I cannot deny that it is absolutely wonderful to be back in Australia and (almost) ready to continue with our travels of this amazing continent. We have spent the past two months experiencing the myriad of emotions one deals with when catching up with aging parents and children, all pursuing their own agendas which do not necessarily fit with the paths of parents’ expectations. And when there are melded families, one should always expect wild cards.
We spent
our sojourn in our aging motorhome and pursuing a medley of wishlist
modifications, many of which we enjoy here in Australia. Some of these we may
follow through when we next return to New Zealand, but for now will simply appreciate
that we have the benefits of solar power and the like here in Australia.
We
camped on shorelines reserved for seabirds and those who could quietly remain unobtrusive observers, such as ourselves. We camped under puriri trees, were
early enough to catch the blooming of the pohutakawa and jacaranda trees and on
the whole, enjoyed excellent weather. We spent some days camping in rural
landscapes with coastal backdrops and in
the company of scores of comical pukekos and flocks of mixed mongrel sheep. We
managed to grab just a day sampling one of the new cycle ways constructed since
the Prime Minister tagged this as an employment initiative, and were delighted
to find we could still stay upright on our rather neglected bikes and I, to
find that my Sarah Ulmer bike-pants still could be dragged up onto the lately
expanding middle aged female flesh due to the excesses of food and once self-banned
alcoholic delights.
We were
also eternally grateful for the timing of our absence from Australia, missing
the horror and grief of the summer infernos through the more southern states
and the flooding of towns in Queensland and northern New South Wales,
particularly Bundaberg, Gladstone, Gympie and Grafton, all of which we had
stayed in and enjoyed in better times. While we did loose our first landcruiser
in those Brisbane floods of early 2011, we are eternally grateful that we have,
to this point, avoided disasters and loss, perhaps more from good luck than good management.
We flew back
into Sydney in the cramped quarters of a Jetsar aircraft, just as we had left
two months ago but this time in the company of numerous families. (Perhaps
there is a toddlers convention on somewhere here in Sydney this week?) This
trip we were better prepared for the budget service and went with Subway rolls
and a bottle for water, rather than pay out large sums of money for less than
basic fare on board. Mentally prepared, we avoided the angst and frustration of
having chosen a budget option, and would be pleased to recommend this simple
service airline, especially to the backpacker brigade even allowing for the
company of so many small people.
Again we
were pleased to have a relatively hassle free transport corridor back to the
Tourist Park, now familiar with the train service in this part of Sydney
however we did find on arrival that the airport rail link was closed for
maintenance and we were taken on a complimentary bus to the station at Wolli
Creek as we had been once before. We had intended to complete the last part of
our journey on foot however the heavy cloud cover had turned to heavy rain,
punctuated with great sheets of lightning and thunder, a feature that Sydney is
apparently well know for. After finding that we were too late to catch the
supermarkets at Miranda’s Westfield, we stood in partial shelter waiting for a
taxi to arrive. The trees between the rail station and the shopping centre are
home to a thousand or more roosting lorikeets, and it was such a joy to watch
and listen to them, over the sound of the battling sky. Oh Australia! How I
love the birds!
Our
travelling rig was as we had left it although by now surrounded in pools of
rain water. We had shifted our possessions that normally ride in the landcruiser,
into the caravan during our absence and so had to transfer all of this back
into the vehicle before we could move across to our allocated site in the park.
It was pitch black by the time we had completed setting up and we could peel
our saturated clothing off. However despite all of this, I was delighted to be
back.
We had
been pleased to find the landcruiser started immediately last night, and found
the same this morning which all adds to the frustration of intermittent mechanical
problems. We drove up to the centre of Miranda this morning, visited the
Telstra store where a delightful young man reinstated my Australian internet
system and the local Coles supermarket where we stocked up from scratch with
perishables. We had been appalled in New Zealand every time we shopped at the
supermarket; prices are so much higher than they are here if you simply consider
the dollars of equal value. Needless to say, it was a pleasure to find we still
could receive good value for our dollar here.
The
afternoon was spent travelling through to more northern suburbs to consult a
Toyota service agent who just might be able to help us, on the phone to the
warranty company and to more local garages, none of whom have been able to
offer complete solutions. Tomorrow morning, there will be more of the same. In the
meantime we have booked for a week and are enjoying the heavy scent of the jasmine
and the abundant bird life in this surprisingly pleasant and very convenient caravan
park.
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