Travels and tales around Australia and the world with moi

2011-12-01T11:31:00.000+11:00

Now rumour that we have totally gone into isolation is false, well almost. Since we have been home we have been totally taken up with getting the garden (all 2 acres) back into shape. Unfortunately we are suffereing a chronic lack of rain and this means we are hand watering 600 plus plants which tends to take all day.

That said, the weather has been fantastic and every day we are in the pool either here at home or at one of the beach clubs. The water temperature is rising and at home I think it must be about 30 on the surface but a wee bit cooler lower down.

Now the other day we were walking along China Beach when he spotted this great tree stump that had been washed up on the beach and was obviously a hazard to turtles coming ashore to nest.

Wouldn't it look great in the garden ? he said, Oh well it was his birthday so off we set about planning on how to get it back home. Firstly we can't lift it at all, we struggle to roll it and being about 3 foot in diameter it is bloody awkward. Now I can't give you a blow by blow on the swearing, cursing etc etc that ensued as we struggled with this monster along the beach and then the half kilometre trip up hill to the car park. Needless to say by the time we had reached the ute, we were not talking. Anyway, with the assistance of a friend, a 4 wheel bike, trailor and lots of painful straining it arrived home.

Set back in its natural habitat you would never know it had been on a weeeeeee trip out to sea. Our guess is it is an old bloodwood that has been through a fire and was sawn down in the clean up. Now as far as we know there has not been a fire for many many years and it is very very weathered by the sea so it may have been washed down a river and floating around since the last floods 12 months ago.

A day in Aswan alone

2011-10-18T11:36:00.000+11:00

The tour and Ron headed off to a Nubian village for the day so I decided that I would go check out the locals in their home environment. So complete with my bottle of water, a good hat off I headed.

As usual the first thing to see is the poor old donkey dragging a heavy load down the road surrounded by trucks, cars, trikes and everything that has a horn and no off button LOL.

After walking for about 15 minutes inland (away from the safety of the boat) I came across this sight, goats and sheep being herded somewhere. Now it doesn't take Einstein to work out that there must be a market somewhere close and that these poor animals are about to become someones dinner so on I went in search of the market.

I did eventually find the market but started getting seriously harassed by the locals and couldn't work out whether they were just being over friendly or they were not happy that I was there so there is no pic of the place. The stall holders had all packed up for the day and I think they may have been about to take a nap and then set up for the night. As this happened I started to get pestered by some blokes in cars and horse and cart and the hand gestures were definitely not friendly. I ended up taking pics of them so that if something did happen to me I could toss my camera away and hopefully someone would find it and get the pics off it. Anyway a taxi came along and yelled at me to get back to the boat and that I was in a very dangerous area - "Are you stupid?" was one of his statements, oooops I'm really off the beaten track so I beat a hasty retreat.

On my way home I got to meet some more of the friendlier Egyptians and they are an absolute pleasure to be around. This guy in the fast food stand tried his best to get me to try his goods but the best I could do was make him the man of the moment by taking his pic LOL.

Back on board our boat sailing down the Nile with Faluccias quietly sailing past. We sailed until early evening when we pulled into the Temple of Horus.

Sunset on the Nile is wonderful.

Ooooops a bit late with this entry

2011-10-17T11:37:00.000+11:00

Egypt rapid transit system, never breaks down - well rarely, no conductors required, just some hay and water and off you go.

Off to Karnak, but first we stopped in at the only female Pharaoh whose name escapes me but is something like Hatshpsut and she had great taste in tombs.

She built her tomb on the back side of the valley of the Kings and it now commands a spectacular view across the countryside. There was originally another big temple next to it but over time it collapsed and they are yet to rebuild and restore it like they have with this one.

The carvings in this tomb are wonderful and you can still easily see the colours that were used.

Then it was off to Karnak. I knew this was one of the highlights of the temples but didn't expect anything like this size. The temple complex covers 70 acres and has an entrance that is several kilometers long starting at the Nile.

First stop it the model to try and work out where everything is, it is then you really get any sort of sense of just what you are about to enter.

I apologise for the pics as this place is soooooooo big that it is very difficult to do it justice but hopefully this will give you some idea of things.

Again this temple was built or completed by many different Pharaohs but Ramses finished it with his story and statues dominating everywhere.

You approach through an avenue of Sphinx's and you can see the size when you compare them to the people standing in the center. Unlike Luxor where the avenue of Sphinx goes for several kilometres this avenue is much shorter but once inside the gates the grandeur of the temple overwhelms you with it's massive columns and courtyards etc etc etc

The columns are massive, the detail in the carving is still very clear on all wall surfaces and the paint work while faded gives you some idea of how colourful this would have been.

and finlay the alabaster sphinx which has pride of place in the first courtyard.

First day sailing

2011-10-12T16:51:00.000+11:00

We left Abu Sambel and sailed past the temple which was a wonderful sight in full sun. We cruised past some ruins and eventually stopped at Kasr Ibrim and a Nubian citadel, both had been relocated because of the dam. As you can see from the pic getting to an AGOT (Another grotty old temple) is not as easy as it looks and Ropn is giving Adey a helping hand, well I think he was trying to help, then again he may have been trying to push her off the plank.

It never ceased to amaze me how detailed the temple carvings are, how spectacular the paintings must have been when they were originally done. Colour colour everywhere and in this temple most of the carvings were life size except for Ramases who of course was twice as large - oh what an ego that man had LOL.

At every agot there was a character that stood out from everyone else and the scorpion man got the prize at this stop, of course for a couple of pounds you could take his picture LOL, bribery and corruption is alive and well in Egypt

Sometimes the boys looking after us had just toooooo much time on their hands, but this little array was awaiting us on our return to the boat.

Tomorrow we are off to explore the back streets of Aswan plus Karnak

Cairo day 1

2011-10-03T19:18:00.000+11:00

Our first expedition in the city was to the Citadel Mosque which is built on an old fortress, most of Cairo seems to be built on something else LOL. As you approach you go through the city of the dead which is a cemetary but because of the extreme poverty in the city the tombs are used by the living as well as the dead.

The Citadel or "White Mosque" is massive, the first thing you ask yourself is "Why do they call it the White Mosque" when it is obviously a dirty shade of brown like everything else around here. But as it only rains about half an inch a year everything gets covered in dust from the desert and remains that colour until the next rain. To see it clean must be a real treat as it would glow over the city.

The interior of the mosque is magnificent, the painting, lighting and marble all work wonderfully well, but someone needs to do some maintenance to stop any more damage being done by the elements.

From here it was off to our first taste of shopping in Egypt and the compulsory visit to the Cairo Bizarre. This is a daunting place with thousands of vendors, pickpockets, potential killers, beggars and everything else all in one spot.

We were accompanied by a pistol wearing undercover security guard who made sure that we never wandered into alleys, upstairs in shops or became the victim of over zealous vendors and this guy took every opportunity to flash is hip holster to everyone that would look. With him and the many machine guns, tanks etc we felt decidedly UNSAFE LOL but in the end they were there to protect us and they did a great job.

Signs of the revolution downtown are hard to ignore and the locals are proud to show the burnt out remains of the old government and I think this might be left like this for along time as a reminder to those that come to power next - Don't mess with the people.

2011-10-02T19:02:00.000+11:00

Good Morning from Zurich, Yes Di, Hans and Roli excelled with the return dinner and we have had to cancel Sunday for all 4 of us.

We arrived back at 7pm right on time as is the Swiss way and was greeted on the airbridge by the police checking all passports to make sure none of those pesky illegals got in. From there it was off to immigration where it looked a bit suspicious when we were here for a couple of weeks, gone for a couple of weeks and back again for a couple of days "Drug Runners" but after explaining that our winter clothes were here and we had just dropped in to say goodbye they let us in LOL.

Hans and Roli had everything ready, rose petals scattered of the tables, sushi, salmon rolls and champagne as starters. Fish in a herb sauce incased in pastry was the entree, main course

was champagne risotto with veal and this was followed by many many drinks and story telling about Egypt.

Now just to tempt you here are a couple of pics from our last day which of course was the tour highlight, a visit to the pyramids of Giza, the step pyramid of Sakkara and the amazing statue of Ramases 11 at Memphis.

More to come but I will go back to the beginning and do it in an orderly way.

2011-10-01T21:57:00.000+10:00

Abu Sambel - WOW

This is the most amazing way to start our trip of Egypt. We arrived here at lunch time and checked into our floating hotel which in the brochure was described as a floating palace with balconies for all rooms, unfortunately because of the lack of visitors here they have had to cancel some of the bigger boats and put everyone onto one or two of the older small boats. The accommodation is a bit old but overall everyone is quite comfortable.

First stop the temples and they are absolutely breath taking. It's very hard to believe that we are actually here. I have dreamed about standing in front of this temple for so long that it's all unreal. The entrance to the temple for Rameses is only the beginning to a wonderful adventure. The inside of the temple is covered with the most amazing carvings and cartouches.

It didn't take Ron very long to get into the swing of being on the road again and copying some of the local trends. LOL.

The walls inside tell the story of Ramese and his battle with the Hittites and then the first ever peace treating between two nations. It tells of the many major battles that raged for decades and eventually the major battle where the Hittites surrounded Ramese and cut him off from his army and how he valiantly fought from his chariot and is depicted surrounded by hundreds of dead. Unfortunately it is an absolute no no to take pics inside so can only show you the outside.

The second temple was built to honour his favourite wife Nefertari and is the Temple of Hathor. Smaller in size but just a spectacular inside and totally devoted to his love for her.

That night we were treated to the most amazing light and sound show. Here we are in the middle of the desert at night and all of a sudden the story of the temples is projected onto the temples and the entire story including the rescue of the temples from the lake is told.

2011-09-22T01:54:00.000+10:00

Yesterday, Tuesday, Roli and Hans took us on a weeeeeee trip into the country and boy what a trip it was. The weather had turned over the weekend but Hans assured us that Tuesday would be perfect so we planned a trip to see the Eiger and to have lunch at the revolving restaurant on top of the world.

I can't begin to tell you how we got there but here is a sort of guide, maybe Hans will fill in the towns for me LOL.

Train from Zurich to Bern

another train from Bern to ?

another train from ? to ?

another train from ? to Murien

a bus from Murien to the cable car

cable car to cable car

cable car to cable and we made it.

WOW

Coming home was a bit simpler as we did cable car to cable car to cable car to train to boat to train to tram and home - see easy.

To say we were impressed with the public transport in this country is the understatement of the century. Everything works like clock work and is onetime, clean and the staff are more than helpful.

Through all those changes the longest wait was 35 minutes for the boat, everything else changed within 5 minutes - extraordinary.

Now I am pleading total innocence about the latest disaster. Rumour has it that where moi goes disaster follows and welllllllll last night the main hot water system for Zurich blew up, yep half of Zurich with cold water and that included us. I didn't do it, really. I had a cold shower at 6 this morning, do you think I am that stupid to do that to myself - I am pleading the 5th.

Arrived in Cairo today and what different place this is LOL. When we flew in the pyramids were still standing (I think) Hans has put them on disaster alert while we are in the country.

2011-09-19T00:08:00.000+10:00

Good afternoon from Zurich,

Some days you just never should get out of bed and yesterday was one of those. It all started off really well, we had planned an nice simple dinner for Hans and Rolis return from their cruise as we know they will have been living the highlife onboard.

First off we hit the supermarket and purchased the necessary ingrediants for a fab dinner: eggs, bacon, ham hock, parsley, chive and shallots for the pie which was to be accompained by a simple salad and fresh strawberries and cheese to complete the dinner. Then down to the bottle shop for the champagne and wines, off to the flower seller for some wonderful orchids to adorn the table and we were set.

Back home and the preparations began, everything going wonderfully. I smsed Hans just to check on the arrival time and got the reply "landing in Zurich around 5pm" so into full swing we went. Everything ready and chopped, mixed, sliced, pastry thawed and the oven hot and waiting. Hmmmm 6pm and no Hans and Roli, 6.30pm no Hans and Roli, just better check the calendar - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH a day early. Arriving Sunday not Saturday.

