DOWN UNDER Susan Mercer
Driving around Australia
E
very time we visit Australia together, my husband Dan and I take in another part of that vast country, either by ourselves or with “the kids” who live there. Currently, “the kids” consist of our son Bryan, our daughter-inlaw Danielle, and their two beautiful and active sons Zach and Will, 8 and 7 years old. We also are blessed by having a warm, welcoming extended family.
So far, in different visits, we have managed to ride across Australia and the Nullabor Plain on the Indian Pacific Railroad (from Perth to Sydney), bushwalked and stayed at Barrington Tops National Park, visited inland to Dubbo to see the Taronga Western Plains Zoo, visited the beautiful beach town of Noosa in Queensland, and most recently flown to Cairns and then cruised through the Whitsundays and then south back to Sydney.
Bryan and his family live in a suburb near Manly on the Northern Beaches. Because it is so beautiful there, it is sometimes hard to drag ourselves away. But we needed to explore. Our little red rental car and our kids’ trusty road map took us all along the coast south of Sydney, as far as Cape Howe. We enjoyed visiting the beautiful little towns of Berry, Kiama, Tilba, Ulladella, Batemans Bay, and Merimbula, to mention a few.
In 2012, Dan and I took a 2-week road trip to explore the southern part of New South Wales and parts of Victoria.
©iStockphoto.com/bogdanserban
The lovely little town of Tilba with jacaranda in full bloom
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The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia
At Cape Howe, we made a left turn into the state of Victoria, heading toward Melbourne. On the way, we visited Philip Island Nature Park to see the world-famous little penguins on their “penguin parade.” Apparently some of the little penguins nest along the harbour shore in Manly but I have never seen one there. After a short visit in Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road was next on our agenda. We wanted to see the Twelve Apostles—or what is left of them. Volume 26 Number 2 Summer 2017
