Not the usual end of a holiday

I didn't do that 'end of travels' blog did I, with 5 days to go in New Zealand? Although if you are reading Mike's Travel over Tribulations blogs you would be forgiven for thinking we are still there, as he is about a week behind the times although almost finished. Yes we had a 3 hour flight from Auckland to Brisbane and then a 14 hour flight from Brisbane to Dubai ending with an upgraded 4 hour Business class flight (that Devitt luck again and OMG was it good) from Dubai to Larnaca, but I was not inspired to write. Watched 4 great films though! 

We have been back in Paralimni, Cyprus now for 6 days and re-negotiating being in one location for more than a day. Mike is setting the pace with his writing and I am following behind with the beginnings of an attempt to teach myself some basic Russian, improving my Excel knowledge, Kindle reading (happy times, it went out of the window when in the Southern Hemisphere) and as ever, generally organising our lives as I am prone to do. Oh yes, and Sam's life but with less success... Nothing new there then!

Mike is re-developing his website, has purchased a domain name and host and taking the blogs forward in a new dimension and this has led to him requesting my help as he also needs to continue with his novel... Busy boy. Reluctantly (technology does my head in much of the time) I have agreed to learn and become pro-active with his website... Help! First step is to think about how we introduce the website and ourselves which has made me delve into the hidden depths of my brain to think about the Why, the What if and the Wow of this all. So what follows are some reflective thoughts that I have put together and which I hope to copy and paste (see how good I am on computers tee hee) into Mike's website.

Did we embark on this '9 months out' because we simply wanted to try living life to a different tune and follow a new path? Yup I think it was! It's like a mini retirement. But something has changed since we left our lovely UK, we have seen and experienced so much and we want more please sir. So alongside Russian and Mr Excel, I intend to research ways of taking many mini retirements interspersed with earning cash, that would be doing some paid work then... Bugger!

My Mum told me over a very long facetime conversation the other day (thanks as always Mum for your exceptional PA skills) that she thinks we are going to become beach bums! Hmmm, I have pondered this observation of my mothers and nope, I really don't think so, because we both need worth and purpose in our lives, we are just in the process of discovering new ways of achieving this, which is awesome. In the UK, the jobs, mortgage, car and routine of life provided this and we have spent the last 25 years in the security of that environment. It is secure for sure, but it is also the boulder that holds you steadfast to a way of life that had begun to make us less than happy. So we used that very security, the house and some of it's equity to enable us to do this. We all have our thoughts on equity, comfort in retirement, leaving money behind for the kids (sorry Sam, don't think there will be a lot left) and what we should be aiming for but I will leave that with you to know.

Do you know what are the 2 things that always crop up in our regular life conversations... Sam and Taz and the ongoing emotional and financial responsibility to them both. It is a constant balancing task from afar which nags at my heart daily. Will our choices be life enriching for Sam as well, or damaging, a dagger to throw at us in later life when things don't go to plan? History of course could give me a clue if I choose to pay attention to that or I could trust in an ever changing young man who will make his own choices as he matures and grows wiser (fingers crossed).

Renting your house out, temporarily moving abroad and travelling is actually not as dramatic as it first feels you know. The jacking in of jobs, the gathering of your possessions into one garage and the goodbye party were all tough in their own way but it turns out, that you find a routine wherever you are, even in a Jucy campervan. Emails and FaceTime become paramount, but settling into a new culture if only for a few days is comforting and totally rewarding and a sense of belonging ensues which we unwittingly hang onto. 

I have more time to work on the body beautiful (oh yes the naked sunbathing on our rooftop is now a daily 'for one hour only' occurrence), think about what we eat and how we shop. I am thinking our eating habits may not change all that much because we love the comfort food right, but I may just shove in something new or trial a new style of cooking... next on the agenda is making home-made lemonade with these wonderful fresh lemons free from Uncle Chris. 

If you know Mike and I well, you will know that we were often guilty of not paying enough attention to our family and not taking the time to understand their importance in our lives. Nothing like a bit of absence to sort that one out and that's a jolly good thing. They give us grounding and a periodical reminder of how lucky we are... There's those lucky Devitt's again? But, I hope we manage to inspire a little as we have been inspired a lot.

Heck yes this is it! Pause, look hard and if you are crazy like me, say out loud to yourself hmmm this is beautiful and I am doing my very best to live in this moment, I promise. The dreaded finances rears its ugly head, doomsday with the inevitable spreadsheet as we top up the cost of our Dubai, Aus and NZ travels and discover what's left to live on until September. I am not going to lie to you, towards the end of NZ we seriously (with truly heavy hearts) considered the possibility that we would have to call it quits sooner than intended and head back to the UK. The bloody mad thing is that it is so much more expensive for us to live in the UK than here but we can work to cover the bills in the UK. Sound familiar? Money controls our lives, we cannot escape it and won't pretend otherwise, but this minimalist/budget lifestyle we are leading sure as hell reduces the cost dramatically.  By the way, we had a massive Hi Five when the finances spreadsheet said that we can stay until September. 

Saying goodbye to so many of the direct debits when we left the UK, cancelled one by one was good for the soul if not a little scary. Can we live anywhere? Now I think that I would almost always say yes because we have learned how to do it in a few different ways. To let go of stuff, the material things, is like losing a bit of weight at weight watchers.... Awesome when you jump on the scales. BTW, keep going Vicky, super slimsea girl woo hoo. Then we go clothes shopping on our last day in NZ because the camping hasn't been kind to the clothes, and I love it... Conflict aaaagggghhhh help!

