Mallacoota - Part 2

DAY 5 - Tuesday January 24

We finally make it to the information centre and lo-and-behold we are in the middle of one of the most beautiful national parks in Victoria - the Croajingolong National Park (ok - we actually knew that).  We pick up some pamphlets on good walking trails to check out and go for a little hike.

Rusty hiking with her little backpack/leash

In the afternoon we have gotten in the habit of going for a stroll to the shops to pick up a treat or something for dinner.  It's a novelty having a café, grocery store, pharmacy, butcher shop and bakery within a few minutes walk of our location.  There are no weekly meal-planning struggles, or trying to load up the kids in the car to dash out for something.  We just take a pleasant stroll to pick up something for dinner, a coffee and treat, or diapers if we run out.  I could get used to this.


DAY 6 - Wednesday January 25


We head to Betka Beach (we are told that is where the local kids swim) and find such a great spot that we wish we had discovered it days ago.  There is a natural wading pool for Rusty to play in and a surf break for Clark.  We arrive early and set up the peapod for Audrey - she sleeps for most of the morning while we play in the sun.  With no shade to be found it gets pretty hot, pretty quick and by about 11:00am we've had our fill of beach.  We are sweltering and Audrey is making a pool of sweat in her tent.  Despite having full-length UV shirts and sunhats for the kids are worried about their delicate Canadian skin.  So far we've managed to keep them from getting sunburnt.  We look around at the Aussie families who show no signs of breaking camp and feel a little wimpy as we make our way back home.  We think we'd outlast them at -40 though!

Playing at the local swimming hole

Audrey sleeping in her 'pod' at the beach

Clark & Audrey taking a stroll back from the surfbreak

How do I get rid of all this sand?

Because Mallacoota is located in the middle of a National Park it's common to see an array of different wildlife on or near your doorstep.  I can't get over the different types of birds that we see around our cabin - birds that you only find in pet stores in Canada - we see some brilliant Lorikeets that are every color of the rainbow.

Some resident Galah's hanging out near our cabin

During our afternoon stroll (and coincidentally just after we were discussing whether to go about 300 km out of our way to a spot where people commonly see wild kangaroos) a kangaroo (roo) appears out of nowhere and bounces down the pathway right in front of us.  Rusty is beside herself - she points and hollers, and hollers some more.  What is that giant hopping thing?  Then on our way home from the store we see two more roos (we can call them that cause we're almost like locals now) grazing in someone's yard.

"An-ga-roo"

Just one more reason I love Rusty's leash

DAY 7 - Thursday January 26 (Australia Day)

Today marks the 20th day of our Australian adventure.  I am constantly amazed at how easily the girls have adapted to travelling.  It seems that as long as there are some constants (Mommy & Daddy, Puppy & Princess Blanket) than it's OK if everything else is different.  The peapod beds and sleeping bags (thanks Grandpa Jones!) have been great for the transition too.  The girls always have the same bed no matter where we are.  We just put them in their little bags and into their 'pods' and they don't have any more trouble falling or staying asleep then they did back home (which still wasn't ideal!)   We actually have a hard time getting Rusty out of her bag in the morning - I think she would keep it on all day if we let her.

Rusty is thriving in Australia.  She is walking on all kinds of different surfaces that she wouldn't have attempted without holding our hand at the start of our trip (over sand, through water, along trails, up stairs, down stairs) and is learning new words every day.  Today, after we saw the kangaroo she said her 1st three syllable word.  "ang-a-roo" as she pointed and laughed.

Learning an important new word...

Getting the hang of walking on sand

First impressions aside, we've grown to love Mallacoota and are even fond of our little cabin now.  We spend the afternoon back at the beer gardens listening to live music and helping the locals celebrate Australia Day.  On our way home we chuckle at the sign on the beer-and-wine store window (bottle shop) that sums up the attitude of this laid-back little town.

Monday - Friday. Open 8:00am until late.

Mallacoota - Part 1

DAY 1 - Friday January 20

We have moved to a holiday park in Mallacoota.  For those of you who have never stayed in a holiday park (which was us until today) it's a large campground with tent sites, RV sites and stand-alone cabins that you can rent.  These parks are scattered everywhere throughout Australia.  The advantages of a holiday park are the facilities (pools, playgrounds, etc.), the prime locations (bordering beaches, parks and close to shops), and often the prices.  The disadvantage is that the noise (typically in the form of screaming children) is constant.  Here's what the transition feels like to us.  Picture a 'Nabob' commercial - you are sitting on your patio, drinking a coffee, staring peacefully at the tranquil ocean - then pan out to oodles of wild 2' tall hellions running through your view and crank the volume to 10, that's a holiday park.

