John & Marion At Large

Darling

2007-02-15T14:45:00.000+01:00

On our way back to Cape Town and the UK we decided to go inland, slightly off the tourist route to a farming village called Darling. We thought it was a really good choice for St Valentine’s Day.

We had breakfast in the centre of this bustling busy village and really enjoyed watching the world go by. We came back later for a beer. Very refreshing!

The next morning we set off in search of the Coof vineyard. We had tried their Dusty Road Cabernet Sauvignon in a restaurant as it was very good; we wanted to sample some of their other wines. On the way we tried other wineries but preferred the Coof.

The vineyard owned by an Englishman who visits once a year for a month is very well cared for and looks stunning.

We sampled a fair number of their wines and actually bought a couple of bottles to bring home. Eventually, we asked about having lunch in the gardens and were delighted to see a table set out for us under a trailing Wisteria.

The view from our table was “To die for”

The lunch and wine were great and we were joined by a number of spectacular birds and one very timid field mouse.

Luckily we found out that some of this lovely wine is sent to the UK. We hope to track some down when we get back.

This is really our last day at large as tomorrow we head back to Cape Town and get ready for a very early flight to the UK. As you can tell we have had a wonderful time, have met loads of wonderful people and have received lots of messages from friends all around the world. We look forward to meeting you all again, soon.

Liz has just sent us an email with a picture of Reading under inches of snow and their neighbour built an igloo. What a time to go back to the UK!!!

Saldanha

2007-02-15T14:38:00.000+01:00

Further north still is the working seaside town of Saldanha, a working town with a steel works as well as a fishing industry, a military base as well as catering for tourists.

We found an Hotel, right on the beach, complete with a visiting, rugby team.

The view from our balcony was lovely and we saw a Little Egret fishing on the water’s edge just as they do in Millbrook.

A few feet from the shore we noticed a number of fish which reminded us of the Bat Rays we had seen in Australia. They sting so no swimming just there.

As we explored the harbour area we noticed some divers at work under a fishing boat.

Our curiosity being aroused we watched as the boat was winched out of the water for its annual certification test.

The whole process took only a few minutes and 430 tonnes of boat was high and dry and safely ashore.

Yzerfontein

2007-02-15T14:24:00.000+01:00

From Bloubergstrand we travelled further north up the west coast to Yzerfontein.

We decided to stay with the Walter family who run a B & B with spectacular views.

This was our room.

And this was our view, which was so good that on our first day, we walked down to the shore and saw a pod of whales playing just off the shore. Sadly no camera!!!!!!!

The neighbours are very friendly and this Mongoose didn’t mind being photographed at all.

On our second day we went to the West Coast Nature Reserve, trekked miles to the purpose built hides, but saw nothing but seagulls!

We did see a pair of falcons hunting just off the road and having watched them for a while even managed to get a picture of one.

To revive our spirits we sought out a pancake shop and soon felt much better.

On the way back we walked on one of the many glorious beaches in the area

and were joined by a flock of Sacred Ibis.

All in all a good day.

Bloubergstrand

2007-02-09T09:27:00.000+01:00

After a few days on the Cape Point peninsula, we have decided to head north of Cape Town to a coastal region where we were told,
"But there is nothing there!"
We found an amazing coastline with beautiful white sandy beaches that are brilliant for walking and paddling. Our first hotel, the Blue Peter has excellent views, rooms and restaurant.

It has amazing views of Table Mountain. Robben Island and the coast north.

It is a poplar beach for surfers of all kinds, these guys were still surfing when we were getting ready for dinner!

The plan here is to walk, read and relax and then heading even further north.

The Cape to Simon's Town

2007-02-06T17:08:00.000+01:00

We are going walkabout again, south from Cape Town to the Cape of Good Hope and then back up the cape to Simon’s Town, home of the South African Navy.

The Cape of Good Hope is not the most southerly part of Africa, but the most south westerly. After a long drive it was a bit of an anti climax, but we found some Japanese photographers to record the moment for us, and we did the same for them of course.

The cape looks more impressive from the lighthouse station on the next headland.

Here we discovered we were 9623 km from London and more importantly about the same distance from Cornwall.

From the Cape, we ore off in search of a bed for the night, hopefully in Simon’s Town, but on the way are diverted by some not too friendly natives.

They look cuddly but can bite, apparently! I took no chances!!!

Far more cuddly are the African Penguins of Boulder Bay, who don't seem to mind how close you get.

In Simon’s Town we found an idyllic hotel, The British Hotel,

that dated back to the days of the East India Company, a beautifully, tranquil and shady spot from which to explore.

The town itself is a strange mix of normal and touristy shops, but the buildings are definitely from a bygone age.

Especially the police station, I don’t think this is a high crime rate area!

The bay and the beach look beautiful

And there are so many good looking restaurants that I’m sure we will enjoy our stay here.

I am even enjoying working on the blog in our own quiet, cool courtyard.

Table Mountain

2007-02-06T16:57:00.000+01:00

Table Mountain stands guard over Cape Town and is visible from most parts of the city. While we were in Gordon’s Bay we frequently looked across False Bay and saw the mountain covered with a long white cloud, known locally as the Tablecloth. While we were in the city the Tablecloth was not to be seen, so we headed off to the cable car station. We could have walked but decided it was too hot!

I was particularly looking forward to the rotating cable cars, although to be more accurate, it is the floor that rotates, so that everyone gets a view from every angle.

At the top, the views are impressive

This is the Lion’s Head, with its tail lying behind. Cape Town nestles around the hill and in the distance you can just make out Robben Island.

The area at the top is huge, spreading from the cable station to the gorge about a third of the way along.

If you click on this picture you can just see the gorge a third of the way from the top right.

The walkers, walk up and down the mountain through this gorge and that is a very long, tiring walk at 30˚C in the shade.

The footpath is just visible between the rocks.

The mountain has more plant species than the UK and although we did not see them all we saw some beautiful fauna and flora.

This bird has the most beautiful brown marking on its wings, but they don’t stay still for long and this sadly is my best shot.

Just as we were about to leave, a small cloud rolled up the mountain and away, a beautiful view at the end of our stay.

Robben Island

2007-02-06T16:40:00.000+01:00

No stay in Cape Town could be complete without a visit to Robben Island, for seventeen years the “home” of Nelson Mandela, the first president of the new SA.

The island is twelve kilometres from the mainland and only thirty metres high.

From the island Cape Town appears a long way off.

From the ferry, it appears very vulnerable to the bad weather roaring in from the South Pole. At the dock, the first view of the prison block is even worse.

The buildings were built by the prisoners, using materials they quarried themselves. The regime was obviously harsh

but the ex political prisoner who showed our group around referred continually to the prisoners’ indefatigable spirit of endurance and confidence in their eventual victory.

This was helped by the support they received from international organisations, crusading individuals and some governments.

Most of the buildings were effectively designed to be depressing but Nelson Mandela’s old and new accommodations were an optimistic sign that might is not always right.

His home for seventeen years?

His home when he visits now.

The island tours are organised to show that determined people can achieve their dreams. The histories and the buildings convey this superbly and the island is well worth the visit. No reasonable person was disappointed when the last prisoners left in 1991.

Robben Island is now inhabited by the people who work on there and some other well adjusted Africans.

A secluded but shady spot for an individual,

While the rest of the gang head for the beach,

and others rush nowhere at all.

Although enjoyable it was good to be able to leave and also to receive a welcoming wave from an old friend.

Cape Town

2007-02-06T16:26:00.000+01:00

From Aquilla we drove through a series of mountain passes with amazing views of the dramatic countryside to Cape Town with a spectacular mountain of its own.

