we watched England beat the Wallabies again, in another good match. We were both (especially Ryan) looking forward to watching the match next week, hoping we could make it 3-0 !

We finished our wine and happily went back to the van, thinking about our plans for tomorrow – oh and Ryan had a shave! The beard is no more! The moustache also went…

From the following afternoon, the weather was going to get very bad on the coast and it didn’t look like Horace 2 would have a great time in gale force winds and rain, so we decided to head in land to Canberra. It was about a 3 hour drive so we set off in the morning after a short walk on the beach and arrived just after lunch.

As the weather wasn’t going to be great here either, we decided to do some touristy things and go to the gallery today, and the museum and parliament tomorrow!

We wandered around the national gallery looking at Andy Warhol, Monet, Lichtenstein etc. for a few hours. It was like a maze and the variety of photography, paintings, sculptures was amazing – some very bizarre things in there as well (of course) I loved the  Aboriginal section and how detailed every piece was. It was amazing to see such colourful pieces !

We walked round the ‘Wrong Way Time’ exhibition which was like something out of Alice in Wonderland and a very clear representation of its name. Hard to explain what was really going on but extremely interesting. There were so many different items and ideas, it must having taken an age to put together.

With enough site seeing done for the day and feeling a little hungry, we went to ‘CBD dumpling house’ for a pre cinema meal! Over ordering we struggled to cram everything in and were defeated by the BBQ buns!

After stealthy putting getting the van bed ready in the multi story car park as we needed to kill some time, our next stop was the cinema and we were obviously going to see ‘Finding Dory’ !! We weren’t even ashamed, we had been waiting for this day for so long and were so EXCITED! It didn’t disappoint, the seals were hilarious (Jerald) and we had a good laugh and ate even more – popcorn and chocolate, oops.

Full of sugar and feeling very full we went to the van and did our first bit of stealth camping. Not technically illegal as it was on Wikicamps as a free camp spot but not technically legal either – oops! Still, a good night sleep and no one to bother us, we got up bright and early to move on and headed to the Australian sports centre – for a swim and a shower (mainly a shower) I only had a bikini and it was a bit of a serious aquatic centre so I decided not to swim, just in case my bikini ended up by ankles when I pushed off at one end, so I went in the hot tub instead (a much better idea)

Ryan donned his swim cap and went for it and did about 1600m, which he said was quite a shock to the system as he felt rather unfit!

We both had great hot showers and went for a well deserved breakfast (me not so much) at ‘Ona on the lawns’. I had poached eggs, avocado, an awesome cream cheese and dukkah on sourdough and Ryan had hot smoked salmon, soft boiled egg, dill mayonnaise, with rye soldiers! (Literally dribbling whilst writing this)

It was delicious – an absolute taste sensation and Ryan told the waiter it was the best breakfast he had in Australia, so he was very happy! The coffee was awesome too!!!

We had read that the cafes sister company called ‘The Cupping Room’ sometimes had coffee tasting at 11:30am, so we headed there for some more coffee before properly starting our day! Unfortunately it wasn’t on, but we had another coffee anyway and the vibe was great. Canberra was a little strange – lots of buzzing brekkie places in the middle of silent streets, but we couldn’t complain!

Now fuelled with coffee, we were ready to hit the museum.

There was so much to see here too and we read about the convicts, the aboriginals, Australian animals, gold mining etc. etc. etc.  and the museum building in itself was awesome – crazy structure! We hadn’t been to any other museums whilst in Oz (oops) s0 it was really nice to pop in and have a look around! One to tick off the list! Th

Next stop was the parliament building, which the whole of the cities layout seem to be based around. We went inside and through security, up through the grand marble entrance (quite dated) and went in to the house of lords in one wing, and the house of commons in another – it was all very symmetrical! There was nothing going on today, just tourists and school trips looking round but it was still cool to read on all of the previous prime ministers, see where they hang out and go up to the roof to take in the views. The sides of the building were covered in grass which was a bit odd, but it was definitely a statement building when looking at it from a far.

