The promised post, Part 2 of our trip to Oz, has been very delayed. But with my shiny new website now LIVE it’s time to catch up on a few more travels.

The second part of the story involves a trip south down the coast, along the Grand Pacific Drive, through places with names like Wollongong, Bendalong, Mollymook and Ulladulla, heading for Merry Beach in the Murramarang National Park.

Seeing so many wild kangaroos and their joeys was a cause of great excitement, much to the amusement of our australian family, who assured us that the novelty would soon wear off. Finding them rummaging through the bins, their persistence in trying to steal food and having to constantly avoid the kangaroo poo definitely made sharing the park with them less and less endearing. But I did learn that a group of kangaroos is, very appropriately, called a ‘mob’ and that ‘joey’ is the name used for all marsupial babies not just kangaroos. And they’re pretty cute if you forget the vicious looking claws.

The view from the cliff top overlooking Merry beach and out across the ocean was fantastic. We spotted whales breaching in the distance, too far away to be able to photograph sadly. But we did get a pretty close-up and personal view of a sea eagle catching a fish.

Walking around the cliff path from Merry beach to Pretty beach (yes it really is called that!) we encountered wild wallabies, more kangaroos of course and galahs. From the name I had expected something perhaps a bit awkward and not very attractive, so these rather pretty rose-breasted cockatoos were a bit of a surprise.

The search for some decent surfing conditions was the order of the day for most of our party. Another occasion whales were spotted breaching but again sadly too far away to catch anything useful with a camera.

Back in Sydney. A ‘must do’ for tourists is the sunset view from Mrs. Macquarie’s Point across the bay towards the Harbour Bridge and The Opera House. Iconic views. If you ever plan to do this make sure you get there in good time, the sun sets pretty quickly in Australia and you’ll need time to find a good spot. It’s very popular!

Fast ferry back to Manly from Central Quay. Another great view of the city.

Visiting Down Under part 1