The day before we flew out of Perth towards our South-East Asian travels we spent the day on Rotness Island. Thanks to Louise who kindly booked our boat over there and bike hire for the Island we enjoyed a fantastic day on Rottnest. First thing we were up and drove over to Cottosloe Beach where a sunrise festival was taking place representing the first day of the Perth Festival of Arts. We got there a little too late but enjoyed the early morning appreciation of the beach and many people were swimming or enjoying breakfast on the banks. There were also a few photo shoots taking place that couldn’t help catch our eyes.

When we left the beach we drove onwards to Shed (3) where the boat to Rottnest Island leaves, we found all day parking and promptly queued for the boat. It takes around 80 passengers perhaps more and it was pretty full, people were also bringing their own bikes with them which is a much better way if you want to save the pennies. It only takes around half and hour to reach Rottnest and once we arrived we were quickly instructed to where the bikes were, again getting our bikes didn’t take very long so we were all geared up and ready to go.

We cycled around the east side of the Island first passing by The Basin and a few other lovely bays, we decided to stop at one of the smaller bays and got out the snorkeling gear straight away. There wasn’t that much to see in terms of marine life, if you go deeper in then you’ll see more but we were happy to play in the shallow waters, plus you never know if a shark may rear its ugly head! The bays are beautiful, nearly all of them are small alcoves and so they are very private too, we made our way to Little Prakeet before lunch. We came across a few Quakkas which are only native to Rottnest, they are very sweet creatures belonging to the Kangaroo family and they don’t have any fear of humans so it’s easy enough to approach them although you’re not recommended to feed them.

We biked up to the highest point on the Island at Wadjemup lighthouse. Our last stop was at Parker Point and Dave and I snorkeled out quite far above the kelp and there was more to see. On our way back to Perth Louise had booked us onto the fast boat, more of a thrill experience. Not quite as rough and ready as the other fast-boat experiences we’ve seen in New Zealand and in Oz but it was a nice bit of fun and a small thrill for us! We were back at the sheds for 5pm and not long after that we were home.

We decided to eat at a Mexican restaurant for our last night in Australia called Zapatas, the atmosphere was good as was the food and the cocktails. We enjoyed our time in Perth and on the whole Australia has been really kind to us, especially our friends and family who have helped us out along the way.

From our 5 week experience in Australia and on the route we did these are the following highlights:

• Freedom camping in camp sites listed in the official Camp book 6 (on the Great Ocean  Road we had a fantastic spot right on the beach for free!)

• The Great Ocean Road is a must if you’re in the area, the beaches, the 12 Apostles and camping was a real delight.

• Getting tickets to the Melbourne Open Tennis Championship, we got the opportunity of a lifetime to watch the world number 1 and 2 in the men’s singles finals, it was an amazing 6 hour epic match.

• Visiting Wilsons Promontory National Park, we felt like this is what we had been waiting for. Fantastic beaches, mountains and forest all there to see and explore.

• Margaret River and Rottnest Island, equally beautiful and appealing. Again the beaches hit the mark here and the colour of the sea is mouth-watering.

We hope this may help with any plans you have to visit the areas we’ve explored and written about. Our next stop is Ubud, Bail, we’re ready for culture, more beaches in paradise and Asian delights.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0, 18mm f4, 90mm Tele-Elmarit f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

Continuing the exploration of the Caitlins we drove to Nugget Point. Luckily it was a nice morning and we got some excellent views of the iconic landforms that reach out from the coast to the ocean, the lighthouse and the rocky inlets. Its a short walk down to the viewing point and its well worth it.

Onwards towards Dunedin and upon arriving at the popular St Clair Beach we strolled along the sandy beach and watched the dogs playing in the waves fetching balls and sticks thrown by their owners. This was a quick stop over as we would be backtracking to Dunedin for Christmas in a few days time. For the next two nights though we decided to stay on the Otago Peninsula, famed for lush hills, extinct volcanoes, beaches, albatross and penguins. We pre-booked to stay in the Portabello Tourist Park ($31 NZD/night) as we weren’t sure how busy it would be so close to Christmas.