 

We were in need of a drink by this point and I needed a hot chocolate to give me a boost (Sue) The weather was a bit miserable outside and we wanted to plan where to go next before it got dark! We stocked up on supplies before hitting the road and got sushi for dinner as we didn’t know where we would be staying, but managed to find a nice rest area where you could stay for up to 72 hours. It was nice not to have to cook and the rest stop was big, with loos and sheltered picnic table, so the setup was great. We ate our sushi and watched ‘Brooklyn’ – which to our surprise was really good! Prompting us to speak in Irish accents for the rest of the night.

In the morning we attempted to make toasties (jaffles) and so we used up our Warnambool cheddar and salami that we picked up the day before the day before. We cooked them in the pan and even though they were a little burnt, the cheese melted perfectly and they were absolutely delish!!

We had drunk our tea and filled up our coffee mugs and ready to hit the road! We drove on a very noisy, gravel, unsealed road for about 50km – poor Horace, he was ok though and we survived without any punctures!

We listened to podcasts along the way about random feet that washed up somewhere on the Canadian coast, sushi, panic attacks, stem cells, the great train robbery – oh it was a very educational journey and our lamp/bluetooth speaker/iPhone charger ($29.99 from Anaconda) really was the best purchase!

Our next stop was Jervis Bay, a National Park south of Sydney. We arrived at the entrance around midday, not really knowing what was beyond it, but after hearing it was very nice we drove in to find our camping spot. You had to book in to camp here but it was only $12 ish, however in the summer, they actually have a ballat as it is such a popular place – so even though it was winter we were in luck and the weather was actually really lovely!

We parked up in our campsite ‘Green Point’, checked out the amenities and then walked down to ‘Millers Beach’. The sand was beautiful and white and the sea was not dissimilar to a Southern Pacific island – the sun was shining and we were happy happy happy!

It was whale season and many had been spotted by the lighthouse near Stoney Creek, so we went and stared out in to the sea for an hour of so, seeing lots of blow holes puffs and the slightest bit of a whale. It was hard as we didn’t have any binoculars and they were quite far away, but there were plenty out there just playing around. I managed to borrow some binoculars and saw one come out of the water – it was great and I would so love to go on a whale watching tour to see them up close!!

Jervis Bay was also home to a navy base and so we were joined by a large group cycling around on a little jolly! Not a bad place to be based!

We were in need of food for tonight’s dinner and as the campsite had bqqs, we bought kebabs and had them with new potatoes and corn on the cob! The possom pests were out and being a bloody pain as per usual! We had to fend them off whilst cooking, with lots of shouting, clapping and grrring from me. After scaring them away they took more of a liking to another couple cooking nearby and decided to attack them more than us, so we didn’t have too much trouble!

Ryan was up early to go for a run and watch the sunrise on the beach – I lazily stayed in bed (oops). He ran to the ‘Scottish rocks’ and brought me back some pretty shells! Apparently I missed out on a very good sunrise, so I promised to go tomorrow.

The possoms were out again when we made brekkie, not shy at all, so Ryan chased one up the tree and then we just stood there shaking the tree. It didn’t really work though as they still came along to try and steal our eggs and avocados!

Jervis bay was so gorgeous and as the weather was really good, we decided to enjoy it and stay for another night. We went for a long walk along the cliffs and looked for whales at each look out! Lots out there but none close enough to get a good look at! Damn, why hadn’t we bought some binoculars! We did a nice walk in the sunshine and it was actually starting to feel really quite warm! Perfect for lunch at the beach after a nice walk – so we took our emergency Heinz tomato soup and cooker and set up on the beach. Slightly odd combo – beach and soup, but it wasn’t that warm and soup was perfect! We sat there for a bit longer admiring the view – there was a lady close by doing some painting!

We went for a coffee and headed back to camp, enjoying the sunshine in our chairs and had a couple of beers (detox really is not happening now)

We cooked our chilli by the van as we couldn’t be bothered with the possom clan up by the camp kitchen. There was still a cheeky one hanging around our camp and so I started chasing it and throwing sticks at it. For the remainder of the night he just stared at us from his tree!

We had made a big chilli so that it would keep us going for two nights. As we weren’t sure where we would be staying tomorrow night, it wood be good to have an easy dinner already prepared! We had guac, sour cream and corn chips at the ready – LOVE this dinner!!

