Grand Mercure Kiama Blue

... the coast. I was palnning to gett further south today, but rainy weather was moving toward the south east route, so decided to stay in Kiama with old friends from Canada for the night. We had a v.nice dinner and too much wine, so sound sleep. Left the next morning in cooll but sunny weather for the trip over the ranges. Decided on the shorter northern route via Albury, then into Victoria enroute to Melbourne.<br>

... Prado is a fantastic weapon. It gobbles the distance up with ease and comfort and it can do the rough stuff easy too. The mods did their trick, the suspension was great, the snorkel ensured the air filter was cleaner and the engine didn&#8217;t take a drink on the river crossings, the exhaust and chip gave the engine the extra power it needed to tow the trailer comfortably. The trailer was easy to use and other than not being as well prepared to cope ...

Canberra to Kiama via Goulburn. We stopped at Goulburn to see the Big Merino. While we were there we purchased MacArthur our Merino Ram pictured on the front of this blog. We also got a book of all the big things in Australia and decided this was going to be part of our trip - to see how many big things we could see from the book along the way and if they had a stuffed big thing then we would have to have it for our ...

... stop in town at a very nice café, opposite the very posh post office (looks like a palace neelam!) for a superb breakfast, and we take a quick look at the kiama blowhole - a rock formation at the edge of the ocean that spurts water every time we turn our backs on it! Apparently , on a good day (when the sea is rough ) the spurts can reach 60 metres high- must be quite a sight- we only get to see a few little spits! The road back into Sydney last ...

... it looked like a movie! We got more than our monies worth! A fabulous time! We then headed back to our hotel to change into dry clothes..dinner tonight was the Sydney Hard Rock Cafe. A huge party of People to People kids were coming so we luckily got to order our food before they came. It was a nice dinner with a great dessert. Now to pack with all that retail therapy we have experienced...some of us had to get another duffle bag, if that gives ...

... nach Shoalhaven zu fahren und dort in einem Cabin den Strum über uns ergehen zu lassen. Gegen Abend beginnt es zu regnen und in der Nacht stürmt es und der Regen kommt wie aus Kübeln gegossen. Wir rechnen schon damit, dass wir noch einen Tag länger bleiben. Am anderen Morgen scheint dann aber die Sonne und es windet nur noch ziemlich ...

... I preferred the beach views though, there was some topless action. It was a sunny, hot day and perfect for hanging about at Bondi. Tired out, and alas afflicted by something I'd eaten, I went back to Sam's flat while B went out with Kat, and then James, and then Kat again! She didn't get back to after midnight- - outrageous. I'd had a nice evening watching the comic Anchorman and the 40 year old virgin, the latter actually being a pretty good film.

... some housemates. Everyone went to bed pretty early. I have SO much to do today so I have to get going. I should have a cell phone in a few hours so I'll let you know about that. Oh, and I updated my pictures. I don't have many from here yet though, I'll work on it. http://community.webshots.com/users/man dystvlpics (I would love to hear from you guys at home, so if you want to comment log in as lovefrommi with the password michigan.)

Friday 29 December Today was pretty manic. We left Katoomba shortly after 9am and headed straight to Woollongong where we were staying for the next couple of nights. The drive wasn't too long - we arrived shortly before 12noon and fortunately our 'suite' was ready. We checked in and went upstairs to find our room and couldn't believe it when we walked through the door. Our 'suite' had a kitchenette, a lounge plus balcony looking out over ...

... open up to the sky at least three stories up. Seems like the perfect time for an Australian coffee lesson. Down under a double-double doesn't exist so we end up with a long black (an espresso with water) and a flat white (cappuccino cousin). While we were getting our caffeine fix and people watching Vanessa's backpacking buddy Marie shows up and now Suzanne and I have not one but two guides ...