Step inside the 2017 holiday diary — a vivid, day‑by‑day journey packed with family moments, city discoveries, beach escapes and the small joys that make travel unforgettable. This page brings the year to life with honest notes, real experiences and a warm storytelling style that turns memories into inspiration for your next adventure. The Big Trip 2017 Diary 2017 Diary Images gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/14 DIARY OF OUR ADVENTURES Annie's overall Diary was from 31st January - 14 June Allyson also kept a diary of our trip What we did and when Diary Overview Diary Jan/Feb Diary March Diary April Diary May Diary June 17 Diary Choices OVERVIEW The diary entries written here were recorded by Annie each and every day (well almost 😉 ) for the whole of our BIG TRIP in 2017 away with our dear friends Chris & Allyson, covering singapore - family time on both the way out and the way back, australia - all states except queensland and australian capital territory, the wonderful cook islands (rarotonga the main island only), new zealand, both north and south island and desaru malaysia , a weekend trip away with family from singapore involving a ferry trip , coach ride and an exclusive hotel resort, sheer joy. The diary is structured by months over the 6 month period, just use the appropriate button above to go to that section of the diary, at the end of each you can use the return to the top to go to the next you wish to read or of course use the main menu structure, the choice is yours. We also have some diary picture for you to look at, click HERE or use the menu. There are many more slideshow of images and videos "the talkies" under each country. Enjoy, thanks for looking. This was our 4th trip downunder, if you want to peruse any of the others these BUTTONS will help you achieve that 😉 Diary 31st Jan-28th Feb Library Otago Peninsular, New Zealand Tuesday 31 January 2017 Left Keef’s mum at around 5am – still dark. Took hire car (Easi Rent) to Sheraton Skyline Hotel & dumped it off. Caught free hopper bus to Heathrow (one bus drove straight past the hotel without picking us up so had to get the next one). Met Chris & Allyson at Heathrow for our flight with Emirates to Singapore via Dubai. 9.10am departure. Very exciting & looking forward to our great adventure in the southern hemisphere. Had to change planes in Dubai. Wednesday 1 February Singapore We were met at Singapore airport by Doug at 8.30am which we were not expecting, so it was a nice surprise. Chris & Allyson took a hotel hopper bus to their hotel Grand Mercure Roxy, Marine Parade Road. We got a taxi with Doug back to their flat in Marine Terrace. Met up with Phoenix in their lovely spacious flat on the 18th floor which they had moved into last August. We went to collect Charlie from her local playgroup. So nice to see Doug & family again, although it had only been a few weeks since they were with us at Christmas/ New Year. We went out for lunch at Babelicious, East Coast Park & had Singapore chicken & rice. Then we went for a paddle in the sea nearby with Charlie and we all sat on the beach. Joined by Chris & Allyson who walked along East Coast Park from their hotel. They came back with us to the flat for a drink, although Charlie & Phoenix had returned earlier for an afternoon nap. Later in the evening we all met up with C & A at Din Tai Fung, a famous & popular Chinese dumpling/noodle restaurant chain in Parkway Parade shopping mall, opposite C & A’s hotel. Very tired – jet lag kicking in as did not get much sleep on the planes. Thursday 2 February Singapore Took Charlie to playgroup. After lunch in a food court near Marina Bay Sands Hotel that we all went to the Science/Arts Museum. Saw brilliant Future World art/light/techno installations which Charlie loved. Keef went to see the Escher art exhibition and Doug saw the Nasa exhibition. We all thoroughly enjoyed the Future World installations which was very hands-on and magical & we were in there for hours. C & A visited Gardens on the Bay which they really enjoyed. In the evening we all met up at the Eurasian Community restaurant which Doug & Phoenix had recommended. Had various curries which were very good. Charlie had not had her normal afternoon nap so very tired. We got a bus back to the flat & C & A returned to their hotel. Friday 3 February Singapore to Perth Doug had to go back to work today. He & family had just returned from a short trip to Vietnam with P’s parents on Monday 30 Jan. After Charlie’s playgroup (9.45-11.45am) we walked with Phoenix & Charlie to their local library, then had lunch in the indoor food court at Parkway Parade. Keef & I got the bus back to the flat whist Phoenix walked back so Charlie could fall asleep in the pushchair. Had afternoon nap for 1 hour as still jet-lagged. Big rainstorm. Then we took a bus & walked to meet up with C & A & Doug at the outdoor food hawker centre in east Coast Park. Doug had his cycle gear on & his 21 gear bike. Very nice BBQ chicken wings/thighs & duck satay sticks etc. Doug cycled back from the park to the flat 7 the rest of us got taxis. Re-packed bags & Doug ordered taxi for us to Changi airport. D & P looked after us so well & sad to say our goodbyes but at least we will visit them again for 2 weeks at the end of the trip in June. Charlie is so adorable- we love her so much (soppy grandparents!) Met with C & A at airport – our flight to Perth was at 11.40 pm. Saturday 4 February Perth Night flight to Perth, arrived at 4.47am – still dark & quite cool temperature. We got a large taxi to our hotel in central Perth. As it was too early to get into our rooms we changed into shorts & sandals in the staff toilet & left all our bags in the lock-up room behind reception. Walked from our hotel (Pensione Hotel, 70 Pier St) at 5.45am along to the city centre & down to the Swan River. The area by the bell tower had changed beyond recognition since 2008 when K & I had visited. The large grassy area next to the river had now been landscaped with paving, seating, plants, pergolas of bougainvillea, new bridges, Walked across the new footbridge to Elizabeth Quay & saw a replica of an old Dutch sailing ship. Perth looked so different now. City was very quiet apart from a few joggers & cyclists. Fab views of the Swan River across to the residential suburbs on the other side. Got tickets ($40 each/ £23.20) on Captain Cook Explorer cruise to Freemantle along the Swan River. Departed at 9.45am – weather very sunny, breezy & blue sky. Relaxing boat trip with commentary. Architect designed houses along shoreline – one house bought in 2009 for $57.5 million. Lots of sailing clubs & marinas along the river. Apparently there are more pleasure boats registered here than in any other Aussie city. Docked at Freemantle & had 1hr 15 mins to see the town. Walked around the streets – saw Victorian heritage buildings & Aussie pubs with wrought iron long balconies. Had lovely fish, chips & salad lunch in a local pub where we sat outside. We got the boat back at 12.45 to Perth. Allyson took photos of K & A as we cruised past the Freemantle passenger terminal where we emigrated & first landed in Australia in 1961 (Keef) & 1967 (Anne). We were migrant families & £10 Poms back then. Lovely relaxing river cruise back to Perth – lots of yachts, jet skiers – glorious sunshine – arrived 2pm & now very hot. We all returned to our hotel & had a 3 hour power nap as still jet lagged. Apparently for every hour flight time difference it takes a day to recover – i.e 8 hours difference = 8 days to recover! Dark at 7.30 pm. We all walked down to the Swan River again to see the city lights. The buildings had amazing LED coloured lights on each storey. By the quayside we saw a free Chinese new Year area with coloured LED large animal inflatables, LED red Chinese lanterns, lots of food stalls & a small exhibition about Chinese people who had come to Perth during the gold rush era + old photos of them. Had pizza & drinks in a bar near our hotel. We were lucky with the weather as we were told that Perth had the worst rain in 6 years over a couple of days. Allyson’s fitness watch said we had walked 7.4 miles today. Sunday 5 February Perth Sunny & hot day. Had breakfast in croissants & coffee café & sat outside. Went on free red CAT bus & stayed on for the whole loop around Perth, then got off at King’s Park to get high panoramic views of the Swan River & city. Temperature increased around 1.45-3.30 – very hot. We walked around the Botanic gardens – very well laid out in WA regions. Native plants included baob trees, banksias etc. C & A did a circular route which included a glass sided aerial bridge. Lovely views from the park & nice breezes. Saw a sign at entrance to a track down a slope which looked more like rough bush, which said ‘ Beware snakes seen in this area’. Rushed past & headed back to the visitor centre. Then we took the red bus back to the city centre & swapped onto the free blue bus route, which was not to interesting. Aching feet & tired so headed back to the hotel for a shower. Went out in the evening to a pub called The Lucky Shag Bar on the waterfront. Could see lights across the wide Swan River to the other bank (mainly residential area). K & A had chicken parmigiano, chips & salad – very nice. Walked back to the hotel – 10.30pm knackered. Monday 6 February Perth to Ledge Point, WA Had breakfast at the croissant/ coffee shop – lovely sunny day again. Then we checked out of the Pensione Hotel & took a taxi to Britz Motorhomes hire in Redcliffe, near the airport. Took a while to do the run-through of instructions for the motorhomes & admin. Our van is a Maui & C & A’s is a Britz. Both are 7 metres long panel vans with air con, fridge, hob, sink, shower & toilet, 2 person berth & automatic. Then we all set off towards a suburb of Perth which had a Coles supermarket & stocked up for the next few days on food & water supplies. Stopped off the highway to have a chicken sandwich made by Allyson. Headed north & joined the Indian Ocean Drive road towards Ledge Point where we stopped for the night. Ledge Point is a beautiful spot with lovely sandy beach & turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. Stayed at a Big4 campsite $34 per site with a swimming pool. As we had joined the Big 4 in England (cost £25) we saved 10% on every campsite stay. All of us went for a swim & then I did a big load of washing for $4/ £2.48 & left it on the washing line overnight. Weather sunny but getting very windy. Keef cooked steak with salad, pasta salad & jacket potatoes. We were all quite tired having unpacked our bags & sorting out things in the motorhomes. Went to bed at 11pm. Tuesday 7 February Ledge Point to Geraldton Weather sunny but still windy. After shower, breakfast we set off from Ledge Point heading north along Highway 60. Keef & I had been on this coastal route as far as Geraldton in 2013. This time we could continue north on the Indian Ocean Drive as it was now a tarmac surface (previously a dirt coastal road) rather than returning to the main highway. We stopped at the Pinnacles, a national park which cost $12 entry for each couple. This was a large desert area inland from the coast with eroded rocks caused by wind erosion. Some of the rocks were 1 – 4 metres high. The wind was blowing the sand into our bare legs. We went in the visitor centre and then as we were walking back to the car park we saw a blue tongued skink (small lizard) crossing the path in front of us. It had 4 little legs and a fat body. We took some photos & video of it walking along very slowly until it went into some bushes. We drove along the coastal road to Cervantes, a small town & went to a car park with fabulous views of a white sandy beach & turquoise sea called Thirsty Point. Further along the road we stopped at Jurien Bay where there were nice houses & holiday homes. Arrived in Geraldton about 5.15 pm. This place is termed a city although it’s not as big as Nottingham. We booked into the Big 4 Sunset Beach campsite $35 a night & the lady who booked us in warned us that there was a Category 1 cyclone due in Shark bay/ Monkey Mia area that night. Also she said that the police had closed the road because of potential heavy rain & flooding. She strongly advised us to turn around & head back south. We were rather worried to hear about this as the road to Monkey Mia is a small road and the only route in. A cyclone is a tropical version of a hurricane with winds of 100kms an hour and heavy deluges of rain. The flat coastal roads can flood & be impassable for vehicles. We bought some tomatoes, red peppers & a rock melon for $5 from the campsite lady – bargain. Chris did a lovely BBQ with prawns on skewers & barramundi fish with salad & rice. We gad mango as well. Chatted to a very suntanned Dutch couple who were retired travellers in a small motorhome & they had returned from Monkey Mia. Noticed that the campsite had a solid fence all the way round it and the staff wore snake protectors up to their knees. The campsite had a pool but we didn’t swim. Went to bed at 11pm – very tired. Extremely windy – the van was being rocked & the sky looked black with clouds but no rain. Wednesday 8 February Geraldton to Northampton We finally got over our jet lag by sleeping 9 hours. Still very windy but sunny & blue skies. No sign of any cyclone yet. After breakfast we went shopping at an IGA supermarket & got some alcoholic beverages from the separate bottle shop next door. Supermarkets in Australia are not allowed to sell alcohol. We had problems with the key to our motorhome not locking the van properly from the begging of the trip & thought it was the battery in the key fob. Also we were supposed to get 2 key fobs for the motorhome but we only got 1 as the Britz staff said that the previous renters had lost it. Got diesel fuel, then headed back into Geraldton down the Great Northern Highway as the campsite was 6 kms north of Geraldton. Visited the old convict hospital & gaol & took photos, then drove through the centre of Geraldton which had a very long high street with shops. Visited tourist info centre to find out about the cyclone & state of the roads but the ladies there were not very helpful. Allyson bought a map of Australia to record the route taken. We walked along the seafront & saw the marina. Keef thought he saw a stingray in the water but it turned out to be a plastic bag – needs to go to Specsavers!. We visited the Western Australia museum (free) which featured local historical events such as the Australian Navy ship Sydney which was torpedoed in 1941 in WW2 by a German mine layer. Also the shocking story of the Batavia, a Dutch east India ship. In 1629 it was bound for Batavia (now called Jakarta, in Indonesia) to pick up spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves. It caught on a reef round an island off Geraldton and the 300 crew & passengers were shipwrecked. The captain and some crew rowed a small boat to Jakarta which took 33 days but the rest of the men & women endured a terrible time on the island with murder, rape & cannibalism- a gruesome story. The museum had the cannon, coins and a skull from the ship. K & I visited the police station to enquire about the cyclone & road closures. A nice lady on reception rang the police in the Shark Bay area and Carnarvon town. There were no signs of any cyclone so we decided to drive to Monkey Mia the next day. We set off up the North Western Highway through wheat farms and hills and stopped the night at a small campsite in Northampton $35. This town had Victorian architecture. The campsite was a private one & not as good as Big 4. There was no pool but the kitchen area & toilets/ showers were clean. Met up with girl backpackers from England in the kitchen. They were travelling around WA in a second hand car & had work permits. Also met a German lad who was a student at Sydney Technology University – all the young ones were very chatty & friendly. The gas camping stove on the kitchen worktop caught fire when the girls were cooking spaghetti Bolognese and we had to evacuate the area incase the gas canister exploded. The site manager said that the rubber tubing had a small hole which he replaced. Luckily no one was injured. Keef & I did chicken wings, breaded escalopes, salad & jacket potatoes + a bottle of white wine from Margaret River. Saw a large flock of pink/grey galahs which roosted on a tree near our vans & were very noisy at dusk. Still windy. Went to bed at 10.45pm. Thursday 9 February Northampton to Monkey Mia in Shark Bay When I was washing up breakfast dishes in the camp kitchen I nearly stepped back onto the resident pet parrot – a Major Mitchell cockatiel that was on the floor. The parrot was pink and white, very friendly & used to humans. Took some photos of heritage buildings in Northampton then we all set off for the World Heritage area of Monkey Mia reserve. Stopped off for a rest & drink at a red dust pull-off area next to the highway. Windy & loads of flies. Drove on to the Billabong Roadhouse for another break. Saw an emu at the side of the road- scrubby desert area with no trees just bushes. Stopped again at the Overlander Roadhouse then turned off the highway towards Denham and Shark Bay area. Started raining & heard on the radio that the road from Carnarvon to Port Headland further up the coast had been closed because of potential flash floods. Luckily the road to Monkey Mia was open & OK & the rain eased off. We stayed at the Monkey Mia Resort $78 for 2 nights per motorhome. On the edge of the beach you can see wild dolphins come right in close where they are fed fish. Apparently there are some baby dolphins around as well. Monkey Mia is world heritage status because of the 14,000 dugongs (aka manatees or sea cows) which frequent the bay to feed on sea grass. Pouring with rain when we checked in to reception which took a long time to get allocated some pitches with electric hook up. Forgot to mention that we all saw a second emu which was right next to the road – took lots of photos. We went to the bar for a drink & had a brief walk through the resort which is very small but has a shop, pool, restaurant & motel type accommodation. C & A cooked lamb steaks, sauté potatoes & salad which was very tasty & I cut up a mango. By 9.30 we were all feeling very tired – we had driven 320Kms approx. Rained most of the night. We decided to set our alarms for 7am to be ready for the dolphin encounter on the beach. Really looking forward to seeing them. Friday 10 February Monkey Mia 7.20 am walked down to the beach where the Park Wardens were & there were about 30 people. The dolphins usually come in around 7.45 for a fish feed but the weather was rainy, with stormy grey skies & still very strong winds. We all waited patiently on the beach until 8.30 am but no dolphins appeared. Very disappointing but that is nature. Saw a turtle near the jetty though. Had showers & then Keef did a bacon & egg roll for breakfast. Took our camp chairs down to the sandy beach with our Kindles to read. Still very windy & twice K & I had to duck into the restaurant/ lounge area because of sudden heavy rain showers. Eventually the grey clouds & rain disappeared & the sun came out, although the winds were still strong. The bad weather must have been due to the cyclone. Chris & Allyson joined us for the afternoon & we read our Kindles & relaxed. There were two emus wandering round the campsite which seemed used to humans. Lots of flies at this resort which were a pain but less so by the windy beach area. Thought the rooms, restaurant & bar were fairly basic & did not feel like a luxury resort. The resort is owned by RAC. Also the wet gritty sandy paths & roads made the motorhomes dirty & the washrooms all gritty on the floors. Afternoon was very pleasant although still very windy but warm. Had tea/ coffee in C & A’s van & then Keef & I did the evening meal. We had sausages, chicken thighs, lamb steaks leftover from yesterday carrots, sweet potatoes, creamed sweetcorn & rock melon. Also had some red wine called Yalumba from South Australia. Sunset was beautiful. Went for a walk on the beach in the dark & Chris pointed out Venus in the sky which was very bright. We returned to our vans & I wrote my diary & read my Kindle. Keef checked mail on our laptop. Tomorrow getting up early again to see dolphins. Saturday 11 February Monkey Mia to Carnarvon. Got up at 7am – went to beach 7.25 to see dolphins – none appeared. Hot & sunny today. Probably because the storm made the sea murky with weed and broken sea grass. The beach had lots of debris & piles of sea grass washed up. The dolphins did not come into the bay probably because with the poor visibility underwater they could not see any sharks. Gave up at 8.15 & went back for a shower & breakfast. Disappointing again. We left the site at 10am but parked in the car park outside & went back to the beach for another look. Other holidaymakers said still no sight of any dolphins. Left Monkey Mia & drove to Denham, the nearest town on the coast, after seeing the Little Lagoon which looked lovely with turquoise water. The lagoon links to Shark Bay with a narrow channel & is very salty seawater. We drove along Shark bay Heritage Drive & stopped at Shell Beach which had a vast area of compacted tiny cockle shells as small as a little finger nail. The white of the shells was so bright to look at in the bright sunshine. Back on the main highway we got diesel fuel & ice-cream at the Overlander Roadhouse and then turned left to head north to Carnarvon. Picked some bush melons up from the side of the road. Saw eagles, wild goats & cattle -including a dead cow. Low scrub vegetation on a sandy flat desert even though we were going near the coast. Stopped briefly at the next roadhouse before arriving in Carnarvon. We booked 2 pitches for 2 nights at the Big 4 Plantation campsite, situated near fruit (mangoes) & banana plantations. Carnarvon is a big fruit & veg growing area + fishing for prawns, crabs & lobsters. Did shopping at Woolworths in town, then drove along seafront & around town – a very sleepy place. We drove to One Mile Jetty which from 1897-1966 used to ship cattle & sheep out to ships. The pier was no longer used & looked dilapidated. Lots of rusty machinery, wooden wagons & a lighthouse keepers cottage. Returned to the campsite & Chris & Allyson did BBQ burgers in buns, salad, leftover sausages & rock melon – very nice. Keef & I looked at the map & saw we only had 13 days left to tour WA & there was still so much to see. Went to bed at 10.15 – really tired – Keef did 355 kms today. Forgot to mention that on our way back to the campsite a policeman stood in the road & asked us to pull over for a random breathalyser test. Chris was asked to pull over as well. We had only drunk water all day so passed the test. Sunday 12 February Carnarvon Didn’t wake up until 8am. Had shower & relaxed breakfast. I did the washing ($5) & hung it out as boiling hot today. I chatted to the campsite manager’s wife in the laundry & she said it was going to be 31-33c today. She told me that Kalgoorlie had been flooded because of the heavy rains – I was surprised as this town in the outback WA was normally very dry and dusty. This was bad news as we were aiming to do a circular route via Kalgoorlie, Norseman, Esperance, Albany, Margaret River & back to Perth. We drove to the Space & Technology Museum ($10 per adult) and C & A wanted to walk there. The volunteer lady at the till in the museum said that Ravensthorpe (between Esperance & Albany) had a collapsed road due to flash flooding. She showed us a photo on her phone – not good news either. There is only one road through Ravensthorpe and as we need to take this route later on in our trip we may have to divert. The Space & Technology Museum was brilliant – it showed the important role that the satellite tracking station had played in assisting NASA in many space voyages including Apollo 11 when the moon landing occurred. 180 people worked at the tracking station from 1964-1975, which was one of many trackers worldwide. Carnarvon helped process data & tracked the speed & position of spacecraft & fed this back to NASA. Now the Australian government are using the tracker at Perth to assist with Wi-Fi through a satellite in space so that outback people get free Wi-Fi. Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11 mission & actually landed on the moon) opened the museum. He is now 85 & is doing a world tour speaking about his time with NASA & the moon landing. I was 15 & living at French's Forest, Sydney when I watched the moon landing live on a TV set up in the school hall. Keef was in Clapham, London , Chris was on holiday with his family at Butlins & Allyson was 10. The museum showed the first ever TV satellite broadcast between Carnarvon & London when families could see & talk to one another for the first time on either side of the world. We went into a replica of the Apollo 11 command module where Michael Collins, Buzz (Edwin) Aldrin & Neil Armstrong all sat in cramped conditions with their spacesuits attached to the rocket below them on the launch pad. The space was very small in the module & we heard the actual recording of the countdown to take-off & communications between the astronauts & Houston control centre. We watched a series of short films in a small theatre about space exploration & missions to the moon & the part that Carnarvon played. Had a free mug of tea at the end of our visit. The two staff were very friendly & chatty. We all thought this was an excellent museum. Outside was saw the huge satellite dish. Keef & I then drove to the IGA supermarket to buy some chicken & a mango. We drove along the fruit plantations seeing, bananas, mango & peach tree. Saw the Gascoigne River with muddy water – it had been dry for 3 years but was full after the recent heavy rains. This river is normally the largest in Western Australia. Luckily the banks hadn’t flooded & we took photos from the concrete road bridge. Returned to the campsite & Chris, Keef & I went for swim in the pool as it was such a hot day. We saved a small frog from the swimming pool by scooping him out. Had another shower. Keef & I did dinner – BBQ chicken, salad, jacket & sweet potatoes & fried onions. We sat outside to eat & got bitten by mosquitoes. Looked at lots of stars in the clear sky. Monday 13 February Carnarvon to Port Denison Got up at 7am as a long road trip today from Carnarvon to Dongara/Port Denison. Keef & I called in at a shop in the town to buy a container of blue liquid for the motorhome toilet $20. Left Carnarvon at 9.30am. 28c & a few clouds in the sky. We stopped at 2 roadhouses on the way down & kept to Highway 1 & the Brand Highway. C & A bought me a Magnum icecream – lovely. Stopped for lunch at the Billabong Roadhouse – now very hot. Stopped again at Northampton for a quick break. Allyson said she drove over a large lizard which ran out in front of their motorhome. We saw a small lizard cross the road in front of us. Quite a lot of cows & goats grazing near the road. We went to the town dump station at Dongara/ Port Denison as the Big 4 booklet did not say there was one at the campsite. We arrived at 4.30pm at the campsite in Port Denison. Keef & I remembered we had been to this town before in our travels in WA & had a picnic lunch by the shore. Had showers, then we all walked along the seafront to a restaurant/ bar called Southerlys. I had a chicken & bacon burger, Keef had King Red Emperor fish & chips with garlic prawns, Chris had calamari & chips & Allyson had a lamb burger & chips. The waitress who served us used to live in Guildford, Surrey as a child, then emigrated with her mother. The sunset was pretty with the boats in the marina in the foreground. Walked back to the campsite. A long day but pleased we had travelled so far south – we did 570kms/ 360 miles. Sent an e-mail to Brian & Gina. Very tired. Tuesday, 14 February Port Denison to Northam After breakfast we chatted to the campsite handyman/ gardener & he advised us that the road on either side of Esperance had closed due to flooding & the road had collapsed. We looked at the map & decided to change our route – i.e to avoid Kalgoorlie, Norseman, Esperance part of the loop & just do Wave Rock & hope to take road south to Albany & then turn west along the coast back to Perth. Two people had drowned in the floods (one man trapped in his car in a raging river). We set our target to camp at Northam & took the Brand Highway south, passing banksias bushes at the roadside, mulga scrub & sand. Saw a large kangaroo dead on the road with eagles on top & also a small wallaby. Travelled through the wheat belt- farms where wheat had already been harvested. Now & again there was uncultivated land – scrub & later on bush with eucalyptus trees. Went through Moora (small town)- the town council office had roses, green lawn & bedding plants – looked strange against the rest of the Aussie terrain. The road out of Moora had been flooded during the recent heavy rain but was now clear. Lots of farms, some with sheep, cows & some Brahma cows & alpacas. Saw men repairing railway line track. We stopped for a late lunch around 3pm at the side of the road. Arrived in Northam at 5pm having seen the flooded Avon River close to the highway. The road at the bottom of the hill in the town was flooded & closed so we took the detour. The Avon River in Northam was very wide with a fast flowing current – very muddy looking water & there was a weir on the river. I called in at the tourist info office to ask about campsites as there was no Big 4 here, but it was closed. Allyson used the internet on her phone to find out the nearest campsite in town - $33 per pitch. At the campsite the river was close to our pitches but down a gradual slope. At the height of the floods it covered the camp kitchen floor, so the kitchen was out of order. Saw some lovely green & yellow parakeets in a tree near our pitches. I tried to lure them to my hand with some pieces of rock melon but they were more interested in the tree seeds. Took some photos of the birds. For dinner we had tuna & salad wraps with corn on the cob. Keef got splashed with some boiling water on his hand but luckily not burnt. Lots of stars out tonight – Chris was very knowledgeable about them & could identify the brightest ones. He pointed out the Milky Way which was clearly visible – had not seen this before. He & Keef saw a shooting star but I missed it as I was swatting a mosquito away. Forgot to mention Allyson did a quick Skype with Alistair this morning & we all said hi. We were having breakfast & it was 1.15 am for him in Brighton where he was at university. Allyson’s mum said it was 44c in Sydney & there were some bushfires in north NSW. Also most of the pilot whales stranded at Farewell Spit at the very top of North Island, NZ had been rescued. They had been rescued & taken out to see by volunteers & local people – over 400 pilot whales had been stranded on the long beach at Farewell Spit. TO BE CONTINUED JAN-FEB DIARY CONTINUED Wednesday 15 February Northam to Karlgarin (wheat belt area) Went to Coles in Northam to do food shopping (we do split bill) then set off on the Great Eastern Highway to Merredin. The road follows the large water pipeline that is above ground and services Kalgoorlie & the Indian Pacific railway track. K & I had been to Merredin before – a small town with 1913-1920 buildings, railway station & theatre. Chris bought some pies from a bakery for lunch which we ate sitting outside the tourist info building. Allyson went inside to get some brochures on Wave Rock. Lots of wheat farms, sheep & cows on huge fields. The wheat was cut just prior to Christmas so only stubble left in the fields. After Merredin saw lots of flooded fields & some mulga scrub areas under water. We took some country roads towards Wave Rock. Not far from Hyden the road was completely awash with water & floodwater on either side. Whilst we paused to consider our options, a road train shot past us sending up spray on either side. We paused wondering what was the best/safest thing to do – we could have turned back (K & I had visited Wave Rock last time we were in WA). Chris decided to proceed across in their van & managed to get to the other side of the flood. Keef & I followed slowly – it was quite scary as if water had got into the engine & exhaust then the van would have stopped. We got across & then took some photos. The small township of Hyden was about ½ mile down the road. We followed the road signs to Wave Rock & arrived just after 5pm. The temperature had cooled (it had been 36c in Merredin at 2.30pm) & it was now quite pleasant with a breeze. We parked in the car park & noticed that additional toilets had now been built + a caravan park. Took the path to Wave Rock – a spectacular granite rock which had weathered & looked like a huge wave with mineral deposits causing ochre, grey & black streaks down the sloped rock face. We followed the path round (I had my snake boots on) & read the interpretive signs – the rock was 2.7 billion years old and was only discovered in Victorian times, although the Aboriginal people would have probably known about it. We went up some steps & walked along the top of the rock – very uneven & craggy surface with a few boulders on top. Difficult to walk on. Time was creeping on & we didn’t want to go down the very steep incline at the other end so decided to walk back to the steps. By now it was 6.45pm & it gets dark at 7.30 so we zoomed off to get to the campsite at Karlgarin 21 kms away. We got there at dusk. The reception, amenities & kitchen all looked 5* & brand new. It was situated on a family wheat farm but the family had decided to sell up because of the adult sons had cancer. The farm had been in the same family for 95 years. The mother & other son were friendly & chatty when we checked in. $30 for 1 night per pitch with electric hook-up. They said they would show us round their museum of old gramophones & Arnotts biscuit tins in the morning. We didn’t take them up on their offer as sounded a bit boring. The son wore a Stetson hat & looked like a cowboy. We had cold roast chicken & salad for dinner. Thursday 16 February Karlgarin - Kojonup The population of Karlgarin was only 50. Whilst we were having breakfast sitting on a picnic bench outside the kitchen we chatted to the cleaning lady. She said that Hyden had been flooded a bit & people had got out their kayaks for a paddle – obviously an unusual occurrence in the outback. Apart from the cleaning job she also was the local postwoman. She told us that the wineries in the Swan valley in Perth were underwater & the vines were ruined. She & her husband had run the village shop & post office in Hyden but a willy willy (Aussie term for small tornado) had destroyed it & put them out of business. She also talked about yabbies (Aussie term for a type of crayfish) which she said were delicious. As we left the campsite we saw some old rusted farm machinery and an old Ford car on the farm. Set off down country roads at 10.30am having liaised with the campsite lady about a route that avoided flooded roads. Along the road we saw many blue tongued skinks at the side of the road. Also saw a dead snake which we photographed (it was a light tan colour). The journey took us a long time & we passed small floods on either side of the road but the road was clear. We were still in the wheat belt – vast fields but saw no kangaroos. Saw a few budgies fly across the road in front of us. We stopped for lunch at Dumbleyung, a small village with an interesting pub with a wrought iron balcony along the front (Victorian). Dumbleyung (sounds like something from Harry Potter books) is famous for Donald Campbell completing the world water speed record on the local lake in 1964 in his speedboat Bluebird. He had also set a land speed world record in Bluebird on Lake Eyre in South Australia. There was a replica of the Bluebird & information boards on the main street. Quite a claim to fame for such a small farming community. We continued our journey through country roads & wheat farming areas to join the Albany Highway at Kojanup. Stayed at a very grotty campsite in town which was mainly permanent people staying in old clapped caravans & buses. The amenities were old fashioned & not very good at all – we were charged $30 for this dump. This was the same price as the lovely 5* site the night before. Chris & Allyson cooked ratatouille with bruschetta & I cut up a mango. We take it in turns to cook & the others wash up. Before it got dark we saw some green parakeets in the nearby trees. Forgot to mention that the road leading to Kulin had tin sculptures of horses placed in the fields by creative farmers & their families. Very quirky. The road was re-named the Tin Horse Highway & is listed as a tourist attraction now. Some of the sculptures were quite humorous & had a sense of fun. Took some photos. Went to bed at 10.30pm (I had woken up at 6am) so very tired. Friday 17 February Kojonup to Albany We drove down the Albany Highway & stopped at Mount barker tourist information centre. This was a fairly large town with views of the Stirling Ranges. The guy in the tourist info was very helpful & suggested a tourist road to Porongurup National park where there was a walk to Castle Rock called the CR Skyway. This rock is a granite cliff with lots of huge boulders. There is a track through the bush up a steep hill & then you have to scramble over small boulders & then climb a metal ladder to get to the top to see the views. C & A did the whole thing but we gave up halfway up the steep path because of a) possible snakes b) K’s was in pain with his knee ( I kept hearing rustling in the bush next to the track which made me nervous). We decided to return to our motorhome for a rest. We got out our chairs & read our Kindles. When C & A returned we had an icecream as it was so hot today. They said that the last bit of the hike involved a difficult clamber over & up the boulders & they showed us their photos of the views. We then continued on the tourist road which joined the main highway to Albany. We re-fueled on the outskirts, then went to Woollies for food supplies including fresh strawberries @ 60p a punnet – very cheap. Carried on driving down York Street (main shops) downhill to a replica sailing ship called the Amity on the grass in front of the bay. We walked the gangplank aboard & took some photos. A British ship with soldiers & convicts landed here in the Amity to start a new colony as it was a safe harbour for ships. Then we drove to Middleton Beach Big 4 campsite over the steep hill where there were stunning views of the ocean and rocky islands. K & C booked us in at reception but because it was Friday evening the campsite was packed. As we wanted to stay 2 nights we were allowed to share a large pitch with grass, concrete hard-standing plus a private bathroom with loo, shower & sink which we each had keys for. The walkway to the beach was right next to our pitch. There was also a lovely BBQ area for everyone to use with nice wooden table & chairs & stainless steel sink & worktops. C & A cooked barramundi fish on the BBQ with vegetables & white wine. Saturday 18 February Middleton Beach I did some laundry $5. Keef cooked bacon & egg butties on the BBQ for breakfast. Then we all went down to the beach for a couple of hours – very sunny but also windy. Keef & I went in the sea up to our waists but only within the shark netted area. When K & I had last been at Middleton Beach the authorities had closed the beach because of a shark attack on a man swimming early in the morning & they were trying to usher two Great White sharks out of the bay using boats. We never knew the end of the story apart from the fact that a woman surf life saver was kayaking and she saved the man. I found out from the lady on reception that the man who was a teacher had survived thanks to the woman who was very brave. Due to the strong winds there was a lot of sea grass washed up on the beach. We had an icecream & sandwich back at our vans, then later in the afternoon we went for a swim in the campsite pool. Keef cooked pasta bolognese. Played Trivial Pursuit game borrowed from the campsite. Sunday 19 February Albany to Northcliffe Left campsite at 10.20am & took scenic road back to Albany. We stopped at the viewing point at the top of the hill to take photos of Middleton Beach & the bay. We had a quick walk around the old part of Albany near the tourist info centre (late Victorian buildings). Went to the under cover Sunday market (bric-a-brac). Bought a pack of cards. Drove along highway westwards & stopped for a break at Denmark, a small town with houses & a few shops along the road. The tourist info confirmed to me that there was a tarmac road out to Elephant Rocks. Drove to Elephant Rocks (yes the granite rocks did look like elephants) & Green’s Pool nearby where many locals were swimming. Being a hot day and a Sunday there were lots of people there. Turquoise sea & blue sky. At Elephant Rocks some people were climbing onto the boulders from the sea. Someone told Allyson that a man had been washed off a boulder by a freak wave & was never seen again. Drove along to Parry’s Beach where we had lunch on a picnic bench. Saw an old hippie guy in a converted lorry which he had made into a camper van. Some of the locals in 4WD cars drove along the small beach but no surf today. We stopped at the Valley of the Giants, a treetop walkway among the canopy of tingle trees 75m tall. Then we did the ground level boardwalk & were surprised to see a quokka on the path right in front of us. Took lots of photos of the quokka placidly chomping on some grasses – cute. Then we carried on towards Northcliffe. A large grey kangaroo hopped across the road in front of our motorhome – our first sighting of a roo on this trip Then saw about 6 roos in fields at the side of the road as it was nearing dusk when they come out to feed. We stayed the night at the Round-to-it eco campsite $30 which was a couple of kms out of the small township. K & I remembered this campsite from 10 years ago as having wild roos visiting at dusk & early morning for food. The owner guy was quite terse & there were 2 roos in the clearing in front of his house (took photos). He said he fed the roos at 6.30am before he went to work. He was a carpenter working on a local new build home. Keef & I did tuna wraps, salad & corn on the cob. Monday 20 February Northcliffe to Cowaramup Got up at 6am & saw 2 kangaroos, including a joey in the mother’s pouch. The campsite owner came to feed the roos & 2 green parakeets also ate some of the food, which was muesli. The 3 kangaroos had been hand reared by him & had names. After breakfast we set off & stopped at Pemberton to get some bread & pies from a bakery. This small town had a few shops, a working tram track for tourists & some pretty roses & flowers. Then our sat nav system took us the wrong way out of town. Keef realised we were going the wrong way. Found a secondary road back to town – the detour took us past some nice rural scenery & a winery. Drove on to Augustas, a large town where we stopped for fuel. Visited a bottle-shop to look at wine prices prior to visiting the Margaret River wine region. Wine cost $23-24 – not cheap. Went through the town to Cape Leeuwin lighthouse in the national park. K & I had visited the lighthouse before but now you could not access the lighthouse & had to pay $20 to go through the visitors centre. We did not go in. Had pies & tea for lunch. Allyson saw a blue tongued skink in the bushes by the car park. Went to Margaret River – very busy as the schools were out & the tourist info I went in was packed. I picked up a map which had 82 wineries listed. The town was basically one street of shops with some residential streets behind. Decided to visit the cellar door of Cape Mentelle winery as Allyson said a friend of hers knew it. We saw the vines were overloaded with red grapes. When we went in the woman behind the counter was ‘supercilious’ & walked off when I said we wanted to sample some wines. We did not like her attitude. She offered Allyson & I complimentary wines – a white wine, a Shiraz & Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was expensive but OK, I was not keen on the white wine. Allyson decided to buy the Shiraz which was very good. Keef asked about a photo on the wall of a man & the woman serving us said “that’s David of course”. We hadn’t a clue who David was so asked & apparently he was the original vineyard owner but he had sold out to a French wine company. The vineyard was started in 1994 & was one of the oldest wineries in Margaret River. One wine on sale cost $600. I noticed that they had not won any awards in Australia or abroad for their wine. The sales lady said they were closing at 5pm along with the majority of other cellar doors. She told us that Lenton Brae winery closed at 6pm. We drove to Lenton Brae winery which was a few kms north of Margaret River. All of the wineries were situated quite close to the sea, which was surprising with strong salt-laden winds from the Indian Ocean. At this winery we rang the bell on reception desk & eventually an old lady appeared. She told us she had set up the vineyard with her husband, who had been an architect in Perth. He died a couple of years ago but her son operates the wine business now. Keef & I bought a Cabanet Merlot for $22 & the old lady was quite chatty but a little deaf. She then gave us a guided tour of the barrels & fermentation process. She asked us where we came from & when K & I said Nottingham she was amazed as her husband’s family had emigrated from Lenton, Nottingham. Their name was Tomlinson. We said we would photo the house in Nottingham & send it to her when we got back to England. It was now about 6.20pm & dusk was imminent so we drove to the Big 4 campsite at Cowaramup. This small town had a strange fixation with lifesize black & white cows which were everywhere. The campsite was next to a highway on a sheep & cattle farm. Had burgers for dinner. Tuesday 21 February Cowaramup to Bunbury Keef asked the campsite lady to phone & reserve 2 pitches for the Freemantle Big 4 campsite, which she said she would do (but later found out that she hadn’t). We called in at the Cheeky Monkey brewery nearby & bought some beers. Then we drove to Busselton & did the walk to the end of the famous extremely long pier. It was 2.9 miles return in very strong winds, but not cold. Did not see any sharks or dolphins – quite cloudy as well. There is a small train which takes tourists along the pier. We had lunch in the van & cup of tea. Drove on to a shopping mall on the outskirts of Bunbury & went to Coles for food supplies. We arrived at the Big $ campsite at Koombana Bay near Bunbury around 4.30pm. Had a mug of tea & then we all walked down to the beach to see if any dolphins were coming in to the bay. Stayed for 1¼ hours but disappointed as did not see one dolphin. Chris cooked sausages on the campsite BBQ. The camp kitchen looked brand new & was very clean. Quite a cold wind tonight. We received an email from Kacky to say that K’s mum had turned her car over on its side on Hook Road & firemen had to get her out through the boot. Luckily she was OK apart from a few cuts on her hand. Wednesday 22 February Bunbury We moved pitches on the site to get further way from the busy road. I did some laundry $4. We all went for a walk along a boardwalk above some mangrove swamps. It was at the back of the campsite & was part of a sea inlet/lagoon. There were information boards about the mangroves & the part they played in the coastal eco system. Saw a few little fish in the water but no crabs. Saw lovely tropical shrubs at the outer perimeter of the campsite. Walked along the path to get a better view of the lagoon & boats moored across the water. Chris & Allyson continued their walk & we returned to our van for a tea & apple for lunch. I took in the washing which was dry. Weather was warm & it got sunnier in the afternoon. Keef & I went & sat by the pool & read our Kindles. Keef swam 16 lengths in the pool. Chris & Allyson returned & said they had gone up a look-out tower & walked along the harbour front & saw a dolphin in the bay. Chris & Keef went for another swim. For dinner C & A did BBQ barramundi fish fillets with lemon, rice, green beans & carrots. Played cards – Rummy until 10pm. A warm evening compared to last night. Thursday 23 Frebruary Bunbury to Freemantle A hot day with bright blue sky.We set off along Highway 1 towards Freemantle & stopped at Mandurah by the Indian Ocean. It’s classed as a city & has lots of housing estates. Very dry grass along highway so obviously did not have the recent heavy rain that affected Perth. Noticed that there was a lot of urban growth along this coast south of Perth & there was a new railway line to Perth. Headed to the coast to visit Penguin Island which is a short ferry trip across. We paid $39 each for the ferry, a glass bottomed boat cruise & the Penguin Discovery centre on Penguin Island. The boat cruise had an informative commentary about dolphins. We saw seven dolphins by a reef as they were hunting fish. Then the boat took us to see huge Australian sealions basking on a beach of a nearby island. There was also a large pelican nesting site near the sealions. We sailed past 2 ospreys which were nesting on top of an island of craggy rock. The boat returned to the jetty on Penguin Island & we went along the jetty to the Penguin Discovery Centre. Penguins live & breed on this island (about 1200 of them) but during the day they are out at sea catching fish. We saw 10 penguins in a small man-made indoor pool & a park warden fed them small fish & gave a talk about them They were called Little Penguins (or Blue Penguins in New Zealand) & had all been injured at some point so were being cared for by the wardens. The penguins were about 12” tall & were very cute. After the 2.30pm penguin feeding which took 25 minutes we returned to the wooden jetty & caught the ferry back to the mainland. Then we set off for the Big 4 campsite at Munster, about 10kms south of Freemantle. We passed a heavy industrial area & port on route. This campsite we had not been to before. Decided to get up early tomorrow to go to Rottnest Island. Friday 24 February Rottnest Island Drove into Freemantle docks & booked the 10am Rottnest Island boat trip. Keef & I wanted to do the coach trip again (in the past when we visited we had forgotten the memory card for the digital camera so could not take any photos) & C & A hired bikes for the island. Very very hot today. Rottnest Island is 18 kms/ 11 miles from Freemantle & the boat trip took 40 mins. Chris & Allyson got their hire bikes on the jetty + cycle helmets & they were aiming to cycle round the island on the tarmac roads. K & I bought pies from the bakery for lunch. We wandered around the town & looked at the history info boards & the gaol where 300 Aboriginal men were imprisoned in Victorian times. They had not committed any crime – they were rounded up and sent to the island & used for hard labour on the fields & salt pans. The prison housed 4 or 5 men per small cell. In effect this was a shocking & cruel form of ethnic cleansing to reduce the aboriginal population. In 1917 the gaol closed & those men remaining were sent to Freemantle prison. All very sad but the Aussies had now updated the cells & hired them out as tourist accommodation – we thought this was very insensitive & separate accommodation could have been set up for tourists by the WA state government/ Rottnest Island Authority who owned Rottnest. The island has about ½ million tourists a year. Keef & I saw several quokkas, one of which had a baby in its pouch. They are very cute furry animals that look similar to wallabies. Early Dutch mariners sailing up the WA coast thought that these animals looked like giant rats, so called the island Rats Nest, which later became known as Rotts Nest. We had our pies for lunch on a picnic bench by a bay called The Basin. We walked back into the tiny town & went on the guided coach tour round the island for 90 mins. Very informative & we saw lots more quokkas including 2 cute baby ones out of the pouch, 2 ospreys, some dolphins near a reef, NZ fur seals in the distance in a rocky bay. Beautiful sandy bays & coves with azure seas. Really enjoyed the island tour & took loads of photos. We had an iced coffee & icecream back at the shops. Met up with C & A who had no lunch & had run out of water on their cycle tour & there were no drinking water taps. Apart from the small town centre the rest of the island was uninhabited. We got the ferry boat back at 4.55pm which was quite full with people. At the campsite we had chicken salad for dinner. We were all very tired & it had been an extremely hot day. Saturday 25 February Freemantle to Perth Our 39th wedding anniversary Left Freemantle campsite – temperature was 40c today – headed back to Perth along Highway 1. Took both motorhomes back to Britz. Keef complained about the faulty electronic key fob which had never worked all through the van hire period. As we only had one key fob we had to access our motorhome by key through the driver’s door & we had to go round & lock all the doors separately which was a pain. Keef negotiated a day’s hire money (£108) to be returned as compensation which the manager agreed to reimburse. We also claimed back $9 for the battery inserted at the VW garage in Geraldton when we produced the receipt, although it was not the battery that was the problem. We also all got away with not refilling our gas cylinders & Chris & Allyson also got away with with a large dent to the back roof of their motorhome when they reversed into a large tree branch. Luckily the woman checking the condition of their van did not notice as they had parked it right up against a high wall. After Britz we got a taxi into Perth & arrived before 2pm, but luckily were allowed into our rooms at the Royal Perth hotel, a heritage building. Had showers & then at 4pm we walked down to Elizabeth Quay – still very hot. We went to the Lucky Shag Bar for a drink but very noisy & lots of people out for Saturday night drinks so decided not to eat here again. Went to the restaurant upstairs , the Aqua Bar, which was quieter with seating outside on a flat roof. The food was lovely & was like tapas sharing platters. I had a Mai Tai cocktail, Allyson had wine & Chris & Keef had beers. A lovely meal for our 39th wedding anniversary. Walked back to our hotel in the evening. Keef & I packed a small bag to take into the cabin on the Indian Pacific train tomorrow. Sunday 26 February Perth to Kalgoorlie on the Indian Pacific Railway Got up at 6.30am & got a taxi at 7.45am to East Perth station. The train left at 10am, so we had plenty of time to look at the Indian Pacific train memorabilia & have complimentary coffee/tea/orange juice & small cakes whilst a musician played. Allyson & I chatted to the train driver (one of two drivers for the trip) who was up at the front of the train. There was a wagon with a full car transporter which had to be hooked up to the engine so the driver had to stop talking to us & assist with that. Took lots of photos & felt excited to be going from Perth to Adelaide on the Indian Pacific which would take 3 days/ 2 nights and crossing the Nullarbor Plain & deserts. Chris & Allyson & us had adjacent cabins near the front of the massively long train (carriage O, cabins 7 & 8). The cabins were very compact with a pull-out bed & bunk bed above with ladder, plus a small shower room with sink, mirror & toilet. The staff were all very friendly & helpful. We went to the Queen Adelaide dining car for lunch – all food & drinks were included in the ticket. The train went very slowly through the Perth suburbs & past Northam & Merredin which we had visited in the motorhomes. Some time after Merredin and past Southern Cross (an outback town) the train stopped for about an hour. We heard on the internal PA announcement by train staff that a stowaway person had been spotted by a passing freight train & the driver had informed our driver who had then seen the man on the video surveillance cameras. The stowaway was seen moving in one of the cars on the vehicle transporter. The Indian Pacific staff radioed the police at Southern Cross & they took a while to get to the stationary train. The man was arrested and stupidly had no water or food with him in the car for the 3 day trip & with outside temperatures of 36c + he may not have survived. We went to dinner in the dining car – we were travelling gold class. Red class was lower & Platinum was the top class. When we returned to the cabin the staff had made up the bunk beds & left some gifts for us as we had mentioned that it was our 39th wedding anniversary yesterday. I got a blue pashmina scarf & Keef got a cap plus a nice note from the staff. There was a free coach trip at 9pm round Kalgoorlie & to see the gold mine (the Super Pit) which we had all signed up to do that evening. However because the stowaway had caused a delay to our journey we did not get off the train onto the coaches until 10.30pm.The temperature had been 30c at 9.15pm and it was very dark. The coaches went to the Super Pit but did not get any idea of the scale of the gold mine as it was pitch black with lorry headlights moving in the bottom of the giant pit. Luckily Keef & I had seen it before in the daytime on a previous trip to Australia. We drove round the town & there was nobody around. The coaches all dropped everybody off at the gold museum where we saw a short 15 minute play about Paddy Hannan. He was an Irish prospector who first found gold nuggets on the ground in 1893. A woman was also in the play – we did not think it was very good. Back in our coach we did not think the driver’s commentary was very good either – he kept pausing mid-sentence (his day job was prison officer). We were very tired and after the two hour excursion we re-boarded the train and went to bed. Monday 27 February Indian Pacific Railway I was still awake when the train finally left Kalgoorlie station at 1.20am & picked up speed. The delay in leaving was probably due to goods trains having priority on the line. The train lurched violently from side to side so much that I found it difficult to get to sleep on the top bunk. I climbed down the ladder, Keef woke up and kindly offered to swap bunks. Eventually got to sleep. We were woken up at 5.30am by train staff knocking on our door. We had all wanted to do the early breakfast outdoors at 6.15 at Rawlinna station. This was a scheduled stop on the Nullarbor Plain halfway between Perth & Adelaide. Not all the passengers wanted to be woken so early for breakfast. The temperature was 20c at 6.15 bright sunshine with a bright blue sky. This place was a lonely outpost on the railway track, with tiny station, post office plus a sheep station which covered 2.5 million acres with 70,000 sheep. When we climbed down the train steps it was some distance to the station where breakfast was being served. We all sat on benches by lots of long wooden tables & ate sausage, quiche, large mushroom, tomato plus tea & coffee. We saw a local ute & Aussie famers come to the station to pick up their post & parcels. When we re-boarded the train the staff said on the intercom that there was a ‘creature’ on the track at the front of the train – probably a snake. We weren’t allowed to walk anywhere at all apart from the cinder track by the train to the station platform. Today we’re spending the whole day on the train crossing the Nullarbor. We had lunch in the Queen Adelaide restaurant car with pre-dinner drinks & some nice wine with our meal. I had an hours sleep in our cabin as I was knackered. Then we spent the time gazing out the window and listening to music on the cabin radio. Keef thought he saw a snake at the side of the track. At 3pm the train made a scheduled brief stop at Cook on the Nullarbor. It was a god-forsaken place in the middle of nowhere. It was named after an Aussie Prime Minister not Captain Cook. It was 38c and after the air con on the train it was like walking into a hot oven. We had 30 mins stop here as the train had to re-fuel, take on more water (arterial bore) and change drivers. There were lots of flies so had to continually swat them away from our faces or they crawled into our mouth, ears & noses. We were told before disembarking that we were not to walk into the desert but to strictly keep to the paved paths towards a few abandoned buildings. There was once a small community living there but now the population is 4. Their job is to help with re-fueling the train. They live in a typical Aussie house – bungalow with corrugated iron roof & a small garden with picket fence. The soil was very red and dusty with a few trees around. We were told not to enter the abandoned buildings as it was too dangerous as snakes were very active at this time. Luckily saw no snakes or other animals/ reptiles thank goodness. I was very careful to watch where I was walking!! We all took photos & reboarded the train before the 30 mins were up as we felt we did not want to linger in this dangerous & desolate place. Glad to get back to our air con cabin. Crossing the Nullarbor we only saw a few cattle but no kangaroos or camels. A lot of the mammals are asleep during the day and only feed at dawn & dusk. Later in the afternoon the landscape suddenly changed from the flat desert where you could see for miles to rocky & sandy gorges with large bushes & trees and there was a dirt track alongside the railway line. This is probably so that maintenance men could drive along to check the condition of the track. We could see that once heavy rain had scored deep gullies in the red sandy soil but were dry as a bone now. We wondered if the lack of kangaroos was due to the fact that they were being killed for the pet food industry. Had dinner & had a game of cards in the bar area. Very tired. Tuesday 28 February Indian Pacific Railway arrives in Adelaide At 5.30am (pitch black outside) we were woken by a man on the intercom saying we were arriving in Adelaide at 7.25am & a snack breakfast of drinks & Danish pastries was being served in the restaurant. Had showers & then breakfast as dawn broke. After the train arrived in Adelaide we collected our luggage & thanked our train crew who had been excellent – they had been so friendly & had really looked after us. It was quite an experience on this famous rail journey. We waited until 8.30am for a taxi & took all the bags to the Adelaide Shores Big 4 campsite. Chris & Allyson took their rucksacks with them as they wanted to see the city to look around. Keef & I had already spent 4 days in Adelaide on a previous trip so decided to go straight to the campsite. We arrived at 8.50am & luckily our deluxe chalet was ready for us to stay. It had 2 bedrooms, bathroom, open plan kitchen, dining & lounge plus an outside table & benches. The large fridge had milk provided together with tea & coffee. The campsite reception had kindly provided a golf buggy to help transport all the heavy bags to the chalet. K & I went for a paddle in the sea as it was a boiling hot day. Adelaide Shores has a beautiful white sandy beach & large sand dunes. Hardly anyone on the beach. We spent the rest of the time in & around the large camp swimming pool. K & I had lunch in the campsite café, then ice-creams & iced coffees. Felt very tired after getting up at 5.30am so we had our showers & had a nap. Chris & Allyson arrived at the chalet having done a lot of sightseeing in the city and had got a bus to Glenelg. They brought back a bag of fresh figs from a market in Adelaide which we decided to have at breakfast. C & A had showers & later we all went to the campsite café for dinner. Barramundi/ chicken burger/ fish & chips. THE END Diary 1st - 31st March Alice Springs, Northern Territories, Australia Wednesday 1 March Adelaide to Alice Springs Had the fresh figs for breakfast which were delicious. Another hot sunny day. The campsite staff drove the golf buggy with all our bags to reception and from there we got a taxi to Adelaide airport. Keef & I didn’t recognise it (we had flown from Alice to Adelaide 10 years ago) so it had obviously had a bit of an architectural make-over. Our flight to Alice Springs left at 10.40am & we had to change our watches as Northern territory daylight saving time was one hour behind Adelaide time. At Alice airport we got the Alice Wanderer shuttle taxi service to take us to our motel – Elkira Motel. We walked around the town & it was very hot at midday. Saw the Residency house & garden which was open to the public. The Queen & Prince Phillip had stayed there in the 1960’s for 2 days & he had got food poisoning. Charles & Diana had also visited Alice & stayed there on a later date. Next to the Residency there was a new Northern Territory Supreme Court building almost finished. Walked through Todd Mall & went into tourist info. Keef & I enquired about about the shuttle bus taking tourists to all the best sites in & around Alice but unfortunately it had ceased running. Also the man who used to do the free didgeridoo lessons had gone bust & was now a bus driver (we had bought our didgeridoo from him 10 years ago). The tourist info staff recommended us to visit the Desert Park a few kms outside Alice so we decided to do this the next day. We visited an art gallery which exhibited Aboriginal art works – dot paintings. An Aboriginal lady called Margaret was sat on a cushion on the floor concentrating on her dot painting. When we tried to talk to her she was not communicative. The gallery owners probably make a handsome profit from these paintings. We walked on to the Royal Flying Doctor Service museum at 4pm. We had missed the film presentation so instead looked at the museum which was very interesting. Went back to the motel & K & I swam in the pool & then had showers. We all went to the Red Ochre Grill restaurant in Todd Mall for our evening meal. Thursday 2 March Alice Springs Had motel buffet breakfast which was very good. Keef had the full English breakfast which was huge. Then we got a taxi to Desert Park ( a wildlife park in the desert outside Alice). I was not feeling well, weak & occasionally light-headed with a cough & swollen glands in my neck – a virus probably picked up on the plane. Hope none of the others catch the bug. C & A kindly gave me some tablets which I took. When we arrived at the park we had to hurry at top speed to catch the wild birds in flight demonstration in the amphitheater which was just about to start. The ranger gave an excellent talk about desert birds & the setting was spectacular with the MacDonnell Ranges as a backdrop. We saw owls & kites fly low over our heads & wedge tailed eagles flying at speed towards the amphitheater. The temperature was 37c according to one of the park wardens & it got even hotter in the afternoon. We saw animals such as roos & emus & watched an informative presentation about Aboriginal bush tucker by a female Aboriginal park warden who showed us food , wooden tools, weapons & bowls. It was very interesting to hear how the women gathered berries, bush fruits, plus seeds & grasses to make damper (a flat bread) whilst the men’s role was to hunt game. She said that witchety grubs tasted like runny egg yolk & were nutritious. They had to bite the heads off the grubs which were found in dead tree branches or tree trunks. The grubs were about 2½ - 3 inches long & ¾” wide. Luckily she only had a plastic one to show us which did look quite realistic. We walked into two bird aviaries to see more desert birds, including a large black cockatoo. Then we went to the nocturnal house where an Aboriginal guide told us about the exhibits – small mammals such as the bilby, desert rat, numbat, plus snakes & lizards. He said that the small & thin Death Adder snake is so toxic if it bites you that you only have 40 mins before you die. Thinking back to us walking around Cook on the Nullarbor it was no wonder that the train staff did not want any snakebite victims. Most of the roos were asleep & lying down so we couldn’t see them properly. Did not have any lunch but drank a lot of water. At the end of the afternoon at 3pm we watched a 20 min film about the desert in the cinema. We all enjoyed the Desert Park. Got a taxi back to our motel. Had a shower then I went to bed & slept for 3 hours. In the evening we all walked into town to a pizza restaurant. I ate hardly anything as still unwell. I don’t know how I managed to walk around in the desert heat all day. Went to bed & slept for 10 hours!!! Friday 3 March Alice Springs to Adelaide We ate breakfast in the motel again then caught the shuttle transport back to the airport via various hotels & backpacker hostels to pick up other tourists. The Qantas flight went over the desert & some massive salt lakes – no habitation visible at all from the plane apart from dirt road tracks. When we got to Adelaide we collected our large bags from the left luggage lockers & got a taxi to our motel – The Atlantic Towers in Glenelg, a suburb of Adelaide by the coast with very fine white sandy beaches. This motel was a tall round tower & even our rooms had curved walls. The rooms were very modern & spacious with an excellent bathroom. We all went for an evening stroll & had some drinks at an oyster bar. As it was Friday evening the restaurants & bars in Glenelg were packed. Walked past the marina & more restaurants. There were some very large expensive boats in the marina & designer apartments with sea views. Saw the Glenelg pier, tram & clock tower & then walked back. We decided to have dinner at an Aussie Outback bar/restaurant where we managed to get a free table. I could barely manage my meal (chicken salad) and had to rush to the loo with severe diarrhea. Walked back to the motel & I took some tummy tablets which sorted me out. Had no idea what caused the bug as no one else was ill. Saturday 4 March Adelaide to Tanunda, Barossa Valley Got taxi from our motel to Britz Motorhomes in Adelaide to pick up our two vans. We were there 1½ hours waiting for our van to be serviced as the previous hirer had brought the van back a day later than scheduled. Eventually we got it sorted & then we all went to Coles to do some food shopping. We then headed north towards the Barossa Valley (famous wine growing area). We went through some flat uninspiring marshes after the Adelaide suburbs & joined a highway north east of Adelaide. Eventually we came to rolling hills with vineyards, although no grapes were visible. The Aussies call the vineyards “wineries”. After 73kms we reached Tanunda, a town in the heart of the Barossa. We went into the tourist info centre to pick up some wine maps & decided to visit a few tomorrow. At 4pm we went to a campsite on the edge of the town called Discovery Parks Tanunda. It was packed out with families staying for the weekend, but luckily we got two pitches next to each other. Allyson & I did some laundry. Keef was feeling unwell (probably the same virus that I had) & it took a while for the aircon in the van to work properly. It was 36c inside the van & we sweated trying to unpack our bags & get everything sorted. Chris & Allyson walked back into town (K & I had walked round Tanundra 10 yrs ago). Keef felt ill so we made up the bed at 4.30 & he went to sleep. He woke briefly & then he changed into his PJs & went back to bed at 7.45pm & slept through the night. .Keef had no lunch or dinner today. Rather worrying - there were notices on the toilet blocks & laundry that snakes had been spotted in the campsite area – yet there were little children running around & on bikes. I ate with Chris & Allyson who did some salad with the roast chicken we’d bought at Coles. I went to bed at 9.30pm. Quite cold in the early hours, so was glad of the duvet provided with the van. Sunday 5 March Tanunda & Barossa to Hahndorf Sunny warm day. Brought in washing from lines whilst nervously scanning the ground for snakes. Keef is feeling much better today. After breakfast we did part of the Barossa wine trail and then visited the Wolf Blass winery in Stockwell, just north of Tanunda. Mr. W Blass is aged 82 (originally from Germany) & is the most celebrated winemaker in Australia, winning hundreds of awards, both in Australia & internationally. His career started in 1966 when he first set up his own vineyard & prior to that he had assisted other wineries by passing on his wine knowledge. We had several tastings including the gold & platinum labels. I liked the Gold Label wine the best. The lady who served us for the tastings was a Kiwi from Wellington & was very chatty & knowledgeable about wines. She had worked there for a long time & said that Mr. Blass lived in Adelaide but made about 4 trips a year to his winery for promotional purposes. All his awards, glass & silver platters, cups, trophies, medals & certificates were displayed in glass cases – certainly a prestigious career & his wine is superb. We then drove to Angaston, a small town in the Barossa with heritage buildings & lots of roses in bloom. Bought some bread & pies from the local bakery. Had the pies for lunch. We drove along the scenic route to Mengel Hill Lookout which gave a panoramic view of the Barossa Valley below us. There was a sculpture park there as well which Keef & Allyson went to see. I overheard a local man telling some Japanese tourists that a bushfire had raged through some of the wheat/corn fields but luckily the wind had changed & Angaston & the vineyards were saved. Growing vines is a high risk business & decades of work on the vines could wipe them out & bankrupt the owners. Then we headed down Mengel Hill & through Bethany to Rowland Flat where Jacob’s Creek is situated. This is the oldest vineyard in the Barossa – established in 1847 & wine was produced commercially. The visitor centre at Jacob’s Creek told the story of the German family who had emigrated to start a new life & information about the early days of its history. The creek was dried up. Keef & I had visited Wolf Blass & Jacob’s Creek 10 years ago & the creek was dried up then. Chris, Allyson & Keef had small tastings of the wines & Keef was obviously feeling much better after yesterday. I didn’t want to try any – felt too sleepy in the hot afternoon. We drove to Hahndorf through the countryside – very rural farming community. Before we reached the town we were held up by a road accident. A ute had crashed into some trees & was being put on a tow-truck. We arrived in the Big 4 campsite at the edge of town at 5.45pm. This campsite was brand new & was built on the side of a steep hill, with staggered levels & roads. Allyson & Chris used the camp kitchen to cook fish, rice & veggies for dinner. Chatted to some friendly German tourists. A nice campsite. Monday 6 March Hahndorf to Milang (on Fleurieu Peninsula) Very overcast today & some drizzle overnight. The hills look covered in mist. Chilly so I wore a cardigan for the first time on this trip. After breakfast we drove into Hahndorf, a German village established c 1843. Some of the buildings were original & very small. Now all the houses have shops inside selling touristy rubbish. However, you could look beyond this to see what the place looked like in the past with German immigrants trying to make a life for themselves. Some of the buildings had original photos displayed outside including the people who ran businesses such as blacksmith, pub, grocery store etc. People love to flock here at weekends to sample the wineries, shop in the village & eat in the numerous cafes & restaurants down the main street. Leaving Hahndorf, we headed to McLaren Vale to visit Hardy winery. It had a very interesting visitor centre telling the story of Thomad hardy, a grocer aged 20 from Devon, who emigrated & paid his own fare to South Australia. He made his way to the goldfields in Victoria & instead of prospecting he shrewdly decided to make his money by butchering meat & selling it to the miners. With the proceeds, he then bought some land in McLaren Vale & decided to plant grapevines. Now Hardys has a 6th generation running the business. Continued our journey to a place called Meadows where we had lunch (sandwiches). Then on to Strathalbyn, a heritage town with some quaint old buildings. We stopped at Langhorne Creek so the Langthornes could take some photos. A short drive south took us to Milang & a campsite that Keef & I knew. When we arrived there were hundreds of white cockatoos circling above & settling in trees on the campsite making quite a racket. They were Corellas, a small cockatoo with pale lemon feathers under their wings. Keef cooked chicken pieces, onions & peppers on the camp BBQ & I did the jacket spuds in the microwave + broccoli & carrots on the hob in the van. I prepared a big bowl of fresh fruit salad. The grass pitches we were parked on had lovely vies of Lake Alexandrina, a large salty lake where the River Murray flows into it. There is a peninsula which is the Coorong National Park but this does not block out the sea water. I tried to offer the Corellas a piece of apple but they were not used to humans. Had some NZ wine called Clean Skin from Marlborough – a white Savignon Blanc – very light & refreshing. C & A washed up & then we all had a game of cards. Went to bed at 10.30 pm – too tired to read my Kindle. My virus has now turned into a runny nose! Tuesday 7 March Milang to Robe Left campsite & I bought bread & milk in a local store. Milang was the most important inland port in South Australia in the old days & had a railway line – now all gone. Drove along flat salt marshes & salt lakes to Wellington & got the free car ferry across the Murray River. Went down the Princes Highway 1 to Meningie, a non-descript tiny town. Along the shore at Lake Albert there were information boards with photos & info on the town & its past history. Had lunch in a lay-by – chicken pieces & salad leftovers from last night = cup of tea. Further along the road there were kangaroo signs, but they would be resting during the day. We stopped at Kingston SE an area of Rosetown, on the Southern Ocean, the town with a massive lobster made out of plastic or fiberglass. Photo opportunity taken by the lobster. Along the seafront was the old Cape Jaffa lighthouse & a long green space with tall Norfolk pines – lovely views of the ocean & we could see the curvature of the Earth. Drove on to Robe Big 4 campsite. Arrived at 6pm & it shut at 5.30. Managed to contact them by phone & got 2 pitches for a night. Keef & I did tuna mayo wraps for dinner + melon & grapes. Wednesday 8 March Robe to Mount Gambier After breakfast we visited the beach by the campsite. The beach was 9 miles long with beautiful fine sand & blue sea. Temperature today 35c. Chatted to an Aussie lady on the beach. We drove into town & went for a walk (4 miles) in 35c heat. Sun was very intense. I was the only one to take a bottle of water – mad dogs & Englishmen etc.!! Saw a statue of Matthew Flinders who named some small islands off the coast Baudin Rocks. Back in the 1850s lots of Chinese arrived at Robe & then travelled 200 kms by road to the goldfields. We saw a stingray in the marina & Keef took a photo. The marina looked brand new & a lot of the large homes were empty (obviously holiday homes as all the blinds were down at the windows). After Robe we drove through vast wheatfields to Millicent where we had a short break from driving. Keef & I saw a small tornado about 1 foot across churn up some dust & move across the road near us. Moved on to Mount Gambier, a large town (Aussies call it a city) built around an extinct volcano. The crater has several vivid blue lakes which is a major tourist attraction. We shopped at Coles & stayed at the Big 4 campsite. Chris & Allyson did burgers & salad & I cut up some rock melon. We were trying to use up all our fruit & vegetables before we cross the border into Victoria due to the quarantine regulations (mainly to prevent fruit fly & other pests damaging crops). My cough & cold are easing now – had this virus since we were in Alice Springs. Have not been 100% at all since then & my coughing at night kept waking me up. Thursday 9 March Mount Gambier to Portland, Victoria Very hot today again. We drove to the viewpoint over the Blue Lake which is at the bottom of the volcanic crater. The water looked like blue glass with a thin edging of turquoise – very calming & spectacular views. C & A did a walk