Having spent a lot of time in our car, we walked to the Waterfront

past a road to, who knows where?

On the other side of the road are two huge office blocks, there are other sections of this road elsewhere, they have been here for years and there are no plans to complete the road.

At the waterfront, in the middle of the café area we saw a sign, “Seals”, walked fifteen yards and saw a couple of seals happily sunbathing and posing for pictures within feet of all the tourists.

The harbour was in constant use by some very large vessels, so it was a surprise to see seals in the water as well as on the quay steps. However, they were not alone.

These dolphins were having a great time fishing in the middle of this busy harbour.

We decided to visit the twenty first century shopping mall at Canal Walk, just outside Cape Town. It was huge, but could have been a mall anywhere but then you shopaholics could just love it.

We have really enjoyed our stay in Cape Town, the people are very helpful and friendly, the climate is amazing and most things that make life fun are really cheap. A beautiful city in wonderful surroundings.

Aquilla Game Park Day Two

2007-02-02T20:06:00.000+01:00

As we set out from our lodge, bright and early,

it was clear that we had had an unwelcome visitor in the night.

As we progressed, it got worse!

Someone’s broken the gate!

And they are still here!

Having terrified a Canadian family in a chalet just by looking in through their door, they kept the rangers busy all night, making sure everyone was safe!

As you can see our morning drive started bright and early and before long we were seeing wildlife again.

After the drive we had a four course breakfast and then went into see the cheetahs they have on in the game park. These had been illegally bred as pets, were confiscated and will be looked after at Aquilla for the time being. They are very tame and purr just like any other cat when stroked.

All that remained was a relaxing morning by the pool to have a nap and catch up on lost sleep before another three course lunch and a fond farewell to all at Aquilla.

Aquilla Game Park

2007-02-02T19:52:00.000+01:00

After a few days R and R in Gordan’s Bay we are off on a safari in Aquilla Game Park. We will be staying overnight, but I am sure we will be safe from the wildlife.

This was our lodge for the night but don’t feel too sorry for us as we had a lovely Jacuzzi on a porch outside the lodge with a view to die for.

We started looking for game as soon as we arrived and saw several of the larger animals moving around the watering hole about a kilometre from our lodge.

From our veranda we could see a rhino but it is a bit difficult to see in this shot.

At 5 pm we set off for our first game drive and within a few minutes spotted our first wildlife.

For the rest of the evening, we drove through the reserve spotting something new every few minutes. I did fill my 1Gb card but will only post a few.

After three hours bumping along very rough ground, we were ready for a hot shower and a candle lit three course dinner with rather good wine. After a Jacuzzi under a star lit sky we turned into our four poster for an early night as we had to up and ready for a 6am drive in the morning!

South Africa

2007-02-02T19:43:00.000+01:00

The flight from Perth to Johannesburg took almost eleven hours and set our watches back six hours. The flight on a South African Airways Airbus was the best flight we have had so far. The plane, the food and the service were all first class and we only paid business class! The flight was even on time all the way.

Sadly, at Johannesburg we transferred to a BA Boeing and things were not nearly as good in any department. We did however keep to schedule and after so many hours in the air we were very grateful for that.

At the airport, we were met by our host for the first four days, Barbara Louw, who did everything possible to make us feel welcome. Going the extra mile, she gave us some very useful contacts to start us off on the right foot for our travels.

We stayed in Gordan’s Bay, about 30 km east of Cape Town for the first few days so that we could settle in easily. It is a beautiful place with great views of Table Mountain and the Cape peninsula.

At the week-end the beach is crowded with South Africans taking the opportunity for a day at the beach. Some people even took their geese with them for a swim.

The restaurants provide great food, perfectly cooked in delightful surroundings. The sunsets, especially, were wonderful.

Once settled we started to explore the beautiful surroundings of this part of the world. We were perfectly placed to explore the Garden Route and some of the countless wineries nearby.

What stood out for us immediately was the fantastic scenery. The roads here pass along, around or over the most amazingly picturesque mountains. Each time we went over a pass, we were rewarded with spectacular views of sandy bays in azure seas or towns set between majestic mountain ranges.

This shot of Franschhoek was one of the few we could get on route as we were unable to stop on most of the passes we used.

Wave Rock

2007-01-29T09:02:00.000+01:00

From Esperance we headed west along the coast but had to take a 35 km diversion over dirt roads to get around a storm damaged bridge, washed out by a cyclone ten days before.. We left the coast road and headed into the outback again to reach Hayden, the home to the Wave Rock. It is huge, but unlike Ayres rock, had been weathered spectacularly into the shape of the biggest wave ever.

To give you an idea of the scale of this wave, I took another shot with Marion and Maureen in view.

This is the front of the rock but we walked along its side,

and even climbed it.

We did look both ways, were very impressed, but were unable to make the climb to the very top because the heat was in the forties and we made a discreet withdrawal to the ice cream shop.

Leaving Wave Rock, we returned to Perth and the next day left for South Africa. Maureen and Rob had given us a wonderful memory of Australia, its immense size, spectacular scenery and always wonderfully friendly people. With heartfelt thanks to Rob and Reen, John and Barbara and all our friends, who had made us so welcome, we waved good bye to Australia wondering if could really be our last visit?

Esperance

2007-01-29T08:52:00.000+01:00

On the road again, but this time going south, away from the high temperatures towards the coast and a more moderate climate. We are heading for Esperance on the coast with a forecast of rain. Last week the area was hit by the tail end of a cyclone and roads were closed, a bridge washed out and the port filled with silt.

On the way we found a shady spot in Norseman for a picnic and 400 km later arrived

in the picturesque town of Esperance. It is an important port for the regions farmers and miners and surfers love the bays to the west.

We walked along the pier and found some of the locals in dispute over fishing rights.

The highlight for us was to see the sea lion scare off the shark with the minimum of effort.

Kalgoorlie

2007-01-29T08:35:00.000+01:00

On this visit to Perth, we are heading 650 km into the outback to the mining town, Kalgoorlie. The town is so important to Australia’s economy that shortly after gold was discovered on 19 June 1893 by Patrick Hannan, a pipeline was built to carry water to the town. The pipe was constructed over the desert for the whole 650 km, it’s a long pipe!

One of the highlights offered at our Kalgoorlie hotel was a tour of the local bordellos, but we thought a visit to a local pub would be more refreshing.

The Western Bar even has two swing doors to swagger through.

The reason for the town’s existence is gold and so we chose to visit the big pit, a working open cast mine and also a disused deep shaft mine.

The original mine was started by Paddy Hannan, digging with hand tools until they found rock too hard to drill by hand. When expensive drilling equipment was needed a mining company took over the work. The site is littered with a curious range of mining, ore processing and the necessities of living. The site is well worth a visit to give a flavour of the life of a miner in the 1890s outback.

The equipment looks primitive, but the Living and working conditions of the miners were even worse.

We three intrepid miners ready for a long 45 min shift.

After our arduous shift down Paddy’s mine, we found an excellent restaurant, shared a couple bottles of wine and set out to explore Kalgoorlie at night in a definitely merry mood. The bordellos looked very boring in reality but Comet McNort was spectacular.

There are few shaft mines left working in Australia, most mines and now open cast operations digging for a wide range of precious metals. In Kalgoorie the Big Pit is probably the second biggest hole in the world, the largest is in Utah, outside Salt Lake City. As soon as we arrived at the pit, we asked to leave as they were about to blast the hole even deeper. When we returned, ten minutes later and had our first view of the hole, the immense size of the mine was staggering.