We walk into our 'cabin' and I want to turn around and head back to Surf Beach.  Even my husband (who on more than one occasion throughout his travels has called a park bench his home) raises an eyebrow and solemnly asks, "How long are we here for?"  Rusty walks in the door, takes one look around, and starts weeping (there's no stuffed shark or easy-bake oven here).  Ah well, this glorified tent is actually not too bad, but it's no Surf Beach retreat.

Rusty & Audrey & Puppy looking less than thrilled in our new home

Mallacoota is a vacation getaway for people who like to fish.  Really like to fish.  As in, own a boat and fishfinders and such.  We realize that when we see every second vehicle towing a boat, and overhear our neighbor say he's off to 'check the prawnies'.  There doesn't seem to be much going on if you aren't here to fish (or catch prawns).  Now, I've been known to enjoy fishing in the past (and I have the scars to prove it), but boating and/or fishing with a toddler and baby in tow just reeks of trips to the emergency room.  We resign ourselves to a bit of a boring week.

DAY 2 - Saturday January 21

Mallacoota and the holiday park are growing on us.  We take a morning stroll and come across the local weekly market.  The nectarines, plums and peaches are amazing and we buy a bag of those, some fresh eggs (so fresh they still have feathers on them), and some lettuce, 2 tomatoes and a handful of green beans (for 3 bucks - I am thrilled!!!).

Rusty is in her socializing glory and runs from stall to stall greeting everyone with a loud "EYE" (aka "HI").  She is so thrilled with it all that she celebrates in the park with a little dance as we are leaving.  We finish the morning off with some fantastic espresso and vanilla squares at a nearby cafe.

Rusty dancing in the park after the market

In the afternoon Rusty takes a swim in the holiday park pool.  After awhile she is shivering and blue, but still not wanting to get out.  The temperature here is in the mid-twenties - not too hot, not too cold, but not too good for warming up a hypothermic child from a 'solar-heated' pool.  We wrap her in a warm towel until she stops shaking. 

DAY 3 - Sunday January 22

We cross over to the other side of the street and the sleepy little town of Mallacoota is suddenly vibrant.  We find a a beer garden outside a local hotel with live music and lots of families enjoying the vibe.  On the last song the band starts a drum jam, someone pulls a broom from out of the kitchen, and all the kids start doing the Limbo.  What fun.  We glance at the menu and opt only to participate in the beer-drinking portion of the event (Caesar Salad goes for a mere $18 here).

Ellen & Rusty enjoying some live music

Audrey enjoying her new-found toes

DAY 4 - Monday January 23

We decide to venture out beyond a 500-m radius and take a walk to explore some nearby beaches that our guidebook says are surfable (Bastion Point & Tip Beach).  We find a spot that has Clark champing at the bit.  From the lookout point above the beach the waves look a lot bigger than the waves at Surf Beach, but it is patrolled and Clark doesn't look concerned.  After a bit of prompting from me Clark takes Rusty down the stairs to ask the lifeguards about the surf conditions.  I stay up top with Audrey and the Chariot (which most of the time I love, and sometimes I think we should rename 'the ball and chain').  Clark comes running back up the stairs with a big grin on his face.  

"What did they say?" I ask.

"It's great," he grins.  "They've only pulled 3 people out today."

Hmmm….

Surf Beach - Part 3

DAY 5 - Wednesday January 18

Clark has bought himself a second-hand surfboard at one of the local shops and heads for the beach at 5:30am.  He is ecstatic to have a surfbreak he can see from the patio lounger. 

At a more decent hour we take a stroll through the Eurobodalla Botanic Gardens to check out some of the local greenery and birdlife.  A beautiful spot to see some old Wooly Butts (a eucalypt tree not a botanic streaker), superb blue wrens (which truly are), and a lovely picnic spot with an innovative playground where Rusty bangs on various wooden instruments to her heart's content.

Audrey has begun her adventure into the world of solid foods.  We started by offering some rice cereal, mum-mum's and fruit purees in late December.  She devoured all the rice cereal I offered in the first several days, but then she wasn't too interested in anything much beside the mum-mums.  Given her sister's motto towards food (no fruit, veggie or meat shall ever touch these lips) this was causing me a certain amount of anxiety.  Over the past couple of weeks I had offered her a variety of different fruit-type purees that I thought she would love - but for each one she would make a terrible face and get as far away from the spoon as possible.  Still, she was incredibly interested in everything that we were eating.  Time for another approach we thought. 

