Author: odohertyelaine

Today we embark on a “planes, trains and automobiles” type of journey to get to the holy mountaintop Koya-san or Mount Koya. This is the centre of Shingon Buddhism and a place of pilgrimage for the Japanese. We set off early and don’t have any hiccups with the taxi, Shinkansen, regular train, subway, bus and cable car… the Japanese really are that efficient. The view of the mountains from the train is impressive as we continue to climb. When we disembark our last train at Gokurakubashi, we take a cable car, which we’re assured is one of the steepest in the world, shooting up nearly 900 meters.

It’s raining when we arrive but after a vegan lunch (looks like we’re going to be eating Buddhist style for the next while) the showers clear, and we set out to investigate the local attractions. So a bit of background on this place…

In 804 a monk called Kobo Daishi travelled to China in search of Buddhist teachings. He brought Shingon Buddhism back to Japan and was given imperial permission to build his monastic settlement on Mount Koya. We start with a visit to Danjo Garan which is a complex of temples and buildings including the great pagoda and main hall.

We continue to Kongobuji temple where Kobo Daishi taught until 835 when he entered into eternal meditation (i.e. he died). The temple is surrounded by a huge rock garden and we visit the many rooms where he taught, hundreds of years ago. Walking on through the town there are temples literally on every corner:

On the mountain, most accommodation is with monks in their temples. Our temple accommodation is called Henjoson-in and the entrance leads to a very peaceful rock garden and then the main building.

Later in the afternoon we visit Okunion cemetery, the largest cemetery in Japan with over 200,000 tombs. It is also the site of Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum and there’s a two kilometer walk to get there.

On the way to the large temple building holding the mausoleum we see many interesting tombstones:

She looks delighted with life…

Back at our temple lodging it’s time for dinner. The food is beautifully presented but it’s vegan (seriously!) and essentially tofu prepared six different ways with very limited flavors. I’m all on for trying new things but it’s bland and tasteless – I eat most of it mind you!!

We are able to order beer which we are delighted with. We did smuggle in some wine just in case but we might need that later on the hike! While we’re eating dinner someone is moving the table from the middle of our room and laying out the futons. This is what we’ll be sleeping on for our time in the mountains:

Cute signs in various places around the “hotel” to tell us where to go:

After dinner we go for a bath which is the only option for a wash as there’s no shower in our room (just a toilet with a small tap over the cistern!). It does have all the cool buttons though!

The bath is going to be a fun experience .. check out the rules:

In fairness it’s not as bad as you’d think (Margaret Kennedy if you’re reading this I’ve no doubt you’ll be remembering our mud bath adventure in Calistoga!). We have a crazy hot bath and get into our robes for the evening.

We get up before 6am so we can pray with the monks. It turns out to be more of a prayer viewing rather than participating and there’s only one monk involved. He lights candles, then settles into a pose before chanting and striking a drum at regular intervals. It’s very rhythmic and relaxing and other people walk to the alter one at a time, bow, kneel for a prayer and return to their seats. I’m extremely impressed how the Japanese people bend down and get up on their feet so gracefully and just as I’m admiring one lady she walks down from the alter and smacks her head off a low hanging lantern. It was really funny and let’s just say one of us giggled a lot harder than the others, but I’m not naming names!! Later when we discussed the chanting I mentioned to the girls that I could hear different songs as part of the chanting… at one point it did sound like he was about to go into “chka-chka slim shady” 😲 .

After an elaborate Japanese breakfast which involves rice and tofu again we set off on another train journey to Kii Tanabe, of course that’s after stopping at the local shop “Family Mart” for a pork bun!

When we arrive in Kii Tanabe a very smiley lady takes us through a lot of paperwork for our next four days walking the Kumano Kodo.

We head for our hotel, freshen up and then set off to see what this little town has to offer in the way of nightlife!! It looks like we’ve found the spot for bars. It’s called Ajikoji and has lots of small streets filled with over 200 restaurants and Japanese pubs called izakaya. Unfortunately for us, it’s Sunday at 6pm and not a lot is open. We find a few options and ultimately settle on a traditional style restaurant with private dining areas and low seats. The poster outside with a picture of wine seals the deal! We order from a tablet which has pictures of the food and a little English and end up with a delicious variety of food including pancake, avocado salad, naan pizza and spicy shrimp. The wine goes down very well but we’ll have to behave as we start hiking tomorrow!

As we leave the restaurant Megan notices what sounds like singing coming from what looks like a small house. I open the door and peep inside and confirm it’s a tiny bar with karaoke. The bar lady waves us in and the customers move seats to make room for us at the bar (which is the only option for seating). There’s a couple to our left and two guys and a girl to our right and one of the guys has a microphone in hand and is singing. Needless to say we get stuck in.

There’s a mobile tablet–like thingy on the bar and you type in the song or artist you want and hit send and that’s it…. pick up the microphone and go for it.

This is by far the most authentic and fun karaoke I’ve ever been at. It is hilarious. All three if us sing and also do duets with the locals. The couple on our left sing some very heartfelt Japanese songs and the other three do a range of English songs that we all join in.

Even the owner, while still pouring beer into our tiny glasses, sings. It’s absolutely brilliant and we’d stay all night only we have to be up at 6am to start our hiking.

I’ll leave you with a little taste of our shenanigans.. let’s hope there’s no hangovers tomorrow!!!

We take the 365 km journey from Tokyo to Kyoto on the Super Express Shinkansen train. It takes just two and a half hours going at speeds of up to 300km per hour. It’s a comfortable train that you could easily nap on but lucky for us we’ve had our best nights sleep so far so we happily watch the scenery whizz by. Although it’s a bit overcast we do get to see Mt Fuji :

We spend the afternoon sussing out our neighborhood which is beside a massive shopping area called Shingyogoku. There are some really cool shops here and great food places. Every so often a temple will pop up among the shops too!

We also walk through Nishiki market with so many food stalls with weird and wonderful things to try.

Later in the evening we head to what was apparently Steve Jobs favorite sushi restaurant called Sushiiwa. We do a “courses” menu which involves eating the chefs recommendations and it’s all very tasty. Although the courses start very small we end with a large plate of sushi and we even get to meet the chef who’s very friendly and chats to us for ages. In fact as we’re leaving the restaurant, the long goodbye feels very Irish with repeated goodbyes and thank you’s. The staff mention there’s another typhoon coming this weekend but hopefully that just means a little rain!!

