Roadtrip (W)Rap-Up

Hi there! We have now come to the end of Phase # 2 (..3? no, 2? I think?) of our grand adventure, and it's now time to settle down for just a little bit! We got to Australia about 8 weeks ago, spent the last 6 of those roadtripping from Melbourne, west to Adelaide, east to Canberra, then straight up the coast till we hit Cairns, so let's cover the whole thing in one nice little summary post with a bow on top.

But first, a quick announcement! Due to storage limits, we upgraded our Wix account (the company that delivers the blog), and we now have an actual domain for our website: you can find us at fromehtogday.com (but if you are reading this, you obviously still found us, so congratulations!) Nothing should really change, except now there is no annoying Wix ad at the top of the page, and the web address should look a lot nicer! Aaron, you can thank Kimmy & Kenny:)

Ok, let's summarize!

First, some STATISTICS:

• Distance driven: 9,042km

  • Of those, estimated kilometres driven by James: 8,242km

• States visited: 5 - VIC, SA, NSW, ACT, QLD

• TimTam flavours tried: 2 (we've been limiting ourselves to 1 package/month)

• Flavours of Shapes tried (Aussie equivalent of Crispers): 8 (we really should be limiting ourselves here...)

• Australian road laws "bent": 2 (sometimes it's hard to remember which side of the road we're supposed to be on)

• GB of photos taken (James' camera only): 253

*Note: this route may say 5,154km, but this does not account for our 3,888km of sidequests:)

Second, our FAVOURITES:

• Hike: Dorrigo Park hike - the one with the waterfall that you can go behind!

• Campsite: Old-growth eucalyptus forest on the Great Ocean Road

• Food: Too difficult to decide, but some honourable mentions

  • Tacos from Gringa in Tarrawanna, NSW

  • Banana Blossom Salad from Peel St in Adelaide, SA

  • Mongolian Noodles from Noodle World, in Richmond, VIC

• Brewery:

  • Beer: Seeker Brewing in Unanderra, NSW

  • Ambiance: Stomping Ground Brewery & Beer Hall in Collingwood, VIC

  • Total package: Slipstream Brewing Company in Yeerongpilly, QLD

• Wildlife:

  • Terrestrial: Koala

  • Aquatic: Platypus, or octopus, or leopard shark, or little penguins

  • Aerial: Laughing kookaburra

• Town: Kiama, NSW... or Cairns, QLD

• Sidequest:

  • Hike along the rocks/rock pools at Bass Point Reserve to get to the snorkelling spot (Bushrangers Bay Aquatic Reserve, NSW)

  • Glow worm tunnel, NSW

  • Ed Sheeran concert in Brisbane, QLD

• View: Brisbane Water park in NSW, OR Admiral's Cove on Kangaroo Island, SA

Third, our LEAST-FAVOURITES:

• Hike: Lamington National Park (O'Reilly's) - the Hike from Hell - the one with the blue-bellied black snake

• Wildlife:

  • Terrestrial: Blue-bellied black snake

Fourth, a nice COLLAGE OF UNSEEN MEMORIES

Fifth, and lastly, one more ANNOUNCEMENT

We are writing this post from a house!!!! Like one with a roof and everything! We are happy to report that Katie is now out of the rain and happy again. We moved into a 3-bedroom house in Edge Hill, a super cute suburb in Cairns, with 2 wonderful roomies, a beautiful kitchen, a massive balcony, a bar space downstairs, and even a garage for Olga too!

We're settling down and planting some roots in Cairns, trying to find jobs and enjoying this next part of the Australian adventure!