DAN Y DWR / DOWN UNDER

QUEENSLAND: All critters great and small

It all started when an old man named 'Red' gave us a lift to the garage in his 'Ute'. It finished just after seeing a giant fish called 'Wally' on the ocean floor. In between, our road trip has taken us up the 'Bruce Highway' along the 'Sunshine Coast', and we've even followed directions to "turn left at the Koala Garage." You couldn't get much more Australian - except perhaps for the kangaroo that came skipping out of the bush and bounced around our campsite.


In the last twelve days we've clocked up 2640 kilometers between Brisbane and Cairns in a rented campervan. I've not always been the keenest of campers - as my parents will confirm - but having our own home on wheels has given us a lot of freedom. We've stayed beside an ocean beach, up a misty mountain, on the edge of a rainforest and, perhaps less exotically, at the end of an RAF runway. We've also eaten an awful lot of barbecues - and been eaten by the mosquitoes.

The highlight has been Queensland's National Parks, and seeing all its amazing wildlife. Although it sometimes meant walking for hours and braving the odd tropical rain shower, we've ticked off all the big names from our list - kangaroo, koala, kookaburra, possum, platypus, parrots - all seen in the wild. At one slightly worrying point we thought there was a crocodile following us down the river - but turns out it was just a menacing looking log. Yesterday we then went underwater - at the Great Barrier Reef - and that's where we saw 'Wally' - more properly known as a Hump Headed Maori Wrasse.

We’re leaving Australia tomorrow, but we've decided we'll probably carry on camping in New Zealand - at least for the first few weeks. Before the emails begin - I would however like to assure members of the Griffith family that this is not a sign of things to come in later life, its probably just a phase I'm going through, and there's no need to sign us up for the Caravan Club, just yet...

Ar y Ffordd: Y BRUCE HIGHWAY

Ar ôl prynhawn anffodus o geisio syrffio yn y rip cryf oddi ar arfordir Noosa, roedd Hywel a fi newydd sefydlu'n gwersyll yn y goedwig ger y mor pan gethon ni ymwelydd.
Bwmff... bwmff... bwmff....!
Cangarw gwyllt yn sboncio drwy'r brwyn - gamau'n unig oddi wrthon ni! Neidion ni'n syn a syllu'n gegrwth ar ei ôl, cyn stryffaglu i geisio cael llun.

Mae'n syndod gymaint o greaduriaid sy'n byw wrth bwys y Bruce Highway ar y ffordd rhwng Brisbane a Cairns - ac ry'n ni'n ceisio gweld cymaint ag y'n ni'n gallu o'n fan blodeuog, yr Hippie Campervan.

Rhwng y parotiaid lliwgar, y twrcwn gwyllt a'r adar brith a'u pigau mawr sy'n canu wrth i ni godi, y brogaod a'r medfyll sy'n sgrialu dan draed a'r holl fosgitos a chlêr sy'n gwledda ar ein cyrff ni bob nos - mae 'critters' Oz o'n hamgylch ni o hyd.


Gyda un o'r mwya brawychus oedd y dingo ar Fraser Island. Roedd rhybuddion ymhobman yn dweud eu bod nhw'n fygythiol ac yn chwilio am fwyd. Felly pan welon ni un yn dod amdanon ni ar lwybr cul rhwng y coed, fe gamon ni nol mewn ofn. Ond chymerodd hi yr un sylw ohonon ni a throedio heibio'n eofn. Ar Fraser Island hefyd y gwelon ni'n goanna cyntaf - creadur fel madfall mawr... Eu gweld nhw a'r cyfle i oeri mewn pwll hardd o ddwr ffresh glas glas ynghanol yr ynys, wnaeth y daith gerdded 15 milltir yn y gwres llethol ei werth e...