Day 2 we have a guide to take us to some of the UNESCO world heritage sites that Kyoto is famous for… lots of temples! We meet our guide Umi and set out for Nijo Castle. This was built in the early 1600’s by the shogun Tokugawa. On the way in, Molly got interviewed by the cutest school girls practicing their English:

The castle is huge and consists of a lot of waiting rooms where the politicians and nobles would wait to meet the shogun. There were always samurai close at hand to draw their swords as needed. The rooms are mostly bare but with beautiful paintings on the walls and ornate wooden ceilings. The wooden floor that we walk along is original to the castle and it’s famously known as the nightingale floor as it chirps as you walk on it. The myth is that this was intentional, so intruders would be heard, but apparently it’s just the noise from the joints used to keep the floor together.

From Nijo Castle we head for the golden pavilion which originally was a retirement villa for the shogun but after his death became a Buddhist temple. It’s set by a lake in beautiful surroundings and we’re lucky to see it on a calm day when we can see the reflection in the water:

We walk around the beautiful gardens and can imagine the Emperor enjoying the views from the beautiful golden pavilion.

Next we visit the Ryoanji zen temple with its famous rock garden. There are fifteen rocks in the garden but from any spot you cannot see all fifteen and the lesson here is that you can never see everything i.e. you need to be content with what you have. It’s nice to sit here and contemplate that for a bit.

Next it’s a quick stop at Tenryu-ji temple which was built in 1339 but has a modern painting on the ceiling of a cloud dragon. The painting was completed in 1997 and kinda looks like anime, which is probably not all that surprising. The eyes of the dragon appear to follow you around the temple wherever you walk. (No photos allowed).

After a full on cultural heritage morning we fill up on udon and soba noodles before heading to Arashiyama and the bamboo forest. There are pathways through the bamboo groves and it’s a lovely change of scenery from the city and it’s multitude of temples.

We end our tour in Gian. Gian is the area famous for the Geisha or gecko as the Japanese call them. A senior or experienced geisha is called a miko. They essentially are hired\paid to dance, play musical instruments and serve tea and they are trained by and employed by agencies with a “mother” in charge. [it’s all a bit peculiar]. There are very few agencies still running in Gian compared to a hundred years ago but there are still a few and about two hundred actual geisha. Most of the buildings along the narrow streets of Gian are now restaurants but you can tell an agency by the sign outside which holds the names of each geisha. If you’re lucky, you might spot one on their way to dinner or a show. We were very lucky and managed to see two.

She is flying along in those crazy shoes:

Happy that we’ve successfully completed our geisha spotting mission we relax in a sake bar where we try sparkling sake. Megan and I also try some blowfish which apparently is ok to eat once prepared correctly by the chef. The waiter told me “we’re licensed to serve it” when I asked if there was any chance of it killing us!! Disappointingly it tasted just like a fish finger!!

After our nibbles and sake, (ok and wine too!!) we decide to move on, but not too far as across the road we see a chef making Okonomiyaki which is a pancake made of cabbage and filled with a range of meat, vegetables and egg. We head in for a shochu, which is a popular liquor drank in Japan, and an “everything in it, only one menu” pancake. It’s delicious! Feeling particularly satisfied in our bellies and maybe a little bit drunk [side note: sake is strong!] we head back to the hotel.

On our last day in Kyoto we set off early to visit the Fushimi-Inari shrine and famous Torii Gates. Even though we get there fairly early it’s not early enough to avoid the crowds but we climb higher through more gates and finally get some good photo opportunities with no people around.

It’s a beautiful place to walk through and there are many shrines along the way. I think this could be the highlight of the trip so far.

We see monks praying and they appear to be going to every shrine. Check out their shoes:

There are literally thousands of gates… apparently three thousand and I can’t get enough of them but it’s time to go.. a few more quick pics..

From here I get the train to Nara which was one of Japan’s former capitals. It was the centre of Japanese culture and civilization from the 8th century so it’s steeped in history. It wasn’t bombed during WWII so it’s got lots of historic buildings still in tact. I’ve been warned about deer being everywhere but I didn’t realize they’d be in the middle of the road. I particularly like this fella sitting beside the “beware of deer” sign:

First I head for the Kasuga Taisha shrine which houses a thousand hanging lanterns. They are really pretty and not too many people have actually bought a ticket to go inside so it’s lovely and peaceful walking around the grounds and seeing the hanging lanterns:

The shrine was built in 768 but has had some further rebuilds over the centuries. It feels old as I walk around. On the way to the shrine, and from the shrine in the surrounding forest, are two thousand stone lanterns. On the approach to Kasuga it’s busy, not only with people but with deer! They peep out from the stone lanterns looking for food and visitors are only too happy to feed them and get a chase off them!

The walkway with the surrounding lanterns is spectacular :

After visiting the shrine I take a little detour to the Kasagayama Primeval forest. I don’t have a lot of time here but I manage a wander through the trees where it’s tranquil and quiet.

Next it’s on to Todaji temple and the big Buddha. The approach to the temple has a beautiful ancient looking wooden gate:

In Japanese the Buddha is known as Daibutsu and the hall that houses the Buddha is called the Daibutsuden. As you’d expect, it’s another beautiful Japanese style building and apparently the largest wooden building in the world:

I do love a big Buddha and this one is allegedly the biggest bronze one in the world. It did not disappoint:

He’s also got a giant golden Buddha on each side of him. They’re not quite so big but still impressive. You can walk around the statues and see them from the side and back. There are a couple of other statues in the corners (protectors I’m sure) but other than that the giant hall is pretty much empty other than a few shops.

From here I head back toward the train encountering a lot of deer en route. They really are everywhere

Back in Kyoto it’s time for drinks with the girls and then we find another great tepanyaki restaurant where we have a delicious meal of beef and chicken cooked tepanyaki style.

Kyoto has been fabulous and I’d happily return to see more of the city and it’s numerous historical buildings. Tomorrow it’s time to head south to Koyasan, so for now it’s sayonara.

I arrive in Tokyo Narita airport after an 11+ hour flight from London so not quite bright eyed and bushy tailed! Getting through the airport is easy and quick but the journey into Tokyo by bus takes an hour and a half – it’s a huge city but it’s raining and the sky is grey so I don’t get to see much. There’s a typhoon on its way so luckily I’ve landed ahead of the bad winds. I’m hoping Megan and Molly are as lucky as they’re arriving later this evening. Time for a couple of hours sleep at the hotel before the girls get here.

By 8pm the girls have arrived without any delays or drama and we’ve stumbled upon a really cool little restaurant where we have sirloin steak (cut very thin and looking like a giant rasher!) cooked at our table, noodles, rice, local veggies and wine…. hooray – let the holiday begin!

Tokyo is on the main island of Honshu, that’s also where Kyoto and Osaka are. There are hundreds of other islands but the main ones are Honshu, Haikado (to the north and the one that just had the recent earthquake), Kyushu (to the south, I’ll be there in a couple of weeks) and Okinawa (way further south, not going there!). So that’s the end of the geography lesson! Oh, one more thing, Tokyo used to be called Edo.