I started by offering her some mushed-up banana from my finger - she grabbed my finger like she'd been starving for weeks and shoved it straight into her mouth.  Then she leaned forward and opened wide for more.  Only from my finger though - she refused to eat it from the spoon!  Next we tried mushed up carrot - same response, then green beans - loved them!  Today she discovered kiwi fruit (after one bite of kiwi she tossed the carrot she was holding, grabbed the whole kiwi right out of my hand - jaguar speed - and shoved it straight into her mouth - I had to do a finger sweep to get it out!).  So, we have skipped the puree stage altogether and she is quite the little fruit and veggie lover so far.

Audrey after a bout with carrots!

We manage to get the girls down for a nap at the same time and Clark catches some more waves while I spend some time with my book, and a glass of wine on the lounger.  Love simul-naps!!!

When we first arrived in Sydney there was a huge mural of Australian underwater life in the airport with an arrow pointing to what they described as the #1 killer - the Box Jellyfish.  The Sydney aquarium also gave this creature its due with some pictures of extreme burn-like wounds and instructions on issuing CPR should you be bit.    I was keeping my eye out for these creatures whenever I ventured into the surf.  After his surfing session Clark comes trotting across the road to show me his jellyfish wounds - stung once on each arm - and it looked very red, swollen and bumpy.

"Did you see it," I asked?

"No," he replies.  I start trying to remember how to do CPR in my head (was it 1 breath and 5 compressions or 2 breaths and 3?).

"Well, do you think it was a Box jellyfish," I ask, somewhat concerned.  

"No," he replies.

"How come?"

"I'm not dead," he says with a grin.  We find out later that Box jellyfish only occur in the warmer tropical waters up north (doesn't that sound odd to a Canadian).

DAY 6 - Thursday January 19

We’ve fallen into a bit of a routine.  Clark goes surfing in the morning, while I get the kids up and dressed, feed them breakfast and pack for that day's adventure and then I have eggs, bacon and a hot coffee waiting for him when he comes in the door.  Or... he surfs while we continue to sleep.

Today we have a lazy morning around the house and then head into town to try to get some internet stuff done (blog posting, banking, e-mail, etc.).  The only crux of our Surf Beach place is that there is no internet access.  We have to drive to Bateman's Bay (a bigger town about 15 minutes from our place) and find a parking spot where there is a decent connection using the portable dongle that we bought.  Then one of us tries to amuse both children somewhere in the vicinity, while the other sits in the car and conducts business - it's a painful and slow process (the dongle is not synonymous with high speeds).  Today it was my turn to do the internet while Clark took Rusty shoe shopping.

We always knew that Rusty had a bit of a shoe fetish.  In the green space at Lane Cove she pointed and sang to one woman's shoes for so long that the woman commented "a girl after my own heart".  Putting shoes on is the first thing she wants to do when she wakes up in the morning, and sometimes it's a battle to get her to take them off before she goes to bed.  She likes to wear her shoes inside of my shoes (the more shoes the better).  For days now she has been eye-balling the flip flops that all the kids are wearing down here and Clark decides that it's time to replace the little yellow crocs.  After trying on and finding the perfect pair of flowery flip-flops he tries to take them off her to pay for them.  Apparently she screamed all the way through the entire K-Mart and most of the way down the street.  Poor Clark.

DAY 7 - Friday January 20

On the road again.  Today we are off to Mallacoota for 7 days.

The Gear

By popular request - the Swagg'n Wagon

We take the 350 km drive from Surf Beach to Mallacoota in basically one fell swoop, and it takes us about 5 hours of driving time.  Driving in Australia is not the same as driving in Alberta!  When planning the stop after Surf Beach we think 350 km (like Calgary to Edmonton) will be easy.  350 km on the prairies - piece of cake - 350 km on Princes Highway - slower, curvier, narrower, and much longer.  But the drive is mostly uneventful -  no puking, no screaming, no nothing.  Audrey sleeps for the majority of the trip and is content to jaw on mum-mums the rest of the time.  I hand them to her from my front seat and her tiny little hand reaches out and grabs each one like a mogwai that's been fed after midnight.

Rusty is completely entertained by the portable DVD player that Grandma bought her for Christmas.  What a great gift (thanks Grandma!!).  She watches Huffalump at least 3 times, everytime it finishes she says "more, more" and then sings, yells and talks along to the characters (thanks Aunty Jana)!  We will surely have this movie memorized by the end of our trip.

