G'day Australia!

Our last night in New Zealand was one we’d rather forget. We had planned to stay overnight in the Christchurch airport to catch our early morning flight to Melbourne, Australia. We’ve had a few other airport all-nighters in the past which have been fantastic – with comfy couches and free wifi. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case in Christchurch – which we later learned is one of the 3 worst airports in the world to overnight. We were forced to sit in a vertical position in metal seats located next to exterior sliding doors which opened and closed all night long (it also happened to be one of the colder evenings in Christchurch). We hunkered down with our sleeping bags and toques for a long night of movies and reading, with only a few winks of sleep before our flight.

Upon arrival in Melbourne we rented a car and started off on a drive of the ‘Great Ocean Road’ which starts in Torquay and hugs the southern coast of Australia for a few hundred km. It was a really odd feeling for Norrie to be driving a small car again after 5 weeks in the Bula Bus. It felt like driving a go-cart!!

Torquay is a small surf town near world-famous Bells Beach which is home to a few world-class surf competitions. It’s also the birthplace of brands like Quicksilver and Rip Curl – which made Kai giddy with excitement. We took two days to drive the Great Ocean Road – which has spectacular coastal scenery that reminded us of some of the beautiful drives we had in New Zealand. We even spotted our first group of Kangaroos on our first day in Australia – which made Vea extremely happy!

Surfing Capital of Australia

Quicksilver’s original surf shop

Scenic views along the Great Ocean Road

On our way back to Melbourne we found an incredible indoor skate park called ‘The Park’ – which had recently opened. The place was empty when we arrived because all the kids were still at school – so Kai and Vea had the place to themselves. We rented two scooters and booked in for the afternoon. This was Vea’s first scooter experience – and she picked it up with ease. By the end of the afternoon she was even pulling a few tricks. Kai was having fun making friends with some of the school kids that arrived later in the afternoon.

Kai tail whipping it

Vea getting her kicks on the scooter

Catching air with a tail whip

Half pipe full empty

Our weekend visit to Melbourne was planned so we could see Norrie’s friend Paul who he knows from a school exchange in England during his time at NSCAD. It’s been over 20 years since they had seen each other – and it was great to catch up and meet everyone’s families. We had a fantastic stay with Paul, Cindy and Tom – and look forward to seeing them again soon hopefully in Canada!

Catching up with Paul, Cindy and Tom in Melbourne

Sharing a beer with my mate!

On Sunday evening we caught an overnight bus from Melbourne to Sydney (once again saving money by travelling cheap with overnight accommodation). We stocked up on snacks, charged the kids iPads with movies and bought a nice of bottle of red to enjoy before ‘bed on the bus’.

Most of our time in Australia is with house exchanges that we’ve previously arranged. Some friends of ours introduced us to the idea of house exchanges a while ago – and we’ve always wanted to try it. We were a bit apprehensive with the idea to start – but then realized it’s a perfect way to visit a place and live like a local. For those who are unaware of what a house exchange is – it goes back to the old bartering system where you trade house per house for an agreed period of time, with no exchange of money. We stay in their house and they stay in ours. We even trade vehicles – which is a great way to have a home base and explore the surrounding areas.

When we arrived in Sydney in the early morning, we caught our train to the Eastern Suburbs – arriving in a small town called ‘Oatley’. To be honest, we didn’t really know much about Oatley – but as our first house exchange it seemed like a nice area to be (20 minutes from the big city of Sydney). It was exciting to leave the Oatley train station carrying our back-packs in search of our home exchange. Walking through town we immediately loved the feeling of this quiet neighbourhood.

Upon arrival at our ‘home away from home’ we were amazed by how beautiful the house and surroundings were. It was such a nice surprise to see that the owners of the home had left a few groceries in the fridge for us – and a good bottle of wine to enjoy. Kai and Vea quickly claimed their bedrooms, and it was a great feeling to un-pack our backpacks after months of travelling. Fantastic to enjoy some comforts of home again. Kai immediately wanted to bake some chocolate chip cookies in the beautiful kitchen – and we all decided to bring a plate of them for the neighbours to introduce ourselves. Lucky to find out that the family had five kids and they quickly became friends. Kai was thrilled to learn that the boy his age played competitive soccer and was asked to join in their weekly practices. He even got to borrow a set of ‘boots’ (cleats), and shinguards / socks.

Kai checking out the view from one of the decks

A good sign of a great place

Arrival at Oatley station

Moonlight vino time

Our two weeks in Oatley went by quickly but it was so nice to live like a local resident. We had some days in the city seeing all the sites and touristy things – but the rest of the time we were content to just hang in the hood. It was a good time to focus on some homeschooling (it was amazing to have fast and free WIFI), baking in the gourmet kitchen (loved those Global knives), morning runs for Norrie and Kari (loved doing runs on our own and feeling safe to leave the kids at home) and enjoying getting to know the neighbours (loved seeing the kids have after school play dates). We were also close enough to enjoy some incredible beaches and parks – like Cronulla, Botany Bay and the Royal National Park. We even took the train in to Olympic Stadium on Friday night to see a ‘Footie’ game between the Sydney ‘Rabbitohs’ and the Melbourne ‘Storm’. We all loved seeing the extreme action and enthusiasm for this game from the fans in the stadium.

Cronulla Beach

Renting tandem bikes in Manly

Big city sights

Sydney Opera House and harbour

Harbour Bridge stroll

‘Footie’ match night

Our last day in Oatley was very special because Zen and Kristy (our neighbours) invited us to experience an authentic Lebanese lunch. We’ve never eaten so good this whole trip! The food kept coming and coming – and we had to get up and walk around every hour to loosen our belts! Zen gave us a great lesson in Lebanese cuisine and how to share with the whole table. Kai has a new favourite cuisine now – he loved everything!

Content and full after an amazing Lebanese feast with the Younes family

Next we’ll be renting a small car and aiming to fit all our backpacks, 2 surf boards, and a boogie board + two weeks supply of Costco groceries and wine for our drive up the coast to our second house exchange in Yamba – northern NSW. Not sure if we’ll fit everything, but we’ll find a way. Kari’s motto is ‘there’s always room!’

All 4 Now!