This is an area they are drilling, about a tenth of the prt we could see, the little black dots top left are $4,000,000 dumper trucks each carrying 225 tonnes of ore. You can see them more easily below.

The big diggers here are really big!

Robin and Maureen

2007-01-29T08:25:00.000+01:00

After three fabulous weeks in South Eastern Australia, it is time to go West where two friends from a previous visit, Rob and Reen who live near Perth have organised a little tour for us. The flight from Sydney to Perth across the centre of Australia, in an Airbus 300 will take nearly five hours. It would have been a long walk!

We have visited Perth before and both love it. Rob and Reen live in a beautiful house in Ocean Reef,

a small town, north of Perth within a ten minute walk of one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen. On our first day we had to take a stroll along the beach.

A little way down the beach some kite surfers were showing off their skills. It looked great fun. I wish we had more time to join the fun.

Canberra

2007-01-28T08:21:00.000+01:00

Not far to the east of Wogga lies the Capital of Australia, Canberra, the seat of government since early in the twentieth century. It is a city working to show off the places and people of government. As we approached the bridge over Lake Burley Griffin, separating the business and government sections of the city, we were startled by a huge jet of water rising into the sky. The Captain Cook Memorial Water Jet was spectacular, especially in the drought conditions all around the country.

Canberra is full of memorials commemorating the country’s steps to independence. This carillon is a gift from the British government in 1970 to celebrate Canberra’s fiftieth year as the capital of Australia.

You can see that they were too mean to give them four walls to hold up the bells.

The Telstra tower can be seen from all parts of the city and of course the views from the viewing galleries are wonderful. The management are to be congratulated for extending Seniors concessions to retired teachers from the UK. Good on ‘em,

The main reason for visiting the capital was undoubtedly to visit the old and new houses of parliament. Both buildings are spectacular, beautiful, functional and best of all, open to everyone.

The Old parliament is the white building above and the new parliament is behind it, a little further up Capital Hill. The grass you can see is growing on the roof which makes it a little difficult to see clearly. Above the roof is a “flagpole” made of stainless steel.

It is very spectacular in the sunlight.

Inside the new parliament, designed by Romaldo Guirgola, the members have a beautiful building to work in.

In the old building, things were not so bad either.

From Capital Hill the view down Federation Mall, over Lake Burley Griffin, up ANZAC Parade is of the Australian War Memorial. It is not simply a memorial to those who died in war but a representation, through artefacts, models and film of what happened to people during the conflicts that Australians became involved in. It was undoubtedly thought provoking.

Wagga Wagga

2007-01-28T08:05:00.000+01:00

During our journey north from Albury we were aware of a thin haze of smoke in the distance which was probably from bush fires further north. There was only a faint smell of smoke but it reminded us of how close disaster is to the people of Australia.

Once in Wagga Wagga, known locally as Wogga, we explored the city and were very pleasantly surprised to see how much open space and beautiful parkland there was. The wonderful glass and art galleries were well worth seeing. On the way to the glass gallery we came across this beautiful lake, completely covered with lilies at each end but with evidence of abundant wildlife everywhere.

Beautiful Lillies

Great Cormorant

Cheeky Turtle

At the eastern end of the lake is a spectacular gallery of beautiful works of art in glass. We were not able to photograph the exhibits but they were uplifting and a joy to see, a feast for the senses.

Further south are the botanical gardens which contain a small zoo and a miniature railway that runs on the first and third Sunday of each month.

In the gardens as well as the zoo, the birds were a delight to see and hear.

Still Unknown

Cockatiel

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Marsh Wallaby

Albury

2007-01-12T10:54:00.000+01:00

Today we travelled from Echuca along the Murrey River to Albury. On the way we went through Yarrawonga, a very small place with banners along the highway encouraging people to move there. Intrigued, we turned down a small road and in less than 100yards we came across this huge lake called Mulwala, formed by the Murrey River. There were lovely houses with lawns sloping gently down to the lake; so we now know why people might like to live there.

We walked around Albury this evening and came across a cheeky little bird in a park

and a solitary paddle steameron the Murrey. It was looking very lonely compared to the fleet at Echuca. Unfortunately it is unable to travel on the Murrey at the moment as here, the water level is too low.

Echuca

2007-01-11T04:49:00.000+01:00

A little further north from Bendigo, on the Victoria and New South Wales border are the twinned towns of Echuca and Moama. This bridge was sent in parts from Scotland in the late nineteenth century to join the two towns and states.

We stayed in Victoria’s Echuca in temperatures around 40 to 42°C, very hot so we took a river trip along the Murray River in a beautiful old paddle steamer, the Canberra.

There were lots of paddle steamers of various sizes in this busy port

as there were in the past when the waterways and the paddle steamers formed an extensive transport system.

The Canberra has a renovated wood burning steam engine that that drives the paddle wheels quietly along the river. The river level is now kept fairly constant with weirs and dams but in years gone by it frequently flooded to the levels shown on this tree.

If you click on the tree the picture will enlarge and you can read the dates.

We found a delightful bakery and coffee shop in the High Street with a back porch overlooking the Campaspe creek.

It looks like something out of Crocodile Dundee but this is in the middle of town. It’s hard to beat outback, good coffee and great sausage rolls.

Bendigo

2007-01-10T04:27:00.000+01:00

After Healsville we set off for Bendigo, one time home of the largest gold mine in Australia. Of course we had to go down this now disused mine.

The original mine shaft was sunk by Cornishmen working mostly with hand tools,

making a huge network of tunnels and shafts.

This portable air drill was a fairly modern piece of equipment!

And this is what they were all looking for, GOLD.

Above ground there is a selection of mine buildings and equipment that includes this working poppet head.

Once the gold mining was well underway thousands of Chinese labourers made the long journey to Bendigo to make their fortune. Some of them walked hundreds of kilometres to get there.

Bendigo remembers their effort in a Museum that includes ceremonial dragons used every year at the Easter Day Parade, this year just as they have been for over one hundred years. The Dragon above is the longest in the world and winds its way around the whole museum.

This is the oldest Chinese dragon in the world.

Bendigo also has some very modern features; to get from one end of town to the other, you could take a ride on one of the city’s trams.

Healsville

2007-01-10T04:11:00.000+01:00

We were quite sad when it was time to leave John and Barbara and we look forward to their next visit to the UK when we hope to see them in Cornwall. Once on the road and out of Melbourne we headed north through the Yarra valley to visit an animal sanctuary in Healsville. There is a raptor display every day but when we arrived we were amazed at the variety of Australian animals at home in the sanctuary. Many had been saved from road accidents others were bred at the sanctuary as part of a nationwide effort to protect endangered species.

Birds of Prey

Black Breasted Buzzard

Barking Owl

Brown Falcon

Cute, cheeky and endangered animals

I have no idea what they are up to.

Fresh water crocodile

Rock Wallaby

And Lovely Birds

Chestnut-breasted Mannikin

And a kingfisher to mention just a few.

Melbourne

2007-01-10T03:59:00.000+01:00

After a morning on the beach at Geelong, it was a short drive to our friends’ house on the east of Melbourne. We met John and Barbara in the Kimberley in 2003 and they asked us to visit when we came to Melbourne. We had a lovely time catching up and enjoyed some fine meals together. John is a wiz on the Barbie.

We visited the William Rickets Sanctuary, a collection of sculptures created during the twentieth century by an eccentric sculptor who wanted to show that all creation, all life and all peoples are one. His work in the Dandenong hills is very thought provoking. This carving has William’s head.

All the carvings appear to emerge from their surroundings and so become a part of the natural environment.

