Friday 14 March we packed up and drove towards Narabeen – four and a half hours drive away. Left our waterfront apartment feeling quite sad – it was a smashing place which we had really enjoyed – and the next place had been difficult to find because Narabeen (a Sydney suburb called Northern Beaches) did not have a lot of accommodation available in the price range we were willing to pay. Anyway….we finally arrived…to find no parking anywhere! The block itself had parking but not the apartment we were booked into (via Air BnB). We drove around and around the one way system and all the side roads were rammed….guess that was our own fault for arriving on a Friday afternoon by which time everyone was home from work LOL. We spotted that the bus lane (on the main road outside the apartment) had a time zone on it and would be not operational from 6pm. So, to get us up and running, I went on foot and found the apartment and a place where Richard could pull in so we could at least unpack before we schlepped the bags up the stairs.

We let ourselves in and the place was not very nice at all. The joining instructions were pitiful…..telling us how expensive it was to clean the rugs so please take off your shoes. Oh yes and please don’t tell my neighbours you are Air BnB guests – just say we are friends if they ask. Hmmm…didn’t augur too well for a particularly relaxing stay….. I did my usual check of the cooking facilities to find no toaster (had been stolen allegedly) and the fridge and freezer were full of out of date milk (by one month – yuck!), chicken nuggets, frozen chips and sweets…. The owner had charged us $60 for cleaning and this was terrible….the cooker itself was filthy and so was the grill tray with burnt on bits of food…. That was just the start – there were loads more things we were unhappy about – so I complained to the owner who said that he didn’t make a profit on the cleaning but would refund us the princely sum of $20 as a gesture of goodwill. Very disappointing response.

By now the bus lane was no longer operating so we moved the car into the main road under our balcony so we could keep an eye on it. We then headed across the road to the South Narrabeen Surf Life Saving Club which hosts the Cabana Beach Kiosk. We were lucky that they actually open for dinner on a Friday night (only) so we were able to get a table and enjoyed a nice dinner and then sat on the beach for a little while checking out the lunar eclipse.

Afterwards we crossed the road back to our apartment and realised that the sofa was missing cushions and was damn uncomfortable. We went through the wardrobes and found them and had a glass of wine in front of the TV before retiring to bed. We were so unhappy we searched the internet for alternative accommodation nearby but couldn’t find anything. Well we could find some very expensive upmarket stuff but way beyond our price point. So we had to reconcile the fact that we were staying put despite our misgivings…. At this point the owner stopped answering my emails LOL. He was funny when he said that nobody had ever complained about the cleanliness….he was confident that his cleaners did a thorough job. Well maybe they did previously but we personally don’t think anyone had been into the apartment after the departure of the last guest – we even got fresh bedding / towels out of the wardrobe and remade the bed just in case….

Saturday morning Richard’s friend Kieron rang to cancel our arrangements as he had returned from the UK (having been home due to a family bereavement) and had gone down with the flu. Oh dear what to do?!? Was very disappointed but you can’t schedule illness… We decided to head down to Manly wharf on the bus and ended up on a bit of a pub crawl. The weather was nice and warm and we enjoyed being out and about without having to drive….

Returning to Narabeen (on the bus) we stopped off at the Beach Club (Collaroy) which was very nice and we could sit on the balcony overlooking the ocean.

By now we were getting the munchies so we asked for a recommendation for the best restaurant nearby – the answer was the Sunshine Eatery – an Italian restaurant. So we hopped back on the bus for a couple of stops and found it on the main road…. We were lucky and managed to get a table without a reservation and had the most fabulous artisan pizza. It was a shame about the Greek and Spanish music being played in the background though making it not quite so authentic LOL. Afterwards we walked back down the main road, checked on the car, and so to bed.

Sunday morning and sadly Kieron was still ill. So arrangements cancelled again. What a shame! The bus lane was re-opening on our side of the road but the other side was becoming inoperable so we moved the car across the road. Once we were happy we decided to get an Uber to the North Narabeen Life Saving and Surf Club and enjoyed sitting on the balcony overlooking the beaches. Lovely place and so friendly!

Leaving the LSSC behind we ended up in a pub on the corner and had a drink but it was way too hot inside and the air conditioning was not up to the job. So we didn’t linger and decided to walk back to our apartment – this was a fair distance and we just walked and walked. On the way we came across the Zest Thai Cuisine restaurant and decided to take a much needed comfort break. Having used their facilities we decided to get some takeout chicken and continued back on our trek. Eventually we reached our apartment and spent the night in front of the TV eating our surprisingly good chicken with a glass in hand.

Monday morning we checked out in relief – hurrah!!! We met Kieron and his wife Jackie at the North Narabeen Life Saving and Surf Club and were then joined by some other ex-pat friends of theirs. We were socially distanced on the balcony and it was pretty chilly with a strong wind blowing the germs away from us LOL. Had a really good breakfast roll and a cup of tea and enjoyed catching up. Was really lovely to see them – just sad that I failed miserably to take any photos of us together. Doh!!

Sadly, all too soon, it was time for us to be on our way to our next accommodation in Avoca one and a half hours away. We decided to pop into Erina Fair (a large shopping mall) en route and picked up some provisions as we wanted a night in…. We found the cottage although struggled to find the key box to get inside – but once we had overcome that small issue – we unpacked and checked the place out. Two bedrooms this time so plenty of room for our cases on the spare bed so we could leave them open.

We settled in and first job was to catch up with the laundry – everything hanging up outside in our small private courtyard – and we enjoyed sitting on the patio for a little while before heading inside for a basic steak and salad dinner. Absolutely lovely – spotlessly clean, very very comfortable and homely. And even better a proper dining table so we could sit up and eat….

Tuesday morning we headed to the beach – along the way we stopped at the bakery for some lunch and drinks to take with us. We set up our shade tent on the beach and enjoyed about four hours there….the surf was up and it was pretty busy…so we then headed back to our apartment for a quiet night in.

Wednesday morning I made a packed lunch and then we headed to the other end of the beach – the quiet end – and enjoyed the peace and solitude. We then returned to the cottage to get ready and met my nephew Jamie in Terrigal for a curry. Was lovely to spend time with him again.

Thursday we had another beach day – had lunch out at one of the cafes on the waterfront – and then returned to our cottage for a simple jacket potato dinner. We also did some more laundry….

Friday morning we were packing up and moving on to stay with Hayley and the boys in Green Point – so again we did some shopping on the way (having coordinated with Hayley what she would like for dinner)…. We let ourselves in and made ourselves comfortable – and then Budd came bounding through the door followed by Jamie, Jack and Adam. Budd was very keen to greet us both (and to play with his best friend Richard) – he clearly remembered us – but he was absolutely filthy having been playing in the mud at doggy day care all day LOL. So Jamie took him off for a good shower off and we got on with doing dinner – Hayley came home with pizzas for the boys and we had chicken kebabs and salad.

Saturday everyone was busy – and it was raining! Boo…. So I blogged while Richard relaxed…and we all came together for dinner in the evening when I introduced the family to homemade Japanese chicken katsu curry – which was a hit! Hurrah! Again on Sunday everyone was busy so I did a full roast lamb dinner and we enjoyed having lots of cuddles with Budd on the sofa. Velvet the cat even let me stroke her (which is pretty unusual) but it might have been the fact that I did actually feed her LOL. Those animals are definitely driven by cupboard love.

Monday morning we took the boys to school and dropped them off and enjoyed a quiet day alone with the animals….and sat by the pool which we enjoyed. But there was little shade and the sun was very fierce so we took ourselves under the shade on the patio and read books….at one point our solitude was interrupted by a guy who had come to clean the pool and change out all the filters etc. He worked hard and did a good job! Later on we picked up Adam from school and Jack found his own way home via the gym. They are definitely growing up – this is a critical time for Jack as he heads into his last 18 months or so of school before university. He wants to be a palaeontologist which is an interesting choice for sure! Adam is not focussed on anything in particular at the moment but he is a couple of years behind so guess this will develop…I can guarantee though it will not include maths LOL!

Tuesday was a strange one…the boys had decided they were not going to school. Apparently it was cross country day and the whole school just goes to the area to watch and, those who are not competing, are given a pass not to attend…. As it is a critical time in terms of exams for both of them Hayley and Jamie were happy for them to stay home…. We sat by the pool again – dodging the rain showers – and the boys were studying pretty much all day upstairs in their rooms.

Wednesday the sun came out again intermittently but we kept ourselves busy doing laundry and just sitting around the pool. After such a busy schedule this was our time for some R&R. Richard was determined to top up his tan but I found it too hot without the shade so stayed on the patio reading my kindle…. And, of course, the rain came and went throughout the day. Later on we picked Adam up from school and Jack made his own way via the gym again…. We had a lovely family dinner (lasagne this time) when Hayley returned from work and then Richard and I sat in the front room and caught up on some programmes we wanted to watch. This was our last night all together and we had a good one.

Thursday morning we were up at the crack of dawn to say goodbye to the boys before we dropped them off at school – there was no chance we were getting hugs in front of the High School gates LOL. Having dropped them off we headed over to Terrigal with Jamie for breakfast which was lovely – despite the usual problem of finding somewhere to park…

After breakfast we headed back to the house and packed up all our gear…having to squash everything into two suitcases with a maximum allowance of 23kgs per person. This meant that, yet again, we had to leave our beach shade tent at the house in the garage…. After we had packed Richard kept himself busy hoovering out the car! At around 2pm we headed off towards Sydney. I was driving this time and as there was no integral satnav in the car found it somewhat annoying when the google maps signal was lost in the underground toll tunnels to bypass the city traffic…but as we were heading towards the airport at least the signposts were pretty obvious LOL. We were going pretty early as the last shuttle from the off-airport site car rental company left at 4.30 pm. And you just never know what the traffic is going to be like…. Anyway we made it in good time, filled up with petrol, and dropped the car off and waited for the shuttle to take us to the airport. We arrived and had to wait for the check in kiosks to open so headed to the Vietnamese for a bite to eat. As we’d already checked in online our queue was significantly smaller than those who hadn’t done the online thing. Qatar Airways are very organised and they opened on time…. So finally made it to the front of the queue, dropped the bags, picked up our boarding passes (x2 each) and headed through security. This was pretty quiet considering it was a Thursday evening and we cleared quickly…. So we headed towards our allocated gate and settled down to read books until the plane arrived and we were called. As we were sitting upstairs again we were boarded in the first tranche so walked through the lower level of the plane, up the stairs, and then settled down into our economy seats. Love sitting upstairs on the A380 plane…so much more spacious and, because only about 20 rows of economy seating, you get a choice of food without them running out.

