Our Great Australian Road Trip Adventure Starts

View Larger Map

We're off on our three week road trip.  We'll be flying into Cairns, Queensland and picking up our motorhome.  We'll drive a little ways up to Daintree National Park and then drive down to Byron Bay, New South Wales - 1926km in 2.5 weeks.  We end the trip in Brisbane where Joelle has a conference to attend.  We're hoping to post as we go, so stay tuned!

Rip Curl Pro, Bells Beach

Layne Beachley

Coco Ho and Samantha Cornish

Steph Gilmore

Silvana Lima

Silvana Lima upsets Steph Gilmore and wins in the women's final!!! Although we didn't get to see any of the top blokes like Kelly Slatter or Oz favorite Mick Fanning today, we saw the best Pro women surfers in the world, and had a great day at Bells!

Bennett's buddy Victor

This is the owner of the bar Dante's at the end of our street.  Bennett likes to stop by everyday for a quick chat with his mate!

St. Kilda Adventure Playground

This is another amazing playground in Melbourne.  A few months ago, we discovered Skinner's Adventure Playground.  This one was just as much fun, except we caught it on a rainy day.  It was fun watching Glenn explore the playground this time around.  Both Bennett and Glenn could have stayed there all day, despite the rain.  If only we could take these playgrounds back with us to Victoria.

On the road... sheep farms, railway stations, and vineyards.

Echuca and the Murray River

Glenn trying her hand at pulling a wagon.

The port of Echuca blacksmith.

St-Anne's winery offering lots of free tasters of port - YUM!!

Port barrels.

Paddle Steamer Canberra

Captain Bennett at the wheel!

Wood burning steam engine.

The paddle wheels can be seen through a glass window.

We were told that red doors like this one were placed every 3 miles along the Murray River, serving  as marking posts.

We went to Echuca, which is about 210km north of Melbourne, on the border with New South Wales.  It was founded in 1850 and was, in its hayday, the largest inland port in Australia.  Echuca is an Aboriginal word meaning "meeting of the waters".  During the great depression of the 1890s as the railways improved, the river trade declined and by the 1920s, the port of Echuca became somewhat of a ghosttown.  In 1975, the entire port area was declared a historic precinct and opened once again, this time as a holiday destination.  We went for a one hour cruise on the Paddle Streamer Canberra.  Bennett loved being on the water and seeing all the other boats.  Glenn loved being able to walk around and climb the stairs.  It was a lovely afternoon and we would definitely recommend a trip to Echuca.