Kangaroos and Emus

Thursday, 31 May 2012


We have to say the school group last night were very good – no noise at all. The sky was clear this morning and we had sun until lunch time. The temperature even reached 20 degrees!

We left Burra at 8.30 am, heading north through more sheep, wheat and wind farms. There were thousands of windmills just disappearing into the distance for the first 50 kms, then it was just wheat and sheep, then it was just sheep and saltbush as we climbed into the Flinders Ranges. The road actually improved the further we went.

During a stop at Peterborough, we came across a statue to Bob, the Railway Dog. During the 1890s, Bob would ride trains all over South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, jumping on and off and the whim took him. Cat also found a little train to keep him amused. During the drive we spotted a kangaroo and two emus (to add to the fox we saw yesterday), as well as a couple of wedge tail eagles. Definitely getting outback now.

We arrived at Wilpena Pound at 12.30 pm and had no trouble getting a powered site for the next three nights. The caravan park and camping grounds are huge, and are run by the Wilpena Pound Resort – everything here is at resort prices of course. All sites are in a bush setting, with plenty of room. The only downside is that one needs a GPS, backpack, cut lunch and water bottle – and at least 30 minutes warning – if the amenities block is needed. We actually used the car to drive to the laundry. Not long after we set up, a flock of six emus wandered past our door and a kangaroo has invaded a camper trailer opposite us. There were lots of shouts and loud noises for a while before the lady of the house belted the kangaroo over the head with some Tupperware (a use never mentioned by the sales ladies at parties).

The weather is deteriorating but we are hoping to get in a walk to the actual pound tomorrow. There is no television reception, so we might have to find a DVD tonight – or talk to each other.

Burra

Wednesday, 30th May


Another very cool morning but with a difference – the sky was clear and the sun actually shone. Actually, it wasn’t just cool, it was bitterly cold until after lunch, then is was just plain cold! Cat was a bit out of sorts this morning, too. Bit of a headache, perhaps?

We had a long drive today of 120 kms from Nuriootpa to Burra, where we are staying in the Burra Caravan Park. It was a rather nice drive – discounting the bumps – with the vineyards left behind and replaced by wheat, sheep and wind farms. Not to mention the many hills! We climbed steadily the whole way, but did have a bit of a tail wind, which helped.

Burra is an old copper mining town, settled by Cornish miners in the mid 1840s. After checking in to the caravan park and listening to the welcoming/instructing speech from the nice lady in reception (I think she knows her speech off by heart and mustn’t be interrupted!!!), we walked across the little creek (would be full of snakes in summer) to the information centre. The town is nearly all National Trust, who have a self-guided tour of the area, complete with key for admission to various sites.

We set off for the old mine site and engine house museum tour, as this closed at 12.30 pm, before continuing with our self guided tour. Our first stop was at the crushing house, with a walk straight up the very steep hill to a big chimney and lookout. I’m sure it was closer to 2 km than the signposted 200 metres! We continued to various other lookouts and old mine buildings, with another guided tour through another mine’s building. These included an old blacksmith’s shop and a look down the actual mine shaft – a long way down on a ladder with just a candle for illumination.

This is a lovely little town (or village), well worth an overnight stop. The caravan park is very good, but we have been warned not to use the showers between 7.00 and 9.00 tonight as there is a school group staying overnight.

Barossa Valley

Tuesday, 29th May


The caravan park at Nuriootpa is very nice (we have stayed here before), with lots of deciduous trees, as well as others. This means PLENTY of birdlife, especially early in the morning. The white cockatoos also are fond of making a racket at any time of the day. Of course, there has been no improvement in the weather – cold, wet and dismal. It will be so nice to finally get somewhere dry. The temperature managed to reach 11 degrees today. Luckily, the driers in the laundry are very efficient, and cheap.

Today, we hit the wineries – a bit like an up-market pub crawl! Cat was like a pig in mud, even if he did become a bit sulky when we didn’t purchase his choices. We even gave the Grange tasting a miss – only $50. With about 100 wineries in the area, we decided to stick to the major brands such as Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Jacobs Creek and Grant Burge. This was more than enough for our modest cellar.

Lunch was at Maggie Beer’s farm, although she must have been still travelling back from Masterchef – we didn’t see her but the staff was very friendly. Himself was very taken with the lovely young thing behind the counter. We had a picnic basket each – dukkah for me and a duck, sherry and green peppercorn pate for him – and ordered extra bread because it didn’t look very much. Needless to say, it would have been very rude if we didn’t have a crème caramel each for dessert – just divine. The beef in red wine casserole has gone back into the frig for tomorrow night and a light evening meal will be the order of the day.

A visit to the supermarket has meant that the frig is now full, ready for the next few days in the Flinders Ranges. At least we wont have any more quarantine restrictions until we return to Tasmania.