So, last night for dinner we had a great pie with some really nice wine. LOL LOL LOL as I said at the start some days ------- LOL

Today, Sunday we decided to head down to Bern for a look see as it is the capital of Switzerland. Unfortunately the weather gave us our first taste of winter, wet, cold and generally miserable. Our first cold wet day so far on the trip.

Bern is very pretty and I am sure on a good day spectacular. The city centre is full of flowers, fountains and medival buildings with cobbled roads and paths. The highlights of the area are: the House of Parliment,

The amazing clock towers that really do look like cuckoo clocks

The floral decorations adorning almost every window in every building giving the street a wonderful soft look.

and the river that rushes through the centre of town under old stone bridges and past the windows of the houses.

But for all that it was sooooo dam cold that we ended up doing Bern in 2 hours and rushing back to the station to come back to Zurich to settle down in a heated apartment. Now you can call us weak etc but you have to remember we came with only summer clothes and left all our heavy Melbourne stuff back in the wardrobe, so we were really feeling it.

Hans and Roli should be in the air and about 2 hours away now, wonder what we will do for dinner tonight because we ate all the goodies last night LOL.

2011-09-15T00:23:00.000+10:00

Good morning from Milano. I guess the thing to say about here is that you need to see it before going on to Florence as this is a big bustling reasonably dirty city but with some great architecture whereas Florence is all about being wonderful and that includes the feel of a not so big and very clean city.

That said, this is certainly the style capitol of the world for both men and women. To just sit and watch you soon realise that if they got rid of all the tacky tourists who are wearing their clothes for the second or third day, then you would have a gem for clothing. Today was 30+ and quite muggy but the men are still in suits, jackets and ties, polished shoes and looking fabulous, oh and there are some good looking ladies as well LOL. As I mentioned yesterday the stiletto is back and sitting outside the designer stores watching the fashion mafia you soon realise that if the heel isn't 4+ inches don't go in. How you walk around these cobbled streets with grills over the subways and not break your neck escapes me.

This is what I call a shopping mall

We took off this morning and trained it into the main square and did THE cathedral, wow is that big, must be almost as big as St Peters, and we got to seem more saints at rest, cardinals at rest and lots of very very large paintings. From there it was off shopping and we found the only place in town that still had some summers stock and was basically getting rid of it at 50% off so we both helped ourselves. There goes a couple more old shirts into the bin LOL.

Shopping done it was off to the castle for a wee look around and some more Michanglo's and De Vinci's and the compulsory tourists but thank god no lines to get in.

Now, I have to give credit where it is due. When we checked in at Hertz yesterday I mentioned that the GPS was a disaster and I was not happy about having to pay for something that didn't work and the young man behind the desk said "certainly Mr Allen, I would love to have seen your face when you realised this ", so man with humour, very polite and then he cancelled all the charges for the GPS and gave me a discount for returning the car early as I mentioned that without a GPS there was no way in the world I would be driving around MIlan. LOL

Hans you are absolutely right about Italians and driving. 50 means slowing down to 70 from 110, 90 means anything you want and as for one way streets, you can only go one way as all streets here are 4 feet wide. LOL that said we did survive.

2011-09-14T04:32:00.000+10:00

Now I have to reassure Di that we are well as I have started getting abusive emails about my lack of communication LOL.

Yesterday Sunday, was wonderful, 30 and clear sky and perfect weather for a swim. After breakfast Ron and I headed down to the little beach just below the hotel and grabbed a couple of lounges and proceeded to plot the days activities - oh hell this is about as active as we need to get LOL.

As the day heated up so did we and it was into the lake for a swim. Yes, as I said in the previous blog cool not cold but certainly noticeable when you first hit the water LOL. Needless to say Ron was not that stupid.

We wandered down to Limone for lunch early afternoon and had a fab seafood grill with fresh fish from the lake plus some local scampi - wonderful and of course washed down with a bottle of bubbly.

The afternoon was spent wandering around Limone and eventually we ended up back at the beach bar and another swim in the lake. Sorry Di no pics but Ron will vouch for it.

Last night we had the most amazing thunderstorm that raged for ages, non stop lightening and thunder, Thor and Zeus were really going for it and they dumped a massive amount of rain as well.

Today we caught the ferry up to Riva for a look see and had lunch at one of the great little street cafes and tried on of those "Orange drinks" apres spritz (could get very attached to drinking those on a hot day) and then across to Melcaster (or something like that) for a look at the castle and climbing the ramparts. We have just returned to the hotel in time for the last all you can eat salad bar. Off to Milan tomorrow and praying like hell that IT (Italian tom-tom) works as our Italy map will not get us anywhere in Milan, just to Milan and while I know Ron has amazing navigational skills they are not that good LOL.

If you don't hear from us again then we are in a petite Lancia somewhere in Lombardia - LOST

Don't panic we made it. We left Garda at 9.30 this morning and headed off down the highway to Milan and todays drive was much better than the first one. We did to way way off road and found a lovely little village that had the most amazing restaurant and lunch was had and thoroughly enjoyed. 2 amazing pasta dishes, 2 salads, 2 main courses - 20 Euro, can't get better than that.

Arrived at Milan this afternoon and was disappointed in our first sight. I think we did things the wrong way round, should have done Milan before Florence as it is now where near as beautiful as florence, but the fashion is amazing.

To all the girls that need to know - 5 inch stilettos are back, so get your feet ready.

A wee country house in the middle of absolutely nowhere LOL. I suppose the last thing to say about Garda is that if we get the chance to come back we will, if we get the chance to explore the north of Italy we will think about it but if we get to sail around on Garda, don't get in our way LOL.

2011-09-13T01:39:00.000+10:00

Good morning and this will probably be posted late as the Astor Hotel at Lake Garda has wi fi but charges like a wounded bull for it so we are using it sparingly.

Yesterday we said farewell to Florence. What an amazing city but like all good things it's time was up and new adventures awaited us. We managed to rise nice and early as they told me at Hertz that anything after 10am you can expect queues so off we trotted and arrived at 9.15am.

I have to say that the service at Hertz was anything but cordial, the very very old hostess hadn't smiled since the war and I am sure she hated tourists with a passion so our reception was somewhat frosty, but that said they had the car and the "Never get lost GPS" as ordered so off we went.

I had been a wee bit nervous about driving in a city first off but oh well in for penny etc LOL. the first corner, left, wrong side of the road LOL Ron yelling and mild panic but hey, it had to happen so now it was over and done LOL. The directions we were given by her of the stone face cult was turn left, then right over the bridge, around the round about, veer leftish on the next roundabout and look for the green A1 to Bologna sign and then turn on the GPS and it will be plan sailing. Doesn't that sound way too easy LOL, it was. Driving on the wrong side, in a manual on the wrong side with a passenger in full panic so it was only to be expected that I would miss one of the directions and it was only a little miss at the end, the leftish one, I took the more leftish one and of course everything is one way, not going in the direction I want to go in and a certain amount of angst ensured within the automobile.LOL

Anyway we eventually found our way back and spotted the green A1 and a sign heading us to Bologna. Time to turn on the GPS and life will settle down to concentration on the driving bit. Hmmmmmmmmm "Never get lost" wont come on, oh flat battery, thankyou Hertz, so plug it in and it will charge up in no time, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm plug is broken and wont charge, at this point a large breath was taken and out came the skills of years past and we unfolded the MAP of Italy. Well we want to go up to Bologna on the A1, then on the other side throw a left towards Ferrera, just down by Mirabello, then onto what ever and over the bridge and we should be there.

My personal IT (Italian TomTom "Ron") did a great job in the circumstances and considering the stress he was under never made a mistake. So we sort of knew where we were headed so it was time to think about lunch. Aha a Pizza/trattoria just up on the right, pull up and are greeted by the chef, fag haning out of the mouth, dirty apron and the only thing straight about the place was US. Off we went, 2nd Trattoria looks much more inviting,(by the way we are doing this because Di reliably informed me that there were great things to do and see if you travel by road) actually had a carpark so in we went and the air sort of made our minds up for us, the place was dirty and a dive of a bar that may or may not serve something called food. B line out of that one 2 out of 2. Off again and finally we spot a deli with a cafe next door, red table cloths on the tables and an expresso machine. Hand written menu nailed to a pole (should have been a warning) but the selection was great. I ordered the Spagetti Cabonara and Ron the Lasagne plus 2 coffees. Straight to the deep freeze for the Findus frozen dinner packs. We give up.

(there is a mountain there somewhere)

Eventually we arrived at Lake Garda and it was very disappointing, the mist/pollution dropped visibility to 400meters so you could just see the other side of the lake and after a hard day on the road we really needed a lift and it didn't seem to be here. Tks Di for the warning about the turn into the hotel the advance warning was a life saver. LOL

The hotel is fine but unfortunately because of hurricane Irene we lost our room on level 5 and had to settle for the ground floor but at least we are here. The vast majority of people in the hotel are German, over 65 and very healthy eaters. The dinner service started at 7pm last night and by 7.10 the salad bar was stripped clean, we arrived at 7.11pm. No one at the hotel speaks English and for the first time things sort of got difficult when ordering wine, gods know why you point to a bottle and nod !!! sounds simple to me but obviously they needed more information, anyway we got there in the end. LOL

This morning is a new day and so is our appreciation of this place. With a clearish sky we can finally see what all the fuss is about, it's breath takingly beautiful. The water is crystal clear, cool not cold and the surroundings are magnificent. The old town is like walking through a history book and there are lots and lots of great restaurants only tooooo happy to take our money. Tks Di great suggestion and probably highlight of trip so far (apart from catching up with Hans and Roli).

Leaving Florence

2011-09-10T15:30:00.000+10:00

Good morning and yes it's another early one as we want to get on the road before the traffic really gets going.

Florence has been really good but it is one of those places that at every turn you see something new and different, so to spend more time here just wandering around (minus the other tourists) would be ideal.

Last night after dinner we just walked aroud the central city area and at night the town really comes alive. We stopped at a church (not another grotty old church - Ron) and there was an organ recitel going on, then down at the front of the Vecchio Palace a full brass orchestra and choir - just magnificent.

Today we are off to the lakes in the north for some R and R and with luck the weather will hold so some time by the pool with a book will be very much appreciated.

Hello from Firenze

2011-09-09T02:22:00.000+10:00

We set out from Zurich yesterday morning at 8.30am and yes that meant another dawn witnessed. The trip through the alps was pretty uneventful on the swiss side, everything as it should be. Then we crossed over and all those surpressed memories of our previous trip to Italy came flooding back, including why we couldn't wait to leave the place LOL. The first thing you notice is the state of chaos that everything seems to exist in, and that came as a big shock after Zurich.

The Milan railway station was sort of working, well bits were, but couldn't quite work which bits, but anyway we did find our train and it was one of the Eurostars and very impressive it was.

This is it in all its glory waiting for our arrival, which very nearly didnt happen as they only put the notice on the departure board 5 minutes before it was due to go, so no leisurely wander down the platform here. Once on board the trip was good, cruised at 303klms per hour and did the Milan - Florence in just under 2 hours. The first class catering was special. The announcement for drinks, snacks and savouries service had our attention as we hadn't eaten all day and the swiss train didn't have a restaurant car and the Milan debarcle meant there was no time there to change money and seek out food.

The trolley arrived, stale peanuts, stale cake, water (tap) wine with no label and then it was gone - still hungry. LOL Eventually we arrived and headed off by foot to our hotel. Directions obtained from the local paper man turned out to be totally incorrect and we were walking in the wrong direction so a cab was hailed and off to hotel Pendini we went. Hotel is fine, bigger room than the waldorf but really do miss a fridge and coffee making things.

We headed out this morning for the first full days touring and were greeted by an amazing sight. Florence is very very very very busy, it's high season and everyone is here. But, considering the numbers things sort of work out. First thing you notice is the traffic.

There are lots and lots of small vehicles of all shapes and sizes and like all good Italians they park whereever they fit.

You will remember from previous blogs the fascination with clocks the swiss have, well the Italians wont be outdone on that one either,

it's sad, negleted and unloved and unfortunately outside of the tourist areas this was not an uncommon site. Derelict and abandoned buildings, public gardens left to look after themseleves and now resemble weed enclosures.