The typhoon passed over Tokyo as we slept, or tried to sleep and we are ready to start our first days adventure. We have a guide for the day who starts by helping us activate our JR passes (Japan Rail) and gets us acclimatized to our local surroundings. Our first train journey is just as you’d imagine rush hour in Tokyo…packed trains, squashed with locals (of which there are 13 million by the way) and tourists!!

We head for Asakusa to visit the Sensoji temple, which is the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan. We get a great view from the 6th floor of Starbucks and then head along the line of shops before hitting the temple….. and buying a kimono of course!

There is also a five story pagoda that allegedly holds some ashes of Buddha (not sure I’m buying that!):

Next to the Buddhist temple is a Shinto temple. Shintoism is the main religion in Japan, although it’s not really a formal religion and is very flexible in whats considered a God. It’s more about being at one with nature and worshiping anything that may bring happiness and goodness to the world. Both Shintoism and Buddhism have coexisted together happily for centuries. (There’s a lesson to be learnt there). We say a prayer by bowing twice, clapping twice, making the prayer (or wish) and then bowing once again.

For lunch we have our first bento box at a local restaurant. It has a variety of sushi and cooked fish and vegetables. It’s family run and the food is really tasty. After eating, we are entertained with some traditional music. The instrument they play is called the shamisen and it’s a three stringed banjo type instrument. It was very entertaining, for the fifteen minute show 😀

After lunch it’s time to board another train and visit Shibuya which has the largest pedestrian intersection, I think, in the world. It’s hard to capture how insane the number of ways to cross is, add to that a large volume of people and you can imagine how crazy it gets, today wasn’t too busy:

From here we head to the Meiji Jingu shrine which was built in honor of the Emperor Meji and is considered Japan’s most important Shinto shrine. Emperor Meiji was a particularly important leader of the country as it was under his reign that Japan opened up to the international world having previously been isolated from foreign countries. Built in 1922, it’s not very lavish but beautiful in its simplicity – as with most Shinto shrines. The approach to the shrine has beautiful Torii gates and is surrounded by pretty trees and gardens:

Our next stop is Cat Street in the Harajuku neighborhood. This area is known for it’s fashion and quirky style. There are lots of interesting stores selling vintage clothes and other quirky stuff

We finish the tour at Ginza and check out Ginza 6 which is a large department store / shopping mall with an amazing food court in the basement and a fabulous bookshop called Tsutaya Books on the top:

The sun sets by 5:30pm this time of year so it’s already dark at 6 and we’re ready for drinks and grub. The guide has recommended a yakatori restaurant which is essentially chicken on a stick, so we set off to find it, looking forward to a rest after our busy day. The restaurant looks really nice but is empty except for a couple of Japanese men. We sit down and order drinks and although the waiters don’t seem to speak much English we are handed an English menu which seems promising. There’s a list of food on the menu including gizzards, chicken neck and other such delights but luckily there’s chicken breast, wing and thigh so we decide to order that. When we attempt to order the food, we hit a bit of a stumbling block and are told we can only order 5 sticks with the chicken parts we really don’t want to eat! There’s a lot of back and forward to try to order from the list they’ve put in front of us but it’s not working. Megan tries talking through the google translator app and the English translated response from the waiter reads “maybe you should go home!”. We are in fits of laughter, assuming he’s trying to convey something else but the mood quickly turns very uncomfortable. We suggest we pay for our drinks and leave as we’re unable to order food from the menu but that doesn’t go down well. One of the waiters, with some limited English, tells us we must pay for food and hands us a bill for over $50, double the amount of our drinks. We try to explain that we’re not happy to pay for food that we can’t order and are not willing to eat and apologize for the miscommunication. It’s really hard to understand what’s being said but the staff (all men by the way) appear to be making a laugh of us – they’re huddled giggling on the other side of the room. One guy pipes up and says he’s calling the police and we can’t leave… WTF!!!!!! We try to reason with them but apparently we are being “lude”, sorry, rude but alas I think in this situation (and I really hope it’s not the norm) they are being quite rude to us. After leaving money for the drinks on the table, we eventually get up and walk out. I want to run in case they shout after us but they don’t even come to the door… calling the police my arse!!! I’m not the better of the incident and have completely lost my appetite so we go back into Ginza 6 for a glass of wine and a plan b. After a long time walking around we finally find a tempura place which allegedly appears in a Michelin guide to Tokyo. It’s surprising based on its location and decor but the food is good, albeit a very small portion, and the staff are lovely so we’re happy out. We end the night with a cocktail at the Peninsula hotel bar which has a view of the city.

Next day we take a trip, approximately 120km north of Tokyo, to the mountainous area of Nikko. We are visiting Toshogu which is a UNESCO world heritage site consisting of Shinto and Buddhist shrines built in the 1600’s as a mausoleum to shogun Tokugawa. The small town is cute with rows of cedar trees flanking the streets and the day is warm but not roasting. We stop at a cute bridge where the water is usually calm but today is gushing after the typhoon (we didn’t see a bit of that rain!) :

And then continue to see a row of seventy Dosojin which are statues placed in various places around the country, especially near mountains, temples and bridges. They are said to be the protector of travelers and pedestrians. I hope we see more of them on our travels

We then visit the imperial villa where the Emperor and his family used to go on their summer holidays! It’s very peaceful, surrounded by beautiful gardens. It’s very simply decorated with its size being the only lavish thing about it.

From here we enter the national park and monument area:

There are approximately a dozen shrines and temples situated among trees and lush greenery. We see the affects of the recent typhoon with broken trees and leaves around the area and start to make our way through Torii gates to the shrines.

There are carvings of the original “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” monkeys:

And a beautiful pagoda:

We say a prayer at a match making shrine and Molly and I follow a ritual which involves walking a particular way through an arch – no harm I reckon! More beautiful shrines…

And finally, the main man himself the shogun:

We say goodbye to our guide and grab some lunch before boarding the train back to Tokyo. It’s a 2 hour journey – one hour on the Shinkansen and one on the regular train. It’s definitely the right time for a nap which I’m only too happy to do! This evening we hit the Shibuya neighborhood:

The streets at night have that distinct Tokyo look with bright lights, big advertising screens and huge cross walks. We also see the Tokyo Tower which lights up bright at night:

We check out another shopping centre food court which is amazing and then find a bar for a drink and a restaurant for some food. Tonight it’s the turn of shabu shabu which is essentially cooking your meat, noodles and veg in a pot of boiling broth at your table. It’s very entertaining and not bad for all you can eat… mind you, our waiter is not impressed at our inability to eat more!!

