What day is it?

Australia and New Zealand have a love and hate relationship. Both are under British rule and are similar in many ways but they are also very different. Several Aussies said, OK - all kidding aside, which is better Oz or NZ? But comparing the two would be like comparing Alaska to Hawaii.

We didn't see much of Australia other than the east coast but we noticed three differences between Oz and New Zealand: 1)size 2)weather and 3) expense.

Australia is a huge country, almost as big as the continental U.S. but with only 20 million people. The majority of the population lives by the coast. Sydney, the capital, has more people that the whole country of New Zealand with only 4 million people. From what we saw, Australia has the beaches, surf and diving. New Zealand's mountains and outdoor adventures can't be beat.

The southern hemisphere is going into their winter but we hit Sydney at the perfect time. As we headed north we managed to stay in the warmer weather. But even with winter right around the corner, Australia was still so much warmer than New Zealand.

Both countries were very friendly and easy to get around in. New Zealand had a much more laid back lifestyle where Australia was faster paced. We found New Zealand relatively cheaper for travel where Australia was comparable to the prices in the States. Which means expensive for budget travelers like us.

We were fortunate to meet a very generous Aussie who left us a key to his vacation home. We stayed in Airlie beach for another 10 days after Whitsundays. Thanks Perry, you are one of a kind. We did absolutely nothing while we were there. Just lounged around the house and relaxed by the water. Out of our four weeks in Australia, we spent over two and a half weeks in Airlie.

We enjoyed our five months in the South Pacific. I am addicted fish and chips and we are now tea drinkers. A few words have sneaked into our vocabulary: heaps, good on you, cheers and keen.

Our one month road trip from Sydney to Cairns, which was 2639 kms (1640 miles), was nice and lazy. This was the first time that Parker and I wandered around for weeks without knowing the day of the week or the date. All we knew was that we had to be in Cairns on June 5th to catch our flight to the Philippines.

Sea Kayaking Whitsundays

Whitsundays is at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef. It consist of 74 emerald pine forested islands surrounded by white beaches and turquoise water. Most of the islands are undeveloped with only a few scattered resorts. The most popular way to see the islands are through sailing and yacht tours. We chose to go on a seven day independent kayaking tour. What better way to see the islands then to explore it ourselves?

We paddled out of Shute Harbor with all of our camping gear and Parker's fishing gear, seven days of food and water, our snorkel gear and a liter of sunscreen, a copy of Shantaram for me and Noble House for Parker and of course island inspired cocktails. Our 5 km paddle to our first island, S. Molle Island, was a good indicator of the adventure to come. The first couple of days were overcast, windy and the waves were big.


We made it safely to Sandy beach on S. Molle Island. Parker wasted no time and immediately casted out a line. Within minutes I heard him yelling that he hooked on something "HUGE"! We quickly realized that it was a sea turtle. We were worried that the turtle had swallowed the hook. We fought the poor thing for a good 20 minutes. Fortunately Parker only hooked the inside of the shell and we were able to set it free.

Day two was our big day to cross the Whitsunday Passage. The passage is known for it's crazy currents and tides. It was 10km to Henning Island and the weather was not promising. We checked the tide charts and went for it. We knew right away that we were in for a ride. The ocean is so deceiving, the waves were huge. Since I was up front I got most of the action. For the next three hours, I was assaulted by 3-4 foot waves. The nose of the kayak would climb the 4 footer, then it would dive 2ft into the water on the other side of the wave and the next wave would crash over my head. The waves came at me as if in slow motion but there was no escape. Parker and I paddled non-stop for three hours.

The rest of our trip was not as traumatic. We did have a couple of rough patches around some of the points but we were closer to shore. I was in awe of the beauty and danger of the water. We discovered a leak in our boat but we worked around it. Unfortunately, my camera stopped working so I only got a couple of shots. Major bummer. But the weather started to clear and we were finally able to relax on the beach. Our only real concern was checking the tides before we paddle out. Otherwise, we were on "island time". We read, fished, snorkeled and baked in the sun. Parker caught nine fish in one hour. He was in Parker heaven.

We paddled about 80 kms around the Whitsunday Islands. Now we know why people go on a tour or take a barge to the islands but we wouldn't have done it any other way. It was an unforgettable sea kayaking experience. We paddled over the Great Barrier Reef with dolphins, sea turtles and giant Manta Rays. We had most of the islands to ourselves. We had a few visitors during the day but at the end of the day they would pack up and go back to their resorts. At sunset we waved to passing yachts and sailboats from our very own beach on our private island.

Almost famous in Australia

From Australia: Sydney to Byron

The residents of Byron Bay worked together to successfully keep away the skyscrapers and fast food chains that clutter most coastal towns. Inturn, Byron remains a picturesque paradise with great cafes, shops, beaches and surf.

Parker and I decided to make Byron home for a few days to soak up the sun and play in the water. First, we purchased proper snorkel gear that is also suitable for our future dives. Then we were upgraded to shorter surf boards by default - they were out of long boards. The waves won, again, but we were able to get up a couple of times.

In a local pub, we met our two new friends Damian and Jan. Turns out we were staying at the same place. The pair are frequent visitors of Byron. They were on a three day break traveling with their 'Kostly Kombi', the coolest camper van we have seen. The next couple of days, we met each other in the communal kitchen and swapped travel stories.

Damian and Jan live three hours from Byron and they gave us an open invitation to stay with them. We enjoyed a relaxing couple of days in the cute coastal town of Mooloolaba. We especially enjoyed their favorite hole in the wall Thai restaurant that they have nicknamed Dodgy Thai. It's your typical hole in the wall, not so posh but great food and cheap.

Damian is a journalist and the weekend editor for the Sunshine Coast Daily. We were surprised when he told us that he wrote about us in his weekly column. We were quite flattered. He certainly made us sound way cooler than we actually are. At least some of it was true!

We got on well with our new friends who take a relaxed and fun attitude towards life. We were excited to find out that we were all going to be in Amsterdam the same time next year. Also, I think we have convinced them to put Austin Texas on their travel list.

Link to Damian's Column:

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2010/05/16/only-the-depth-varies-opinion/

No Guidebooks and No Road Maps: Australia

From Australia: Sydney to Byron

Parker and I were pleasantly surprised by Sydney. Australia's capital is more populated than the whole country of New Zealand. We immediately picked up on the energy of the city. The Opera House and the Harbor Bridge is as amazing as one would expect. It dominates the Sydney harbor and skyline.

We decided to home base at King's Cross for a few days. It is a part of the city that I would compare to the East 6th St./So. Congress of Austin. It has the perfect mix of dodgy and not so dodgy. On our first night, after a few drinks at the Opera Bar, we went back to King's Cross. It was unmistakably where people go to party.

After six months of traveling, we have become very relaxed and serendipitous in our ways of wandering. We have survived this far without a single guidebook. We found that every person with a lonely planet or any guide all go to the same places. What we do is ask the locals and other travelers. Granted, we can't avoid all the hot spots but we skip a lot of tourist traps.

We have a month to road trip Sydney to Cairns through the east coast of Australia. We left Sydney without a road map and just started driving north. On our itinerary is snorkeling, surfing and a whole lot of nothing on the endless Australian beaches.