So settled in and we waited to push off and take off. This all happened on time and we landed in Doha, Qatar on time and then walked through the large terminal to our next gate to board the next plane. We only had a two and a half hour gap this time so plenty of time not to get stressed and enough time for the bags to follow us. But I tracked them with our Apple tags anyway LOL….

And just like that the fantastic three month Australian adventure was over!

So what next? Well, we are off to Malaysia in August for just over a month – with some city time in Kuala Lumpur, some rainforest and animal encounters (hopefully) in Borneo, some relaxation and beach time in Kota Kinabalu followed by a couple of weeks exploring Penang (which is known as The Pearl of the Orient). So very exciting and we are counting down the days already. I will blog the next trip on our return…

So thanks for travelling along with us. Would just like to take the opportunity to remember my mum who sadly left us seven years ago tomorrow. The time has gone so fast but the pain doesn’t diminish. Love you Mum and miss you so much.

Bye for now, Jan

Tuesday 11 March we drove away from Canberra towards Batemans Bay. We stopped along the way for a comfort break and explored a major tourist heritage town Bungendore en route. We had a snack and checked out the Main Street….before moving on…. Very quaint!

The weather had deteriorated on us and we drove away into the rain which made the mountain passes interesting to say the least along the route. Spectacular scenery!

We arrived in Batemans Bay which sits on the Clyde River Estuary, an open intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary. The river flows into the Tasman Sea at Batemans Bay which is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales. Aided by photos the operator had sent us, we easily followed the instructions on how to enter the private apartment block and underground garage. We got ourselves settled and then took the lift to our apartment – which was absolutely stunning with amazing views out to the water, modern well-equipped kitchen and bathroom, and a really comfy king sized bed. Very very happy indeed!

So once we had unloaded the car into the apartment, we popped out to the shops for some provisions for dinner. We enjoyed dinner ‘at home’ and sitting on the balcony watching the world go by. There was a sail boat anchored in front of our apartment which we particularly enjoyed watching – surprised by how much tidal variation there was – and, at one point concerned that he would swing into rocks if the weather picked up. None of the boats we saw were occupied….. Felt quite nostalgic….

Wednesday morning we were up early and went for a drive visiting numerous secluded bays along the coast enjoying the lovely scenery. We ended up in the marina (where else?!?) and booked ourselves a boat trip up the river for Thursday. Whilst out and about we visited the Soldier’s Club and had a couple of drinks on their balcony having ‘joined’ the club. Was surprised by how busy (and noisy) it was…..but clearly some large groups of friends were on holiday together.

We rested up back at our apartment before we later returned to the Soldier’s Club on foot. Very nice place with great staff and well-priced libations. There was a Lindy Hop dancing class (for oldies) going on in the lounge LOL and, although we didn’t take part, we enjoyed watching them strut their stuff with some of them even dressed the part! We then retired to the restaurant and had a fantastic dinner…

Thursday morning we headed out on foot along the seafront. Was only a 45 minute walk or so but felt longer in the humidity….and I was relieved when we arrived at the jetty to confirm our seats on the boat trip. Driving wasn’t really an option as all the local parking was very time restricted and the only appropriate one was actually a fair walk from the jetty. So it made sense….

Interesting art work along the way and lots of pelicans to admire….

All confirmed, fish and chips ordered (lunch being included in the ticket) we went to a water-side cafe and enjoyed a cold restorative glass of water whilst we waited for the boat to be loaded up. While we were sitting there a minibus turned up and everyone headed down the jetty – and every single person was on a stroller! There was a tour guide with them looking after them and, coincidentally all the strollers were brand new and the same make. So not sure if that was part of their deal or not but a hell of a coincidence!. Anyway, we waited patiently while all these people were loaded on – some of them actually needing to be virtually carried onto the boat and gently placed into their seat. Some strollers were loaded on too but not the full compliment so all a bit confusing!

Finally it was our turn and we boarded and took our allocated seats. We then cast off and the boat took off towards the ocean – there is a dangerous bar here at Batemans Bay to the sea – and the sea was raging….so that was exciting for us anyway LOL.

The Captain’s commentary was both informative and entertaining – he had a bit of a naughty sense of humour – and the old dears seemed to enjoy his banter (and I’ll include myself in that description LOL). Back down the river we stopped again at the jetty and this time the food was loaded on and then we were off again. The lunch was piping hot and absolutely delicious – not sure how they manage that with mass catering – but they did so kudos to them. After lunch we went at sat outside on the bow of the boat and enjoyed being in the fresh air as we drove past oyster beds, passed houseboats and under low bridges.

At the end of the line – in that the river was no longer navigable for us because of very low bridges – we stopped and tied off. We got off to stretch our legs and Richard purchased an artisan ice cream in the village store before returning to our boat seats for the return journey. Oh yes and did I explain there was a full service bar on board??!!?? So we sat in the sun again enjoying a cold beverage or two….well until at least the tea / coffee / cake / biscuits were rolled out later LOL.

We finally returned to the jetty and walked back to the apartment – we rested up – and explored the rooftop pool before spending our last night in Batemans Bay at home, enjoying the balcony and the amazing views over the anchorage yet again. This property had definitely been a great find!

Friday morning we packed up, checked out, and drove towards Narrabeen where we were going to see another of Richard’s ex-colleagues Kieron and his family. So I’ll leave this blog here and please return soon for another episode. Bye for now.

Jan

On arrival at the War Memorial – quite late in the day having moved apartments – we went to the reception desk and they asked us if there was anything in particular we wanted to see. We explained that we particularly wanted to experience the Last Post ceremony which is held daily before the closure of the facility for the day. They asked if there was any significance to us wishing to witness the ceremony. I explained that I was a member of the UK Royal Naval Association and wherever we are in the world we visit a war memorial to pay our respects. I also told him about losing our oldest D-Day veteran Don Sheppard last year.

He then asked us if I would like to lay a wreath at the ceremony in his honour – both of us were completely blown away by this suggestion – as we know that each evening an Australian serviceman or servicewoman is honoured at this Last Post ceremony. So we said, yes please. They supplied the wreath and gave us a remembrance card to complete. We decided to honour Don Sheppard, who was a family friend, who passed away In September 2024 at the age of 104. He was a Royal Engineer who landed on Juno Beach, Normandy, in June 1944. After eventually passing through Nazi lines in August he moved onto Belgium, the Netherlands and eventually Germany where he was one of the soldiers who liberated the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. So very fitting that our wreath should be in his memory.

I was walked through the ceremony by one of the staff and was lucky enough to meet the relatives of Private Herbert James Rowland who died in Gallipoli. The family had been waiting two years for this special commemorative day and the reason why there was spare wreaths was because some family members were unable to attend as Brisbane airport had been shut because of Cyclone Alfred. Very humbling indeed. The ceremony was touching and emotional and is streamed to You Tube daily. If you want to watch it please visit You Tube and type in Private Herbert James Rowland or follow the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moUy_2sQ-jE. I can only apologise for my t-shirt and shorts – would never have worn that if I’d have known that I would be involved in such a momentous occasion.

Having shed a few tears we left the spectacular War Memorial behind and headed to Dairy Farmers Hill Lookout – great night shots but sadly no sunset.

We then headed to Commonwealth Park for an open-air concert. This was very uncomfortable as the plastic chairs were basic to say the least. We moved a couple of chairs from the eating area to the concert area to be more comfortable – a great family atmosphere with picnics and blankets everywhere. Sadly we were then told off for moving the chairs so had to return them to the food outlet area. But with nothing to sit on and having had a long day I wanted to leave as I my back was creaking badly.

So sadly we didn’t hear the music and returned home to have a snack and a glass of wine in front of the TV.

Monday morning (10 March) we headed back to the Australian War Memorial to have a proper look around and joined a tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and, as the only UK tourists on the tour, he enjoyed making fun of us…. Although overall they were obviously proud to be part of the Commonwealth family fighting for King and Country.

This whole place is absolutely amazing – beautiful grounds and fantastic exhibits – including a Spitfire and a Helicopter from the Vietnam conflict. The stories were humbling, moving and quite staggering – particularly the despicable way in which the Vietnam veterans were treated on their return home. Such a waste of life…

In the afternoon we drove to Vass to see Sandy and Nigel where they had camped up with their huge caravan. We enjoyed having a look around their van and then had a lovely dinner and a few glasses of wine…. And, of course, we were having so much fun we forgot to take any photos! Lots of laughs….thanks guys. Sadly we had to leave them for the final time and said our farewells….

Tuesday we packed up and headed back to the War Memorial as we really hadn’t finished viewing everything and this time we did it alone. We enjoyed walking around and admiring the place again this time focussing on some other conflicts and peace keeping efforts that the Australian services had been involved in. The War Memorial is being redeveloped right now and we were informed that only 10% of their artefacts are on display at any one time…so the expansion will enable them to have a wider range of things for the people to see. This development is not without its detractors though as some of the investors funding the works are arms manufacturers and that didn’t necessarily sit well with the wider population.

Sadly leaving the war memorial behind us – having left a donation of course – we drove off towards Batemans Bay. So that’s where I’ll leave this blog and hope you enjoyed it. Please come back soon for the next chapter. Bye for now.

Jan

Thursday 6 March we were up really early and at 6.30 am left the apartment and walked down the street to drop off the keys to the managing agent. We then waited for an Uber to arrive. Which came about five minutes after the expected arrival time so not too bad. At Melbourne airport we quickly navigated the bag drop off system (having checked in online) and then through security. Pretty empty this early in the morning. We had breakfast then went to our departure gate…by which time we found out that the plane was delayed.

Eventually, about 45 minutes later than scheduled, we boarded the plane and took off towards Sydney. Why Sydney rather than fly direct to Canberra? Canberra flights are much more expensive (business demand pushes the price up I guess) and hire car companies charge a one way drop off fee (and we were ultimately flying out of Sydney home). Taking these factors into consideration it was the better financial option to fly into Sydney although it meant we were now facing a three hour drive on arrival….

