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Tuesday 7th woke up early again and scoffed down a tasty breakfast of Scrambled eggs on toast. Took a taxi to the Airport to pick-up our car we had reserved on novacarehire. After a long rigmourole with firstcarhire we drove off in style in a Cheverolet Spark!! ahem.. I could bearly fit into the spark but it’s fun to drive. It’s like driving around in a matchbox at speed! That night we stayed in Nelspruit at Nelspruit backpackers where we were welcomed by the eccentric Jimmy the Jack Daniels lover! The only drink he has at the bar is JD! mad stuff.. Next day we visited the spectacular view of Gods Window and stayed overnight at Trackers (twas like a salvations army camp!) near Hoedspruit before our Kruger wildlife adventure.

Kruger National Wildlife Park and the Big Five

5am start to get to the gate before sunrise. We entered the Kruger Park through the Orpen gate, R130 pp and almost immediately we were greeted by a herd of buffalo starring at us from the roadside.. what a great start! The main road was paved so it was no problemo for el sparko but it wouldn’t be a safari without going off the beaten track. We took the dirt roads which sparky managed admirably and got to see Giraffes, elephants, rhino’s, kudos, wilder beasts up close.

White Rhino Kruger National Park

The leopard eluded us but we did see a pack of lions in the distance. Kruger is South Africa’s largest national park 60km wide and 350km long, roughly the size of Wales. After a successful day viewing magnificent game roaming freely across the savannah we stayed in Sabe at Billy Bongos. Great hosel where Gareth the owner made us feel very welcome with a few cold ones.

Saturday 13th of June we flew from Sydney to Cairns.  We stepped off the plane into a lovely warm temperature of 26 degrees. After the 4 hour journey and checking into our hostel the hunger pangs were starting to kick so went to the woolshed.  Had a fabulous main course, dessert and pint all in for $10, the place was hopping and most people stayed on after they finished their meal. Hats off to the Woolshed’s sales and marketing folks, they have generated a roaring business. There’s a large casino in town where we watched the Cork V Kerry Munster Semi-Final replay in the wee hours of the morning.. disappointing result. Kerry are really up against it this year having picked up many injuries and going through a transitional period.

Next morning we pealed ourselves off the bed, rented a car with our friends. Stayed overnight at Port Douglas and stocked up on supplies for Cape Tribulation.

Took the cable ferry ($20 return) to cape trib and checked into the Cape Tribulation Beach house. Gorgeous setting along the beach located in the thick rain forest. Cape Trib is on of the oldest rain forests in the world and one of the few that reaches the ocean. Next morning we went for a pleasant walk along the beach and then through the lush  forest where we took a dip in the pristine fresh water pool. On the way back to Cairns we stopped at Daintree Village for lunch, had a croc burger.. tasted kinda fishy!

The Great Barrier Reef

Up early 6.30am for our great barrier reef experience.  We were booked with “Reef Experience” $165 per person including snorkelling, one scuba dive and all equipment included. The crew hadafull breakfast ready for us complete with bacon, eggs, fruit and tea.. Great Start to the day so far. After a safety briefing we arrived at our first stop, 30km from the coast. It was our first dive, I can’t swim so needless to say I was a bit nervous but everything went smoothly. It was a gorgeous day which helped illuminate the beautiful coral and all the life it supports. The experience was like swimming in an aquarium with all of Nemo’s little friends including the turtles!

Mission Beach - Tully - Townsville

Thursday 18th after a sound sleep we woke up in mission beach and thrown out of our room! Scoffed down the museli and toast and drove onto our Townsville. We stopped off in Tully along the way which claims to be the wettest town in Australia, that even have a welly to celebrate this claim to fame. Not much to do here but take a quick photo and out again unless you want to do some white water rafting. 

The Big Wellie in Tully

That night we hit the town in townsville, good night where we got to play pool on a round table!! The following morning we cleared the head with a swim in the local rock pool and spent the day sun bathing before we drove to Ayr. Stayed with our friends relatives in Ayr, a ncie town but very local and quite. Next morning we boarded our first Greyhound bus to Airile beach. $365 for 45 Days of stops - hop on, hop off.

