By keef and annie hellinger, Feb 20 2022 15.41 pm This diary accompanied the BLOG 167 and an audiobook version of it is available on the BIG TRIPS page on this website. We are now on Soundcloud for all our audiobooks but if you wish to listen to the Diary rather than read it please click HERE Whilst camping in New Zealand we joined the following two organisations which saved us a lot of money, these site clubs were called Top 10 and Kiwi Holiday Parks campsites. Just a thought for fellow motor homers , it may help #hintsandtips MENU Go to 1. Malaysia 2. New Zealand 3. Our Kauri Bowl , 35,000 years old 4. Australia 5. Singapore 6. Audiobook MALAYSIA MENU Kuala Lumpur Kuah Town, Langkawi Island Island Hopping Doug & Phoenix's Wedding, Tanjung Rhu Berjaya Resort Georgetown, Penang Melaka Malaysian Diaries Malaysian Diary 22nd Jan – 5th Feb then again with D&P to Melaka for the weekend from Singapore 13-14 Mar 2013 Tuesday January 22nd 2013 After collecting the hire car from the East Midlands airport and dropping keys etc around Craig’s house, we set off for Heathrow. Heavy snow in fields in countryside but Heathrow was clear. We flew British airways 8.30pm to Singapore, although the plane was waiting to taxi down the runway for 45 minutes. We had a few hours snatched sleep on the plane and arrived at Singapore at 5.40pm on the Tuesday. The flight was 12 hours 35 minute long. British Airways food was Ok but not enough seat space / leg space , cramped conditions, definitely what we call “cattle class” . We were cheeky and asked for an upgrade but were told there were no first-class seats available. Wednesday January 23rd 2013 Arrival Kuala Lumpur via Singapore Arrived Singapore (in transit) for Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia, sent text message to Doug. Phoenix’s parents staying with them currently in Singapore, where they were officially married at a civil ceremony on the 24th. We only had 1 hour 30 minutes to sort out our transit arrangements which was stressful since baggage had to be checked out and checked back in at the Changi counter, time flew by. Singapore lovely airport (Changi surprisingly was once a prison used by the Japanese to hound Singaporeans, bad news) and modern , tube used to take passengers to baggage hall / passport check etc. Flew Jet Star (operated by Quantas) 7.40pm to KL. Liked the airport in KL , clean modern etc. Flight was about 50 minutes. Found free shuttle bus at KL airport to take us to the Concorde Inn Hotel very near to the airport. Nice spacious deluxe room and wet room shower. Arrived at the hotel at 10.10 pm very tired and hot. After snow and freezing temperatures in England, arrived in jungle heat and then a ‘terrific tropical storm’ directly overhead with thunder and lightening. The thunder was os loud it was like an explosion. Spent 24 hours travelling fron the time we left home to arriving at the hotel in KL. Thursday January 24th 2013 Kuala Lumpur Woke at 6.20am. Bit jet lagged. Went into Kuala Lumpur city today having had a lovely hotel breakfast. The coffee machine inspired my 60th birthday present. Bought a batik fabric from the hotel foyer gift shop and practiced our Malay language skills. Got free shuttle bus from hotel to main airport and then took rapid train into the city (took 28 minutes) passing many palm tree plantations. Train cost 70 ringgits each return (about £14 at the time) and was like a very modern tube train. Got hop on hop off (HOHO) coach tickets from outside the station, cost 35 ringgits each or £7 which was very good value. The bus tour took in all the city sights / sites (😉 ) , old colonial buildings and those that were ultra-modern, including the world famous Petronus Twin Towers, 3 green belts in the city with flowering shrubs and trees. We saw monkeys outside the national palace fence. The whole bus tour took about 2-2 ¼ hours as they stopped for photo opportunities on several occasions. KL was not very crowded surprisingly. The Chinese shops were very interesting and lots of market and food stalls were available. We visited the national museum of Malaysia and saw traditional long houses and the Sultan’s throne and a man with a yellow python. Also on the 2nd tour around the city we stopped at a traditional crft centre and chatted to a batik designer / artist from Borneo. Terrific tropical storms again at 5.50 pm, we got back on the bus tour but interestingly the bus well and truly leaked 😉 We had a chicken meal at the main station got back to the Concorde In hotel at about 9.20pm tired, happy and educated (travel definitely broadens the mind) and very ready for bed. Friday January 25th 2013 Still at Concorde Inn Hotel near KL airport. Woke up early again at 5.45 a.m., must still be jet lag, heavy rain. Yesterday we found all Malaysians friendly and very helpful and all spoke very good English, we tried out our pigeon Malay whenever we could to try and be good but in general their English was way better than our Malay. Annie did Indonesian at school in Australia and said many of the words were similar. We had an excellent breakfast at the hotel, Keef did some online banking and emails, we then when swimming / sunbathing at the hotel pool. It was very hot and then like clockwork the rain clouds gathered and around 6 p.m. there was another terrific rainstorm with thunder and lightening. The rain was tremendous, and we mean TORRENTIAL! Anne had a little siesta as was suffering from jet lag and tired. We then had a lovely evening meal in the hotel restaurant, Annie had chicken satay with rice, curd cake and carrot cake for pudding, Keef had nasi lemak , chicken, rendang sauce, coconut rice, with an anchovy and nut garnish followed by cheesecake for pudding, all very yummy and hugely well prepared, thanks Concorde Inn Hotel staff, much appreciated. We then organised the taxi pickup for the next morning to take us to the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Kuala Lumpur for our Malaysian internal flights at 10 a.m. (arriving at the terminal 2 hours earlier as directed) Never know what that is all about, mostly to get you to spend money at the terminal. Night night we will be up early tomorrow. Saturday January 26th 2013 Today we travel onward to Langkawi Island, Malaysia, a chocolate (tax free) holiday paradise island for all Malaysians and the place where our youngest son is due to get married. Tick! Got up at 6 a.m. and had breakfast at 7.15 a.m. we then got the taxi to Kuala Lumpur’s LCCT terminal to catch our 10 a.m. flight on Air Asia to Langkawi. We had to be at the terminal 2 hours in advance. In the end the plane left at 10.15 a.m. and took about 1 hour to get to the island. It was very hot in Langkawi, about 30 degrees C, we checked in at the De Baron Hotel , a 2 star hotel, having picked up our hire car from the airport for 1 week. It cost about £230. The hire car had air con, 4 doors and seemed very good. Apparently, there are monkeys and buffalo on the roads away from the main Kuah Town although on our journey to the hotel we didn’t see any. Cars drive on the left in Malaysia. We unpacked our bags in the hotel room, which was not as good as the one at the Concorde Inn in KL. We then went for a stroll around the hotel and grounds to familiarise ourselves with where we were. We then walked to the nearest shops to find a restaurant for some food. This is hilarious, we ordered fish and chips, but the waiter only bought one plate. He naively assumed it was only the man eating, wow now that is a cultural difference. 😉 We asked for the 2nd meal which duly arrived, but the fish was not cooked properly. We left in disgust and found another restaurant. Anne had lemon chicken (not very good) and pineapple rice which was wonderful. We then found a wine shop and bought both red and white for D&P’s wedding. Both of us has a siesta as knocked out by the massive heat or more succinctly humidity. Keef took sunset pictures from the hotel grounds. Brian and Gina arrived at De Baron Hotel, Kuah Town, Langkawi Island at 10.15 p.m. Sunday January 27th 2013 Went for a swim and met up with Brian and Gin who had got up early and had breakfast and walked along the bay to the Eagle Square statue (famed on Langkawi and visible in all the tourist brochures). It was again very hot today. We all got sunbeds around the pool which had 2 lovely slides. K&A went off to collect Craig and Leanne from the airport at 12.15 p.m. and then once they had both checked into their room they joined us on the sunbeds which we had rotated to be in the shade, a very good move for us pasty skinned Brits abroad, ha ha. 😉The only 2 awake around the pool were Annie & I as we had now arrived in the right time zone body wise. In the evening we had dinner at our hotel outside in the gardens overlooking the bay a bit cooler and a lovely romantic setting and great company, what more could you ask for. We took some sunset photos over the bay. Hotel had wonderful and beautiful views of the bay which is part of the straits of Malacca. Being a Muslim country, they did not serve alcohol, but we took along some beers etc. and sat along the bay frontage and watched the sun set, just magical. That afternoon Keef & Brian had walked 10 minutes to the quay to book an island-hopping boat tour trip for 9 a.m. the next day, so looking forward to that. This is an extract from a tourist brochure from Langkawi. “Kuah, the main town of Langkawi, is a good starting point for visitors who travel via ferry. While clear white stretches of beaches are non-existent here, ships are ever-present in the distance and the looming mountains on the nearby islets are visible during the day. The town is well-regarded as a shopper’s haven, housing many excellent duty-free stores selling everything but the kitchen sink. Due to its relatively large population and the number of hotels in the area, visitors can also find a good range of dining venues to choose from while places of interests that are great for picture moments can be found in Kuah. Kuah, Kuah Town or Bandar Kuah is a town, mukim and district capital of Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia. It is the entry point for those coming by ferry from either the mainland or Penang Island. The town is centered on its jetty, which is a point of arrival for tourists from the mainland. Kuah has become a major town due to the growth of visitors after Langkawi developed into a tourist centre since 1986. Kuah is the most important town on Langkawi Island. Though it is not an actual city, local people from Langkawi refer to it as a city. Kuah is a nice and small town with a relaxed atmosphere. There are no big malls, no heavy traffic and no places to eat on every corner but more than enough to satisfy your appetite. Langkawi Island has a duty-free status. You can buy cheap liquor, cigarettes, fragrances, and other souvenirs in Kuah. Kuah has a couple of hotels, but you will find better accommodation outside of the city. “ The hotel address was de BARON resort, Bandar Baru BARON,07000, Kuah Langkawi, Kedah Darul Aman. Monday January 28th 2013 Early breakfast for us all and then got boat trip at 9 a.m. from Eagle Statue quay side. It was a longish boat with sun shades over seats and we rightly had to wear life jackets. There was bright sunshine, but it was breezy. The guy who drove the boat drove it very fast and it was incredibly bouncy. It bounced on some large waves which made us bounce on our metal seat structures quite hard so much so that Craig got a huge bruise on his lower back and Annie one on her arm. If I was being unkind I would say the pilot was doing it on purpose, i.e. an inert dislike of tourists, however I would say most strongly “don’t bite the hand that feeds you” PLEASE!!! We arrived at a small island with palm trees and a lovely beach. This was on reflection the island of beras basah. We had a short walk to the main jetty where there were other tourist boats, he had landed up on the sand as otherwise it was too crowded. The other boats were mainly full of Malaysian tourists. We all went for a cooling swim and then came onto the beach and saw a monkey steal someone’s plastic carrier bag and grab a slice of toast from within. He sat there proudly eating it and we all took lots of photos. We spent ¾ (three quarters) of an hour on that island , Craig having a go in the provided hammock, and then got back on the boat and went to another island where we saw eagles swooping to catch fish and the while island surrounded by mangroves. The last island we visited, dayang bunting, had lots of cheeky monkeys and we walked through the trees on a path with lots of steps to the island’s major lake with a floating pontoon. Craig swam and the rest of us sat on the decking and soaked our feet in the cool waters, this freshwater lake was called the lake of the pregnant maiden. We got on the boat from the dayang bunting jetty after a leisurely stroll back from the lake and lots more monkey pictures and returned to the quay at 12.30 noon. We swam in the De Baron hotel pool and got water, wine, and beer from the town locally in the hire car. After some hassle with the car not starting and having to call out the hire company to fix it (damn it looked like a new vehicle, not good) Keef , Brian & Gina finally arrived at the “passage to India” restaurant where we all had our evening meal after what had been a fun but slightly tiring day out. Its worth noting that the locals only came out to swim in the evening to avoid the heat of the day, oh well mad dogs and Englishmen as they say tee hee. 