Chapter 1. Delhi to Pushkar

Chapter 2. Arambol to Fort Cochin and back again

Chapter 3. Singapore to Bangkok

Chapter 4. Koh Phangan to Pangadaran

Chapter 5. Yogyakarta to Exmouth

Chapter 6. Adelaide to Brisbane

Chapter 7. Noosa to Mount Maunganui

Chapter 8. Auckland to Home



One thing you can't avoid on a trip like this is making mistakes, you just have to hope that the ones you make are minor and don't have too harsh consequences. My latest mistake was flying to Adelaide with the idea of taking a bus south east to Princetown on the Great Ocean Road. Unfortunately it turns out that you can't take a bus, there is no bus and the only way you can get there from Adelaide is on a organised backpacker tour or by car. I looked on the hostel notice board but no one was driving that way this week. You can however get a bus from Melbourne (10 hours east of here) to Apollo Bay and Lorne along the GOR and that is apparently because those towns and Melbourne are all in the state of Victoria but Adelaide is in the state of South Australia. Don't ask me why! The fact is that I find myself for two days in a rather cold and windy Adelaide. Of course I can't hope to get any proper impression of this place in two short days but the City centre seems a pleasant mixture of 19th century classic Australian architecture next to modern office habitats.

There are a couple of good hours to be spent at the Art Museum of South Australia with some fine works by native and foreign artists, old and new. The City has wide roads pedestrianised shopping areas and lots of green spaces around the nucleus. Like Perth, Adelaide operates a free loop bus service around the City centre and its a great way to get out of the wind and get a feel for what's where. On my second day I check out the Museum of South Australia which has some excellent exhibitions on Aboriginal culture and heritage before heading to the State Library next door and the Botanic Park further along North Terrace. Lunch is in the food court of the atmospheric Central Market and together with a few additional circuits on the free City Loop bus I manage to get back to the hostel with tired feet around 6pm. My night bus out of here is at 8pm just down the road at the central bus station and not being a fan of night buses I wonder what state I will arrive in Melbourne tomorrow morning. Too late to back out now.

I hate night buses, it's official, but it was also the only way to get out of Adelaide and into Melbourne on the timetable I wanted.  The coach left central bus station at 8.30pm and 10 hours of torture began.  I have to admit I was better off than most in the leg room department, being opposite the toilet and therefore having a two foot high partition in front of me on which I could rest my feet.  Over the coming hours I tried every conceivable position to get 5 foot 11 of human body into 3 feet of seat with a minimum level of comfort but try as I might there was always some part of the body twisted, pressured or rubbing and sleep or rather semi conscious writhing came in 2 minute parcels.  The bus pulled into a dark and raining Spencer Street at 6am and I stumbled out of the station and into a 7/11 for a cheap cappuccino.  In another cruel twist of fate the guy behind the counter gave me bum advice which led me onto the wrong tram and heading out of the city.  How much more!  I got off, crossed the road and got the same tram going the other way back into the city, got off, wandered around, looked at my map, wandered around more and finally found the hostel 45 minutes later. 

Check in time is 2pm, it's now 7am and I've had no sleep, its cold and its raining!  I offer money, more money just for a bed and God bless her the receptionist lets me check in early. What a star.  I drop the bags in the room and tackle the free breakfast in the kitchen before climbing into my top bunk and trying to sleep.  Around 11am I get up feeling better, shower, shave and head back into the City.  This is very different from Adelaide, its big, impressive, it has the feel of a place where things are happening.  It's difficult to describe but some Cities just give you a buzz right away and Melbourne is one of them.  I immediately feel I want to spend time here.  The sun has shown its face and I take the free tourist shuttle bus on a loop around the city to get my orientation.  As I thought, this place has lots to offer and I can see the next five days being busy.  Not only that but there is a great social scene, lots going on at the hostel, live music, comedy, movies and a cheap in the house bar. By the end of the afternoon I already feel you would need to live here for several months to really get under the skin of Melbourne but sadly I don't have that opportunity.  Can Sydney really be nicer than this, I wonder to myself.  However, my enthusiasm is tempered at the corner of Flinders and William where bunches of flower and hand written cards are wrapped around a street sign.  Only two mornings ago at 8am Melbourne lawyer Brendan Keilar was shot dead here coming to the aid of a woman being assaulted by a former Hells Angel Christopher Wayne Hudson.  Keilar is hailed as a hero and rightly so.  It's a stark reminder to me that life is so fragile.  Don't wait until next year to chase your ambitions.

