Long Island - Wallaby outside our room

Great Barrier Reef

Set off early to catch a couple of boats that would take us to the outer barrier reef. All in it took about three hours to get there, but the conditions were great with a perfectly flat sea. We also saw hump-backed whales, jumping out of the water and generally playing not far off from the boat. We sat with an old Aussie couple who had just retired and were driving around Australia for 3 or 4 months, hopefully we will be that dynamic at that age. Just like the previous day the trip was really well organised with no waiting around or queuing. We got to the platform and put on our wetsuits, we snorkelled for a couple of hours, looking at the myriad of fish, giant clams and coral reef. They had a couple of enormous fish, one a Queensland groper was just gigantic and also a giant Wrasse that swam by close enough to touch several times. At one point one of the instructors threw in a handful of food on top of Lee, it was quite something to be in the water surrounded by hundreds of fish in a feeding frenzy, The sights were great. We also used the underwater observatory, the semi-submersible ship and off course the sun deck. Then back to our island for the evening.

Daydream Island - Reef Shark

Great Barrier Reef - Groper

This was truly huge and probably weighed the same as Vicky and I put together.

Whitehaven Beach

Whitsunday Islands

Toured around some of the 74 mostly uninhabited Whitsunday islands. Started off with Daydream Island where we got to see our first shark, albeit a baby reef one. Next we visited one of the most populated islands Hamilton island for lunch, too busy for our tastes but great fish and chips. Instead of seagulls trying to steal your food it was cockatoo;s, surreal. Next and certainly the best stop was Whitehaven Beach, one of the best in the world. The sand was a beautiful white, apparently 99% pure silica, the water was crystal clear and apparently it is not jellyfish season so we enjoyed a lovely swim, there were no clouds in the sky and there is no development on the island, it was a beautiful afternoon on our own island, the white beach stretches for 7.5km.
Finally off to Long Beach island where we are staying, very exciting to be dropped off at the island, with a room almost on the beach. Most of the island is deserted, well except for the numerous wallabies and bush turkeys ambling about right outside our room! What a great day! Looking forward to the barrier reef tomorrow!

Whitehaven Beach

Vicky showing off on Whitehaven beach, once we found out it wasn't jellysifh season we couldn't wait to test the crystal clear water.

Airlie Beach - Birds

I thought Vicky was joking when she kept saying she was seeing parrots and cockatoos in the trees, looks like they are as common here as pigeons!

Airlie Beach - Gateway to the Barrier Reef

We took a budget flight up to Airlie Beach in Queensland for five days as a base to explore the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. Syndey airport was really great, super efficient, very clean and modern and lots of shops and eating places, just for a budget domestic flight! Proserpine airport where we landed to get to the Whitsunday coast was pretty much just a big hut in the middle of nothing. Certainly warmer here two hours further North by plane. First thing we noticed were all the warning signs about the different types of jellyfish and the effects of their sting, quickly followed by the cyclone information in our room! Airlie beach is not too busy right now although you can imagine how rammed it must be in the high seasons. Funny to see lots of parrots and cockatoo's flying around everywhere and making a racket. Signed up for trips around the islands and some diving at the Great Barrier reef.

Sydney - Just to embarrass them

Steve and Nivi who have very kindly let us stay with them in Syndey on our evening out.

Syndey - Coogee Beach

Took a nice walk down the coast past Coogee Beach. Great weather, great scenery except for the jogger keep running by in just his "budgie-smugglers" thats their name for a pair of speedo's. Had some lovely fish and chips at Coogee Beach although we didn't go for a swim, hoping that it will be just a little warmer when we fly North to the Whitsundays. Enjoyed a nice evening out drinking cocktails at a couple of trendy bars in Syndey Habour with Steve and Nivi, got to see the bridge and the opera house lit up at night. Also had a lovely Chinese in Chinatown (with no over-ordering for once). We will be exploring Syndey centre more thoroughly when we get back from the Whitsundays.