Geelong

2007-01-09T22:09:00.001+01:00

At the end of the Great Ocean Road we arrived at Geelong on the bay opposite Melbourne. It was a cloudy but hot day with a strong warm wind blowing off the sea. The beach was organised to make life as easy and enjoyable for every one as possible.

At the far end of the bay a superb shark proof enclosure had been built

and even though the sun was above the clouds, there were lots of people cooling off in the sea.

All along the promenade there are life size bollards of people from various walks of life. They certainly made us smile each time we discovered another on around a corner.

The Great Ocean Road

2007-01-09T11:13:00.000+01:00

From Mount Gambier we headed into Victoria enroute for Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road. The road itself is not all that great but the views are great, although from time to time you do need to stretch your legs to see them. We stayed one night in Port Campbell, at the start of the Great Ocean Road proper and were very lucky to get accommodation. If you come in the summer, it pays to book. The village is beautiful with everything you could want for a sea side holiday.

We had a swim in the bay, which was a lot colder than Henley beach in Adelaide, but still a bit warmer than the UK. After a refreshing swim we were all set to dry off in the sun and do some energetic people watching when some of the other inhabitants got to be a bit much. The flies seemed to be drawn to us like magnets and although most people did not seem to mind they were eventually too much for us.

For the next couple of days, the flies seemed to be everywhere, whenever we got out of the car to enjoy the view they seemed to be there already. We did almost get used to them with only the occasional Australian Wave rather than our initial frantic flapping whenever they arrived.

The views were certainly worth the effort.

Mount Gambier

2007-01-02T12:33:00.000+01:00

After a couple of great days in Adelaide we drove south towards the Victoria border and a stop at Mount Gambier. Just a few kilometres from the border, this town is close to an extinct volcano which contains a beautiful lake. Each November the Blue Lake, a reservoir for the town changes colour to this beautiful translucent blue.

We walked the three and a half kilometres around the rim of the volcano and enjoyed a multitude of different views of the water below. The path passed through a wide verge with a great variety of vegetation, a perfect home for a delightful array of birds, butterflies, dragonflies and lizards.

This bird is aptly called the Superb Fairy Wren and seemed to enjoy posing for the camera. Others birds we photographed are yet to be identified.

When almost around the lake, we were surprised by this delightful succulent garden built and maintained as a memorial to a succulent enthusiast of the past.

The town is built on limestone with a large number of underground caves. From time to time, the roof of one of these caves has collapsed, the surface, including the topsoil dropped to the floor of the old cave and a sinkhole was formed with the old surface vegetation growing below ground level. This sinkhole is in the middle of the town by the side of the main north south highway.

The entrance to this cave leads into a series of caverns that burrow beneath the town and a mojor highway. Some of the caves are flooded and give divers an opportunity to explore even further through the extensive cave system.

The Umpherston sinkhole is without doubt the star attraction. During the day it is a huge, beautiful hole in the ground but as the sun goes down, the floodlights come up and so do the innumerable possums that sleep in the multitude of holes in the rock face during the day.

They come up to find the tourists who gather to feed and stroke these wild animals.

They seem sweet and cuddly but we saw several assert their position in the pecking order with a viscous snarl and heard of people being bitten on several occasions. If you do visit and want to feed the possums, bring lots of grapes, their preferred food and squeeze them gently so that they can smell the juice. Then stand back and wait for these delightful creatures to arrive.

Adelaide

2007-01-02T03:23:00.000+01:00

After the Barossa we had planned to visit the York peninsula to visit its beaches and see the nature reserve at its southern tip. The motels at our chosen spot were all filled for the New Year celebrations and we decided to move on to Adelaide and found a fine hotel overlooking a park in North Adelaide. As we walked through the park we found the usual Magpies and Crested Pigeon but suddenly with a flash of colour, that caught Marion’s eye a little Eastern Rosella set about a fallen pine cone with great enthusiasm.

The next morning the sun shone brightly and the temperature rose quickly and so we headed for the beach about ten minutes outside the city. We parked a few yards from the beach and found one of the most gorgeous beaches I have ever seen. There were miles of beautiful sand and shallow warm water to swim in, warm by British standards anyway.

We both had a refreshing swim in the crystal clear water and with the appropriate protection enjoyed the beautiful surroundings. It had to be good for Marion to venture into the sea!

After the beach we found the Maritime Museum in Port Adelaide. It had a number of interesting exhibits including a replica of a nineteenth century ship for us to explore and entry to a lighthouse on the harbour side.

From the top of this lighthouse we had great views of the harbour’s swing bridge,

a tall ship used for sail training
and the pub where Marion enjoyed a Sunday roast with so much delicious beef that she could not eat it all, all for $6.

That’s our Toyota parked outside so we don’t have to walk too far after lunch.

The Barossa Valley

2007-01-02T02:37:00.000+01:00

After driving over 1700km from Guyra, we arrived in the Barossa Valley, the home of the makers of some of my favourite wines. We found a good hotel, the Vine Inn, in Nuriootpa which was close to all the vineyards we hoped to visit.

Our first visit was to Wolf Blass, founded by a German immigrant in the mid nineteenth century. Their winery was so vast that the Courage’s brewery in Reading would fit in a small corner unnoticed. All the grapes from their many vineyards in Southern Australia arrive here where they are graded and used to make wines that are enjoyed around the world. One bottle of Gold Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 to sample later.

On to another of my favourite wine makers, Penfolds, a few samples needed here to help me decide between the Bin28 and the Bin128 Shiraz. Not really a hard decision as they were both good but eventually, after much indecision, the Bin28 was selected for sampling later.

The boot is very full but we must press on to Jacobs Creek.

The Creek alas is far from its glorious torrential past but everything else about this vineyard was huge and immaculate. The visitors’ centre was beautiful and functional.

The vines here are only one of many similar vineyards owned by Jacob’s Creek. These seem to stretch as far as you can see in each direction.

In each row there are thousands of vines and there are thousands of rows. We saw several vineyards in New Zealand but nothing we saw there came close to the scale of these huge plantations. In the visitors’ centre we were able to sample the wines from Jacob’s Creek we know well in England as well as a superb Grenache from their Gramp’s range that sadly we don’t get in the UK. Marion then noticed that the restaurant had a special Christmas Pudding on the desert menu and so we had a great meal at a very good price in their lovely glass walled restaurant enjoying the view over the regiments of uniform vines growing quietly in the sun. This was the most impressive of the three vineyards for a visit; do drop in if you can.

On the Road Again

2007-01-01T23:20:00.000+01:00

We are on the road again, we must have itchy feet! It took us two days to get to Adelaide from Guyra, travelling through some beautiful country; sometimes vast and sparse, sometimes densely cultivated or extensively stocked.

On these long open roads, the speed limit is 110 Km/hr and the police use radar to catch and fine speeding motorists so we are careful about how fast we go. The police are not the only reason for care. We nearly hit a Kangaroo once about dawn as it followed its partner across the road so we are always on the lookout for wild animals. We were not expecting this as we came over the top of a hill at 100Km/hr!

We never did see a Koala trying to cross a road, but then they do sleep for about twenty hours a day so sightings would be rare.

Everything here is organised to make the travellers’ journey as comfortable as possible, like this rest stop in a tiny town not even marked on our map.

As we enjoyed our lunch, we were watched by a couple of friendly Galahs who chirped away to each other without giving us a second glance.

We stopped in Forbes having driven about 700 km and were surprised to see a huge train, especially as most of the tracks we had seen so far were not regularly used at all.

This one moved slowly forward, stopped and then back again, stopped and then on again for about fifteen minutes while a growing number of car drivers waited patiently at the level crossing.