Back to Firenze, The old city is wonderful, the architecture is astounding and there are marvels around every corner.

The star of the show is the Palazzo Vecchio, truly a marvel with all the statues and fountains surrounding it and the Muesem Uffizi right next door is a wonder of 15th - 18th century art. Yes, Leonardo, Michangelo, Rembrandt, Rubens and Carravagios adorn the walls along with thousands of other works.
We were lucky and got there at 9.45am and managed to score tickets for the 10.30 entry so the masses hadn't invaded yet.

Back in the early 1500's they obviously had some housing problems and the government of the day decided to utilize wasted space on the main bridge over the river. I'm sure there was no planning permit system back there - wouldn't happen today LOL. Good place for a restaurant Dean, are you doing anything ?

The whole center of the city is a maze of twisting and turning alleys and most have the most wonderful bars and cafes, plus the compulsory tourist shops.

Lastly today we climbed to the terraces of the Cathedral di Santa Maria del Fiore. Now most of you will know that getting me anywhere near a cliff is out of the question so this was very very very very stupid, ooops I mean brave of me. Firstly you climb up a staircase that is enclosed and so that was fine, then you walk out along a walkway about 8ft wide along side the cathedral on the outside - getting my attention now, finally you walk along a walkway at the front of the cathedral with thousands watching and taking pictures. Let's just say the walkway was about a foot wide, very very very high up and along way down.
I had Ron stationed behind and crabbed my way along with out once looking at the view, all I saw were my feet, but hey I did it. The pic above is from the internal part of the walkway and I did look for this one but was firmly holding on to the rail 8 feet from the balcony edge LOL.

Chow for now.

Zurich

2011-09-07T00:51:00.000+10:00

Good afternoon and what a good one it's been. Zurich is such a pretty city, clean, colourful and at the moment very very green. But first some housekeeping for Mark and Caroline.

I know it's only food but LOOK at the selection. Now I am not trying to upset you but thought you should know that we are not exactly starving over here, in fact we are going on a crash diet on return to OZ. But with that in mind it's stuff yourself stupid while you can over here LOL.

You can buy anything in this deli and so far we have attacked it three days running and only venture out for greens - even has wine.

But, now that the house is in order it's back to today. Wandering around this town is a bit like walking through a fairy tale (and dont anyone touch that ) with lots and lots of towers, clock towers, bell towers and houses that you just expect a cookcoo to come popping out of LOL. Almost every house and building has a garden in flower and while I know it's just turned into autumn the amount of colour in window boxes is astonishing.

This morning we headed off to the lanes in the older part of the city and wandered all over. Lots and lots of beautiful boutiques, restaurants and galleries. Very easy to spend a lot of money here.

The waterfront is spectacular. You are surrounded by these amazing buildings, restaurants, churches, towers etc etc etc and everything is clean and tidy. The people are very friendly and very very curious when they find out we're aussies LOL. A G'day or two never goes astray.

Bridges cross over across the aqua green glacial waters coming out of or into Lake Zurich. People were swimming in there today, hmmmmmmmmm tad cold for this little queenslander LOL.

Hans reliably informs me that this was Zurich's first ever office block. Why cant they still build like this instead of those boring glass towers that we seem to keep throwing up all over.

The only thing that really annoys here is the smoking. I guess we have become so acclimatised in Oz about where and when you can smoke that it comes as quiet a shock to find thousands of people still lighting up in or very close to food, really puts a downer on a good meal.

Hans a question about the eggs

WHAT DO THE COLOURS MEAN ?

Haven't been able to work that one out - green, red, orange, blue purple etc etc etc

Florence tomorrow

Trainlag

2011-09-05T19:45:00.001+10:00

Yesterday it was off to explore the Swiss Alps so we selected the Berina Express which goes from Chor in the middle os Switzerland down to Tarino just over the Italian border. The morning started early (for us) at 5am as we had to work out how to get public transport into the Zurich HB (station) in the dark having not done the trip before. All that done successfully it was onto our trip from Zurich to Chor on one of the intercity trains.

We arrived at 8.20 and the express left at 8.32 and like most things here if that's the time stated you can bet your life that is the time it will go, and it did. We were promised intrain catering so were a little surprised when this came along -

and in the tried and true tradition of great train trips the coffee was weak but hot LOL.

The country is so pretty, very very green and lush, waterfalls everywhere, snow topped alps !!!!! hang on, there aren't any that we can see, oh it's behind the clouds hmmmmmmmmmmm.

The trip takes you through an area which is famous for its castles and while they were not the types from the knights of the round table era, I would be very happy to have one as a holiday home.

Perched high up on these impossible cliffs are these magnificent buildings and churches. Have no idea how you would get down to the coop store for milk but I guess if you can own one of these you will have slaves that will do that for you.

The country seems to have more than its share of churches in all shapes and sizes. Very elaborate bell towers which chime out all day and all night. Speaking of which there are two (one either side) at Hans and Rolis and they never miss the opportunity to ring out the quarter, half, three quarter and then of course the countdown of the hour - Sunday was special because you can add into that the services LOL.

One of the highlights of the train trip was the glacier at the Berina Pass (I think). We were very lucky because when we went past in the morning it was still relatively clear so we got a reasonable look at it.

The weather closed in just after lunch so the 5 hour trip home was fairly tame and we spent most of the time catching up on lost sleep from last night and reading. Today is a rest day and I might just wander down to the local pool as I feel in need of some excersie other than walking. Italy is all booked for Wednesday so another long train trip on the horizion.

Hans and Roli have made it onto their ship and it looks wonderful, they have a deck the size of our last ship LOL. Hans can't leave messages on your blog !!!!!! tried to this morning.

2011-09-03T00:10:00.000+10:00

Day one and everything seems to be coming together again as far as Italy is concerned, although when I rebooked the hotel in Milan the rates have gone from $130 pn to $250pn, but there is not much I can do now as time is getting closer and Italy seems to be very very busy. Lake Gardia is rebooked but unfortunately we look like getting a room on the lower floors as the hotel is totally booked out.

Today Hans, Ron and I went into town to sort out our land adventures while here and Italy and got the most helpful Swissrail guy who spent ages with us sorting out the options and the cheapest way to do it. End result is that for the month that we are here and in Italy, trains from Zurich to Milan then on to Florence and Milan to Zurich on the return, plus the half price card, 6 all transport full day anywhere anyway (train, bus, boat) and daily passes around Zurich all for $1000 for two of us. Plan so far is day trip to St Moritz and then onto the Bernina Express which looks a bit like the Rocky Mountaineer but in the alps. Maybe a day trip to Montreux or Geneva and Hans wants to take us up into the alps proper to really scare me knowing my absolute hatred of heights. LOL

After the rail ticket marathon I decided to look at some old things and buildings as well LOL. Hans and Ron ganging up on me in downtown Zurich.

Not sure what the attraction was with this carving but it caught our attention, obviously someone with a good eye for detail LOL.

Hans and Roli head off on their cruise tomorrow so look out Zurich we are on the loose.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

2011-09-02T18:06:00.001+10:00

Ok ok ok, I get the message loud and clear "STAY AWAY".

On the news front we have finally made it out of NYC and onto Zurich. Flight was good even though we had to do the mailrun via Geneva but at least we both arrived safe and sound. Hans met us at the airport and then we settled into getting over the jetlag with champagne, wine, more wine, even more wine and then a cognac disquised as tea at a Chinese restaurant and then oh dam another bottle of wine on the balcony to finally bury any trace of lag LOL.

Living up to my now disasteous reputation, we walked through the door to Hans and Rolis and the hallway lights packed it in !!!!! spooky. Mind you the electrician that arrived this morning was such a good look that Ron and I want his private number incase we need rewiring while Hans and Roli are on the high seas LOL.

Pics tomorrow, if I can hold the camera steady.

You are all very unkind to moi LOL

2011-08-31T07:54:00.000+10:00

I could start to get a complex if you all keep the comments up LOL but, na dam it I will survive (good name for a song) and just you all watch out as I could be heading your way soon and now you all know what that means LOL.

Back to the business, it is the last night here in NYC so we are off to dinner down on 2nd to a lovely little Italian bistro we spotted last night, looks great and was absolutely packed at 10pm as we staggered past from the French Bistro around the corner LOL.

NYC has returned to normal, or as normal as it ever gets, so today was a bit of a shopping excursion over to the highlights of Brooklyn - yep it was a quick trip and not a cent spent. Hasn't changed much in 15 years so maybe I should wait a little longer next time, that will put it at about 2035 and I will be hmmmm 45ish, give or take a bit LOL. Any comments relating to age will demand a very public response - Di, Hans and Mark beware LOL.

Our flight out tomorrow is 7.30pm and it's overnight to Geneva and then onto Zurich. Blog you then.

We survived

2011-08-29T05:10:00.000+10:00

Good morning and it was a wild ride but almost everyone came through unscathed. Irene arrived at about 7pm last night which was ahead of schedule and just as our main course was being served at a little french bistro about 3 blocks from our hotel, needless to say we were somewhat damp when we arrived back at the hotel. Curfew kicked in at 9pm and was inforce for 24 hours and most people paid it lip service LOL, well for 12 hours anyway.

It had been drizzling for about 4 hours previously but then in came the wind and down came the rain. Not sure what the rainfall tally was as haven't bothered to turn on the TV today but it was predicted to be 8 - 12 inches overnight. At about 11pm it really got going and the wind just howled outside and the rain was like pellets hitting the windows and that kept up until about 8am this morning. It woke me about 3 times during the night and I am sure that at one stage I could feel the building moving so god knows how much some of the high rise apartment towers were swaying.

750,000 people without power, some flooding and trees down but other wise things seem to have come through ok. Like most people still in the city (tourists as all hotels are full) we headed out to breakfast at 10am which was probably in the eye of the storm and what a surreal environment we walked into. No transport of any kind, bridges closed, tunnels closed, ferries stopped, just us and a couple of brave taxis.

Try standing in the middle of Park Ave at 11am on a Saturday morning and see how long you last LOL, but this morning was not a problem. We walkers owned the city for the day. We headed up to 5th Ave and 51st and then walked up to 71st and didn't have to worry about traffic, ignored traffic lights and just wandered at our leisure.

Nothing but us on the road. Like good New Yorkers the locals on the upper East side were out walking the dogs and enjoying the freedom of no cars and the sounds of relative silence. Couldn't hear any birds though - not a kookaburra in sight LOL.

Fashion always plays a part in this end of town. Wandering down amonst the designer stores, up market condos and trend setters we came across this pair who obviously had been out shopping yesterday just to make sure they could been seen to be dressed appropriately. LOL

Plastic wellingtons have never look so good, LOL
buckles and flaps and croc patterns.

We are now booked to escape on the 31st so the travel plans for Italy have been turned upside down and at the moment I have cancelled Milan and tried to rebook Lake Garda for different dates. I will sort most of it out once we get to Zurich. Apparently we were very lucky to get out on the 31st as most people are being put off until Sept.

Am I getting a bad reputation ?

2011-08-28T04:05:00.000+10:00

Well by the comments on the previous entry nothing and nobody is safe so we might as well put out an all points bulletin, so everyone is aware of the impending doom. LOL

Well we have had our second flight cancelled and now have no choice but to ride this out at the Waldorf. Luckily insurance will pay for the extended stay so things could be worse. At the moment the earliest we can get out is the 31st which puts us into Zurich on the 1st so we will have to totally rearrange the Italy trip and pray that I can get the hotels and trains to move dates without penalties.

New York today is weird. 90% of stores are closed as the entire public transport system has been shut down. The hotel has limited staff so full room service etc is not possible. The couple of grocery stores that are open are getting the shelves stripped as no one is quite sure what will happen. Like the rest of NYC we have made suitable preparations. This morning it was off to the bottle shop for 3 days supply of drinkable wine, then onto Barnes and Noble for a couple of books and finally the green grocer for a sandwich.

Never thought I would see the day when Bloomingdales was boarded up on a Saturday morning. A lot of people are getting very jumpy about what could occur if the power goes out as is predicted and lots and lots of shops have taken the precaution of Roller grills or as in the pic totally boarding everything up to prevent possible looting and damage from broken glass etc etc etc.

