We depart for New South Wales, and Autumn Thunderstorms, Tonight!

Well, we're off to Sydney and then a two and half hour drive to Norah Head, NSW tonight at 10:10 pm. We'll arrive there on Tuesday, April 17 at 6:10 am. Then it's off to Britz by expensive taxi to pick up our campervan and head for the Central Coast.

Unfortunately, it looks like we better bring our boots and rain parkas. This La Nina year has kept California remarkably dry, but the other side of the Pacific has been having record rains and flooding. It looks like that process continues to unfold. Here's the seven day weather forecast for the region around our first campsite:

Weatherzone.com.au Predicts  Possible Showers , Followed by Showers, Rain, and Possible Showers!

Of course the area is gorgeous and the storms will be beautiful, but driving on the wrong side of the road in a 21 foot RV in  a thunderstorm, while jet-lagged, sounds like a bit of a challenge.  At least the adventure will be in full force again. 

Another interesting twist is that we're flying out today on the largest airplane ever used in commercial service, the Airbus A380, which is famously stable in turbulence and quiet in flight and won an Australian design award for its economy class seats and. We'll be, of course, back in "steerage" where seats only cost about $5000 for four people! Premium Economy seats have been on sale lately for about $3200 each! Yikes.

The new Qantas A380 Economy seat - designed by acclaimed international designer Marc Newson - has won Standards Australia's top prize, the 2009 Australian International Design Award of the Year.

The Qantas A380 Economy seat focuses on ergonomics and comfort, featuring:

• The world's first single-beam aircraft seat, allowing more legroom.
• A seat base that moves in conjunction with recline, providing more comfort.
• Multi-adjustable headrest and cushioned armrests.
• Cushioning designed for side-sleep.
• Unique netted "footnet" leg support.
• Business and connectivity features including PC power, USB and internet ports and in-seat telephone with reply SMS functionality.
• State-of-the-art entertainment system and IFE with over 1,000 on-demand audio and video entertainment choices.

The Qantas A380 now operates on selected flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Los Angeles and from Sydney to London via Singapore.

Find out more about Qantas A380 Economy.

Cheers!

Aussie Trip Details Shaping Up

I've been a bit anxious about our first few nights and our first month of house rental. I noticed that despite the autumn temperatures some of the places were booking up. Thus I rented the house and set up our first six nights of camping.

Our first two nights are in Norah Head, near Soldier's Beach. It's about two hours north of Sydney:
 
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Soldier's Beach - Photo by Michael, 2009

Norah Head Lighthouse

Then we're off to the most expensive campsites in the whole trip. Seal Rocks is an idyllic little beach and they charge accordingly. Two nights in a beachfront camper site is $110 (AUD)! Still, check out the map and photos:

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Seal Rocks Camping Preserve

Seal Rocks with Treachery Beach in Background

Next we're off for two nights at Sandbar and Bushland Holiday Park. Sandbar Beach is a gorgeous sandspit backed by coastal forest. The campsites are back in the trees and there's an wooden, elevated bush trail through a small swamp and coastal forest to the massive sand spit beach and headland. There's a major lake behind the sand spit and lots of national park in all of these areas. Note that if you click on the "View Larger Map" button below there is the option to look at "Street View." Amazingly, this will show you the exact location in the trees on a dirt road where Shane and I camped in July 2009! I want to be the guy that drives the Street View photo van. They go EVERYWHERE! Anyway, at the end of that dirt road (rotate the Street View around) is where the walkway begins.

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Photo I took of Sandbar Beach from the Headland, 2009

At this point, we'll be really getting into Autumn and into less crowded areas so we're not making any more reservations. We're going to play it by ear. We may go inland towards the Hunter Valley and small towns or we may continue up the coast to places like Boomerang Beach, Blueys, or Port Macquarie. 

Note that if you zoom in and out on the various maps above (easier if you click on the "View Larger Map" link) you'll get a good sense of how limited coastal development still is in this part of the world.

To an American, these places seem remarkably empty. Now, if only the Australian housing market would finally collapse and the U.S. dollar strengthen. These are places where I would readily purchase a second home, if the price was right. Unfortunately, because of the Oz housing bubble and our falling currency, the price is about as wrong as it can be right now. Back in 2001 when I first visited Australia, the price was as good as it's going to ever get, but I had a new job, no money, and lots of debt. Alas, there's always the future. These graphs should help to make the point clear.

Aussie and US home values adjusted for inflation back to 1975.
Their bubble is bigger and has yet to pop! 

Since 2001, the US dollar has fallen by half relative
to AUD.

US and Aussie House Values Relative to Average Incomes

I may be waiting a while to buy that Aussie retirement home. My guess is that 2025 will be a good time to buy in Australia. That's about when their bubble will have finally deflated - or not. For all I know China will keep growing and Australia will continue to get richer on average while we continue to give all income gains to "job creators." In that case, I'd never get the Aussie beach house. That's OK, it's easier to rent.