So does it take a massive catalyst in your life to make this kind of change if only temporary? I honestly cannot answer that, but what I do know is that this has and continues to be our silver lining of our last ten years. It doesn't have to be that dramatic though, you can just wake up, do your research and pull together the combined strength of your relationship with your partner and go for it... simples! 

It's mega cool to live as many parts of our lives as possible by some of our own chosen rules even though others still govern us. Phew, we had Sam quite young and we have been able to fly the nest as well, not just him. We didn't have the gumption at 18 to even think about travelling let alone act upon it. But we are not over the hill yet, oh no, it turns out we are a long way from it so why not now? Question the conventional for a while, have the riotous conversation with your other half and take more than one slice of the pie. We are not living the dream, we have just changed one up for another because we had a good life, it just wasn't fulfilling our desires. I am not writing this blog to convince others to travel (if convincing is needed then it is not for you) as it is not the elixir for everyone, maybe it's the cottage in the country and making life a lot quieter and calmer? But to share our experiences, our travels and the tribulations and how we continue to overcome some and give in to others may get you pondering. Of course we have questioned this oodles of times, but we have each other to talk it around and around and around and come up with a plan or a resolution. Sometimes we conclude nothing at the end of a two hour conversation and other times the route lays clearly before us. We are spreading that 'looked forward to' retirement over a longer period, starting earlier, with work in between. We are testing and dipping our toes in all the time. 

Am I going to get bored or stale? People love to ask us what we are going to do with our time with a cynical look on their faces and waiting to pounce if our answer is not solid enough. So teaching English to Russian children and writing a novel and travel blogging pulls them up for a little while because that seems like work, phew we fit in again!! Is it going to be a once in a lifetime gap year or the first of many adventures, bloody aiming for the latter. Out of our comfort zone... Absolutely! Shoot, it takes me an hour to do an half hour shop in a new destination when it would have been a 20 minute whip round at Waitrose because I know it so well... Oops there it is, ease, comfort, lazy? I may be about to teach but I am the student at the moment attempting to move forward everyday with something new even if it is just hello in Russian. I just cannot let onto the little ones that I am probably more unsure than them wink wink. 

I still belong to the MGGS Book Club (hi fellow readers) and I have begun the chosen book for this term, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I mention this because at only 28 percent in the theme of comparison has cropped up regularly. This topic came up quite a bit with Mike and I as we covered thousands of kilometres in the Jucy Cabana. Comparison is really quite toxic you know and reading the novel you can see the damage of comparison with others, your life always falls short and that is far too negative for me, it's a must avoid pastime. It's interesting how I found out that our friends think we don't want to read about their home life because it is boring in comparison to what we are doing, Crapola Karen, Nicky, Juls, Kimmie, Vicky and other lovely girlies, it's not true, we love it! When travelling we are not misplaced, not transient, because we still control what we want to do, where we sleep, what we buy, eat, see and do, but you just realise you need to hear about home and friends, it makes you smile from ear to ear. 

Cast out for other things in life. No, you can't just follow your heart, that's dodgy me thinks, there must be good ol' Michelle forethought, organisation, a plan, a theme and a route. But that schedule needs to be able to be flipped over and around as well, anywhere - in the beginning, middle or end without worrying. It's not an ego trip, a find myself trip, no that's blithe and a sense of feeling the need to put choices into a box, it's just "why the bloody hell not?" and I cannot come up with one really good enough answer not to.

New Zealand

N.B Random photos throughout in no particular order... there are thousands I could have chosen from!

Jucy campervan in Paihia, the Bay of Islands - north of the North Island

North Island - Rotorua in the background taken from the luge

With 6 days to go of our 8 weeks travels methinks it is time for a blog. I have no chance of remembering it all (thank goodness for Mike's daily blogs), so I will attempt a flavour without boring you to sleep. We started in the North Island, moved onto the South Island where we are now while I write this blog and we will finish back up in the North to catch our plane.

NZ is of course, goes without saying, beautiful and beyond! Add to that the experience of campervaning for the first time in our lives, a new campsite every night and ooooh I don't know (but Mike will confirm exactly in his final NZ blog) approximately 5 or 6,000 km of driving... Phew!

Pitstop on the road south of the North Island

 Driving was never better - view from the Jucy in the South Island, there were so many to choose from

I would recommend a Jucy Campervan at the drop of a hat if you are ever travelling in Aus, NZ, USA and yes..... The UK! The vans are purple and lime green which draws a flash of lights and a wave every time you drive past a fellow Jucy... Woo hoo. But as Mike often reminds me, we must show the light and shade in our blogs, so folks, I am looking forward to a proper bed again soon. 

Russel Island - North Island... end of a long walk!

Back to the light - you cannot beat the night stars in NZ to fall asleep to.... WOW. Talking of stars, on Friday we are off to Lake Tekapo to Mt John's observatory to see the southern night sky late at night. It is a world heritage site because of the best night skies in the world for viewing the stars and they take light pollution very seriously. We have picked Friday because it is a new moon here which means it won't be out (it's too bright and would ruin the star gazing) and it is due to be a cloud free night... Fingers crossed. I have been reliably informed that the UK will be seeing an eclipse on the same day. We hope to go whale watching in Kaikoura on Sunday which is on the west coast, catch up with 2 of Mike's friends who emigrated out here 4 years ago and we have still to track up Mt Cook, see Christchurch and experience Auckland.

