Sydney was a great place to visit as we walked all over and visited a few cafes and pubs, including a German one... The first day we went via train as it was open till ten that night before work started on it - and what an interesting system they have! The trains are actually double-deckers so I (Rich) must have looked a right tit as I walked up the stairs to the top-deck with a big smile on my face because of this new found oddity.
After our journey across the Harbour Bridge and catching glimpses of the city, we wandered over to the harbour; took lots of photos of the bridge and the opera house (I'd worn my gym shirt for the photos...); and then visited a blow-up rugby ball that you could go inside to watch a video on the Rugby World Cup in NZ next year - rather interesting as it was projected onto the entire surface of the inside of the ball. We also had a wander around the Rocks which is quite a nice place and had a look at the market they have there.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Melbourne to Sydney
We drove along the Hume Highway between the two cities and even though it wasn't supposed to be the scenic route, it was brilliant. Just what I (Rich) wanted in a road: two lanes either way; service stations that were actually modern and included McDonald's!; and a fast route to Sydney. I originally wanted to take the scenic Alpine route but that was waterlogged and probably not the best idea during the change from Winter to Spring.
We stopped off at a campsite just passed Albury and then motored onto Sydney the next day. And after driving for a long time, we arrived in Liverpool, which was quite similar to the English Liverpool as it didn't seem like the place you'd want to stop... Only kidding! The thing we did realise was that even though we weren't in Sydney, yet, we could see how much traffic goes through and past the city. Traffic was horrendous but we managed to find the campsite at asking some Sony Ericsson employees and then ringing the campsite for help.
The campsite was actually in a decent location: in a nature reserve and close to the train station. However, the planes taking off would flyover us and the train station closed at the weekend for maintenance so that was good!
We stopped off at a campsite just passed Albury and then motored onto Sydney the next day. And after driving for a long time, we arrived in Liverpool, which was quite similar to the English Liverpool as it didn't seem like the place you'd want to stop... Only kidding! The thing we did realise was that even though we weren't in Sydney, yet, we could see how much traffic goes through and past the city. Traffic was horrendous but we managed to find the campsite at asking some Sony Ericsson employees and then ringing the campsite for help.
The campsite was actually in a decent location: in a nature reserve and close to the train station. However, the planes taking off would flyover us and the train station closed at the weekend for maintenance so that was good!
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Adelaide – Mount Gambier – Melbourne
When we left Adelaide the weather was pretty grim. It turns out that a weather front was making its way up from down south. We had to drive through it in order to get to Mount Gambier which was pretty gnarly at one point. The rain was so heavy not even the fast setting on the wipers could clear the windscreen. Fortunately, we passed through the worst of it fairly quickly but it was still wet and windy when we got to our destination.
Whilst at Mount Gambier we went to view the Blue Lake, which in summer is a bright blue but as we were there in winter it was more of a grey-blue, but still quite beautiful. We also managed to visit the Sink Hole and Gardens which was also quite impressive. A chap, some time ago, had decided to build some stairs around and down the sinkhole to some lovely gardens at the bottom. Unfortunately the weather didn’t stay clear for long and we spent the rest of the day confined to the campsite.
Mt. Gambier Sinkhole:
For the next part of our journey the plan was to go on the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne; however due to the weather we were a bit worried about driving on it with the van. We made the decision to wait another day at Mount Gambier in the hope that the front would move on and leave some dry, calm weather…and luckily it did.
The Great Ocean Road was definitely worth the wait. We stopped to view the various rock formations including London Bridge and the 12 Apostles. The road twisted and turned through the forests and along the cliffs and provided spectacular views. We passed fallen rocks and tree branches along parts of it; which was the result of the previous day’s bad weather so we were glad we had waited. We arrived safely in Melbourne late Saturday afternoon to glorious weather which stayed with us for the couple of days that we were there.
London Bridge on the GOR:
Whilst in Melbourne we took a ride on the Tourist Tram; visited the Immigration Museum; walked through China Town and experienced the café culture; which reminded us of being in France or Spain. One of the highlights for us was dining at Fifteen Melbourne – Jamie Oliver’s restaurant managed by Tobie Puttock. We had watched the Fifteen Melbourne TV series whilst in Perth so we thought we’d try it out as it always looked so good. We had a fabulous evening and Tobie was even cooking in the kitchen that night so I was quite excited about that!
Melbourne in all it's glory:
Whilst at Mount Gambier we went to view the Blue Lake, which in summer is a bright blue but as we were there in winter it was more of a grey-blue, but still quite beautiful. We also managed to visit the Sink Hole and Gardens which was also quite impressive. A chap, some time ago, had decided to build some stairs around and down the sinkhole to some lovely gardens at the bottom. Unfortunately the weather didn’t stay clear for long and we spent the rest of the day confined to the campsite.
Mt. Gambier Sinkhole:
For the next part of our journey the plan was to go on the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne; however due to the weather we were a bit worried about driving on it with the van. We made the decision to wait another day at Mount Gambier in the hope that the front would move on and leave some dry, calm weather…and luckily it did.
The Great Ocean Road was definitely worth the wait. We stopped to view the various rock formations including London Bridge and the 12 Apostles. The road twisted and turned through the forests and along the cliffs and provided spectacular views. We passed fallen rocks and tree branches along parts of it; which was the result of the previous day’s bad weather so we were glad we had waited. We arrived safely in Melbourne late Saturday afternoon to glorious weather which stayed with us for the couple of days that we were there.
London Bridge on the GOR:
Whilst in Melbourne we took a ride on the Tourist Tram; visited the Immigration Museum; walked through China Town and experienced the café culture; which reminded us of being in France or Spain. One of the highlights for us was dining at Fifteen Melbourne – Jamie Oliver’s restaurant managed by Tobie Puttock. We had watched the Fifteen Melbourne TV series whilst in Perth so we thought we’d try it out as it always looked so good. We had a fabulous evening and Tobie was even cooking in the kitchen that night so I was quite excited about that!
Melbourne in all it's glory:
Ceduna – Port Augusta – Barossa Valley - Adelaide
We left Ceduna early and headed to Port Augusta which was our next stopover. We visited the Arid Gardens which was quite interesting. And the coffee and cake from the café was yum! At the campsite we were privileged enough to be parked next to a 1968 Bedford – that’s right; a 1968 Bedford!!! (Numerous men came by to drool over it). It was a strange little campsite; it was the first time that we had been locked in over night.
The next morning we headed to the Barossa Valley – quite a big wine region in South Australia. There was a Gourmet Weekend on whilst we were there so most of the wineries had put on entertainment and decorated the grounds. The weather was beautiful and the weekend was pretty fun!
After the weekend we made the short journey to Adelaide. We were staying within walking distance of the city so we had a quick wander around the city centre before driving miles to have the van serviced. We were in Adelaide for a few days so we got chance to visit the Market – which was huge and full of fresh local produce and various worldwide delights. We went to the Immigration Museum and the Natural History Museum and visited many shops trying to find a fan heater for the van, but unfortunately for us every shop had sold out!!
The next morning we headed to the Barossa Valley – quite a big wine region in South Australia. There was a Gourmet Weekend on whilst we were there so most of the wineries had put on entertainment and decorated the grounds. The weather was beautiful and the weekend was pretty fun!
After the weekend we made the short journey to Adelaide. We were staying within walking distance of the city so we had a quick wander around the city centre before driving miles to have the van serviced. We were in Adelaide for a few days so we got chance to visit the Market – which was huge and full of fresh local produce and various worldwide delights. We went to the Immigration Museum and the Natural History Museum and visited many shops trying to find a fan heater for the van, but unfortunately for us every shop had sold out!!
Friday, 8 October 2010
The Nullarbor – Balladonia – Eucla - Ceduna
The next part of the trip took us across the Nullarbor and down the longest straight road in Australia and across the border to South Australia.
No heading needed, here:
We drove to Norseman first and filled up while Rich chatted to a bloke from Wembley who had moved forty years ago (what made him do that, I haven't the foggiest!). Norseman was a pretty sparse town where Rich was overcharged for a box of Special K. This box of cereal was supposed to be on offer for $3 but the shop assistant failed to notice this and charged a heavy $6.91! Not until Balladonia did Rich realise what had happened and he wasn't a happy bunny.
We stopped over at Balladonia and had a good chat with the managers who were from Doncaster and somewhere in Lancashire. The next day we tackled the longest straight road and enjoyed countless k's of the same view. We stopped at Eucla and then crossed the border the next day to the lovely town of Ceduna.
After we'd parked up we popped into the visitor centre and asked if there were any walks to do. Well, we were glad we asked as the chap in the centre told us of a lovely one that was along the seafront and passed by grain silos and a fish factory. We were blown over by the possible sights to behold in this town and quickly departed to our campsite for tea. Oh, and we got our certificate for crossing the Nullarbor!
