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Around the World
  • Simon and Blake
  • Simon and Blake

Around the World

A 282-day adventure by Simon Read more
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  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Akaroa - Christchurch

    August 24, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Akaroa is a small French settlement town around 90 minutes out of Christchurch on the Banks Peninsula. The Peninsula is formed by the 2 volcanoes that sit on it. It's a pretty little town sporting all things French. In the morning we had a wander through the village and along the harbour to a lighthouse before making our way to Christchurch.

    We took the scenic route out to Christchurch which took a bit longer however the views were incredible. The sun was shining as well so it was a really nice drive. We found a free camping spot just outside of Christchurch in a town called Lyttelton, on the edge of the Banks Peninsula where we parked up for the evening. It took a while to find the right spot as there wasn't a single sign in sight. If you park in the wrong spot you can end up with a $200 on the spot fine but in the end we made an educated guess and fortunately didn't run into any problems.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Christchurch - Hanmer Springs

    August 25, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌙 37 °C

    For our day in Christchurch we got some hop on hop off tickets for the tram. It's a great way to explore the city and hopping on and off the tram meant we could jump off and explore. The tram driver also gives you some information about the city as he drove around. There were 3 trams in service today and we happened to hop not only the oldest and prettiest tram but the same tram that Prince Harry rode when he visited.

    Christchurch itself was very badly damaged back in the 2011 earthquake and is still recovering. The city is full of construction workers and the majority of the buildings are covered in scaffolding. According to the tram driver there are a few stores due to open up soon however they still have a very long way to go. I didn't expect the city to have so much building work still going on 6 years later. We passed a very moving memorial to the 185 people that lost their life in the earthquake. It was 185 empty white chairs and each chair pays tribute to a particular individual. We also went to the see the Cardboard Cathedral, the roof of which is made out of huge cardboard tubes and again was built post quake.

    We decided to make the Botanical Gardens our first stop on the tram. We passed people punting on the river and walked past lots of daffodils and snowdrops. After a short stroll (as Simon was bored of gardens by this point) we walked down to the art gallery as the tram driver had recommended going to see the Len Lye exhibit. The exhibit focuses on sound, light and motion and it was actually pretty good. There were around 8 pieces in total, some of which only moved at certain time intervals. A few of them were huge fibre optic tubes which moved around, not dissimilar to the smaller version I had as a kid. One of them was red and yellow and when it moved it resembled fire.

    After the exhibition, we headed to the Re:start Mall. Because of the earthquake, the majority of the retail shops were damaged so they created a new mall out of shipping containers. It's pretty cool and they have lots of different food places, a bit like Whapping Wharf in Bristol. We then hopped back on the tram to continue our tour of the city, getting off at New Regent Street. The street was built in the 40's entirely in the Spanish Mission style. There was also a delicious gelato shop which we may have walked into by accident and came out with some to die for salted caramel ice cream and some fudge and peanut butter concoction that was also delicious.

    For the evening we had bought tickets to the spa and pools in Hanmer Springs which were around 90 minutes north of Christchurch, so after our ice cream we headed out. Whilst it was freezing outside, the hot pools were lovely and hot. From sulphur pools, to mineral pools, we spent a nice hour or so relaxing before heading to a nearby free spot to camp for the evening and rustling up some tuna and pasta.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    All Black Vs Wallabies

    August 26, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    After a relaxing evening in the spa last night we awoke realising we had a very long drive in front of us. Hanmer Springs to Dunedin would be at least 6 hours of driving plus a stop for lunch and a 'must visit' bookshop that was en route.

    Blake took the first stint and drove a respectable 3 hours. I started out well being co pilot only to fall asleep for about an hour. I woke up just in time to get the map out and realise we were minutes from Chertsey Book Barn. We had read about the Book Barn in the Campermate app and it was like nothing we had seen before. There must have been thousands of books in there. As well as on shelves there were boxes and boxes of books stacked all over the place. The gaps between were very narrow so you had to weave in and out of the books. There were some very serious book readers in there with printed pick lists but to be honest I think that's the way to do it. There are so many books it's hard to choose.

    Back on the road we finally made it to Dunedin in time for some left over chilli before walking to the stadium. As we got closer to the stadium the streets became more and more packed and the atmosphere was rising. We knew after last weeks game we were in for a treat. We got to the stadium and caught the end of the warmup. There was also a mass of empty seats in front of us which were filled by some very wasted kids who I don't think caught much, if any of the game. We stood for the national anthems and away we went. Unfortunately the Haka was performed facing the opposite end from us but it was still incredible to watch live. The big screens meant we saw what Australia would be seeing.

