November 15th: Guthalungra to Benaraby, 691 km

Anders writes:
I woke up at 6 o clock, the sun was up as well as most of my friends (Later that day I found out that I was supposed to have waken up at 5.30). There was breakfast of eggs, sausage and fried potatoes in the making over at the picnic table. At 8 o’clock we set out for another long day of driving. First stop was Big Mango in Bowen, one of many “Big Thing” roadside attractions in Australia (we also visited the Big Winch in Coober Pedy). There was some confusion when we were unable to spot any gigantic fruits or vegetables anywhere in the town of Bowen. Nobody had bothered to check more precisely where the thing was located. It turned out the mango was actually located next to the highway, 4 km south of town.

I can’t remember eating lunch. We may have made some sandwiches in the car. There was some nice views of the ocean. Roadworks and more roadworks. There was no way we could reach Brisbane before midnight. Instead we raced (without speeding) towards Capricorn Caves and arrived just in time to catch the last tour of the day. The guys went spelunking, the girls stayed at the visitors center. The limestone caves were impressive. At the cave entrance we saw a rock-wallaby. The hall called “Cathedral Cave” is sometimes used for weddings and concerts and the acoustics is supposed to be nearly perfect. Emīls sang a song for us! On the way out we went through a very narrow winding passage, naturally created by the erosion of water.

Just before we arrived at our campsite for the night we stopped to look at and take some pictures of the new moon – it was possible to see “earthshine” on the darker portion.

For dinner we had all kinds of leftovers. I got a beer from Rūdolfs but Agnese had convinced him that he shouldn’t drink any beer himself, or his sunburnt legs wouldn’t heal as good. I thought it sounded like nonsense and tried to get him to change his mind but with no success. Reason 1 – Beer 0.

October 29th – arriving

Main part of our group (6 out of 8 people ) successfully arrived in Sydney today. Well, not completely, Evija’s luggage is missing. Promised to deliver later. We met with our hosts (we stay with local Latvian families). Nice and warm welcome!

I sniff the air. It’s quite the same as in my country. Only later I notice that blossomed trees are everywhere. Violet jacaranda is especially beautiful. All city today is dressed in violet.

In the afternoon our whole group meets for the first time. First looks, greetings and impressions. We will stay together for three weeks while driving 8000 kilometers around Australia. Lets see how we shall adapt to each other.

Sydney is gorgeous and Agnes is an excellent guide of our city walk. We visit Town Hall, Anzac memorial, ibisses in the park, St. Mary’s cathedral, Old Mint, Barracks and NSW state library.
Business part of the city around Martin place looks like a jungle. Narrow gorges between huge buildings are full of trees and crowds. Surprisingly there are no kangaroos on streets :-). Queen Victoria building with its remarkable clock is like an isle of quietness.

We continue with Darling harbour, seagulls and more ibisses. I especially like skyscrapers that shape silhouette of the city. Surprisingly, famous Opera is not visible from every corner :-)! Our tour finishes at Chinatown where most of us order different Chinese soups. I and Anders order soup with small chilli amount and even then it is very hot. Rūdolfs order medium chilli. Poor guy!