Los Angeles

We arrived very late, so we grabbed a subway and hopped in to bed as we will be going to disney in the next couple of days.

Next day...

I was so excited I could barely eat! We walked to disney and went in the adventure park. The first ride we went on was soarin' over California. As we have been to this disney before, some rides bring back old memories. Afterwards we went on a ride that got us soaking wet!! We then went on California screaming! I had a GREAT time!












Next day...

We went to the actual disney today! We went on lots of different rides. My favourite was space mountain! Aoife saw " Mickey Mouse " and " Pluto ".

Next day...

Today we left Los Angeles to go to Orlando. The airport was a shambles!

Hawaii

We left our hotel for Nadi airport in the evening for an overnight flight to Hawaii. We had a good sleep on the plane before arriving in Honolulu. But there was a twist, we arrived a whole day before we took off! So basically, we time travelled! We hired a car for two days while on the island of Oahu. Our hotel was on Waikiki beach! 

We drove up to a volcanic crater and did a long walk. The view over the sea and the city was amazing! Afterwards we took a scenic drive around the eastern side of the island. I now see how Hawaii is so famous for its Volcanoes.

 We walked along the beach at sunset and Riona spotted two turtles! Also there were people of all ages out surfing. What I found quite funny was that people we walking down the main street with surfboards in their hands! Also there were houses built on the side of the volcano! 

Next day... 

Today we flew to Maui, another island in Hawaii. When we hired our car and we drove to our hotel, I already saw in the landscapes that I preferred Maui. 

Next day... 

We drove to the north of the island where there's nothing but rainforest. We went on a walk up to a waterfall. We walked through a bamboo jungle! It fell dark very quickly so we walked really fast! Personally, I don't think the long walk was worth it. 

Fiji

When we went through Bio-security and a guy gave me a high five! The Fijian people are so friendly and kind! We were driven to our hotel on the other side of island. The food is REALLY nice!

Next day... 

We went in for a swim after breakfast and stayed in there all day!  In the evening Some. Australian people came to the bar and we tried Kava. It looks like muddy water - plus it tasted like it too (not that I've drank from a puddle though!)

Next day... 

Mum, Riona and I went horse riding along the beach, it was amazing! My horse was called Mike Tyson. For the rest of the day we relaxed by the pool.

Next day...

In the morning we met some Fijian people who are the Nieces of the barmaid. They took us to a waterfall where we swam. On the way back they showed us their house and it only had two rooms and they eat on the floor. It made me realise how lucky we are.

Next day..

Today is our last day in Fiji! I really liked it here! We leave at half past ten tonight! 

The barmaids sister and her nieces brought a traditional lunch to our hotel! We had great fun in the swimming pool.

 

Queensland..... AGAIN!!

Next day... 

Today we drove to Julia creek where there was a festival called Dust 'n Dirt. First we saw the horse racing, then a man came over in a helicopter and dropped sweets for us to catch! Afterwards we went to a rodeo! At one point I thought a bull was going to knock over the fence and run at me!

Next day...

Today was Mum's birthday! We drove all day before having a tyre blowout! We had to wait for a truck to change our tyre. Basically we stayed the night in a layby!

Next day... 

We drove to a place called Undara where we saw ancient lava tubes! They're 190,000 years old. Nearly as old as Dad! We walked in the dark and saw micro-bats!

Next day...  

Today we drove to Atherton we met my Grandads' cousin called Tom. He took us to a cheese and chocolate factory! For lunch we had cheese, scones, and milkshakes! What a great lunch! 

Later, Tom cooked a BBQ for us! Tom was such a nice man!

Next day... 

We drove to Port Douglas where we went on a rainforest walk. It was SO humid! 

We carried on and travelled to Cairns. When we arrived there, I found out there was a bunjee jump! Mum said I couldn't do it because it was too expensive!

Next day...

We travelled to Hervey bay. We had an early night because we were going to Fraser island the next day! Fraser Island is completely made of sand.

Next day...

We woke up at 6:30AM to go to Fraser Island. We took a bus to the harbour to get on a boat which took us to Fraser Island. When we arrived at the harbour on Fraser Island we had a bus waiting for us! Our guide took us on a tour of the resort before dropping us off beside the pool. 

Three quarters of an hour later, we went on a Bush tucker and medicines tour. We tried berries that gave us energy and tasted of cinnamon! We found leaves that work as mosquito repellent and smelt of lemon. It was great fun!

We then went on a canoe tour of the mangroves. Our guide told us that once he came out on a tour with some girls, and two were kayaking under an arch when the guide realised there was a carpet python hanging down from the tree! A girl turned around and it was an inch away from her face! When we got off the beach, we saw a funnel-web spider!

We left Fraser Island feeling very happy.

Next day...

This was our last full day in Australia! 

We woke up early to drive to Brisbane. I was excited to leave Australia but I will miss it too. We arrived in Brisbane in a campsite to start packing our bags.

After cleaning up, we had spaghetti bolignaise. It was wonderful!

