Welcome to our new home and yes this is the actual estate, can't see a house then read on.....

The estate is called "Sunrise at 1770" and is a total Eco settlement. Very strict rules on pets - NO cats or dogs or anything that is not natural to the area. No introduced plants including fruit trees etc. No lawns. The whole estate and the surrounding area can not be seen from the sea or adjacent land. The entire estate is surrounded by National Park and can not be built upon. The estate actually has three beaches to choose from, a great surf beach (pictured) and two smaller beaches that are only accessible from the estate and they are both great quiet fishing beaches.

The estate is approximately 600 hectares and there are only 127 building lots and each lot has a 10 meter bush buffer, so that means you cannot see your neighbours and hopefully that also means you cant hear them LOL. At last I can turn up my sound system LOL.

Not a beach person, don't worry

we have two of these horizon pools complete with fab BBQ huts, tennis courts and across on the other side of the estate a "Playground".

Pavilion one has the kitchen, dining area and a casual lounge leading onto the BBQ deck

BBQ Deck overlooking natural bush with full gas BBQ

Just wait until Ron gets his hands on this white kitchen, Oh the mess that can be made here. Luckily lots of this are hidden out of site so it can easily be made presentable on short notice LOL. In the background is the office.

Cant make it to the beach or horizon pool, oh well the plunge will have to do

Second lounge in the 2nd pavilion. Master bedroom is straight ahead with a large ensuite and at the moment the coin hasn't been tossed to see who gets it LOL. On the right is the linen pantry and laundry.

All bedrooms have these wonderful bush views. This is the master bedroom.

again great views of the bush.

The house is in serious need of some personal touches but even as is we love it and cant wait to move in. Welcome to Wallen and the door is always open.

Yep, we have left Gladstone

Yesterday we made the big journey down the road to Agnes Waters, just up the road from 1770 and we are back on the coast. As you can see the rugrats are all back at school and the coast has been returned to the nomads and Mexicans LOL. The parks are still packed with nomads etc that have reappeared after hiding for the last month LOL.

We are about to become a totally Mac family (it has only taken 15 years), Ivan Ipad is firmly gripped in his lordships hands and Johnathon (as in apple) my new Mac pro is about to arrive in Bundy for moi. So, if I mysteriously go off air for a couple of days it's because I am changing everything over from the HP.

In Emerald when I was pricing Mac's I did ask a salesgirl at a computer shop if they sold Apple and she sent me to the vegie shop !!!!!!!!!!!! You have just gotta love country Queensland, one day it will get electricity and then someone can turn the lights on LOL (Sorry all you banana benders), but still no daylight saving up here as the curtains fade more and the cows can't cope !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and we are moving up here LOL LOL LOL

The sun came out and it was off for the cruise around  Gladstone bay  .............

now you will probably notice that there is a slight difference from the vista of cruising around most bays and harbours, but somehow it's still interesting,, especially when the dolphins are swimming around. From every angle it sort of looks the same, just different terminal and wharf.

Standing guard at the entrance to the Marina is a relic from our fighting forces, strange how it looks very much like something out of McHales navy LOL.

and then this town totally surprises you.

The Botanical gardens are wonderful, amongst the best country gardens we've seen. They have recreated a great "Daintree" rain forest and wonderful grevilla gardens. When we arrived at the carpark we were greeted with a sign pointing to the Japanese Tea House, that means we can go on the 3 klm walk/climb and check out the lookouts and drop in for a cuppa afterward.

The tea house is the center piece of the new Japanese Garden, which when properly grown in will be very very pretty, not on the scale of Cowra but great considering its size. However when you promote a tea house it would be really great to have a working tea house instead of a prop. No tea here.

Lunch was at a downtown restarunt called "Rocksalt". Now our recent experiences at a light lunch - Tappas style has been anything but pleasent. Rocky was the second worst meal ever, just ahead of the chinese at Bourke. Rocksalt was an absolute treat, forget the slow service, the food is wonderful. We had a goats cheese tart (slice of and freshly baked), Prawn dumplings (home made) and Chicken in filo topped with spices and mint yoghurt, going back asap LOL.

Gladstone is a town/city of major contrasts, worth a stop for a day or so and has one of the best parks at Barney Beach that we have stayed in. Tomorrow we are off to the Smelter on an industry tour, sorry no pics allowed.

For Sale

One slightly used train set

Artistic designed rolling stock

Close to transport Hub

Hardly ever used

Yes, this bargain of a lifetime could be yours. Queensland Rail has put QR up for sale to the highest bidder, so be like the Raj/Queen and have your very own train set. Going cheap, apply at Parliament House Brisbane, must be able to take it with you.

Digging Digging Digging

No stones, BUT did get a couple of cutters in a bucket on arrival and one is a nice little parti, so not a totally wasted effort. Last night the weather blew in and the rain started so today is a rightoff, just too boggy to go digging. Might be a good day to do the shops (Gem) and might even start the next painting.