Sydney - G'day folks

Fourteen hours passed very quickly on our flight from Los Angeles, the Qantas plane was almost as nice as the British Airways with the seats going completely flat (although slightly sloping down) where British Airways was completely flat. Loads of films, plenty of food and sleep. Arrived in Sydney this morning just after 6.30am. Enjoyed working out which bus to catch to get us to Lee's old friend Steve who has very kindly agreed to put us up (or put up with us) for our first couple of nights in Sydney. We have booked an extra flight to take us up to Whitsunday coast where we will be able to explore the Whitsunday islands and the Great Barrier Reef. We also booked some tickets to see the Kaiser Chiefs while they are here in Sydney. The Artic Monkeys are here as well but the tickets have already sold out.

It was a bit of a shock going from the 115 degrees in Las Vegas to 80 degrees in Los Angeles, it was a bigger shock to find Sydney in the 50's, although it did warm up later afternoon. We spent the afternoon walking the coastal path between Clovelly and Bondi beach. They certainly have some beautiful beaches with lovely sand. The picture above is Bronte beach just down the road from Steve's place. We are now both beginning to fade but trying to stay awake and go to bed at a normal time to avoid the jet lag.

Los Angeles - Farewell to the USA

We catch a flight tomorrow at 10.30pm over to Syndey so technically tomorrow is almost a full day, but we had a nice meal this evening on the top floor restaurant overlooking LAX at the Radisson where we are staying, to say goodbye to the US. It is funny we fly out on Sun 22July and arrive in Sydney at 6am on Tues 24 July, completing missing Monday completely! We shall go from being 8 hours behind the UK to about 9 hours in front.

Well today, we headed into L.A. on a bus tour to check out what Beckham has let himself in for, everyone is raving about him playing for LA Galaxy. We stopped off at Venice beach again first followed by a trip to downtown. Oh boy, it was a bit of a dump! We certainly won't be visiting LA downtown again. Next stop was the old town which was Mexican styled with at least some character and a bit nicer. Then we started to visit the places we imagine when we think of LA: Farmers market and the Grove where we had a lovely lunch and a nice stroll, Hollywood boulevard where we saw all the stars on the pavement, along with the handprints of stars at the Chinese theatre, then on to Beverley Hills and Rodeo Drive, where we saw the Wilshire hotel (from Pretty Woman). Although Beverley Hills was nice we preferred Santa Barbara. On this trip the best moments were in those places that were less popular, less populated and less well known.

Los Angeles - Vicky and Friends

Los Angeles - Being a tourist

A couple of thousand of these stars with every name you can think of, including Godzilla and the Simpsons, see they must be real!

Las Vegas - Stratosphere at night

Our hotel at night.

Las Vegas - Gambling and sightseeing

Certainly enjoyed the last couple of days gambling, eating good food at very cheap prices and wandering up the strip admiring the different casinos. We both love the wheel of fortune slot machine which has a huge wheel just like the game show as the bonus round. We got through to the bonus round a couple of times and got excited watching it go round, particularly when we got the 5,000 win. We actually won $100 on it, given that 1 credit is only 1 cent we thought we had done pretty well. Soon got put back in though but it was a lot more fun than the other machines.

Wandered down the strip at nighttime to see all the casinos lit up, particularly enjoyed the light show outside the Bellagio and the minature city within New York New York. We are off to L.A. for a couple of days sightseeing before the next big flight to Syndey.

Las Vegas - Grand Canyon

This gives an idea of the scale of the canyon, just take a look at the small figures on the rock in the foreground, it truly was epic. We have loads of photos but without people in them it is very difficult to get a perspective on how big this thing is.

Las Vegas - Grand Canyon

Another early morning start with a 6am pickup. We went for the coach trip to the Grand Canyon which involves a 3.5 hour journey there and back. The driver was very entertaining and played DVD's and talked a lot which made the time pass pretty quickly. Stopped off first of all at the Hoover Dam, it was quite clear that the water level was a lot lower than usual. We had both recently watched a programme on the building of the dam and it was great to see it at first hand. After a couple of rest stops and some lunch we got to the Grand Canyon. Wow, it certainly takes away your breath to stand looking over the edge at the Colorado river flowing about 1 mile straight down. We also saw lots more Californian Condors swooping around on the air currents.

Las Vegas - Nudity!

