rtw1

We set off on a typical November day, and flew to London, before our long overnight flight to Singapore. Singapore Airlines are great- personal screen, video games in economy seats, great food.... but I'd have given it all up for a few more inches of legroom. Come on airlines, when are you going to listen??? It was the tightest seat I've ever encountered on a plane, and I had the most selfish, inconsiderate woman in front of me- Mrs "I've paid for a reclining seat so I'm jolly well going to recline it fully and I don't care if I break you legs doing it". Anyway, eventually we got to Singapore, and the flight was soon forgotten....

Singapore is as I had heard from friends - big, very clean, extremely organised, and really humid- so hot you sweat in a light T-shirt, but the buildings are so well air-conditioned you have to take a fleece with you to go indoors.

There are 2 things to do in Singapore- eat and shop. As we had 9 weeks of travel ahead, filling our cases with shopping would not have been clever, so we ate... lots.... and it was wonderful. All the cuisine of the Far East, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, it's all there.

In our 3 days, we had Thai, Arab, Chinese, and I'm afraid to say, a burger- the first of a great many on this trip.
We also paid a visit to Raffles for the customary Singapore Sling.

On of Singapore's attractions is the Night Safari, which is basically a zoo, but only opened... yes, you've guessed it.. at night. It's very slickly done, as you'd expect in Singapore, and a train ride around the park gives you a chance to see pretty much every animal. It is all a little contrived though- I got more of a kick out of seeing a possum running through the park in the middle of Sydney than a leopard in the safari park- but at least we saw a leopard, among many other things.

Then it was on to Melbourne, in our now PRE-BOOKED emergency exit seats.

Melbourne is great- big, busy, prosperous, with a laid back friendly feel, and more history than you would ever have credited the Aussies with. We both liked it. Again, good food (important to us), and a lot to see. We only had two days in the area, so the first day we spent in the city. We went to the top of the Rialto tower to admire the view, strolled along the banks of the Yarra river, and then saw Captain Cook's cottage, which has been shipped brick by brick from North Yorkshire, and rebuilt in a Melbourne park.
The day was rounded of with a very good Italian meal in Carlton, the Italian district.

We spent our second day in Victoria on the Great Ocean Road- a spectacular drive along the rugged coastline west of Melbourne- it's a long drive to the final goal, the twelve apostles, but worth it. The 12 apostles are 9 rocks in the sea- typical Aussie understatement- formed by erosion. I don't understand all the geology of it, but it looks good anyway.
After the long drive back, we just about had enough energy for a tram ride to St. Kilda, a beach district with a Bohemian feel, where we had a noodle dinner, and a visit to the Melbourne Casino, which has to be seen to be believed- it is HUGE!- and feels a lot nicer and less tacky to me than the ones in Las Vegas.

Singapore-Melbourne                  Tasmania                    Sydney-Ayers Rock-Kings Canyon
(big cities and great coasts)     (devils, koalas and roos)       (operas, bridges and big rocks)

Alice Springs-Cairns                 New Zealand North Island      NZ South Is. Kaikoura-Queenstown
(reptiles and fishy stuff)           (big balls and gas masks)          (dolphins 'n' ice)

Routeburn Track-Milford Sound         Honolulu-Hawaii Volcanoes NP      Maui-San Francisco
(mountains, waterfalls and 4 wheels) (Volcanoes and Active Lava Flow)   (beaches, bridges and prisons)