This private camping ground is a very nice spot indeed, with a short walk to a shop, pub and an award winning chippy in Portabello. We decided on a walk towards and along the Okia Flat. This takes in “The Pyramids” (volcanic hills), a beach / coastal walk and a crouching elephant made from volcanic rock. The walk took a few hours and we spent the time exploring further into the Papanui Inlet with its soft crunchy sand that swallowed our feet!

Later on we drove up to The Royal Albatross Centre located at the very tip of the peninsula which offers viewing (over the hill where the birds are nesting) and a museum/cafe. As we did not want to pay for the pleasure we took up a vantage point, with lots of other tourists, on top of the cliffs to see if we could spot any birds returning from their day fishing out at sea.

We did see several albatross in amongst the pretty large gulls, and they are HUGE, the photos really do not do them justice. Seagulls also have a big nesting site here and do create a fair amount of shrilling and screaming all on their own. On the other side of the cliffs you can make your way down to the bay and watch the Blue Penguins returning to feed their young. They only come ashore once its practically dark so we waited for them with around 100 other people.

This is also a free area for visitors to watch the penguins and luckily there are volunteers in the guise of marshals (in high vis vests). They offered an informative insight into the penguins and how long they have been there for as well as keeping order amongst the crowds. The elderly male warden has done this job for the past 5 years and was a nice bloke, but his people skills left something to be desired, clearer communication would have made it simpler for people to understand what to do and where to stand. He was however very passionate about the protection of the birds from public! After some shouting at idiots who couldn’t turn their flash on their cameras off, the little birds made their way up to where we were standing, one even walking inches from both of us and producing a little poo. Helen loved it.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

We left fairly early and started on our drive to to top of North Island. We had to make a few stops along the way, it’s always recommended; fuel, food and water! At Katai we found all 3 and there was even a Pak’n'Save! It’s not exactly Aldi but it is cheaper than any other super-markets around and they stock pretty much everything you need for your home – or in our instance the van!

It was a further 3 hours drive north to Cape Reinga but we didn’t go to the top, instead we went to the DOC campsite at Tapotupoto Bay. It’s off the main road and pretty much gravel all 8km’s to the bottom, always take it slow with Po! When we got to the campground it was very windy and a little wet, but it wouldn’t be Cape Reinga without blustery winds, it is after all at the top of New Zealand and there isn’t much up there to shelter you! We found a spot on the campground that was a little baron but we did have some shelter from a  tree at least. As the evening came more and more people turned up to camp. We hiked from the campground heading towards Spirits Bay, but only managed a 2 hour return hike, mainly as it was getting late and the hills were so steep!

Back down at the campsite we sat in our van and listened to the wind around us, it was a pretty quiet evening. We’re grateful to have the van to shelter in on nights like that.

The following morning we prepared for our hike to the Cape Reinga lighthouse which is predicted to be a 2.5 hour journey from Tapotupoto Bay. With pack lunches and after a cold shower (not as bad as it sounds!) we ventured up the steep hills again. It actually took us 1.45 to get there with 2 very steep sections and further steep downhill paths that we would be returning along. It’s a pleasant walk though with a dip down to Stony Bay before heading back up again. We did think about Nicky and Cooky quite a bit when we were hiking as this would have been the last part of their 5 month hike from South to North and wow was it a tough one to end on. Amazing to read their blog and to now be hiking the same paths.

The Cape Reinga lighthouse is in an area called Te Rerega-Wairua a Maouri spiritual area; a place where souls jump off for their journey to their spiritual homeland, no-one is allowed to go to that point but we looked out across to the pohukutawa tree and where the Tasman and Pacific Oceans meet. It’s a wild place with high sand-dunes behind us and arrows above pointing to distances across the world. With half an hour or so at the top followed by the gruelling hike back to the van we ended up taking just over 3 hours in total, so we were please with that and it also meant we had time to get back down the coast again.