No heading needed, here:
We drove to Norseman first and filled up while Rich chatted to a bloke from Wembley who had moved forty years ago (what made him do that, I haven't the foggiest!). Norseman was a pretty sparse town where Rich was overcharged for a box of Special K. This box of cereal was supposed to be on offer for $3 but the shop assistant failed to notice this and charged a heavy $6.91! Not until Balladonia did Rich realise what had happened and he wasn't a happy bunny.
We stopped over at Balladonia and had a good chat with the managers who were from Doncaster and somewhere in Lancashire. The next day we tackled the longest straight road and enjoyed countless k's of the same view. We stopped at Eucla and then crossed the border the next day to the lovely town of Ceduna.
After we'd parked up we popped into the visitor centre and asked if there were any walks to do. Well, we were glad we asked as the chap in the centre told us of a lovely one that was along the seafront and passed by grain silos and a fish factory. We were blown over by the possible sights to behold in this town and quickly departed to our campsite for tea. Oh, and we got our certificate for crossing the Nullarbor!
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Denmark – Albany – Esperance
We left Denmark and headed to Albany (just down the road). Rich wanted to carry on but I thought the town seemed quite nice and the weather was lovely so we stopped at the Visitor Centre. It was Whale Season and we were told that they come right into the bays around Albany so that made me want to stay. Rich agreed (to appease me, I think) so we checked in to a beachfront campsite complete with pool and spa.
As it was warm and sunny we decided to walk the Boardwalk into the town which was about 3KM one way. The first part of the walk takes you along the cliffs around the bay and as told there was a whale just floating along!! At first I thought it was a log or pipeline as it was so close to the cliff and did not appear to be moving but soon after it started to swim along as we walked.
We stopped for coffee in the town (no cake this time, though) and had a wander before heading back via a hill walk. This appeared to be a pretty straight forward route on the map but in reality it proved very difficult to find the pathway – even the locals were non-the-wiser! We had walked up and down the same hill a couple of times before we stumbled across it (and it probably wasn’t worth all the effort to be honest as it just brought you back to the Boardwalk).
Here's Albany town centre:
However, on our return along the Boardwalk there were a couple of whales in the bay and one was splashing its tail in and out of the water. I could have stayed there all day just watching them – Rich couldn’t, though…
That evening Rich decided to go for a swim in the FREEZING pool – what possessed him I’ll never know. When he got out he said he could feel his back tingling like pins and needles! At this point we decided to make a bee-line for the 34C spa, which was lovely! And we spent the evening around the kitchen campfire – it was a shame we didn’t have any marshmallows!
The next morning we were up early for our 5 hour drive to Esperance. Before hitting the highway we planned to stop at MuzzBuzz (a drive through coffee place) as we had some vouchers. We ended up going round in a circle to get to it (looking back it probably wasn’t worth the detour). After we got our ‘Really Big One’ (aka RBO – the Aussie’s shorten everything) we headed on our way. Along the route I did my first bit of driving as the road was pretty empty and I thought I would be safe. I had not been driving all that long when 2 birds flew out in front of me, straight into the grill. I shrieked in horror as I saw blue feathers just falling to the road in my rear view mirror (Rich also chose this exact point to take a photo of me so didn’t know what I had just done). My driving experience did not last long after this; mainly due to the fact that the van was horrible to drive and Rich kept wincing every 2 minutes! We switched over and Rich (happily) drove the rest of the way.
Evidence of me driving! (Just as the birds commit suicide):
After checking in at the campsite we decided to go on the tourist drive around the cliffs and up to the Pink Lake, which we were told was very pretty. The drive was pretty spectacular along the cliff tops with the rough sea crashing on the sands. When we got to the Pink Lake we noticed that it wasn’t pink; it was blue! Apparently algae in the water had been disturbed and the chemical balance had been altered so this meant that the pink hue had gone.
That evening we had a rushed tea as we had to go to the local pub to watch the Premiership highlights on TV (much to the Aussie’s moaning as the barman changed it over from Aussie Rules Football to English Premier League for us). (Rich) AFL seems to be just a bunch of blokes chasing after a football. As my football coach told me and my team mates when we were 12, “everyone shouldn’t chase after the ball like a herd of elephants”. Well, AFL doesn’t seem to have been told this!
Sunny Esperance:
As it was warm and sunny we decided to walk the Boardwalk into the town which was about 3KM one way. The first part of the walk takes you along the cliffs around the bay and as told there was a whale just floating along!! At first I thought it was a log or pipeline as it was so close to the cliff and did not appear to be moving but soon after it started to swim along as we walked.
We stopped for coffee in the town (no cake this time, though) and had a wander before heading back via a hill walk. This appeared to be a pretty straight forward route on the map but in reality it proved very difficult to find the pathway – even the locals were non-the-wiser! We had walked up and down the same hill a couple of times before we stumbled across it (and it probably wasn’t worth all the effort to be honest as it just brought you back to the Boardwalk).
Here's Albany town centre:
However, on our return along the Boardwalk there were a couple of whales in the bay and one was splashing its tail in and out of the water. I could have stayed there all day just watching them – Rich couldn’t, though…
That evening Rich decided to go for a swim in the FREEZING pool – what possessed him I’ll never know. When he got out he said he could feel his back tingling like pins and needles! At this point we decided to make a bee-line for the 34C spa, which was lovely! And we spent the evening around the kitchen campfire – it was a shame we didn’t have any marshmallows!
The next morning we were up early for our 5 hour drive to Esperance. Before hitting the highway we planned to stop at MuzzBuzz (a drive through coffee place) as we had some vouchers. We ended up going round in a circle to get to it (looking back it probably wasn’t worth the detour). After we got our ‘Really Big One’ (aka RBO – the Aussie’s shorten everything) we headed on our way. Along the route I did my first bit of driving as the road was pretty empty and I thought I would be safe. I had not been driving all that long when 2 birds flew out in front of me, straight into the grill. I shrieked in horror as I saw blue feathers just falling to the road in my rear view mirror (Rich also chose this exact point to take a photo of me so didn’t know what I had just done). My driving experience did not last long after this; mainly due to the fact that the van was horrible to drive and Rich kept wincing every 2 minutes! We switched over and Rich (happily) drove the rest of the way.
Evidence of me driving! (Just as the birds commit suicide):
After checking in at the campsite we decided to go on the tourist drive around the cliffs and up to the Pink Lake, which we were told was very pretty. The drive was pretty spectacular along the cliff tops with the rough sea crashing on the sands. When we got to the Pink Lake we noticed that it wasn’t pink; it was blue! Apparently algae in the water had been disturbed and the chemical balance had been altered so this meant that the pink hue had gone.
That evening we had a rushed tea as we had to go to the local pub to watch the Premiership highlights on TV (much to the Aussie’s moaning as the barman changed it over from Aussie Rules Football to English Premier League for us). (Rich) AFL seems to be just a bunch of blokes chasing after a football. As my football coach told me and my team mates when we were 12, “everyone shouldn’t chase after the ball like a herd of elephants”. Well, AFL doesn’t seem to have been told this!
Sunny Esperance:
Saturday, 25 September 2010
Return To Perth & Back Down Again!!!
The next morning we took the van to a garage to have a look at a spot underneath the windows on either side of the van - the hi-top part. The last two days we'd had a lot of rain and the van had decided to let some of it in so we rang the rental company who sent us to two garages where we found out it would be a four hour job. The rental company told us to drive to Perth where we found out there were no replacement vehicles and all they did was put sealant on the window! Then we drove down to Pemberton having wasted six hours on the road and lots of petrol for something the mechanic in Margaret River could have done.
By the time we reached Pemberton we were ready for bed after a chat with Dave & Jane and lots of complaining. In the morning we saw that the caravan park was in a really nice spot as it was surrounded by a thick, green forest with trees reaching pretty decent heights.
Afterwe'd been to the visitors centre I (Rich) drove in the wrong direction, luckily though we spotted a sign that said 'Gloucester Tree' which I'd read about in the Frommers guide so I diverted us down a residential street and finally to a small national parks car park.
The Gloucester Tree is actually a 60 metre tall fire lookout tree and to reach the lookout they've put pieces of metal into the tree that spiral around it all the way to a ladder at the top! I thought thus was great and duly climbed all the way for some satisfactory photos and moments of peace high up in the forest. (most of the photos were just of trees though!). Gem did make it about a fifth of the way and then decided that if wouldn't be a good idea to continue incase she panicked further up! The great thing was that there were no supervisors and nothing safe about it - well, no harnesses etc. If you fell, you fell... I'd like to see the same thing in England some day - Health & Safety would go mental. All you had to do was climb up each step like a ladder set at a safe angle with some steep points.