We check out a karaoke club on the way home but in Japan (home of karaoke) it’s done in private rooms that you rent out and sing with your friends, not in a bar with an audience.. alas not really my thing! Unfortunately it doesn’t look good for singing a song in Japan but you never now! For now it’s time to say goodbye to Tokyo and move south in the morning to Kyoto.

• There are six states in Australia and I’ve now visited all of them. I’ve also managed to visit the two main territories – the Northern Territory (Alice Springs) and the ACT Australian Capital Terriroty (Canberra). The six states are:

1. New South Wales (Sydney)
2. Victoria (Melbourne)
3. Western Australia (Perth)
4. Queensland (Brisbane)
5. South Australia (Adelaide)
6. Tasmania

• There are clean public toilets everywhere….it’s amazing
• People are prompt – no messing around or being late for the Aussies
• There are water fountains and places to refill your water bottle everywhere
• For the most part drivers seem to obey the speed limit… even on the motorway – I struggled with that one.
• Tipping is not a big thing over here.. even for services like nails etc…
• You always get milk to have in your room for your tea… fresh milk – love it
• Aldi has made it to Australia
• Table service is not the norm in most bars and restaurants, you order and pay at the bar
• There are wild camels in Australia – I’m not kidding!
• A toasted sandwich is called a jaffel
• You would think people are winding you up but when they say “be careful of the sharks”, they’re not joking. A number of people said this when Anne and I were going to the Margaret River but we didn’t actually go swimming, the day after we left a pro surfer was knocked off his board and attacked by a shark, he’s currently fighting for his life in hospital!
• It’s illegal to own a rabbit in Queensland, it’s ok in New South Wales but as soon as you cross the border that bunny’s gotta go
• Queensland is the only state where you’re allowed to hold a koala!
• People are very law abiding and always walk on the left. There are strict rules where you can walk or cycle your bike… even in the city on a regular street people walk on the left.
• Showgirls and topless bars are all over the place in Brisbane, it’s quite bizarre. As you walk along the main shopping area you’ll see H&M, McDonalds then Topless Girls!!
• It’s easier to get a pie than a sandwich and they love putting ketchup on their pie… arghhhhh that’s just wrong! I ate plenty of pies (seriously you’ll be singing “who ate all the pies” when you see me!!) – steak and mushroom, chicken, minced beef, crocodile, vegetarian … all delicious.
• If you don’t have ID you are likely not getting into a bar, no matter how old you are.

It’s a two and a half hour plane journey to get from Brisbane which is in south Queensland to Cairns which is in North Queensland it’s just like flying to Spain! It’s about another hour drive from Cairns to Port Douglas but it manages to take me three.. but I won’t go into that or I’ll just get angry again… anyways after hanging around and getting steadily more annoyed I did make it to Port Douglas around 3 o’clock. The hotel is really nice so that cheers me up! I check out the little town and try find some lunch as I’m starving but all the kitchens are closed from 2:30 to 5pm. I manage to get into Mockas, a famous pie shop by the skin of my teeth at two minutes before 4pm when they close. I’d read in my guidebook that they have crocodile pies and luckily there’s one left. The girl is really nice and tells me I can have it for free as it would have been thrown out. I sit on a bench and mill it!!

There’s a lovely little church down by the marina called St Mary’s by the sea

I’m too full after eating that pie at 4pm to go out for dinner so I have a snack and a glass of wine and get an early night ahead of the next two days tours. [Has anyone noticed this pattern of early nights…. I must be getting old!]

Today I’m on a full day tour that starts with a visit to Tjapukai Cultural Park. The Tjapukai people are said to be the oldest living culture, dating back forty thousand years. They show us how to shoot an hour, throw a boomerang and play the didgeridoo. It’s an interesting couple of hours.

Next we head for the Skyrail Rainforest cableway. I get a gondola to myself and there are beautiful views of Cairns and the rainforest as it travels higher.

There are two stops along the way. Firstly where you can walk a boardwalk through the Rainforest and secondly to the lookout for Baron falls. They’re quite extensive falls:

The cableway stops at a little town called Kuranda which is full of little shops and touristy cafes. I’m hanging out with a lovely Canadian couple who I just met and we see there’s a small wildlife park where you can “cuddle a koala”. We only have an hour in the town but decide that’s what we should do.

After the excitement of the koala (which is a major highlight of this whole trip), we make our way to the train station as we are taking a one and a half train journey back down on the Kuranda Scenic Rail.

It really is a very scenic journey. I’m traveling in gold class so I get nibbles and wine and have a great time chatting to the people in my carriage. The lady looking after us i.e. regularly topping up our wine glasses, is going to Ireland in September so of course I give her a few tips and the bare bones of my now quite honed Dublin tour!

A little tipsy we board the bus back to Port Douglas where I get fish and chip and drink a liter of water before bed!

Another full day tour today this time starting with a trip through the Daintree National park

and a cruise along the Daintree river to see crocodiles:

Apparently this little fella is two years of age (not sure if the guide was having us on)

I get to sit up front beside the driver and it’s quite a climb up and jump down for these short legs!

Along the roads there are signs for cassowaries but unfortunately we don’t get to see one.

Our next stop is Cape Tribulation which sounds fantastic even though honestly I’ve no idea what it is…. we’ll it’s a cape!! A picturesque inlet with a beach that’s unusual because the Rainforest grows right down to the sand of the beach. The tide was out and the sky a bit cloudy but it was still nice to see:

Next we head for the Mossman Gorge which is hard to photograph as you’re essentially in it, so it’s more rainforest, we take a short walk from the visitor center and it’s pretty but not very exciting, I think I may be on the wrong tour, a hike out here would be lovely…. maybe next time!

Before I leave Port Douglas for Brisbane I get a chance to walk 4-mile beach. It is gorgeous and there’s a steady flow of people out for their early morning walk.

It’s a nice way to end my little trip up north and I head off to the airport to catch up on the baby bump progress and life back in Brisbane.

My last dinner on this amazing trip is a fabulous Japanese meal at Sake restaurant on Eagle Street pier. We share a variety of sushi rolls, tempura, karaggi and it’s all delicious. A nice little drinkees and a chocolate dessert for Fiona and that’s our final meal together done.

Oh and did I mention that as we were leaving the restaurant Barry Humphries aka Same Edna was leaving the Italian next door… locked !! We followed him to make sure he got safely to his taxi!

