After greeting the groom, we headed up to the brides changing room, to capture the story of the bridal preparations.

With a glass of champagne to calm those nerves, Lindsay beamed, as her hair was pinned and beautiful ringlets created, her make up artist working with a proud mother and friend looking on.

The young bridesmaids looked gorgeous in their cream dresses with pale pink sashes – colours that themed the day in a subtle, delicate way. Lindsay’s bouquet was a simple, yet stunning, ensemble of cala lilies, whilst the bridesmaids carried cream and pale pink flowers, soft, subtle chic and girly.

As Lindsay made final preparations, we moved to the Champagne Bar to capture Trevor and his two boys, Brandon and Daniel, looking stylish and co-ordinated in their suits, beaming with pride at their Dad.

Just prior to the ceremony, we headed to the bridal suite for a selection of pre wedding ceremony moments in the luxurious Henley Suite. Lindsay’s Dad, smiled yet fought back tears as he saw the vision of his little girl looking stunning in her wedding dress, and now ready for the ceremony!

The ceremony took place in the South Lounge, complete with ornate fire place and chandeliers, creating a romantic ambience for the ceremony, along with 60 family and friends looking on and sharing their day.

Special readings made up the service – including a very well executed speech by Daniel, Trevor’s 9 year old son.

As the ceremony drew to a close, the register was signed and with the  ceremony photos completed, the newly married Mr & Mrs Shillito emerged.

As the weather was somewhat temperamental, many of the group shots had to be completed inside, however guests relaxed and enjoyed the opulent surroundings, whilst sipping on champagne and enjoying the canapés.

Trevor and Lindsay wanted a selection of informal photos taken in their Suite, so after these were completed, we continued to capture the moments of the day, the details that shaped up the big day, and that all important cake cutting shot.

Mark, has previously won numerous National and International Awards including the highly sort after two MPA Oskars, so this year he entered a variety of photographs from client sessions in the studio, wedding and travel images.

With over 250 entries at the Regional level, competition was tough.

Mark was delighted to win both the ‘Classical Portrait’ and ‘Pictorial / Landscape / Illustrative’ (with a beautiful image of ‘The Racetrack’) categories. As well as these he received an ‘Award of Excellence’ for his ‘Cherubs’ photograph, three further ‘Merits’ in ‘Fashion and Beauty’, ‘Contemporary Portrait’ and ‘Pictorial / Landscape / Illustrative’

Are all Photographers the Same?

Winner of the Pictorial / Landscape / Illustrative catergory MPA SE Region

Winner of the Classical Portrait MPA SE Region

We photographed all the key details that make up the special day, which was so well thought out and planned. A day to be remembered forever,  captured in both memories and visuals, to be cherished always.

With rows of wedding  ensembles hanging on the wardrobe, matching the perfect lines of bridal shoes – all the little details were recorded, fitting together to make one big picture: Lisa and Matthew’s wedding day.

The bride changed into her full, strapless flowing Benjamin Roberts gown, and ‘Pure & Precious’ shoes complete with sparkles, whilst Mary remained in the room, capturing those precious moments, with Karen (mum) and bridesmaids assisting, complete with giggles and smiles.

As  Michael (father of the bride) entered the room, he beamed as he saw his daughter, the first of his girls to get married. With Lisa looking stunning in the beautiful gown and veil, Mark utilised the shade and the blooming garden to photograph the pre wedding images, before heading off to Worth Church.

The ceremony took place in St Nicolas’ Church, Worth. Matthew, the groom, was full of smiles as he awaited the arrival of his soon wife to be!

Lisa beamed as she walked down the tree lined path to the church, enjoying every moment and the gorgeous, if not slightly hot, weather!

A touching ceremony followed, with Lisa and Matthew leaving the Church, full of smiles.

A selection of photos were taken at the church and lytch gate, where Lisa and Matthew were showered in confetti as they sat in their vintage wedding car, before heading on to their wedding reception, Alexander House Hotel. Set in the heart of 120 acres of breathtaking gardens, woodland and parkland, Alexander House Hotel is ideal a boutique country manor house hotel for those in search of a gorgeous Sussex hotel, superb dining or sumptuous spa break.