In the name of the 100-acre wood, I capture you

Surf Beach - Part 2

Day 4 Tuesday January 17

After getting such good reactions from the girls at the Sydney Aquarium (see Day 5 of Sydney - 6 Days), we go looking for more animals to show them and head for the nearby zoo at Mogo.  The zookeepers feed a Sumatran Tiger about 2 meters away from where I'm holding Rusty.  They're feeding her a bucket of chicken necks one by one.  The keeper holds one up high on the chain link fence and the tiger has to stand up and reach for it.  Her paws are enormous and Rusty and I crane our necks to take in her full height.  Sumatrans are the smallest of the world's six remaining species, but you wouldn't guess it from that view.  The thought of a Siberian Tiger being up to 3x that size is hard to get my head around.  Rusty holds on to me very tightly and stares very quietly - similar to her reaction to the shark.  "Wowww," she says.  Well said, I think.

Other big cats at Mogo are some White Lions, some African Lions, Snow Leopards from the Himalayas, and Servals which I had never heard of before, but which look a little like bobcats.  Most of them are lying around in the shady bits of their big yards, but the Tiger and the African Lion put on good shows for us at feeding time.

We brought over our two-seater chariot stroller and are learning that there are good times to use it and bad times.  Walking down the street to go grocery shopping is a good time.  It glides over any curb or root or rock in its way and fits groceries for the trip home.  The Mogo Zoo, with its narrow walkways and slow-moving crowds is a bad time.  It's so bad it's almost funny.  The chariot takes up most of the path that leads into the reptile house, so Ellen has to back out two or three times to let people out.  She makes it to the corner, and a lady with a normal-sized umbrella stroller appears from the other side.  Ellen gives her a look like, "um, would you mind backing up your tiny, non-ridiculous stroller, so I can get past with my gigantic, obnoxious one?"  If Borat went to the zoo, he would have a stroller like this.  We push it through a couple more exhibits, squeegeeing the crowds clear of the path as we go, before we can't take it anymore and I run it back to the car.

The primates are hilarious and fascinating.  The zoo specializes in endangered species, so there are lots that I've never heard of.  Rusty's not sure what's best to look at.  "Oh!" she says and points at the Marmoset.  "Oh!" she says and points to the lemurs who are pouncing all over their enclosure.  "Oh!" she says and is toddles off towards the Golden Tamarins, who have such vivid colouring and wild hair-styling that we can barely believe they're real.  

A pony-ride station and a petting zoo provide Rusty with some close encounters that have her wide-eyed and smiling.  We get her to feed some little bambi-type deer from her hand and there is lots of yelling for "More!  More!".  It is all very exciting for her and by 1 o'clock she is putting her hands up to be carried.  Five minutes after the car starts, both tots are asleep.

Clark, Rusty, and Puppy checking out the lemurs

Rusty pointing to the Dingos (she told us to 'shhh' when she saw them sleeping)

Waiting patiently for a pony ride

Rusty taking her first pony ride

Feeding 'Bambi'

Surf Beach - Part 1

DAY 1 - Saturday January 14

We are beyond thrilled to have a place to plunk ourselves down for six straight days with nothing to accomplish.  We drive the whole stretch from Jervis Bay to Surf Beach during the kids' nap and we are feeling very peaceful as we pull into our next home (no Tom Tom countdown this time!).  Time to relax and really get into vacation mode. 

The apartment (flat) that we pre-booked is amazing.  Upon our arrival there is a welcome basket with various teas, chocolate and other goodies.  There is a huge tray of marinated shish-ka-bobs, sausage and steak in the fridge and ready for the BBQ (Barbie), along with lemonade, milk and water.  There's a big flat-screen TV with video games and DVDs, and all kinds of board games and toys for the kids to play with.  Rusty finds a giant stuffed shark in her bedroom and is over the moon about it.  The outdoor space is amazing with a fenced yard that looks out onto Surf Beach (right across the street).  There is a big lounger couch, beer fridge, dining table, fire pit & BBQ to complete the package.  All for the same price as the motel room in Jervis Bay.  We have arrived!!!



View of Surf Beach from our backyard

DAY 2 - Sunday January 15

We have a lazy relaxing morning and check out our surroundings.  Surf Beach is pretty and sandy and has a nice grassy picnic area complete with playground on the foreshore.  Clark checks out the waves and thinks it a perfect spot to take up surfing again - time to buy a board.   We pick up some groceries at the local IGA and head back to the house to wash Rusty's pukey clothes.  Rusty finds a big red ball and we have some laughs chasing it around the yard.