After a good night's sleep I have my energy back and take myself off to the Museum of Melbourne for some excellent natural history exhibitions. Next door the Royal Exhibition Building is on the world heritage list as one of few 19th century exhibition halls still intact. Half a mile away the 125 year old Queen Victoria Market is fun to stroll around with its seven hectares of covered stalls of fruit, vegetables, clothes and souvenirs. After a long overdue haircut I come back into the centre of the City and spend some time getting to know Elizabeth Street, Collins, Bourke and Flinders. Further treasures are found free at the National Gallery of Victoria with three floors of exquisite paintings, sculpture and photography. Melbourne is compact, dissected by the picturesque river Yarra with its south bank promenade lined with restaurants and cafes. Tram 16 over by the sports stadiums takes you twenty minutes out of the centre to the coast suburb of St Kilda a highly popular place for young travelers to live while working in Melbourne and renowned for its music scene, drinking culture and beach life in the summer months. On the way back I stop by the Shrine of Remembrance, an imposing building sitting on high ground overlooking the City and a permanent memorial to the Australians who died in conflicts around the world. Last night I read that Melbourne has lost its top ten place as one of the most desirable Cities to live and even worse for Melbournites, its rival Sydney has entered the top ten at number seven. The most desirable this year apparently is Munich. Nevertheless I feel Melbourne has a magnetic attraction, one of those places you could feel comfortable living, a feeling I have only had about Singapore before now.

Mistake number 169 this week came this morning in the laundry. I have accumulated enough clothes that need washing and arrive early in the hostel laundry to avoid the rush. There are three machines, all available. A breeze thinks me! The machines are commercial washers, tall and white with slots for your dollars. I pop open the see through door, throw in the clothes and powder, put in my four bucks, close the door and watch. Sure enough I can hear the water valve open and the machine filling up. I look through the door waiting for the clothes to start to turn but they don't.

I wait. I wait more but no turning. Meanwhile I can hear the filling water has stopped. Its then that it hits me that I've put the clothes and powder in the tumble drier part of the machine and in fact the washer is below the drier. How was I to know? It has no window, just a plain white front. I have now started a wash for four dollars in an empty machine which cannot be opened until it finishes the cycle. Meanwhile I have put washing powder all over the inside of the tumble drier. What a start to the day. I fish out the clothing and the powder as best I can and place it in the washer next door before placing another four dollars in the machine. Let's hope that's all the disasters for today.

Considering there is evidence of aboriginal culture everywhere I've been in Australia I have hardly seen any aboriginals in nearly a month of being here. There were certainly more aborigines when I traveled up the West coast around Shark Bay and Exmouth but in Perth and Melbourne I struggle to see any. Perhaps the indigenous peoples prefer the warmer climates of the North and when I travel up towards Cairnes that will become more apparent. I also detect an undercurrent of resentment and clear racism between the white settlers and the original people of this land. You can't really blame the aborigines.

Thirteen hours of Greyhound coach journey east brings us to the last in this trilogy of Australian cities, Sydney. This is considerably bigger than Melbourne and even to get around the centre takes either a lot of walking or buses. The weather is changeable throughout the day and can be pleasantly warm in the morning sunshine and cold in the grey afternoon rain. I elect to stay in the west suburb of Glebe on my brother's advice and it is as he described, a pleasant bohemian area of cafes, delis and bookshops. Glebe is like Notting Hill in London, it's a classy area with chic houses and a famous Saturday market in the local primary school, selling clothes, crafts, ethnic foods and jewelry. The hostel is part of the YHA chain and is nice by general comparison but I have been spoiled in Melbourne at Urban Central and anything is going to be somewhat of a disappointing after that. The rooms are genuinely small and I have to open the window during the day to try and get the smell of John and Tyson's dirty washing out of the room. It's cold in Glebe at night but the dining and TV rooms are warm enough.

The easiest way into the City on foot from Glebe takes me through Darling Harbour which is not only a major entertainment area of the City but in my view much more picturesque than Circle Quay where you will find the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Darling Harbour, like Melbourne waterfront has an impressive backdrop of the central business district and plays host the Maritime Museum where you can see a very accurate full size replica of the ship Endeavour, James Cook's vessel that discovered Australia. From Darling Harbour I take the bridge across the water and walk up Market Street that leads onto George Street the major artery that cuts its way right through the city north to south from Broadway up to Circle Quay where you will find two of the world's most photographed architectural icons, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.