    The game kicked off and it wasn't long before Australia intercepted a pass and scored the first try just in front of us. A lot of NZ fans around us were slightly in shock. Not long after the restart Oz were looking hot and scored another two tries! 0-17 from the visitors and we had a serious game on our hands! It was close throughout and only won by NZ in the closing minutes to leave it 35-29.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Dunedin - Christchurch

    August 27, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We had to get the van back in Christchurch by 3pm and we wanted to drop our stuff off at the Airbnb beforehand so we set our alarms for 6am. We eventually managed to drag ourselves out of bed and were on the road by 7:30am. I did the first 3 hours and then Simon took over after lunch. It wasn't all plain sailing though. We had to return the van with a full tank of diesel and we knew there was a cheap garage in Ashburton. We therefore didn't really want to fill up beforehand but we were running low on fuel. Around 80km from Ashburton the petrol tank read around 86km to empty. We therefore decided to risk it for a biscuit and soldiered on but I can tell you now that was a silly plan. Around 40km out of Ashburton, the gauge started decreasing dramatically and before we knew it we had less than 25km to empty. At this point we quickly googled the nearest petrol station which was 12km, crossed our fingers and headed in that direction. Around 9km from the garage the gauge went to empty and not long after that the van started to struggle! We were in the middle of nowhere and we definitely weren't going to make it. We carried on until the van cut out altogether. Now despite paying the zero excess waiver, if you break down because you're a muppet and run out of fuel you have to cover all the recovery costs yourself. As if by luck though, we happened to break down outside one of the only houses for miles around where there was a chap sat in the garden. Simon went in to see if he could give us a ride to the station and he very kindly agreed. He even had a jerry can which was last filled up with diesel. Someone was looking out for us today! I'm so pleased as 9km was a very long way to walk and even then we probably wouldn't be able to buy a jerry can. Simon went off with the chap in his truck whilst I stayed with the van. It then wasn't long until we were on our way again. Fortunately, we didn't run into any more hiccups and we made it to Christchurch in time to pack up our things, empty the van and drop our bits off at the Airbnb.

    And that marks the end of our journey in the campervan which we fondly named Clifford or Cliff for short. It has been a love, hate relationship but he did us well on our 6,899 km adventure around New Zealand.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Christchurch

    August 28, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Sleeping in a normal bed for the first time in 6 weeks was heavenly. For once we didn't wake up with sore hips and shoulders. We also woke up to a continental breakfast laid out on the table of muesli, cornflakes and toast, a much welcomed change to porridge. Our Airbnb hosts, Chris and Andrew, were kind enough to let us leave our bags at there house as our flight to Melbourne wasn't until 9pm. This gave us another full day to explore the last bits of Christchurch that we didn't manage to do on our last visit. We hopped on the bus and made our way to the botanical gardens as we knew our way to a few stops from there.

    Our first stop was the Art Gallery again as we only managed to see one exhibition last time. It just so happened that we managed to get there 10 minutes before 'Blade' from the Len Lye section would come to life. It only comes to life once a day and we had missed it on our last visit so we went to watch that first. We then wandered around the next floor until we'd had enough and were on our way. When we last visited Re:start we had discovered lots of food stalls which looked and smelt amazing so we headed there for lunch. There was lots to choose from but I went for a spicy lamb souvlaki from the Lebanese truck and Blake went for a falafel platter.

    Once lunch was done we went in search of the dance mat and giant arcade game. Since the 2011 earthquake, a creative urban regeneration initiative called Gap Filler has been putting up creative projects in the vacant sites around the city. The dance mat and arcade game were two of these initiatives. Unfortunately when we got the dance matt it was out of order but Blake had a token boogie anyway. The giant arcade game was space invaders which has a giant screen on the side of a building and a giant joystick on a controller on the opposite side of the road. The controller only went right for some reason but after some nifty footwork I managed level one before being killed. We were all mooched out by that point so we headed back to the bus stop. After collecting our bags from the Airbnb, we made our way to the airport. This was the end of our 7 weeks in New Zealand and the beginning of Australia, our new home for 4 months.

