1994 Return to Oz Part II

The first place we went in our camper was to the Royal National Park. It was badly affected by the bush fires that had pulled me back to Australia. We were there almost a year after the fire and it was truely amazing to see how it was coming back to life. Plants sprouting new green shoots through the blackened earth, and wildlife beginning to reinstate itself. From here we headed on down the coast. I was desperate to take my father to the Blue Mountains, which I had been to the first time I was in Australia. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and was desperate to share it. When we got there it was foggy! I was so disappointed, it was still beautiful but you just couldn't see enough to really appreciate it.

We headed for Canberra and after taking in the views from Black Mountain Lookout headed into the city. Aaaaaah! Beautiful place but what a complete and utter nightmare for the visitor!! For anyone who doesn't know, Canberra is based on circles. Circular roads all linked and getting smaller. It's fine if you know which circle you are on, but we found it ridiclulously confusing and didn't stay long! We found a campsite outside of the city and rested our brains. That night we witnessed an amazing thunderstorm. It was quite a long way off but from our campsite but we had a fantastic view. We sat at the park's benches with a 'tinny' and watched as it rolled and flashed across the horizon.

The next day we moved on down the coast. Heading for Melbourne, we followed the coast road, visiting attractions and stopping off overnight in camp sites wherever suited us. We stayed a night on Phillip Island, which lies just off the coast of South Australia below Melbourne. It is an amazing National Park with nature reserves and rehabilitation centres. We were lucky enough to see the rafts of penguins coming into the beach and heading for their nests. What a way to spend an evening. Before that I had no idea there were penguins somewhere like Australia!

Melbourne was stunning, although it rained. It has an amazing huge undercover market so we spent a lot of time there shopping for souvenirs. The trams were scary! Really nice to see but they made driving very confusing. When you want to turn right, you have to pull over to the left, wait for the trams then take your turn! After a night just outside Melbourne we hit the Newel Highway and headed north.