Greeted with a refreshing glass of champagne the Bride & Groom utilised the beautiful grounds and stunning 18^th century property, combined with Mark’s knowledge of the hotel (where he is the recommended photographer) to create a stunning selection of photos, not forgetting the signature MHP Shots!

The large bridal party, complete with 5 bridesmaids, 2 best men and 2 page boys – dressed in midnight blue dresses and the guys in grey frock coats, really had fun and created some great group shots!

As guests sipped champagne on the South Lawn,  the group shot to be taken from the roof, before moving inside to capture the details of the wedding reception, including the all important cake cutting, of the  stunning three tiered cake with cream roses and lilies.

The wedding breakfast was a  ‘love’ themed affair  with tables aptly named,  complete with  love hearts, silver heart table confetti and crisp white linens, including chair covers with midnight blue organza bows.

Congratulations to Lisa and Matthew.

The first weekend in June greeted us with sizzling summer sun (up to 32 degrees!), a fabulous day for Lisa and Andy’s wedding celebrations.

Mark and Mary started the day to be greeted by a cool, calm and very happy bride at her parent’s home in Horley. The house was bustling with pre-wedding excitement as the bridesmaids, brides parents and a few others helped with the preparations. After capturing bridal preps, precious moments, floral details, and the bridal dress, Mark left to join the boys and a few of the Bride & Grooms loved ones at the local pub for pre wedding photos.

Back at the house, the bride stepped into her beautiful dress, a gorgeous strapless gown, embellished with diamante and ruching on the left hand side, with a tied corseted back, which the bridesmaids assisted with tying. Mary captured the moments around the home, whilst Chloe, the youngest bridesmaid at 3 years old, smiled sweetly and awaited the further excitement of the day. The transport came in form of a double decker ‘wedding special’ bus, the perfect ride for the short distance to the church.

Mark captured the arrival of the now charmingly emotional bride as she stepped off the bus, about to embark on the journey down the aisle, to her awaiting groom. The church ceremony was intimate yet filled with great emotion and happiness, as Lisa & Andy exchanged vows in front of their loved ones. With readings completed, the newlyweds received a welcome surprise, in the name of a young boy singing, before signing the marriage register.

The happy and radiant couple emerged from the church, before heading off on their double decker, complete with wedding guests, to their wedding reception at The Felbridge Hotel & Spa.

The warm weather continued, as guests sipped reception drinks on the terrace, whilst formal wedding photos were completed and not forgetting those all important detailed room shots. After a comprehensive list of photos completed (thanks best man Alex for assistance!), and reception drinks consumed, the wedding breakfast commenced.Speeches flowed, filled with touching emotion, and not forgetting the Best Men’s banter, before the evening reception. The cake cutting took place in the centre of the lovely Ballroom. The cake, simple yet elegant, with dripped diamantes complimented the subtle sparkles present on the wedding breakfast tables, and the deep blue accents.

Time for the first dance – and were we in for a performance! The Bride and Groom took to the floor, moving around in a well thought out routine, to ‘Use Somebody’ by Kings of Leon. As the song came to a close, the bride pushed her man off the dance floor, and joined by some bridesmaids and close friends, gave an outstanding performance of ‘Thriller’ by Michael Jackson, even throwing her shoes across the dance floor to really get into the groove!

With a fabulous start to the evening, further dancing continued throughout the night, as guests relaxed and enjoyed a very tempting candy station – complete with 2 chocolate fountains! Congratulations to Lisa & Andy.

With hair and make up artists in full flow, the house bustled with excitement and emotions.

The subtle details of the Benjamin Adams shoes, and intricate detailing on the gorgeous halterneck bridal gown, were captured before Rachel stepped into her dress, complete with Cathedral Veil and tiara – our beautiful bride was ready!

The white vintage  bridal car boasted co-ordinated ribbons of the chosen colour theme. Lavender with deep purple and delicate crisp whites.

Once the formal pre-ceremony photos had been completed with the bridesmaids in purple floor length gowns, and the brides family, the car set off, leaving Mark to capture Rachel in the beautiful parkland and tree lined driveway, before heading onto St Mary’s Church in Reigate .

A slightly delayed start  to the ceremony and an overcast sky certainly didn’t delay the excitement, as many of Rachel’s school class had attended the church. Gasps and excited chatter could be heard as the beautiful bride stepped into view and walked towards her gorgeous Groom Charles, father by her side, and bridesmaids in tow.