Later on after the drive back down Northland we ended up at Raetea Forest DOC campground via a quick non-inspiring stop at the 90 mile beach! This particular campsite is one of their free basic grounds heading towards the Kauri coast. It’s actually a really nice spot in a forest area and we had a few neighbours to keep us company too. Food was a real camping affair; Dave had sausages, tinned spaghetti and mushrooms.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

We got up and spent a good part of the morning sorting out the car, making sure our bags weren’t quite so spread out as Barbara (Dave’s mum) would be joining us for a week from here on. The first part of the day was spent touring back into Point Reyes and out to the lighthouse, where many tourists adventure to. There were quite a few bird watchers on tour so we had to battle a little for the views but not as many people take the 300 steps down to the lighthouse so it was much quieter down there. A humpback whale had been spotted just before we’d arrived but there were no sightings for us. There are lots of rare birds around that area though and the sky was very clear too which is unusual for a mainly foggy  area.

The lighthouse is no longer in use and is a good spot to view from. The steps back up are not quite as enjoyable though but what is pretty unique about this area is that when you’re in Point Reyes you’re also standing on a different tectonic plate. So instead of being on the North American Plate we were standing on the Pacific Plate! You can see the area of land that was formed and ripped apart by the San Andreas Fault.

Moving onwards the road trip continued along Highway 1 taking in some amazing coastal views eventually coming out of the Waldo Tunnel to an amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Before we picked up Dave’s mother for a family road trip, we decided that we should get the car back in tip-top condition, it was rather dirty on the outside as well as inside. Much fast paced fun was to be had at the self-service car wash, even though we managed to miss large patches of dirt on the outside

Upon meeting up with Barbara in the Cow Hollow district we headed out for our first taste of San Francisco walking up Lombard Street towards the famous eight tight hairpin turns which we would try to drive down the following morning. Onwards to Fisherman’s wharf for tacky tourist shops and hoards of tourists where we visited a recommended fish restaurant. The food wasn’t particularly refined but tasted fresh and wasn’t too expensive. Back to the hotel room for an early night ready to head south on the coast tomorrow.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

We left Kirsten and Danny’s after a productive morning; packing, sorting, skyping home and making sure we had everything we would need, for at least 5 days! We were aiming for the 11.25am ferry across from Seattle to Bainbridge but when we got to the terminal we paid and drove straight onto the 10.25 ferry! Result! When we parked up and got out of our upgraded car we felt suddenly very grown up, this was our first drive-on ferry ride without our parents! He he! The ferry over took around 40 minutes and was very pleasant indeed, well worth the $21 we paid! The views back to Seattle were really rewarding as was looking out across the Olympic Peninsula, or as far as the eye can go.

After the delight of our first ferry journey we continued away from Bainbridge, making our way north east of the Peninsula towards Port Townsend and a little further to Fort Worden State Park where we’d read that An Officer and A Gentleman was filmed. It’s a gorgeous base with naval barrack buildings and a lovely little bay. We wandered along the bay past an old lighthouse and then back into the barracks area to take a look at an HI hostel we were interested in viewing, it was very twee indeed.

Continuing on our first USA road trip we ventured to the Olympic National Park Ranger Station. They are so informative over here, even after closing hours there is still a ranger on duty. We discovered that backcountry backpacking is very popular over here, most people were dropping off bear cans and collecting permits to hike. We just wanted a park permit, some info on camping and a map! Then we set off in direction of Hurricane Ridge. If you’re ever in this area this ridge is a must-see, the road is windy and around 30 miles going up but at the top the views are so rewarding! We could see across the park to Mount Olympia and for the golden hour we hiked around the top of the ridge and just took it all in.

We made tracks and took the further one hour drive to the campsite. We aimed to get to Crescent Lake campsite at the south end of the lake, and when we got there we were confused with the set up; there was no-one around to register with but we could see people setting up their tents. So we asked them, how does this work? We learned our first lesson in camping, you do an honesty payment, fill out a form, display the ticket in your car and enclose payment (on this occasion $12) in an envelope along with car details and post this into a box! Easy!! So we found a nice little spot just in time for dusk, set up our little tent for the first time, and made our first camping meal!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)