Australia - The East Coast

Our plan was to travel down the east coast of Australia from Cairns to Sydney for just over a month. After much faffing about looking for campervan rentals we settled on hiring a car and camping our way down the coast.

After arriving in Cairns the first thing we did was book ourselves a trip to the Great Barrier reef. Ashley went diving, Ellie went snorkelling. We went to two sites on the outer reef and WOW! The abundance of marine life and the beauty of the corals was just spectacular. This is the only place we have been that matches the reefs in the Maldives. We saw huge green turtles, reef sharks, colourful little fish and giant humphead wrasse and barracuda.

Ashley had developed a liking for hunting for Nudibranch, strange little gastropod molluscs that come in an array of colours and designs. The Coral had also recently spawned so the water was full of particles which you can see in a lot of the photos, both interesting and slightly irritating at the same time.

Before moving on we bought ourselves a full camping set including tent, airbed, gas stove, chairs and cooking equipment for around $220. Australia has an abundance of free campsites all over the country, mainly because the distances between cities are so vast that they encourage people to get some rest on their way. Most have toilets, public barbecues and some have showers. So we set off, hopping between free campsites staying sometimes for just a night and other times for several days and just having a great time relaxing in the countyside. We saw some amazing scenery and got to swim in loads of freshwater creeks and lakes.

In Bundaberg we watched leatherback turtles coming onto the beach to lay their eggs. A totally unforgettable experience.

We camped for a night in a kangaroo sanctuary and woke up to kangaroos just outside our tent. They were all orphans that had been rescued after their Mums were hit by cars. They were very friendly and loved a tickle behind the ears!

We visited a Koala sanctuary near Brisbane and got the chance to cuddle one! They are such adorable creatures and Ellie wanted to smuggle one home with her.

We bought a fishing rod and fished at every opportunity, both in the sea and in lakes. After very little success (all explained by weather, tides or bait... of course) Ashley eventually caught some fish in a lake near the Gold Coast. Turns out that carp are seen as a nuisance in Australia and if you catch one you are not allowed to put it back. If you are caught you face a fine of up to $30,000.

Ashley had a surfing lesson at a beach called 1770 and decided that he really likes it. Even if he did spend most of his time fighting the relentless waves to just get out into the water. Needless to say, after 4 hours solid of this he was completely shattered when he finally came in.

We arrived in Sydney just in time for New Year and found ourselves and amazing spot to view the fireworks from called Duff Reserve on Point Piper. Turned out that this was on Millionaire's Row, which we only found out after we had already spent a night sleeping in the car on the same street (the hostel we booked was pretty gross so we thought two nights in the car was a better option!). We had already sold the tent and camping equipment as we came into Sydney for $150. Couldn't believe that someone was willing to pay that for second hand stuff when it would have only cost them and extra $70 to buy it brand new! Not complaining though.

The fireworks were absolutely spectacular, the best that we have ever seen, and a great way to round off our Aussie adventure.