Er i ni golli cyfle i weld crwban mor yn dodwy ei hwyau ar draeth ger Bundaberg, fe welon ni ddwsinau o grwbanod bach yn torheulo a nofio yng nghoedwig law parc cenedlaethol Eungella. Nid nhw, na'r nadredd dwr gerllaw on ni wedi dod i'w gweld a dweud y gwir, ond y Platypus rhyfedd. Ar ol aros am sbel, ar y dot am bump o'r gloch daeth un bach i'r amlwg, gan godi ei big uwch y dwr ond am rai eiliadau cyn plymio lawr i chwilio am fwyd ar wely'r afon unwaith eto. Fe wylion ni fe am hydoedd, wedi'r cyfan, welwn ni fyth un arall yn ei gynefin siwr o fod.

Ond koalas.... Ry'n ni'n dal heb weld koala. Gobeithio welwn ni un fory ar Magnetic Island. Ry'n ni yn Townsville erbyn hyn - yn y Trofannau... Croc Country.... Felly pwy wyr beth arall welwn ni?...

ULURU: Along the long red road

We saw our first one after about 300km. A swirling cloud of red dust, ambling across the road as we approached in our little red hire car. Apparently they are called "willy willies" - mini-whirlwinds that sweep across the arid landscape of central Australia. It was quite an event after a journey where ten minutes could pass without encountering as much as a curve in the road. But with intermittent Outback radio and our small collection of Cambodian rock CDs to keep us amused, we eventually made it to our hostel in time to see the sun set at Uluru.

It turns out that the big red rock isn't red at all - its a layer of rust on the outside. Uluru and its less famous neighbour Kata Tjuta both seem to change colour as the sun shifts during the day. The big dilemma for many travellers is whether or not to climb, and therefore ignore the wishes of the local Anangu people who hold the site to be sacred. We'd already decided not to before discovering it was too hot anyway, 38.6 degrees Celsius to be precise. We were happy to stick to the base walks, and try and spot some wildlife.

"You've got more chance spotting a camel than a kangaroo around here," said Ben, the park ranger who took us on the the Mala walk. True enough the only kangaroos we saw were dead at the roadside, but we did see a camel. They were introduced by white settlers as a form of transport before train tracks arrived but have since spread to form the world's only wild camel herd. Most of the animals out here are much, much smaller - like the earless lizard who posed for a photo. And then there's the flies - you can't escape the millions of flies. Even with our full bandit costume of hat, sunglasses and tightly wrapped scarf you still have to swat them away constantly - until a little gust of wind comes to your aid, and sends them all twirling.
O.N. - Llongyfarchiadau mawr i Mererid ac Erddin ar enedigaeth Mirain Llwyd! A llongyfarchiadau mawr i Gruffydd ar gael chwaer fach newydd. Mae'n debyg iddi ddod i'r byd wrth i ni fyrddio awyren o Alice Springs i Brisbane yng nghwmni pump o Gymry eraill - par o Lanrwst a Tony, Nans a Sian Couch o Gaerdydd! On'd yw'r byd yn fach!? Llongyfarchiadau mawr unwaith eto! G&H xxx

O Canberra i Melbourne

"You've come to this dump, and you're not going to Tasmania?" Roedd ein gyrrwr tacsi yn feirniadol iawn o'n dewis i ymweld a phrifddinas Awstralia. A nid fe yw'r cynta i ganmol Tasmania a'n hannog i fynd yno - ond dy'n ni ddim yn anffodus. Hyn a hyn o lefydd allwn ni weld yn ystod ein mis yn y wlad anferth 'ma - ac mae Canberra yn un ohonyn nhw.