Playing ball in the backyard

We decide that a good routine will be to spend the mornings doing something fun with the kids, and then head back to the house for lunch and a nap (we have learned our lesson the hard way trying to squeeze in an activity or mission just prior to naptime).  Plus, this keeps the kids and us out of the sun during the blistering times and gives Clark and I a chance to put our feet up and enjoy some free time while the kids are sleeping.  We aim for simultaneous naps around 1:00 every afternoon.

DAY 3 - Monday January 16

Audrey's first hike.  We head to Discovery Trail, a short 1.5 km loop around Durras Lake.  Rusty walks almost the whole trail by herself - what a good little hiker!  We see some pretty cool stuff - chicken-like birds with peacock-like tails, spotted gum trees over 300 years old, and a huge (1+ m long) iguana-type lizard thingy (my animal identification skills in this country are sorely lacking).  Rusty is beside herself. 

It is a novel concept to hike in a country completely devoid of large predators.  The rustling and crashing in the bush just piques my curiosity as opposed to sending fight or flight signals (or in my case flight or flight signals) straight to my gut.  The only thing that bothers us is a leech (which Clark finds glued to his ankle partway along the hiking trail).

Clark does choose this hike, however, to remind me that Australia is the world's most venemous country - home to countless spiders and snakes - just waiting to jump out of the trees and get a bite of you.  I'm left pining for the devil I do know - a soft and cuddly grizzly crashing around in the bush. 

Audrey's 1st hike

Rusty and Ellen under a Spotted Gum tree

Rusty checking out the local vegetation

Sydney to Jervis Bay

Friday January 13

The drive from Sydney to Melbourne is over 1,000 km, so we're taking our time and breaking it up, spending a week here and a week there on the way down.  The maiden voyage in the Aluminum Falcon is  less than 200 km, to Jervis Bay, just to get a feel for things.  We stop in a pub in the little town of Berry, to have a beer, get the diapers changed, and feed Rusty some yoghurt.  We aren't sure if kids are allowed in the pubs until we spot a 12-year old pouring beers behind the bar.  The pub seems made for families travelling with kids.  There's a change table in the bathroom (a really good one, not just one of those fold-down plastic ones), and just past the pool tables, opening onto the patio, is a fully-enclosed playground.  It has swings, some slides, a couple towers to climb up, and a rope bridge.  The whole thing is fenced in so the only way for a kid to escape is back onto the patio, where the parents sit and chat.  Australia has the road trip worked out.

Clark and Audrey in a pub that makes them both happy

Ellen and Rusty walking the strip at Berry 

Back in the car, we continue down the meandering Princes Highway.  It rolls up and down with the landscape, and regularly swerves over for a view of the sea.  There's also a lot of swerving for roundabouts and for my sudden steering corrections back into the lane.  All of us are feeling a little car sick after a while, but Rusty is the only one actually saying, "Ow".  We pull over and check that her seat belt isn't rubbing her the wrong way and she seems fine.  She's singing and pointing things out.  But as soon as we start back up with the ups and downs and swerving, she vomits.

We pull over to the side of the road and try to clean her up.  Half-digested yoghurt has found its way into all the nooks and crannies, and straps and buckles, of the car seat.  We do what we can, change her clothes, commiserate about the smell, and get back on the road.  We drive off, never seeing the little yellow crocs that she has a mad crush on still sitting in the ditch.

She pukes twice more before we arrive.  We go through all her spare clothes and the smell isn't doing much to help us front-seat people with our own nausea.  As long as we have some music playing though, Rusty is still happy and smiling and when we stop to clean her up, we get to see some really beautiful Australian countryside, like a winery and its gardens.  "She's had too much wine," we explain to some people in the parking lot.

1 hour and 55 minutes seems to be the maximum amount of time that the kids are somewhat content on a road trip.  Jervis Bay takes 2.  As we inch towards our destination both the kids are ready (and loudly letting us know it) to get out and explore.  Tom Tom shows the countdown and I am anxiously yelling it out to Clark.  900m to destination, 800m, 700m, 40 seconds, 30 seconds, 20 seconds (it's amazing how long 10 seconds takes when the kids are on high).  We vow to try to do all of our driving during nap time in the coming months.

