Cheese fondue in Moruya Head

We've met Mandy and Larry in Samoa. They invited us to spend some time at there place in Moruya Head. Since Larry never had a cheese fondue they asked us to prepare one together. Finding the right ingredients was a bit a challenge. But finally we found everything except for the Kirsch. To our surprise Mandy had some in here cupboard. The improvised cheese fondue was amazingly nice. However, not everybody seems to have enjoyed it as much as we did. Eventhough Larry was brave and ate the fondue, he would have preferred to have a little bit of cheese fondue as a starter and a proper meal afterwards. Probably, someone had to be born in Switzerland to enjoy eating a huge amount of hot cheese on bread ;-)

Back to the start

And soon we will be back in Sydney. But first we want to visit Canberra, the capital of Australia. First we join a very interesting guided tour through the new parliament building. Afterwards, we cruise through the embassy area. The embassy of Thailand looks like a temple while the Chinese embassy resembles a palace. After cruising several times through the quarter Reto gets a bit nervous. He thinks the police will pull us over checking for terrorist activities. But luckily we're not the only tourists on this sight-seeing tour ;-)

From Canberra we move on to the Blue Mountains. There we visit the Jenolan caves, some of the biggest limestone caves. The tracks through the caves are endless. Very impressive.

And then the time has come: we're on our way back to Sydney. We spend another couple of days at Therese's and Phil's place. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean we can relax. Since we have decided to send "El Coche" back home (too expensive otherwise) we have to repack everything and wash and clean the car. Then it's time to say good-bye to Therese and Phil, to "El Coche" and to Australia. We leave with heaps of good memories. It was great!

Bye mates...

Digging for a fortune....

Coober Pedy is the digging town in South Australia. However, it's not gold or rubies this time, but opals. There are no big mining companies around here. Alone or together with 1-2 companions, the diggers try to make a fortune. While visiting a mine we learn about the tough opal mining business. Uncountable luckless opal diggers had to give up after being broke. Still, each year one or two are lucky and find a treasure. Eventhough most diggers need another job to finance their dream they keep on digging and hoping.

Whoever wants to make a fortune in Coober Pedy has to be able to work hard and to endure extreme temperatures from -10 degrees to +50 degrees Celsius. Due to the devilish heat people live underground. There are houses, hotels and even churches under the surface. Coober Pedy is a strange place.

Sleeping among Koalas and Kangaroos

We're moving on through the Barossa Valley to the south of South Australia. We spend a night in the Adelaide hills, in Hahndorf. This is an old German settlement. This is also refelcted in the menu of the local pub. A welcome change in food ;-)

Initially we wanted to visit Kangaroo Island. Unfortunately, there are several bushfires out of control on the island. What do we do now? After some phone calls we decide to go anyway. And it's worth it! The first evening we have the possibility to spot some little penguins coming back from their daily feeding. The next day we visit a sea lion colony and sleep among koalas and kangaroos. Amazing. We could stay here forever. Unfortunately, the weather is getting cooler and we decide to move on.

Thunderous sea at the Great Ocean Road

After weeks and months enjoying the heat, the south seems to us very chilly. Luckily, the sun is shining for us at the Great Ocean Road. We enjoy the breathtaking views of the limestone coast with its rough cliffs and the thunderous sea. We have to stop at every lookout and can't get enough of the impressive scenery.

We not only have to adapt to the chilly weather but also to the rain. As we come closer to Melbourne it starts pouring. Due to the weather, we cancel all our plans of visiting places in the mountains of Victoria. The weather forecast even predicts frost along the coast. We move on to the east coast to New South Wales as fast as possible. The decision seems to be right. As soon as we arrive in Eden, it starts to warm up again. Since we were driving thousands of kilometers for the last weeks, we decide to spend a couple of lazy days in this tiny fishing village and relax a bit.