Next day...

We woke up at 6:00AM to start getting ready to leave. You could guess the excitement when we were driving to the motorhome hire office! The man at the office drove us to the airport. It was time to say goodbye to our motorhome!

We realised our plane had been delayed by an hour!  We met a guy who stayed in Cornwall! We finally departed Australia for Fiji.

Northern Australia

Next day...

We drove to Litchfield national park where there was a swimming pool! 

We went for a three KM walk and guess what we saw.... A crocodile! We walked through the middle of nowhere until we finally arrived at our campsite. We jumped into the swimming pool! Dad started talking to a man who had three sons. We were in the swimming pool all day and decided to stay another night.

Next day...

Today we drove to Darwin. The most tropical city in Australia!

Worn out after the whole day of driving, Mum and Dad opted to cook while Riona, Aoife and I watched a movie! 

Next day...

We decided to go to a Museum which told us about the wildlife, Aboriginal art, Sweetheart the salty croc and the devastating Hurricane Tracey. The hurricane hit Darwin on Christmas eve 1974... It wiped out houses and KILLED lots of people.

Sweetheart was a whopping 5.1 metres! She would take out fishing boats and dinghies!

We drove to Kakadu national park where we stayed overnight in a roadhouse.

Next day...

Today we went into the Kakadu visitor centre where we were told which walks to go on as some were shut as the wet season had only just finished. First we went to a walk where there were HUGE rocks with art on them.

Afterwards we went on a walk to a lookout, ( which was REALLY long ) but there was nothing to look at! You don't know how annoyed I was! We drove to another roadhouse ready to get up early the next day.

Next day...

We drove back down to Katherine as that is the only way across! It's crazy. Such a big country and only one road there and back! 

We drove as far as Camooweal and decided to call it a day.

Next day...

After having some warm porridge we set off to the middle of nowhere! We drove for at least five hours before arriving at the Walkabout Creek hotel! It hadn't changed since the movie was shot! After dinner, we watched Crocodile Dundee II!

Western Australia

We stopped at a petrol station and saw a Dingo cross the road!

Next day...

  

We left the roadside and headed to Cape Le Grande. We drove all day before arriving at our campsite. It was right by the beach! We went for a walk along the shore. The sand is white and squeaky, and the sea is turquoise! On the way back we saw five kangaroos! The Ranger said that in the morning two wild horses, a mother and a foal, come along the beach!

Next day... 

We went to the beach and had a paddle in the sea. When we went on the beach I was bitten by a horse-fly. We ended up leaving late and headed to Lucky Bay. When we arrived there, there were kangaroos on the beach! I stroked a small one! We parked up in a roadside rest area where it rained and rained and rained!

Next day...

It was still raining! We headed off after a wonderful cooked breakfast! We drove for a long way before coming across the ....................... There were signs for sharks! The surfers were amazing!

We arrived at Dad's second cousins house in Perth. She's called Sharon. We had great fun!

Next day...

Happy ST Paddies day! We went out to an Irish bar for breakfast. It was yummy! We spent the rest of the day going to pubs! Boring! We were with Sharon's friends called Chris and Micelle.











Next day...

We went to Rottnest island for the day. We saw Quokkas, kangaroos and a snake while cycling around the island!









In the evening we went to Fremantle prison for a torchlight tour! We were walking through the jail by torchlight with a net above us and they dropped a fake person and we all ducked! We were standing in a block of cells and a person jumped out of a cell in front of us!

Next day...

We left Perth to go to the Pinnacles Desert. It was a long drive. When we arrived  it was boiling! We drove to Kalbari National Park and did a scenic drive along the coast. There were huge cliffs all striped with different colours. It was spectacular! We parked up for the night in the national park.





Next day... 

It was my birthday! 

I woke up and the whole family had put balloons and banners up! We were parked under a tree on an orange dirt track. It was in the middle of nowhere except for some campers like us. This was a first for my birthday! 

We drove to Carnarvon and our caravan park had a swimming pool! It was a treat for my birthday. I walked into town with Mum and chose my cake. It was the most chocolatey one there! Mum bought me an ice cream for the walk back. I then went swimming with my sisters. Dad cooked steak for dinner and we played hunt the mini chocolate bar in the motorhome when it was dark. I had a great birthday but it was not the same as being at home as I couldn't see my friends.

Next day... 

We drove to Cape Range national park in Exmouth. We arrived at a campsite called Ned's camp that overlooks the sea. The people there are so friendly and at sunset everyone is invited out for a drink by the sea. We made friends with some Dutch children. The young boy reminds me of my friend Katie's little brother!

Next day...

We went to Yardie Gorge. We took a walk up and saw a rock wallaby, turtle, two rays, and an eagle! It was extremley hot! Afterwards we went to Sandy bay where we swam. We were so keen to jump in and cool down. It was SO turquoise, clear and really warm! We drove to a place called the oyster stacks. We saw electric blue fish, a squid, and a bright blue spotted ray. I was nervous because anything could get in there!

Next day...

