Category Archives: Explore

Platypus Spotting in Eungella, Australia

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IMG_5483The literature we picked up in Agnes Waters mentioned that the best place to see a platypus is Eungella National Park. Along the drive, Sara found a free campsite in Gargett – excellent! The drive inland to the park was really neat. For miles there was nothing but sugarcane lining the roads. Sporadically there are narrow gauge railway crossings for the “Cane Trains” that weave through the fields.

After spending a night in the tiny town of Gargette, we stopped in Finch Hatton to find a shop that specializes in rainforest scuba diving. We drove through the town twice but didn’t see anything so we stopped at the only open store for directions. We missed it because it’s apparently in someone’s house! Unfortunately Continue reading →

Driving North to Agnes Water, Australia

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IMG_5730The plan I had in my head was to drive straight north then slow down and explore on our way back south. On the day we picked up the camper, everything took longer then expected. By the time we left the rental office, it was rush hour in Sydney and already getting dark. Although it was already late, we stopped at a supermarket to stock up on a few days worth of food before getting on the highway to our first campsite. We ended up camping at essentially a truck stop a little off the highway. At least it was a very scenic truck stop along side a neat gorge.

We were feeling refreshed in the morning and started the day by organizing the camper for our month long journey. This was much easier then in our last camper van because this one is so much larger with many storage options.

IMG_5208We drove most of the following day and Sara found a nice free spot for us to camp that night. We arrived after dark to another rest area off the road, but this time Continue reading →

Australia Plan – Camping Part Deux

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A quick hop over the Tasman Sea found us in the middle of what felt like a hurricane in Sydney. We made our way through the pouring rain to our friends house where we were going to stay for a couple days. After drying off, there was a tasty lasagna meal waiting for us – my favorite! It was great to have a real home cooked meal again and to be able to relax in a non-public place.

The rain didn’t let up for a couple days and ended up being the biggest storm the city has seen in the last century! We stayed indoors as much we could and took the opportunity to catch up on necessary business. Unfortunately, we had to venture into the rain briefly to go the the U.S. consulate Continue reading →

Exploring Coromandel, New Zealand

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IMG_4853After a day of mountain biking and enjoying the thermal activity in Rotorua, we headed northwest to stay at a campsite at McLauren Falls. It was one of the best campsites we visited on the North Island! It’s a wonderful little park with several walking trails, great views over a river, and many sheep, ducks and swans roaming about. Also, there were great amenities so it was worth the $10 per person fee. Before leaving in the morning, we stopped by the falls right outside of the park. Above the trickle of water cascading over large rocks were large caution signs. Although you are permitted to climb on the rocks Continue reading →