Went to see the show "Bite" last night, it was very good, but we now have a clearer idea what "Adult Revue" means. Although a topless show about Vampires, it was very good dancing and acrobatics although the storyline was a little hazy, all to some great rock music. Got a little bit worried when they suggested some members of the audience would be invited on stage, turned out to be setups. Then today we decided to check out the pool on floor 25, which is supposed to have no children which we thought would be great. Actually it turned out to be topless sunbathing where the women get in free and the men pay ten bucks. No big deal for us, but funny listening to the Americans who were up there talking as if it was the most adventurous and risque thing in the world. Turns out there are only a couple of pools in Las Vegas which allow "European Sunbathing". Which maybe explains the one or two odd single guys who stayed in the pool on there lilo just looking around with sunglasses on. Lovely and hot about 110 degrees today, and no we didn't get sunburned at all even staying by the pool for most of the day.

Also visited the top of the Stratosphere where you get a great view of Las Vegas from the air, also some very scary looking rides at the top, Vicky is very keen, I might just take pictures again. Tried out the buffets at the hotel today, you certainly get lots for your money, for about five pounds you get whatever soft drinks you want and as many servings from the multitude of dishes as you want. Lee enjoyed a poker tournament this evening lasting for about an hour and a half and going out on an unlucky break! Also played some Blackjack, excited after doubling our money yesterday on slots, got to about 100 USD up but them gambled it all on one hand to lose it all, que sera, but all part of the Las Vegas experience. Discovered the rule for tipping: everyone gets one, for eveything!

Las Vegas - Stratosphere

Spent yeseterday hanging out in an LA airport hotel, getting our amended flight tickets for Vegas. Set off this morning and caught the early 7.30am flight on a tiny jet with great views of the desert and mountains. Suddenly, Vegas pops into view, a big square of buildings in the middle of nothing. The first thing we noticed was the temperature, from the very warm mid-80's in LA we were walking around in 100's in Vegas and it is has been as high as 110-120 this week, ouch! Took the monorail into the strip and checked out the gondalas at the Venetian, watched the fountains at the Bellagio and marvelled at the gigantic casinos in every hotel.

We are staying in the stratosphere, you can see the tower in this photo, another revolving restaurant at the top with great views, and also some theme rides right on the top. This evening we checked out a 50's style diner in the hotel, which was great fun with the staff singing and dancing 50's classics as they serve you, in a really authentic looking diner. Off to a show in a few minutes. We have a nice room with a jacuzzi on the 21st floor with a great view of the strip, so much for slumming it!

Newport Beach - The O.C.

Drove further South today to end up in O.C. (Orange County) and Newport Beach where the series is set. Awesome weather although strange to see so many oil platforms and drilling equipment from the beaches. Set off early this morning from our motel, because it was so bad. Vicky had decided to make up for earlier extavagance by going for a super-cheap one, oh boy it was pretty grim. Drove to Santa Monica to see more beautiful beaches and a nice pier, couldn't stop singing "Santa Monica Bouvelard" from the Cheryl Crow song. We took one of the electric rides from the beach to downtown, waited five minutes for it to go after all the passengers had got on, then it crawled into downtown, it was very funny sitting there thinking we could have walked faster than this bus. We stopped for lunch in an English tea room, nice to have real bacon again. They also had a shop selling just English goods, we both realised that maybe we missed some things already after seeing the PG tips, Fry's Chocolate cremes, Branston pickle and Heinz sponges in a tin. Then we drove past lots of beaches we have heard of: Venice Beach (where the Muscle men work out on the beach, drove past Malibu's 27 miles of gorgeous beach before coming to L.A. and Long Beach, Redondo Beach, etc. We didn't stay so that we could get a glimpse of the O.C. When we get back from Vegas we have scheduled a few days in L.A.

Santa Barbara - Ribs anyone?

Thank goodness Lee only asked for the half rack of ribs at this place and not the full rack which he was going to, the plate was enormous and was overflowing with giant ribs. The photo doesn't shop the plate of sides that came with it either! Very messy!

Santa Barbara - Gorgeous Downtown

After some truly spectacular scenery yesterday we continued driving down the West Coast to come to Santa Barbara. We love it! The sun was shining the downtown was big but not overwhelming with palms lining the roads, smart shopping, very clean and tidy, a lovely pier and a great beach. Enjoyed a lovely day sunbathing, whilst at the beach Lee was swimming in the waves and suddenly saw a black shape moving a few feet in front of him. Then a head popped out, it was a seal swimming right next to him, nearly frightened the life out of him. As we move into Southern California the landscape is typically a lot more arid and desert-looking and the temperatures are warm!