for an hour along a trail which followed the rim of the Valley Lake. The middle lake called Leg of Mutton Lake does not have any water in it. We stopped at Valley Lake – swimming is forbidden due to bacteria & algae in the water. Lots of moorhen type birds with red heads, blue feathers on chests, black backs & VERY big feet! Chris & Allyson met up with us in the car park & Allyson briefly went into the nature park by the lake whilst the rest of us waited outside the fence. We all drove into Mount Gambier, parked up & walked to a large sink hole & cave just behind the Town Hall, which we’d read about in the tourist info. There were a few shrubs, plants & a red flowering tree along the path & steps down the MASSIVE 50 METRE deep hole in the ground. We could see the dark mouth of a cave further down – took lots of photos. This sink hole was situated right next to a busy street, a bank & the town hall – never seen anything like this before. We went into the tourist info centre & in the small theatre we saw a free one hour film about the volcano erupting thousands of years ago & subsidiary explosions with the force of an atom bomb caused by the build up of water pressure underground. The film was very detailed with excellent photography & it showed the fault line where the two tectonic plates had rubbed together. There had been two earthquakes in Mount Gambier & the last one was in the 1940s. After Mount Gambier we drove to Northumberland Point further along the highway. This was on the coast with a lovely sandy beach & azure sea. Had lunch in the bright sunshine on a picnic bench – egg mayo cobs & mug of tea. However, this was spoilt by the overpowering smell of sewage as we drove further along the road past houses. It must have been discharged down an outlet on the beach – not nice & good job we didn’t go for a paddle after lunch. Most of the houses were shut up – holiday homes- so like a ghost town. After we had crossed the state border into Victoria & on the outskirts of Portland, the next town, we were surprised to see a lone adult koala crossing the road directly in front of us!! We had to brake in order to not run him over. I took a photo of him – gorgeous cuddly!! We stopped for fuel ($1.24 litre for diesel) & drove into the town. It’s a port with container ships but did not look that busy. We spied out a fish & chip shop on the seafront for later & then found a campsite. When we returned later at 8pm the fish shop had closed so instead we went to a restaurant further along the seafront & had barramundi, chips & salad. Back at the campsite we had a game of cards. Friday 10 March Portland- Warrnambool Sunny & hot again. After breakfast we drove to Cape Bridgewater to see the blowhole, petrified forest & seal colony. The blowhole was not very spectacular – more like a wave crashing against the rocks. We had to take a wooden boardwalk down to the viewing area & were attacked by annoying biting flies, especially as we were wearing shorts. The petrified forest was a misnomer – it was limestone rock eroded by sea water & then eroded by wind to form weird vertical tube-like shapes which were several metres tall. We saw no seals or other marine life. On the return journey we found the seal colony car park and found that to walk to it along the headland took 3 hours. We didn’t have time was we had food to buy & we were aiming to get to start the Great Ocean Road scenic route along the coast the next day. We returned to Portland & did a big food shop at Aldi (did not know that Aldi supermarkets were in Australia). When we left Portland, unbeknownst to us all at the time we got speeding fines from a camera which clocked us doing 6mph over the limit & this fine ($197 = £106) was posted to our home address in England as Britz had given the police our address. As our post was being re-directed to Craig & Leanne’s house they got the fine a couple of weeks later & e-mailed us about it. Obviously we had to pay the fine to the Victorian police. Drove to Port Fairy – a lovely little town on a river with a heritage wharf with small yachts & motor launches moored. Some of the old wooden houses looked fab with beautiful cottage gardens, white picket fences & wooden verandas with wrought-iron work. Thought it looked a bit like New England – very pretty. Stopped at a bakery for a late lunch with seating outside & bought pies & cake. The chicken & leek pie was the worst pie I had ever had – it was mainly a glutinous white sauce. The town was busy as a 3 day folk festival was about to start with thousands of people expected. The tickets were more expensive than the Glastonbury festival. There was an afternoon concert for children with musicians singing silly songs. We couldn’t stay in the Big 4 campsite here as it was fully booked, so we decided to drive on to Warrnambool & look for a campsite near there, although we knew there wasn’t a Big 4 there. At Warrnambool we called in at the tourist info & the helpful lady there found us the last 2 available pitches at a Top Tourist campsite in town. We stayed one night & they both had en-suite loos/showers etc on the pitches. We got 10% off & the site was packed. Keef cooked pork & vegetables in a Japanese sauce with rice & I did some papaya & passionfruit for dessert. There were still people arriving with trailer tents in the dark – lots of families with kids as it was a Bank Holiday weekend in Victoria – Labor Day. Saturday 11 March Warrnambool &, Great Ocean Road to Princeton Cool but & sunny today. Set off along the Great Ocean Road, one of the top scenic coastal drives in the world and visited all the places of interest & viewpoints. This was the 3rd time Keef & I have visited. The Bay of Islands & Bay of Martyrs were spectacular rock formations along the coast. At The Grotto further along the route we saw an echidna waddling along a grassy bank next to the steps leading to the grotto. Took lots of photos. Saw a thin (pencil) black snake on the same bank. By midday the weather had warmed up & it became hot & sunny. At one of the viewpoints & spotted a creature in the grass next to the path & took a photo – it looked a bit like a rodent. It got very busy at Loch Ard Gorge as there were lots of coaches. Also very busy at the 12 Apostles – now there are only 6 rock stacks left as the rest have fallen into the sea with erosion. The visitors centre no longer has info on the rock stacks & erosion (2 cms of coast eroded a year) as it’s now a kiosk selling snacks & drinks. There were lots of signs warning about venomous snakes around the car park. It started to drizzle with rain as we left the 12 Apostles. At the end of the day we stopped at a campground in Princeton which was reached down a very short dirt road & a bridge over the Giltbrook River. The campsite was a council owned recreational ground & was only $20 a night but had no electric hook-up. We parked next to some tents. It was raining by now, but overnight it became torrential. Keef & I slept well with the rain drumming on the roof. Sunday 12 March Great Ocean Road to Geelong Awoke to see ponds had formed near our van. Some of the tents had leaked & the occupants had spent the night in their cars. Left Princeton & drove down a secondary road to Cape Otway, through the Great Otway National Park – 11 kms. We looked out for koalas but did not see any. Near the Cape there were a lot of dead trees with no leaves. There was a charge of $19.50 (£11.70) each to visit the lighthouse which was set back from the entrance so you could not even see it from a distance. Being a Bank Holiday weekend the car park was jammed & Keef & I did not think it was worth the money to see the 1856 lighthouse. We’d been inside the similar aged lighthouse on Rottnest Island which was free to visitors. Chris & Allyson decided to do it so we agreed to meet up later in Apollo Bay further along the GOR. Keef & I returned along the road & kept stopping in lay-byes to look for koalas but saw none. Apollo Bay had changed considerably since we were last there in 2008 & not for the better in our opinion. Now so touristy & full of coaches, fast food joints & not attractive. Keef & I went into the tourist info centre & asked the lady if the Kennett River campsite was still operational & she confirmed it was. We then went to a supermarket to buy milk & bread & had lunch in our van. C & A used their walkie –talkie to say they were in Apollo Bay & we met up. They stayed in Apollo Bay to get some lunch & we went on to Kennett River & unfortunately found the campsite was full. While we were waiting for them to arrive by the campsite Keef & I saw some koalas in the gum trees & took some photos. One was asleep & the other was higher up eating leaves. Chris & Allyson arrived & were excited to see some koalas. A man alerted us to some other trees where a koala was eating leaves & moving around lower down the branches. At one point I thought he was going to fall but their claws are very sharp to help them cling on. Took lots of photos & video. Love those koalas – they are so adorable. Lucky to see 3 koalas at Kennett River. We carried on along the Great Ocean Road to look for another campsite & it was so busy everywhere. Gorgeous views of the blue-turquoise Southern Ocean with cliffs & waves crashing on beaches. After the town of Lorne (like Oxford Street at sale time) we decided to turn inland as it was so busy & we knew we’d never get a pitch at any campsite along the rest of the route judging by the packed sites around the Lorne area. We drove over the Otway Ranges & I saw another koala asleep in a tree branch above the road. Eventually the National Park ran out & we came to hills with fields & farms. We tried at Winchelsea to find a campsite but no luck – we were advised to go along the Princes Highway 1 towards Geelong & stay at a service station area for the night. It was free & had some toilets. Keef & I did tuna & salad wraps & papaya for dinner. Tomorrow we head into Melbourne. Monday 13 March (Bank Holiday Monday) Mount Macedon & Hanging Rock to Melbourne Another hot & sunny day. Set off north of Geelong to Mount Macedon on the Great Dividing Range. Lots of open bush as it was a national park & therefore very susceptible to bushfires. Drove through the town & on to Hanging Rock. Now you have to pay for car parking so we had to get a day ticket $10 as there was a barrier across the entrance. Keef & I went to the visitor centre again (we last climbed the Rock in 2008) & read about the book & film ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’. It was the remains of a volcanic caldera that once erupted a long time ago. Chris & Allyson followed the path to the top & they said it was busy as it was the Bank Holiday. We said we would do the picnic when they returned. Keef & I read our Kindles in the field where our vans & other cars were parked. We got quite a surprise when a large grey kangaroo suddenly bounced between the two motorhomes. It saw us sitting in our picnic chairs, skidded on the gravel edge of the car park road right next to us & then did a U-turn & hurriedly jumped back past our van when I exclaimed Oh! The roo had obviously panicked when he saw us. We knew there were kangaroos in the park as there were notices but we certainly didn’t expect to see one so close in a field with lots of vehicles parked round the edge. It’s strange how you come across wildlife when you least expect it, like the koala walking across the road. After Hanging Rock we headed south to the Big 4 campsite at Coburg, North Melbourne. We booked two nights at this campsite so we could visit Melbourne tomorrow. We could not get two pitches next to one another though. I did two loads of washing & hung it between the van & a tree & some of it was dry by the evening. Tuesday 14 March Melbourne Walked through Coburg residential area to get the tram into the city centre. A very hot day 32-33c especially as we were doing a lot of walking. Did not like the graffiti on walls, houses, shops, flats & anything that was stationary – looked tacky & unkempt. We saw Federation Square, then walked along the River Yarra to the 1950s Olympic Park, entertainment stadiums, tennis centre where the Australian Open is held, & the cricket ground. Next week-end is the Oz Grand Prix motor racing round Melbourne. Had a rest & drink to cool off in the café at the cricket ground. Allyson & Keef, who were ardent cricket fans, took lots of photos of statues of famous cricketers including one of Shane Warne complete with mullet hairstyle. A security lady was doing bag searches on everyone who went inside the building. We caught the tram from the cricket ground back to the city centre & then took the old style tram which is free around the central route. We got off at the Greek Quarter expecting to have a late lunch there. Unfortunately it had virtually disappeared as there were only two restaurants left and they were closed. The tram commentary said that Melbourne had the highest concentration of Greeks in the world after Athens. Instead we went into a Greek cake shop & had drinks, savoury filo pastries & baklava, which were tasty. Then we decided that as it was after 4pm it was not worth tramping the streets in the heat until the restaurants opened in the evening, so walked back towards Collins Street & the tram back to Coburg. On route we stopped at a pub for some cold drinks. I had pear cider and the others had beer. The pub was called James Squire who was a convict sent to Sydney with the first fleet for robbery. He set up a brewery with some hops & became a successful brewer in Parramatta. We returned on the tram in rush hour but Keef was offered a seat because he had a walking stick with him. Then a long walk back to the campsite – in all we walked 6½ miles today in the heat !! We were very tired. Did a snack supper of tea & cheese & biscuits & apple in our van as it was too dark to sit outside. Had a lovely cool shower- bliss! Wednesday 15 March Melbourne to Gippsland & Traralgon Left Big 4 campsite & got fuel then the sat nav took us through the outskirts of Melbourne which took about an hour- a big city. Headed down the Mornington Peninsula from St Kilda (lots of tall palm tree, a funfair, beach & beautiful homes) which had a bit of a Miami vibe. We did some food shopping at Woolies in Frankston & Chris bought some more toilet blue liquid stuff at Bunnings $17.50 as our supply had run out. We ate lunch at Mornington on a picnic table & the seagulls were pestering us as we ate our roast chicken rolls. Looked at the map & decided that if we wanted to spend 2 days at Lakes Entrance then we needed to get a move on as it was 3 o’clock & we were still on the Mornington Peninsula. Decided to cut across country inland to a Big 4 campsite just off the Princes Highway at Traralgon. This was a brand new campsite $32.40 with a swim pool & excellent camp kitchen. Had burgers, potato salad, Greek salad & strawberries & nectarines. By now it was dark. I chatted to a woman from Scotland who had lived 37 years in Perth & never been to Rottnest Island or Monkey Mia! Played cards. TO BE CONTINUED MARCH DIARY CONTINUED Thursday 16 March Traralgon to Lakes Entrance Keef did a bacon & egg cob for breakfast in the new camp kitchen. Drove along the Princes Highway to Sale, which used to be a busy Victorian inland port. Cargo & people used to arrive by boat through Lakes Entrance & there was also a railway line which went all the way to Melbourne. My ancestor Edwin Masters was a ship’s captain on the Emeo which carried wood & coal from Lakes Entrance to Sale in Victorian times. He lived at Lakes Entrance & died in1921. I only discovered this in my family tree research after Keef & I had already visited Sale & L/E in 2008. Saw some Sulphur crested cockatoos in a tree at Sale harbour. Drove to Lakes Entrance & went to the lookout to see the sea lakes & isthmus & further down the hill we saw the entrance channel to the three lakes. We were hoping to stay at the 4* Big 4 in Lakes Entrance for two nights. It had 3 swimming pools but unfortunately it was full. We ended up in a Tops Park in the town which was small & cramped but at least they had two pitches next to each other. We decided to stay 1 night rather than 2. We walked along the foreshore & across a pedestrian bridge & saw some black swans. We crossed over the narrow sandy isthmus to the beach which was called 90 Mile Beach. Another ancestor of mine, Capt.. Alfred Masters who was a brother of Edwin, & had been a master mariner in the Merchant Navy in England, drowned off this beach in 1892 when his schooner carrying cargo sprang a leak & he couldn’t swim to shore. Captain Masters was only 33 & engaged to be married. The bush along the coast was not a good place to walk through due to venomous snakes & paralysis ticks. The weather was turning very windy & cool so Keef & I walked back to the motorhome whilst Chris & Allyson walked 6kms along the isthmus track. They said that there were signs warning people about snakes so good job I didn’t go. Keef & I used the camp kitchen (which was very good) & did chicken, jacket potatoes, carrots, beans & onions. Friday 17 March Lakes Entrance to Mallacoota Another day of warm weather but not as hot as previous days. We stopped four times on the journey mainly travelling along the Princes Highway. We stopped briefly in Orbost to see the tiny pioneer wood house which was original. The house once had a family with 10 children. It’s now the tourist info & the lady there recommended we go on a loop road to Marlo and Cape Conran which we decided to do. We followed the road by the bank of the mighty Snowy River (made famous by the Oz poet Banjo Patterson in ‘The Man From Snowy River’ which I read at school in Sydney). The river starts in the Snowy Mountains in NSW & empties into the Bass Strait, Victoria. Marlo was a tiny place with a little pier and we were surprised to hear a huffing noise from under the jetty. It was a large seal who was looking for fish. We saw him at very close range & he was looking at us. Liked his big eyes & long whiskers & we took some photos. The sun came out & the sea looked blue with the breakers crashing on the shore. Right near the mouth of the Snowy River we saw an old man panning for gold by using a suction tube to get the sediment from the river bed and putting it through a sieve. We went to Cape Conran but did not see any koalas. Did a short walk onto a beach which stretched for miles along the coastline. This area of coastline in Victoria is called the Wilderness Coast & mainly national park. Saw a dead seal on the beach. We rejoined the Princes Highway & stopped after Bell Bird Creek to do a rainforest walk. This was in an area called the Benum River Rainforest which was a tiny pocket of temperate rainforest with tree ferns, creepers and trees with a small stream. The walk was about a mile and some of it was boardwalk & the rest was forest track & dirt road. Luckily didn’t see any snakes. We were looking out for a duck billed platypus in the small stream and though we saw some holes in the bank we did not see any. I saw a small lizard on top of a mossy fallen tree trunk and Allyson took a photo of it. We continued along the Princes Highway & drove through virgin bush where the eucalyptus trees stretched for miles. This was called Alfred National Park & Croajingolong National Park. We drove down a side road to Gipsy Point which K & I had visited before – a quiet little sea inlet with a few homes, holiday cottages & boat jetty. The tourist brochure said that lyre birds & sea eagles could be seen here. We did see 3 large kangaroos lazing on a lawn in front of someone’s house. We carried on the route to Mallacoota & on the outskirts of the small town I saw a whole group of kangaroos in a field. We just got booked in at the Foreshore Camping Ground ($32 a night per pitch site) before they closed at 5pm. Nice views across the inlet to virgin bush, some tiny islands and the Howe Range hills in the distance. Had sausages for dinner. We are staying two nights here. Saturday 18 March At Mallacoota, Victoria all day After breakfast Chris & Allyson walked to the shops in Mallacoota and Keef & I went for a long walk (about 2 hours) around the campsite. This was a big site with 769 pitches but the facilities were very old fashioned but adequate. It was popular with fishing people who even brought their boats with their caravans. At one of the many boat jetties we saw a very large stingray come up to the surface looking for fish & crustaceans. It had orange spots/splodges on its brown back, orange under its wings & was about 3 feet across. Unfortunately Keef was not quick enough to get a photo before it swam down from the surface & away. We then walked out of one end of the campsite towards Shady Gully looking for koalas in the trees. We returned to the jetty on the way back but the ray had moved on. Then we called in at the camp reception office to ask about koalas & other wildlife. The man there was very chatty (he was a retired volunteer) but he did not know the type of stingray that we’d seen. Then he said that a koala had been spotted high up in a tree on the other side of the campsite so we walked along looking at the trees in the area specified. We saw it asleep & Keef took some pictures. We could hear the surf loudly crashing on the beach part-way across the inlet. By 1pm it started drizzling so we returned to the motorhome. Chris & Allyson returned and said they had found a good café to have breakfast tomorrow morning & they had seen a nice eco driftwood sculpture that they wanted to buy in a local art gallery. For lunch we had tuna wraps & salad. It was drizzly all afternoon so I did some cross-stitch embroidery (a Christmas sampler). Wi-fi was difficult to get into & was very erratic. We’ve had this problem in nearly all campsites where the free wi-fi is very restricted or it does not work unless you’re seated on the top of the nearest telecoms mast! Just as dusk I went back to look for the koala but he had moved away from the tree. On the way back to the motorhome I saw 11 kangaroos (including a rare albino one) feeding on a grassy plot across the road from the campsite & I took some photos. Chris & Allyson cooked fish on their campervan pull-out BBQ, with veggies & wine. Shame that the weather had turned overcast & showery later in the afternoon. We had some heavy rain during the night. Sunday 19 March Mallacoota to Pambula Beach, NSW Weather brighter & some hot sunshine later in the morning. We drove into the town & went to the café called Lucy’s for cooked breakfast which was tasty & coffee. We then drove through the residential area of Mallacoota where there was a sign by some woods which showed lyre birds were around, but we didn’t see any. Keef thought he saw a snake by someone’s front garden so we turned round the block to have another look but it had gone. Stopped at a car park at Double Creek where there were some very noisy bellbirds but no koalas. At Eden in New South Wales we stopped to visit the Killer Whale museum which Brian & Gina had recommended to us before the trip. It was $10 each & well worth it as we were there for a couple of hours. It showed the history of whaling in the Eden coastal region from the 1840s onwards. A pod of killer whales had helped humans to catch whales by driving the large whales into the bay towards the men in boats. The killer whales were then rewarded by the men allowing them to eat the tongue & lips of the whale (gory). Often the pod of killer whales splashed to alert the men to a nearby whale. It was the only example known in the world where the interaction of man & killer whales was for mutual benefit. The whale blubber was boiled down to create whale oil which had various uses back then, such as lamp oil (before electricity was invented) & the baleen from whales’ mouths was used for whalebone corsets of Victorian women. The locals who had rheumatism used to sit for hours in a large hole cut in the top of a dead whale where the rotting flesh meant that the temperature rose to 40c - yuk. The local people swore that this treatment did them good although a hot steam bath/sauna may have been more environmentally friendly. No doubt the horrible smell from the rotting whale meant they forgot about their rheumatism. In the bay at Eden the whalers caught a massive Blue Whale that was 93 feet long in Victorian time. The killer whales continued to help three generations of one whaling family at Eden & the whales were all given names based on the characteristics of the dorsal fin. Killer whales live to be about 37 years old on average. A skeleton of a killer whale called ‘Old Tom’ was displayed in the museum. The whole whaling industry & the rheumatism cure was pretty disgusting and repugnant to us all now. We want to preserve whales & love watching them rather than killing them. The museum also covered the local timber & tuna fishing industries. The tuna was caught off the Eden coast and then taken to Narooma further along the coast for canning then exported to the USA. There was a section on local people who had fought in France, Belgium & Gallipoli in WWI & WWII. The museum was fascinating. We drove to the harbour to take some photos & the lookout point on the steep hill but it started to drizzle & the sea mist was coming inland so the views were poor. We finished the afternoon at Pambula Beach where we stopped for one night at the Big 4 campsite $35. The site was flat, grassy and right by the sandy beach. There were several kangaroos who wandered around eating grass & were obviously used to people & vehicles. Took some photos & a video. We saw some rosellas in the tree (red, yellow & green). I nearly got knocked over when a very big grey kangaroo bounded right past me from the corner of a chalet which took me by surprise. The other grey kangaroos were quite little. Allyson saw some black cockatoos in a tree but didn’t manage to get a photo. Keef, Chris & I went swimming in the indoor heated pool – the weather had turned cool & misty/drizzly. Keef even went in the unheated outside pool. This campsite is very good for amenities (camp kitchen, BBQ, showers, pools with changing room/shower, TV room) & the fact that it’s so close to the beach. There were a couple of people surfing on the big waves but hardly anyone on the beach apart from a lone sea fisherman. In fact the campsite was less than half-full – so it felt more spacious with so few vehicles. Keef & I cooked pasta & sausages/ stewed apple & nectarines with yoghurt. There was no wi-fi as a lightning strike on the Bank Holiday Monday had damaged the power lines so Keef & I read our Kindles. Monday 20 March Pambula Beach to Dalmeny We set off along the tourist coastal route from Pambula to Tura Beach. We parked & walked to the long stretch of lovely sandy beach with hardly anyone on it. We continued on the tourist drive to Tathra, NSW and we stopped at the historic wharf/ warehouse where lots of kids & adults were fishing. There were some large rocks next to the wharf called Point Danger. The sea looked very blue & a lovely sunny day. Saw no dolphins. People were catching fish called ‘flatheads’ from the wharf & we could see lots of salmon in the clear water by the jetty. The warehouse was now a restaurant. Steamships used to call in at the wharf to deliver goods, post & passengers. We drove round the hill top down to the beach at Tathra & walked on the beach to admire the view & saw the wharf across the bay. We had our lunch at the car park by the beach & Allyson did some rolls with chicken salad & mayo- yum! Very hot at lunchtime & I could feel the intensity of the high UV rays. Then Chris & Allyson set off to meet Laura & Steve who were driving down from Sydney & the plan was for us all to meet up at a campsite in Dalmeny, which was further along the coast in NSW. Chris & Allyson hadn’t seen Laura & Steve since last summer when they came over to the UK & France. We planned on staying for two nights at Dalmeny. Keef & I did a slight detour before joining them all at the campsite at 4pm. Keef & I drove to Tilba & Central Tilba – two villages about 2km from the Princes Highway. Central Tilba is a National Truct village with Victorian buildings & pretty little front gardens with roses & lovely shrubs. We realised when we got there that we had visited the village 10 years ago! The single storey houses looked like small shops from the pavement but due to the steep hillside they were jutting out on 2 or 3 levels at the rear. We had an icecream from the village Emporium which was for sale – the owner had run the shop for over 30 years & was retiring. We noticed that a lot of the buildings in the village were for sale. We were the only tourists in the village. We continued our journey north along the Princes Highway to Narooma. Very sunny. Like a lot of coastal towns most of the houses were shuttered & closed up as they were holiday homes. Also not much work in these places either & lots of businesses & homes were for sale. Narooma has a sea inlet with a small harbour. There were no fish shops, oyster shops or restaurants. We arrived at Dalmeny Campground about 4pm & saw Laura & Steve who had just arrived & checked in to reception. Nice to see them again after 4 years. We checked in & were given a space next to C & A. Laura & Steve put their tiny tent up & then we all gathered for drinks (Laura opened some champagne), appetisers, cheeses & lots of chatting with a great view of the coast & beach below us. Just before 7pm we decided to go & get some fish & chips across the road from the campsite. We ate them overlooking the coast. They were the most expensive fish & chips takeaway that we had ever had ($21 including chips, which alone were $12 – worked out at £12.60 each). We carried on chatting until it was dark. Laura & Steve had spent 6 hours driving down from Sydney today so we were not surprised that they were tired after this long journey. Later that evening we had some heavy rain. Our pitch was already muddy from previous rainy days but it got worse overnight. Tuesday 21 March Dalmeny, NSW We stayed all morning in the campsite. Steve had organised a boat trip for us all at Wagonga Inlet , Narooma as he knew the owner of the electric boat there who did boat trips. Keef & I went in Steve & Laura’s car & Chris & Allyson drove their van. The boat was built in 1905 & had been diesel/ petrol but had been converted to electric some years ago. Electric boats are very quiet & there is no smell of diesel either. We left the jetty at 12 noon & had a very informative & humorous commentary from the 66 year old captain. He had lived all his life in the area & since a boy had fished & rowed to school in a small boat. He told us lots of yarns including his dad catching a Mako shark & a Great White Shark which had swum into the inlet after fish. There were lots of oyster beds & we found out a lot about the industry. We also saw sea eagles & their nest high up in the tree tops. He pointed out a ‘stinging tree’ which is toxic if the leaves touch your skin. The pain can be very intense & last for weeks or even months. Apparently there are 3 types of stinging tree – all in Queensland & NSW. Keef & I had heard about these trees when we went on a river trip up the Daintree in Queensland. Also Great White Sharks are now protected in Australian waters & you are not allowed to kill them. The captain also told us he had worked in a tuna canning factory in Narooma in his youth. The boat trip cost $30 per adult – well worth it & very enjoyable. As we neared the jetty it started raining & then it stopped briefly. We had tuna mayo wraps for lunch which I had prepared for everyone & sat at a picnic bench with a view of the inlet. It started raining again & got heavier. We did a short walk past the marina & jetties, which looked rather decrepit & unused apart from a couple of boats moored. We drove to an oyster shop on the other side of the bridge across the inlet & some of us bought oysters & ate them. We then parked nearby & did a boardwalk along a bay of the Wagona Inlet. By now it was pouring with rain & only Laura & Steve had sensibly brought rain jackets with them. It had been sunny when we set off from the campsite & we thought we were just going on a boat trip which had undercover seating. From the boardwalk we saw two large stingrays and a small brown one. We were quite soaked so went back to the campsite, got into dry clothes & had a cup of tea & then all chatted in Chris & Allyson’s motorhome as it was still raining. The ground by the door of our van was extremely muddy & boggy & we sunk in by about ½ inch. Gradually the weather improved & we could all sit outside again. Later on Chris & Keef cooked a lovely BBQ of beef burgers, sausages, fish, salad & cobs. Lots of stars out in the sky. Wednesday, 22 March Dalmeny to Mittagong Chris, Allyson, Laura & Steve had planned on staying on at the campsite for a bit & then travel north to Jervis Bay National Park & camp there for two days. Keef & I thought we would head inland as we’d been all along the coast in the past & wanted to take another route to Sydney. We said our farewells after breakfast & left at 9.30 to drive to Bateman’s Bay along the Princes Highway. Then we turned left to take the Kings Highway across the Great Dividing Range. We hadn’t done this route before & we drove through National Parks on both sides with eucalyptus bush stretching for miles. It was sunny, the scenery was great & it was quite a steep climb over the mountain range with steep drops at the side of the road. Some of the eucalyptus trees were very tall & there were deep valleys with a few sharp hairpin bends going up. We met a few road trains going the other way but the highway was not very busy. We reached Braidwood where we stopped for a break. Had a walk around the town looking at the heritage houses. Braidwood is a historical town with extremely wide streets, old shops, a supermarket (IGA) & a pub of course. Bought some pasta sauce from the IGA store & then drove on to Bungendore & on to historic Bywong goldmining town. When we eventually found it we were disappointed as there was not much left of the town – a couple of wooden mine shafts. We joined the Federal Highway to Goulburn. This was the first inland city in NSW & was quite big – 24,000 population. The city streets were built on a grid system and it had a big shopping centre with old Victorian & 1930s buildings & numerous churches (we counted 6 just on one street). Then we took the Hume Highway towards Sydney. We turned off the main road to a small sleepy village called Marulan where we bought some pies & a cake for lunch. A Chinese family ran the bakery & cooked everything on their premises. Another Chinese family ran the new general store (or they were all part of the same family). The buildings were very old & interesting, including the Royal Hotel & general store. It suddenly started raining very heavily with lightning. We rejoined the Hume Highway again & the rain became torrential, so much so that our windscreen wipers could hardly cope. We pulled over onto the hard shoulder as the road was awash with water & visibility was very poor. Despite this we were amazed to see lorries & cars rushing past at high speed. On downhill slopes the rain was collecting in the dips which was worrying if it became too deep to drive through. We got to Mittagong where we decided to stop for the night. The rain had stopped & we found an excellent campsite with no mud & hardstanding for the motorhome @ $35 a night. For dinner we had pasta, sausages & sauce. There were some large noisy cockatoos that made quite a racket at dusk. We saw some more lightning but no more rain & it turned into a nice evening. Thursday 23 March Mittagong to Narrabeen Lakes, Sydney, Plus NSW Railway Museum . Dry weather today. We took the country route through NSW via Balmoral & Thirlmere. We saw some old train engines & carriages behind a fence in a museum in Thirlmere. Keef took some photos. Saw some kangaroos in fields & a flock of white cockatoos. Quite a lot of farms, homesteads & horses in paddocks – very rural. We went to Warragamba Dam which I had last visited as a teenager with my family in the late 60s-70s. I remembered that there used to be a lion safari near the dam which my family had visited but this no longer existed. The dam had an excellent visitors centre & a viewing area overlooking the dam. Warragamba is one of the biggest dams in the world supplying domestic drinking water. In fact it supplies 80% of Sydney’s water. The dam’s volume of water is four times that of Sydney Harbour. It was built between 1948-1960 & 15 men lost their lives during the construction. There was a wall of plaques commemorating them. A lot of young immigrant workers were recruited to work on the dam & a whole town was built to house them. Warragamba Dam was considered to be a major engineering feat in its day. I didn’t know that Sydney also has a desalination plant to convert sea water to drinking water & is powered by the wind. We found the visitors centre was very interesting. We then headed to Narrabeen Lakes, a Big 4 campsite in Sydney which we had pre-booked for 1 night whilst in England. This was the 3rd time we had stayed at this site. We went to the local Woolies supermarket to do some shopping & it started raining. Had cheese & biscuits back at the campsite for our evening meal. Friday 24 March Narrabeen to Britz (to drop off motorhome) & then to Beacon Hill After breakfast we packed our bags & drove to our apartment in Beacon Hill (78a Beacon Hill Road) to drop off our luggage & food supplies. We were met by the owner Katrina Dell as her husband Roy was on their boat. She showed us around & explained how all the equipment worked, such as washing machine, dishwasher, coffee machine etc. She was very chatty and pleasant & said that they also owned the house adjoining the 1 bedroom apartment. They rented out the house to an English family. The landlords owned a boat & they had moved there whilst we were staying in their flat. They had previously lived on their boat for 4 years. The apartment in Beacon Hill had magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean and beach suburbs. It had a swimming pool, sundeck, BBQ & thatched dining area that Katrina called a Bali hut. The fully equipped kitchen was open plan with lounge/dining area, TV, downstairs loo and bedroom with balcony, TV & en suite bathroom. We weren’t used to this luxury after being in the motorhome & on campsites. They left milk, wine, coffee, butter & chocolates for us which was very kind. Keef was pleased we could use the De Longhi coffee machine. After Katrina had gone we put the food away & then drove the motorhome across Sydney to Botany Bay, Meadowbank. We left Beacon Hill at 12.45 & it took us almost 2 hours to get across Sydney because of the heavy traffic – such a busy city. We dropped off the motorhome at Britz reception & then saw Chris & Allyson who arrived there after us. They had travelled up from Jervis Bay which took them 3 hours along the Princes Highway. Keef negotiated a refund of $80 for a half day’s motorhome because we had been kept waiting for hours at the pick-up in Adelaide as the previous hirer had returned the van a day late. Also we said that the toaster had blown a fuse & there was a small fault with the pull-out BBQ on the outside of the van which meant that the knob on one of the gas rings didn’t work. Chris & Allyson had a nice time at Jervis Bay with Laura & Steve & they were waiting for them to come & pick them up from Britz in their car. Keef & I caught a bus outside Britz which took us to Redfern station & from there we got the train to Chatswood on Sydney’s North Shore. At Chatswood bus station there were no timetables for buses but having asked several people & bus drivers we found a bus that would take us to Beacon Hill. However, we were misinformed and when we went past my old house in French's Forest & turned somewhere I didn’t recognise I realised that we were not going the right way. Noticed also that a massive new hospital is being built on the outskirts of French's Forest called the North Shore Hospital. We had to change buses & luckily caught another one that was going the other way. This bus dropped us off at the top of the road where we were staying. It started to rain at 4pm as we walked down the hill to our apartment. Too tired to unpack our bags & Keef said he had found it stressful driving across such a busy city. I did some washing in the machine & hung it indoors on a clothes airer while keef cooked us steak, vegetables & jacket potatoes. We watched a film on TV – The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson & Morgan Freeman which we had seen before. Quite a busy & tiring day. Saturday 25 March Beacon Hill, Sydney We had a relaxing morning- had showers, did some more laundry, Keef cooked us bacon, scrambled egg & baked beans, which we ate outside on the deck. The sun came out for about an hour & I put the clothes airer outside our bedroom on the balcony. Keef was sorting out finances & checking transport routes in Sydney on the laptop. The wi-fi here is quite slow. The family who live in the adjoining house have a boy (junior school age) & a teenage girl aged about 13 & they went in the pool for a bit. We had lunch (egg mayo roll & cheese & biscuits) & then watched a film ‘Eddie the Eagle’ about the ski- jumper from GB who was in the Calgary winter Olympics – a good film & true story. Then we watched an Aussie film called Red Billabong which started OK but then got ridiculously stupid with a monster terrorising people on a country homestead – a dire plot! Saw a cruise ship go along the coast at Dee Why. We did a Skype video call with Doug, Phoenix & Charlie who was bouncing around & happily showing us her new 20 piece jigsaws which she had completed- clever girl. It was so lovely to see them again & chat. Charlie had a virus with a temperature yesterday but she is OK now. She kept waving to us & telling us the animals on the jigsaws. Doug & Phoenix told us that they were going on a cruise with P’s parents at the end of June. It’s for 5 nights from Hong Kong to Japan on an American cruise ship. Charlie is only two & already she’s been to China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Bali & England – very well travelled!! P’s parents have organised the cruise for them all – sounds good. Doug said he’d been to an interview with another bank this week with Standard Chartered Bank (English) & may get a second interview. It was 7pm in Singapore & 10pm here in Sydney – they signed off as their dinner was ready. Went to bed at 11.45pm. Sunday 26 March Beacon Hill & Sydney In the afternoon we caught a bus to Manly from the top of Beacon Hill Road as we were meeting Laura, Steve, Chris & Allyson in Sydney for a picnic & the opera (Carmen). The bus went to Dee Why & Warringah Mall & then to Manly Wharf. We asked at the tourist info in Manly about return buses on Sunday evening after the opera but all buses stopped by 6.20pm!!! For a big city this was ridiculously early. We took the very crowded Manly ferry across the harbour to Circular Quay. On Sundays there is a cap of $2.50 per adult to travel anywhere on the NSW transport system (bus, Manly ferry, train) which is very good value. We had bought our Opal travel cards whilst in England & they allow you to put money on the electronic travel card & then use the card to register trips on the transport system (similar to the MRT/bus cards in Singapore). The maximum daily amount you can be charged is $15. We started with $40 on each card. This is such a good idea for Sydney & NSW as you don’t need cash for travelling. From Circular Quay we walked to the Botanical Gardens where we were to meet up with our friends. Very hot today in Sydney & the gardens were tropical. When we found the Victoria Lodge Gate (which wasn’t signposted anywhere) we waited a while before Laura came to collect us. They had trouble parking the car. The venue for the opera was in the gardens opposite the Opera House & Harbour Bridge. Laura & Steve had prepared a picnic for us all & we took along a bottle of wine. The sunset was around 7pm but it was overcast & cloudy – very humid & sticky. After the food & drink we took our seats at the opera (the tickets were a Xmas gift to us from Chris & Allyson) & we were really looking forward to the performance & music. We had a good view of the stage which was like a floating pontoon with 2 access ramps on either side of the stage for the opera cast to use. There were 2 cranes either side of the stage & when the show started they swung round to deliver a tank & truck to the stage. The whole performance was spectacular & the setting of the night- time Sydney skyline, illuminated Opera House & Harbour Bridge enhanced the event. Very enjoyable show by Opera Australia. There was a 25 minute intermission. At 10 pm Keef & I had to leave 15 mins before the end as we had to walk a long way back to Circular Quay to get the last ferry at 11pm. All the gates round the Botanical Gardens were closed at dusk so we had to exit at the Victoria Gate Lodge entrance. We could not walk round the edge of Farm Cove to the Opera House which would have been a much quicker route. Instead we had to walk into the central business area past the Art Gallery & museum & past the Cahill Expressway (underground tunnel across the harbour) to Macquarie Street. On route we saw a large possum on a grassy area & took some photos. He was oblivious to us & was intent on searching for tree seeds. We made it to Circular Quay with about 10 mins to spare! Good job we left when we did. The Manly ferry left at 11pm on time & when we got to Manly we got a taxi back to Beacon Hill ($20.80. Had showers when we got back as such a humid day (80% humidity). Monday 27 March Beacon Hill Had a relaxing day in & around the swimming pool. I did some laundry & ironing. Watched some films on the TV. Keef cooked burgers on the BBQ for lunch by the Bali hut. Winds were strong in the afternoon – palm trees were swaying & weather turned cloudy – storm coming. Tuesday 28 March Beacon Hill Strong winds & heavy rain drumming on the roof woke us up during the night. Cyclone Debbie was hitting the Queensland coast around Townsville, Mackay & Airlie Beach (we had been to these coastal towns in 2008). It was a category 4 cyclone with winds recorded at 270kms/hour which is 167.7 miles per hour. The townspeople had plenty of warning about the cyclone & were told to stay indoors. There was lots of damage to houses, boats in harbours & businesses & schools were closed. The news said that this was the second worse cyclone to ever hit Queensland. We decided to go to Warringah Mall in the morning and then watch a film called ‘Lion’ at the cinema complex there. The film was a true story about an Indian boy aged 5 who was adopted by an Aussie couple in Hobart & he wanted to find his roots & family back in India. A very good film starred Dev Patel & Nicole Kidman. I got a new watch battery at the Mall & we did some food shopping at Coles before getting the bus back to Beacon Hill. Wednesday 29 March Beacon Hill Hannah & Connor came round at 3pm which we had arranged & Connor had a little dip in the pool with his swim nappy on. We had bought him a cardboard book of Australian animals which we bought yesterday at the Mall. He is 20 months old & knew shark, koala & crocodile & the colours apart from orange. We then went in Hannah’s car with them back to their apartment in North Balgowlah as Hannah had a doctor’s appointment in the afternoon. She is expecting a second child in July & knows it will be another boy. We looked after Connor whilst Hannah had her appointment. Hannah & family had just returned from a weeks holiday in Thailand. They were off on Friday for a few days to Orange, NSW for the food & drink festival which they had been to last year & really enjoyed. They’re staying in the same rented accommodation nearby as last year. David came home from work (he cycles into the city centre which takes him 40-50 mins). We hadn’t seen the family for 4 years which was the last time we’d visited them in Sydney when they lived in Vaucluse. Riley, their dog, was still as cute as ever. We took along a bottle of sparkling wine & Hannah cooked us a lovely dinner. Hannah gave us a lift back to Beacon Hill at 10.45. It was lovely seeing Hannah, David, Connor & Riley again & just before dinner we did a Skype with Brian & Gina, as it was Gina’s birthday. B & G were going to some national trust gardens for the day. Thursday 30 March Beacon Hill Rained all day non-stop & it was quite torrential at times so we decided to stay in the apartment all day. Watched some films & read our Kindles. The cleaners came 9am to do the apartment – took them 1½ hours. Friday 31 March Trip into Sydney & Darling Harbour Got bus 169 through Dee Why & past Warringah Mall to Manly Wharf & took the ferry to Circular Quay. We walked round the Quay & saw a huge cruise ship called ‘Emerald Princess’ moored at the overseas passenger terminal. We walked through the business/office district to Darling Harbour. There were lots of restaurants around the harbour & it was 12.30 so lots of business people were having lunch. As we walked along the quayside there were information boards & pictures showing what Darling Harbour used to look like. We walked all the way round to the Hard Rock café where Keef bought yet another T-shirt costing $40 to add to his collection. Then we had lunch there – we shared some chips& chicken goujons. After a rest we walked through the shopping centre called Harbourside which wasn’t very good (a few tourist tat shops etc.). We crossed back to the other side of Darling Harbour on Pyrmont Bridge, built in 1905. We caught the ferry from Darling Harbour wharf back to Circular Quay, then the Manly ferry & bus. We got wet as it was raining when we walked back down Beacon Hill Road. Turned very overcast & then the rain was torrential in the evening. Watched TV & had dinner. THE END Diary 1st - 30th April Annie at Cape Reinga, Northlands, NZ Saturday 1 April Beacon Hill A lovely warm sunny day. I did some washing & we prepared for a BBQ round the pool. Keef & I went swimming in the pool & tried to clean up some leaves from the pool after the previous nights storm. At 2pm Chris, Allyson & Laura arrived for the BBQ – burgers in cobs with cheese & bacon, chicken on skewers, green salad, red & yellow salad. Laura had brought along some homemade lamingtons- yummy- & we also had rock melon. Steve arrived later as he had some customers for his eco boat (self-drive electric powered boats for hire). We’d saved some food for Steve. They all left around 8pm in the car to return to Wollstencraft, on the north shore, where Laura & Steve live. K & I went to bed early as a busy travelling day ahead tomorrow. Sunday 2 April Beacon Hill to Broadmeadow, northern NSW Got up really early today as off to Newcastle, NSW on the train to meet my cousin Susan & husband John (Browne). I’ve not seen Susan for 45 years ( I was 18 & just returned from Australia with family. We walked to the bus stop at the top of Beacon Hill Road at 7.30am for the bus due at 7.50 to take us to Wynyard Station in Sydney CBD. The bus was 20 mins late so we were worried we would miss our train. Once at Wynyard we took a train a couple of stops to Central station & then got on a two tier train all the way to Broadmeadow, just south of Newcastle in northern NSW. The train was packed because on a Sunday you can travel on buses & trains in NSW for $2.50 per person – a bargain. The bus journey into Sydney took an hour & the trains took 2½ hours. At 11.45 we arrived at Broadmeadow station & could not see Susan & John so waited for a few minutes. We realised there was another station exit via the tunnel which gave access to a street on the other side of the railway line. Luckily Susan & John were there with their car & John said “Are you the Hellingers?” We finally met up after all these years & they were very welcoming. John drove us to their triple level duplex apartment a few miles away, just off the main Pacific Highway at Merrywhether Heights where we chatted & then had lunch (chicken thighs, salad, asparagus, giant couscous with peppers & onion & wine. Susan & John were very friendly & both were retired. They had moved to NSW from Perth, WA to be near their daughter Hannah, her husband & children. We took along a box of chocs & some red wine. Unfortunately red wine brings out a rash on their faces & they only drink white wine. The lunch was lovely & we continued catching up the years until 5.20 & then they drove us back to the station. Susan & John had just had my other two cousins Janet & Rob to stay with them for 3 weeks but they left to return to Canada 10 days before we arrived. Unfortunately we just missed the train & had to wait ¾ hr for the next one to Sydney. Another train went past heading for Brisbane which was an overnight train journey of 6 hrs from Sydney. Susan & John joined us on the platform as they realised we’d missed the train. It was lovely to meet up with them & we invited them to stay if they came to the UK. Their daughter Georgia lives in Glasgow & she is a musician (plays the flute). Keef & I read our Kindles on the return journey to Sydney as it was dark. We had seen the country towns, bush & Hawkesbury River on the journey up this morning. After arriving in Sydney we caught another train to Circular Quay & then the Manly ferry to Manly. We stopped off at KFC in Manly for a snack & then got a taxi back to our apartment at 10.10pm. A very long day & a lot of travel but worth it to meet up with my cousin. Monday 3 April Beacon Hill Did washing & ironing. We packed in the afternoon & the weather was not good enough to swim in the pool. Watched TV & read our Kindles. Tuesday 4 April Travel from to Sydney airport to Tasmania to stay with John & Diana Got up at 3.45am, showered & had a quick breakfast. Keef called an Uber taxi at 4.30am to request a pick-up & to take us to Sydney airport. We were annoyed to find a text to us from the Uber taxi driver saying he had cancelled. We had been waiting with our luggage on the pavement in the dark and rain. Keef called Uber again to order another taxi. We were not impressed with Uber – this was the first time we had used them. This time the Uber guy did turn up & was very friendly (he was a Civil Engineering student from Sri Lanka doing his Masters in Sydney & taxi driving between 5am -12 noon to earn some money). He dropped us at Terminal 2 & the Jet Star flight was ½ hour late departing. The pilot apologised for the delay stating that the plane was “messy” after returning from Tasmania & the cleaners were still cleaning. Not an efficient service. All drinks & snacks on this flight were not free. The plane eventually left at 8am. At Launceston we collected our hire car (white Toyota Yashi 4 door hatchback) & set off at 9.45am via Evendale & Campbell Town & then took the scenic route to the east coast (as recommended by Diana). Diana is Keef’s 2nd cousin & we had visited her & John twice before in 2008 & 2013 when they lived in Huonville, Tasmania. This time they had had a house built on some land near Swansea which we had not seen before. We drove to Campbell Town, an old town with a history of convicts & settlers. It had an 1836 red brick bridge built by convicts over the Elizabeth River. We visited the Tourist Info centre & had a pie & coffee in the local bakery as we’d been up for hours. At Evandale a lot of English trees had autumn tints & the air was cooler & fresher than Sydney. It felt a bit like England but the fields were bone dry & the grass was yellow due to drought. Some local Aussies said it was just coming into winter now. We saw a few Tasmanian Devils dead at the side of the road (killed at night by traffic). The roads were empty & scenery was lovely – lots of mountain ridges but few rivers & streams. We stopped at Bicheno on the coast to buy flowers & chocs for John & Diana. They are both 79 & had bought a 5 acre plot of grassland & had a house built from scratch, with the same floor plan as their previous house in the Huon valley except this time the kitchen was open-plan. Their house was very nice with white & pink roses round the verandah. Diana had given us directions to their house which was a few minutes inland from Swansea, their nearest town on the coast. We arrived at John & Diana’s at 4.30pm – a long journey travelling from 4.30am (although we had stopped for about 1+ ¾ hrs for breaks, including breakfast in Campbell Town). It was nice to see them again & we all had some tea, cake & a catch-up (we had last done a Skype with them before we left England. We stored our big bags in their garage which had recently been built. They had been busy planting trees & John had done all the internal & external painting of the house himself. Diana cooked Flathead fish fillets (Aussie fish) in breadcrumbs with salad & homemade plum pie for dessert. We went to bed at 10pm as very tired – been awake for 18¼ hours since early this morning. Wednesday 5 April Tasmania Diana cooked us a full English breakfast. We all went in the hire car to 9 Mile Beach, Spikey Bridge (built by convicts), Spikey Beach & Rocky Hill Lookout over the bay towards Freycinet National Park. Warm weather today 24c with a gentle breeze. The beaches we visited were empty, with pristine sand & no parking fees (unlike Sydney). This eastern coast of Tasmania has so many quiet, sandy beaches & small sleepy settlements with hardly any shops, cafes or restaurants. John told us that there were 8 areas on the island where the water was unsafe to drink so people had to boil water or buy bottled water – not very 21st century. Tasmania does not seem to cater much for tourists compared to mainland Australia & we think it’s behind the times (40 years behind!). I expect a lot of Tasmanians like it this way – sleepy with not much going on. Certainly compared to having just left Sydney where people rushing around the massive city & suburbs must raise stress levels We noticed no wind farms at all on our car journeys & no solar panels on people’s roofs. Even petrol stations are few & far between & public transport was not visible. Wi-fi is not available in some small settlements & our sat-nav kept saying ‘GPS signal lost’ when we were in the country. There is only one road down the east coast by the Tasman Sea– the Tasman Highway- and there’s not much work available with mainly retired people living here. Keef & I like Tassie as it’s so different from the mainland & this is our 3rd visit. Most Aussies we’ve talked to in various States have never been to Tassie. It takes John & Diana 2 hours by car to reach Hobart or Launceston where they do their main shopping. Swansea does have a school, small library, 2 small IGA supermarkets, petrol station, fish & chip shop, a small museum & tourist info in the old schoolhouse, plus a motel & backpackers hostel. The seafood restaurant & hairdressers had closed down. There were a lot of houses & land for sale. John & Diana live about ½ mile from the main coastal road & near them there some new homes being built on large plots of land. Lots of fields nearby with long tinder dry grass & bush further away. Keef & I took lots of photos & we all returned back to John & Diana’s for tea & homemade walnut cake (Mary Berry had better watch out!) For dinner John cooked two delicious curries – chicken korma & beef rojan josh, with lentil dahl, poppadoms & naan bread. Watched TV for the rest of the evening. Thursday 6 April Tasmania Warm weather again. Diana cooked pancakes & maple syrup for breakfast. I seem to have picked up germs from the plane – have a cold, runny nose & stye on my inner eyelid. This is the second cold I’ve had on this big trip. We went out for the day to Freycinet National park, north of Swansea. We parked at the Visitors Centre & as J & D had an annual parks pass, we checked with the park staff that we could use it on the hire car – normal cost would be $24 per vehicle. This was twice the price of a day pass in other National Parks on the mainland. Took a photo of a stuffed wombat in the visitors centre – will email it to Charlie & Edie. We did a walk through the trees down to the bay and beach. Beautiful views – boats moored in crystal clear waters & the very large rocky isthmus called The Hazards. The walk to the famous Wineglass Bay takes 2 hours each way & is very arduous as it cuts across the isthmus, so we decided against this. We drove along a winding mountain road with ravines & bush on one side to Tourville Lighthouse where there was a circular boardwalk from the car park. There were spectacular views of the other side of The Hazards, a bit of Wineglass Bay & looking across the Tasman Sea. Didn’t see any whales or dolphins. We drove to Coles bay, a small settlement with few shops. From Coles Bay it’s 1,000kms to South Island, New Zealand. Had coffee & cake in a café. Lots of wasps around here. There were several holiday homes & a boat launch. Keef drove back to Swansea pier & jetty where we took some photos. John cooked prawn lasse, a Singapore dish, with soup, noodles, beans & prawns which we’d not had before – will have to do this recipe when we get home. Diana produced a homemade apricot pie with icecream. Waistbands were straining – slumped in front of the TV. Friday 7 April Tasmania Drove along the coast in a southerly direction towards Orford. We stopped at Triabunna Marina to look at the boats – fishing & leisure. Crayfish & prawns are fished from here. There’s a ferry to Maria island $50 per person which was a bit expensive. The Parks department are trying to introduce & breed Tasmanian Devils & wombats on the island. There used to be a penal colony there. A 4 hr boat trip with lunch cost $195 per person (or £121 pp)- all far too expensive. Before we left the UK Keef & I had seen a TV series on Australian islands with Martin Clunes as the presenter & Maria Island was one of the episodes. Whilst walking round the marina we noticed the smell of burning in the air & a smoke haze. Apparently the grass in the Hobart area was being burnt off to prevent bushfires but the wind was spreading the smoke halfway up the island. Apparently the fire brigade do the burning off. Unfortunately the smoke haze ruined the views of Freycinet & the inland mountains today. Just as well we saw Freycinet yesterday. We drove to Orford along the Tasman Highway & went into a café for coffee & cake. Apart from the café there’s a restaurant, a bridge over a river, a petrol station & some houses. We returned back along the highway a short distance & parked at Raspins Spit beach. This was named after a settler family called Raspins. We walked along the beautiful beach (hardly anyone around) which was full of shells & empty crab shells. We returned to Swansea & went into the small museum there which was housed in the old school & schoolhouse attached. Interesting history of settlers & convicts in the area. Went back to J & D’s for tea & cake. Diana cooked chicken breasts with mushroom sauce, vegs & potatoes dauphinoise & we ate the last of the apricot pie with homemade vanilla ice-cream. Went to bed at 10pm as getting up early tomorrow. Saturday 8 April Tasmania to Sydney Got up at 4.45am & still dark. Had showers & muesli for breakfast. John & Diana got up too. We said our farewells & thanked them for looking after us so well (the seat belts on the plane might be a little tight going back to Sydney). Yesterday John had kindly given us a painting of Wineglass Bay which he had done & it was carefully wrapped up at the bottom of one of the big bags. It was just beginning to get light outside & a lovely sunrise. We set off through Swansea north & took the Lake Leake road through the countryside which goes through Campbell Town. The direct journey took 2 hours to the airport. Saw lots of grey wallabies eating grass at the side of the road + a few dead ones too. Stopped on route very briefly at Campbell Town bakery again & bought 2 bacon & egg flans to eat at the airport. Once we hit the Midland Highway at Campbell Town the road was easier to drive as it was straighter. Keef got stopped by the Police doing 80kms in a 40kms temporary speed limit area where people were just setting up traffic cones in preparation for the Tasmanian speed car race today at Symonds Flat. Two policemen stopped us & one of them had a radar gun. K gave them his driving license & they saw we were British tourists. Luckily Keef got a warning letter & a telling off (the policeman said he needed a “kick up the bum” & he had “avoided a hefty fine”. They probably let him off because the reduced speed limit signs were not much in evidence apart from one by the main entrance to the racetrack & there was no warning further back the state highway of changed speed restrictions for the day. Relieved we did not get a massive fine. After that bit of excitement we checked in the hire car at Launceston airport (we had driven 680kms total in Tasmania). We ate our bacon & egg flans & got our flight to Sydney at 9.30am which took 1½ hrs. When we arrived in Sydney we had to wait quite a while for our hotel shuttle bus. Eventually we got into our hotel room at 1pm. Checked our e-mails & the BBQ invite for later that day from Chris, Allyson, Laura & Steve was cancelled as Steve was renting out his eco boats again. Just as well, because we were tired having got up before dawn & we would have had to get a taxi back to the airport, a train into Sydney, a ferry to Woolwich on the North Shore which would have been a further 2 hrs+ travelling. Also my cold & stye problem in my left eye over the last 3 days was not so good (Diana had given me a soothing eye lotion to use). Hope no one catches my germs. We booked our hotel in England – Ibis Budget – a compact room with wet room ensuite, TV on wall & kettle for tea etc. We went out for a late lunch to Kentucky Fried Chicken 2 mins walk away. At the hotel reception we booked our hotel shuttle bus for 7.50am the next day to Terminal 1 for the flight to Auckland. Read our Kindles & went down to the lobby seating area to read the newspapers. At 7.45pm we popped out for a coffee & doughnuts at Krispie Kreme Doughnuts (USA company). The coffee was Ok but the doughnuts were dire – sickly- yuk- never eat these again! This was our evening meal too. Things got even worse. When we got back to the hotel one of the two lifts wasn’t working. E-mail from Leanne to tell us that Keef had received a letter in England saying he had to pay a speeding fine from the police in Portland, Victoria!!!! Oh dear. Fine was $194/ £113.15. He had driven the motorhome 6kms per hour over the 60kms speed limit. To compensate for this additional trauma, Leanne sent a nice photo of Craig holding Edie who was wearing his sunglasses. Keef was in the dog house. Watched TV. Things got even worse. At midnight the hotel fire alarms went off. The fire brigade arrived with blue lights flashing – turned out to be a false alarm (probably someone smoking in their room set it off). After all that it took me ages to get to sleep & another early start tomorrow as we’re flying to New Zealand. Sunday 9 April Sydney to Auckland Got up at at 6.35am & had our showers & tea. Trying to take our bags down in the lift took a while because the other lift was still out of order from yesterday. We got the shuttle bus from our hotel to Terminal 1 at Sydney airport. The airport was very busy as people were travelling because of Easter next week. Queued up for ages at the Quantas desk & took even longer to go through passport control & security. Chaos - the flights were all late & the plane going to Bali changed its departure gate twice. Then the planes by the gates had to change areas & the announcement on the public address system said that the planes & late planes had caused overcrowding on the tarmac. All very confusing for passengers. A Japanese elderly couple stupidly lost their carry-on bag & were fretting about it to the airport staff & wandering about looking for it! Because of this they held up their plane to Singapore as all the other passengers had already boarded. They never found the bag as they could not retrace their movements & were frog marched through the departure gate by the airport staff. Goodness knows what became of the ‘unattended baggage’. Our plane was delayed by 45 minutes. Met up with Chris & Allyson who were sad to leave Laura & Steve. Whilst we were in Tasmania they had gone with L & S to Parkes, inland NSW, to see the radio telescope/ museum there & had stayed at a rented homestead. They went on to the Blue Mountains & did some bush walking near the Three Sisters at Katoomba & also near Wentworth Falls. The plane left Sydney at 12 noon & we got a good view of Botany Bay, the harbour & sandy beaches as we headed for Auckland. The flight took 2½ hrs & we had to turn our watches forward 2 hours. Had lunch & an icecream on the Quantas plane. It was quite a small plane with 3 seats on either side of the aisle. Watched some films during the journey. When we arrived at Auckland we queued for over an hour waiting to go through the bio-hazard checks on people’s luggage. There are very strict regulations in NZ about not bringing food, soil, honey, insects, plants etc. As Chris & Allyson had done some bush walking in NSW they had to declare this (or $400 NZ fine) & then they had their shoes checked by the bio-hazard staff for soil & backpack checked for insects/food. We seemed to have spent half the day queuing & hanging around airports. When we were finally waiting for our shuttle bus outside it got dark- it was 6pm by now. We arrived at the Kiwi Motel (shuttle bus cost us $6 each) & checked in which was fairly quick. Keef & I had stayed at this motel on two previous occasions in the past. Our room was spacious with TV & ensuite shower. Had showers & then we all went for dinner at 8pm. I had Italian chicken with mushrooms & cream sauce & the others all had curry & rice. Another guest gave us a bottle of white Auckland wine & a bottle of beer as they were flying out tomorrow & couldn’t take the drinks with them. The staff at reception & the restaurant were friendly & helpful. In fact the receptionist gave us all some free airport shuttle bus tickets for the next day as we were all aged over 50 – result!!!! Very kind of them. We all felt tired so returned to our rooms & shared the wine. I spotted a large green praying mantis on the fabric headboard attached to the bed! Keef took some photos & then I scooped it onto a tissue & put it outside on the window ledge. Tomorrow afternoon we’re flying to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Monday 10 April Auckland to Rarotonga, Cook Islands Our flight to Rarotonga in the South Pacific was not part of our round the world ticket & Keef had to book this separately in England. The plane left Auckland at 4.30pm ( Virgin Australia) & it took 4 hours. We arrived at 10.30pm & apart from turning our watches forward 2 hours we had crossed the international date line. This meant we gained a day but would lose it on our return to Auckland – found it difficult to get my head round this time travel. By the time we cleared customs & bio-hazard questions we collected our hire car which we’d booked in England. We were staying in the Raina Beach House, Titikaveka & it proved tricky to find in the dark as not well signposted. Eventually at midnight we found the right house & had a cup of tea as we were so thirsty (we were not allowed to bring any water into the country). Had a cool shower before turning in. Monday again/ Groundhog Day We all unpacked our bags. I did some laundry & we went for a dip in the lagoon right outside our holiday house. There was a narrow sandy beach at the bottom of some steps from the garden. Beautiful day. Chris got one of the 2 canoes from the garden & went off paddling. I saw lots of sea cucumbers on the sandy sea bed & had to be careful not to tread on them. The water in the lagoon was warm & the coral reef was some distance away but very loud surf. The wall of water breaking over the reef was visible from the shore. Chris, Allyson & Keef saw some brightly coloured fish. After swimming we drove into Avarua, the main town in Rarotonga (also the capital of the Cook Islands). We went past the long white bungalow that was the Cook Islands Parliament. The Queen has a representative here although the Cooks became independent in 1967 (50 years ago). The NZ government helps to ‘administer’ & assist when required to do so. There’s also a NZ High Commission here. We had lunch near the harbour sitting outside a small shack, next to lots of other eateries. The food was excellent – Chris & Allyson had fish of the day with rice & salad, Keef had chicken with peanut butter sauce, salad & rice & I had a toasted cheese & ham sandwich. Keef & I were very thirsty was it was getting very hot so we shared a litre of tropical fruit juice. We walked along to the small harbour with a few small ships moored. One ship was loading cargo to be shipped to one of the other 14 islands in the Cooks. Rarotonga is the main island in the group so has the post office & airport link with New Zealand. There was a cruise ship moored out in the bay. We went to a supermarket for food shopping. Prices were high as most goods were imported apart from local produce. We returned to the beach house & had another swim in the lagoon. Snorkel equipment was provided @ $5NZ a day. The currency is Kiwi dollars apart from a one, two & three dollar coin. The $2 coin was triangular in shape (decided to keep one as a souvenir). We all sat out on the wooden decking – beautiful view of the lagoon & reef. Later on Chris & Keef had a toast sandwich but Allyson & I weren’t hungry. It gets dark about 6pm here but there was no sunset tonight. Apparently the best sunsets are on the east of the island. Lovely & relaxing listening to the waves lapping on the beach & the distant surf pounding on the reef. Chris did some star gazing when the clouds cleared. Tuesday 11 April Rarotonga The big waves crashing on the reef today meant that the sand was churned up in the lagoon. Also the sea came up almost to the top of the narrow beach. Chris, Allyson & Keef went snorkeling whilst I paddled. After breakfast & showers we drove back into Avarua along the west coast. We looked at the shops, including gift & pearl shops & saw the new Court House building. Also walked past Banana Court, which was a hotel built in 1905. In those days there weren’t many shops & houses & a photo board outside the building showed the main street in 1905 with mainly palm trees, vegetation & not much else. The airport was built in the early 1970s which brought in more tourists, especially from New Zealand. Now the main street has one & two storey buildings, apart from the tall Court House. The people were very friendly & helpful. Went into the tourist info & Allyson looked at the pearl shops. The black pearls are cultured pearls farmed on one of the other islands. The locals all greet everyone with Kia Orana (hello) & many local women wear floral garlands on their heads. The language spoken is similar to Maori. Keef & I thought that Rarotonga looked more prosperous than Vanua Levu (Fiji), Western Samoa and Tonga & the homes looked more sturdily built with well-kept gardens. A lot of the locals use mopeds to get around & to go to work. We went to Trader Jacks, a bar by the sea, & had some drinks & then drove back through town to a micro brewery run by a local family. On the walls were framed black & white photos of the town in the early days. There were lots of free range chickens wandering round the streets. Cockerels start crowing before dawn at 5am (I was woken up on our first morning). Not seen any pigs wandering about like they do in other Pacific islands. There is one main road round the island which is 32kms long/20 mls & also an inner road which goes part of the way round. The island was once volcanic & has some tall peaks now covered in rainforest. We saw volcanic black lava remains on our local beach. The island is popular for weddings/ honeymoons & probably a lot of Aussies & Kiwis go there. We drove back to the beach house & at 5pm started cooking the marinated chicken pieces we’d bought in the supermarket. The gas oven ignited but would not stay on so we had to use the electric oven to pre-cook the chicken before putting it on the BBQ. Had salad & some huge rolls from the local bakery with the chicken. Allyson & I wrote our diaries (I had to catch up since we flew from Auckland) & we read our Kindles. Raining outside so we sat indoors. During the night there was a massive rain storm with strong winds. The torrential rain woke us up as well as the doors rattling. Keef got back to sleep. At 4 am I wandered round the house checking that the glass louvres on the windows were not letting the rain in. Still awake at 6.45am when the lightning started & then came the thunder at 7.30. Eventually I dropped off to sleep & slept in until 10.45am!! Before we left Auckland we heard about a tropical cyclone forming in the Vanuatu area expected to be Category 3. It was named Cyclone Cook but as it was much further to the north of the Cooks we were not bothered about it reaching us, although the stormy weather meant that we were getting the peripheral wind & rain. Before we booked the Cook Islands part of the trip I checked when the cyclone season started & ended - November- March. Wednesday 12 April Rarotonga Had a late breakfast. Chris & Keef went snorkeling but saw no fish as the strong winds had stirred up the sand in the lagoon. I read my Kindle on the chaise longue on the decking (Bill Bryson’s ‘One Summer’ about events in the USA in 1927. We all decided to visit the botanical gardens & walked there as it was near the beach house. Very tropical & well-kept even though the ground was a little soggy in places after last night’s storm. Most of the heavy rain had drained away – no wonder there is dense rainforest in the centre of the island. We took lots of photos then went to the café in the gardens to sample their ‘world famous’ lemon meringue cheesecake pie with two scoops of vanilla ice-cream & fresh tropical fruit slices – yummy. We all walked back to the beach house for a cup of tea. At 5pm we set off by car to see a children’s singing & dancing show in Avarua. The lady at the tourist info centre recommended the show to us, as there would be traditional songs & dances by teams of local schoolchildren competing. We went to the second evening of the competition & the event was held in the Cultural Centre arena – a big building with a large stage, & tiered seating around three sides with wooden louvre shutters to let the breeze in & rows of seating in front of the stage. Lots of families were eating snacks from the food stalls outside the arena. The tickets cost $10 per person & although tourist info told us the show started at 6pm it didn’t start until 6.30pm. Chris & Allyson had booked us all in to a local restaurant called Little Polynesian (a small resort as well) at 7.30 so unfortunately we all had to leave after 45 mins during the intermission. The competition was wonderful as the children of varying ages sang traditional Cook Islands songs & danced accompanied by drums & ukuleles. The boys & girls wore traditional Cook Islands grass skirts with the girls having flower garlands in their hair. A lot of women in the audience also wore floral garlands. We saw two school teams perform & they ranged in age from nursery to teens. The little 3 & 4 year olds looked so sweet in their grass skirts & most of them hadn’t a clue about the singing/dancing but stood near the edge of the stage with their teacher. The teachers & some of the teenagers stood at the back & played the music. The audience were told not to take photos or videos because of the young children performing. It was well worth seeing the performances even though it was cut short by our departure. Drove back to the Little Polynesian & had a nice two course meal under an open fale with palm thatched roof on the terrace next to the swimming pool. I had smoked marlin fishcakes with a lime hollandaise sauce & homemade chutney as the starter & then chicken breast stuffed with island spinach served with rice & vegetables. We all enjoyed our mneals & then Keef drove us back along the main road to the beach house. We had a cup of tea & Allyson & I caught up with our diaries. There was wi-fi at the house but there were charges so we didn’t