We have decided to come to GemFest which starts on August 12 so we will have ample opportunity to get into the swing of stones then and no school hols so the parks will be civilized again. Off to Blackwater tomorrow to catch up on Dan, Tanya and the kids. Following that we will be heading down the road to Rocky then off to Bundy to catch up with DW and Peter.

This is to test your knowledge on all things stupid. No prizes awarded for guessing correctly but big bonus for the funniest comments.

• Guess who is back in the National Parks?
• Who has a new hat?
• Which is rarer Ron or the Ooline tree ?
• Who is cutest ?
• Who forgot to bring along something to drink and had to resort to ------ tree hugging ?

Yep Gorge/Nat Park number 81 has been done.

Time for the map update

Yesterday was a totally lost day, very cold and wet all day but as promised by he who owns the park today has bloomed a beauty. Foggy this morning but the day promises to be spectacular. We are going out to the Tregole National Park for a quick look see, it is about 100klms towards Roma and apparently has some rare trees and black orchids.

Tomorrow we are off to Barcaldine and then on Monday onto Sapphire to continue the digging - orders are taken but no promises LOL.

Our new paper weight

We headed off to Yowah yesterday with the intention of getting out there with a pick and shovel but common sense prevaded and we just headed to the dealers LOL (So much easier). We ended up buying the paper weight which is sort of big and full of fire and colour.

Sorry to everyone that I promised an opal but we only came home with one LOL. I will try and get some better pics and post them later.

Good Morning all, Bruce made the point that if you look up Cunamulla on Google Earth you will see that it is surrounded by red red soil and is definately in the outback. On the contrary at the moment it looks like the western district of Victoria, totally covered in grass about two ft high and being eaten by several billion grasshoppers, that are totally stupid, continually fly into you, land in the camp fire to sizzle away and generally are a feast for the local bird life.  LOL.

Off to find the worlds best opal today, more on that tomorrow.

-3

Yep, that is minus three as in degrees, good morning Bourke. As you can see the ice is still on Ron's chair and poor ol' RT was iced up on all windows, yes we are heading north and the weather is getting colder - are we in the southern or northern hemisphere ???

Today we moved up the highway to Cunamulla over the border in Queensland. On first appearances this little town has lots in common with Bourke. Groups of young kids strolling around the streets with not alot to do.

Tomorrow we are off to discover the treasures of Yowah. Why ? you may ask, well it is home of some opal mines, mud springs and according to the locals "a good place to spend a day".

It's the "Headless Drover" from the Black Swamp

As we head along the "Long Paddock" there is a series of sculptures and this one is a real hoot. It depicts the headless drover chasing the crew working the long paddock. Complete with pesky dogs causing havoc, cows going in all directions this work is great and in the middle of absolutely nowhere LOL.

Yesterday dawned wet and packing up in the rain is never fun, but like troopers we struggled through it. The rain continued all day and was still going when we hit the sack last night. We arrived at Hay mid afternoon and soon got into the swing of seeing the local attractions. First off it was the Bishop's House made out of corrugated iron and saw dust - great house and very sensible for the area. Next it was off to the afternoon tea house for scones jam and cream followed by the trip to see the local jail and museum.

This morning we woke to a very cold start but clear blue sky. The country is so different from the last time through here. The crops are in and there is mile after mile of green. Where's my red dirt? I guess we will just have to keep looking, I'm sure it's out here just waiting to be rediscovered.

Today also marked our real return to Miss G and travelling. Emus wandering around, hawks and eagles soaring overhead and intensely coloured sky. Gotta love it.

Almost out of the state.

Yesterday we moved on up the highway to Echuca to catch up with Geoff. Dinner was at Antonio's with a good bottle of Sangioviese and a Pinot Gris to wash it all down. As we have been here many times before I wont go on about the town other than to say it is 5 degrees warmer than Melbourne so we know we are heading in the right direction. LOL

Glad to hear from you Greg, We are heading to those dam Sapphire fields again so maybe I can send you some to work on. I suppose the hard part about that is we have to find the dam things first LOL. Ron did find the best Zircon at Gemtree last year so it's only fitting that I find the best Sapphire this year LOL

We're back

At last we are off and running again. Melbourne true to style got the last laugh by serving up a 3 degree morning and it's the first time we have had to pack up in that sort of temp. Now we know why we are leaving LOL.

Easy day up the freeway to Milawa to restock some great food and wine for the future weeks where we know things are going to be grim on the gourmet front. Two vineyards, a mustard shop and we are fully stocked plus a mail ahead of wine to Bundaberg for our arrival up there in July. Tomorrow we are off to Echuca to catch up with Geoff and I am sure we will sample some good wine over a bite to eat and then north as quick as possible. Miss G is back in shape, RT and D'Luded are ready, so bring on the heat, sapphires and beaches.

It was meant to be a quiet night with friends to say goodbye to Felica.

What followed was anything but quiet LOL. Ron got right into the swing of things with a hug and kiss from one of those VERY UGLY Shield Sisters (top pic) who spotted him and B lined for the compulsory pic. Followed closely by Felica sporting beard and tats with totally outrageous hair which just got bigger and bigger and more electric as the night progressed. For her farewell performance she was cast as one of the ugly step sisters in Cinderella and she did the role justice.