The ceremony was touching, complete with poems and readings from close friends and family. As the ceremony came to a close, the newlyweds walked down the aisle, about to head outside, when they were greeted with somewhat of a downpour!

Nothing was dampening this happy occasion, so utilising the interior of the church we completed a selection of shots – of course not forgetting Rachel’s school class!

Next onto Alexander House Hotel , set in 170 acres of stunning private gardens and parkland, Alexander House Hotel in Sussex is both a boutique retreat and an unsurpassed destination spa hotel - Charles and Rachel’s chosen wedding reception venue!

As the rain stopped, group photos were taken outside on the beautiful South lawn, whilst some signature MHP shots were captured of the bride and groom, with their wedding car, outside the front of the stunning property.

Champagne and canapés were served, whilst the room buzzed in excitement and chatter of all the guests.

The Shelley Suite was co-ordinated beautifully with crisp white linens, chair covers with purple bows, hints of lavender and silver sparkles, rose petals, tea lights, with orchids as table centrepieces. The napkins were folded, complete with individual wedding breakfast menus, organza bags containing favours, not forgetting the table names, aptly named after cars, one of Charles’ loves.

Once the cake cutting was complete, the team left the hotel and the newly married couple to continue their wedding celebrations, with family and friends long into the evening.

Congratulations!

Mark and the team arrived as the preparations were in full flow, and captured some of the finer details of the dress, floral bouquets and wedding accessories before the bride stepped into her beautiful dress.

As the minutes progressed, laughter and girly giggles resonated around the home, the emotion and excitement apparent! Once all the last minute touches were completed, we headed out onto the green to capture some photos of the bride, bridesmaids and her immediate family pre ceremony, as well as individual shots of the bridal party.

Mark and the team headed off to the Catholic Church of St John the Evangelist  in Tadworth, to greet Bob and the groomsmen before the arrival of the bride, and take some informal photos. Not long had the guests been ushered in to the Church, when the bridal car arrived.

The ceremony was touching with readings by close family and friends adding the personal touch to a beautiful ceremony.

After the ceremony, and some formal group photos outside the church, the bridal party and wedding guests headed to West Sussex, to the Felbridge Hotel and Spa, their chosen wedding reception venue.

The Felbridge Hotel and Spa, a four star hotel is the landmark hotel in East Grinstead offering excellent facilities in an ideal location on the borders of Sussex, Surrey and Kent.

The Grand Ballroom was decorated with touches of burgundy, the chosen colour theme of the day – added to crisp white linen chair covers with organza bows, place cards with burgundy flowers adding those delicate details,  tea lights for added ambience and the cake, a stunning 4 tiered white iced cake, layered with fresh, deep burgundy roses in between the tiers, complete with iced hearts.

After the cake cutting, Mark and the team left the newly married Mr & Mrs Cooper, to welcome their guests with a receiving line, and then onto their delightful wedding breakfast.

We arrived and greeted the bride to be, who was relaxing in her suite with her bridesmaids, as her hair was being curled and make up was being applied. A relaxed atmosphere was certainly the order of the day as the bridal party sipped on champagne, and prepared for the special day ahead.

Photos were taken capturing every moment, the beautiful bouquets provided by Zara Flora, and all the delights and sparkles and laughter that filled the room.
Mark and Graham headed to the bar – to see the Groom and best man for some informal shots before the ceremony, whilst Mary stayed with the ladies to capture putting on THE dress!!
The bridal dress was a stunning vintage strapless dress with embellished detailing under the bust, and a sweeping train to complement the style. Diamonte encrusted shoes added the finishing touch, whilst the bridesmaids looked beautiful in sage green strapless fitted dresses and cream shrugs.

The ceremony was held in the oak panelled library, complete with candles and beautiful floral displays. Some heartfelt speeches completed the touching service and the happy newly married couple emerged, congratulated with a fine glass of champagne!

Whilst champagne and canapés were being served in the South Lounge, we were fortunate the heavy rain forecast held off and allowed us to capture the day both inside and out.
The Shelley Suite was decorated simply yet elegantly with chair covers and sashes, fresh white linen and table names being named after Swiss cheeses, from the country the couple now reside.

Laughter and cheer filled the room, with the best man, ushers and the bridesmaids really being great support for the happy couple.
With the receiving line about to commence we left the couple and all their family and friends to enjoy the wedding breakfast and the night of celebrations ahead.