I walk up George Street and eventually catch my first glimpses of the bridge through the leaves of the trees that line the pavement. This is another of those sights that can't be conveyed in photos. Although I must have seen the bridge and opera house a thousand times on film and photograph it is only now at the age of 44 that I finally get to see it in person and like the Taj Mahal I cannot really believe that I have made it here to the other side of the world, 12 thousand miles from home. The house is impressive albeit smaller than I had in mind and by comparison the bridge is huge.

To the left of the bridge is The Rocks, an area where the first settlers set up home and now a mix of art shops, cafes and a well known weekend market. To the right lies the sweeping greens of the Botanic Gardens, an oasis of calm on the edge of the bustle of the metropolis. Between the Opera House and the bridge I take one of Sydney's ferries from wharf number three to Manley a suburb with a popular beach 11 miles from the city. As the ferry pulls out of the harbour it offers great views of the icons and takes us on a half hour cruise out of the sheltered waters of the harbour and past the Sydney heads where the ocean swell meets the calm waters and rocks the boat back and forth. Although its winter and the Australians are complaining about the cold there is an abundance of sunshine from my British perspective. No wonder they mock the UK climate and its days and weeks of overcast grey. Here it may get chilly but the sun seems to shine at least part of every day.

Manley is like a small seaside town with a long sweep of clean sand, walkers, runners, surfers, dog walkers, skaters and strollers. I take a couple of hours to walk the length of the beach, stare out to sea and take onboard a very fresh Caesar salad from the local deli. That night I receive a nice surprise at the hostel. I am having to move room and because of demand for sharing they have put me in a single for two nights at no extra charge. It's only really when you close the door on your single room that you realize just what a treat it is. I don't have to endure another night of Jonny's snoring or worry about someone walking in on me when I'm just out of the shower and trying to get my underwear on. No, this is a little bit of private heaven. I can just sit on my chair and enjoy the silence. No one will come in at 2am and start talking or clattering about. What a pleasure! After a day or two more in Sydney I get organized with transport and accommodation and start my journey up the east coast of this continent. It's a long way from Sydney to Cairnes and I have no idea how long it will take. As usual I will stay longer where I like and shorter where I don't. It will take as long as it takes and when all is done I will fly from Cairnes back to Sydney. There are things I never got to do in Sydney so any more time there will not be wasted.

Half a day later I'm in Port Macquarie. This is a haven for retired pensioners that like a slow pace of life with hundreds of ocean facing apartments, body boarding, bikes, fish and chips. It's a popular get away for Sydney folk who come here on a day trip for the beaches, walking and fresh air. It's a pleasant and placid little town and a comfortable two night stop over before I hit Byron Bay tomorrow night. I have been a little surprised at the amount of junk food in Australia. I thought it would be all fresh salads and barbequed meats and seafood in the open air but in fact from the west coast to the east the place is jacked with fast food joints, deep fried rubbish, chips and pies of every description. I actively try and eat healthily which is proving difficult so I've taken to cooking more for myself in the hostels. I conclude that Australia is like every other developed country with a lot of people simply wanting a quick hit of food on the run and no time to create something simple, tasty and good for you. That's the way of the world today but something has got to change.

I concluded last night that I am in fact a 'beauty junkie'. Buildings, paintings, food, cars, sunsets, people, landscapes in fact anything that's beautiful I'm into it and the more you get the more you want. It's completely addictive. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder but I love to behold and Byron Bay affords me my daily hit. Byron is a sunny seaside town but very different to Port Macquarie. There is a holiday feel here even in the winter and like many Australian towns all the buildings are spread out and single storey which gives a sense of light and freedom. Although its winter the sun is out again and in the afternoon it's warm enough to lie on the beach between 12 and 4 but as the sun goes down the temperature drops like a stone and the evenings are definitely fleece weather. The bay seems to go on farther than the eye can see and as you might expect the streets of the town are full of cafes, tourist shops and travel agents. There's a nice vibe here and you can see what a party haven this must be in the summer. Byron is Australia's most easterly point and you can walk up the hills at the east end of the beach to the lighthouse with its spectacular views of uncrowded surf beaches left and right. It is here in Byron that you realize that Australia must have more beach than anywhere else in the world and with the relatively small population it must be easy to find one all to yourself.