think it was worth doing for 7 days & would probably have been too slow anyway. We could catch up with friends & family when we returned to Auckland. During the night there was more heavy rain drumming on the roof & the wind increased. Don’t think I’ve had a proper nights sleep since I arrived here due to storms, thunder & cockerels. Also I got badly bitten on my arms & legs when we were at the botanical gardens today & they were itchy at night. Keef didn’t sleep that well either. Thursday 13 April Rarotonga I was woken at 8.25am by the cockerel crowing in the garden. The chickens are free range & I’m thinking of guiding them towards the oven, especially that cockerel. Had a shower & sat on the decking & read my Kindle. The others all went snorkeling. Chris showed Keef & I some tropical fish on his underwater videocam. Rain showers. The two guys next door who did the cleaning & changed the towels brought us bananas, coconut & today they brought another coconut & a large chunk of jackfruit. It was overcast & rainy for most of the day with the occasional dry period. Keef & I did some tourist stuff in the car & Chris & Allyson went for a long walk along the coast road & a road up to Wigmore’s Waterfall. It was named after a landowner here. Keef & I drove along the coast road on the east side of the island through Muri, a tourist area with some small resorts, cafes, burger bar, beach bars etc. We stopped at a church in Matavera but it started raining again. We stopped in Avarua again & saw a very old church c 1834 which had walls 3 feet thick to withstand the annual cyclones. The local chief had a gravestone by the main door & his ‘Palace of Makea’ was a large wooden building opposite the church in a grassy field but this was closed. We then went to the Museum of the Cook Islands (+library) in Avarua but this was closed for Easter. In the gardens there was an original outrigger canoe on display under cover. Across the road was the small University of the South Pacific which was also closed for Easter (students have to pay tuition fees there). We walked into the main reception area where there were some replicas of traditional wooden canoes & carved wooden statues, plus a board which listed all the graduates for that year. Obviously a very small uni as there were not that many names listed. We drove to the Takamoa Theological College through impressive large wrought iron gates to a large lawned area by a car park. The white colonial building in the grounds was the original headquarters of the Church Missionary Society in the Cook Islands. On a stone monument at the front of the building was a list of all the missionaries & quite a lot of them were converted local people who were sent out to other islands to preach & convert the people. The monument listed several missionaries who were ‘martyred’ – i.e killed by the locals & eaten. Quite a dangerous career being a missionary in these parts. Sailors used to fear being shipwrecked on these South Pacific islands because they knew they would be killed & eaten – they called the islands the ‘cannibal isles’. We visited the National Museum in another part of the main town and it was open today – hooray! We were hoping to find out about the people & their culture. Some interesting old black & white photos of local chiefs & missionaries – all in Victorian clothes & suits – how they managed wearing long sleeved heavy serge suits & dresses with jackets in the heat & humidity I don’t know. The Victorians loved to put their own cultural values above those of the locals – would the Cook Islanders be considered to be ‘converted to God’ by dressing the same as the British? Why didn’t the Brits relax their dress & wear loose linen clothes in this climate? Mad dogs & Englishmen phrase comes to mind. We also saw some wood artifacts – carved statues, weapons, a stool with serrated shell tied on the front for scraping out coconuts (genius design) & some beautiful woven fine straw hats made by local crafts people. A lot of the museum had an exhibition about Cook Islanders who had served in WWI in France, Gallipoli & North Africa. A lot of them died of malaria & some died in the trenches in France. Some came from Rarotonga & a few were from the outlying islands & each soldier had a photo on the wall. The Islanders were used as navvies to dig the trenches as the British did not want to train them to handle guns & Munitions. These men were very young and had all volunteered to go to war, even though it was on the other side of the world & in the middle of nowhere. Strange that they felt so compelled to enlist in a war that had no immediate effect on them, their families or environment & yet did they feel a sense of duty to the Commonwealth & Britain to do so? Some of the men were buried in war graves in France. Several received bravery awards – the Military Medal & Distinguished Service Cross. ANZAC day is commemorated in this museum in Rarotonga. Keef & I returned to the beach house around dusk & later Chris & Keef drove to get us all some fish & chips which we ate indoors. Friday 14 April Good Friday Rarotonga Weather still overcast & rainy but the sea was clear for snorkeling & kayaking. Chris & Allyson did a walk along the coast road to Muri & K & I drove around the inner road. We visited the same waterfall as C & A & there were people sitting in the pool on a ledge at the bottom of the waterfall, which was not very high. A girl told us that the pool was 8 feet deep & she dived off the ledge as the locals said it was OK to do so. Along the inner ring road were houses, small fields of taro, papaya, cassava & orange trees. We saw a breadfruit tree with large fruit like melons. Also saw small goats, a couple of cows & some pigs tied to a tree with a long leash of rope. We noticed that so many houses had shipping containers in the front gardens. We thought that these were used as emergency quarters during a cyclone but would not be much good for a tsunami. There is a tsunami escape route on the south side of the island which is a road built especially towards higher ground. There are also tsunami sirens that act as a warning to the population. We came out at Avarua along the inner ring road and passed a cinema where families were just leaving & tucking into fast food at stalls located outside. We took some photos of the Cook Islands Parliament building. Drove back along the east coast looking for Chris & Allyson walking back as there were no buses on Good Friday. Didn’t see them, so we returned to the beach house & found they had just got back from their walk. Keef cooked spiced kumara (NZ variety of sweet potato) & omelettes & I made a salad using up the leftovers as we were returning to NZ on Sunday evening. TO BE CONTINUED APRIL DIARY CONTINUED Saturday 15 April Rarotonga Much better weather today (we must have caught the far edge of the Vanuatu cyclone to the NW of us. We had an early breakfast & drove into Avarua for the weekly market. Lots of colourful market stalls selling everything from black pearls/ shell jewelry, handmade ukuleles, straw hats, food, smoothies, beach wraps (pareo), clothing etc. There were performers who did a show on the raised stage – adults & older children who sang, danced & played various styles of drum. The drummers had won lots of annual music awards representing the Cook Is in South Pacific competitions, including every year for the past 5 years. There was a voluntary collection of money from the audience which went towards travel expenses of local children doing a school pupil swap in USA, Oz & NZ so they could see other parts of the world. The entertainment was great, they allowed photos/videos to be taken & in between light drizzle showers the sun came out. Very high U.V & also became extremely humid. Had a lovely fruit smoothie at a market stall. Allyson bought some black pearl gifts for her family & some small artwork prints. We all walked along to the Tourist Info to ask about a music afternoon at the beach from 2.30-9.30 that we’d heard about. She wasn’t clear about it, so sounded a bit hit & miss. Walked on to Trader Jacks bar for a drink but they were closed (why on a Saturday afternoon?) Walked back to Foodland supermarket & bought some cereal & fruit juice, then drove to the lager micro brewery again on the outskirts of town. Humidity today has been excessive & as we have no internet we’ve no idea of temperatures. Thought we’d return to the beach house & a welcome swim in the lagoon to cool off. Very refreshing having dripped sweat all afternoon. Chris & Allyson decided to take the car & drive along the inner ring road which we said was worth an explore & told them about the missionary colonial building in Avarua. On the way back they had spotted a popular burger bar in Muri which would be ideal for the evening meal. We all had cup of tea & showers & went to the burger bar. Decided to bring the food back to the house as the wet weather had increased the mosquito population. Very nice burgers. We all did some packing, had showers again & went to bed. Sunday 16 April Rarotonga to Auckland Got up at 8am & the phone rang at 8.15. When I answered it was Tanya (the beach house owner) contacting us about our departure. Yesterday Keef had negotiated an extension to 11am for us to stay on longer than 10am as Tanya had told him that new visitors were arriving at 2pm today. She rang today to change this, saying for an additional cost we could stay until 7pm tonight. Our flight back to Auckland was at 11.15pm so it would be much better for us to stay here all day than to load up the hire car with all our bags & spend hours in a bar. C & A thought this was a good idea too, so we agreed to extend the rental until 7pm & then the male cleaners could come in then. Keef & I went to put some fuel in the car at the local garage & shop. We bought 2 oranges (they were green on the outside but still looked like oranges inside). We heard singing in the local church which was beautiful, so got our camera & Allyson’s camera to take some photos of the locals in the church, one of the oldest in Rarotonga. We looked through the open windows & everyone was in their Sunday best with flower garlands/straw hats worn by the women. Saw some NZ tourists that we’d met on the beach the other day sitting on a pew. Spent the rest of the day relaxing, taking photos, watching kite surfers, a canoeist on an outrigger canoe, beach walking & reading. For lunch we had smoked marlin slices on toast & leftover nibbles & fruit. Keef & I had booked the restaurant at the Little Polynesian resort again for 7.15pm. We had showers, completed our last minute packing, then drove along to the restaurant. Had a nice meal & chatted to our waitress who was from Fiji. I had marlin fishcakes again, chicken salad & vanilla bean brulee with alcohol infused pineapple pieces. We set off to the airport. It was 28c & very humid. We’d had rain showers during the meal & at the airport. The plane was delayed an hour – it had come from Sydney via Auckland – so we didn’t leave Rarotonga until 12.15. The airline was Virgin Australia & not much room in the seats or leg room. I was seated next to the window & as it was dark there was no view at take-off. Tried to sleep after completing the NZ arrival bio-hazard security cards with the long list of what you could not bring into the country. Probably managed about 1½ hrs sleep. International date line Missed Monday 17th The flight took 4 hours to Auckland & as we crossed the international date line again we lost a day – Easter Monday. When we landed it was Tuesday 2.30am. We got through the bio-security check at Auckland airport very quickly this time & then went to collect our 3rd bag which we had left at Left Luggage for that week. Eventually the guy there found our bag & we got a taxi to the Airport Gateway Hotel at 3.45am. Knackered & went to bed. Tuesday 18 April Auckland, North Island Slept well until 9am & so did Chris & Allyson. It was a good idea to stay at the hotel near the airport as it was open 24/7. The receptionist ordered us a taxi into the city centre, to the Ramada Hotel. We went to the café next door for a coffee & snack & were joined by Chris & Allyson. Then we all walked down towards the harbour & went to the transport centre (Brittomart) to find out about buses. We decided it wasn’t worth getting an electronic bus pass for only 3 days in Auckland. Allyson booked tickets on her phone to see a laser light show with Pink Floyd music. It was held at 7.30pm at the Stardome, One Tree Hill Domain near Newmarket, a suburb of Auckland. We planned on getting a bus to see the show that evening. Walked to the ferry terminal & looked at the harbour trips/ferry to Rangitoto Island. Keef & I had been to Auckland twice before so Chris & Allyson did some sightseeing round the harbour & city centre & we did a short walk along the harbour front & then returned to our hotel to catch up on our e-mails & online banking as we had no wi-fi in the Cook Islands. I did some laundry as there was a washing machine & dryer in the ensuite bathroom (I picked the hotel because of this & also it was in the city centre so we didn’t need a bus). At 6pm we all met up in the hotel reception & walked to the bus stop. Caught a bus out to Newmarket, a residential area with a few shops. Had some fast food – I had hoki fish & chips & the others had Turkish kebabs. Walked to the Stardome nearby & had a glass of wine (included in the ticket). The music/laser light show started dead on time at 7.30pm & our seats tilted back so we were gazing at the domed ceiling. It was amazing – music was Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd & the coloured laser lights were brilliant, projecting complicated pattern on the ceiling a bit like a childs kaleidoscope. There was an intermission where we had another glass of wine & some savoury nibbles. Chatted to a bloke who was South African living in Auckland. Part 2 of the show was The Wall with graphics & lasers. We all thoroughly enjoyed the show & then caught a bus back to the city centre at 10.45pm. I have finally got rid of the cold that I caught in Tassie – hooray! Wednesday 19 April Auckland Amazed to read in the tourist/map booklet that one third of New Zealand’s population lives in Auckland – i.e over 4 million. Chris & Allyson were keen to do the coast to coast walk today - 16kms across the city & suburbs (4- 5 hr hike) so Keef & I booked tickets to go to Rangitoto Island on the ferry & do the Volcanic Explorer tour. As we had some time before getting the 12.15am ferry we walked along the harbour towards the marina & fish market. There was a large cruise liner in dock called the Emerald princess which we’d seen in Sydney. Very sunny weather today. Silo Park was the marina area & there was a lift-up vehicle & pedestrian bridge which let large tall yachts through from the harbour to the moorings. Bumped into Sarah, the daughter of Pete & Sue, who had been back-packing around NZ. Chris & Allyson knew that she was in Auckland & were hoping to meet up with her. We invited her to join us all at a Korean BBQ restaurant around 7pm that evening. She said she would contact Allyson to confirm the meal was arranged. Keef & I got the ferry to Rangitoto, an island in the Hauraki Gulf beyond Auckland harbour. The island was an extinct volcano which had erupted from the sea bed 600 years ago (in the 14th c) in two massive explosions 10-15 years apart. It’s the largest volcano in the Auckland area with its cone rising 260m (850 ft) high. Apparently local Maori tribes (ini) were present at the time of the eruptions as human footprints were found between layers of volcanic ash. The island is managed by the Department of Conservation & has a ranger living on it in a small house, although there is no water or electricity available. We got on a tourist road train pulled by a tractor & the ranger took us on a tour around the island & gave an interesting commentary. We saw lava fields – black clinker which was very rocky & would have been extremely difficult to walk across. Prisoners had built the road round the island by flattening the lava rock in the 1920. A lot of the island is forest & shrubs – it was surprising that plants could grow in that environment. The island has NZ’s largest Pohutukawa tree forest (this tree has amazing red flowers at Christmas time). The road train stopped at the base of the volcano summit & we started to climb the 300 wooden steps towards the crater rim. It was hard work climbing & Keef had to give up halfway through because of his bad knees. I took the camera & carried on & it took me another ½ hour of climbing to reach the top. I took photos of the 360 degree panoramic views of Auckland, the Hauraki Gulf & islands & a container ship. After a few minutes of catching my breath, I started the descent as the warden on the tour said we had to be back by 2.30 prompt. It took me another 30 minutes to rush back. The steps were each 9” high – so hard work. The rest of the island tour took us past mangroves & views of Auckland across the sea. The ferry returning to Auckland was very packed & the wind made the sea quite choppy. In the evening we went with C & A to meet Sarah at the Korean BBQ restaurant at 7.10pm. The place was busy & on each table was a wok & gas burner. We selected various meats & vegetables from the buffet to cook in the wok & you could choose various sauces, rice & noodles as well. You could go back to the buffet as much as you liked. Sarah said she liked NZ & had stayed in backpacker hostels. She was flying on to Sydney early the next morning. We had a nice evening & meal. Thursday 20 April Auckland Keef & I had never visited Devonport, a Victorian seaside town across the harbour from the city, so we wanted to see it this trip. Took the ferry across (only 15mins) to the small town & wandered around the shops & bought some gifts for the family. There is an extinct volcano behind the town called Mount Victoria, plus two other smaller ones. Mount Victoria looked like a small grassy hill. There is the NZ naval base near Devonport as well. The town seemed laid-back with a relaxed vibe & it had several small beaches. Its painted wooden Victorian villas only cost $1.5 million- $2.5m in the estate agent window. I had my hair cut in a local hairdressers (only $30 - £15.50). Visited several craft shops & we had lunch in a café (beef lasagna, chips & coffee). We caught the ferry back to the city & got a bus to the National Art Gallery. We spent 1½ hours there. Saw some amazing life-like oil paintings of Māori chiefs & elders, including women. Two people were 102 years old with black facial tattoos. Also the gallery had a Monet & Picasso painting & Barbara Hepworth sculpture. Not impressed with modern NZ art & the video portraits of people. Keef had tummy trouble so we didn’t go out for another meal & just had a sandwich & some salad which we ate back at the hotel. Chris & Allyson had had a good day – they had got the ferry to Rangitoto & walked to the crater (2hrs return). Keef rang his Mum for 25 mins (Skype call). E-mailed the rest of our family & checked our e-mails. Friday 21 April Auckland to Orewa Got up at 7am & had showers & breakfast in our room (no restaurant in this hotel). At 10am we got a taxi to take us to Britz Motorhomes which was near the airport. Having checked that we had all got the right equipment supplied with our two vans, we set off across Auckland to join the A1 motorway to Orewa, north of the city. At 1pm we checked in at the Top 10 campsite first to book our pitches, did the food shopping at Countdown & then returned to the campsite. Had sandwich/crisps for lunch at 3pm. Then we unpacked our bags & sorted ourselves out. Our motorhome is a Britz 2 person, fairly new looking inside with a Mercedes Benz engine. Chris & Allyson did the dinner – ratatouille & baked kumara with wine. We looked at the map for planning our route. Saturday 22 April Orewa to Whangarei We all had a short walk along the beach at Orewa. It brought back happy memories for Keef & I as Craig, Doug & Phoenix started our month’s tour of North Island here in December 2007. Orewa is a lovely coastal town, although there was a notice near the beach stating the safe routes to avoid a tsunami! We drove the Hibiscus Coast Highway from Orewa to Wellsford, stopping for a break at Puhoi historic village. Lovely scenery – rolling hills, tall tree ferns & Pohutukawa trees. We went to Mangawhai Heads for another break from driving. Walked on the sandy beach & watched paragliders jump off a tall hill above the beach. Very warm & sunny, with a sea breeze by the sea. We stopped again further on at Ruakaka Beach & got a view of some islands & coast – again a beautiful white sandy beach. We stopped the night around 5pm in Whangarei Top 10 campsite. Kiwis call Whangerei (pronounced Fangari) a city, but by English standards it was just a large town. Keef still not well – a dicky tummy which he’s had since the Art Gallery visit in Auckland. Sunday 23 April Whangerei to Russell Keef had no dinner last night & no breakfast either as still tummy trouble. Allyson seems to have got over her tummy problems too. We visited the marina (aka town basin by locals) & walked along the boardwalk. We watched a glass blower at work at the back of a craft gallery. He made some lovely coloured vases but they were too heavy to pack & would have got broken. Went into Pac n Save supermarket to get some more milk & bread etc. We drove the coastal road to Tutukaka & Matapouri. The Tutukaka Coast is rated as one of the top coastal destinations on the planet by National Geographic Traveller. The beaches here are pristine with white sand. We stopped at Kawakawa for a break & to see the famous architect designed toilets in the small town. They were covered everywhere in broken tiles mosaics (not the actual loos though!) There were some other quirky mosaic objects in the town such as a mosaic tile sofa, street lamp & flower containers – took photos. Lovely scenery on the route. We took the car ferry across the bay to Russell (cost $12.50 for our van) & arrived at the Russell Top 10 campsite. We got two pitches next to each other on the ‘bay view’ tier. The campsite is on the side of a steep hill (we had camped here 4 years ago). Saw a weka walking around our pitches (was he the same bird as last time?). Had spaghetti Bolognese for dinner, although Keef’s stomach still not good so he had nothing to eat. Monday 24 April Russell We had booked 2 nights at the campsite. Chris & Allyson went for a walk in the town & Keef& I drove to Rawhiti where we saw a beautiful carved wood Marae. The Marae is where Maori people can get together as a community & the building also has spiritual meaning for them. The wood carvings depicted a war canoe, strange looking faces and dolphins. Took some photos & as no one was around we peeped through the windows. We saw some lovely shrubs in people’s gardens such as hibiscus & bottlebrush trees etc. We then returned to Russell, a small & attractive town once dubbed the ‘hellhole of the Pacific’ because of the drunken sailors & whalers & general lawlessness. Nowadays the local policeman lives in a lovely wooden heritage building in front of the jetty, complete with white picket fence. The houses in the town looked like white Cape Cod wooden ones with white picket fences in the front gardens & some had verandahs. Keef was still feeling ill. We met up with Chris & Allyson eating fish & chips by the jetty about 4pm. There was no point in going out to a restaurant in town as we’d planned so instead we had cheese & biscuits back at the motorhomes (but not for K). Later when it was dark Keef & I went looking for kiwi but didn’t see any. We could hear them calling out in the woods. Not many stars out tonight. Tuesday 25 April Russell to near Cape Reinga ANZAC Day Public Holiday in NZ Set off at 10am. C & A did not want to go across the bay on the car ferry again, so wanted to drive the 40kms round instead. Took a shorter route along gravel roads, through a forest up a mountain & zig-zagged down again. Beautiful warm day & we only saw a couple of cars going the other way. We saw a few birds of prey & a kingfisher. The route took us 1hr 20 mins but was scenic, although very bumpy. This area of Northland has a lot of Māori communities, & we drove past a few settlements & the Maraes. We stopped briefly in a car park at Paihia, Bay of Islands, for the loo & Chris bought 3 pies. K & I had been to Paihia in 2007 with Craig & Doug & we had gone on a boat trip to see the dolphins. K still unwell. Stopped again at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds further round the bay & took some photos. In 1840 the British had conned some of the Māori chiefs into signing a treaty which would protect them & assist with ‘governance’. 35 chiefs signed i.e. put their mark on the document. The treaty document had been translated into Māori the previous night by Henry Williams, an English missionary. The English version of the treaty stated that the British under Queen Victoria had ‘sovereignty’ of New Zealand i.e. it became British owned. The British were desperate to acquire NZ before the French did (the French had visited the country & were very interested in it too). In modern times the Māori people have lodged around 2,000 claims to date against the NZ government to get their ancestral lands back. In the 19thc Māori people had no concept of selling land or even another country taking them over. Some of the Māori chiefs never even signed the treaty. Some of the claims have been settled by the Waitangi Tribunal & others are still ongoing. Probably a contentious issue especially if Kiwi farmers have to give up their land & presume they would be given compensation by the government. A bit of a historical mess which has had major repercussions. We continued driving along the scenic Twin Coast Discovery Highway to Whangaroa, the marlin fishing capital of NZ & ate our pies for lunch. No fishermen around but 4 years ago K & I saw two massive marlin being weighed on the jetty & craned onto the fishermen’s ute. Saw Mangonui again (heritage town) & then did a quick detour & stopped to take photos at the iconic Ninety Mile Beach on the shores of the Tasman Sea (west coast of North Island). There were a few cars/utes driving along the beach (officially designated as a road) & only 55 mls long but in the 19thc they didn’t have accurate surveying equipment). Lovely scenery up to the ‘top end’ of North Island – hilly, volcanic, massive sand dunes. We stayed the night at a DoC campsite (Dept of Conservation) 3kms south of Cape Reinga. It was a very steep descent down a thin twisty gravel road to the bay. The campsite was situated very close to the beach but was very basic in amenities. The overnight fees were cheap - we had to put our cash payment in an envelope with the vehicle reggo & our address & post it into a box. There were quite a few people staying – campers/backpackers & other motorhomes. I went for a walk on the sandy beach which had lava rocks at one end. Gets dark at 6.15 now. After dinner we looked at the stars & milky way as it was a clear sky. It’s very warm during the day but noticed that the nights are cooler. We’re in Autumn season at the moment & a Kiwi lady told us that winter starts on 1 June, which is when we leave NZ for Singapore. Keef & I went kiwi spotting with a torch as we were in a wilderness area but Keef got bored after 2 mins. Wednesday 26 April Cape Reinga to Ahipara At 10am we were about to set off to drive to Cape Reinga but Chris discovered there was a front flat tyre by on the drivers side. He tried to fix it but the jack that came with the motorhome was not tall enough as the van was on grass/soil. Also he discovered that the spare wheel underneath the van had no tread left. Not good. We decided that K & I would drive back to the nearest garage to ring Britz & get breakdown help as no mobile phone signal at the campsite, which was in the middle of no where. We drove 20kms to the nearest garage & Keef used their phone to ring Britz. They said they would get a breakdown vehicle to change the tyre & then Chris would need to drive to Kaitaia to a tyre replacement garage by 5pm. We still wanted to carry on to Cape Reinga as we were only 3kms away. We parked in the car park & walked down the path to the lighthouse, seeing spectacular views of the coast all the way. Very sunny. Met a friendly Kiwi family by the lighthouse & they took a group photo of us. The car park & lighthouse were free for tourists unlike lighthouses in Australia which charged fees. Then we went on to Te Paki sand dunes which were MASSIVE. Kids & adults were having a fun time sand surfing down the steep sides & quite entertaining watching them. Took some photos. Left the sand dunes at 3pm & got to the tyre place at 4.30pm. The garage decided to repair the tear in the tyre rather than replace it & charged the cost to Britz. We decided that to drive to the next Top 10 site Kaihu was too far away as it was already 5pm. Instead K & I suggested we go to the Kiwi Family Park at Ahipara, a few kms away, as we’d stayed there 4 years ago. We arrived at the campsite an hour before it got dark. K & I went to get our van’s water tank filled up & had to unblock the waste water tank as there was sediment in the bottom. We put the hosepipe down the kitchen sink plug hole which made the waste water drainage more free flowing. Allyson & Keef had stomach upsets still so only Chris & I had dinner. Then we got out the maps to discuss route plans. We wanted to go back to the east coast, Coromandel & Papamoa Beach as there were areas we hadn’t seen & Chris & Allyson wanted to see Rotorua & the glow-worm caves in the central region of the island, which we had visited 10 years ago. Decided to drive our own routes & meet up in the Top 10 campsite at Wellington on 9 May. We gave Allyson our free booking ticket for the Waitomo glow-worm caves so they had two tickets (part of the Britz hire package included 1 person’s free entry to the caves). Once we’d sorted out our plans we checked our e-mails & read our Kindles. Thursday 27 April Ahipara to Baldrock Farm,betw Brynderwyn & Kaiwaka off Highway 1 Left the Kiwi Park campsite at 9.10am hoping to catch the 10am ferry across Hokianga harbour heading south. We passed the most spectacular scenery from Ahipara to Kohukotu along the Twin Coast Discovery Highway on the west coast. It took us past ancient volcanoes, old Maori Pa (fortifications on top of hills), deep valleys, Kauri forests with giant trees & tree ferns, & evidence of ancient tiered farming by Maoris on the sides of steep hills. At Kohukotu we got the 11am small 24 hr vehicle ferry across to Rawene which took 15 minutes. The road to the ferry from Ahipara was very twisty & parts had cracks in the tarmac from earth tremors. There were very low clouds in the hills that we drove through. Hokianga harbour was where the first Maoris arrived in New Zealand in their large war canoes (waka) from Polynesia, based on their oral traditions. They had crossed the Pacific by using the stars to navigate & came across the massive harbour with its narrow entrance. From Rawene we followed the road to Opononi which was famous for its friendly dolphin in the bay between 1955-56 which interacted with the local people. There was a statue dedicated to the well-loved dolphin called ‘Opo’. Another small village called Omapere edged the harbour with views across to giant sand dunes. We drove to the lookout point near the harbour heads & did a short walk to get the views. As we neared the town of Dargaville the land flattened out for farming kumara (NZ sweet potato. In the town we stopped by the Wairoa River near the boat jetty. The river walk was blocked off so we went food shopping in Countdown to get supplies for the Coromandel as we knew there were not many shops/supermarkets on that peninsular. Saw Chris & Allyson in the car park- they had just been to the local garage to have the brake pads checked on their motorhome as a warning light on the dashboard had been on permanently. The van had to be raised up & all 4 wheels were removed. Apparently everything was OK with the brakes. They thought that they would have to drive back to Britz in Auckland to have the brakes checked, but Britz directed them to a garage in Dargaville instead. C & A were heading towards Rotorua. We set off again to Brynderwyn & down Highway 1 to near Kaiwaka where we decided to stop for the night at 5pm. We turned off to Baldrock Farm, 100 acres with hilly fields & some cows & lots of hens wandering about. Called in at the bungalow & the female owner was very pleasant. Her great grandfather had been Mayor of Nottingham! We paid a small fee & then drove along a track, up a couple of hills, through some trees & parked on top of another hill with lovely views. The outside dunny/toilet was in a tiny hut which looked like a Swedish sauna. We were the only people there, although there were some other campers (Japanese, Austrian & German) near the bungalow. It was very quiet as we were well away from the bungalow & highway. Keef was feeling much better today – he had 3 meals so his stomach is OK now. He’d been ill since the previous Thursday when we were in Auckland (7 days ago). Not sure what caused the stomach bug but I had been OK, so a mystery. Friday 28 April Baldrock Farm to Shelly Beach, Coromandel Got up at 7am – lovely views from the hill top this morning. Had cereal & drove along the track back to the farm car park where there was a hot shower/loo which we used. The hens were pecking round our van. Drove back to the main highway & saw several wild bush turkeys. Took the scenic route again after Wellesford towards Helensville. Saw massive sculptures in a farmer’s fields & we stopped at a high lookout with 180 degree views down the valley towards the sea. Bright & sunny again – we’ve had good weather since arriving in NZ. Noticed a sweet honey scent on the breeze – is this from Manuka trees/shrubs? We stopped for a break at Helensville railway station for coffee – it had a café in the old waiting room & a large verandah outside. After Helensville the countryside flattened out & there were orchards & farms. We skirted round Auckland on Highway 16 so did not need to pass over the harbour bridge. Headed towards Manukau on Highway 1 & then turned off at Pokeno to Thames, on the Coromandel Peninsular. We had done the Coromandel twice before but we love the scenery there & its listed as one of the top areas for New Zealanders to visit. Volcanoes & lava rocks on the beaches on the west side of the Coromandel, with views across the Firth of Thames. We had lunch at Thames, an old gold rush town c 1880. It retains an aura of a wild west cowboy town with the hotels & buildings & also above the main shops. Gold was found nearby which caused a rush by prospectors eager to make their fortune. We parked the motorhome by the Victorian bandstand & ancient Pohutukawa trees. Very sunny so we sat outside on the picnic chairs. After lunch we drove along the narrow twisty road along the coast. The road edge had a 10 foot drop to the rocky lava beach. There had been earth landslides on one part of the road (caused by either rain or earth tremors) which roadwork teams were clearing away. The road then climbed up a steep mountain with fantastic views at various laybys/ lookouts towards the coast & islands in the sea. We saw Coromandel Town & then went to the Top 10 campsite at Shelly Beach where we filled up the van’s water tank, had tea & went for a beach walk – dark sand with lots of white shells. Keef said he had a dicky stomach again. The toilet/shower facilities here were very good & hardly anyone on this campsite. Saturday 29 April Shelly Beach, nr Colville to Waihi Beach Got up at 7am, had showers/ breakfast & left at 9.10 to drive to Port Jackson in Cape Colville, the most northerly point on the Coromandel & off the beaten track. We had not managed to do go further than Colville on our past trips. We had sought advice about whether we could drive to Port Jackson in a motorhome & the lady at the campsite said that although part of the route was gravel it was quite level so not too bumpy for driving. The road was part tarmac/ part gravel but it was rather misty & drizzly so the views were not too good. The route was twisty & passed the Tibetan Buddhist retreat & Colville itself – a few houses, general store & post office. There were a few ‘wash-outs’ & areas where the earth bank at the side of the road had collapsed. There were lots of very old Pohutukawa trees which were so weathered by the sea winds that the trunks had bent & they were growing sideways. Saw some people fishing on rocks at the bottom of a small cliff. Very few cars along the road. At Port Jackson there were just 3 houses & views of a small volcanic island. The trip took us 1½ hours to drive to Port Jackson because of the narrow windy gravel road & at one point we had to cross a ford. On the return journey we were slightly quicker & returned to Coromandel Town, then took the road which climbed over the Coromandel Range. In the past we’d done the route in sunny weather but today it was still rainy & misty. Drove through Whitianga & Mercury Bay along the Pacific Coast Highway (tourist scenic route). Now the rain had stopped – sunshine! Can’t complain – this was the most rain we have had since we arrived in NZ. At Tairua we saw houses built up the sides of an extinct volcano (took photos). We arrived at the Top 10 campsite at Waihi Beach at 5pm. Not impressed with the facilities – we were put near the beach. There was a grubby concrete floor in the unisex toilets & 3 showers. It started raining heavily & got quite windy. We stayed in the motorhome & checked our e-mails etc & looked at the CCTV at the front of our house & saw Dave, our next door neighbour doing some gardening – riveting viewing!!! Craig had sent us a photo of himself, Leanne & Edie sitting in our lounge, so glad the house was OK. Sunday 30 April Waihi Beach to Papamoa Beach Re-filled our van’s water tank & then K & I went into reception to complain about the quality of the facilities. They were not clean & the campsite was one of the most expensive we’d stayed in – supposed to be 5*, had a pool & gym & was virtually on the beach. Keef complained that we were only given 250mb of wi-fi when we should have been given 500mb. Not impressed with the price they charged at this site too. Left Waihi Beach at 10am & drove along the Pacific Coast Highway through Katikati, the mural town. Lots of huge painted murals on the sides of buildings depicting the town’s history. Keef took some photos, although we had been through the town four years ago. We avoided the toll road round Tauranga & saw the marina there & port. Not very scenic – industrial with oil terminals. Further along the coast we came to Mount Manganui on the coast & this was a nice town set at the base of a large extinct volcano. The bay was called Pilot Bay & weather was very sunny but quite breezy. Had a walk & bought some boysenberry ice-creams – very nice – you can’t get this type of ice-cream in England. Crossed to the Pacific beach side of Mt Mangonui & sat on a bench with a great view of the long golden sand beach stretching down the Bay of Plenty to Papamoa Beach & beyond. Some expensive looking homes along this coast. We continued on to Papamoa Beach & did some shopping at Countdown supermarket. Then we checked into the Papamoa Beach Resort, our favourite campsite. It was no longer a Top 10 site which stopped 2 years ago but the resort reception still had our names & address on their computer records from 4 years ago!! We had also stayed there 10 years ago, so this was our 3rd visit as we liked it so much. Arrived at 2.15pm & got a pitch (S5 Beach Road) by the beach with a view of the sea. Keef cooked us a bacon & egg cob for lunch. He chatted to the man in the caravan on the next pitch who was originally from Bucks, UK & had emigrated with his wife & daughter 14 years ago. I did some laundry & hung it on the washing lines as weather was good, then we went for a walk along the beach. Not many people around as Autumn & no school holidays. I cooked prawns& noodles with satay sauce after Keef had downloaded his photos from the camera to the laptop & checked & paid the credit card bill. We had booked 2 nights at this campsite. THE END Diary 1st - 30th May Saying Hi to the Horse at Coalville Monday 1 May Papamoa Beach Had leisurely breakfast & the man in the caravan came for a chat for 2 hours!! He could talk for England & he did!!! He was a painter/decorator & had been living with his wife in the caravan whilst waiting for planning permission for the house they were going to build. His adult daughter had played for NZ in underwater hockey (aka Octo Push) which we had never heard of as a sport. Keef had caught the sun as his face had gone a bit red. We went for a walk round the campsite & to the local shop where we bought icecreams. Keef cooked pasta carbonara with bacon, leftover lamb & spicy sausage. It was extremely cold in the van overnight even though we had a duvet (a thin summer duvet). Tuesday 2 May Papamoa Beach to Lake Taupo We left the campsite at 9.10am after cereal & toast for breakfast. Drove through Te Puke, a town surrounded by kiwi fruit farms. We had visited Kiwi 360 World 10 years ago. Saw some men going to pick the kiwi fruit which is packed & sent all over the world. Along the coast route we saw Whale island & White Island, which is a live volcano in the sea. Took some photos of the volcano belching smoke. Drove through Whakatane, a busy & prosperous town which has a 40% Maori population according to the tourist book. The town boasts a waterfall which is in the main street. Today there was no water running down the rock face. The town was busy with lots of shops, cafes, a cinema & theatre. We turned back to see Edgecumbe, a rather tatty town which had recently been flooded by Cyclone Cook, which we’d seen on the news whilst in Auckland. A bridge had been damaged & lots of homes flooded when the Rangitaiki River burst its banks due to very heavy rain. We left the coast & took a small inland road through forestry land. Men were felling trees with chainsaws & loading up lorries with the logs. Further on there was a sign saying the road was closed but we asked at a garage & it had just re-opened that lunchtime. The river had burst its banks & washed away the road, so the local council had put down tons of gravel to rebuild it. Stopped for lunch by a beautiful picnic spot by Lake Aniwhenua. The trees had autumn colours & we ate lunch on our chairs outside as it was so warm & sunny. There were a few other motorhomes there as well. The lake had a small concrete dam & the water was channelled through a sluice to create hydro-electric power. The power station was accessed across the top of the dam & was cleverly hidden in some trees so not visible. We decided not to walk to the power station but it was a lovely picnic spot in the middle of no where. Went on to Murupara, a small residential village with a secondary school where all the school kids had finished for the day & were walking home. Rather a rundown town we thought & no jobs for people in that vicinity. The road passed through dense forests & then we came to a thermal area where steam was rising from water in a ditch at the side of the road. Other steam vents were also visible in the area. This was because we were south east of Rotorua. We took a side road through Broadlands ( dairy farming area) & Rotokawa. We arrived in Taupo at 4.45pm & parked in the town. Bought some boysenberry icecreams & walked down to Lake Taupo. Saw some long rowing boats & in the distance the massive volcanoes in Tongariro National Park. Some had snow on the summits & low cloud. Taupo had not changed much at all from when we’d visited twice before in the summer but it was quieter today as it’s Autumn, so no crowds. The lake is huge – the biggest in NZ & Australia. The evening was drawing in as we were walking around & it was getting chilly. We left Taupo & drove along the east side of the lake towards Turangi. We spotted a reserve by the side of Lake Taupo where other motorhomes had parked up for the night. It was free to stay & motorhomes that were self-contained were allowed to park there for up to 4 nights. We parked our motorhome right by the lake edge & watched the sun go down beyond the volcanoes. Had soup, cheese & biscuits for dinner. The waves lapping against the shore were quite loud – we were only about 5 feet away from the edge of the lake. Wednesday 3 May Lake Taupo to Whakapapa Left at 10am & drove around the lake towards Turangi. We spotted where we did trout fishing by a bridge & stream 10 years ago with Craig, Phoenix & Doug. Brought back happy memories of our holiday together although we never did catch any trout! Taupo & Turangi are allegedly the best places in the world to do trout fishing. At Turangi we got fuel, shopping at New World supermarket & some lovely steak & cheese pies at the local bakery, which we had for lunch later. After Turangi we took the road to Rangipo & then the Desert Road across bleak moorland. We stopped the van for lunch at a lay-by with a view of Mt Ruapehu (2,797m high) in sunshine. However, the clouds/ drizzle/mist set in & the weather turned nasty. Whilst we were sitting having our lunch in the van there was a cracking noise/ big thud under the van. Must have been an earth tremor as there were no other vehicles around. No cracks under our van. Suddenly the weather improved with blue sky & clouds in the distance so we decided to go to Whakapapa Village & camp there for the night. We drove through Waioru, a NZ army base & army museum in the town & turned off to Ohakune, the carrot capital of NZ with a naff giant plastic carrot plonked in the middle of the town. K took a naff photo. The weather changed again – raining & misty. Could hardly see the volcanoes - Mt Tongariro, Mt Ngauruhoe (aka Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings) or Mt Ruapehu. Went past the Chateau Tongariro & arrived at 5pm at the campsite in pouring rain. It cost $42 with electric hook-up to stay but good facilities & hot showers. It rained all evening non-stop. We had to switch on the electric blow heater provided by Britz as very cold. Thursday 4 May Whakapapa Village to Hastings on east coast Had hot showers & breakfast. Went to the dump station to get rid of our waste water & fill up with fresh water & saw Chris & Allyson there! We thought they had left Whakapapa heading to Taupo but they were there for 3 nights. They had done the 6½ hr Tama Lakes walk which luckily was in good weather so got good views of the scenery. Craig, Doug & Phoenix had done the same walk 10 years ago which took them 7 hrs return as they went for a swim in one of the lakes before returning. The campsite at Whakapapa had not changed one bit after 10 years. Nice to catch up with C & A over a coffee in the local café after we had all looked at the local visitors centre opposite. K & I bought a poster of Tongariro N.P aerial view of the 3 volcanoes for $22. Chris & Allyson said they had visited Rotorua, then west to Waitomo caves & then SE to Tongariro National Park. They were off to Taupo next & we suggested they drive the road to Mt Ruapehu where there was a ski resort & chair lift to get the view. Also we told them about the free camping by Lake Taupo & suggested they visit Hukka Falls. We had planned our route to head towards the Pacific coast as the weather was better there. We drove back through national Park village, Ohakune & Waiouru again, & then to Taihape where we got fuel. The helpful lady at the garage filled up our gas container (cost $5.78) even though we’d only used up 1/5 of the 5 litres in the container when full. We assume that Britz had filled up the gas cylinder before our trip but had no way of knowing if this was so. Sunny weather & warm. After Taihape we took a route across country towards Hastings on the Pacific coast & Hawke Bay. The road was called ‘Gentle Annie’ & was not marked as a tourist route. This route was fab – it went through spectacular scenery for 161 kms, some of it gentle green hobbit hills & across the Rangitikei River. We stopped for lunch at Moawhango, a small Maori farming community with a Marae. Sheep & cattle in the fields & at one point the road was blocked by a very large flock of sheep being moved to another field by a man on a quad bike & his sheepdogs. A lot of the deciduous trees such as maples & poplars (both not native to NZ) were turning lovely red & yellow autumn colours. Traffic on this road was negligible with a few cars. As we crossed the Ruahine Range the mountains & deep valleys increased & the road was winding & a little bit steep in places. We could see the Ngarurora River hundreds of feet below us in the valley. The mountains were covered in forest & logging was in operation in some places. We thought that apart from Northlands & Tongariro National Park, this road was the most scenic in North Island & well worth the drive. We ended the journey through Flaxmere, a semi industrial town, & then on to the Top 10 campsite in Hastings, a coastal town, where we arrived just after 5pm. The campsite was almost empty so we were told to choose our own pitch. We went to get some fish & chips locally & ate them back at the site – lovely Blue Cod fish with crisp batter & chips. Now it was getting dark before 6pm. Checked our e-mails & I downloaded some magazines on my i-pad. It rained during the night & I was woken up by another earth tremor/ sharp jolt in the early hours. Had another tremor at 6.40am – Keef slept through it all!!! This was the third earthquake I felt in North Island. They don’t call New Zealand the ‘shaky isles’ for nothing! NB Looked up the Hastings earthquake –I felt some aftershocks following a ‘moderate’ quake which took place 17 days earlier on 17 April at 5.32pm. It was 4.6 magnitude & the epicentre was 30kms SE of Hastings & was 26kms deep. This earthquake was felt in Auckland & Christchurch. Friday 5 May Hastings & local area After a leisurely breakfast we headed into Hastings to go to the bank & do some shopping. Hastings is a very green town with lots of shrubs/trees/ hanging baskets & water fountains. The railway line runs through the town square & crosses the main shopping street. We chatted to a lady in the tourist info centre which was situated in part of an old department store. The store had been re-built after the massive earthquake (7.8 on the Richter scale) which decimated Napier & Hastings on 3 February 1931 at 10.47am. Both towns were levelled & 256 people were killed in Hastings. She said that the ground sank by over a metre. In the town of Napier the quake caused a huge fire which razed it to the ground. Hastings has had other big quakes – 6.9 on 16/9/1932, 6.1 in 1951, 6.1 in 1993. 5.9 in 2008 which caused $5 million in damage as the epicentre was only 10kms south of the town centre. The tourist info lady also told us about another disaster which hit the town in August & September 2016 when 5,200 residents fell ill from a water-borne disease called campylobacteriosis. This was the largest outbreak of this disease to have ever occurred in NZ. She also told us that Hastings was on a high tsunami alert following recent earthquakes in Japan & Indonesia. All along the NZ Pacific coastline there are tsunami signs advising where to go to quickly reach higher ground. The signs also inform people about signs to look out for if there is a quake that lasts longer than 1 minute or if you cannot stand up as this could lead to a tsunami wave hitting the shoreline. There are also tsunami sirens that sound if there is danger of one occurring due to an earthquake. www.geonet.org.nz lists earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides & tsunamis in NZ. Rather a woeful story about this town, but we found the people there very chatty, helpful & friendly. We met a retired man who had emigrated from Southampton with his parents when he was a child & had settled in Hastings. After doing some food shopping at Countdown, we drove to Te Mata, a 399m high peak above Hastings & Havelock North, which we had visited some years ago. We remembered the road to the viewing area car park at the top was very narrow & twisty. The views from the top were spectacular & we ate our lunch up there. It was a bit windy but very sunny & we could see the top of Mt Ruapehu 2,797m high peeping over the Ruahine Range 1733m high & Hawke Bay. Hang gliders jump from the top but no one was doing it today. Well worth a second visit. After Te Mata we visited Ocean Beach & had a walk there – few people around & a lot of empty holiday homes (bachs). Then on to Waimarama & Bare Island with a rocky bay & more holiday homes. A sign by the shore warned of rips, wash backs & large holes in the sea bed by the rocks so dangerous for swimming. We called in at a small private campsite near there to possibly stay there that night but it was more expensive than the Top 10 in Hastings & did not look good. We decided to return to the Top 10 site for another night & arrived at 4.30pm. We had some filter coffee & some tropical fruit cake which we’d bought in the supermarket today. Saturday 6 May Hastings to Waipukurau We re-visited some gardens again at Duart House in Havelock North. The roses were out this time & smelt lovely. Palm trees, orange & lemon trees & the Virginia Creeper on the verandah rails was a glorious red colour (see photos). We last visited the gardens about 10 years ago. The house is owned by the local council & is only used for wedding receptions & bookings for parties, meetings etc but the gardens were free for anyone to look around. A croquet club use the lawn at the side of the house. The house is surrounded by more modern houses but it’s a lovely heritage building, built in c1854 by the McLean family who were sheep farmers. Then we drove to Arataki Honey Centre in Havelock North & watched a film about bees & enjoyed sampling 12 different types of honey on display. We saw bees in an indoor hive & could sample various products made from Manuka honey such as body lotions, hand cream etc. Manuka honey is expensive & prized for its health benefits & its anti-bacterial qualities. The bees collect the nectar from the pink flowers of the Manuka Tree (Tea Tree), native to NZ. A very educational & enjoyable visit. Then we drove to Kairakau Beach through sheep stations, green hills & twisty roads that had earthquake cracks (some were repaired by filling in with tar. This beach was by a river outlet with small cliffs. The Pacific Ocean waves were quite strong & the beach had a lot of driftwood & tree branches thrown up on it by storms. A lot of the houses at Kairakau were holiday bachs & the community was virtually deserted. We walked along the grassy shore & noticed that one of the homes had a sign on the fence which said ‘Here lives a friendly fisherman with his best ever catch’ which we assumed was his wife!! There were various mosaic murals around including a tiled mosaic sofa, a hopscotch squares game for kids & a blue & white mirror in the disabled toilet. We had lunch here & the weather was very sunny with a slight breeze. Some children had made some wigwam huts out of driftwood on the beach. There were some motorhomes parked at one end of the beach but we decided as it was only 4pm not to stay here for the night, even though it was free to camp. The area was level with the sea & ‘designated a high risk tsunami area’ plus the rocky cliffs were behind the motorhomes so a bit dodgy if there was a quake. We drove on to Waipukurau & stopped at a small campsite in town overnight. This town was on Highway 2 & was inland from the ocean. We did a Skype with Doug, Phoenix & Charlie & it was lovely to chat together & catch up on news. Charlie was very chiry & bouncing around in her T-shirt & nappy… what a cutie!! She asked us where New Zealand was & we told her it was in the sea a long way from Singapore & that her Mummy & Daddy had been there a while ago. She wants us to go with her to the big water park with a splash area for children, when we stay with them in June. Sunday 7 May Waipukurau to Eketahuna After breakfast we went into Waipukurau & got a few food items from Countdown & some fuel. We then took a minor road through lovely scenery & sheep stations to Porangahau. There were a few houses, pub, school & a red & white painted church. Took the road out towards Pourere on the coast but the winding tarmac road turned to gravel & we decided to turn around rather than risk a possible puncture. We then took another minor road to Wimbledon, which was a tiny community with a primary school & outdoor swimming pool. A farmer stopped in his 4WD to ask us if we were OK as we were parked up on the grass verge. Nice of him to check if we had broken down & if we required assistance – this wouldn’t happen in England. Visited Herbertville on the coast which we’d not been to before. A very long beach with driftwood logs & tree branches & some tall cliffs named Cape Turnagain by Capt Cook when he changed direction whilst mapping the coast. We had lunch here but couldn’t access the beach because of a stream & the gravel road led to private land. Saw a huge white wooden house set back from the road which was probably built by the first settlers called Herbert in the 1850’s. The place was named Herbertville after this family & there was a stone monument with brass inscription telling the story of these immigrants. We thought it would be good to name a place Hellingerville but it would mean a bigger sign. Might have to move to Alaska to achieve this as plenty of space there. I’ll add this idea to our bucket list Herbertville sees few tourists & felt like the back of beyond. There is a NZ fur seal colony here. We carried on driving along the minor road back to Wimbledon & turned left towards Ti Tree Point, Weber, Waione and Pongaroa. These places were so small – only 1 or 2 houses & mainly sheep stations. Very twisty, hilly roads. By the time we got to Alfredton (only 1 house + shearing shed) it was beginning to get dark & it started to drizzle with rain. We rejoined Highway 2 at Eketahuna & found a campsite near the town. This was one of the most unusual campsites we had stayed in, mainly because of the other campers. There were women dressed in medieval costumes around the camp kitchen & then they all walked off to the woods to start a bonfire & do some drumming & feasting. They invited us to participate but we politely declined. We thought they may have been Pagans & they had been staying at the campsite for the weekend. Luckily the drumming stopped at 9.40pm & the campsite became very quiet thank goodness! Keef did a lovely dinner of salmon fishcakes, spiced kumara & corn on the cob. For dessert we had Tip Top boysenberry icecream & nashi pear. Tip Top have been making icecream in NZ for 80 years & the boysenberry one is the best flavour we think. There was a bit of a mission to getting this icecream into our motorhome ice box. Keef had bought a 2 litre tub of this icecream from the supermarket this morning but was disappointed to find that it didn’t fit into the tiny icebox part of the motorhome fridge. Not to be stumped about this problem he then cut up the icecream into 6 equal portions & using a fish slice put them into 6 plastic food bags. Genius…. they fitted in the icebox.. hooray! We had the sliding door of the motorhome open & a couple walked past the van & were no doubt puzzled why he was shovelling icecream into plastic bags. We just love that boysenberry icecream. 10.20pm – those Pagans are banging their drums again! We should ask for a discount from the camp fee because of the racket. Monday 8 May Eketahuna to Martinborough Without saying a word about the noise in the woods we meekly paid the campsite fee of $16 including electric hook up, although the facilities weren’t anything to write home about. We thought the female campsite owner looked a bit pagan-like too unless she just liked to look scruffy. Keef overheard some of the pagan women asking the owner where they could get wi-fi!! At 9.45am we went back into town in search of a bakery & noticed that there was a big sign which said ‘Real Kiwi Country’ & to prove it there were statues of 2 very large kiwis (the birds) artfully displayed. Reminded us of Aussie town naffness. The town was so small that it took a minute to drive through but perhaps that was a blessing! Most of the shops were closed so Keef got some pies in the Four Square supermarket. Saw a building built by A.F.Herbert & Sons Ltd 1898 – probably the sons of the graziers from Herbertville. We drove from Eketahuna on Highway 2 to Masterton which we’d visited before. Quite a big town with many shops. I had read that a settler called Joseph Masters had been in the area & the town was named after him – all these settlers had ideas above their (sheep) station. I wanted to find out where he came from originally as Masters were my ancestors. So we went to the i-site (tourist info) & the lady there said there was some info online (she googled him) but it didn’t say his origins. She referred us to the Art Gallery & Museum called Aratoi which joined on to the i-site building. This was a brilliant museum which had lots of cultural & historical exhibits about the Ngati Māori people from the Wairarapa region. This geographical region includes Masterton, Carterton, Featherston & Martinborough areas to the Pacific Ocean. There was a room with oil paintings of Māori people painted by a British portrait artist who got them to sit for him. The detail of their clothes, jewellery (greenstone), cloaks & tattoos was amazing. They were painted in the mid- 1850s – 1870s & the Māori's were all from the Wairarapa. There were several women who were senior members & one was a chief of the iwi (tribe). We also saw carved wooden hair combs, a wooden canoe, fish hooks & other day to day objects plus a cloak made from kiwi feathers sewn onto a woven fabric backing. Apparently it was only the chief who wore the kiwi feather cloak. The museum showed historical information about how the English duped the Māori's into selling their lands for 1d (i.e one old English penny) an acre. Millions of acres of land were acquired for this paultry sum. Shocking. The Maori people were told that they would get medical assistance, schools & protection in return, but in fact they got very little. These descendents are now seeking redress through the NZ government. The museum had documents which showed what happened & some of the British settlers crowed about their gains. Quite shameful how the British (mainly English & Scots) basically took all this land from the Māori's on behalf of Queen Victoria. The first Maori Parliament opened in 1897 in Greytown in the Wairarapa region but this was for them to conduct their own governance. After the museum we drove the motorhome to the local park (established in Victorian times) where we were told there was a statue & information board about Joseph Masters (there had been no mention of him in the museum). It turned out he was not from Dorset (as my ancestors were) but from Derby, where he was born. He lived in Rugby, trained as a cooper & emigrated to Tasmania with his wife. After a few years they moved to New Zealand where he set about being a land agent in the Wairarapa area. He set up a school as well. Set off for Castlepoint on the coast. Saw lots of sheep stations, some of which were for sale. At a shearing shed we saw sheep being dipped & sprayed yellow by their tails. Scenic twisty road with lots of filled in cracks from earthquakes & some landslides in a few places. Sometimes the edge of the tarmac road had given way & dropped down the hill so had to be cordoned off. The hills were very green with lots of streams & a main river. The road bridges are single track only so vehicles have to give way & wait for others to cross depending on the road sign. Sunny & warm today & again the autumn colours on the trees were lovely. We stopped at the historical village of Tinui which had a tiny policestation & an old gaol that was no bigger than a shed. It also had a school, post office & telegraph station. There was a pretty white wooden church which had held the first Anzac Day memorial service in NZ for local men who died at Gallipoli in WW1. The village lost 7 men in that battle. Castlepoint was a small town with holiday homes, a lighthouse on the point, campground & fish & chip shop. It was originally named by Captain Cook who saw a massive rock on the shore & thought it reminded him of castle ramparts so he called it Castle Rock. The lighthouse was only accessible at low tide. We had lunch by the main swimming beach & then had a walk. The beach was covered in white cockle shells. The waves were gentle here, unlike Herbertville where they crashed on the beach sending seaspray up into the air. The sand was very fine on the bay near the lighthouse (on the dunes). There was a strange ring of rock which almost blocked this bay. The information board described the story of two missionaries (one was Rev William Williams from Kerikeri, Bay of Islands, who knew my settler ancestor John Edmonds – they both fell out big style) & they were trying to sail across the Cook Strait to South Island. Bad weather caused them to shelter in this bay which they called ‘Deliverance Bay’. Williams had a missionary brother called Henry, who I’ve already mentioned translated the Waitangi Treaty into Maori. Both men had been sent to NZ under the auspices of the London Missionary Society(LMS) to preach Christianity to the Maoris. My ancestor & his family had left Swanage, Dorset to do the same under the LMS but was a stonemason working for the mission in Kerikeri. Both Williams brothers had set up mission stations (such as Kerikeri) & schools & they learnt to speak the Maori language fluently. There had been some resistance from the Maoris in North Island when the earliest settlers arrived & blood was spilt on both sides, but in the Wairarapa there had been no bloodshed. We drove from Castlepoint to Riversdale Beach, another sandy beach with white shells & loads of driftwood. This community was mainly holiday homes but it did have a Surf Lifesaving Club by the beach. We then went on to Martinborough along country roads & arrived in the dark. Found the Top 10 campsite which was brand new but quite compact. The kitchen & facilities were excellent. The dump station for the toilet cassette was outside the site on the roadside. Opposite the campsite was a vineyard & the road turned to gravel just past the Top 10 entrance. The lady in reception told us that the previous night’s temperature was only 2c. The wine growers are currently doing the winter pruning of the vines. Tuesday 9 May Martinborough to Wellington After breakfast we dumped our waste water in the place provided outside the campsite & headed into town. We had a wander round looking at all the up-market shops together with up-market prices. You could tell that they were expensive because they called them selves ‘providore’, ‘boutique’ & ‘gourmet’ plus assorted French sounding names. We saw a gourmet butcher whose signs outside the shop said ‘vionson meatballs’, ‘beff sausages’ & ‘chicken kababs’ – the shop was called Scotties Gourmet Meats. The butcher may have been dyslexic. Outside a bank we saw a pair of wellies parked by the doorway. A bright sunny day & warm. The old general store was damaged in an earthquake in 1942 & it was rebuilt but without the big glass shopfront. Now it’s a Mitre 10 (D.I.Y), a Four Square mini supermarket & a clothing shop. We bought some toilet blue liquid from the Mitre 10, cost $26. We chatted to an Irish employee there who was very friendly – he had met & married a NZ girl in London. The centre square & diagonal roads leading off it were designed to form a Union Jack. A man was just taking down some small white crosses in the grassy centre from Anzac Day – a lot of men from this town died in the wars & every cross had a name on it. We then went on to Lake Ferry, a tiny community of mainly holiday homes plus a café at the edge of an inland lake with a narrow spit of land separating it from the ocean. The bay was very wide (Palliser Bay) & we then took a tarmac road to Ngawi, a Maori community near Cape Palliser. To get to this place we passed sheer rock walls & high pinnacles on one side with the sea on the other. The ocean looked a beautiful blue/turquoise & the beaches were black volcanic sand. The fishermen kept their boats, tractors & earth movers hauled up at the top of the beach next to the road to be safe from storms as there was no harbour. The men were fishing for the beautiful paua shells (abalone) which were sold to the jewellery/ craft industry. We saw lots of broken paua shells on the beach, but although we searched we didn’t find any whole ones. Traditionally Maoris use this irridescent shell as eyes in their wood carvings. We wanted to carry on along the gravel road round Palliser Bay to Cape Palliser itself (which is the furthest point south in North Island) but had to turn back. The ruts in the gravel were so bad (caused by tractors) that the motorhome was shaking violently even though we were crawling along slowly. Even our teeth were rattling. Disappointing as we couldn’t make it to the Cape as I wanted to see the seal colony there. On the way back we took a photo of a small wooden house with a little verandah/ balcony decorated with hanging paua shells strung along the front. Returning to Lake Ferry we took the road to Featherstone, across the Ruamahanga River where there were signs warning of possible river flooding. Luckily it was dry weather, as sometimes they close the road. We then crossed the Tararua Range by climbing up a steep & twisty road with hairpin bends & sheer drops to the forest valley below. We would not want to do this route in heavy rain or at night! Rather a scary drive (which we had done on a previous visit to NZ & I had forgotten about it). We headed towards Wellington & followed the wide Hutt River, arriving at the Top 10 campsite at Lower Hutt at 3.50pm. We were meeting up with Chris & Allyson & the lady on reception said that they had checked in an hour earlier. They had come from a different direction – Highway 1 on the west coast. They sent us a Facebook message to to say they had gone into Wellington on the bus to have a look around. I did some laundry although grey clouds were building up, & I risked hanging it up on the rotary washing line overnight. We sent C & A a message saying we had arrived – we had pitches next to one another. We found that the campsite had totally changed for the better from 10 years ago- the reception included a motel complex & the kitchen, BBQs & shower/toilet blocks had all been completely re-done. This site cost us $45 per night per pitch & we planned on staying 2 nights, ready to catch the Interislander ferry to South Island on Thursday. When Chris & Allyson returned we cooked them spaghetti Bolognese & then had boysenberry icecream. We had lots to share about our respective travels since we’d last seen each other on the 4 May. C & A were tired as they’d done a lot of walking round Wellington. Wednesday 10 May Wellington I collected the washing which was dry, so luckily didn’t rain overnight.Chris & Allyson did a lovely bacon & egg cob on the BBQ for breakfast. They wanted to go back into the city & as K & I had spent a week there 10 years ago we decided to do something else & we agreed we’d all meet up later in the day in town. They got the bus in to the city & we drove along the harbour front to Eastbourne, a residential community with houses literally 6 feet from the waters edge or perched high up the steep wooded hillsides. Not ideal as Wellington has regular earth trenors & was affected by the massive 7.8 quake last November (2016) in Kaikoura. Two car parks were damaged & there were cracks in office buildings & homes. Kaikoura is a lot further south of Wellington (159 mls) & on the east coast so surprising that Wellington felt the earthquake. Keef & I went for a walk along the harbour beach & I picked up some lovely shells. There was a monument to the terrible ferry disaster that occurred on 10/4/1968 during a violent cyclone (Giselle) which hit Wellington. The vehicle ferry, ‘Wahine,’ ran aground on a reef just inside Wellington harbour & 51 passengers & crew drowned when the ferry sank that day. We drove back along the harbour front, past the ferry terminal, to Lyall Bay. This bay & beach was situated next to the Air New Zealand runway at Wellington airport which was built out towards the sea. We watched planes arriving & taking off over the sea – it wasn’t a long runway but the planes did not look that huge. The passenger terminal sign said ‘Welcome to the middle of Middle Earth’. Watched people surfing in the bay & then we went to have a coffee & snack lunch at a modern café called ‘Loose as a Goose’ – strange name. It had plate glass windows to get the best views of the bay, surfers & runway strip. We drove the motorhome back to the campsite, changed into jeans & shoes (only the 2nd time on this holiday that Keef has not worn flip-flops). Caught the 2.50pm bus into the city. It took ages going round Lower Hutt & Petone shopping areas – 50 mins when it was so quick by motorhome. We walked from the middle of the city down to Te Papa museum/art gallery but then we got a phone message from Allyson saying they had left Te Papa 45 minutes ago to walk towards the famous cable tramway up to the scenic lookout over Wellington. We thought that while we were at the entrance to Te Papa we’d have another look at the Maori Marae & exhibits, the stuffed kiwi birds, the earthquake house & volcano footage of eruptions in NZ. Also had a look again at the Waitangi Treaty original documents (translated by Rev Henry Williams (plus there was a photo of him). Keef & I did not spend long in Te Papa as we had visited it before for 2 days as there was so much to see. Unfortunately the oil paintings of Maori people were no longer on public view as the art gallery part of the museum was being refurbished. The staff told us that the paintings were available to view on the Te Papa website. This museum is one of the best ones we’ve ever seen. We walked to Shed 22 Mac’s Brewery on the harbour front. Keef had a beer & I had a lime daiquiri cocktail. Chris & Allyson joined us there for a few drinks before walking to Courtney Place to find an Indian restaurant called ‘Saffron’. Couldn’t find it so instead we went to one across the road called ‘Great India’. We had a great Indian curry meal & all ate too much, although Chris & Allyson had not had any lunch so were very hungry. The original owners of the restaurant had emigrated from Leicester & their two sons now run the business as the parents had retired. As we came from Nottingham we got special service! Good food & then we all staggered across the road to get the 9.30pm bus back to our campsite. A cloudy & mild night but no stars. Aiming to get up early to catch the 9am ferry to South Island tomorrow so set our alarms. Thursday 11 May Wellington via ferry to Nelson, South Island Got up in the dark when our alarm went off at 5.30am. Had showers. Raining. For breakfast had fruit juice & ½ banana each. At 6.45am we all set off for the ferry port as the last boarding time closed at 8am. The traffic along the harbour road was bumper to bumper & Y & I were worried that Chris & Allyson were not following us as we couldn’t see them in the rear view mirror as a lorry was directly behind us. Rush hour traffic into Wellington obviously starts before 6.45am. Good job we set off early for the ferry port. Saw a lorry accident where it had gone into the back of a car. Journey was a bit tense but we actually got to the ferry in plenty of time & sat in the queue waiting to board. We didn’t board until 8.30 (could have spent longer asleep) & the ferry left dead on time at 9am. Noticed several lorries carrying sheep & cows boarding the ferry. At the end of the 3½ hour voyage the car decks smelt awful! Had breakfast on the ferry & as it was still raining & windy outside we stayed in the lounge area. The sea was slightly choppy but not enough to cause people to be seasick. We were told that the winds were northerly today so it would be a good crossing across the Cook Strait. However, if the wind had been southerly then this would be a bad crossing. We relaxed & chatted for most of the journey & then chatted with a Kiwi couple from Wellington who were going to South Island for a long weekend. The 3½ hours went very quickly & the scenery coming into Queen Charlotte Sound was great. The captain had to reverse into the dock at Picton. Not a big town & the high hills were covered in dense rainforest as it was still sub-tropical vegetation – tree ferns, palm trees & creepers. We drove along the scenic Queen Charlotte Drive along all the inlets towards Havelock but it was a shame that the rain & low clouds spoilt the magnificent views along the winding road. We stopped in Havelock to have lunch at ‘The Mussel Pot’ restaurant in the main street. Apart from being the world capital of green lipped mussel farming in the bays, the town was very small. The restaurant also did other items on the menu apart from mussels. Keef & Chris both had a giant saucepan of mussels cooked in wine, garlic & herbs with chips which they really enjoyed. I had a toasted chicken, salad & mango salsa sandwich & Allyson had fish, chips & side salad. Lunch was very enjoyable & the lady serving us was very friendly & knew all about mussels & farming them. We carried on our journey through hilly forests, autumn coloured trees & pouring rain. The road was rather scary as we climbed up a mountain range with a sheer drop of hundreds of feet on the side of the road. Finally got to Nelson & the Top 10 campsite. Felt it had been quite a drive & the rain had been so heavy in places that the windscreen wipers could hardly cope. Had a well-earned cup of tea & rest. I caught up with writing this diary as I was 3 days behind & Keef saved his photos from the camera memory stick on to his laptop. Friday 12 May Nelson to Kaiteriteri We visited the WOW museum in Nelson (World of Wearable Art, classic cars & a few motorbikes). K & I had been before but it was so good that we were looking forward to going again with Chris & Allyson. It was even better this time with the displays of imaginative clothing/ costumes/hats/headgear & shoes – thought it was simply stunning. Impressed with the creativity & effort put into the costumes which were entered into various categories of a competition open to anyone across the world. The WOW idea had originated in Nelson with a woman starting a competition of ‘wearable art’ in 1987 & the museum opened in 2001. We saw the entries for 2016 –winners & runners-up in each category plus a few other entries. A guy from Derbyshire won 2nd place under the Film & Costume section with an amazing outfit for both a man & woman. Some of the selected entries & winners were really unusual – e.g a costume featuring paint brush bristles dipped in many paint colours & another had black plastic cable ties secured on black plastic tubing to create a 3D dress. All the exhibits were brilliant & there was also a film showing in a mini theatre of the 2016 awards show held in Wellington. It wasn’t just a fashion parade but had dancers, music & an animatronic tiger which sang Major Tom by David Bowie & a Frank Sinatra song. We then walked through to a large exhibition area which displayed vintage & classic cars from around the world. The cars were fab, especially the 1950s USA ones & the lovely vintage cars – all in immaculate condition. There was an additional large exhibition area which had more modern 20thc cars which the museum had acquired. Some were purchased in good condition & others needed renovation. We watched some people renovating an old Mini & another car. We were in the museum well over 2 hours & all of us enjoyed it as it was so different from the usual museum The NZ people certainly like quirky, humorous & imaginative things. Even their letter boxes & homes are quirky i.e the house by Wellington harbour which looked like two brown glass beer bottles. After the museum we drove to Countdown to do some food shopping. Had lunch in the motorhome next to Nelson’s local beach & then went for a short walk on the beach which was a long sandy crescent overlooking Tasman Bay. Nelson