back online! Yahoo!! Property almost finished ..back on the road 14 th December
This last few weeks have been very trying and were inhibited from returning to our travels….We have had several alterations done to the house (ready for when we settle down,hopefully a long way away yet !!) A Garage and a workshop have been added and we have had reverse cycle aircon installed (ahhh! such pleasant luxury !!) Sorry kids but your inheritance is quickly being swallowed up !! We are in the process of readying the bus,it has had its first clean in over a year and we have invested in a Suzuki Vitara that we will hope fully tow on further adventures around Australia.On the 14th December we will get back on the road as we head for Tasmania via the Tasman Ferry from Melbourne (we will be celebrating Xmas Dinner at home early before we set off ) New Years Eve we will be on the High Seas crossing the Tasman and THAT I am really looking forward too !! Photography has been a bit thin lately due to house sorting BUT hopefully be plenty when we finally set off Annies sister and daughters have kindly offered to look after our property and for the moment its just a waiting game SO here are some pics of our garage/Workshop
My Blogs will be suspended until around 25th November as my Dongle is stuff and I cant get a landline for 2 bloody months !!!
Watch this space
11am 11th day 11th month 11th year (2011) Australian Style Remembrance Day
Today celebrates the end of the Great War and Australians are gathered around the country to respect those who never came back and especially those killed lately in Afghanistan.Remembrance day here is not as significant as ANZAC Day is to Australians & New Zealanders (even tho loss of life was immense during all wars ) Me and Ann were privileged to attend the Remembrance day memorial held in the locality of Hervey Bay . Services differ a lot here in Oz .The weather was perfect a white balloon was released for each person as the names of war dead involved in Afghanistan were read out (and there was many released sadly) and a bell chimed for each name. The soldiers on sentry guarding the cenotaph were dressed in uniforms from the 1914 – 18 war and looked splendid in their “digger” uniforms .It was good to see school children laying wreaths alongside service men from yesteryear .Im not a religious person BUT the last post post always brings a tear to my eye .The service ended with the release of lots of doves by a lovely young lady dressed all in white . My day was made having my photo taken with a very humble war hero from the Vietnam War. He is an Aborigine with 30 yrs Army service and a sheer pleasure to have .For all of you who know me as a loud Pomm who talks a lot <I was stunned into emotional silence simply by being alongside this great man ( who is also the most highly decorated service man in the Hervey Bay area) For all of you around the world who live in free society where freedom of speech is a way of life and you wish to denigrate these magnificent people? Go and live somewhere where you would be welcome LEST WE FORGET
THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD LEST WE FORGET
Fraser Island across the water from Hervey Bay
Separated from the mainland by a narrow channel, Fraser Island is the largest sand island on Earth (around 124 x 25 km ) and an ecological masterpiece. Vast tracts of sand dunes with deep midnight blue freshwater lakes trapped 700 feet (212 metres) above sea level are balanced with lush rainforest and surrounded by endless white beaches. Native wildlife abounds including dingoes, brumbies (wild horses) echidnas, wallabies, and 206 species of birds: Peregrin Falcons, Kingfishers and just to mention a few. The island has rainforests, eucalyptus woodland, mangrove forests, wallum and peat swamps, sand dunes and coastal heaths. It is made up of sand that has been accumulating for approximately 750,000 years on volcanic bedrock that provides a natural catchment for the sediment which is carried on a strong offshore current northwards along the coast. Unlike many sand dunes, plant life is abundant We had just a days short stay and were restricted to the main admin area altho we we surrounded by bush/water/sand and bloody March Flies!! Fortunately these creatures are seasonal,and yes, we were in their season! The rangers took us on an ECO short trip (good lookers too !!) and we enjoyed some bush tucker (berries,roots etc) and they were surprisingly good ! The trip over is a 45 minute boat ride on the car ferry and once on the Island we were transported to the main Admin for info on what we could do on our short visit.We have just invested in a 4 WD and will hopefully take lessons in the near future on how to use it !! Around 600 Aboriginees lived on the Island,but early in the 1900s they were removed to the mainland (and mostly disbanded now sadly) by the government of the day.The dingo population is around 150 and IF left alone are normally docile We will visit again BUT in the fly free season !!
The Day a Nation Stops!!
After visiting nearby Maryborough for some tips on horse racing from Mary Poppins the first Tuesday in the month of November,Australia comes to a halt at 2pm Eastern ! All to watch a horse race ! Millions of dollars are placed in bets in this once a year race! just a quick note on the history of the Melbourne Cup which is Australia’s most important thoroughbred horse race . The race is held over a distance of 3,200 meters for horses three years and older and is the richest and most prestigious “two-mile” handicap in the world. Fondly called “The Race that Stops a Nation”, Melbourne Cup Day is a public holiday in metropolitan Melbourne and Melbourne Cup history has spanned centuries since its first gallop in 1861 up to its 150th in 2010. Needless to say I listened to my betting wizened,well meaning,supposedly great horse tippers in England and backed their “informed” tips (They all lost !!) Of course Ann who doesn,t know one end of a horse from the other picked the winner !! In future I will stab the racing form page with a pen and put money on the nearest to my pen mark !! I t was a good day tho and although the tv screens were very small pubs along the Bay were packed and trouble free.Tomorrow my grandson and mum arrive belatedly due to QANTAS strike !!
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 