Later on in the day we visted a small waterfall and had a walk around a short nature trail and then departed for Walpole and Denmark. The highlight of the journey to Denmark was the walk in the Valley of the Giants as sponsored by AFL's and the Docker's own giant, Andy Sandilands (he's pretty tall). It's a really good as it reaches about the same height (40 metres) as some of the trees in the area and maintains this height for a while as you walk on a metal platform. It lasts for 600 metres and is a great way to see all the trees in a different way.
By the time we reached Denmark it was going dark and so we parked up and began to prepare for tea. During the time we spent in the camp kitchen, numerous kangaroos descended on the campgrounds and for the rest of the night our van was surrounded by about ten kangaroos all having their evening meal while we watched them. It was a great sight especially as they were all 'wild'.
By the time we reached Pemberton we were ready for bed after a chat with Dave & Jane and lots of complaining. In the morning we saw that the caravan park was in a really nice spot as it was surrounded by a thick, green forest with trees reaching pretty decent heights.
Afterwe'd been to the visitors centre I (Rich) drove in the wrong direction, luckily though we spotted a sign that said 'Gloucester Tree' which I'd read about in the Frommers guide so I diverted us down a residential street and finally to a small national parks car park.
The Gloucester Tree is actually a 60 metre tall fire lookout tree and to reach the lookout they've put pieces of metal into the tree that spiral around it all the way to a ladder at the top! I thought thus was great and duly climbed all the way for some satisfactory photos and moments of peace high up in the forest. (most of the photos were just of trees though!). Gem did make it about a fifth of the way and then decided that if wouldn't be a good idea to continue incase she panicked further up! The great thing was that there were no supervisors and nothing safe about it - well, no harnesses etc. If you fell, you fell... I'd like to see the same thing in England some day - Health & Safety would go mental. All you had to do was climb up each step like a ladder set at a safe angle with some steep points.
Later on in the day we visted a small waterfall and had a walk around a short nature trail and then departed for Walpole and Denmark. The highlight of the journey to Denmark was the walk in the Valley of the Giants as sponsored by AFL's and the Docker's own giant, Andy Sandilands (he's pretty tall). It's a really good as it reaches about the same height (40 metres) as some of the trees in the area and maintains this height for a while as you walk on a metal platform. It lasts for 600 metres and is a great way to see all the trees in a different way.
By the time we reached Denmark it was going dark and so we parked up and began to prepare for tea. During the time we spent in the camp kitchen, numerous kangaroos descended on the campgrounds and for the rest of the night our van was surrounded by about ten kangaroos all having their evening meal while we watched them. It was a great sight especially as they were all 'wild'.
Monday, 13 September 2010
South to Margaret River
We left Fremantle after the prison tour and headed for Bunbury. After an overnight stop; a morning coffee and a walk through the town in the damp weather we left for Margaret River via Busselton and Simmo's Ice Cream.
We arrived in Busselton around lunchtime and ate looking out to sea and the longest wooden pier in the Southern Hemisphere. Unfortunately it was closed for renovations and the weather was pretty windy anyway so we didn't venture down it.
On our way to Simmo's (recommended by Frommers 2010 guide) the wind picked up even more and when we parked up sizeable branches were being blown off the trees into the car park and narrowly missed us! The Ice Cream parlour was worth the visit - they had so many flavours to choose from, it took us a while to order. In the end I opted for a waffle with Ferrero Rocher ice cream and Rich went for a waffle with Malteaser ice cream. These were throughly enjoyed but as the power kept cutting out and the doors kept being blown open we decided it was probably best to head to the campsite asap!
The journey down to Margaret River was fun avoiding all the falling branches and fighting the wind as it buffeted the van. We arrived at a lovely campsite but due to the weather we weren't able to walk into town so we spent the evening in the camp kitchen and van. That night we met a nice couple from Halifax who took all our $1 coins for the dryer and then plied us with freebies in the morning as they were flying home that night.
The following day the weather had settled down and the sun even made an appearance from time to time. We went on a day tour which was discounted through the campsite. We went to four wineries, a venison farm, a chocolate factory, a cheese shop and finished up at a brewery. We met a couple from Ireland on the tour who were also staying at the campsite. Earlier that morning we also met a couple from the USA who were travelling. As it turned out it would not be the last time that we would see either couple as they were heading in the same direction as us.
We arrived in Busselton around lunchtime and ate looking out to sea and the longest wooden pier in the Southern Hemisphere. Unfortunately it was closed for renovations and the weather was pretty windy anyway so we didn't venture down it.
On our way to Simmo's (recommended by Frommers 2010 guide) the wind picked up even more and when we parked up sizeable branches were being blown off the trees into the car park and narrowly missed us! The Ice Cream parlour was worth the visit - they had so many flavours to choose from, it took us a while to order. In the end I opted for a waffle with Ferrero Rocher ice cream and Rich went for a waffle with Malteaser ice cream. These were throughly enjoyed but as the power kept cutting out and the doors kept being blown open we decided it was probably best to head to the campsite asap!
The journey down to Margaret River was fun avoiding all the falling branches and fighting the wind as it buffeted the van. We arrived at a lovely campsite but due to the weather we weren't able to walk into town so we spent the evening in the camp kitchen and van. That night we met a nice couple from Halifax who took all our $1 coins for the dryer and then plied us with freebies in the morning as they were flying home that night.
The following day the weather had settled down and the sun even made an appearance from time to time. We went on a day tour which was discounted through the campsite. We went to four wineries, a venison farm, a chocolate factory, a cheese shop and finished up at a brewery. We met a couple from Ireland on the tour who were also staying at the campsite. Earlier that morning we also met a couple from the USA who were travelling. As it turned out it would not be the last time that we would see either couple as they were heading in the same direction as us.
Thursday, 9 September 2010
Onto Perth & Beyond!
Early morning we packed up and made a quick dash to the exit from Leeman and onwards to safety. Well it probably wasn't a bad place but we didn't feel that comfortable and decided to leave at 7am, bound for Perth and the garage.
After been told to drive at 90kph for fuel effiency and less noise, I found myself with numerous road trains (or as we call them, 'Love Trains' as they pass by - sad aren't we?!) tail-gating me with just the grill of their truck in my rear-view mirror. As the road back to Perth, Highway One, is a single-lane for part of the trip with overtaking lanes provided every few kms, I found myself been overtaken by these huge love trains. Then to my dismay I had the luck of trundling along at the advised speed (the limit varies from 100 to 110 on highways and some freeways but often drops down to 50 for towns etc) when I looked in my rear-view mirror to find the grill of a pis*ed off truckie staring at me... After a few minutes of speeding to 100 and looking for a place to stop, I felt that I had created enough distance between the van and the love train behind us to slam the brakes on and pull over.
Now it's not that exciting for you lot I guess but in Western Australia most of the places to pull-in are usually unsealed paths that drop a bit from the main road so it wasn't exactly a comfortable stop but we did it just in time for the road train to fly-by and rock the whole van around for a second or two. Then I gladly pulled back onto the road and made it to Perth and our rental companies garage.
After we told them why we were there, they fixed the problem and we headed off to Freo to a lovely campsite, Fremantle Village, that has probably been the best campsite we've stayed at up to now.
That evening we met up with Gem's mate, had a couple of bevvies at the Sail & Anchor (including Chilli Beer which is very spicy!) and then onwards to San Churros for a coffee and some churros to dip in warm milk chocolate - San Churros is probably my favourite thing about Perth/Fremantle as the coffee is good, the environment is Spanish and the cakes and churros (Spanish doughnuts that are shaped like a twig) are wonderful. If anyone wants to open a franchise in Sheffield, please do.
The next morning we visited Freo Prison for our tunnels tour with our own guide, Matthew, a lovely chap from Adelaide with an eccentric style of humour that suited me well. As we were on a early tour and it's low season in WA, we had Matthew to ourselves and he really made the tour interesting.
We descended about twenty metres or so down a narrow set of ladders before crouching and moving around the tunnels that were dug out to provide clean water to the prison and then for Fremantle town. We were dressed up like Forensics from CSI except for our torchlights strapped to our helmets and I'm glad we had those helmets on as I smacked my head three times on the wooden beams above our heads!
After paddling along the tunnels in a small plastic boat and experiencing how dark it truly is when the lights are off, we realised what it must have been like for convicts and prisoners to work down there. And sometimes they were forced to have weights around their ankles if they'd broken any rules. I'm sorry but I can't provide any more 'interesting' facts or details about our tour as I'm about to do our tea on the Barbie (not the doll).
Goodbye for now, Rich.