Stawell to Nuriootpa

Monday, 28th May


At last, all the socialising has ended and we are back to “normal!” My relations, Kevin and Sandy, were wonderful hosts, treating us just like paying guests at their Corella Rise Bed and Breakfast. How nice to come out for breakfast, find a beautifully set table, have the toast and coffee prepared for us, look at the Grampians in the distance and then discover that the table magically cleared itself while we were talking to the alpacas!

We had a long drive today – just over 500 kms – but fortunately the half hour time difference helped in this regard. I can honestly assure everyone that the highway from Stawell to Murray Bridge is very bumpy most of the time and from Murray Bridge to Nuriootpa it was even worse. I still feel as though I am bouncing up and down. Today was also the first day we shared the driving.

We had a couple of stops, the first at Nhill for a morning break, then we stopped at Border Town for lunch. Due to a lack of provisions and an inability to locate an accessible supermarket, we were forced to buy our lunch from the local bakery. This was an interesting place – a large tin shed erected over the old police station and filled with lots of old “stuff.” The pies weren’t bad, either.

The weather wasn’t too bad until we reached South Australia, when the grey clouds actually produced moisture in varying amounts. As we climbed towards the Barossa Valley, the temperature also dropped markedly. It was so nice to leave the Western Highway, which was soooo boring, and head into the hills with lovely trees and old stone cottages.

We are all, especially Cat, looking forward to tomorrow.

Ballarat

Sunday, 27th May


We left South Dandenong in dull, overcast and cool conditions this morning. Fortunately, being Sunday morning, traffic was fairly light on the motorways and we had not trouble crossing the city and heading for Ballarat. The sun even shone for a few minutes.

We stopped at Ballarat for a couple of hours – after driving all the way around Lake Wendouree looking for the Botanic Gardens. If we had turned left instead of right … After lunch in the caravan, we donned our down jackets, gloves, scarves and beanies (did I mention the temperature was only 10 degrees?) and set out for a brisk walk around part of the lake. We took some leftover bread to feed the swans, although one of us looked more intent on keeping some of the bread! It doesn’t take long to make friends with a swan. This was a lovely area, with lots of walking and bike tracks (and people, and dogs) right around the lake – and it is flat!

We crossed the road to the Botanic Gardens, looked at most of the lovely statues and then discovered the Prime Ministers’ Walk – this contains a bronze bust of all Australia’s prime ministers. We thought one in particular must have been the model for a certain nasty character (whose name mustn’t be mentioned) in the Harry Potter movies. The conservatory was an absolute delight (the display only opened yesterday) with its Christmas wonderland village theme – Christmas tree, reindeers, white flowers and snowflakes and little shops and tables.

By this time we had convinced Cat to leave the warmth of the coats on the back seat of the car for the benefits of some bracing fresh air and then discovered the historical tram was operating. Of course, it was all aboard for a 20 minute ride and a 10 minute talk with the very friendly driver. He even stopped the tram right beside the caravan so we didn’t have to walk too far.

After this, it was on to Stawell and the Corella Rise Bed and Breakfast for the night and to meet some cousins for the first time. Out came the computers as we compared photos and stories and worked out just who was who in the extended family. Needless to say, the conversation did extend somewhat into the late evening. It will be nice to sleep in the “big” bed again, even if only for one night.

Footy

Saturday, 26 May 2012


Not the best start to the day with the realisation that we will have to replace our awning. Three very brave gentlemen were able to wind it up last night during the gale and this morning, with the wind abated, we were able to inspect the damage – a bent and damaged arm along with a “torn” and delaminated awning. Some time was spent contacting the insurance company and we will wait until we arrive in Cairns before we do anything else.

At least the rain did stop for a few hours today. We had tickets to the Sydney/St Kilda match this afternoon, so gave ourselves plenty of time to find a car park near Etihad Stadium before walking into the city for lunch. The one block of William Street that we wanted to drive down was closed to all traffic while a Honda commercial was being filmed – fortunately it just meant doing a bigger blockie. Of course, it started to pour as we walked back to the stadium!

We had good seats on the second level and during half time the four men sitting in front of us decided to be friendly and have a chat. One was from Cicero Court in Blackmans Bay, the others were from Cairns – one was originally from Smithton and played football for Ulverstone. Turned out he and Les had mutual acquaintances. We have been invited to get in touch with him when we arrive in Cairns.

Cat became a bit bored with the football and decided to help the Fox Sports cameraman, who was working next to our seats. I think that is all we need say about the football.

Rain

Friday, 25th May


Last evening we drove to Cranbourne and spent a couple of enjoyable hours with my aunty and caught up on some family news.

This morning it rained!!! Then it rained some more!

