I had the pleasure of staying at Bali Palms Resort in Candidasa, Bali, for one week. The resort is not fully open yet, they are still finishing a lot of the units. Also some of the facilities are not open, however, I had a wonderful stay. My one bedroom apartment was huge and the pool is the biggest one in the area. There was only one other couple staying, so we had the resort to ourselves.

Pan Pacific Nirwana Resort is right at Tanah Lot temple. The resort is wonderful. Lots of activities, big pools, lagoon style. The resort is surrounded by the golf course. Our room was next to the 6th fairway. The Day Spa is fantastic. I highly recommend it. They have a free shuttle into Kuta or Seminyak. There are private cabanas on the clifftop or by the pool. They even come and turn down your bed at night. There are several different places to eat, catering for all tastes. the staff are friendly and helpful.

While visiting Lightning Ridge, Marly went fossicking with Opal Jim, at the Grawin opal fields.

While visiting Lightning Ridge, Marly met Barbara, who runs the Lightning Ridge Historical Society.

While visiting Lightning Ridge, Marly met Kaye, at the Opal Wilderness shop.

While visiting Lightning Ridge, Marly went to see the Australian Opal & Fossil Centre. They have a wonderful collection of Opal and fossils. In the video, some of the exhibits are explained.

I went to Western Australia, with my friends Bill and Marcia, that I met in Bali. I had a great time touring around with them. There is too much to write here, so visit my page on my mum's website to read more. Thanks again Bill and Marcia! When we arrived and checked in at our resort, the lady gave us a package that had been waiting for our arrival. Of course, it was Marly, the teddy bear that would be accompanying us on our Western Australian adventure. There was much to-do getting Marly out of his confinement from the five day trip across Australia from Melbourne to Perth! And a thirsty little devil he was! A whole bottle of Coca-Cola right off the bat!! Our first day trip was to drive south to Margaret River. It seemed to be the general consensus with the Australians we talked to that we had to visit Margaret River for its many well-known wineries. Lunches are packed and Marly is ready to go! On the way to Margaret River, we stopped in Busselton, the home of the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere. Our guidebooks said the jetty was closed in early 2009 for repairs but would be open again soon. The jetty was begun in 1853 and continually added to for a total length of nearly two kilometers until it was closed to shipping in 1972. A small train was used to haul goods, particularly lumber, in and out from the ships to the shore. A cyclone in the late 1970s destroyed a small branch of the pier which ran from about midpoint into shore and did tremendous damage to the main pier. They have since tried to rebuild it as a tourist attraction boasting an underwater observatory in addition to a train ride. Our next day was to Pinjarra and Dwellingup, inland from Mandurah. We found the Pinjarra Visitor Center and wandered around inside for a bit. We went to the "historical park." It turned out to be a lovely large park that the Murray River ran through. And over the Murray River was a long pedestrian suspension bridge. The river was home to more ducks and other water fowl. From here we traveled up in elevation to Dwellingup which is known for its Jarrah forests. Jarrah is of the eucalyptus family of trees and is highly prized for its hardness and termite resistance. When Jarrah is seasoned, Jarrah wood is so hard that conventional wood-working tools cannot be used. Jarrah was exported to England where it was cut into blocks and used as foundation under asphalt roadbeds. We visited the Forest Heritage Center where they have a renowned working school of fine wood training. The building complex is shaped in the form of a big leaf. The two little leaves are the visitor center, the main school the large leaf. They had many lovely items from jewelry boxes to furniture made from jarrah wood on display. We had a lot more adventures. Too many to put here.

I went on a quick trip to Parramatta, with Marlene. Parramatta is a suburb in Sydney, Australia. We got there late and I got to have breakfast in bed the next day. Then we went for a walk along the Parramatta river. You can get the Rivercat and go along the river to Sydney. You come into Circular Quay under the Harbour bridge. We went to the market at Parklea. It is the biggest undercover market in Australia. We visited Sydney Olympic park, where the Sydney 2000 Olympics were held. We had a look at the cauldron that was used in the opening and closing ceremony. It is now a water feature. Also the stadium where the opening and closing ceremony was held. We visited Bondi beach as well. It was a whirlwind trip but I had fun.

