Happy New year to Everyone from Geoff n Annie
2011 has been a good year and started by us being in Blackpool then Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon (both terrific place) we visited Dubai ( another fantastic place ) and have recommenced our Australian round trip Day ONE of 2012 should hopefully find us disembarking the Spirit Of Tasmania in Davenport to continue our fantastic trip. We have met wonderful people from around the globe and will hope this trend continues .Travelling round we have fallen in Love with Hervey Bay in as much we sold up in Perth and bought our new home in the Bay We will take this opportunity to wish everyone we know or have known to have a brilliant 2012 (We have already planed our new year and it will be very exciting!)
Geoff n Annie in a Bus
To all we know and have yet to meet
Benalla and district
We are now camped 200 kms from Melbourne & our Ferry,we like this campsite so have decided to stay for 3 days.Our daily new neighbours have been really friendly and a pleasure to have met them.Every morning around 9 am the camp manager cooks Pancakes for those who wish for a free brekky (and they taste very nice too !!) Travelling down here we diverted to the original Etamogah Pub ,which, due to a new road bypass has been abandoned and is now fenced off and derelict (Sad to see n Australian icon go this way) In Benalla is a seating arrangement that has to be seen to be appreciated made with a mosaic design (modelled on a Spanish design) that has taken 25 yrs to complete Our next destination will be Melbourne then over to Tasmania where hopefully the adventure begins !! There is a very good wall mural of Annies ancestor ,he s the one with the big bushy beard !!!
Gundagai & the Dog on a Tucker Box
I remember this place from the very old TV series mainly about Cobb n Co and was released in 1960 (geeez where has the time gone? I remember this series very well) here are some of the words from the signature title (plaguerised of course)
Whiplash, Whiplash, Whiplash, Whiplash
In 1851 the Great Australian gold rush
The only law a gun, the only shelter wildbush
Whiplash, Whiplash
The Mulga woods and deserts, the stage thunders by
From Sydney to Camden and on to Gundagai (this where we are now)
Whiplash, Whiplash
There is a tourist spot with a statue of a dog on a Tucker box story immortalised in a story
” Bullocky Bill ” and can be found on a Google search
There are lots of old abandoned bridges from a bygone era that are herited listed and they look spectacular.Annie wouldnt walk across them !! It is a very interesting place and tourists need to search around for the history of the place
We are currently less than 200kms from Melbourne and our Ferry across the Tasman Sea which sets sail on New Years Eve ..SO excited !!
Cockington (yes that is its real name!!) Miniature Village Canberra
This place is fantastic !! Lots of houses made into miniatures with people o go with them !! The details is very intricate and The Maze is brilliant EXCEPT I couldn’t find the way in !! My particular favourite is the English Barge Canals & Annie very intrigued in the dolls house indoor presentation There are so many buildings and models I will put them into a slide show Well worth a visit .We stayed at a quiet,hardly anyone around campsite for a few days being thatthere is SO much to see in Canberra ,Xmas Day was high lighted by a very excited 7 yr old lad swearing he had seen Santa land on his caravan and showing off his toys to me and a delighted Annie .Now we head further South towards Melbourne and the Ferry on NYE Annie said she would like to live in the village !!!!
Merry Xmas from Ann & Geoff somewhere in Australia
We are somewhere in Australia travelling over Xmas
Parliament House Canberra
Understanding the Australian political regime can be frustrating to say the least Parliament house is a splendid venue and past members can be found hanging on the walls ( sadly it is of a photographic nature) The house is made up ot REPRESENTATIVES of which Julia Gillard leads as Prime Minister (who incidentally was born in WALES UK) the present opposition leader i Tony Abbot (born in ENGLAND) The SENATE makes up the other part of Parliament (too difficult for this Pomm to explain so please use Wikipedia for more info) The Senate carpets,furniture etc are mostly coloured RED to depict the harshness of the outback and The House of Representatives décor is GREEN to show how diverse this country van be.The building has lots of chairs thru out and every one on the leather backed chairs has the Australian insignia stamped into the leather backs .Parking in an around the Parliament is FREE as is entry into the building and the underground area is big enough to fit our bus !! We were allowed into the Public Gallery to view the politicians area where national decisions are made A great day out and lots to see . The surrounding grounds are immaculate and bobbies on push bikes patrol the area
Lake Burley Griffin is an artificial lake in the centre of Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was completed in 1963 after the Molonglo River—which ran between the city centre and Parliamentary Triangle—was dammed. It is named after Walter Burley Griffin, the American architect who won the competition to design the city of Canberra.