😉 Tuesday January 29th 2013 We all spent time around the pool relaxing in the morning after our usual friendly and substantial breakfast. Late afternoon we took Craig & Leanne in the hire car to Pantai Chenang and met Brian and Gina there, they had got a taxi outside to Underwater world which we all loved but lost Gina in tee hee. It was a very hot and humid day again, we saw the aquarium and the rain forest area with animals and birds and surprisingly penguins who were in what seemed to be a fridge area, we tried to stowaway (not really ha-ha). It was all very good. Brian had to do a search party for Gina who was reported lost as taking so many photos she strayed away from the rest of us. After this we all walked along the main road in the Pantai Chenang resort where we found a small sandy beach where there were jellyfish at the edge of the sea, after it had disappeared we went for a dip to cool off. We had lunch and drinks at the lovely beach bar, with great views of the Anderman sea and main beach where there were jet skis, banana boats and parascending / parasailing activities. We went for a swim in the sea and watched the lovely sunset at 7.30 p.m. We then collectively set off to look for a restaurant for dinner and found a nice fusion one serving southeast Asian cuisine. It was lovely food. We all got changed out of our wet swim wear in the loos after our swim. Brian and Gina got a taxi back to the hotel and us 4 returned in the hire car, all in all a great day out. Wednesday January 30th 2013 Doug and Phoenix’s Wedding Day, Langkawi Island, Tanjung Rhu Resort definitely 5 star Set off from the De Baron hotel in Kuah Town with Craig & Leanne in the hire car. Brian and Gina took a taxi across the island and surprise, surprise got lost, you would thing the taxi drivers would know their way around. Anyhow we all arrived at the Tanjung Rhu hotel resort where the wedding was to be held late afternoon. We spent some time around the pool before the wedding and met up with D&P and Phoenix’s parents, her 2 cousins (including Shren whom we have got to know much better over the years as like P she went to university in the UK for about a year, since married in China). Again, a very very hot day. Lovely beach views and loved the hotel rooms and gardens, dead posh. The wedding was lovely and very romantic and held on the beach at 6.30 p.m. to take some of the days heat away. Phoenix looked lovely in her bridal dress escorted across the sand by her dad and 3 bridesmaids all in yellow dresses whilst hers was pure white. Doug looked very smart in grey trousers, waistcoat, white shirt and gold bow tie and cummerbund. The ceremony was very emotional and beautiful at the same time. They then went off for formal photos and then we went into the hotel for the traditional Chinese tea ceremony with her parents and the bride & groom. Then followed a beach barbeque and feast as by now dark skies, with a really good live band. The speeches were all excellent, Ps Dad, John the best man (one of Doug’s university pals) and Doug who did a long speech in both Mandarin and English. We are very proud of him, and the Chinese contingent laughed in quite a few places so it must have been good. He also recited a poem he had written to Phoenix which was very romantic. We then had dancing on the sand with Phoenix even doing lead vocals with the band at one point, she has such a lovely voice. Then wedding cake and did some beach games… China versus England, ha-ha. Skittles and throwing coconuts as the ball. Then more music and dancing and then we moved inside the hotel for some karaoke which finished at 2.30 am. The Chinese were great at Kareoke, we however tanked up on booze to give us the confidence to finish with Bryan Adams and Bon Jovi numbers, The summer of 69 and Living on a prayer respectively. All very tired but happy we retired to bed. Doug & Phoenix both seemed very happy with how it had all gone, what a wonderful wedding day! Thursday January 31st 2013 Brian and Gina transferred to their new hotel, Berjeya Hotel Resort on the southwest of the island at 4 p.m. Got up late and had breakfast in the Sands restaurant in the Tanjung Rhu hotel. We chatted to John & his partner Tammy. We had to check out of our room at 12 noon, but Doug and Phoenix were staying on until Friday. We put our baggage in the hire car and then spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool as did the whole of Phoenix’s family. Brian and Gina then left at 4 p.m. for their next hotel. We got showered to leave at 6.30 p.m. Unfortunately only B&G caught Phoenix’s Mum to say goodbye, we didn’t manage any of P’s party, the whole of her entourage were not around, B&G did say farewell to Doug & Phoenix however who were off for a spa treatment, luxury eh but true honeymoon stuff for Mr. & Mrs. Douglas (as they became known by the hotel staff tee hee). They were also doing snorkeling on Friday morning before flying to Penang to briefly stay with their friends Kim & Jayne, who were also wedding guests. Kim volunteered to show us around Georgetown his home when we got to Penang in a few days’ time but we decided against it as in fairness didn’t know him that well and wanted to look around at our own pace. We will stay with Doug & Phoenix at the end of our trip for two weeks in April so its as they say not goodbye but more au revoir ha-ha With Craig and Leanne we then drove to the tourist resort of Pantai Chenang again and had a lovely Thai meal, this was the scene of C&L’s parascending experience tomorrow having worked up the courage watching other on our previous visits here , something we are not sure Leanne would do again. Very tired as late night previously so we all went to bed when we returned to the hotel De Baron in Kuah Town. One thing we remember from around the pool at Tanjung Rhu resort was the pompous Brits who told as they always holidayed here every year and were complaining about the riffraff lowering the tone for the plebs wedding, little did they know that was us, awful snobs and people for that matter, happy never to see folk like that again, thank you very much Friday February 1st 2013 Had breakfast at 8.30 a.m. with Craig & Leanne and then returned to Pantai Chenang for them to do parasailing, which cost them £12 for 10 minutes in the air. The speedboat took them out for a very small island offshore where they took off from its beach. Then we drove to the southwest side of the island and visited the Oriental Village with shops, a lake with koi carps, fish, monkeys etc. maybe click on the link on the website page for the oriental village Langkawi Island to see so much more. We saw the cable car but the queue to get on was so long we just didn’t have time to do it so Craig & Leanne did an elephant ride instead. Their elephant was called Lasah, we took lots of photos of them then K & A fed him afterwards with bread slices and bananas provided. We saw a small boy with a python wrapped around his neck. We then went into the spa shop where Craig & Leanne put their feet into a pool where small fish nibbled the hard skin on their feet, it made Craig giggle. We had already done this with Linda & Ian in Cornwall before we came so gave it a miss this time around. We then drove to Brian & Gina’s new resort hotel which was quite close to the Oriental Village and spent the afternoon on the beach and in their pool which had a waterfall. Their hotel grounds were nicely landscaped with tropical palms etc. Maybe click on the link for the Berjaya hotel resort to see more. We took the little bus up the hillside to their chalet amongst the trees, it was an extremely steep road, so transport was most welcome. We all had a shower there and got changed ready for the evening. There were monkeys in the trees. We went to dinner in a fab Lebanese restaurant along the coast in Pantai Kok, which is a lovely fishing and yacht harbour. The food was very tasty and we had to do the usual walk to the far corner of the restaurant to wash our hands under running water as we mostly used our ands to eat, a cultural and maybe religion practice within Muslim countries, who knows! Brian and Gina returned to their resort by taxi. We all said our goodbyes and C, L,K&A returned to the De Baron hotel in Kuah town. We went to bed at 10.30 p.m. as an early start tomorrow. Brian and Gina were spending a further 7 days at the Berjaya resort before flying onto Borneo for the rest of their holiday. We had spent a lovely time together, such wonderful memories especially the Wedding at Tanjung Rhu, will remember it forever, very special. Saturday February 2nd 2013 Langkawi Island to Penang for Keef & Annie and the next leg of our Holiday 2013. Got up at 5 a.m. and took Craig and Leanne to Langkawi airport for 6 a.m. for their return flight to the UK. It was very dark outside but with the sound of prayer call in the air from the many mosques en-route. Keef sent emails and photos of the Wedding to family and friends in England an Tasmania. The photos came out very well and are a fab reminder of such wonderful times. We then had breakfast at De Baron and drove to Eagle Quay one last time, but it was very busy with tax free shoppers so decided to give shopping there a miss. Went back into Kuah town and Anne bought 2 lots of batik and Keef bought some seaweed pringles as we so liked Craig’s. We had previously checked out of the hotel but returned to get changed. We then returned the hire car to the airport at 3 p.m., we loved its air con ha-ha. And then had to wait until 5.30 p.m. for our Air Asia flight to Penang. The plane left early and took only 18 minutes, possibly one of our shortest flights ever. Got taxi coupon, 44 ringgits, approximately £5.50 in British pounds and then the taxi to our Georgetown hotel called the Bayview on the northeast of the island of Penang. Georgetown is its capital and highly colonial from its past. We stayed on the 15th floor with lovely views of the bay which is in the Melaka Sea and of colourful buildings and the red roofs of Chinatown from our own room. We had showers and unpacked. The air con was not working, and the room was hot, so we called the man to fix it which made it a little bit cooler but not perfect by any means. We went to dinner at the hotel at 9 p.m. Annie had a prawn salad and Keef the chicken curry and we both shared some strawberry ice cream for pudding. As it was a long day we were very tired and collapsed exhausted but happy into bed soon after dinner. We had driven 225 miles on Langkawi Island. Sunday February 3rd 2013 Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia, 97 degrees Fahrenheit, wow! Georgetown is a busy city with lots of high-rise buildings, but the historical area is preserved and has world heritage status i.e., UNESCO especially for Cheong Fatt Tze’s Blue Mansion. It is a very busy city as over 200 years old and got UNESCO status in 2008. We had a substantial breakfast at the Bay View hotel and then did some sightseeing and visited the Chinese Blue Mansion which cost 12 ringgits each, £2.40 pence in English which on reflection for such a world wonder was incredibly cheap. It was extremely interesting; the house was preserved but all the furnishings were new. Cheong Fatt Tze’s house had 