After been told to drive at 90kph for fuel effiency and less noise, I found myself with numerous road trains (or as we call them, 'Love Trains' as they pass by - sad aren't we?!) tail-gating me with just the grill of their truck in my rear-view mirror. As the road back to Perth, Highway One, is a single-lane for part of the trip with overtaking lanes provided every few kms, I found myself been overtaken by these huge love trains. Then to my dismay I had the luck of trundling along at the advised speed (the limit varies from 100 to 110 on highways and some freeways but often drops down to 50 for towns etc) when I looked in my rear-view mirror to find the grill of a pis*ed off truckie staring at me... After a few minutes of speeding to 100 and looking for a place to stop, I felt that I had created enough distance between the van and the love train behind us to slam the brakes on and pull over.
Now it's not that exciting for you lot I guess but in Western Australia most of the places to pull-in are usually unsealed paths that drop a bit from the main road so it wasn't exactly a comfortable stop but we did it just in time for the road train to fly-by and rock the whole van around for a second or two. Then I gladly pulled back onto the road and made it to Perth and our rental companies garage.
After we told them why we were there, they fixed the problem and we headed off to Freo to a lovely campsite, Fremantle Village, that has probably been the best campsite we've stayed at up to now.
That evening we met up with Gem's mate, had a couple of bevvies at the Sail & Anchor (including Chilli Beer which is very spicy!) and then onwards to San Churros for a coffee and some churros to dip in warm milk chocolate - San Churros is probably my favourite thing about Perth/Fremantle as the coffee is good, the environment is Spanish and the cakes and churros (Spanish doughnuts that are shaped like a twig) are wonderful. If anyone wants to open a franchise in Sheffield, please do.
The next morning we visited Freo Prison for our tunnels tour with our own guide, Matthew, a lovely chap from Adelaide with an eccentric style of humour that suited me well. As we were on a early tour and it's low season in WA, we had Matthew to ourselves and he really made the tour interesting.
We descended about twenty metres or so down a narrow set of ladders before crouching and moving around the tunnels that were dug out to provide clean water to the prison and then for Fremantle town. We were dressed up like Forensics from CSI except for our torchlights strapped to our helmets and I'm glad we had those helmets on as I smacked my head three times on the wooden beams above our heads!
After paddling along the tunnels in a small plastic boat and experiencing how dark it truly is when the lights are off, we realised what it must have been like for convicts and prisoners to work down there. And sometimes they were forced to have weights around their ankles if they'd broken any rules. I'm sorry but I can't provide any more 'interesting' facts or details about our tour as I'm about to do our tea on the Barbie (not the doll).
Goodbye for now, Rich.
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
Kalbarri Adventure Tour & Escape from Leeman
Our last day in Kalbarri involved a four hour trip into Kalbarri National Park and then a quick four and a half hour drive to a place called Leeman.
We were picked up by a friendly Aussie chap going by the name of Dave and taken into the park along with another sixteen people on their travels. As soon as we entered the park, we were glad we'd not tried it with our van as the unsealed road was rock-solid and corrugated in some parts. This meant that part of the drive was like being sat on a jackhammer even in a 4WD.
Our first stop was the West Lookout, appropriately named as it is West of Nature's Window. At the top of the gorge we could see far down into the valley which was made up of oranges, reds and browns and dots of green where trees were growing. We could also see how the Murchison River that cuts through the park actually zigs and zags on its way to the sea. Due to the lack of the rain, the river consisted of patches of water every now and then but Dave said that after a very dry winter they were due some rain in the next week.
After standing at the West Lookout and fighting the wind, we headed over to Nature's Window and had our pictures taken like typical tourists. From Nature's Window we could see that on the East the river came towards us and then made a U turn and headed away. But then we looked to the West and saw the river coming from the North and heading in a partially straight line to the West.
After we made our way back to the car park, we sat down for Morning Tea! We were provided with some lovely homemade chocolate cake, of which Rich had an extra half a piece - I didn't want to seem too greedy, and a cup of coffee each (good old fashioned Nescafe sachets). We had a chat with two lovely couples from Lancashire who had moved to Perth about forty years ago but they still had broad accents.
Last but not least was the Z-Bend Lookout which, after a ten minute walk, opened up into another valley with birds tweeting and a lot more greenery than what we saw at West Lookout. After I spent a few minutes photographing every wildflower we headed back up for a picture of me wearing my Evolution Gym t-shirt in the car park - I forgot during the whole trip to take my hoodie off for some advertising for John's gym.
We then headed for Leeman and the unknown at about two o'clock after Dave dropped us off back at our van. I have to say that Dave was a great tour guide and provided some great information and humour and certainly made the tour worth the money.
The drive to Leeman was uneventful except for two suicidal kangaroos. Driving in Australia is usually ok but everyone you meet and in all the literature you read it states not to drive during dawn or dusk. However, we'd managed to do this twice already and on our way to Leeman I was keeping my eye out for any 'roo that decides to cross the road during the dusk eating time. After getting to the top of a crest we started going back down hill along a straight road when one roo' ran across the road so I slowed down and then I waited for another as I headed towards them. A second later and his mate turned up, stopped and looked at me in the middle of the road and then buggered off. That was our first and only experience with a live 'roo as all the others we've seen have already met the front-end of a vehicle.
To end this long and endless blog post, we arrived in Leeman Caravan Park and pulled up in a spot after spending ten minutes deciding where to park. We then kept ourselves safely in the van for the rest of night after taking a brief look at what seemed to be a less than inviting place with some locals giving us funny looks. There was probably nothing wrong with the place but we weren't keen to find that out and went to sleep pretty early in line for an early start and quick escape in the morning!
We were picked up by a friendly Aussie chap going by the name of Dave and taken into the park along with another sixteen people on their travels. As soon as we entered the park, we were glad we'd not tried it with our van as the unsealed road was rock-solid and corrugated in some parts. This meant that part of the drive was like being sat on a jackhammer even in a 4WD.
Our first stop was the West Lookout, appropriately named as it is West of Nature's Window. At the top of the gorge we could see far down into the valley which was made up of oranges, reds and browns and dots of green where trees were growing. We could also see how the Murchison River that cuts through the park actually zigs and zags on its way to the sea. Due to the lack of the rain, the river consisted of patches of water every now and then but Dave said that after a very dry winter they were due some rain in the next week.
After standing at the West Lookout and fighting the wind, we headed over to Nature's Window and had our pictures taken like typical tourists. From Nature's Window we could see that on the East the river came towards us and then made a U turn and headed away. But then we looked to the West and saw the river coming from the North and heading in a partially straight line to the West.
After we made our way back to the car park, we sat down for Morning Tea! We were provided with some lovely homemade chocolate cake, of which Rich had an extra half a piece - I didn't want to seem too greedy, and a cup of coffee each (good old fashioned Nescafe sachets). We had a chat with two lovely couples from Lancashire who had moved to Perth about forty years ago but they still had broad accents.
Last but not least was the Z-Bend Lookout which, after a ten minute walk, opened up into another valley with birds tweeting and a lot more greenery than what we saw at West Lookout. After I spent a few minutes photographing every wildflower we headed back up for a picture of me wearing my Evolution Gym t-shirt in the car park - I forgot during the whole trip to take my hoodie off for some advertising for John's gym.
We then headed for Leeman and the unknown at about two o'clock after Dave dropped us off back at our van. I have to say that Dave was a great tour guide and provided some great information and humour and certainly made the tour worth the money.
The drive to Leeman was uneventful except for two suicidal kangaroos. Driving in Australia is usually ok but everyone you meet and in all the literature you read it states not to drive during dawn or dusk. However, we'd managed to do this twice already and on our way to Leeman I was keeping my eye out for any 'roo that decides to cross the road during the dusk eating time. After getting to the top of a crest we started going back down hill along a straight road when one roo' ran across the road so I slowed down and then I waited for another as I headed towards them. A second later and his mate turned up, stopped and looked at me in the middle of the road and then buggered off. That was our first and only experience with a live 'roo as all the others we've seen have already met the front-end of a vehicle.
To end this long and endless blog post, we arrived in Leeman Caravan Park and pulled up in a spot after spending ten minutes deciding where to park. We then kept ourselves safely in the van for the rest of night after taking a brief look at what seemed to be a less than inviting place with some locals giving us funny looks. There was probably nothing wrong with the place but we weren't keen to find that out and went to sleep pretty early in line for an early start and quick escape in the morning!
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Kalbarri
We were up early as we wanted to go walking in the National Park. We asked the owner for directions but she advised us that only 4WD vehicles could go on the road as it was an unsealed road and it was quite cut up as there had been no rain. She suggested that we could go on a tour but we would have to book this or we could hire a 4WD. We decided to head to the Information Centre and see what they could suggest.