    After a 4 hour flight, we landed in Melbourne where we made it through customs in record time (a term almost never heard of when passing through Australian customs). Blake's friend Maddy was kind enough to pick us up and has offered us a base for the next two weeks!    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Melbourne

    August 29, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    First thoughts on Melbourne, it's bloomin freezing! I thought it was supposed to be hot in Australia! We woke to Maddy leaving us a heartfelt note, a key and some towels before she headed to work. We didn't have any food so we decided to go out for breakfast. Maddy lives in Richmond, just outside the city which has a plethora of coffee and food places, not dissimilar to North Street. We decided on a place called Lumberjack where Si opted for a delicious looking baked eggs and beans style dish and I went for a lovely porridge with mixed berries, apple and nuts.

    With breakfast sorted we could move on to the main goal of the day, getting Simons barnet snipped. For a boy that usually gets it cut every 2 weeks, after more than 2 months since the last snip it was getting out of control. Even the barber commented on the length!

    In addition to haircuts we also did a spot of grocery shopping and picked up some Myki cards which we need to use the trams and other public transport in Melbourne. All in all a very productive day.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 2 - Melbourne

    August 30, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    We are staying with Maddy for a couple of weeks so it's nice not to be in a rush to see everything. We had a lazy morning before venturing out to purchase an Australian SIM card. This was followed by another quick trip to Coles to pick up a couple of groceries and then back to Maddy's for a lazy afternoon playing with her housemates cat, Whisker.

    In the evening, we headed to the winter night market which was a lot of fun. Maddy came and met us after work and fortunately for her she missed out on a chap completely murdering Kings of Leon's Use Somebody. Ingrid and Dan, another camp friend, came to meet us as well which was lush.

    There was so much going on at the market, from live music, street performers and a silent disco. There was even a live web stream from Europe of a Romanian band called Moonlight Breakfast. It was a bit strange as they were by a beach playing in the sun whilst we were watching them on a tv screen whilst drinking mulled wine (I know what your thinking, mulled wine in August, crazy) but their music was really good. There were loads of market stalls and a huge variety of places to eat which made it very hard to choose as everything looked delicious. I decided on leek and potato soup which came inside an enormous cob roll whilst Simon went for some chicken kebab. It was a really fun evening and lush to catch up with old friends.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 3 - Melbourne

    August 31, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    In Australia as a Brit, we get reciprocal medical care so we thought as we were here four months we may as well go sign up. We soon realised as we walked in the door that this was going to be interesting. The place had a job centre vibe and there were lots of disgruntled people kicking off at staff for various things. One old man screaming that he should be at home with his wife as she's about to have a heart attack was just one of the many spectacles. We eventually, after a long wait, got it all sorted and at the very least it was pretty entertaining.

    We then headed for the supermarket to grab some bits for lunch and stumbled past a reasonable priced sushi stand. We managed to pick up 7 various delights for less that $15 which were very yummy!

    Maddy had kindly left her car for us so we decided to drive to Albert Park lake for a stroll in the afternoon. It was 5km loop and the sun was out so it was nice to take it all in. The view towards the city had a Miami feel about it with the Melbourne skyline lined with palm trees.

    In the evening we went out for Thai with some of Maddy's friends to a local restaurant called Ladyboy. I tried a bit of salted squid for starter and can definitely say I'm still not a fan. The roti (pancake type thing) and satay sauce was awesome though! The satay also had a kick to it which was a good lead into the mains which blew our faces off. One slow cooked beef rib in particular was hotter than the sun! All in all though yummy scram!    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 4 - Melbourne

    September 1, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    After a pretty chilled few days, we decided to get back into the touristy mindset and on a free walking tour around the city. Melbourne is a really cool city and I can now see why so many people fall in love with it and move here.

    We had a couple of hours to spare before our walking tour so we went in search of something delicious for lunch. Dan had told us about a street that sold $5 baguettes so we headed there, grabbed a couple of baguettes and headed over to Federation Square. There is always something going on in Federation Square and today was no exception. There were heaps of people promoting a gaming festival called PAX and there were loads of different games going on. The best however was the dance stage which provided us with a good hour of entertainment watching people getting very into a wii type dance game. We then headed to the library which was the starting point for our walking tour.

    With our tour guide Alex we ventured past the Old Melbourne Gaol, Carlton Gardens, Parliament, the Princess Theatre and Chinatown. We then weaved our way through the arcades and laneways of the city. The laneways are bustling narrow streets full of cheap eats, bars and street art. You could get lost in them for hours.