38 rooms, 7 staircases, 5 courtyards, he was a millionaire who left China to make his fortune at 16 and went to Indonesia and then Penang in Malaysia. He had 8 wives and died in 1916, he was a trader and a banker. The house had gone to rack and ruin but was restored between 1990 and 1997. It has lovely wood carved panels and courtyards. By 2022 it was also used as a hotel and restaurant (sadly). After leaving the Blue Mansion we walked around the British colonial area to see the white buildings, City Hall, the museums, and cathedral. By this time, it was 12.30 p.m. and extremely hot and sunny and humid. We tried to walk in the shade wherever possible but it was exhausting. We Brits will get used to it eventually honest. We saw the esplanade and the bay near Fort Cornwallis. Then decided the heat was so intense that we walked (hard going) back to the hotel for a cold drink in the bar, shower than a cooling swim in the hotel pool. Luckily the pool was very cold, yippee! We had booked the buffet dinner in the revolving restaurant on the 16th floor of the hotel for 7.30 p.m. It was lovely Thai food with singing from a live professional act on karaoke who also dis requests from the diners. Keef requested some Adele songs. We also saw Georgetown lit up at night with illuminated fire flies hitting the restaurant windows, quite spectacular form of lighting and / or fireworks, tee hee. Some words about it are “Town heritage, traverse into the eclectic charm of George Town Penang’s illustrious history as you step into the world of Cheong Fatt Tze’s Blue Mansion. Conceived and constructed before the end of the 19th century, The Blue Mansion sets the standard for Penang’s boutique heritage hotel landscape and stands today as one of the most iconic boutique hotels in Malaysia. It is the only one to have won the prestigious UNESCO Conservation & Heritage award. The transcendental quality and timelessness of the mansion has been perfectly poised for over a century on firm foundations of architectural, cultural and historical superlatives. Here, time comes to a halt as you meander along the mansion and revel in the harmonious medley of history and culture. The Blue Mansion seamlessly blends old world charm with modern comforts. A wide array of amenities includes an exquisite dining experience at Indigo restaurant, a courtyard dining room and an idyllic terrace. There are guided mansion tours daily which give you further insight into the story behind the architecture and history of George Town’s first heritage hotel. The Blue Mansion is centrally located at 4km from the Gurney Drive seafront promenade, 9km from Kek Lok Si Buddhist temple, and just a 5-minute walk to China Town and other significant heritage spots in Penang.” In our humble opinion it is just a truly spectacular building. And here is some UNESCO words for Malaysia, we have been to both. “Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.” Monday February 4rd 2013 Georgetown 91 degrees Fahrenheit We set the alarm for 6.30 a.m. to start sightseeing early to avoid some of the heat of the day. At 7.45 a.m. we set off for the free hop on hop off shuttle bus around the old part of the city. We used that bus to alight in the Chinese area which is very old and saw interesting herbal medicine shops. We walked through a market and saw some strange fruits (well they were strange to us at the time, having been in Asia quite a bit since that novelty has worn off). We visited a Chinese temple yard where people lit incense for good luck. Chinese New Year, the year of the Snake was on the 10th of February that year. Red paper lanterns were up everywhere. We got off the bus at the National Museum which cost 1 ringgit each entry fee, 20 pence in English money. It was an excellent museum all about Penang and Georgetown in particular. It has been UNESCO world heritage since 2008. We then returned to the hotel for a swim, jacuzzi and shower. Annie found the cleaner had taken her flannel from the room, it was white like the hotel towels, and they had mistaken it as theirs for washing. The staff searched all the laundry but could not find it, so they gave her a hotel flannel. We were just about to go out at 5.20 p.m. when a torrential downpour and gusting winds started and the resultant lightening made us turn around from the lobby and return to our room. We were going to get a bus to Batu Ferringhe along the north coast of Penang and have dinner at the Hard Rock Café hotel there but rightly changed our minds. Instead, we watched TV and then had dinner at 8 p.m. in the hotel restaurant, we had nasi goreng, yummy. We then did our packing as travelling tomorrow however the hotel manager said we could check out at 1 p.m. Tuesday February 5th 2013 Today we left Georgetown for Auckland New Zealand via Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Got up at 7 a.m. had a quick breakfast and got free hop on hop off shuttle bus to the KOMTAR CENTRE then bus 101 to Batu Ferrighe along the north coast of Penang Island. All buses are air conditioned which was wonderful as again it was very hot and sunny. The bus took a while to get out of Georgetown as it’s a very busy and congested city. Initially all urban sprawl then the coastal road with views of the sea and large rocks. We got off the bus at the Hard Rock hotel past a lot of tourist hotels and restaurants. Keef bought his obligatory T-shirt from the HRC shop proudly displaying “Penang”. We looked around the hotel, it had a nice beach nearby plus pool and lazy river with rubber rings which cost £2 a day to hire. There was lots of rock and pop memorabilia. Got there at 11 a.m. and then took the same bus back to the hotel which took ages as Georgetown was very hectic. We got to the hotel at 12.55 p.m. luckily, they gave us an extra ½ hour to check out, we had showers and took our bags down to the foyer. We got the taxi to the airport at 2.15 p.m. The flight to Singapore on Jet Star Asia was 1 hour in duration and we then had to kill time in Changi Airport, Singapore until our flight to Brisbane at 9.30 p.m. that evening, we couldn’t meet up with D&P because they were elsewhere and in reality, would not have had enough time to check out and back into the airport. Keef watched Lincoln on the plane, Annie watched bits of films but could not concentrate as so tired. Both of us only got about 2 hours sleep that night in transit. Saturday April 13th 2013 Malacca or Melaka, Malaysia Guest house owners Mr. and Mrs. Li were very friendly and polite. Phoenix had booked this accommodation from Singapore. We had arrived in the hire car we picked up just across the border into Malaysia at Johor Bahru or JB in everyday parlance tee hee. We did the awful crowded lengthy Woodlands crossing by shuttle bus (cattle class tee hee) over the Johor Causeway bridge from Singapore to Malaysia. Not fun as the weekend when many of the Malaysian workers return to JB to their families after a week away working in the better paid country of Singapore, remember before independence on the 9th of August 1965 Singapore was a state of Malaysia. Mr. Li offered to give us a guided tour of Melaka at 6.45 p.m. We went to a local Chinese cafe for breakfast, our guest house is in the old part of town so very traditional. Melaka is now a UNESCO world heritage site along with Georgetown Penang which we went to early on this trip. After breakfast we walked around the old town down by the river, which was very smelly and sadly polluted. It was a dirty green sludge colour. We saw lots of old churches, one was built in 1756, which was when Malacca was on the spice route and had both Dutch and Portuguese colonies. There were lots of men on rickshaws covered in fake flowers driving tourists around the old town. Plus, lots of Chinese tourists on coach tours. Culturally the Chinese do like to travel in convoy which makes sense when language is an issue, potentially less so here in Melaka which is very multi-cultural as indeed Singapore is. It is worth noting we were some of the only westerners we saw. We saw monitor lizards in the river, they lived in holes in the walls at the rivers edge and came out to swim in the sunshine. After lunch of some Chinese food in a riverside café we went on a boat cruise for a few kilometers up the river and then back again affording a view of some of the surrounds. There was a fake sailing ship, a Dutch East Indies ship that had originally been shipwrecked off Melaka in a storm circa 1650. We then returned to the guest house which as it doubled as a Chinese tea house was a real treat and experience. We had fermented China teas, the ginger one was the best. We sat and rested there and chatted to Mr. Li. Then we had showers and at 6.45 p.m. he drove us in his battered car around the city and showed us the sights which was lovely. We visited a Muslim Mosque on the coast with views of the Malacca Straits, old Malay Chetti Village houses down by the river, and the old St. Johns fort where we saw monkeys and then went on for a Portuguese meal in the open air by the sea. We also saw people launching Chinese lanterns into the sky, all quite atmospheric. Mr. Li carried on our tour until about 10.30 p.m. when he dropped us all off at Jonker’s Walk to see the night market. It was busy and bustling and we remember the humourous advert for Mr. Potato Head crisps the ad poster being Wayne Rooney ha-ha. We then returned to the guest house which was close by, tired , had a shower and went to bed at 12 midnight. A very interesting day all in all. And here are some UNESCO words for Malaysia, we have been to both Melaka & Georgetown, Penang. “Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.” Sunday April 14th 2013 Malacca back to Singapore Had breakfast at 10.30 a.m. in a Chinese café was dim sum. Then we walked around the old town a different area from yesterday, seeing old Chinese temples, Chinese theaters, and a lot of little shops, busy with Chinese tourists. Keef bought some new flip flips (or thongs as our aussie friends would call them). Phoenix was not well and frequently sick, not sure if it was the street food kebabs in the morning or the sea food at the Portuguese restaurant the previous evening, who knows but poor Phoenix. K & A headed back to the guest house for a rest, the humidity was getting to us. D&P arrived back a little later and she went to lie down to try and recover. Mr. Li made us a lovely local coffee and then his wife kindly made us and Doug some winter melon tea, a vegetable we now know extremely well but didn’t at the time. We all chatted and rested up a bit. Phoenix recovered after her little nap and rejoined us. We all went off to a Chinese restaurant for lunch, we had already loaded all our bags into the hire car boot at this point anyhow. After lunch we set off at 3.15 p.m. for the long drive back to the city of Johor Bahru which is the Malaysian city on the border. We stopped at a service station for a comfort break. We played hunt the western loo ha-ha. It was mainly palm trees lining the motorway on the way back stretching for miles on either side. Not many signs of towns or villages. Palm tree oil (not great in COP26 times) and rubber are the main Malaysian exports. We used the sat nav to try and get back to the lady’s house whom we had got the hire car from but it took us to the wrong area, many are named the same in JB. By 7 p.m. we had already spent an hour circling around JB in a vain attempt to find the right address. Despite many phone calls to the lady to ask for directions she and her husband were not very helpful and did not know any of the local road names to the point where they could only tell us the name of the shipping mall that was nearby them. Very frustrating. Jalan Balau which was the road we wanted came up 14 different areas on the sat nav, so we methodically tried them all, grr! We needed Jalan Balau 1 to be precise. A nightmare to find but we eventually got there. Not a trip any of us would want to do again but as years pass, we would always remember it. We then took a taxi back to the border crossing; it was not so busy on a Sunday evening so getting into Woodlands crossing was a breeze. We all got back to Geylang flat at 10 p.m. Went out for a Chinese meal locally and then had showers and flopped into bed very tired, but happy to have spent such a lovely adventurous weekend away with Mr. & Mrs. Douglas, fun times. For