In the end we booked a tour for the following morning (they provided Morning Tea with homemade cake so this sold it for Rich!!) Morning Tea is very popular in Western Australia (we’ll have to let you know if this is the case in the rest of Australia as we make our way around).
The lady was very helpful and gave us a map of the Coastal Cliffs walks which were all on sealed roads meaning we could get there in our van. We decided to go on the Mushroom Rock Walk which is a loop that takes you down one cliff to see the Mushroom Rock and then back up the other side before looping back. The cliffs were amazing colours and the way they had been weathered was incredible. It was really windy that day and waves were quite wild which just added to the scenic effect.
We drove to all the different scenic points on the Coastal Cliffs and did various walks around them which took up most of the day. By the time we got back to the camp we were both very windswept and rather burnt (the wind disguised how powerful the sun was!). It was a great day though!
In the end we booked a tour for the following morning (they provided Morning Tea with homemade cake so this sold it for Rich!!) Morning Tea is very popular in Western Australia (we’ll have to let you know if this is the case in the rest of Australia as we make our way around).
The lady was very helpful and gave us a map of the Coastal Cliffs walks which were all on sealed roads meaning we could get there in our van. We decided to go on the Mushroom Rock Walk which is a loop that takes you down one cliff to see the Mushroom Rock and then back up the other side before looping back. The cliffs were amazing colours and the way they had been weathered was incredible. It was really windy that day and waves were quite wild which just added to the scenic effect.
We drove to all the different scenic points on the Coastal Cliffs and did various walks around them which took up most of the day. By the time we got back to the camp we were both very windswept and rather burnt (the wind disguised how powerful the sun was!). It was a great day though!
Monkey Mia – Kalbarri
We had come as far North as we intended to on this trip and so it was time to start retracing our steps and head back.
We were up at 6am to start packing up the van as I wanted to see the dolphins again before we left. We had a five hour drive ahead of us so we were going to set off straight away after seeing them. We headed to the beach at 7.30am to await their arrival. The DEC Ranger advised that they had been spotted out in the deep water chasing some fish so they wouldn’t come to shore for a while. We waited almost 90 minutes until they eventually came in but I’m glad that we waited for them.
We left the resort at 9.15am and stopped at a couple of scenic spots on our way back: we saw the Little Lagoon – not that amazing but pretty; had a quick drive around Denham; and stopped off at Shell Beach. Shell Beach is made up entirely of… (Yes, you guessed it)… SHELLS!! These shells have been deposited on to the beach by the tide over thousands of years and more continue to be deposited. The ones furthest from the shore were ground down to coarse sand but as you got closer to the sea, the shells were whole. It was an incredible sight; the beach stretched for miles and to our right we could see where they farm the shells to use for footpaths and buildings – we think.
Whilst at the beach Rich decided to visit the gents, which was our first encounter with what is known as an ‘Outback Dunny’ (Toilet). The ‘toilet’ consisted of four sides of corrugated metal and a roof of the same material. Then opposite the door is a normal looking toilet seat with the lid closed. To the right is a large toilet brush immersed inside a tub of blue coloured anti-septic cleaning liquid. Above the seat was a sign saying to wipe the toilet with the brush, do your business, and then wipe the toilet again and close the lid, then vacate the area as fast as possible (it doesn’t actually say the last part). Oh, and there was toilet paper for anyone reading this and thinking you had to just walk away…
We continued on our journey (after a coffee break – complete with chocolate Hob Nobs) and arrived at Kalbarri at 3.30pm. We had a walk into the town (well, when I say town I mean the main street!) and then just sat in the sun with a couple of stubbies (beers) and watched the sun go down.
We were up at 6am to start packing up the van as I wanted to see the dolphins again before we left. We had a five hour drive ahead of us so we were going to set off straight away after seeing them. We headed to the beach at 7.30am to await their arrival. The DEC Ranger advised that they had been spotted out in the deep water chasing some fish so they wouldn’t come to shore for a while. We waited almost 90 minutes until they eventually came in but I’m glad that we waited for them.
We left the resort at 9.15am and stopped at a couple of scenic spots on our way back: we saw the Little Lagoon – not that amazing but pretty; had a quick drive around Denham; and stopped off at Shell Beach. Shell Beach is made up entirely of… (Yes, you guessed it)… SHELLS!! These shells have been deposited on to the beach by the tide over thousands of years and more continue to be deposited. The ones furthest from the shore were ground down to coarse sand but as you got closer to the sea, the shells were whole. It was an incredible sight; the beach stretched for miles and to our right we could see where they farm the shells to use for footpaths and buildings – we think.
Whilst at the beach Rich decided to visit the gents, which was our first encounter with what is known as an ‘Outback Dunny’ (Toilet). The ‘toilet’ consisted of four sides of corrugated metal and a roof of the same material. Then opposite the door is a normal looking toilet seat with the lid closed. To the right is a large toilet brush immersed inside a tub of blue coloured anti-septic cleaning liquid. Above the seat was a sign saying to wipe the toilet with the brush, do your business, and then wipe the toilet again and close the lid, then vacate the area as fast as possible (it doesn’t actually say the last part). Oh, and there was toilet paper for anyone reading this and thinking you had to just walk away…
We continued on our journey (after a coffee break – complete with chocolate Hob Nobs) and arrived at Kalbarri at 3.30pm. We had a walk into the town (well, when I say town I mean the main street!) and then just sat in the sun with a couple of stubbies (beers) and watched the sun go down.
Thursday, 19 August 2010
Monkey Mia
We were up early as we had to be on the beach for 7.30am ready for the dolphin’s arrival. The sun was just rising and the sand was so cold on my feet that my toes were starting to turn blue!! We sat on the boardwalk with the rest of the crowd awaiting instructions from the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) rangers. We sat for about 30 minutes before the ranger spoke over the tannoy to advise that the dolphins had been spotted and they were on their way. We were invited down to the water and to go in up to knee deep and form a straight line. The ranger was also in the water to keep an eye on the crowd and to provide information about the dolphins.
A few minutes later, two dolphins and their calves arrived. The older dolphins came right up to us but the calves stayed a little further away. The dolphins swam up and down the line so close that you could almost touch them. The rangers reminded everyone that these were wild dolphins though so we were not to touch them. It was an incredible experience and they are amazing creatures – they were so inquisitive and playful. After a short while some more rangers came into the water with a couple of fishes and chose people out of the crowd to feed them. This is very controlled so that the dolphins do not become dependent on humans feeding them. Once all the fishes are gone the rangers wash the buckets our in front of the dolphins to show that feeding is over and then the dolphins eventually swim off as they need to feed their calves.
When they first started feeding the dolphins, years ago, they were providing them with too much fish. Therefore they became dependent on humans for food and a few of the calves died of malnourishment as their mother had not been teaching them how to catch their own food. This meant the DEC had to limit how much each dolphin is fed and to make sure that each dolphin is given the equal amount when they turn up.
We spent the rest of the day on the beach – it was a really warm day (about 30C) so we just relaxed and burnt! Rich tried to go for a swim but the water was incredibly cold so he only made it as far as his waist at first (he went back in later for a very brief swim!). It was so peaceful and relaxing; from time to time you could see the dolphins playing in the distance.
That evening we decided to treat ourselves to a pizza from the bar, sit on the beach, and watch the sun go down over the ocean – a perfect end to a perfect day!
A few minutes later, two dolphins and their calves arrived. The older dolphins came right up to us but the calves stayed a little further away. The dolphins swam up and down the line so close that you could almost touch them. The rangers reminded everyone that these were wild dolphins though so we were not to touch them. It was an incredible experience and they are amazing creatures – they were so inquisitive and playful. After a short while some more rangers came into the water with a couple of fishes and chose people out of the crowd to feed them. This is very controlled so that the dolphins do not become dependent on humans feeding them. Once all the fishes are gone the rangers wash the buckets our in front of the dolphins to show that feeding is over and then the dolphins eventually swim off as they need to feed their calves.
When they first started feeding the dolphins, years ago, they were providing them with too much fish. Therefore they became dependent on humans for food and a few of the calves died of malnourishment as their mother had not been teaching them how to catch their own food. This meant the DEC had to limit how much each dolphin is fed and to make sure that each dolphin is given the equal amount when they turn up.
We spent the rest of the day on the beach – it was a really warm day (about 30C) so we just relaxed and burnt! Rich tried to go for a swim but the water was incredibly cold so he only made it as far as his waist at first (he went back in later for a very brief swim!). It was so peaceful and relaxing; from time to time you could see the dolphins playing in the distance.
That evening we decided to treat ourselves to a pizza from the bar, sit on the beach, and watch the sun go down over the ocean – a perfect end to a perfect day!