Airlie Beach and The Whitsunday Islands

While at Airlie Beach we stayed at the Koala Hostel in town.  Little did we know that this would be the start of the Koala nightmare! DO NOT stay at Koalas in Airliebeach the stench of urine from the room was revolting, these guys should be closed down. We had a package booked with Koala which included Whitsundays + Fraser Island + 4 Free nights for $535.  Sunday 21st we packed lightly and set off for our Whitsunday Islands adventure on the Annaconda II sailing boat. Before we boarded, mitch one of the crew informed us that if we think we have enough drink we actually don’t! so all 25 of us went to the bottleshop (Off-Licence)  on the pier and stocked up on GOON!! (Goon is a cheap wine drink in a silver bag packed into a cardboard box. It’s called Goon cause when you drink it, you become one! Whilst drinking Goon you must slap it before you open a new one.. it needs to be slapped coz it’s sooo bad!) Anyways we boarded the AnnacondaII and had the time of our life helping out with the sailing, snorkelling, vistiting the Islands and partying by night. We spent 3days and two nights on the Annaconda II.

Annaconda II Whitsundays Sailing Boat

The second day we dropped anchor and visited Whitehavenbeach, this place was paradise complete with pure white sand and beautiful turquoise water. We had a fantastic mix of people from France, Scotland, England, Israel and Ireland, everyone got on really well which made the trip might craic.  The crew were amazing and the cook whipped up fabulous food while on board. Thank you Annaconda II

Hervey Bay - Fraser Island

Wednesday 24th we arrived in Hervey Bay and stayed in the Koala Hostel, the hostel was alot better than it’s sister in Airlie but again the staff are very unprofessional and down right rude. Again STAY AWAY from KOALA! That evening everyone met for the Fraser Island briefing in the bar where we were organised into groups of 10. Our group pooled our money together and went grocery shopping for the 3 days that we were to spend on Fraser Island. The drink and meet order were separate and supplied to us the morning of departure.  Thursday morning we packed up our 4 X 4 jeeps and took the ferry to Fraser Island. As the ferry docked at Fraser I engaged the 4 wheel drive and hit the dirt roads of Fraser. I was the primary driver of the group and did all the driving while on the Island. It was superb fun driving on the challenging dirt roads and also along the beach through fresh water washouts. On the first day we visited Birabeen lake and had camp setup at Cornwall campsite by 3pm so there was not much left to do but sit down have some drinks and get to know the group. That night we drank and sang our way through the night enjoying eachothers company. Day 2 we went to lake wabby and the Moheno shipwreck stranded on the beach, Michael Jackson died aged 50. On the last day we chilled out by lake Mckenzie.

Brisbane

We took the 9.25am bus from Hervey Bay and arrived in Brisban at 3pm, checked into the brand spanking new YHA hostel on Roma St just up from the Brisbane Transit centre.  While in Brisbane we went to the Da Vinci exhibition which was showcasing models of Da Vinci’s inventions, the modern art gallery was also pretty cool. We didn’t have much time in Brisbane but it had a great buzz to it as we walked around the city centre.

Byron Bay - Surfs up man

Surf, Coffee, Surf, Coffee, Surf, Surf, Surf is the way of life in Byron Bay. The people here can’t get enough of it so we joined them and took our first Surfing lesson together with Style Surfing. Very cool guys and they kept their promise of getting everyone standing on the surfboard. Mighty buzz which encourages me to take it up when we get home, even if the weather is a little colder! We stayed in Holiday Village Hostel across the road from the party bar Cheeky Monkeys, well run, friendly hostel.

Sydney Round 2!

After a gruelling 12 hr bus journey from Byron Bay we arrived in Sydney and made our way to Kings Cross where we stayed in Headquarters Hostel. Went to the world famous Bondi Beach and met our friends again and had a great night out. South Africa beckons..

Up at 5am to catch the greyhound bus from central to Sydney International Airport but the bus didn’t show so we had o flag a taxi..10am we boarded the Boeing 747 and commenced our 14 hour flight to Johannesburg. Touched down in Jo’burg at 5pm local time and rang the hostel “Purple Palms” which we had booked in advance on hostels.com however they had no record of our booking even though they took our deposit on hostels.com .. not a good impression so far we thought! Jet Lagggggg

Eventually we managed to find a hostel “Gemini” with free pickup from the Airport. Gemini is located near the township of Alexander so going walkabout at night was a big no no. Sunk a cool castle larger and fell into a deep sleep. The body clock had now changed so we we woke early and looked into what tours were available. The Apartheid Museum was closed on Mondays so we opted to do the Soweto tour with Max for 150 pp. Max the tour guide was involved in t he ANC youth movement in 1976 and really brought the tour to life with his own personal accounts. We stopped at the famous street where town Nobel Peace Prize winners used to live. Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. We also visited the Hector Pieterson Museum which gave a fascinating insight into the uprising of 1976 in Soweto (170 students were massacred) which was the catalyst for bringing the Apartheid to an end. Baragwanath hospital is also located in Soweto, it’s the largest hospital in the world with over 10,000 beds!