Our trip this year covered 3556 miles in 17 days. Our hired jeep, a Ford Escape, had just 4 miles on the clock when we collected it!!!!

Saturday 20th  – Sunday 21st March

This morning we had a short (by our standards) hop over to San Francisco – time for a bit of sight seeing, a ride on a trolley bus, dinner and bed! The following morning we just had time for a quick drive to Sausalito, some photos of the Golden Gate bridge, then off to the airport for our overnight flight back to the UK.

Thursday 18th – Friday 19th March

We spent the next two days exploring Yosemite NP, quite a change in scenery from our usual desert climes! Our hotel was a relatively short drive (20 mins) to the park entrance, however it was another hours drive to the valley floor. Large areas of the park are closed at this time of year due to snow, but even so there are still areas you can access in relative solitude. Our two “golden hour” sunsets were somewhat disappointing (and somewhat chilly!!) but I like the slight hint of colour in this photo.

Wednesday 17th March

We left early this morning for the long drive from Death Valley to Oakhurst where we would be based for three nights allowing us to visit Yosemite NP. Today’s drive turned out to be a marathon 13 hours. Our proposed route through Sequoia NP was blocked because of snow, which forced us to retrace our steps through the National Park and find an alternative route to Oakhurst. We finally arrived at the hotel at 9.30pm, (we were partly this late as we had some excellent light followed by a magnificent sunset) somewhat tired, so an early night tonight!!!!

Tuesday 16th March

Another early start as we drove the short distance (49 miles) to Zabriski Point for sunrise. Death Valley is becoming increasingly popular, especially with photographers. Zabriski Point is one of the more accessible areas and by the time sunrise came, I counted eleven tripods in place and numerous other photographers. That said, there is plenty of space for everyone and I’m sure everyone there got a great shot of the sunrise, or did they?  As I was amazed by the number of photographers who left before the sun actually hit Zabriski Point!!!!!!

From here we drove for about two hours to one of the more remoter parts of Death Valley known as the Race Track. The last hour of this journey, is over a seriously bumpy trail and this certainly ensured that if there were any “loose parts” on our jeep, they would certainly be shaken free!!! The Race Track is a remote area known for its infamous moving rocks!!

Monday 15th March

A relatively short drive by our standards to Death Valley. Our journey today took us via Amagossa, a small town of about three businesses, a diner, a hotel and an Opera house!!! Death Valley is the lowest point in the USA, just to confuse our bodies a bit more, the temperatures soared to 86 degrees; less than 48 hours ago we were driving through snow at 27 degrees!!!!

Check in at the hotel at Stove Pipe Wells is 4.00pm, so headed off to the Badlands for some photos of the salt lakes. When we first visited this area, the salt lake reached the road, now days it’s about a quarter of a mile from the road. We then drove back to the dunes for sunset and some interesting light for our photographs on the dunes.

Sunday 14th March

Last nights electrical storm wiped out the power for around 100 miles. Our drive today was over 350 miles, most of which was through the snow. Parts of the I-70 and I-15 were snow covered and made for slow progress at times. We reached St George around 3.30pm, checked in and headed straight for the jacuzzi to rest our aching backs from all the driving.

Saturday 13th March

Today we just passed 1700 miles on our trip!

Up early (5.30am) for sunrise at Arch NP, we ended up at the North window and managed to get some great shots of Turret Arch from there. Returned back to the hotel for breakfast, then headed on to Canyonlands NP for more photos. Our journey back was off road via Gemini Bridges road, a tricky off road trip but great fun at the same time. This evening we have been treated to a huge electrical storm (it’s still going on now) which made for an interesting drive back to the hotel!!

Friday 12th March

Late start (8.00am) after yesterdays epic drive. Today we did some proper off road driving!! Our first stop (as we found out later) was the Long Canyon Road. Last year we tried to drive this road, however our Durango bottomed out fairly early early on along the trail. This year, in our Ford Escape we managed to get about 3/4 quarters of the way along the trail before we hit the snow and had to turn back. The scenery and views along this trail are spectacular, but almost impossible to photograph as the vistas are just so huge. We retraced our path back down along the mountain trail and headed back to the highway 279, which eventually peters out and becomes the Potash road, which eventually joins up with the Shaffer Trail. The scenery along this “road” is truly spectacular!