We've done it again

2011-08-26T00:27:00.000+10:00

Good morning from NYC, and the weather has turned. Firstly some housekeeping:
I have disconnected my go-sim until I get to Europe (toooooo bloody expensive over here) and have put back in my telstra sim so if anyone urgently needs to get us then 04111----- is the one to use. Email is still working but at the waldorf the charge is out of this world so will only be online each morning from the lobby.

Di, this one's for you, we are about to get some weather LOL lots of it and it's due to pound NYC on Sunday, yep the day we are suppose to fly to Zurich. The navy has already left for safer water, the shelters around the city are being prepared and we get kicked out of the waldorf on Sunday morning. You got it right, where I go so does the weather LOL. At the moment it is a category 3 hurricane and expected to go to 4 tomorrow and hit us on Sunday as a 2 - 3. This of course continues the tradition of a disaster somewhere on the trip. War with China and Vietnam on the china trip, chenovyal on the Europe trip etc etc etc LOL

Meet up with Arty last night for dinner in Chelsea and today we are all off to do the cloisters as it might be our last chance for a walk around before the weather totally comes in.

Stay tuned for updates

Last day in Quebec

2011-08-24T07:16:00.000+10:00

Good afternoon from a lovely sunny Quebec. Well the last day dawned with brilliant sunshine so we took off straight away for the fort. It was started by the French but then the English interrupted and took over and finally finished it in the mid 1700's. It is still used today as barracks for the 22ns battalion or some such thing, anyway men in uniform wander around. LOL I did take some pics but it is lots of stone walls with very old cannons sticking through gaps - not very picturesque.

The streets started to come alive last night as the rain finally stopped and I don't know where everyone was but all of a sudden thousands were out and about, with queues at most restaurants. The pic above is one of our favourite streets, very narrow, cobble stones and very very old.

Unfortunately there is not much about the original inhabitants of the area. No museum dedicated to them just bits and pieces every now and then in general museums. However we did find this amazing bronze statue of a family group just outside the parliament.

Today also meant we needed to do some shopping so it was on a bus and off to some smart shopping centre out in the burbs. Found the Apple store and picked up a new mouse, then off to Bailes again from more jocks and Rom picked up a new pair of shorts and some kitchen gadgets.

Off to New York tomorrow so will blog you then.

Bonjour tu vous

2011-08-22T07:25:00.001+10:00

Sticking to our usual way of doing things, we could find our way around without a map so it's off to the next city and todays journey was to "Quebec".

We woke to our first day of grey and rain, but as it's been so long since we have seen any we were not complaining, if anything we quite enjoyed the 15 minute walk to the station. The train left Montreal at 8.30 and there were only 4 people in our carriage so the service was fab, unfortunately they use Qantas catering and the scrambled eggs were not. LOL.

This is as far french as we go on the trip (I think) and while it is not a problem we have encountered people that do NOT speak any English even here in the hotel. The hotel is a quaint petite hotel in the old quarter and was originally two houses. This part of the street has been blocked to traffic so is full of restaurants which we cant afford LOL but is very quiet becuse of no traffic and busy with walking tourists and artists flogging their wares.

We are over the road from the "Fairmont" which like most of the Fairmonts across Canada, was built by the Canadian Railway back when money was no object.

As you can see it's very impressive, nothing like ours LOL.

As our breaky on the train was so miserable it was off to Cafe de Paris for lunch and a quick snack of carrot soup and veal cannelloni with lots of crusty bread.

The hotel has been wonderful to us as I don't think they get too many Aussies stopping in and we must be a welcome change from the hordes south of the border LOL.

Our first request was "Please direct us to a laundry as we are desperate" "no no give it to moi" was the reply and off they went with our laundry and it was all apart of the service - NO CHARGE !!!!! So we will toss them $20 when it comes back in the morning. When you consider that in Montreal and Toronto it was cheaper to buy new stuff than do hotel laundering, then this attitude is amazing.

So far everyone we have spoken to has been great. The people who run the bottle shop were very helpful and knowledgeable, the restaurant was good and we have been given directions to a tapas bar tonight which is just outside the old quarter so prices are $15 a main instead of $39.

Arty I tried to call you today and left a message on your answering machine. Give us a call or I will try again tonight (Sunday)

Bon soir bon ami

2011-08-20T11:42:00.002+10:00

Ok now that Hans and Di have joined forces against moi, I will take care in what I publish, well sort of LOL

Yesterday was the walking day, first off we found that there was no laundry within 15 blocks of our hotel and that the cost of lugging dirty washing half way across town was not worth it, so it was off to the nearest department store "La baile" and into the mens department. Isn't it strange how these places feel just like Myer. Lots of middle aged women in black pretending to be busy, totally ignoring customers, hmmmmm must be something in the cosmetic counters on the ground floor that does this. Anyway, found the jock department and bought some new ones to replace the old ones as it is cheaper than laundry at the hotel.

Climbed to Chalet du Mont Royal which is an old volcano on the edge of town and has a great view over Montreal.

As you can see it is above the bloody buildings downtown and by the time we got up and down we were totally stuffed. But that said, we found places that we would never had seen on a planned tour.

Of course now that we are "Eco Warriors" from Sunrise we had to check out the local animals, or what is left of them and these little fellas provided us with a good show of mating in the park.

Strange that apart from the drunks, weirdos, cyclists and tourist there were no other animals.

Today was "museum" day and off we went to the archeology museum of Montreal, which was really good. They are digging up one of the main streets in old Montreal to discover what they had been trying to hide for the last 200 years !!!!!! anyway it was good and will be finished in 2017 so don't rush down to see it LOL. From there it was off to the tower overlooking the waterfront.

In terms of beautiful gardens around the world this doesn't rate, BUT given that it is frozen for 6 months of the year and recreated every summer then they have done a great job. The architecture around old Montreal is really beautiful.

As you would expect very French, but with lots of modern touches.

The narrow cobbled streets are filled with galleries, cafes and bars so there is no excuse for not enjoying a wander around.

The other side of the city is modern Montreal, starting with the art at our hotel. This amazing sculpture is in the foyer, just waiting to greet you every morning after a big night out LOL, Actually he is about the colour of my eyes this morning.

The Biosphere which looks totally science fiction was actually created back in the dim dark ages of the 20th century but still looks very impressive. I think it was done for the Expo in 1967 but not totally sure.

Lastly for this update and I know I have been going on and on, but this is it for Montreal. There is the totally tacky and this one is for Mark and Carolyn, you're never toooooo far away for a "Lark " to appear.

See you in Quebec (unless something really interesting happens tomorrow).

2011-08-18T22:48:00.000+10:00

Bonjour, Merci, oui oui, bonsoir, Parlez vous Anglis ?

(Excuse my bad french)

AAAAAAh yes we are in Montreal. We love it. Arrived this afternoon and the first thing you notice is that the language situation has moved from English to French as the first language. Luckily everyone so far has good English so it hasn't been a problem.

Sorry Di have to mention the hotel, it's truly amazing. No, not 5 star, not sure where you would put it, but it is definitely a contemporary art gallery hiding as a hotel. The art is wonderful, Warhols etc etc etc I will take pics and post them while we are here. Our room is immediately above the rider and horse and while it is not grand it is pretty dam good.

Walked around the old area this afternoon, restaurant spotting, bar spotting and it's great being back in a place that is almost exclusively french. Fillet mignons everywhere, coquilles st Jacques all over the place and of course frites to accompany everything LOL.

Now I know this is very sexist but I have to say Montreal has the best looking blokes and the best dressed so far. On the other hand the ladies seem to be letting the team down.

Off to Bistro Boris for dinner so will check in tomorrow.

PS. G'day gets a very strange reaction over here LOL but at our local bar already have us tagged on their computer system as aussies.

PPS. Pic from Niagara that Ron took, it's pretty self explanatory LOL Not what I was expecting when I made the booking.

2011-08-18T00:25:00.000+10:00

Good Morning from day 4

We survived the tortures of Niagara and the many many thousands of tourists that make the place look like a Disney theme park. The day started well with us deciding not to do an organised tour and to go down on the train and bus and wander around at leisure. We made the early train which should have given us lots of time but at the station we were accosted by a women from Holland that took a liking to us and decided to do the trip with us - hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. She talked so much that we missed the announcements on the PA and missed our stop which also meant we missed the bus connection. We eventually got back to where we were supposed to be only to find that there was a 2 hour wait until the next bus. Burlington Canada, not the most exciting place to spend any time. We eventually found a 2nd cup coffee house (but the coffe was sooooo bad we didnt stay for the second cup) and killed time there. Niagara as a place is awful, full of very very bad taste amusements and crowds that make Myer boxing day sales look like a deserted park. The falls were great when you could get to see them.

We eventually gave up with the crowds and headed home to the promise of a good Mexican restaurant
in the Westend market. The place was packed so the food was expected to be good but in reality was just ok, but the drinks - WOW

The margaritas went down a treat and so did some very cold beers. The weather has been great with hot days 27 and a bit of humidity and cool nights.

All up we enjoyed Toronto and it was much better than we expected, but like our traditional way of travelling - if we could find our way around on the streetcars, underground and above ground rail systems both day and night so we had outstayed our time and it was time to move onto unknown territory.

At the moment we are on a train heading along the side of Lake Erie to Montreal. Bit hard to type so will call it quits and update you tomorrow.

Day 2 and a weeeee scare

2011-08-16T06:58:00.000+10:00

Carbon testing is being carried out to see which is older

Day two and a bit of a scare over breakfast. We found this great little 50's diner in Dundas Square and it is totally original (will try to get a pic tomorrow if we go back) complete with hat and coat racks at every booth and an original 50's espresso machine (which I am sure hasn't had a lot of use). Of course we had to go thought the "how do you want your eggs ? over easy ? sunny side up? etc etc etc and while we were doing that I was checking the calendar to see what would be a good day to do Niagara Falls.

Horror, horror according to the dates we were due to leave tomorrow, so that meant only today in Toronto and no time to do the falls. Crisis meeting back at the hotel with booking slips only to find I had made a weeeee error on the calender and all is well, off to Niagara tomorrow. Did I say I made a mistake? that must be an error too.

Today we just walked the city and did the sights. Westend market for the Mexican which is apparently to die for - closed on Monday, so ended up with so so Chilean food. Off to Fort York, the original fort built by the English in 1700's - might as well have been closed, lots of people packing up from a function last night and all the buildings locked up. How about the Art Gallery ? closed, oh yea it's MONDAY.

So, a casual walk back to our hotel, haircut and afternoon nap before heading out again for dinner. Oh did I mention that our hotel is next door to the Filmore ? Canada's largest gentleman's club, Lap dancing a speciality, but I haven't seen a gentlemen going in yet. LOL LOL LOL

Tomorrow Niagara Falls

We're Off

2011-08-15T23:58:00.000+10:00

Good Morning from Toronto.

After many many months of planning we are off and running. A big thanks to Mark for getting up at that ungodly hour to drive us to the Bundaberg International Airport and a big tk u to the rubber band on what is called a qantas flight LOL.

We arrived in Syd to be greeted by the Stamford having totally ignored our room request and so war was declared and a lesson on how to run an accommodation venue (and yes this is suppose to be a 5 star hotel) was entered into. Us 1 them 0.

Sunday morning arrived and it was off to international for the preflight business. Lots of people in uniforms running around enjoying their 5 seconds of power, but after surviving many searches we were in. Off to the Air NZ lounge for breakfast and await our call.

Welcome to the pointy end LOL. We both had mini suite which came with personal 15 inch TV, power for lap tops , socks etc etc etc etc and lots and lots of champagne. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah bliss.

We ended up in 5A and 6A and as you can see it didn't take Ron long to get into the swing of the next 19 hours. Yes, that is a glass of bubbly sitting there. LOL

We arrived in reasonable good condition and headed out for dinner. Off to Charles st which is the local Gay village and only about 4 blocks from our hotel and it just turned out that it was the last day of the Leather Pride weekend (and neither of us for the first time had any leather with us), so it was off to Toronto Eagle for a drink and introduce ourselves to the locals.