Felica was on a flight to New York 6 hours after this pic was taken, aren't you glad you were not on that flight LOL.

The house is finally finished and we are all packed and ready to head north. More from the road.

She's Back

Yesterday Miss Guided returned from having the "Library" fitted (shelf at either end) and is now back in the park at Templestowe. We have checked in for a week so that we can get everything finished at the house and get her cleaned up after 2 months sitting at Geelong.

The furniture moves out today and the weekend will be spent cleaning and packing the rest of the gear. We are now very very keen to get back on the road and head somewhere warm. The temp. here at the moment is 5, yep 5 so we figure we are being robbed of at least 25 degrees so we are going to find it.

Ripples

St Luke's Art Supplies here in Melbourne is having a palette competition and Ripples is my contribution to the competition.

This is the preview of a much larger work which I will start on as soon as we hit the road again.

Winter in Melbourne

This one is a bit of nostalgia for those who have moved on from this great city. Yesterday we went to the Titanic exhibition at the museum and on the way we walked through the Exhibition gardens and this truly represents Melbourne in Winter. The plane trees are all loosing their leaves and the fountain going again after the years of drought. Bliss

The exhibition was great and if you ever get the chance to have a look it is well worth it.

Good Morning from COLD central

Just thought you might want to know that yesterday the sun took the day off, well down here it did. Fog all day and at 12 noon it was 12 degrees, and people want to know why we're moving LOL.

Well it appears the Mexicans had an adventurous day at Lennox Heads the other day, very scary tornado only 4 vans survived in the park. Speaking of vans the library is almost finished in Miss G and we pick her up on Tuesday the 15th (which of course is the day after our combined birthdays "Queens Birthday" and the day Blue wings his way across the pond to see his mum in New Orleans, via NYC of course). We have checked back into the park at Templestowe for four nights so that we can clean her up and restock and then it's back to the road and heading north. At the moment no plans on where or when but we do intend to be around Bundaberg in July to meet up with DW and Peter who will be holidaying up there then.

Mount Kota Kinabulu in all it's glory

and NO we didn't feel the need to climb it. Actually this was the only time we saw the mountain from the resort. All the rest of the time the mountains are shrouded in clouds and doing their rain forest thing. It's great to watch the massive thunderstorms developing during the day while you laze around the pool.

Speaking of the pool, here it is. I think you'll find that is Ron wallowing in the pool. Our daily routine here was to wake up preferably in the morning, well at least be at breakfast before 10.30 because then it goes from the "All you can eat breakfast" to the "All you can eat lunch". On the way to the pool we drop off our towels at our carefully selected lounges and that's the day. Tough isn't it.

Singapore Extremes

Marina Bay Sands

You will have to agree that this is one spectacular building and the size of it is truly awesome. What you are looking at is the hotel in this massive hotel/casino/theatre and shopping complex which is still being built. The hotel section pictured below is three towers about 60 storeys joined at the top by this ship like skypark. Yep, it is a park on top of the building, amazing. The park is opening on June 27 you can be assured that it will one hell of a party. This little vegie however will NEVER go up there as just looking at it gives me the hebbie jeevies. However we couldn't pass the opportunity of having lunch (Dim Sum for me and Nasi Goring for him) in the lobby. The atrium rises all the way to the top and they have 83 (no I didn't personally count them, just read it in the blurb) pottery vases about 10ft tall containing full size trees scattered around the foyer. Below is a pic of the entire complex, the casino is open, the hotel is up and running, the shopping centre was just starting to open and the theatre complex is still a work in progress. The design of the whole complex is quiet startling, with the sweeping curve of the skypark and the upended cup shape of the theatres.

Art Deco madness

The Park View tower is an example of Asian madness in a particular style. This Decoish tower has more deco styling than the Rockafeller/Chrylser/Waldof put together. We spotted this building when we were on our way to the hotel when we first arrived and just had to go back for a look see. The statues at the top are 6 or 7 stories high and there are lots of similar "over the top" statues scattered around the base. The truly astounding part is the inside which is overwhelming in bronze/gold deco reliefs and decor. Unfortunately you are not permitted to take pics and even though I tried I didn't succeed. Oh it is a building full of lawyers, who else could afford the rent LOL.

Heritage Singapore

Lastly on one of our many shopping centre trips (how many Rolex/Armani/Omega/Tiffany shops can one city have? ) we stumbled into this little bastion of Ol' Singapore. This beautiful little street running off Orchid Road is lined up both side with these lovely terraces. At the Orchid Rd end they are converted into bars and cafes but as you go further up the street you get into the residential area. As you would expect, nothing parked in the driveway is less than a Merc, so I guess we won't be buying there.

On reflection our trip to Singapore was fun, but it really is one big shopping centre and food hall. Next time a stopover of a day or so will be enough - 5 days is 3 days toooooo long.