One of the cool things about the van is that you park up at night with little idea of where you are and you wake up in the morning to awesome views. One of the disadvantages is that it’s winter here, and quite cold. We found ice on the windows on our morning sleeping in it.
As well as looking at vans and going on some stunning walks (see photos on Flickr) we managed to squeeze in a couple of “activities”. Whilst those around us were throwing themselves off bridges on bungies, leaping from hillsides on paragliding or jumping from planes, Ben and I did adventure sport on a whole new level…extreme mini golf!
On our last day, in need of a shower and some warmth we treated ourselves to an onsen. A little different to the original Japanese onsen – we had our own room, a hot tub and the best bit…the roof and the wall opened up to the outside world and the amazing view beyond. We went at night time, so we could see all the stars. It was a breath-taking experience.
So this is our lovely van – home for the next 7 weeks! We spent the first few days in Queenstown hunting for a suitable van. We eventually found this one – originally we called her Matilda, but she’s morphed into a Bertha – and then spent a couple of days getting her serviced, through her MOT (or WoF, warrant of fitness, as they call it here) and fitted out inside. The lovely Warren did the work on her and you can see the before and after!
Emma asked me to write one of my really witty posts – but I can’t think of anything funny. Basically, on the last night of the folk festival, it rained. Lots. And the tent leaked. Apologies to Max for leaving him with a wet and dirty tent. Looking for somewhere to sleep we thought that the bar was quite full, but would most likely close at some point. All we could find was a stable. So we moved all our stuff and slept there. The irony of it all was that it was Easter weekend.
Many of you will not know that my craft of choice for travelling is crochet. It helps me relax, relieves boredom and only requires one needle and one ball of thread. Now, some people see crochet as a thing of mockery, something that spinsters in rocking chairs do in their dotage…but this is not true. Everyone in Australia seems to be at it (slight exaggeration). This chap was the cook for the volunteer kitchen, his name is Arch Bishop and he’s proud to crochet. One of the folk bands were selling crocheted flowers after their gigs and people went wild for them – one girl a bit younger than me declared that her boyfriend crocheted. So, it must be true…it’s cool to crochet.
No folk festival would be complete without Morris dancing, and Ben and I managed to get invited to join with a couple of sides for the weekend – Ben with Black Joak and me with Brindabella. I also ran a little teaching session with Brindabella and taught them a Jabberwocky dance (hope you don’t mind guys, you’ll be fully credited!)
One of the highlights of Australia was always going to be the folk festival. We had signed up to be volunteers – me on volunteer kitchen, Ben on construction – so we arrived 5 days before the festival started. We borrowed a tent, airbed and sleeping bags from Ben’s friend in Sydney.
For those not fully acquainted with a folk festival, these pics give a flavour. We went to lots of concerts, played music in the bar and danced. We have a confession to make to our fellow folkies. After years of mocking tea dances and set dances, we’ve discovered that we actually quite enjoy the more complicated dances. Our new love is contra dancing – English dancing but with a New England twist to it. But we didn’t go quite as far as the guys at the Colonial Ball – apparently dancing in costume is a big thing in Oz, not something you see much in the UK.
Another thing unique to an Aussie festival was the Bush tent complete with fire, bush tucker, bush songs and singers and a horse to ride on!
Visiting a war memorial doesn’t sound like a tourist activity, but the book recommended this place and it was quite amazing. An awe-inspiring, modern building houses the tomb of the unknown soldier and a role call of all known Australians killed in battle. We found quite a few Higgses but didn’t see a Cumberland. There was a massive museum presenting all aspects of war, with stunning sound and light shows and various interactive displays. I spent around 4 hours there and didn’t see all of it – and it was all free!
We spent a couple of days in Sydney staying with a friend/ex-colleague of Ben’s. We were a little underwhelmed by the Opera House, but got some groovy photos and had a pleasant time strolling around the Botanic Gardens. We had great fun riding around on the ferries, enjoying an ice cream at Manly Island.
Before we left for Canberra, we were taken to enjoy one of Harry de Wheels’ legendary pies. Seriously, they’re genius: pie with mash, mushy peas and gravy all piled on top…delicious. We then, quite randomly, had a coffee with Ben’s cousin Simon who is over for a wedding!