has a small airport & the planes were taking off & flying over the beach & out to sea. We all drove to Kaiteriteri which is at the south end of the Abel Tasman National Park. The area has a lot of apple & other fruit orchards. We booked in for 2 nights at the campsite right next by the sandy beach & it had changed a lot since we were last there (we camped in our tent). Keef & I had a stroll along the beach & read the information boards about the New Zealand Company wanting to set up a colony in Kaiteriteri after Wellington & Nelson. It also described the first meeting between the Maoris & English settlers. Again land was bought from the Maoris for next to nothing - token goods such as 1 gun, 1 axe, tobacco & a pipe were given as gifts to the local chief. After dinner Keef tried to book a boat excursion to the Abel Tasman National Park on the laptop but the wi-fi cut out twice so we decided to buy our tickets the next morning as soon as the kiosk opened. Quite a cold night – we all went off to the bar next to the campsite. They had a log burning stove which was cosy. Had some drinks but the bar closed at 10pm. Saturday 13 May Kaiteriteri & Abel Tasman National Park Got up at 7am. After breakfast Keef went & got our boat trip tickets from the operators Wilsons, who do a day trip along the coast of the Abel Tasman National Park. K & I had done the same trip before but thought it well worth seeing again. The Wilson family have been running this trip since 1841 & our trip cost $72 or £36 each for the whole day. Chris & Allyson wanted to do a boat trip + hike so they wanted to get their tickets separately when they could find out the options available that day – this was because some of the coastal walks were not passable due to tidal timetables. Allyson took ages getting their tickets & they were last on the boat- luckily the captain delayed 10 minutes. The trip was sunny but windy up on the top deck of the cruiser & the sea was calm. Because of the speed of the boat it felt cold – good job we wore our waterproof jackets. Lovely scenery along the coast & the boat crew let people off on some stops on route so they could do walking or kayaking. Saw Split Apple Rock in a small bay – a large granite boulder, 135 million years old, which had split in half down a natural fault line. The coastline had lots of islands, coves & sandy beaches. We saw some NZ fur seals on some rocks on an island. At Totaranui the boat turned round & headed back. All the coastline was granite rock with trees & hills in the distance. Chris & Allyson, plus some other people, were dropped off at a halfway point called Tonga Quarry & they walked 4.1 kms towards the boat pick up point at Medlands Beach. We saw a small cave by the shore & then Keef & I landed at Medlands Beach. Took lots of photos & then we walked 1.2 kms to Bark Bay, the next beach. The path above the rocky shore had partly collapsed at one point so we edged carefully close to the steep wooded bank. There was a Department of Conservation campsite with camp kitchen, a picnic area & flushing toilets at Bark Bay, which had a lovely sandy beach. Keef & I had lunch here on a picnic bench with a view of the bay & noticed that the tide was rapidly going out. This coastline has one of the highest tidal fluctuations in the world (according to the Wilson’s tourist leaflet). At high tide some of the beaches cannot be crossed. Some walkers who had tents & rucsacs passed us heading north & they were obviously doing the 4-6 day Abel Tasman trek. One girl with a rucsac was walking on her own. We walked along the sea inlet & saw a kingfisher catch a small fish. It was very peaceful & relaxing here & the air was so pure that mosses hung from the trees. Three hours after the boat dropped us off we re-boarded it back at Medlands Beach. Chris & Allyson had enjoyed their walk & we returned to Kaiteriteri. The whole trip lasted 6½ hours including the lunch break. On the return journey Keef & I sat downstairs under cover to keep out of the chilly wind. We noticed that most people sitting downstairs were engrossed with their phones rather than looking at the scenery & even when the boat went close up to the seals basking on the rocks. Saw a pale pink sunset over the bay from the campsite. After dinner we all thought we would return to the bar for a drink but there was a wedding reception & the outside area had a TV with rugby on & a packed out audience. We walked to another bar next door which was part of a nice looking restaurant. Unfortunately the lady behind the bar told us that they couldn’t serve alcohol without food due to their licence & the kitchen had just closed. So we went back to our motorhomes & had an early night as we were going to drive to Murchison the next day via St Arnaud (a ski resort). A cold night again but we kept the electric fan heater on low all night. Sunday 14 May Kaiteriteri to Murchison A sunny day today. We left at 9.30 after doing water refilling, & dumping waste. We drove along minor roads heading south through Woodstock (had one farm only), apple orchards & hop growing areas. Beautiful autumn colours on the trees & very low cloud in the valley – took some photos. I thought that it seemed that the clouds had fallen out of the blue sky! We drove parallel to the Arthur Range mountains & stopped to take photos. We took the small road through Golden Downs to St Arnaud. Lots of alpine houses & motels in this village. Keef & I remembered we stayed in a log cabin here when we were travelling around South Island with our tent. We stopped for a lunch break at Lake Rotoiti just outside the village & saw a mass of very large black eels from the jetty. People were feeding them bread. Also saw two swans & lots of ducks. The lake was very clear so you could see the bottom & the mountains surrounding it reminded me of a lake in Canada. Last time we were troubled by sandflies biting our legs but the local council had covered up the sandy shoreline with large gravel so much better now. We had a sandwich & cup of tea in the motorhome. Went to Lake Rotoroa & we all did a nature walk & had to cross two streams. The tree trunks had black moss & one had tiny white mushrooms (took photos) & the branches were dripping with green moss hanging down. After that we drove along the mighty Buller River to Murchison, where we stayed at the Kiwi Park campsite on the edge of town. Saw a helicopter landing & taking off nearby – probably doing scenic tours of the river gorge. Very cold at night. We played cards after dinner. TO BE CONTINUED MAY DIARY CONTINUED Monday 15 May Murchison to Kaikoura After breakfast I fed the small rock wallaby through the paddock fence. Very cute wallaby – gave it some lettuce & cabbage. Keef took a photo. We picked up more fuel in Murchison & then followed the Buller River along to a swing bridge which crossed the deep river gorge. Cost $10 each & once we had crossed the bridge we did a circular walk through trees & shrubs. There was a waterfall & we went past old gold mining machinery. Saw a marker high on a tree which showed the level where the floodwaters rose to above the rocky sides of the gorge. Also saw a marker where the earth had been pushed up 15 ft by the earthquake in Murchison in 1929. The quake was 7.4 on the Richter scale & 17 people died. We took the road past the Victoria Range on the right to Springs Junction. We stopped at a petrol station & bought some steak & cheese pies before continuing our journey to Waiau & then on towards Kaikoura on the scenic Alpine Pacific Highway. The road still had a lot of damage from the Kaikoura earthquake last year but the damage but was slowly being repaired. A lot of bridges had been affected too & we saw landslides & even hillsides had completely collapsed. We booked into the Top 10 campsite which looked brand new – probably refurbished as the buildings were all wooden. We all walked into town to get some fish & chips. Found out that our plan to travel south from Kaikoura on Highway 1 was thwarted as this road was closed for 12 days. Unfortunately this meant that we had to return on the same road the next day. We had picked up a notification leaflet on the Interislander ferry which said that Highway 1 was now open, so contradictory advice for travellers. Walking through town we noticed some earthquake damage to some shops, some of which were propped up with scaffolding & the old hotel was roped off. The night was quite cold & I was glad of my gloves that I’d bought on North Island. Tuesday 16 May Kaikoura to Christchurch Went along the beach road out to the seal colony. There were lots of big waves pounding the rocks & we noticed the smell of sewage which was coming from rock pools near the car park. The sewage pipes from the nearby public toilets must have been cracked from the earthquake. Because of the sewage leakage from the sea the Council had imposed a total ban on any fishing from the date of the earthquake until further notice. The fish (with chips) we ate last night must have been transported to the town from elsewhere. It showed how a major earthquake not only affects buildings above ground but gas, water & sewage pipes under ground too. The views of the bay were lovely as it was sunny & we saw some seals on the rocks & a few basking in the sun on the boardwalk next to the other end of the car park. We left Kaikoura on the same road we arrived on (it was 88kms long) but were held up by a very large herd of Friesian cows which were being moved alongside the road on the grass verge for several miles to another field. The cows sometimes crossed the road in front of us & some even stood in the middle of the road! Eventually we got to Wairu & turned towards Parnassus. Highway 1 from this point southwards was practically deserted. We were on a temporary bridge & next to it was the original bridge which was very badly damaged by the quake. It had a huge crack, the side had fallen away & the crash barrier was broken & buckled. We soon came to a wine growing area. The traffic increased as we reached the outer regions of Christchurch. We were trying to hurry to get to the Britz office to get some repairs done on our motorhomes & exchange our bedlinen & towels. Chris & Allyson’s van needed a new headlight bulb & brake shoe plus a tyre jack as the other one had broken. Our van needed the sat nav replacing as the one screw remaining meant it kept wobbling around on its bracket & twisting upside down. Also we asked for a replacement light bulb for inside our van plus a manual for the Mercedes Sprinter. Britz staff took both our motorhomes away into their workshop for the repairs whilst we sat & had coffee & hot chocolate (free). We were told we couldn’t have the instruction manual as there wasn’t one (for previous hires with Britz we always had a manual in the glove box). Keef & I also decided to ditch our two folding chairs & outside table & pedal bin as we found they took up too much space & we weren’t eating & sitting around outside anymore. Once we had sorted out our vans we drove to the Top 10 campsite in Papanui, Christchurch. It was quite a busy site & had an indoor swimming pool (which we didn’t use). A coach load of noisy school kids arrived the same time as us to check in at reception. They were screaming & shouting until it suddenly went quiet – someone must have told them to shut up. Wednesday 17 May Christchurch Keef did a full English cooked breakfast in our van & then we all got the bus near the campsite into Christchurch. The bus station looked brand new & very modern. I asked a man for directions to Cathedral Square & when we got there Keef & I were shocked at how the 2011 earthquake had changed the city compared to our visit nearly 10 years ago. The cathedral was a ruin & fenced off as unsafe to walk near. Tall weeds were growing in the paving & all the lovely bedding plants & flowers were no more – looked very sad. Lots of buildings were still being knocked down as they were beyond repair after the 6.9 quake. There had been a previous quake in 2010 in the area which was 7.8 but it was the 2011 that had caused so much devastation to the city & suburbs & 185 people died. The large loss of life occurred because the quake hit at lunchtime on a weekday. One building collapsed to dust & two buses were completely crushed by falling masonry. The epicenter was in Lyttelton harbour near the SE suburbs & there were thousands of aftershocks up to a year later. This was the port for Christchurch & after 2011 no more cruise ships visited. There was another minor quake in 2016. We remember the road to the harbour being very steep downhill & a lot of homes were severely damaged there & had to be demolished. There were a lot of vacant spaces in the city centre where buildings had collapsed. However, there was a lot of re-building going on with a new library, bank & conference centre started & work ongoing. There were signs of Christchurch’s re-emergence from the disaster but after 6 years things seemed very slow. We walked to see the Avon River where before the quakes tourists could get a punt ride but now this area looked so neglected – the grassy banks used to have manicured lawns with flower beds but not any more. Christchurch was proud of its floral displays in the past but other things are more important now. We all took a vintage tram ride round the city & the commentary from the tram driver was very good. The trams only started running again a couple of years ago. The city centre by the cathedral looked deserted apart from a couple of other tourists, when K & I saw it before the quake it was so vibrant & bustling. We went round the whole tram route once (it took about 40 minutes because it was going slow) & then we got off at the shopping area where shipping containers had been pressed into service as temporary shops. After the 2011 quake the council brought in the containers to act as temporary shops & cafes. They were painted bright colours & had glass sides & looked very good. There was lots of art work painted on city walls & sculptures too. The most evocative ‘sculpture’ was ‘185 white chairs’ to represent every adult & child who had died – awful to see a white baby car seat, a toddler’s high chair plus old style white wingback armchairs for elderly people. Some tourists from around the world had died too – the cathedral partly collapsing probably caused a lot of deaths & injuries. Chris & Allyson went off round the shops & we arranged to meet them later in the Quake City museum which covered the 2011 earthquake. Keef & I found that apart from the factual details about the event & its aftermath, the most poignant part was the section on people’s first hand accounts & of the search & rescue afterwards. The specialist rescue teams came from Australia, the UK, Japan & Singapore. Although New Zealanders were used to tremors & quakes they were shocked at the devastation caused & loss of life. Chris & Allyson arrived at the museum some time after us & they had to hurry through as the museum was about to close. We all walked to the new church built entirely out of cardboard & then went for a meal at a Mexican restaurant. Apart from the rain the previous evening & this morning it was dry all day in Christchurch although it was overcast. We had some light rain from 5pm . We got the bus from the bus station back to the campsite. We did a lovely Skype with Craig & family (it was Bill’s 70th birthday today) & Phoenix & Charlie joined in too. Thursday 18 May Christchurch, via Arthur’s Pass to Hokitika We departed Christchurch & got more fuel. Headed west towards Arthur’s Pass but at the airport roundabout Chris & Allyson who were following us missed us turning off. We thought they must have seen where we turned & we carried on but further round the airfield we realised they weren’t behind us. There was no response from them when we called them on the walkie talkie. Got worried after waiting a few minutes, then we turned back & returned to the roundabout but couldn’t see them anywhere. Eventually managed to contact them & they had got lost but were OK. We met up with them again when they turned up at a bakery a few kms further along the road which was famous for pies! We drove from the east side of NZ to the west coast across Arthur’s Pass, the highest pass over the Southern Alps. In the past Keef & I had done the road journey before in rain & mist & had also taken the return train trip from Christchurch to Greymouth as well. Arthur Dobson had surveyed the Pass in 1864 & the road was built the following year which was quite a feat. The road linked Christchurch with the goldfields on the west coast & it took 1,000 men to build it. As we drove through the National Park we stopped & took lots of photos as the scenery was spectacular & the weather was sunny with blue sky. The mountains were about 2,000 m high & some had snow on the top. At Arthur’s pass village/railway station we met up with Chris & Allyson again & did a short walk to a waterfall just outside the village called Devil’s punchbowl. Prior to that Keef & I had gone into the tourist info centre & saw a display about the Cobb & Co stagecoaches that did the same journey from coast to coast in 3 days. The coach with 5 horses held 9 people inside & 8 rode up top. In the old days the journey on rough stone tracks must have been arduous & hair-raising, especially going through gorges & steep inclines. Nowadays the road trip takes 3hours 50 mins from Christchurch to Hokitika, although it took Keef & I longer because we kept stopping to admire the scenery & take lots of photos. After Arthur’s Pass (2,275m above sea level) we went through Otira Gorge where a modern bridge/ viaduct snaked through on huge concrete support legs. We were lucky that the journey on this occasion was such good weather. At the end of the highway we turned left to Hokitika & Chris & Allyson had decided when we were at Otira Gorge to visit Greymouth. We arranged to meet up with them at the campsite. Hokitika was a small town with lots of crafts people doing glass blowing, art & carving greenstone. K & I drove to the beach as the wind was extremely strong & we watched the waves of the Tasman Sea crash onto the shore. We drove to the campsite just out of town called Hokitika Holiday Park & met up with C & A at the check-in desk. After a cup of tea, Allyson, Keef & I went off to see the glow worm dell when it got dark. It was outside the town & we parked & walked up the path & saw lots of glowing tiny white lights in the darkness amongst the vegetation. The glow worms are the larvae of the gnat fly & produce a tiny white pinprick of light. Massed together it looked magical. I nearly bumped into 2 other people who were watching them by the fence as it was pitch black. Luckily we took a torch & Allyson had the flashlight on her phone to find our way. The campsite had a well-equipped kitchen & lounge area with sofas & a gas fire. As it was very windy & rainy we cooked & ate our dinner there as it was so cosy. After dinner we discussed the route for the remainder of our holiday. Very windy night & heavy rain. Friday 19 May Hokitika to Franz Josef Glacier After breakfast we went back to see the town again & the rough seas & gales had died down. Drove along the highway to Ross, a heritage gold mining town which had some old wooden Victorian buildings. We wanted to go into the museum & look around & Chris & Allyson decided to go straight to the glacier to do a long walk. Keef & I saw a replica of a huge gold nugget that had been found in the hillside by the town – it weighed over 2 kg. The museum was small but interesting & there were lots of old photographs of the miners & information about the goldrush which brought prospectors from all over the world, including Australia, UK & China. We watched a video about the town & gold mining. A coach load of tourists from China came through the museum to have a try at gold panning in the sluice at the back. The museum lady told us that as gold retrieval techniques improved & better & more mechanised equipment was used, open cast mining methods were used. There was a massive hole in the ground (it looked like a quarry) behind the museum & a residential street where gold was extracted. Keef & I walked along the heritage trail & saw the open cast mine had been filled in with water. There was still gold mining going on outside the town (another huge hole being slowly excavated). The local newspaper article in the museum stated that the mining experts estimated that Ross was sitting on $700 million worth of gold!!! It could end up like Kalgoorlie in W Australia with a huge super pit next to the little town. We stopped again on the highway at Harihari to read some history boards about a 21 year old Aussie called Guy Menzies who decided to fly solo across the Tasman Sea from Sydney to New Zealand without telling anyone, not even his parents. He had told everyone he was going from Sydney to Perth! He wanted to be the first person to attempt the flight in 1931 & nearly had a disaster with storms, running out of fuel & poor visibility. He was aiming for Blenheim on the east coast of South Island but instead survived a crash into a swamp at Harihari on the west coast. The plane was recovered & was displayed under cover in a small building – it looked not much bigger than our motorhome! He joined the NZ airforce & his plane was shot down in Sicily during WWII. We stopped to have lunch by a river where the glacial water was an unbelievable turquoise colour! It was raining but occasionally the sun came out. Saw three separate rainbows today. Caught a brief glimpse of Mt Cook’s peak, covered in snow, but then it was covered by cloud. Drove on to the Franz Josef Glacier which was not far from the coast. Nice route through ferns, tree ferns & some palm trees. We parked our van & followed the path to the lookout but we were astounded to see that after 10 years the glacier had retreated so far back up the valley that it was small & high up on a cliff. Big disappointment. When we had last seen it there was a huge mass of ice that covered both sides of the valley floor & there was a wooden viewing platform at the base. Now the path had extended to along the valley floor so it took 1½ hours to get to the base of the cliff & return. Good job we saw it when we did years ago because global warming has obviously had a big effect on the glacier melt & retreat, with less snow to keep the glacier moving forward. We decided to look at our own old photos of the glacier when we got to the next campsite. The rain was constant & we decided to go to the Top 10 campsite just outside the village. Chris & Allyson arrived at the site reception the same time as us. Still raining, although not that cold. Still autumn colour on the trees. Winter doesn’t officially start until 1 June! Saturday 20 May Franz Josef Glacier to Haast Quite cold during the night – weather forecast said it was 0c in the village overnight. After breakfast we went into the village to buy a few supplies such as milk & cereal whilst C & A went off to the Fox Glacier for a walk. We also picked up more diesel. Very sunny this morning with blue sky. We drove to Fox Glacier & saw several waterfalls down a sheer rock face by the river. There was a small lake by the car park which was an azure blue & so clear you could see stones on the bottom. We saw from the photo on the information board that the Fox Glacier had receded enormously from 2008 to 2014.We visited it in 2008 & the glacier reached down to the valley floor but now it was high up & miles away. Keef’s knees were very painful yesterday on the downhill bit of the path to Franz Josef Glacier, so the steep path down from the car park area to the valley floor he couldn’t manage. They should install a zip wire for pensioners. As we had seen it before (when it actually looked like a glacier flowing into the valley) we decided to move on to Lake Matheson. Did the same walk as last time round the lake which was beautiful with the dripping mosses & ferns on the trees. A young couple from Melbourne took our photo with Mt Cook & other mountains in the background which had snow on the peaks. We took their photo too. Had coffee in the café/restaurant by the lake. We continued our journey with temperate rainforest on either side of the road – green ferns, tree ferns & the odd small palm tree. Strange to see such lush vegetation & tropical palms with huge mountains over 2,000 m high with snow. We stopped at Bruce bay for lunch in the motorhome & watched the waves. Lots of driftwood washed up on the beach with Rimu trees behind. This beach was voted one of the top 10 beaches in New Zealand. The road went through the valley with huge mountains on our left & the sea on our right. We paused at a viewpoint called Knights Point & saw a whale & calf out to sea. First we thought it was waves crashing over rocks but realised that the object was moving. The whales were moving near the surface & I saw them through our binoculars when they came up to breathe. The smaller of the two whales kept very close to the other one. We later learned that they were humpback whales. Stopped at 4.45pm at the Top 10 campsite at Haast, which was a new site added to an existing motel in 2011. Tried to do some laundry but both washing machines were being used. C & A had arrived as we were off to the laundry so that was good timing. They had enjoyed their day walking to the glacier & the Lake Matheson walk. The sunshine has been lovely today & only a light breeze. The electric hook-up for our van did not work so we had to move pitches as the staff on reception couldn’t fix the problem. After a cup of tea & chat about our respective day, Keef cooked the dinner tonight. Laura & Ben’s wedding was in Brighton Pavilion today. We sent them an e-card with love & best wishes. Sunday 21 May Haast to Wanaka When I went to have my shower I had to switch the heating on in the Ladies as it was very cold overnight. The facilities at the Top 10, incl kitchen & lounge area, were all within a metal aircraft hangar with very high ceilings. The resident cat (which was so huge it looked like a dog) was purring & rubbing against our legs obviously looking to hitch a ride in our van. Chris & Allyson said they were going along the highway to Wanaka & we agreed we would meet up at Wanaka Top 10 campsite. K & I decided to drive along the coast to Jackson Bay which we’d not been to before. The small road took us over bridges where there were metal gantries suspended over the rivers. The fishermen suspended fine nets into the river to catch whitebait. There was a house selling whitebait along the route. The road was virtually deserted & we went through a few very small communities with one school, a few holiday homes & a farm. Very sunny weather today & glorious views of some snow capped mountains. The sea was calm & Haast beach had an estuary too big to cross. Lots of driftwood cast up on other bays. Just before we reached Jackson Bay at the end of the road I looked out to sea with our binoculars & saw a whale. It was splashing on the surface & I saw its fluke. Keef saw it as well. We drove the last few kms into Jackson Bay township where there was a café, a few houses, public toilet & lots of lobster pots & sheds. The place was deserted & peaceful with lovely views of the bay & mountains. We walked to the end of the long jetty to see if we could get a better view of the whale but we were at the wrong angle. Jackson Bay had a Māori settlement there for 700 years & the people caught seals for meat & used the bones for fishing hooks. Then the whalers arrived & also killed seals for their skins. The seals had disappeared but we were pleased to see the humpback whale at least. A fantail bird landed on Keef’s arm & then kept flying around & over us – they are such friendly little birds with no fear of humans. I read somewhere that they are drawn to humans walking because insects are disturbed which they can eat. We left Jackson Bay & drove through Haast Pass which had amazing scenery & majestic mountains. We had our lunch in a picnic rest spot & then carried on to Lake Wanaka, which we’d visited before. This massive lake is the biggest on South Island & had a twisting road along one side. Some of the rock face had been blasted out in order to build the road, which was finished in 1995 to Wanaka town. Picture postcard stuff & the mountains on either side of the lake made a perfect backdrop. Then the road skirted along one side of Lake Hawea towards Wanaka. We stopped several times to take photos as it was so sunny. In the shade of the mountains the temperature dropped & it felt chilly. We went into Lake Hawea township & I remembered we had called in at the general store/ café for an ice-cream about 10 years ago. We carried on to the Top 10 campsite on the outskirts of Wanaka & arrived at 4.45pm. It turned very cold & it was going to be -2c overnight according to the lady in reception. We were now in the mountains & about an hour from Queenstown & The Remarkables (ski area). The ski season does not start until June & there are still some lovely autumn tints on the trees. Yet at Jackson Bay on the west coast we saw hydrangea shrubs in full bloom & huge tree ferns, but now the vegetation has turned to alpine within 194 kms. Monday 22 May Wanaka to Queenstown When I got up this morning there was a thin layer of frost on the picnic tables but not on the grass. Very sunny though. After breakfast we all drove into Wanaka & did some food shopping in New World supermarket for the next few days. Chris & Allyson then went off to Queenstown while we had a quick look around Wanaka which had expanded since we were last there. We agreed to meet up with C & A at Queenstown Top 10. K & I then took the scenic route on Highway 6 towards Cromwell & then Queenstown as we had spent 3 days camping in Queenstown Top 10 & had a good look round the town & did the Lord of the Rings tour round the whole area including Arrowtown. We passed vineyards, cherry, apple & pear trees in the valley with huge mountain ranges either side of us (some of them had snow on top). We crossed the 45th Parallel which is the half-way latitude meridian between the Equator & the South Pole. Took some photos of the sign at the side of the road. In Cromwell, a former gold mining town, we stopped at a bakery & then had lunch. We drove to the historic part of Cromwell which was established around 1860 as a Cobb & Co stagecoach stopover from Dunedin to Queenstown, a journey of 2 days. There were many stone walled houses with tin roofs & chimneys & were open to the public (free). There was a general store, livery stable, a newspaper office & printing press, plus some small shops & cottages. Also we saw some old wagons, bicycles & an original Cobb & Co stagecoach. Cromwell is situated on Lake Dunstan & is very scenic with the mountain backdrop & autumn colours on the trees. Blue sky, fluffy white clouds & warm in the sunshine. We drove on towards Queenstown along Highway 6 & followed the Kawarau Gorge & river. We could see some of the old gold workings along the upper regions of the gorge (called the Otago gold rush in the old days) & then stopped at Roaring Meg rapids. Further up the river a hydro-electric plant had been built but wasn’t visible from the viewpoint at Roaring Meg. The gorge got steeper & the road snaked along the edge – good job Keef couldn’t look down as he was concentrating on driving. We stopped at AJ Hackett’s original bungy jumping bridge by the same gorge. We watched from a viewing balcony at AJ Hackett’s a young couple doing a tandem bungy & then another man bungy jumped & actually dipped in the river 43 metres below. The jumpers were then lowered into a rubber dinghy & taken to the steps at the bottom of the gorge. A new zip wire experience had been introduced in 2010 which went across the canyon quite a long way. We chatted to a female employee on the viewing deck & she offered to take our photo. From the gorge the road went past more wineries & cheese factories & we went straight to the Top 10 campsite near the Shot over River. We noticed that after 10 years the whole region had expanded with housing estates & vineyards (there were none in 2008). Also the campsite had become much smaller because the land had been sold off for housing. The wonderful camp kitchen/lounge was still the same though. Also there were new shower areas. I did some laundry but there was no wind & the sun had disappeared so I took it off the line later & left most of it in a bag in the motorhome & pinned some up inside the van. Chris & Allyson arrived after dark & Keef cooked butter chicken & rice in the camp kitchen. Then we all sat round the cosy wood burner fire on the sofas. As we were planning to leave early the next day we went to bed early. Tuesday 23 May Queenstown to Milford Sound It’s Craig’s 35th birthday today (we sent him an e-card & a money transfer towards a new bike). Overcast skies. I woke up at 6.15am so decided to get up anyway. We arranged to meet up at the campsite at Milford Sound in the evening. Keef & I left the campsite at 8.15am heading to Milford Sound which was 291 kms away. We knew this would be a 5 hour journey at least & more with rest stops & lunch break. We found that rush hour work traffic was coming into Queenstown at that time but luckily we were going in the opposite direction. Queenstown counts as a city now with its own domestic airport & sprawling residential areas. Once we had passed through Queenstown, the views of The Remarkables & Lake Wakatipu were amazing. Queenstown itself, though not attractive, is surrounded by spectacular scenery. Adrenalin sports lure mainly young people to this area & there are lots of ski areas. The lake is massive – narrow but very long with a dog-leg halfway along. The road hugged the lake all the way to Kingston & then we went through a valley with small townships & sheep farms. We saw the remains of snowfall near an old railway bridge which now forms part of a cycle route. Highway 6 ended when we turned off towards Mossburn. We had a delay with cows on the road being moved to a new field (they were beef cattle) & the people moving them had a job to keep them together. At Mossburn we took Highway 94 to Te Anau, which was still the same as we remembered it – we had camped 2 nights there before. We had a coffee & then walked past the shops to the huge lake called Lake Te Anau. There was a jetty with a tourist boat which did excursions & a float plane. Te Anau town is at the southern end of the lake & water taxis ferry hikers to the Kepler Track & at the northern end the Milford Track ended by the lake. We spent about an hour in Te Anau which broke the journey up. The road followed the massive lake for miles & then headed through grasslands with high mountain ranges all around. The route map showed the distance between Te Anau & Milford Sound was 121 kms, but the travelling time was 2 hours. We entered the Fiordland National Park & there was no habitation anywhere. A true wilderness region & still unspoilt, apart from the road to Milford Sound which half a million tourists travel to view the Sound which ends in the Tasman Sea. The valley floor where the road went had yellow grasses & red tullock grasses & small lakes. The mountains were covered in a light dusting of snow almost like someone had sprinkled icing sugar on them. There were rest areas & short walks to small lakes & waterfalls. At one rest area there were some Keas, small alpine parrots, who were entertaining the tourists with their antics. They were hopping around & occasionally flew on top of a car. Their wings are red underneath & their backs have green/brown feathers. They have very sharp beaks & eat plants & nectar. They have become used to humans & vehicles & cheekily perch on mirrors looking inside. They are looking for humans to feed them & it’s unfortunate that they hang around tourist rest stops. The Dept of Conservation notices advise tourists not to feed the parrots & today we saw no one feeding them which was good. Food such as bread is very bad for their digestive system. The Keas are rather cheeky birds & can be quite destructive by ripping rubber trim from car roofs. Luckily our hired motorhome does not have rubber trim on the roof! We decided to do some of the short walks on our return journey to Te Anau the next day after seeing Milford Sound. Keef & I had lunch organised in the van in a rest area when the Keas became so pesty that we had to put the stuff in the sink & quickly drink our squash in order to drive away to escape them. We stopped just before the Homer Tunnel (dug out of the mountain by pickaxe from 1936 to 1954). We watched the Keas again & then on the other side of the tunnel the road zig-zagged down the steep mountain to the valley below. The waterfalls cascading down the sheer granite rock were impressive & bridges crossed gushing streams strewn with huge boulders. When we arrived at Milford Sound we decided to check out the cruise terminal before we went to our campsite for the night. Apart from a member of staff in the booking hall there was no one there at all. We took a look at the cruisers moored at the dock & as Keef had already booked & paid for our tickets (+ C & A’s as well) online in Wanaka we wanted to find out what the boarding time was for the next morning. The tickets cost $142.20 for each couple (£71.10). We were told to arrive by 10.10am for the 10.30 trip. We had booked a nature cruise with Real Journeys, a local family run company who had been operating the cruises since 1954. We were told to collect our tickets at the desk the next morning. When Keef & I were researching cruise companies & costs we found that another company did the same cruise for $208 per couple. We had gone with Real Journeys last time so knew they were good. Keef & I walked along the wooden boardwalk which had wonderful views of the Sound & Mitre Peak, which is one mile high. The tide was out & there were no other tourists around. However, seeing 27 coach bays at the cruise terminal led us to think that the 10.30am trip was going to be packed, although we were out of the main tourist season. We drove back along the road & saw where the staff that work at Milford Sound lived. They lived in little houses right next to the airport strip. We went to the campsite to check in. Keef had already booked & paid for both van pitches in Wanaka in case it was busy. It was called Milford Sound Lodge – a motel in the trees with a restaurant & bar & also pitches set amongst the trees with electric hook-up for motorhomes. There were unisex toilets cubicles & showers, with a good kitchen & dining/lounge area for campers. There was nowhere for tents to be pitched. The cost of each pitch was $54 for 2 people+ motorhome. We arrived about 5.20pm & made a cup of tea. C & A arrived when it was dark. They had done two of the very short walks on the Milford Road – Mirror lakes & The Chasm. We all had a good day driving to Milford. As the camp kitchen was busy with other people cooking their meals we ate in Chris & Allyson’s van & then we had a game of cards. The campsite was full up so good job we had booked ahead & this was the only campsite there as well. We had some light rain overnight but it wasn’t cold. Wednesday 24 May Milford Sound to Te Anau Drove down to the car park near the cruise boat jetty & then walked along the boardwalk. Keef collected our tickets from the cruise desk in the terminal. Our cruise boat was called ‘Milford mariner’ & it had masts but the sails were tightly furled. The boat was quite large & had several decks with an indoor lounge area & some bench seating on the upper deck. The boat left at 10.30am & the trip lasted 2 hours. It was a nature cruise & there was an excellent commentary by a guy who knew about the sea life, geology, plants etc. The day was sunny with not much wind, but as there had not been much rain there weren’t so many waterfalls. When Keef & I did the same trip previously the waterfalls were amazing because of the torrential rain on the journey from Te Anau but we were lucky as the cruise then was in bright sunshine. One of the waterfalls called Sterling Falls, was as tall as a 50 storey building but it was dwarfed by the huge sheer rock walls of the fiord. The magnificent scenery was awe inspiring & jaw dropping – no wonder it’s considered to be one of the natural wonders of the world. We spotted a dolphin jumping in front of the boat’s prow. The boat steered us very close to one of the tall thin waterfalls. We were told that the fiord was 16kms long & Milford Sound received 9.2 metres of rain last year. The average rainfall was 7 metres per annum & it rains 200 days of the year on average. So it’s one of the wettest places on earth & we were lucky to visit today in the sunshine. The Aussie guy doing the commentary told me that humpback whales go past the fiord as part of their migration route but on one occasion one whale got lost & ended up close to the boat jetty. Luckily it managed to steer back out to sea. He said that on another occasion a pod of killer whales came into the fiord. The boat headed out to the head of the fiord & we saw another dolphin (although it may have been the same one we saw before) & two albatross (a smaller variety). We did not see any seals on the journey out to sea because of the sheer rock face but on our return we did see four NZ fur seals close-up which were basking on a flat rock. Despite the fact that the sides of the fiord were solid granite rock it was surprising that there was a lot of greenery with mosses & plants clinging on. On the return journey back to the cruise terminal, Keef & I had a coffee in the saloon lounge & then went back on deck to see the Bowen Falls. The guy doing the commentary told us that a woman had para-glided off the rock cliff into the water & survived. He didn’t explain hoe she got to the top of the sheer cliff!! We all thoroughly enjoyed the cruise & scenery & were pleased we went with Real Journeys which was well worth the price – we felt so small compared to the towering cliffs of the fiord. When we were walking back to our vans we saw a white heron in the water at the edge of the fiord. Keef & I wanted to do some of the short walks on the way back to Te Anau & Chris & Allyson had already done these yesterday so we agreed to meet up at the campsite at Te Anau. Keef & I stopped at The Chasm & did the 20minute circular walk to a narrow channel between rock walls and boulders where water was gushing through. A small bridge went over the stream & it was so wet that the trees had moss growing on the trunks & dangling from the branches. We returned to our motorhome for lunch & a Kea hopped over to see us. Luckily this parrot wasn’t quite so pesty & we watched him whilst eating our sandwiches. We stopped again on the other side of the Homer Tunnel to watch the Keas. Two of the parrots were attacking a plastic sack on a workman’s truck which they were oblivious to & then the birds flew to our mirrors & were looking in & trying to peck at the rubber trim (I checked later & there was no damage). Then they flew to the roof of our motorhome & we could hear them scampering along. Some other people in a car next to us had their rubber trim on their roof peeled halfway off by one naughty parrot. We stopped to take photos on route & then did the 5 minute Mirror Lakes walk further on. This boardwalk was next to some small ponds which had fallen logs & leaf debris in the bottom. This created a dark background for the mirrored image of the snow capped mountains. We arrived at Te Anau Top 10 campsite at 4.45pm having stopped at the local supermarket to buy some provisions. We had camped there in the past & some of the roses on the trellis dividing some of the pitches were still in flower. The main kitchen, TV room & shower block were still the same but a small two shower/ two toilet block & kitchen had been added near to our pitch. We all had our meal in the kitchen & then had a cup of tea & played cards. Quite a busy day & very enjoyable. Thursday 25 May Te Anau to Dunedin (Portobello) Chris & Allyson decided to backtrack & head north to Queenstown as they had not seen everything the other day. This was a 168km journey & they were planning to spend the night at Queenstown again. They were going to meet up with us again at the Portobello campsite on the Otago Peninsula near Dunedin on Friday evening. Keef & I went from Te Anau to Gore through farmland, with mountains in the distance. We stopped briefly at Gore. Then we stopped for lunch at Balclutha & had fish & chips. The fish was Blue Cod which was delicious & the batter was nice & crispy. We then headed north through Milton to Dunedin. We went to the Kiwi Parks campsite at Portobello on the winding road round the famous Otago Peninsula which created a massive harbour & port. The port was called Port Chalmers which was on the other side of the peninsula & halfway along from the city. We checked into the campsite at 4.20pm & then drove on to the furthest part of the peninsula called Taiaroa. We wanted to book tickets to see the Little Blue Penguins, which are the world’s smallest penguin. We had seen them here on our previous holiday in South Island but wanted to visit again. Penguin viewing took place at 5.30pm (dusk) at Pilots Beach. We parked & bought our tickets from the Royal Albatross Colony shop. It cost $30 (£15) each to see the penguins & we had to wait for about 25 minutes before the guides/ wardens took us down lots of wooden steps & gravel paths to the wooden viewing platform. There were three female guides who gave us lots of information about the penguins. These little penguins can travel up to 25 kms out to sea to feed all day & then return to their burrows once it got dark. There were only about six people with us so we all got a good viewpoint. Saw a large seal on the rocks by the little beach (Pilots Beach) but he slid into the sea before the penguins arrived. The main threat to the little penguins is sealions which eat them. About 5.45pm the first penguin appeared followed by several others. They waddled right past us from the sand & rocks on the beach & then jumped up a shelf on the sand. Then they disappeared into the grassy sand dunes to the safety of their burrows for the night. They were so adorable & cute as they were very small & they squeaked & shrilled to one another. Eventually more penguins arrived – altogether we saw 24 Little Blue penguins come out of the waves & come up the beach past us to their burrows. We could see them very clearly as there was soft lighting under the wooden platform where we stood, which the wardens said was the equivalent to moonlight so did not worry the penguins. Each penguin knew where it was going for the night. They rest in the sand dunes & then go out again from 2am onwards to fish but sometimes they stay in their burrows. We drove back to the campsite & felt happy that we’d seen the penguins in their natural habitat – a lovely experience. Friday 26 May Portobello, Otago Peninsula Weather sunny today with blue sky. After breakfast Keef & I drove along the peninsula road & we stopped at Taiaroa head again but this time walked down to the viewing platform on the ocean side. Couldn’t see any whales or seals but saw a Royal Albatross wheeling high in the sky. We returned to Harwood (residential area) by the sea & looked around. Saw a small glass fronted cupboard on a pole printed in tiger stripes – very intriguing & quirky - inside were books for people to exchange. We drove along Weir Road, a gravel road, to Papanui Inlet where there were herons in the shallow water as the tide was out. We then headed around the inlet on the narrow gravel road & took another road to Hoopers Inlet, another tidal area & parked at Allan's Beach. Some farmers were doing sheep shearing & their sheep dogs were very well trained. Signs on the beach warned of sealions being dangerous if you got too near as they could charge & bite you. Unfortunately there weren’t any sealions but the beach was lovely with fine sand. Spoke to another tourist who said that a tourist information lady had advised him that there were sealions in Sandfly Bay. We drove up Highcliff Road which we had remembered was very twisty, narrow, with sheer drops to fields below. There had been some ‘wash-outs’ where rain had washed the edge of the road away. We parked at the end of Seal point Road & looked out from the cliffs to the sea. The beach was a very long way down & the path was too steep for Keef’s bad knees to cope with. Also there was a shallow river to wade across in order to get to the beach. It was too far away to even see properly through the binoculars. We decided to go into Dunedin at 4.20pm & saw Chris & Allyson driving towards us but they didn’t notice us waving. They had driven from Queenstown today, a distance of 237kms. We drove around the city centre & then through the Botanical Gardens & up to Signal Hill to get superb views of Dunedin & the whole peninsula. We had forgotten how steep the road was up Signal Hill (last time we were in a car). Dunedin is surrounded by steep hills & some houses were perched rather dangerously on the edge of the roadside with a sheer drop down to the bottom of the valley. Dunedin is in an earthquake zone being on the Pacific Rim. The streetlights were just beginning to come on & Dunedin looked very pretty by the harbour. We drove down Blacks Road in the city suburbs which was very steep but the steepest street in the world officially is Baldwin Street which was two streets away. We sensibly parked at the bottom of Baldwin Street which is 1:2 gradient (or 1:2.86 to be precise) according to the city council & Guinness Book of Records. This certainly was a steep residential street!! We saw the famous Dunedin railway station again from the outside. Apparently this Victorian building is the most photographed in all of New Zealand according to the city tourist brochure. We returned along the Otago Peninsula road to the campsite & were surprised to see that C & A were in the campsite as we thought they were going to see the Little Blue penguins at 5.30pm as Allyson had asked us about it. Chris cooked Thai chicken curry with rice. A cold night. Saturday 27 May Portobello to Oamaru Bright & sunny today. After breakfast we headed back into Dunedin & looked at some of the art work painted on the sides of city buildings. C & A had only arrived at 4.30pm so they had not had a chance to see the peninsula. They wanted to do a walk & we told them the beaches to visit where sealions could be found. We warned them about the scary Highcliff Road, which was unsuitable for large vehicles like lorries. Dunedin has had some earthquakes – in April 1974 they had a quake that was 5.0 & in June 2015 a moderate quake of 4.7 did some minor structural damage. The epicenter was 30 kms west of the city. Local people get used to these occurrences & are blasé. Keef & I drove along the other side of the Otago Peninsula looking back at Portobello & then we veered left on route 88 (missing Port Chalmers, a container ship terminal), climbing to get a fantastic view of the massive Otago Harbour. At a viewpoint at the top there was a stone column monument commemorating Robert Scott of the famous Antarctic expedition who died on the return from the South Pole but was beaten in the race by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen who famously got to the pole first. Scott & his crew left Dunedin harbour in 1910 headed for the South Pole. A statue of Scott was in Christchurch but it fell in the recent big earthquake & was taken away to be repaired. Strangely, lots of hens & cockerels were wandering around the lookout car park area. We took a narrow road to Long beach, which we walked along. No sealions there but still a beautiful bay. Didn’t see any whales today – apparently humpbacks head north from Dunedin having travelled down the west coasts of North & South Island. Also Southern Right Whales & Sperm Whales can be found off the Dunedin coast. Drove on to Oamaru via a scenic loop road by the sea. We decided to go out to the coast at Oamaru to see the Yellow Eyed penguins at 4.30pm. They can come ashore to their burrows in the steep shrubby cliffs any time after 3pm. We parked our van & walked along the cliff path to the hide where we waited patiently until we saw one just at dusk around 5.15pm. There was a cold wind coming off the sea & we were glad of our coats & warm clothing. There were several people viewing the penguins from the hide. There were five breeding pairs plus two other penguins, when years ago there had been 400. The Yellow Eyed penguins are becoming rarer. The penguin we saw came ashore on the sandy beach, then paused before turning & returning to the water. The penguin did this twice so obviously felt nervous about leaving the ocean. There were some seals asleep on the beach which may have made it cautious. The beach is closed to the public between 9am & 3pm so as not to disturb the penguins. The hide we were in was made of wood with little wind protection but it did have a roof & it had great views of the beach. As we walked back along the cliff path I saw another penguin waddling ashore (although it could have been the same penguin again!) My feet were getting cold & I was glad I had my gloves on. We went to Oamaru Top 10 campsite to check in. Allyson joined us in reception as we had just arrived together at the site. They said they had done a long walk on the Otago peninsula. We knew that the road journey tomorrow was going to be about 4½ hours to Akaroa, on the Banks Peninsula, southeast of Christchurch, so we turned in early. Sunday 28 May Oamaru to Akaroa Another bright sunny autumn day & it wasn’t that cold overnight. We looked around the town which had some heritage Victorian limestone grand buildings with very detailed stone carvings. Nowadays no one can afford to have this sort of craftsmanship done on a building. Saw the vintage train running through the town from the harbour depot. It only operates on a Sunday & lots of families with kids were riding on the two carriages. Keef saw a man dressed as the fat Controller on the station platform. There were a lot of steampunk sculptures around the harbour area & in the children’s playground. Oamaru was once a thriving town with its harbour, grain stores, customs house, opera house & banks all in very grand stone buildings. We left Oamaru & took Highway 1 through Timaru & stopped for a sandwich at the salmon fishing town of Raikaia. Then we drove on to Akaroa, on the Banks Peninsula, which was a small township with French street names & a French influence. We walked around the town & on the jetty – it seemed very quiet as the shops were closing. In fact several shops had been shut up for the winter. Some of the cottages were very pretty with roses around porches & white picket fences. We went to the campsite & Chris & Allyson arrived later. The pitch was sloped with muddy grass & the kitchen & shower block were exactly the same as when we camped there in our tent years ago. The campsite needed refurbishing. We ate dinner in the kitchen to use up the remaining food but it was cold in there. The ladies showers/toilets were cold as someone had left the window open. After dinner we played cards in C & A’s van. Monday 29 May Akaroa to Christchurch Chris & Allyson had not had a chance to look at the Banks Peninsula as it was getting dark when they arrived in Akaroa so they wanted to see it in the morning. We all had to hand back our motorhomes to Britz in the afternoon. Keef & I drove towards Lyttleton, but went over the hills rather than to the harbour, and then on to Christchurch. The sea mist & low cloud meant that visibility was poor. Some of the passes over the hills, such as Dyers pass, were very high with winding roads & steep drops at the side. The summit was called the Sugarloaf, which was 496 m high. We went to Pak n save supermarket in Riccarton to get some croissants for breakfast in the motel. We had booked the Apollo Motel, 288 Riccarton Road, Christchurch. We had a quick sandwich lunch & then did our packing in the van by the motel. Chris & Allyson did their packing at the campsite but we decided to wait until Christchurch because our large heavy bags would have fallen off the motorhome seats. We dropped our bags off at the motel & then delivered the motorhome to the Britz depot/office near the airport at 3pm. The staff there gave us $38 back as we had complained in the Auckland office that the gas cylinder was too small (compared with what we had in the Aussie Britz motorhomes). We had filled it up in North Island even though it wasn’t empty. Keef & I got a shuttle bus back to the motel from Britz. The driver told us that after the damaging quake in Christchurch there had been a year of small aftershocks continuously every 20 minutes. They could have another big earthquake again at any time. Had tea & a chocolate muffin when we returned to our room in the motel & put the heating on. Met up with C & A & had a nice meal at the Lone Star restaurant. Went to bed at 9.30pm as the next day we were getting up very early to go to the airport. We saw on the TV that an amazing display of the Australis Borealis was seen all over NZ south of Christchurch last night with the most beautiful colour waves. Apparently Dunedin & Signal Hill was one of the best places to see it. Went to bed at 9.30pm as the next day we were getting up very early to go to the airport. Tuesday 30 May Christchurch to Sydney & on to Singapore Got up early, had our showers & all crammed in the taxi with all our luggage at 3.45am to go to the airport. It was still dark outside & chilly. The family who ran the motel provided the car which was driven by their son. Our Qantas QF138 plane was supposed to depart for Sydney at 6.05am but was late leaving. At Sydney airport we all had a coffee & said our sad farewells to Chris & Allyson after an amazing four month trip. They were catching a plane to Hong Kong to spend a few days there before returning home. We were flying to Singapore to spend two weeks with Doug, Phoenix & our lovely 2 year old granddaughter Charlie, before we too headed for home. Really looking forward to seeing our family again. THE END Diary 1st - 14th June Annie on Desaru Beach Malaysia 1st to 14th June Left Christchurch , South Island, New Zealand via plane to Sydney Airport... where after a coffee we said a tearful goodbye to our dear friends who went onto Hong Kong for 3 days, whilst we travelled onto Changi where we spent a lovely 2 weeks with family in Singapore with a long weekend break in Desaru, Malaysia. You can see details of both of those from the respective drop downs in the index above. Thanks for looking 30th May- 14th June, no time to write a diary too busy having family fun! 😉 but you can look at the slideshows and photos to get an idea of what we did, including our posh weekend away in Malaysia at Desaru. The appropriate Singapore and Malaysia pages on this website will help with that. More Singapore More Malaysia Previous Day (Recap) Tuesday 30 May Christchurch to Sydney & on to Singapore Got up early, had our showers & all crammed in the taxi with all our luggage at 3.45am to go to the airport. It was still dark outside & chilly. The family who ran the motel provided the car which was driven by their son. Our Qantas QF138 plane was supposed to depart for Sydney at 6.05am but was late leaving. At Sydney airport we all had a coffee & said our sad farewells to Chris & Allyson after an amazing four month trip. They were catching a plane to Hong Kong to spend a few days there before returning home. We were flying to Singapore to spend two weeks with Doug, Phoenix & our lovely 2 year old granddaughter Charlie, before we too headed for home. Really looking forward to seeing our family again. SINGAPORE INTRODUCTION - 2 visits at start and end of the holiday Stay 1 - Sadly just 3 days on route to the southern hemisphere to break the journey but it was a chance to catch up with family and see our lovely grand daughter again. Plus some good eats esp. Quentin's Eurasian with family and C&A. The Escher exhibition at Art/ Science was a particular favourite of mine. MRT coming 2023 to a station near you at Marine Parade. Love East Coast Park, helped somewhat in the jet lag stakes. Stay2 - A much longer stay this time around. 2 glorious weeks with family. National Gallery Biennale kids exhibition, Liao Fan Michelin Hawker centre, Singapore Zoo, Wet Wet Wet (Wild) park, Mustafa's, Chinatown, East Coast Park BBQ and walks, Parkway Parade, The supercool Library and a fab long weekend in Malaysia at Lotus Desaru Beach Hotel Stay 2 30th May- 14th June No time to write a diary too busy having family fun! 😉 but you can look at the slideshows and photos to get an idea of what we did, including our posh weekend away in Malaysia. Our Singapore stay from 1–14 June 2017 was all about family time after months on the road. We flew in from Sydney, tired but excited to see Doug, Phoenix and little Charlie again. Most days were spent enjoying simple routines together—walks, playtime, meals, and catching up on everything we’d missed. We explored local spots, revisited favourite areas, and soaked up the warmth and humidity we’d almost forgotten. The highlight was our luxurious long‑weekend escape to Desaru in Malaysia, a relaxing break filled with sunshine and pampering. It was a joyful, restorative two weeks before the journey home. TO BE CONTINUED JUNE DIARY CONTINUED MALAYSIA - Desaru Resort , Bandar Panewar, Johor Coastline 3 Day Weekend Break - 9-11 June 2017 It was a long weekend break away with family to MALAYSIA at the Desaru Resort in Bandar Panewar on the Johor Coastline. The 3 day weekend break lasted from 9th to the 11th of June. It was wonderful to spend quality time with Doug, Phoenix, and Charlie, as it was the weekend Doug didn’t have to work. We loved the big pool, there were quite a few of them with water amusements and wave machines but the Olympic size pool was my fave, as during most of the day until the cooler evening it was empty. It had good changing room facilities as well. By way of an introduction, no full Diary was written for both Singapore nor Malaysia as we were just too busy doing stuff, anyhow here are some words KeefH Web Designs put together retrospectively in 2022. It was a long weekend away in Desaru, Johor travelling by ferry from Changi ferry port by the MV Falcon 3 to Tanjung Belungkor ferry terminal in Malaysia and then transported by people mover provided by our hotel some 35km from the ferry terminal to the beach resort. It certainly had very nice facilities, 2 pools and a waterpark plus really good food provided by a variety of restaurants and a colonial feel to the lawn and buildings plus charlie loved the old fire engine and bird house. All in all a fab family weekend away. At Lotus Desaru we took some 113 images covering amongst others tangjung belangkor, ferry from changi, the reach, buffet restaurants, paw patrol, early swimming to keep cool, amusements, tigers, block e, last rivers, meals, seafood, mexican, boats, rickshaws, fire engines, parascending, seabass, seaside fun, holiday in the sun, 3 day long weekend, mv falcon 3, fireworks, waterfall, relaxation, palm trees, taxi rides, seaview restaurant, steep down to beach, teratai coffee house, hibiscus, limbongan maju, marina island, love prata, block e room 407, I’m sure there was a whole lot more but you can see those via both the slideshows and the image galleries, enjoy and thanks for looking. THE END

A real 2013 travel diary across Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. Photos, stories and motorhome adventures from a once‑in‑a‑lifetime trip done 3 times. 2103 Australia Motorhome Travel Road Trip with Diaries, Hints and Photography PLAY Australia 2013 All States & Territories except Queensland, Northern & Australian Capital one visit 6th March to 6 April, 32 days in total We returned to the wonderful world that is Oz both for the 4th time, once in our youth when we lived there, Sydney & Melbourne respectively and then 3 times together as a full family in 1995 with Craig & Doug then on our own after retirement in 2008 and now in 2013. Australia is such an awe-inspirring place of extremes and vastness. We wanted to experience and see things (mostly) that we haven't done before this time. But we loved spending time with family and friends in Sydney & Tassie as well. Much love to you all , you know who you are and thanks for looking after us so well. We HEART Bondi (obviously not the American one #haha) *smile*. On my bucket list was travelling across the Nullarbor, this was a true epic journey similar to travelling on the Ghan from Darwin to Alice in 2008. NOTE as this was updated in 2020 we have also been again in 2017. Anyhow take a look at our treasured memories via Anne's dairy and our pictures. We joined the BIG 4 campsites whilst in Australia which certainly saved us money on our overnight camping. We also signed up with Top Tourists Parks (by 2022 they have been renamed G'Day Parks) Just a couple of tips for fellow motor homers. HIGHLIGHTS:- Sydney, Tasmania - friends & rellies Coastal walk - Vaucluse to Watson's Bay Bruny Island Adelaide shores Outback Australia & Coober Pedy Opals Cromer stay and North Shore beaches, plus coastal salt water pools Port Lincoln & Coffin Bay Nat Park Crossing the Nullarbor, Ceduna to Norseman (1194 kms / 742 miles in total on the crossing - 3 days) Esperance and the fab Great Ocean Drive Peel Zoo, Pinjarra Indian Ocean Drive Geraldton & Picnic on Port Denison shores Driving in our hired Britz van 3810 miles & seeing "loads" LOWLIGHTS:- Slow puncture via cracked wheel rim crossing Nullabor Having to pay my $120Nz fine picked up near Ahipara, Northlands, NZ which Craig emailed onto us from back in the UK, boo! Australia finally crossing the Nullarbor Plain in a Motorhome, 745 miles Read the Travel Blog Diaries, Look at the Travel Blog Slideshows, See the You Tube Videos, Use the 2013 CHOICES MENU to Explore, 3 Days at a Time (mostly) Have Fun, This travel blog is referenced as our 3rd Holiday of a Lifetime to cover our trips in 2007/8 (Downunder) & 2010 (Across Canada), we have since had a 4th in 2017 (Downunder) All the usual travel blog information can be found here. and for Australia it is broken down into visiting New South Wales, Tasmania, flying to South Australia, then Coffin Bay (magical) and across the Nullarbor, Ceduna to Norseman, up to Geralton and eventually flying onto family in Singapore from Perth. Bucket List Stuff - Crossing the Nullarbor in a Motorhome AUSTRALIA, Vaucluse area of Sydney, New South Wales,6-8 Mar 2013 Arriving in Sydney, Staying with Family, Vaucluse area exploration, Australia, Arriving Sydney from Nz 6-8 mar 2013, arrive from Auckland into Sydney, Family collected us, covering amongst others 110 selective slideshow images, expensive Kiwi speeding fine from Ahipara oh dear!, watson’s bay, Doyles on the beach, fish and chips, posh restaurant, kookaburra, riley, hannah and david-such hospitality, vaucluse and Vaucluse House, gap bluff & jacobs ladder lookout, banksias, bottlebrush, harbour ferry, darling harbour, diamond bay, south shore road, signal hill reserve, dog walking, lorikeets, Sydney opera house UNESCO World Heritage site, Jorn Utzon, shark bay beach, parsley bay, Sydney harbour bridge, nielsen’s reserve NSW national park, lots of walking in the sun, ice cream, boardwalks, clarke reserve, south head signal station, fisherman's wharf, manly crossing, Robertson's park, circular quay, garden island, cruise liner, queen mary 2, water taxi, ferries, campbell parade, bondi beach, water dragons, shark beach, jet cat from Watson's Bay. We were previously in this area in 1995, 2007 and then again in 2017. riley takes keef for a walk queen mary 2 , tug and sydney harbour bridge 1/55 Wednesday March 6th 2013 Summary, Flew into Sydney from Auckland, New Zealand. NZ is 2 hours ahead of Australia. Got up at 5 a.m. Kiwi time and got motel shuttle bus to Auckland airport. Our flight to Sydney left at 8.45 a.m. 10 minutes late but not bad, the usual airport runway congestion. We flew with QUANTAS, it was a good flight as nice views as we flew into Botany Bay. We arrived 9.30 a.m. Australian time, the flight time was 2 ¾ hours, it should have been 3 ½ hours but the tailwind sped our journey in the skies. We waited at the airport for Hannah & David to pick us up at lunchtime as they were both at work. No real hassle to us, we read our books and chatted about the fab time we had just had in Kiwi land. When we met up they drove us back to their apartment in Vaucluse in their car which was very kind of them. They have a lovely flat and Riley their schnauzer doggie is gorgeous. He is a quiet dog, laid back but friendly with silky ears and brown eyes. Hannah and David returned to work, and we unpacked and took Riley out for a short walk. It was very hot and sunny, and he only wanted to stay in the shade, so we brought him back and walked to Coles and got some wine for the BBQ tonight. We had showers and got changed ready for the BBQ Laura Langthorne came over to join us, H, D & L were friends having met on various travels earlier on the way out to Australia. A huge coincidence for us. But a lovely one. A very nice evening and lovely to see family and friends again. We went to bed at 11 p.m. very tired understandable. Thursday March 7th 2013 Summary, Sydney 29 degrees Fahrenheit. Up at 8 a.m. Annie did some handwashing, Keef checked emails etc. We were notified by the Kiwi motorhome company that we had got a NZ speeding fine for NZ$120 and the company added on a further $35 admin charge, not good news. Later found out it was for driving too fast past a school area in Ahipara, bad boy Keef, think it was when we parked up to relook at 90-mile beach. We had breakfast then walked along the coastal path to Watson’s Bay. Hot day and very blue skies. It was a nice walk and we saw the lovely homes in Vaucluse and Watson’s Bay. We had cobs (bread rolls) for lunch near Doyle’s restaurant at Watson’s Bay. We bought tickets for the jet cat ferry to Circular Quay $5 each. It was a long wait as they closed for lunch for one hour, we hadn’t realised this when we purchased the tickets. When we finally got going it was bliss, such lovely views in the harbour. The Queen Mary two cruise ship was moored at Circular Quay. Sydney centre was very busy. There was the same Aboriginal family as we saw in 2008 at Circular Quay playing didgeridoo etc. We had a chocolate milkshake as it was very hot. We called in at the tourist information centre to get a city centre map and sort out various bus routes. We got the bus back to Vaucluse before the main commuters had left work, a very wise move as Sydney is a very busy place and more specially so during rush hour. We had bath / shower and Hannah & David returned from work around 7 p.m. David cooked home made pasta which was lovely and very tasty. We all did a Skype with Brian & Gina around 9.30 p.m. They had enjoyed their remaining holiday in Borneo. Nice to see and talk to them again. Friday March 8th 2013 Summary, Sydney David very kindly lent us his car and we drove to Vaucluse house in Vaucluse, the Sydney suburb they live in. This was an early settler’s house owned by William C Wentworth, his wife and 10 children. He was an explorer in the Blue Mountains as well as a lawyer and businessman in the colony. We had a guided tour around the house which was very interesting. We then drove to Parsley Bay which has a netted beach to protect against shark attack and had lunch there. We paddled for a bit in the bay to cool off then drove onto Shark Bay which has a much better beach with great sand and was also netted. We sawm in that netted area so we can say we have both swam in Sydney harbour and very cooling it was too. A very hot day once again. It was lovely to see the yachts and ferries in the harbour. We then returned to Vaucluse and did some shopping at Coles to cook Hannah & David a meal. They got home at 6.30 p.m. Keef cooked lamb, kumara chips and sweetcorn (a true kiwi dinner for Aussies ha-ha). Anne did strawberries, cream and melon slices for pudding. We watched the Hunger games movie on TV, David has a huge Plex library. It was good. AUSTRALIA, Tasmania, 15-17 Mar 2013 North Shores Beaches & Flight Down to Family in Tasmania, Australia, North shore beaches & onto Tasmania 15-17 mar 2013 collaroy, curl curl, hobart, Mackay Cyclone remains affecting North Shore, covering amongst others 70 selective slideshow images, dee why, beaches galore, salt water pools, narabeen beach and lakes, family, Cromer goodbye and farewell poopie the dog, Kingsford Smith Mascot Sydney airport, flight to tasmania, Jet Star internal flights, family, apple juice, ss carnival in port, huon valley, roses, stanley and florence twight reserve, long reef, aquatic reserve, ranelagh, maple tree cottage, north huon road, chicken coop, river derwent, mount nelson, lookout, kunanyi , derwent estuary, richmond heritage town and bridge, Sorell, howrah, hobart harbour, signal hill, truganini reserve, mount wellington, bicentennial park, mount stuart lookout, tasman bridge, sandy bay, wrest point, sleeping maiden range We were previously in this area in 1995, 2007 and then again in 2017. a stroll around sandy bay john, keef & diana mt nelson signal hill 1/36 Friday March 15th 2013 Summary, Sydney Woke up to rain! First real rain we have had on this trip and especially in Australia. Keef checked emails and sent messages and did some photo processing / saving. Anne did laundry and a big pile of ironing. The rain stopped, we had a late lunch and then drove to Collaroy beach, which has quite coarse sand. Amazingly big waves here, lots of surfers, we sat and watched them from the Stanley and Florence Twight reserve or park in English (lovely name for some now long-gone locals). Some of what the surfers were doing looked very difficult. We then drove to Dee Why beach and visited quite a few smaller beaches in between. We parked the car at Dee Why for free which was quite a novelty , nearly everywhere else in Sydney we have had to pay. New Zealand is the complete opposite so we had been used to bowling up to beauty spots for free. At Dee Why we walked to the sea water swimming pool by the beach. The waves here were huge crashing into rocks and over into the seawater pool. It looked very stormy but did not rain. The weather currently was the edge of the cyclone that had hit Mackay in Queensland. It was what was causing such huge waves. Perfect for the huge number of surfers as Dee Why. We then drove to Curl Curl beach, which had lovely architect designed individual houses all with fabulous sea views. We could even see Narabeen lakes from the hill tops overlooking Curl Curl beach. We then returned to the cottage and packed our bags ready for our early flight to Hobart, Tasmania the next morning. In the evening we watched a Bruce Willis film about an African rebel army attacking nuns and local people whom BW had to rescue, a bit gory and not very good, really can’t remember what it was called as totally unmemorable. Saturday March 16th 2013 Summary, Sydney to Hobart, Tasmania. Got up at 5.30 a.m. and left for the airport to get the jet star flight to Hobart at 11.30 a.m. We handed back the hire car at the Kingsford Smith (Mascot) Sydney airport. It was about 42 minutes driving via Warringah Road, and you had to be there 3 hours earlier, who knows why hence such an early start which seemed strange for what in the end was only a 90-minute flight down to Hobart. Jet star had very cramped seats, no food and you even had to pay for water. Not sure how much we like these budget airlines, but I guess you get what you pay for. Anne had security check for explosives, see looked dodgy ha-ha. At Hobart airport it was pouring with rain. John Terry met us at the airport, it all felt about the same size as Jersey airport, very small and only 1 luggage carousel. John kindly drove us back to his and Diana’s house in Ranelagh, outside Hobart in the Huon valley. We all had afternoon tea and hot cross buns, and afterwards we unpacked our bags. We had a lovely roast lamb dinner in the evening. John and Diana have sold their house to some people from Victoria and must move out by the end of April. At the time they believed they were going abroad to live near Diana’s son Steven and his family in Denver, Colorado in the USA. Time subsequently changed their plans and they moved to Swansea, south of Launceston in Tasmania. They also hoped to return briefly to the UK to visit her daughter and grandchildren as well as other family and friends, they would always be welcome at our house. Subsequently that plan didn’t mature, they did come to us in Derbyshire however back in 2001. Sunday March 17th 2013 Summary, Ranelagh, Tasmania. We had a cooked breakfast and then drove in John & Diana’s car to Richmond, a historical town with then allegedly oldest bridge in Australia. Many of the houses and buildings were built by convicts. The town was very busy and hard to park in, so we drove through looking at stuff on the way up to the bridge. We then drove onto Sorell. We then returned to Hobart and went to the Mount Nelson signal point lookout which we had been to before back in 2008. There you get fabulous views of Hobart, the Derwent valley, and the River Derwent. There was a cruise ship , the SS Carnival, sailing in at the time we were at the lookout. We had a coffee there and then drove to Sandy Bay and walked along the river estuary which had very clear water, it turned very sunny and hot. John then drove us back to their house. He did a very nice Thai green curry in the evening. AUSTRALIA, Coffin Bay National Park, South Australia,24-26 Mar 2013 Coober Pedy, Port Augusta, Coffin Bay National Park (NP), Dolphins & Elliston, Australia, Port Augusta to Elliston 24-26 mar 2013, port lincoln, coffin bay NP, Sir Isaac Coffin Navy Admiral, elliston, bush tortoise, blue tongued skink, covering amongst others 134 selective slideshow images, coober pedy to port augusta 335 miles, almonta beach and bay, yangie bay, Golden Island, avoid bay, Port Lincoln, birdlife, particularly Osprey, eagles, foxes, dolphins, marinas, reefs, franklin harbour, golden island, cowell, gums, road trains, left coober at sunrise, long journey, 6 hours back to port augusta, lake eyre, salt lakes, lake gardiner, Stuart explorer highway, arid lands botanic gardens, aussie humour re shark fin, 144 stuart highway, tracks, spencer gulf, whyalla, port bonython, franklin heritage hotel, mount dutton, iron baron, arno bay, tumby bay, Top Tourist campsites, Our Britz motorhome slow puncture, turned out to be cracked rim, great australian bight, , dolphin pod 40 strong magical, boston bay, south shields, BIG 4 campsites. We were previously in this area in 1995, 2007 and then again in 2017. 