|
|
|
Expand • Collapse |
AUSTRALIAN TRIP 2000(Click on any of the thumbnails to see a larger image in a new window - use the 'Close window' button at the bottom to get back to this page) INTRODUCTIONThis was our third trip to Australia. First time round we spent a week each on the Barrier Reef, in the Red Centre, going up the Western Australia coast and in Sydney (for Christmas). Second time we went to the top end and then back to Cairns and the Barrier Reef to learn how to SCUBA dive. This last trip we spent just over a week in Sydney then flew to Melbourne for the first Formula One race of the season (if you're interested see Australian GP for some pictures). From Melbourne we spent about ten days in a campervan driving up the coast to Adelaide. SYDNEY
Not many pictures of Sydney as we had been there before. We stayed in the same apartment block as last time too and had much the same view as in 1997:
We were there in time for the largest gay and lesbian festival in the world but stayed in and watched it on the telly! The day after this picture appeared in the local paper, we bumped into Martin Clunes and Neil Morrissey filming in a park around the corner. We didn't talk to them - they were busy drinking champagne - but the producer told us they were on the last leg of what had been a 13 week tour of Australia for a forthcoming BBC series on Ozzie men. Apparently, drinking before, during and after a shoot was the norm and he said he planned to go into rehab when filming was over! MELBOURNEDidn't see much of Melbourne as we were there for the Formula One race and then had to get out of the city and onto the road to Adelaide. THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD
Built after the first world war as a tribute to the Australian soldiers who died, the Great Ocean Road is a massive and spectacular human and engineering achievement. The road starts outside Melbourne and hugs the stunning coastline for nearly 200 miles.
One of Steve's (in)famous panoramics
The most famous feature on the coast is the Twelve Apostles: limestone pillars that used to be part of the coastline. Apparently they used to be known as the Sow and Piglets but someone (probably the Tourist Board) decided to rename them.
Other features include limestone arches and grottos.
A short stop for lunch at a deserted bay (in Peterborough! We'd already been past Torquay and through Anglesea). Mo grabs the opportunity to catch some rays. Another panoramic - this time demonstrating massive parallax error - those posts should be in a straight line.
Lunch stop a couple of days later - this time with the rather more original name of Port Fairy - although it used to be called Belfast! SOUTH AUSTRALIAThe Great Ocean Road ends before you get to Port Fairy and continuing to drive East takes you into South Australia.
Pelican on the lake behind our camp site in Robe.
And the pelican sails into the setting sun - aah. Just outside Adelaide - the pier at Brighton! ADELAIDEWe saw a lot of the native wildlife of Australia during our travels - all dead on the road! So we wanted to go and see some living examples.
The imposing site meeting visitors to Adelaide Zoo: Barbary Sheep. So still and so rock-coloured we thought it was all a stone tableau at first.
And kangaroos, of course, ...
... Koalas, ... (asleep and awake - spot the difference?
And a Hairy-Nosed Wombat called Digger. This is who we really came to see as the Hairy-Nosed Wombat so impressed Billy Connolly on his "World Tour" of Australia. And it was the film of his Australian tour that first made us want to come here. According to Billy, Digger shares his area with another Wombat called Notso - supposedly because he is "not so" hairy as Digger. Unfortunately, there was no sign of him.
Although not Australian, Mo particularly enjoyed the lions, tiger and panthers. 
How could we NOT stay at this hotel? Of course, Cafe Mo was closed while we there - Sod's Law. SINGAPORE STOPOVER
And finally, the only picture we took on our whistlestop tour of Singapore on the way back - an impressive Hindu temple entrance. Not bad for a snap through the window of a moving tour bus.
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