Dinner was great at an old mansion and they were doing Maine lobster special for the weekend so we had to indulge. Lag eventually caught up and it was off to the hotel bar for a quick night cap and then a good nights sleep.

Day 1 ends.

2011-08-12T14:49:00.000+10:00

One sleep

Well packed and ready to roll. These cockys dropped in to say goodbye this afternoon. Bought along another dozen of their friends and proceeded to make an ungodly mess of the bloodwood seeds LOL.

We think we have everything organised so now it's off to Bundy tomorrow at 6.45 and on to the world.

2011-08-08T13:00:00.000+10:00

5 Sleeps

Yet another one of our pets coming over to wish us bon voyage, although if the truth be know I would much rather he/she stay right up high in the trees catching mozzies.

I almost walked into this one on Sunday when we went exploring the rain forest for more interesting
trees and this very large spider was just (and I mean just) above my head height and frightened the living daylights out of me. The trip was a major success as we found 5 python trees - the first we have seen fully grown. We have 3 just outside the house near the drive but they are only 3 inches tall.

Planning is almost done for Italy. I have booked accommodation in Florence and Hertz car, I am still tossing up over accommodation in Milan and awaiting confirmation of Lake Garda. We thought that we would only harass Hans and Roli for a couple of days before hitting the road for a week. That will give them time to pack and set off on their great trip without worrying about us LOL.

2011-08-04T10:08:00.000+10:00

9 Sleeps

Here's another one for Bruce, very spectacular with three large flower spikes and they should be in full flower the day after we leave LOL. All the orchids are going on holiday to Mad Nursery while we are away and I am sure they will love being in a hothouse for a change - they will be spoilt and not happy about coming home in October.

The Grevilleas are going crazy and along with the orchids, hibiscus etc will flower soon after our departure so if anyone is going past sunrise would you please take a pic for us to see. LOL

2011-07-29T09:40:00.000+10:00

Our resident feral catcher.

You just never know who is going to be cruising through the property so making lots of noise when out in the garden is a very wise thing to do. This very large carpet snake had just eaten something very big and was lazing under a tree trying to digest the meal. His/her stomach had swollen to many times its normal size so I can only guess that there is one less bandicoot or turkey running around.

Trip planning continues with the assistance of Di who for the third time has sent me info on Italy and insists we go to Lake Gardia or as I prefer to call it Lake Ga Ga LOL. Looks good so might be able to do it on the way to or from Florence.

Please Please Please Barak sort out the budget and quick, this is not the time for a financial meltdown.

2011-07-28T09:52:00.000+10:00

15 Sleeps

As you can see life continues at a hectic pace up here in paradise. Denise dropped in from Brisbane a couple of weeks ago and started the farwell drinks off in style.

2011-07-26T09:54:00.000+10:00

Good Morning everyone, thought it was time to start blogging again and get back into the habit as the trip is not far away. So far the phone has been running hot with calls from NYC and Zurich putting in orders for oz wine, oz wine and more oz wine LOL.

Arty in NYC has put his liver into rehab to get it all ready for the onslaught and is telling everyone he sees that the invasion is about to start and dont be alarmed it's not a terrorist attack just an Aussie attack.

Hans has been number crunching for us in Zurich making sure we know what we should be doing (glad he thinks we know what we're doing because we dont most of the time) when we hit the transport in Europe. So far the schedule for Europe seems to be Zurich for 4 - 5 days then maybe off to Florence (Ron's choice) for 4 days, back to Zurich for a couple more days then maybe off to Istanbul (my choice) for a quick look around, back to Zurich, if time allows either Vienna or Prague for another quick look. All this is totally subject to change LOL.

The Pic - one of my children on the landing between houses.

17 sleeps

2011-06-30T15:59:00.000+10:00

My latest work which I finished about a month ago is entitled "My Rock". The inspiration for this work comes from the rock formations and colours of Porcupine gorge up here in Qld. The swirling patterns in the rock caught my attention when we were there and it has taken me some time to sort out what I was going to do with them and finally the idea of Ron in the rock.

Hope you like it.

2011-06-21T09:59:00.000+10:00

Good morning everyone, sorry about the lack of content lately but with the festival, art competition, the purchase of the block next door, enclosing the carport into a fully lock up garage, planting, watering, dining and generally having fun, there doesn't seem to be much time left for other things LOL.

We are now only 7 weeks out from our trip and I am just letting you know that I will be blogging madly when that starts so standby. Trip iterinary is 13th to Syd, 14th to Toronto training to Montreal and Quebec, quick flight to NYC for 4 days then off to Zurich for 3 weeks. Two weeks in Egypt including 3 days sailing on lake nassar, then another 3 days on the nile, then back to Zurich, a couple of days with D and D in Brissy to recover from the flight and then home. I will have a new phone number when travelling so will send to you if you request it. Stay well and blog you soon.

DA

It's all happening HMB Endeavour arrives at 1770

2011-05-17T15:12:00.000+10:00

Congratulations to Bikie Dave and James on purchasing Miss Guided. She is in good hands (well sort of) and we are sure that she will continue to provide lots and lots of exciting adventures to her new custodians.

Nomads - BE AFRAID, VERY AFRAID LOL LOL LOL

On the local front the excitement is building for the festival this weekend. Today say the arrival of the HMB Endeavour into Bustard Bay. Lots of locals there to witness this great event.

She made quite an spectacle sailing up the coast and finally into the bay. Also, to arrive today was Ben Southall who is about to head off on his latest adventure "Worlds' Greatest Adventure" which is a kayak
trip up the inside of the Great Barrier Reef following in the footsteps of Captain Cook. He heads off on Saturday from the Festival site. Good Luck Ben.

Jayco Expanda for sale

2011-05-14T15:39:00.000+10:00

The time has come for us to say Goodbye to Miss G. We are putting her up for sale and here are some pics for those that are interested.

A last chance to enjoy a quiet moment under the awning.

Front bedroom

Lounge and dining looking toward the front

Looking from the door past kitchen to back bed.

Slide out lounge, fridge, bathroom looking towards back bedroom

Kitchen
Pantry and storage

Second bedroom

Looking from second bedroom to the front

Shower and bathroom

She needs a good home.

2011-05-12T09:09:00.000+10:00

All at Sea

The other day we headed out to Lady Musgrave island to do some snorkeling and what a day it was. The weather was perfect, 28 degrees, hardly a ripple on the water as you can see from the pic. Lady Musgrave is 35 klms off the coast and to see it this calm was amazing. The snorkeling was spectacular, crystal clear water with unbelievable visibility. The coral island is a national park so no fishing which means that the place is teeming with wildlife. There are several turtle spas which were working overtime with loggerheads and green turtles lining up for spa and clean. Fantastic day.

Our new security system is now in place at the gate so no one can get by during the day, I suspect it is not so effective at night LOL. Our new guards are a pair of owls that have adopted the palm tree at the bottom of our drive.

Adrian and Denise were here for Easter and Adrien took this pic of our house. Great pic.

2011-04-03T10:19:00.000+10:00

The Boys are back

Finally we feel as if we have everything here and in place. For those that knew us at the hotel, you will know these two gentleman. It is great to finally have them up in a home where they belong. They now greet everyone as you come through the front door. Gotta love 'em.

2011-03-30T17:34:00.000+11:00

Where else but Queensland

Perfect one day and ---- the next LOL. Well we were warned about the fickle weather at this time of the year and it is living up to its reputation LOL. Di blames me totally and says that until we moved up here Qld was always perfect -HMMMMMMMMMMMM

Pretty ordinary day today so got some painting done on the new one which is currently called "My Rock" and represents Ron in rock, well sort of : - )

Last night Mark and Caroline came to dinner and it was their first anniversary of being in Agnes, so they arrived with a bottle of Verve and one of Grange, what a way to celebrate LOL. Many drinks later and one of Ron's great Banana and Passion fruit souffle's we all called it quits and went our merry merry ways LOL.

2011-03-29T10:13:00.000+11:00

AAAAAAAAAH yes our pool

As you can see another perfect day in paradise. We dropped into the pool the other day to take some pics for the next Sunrise newsletter and what a day it was. Not only did we get some great pics but ended up spending a couple of hours reading, swimming and generally lying around LOL. At one point we looked up above the pool and 6 sea eagles were circling around us - bliss.

2011-03-28T14:25:00.000+11:00

There goes another one, just like all the other ones LOL

How does that song go ? I'm a lumberjack etc etc etc'. Never let a tree get in the way of Ron and a saw but in his defence it is over the fire trail. To celebrate his ability to topple almost anything on the block, he just bought a new Skihl, what will he do with that LOL.

2011-03-27T16:09:00.000+11:00

Look what I did

It was a dull overcast day so off to the red rock we went for a fish. The day at the rocks started very slowly with Ron on one side of Red Rock and moi on the other. An hour went by when he appeared asking if I was having any luck as he was getting not a nibble. We decided to give it another 15 minutes to see if our luck would change.

All of a sudden he appeared with a rock cod, 5 minutes later with this dart and another as big 5 minutes after that. Then my spot started to bite and I spent the next 30 minutes hauling in dart of all sizes, most of which I had to toss back as they were still in preschool. All in all a great day on the rock with the promise of a wonderful fish dinner to come.

2011-02-27T11:04:00.000+11:00

"I bought you a new whipper snipper"

well that's what he said. Apparently I misunderstood and thought that it was mine, but as you can see I haven't had much of a chance to use it yet LOL.

Our newest neighbour has set up house at the China Beach club house and seems to be right at home.

2011-02-18T10:18:00.001+11:00

OL' Friend

A big old Bloodwood which is just at the back of Sunrise. Must have been a massive tree when alive because it still dominates in death.

2011-02-03T16:41:00.000+11:00

We're Safe

Cyclone devastation ? NO Ron and his chain saw devastation.

Thank you for all the calls about how we were fairing in the cyclone, well the good news is that Agnes Water was totally spared from any of the winds and rain. The Gods have smiled on us again.

2011-01-31T09:44:00.000+11:00

Just Hanging around on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Fred the frill neck

2011-01-29T11:15:00.000+11:00

Good Morning from Cyclone Alley

Febe has a new home. After years of hanging around hotel bars and the odd (unauthorised) excursion into the nearby neighbourhoods Febe has finally found somewhere to call home. He is now in charge of house 2 and looks after those other two women

Those worldly women are hanging around at the other end of house 2. Not quite NYC or LA but they will get used to it. LOL

This one is for Bruce. Just thought you would like to see how our pool looks and it is about the same size that you were talking about. We find it great and use it almost every day. Also as you can see a perfect place to grow our herbs LOL.

I know I showed the Bloodwoods before but they just get better and better. Our whole block is now in flower. Over the last three days we have planted another 150 rain forest trees around the back of our block as a further fire safety measure. When they have grown in the combination of Bloodwoods and evergreens will look great - can't wait.

2011-01-16T10:58:00.000+11:00

Not everyone thinks the big rains were a bad thing

This amorous coule are taking advantage of the time of plenty and getting into the swing of the season LOL. She would be about 40cm long and poor ol' him is only about 10cm. Talk about cougars LOL.

a little further down the track was this very very healthy looking "Lace Monitor". He/she would be 6 ft in length and looking very fat. Obviously there is alot of food around at the moment.

Even the trees are getting into the swing of the big wet. Our trees have grown heaps and bounds in the last couple of weeks. The grevillias are going crazy and as you can see the beautiful Bloodwoods are springing into flower and the birds think it's christmas all over again. The black cockies haven't shown up yet but I am sure they won't be far away.

Not everything is happy though. The ocean is a dirty brown with all the fresh water pouring into it. There are piles of driftwood coming up on the beaches after having been washed down the rivers and out to sea.

We have been told that the brown stain goes all the way to the reef, 40klms away.

2011-01-14T10:49:00.000+11:00

The Flood,

We are well and dry but would love some fresh milk LOL. We have been isolated from the world since Christmas eve with access to Gladstone being restored last week but cut off again on Wednesday. Highway 1 has been closed at Rocky since christmas so nothing coming from the north and Gympie and Caloundra have been cut for the last week so nothing coming up from the south. Brisbane as you probably know is underwater so nothing coming from there.