    After a 3 hour walking tour we were pretty pooped and Mads was shattered from her week at work so we cooked up a Mexican feast and chilled at Maddy's with some wine and beers.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 5 - Melbourne

    September 2, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Today we get to steal Maddy for the whole day as it's Saturday, so nicely full from a BLT we headed out of the city to Mt Donna Buang in search of some snow! It was around a 90 minute drive there and I was beginning to seriously doubt whether there would be any snow at the end as everything was lovely and green. On the final stretch up the mountain though we caught glimpses of the white stuff on the side of the road.

    We pulled up to the busy car park just as it started raining to see lots of people in their snow gear and snow boots. We were in jeans and trainers and therefore may not have been entirely prepared for this. We walked up to the top into the winter wonderland and walked up to the top of lookout. On a clear day I'm sure it would boast a fantastic panoramic of the mountains however today in the rain and mist we couldn't really see anything! It was also baltic up there! After making our descent we made an obligatory snow sculpture and then headed back to the warm refuge of the car.

    A little further down the mountain out of the snow there was a short rainforest walkway where we took a stroll along the wooden boardwalk through the enormous trees. It was then most certainly time for lunch!

    We drove back down the mountain and stopped at a very small town (if you can even call it that) called Warburton and headed to the Riverview Cafe. Mads and I were half way through our enormous portion of delicious veggie lasagna before the waiter realised he had completely forgotten Si's order. We got it for free though so it worked in our favour!

    Back in Melbourne we got ready to hit the town for an evening out in the CBD (which is what they call their city centres). After some pre drinks at Maddy's we headed out for what may possibly be the most delicious espresso martini I have ever tasted! It may have also been the most expensive. We also went to a lovely riverside bar called The Arbory which was really cool and would be great in the summer so will have to come back again when we head back down in December. A couple more bars and a stop for a cheeky cheeseburger, concluded our night on the town!    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 6 - Melbourne

    September 3, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Slightly fuzzy headed from last night we went out for breakfast at one one of Maddy's favourite local cafes, Touchwood. The food was delicious and the portions were huge so feeling nicely full we headed back home to resume lounging on the couch.

    It's Fathers Day in Melbourne so Maddy headed out to do her daughterly duties whilst Si and I caught up on some admin at home. We did manage to venture out again to grab some bits for dinner so all in all a very productive day!    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 7 - Melbourne

    September 4, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    We fancied a day of rest today so we mooched about the house for most of the day. We made some left over chicken sandwiches for lunch and attempted some more planing for our trip.

    For dinner we decided to go out to Bimbos Deluxe where they serve $4 pizzas, what an absolute bargain! We were so excited and hungry that we forgot to take any pictures but we had a delicious pizza each with a side of tater tots and nachos for good measure. Suitably full of pizza, we headed can to the car where we passed a creperie so thought it would be rude not to have a peak for some potential dessert. Blake and I opted for a snickers and nutella combo and Maddy went for a tropical surprise. Made fresh in front of us and bigger than our heads we walked out very happy customers. The chef was quite funny and when making them shouted 'this is not food, but art'.Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 8 - Melbourne

    September 5, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    The weather was supposed to be nice today so we headed into the city centre to do a few self guided walking tours with the leaflets we picked up from the visitor centre last week. We arrived around lunchtime so we made our way to Centre Place laneway where we found our $5 baguettes last time. We managed to find some delicious looking wraps and coffee deal for $8 each so I opted for a spicy lamb wrap and Blake, a falafel souvlaki type roll. We wandered over to Federation Square to eat our lunch when we stumbled across a short queue in front of a giant purple box. It turned out to be a promotional vending style machine that required you to smile at the camera for a set time in return for some free sunbite crisps. We must have really cracked a good smile as 4 bags popped out the drawer for us! I was pretty impressed with how this all worked although Blake seems to think there was just a person inside with a box of treats and a lever.