The most northern point we traveled to in the North Island - Doubtless Bay Coopers Beach

Driving has been a dream here in NZ with roads that stretch and twist forever, a serious lack of cars and definitely no traffic. We have seen and walked up mountains, snow covered peaks, tracks around lakes and stunning coastline. We thought we had done beach in Aus but no, it's here in its abundant and natural state and a blaze of beauty. 

View of Manganui Beach after a walk up Mount Manganui - Tauranga North Island

Taken with a now broken selfie stick!

South Island - Southern Alps on a car drive

Talking of Aus, there is no dangerous wildlife here unless you take into account the sandfly, which we definitely take into account. I won't tell you what Mike and I have renamed them (x rated) but only today we found out that only the female of the species bite you because they need our protein for their eggs. I say get rid of protein and make them extinct, I don't care if they have any useful purpose on this earth aaaagggghhhh. Rant over!

View from our spot on the Rotorua Lake campsite in the North Island

 Early morning at Cable Bay campsite South Island

We have stayed in predominantly really good campsites which was down to our trusted Camping NZ app on the iPad, it has served us very well. Yes, a couple of dodgy ones, which is always when you are near a city. The one we are at tonight in a place called Arrow Town, just outside Queenstown, is lovely with very clean hot showers, great kitchen and barby and a beautifully equipped and located site. Not that we are using barbies at the mo, which brings me onto the climate. So 7 weeks in shorts and t-shirts until 2 days ago then the jeans and warm clothing that has been rolled up at the bottom of our case, came out. It went from 22 degrees to below 10.... What is this, the UK???? Yes, yes I know, it's autumn here in NZ now and their climate is very similar to ours which is why (despite the beauty and a population of only 5 million in a country bigger than ours) I would not choose to live here. Sun is the deal breaker for me. Back to the light side again, it's due to go back up to 20 degrees tomorrow but I don't know if that will last until the end of our stay? Then of course there is the Cyclones but they haven't got any where near us.

These natural pools in Nghawa were amazing but smelly mud (really good for the skin) - North Island

We had the big moment today, the jewel in the crown, the much anticipated Milford Sound, which is not actually a Sound but a Fiord. They spell it with an 'I' here. Don't ask me the difference between a Sound and a Fiord I do not know, but I do know that it was spectacular. The drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound was impressive enough but then we boarded the Jucy Cruze (yes the same company attracting discounts for Jucy campervan users) and went to another level of stunning. Mountains 2,000 metres high that have risen directly out of the ocean that accompany you on either side of you on your cruze. Waterfalls, glaciers and jade green clear waters which the top 3 metres are fresh because of the rainfall and glacier melt and then ocean below. The ocean is the Tasman Sea named after Abel Tasman (Dutch) who founded the area. For once it was not our very own Captain Cook! 2 hours of bliss sitting in the sun on the top deck letting it all wash over me while David Bailey (AKA Mick Dundee Devitt) took enough photos to sink the bloody boat. It was windy at times but the perfect weather to see it. We have decided we are no longer the Griswalds on our tours, we are the lucky Devitts. Nothing has been ruined by weather or cancelled or changed out of our control. We keep shaking our heads at out luck, smiling from ear to ear and moving onto the next adventure.

Just like in Aus, we have met bundles of lovely people. Just tonight we got chatting to Alice, a young lady who owns her own wood fired pizza joint, extensively travelled and has vinyl albums playing in the cafe. She got us to choose an album (all the oldies on offer) and we chose Dark Side of the Moon while we consumed our very large pizza. She was an inspiring young lady, it was our pleasure to meet her and we hope we have perhaps inspired (or if that is too grand) at least given food for thought to some of the people we have met.

Abel Tasman national Park- a walk around the coastline

2 pictures above are Abel Tasman National Park - North of the North Island

I have had a cold the last three days but being the YES people that we are now ( well we try hard) I have kept going. Our plan has always been to keep moving forward, say yes when it would be so easy to say no and squeeze every last drop out of this experience. Talking of drops, we had fun in a place called The Winery 2 days ago in Queenstown. You get a card which slowly totals up what you are spending as you mooch around trying all of the lovely NZ wines. Sample size, half glass and full glass are on offer as well as cheese boards, comfy armchairs with rugs and a great ambiance. It was great and an absolute bargain at 60 dollars (£30) for the 2 of us and we tried loads and had a super cheese board. We thought of our lovely lady Vicky as we circled around, she would have loved it! 

 Mike at The Winery :)

Queenstown and the park - cloudy day but still so beautiful

We have been on luges in Rotorua, in natural hot thermal springs, boats to islands, national parks and walks round gardens. 

About to luge down the mountain in Rotorua - North Island... of course I was faster than Mike!!

More Manganui Beach - North Island

We have promised ourselves that in 10 years time we will not be naming all of the foliage and fauna on display even though we read every plaque, board and information leaflet going. Mike is the map king (he loves an old fashioned paper map) and I leave that to him, Geography never was my strong point even though I somehow managed an A level in the subject... How did that happen? We have shared the driving in NZ much more (I did most of it in Aus) and as a consequence, when I am the co-pilot, I fail miserably because I fall asleep....useless I know.

