Reset search
Jacqui ZuidemaJacqui Zuidema
SatelliteEdit route
Exploring Australia and beyond by caravan, camping, roadtrips and travels OS. Read more Melbourne, Australia
  • NZ Easter Getaway
    111
    Day 4

    A rock kind of day

    April 1 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    After exploring Oamaru, a pretty and historical seaside town, we headed into rock territory more correctly Geo sites. We had a fun day exploring rock formations. In between rocks we had, well me, Jacqui, in particular had a delicious lunch of Thai Pumpkin soup in a little cafe in Duntroon.
    We finished the day in Dunedin. We stayed on a giant hill overlooking the beach and town. We went for an evening stroll along the boardwalk at St Clair Beach and ate a very yummy dinner in a Vietnamese restaurant with a view.    Read more

  • NZ Easter Getaway
    1211
    Day 3

    A lot of WOW!

    March 31 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    We took a long detour on our way from Timaru to Oamaru, through Lake Tekapo. We saw some amazing mountains and lake views. Well worth the trip. We started with a stop at the Fairley bakery and had some great pies for an early lunch. Then onto Lake Tekapo and the other lakes in the hydro scheme. We also stopped and walked into some clay cliffs. These were more scenic than we thought they were going to. As the day progressed the weather improved immensely. We were in T-shirts at Lake Tekapo. Some of the mountains had a slight dusting of snow and the autumn colours were just beginning to show 🍁🍂.Read more

  • NZ Easter Getaway
    111111
    Day 2

    Christchurch to Timaru

    March 30 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Our first day on the road took us to Lyttelton for breakfast. Luckily for us there was a market with so much delicious food, so breakfast was amazing. Lyttelton was a lovely port town with breathtaking views. Then onto Akaroa, another beautiful seaside town, but swamped with tourists. We then drove a little inland to pass Reika gorge on our way to Timaru. Reika gorge has the most beautiful coloured water and we enjoyed a somewhat steep walk. It was a bit drizzly, foggy and cloudy but even that couldn't take away from the views. No little penguins turned up in Timaru this evening...They are all out to sea, but a nice walk on the beach and pizza for dinner.Read more

  • NZ Easter Getaway
    Day 1

    Day 1 Melb to Christchurch.

    March 29 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    A beautiful sunrise at Tulla to start our NZ trip. Thanks Tim for dropping us off! An uneventful flight catching up on movies and arriving in NZ at 2:30pm. We checked in to our Air BNB, met the host and spent some time walking around the center of Christchurch. It was amazing to see how much they are still rebuilding after the earth quakes. A hearty pub meal watching rugby and planning tomorrow's adventures.Read more

  • Avoca spontaneous weekend.
    1
    Day 1–3

    Avoca

    November 10, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    After booking our caravan in for a product recall service in Maryborough, the weekend finally arrived. Earlier in the week we made the decision to combine this trip with actually using our van as it needed to be brought here anyway. We packed up the van Wednesday night, both worked Thursday and left home Friday at 7:15am. Whilst walking around in Maryborough waiting for the van, we decided to head across to Avoca and stay in a free camp on the river, which happened to be in the middle of town. It's a pretty place and not too noisy. A short walk across a road was the RV park with a toilet we could access.
    As we set up the Van on Friday afternoon we discovered 2 annoying things; 1. The pop up roof was stuck, so we could only pop it half way up at one end and 2. The caravan toilet wasn't flushing. Cue a large sigh and some unskilled owners trying to fix the problems.
    When it became clear we were not up to the task we just decided to enjoy the day and settled down for a G&T and dinner.

    On Saturday we worked out that it was a failed gas strut causing the roof issue so we (meaning Jamie) disengaged the strut and up popped the roof. But no such luck with fixing the toilet.

    We took a drive out to the state Forrest and a look out which was a lovely view of grape vines and mountains. We had lunch at the Blue Pyrenees winery and then headed to the Mount Avoca (organic) winery for a tasting. Some lovely wines and a fantastic lunch in a pretty patio setting.

