Back on the Ship and another Fun Day ahead
TUESDAY having had a good night’s sleep we ambled off for breakfast and at this point I have to decided to buggar the diet !! We have already bought our cheap duty free booze and Annie is currently at Origami lessons ( I kid you not) I was left chatting with 2 ladies ! We had lunch in one of the posh restaurants and had a lovely 3 course meal with even lovelier table company. We then opted to have a rest in the Dome pub (alcohol free!) and ventured to the Marquee Theatre where a Stage production of a Musical Whodunit was being performed. Annie volunteered me to be the Sound Effects Person and it was hilarious, the crew were very helpful and gave me a good chance to have a chat with them backstage, currently we are in cabin resting, building up strength for this evenings activities. Evening found us once more in the Marquee Theatre and the main act was a juggler who in my opinion was a wee bit over the top, juggling while having an audience member on your shoulder whilst on a mono cycle on a rolling ship is not my cup of tea! Next up was our visit to the Trivia Night in the Ocean Bar and sat with some lovely people..Peter, Shirley, Murray & Jamie and we managed 29/30 along with another team SO we had a dance off and once again I was pushed onto the stage!! After making a complete fool of myself I was declared the Winner!! Great fun but I was knackered and had to resort to drinking more alcohol!! Once I got my breath back we headed for the Marquee to watch comedian Peter Gross who proved to be quite entertaining. I fell asleep as my head was on its way to the pillow, sadly Annie was having one of her headaches (probably as a result of the embarrassing things I got up to during this wonderful day!!)
Day2 Here we Go!!! Goodbye Brisbane
Due to Illness connected to Ship I have been slow updating BUT now..BACK to NORMAL
MONDAY day of our trip started early and although the long term parking centre was only a Kilometre away we still managed to get lost!! We were driven to the Dockside to catch our ship ARIA and after going thru various checkins (including a funny moment with the custom officer who threatened to take my passport away for supporting Man City! I wish other customs officers I have met over the years could be as cheerful s this one) Boarding was rather painless and once settled into our cabin we sought out the eateries!! Only disappointment so far is the hardship of paying for Ice cream!! Other voyages provided the treat for free. Night time we went to the theatre to watch the show and it was really good and that lasted for 45 mins, then off to the Ocean Bar for trivia and Karaoke (I couldn’t find the song I usually kill, so I didn’t bother) We met up with a lovely lady ( Maxine) and another couple with their teen aged wheelchair bound son and the night just flowed along nicely. Returning to our cabin we were informed to put our clocks ONE hour forward. All in All a very brilliant start to our 2 weeks cruise
Minimal Photos BUT plenty more over the next 2 weeks
And so it begins.Cruise Prelude
After very good drive from home (Sat 12 Nov) to the Doc Martens shop in Brisbane we settled in to our Hotel (Hamilton Motor Inn) The experience in the shop was fantastic, I was served by a lovely lady who loves the Punk era and she was dressed in the style including Boots with steel caps (on the outside !) and I asked her if she would like to join my Arse Kicking team and that immediately broke the ice and her attention & attitude to customer service was a credit to her profession. The Hotel was clean and parking was good even better the fact is placed next to a great Pub ! The Pub actually served meals at very reasonably priced meals for pensioners (Steak meal $13) and the atmosphere was great with lovely noisy bands and a very friendly staff. We got caught in a very fierce thunderstorm and the rain was if a lake had been overturned! Fortunately we managed to get shelter in a bus stop!! On the Sunday we took the Red Cat hydroplane boat to Brisbane CBD (a 30 min journey) Brisbane is ALIVE on Sundays with lots of street entertainers, but we were feeling the heat of the day so we took sanctuary at the local cinema to see Dr Strange. Upon returning we headed for the Hamilton pub and once again it was in full swing with yet another band belting out tunes.Two days to go
Silverton and beyond to Cobar & Trucks !!
Wednesday and we had anther look around Silverton taking pictures then thru Broken Hill to Illcania which was a sad sight looking at lots of indigenous people sitting around with what seems to be no aim in life,sad.After a fill up we headed for Cobar stopping at a lovely roadhouse for burger n chips (Tip order small coz you get served massive serves) Emmdale Roadhouse NSW well worth a visit.We are currently surrounded by HUGE trucks staying overnight for their obligatory 7 hrs break afore carrying on driving for a further 12 hours !!!