24 mar 13 port aususta campsite dolphins surfing 1/67 Sunday March 24th 2013 Summary, Coober Pedy back to Port Augusta Got up at 5.45 a.m. to set off at 7.25 a.m. when it was dawn’s first light to return down the Stuart Highway to Port Augusta, 335 miles in total. We stopped for rest breaks and lunch on the return journey, and it started to get really hot around 11 a.m. We took photos of many eagles and we saw another fox. We arrived at Port Augusta at 1.20 a.m. and the total return took us 6 hours travel. We visited the Arid Lands Botanic Gardens on the way back which was just outside Port Augusta. Went to the Tourist Info Centre for leaflets and bought souvenirs, we then returned to the same Big 4 campsite we had stayed at before in Port Augusta, it was a lovely site with fab gum trees all around and a reasonably arid landscape. It cost $36 a night to stay there. Annie did the clothes washing and then we both went swimming in the campsite pool, it was very cold water at 17 degrees centigrade, so it immediately cooled us down, yippee, needed that. We then read our e-books (kindles) and relaxed and had obligatory ice-creams, well someone has got to do it, tee hee. Flies are very persistent anywhere in South Australia apart from big towns. They crawl up your nose, around your eyes etc. ugh!!! Monday March 25th 2013 Summary, Port Augusta to Port Lincoln We set off from the campsite at 9.45 a.m. and got diesel. We stopped at Whyalla, a steel and mining town, industrial and if we are honest and not that interesting apart from the steel ship and cuttlefish craig. The town is on the spencer gulf on the right-hand side of the Eyre peninsular. We saw the harbour and lots of washed-up sea grass on the beach, which disappointingly looked messy. As we left the town, we got stuck behind an oversized vehicle convoy, a huge mining digger (bit like we had seen at the Kalgoorlie Super pit in Western Australia back in 2008). It took up 2 road lanes and was impossible to overtake. Eventually it turned off to Kimba, there were then 2 more travelling in the opposite direction that moved equally slowly, maybe these things should be moved at night. We saw a huge iron ore mine in the bush a way off the road. This may have been at Iron Baron township. We stopped at Cowell, Arno Bay and Tumby Bay, all are little fishing harbours and very pleasant and interesting. This coast produces fish and shellfish to provide about 85% of South Australia’s needs. Some oysters are shipped to Melbourne, Victoria. Late in the afternoon we arrived at Port Lincoln, once again termed as a city but to us just a large town. A coastal port with a long jetty and grain stores for cargo ships. The town looked busy and very prosperous with lots of shops. We went to the Top Tourist campsite which cost $31.50 for the night. It had lovely views of Boston Bay. Our pitch was level but on concrete, no swimming pool but great showers. Keef used the barbeque on the van, a pull out at the rear that joined up with the gas tank, such a great idea, do wish this was possible on our van at home. He cooked veal escalope, salad and garlic bread, mouth watering and all washed down with affine wine outside. Whilst eating our meal we watched the many rosellas and lorikeets chattering in the eucalyptus trees. Plus, lovely views of the sea, Boston Bay is 3 times the size of Sydney Harbour which is saying something. We sorted out our finances online, emails and Keef paid his New Zealand speeding fine online, $120 kiwi money. Tuesday March 26th 2013 Summary, Port Lincoln to Elliston plus highlight visiting Coffin Bay National Park. We had boiled eggs and toast for breakfast, lovely views of the sea but very windy this morning. We set off at 10.30 a.m. back into Port Lincoln town, got groceries and a 10-litre container of water from Coles, fuel and Annie posted postcards to friends and family in the post office there. We then headed off to Coffin Bay National Park which cost $10 fee only to get into the park. There was 22 kilometers of sealed road along shrub bush and coastline. Fantastic scenery and views, a very hot day again. The sea looked perfectly turquoise, and the sand dunes stretched for miles. There were supposed to be grey kangaroos, emus and reptiles in the park, but we only saw two dead emus by the roadside. From a lookout point on the cliffs, we saw Golden Island and Almonta beach. Here we saw a pod of dolphins, about 50 of them in the bay from the cliffs. Just magnificent. They were having great fun chirping and playing in the gentle waves and brilliant blue sunshine. We also visited Yangie Bay by road, but it was a bit sandy and muddy on the road, so we didn’t stay long. We were very impressed by the National Park, a real highlight. We then left the park and travelled to the town of Coffin Bay, named after Isaac Coffin a sailor in the Royal Navy who eventually became a British Admiral of the Navy. We had a snack lunch there sitting outside a general store. It was very hot and windy. We then drove to Elliston along the highway which was deserted for long distances on it. It was mostly farming area but as usual the grass was dried up because of the lack of rain. We saw a bush tortoise by the edge of the road and a blue tongued skink slowly crossing the road on its very short legs. Keef straddled him luckily. We arrived at the Elliston Caravan Park at about 5 p.m. and immediately after setting up, electrics etc., went in the campsite swimming pool, cold water but wonderful after such a hot day. We both had showers and Keef again used the van attached BBQ to cook chicken parmigiana. The campsite was mainly Aussie campers and fishermen in caravans rather than motorhomes. There were so many mosquitos that we ate in the van. AUSTRALIA, Geraldton, Western Australia, 2-4 Apr 2013 AUSTRALIA, Geraldton, Western Australia, 2-4 Apr 2013, Australia, Albany to Geraldton, 2-4 apr 2013, albany, bunbury, ledge point and fab Big 4 site there, geraldton, perth, jurien bay, covering amongst others 150 selective slideshow images, getting the tyre / cracked rim fixed in perth, pinjarra, lancelin, big 4 campsites, snakes including carpet, black and brown ones, cervantes, coral coast, animals galore, possum, birds, koalas, dingos, koombana bay and the dolphin discovery centre, the Indian Ocean, relaxing in koombara pool, kangaroos, dolphin boat tours, never saw one despite trying, blackwood river & park, bridgetown, indian ocean drive, state highway 60, jurien bay, pinnacles national park, desert, lorikeets, parrots, sunsets, inland waters, manta ray, dolphin discovery centre, dunes, sunsets, tasmanian devils, rusty the koala, 10 interesting facts about Koalas, photoshoots, the wedge, warrengaren nature reserve, bunbury wildlife park, collie river, patrick joseph usher obe, mayor of bunbury, places to shop, coles, woolies, iga, bottlenose dolphins, evening swim, Peel Zoo at Pinjarra, ibis, gouldian finch, red rumped parakeet, golden pheasant, eclectus parrots, lovebirds, annie in the feeding pen (smile), white cockatoo, peacock, owls, potoroo, skink, wedge island, whitlock island. We were previously in this area in 1995, 2007 and then again in 2017. cervantes pier down to jurien bay 1/75 1/15 Tuesday April 2nd 2013 Summary, Albany to Bunbury. Fixing the cracked rim on the Motorhome at Britz Perth, it should never have been let out of Adelaide like this, especially as crossing the Nullarbor, Grrrr Britz!!! Posted off postcard to Doug & Phoenix at the Albany post office, with a picture of the Nullarbor Plain on it. We also called in at the Telstra office to get our pay as you go internet service extended, it cost $30. We then rang Britz in Perth as Easter over re the tyre problem. Left Albany early and called in at the petrol station for air for the tyre and a fuel fill up. We then drove through farmland, bush land, cows, sheep, plus some grass that finally looked green and water still in puddles on the ground from recent rain. Australia is moving towards Autumn. Sadly, didn’t see any wildlife along the route but you can rest assured we were looking for kangaroos, wombats, and dingoes. Stopped for lunch by the Blackwood River and park at Bridgetown. Nice area tranquil with good scenery. The river was an olive green colour and flowed quite slowly. Arrived in Bunbury, a large town to us but in Australian terms it is a city. Went to the tourist info situated in the old railway station, quite quirky, we loved it. The lady there was very helpful about the dolphins in the bay and Peel Zoo at Pinjarra, further up from Bunbury as they had koalas there. We then drove to Koombana Bay, the local beach and had a walk along the lovely soft sand there, bare footed of course. The sea and skies were just so blue with bright sunshine. So love the Indian Ocean, it was very hot today. We checked into the Big 4 campsite across the highway from Koombana bay, a lovely modern campsite with great facilities, tennis and basketball courts, swimming pool, jacuzzi. We had a quick swim before it got dark at 6.30 p.m. It cost $35.10 to stay there, well worth it. Had showers after the swim and Keef cooked a lovely steak on the BBQ attached to the side of the motorhome, we had it with salad and garlic bread and a jacket potato done in the microwave. We watched telly, the Australian version of Who do you think you are, it featured Aussie comedian Adam Hills who at the time we had no idea who he was, now in 2022 he is on UK telly often and despite his family being back in Melbourne lives a lot of the time in England as he is the main presenter of the last leg, a UK comedy programme born out of the 2012 Paralympic games and it champions disability awareness, Adam and one other presenter are disabled. Aussie programme is on both SBS1 & 2 at 7.30 p.m. on a Tuesday each week, wish we had known sooner, it is a genealogy programme we like back in the UK. Wednesday April 3rd 2013 Summary, Koombana Bay, Bunbury to Ledge Point, 90 minutes north of Perth. 32 degrees centigrade today and very hot. We got up at 7 a.m. the tyre was very deflated; we are quite worried. There were speed humps on the campsite which made in doubly difficult getting out, it was almost down to the rim. Drove back into town gingerly to find a garage to put air in the tyre. We then headed back to Koombana bay by 8.15 a.m. to look for dolphins as they allegedly came into the bay in the morning. We had been to the Dolphin Discovery centre yesterday which is where we got the tip. The girls aid they usually arrive about 8 a.m. We saw nothing. We know she was lying as trying to get us on the tourist boat trip which cost $185 each for a half day trip, a lot of money. She offered a reduction down to $149 but we politely declined. This was a con as from past experience and this we knew the dolphins were not often in the Bay but much further out. Annie, Chris, and Allyson did see one from the jetty to the left in 2017. We then set off for Pinjarra and Peel Zoo, it is north of Bunbury. This was a small independently run zoo with lots of Australian animals and birds. A truly wonderful experience can’t recommend them highly enough. We loved the parrots and hand fed the grey kangaroos and one of them had a joey in her pouch. We also hand fed goats, deer, and llamas. Annie got mobbed as she held the food bag. A deer tried to knock it out of her hand. The we saw Rusty the Koala and we had pictures taken with him on a branch. The zoo charged $5 for the privilege, well worth it. By 2022 Koalas have been declared endangered, would be horrid if they die out especially as when we were on Kangaroo Island in 2008, they culled 30,000 of them saying they were a farming pest. Sadly, they are tied to the type of eucalyptus trees in their area and cannot be repatriated, or so they say, not sure how this stacks up with zoos around the world. Rusty was very sleepy; they sleep about 20 hours a day. We then walked through the bird aviary and hand fed with supplied apple pieces rosellas, lorikeets, and many other native Australian birds. It was just so memorable, they were on our heads, hands, and shoulders, not shy at all and obviously hungry, ha-ha. There were so many beautiful coloured birds. We also saw dingoes, emus, Tasmanian devils, pythons, and wallabies. We really enjoyed Peel Zoo, it was fantastic. We then drove on to the Britz tyre repair department near Perth airport. It took 1 hour to fix. Conclusion it was a cracked rim. Thank goodness it is fixed, a huge weight off our minds, it could have been a whole lot worse. We then headed north and arrived at the Big 4 campsite at Ledge Point off the Indian Ocean at 6 p.m. Had a quick swim in the pool which was relaxing after such a hot day, by now it was already getting dark. Thursday April 4th 2013 Summary, Ledge Point to Geraldton. 35 degrees centigrade today and very hot. The Big 4 campsite at Ledge Point was excellent with very modern facilities, a spacious pitch with grass, not sand or grit and a pool, gets our vote. So much so we returned in 2017. Headed north to Geraldton and called in at a few small holiday / fishing towns on route off the Indian Ocean drive, such as Lancelin, Cervantes, Jurien Bay and Dongara. We visited the Pinnacles National Park off the fab Indian Ocean drive near Cervantes. It cost $11 to get in, although you can drive your vehicle around the one-way sand road we decided not to and parked the motorhome in the car park and walked to the desert through the shrub land on a board walk to the start of the pinnacles. They are limestone pillars on a sandy terrain, hundreds of them, the remains of erosion of what was once the ocean floor. It was very hot, Keef took lots of pictures. We did not see any animals around the pinnacles and we did walk around quite a bit across the park, but just too hot so we returned to the cooler visitors centre which was both interesting and informative. We then drove on and saw a whole emu family down a side road. There were lots of huge sand dunes along the road and occasional glimpses of the Indian Ocean. We had lunch in Jurien Bay. A small fishing town, our fish and chips bought there were exquisite the fish being so fresh. We later joined the main state highway to Geraldton. Highway 1. We arrived at the Big 4 campsite which is about 6 kilometers north of Geraldton on the coast. Annie did some laundry and then we went for a walk on the beach at 5.45 p.m. The tide was coming in and we saw both beach runners and a man beach fishing we watched him cast into the twilight. There was a lovely sunset at 6.30 p.m. AUSTRALIA, New South Wales,9-11Mar 2013, Sydney Area Around Sydney area, Budderoo NP, Kangaroo Valley then on to Cromer, Australia, Sydney area 9-11 mar 2013 Around Sydney with Family then on to Cromer, stayed at place with a pool and the fab poopie the dog, a Labrador, very friendly but hadn't learnt yet how to clean up after himself 😉 This page covering amongst others 110 selective slideshow images, homemade Bondi Banana bread, the rocks, masks, sydney centre, darling harbour, rose bay, double bay, ferries, jet cats, spray can artist and the picture we bought, kangaroo valley, sea cliff bridge, holden hire car, bondi junction, bondi bay, beach, sunsets, bald hill, oxford lookout, military road reserve, street musicians, friends, family, our spray can art work bought, Cromer cottage hire, Minnimurra falls which now I have read Annie's Mum's diary from 1970 they visited as a family on a long Labor Day weekend camping at Kiama, the Minnimurra rainforest centre, southern highlands, camp cove, woolongong, lyre birds, Eastern water dragon, Kiama, princes highway, deer at night - very scary but great driving by David, Flat white coffee and Hyde Park, aussie humour, opera house, lyne park rose bay, bay street double bay, coal cliff, grand pacific drive, Dharawal National Park, fishing, budderoo national park, cromer, goldie (poopie) the labrador, 155 willandra rd stay, private pool. We were previously in this area in 1995, 2007 and then again in 2017. Look for the links to those sites at the bottom of this page, thanks webber bbqs are the bees knees, want one woolongong from jamberoo lookout, budderoo NP 1/50 Saturday March 9th 2013 Summary, Sydney Saw Hannah and David’s wedding photos, and we showed them Doug and Phoenix’s wedding ones in return. Had a lovely breakfast of homemade banana bread made by David and smoothies and coffee made by Hannah. Since one of Keef’s brekkie staples is Bondi banana bread whenever he needs use up over ripe bananas, the blacker the better for flavour. David drove us all to Watson’s Bay and then we parked up and caught the ferry to Circular Quay. We then walked to the Rocks area for the market, lots of craft and food stalls, lovely atmosphere with musicians playing. Keef & Annie bought a spray can painted picture of Australia for $40 (£26.19 at the time). We then watched the artist do another painting which he did in 5 minutes, just so talented. We then caught the ferry back from Circular Quay to Watson’s Bay for a splendid lunch at Doyle’s seafood restaurant on the beach, Doyle’s had been operating for 128 years. Laura L joined us for lunch, what fun times. Annie had barramundi and chips , with stuffed jumbo prawns as the starter and a lovely Aussie white wine to wash it all down with, tee hee. Lunch started at 2.45 and finished at 5 p.m. most leisurely, thing they eventually had to throw us out. The restaurant was very busy. K&A treated H, D & L to lunch, it was our treat and especially as H&D were putting us up. We then walked to Camp Cove beach nearby, we said goodbye to Laura as she was meeting her boyfriend at the time Steve. The four of us continued walking along the beach back to the car. There are some lovely old character cottages in this area. We then returned to Hannah & David’s flat to collect Riley to take him with us to Bondi beach. Sadly we were all locked out of the flat as no one had taken the keys with them, oops! David went next door and hopped over the fence. We collected Riley and then went to Bondi for a walk on the beach just as the sun was setting, magical. We took lots of photos. Riley loved the beach. We then had a lovely Ben & Jerry’s ice cream cone. We got back late, and all went to bed at 10.30 p.m. as needed to get up early the next morning. Sunday March 10th 2013 Summary, Sydney, and surrounds Up at 7 a.m. Hannah baked fig muffins to take with us, lovely smell of cooking. We were going in the car with Riley for a day out. Riley sat on Hannah’s lap on a cushion and stuck his head out of the window of the car as we were going along, hilarious but cute also. Annie so loved his fluffy ears. Tick. We drove through the Sydney suburbs which stretched for miles and headed south towards Wollongong. Went through a national park, Dharawal, nice scenery, then stopped at a viewpoint for the Seacliff bridge at Bald Hill. The sea was very blue, you could see along the coast and the curve of the earth, something you can never really do in the UK. We then drove over the bridge, parked up and walked back along the bridge walkway with Riley. Further long we stopped at a shop in town for coffee and had some of Hannah’s fabulous muffins. We then drove through the lovely scenery to Minnimurra Rainforest center in Budderoo National Park. Riley was not allowed to leave the car, so David stayed with him to look after him whilst the rest of us walked to the Minnimurra falls along a rainforest board walk. Luckily for Annie saw no snakes but we did see an Eastern Water dragon and a lyre bird. Interestingly the NSW written guides on the dragon don’t list Budderoo as one of the places to find the dragon, well we did. It was quite an arduous walk, very hot, humid and a steep path up to the gorge. Once we arrived the falls were lovely and so glad, we made the effort. We took lots of photos and then returned to the car and drove through Kangaroo Valley stopping at a viewpoint. It was a very scenic route. We stopped at Kiama (the blowhole place) for a Thai meal. We used the princes highway back to Sydney and Vaucluse, in the dark a deer ran out in front of the car on the dual carriageway but David’s lightening reactions saved the day. We got back at about 10.30 p.m. lovely day, very tired. Monday March 11th 2013 Summary, Sydney 24 degrees centigrade, 67 percent humidity. We were up at 6 a.m. David and Hannah back at work. They gave us a lift into Sydney centre. 8.15 a.m. they dropped us off at the car hire place. As our hire vehicle was not ready until 11 a.m. we went and had a coffee and sat in Hyde Park opposite watching the commuters going to work and thinking how nice to be retired, we are truly privileged. Our hire car was a white Holden 4 door. We could fit in all our luggage. We used our Sat Nav take the tunnel under the harbour over to the north shore. We arrived at 12 noon at the holiday rental home in Cromer, a new suburb at least to Annie, a former Sydneysider, near Dee Why. Petrol costs $1.46 a litre in Sydney, not bad. There was no one in the holiday cottage. There was a golden Labrador in the back garden (we later named him poopie for obvious reasons). Decided after talking to a neighbour to enter the garden by the side gate and enter our chalet at the back of the garden. The dog was ok, just very inquisitive. We unpacked our bags; it was a lovely accommodation and a beautiful, secured pool in that back garden of the owner’s house. They were a couple from Liverpool with 1 son. We then went shopping, it was extremely humid and hot today, after shopping it was a relief to get into the pool. The owners returned from work and had a chat. Their dog was called Goldie. He was a very large and overly friendly Labrador. Anne did washing in the machine and Keef did BBQ chicken and salad using the provided Webber BBQ, they are so nice and efficient. Then sorted our emails and photos. There were noisy parakeets at dusk. Thought we should go to Palm beach and Pittwater tomorrow. AUSTRALIA, Bruny Island, Tasmania & Fight to South Australia, 18-20 Mar 2013 Bruny Island, Family in Tassie then Off to South Australia via Melbourne, Australia, Bruny Island to Adelaide shores 18-20 mar 2013 , bruny island, cygnet, family, hobart, covering amongst others 51 selective slideshow images, berry ices, coal bay, lookout, skink, alonnah hotel, coal point, the neck, truganini lookout, fairy penguins, adventure bay, home hill winery & restaurant, eating wallaby, huon river, kettering, car ferry is a 15 minute journey, roberts point, the red velvet lounge, b66 road thru bruny island, revisit from 2008, lunawanna, great bay, simpsons bay, lennon road, fish and chips, captain cook 1776, the endeavour, penguin rookery, views to die for, halloumi cheese and sweet chill dip for the first time, a lifelong favourite now, left tassie for adelaide via Melbourne (rang mum), picked up britz campervan, Adelaide shores campsite, south australia . We were previously in this area in 1995, 2007 and then again in 2017. we heart bruny island adelaide shores exercise 1/26 Monday March 18th 2013 Summary, Ranelagh, Tasmania. Didn’t do much in the morning, sat on the decking whilst Diana was emailing her son about the trip to the USA and UK. We all went out to a local vineyard for lunch, we treated John & Diana at the Home Hill winery. A had a pork chop and K had wallaby on a pumpkin tart with spinach, a lovely and classy meal very well prepared. K talked to the chef to find out how the wallaby was so succulent and tender, he explained it was cooked in a water bath at a controlled temperature inside a bag for a very long period, real specialist cooking techniques. We then drove to Cygnet and had tea in a café called the Red Velvet Lounge. The weather was unfortunately drizzly, so we returned to the house and watched telly and had cheese and biscuits. Tuesday March 19th 2013 Summary, Bruny Island visit, Tasmania Got up early and had a cooked breakfast. We drove to Kettering to get the car ferry across to Bruny Island. It took 15 minutes on the ferry, John paid $20 return for the car and all of us, great value. We drove around the island seeing many lovely places but about 11.40 a.m. Diana wanted to sort out where we were going to have lunch as there are only a few places to choose from and she has a gluten allergy so would need to talk to them on arrival, rightly to ensure all ok. After a lot of driving, we found a pub that did fish and chips, it was indeed the place we had first called in at. Sunny weather all the way and Bruny island is so lovely. We visited Adventure Bay and spent some time walking along the beach. This is where Captain James Cook (our hero) had landed in 1776 searching for fresh water for the Endeavour and her crew. 2 eucalyptus trees were still there on the beach, a sketch from an officer on the Endeavour had showed them , they are now some 250+ years old. We had an ice cream at the Berry Farm opposite Adventure Bay, Diana had berry cheesecake. We then drove back towards the ferry at Robert’s point and called in at a Penguin Rookery at the Neck and climbed the steps to the top to get the wonderful views. The lookout is called Truganini on the Neck Reserve. Here is some info on the wonderful place. “Bruny Island Neck is an isthmus of land connecting north and south Bruny Island in southern Tasmania and offers stunning 360-degree views. Just 40 kilometres from Hobart, Bruny is Tasmania's fourth largest island. The Neck is an important habitat for Bruny Island's native wildlife. Boardwalks and viewing platforms let you observe short-tailed shearwaters and little penguins (also known as fairy penguins). You'll see these remarkable birds returning to their burrows in the sand dunes at dusk - little penguins making their way up the beach in tight groups and the shearwaters gliding in from the sea. The best viewing period is during the warmer months of September to February.” Keef took loads of photos. Sadly the penguins only come ashore at dusk but we did see lots of their burrows. We got the 5.30 p.m. ferry back to Kettering and returned to John & Diana’s house. We did our packing . Had halloumi cheese with sweet chili dip for dinner (fantastic we have it still to this day, but it was our first experience). After dinner we watched Telly. Wednesday March 20th 2013 Summary, Hobart, Tasmania to Adelaide, South Australia via Melbourne, Victoria Got up at 5.30 a.m. and set off at 6.30 a.m. for Hobart with John & Diana in their car. It got light at 6.45 a.m. and the roads were very quiet. We arrived at the airport far too early so had coffee with John & Diana. Keef had the usual security check for explosives, it was now his turn to look dodgy. The Quantas plane left at 9 a.m. for Melbourne. We were in the transit lounge for 2 hours at Melbourne waiting for our onward flight to Adelaide. We had snacks and coffee and then got the Quantas flight to Adelaide. When we arrived, we got a taxi to the motorhome rental place which was near the airport on Sir Donald Bradman Way. It took a while to get everything sorted, there was no safe and no smoke alarm in the van so we complained, but on the plus side the van did have air conditioning and a TV, plus sleeping bags and sheets rather than duvets. Finally checked out with our new home on wheels at 3 p.m. and drove to the Adelaide shores BIG 4 campsite on the suburbs by the beach. It cost $36 per night, and we finally got on our pitch at about 4 p.m. We unpacked everything inside the motorhome and went to the Woolworths shopping centre for food supplies. On return we went for a walk on the beach, which is right next to the campsite, its nice, we came back there in 2017 and stayed in one of the chalets. Adelaide Shores has huge sand dunes and soft sand. Calm seas and lots of yachts. Watching the setting sun was so relaxing. We had pasta salad and the air con worked really well inside the Britz van and was most welcome. The campsite is very modern and spacious, great for tourists with pools and good facilities. A big tick! The campervan milage on pickup was 146,816 kilometers. The car ferry from Kettering on Tassie to Robert's Point on Bruny Island takes about 15 minutes, below is travel times by car between places on Bruny Island, we have been to all of them, if not on this trip back in 2007-8 on our gap year when we spent 2+ weeks in Tasmania, we absolutely love Bruny Island. AUSTRALIA, South Australia to Western Australia via the wonderful Nullarbor Plain, 27-29 March 2013 The truly fabulous experience that is the Nullarbor (Treeless) Plain crossing from Ceduna to Caiguna Roadhouse, 514 miles Australia, Crossing the Nullarbor Desert 27-29 mar 2013, Elliston, Elliston Walkers Rocks, Venus Bay, Streaky Bay, Ceduna, Nullarbor Desert, the explorer Edward John Eyre, covering amongst others 180 selective slideshow images, Nullabor the treeless plain, start road sign, motorcyclist crossing Gibson & Simpson deserts, dingoes, eucla telegraph station, head of bight, nullarbor lookout, border crossing, quaratine station, western Australia, southern Australia, border village campsite, caiguna roadhouse, ceduna foreshore, yalata, dingos, roe plain, trees, eagles, eagles nest, weird golf course, elliston bay, emus, coastal path, eucla, great Australian bight, pelicans, hampton tablelands, longest golf course in the world, murphy's haystacks, smoky bay, start and end of the nullarbor, marked with smart signs, madura roadhouse, mundrabilla, roadkill, rfds-royal flying doctors, big 4, head of bight visitors centre, madura pass, Roe Plains, Yalata aboriginal land, murphys haystacks, inselbergs, piers, diggers hats, blue tongued skink, southern right whales, flies, kondole, anangu peoples, marine park, bunda cliffs, nullarbor national park, , leeuwin way, whales, sand dunes, delisser sand hills, east-west telegraph service & station at eucla, munrabilla station, 200km from gate to farm house, cocklebiddy, highway 1 the eyre highway, moodini bluff, 90 miles straight at caiguna, nuytsland nature reserve, eucla national park. We were previously in this area in 1995, 2007 and then again in 2017. 1st telegraph station in the dunes a fun adventure begins 1/88 1/19 Wednesday March 27th 2013 Summary, Elliston to Ceduna It rained heavily overnight and was extremely windy. It was overcast first thing then cloudy but warm all day. We drove to Elliston rocks by the sea, often called by the locals Walkers rocks, there is a campground there as well, we then continued up the coast north to Venus Bay, a small fishing hamlet where all the holiday homes were shut up. We saw lots of pelicans bobbing on the sea. We then went onto Streaky Bay which was mostly about fishing. We then saw 2 blue tongued skinks crossing the road in front of us. These are lizards with little legs and chubby bodies and quite numerous through out Australia. We took a photo of one of the skinks. We then had lunch at Smoky Bay right by the beach with many palm trees and Norfolk Pines. Very relaxing lunch. It has a fabulous jetty. It was very quiet as again a holiday home area, presumably for folk from Adelaide but currently all shut up. We arrived at Ceduna at 3 p.m. and purchased fuel and then checked into the campsite. A Big 4 site costing $27 for the night. We did some final groceries shopping in town and visited an ATM at the Westpac bank (ours whilst on holiday) to get money out for fuel on the Nullarbor. We also visited the tourist info to get the weather forecast and purchase the crossing the Nullarbor sheets etc. See the site for image details including our certificate for proof of crossing. The temperature for our crossing was predicted to be between 21 and 24 degrees centigrade so somewhat cooler than it had been of late which was good news. It was also suggested there would be a few rain showers on the Nullarbor as well, another good sign for our long journey across to Western Australia. It was 38 degrees centigrade at Eucla yesterday which we have to pass and is not good news. We saw lots of Aboriginal people in Ceduna town, sadly many were drunk, with the police patrolling in case of trouble. To some extent the aboriginal issue is a problem of our making, they do not fit in well to a western lifestyle being somewhat more nomadic, the Māori in our humble opinion have integrated much more successfully in NZ that the Aboriginals in Australia. Anne did laundry and Keef did jacket potatoes in the microwave with a tuna mayo filling. Checked and sent emails. We then watched TV in the motorhome which was only the second time we have done so, preferring chatting, and reading our books. Still, lots of flies around but they disappear at night, thank God. We are getting up at dawn tomorrow. Thursday March 28th 2013 Summary, Nullarbor Plain Crossing, Ceduna to the South Australian border with Western Australia at Border crossing village. It was 21 to 24 degrees centigrade. We got up at 5.45 a.m. having set the alarm. We finally left at 7.30 a.m. after taking a shower and eating breakfast. There was not much traffic on the road apart from a few road trains until about mid-morning, so it was a good time to travel, and mostly selected to keep the temperature under control, too hot is just not good. We drove through farmland, much of it wheat which had been grown and cut. It stretched for as far as the eye could see and then we moved into scrubby bushland. 10 kilometers before the Nullarbor plain officially started the landscape changed to low vegetation, sandy soil and few to no trees, hence Nullarbor or no trees. Then as we got near the cliffs on the coast the plants began to look greener, there were lots of small round hummocks of shrub and hardy plants. We saw an emaciated dingo after crossing a dingo fence / panel grid on the road used to keep them segregated. There was surprisingly very little roadkill squashed on the road and we did not see any roos, camels, or wombats, which was a real shame and something we had hoped to see. There were a few puddles of water at the roadside so there had been some rain via limited showers in the early hours before we arrived. We then stopped at the start and took a lot of photos of the Nullarbor Plain Road sign, a motorcyclist stopped and kindly took a joint photo of us both with the sign behind. We now use this as our HOLIDAY2013 logo. The motorcyclist was English from East Anglia. He was on a road trip camping from Fremantle across the Plain and Gibson and Simpson deserts. He told us he had been surrounded by a pack of 8 hungry dingoes at night in his tent whilst cooking his bacon supper in the tent and had to use his remote alarm on the bike to scare them off, very frightening, they are ferocious when hungry… remember Cindy Chamberlain and the movie A Cry in the Dark. He also told us he had seen a brown snake under his ground sheet whilst camping in the Port Lincoln National Park, scary or what. His wife had chosen not to travel with him (very wise) and stayed in a luxury hotel in Perth. We visited the Head of Bight to do some whale watching. We saw nothing, but it was fantastic coastal views from the lookout at the end of the pathway in the visitors’ centre. Much of the cliffs and coastline was aboriginal land owned by the Yalata peoples. We had lunch on a clifftop viewing point and then called in at 2 more on route, just lovely scenery. We arrived at 3 p.m. at the SA / WA border crossing roadhouse which had a campsite at the back of the motels. We paid $25 to stay overnight as a bit tired after 500+ miles of driving. We used the toilets and showers in the portacabins but the “keep the door shut” against snakes and snake themed tiling did not particularly calm us, hee-hee. We had a power nap, Keef did photos and Annie read her iPad book. We actually drove 481 kilometers today. Friday March 29th 2013 Summary, Nullarbor Plain Crossing, South Australian border with Western Australia at Border crossing village to Caiguna, WA. We got up at 8.15 a.m. as less milage to do today. Had wash in the portacabin, breakfast and checked the motorhome for any plant, fruit, or vegetable matter as we were about to go through the quarantine area at the border crossing into Western Australia. It was only 100 meters from the campsite back on the Eyre Highway, highway 1 at this point although the National route A1 starts at Sydney and ends at Esperance, to the border crossing station. Keef noticed that the front driver side tyre was looking particularly flat, he had noticed in in Port Lincoln first. It was now beginning to cause some stress as we had to keep pumping it up at every roadhouse or fuel stop, we made. At the quarantine station a man came aboard the motorhome and looked in our fridge and some cupboards. He asked if we had any animals, we said no. He even checked in the van loo to see if we had any stowaways, ha-ha, as if. Then we noticed a sheep had run across the border, we said aren’t you going after it, he joked you can have it if you want for a BBQ assuming you can catch it. So much for their hot quarantine regulations. At Eucla on the Eyre highway we saw the monument to Edward John Eyre explorer, and then drove 4 kilometers down a dirt track to the old Eucla Telegraph station, which was now a ruin amongst the sand dunes. It operated from 1877-1927 to link Western Australia with the rest of Australia and the world. It was a key communications station in its time, so sad to see it as just a pile of rubble nowadays. IN its hey day it sent 11,000 messages annually. We then rejoined the Eyre highway and drove with a high ridge of land on our right and sea on the left which could be seen from the hills. We stopped at Madura pass, which counts as the halfway point between Adelaide and Perth, to get a view over the vast Roe Plains. We stopped at the Madura roadhouse for more fuel. Then off the highway we saw 2 emus. There were lots of eagles eating roadkill kangaroos off the highway. We sadly still hadn’t seen any live roos, camels or wombats which was a tad disappointing, to say the least. We had lunch at Cocklebiddy roadhouse and watched a man do golf into the hole at Eagles nest, part of the longest golf course in the world, it covers Ceduna to Kalgoorlie, wow with one hole at most roadhouses. We stopped at 3 p.m. at Caiguna which has 10 powered sites costing $25, we had to turn our watches back 45 minutes as now on western time. We relaxed and read our books. We drove 347 kilometers today , it was 22 degrees centigrade in Caiguna. AUSTRALIA, Perth, Western Australia, 5-6 Apr 2013 Geraldton to Perth then Singapore, via Port Denison & Burns Beach, Australia, Geraldton to Perth to Singapore, 5-6 april 2013, burns beach & perth centre including the fab elizabeth quay & swan bells, covering amongst others 78 selective slideshow images, geraldton's sand dunes, The Aussie Shop Geraldton, 3810 miles in motorhome in Australia, victoria house, rubic’s cube changing rooms, wreck of the Batavia, Viking longship replica, marina, beach, HMAS Sydney 2 naval memorial, old station, foreshore street, museums, Victoria hospital, tourist info, penal prison, town hall, court house, memorial gardens, hibiscus, marina, harbour, surf rescue, Brand Highway 1, greenough's leaning gum tree, brand highway, banksias, sunsets, dongera, port denison, lobster, beach side lunch, city of joondalup, board walk, marmion marine park, trigg island, burns rock, early morning joggers, wanneroo, wattle grove motel welshpool, forest fields shopping mall, leaving oz for family and Singapore, meeting up with the newly weds. We drove 3810 miles in our hired Britz motorhome from Adelaide to Perth across the Nullarbor. We were previously in this area in 1995, 2007 and then again in 2017. room 3 wattle grove motel perth burns beach farewell 1/40 1/12 Friday April 5th 2013 Summary, Geraldton to Burns Beach, Joondalup. 35 degrees centigrade today. Drove into the city from the Geraldton Big 4 campsite. Bought some gifts for the family at the Aussie shop. There is a small compact shopping centre based around a long main street. They also had a Myers department store. Then we parked the motorhome near the boat harbour and walked along the boat moorings, ogling the posh yachts enviously. Very clear waters in which we saw lots of small fish as we ambled along the jetty in the heat. We saw a longboat replica made in 2002 in the harbour named the Batavia, it was based upon the 1641 Dutch East Indies ship that was wrecked 40 nautical miles west of Geraldton, some of the crew sailed in a longboat to Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia) and all survived including 2 women and a baby. The rest of the crew on the island were massacred by a senior officer and his assistants. Then we saw the old courthouse, the old hospital based around Victoria House which was now Geraldton’s tourist information centre. The HMAS Sydney 2 war memorial, it was an Australian World War two naval war ship that was sunk in battle and 649 Aussies died on board, a huge loss and reverently remembered in the memorial grounds, a lovely tribute. We both liked Geraldton, beautiful trees with flowers, bougainvillea everywhere, it felt very Mediterranean. We then drove south on the Brand highway, and did a slight detour / deviation at Dongara which had some historical pioneer homes and Port Denison, where we had lunch overlooking the sandy beach, bay and harbour. It is the lobster fishing capital allegedly of Australia and there were lots of processing factories on the harbour side. Again, beautiful turquoise water and blue skies, ideal for a lunch break, and we were cooled by the nice sea breeze. We camped at Burns beach in one of Perth’s many offshoot “cities” this being to the north, the City of Joondalup. The site was 2 star and cost $40. It was our most expensive campsite in Australia and easily the worst for quality. In Annie’s words crap, cramped, poor facilities and hugely overpriced. We went for a walk along the embankment and saw the beach and the rocks just offshore. Burns beach campsite was 30 kilometers north of Perth as have to hand in the motorhome tomorrow. Saturday April 6th 2013 Summary, Burns Beach, Joondalup to Perth, Western Australia, and hand in the motorhome by 2.30 p.m. Today’s temperature a little cooler at 29 degrees centigrade. We were woken up early by women talking and whistles blowing, about 25 women and 1 man doing keep fit exercises on a grassy area just by our motorhome on the other side of a low fence. This was 6.45 a.m. Outrageous! The path along the coastline was packed with joggers, cyclists, speed walkers, dog walkers, roller skaters and the world and his wife and all at 7.15 a.m., we thought it was busier than Bondi beach, ha-ha. Keef did dump station, dunny man duties after breakfast and Annie cleaned the van by sweeping the floors, cleaning sinks and loos. We got ready to hand the van back, despite the cracked wheel rim, tyre episode it had been a great way of seeing more of the wonderful country that Australia is. We then set off on the Brand Highway again to Perth area. We got to our motel, the wattle grove in welshpool having had to drive through Perth city centre as one of the highways was closed. It is only 6.9 kilometers from Perth airport which is why we chose it. We saw the main hospital and arena entertainments centre on route. It all looked very modern. The motel would not let us into our pre booked and pre-paid room until 2pm, we had been told 12 noon by email last October when we booked online so a little disappointed as we had a deadline on motorhome drop off by 2.30 p.m. so this would be cutting it fine. We went to the Forest Fields shopping mall nearby and bought some batteries for the computer mouse and more suntan lotion. Then we packed out bags in the van, has a KFC lunch, then got to the motel again at 1.45 p.m. They let us into the room, finally, we dumped our bags quickly and drove to the Britz motorhome rental place near the airport. Got there just in time for 2.30 p.m. The van was OK, no damage but we rightly moaned about the cracked wheel rim and got one day’s rental reimbursed, $109. We then got a taxi back to the motel and had a nice cooling swim in their pool. We had showers and a microwaved pasta meal for dinner that we had bought in the shopping mall earlier. We then watched TV in the room. The motel cost $125 a night for the two of us with no breakfast included. AUSTRALIA, Sydney Harbour North Shores area, New South Wales, 12-14 Mar 2013 North Shores Sydney, Cromer,North Bridge, Heads, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park, Australia, Sydney North Shore 12-14 mar 2013 cromer, eco boat, Pittwater, Freshwater beach, north heads and sanctuary, covering amongst others 170 selective slideshow images, north shore with family & friends, west head lighthouse, Palm beach, ocean swimming pool, Whale beach, surf info in and around the area, jelly fish, aboriginal rock carvings, Hard Rock Cafe in Darling Harbour and associated rush hour - a no no on reflection, fish, Ku-ring-gai chase national park, French's Forest (Annie's old haunts) , lion island, apple tree bay, Barrenjoey lighthouse, Laura's place in Rushcutters Bay, Aussie meal at Laura's , croc, roo and lamingtons, yummy, Bay View, bobbin head, church point, reserves, west head point lookout, commodore heights, manly beach, manly town, illawong point, Scotland island-so love it, red gum , scribble bark, gum trees of all sorts, surfing, north heads, warratah, new south wales (NSW), northbridge, roseville, boating, battery powered eco boats, middle harbour, Bantry Bay, picnic on board the eco boat, meal at Laura's, Hordern park, cabbage tree boat harbour, broken bay, port jackson, willungra track, black cockatoo, bandicoots, basin aboriginal engraving site, guringai land, hawksbury sandstone, the Pacific Ocean, empire marina, bobbin head inn, kalkari, birrawanna track We were previously in this area in 1995, 2007 and then again in 2017. us at aboriginal rock carvings bobbin head boats 1/85 Tuesday March 12th 2013 Summary, Sydney 28 degrees centigrade We drove in our white Holden hire car to see the wonderful Palm beach, especially so now we are again on the Sydney North shore residing at Cromer. We had last visited in 2008. Had to pay $5 ussie dollars an hour to park our car. We went swimming in the pool next to the beach. The pool like many beach side pools in Sydney and surrounding areas is filled naturally by sea water, it’s a great idea if you are on the coast. School kids were having swimming lessons there as well. We then drove to see whale beach and around the local area, quite steep and narrow in places and then onto the just lovely, Pittwater. Then it was onto Bay View & Church Point. All very expensive and exclusive areas to live because of the splendid locations. We saw Scotland Island from Church point plus a lady who was clearly a nanny ferrying kids from an exclusive Scotland Island family over to the mainland, see how the other half (or is it 1% ha-ha) live. We returned to the cottage and went for a swim in our garden pool to cool off, lovely after such a hot day. In the evening we set off in the car into Sydney for a meal at Laura’s flat. On route Keef wanted to go to the Hard Rock Café to get a T-shirt. Big mistake, rush hour in Sydney is not a fun time. Took ages to get to Darling harbour. The journey was very stressful, and it cost $10 to park the car but Keef thought it was well worth it to get his Sydney T-shirt. We then got lost trying to find Laura’s flat in Rushcutters’s Bay. It was dark by now, so we rang her to get final directions. We arrived late, Laura, Steve her then boyfriend, and her flat mate, Penny Lane (maybe her parents were Beatles fans, who knows) did us a real Aussie meal, crocodile kebabs, roo steaks with salad and Lamington’s for dessert. It was all lovely and such friendly people. Went for a stroll after the meal with Laura and Steve to get a view of downtown Sydney at night from Rushcutters. We returned to Cromer very tired, but it was a super quick journey on the way back as no one about. Wednesday March 13th 2013 Summary, Sydney Visited North Heads sanctuary to get views of the harbour and Vaucluse across the water, Watson’s Bay, and the city centre skyline. All lovely. Bandicoots live there but they are nocturnal. Another hot day. Visited Manly and walked along the beach in the water, just so cooling. There was poor surf today, but the beach and promenade were busy. Cost $5 to park on Manly Sea front. We then visited Freshwater beach, a little cove with soft sand. It was far too hot, so we returned to the holiday cottage in Cromer for a swim in the pool. The dog had calmed down and is not so bothersome, but it is sad he never gets taken on a walk. We then drove to Northbridge near Roseville, north Sydney for an evening boat excursion on the harbour with Steve, Laura, Hannah & David. Lovely evening. We were early as our side of the harbour, but the rest got stuck in traffic. It was a small pleasure boat, battery powered and owned by Steve. Steve also owned one more of this battery powered boats fronting his eco boat business. It had comfy cushions on the seats. Steve steered the boat out of the marina into middle harbour and surrounding bays. There were lovely homes on the wooded hillsides. We had beer, wine, and food, all very nice and listened to music. When it got dark, we moved into Bantry Bay and looked at the stars. A lovely evening and one we will always remember. Thursday March 14th 2013 Summary, Sydney, and Phoenix’s birthday We went to Ku-ring-gai chase today. A national park near French’s Forest, it cost $11 to get in. We spent most of the day here driving to various beauty spots with views of Palm beach, the Pacific Ocean, and the Hawkesbury River. We saw some black Cockatoos at west head point. We looked hard for other animals but did not see any sadly. We stopped at a picnic area and saw a bush turkey. We then walked along a wide bush track to see some ancient Aboriginal rock carvings of men with fish. Interpretive panels explained the carvings. It started to get misty, and we thought it might rain so we returned to the car. Outside the park we saw a dead wallaby on the side of the road. We stopped at a bakery in the Sydney suburbs, to buy the pud for evening meal, on the way back to the holiday cottage. We prepared a meal for Hannah & David who drove over to Cromer with little Riley, he is such a cutie. We did a BBQ with cheesecake and wine. Said our farewells and thanks as they returned to Vaucluse. David’s brother and his partner were now visiting from the UK, they had done us proud. We will miss Hannah & David and Riley the dog, they looked after us so well. AUSTRALIA, Coober Pedy, South Australia, 21-23 Mar 2013 Glenelg, Port Pirie, Port Augusta,Coober Pedy & Opals via Stuart Highway, Australia, Glenelg & Coober Pedy 21-23 mar 2013, adelaide, glenelg, port augusta, port pirie, annies rellies called in at port pirie on the ss port stephens, coober pedy, covering amongst others 215 selective slideshow images, roadhouses, pimba, joeys, milk fed, glendambo, big 4 campsites, woomera, eerie, sunsets, drive in cinemas, outback, opal, mining, lake patawalonga, adelaide shores, west beach, flies, beaches, trams, port wakefield, museums, underground houses, serbian underground orthodox church, miners and boot hill graves, port pirie, salt water lake, big winch hill, rockets, swimming pools, outback flower gardens, holdfast bay, tarniwarra park, crystal brook, john eyre, sturt, eyre highway, sturt highway, stuart national highway no 87, john mcdouall stuart, dingo, emu, eagles, roxby downs, andamooka, road trains, woody's outback resort glendambo, rfds royal flying doctors landing strip outback, stuart range campsite, big4 also nown at the time as Oasis, opal inn hostelry, opal mining , mining blowers, murals, oasis tourist park, jospehine’s gallery bought annie opal here, coober pedy historical society and heritage trail, saint elijah’s church, minnie berrington, old timers mine museum, marree, oodnadatta track, kangaroos, in the bush saw 1 roo, 13 emus, 2 dingos, 1 fox & 10 eagles . We were previously in this area in 1995, 2007 and then again in 2017. you scratch mine ill scratch yours port augusta sunset BIG4 site 1/106 Thursday March 21st 2013 Summary, Glenelg, Adelaide to Port Augusta, South Australia Very windy today and waves crashing onto the beach. Visited Glenelg beach and the marine. It is a very nice beach, saw the sailing ship called the Buffalo which doubles as a restaurant at the marina. There are lots of architect designed houses around the marina area. We got some rain today, unusual. We then headed north on the highway from Adelaide to Port Pirie in the motorhome. There were some historical houses and public buildings in town, mostly quite old plus a lovely harbour. Anne’s great grandfather and his family called in at Port Pirie onboard the SS Port Stephens whilst collecting cargo. Listen to the audiobooks from the Diary of Gertrude Littlejohn on Soundcloud here to find out more. We then saw a long goods train that seemed to go on forever. We arrived at Port Augusta Big 4 campsite in the afternoon. We called in at the Tourist Information site at 4.45 p.m. to ask about our intended journey to Coober Pedy, the opal mining town in the outback. Told the Stuart Highway was ok to travel on but not after dark, currently about 7.45 p.m. oh and ensure you take lots of water with you as there is only an arterial bore in Coober township and water will be limited. Decided we would go to Coober Pedy tomorrow morning and get up early in the dark so we could leave at dawn to give us plenty of time to get there. With this in mind we went to bed early. Friday March 22nd 2013 Summary, Port Augusta to Coober Pedy, Outback South Australia We set off at 7.25 a.m. just as it was getting light from Port Augusta on the Stuart Highway. As soon as we left town we were in the outback, desert, scrubland, bushes, and a few trees but a definite desolate landscape. We saw lots of road trains later in the morning. Some had 4 connected trailers to the cab. We saw lots of dead kangaroos by the roadside, emus roaming, salt lakes, foxes, eagles, and crows. It was cloudy and quite cool at first, ideal driving conditions but as we neared Coober Pedy the sun came out and the clouds disappeared. Had lunch at a roadhouse called Glendambo. The price of diesel fuel here was $1.72 whereas in Port Augusta we only paid $1.52, not surprising, very remote and transportation costs would have been factored in. As a comparison Sydney a huge city was $1.46. It was very dry and dusty in the desert, red earth. We had plenty of water in the motorhome, 135 liters. We called in at Woomera, a weird, deserted ex Australian army place in the middle of the desert used for scientific research and rockets. We arrived at Coober Pedy at 2.25 p.m. and stayed at the campsite named Oasis. It had an excellent modern toilet block, a small round indoor swimming pool basically fashioned out of an old water storage container, great for shade whilst swimming. You had to pay 20c for a shower, due to the water restrictions in force. We put the aircon on in the motorhome as it felt extremely hot. Annie did some hand washing and then we both went for a swim in the pool. At 5.30 p.m. we walked to the shops selling opal jewelry, there were a lot to choose from. Keef bought Annie a blue opal bracelet. We saw a lot of orphaned joey kangaroos at the back of the shop where they were caring for them. We fed some roos and saw the babies being fed with milk bottles. They were adorable. Saturday March 23nd 2013 Summary, Coober Pedy, Outback South Australia, 30 degrees centigrade We went up the hill in the town called the Big Winch to get views out over the town. Coober is quite a weird place, with mines and large holes in the ground everywhere in amongst homes, motels, shops etc. It was very dry and dusty everywhere. There are endless mines surrounding the town for miles. We then visited Boot Hill cemetery and a Serbian Underground church. We then returned to town and the Old Timers mine which was an original 1915 opal mine and had an underground house where the miner and his family lived. There was a good mining museum as well. We had to wear hard hats as the roof of the mine was low in many places. Lots of protected seams of opal in the museum walling which was interesting, shame no way of making off with it though, ha-ha. We saw a man demonstrate machinery for extracting opal, this equipment cost $30,000 As just so hot in the afternoon we went back to the campsite for a swim. We loved Coober Pedy an amazingly unique place and we have lots of lovely memories of it. AUSTRALIA, Esperance area, Western Australia, 30 March - 1 April 2013 Caiguna to Norseman, Great Ocean Drive Esperance & Albany, Australia, Caiguna to Albany,30 mar-1 apr 2013, caiguna, norseman, nullarbor (meaning treeless) crossing (note this helpful link is for crossing in the opposite direction to that we took) , esperance, albany, covering amongst others 155 selective slideshow images, the 90 miles straight stretch of the nullarbor, balladonia roadhouse, hotel, museum, twilight bay, blue seas, old cars, fourth beach, the nullarbor plain, limestone head, seal island, great ocean drive, mistaken island, mount clarence lookout, camels, memorial gardens, founding fathers, Easter weekend busy campsite wise, maps, animal droppings, outback, golf course, rigs, road trains, beaches, rocks, sea swells, west beach, crossing certificates, west beach, winnebegos, redex rally, the pink lake, reflections & chemicals, great white sharks, ngadju people, quandong, shameful native citizens act, eyre highway, historical crossing, the nullarbor highway, skylab crashing over, balladonia, blue haven beach, sunshine & blue seas, observatory island, dempster head, chapman point, twilight beach road on the great ocean drive, the pink lake esperance, what makes them pink?, castleton beach jetty, ned kelly garden gnomes, salmon beach, twilight beach, nine mile beach, castleton beach, ravensthorpe, welstead community, board shorts, bibblemun track, clarence downhill, frenchman's bay, middleton beach, top tourist campsites, stayed multiple times We were previously in this area in 1995, 2007 and then again in 2017. Completing 1,194 kms/ 742 miles of Nullarbor Crossing 90 miles on auto pilot TICK early roadhouse sign 1/78 1/16 Saturday March 30th 2013 Summary, Nullarbor Plain Crossing, Caiguna to Norseman. Woke at 6 a.m.as light outside the van. We set off on the Eyre Highway, Highway 1, at 7.45 a.m. having put more air in the tyre of the van as Keef was worried it was low and we may now have a slow flat. The signpost on the side of the road stated it was the start of the 145 kilometers of straight road, the longest in Australia, if not the world. We saw eagles and a few dead roos, but no other birds or animal life apart from the odd crow eating roadkill. The terrain changed from a perfectly flat treeless plain to a few small bushes and then finally a few trees. We had some rain showers and it looked like this section of the Nullarbor had had rain in the night and early morning. The weather was cool and overcast and very cloudy which for travel was a good thing. We stopped at Balladonia roadhouse for fuel and visited the museum there. The entrance was through the roadhouse shop and was both free and very interesting. It was about the early explorers, pioneers, camels used for transport, flora and fauna, the Red-Ex road race all around Australia and the Skylab metal debris falling on the Nullarbor plain right near Balladonia. Near the Fraser Ranges we saw a few billabongs filled with water and even 2 lakes, a real novelty after our very dry journey. We arrived in Norseman at 12.15 p.m. We had lunch as the Tourist Information Office was closed until 1 p.m. When they opened we got a free certificate stating we had crossed the Nullarbor and purchased some souvenirs of our crossing. We then drove around town , lots of very dilapidated and boarded up homes with snake fences surrounding them still. The gold mine we had seen on our travels in 2008 was still working. We went to stay in the campsite in town we have stayed at before. It cost $38 for the night. We then relaxed for the rest of the day. The campsite was poor, no dump station and only 2 showers in the ladies. The outback golf course behind the site did not seem well used. On the Nullarbor crossing from Ceduna we had travelled 1,194 kilometers or 742 miles. Sunday March 31st 2013 – Easter Sunday Summary, Norseman to Esperance. 203 kilometers driven today. We went to the garage to top up air in the front tyre of the motorhome as the slow puncture has got a lot worse. We will have to stop more often for a servo air pump. We arrived in Esperance at about 12 noon and did the fabulous Great Ocean Drive along the coast, which we had done 5 years prior. There are just so many splendid views on this coastal drive. It was all blue seas and skies, sunny and fantastic scenery. Saw lots of vintage cars on the route which were part of an actual Eyre Highway rally, recapturing the old Red-Ex 50s rally spirit. The road went slightly inland and went past the pink lake. A Salt Lake with microorganisms that give it its pink tinge, very unusual. Read the links in the overview on the HOLIDAY2013 site to see more and understand how nature makes this happen, just a thought if you are interested further. Here is a quick science write up on why many of Australia’s salt lakes turn pink “The water of some lakes in semi-arid regions turns a pink colour during the warm and dry months of the year, when brine concentrations are highest. In places, even precipitated salts exhibit this pink colour. The carotenoid red pigmentation of halophilic bacteria and algae is responsible for imparting this colour to sodium- and chloride-rich lake brines. The alga Dunaliella salina actually develops its red pigment as the salinity approaches saturation and, in contrast to other organisms, populations of this alga and of halophilic bacteria such as Halobacterium rise as brine concentrations increase.” We then went to McDonald’s for a late lunch at 2.30 p.m. and withdrew some money at Westpac. We then drove along the sea front to Castleton beach, the old jetty there was being refurbished. The new jetty (not so nice) had tankers docked there. There were lots of new homes being built so Esperance had expanded quite a lot since our last visit. We then went to the Top Tourist site at Esperance, which we gave 3 stars, not very scenic and far too cramped, too many trees and grit everywhere. We had pre booked as it was the Easter weekend. It cost $39 for the night which we felt was overpriced for both the site and amenities. We walked along the beach in front of the campsite, there was a horrible smell of stagnant seaweed / sea grass in mounds on sand washed in from the sea. Not impressed as it was also an artificial beach with imported grit / sand and looked nothing like the picture in their brochure. We watched telly, Bondi Rescue, and the Melbourne Comedy Festival, pretty good both. Monday April 1st 2013 – Easter Monday Summary, Esperance to Albany. 505 kilometers driven today. 24 degrees centigrade in Albany. 8 a.m. called at garage to put more air in the ever more worrying front tyre. Not looking good at all and very stressful as not sure the tyre will hold out until we reach Albany, and it is also the Easter weekend and Britz are not open. Will keep putting air in whenever we can, we are both not very happy with this. The scenery now was mostly bush and farming country as we headed towards Albany, the farming was mixed wheat, cattle, and sheep. No other animals seen except the usual skinks. They are quite prolific. We arrived in Albany in the early afternoon and went to the Tourist Information office to find out where the Telstra shop was as needed to get the computer updated with more money and our Telstra phone had also run out of funds. This means we cannot check emails and use the internet and let people know we crossed the Nullarbor safely and soon more importantly once Easter is over contact Britz in Perth to ask them to sort out our tyre. Keef bought some new shorts in one of Albany’s many shops. We drove around the town and along the sea front, we remembered it well from our last visit. We climbed the hill in the van to get a view of the coast. You could see Middleton beach, the bay where 5 years ago when we were there a man had been attacked by a great white shark whilst swimming, he had been rescued by a lady schoolteacher who was out for her early morning swim and punched the hark in the eye, so it released its grip on the swimmer. Lucky for him, brave of her. We then went to the BIG 4 campsite at Middleton beach which cost $37.80 for the night. Naively thought it would be empty as Easter was over but very busy with kids and family, presumably on school holidays for the week. By now it was 5.30 p.m., and it gets dark at 6.15 p.m., so we did not got swimming in the pool on the site even though it is a bit of a luxury pool. This site is excellent, it has space, location and based right on Middleton beach but only has 4 showers for the whole site in the ladies, not enough when it is busy. However, on return in 2017 they had private amenity blocks with showers and loos attached to each luxury pitch for an additional fee, we took this as ideal. SUMMARY Across Australia East to West via the Nullarbor – 2013 Motorhome Road Trip This comprehensive 2013 Australia travel diary documents a full east‑to‑west motorhome journey across the country, covering New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, the iconic Nullarbor Plain, Western Australia, and the final leg into Perth. Designed for travellers researching Nullarbor road trip itineraries, motorhome hire in Australia, coastal drives, and outback adventures, this guide blends first‑hand experience, practical tips, and detailed day‑by‑day insights from a 32‑day, 3,810‑mile journey. Overview of the 2013 Australia Road Trip The trip spans 6 March to 6 April 2013 and includes almost every Australian state and territory except Queensland, the Northern Territory, and the ACT. It’s the fourth major visit to Australia for the travellers, combining family time in Sydney and Tasmania with a bucket‑list goal: crossing the Nullarbor Plain in a motorhome. The journey includes coastal walks, wildlife encounters, national parks, outback towns, and some of Australia’s most dramatic landscapes. Key highlights include: Sydney’s harbour, beaches, and coastal paths Tasmania’s Huon Valley, Bruny Island, and Hobart region South Australia’s Coffin Bay National Park, Port Lincoln, and Coober Pedy The full Nullarbor crossing from Ceduna to Norseman (1,194 km / 742 miles) Western Australia’s Esperance, Albany, Geraldton, and Perth The travellers used BIG4 and Top Tourist Parks (now G’Day Parks) throughout, offering reliable facilities for motorhome users. Sydney & New South Wales: Coastal Walks, Ferries, and Family Time The journey begins in Sydney after a flight from Auckland. Based in Vaucluse, the travellers explore Watson’s Bay, Parsley Bay, Shark Beach, and the iconic Bondi Beach. Classic Sydney experiences—harbour ferries, Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, and the Opera House—feature heavily. A standout experience is the coastal walk from Vaucluse to Watson’s Bay, followed by lunch at Doyle’s, one of Sydney’s most historic seafood restaurants. Additional days include: Minnamurra Rainforest and Falls in Budderoo National Park The Sea Cliff Bridge and Wollongong coastline Manly, Freshwater Beach, and North Head Sanctuary A memorable eco‑boat evening on Middle Harbour This section of the trip is ideal for travellers searching for Sydney coastal walks, best beaches in Sydney, and North Shore day trips. Tasmania: Huon Valley, Bruny Island & Hobart Region Flying from Sydney to Hobart, the travellers stay with family in the Huon Valley. Tasmania delivers cooler weather, heritage towns, and dramatic viewpoints. Key experiences include: Richmond’s historic bridge and convict‑built architecture Mount Nelson lookout and views over the Derwent Sandy Bay, Hobart Harbour, and the Tasman Bridge A full‑day trip to Bruny Island via the Kettering ferry Bruny Island highlights: Adventure Bay, where Captain Cook landed in 1776 The Neck and Truganini Lookout Penguin rookery and sweeping 360° views Local produce including berry ice cream and halloumi with sweet chilli This section is rich in SEO value for Bruny Island itinerary, Hobart day trips, and Tasmania road trip ideas. South Australia: Port Augusta, Coober Pedy & Coffin Bay National Park After flying to Adelaide and collecting a Britz motorhome, the travellers head north to Port Augusta and then into the outback via the Stuart Highway. Coober Pedy The opal‑mining town offers: Underground homes and churches Opal shops and mining museums Orphaned joeys being hand‑reared Harsh desert landscapes and red‑earth scenery This portion appeals to searches for Coober Pedy things to do, Stuart Highway itinerary, and outback Australia road trips. Coffin Bay & Port Lincoln Returning south, the travellers explore the Eyre Peninsula: Coffin Bay National Park’s turquoise waters and white dunes A 50‑strong pod of dolphins at Almonta Beach Fishing towns including Cowell, Arno Bay, and Tumby Bay Boston Bay views from Port Lincoln This area is ideal for SEO around Coffin Bay National Park, Port Lincoln attractions, and Eyre Peninsula road trip. The Nullarbor Plain: Bucket‑List Crossing from Ceduna to Norseman This is the centre piece of the trip and a major SEO opportunity for your site. The Nullarbor crossing spans three days and 1,194 km, travelling from Ceduna in South Australia to Norseman in Western Australia. The travellers document: The official Nullarbor Road sign Head of Bight cliffs and whale‑watching platforms The SA/WA border village and quarantine checks Eucla Telegraph Station ruins Madura Pass and the sweeping Roe Plains Roadhouses including Cocklebiddy, Caiguna, and Balladonia The famous “90 Mile Straight” (145 km of uninterrupted road) Wildlife sightings include dingoes, eagles, emus, and skinks, though kangaroos are surprisingly scarce. A cracked wheel rim adds tension to the journey, requiring repeated tyre inflation until repairs in Perth. This section is perfect for ranking for: Nullarbor Plain road trip Ceduna to Norseman itinerary Driving the 90 Mile Straight Best Nullarbor roadhouses What to expect on the Nullarbor Western Australia: Esperance, Albany, Geraldton & Perth Esperance & the Great Ocean Drive The travellers revisit the Great Ocean Drive, featuring: Twilight Beach Blue Haven Pink Lake (with scientific explanation of its colour) Coastal viewpoints and turquoise bays Albany A long drive from Esperance leads to: Middleton Beach Mount Clarence lookout Historic whaling and maritime sites Geraldton & Indian Ocean Drive Heading north, the travellers enjoy: Geraldton’s marina, HMAS Sydney II memorial, and beaches Jurien Bay, Cervantes, and the Pinnacles Desert Lancelin dunes and Indian Ocean views Perth The journey ends with: Burns Beach coastal walks Elizabeth Quay Swan Bells Final motorhome return and a restful night before flying to Singapore Conclusion This 2013 Australia travel diary offers one of the most detailed, experience‑rich accounts of crossing Australia east to west via the Nullarbor Plain. Packed with practical tips, campsite reviews, wildlife encounters, coastal drives, and outback insights, it’s an invaluable resource for anyone planning a motorhome holiday in Australia, a Nullarbor crossing, or a multi‑state Australian adventure. 13 Tasmania 13 Bruny Island 13 Coober Pedy 13 Coffin Bay 13 Nullarbor 13 Esperance 13 Geraldton 13 Perth 13 Oz Summary