2011-01-08T11:07:00.000+11:00

and so we are steaming home

Our room with a view, but not for much longer. As we steamed across the ditch the seas got bigger, the swell more pronounced and those ever present albatross where winging their way along with us.

One last lap around the promenade deck to say "Goodbye" to the crew in the anchor and chain area (they got to know me walking past, lap after lap) and a final look back at the land of the "Long White Cloud" and yep it was there in all it's glory.

The end

See you tomorrow with the flood update

2011-01-06T10:43:00.000+11:00

Finally we are on the way home....

On the cruise there are two nights that are "Formal wear only" in the main restaurants and one of these nights was reserved for the trip home. Lots of glamorous frocks (some not quite so), lots of perfume (the duty free shop must have been doing overtime) and plenty of suits for the fellas.

This fun couple we meet one day at lunch and from then on kept running into each other daily. As you can see they were getting right into the swing of the season. HO HO HO

Now I am not doing names because I haven't asked the

the table for permission to use the picture. Every night of the cruise we met at 7.45pm for the extravagant 5 course dinner and compulsory bottles of wine. One night I was missing (locked up in quarantine), another was seasick on the way over, but if possible we all made the effort to catch up on what each other had been up to. I think we were one of the very few tables that did this because on the first night the dining room was packed, but as the trip went on the tables split up and in the end we were usually one of the only full tables. Our waiters were Percy and Michael and they had to put up with us every night.

A big thanks to everyone on our table for making the trip that much more enjoyable.

2011-01-05T09:48:00.000+11:00

Milford Sound

We woke up this morning sailing through Fiordland, unfortunately the weather was not very kind to us as there was alot of very low cloud. But as we cruised up through this amazing place the cloud slowly started to lift and as we entered Milford Sound we finally got to see this wonderful place.

It was truly an amazing experience to sail in this very large ship up the sound. The waterfalls, the steep canon walls, the crystal clear water and the snow capped peaks.

Wonderful place and we would happily go back via road to be able to experience it from the inside.

Tomorrow the "Last Supper" on the way home

2011-01-04T10:07:00.000+11:00

Dunedin

As you can see it's another one of those cities that embraced the deco culture. The day we arrived in Dunedin it was showery so umbrella and raincoats were the order of the day. Pretty city probably the most livable of the cities so far. Great cafe culture, good food and some very good shopping.

We wandered all over this up and down town including visiting the brewery and a leather maker (can't get leather out of the blood LOL) and bought a great money belt. Hand made and much much better than anything I had seen in Oz.

Next door to the museum was a very new Chinese Garden complex and one of the best I have seen. Apparently Dunedin's sister city is Shanghai and they donated this garden to Dunedin. Built and carved in Shanghai and then transported over to the shakey Isles. If you have been to the famous San Yang (I think that's how it's spelt) gardens in China you will see that they have used the same techniques - very very striking and peaceful. It's only 12 months old so needs some time, if I am in the neighbourhood in 10 years time it will be on the top of my must see list.

While we were away the crew did play

The Xmas decorations arrived

tomorrow Milford Sound and the absolute highlight of the trip

2011-01-01T11:26:00.000+11:00

Shaky city - Christchurch

Firstly I thought you might want to see our spacious cabin - wardrobes just inside the door on the left and the bathroom is on the right. I am standing on the balcony to take this pic. It was only on checkout that we saw the cabins on the floor above, much much more spacious. So if you ever are looking at Dawn Princess for a trip get deck 10.

Well Christchurch is looking good considering that only a couple of months ago it had that devastating earthquake of 7 with lots and lots of damage. It is a very pretty city with lots of churches and is also the centre of the Antarctic expeditions for 7 countries including the USA, so off to the Antarctic centre we went.

With any polar exhibition you must have the penguins and they looked remarkably like their relies at Phillip Island.

Included in the tour was the experience of -8 in gale conditions at the "Cool" room.

Almost had a white christmas.

2010-12-29T11:12:00.000+11:00

Back to the cruise and today it's off to Wellington

The first thing each day is to work out which way to start walking as it all looks the same LOL. This is the view from outside our cabin. When you get off the accommodation decks then they start the real onboard style of decoration, below is the foyer to the casino/art auction and library area. Lots of bling and things.

Wellington is the home of "Wellywood" and also where Peter Jackson lives and the home of some amazing studios - all built on the success of Lord of the Rings. 1 in 10 Kiwis had a direct involvement in the making of the film, either through roles as supporting casts or just the amazing assortment of poeple involved in the catering and non film activities.

Now as a LOTR tragic, having read the books 25 + times and all the other Tolkien books it was very exciting to visit the locations of the films so off we went. First stop was the special effects studio and waiting to greet us was Gollum.

The effects studio was very interesting but you were kept well away from anything that was creative and most of the time spent in a souvenir shop - shame.

From there it was off to the setting of "Rivendell" somewhere I have always wanted visit, even when it only existed in my imagination. On the bus and through Wellington to a park just on the outskirts of town. As it was the beginning of school holidays there were masses of children running around enjoying the park which totally destroyed the grace and beauty the Rivendell was meant to represent - oh well off to the park setting where Frodo crosses the river to get into Rivendell. A beautiful national park about 60 klm out of town and you could visualise the chase scene.

Last stop was the stone mountain of "Helms Deep" and the scene of the epic battle. Well it's a quarry just on the outskirts of town. Peter Jackson apparently bought the quarry for a year and with lots and lots of very clever tricks made it into Helms Deep, unfortunately now it looks like a quarry anywhere.

Off to Christchurch tomorrow.

2010-12-28T12:55:00.001+11:00

Hello from the "Isle of Agnes"

Short break from the cruise, just thought you might like an update on what's happening here at the moment.

Agnes has been cut off from the mainland for the last 3 days with both access roads underwater. Bundy - Agnes 3 meters of water and the bridge has suffered massive damage and probably won't open for several weeks. Miriam Vale to Agnes under 2 meters of water and if it stops raining NOW "may " open in 4 - 5 days. Currently there are trees down over the roads between here and town, panic buying has started as people here on holiday realise that it will be here longer than planned and no new supplies can get through.

We have just been informed that 16 really stupid people tried to beat the floods and made a break for Miriam Vale. They got as far as the high ground between the two channels of Baffles creek (6ft over the road) and there they stay. At least most of them were towing vans so they have somewhere to sleep but if this keeps up they will go under and probably have vans and cars washed away.

Last night the deluge continued with 6 inches of rain and the forecast for the next 48 hours is more of the same so things are looking pretty grim for those in tents and living in low lying areas etc.

On a happier note our wine fridge is almost full so we can hang out for another month.

2010-12-27T10:29:00.000+11:00

Day 5 and it's Napier

We woke to find that we were parked behind the Rhapsody of the Sea and having the two big ships nose to tail was quite impressive.

We didn't take a tour here as we had the Deco walking tour booklet courtesy of Lyn P so off we headed as soon as breakfast was finished.

This is a very pretty Art Deco city as it was destroyed by earthquake in 1934 (I think) and they had to totally rebuild almost all the central city area. Our first stop was the Napier theatre.

This is a good example of the city architecture. The foyer light fittings and carpets are all original or made to the exact same quality and design as the originals.

The light fitting in the main theatre is breathtaking. This light takes up almost the entire ceiling. The centre section changes colour very slowly so when you look up again it's like a whole new fitting. As with most of these great buildings the locals had to fight to save it from developers who wanted something "nice and new".

The lights in the foyer are a treat. Never seen anything like it in a deco building - so modern but original.
I can't possibly show you all the deco buildings as there are 93 in the CBD but if you ever get the chance to do Napier it is well worth a look.

In true sailing style Napier put on a 30's brass band to play us away. Complete with vintage cars and people in costume to wave us away. I was concerned that the band might just play "Nearer my god to thee" as we sailed away but thank god they didn't.

2010-12-26T12:01:00.000+11:00

Room with a view

Everyone knows we are now back on terra firma and that all the cruise updates are running two weeks behind but I will do my best to cover most things that happened on the trip.

Day three

Still making our way across the "ditch" and the captain announces that there is a serious viral outbreak onboard and that the whole ship is going onto "Red Alert" to try and combat this outbreak. Of course when you have almost 2000 people with various ailments then you can only expect that hi-gene is easily compromised. Bingo, I came down with the lergy. Quarantine for 48 hours in my cabin. The advantages were that I had the cleanest cabin onboard which was cleaned 3 times a day by people in masks, goggles and large spray bottles. It did also mean that room serviced knew their way to C345 and that drinks and food (all except my dinner on night two which they totally forgot) were bought to me. They also very kindly did all my laundry FOC.

This of course included our stay in Auckland. Pictured above is all I got to see of Auckland and the people that lived in the apartments on the dock were very very happy to see us sail as I spent all day sitting on the balcony watching them LOL.

Day four
Off to Rotarua to see some old geysers. The boat moored approximately 100klms away at a placed called Tarasomething which is on the east coast and very pretty holiday destination for most north islanders. We bussed it down to the geyser national park and had lunch on top of a scenic hill overlooking the town. This was our first real experience of a lot of very overweight people stampeding to the buffet, not a pretty picture. The lunch also included the compulsory Maori song and dance show.

Champagne pool, very pretty with lots of colour. Most of the colour is the result of the very high levels of arsenic. The water temp here is 200 degrees. Great for doing the dishes.

One ol' geyser with another.

2010-12-24T17:07:00.000+11:00

Barry Manilow in concert AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHH

Just like the "Love Boat" Barry gets a free ride. We went up to the top deck where all the pools etc hang out and on the big screen was Barry in full swing, it took us nearly a week to go back up there LOL

2010-12-18T07:23:00.000+11:00

Smooth sailing ahead LOL

Well this was the sight on leaving Melbourne, but it didn't last for long. The cruise up the bay was graceful but as soon as we got out of the heads on came the wind and waves. Day two and three was responsible for a lot of sickness on board. Walking frames, wheel chairs and walking sticks laying scattered all over the place and the smell of cleaning agents permeated everywhere - very romantic LOL.

The onboard entertainment was getting a beating as those of us that could walk were still in need of distractions so the lounges, library, games rooms nightclub and various bars all got a good work out.

More tomorrow...............

2010-12-11T07:25:00.000+11:00

Oh this is so not a good look.

Welcome to the cruise and this is the first sight that greeted us at the dock. I guess it means we get new bedding lol. The departure day was a typical Melbourne day with gales and lashings of rain and just about everyone waiting in line to go through customs etc got totally drowned.

More pics etc when we get to Auckland tomorrow as the price of internet time here is piracy LOL

2010-12-07T09:19:00.000+11:00

Finally

Everything is in flux LOL. Yesterday we packed off 75 packages with Allied Pickfords to be dropped at Agnes sometime in January. We kept back the clarice, glassware and Gleesons to take ourselves and even Febe hitched a ride with us. The ladies are all packed and travelling by truck so Febe should consider himself very special. Will look quiet funny driving up the highway with him in the back LOL.

Sail tomorrow and can't wait. I think we have both moved on from being Melbourians and will be very happy to be on the move or back home at Agnes.

Called into the hotel last night and it just seemed sad, no more bad feelings just sad. The tree is causing a lot of trouble in the back yard and it was hinted that it might meet a nasty fate sometime in the near future. As usual the floors, doors and fixtures are moving all over the place and the landlord is being less than helpful - sound familiar? - aaaah memories LOL.

Updates from the high seas

2010-12-04T09:45:00.000+11:00

What a week,

Melbourne is working true to form. On Thursday we headed out to do some shopping and it was pelting rain so we madly ran to Woolies to get a brolly. Off to Myer for some bits and pieces and when we came out brilliant sunshine and cooking hot LOL. Off to DFO at South Wharf and a wonderful stroll along the river before heading in to get some clothes for the trip and when we came out it was the end of the world. Black clouds, raindrops the size of eggs and lots and lots of Thor and Zeus action. Off for a late lunch with Tom at the Steak and Veg on Southbank and watched the weather change every half hour, oh we must be back in Melbourne.