    With the clouds looking a bit grey and threatening to drizzle we decided to start with the arcades and laneways tour as they are mostly covered. We had already visited a few on our walking tour however our leaflet pointed out more of the history of the buildings. I decided that I would be the guide and read the leaflet in a funny voice pointing out all of the attractions. The tours all start and end at Federation Square so with plenty more time on our hands we decided to walk the 'On the waterfront' tour. This one took us along the Docklands and past Polly Woodside, Melbourne's equivalent to our SS Great Britain. The Web Bridge designed to look like koorie fishing traps, drums and baskets marked the end of the walk and the perfect time for the heavens to open! We made a run for a shopping centre which we had a quick look around and bought me some new shoes as mine were starting to fall apart. We managed to make our way back into town not getting too wet and on a tram back to Richmond.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 9 - Melbourne

    September 6, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    For today’s activity, we headed to the Old Melbourne Gaol which is in the CBD. This however wasn’t your usual walk around and read the signs experience, oh no! It all started with a 30 minute experience, where you are treated like a prisoner in the 90’s. We lined up outside the prison entrance and waited for the guard to let us in. Eventually he came out jangling his keys and then ushered us in and asked (well actually it was more like demanded) us to line up with our backs along the wall. After telling us that he was the boss now, we were each given a sheet with our characters on. I was serving time for possession of a firearm and Simon was in for arson. My particularly favourite fact about my prison self was that when asked why I was in possession of a firearm, my defence was “it was a present for a friend’. Smart!

    We then went through and were lined up for our “search”. After a lot of heckling we were taken into the prison and shown to our cells, men in one and women in the other. Bye Simon! There were about 8 women in total and we just all sat there in silence not quite sure what was going to happen next when we heard the guard shout “lights out” and then everything went completely dark! Fortunately that didn’t last long before we were let out and marched into the exercise yard. Here the guard gave us a bit of history about the prison whilst still remaining in character. We were then given 5 minutes to have a look around and take some pictures. As it was a gaol, prisoners only stayed here awaiting trial, at which point they would then be released or transported to a prison. There was a padded cell for the crazies and a wet cell for the drunks which had nothing in it apart from a toilet and a drain in the middle so that it could be easily hosed down. The next stop on our prison experience was the women’s section of the gaol which was a lot smaller than the men’s. The guard then said his goodbyes and released us to go and have a look around the rest of the prison at our leisure. The main cell block was a lot larger and spanned 3 floors which we were free to walk around. It also contained the gallows where many men and women were hanged.

    On our walking tour, the guide had mentioned that the La Trobe Reading Room in the Victoria State Library was worth a stop if you had the time, so as it was only around the corner from the gaol, we popped in there on our way back. It was a beautiful space with a magnificent octagonal domed roof so well worth the stop. We then headed back to Richmond as Maddy was taking us to a trivia and parma night at a nearby pub called The Corner. It turns out The Corner is actually quite a famous pub and a great place to see live music.

    So the parma is an Aussie favourite of breaded chicken breast topped with a tomato sauce and melted cheese and for a cheap pub meal (parma and a beer for $20) it wasn’t bad at all. The trivia however didn’t go so well. Maddy’s friend Danni joined us for the pub quiz and it turns out our team name ‘Witness the Thickness’ was quite apt as we finished up in last place. It didn’t help that there was an entire round on Australian television and music that Si and I were no help whatsoever (although I did know the Neighbours question). It was good fun though.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 10 - Melbourne

    September 7, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    We pottered around in the morning before we left to go and see Jack one of Blakes old uni friends for lunch. We had arranged to meet at 2.30pm at a highly recommended restaurant called Rice Paper Scissors however the kitchen closed at 2.30pm and the restaurant at 3pm. School boy error! We were however right at the top of China town though so it didn't take long for us to find another spot. We tucked into a $12 lunch menu and ala token side of dumplings! Unfortunately being pretty useless and laid back at the moment we totally forgot to take any pictures.

    On our way back Blake had decided, in the hope for sun this weekend at Phillip island, that we should probably invest in some suncream. Not only did we buy some but we bought THE biggest 1 litre tub in the store! Turns out it was the cheapest one we've bought so far however now we just need an extra bag to transport it in.

    For the evenings activities we were introduced to the world of Aussie rules football or the AFL. I had seen it on TV before but didn't have the faintest idea what the actual game was all about. With a quick lesson from Maddy whilst we ate our giant burger and chips in the pub we were all set to watch the game.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Phillip Island

    September 8, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    This weekend Ingrid is hosting us at her family holiday home in Ventnor, Phillip Island. It's around 90 minutes from Melbourne so Maddy took the day off work so we could head down a bit earlier. We woke to the sun shining (I knew the sun cream would come in handy) and headed out for brunch at a nearby cafe and sat outside. It was lovely in the sun and I only had to put my fleece on a couple times when it ducked behind a cloud.