We landed, got our baggage quite quickly, and then headed out to the courtesy bus area. We waited and waited but no Ace minibus came along – although we had let them know our estimated time of arrival (and flight details) when booking the car. We tried to go online to resolve the situation but that didn’t work – there were ‘no drivers in the vicinity’. Great, not! Finally we resorted to the old fashioned methodology of calling them on the phone – and yes, they were on the way, but we had to move ourselves across the road to a different collection point.

A Hertz courtesy minibus turned up so we asked if they would take us (Ace are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hertz International, dealing predominantly in the off-airport car rental market in Australia) and the answer was no! Hmmmm…. Eventually Ace turned up – we were the only customers – and we were transported to the car rental office which is actually a shared facility with Hertz. Go figure!

Inside the office there were some Chinese customers who were fussing – their car was not ready and English was difficult for them – they even had to ask how to actually start the car! This request made me giggle but I was told off by Richard for my lack of empathy. There was also a guy who turned up with his dog and was told to tie it up outside. He did so and was then told he could not collect his booked hire car because dogs (other than service animals) were not allowed in rentals – the guy behind the desk was pretty harsh telling the guy dump the dog or no car! The guy was clearly distressed by this news…but I do remember reading it in their small print…so he left and sat outside the facility while he worked out what to do next. Felt very sorry for him. Sigh…

We eventually got dealt with and, already behind schedule by around 1 1/2 hours, we were upgraded to a slightly larger petrol CX-50 which is a compact crossover SUV produced by Mazda.

Delighted to finally be on our way we took off and drove towards the Australian Capital Territory. We stopped at a service station for some refreshments and a comfort break and, eventually, arrived at our apartment block in Canberra. Getting the keys to the apartment and the fob to enter the car park was easy enough but, despite driving around and around, we couldn’t actually find our allocated parking space. As this is a privately-owned block it was important that we only parked in the nominated place…. Eventually we got out of the car and walked up and down – I headed towards the apartment lift thinking there might be a map or something left in the apartment for us. And, lo and behold, right by the lift was our space! Phew…mystery solved LOL. We quickly parked the car and unpacked.

We were delighted with the accommodation – two bedroom unit on the top floor this time – and the facilities. So we set out on foot to the Canberra Central Mall which was a five minute walk away for some provisions. But afterwards ended up stopping in the Asian Food Court, had a Chinese meal and a couple of beers, before heading back for an early night.

Later on we contacted Nigel and Sandy who we had missed in Caloundra – we knew that their schedule would overlap with us at some point, and we couldn’t believe it when we realised that they were staying just outside Canberra…. What a lovely coincidence! So we quickly made arrangements to meet them in the morning as they were going to show us around as they had previously lived here.

Friday morning Nigel and Sandy picked us up at 11 o’clock – gosh it was so lovely to see them again – and we headed off to Mount Ainslie to see the views of the city from this elevated lookout.

Afterwards we visited Old Parliament House which was splendid….old leather seats, a ‘Speaker’s Chair’ and lots of Westminster-looking architecture…this is where the Federal Parliament sat from 1927 to 1988. We visited both the House of Representatives (the Commons) and the Senate (the Lords)…. after checking out some political satire first. No country was left untouched by the various artists….nor any topical subject ignored.

Moving on we headed to Nicholls which is a quaint English village including a traditional pub, of course! We went into the George Harcourt Inn for lunch and had a really good feed of traditional English favourites – from fish and chips, bangers and mash to a ploughman’s platter.

During lunch we told Sandy and Nigel of our plans for Saturday – which was to go to the Queanbeyan Rodeo. We had seen adverts for this en route to Canberra and it had always been something we had wanted to experience….they were of the same persuasion…so we all booked our tickets online there and then. Yay! Saturday sorted LOL.

After lunch and a great catch up we headed back to the City to visit the New Parliament House which was built ‘up the hill’ atop Capital Hill and was opened by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, in May 1988. This was very different with lots of marble…and vast amounts of seemingly unused space….

After exploring this modern building, again with visits to the Senate and the House of Representatives, we concluded our ‘tour’ at this point and Sandy and Nigel took us back to our apartment. We rested up and, despite earlier complaining that we couldn’t eat again for a week after our hearty lunch, we decided to go for a walk. We ended up in the West Civic Pub for supper where we shared a meal…. And lovely it was too.

Saturday morning we headed off to the rodeo in Queanbeyan – Nigel kindly offering to drive us again as they had to drive anyway, staying in a place called Vass about an hour outside Canberra CBD. En route we had breakfast on the Kingston foreshore before heading off to Queanbeyan.

We were very excited although not quite sure what to expect. We arrived…yeehah!…checked out the cowboy hats and boots before taking some seats in the stands for the first part of the show…. Well it was amazing! We saw bareback horses, bucking horses (specifically bred for this purpose), bulls (large and small), lassoing steers with many iterations from catch and tie down / team lasso (neck & leg) / lasso & tie / lasso only (neck). There were both cowboys and cowgirls involved in the competitions – and some pretty talented kids too. There were also some speed events with horses racing between bins on a circuit.

At lunchtime we headed over to get some drinks….and a bite to eat. Heading back to the arena and we realised that the crowds had filled in and there were no longer seats available in the stands. So we found some chairs and sat quite close to the railings keeping us safe from the rampaging horses and bulls…great view until the kids came and stood in front of us. Hey ho…. Everything appeared incredibly dangerous and a couple of people being thrown around by bulls / horses showed us very quickly how it could all go so badly wrong. The medics were on the scene immediately though and I have to say, the back-up staff at this event were splendid. The bull athletes who ‘encourage’ the bulls to depart the arena once they have got rid of their burdensome riders – they do this on foot – to the “rounder ups” on horseback who collect the loose horses once the riders have been despatched to the dirt and the (not so funny) clowns who entertain the crowd when the arena is being set up for the next competition.

Such an exciting day out – and will just leave you with a range of photos to give you a flavour….

Sunday we were supposed to be leaving Canberra but, as Cyclone Alfred was expected to hit Brisbane and the bad weather (heavy rain) was anticipated to come inland we decided to stay a couple of more days – especially as we now had friends to share it with! Sadly we couldn’t stay in our apartment as it was fully booked after our departure but we found another one about 10 minutes walk away online.

So on Sunday we checked out of one – headed to the Kingston foreshore for breakfast, then onto the National Gallery and the Portrait Gallery – where we particularly enjoyed the water features and the lake.

We then went shopping for some provisions before checking into our next apartment which we found easily….this was different in that it was a serviced apartment with a reception desk and everything. So checked in, got the keys, and a fob to access the car park. The car park had the narrowest entrance ever and the guy warned us it was very tight underground too having to negotiate a 90 degree turn immediately at the bottom of the slope…so as our car was a little larger he gave us permission to park in the disabled bay or the bays with the yellow striped lines as they were easier to access.

So with both of us breathing in (and turning the wing mirrors parallel with the car) we drove towards the car park entrance. We squeezed through with no problems and got parked up easily. The walls had huge chunks out of them so clearly this had caused previous guests some difficulty…. Good job Richard! We then unpacked the car again and used the lift to our apartment….and very nice it was too. We then took ourselves off to the Australian War Memorial…..and the rest will follow in the next blog. Come back soon.

Bye for now, Jan

Saturday 1 March we drove away from Torquay towards Geelong where we wandered the promenade and enjoyed the vibe of this popular seaside town.

En route we treated the car to a “no touch” laser car wash in the knowledge that our off road dusty driving times were behind us (hopefully LOL). Leaving Geelong behind we headed towards Melbourne. Because of the unnecessarily complicated way the hire car had set up the pricing this time we avoided the toll roads so it took a bit longer than anticipated. Finally we arrived in the City and picked up the keys to our apartment from the managing agent (whose office was nearby), found the secure underground car park, unburdened the car into the apartment and then drove towards Melbourne Airport. In the meantime we’d found out that the off-site car rental office was closed for the day – despite our contractual requirement to return it by 5pm. So we phoned to get confirmation as to what we should do and couldn’t get any sense out of anybody at the call centre so made our way there anyway..….

Nearing the office we filled up with petrol and arrived – Ace and Hertz offices were side by side in a desolated industrial area and both were indeed closed for the day. There was a sign posted on the door to say drop your keys in the secure drop box after hours….but not wanting to drop them in without any means of returning to our apartment (and the potential of getting stranded) we decided to book an Uber to return us to the city. We weren’t the only people who were there trying to return cars either – complete confusion reigned LOL. So when the Uber arrived and confirmed it was for us, feeling somewhat relieved, we posted the keys and enjoyed the ride back to our apartment.

Our apartment had been very reasonably priced and we were surprised especially as it was in Docklands with river views from the balcony. When we got there we found out why – the whole area is being renovated and we were surrounded by cranes and building works. Not the best view from the ‘office’ window…. But, as it was the weekend, who cares, nobody was working! Anyway, overall, we were pretty happy. We popped out to go shopping for some provisions and enjoyed a dinner at home and a quiet night in. Here we are checking out the balcony.

Sunday morning we had a slow start and after a leisurely breakfast we decided to ride the (free) historical circle tram to help us work out the city layout. We were supposed to be able to get a network map on the tram but the driver had sadly run out of them….

The views from the tram were not great – and it was very busy – so we got off near to the Museum of Melbourne where we enjoyed the very varied exhibits. On the way we popped into a large hotel for a comfort break and reception staff (assuming we were guests) asked if we needed assistance. So I cheekily asked for a tram network map – and hurrah, all sorted!

The strangest exhibit was of a famous Australian racehorse – Phar Lap – who had won 37 races from 51 starts (including the 1930 Melbourne Cup). His final race in 1942 was videoed and watching this footage in the museum alongside his taxidermy body was quite surreal. Allegedly he was so good that he was poisoned (with arsenic) in the USA after his last race by competitor racehorse owners (alleged to have Mafia connections).

After the museum we returned to the trams having now worked out the system. The trams (within the City boundaries) are totally free so we enjoyed hopping on and hopping off. How amazing! We got off at Riverside and wandered to Federation Square where there was some sort of festival going on – we watched a bit of the break dancing competition – before bailing out as the music was somewhat monotonous and the standard of competition was not (in our inexperienced eyes) very good. At least no one recreated the Australian kangaroo dance from the Paris Olympics LOL.

