Day 3 THE DAY OF THE PUMPKIN
Day Two in Goomeri
Day One on the Road to Goomeri
Fishing in Hervey Bay oh What Fun !!
Thw weather in this beautiful part of the world is absolutely brilliant,after all we do live in the sub tropics of Queensland.Recently we have taken up sea fishing with our Guru and Master fisherman Paul.After 3 trips I was lucky enough to catch TWO on the the third Day ( Bream & Rainbow Fish) after photo,s they were released back into the Ocean ( VERY heavy fines are incurred if undersized fish are killed) Annie was the first to catch fish and sadly Paul caught only a Toad Fish and they are NOT to be thrown back into the briny alive ! (being a “pest” fish) At high our almost 3/4 km long pier is a fantastic place to “wet” a line and we have met lots of friendly people.Our troupe has now increased to five with the prospect of another enthusiast wishing to join us .Names so Far…Paul,Ann,Geoff,David and Michelle.Future attendee is Margaret who will join us when her chore system at home has be re-arranged ! (sorry Margaret) David actually caught a rock !!
Our basic training is now over,next lesson will be to learn how to hold a captive fish correctly whilst taking the hook out of its mouth.At this stage NO fish will be harmed until we reach the final stage in our curriculum which enables us to slice the subject into slices ready for cooking !!!! Its a brilliant past time enabling us to get out into the sun,have a great laugh at each others expense ( which we do freely) and meeting lots of new people
A Pleasant Weekend in Brisbane
We decided to use our cheap pensioners rail pass from Hervey Bay to Brisbane (approx 320 kms away) to discover the capital of out home State of Queensland.There is plenty to see including a FREE Ferry up and down the River Brisbane.Southbank is a hive of activity with its wonderful man made beach and lakes specially designed for families.Night time too in the towns CBD is very busy with lots of eateries and pubs to keep people happy>We stayed at the EDGE Hotel that turned into a bit of a disaster due to unhelpful staff and bad advertising (because of our complains the advertising on their Website has been changed to give a true indication of what is available.I have included a small run down on what Brisbane is about
One of the oldest cities in Australia, Brisbane was founded upon the ancient homelands of the Indigenoue Turrbal and Jagera peoples. Named after the Brisbane River on which it is located Thomas Brisbane From 1821 to 1825 the area was chosen as a place for secondary offenders from the Sydney Colony A penal settlement was founded in 1824 at Redcliffe, 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of the central business district, but was soon abandoned and moved toNorth Quayin 1825, opening to free settlement in 1842. The city was marred byAboriginal Conflict between 1843 and 1855, and development was partly set back by the Great Fire of Brisbane, and the Great Brisbane Flood Brisbane was chosen as the capital. DuringWW2, Brisbane played a central role in theAllied campaign and served as the South West Pacific headquarters for MacArthur
There is plenty to do and if in this wonderful State do go and look and explore Brisbane,you will not be disappointed
APRIL the 25th Australia …..my tiny tribute
Anzac Day, 25 April, is one of Australia’s most important national occasions. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as Anzacs, and the pride they took in that name endures to this day
Australians recognise 25 April as a day of national remembrance, which takes two forms. Commemorative services are held across the nation at dawn – the time of the original landing, while later in the day, former servicemen and servicewomen meet to take part in marches through the country’s major cities and in many smaller centres. Commemorative ceremonies are more formal, and are held at war memorials around the country. In these ways, Anzac Day is a time at which Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war.
It is great to see young kids marching on this very special parade to honour war heroes by wearing medals earned by their grandparents.Interestingly some of the medals were scaled down to look in proportion to the small people wearing them.Turn out at this very special occasion is always fantastic and parades are held from the tiniest communities to the large cities and is also a Public Holiday (Take note UK) Below is a game that can be seen on this day at most RSL Clubs throughout Australia
“Two-up” is a traditional game which is true-blue Australian, invented in old Australia, and allowed to played LEGALLY in public only on special days, such as ANZACs day public holiday, since it’s actually gambling…Of, course you can gamble and play it any time in an Australian casino.A smooth area of 3 metres diameter is used with any number of players participating. Here’s a few terminology used in the game:
KIP : Piece of wood on which the pennies (coins) are placed for spinning RINGER : Person in charge of the game SPINNER : Player spinning the coins COCKATOO : Keeps a lookout for the “Law” aka Police !
The RINGER will call for the “SPINNER” who will place a bet with the “BOXER”. When this is set, side bets may be made, for either Heads or Tails. The “RINGER” will then call “Come in Spinner”, the “SPINNER” will then walk into the centre of the RING and tosses the coins upwards.If the coins land with 2 Heads facing UP, it is called “HEADS”. 2 Tails is called “TAILED THEM”, and when one of each is showing, then it is “ODDS”. The coins must be tossed until a result is obtained.The game is for the “SPINNER” to spin as many pairs of “HEADS” as possible. When 2 Tails are showing, the “SPINNER” passes the “KIP” to another person.The modern game is now played with three coins thus giving a quicker result i.e. 2 HEADS or 2 TAILS.
