ARRIVED IN SYDNEY

Hello! oh you don`t know how much trouble we have gone to to get this blog done today. No wi-fi at the hotel so we went to McDonald's on George St and that was hopeless. Anyway we have found a bar and at last were connected only to find it was so slow! I know Jo will tell me off because she said not to spend to much time on the Internet but it`s such a shame if we give up. I am a bit worried as to how we will get on when were in the camper van. Anyway we are becoming a couple of winging poms!

Lorraine had got tictets for the Western Bulldogs against Collingwood in the Australian Rules Football League at their new Etihad Stadium. Brian said there were nearly 50 thosand people which created a brilliant atmosphere. Unfortunately they lost but a great day was had by all. I had a shopping trip with Jodie and Bethany to High Point ,it`s a bit like Merry Hill.Had to get some t shirts for the sunny weather we are expecting! then had to send the winter clothes to local charity shop.

Well after 4 weeks without a decent curry Paul suggested we tried the local Indian cuisine in Sunshine Melbourne. It was Delicious and enjoyed the company of Paul`s friends Debbie and Richie and of course Jodie. All had plenty of vino as usual but no bad heads.

It was up early in the morning and had to say our goodbyes to Paul and Lorraine. It was tearful but had had a great time. We will miss Lorraine and our water bed. Bri kept dreaming he had been ship wrecked on a desert island until I got in and he thought there was a tsunami ! he`s no lightweight after all this travelling.

We have now left melbourne and arrived in Sydney and looking forward to having a good look round tomorrow.

PENGUINS PARADE AT PHILLIP ISLAND

Ok so we are back online,it`s difficult to get a connection to the internet while we are at Lorraines.Where she lives is a retirement village and she has got everything to hand,there is a community centre (with a bar),lovely swimming pool and plunge pool,bowling green,little putting green,restaurant and dining room if she wants,and all the residents live in bungalows.

So the only way we can get on to the internet is by walking up to Mc Donalds and getting a couple of cups of coffee and hooking on to their free wi-fi.

It was great speaking to you last night mom and Pat.

Well yesterday (Saturday)we had a great day out with Paul,after first walking up to Lorraines local shops in the morning and then having breakfast Paul picked us up at about 11am and after packing a picnic (and flask)we set off for a day trip to Philip Island .

Now this island is about 70 miles out of Melbourne so we had to pass through the city ,now this took us no time at all,they have a tunnel which literally goes from one side of the Yarra river to the other,all three lanes so that was pretty quick.

We stopped on route at a little place called fisherman's cove for a quick cup of tea and then just before going on to the island we stopped again for our picnic at a village called San Remo,which was very nice.

So then on to Philip Island and our first port of call was the Koala and Wallaby sanctuary which was a great visit,now these little bears sleep for 20 hours a day(Betty's very jealous they are beating her by 2 hours) and they sleep up in the trees in very precarious positions.

There is a nice walk throughout the sanctuary in amongst the gumtrees where you can find wallaby's hopping around ,kookaburras in the trees and many other forms of wildlife (Betty was really excited about seeing the Koalas)but still haven`t seen a kangaroo yet.

After this it was time for evening meal and we found an Italian restaurant in Cowes where we all had a good meal and some of us had a glass of wine.Now time was getting on into the evening but the highlight of the day was to come at about 8pm when it started to get dark.Now what happens is that all the penguins that have been out in the ocean all day ,probably covering about 50 kilometres would be returning home,so we all took a seat and sure enough they all started to pop out of the water.Now they wouldn`t` attempt the walk up the beach until they had waited for their mates to arrive,so when they were formed into groups of about 15 they started to waddle up the beach and back to their chicks in the nest.This is where we managed to get a closer look because they were in touching distance.It is called the penguin parade and it is amazing.It was a shame but no photographs were allowed for this event.So it was back to the car and our return to Lorraine's where we arrived at about 11pm.A good day was had by all and a big thank you to Paul. love Betty and Brian xx

THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD DAY 2

When we left the Motel it was cloudy and as we drove through the rain forest it started to rain. The scenery was fantastic and we stopped off at all the view points. These were The Twelve Apostle's,The Loch Ard Gorge,we lunched at Port Campbell (very short due to weather) then had a lovely view of Port Campbell made our way to the Arch and onto London bridge (that has fallen down!) and finally The Grotto. It was along trip home but a great day. We are now having a lovely Chinese Meal at Jodie's house .