Malaysia that's all folks New Zealand North Island Only, Diary 6th Febru ary to 5th March 2013 NEW ZEALAND MENU Orewa Tutukaka Coastline Keri Keri Coromandel Bay of Plenty Hawkes Bay Tongariro area 35th Wedding Anniversary (Emerald and /or Jade) Taranaki Back to Auckland Wednesday February 6th 2013 Arrived in Brisbane Queensland Australia at 2.35 p.m. local time, bags were in transit. We then flew on from Brisbane to Auckland, North Island, New Zealand mid afternoon local kiwi time. We were now 5 hours ahead of the local time in Georgetown Penang Malaysia, so our body clocks were somewhat out of kilter. We were both very tired from both the flight and body clocks, super jet lagged, but managed to get a free pick-up van to the kiwi motel near the airport and unpacked some stuff and fell into bed for about an hour. Had showers, it was really all a blur, airports, planes, luggage, movies, music, eating at weird times etc etc. We then went and had a meal in the Kiwi Motel restaurant , lamb curry which was very nice and cooked by the Indian family who manage the motel. We will return and indeed did in 2017. We even did the Kiwi census here even though we are tourists, they insisted. So if any of our descendants in the future are into Genealogy they will find us in New Zealand’s census and wonder why, this is the answer. Interestingly my parents would have emigrated to New Zealand in the mid-50s but because of Dad’s apprenticeship papers they went to Australia instead as did I since then born. We went as a family to Melbourne 1960-63. Thursday February 7th 2013 Summary today we collected our rental van and went from the airport kiwi motel to the wonderful Orewa to the north of Auckland. We had a continental breakfast at 8 a.m. at the Kiwi motel, we paid them $10, approximately £5 to take us to the motorhome company which was about 8 minutes’ drive away. After doing some necessary admin and watching a DVD on how to drive the motorhome and how it all works (kind of familiar to us already from previous hires) we set off from Auckland using our Sat Nav. Keef had loaded on both New Zealand, Australia and Singapore maps to our gadget back home saving some dosh in hiring the companies Sat Nav, good news. We drove across the bridge over Auckland harbour and arrived in Orewa where we did our food shopping in the Countdown supermarket, we remembered from our 2007-8 Gap Year trip. We also unpacked our travel bags in their car park, so we had the van all straightened out for our fun times ahead. We arrived at the Top 10 campsite in Orewa at midday and joined the club as members kiwi $49 which provided a $4 discount each night camping, roughly £2 so easily covered the cost of membership for the time we were in NZ. The campsite and our pitch were fronting onto the beach, lovely blue seas, and skies and just a beautiful summers day with no humidity. We had steak and cheese pies & cobs for lunch. Frankly any kiwi pie is just fab , available from most service stations (servos) everywhere, put our British pies to shame. We then walked along Orewa beach, beautiful views, and trees especially the Pohutukawa trees and Norfolk pines. A local woman (her parents lived in Grantham, small world) kindly took our photo on our camera for us, our trusty Canon Powershot G7 which we took down under in 2007-8, sadly by 2022 it was now defunct, and we have bought Annie a new one, I use my phone. This local lady had been in New Zealand for 37 years, we noted she now had brown leathery skin, beach ready ha-ha. We had a long chat to her and then walked to the Vodaphone shop to sort out the internet and wi-fi for our trip, we purchased a dongle for the duration which worked well even in out of the way places. We also bought a kiwi phone SIM and topped it up with $20 at the New World Supermarket at the till. We walked back to the campsite having seen the Waves hotel that we stayed at for Xmas 2007 with the boys when we were on our Gap Year. Phoenix joined us there for Boxing Day. See the HOLIDAY2007-8 site for more details at https://www.holiday2007-8.co.uk thanks for looking. It was a lovely motel just by the beach. We noted all the lovely architect designed houses along the Orewa beach front as we strolled back, bare feet in the sand. Dinner was beef escalope’s, new potatoes, salad, and an apple each for afters. It gets dark around 8.30-8.45 p.m. here , quite noisy with traffic during the day past the campsite which was on the edge of town but on its main through road, but very quiet at night. Reckon we walked about 2 miles around Orewa today. The Britz campervan mileage at the start of our trip was recorded as 246,253 kilometres , recorded just so at the end of our time in New Zealand we can work out how far we had travelled. Clever, eh? Friday February 8th 2013 Summary of the day, Orewa to Whangerei. Cloudy start to the day but got sunnier and very blue skies again by 10 a.m. We left the site at Orewa for town and visited the Vodafone shop (again) to sort out the equipment for our netbook to view the internet and emails whilst we were travelling, yesterday eve had proved it didn’t quite work as suggested, typical. Took a while but eventually got it all working with their help. #Tick We then set off from Orewa up the highway and along the coast using the famed twin coast discovery highway initially to Mangawhai Heads where we had lunch. Beautiful scenery, lovely homes, plus views along the coast and beach. We very much liked his place. Sadly, we saw lots of dead possums on the road, known as Kiwi pizza in NZ but protected in Australia. We then drove to Waipu cove where we paddled and walked along the beach. Lots of small bits of seaweed in the sea so we decided not to swim, a seaweed bath despite costing a fortune at health spas was not for us today. We then went to a lovely bay called Bream Bay with views of Hen & Chicken Islands. We then turned off the highway to Ruakaka where there was a stunning beach of soft fine sand and no seaweed and fab views along the bay. You could walk for miles along this beach. Keef got the chairs from the motorhome which was a Britz Mercedes automatic (love this model had them a few times) and we sat on the beach until 5.45 p.m. Then we drove to the Top 10 camp site at Whangerei (pronounced fangari) and arrived at 6.45 p.m. Annie did 2 lots of washing and Keef cooked a nice meal with wine. It got dark at 8.30 p.m. We had showers at the site to wash off the sea spray and beach sand and then Keef checked the emails. We booked 2 nights at the Whangerei Top 10 site so we could rediscover the area, we had been here before with the boys and phoenix in 2007-8. Saturday February 9th 2013 Summary, Whangarei 79 degrees Fahrenheit 26 degrees Centigrade Woke at 9 a.m. Lots of Dutch and Germans at the campsite. Had breakfast outside and Anne collected in most of the washing. Another sunny and hot day in New Zealand, yippee. Drove the van to the Warehouse DIY chain store in town and bought a few extras for the campervan / motorhome such as pegs to keep curtains together, 2 hand towels and a plastic step for the van as 2 foot drop down to the ground out on the van was a little tricky for oldies like us at ages 59 & 58 respectively. This proved to be not such a great idea if you read on under Russell later. Then did a bit of shopping for bread, milk etc in the Countdown supermarket. We then walked along the boardwalk by the boats moored at the old quayside, and saw the old heritage buildings with cafes, restaurants, and shops. The whole area was very nicely landscaped. Surrounded by trees and bushes, and with fab views, we adore the marina and town basin area. Whangarei has a very large harbour and although it is termed a city to us it feels so much more like a small town. A comparison would be a UK city like Nottingham Population 794,000 whereas Whangarei’s population is 54,300, Erewash which includes Long Eaton is 115, 490… I rest my case my lord! We missed the craft market up on the hatea river bridge (sometimes known in Maori as the Huarahi o te Whai Hātea Loop Walkway, which had finished at 1.30 p.m. but went into some craft shops instead which had some very expensive items, so we didn’t buy anything. We then drove to the Kauri clock factory outside town on a small industrial estate, interestingly run by Germans. There were lots of massive kauri tree stumps in the yard looking very weathered. We took some pictures. They turn these into beautiful wood clocks, highly polished. We bought a kauri round bowl inlaid with NZ paua shell which cost £60, well worth it, it looks lovely and is highly unusual. Then we drove out along the harbour edge which was the residential area and a bit swampy. There was also a port with oil refineries. We then returned in the van back to the campsite. Anne did some ironing and Keef cooked lamb steaks on the camp barbeque. Annie also reorganised storage of some of our clothes in the van and put her undies in the microwave, hot, eh? 😉 to save space. Keef did some photos on the laptop. Got dark around 8.45 p.m. Showered and then went to bed. The England cricket team had played the Black Caps in Whangarei a couple of days before we arrive, shame would love to have seen it, Collingwood and McCullen era. Note we did see them do battle in Christchurch on South Island back in 2007-8. Our Kauri Bowl Note the inscription on the back of our kauri bowl “Far North New Zealand, swamp kauri , 35,000 years old, with paua shell , radar” Sunday February 10th 2013 Chinese New Year, the Year of the Snake, big love to Mr. & Mrs. Douglas in Singapore celebrating. Summary. Whangarei to Oakura Road Holiday Park & Motel site, Whangaruru South, located at address 4, Te Kapua Street Ōakura 0184. Whangaruru is a rural community and harbour on the east coast of Northland, New Zealand. Mokau, Helena Bay, Whakapara, Hikurangi and Whangarei are to the south and the Bay of Islands is to the northwest. Woke at 8 a.m. and had boiled egg and toast for breakfast. Drove out to Whangarei falls, Keef took some photos but as we had already visited them with Craig, Doug back in 2007 we only stood on the top platform rather than doing the circular walk around down to the bottom platform views. We then took a circular route to the coast north of Whangarei to Ngunguru and Tutukaka harbour. The harbour had a huge marina, and it was Sunday many kiwis were boating and sailing. What’s the line, one in 2 kiwis’ own a yacht. There were art and craft shops and cafés. We stopped at Matapouri beach, but it was very busy and difficult to park the motorhome, so we went onto Wooley’s Bay, a lovely long curved beach. We had lunch there then cooled off in the sea. People were body surfing on boards. Another hot day with blue skies and sea, ah bliss! There was so much lovely scenery along this coastline. We chatted to a Scot who had emigrated in 1965 to Auckland. We left the beach at 5 p.m. and intended to take the road to Russell but must have missed the turning and went 16 kilometers out of our way on State Highway 1. It was difficult to find a turning point on the highway but we eventually managed to and found a campsite at Oakura near Whangaruru South, on Oakura Road and not to be confused with the Oakura Bay near New Plymouth some 300+ miles away. Oakura was a tiny place with lovely views of the sheltered bay. The campsite cost $39 and was quite basic. Keef cooked pasta carbonara with chicken. We read for a bit and went to bed at 11.25p.m. Note and we saw lots of these, Pohutukawa trees have red flowers at Christmas and massive aerial roots. We saw lots at Tutukaka especially around the landscaped harbour area as well as naturally all along that coastline. Monday February 11th 2013 Summary Oakura site Whangaruru South to the wonderful Russell, one of our fave places in NZ. Anne woke at 7.30 a.m. Keef at 8.45 a.m. After a light breakfast we drove along the loop road to Russell through lots of bush with NZ tree ferns and many cattle and sheep farms. It was very twisty roads and hilly scenery but nice. We arrived at the Russell Top 10 site at 1 p.m. to book in. $23 per night, not bad with our Top 10 card discount. It is a lovely site overlooking the Bay of Islands and Paihia. The site is on 4 levels, and we were on the top level. We returned to the same spot in 2017. We wanted to do the Tall ships sailing excursion for 2 hours in the afternoon but on that Monday they