We recently returned from 3 weeks in Australia. We didn't stay too long in any one place, but feel like we got a pretty good idea of where we want to go back to and where we think we're more or less "good." We had a great time, but would have had a better one if the exchange rate had been better.

Our trip report has tons of photos, and also some videos - perfect for viewing at work when you're bored. ;-)

http://www.justinandcrystal.com/Australia/index.htm

Thanks for the AWESOME trip report, Justin and Crystal. It was informational, scenic and inspirational as well! I enjoyed re-visiting places we have been and getting good ideas for new places. One question--what was the name of the resort on Lord Howe Island? Would you recommend it? It looks quite pricey!
Sally in Seattle

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the food in Sydney, but Darling Harbour is not the place to eat--its a touristy area, like Fishermen's Wharf, and thus overpriced and not very good. Chinta Ria is about the best you can do in that area and it's not great in terms of Sydney Asian food. The places to go are: Red Lantern, Spice I Am, Sailor's Thai, Billy Kwong, Golden Century. Next time ask for a list of recommendations!!

Your photographs of Lord Howe Island are fabulous! Now on to the rest...

Thanks for this great trip report. I love the format - having your pictures included with your comments/memories is wonderful.

Thanks for the kind words - I appreciate it. It's good to know that someone appreciates all the work put into it. I actually look back at some of my other trip reports probably once a month - usually because I can't remember something when I'm telling a story.

Absolutely the best trip report I have read.

Really enjoyed reliving places dear to me and getting a different perspective on some of them. You might be interseted in this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilotum Their is still some arguement as to whether the Psilotum is a fern or not. It certainly looks like the fossil Cooksonia flora of the Devonian.

What a wonderful, comprehensive, interesting report! I'm an Aussie, and really enjoyed it. I think you should apply for a job with our Tourist Promotion people! The Blue Mountains is one of my favourite places in the whole world - as a teenager, we camped in Blue Gum Forest, at the base of the Grose Valley, so I loved the photos you took around there, and of the parrots, and I have an oil painting of the Three Sisters, so it was good to see that too. Congratulations - you obviously had a lovely holiday, and did a great job of telling us about it. Thank you!

Crystal and Justin, thanks for posting this fabulous trip report. It's one of the best I've seen (and I've read a lot of great ones on the forum over the years).

We're in the process of planning our trip to Oz and NZ a year from now, and it's so helpful to read your comments and see what places look like. I'm trying to figure out how to fit in Lord Howe Island and still see the other places we were planning on... Maybe I just need an elastic budget, because we're really not limited in time. We shall see! ;-)

(Maybe you could post some travel blogging lessons? It would be a big help for folks like me who have up till now just kept travel journals and photos in the old-school way!)

Wow, really lovely photos. We were on Lizard recently, but did not make it up Cook's Lookout so it was a treat to see pix from the top. Also I have been wanting to go back to Lord Howe for about 40 years--I was there as a kid and have such tremendous memories of it. We flew there on a flying boat that took off and landed in the water. It was my very first snorkeling experience. Wow, again, thank you for posting the photos !!

As far as keeping a trip log, the most important thing for me is to jot down things when they happen. Lots of times it is just names, places, or short notes, usually in bullet points. That, along with the pictures (which are easily ordered chronologically) makes it pretty easy to turn the notes and bullet points into a full trip log after I get back.

As far as integrating the pictures and videos with the report, that is pretty straightforward too. When I get home, and have a nice big monitor, I have the draft web page open on the left half of the screen, the thumbnails of the pictures open on the right side of the screen, and I start writing out sentences from memory (jogged by notes and the photos), then put in the corresponding pictures and videos below (sometimes above) that text.

Most of the work is done after I get home. The only trip log I was able to keep current while on the trip was the Antarctic trip, and that was because there were entire days where we were at sea. If you want to check out any of our other trip reports, they're all accessible from our homepage, http://www.justinandcrystal.com/

Thank you for this great trip report. We spent a few days in Sydney 2 years ago and are returning in May. I enjoyed seeing the photos of Blue Mountain and will probably take the day trip. I noticed you stayed at the Lord Nelson Hotel. It is on our list of possible hotels.

You mentioned seeing the cassowary in the zoo. We had seen 2 in captivity in Cairns and were absolutely "gobsmacked" to see one in Mission Beach. We had hiked the day before and seen fresh scat and knew it was nearby. Driving out of town the next day, we saw it at the entrance to the path of our hike!

Thank you for your beautiful photos, especially of Lord Howe. I've only been there once, and it was many mnay years ago, but it has to be my favourite place on Earth as well.

Your comments on Adelaide being a young persons city were interesting. Adelaide is often referred to as a 'backwater', 'large country town' or even a 'retirement village' by the eastern states. We have difficulty attracting and keeping young professionals as there are far more opportunities to be had in Melbourne and Sydney.

Having said that:
- there are two universities located in the city centre, both of which have a large portion of international students (mostly from SE Asia). A lot of these students generally reside in small student accommodation in the city centre.

- Rundle Street where you were staying and eating tends to be aimed more at the younger crowd. The shopping zone of Rundle Mall has a more mixed crowd.

- there are often young men in hotted up cars who like to "cruise" down Rundle Street. This probably explains the high rate of sports cars you saw. There are plenty of family cars driving around the suburbs.

By the way, the trip report and photos were great, although I only looked at Adelaide (where I live) and FNQ (where I will be holidaying later in the year).

I'm about halfway through your report, really enjoying it. I studied abroad in Adelaide, Flinders University awhile back and this is really bringing back memories. I think I have all the same pictures on KI!

Wow, you guys have been everywhere! Even Antarctica.