The weather was going to be much the same the following morning, so we planned on getting up to watch the sunrise early!

It was well worth it, though we didn’t go for a run (oops) we donned our pjs and went down to the beach, just in time for the sun coming up! It was so nice to be there at this time of year, as you can imagine in the summer it must be absolutely packed!! We wandered for a while and then headed back to the van – me wanting to go back to bed – Ryan insisting we should start brekkie, so that’s what we did and after a coffee I was up and awake! The campsite was very protected so there was hardly any wind which was so nice!

We packed up, said goodbye to the  possoms and headed up to Wollongong. We went to a blow hole en route and looked out for whales for a while. Food was on the mind and we fancied some chips, so that’s what we got. Ryan opted for the large box, not really realising how large it would be and it could have definitely fed about a family of six! So after only putting a small dent in to the box of chips, stinking out the van and feeling very ashamed of our selves for eating such a greasy box of chips, I had a toblerone to make my feel better – obviously, and we drove in to Wollongong to look for a place to stay close by.

We didn’t have much luck looking for a place to stay and even resorted to Airbnb and local hotels but after returning to reality, we decided to drive a bit further up the coast and check out the rest stops.

We cooked our dinner in a beach car park like tramps and ate our day two chilli (yummy) and felt even more like tramps when a boot camp started on the grass just nearby to us – I would have judged us about a year ago! Funny thing was, that if it had been summer, nobody would have even bothered, but because it was winter, we looked a bit suspect.

We packed up and headed for the nearby rest stops as we had seen a few on the map, but the first was packed with campers and had no space and the second didn’t really look very legit, so we carried on, hoping we would find somewhere soon!

We were quite high up by this point and could see Sydney over the water – so close but so far! We could see the planes coming in – the views were amazing! We headed down hill and entered the Royal National Park and parked up right by the water. The kiosk was closed by this point and there were a few other campers probably doing the same as us!

The following day was the 24th June – wahoooo!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN !!

We woke up early and headed to Sydney – we were going to have a birthday breakfast of eggs benedict on Bondi beach! It didn’t take too long to get there and after avoiding the tolls, we made it! It was just after 8am and Ryan went to check out if we could cook on the beach, so in the mean time I decorated the van with happy birthday banners and balloons – cue Ryan coming back mid balloon!! He loved it!

We were all set to go down to the beach – and then the rain came! Great! It had just been gorgeous and sunny for the last 20 minutes and just as we are ready to go, it pours down! So we packed everything away and went out for brekkie instead – just a short walk away – to ‘Porch and Parlour’ – a hipster healthy cafe and the food looked scrummy! We had watermelon mimosas to celebrate, coffees and brekkie! I had an amazing pea pancake, with poached eggs and Ryan had smoked salmon with a vegetable hash brown and poached eggs.

It was delish and we had big full bellies! By this point the sun had happily put his hat back on – naturally, just as we paid for breakfast! Ryan insisted on going for a birthday swim, so he stripped down to his shorts and ran in, hesitantly.  I dipped a toe and it was absolutely FREEZING! I held the towels and took photos of the crazy man, diving and jumping around like a loony!

We warmed up in the van and made our way round to Manly, where we would be parking the van outside Simon, Aline and Amelie’s house for the next few days. We had visited them on our last trip to Sydney and were looking forward to seeing them again!

They live in Freshwater and we arrived at about midday – their lovely friend Claire was visiting from England and we met their dogs, Bully and Alfie, so it was a full house and we all had a cup of tea!

We sang happy birthday to Ryan and Amelie helped to blow out the candles on a cupcake! Very sweet! We had a nice catch up and they kindly were letting us use their facilities whilst we stayed in the van outside! Very kind of them to let a couple of tramps live outside their house.

We headed off to the city on the ferry with Claire – who was going to do some shopping, so we said see you soon and wandered around. I took Ryan to Lorraine’s patisserie and we had a scrumptious chocolate, hazelnut cake and some passion fruit truffles – they were gorgeous and we managed to walk all the way to the Sydney Opera House to enjoy it with a view, before digging in. V disciplined!