Jervis Bay seems like the perfect bay to me.  It's a circular inland sea joined to the ocean by only the smallest of mouths.  The water is see-through aqua and the sand is almost pure white.  It's so perfect that we're pretty sure it must be PhotoShopped.  According to our guide book the sand at Jervis bay wins the Guinness record for whitest sand in the world.  We believe it.

We check out a beach called Chinamen's Beach (which we call Ha Ling Beach because we are culturally sensitive like that).  We walk down a few steps through the forest, and find this:

The bay is quite sheltered so the waves are mellow and it's a great spot to reintroduce Rusty to the ocean.  She needs little coaxing and toddles toward the ocean pointing and saying "water, water".  The water is a bit chilly but she is still game for chasing and trying to catch the waves.  After a couple big waves suck on her toes she runs a safe distance up the beach and is content to just hang out and watch the water.  We build her a little sand wall that the waves can't climb over and she watches Clark go for a swim from the safety of her little fort. 

Rusty decides to try a mouthful of wet sand.  We think after one taste that that will be the end of it.  Not so - she decides to add wet sand to the vast repertoire of foods that she will eat (rice cereal, yogurt, banana, crackers, french fries and wet sand).  After four mouthfuls she decides maybe it's not so great (much to our relief).

In town there are all kinds of tours that will take you out on a cruise to see dolphins.  Or...you can take a morning swim at Ha Ling beach and see dolphins jumping out of the water and doing 360's within 50 meters of you.  That's what we did.  What a show!  Rusty is a little disconcerted about the "Big Fish" so close to Daddy.

'Ha Ling' Beach - Jervis Bay

Time to pack up the kids and head south to Surf Beach.  We don't quite get our fix of Jervis Bay and decide to try to spend a week here on our way back to Brisbane.

Sydney - 6 Days

DAY 1 - Saturday January 7

December and January, it turns out, are Australia's most expensive months if you're a tourist.  The combination of Christmas, New Year's, and the schools being out for summer holidays, sends the price of accommodation through the roof.  In lots of ads we looked at, they tripled.  Sydney accommodation is expensive to begin with, so our plan was to stay only long enough to buy a van and then move on to something more remote and cheaper.  We gave ourselves six days.

Driving our rental van from Sydney International to the cottage was my first time on the left hand side of the road.  We load up, go to get in, and go to the wrong doors.  I try to adjust the rear-view mirror and reach to the wrong side.  I try to signal as we leave the parking garage, and the window wipers come on.  ESP pulls the straps on the carseats a little tighter.

Without the Tom Tom GPS unit that Dad lent us, we'd all be dead now.  We would have been killed in a head-on collision as we fumbled with a map and tried to interpret the rapid-fire signage through the jumble of freeways and exits.  With Tom Tom dealing out directions in her calm, completely non-judgemental voice, all I had to concentrate on was staying left and staying inside the lanes. 

That's not as easy as it sounds.  In Alberta, I'd say you have at least a foot, maybe 18 inches, of lane to spare on each side of your car.  In Sydney it's more like 6 or 8 inches.  Put yourself in a larger vehicle than you usually drive, on the wrong side of the road, after a 14-hour red-eye, with two screaming kids in the back and one screaming wife in the front - and then try it.  You'll drift left too.  As you look to the wrong side for your rear-view mirror and panic when it's just not there, you'll drift left.  As a bus passes you on the right, and it feels like your side mirror is bound to scrape it, you'll drift left.  You can watch yourself do it like it's out of your control.  Your instincts kick in and try to save the day: "Whoa, buddy, you're driving crazy.  You're way over to the right.  You and your steering wheel should be over on the left edge of the lane.  Here, lemme help you… "  You may not actually run into the curb like I did, but you'll come close.

Tom Tom saved us.  She told us what lane to be in, she warned us well in advance of upcoming turns, and when we missed them anyway, she was quick to get us found again.  She even gave us the option of avoiding toll roads.  We got to our rented cottage safe and sound and started acclimatizing.

The time changeover is surprisingly smooth.  We land in Sydney at 11:00 am AU time (5:00 pm our time), and we all manage to stay awake until 7:00 pm AU time.  It is 23 °C, breezy and sunny, and we can feel the relaxation start to permeate our souls.  JDP drives to a little nearby town and brings back some fast food and beer.  We kick back, munch on chicken subs and fries, and revel in how smooth things are going. 

As suddenly as the calm sets in, so does the storm.  SJP starts crying and is inconsolable.  This from a child who is always consoled by a little bounce or some warm milk.  She is screaming in our bouncing arms and flat out refusing to nurse.  All our tricks to calm her are falling flat - she hates Australia.  5 minutes turns into 10, and then 15, and I start contemplating our first trip to the emergency room.  As soon as the thought enters my mind she falls peacefully asleep (and sleeps soundly until 5:00 am).  JDP and I have a beer on the patio and fall asleep shortly after. 