Thursday 11th March

Long long drive from Vegas to Moab. We hit the road around 7.15am today and only stopped for coffee a couple of times. We finally arrived at Moab at 4.30pm and headed straight off to Archs and a short uphill hike to Delicate Arch for sunset!

Sunday 7th March – Wednesday 10th March

Today we made the relatively short trip from Barstow to Las Vegas for the 30th anniversary of the WPPI convention held at the MGM hotel. As usual we had an excellent four days at the convention, as it offers us an excellent opportunity to hear some of the top photographers in the world and see lots of new products to help us improve our business. This year the attendance topped 15,000!!!!

Saturday 6th March

Leisurely start to the day, breakfast at 8.00am (yes I’m a slacker) then a short drive to Victorville. Visited the excellent Route 66 museum, drove along the route back to Barstow, then onto to Calico Ghost Town. A rare treat after here was Peggy Sues diner, authentic Americana!

Friday 5th March

Up early this morning to begin our long drive to Barstow today. Most of today has been spent driving on the freeway, the only excitement being the standard of driving on the roads!!!!!!! Undertaking,overtaking, no signals – all highly amusing.  One of the aims today was to find the aeroplane “graveyard” near Barstow. We did some research before leaving, but at best the information we found was sketchy. We did however manage to locate Mojave airport, which did have it’s very own “graveyard”, although we were not allowed to take any photographs!!! There was a huge selection of decommissioned planes, mainly airliners which made for an impressive but somewhat bizarre sight. From there we headed onto Barstow for the next two nights.

Thursday 4th March

As we couldn’t get the flights we wanted, we took a flight to San Francisco instead of our usual direct flight to Vegas. This resulted in a very tiring 11 1/2 hour flight and that, couple with a three hour drive at the end of it has left us all somewhat jaded!!!!

We just managed a quick dip in the jacuzzi before heading off to bed, as we have to be up at 5.30am tomorrow for a six hour drive to Barstow.

That’s it for tonight folks

With hair and make-up artistry in full flow, the room was filled with cheer and laughter as we photographed away, capturing those precious moments, intricate details from gorgeous Tiffany jewellery, the beautiful bridal gown,  the bouquet and not forgetting the shoes!

The ceremony was held in the oak panelled library, beautifully lit by church candles and floral displays provided by Zara Flora. With a slightly later ceremony time of 3pm, the ambient light after an emotional ceremony, allowed us to go outside for a selection of photos of the bride and groom with their parents and their young bridesmaid and pageboy, before heading into the warm, and to start the celebrations at the drinks reception!

With Mark arranging and shooting the formal photos within the newly decorated South Lounge, Mary and Graham caught the precious candid moments with Jane lending a helping hand. The bridesmaid and pageboy provided some brilliant moments, looking adorable in their dusky pink dress and waistcoat accordingly.

With the happy couple’s drinks reception nearing a close, half the team headed to the Shelley Suite, where the wedding breakfast was to be held to capture the finer details of the decorations and theme of the breakfast.

The white chair covers, with pale baby blue bow, were very in keeping with the theme of the room, with hints of dusky pink and pale yellow flowers, fairy lights and organza drapes, classy table centrepieces, with a named champagne themed, and an elegant three tiered cake with sugar icing flowers to compliment the fresh arrangements, completed the room and their special day.

With the cake cutting shot completed and the formal receiving line about to be arranged by the hotel staff, Mark and the team left the hotel, as Mark & Dawn continued their wedding day celebrations.

Congratulations to the happy couple.

Cairns our first destination .

Our journey started with an eleven hour flight to Hong Kong, then a further eight and half hours to Sydney, followed by a mere three hours and some change short hop to Cairns. After travelling for 34 hours door to door we finally made it!

We are spending the first couple of days here just getting over the travelling, before picking up our hire car and beginning the drive back to Sydney. I’ll post as and when I can get access to the internet.

Cairns is a lively and vibrant town and is used to get access to the Great Barrier reef . There is no beach here, so they’ve built a pool and beach on the Esplanade. There are lots of trendy bars and clubs and the nightlife is fairly hectic! Late nights are followed by lazy mornings with street side coffee bars abound. This is in total contrast to the expensive looking boats and luxury hotels around the very pretty marina. Cairns I would say is a town of contrasts!