Distractions after the Car Smash
After all the fuss re the car crash I have been involved in other issues even joining a very amateurish theatre group..more on that on a future blog. In this wonderful place we live there is so much to do for we pensioners ( IF you are prepared to get of your arse and avago !) I can now continue to get back into animals & creatures we have encountered on our wonderful traipse around Australia (hopefully we will do once again June or July )
All the years I lived in England I was terrified of spiders no matter how small they are ! Incidentally there are NO venomous spiders in the UK.Australia is FULL of deadly,dangerous arachnids! Since living here I have overcome my fears and respect their right to be around (rule of thumb? leave them alone and they wont bother you!) I am now fully trained to remove spiders from our home using a glass tumbler and small sheet of paper. Redbacks WILL be killed humanely ( a highly charged boot crushing them instantly!!) There are so many interesting creatures in this wonderful land and just to see them in their home environment (i.e not caged) is jaw dropping.Can’t wait to get back on the road again.All creatures in this blog are roaming freely with the exception of the Snake,even the crocodile was photo’d in the wild (altho we were ready to run very quickly at the slightest movement!)
Old Drivers v Young Drivers
At around 3 am this Easter Morning I was awoke by a loud crashing noise,I,m thinking to myself Why is the Earth shaking when I didn’t do anything and the wife is fast asleep !! She rouses and tells me to go back to sleep as I was dreaming BUT on looking thru the bedroom window across the road was a Ford Ute stuck into the corner of our neighbours house across the road ( Our houses are mirror copies) I dressed very quickly and ran across the road to check everyone is OK (they are) Young bloke besides himself saying “sorry,sorry” I asked if he was OK and he replied in the affirmative.Asked if he had been drinking to which he replied just one ( he is a P plater,altho qualified as a driver,P platers have to have ZERO tolerance & altho he wasn’t over the limit,he is still by law guilty of the offence due to the zero tolerance) He must have been travelling at considerable speed (50 km limit applies here) as he had almost demolished the side of the building.Our friends were in bed when the car went crashing into their room.The Power external box was damaged but still kept the power on. Methinks the vehicle will be a write off and extensive damage was sustained to the building and will prove to be a very costly experience for the young driver .To add to his anguish he apparently is also NOT insured.Amazingly I was the only neighbour who was awakened by the noise ! The street slept on. A call was made to the insurers after the vehicle had been towed away & within 2 hours Maintenance people were on site to fix the damaged house to safety standards until an accessor would be available (kudo’s to the Insurers) The point of this Blog is that IF a Senior driver had been involved,he would have been headlined on local news and no doubt cries would go out for Seniors to be Rd tested every year !! The young fellow who did this (approx age we think for him is early 20’s) would face up to all penalties imposed upon him,but no reference to his driving abilities or the need for him to take driving tests !! Apart from the massive damage,thankfully no one was harmed and we did meet some nice Firemen,Police,Power workers,Tow Truckies and not forgetting the Ambulance people ( Stats 4 Police Cars 8 Police people,2 Firetrucks with around 6 workers,2 Ergon workers eac having a truck {Power} 1 Ambulance withlots more work on restoring the house to pre crash state)
Happy Easter to All
Waiting to start our Travels again
We have sold our Bus and traded it for a slide on Camper and a new 4×4 Mazda..Christmas is just but a memory now and Easter starts tomorrow.The weather is cooling down and hope fully we will be off again second part of the year .We have hopefully ironed out minor problems with our equipment and all systems are GO! To have traveled this wonderful country has been a great privilege (having done it twice) but there are still places to see,people to meet (and we will) and more wonderful adventures that will take us into the unknown (we are thing of going via the Birdsville track to WA) It seems I have been granted my radio show for a further 12 months and will make arrangements for a “fill in” whilst away.Our Radio Station has a few Seniors involved who take time off to do other things in life (moral being ? dont sit on your bum upon reaching retirement,get out there and volunteer for something at our age there is PLENTY to do if you are prepared to look.TV is an altogether too easy option) SO,in the meantime over the next few weeks I will put pics of creatures we have encountered on our past AUSTRALIAN travels
these are just a short selection of “critters” we have spotted..more soon
Goodbye to Ower Kid an his Missus
Time goes by so very quickly when having fun ! Brother Brian & wife have been in Queensland for 2 weeks and have seen plenty and certainly eaten lots !!
While in Brisbane Tresha celebrated her birthday with the biggest meal Ive ever seen…however…she did eat the lot PLUS a generous sized pudding !!! Our hotel suited our needs,staff were extremely pleasant..rooms very clean and tidy but really small ! We had to park our flatback below ground and to navigate entry was horrendous BUT credit to Annie she made it look easy !!! Not a scratch !!
We visited an Australian Creature Park and watched some amazing stuff including Snakes and Crocodiles (sadly just up the road at another park a zookeeper was badly mauled by a crocodile and who can blame them for being teased just for public pleasure? and Yes I realize I am one of those spectators..We dined in a club named ISIS ( really) in a suburb of Childers and treated to a very nice lunch
Annie does volunteer work at our local markets (Koala Markets) every 2nd Sunday and we took Brian n Tresha there for lovely,cheap breakfast and I introduced him to our local MP Ted Sorensson and a very popular entertainer who we also know John Vea Vea and he is a lovely man and very co-operative with a photo take
We have thoroughly enjoyed the visit and as we are all getting on in years I doubt very much I will visit UK again or indeed my brother will probably not be back to Australia.I have lots of family in England as well as lots of ole pals I knew from school days and I will miss ALL of them.BUT Australia is my home and I love Hervey Bay so much I will now be buried here (tongue in cheek) As usual it was a very teary goodbye as we dropped them off at the Airport,who knows? one day we see them on Skype !!
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 