SMP with the infamous 'Puppy'

Breakfast at Linley Cottage

DAY 2 - Sunday January 8

We head to Lane Cove to do some grocery shopping.  The groceries are a bit pricier than back home, but are still reasonable.  Dairy is much cheaper (as in 3 bucks for 4 litres of milk), but produce is quite expensive (as in 3 bucks for 6 bananas).

Lane Cove is a lovely little neighborhood with a laid-back vibe - lots of cafés and boutique shops, a public library, aquatic centre and shopping plaza. We find a little shaded green patch in the centre of the plaza where the kids can play and we can access some much-needed caffeine.  SMP amuses herself by chasing birds and a ball, while SJP looks around smiling and wide-eyed as usual.  We can't quite get over the fact that we are lounging around in our shorts & t-shirts.  Life is good…

In the plaza at Lane Cove

DAY 3 - Monday January 9

We are in car-shopping hell.  Our laid-back vibe has vanished and now we are driving from lot to lot with two very bored, very hot, very loud children trying to find a minivan (people-mover) that costs less than $10,000, and that has not previously been underwater or lit on fire - it appears that there are none!

In the midst of all this misery SMP gets stung by a bee.  The first-aid kit is (of course) back at the house with the Epi-pen (SMP had a mild allergic reaction to a wasp sting last summer).  I frantically type hospital into the Tom Tom and we start heading towards the nearest Emergency (Just in Case).  SMP is screaming, which gets SJP screaming, and we are slightly panicked.  After a couple deep breaths, we realize that SMP is not going into anaphylactic shock.  We pull over to a Pharmacy (Chemist) to get some Valium - I mean After-Bite Lotion.  We decide that an internet search for a vehicle will be less stressful.

Not so - the only place we can find WiFi is at the public library and the connection is so slow it takes a about 5 minutes for any page to load.  Our painfully slow search leads us to the conclusion that there are a million camperized vans, but very few family-type vans available in Australia.  We also find out that the cost of a new Kia Carnival (the van that we are renting and which seems ideal) runs about 40 grand, and a dealership we were at earlier today told us to stay away from the older models as they blow their engines on a regular basis.  We were also told to stay away from the Chryslers.  That left us looking for Toyota Taragos - which cost more than we wanted to pay, and were few and far between.

At the start of our internet search SMP is quietly amused by the books, fish tank and cubby holes in the library.  About part-way through she turns into a crazy person and starts running up and down the corridors screaming (albeit they are happy screams).  We are met with a combination of amused (isn't she cute), and 'shut-your-child-up-or-I-will' glances from library patrons.  When SJP decided to chime in it was time to go.  We are quickly running out of car-shopping time and feel farther behind than when we started...

We realize that what is in store for us over the next couple days is not conducive to one's sanity.  To buy a vehicle privately (which is the cheapest option) we have to run all around Sydney (and beyond) looking at vehicles one-by-one (and here's the kicker - we have to bring two small children along who by all appearances do not seem to enjoy shopping for cars).  On top of that we have to get a mechanical inspection, transfer the vehicle into our name, buy registration (Rego) and insurance - all at different places.  And for the grand finale - there is  no guarantee that the used backpacker vehicle we buy isn't going to blow up as soon as we hit the highway.  Why did we think we could do this in 6 days?  Stress level - 10!!!

DAY 4 - Tuesday January 10

We are still in car-shopping hell, but now we are in the backpacker's section of Sydney in car-shopping hell (King's Cross), so it is a dirty, STD-ridden corner of hell, with dread locks and no money.  The Lonely Planet advises us about a big car market in King's Cross where you can buy vehicles privately - it feels like it could be our salvation.

What we thought would be row-upon-row of well-priced and suitable vehicles for our choosing turns out to be a fast-talking guy in a garage with only five vehicles - none of them minivans.  "I know whatchoo need mate" he says to JDP, after eye-balling the children and the chariot - "whatchoo need is a wagon.  I just happen to have two right here…."

The first wagon is a rusty 1996 with 280,000 km that we could 'steal' from him for a mere 5 grand, the second is a couple hundred cheaper, a couple years older, with 50,000 more km on the odometer.  No thank you.  But, the Chariot does fit in the wagon, and we think it will also fit the rest of our gear, so we are left pondering if the cheaper and more readily available wagon is a better choice than the expensive and elusive minivan.

