Perth suburbs farewell pics
Taking a few pictures of me local area that has been home for almost 30 yrs ! A new life awaits in far off Queensland in a couple of weeks I will get around as much as possible and add moe=re West Australian memories until we get back on the road around end of September
Me and Perth say Goodbye and Hello Hervey Bay (Blog wont allow picture uploads.will fix it when we have moved house)
we came here in late November 1982 as immigrants from the UK staying at the hostel in Mt Claremont. Shortly after Xmas we moved to Rockingham and stayed in a state housing flat for approx 6 months afore moving to the Perth suburbs.In December 1983 I started work with Disabilities Services Commission (after various name changes over the years ) and stayed in their employ for almost 30 yrs reaching retirement age,Working with the people I have over the years has been rewarding altho very challenging at times.We arrived in Perth with 2 small children that became 4 !! I was also fortunate enough to do volunteer work that has gotten me to places like Hawaii, Vanuatu,Fiji,Cocos Isles and around various states in Australia,In our first years ,trains from Perth to Fremantle (my favourite place for taking residents on outings) were discontinued BUT in 1983 Australia won the Americas cup (yes a BOAT race) that at that time had never been won by any other country in over 130 yrs !! in an exciting 4-3 victory This event re vitalized Freo and is now a major tourist spot and the train lines re=opened Whilst living in Perth I have seen the birth of the West Coast Eagles and the Dockers (Freo) AFL teams (known to locals as Ozzie Rules) My local team is Swan Districts who play in the WAFL.Perth has been a great place for me to live,sadly my second marriage ended in divorce and I have since re married (Ann) having both now retired we have joined the Grey Nomads and in one year we have navigated around Australia in our Motor home clocking up over 25,000 kms.On our travels we stayed at Hervey Bay in Queensland and north of Brisbane and fell in love with the place so much we are moving there .and that will give us a good starting point for future trips (the life has introduced us to some fabulous people met on our travels) I have lived mostly in the Eastern regions of Lockridge & Caversham’worked with a lot of good people and enjoyed a mainly lucky life .Beaches are a little too crowded here for me in Perth (pop around 1.5 million and I’m sure all used the same beaches as I did and at the same time !!) and quite a distance from my Caversham home .Our new location in Hervey Bay is 1 km from the Coral Sea Looking forward to many more travels and Blog entries (slowed down because of house selling/buying/re=locating) Tasmania still on the cards,boat is booked for end of November.Heres to the good times ahead …..
Queensland Hervey Bay Variety bash.
These Motors are incredible and each one has been designed and moderated for the harsh Queensland outback bush drive all in the name of charity !! These people put their own time and effort in over a 10 day drive thru some of the toughest country Australia has to offer !! They set off from the Hervey Bay RSL club and we were privileged to get a “pre” look at the cars being prepared for tomorrows bash (organised by the variety club of Australia) The club itself sold items at very reasonable prices (and Oh dear I even bought a John Williamson CD ! BUT it was only $5 !!) and profits from the sale also go into the Variety Bash Club Coffers My favourite car was one being driven by 2 lunatic males dressed as nuns !! All people involved in this event deserve all the recognition possible by doing this drive in their own time and their own cost IF you see these crazy mad people throw a few dollars their way and they will pass it on to the Childrens fund that they support .This is our last day in Hervey Bay due to us going to Perth (Hervey Bay to Sydney flight was very bumpy and we landed in 90 km headwinds,people on board were so relieved at landing safely they gave the pilot a terrific and very well deserved round of applause !!) for a couple of weeks in order to pack our house furniture away and say goodbye to our friends BUT they will all be made very welcome if passing thru our new designated home town !! Hopefully next blogs will come from Perth and will include more great pics stay tuned ……
Annie goes to School
We have just completed a course on basics for the DSLR Camera & I have to say Ann has acquired more knowledge than me !!! Altho the course offered a so called simple look at using cameras my mind boggled almost immediately ! and will take a while for the info to sink in !! Ann has taken a few pics using her new skills on how to set shutter speed use the “f” function and adjust the ISO ( Its no use asking me to explain I’m a pensioner !!) So all these blog pics today (with the exception of the 3 ” beetle ) are Anns. Later we went to lunch at the RSL and was privileged once again to be at the scene of yet another great occasion (The Queensland Variety Bash Cars) and next blog will show novel cars that are used in the event
The new House in Urangan Hervey Bay 2 Kms from the Coral Sea
We have settled down for a short while before our epic journey continues towards Tasmania. House selling/buying has interrupted procedings BUT normal service will be resumed ASAP. The Queensland Gvt are doing a very special deal right now by giving buyers of new houses a $10000 rebate in the hope the building trade will stimulate more employment by this incentive .The firm we are buying from also reduced their house price by $20000 and also offer $3000 cashback For first home buyers add yet another $10000! (that doesnt include me !) SO the ORIGINAL house price was $329000 ( 4 bed 2x bath) and we have it for $296000 ! an absolute bargain in a Cul de Sac ( says my bros in law who is a retired house selling agent) the extra $10000 is valid till Jan 31/2012 SO our timing couldnt be better !!Anyone passing this way call in and say hello (Cheap advert for REMAX in Perth who have been great throughout the selling process )
The Whale in action ~!!