As the weather left a little to be desired, we decided to head to Traralgon to visit some people we know (after a phone call, of course). We stopped at Moe for half an hour – home town of Les’ grandfather and had a little wander around Woolworths and the post office before hypothermia started to set in. Then it was on to Traralgon for lunch and a chat before heading back to Melbourne

Did I mention it rained? At this stage it also started to blow. The rain was so heavy that visibility was reduced, similar to driving in fog, not to mention spray off the road. Water on and across the road also made for some interesting driving. We had to rely on TomTom to get us back, but unfortunately she doesn’t really understand about traffic – a right hand turn across a double highway in peak hour traffic (without the aid of traffic lights) wasn’t the best of decisions on her part. Like all good tourists, we eventually did a left hand turn from the right hand lane and turned around at the first opportunity.

TomTom has been having a few issues since we arrived, getting the sulks at times and refusing to talk to us. If she continues like this and we don’t feel that she can be trusted, she might find herself retired!

The awning is out, one of the flappers has come off but the wind is too strong to re-attach the flapper and definitely too dangerous to roll-up the awning. Will just have to keep the fingers crossed.

Melbourne - Day 1

Thursday, 24th May

We left Hobart in lovely mild, calm, sunny weather. Unfortunately, this only lasted as far as Ross – this is when the rain and wind commenced. The wind did not abate at all, only became stronger! We stropped beside the cemetery at Longford for lunch and discovered the chicken in the frig was frozen solid. Mayonnaise sandwiches with a very thin slice of ham was the order of the day.


We unhitched the caravan at Les’ sister and drove through to Penguin to visit his mother before returning to Devonport, collecting the caravan and meeting Denise and Barry. We seemed to have a bit of communication problem, as we were both waiting outside different hotels to meet! No problems checking in and with security checks, and we were able to queue up behind each other to board the ship. Of course, we had to wait nearly an hour before boarding, so Denise popped the kettle on for a cuppa (the joys of having a caravan in tow). When the vehicles in front of us moved, we followed of course, straight onto the ship. It was at this time that Barry decided to check that all was well in his en-suite and found his car and caravan were left standing on the grid and Denise was a little agitated!

The sailing was a trifle rough and the ship made the most horrible metallic banging noises all night. Thought of Titanic did pop through the head. We docked on time and were off within five minutes; had no trouble getting to the Big 4 caravan park at South Dandenong.

The morning was spent with a visit to the Breakaway outlet and a quick stop at another shopping centre (someone “forgot” to put his jumper in the car and was getting cold) for a necessary purchase.

We had lunch with some people from our East European tour and spent a rather sociable afternoon with them. When we rang them, Trevor immediately asked if Cat was coming to visit as well. When we were shown to the dining table, Cat was already sitting up with his bowl of soup and a glass of wine!

Fine and sunny here this morning, cloudy and cool this afternoon.

Aloha

Saturday, 5th May


Our time in Hawaii is fast drawing to a close.

Last night we dined at the Hula Grill, which is at the same location as Duke’s Bar, but much quieter. We had a table on the terrace (absolute beachfront!!!) and looked out over the sea and sunset (which was a bit of a fizzer). The service was fantastic, as was the food. Himself ordered a steak and was given a steak knife which would have made Crocodile Dundee proud. The steak was so tender that a butter knife would have sufficed. The macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi (fish) went down a treat as well.

First thing this morning (after breakfast, of course) was to make sure that all our “stuff” would actually fit into the suitcases. A special request from our daughter meant that a couple of Aloha shirts had to be jettisoned, and as good parents do, Di and Cam made the supreme sacrifice and volunteered their shirts. Amazingly, we actually have some room left – and haven’t even extended the cases! However, someone is still banned from buying even more shirts and shorts, so he will just have to make do.

The remainder of the morning was filled in with a bus ride past Diamond Head to Haneama Bay – such a beautiful spot. This ancient volcano has been breached by the sea and now contains a coral reef, a beautiful tropical beach and lots of tourists. After rejoining the bus, we continued along this wild part of the coast as far as Rabbit Island before returning to Waikiki.

Cat requested one last look at the many characters on the streets, so he was lucky enough to be treated to an ice cream as well.

Rain???

Friday, 4th May


No smart comments, please, but it actually rained this morning after breakfast! We had decided to catch the bus to Hanamea Bay and were most surprised to discover it was raining – we didn’t feel any need to change from shorts and t-shirts, though! After standing under a tree for about 20 minutes waiting for the bus to arrive, we changed our minds and decided to finish our souvenir shopping – we still needed to buy a couple of Aloha shirts for family back home. At this stage, Leslie felt a little unwell with a possible migraine, so he was returned to the hotel for a little rest in the dark. Fortunately for those back home, one of us plodded on and braved the dealers in the market place to make the necessary purchases.