After a couple of days in Byron it's back on the road and over the border from New South Wales into Queensland and Australia's fastest growing city, Brisbane. Like Melbourne it sits on a broad river with a back drop of the CBD or central business district and on one side the river bank is skirted by freeways which make it look like a game of toy racing cars. On the south bank of the river are the culture points of the Queensland state library, city museum and art gallery as well as picturesque boardwalks, coffee shops and restaurants. Brisbane is another clean, well set out Australian city with a safe feel and reminds me of Perth with its cool winds that sweep down the river valley. Brisbane also boasts over three hundred days of sunshine a year so it's no wonder this is called the sunshine coast and I can't help thinking of that weekend in late October in Britain when the clocks change you spend the next 5 months getting up in the dark and leave work in darkness.

The hostel here is one of the larger ones I've stayed in, some 250 beds and at around 6pm the kitchen is like an open prison where all the inmates are required to cook dinner for themselves. It's dodgem cars with hot saucepans of pasta, stir fry or sausages and everyone is constantly jockeying for position to take over the first available gas ring, washing up sink or microwave. By the end of a cooking session the place looks like its been looted and the poor cleaners arrive at 11pm to start putting the place back together ready for breakfast. At night the 24/7 climate control in the bedroom blows cold air on everyone and by the dead of night the four of us are cold and not appreciating the lack of bedding provided. It's just another test of your ability to constantly adapt to change, deal with adversity and make best use of the resources at your disposal, all skill sets that will be put to good use in my next employment. Roll with the punches as tomorrow is another day.

Thirty minutes drive out of Brisbane is the Sirromet Winery with its vines laid out in long straight rows amid the rolling green hills. The vines are of course winter bare now but the cellar building is brimming with a dozen different whites and reds from a light unwooded Chardonnay to a rich red Cabernet. I opt for the complimentary four tastings and find my preference is for a complicated more acidic white and a smooth deep fruited red. I'd like to understand and know more about wine and I think that is one subject I will look at when I get home. Meanwhile I invest in a half bottle of Cabernet and a cheeseboard and position myself on an outside table in the sun to devour the entire display. Brie, edam, cheddar, water biscuits and the roll of thick red wine over the tongue watching the world go by. I now have eleven days to make the rest of the coast up to Cairnes and big ticket items on the plan include a a tandem skydive at Mission Beach, sailing at the Whitsunday Islands and snorkeling the Barrier Reef. Brisbane is the last of the new Australian cities and one of my favourites. I will miss the laid back sunlit lifestyle of these Queenslanders but let's see what the sunshine coast northbound has to offer.



 Adelaide. The free bus service follows two routes. Look for service 99C and 99B on King William Street.

 Adelaide. I stayed at Annies Place on Franklin Street. Conclusion good.

 Adelaide. The state library, art museum, museum of south australia and botanic park are all on North Terrace. Ask your hostel reception for a free map of the City.

 Melbourne. The City also operates free tourist shuttle buses around the city. Look out for the turquoise stops. You can get on at the Law Courts in William Street.

 Melbourne. I stayed at Urban Central. Conclusion excellent.

 Sydney. No free tourist bus but you can buy a week pass for all buses and ferries for around 50 dollars which is great value if you want to get around the outlying areas of Sydney and see what's there.

 Sydney. Bus 431 goes from Glebe Point Road right to Circle Quay where the Opera House and bridge are. Pay around 2 dallars 90.

 Sydney. There are plenty of food courts around Pitt Street and George Street offering good value Asian food.

 Sydney. There are numerous food courts in the city centre serving cheap Asian foods for under 10 dollars. Try Pitt Street.

 Sydney. I stayed at Glebe Point YHA. Conclusion very good.

 Sydney. I bought a east coast pass with Greyhound coaches. It costs 312 dollars and you have to complete the journey inside 45 days.

One direction only so no backtracking.

 Port Macquarie. I stayed at PM Backpackers. Conclusion good.

 Byron. I stayed at the YHA. Conclusion very good.

 Byron. Great vibe and live music at the Railway Bar.

 Brisbane. Bris is another Australian city that has a free loop shuttle bus round the city centre. A great free way to get acquainted with the City. Pick it up at the corner of George Street and Queen Street Mall.

 Brisbane. You can buy an unlimited day pass for the City cat ferry and city buses for around 5 dollars.

 Brisbane. I stayed at the Brisbane City Backpackers. Conclusion good.