Tomorrow we are exploring Kuranada, so hopefully will post some photos from our trip!

Kuranda

Today we took the skyrail up across the rain forest to Kuranda, where we visited a butterfly sanctuary and wandered around the small town before returning to Cairns on board a real steam train.

Cairns to Port Douglas

We picked up our hire car this morning only to discover that our bags were a little too big for the boot! After a bit of shuffling, we headed north towards Port Douglas where we will be staying for the next couple of nights. On the drive up we stopped off at Trinity Bay and Palm cove, both extremely pretty seaside towns with endless beaches.

Sadly swimming in the sea this time of year in a no no as it is the “stinger” season – but each beach has a netted area for safe swimming.

That’s it for today as we are up early heading on to Mosman Gorge and Cape Tribulation.

Cape Tribulation – Daintree Rain forest – Mosman Gorge

Up early this morning for the relatively short trip up to Cape Tribulation. This is about as far north as you can go without a four wheel drive. Cape Tribulation has lots of nice beach’s and if you are lucky you may be able to spot Cassawary in the wild. We not lucky! The trip up is quite interesting, there’s a short hope on a cable operated ferry (think Clint Eastwood – Unforgiven!).

Every beach you stop at has warning to beware of crocodiles as well so it keeps you on your toes when you are photographing! We managed to find a two foot monitor lizard, a kingfisher, two orange footed scrub fowl and a sleeping bat!

From the Cape we head into the Daintree NP and took a walk along the aerial skyway above the tree tops of the rain forest – after our earlier sighting and promises by the visitor centre of the chance of spotting numerous wildlife here we set out in anticipation of a photographic bonanza however this all proved unfounded – in fact only dangerous thing we encountered was a scary hairy Mary Ah well better luck next time.

Our next stop was Mosman Gorge where the water falls and rapids tumble over huge water smoothed boulders and this certainly proved to be far more rewarding.

Tomorrow we leave Port Douglas and begin our journey south towards Sydney, starting with the Atherton table lands. More tomorrow!

Atherton Tablelands – Innisfail

Well today was a slightly later start than originally anticipated as a few beers were consumed whilst listening to a live band at the Court House Hotel & Bar in Port Douglas.

Today was our longest drive to date. We headed out of Port Douglas after visiting Four Mile beach and admiring some of the stunning beach side apartments there.

Our journey today took us through Mount Maloy and onto Mareeba were we stopped at the “Coffee works” for a very nice coffee and break from the driving. Most of the scenery so far has been mainly burnt scrub land.

We headed across the Tablelands where the scenery became green and lush.

Atherton was surprisingly bigger than we anticipated so we didn’t stop but headed off to Yungaburra – a very small quaint village.

The temperatures have soared today and the gauge in the car clocked 35 degrees – we were told that it should be cooler up here – whilst in Port Douglas and Cairns the highest it got was 31 degrees but there was always a breeze, today has just been very sticky! So we have been stopping fairly regularly for drinks, but each time we got back into the car it’s been like a sauna!

From here we took the road south to Millaa Millaa. Here there are three waterfalls, the first you could swim in to was quite “busy” but the other two we had virtually to ourselves. It was nice to get away from the searing heat and enjoy the cool air around the falls. By now we had been driving for about seven hours so it was time to head for Innisafail and find a room for the night. Unfortunately we couldn’t find a hotel to stay in other than a room above a pub (which was ok with me!) so we stopped at the tourist information office for some directions to the nearest town with hotels! Well we’ve ended up at Kurrimine – which closed at 7.30pm!!! hence today’s early update lol.

I’ll post some photos a bit later – including my attempts to support “Movember” !!

Kurrimine Beach to Townsville

Left Kurrimine at 8.00am this morning after a night of swatting mosquito’s. Final count 7 to the good guys!

Had a leisurely breakfast at Mission beach and stopped off at a few beaches along the way then before heading off to Townsville. Road works along A1 slowed the journey, so we didn’t arrive at Townsville until 3.00pm Found a hotel and checked in (this has got to be the worst receptionist we encountered ever in Australia!!) dropped the bags and headed straight off to Charter Towers which was another hour and a half drive west of Townsville. We arrived just in time for closing! so had a quick wander around the Queenslander styled buildings before heading back to Townsville. The light on our return was fantastic and managed to get some great photos of some derelict buildings.