Discover a full 2013 North Island New Zealand motorhome route with campsites, highlights, scenic drives, local history, and must‑see attractions motorhoming 4 all New Zealand by Motorhome, 2013, Kiwi Campsite Guide & Blog New Zealand 2013 North Island only , including amongst others Papamoa beach, Russell, Whangamomona and Cape Reinga, 1 visit 6th February to 5th March, 28 days in total PLAY We returned to New Zealand which we both love and found we loved it even more. We just (careful Keef, others have to work) had one month here this time as opposed to our 4 months last time and that was all spent in the top half of North Island going back to see the things we didn't have time to see last time. This meant much more time in Northlands, The Bay of Islands, Mata Mata & Hobbiton plus Whangamomona (the Republic's capital) - where the current president is a sheep and the previous one was a dog hee hee oh and lovely delightful days of R&R on NZ's superb beaches. Like 5 years ago this was the best summer they had ever had . A kiwi @ Orewa said you poms have history we have beaches. So true! Our Mercedes Sprinter 313 motorhome was good but not as good as the equivalent one in OZ. We picked it up in Auckland and returned it there. We definitely miss the land of the long white cloud. We drove 2559 miles in NZ. To see all the images have a look at the individual visits via the dropdown menu Whilst camping in New Zealand we joined the following two organisations which saved us a lot of money, these site clubs were called Top 10 and Kiwi Holiday Parks campsites. Just a thought for fellow motor homers , it may help. HIGHLIGHTS:- 35th Wedding Anniversary Cape Reinga, Russell, Keri Keri & Whatuwhiwhi Forgotten world highway Art Deco Napier Lake Taupo & Kinloch The Coromandel Peninsular Hot Water Beach Hobbiton at Matamata The wonderful Papamoa beach, Ocean drive Lamb curry @ Kiwi Airport Motel And completing the NZ census Orewa beach & revisiting Waves Motel All the fab Campsites we stayed at during our 2559 miles of North Island exploration The friendliness of all the Kiwi nation, Big Tick LOWLIGHTS:- None 🌿 Discover New Zealand Like You Were There With Us New Zealand’s North Island is one of those rare places that stays with you long after you’ve left—and this page brings that feeling back to life. Our 2013 journey wasn’t just a holiday; it was a rolling adventure through beaches, forests, geothermal wonders, iconic film locations, and the warm, easygoing rhythm of Kiwi life. Whether you’re dreaming of your own motorhome trip, planning a future escape, or simply love losing yourself in real travel stories, this is the kind of page you’ll want to bookmark and return to. 🚐 A Road Trip Told Through Real Moments From the freedom of travelling by motorhome to the joy of discovering hidden bays, quirky towns, and unforgettable viewpoints, every stop is captured with honesty, humour, and detail. You’ll find campsite insights, scenic drives, personal anecdotes, and the kind of practical tips only travellers on the road can share. It’s not a brochure—it’s lived experience. 📸 Photography That Pulls You In The page is packed with original photos that show New Zealand at its best: sweeping coastlines, volcanic landscapes, Hobbiton’s magic, and the everyday beauty of life on the road. It’s visual storytelling designed to make you feel part of the journey. 🌏 Why Visitors Come Back Because this isn’t just a travel diary—it’s a growing archive. Every visit reveals something new: a detail you missed, a route idea you want to save, or a spark of inspiration for your next big trip. It’s a place to wander, revisit, and dream. Here is a HIGHLIGHT movie culled from the talkies movie we have here on the site. We created a more up to date one, created and uploaded by KeefH Web Designs in November 2023 (KHWD), enjoy. The total movie is almost 4 minutes long and covers all the areas we visited in New Zealand's North Island, notably Cape Reinga, Hot Water beach, Tongariro area and Taupo, Whangerei & Harura Falls and Hobbiton at the Mata Mata farmstead. New Zealand touring by Motorhome, 28 Days, 6th Feb-5th March, some wonderful campsites on North Island Read the Travel Blog Diaries, Look at the Travel Blog Slideshows, See the You Tube Videos, Use the 2013 CHOICES MENU to Explore, 3 Days at a Time (mostly) Have Fun, This travel blog is referenced as our 3rd Holiday of a Lifetime to cover our trips in 2007/8 (Downunder) & 2010 (Across Canada), we have since had a 4th in 2017 (Downunder) All the usual travel blog information can be found here. and for New Zealand North Island is broken down into areas we visited, namely the lovely Orewa , we would live there if we moved to NZ, Tutukaka Coast, Keri Keri, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Tongariro, Taranaki, Auckland and of course our 35th Wedding Anniversary back at that lovely restaurant in National Park. Campsites we stayed at 1 mar 2013 pitch 7 hamilton 12 feb 13 keri keri campsite, northlands 1/59 NEW ZEALAND, North Island, Orewa Etc.,6-8 Feb 2013 Northlands including Auckland, Orewa, Bream Bay Area & Whangarei, New Zealand, Northlands 6-8 feb 2013 auckland, orewa, bream bay area, whangarei, covering amongst others 63 selective slideshow images, steak and cheese pies plus frankly any kiwi pie just fab from service stations everywhere, put brit pies to shame, auckland airport, kiwi airport motel, wonderful homemade lamb curry, kiwi census, orewa, countdown supermarket car park in orewa, New World Supermarket for phone stuff plus Vodafone for wi-fi dongle (the height of technology back in 2013), the mad butcher revisited for bbq meat, auckland, norfolk pines, pohutakawa trees, red fronzes, surf club, waves hotel revisit, top 10 sites at orewa and whangerei, joined Top 10 club, twin coast discovery highway, aratoa way, bream bay, hen and chicken islands, helicopters, mangawhai, mangawhai heads, info boards, maori fables, ruakaka beach, waipu cove, spolit soil contaminated by cows, sunshine, relaxation, deep joy in northlands. We were previously in Orewa & Whangarei in 2007 and then again in 2017. annie outside our kiwi merc motorhome us _orewa 1/32 Wednesday February 6th 2013 Arrived in Brisbane Queensland Australia at 2.35 p.m. local time, bags were in transit. We then flew on from Brisbane to Auckland, North Island, New Zealand mid afternoon local kiwi time. We were now 5 hours ahead of the local time in Georgetown Penang Malaysia, so our body clocks were somewhat out of kilter. We were both very tired from both the flight and body clocks, super jet lagged, but managed to get a free pick-up van to the kiwi motel near the airport and unpacked some stuff and fell into bed for about an hour. Had showers, it was really all a blur, airports, planes, luggage, movies, music, eating at weird times etc etc. We then went and had a meal in the Kiwi Motel restaurant , lamb curry which was very nice and cooked by the Indian family who manage the motel. We will return and indeed did in 2017. We even did the Kiwi census here even though we are tourists, they insisted. So if any of our descendants in the future are into Genealogy they will find us in New Zealand’s census and wonder why, this is the answer. Interestingly my parents would have emigrated to New Zealand in the mid-50s but because of Dad’s apprenticeship papers they went to Australia instead as did I since then born. We went as a family to Melbourne 1960-63. Thursday February 7th 2013 Summary today we collected our rental van and went from the airport kiwi motel to the wonderful Orewa to the north of Auckland. We had a continental breakfast at 8 a.m. at the Kiwi motel, we paid them $10, approximately £5 to take us to the motorhome company which was about 8 minutes’ drive away. After doing some necessary admin and watching a DVD on how to drive the motorhome and how it all works (kind of familiar to us already from previous hires) we set off from Auckland using our Sat Nav. Keef had loaded on both New Zealand, Australia and Singapore maps to our gadget back home saving some dosh in hiring the companies Sat Nav, good news. We drove across the bridge over Auckland harbour and arrived in Orewa where we did our food shopping in the Countdown supermarket, we remembered from our 2007-8 Gap Year trip. We also unpacked our travel bags in their car park, so we had the van all straightened out for our fun times ahead. We arrived at the Top 10 campsite in Orewa at midday and joined the club as members kiwi $49 which provided a $4 discount each night camping, roughly £2 so easily covered the cost of membership for the time we were in NZ. The campsite and our pitch were fronting onto the beach, lovely blue seas, and skies and just a beautiful summers day with no humidity. We had steak and cheese pies & cobs for lunch. Frankly any kiwi pie is just fab , available from most service stations (servos) everywhere, put our British pies to shame. We then walked along Orewa beach, beautiful views, and trees especially the Pohutukawa trees and Norfolk pines. A local woman (her parents lived in Grantham, small world) kindly took our photo on our camera for us, our trusty Canon Powershot G7 which we took down under in 2007-8, sadly by 2022 it was now defunct, and we have bought Annie a new one, I use my phone. This local lady had been in New Zealand for 37 years, we noted she now had brown leathery skin, beach ready ha-ha. We had a long chat to her and then walked to the Vodaphone shop to sort out the internet and wi-fi for our trip, we purchased a dongle for the duration which worked well even in out of the way places. We also bought a kiwi phone SIM and topped it up with $20 at the New World Supermarket at the till. We walked back to the campsite having seen the Waves hotel that we stayed at for Xmas 2007 with the boys when we were on our Gap Year. Phoenix joined us there for Boxing Day. See the HOLIDAY in 2007-8 . It was a lovely motel just by the beach. We noted all the lovely architect designed houses along the Orewa beach front as we strolled back, bare feet in the sand. Dinner was beef escalope’s, new potatoes, salad, and an apple each for after's. It gets dark around 8.30-8.45 p.m. here , quite noisy with traffic during the day past the campsite which was on the edge of town but on its main through road, but very quiet at night. Reckon we walked about 2 miles around Orewa today. The Britz campervan mileage at the start of our trip was recorded as 246,253 kilometers , recorded just so at the end of our time in New Zealand we can work out how far we had travelled. Clever, eh? Friday February 8th 2013 Summary of the day, Orewa to Whangerei. Cloudy start to the day but got sunnier and very blue skies again by 10 a.m. We left the site at Orewa for town and visited the Vodafone shop (again) to sort out the equipment for our netbook to view the internet and emails whilst we were travelling, yesterday eve had proved it didn’t quite work as suggested, typical. Took a while but eventually got it all working with their help. #Tick We then set off from Orewa up the highway and along the coast using the famed twin coast discovery highway initially to Mangawhai Heads where we had lunch. Beautiful scenery, lovely homes, plus views along the coast and beach. We very much liked his place. Sadly, we saw lots of dead possums on the road, known as Kiwi pizza in NZ but protected in Australia. We then drove to Waipu cove where we paddled and walked along the beach. Lots of small bits of seaweed in the sea so we decided not to swim, a seaweed bath despite costing a fortune at health spas was not for us today. We then went to a lovely bay called Bream Bay with views of Hen & Chicken Islands. We then turned off the highway to Ruakaka where there was a stunning beach of soft fine sand and no seaweed and fab views along the bay. You could walk for miles along this beach. Keef got the chairs from the motorhome which was a Britz Mercedes automatic (love this model had them a few times) and we sat on the beach until 5.45 p.m. Then we drove to the Top 10 camp site at Whangerei (pronounced fangari) and arrived at 6.45 p.m. Annie did 2 lots of washing and Keef cooked a nice meal with wine. It got dark at 8.30 p.m. We had showers at the site to wash off the sea spray and beach sand and then Keef checked the emails. We booked 2 nights at the Whangerei Top 10 site so we could rediscover the area, we had been here before with the boys and phoenix in 2007-8. NEW ZEALAND, North Island, Coromandel Peninsular,15-17 Feb 2013 Northlands including Matakohe, Coromandel Peninsular & Hot Water Beach, New Zealand, Northlands 15-17 feb 2013 matakohe, coromandel , hot water beach, covering amongst others 113 selective slideshow images, matakohe, coromandel peninsular, apihara, bamboo, 90 mile beach, dargaville river, Dargaville town, arapohue, matakohe, banana bread, our new step, arapaoa river, citrus fruits, twin bridge gorge, dargaville revisit, coromandel range mountains, tree ferns, the kauri pioneer museum , lake Omapere, Kaikohe, twin bridge gorge, post offices, pioneer church, log haulers, helensville, art work, brynderwyn, thames, kawau parau inlet, muriwai and muriwai beach, black sand, coromandel town, tricky roads, views to die for, matarangi, whitianga, mercury bay, sunsets, bruises from steps, Shipwreck Bay, Kaitaia, revisiting Greenlane & Remuera in Auckland, Sir Edmund Hillary. We were previously in this area in 2007 and then again in 2017. slow start to 90 mile beach ahipara whitianga beach 1/56 Friday February 15th 2013 Summary Ahipara to Matakohe Left the Kiwi Park campsite at Ahipara and went down a side street and parked and walked down to 90 Mile beach. There were vehicles using beach as a road, 4-wheel drive only allowed allegedly. There was big surf today as very breezy, however today there was no one surfing, kite or cart wise. We took photos of shipwreck bay and the sweeping 90-mile beach and then returned to Kaitaia and south on State Highway 1. Lots of mainly cattle farms and then dense scrub lands and tree ferns everywhere zig zagging up and down the mountain sides. It felt very “New Zealand”. The roads were very wiggly. All this area in the far north and I guess a lot of Northlands are very Māori inhabited including Ahipara and Kaitaia. We passed lake Omapere and then turned right to Kaikohe where we re-fueled $70 or £35 for ¾ of a tank of diesel which was somewhat cheaper than the UK at the time. Again, Kaikohe is mainly a Māori town with one road of shops running right through it. We then took the inland road to Dargaville near the west coast, a town we know well having 1st camped near there with the boys back in 2007-8 on our gap year. We stopped for lunch at twin bridge gorge. The weather was cloudy and much cooler than yesterday. Again, some very nice rural countryside heavily enhanced with the tree ferns which we love, do so wish we could get them back and growing in the UK (cheaply) but guess we don’t have the right climate for that. Arrived Dargaville around 4 p.m. and Keef posted a postcard to his Mum. Anne looked in a craft shop. Decided to move onto Matakohe to stay at the Kiwi Park campsite there, especially now we are fully paid-up club members, as we are with Top 10 sites, it widened our overnight stay options quite nicely as they are the major camping chains in NZ. The site was just down the road from the kauri pioneer museum which we had already visited with Craig & Doug in 2007. A very nice campsite with views of the Arapaoa river and surrounding farmlands. Annie did some ironing and chatted to an Aussie woman in the laundry. Keef did lamb steaks (just so good in NZ), and kumara chips on the barbeque again, becoming quite a staple meal for us, lovely cheap and fresh local produce, you can’t beat it! There were a few spots of rain this afternoon (arvo) but nothing much. NOTE This was the first meal we have eaten in the van since we arrived in NZ, rain, eh? Brian and Gina have returned to the UK from their holiday in Borneo / Malaysia. Saturday February 16th 2013 Summary Matakohe to Coromandel Town We travelled south on State Highway 1 (the kiwi’s main lifeline one feels!) then onto highway 16. We visited Muriwai beach, a black volcanic sand beach, sadly not very attractive but different. Summary is Muriwai, also called Muriwai Beach, is a coastal community on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The black-sand surf beach and surrounding area is a popular recreational area for Aucklanders. The Muriwai Regional Park includes a nesting site for a large colony of gannets. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "water's end" for Muriwai It was cloudy at first again today and then cleared and turned very warm. All the grasslands and farms we passed looked very dry. Not much livestock either. We joined highway 1 again and stopped off at the Green Lane exit for Remuera, we stayed at the motel here on our last trip in 2007-8. The gay couple who owned it, lovely people, had sadly now moved on and it certainly looked a bit different. Such lovely memories and a nice suburb to Auckland, Sir Edmund Hillary came from Auckland and died in Remuera. We then continued south and across to the Coromandel peninsular. We purchased diesel at Thame cost 80p a litre or in kiwi money 60 cents. Keef chatted to a Pom from Leicester who worked in the garage. We then drove along the scenic road north with the bay on our left, all hair pin bends and very windy roads, then we climbed the Coromandel range, which was very steep, but lovely views in the afternoon sun. Arrived at the Top 10 campsite in Coromandel town , cost $45 per night with $4 dollars discount as members so not too bad but on the higher price side compared to other sites. This is where we had previously camped in a tent back in 2008 under the large tree there. We had a swim in the campsite pool which refreshingly was now heated. We had had a long drive today with some tricky roads on the peninsular where you really needed to concentrate, kiwis with boats towed certainly drive fast with no particular concern for what is coming in the opposite direction, just an observation folks’ tee hee. We showered and then had a chat to an old couple in an old-fashioned motorhome parked next to ours. She was 88 and he was 84 and they still loved travelling in their van, do hope we are the same assuming we get to that age. The campsite was full as a weekend with Aucklanders who have got away for the weekend. Coromandel was where the first gold was discovered in New Zealand. Sunday February 17th 2013 Summary Coromandel to Hot Water Beach, Joy’s birthday today Chatted to a couple from Welwyn Garden city who were camped at the Coromandel campsite. Small world as this is where Annie lived as a child for 10 years. We then had a walk through the town which on reflection we didn’t think had changed much in the intervening period. We then drove out of town on Highway 25 and turned off at Matarangi, a beautiful sandy beach which we walked along, with some very expensive holiday homes and golf resort. Hot and sunny but sea breezes. Then we went on to Whitianga and Mercury Bay where we had lunch and swam in the sea. It was a gently shelving sandy beach and therefore ideal for swimming and a much needed cool off. We bought boysenberry ice creams and walked through the towns and saw the shops although it was quite a small town really. Then we drove along highway 25 again onto Hot Water Beach and the Top 10 site there. It cost $41.40 to camp there. The site was very dry and dusty with the grass almost gone due to lack of rain, a true drought in NZ currently. There were water restrictions on the Coromandel in place. We had dinner and then drove the van to a car park near Hot Water Beach. We had been loaned two spades for digging from the Top 10 campsite for $20 deposit. We only needed them for that night’s sunset. We walked along the beach to where lots of people were digging in the wet sand at low tide at about 6.45 p.m. There are hot springs under the sand at about 2 kilometers deep and if you dig down to about 9 inches to a foot the hot water comes up, quite an experience. Steam was coming out of many people’s sand holes and they were sitting in them like baths. There were even some Japanese and Brazilian tourists as well as weekend Aucklanders and us Brits. It was great fun. The water was quite hot, but Keef loved doing some digging to create our own little bath. Deep Joy! We took loads and loads of photos. We then walked back along the beach and returned in the van to the campsite at 8.10 p.m. The sun had set. We had showers to get rid of the sand and retired to bed happy but exhausted. It had all been good fun. NEW ZEALAND, NORTH ISLAND, TONGARIRO AREA,24-26 Feb 2013 Including Tongariro area, 35th Wedding Anniversary & the Forgotten World Highway ending at the Republic of Whangamomona, New Zealand, Tongariro area 24-26 feb 2013, whangamomona, national park, lake taupo triathlon, ruepehi, 35th Wedding Anniversary, covering amongst others 203 selective slideshow images, highway 43 to the republic of Whangamomona, national park anniversary meal, Tongariro, mount doom, Tongariro Alpine crossing walk, ruapehu, Mt Ngauruhoe, Raurimu Spiral, 35th wedding anniversary, day & meal, volcanoes, active and otherwise, the shaky isles, aotearoa, Maori influence, chateau tongariro, black swans, lake rotiari, station restaurant, kumara, forgotten world highway i.e state highway 43, gravel roads, tranz scenic railway better known as the Northern Explorer, tawai falls, gollums pool, makatote viaduct, waikato river, totara, pohutakawa, republic of whanga, turangi, tracks, Tawhai Falls, Tongariro National Park, targarakau gorge ,tapu island, whakapapa village, desert well maybe, rangipo, huka falls, moki tunnel, hobbit hole, ohakune, raetihi branch bridge, mangateitei stream, waimarino old name for national park railway station, tongariro river, motuopuhi, otunui riverboat landing, taumarunui, herlihy’s bluff, stratford, taranaki, whanga, tahora, republic, passport stamped, heritage trails, New World Supermarket at Turangi. We were previously in this area in 2007 and then again in 2017. ❤️ 35th Wedding Anniversary Our 35th wedding anniversary will always feel like a story written in sunlight and mountain air. New Zealand gave us the perfect backdrop: the gentle rhythm of the TranzAlpine, the quiet charm of the station restaurant, and the peaceful stillness of our campsite tucked beneath the national park’s towering peaks. Wandering through Whakapapa Village, watching for kiwis at dusk, and ending the day under a sky painted with a glowing sunset reminded me how lucky I am to have shared this journey with you. Every moment felt like a celebration not just of a milestone, but of us — of the laughter, the adventures, and the way we still choose each other after all these years. That day in 2013 captured the heart of our marriage: simple joys, shared wonder, and a love that keeps finding new horizons. We went to the same restaurant we had been to with the kids back in 2007-8, you can see about our 30th Wedding anniversary stamping our passports ROW annie on tawhai falls walk 1/78 Sunday February 24th 2013 Summary, Taupo to Tongariro National Park. We left the Taupo Top 10 site and went to see Huka Falls again. Despite drought the rapids and falls were still going strong, so majestic. We last visited in 2008 when we went on the rapids jet boat with the kids, great fun. 360 was the call ha-ha. We drove around Lake Taupo, there was a triathlon taking place today and part of state highway 1 was closed off because of it. We headed for Tongariro National Park. We stopped for a coffee break in a lay-by. We had lunch in a small village Ohakune with a giant carrot, supposedly the Carrot capital of New Zealand. Here there were lovely views of the 2 active volcanoes, one had snow on its top the other was Mount Doom (from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy of films), its real name of course is Mount Tongariro. They are both famous for the Tongariro Alpine crossing walk. We then called in at National Park village to the railway station restaurant and café to book a table for our 35th Wedding Anniversary coming up on the 25th .,tomorrow for 6 p.m. The station is the stop point for the Trans Scenic Railway. It is now called the Northern Explorer and if you like is the sister train journey to the TranzAlpine on South Island. Some words about this journey are: - The Northern Explorer train service is a scenic rail journey through the five unique geographical regions of the North Island - travelling between Auckland, New Zealand's largest city - home of the Sky Tower, through the central heartland of the North Island to Wellington - New Zealand's harbour capital and arts and culture centre. Along the way, you will see fantastic views of New Zealand farmland, rugged bush landscapes before ascending up the world famous Raurimu Spiral to the volcanic plateau passing the majestic volcanoes of Mt Tongariro, Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Ruapehu - the home of the North Island ski fields and descending through stunning river gorges to the farming landscapes and rocky seascapes of the lower North Island - all from large panoramic windows and the open air viewing deck of the Northern Explorer train. The Northern Explorer carriages have an advanced air bag suspension system for quieter and smoother travel, un-tinted, non-reflective, panoramic side, and roof windows to capture the dramatic coastal and mountain views of the magnificent North Island. GPS triggered journey commentary in five languages at your seat via headphones, plus information displays and overhead HD video and are centrally heated/air conditioned for passenger comfort. We then drove to Whakapapa village and Chateau Tongariro. We went to the campsite in the village and booked 2 nights at $38 a night, good value when one considers the amazing location. We did a walk along the river, rapids, and gorges with a bridge over the rapids. We then did a short nature walk near our van pitch, both great fun and great views. Anne did some handwashing and Keef cooked dinner, we then took our torches at dusk to look for kiwis along the nature trail , a full moon was helpful, we listened intently for any searching for insects, grubs, or worms in the undergrowth but disappointed to see nothing. Kiwis are amazingly illusive #fact We then returned to the van for boysenberry wine instead. Monday February 25th 2013 Summary, Our 35th Wedding Anniversary Day at Whakapapa Village and tour around Tongariro National Park. Opened our anniversary card from Linda & Ian. K did bacon cobs for breakfast. We headed north for Turangi direction. On the way stopped to see the archeological remains of a Māori village by a lake which was deserted by 1850 after inter-tribal musket wars. Then we got the view of Lake Taupo and surrounding area from a lookout point. We saw Sulphur and steam coming out of an active volcano from the road, which were marked on the map as exploding craters. We took lots of photos. In Turangi we looked at shops, a small square of pedestrianised shops. Some were empty. We got hot pies and cakes from a bakery for lunch. We found out from the info tourist board that the Trans Scenic railway runs from Auckland to Wellington and vice-versa 3 times a week. Sat in the van and Keef checked emails as there is no wi-fi at the campsite, it is to be expected as so remote. Drove back to the site via Rangipo. Had showers and got changed for our Anniversary meal at the Station for 6 p.m. We had a lovely meal, 3 courses, wine, and coffee. Keef had a rack of lamb with cracked pepper, kumara and carrot mash, veg in blueberry jus and lime oil. Annie had beef strips in salsa. For pudding we both had banana and macadamia nut spring rolls in a caramel sauce with ice-cream and cream, just yummy! Podged we returned to the campsite and got changed and went kiwi spotting again with torches, or as it happened not spotting, tee-hee. We think however we did hear one calling in the bushes some distance away but not confirmed. Tuesday February 26th 2013 Summary, Whakapapa Village to the Republic of Whangamomona. It was a very cold night around the Tongariro region, which I guess is understandable with so many mountains. Today’s daytime temperature was 28 degrees centigrade. Nice. Stopped the van on the outskirts of the village to do the 20-minute waterfall walk. Its start was on the road past the Tongariro chateau and was called the Tawhai falls walk. We then went onto Turangi again and did some shopping at the New World supermarket there. We then headed to Taumarunui, a small town at the start of the Forgotten World Highway, a heritage tourist route. Keef checked emails and paid the Barclaycard whilst Annie went to the Tourist Information centre to get stuff about the Forgotten World Highway route. We called in at the McDonald’s for a McFlurry ice-cream before setting off on the heritage route. We passed a lavender farm and quite a few farms with sheep, cows, and deer. Venison is now so big in NZ I would suggest it outstrips sheep farming. One farm was sheep shearing in the sheds, we watched. The scenery was very unusual, hobbit-like hills, deep blue gorges and a river that was almost dry. Lots of abandoned sheep farm buildings. We drove through what was called the Hobbit hole, a tunnel cut through rock about 4.5 meters high and just wide enough for one vehicle, luckily not much traffic on the Forgotten World Highway. Lots of the hills were volcanic ash and pumice stone, now covered in grass where the Taupo area had erupted millions of years ago. About 12 kilometers of the highway was gravel road, we had no choice but to travel on it. Fab views of Tongariro in the distance. We arrived at Whangamomona at about 5.45 p.m. We took many photos of the hotel and other heritage buildings. The campsite was $20 in the grassed area of the old school. We had a meal in the pub and got our passports stamped as Whanga declared itself a republic in 1986. It cost $2 to get your passport stamped, rather a touristy gimmick but hey why not, its fun. The history is locals were angry about local boundary changes so went independent and elected a pig as the mayor and even have sentry boxes on the town’s outskirts, ha-ha. There were lots of historical pictures on the pub wall that were fascinating. All in all a great place to visit if you like quirky, we do! NEW ZEALAND, North Island, Tutukaka Coastline, 9-11 Feb 2013 Northlands including Whangarei, Tutukaka Coast & the fabulous Russell, New Zealand, Northlands 9-11 feb 2013 whangarei, whangarei marina and town basin, hatea bridge, and Huarahi o te Whai Hātea Loop Walkway, tutukaka coast, covering amongst others 133 selective slideshow images, the Warehouse DIY chain store, buying that fatal plastic step (oh the benefits of hindsight 😉), russell, hatea river, pouihi carvings, clapham clocks, boardwalks, top 10 sites, raeburn house, town basin, kauri factory, our lovely kauri bowl with paua shell inlaid 35,000 years old, many other European nations at the campsite, whangarei falls, otuihau, sandy bay, ngungunu, tutukaka marina, whangaumu bay, whale bay, church bay, beach baches, designer houses, wooley bay, posh yachts, poor knights islands, tarakihi fish (yummy), air roots on trees, pohutukawa trees, matapouri rocks, oakura campsite at whangaruru south, flowers, BBQ's, the strand, museums, pompallier mission, weak, kowharewa bay. We were previously in this area in 2007 and then again in 2017 see the links in the trailer below to visit. anne on the strand, russell, nz along the hatea river 1/67 Saturday February 9th 2013 Summary, Whangarei 79 degrees Fahrenheit 26 degrees Centigrade Woke at 9 a.m. Lots of Dutch and Germans at the campsite. Had breakfast outside and Anne collected in most of the washing. Another sunny and hot day in New Zealand, yippee. Drove the van to the Warehouse DIY chain store in town and bought a few extras for the campervan / motorhome such as pegs to keep curtains together, 2 hand towels and a plastic step for the van as 2 foot drop down to the ground out on the van was a little tricky for oldies like us at ages 59 & 58 respectively. This proved to be not such a great idea if you read on under Russell later. Then did a bit of shopping for bread, milk etc. in the Countdown supermarket. We then walked along the boardwalk by the boats moored at the old quayside, and saw the old heritage buildings with cafes, restaurants, and shops. The whole area was very nicely landscaped, surrounded by trees and bushes, and with fab views, we adore the marina and town basin area. Whangarei has a very large harbour and although it is termed a city to us it feels so much more like a small town. A comparison would be a UK city like Nottingham Population 794,000 whereas Whangarei’s population is 54,300, Erewash which includes Long Eaton is 115, 490… I rest my case my lord! We missed the craft market up on the hatea river bridge (sometimes known in Maori as the Huarahi o te Whai Hātea Loop Walkway, which had finished at 1.30 p.m. but went into some craft shops instead which had some very expensive items, so we didn’t buy anything. We then drove to the Kauri clock factory outside town on a small industrial estate, interestingly run by Germans. There were lots of massive kauri tree stumps in the yard looking very weathered. We took some pictures. They turn these into beautiful wood clocks, highly polished. We bought a kauri round bowl inlaid with NZ paua shell which cost £60, well worth it, it looks lovely and is highly unusual. Then we drove out along the harbour edge which was the residential area and a bit swampy. There was also a port with oil refineries. We then returned in the van back to the campsite. Anne did some ironing and Keef cooked lamb steaks on the camp barbeque. Annie also reorganised storage of some of our clothes in the van and put her undies in the microwave, hot, eh? 😉 to save space. Keef did some photos on the laptop. Got dark around 8.45 p.m. Showered and then went to bed. The England cricket team had played the Black Caps in Whangarei a couple of days before we arrive, shame would love to have seen it, Collingwood and McCullen era. Note we did see them do battle in Christchurch on South Island back in 2007-8. Note the inscription on the back of our kauri bowl “Far North New Zealand, swamp kauri , 35,000 years old, with paua shell , radar” 1/2 Sunday February 10th 2013 Chinese New Year, the Year of the Snake, big love to Mr. & Mrs. Douglas in Singapore celebrating. Summary. Whangarei to Oakura Road Holiday Park & Motel site, Whangaruru South, located at address 4, Te Kapua Street Ōakura 0184. Whangaruru is a rural community and harbour on the east coast of Northland, New Zealand. Mokau, Helena Bay, Whakapara, Hikurangi and Whangarei are to the south and the Bay of Islands is to the northwest. Woke at 8 a.m. and had boiled egg and toast for breakfast. Drove out to Whangarei falls, Keef took some photos but as we had already visited them with Craig, Doug back in 2007 we only stood on the top platform rather than doing the circular walk around down to the bottom platform views. We then took a circular route to the coast north of Whangarei to Ngunguru and Tutukaka harbour. The harbour had a huge marina, and it was Sunday many kiwis were boating and sailing. What’s the line, one in 2 kiwis’ own a yacht. There were art and craft shops and cafés. We stopped at Matapouri beach, but it was very busy and difficult to park the motorhome, so we went onto Wooley’s Bay, a lovely long curved beach. We had lunch there then cooled off in the sea. People were body surfing on boards. Another hot day with blue skies and sea, ah bliss! There was so much lovely scenery along this coastline. We chatted to a Scot who had emigrated in 1965 to Auckland. We left the beach at 5 p.m. and intended to take the road to Russell but must have missed the turning and went 16 kilometers out of our way on State Highway 1. It was difficult to find a turning point on the highway but we eventually managed to and found a campsite at Oakura near Whangaruru South, on Oakura Road and not to be confused with the Oakura Bay near New Plymouth some 300+ miles away. Oakura was a tiny place with lovely views of the sheltered bay. The campsite cost $39 and was quite basic. Keef cooked pasta carbonara with chicken. We read for a bit and went to bed at 11.25p.m. Note and we saw lots of these, Pohutukawa trees have red flowers at Christmas and massive aerial roots. We saw lots at Tutukaka especially around the landscaped harbour area as well as naturally all along that coastline. Monday February 11th 2013 Summary Oakura site Whangaruru South to the wonderful Russell, one of our fave places in NZ. Anne woke at 7.30 a.m. Keef at 8.45 a.m. After a light breakfast we drove along the loop road to Russell through lots of bush with NZ tree ferns and many cattle and sheep farms. It was very twisty roads and hilly scenery but nice. We arrived at the Russell Top 10 site at 1 p.m. to book in. $23 per night, not bad with our Top 10 card discount. It is a lovely site overlooking the Bay of Islands and Paihia. The site is on 4 levels, and we were on the top level. We returned to the same spot in 2017. We wanted to do the Tall ships sailing excursion for 2 hours in the afternoon but on that Monday they only did a full day and we had arrived too late, becoming a bit of a theme that after craft market in Whangarei ha-ha. Anyhow after filling the motorhome with water, we walked into town and saw many wooden houses with verandas, some built up hillsides with decking on stilts. We also saw a weka, an NZ flightless bird, which scuttled away into a garden. We walked around the town and the jetty and then visited the museum along the front and saw a video about the town’s history. The town had been notorious in the Victorian era for lawlessness, drunk sailors, whalers, and prostitutes. It is however now very touristy but sadly not many historical buildings are left. We had fish and chips, yummy, the fish was tarakihi, a white fish, $10 each or £5, very tasty. We then walked back to the campsite and wrote some postcards to Craig, Doug, Margaret of 90 mile beach which we hadn’t reached as yet. We fed the ducks bread and a weka who came quite close by. He was a brown and black bird, size of a hen with long curved beak and 3 toes. Now the really bad news, Annie fell off that plastic step we bought at the Warehouse store to make getting out of the van easier, she was probably not concentrating, who knows , not nice, very painful and eventually developed into a huge bruise, way worse than the ones from the bouncy boat in Langkawi Malaysia. There were lovely views at twilight and beyond of the lights across the bay in Paihia. We talked to a couple on the next pitch from Cambridge who were also touring NZ. They had also just been to Georgetown, Penang, small world. We heard the noise from the nocturnal kiwi birds at dusk and in the night. They were in the bushes across from our pitch and up the hillside, we tried looking but didn’t find any, they are quite illusive flightless birds, but the New Zealand emblem and populations namesake. We have only seen them in captivity at the Otorohanga Kiwi House. NEW ZEALAND, Bay of Plenty,18-20 Feb 2013 Bay of Plenty including Papamoa beach, Hobbiton,Rotorua and Gisborne, New Zealand, Bay of Plenty 18-20 feb 2013 papamoa, rotorua, gisborne, covering amongst others 145 selective slideshow images, Britz Mercedes motorhome, matamata, hobbiton, hobbit holes, sam wise gangee, lord of the rings, peter Jackson, hahei beach, cathedral cove caves, frodo, bilbo baggins, waiha beach, katikati and wall art murals, pukeko, Tauranga, james cook, farthing woods, te karaka, papamoa beach, ocean drive, fave campsite in all the world, Tip Top icecreams, boysenberry, hokey pokey, the Pacific Ocean, precious, dragon inn, gandalf, party tree, mount manganui, waioeka, opotiki, White Goose Winery, Gold medal plum wine, Feijoa (unique friut to NZ), top 10 campsites, kiwi campsites, whakatane, ohope, the ngaitai maoris, white island (smoking again in 2017 sadly a death trap dec 2019), whangamata, beaches, kahikatea range, young nick, Captain James Cook (definitely one of our heroes), otahu river, ocean beach, hauturu island, maukaha rocks, karangahake gorge, paeroa, waikino, railway café, bay of plenty, i-site, Maori poles, holiday baches. We were previously in this area in 2007 and then again in 2017. hobbit coat rack young nick gisborne 1/73 Monday February 18th 2013 Summary, Hot Water Beach to Papamoa Beach It rained at 8am but not for long. We left the campsite and drove to Hahei, Hahei beach and Cathedral Cove caves. Hahei is a small beach with lots of holiday homes most of which are closed, and empty given away by the shuttered blinds on windows. Clearly holiday baches. We then drove down along the highway to Waihi beach where we had lunch. There were steep roads crossing the Coromandel Ranges to get there. Some background info on Waihi Beach is it is a coastal town at the western end of the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island. It lies 10 kilometres to the east of the town of Waihi, at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula. The main beach is 10 kilometres long. The town had a permanent population of 2,730 as of June 2021. At the northern end of Waihi Beach, the 145 hectares (360 acres) Orokawa Scenic Reserve offers several short walking tracks along the coast and to Orokawa Bay. While the main beach is backed by the residential area of the township of Waihi Beach, Orokawa Bay is undeveloped and surrounded by native bush including pohutukawa, puriri, and nikau palms. At the southern end of the beach is the small settlement of Bowentown and the northern side of the northern Katikati entrance to Tauranga Harbour. Waihi beach is a lovely sandy bay. We saw 2 men fishing with long nets from a few metres off the beach, but they did not catch any flounder or snapper which they said was what they were after. We then drove further on down Highway 25 through KatiKati which is the township with lots of wall art as murals. Often referred to as the Mural Town. This time we didn’t stop as we had seen them before, but we did pay a revisit in 2017 see out HOLIDAY2017 site with pals https://www.holiday2017.co.uk , thanks for looking We arrived at Tauranga , a very busy city with an oil refinery, harbour and port with many container ships, a real working transport hub for New Zealand. We drove through quickly and on to the wonderful Mount Manganui., which is a volcanic peak and along the beach stretching for miles to Papamoa. There are lots of expensive looking houses and apartments fronting the beach. We checked into the Top 10 campsite right on the beach at Papamoa. It cost $44 a night (£22) and paid an extra $4 for a beach plot on Ocean drive. Worth every penny, this is our fave campsite in all the world. Anne put some washing in the machine in the laundry costing $4 and then we both walked to the local shops to buy ice creams as by now it was hot and sunny. Anne hung up washing when we were back and chatted to a couple from Windemere, Cumbria , the Lake District, UK. Then we took our chairs onto the beach , we also went in the sea to jump the big waves, exhilarating, it is the Pacific Ocean. We sat on the beach and watched the surf club on speedboats and canoes practicing. We then had showers and dinner, it was a lovely day and a lovely place to be and the end of the day. Tuesday February 19th 2013 Summary, Papamoa Beach to Rotorua Light rain very briefly. Grass still very dry and brown everywhere as no proper rain for 2 months we were told. There were now some water restrictions in New Zealand as most reservoirs were low or running dry. Keef did dump station black water and took on fresh water in the van ready for our onward travels today. We drove onto the outskirts of Tauranga which had grown so big from our memories 5 years ago, then onto Matamata and Hobbiton. It is based on the Alexanders farm just outside Matamata. This is the Hobbit village movie set for the Lord of the Rings (and Hobbit) movies made by Peter Jackson. We had booked our tickets online the previous night $150 for 2 tickets i.e., £75 total in English money. We got the tour coach from the information centre in Matamata which drove 20 minutes to a local sheep / cattle ranch. The film scouts had searched for a location that matched the description in the Tolkien book and found this farm was ideal. Took 9 months to film and the farmers had to sign a non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement so nothing leaked out into the public domain. The tour guides took us around the village, a lovely setting with a lake, mills, the Green dragon pub, all thatched, and hobbit homes set into the hillsides with quaint little gardens, just so cute. We saw a big tree up on the green and Bilbo Baggins and Frodo’s house, not inside obviously as those scenes were filmed in Wellington at the studios. It was very interesting to hear about the logistics of filming and creating the set. The tour was about 2 hours long and ended with a free drink in the Green Dragon pub. A real Wedding had recently been held on the set with the ceremony held under the big tree and all the guests get the option to wear the stick on ears, feet and hands of a hobbit, hilarious. We returned by coach to the town and had McDonalds and milkshakes as it was now getting late. We then drove to Rotorua which took about 1 hour and camped at the Top 10 site there by the Blue Lake. The price was $41.40. The smell of Sulphur as we drove past Rotorua Lake was most distinctive and what we remembered well from our last trip there. We shopped at Countdown for supplies, the campsite was fringed by bush and hills but sadly there were no kiwis calling, maybe they don’t like bad egg smells either tee-hee. Wednesday February 20th 2013 Summary, Rotorua to Gisborne via Whakatane Shopped at Pak N’ Save Rotorua and Anne went into Spotlight and bought some fabric. We then drove on Highway 30 past 3 lakes and saw someone swimming and schoolgirls canoeing / kayaking. The weather was warm and sunny. We stopped for lunch at Whakatane by the jetty and council offices. There were some heritage buildings in this town. On leaving the town for Ohope we went up a very steep curving hill. Ohope had an inner estuary with people sun bathing on the grass, it was a very hot sunny day. Some info on Ohope is Ōhope, until 1974 known as Ohope Beach, is a beach settlement in the eastern Bay of Plenty, on the northeast coast of the North Island of New Zealand, six kilometres east and over the hill, from Whakatāne We then went onto Opotiki, a very long beach with lots of driftwood and tree logs washed up on its shores. We took a photo of a Māori carved totem pole here. Some info on the town of Ōpōtiki is it is situated exactly on latitude 38° South. The climate is temperate. Summer temperatures reach the mid-20s (Celsius, mid-70s Fahrenheit) on the coast and encourage a continuation of the beach culture of the Bay of Plenty. Winter days are often cloudless, the daytime temperature never drops below freezing but there may be a mild frost at night. Winter snow falls along the crest of the ranges, and on the higher peaks (over 1000 m) may remain for a few weeks. Rain occurs at any season. Severe localised rainstorms ('cloudbursts') may occur in the high country and have caused flash flooding including past inundations of Ōpōtiki township. To give it is full name it is Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti. Here is a picture taken in 1871 at Opotiki, a very interesting township. We then turned south along Highway 2 to Gisborne, it was a very twisty road through the Kahikatea Range, a bush trees and forest area. Lots of lorries use this route we discovered, and many were loggers. We stopped for lunch by a picnic area near the big bridge over the gorge and river. The road then went through a hill farming area and again the grass was very dry and brown. We arrived in Gisborne late afternoon and stayed at the Top 10 site there, costing $32. This site was not as listed 4 stars but, in our opinion, only 2 stars. The facilities were poor and very old fashioned. We went for a walk along to the statue of Captain Cook and young nick who was his cabin boy who spotted landfall in New Zealand and is immortalised in bronze rightly for this. They landed in Gisborne and a Maori haka made them think they were being attacked so Cook’s crew sadly killed them. We bought boysenberry ice cream just outside Whakatane and some yummy plum wine from a Liverpool man’s house called White Goose winery, corner of SH30 and Luxton Road. Superb $15 a bottle he had won gold medals for it, he showed us around and even let us try his passionflower fruit that was growing up the side of his house, so scrumptious. Home of Feijoa, Plum and Berry Fruit wines, Whakatane's first boutique winery established in 1983. That’s all for now folks. NEW ZEALAND, Taranaki area,27 Feb - 1 Mar 2013 Including Taranaki area, Whanga, New Plymouth, Waitomo, Hamilton, New Zealand, Taranaki area 27 feb – 1 mar 2013, new plymouth, waitomo caves, hamilton, covering amongst others 145 selective slideshow images, whangamomona, te rewa and the te rewa bridge, douglas, forgotten world highway, state highway 34, tupare gardens, hallard gardens, kiwis, bbqs, cape light house, doves, east end beach, fruit wines, plum, boysenberry, whakatane, flowers, stratford, all things shakespeare, the bard, Glockenspiel town clock, otorohanga, opunake, surf highway, strathmore, mount taranaki, cape egmont, opunake, egmont national park, Mt Messenger, Matau, state highways 3 & 3A, visitors centres, Te Kuiti, rugby, hamilton gardens , taumarunai, whanga, wanganui national park, fitzroy beach, waiwhakaiho river, tupare house, orangery, ferns, sir ed hillary, top 10 sites, waikato river, Otorohanga kiwi house, bought kiwi as replacement for phoenix (lost original found in dressing gown 2019 stored in our garage ), greenslade house, hayes paddock, turtle lake, hamilton gardens, rogers rose garden, paradise gardens, Chinese scholars garden, japenese garden of contemplation, Indian char bagh garden, Italian renaissance garden, English flower and American modernist gardens, te parapara maori gardens. We were previously in this area in 2007 and then again in 2017. annie _ te rewa rewa bridge blue kiwi chick 1/73 Wednesday February 27th 2013 Summary, The Republic of Whangamomona to New Plymouth. Set off along the rest of the Forgotten World Highway, State Highway 34. Climbed some very high mountain ridges and zig zag roads, with sheer drops to the river gorge and valleys below. Bit scary. Took lots of photos along the route. There was a small hamlet called Douglas in the valley, mainly farming made is chuckle and take a photo for later doctoring especially for Mr. Douglas. The Forgotten World Highway ended at Stratford. All streets were names after Shakespeare’s characters from his plays. We went into the Tourist information centre and met the local lady MP. The Glockenspiel town clock chimed several times a day, sadly we missed it as allegedly spectacular. Click on the link in the summary on the Taranaki page to get more details about this fascinating town. We then went through Eltham , which is an old town starting circa 1912 and turned to go into Opunake, a black sand beach with poor surfing conditions which is odd because it is on what was inaptly names the Surf Coast Highway, ha-ha. We then carried on the surf highway to Cape Egmont and saw a small lighthouse, with black basalt housing edging the Tasman Sea. We arrived in New Plymouth where we had previously camped with the kids , we drove through the city and the main shops to the Top 10 site which cost $43 for the night. We the n went for a swim in the site’s heated pool, very nice and relaxing. We chatted to a local farmer who bragged about his cars, farm, motorcycles etc, Were we impressed, guess? He then told us he was paralysed from jumping from a great height into a pond, brawn rather than brain but we did show some sympathy. Annie did wash in the laundry, a little black and white kitten was roaming around the campsite. We talked to some Aussies from New South Wales who were here on holiday. They were in a very tiny tent. Thursday February 28th 2013 Summary, New Plymouth to Waitomo Caves. Drove around the city centre and then visited the new wave design bridge called Te Rawa over the Waiwhakaiho river and board walk just north of the city centre. There were lots of landscaped parks and picnic areas. The board walk was used by both walkers and cyclists. We then visited Tupare Gardens, In 1932 Sir Russell and Lady Matthews started to create a garden from a gorse covered wilderness on the edge of the Waiwhakaiho River around their family home. It was very steep as built on a hillside , there were nice shrubs and plants and it had been superbly landscaped. We liked it a lot. We then drove to North Egmont visitors centre on a sealed road. Mount Taranaki as it is better and now know , using its original Māori Name rather than that bestowed by the Brits, is 2518 metres high. A dormant volcano which last erupted in 1755. It was covered in cloud today at the top. It was a very windy & winding road to get to the Visitors centre. In winter the volcano is totally covered in snow. We then headed north on the 3a motorway and then the number 3 highway east. Many farms then the scenery got dramatically hillier around Mount Messenger. We stopped for a very late lunch around 4 p.m. at Matau for a snack. It was a very scenic route on highway 3 up to Te Kuiti, the NZ sheep shearing capital, we saw a few sheep on farms, all of which had very yellowing grass, it was a large town but realistically not much worth seeing so we drove through reasonably quickly. We turned off for the Top 10 campsite at Waitomo Caves. Costing $41.40 so on the more expensive end but worth it. We had seen the glow worm caves before , use the link in the overview if you wish to see more. The campsite was quite modern with both a swimming pool and hot tub. Had a swim, shower and cheese and biscuits with the lovely Plum wine we had got from the White Goose Winery near Whakatane. Yummy. There were schoolboys in the cabins on an excursion, they were very noisy and that was added to by teachings trying to control them, and if I’m honest failing. Friday March 1st 2013 Summary, Waitomo Caves to Hamilton. 30 degrees centigrade or 86 degrees Fahrenheit. In the 5 years since we had been to Waitomo caves the area had changed a lot, the new Top 10 campsite, a café, tourist information office, and lots of other touristy things. Indeed, the area was now a Mecca for tourists because of the Glow worm caves. We then set off for Otorohanga, we called in at the Kiwi House to get a replacement kiwi for Phoenix as she had lost the one Doug had bought her here back in 2008. In fact we bought 2 kiwi’s one chirps when you squeeze it, novel. Saw the same noisy school trip again who had sadly landed at the Kiwi House, we left pronto. We then drove onto Hamilton, luckily our Sat Nav came in useful as Hamilton is a very big city, 2nd we guessed only to Auckland in size, Wellington feels more compact. Sprawling suburbs in Hamilton and plenty of road works. We did a shop for food at New World supermarket. We then had a bit of a nightmare getting to the campsite because of the major road works improving Hamilton’s ring road. Annie did some laundry $4, and Keef prepared lunch. It was another hot sunny day . We then drove off to park near the Botanical gardens so we could do the river walk along to them. The campsite owner had told us where to park, very useful. It was about a mile walk to the gardens but fun however the views of the Waikato River were not great as it was totally overgrown with trees and bushes. We found the gardens and it was free entry, which was nice. We saw a lot of roses then found the i-site information office and picked up a map of the gardens which proved very useful. We then visited lots of individual paradise gardens including , with the Indian garden with nice Mogul architecture in a courtyard garden with a fountain and raised terrace. The English flowers throughout the Māori garden were interesting, plus gourds and kumara growing and lots of traditional wood carvings. We then walked back to the motorhome; it must have been over 3 miles we had walked in the boiling hot afternoon sun in the end. We then returned to the Hamilton holiday park campsite, which cost $38 to stay at, we were both very tired. It got dark at about 8.30 p.m. NEW ZEALAND, North Island, Keri Keri, 12-14 Feb 2013 Northlands including Keri Keri, Cape Reinga, Whatuwhiwhi & Manganui, New Zealand, Northlands 12-14 feb 2013 kerikeri, cape reinga, Manganui, 90 mile beach, car stuck in the sand with tide coming in oh dear!, apihara, Whatuwhiwhi, covering amongst others 174 selective slideshow images, long beach outside russell, cape reinga, okiato, opua, car ferry, paihia, haruru, haruru falls, waitangi, waitangi river, rainbow falls, Christ church Russell alledgedly the oldest in NZ , waipekakoura river, million dollar view, kumara, whangaroa, woodland walk, stone store, st james church 1868, kerikeri basin & woodland walks, Kemp mission house, cavalli islands, matuari bay, st paul's rock, marlin hotel, blue marlin, doubtless bay, mill bay suites where we stayed 2007, Pak N' Save supermarkets, endless fruit, wine and veg especially kumara in Northlands, karikari peninsular, parakerake beach and bay, waipapakauri, mitimiti stream, te kao, state highway 1, sheep, kiwi parks and top 10 camp sites, st. james church grounds kerikeri where annie's edmonds rellies are buried, awanui, kaitaia, brancott estate wines, bbqs, karikari coastline, John Edmond's house ruins off Edmonds road is a New Zealand National trust heritage building and rightly so, the true work of a great stonemason. We were previously in this area in 2007 and then again in 2017. whatuwhiwhi pronounced fat-u-fi-fi but we prefer watch-u-wee-wee us at millionaires view 1/88 Tuesday February 12th 2013 Summary Russell to Kerikeri Woke at 7.35 a.m. had showers then breakfast. Posted 3 postcards and then visited the church in Russell, allegedly the oldest in New Zealand. It was a hot sunny day again. We then drove through the town to see long beach a little sandy bay. We then drove to the car ferry catching it at okaito to opua, cost $18.50 which is about £9.50 pounds, saving a massive journey around to get to Paihia, foolishly we didn’t do it in 2017 and Chris slowly punctured his tyre on the gravel roads manufacturing itself fully near Cape Reinga. Paihia, we had gone on a boat trip back in 2007 with Craig & Doug to see the dolphins. We gave it a miss this time around. We then went to the Waitangi treaty grounds (1840) and Haruru Falls (meaning in Māori unlimited water). We arrived at the campsite in Keri Keri at 12.20 just after noon. It is a small town with lots of fruit and wine farms and spin off shops. We walked about a mile through the shops to St. James church where some of Annie’s Edmonds relatives were buried. We then walked to the Stone Store and paid $10 for a guided tour of Kemp House (mission) next door, and an upstairs exhibition about the mission and the history of Māori in the far north, all very interesting. John Edmonds born 1799 in Swanage, Dorset, England died Kerikeri 1865, was a stone mason who emigrated with his family to work for the Church missionary society in Kerikeri. He was Anne’s 2nd cousin 4 times removed as witness by our family tree, a man to be rightly proud of. The lady who did our guided tour around Kemp house for just the two of us was very chatty. Anne found records about John Edmonds but as it was 5 p.m. and the Stone Store was closing the kind shop staff said we could return tomorrow with the same tickets to continue our genealogical research, think really, they found it quite interesting to have visitors from the UK who had a link to this Stone Store and Kemp house. We chatted to Kawi, a Māori lady who worked at the stone store shop who told us she had 2 aunts who had married Edmonds. She was very smiley and helpful. She told us there had been an Edmonds reunion in Kerikeri the last year, which was a huge gathering from far and wide, plus there were still Edmonds families living in Kerikeri. Another kind Kiwi lady gave us a lift back up the hill in her car. We had dinner at 7.15 p.m., a busy but fruitful day with lots of history about both New Zealand and the Bay of Islands area, great fun. Wednesday February 13th 2013 Summary Kerikeri to Whatuwhiwhi (pronounced Fatufifi not as you might expect what you wee wee which always makes me laugh ha-ha) After breakfast we went again to the Stone Store as Anne wanted to look at some books there about John Edmonds. We took lots of photos. We then drove along the inlet road to Edmonds Road to the old ruins of the Edmonds family dwelling. Acres of land with black basalt dry stone walling, perfect for a stone mason. The house was a ruin, no roof, windows or doors but the walls and chimney were still standing. It is now registered as NZ National Trust as a heritage building. We saw old peach and fig trees near the house which was quite large for the time. It took 18 years to build in stages adding extensions. We then returned to town to see the other side of the water looking back at the stone store, wonderful views. We did not go into the Māori village as very touristy reconstruction and besides we had seen a more realistic one at Rotorua back in 2008. We spoke to an old NZ couple from Hamilton. We then visited Rainbow falls which is 27 meters high. We bought 4 avocados from a house on the inlet road for $2 a bargain. Fruit & veg and wine is grown all around Kerikeri. We then bought some vegetables and 2 steak and cheese pies from a local grocer. We then set off for Matuari Bay along the coastal scenic road and stopped for lunch as a viewpoint called million dollar view which was true, with fab view of Matuari Bay, the whole coastline and the Cavalli islands, just superb. At Whangaroa we drove 2kilometres further to the harbour, it is the Marlin fishing capital of NZ. We weren’t disappointed as some guys had just brought in 2 huge Marlin on a boat. One weighted 165 kg apparently took 2 hours to reel in and the other was large as well. The largest caught there was 195 kg, see the pictures to get an understanding of what a whopper these fish are. We understandably took lots of photos, what a privilege to have witnessed it. We then drove through Manganui on a nostalgia trip re snapping the Mill Bay suites for old times sake. We then turned up the Kari Kari peninsular to Whatuwhiwhi Top 10 campsite arriving at 6 p.m. This was an expensive site costly $45 but in a fabulous position right on the beach. We walked on the beach and paddled in the sea. K cooked garlic prawns and coconut rice. It was 26 degrees Centigrade today. Thursday February 14th 2013 Summary Whatuwhiwhi to Ahipara via the top end 90-mile beach and Cape Reinga. 24 degrees centigrade. Anne got up at 7.30 a.m. and did some washing in the laundry. After breakfast we drove back down the Kari Kari peninsular and then took the route to Cape Reinga. We stopped at Waipapakauri beach to see 90-mile beach which is designated a road by NZ authorities, 4-wheel drive cars only of course. We saw an ordinary car stuck fast in deep sand by a kiwi drive, not a tourist. The beach is 64 miles long. We returned to the main road and continued north through farmland, mainly cattle as sheep no longer profitable. It was lovely scenery mostly coast and sand dunes. Another hot and sunny day but with sea breezes to cool you. We arrived at Cape Reinga and parked the motorhome and walked down the sloping zig-zag pathway to the lighthouse. Māori legend says this place is where the dead spirits depart and is therefore sacred to them. Also, the Tasman meets the Pacific here. We could not see any whales despite looking. We had lunch in our van, such great views. Anne got melted tar on her sandal it was that hot. We returned down the same route on State Highway 1 and stopped at a pack n save supermarket for groceries. The guy’s car stuck in the sand was now encircled by water, poor chap but maybe should have read the warning signs first. There are lots of Māori’s in this far north area, we tried not to stare at some of the Māori ladies with their faces heavily tattooed as that is disrespectful to their culture, but it was hard as to us anyhow so unusual. Found a Kiwi Park campsite at Ahipara (we joined this campsite chain as well) which is at the south end of 90-mile beach. Anne did the laundry, Keef did a lovely barbeque of steak, sausages, salad and grilled kumara (sweet potato) chips on the camp BBQ. We sat at a huge kauri table and bench , beautiful wood, to eat it and washed it down with a lovely kiwi Brancott estate sav blanc. We chatted to a retired couple from Rotorua. Tomorrow we are heading down towards Dargaville via the kauri forests. NEW ZEALAND, Hawkes Bay Area, North Island, 21-23 Feb 2013 NEW ZEALAND, New Zealand, Hawkes Bay area, 21-23 feb 2013, wairoa, QE2 and American tourists in Napier, taupo, earthquakes, Lake Taupo is the same size as Singpapore, views of Tongariro National Park from Lake Taupo, rose gardens and parks, Spa Park in Taupo, we have covering amongst others 103 selective slideshow images, rotorua, mount doom, lake rotorua, boysenberry & feijoa ice-cream, hoki poki, ruepehi, sunken gardens, art deco, black swans, fejioa, bungee jumping, earthquakes in this region, huka river, criterion hotel, 1930s, kinloch, lake tuito, marine parade, museums, artwork, hawkes bay, whaiapunga falls, pohutakawa trees in bloom, top 10 site taupo, bay view, gisborne, wairoa river, waikiki lagoon, picnics, mohaka river, viaduct, berry farm and berry ice cream, Bay View Snapper holiday park (now Napier Beach) , kiwi parks campsites, thermal explorer highway (state highway 5), fruit ice creams, yummy, kaweka forest park, lucky escape Wairoa had an earthquake at 4.3 on the Richter scale at 7.15 p.m. on the 22nd, we were only there yesterday. We were previously in this area in 2007 and then again in 2017. keef, huka falls in the background lunch sh2 mohaka railway viaduct 1/52 Thursday February 21st 2013 Summary, Gisborne to Wairoa to Bay View just north of Napier We drove around Gisborne on the way to Wairoa. Gisborne had many palm trees down the centre of the main street, it is quite an old town, New Zealand of course calls it a city, despite in UK terms its relative size. We stopped in Wairoa which is on a large river. In 1930 it had been flattened by an earthquake although some of the buildings had survived. We used the walkway by the river which had huge date palms and cycads and Pohutukawa trees. It was very sunny, but our stroll allowed us to take in both river views and the architecture of the high street. We then drove through the town after our circular walk back to the van, out to a point where there was a beach, we had camped in Wairoa in 2008 and remember with some fondness the BBQ made from the back end of an old 1950’s car. Wairoa had seen better days, most of the shops were tatty and a lot were now sadly empty. We then carried onto Bay View, just north of Napier. Highway 2 which we traveled on was very twisty up and down mountains lined with a lot of bushes, also a lot of lorries transporting timber in the form of newly cut logs. We arrived at Bay View having stopped at a real fruit ice cream place on the highway as it was a very hot day and who are we to refuse the opportunity of yet another ice-cream, well not us ha-ha. We stayed at the Kiwi Parks Bay View Snapper Holiday Park (by 2022 it has been renamed at Napier Beach) Anne was not impressed it was supposedly 4 stars, she thought more like 2. Very overpriced at $44. The beach was black shingle and looked a bit like a highway roads depot gravel supply. As it was sunny weather Anne did some hand washing, the showers cost $1 extra which was a complete rip off as we thought the site was charging too much anyhow. Not impressed. It rained slightly overnight. Friday February 22st 2013 Summary, Bay View Snapper Holiday Park to Napier Town to Taupo. We slept in until 9.30 a.m. obviously tired. It was cloudy and overcast when we got up which made the site feel even drearier than it was. Drove into Napier which we have seen before but it is a lovely place. Very 30s after the earthquake forced a complete rebuild. The QE2 cruise ship was in port which made the place incredibly busy with American tourists. We walked along Marine parade gardens which are just lovely, and all the flowers were out in full bloom. Just so colourful. We then saw Scottish bagpipers in the shopping precinct, Napier has a strong Scottish feel , their influence is quite widespread in NZ but not particularly welcome in places like Waitangi where they exchanged vast acreage of land for a couple of sheep, now that is what I call taking advantage of the natives. There were lots of old vintage cars to take tourists on a trip around the town. We walked around the town and bought a small hand luggage sized flight bag on wheels costing $59 (or £31) in a deep purple colour. We stored it under the seat in the motorhome ready for use on our trip to Oz and Singapore to carry a few extras. Earthquakes, it should be noted that in 1931 Napier had an earthquake that was 7.8 on the Richter scale, in 1932 Wairoa had an earthquake that was 6.8 on the Richter scale and today (remember we were there only yesterday) Wairoa had an earthquake at 4.3 on the Richter scale at 7.15 p.m. a lucky escape me thinks! They don’t call it the shaky isles for nothing. The epicenter was actually 35 kms south of Wairoa but it was well and truly felt there. We then took highway 5 out of Napier heading north to Taupo on the Thermal Explorer Highway. We saw forests, gorges, and mountainous scenery plus a waterfall, all very nice. This journey took about 3 hours as we stopped for a brief lunch at a picnic stop. We arrived at Taupo to sunshine, a very blue lake which in case you don’t know is massive, the size of Singapore in fact. We visited it with C&D&P in 2008 where we attempted fishing not with much success, tee hee. Taupo itself is a very busy city stretched out over a wide site but with no high-rise buildings. We got to the Top 10 5-star resort campsite in Taupo at 4 p.m. We then spent the rest of the afternoon in the thermally heated swimming pool with a constant temperature of 30 degrees centigrade, just lovely. The weather was very warm at 24 degrees centigrade, and there were lots of tents, motorhomes and families on the site being as it was the start of a weekend and kiwis love the outdoor life. Saturday February 23rd 2013 Summary, Taupo. 26 degrees centigrade and overcast at first but sunny and blue skies by 10 a.m. Sadly a little girl in the tent on a pitch behind us screamed continually until 5.30 a.m. Annoyingly the parents did nothing to comfort her. Other campers made complaints to the Top 10 site office but there wasn’t much they could do about it and anyway the night was over by then. We went into Taupo to Pak N Save to do some food shopping and drew money out of a Westpac Bank machine. We then walked around the fascinating harbour area, with great views of the 3 mountains in the Tongariro National Park, one had snow on top. We then visited the rose garden and a small park beside the harbour. Lake Taupo looked fantastic, blue clear waters and surrounded by mountain ranges. The lake as I think we said earlier is the same size as Singapore. The country not just the city. It is huge. We then drove out to Kinloch round the lake and had lunch thereon our camp chairs. It was a shingle beach but there were lots of people swimming and riding on jet-skis. A lovely bay, we could not see Taupo as Kinloch sets it apart via a promontory. A man got cramp whilst wearing flippers and snorkeling off the beach, he called out for help and a family who had a jet ski rescued him and bought him back to shore, good stuff. We had an ice-cream (again tee hee) It was Tip Top again, the best in NZ in our opinion. Boysenberry obviously. We bought them from a café in Kinloch. We then drove back to Taupo and stopped at the Spa Park. Lots of people were walking down the hill to go to the hot springs and spa. We then went to watch the bungee jumpers down Spa Road, near our campsite. Besides dangling from an elastic band there was also a chair on a rope option. You wouldn’t get us on them but fun to watch even over the screams, ha-ha. They were jumping down a river canyon. Back at the campsite we went swimming. A very relaxing day and gorgeous weather. Back home in England it was 2 degrees centigrade with more snow, I think we made the right choice. NEW ZEALAND, Back to Auckland, 2 - 5 Mar 2013 Back to Auckland via Papamoa Beach, Karangahake Gorge & More, New Zealand, Back to Auckland 2-5 mar 2013, Tauranga, Papamoa beach 2nd time, Shopping Mall at Papamoa including the Warehouse store, Cambridge - horse breeding area, Hamilton city centre has some 1930s architecture, karangahake, manukau city, Farmer's department store, kiwi hotel, covering amongst others 47 selective slideshow images, kiwi hotel, Auckland, ocean drive, beach road, sunsets, chillin, mainland creamy blue cheese and biscuits washed down with plum wine, sunsets and waves crashing, music on the beach, 2nd visit this time to our fave campsite, kite surfing, wake boarding, mount manganui, beach strolls, waves and warmth from the sun, ice creams, reading, tea breaks, karangahake river, gorge, bridges, info boards, goldmining, suspended walkways, NZ census, talisman mill. We were previously in this area in 2007 and then again in 2017. wobbly bridges _ karangahake gorge views from ocean drive, papamoa 1/24 Saturday March 2nd 2013 Summary, Hamilton to Papamoa Beach. 24 degrees centigrade. Another lovely summers day. Drove through Hamilton city centre to see it, nothing to write home about I’m afraid, just another busy city. We saw the Waikato River again from the other side. We would class Hamilton as a small town rather than a big city, but we come from the UK. The city centre had 3 main streets with some 1930s architecture. We then took Highway 1 through to Cambridge, which is a horse breeding area. We then headed for Tauranga on the Pacific coast and back to Papamoa beach again as we liked the lovely long sand beach and waves so much first time. We can now officially call it our fave campsite in the whole world having returned in 2017. Maybe that won’t be the last time. You never know. We arrived at 12 noon so before check in time for a Top 10 site so we went down the road to Papamoa’s shopping mall. Keef bought a Hawaiian shirt for $8 in the sale in the Warehouse. Then we had a drive around the area, some new houses on estates and saw all the colleges and schools, reminded us of California in look and feel. However, in our humble opinion Papamoa beach rivals any Californian beach. We eventually checked into the campsite at 1p.m. $45 per night, booked 2 nights as we like it so much, same pitch as last time with a view of the beach and so close to it, we even get an outside shower at the end of the pitch to wash off the sand, what more could you ask for. Spent the afternoon on the beach listening to music and watching kite surfers. We both went in the sea, there were some pretty big waves, so we didn’t venture far. Had a lovely dinner with the last of the plum wine , cheese and biscuits , our fave creamy mainland blue and we sat outside the motorhome at dusk watching the sun set and listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, just perfect, so love Papamoa Beach. Sunday March 3rd 2013 Summary, Papamoa Beach. 28 degrees centigrade, 83 degrees Fahrenheit. Spent a very relaxing day on the beach and the campsite. There were a few clouds first thing in the morning, but they soon moved inland. Then it was blue skies, sea, and sunshine all the way, yippee! The light sea breeze kept the temperature not too hot. We walked along the beach towards Mount Manganui, which is another supposedly extinct volcano., along the waters edge and foreshore for about an hour. Had lunch on our picnic table and then sat on the beach in the afternoon. There were kite surfers, body surfers , a surf lifesaving boat but only a few people on the beach considering it was good weather and a Sunday. We had changed our pitch site as caravans on either side of us had gone this morning so we could get the pitch right next to the sea. We were now Pitch S9, Beach Street, pole position. Previously we have been in S7 and S8. At 6 p.m. after a nice cup of tea Annie did some hand washing, Keef did BBQ chicken, bacon, egg and salad on the campsite gas barbeque up in the kitchens. We noticed it now gets dark at 8.15 p.m., still no lovely sunsets to photo though. The east coast of New Zealand is nicer than the west for beaches, apart from Napier and the Gisborne area. Monday March 4th 2013 Summary, Papamoa Beach to Manukau City. We left the campsite at 10 a.m. and drove to the mall at Manukau to look for a T-shirt for Doug. Sadly, we did not find anything at all suitable, so we drove on to the Top 10 site at Manukau City. Good job we had the Sat nav if not we would never have found it. Annie did some final hand washing after a late lunch. Decided we would pack our stuff in the Kiwi motel car park. Anne cleaned the inside of the motorhome. By 7pm the campsite was packed full as it is the nearest one to the Auckland airport. Tuesday March 5th 2013 Summary, Manukau City to Kiwi Motel Auckland. We had to hand back the motorhome by 2pm to Britz. We left the campsite at 10 a.m. and went to another shopping mall to look for a T-shirt for Doug. Had a look in Farmer’s a department store in the Westfield shopping centre in Manukau. We drove to the Kiwi motel at 12 noon but could not check in yet, so we packed up our belongings into our suitcases in the motorhome. We then checked into the motel and dropped our fully packed bags off into our room. We then drove the van to the motorhome depot to drop it off. The total mileage on the clock was now 250, 370 km. No damage to the van. We told the employee there about the squeaky brakes and a few other minor problems with the van, no doubt they would take no notice, however Keef managed to get 1 days compensation out of them, $180 was refunded, not bad really. We returned to the Kiwi motel, had a shower, and ate there in the evening. We had to complete the NZ census forms as visitors and handed them into the motel reception. Very tired went to bed as have to get up early tomorrow for flight to Australia. Miles driven in New Zealand. 250, 370 minus 246,253 kms equals 4,117 kms or 2, 559 Miles 🌏 Summary of “2013 Travelling North Island New Zealand by Motorhome” The page chronicles a month‑long motorhome journey across New Zealand’s North Island from 6 February to 5 March 2013, forming part of a wider long‑haul adventure through Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. It is presented as a rich blend of travel diary, campsite guide, photo archive, and personal storytelling—particularly meaningful because it includes the couple’s 35th wedding anniversary, celebrated in Tongariro National Park. The narrative begins with arrival in Auckland after long flights from Malaysia via Brisbane, complete with jet lag, a memorable lamb curry at the Kiwi Airport Motel, and even completing the New Zealand census as visitors. After collecting their Mercedes Sprinter motorhome, the couple heads north to Orewa, rekindling memories from their 2007–08 gap‑year trip. They join the Top 10 and Kiwi Holiday Parks networks, which become essential throughout the journey for affordable, reliable camping. The early days explore Northlands, including Orewa, Whangārei, Tutukaka, and the Bay of Islands. The diary captures everyday pleasures—steak and cheese pies, pohutukawa trees, beach strolls, chats with locals—and practicalities like buying a Wi‑Fi dongle and SIM card. Highlights include Whangārei Falls, the marina and town basin, the Kauri Clock Factory, and the scenic Tutukaka Coast. A mishap with a plastic step leads to a painful bruise, adding humour and realism to the account. From Russell, the couple travels to Kerikeri, where family history becomes central. They visit St James Church, the Stone Store, and the ruins of the Edmonds family homestead—significant because Annie’s ancestors were early settlers and stonemasons in the area. The journey continues to Cape Reinga, the spiritual northern tip of New Zealand, and along 90‑Mile Beach, where they witness a local driver’s car becoming stranded in the sand. Heading south, the route passes through Matakohe, Dargaville, and the Coromandel Peninsula, with its winding roads, kauri forests, and dramatic coastal scenery. Stops include Muriwai’s black‑sand beach, Coromandel Town, Matarangi, Whitianga, and the famous Hot Water Beach, where they dig their own thermal pool at sunset—one of the trip’s most joyful moments. The Bay of Plenty section features Papamoa Beach, Rotorua, Gisborne, and the iconic Hobbiton movie set at Matamata. Papamoa becomes a favourite campsite, praised for its long sandy beach, warm Pacific waters, and relaxed atmosphere. The Hobbiton tour is described in detail, from the Green Dragon pub to Bilbo’s house, offering behind‑the‑scenes insights into filming. The journey then moves inland to Hawke’s Bay, Napier, and Taupo. Napier’s Art Deco architecture, cruise‑ship crowds, and Scottish influences stand out, as do the region’s earthquakes—past and present. Taupo offers thermal pools, lake views, rose gardens, and a visit to Kinloch, where a swimmer is rescued by jet‑ski. The emotional centrepiece of the page is the Tongariro National Park section, where the couple celebrates their 35th wedding anniversary. They revisit the Station Restaurant at National Park Village, where they had celebrated their 30th anniversary with their children. The diary describes volcanoes, the Raurimu Spiral railway, Tawhai Falls (Gollum’s Pool), Whakapapa Village, and attempts at kiwi‑spotting by torchlight. The anniversary dinner—rack of lamb, beef strips, and banana‑macadamia spring rolls—is lovingly detailed, symbolising the trip’s personal significance. From Tongariro, the couple drives the Forgotten World Highway to the quirky Republic of Whangamomona, famous for electing animals as presidents and stamping visitors’ passports. This stretch features gravel roads, tunnels, abandoned farms, and dramatic volcanic landscapes. The final leg covers Taranaki, New Plymouth, Waitomo, and Hamilton. Highlights include the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, Tupare Gardens, Mount Taranaki, the Waitomo glowworm region, and the Hamilton Gardens with their themed “paradise” sections. The journey ends with a return to Papamoa Beach for two final days of sun, surf, and sunsets before heading back to Auckland to return the motorhome. Across 2,559 miles, the page blends humour, history, scenery, and personal memories. It serves as both a practical guide for motorhomers and a heartfelt record of a couple revisiting beloved places, discovering new ones, and marking a milestone anniversary in the land they love. 13 NZ Coromandel 13 Bay of Plenty 13 Hawkes Bay 13 Tongariro 35th WA 13 Taranaki 13 Auckland 13 NZ NI Summary