only did a full day and we had arrived too late, becoming a bit of a theme that after craft market in Whangarei ha-ha. Anyhow after filling the motorhome with water, we walked into town and saw many wooden houses with verandas, some built up hillsides with decking on stilts. We also saw a weka, an NZ flightless bird, which scuttled away into a garden. We walked around the town and the jetty and then visited the museum along the front and saw a video about the town’s history. The town had been notorious in the Victorian era for lawlessness, drunk sailors, whalers, and prostitutes. It is however now very touristy but sadly not many historical buildings are left. We had fish and chips, yummy, the fish was tarakihi, a white fish, $10 each or £5, very tasty. We then walked back to the campsite and wrote some postcards to Craig, Doug, Margaret of 90 mile beach which we hadn’t reached as yet. We fed the ducks bread and a weka who came quite close by. He was a brown and black bird, size of a hen with long curved beak and 3 toes. Now the really bad news, Annie fell off that plastic step we bought at the Warehouse store to make getting out of the van easier, she was probably not concentrating, who knows , not nice, very painful and eventually developed into a huge bruise, way worse than the ones from the bouncy boat in Langkawi Malaysia. There were lovely views at twilight and beyond of the lights across the bay in Paihia. We talked to a couple on the next pitch from Cambridge who were also touring NZ. They had also just been to Georgetown, Penang, small world. We heard the noise from the nocturnal kiwi birds at dusk and in the night. They were in the bushes across from our pitch and up the hillside, we tried looking but didn’t find any, they are quite illusive flightless birds, but the New Zealand emblem and populations namesake. We have only seen them in captivity at the Otorohanga Kiwi House. Tuesday February 12th 2013 Summary Russell to Kerikeri Woke at 7.35 a.m. had showers then breakfast. Posted 3 postcards and then visited the church in Russell, allegedly the oldest in New Zealand. It was a hot sunny day again. We then drove through the town to see long beach a little sandy bay. We then drove to the car ferry catching it at okaito to opua, cost $18.50 which is about £9.50 pounds, saving a massive journey around to get to Paihia, foolishly we didn’t do it in 2017 and Chris slowly punctured his tyre on the gravel roads manufacturing itself fully near Cape Reinga. Paihia, we had gone on a boat trip back in 2007 with Craig & Doug to see the dolphins. We gave it a miss this time around. We then went to the Waitangi treaty grounds (1840) and Haruru Falls (meaning in Māori unlimited water). We arrived at the campsite in KeriKeri at 12.20 just after noon. It is a small town with lots of fruit and wine farms and spin off shops. We walked about a mile through the shops to St. James church where some of Annie’s Edmonds relatives were buried. We then walked to the Stone Store and paid $10 for a guided tour of Kemp House (mission) next door, and an upstairs exhibition about the mission and the history of Māori in the far north, all very interesting. John Edmonds born 1799 in Swanage, Dorset, England died Kerikeri 1865, was a stone mason who emigrated with his family to work for the Church missionary society in Kerikeri. He was Anne’s 2nd cousin 4 times removed as witness by our family tree, a man to be rightly proud of. The lady who did our guided tour around Kemp house for just the two of us was very chatty. Anne found records about John Edmonds but as it was 5 p.m. and the Stone Store was closing the kind shop staff said we could return tomorrow with the same tickets to continue our genealogical research, think really, they found it quite interesting to have visitors from the UK who had a link to this Stone Store and Kemp house. We chatted to Kawi, a Māori lady who worked at the stone store shop who told us she had 2 aunts who had married Edmonds. She was very smiley and helpful. She told us there had been an Edmonds reunion in Kerikeri the last year, which was a huge gathering from far and wide, plus there were still Edmonds families living in Kerikeri. Another kind Kiwi lady gave us a lift back up the hill in her car. We had dinner at 7.15 p.m., a busy but fruitful day with lots of history about both New Zealand and the Bay of Islands area, great fun. Wednesday February 13th 2013 Summary Kerikeri to Whatuwhiwhi (pronounced Fatufifi not as you might expect what you wee wee which always makes me laugh ha-ha) After breakfast we went again to the Stone Store as Anne wanted to look at some books there about John Edmonds. We took lots of photos. We then drove along the inlet road to Edmonds Road to the old ruins of the Edmonds family dwelling. Acres of land with black basalt dry stone walling, perfect for a stone mason. The house was a ruin, no roof, windows or doors but the walls and chimney were still standing. It is now registered as NZ National Trust as a heritage building. We saw old peach and fig trees near the house which was quite large for the time. It took 18 years to build in stages adding extensions. We then returned to town to see the other side of the water looking back at the stone store, wonderful views. We did not go into the Māori village as very touristy reconstruction and besides we had seen a more realistic one at Rotorua back in 2008. We spoke to an old NZ couple from Hamilton. We then visited Rainbow falls which is 27 meters high. We bought 4 avocados from a house on the inlet road for $2 a bargain. Fruit & veg and wine is grown all around Kerikeri. We then bought some vegetables and 2 steak and cheese pies from a local grocer. We then set off for Matuari Bay along the coastal scenic road and stopped for lunch as a viewpoint called million dollar view which was true, with fab view of Matuari Bay, the whole coastline and the Cavalli islands, just superb. At Whangaroa we drove 2kilometres further to the harbour, it is the Marlin fishing capital of NZ. We weren’t disappointed as some guys had just brought in 2 huge Marlin on a boat. One weighted 165 kg apparently took 2 hours to reel in and the other was large as well. The largest caught there was 195 kg, see the pictures to get an understanding of what a whopper these fish are. We understandably took lots of photos, what a privilege to have witnessed it. We then drove through Mangonui on a nostalgia trip re snapping the Mill Bay suites for old times sake. We then turned up the KariKari peninsular to Whatuwhiwhi Top 10 campsite arriving at 6 p.m. This was an expensive site costly $45 but in a fabulous position right on the beach. We walked on the beach and paddled in the sea. K cooked garlic prawns and coconut rice. It was 26 degrees Centigrade today. Thursday February 14th 2013 Summary Whatuwhiwhi to Ahipara via the top end 90-mile beach and Cape Reinga. 24 degrees centigrade. Anne got up at 7.30 a.m. and did some washing in the laundry. After breakfast we drove back down the KariKari peninsular and then took the route to Cape Reinga. We stopped at Waipapakauri beach to see 90-mile beach which is designated a road by NZ authorities, 4-wheel drive cars only of course. We saw an ordinary car stuck fast in deep sand by a kiwi drive, not a tourist. The beach is 64 miles long. We returned to the main road and continued north through farmland, mainly cattle as sheep no longer profitable. It was lovely scenery mostly coast and sand dunes. Another hot and sunny day but with sea breezes to cool you. We arrived at Cape Reinga and parked the motorhome and walked down the sloping zig-zag pathway to the lighthouse. Māori legend says this place is where the dead spirits depart and is therefore sacred to them. Also, the Tasman meets the Pacific here. We could not see any whales despite looking. We had lunch in our van, such great views. Anne got melted tar on her sandal it was that hot. We returned down the same route on State Highway 1 and stopped at a pack n save supermarket for groceries. The guy’s car stuck in the sand was now encircled by water, poor chap but maybe should have read the warning signs first. There are lots of Māori’s in this far north area, we tried not to stare at some of the Māori ladies with their faces heavily tattooed as that is disrespectful to their culture, but it was hard as to us anyhow so unusual. Found a Kiwi Park campsite at Ahipara (we joined this campsite chain as well) which is at the south end of 90-mile beach. Anne did the laundry, Keef did a lovely barbeque of steak, sausages, salad and grilled kumara (sweet potato) chips on the camp BBQ. We sat at a huge kauri table and bench , beautiful wood, to eat it and washed it down with a lovely kiwi Brancott estate sav blanc. We chatted to a retired couple from Rotorua. Tomorrow we are heading down towards Dargaville via the kauri forests. Friday February 15th 2013 Summary Ahipara to Matakohe Left the Kiwi Park campsite at Ahipara and went down a side street and parked and walked down to 90 Mile beach. There were vehicles using beach as a road, 4-wheel drive only allowed allegedly. There was big surf today as very breezy, however today there was no one surfing, kite or cart wise. We took photos of shipwreck bay and the sweeping 90-mile beach and then returned to Kaitaia and south on State Highway 1. Lots of mainly cattle farms and then dense scrub lands and tree ferns everywhere zig zagging up and down the mountain sides. It felt very “New Zealand”. The roads were very wiggly. All this area in the far north and I guess a lot of Northlands are very Māori inhabited including Ahipara and Kaitaia. We passed lake Omapere and then turned right to Kaikohe where we re-fueled $70 or £35 for ¾ of a tank of diesel which was somewhat cheaper than the UK at the time. Again, Kaikohe is mainly a Māori town with one road of shops running right through it. We then took the inland road to Dargaville near the west coast, a town we know well having 1st camped near there with the boys back in 2007-8 on our gap year. We stopped for lunch at twin bridge gorge. The weather was cloudy and much cooler than yesterday. Again, some very nice rural countryside heavily enhanced with the tree ferns which we love, do so wish we could get them back and growing in the UK (cheaply) but guess we don’t have the right climate for that. Arrived Dargaville around 4 p.m. and Keef posted a postcard to his Mum. Anne looked in a craft shop. Decided to move onto Matakohe to stay at the Kiwi Park campsite there, especially now we are fully paid-up club members, as we are with Top 10 sites, it widened our overnight stay options quite nicely as they are the major camping chains in NZ. The site was just down the road from the kauri pioneer museum which we had already visited with Craig & Doug in 2007. A very nice campsite with views of the Arapaoa river and surrounding farmlands. Annie did some ironing and chatted to an Aussie woman in the laundry. Keef did lamb steaks (just so good in NZ), and kumara chips on the barbeque again, becoming quite a staple meal for us, lovely cheap and fresh local produce, you can’t beat it! There were a few spots of rain this afternoon (arvo) but nothing much. NOTE This was the first meal we have eaten in the van since we arrived in NZ, rain, eh? Brian and Gina have returned to the UK from their holiday in Borneo / Malaysia. Saturday February 16th 2013 Summary Matakohe to Coromandel Town We travelled south on State Highway 1 (the kiwi’s main lifeline one feels!) then onto highway 16. We visited Muriwai beach, a black volcanic sand beach, sadly not very attractive but different. Summary is Muriwai, also called Muriwai Beach, is a coastal community on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The black-sand surf beach and surrounding area is a popular recreational area for Aucklanders. The Muriwai Regional Park includes a nesting site for a large colony of gannets. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "water's end" for Muriwai It was cloudy at first again today and then cleared and turned very warm. All the grasslands and farms we passed looked very dry. Not much livestock either. We joined highway 1 again and stopped off at the Green Lane exit for Remuera, we stayed at the motel here on our last trip in 2007-8. The gay couple who owned it, lovely people, had sadly now moved on and it certainly looked a bit different. Such lovely memories and a nice suburb to Auckland, Sir Edmund Hillary came from Auckland and died in Remuera. We then continued south and across to the Coromandel peninsular. We purchased diesel at Thame cost 80p a litre or in kiwi money 60 cents. Keef chatted to a Pom from Leicester who worked in the garage. We then drove along the scenic road north with the bay on our left, all hair pin bends and very windy roads, then we climbed the Coromandel range, which was very steep, but lovely views in the afternoon sun. Arrived at the Top 10 campsite in Coromandel town , cost $45 per night with $4 dollars discount as members so not too bad but on the higher price side compared to other sites. This is where we had previously camped in a tent back in 2008 under the large tree there. We had a swim in the campsite pool which refreshingly was now heated. We had had a long drive today with some tricky roads on the peninsular where you really needed to concentrate, kiwis with boats towed certainly drive fast with no particular concern for what is coming in the opposite direction, just an observation folks’ tee hee. We showered and then had a chat to an old couple in an old-fashioned motorhome parked next to ours. She was 88 and he was 84 and they still loved travelling in their van, do hope we are the same assuming we get to that age. The campsite was full as a weekend with Aucklanders who have got away for the weekend. Coromandel was where the first gold was discovered in New Zealand. Sunday February 17th 2013 Summary Coromandel to Hot Water Beach, Joy’s birthday today Chatted to a couple from Welwyn Garden city who were camped at the Coromandel campsite. Small world as this is where Annie lived as a child for 10 years. We then had a walk through the town which on reflection we didn’t think had changed much in the intervening period. We then drove out of town on Highway 25 and turned off at Matarangi, a beautiful sandy beach which we walked along, with some very expensive holiday homes and golf resort. Hot and sunny but sea breezes. Then we went on to Whitianga and Mercury Bay where we had lunch and swam in the sea. It was a gently shelving sandy beach and therefore ideal for swimming and a much needed cool off. We bought boysenberry ice creams and walked through the towns and saw the shops although it was quite a small town really. Then we drove along highway 25 again onto Hot Water Beach and the Top 10 site there. It cost $41.40 to camp there. The site was very dry and dusty with the grass almost gone due to lack of rain, a true drought in NZ currently. There were water restrictions on the Coromandel in place. We had dinner and then drove the van to a car park near Hot Water Beach. We had been loaned two spades for digging from the Top 10 campsite for $20 deposit. We only needed them for that night’s sunset. We walked along the beach to where lots of people were digging in the wet sand at low tide at about 6.45 p.m. There are hot springs under the sand at about 2 kilometers deep and if you dig down to about 9 inches to a foot the hot water comes up, quite an experience. Steam was coming out of many people’s sand holes and they were sitting in them like baths. There were even some Japanese and Brazilian tourists as well as weekend Aucklanders and us Brits. It was great fun. The water was quite hot, but Keef loved doing some digging to create our own little bath. Deep Joy! We took loads and loads of photos. We then walked back along the beach and returned in the van to the campsite at 8.10 p.m. The sun had set. We had showers to get rid of the sand and retired to bed happy but exhausted. It had all been good fun. Monday February 18th 2013 Summary, Hot Water Beach to Papamoa Beach It rained at 8am but not for long. We left the campsite and drove to Hahei, Hahei beach and Cathedral Cove caves. Hahei is a small beach with lots of holiday homes most of which are closed, and empty given away by the shuttered blinds on windows. Clearly holiday baches. We then drove down along the highway to Waihi beach where we had lunch. There were steep roads crossing the Coromandel Ranges to get there. Some background info on Waihi Beach is it is a coastal town at the western end of the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island. It lies 10 kilometres to the east of the town of Waihi, at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula. The main beach is 10 kilometres long. The town had a permanent population of 2,730 as of June 2021. At the northern end of Waihi Beach, the 145 hectares (360 acres) Orokawa Scenic Reserve offers several short walking tracks along the coast and to Orokawa Bay. While the main beach is backed by the residential area of the township of Waihi Beach, Orokawa Bay is undeveloped and surrounded by native bush including pohutukawa, puriri, and nikau palms. At the southern end of the beach is the small settlement of Bowentown and the northern side of the northern Katikati entrance to Tauranga Harbour. Waihi beach is a lovely sandy bay. We saw 2 men fishing with long nets from a few metres off the beach, but they did not catch any flounder or snapper which they said was what they were after. We then drove further on down Highway 25 through KatiKati which is the township with lots of wall art as murals. Often referred to as the Mural Town. This time we didn’t stop as we had seen them before, but we did pay a revisit in 2017 see out HOLIDAY2017 site with pals https://www.holiday2017.co.uk , thanks for looking We arrived at Tauranga , a very busy city with an oil refinery, harbour and port with many container ships, a real working transport hub for New Zealand. We drove through quickly and on to the wonderful Mount Manganui., which is a volcanic peak and along the beach stretching for miles to Papamoa. There are lots of expensive looking houses and apartments fronting the beach. We checked into the Top 10 campsite right on the beach at Papamoa. It cost $44 a night (£22) and paid an extra $4 for a beach plot on Ocean drive. Worth every penny, this is our fave campsite in all the world. Anne put some washing in the machine in the laundry costing $4 and then we both walked to the local shops to buy ice creams as by now it was hot and sunny. Anne hung up washing when we were back and chatted to a couple from Windemere, Cumbria , the Lake District, UK. Then we took our chairs onto the beach , we also went in the sea to jump the big waves, exhilarating, it is the Pacific Ocean. We sat on the beach and watched the surf club on speedboats and canoes practicing. We then had showers and dinner, it was a lovely day and a lovely place to be and the end of the day. Tuesday February 19th 2013 Summary, Papamoa Beach to Rotorua Light rain very briefly. Grass still very dry and brown everywhere as no proper rain for 2 months we were told. There were now some water restrictions in New Zealand as most reservoirs were low or running dry. Keef did dump station black water and took on fresh water in the van ready for our onward travels today. We drove onto the outskirts of Tauranga which had grown so big from our memories 5 years ago, then onto Matamata and Hobbiton. It is based on the Alexanders farm just outside Matamata. This is the Hobbit village movie set for the Lord of the Rings (and Hobbit) movies made by Peter Jackson. We had booked our tickets online the previous night $150 for 2 tickets i.e., £75 total in English money. We got the tour coach from the information centre in Matamata which drove 20 minutes to a local sheep / cattle ranch. The film scouts had searched for a location that matched the description in the Tolkien book and found this farm was ideal. Took 9 months to film and the farmers had to sign a non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement so nothing leaked out into the public domain. The tour guides took us around the village, a lovely setting with a lake, mills, the Green dragon pub, all thatched, and hobbit homes set into the hillsides with quaint little gardens, just so cute. We saw a big tree up on the green and Bilbo Baggins and Frodo’s house, not inside obviously as those scenes were filmed in Wellington at the studios. It was very interesting to hear about the logistics of filming and creating the set. The tour was about 2 hours long and ended with a free drink in the Green Dragon pub. A real Wedding had recently been held on the set with the ceremony held under the big tree and all the guests get the option to wear the stick on ears, feet and hands of a hobbit, hilarious. We returned by coach to the town and had McDonalds and milkshakes as it was now getting late. We then drove to Rotorua which took about 1 hour and camped at the Top 10 site there by the Blue Lake. The price was $41.40. The smell of Sulphur as we drove past Rotorua Lake was most distinctive and what we remembered well from our last trip there. We shopped at Countdown for supplies, the campsite was fringed by bush and hills but sadly there were no kiwis calling, maybe they don’t like bad egg smells either tee-hee. Wednesday February 20th 2013 Summary, Rotorua to Gisborne via Whakatane Shopped at Pak N’ Save Rotorua and Anne went into Spotlight and bought some fabric. We then drove on Highway 30 past 3 lakes and saw someone swimming and schoolgirls canoeing / kayaking. The weather was warm and sunny. We stopped for lunch at Whakatane by the jetty and council offices. There were some heritage buildings in this town. On leaving the town for Ohope we went up a very steep curving hill. Ohope had an inner estuary with people sun bathing on the grass, it was a very hot sunny day. Some info on Ohope is Ōhope, until 1974 known as Ohope Beach, is a beach settlement in the eastern Bay of Plenty, on the northeast coast of the North Island of New Zealand, six kilometres east and over the hill, from Whakatāne We then went onto Opotiki, a very long beach with lots of driftwood and tree logs washed up on its shores. We took a photo of a Māori carved totem pole here. Some info on the town of Ōpōtiki is it is situated exactly on latitude 38° South. The climate is temperate. Summer temperatures reach the mid-20s (Celsius, mid-70s Fahrenheit) on the coast and encourage a continuation of the beach culture of the Bay of Plenty. Winter days are often cloudless, the daytime temperature never drops below freezing but there may be a mild frost at night. Winter snow falls along the crest of the ranges, and on the higher peaks (over 1000 m) may remain for a few weeks. Rain occurs at any season. Severe localised rainstorms ('cloudbursts') may occur in the high country and have caused flash flooding including past inundations of Ōpōtiki township. To give it is full name it is Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti. Here is a picture taken in 1871 at Opotiki, a very interesting township. We then turned south along Highway 2 to Gisborne, it was a very twisty road through the Kahikatea Range, a bush trees and forest area. Lots of lorries use this route we discovered, and many were loggers. We stopped for lunch by a picnic area near the big bridge over the gorge and river. The road then went through a hill farming area and again the grass was very dry and brown. We arrived in Gisborne late afternoon and stayed at the Top 10 site there, costing $32. This site was not as listed 4 stars but, in our opinion, only 2 stars. The facilities were poor and very old fashioned. We went for a walk along to the statue of Captain Cook and young nick who was his cabin boy who spotted landfall in New Zealand and is immortalised in bronze rightly for this. They landed in Gisborne and a Maori haka made them think they were being attacked so Cook’s crew sadly killed them. We bought boysenberry ice cream just outside Whakatane and some yummy plum wine from a Liverpool man’s house called White Goose winery, corner of SH30 and Luxton Road. Superb $15 a bottle he had won gold medals for it, he showed us around and even let us try his passionflower fruit that was growing up the side of his house, so scrumptious. Home of Feijoa, Plum and Berry Fruit wines, Whakatane's first boutique winery established in 1983. That’s all for now folks. Thursday February 21st 2013 Summary, Gisborne to Wairoa to Bay View just north of Napier We drove around Gisborne on the way to Wairoa. Gisborne had many palm trees down the centre of the main street, it