We went back to the oyster stacks again but it wasn't as good because all of the sand was churned up. We also went to Turquoise bay and went in a drift that took us along the bay. It's a strong rip that pulls you along. We saw lots of different fish! A shark swam underneath Aoife!
We drove until it was dark and pulled up in a rest area at Bullandelah.

Next day....

We drove all day before arriving at Karijini National Park. We went out for a walk to Fortesque Falls. You'll never guess what we saw...... A brown snake! 

Dad and I were sent out to the barbeques in the dark. There were LOADS of bugs! We watched the rabbit proof fence which is about three aboriginal girls who ran away from an education centre. They walked 1600 KM to where they lived following a rabbit proof fence while covering their tracks. When the eldest girl was older and she'd had a baby, they took her and her daughter away again. She walked back!

Next day...

Mum and I cooked breakfast outside on the barbeque! Afterwards we went to Dales gorge where we walked down into it. We went to Circular Pool and had a swim. It was freezing! There were in leeches in there! We jumped off the waterfall into the pool. When Mum and Riona there was a snake swimming in the pool!

 



Afterwards we walked through the gorge and went the wrong way! We ended up at a dead end! We then went to the fern pool and swam. It was warmer than the other pool!

We pulled up at Auski Roadhouse after a long day full of walking and swimming.

Next day...



We woke up after a long lie in. Dad was talking to a man who's auntie is one of the girls off the rabbit proof fence!  We had a relaxed morning before heading off to Degrey river rest area. It was SO hot!!

Next day... 

We woke up and saw a Monitor Lizard outside our motorhome! It was over a metre long! We started our journey to Broome. We worked all the time while we were in the motorhome!

We pulled up at Roebuck plains Roadhouse. I decided to have a shower as it was so hot in the day. We went into the toilets and there was a tree frog in the toilet! Literally IN the toilet! When I came out of the shower, there was a locust about 15CM long sat on the wall! I screamed!

Next day...

We headed into Broome to a lookout onto the sea. We saw four manta rays! They were huge and looked like they could be your blanket! We went back to the same roadhouse as the night before.

Next couple of days...

We drove into nothingness for a couple of days before arriving at Lake Argyle. We arrived up in a campsite. We went to see their pool and it was an infinity pool overlooking the lake! You can guess where we went next! One of the staff said that there had once been a fresh-water crocodile in the swimming pool!

Next day... 

We were going to leave but we decided the campsite was too nice to just stay overnight so we stayed another night! Aoife and I stayed in the pool all day before getting cold enough to get out!

Next day...

We drove to Katherine all the way through the middle of nowhere. We arrived in the pitch dark at a sixteen hectare campsite!

South Australia

On the journey we went to the Blue lake at Mt Gambier and we crossed the border into South Australia. The Blue Lake looked like it had been photo-shopped! 

When we arrived in Kingston we parked up next to people called Susan and Bob and their three poodles! As we are away from our dog for so long we like spending time with other ones. We played with the dogs all evening  before getting tired and going to bed.

Next day...

It's Dad's birthday today! 

Bob and Susan suggested that we should park up their house that night. So off we headed! First, we drove to a beach and we went swimming! It was really warm!

We finally made it to Bob and Susan's house and they have their own airplanes and airstrip! Their house is in the middle of nowhere, and at the bottom of their garden, there is a river. It was really quiet!

Next day... 

We were planning to head off to Victor harbour but we ended up leaving in the evening! When we were driving, Bob rang us saying, do you want to stay another night? So we gave in and went back to their house!

Next day...

We left to go to Adelaide. When we arrived there we decided not to go into the city because it was so hot! Instead we headed to the Barossa valley. 

When we arrived there, we stopped at the side of the road. A local came over to us and said do you want to park up in my house? We were surprised for a complete stranger to say that!

Next day...

We left early in the morning to go for a bush walk. We went early before it was too hot. Afterwards we went to two wineries. The first one we went to had a kangaroo petting area! We went in and stroked some! They felt so soft!

The second one we went to, we were shown how the make red wine. The barrels that they ferment the wine in, can cost up to AU$1000! I tried the Shiraz grape! The grapes were so small they looked sour, but they were really sweet!

Next day...

We left Melrose to go to Coffin Bay. On the way we stopped at Port  Lincoln where there was a pier with a netted off swimming area. Later Dad said that was there to keep out great whites!

Next day...

We departed Coffin Bay to go to Ceduna. On the way, we went to a beach to swim. While we were in the sea, Riona shouted sting ray and funnily enough there was a two metre wide sting ray a metre away from us!

We went into a petrol station in Streaky Bay they had an exhibition at the back. It was about a twenty one year old man catching a great white! It took him five hours to reel it in with a fishing rod! It was 1.5 tonnes!

We arrived in Ceduna happy to be off the road! When we went to the toilets there were loads of cockroaches! EEW!

Next day...

Today we woke up early to head out onto the Nullabore. The Nullabore is a 1200km drive of nothingness. Drive...drive...drive.