We then headed towards the river, wandered the waterfront checking out the boats and art installations before deciding to go aboard the Afloat Bar and had a couple of drinks before returning to our apartment on the tram for another quiet night in.

Melbourne was actually pretty quiet on Sunday…although it also had the most eclectic mix of people that we had seen so far on our travels. Most memorable was the elderly short skinny bald man dressed in a mini pink dress with lots and lots of pearls and stilettos. No wig, no make up, just happy in his (her??) own skin…. All very odd. We also came across many strangely clothed locals and tourists alike. Most of the tourists were Chinese / Japanese and Korean – who annoyingly photo everything numerous times and are a little inconsiderate in terms of letting us in to get our photos…. I’m surprised they find time to explore as they are recording everything on their phones as they stroll around before checking the footage and repeating as they see fit!

Monday we took a tram to check out some old malls – Block Arcade and Royal Arcade. They were very familiar and reminded us a bit of Leadenhall Market in London.

Then we continued walking to China Town. We realised that the most popular eatery had a queue up the street before it had even opened at noon. So we continued exploring before finally popping into this establishment for a snack as it had now opened and the queue had been accommodated inside – which was actually like a tardis, surprisingly large. The servers didn’t really speak English and the ordering was not completely straightforward. But we had some lettuce wraps (with pork) and some vegetable spring rolls. The food was very good and tasty.

Afterwards we continued exploring – next stop AC/DC Lane – which is full of street art. This might have been something to see originally but, sadly, people had been tagging over the original paintings so it has became a bit messy and not particularly interesting. What a shame….

We then continued and ended up in the Love Museum – where some of the installations were a little risqué – before visiting the Art Gallery which had a lot of early Australian History depicted. Find it very interesting to see the European artists’ impression of life in Australia with the women wearing their traditional Western clothes from the period – bet a full length dress with bustle was very comfortable in the heat and ultimately practical for working the land!

Melbourne was actually started by free settlers – although there had been a convict settlement at Sorrento in Victoria for a short period – and, in fact, most of the early European settlers of the Melbourne area were ex-convicts who had been released after they had served their time but with no repatriations they had to start lives for themselves in the new territory.

Moving on we headed across the river to the Sky Deck which we had purchased tickets for online. We started off in the VR Theatre which took you around and across Melbourne visiting iconic things such as the Formula 1 race, the Open tennis, up and down the river, in a helicopter and riding pillion on a motorcycle. Best bit for me was the rollercoaster ride and the fairy penguin parade as they came ashore for the night in nearby Philip Island. All seats were individual with headsets and with surround sound and with the seats moving it felt like a pretty authentic experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Then we headed up to the Sky Deck and enjoyed views across the City.

Then we went to the Edge which is a glass box which comes out of the side of the building horizontally on the 88th floor – so we had a bit of fun there mucking around for the photos! If you think I was a bit harsh on Richard then note I was just getting revenge for New Zealand….

We actually thought this may have been simulated too until afterwards when we went into the cage which looks over the side of the building and we could see people inside the Edge through the glass walls…. We had an American backpacker in the Edge with us and she was pretty frightened to start with – especially when the lift started making terrible noises – and the opaque glass went clear. Sadly phones were not allowed in the Edge so no photos of our own…

Then we went to the Sky Deck bar as we had money off vouchers and we thought it would be nice to sit up there and have a drink looking over the city. But it was really no more than a cafe and despite the amazing views it wasn’t a particularly comfortable environment.

Leaving the Sky Deck via the shop (of course) we walked across the river to the oldest pub in Melbourne (the Mitre Tavern) and sat in the courtyard with a cold glass in hand. Was very popular with the yuppie crowd as they came out of work…. Was also pretty loud.

Moving on we headed back towards Docklands on the tram stopping off for some supermarket shopping on the way. We popped into the local pub Tap 831 on the way home too…was surprisingly good. Back home we got on with the laundry, had dinner, and another early night.

Tuesday morning we were up very early and found we had an ant infestation coming in from outside throughout the apartment. Yuck! Anyway, no time to deal with it other than giving it a good spray around as we were going out for the morning. We had a 30 minute uphill walk to the pick up location for our Puffing Billy tour. The tram timetable was too late to wait for it (just in case) so we walked and got there around 7.30 am. At 7.40 am on the dot a Go West minibus turned up to pick us up. We had wanted to ride the Puffing Billy steam train but, unless you can book six months in advance, there is very little chance of getting tickets for it. Clearly the tour companies are allocated so many seats on each departure which reduces the ability to book independently. Anyway, we settled into the minibus, said hello to our fellow travellers (Asian of course) and then we were driven to Belgrave. We had a quick snack in the station cafe before boarding the train – all the same tour were allocated seats in the same carriage. There is a ‘right’ side and a ‘wrong’ side on the carriage in terms of photo opportunities – people sit on the rail and hang out…neither of us fancied that as it looked incredibly uncomfortable. So happy to sit on the ‘wrong’ side of the train and walk across to the door on the opposite side to take photos..

We stopped at Menzies Creek for a refuel before continuing on to Lakeside which was the end of the road for us. The train did continue further but, to be fair, old wooden benches on a rickety old steam train are not the most comfortable of rides, so we were happy to be leaving the train behind at this juncture. But had to get our photos done first of course LOL.

We had a drink before rejoining our minibus (which had driven the route to collect us) and we had a snooze on the way back to the city. Back in our apartment we complained to the management company on line about the ants and the air conditioning (which was not cooling, just recycling the air around). A young Japanese woman came quite soon and inspected the problem – air con was fixed immediately – was on the wrong setting – but without a manual how were we supposed to know??!!?? She also inspected the ants and, allegedly, she was going to deal later when we were out for the evening.

We went out as planned to Tap 831 and had some dinner there. Food was pretty good although they messed Richard’s order up – serving him grilled fish with vegetables rather than fish and chips LOL. Healthier option though…. Anyway, what we didn’t know, was that this was quiz night and we were lucky to get a table – there were some big (established) teams of friends and work colleagues in situ. We spotted one team who were cheating by looking up things on their phones but we played fair. Our general knowledge / geography and music was pretty good. But sports – Oz centric – was rubbish and, as a result, we came joint last. But as we were the only tourists and the only team of two we weren’t too disappointed. The funniest question of the night was “Where are Lanzarote (pronounced Lan-za-roti) and Tenerife (pronounced Ten-e-rif-e) located?” We told him how to pronounce them and it was pretty obvious we knew the answer LOL.

After a fun night we returned to our apartment and still had ants (reduced numbers though) and the air conditioning was still working. Fine and so to bed….making sure nothing was left on the floor to get infested….

Wednesday morning was our last day in Melbourne so we had a late start and breakfast before we headed on the tram outside of the free zone – meaning we had to purchase Myki tickets (which was easy at the tram station machine) and top them up to tap on and off for our journey. We got off at the Shrine of Rememberance and walked to the War Memorial, visiting first the information centre, followed by the crypt, and then up to the balcony. It was all very moving and beautifully done.

Afterwards – despite the high temperatures in the low 30s – we walked to the Botanic Gardens and enjoyed walking around. Especially seeing so many fruit bats nesting in the area – flying foxes are one of our favourites as their little faces look like cute dogs LOL. Then we headed to the Lake and sat on the terrace chatting to all the birds around. We also enjoyed watching the punts go out on the lake.

Afterwards we walked back to the main entrance, rejoined a tram and returned to the South Bank. We checked out a few bars on the South Bank but it was completely rammed with people coming out for an after-work drink and we couldn’t take the queues. So we crossed over the river and got a tram back to Docklands and returned to Tap 831, our new ‘local’ LOL.

We stayed there for dinner and then went back to the apartment to clean up and pack.

So that brings this part of our Australian adventure to a close. Come back soon for the next episode which takes us to Canberra.

Bye for now, Jan

Monday 24 February we said sad farewells and left Lester and Helen’s property on Hindmarsh Island to drive five hours towards Beachport where we had booked to stay in an apartment at the Harbourmaster’s cottage on the promenade.

Here I am ready to drive Richard away….

We took the scenic route rather than the motorway so we ended up on a quick (free) trip on a cable ferry at Wellington. We were lucky to get onto one pretty quickly as the guy loading was picking carefully from the queue waiting for access…the fact that we were just a car with no caravan attached helped a lot I think LOL.

En route we stopped at Kingston to check out the Big Lobster before continuing onto Robe for a comfort break and a quick look around.

Afterwards we carried on until we reached the property in Beachport. We parked in our allocated spot and got ourselves checked in – very nice indeed! Beautifully furnished with fantastic views too…. Sadly was a bit too windy / chilly to take advantage of the outside deck. Some hardy Australians were walking the prom despite the chill factor but it wouldn’t have suited us to be quite so ‘on display’ LOL.

Anyway we checked out all the cooking facilities and then headed to the local general store for some provisions. We unloaded the car and took ourselves off for a scenic drive including our first lighthouse of this element of our trip (Cape Martin). This lighthouse is quite modern compared to many we have visited on our travels through Australia.

Afterwards we retired to our apartment, had dinner, and an evening in front of the TV before bed.

Tuesday morning we were up early as we had to be out by 10 am. We did a few bits of laundry in the washer / drier, cleaned up after ourselves, had a quick breakfast and checked out. Sadly the drying element of the washer was not up to scratch so we ended up moving on with a bag of damp clothing….oh well, never mind….

Our next stop was Mount Gambier where we visited the blue lake which was spectacular! Thought it quite amusing we were only 17kms from Southend at this point LOL.

We also checked out the town / art centre and stopped off for some lunch in a cafe.

Then we continued our scenic drive along the coast to Nelson and visited another lighthouse station at Cape Nelson. Some of the old light keeper’s cottages at many of the light stations are available to rent although obviously they are a bit isolated and you might have snakes as neighbours….

Finally we arrived at Port Fairy where we had booked a historic cottage which was disappointingly finished poorly and, although the bed was lovely (as were the linens) the rest of the place needed a thorough deep clean. I had personally been swayed by the fabulous five star reviews but of course what the reviews don’t tell you is that this property has five cottages in total. The reviews must clearly relate to the newly refurbished ones. And, to my disappointment, they did not even publish my review – although I was polite in my criticism. Shows that this element cannot be trusted on Air BnB as the owners can manipulate what goes public. Rant over…..