Walking to Ebor Falls

2006-12-24T00:34:00.000+01:00

We are in Australia at last and have driven north from Sydney to a little town, high in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, called Guyra. Marion’s sister, Maggie, lives here and we looking forward to spending Christmas together for the first time since before we were married. Note the sexy sun hats, essential in the outback.

We spent Friday exploring the Ebor Falls along the Waterfall Way. It was only a short walk, but the views and wildlife were spectacular. The wildlife here is far more abundant than in NZ.

You can see why the blue mountains are given their name with the blue haze coming off the gum trees.
Along the track, there were birds, insects and reptiles everywhere. This is, I think, an Australian Magpie. They are just as cheeky as their namesakes in the UK, shamelessly begging picnickers for their food.

Marion’s favourite bird so far is the Crimson Rosella

While Maggie likes the Kookabura because of its call which sounds just like a laughing chimpanzee.

You have to keep looking everywhere if you don’t want to miss anything; this little lizard was enjoying a sunbath on a rock but still enjoyed having his picture taken.

The Ebor Falls

2006-12-24T00:19:00.000+01:00

After a short but very enjoyable walk through the bush we came across the beautiful Ebor Falls. They are made up of a series of three gorgeous waterfalls flowing over an escarpment, several hundred feet high.

This, the highest flow of water leads directly onto the middle waterfall

and then onto the lowest and longest of the three falls which flows into the valley far below.

Christchurch

2006-12-23T01:50:00.000+01:00

Our final destination in New Zealand was it first city, Christchurch. We rarely enjoy city life but our stay here was a delight from beginning to end. It started well with a traffic warden giving us directions instead of a ticket for stopping in a no stopping zone.

We found a delightful city centre hotel, The Rydges, with a great view over the river Avon and the botanical gardens.

The hotel was just around the corner from the Cathedral Square, the heart of the city. There was something going on here all the time. This was a lunchtime concert.

We enjoyed window shopping, the restaurants and the tram ride that wound its way through the must see sights.

On our last full day, as our feet cried out for a rest, it started to rain, gently at first and then the rain came down in sheets often raining along rather than down. Luckily we were in our room when it began, from time to time we watched the storm develop as we started to prepare for our flight tomorrow.

A couple of hours later it was still raining and we noticed that the river was filling up.

Later when we ventured out for dinner at an Italian restaurant next door we found the roads had begun to flood too. We had to pick our way carefully through the puddles.

By the next morning all was back to normal and the trams were running to schedule, full of happy tourists once more.

Sadly it was time to say good-bye to Christchurch and New Zealand. We have enjoyed every minute of our trip and only wish we had time to see more of the beautiful scenery and delightful people.

The Oamaru Penguins

2006-12-23T00:57:00.000+01:00

On the East coat of the New Zealand's south island is a small seaside town with little to make it worth a stop apart from two colonies of penguins. The smaller colony of almost extinct Yellow Eyed Penguins is watched over and cared for by an enthusiast, Denis Dove.

Denis has been working with penguins for many years, initially with the Blue Penguin Colony, where he established and managed an organisation, set up to conserve the penguin colony while making the birds accessible to the public. Having retired from that job he spends his retirement doing what he can for the much smaller group of Yellow eyed Penguins. He gave us a short introduction to the workings of the penguin year and then took us along a cliff path into the middle of the colony.

Perched half way up the beach cliff is one family group of penguins in a nesting box.

This is the only box in the colony this year, but next year Denis will use more as it seems to make things a little easier for the birds. This year there were seventeen chicks that successfully hatched, but after a bad storm two nests were washed away and four chicks were lost. With so few birds in the colony, they need a little help if they are to survive.

We were amazed to see the birds scaling this cliff and to see how fast they were doing it.

The other colony is much larger with several hundred Blue or Fairy Penguins nesting this year. Blue Penguins are special because they are tiny weighing in at only one kilogramme when full grown, reaching about thirty centimetres high.

We watched about a hundred of them come ashore, meet and greet friends they had not seen for some time or maybe just to recount the adventures of the days twenty five kilometre fishing trip. Some feat for a tiny bird!

We were not allowed to photograph the birds as the flashes and infra-red rangefinder lights upset the birds but you can find out about the colony at www.penguins.co.nz.

Wanaka

2006-12-17T08:16:00.000+01:00

As we left Fox the heavens opened and it poured and poured all the way to Wanaka, a holiday town in the middle of the south of the island. As we pulled into our motel, the rain stopped and we had a lovely afternoon in and around the town.

As well as the shops we visited a local microbrewery, the Wanaka Brewerworks run by a Californian, with the inevitable tasting at the end of the visit. Our evening was spent very pleasantly in one of the many town restaurants.

The next morning, the sun was out again and we set out to conquer Mount Iron, a fairly gentle climb according to the Lonely Planet guidebook! After a long steep climb we finally reached the summit and were very grateful to see the picnic table vacant so we could take the weight off our feet. The views of the Lakes Waneka

and Hawea,
the towns Waneka and Albert and of course the surrounding mountains made the climb well worth while. We now understand why the Maori call New Zealand the land of the Long White Cloud.
In the afternoon we took a stroll around a small part of the lake and enjoyed another set of spectacular views of the surrounding snow capped mountains.

The Fox Glacier (Part One)

2006-12-17T06:59:00.000+01:00

After our stop at Punakaiki we headed south along the spectacular coast road on the way to the Fox glacier. We had seen a glacier in the Rockies where huge buses with nine feet balloon tyres took us onto the glacier. We were able to walk around and peer into the ultra violet blue of the ice thousands of years old, watch it melt and taste the cold, pure water.

Here the situation is very different. The glacier was advancing not so many years ago and it is possible to walk to the wall of ice at its end. To get higher onto the glacier entails a very long guided hike up the valley or a helicopter flight.

We had booked a flight over the glacier and up to the peak of Mount Cook because we were not sure we would have time to drive around the Southern Alps to see New Zealand’s tallest peak from the other side. When we arrived in the town of Fox, the weather had closed in and we could see the cloud base half way up the mountains. The weather forecast for the next day was poor so it seemed we were out of luck.

We drove off to find a motel for the night and were very pleasantly surprised to discover that another helicopter was still flying ant that the visibility was great above the clouds. After some negotiation, a thirty minute flight for the price of a ten minute one and nothing to pay until after the flight we were off.

We did not fly up the fox glacier but another valley that rose above the cloud to give us brilliant views of Mount Cook and Mount Tasman as well as the head of the Fox glacier and the whole of the Tasman glacier. Above the cloud the sun shone brightly on Mount Cook
Once we on the eastern side of Mount Cook the cloud disappeared completely and we had an amazing flight seeing more than we had hoped for half an hour before.
Someone seemed to be keeping an eye on us!

The Fox Glacier (Part Two)

2006-12-17T05:57:00.000+01:00

As well as seeing Mount Cook from all sides we also had spectacular views of

Mount Tasman

and it’s glacier from top

to bottom

and the top of the Fox glacier too.

If by any chance you arrive in Fox looking for a company to show you the sights we can heartily recommend "Mountain Helicopters" who were able to fly when everyone else had shut up shop. They were able to carry on flying because they changed their routes and filed new flight plans.

They can be contacted by email at mjglynn@xtra.co.nz and have a website at www.mountainhelicopters.co.nz.

The next morning before the rain set in we walked up to the end of the glacier so we could see the bottom of Fox as well as it's top.

The Punakaiki Pnacake Rocks

2006-12-17T03:21:00.000+01:00

One of the sights we had planned to see were the pancake rocks at Punakaiki. No one knows why the rocks seem to form layers of pancakes piled on top of each other but the effect is bizarre. The rocks have subsequently been eroded into many varied forms;

A bird table.

