Two Lanes Down Under: Prologue

Several years ago we spent a few weeks with good friends and family in Sydney and near Cairns, and visited the Great Barrier Reef. Now it is time to return and leave the January fog of northern California. So off we go, but this time more in the spirit of the 30 day trip we took in 1996 exploring 8 countries in northern Europe with the kids in a 25 foot motor home. Yep...motorhome not a Porsche this time! We go to Brisbane, Queensland after a 24 hour stopover in Waikiki! On Friday January 30 at about 1 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (7 pm PST Jan. 29 in California) we pick up our wheels, kitchen, shower and bed for the next 28 days and 6000 km (3600 miles). We will visit places that require you to pay attention to your tongue while speaking: Toowoomba, Coonabarabran, and Warrumbungle. We will see the stars from the Outback's Siding Spring Observatory, go on 4WD safaris to the ephemeral Minendee Lakes (teeming with birds unique to Australia), drink wine in the Barossa Valley and the McClaren Vale, experience more than we ever wanted to about cricket (yep, we have tickets to the Cricket World Cup game in Melbourne between England and Australia), take the 8 hour ferry to and from Tasmania across the Bass Strait, and visit our good friend "Granny Pip" in Hobart. If you like, come with us. We are very fortunate and would love to have all of you poor working stiffs ride along with us! To be honest, I was not going to blog this time, but we should have internet in most campgrounds (they are developed) and several of you have asked for a blog. So for those of you who joined us for our 11,000 mile odyssey across North America and who are calling for an encore, we are flattered. And for those new to us, we hope you hop in and ride along. We expect to cover history, geography, flora and fauna, food and wine, and of course, share pictures of the best sights. If you want a taste of what to expect, here is the link to our 2010 blog: http://twolanes-topdown.blogspot.com See you next from the Land of Oz, as the Aussies call it. Steve and Linda TwoLaners (cuz we only like the freeways when we have to get somewhere quick!)