is quite an old town, New Zealand of course calls it a city, despite in UK terms its relative size. We stopped in Wairoa which is on a large river. In 1930 it had been flattened by an earthquake although some of the buildings had survived. We used the walkway by the river which had huge date palms and cycads and Pohutukawa trees. It was very sunny, but our stroll allowed us to take in both river views and the architecture of the high street. We then drove through the town after our circular walk back to the van, out to a point where there was a beach, we had camped in Wairoa in 2008 and remember with some fondness the BBQ made from the back end of an old 1950’s car. Wairoa had seen better days, most of the shops were tatty and a lot were now sadly empty. We then carried onto Bay View, just north of Napier. Highway 2 which we traveled on was very twisty up and down mountains lined with a lot of bushes, also a lot of lorries transporting timber in the form of newly cut logs. We arrived at Bay View having stopped at a real fruit ice cream place on the highway as it was a very hot day and who are we to refuse the opportunity of yet another ice-cream, well not us ha-ha. We stayed at the Kiwi Parks Bay View Snapper Holiday Park (by 2022 it has been renamed at Napier Beach) Anne was not impressed it was supposedly 4 stars, she thought more like 2. Very overpriced at $44. The beach was black shingle and looked a bit like a highway roads depot gravel supply. As it was sunny weather Anne did some hand washing, the showers cost $1 extra which was a complete rip off as we thought the site was charging too much anyhow. Not impressed. It rained slightly overnight. Friday February 22st 2013 Summary, Bay View Snapper Holiday Park to Napier Town to Taupo. We slept in until 9.30 a.m. obviously tired. It was cloudy and overcast when we got up which made the site feel even drearier than it was. Drove into Napier which we have seen before but it is a lovely place. Very 30s after the earthquake forced a complete rebuild. The QE2 cruise ship was in port which made the place incredibly busy with American tourists. We walked along Marine parade gardens which are just lovely, and all the flowers were out in full bloom. Just so colourful. We then saw Scottish bagpipers in the shopping precinct, Napier has a strong Scottish feel , their influence is quite widespread in NZ but not particularly welcome in places like Waitangi where they exchanged vast acreage of land for a couple of sheep, now that is what I call taking advantage of the natives. There were lots of old vintage cars to take tourists on a trip around the town. We walked around the town and bought a small hand luggage sized flight bag on wheels costing $59 (or £31) in a deep purple colour. We stored it under the seat in the motorhome ready for use on our trip to Oz and Singapore to carry a few extras. Earthquakes, it should be noted that in 1931 Napier had an earthquake that was 7.8 on the Richter scale, in 1932 Wairoa had an earthquake that was 6.8 on the Richter scale and today (remember we were there only yesterday) Wairoa had an earthquake at 4.3 on the Richter scale at 7.15 p.m. a lucky escape me thinks! They don’t call it the shaky isles for nothing. The epicenter was actually 35 kms south of Wairoa but it was well and truly felt there. We then took highway 5 out of Napier heading north to Taupo on the Thermal Explorer Highway. We saw forests, gorges, and mountainous scenery plus a waterfall, all very nice. This journey took about 3 hours as we stopped for a brief lunch at a picnic stop. We arrived at Taupo to sunshine, a very blue lake which in case you don’t know is massive, the size of Singapore in fact. We visited it with C&D&P in 2008 where we attempted fishing not with much success, tee hee. Taupo itself is a very busy city stretched out over a wide site but with no high-rise buildings. We got to the Top 10 5-star resort campsite in Taupo at 4 p.m. We then spent the rest of the afternoon in the thermally heated swimming pool with a constant temperature of 30 degrees centigrade, just lovely. The weather was very warm at 24 degrees centigrade, and there were lots of tents, motorhomes and families on the site being as it was the start of a weekend and kiwis love the outdoor life. Saturday February 23rd 2013 Summary, Taupo. 26 degrees centigrade and overcast at first but sunny and blue skies by 10 a.m. Sadly a little girl in the tent on a pitch behind us screamed continually until 5.30 a.m. Annoyingly the parents did nothing to comfort her. Other campers made complaints to the Top 10 site office but there wasn’t much they could do about it and anyway the night was over by then. We went into Taupo to Pak N Save to do some food shopping and drew money out of a Westpac Bank machine. We then walked around the fascinating harbour area, with great views of the 3 mountains in the Tongariro National Park, one had snow on top. We then visited the rose garden and a small park beside the harbour. Lake Taupo looked fantastic, blue clear waters and surrounded by mountain ranges. The lake as I think we said earlier is the same size as Singapore. The country not just the city. It is huge. We then drove out to Kinloch round the lake and had lunch thereon our camp chairs. It was a shingle beach but there were lots of people swimming and riding on jet-skis. A lovely bay, we could not see Taupo as Kinloch sets it apart via a promontory. A man got cramp whilst wearing flippers and snorkeling off the beach, he called out for help and a family who had a jet ski rescued him and bought him back to shore, good stuff. We had an ice-cream (again tee hee) It was Tip Top again, the best in NZ in our opinion. Boysenberry obviously. We bought them from a café in Kinloch. We then drove back to Taupo and stopped at the Spa Park. Lots of people were walking down the hill to go to the hot springs and spa. We then went to watch the bungee jumpers down Spa Road, near our campsite. Besides dangling from an elastic band there was also a chair on a rope option. You wouldn’t get us on them but fun to watch even over the screams, ha-ha. They were jumping down a river canyon. Back at the campsite we went swimming. A very relaxing day and gorgeous weather. Back home in England it was 2 degrees centigrade with more snow, I think we made the right choice. Sunday February 24th 2013 Summary, Taupo to Tongariro National Park. We left the Taupo Top 10 site and went to see Huka Falls again. Despite drought the rapids and falls were still going strong, so majestic. We last visited in 2008 when we went on the rapids jet boat with the kids, great fun. 360 was the call ha-ha. We drove around Lake Taupo, there was a triathlon taking place today and part of state highway 1 was closed off because of it. We headed for Tongariro National Park. We stopped for a coffee break in a lay-by. We had lunch in a small village Ohakune with a giant carrot, supposedly the Carrot capital of New Zealand. Here there were lovely views of the 2 active volcanoes, one had snow on its top the other was Mount Doom (from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy of films), its real name of course is Mount Tongariro. They are both famous for the Tongariro Alpine crossing walk. We then called in at National Park village to the railway station restaurant and café to book a table for our 35th Wedding Anniversary coming up on the 25th .,tomorrow for 6 p.m. The station is the stop point for the Trans Scenic Railway. It is now called the Northern Explorer and if you like is the sister train journey to the TranzAlpine on South Island. Some words about this journey are: - The Northern Explorer train service is a scenic rail journey through the five unique geographical regions of the North Island - travelling between Auckland, New Zealand's largest city - home of the Sky Tower, through the central heartland of the North Island to Wellington - New Zealand's harbour capital and arts and culture centre. Along the way, you will see fantastic views of New Zealand farmland, rugged bush landscapes before ascending up the world famous Raurimu Spiral to the volcanic plateau passing the majestic volcanoes of Mt Tongariro, Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Ruapehu - the home of the North Island ski fields and descending through stunning river gorges to the farming landscapes and rocky seascapes of the lower North Island - all from large panoramic windows and the open air viewing deck of the Northern Explorer train. The Northern Explorer carriages have an advanced air bag suspension system for quieter and smoother travel, un-tinted, non-reflective, panoramic side, and roof windows to capture the dramatic coastal and mountain views of the magnificent North Island. GPS triggered journey commentary in five languages at your seat via headphones, plus information displays and overhead HD video and are centrally heated/air conditioned for passenger comfort. We then drove to Whakapapa village and Chateau Tongariro. We went to the campsite in the village and booked 2 nights at $38 a night, good value when one considers the amazing location. We did a walk along the river, rapids, and gorges with a bridge over the rapids. We then did a short nature walk near our van pitch, both great fun and great views. Anne did some handwashing and Keef cooked dinner, we then took our torches at dusk to look for kiwis along the nature trail , a full moon was helpful, we listened intently for any searching for insects, grubs, or worms in the undergrowth but disappointed to see nothing. Kiwis are amazingly illusive #fact We then returned to the van for boysenberry wine instead. Monday February 25th 2013 - Celebrate Emerald or Jade Anniversary Summary, Our 35th Wedding Anniversary Day at Whakapapa Village and tour around Tongariro National Park. Opened our anniversary card from Linda & Ian. K did bacon cobs for breakfast. We headed north for Turangi direction. On the way stopped to see the archeological remains of a Māori village by a lake which was deserted by 1850 after inter-tribal musket wars. Then we got the view of Lake Taupo and surrounding area from a lookout point. We saw Sulphur and steam coming out of an active volcano from the road, which were marked on the map as exploding craters. We took lots of photos. In Turangi we looked at shops, a small square of pedestrianised shops. Some were empty. We got hot pies and cakes from a bakery for lunch. We found out from the info tourist board that the Trans Scenic railway runs from Auckland to Wellington and vice-versa 3 times a week. Sat in the van and Keef checked emails as there is no wi-fi at the campsite, it is to be expected as so remote. Drove back to the site via Rangipo. Had showers and got changed for our Anniversary meal at the Station for 6 p.m. We had a lovely meal, 3 courses, wine, and coffee. Keef had a rack of lamb with cracked pepper, kumara and carrot mash, veg in blueberry jus and lime oil. Annie had beef strips in salsa. For pudding we both had banana and macadamia nut spring rolls in a caramel sauce with ice-cream and cream, just yummy! Podged we returned to the campsite and got changed and went kiwi spotting again with torches, or as it happened not spotting, tee-hee. We think however we did hear one calling in the bushes some distance away but not confirmed. Tuesday February 26th 2013 Summary, Whakapapa Village to the Republic of Whangamomona. It was a very cold night around the Tongariro region, which I guess is understandable with so many mountains. Today’s daytime temperature was 28 degrees centigrade. Nice. Stopped the van on the outskirts of the village to do the 20-minute waterfall walk. Its start was on the road past the Tongariro chateau and was called the Tawhai falls walk. We then went onto Turangi again and did some shopping at the New World supermarket there. We then headed to Taumarunui, a small town at the start of the Forgotten World Highway, a heritage tourist route. Keef checked emails and paid the Barclaycard whilst Annie went to the Tourist Information centre to get stuff about the Forgotten World Highway route. We called in at the McDonald’s for a McFlurry ice-cream before setting off on the heritage route. We passed a lavender farm and quite a few farms with sheep, cows, and deer. Venison is now so big in NZ I would suggest it outstrips sheep farming. One farm was sheep shearing in