FNB Soccer Stadium Soweto

After a short flight from Melbourne we arrived in Sydney, the real capital!  Tuesday 9th June. Caught the connect shuttle service from the Airport to Cirricular Quay, the service was slow and unorganised. We then took the ferry across Sydney harbour to Manly. The ferry took about 30 mins on which we took in the views of the harbour and the magnificent opera house. While in Sydney we stayed with some friend living in Manly, beautiful location which has plenty of shops, restaurants and lively pubs. Next morning we hopped on the bus to Summer Bay and strolled along the immaculate beach where we took the obligatory photo of home and away surf club house!

Sydney Opera House

Taking the ferry to Curricular Quay at night is spectacular and we were lucky enough to witness an visual art show displayed on the sails of the Sydney Opera house.

Sunday May-  31st we touched down in Melbourne and were chauffeured by Helen’s uncle and wife to their lovely home in Ringwood, a suburb not too far from Neighbours. While in Melbourne we visited the old Melbourne Gaol where the legend Ned Kelly was executed. Walking around the old jail is quite eerie with a death mask in every prison cell. A death mask was a cast of the prisoners head and used in the study the criminal mind.  Ned Kelly’s death mask is also on display at the old gaol. A total of 32 Irishmen were hung in the old Melbourne Gaol.

Me in the Ned Kelly armour

During the week we also visited the Melbourne Zoo and caught up with some friend at the weekend in the trendy Fitzroy area. Went to my very first Aussie Rules game in the MCG - not a bad game but Gaelic Football beats it hands down any day. After the match we watched the Kerry V Cork and Dublin V Meath matches..great banter but not the result I was looking for. Tuesday morning it was time to say farewell to Tony, Ger and the lads. we’ll miss the hospitality

We spent two day s in Kaikoura, a lively small town north of Christchurch. Friday we embarked on our whale adventure to experience our first encounter with a sperm whale. The tour cost $220NZ each, saucy enough but it was well worth the money. The boat was well kitted out with all the latest gismos, very comfy seats and excellent crew which educated us about the marine life in Kaikora Bay. At 11am the captain announced that we have a whale sighting off in the distance. Derrr she blows!! Our first encounter with a male sperm whale. He stayed afloat on the surface for 15 minutes and then made his deep dive but not before we got to view his magnificent tail. We saw a total of 5 whales on our 2 hour tour. Kaikoura is the perfect ecosystem for the whales due to the deep canyon river system where the warm northern current meets the cold of the South. These sperm whales dive up to 1,000 metres at 30mins at a time. Saturday we woke up in Hanmer Springs and set off for a quad bike adventure. The guide instructed us on how to us the quads and all the safety features. It was great craic tearing through the rough terrain over rivers, mud pools and rocks. All made even more exciting when Helen smashed into the back of my quad bike! Comical… After one hour on the track the guide drove us back to the village where we got complimentary pics all included in the trip at a cost of $89NZ per person. Great value.

Quad Biking, Hanmer Springs, New Zealand

It was time for a much needed wash so we called in to the thermal pools. Lovely warm pools in a beautiful setting even if our tranquillity was interrupted by the hoards of parents with children down for the long weekend. My name for them was the “Pee Squad” where no pool is too big or small to pollute! Ahh but seriously twas great to see everyone enjoying the relaxing Hanmer Springs.

Saturday evening we arrived at our final New Zealand destination, Christchurch. We had a fine meal in MU close to Soul Square and popped into a few more bars taking in the night life. The Bog Irish pub was hopping with live music and Guinness which wasn’t half bad for New Zealand. Oh.. the pub had a plaque of names behind the bar listing all those who have drank 100 pints of the black stuff. Twud be al full time job to maintain a plaque like tat back home especially during Puck Fair!! Next morning we said farewell to loki our trusty campervan and took the shuttle to the Airport for $20NZ

We spent two day s in Kaikoura, a lively small town north of Christchurch. Friday we embarked on our whale adventure to experience our first encounter with a sperm whale. The tour cost $220NZ each, saucy enough but it was well worth the money. The boat was well kitted out with all the latest gismos, very comfy seats and excellent crew which educated us about the marine life in Kaikora Bay.