Morro Bay - Morro Bay with Morro Rock in the background

Morro Bay - More great Big Sur coast

Morro Bay - One of the bridges Big Sur

Morro Bay - More Big Sur

We also had a great barbecue outside in a forest where there were brightly coloured birds all around us watching us eat. We saw Californian condors swooping over our car as we drove and we took lots of photographs of the different scenery, which meant the journey took about six or seven hours. We also came across a beach where hundreds of elephant seals where just basking in the sun. We were able to get very close and get some photos. They really did look like elephants from the front!

Morro Bay - Big Sur Waterfall

Today we drove along the wild, rugged coastline that is Big Sur. The journey started off pretty dull but by the end of the day we were baking in beautiful blue skies and sunshine. Basically this part of the coastline is made more dramatic by the mountains meeting the sea with a thin stretch of road, and pretty much nothing else, curving around them. Our favourties would have to include some of the impressive bridges we drove over, bridging large drops or sometimes places where the hillside has been washed away. We also loved the waterfall that goes drops into the sea, and some of the very tropical looking little coves.

Santa Cruz - Boardwalk

Well the weather has finally let us down a little, Santa Cruz is meant to have some of the best weather in California but has been pretty overcast while we have been here. It is a traditional seaside town that you could picture being in the UK, particularly with the overcast sky right now. We walked on the pier, with all the food stalls and touristy shops, and sea lions playing underneath which you don't get in England. We also spent some time exploring the boardwalk which is a funfair on the beach. Vicky went on the big dipper and a scary looking ride called Fireball, while Lee just took photos! We also went to the arcades and regressed a little. Tried the local saltwater taffy which was pretty tasty. Heading off for a big drive tomorrow through Big Sur which is meant to be an awesome drive through pretty rugged terrain.

San Fransisco - Presido Park

A little quieter today we spent the day walking around the shopping area and Union Square, along with China Town and a walk to the Presido Park, where we got a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge finally with no fog! Chinatown was very colourful and pleasant in contrast to some of the other Chinatowns that we have visited. We also enjoyed a drive around the very steep streets of San Fransisco to get to the park. We were both very grateful we are driving an automatic, certainly saw some people having problems with their clutch on the very steep junctions. Spent the late afternoon driving through more scenic coastal roads to Santa Cruz where we will be staying for two nights.

San Fransisco - Union Square

San Fransisco - Driving Clip

We have shrunk the clip but it may still take some time to load unless you have broadband, also taken away the soundtrack (the screams and wind would put you off!)

San Fransisco - Lots of tourists

Very strange to be somewhere with loads of tourists everywhere after getting used to driving on quiet roads and sitting on almost empty beaches. Vicky got up early to visit Alcatraz but there were no boat trips available until next week, I had already been before and although it is good I didn't want to go again anyway. Walked around San Fransisco, saw the sea lions at Pier 39, and all the other touristy attractions there, including the Spy Shop, with real spy gadgets for sale. Getting up early tomorrow to do some more sightseeing and go on one of the cable cars, while it is less busy, before we head off to Santa Cruz our next stop.

San Fransisco - Cable Car

Steep streets and some of these cable cars driving around

San Fransisco - Pier 39 seals

Reyes Point - Drake Bay

Spent the day driving down from Bodega Bay to San Fransisco taking time out to detour to the Reyes Peninsular. Very remote with some dramatic weather changes. One minute we were in 80 degree sun, 10 miles later the temperature is down to below 60 degrees with blowing winds and thick fog. We saw Tomales Bay where the San Andreas Fault (which we have been following) is flooded with water from the Pacific Ocean to form the bay. We enjoyed some warming clam chowder at Drake Bay (named after Francis Drake who landed there). Then headed back to Stintson beach which was very popular, sunny with golden beaches, and hundreds of surfers and surf bunnies. We also completed the drive to San Fransisco taking in some fantastic coastline and some crazy winding roads. Suddenly the narrow road ends and you are on a five lane freeway heading to the Golden Gate bridge which comes as a bit of a shock. The view on the bridge was obscured by the fog but hopefully we'll get some good photos over the next couple of days that we are here.