Back to the property – cooking facilities were not good – I personally don’t class a rusty standalone electric two hob plate as completely sufficient – although there was a microwave, kettle and toaster – but no oven. I wasn’t going to rustle something up with the two hobs (and the very limited pans available) so decided that, although the place was not in town as anticipated, we would head out for dinner. But first some exploring was needed…we went to see the sea entrance to the Moyne River and the sea was absolutely raging. Afterwards we went to check out the boats on the wharf too…. Then found a local pub which was recommended for its food offerings – and had a spectacular meal! Afterwards we went to the Passage Cliffs to check out the sunset before returning to our cottage, by which time we were absolutely freezing….

Wednesday morning we were up and out early – definitely had no inclination to stay longer – and this time we were heading to Warrnambool as we wanted to see the Maritime Village on Flagstaff Hill.

In the 1850s the original Flagstaff was erected which served as a navigational aid and signal point between ship and shore. It was a vital communication tool relaying important messages to vessels and alerting the townsfolk of shipping activities in the port.

The southwest coast of Victoria was often the first port of call for ships en route to Melbourne and the east coast of Australia from England. Imagine the excitement of passengers and crew at sighting land after 20,000 kms and three harrowing months at sea. Also the devastation of being shipwrecked along the 120 kms of coast from Apollo Bay to Portland – now aptly named the Shipwreck Coast.

We arrived, got parked up, got a concession price on entry (for OAPs) and thoroughly enjoyed a walking tour with one of the volunteers (who was dressed in a period costume). The shipwreck artefacts were stunning along with the stories of those who had survived, and those who had perished, on the ancient wooden schooners which had plied their trade along the coast from England. There are 26 recorded shipwrecks and strandings from 1842 to 1905. In the museum there are relics, cargos and anchors from some of Victoria ‘s most infamous wrecks including the Loch Ard, Schomberg, Newfield, Childre, Antares, La Bella and Falls of Helladale. Obviously wind powered only and this is a treacherous piece of coast – with onshore winds and currents combined with incredible unpredictability.

Was very interesting to hear about how the early settlers lived in this area and to enjoy some of the recreated / restored buildings…. The church was cute and the llamas were an interesting addition to the volunteer crew. And there were two lighthouses, Richard’s favourite LOL.

I particularly enjoyed the scones with cream / jam in the cafe and the sweet shop had some interesting concoctions – my favourite was their chocolate bullets (think hard black liquorice covered in thick milk chocolate). Yummmm…..

We had a lot of time to explore as our next stop was a short distance away – total driving time from A to B today was only 1 hour 30 minutes.

But as we were now officially joining the Great Ocean Road at every brown sign (tourist signs) along the road we turned to see what we could see / find – so visited the Bay of Islands, London Bridge and the Bay of Martyrs….which are inlets along the road. Many of them required us to go off road again too which is fun particularly when it’s only for a short period.

Leaving some of the spectacular scenery behind we continued to Port Campbell where we had a hotel room booked. Unusually for us we were staying in a hotel rather than an apartment and the room was huge. The staff were very friendly and, after checking in, we walked the pier, enjoyed some of the tiny town, checked out the surprisingly nice beach, and then had drinks in the bar before going back to our room for a while. Later on we ate dinner in the hotel restaurant which was great!

Thursday morning we had a wonderful hotel breakfast and then took ourselves off to the nearby heliport where we were going to be enjoying a 30 minute helicopter trip over the Great Ocean Road and the 12 Apostles. We were very excited and did wonder how many people we would have to share our helicopter with….they take up to eight people and need a minimum of three to fly the trip. Anyway, we arrived, had our safety briefing, got kitted up and were then told our helicopter was on its way to pick us up and we climbed into Budgie LOL.

It was only a four seater (including the pilot) and Richard nabbed the front co-pilot seat while I settled into the back. Not too happily I had to relinquish my small rucksack and leave it in the car…so it meant that the car now had all our valuables locked within…why couldn’t my bag take up the free seat?!? Anyway….we took off…and OMG what a view. We do have video footage of the trip which I’ll share another time – can’t right now as have no computer to plug it into – as we only travelled with the iPad / keyboard this trip to minimise hand luggage. But a unique USB reminder that’s for sure.

What a fantastic experience and highly recommended for anyone thinking of coming this way!

After the helicopter excursion we drove back along the Great Ocean Road and visited all the sights we had seen from the air by road – again following brown tourist signs.

We then drove on to Cape Otway but our sat nav lost its signal and started taking us through single rainforest dirt track roads into the clouds. We spotted some logging going on and prayed we would not meet a logging lorry coming the other way LOL. Nowhere to run and Richard didn’t fancy reversing along these roads under pressure. Pretty though in the forest…

We realised what had happened but there wasn’t an obvious way to sort it out – so pushed on until the signal returned – and then re-routed back to the Great Ocean Road. Amazing rural scenery as well as the ocean but, OMG, so very remote and hard to consider living somewhere that is at such significant risk from bush fires….

We did eventually reach the Cape Otway lighthouse which is regarded as the most significant lighthouse in Australia as this would be the first lighthouse that ships would have seen coming from England.

We then continued onto Lorne – by now we are on the best part of the coast road driving around hairpin bends alongside the cliffs…but, Sod’s Law, it is raining so the views are not visible. Pushing on we arrived in Lorne and eventually found our apartment in this particularly drab old-fashioned building…never mind…. We found reception, got the information about the underground car park, checked in and had a look around. The apartment was nice with great views out to sea…and was within walking distance of bars / restaurants etc. Having checked out the cooking facilities we went shopping, returned and unloaded, then walked down to the beach and enjoyed watching the cockatoos digging into the dirt. The beach was busy with lots of people swimming and enjoying themselves – this place had a different vibe, much more of a ‘seaside’ town. We returned to the apartment, did a bit of unpacking, then went out to the Lorne Hotel across the way for drinks on their rooftop bar overlooking the ocean and plagued by cockatoos LOL.

Back to the apartment for dinner and, naughty, naughty, we encouraged the cockatoos to visit our balcony and fed them with some cheese crackers. Love watching these pretty birds despite the earsplitting noise they make. And that was it for the day.

Friday morning we packed up and left. We drove down the road to the Swing Bridge Cafe for breakfast which had been recommended. It reminded us a bit of a Caribbean beach bar and didn’t hold much hope for a good feed – but it was tremendous, fast delivery and very fresh.

After breakfast we headed to Split Rock Lighthouse and had a cup of tea in their cafe before continuing our drive towards Torquay via Anglesea. Notice all the English place names…we had even driven through Southend the other day!

We arrived in Torquay and parked up outside and went in. The hotel room was not ready yet and they would call us when it was….so we asked for the car park instructions in the meantime. We got the car parked up and found a lift to take us back to the main reception. This place is huge and we needed a map to get around LOL. We decided to have some refreshments and settled down by the pool while we waited.

A couple of hours later – and at the allocated check in time – we returned to reception to get an update. We finally got access to our room which was huge although not easy to find! We unloaded the car and then went for a walk along the promenade towards the main strip of bars and restaurants as, surprisingly for a five star Wyndham property, the hotel didn’t have a proper restaurant just a cafe doing basic fare. En route we popped into the Bowls club (or the Bowlo as the locals call it) always a good place to get a reasonably priced meal – and it was absolutely rammed…. So we continued walking until we found a restaurant that could accommodate us. Which was called Bombaras. The food was good and the ambience nice too so glad we found it – despite the 35 minute walk to get here. After dinner we called back into the Bowling club as there was a live band playing. They were called The Truants and Richard reckoned they were called that because they had missed music lessons at school LOL. They were absolutely dreadful…. So we headed back to our hotel where we found we had frozen a bottle of wine in the fridge and so to bed…

So that completes this part of our Great Ocean Road adventure. Come back soon for the next instalment which visits Melbourne. Bye for now Jan

Wednesday morning (19th February) we were up early, packed up the car and left our little cottage behind. We drove towards the ferry terminal and arrived early enough to get the ferry before the one we were scheduled to be sailing on. I went inside to talk to the check in desk and they said we were welcome to join if we wanted to – however, they wouldn’t recommend it, as they had just loaded a lorry full of cows on board. In bad weather it wasn’t unknown for cars to be splattered as the cows reacted to their confinement in a ‘rolling’ truck. Hmmmm….our hire car was already filthy from all the dust on the Kangaroo Island’s unmade roads….didn’t fancy that! So we declined to join and waited it out keeping our place at the start of the queue for the next sailing.

Our next destination was Hindmarsh Island where Lester and Helen had settled since leaving the Gold Coast where we had met them. They had had an Island Packet too and we were (allegedly LOL) the inspiration for them to sell their boat SV Joule, as they had seen how well we had done in the Covid market when Australians were after anything that would let them go walkabout particularly boats and caravans in response to the restrictions. Their move to Hindmarsh – which is an inland river island located in the lower Murray River near the town of Goolwa, South Australia – is very close to where Helen had grown up so the huge move was also partially for family reasons as her mother had had some health concerns over the last few years. We were very excited to see our friends again especially in their new home and eagerly boarded the ferry and took off towards the mainland. We docked on time and drove towards the island and across the bridge. We located and drove down their street but couldn’t spot their house number – suddenly Richard spotted Lester in the road behind us – we had driven right past LOL.

We quickly got our luggage indoors, made ourselves comfortable in the guest bedroom, and then headed down the Murray River on their motorboat Romanza where we had a glass of bubbles and some nibbles. Lovely!

We then returned to their beautiful home for dinner – at which point Helen and I went indoors and the boys disappeared. Helen said they were probably next door so I popped out into the garden and yes, there they were, both sitting in the cockpit of the neighbour’s small Beneteau. Warned them dinner was almost ready and, eventually, they returned so we had a fantastic meal, sat and watched some TV, and then to bed. Had been a lovely day.