Communicating with family and friends has been much harder in NZ with the 13 hour difference and variable access to good wifi. Much of the time there is no signal when you are on the road in the middle of sheep, farmland, mountains and trees. However, we did manage to Facetime Mike's Mum and Dad on his Dad's birthday which was lovely and also had a quick chat with number one son who seriously needs a shave... Love you really xxxx only 19 days until we see him... Big smile right now. My Mum and John are of course just across the Tasman sea in Cairns right now and I have just read an email from my Mum to say that they are being moved on because of Cyclone Nathan so they are not going to see the Great Barrier Reef, we are absolutely gutted for them. They are having the time of their lives and we hope their flight to Melbourne on Friday goes ahead as scheduled. My Dad is holding the fort in Cyprus and coming to the end of his eight week stint of Tazzie Boy sitting, we will be forever grateful Dad and thoughts are with you in the UK Dee x hi sisters, hoping you are all well xx

I feel educated having been on these travels and I truly believe there is no substitute for learning as seeing and experiencing our world in all of its glory. We have seen but a tiny part and just want to see more. Having seen an active volcano, craters, geysers and mud pools reaching 80 degrees and upwards, I feel privileged. 

Into the crater! How the world began at Waimangu North Island. Water temperature 70 degrees and smoking! High acidic ph value

Waimangu - yes it was really that beautiful sky blue

I must also make a nod to the cruise over the Cook straight from the North to South Island travelling through Marlborough Sound, acknowledged as the most beautiful ferry ride in the world. 

Leaving Wellington (capital city) in the North Island on the Interislander Cruiser

Entering the South Island on the Interislander Cruiser via Marlborough Sound

More of the Cook Straight and Marlborough Sound, the photos do not do it justice as it was so serene and pretty awesome

The Pancake rock formations and blow hole - Punakaiki South Island

Franz Josef Glacier - South Island

So when the debts are paid back in the UK and we have done some honest work for a while, I will be onto my next travel project. I know we still have until September in Cyprus, which is immense, but South East Asia is very high on the list and I won't rest until we have it planned.... Don't worry Mum, it could take a long while!! Promise we are not emigrating. 

I know that there is much that I have left out but the oh so comfy campervan bed is calling. See mikedevitt.blogspot.co.uk for daily, funny, informative and darn right brilliant blogs... He is a writer don't you know xxxx

We will be departing Auckland on Wednesday 25th March early evening and will be back in Cyprus at 10:30 am on Thursday 26th March having stopped all but briefly in Brisbane for re-fuel and Dubai to change planes. That doesn't sound too long does it but with all of the time zones it's one long old flight. I don't know if I will blog again about these travels unless I cannot sleep on the planes and decide to do one last short blog. I may blog when I am back in Cyprus, then again I may be too busy teaching English to Russian children.

Milford Sound

2 photos above of Milford Sound - windswept and not interesting! Not photo shopped I promise.

Love to you all and here's to a mega summer in the UK xxxxxxxxx

Sent from my iPad

Melbourne, Sydney and now flying to New Zealand

I should start by apologising for the lack of photographs accompanying this blog, time and access to wi-fi has beaten me. Take a look at Mike's blogs at mikedevitt.blogspot.com for daily, humorous accounts with photos. 

Well that was a relaxed car drop off, check in at Sydney airport and take off to NZ... phew. This flight from Sydney to Auckland is supposed to be 3 hours 15 minutes and the pilot has just told us that because of strong winds it will only be 2 hours 20 minutes - yippee. So I intend to make the most of this time and attempt to remember all that we have seen and done over the last 10 ish days before we land in a new country. I am sad to leave Australia, it seemed to have everything including the best climate, which is always high up on my list. Yes, yes I am sure going through the seasons in the UK has its merit (so people like to remind me), but there is no getting away from it, I love the sun, blue sky and oceans every day of the year. We have been so lucky to have had this opportunity and it's what Mike and I now call our silver lining.

We stayed in a place called St Kilda just a few miles south of the city of Melbourne for our first night on the south coast after our afternoon 3 hour flight from Cairns. It was a chilly evening and we took a night time stroll along the esplanade with a view of the lit up city across the water. We finished the evening with a jug of beer in a local bar and then slept the night in a fairly shabby motel. I am now pleased to say that having moved from hotel to lodge to motel every night for the following six nights on route to Sydney, they were all far superior. The next day we did the 'hop on hop off' bus tour around Melbourne city. At first I was not sure that Melbourne was all I thought it would be but I was very wrong. It doesn't have the wow factor of Sydney, New York, Rome and of course our lovely London, but it is a city of art and sport and absolutely worth the visit. We had the best smoothies ever in the afternoon and got a great look round the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) with the World Cup in progress and the home of the Australian Tennis Open. I thought of Sam as we walked around the tennis courts and Mum as we saw one of the international cricket teams practicing, they would both love it. My mum is now in Dubai, soon to move onto Perth and pretty much following in our tracks around Australia with the addition of Alice Springs and Ayers Rock. I am really excited for her and John. I read a post from my sister on Facebook recently commenting that our Mum is now in Dubai, our Dad in Cyprus and her sister in Aus not to forget her nephew in Nottingham. It made me smile and I am glad to say that she will join us in Cyprus in April for my birthday.