Well my final day of this amazing trip is here. I get out along the river for a final run and have a few hours enjoying the sunshine before I have to pack and say goodbye. It has been amazing from start to finish. I can’t believe it’s four months since I left for Sri Lanka, that trip seems like a distant memory at this stage. I can’t wait to look back over the photos and video I’ve taken, there’s so much I haven’t had a chance to look at. I’m hoping this blog will help me remember where I’ve been as I know I’ll get mixed up and forget some parts.. there’s just been so much. What I won’t forget is all the amazing people I’ve met along the way.. so many who I’ve no doubt I’ll stay in contact with and hopefully meet again on further travels around the world.

For now thanks to my latest hosts Ian and Fiona who have been amazing and wish me luck on the longest journey home I’ve ever had to take on.

Back to my home away from home in Brisbane for a night before we take off to the Gold Coast.

We are on our way to Byron Bay which is south of Brisbane along the Gold Coast but it’s actually in New South Wales. You wouldn’t notice you’ve crossed the border other than a welcome sign and on the way back into Queensland the “no rabbits” sign!

We stop off at another famous pie shop called Yatala. This one is even signposted on the main traffic signs:

In an attempt to walk off the pie we check out Surfers Paradise. The beach is fabulous and goes on forever:

There’s been a recurring theme to our time hanging out and that’s food, so of course we start our Byron bay adventure with lunch and then we do a “short” hike to the lighthouse – Ian fooled us into thinking it was half the length it actually was. But we made it and honestly didn’t mind walking home in the dark – right Fiona?!!

On the way up we hit the most easterly part of Australia

After our hike we’re ready for a drink and we go into the main bar in town which used to be owned by Crocodile Dundee. We kept an eye out for him but apparently he doesn’t own it anymore. The pints were good though and we saw a live band who were, shall we say, interesting.

Next day we hit the beach at Byron after a big breakfast of course. Ian gets a board and tries a bit of surfing but Fiona and I are happy watching him from our sun beds with our kindles.

We head back toward Queensland and check out another beach called Coolangatta which looks back on Surfers Paradise. We had hoped to get into some calm water here but it’s actually a bit windy so instead we relax and take in the kite surfers and general loveliness of the beach.

The last of my parkruns is at South Bank Parklands and it’s a huge parkrun with nearly five hundred people. It goes along the river, over a bridge, through the botanical gardens, back over the bridge (not sure which one as there are so many bridges in Brisbane) and finishes by the river. It’s a gorgeous morning and we follow up the run with breakfast in one of the nearby restaurants.

For the rest of the day we lounge at the pool and when the sun is not so hot I finally get a game of tennis. The tennis court is really nice at the apartment complex so Ian and I play a couple of sets and I’m happy to report that the experience of the club player (i.e. me!) beats the strength of the newbie…. phew!!!

As it’s Cinco De Mayo today we decide to go out for Mexican food and some margaritas. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of Cinco De Mayo celebrations going on but there’s markets and it’s Buddhas birthday so we check that out… alas we’re a bit late to the party and everything is closing up so all we can do is go for another drink! We do manage to catch the churros stall before it closes:

Brisbane is a really colorful city at night

We check out the casino which is housed in a beautiful old building but don’t stay long as it’s quite a bizarre place to hang out for a drink. We do go to a nice bar called the Gresham and I’m fascinated by the system of checking your i.d. by a machine which apparently all the bars have and all the systems are connected. It captures a photo of you and matches it to your photo i.d. And you have to do that each time you enter or leave the bar… and the toilets are outside !!!

The manager wasn’t impressed with my paper drivers license from Ireland but he let me in! As we are enjoying our drink there’s two men outside (50ish) and as they are approaching the pub one of them starts to slip… he’s sliding for ages and managing to hold himself up but eventually goes down.. he’s very obviously twisted but they continue up to the door and try to get into the bar. It’s hilarious – they’ve no chance!

Well it’s been a busy few days back in Brisi and it’s time to head off again, one final short trip in this huge country. One more blog post to go!!

To get to Airlie beach I fly an hour and a half from Brisbane to Proserpine aka the Whitsunday Coastal airport. It’s another hour or so drive to get to Airlie Beach (where the boat to the Whitsundays will leave from) and I have an overnight stay ahead of my cruise tomorrow. I’m arriving a day ahead of the cruise so I can fit in another parkrun. I’m not too impressed with my hotel as it’s quite a distance from the town but I walk in and get some dinner before an early night ahead of a 7am parkrun tomorrow.

Saturday morning parkrun no. 10 – my second to last in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s a really nice one along the boardwalk to Abell Point Marina and the crowd are really friendly and cheer for Ireland as I finish!

I have a few hours before getting on the boat so after a lovely breakfast at The Deck on Main Street I wander around the little town and shops and buy some beach gear and a hat. I must say I’m a bit anxious getting on the boat but I get over it fairly quickly. It’s a catamaran with 4 sleeping cabins. I get one to myself… thank heavens, sharing one of these would be tough and there are three couples on board plus the captain and helper (who does everything else!).

I’m so lucky to have a really nice bunch of people to share this 3-night adventure with. There’s John and Joanne from Arkansas who I get chatting to before we board and straight away know I’m gonna hit it off with them. Then a couple from Vancouver – Azim and Fawziyah and Daniel and Franzie a young couple from Salzburg. It doesn’t take long for us to get to know each other.

We spend a couple of hours on our first day sailing out from land among the various islands and it’s beautiful. Although there’s a motor on the boat Peter the captain likes to put the sails up as much as possible and it’s so nice when the motor is off and we are gliding with the wind literally in our sails!

I’m feeling a bit more relaxed and gaining confidence moving around the boat so I decide to sit up front and enjoy the breeze and the calm sailing. Most of us are out front enjoying the good weather and calm sea and the captain decides to change the direction of the sails. Now this is my first time sailing and I really have no idea how this works but in hindsight I would move to the back for this maneuver. Somehow, in the effort to turn the sails the ropes became lose and were flapping around over our heads and all around us. The rope caught around one of the girls arms and as she wriggled free it caught my leg.. I let a scream because firstly I was watching her and thought she was going to get thrown overboard and I thought I was going to get dragged up by my leg…it was terrifying. The captain let a roar for us all to put our heads down and as I followed the instructions I got a massive lash in the face off the rope. Oh my God it hurt and I was afraid to move as I didn’t know if the ropes and sails were under control yet. Eventually (probably about sixty seconds later) someone asked if I was ok and I got up and came to the back of the boat. I had a red stinging face but thankfully no rope mark and my sunglasses protected my eye. I put some ice on it and it calmed down. I was very shaky, talk about knocking my confidence and really mad at the captain – that’s something that really should not happen on a boat with tourists relaxing on deck. Why he didn’t ask us to move to the back while they did what they needed to do is beyond me but lesson learned I’ll never allow that to happen again.