Thursday morning we headed to the Goolwa Barrage – this is a 10 minute drive from the town of Goolwa around 80 kms south of Adelaide. It separates the fresh water flowing down the Murray river from the salt water of the Coorong. It is the last of a series of locks and barrages that control the flow of the Murray River along its entire length. They were originally intended to make the river more navigable for the elegant paddle steamers that once plied these waters carrying essential goods. A row of statuesque Norfolk Pines lines the roadway to the barrage and as we reach the barrage we are greeted by a variety of wildlife around the first section which leads out into the river. There were great cormorants, NZ fur seals basking and fishing in the muddy water before resting up on the barrage itself for a rest (don’t know how they get into the positions they ferociously defend) and a view of my personal favourite the Australian Pelican. So much more beautiful than the brown pelicans we are used to seeing in the Caribbean. This largely white bird with black wings just seems bigger and more majestic somehow…..

We then moved on with a drive into the Barossa Valley. We stopped for coffee in Balhannah (in the Adelaide Hills) along the way and then headed towards Gumeracha where we saw the Big Rocking Horse….not sure why the Australians have to have “big” things everywhere but as they then become tourist attractions over time can see the long-term benefit!

Then onwards to Tanunda where we had a lovely lunch in the Bakery. We also stopped at the Whispering Wall in Williams Town – amazing feat of engineering building a curved dam wall that, when you speak to each other from either end, it sounds like the person is standing next to you! Had lots of fun with that….

We then went to a couple of wineries – the first one being a very commercial Penfolds and finishing up at Rockford – smaller with old fashioned methodology. We enjoyed the cellar door tastings and, having purchased a few bottles here and there, we headed back to Hindmarsh for dinner. Lovely day!

On Friday first thing Richard tried his hand at radio controlled sailing. This is something that Lester has newly introduced to the island and there is now quite a gang of them who race regularly! I declined as I really have no hand to eye coordination LOL.

Peter and Carol came over and we went up the river on Romanza to Clayton Bay for lunch at Pier 28. A jolly time it was too…. Always nice to make new friends. Everyone had a go at driving the boat and trying out Lester’s silly captain’s hat LOL.

On return to the house we chilled for the rest of the afternoon before getting ready to head out to Goolwa for the evening where we were going to a quiz night which was a fundraiser for the community shed that Lester attends. The team consisted of us, Lester & Helen, Peter & Carol, Frances & Geoffrey and George & Di. Lots of Australian specific questions so we were rubbish at them and because the team was so large the lady scribing often chose an alternative suggestion to our preferred answer….as a consequence we came third overall but, had she chosen some of our responses, we could have improved upon that LOL. Lester was also somewhat distracted by the yacht racing going on in the bay – a weekly event that he usually takes part in on his neighbours Beneteau….

Saturday morning we went into Goolwa and visited the historic Oscar W which is a unique 1908 wood-fired heritage Paddle Steamer. Lester is heavily involved in this vessel being part of the crew and Helen is currently treasurer of the charity so we had a private viewing! This project definitely keeps them busy…. Beautiful old craft which takes paying guests periodically for a cruise along the Lower Murray River.

We then headed off for a trip aboard the Steam Ranger Heritage Railway towards Victor Harbour – was quite excited about the idea of going on a steam train but, unfortunately, the trains were cancelled due to the fire risk – the temperature was above 38 degrees Celsius and there has been no rain for months. So we drove to Victor Harbour instead and dropped Helen off as she had an important opticians appointment. We then drove up to the Bluff for some scenery pictures before returning to get a horse drawn carriage over to Granite Island. We chatted to Albert – the large Clydesdale horse who was shackled up ready to go. The people running this service said this would be the last run over as the heat was too much for the horses…. So we waved Albert off and went to chat to Scottie, who was being lazy, and came with a warning that he bites! Lester chatted to him and he clearly wanted to bite him LOL.

Anyway by now Helen was free again so we went to pick her up and travelled onwards to the McLaren Vale where we visited the D’Arenburg Cube which is Salvador Dali inspired and where many exhibits were signed and certified as originals from the Dali stable. The most expensive statue was only Australian $1.95 mn plus sales tax (10%) plus delivery….. Was interesting looking through all the exhibits – not sure our garden / house or pockets were sufficient to warrant a purchase LOL. Some of the exhibits were just plain weird to be honest.

D’Arenburg is actually a winery so after looking around the exhibits we headed to the top floor for a wine tasting. All the white offerings were a bit sweet for our palate but was a fun experience anyway.

After we finished the tasting we drove back to the mouth of the Murray River which was fascinating. We then had dinner at home before retiring to bed after a long day. The temperature had certainly started to drop when the sun when down.

Sunday we headed to the Warrawonga Wildlife Sanctuary which is owned by Lester’s old school friend David (Cobbold). They had recently reconnected via social media.

We fed kangaroos / emus / checked out the ducks and turtles but sadly saw no platypus. Then it was time for our koala adventure…we all went into the enclosure with two rangers and, it was so cute, one of the smaller ones just reached up for the guy and climbed straight into his arms for a cuddle. Apparently this koala loves anyone dressed in khaki LOL. These koalas really seemed to enjoy the human interaction and we had lots of petting time – usually they give you a side look to say ‘hey, I’m tired, let me sleep’…. These were the friendliest koalas we had ever met and the most rewarding adventure.

Sadly leaving the koalas behind we continued wandering around the park and visited the dingos and, again, were mugged by the kangaroos for food. Richard even had the emus eating out of his hand…. I’m a little nervous around them as they have huge claws and a fast turn of speed…. Then we spotted a couple of little fellows – we think they looked like rock wallabies – some cockatoos, snakes and lazy lizards – called sleepy lizards and some blue tongues. All very strange looking creatures.

Moving on we headed to Hahndorf which is a German artisan village settled in 1839 by Prussian Lutherans seeking religious freedom.

We checked out the cuckoo clocks, the nutcrackers, the scented candles and a variety of other items, especially Xmas decorations. We, however, decided not to buy anything.

We stopped for a snack – I had a pretzel which was pretty good – and then we returned to the house. We had a rest up before getting ready to go out for dinner at the Chiton Rocks Surf Lifesaving Club. We saw an amazing sunset on our departure before heading home to bed.

Monday morning we said our sad farewells to Lester and Helen again – it had been a very special reunion and we were so very grateful to them for their amazing hospitality in their beautiful home and for showing us around the area. They are definitely living the dream!

And so the next chapter of this adventure beckoned….the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne. Very excited about this. Bye for now, come back soon, Jan

Saturday 15 February we were up early in Adelaide, packed up the car, checked out of our apartment and drove down the Fleurieu Peninsula on the way to Cape Jarvis where we were scheduled to be on the midday ferry over to KI. (And this is the most expensive ferry in the world per kilometre!) Beautiful scenery and small towns along the way and, although the brown grass showed the impact of the South Australia drought – if the hills had been verdant and green you could almost think you were in teletubbie land LOL.

Of course, the weather had caught up with us, after the extreme temperatures in Adelaide the previous week it was now chilly with the very occasional short-lived shower of rain.

We got to the ferry terminal and checked in – I had to walk onto the ferry as Richard drove the car and met me onboard later – it was very choppy heading directly into the wind towards Penneshaw, our KI destination port.

In fact the ferry was tipping around so madly that the (empty) swivel seats were enjoying themselves in some sort of synchronised ballet. There were a few excited kids around and they loved it although they were not so keen when the ferry tipped and they couldn’t stand up anymore LOL. Thankfully no one was injured or sea sick although bags were at hand in plentiful numbers just in case…

We arrived in Penneshaw and I walked off the ferry and waited for Richard to pick me up. Richard had been one of the first to drive onto the ferry so he was lucky enough to go forwards and reverse into a tight spot near the stern. Other drivers were not so lucky having to navigate the access to the ferry completely in reverse gear. Upside to that for them was that they were off first at the other end!

Richard drove us the hour or so to our accommodation in Kingscote which is the main settlement on the island. The first thing we noticed was the huge amount of roadkill – mainly kangaroos sadly. We found our holiday cottage easily and let ourselves in…checked out the cooking facilities…and headed into town for some provisioning. This cottage had been built in the owners garden (which was very spacious) and was lovely with sea views from the kitchen window. On the way back from provisioning we enjoyed the Silo Art, visited the pelicans and the cormorants on the waterfront. Back at “home” we felt quite cold so had dinner and movie night in.

Sunday morning we were up early and headed down the island to the Wildlife Park and Raptor Domain. The Wildlife Park had been relocated in December 2024 from the centre of the island near Parndana. We enjoyed ourselves feeding kangaroos and patting the koalas. The kangaroos are different here – more woolly – and very friendly. The funny thing about the koalas’ enclosure was that they had wild ones who had come down in the night and wanted to stay…so they were let into the enclosure and hadn’t tried to leave since… Guess they were attracted by the easy access to fresh eucalyptus leaves each day LOL. The keeper told us which were the wild ones and they were more than wild looking – absolutely livid with us tourists checking them out when all they want to be doing is sleeping! But my favourite this time was the sleeping koala who was cuddling a youngster in her arms and a bigger young one climbed on top, not wanting to miss out. Wondered if this was also one of her joeys. Lots of arms / legs to decipher in this one LOL.

After that we looked at the fairy penguins, which do live on this coast in the wild but are being decimated by the expanding fur seal population. Afterwards we went to the raptor show which was very educational – the avian keepers clearly had a rapport and respect for their charges. I was lucky enough to hold a tawny frogmouth (who is often mis-named as an owl) and Richard held a large South American parrot. We also checked out the meerkats, the dingos, and some other critters.

Moving on we headed in the car to the far west of the island to see Admirals Arch and the Cape de Couedic Lighthouse. We also spotted quite a few fur seals lazing around – completely protected by their precarious perch on the rocks. Boy the sea was raging that day….

Afterwards we headed to see Remarkable Rocks which are perched above the sea in Flinders Chase National Park, the rocks form what appear to be a cluster of precariously balanced granite boulders. This stunning work of nature has been shaped by the erosive forces of wind, sea spray and rain over 500 million years.

By now we were pretty peckish so grabbed a very late lunch at Livonnie General Store and cafe just before they shut the kitchen. Back in Kingscote we were surprised to find a car parked in the parking spot outside the garden gate to our cottage. We realised, however, that the main house was also being let at this time so the car belonged to another guest who had parked close to the main house…. Anyway, no real hostelry nearby that we fancied so we decided to have another night in.

Monday we went out for breakfast in Kingscote before driving to Seal Bay.

On arrival, we enjoyed the boardwalk to the beach lookout.