We wandered around – it was very windy and chilly so you had to power walk to keep warm! At 4:30pm, we had planned to meet Eirik and Susannah, whom we had met in Fiji and as they were living in Sydney, it would be silly not to meet for a drink! They had suggested a pub at the rocks and we sat up on the rooftop with an amazing view of the opera house and harbour bridge – it was awesome! We had such a great catch up and couldn’t believe how time had flown since Fiji! They were both heading back to Norway the following week after finishing their studies and were looking forward to seeing family and friends!

I had booked a table for dinner at Manly Wine (not far from Freshwater) at 8pm so we said goodbye to Eirik and Susannah – Hopefully we will see them again in the future!! We caught the ferry and made our way to the restaurant that Simon had recommended (thanks Simon) It was by the beach with a very chilled vibe.

Dinner was delish and I had asked the waiter to do something fancy if Ryan ordered dessert, which of course he said he didn’t want – typical. So after a lot of convincing and telling him that of course he wanted dessert, it came out with a sparkler in it! He then understood why I was being so insistent and loved it, which was nice! We then finished off with espresso martinis  and got an uber back to the van!

Arriving at the same time as Simon and Aline who had also been out for dinner, we went in and had a drink with them. Not to take the limelight off Ryans birthday but this was also the oh so famous Brexit day, so we chatted about that and laughed about the ridiculous Facebook posts that had been taking up our news feeds for most of the day.

Birthday celebrations continued the following day as we had tickets to the England vs Australia rugby match and we were super excited. We walked to the ferry via Freshwater beach and Manly beach around lunchtime and had burritos from Guzman y Gomez – aahhhmazing!! It was noon so it was time for a beer and as the sun was shining, it would have been rude not too – two coronas please!

It was a gorgeous day and we wandered around Darling Harbour and Barangaroo – which had come along quite a bit since we were here in February. We walked through the park admiring the view of the Sydney Harbour bridge and the opera house and by this point we were in need of a drink. It was happy hour and we stopped for a glass of vino – and perhaps we shouldn’t have, because by this point and after seeing a cruise in the harbour next to us, we were contemplating going on a cruise!

We were in need of a job, but the cruise idea was a lot more inviting and there was one leaving for New Caledonia and Vanuatu on Monday (today was Saturday) so we called up to see if we could get a deal and after hanging up, uming and ahing, calling back, hanging up – Ryan saying I should be more spontaneous – and with that, we went for it! Ah!! We were going on a cruise on Monday!!

After booking the cruise, it was time to go to the rugby and we stocked up on beer then went to find food. On our way down we were passed by the England coach and saw all of the players in concentration mode with their coach and they were right next to us. They came off the coach and walked in to the stadium so we ate some noodles and went to our seats. They were awesome, just above the half way line, but quite far up the way and a bit chilly from the wind. We wrapped up with our hats and jackets and wished we had scarves and gloves, we even tried to buy some England merchandise but they didn’t even sell any! Silly Australians!

The rugby was awesome and we were so glad we got tickets, the atmosphere around the crowd was brilliant and it was a close match until the end. We had banter with the Ozzie’s next to us and even they thought that England deserved to win! It was funny because every time Ryan went to get beer or go for a wee, England or Australia scored – so he missed out for a while and he would come back saying how unimpressed he was with the queues and went on about how different it was in England! Haha.

We were worried at half time when England were losing but we new we would come back! Australian fans started leaving before the end and we celebrated with all of the English fans and headed down to the front to see the prize giving and the players doing their lap of honour. Ryan loved that all the players were so close to us and someone had their jumper signed by ….

We had a manic packing session the following day and Aline kindly lent us her suitcase so we didn’t have to take our backpacks. It didn’t take long to pack as we don’t have very much stuff and we were ready to go! Aline kindly offered to cook a yummy dinner for us and they had a friend – Glen – coming over for dinner. It was delicious and we all had a good laugh about the impromptu cruise, amongst other things. It was all a bit too much for little Amelie though who fell asleep with her chicken in her hands – very cute!

Off on our cruise – watch this space!

E & R xx