Australia

Sorry to all our readers for the lack of communication, but we have been on the road and to the back of beyond - literally!!! Uluru (or Ayers Rock) is in the middle of nowhere!! We arrived from Sydney and booked into our hotel in the morning, had a wander around the complex and our first view of Ayers Rock in the distance. For the evening we had booked the Sounds of Silence Dinner where we were taken into the Outback and wined and dined (again!!) watching the sun set over the Rock. It was another spectacular evening and even though it was cloudy we managed to see and have a talk about the night sky as well.

We were back to our hotel by 11.30pm, but then up again at 4am (for those of you who know Jan well you will know what a struggle this was!!!) for the sunrise!!! We were again taken to a viewpoint and watched the sun rise with breakfast cooked over a camp fire. We were then taken up to the Rock and given a tour and history of the area. All extremely interesting and spiritual.

It was then back to the hotel for our transfer to the airport and flight to Perth, arriving early evening just in time for a swim and dinner before collapsing into bed to catch up on our beauty sleep.

Just a quick update to say we have made it the 1200km down to Sydney. Unfortunately internet access is not so readily available, so you will have to wait until we reach Perth for a full update!!! Suffice to say we have eaten and drunk well on our way, including a tour round five wineries in the Lower Hunter Valley 150km north of Sydney, including lunch at a brewery!!! Famous names nearby were Lindemans, Rosemount and Tulloch, but we went to the smaller boutique wineries which proved to be very interesting. We are now off to Uluru and Ayers Rock and again we are not sure of internet access, so watch this space!!!

PS: Just because we are not there, the cricket seems to be going well!!!!

Well, Brisbane is a lovely place ..... we have really enjoyed exploring it and have now been on the City Cat river ferry up and down the river . We have also met up with Bob's Great Aunt Mary and some of her family and had a lovely meal out with them. Mary's son David and daughter-in-law Jo had travelled over 80km for the meal - the Australians don't have the same concept of distance as we do. They think nothing of a couple of hours drive for dinner (or a hash)!!!!

The cricket??? I said don't mention it!!!! No, actually it was very entertaining if you ignore the result!! The Gabba is a very modern stadium with all the facilities you could wish for and apart from the issue we had with what sort of bag we could take into the stadium and the "Fun Police" throwing out anyone who looked like they might be enjoying themselves we had a good time!!

After the first day we were very hot and tired as our seats were right down the front in the blazing sunshine, but on the other two days we had seats at the back in the shade and a better view looking down onto the pitch. We received a lot of abuse (mostly friendly) from all the Aussies surrounding us but managed to give a bit as well!!!

On the day we didn't have tickets for the cricket we went down to the South Bank where they had a big screen by the lagoon (the Aussies certainly know how to do things in style) lazing by the beach and in the water watching the cricket!!!

We have now hired a car and set off tomorrow to drive down the coast to Sydney - a distance of over 1000km - a lot for us but nothing to the Aussies!!!!

After a couple of relaxing days in Cairns we headed to the railway station for the Sunlander Train to Brisbaine. Well, what luxury!!! We had our own sleeper compartment with all the complimentary goodies you could hope for and were greeted by David the Maitre 'De who explained where everything was in the cabin and on the train generally. The doors were locked beyond our carriage so only those travelling Queenslander Class had exclusive use of a lounge complete with entertainer, a games room and dining room for the almost continuous "fine dining" we experienced over the next day and a half. We had everything from oysters, fillet steak, lobster, to scones and cream and lots of lovely puddings. We were allowed off the train at certain points for a 5 minute walk along the platform and boy did we need it!!! The whole experience was brilliant and yet another wonderful thing for us to remember.

So, on to Brisbane. We spent our first day on a circular walk around the city and have been very impressed with it. The city is based around the river and there are walks and runs mapped out along the banks. They even have a beach and lagoon for swimming on the south bank!! We walked through the Botanical Gardens and admired the wonderful Georgian facades on many of the properties.

Then we had to hurry back to our hotel to prepare for Kylie!!! (Well Bob had to at least!!!) We travelled out of town on the train a short distance, along with several thousand Kylieites to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre - another superb facility. The show was brilliant and Kylie was on excellent form. I managed to stop Bob from buying up all the memorabilia - sorry Laurie, no calendar next year!!!! Shane Warne was in the audience sat a few rows from us - we managed to control ourselves and not try and kneecap him!!!

Today we went into the city centre again and had a "Hello Bob" moment!!!! We actually managed to bump into Bob's Great Aunt, someone we only met a few weeks ago in Oxford. She is in her 80's and yet still managed to recognise us as we walked along the street!!! Also in the city centre were Jeffrey Archer doing a book signing at Borders and Westlife giving a rendition of their new single in the Queen's Mall. Brisbane certainly seems to be the place to be at the moment - Billy Joel and Elton John are both performing at the Entertainment Centre later this week!!!

We eventually managed to find the right bus stop for Mount Coot Tha and admired the amazing panoramic views of the city and its surrounds. We then visited yet more Botanical Gardens adjacent to the viewing area - with a wide variety of plants and wildlife (we are becoming experts!!!).

We are off to Boundary Street in the West End this evening where the live groups play and where there are lots of good restaurants and bars. One more day sightseeing and then its off to the Gabba!!!

Another update from paradise!!! Well, after a quiet day on the beach we then went to the Port Douglas Habitat Sanctuary for an afternoon with the koalas and kangaroos to name two of the many animals and birds on parade. It was brilliant!! We got up close to most of these animals (except the crocodiles and pythons!!!) and even fed the kangaroos!!!

We were then picked up by one of the local hashers and taken to the starting point - the house of the hare. They certainly do things differently here - most of the hashes are from houses and end with a barbie and stubbies!!! Both Bob and I joined in - the walk was a sedate affair but the hash was a bit more energetic!! Still, neither of us got lost and we ended up back at the ranch for a good feed and an excellent social evening. Bob got a down down for being a visitor but I managed to escape!! It was a family affair with lots of children, one of whom managed to get hold of a set of car keys and deposit them in the bottom of Bob's bag!!! It wasn't until the next afternoon that we were accosted by a harassed hasher asking us to empty our bag!!! Sure enough the keys were nestled in the bottom, so relief all round!!

We then went on a guided tour up into the Daintree Rainforest. Our guide was very knowledgeable and took us to lots of interesting spots to view a variety of wildlife, flora and fauna. We even managed a sighting of the very rare cassowary bird (a bit like an emu) with its young - they can be very dangerous and disembowel a human with their claws, but luckily these seemed curious rather than vicious!!

Next we move on to Cairns, just a short coach journey away and then on the Sunlander Train to Brisbane this weekend and the cricket!!!! (????)