Leaving this (and the seals) behind we headed to the northern coast and ended up in Rockpool via an unmade road. OMG the poor car was completely covered in dust! And we had been shaken / rattled like crazy. The slower you drove the worse it was, so Richard embraced his natural energy, and took off like a F1 pro LOL. I merely clung to my seat hoping to arrive safely!

After this we went to Emu Bay and had a cold drink in the car watching out over the coastline…. Then to Shoal Bay / North Cape and phew the roads were difficult – driving on sand over limestone rock…completely desolate with some farmland tucked in between. This is what you call isolation! Back to the apartment after a long day of driving we had another quick shop on the way back ‘home’ and another early night beckoned. This time we were a bit practical too as we got all the laundry done and hung up outside to dry. The sun had come out so we even enjoyed a glass of wine in our little cottage garden overlooking the sea….

Tuesday morning we headed to the American River. This is the first area visited by Europeans in 1802 when Matthew Flinders landed to survey this part of the island. In 1803 a group of American sealers camped for four months in the area. They arrived on the brig Union and built their own 35 ton schooner Independence from local timber. The town takes its name from this time. Was interesting to see the restoration work being done on the schooner Independence in the shed on the end of the wharf. The star attraction on the wharf was the solo seal sunbathing….

Oh yes and it was cruise ship day…so swarms of tourists in minibuses descended on the small towns along the way. It was also one of the few places where we saw yachts at anchor.

After this we headed off to see the Cape Willoughby lighthouse – and, with me driving and Richard navigating – once again we had dirt roads to contend with! To be fair you can’t really get around KI if you try to avoid them…. Funnily enough we had been told in the past not to take rental cars ‘off road’ but, although they knew our destination there was no such warning given this time. Felt better about that but did wonder if we would have been better off in a SUV?!? By the way, going back in time, can’t imagine being posted as the light keeper to one of these very remote places…

In December 2019/January 2020 KI was hit by lightning which ignited devastating bushfires. Fires burned 211,474 hectares of land, almost half of the island. It is unknown how many of the island’s wild animals perished, although the koala population plummeted from approximately 48,000 to 8,500 as a result, alongside 32,000 head of stock and domestic animals that also died. The widespread fires damaged / destroyed homes, businesses, grazing land, forests, crops, machinery, and infrastructure, and two people tragically lost their lives. Very sad but the island has recovered amazingly well considering.

In the afternoon we had booked on a boat trip to go out and see dolphins and seals…so headed to Christmas Cove to meet the boat. The boat was late docking and all these wet, cold and exhausted tourists disembarked. They had been swimming with the dolphins and seals….brrrrr….not for me thanks in the Southern Ocean which is Great White shark territory!!! Think they may have been cruise ship passengers…

We had an enjoyable slow cruise out looking at the limestone cliffs which showed many a story of the evolution of the place…with unusual formations which the skipper was quite excited about….but we had seen very similar in Tasmania so weren’t that impressed. We met a young French traveller – female and solo – who was driving around in a truck which had a tent on the roof for accommodation. I thought she was incredibly brave but she said that lots of French people do this and she keeps bumping into them at different places – but everyone has a different schedule so she always knew this would be largely a solo adventure. Guess camping is in her bones as she manages a campsite in France for a living LOL.

We were lucky enough to see both dolphins and seals as promised by the captain. Guess they pretty much stay in the same place…. On the way back the crew let the massive 1200 HP outboard engines rip and we drove around erratically at great speed to the delight of all the guests on board.

Anyway, quite chilly after the boat trip, we headed back towards Kingscote and popped into a new local hostelry called the Pick & Shovel Pub. All very trendy and tiny! Not particularly comfortable we drank up and moved back to our apartment to bring in our laundry, have dinner and curl up in the warm.

I got on with the blog and Richard watched his favourite programmes…. Anyway, this was our last night on Kangaroo Island as Wednesday we were booked on the 1.30 pm ferry to return to the mainland….

So bye for now and come back soon for another part of our adventure.

Jan

First thing (Monday 10 February) we got up, organised ourselves, and drove off to return the car to the hire company. Mission accomplished we then utilised the courtesy bus to take us to the airport in preparation for our flight to Adelaide. This boarded quickly and we took off…. Again Virgin Australia so nothing offered other than tea, coffee and water complimentary – I’d prepared this time by purchasing cheese and biscuits and some soft drinks…. About an hour before we landed we had a glass of wine and enjoyed the rest of the short flight (3 1/2 hours)….

On arrival we got an uber to our apartment and settled in. Nice place and quite spacious…. I finished the blog whilst Richard popped out for some provisions at the local shops. This serviced apartment’s only disappointment was the balcony – a bit grubby from street dust and not really fit for purpose especially as it housed a large air conditioning unit pumping out some very undesired additional heat! Oh yes and $4 a small bottle of water in the fridge which we thought was a bit swingeing….most places give you complimentary water these days. Anyway, blog published and Richard returned with the goodies. We then got ready to go out and found a local restaurant which served the most amazingly flavoured foods….on sharing plates. Fabulous!

Tuesday morning we headed out into a very hot day – phew! – and visited the Central Market via the tram (which was incredibly reasonably priced at only £1.27 for a full day’s travel). The Market was very interesting with pretty much any type of fresh produce you could possible want to buy and lots of food offerings and certainly didn’t expect such a comprehensive cheese offering. And all in air conditioned comfort….

We then navigated our way to the historic area and visited the Migration Museum and the Library. This area is so familiar it could almost be in the UK. Historic buildings and churches – only unlike the UK this area was very clean and tidy….

The Migration Museum was interesting and followed the story of families from around the world who had decided (and were indeed encouraged) to make Australia their home (not forgetting the £10 Poms) and the ‘Whites Only’ immigration policy which can be traced back to the 1850s with the last vestiges of this discriminatory policy not finally removed until 1973. You also need to know about the shocking adoption of Aboriginal and Torres Strait children who were forcibly removed to be placed with white families. These children are classed as the ‘lost generation’ as they had no opportunity to learn about their own culture. It is estimated that one in three indigenous children were removed between 1910 and the 1970s which is really not that long ago, which makes it even more heinous. But we must acknowledge that child trafficking also went the other way – with 130,000 UK children from “deprived” backgrounds sent to the Colonies for a better life. This was mainly to Australia and Canada with many of them separated from their siblings: the children were often falsely informed that they were orphans (many of them being removed directly after birth from single teenage mothers who were shamed into compliance): and many of whom were subject to physical and/or sexual abuse. What a cruel world we live in!

After this we googled to find a rooftop bar – thinking we could escape from the oppressive heat – so headed off on foot towards the nearest one. We found the entrance – stepping over a few homeless people along the way which is obviously an issue in Adelaide – and made our way up to the rooftop. Well it was a rooftop bar but it was only four flights up LOL! Not exactly what we had in mind….but it had nice cold vapour lines of mist chilling the seating area. We had a couple of drinks before returning to the area where our apartment was located and tried out a few hostelries on the way. We met a local nutter who decided Richard was his best friend as his accent reminded him of Ricky Gervais and I got hugs too but he thought I was Ricky Gervais’ mother! He was off his head so I tried hard not to be too offended LOL.

We did find a local bar we liked but afterwards headed back to relax in our apartment’s air conditioning as the heat of the city had sapped our energies. We then had a chat with Lester and Helen (who we were going to visit shortly after) before heading out for a fantastic dinner at the local Japanese restaurant (strangely named Call Me Curry & Izakaya). Our location in the city was a bit grungy in places but perfectly positioned in terms of eateries and hostelries….

On Wednesday morning we were hit by a heatwave – 43 degrees – phew! The highest daily temperature since 2017 and made Adelaide the hottest capital in the world that day. It felt like walking into a pizza oven, so intense, and very draining, So we headed off to the casino to have a look around – huge place where I managed to spend (lose) $20 on the slots (pokies)…. Oh well never mind – and then down to the riverside to check out where we would be picking up our river boat trip later in the week. It was so hot even the ducks were seeking out the shade!

Then we headed on the tram to Glenelg (end of the line) which the locals call affectionally ‘The Bay’ which was very nice and – aided a bit by the sea breeze – we walked the promenade to the local marina, had a lovely seafood lunch, then back to the main drag where we found a hostelry to keep cool in. Later in the afternoon we headed back to the marina, found a tapas bar to have an early supper, and at 7pm we boarded a large commercial catamaran which was taking us on a sunset and dolphin watching cruise. The crew were nice, the other guests were also pleasant, and we were lucky to get seated at the stern of the vessel so in the shade. Most people were in full sun on the bow / transom etc. We enjoyed both the cruise, the dolphin sightings, and the sunset at sea before the boat turned around and we headed back into the marina. We then retraced our steps to the tram and caught one back to the city (about 45 minutes journey). Back in our apartment we had an early night having enjoyed our day out despite the heat.

Thursday morning we had a leisurely start and met Lester & Helen on the street as they picked us up. Thankfully the weather had cooled down a bit – phew! First stop was the South Australian Royal Yacht Club before having a quick glance at the Clipper City of Adelaide, a massive renovation of an 1864 clipper ship which was built in Sunderland to transport passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.

We then went to check out the docks before driving towards the beach and the coast – ending at Semophore where we enjoyed checking out the jetty and making new acquaintance with a couple of Brits who were visiting on holiday but who now reside in Spain. We also checked out a huge pelican who was bothering a fisherman for snacks LOL.

After a nice pub lunch on the seafront we headed inland towards Mount Lofty to admire the city views. En route we came across a koala walking down the road. Lester stopped the car in a hurry – giving me a bit of a fright when I realised that I was teetering just above a sheer cliff drop! The koala spotted us and went into the bush becoming camera shy and would only give us a view of his/her bottom LOL.

At the top of the Mountain we couldn’t see much of the view as it was shrouded in mist…oh well, never mind. On the way back we stopped off at a residential cul-de-sac to see the huge tree growing in the middle of the road…. Why would anyone plant that there?!?

Back at the apartment we said farewell to Lester and Helen and had a quiet night in….

Friday morning we headed down to the River Torrens to pick up our Popeye boat trip down the river.