Anyway… deep breath and moving on… we all brought our own booze on board so it’s party time once the sun goes down. Well actually, most of the group have a few earlier in the day but I don’t like to mix daytime drinking with the open seas so I’ll wait til the sun has set and the boat is no longer moving. Of course I was happy to partake with my new pals once the sun went down.

On our second day we start with breakfast around 7 and then head toward Whitehaven beach. It’s absolutely stunning and I walk a few kilometers up the seven kilometer stretch of sandy beach.

When I get back from my walk everyone is swimming and the water is so nice and calm I join them.

Back on the boat we sail onwards to Tongue Point lookout which is truly amazing. How the water and sands mix colors and shapes is beautiful to see. It’s a short hike to the top and the lookout allows you to see this :

It’s hard to walk away from that view:

In the afternoon it’s time for some snorkeling. We go out in the little dingy and go in the water from there which is a little nerve wrecking as I somehow manage to launch myself under the boat…. I get my act together and swim around and see some fish but the coral is not great – most of it in this area is bleached.

That night we have a gorgeous dinner of steak cooked on the grill and there’s plenty of wine and beer still to be drank.

We find out that Daniel is a ski jumper and it’s fascinating to hear about his training and competitions. We get to see a YouTube clip of him and it is amazing – he now has a whole new fan base in us and we’re hoping to see him in the next olympics.

On our next full day at sea we start by going for a snorkel in an area where the coral is a little more colorful. This time John is kind enough to help me out of the dingy and hold my hand for a while til I’m relaxed enough to swim around myself. It really does make all the difference and I’m in the water for ages (apparently 45 minutes!) before I decide I’ve had enough. We do see some nice coral and colorful fish here.

That evening we see batfish in the water

And later we see a beautiful sunset

We wake up on our last day to some rain so we don’t get a final snorkel in, we head back to shore after a very healthy breakfast and say our goodbyes. It’s been a great few days and I couldn’t have been with a nicer group.

This time when I check into the hotel I’m delighted. I have a beautiful apartment looking out to the seafront. I’m tired and a bit worn out from the sun and the sea so it’s nice to have a bit of luxury and hang around on the balcony. It’s also nice to be eating when you’re still and not having to hold onto your glass to make sure it doesn’t spill!

After a very lazy day I head to Airlie Beach main street and meet with my Arkansas buddies at the rum bar. After a very nice rum cocktail we decide to hit the Irish bar but it doesn’t open til 10pm, ha ha there’s no chance we’ll be waiting for that so instead we hit one of the bigger bars which is full of backpackers and I’m guessing we’re the oldest people there. Ah well we have some food and drinks and a good night.

Next day I have time for a final walk along the seafront and then it’s time to head back to Brisbane.

Ian and I fly back to Brisbane on the same flight and after an unscheduled detour to Melbourne, we arrive safely Saturday evening and are met by Fiona and quite a large bump. We have a quiet evening catching up over a takeaway and glass of wine. The view from their apartment is fab:

On Sunday we go out for a leisurely breakfast and carb load a bit ahead of our 10k Twilight run. We take a stroll along the dockside where we can see the city and Storey bridge and it’s a fabulous walking path right on their doorstep. I’m looking forward to getting out here during the week.

It’s rough when it’s hot and you’ve been relaxing all afternoon, to get up, put your gear on and get ready to run ten kilometers at 5 o’clock in the evening but we’ve signed up and we’re going to do it. The before shot:

As it turns out we end up doing really well with Ian launching into trainer mode and pushing me to the finish. I’m pretty sure I’ve run my fastest 10k so we’re delighted with ourselves and Fiona is at the finish line to cheer us on:

As we’re over this side of town we go to Mt Cootha lookout to see the view across the city, then we pick up food and head home.. ready for a shower and an early night.

I hit the waterfront next morning and go out with the intention of a 5km run.

I end up doing 9km and although I’d love to say that I was just having a Forest Gump moment it’s really because I couldn’t figure out the loop back to the apartment and so ran too far one way and came back another and there you go – 9km! It’s a great area for a run though and super views:

I decide to have an easy day after that and settle in to my new home away from home. Next day I venture into the city. There’s a free city hopper ferry which is very handy and I go to Southbank and walk the Kurilpa foot bridge into the main town centre.

There’s a cool man-made lagoon right among the office blocks which is amazing.. imagine on your lunch break stripping off and jumping in here or lying on the sand for an hour before you go back to work.. brilliant!

I spend the afternoon at city hall where I catch the last ten minutes of a free concert in the dome. Then I visit the museum upstairs and do the clock tower tour and then I spend an hour at the “Mao’s Last Dancer” exhibit which is really interesting.

When I get back home via the ferry, it’s a quick change into gym gear and we’re off to CrossFit. It’s my first time and I really like the class.. especially the skipping!

We dash home and have a quick turnaround of showers and within the hour are ready to hit the Story Hotel for Trivia. It’s packed and the girl running it has a really annoying voice which I can’t even describe in words but we have a laugh and get through it and end up scoring reasonably high.

Wednesday is Anzac Day which means it’s a public holiday so we set off up the Sunshine Coast. There’s an accident on the main road so we are a little longer in the car than we would have liked but we fill the time with a few games of Heads Up. We check out the Eumundi markets and have the most gorgeous donuts.

Then we do a hike at Mt Coolum to work them off.

Fiona does tremendous considering the bumpy she’s carrying and she gets lots of kudos from others on the trail.

We’re delighted when we make it to the top

Then we hit Cooolom beach and stay there til the sun sets. The sand is gorgeous and the water is almost warm. I have a paddle up to my knees but Ian goes for it:

We have a really tasty Asian dinner before heading home – what a full day it’s been I reckon we’ll all sleep like logs. On Thursday I take Fiona’s car and drive back along the sunshine coast to the Australia Zoo, aka The Steve Irwin zoo. As zoos go it’s really good and the highlight is the crocodile show.

I get to see a dingo which looks no different to a dog:

The koalas are being their usual cutes selves:

I see my first Komodo Dragon, apparently this guy is a small one and I really want to go to Komodo island and see some big ones (it’s on my list):

Earlier when I took the exit for the zoo which takes you along Steve Irwin Way, I noticed signs for Glass House National Park and I kept getting peaks of some amazing looking mountains as I was driving, I’m anxious to get out of the zoo and see the mountains while the sun is shining. I follow a sign to a lookout spot and I’m not disappointed – they are amazing:

Great views driving around here:

A quick pit stop on the way home to pick up some wine and then It’s home for a shower and dinner out with the Brisbane crew who I met in New Zealand (remember that gang who got me drunk!!!!). I meet up with Anna and Peter who take me to a fabulous French restaurant called Boucher in their neighborhood and we have a great giggle about that crazy night and I fill them in on all my travels since I saw them. Unfortunately I don’t get to see the other two couples but maybe on my return we might remedy that.

