Australia!

[JakeK]

Long over-due, but my wife, son and I visited Australia back in February. My wife lived there for a while the winter before we met taking tourists on horseback rides through the Victorian Alps near where they filmed the movie The Man From Snowy River. We split the trip between Victoria and far northern NSW with a brief stop in Sydney in between.

Our son was 2 years and 4 months for the trip. Here he is getting ready for the flight from Dallas to LA. Total trooper.

After our 14.5 hour flight from LA to Melbourne, and then a 3.5 hour drive we arrived at our good friend's farm near Bonnie Doon (Merton to be exact).

The bogan corner of the farm.

Crested Cockatoos sound like what I imagine a pterodactyl sounded like. Worst alarm clock in the world.

King Parrots were just as obnoxious.

The galahs were much more preferred.

But not as sweet as the magpie's call.

Wedge-tail eagle and a mob of skippies for good measure.

Next up, Mansfield Vic....

[JakeK]

After staying with our friends near Bonnie Doon we moved a little further east to Mansfield, Vic. This is where my wife lived. Beautiful country. We stayed in the same lodge where she lived.

Momma and her joey during one of our morning walks.

Big poppa roo.

Kookaburra in a dead gum tree.

The landscape of Mansfield.

Some of the horses of my wife's previous employer.

Next up....Sydney, more roo's and Byron Bay.

[JakeK]

It's about an 8 hour drive from Mansfield to Sydney but with a 2 year old, stops are mandatory. We did Beechworth (Ned Kelly Country) and then stayed in Yass for the night. No pictures.

Sydney...

Arriving in Manly via the ferry.

The surf and weather in Manly were perfect. Even Liam enjoyed the waves.

Sydney at night from the ferry.

With my wife being a horse person, my son naturally is too, so he had to have his picture taken by a horse statue in the Botanical Gardens. Not many photos from there as it was just too hot for my son.

Time to start heading north towards Byron Bay.

[JakeK]

On the way to Byron Bay we stopped at a wildlife sanctuary in Port Macquarie.

Finally we reach Byron Bay which is about 9 hours north of Sydney. Here's the view from the house we rented on AirBnB. It's in Mullumbimby, a really charming little town just outside of Byron Bay.

The owner of the house runs an organic banana farm, but the property is loaded with bangalow palms.

We spent most of our time at the main beach in Byron Bay. We even ran into Pete and his youngest one day on the beach! The surf was really pumping while we there. Visibility was exceptional. I went diving at Julian Rocks and vis was 35 meters which is the deepest water around the rocks so it couldn't get better than that. The town is great. No high rises, very family friendly and super laid-back. The perfect beach town.

Protesters Falls up next. Lots of Bangalows there.

That's all. Great trip and so lucky to catch up with fellow palmtalker Pete on the trip. Once i get the diving videos uploaded, I'll add them. Mantas, leopard sharks, turtles!

[Pedro 65]

Great pics "so far' Jake, it was quite "remarkable" strolling down the beach and seeing a "smiling, happy " couple with a youngster all hand in hand, thanks for the gift and it was fantastic to finally meet You, your beautiful wife Steph and little Liam. Byron bay and surrounds is a magic location of Oz, knew you'd love it, see you next visit if I don't see you all before in Ecuador

All best, and hugs to you all.

Pete

[JakeK]

While in Byron Bay I went on one dive out at Julian Rocks. It was my first dive post certification. Amazing experience. Here are two short videos that a lady on my dive took and shared with us all.

http://vid284.photobucket.com/albums/ll30/Jake_Kloepfer/Sundive%20Byron%20Bay%20-%20Video%201_zps1t0xgtit.mp4

[JakeK]

http://vid284.photobucket.com/albums/ll30/Jake_Kloepfer/Sundive%20Byron%20Bay%20-%20Video%202_zpsudsppaaz.mp4

[gyuseppe]

[Pedro 65]

Great to "finally" see the dive vids Jake ( Awesome) , the PM vids you sent just would "not" open and work.

Pete

[LJG]

Bringing back memories. I dove Byron Bay almost 20 years ago (where does the time go?) and it is still one of the best dive spots I have been for fish life. Even saw some monster sharks there.

[JakeK]

Bringing back memories. I dove Byron Bay almost 20 years ago (where does the time go?) and it is still one of the best dive spots I have been for fish life. Even saw some monster sharks there.

Len, sorry for delayed response. Our daughter was born recently and have had priorities elsewhere.

My dive partner who has dived Bali, the Philippines, GBR, and Thailand said what we saw that day is better than any of his other dives. Not much coral, there is some, but the fish life can only be rivaled by cold water dives.

[LJG]

Bringing back memories. I dove Byron Bay almost 20 years ago (where does the time go?) and it is still one of the best dive spots I have been for fish life. Even saw some monster sharks there.

Len, sorry for delayed response. Our daughter was born recently and have had priorities elsewhere.

My dive partner who has dived Bali, the Philippines, GBR, and Thailand said what we saw that day is better than any of his other dives. Not much coral, there is some, but the fish life can only be rivaled by cold water dives.

Congrats on your new addition

Yes, not much coral but I am more of a fish guy anyway. So one of my favorite dive sites.

[peachy]

Thanks for posting the photos of the places I knew so well years ago. I used to stay with relatives at Bonnie Doon and Mansfield, and lived in Sydney for a few years and commuted on the ferry to Manly every day. The beaches between Byron Bay and Port Macquarie have seen quite a few shark attacks this year, so you were lucky not to be on the menu. I get flocks of cockatoos, corellas and galahs around here. Wait until galahs have babies, you've never heard such an awful racket. Also the magpies will attack you relentlessly in the nesting season and I have scars to prove it. Next trip you will have to see Melbourne, the Victorian shipwreck coast and Tasmania.

[JakeK]

Thanks for posting the photos of the places I knew so well years ago. I used to stay with relatives at Bonnie Doon and Mansfield, and lived in Sydney for a few years and commuted on the ferry to Manly every day. The beaches between Byron Bay and Port Macquarie have seen quite a few shark attacks this year, so you were lucky not to be on the menu. I get flocks of cockatoos, corellas and galahs around here. Wait until galahs have babies, you've never heard such an awful racket. Also the magpies will attack you relentlessly in the nesting season and I have scars to prove it. Next trip you will have to see Melbourne, the Victorian shipwreck coast and Tasmania.

Bonnie Doon and Mansfield are great towns with great people. Loved them but not very palmy though there are some.

We did Melbourne too, just didn't post any pictures. The zoo is lovely and my son had a blast.

Our friends just purchased a road house up near Alice Springs. Came with a couple hundred square kilometers of bush to boot. We'll visit them and hopefully make it to northern Queensland on our next visit, though I would love to stay long enough to do Tasmania and Broome if we had enough time to crisscross the country.