Kalbarri – Monkey Mia
We left Kalbarri at 10am (seems to take ages to pack the van up because you have to make sure everything is secure!!). Our first stop was at the Billabong Roadhouse for a coffee break and lunch – we have a little table that folds out of the van (tis rather handy!) so we had a sandwich with some flies by the roadside before continuing on. Billabong is denoted as a place on the map but it’s just a roadhouse – somewhere where you can sleep, eat and get fuel. We’ve learnt that the majority of places on a map of Australia are actually just roadhouses and their environs.
The journey to Monkey Mia was due to take 5 hours in total so it was just a quick stop. We had to re-fuel at the next roadhouse which was at Overlander before entering the Shark Bay Heritage Site to Monkey Mia. The road seemed never ending and we thought that we would never get there. Along the way there were some lookouts so we stopped at one, which looked over the ocean which was a lovely turquoise colour. While we stopped, we had another coffee break (Rich was starting to get the shakes…!) We accompanied this with a much welcomed chocolate Hobnob (courtesy of Charly; ta love - they went down a treat!!)
We arrived at Monkey Mia about 4pm and checked in to our shared en-suite room as they didn’t have any campsites available. The room was fine and you had a balcony to look over the sea so that was nice and we were right on the beach front. We got settled in and then sat on the balcony to watch the sun go down over the ocean. We had an early night as we had to be up early the next morning to see the dolphins – which was the main reason why we had come to Monkey Mia.
The journey to Monkey Mia was due to take 5 hours in total so it was just a quick stop. We had to re-fuel at the next roadhouse which was at Overlander before entering the Shark Bay Heritage Site to Monkey Mia. The road seemed never ending and we thought that we would never get there. Along the way there were some lookouts so we stopped at one, which looked over the ocean which was a lovely turquoise colour. While we stopped, we had another coffee break (Rich was starting to get the shakes…!) We accompanied this with a much welcomed chocolate Hobnob (courtesy of Charly; ta love - they went down a treat!!)
We arrived at Monkey Mia about 4pm and checked in to our shared en-suite room as they didn’t have any campsites available. The room was fine and you had a balcony to look over the sea so that was nice and we were right on the beach front. We got settled in and then sat on the balcony to watch the sun go down over the ocean. We had an early night as we had to be up early the next morning to see the dolphins – which was the main reason why we had come to Monkey Mia.
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Our 1st Night & Full Day
So our first night went ok as the campsite was lovely and clean with a good kitchen and bathroom. However, it was bloody freezing in the van and we both woke up a few times because of it. In the morning we had a quick breakfast and headed for Kalbarri, five hours to the north.
About halfway we hit Geraldton and it seemed a decent place, a good size with some nice looking houses on the hillsides. We stopped by the IGA and bought a potato salad and a coleslaw salad for 99cents each - bargain. We then headed for the sea and had lunch while I fretted about the security of our van. It was a decent location but a lot of the view out to sea was spoilt by the port nearby.
When we arrived at Kalbarri, it was around 4pm and we then spent the next two hours putting stuff away and me showing my boxers to the people behind us - wrong kind of belt. I then had a chat with them, two couples from Melbourne who had gone north, through the middle and to Darwin, Exmouth and then along the coast to Kalbarri. They were lovely people and asked me where we were from etc.
After a chat and more packing away, we tried the gas stove in the van and luckily I didn't gas us or blow the van up. I bashed out some gnocchi while Gem supervised cheese production and then we went to sleep for another night in the cold. It was lovely during the day, a strong sun in clear blue skies but once it went away, it was quite fresh I tell thee.
I'll pop some pictures on soon but the laptop is still downloading them.
Bye for now!
About halfway we hit Geraldton and it seemed a decent place, a good size with some nice looking houses on the hillsides. We stopped by the IGA and bought a potato salad and a coleslaw salad for 99cents each - bargain. We then headed for the sea and had lunch while I fretted about the security of our van. It was a decent location but a lot of the view out to sea was spoilt by the port nearby.
When we arrived at Kalbarri, it was around 4pm and we then spent the next two hours putting stuff away and me showing my boxers to the people behind us - wrong kind of belt. I then had a chat with them, two couples from Melbourne who had gone north, through the middle and to Darwin, Exmouth and then along the coast to Kalbarri. They were lovely people and asked me where we were from etc.
After a chat and more packing away, we tried the gas stove in the van and luckily I didn't gas us or blow the van up. I bashed out some gnocchi while Gem supervised cheese production and then we went to sleep for another night in the cold. It was lovely during the day, a strong sun in clear blue skies but once it went away, it was quite fresh I tell thee.
I'll pop some pictures on soon but the laptop is still downloading them.
Bye for now!
On The Road
We've finally hit the road as of just over two weeks ago. However, it was bloody painful trying to pick-up the van as Gem's credit card was refused when we tried to use it for the $2000 bond!
We headed for the garage and arrived at 10am. We signed a few things and decided not to take out extra insurance but we did take out windscreen and tyre cover. However, when we tried to put the bond on Gem's card, it was declined, like I said above. The guy serving us said it happens a lot (though they don't seem to have done anything to combat this on their side...) and said to call the card company. However, they were closed till 3pm our time, which was a bit late for us. So we headed back to Joondalup thoroughly demoralised and pissed off. Very pissed off. Along the way though, Gem thought that if we take out the extra insurance, we will only have to put $250 on Gem's card. So we did a bit of shopping at Woolworths and then gave the rental company a call, however, they were engaged so we spent ages trying to get through and then headed across the road for some nourishment in the form of a tasty pie each. Delicious!
By this time, I'd not had any caffeine and was beginning to feel a headache coming on... We tried the number again and managed to secure the bond for $250 so we rushed off to Perth again and picked up the van after paying the insurance and doing a check of the van.
We ducked off to Joondalup, picked up some more stuff and pulled up outside our home where we spent the next hour filling the damn van. I thought there wouldn't be enough room but we managed to get everything in and left Joondalup at 5pm with a coffee each from Aroma! However, this meant driving for the first time during dusk when the kangaroos are out and then night time along a badly lit, winding road. Very happy, indeed we were.
I drove for the next three hours and we finally arrived in Jurien Bay, parked up, got out and had some soup while we tried to put stuff away. We were glad to get to bed after a stressful day where we thought we'd not be able to get the van or that we'd get it a day late, which we hadn't planned for!
We headed for the garage and arrived at 10am. We signed a few things and decided not to take out extra insurance but we did take out windscreen and tyre cover. However, when we tried to put the bond on Gem's card, it was declined, like I said above. The guy serving us said it happens a lot (though they don't seem to have done anything to combat this on their side...) and said to call the card company. However, they were closed till 3pm our time, which was a bit late for us. So we headed back to Joondalup thoroughly demoralised and pissed off. Very pissed off. Along the way though, Gem thought that if we take out the extra insurance, we will only have to put $250 on Gem's card. So we did a bit of shopping at Woolworths and then gave the rental company a call, however, they were engaged so we spent ages trying to get through and then headed across the road for some nourishment in the form of a tasty pie each. Delicious!
By this time, I'd not had any caffeine and was beginning to feel a headache coming on... We tried the number again and managed to secure the bond for $250 so we rushed off to Perth again and picked up the van after paying the insurance and doing a check of the van.
We ducked off to Joondalup, picked up some more stuff and pulled up outside our home where we spent the next hour filling the damn van. I thought there wouldn't be enough room but we managed to get everything in and left Joondalup at 5pm with a coffee each from Aroma! However, this meant driving for the first time during dusk when the kangaroos are out and then night time along a badly lit, winding road. Very happy, indeed we were.
I drove for the next three hours and we finally arrived in Jurien Bay, parked up, got out and had some soup while we tried to put stuff away. We were glad to get to bed after a stressful day where we thought we'd not be able to get the van or that we'd get it a day late, which we hadn't planned for!
Sunday, 13 June 2010
First week in Perth including golf
I can’t really remember a great deal of what we did in Perth for the first couple of weeks – I really should have posted something much sooner but I was pretty lazy (it’s like tidying my room… Mum will understand).
On the first night we had a great barbeque with Gem’s Grandpa, cousins, Uncle and three of his friends who were all really nice, and still are! The food was brilliant: we had homemade hummus; sausages; seasoned lamb; potato salad; and lots of other stuff that my memory fails to remind me of. Unfortunately, that’s been our only BBQ here!! Very depressing, indeed.
Over the next couple of weeks we went out with Gem’s Uncle and Grandpa to a few of the sights of Perth and its surrounding enclaves. During the first week we headed off to play around of nine-hole golf at a local course. The course is owned by the council and cost about $10 per person to go on. Pulling up to the clubhouse, it was pretty quiet which was a bonus seen as we weren’t all seasoned golf veterans like Roy Young.