It’s been great to visit Brisbane and see where my cuz lives and I’m looking forward to a few more days and exploring the Gold Coast when I get back. For now it’s time to head further north to the Whitsundays.

I’m up at 4:30am for my two and a half hour flight to Alice Springs. My cousin Ian, who lives in Brisbane, is meeting me there and we are doing the Red Centre (as they call this neck of the woods) tour together. What greets you on arrival are flies. They are everywhere and apparently there’s going to be even more of them as we travel further into the outback.

Day 1 Alice Springs: The hotel is a newly renovated Crowne Plaza and the rooms are spanky new with a lovely pool area and nice restaurant. Ian and I walk downtown which is about a thirty minute walk in blazing heat… well it’s reasonably comfortable for Ian but I’m roasting. We meet nobody along the road until we hit the small town. The flies are still hanging around – there’s actually one on my face in this photo!

As you’d expect there’s a lot of aboriginal people around. They have a reputation for being drunk and disorderly but apparently that’s because, like the native Americans, they are missing the gene that breaks down alcohol (I’m not sure how true that really is). There’s a strange feel to the town, it’s hard to explain. It’s essentially in the middle of nowhere with a few basic shops, bars and some cafes. The whole area is like a red sand desert but with trees and tufts of grass growing all over it. We settle into a bar that serves food and have a couple of beers with a giant sambo for lunch.

Day 2 Yolara & Kata Tjuta: We set off on the 441km journey to Yolara and the bus driver tells us that we’ll have two right turns during that time. It’s a long bus journey and the driver talks the whole way. He tells us some interesting stuff like there are currently approximately a million wild camels in Australia in particular in the Northern Territory where we are now, but also reaching into Western Australia and South Australia. Camels are considered feral pests and after a census in 2002 found there were two million of them, the government decided to shoot them and managed to kill around eight hundred thousand of them. Apparently the numbers are shooting back up again so if one comes onto your land you are entitled to shoot him. We hope to see some wild ones over the next few days but for now we stop off at a camel farm and meet a few friendly ones:

They are surprisingly clean and soft to pet. Apparently they’re the healthiest camels in the world. I even got feed this guy

And Ian goes for a ride:

The landscape doesn’t change much on our six hour drive but the bus driver Gary feels the need to tell us every small detail about what’s around us including telling us about what is down a road that we are not turning down or trivial meaningless things that we really don’t need to know. It’s quite exhausting for us but I’m guessing he’s doing it to keep himself awake.

Half way there we stop at place called Eridunda which has a coffee shop and more importantly sells fly masks – these are going to get a lot of use. We also see some emus:

A couple of hours before reaching Yolara we pass Mt Connor which looks a little like Uluru but it’s not:

We catch our first glimpse of Uluru around 40km out from it. That’s how big this rock is and how flat the landscape is as you approach it. It’s three kilometers long and if you were to walk the path around it, it’s a ten kilometer walk.

We arrive at Ayers Rock Resort which houses a small village of three or four hotels, a post office, small supermarket, gift shops and a few cafes. Other than some high end camping, it is the only accommodation with close proximity to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. We have a little respite from the hot soon and then it’s time to visit Kata Tjuta for sunset. Kata Tjuta, also known as the Olgas, are a group of thirty-six red domed rocks that are held sacred by the aboriginal people in particular aboriginal men. Apparently aboriginal women have no business being near them or even looking at them!!

Our first proper view of Uluru on the way to Kata Tjuta:

There’s a group of about twenty-five of us on the sunset tour and we enjoy wine and canapés as we watch the sun go down on Kata Tjuta. Unfortunately it’s cloudy so we don’t get a spectacular change in colour. It is beautiful though… even though we have to wear our fly masks the whole time:

Day 3 Uluru: Today is all about The Rock. We have a 5:45am pick up to see the sun rise. It’s an early start but it’s well worth it.

After a nap and some lunch we head back out, this time to Walpa gorge. We get to walk through and it’s really beautiful:

Later in the afternoon we visit Uluru and drive all the way around. If you were to walk it it’s 10km and unfortunately we don’t have that time built into our tour. It’s also 36 degrees so not ideal walking weather. It’s nice to see it from every angle though.

The local people ask that you don’t climb Uluru and looking at the path upward I’d agree it’s not a good choice:

Afterward we head to the cultural centre to learn about the native aboriginal people and then it’s time for another sunset:

We have more wine and nibbles as we watch the rock change colour:

There are aboriginal artists all around selling their art and Ian buys a lovely piece from a young girl who tells us her name is Shirley:

Once the sun is gone we go for an outdoor BBQ and have some fun star gazing and getting to know the people at our table who decide to join in an Aussie style sing song on the bus back to the hotel.

Day 4: Kings Canyon. It’s an even earlier start today as we are visiting Kings Canyon which is a 3 hour drive away and then we have another 4-5 hours back to Alice Springs. So we are up at 4am for a 4:45am pickup! This better be worth it!! We stop for breakfast a couple of hours in and and I see this gorgeous fella:

I get very excited when we see some wild camels:

It’s a fairly handy three hour hike, steep at the beginning but mostly flat at the top as we look around the canyon.

It’s very pretty and with the sun shining the colors are magnificent.

We have some lunch at the Kings Canyon resort before boarding a bus for a couple of hours to the drop off point for the bus back to Alice Springs. We load into the new bus and you’ll never guess who’s driving… it’s Gary from our outbound journey. I’m really hoping he’s not going to talk for the whole next five hours or so but unfortunately I’m out of luck. He’s quiet for maybe the first hour or so and then he pipes up and starts telling us all the same things he told us on the way out. Both Ian and I have our earphones in but we can still hear him. He’s sooooo loud! It’s hysterical and so annoying at the same time. By the time we hit the Crowne Plaza at 7pm, we’re worn out but relieved to be away from the drone. We decide on a quick turnaround of shower and freshen up and meet for dinner and then hit the casino. Ah blackjack I’ve missed you…. we have a great laugh at a table with a few local lunatics and play til after midnight – very late night for this trip but worth it.

Day 5: Homeward Bound. Breakfast somewhat fixes me but I’m suffering a bit after last night and we only get an hour at the pool to gather our thoughts before we have to get packed and head for the airport. It’s been a great few days seeing this part of Australia and it was made even better having the youngest Fallon cousin with me – you’re a legend Iano!! But now it’s time to head to Brisbane and another adventure.

Bye Bye!

I have big plans for the 3+ hour flight to Perth – blog update (obviously!), choir practice, figure out how to use my new camera and maybe sneak in a movie and/or a snooze.. we’ll see!