A chimney that smokes when the waves arrive in just the right way.

Smoke that makes you wet.

Just who does he remind you of?

Tauranga Bay Seal Colony

2006-12-17T02:52:00.000+01:00

After the Swingbridge we continued to the west coast and almost immediately came across a sign for the Tauranga Bay Seal colony. As Marion had missed the seals in the Abel Tasman Park, she was keen to see these seals in the wild. We were not to be disappointed.

We walked from the end of the bay to the top of a cliff which put us about forty feet above the seals. They seemed totally unaware of the well behaved observers and carried on as only seals can.

How manhy seals can you spot in this shot?

The Swingbridge

2006-12-16T22:34:00.000+01:00

From the Abel Tasman Park we drove to the west coast via the Upper Buller Gorge through the Brunner Range of mountains. The highlight of this part of the journey was to visit the longest swingbridge in New Zealand. Since my balance has started to deteriorate I do feel very uncomfortable in unstable situations. A rope bridge one hundred and ten metres long certainly raises my adrenalin levels but Marion loves these situations so we had to take a look.

It didn’t look too bad from this side so we paid our fee and went for it.

At this moment I am not feeling too happy but holding on tight, very tight, off go.

I may be smiling but look at those knuckles! Just after this picture was taken the bridge started to shake and sway as a rather large guy from the USA started to tramp like a bull in a china shop across the bridge. Hold tight keep going and remember that there are some nice Americans.

The views on the bridge were spectacular but I saw far more of them on the way back, it was far less stressful, almost enjoyable.

On the other side of the river, a small circular walk took us through some old gold mine sites and along the picturesque river bank. The walk steadied the nerves just enough to cross the bridge again.

The Abel Tasman National Park

2006-12-16T19:26:00.000+01:00

The Abel Tasman National Park west of Picton and is great for those who intend to explore on foot or in a kayak. I was booked on a days kayaking which started at 6:45am at the bus station in Nelson! It is years since I was in a kayak for more than an hour or two and was looking forward to the adventure with some reservations about the aches and pains to follow.
I went with a company called Southern Exposure, from Marahau, they were great from beginning to end. There equipment looked newer and better looked after than lots I saw on the day. Bridget our guide was knowledgeable and enthusiastic which made the hours of paddling fly by.

The highlight for me was the group of seals we came across on Adele Island. Bridget gave us the option of continuing with the usual course or going a further kilometre or two to see if we could find some seals. The colony was more or less invisible until she pointed them out on the rocks where they blend in amazingly well. As we sat and watched the first seal, other younger seals popped their heads up to have a look and then waddled down to the water to get a better look. Two of the young seals swam around the shore for a while and then a larger male took an interest in our group. After a few minutes he came down to the water about twenty yards from our boats. We moved away but he slipped into the water and started showing off his aquabatics. As we drifted slowly away from the rocks, he swam towards us rolling his body with one flipper raised. He repeated his trick with the other flipper and then with both feet sticking out like propellers. Amazingly he was as interested in us as we were in him.

Sadly I did not take my camera with me but do have some “library” pics to give you a flavour of the fun we had.

The icing on the cake was to wake up the next morning without any aches and pains.

Picton

2006-12-16T07:35:00.000+01:00

Picton is a small town at the north of the South Island. It has a deep water harbour and so has become important as the southern end of the ferry service joining the two islands of New Zealand. It is a beautiful town, surrounded by steep hills, each with a pathway to a spectacular view for the energetic.

This is the view from one of the less strenuous climbs to the south east. The wildlife seems to have no fear of humans and this Californian Grouse kept calling all the time we watched and photographed him.

Ther are a number of touristy things about the Picton but the Edwin Fox museum is a must.

The Edwin Fox is was a trading ship built in Calcutta in 1853 and was used for many years for transporting among other things, tea, wine, convicts and emigrants until she ended up in Picton in 1897, without her masts, to be used as a sheep freezing factory. By 1905 she was a coal store, with a huge hole in her side to give access to coal trucks. For over thirty years she was left aground in a nearby bay until a restoration society bought the hulk for one shilling in 1965.

The society was unable to raise the funds necessary to restore the ship but is carrying out the task of preserving the hull.

The museum is full of information about the ships history, which is presented in a very entertaining way. People can also walk around the ship and let their imagination run wild.

Wellington to Picton

2006-12-16T05:23:00.000+01:00

Our time in the North Island has come to an end we have loved every minute and are really sad to leave such a wonderful island with beautiful scenery, outstanding spectacles and friendly people.

We took our car on the ferry to avoid having to check in our luggage and collect it again in Picton. It was so easy to just drive onto the ferry. Everyone we to spoke to about the trip wanted to know how it went. I think it is sometimes very rough but our crossing was calm, sunny and very enjoyable. We enjoyed the chance to sit back, have a coffee and enjoy the sights. The North Island vanished over the horizon as the South Island was getting ever closer. We were definitely looking forward to the next part of our adventure.

Our Ferry only used the stern for embarking and disembarking, so we had to do a u-turn inside the ship. Easy for us but fun for the artic-lorries with trailers!

Goodbye Wellington

Hello Queen Charlotte Sound

And finally Picton.

Wellington

2006-12-08T21:27:00.000+01:00

We have to take the ferry from Wellington to the South Island and so have a couple of days here to see the capital of New Zealand.

On our first day we took the cable car to the Clarke Observatory. The tram car was full on the way up as people use it as a normal part of the public transport system. It was obviously old technology but effective as well as charming.

At the observatory, we thought we were going to be able to see the shuttle take off from America but with five minutes to go the take off was put on hold because of bad weather. Marion was able to check her watch against the sundial which was surprisingly accurate.

We walked through the botanic gardens. They are delightful with sculptures as well as wonderful plants. In the Begonia house there was a spectacular assortment of beautiful plants.

Wind Farm Extrodinaire

2006-12-08T21:10:00.000+01:00

On route from Napier to Wellington we visited one of the biggest wind farms in the world. From the top of the hill we took pictures of windmills in every direction and in each one the windmills went on forever. I have no idea how many there are, but they look great and are fantastic for the environment.

Cape Kidnappers

2006-12-08T20:20:00.000+01:00

A short distance south of Napier is Cape Kidnappers which is only accessible by foot at low tide. The walk along the beach takes two and a half hours each way with a steep climb at the end. There is a tractor that operates when the tide is out but we arrived at high tide and took a tour bus over the privately owned Cape Kidnappers Estate. It took about forty five minutes to drive to the cape and when we crested the last hill the sight that greeted us took our breath away.

This is the largest gannet colony in the southern hemisphere and we were six feet away from the birds who ignored us completely. There are several colonies on the cape and at each site the birds carried on as usual providing fascinating insights into their behaviour.

Gannets are sometimes called Boobies and in many languages the name for the Gannet has derogatory connotations but looking at these birds, they just seem beautiful.

The way they greeted each other when one partner returned to the nest and the way the parents groomed their chicks was totally endearing.

Napier

2006-12-08T20:14:00.000+01:00

At the southern end of the beautiful Hawke Bay is the port of Napier. We stayed on the outskirts of the town in order to watch the wildlife on the tidal estuary and wetland formed by the river Ahuriri. There is a great circular walk around the mudflats at low tide when we saw hundreds of tiny tunnelling mud crabs, scores of white faced herons and many other birds we had no chance of identifying.

Looking for a good place for lunch with an excellent wine list we chose the Mission Estate Vineyard, just out of town situated in an old seminary. Great food and wine.

