Mercure Hotel Parramatta Rosehill

... abated and we'll be running round in shorts and tees for the next few months, cursing why we're carrying this new gear.

We made a pit stop at Peties to top up on beautiful rain water (thank you Petie, you're a life saver) and came back to our favourite camp site for another night of dingo antics. We cooked up a storm of steak and veggies and they looked on forlornly as A tried to get me to change my mind on feeding them. I remained resolute, imagining how close ...

... Note to self: steer clear of any food which looks like it could have come into contact with local water...

I'm expecting this trip to include a lot of very steep learning curves but so long as i make it out the other end i don't mind. However, it's worth noting that i am saying this from the comfort of my bed. It will be interesting to look back on this post once the trip has started...

The time has come :-) it is time for some travelling, I wanted to resist travelling as a really wanted to feel a life of living and working in Australia, not holidaying, I knew I would enjoy holidaying , but wanted to know if the same would apply to Living & Working. Well both Erika & I know under the right circumstances we would ...

... in Vancouver, I will fly to Bella Coola, in the Great Bear Rainforest - hoping to see grizzley bears here. Three days there and a quick stopover in Vancouver, then off to Tofino and Victoria on Vancouver Island for four days each.

Tofino and Victoria are part of a hop-on, hop-off bus tour I'm joining on 18 September. I will also be going to Whistler, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Kelowna with this tour and will be back in ...

... the Chaullacocha school. This was a follow up from last year when one of our clients (Sarabanda) kindly donated hygiene items. We work closely with the teachers that the children use the soap and toothpaste during school time... and are not allowed to take the items home with them. This is because, as indigenous peoples, they tend to not value possessions so they get easily lost. It’s always great to talk to the teachers and find out what ...

... likely shark. from here i took the bus to palm beach which is summer bay and the set for home and away. i also took the ferry and visited paramatta a city up the river which is where original settlers started the city as its very fertile land. sydney is very nice plce to be and has lots to do and see just wandering around and its all very laid back so was a good place to go.

... my mail...4 birthday cards and two packages! It was nice to get some mail on my birthday. :-D

The next day I had two things left on my to-do list for Australia. The first was to find a place that served kangaroo and try it out. I was down at Circular Quay which is the main dock in Sydney Harbor, walking around the cafes and found one with roo on the menu! So, I took a deep breath (because I don't like ...

... broth. It's fookin delicious. I've an hour to spare before the show and get a pint in the Rocks in Sydney's oldest pub which seems to have a mix of aft** work business men and local tourists. The Op**a House itself is just a joy. Even the toilets are arty and unusual - the basins take about 30 seconds to work out as they seem to be more an art installation than in any way functional. I grab one more be** so that I'm a bit m**ry for the show - sipping it ...

... of people packed onto the beaches in their swimsuits, enjoying the sun, sea and sand. Apparently 20-30,00 people visited Manly each day in the summer months. In the afternoon, we sunbathed before getting the ferry back over to the mainland. When we got back to the hostel we saw the girls for a little while before they headed out for the eve. It was so great to see them and to hear a fellow brummy accent amongst all these Auses.

... Sydney and the city was mobbed. The parade was great fun. I was dissappointed to have missed the 'Dikes on Bikes' that start the parade, but there were other fun bits. In particular I liked the gay Scotts, toting signs saying 'I like a Scotch finger' and 'I've seen the cock ness monster'. Eventually myself and Jill tired of the big gay parade and went off to hit the town. But apparently clubs don't like flip flops. What happened to ...