No Worries in Australia

30/03/2007 07:59

G'day everyone !

Well, it's been now two weeks since we arrived in the down under world..Australia obviously ! We landed at Sydney airport on the 15th at 6am after a few hours of sleep. Let's jump on the aiport coach to the harbour, near Circular Quay, to enjoy the Opera and the Bridge. It took us some time as Sydney is quite crowdy in the morning during peak working hours. Early morning sceneries just for us !

Later on, we boarded the train to Chatswood where we met John, a former australian colleage of Sebastien.

Four great days with the Benett familly, Ingrid, John and the two children, Amber (1 yr 1/2) and Jack (2 yrs 1/2). We were warmly welcomed and it was a pleasure to meet them all. Thanks again ! Lovely Amber playing in the sand pit, excited Jack with the koala at the Reptile Park. Great diners; Ingrid is a cook and we left with a handful set of recipes! Lively discussions about Australia, its history, and Asia. John's ancestor was a soldier in the first fleet on its way to Australia in 1770, and his father still runs a summer fruits farm near Sydney.

These days in Sydney were fun : biking in the national park, bush walk, visit of the Reptile Park with great variety of unknown species to us (koala, aligator, snake, spider and of course, Tasmanian devil, wombat, emeu, wallabe), swim at Bondi beach, Art Galery and Botanic garden with those dreadful bats...

...and great excitement on monday evening with two huge ships, the Queen Mary II and Queen Elysabeth II. For that special occasion, spectacular fireworks above the Opera ! It was a nice moment to see Jean-Michel, that has just settle down in Sydney.

John and Ingrid recommanded us a loop around Sydney. We were already keen to try in New Zealand but we had the chance to practice sooner: we rented a fully equiped van for 6 days and the road trip began. Last thursday morning, we headed to the 'Wickedcampers' base to start off the journey. It took us some time to get used to the left hand side drive especially inside the city but we soon enjoyed the ride.

First destination, Nelson Bay, two hours north of Sydney. We ended at night under the storm somewhere near the ocean. We had no idea where exactly we were, but that's part of the adventure. And early the next morning, we woke up with a spectacular view of the endless white beach.. nice walk along with horses and cheerfull dolphins. Nice swim also !

Then we headed west in the Hunter Valley, well known for its vineyards. Winecourse at 9 am: wine tasting so early is quite a challenge, even with good cepages (our favorite is a blend wine of Cabernet and Merlot), followed by a small cheese factory visit (will you believe that our preference went on the Chedar cheese !). On our night spot, a kangaroo showed up in the bush, right next to us, curious and tall, and it finally jumped away on its tail. Brilliant !

Third day in Mudgee, a small windy town. We definitely should have bought a good map; we drove two hours on empty muddy roads lost in the countryside. A farmer adviced us to carry on and "take it easy". So did we ! We finished the day, eating in the van our chiken and salad, and went for a last walk in the dark night: we ran back home while tens of shiny eyes were spying on us. Who knows what they were ? Wombats ? We went for a swim on sunday morning to get a shower and share the pool with the triathletes of the local club (all age welcome !).

Fourth day in the Blue Mountains, sharing the Three-sisters view with Japanese and Chinese tours. Walk in the rain forest on a rainy day ! So many strange bird noises, nothing comparable with Europe. We experimented the old and steep miner train to climb up from the valley. We parked the van at 30km of Sydney and destiny was here: we had never tried an open-air car cinema and here it is, starring Music & Lyrics. We lined up in the field, tuning our radio to 89.1 and just stared at the huge screen in front of us.

Australia...we already miss the people. There is something special here. That might come from the recent discovery of the continent by European (16th ceintury) and its colonisation by English in the late 18th (although aboriginal people are said to live here for 40000 years), the sea and the beach culture all around, the feeling to be far away from the world, the space, the weather, the great white shark...whatever ! Australian people are openminded and talkative, with barely no prejuge. Such a relief...such a nice time.