BETHANYS BIRTHDAY AND GREAT OCEAN ROAD

Well after a good day around Melbourne we all met up at Lorraines for Bethanys 12th birthday party and a good night it was with Bethany and Tiahni entertaining us with a Turkish belly dance,they have lessons with their mom Jodie.

They certainly are lovely girls and great company,we had a birthday cake and all sang happy birthday.

Next day was an early start because we were off up the Great Ocean Road ,Lorraine prepared the picnic and off went.First stop was Geelong where we ate and decided to have a cup of tea but when we came to make the tea no thermos flask!.Next stop was Anglesea Golf Club and the promise of seeing lots of kangaroos but i think they must have all been hiding because we never saw one!.After that we visited Lorne where there was a beautiful beach where school children were having surf lessons (not bad for a school lesson).Now this ride all along this coast was fantastic ,the weather was brilliant and the scenery great.So we made our way to Apollo Bay by which time it was 5pm and booked in to a lovely motel which was just across the road from the sea with 2 bedrooms and all self contained,we went round to the local supermarket and got some meat and salad for the evening meal,and after a stroll along the beach and off to bed.

HELLO LORRAINE

Hello yes we have arrived and what a welcome! Lorraine Jodie and Paul were there to meet us with a big banner saying "Welcome Lady Betty and Sir Brian" We have a photo mom but it`s on Jodie`s camera so try and get it for tomorrow. We had a good chat until 2 30am and then decided to go to bed. Lorraine is on top form and they all send their love. Lorraine's bungalow is great and she showed us all the facilities this morning. Had some lunch and then into Melbourne. We parked at The Crown Hotel and Casino which was the place of the Tiger Woods scandal. We then went to the top of the Eureka Tower (88th floor) which gave us a fantastic view of Melbourne showing the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Albert Park where they are having this Sundays Grand Prix. Lorraine had a go on the pokie machine while we looked round and she won $40! after rubbing my arm so she owes me! party tonight,it`s Bethany`s birthday and we are having a Belly Dancing demonstration. We will take photos and hopefully you will see them tomorrow. Speak soon Bet & Bri x x x x x

SAD DAY LEAVING FIJI

Well were at Nadi Airport waiting to board the flight to Melbourne. It took a while to check in and the weather is very warm. Now looking forward to seeing Lorraine Paul and family. We have told them that we have left 5 star treatment!!! only joking we`ve been trying to get over to see Lorraine for years and can`t believe it`s getting so close. Sorry it`s a short blog will try and download more photos tomorrow. Not sure about Internet connection. love bet & bri x x x

Kava at Marys

Well this is our last day in Fiji and we are sad its been fantastic. The people are lovely and we have made a special friend in Mary. We arranged to go to Mary`s house at 4pm to try the kava, People had told us about this drink it was made with the root vegetable pounded with water ad and then drained through a muslin cloth. It`s normally drank as a friendship drink after two people have fallen out. Well when we arrived we were met by the whole family including the grandmother. They all sat round the big bowl of Kava and the family sang and welcomed us into the house. We first were offered green coconuts and we drank the milk. They weren`t the coconuts we were used to seeing like the grey ones. These apparently were the younger ones with softer flesh. We offered the Kava which was like sandy coloured water and didn`t really taste of anything! we couldn't`t really get away without drinking it as Mary and her family clapped before and after we finished it. We looked around the garden and they showed us the cow and the pig, oh and the chickens. In fact they were quite self sufficient. The children could play and they didn`t have to worry about them. They all sat round and sang us a farewell song and then we were on our way. We had a great time and wouldn`t have missed it.

This was our last night so we went to "The Wicked Hut" it`s a seafood restaurant and you feel like you are on an Island it is beautiful. The people from yesterdays wedding were there and it turned out to be a great night. Tomorrow we leave for Melbourne can`t wait to see Lorraine. Not sure if we will get chance to speak but catch up as soon as we can love bet x x x