Yesterday Agnes (Home) got slammed with 300ml of rain and is cut off from the world. Gladstone also got hammered and the airport is shut down and most roads apart from the highway are closed, glad we're down here.

Yesterday we started making plans for the trip home with the glassware and china only to find that Budget, Avis, Hertz etc are ALL on STOP sale for one way rentals anywhere let alone to Gladstone or Bundy. Even with our contacts at Budget we couldn't get anything. Panic starting to rumble just below the surface as I realised that we could very well be stranded here in Melbourne and we are hosting xmas day lunch up in Agnes.

Denise to the rescue, I told her our dilemma and being someone that won't be beaten she headed off on the web and found us a small 4wd at Europcar so now we can get home. Tks D.

Calendar of events is starting to fill with dinner tonight with Noddy and Paul, Lunch up at Warby tomorrow, Monday packing day with the removalists and us taking the extra stuff to the auction rooms, Tuesday Lunch with D and D, dinner with Mc B and Marie and finally Wednesday Lunch with Julie and Bailey and then we sail for a rest LOL.

2010-11-30T08:59:00.000+11:00

We're NOT in Kansas anymore

A room with a city view LOL. We made it down south again and it's a very strange feeling being here, it's almost like coming home except we don't have one .

The trip from Gladstone was on a Dash 8 and the security at Gladstone International airport was stifling, well maybe that is an overstatement - there was none. Brisbane on the other hand was over the top as only Brisbane can be. I got the works including the explosive residue tests and was secretly hoping that Walker had touched my bag at some stage just to see what would happen.

Melbourne is sunny and 24 and last night we headed out to have dinner at a Greek restaurant in Lonsdale st, by the time we had finished we were very happy that we had jumpers with us. Today is the start of getting things organised for the move up north.

Hans just saw a cross to Zurich, - GET RID OF THAT WHITE STUFF BEFORE WE GET THERE.

2010-11-24T13:50:00.000+11:00

Only a mother could love this one

Our collection of exotic creatures continues to grow daily with new discoveries under every bush LOL. We have just had three days of rain and that has bought a whole new mix of critters around seeking high ground and even though we welcome visitors warmly, there are limits LOL.

We are off to Melbourne on the weekend and it will be great to catch up with everyone for xmas. Stay tuned for the next trip which kicks off on the 8th with the cruise around the "Land of the long white cloud" so lots of pics and hopefully daily updates again.

2010-11-17T09:44:00.000+11:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA GET ME OUT OF HERE

A non paying passenger. Luckily Ron was also on board and saved the day by removing the freeloader to the nearby bush. You can see by the pic that he was large, very large.

Below is something you don't want to see when you live in the bush. A fire.

Luckily it was a "controlled burn off" and we all have heard the stories of those things going very very wrong. These pics were taken from my bedroom and I spent all last night fire spotting as it kept burning and spotting all night.

2010-11-12T10:30:00.000+11:00

What's green and hiding ..................

I guess when you are a wee bit small it comes in very handy to disappear into the local foliage. When I was out in the garden yesterday I found this little fellow on a Banksia leaf and wondered why prop there ? it seemed a precarious place to nap, but little did I know what was on the prowl.

Godzilla

was out and hungry, so I guess it makes perfect sense to blend in.

2010-11-09T14:45:00.000+11:00

It's a family Garden

The last 24 hours has been rain and more and more rain and it is coming in "dump" mode LOL. This morning at breakfast the rain eased off and 3 pretty faced wallabies came into the garden for their breakfast. They stuck around for most of the morning and then another dump occurred and they took off for dryer places.

Just before lunch we were out in the garden and the resident roos dropped in for their lunch nibble and we got our first sight of a new member. We had suspected that the little family group was expanding and today we got the proof. As you can see it was two for lunch.

but eventually the temptation two explore the surrounds won out and out popped joey.

But like any self respecting joey the adventure of romping through wet grass didn't appeal and back into the pouch it went.

2010-11-05T10:01:00.000+11:00

There here!!!!!!!

Walking along the beach yesterday and we found these tracks in the sand !!!!!! someone driving a tractor out of the surf? an invasion by the Indonesians ? Boat people ? Lost Kiwi's ? all wrong.

The Turtles are here.

The season has started and so far at least 5 turtles have made it up on China beach to lay their eggs. Apparently it is very early for them and is usually a sign that the wet is going to be long and wild LOL. Gary (neighbour) has suggested that we get involved in the process of keeping track of them and we probably will do it. It means an eco course at Rocky for 5 days and lots of walking along the beach at night but it sounds like a great thing to help out with.

2010-11-04T09:52:00.000+11:00

At last it's raining,

After weeks of threats about the weather last night the rain arrived and a welcome sight it was. We have been very busy over the last couple of weeks with visitors dropping in helping us to explore the surrounds and encouraging us to drink too much.

As well as the in-house visitors we have also had the locals at Sunrise over for drinks and meals and of course there was the Melbourne Cup luncheon. The locals are starting to get a bit suspicious because Ron has now won the betting on the Grand Final and the sweep for the Melbourne Cup. I think they are beginning to wonder about the organisation of these events LOL.

Only a couple of weeks before we head off to Melbourne to finally organise the transport of the rest of our gear from Melbourne. We should have everything up here early new year and then will finally feel totally at home.

2010-10-27T11:45:00.000+11:00

We're back (from outer space)

Jonathon (Mac) is back and working beautifully so we are finally back in touch with the world. We headed off to Brisbane last Saturday for Denise's 50th party which was at the Plough Inn on the Southbank. Neither of us had been to Brisbane for 35 years so it was quite a different town that we drove into. Freeway madness, lots of skyscrapers but it still has a big country town attitude LOL.

Sunday was a wee bit slow as the heads were not great, so off to the Valentino dress exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art. As you probably guessed there were lots of women and very very very few blokes, but that didn't stop us wandering around ooooh and aaaarrring with the best of them LOL.

Really the exhibition is amazing and if you ever get the chance to see these fab clothes do it. From there we headed over to the rivercat and spent the next two hours wandering along the Brisbane River.

Along the way we came across some bowling friends so dropped in for a chat (Pic) always time for a billy tea with friends LOL.

The trip along the river was quite an eye opener. We had no idea that there was so much development along the river. Thousands of apartments, one on top of the other. The Jacs were in full bloom which made the river banks very colourful and hid some of the concrete LOL.

After the cruise we ended up at Kingsleys restaurant at the Riverside and what a great find that was. Overall a pleasant trip to the city. From there it was off to the Brass coast for a night to catch up with Di and the local gossip. Yesterday (Tuesday) was spent on the road as the trip home was 7 hours. Waiting for us as we drove in was another orchid out in flower. AAAAAHHHHHH it's sooooo good to be home.

2010-10-20T18:20:00.000+11:00

Sorry Mac is in hospital, hopefully back this weekend will update the blog then -da

2010-10-11T10:04:00.000+11:00

Good morning from the not so sunny central coast. I suppose by now most of you know that south east Qld has been getting hammered by rain and severe storms which have caused flooding and landslides around the sunshine coast. Well the good news is we have missed most of it and only in the last 24 hours have we had any rain and then not much, but the winds !!!!!!!!!!! they get your attention.

On the critter front things keep getting more and more interesting. Last night was our first green frog (very cute), several lace monitors and Ron saw his first giant frill neck lizard. I also staggered onto the world's biggest spider as I was crossing from one house to the other the other night. He would have been about 10 - 12 inches across and I am not sure who got the biggest fright LOL. If you know how I get on with spiders you will surprised that I am still alive LOL.

Almost all of the little annoying things have now been fixed, we have a washing machine with an on/off button that works, a dish washer that has an on switch, solar panels that are finally pumping back into the grid, flood lights on the pool deck and the decks have all been oiled. Ron and I have also stained the outside furniture and it all looks great.

The garden is coming along heaps and bounds. So far 24 grevillea (yellow, pink and red), several banksia, ferns, local grasses, a couple of tiny Blackboys and now some orchids have all been planted. The herb garden on the other hand has been decimated by the local bush turkeys, bloody things.

Our resident kookaburras are expecting and are very happy to let the world know at 4.30am each day how the long awaited hatching is going LOL.

2010-10-07T15:28:00.000+11:00

It's very sad...........

Almost reminds you of a teenagers bedroom, doesn't it LOL, but someone is still celebrating.

For the first time in 3 weeks we have the house back to ourselves, it has been great having all the visitors but now we can get those annoying bits fixed. We are making headway with things like the washing machine, dish washer, gas certificate (so we can get some more gas, sort of important) decks are being oiled as I type so we are almost finished.

Plotting and planning the new painting and I promise it will be a much happier subject than the last one. I have entered "Out in 2010" in a competition at the Bendigo Art Gallery so it will be interesting if I make it to the final cut.

For those of you that are interested, it's the Laird's 30th birthday this month and Southern Star (newspaper) have done a big story on it - of course Saunders gets lots of credit LOL LOL LOL LOL and of course we get a passing mention LOL LOL LOL. You can see it online.

Yes I am scared ----less with spiders and the one the size of a dinner plate that greeted me on the landing last night certainly got my attention, but this little fella is fab. I think I might adopt him/her as my new pet.

2010-10-01T08:55:00.000+10:00

Guess who's looking at you.......

Just couldn't get past those great eyes, LOL. Well Bailey and Julie have returned down south and the trip home was interrupted with the explosives truck rolling over on the highway and catching fire. The highway was closed all afternoon and then only one lane all the next day.

But while I was stranded in Rocky I found a fantastic display case at Harvey Normans, marked down from $1600 to $600 because it was ex floor stock, so now the Clarice has somewhere to live when it arrives in Dec.

Dirk and Denise and the local neighbours will be joining us for the Grand Final round 2 so we have been busy getting more sausage rolls and party pies ready. Balloons and streamers all over the place and not a piece of "red" anywhere LOL.

2010-09-26T09:30:00.000+10:00

I'm sure there are pixies at the bottom of our garden because the rain stopped and the sun came out and there wonderful highrise homes burst out of the ground.

The planting continues with this hibiscus that has very large white and red flowers. Bailey decided that Ron needed some assistance with the site selection and planting.

Wallen goes "Black and White" for grand final day. Denise and Dirk and some of there friends joined us for the great day. Sausage rolls and party pies were the cuisine of choice and lots of beverage was consumed. By now you probably know that the game was a draw so we do it all again next week. Hope the balloons last LOL.

2010-09-23T08:56:00.000+10:00

We have them tooooooooooooooooo

Our local orchids are throwing spikes madly and today started to open up. We have a fallen log in the front yard which has 3 orchids growing in it.

Julie and Bailey arrived Tuesday and it hasn't stopped raining since !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the forecast for the next week is "RAIN", "Showers" and more "Rain". At least we are not in the caravan park.

2010-09-16T09:43:00.001+10:00

OUT

This will offend some people but this depicts what is happening around the world to gay people by states controlled by religions.

People are shot

Imprisoned

Stoned to death

Hung

All because of the way they love.

2010-09-15T10:27:00.000+10:00

More new neighbours

We decided that the weather was so good that a BBQ down at the pool with Caroline and Mark was the order of the day. So we positioned ourselves in one of the treetop huts and look who came to put on a show. First came this couple, a mother and calf and then about half an hour later another pod of 3 or 4 adults appeared swimming from the south and then they did a massive U turn in front of us and headed back south. Great day

2010-09-12T18:23:00.000+10:00

I don't think this pic needs any comment other than "We did buy this place because it had a great bush garden" LOL LOL LOL

2010-09-09T16:58:00.000+10:00

New neighbours at Sunrise

First off you go see Lord of the Rings and do a tour of a Hobbit house, then you get yourself a very very big truck and put your version of a hobbit house on it.

Ooops dam, there is this thing called a gate...............

Oh well, let's just have a look at how big that gate really is ......................................

hmmmmmmmmmmm I don't think this is going to fit, but never fear Supertruck is here.................................

Why don't we just jack up the front and bring it over the gate ..................

Well that's the front in now for the back, up we go ..............