Involved in the round were Gem and myself; Grandpa Jim; Uncle Mick; Cousin Dave; and the venerable John, our tour guide. Gem last played golf when she was a young un’ and I had stopped playing about two or three years ago. Dave and Mick seemed to dabble with the game and I have no idea about Jim’s golf experience but going on his performance that day, I doubt it’s a very good one.
The day was a beautiful one; the type you get once or twice a year back in the UK. We began playing about two o’clock in the afternoon when the temperature was around 32 degrees Celsius and you could feel it! We plied ourselves in sun cream and then took a quick swig of water and teed off.
The course was really nice with brilliantly green fairways and greens and trees dotted around in the rough. It was made up of mainly three-par holes with a few four-par ones to make things interesting and it was a joy to go round even after so long without holding a club.
Apart from John, I think we all played a zigzag kind of game frequented with clean shots and shots that topped the ball and sent vibrations through your hands as the club smacked into the ground. We had a gay old time and Dave sent numerous balls into the surrounding houses – I was amazed that we didn’t hear any glass smashing as he really hit them far.
At one point Gem sunk a twenty foot putt (I think, it was a long way away) which made her day. The greens were pretty decent and this putt glided towards the hole leaving eveyone dumbfounded as to how Gem had achieved this.
However, by the sixth hole and about three hours into our round, I think we had all had enough and were ready to finish. And… we were holding up about five other groups of golfers! Seen as we were playing as a six (a bit hypocritical of me as I hated it when people did this at Rother) we were going really slowly. By the eighth we let a couple of fat blokes play through and they played even slower than us, further pissing off the people still behind us.
I gave up on the last hole; I just couldn’t be bothered after it had taken so long to play the first eight. Gem and Jim stopped playing as well and probably Mick as he and Jim were sat on a bench with their backs to the ninth green as two security officers for the City of Bayswater turned up after we’d been reported for slow play and especially for playing as a group of six. The two officers headed for Mick and Jim and they had a short chat about how the rules state that four people is the maximum for a group. Mick and Jim pleaded their innocence and the two officers then just had a quick joke and headed off, slowly, mind you, as they were carrying a bit of excess baggage – think of Chief Wiggum from The Simpsons.
By the time we had finished, the sun was beginning to set and we were all ready for a beer, some more than others. After we parted ways with John, we headed back North to our humble abode and I really can’t remember what we did for the rest of the day but it’s not really worth mentioning.
On the first night we had a great barbeque with Gem’s Grandpa, cousins, Uncle and three of his friends who were all really nice, and still are! The food was brilliant: we had homemade hummus; sausages; seasoned lamb; potato salad; and lots of other stuff that my memory fails to remind me of. Unfortunately, that’s been our only BBQ here!! Very depressing, indeed.
Over the next couple of weeks we went out with Gem’s Uncle and Grandpa to a few of the sights of Perth and its surrounding enclaves. During the first week we headed off to play around of nine-hole golf at a local course. The course is owned by the council and cost about $10 per person to go on. Pulling up to the clubhouse, it was pretty quiet which was a bonus seen as we weren’t all seasoned golf veterans like Roy Young.
Involved in the round were Gem and myself; Grandpa Jim; Uncle Mick; Cousin Dave; and the venerable John, our tour guide. Gem last played golf when she was a young un’ and I had stopped playing about two or three years ago. Dave and Mick seemed to dabble with the game and I have no idea about Jim’s golf experience but going on his performance that day, I doubt it’s a very good one.
The day was a beautiful one; the type you get once or twice a year back in the UK. We began playing about two o’clock in the afternoon when the temperature was around 32 degrees Celsius and you could feel it! We plied ourselves in sun cream and then took a quick swig of water and teed off.
The course was really nice with brilliantly green fairways and greens and trees dotted around in the rough. It was made up of mainly three-par holes with a few four-par ones to make things interesting and it was a joy to go round even after so long without holding a club.
Apart from John, I think we all played a zigzag kind of game frequented with clean shots and shots that topped the ball and sent vibrations through your hands as the club smacked into the ground. We had a gay old time and Dave sent numerous balls into the surrounding houses – I was amazed that we didn’t hear any glass smashing as he really hit them far.
At one point Gem sunk a twenty foot putt (I think, it was a long way away) which made her day. The greens were pretty decent and this putt glided towards the hole leaving eveyone dumbfounded as to how Gem had achieved this.
However, by the sixth hole and about three hours into our round, I think we had all had enough and were ready to finish. And… we were holding up about five other groups of golfers! Seen as we were playing as a six (a bit hypocritical of me as I hated it when people did this at Rother) we were going really slowly. By the eighth we let a couple of fat blokes play through and they played even slower than us, further pissing off the people still behind us.
I gave up on the last hole; I just couldn’t be bothered after it had taken so long to play the first eight. Gem and Jim stopped playing as well and probably Mick as he and Jim were sat on a bench with their backs to the ninth green as two security officers for the City of Bayswater turned up after we’d been reported for slow play and especially for playing as a group of six. The two officers headed for Mick and Jim and they had a short chat about how the rules state that four people is the maximum for a group. Mick and Jim pleaded their innocence and the two officers then just had a quick joke and headed off, slowly, mind you, as they were carrying a bit of excess baggage – think of Chief Wiggum from The Simpsons.
By the time we had finished, the sun was beginning to set and we were all ready for a beer, some more than others. After we parted ways with John, we headed back North to our humble abode and I really can’t remember what we did for the rest of the day but it’s not really worth mentioning.
Arrival in Perth
We arrived in Perth, WA, at around half six in the morning on Saturday 20th February. Looking through the window of the aeroplane was an interesting sight. Completely different to anything I had seen: the land was red and brown with little dots of green around. As we got closer to the airport, I could see more one-storey houses and dirt tracks leading to and from them. Then the buildings became denser as we finally hit the metropolitan area of Perth. Looking down on the suburbs and the city, the place made me think of the America I had seen on TV – no offence to any Aussies!
Wide roads and square blocks were evident in the landscape of Perth and its suburbs. But the main thing that hit me was the dryness of it all, don’t get me wrong, I knew we were heading for a place on the edge of a desert, but I guess I didn’t realise how different it would be to what I have seen before. Sun-baked buildings; millions of pieces of glass reflecting the sun and the brown, dead-looking grass could be seen for miles around as we dropped altitude and landed in Australia. My first time here and Gem’s second!
After departing the plane and passing passport control, we headed for border patrol and I had brief flashes of travellers being searched for hours on end from watching Australian Border Patrol on TV! I had noted on my immigration card that I had soil on the soles of my gym trainers so we were directed to a different queue where most passengers seemed to be. After about forty minutes of waiting we went to a table and a lady asked us why we had been sent down to her. We showed her the card and gave her the reason, and she sent us on our way without checking our bags after I described the extremely small amount of soil on the trainers. A great waste of time for peace of mind: I didn’t want to be fined thousands of dollars and blamed for bringing Foot and Mouth Down Under!! Gem wasn’t too pleased, mind you.
Walking through to arrivals, I met Gem’s uncle and cousin for the first time and immediately became suspicious of their Southern English accent (they moved to Perth about seven years ago from London).
After an hour on the freeway via a McDonalds for Gem’s cousin, I still kept being reminded of America: the wide, open roads (there wasn’t much traffic) and the huge amount of fast-food joints; ‘drive-thrus’ (including drive-thru coffee…); and retail outlets dotted around every few miles with vast amounts of car-parking spaces.
We arrived at our new home (for about 5½ months) and after been given a tour of the place, we headed off to a patisserie across the road that is famous in Perth for serving some great pastries and cakes. ‘We’ included us two and Gem’s Grandpa, Jim and we thoroughly enjoyed our croissants and coffee before going to the Lakeside Shopping – we always like to do something different when we travel.
(The picture above shows the patisserie across the road from our house)
For the next couple of hours we wondered around the shopping centre and then Gem and I had a quick walk around the centre of Joondalup ‘city’ (they have a few ‘cities’ dotted around the metro area of Perth that aren’t the size of cities as we know them, more like suburbs of cities – like Wincobank and Beighton back in good, old Sheffield). As we walked I had a mix of emotions: I was nervous about living here for a few months – would I find a job and would I like it here? And I also looked forward to being in Perth with the nice weather; Indian Ocean so close by; and the chance to sample life somewhere else.
Wide roads and square blocks were evident in the landscape of Perth and its suburbs. But the main thing that hit me was the dryness of it all, don’t get me wrong, I knew we were heading for a place on the edge of a desert, but I guess I didn’t realise how different it would be to what I have seen before. Sun-baked buildings; millions of pieces of glass reflecting the sun and the brown, dead-looking grass could be seen for miles around as we dropped altitude and landed in Australia. My first time here and Gem’s second!