Wasnt altogether happy with some of the pics taken BUT just as we were leavin…..Humpbacks are so called because they arch their backs before diving .Blogs might be a little thin for a while because of selling and buying houses Stay tuned
Hervey Bay Whales
From late July to early November, Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia is privileged to have magnificent Humpback whales grace it’s calm and crystal clear waters, where they feed and raise their young and we were lucky enough to witness this event We took the tourist boat into the Bay (about one hours sailing) and just witness these monster fish playing was awesome One whale swam alongside the boat and was only a few inches below the surface Other sea animals in the area included tortoise/dugongs and dolphins !! The whole area was turned into a massive aquatic playground !! I was lucky enough to capture ONE lase brilliant pic afore leaving SO good it merits a blog on its own !!!
Goodbye Perth hello Hervey Bay
We have sold our property in Perth and involvement has caused me to miss out on doing the Blog ! Now we will be full on looking for suitable premises here in Hervey Bay.Tonight me and Ann went to a camera workshop and learnt a lot about my Nikon !! There is SO much detail involved required for taking photos !! We complete the course next week and will be fully aware of what cameras can do (yeah right!) Tomorrow we venture out into the Coral Sea (yes on a boat )where there are lots of migrating Whales taking a break in the serenely calm waters within Hervey Bay. Hopefully our new skills will bring some great pictures to this Blog. This is an old picture taken in the Hippy town of Nimbin where marijuana is legal and I just loved the town !! coz I havent filmed too much with all the excitement of house selling !! More soon…..
was great fun too !!
From Roma to Hervey Bay
we now leave Roma after some great experiences and head for Hervey Bay doing a stop over at Gayndah an passing thru Chinchilla and Wallumbilla ( I love these strange sounding names) The weather is still quite warm here and we haven’t seen any rain since March !! We will be staying in Hervey Bay for around 2 weeks while I update my passport,collect mail and go for a medical checkup in preparation for our next continued trip towards Tasmania Hopefully after my nieces wedding in the Blue Mountains and we will probably meet up with some family I haven’t seen in a long time (we have booked our camp for the occasion) we will see more of Brisbane/Sydney/Canberra but Back to today’s events We were amazed to see cows paddling in a large pond and enjoying themselves PLUS the BIG orange icon advertising their wares It got just a little scarey as we drove thru a small bush fire and hopefully it was put out Its very dry here considering the place was devastated with floods earlier in the year We have booked to go whale watching Wednesday and hopefully will have pics and a write up
Roma Cattle sale yards
This was an awesome experience ! Spectators are allowed to mingle in this amazing maze of cattle holding stalls Just to listen to the auctioneers was an experience and to watch potential bidders doing their secret signals to accept a price !! Each stall was perfectly handled by cowboys on horses who skilfully manoeuvred the cattle to others stalls.Each cow is “branded” with a paint number on a very long pole and as they are sold they are in turn colour coded with a different colour paint !!Staff use a long pole also with a plastic bag to move the cattle along (its hard to believe how docile these animals are ) Just to hear the 1000,s of cattle mooing was a sound I wont forget in a hurry>Id even say the cattle were contented !! All the bidders (and auctioneers) wore AKUBRA hats (told it takes 27 rabbits to make one hat.NO the rabbits didnt make the hats !!) I was compelled to buy one ! and for all you Pomms? Yes I will wear it !!
Yehawwwwwwwwww !!
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 