Canberra ACT War Memorial
This place is a terrific reminder of past wars and those that lost their lives fighting for OUR freedom. The entry is a tribute to the unknown soldier It is an emotional feeling that overcomes the spectator upon realising what sacrifices these brave men and women have done during ALL Wars .There is a 180% cinema showing of fighter planes during WW1 an a fitting tribute to the warriors of the skies from a bygone era !! The film is very realistic and I had a feeling of actually being there ! Artefacts thru out the museum venue are authentic. A longboat used fo the landings in Gallipoli were of a steel structure but showing great holes where the armour piercing bullets penetrated the hulls with ease There is an amazing display of war planes from the wars.Lifelike model battle scenes have been re created for the viewing public and are very life like.Staff thru out were excellent and very helpful .Best of all Parking and Entry fees are FREE !! IF in Canberra go and see this amazing museum and give yourself plenty of time as there is SO much to see !!
Goulburn and Oberon on to Canberra
We travelled 300km thru the wettest day I have seen for a long time .The roads were narrow and rough BUT that’s the idea of seeing Australia in the raw!! Stopping at Oberon it wasn’t difficult to notice the pollution emanating from large chimney stacks (wonder if the locals are affected by this action?) Goulburn is famous for its HUGE statue of a Merino Ram ( The ‘World’s Biggest Merino’ is a 3 storey structure of concrete and steel measuring 15.2 metres high and 18 metres long. This monument built in 1985 as a monument to Goulburn and surrounding district’s fine wool industry is an impressive life-like model of ‘Rambo’, a stud ram from a the local property ‘Bullamallita’.)and as mentioned in previous blogs Australians are renown for huge iconic statues thru out the country !! We have now landed in Canberra (Australian Capital City commonly known as the ACT) Xmas is a couple of days away so we have opted to stay here till Boxing Day Then its full steam to Melbourne
As mentioned before our SKI membership is dwindling very quickly ( SKI = Spending the Kids Inheritance!)
Katoomba in the Magnificent Blue Mountains!!
We are camped aprox 1300 metres above seal level in Blackheath,the weather is NOT good!! Not exactly rain but more a heavily water filled low flying cloud !! We drove around 40kms to Katoomba where the Scenicworld world train/cable cars and the Sky cradle are run When we arrived everywhere was covered in mist and visibility was very low ,consequently we bought an all day ticket to enjoy as many rides as we could fit in !! The day brightened and we were able to get some great pictures This particular Blog will have a record number of pictures !!!Photography does not do justice to the magical ambience of this part of the world Much as we would like to have stayed here a couple of days we have a New Years Eve Ferry Boat deadline to meet I am SO pleased we opted for doing the Grey Nomad travel adventures and the brilliant scenery we witnessed today bears testament to the life changing decision All this tourist adventure world was originally a coal mine How the hell they discovered the seam half way down a mountain is beyond me !!! The engineering feats achieved when the mine was opened around 1850 is incredible
Muswellbrook to The Blue Mountains
We left Muswellbrook and headed towards Lithgow.On route we passed thru place names like Singleton,Putty (really) on one side of the road is Wollemi National Park and on the other is Yengo Park,the scenery breath taking,the roads at times a little scary with all the twists and turns while looking down steep mountainsides !! Some of the huge transport trucks speed with no problems BUT when coming towards us rapidly the juggernauts are quite hoary,concentation needs to be at its sharpest .We are camped in Blackheath that boasts a superb scenic railway and overhead cable cars with spectacular views of rainforest/waterfalls and steep mountain walls This trip is reserved for tomorrow and hopefully the weather will hold out (tis currently damp and cool atop the Blue Mountain Rainforest ) for those who would like to salivate at what we can expect may drool over the website there is also a webcam that allows the viwer to actually control the camera for upto 2 minutes !! Now for a good nights rests glass of wine and look forward to tomorrows adventures http://www.scenicworld.com.au
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 