    On the way to Phillip Island we popped into Maddy's parents house so that she could grab a couple of bits. We got to meet Maddy's mum and her nephew, as well as their 2 alpacas, Monty and Simoneious. I have been previously warned that under no circumstances should I go in Maddy's Wendy house at her parents house as it is basically a giant nest for huntsman spiders. I have been living in fear since we arrived in Australia that I will bump into one of these giant critters and fortunately I am yet to see one. Maddy is desperate for me to see one so she had a peak in the Wendy house to check. Luckily for me there wasn't any in there! Apparently there may be a few on Phillip Island so perhaps I'll get unlucky there instead! After a cup of tea and some cheese and biscuits we made a quick stop at the bottle-o (off licence to non Aussie folk) for supplies. We eventually arrived in Phillip Island around 7pm so pulled up at a pub in San Remo (just off Phillip Island) for a drink and waited for Ingrid and Dan to join us.

    Back at Ingrid's humble abode we tucked into some Thai before a long overdue catch up, a good old cards against humanity session and a hilariously long game of heads up! I even managed to stay up until 2:30am which is very impressive for me!    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 2 - Phillip Island

    September 9, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Ingrid and Dan had organised a touristy day of fun on the island so after a late start (due to a few fuzzy heads) and a banging breakfast of eggs, avocado and tomatoes, the five of us squeezed ourselves into Maddy’s car. Our first stop was The Nobbies where we strolled along the boardwalk with great views of the coast. Although it was a bit windy the sun was shining and there is nothing better than a sea breeze to cure a hangover.

    We then visited a couple of gorgeous beaches. They were both completely empty, apart from one which had a few surfers, so we had the entire beach to ourselves. For lunch we headed into Cowes and grabbed some sushi before heading back to the house to get ready for the part of the day I was most excited about, the penguins!

    Now we had loved seeing the little blue penguins in New Zealand, but they were nothing compared to this. We arrived around an hour before sunset and headed down to the viewing area. Whilst we were sussing out the ‘perfect’ spot, one of the marshals recommended sitting down on the beach in the roped off area as quite a few of the penguins would come up the beach by there. He was not wrong! The penguins were so close that I could have scooped one up and put him in my pocket, no trouble at all. In fact, it was pretty hard to restrain myself from doing that as they were soo cute! It was such a magical experience! I’m so glad that we didn’t spend loads of money on premium tickets where you are supposed to get the best view as we could not have been any closer if we tried.

    Once we had seen a few groups of penguins come in we walked back out to the car park via the boardwalk. The boardwalk took us through the middle of the nesting area, so all around us were squawking penguins making their way back to their nests. It is also mating season so at times we got a little more than we bargained for!

    Waiting for us at home was a delicious feast of chicken parma, chips and salad which Dan had been preparing while the rest of us were hanging out with the penguins. We did have a slight hiccup on the way home when Maddy tried to make a detour to see if we could find some wallabies or kangaroos. A wrong turn resulted in us getting the car bogged and after a few failed attempts of pushing it out, we gave up and walked back to the house (fortunately it wasn’t far at all) for dinner. The parma was delicious and a million times better than the one we had in the pub the other night. After dinner, Simon, Dan and Maddy headed back to the car with a torch and some wood to try and unbog the car. Ingrid and I opted to stay back and ‘keep the fire going’ as we didn’t fancy going out in the cold. Around an hour later they returned with the car, absolutely plastered in mud but very pleased with their achievements.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 11 - Melbourne

    September 10, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    The weekend has caught up with me and getting out of bed this morning was very hard! After pulling myself together we packed up and were on our way back to Melbourne just after 11am (with a quick stop to see the damage the car had left in the day light). Maddy was meeting some friends in the afternoon for drinks but absolutely pooped from the weekend we decided to stay at Maddy's to catch up on some admin and cook her dinner for when she got back.Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 12 - Melbourne

    September 11, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    A lazy day of recovering from a boozy weekend and washing clothes was top of the agenda today followed closely by some more planning. We have now booked our flights to Cairns on Wednesday and have a hostel booked there for 4 days (back to slumming it). We also signed up to the WWOOFing (willing workers on organic farms) app which allows us to do voluntary work for people in return for food and accommodation. We thought this could, if required, save us some money and be something different to experience. So far we have applied to work at an organic farm and a yoga and meditation retreat so watch this space.