    Both of us have work to do and neither of us are making much headway. Thank goodness today is nowhere near as hot as yesterday.    Read more

  • TravelerBlue Mountains
    Day 6–9

    Canberra

    September 21, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Jamie and I drove to Canberra where we stayed in the lovely suburb of Kingston. We met Eloise for lunch at Verity Lane. Eloise went back to ANU for lectures and Jamie and I walked back to find our car. No more than 2 minutes from the food hall we ran into Eloise's friend, Adam. Other than my family, he is probably the only other person in Canberra we would recognize.
    On Friday morning, Jamie and I did some shopping for Eloise's party on Saturday afternoon in the Botanical gardens. I then met Eloise and we walked around Floriade. The flowers were stunning. Friday night we watched the football at the apartment and I drove to the airport to pick up Liv .
    Saturday morning saw preparation for Eloise's party. unfortunately as soon as we left to go to the National Botanical Gardens, I became ill. Jamie had to take me home as the guests were arriving. I spent the afternoon in bed vomiting and it felt like the room was spinning. By the time Jamie and the girls came home I couldn't open my eyes or move my head. I actually spent the night in Canberra hospital trying to get the vertigo under control.
    We left Canberra at around lunch time once I was discharged from hospital. I slept in the back the whole way home whilst Liv and Jamie shared the driving.
    Unfortunately no photos of Ell's party.    Read more

  • TravelerBlue Mountains
    Day 3–6

    Wentworth Falls

    September 18, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We arrived in the Blue Mountains for lunch on Monday. After lunch and some grocery shopping in the main street of Wentworth Falls we went to check into the airbnb. It was a rustic cottage in a very peaceful setting. We had a quiet afternoon and a short walk to the track to Empress falls before heading back to the cottage for more r & r. Whilst Jamie tackled some work, I made the most of the outdoor bath.

    Tuesday saw us Charge the car in Lawson at an Evie charging station behind the local shops, then off to Katoomba for a visit to scenic World. We rode the various sky rail and cable cars, walked around the rim near the 3 sisters and took a walk at the bottom in a temperate rainforest. It was all stunning. On the way home we stopped in Leura, a very pretty town and then drove to Sublime point lookout to watch the sun set behind the 3 sisters. Photos did not do justice to the beauty of the sunset.

    Wednesday we walked down to Empress falls then ate lunch at the cafe at the top on our return. A very delicious meal. We drove to Blackheart to see The Grand Canyon from another spectacular viewing point. We then decided to look for some glow worms. After some reading we discovered that it's not the peak glow worm season but walked into Cataract falls at dusk and waited until dark. We did see a few glow worms once dark enough then had to walk out in the dark. ( no wrong turns for us).    Read more

  • TravelerBlue Mountains
    11
    Day 1–3

    Sydney Marathon

    September 16, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    We arrived at a cute little Airbnb Saturday night after driving from Melbourne in the Tesla. Lots of charging stops along the way, combined with food and toilet breaks as well as driver changes made the frequent breaks tolerable.
    Charging breaks:
    ⚡Euroa township, where we looked through the street market. And decent public toilets. Tesla supercharger.
    ⚡Barnawartha North, BP servo Chargefox snack break and toilet stop.
    ⚡Gundagai. Tesla supercharger at Oliver's food. Okay toilets and decent fast food and food smoothies. (Chargefox also located there)
    ⚡Exeter. Tesla supercharger outside a pie shop. Decent coffee and bakery goods, we didn't have a pie and decent in store toilets.
    🛌 The last stop was our destination, North Curl Curl. The Airbnb was a bungalow bed and bathroom in the backyard or a lovely family. Walking distance to Dee Why beach and shops as well as Curl Curl beach. We unpacked and walked to Dee Why for a lovely Indian dinner. The weather was mild which made eating outside enjoyable. Finally it was time for a well earned sleep. 💤
    🏃‍♀️ we were up very early to cheer Eloise on in the Marathon. Amazingly without any phones we ran into Eloise at the starting line. We then went to see her on the Harbor Bridge but didn't manage this. (I think we left to early). Jamie and I walked and drove around central Sydney to see Eloise at a couple of vantage points. Her marathon tracker wasn't all that helpful but fortunately we saw her twice along the track, around 12km and 35 km marks. We then went to the finish line and cheered her home. An amazing first marathon effort on a hot and hilly run. We sat with Eloise after while she was recovering then took her for some much needed food and dropped her back at a friend's house so she could return to Canberra with them.
    🌊 Jamie and I finished the day with a walk along Curl Curl beach and dinner in Dee Why again.
    🌞Monday was leaving day and another beautiful sunny day. We started the day with a walk along the cliffs from Curl Curl to Dee Why. Jamie unfortunately fell as he was climbing from the beach to the rocks. Then a wave came and soaked him. After a good laugh, I realized he wasn't getting up so I gathered myself and went to help. It turns out he was ok but had many cuts to his feet, where he slipped on the rock. We still managed the beautiful walk and finished with a delicious breakfast.    Read more

Join us:

FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English