Having accomplished very little of my intended tasks I arrive in Perth at lunchtime and am greeted by a very excited bride-to-be. It’s much hotter here and we’ve loads to catch up on so we head toward home, picking up the lovely Sean on the way. Do we look excited!!

We have a lovely evening catching up and Jason (husband-to-be) makes pizza for us. We did think we’d stay off the booze tonight but it’s my first night in town so a glass (or two) is called for and a bit of FaceTime home to Anne’s sister ahead of the big day tomorrow.

Another Saturday morning in Australia means another parkrun. This time it’s at Lake Joondalup and it’s a busy one with about 300 people. It’s flat and there’s a bit of cloud so not too hot and I manage to run my fastest to date on this side of the world… happy days. We have a wedding breakfast by the pier at Hillarys (now don’t go getting confused by my friend Hilary in Sydney, this is the name of the harbour) and I spend the rest of the day resting up until it’s time for the wedding.

Before we know it it’s time to get ready and we have a lovely afternoon with the bride getting ready over a glass of champagne…

The wedding is in a beautiful location by the sea and the sun is setting as the bride and groom make their vows:

An amazing party follows where I get to meet all of Anne’s friends who I’ve been hearing about forever. We eat, drink, dance and sing until it’s time to leave the venue and move the party elsewhere… Sunday is going to be a long recovery day.

Cheers to the newly weds:

Skipping over a couple of very slow days which involve a lot of napping and eating, by Tuesday we are brand new and we take the ferry to our first “honeymoon” destination – Rottnest Island.

Rottnest is famous for two things – the convict prison and quokkas. The quokkas are everywhere. They’re at your feet if you’re at the bakery or restaurant eating outside, they’re on the road as you walk or cycle by and they’re in your garden waiting for food. They seem very gentle and are definitely cute:

The ferry ride to the island is very choppy and a member of the crew recommends we move from the front of the boat to the back where it will be less bumpy. We stay put and enjoy the rocky bumps and let out a few squeals when it gets particularly bad! It takes about 45 minutes to get there and although the weather was really rough on the way over it’s gorgeous weather when we arrive.

We spend our first day exploring the settlement which is where the general store, restaurants and bars are. Our accommodation is walking distance from the ferry and the island itself is only 18km by 4km so it’s easy to cover the whole thing. That evening we hit the bar at the Karma resort for a spot of Trivia. We have some stiff competition and end up somewhere mid table which we’re happy enough with as one of the rounds was to name a load of Australian politicians which clearly neither of us had a clue about… and the music round wasn’t great either, usually my favorite round in a quiz, alas the Aussie knowledge was lacking.

Next day we pick up bikes and cycle around the island, there are sixty separate beaches and coves on this little island, each one more beautiful than the next.

We cycle around the coastline and take in the amazing scenery:

Fairly early on the chain comes off my bike and we have to call it in for the rescue team to come and sort it out.. they actually swap it out for a new bike… I’m mortified I can’t even get the chain back on. Well let’s face it neither of us were even going to try!!

The quokkas are everywhere we cycle:

Back full circle we end at the lighthouse and decide the beach here, called the basin, is where we should go for an afternoon snorkel.

It’s not too deep, fairly calm and easy enough to get into so I’m happy. We see plenty of fish.

No trivia tonight so we decide to take a bottle of wine to one of the scenic lookouts for sunset. The sun actually sets on the other side of the island but we watch the beautiful colors in the sky and sip a glass til it’s almost dark. The apartment has a full kitchen so we rustle up some dinner and chill out over, yes you guessed it, more wine!

Next morning we pack up and head for a big brekkie before getting the ferry back to the mainland.

In the afternoon I head into Perth on the train and check out the city.

It’s a small enough city to get around. I’m about to head to the art gallery but I get a better offer… a pint with John Hallas (Pete’s brother (Hils Pete)) who I haven’t seen probably since Hils and Pete got married so off I go to the Generous Esquire for a couple of schooners and a catch up which is great fun.

Our second honeymoon location is Margaret River. On the way down we stop at Busselton which has a fabulous jetty that’s 1.8km long. It’s a beautiful walk to the end and the color of the water and views are amazing.

We hit Margaret River and are pleasantly surprised by our accommodation. I would totally recommend Darby Park Residences, it’s central and the one bedroom apartments are really nice – if anyone is going anytime soon defo give it a go. At the top of the street is this dinosaur statue, apparently he hung out at the Margaret River back in the day!

We have facials booked for 5pm so we don’t hang around. Another recommendation- Body Bliss – we both have the same reaction which is “amazing”. The therapist gave us the most amazing face massage and we float to a bar for a glass of wine to discuss further! We’re served by an Irish guy at the bar (we are everywhere) and then move to the very popular Settlers Tavern for dinner.

Saturday morning and there’s a parkrun five minutes walk away in Rotary Park. This is my ninth so far on this trip and I’m delighted I’ve managed not to miss one yet.

On arrival yesterday we noticed some tennis courts and since I’m missing my club [hello Donabate tennis ladies if you’re reading this!] and haven’t lifted a racquet since January I convince Anne to play a few shots with me. It’s only a half size court and the racquets are not proper tennis racquets but sure we’re happy to have a bit of fun. Anne tells me she’s rubbish and I don’t believe her until she takes a first swipe and misses the ball… I know she won’t mind me saying this as she’d admit it herself but let’s just say tennis is not her game [stick to the open water swimming Anne – we know you’re amazeballs at that and you can’t be great at everything!!]. We manage a few decent rallies but are laughing so much we call it a day after about twenty minutes!

Time to hit the pool to cool down:

Next on the agenda, what most people come here for, wine tasting.

We hit two really nice wineries – Stella Bella

And Watershed:

Anne has been craving an Indian so we book Kingfisher restaurant and bring a bottle of white from our purchases today. We don’t stay out too late, after all that exercise today and all that wine tasting, sure you’d be exhausted!!!!!

We end our Margaret River weekend with breakfast at a cool hipster cafe and get on the road for home. It’s sunny and in the high twenties so we go for a walk with Sean and relax for the afternoon. I get a chance to meet up with another friend from home, Doirinne, who’s been living in Perth for a few years and have a great evening catching up over more delicious food and wine. It’s so lovely to see her so far from home and hear her accent which hasn’t changed a bit!

For my last day in Perth we go to Fremantle (aka Freo) and I do the convict tour at the Fremantle Prison:

It’s a really interesting tour and the guide is excited there’s an Irish person on her tour as she likes to tell a story about some Fenian prisoners who escaped and were taken to America.

We end my WA (Western Australia) visit with fish and chips on the beach and a beautiful sunset:

Another Australian state ticked off the list, another wedding attended and another great visit with great friends. Onwards to the Northern Territory.