So, back to the travels. We departed St Kilda the next morning embarking on a six day road trip along the Great Ocean Drive to Sydney. This (not surprisingly) hugged the coastline along the way as well as many miles along tree lined roads. We stayed overnight at Phillip Island, Wilsons Promontory, Mallacoota, Lakes Entrance, Narooma and Jervis Bay. Each stop took our breath away with its beauty and what it had to offer. We saw kangaroos, wallabies, penguins and sea lions up close in the wild, walked many beautiful (and sometimes challenging) tracks and boardwalks, walked, sat, baked and bathed on paradise beaches and even took in a boat cruise of the lakes. We have watched surfers out on the waves and been almost tempted to join in, shopped for our dinner in the local Woolworths and covered almost 2,000 kilometres in the car. We generally drove for about 2 to 3 hours each day, which always left us plenty of time to enjoy each stop and partake in ice creams, coffees and teas. Just wanted to add that petrol averages 55p a litre here!!! We have met many lovely Australian locals in every location, which has always enhanced our experience. The photo album is bulging with scenery, views and stupid selfies of Mike and I but coupled with our blogs we already have the best catalogue of memories we could ever dream of.

Can you believe that we have only cooked one barbie while in Aus which was while we were in Wilsons Promontory and there is no excuse for this because there are gas barbies everywhere free to use. We have made sure that we have dipped our toes or swam in every ocean and water we have encountered: the Southern Ocean, the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the Coral Sea and the Persian Gulf, I think my favourite is the Indian Ocean. Australia is an amazing place to visit, have we really done so much? I have lived in my bikinis under shorts and t shirts for the last four and half weeks and loved it. Suntan lotion and sandfly repellent spray is a pain but I am happy to pay the price tee hee. At our last destination before we drove into Sydney, called Jervis Bay, we spent the morning having a leisurely breakfast overlooking Hyam Beach and then relaxed on this very same beach for the morning. It is in the Guiness Book of Records for being the whitest sand in the world. It was stunning and we did not want to leave, but the bright lights of the city were calling again so we completed our road trip on a final 3 hour drive into Sydney. 

Our accommodation was in a place called Manly just north of the Sydney harbour, a harbour town itself with its own surfing beach and a little cove called Shelly Beach. We stayed in our third AirBnB house with a young couple called Tom and Celine. We stayed with them for 3 nights and it was really cool and relaxing despite our 13 mile walk around Sydney City on our first day, more of that in a moment. So on our first morning with them I got up early in order to FaceTime mum and found Celine in full yoga pose followed by blending up her own juice and then heading off to work for an animation company who create for NBC, BBC and Foxtel. I duly made my cup of tea and headed out to the back yard which backed onto a park featuring an open air gym and more joggers, dog walkers and speed walkers than I could count. Feeling mega unfit and not worthy I greeted our host Tom good morning who was on his way to surf some waves before work. Kitted out in his wetsuit and thongs (flip flops) he grabbed his board from the kitchen, jumped on his bike and off he went. Mike dragged himself from the bed, grunted morning, grabbed a coffee and went back to his I phone. Mike and I have since chatted about this lifestyle many times, theorised about it, deliberated and agreed we would be well suited to it but the other side of the world is probably just one step too far.

As we sailed around the corner of the Sydney harbour that very morning (apparently the most beautiful natural harbour in the world), we had our first view of the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the city skyline under a clear blue sky, perfect sunshine and crystal waters... Am I allowed to say wow anymore? Stupendous!!!! We took far too many photos and couldn't stop smiling as we repeatedly viewed these iconic sights. We walked around the city, through the beautiful botanic gardens and ventured out to Darling Harbour, all were magnificent. We know that Canberra is the capital of Australia and although we haven't visited Canberra, Sydney would have my vote if it were up for grabs. We may not have the healthy lifestyle of our lovely Celine and Tom, but as mentioned, we did walk 13 miles this day, that has got to count for something right? The good news, if you are worried that Mike is doing too much, is that we tempered this walking with much sitting and taking in of views including a 2 hour leisurely drink in the open air Opera Bar below Sydney Opera House, watching day turn to night and Sydney come alive with lights. Add to this the bonus of the Queen Elizabeth ocean liner (beyond huge) moored opposite the Opera House half way through her around the world luxury trip... Magnificent. A long but truly unforgettable day.

Like the 2 sensible Brits that we are, we spent the next day at Shelly Beach sunbathing, snorkelling with gear supplied by our fitness gurus Celine and Tom and relaxing in the shade with a Pepsi Max. We finished our time in Sydney with a meal in Manly at a cafe recommend by our hosts with a 2 for 1 on the main course (woohoo, local knowledge is great) and an evening stroll along the beach with frozen yogurt and toppings in hand accompanied by floodlit beach volleyball. These Sydney dwellers are fitness crazy....

We have left the blue skies of Australia now (we did have some grey as well), and as I look out of the plane window at the clouds below and brief glimpses of the Pacific Ocean and the Tazman Sea, I am truly unsure of how this next stage in NZ will roll. Temperatures may reach mid twenties in the North Island but it is autumn in NZ now and we will see temperatures drop to about 18 degrees in the South Island and rain is very possible. On top of this we will be in a camper van for the whole 3 weeks that we tour the 2 islands... Yikes. Never been much of a camper but Mike and I will continue with our "YES" approach to this adventure and hopefully the night stars, mountains and vast freshwater lakes will be more than good enough company to withstand the horrors of camping. Please don't feel too sorry for me, I think we will be alright, although there may be some navigation arguments and "clear up your mess" fights to accompany our roaming.