When we arrived back at the hotel the car park was full, when we asked at reception we were told tough first come first served – good job we are only here for one night!

Townsville to Airlie Beach

We set off around 9.00am this morning for our five hour drive to Airlie Beach. The drive was pretty uneventful and a bit tiring. The recent high temperatures continued, 37 degrees again, however I swear it’s hotter than that in our hire car!

We have three nights here so I get a break from driving for a couple of days – yippee! Tomorrow has been designated a “pool” day – as in I shall not move from it all day. Sunday we’ve booked a trip out to the Whitsundays islands for some photos.

Airlie Beach

Airlie beach is a pretty seaside town, primarily used as a base for visiting the Whitsunday Islands. It has a small beach and an Esplanade which is aimed mainly at the backpackers. Shute Harbour is just a little further along from Airlie,, so we headed out to the marina and took some photos there.

Whitehaven beach on the Whitsunday islands

We spent three enjoyable days at Airlie, but left just at the right time as 2,300 “shoolies” descended there for the summer break!

Airlie Beach to Rockhampton

We left Airlie at 7.45am for the long six and half our drive to Rockhampton, where we were staying overnight before heading on to Hervey Bay. Rockhampton was bigger than we both expected and had an interesting mix of old (relatively speaking) and modern architecture.

We had time for a brief stroll along the river, dinner and then bed as we had another seven hour drive to Hervey Bay.

Rockhampton to Hervey Bay

The journey down was a hard slog – pretty much seven hours straight drive. We left at 7.30am and managed a quick stop at Gladstone for breakfast around 10.00am. Gladstone is a heavily industrialised town dominated by Rio Tinto, but it is also the departure point for Heron island.

Hervey Bay

We arrived in Hervey Bay around 3.00pm and checked into our apartment at the Charlton Luxury Apartments for the next two nights. we’d phoned ahead to book here and were somewhat when we were given a three bedroom apartment!

Tomorrow we are off to Fraser Island for the day

Fraser Island

Up early this morning to catch the ferry to Fraser Island – it’s only a short hop from Hervey Bay, but we were still up at 5.30am!

We then joined our “coach’ tour of Fraser Island. We were told that the roads were bumpy and that you could take your own four wheel drive if you were an experience off road driver. Well I’m glad to say I wasn’t driving the roads were truely atrocious! I’ll be off to see the osteopath as soon as I return as my back is in bits! The 15km road across the island is supposed to take one hour, however it was a one track road and an earlier tour had lost it’s four wheel drive and become stuck in the deep sandy track blocking the only way through. Captain Kevin (our driver) sprang into action, attached a tow rope to the “coach” in front and began to reverse back up the trail. unfortunately we didn’t have enough umph to pull it out, so we had to wait for the next coach which then towed us, with us towing the stricken original coach out! A three coach tow truck lol!

Anyway a couple from Fraser island.

The Maheno Ship wreck

Lake McKenzie fresh water lake.

That’s it for today!

From Hervey Bay we headed south (again!) stopping for breakfast at Mary Borough
and Noosa Heads where we overnighted. We headed down to the beach just before sunset and watched a local photographer shooting a family portrait session at the beach. It was interesting to watch someone else work for a change!

Brisbane

From Noosa, we headed to Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach (which was one of the best we’ve seen here) then onto the Glass House Mountains, Bribie Island (very nice) then on to Brisbane were we are staying for two nights. Brisabane is inland so no beach for a couple of days (or car for that matter!). We did the Brisbane equivalent of the London Eye, visited the local market sampled a few local beers the called in a day! Day two we walked around town photographing the local land marks, visited the museum and botanical gardens.

From Brisbane, we headed south towards Sydney where we had an overnight stop at Ballina. There were some celebrations going on (obviously in our honour)

From Ballina we drove onto Boambee, for two nights stay and a much deserved break from driving. The weather was changeable and it even rained on the second day!!!

Boambee was a short hop to our next destination Port Stephens, however with numerous detours, we managed to turn this into a seven hour drive. We  stayed with friends for the night and watched the sun go down.

The following morning we headed onto Sydney, to catch up with more friends and see the sights!

Now back in the UK and it’s business as usual!