Waiotapu

2006-12-05T09:47:00.000+01:00

On the road from Rotorua to Lake Taupo is the Waiotapu thermal area, completely different from the thermal valley at Whakarewarewa. There is less emphasis on the Maori culture; the site is simply laid out so that the geyser and thermal pools can be enjoyed as you walk along the several kilometres of walkways. As you move from area to area you are treated to a series of stunning surprises as you turn a corner or crest a brow. The park is a cacophony of dazzling colours, smells and amazing structures. These are just a few of the scenes we enjoyed on our visit.

Rotorura

2006-12-05T05:39:00.000+01:00

The best thermal site in Rotorura is Whakarewarewa where we were introduced the some of the culture or the Maori by our guide for the day, Carla. She made flax string right in front of us from the piece of flax she is holding in this photo.

Other Maori were carving huge sculptures.

And then others entertained us with the Haka, singing and dancing.

On a tour around the thermal valley, Carla told us about the Maori who found the hot springs and the fights they had to keep their find from other Maori tribes. The smells were predictable but the geysers, fumeroles, mud pools and hot springs were brilliant.

The Geysers

The Fumeroles

The Mud pools

The Cooking Pot

Otorohanga Kiwis

2006-12-05T05:18:00.000+01:00

The Kiwi is the national emblem of New Zealand, but most species of Kiwi are now endangered in the wild. There are several places with breeding programmes and this Kiwi House has a spectacular selection of native and introduced birds. This kiwi is kept in the dark and is very active when woken up. Fun to photograph with hardly any light. Can you spot the New Zealand pidgeon?

Waitomo

2006-12-05T04:56:00.000+01:00

Our next stop was at Waitomo where the limestone and other soft rocks have been eroded to produce bizarre surface structures and many underground caves.

We came to see the glow-worm cave, or more specifically the glow-worms. We were not allowed to take photos in the caves but it was definitely too good to miss. In the dark wet caves, millions of these tiny worms glow in order to attract their next meal. They continue to catch insects and eat for about nine months until they have enough body weight to survive their metamorphosis into an adult fly. The adult stage survives for a few days, just long enough to mate and lay eggs.

A little way down the valley you can see lovely bunnies having a hair cut to produce the fibres needed for Angora wool.

Muriwai Gannets

2006-12-05T04:53:00.000+01:00

On the way south from the Bay of Islands we found a colony of Gannets sitting on a very bleak cliff top, each bird sitting on an egg, while others patrol the waves looking for food.

Russell

2006-12-05T04:35:00.000+01:00

Just a short ferry ride from the falls is one of the oldest towns in New Zealand, Russell. It is an historic place, where several confrontations and treaty signings involving Maoris and Europeans took place.

While walking around the town we found a replica of Captain Cook’s Endeavour, land locked in the museum;

an old church with the bullet holes of a long past confrontation still evident

and then we climbed flagstaff hill where a rebellious Maori chief chopped down the flagstaff four times as an act of rebellion against the Europeans.

The falgstaff at the top of the hill is now made of steel!

Bay of Islands

2006-12-05T04:26:00.000+01:00

From Auckland we headed north to the Bay of Islands, a favourite anchorage for early settlers because from most places, it is impossible to see the open sea. It was always easy to find a sheltered anchorage because of the protection offered by the large number of islands in the bay.

We chose to stay at Haruru at the Haruru Falls Resort, a beautiful holiday complex overlooking the river and the falls themselves.

As this is still the beginning of the season, I had the pool to myself for a lovely swim. Marion and I enjoyed an eventful hour on the river in a two man(person) canoe. We returned without having had a row or a capsize. Amazing!!!

Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Adventure

2006-12-05T04:13:00.000+01:00

One of many interesting places we visited was Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Adventure with an unusual collection of exhibits. Marion was attracted by the giant stingrays which we watched being hand fed! These are the same type of fish that killed Steve Irwin!!

You can just see one barb near the end of its tail but most of them have three stingers always ready if they feel threatened. They had been trained to take food from their keepers and so all went well.

As a contrast to the rays, they have an amazing exhibit on Scott’s final Antarctic expedition. As well as more information than any ordinary person could take in they had a reconstruction of the hut the expidetion used to over winter. It was fully stocked with all the original equipment and consumables they would have had available in 1912.

There is a huge aquarium with a tunnel under the tank, it gives great views of the sharks, rays and turtles as they swim past.

Auckland

2006-12-05T02:35:00.000+01:00

Listening to the weather forecasts, we thought it would be cold in New Zealand as summer seemed a little late. We were delighted when we arrived to see blue skies and feel the warm sunshine. In fact the weather was a pleasant relief after the full on heat of Fiji.

Our hosts, Keith and Lisa have a sailing boat, Brass Tacks, and enjoy taking enthusiastic guests for a sail. We had a great day on the sheltered waters of one of Auckland’s two harbours, enjoying acres of space, beautiful views of the city and great sailing conditions.

The city is spectacular, with a great feeling of space without too many high rise towers, but their sky tower is special, having fabulous views over the whole city, the surrounding volcanoes and views of occasional thrill seekers, "jumping off the tower".

Farewell to Fiji

2006-12-05T02:20:00.000+01:00

After a final beautiful sunset we got an early flight on Saturday morning to Auckland, New Zealand.

The last sunset was spectacular but the view of the Coral Coast from the air was breathtakingly beautiful.

On to Fiji

2006-11-23T06:18:00.000+01:00

We left Los Angeles at 10pm on Saturday night and flew South West until 4am on Sunday morning when suddenly it was 3pm on Monday morning and we hadn’t had time to read the Sundays yet. Our next destination, Fiji, is just over the International Date Line and crossing it lost us most of Sunday. Never mind every other leg of our journey gives us extra hours and we hope it will all work out by the time we get home.

Our arrival in Fiji happened just as the sun came up, it was beautiful.

The resort Marion chose, The Hideaway is on the Coral Coast and we are staying in a Bure with no glass windows and an outside bath as part of its inside and outside bathroom.

It is nestled among tropical gardens next to the beach, so every day we see exotic birds and flowers.

Twenty yards from our Bure is a stunning coral beach with a reef about a hundred yards off shore.

At six o’clock each evening a Fijian Warrior performs a sacred ritual involving flaming torches and drums. This sacred ritual signals the start of the all important happy hour!

Each day we toil strenuously to the swimming pool and bar and work hard on our tans and keeping cool. Each evening after dinner we stroll along the beach to watch the beautiful sunsets.

Long Beach

2006-11-21T04:38:00.000+01:00

We spent our last full day in LA at Long Beach where we toured the Queen Mary and visited the Aquarium of the Pacific.

We thought about staying on the Queen Mary as she is now Hotel where all passengers stay in first class cabins even if she is a 3 star hotel. The ship is certainly showing her age although she was certainly the height of luxury in her day.

John did think of putting in an offer as he is still looking for as boat, and he did look good on the deck but the price of $3,500,000 thirty years ago puts her outside his price range.

A short, free, bus ride away from the Queen Mary is the Aquarium of the Pacific. We found trying to travel on busses, for anything but very local journeys, very difficult in LA. The Long Beach Passport free bus service was great, with frequent, well used buses cutting down the already huge volume of traffic.

The Aquarium was our first experience of the joys of being a senior, over 55, in America. We got a good discount on the entry fee. Having recently visited the amazing aquarium in Plymouth we were eager to see how they compared.

The Long Beach aquarium has huge tanks with an enormous range of fish, presented in an informative and entertaining way. We were in time to see the fish being target fed by divers in the tanks, while sharks swam innocently by. This little fish walked over the sand of his tank to check us out and we thought he was rather cute.

