Melbourne to Sydney

Well after a few hiccups i'm finally on the road to Port Douglas! :) I set off from Melbourne at 1pm so only managed to get to a place called Holbrook over the New South Wales border. Found a wee campsite, but the time I got there it was dark and raining, so was a bit of a nightmare setting everything up. But I guess it was good practice!!

The Hume Highway...empty..as far as the eye can see!!

Rural Victoria is called Country Victora. Dunnyo why, but anyways it reminds me alot of the Scottish Borders..Rolling green hills and rain!!! :)

It's the road from Gala to Hawick!!! :)

After about 3 hours of driving into New South Wales the weather really started to pick up. It's amazing what going 700km north does to the temperture! It's also weird seeing all the british city and town names. Geographically they are all over the place!! :)

Blacktown!!??

I also have two travelling buddies.."Karma Cat" who waves at everybody and "Bender"!! I'm not too sure about his name...but anyways! Bender's party trick is that he does a full 360 degree rotation in 3 and half hours!! Must be something to do with the vibrations!! So I have invented a new measurement of time!!! :)

2 "Benders" from Sydney to Mebourne!!!

Must admit Sydney does look like a lovely city. Will have to come back and explore it properly!!

Sydney CBD

Surf's Up Dude!!

Decided to have a surf lesson today. It was great but I'm totally suffering now... :) My instructor Heather said i was very good, but she probably says that to everyone. I was out for nearly 4 hours. Managed to paddle out myself and get up on a wave and ride it in. The surf was about 3 to 4 ft so was a decent size.

So as expected I'm totally addicted now. I'll give it another try next week, once I fully recover. I know why surfers are all uber buff. I think I have discovered muscles I didn't think existed!!!

You can really tell the people that have surfed all their lives. Heather my instructor had the body of a 20 year old but the weather beaten face of a 50 year old. I have no idea how old she was...anything from 37 to 50!!!! So the rule is lots of sunscreen and moisturise after... :)

I couldn't take any pictures when I was surfing....maybe the next time.... :)

The board was fairly big...but not massive!

mmm nice cuppa tea after being out in the cold sea!

A stone in the works...

Well my plans have changed a wee but as I discovered after a BIG drinking session that I have a kidney stone that is lodged in my left kidney tube thingy... see below!!

So i'm off to the hospital next Tuesday to get an appointment for an operation!! It's keyhole surgery up the wrong way!! ouch!! and then they blast it with a laser. Very impressed with the medical service in Australia. The whole process has taken less than a week. You need to pay for it up front then you claim 60/70% back via Medicare. The actual operation is free!

So looks like i'm here in Victoria for another couple of weeks. So decided to start my holiday now!! I'm booking some surfing lessons and have a bought a mountain bike to do some off-road trails amd cycle along the beach at low tide :)

The Glitterama (Patent Pending)

Well here's my newest invention for inside and outside of the van. The Glitterama!!! I bought some LED lights thinking I would need them for additional lighting but turns out the lighting inside is great. So I found some old metal and made a housing for the lights...needs a wee bit more work but works a treat! ;-)

hmmm..need some lava lamps...

Whoooosh!!!

Fist attempt at assembling the Awning....

Well the Awning that comes with the van is seriously massive!!! It extands about 3 metres out from the van. You could have a big party in there, which obviously would be a shame no to try out! :) First attempt was ok, but it's still not right as its a bit lop-sided. ..Check it out... (pics are a wee bit blurry)

it's huuuuuge!!!

Check out the dancefloor with Glitter ball! ;-)

Nae bad first attempt....

At last!! I have the van...

Took a little bit longer than expected but finally got the van I wanted. It's a bit different buying a vehicle privately in Australia. The seller has to get a Roadworthy Certificate that states the vehicle is in good working order before he can sell it. Much like our MOT. Anyways there was a couple of small issues that needed to be sorted and of course they weren't in stock and then they sent the wrong part down from Melbourne. So yes it now official. Motor Mechanics no matter what country you are all all crap!! :) Anyways....here she is!!! Not given her a name yet.

Great nick and only done 133k. That's nothing for Australia!

The moody beach shot...

Plenty of space up to put stuff when the roof is up.

It's really nice inside. Can't beat that retro 70's wood effect :)

Check out the Scottish stickers! Better get an Aussie one too!

Got a really good set of spotlights for night driving and bull bars for the inevitable roadkill!

Say hello to the Tardis!!!

Finally bought a campervan. Pick it up this week. Ironically I was looking around Melbourne and all the vans were shit. Then a really nice one pops up in Ocean Grove!!!! Typical.... :)
Anyways the guy recommended I got a portable shower as the van comes with a power supply
at the front of the bull bars. Will also save me money not having to go into powered sites to shower all the time. So check out the Tardis!!! It's a weeeeee bit on the big side.

You put a suction valve into a warm bucket of water and the 12v power supply powers the unit