Dump neu beidio, roedd hi'n amlwg yn syth bod Canberra yn wahanol i Sydney; mae'n teimlo fwy fel tref fawr na dinas. Mae'r strydoedd yn eang a gwyrddni ymhob man, ond yr hyn sy'n rhyfedd yw'r tawelwch a'r teimlad od nad oes neb arall o gwmpas y lle. Dim ond am noson arhoson ni yno - digon i gael pip ar y senedd modern, y galeri cenedlaethol a'r amgueddfa genedlaethol. Aethon ni am dro drwy'r canol hefyd, ond er ei bod hi'n benwythnos doedd dim bwrlwm. Dim ond canolfan siopa ddi-enaid, mewn dinas goncrit sydd, er yn hardd ar fap, ddim fel pe bai yn adlewyrchu ysbryd llawn hwyl yr Oz ry'n ni wedi'i weld hyd yma.

Roedd cyrraedd Melbourne, fodd bynnag, yn teimlo fel pe baem ni nol mewn dinas go-iawn ar gyfer pobl go-iawn. Mae dros 3.5 miliwn o bobl yn byw 'ma i ddechrau - a'r nifer mwyaf o Roegiaid tu fas i wlad Groeg, mae'n debyg. Gethon ni souvlaki blasus i swper y noson gynta i ddathlu hynny.

Ardal St.Kilda ger y mor oedd un o'n hoff lefydd. Yno gethon ni'n temtio gan gerddoriaeth a chacennau, a'n swyno gan bengwins lleia'r byd ar y pier. Hefyd, ges i wireddu dymuniad unrhyw deithiwr gwerth ei halen oedd arfer bod o flaen y teli'n ddeddfol amser te ar ol ysgol bob dydd - a gweld un o ser y gwych-sebon, 'Neighbours.' A dweud y gwir, sai'n gwybod enw'r actores na'i chymeriad, (mam Toadfish rwy'n credu??!) a basai'n well 'da fi fod wedi gweld Dr Karl Kennedy - ond dal, mae gweld un o ser Neighbours yn un o'r pethe chi fod i neud yn Awstralia nagyw e?!

Un peth arall o'n i ffili help gwneud cyn gadael oedd tynnu llun o'r eglwys Gymreig a'r La Troebe Street. Yn ol yr amgueddfa fewnfudo yn y ddinas, roedd 1,500 o Gymry ymhlith y troseddwyr cyntaf i gyrraedd Awstralia, ac roedd sefydlu'r capel yn un o'u blaenoriaethau nhw. Ac mae'r 'Welsh Church' dal 'ma ynghanol holl adeiladau trawiadol eraill Melbourne. Yma o hyd, ynghanol gwlad yr Abo Abo Aborigine.....

SYDNEY: Whizz.. Bang! Boom.. WoW!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a street cleaner who finally helped us find Embarkation Park - a grassy patch of land above a multi-storey car park that was our ringside seat for the fireworks. We waited patiently for 11 hours in the company of Austrian, Irish, Japanese and - as you might hear in the video - German tourists, everyone having come here to celebrate New Year's Eve. The Australians perhaps have more sense, and go to the balcony of a friend's house - or just stay at home to watch the fireworks on TV. Thankfully, the mammoth wait was worth it - and everyone cheered as the sky above the Harbour Bridge exploded.

Its been strange being away over Christmas and New Year, but thanks to the wonders of Skype, email and text messaging we have heard from lots of you. Sydney is full of other Christmas orphans - backpackers in Santa hats who suddenly find themselves a long way from home. We've resisted the temptation to buy hats - although until this evening I was wearing something of a Christmas Santa beard. Many of you will be relieved to hear its gone (for the time being anyway) with January's arrival meaning its time for my monthly shave.

We've spent the time in between Christmas and NYE exploring the city, taking hundreds of photos of the Opera House from different angles, and enjoying watching bats fly overhead from the Botanic Gardens as dusk falls. There are far too many nice delis and coffee shops here for our budget, so we've developed a new form of window shopping that involves going in to just smell and point at the lovely food - then move on before it becomes too tempting. We have, however, been able to make the most of the free public barbecues they have here - giving us the chance to cook at last, after three months without a kitchen. We've even invested in a cool bag - not very "cool" perhaps, but essential for sitting in a park for hours on end, waiting for the big bang.