The octopus looked rather unpleasant but had a great sense of colour.

Although this is a spectacular aquarium, we both agreed for once that the new marine aquarium in Plymouth was even bigger, better and more fun.

Marina Del Rey

2006-11-21T04:33:00.000+01:00

One morning we walked to Marina Del Rey, much further than we thought as the map we used was not reliable when measuring distances.

We decided to treat ourselves to a “light lunch” in a Japanese restaurant, The Café del Rey, beside the Marina with births for thousands of boats.

As you can see their idea of a light lunch was more than Marion could cope with.

Hollywood Tour

2006-11-21T04:25:00.000+01:00

As we were in Los Angeles, we had to see the Hollywood sign and all the places the very, very, very rich people live and shop.

To get good view of this sign, we went up into Beverley Hills and saw this amazing view of LA from Mullholland Drive with the Hollywood Bowl in the foreground.

As well as enjoying splendid views the rich of Hollywood shop in exclusive splendour in Rodeo Drive, full of expensive shops without any shoppers when we were there. It was more like a ghost town, even the street lighting, although very spectacular had to be protected from the elements.

A Walk in Venice Beach

2006-11-15T04:10:00.000+01:00

It is November but the weather is wonderful, bright blue skies, the temperature in the high seventies and a beautiful beach to enjoy. We decided to walk along the boardwalk from Venice to Santa Monica, explore new places, watch new people and wildlife.

Some of the birds we recognised easily, like the Egrets and Little Egrets by the canal and the Pelicans swooping so low over the waves that I couldn’t get a clear picture of them. Other birds were more helpful, so I could get their pictures even if I didn’t recognise them. The gulls and pigeons, although familiar are different from those resident in Cornwall.

We enjoyed the Santa Monica shopping mall and the variety of stalls along the way. Returning on Main we came across an amazing sculpture created by Paul Conrad from chain links. This is his attempt to promote peace and an end to war.

As we stopped for lunch at a restaurant on the beach, the place was invaded by a large group of hopefuls from the next series of American Idol. As well as the contestants with numbered badges, there were people looking important and others with cameras and all the paraphernalia of a film crew. Good luck candidate no 98999.

As I was not sure I would ever see the Pacific Ocean from this side again, I felt compelled to have a swim joining the surfers in the sea. It was cold, very cold; nearly as cold as the sea around the UK.

Our First Day at Large

2006-11-15T03:57:00.000+01:00

At last we have set off on our long planned trip around the world. As you can see Marion settled into her seat very easily. Just as well as we were to be in them for the next eleven hours.

For most of the flight, we were well above the cloud and unable to see much but as we approached Baffin Island, the clouds cleared and we had a great view of the ice covering land and sea.

Sixteen hours after leaving London we settled into our Venice Beach hotel in LA and took an evening stroll to see the beach and plan our next day.

Views from Mount Edgecombe Estate

2006-10-25T11:56:00.000+02:00

We woke up this morning to beautiful blue skies and couldn't resist the urge for an early morning walk. We drove to Maker Church and strolled down to Plymouth Sound through the Mount Edgecombe Estate. As you can see the views were stunning. We never tire of this view of the Hamoaze or looking back at Millbrook, they remind us that it is so good just to be alive.

The weather was beautifully calm with hardly a breeze, but as we reached the shore by Drake's Island, unusually large waves were breaking onto the rocky shelf in one continuous roar of surf. Plymouth's breakwater usually keeps the waters inside the sound reassuringly calm. We sat and watched the waves, sunlight and surf until the need for a coffee grew irresistible.

After coffee we made our way back to Maker through the beautiful formal gardens of the estate. We are still finding hidden corners where some delightful, unknown shrub or tree takes our breath away. We came upon this lovely bush in full flower in a secluded hedged garden, we don't know what it is but we certainly intend to find out.

Birthday in Fowey

2006-10-03T18:26:00.000+02:00

As we woke this morning to beautiful blue skies and warm sunshine we decided to have a day out exploring Fowey. We had an enjoyable birthday lunch in the King of Prussia, overlooking the harbour watching people on the river having a great time.

After lunch we hired a motorboat to explore the river Fowey. From the deepwater jetty upriver, where a large bulk carrier was unloading sand and salt for Cornwall's roads next winter, to the secluded backwater opposite the main jetty where the cormorants and herons fished with obvious enthusiasm, there was so much going on that the time flew by.

The church with its stunning stained glass windows and spectacular beamed roof is well worth a visit. For those wishing to keep fit, the walk back to the main car park is certainly a challenge.

New Friends in Millbrook

2006-09-30T16:49:00.000+02:00

Let me introduce two very good friends of ours who also live in Millbrook. They are Pam and Dave, seen here about to enjoy a walk on Whitsand Bay which is about a mile from our house. They left the south east over four years ago to enjoy an improved quality of life in Cornwall. From the word go we found we had much in common and are still discovering more and more that we enjoy together.

Dave introduced me to the delights of Single Malt Whiskey and, as a non Scotch drinker, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the various tastes, flavours and aromas of the Six Classic Malts, as well as several others we have sipped since.

Pam and Dave also introduced us to the basics of Bowls at the Looe Bowls Club. Their green overlooks Looe Island in Whitsand Bay which makes a delightful backdrop to a game with friends. The game that appears so genteel gives free reign to those players with a viscious streak. In particular some members of our group delight in removing the best wood others have bowled all afternoon.

Tim Raises the Pace

2006-09-27T18:45:00.000+02:00

Our son Tim came to visit for a few days and brought his squash racquet with him so inevitably we ended up on the squash court in Torpoint. I had a moment of hope when we arrived, only to find the courts locked up as there had been a break in overnight.

After a cofee in a cafe watching Royal Navy frigtes in Devonport we were able to get onto the court. Great fun and Marion can now put the insurance policies back in the drawer as I did survive without the coronary the family had expected.

Only a little regret that I was not in Wednesdays senior staff meeting.

Back Home at Millbrook

2006-09-26T16:26:00.000+02:00

After a sunny week savouring the sun, sea and delicious food and wine of Malta, we are back at Millbrook enjoying the delights of the Cornish countryside.

Most days we walk around the lake enjoying the local birds and wildlife. We have never been so close to Cormorants and Little Egrets which we see every day by the lake. In and around the vilage there are Buzzards, Kestrels and Sparrow hawks. They are a joy to see and I am almost able to tell them apart.

The Start of a New Term Without us

2006-09-04T08:47:00.000+02:00

As everyone at Little Heath gets ready for a new term, Marion and I are in Malta visiting our daughter Rhoda and her partner Andy. As you can see, we are enjoying beautiful beaches, warm water, wonderful scenery, cheap food and some great wines.

We can highly recommend the sparkling rose called Delicata Gellewza Frizzante, chilled on a hot sunny afternoon followed by Medina Vinyards blend of Syra, Grenash and Carignan graapes making a great red to acconmapy your main course.

Over dessert Casella Moscato is an outstanding sweet desert wine at a great price.

With your coffee after dinner try a refreshing liquer made from prickly pears called Bajitra.

As you can see we are still researching hard into the really important things in life.

We wish you all the best for the coming year.

Welcome to John and Marion's Blog

2006-09-02T14:26:00.000+02:00

Having retired at the beginning of September we hope to keep in touch with friends and family through this site.

Marion loves to travel and has organised an extensive tour to start our retirement. Even on a visit to Malta I think she is dreaming of a cruise next year!

We will post pictures and stories of our progress over the next few months and would love to hear from any of our friends who would like to keep on touch.

Hope to hear from you soon.