We enjoyed the ride and the commentary until we eventually ended up at the botanical gardens and the zoo – we had already decided not to visit the zoo. But we wanted to see the Chiculy glass installations in the botanical gardens so walked through hoping to catch a glimpse. Those that we saw were stunning – we had tried and failed to get tickets to see this installation during the evening as they are lit up – and, because of the severe weather the botanical garden had been closed because of fire risk. Anyway we did manage to catch a few – absolutely stunning!

Moving on we walked through Rundle Market enjoying some of the street art and we went into the Opal Store where Richard purchased a lovely opal pendant for me to match my Opal ring – Happy Valentine’s Day! Lovely surprise….

On the way back to the apartment we popped down to our hire car company who, for a change, had a city location. We were picking up our car at 5pm so wanted to check all was OK – and glad we did as the car they had allocated was too way too small – so Richard asked if he could have another Mazda X30 as we had both enjoyed driving that last time. Deal done we returned to the apartment and got on with the laundry as we were leaving the following day. At 4.50 pm we went back out and picked up the newly-allocated car and drove off – we had instructions how to get into the apartment block’s underground car park but the one-way system foiled both us and the sat nav. Pleased to report that this time the car – being a slightly older / lesser specification – had USB ports so we were able to run the google maps onto the dummy screen. Anyway, the one way system and the end of work traffic, caused us a nightmare and it took us almost an hour to get back to where we had started which was only a five minute walk away! To enter the car park was very very tight and I was glad Richard was driving. We managed to find a spot inside but, again, it was all very tight! Almost made you want to hold your breath as we navigated around….

Back in the apartment we got ready for the evening – first stop was to a Japanese noodle restaurant which was busy and looked nice. But the menu was incomprehensible to those not in the know so we left and headed down to the local pub where we listened to some live music, ate pizza, and watched the locals having fun. A very mixed collection of punters but at the ‘rough’ end of the spectrum – think some of them had spent the day watching the LIVGolf tournament and had kept hydrated accordingly LOL.

Having finished our food we moved on and walked to the Sky Tower – where we headed to the nine floor for their rooftop bar and sunset drinks – and met the more up-market type of clientele LOL. After drinks and the sun had gone down we headed down to the ground floor and I played on the slots again in the casino and won $50! Woo hoo!

Afterwards we just turned in for the night and that brings this part of our adventure to an end. Please come back soon for the next instalment. Bye for now.

Jan

Wednesday 5 February we were up early, packed up, in readiness to pick up our hire car. We had to be ready early as the water in our Perth apartment was going to be turned off at 9 am. We had received advance notice of this so made sure all our laundry was done and we had spare kettles / jugs of water for washing up etc prior to departure.

At 10.20 am we left the apartment by Uber to the airport. We found the Ace hire cars’ office easily enough and went in – a bit early as the car was booked from 12 noon. To our delight it was ready – a Mazda CX30 this time and a bit smaller than before thankfully….

Richard drove towards Margaret River and the first thing we realised was that there was incompatibility between the brand new car (only had 500kms on the clock) and our old iPhones, so not able to use the Apple / Google combination for navigation on the dummy screen. Oh well, never mind, we’ll manage using the phone on its own. Then we realised that there was no USB plug – only C type – so again our old phone could not be charged. But, against every eventually, I’d packed a power pack into our luggage just in case. Could you guess I used to be a Girl Guide LOL.

About 1pm we were feeling peckish and came off the main road to a small town cafe where we had a fabulous lunch before continuing to Margaret River. We were told we ‘had arrived’ on the phone but couldn’t physically see the building…. So we drove around again and looked harder – eventually we sussed it out – drove in and checked in. The name of the apartments was actually hidden by the extensive foliage outside. These serviced apartments had a 24 hour reception on duty to help us – although on check in day the woman was not particularly welcoming. We picked up the keys and drove down to the allocated car parking area – let ourselves in – and were wowed by the size of the place. Absolutely huge, especially compared to Perth.

After resting up for a while – and a little unpacking – we headed up the Main Street towards the Settlers Tavern where we enjoyed a nice bottle of wine and dinner. Richard enjoyed his (fish and chips) but mine was just too fatty (beef brisket sandwich)! My bad choice I guess…

Back to the apartment we enjoyed a pontoonie although Richard was complaining of the cold – the air conditioning wasn’t that fierce and I was enjoying it…but hey ho!

Thursday morning we popped into the information centre in town and booked a full-day wine tour for Friday. We had a basic breakfast in the cafe and then shopped in IGA for some provisions. We also found out that Busselton (where we wanted to visit the pier / underwater observatory) had a swim meet on the Saturday and a cruise ship was scheduled for the Sunday. Desperate to avoid both of these busy events we were able to book our tram tickets online for 1pm departure.

We arrived early and managed to find a four hour free parking slot – very happy at that! We headed into the Brewery on the promenade for ice creams (I know a bit bizarre) before heading over to the jetty office to sort out our physical tram tickets.

We thoroughly enjoyed our tram ride up and down the second longest leisure pier in the world (at 1.8 kms) – with our local one in Southend-on-Sea being the longest at 2.14 kms. So that means we have been on the longest leisure pier in the northern hemisphere and the longest leisure pier in the southern hemisphere. Not many people can say that LOL.

The observatory at the end of the pier was interesting despite the throngs of tourists trying to check out the windows for sharks LOL.

Afterwards Richard decided he quite fancied the look of the dirt roads and we took off chucking up red dust and sand around us. OMG the car rattled like it was being shaken and was so uncomfortable – not sure the rental company would be too happy about that! Eventually we ended up at Cape Naturaliste lighthouse and a lookout which wasn’t that good to be fair. Moving on we headed to the surfing lookouts at the end of the Margaret River and enjoyed watching the surfers in action – it was absolutely wild out there! We met a guy with a small parrot on a lead – he’d rescued it after it fell from its nest – and it was very protective, clearly having imprinted on him as a parent. Not wanting to get bitten we moved to the lower side of the wall where we were not perceived as a threat…. Afterwards we returned to our apartments and stayed in to enjoy a home-cooked dinner.

Friday morning we were picked up at 9.10 am for our wine tour – the small minibus was filled exclusively with British tourists so it was quite fun to hear what they were up to. The driver / tour guide was very knowledgeable about wine and the history of the area so we were delighted by our tour selection. Have to say we found the scenery around the Margaret River area absolutely stunning…

The first winery was Leeuwin Estate which is a pretty fancy corporate place famous for hosting big name concerts back in the day. Now it is concentrating mainly on the wedding market and even has a helicopter pad available for that special day! Nice tastings and I particularly enjoyed both the Sauvignon Blanc (Art Series) and the Prelude Vineyards Chardonnay. Now I’m not a Chardonnay fan – disliking the intensity of the flavour from the oak barrels – but this won me over. Fabulous! And we were also won over by the friendly kookaburra sitting on the small wall in the manicured gardens.

This was followed by a visit to Brown Hill which was like comparing chalk and cheese. A family-run winery operating out of one big shed where we had the tasting. The women talking us through all the options was incredibly informative, had a sense of humour and we enjoyed patting her collie dog LOL. This winery does not sell outside of the immediate area and is not to be found in bottle shops….so decided to take the rare opportunity to purchase a bottle for later.

Then it was onto Xanadu which is also very large and very corporate. Again a good tasting but the formality meant it wasn’t quite as enjoyable…. We then headed into their on-site restaurant and had a fabulous lunch (with the most amazing potatoes ever!) which had been pre-arranged through our driver.

After lunch (which came with complimentary wine of course LOL) we headed to McHenry Hohnen. Another small family-run brewery which we enjoyed very much – especially the cheese plate that came with it. My favourite this time was the very pale rose….

Then it was time for chocolate! So we headed to Temper Temper artisan chocolatiers which is based in Cowaramup a delightful village based mid way between the surf and the vines…. We had a tasting – of course LOL – and came away with a few pieces for later.

And so this was the end of the gourmet wine tour and we said our farewells to the gang and returned to Margaret River. We got dropped off at the top end of the high street and had a beer in the local bar…followed by a wine bar further down the road – but was driven out by the live singer who was doing some original dirge…all about saving the planet…. We then visited the Tavern for the last time…before returning back to our apartment for an early night. Had been a pretty full-on day!

Saturday morning we drove to Leeuwen Lighthouse and enjoyed the historical nature of the place with its renovated buildings, films and maps and charts….what a terrible coast this is! Can see why there were so many wrecks back in the day before proper charts became available. And the mixing of the two oceans….

This is also the place for a beautiful memorial to those navy sailors who had served and since perished….

Driving on we headed to Augusta and enjoyed views along the coast before settling into the local hotel for a basic lunch (tiger prawn salad) and watched the Australian Royal Navy band setting up for an afternoon concert. We later found out this was a memorial concert in relation to a Navy disaster when 12 people were swept off a Royal Australian Navy vessel called Nizam by a freak wave and who were not recovered….. Sadly we were on a mission to see other things otherwise I would have quite liked to have stopped to listen for a while…

We then headed to Hamelin Bay where we walked the beach and checked out the sting rays that frequent the shallows…. Was lovely!

Afterwards we headed back to our accommodation and picked up a curry takeout along the way for another quiet night in.

Sunday we were up early and drove to Perth (3+ hours) – we had hoped to go via Fremantle and see the Sunday markets but on arrival we could not find a parking space anywhere! Absolutely manic…. So after driving around for quite a while we decided to leave it behind and head back to Perth – and check out King’s Park once again. This time we wanted to explore the war memorial in more depth and enjoyed an ice cream as well.

See there were a few McCarthy’s listed but none for my maiden name….so from convict stock or settlers….that will be the question!?!

Moving on we headed to our accommodation for the night – a B&B near the airport. We drove to the address given to us by Booking.com and was told to wait when we rang the bell. Then this guy came from next door to say we were staying there and he let us into our allocated room. It was absolutely huge with a fab en-suite bathroom. Once the guy had left I checked out the rest of the property while Richard emptied the car…. There was a communal kitchen, patio, lounge etc. And was obviously newly renovated. Very different to anywhere we had stayed before…but…who cares it is only for one night!

We went out and walked to the local pub – called Around the Corner – and it was a bit sketchy in places. But, never mind, we had a lovely dinner and good drinks all at very reasonable prices. Later on we walked back and had an early night. The bed was comfortable with quality linen and thoroughly enjoyed….

So that bring’s this part of our Australian adventure to a close.
Check back soon for some more.

Bye for now Jan