Silverton is one of my favourite places where Mad Max 2 was made and there is even a museum to the memory of that film ! Silverton has been largely abandoned now BUT the pub does a bristling business and the staff are ever so friendly,as stated earlier we had to go tho because of pending stormy rains
Broken Hill and Silverton
Tuesday up late ( well we did go to bed at 9 pm !) and we headed for Broken Hill via Wentworth (there was actually a cowboy singing group on that was well supported by Grey Nomads) whilst on the radio a friend rang just as we were catching up to a carrier that contained CAMELS !! of course he didn,t believe us !! Thru Broken Hill onto one of my favourite spots Silverton and a couple of pints !! Got chatting to a coupla Aussies who naturally told Pommie jokes THEN all at the bar completed the age test which consisted on placing a potato on your head and flicking it into a funnel stuck in yer trousers and the sneaky barmaid then poured water into the Funnel !! mine slipped out and I kept DRY while the Aussies took a soaking…Great fun haha we are now settled in a Park that we visited here a few years ago and ready for tomorrows adventures !
Crossing the Mighty Murray for Free in an Orange Growing State
Monday up early and of we go to Murray staying at a lovely spot named Berri alongside the mighty River and a chat with some people who have been travelling 6 yrs in a slide on! Annie spotted a frilly neck lizard afore we locked ourselves in our Slide On! We passed thru Clare,had a quick meal and what a lovely town it is..other places we passed included..Kapunda,Tanunda and over to Loxton via Swan Reach where we got the FREE Ferry.Who pays the Ferryman? not us ! Of course there is a Gigantic Orange telling us that this is also an Orange Growing State
Another Day travelling thru Paradise
Sunday..freezing cold but a beautiful sunrise,quick cuppa n toast and we headed for Port Augusta ,via Ceduna and had our setup power washed (underneath too !) we are currently at Stony Creek Bush Camp Wilmington after going over Horrocks Pass in the Flinders Ranges and time for a much needed shower !
Stopping at the Australian Great Bight was breath taking…Chatting to a truckie taking rowing boats over to Perth ( sez the boats worth a cool $250,000
Next Day avoiding the “Big” Wet !
Saturday we stayed at East of Penang (really) going thru Eucla and getting a great coating of mud on the setup (Annie wanted to see the old Telegraph House) .We went stopping at various viewpoints along the Nullabor .The last place was awesome the Cliffs were in their full glory at Bunda Cliffs Scenic look out and its free 75 kms East of The Border Village.We found a crowded overnight spot BUT coz we were 4 wheel we moved well into the country and had a decent night.
It seems we are heading into areas that have been flooded or are about to be.We were considering the Darling River Dirt track BUT once again it has been closed due to very heavy rains.Reports are short on this part of the trip because the landscape is a wee bit bland ! However we did come across a young Chinese lad ( been in Australia ONE day) who was travelling around this great country of ours on a pushbike ! he was a very pleasant young man willing to have his photo taken and my farewell “che che” amused him ( a phrase I picked up in Beijing and I have NO idea what it means !)
The Return to Hervey Bay (over 5000 kms away)
Off early Friday after saying goodbye to families and set off towards Coolgardie and stayed at a freebie near Southern Cross the WA travel is pretty boring & bland ,however.we caught up to a truck we thought was in need off help so we called him on out CB,apparently he was the back up for a cyclist going around Australia making money for PTSD and was 7000 into a 10000 trip around Oz,I scratched me bum in sympathy.We have bypassed Kalgoorlie apologies to Traudi n Keith (would have loved to have avbeer or few with you)
Friday we stayed East og Maura which is STILL in WA showing the size of this massive state where we saw a magnificent fifth wheeler that ha to be seen to believe IT was hidden in the bush and the free campsite was brilliant
Perth Break and Family wishes
We have been in the outback & bush for a while now and spent some time inPerth with families..I also spent time in hospital with an infected testicle ( and boy did it hurt !) all is well now and it was fantastic meeting up with kids and grankids (Annies in Mount Barker) and mine in Perth.Thanks to Jayne n Paul for putting us up and making sure we we comfortable.Great seeing Adam n Issy altho Adam makes a lousy cuppa !!! Annie caught up with daughter Janene and Grandaughter Dejanna,spending some quality family time.Pictures wont,t be available of our Perth time at the request of me daughter .We are about to set off on our return trip with hopefully lots of pics.Our original plan was to take the Darling River Dirt Road BUT the weather has closed them down !!maybe next year.Few more outback days then a return home and daily updates on where and what we have done
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 