Kaikoura Bay

 At 11am the captain announced that we have a whale sighting off in the distance. Derrr she blows!! Our first encounter with a male sperm whale. He stayed afloat on the surface for 15 minutes and then made his deep dive but not before we got to view his magnificent tail. We saw a total of 5 whales on our 2 hour tour. Kaikoura is the perfect ecosystem for the whales due to the deep canyon river system where the warm northern current meets the cold of the South. These sperm whales dive up to 1,000 metres at 30mins at a time. Kaikoura’s a great place where we definitely had a Whale of a time…

Sperm Whale, Kaikoura, New Zealand

25th of May we set off for Mount Cook and stopped off at Twizel along the way. That evening we arrived in Mount Cook and went for a short peaceful walk to view the spectacular mountain range and Mt Cook itself. We camped in a DOC campsite beneath the mountains with a beautiful starry clear night sky to send us to sleep. Next morning we drove on to lake Tekapo, played some mini golf and took a walk by the turquoise lake.

Mount Cook, NewZealand

 We then set off for Akaroa and arrived that evening around 5pm. I was starved out of my mind so we ate in a lovely restaurant where I had succulent pork ribs and scoffed down a delicious bread & butter pudding for desert. Next morning Helen went swimming with the local Hector dolphins, these friendly little fellas are a protected endangered species  and can only be found in New Zealand. There’s a great fish and chip shp in Akaroa where we ate before driving to Chirstchurch where we stayed the night. We got up early the following morning to watch the Champions League Final Man United V Barcelona in The Bard on Avon pub. Disappointed result but Barca truly deserved to win.

Akaroa, New Zealand - Hector Dolphins

Wednesday 20th of May we set off on our Journey towards Milford Sound despite of the weather warnings. Stopped over in TeAnau and picked up some snow chains for the drive to Milford Sound the following morning.  Woke early with the cold and drove onto Milford Sound, really nice drive and the conditions weren’t too bad, the council had the roads ploughed and gritted so thankfully we didnt have the use the snow chains. Arrived in Milford Sound at 11am and boarded the boat for the 11.30am cruise, $70 dollars each but we played the local card again and got 10% off! SWEET AS! (Kiwis say that alot!)
That evening we randomly decided to head to Bluff, south of Ivercargill for the annual Oyster festival on the Saturday morning.  We stayed Friday night and had a few pints in the local and a game of pool or two with the locals, not many around the night before, if the festival was back home the place would be packed! Next morning we went to the all ticket event where we tasted the local delicacies, had a mouth watering mussel and bacon kebab, prawns, and of course tasted my very first Oyster!  The main even included an Oyster opening and eating competition which was taken very seriously by all competitors. Comical!

That evening we went back to Queenstown and hit the town with some friends where we tried the many beers on offer. Sunday we rocketed down the Shotover river on the Shotover jet where the driver did 360 spins while avoiding jagged rocks along the canyon floor. Great thrill.

As we drove along the coast we were reminded of Ireland by placenames such as Longford, Westport and of course the weather! Lovely drive with a sea view all the way and we got to see blow holes and pancake rock formations.. cool.

That night we just about managed to get to Greymouth with the petrol tank seriously in the red. They really should have some signs warning you that there’s no filling stations for hundreds of kms, boy was I glad to see that Shell station. That night we stayed at “Neptunes” hostel and campervan site. Hot showers, free breakfast and even freshly baked bread and cream buns from the local bakery! We went for a few scoops in the local and got chatting to some great characters. Swifty the kiltwearing scott, Rotten the tatooed rock guy and Paul the Driller. Really great laugh with some tasty pints of speights.

We didn’t get to see the Fox Glacier since it was lashing rain so we drove on to Wanaka, we saw a massive glacier in S.A so we were’nt too dissappointed.  Sunday 17th we arrived in Wanaka, very picturesque but alot of tourists around, even in off season. While there, we popped into cinema paradiso, it was like a home cinema with couches, homemade cookies, coffee and there’s even a vintage morris minor inside the cinema! Very unusual but worthwhile experience.  The next day we set off for Queenstown and stopped by Puzzleworld and a driving range just outside of Wanaka.