Excited.... Absolutely!!!!!

It's like homework!

Fatal mistake... I have fallen seriously behind with my blogging, passed the deadline and heading for an after school detention, help!

We left Perth and headed to Cairns where we spent a beautiful seven days in Kewarra Beach with our hosts Leigh and Yosi and their very cute dogs Coco and Mumu... didn't feed them titbits honest.

Leigh and Yosi's house where we stayed in Cairns

Kewarra Beach

Leigh and Yosi were softly spoken, at one with nature, people who lazed under the fan on a Saturday afternoon listening to soul and pottered on a Sunday morning swimming in their salt water pool listening to lazy reggae. A stunning and quirky home and less than five minutes walk to the coconut and palm tree lined paradise beach complete with crocs and killer jellyfish. See mikedevitt.blogspot.com for grizzly and daredevil tales with the full gamut of wildlife that Cairns has to offer... He's my hero lol

Mike at one with the crocs! Yes it's not the 6 metre man-eating croc tee hee

I should mention now that I don't intend to go into detail about our time in Cairns as Mike blogged daily about it. So putting the critters aside (of which there are many) after Mumu did a fine job of catching and eating them for me, I must tell you about the climate. Hot yes, averaging early 30s but that was not a problem for me in Perth. It's the fact that Cairns is in the tropical rainforest which I had never experienced before. The humidity (must add that we picked the most humid month of the year to visit - doh) and constant sweating was a challenge. Mike would probably say that I dribbled on about it, but coupled with the 5,000 sandfly bites, who can blame me? Yes, I did regularly spray myself with repellent and add the cream but it seems they liked me and 11 days on, the bites are still mildly irritating. It's the rainy season in February and March in Queensland, which just happened to be amazing for us because the 2 weeks prior to us arriving, boy did it rain. We arrive and experience 2 or 3 minor showers in the 7 days, but what we did get was the best rushing waterfalls and awesome freshwater swim holes.

Bahana Gorge... hot!!!

Bahana Gorge... yes we swam here

Having had my moan I will now contrast that with the wonderful day interacting with crocs at Hartleys (you should have seen Mike's sheer bravery), cuddling roaming kangaroos and wallabies and watching up close sleeping koalas... So special!

We packed our week full with visiting, excursions, tours, picnics, beaches, rainforest, boardwalks, waterfalls, swimming in waterholes to die for and so much more ....phew. So I will mention a few: 

The Daintree and Cape Tribulation, one of the oldest rainforests in the world which survived the ice age.

Cape Tribulation

Home to Cape Kimberlie (nod to my lovely friend in the beautiful East Malling who will be pleased to know that Aussie land is very gluten free friendly), Alexandra lookout (wow), Thorntens Beach and Alexandra Bay where lush green rainforest meets beach and surf (views to dream of) and sugar cane fields as far as the eye can see.

Palm Cove home of beer and pizza on the beach as the sun set.... Mmmmmm....

More waterfalls, gorges and surrounding beauty than I can list in the Atherton Tablelands and Kuranda

Cairns Marina and outdoor free swimming lagoon at night after a Thai meal and beer. I have to mention here that almost wherever you go there are BBQs, large stainless steel and lit by gas under canopies, for free public use. Aussies buy their meat, pitch up and throw it on the barbie... Anybody can do it, so cool!!!

Cairns swimming lagoon

Of course the extra special award goes to the Great Barrier Reef. Out at 7 in the morning from Cairns Marina on what was described as a backpacker cruise (not at all as all ages and sizes and nationalities) we headed out to the Milln reef (outer reef) via Fitzroy Island.

Fitzroy Island

On route to Barrier Reef

I have run out of adjectives to describe the beauty and experience and I will not forget a moment of the snorkelling. However, Mike and I in head to toe bright blue stinger suits and Mike with a bright pink snorkel may be one memory that fades... Alas no pictures - shame! Returning to land after a day on the reef with beer in hand on the bough of the boat with bikini clad girls and men in speedos (yes they are making a come back here) surrounding us, perfect ending.

Must mentions:

My nail varnish on my nails melted... what the!!!!!

White cars everywhere

So many people with tattoos

My Dad's birthday while in Cairns... Not the best eh Dad!

Attempting to FaceTime my son when he is ten hours behind and doesn't surface before midday aaaagggghhhh..... love you xxxx

Distance from Aus to Sam in Nottingham, Mum and John in Kent and P&P in Sussex

Distance from Aus to Tazzie boy and Dad and Dee in Cyprus

Three sightings of miniature schnauzers - miss my Tazzie boy

Birds and butterflies of every colour and size to admire (you will love it John)

Beautiful butterfly attracted to my beach towel

Netted swimming enclosures in the sea swept every hour so that you can actually swim in the beautiful Coral Sea if you are brave enough.... Not me oh no.

Our Mercedes up for sale in the UK if you are interested... Ok nothing to do with Cairns and finally all bills paid and direct debits closed in the UK... Wow they moved fast - over 2 months groan...

Intrepid explorers!