    On the family Christmas trip front we also successfully booked our Melbourne leg but Gold Coast and Sydney are proving a bit more difficult as the time of year means the prices sky rocket!

    As we hadn't left the house all day we decided to go out for dinner and experience our first Pho (Pho for those that haven't had it is meat, noodles and veg in a broth almost similar to a ramen but Vietnamese style). Victoria Street in Richmond is renowned for its many Vietnamese restaurants and was only 5 minutes up the road from Maddy's house. We sat down, ordered and were brought out three giant bowls which looked delicious. This is when it all went down hill for me. I decided to spice mine up a bit with some chilli. This little mishap meant my broth was now like a hot spicy lava every time it touched my lips. Next, on an attempt to cut some of the giant meat in my bowl on the back of my spoon with a fork (in hein sight a terrible idea anyways) I slipped launching broth all down my clean jeans and Blakes shoulder, with no idea as to where the meat actually went. After searching my lap, the floor, behind us, our coats and hoods we concluded it must have made its way back into the bowl. Blake and Maddy, both in stitches, managed to eat and enjoy theirs quite respectfully whilst I left hungry, wet and disappointed.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 13 - Melbourne

    September 12, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    We woke to torrential rain and it stayed like that all morning! Not wanting to leave the house we cracked on with some travel admin as we had no idea what we were going to do when we hit Cairns tomorrow. Feeling very smug from not procrastinating and actually getting stuff done we rewarded ourselves with an afternoon stroll along the River Yarra when the rain eased off. On the way back we popped into Touchwood for a coffee and cake. I had a delicious banana and salted caramel muffin whilst Simon gave himself a massive sugar rush with an enormous peanut butter cookie.

    It's our final night in Melbourne so we went out for dinner with Maddy for $14 steaks, followed by some frozen yoghurt and a very bad $10 bottle of wine. Note to future self, there is a reason why wine is only $10.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Melbourne - Cairns

    September 13, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    After an emotional goodbye to Maddy this morning, we set about putting our worldly possessions back into our backpacks which have slowly been spreading throughout Maddy's apartment over the last 2 and a half weeks. As we will be seeing Mad's again in December she has kindly let us leave a bag of stuff at hers to help lighten the load. It turns out we have accumulated a lot of souvenirs, tickets and other random stuff. We have also left behind the thermals as hopefully we aren't going to be needing those again in Australia.

    For lunch I decided to keep Simon happy and take him to Nando's. The food was ok but not on par with Nando's back home. It's more of a fast food place here with a slightly different menu.

    At around 4pm we said goodbye to 66 Fraser Street and made our way to the airport via the tram and then a bus. It was a 3 hour flight to Cairns and when we stepped off the plane we felt the heat that hits you when you go on holiday! HOORAY! It's finally warm!!    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Cairns

    September 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    After our first night in our school/prison like room, we woke up after a reasonable nights sleep. We had no supplies so we made our way to woolies to buy a loaf of bread and some peanut butter. The first great difference from Melbourne is the weather. It wasn't even 9am and we were already in shorts, tshirt and flip flops.

    After breakfast we made our way to the esplanade which has a giant man made swimming Lagoon. Cairns has no beach and its not really safe to be in the sea due to the mangroves leading up to it and the chance of salt water crocs (too many things that could have you here). After a pleasant morning of sunbathing and swimming in the Lagoon we strolled back to the hostel for lunch. It's only a 3 block walk so the hostel is in a great location if nothing else. For lunch I picked out a mini Hawaiian (my new favourite) and pepperoni pizza from the bakery whilst Blake opted for a salad that she found in the reduced section. Having lived the Melburnian lifestyle for two weeks with Australias expensive prices we're back to strict traveller budgets so $5.50 in total for lunch wasn't bad.

    After lunch we strolled back to the Lagoon to continue for some more sunbathing and swimming, topping up our almost distant tan from Fiji. On our way back we saw an advert for the hop on - hop off bus tickets to Sydney at a discounted price of $389 (instead of $445) we'd been debating over the last couple of days between this, a car or a camper van and this price made the decision for us. We're now the proud owners of a pass and have 3months to slowly make our way down to Sydney.

