The camera icons () link to photos.
Most other links point to relevant Wikipedia articles.

This is still very much a work-in-progress.

I caught the first flight out of Edinburgh airport: The 5:50 to Amsterdam. After 4 hours in Schipol Airport, I boarded an 11-hour flight to Guangzhou.

From Guangzhou, caught a 9-hour flight to Sydney. Now in the second day of travel, having crossed many timezones and with erratic sleeping patterns, time became meaningless.

Cate met me at Sydney Airport. We were on the train before I realised I should take off my jacket and two wooly jumpers, as it was ever so slightly warmer than it had been in the wintry northern hemisphere.

Sydney!

Cate took me to a colleague's New Year party. This was at a flat in central Sydney, with an excellent view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and other firwork-emitting venues.

Went hiking with Cate and a friend of hers. Having had the Australia

Went to Newcastle, which is a lot nicer than everyone makes out.

Newcastle!

Birthday! Port Macquarie!

Still my birthday! In the morning. Sort-of. Koalas!

In the evening, went to Coffs Harbour.

While wandering along the peir, saw a wild dolphin! In the evening, went to Byron Bay.

Had been led to believe that Australia was the ABBA capital of the world (apart from, you know, Sweden). This was when I heard the first evidence of this - I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do being played in the supemarket.

Visited the easternmost point in mainland Australia. Met some friendly lighthouse museum volunteers.

Went to the Gold Coast. Not my kind of place, but impressive in its own way. There was a delightfully kitsch market in the evening. Afterwards, went to Brisbane.

Spent the day exploring Brisbane with a guy I met in the hostel at dinner the night before. Stocked up on food (including fruit) for my weekend in the Tasmanian wilderness.

Flew to Hobart, Tasmania. Discovered that you can't take fruit into Tasmania, even if you're coming from within Australia. Oops.

Took a long-distance bus to its last stop, a crossroads in the middle of nowhere. Walked three miles (laden!) to reach my accomodation, a lodge where I was the only guest. After the owner left for the night, I was the only person.

Explored the southern wilderness by bike. Was chased by dog. I don't suffer from the severe phobia I once did, but it was very distracting, and I was cycling along a treacherous unsealed road. Fell. Sustained injuries. Luckily, I wasn't far from the heritage railway café where I'd had lunch, so I went there for help. Even more luckily, the railway was run by an ex-nurse, who patched me up. Rode the railway.

Took it easy.

Took the bus to Hobart. Saw everything there was to see in Hobart, and more. Flew to Melbourne, having failed to see any Tasmanian Devils while in Tasmania. In fact, at this point, I hadn't even seen any kangaroos.

Went for a wander. Came across the Chinese Museum, which was interesting. Visited Melbourne museum. In the evening, watched the Hobbit on the world's largest screen, which actually turned out to be only the third largest. Lies!

Went to the Zoo. Still no Tasmanian devils, but finally saw kangaroos, not to mention meerkats and red pandas! Went to Pinoak Court, a.k.a. Ramsay Street.

Bit of a loose end. Enjoyed the 41ºC heat. Visited a war memorial.

Even more of a loose end. Visited Captain Cook's childhood home, which had been transported from Yorkshire to a park in Melbourne. Yes, really. In the evening, boarded a 9-hour flight to Guangzhou.

Took a 13-hour flight to London. The flight descended through the clouds at Heathrow to reveal a land covered in snow. The snow, as it happened, was causing a lot of disruption to flights. I was moved to a later flight to Edinburgh, which was itself delayed. I didn't see my luggage for over a week. Still, I had my memories, which were worth a lot more.

marks a link to a picture taken by me, © Alister Thomson 2012/2013.
marks a link to a picture taken by Cate or a random stranger.