A real 2013 travel diary across Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. Photos, stories and motorhome adventures from a once‑in‑a‑lifetime trip done 3 times. Long Haul and World Wide Travel Blog 2013 2013 Travel Long Haul Route Full travel route (chronological) Leg 0 – Departure from UK Home to Asia: Route: East Midlands/UK → Kuala Lumpur (via long‑haul flight, likely with a hub such as Dubai/Singapore). Trip start: 22 January (what would have been Dad’s 86th). Leg 1 – Malaysia (first visit, 23 Jan–5 Feb) Kuala Lumpur (KL): Base: Central KL hotel (near HOHO bus route). Key spots: HOHO city tour, Chinatown, Little India, Batu Caves, Concorde Inn, Hard Rock Café T‑shirt. Langkawi (wedding): Route: KL → Langkawi (domestic flight). Key spots: Kuah Town, island‑hopping (Bunting Island, Beras Basah, Pregnant Maiden Lake), wedding venue on Langkawi. Penang – Georgetown: Route: Langkawi → Penang (ferry/flight). Base: Cheong Fatt Tze’s Blue Mansion, UNESCO area. Key spots: Georgetown heritage streets, Chinatown, Little India, exotic fruits, Nasi Goreng, Batu Ferringhi. Exit Malaysia (1st time): Route: Penang/ KL → Auckland (via Asian hub). Leg 2 – New Zealand, North Island loop (6 Feb–5 Mar) Auckland pickup: Route: Arrive Auckland → collect Mercedes Sprinter 313 motorhome. Direction: Anti‑clockwise loop of upper North Island plus central regions. North of Auckland / Northlands: Orewa: First coastal stop, beach walks. Tutukaka / Whangārei area: Coast and Haruru Falls region. Bay of Islands: Russell, Keri Keri, Whatuwhiwhi. Far North: Ahipara/Apihara area, 90 Mile Beach, Cape Reinga (traffic fine picked up near here). East coast & Coromandel / Bay of Plenty: Coromandel Peninsula: Coromandel town, coastal drives. Hot Water Beach: Digging pools at low tide. Papamoa Beach (Bay of Plenty): Ocean Drive, long beach days. Hawke’s Bay & central plateau: Napier (Hawke’s Bay): Art Deco town. Lake Taupo & Kinloch: Lakeside camping, volcanic scenery. Tongariro area: National park landscapes and walks. Forgotten World & Taranaki: Whangamomona: “Republic” capital, remote roads. Taranaki region: Around Mt Taranaki and rural routes. Return to Auckland: Orewa revisit & Waves Motel: Final nights. Route end: Return motorhome in Auckland, 2,559 miles driven. Exit NZ: Route: Auckland → Sydney (flight). Leg 3 – Australia (6 Mar–6 Apr) Sydney & New South Wales: Base: Vaucluse / Eastern Suburbs. Key spots: Coastal walk Vaucluse → Watson’s Bay, Bondi and North Shore beaches, ocean pools, family & friends. Tasmania: Route: Sydney → Hobart (flight). Key spots: Time with family, Bruny Island, coastal scenery. Adelaide & South Australia: Route: Tasmania → Adelaide (flight). Pickup: Britz motorhome. Base: Adelaide Shores and surrounds. Eyre Peninsula & outback: Port Lincoln & Coffin Bay National Park: Coastal drives, seafood, national park. Coober Pedy & outback: Opal town, desert landscapes. Nullarbor crossing (3‑day epic): Route: Ceduna → Nullarbor Plain → Norseman. Distance: About 1,194 km / 742 miles. Notes: Slow puncture from cracked wheel rim en route. Western Australia coast: Esperance: Great Ocean Drive, beaches. Indian Ocean Drive: Coastal run north. Geraldton & Port Denison: Picnic on the shore, Indian Ocean views. Perth area & finish: Base: Perth region. Route end: Return Britz motorhome, total 3,810 miles driven in Australia. Exit Australia: Route: Perth → Singapore (flight). Leg 4 – Singapore & Malaysia side‑trip (7–21 Apr) Singapore base: Base: Geylang East, staying with Doug & Phoenix. City highlights: Gardens by the Bay & Marina Bay Sands (MBS). Botanic Gardens. Clarke Quay: Day and night river cruises. Jurong Bird Park. Little India & hawker centres. Raffles Hotel Long Bar: Singapore Slings. Local life: Geylang swimming pool, library, MRT everywhere, durian tasting. Malaysia side‑trip from Singapore: Route: Singapore (Woodlands crossing) → Johor Bahru → Melaka (Malacca). Melaka: UNESCO old town, Mr Li’s tea house, riverside walks, Hard Rock Café T‑shirt, some “rats & smells” along the river. Return: Melaka → Johor Bahru → Singapore. End of trip: Last night: Bad tummy, emotional goodbyes. Route: Singapore → UK (long‑haul flight back to East Midlands/Derbyshire). 13 Route Visuals 🌏 2013 Long Haul Trip — Summary Each item follows the structure: Stop | Country | Location | Date(s) | Notes Malaysia (Leg 1) Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | Kuala Lumpur City | 23 Jan–26 Jan | HOHO bus, Chinatown, Little India, Batu Caves Malaysia | Langkawi | Kuah / Island Hopping | 26 Jan–31 Jan | Wedding, Pregnant Maiden Lake, Beras Basah Malaysia | Penang | Georgetown | 31 Jan–5 Feb | Blue Mansion, UNESCO old town, Batu Ferringhi New Zealand (Leg 2) New Zealand | Auckland | Auckland Arrival | 6 Feb | Collect motorhome New Zealand | Orewa | Orewa Beach | 7 Feb | First coastal stop New Zealand | Tutukaka / Whangārei | Tutukaka Coast | 8–9 Feb | Haruru Falls region New Zealand | Bay of Islands | Russell / Kerikeri | 10–12 Feb | Far North touring New Zealand | Ahipara | 90 Mile Beach | 13–14 Feb | Cape Reinga area New Zealand | Coromandel | Coromandel Town | 16–17 Feb | Coastal drives New Zealand | Hot Water Beach | Coromandel Peninsula | 18 Feb | Hot pools at low tide New Zealand | Papamoa | Bay of Plenty | 19–21 Feb | Long beach days New Zealand | Napier | Hawke’s Bay | 22–23 Feb | Art Deco town New Zealand | Taupo | Lake Taupo / Kinloch | 24–25 Feb | Lakeside camping New Zealand | Tongariro | National Park | 26 Feb | Volcanic landscapes New Zealand | Whangamomona | Forgotten World Hwy | 27 Feb | Remote republic town New Zealand | Taranaki | Mt Taranaki Region | 28 Feb | Rural touring New Zealand | Auckland | Orewa / Waves Motel | 1–4 Mar | End of loop, return motorhome Australia (Leg 3) Australia | Sydney | Vaucluse / Eastern Suburbs | 6–10 Mar | Coastal walks, Bondi, Watson’s Bay Australia | Tasmania | Hobart | 11–15 Mar | Family time, Bruny Island Australia | Adelaide | Adelaide Shores | 16–17 Mar | Collect Britz motorhome Australia | Port Lincoln | Eyre Peninsula | 18–20 Mar | Seafood, national park Australia | Coffin Bay | Coffin Bay NP | 21 Mar | Coastal scenery Australia | Coober Pedy | Outback | 22–23 Mar | Opal town Australia | Nullarbor | Nullarbor Plain | 24–26 Mar | 3‑day crossing, cracked wheel rim Australia | Esperance | Great Ocean Drive | 27–28 Mar | Beaches Australia | Geraldton | Port Denison | 29–30 Mar | Indian Ocean coast Australia | Perth | Perth Region | 31 Mar–6 Apr | End of Australian leg Singapore & Malaysia (Leg 4) Singapore | Singapore | Geylang East | 7–12 Apr | Staying with Doug & Phoenix Singapore | Singapore | Marina Bay / Gardens by the Bay | 13 Apr | MBS, Supertrees Singapore | Singapore | Clarke Quay | 14 Apr | River cruise Singapore | Singapore | Jurong Bird Park | 15 Apr | Wildlife Singapore | Singapore | Little India | 16 Apr | Hawker centres Malaysia | Johor Bahru | JB City | 17 Apr | Cross-border trip Malaysia | Melaka | Melaka Old Town | 18–19 Apr | UNESCO area, Mr Li’s tea house Singapore | Singapore | Geylang / City | 20–21 Apr | Final days, return prep Return Home United Kingdom | UK | Arrival | 21 Apr | Singapore → UK flight DIARY PLAY Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia & Singapore 2013 OUR "THIRD HOLIDAY OF A LIFETIME" HELLINGER TRAVEL RECORDs for 2013, Replicated by TRAVEL BLOG 167 Travel Blog fun. We have been lucky enough to spend 3 months away again recently, firstly in Malaysia where our youngest son "Mr. Douglas" got married on the lovely island of Langkawi. Our time in Malaysia included Kuala Lumpur (KL to its friends), Langkawi , Georgetown (Penang) and latterly Melaka (Malacca - the UNESCO World Heritage site) via Johor Bahru (JB to its friends). We then hired a Motorhome for a month to travel around the top half of North Island New Zealand (NZ). We had already spent 4 months seeing North & South island of this lovely country back in 2007/8 and wanted to see the places we missed out on last time, namely Cape Reinga, 90 mile beach, Hot water beach and the forgotten world highway. After NZ we returned to Australia both of us for the 4th time. Starting in Sydney with family & friends we had a great time. Then Tasmania again with family we flew into Adelaide to pick up our motorhome to travel the Nullabor plain from east to west but this time with a built in external gas BBQ, bliss! Including our previous trips to OZ we have now travelled around the outside from Cooktown (QLD) to Geraldton (WA) plus Broome, Kunannarra, Darwin (NT) and thru the middle on the Ghan including Alice & Uluru. We have been to all States and can thoroughly recommend Oz to anyone wanting an adventure. We HEART Oz & Nz big style. We finished our trip with 2 weeks in lovely Singapore with Doug and his new wife "Mrs. Phoenix". If we tot up the miles / kilometers we drove on this trip we can say we drove the equivalent of the distance from London to Tashkent (Uzbekistan).It is nice being back in the UK now to our own little Motorhome with a whole host of new & exciting trips to look forward to which you can see on our website motorhome-travels. This website shows some of our best pictures and Anne's diary as a memory of a truly wonderful time. Love K&A . We drove 7253 miles in total whilst away in both hire cars and motorhomes. Summary of those travel blog total miles driven is as follows:- In Motorhomes described via this travel blog 6369 (2559 in NZ, 3810 in Australia of which 742 were crossing the Nullarbor Plain), In Cars 884 (Sydney 187, Langkawi 342, Johor 2 Melaka 355) I suggest you read each travel blog section visited in conjunction with the appropriate travel blog days dairy, thanks for looking Hints and Tips - Weddings on Langkawi Island Weddings on Langkawi Island, Malaysia, what you need to know! Langkawi Island, located in Malaysia, is a serene and breathtaking destination that attracts visitors from all around the world. Nestled amidst the Andaman Sea, this tropical paradise is not only known for its stunning beaches and lush greenery but also for its enchanting wedding venues. If you are planning to tie the knot and are looking for a destination that offers unrivaled beauty and a touch of exoticism, then Langkawi Island may be the perfect choice for your dream wedding. Let's delve into what you need to know about weddings on Langkawi Island. First and foremost, when it comes to planning your wedding on Langkawi Island, it's important to find a reliable and professional wedding planner who specializes in destination weddings. These experts are well-versed in the local customs, laws, and procedures, ensuring a hassle-free and smooth planning process. They will assist you in securing the necessary permits, arranging transportation and accommodation for your guests, and curating the perfect wedding experience. Langkawi Island offers a plethora of stunning wedding venues, ranging from luxurious beach resorts to private villas and even traditional Malay kampong-style settings. One popular venue is the Four Seasons Resort Langkawi, boasting elegant spaces with breathtaking views of the Andaman Sea. This secluded resort provides an idyllic backdrop for exchanging vows and celebrating with your loved ones. Another distinctive option is The Datai Langkawi, an exquisite rainforest resort that seamlessly blends nature with luxury. Its pristine beaches and lush surroundings create an ethereal atmosphere for a romantic and unforgettable wedding ceremony. For couples seeking a more intimate and private affair, Langkawi also offers secluded beachfront villas that can be exclusively reserved for your special day. These secluded havens provide an intimate setting with personalized touches, allowing you to create memories that will last a lifetime. This is the full travel blog diary of our trip, stop the travel blog slideshow where you wish to read, however it is worth noticing that each individual travel blog page on the site has the travel blog diaries specific to that particular visit, mostly 3 days at a time. OUR ROUND THE WORLD FLIGHT TICKET ROUTE Pre Planning Makes perfect, I even enjoy the mental exercise, but it always pays off, the first Gallery shows Flags (with start and finish dates for each place visited) , Currency converter cheat sheets and finally the coins and notes of each nation, clearly the rates are somewhat different today (2022) 😉 ✅ Malaysia Footer kiwi flag hdr and footer start to end 1/10 2013 Slideshows Now follows a Summary slideshow of some of the memories from that lovely third trip of a lifetime, they are organised sequentially, clearly the complete set of images and slideshows is available under each 3 day diary write up , thanks for looking. The slideshow / gallery will run at 2 slides per 4 secs viewing , if you hover over and then click you will see full screen pop up and be able to scroll through at your own speed, the controls at the bottom of each gallery allow for forward or halt. NOTE this applies to all galleries throughout the site, enjoy and happy viewing Weddings on Langkawi Island Continued . One of the advantages of having a wedding on Langkawi Island is the abundance of natural beauty that surrounds you. From the azure blue waters to the stunning sunsets and lush rainforests, Langkawi Island offers unparalleled opportunities for breathtaking wedding photographs. Capture the magic of the island as you embark on your journey as a married couple. Aside from its natural wonders, Langkawi Island is renowned for its warm hospitality and delectable cuisine. Traditional Malay dishes intermingled with flavors from various cuisines are readily available to tantalize your taste buds. Plan a customized menu with your wedding planner and savor a gastronomic experience that will leave your guests craving for more. To make your wedding on Langkawi Island a truly memorable experience, take advantage of the nearby attractions and activities the island has to offer. From island hopping, thrilling water sports, to exploring the UNESCO World Geopark, Langkawi Island has something for everyone. Create unforgettable memories with your loved ones as you embark on new adventures together. In conclusion, if you envision a wedding in a breathtaking tropical paradise, Langkawi Island in Malaysia is an ideal choice. With its stunning venues, warm hospitality, and natural beauty, this island offers the perfect setting for your dream wedding. Enlist the assistance of a professional wedding planner who can guide you through the entire process, ensuring a seamless and enchanting experience. Celebrate your love in a destination that will leave you and your guests in awe. Long Haul Holiday Travel in 2013, 3 Months Away, 22nd January (what would have been Dad's 86th) and Snow to 21st April and Spring Bulbs Read the Travel Blog Diaries, Look at the Travel Blog Slideshows, See the You Tube Videos, Use the 2013 CHOICES MENU to Explore, 3 Days at a Time (mostly) Have Fun, This travel blog is referenced as our 3rd Holiday of a Lifetime to cover our trips in 2007/8 (Downunder) & 2010 (Across Canada), we have since had a 4th in 2017 (Downunder) Here is a schematic of the trip with the round the world (RTW) route mapped out including length of flights and number of days spent in each location. All the usual travel blog information can be found here. trad wedding photo, langkawi island, malaysia so happy for them 35th wedding anniversary, new zealand another wedding celebration, went to this lovely restaurant back in 2007-8 taken by nice japanese lady easter time, gardens by the bay, singapore trad wedding photo, langkawi island, malaysia so happy for them 1/13 Jan13 Final Feb13 Final Apr13 Original Jan13 Final 1/8 keef by the blue mansion door georgetown in very old age 1/78 Your Choices for 2013 Travel Guides Malaysia Travel Summary Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Kuah Town Islands Plus Wedding Penang Georgetown Malacca Travel Summary New Zealand Orewa Tutakaka Keri Keri Coromandel Bay of Plenty Hawkes Bay Tongariro Taranaki Back to Auckland Travel Summary Australia Vaucluse Sydney North Shores Tasmania Bruny Coober Coffin Bay Nullarbor Esperance Geraldton Perth New Zealand Australia Travel Summary Singapore Hop on Hop off Bus Sentosa Island Jurong Bird Park Little India Singapore Malaysian Long Haul Travel Guide 2013 Including amongst others Langkawi,Penang, Malacca, Georgetown , 1st visit 23rd January to 5th February , then the second visit 12th April to 14 April, 17 days in total MALAYSIA 2013 OUR "THIRD HOLIDAY OF A LIFETIME" HELLINGER TRAVEL RECORDs for 2013, Replicated by TRAVEL BLOG 167 We were in Malaysia twice during our 3 months away. Initially for Doug & Phoenix's wedding on the lovely island of Langkawi and then again when we visited them at their home in Singapore where we slipped back over the border via Woodlands crossing into Johor (JB) before driving up to the Unesco World Heritage site @ Malacca (Melaka in Malay). Our 1st stay in Malaysia was initially centred around Kuala Lumpar (KL) using the Hop On Hop Off bus (HOHO) to look at various things then onto Langkawi then for 3 days at the end in Georgetown Penang another Unesco World Heritage site at Cheong Fatt Tze's Blue Mansion. Annie kept a diary and you can read that here on the website day by day as well as see the pictures we took as memories on each day. If you prefer to speed that viewing up you can view the slideshows for this country on each of those days. HIGHLIGHTS:- Doug & Phoenix's wedding Unesco Blue Mansion Georgetown Exotic Fruits Chinatown & Little India, Georgetown Evening tour of Malacca Food @ Concorde Inn KL Mr Li's tea house Melaka Monkeys on Bunting Island & Basah Bahai Pregnant Maiden Lake Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt from Malacca & Batu Ferrighe Penang Nasi Goreng LOWLIGHTS:- Bumps on island boat hop Langkawi Rats in roads & smells on Melaka River MALAYSIA, Kuah Town, Langkawi Island, 25-27 January 2013 Arriving from KL and meeting up with family at the De Baron Hotel, Malaysia 25-27 Jan 2013, Kuah Town, Capital of Langkawi Island, plus a verbal reading of the diary covering amongst others leaving the Concorde inn KL and flying to Langkawi island, De Baron Hotel, hire car, lovely swimming pools, sunset views and strolls, no durian in lifts, Taylor Swift's red, straits of Malacca, jacaranda trees and pods, family arriving for wedding, 1st meal of tricky curried prawns at sunset, air con, such fun! The number of images in the selective slideshow is 51. Feel free to look at what Langkawi has to offer, click HERE Friday January 25th 2013 Still at Concorde Inn Hotel near KL airport. Woke up early again at 5.45 a.m., must still be jet lag, heavy rain. Yesterday we found all Malaysians friendly and very helpful and all spoke very good English, we tried out our pigeon Malay whenever we could to try and be good but in general their English was way better than our Malay. Annie did Indonesian at school in Australia and said many of the words were similar. We had an excellent breakfast at the hotel, Keef did some online banking and emails, we then when swimming / sunbathing at the hotel pool. It was very hot and then like clockwork the rain clouds gathered and around 6 p.m. there was another terrific rainstorm with thunder and lightening. The rain was tremendous, and we mean TORRENTIAL! Anne had a little siesta as was suffering from jet lag and tired. We then had a lovely evening meal in the hotel restaurant, Annie had chicken satay with rice, curd cake and carrot cake for pudding, Keef had nasi lemak , chicken, rendang sauce, coconut rice, with an anchovy and nut garnish followed by cheesecake for pudding, all very yummy and hugely well prepared, thanks Concorde Inn Hotel staff, much appreciated. We then organised the taxi pickup for the next morning to take us to the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Kuala Lumpur for our Malaysian internal flights at 10 a.m. (arriving at the terminal 2 hours earlier as directed) Never know what that is all about, mostly to get you to spend money at the terminal. Night night we will be up early tomorrow. Saturday January 26th 2013 Today we travel onward to Langkawi Island, Malaysia, a chocolate (tax free) holiday paradise island for all Malaysians and the place where our youngest son is due to get married. Tick! Got up at 6 a.m. and had breakfast at 7.15 a.m. we then got the taxi to Kuala Lumpur’s LCCT terminal to catch our 10 a.m. flight on Air Asia to Langkawi. We had to be at the terminal 2 hours in advance. In the end the plane left at 10.15 a.m. and took about 1 hour to get to the island. It was very hot in Langkawi, about 30 degrees C, we checked in at the De Baron Hotel , a 2 star hotel, having picked up our hire car from the airport for 1 week. It cost about £230. The hire car had air con, 4 doors and seemed very good. Apparently, there are monkeys and buffalo on the roads away from the main Kuah Town although on our journey to the hotel we didn’t see any. Cars drive on the left in Malaysia. We unpacked our bags in the hotel room, which was not as good as the one at the Concorde Inn in KL. We then went for a stroll around the hotel and grounds to familiarise ourselves with where we were. We then walked to the nearest shops to find a restaurant for some food. This is hilarious, we ordered fish and chips, but the waiter only bought one plate. He naively assumed it was only the man eating, wow now that is a cultural difference. 😉 We asked for the 2nd meal which duly arrived, but the fish was not cooked properly. We left in disgust and found another restaurant. Anne had lemon chicken (not very good) and pineapple rice which was wonderful. We then found a wine shop and bought both red and white for D&P’s wedding. Both of us has a siesta as knocked out by the massive heat or more succinctly humidity. Keef took sunset pictures from the hotel grounds. Brian and Gina arrived at De Baron Hotel, Kuah Town, Langkawi Island at 10.15 p.m. Sunday January 27th 2013 Went for a swim and met up with Brian and Gin who had got up early and had breakfast and walked along the bay to the Eagle Square statue (famed on Langkawi and visible in all the tourist brochures). It was again very hot today. We all got sunbeds around the pool which had 2 lovely slides. K&A went off to collect Craig and Leanne from the airport at 12.15 p.m. and then once they had both checked into their room they joined us on the sunbeds which we had rotated to be in the shade, a very good move for us pasty skinned Brits abroad, ha ha. 😉The only 2 awake around the pool were Annie & I as we had now arrived in the right time zone body wise. In the evening we had dinner at our hotel outside in the gardens overlooking the bay a bit cooler and a lovely romantic setting and great company, what more could you ask for. We took some sunset photos over the bay. Hotel had wonderful and beautiful views of the bay which is part of the straits of Malacca. Being a Muslim country, they did not serve alcohol, but we took along some beers etc. and sat along the bay frontage and watched the sun set, just magical. That afternoon Keef & Brian had walked 10 minutes to the quay to book an island-hopping boat tour trip for 9 a.m. the next day, so looking forward to that. This is an extract from a tourist brochure from Langkawi. “Kuah, the main town of Langkawi, is a good starting point for visitors who travel via ferry. While clear white stretches of beaches are non-existent here, ships are ever-present in the distance and the looming mountains on the nearby islets are visible during the day. The town is well-regarded as a shopper’s haven, housing many excellent duty-free stores selling everything but the kitchen sink. Due to its relatively large population and the number of hotels in the area, visitors can also find a good range of dining venues to choose from while places of interests that are great for picture moments can be found in Kuah. Kuah, Kuah Town or Bandar Kuah is a town, mukim and district capital of Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia. It is the entry point for those coming by ferry from either the mainland or Penang Island. The town is centred on its jetty, which is a point of arrival for tourists from the mainland. Kuah has become a major town due to the growth of visitors after Langkawi developed into a tourist centre since 1986. Kuah is the most important town on Langkawi Island. Though it is not an actual city, local people from Langkawi refer to it as a city. Kuah is a nice and small town with a relaxed atmosphere. There are no big malls, no heavy traffic and no places to eat on every corner but more than enough to satisfy your appetite. Langkawi Island has a duty-free status. You can buy cheap liquor, cigarettes, fragrances, and other souvenirs in Kuah. Kuah has a couple of hotels, but you will find better accommodation outside of the city. “ The hotel address was de BARON resort, Bandar Baru BARON,07000, Kuah Langkawi, Kedah Darul Aman. 27 jan 2013 first full evening get together in kuah town poolside dolphins 1/26 MALAYSIA, Berjaya to Penang 31 Jan-2 Feb 2013 Leaving family after the Wedding, Oriental Village, Elephant rides & Lebanese meals then goodbyes and onto Penang, Malaysia 31 Jan-2 Feb 2013, Skycab, Oriental Village, Berjaya hotel resort Brian & Gina's hotel in the south west of Langkawi Island, Plus Reading Annie's Diary, covering amongst others airport, berjaya hotel resort, eagle quay, shops, pantai chenang, pantai kok, seaweed crisps, batik fabric prints, penang, bayview hotel, Georgetown, drove 225 miles on langkawi, hire car, taxi, permata kedah, langkawi jewel of kedah, skycab, cable cars, oriental village, mount machinchang, family, parascending, parasailing, Lebanese meal in Pantai Kok, yacht harbour, farewell to Brian & Gina, Craig & Leanne, Doug & Phoenix, Air Asia flight to Penang , only 18 mins our shortest flight ever, 51 images in the selective slideshow Thursday January 31st 2013 Brian and Gina transferred to their new hotel, Berjeya Hotel Resort on the southwest of the island at 4 p.m. Got up late and had breakfast in the Sands restaurant in the Tanjung Rhu hotel. We chatted to John & his partner Tammy. We had to check out of our room at 12 noon, but Doug and Phoenix were staying on until Friday. We put our baggage in the hire car and then spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool as did the whole of Phoenix’s family. Brian and Gina then left at 4 p.m. for their next hotel. We got showered to leave at 6.30 p.m. Unfortunately only B&G caught Phoenix’s Mum to say goodbye, we didn’t manage any of P’s party, the whole of her entourage were not around, B&G did say farewell to Doug & Phoenix however who were off for a spa treatment, luxury eh but true honeymoon stuff for Mr. & Mrs. Douglas (as they became known by the hotel staff tee hee). They were also doing snorkeling on Friday morning before flying to Penang to briefly stay with their friends Kim & Jayne, who were also wedding guests. Kim volunteered to show us around Georgetown his home when we got to Penang in a few days’ time but we decided against it as in fairness didn’t know him that well and wanted to look around at our own pace. We will stay with Doug & Phoenix at the end of our trip for two weeks in April so its as they say not goodbye but more au revoir ha-ha With Craig and Leanne we then drove to the tourist resort of Pantai Chenang again and had a lovely Thai meal, this was the scene of C&L’s parascending experience tomorrow having worked up the courage watching other on our previous visits here , something we are not sure Leanne would do again. Very tired as late night previously so we all went to bed when we returned to the hotel De Baron in Kuah Town. One thing we remember from around the pool at Tanjung Rhu resort was the pompous Brits who told as they always holidayed here every year and were complaining about the riffraff lowering the tone for the plebs wedding, little did they know that was us, awful snobs and people for that matter, happy never to see folk like that again, thank you very much Friday February 1st 2013 Had breakfast at 8.30 a.m. with Craig & Leanne and then returned to Pantai Chenang for them to do parasailing, which cost them £12 for 10 minutes in the air. The speedboat took them out for a very small island offshore where they took off from its beach. Then we drove to the southwest side of the island and visited the Oriental Village with shops, a lake with koi carps, fish, monkeys etc. maybe click on the link on the website page for the oriental village Langkawi Island to see so much more. We saw the cable car but the queue to get on was so long we just didn’t have time to do it so Craig & Leanne did an elephant ride instead. Their elephant was called Lasah, we took lots of photos of them then K & A fed him afterwards with bread slices and bananas provided. We saw a small boy with a python wrapped around his neck. We then went into the spa shop where Craig & Leanne put their feet into a pool where small fish nibbled the hard skin on their feet, it made Craig giggle. We had already done this with Linda & Ian in Cornwall before we came so gave it a miss this time around. We then drove to Brian & Gina’s new resort hotel which was quite close to the Oriental Village and spent the afternoon on the beach and in their pool which had a waterfall. Their hotel grounds were nicely landscaped with tropical palms etc. Maybe click on the link for the Berjaya hotel resort to see more. We took the little bus up the hillside to their chalet amongst the trees, it was an extremely steep road, so transport was most welcome. We all had a shower there and got changed ready for the evening. There were monkeys in the trees. We went to dinner in a fab Lebanese restaurant along the coast in Pantai Kok, which is a lovely fishing and yacht harbour. The food was very tasty and we had to do the usual walk to the far corner of the restaurant to wash our hands under running water as we mostly used our ands to eat, a cultural and maybe religion practice within Muslim countries, who knows! Brian and Gina returned to their resort by taxi. We all said our goodbyes and C, L,K&A returned to the De Baron hotel in Kuah town. We went to bed at 10.30 p.m. as an early start tomorrow. Brian and Gina were spending a further 7 days at the Berjaya resort before flying onto Borneo for the rest of their holiday. We had spent a lovely time together, such wonderful memories especially the Wedding at Tanjung Rhu, will remember it forever, very special. Saturday February 2nd 2013 Langkawi Island to Penang for Keef & Annie and the next leg of our Holiday 2013. Got up at 5 a.m. and took Craig and Leanne to Langkawi airport for 6 a.m. for their return flight to the UK. It was very dark outside but with the sound of prayer call in the air from the many mosques en-route. Keef sent emails and photos of the Wedding to family and friends in England an Tasmania. The photos came out very well and are a fab reminder of such wonderful times. We then had breakfast at De Baron and drove to Eagle Quay one last time, but it was very busy with tax free shoppers so decided to give shopping there a miss. Went back into Kuah town and Anne bought 2 lots of batik and Keef bought some seaweed pringles as we so liked Craig’s. We had previously checked out of the hotel but returned to get changed. We then returned the hire car to the airport at 3 p.m., we loved its air con ha-ha. And then had to wait until 5.30 p.m. for our Air Asia flight to Penang. The plane left early and took only 18 minutes, possibly one of our shortest flights ever. Got taxi coupon, 44 ringgits, approximately £5.50 in British pounds and then the taxi to our Georgetown hotel called the Bayview on the northeast of the island of Penang. Georgetown is its capital and highly colonial from its past. We stayed on the 15th floor with lovely views of the bay which is in the Melaka Sea and of colourful buildings and the red roofs of Chinatown from our own room. We had showers and unpacked. The air con was not working, and the room was hot so we called the man to fix it which made it a little bit cooler but not perfect by any means. We went to dinner at the hotel at 9 p.m. Annie had a prawn salad and Keef the chicken curry and we both shared some strawberry ice cream for pudding. As it was a long day we were very tired and collapsed exhausted but happy into bed soon after dinner. We had driven 225 miles on Langkawi Island. in brian and ginas room elephant ride return 1/26 ✨ 300‑Word Malaysia Travel Summary Malaysia in 2013 delivered the perfect blend of tropical adventure, vibrant culture and unforgettable travel moments — and this detailed travel diary is designed to help fellow travellers plan their own Malaysian journey with confidence. From the moment you land in Kuala Lumpur, the heat, colour and energy of the city hits you. Iconic landmarks such as the Petronas Twin Towers, Menara Tower, Istana Negara, Chinatown, and Dataran Merdeka offer a rich mix of history, architecture and local life, all easily explored using the city’s excellent Hop‑On Hop‑Off bus. From KL, the trip moves to the island paradise of Langkawi, where travellers can enjoy island‑hopping boat trips, quiet beaches, wildlife encounters and the laid‑back charm that makes Langkawi a favourite for couples, families and backpackers alike. Highlights include Kuah Town, Tanjung Rhu, and the famous Langkawi island‑hopping tour, perfect for photography lovers and nature enthusiasts. The journey continues to Penang, known for its colonial architecture, street food, and the cultural melting pot of Georgetown. With its blend of Malay, Chinese and Indian influences, Penang is a must‑visit for travellers seeking authentic Malaysian cuisine, heritage streets and vibrant markets. This diary doesn’t just document a trip — it provides practical insights for planning your own Malaysia holiday. Travelers will find tips on navigating Kuala Lumpur, choosing the best island excursions, understanding local customs, and making the most of Malaysia’s diverse landscapes. Whether you're researching a Malaysia itinerary, planning a Langkawi beach holiday, or looking for Kuala Lumpur travel inspiration, this guide offers real‑world experience, honest reflections and hundreds of photos to help shape your perfect adventure. 🌴 Dreaming of Malaysian Travel? Dreaming of a Malaysia adventure? This inspiring 2013 Malaysia travel diary is packed with real experiences, stunning photography and practical tips to help you plan your own unforgettable trip. Explore the buzzing streets of Kuala Lumpur, wander through colourful markets, visit the iconic Petronas Towers, and discover the city’s hidden cultural gems. Then slow the pace on the tropical island of Langkawi, with crystal‑clear waters, island‑hopping tours, wildlife encounters and peaceful beaches perfect for relaxing or exploring. Continue the journey to Penang, home of world‑famous street food, heritage architecture and the vibrant charm of Georgetown. Whether you’re planning a first‑time Malaysia itinerary or looking for insider tips on KL, Langkawi or Penang, this diary offers honest insights, real‑world advice and plenty of inspiration for crafting your own Southeast Asia adventure. Perfect for travellers researching Malaysia holidays, island escapes, KL city breaks, or Southeast Asia backpacking routes. Click through to explore the full travel diary and start planning your Malaysia dream trip today. MALAYSIA, Islands Boat Trip Plus Pantai Chenang, Langkawi Island, 28-29 Jan 2013 Beras Besah & Dayang Bunting Islands, Parascending and Water world, Malaysia 28-29 Jan 2013, Islands & Pantai Chenang, plus a verbal reading of the diary covering amongst others palau (or islands), salat began nyior, dayang bunting, beras basah island, palau tuba, kentut basah island, underwater world, pantai chenang, family fun, lunch at yellow beach café, smelly drains, taxi, hire car, sunsets, parascending, birds, fishes, reptiles, rain forest gardens, sun burn, ice creams, fresh water lake named the lake of the pregnant lady on dayang bunting island, just so cooling for feet dangling and swimming. The number of photos we took was 126 and they are all in the selective slideshow, maybe view in conjunction with the diary , either written or audiobook. Monday January 28th 2013 Early breakfast for us all and then got boat trip at 9 a.m. from Eagle Statue quay side. It was a longish boat with sun shades over seats and we rightly had to wear life jackets. There was bright sunshine, but it was breezy. The guy who drove the boat drove it very fast and it was incredibly bouncy. It bounced on some large waves which made us bounce on our metal seat structures quite hard so much so that Craig got a huge bruise on his lower back and Annie one on her arm. If I was being unkind I would say the pilot was doing it on purpose, i.e. an inert dislike of tourists, however I would say most strongly “don’t bite the hand that feeds you” PLEASE!!! We arrived at a small island with palm trees and a lovely beach. This was on reflection the island of beras basah. We had a short walk to the main jetty where there were other tourist boats, he had landed up on the sand as otherwise it was too crowded. The other boats were mainly full of Malaysian tourists. We all went for a cooling swim and then came onto the beach and saw a monkey steal someone’s plastic carrier bag and grab a slice of toast from within. He sat there proudly eating it and we all took lots of photos. We spent ¾ (three quarters) of an hour on that island , Craig having a go in the provided hammock, and then got back on the boat and went to another island where we saw eagles swooping to catch fish and the while island surrounded by mangroves. The last island we visited, dayang bunting, had lots of cheeky monkeys and we walked through the trees on a path with lots of steps to the island’s major lake with a floating pontoon. Craig swam and the rest of us sat on the decking and soaked our feet in the cool waters, this freshwater lake was called the lake of the pregnant maiden. We got on the boat from the dayang bunting jetty after a leisurely stroll back from the lake and lots more monkey pictures and returned to the quay at 12.30 noon. We swam in the De Baron hotel pool and got water, wine, and beer from the town locally in the hire car. After some hassle with the car not starting and having to call out the hire company to fix it (damn it looked like a new vehicle, not good) Keef , Brian & Gina finally arrived at the “passage to India” restaurant where we all had our evening meal after what had been a fun but slightly tiring day out. Its worth noting that the locals only came out to swim in the evening to avoid the heat of the day, oh well mad dogs and Englishmen as they say tee hee. 😉 Tuesday January 29th 2013 We all spent time around the pool relaxing in the morning after our usual friendly and substantial breakfast. Late afternoon we took Craig & Leanne in the hire car to Pantai Chenang and met Brian and Gina there, they had got a taxi outside to Underwater world which we all loved but lost Gina in tee hee. It was a very hot and humid day again, we saw the aquarium and the rain forest area with animals and birds and surprisingly penguins who were in what seemed to be a fridge area, we tried to stowaway (not really ha-ha). It was all very good. Brian had to do a search party for Gina who was reported lost as taking so many photos she strayed away from the rest of us. After this we all walked along the main road in the Pantai Chenang resort where we found a small sandy beach where there were jellyfish at the edge of the sea, after it had disappeared we went for a dip to cool off. We had lunch and drinks at the lovely beach bar, with great views of the Anderman sea and main beach where there were jet skis, banana boats and parascending / parasailing activities. We went for a swim in the sea and watched the lovely sunset at 7.30 p.m. We then collectively set off to look for a restaurant for dinner and found a nice fusion one serving southeast Asian cuisine. It was lovely food. We all got changed out of our wet swim wear in the loos after our swim. Brian and Gina got a taxi back to the hotel and us 4 returned in the hire car, all in all a great day out. yellow beach cafe lunchtime views yet another cheeky monkey island 1/63 MALAYSIA, Georgetown Penang 3-5 Feb 2013 Stayed Bay View Hotel, Saw UNESCO World Heritage Mansion, plus a lot of this historic Town, Malaysia 3-5 Feb 2013, Georgetown Penang , 2 selective slideshows includes reading diary, covering amongst other the blue mansion, UNESCO world heritage, lonely planets top 10 visits, cheong fatt tze’s mansion, Penang bridge, Georgetown, bay view hotel, Fort Cornwallis, batu ferringhe, town hall, wedding poses, china town, little India, temples, incense, the esplanade, industry, shop houses, hard rock café, hard rock hotel, lazy river, the Beatles memorabilia, Penang, airports, air asia, Komtar Centre & Tower, Chinese New Year was the year of the snake. There were 133 images of our wonderful cultural experience in Georgetown. Sunday February 3rd 2013 Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia, 97 degrees Fahrenheit, wow! Georgetown is a busy city with lots of high-rise buildings, but the historical area is preserved and has world heritage status i.e., UNESCO especially for Cheong Fatt Tze’s Blue Mansion. It is a very busy city as over 200 years old and got UNESCO status in 2008. We had a substantial breakfast at the Bay View hotel and then did some sightseeing and visited the Chinese Blue Mansion which cost 12 ringgits each, £2.40 pence in English which on reflection for such a world wonder was incredibly cheap. It was extremely interesting; the house was preserved but all the furnishings were new. Cheong Fatt Tze’s house had 38 rooms, 7 staircases, 5 courtyards, he was a millionaire who left China to make his fortune at 16 and went to Indonesia and then Penang in Malaysia. He had 8 wives and died in 1916, he was a trader and a banker. The house had gone to rack and ruin but was restored between 1990 and 1997. It has lovely wood carved panels and courtyards. By 2022 it was also used as a hotel and restaurant (sadly). After leaving the Blue Mansion we walked around the British colonial area to see the white buildings, City Hall, the museums, and cathedral. By this time, it was 12.30 p.m. and extremely hot and sunny and humid. We tried to walk in the shade wherever possible but it was exhausting. We Brits will get used to it eventually honest. We saw the esplanade and the bay near Fort Cornwallis. Then decided the heat was so intense that we walked (hard going) back to the hotel for a cold drink in the bar, shower than a cooling swim in the hotel pool. Luckily the pool was very cold, yippee! We had booked the buffet dinner in the revolving restaurant on the 16th floor of the hotel for 7.30 p.m. It was lovely Thai food with singing from a live professional act on karaoke who also dis requests from the diners. Keef requested some Adele songs. We also saw Georgetown lit up at night with illuminated fire flies hitting the restaurant windows, quite spectacular form of lighting and / or fireworks, tee hee. Some words about it are “Town heritage, traverse into the eclectic charm of George Town Penang’s illustrious history as you step into the world of Cheong Fatt Tze’s Blue Mansion. Conceived and constructed before the end of the 19th century, The Blue Mansion sets the standard for Penang’s boutique heritage hotel landscape and stands today as one of the most iconic boutique hotels in Malaysia. It is the only one to have won the prestigious UNESCO Conservation & Heritage award. The transcendental quality and timelessness of the mansion has been perfectly poised for over a century on firm foundations of architectural, cultural and historical superlatives. Here, time comes to a halt as you meander along the mansion and revel in the harmonious medley of history and culture. The Blue Mansion seamlessly blends old world charm with modern comforts. A wide array of amenities includes an exquisite dining experience at Indigo restaurant, a courtyard dining room and an idyllic terrace. There are guided mansion tours daily which give you further insight into the story behind the architecture and history of George Town’s first heritage hotel. The Blue Mansion is centrally located at 4km from the Gurney Drive seafront promenade, 9km from Kek Lok Si Buddhist temple, and just a 5-minute walk to China Town and other significant heritage spots in Penang.” In our humble opinion it is just a truly spectacular building. And here is some UNESCO words for Malaysia, we have been to both. “Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.” Monday February 4rd 2013 Georgetown 91 degrees Fahrenheit We set the alarm for 6.30 a.m. to start sightseeing early to avoid some of the heat of the day. At 7.45 a.m. we set off for the free hop on hop off shuttle bus around the old part of the city. We used that bus to alight in the Chinese area which is very old and saw interesting herbal medicine shops. We walked through a market and saw some strange fruits (well they were strange to us at the time, having been in Asia quite a bit since that novelty has worn off). We visited a Chinese temple yard where people lit incense for good luck. Chinese New Year, the year of the Snake was on the 10th of February that year. Red paper lanterns were up everywhere. We got off the bus at the National Museum which cost 1 ringgit each entry fee, 20 pence in English money. It was an excellent museum all about Penang and Georgetown in particular. It has been UNESCO world heritage since 2008. We then returned to the hotel for a swim, jacuzzi and shower. Annie found the cleaner had taken her flannel from the room, it was white like the hotel towels, and they had mistaken it as theirs for washing. The staff searched all the laundry but could not find it, so they gave her a hotel flannel. We were just about to go out at 5.20 p.m. when a torrential downpour and gusting winds started and the resultant lightening made us turn around from the lobby and return to our room. We were going to get a bus to Batu Ferringhe along the north coast of Penang and have dinner at the Hard Rock Café hotel there but rightly changed our minds. Instead, we watched TV and then had dinner at 8 p.m. in the hotel restaurant, we had nasi goreng, yummy. We then did our packing as travelling tomorrow however the hotel manager said we could check out at 1 p.m. Tuesday February 5th 2013 Today we left Georgetown for Auckland New Zealand via Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Got up at 7 a.m. had a quick breakfast and got free hop on hop off shuttle bus to the KOMTAR CENTRE then bus 101 to Batu Ferrighe along the north coast of Penang Island. All buses are air conditioned which was wonderful as again it was very hot and sunny. The bus took a while to get out of Georgetown as it’s a very busy and congested city. Initially all urban sprawl then the coastal road with views of the sea and large rocks. We got off the bus at the Hard Rock hotel past a lot of tourist hotels and restaurants. Keef bought his obligatory T-shirt from the HRC shop proudly displaying “Penang”. We looked around the hotel, it had a nice beach nearby plus pool and lazy river with rubber rings which cost £2 a day to hire. There was lots of rock and pop memorabilia. Got there at 11 a.m. and then took the same bus back to the hotel which took ages as Georgetown was very hectic. We got to the hotel at 12.55 p.m. luckily, they gave us an extra ½ hour to check out, we had showers and took our bags down to the foyer. We got the taxi to the airport at 2.15 p.m. The flight to Singapore on Jet Star Asia was 1 hour in duration and we then had to kill time in Changi Airport, Singapore until our flight to Brisbane at 9.30 p.m. that evening, we couldn’t meet up with D&P because they were elsewhere and in reality, would not have had enough time to check out and back into the airport. Keef watched Lincoln on the plane, Annie watched bits of films but could not concentrate as so tired. Both of us only got about 2 hours sleep that night in transit. our plane for penang from langkawi nice starter 1/67 Our Days in Malaysia MALAYSIA, Kuala Lumpur 22-24 January 2013 Tuesday January 22nd 2013 After collecting the hire car from the East Midlands airport and dropping keys etc around Craig’s house, we set off for Heathrow. Heavy snow in fields in countryside but Heathrow was clear. We flew British airways 8.30pm to Singapore, although the plane was waiting to taxi down the runway for 45 minutes. We had a few hours snatched sleep on the plane and arrived at Singapore at 5.40pm on the Tuesday. The flight was 12 hours 35 minute long. British Airways food was Ok but not enough seat space / leg space , cramped conditions, definitely what we call “cattle class” . We were cheeky and asked for an upgrade but were told there were no first-class seats available. Wednesday January 23rd 2013 Arrival Kuala Lumpur via Singapore Arrived Singapore (in transit) for Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia, sent text message to Doug. Phoenix’s parents staying with them currently in Singapore, where they were officially married at a civil ceremony on the 24th. We only had 1 hour 30 minutes to sort out our transit arrangements which was stressful since baggage had to be checked out and checked back in at the Changi counter, time flew by. Singapore lovely airport (Changi surprisingly was once a prison used by the Japanese to hound Singaporeans, bad news) and modern , tube used to take passengers to baggage hall / passport check etc. Flew Jet Star (operated by Quantas) 7.40pm to KL. Liked the airport in KL , clean modern etc. Flight was about 50 minutes. Found free shuttle bus at KL airport to take us to the Concorde Inn Hotel very near to the airport. Nice spacious deluxe room and wet room shower. Arrived at the hotel at 10.10 pm very tired and hot. After snow and freezing temperatures in England, arrived in jungle heat and then a ‘terrific tropical storm’ directly overhead with thunder and lightening. The thunder was os loud it was like an explosion. Spent 24 hours travelling fron the time we left home to arriving at the hotel in KL. Thursday January 24th 2013 Kuala Lumpur Woke at 6.20am. Bit jet lagged. Went into Kuala Lumpur city today having had a lovely hotel breakfast. The coffee machine inspired my 60th birthday present. Bought a batik fabric from the hotel foyer gift shop and practiced our Malay language skills. Got free shuttle bus from hotel to main airport and then took rapid train into the city (took 28 minutes) passing many palm tree plantations. Train cost 70 ringgits each return (about £14 at the time) and was like a very modern tube train. Got hop on hop off (HOHO) coach tickets from outside the station, cost 35 ringgits each or £7 which was very good value. The bus tour took in all the city sights / sites (😉 ) , old colonial buildings and those that were ultra-modern, including the world famous Petronus Twin Towers, 3 green belts in the city with flowering shrubs and trees. We saw monkeys outside the national palace fence. The whole bus tour took about 2-2 ¼ hours as they stopped for photo opportunities on several occasions. KL was not very crowded surprisingly. The Chinese shops were very interesting and lots of market and food stalls were available. We visited the national museum of Malaysia and saw traditional long houses and the Sultan’s throne and a man with a yellow python. Also on the 2nd tour around the city we stopped at a traditional crft centre and chatted to a batik designer / artist from Borneo. Terrific tropical storms again at 5.50 pm, we got back on the bus tour but interestingly the bus well and truly leaked 😉 We had a chicken meal at the main station got back to the Concorde In hotel at about 9.20pm tired, happy and educated (travel definitely broadens the mind) and very ready for bed. Arriving from the UK with snow into Malaysia at KL (Kuala Lumpur) to 30c & Jet Lag & Discovery, Malaysia 22-24 Jan 2013, Kuala Lumpur , plus a verbal reading of the diary covering amongst others concorde inn , leaving uk in snow, istana negara / national palace, menara tower, st marys cathedral, petronus twin towers, batu auch, batu linting, year of the snake, china town, burial poles, malay traditional housing, national museum, dataran merdeka square, cricket, colonialism, poverty, endless motorcycles , lovely hibiscus flowers, hop on hop off bus tour , total number of images with text is 121 in selective slideshows flamingoes _ the birdpark ahhh as a gardener i loved gardens by the bay 1/1 uni towards the palace panorama 1/61 MALAYSIA, Tanjung Rhu Resort, Langkawi Island,30 Jan 2013 "5🌠" Wedding Doug & Phoenix's Wedding, Tanjung Rhu Resort with family and friends, karaoke, food, ceremony on the beach, wedding breakfast and Chinese tea ceremony , beach skittles and the band, a lovely day ,the number of images in the selective slideshows is 93, so so happy for them both the wedding itinerary happy to nina simone 1/46 Wednesday January 30th 2013 Doug and Phoenix’s Wedding Day, Langkawi Island, Tanjung Rhu Resort definitely 5 star Set off from the De Baron hotel in Kuah Town with Craig & Leanne in the hire car. Brian and Gina took a taxi across the island and surprise, surprise got lost, you would thing the taxi drivers would know their way around. Anyhow we all arrived at the Tanjung Rhu hotel resort where the wedding was to be held late afternoon. We spent some time around the pool before the wedding and met up with D&P and Phoenix’s parents, her 2 cousins (including Shren whom we have got to know much better over the years as like P she went to university in the UK for about a year, since married in China). Again, a very very hot day. Lovely beach views and loved the hotel rooms and gardens, dead posh. The wedding was lovely and very romantic and held on the beach at 6.30 p.m. to take some of the days heat away. Phoenix looked lovely in her bridal dress escorted across the sand by her dad and 3 bridesmaids all in yellow dresses whilst hers was pure white. Doug looked very smart in grey trousers, waistcoat, white shirt and gold bow tie and cummerbund. The ceremony was very emotional and beautiful at the same time. They then went off for formal photos and then we went into the hotel for the traditional Chinese tea ceremony with her parents and the bride & groom. Then followed a beach barbeque and feast as by now dark skies, with a really good live band. The speeches were all excellent, Ps Dad, John the best man (one of Doug’s university pals) and Doug who did a long speech in both Mandarin and English. We are very proud of him, and the Chinese contingent laughed in quite a few places so it must have been good. He also recited a poem he had written to Phoenix which was very romantic. We then had dancing on the sand with Phoenix even doing lead vocals with the band at one point, she has such a lovely voice. Then wedding cake and did some beach games… China versus England, ha-ha. Skittles and throwing coconuts as the ball. Then more music and dancing and then we moved inside the hotel for some karaoke which finished at 2.30 am. The Chinese were great at Karaoke, we however tanked up on booze to give us the confidence to finish with Bryan Adams and Bon Jovi numbers, The summer of 69 and Living on a prayer respectively. All very tired but happy we retired to bed. Doug & Phoenix both seemed very happy with how it had all gone, what a wonderful wedding day! MALAYSIA, Malacca "The Historic State" 13-14 Apr 2013, also spelt Melaka Stayed at Mr & Mrs Li Wee's traditional Tea House with Doug & Phoenix, Malaysia 13-14 April 2013, Malacca “The Historic State” plus reading diary, Melaka or Malacca, city of bridges, mr and mrs li wee, tea house stay, UNESCO world heritage site, Melaka river, "Venice of the East" cruises, jambalan tan bin seng, chan koon cheng, old bus station bridge, kompung morten, waterside edge walks, shop houses, bastion Victoria, jonkers walk, night market, mr li’s taxi trip, famous chicken and rice, St John's Fort, chetti village, museums, Maritime museum, jonkers gallery, many churches, early Christianity, mosque by coast, sila tanggalhan, street kebabs and portugese shell fish restaurant by the harbour, orang utan shop, great to spend so much time with doug & phoenix, west ham drinks glasses, 112 images in the selective slideshows but poor doug and phoenix getting ill through eating some suspect street food, maybe the kebabs were not fully cooked who knows. Saturday April 13th 2013 Malacca or Melaka, Malaysia Guest house owners Mr. and Mrs. Li were very friendly and polite. Phoenix had booked this accommodation from Singapore. We had arrived in the hire car we picked up just across the border into Malaysia at Johor Bahru or JB in everyday parlance tee hee. We did the awful crowded lengthy Woodlands crossing by shuttle bus (cattle class tee hee) over the Johor Causeway bridge from Singapore to Malaysia. Not fun as the weekend when many of the Malaysian workers return to JB to their families after a week away working in the better paid country of Singapore, remember before independence on the 9th of August 1965 Singapore was a state of Malaysia. Mr. Li offered to give us a guided tour of Melaka at 6.45 p.m. We went to a local Chinese cafe for breakfast, our guest house is in the old part of town so very traditional. Melaka is now a UNESCO world heritage site along with Georgetown Penang which we went to early on this trip. After breakfast we walked around the old town down by the river, which was very smelly and sadly polluted. It was a dirty green sludge colour. We saw lots of old churches, one was built in 1756, which was when Malacca was on the spice route and had both Dutch and Portuguese colonies. There were lots of men on rickshaws covered in fake flowers driving tourists around the old town. Plus, lots of Chinese tourists on coach tours. Culturally the Chinese do like to travel in convoy which makes sense when language is an issue, potentially less so here in Melaka which is very multi-cultural as indeed Singapore is. It is worth noting we were some of the only westerners we saw. We saw monitor lizards in the river, they lived in holes in the walls at the rivers edge and came out to swim in the sunshine. After lunch of some Chinese food in a riverside café we went on a boat cruise for a few kilometers up the river and then back again affording a view of some of the surrounds. There was a fake sailing ship, a Dutch East Indies ship that had originally been shipwrecked off Melaka in a storm circa 1650. We then returned to the guest house which as it doubled as a Chinese tea house was a real treat and experience. We had fermented China teas, the ginger one was the best. We sat and rested there and chatted to Mr. Li. Then we had showers and at 6.45 p.m. he drove us in his battered car around the city and showed us the sights which was lovely. We visited a Muslim Mosque on the coast with views of the Malacca Straits, old Malay Chetti Village houses down by the river, and the old St. Johns fort where we saw monkeys and then went on for a Portuguese meal in the open air by the sea. We also saw people launching Chinese lanterns into the sky, all quite atmospheric. Mr. Li carried on our tour until about 10.30 p.m. when he dropped us all off at Jonker’s Walk to see the night market. It was busy and bustling and we remember the humourous advert for Mr. Potato Head crisps the ad poster being Wayne Rooney ha-ha. We then returned to the guest house which was close by, tired , had a shower and went to bed at 12 midnight. A very interesting day all in all. And here are some UNESCO words for Malaysia, we have been to both Melaka & Georgetown, Penang. “Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.” Sunday April 14th 2013 Malacca back to Singapore Had breakfast at 10.30 a.m. in a Chinese café was dim sum. Then we walked around the old town a different area from yesterday, seeing old Chinese temples, Chinese theaters, and a lot of little shops, busy with Chinese tourists. Keef bought some new flip flips (or thongs as our aussie friends would call them). Phoenix was not well and frequently sick, not sure if it was the street food kebabs in the morning or the sea food at the Portuguese restaurant the previous evening, who knows but poor Phoenix. K & A headed back to the guest house for a rest, the humidity was getting to us. D&P arrived back a little later and she went to lie down to try and recover. Mr. Li made us a lovely local coffee and then his wife kindly made us and Doug some winter melon tea, a vegetable we now know extremely well but didn’t at the time. We all chatted and rested up a bit. Phoenix recovered after her little nap and rejoined us. We all went off to a Chinese restaurant for lunch, we had already loaded all our bags into the hire car boot at this point anyhow. After lunch we set off at 3.15 p.m. for the long drive back to the city of Johor Bahru which is the Malaysian city on the border. We stopped at a service station for a comfort break. We played hunt the western loo ha-ha. It was mainly palm trees lining the motorway on the way back stretching for miles on either side. Not many signs of towns or villages. Palm tree oil (not great in COP26 times) and rubber are the main Malaysian exports. We used the sat nav to try and get back to the lady’s house whom we had got the hire car from but it took us to the wrong area, many are named the same in JB. By 7 p.m. we had already spent an hour circling around JB in a vain attempt to find the right address. Despite many phone calls to the lady to ask for directions she and her husband were not very helpful and did not know any of the local road names to the point where they could only tell us the name of the shipping mall that was nearby them. Very frustrating. Jalan Balau which was the road we wanted came up 14 different areas on the sat nav, so we methodically tried them all, grr! We needed Jalan Balau 1 to be precise. A nightmare to find but we eventually got there. Not a trip any of us would want to do again but as years pass, we would always remember it. We then took a taxi back to the border crossing; it was not so busy on a Sunday evening so getting into Woodlands crossing was a breeze. We all got back to Geylang flat at 10 p.m. Went out for a Chinese meal locally and then had showers and flopped into bed very tired, but happy to have spent such a lovely adventurous weekend away with Mr. & Mrs. Douglas, fun times. us HRC malacca brothers in arms or alms geddit ;) 1/56 2013 KL 2013 Kuah Town 2013 Islands plus 2013 Wedding 2013 Penang 2013 Georgetown 2013 Malacca Melaka 2013 Summary Malaysia Travel

Relive a sun-soaked 21‑day Florida epic—Disney’s 25th anniversary, Universal after-dark queue hacks, Clearwater’s beaches, the wild Everglades, and the magic of the Keys. Packed with 227 nostalgic photos, family stories, and pure ’90s adventure energy, this page is your ticket back to the golden age of Florida holidays. Step inside and travel like it’s 1997 again. 1997 Travel Blog Here is our actual travel route Kissimmee → Orlando (multiple parks) → Tampa → Clearwater → St Pete’s Beach → Sanibel → Sarasota → Venice → Naples → Everglades → Key Largo → Marathon → Bahia Honda → Key West → Fort Lauderdale → Miami (drive‑through) → West Palm Beach → Boca Raton → Melbourne Beach → Cocoa Beach → Kennedy Space Center → Orlando → Manchester → Nottingham USA 1997 – Itemised Travel Route by Location 🏠 Base Location Kissimmee, Florida Villas of Somerset (Apartment 126) Used as the main base for ~15 days All Orlando theme parks & water parks visited from here 🎢 Orlando & Surrounding Area (Day Trips from Kissimmee) Orlando (Central Orlando) Orlando Magic Basketball Stadium International Drive Disney World Parks Magic Kingdom EPCOT MGM Studios Animal Kingdom (not mentioned, so excluded) Typhoon Lagoon Blizzard Beach River Country Pleasure Island Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex Universal Studios Backlot Tours Terminator 2 Back to the Future Kongfrontation Jaws Earthquake ET Honey I Shrunk the Kids SeaWorld Orlando Sports World Cracker Barrel (local restaurant) 🌴 West Coast of Florida Travelled west from Kissimmee across to the Gulf Coast: Tampa Busch Gardens (Montu, Kumba, Edge of Africa, etc.) Clearwater Beach St. Pete’s Beach Sanibel Sarasota Venice Naples Naples Jetty Pier 🐊 Everglades Region Everglades National Park Hovercraft trip to Alligator Island 🏝️ Florida Keys (Southbound) Key Largo Marathon (Island stay) Bahia Honda State Park Key West Hemingway House area Conch Train Sloppy Joe’s 1930s hotel Jetty & boardwalks 🌴 East Coast of Florida (Northbound Return) Fort Lauderdale Miami (passed but not visited in 1997) West Palm Beach Boca Raton Melbourne Beach Cocoa Beach Ron Jon Surf Shop Jetty Kennedy Space Center / Cape Canaveral Saturn V / Apollo Center ✈️ Return Journey Orlando → drop hire car Flight to Manchester Drive home to Nottingham via the Peak District 97 Route Visuals USA 1997 Trip — Route Summary Kissimmee, Florida – Villas of Somerset base for Orlando parks Orlando – Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, MGM Studios, Universal Studios, SeaWorld Tampa – Busch Gardens Clearwater Beach – Gulf Coast stop St Pete Beach – coastal drive Sanibel Island – shell beaches Sarasota – art and beach town Venice – Gulf shoreline Naples – pier and sunset views Everglades National Park – hovercraft to Alligator Island Key Largo – start of the Keys Marathon – mid‑Keys stay Bahia Honda State Park – scenic bridge and beach Key West – Hemingway House, Conch Train, Sloppy Joe’s Fort Lauderdale – beach and canals West Palm Beach – coastal return north Boca Raton – short stop Melbourne Beach – Atlantic shore Cocoa Beach – Ron Jon Surf Shop Kennedy Space Center – Saturn V and Apollo Center Orlando (return) – drop hire car Manchester Airport → Nottingham – home via Peak District Florida (FL) USA with the boys, then 15 and 13 for the 25th anniversary of Waly Disney World resort, Walt had built it from the late 60s when he purchased the land from Irlo Bronson Sr, rancher and Democratic senator for the state of Florida, it opened in 1972 hence the 25th celebrations including fireworks. For this trip I will mention where we went and what we did which included Kissimmee, Tampa, the Keys, Everglades, Cocoa Beach, Cape Kennedy Space Station, we returned again in 2018 on our 40th Wedding Anniversary cruise . This Family trip is also replicated on the motorhome-travels blog as BLOG 165 . We returned again with our grandchildren in 2022 for the 50th anniversary celebrations of Walt Disney World opening this time with our extended family, a full Blog and comparison between 25 & 50 years showing massive progress can be gleaned by reading the full BLOG183 but if you prefer to stay here on this site there is a condensed version of that here as USA 2022, thanks as always for looking folks, best KeefH Web Designs. PLAY Comparing Disney at the 25th Anniversary to the 50th Anniversary of Magic Kingdom Opening 1997 21 Days Between 26th July & 16th August Family Time, Clearwater Beach, Tampa and West Palm Beach plus of course Disney & Miss Piggy #sigh, we stayed at apartment 126, The Villas of Somerset, Kissimmee, Florida, USA, 34746, and here's a summary Initially stayed in Kissimmee for about 1 week and a half, and visited ALL the theme parks & water parks. Going back into Universal after 7pm is a good call as it saved the queues. Saw central Orlando. We then travelled across to the west, Tampa, Busch Gardens park in Tampa Bay, clearwater, sanibel, sarasota, venice , naples, then back to the east via the Everglades and down the Keys: Largo, Marathon, Bahia Honda NP, Key West then back up via Fort Lauderdale, Miami (although didn't go in here in 97 but did in 2018) to Orlando plus Kennedy Space Station , Cocoa beach, River Country, Cracker Barrel, 25th Disney Anniversary, Typhoon Lagoon, Sports World, River Country, Universal, Water World, MGM Studios, Pleasure Island, Blizzard Beach, Tower of Terror, Backlot , giant heavy video cameras & animation tours Micky & some other 'smucks' Aug97 - 2 Shell collecting Bahai Honda NP Florida Keys Aug97 1/116 If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a perfectly normal British family is dropped into 1997 Florida armed with a hire car the size of a small bungalow, a stack of Kodak film, and an unshakeable belief that queue‑dodging after 7pm is a legitimate life hack—this is the page for you. Your 21‑day odyssey across Kissimmee, Tampa, Clearwater, the Keys, and every theme park known to humankind is preserved here in all its sunburnt, sugar‑fueled glory. This isn’t just a holiday; it’s a full‑scale expedition. Think David Attenborough meets National Lampoon, with occasional appearances from Miss Piggy, Mickey Mouse, and a rollercoaster called “I‑Can’t‑Remember‑Its‑Name‑But-It-Went-Backwards-at-50mph”. You’ll relive the 25th anniversary of Disney World—back when the castle was controversially dressed as a giant pink birthday cake—and witness the boys discovering basketball, Busch Gardens, and the life‑changing realisation that American drinks come in sizes that require planning permission. You’ll also enjoy a whistle‑stop tour of the Everglades (featuring alligators with better dental plans than most of us), Key West (home of Hemingway and Key Lime Pie), and Cocoa Beach (home of Ron Jon’s Surf Shop and your first pair of Levi’s since the 1970s).And because no epic deserves to be under‑documented, you’ll find 227 lovingly scanned photos, a memorabilia in website form, and enough anecdotes to fuel a decade of dinner‑party storytelling. Summary: We spent 21 Days in Florida, USA between 26th July and the 16th August 1997 We took 227 Photos, all of which are included in the summary slideshows, many of which were scanned from old fashioned Kodak prints. So we spent 15 days in Kissimmee, Orlando Florida on holiday between 26 July - 9 August 1997, it was a fun Family Time we stayed at apartment 126, The Villas of Somerset, Kissimmee, Florida, USA, 34746, we also visited for a further 7 days Clearwater Beach, Tampa and West Palm Beach in our hired car which was a huge Chevrolet with not surprisingly 3 seats across the front and multiple coffee and soda cup holders ha-ha, plus of course we visited Disney & Miss Piggy #sigh, the whole logic of this holiday was that the boys were now old enough to appreciate Disney in its entirety so this was a special family break, especially it was Disney World’s 25th celebrations and here's a summary. We initially stayed in Kissimmee for 2 weeks and visited ALL the theme parks & water parks. Going back into Universal after 7pm is a good call as it saved the queues. Saw central Orlando including taking the boys to the Orlando Magic basketball stadium, they were both keen at the time and indeed Doug played for the Ilkeston Outlaws basketball team back at home, we played a bit of tennis at the Villas as well. We then travelled across to the west, Tampa, Busch Gardens park, clearwater, International Drive, Sanibel, Sarasota, Venice , Naples, then back to the east via the Everglades and down the Keys: Largo, Marathon, Bahia Honda NP, Key West then back up via Fort Lauderdale, Miami (although didn't go in here in 97 but did in 2018) to Orlando plus Kennedy Space Station with its NASA centre replication and the newly installed Apollo, Saturn 5 centre, just mesmerising , Cocoa beach its jetty and lovely sandy beach, River Country, Cracker Barrel, Visiting my hero Dali’s exhibition, Naples jetty pier, St Pete’s Beach, West Palm Beach with all its posh locked up homes and posh yacht moored outside, ESPN where maybe Craig & I got our love of Grid Iron or American Football from, come on 49ers & Eagles, Busch Gardens run by Anheuser Busch the beer people, we remember Montu in the Egypt area and the scary Kumba which I must have gone on at least 3 times in a row with the boys until I felt sick, the Edge of Africa area which you went over in a skyride monorail cable car, also standing on the bridge getting soaked by the huge water chute ride, can’t remember what it was called, but as hot and humid we loved it, so cooling, Busch characters to rival Disney , OK maybe not, T J Tiger and the Hippo, 25th Disney World (now Resorts) Anniversary, Typhoon Lagoon, Sea World (and sadly Shamu which we feel very guilty about), Sports World, River Country, EPCOT was sponsored by the then Eastern Kodak Company, sadly no more to my knowledge, digital is here to stay, it included Illuminations 25 accompanied by the Disney-Grammy All American College Orchestra, ta-rah , Universal Studios and the Tower of Terror, The fab Honey I Shrunk the Kids experience with the height of technology at the time, shaking seats sprayed by water, tee-hee, Water World, MGM Studios, Magic Kingdom, we had the guide for between 28th July and 3rd August, Discovery & Pleasure Island where we went one evening very strict licensing laws meant I couldn’t even buy a drink for Annie you had to buy your own and proof your age, flattering if the truth be known that they thought we were younger than 21, ha-ha, Blizzard Beach, River Country, Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex with beach volleyball, Annie wouldn’t let me attend the ladies one, ha-ha, Terminator 2 experience, Ride of the Movies, Back to The Future Ride, Kongfrontation, Jaws ride, Earthquake, ET ride, Our Universal Tickets were from the 5th to 7th august, we saw the Twilight zone featuring the Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones , Toy Story, Backlot tours , Watched Disney animators at work on the new to be Mulan (now ancient history) but fascinating experience, Twister and King Gators Fundango rides were on their way and being constructed, Baywatch at Sea World, giant heavy video cameras & animation tours , Shuttle launch at Cape Canaveral (just missed it by one day), Our Underwater camera, Steaks the size of a large plate, you wuss keef, Having to have your salad separately, Melbourne Beach, Rodeo Drive, Boca Raton, Ron Johns “one of a Kind” Surf shop at Cocoa Beach, we returned to this in 2018 on our US and Caribbean 40th Wedding Anniversary cruise, buying my 1st genuine pair of Levi’s since my 20s, we also remember Mummy Mummification (i.e. Annie in an Egyptian Sarcophagus), Key Wests 30’s Hotel and lots of Fish around the jetty, Board Walks, Hard Rock Café, Key Lime Pie, Hemingway Express and Conch Train trip plus seeing Sloppy Joe’s Earnest hang out local, Everglades and Hover trip out to Alligator Island, Stay on the Island of Marathon, Swimming, Planes, and Bahai Honda National Park, After staying at Cocoa beach on the last night we returned to Orlando, dropped off the fab hire car, flew back to Manchester & home, Our car was in the long stay car park there so we drove back through the Peaks to Home. What a fabulous family time we had, and our multi coffee cupped wagon will live long in the memory july 1997 calendar with info august 1997 calendar with info august 1997 calendar july 1997 calendar with info 1/5 1997 21 Days Between 26th July & 16th August 1997 Pleased to say we did returns in 2022 with Craig’s family as grandparents for his 40th Birthday, will I enjoy the white-knuckle rides quite the same as I did in 1997, who knows but I will certainly give it a go. UPDATE I definitely did, especially the one with Leanne at 50 mph. backwards in the dark, can't remember what it was called though! 1 It is a special year at Disney as it’s the 50th anniversary so we are expecting spectacular fireworks and parades. Its now called collectively Walt Disney World Resorts. I so remember steamboat willie, which I believe was the first animation Walt Disney did. Here's a bit of a write up on the man. Walter Elias Disney December 5, 1901, to December 15, 1966, was an American entrepreneur, animator, writer, voice actor, and film producer. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film producer, he holds the record for most academy awards earned and nominations by an individual, having won 22 Oscars from 59 nominations. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy, among other honours. As of 2022, Disney became the first, and later one of the three people been nominated for Academy Awards in six different categories, a record he shares with Alfonso Cuaron and George Clooney, until was surpassed by Kenneth Branagh with seven. Born in Chicago in 1901, Disney developed an early interest in drawing. He took art classes as a boy and got a job as a commercial illustrator at the age of 18. He moved to California in the early 1920s and set up the Disney Brothers Studio with his brother Roy. With Ubbe Ert Iwwerks, he developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, his first highly popular success; he also provided the voice for his creation in the early years. As the studio grew, he became more adventurous, introducing synchronized sound, full-colour three-strip Technicolor, feature-length cartoons, and technical developments in cameras. The results, seen in features such as and who doesn’t know these from their childhood and indeed adulthood, all classics, Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio & Fantasia (both 1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942), furthered the development of animated film. New animated and live-action films followed World War II, including the critically successful Cinderella (1950) and Mary Poppins (1964), the latter of which received five Academy Awards. In the 1950s, Disney expanded into the amusement park industry, and in July 1955 he opened Disneyland in Anaheim California. To fund the project, he diversified into television programs, such as Walt’s Disneyland and The Mickey Mouse Club. He was also involved in planning the 1959 Moscow Fair, the 1960 Winter Olympics, and the 1964 New York World Fair. In 1965, he began development of another theme park, Disney World, the heart of which was to be a new type of city, the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT). Disney was a heavy smoker throughout his life and sadly died of lung cancer in December 1966 before either the park or the EPCOT project was completed. To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

Explore Alberta through a vivid 2010 motorhome adventure across Canada, packed with stunning prairie landscapes, dramatic weather twists, and unforgettable stops from Medicine Hat to Drumheller’s Hoodoos. Discover heritage sites, quirky moments, friendly locals, and over 200 photos capturing the spirit of this epic cross‑province journey. 2010 Alberta Travel Guide & Blog ALBERTA - HOLIDAY in 2010 A Travel Blog Experience DIARY During 2010 we have now been from one side of Canada to the other in a motorhome, British Columbia to Labrador, we loved it, it is a fabulous country and quite an achievement with memories we shall treasure forever. For Alberta the following were some of the highlights, Medicine hat, head smashed in buffalo jump world heritage site, snow at high river end of May, the campsite said happy Christmas (smile) when we arrived, 2 caravans were ruined by falling branches weighed down by weight of the snow, plus we also enjoyed visiting Carston, high prairie, staying with dear friends David & Cathy and family in Edmonton, west ed mall, Dawson bridge, perogies, royal Tyrrell heritage centre, dinosaur museum although when we got there it was closed but the surrounding Drumheller area including the Hoodoos was amazingly interesting, fort Edmonton park with David, it was a little contrived but interesting none the less, its where keef learned to his cost that if you ask for Burger & Chips what you get is a burger and a bag of crisps, ha-ha, Winterton lakes national park on the border with Montana in the States where we saw the wild buffalo roam, bow river, border with Montana glacial park, red deer, Calgary, picking up our brand new hire motorhome from Canadreams in Calgary with posh new carpets and then having to pull out onto the Trans-Canada Highway almost straight away was scary, plus we bought towels to put down over the carpets to protect them, Canadreams more that happy as we paid to the petrol to reposition their van on the other side of Canada at the end of our trip, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, loved the hoo doos at willow creek, Blackfoot tribe and many more gems. We remember also and in no particular order, many railway lines but very few trains, its all cars in Canada apart from the odd cargo train, the problem bear in an out of the way township, chopping logs for our own campfire pits, long drop loos, national and provincial parks to camp in at reasonable cost, grouard, it was the wild rose province, world heritage site at fort McLeod, ice rinks and ice hockey, Tim Horton’s, downtown Edmonton, the Strathcona street car, various interpretive centres full of info, the town of high prairie, UNESCO sites, mega trucks, Mennonite sects, Bow River, Fescue prairies, the centre of Alberta at Swan Hills, Tee Pees and 1st Nation education for us, just so interesting cultures, spray valley park, the fantastic slave lakes , prince of Wales hotel, rocky mountain high, buffalo, sheep, deer, goats and endless wild life, fort MacMurray, peanut and jelly bagels, Scottish bag pipers, mountains and snow, that’s all folks, we loved Alberta a big tick from us. Enjoy Alberta , we certainly did Alberta, Canada, Travel Guide for Motorhomers cheers annie at head smashed in buffalo jump , fort mcleod, alberta 1/110 2010 11 Days in Alberta, Canada between 18th-29th May INCLUDES 219 PHOTOS We have now been from one side of Canada to the other in a motorhome, BC to Labrador, loved it, fabulous country including across Alberta the following highlights, Medicine hat, head smashed in buffalo jump world heritage site, snow at high river end of may, the campsite said happy Christmas (smile) when we arrived, 2 caravans were ruined by falling branches weighed down by weight of the snow, plus cardston, high prairie, staying with dear friends David & Cathy and family in Edmonton, the Hoo Doos, and specifically those at Drumheller, west ed mall, Strathcona street car, Crandell mountains, UNESCO sites, Dawson bridge, perogies, royal Tyrrell heritage centre, dinosaur museum, Drumheller, fort Edmonton, Winterton lakes np, bow river, Mennonite sects, bow river, border with Montana glacial park, red deer, Calgary, brand new motorhome, dog and beaver fighting in a 1st nation township near slave lakes, hoo doos at willow creek, Blackfoot tribe and many more gems, we have now been from one side of Canada to the other in a motorhome using the Trans Canada Highway

Discover Manitoba the KHWD way—prairie winds, endless lakes, and a motorhome that definitely earned its keep. This 2010 Manitoba travel guide rolls through MacGregor, Dauphin, Dryden, Winnipeg and Lake Winnipeg, packed with diary notes, iconic sights like the Golden Boy, and plenty of road‑trip laughs. Perfect for RV adventurers, Canada‑trip planners and anyone who enjoys travel with a wink. 2010 Manitoba Travel Guide & Blog MANITOBA - HOLIDAY in 2010 A Travel Blog Experience DIARY During 2010 we have now been from one side of Canada to the other in a motorhome, British Columbia to Labrador, we loved it, it is a fabulous country and quite an achievement with memories we shall treasure forever. For Manitoba the following were some of the highlights, macgregor, duaphin, dryden, winnipeg , winnipeg beach, lake Winnipeg, here are some extra words about Winnipeg which we drove thru, it was hard to stop as a big city but we did see a bit and especially remember the golden boy on top of the central building, quite an icon, it is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. As of 2021, Winnipeg had a city population of 749,607 and a metropolitan population of 834,678, making it the sixth-largest city, and eighth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.[6] The city is named after the nearby Lake Winnipeg; the name comes from the Western Cree words for muddy water. The region was a trading centre for Indigenous peoples long before the arrival of Europeans; it is the traditional territory of the Anishinabe (Ojibway), Ininew (Cree), Oji-Cree, Dene, and Dakota, and is the birthplace of the Métis Nation. French traders built the first fort on the site in 1738. A settlement was later founded by the Selkirk settlers of the Red River Colony in 1812, the nucleus of which was incorporated as the City of Winnipeg in 1873. Being far inland, the local climate is extremely seasonal even by Canadian standards with average January highs of around −11 °C (12 °F) and average July highs of 26 °C (79 °F). Other things we remember well are riding mountain national park, clear water (lac) lake, assiniboine river, shell mouth reservoir, Steinbach, bears, moose , the Mennonite heritage village @ Steinbach, Winnipeg town hall, past roller coasters at Winnipeg beach town, welcome to Manitoba sign proudly saying spirited and vibrant energy, boardwalks, train stations not much used, dry corn fields on the plains, tractors, school buses and how one had to ensure you didn’t overtake them when they stopped, fabulous old tills, crafts and art work, learning about other cultures and civilisations, lac clear lake, wild flowers, picnics, the golden boy on the Manitoba legislative building plus many others. In case you missed it ha-ha we have been from one side of Canada to the other. Some additional words on the Steinbach Mennonite village which was truly interesting are, that it tells the story of the Russian Mennonites in Canada. The museum contains both an open-air museum open seasonally, and an indoor building open year-round. Opened in 1967 and expanded significantly since then, it is a major tourist attraction in the area. Approximately 47,000 visitors visit the museum each year.[3] The village features original Mennonite housebarns, churches, and other buildings, some of which date back to the 1800s. The indoor facility documents the history of Mennonites from their origins in the Netherlands and Switzerland and focuses on the Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites who came to Western Canada. Temporary exhibits, also open year-round, are held in the Gerhard Enns Gallery. Manitoba, Canada, Travel Guide for Motorhomers keef at riding mtn np female moose grayling lake riding mountain NP 1/34 The museum is famous for its Dutch windmill, a replica of the original windmill built in Steinbach in the 1880s. The first replica was burned down by arsonists in 2000, but was later rebuilt. The outdoor village also displays a section of the Berlin Wall, the original sawmill used by Mennonite Conscientious Objectors during their Alternative Service in World War II, and two important monuments originally erected in Russia to commemorate the centennial of Chortitza and honour the two Mennonite leaders, Jacob Hoeppner and Johann Bartsch, who chose the site and accompanied the first colonists. The museum holds numerous special events and festivals, including the Pioneer Days Parade and festival each August. The museum also has a restaurant that serves Russian Mennonite food (open seasonally) and a bookstore (open year-round). In 2018, a statue of Anabaptist martyr Dirk Willems by sculptor Peter Sawatzky was unveiled on the grounds of the museum. 2010 3 Days in Manitoba, Canada between 2nd-4th June INCLUDES 67 PHOTOS 3 Days in Manitoba, Canada - 2nd-4th June 2010, 67 Photos, the slideshows cover amongst others macgregor, duaphin, dryden, winnipeg, winnipeg beach, riding mountain national park, clear water (lac) lake, assiniboine and red rivers, shellmouth reservoir, steinbach, lac clear lake, wild flowers, picnics, bears, moose , the Mennonite heritage village @ steinbach and all ports in between. In case you missed it haha We have been from one side of canada to the other, maybe have a read of the more indepth diary here below.