This afternoon we had a gentle stroll along the beach front towards Diamond Head – very beautiful along this way, with lawn and palm trees between the road and beach. After the rain cleared this morning, it came out very hot and sticky and the sea was flat as a tack – not appreciated by all the would-be surfers who had hired surf boards for the day. Our afternoon ice cream treat had to be eaten very quickly today.

There is an Ugg Australia shop here (yes, Ugg boots in this climate) and we decided to check out their prices last night. Unfortunately, we didn’t get in the shop as the queue (yes, queue) was too long – the security guards were only letting people in as others came out because the shop was jammed packed!

I think I must have the softest hands in Waikiki – it seems nearly every time we go out someone is wanting to give me a hand massage, try the new magical salts, or give my hand (only one) an exfoliation and facial mask. There are also numerous people trying to sell time share, tours, etc, but the people selling live gun firing seem to leave us alone. From late afternoon, there are also numerous buskers – everything from living statues, artists, musicians and rap dancers. A couple of the living statues have left a little to be desired – and nothing much to the imagination! One male obviously didn’t want to risk losing his patch, so used the nearby rubbish bin as a loo. Another one, female and wearing a very short skirt, lost her hat in the wind as I was walking towards her and so she just bent over to pick it up with her back towards me. She obviously had got dressed in a hurry and forgot to put her undies on!

There are lots of trolleys in Waikiki, which make it easy to get about. They are fairly cheap (our hotel give us free transport on a trolley) but the majority seem to be reserved for Japanese tourists.

Warm and Sunny

Thursday, 3rd May


What can I say about the weather to the people back home suffering the cold and rain? It is warm and sunny here!

It was a traumatic start to the day (for one of us, anyway) when we had a different waitress at breakfast and she didn’t know our usual order. Someone ended up with scrambled eggs instead of medium over easy! Scrambled eggs here look like eggs broken into a frying pan and stirred – not at all light and fluffy.

Following breakfast, it was a constitutional walk along the beach. Cat became very excited at the sight of so much sand! The quality of the sand seems to depend on the quality of the hotel it is in front of – the Royal Hawaiian had the smoothest and cleanest! It didn’t take Cat long to jump the chain and become ensconced on a sun lounge at the Royal Hawaiian (or Pink Palace, as it is also known), despite all the signs saying no admittance. We strolled slowly past the people having breakfast on the terrace at the Halekalani (where I would REALLY like to be staying!!!), just so they would be able to see what the “normal” people looked like.

After this, we decided to check out the Ala Moana Shopping Centre – the third largest in the US. Walked about a lot, looked a lot but didn’t buy a lot. There are some very high end shops in the centre and none of them seemed to have any customers, just security guards at the doors.

I have included a few more photos from the “Missouri.”

Mighty Mo

Wednesday, 2nd May


A very warm and sunny day here (for all you web-feeted people back home), with us looking for shade where possible.

Today we acted like proper tourists and headed for the battleship “Missouri.” We had to go to the Arizona Memorial first and were then driven by shuttle bus to Ford Island, where the “Missouri” is moored. Security is still tight at the Arizona Memorial and we were not permitted to carry anything other than a small camera, a wallet and a water bottle. Everything else had to be checked in for collection on our way out. Needless to say, Cat definitely had the sulks all day, having to spend all the time in a hut with a couple of guards for company.

We were given a guided tour of some of the deck area, together with numerous facts and figures which are promptly forgotten – except for Mighty Mo’s birthday, which is 29th January. The six large guns were MASSIVE – only word to describe them! We saw the exact spot over which the table was placed for the signing of the documents to end World War 2, as well as photostat copies of both the English and Japanese language documents.

We saw the dents in the side of the ship which were made by a kamikaze pilot – they were never removed, despite the ship being recommissioned twice since WW2. Below decks were walked through the sailor’s and NCOs’ messes and quarters, saw the kitchens and various workshops and offices. Sailors’ bunks were little placed in any space available, even in corridors. The officers, of course, had bigger cabins and better messes. We walked through the bridge, someone sat in the captain’s chair, and we decided that the helmsman probably had the safest job with the thick armour plating surrounding the ship’s wheel. From the deck, we were able to see the actual Arizona Memorial just in front of the bows.

Of course, the exit was through the usual gift shop. We returned to the Arizona Memorial but didn’t go out to the sunken ship, as we have done that on previous occasions. However, Cat was lucky that the nice lady on the gate did allow him into the memorial so that he could have his photo taken and he quite proudly showed all the tourists just where he lived in the Pacific region.

To make it up to Cat for leaving him all morning, we decided to stop at the Aloha Towers on our return journey – this is where Cat was originally adopted from. Unfortunately, we were in for a big disappointment as the economic downtown has caught up with this centre and only a couple of businesses were still in operation. So it was back to Waikiki for an ice cream instead!