Onto Melbourne and a seven day ocean drive from Melbourne to Sydney. Really looking forward to this but we will have to be super organised (oh yes my favourite word) as it is a different hotel every night.

So having sat my detention (Mike determined the punishment), I am sure I could do better:

Grade for Michelle Devitt for effort: C (always was an average student)

Grade for Michelle Devitt for achievement : I will let you decide
Love to you all xx

"Life is better in a pair of shorts"

Coogee Beach area

As we reach the last day of our 9 days in Perth, Western Australia, a sad farewell is imminent and excitement is around the corner as we look forward to our 7 days in Cairns, Queensland. A quote from a gregarious and vivacious lady that we met sailing called Linda becomes the title of this blog... "Life is better in a pair of shorts". The story behind this is that she has sailed one of the 8 oceans and intends to sail the remaining 7, so she resigns from her job (a teacher for autistic children) which she loves, and ends her resignation letter with that quote!

I will come back to the sailing :):)

We arrived at Perth International Airport after an 11 hour flight with Emirates (oh yes, my favourite airlines and it did not disappoint) and was picked up by our Airbnb host, Peter (this is not normally part of the service, just good luck that he was in the area). Look up Airbnb on Google, it is great and we have 2 more locations in Australia through this company. He has been an amazing host (English but has lived in Australia for the last 18 years and now an Australian citizen) and we have loved staying in his home. All of the creature comforts, superb home-cooked food if we want it and so many tips and money saving suggestions we have lost count. You cannot beat local knowledge and the friendships you can make in such a short time.

So there we are on the first night having flown through the night before and Peter has invited us out for a curry at the local curry house with his partner Karen and 4 of his Australian mates. Well, what else do you do but say, absolutely yes! What a great night, with Peter being the butt of the jokes throughout the evening (affectionately known as big fat pomy bastard) and us Poms getting off lightly. We had a real laugh and were made to feel so welcome by all with their warm, positive approach to life. Beer is not cheap here and many of the restaurants allow 'bring your own' wine and charge $5 dollars a bottle corkage. The week started as as it has gone on - plenty of wine, beer and champagne! Heads hit the pillow that night in a comatose state having had little sleep in the last 48 hours.

Having left the hire of a car until we arrived (tip 1 from Peter because there was a cheap local car rental firm down the road), we hitched a ride with our host on Saturday morning to rent the car. CLOSED FOR THE WEEKEND! Oh well, the local beach for the weekend in Coogee it would be then (less than a mile from Peter's house) and what a beach! Yes, Perth is famous for it's beaches and you can very easily see why with white golden sands and beautiful waters at about 22 degrees.

Coogee Beach

See mikedevitt.blogspot.co.uk for tales of sharks, snakes and other wildlife of Australia and I will say no more. So, we swam out to the floating platform, hauled ourselves up the steps provided and jumped off. We then spent the rest of a very enjoyable afternoon at the beach. That night we were treated to a good ol' barby cooked by Peter in his yard with one eye out for the red back spiders. After Sunday on Coogee beach (factor 30 suntan lotion and higher - phew hot) with the Fremantle Doctor wind arriving in the afternoon to make bathing perfect, we headed into Fremantle late afternoon for the evening using the local bus. Fremantle has a stunning harbour and a quirky chilled out ambiance. Lots of cafes, bars and restaurants and a whole street dedicated to coffee houses called Cappuccino Strip. There was live music going on outside in the beautiful park area and we took a stroll around with ice cream in hand and watched the sun go down on the beach - WOW!

Fremantle

Monday (now driving said hire car) we headed into the Central Business District (CBD) of Perth and completed a Hop on Hop off bus tour which is totally the way to see the area. It was a very hot day, you wouldn't want to walk it!

Something to do with cricket apparently??

Perth Mint

The Bell Tower at Barracks Jetty

We started at the Barracks Jetty and circled around taking in many great sights disembarking at one of the best view points ever in Kings Park. A must see in Perth as it is the largest city park in the world and it is so pretty with spectacular views of the CBD and the crystal Swan River that flows right into the heart of Perth.

We didn't do the tree top walk in the park but I hear this comes with a recommendation. We (I really mean Mike) now had our bearings around Perth and were in full adventurous swing and use of Peter's Tom Tom sure helped :). So, we agreed that as we had driven north from Coogee to see the CBD, let's carry on up north a little further and visit the famous Cottesloe beach which was well worth the 15 minute drive. The drive to the beach snaked alongside the water's edge almost all of the way and afforded us lovely views to put a beaming smile on your face. The beach had some great waves and we had a swim to cool down although I can safely say that the average Brit would not have half of the swimming prowess that your local Aussie has, I have been often impressed this week especially with the kids. We then finished the day with fish and chips on Coogee beach at dusk.

Tuesday took us over to Rottnest Island on the Rottnest Express which was a journey of 35 minutes leaving from Fremantle harbour. If you are ever going to visit Perth do not leave this trip out. The island is a paradise with breathtaking coves and fantastic snorkeling opportunities.

Rottnest Island

We met the quokkas (look like mini kangaroos) and other wildlife... see Mike's highly poisonous snake story - I am NOT joking! We went round the island on another hop on hop off bus with wonderful drivers who fed us with many interesting facts about the island and it's wildlife. You can hire bikes, you can kayak and you can go on a tour bus around the island. It's fairly up and down dale and again very hot so the cycling choice was not for us, I cannot really comment on the kayak tours and the tour bus (90 minute stay-on bus tour) did not really appeal. Home to a sausage pasta dish left for us by Peter (he was off to band practice - music teacher for a living) and a catch up on emails, blogs and facetime where possible (8 hours ahead here).

