The bit that gets us into Crooks and Nannies ( off the road places !)
Yesterday we took the Tilt Train to Brisbane which should have been around a 3 hour trip BUT took a while longer due to rail works that actually cause rail Jams .I was stood (in the train) next to a young fella who was unfortunate enough to throw up next to me missing me by an inch (prefer this measurement to metric !!) how such a small body can eject so much lumpy fluid is beyond me !! Naturally I thought this is going to be a good day . We changed trains at Coolbuture without any fuss with people in general very helpful on which train to get on .Arriving at NUNDAH nr Brisbane ,we were once again told how to reach our final destination (car yard) which was literally 200 yards from the Station.Annie was starting to get very excited now !! After a very quick handover we decided to drive back to Hervey Bay (around 300 kms ooops slipped back into metric !!) Ann drove ALL the way back even tho night had fallen We stopped for a break and Ann thought she had spotted an ex brother in law .Unfortunately we didnt get to him quick enough for identification ! We now have a lovely 3 door Suzuki Vitara and hopefully it will be fitted with a front towbar enabling us to go over rough terrain on our future trips !! We also passed the world famous ETAMAGOH pub and was able to take a very quick picture BUT somewhere down the track we WILL visit the iconic tavern All in all a day to remember We only need acceptance to move into new house and life is great !!
Ken Maynard started drawing the Ettamogah Pub in 1959. It was made famous through his regular cartoons in The Australasian Post.The word “ettamogah” is Aboriginal for “place of good drink!” Now one of Queensland’s leading tourist attractions It’s a must to visit due to its quirky shape and caricature appearance. Most of the furniture inside the pub is built from trees cleared from the actual site. There’s a 1930 Chevy truck on top of the bright red roof of the Pub ,the theory is the truck was washed up there in the floods of 1946 and none of the regulars could be bothered to get it down.
Around the Bay from my bus window awaiting phone calls
Just sitting,lazing along the beach front doing a gentle observation of the world around me Taking photo s willy nillywaitingfor tomorrow (WED) to come coz it should be a full on travel day to Brisbane We are still in Limbo awaiting Perth house selling handover.Life is pretty laid back at the moment Each hour is a week and house moving into is wearisome !!
Todays Blog until 1st Oct
Today (Tuesday) we are off to Brisbane to collect our Suziki Vitara and will be away from my computer until Friday.That is also (hopefully) the day we move into our new home and much time will be spent urgently attending orders given by my missus (no point in arguing with her) I m sure she will have attended Fen Shui classes or the like and I will be perfectly happy as long as my snooker table and dart board are placed where I want them to go !! SO we are at the moment in a state of excitement awaiting for all this to happen which coincidently clashes with the wedding of my niece on Saturday and with her being a top notch professional country and western singer residing in Tamworth Im sure the evening will be one to remember (hope a video is made) PLUS the wedding is in the Blue Mountains !! Photos no doubt will be in abundance from the pending visit to Brisbane
How Lucky we are
Today in Hervey Bay a rally for electric mobile wheelchairs was held.Organizers were hoping to break the world record of wheelchairs in one place (127 turned up)record was missed by THREE !! however HB hold the record any way.Wheelies turned up in all sorts of dressed up machines Just to watch all the happiness that emanated from these people whose lives were coming to an end or had injuries or indeed were born with a disability was guaranteed to melt the hardest heart !! For all of us who feel sorry for ourselves at the merest hint of an illness should get themselves down here next year and look at these guys who will simply tell you to get a life and stop whingeing !!! The day went very well and the organizers were brilliant and volunteer singers plus a Scottish Pipe Band added to the fun atmosphere that grew by the minute as the day went by,I have worked with people who have disabilities for almost 30 yrs and this event was the first I have witnessed and a pleasure to be part of the audience
Still awaiting house finalisation