Discover the full story behind the Big Trip 2017. These before‑and‑after travel calendars reveal how plans evolved into unforgettable reality across Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Perfect for travellers who love detail, inspiration and real-world adventure planning. A unique month‑by‑month window into six incredible months. CALENDARS INTRO We show both the before and after plans. Understandable they differ slightly for all manner of reasons, but mostly because the reality is whatever you plan you must ensure that you replan en route, there will always be something. BEFORE THE TRIP Pre trip, calendar of our adventures, i.e anticipation of where we are going and when, it was our combined plan for the travels JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 Flying to Singapore via Dubai leaving January 31st early in the morning. 2 days stay with Doug and family, maybe the 1* michelin street hawker food, then onto Perth, WA to have a good look around. Maybe a Swan river trip. Then its pick up the motorhomes at Great Eastern Highway and go off exploring. So much to see in WA - Wave Rocks, The Pinnacles, Dolphins at Monkey Mia.... can't wait! At the end of Feb we catch the Indian Pacific Railway, Gold Star Service. MARCH 2017 Having got off the train in Adelaide we will stay in acabin on the beach before flying up to Alice Springs and bathe in the famous Todd River. C&A are off to Uluru (Ayres Rock). We fly back after 3 days and pick up the motorhomes to explore amongst others the Great Ocean Road (GOR), koala's at Kennet River, wine in the Barossa Valley, the 12 apostles, whales at Warrnmbool, Sale, Mallacoota, Tathra, Eden and so much more. APRIL 2017 In the first week of April we will still be in Sydney, K&A in their apartment with pool in Beacon Hills and C&A off with Laura and Steve having fun. K&A visit John & Diana in Tasmania. We will then stay at the Kiwi Motel in Mangere, Auckland (did the NZ census here in 2013) overnight before jetting off for a relaxing week in the Raina Beach house on Rarotonga. On return its pick up the motorhomes in mangere and off to explore North island. MAY 2017 Mid may-ish we will leave north island and take the motorhomes across on the interisland ferry from wellington to picton, and see the fab queen charlotte sound. Captain Cook knew it well. Then its off to explore south island. Milford and no doubt(ful) sound plus dunedin and a whole lot more. At the end of the month we fly out of Christchurch together to Sydney where we say our good byes JUNE 2017 After Sydney C&A are flying off to Hong Kong for a few days before making their ways back to the UK. K&A will visit family for a few weeks in Singapore and then jet back home from Changi airport. SUMMARY Jan thru June 2017 There is a complete proposed schedule of our trip included in the slideshow Use the actual schedule and diary to see what the reality was during the journey, what's the line "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" - one Rabbie Burns Jan/Feb 17 before calendar Mar 17 before calendar Summary Jan-June 2017 Jan/Feb 17 before calendar 1/6 BEFORE THE TRIP Post trip, calendar of our adventures, i.e where we went and when #loved every moment of it, such lovely shared memories JAN-JUNE 2017 Note the only difference is that at the end Chris & Allyson flew to Hong Kong for a few days and we went to Singapore for a couple of weeks before returning to the UK. What is shown in this gallery is the complete booked flight schedule. Luckily no dates or times changed during our 6 months away, unlike in 2013 when our flight from Perth to Changi was bought forward by 3 hours meaning we almost missed it, the company alledgedly had no way to contact us to warn us "as if - internet was working!" ACTUAL CALENDAR FOR THE BIG TRIP 2017 Comparing what was planned against what we actually did, surprisingly there wasnt really that much difference in the schedule, maybe a few days here and there as we hadnt gone to that level of detail. It is worth reading Annie's diary in unison with these calendar views, if you would like to please click HERE OLD WEBSITE IMAGES History of what the old site pre 2020 looked like is preserved for prosperity, maybe 😉 We preserved some of the page images before removing old site pages in Aug 2021, they are recaptured here gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/10 Luckily this didn't happen 😉 flight details created and uploaded by KeefH Web Designs for the Travel Photography site flight tickets 1/3 CAMP SITES SLIDESHOW TIME! This is a pictorial history of all the campsites we stayed at our our Big Trip 2017 in both Australia and New Zealand in our hired Britz / Maui camper vans DISTANCES SLIDESHOW TIME! To recap we travelled in our hired motorhomes in both Australia and New Zealand on our 2017 Big Trip 9337 Miles or 15026 Kilometres, WOW! Distances travelled by Keef & Annie. NOTE Here are the distances we drove ourselves whilst on THE BIG TRIP, HOLIDAY 2017 which by implication as Chris & Allyson didn't go to Tasmania and did far more walking than us and drove the west coast of North island, New Zealand whilst we did the east coast means their total distance is likely to be some what less , but in reality probably not by that much. gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/5 WILDLIFE SLIDESHOW TIME! Wildlife spotted in Australia Western Australia Blue tongued skinks, Major Mitchell Cockatiel (white & pink feathers), emus, turtle, pelicans, eagles, goats, galahs, small frog, flock of white & yellow cockatoos, small lizard, green parakeets with yellow ring round neck – could be yellow ring lorikeets, alpacas of a farm, kangaroos, dead snake on road, budgies, quokkas, magpies, small black lizard 6-8” long, stick insects, dolphins, Australian sealions, 4 Ospreys, pelican colony, Little Blue Penguins, New Zealand fur seals. Northern Territory Lots of Aussie mammals, birds & reptiles in Desert Park, a wildlife park outside Alice Springs. Cockroaches in pavement in Alice at night. South Australia Corella parrots (white with lemon feathers under wings), large moorhens, stingray. Victoria Dead snake (brown) in middle of road. Koala crossing road, budgies, black rock wallaby, echidna, 4 koalas, wallaby, baby black snake, bandicoot, red & green parakeets, 2 Sulphur crested cockatoos, seal by a jetty, grey kangaroo at Hanging Rock, thin lizard, large group of grey kangaroos & 1 albino one, black swans, large 3ft stingray with orange spots on top & orange underneath, koalas, bellbirds, small lizard. New South Wales Kangaroos, rainbow lorikeets, stingrays, white cockatoos, small geckos, dead wombats by highway, wattle bird, heron, ibis birds, possum. Tasmania Dead Tasmanian Devils by roadsides, plovers & sandpipers, kookaburra, wallabies. Wildlife in Cook Islands (Rarotonga ) Plovers, sandpipers, small crabs, sea cucumbers, fish, geckos, black/brown birds. Wildlife spotted in New Zealand Green Praying Mantis, weka (bird), 3 kingfishers, eagle, dead possum, bush turkeys, black swans, large black eels, fantail birds, pet emus & small wallaby at campsite in Murchison, whales, rock wren, Kea alpine parrots, 2 dolphins, NZ fur seals, small albatross, white heron, grey herons, Little Blue & Yellow Eyed penguins, seals. gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/43

Discover KHWD’s commitment to accessible, inclusive travel content with a clear, user‑focused accessibility statement covering navigation support, readable layouts, alt‑text use, and device‑friendly design. Learn how we work to ensure every visitor can explore decades of holiday stories with confidence, comfort, and equal access across our full archive. Accessibility Statement Website Design Accessibility Statement Last Updated 14th February 2026 Accessibility Statement for KeefH Web Designs This is an accessibility statement from KeefH Web Designs East Midlands UK. Conformance status The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. KeefH Web Designs is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 level AA. Partially conformant means that some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard. Additional accessibility considerations Please let us know if there is something that doesn't currently work for you, to all intents and purposes we believe we are accessibility compliant Feedback We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of KeefH Web Designs. Please let us know if you encounter accessibility barriers on KeefH Web Designs: Phone: +447843962729 E-mail: keefhwebdesigns@outlook.com Visitor Address: 143 Longmoor Lane Sandiacre Postal Address: Sandiacre see social media contacts on the website, thanks We try to respond to feedback within 3 business days. Date This statement was created on 8th August 2023 using the W3C Accessibility Statement Generator Tool. COPYRIGHT Copyright (21/12/2022) by KeefH Web Designs, © All rights reserved: I take the theft of my original work very seriously and would draw to your attention it is protected under UK copyright law. Please note any part of my website, design, images, text or search engine optimisation (SEO) is wholly owned by KeefH Web Designs and must not be found being used elsewhere without prior authorisation in writing to KeefHWebDesigns@outlook.com

Relive vivid 2010 travel memories and learn how to track travel trends effectively with KHWD Adventures. Uncover 2010 Adventures and Learn How to Track Travel Trends Discover the vibrant 2010 travel archive, designed to show you how to track travel trends for future adventures. Relive memorable experiences, scenic routes, and insightful tips to inspire your next journey. Explore how to track travel trends effectively and enhance your travel planning today.This page is your gateway to exploring vivid memories and insightful travel tips, helping you understand how to track travel trends for future adventures. Join us in celebrating a great year of exploration and discovery (i.e. 2010). Dive into our archives for tips, routes, and inspiration to make your travels unforgettable. Also see Nova Scotia for examples of Motorhome Driving Routes, Practical Driving Tips & Suggested Campsites 2010 Canada Travel — Full Route (All Provinces Except BC) Alberta Calgary Banff Lake Louise Icefields Parkway Jasper Edmonton Saskatchewan Lloydminster North Battleford Saskatoon Regina Moose Jaw Manitoba Brandon Winnipeg Whiteshell Provincial Park Kenora (border region but Manitoba‑linked stop) Ontario Thunder Bay Wawa Sault Ste. Marie Sudbury Ottawa Kingston Toronto Niagara Falls Quebec Montréal Québec City Tadoussac Saguenay Fjord Rivière‑du‑Loup Gaspé Peninsula Percé Rock New Brunswick Campbellton Bathurst Miramichi Moncton Hopewell Rocks Saint John Prince Edward Island Confederation Bridge Charlottetown Cavendish North Rustico Greenwich Dunes Nova Scotia Pictou Antigonish Cape Breton Island Cabot Trail Baddeck Halifax Lunenburg Peggy’s Cove Newfoundland Port aux Basques Corner Brook Gros Morne National Park Rocky Harbour Deer Lake Gander Twillingate Terra Nova St. John’s Cape Spear Labrador Blanc‑Sablon (entry) L’Anse‑au‑Clair Red Bay Mary’s Harbour Port Hope Simpson Cartwright Happy Valley–Goose Bay USA 2010 Route (to merge with Canada 2010) Upstate New York Buffalo Rochester Syracuse Albany Lake George Adirondack Mountains Plattsburgh (crossing into Quebec) Maine Portland Augusta Bangor Bar Harbor Acadia National Park Calais (border crossing into New Brunswick) 10 Route Visuals Canada & USA 2010 – Route Summary Glacier National Park, Montana Calgary, Alberta Banff, Alberta Jasper, Alberta Edmonton, Alberta Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Regina, Saskatchewan Winnipeg, Manitoba Thunder Bay, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Toronto, Ontario Niagara Falls, Ontario Buffalo, New York Rochester, New York Syracuse, New York Albany, New York Lake George, New York Adirondacks, New York Plattsburgh, New York Portland, Maine Bar Harbor, Maine Acadia National Park, Maine Calais, Maine Moncton, New Brunswick Saint John, New Brunswick Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia Halifax, Nova Scotia Lunenburg, Nova Scotia St. John’s, Newfoundland Happy Valley–Goose Bay, Labrador CANADA & USA 2010 NORTH AMERICA HELLINGER TRAVEL RECORDs for HOLIDAY 2010, Replicated by BLOG 164 As an overall introduction to my Holiday 2010 travel website for North America I would say this is split by both country and time, it covers our family trips in Holiday 2010 to both Canada and America. We have been from one side of Canada to the other mostly in our HOLIDAY 2010 travels, which was from Edmonton in Alberta to Labrador and the start of the Trans Labrador Highway, and back in 1999 from Vancouver as far east as Edmonton where our pals live, so joining up from East coast to West. For America we visited in 1997 for the 25th anniversary of Walt Disney World in Florida with our boys when they were 15 and 13, again on this 2010 trip when we crossed over into Upstate New York and Maine briefly, again in 2018 for our 40th wedding anniversary which was a cruise where we visited states Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida , that trip is not featured here on this website but you can read all about it by clicking HERE and finally in 2022 for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney world again back in Florida but this time with Craig, Leanne and our grandchildren Edie & Tate, 3 generations, finally beginning to look old though I will always like Peter Pan feel young. So all in all we have visited 5 States of the United States, quite a few more to go then eh for us Brits. Right on with the rest of the site, lets initially focus on Canada. Get the rest via the dropdown menu, thanks as always for looking, best KeefH Web Designs x We travelled at the time by Air Canada I believe via Iceland to Calgary and then on to Edmonton but I could be wrong, I have some dim and distant memory of an airline called Canada3000. So wish I had taken a picture of the plane. PLAY SUMMARY ACROSS CANADA IN A MOTORHOME 2010, Alberta to Labrador (we did British Columbia in 1999) plus NY & Maine in the USA in 2010, Alberta is one of the 3 Prairie Provinces HOLIDAY 2010 87 Days travel Canada - 18th May - 24th July 2010, 1769 HOLIDAY 2010 Photos, Approximately 4200 miles, Highlights Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, Seeing the Harvey's (dear friends), Dauphin, Wrestling with the badly sorted Steering wheel on the very windy Prairies, Maid of the Mist on Niagara Falls, Red Bay Labrador, Canada day in Fredericton, Gaspe peninsular, Mounties museum in Regina, Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, seeing Moose plus potentially more importantly achieving travelling from one side of Canada to the other - all provinces (Canada does provinces, America does states-BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, PEI, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland (Newfie heaven) & Labrador IMAGE HIGHLIGHTS USA A couple.... Prairie Provinces Central Provinces Maritime Provinces MOVIE TIME USA Here is a HIGHLIGHT movie culled from the talkies movies we have made back in 2010. 2010 92 Days Across Canada in a Motorhome Plus 5 Days in the USA, Upstate NY & Maine CANADA In 2010 We were in Canada between 18th May and 25th July 2010. Stayed with our friends David & Cathy in Edmonton for 5 days but visited Lesser Slave Lakes, then picked up our campervan / motorhome (Canadreams) in Calgary and travelled for roughly 9 weeks across to the east seeing all provinces (apart from Yukon, North West Territories & Nunavut) plus dropped across the US border into upstate New York & Maine including the wonderful Bar Harbor, so combined with our 1999 trip when we were essentially in British Columbia and the Rockies region as well as Vancouver Island and a brief sojourn to visit our pals in Edmonton, Alberta we have now crossed from one side of Canada to the other (it is the 2nd largest country on earth) At the end of our 2010 trip we flew back from Halifax Nova Scotia One of the comments from David in 1999 when we camped about 300 miles away from his home was "you were just down the road, you should have come here instead of camping there"... just gives you an illustration of how vast the wonderful Canada is when Canadians mentality suggests 300 miles is a hop, step and a jump away, for us Brits thats almost a 1/3 rd of the country. 😉HOLIDAY 2010 was a fun experience. HOLIDAY 2010: 92 Days travel - 18th May - 24th July 2010, 1769 Photos, Approximately 4200 miles Edmonton to Halifax, west to east, including Newfoundland & Labrador, Prairies, Ontario & Quebec, Maritimes. Step back into 2010, a year packed with colour, character, and unforgettable travel moments. This page brings your holiday memories to life with warmth, humour, and the unmistakable charm of journeys shared with family. From the first snapshots of the year to the final adventures that closed it, every image and story captures the spirit of exploration that defines KHWD Holidays. What makes these 2010 memories special is the blend of everyday joy and once‑in‑a‑lifetime experiences. You’ll find seaside wanderings, scenic stopovers, quirky discoveries, and the kind of spontaneous moments that only happen when you’re on the road. Each section is crafted to feel like opening a well‑loved photo album—personal, nostalgic, and full of character. Whether you’re revisiting your own travels or discovering these stories for the first time, the page invites you to slow down, smile, and enjoy the journey. This collection also forms a key chapter in the wider KHWD Holidays archive, spanning 1995–2024. It’s a chance to see how travel styles evolved, how the family grew, and how each year brought its own flavour of adventure. For long‑time followers, it’s a comforting return to familiar faces and favourite destinations. For new visitors, it’s the perfect entry point into decades of travel storytelling. Explore the photos, follow the routes, and relive the laughter, landscapes, and little surprises that made 2010 a standout year. If you enjoy this chapter, the full archive offers even more road trips, holiday parks, UK escapes, and European adventures waiting to be rediscovered. AND the USA On the same motorhome trip 5 Days travel in the USA - 14th-15th June Plus 4th-5th July 2010, 82 Photos, Approximately 538 miles covering Maine & Upstate New York. By 2024 we have been to the following states - Florida, Maine, New York, California, South Carolina, New Orleans, Montana & Alaska Full Diary We went ACROSS CANADA IN A MOTORHOME 2010, Alberta to Labrador (we did British Columbia in 1999) plus USA States New York & Maine ,it was such fun and quite an achievement. In summary HOLIDAY 2010 consisted of 87 Days travel Canada - 18th May - 24th July 2010, 1769 Photos, Approximately 4200 miles, the Highlights were Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, Seeing the Harvey's (dear friends), Dauphin, Wrestling with the badly sorted Steering wheel on the very windy Prairies, Maid of the Mist on Niagara Falls, Red Bay Labrador, Canada day in Fredericton, Gaspe peninsular, Mounties museum in Regina, Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, seeing Moose plus potentially more importantly achieving travelling from one side of Canada to the other - all provinces (Canada does provinces, America does states-BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland (Newfie heaven) & Labrador. In sequence during our travels in 2010 we visited Alberta is one of the 3 Prairie Provinces. We spent 11 Days in Alberta, Canada - 18th - 29th May 2010, 219 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, we have now been from one side of Canada to the other in a motorhome, BC to Labrador, loved it, fabulous country Medicine hat, head smashed in buffalo jump world heritage site, snow at high river end of may, the campsite said happy Christmas (smile) when we arrived, 2 caravans were ruined by falling branches weighed down by weight of the snow, plus Cardston, high prairie, staying with dear friends David & Cathy and family, west ed mall, Dawson bridge, perogies, Tyrrell heritage centre, fort ed, Winterton lakes national park, bow river, border with Montana glacial park, red deer, Calgary, having a brand new motorhome (scary), The Hoo Doos at willow creek, Blackfoot tribe and many more gems, we have now been from one side of Canada to the other in a motorhome, BC to Labrador, loved it, fabulous country. Why not have a look at the Prairies Provinces talkies video whilst you are about it, it shows all our spoken word highlights in those 3 provinces. Worth a listen I promise you. Now to the second prairie province, Saskatchewan during HOLIDAY 2010. We spent 5 Days in Saskatchewan, Canada - 29th May-2nd June 2010, 79 HOLIDAY 2010 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, amongst others we covered Saskatchewan landing, saskatoon, Regina, visiting the RCMP "Mounties" academy, chapel and museum in Regina , Goodwin house, red river cart, wanuskewin heritage centre, heritage, prairies, railways, swift current, elbow, Davidson, we learnt about the Cree, matis and Lakota tribes, Hudson bay company, meewasin park plus we saw bears and we have now been right across Canada in a motorhome and we loved it #FACT Then we visited the last of the Prairie provinces, Manitoba, we spent 3 Days in Manitoba, Canada - 2nd-4th June 2010, 67 HOLIDAY 2010 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective covering MacGregor, dauphin, Dryden, Winnipeg , Winnipeg beach, riding mountain national park, clear water (lac) lake, Assiniboine river, shell mouth reservoir, Steinbach, bears, moose , Mennonite heritage village @ Steinbach and all ports in between. In case you missed it haha we have been from one side of Canada to the other #fact We then moved onto the central provinces for HOLIDAY 2010, firstly Ontario, including Canada’s capital Ottawa. We spent 15 Days in Ontario, Canada between 4th-20th June 2010, we took 372 HOLIDAY 2010 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, visiting amongst others nipigon, wawa, elliot lake, new liskeard, musselmans lake, toronto, niagara falls – just fab, 1000 islands boat trip from Gananoque and we did learn how to make that famous dressing on board, percy lake, ignace, sault ste marie, wabigoon lakes, agimak lake& beach, rossport, terrace bay, pays plat, thunder bay, the great lakes-superior, huron, ontario & dipping my toe in them, niagara on the lake, Sinclair cove, mounties on horses and foot, ottawa, aguasarbon falls, lake superior national park, Latchford where annie’s uncle and family once travelled as nearby and indeed their street was named such, spanish, temigami, temiskaming shores, bobbie rosenfeld olympian & park, stouffville, niagara botanical gardens, floral clock, devils hole whirlpool, st Lawrence river, gananoque town and harbor, rideau falls, river and canal, byward market and saw some fascinating street food, haileybury the home of Annie's rellies and found some nice folk who had indeed been taught by him at the Hailbury museum (we joined their mailing list for a bit with respect to genealogy) and all ports in between. It may be worth having a look at the HOLIDAY 2010 Central Provinces spoken word videos at this point which act as a type of audiobook. It was then on to that most 17th French speaking province during HOLIDAY 2010 and the final one in the central region Quebec. This is most distinctively THE French Province, the McGarrigle sister are a huge plus as is Celine Dion but they are in our humble opinion somewhat just too parochial, we noted as we crossed the border how it instantly felt like English was verboten. Our pals find it odd as well since it was the Quebecoise who insisted that all road signs are written in dual language yet Quebec is the only province that doesn’t do that tee hee, David said if geographically they were on either edge of Canada they could easily be awarded independence, still that won’t happen. We spent 11 Days on HOLIDAY 2010 in Quebec, Canada - between 10th June & 13th July 2010, taking 178 HOLIDAY 2010 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, visiting amongst others montreal, quebec city, fort quebec, the queen’s governor’s residence, chateau Frontenac, wow what a grand hotel almost a French chateau , saguenay fjord, tadoussac, trois pistoles, gaspe,saw the city bike race, the citadel,the fab st lawrence river, lac timiscaming, les escoumins, bardville, ferry, grande grave, campsite juneau, cap de rosier, forillon national park, camping baie de gaspe where sadly as I dished out our cooked brekkie on the outside wooden table it collapsed and spread hot food over both of us – not good but on reflection funny, it was caused by me sitting on the same side of the wooden bench as Annie and sad to say it couldn’t cope with my extra weight tee hee, riviere au renard, basilica notre dame du quebec, rocking chairs, kayaks, l’heritage 1, light houses, boardwalks, musicians, rooftops, skyscrapers, robbie burns in montreal, maison maillou, point a la recommee, dolphins, possibly whales, sunsets, provisional and national parcs & all ports in between. All very french "trois service sil vous plais" For HOLIDAY 2010 It was then onto the first of our Maritime Provinces, namely New Brunswick which still had in most parts a French feel. We spent 14 Days in New Brunswick, Canada - between 24th June & 25th July 2010, 78 HOLIDAY 2010 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, visiting amongst others alma, campbellton, lighthouses, miscou island, lamere island, kouchibouguac np, bay of fundy np which is world famous for the tidal change in height, fantastic to see, provincial parcs, butland’s lobster (yummy), beaver tails which was a distinctive fast food chain across Canada as indeed is that dead ice hockey player Tim Hortons which is now in the UK along with that other North American stalwart Taco Bells (we always assumed it wouldn’t be long before each invaded our shores haha), art and art galleries, music, arcadians, micmacs, mcadam station, cape jourmain, confederation bridge, sea dogs ice hockey, covered cedar bridge tunnels, hopewell rocks, grand anse, baseball, bog walks, plant life, harbors, sun and rain in equal measures, magnetic hill, magic village, bathurst, val-comeau, cap egmont, moncton, saint john (as opposed to st johns in newfie) looking for Annie’s rellies, petit codiac river, possum in the road kill cafe, fredericton for canada day 1 July, Japanese tourists asking to see inside our van (they were fascinated bizarrely… I guess like China which we do know about from Phoenix’s parents camping is just not a common occurrence) , and lots of places in between. It may be worth looking at the HOLIDAY 2010 Maritime provinces talkies video which acts as a spoken word audiobook of our time in the Maritimes, such lovely provinces, indeed there isn’t a bad one from one side of Canada to the other. Then it was HOLIDAY 2010 time in Prince Edward Island (PEI) the 2nd of the Maritimes, a holiday island, we went twice, Charlotte town is just lovely, it’s the capital. We went once on our touring journet and then returned when David & Cathy were on holiday there, they flew from Edmonton Alberta across. We spent 7 Days on Prince Edward Island, Canada, between 27th June & 25th July 2010, we took 90 HOLIDAY 2010 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, visiting amongst others PEI a holiday resort or as some people unkindly refer to it "spud" island, summerside, anne of green gables house @ cavendish, charlottetown, many heritage buildings, crossing the fab confederation bridge arriving at borden-carleton, meeting up with friends - the lovely Harveys,we made 2 visits here ,saw live music, the bottle house, tigish, cape egmont and lighthouse, north cape, north point lighthouse, victoria, georgetown, spud radio, lobsters, energy institute, queens wharf, lucy maud Montgomery (yes here of anne of green gables fame , huge with Japanese school kids it seems) , sand sculptures and cedar cladding plus saw a lot of other places on the island. Then it was onto the third of the HOLIDAY 2010 Maritime provinces, Nova Scotia, yes it does sound Scottish, and it definitely has a lot of that character, whiskey and highland games being 2 of the times to that ancient mainland origins . Remember many Scots migrated to Canada to avoid crofting law changes and indeed starvation, through out history folks have moved continents for a chance of a better life, including my rellies who escaped from “beyond the pale” or in escaping greater Germany / Russia from Latvia “pale of Settlement” … a quick definition is “From pale (“jurisdiction of an authority, territory under an authority's jurisdiction”), suggesting that anything outside the authority's jurisdiction was uncivilized. The phrase was in use by the mid-17th century, and is a reference to the general sense of boundary (outside of the palisades), but is sometimes understood to refer specifically to the English Pale in Ireland, as well as the Pale of Settlement in Imperial Russia. In the nominally English territory of Ireland, only the Pale fell genuinely under the authority of English law, hence the terms within the pale and beyond the pale. In Russia, Jews were relegated to living in the Pale, and mostly forbidden to live or work “beyond the pale.” We spent 11 Days on HOLIDAY 2010 in Nova Scotia, Canada, between 8th & 25th July 2010, we took 294 HOLIDAY 2010 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective visiting amongst others the wonderful bay of fundy, many heritage buildings especially at annapolis royal & lunneburg, highland games at antigonish, watching someones awning bend in high winds at the campsite, wolfville, crossing the fab confederation bridge near mayfield (NB) ,cape breton National Park, the truly magnificent peggys cove at st margarets bay inmour humble opinion a place that could join the elite wonders of the world indeed definitely in our book the 1001 places to see before you die, they are listed on the site with all the ones we have been to and the ones we are yet to visit… note to self-please! , halifax and KEITH’s beer (got the t-shirt) ferry from sydney to newfoundland, far too much fizzy pop in fast food joint (free refill - never again!), cap le moine, cheticamp, cape breton, cabot trail with views to die for, pugwash, bog walk, pictou, glenora distillery the only single malt in canada, ingonish, broad cove campground, joe’s scarecrow visited by billy connolly and us (sadly closed in 2011), the highlands national park, louisbourg and the fortress, wolfe and the french, halifax, murray-mackay bridge, pier 21 a very interesting museum which so much about migration to these new lands, prospect, shelburne, port maitland beach, cresent beach, yarmouth, digby, lockeport and more Timeline by Province Timeline Coming Up provinces & states 1000 Places 2CB4U Die Timeline Coming Up 1/18 280510 hard to believe xmas nearly june, high river campsite Alberta keef with the mountie bear Saskatchewan cape canaveral 97 Florida USA 1997 280510 hard to believe xmas nearly june, high river campsite Alberta 1/14 2010 92 Days Between 18th May & 24th July may holiday 2010 after visit details what we did on each day, the 3 final dairies were constructed slightly before the visit june holiday 2010 after visit July Calendar Note since this calendar was created before we went it may not always tie up with what actually happened, especially July & Quebec. may holiday 2010 after visit details what we did on each day, the 3 final dairies were constructed slightly before the visit 1/6 To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. perfect picture time zones of canada 1/8 Time Zones by Province Weather by Province & Month in degrees C 1/10 120610 camp park resorts niagara falls 070610 camping at elliot lake, ontario 1/28 This slideshow also merges in some shots from our other travels to Canadian Provinces & American States front bar harbor van parked up at red bay united reform church 1/39 Now onto our HOLIDAY 2010 4th Maritme province and maybe one of the oldest with the weirdest accent derived from the fisher folk who came over from the oh-ah counties of England, i.e. Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, after all Newfoundland is “just across the water” maybe haha. We love the Newfies and their scenery and moose. We spent 6 Days in Newfoundland, Canada, between 11th & 16th July 2010, took 158 HOLIDAY 2010 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, visiting amongst others l'anse au claire, st johns (as opposed to st john in NB) fab harbour views here, moose by the roadside,the wonderful gros morne national park, gander, bonavista, conception bay, st mary’s, icebergs floating past, st anthony museum and the size of a polar bear, just see that picture of annie standing next to one standing on its hind legs and you will see how dwarfed she was, , ferry at st barbe to labrador and a very early morning sailing in rain and mist, we parked in the ferry carpark overnight so as not to miss it, port aux basque,deer lake, grand falls windsor, corner brook, fab whale museum and houses at scilly cove (now winterton) home of annie’s rellie john masters, indian harbour, steady brook,3 mile rock, long beach, pynns brook, springdale, grate cove, gambo, the perlican,nymph island, portland creek,little hearts ease (such a lovely name),red rocks, noddy bay, st lunaire-griquet, the arches National Park ,the ship the SS ethie, bonne & shallow bays, gunners cove, cape ray and wreck house brook. Then onto our final HOLIDAY 2010 Province, Labrador which sadly is mostly impassable except in the height of winter when the perma frost TLH or Trans Labrador Highway allows passage between the many remote and sparse towns and settlements. The capital of Labrador is Labrador City which in fairness is not really a city nor a capital. Labrador and Newfoundland often act as one due to the very low population numbers. We were really only able to go along the coast road as far as Red Bay and the start of the TLH. We spent 2 Days in Labrador, Canada - between 12th & 13th July 2010, 51 HOLIDAY 2010 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, visiting amongst others the ferry apollo departing st barbe newfoundland at an ungodly hour and arriving at blanc sablon, l'anse au clair (where we camped overnight), forteau, travelling the jersey trail, l'anse au covert, l'anse amour, red bay including the museum and look out at old whaling station, saddle & capstan islands, start of the trans labrador highway (gravel and permafrost) oh and black fly galore on the pinware river bridge. That’s all folks for HOLIDAY 2010 Canada 2010 at least but now onto the 2 HOLIDAY 2010 American states we popped over into in 2010 and our earlier visit to British Columbia in 1999 with Doug in a hired motorhome, he was 15, and then our family visit to Florida back in 1997, this was car and motel, no motorhome involved. So to HOLIDAY 2010 Upstate New York , the bit basically around the River Niagara but so glad we did it, crossing Lewiston-Wellesley, we spent 2 Days in Upstate New York (NY), USA - between 14th & 15th June 2010, 28 HOLIDAY 2010 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, visiting amongst others a fraught crossing at lewiston into the states because of the hired motorhome, and on return "mam I've told you to remove those sun glasses, I want to see the whites of your eyes" (smile), niagara falls (both canadian and us sides), rochester, banal local tv about geese "sh***ting on boardwalk", oh and trash can episode at the very nice campsite on the lake edge, watertown, apples & cherries,country stores, hummers plus crossing back to canada near wellesley island, youngstown & the boss i.e. mr springsteen, one of my fave he and the east street band tracks, oneida lake. Maybe have a listen to the HOLIDAY 2010 American state talkies videos 2010 which act as a sort of audiobook of our time there. Then when in HOLIDAY 2010 New Brunswick we crossed over into the US state of Maine, we were naughty and tried to find a completely out of the way border crossing as after the fiasco and hassle at the Lewiston border control, officialdom gone nuts, we wanted an easy crossing, sadly even though we were in the middle of the woods which seemed to be nowhere we were heavily checked again, maybe sensible I suppose with some of the border issues the States faces. We spent 3 Days in HOLIDAY 2010 Maine (ME), USA - between 4th (Independance day) & 5th July 2010, 69 HOLIDAY 2010 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, visiting amongst others bar harbor, lincoln, bangor, crossing the border at a small centre near mcadams, lubec, west quoddy lighthouse, shopping for milk "near the guns, rifles and bullets, sir!", that was a walmart in Lincoln where we also bought some warmer clothing now sadly all gone (2022), the staff were amazingly polite, 4th july at campsite near bar harbor, flags, burgers and beers, plus crossing back to canada , lobster rolls (yummy) from gas stations, miles not kilometres and cheap gas. We have now been from one side of Canada to the other in case you didn’t guess haha and visited quite a few states in America. #tick So now back to HOLIDAY 2010 British Columbia, Vancouver Island and Edmonton, Alberta and visiting friends. In summary our trip to Canada in 1999 was between 11 August to 4th September, 25 days in our hired All Drive Classic 3000 3 berth motorhome, we started in Vancouver, went to see the Rockies, then across on the ferry to Vancouver island where we went to Tofino to do some whale watching, actually saw a pod of Killer Whales better known as Orca's, it was just magical, then back to see more of British Columbia eventually travelling up to Edmonton in Alberta to visit our pals David & Cathy & family, magical times with Doug who was 15 at that stage, fishing and chopping logs for our wild camp fire cooking was a true highlight. We stayed in some very remote campsites and managed to avoid the bears! 😉but not the long drop loos. Then it was HOLIDAY 2010 Florida (FL) USA with the boys, including Kissimee, Tampa, the Keys, Everglades, Cape Kennedy Space Station, we returned again in 2018 on our 40th Wedding Anniversary cruise, you can read our motorhome-travels blog https://www.motorhome-travels.net blog number 125 for further details if you are interested. We spent 15 days holiday between 26 July and 9 August 1997, highlights were Family Time at all these, Clearwater Beach, Tampa and West Palm Beach plus of course Disney & Miss Piggy #sigh, we stayed at apartment 126, The Villas of Somerset, Kissimmee, Florida, USA, 34746, and here's a summary Initially stayed in Kissimmee for 2 weeks and visited ALL the theme parks & water parks. Going back into Universal after 7pm is a good call as it saved the queues. Saw central Orlando. We then travelled across to the west, Tampa, Busch Gardens park, clearwater, sanibel, sarasota, venice , naples, then back to the east via the Everglades and down the Keys: Largo, Marathon, Bahia Honda National Park (NP), Key West then back up via Fort Lauderdale, Miami (although didn't go in here in 97 but did in 2018) to Orlando plus Kennedy Space Station , Cocoa beach, River Country, Cracker Barrel, 25 Disney Anniversary, Typhoon Lagoon, Sports World, River Country, Universal, Water World, MGM Studios, Pleasure Island, Blizzard Beach, Tower of Terror, Backlot , giant heavy video cameras & animation tours. So that really is all folks from HOLIDAY 2010. Feast your eyes on all the wonderful You Tube videos and image slideshows that accompanied that wonderful experience we now call a Big Trip holiday. Note there is more inividual diaries available under each Province or State, maybe have a look there as well. 2010 Slideshows , Summaries then by Province and then by States To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Pre Travel To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Alberta To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Saskatchewan To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Manitoba To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Ontario To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Quebec To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. New Brunswick To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Prince Edward Island To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Nova Scotia To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Newfoundland To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Labrador To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Upstate New York To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Maine To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

Discover the wonders of Newfoundland's island-hopping journey! Dive into motorhome adventures blog uk for unforgettable travel tales. Essential Tips for Motorhome Touring in Newfoundland (2010) Embark on a captivating journey through Newfoundland with our motorhome adventures blog uk, sharing tales from an unforgettable 2010 trip. This blog offers tips, insights, and stunning stories from exploring Canada’s easternmost province. Dive into the motorhome adventures blog uk and let the stories inspire your next travel escapade! NEWFOUNDLAND HOLIDAY in 2010 A Travel Blog Experience DIARY During 2010 we have now been from one side of Canada to the other in a motorhome, British Columbia to Labrador, we loved it, it is a fabulous country and quite an achievement with memories we shall treasure forever. For Newfoundland the following were some of the highlights of Newfoundland (home of the Newfies) along, however as an overview The Strait of Belle Isle separates the combined province into two geographical parts: Labrador, which is a large area of mainland Canada but in fairness so much more remote, and Newfoundland, an island in the Atlantic Ocean. Those highlights are St Johns (as opposed to st john in NB) fab harbour views here, it is also the capital of the bigger Province and the Province’s largest City and is also the Eastern most City in North America if you exclude Greenland which isn’t really either a city or in North America although technically as on the North American tectonic plate it counts. St John’s was first inhabited by seasonal fishermen in the early 1500’s but was named fully by Sebastian Cabot. We remember moose by the roadside, the wonderful gros morne national park which is a UNESCO world heritage site and the 2nd largest National Park in Canada, Gros Morne is one of the most uniquely beautiful places in Canada. Nestled on the edge of western Newfoundland, Gros Morne National Park exhibits amazing experiences all year round, one of the most unique times of year to visit is the fall. We didn’t, it was July but still super nice, in fall the blazing red, yellow and orange hues that are painted throughout the park illuminate the already majestic landscape. Exploring this landscape on the trails, paths, and tours becomes even more magical when you feel like you are the only one here. September and October are much quieter than summer; this grants you the space to enjoy the park peacefully and at your own pace. Visiting Gros Morne during this time is an enchanting experience and every hike and trail is vibrant, beautiful, and serene. Other visited places were gander, bonavista, conception bay, st marys, icebergs floating past, st anthony museum and the size of a polar bear, ferry at st barbe to Labrador via a very small corner of Quebec province as the ferry goes to Sablon-Blanc which is 2 kilometers from the border, very early morning sailing in rain and mist, indeed we experience quite a lot of rain (sometimes torrential) which lead to some lovely waterfalls, we parked in the ferry car park overnight so as not to miss it, port aux basque, deer lake, pasadena, massey drive, badger township (what a great name), grand falls windsor, sights of grand lake, corner brook, crows hill lookout which we went up and got some fab views and learnt more about our world discovered hero from Middleborough Captain James Cook, my pal Kevin Jackson was writing a short story about our hero when he sadly passed far too young, you can get Kevon’s short story series on Amazon, they are often in the Top 10 short stories, seeing again the trans-Canada highway old car rally near corner brook, fab whale museum and houses at scilly cove (now winterton) off Highway 74, home of Annie's rellie john masters, indian harbour and indian bay, deadman's bay, dover, steady brook, 3 mile rock, terra nova national park, l’anse au meadows, old perlican, blong beach, pynns brook, the arches pronincial park, springdale, south brook, grate cove, gambo, the perlican, nymph island, portland creek, little hearts ease (such a lovely name) and the equally wonderfully named come by chance , red rocks, noddy bay, hawkes bay, daniel's harbor, st lunaire-griquet, the arches NP, ss ethie in Gros Morne NP, southport trinity bay, bonne & shallow bays, gunners cove, cape ray, pidgeon cove, fishing point park and wreck house brook plus its fab old railway sign. We liked Newfoundland a lot, an Atlantic Island that had a lot going for it, but one word of warning do not travel at night with all those Moose around, it could be fatal, lots have bounced across peoples bonnets and crashed through their windscreens, I’m just saying, sorry. Newfoundland Island Hopping, Canada, Travel Guide for Motorhomers annie and that polar bear in st anthony juvenile moose 1/81 2010 6 Days in Newfoundland , Canada between 11th and 16th July INCLUDES 158 PHOTOS We visited amongst others Newfoundland & Labrador combined count as one Province , st johns (as opposed to st john in NB) fab harbour views here, we really liked St Johns , so much to do, Founder Sebastian Cabot, moose by the roadside, the wonderful gros morne national park, gander, bonavista, conception bay, st marys, icebergs floating past, st anthony museum and the size of a polar bear, ferry at st barbe to labrador via a very small corner of Quebec province as the ferry goes to Sablon-Blanc which is 2 kilometers from the border, very early morning sailing in rain and mist, we parked in the ferry car park overnight so as not to miss it, port aux basque, deer lake, pasadena, Captain James Cook our hero at Crows Hill Corner Brook, massey drive, badger township (what a great name), grand falls windsor, sights of grand lake, corner brook, fab whale museum and houses at scilly cove (now winterton) home of Annie's rellie john masters, indian harbour and indian bay, deadman's bay, dover, steady brook, 3 mile rock, terra nova national park, blong beach, pynns brook, springdale, grate cove, gambo, the perlican, nymph island, portland creek, little hearts ease (such a lovely name) and the equally wonderfully named come by chance , red rocks, noddy bay, hawkes bay, daniel's harbor, st lunaire-griquet, the arches NP, ss ethie, bonne & shallow bays, gunners cove, cape ray, pidgeon cove and wreck house brook. We have been from one side of Canada to the other

Discover Singapore through family moments, vibrant city adventures and unforgettable food. This page captures two heartfelt visits filled with East Coast Park walks, hawker‑centre feasts, iconic museums, Chinatown wanderings and a blissful Malaysia beach escape. A warm, personal travel diary celebrating culture, colour and precious time with loved ones—your perfect inspiration for a Singapore getaway. SINGAPORE - Marine Parade & About in the City 2 Visits, Start of Holiday 31 Jan-3 Feb the End of Hols 30 May - 12 Jun INTRODUCTION & DIARIES 2 visits at start and end of the holiday Stay 1 - Sadly just 3 days on route to the southern hemisphere to break the journey but it was a chance to catch up with family and see our lovely grand daughter again. Plus some good eats esp. Quentin's Eurasian with family and C&A. The Escher exhibition at Art/ Science was a particular favourite of mine. MRT coming 2023 to a station near you at Marine Parade. Love East Coast Park, helped somewhat in the jet lag stakes. Stay2 - A much longer stay this time around. 2 glorious weeks with family. National Gallery Biennale kids exhibition, Liao Fan Michelin Hawker centre, Singapore Zoo, Wet Wet Wet (Wild) park, Mustafa's, Chinatown, East Coast Park BBQ and walks, Parkway Parade, The supercool Library and a fab long weekend in Malaysia at Lotus Desaru Beach Hotel Read Stay 1 Read Stay 2 Try the Travel Videos, Singapore fun! "Family Time with Doug, Phoenix & Charlie" East Coast Park Walk with granddaughter Fab Indian Food at Mustafa's roof top restuarant Science / Art museum Singapore 2017 Singapore with Family Click to enlarge and scroll thru slideshows gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/18 gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/1 Relaxing in East Coast Park, Singapore

Explore Saskatchewan the fun way—big skies, bigger prairies and a motorhome that battled every gust of wind. This 2010 Saskatchewan travel guide follows KHWD across Regina, Saskatoon, Wanuskewin, Lake Diefenbaker and more, mixing diary notes, 79 photos, wildlife moments and classic road‑trip mishaps. Perfect for RV travellers, Canada‑trip planners and anyone chasing adventure across the Land of Living Skies. 2010 Saskatchewan Travel Guide & Blog SASKATCHEWAN - HOLIDAY in 2010 A Travel Blog Experience DIARY During 2010 we have now been from one side of Canada to the other in a motorhome, British Columbia to Labrador, we loved it, it is a fabulous country and quite an achievement with memories we shall treasure forever. For Saskatchewan the following were some of the highlights, Saskatchewan landing provincial park and camping there, a bit of a write up on this campsite we stayed at is, Straddling the South Saskatchewan River Valley at the west end of Lake Diefenbaker, the Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park celebrates the site of the first historic crossing on the South Saskatchewan River. A great area to be enjoyed by all ages, the park is popular for its fishing, sun-bathing, and hiking opportunities. This park features several interpretive trails and historic sites including the handsome Goodwin House, now home to the park’s visitor centre, main office and interpretive centre. The boat launch is located on the north side of the lake while the main beach area, located on the west side of the park, is a perfect place to enjoy a warm summer’s day. We remember with some fondness saskatoon, Regina, visiting the Royal Canadian Mounted Police - RCMP "Mounties" academy, chapel and museum in Regina (capital of Saskatchewan), Goodwin house, red river cart, the fantastically interesting wanuskewin heritage centre, and here are a few words about its heritage, and what it hopes to show, Wanuskewin Heritage Park sits above the Opimihaw Creek and the South Saskatchewan River near Saskatoon – a window into a part of Canada’s history that remains largely undiscovered, and a link to our past unlike any other National Historic Site in Canada. Wanuskewin’ s uniqueness is not just the fact that there exists evidence of ancient peoples, but rather the composition of many different aspects of habitation, hunting and gathering, and spirituality – all in one place. The Wanuskewin area contains some of the most exciting archaeological finds in North America, many of which pre-date the pyramids of Egypt. To date, 19 Pre-Contact archaeological dig sites have been identified on the terraces and point bars in the Opimihaw Creek valley bottom or coulee depressions along the valley wall of the South Saskatchewan River. As soon as the Opimihaw Creek valley became available for human occupation 6,000 years ago, virtually every Pre-Contact cultural group recognized across the Great Plains visited this location. The result is a remarkably complete and intact record of cultural development in the region over that time span. The archaeological resources of Wanuskewin are exceptional and among the finest examples of Pre-Contact occupation of the Great Plains of North America. Indigenous peoples of the Northern Plains came to the Opimihaw Creek area year-after-year, following the bison and range animals who provided sustenance, and gathering plants of the prairies. Their way of life evolved to suit their unique environment. Wanuskewin today gives us the opportunity to delve into the past and discover what life was like for these nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples. The theme of Wanuskewin Heritage Park is one of interpretation – exploring and explaining the meaning of Plains cultures to gain a better understanding of ourselves, Saskatchewan’s Indigenous peoples, and our common heritage. Saskatchewan, Canada, Travel Guide for Motorhomers keef with the mountie bear annie with the mountie bear 1/40 Other things we remember in no order are, it is called the land of living skies and we can see why, the old colonial government house in Regina, swift current battle field, wheat and barley fields and grain stores everywhere, Lake Diefenbaker and memories of that TV show from our childhood, cranberries growing in fields, Shaw street marching, bison heads, railways and cedar clad out buildings, there is just so much local wood in Canada via its massive forests that you would expect houses, apart from the risk of fire, to be built with wood, they often are, north exhibition artwork, which was just so brilliant, chief sitting bull, the wheat belt town of Kyle across the windy plains, the Hudson bay company heritage in Regina, fort Ellice on the elbow trail, and a whole lot more, maybe have a look at the slideshows and images on the website to accompany these fine words, thanks Enjoy Saskatchewan , we certainly did 2010 5 Days in Saskatchewan, Canada between 29th May and 2nd June INCLUDES 79 PHOTOS 5 Days in Saskatchewan, Canada - 29th May-2nd June 2010, 79 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, amongst others we covered saskatchewan landing, saskatoon, regina, visiting the Royal Canadian Mounted Police - RCMP "mounties" academy and heritage centre, chapel and museum in regina , goodwin house, red river cart, wanuskewin heritage centre, heritage, prairies, railways, swift current, elbow, lake diefenbaker, davidson, moose jaw, First nations including cree, matis, lakota tribes, hudson bay company, meewasin park in saskatoon plus we saw bears and we have now been right across canada in a motorhome and we loved it #FACT The wind on the Prairies and having to take the van back into the Canadreams depot in Regina to get the steering sorted, as a new van it was incredibly dangerous to drive in high winds with it badly attuned, they agreed and fixed it thank god, then we had no further problems, rf prairies, railways, swift current, elbow, Davidson, First nations including Cree, matis, Lakota tribes, Hudson bay company, meewasin park plus we saw bears and moose.

Explore Hong Kong through our 2008 travel guide packed with street markets, skyline views, foodie finds, transport tips, and family‑friendly highlights from our trip. 2008 Hong Kong Travel Guide & Blog HONG KONG - HOLIDAY in 2008 A Travel Blog Experience DIARY Day 327 - Tuesday 16th September 2008,Hong Kong Breakfasted at McDonalds Nathan Road, Jordan Then got Urban Day pass for the MTR (Metro) ($50HK-£4) Went to TST and walked to star ferry Crossed to Central ($8HK-63p) Walked across bridge up into IFC mall Had juice and muffin then back on Star Ferry Went to Hard rock Café for drink and t-shirt then onto Sham Shui Po for Computer bits Knackered as hot and humid (36c/ 100%+) back to hotel to flake Went to sleep and only had bits and pieces from Bakery on MTR for Tea. Met loads of very nice folk who helped us whenever we looked at a map even though we weren’t lost. Celebrated Keef’s 54th B’day spent in Hard Rock Cafe (TST) and Computer Nerdsville , Sham Shui Po, plus lunch up Mt Victoria via Peak Train & saw a Wedding on Star Ferry. Probably for a magazine. Day 328 - Wednesday 17th September 2008, Hong Kong Breakfasted at McDonalds Nathan Road, Jordan Then got Urban Day pass for the MTR ($50HK) Then went up to Central and walked thru business district to the Peak Train went up to the top, alas very humid and unclear views but had great birfday lunch at Pappa Gumps Shrimps etc Then back to TST for light and sound show (spectacular) then back to hotel for a rest Had bits from bakery for t plus 2 bowls of fruit the hotel left. met loads of folk esp American gi (retired) and Chinese girlfriend from Schezhan.Enjoyed Tram ride, night lights and music show, retail therapy. Day 329 - Thursday 18th September 2008,Hong Kong 2 England and Home!!!!Very little sleep and alas Keef was sick overnight so jaded when we caught taxi back to airport K put poor guy off by giving him misleading airport terminal info Finally got to T1 gate 3 for Air NZ, long flight 12hrs 20mins which went quickly Craig collected us at Heathrow glad to be back Had fish and chips from Sandiacre fish bar at Craig’s then managed to stay up to 10pm then flopped No real jet lag at all..can’t wait for the next hols!!! THE END for now, watched 4 movies the best of which was a Kiwi movie called 2nd hand wedding, met a Nice girl from Guangzhou who was studying at Bristol (2nd year) reminded us of Phoenix. Loved Arriving at t1 not t3 Heathrow. Craig’s sign saying AGEING HIPPIES 2008 Kowloon, Hong Kong 3 Days - Tuesday 16th-18th September 2008 Hong Kong UPDATE 18/9/2008 We have now left Hong Kong and after a long flight and many movies & meals via Air NZ39's hospitality we are back in the UK. Greeted at T3 Heathrow on England's green and pleasant lands by Craig with the traditional taxi airport card held up saying "AGEING HIPPIES", We rest our case Great times, we will miss them but also glad to be back!!! UPDATE 14/9/2008 We are now likely to be out of online contact until after we arrive back in the UK....Intend some intensive retail therapy whilst in Hong Kong Staying at New San Diego Hotel in Mau Lam St, Jordan, Kowloon (thx D&P for suggestion). Peak Train, Hong Kong, Amazingly steep. This travels up to the top of Mt Victoria Alas as 36c and 100% humidity the views of the harbour were very obscured. Computer nerdsville or Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong, Poor annie had to suffer many hours of Keef in 7th heaven.... PS Geek status achieved. V cheap for current technology, Lunch at Bubba Gumps Shrimp House was a real highlight. Noted Wok shaped sky terrace Mt Victoria Peak and HK in World Monopoly game , and quite right too!!! It is a fascinating place. Bird Market, Prince Edward, HK with lovely original wooden cages and oh so colourful birds. Took fab picture of Light &Sound Show, Waters Edge, with science museum in background. V pleased with this shot. We saw the show at Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) HISTORY - Spending 3 nights here.....more when we get there We remember the taxi driver instructions in Chinese and him trying to drop us at wrong hotel, humidity, MacDonald's for breakfast (bad news), Nathan Road, Star ferry, Metro, Bakeries, Victoria Peak funicular railway, smog, humidity again... nice place , birthday meal @ top of mountain Summary:HONG KONG 3 days , Day 327-329, 16/9/2008 - 18/9/2008 PLAY To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

Explore Ontario through a motorhome adventure packed with big lakes, wild drives and classic KHWD humour. This 2010 Ontario travel blog covers Nipigon, Wawa, Elliot Lake, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Toronto, Niagara Falls and more—372 photos, real diary notes and unforgettable routes across Canada’s central province. Perfect for RV travellers, road‑trip planners and long‑haul adventure fans. 2010 Ontario Travel Blog & Guide ONTARIO - HOLIDAY in 2010 A Travel Blog Experience DIARY During 2010 we have now been from one side of Canada to the other in a motorhome, British Columbia to Labrador, we loved it, it is a fabulous country and quite an achievement with memories we shall treasure forever. For Ontario the following were some of the highlights, nipigon, wawa, elliot lake, new liskeard, musselmans lake, Toronto which we are glad we visited although in reality were not that impressed by (along with Montreal in Quebec province, maybe as travellers we prefer being away from the big cities I suspect that is the answer, anyhow we did see the CN tower and surrounds and walked along the river’s edge to see all the restaurants, note the G20 conference was due to be on in Toronto whilst we were in Canada that year, getting up early to watch England get knocked out of the world cup football and flying our flag on the motorhome, tee-hee, Niagara falls which was just magical, we did do the maid of the mist boat trip and put on those flimsy pak-a-maks which in reality afforded little or no protection against the force of that water, we got close and also marvelled at some of the history of the fool hardy who went over the edge into it in a barrel, I ask you would you, we also read and saw how the devil’s hole whirlpool in the accompanying Niagara river was so forceful, we loved the Niagara area, 1000 islands boat trip from Gananoque which was just fantastic and covered that really weird Boldt Castle on route and an amazing number of very small but mostly exclusive islands with yachts etc and either Canadian or American flags proudly displayed and sometimes both, when we returned from the boat trip armed with the recipe Keef made 1000 island sauce to go with our salad, see the recipe below, percy lake, ignace, sault ste marie, wabigoon lakes, agimak lake & beach, rossport, terrace bay, pays plat, thunder bay, the great lakes-superior, huron, ontario & dipping my toe in them – I made a point no matter how cold the water was of taking one sock off and dipping my toe in them so I could say I had “swam” in all of the great lakes which along with the Prairie Provinces I remember studying at school with our Geography teacher the somewhat outlandish Rev Rooney who had spent much time in Africa being a missionary and photographing tribes and showing us schoolkids on the big screen – maybe I learnt my interest in travel from him, maybe it’s just in my DNA, the reality is I did do the toe dipping in all of them bar Lake Michegan, we didn’t go over the US border into that State, maybe another time, you never know, Niagara on the lake, the snow goose, Sinclair cove, mounties, ottawa, aguasarbon falls, entering central standard time, lake superior national park, latchford, spanish, temigami, temiskaming shores, bobbie rosenfeld olympian & park, Wilson island, passport, squirrels Canadian style, white river views, cousins in parry sound, a big welcome to Ontario but sadly not being able to meet up with annies cuz Jamie, bottles in the sewage systems at campsites to prevent odours when using the provided triple services, ha-ha, the lovely Ontario capital Ottawa, stouffville, niagara botanical gardens, floral clock, devils hole whirlpool, st Lawrence river, Gananoque town and harbour, rideau falls, river and canal, byward market, haileybury the home of Annie's rellies and all those kid ex school pupils of Uncle Ralph’s who were now either teachers at his old school or worked in the local museum who helped us locate places of interest and aided our family research. Genealogy is fun, fact! Here are a few words and facts in summary about Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls, city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara, south-eastern Ontario, Canada, a port on the Niagara River opposite Niagara Falls, New York. The city overlooks the Horseshoe, or Canadian, falls cataract of Niagara Falls; the crescent-shaped cataract is 54 M (177 ft) high and carries nine times more water than its United States counterpart. Niagara Falls is an enormously popular tourist destination, and it also serves as a major source of electricity for Ontario. The city is connected to the U.S. side of the falls by several bridges, including the Rainbow, Whirlpool, and Queenston-Lewiston bridges. Principal manufactures include processed food, abrasives, chemicals, automotive parts, metal and paper goods, and wines and alcoholic beverages. Logistics, i.e., storage and warehousing and information technology/call centres are also important to the city's economy. Points of interest include Queen Victoria Park, adjacent to the Canadian Falls and principal site of the annual Winter Festival of Lights; the historical museum at Lundy's Lane, site of a brutal battle between American and British forces in 1814; The Maid of the Mist, Marineland, with Friendship Cove which provides interaction with Killer and Beluga whales, an aquatic theatre and a game farm; Skylon Tower and Pavilion, containing a revolving restaurant and an observation deck overlooking the falls; the Butterfly Conservatory at the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens; Canada One Factory Outlets which features brand name shopping And the accompanying Maid of the Mist, America’s most iconic boat ride since 1846, which was its maiden voyage. See the raging currents. Hear the deafening thunder. And feel the refreshing mist of 600,000 gallons of water falling before your eyes every second. Experience it all aboard the iconic Maid of the Mist. It’s the one and only tour boat fleet whose captains have safely navigated the mighty waters of the Niagara Gorge for over 100 years, taking tens of millions of visitors directly into the centre of the swirling mist. Dress code: blue rain poncho optional. But we highly suggest you wear it, or else… 😉 Before this date, rowboats ferried passengers across the Niagara River below the Falls. By 1846, however, entrepreneurs decided a bigger craft could profit by transporting people, luggage, mail and cargo. So, the first Maid of the Mist steamboat, large enough to carry a stagecoach and horses, was christened. In 1848, construction of a suspension bridge curtailed business and the Maid of the Mist was re-branded as a sightseeing adventure that still operates to this day. Maid of the Mist Official Photo Ontario, Canada, Travel Guide for Motorhomers Recipe for Thousand Islands dressing. If you’ve been there (and even if you haven't) you have to try it and we did in the van so here goes, Ingredients List 1/2 clove garlic, minced 1/4 tsp salt plus more to taste 190ml prepared or homemade mayonnaise 60ml bottled chili sauce 2 tbsp tomato ketchup 1 1/2 tbsp minced onion 2 tsp sweet pickle relish 1/2 hard-cooked large egg, pushed through a sieve or finely chopped Freshly ground black pepper How to make Make a paste with the garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt by crushing them with the side of a chef's knife. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the garlic, mayonnaise, chilli sauce, ketchup, onion, relish, and egg until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Use now or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. 2010 15 Days in Ontario, Canada between 4th-20th June INCLUDES 372 PHOTOS Visiting amongst others dryden, wabigoon lake, nipigon, wawa, marathon, heron bay, elliot lake, lake superior pronivcial park, montreal river, echo bay, lion beachfront walk, espanola, sudbury, lake nipissing, parry sound, wabi bay, french river provincial park, white river, old woman bay, mississauga, hamilton, st catherine, katherine cove, sinclair cove, voyageur trail, new liskeard, musselmans lake, camppark resorts niagara falls, toronto, 1000 islands boat trip from gananoque, 1000 Island dressing, johnstown, percy lake, central standard time zone, ignace, sault ste marie, wabigoon lakes, agimak lake& beach, rossport, terrace bay, pays plat, thunder bay, the great lakes-superior, huron, ontario & dipping my toe in them, niagara on the lake, Niagara Falls and the magnificent Maid of the Mist boat trip, Sinclair cove, mounties, ottawa ontario's capital, aguasarbon falls, lake superior national park, latchford, spanish, temigami, temiskaming shores, bobbie rosenfeld olympian & park, whitchurch-stouffville and a potential parking fine, niagara botanical gardens, floral clock, devils hole whirlpool, St Lawrence river, gananoque town and harbor, rideau falls, river and canal, byward market, haileybury the home of Annie's rellies, MacDonald Cartier Bridge to Quebec Province & all ports in between. We have been from one side of Canada to the other, hey did I mention that? 😉 taken by a kind tourist after 3 failed selfie attempts, smile 120610 camp park resorts niagara falls 1/188 Boldt Castle within 1000 Islands George Boldt’s devotion to his wife Louise became one of North America’s most enduring love stories. A Prussian immigrant who rose to fame as the proprietor of New York’s Waldorf‑Astoria, Boldt set out in 1900 to build a full‑scale Rhineland‑style castle on Heart Island as a grand tribute to her. More than 300 craftsmen worked on the six‑storey, 120‑room masterpiece, complete with tunnels, Italian gardens, a powerhouse, a children’s playhouse and elaborate stonework. Every detail was designed to celebrate the woman who had supported him from his earliest days. Construction stopped abruptly in 1904 when Louise died suddenly, and Boldt, heartbroken, never returned to the island. The unfinished castle stood untouched for decades, a silent monument to their love, before later restoration brought it back to life for visitors.