On Wednesday, we took a drive of just under an hour out into the Swan Valley region epitomized by farming and many, many vineyards. Tours of vineyards and cream teas a plenty in this region and it was well worth the drive out to get a feel for another part of Perth but SupaGolf was on our agenda! Yes, of course Mike beat me but we had great fun playing it (over-sized clubs and balls on a 9 hole course) and we strolled around the course surrounded by palm trees, Emus, flowing water and rich green vegetation.

SupaGolf in the Swan Valley Region

Picnic lunch on Cottesloe beach, swim to cool down and then (LUCKY US) off to meet the aforementioned Linda for an twilight/evening sail in Perth harbour on a catamaran. We sailed out of Flying Squadron yacht club at 6pm with Trevor at the helm (he owned the boat), Mike, Linda and I and 7 other people sipping champagne and eating home-made sausage rolls, noodles, donuts and various nibbles and dips. Great company, easy sailing and a magnificent sunset on the water saw us arriving back at the YC at 10pm. A special night and we have made friends who we are now keeping in contact with. We left Linda with a tentative promise of an evening sail the next night but in a race!

Perth Harbour on the Catamaran "Carista Carista"

Yes, we woke to a text from Linda on Thursday to say it was on that night sailing on Jamie's boat out of Royal Perth YC (BIG WOW) but no worries Michelle, we are racing but there will still be time to sip champagne :). We had an easy morning Thursday (something to do with the alcohol consumed on the boat the night before) and then took a drive along some of the coastal route, a bit of beach and picnic, stop off at the drive through bottle shop for more alcohol and off to the YC for 5:30pm. I actually did pull a halyard, trim the jib and generally act a little more like one of the crew that night as we were 20 seconds behind the start line at the beginning of the race but Mike ( no surprise here) helmed the race. He did really well with the very light winds and I helped him by stuffing tortilla chips, cheese, dips and crackers in his mouth as he concentrated. You know Mike, he was always going to take this seriously. But OMG, if we thought we had seen a sunset the night before we were mistaken. We had seen clouds for the first time that day and they brought with it a sunset to dream of.

Sailing on Big Diamond in Perth

I managed to convince Mike to avert his eyes from what the main sail was doing and he turned and smiled a smile that melted my heart. We are so determined to try to live in the moment and not think too much about the next adventure, travel plan and what needs organizing. On the whole, I think we are doing really well and that moment is stored in my mind forever. Photos galore were taken on the iPhone and Linda told me to "rack off" out of the photo with Mike so that she could be in it with him alone... even bigger smile :):) How lucky are we!

Friday, off to Penguin Island and Seal Island on an adventure tour (less than half-price courtesy of Peter's never ending "all part of the service" help) of the islands south of Perth. Can these travels get any better I asked? Well, it keeps trying hard, I can assure you. 

Penguin and Seal Islands

We had 20 dolphins alongside our boat (almost in touching distance but of course you don't touch dolphins in the wild) playing and romancing and when we opened up the very powerful throttle and created waves in our wake they swam, leaped and played alongside us for ages surfing on the waves. I had jaw ache from smiling at the end of this adventure tour. We saw big fat male sea lions 'holing up' on the shores having been out hunting/feeding for 2 to 3 days solid, wild 'little blue penguins', an osprey and it's 2x2 metre nest and many birds as we motored around the islands accompanied by an excellent commentary from the team. With a couple of hours to explore the island on foot (easy because not that big), yet another picnic and many selfies later of us in front of yet more idyllic coves, aqua blue seas and vistas, we jumped back on the ferry to the mainland.


As we had driven south of Perth we decided to go as far south as the car rental firm would allow and took in a flying visit to Manjurah. Nice harbour, many apartments, long sandy beach, park.. the usual, but (just in my opinion) I preferred the other areas we had visited. Maybe because we were not there long we missed some hidden gems? That night we joined Peter, Karen and Carly for a pint or 2 of 'one fifty lashes' at their local surf club in Coogee (members only) and back home for a couple of Baileys. a brilliant night of conversation and debate that took us to 1 in the morning and for one (not me surprise, surprise) a hangover the next day.

Saturday morning saw us taking the car back before they closed at lunch time and back into Fremantle in the afternoon on the bus to take a good look around the massive market and local performers. Really chilled afternoon and ended with a homemade curry (actually 2) at home. We managed to facetime Sam, Dad and Dee and Mum and John which was wonderful and saw our little Tazzie boy who duly ignored us on screen :(. He is having a whale of a time, what can I say!

So, here I am Sunday morning (everybody else is still in bed), our last day in Perth. because we have no car we will spend the best part of today on Coogee beach (full circle), an evening meal with Peter who we will miss and then a taxi to Perth domestic terminal for a flight with Jetstar through the night to Cairns YUCK!I have been reliably informed that it will not be up to Emirates standard... what is a girl to do? Travelling a further 2 hours forward in time and away from the UK, I sometimes shudder just a tiny bit at how far away we are from our family and friends but the adventure continues and the Great Barrier Reef here we come :)