    Dinner consisted of a veggie stir fry, another cheap and cheerful meal, but I actually quite enjoyed it. We also cooked so much we had to microwave it halfway through as it got cold. After dinner we decided to walk further down the esplanade as its all lit up at night. We scoped out two exercise areas with bodyweight equipment which we said we would visit tomorrow evening (we'll see). We may have also stopped at an ice cream shop Maddy recommended called Cold Rock. We shared a small creation called for-a-rare-share which was Ferrero ice cream with smashed Picnic, Ferrero Roche and Nutella mixed into it. It was delicious, but marked our last treat we told ourselves!    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Day 2 - Cairns

    September 15, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Today we opted for another lazy day by the Lagoon topping up the tan. We also stuck to our word so after a day of very little movement we headed to the outdoor gyms we found yesterday. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to move tomorrow!

    After our workout, we went to the pub for dinner (there is some logic in that somewhere). Our hostel gave us some vouchers for a nearby Irish pub which got you dinner and a drink for $10 which wasn't bad. Before we made it out for dinner though, disaster struck, when Simon decided that today was going to be the day that he would drop my phone on the floor. Now I have dropped my phone a hundred times and it has always bounced back. But not today! Today my screen decided to shatter. Simon has attempted to fix it with some sellotape so it is still working for the time being. Let's hope it survives the next 4 months!    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Kuranda

    September 16, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Last night we booked a day trip to Kuranda which is a rainforest village just North of Cairns and is famous for its markets. It was an early start (especially as it's so hard to get any sleep in this hostel as it is so noisy all the time) as the bus was picking us up at 8:30am.

    It took around an hour to get there once we had picked everyone up and the driver gave us lots of information about Kuranda on the way up the long and winding road to the village. When we arrived, we headed to the visitor information to check out what we could do for free. Armed with a map we headed off on a walk through the rainforest and along the river. It was a nice easy walk and we even saw a couple of lizards and a wild turkey. After an hour of walking it was nearly lunchtime so we headed to the Rainforest Market in search of some food. We decided on some cheap and cheerful sushi before exploring the markets. The market was filled with lots of touristy tat, including a variety of things made out of crocodile and kangaroo. After the Rainforest Market, we headed to the Heritage Market for more of the same.

    By the time we had finished mooching, it wasn't long until the bus was picking us up so we sat in the sunshine (well I actually took a nap) until the bus arrived. In the evening, we cooked up some tuna pasta (oh how I love to be back on a travellers diet) and did a bit of planning for our next week of travelling up to Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation.    Read more

  • Simon and BlakeAround the WorldSimon and Blake

    Cairns - Port Douglas

    September 17, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    Today we are making our way up north of Cairns to Port Douglas, so we set of in search of the Jucy office to pick up our hire car. We of course opted for the cheapest car possible so are now the proud owners of a Fiat Punto for the next 8 days! My first car was a Punto and like that one this one doesn't have much oomph about it. Fortunately we are not in a hurry to get anywhere.

    After picking up the car and doing a quick supermarket shop to stock up on some supplies, we were on our way. We took it nice and slow (the cars speed of choice) and stopped off at a few beaches on the way. Our first stop was Yorkeys Knob and our second Ellis Beach were we decided to get out for a stroll along the beach. The beach was huge and went on as far as the eye could see. After Ellis Beach, we made a brief stop at Rex Lookout from which you could see back down along the coast.

    For our 3 nights in Port Douglas we are staying in a retro caravan. It's at the bottom of an older British couples garden (which is more like a rainforest), who moved out to Australia around 8 years ago. Rebecca greeted us and she seems really friendly which is nice. The caravan is also super kitsch so you can imagine how much I love it! It's also pretty big which is lush after spending 4 nights in a prison cell. Unfortunately Rebecca informed us that they are due some rain over the next couple of days which is a bit annoying.

    In the evening we cooked up a veggie stir fry with some rice outside on the gas stove and then played some cards alongside a chorus of rainforest critters. Being in a caravan in the middle of the rainforest, it was inevitable that we would experience our first spider however it wasn't in the caravan that we spotted it! The bathroom is under the main house and I was quite happily having a wee before I went to bed when out of the corner of my eye I saw an enormous spider. Hello huntsman! It was a baby one but it was a big baby. Needless to say I didn't hang around to see it's parents. I'm a bit gutted I didn't have my phone on me to take a picture but I'm sure it won't be long until I find another one!    Read more

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