We check out a couple more dealers in the area and find a couple of more suitable (AKA cheap and reliable) wagons.  Still overpriced, but after a glass of wine at a nearby restaurant (and a taste of how good it would feel to return to our mission-free selves), we decide that buying from a dealer is our best option.  With only two days before we have to leave Sydney and head south (via prebooked accommodation down the east coast until the end of January), time was running out.  We decide to buy the wagon we like best - a little abused, but a 2001 Ford Falcon with only 160,000 km.  We bargain it down to five grand (including rego, inspection, warranty, and insurance).  At this point, however, we would have paid at least ten grand for that sweet ol' wagon - just to make the suffering end.  We are told they can have it ready by Thursday afternoon - just in time...

So, we are not the cool VW van family we pictured we would be down here.  We are more like the Griswolds, minus the dead grandmother on the roof rack and the dead dog dragging behind.  Time for some new names.

¯ Holiday Ro-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oad…¯

Clark Griswold

Ellen Griswold

Rusty Griswold

Audrey Griswold

Ellen and Audrey at Hyde Park after the headache of car shopping is done

Rusty at Hyde Park

DAY 5 - Wednesday January 11

Today we are back to being tourists and we head off to the Sydney Aquarium.  Home to every imaginable sea creature, with gigantic tanks and fascinating interpretive displays, it is a pricey admission but worth every penny.  Rusty yells her face off at the turtles, chasing after them, pointing, with her nose smearing across the glass.  "Tortoe! Tortoe!" she yells, over the voice of the guide.  There was some kind of emergency in her head, and she had to let everyone know: "Tortoe!!" 

"Sorry," we say to pretty much everybody.

That is just the first room.  Her eyes get wider and wider as we move along.  After the turtles, there is an octopus, a lobster the size of a cat, a giant crab (over a meter across), and a 10-meter Great White Shark.

The shark is just too much for her.  Her eyes are as wide as they can go, so she just backs farther and farther away.  She backs all the way out of the room and around the corner.  From that safe distance she peeks around the corner to take a look, but won't get very far away from us.

A 10-meter Great White Shark is a terrifying thing.  It's gigantic.  It looks like a bus that's made mostly of teeth.  It could swallow you whole, but you'd never get past all those rows of teeth.  Rusty kept looking back long after we'd left that section of the aquarium.  I guess to make sure it wasn't following her.

The route through the aquarium takes you through various marine ecosystems, punctuated by a few massive tanks that have underwater walkways.  We walk through glass tubes on the floor of the tank and are surrounded by ocean life.  From the surface looking down it doesn't look like much more than a pool of water with the occasional brightly coloured fish.  From inside the tubes, it's Grand Central Station.  Rays or sharks or sea-cows glide over you within inches of your face while schools of fish of all sizes are as curious about you as you are about them.  Audrey sleeps through most of it, but is awake and wide-eyed for the Great Barrier Reef section.

Ellen and Audrey under the sea

DAY 6 - Thursday January 12

We spend the day tying up loose ends. We shop for a few things we decide that we can't live without - sun visors for the wagon windows, seatbelt covers, a leash for Rusty, some water holders for the Chariot, beach cover-ups for the kids, etc.  Clark drops off the rental van and picks up the Swagg'n Wagon.  I take it for a little test run around our quiet neighbourhood and realize how terrified Clark must have been driving on the eight-lane freeway from the airport - I vow to stop yelling at him.

I get a kick out of organizing our ride.  Sun visors for the side windows, seat organizers for each of the girls - Sophie and Mum-Mums for Audrey - Laptop, colouring pad and granola bars for Rusty.  A place to put water bottles for both girls and us.  We are pleasantly surprised that us and all of our gear fit quite comfortably.  I guess all those families in the 70's knew what they were doing.

DAY 7 - Friday January 13

We take the wagon back to the dealer for some minor fix-ups - light cover, wheel bearings, trunk lock.  They are fantastic and get us road-worthy in no time.  The mechanic comments "we don't see many families with such young children taking this kind of trip."  Just one more person hearing our plan and putting a checkmark in the crazy column. 

So, now we have 3 keys for the wagon - one to get in the door, one to start the ignition, and one for the trunk - we need to mark the keys as the one we want always seems to be the last one we try (Murphy's Law right).   After a shot of espresso in Botany Bay (incidentally where Captain Cook first landed) we are ready to roll - Holiday Ro-oh-oh-oad…