Carla & Tyler Downunder
Movin' On Up
Well, we had a merry old time on the South Island in our little rented campervan, but now it's time to advance north.
Highlights of the south included:
- wineries & brewery tours & tasty liqueurs
- hot springs
- hiking in the mountains
- jade carving
- heli-hike on a glacier
- Puzzling World
- Milford Sound
- penguins & seals & other good stuff, like really old "lizards", ducks, and so many shhep as to be frightening (except for the little lambs! they're so CUTE!)
- white water rafting
- swimming with dolphins
- more free museums than you could shake a culturally significant stick at
We Like It Here
New Zealand is indeed fun, and pretty, pretty, pretty! We like it here.
So Long, Suckers!
As of 16 October, we'll be in New Zealand, probably having too much fun to update the website. But you never know.
Also, buying a 1976 aquamarine Holden Kingswood station wagon is a lot easier than selling a 1976 aquamarine Holden Kingswood station wagon.
Oh Happy Day!
Believe it or not, we've updated again. It's not much, but you can read it here.
We Feel Really Bad About This...
We're months and months behind, and it looks like things are going to stay that way until we get back to Sydney and its glorious unlimited internet rates. I hate sites that don't update. HATE them! See what Australia has done to me!
The drive across the outback from Darwin to Townsville was very long and rather dull. About a third of the trip was backtracking over ground we covered on our tour. We probably should have flown to Cairns and bought a car there. We found out too late they're cheaper there than in Darwin. Damn.
We spent most of July picking squash & eggplant in Ayr, Queensland. Lots of bending over. It hurt. But we met a lot of nice people (and some *ahem* "jerks") and got a lot of free travel advice.
Townsville hates us. Bad and expensive things happen to our car while we're there. Not a fun place. We spent a few days on nearby Magnetic Island. Much better.
Now we're in Cairns, gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, among other things. I get very, very sick on boats. Now I'm looking forward to the rainforest. Green & wet, and hopefully less vomiting.
Also, I'm not dead. Hi.
Updated Update:
We bought a car. A great big teal blue beast of a thing. A '76 Holden Kingswood. Now we're going to pick fruit in Queensland. The adventure begins!
Update:
Well, we made it from Melbourne all the way up to Darwin. Long trip, but we did manage to see a lot. Unfortunately for us, that means the next update is going to be HUGE. We're going to try to do it in manageable little chunks, but we're not sure when we'll get a chance to get at it (travel plans are a bit up in the air at the moment). For the time being you can rest easy in the knowledge that we're not dead.
If you want to know what we did on the tour, the basic itinerary is here.