After departing the plane and passing passport control, we headed for border patrol and I had brief flashes of travellers being searched for hours on end from watching Australian Border Patrol on TV! I had noted on my immigration card that I had soil on the soles of my gym trainers so we were directed to a different queue where most passengers seemed to be. After about forty minutes of waiting we went to a table and a lady asked us why we had been sent down to her. We showed her the card and gave her the reason, and she sent us on our way without checking our bags after I described the extremely small amount of soil on the trainers. A great waste of time for peace of mind: I didn’t want to be fined thousands of dollars and blamed for bringing Foot and Mouth Down Under!! Gem wasn’t too pleased, mind you.
Walking through to arrivals, I met Gem’s uncle and cousin for the first time and immediately became suspicious of their Southern English accent (they moved to Perth about seven years ago from London).
After an hour on the freeway via a McDonalds for Gem’s cousin, I still kept being reminded of America: the wide, open roads (there wasn’t much traffic) and the huge amount of fast-food joints; ‘drive-thrus’ (including drive-thru coffee…); and retail outlets dotted around every few miles with vast amounts of car-parking spaces.
We arrived at our new home (for about 5½ months) and after been given a tour of the place, we headed off to a patisserie across the road that is famous in Perth for serving some great pastries and cakes. ‘We’ included us two and Gem’s Grandpa, Jim and we thoroughly enjoyed our croissants and coffee before going to the Lakeside Shopping – we always like to do something different when we travel.
(The picture above shows the patisserie across the road from our house)For the next couple of hours we wondered around the shopping centre and then Gem and I had a quick walk around the centre of Joondalup ‘city’ (they have a few ‘cities’ dotted around the metro area of Perth that aren’t the size of cities as we know them, more like suburbs of cities – like Wincobank and Beighton back in good, old Sheffield). As we walked I had a mix of emotions: I was nervous about living here for a few months – would I find a job and would I like it here? And I also looked forward to being in Perth with the nice weather; Indian Ocean so close by; and the chance to sample life somewhere else.
Friday, 2 April 2010
Hello everyone!!
I'm not sure if anyone has actually bothered to read this blog, Gem's attempt at the last one was pretty poor in my humble opinion ;-) Well, I guess it was ok! We've been really lazy and not bothered to update it until now...
Singapore (17/02/2010-20/02/2010):
We flew to Singapore on
Anyway, we got through immigration ok and headed towards the MRT (Mass Rapid Transportation) train service. Now, the big thing in Singapore is for the government to fine anyone for doing just about anything; jaywalking; spitting; chewing gum; drinking or eating on the MRT; and so on. So the first thing I did was to have a drink of water on the train as soon as we sat down. And then I realised how much the fines are. Nothing like back home. These are proper fines, something like $500 (Singaporean Dollars) which equates to about £235 for drinking or eating - so I was pretty chuffed I'd already run the risk of losing some money. Apart from the fines though, the MRT is brilliant: it's clean; efficient; quick; and cheap. Just like Hong Kong really.
After forty odd minutes struggling with our backpacks on the MRT, we got off at the Little India stop and immediately became lost! We consulted our map and then spent half an hour in really warm and humid weather wandering around looking for the correct street. Coupled with the weight of the backpacks and we weren't too happy!
Therefore, we decided to flag a taxi which took us on a long loop, finally ending at the Hangout Hostel. The hostel its self was really nice; the room was a double on the corner so two massive windows and then a bathroom with a good sized shower. Every morning we had breakfast in the hostel which was quite nice; for some odd reason they served bread and butter pudding as a breakfast dish but I enjoyed anyway!
On the first afternoon we were there, we went into the city and had a walk around. First impressions were that Singapore is a nice place, however, I don't we'll be able to get over the humidity! Hunger hit us so we had a look for somewhere, finally going for an Indian buffet, which was really nice and the owner had heard of both United and Wednesday!
The next day we headed to a nature reserve and had a nice walk up a steep hill and back down. Even though it was really humid but it was nice to walk around all the trees and bushes. We did look a bit odd though as everyone else was dressed up in running gear and doing all kinds of stretches. After returning from our little jaunt up the hill we were sweating like mad so we headed back for an iced coffee
in some air-conditioned café (and then a Subway sandwich...). After that we headed into
The city is really nice; there are a lot of new high-rise buildings but then there is a lot of greenery. Even some of the high-rise buildings had trees inside and on balconies twenty floors up. There is still a lot of construction going which was a bit annoying, sending us out of our way on 
our trek.
During the day we also had a look around a Buddhist temple which was really interesting and outside the temple there was something like a dragon dance where a few guys were banging drums and some kind of instrument like cymbals. As they made all the noise there would be one person with a dragon's head over his head who would move to the beat - we think it was to do with providing blessings to things like new shops.
In the evening we went for food at one of the food halls that are dotted all around the city. We settled for Indian seen as a lot of the food in HK and Singapore was laden with some kind of shellfish. We chose something that looked like a pancake with food in the middle. It was pretty good, the pancake/bread thing was tasty but the chicken I had in the middle was full of bones... so while I kept pulling pieces out of my mouth, Gem's was not too bad.
After food, we went to the train station and found our way to the night safari, via the bus. By the time we got there, we only had a couple of hours before the last bus left that meant we could catch the train before midnight - we were being tight and making use of our day tickets! Straight away we went to a show called 'Creatures of the Night' which was sh*t. It started off slow and then when they brought the animals on they started messing around with games. So in the end we only saw a couple of animals of which I can't remember any now! With an hour left we jumped on board the tram service which takes you around while providing some commentary. The only problem with the night safari is that you can't see anything unless the animals are big like an elephant or up close. Otherwise it's hard to spot them unless you focus. I guess that's a generic problem with all night safaris. If we go again, we're going to walk around instead as you can spend more time at each section. Overall it was worth it as we saw animals we'd never seen before like elephants and tigers and giraffes; can't remember any more.
The next day we had to check out of the hostel as we were flying to
I hope you've enjoyed this segment and if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, I'm sorry but I couldn't be bothered to check after spending so long trying to sort out the photos...
And on that bombshell, goodnight.
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Bonjour!
Greetings from Down Under!
HONG KONG
Hope you're all well! Rich (he says "buenos noches, senor") and I are great and loving the sunshine and warmth!
This is our first post so I guess I should fill you in on what we've been up to so far...
HONG KONG
We landed in Hong Kong on 14th Feb - just in time for the Chinese New Year! We arrived late evening but just in time to see the street parade pass by which was an experience. The following day we went to see the Big Buddha at Ngong Ping. The weather was very misty so they closed the cable car which meant we had to take the bus instead. The 40 minute bus journey was an experience
in itself! We went up and down mountain roads with barely any visibility, being flung every possible way...but eventually we did arrive at our destination. It was just as misty, if not more so, at the top of the mountain but we headed up the numerous stairs to get a look at the Big Buddha anyway. When we arrived at the top we could barely see Buddha -as shown in the photo!
in itself! We went up and down mountain roads with barely any visibility, being flung every possible way...but eventually we did arrive at our destination. It was just as misty, if not more so, at the top of the mountain but we headed up the numerous stairs to get a look at the Big Buddha anyway. When we arrived at the top we could barely see Buddha -as shown in the photo! We decided to head towards the monastery and temple, where there were many people burning incense and making offerin
gs to Buddha. Some of the incense candles were gigantic!! There were also a couple of eating places, which were all vegetarian, so we figured I would be safe eating the food (had to be careful everywhere because of my allergy). The noodles and spring rolls were very yum; but we weren't too keen on the 'vegetarian pork'.
gs to Buddha. Some of the incense candles were gigantic!! There were also a couple of eating places, which were all vegetarian, so we figured I would be safe eating the food (had to be careful everywhere because of my allergy). The noodles and spring rolls were very yum; but we weren't too keen on the 'vegetarian pork'. 
My Grandpa arrived at lunch time, so that evening we watched the New Year Fireworks with him outside his hotel. They were set off from a number of barges in the harbour and went on for 25 minutes at least! The fireworks made pretty shapes including flowers and smiley faces but my camera wasn't quick enough to catch them.
On the 16th Feb we headed over to Hong Kong Island for the day. The weather had improved in so far as the fog had lifted so we headed to The Peak to view the city. The views of the Island were incredible! We had a great day exploring Hong Kong Island - we went to Man Mo Temple, but it was too busy to go in. We also had a ride of the world's longest escalator through Soho and had a wander through the Botanical Gardens and Zoological Park.
That night - which was our last night in HK - we walked along the harbour front where all the buildings were lit up. It was an incredible sight and I could have happily sat their all night...unfortunately we had to head back and pack as we were leaving in the early hours of the morning for our flight to Singapore...
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