See it's easy, ooops who put that blasted tree in the center of the road !!!!!!!! So a roll to the left

Then a roll to the right...

and we are on our way to...

a home among the gum trees

This was the third piece of the new house that had to be lifted over the gates. This section is the kitchen and lounge area. There was some very anxious moments for the owners, architects and removelists but everything is now on the block waiting to be put back together. Our new neighbours should be at home in about a month.

2010-09-08T09:11:00.000+10:00

Our backyard

You never know who is coming to visit. We were sitting on the deck and all of a sudden there was a thud thud thud and these two dropped in to say hello.

This morning when I was crossing to the kitchen I heard some splashing coming from the pool. On closer inspection I found this fabulous kingfisher having a wash and splash around. Ron says he has seen him before so I figure this is more his place than ours LOL. One of the problems with having so much glass is that the birds don't see it. There is the sound of something hitting the windows several times a day.

2010-09-06T09:23:00.000+10:00

It's raining on our backyard

Good morning from a wet and soggy Agnes. Although from what I hear we are getting a much better time than the rest of the east coast. It appears that there are very bad storms happening all over the place.

Ron has a new Chainsaw and you can see in the middle of this pic some of his handy work. I did mention that we bought this place because of the great bush surroundings LOL. Actually he is doing a great tidy up of old trees and things that just don't look right. I am working on a new painting and I will give you a peek but standby for something very different - political and religious, definitely a move away from the usual Whiteman dreaming themes.

Hans I think you will love this one LOL

2010-09-04T09:48:00.000+10:00

Good Morning from 1770

Well so far things are going quite well. Apart from the electrical appliances not working (washing machine and dish washer) most things are great. Being an eco development we have pumps from water tanks that cut in and out, so we need to do a little bit of sound proofing as they are located underneath the bedrooms.

We have now been here three days and had two luncheon parties so we haven't had a chance to get our heads around all the bits and pieces apart from the fact that this place is bloody huge and will take us all our time to keep it clean LOL.

This morning we woke to our first shower and it triggered off a whole new set of reactions from the wild life The black cockies circled overhead telling us their displeasure with the rain. The lizards and spiders all got very busy making for high ground and the Kookaburras just sang even louder and longer LOL.

Poor ol' Miss G is locked up in the compound with the boats and trailers - how unbecoming, but just to get back on the right side of her we are organising new seals around the slide out and a new blind outside to keep the rain and salt off the slide out. She is never far from our minds LOL.

2010-09-01T16:23:00.000+10:00

It's done

Our first night was a mixture of sadness of saying goodbye to our life on the road and excitement with what the future will bring. We spent all day ferrying things from Miss G to the house, who would have guessed you could have some much stuff in a van LOL. We finally finished at 6pm and were so tired that we grabbed a cooked chook and cracked a bottle of bubbly (made by one of our neighbours) on the deck.

It is quite surreal being here as it's sooooooo quiet at night. From Rons room you can see the lights on Bloodwood drive disappearing into the distance but from my room it's totally dark. The sky is magnificent with thousands of stars and the slow creaking of the surrounding trees. Ron did comment this morning that he had some visitors during the night, probably the Pygmy possums or their larger relies LOL.

Today was our first real day and we set about cleaning and trying to find everything we bought in yesterday. The owners of the caravan park came out for lunch bearing house warming bottles LOL. As a result a very lazy and enjoyable day has been had.

2010-08-30T12:54:00.000+10:00

Let me In ............

Can't wait, let me in. One day to go before moving day and we are getting very excited. As you can see someone was determined to get in today.

The final inspection has been done and there are more and more surprises, it just keeps getting better. In the 2nd lounge we discovered a hard drive DVD recorder already hooked up so we will finally get to see some of this years GPs. On top of that in the casual lounge there is a sound system that has an ipod dock - bliss.

Walker rang today and is picking up his new car at Mackay tomorrow so will bring it down for a drive to help us christen "Wallen".

2010-08-27T10:06:00.000+10:00

Almost there

Well the time on the road is almost over. Abbotsford settles today and it is a very strange feeling knowing that we can never go back to the house, but the obvious upside is that the new house should settle on Tuesday. We went out to the estate yesterday and met with the head caretaker and got to find out how everything works eg. electricity, grey water, rubbish, etc etc

He also informed us that Godzilla the 2 metre goanna lives on our block so that is a treat awaiting us LOL. Also there are lizards galore, snakes (don't wander around at night without a torch), black cockies, millions of parrots, roos, wallabies and everything else.

The fishing is great off the rocks and he is going to show Ron the best spots so seafood should be high on the menu.

2010-08-25T15:02:00.000+10:00

Emu Park

I think God decided that after Agnes Water, Emu Park was next on the list of places to die for. We finally met up with Greg and his lovely lady and had a very pleasant lunch at the local pub. As you can see from the above pic the day was fab.

Today dawned a bit cloudy but as it was a moving day it didn't matter much. This could be our last move in Miss G for some time as we are now in Agnes Water awaiting the settlement of Wallen which should happen this coming Tuesday.

Of course when you travel on Qld roads you can never be entirely sure what is around the next corner. This weeeee tray was obviously on its way to one of the coal mines. I guess this really puts it into perspective when you compare the size of the prime mover to the size of the tray it's carrying. This little convoy was accompanied by motorcycle police and two police cars making sure you got off the road. Several minutes before another convoy passed us carrying the tyres and they didn't fit on the road either.

2010-08-21T15:05:00.000+10:00

Just look at that sky.......................

Who could ever get tired of these colours. We took a drive out the back of Rubyvale trying to find our way to a pyramid shaped hill we could see in the distance but unfortunately the road was really really bad and the locals were even worse LOL and we didn't make it. But, on the way we were treated to some amazing scenery and this fantastic sky.

As much as we are looking forward to moving into Wallen, it will be a very sad day when we have to say goodbye to travelling this great country. Hopefully in 2011 we will be out and about again but on a more restricted basis.

We headed out to Lake Thersa Dam for three nights of getting away from it all. No power, just the solar and lots of wild life. We managed to get D'Luded into the water on the second day and paddled up the dam and then up the river for about 6 - 7 klms. Kestrels circling above, a pair of Jabaroos on the bank of the river about 10 feet away and lots and lots of parrots of all sorts. Bliss.

2010-08-18T08:54:00.000+10:00

On the road again

Just a quickie, we are leaving Sapphire today and will be out of contact for the next 3 - 4 days and then we will resurface at Moranbah where we are catching up with Walker on Sat for dinner.

Greg don't despair, I have something for you to cut LOL. Coming home yesterday this guy had a stall on the side of the road selling roughs and I think I picked up a lovely Blue/Green 8 cts so not toooo small LOL. We will be in Rocky Mon and Tues next week so will ring before we arrive. Thought we would wander down to Emu for lunch, is this ok ?

2010-08-15T10:06:00.002+10:00

It's Gemfest

After three days of solid gemfesting we can honestly say we are gemmed out LOL. The entire community gets behind this festival and the towns (and I use that word lightly) of Anakie, Sapphire and Rubyvale all put on their best on and go out and show us visitors what it's all about.

There are some amazing stones with the appropriate price tags but there are also some good buys. Yes I did cave in on the third day and bought the bronze zircon pictured above. Lovely stone and not expensive.

Last night was the gala event at the Rubyvale showgrounds. Fire works, burger bar and lots of country and western music. Mr. Gillette would have done great business handing out the razor blades LOL. Unfortately the excitement was too much for us and we went home and watched Iron Chef . As usual we have been doing some fossicking and will be handing over the finds to Mr. Lambert for cutting in Bruce's new home of Thailand. Sorry Greg nothing worth your time and effort.

Wallen is rapidly approaching and we have started planning the move in. Settlement on Abbotsford is now under 2 weeks and we will be at Agnes Water waiting for the final payment and the keys to the new house. Bailey and Julie have already booked for late Sept, Blue is coming in Oct, (I think) Dan and Tanya will drop in for a weekend or two away from the kids and Big Dan and Helen are on the way as well, so we definitely won't be lonely up here.

2010-08-12T10:23:00.000+10:00

AAAAAAAAAH the peace and quiet of a relaxing stay by the lake LOL

As you can see from the above pic the peace was somewhat shattered by the local power boat club. I must admit this particular boat really was something to see and very very very fast. We finally moved on down the road and arrived back at Sapphire yesterday for Gemfest. To start the stay off we headed up to Rubyvale and did a bucket or two to get our eye in and surprise surprise got nothing of any value LOL.

Off to Gemfest proper today so will see what's on offer over there LOL.

Sapphire was also our mail pick up point and the women at the post office was very please to see us. First came the case of wine and Ron's comment was " This is to give us the hangover", then the Coffee parcel, again Ron " This is to help cure the hangover" and then the bag of mail "and these are the bills to give us the -----" to which the women cracked up totally. Nothing like a good mail pickup LOL.

2010-08-08T13:26:00.000+10:00

We are back at Lake Maraboon in central Queensland

Yes, the mountains are purple and blue and all those wonderful colours that you associate with the outback. It is a bit like coming home when you see the horizon, it somehow just makes everything seem right.

The weather here has been fantastic, around 25 each day will cool, no cold clear nights LOL. We had drinks with the boys who run the park last night and managed to call an end to the night before it got out of control LOL. Mind you we still have 3 nights to go and if things develop along the lines of last time then a very sore head is not far away.

On the house front everything is going to plan with all the inspections etc coming in good with no problems. 19 sleeps and it should be ours.

2010-08-05T11:11:00.000+10:00

Biloela

Now on the tourist information it says that the lookout at Callide valley gives you scenic views of the coal mine, power station and lake, ...............aaaaaaaaah obviously the mine decided that it was a good dumping ground. At least someone comes out and makes sure the grass is mowed and the facilities are up to scratch. Shame about the view LOL.

But try as you will, you can never quite cover up the loss of another hill.

Just out of town on the southern side is Mt Scorio and it is one of only three mountains (more like a wee petite mound) in the world that have this rock formation. Apparently when the lava from the volcano many many millions of years ago, cooled, it formed these amazing columns. They are 8, 10 and 12 sided and stand out like sentinels. It's a shame you can't get close up but as it is Heritage listed park I guess having every tourist scrambling around breaking bones is not a good look. Well worth a look if you are in the area. We arrived at Blackwater yesterday and had dinner with Dan, Tanya and the kids. Great to catch up and the kids have grown so fast. This morning we did wake up with a wee red wine head, so a slow day on the cards. Thought we might do the mine tour.

2010-08-02T15:18:00.000+10:00

Swings and Roundabouts

Hello from Biloela, just up the road from thanglong and down the road from Cania Gorge. Firstly I must apologise for the size of the pic, Jonathon (as in apple) is still trying to teach me how to use him and down sizing hasn't been successful yet. Must read that instruction thingy LOL.

Well a week at Cania Gorge with wonderful weather finally came to an end this morning and up the highway we went. It is really getting quite scary out here as there a thousands of vans on the roads and most are out for the first time. Yes I know, we were first timers once but at least we did it in our mid 50's not late 70's.

We are both very excited about moving into the house and are counting down the days, but I only realised yesterday that I let him talk me into a town that doesn't have a jeweller or cellar, hmmmmmmm the Internet bill is going to be rough LOL.

So far the bookings are coming thick and fast so if you are planning on coming up for a hol then let us know asap.

Sept. done

Early Oct - done

take a ticket LOL LOL

2010-07-27T10:51:00.000+10:00

Just A Quickie

We are back out in the never never and as usual out here we will be out of touch for long periods. If anyone needs to contact us then email is probably the best as some places have sat internet so we will check in whenever possible.

2010-07-23T09:38:00.000+10:00

Good Morning from Bundaberg

Not much news after the madness of the house. We are here to do the legals and get pest and building reports organised. Tks for all the good wishes re the house and you all know that you are welcome to drop into paradise whenever you like.

Bundy has not improved since our last visit and yesterday I tried to get to a doctor only to be told that the waiting period for someone new was 2 weeks - glad I'm not having a heart attack. I did end up at the hospital because I thought I might have broken a bone in my foot and you all know about the Bundy hospital AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH it's all true, at least they were reasonably quick and the staff were great, but you just can't help thinking about Patel and those operations LOL.

DW and Peter arrived last night and are about to drop in for Coffee at Miss Guideds Coffee shop.