My suitcases are bulging and I'm worrying just a bit about how I'm going to get them closed. Are you curious about what I have inside? Here's a small sampling: boomerangs, yarn! (or wool, as it's known here), T-shirts, Jungle Juice (which is a mixture of port, brandy and secret spices and is purported to cure a huge array of ailments). I also have Tim Tans (Australia and New Zealand's version of an Oreo cookie, except better) and, of course, quince paste!

We're looking forward to a wine tour in the Hunter Valley today.

Yesterday's trip to the maritime museum was great—we spent three hours there. We particularly enjoyed viewing and learning about the replica of the Endeavor. The original expedition took place in the 1700s and was privately financed by Joseph Banks, a naturalist, to the tune of 10,000 English pounds. One of the U.S. space shuttles is named the Endeavor. We discovered the crew of the shuttle visited the museum Endeavor and one of the astronauts took a piece of it (a wooden plug, which is like a nail) along with him so once again the Endeavor was exploring, only this time it was space.

The day was topped off with a nighttime cruise around Sydney Harbor. The lights and the water are a memory we'll hold for a long time.

What a fabulous time we've been having. Wayne went scuba diving in the barrier reef. He actually put his hand in one of those giant clams! Paula and I took a more sedate route and went in a semi-sub. We could see countless fish, eyeball to eyeball. In Ourimbah we took a nature walk in the rain forest. I swear we saw vines that Tarzan swung on. The Australian rain forest is so different from our own Pacific Northwest rain forest.

We arrived in Sydney on Monday. We'll be touring The Rocks, a historical part of Sydney. We've already walked and walked all through the area, including where the Sydney opera house is. The Harlequin Australia folks were trying to persuade us to do the "Sydney Bridge Climb." Apparently you can climb from one side to the other of Sydney Harbor Bridge’s famous arch, which takes you over ladders, catwalks and arches. Not this girl!

Today we're going to the Maritime Museum, which houses an exact replica of The Endeavor, Captain Cook's ship when he sailed into Sidney Harbor.

We flew into Cairns today and are headed to the Great Barrier Reef. Yesterday was taken up with an all-day river cruise and a visit to a crocodile farm. We saw crocs being fed, what a highlight! (They are fed once a week). We also saw two males fighting over one female–no one ever fought for me like that. I’m enjoying the sunshine after the cold of New Zealand and am totally in love with both countries!

I’m in an Internet Cafe in Blenheim, New Zealand on the South Island and really loving this tiny little town. We love it so much that we decided to spend another night here, tour the vineyards and explore the territory. We took the ferry between the North and South Island, and when we hit the open seas the crossing got quite rough. A lot of people got seasick; the crew passed out ice chips and told us this helped with the sea sickness. Paula and I sucked our way through two cups of ice.

It’s winter here and downright cold. It snowed the night before, closing schools. We missed it . . . fortunately but are shivering nonetheless. I thought I packed enough warm clothes, but not so! I’m resisting buying gloves and scarves, because we leave on Thursday for Cairns and the tropics.

We're here in Wellington, ready to board the ferry to the South Island of New Zealand (Picton). We have a mid-size car with 11 (count them!) suitcases. Paula and I are CRAMMED in the back seat with four suitcases and no room to move or fasten the seatbelts. Life is an adventure. Loving New Zealand and all the wool. I am having some shipped home. My favorite is the possom wool. The drive between Auckland and Wellington was spectacular with fabulous scenery.

It's not as bad as it sounds. Bugs are a cross between a lobster and a prawn. Actually quite tasty. The adventure continues, including losing my boarding pass on a frantic flight to Sydney. Enjoyed two wonderful days in Sydney. I discovered opals, bugs and met the Harlequin staff. And I'm determined to climb the Sydney Bridge, on the return trip in two weeks. Traveled to Auckland yesterday, where I met up with my husband. I'll check in later in the week.

I keep running across differences between our cultures. It seems we have a common heritage separated by two versions of the same language! The ground floor is first, and first floor is second floor. At dinner the other night I noticed an item on the menu listed as bugs. I wasn't feeling adventurous that night, but I'd like to try them, just to say I've done it! I did, however, try the quince paste, which was delicious. It was spread on a cracker with goat cheese.

While walking on the beach I couldn't help but notice the helicopters overhead. What were they doing? They were on shark patrol! They can see sharks from the air and warn swimmers, if necessary. Sunday Paula and I took a river (harbor) cruise past multi-million dollar houses. It was fabulous. Tuesday we leave Brisbane for Sydney and more adventures.

On Friday the entire day was taken up with conference activities. I presented my "Plotting with a Partner" workshop and later my speech "If I Knew Then What I Know Now." Paula and I led a conversation about the Author/Editor relationship and how we've worked together so successfully the last 20 years.

At the evening's social gathering participants dressed up as characters from movie plots. One gal had book covers pinned all over her body. She was pulp fiction! Another had a green costume with chilies hanging everywhere and an elaborate headpiece full of red chilies. She was Chili Miranda, sister of Carmen Miranda, and was a perfect example of the theme for the conference, which is Some like it Hot!

It was a full, full day. I'm looking forward to Sunday, when I hope to go shopping for opals!

I'm staying one hour outside of Brisbane on the Gold Coast. I feel quite at home here as it's very much like the Florida beaches I'm familiar with.

Yesterday Paula and I had our first opportunity to see a little of the area. A 20-minute taxi ride from our hotel brought us to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. I had my picture taken holding a koala (which is not a bear!). There are five different varieties of kangaroos in the sanctuary, and we saw a good 30 to 40 of them hopping around. They are very tame and friendly. While I was feeding a kangaroo, the baby stuck her head out of the mother's pouch and took a treat from me at the same time! I was absolutely charmed.

We also took a train around the park, wishing we had more time to explore. Unfortunately, our time was limited, so we'll have to come again to see the wombats, Tasmanian devils, snakes, lorikeets and countless other sights.

We've met the friendliest people here, and everyone is helpful. I now have a new curling iron, and Paula bought me a salve to soothe my sore scalp.