I went for a drive along the Great Ocean Road, with Marlene and Ellen. It is one of the great drives of the world, hugging the coastline with spectacular scenery and also going through rainforest and farmland. We had a look at Bells Beach, famous for surfing. There were only a few surfers there but we did see an Echidna! I must say, the toilet block at Bells Beach is one of the nicest I have seen. It has beautiful murals over it. We saw the memorial arch and stopped at some lookouts. It was time for a rest when we got to Lorne. Then we moved on and got to the Twelve Apostles. There are only 9 now but they still look great. Then it was off to Loch Ard Gorge. Lots of steps going down to the beach but worth it if you can make it back up. We had lunch in Port Campbell. Then we went to The Arch and also London Bridge, which fell down in 1990, so it isn't really a bridge anymore. We finished our trip at Peterborough. I will tell you a bit of history of the road. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I. The Great Ocean Road was first planned towards the end of the first world war. Surveying for the road started in 1918 - with the road suggested to travel from Barwon Heads, follow the coast west around Cape Otway, and end near Warrnambool. In 1918, the Great Ocean Road Trust was formed as a private company, under the helm of president Howard Hitchcock. The company managed to secure £81,000 in capital from private subscription and borrowing, with Hitchcock himself contributing £3000. Construction on the road began on 19 September 1919, built by approximately 3,000 returned servicemen as a war memorial for fellow servicemen who had been killed in World War I. An advance survey team progressed through dense wilderness at approximately 3 kilometres a month. Construction was done by hand; using explosives, pick and shovel, wheel barrows, and some small machinery. Several workers were killed during construction. The soldiers were paid 10 shillings and sixpence for eight hours per day, also working a half-day on Saturdays. They used tents for accommodation and made use of a communal dining marquee and kitchen; food costing up to 10 shillings a week. Despite the difficulty involved in constructing the road, the workers had access to a piano, gramophone, games, newspapers and magazines at the camps. The road was closed at Eastern View from 10 May 1922 for further work; opening again on 21 December along with tolls to recoup construction costs. The charge, payable at Eastern View, was two shillings for motor cars and 10 shillings for wagons with more than two horses. In November 1932, the section from Lorne to Apollo Bay was finished, bringing the road to completion. The road was officially opened with Victoria's Lieutenant-Governor Sir William Irvine holding a ceremony near Lorne's Grand Pacific Hotel and the road subsequently being acknowledged as the world's largest war memorial. In its original state, the road was considered a formidable drive; fitting only a single vehicle comfortably at a time. Areas with sheer cliffs would be most hazardous, with only few places for drivers to pull over to allow others to proceed in the opposite direction. On 2 October 1936, the road was handed to the State Government, with the deed for the road presented to the Victorian Premier at a ceremony at the Cathedral Rock toll gate. It was at this time that the tolls were also removed. In 1962, the road was deemed by the Tourist Development Authority to be one of the world's great scenic roads. It also had sections widened between the Lorne Hotel and the Pacific Hotel to improve traffic, while aiming to preserve it's character. Despite improvements, the road was still considered a challenging drive; the Victorian Police motor school even using it for training around 1966. Over its life, the Great Ocean Road has been susceptible to natural elements. In 1960 the section at Princetown was partially washed away by water during storms. It experienced landslides on 11 August 1964 and in 1971. Both closing sections of the road near Lorne. Because of the terrain surrounding the road, it was also closed due to bush-fires in 1962 and 1964, particularly in areas with nearby camp-sites. In January, 2011 a section of the overhanging cliffs collapsed due to heavy rain. The Great Ocean Road is now home to The Great Ocean Road Marathon. I had a wonderful time and if you have the opportunity to go along the road, I would highly recommend it.

I went to Toronto for Christmas and the New Year. I was so looking forward to see a real Canadian winter and a white Christmas, but I had no luck! But I had a lot of fun in Toronto. I went to the CN Tower, which is the highest tower in Canada. It used to be the highest tower in the world, but not anymore. Nevertheless, I loved my ride in a super fast elevator, which took me to the top of the world! I even asked nice people to lift me so I could take a picture of myself at the top of the world! I had so much fun at the CN tower. I rode a moose, which is a beloved animal in Toronto, since they don't have many bears. I met many nice people at the CN Tower, including a little boy Daniel from Toronto who was visiting CN Tower with his aunt and uncle. People are incredibly nice in Canada and everyone was happy to hold me. Even the very strict security guard in the CN Tower wanted to hold me and take a picture with me. Then I got to lie on the glass floor in the CN Tower and I could see the ground far below, and I wasn't scared at all! Toronto is so huge when you look out the window in the CN tower! It's built in a funny way, too: all tall buildings are in the middle of Toronto along the Yonge street, and in Downtown along the lake, like an upside down letter T. And short building are all around. Then I went to the Royal Ontario Museum. It's the most famous museum in Toronto, and it looks like a crystal, and a very big one! Look how tiny I am on the picture. I liked the museum so much! They have lots of stuffed animals and birds, which looked just like me, although I didn't see any bears. But most of all I liked the skeletons of dinosaurs - they were so huge! One day, I even took a trip to Niagara Falls, which is a 1,5 hours drive from Toronto. The weather was a bit gloomy and foggy, but I did my best to pose for the pictures. I really liked the falls - there are 2 of them, one is Canadian, and the other is American. I actually saw the USA across the Niagara River! The Americans invited me to cross the bridge and come to the USA, but I didn't have a passport on me, and you can't cross the bridge without a passport. So I decided to go to the Wax Museum in the Canadian Niagara Falls instead. They have wax figures of the famous people and even bears. I took a picture with Elvis Presley and a bear, we kinda look like brothers! After the museum, I went to play Galaxy Golf in Niagara Falls, which is almost like a real golf, but they have funny alien figures around. My favourite was a scary orange alien Octopus, I wouldn't want to meet him for real! I wanted to stay in Toronto longer and wait for snow, but it was time to catch my flight back to Australia. I had a great time in Toronto thanks to Svetlana.