With being caravan park bound whilst we wait for house completion I have taken instruction on photography (doesnt seem to have worked tho !!) so I am taking pictures of the pier and surrounds of Hervey Bay may be boring to the reader, but I have to say I,m enjoying doing it !!it also happens to be kids holidays still ! ( NO comment) we will be hanging around until mid Oct when we will once again be on the road ( and sea!!) hurtling towards Tasmania.Ann is currently doing all the ground work on Insurances,rates.and everything else involved in house re locating Interesting point is I hav PINK personalize plates on our bus (cost around $400 in Perth) to have them re assigned to Queensland rules I am going to hve to pay $2500 !! the rules between staes in Australia are incredibly different,even driving licences are different in each state (Having come from the UK that has FOUR countries that utilize the same rules and regulations including driving licences WHY cant Australia apply the same? making re locating to other states a lot easier? OR? ONE Australia !! ) Soapbox mode OFF
Eagles Eyrie pictures taken in a heavy mist
Campsite at Hervey Bay
Finally at Hervey and camped into Scarness Camping Site and we are virtually on the beach !! Weather is a constant 28C and no doubt I will be tempted to tread the Coral Sea before long !! We are still awaiting finalization on our new home in the suburb of Urangan.The site is excellent (the camp commandant is a bit of a misery tho and life goes on) facilities are great and lots of pubs and eateries in the vicinity.Right now it is kids holidays and hey are well behaved causing NO problems for we oldies,We are close to a tall cluster of trees and there are thousands of parrots making avery lot of noise at dusk and dawn (thankfully only for a short while) Just down the road from where we are moving to is a nice little 9 hole golf course (just right for us Grey Nomads) aptly called The Eagles nest.On entering the ground is a man built pole with 2 eagles nesting and we are watching the hatching of baby eagles . Im currently having problems putting film ono this blog SO until we are in an established area with good signals a good imagination will play a big part in this and possible other blogs!!!!
Family and Friends of Perth you are welcome to visit in Hervey Bay
Tis our last look at Perth today and we stopping in a lovely hotel (Indian Ocean) rates were fair and staff were great.Annie started off by getting us into the wrong room !! Desk staff had a good laugh but decided to let us stay !! Scarborough is a lovely beach area popular with surfers and skate boarders.We had hamburgers from an aptly named Hamburger Hill and were the best Ive ever tasted ! (cheap too) With it being off season the area was quiet and also a pub named the Stamford Arms used to a regular haunt for me.The hotel is situated behind the now derelict White Sands Pub (due for massive re development) and my youngest daughter sang there with her Punk Rock band.So we say farewell to all our families and friends we have met over the past 30 yrs with reminder IF you are in the area of URANGAN Hervey Bay come and stop over with us,address supplied on request.Presently we are in limbo waiting for settlement money to come thru from Perth (PS don’t take the red eye flight ,it buggers you up !!) Farewell Perth HELLO Hervey Bay (just like migrating all over again !) I have misplaced my last pics of Perth !!
Mandurah Western Australia
Twas a great feeling travelling on the new Perth to Mandurah train line,after 45 mins we arrived in the now very busy town of Mandurah.When we first came to Australia in 1982 we would go to this place and catch mud crabs and the population was very low,lots of shacks for seasonal fishermen were the order of the day and little tinnies (boats) were aplenty on this then barren land in the hope large feeds of crabs would be caught.Sadly tourism has now caught up in this once sleepy fishing village and the place has been built up immensley to include great shopping centres and hotels.I feel crabbing is no longer the mainstay recreational outing it once was !! Some of these pictures taken on the train travelling from Midlan toPerth to Mandurah approx 100 kms each way Next blog the last days in Perth before catching the Red Eye to Hervey Bay
Filling in till we go back on the road
While Im waiting to get back on the road I managed to get some great quality time in with my daughter and grandson.It goes without saying I will miss them greatly.Will is mt only grand child in Australia (3 more in UK) and its great chatting to him on SKYPE (which hopefully will feature a lot when we complete the migration to Hervey Bay) Me and Annie have sent him little bits plus cards on our way around Oz and we get occasional drawings from him .This year he made me a grandad cup and spoon (with just a tiny bit of help from his mum!! and that will have place of pride in our new home )
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 