Our time in New Zealand was over and we had to prepare for the flight to Australia. This means cleaning the bikes, panniers, tent and getting rid of all the fresh food we had left. After some rainy days in Auckland we cycled to the airport in pouring rain but luckily we had a whole night at the airport to get everything dry and pack the bikes. We could get some sleep before leaving New Zealand early in the morning and with a delay of almost two hours we finally arrived in Sydney ground noon.

The first day was unpacking the bikes, doing groceries (Aldi ;)) and finding our host's place. Our host Heather lived in the city center, so we could get into town easily. Th next day while exploring the city, we ran into a free guided tour and joined it. Afterwards we took the ferry to Manly to snorkle at Shelly beach, we even saw a small ray :) (Vroni's first one). Early in the next morning we took the train to the Blue Mountains. There we started with a hike from Springwood following Sassafras Gully for a couple of hours. It was a small track through the bush with waterfalls and we only met three other people along the way. Afterwards we went to the famous Three Sisters and did a walk along the cliff before we went back to Sydney.

On the next morning we started our cycling in Australia :). The first forty kilometers took us over Sydney Harbor bridge and out of all the suburbs before reaching Palm Beach to take the ferry and stay along the coast. There we even found some really nice sealed cycling paths. We did not always manage to stay away from the bigger highways but still had a great day to reach Newcastle.  After a night with our great host Jai in Newcastle we made our way to Nelson Bay where we stayed on a sailing boat with our host Greg who we got in touch with over Couchsurfing. After a rainy night we took the ferry to Tea Gardens but had some showers over the day. On our way to Forster we cycled through the Myall Lakes National Park which is a nice park with a not so nice gravel road. Due to this it took us a lot longer than we thought until we arrived in Forster. It started to get dark and we just found out that it were Easter Holidays and the campsites were either booked out or really expensive. We decided to get a bit out of the city to find a place to camp but before we could do that I got a puncture and couldn't cycle any further. Stranded as we were, we just asked the next people who were sitting on their deck whether we could pitch a tent. That's how we met Michele, Tony, Phoebe and Cloe. They even offered us to sleep in a nice little appartement and we ended up staying in Tuncurry for two nights. The next day we got their kayak to explore the river and there went around some little islands and even saw some dolphins. In the afternoon we did a walk along the river and to the sea and watched the dolphins and some surfers.

After two wonderful days we had to move on the next morning and took the risk of cycling to Manning Point while knowing that there was no bridge or ferry to cross the river. We needed to find a boat to carry us to the other side of the river and we found somebody who gave us a ride without a problem. From there our ride took us on a pretty sandy road through Crowdy Bay National Park before camping close to North Haven at the Beach (our first night in our tent in Australia!!). Next morning we went to Port Macquarie and after Jonas replaced his chain and a longer break we went to the next National Park and of course, the next dirt road. We cycled until it got dark and found a spot on a paddock to sleep. On Easter Sunday the Easter Bunny had even found his way out here and Vroni could look for easter eggs around our tent :). The rest of the day we stayed on bigger roads and even the highway to get to our next hosts close to Warrell Creek. Unfortunately the mount of our action camera did not survive the bumpy Australian roads and broke, now we will have to look for a new option and you will see some new perspectives while we are cycling. ;)

All the best from Australia,

Keep cycling and may you always have a tailwind,

Vroni, Droni & Joni