Best photo of Lynda--do love this woman--
So what have I learnt that I didn't know before---
- shop in a hotel, a restaurant, a petrol station , and your more likely to be served by either a Malaysian, a Philippino, or an Indian/Sri-Lankan person.
- Take a taxi and it will almost certainly be driven by any nationality other than an Australian.
- The roads in and around Sydney and Adelaide are as in bad a condition as the UK. However, as soon as you are out on the highways the roads are the best and I can only dream of a UK where they are even half as good as those on the huge long runs of Australia--great job.
- The hire car service sucks because they penalise you for wanting to hire a car in one city and hammer you in additional charges for daring to leave it in another state--- I mean very high rate of additional cost -- which to be fare we knew before we left the UK.
- The airport customs was a breeze and puts the USA to shame -- nothing like the Border programs we see on the TV--- mind you I did have my own sniffing around through everything before we flew in to Sydney and stopped Lynda chattering on that would have bought attention to us.
- There is a real nice policy -- an unwritten rule when driving and that is on long distance ones drivers raise their hand as a "hello" gesture which is nice.
- Cloudy warm day sat on the back of the boat for 3 hours around the bays to Manly do not stop getting sun burn.
- don't rely on the pretty pictures in the brochures or TripAdvisor for he view of your hotel--- read the stories by people who stay there to really get a view.
- Still get to meet some really nice folk wherever we have travelled and that still applies -- I was even given a sun bed yesterday round the pool on the basis of wearing my Chelsea FC cap with insignia.
- Much better free use of wifi around , especially in the hotels than I was led to believe-- although I think that the Sherriton in Port Douglas may prove to be the exception to that comment.
- Do not take for granted in smaller towns that the3re will always be somewhere open to eat at as we have had at least twice where everywhere was shut after 8.30 in the evening.
- make sure that your plotting to travel around is in detail because I think that the Aussies are a bit Blaise about things being just down the road-- which could turn out to be 100 kilometres.
- Just because they use this poor animal as their symbol we believe that the Aussies have made the Kangaroo extinct -- well how else can we drive 4000 kilometres and not see one--- except either dead ones or on signs.
We are loving the journey and this country and of course the trip has enabled us to meet family again and that is very special.
We know that the way we do our touring -- literally, on a day by day basis with long drives and not stopping for too long in any one place, wouldn't suit everyone but that's is just the way we like to do it-- just to be able to say we have been there or touched this or seen that---it works for us.
We also know that this then limits the time we are able to spend with the family but we think they all understand this.
What a wonderful photograph they had that captured them all with Janet's father and the children's Grandfather , Ivan Moore----
Now we just need to get a similar one from Jeffrey and Nicola and that will make it perfect. Having a professional mass family photograph is definitely something I want to get done when we get back to the UK.
Not sure if there will be anything to write about in the morning but the intent is that we chill out by a pool for the next couple of days in Port Douglas but will post as soon as it is worth while.
In the meantime-- live life to the full people-- you just never know whats out there-------
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