the sheds, we watched. The scenery was very unusual, hobbit-like hills, deep blue gorges and a river that was almost dry. Lots of abandoned sheep farm buildings. We drove through what was called the Hobbit hole, a tunnel cut through rock about 4.5 meters high and just wide enough for one vehicle, luckily not much traffic on the Forgotten World Highway. Lots of the hills were volcanic ash and pumice stone, now covered in grass where the Taupo area had erupted millions of years ago. About 12 kilometers of the highway was gravel road, we had no choice but to travel on it. Fab views of Tongariro in the distance. We arrived at Whangamomona at about 5.45 p.m. We took many photos of the hotel and other heritage buildings. The campsite was $20 in the grassed area of the old school. We had a meal in the pub and got our passports stamped as Whanga declared itself a republic in 1986. It cost $2 to get your passport stamped, rather a touristy gimmick but hey why not, its fun. The history is locals were angry about local boundary changes so went independent and elected a pig as the mayor and even have sentry boxes on the town’s outskirts, ha-ha. There were lots of historical pictures on the pub wall that were fascinating. All in all a great place to visit if you like quirky, we do! Wednesday February 27th 2013 Summary, The Republic of Whangamomona to New Plymouth. Set off along the rest of the Forgotten World Highway, State Highway 34. Climbed some very high mountain ridges and zig zag roads, with sheer drops to the river gorge and valleys below. Bit scary. Took lots of photos along the route. There was a small hamlet called Douglas in the valley, mainly farming made is chuckle and take a photo for later doctoring especially for Mr. Douglas. The Forgotten World Highway ended at Stratford. All streets were names after Shakespeare’s characters from his plays. We went into the Tourist information centre and met the local lady MP. The Glockenspiel town clock chimed several times a day, sadly we missed it as allegedly spectacular. Click on the link in the summary on the Taranaki page to get more details about this fascinating town. We then went through Eltham , which is an old town starting circa 1912 and turned to go into Opunake, a black sand beach with poor surfing conditions which is odd because it is on what was inaptly names the Surf Coast Highway, ha-ha. We then carried on the surf highway to Cape Egmont and saw a small lighthouse, with black basalt housing edging the Tasman Sea. We arrived in New Plymouth where we had previously camped with the kids , we drove through the city and the main shops to the Top 10 site which cost $43 for the night. We the n went for a swim in the site’s heated pool, very nice and relaxing. We chatted to a local farmer who bragged about his cars, farm, motorcycles etc., Were we impressed, guess? He then told us he was paralysed from jumping from a great height into a pond, brawn rather than brain but we did show some sympathy. Annie did wash in the laundry, a little black and white kitten was roaming around the campsite. We talked to some Aussies from New South Wales who were here on holiday. They were in a very tiny tent. Thursday February 28th 2013 Summary, New Plymouth to Waitomo Caves. Drove around the city centre and then visited the new wave design bridge called Te Rawa over the Waiwhakaiho river and board walk just north of the city centre. There were lots of landscaped parks and picnic areas. The board walk was used by both walkers and cyclists. We then visited Tupare Gardens, In 1932 Sir Russell and Lady Matthews started to create a garden from a gorse covered wilderness on the edge of the Waiwhakaiho River around their family home. It was very steep as built on a hillside , there were nice shrubs and plants and it had been superbly landscaped. We liked it a lot. We then drove to North Egmont visitors centre on a sealed road. Mount Taranaki as it is better and now know , using its original Māori Name rather than that bestowed by the Brits, is 2518 metres high. A dormant volcano which last erupted in 1755. It was covered in cloud today at the top. It was a very windy & winding road to get to the Visitors centre. In winter the volcano is totally covered in snow. We then headed north on the 3a motorway and then the number 3 highway east. Many farms then the scenery got dramatically hillier around Mount Messenger. We stopped for a very late lunch around 4 p.m. at Matau for a snack. It was a very scenic route on highway 3 up to Te Kuiti, the NZ sheep shearing capital, we saw a few sheep on farms, all of which had very yellowing grass, it was a large town but realistically not much worth seeing so we drove through reasonably quickly. We turned off for the Top 10 campsite at Waitomo Caves. Costing $41.40 so on the more expensive end but worth it. We had seen the glow worm caves before , use the link in the overview if you wish to see more. The campsite was quite modern with both a swimming pool and hot tub. Had a swim, shower and cheese and biscuits with the lovely Plum wine we had got from the White Goose Winery near Whakatane. Yummy. There were schoolboys in the cabins on an excursion, they were very noisy and that was added to by teachings trying to control them, and if I’m honest failing. Friday March 1st 2013 Summary, Waitomo Caves to Hamilton. 30 degrees centigrade or 86 degrees Fahrenheit. In the 5 years since we had been to Waitomo caves the area had changed a lot, the new Top 10 campsite, a café, tourist information office, and lots of other touristy things. Indeed, the area was now a Mecca for tourists because of the Glow worm caves. We then set off for Otorohanga, we called in at the Kiwi House to get a replacement kiwi for Phoenix as she had lost the one Doug had bought her here back in 2008. In fact we bought 2 kiwi’s one chirps when you squeeze it, novel. Saw the same noisy school trip again who had sadly landed at the Kiwi House, we left pronto. We then drove onto Hamilton, luckily our Sat Nav came in useful as Hamilton is a very big city, 2nd we guessed only to Auckland in size, Wellington feels more compact. Sprawling suburbs in Hamilton and plenty of road works. We did a shop for food at New World supermarket. We then had a bit of a nightmare getting to the campsite because of the major road works improving Hamilton’s ring road. Annie did some laundry $4, and Keef prepared lunch. It was another hot sunny day . We then drove off to park near the Botanical gardens so we could do the river walk along to them. The campsite owner had told us where to park, very useful. It was about a mile walk to the gardens but fun however the views of the Waikato River were not great as it was totally overgrown with trees and bushes. We found the gardens and it was free entry, which was nice. We saw a lot of roses then found the i-site information office and picked up a map of the gardens which proved very useful. We then visited lots of individual paradise gardens including , with the Indian garden with nice Mogul architecture in a courtyard garden with a fountain and raised terrace. The English flowers throughout the Māori garden were interesting, plus gourds and kumara growing and lots of traditional wood carvings. We then walked back to the motorhome; it must have been over 3 miles we had walked in the boiling hot afternoon sun in the end. We then returned to the Hamilton holiday park campsite, which cost $38 to stay at, we were both very tired. It got dark at about 8.30 p.m. Saturday March 2nd 2013 Summary, Hamilton to Papamoa Beach. 24 degrees centigrade. Another lovely summers day. Drove through Hamilton city centre to see it, nothing to write home about I’m afraid, just another busy city. We saw the Waikato River again from the other side. We would class Hamilton as a small town rather than a big city, but we come from the UK. The city centre had 3 main streets with some 1930s architecture. We then took Highway 1 through to Cambridge, which is a horse breeding area. We then headed for Tauranga on the Pacific coast and back to Papamoa beach again as we liked the lovely long sand beach and waves so much first time. We can now officially call it our fave campsite in the whole world having returned in 2017. Maybe that won’t be the last time. You never know. We arrived at 12 noon so before check in time for a Top 10 site so we went down the road to Papamoa’s shopping mall. Keef bought a Hawaiian shirt for $8 in the sale in the Warehouse. Then we had a drive around the area, some new houses on estates and saw all the colleges and schools, reminded us of California in look and feel. However, in our humble opinion Papamoa beach rivals any Californian beach. We eventually checked into the campsite at 1p.m. $45 per night, booked 2 nights as we like it so much, same pitch as last time with a view of the beach and so close to it, we even get an outside shower at the end of the pitch to wash off the sand, what more could you ask for. Spent the afternoon on the beach listening to music and watching kite surfers. We both went in the sea, there were some pretty big waves, so we didn’t venture far. Had a lovely dinner with the last of the plum wine , cheese and biscuits , our fave creamy mainland blue and we sat outside the motorhome at dusk watching the sun set and listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, just perfect, so love Papamoa Beach. Sunday March 3rd 2013 Summary, Papamoa Beach. 28 degrees centigrade, 83 degrees Fahrenheit. Spent a very relaxing day on the beach and the campsite. There were a few clouds first thing in the morning, but they soon moved inland. Then it was blue skies, sea, and sunshine all the way, yippee! The light sea breeze kept the temperature not too hot. We walked along the beach towards Mount Manganui, which is another supposedly extinct volcano., along the waters edge and foreshore for about an hour. Had lunch on our picnic table and then sat on the beach in the afternoon. There were kite surfers, body surfers , a surf lifesaving boat but only a few people on the beach considering it was good weather and a Sunday. We had changed our pitch site as caravans on either side of us had gone this morning so we could get the pitch right next to the sea. We were now Pitch S9, Beach Street, pole position. Previously we have been in S7 and S8. At 6 p.m. after a nice cup of tea Annie did some hand washing, Keef did BBQ chicken, bacon, egg and salad on the campsite gas barbeque up in the kitchens. We noticed it now gets dark at 8.15 p.m., still no lovely sunsets to photo though. The east coast of New Zealand is nicer than the west for beaches, apart from Napier and the Gisborne area. Monday March 4th 2013 Summary, Papamoa Beach to Manukau City. We left the campsite at 10 a.m. and drove to the mall at Manukau to look for a T-shirt for Doug. Sadly, we did not find anything at all suitable, so we drove on to the Top 10 site at Manukau City. Good job we had the Sat nav if not we would never have found it. Annie did some final hand washing after a late lunch. Decided we would pack our stuff in the Kiwi motel car park. Anne cleaned the inside of the motorhome. By 7pm the campsite was packed full as it is the nearest one to the Auckland airport. Tuesday March 5th 2013 Summary, Manukau City to Kiwi Motel Auckland. We had to hand back the motorhome by 2pm to Britz. We left the campsite at 10 a.m. and went to another shopping mall to look for a T-shirt for Doug. Had a look in Farmer’s a department store in the Westfield shopping centre in Manukau. We drove to the Kiwi motel at 12 noon but could not check in yet, so we packed up our belongings into our suitcases in the motorhome. We then checked into the motel and dropped our fully packed bags off into our room. We then drove the van to the motorhome depot to drop it off. The total mileage on the clock was now 250, 370 km. No damage to the van. We told the employee there about the squeaky brakes and a few other minor problems with the van, no doubt they would take no notice, however Keef managed to get 1 days compensation out of them, $180 was refunded, not bad really. We returned to the Kiwi motel, had a shower, and ate there in the evening. We had to complete the NZ census forms as visitors and handed them into the motel reception. Very tired went to bed as have to get up early tomorrow for flight to Australia. 250, 370 minus 246,253 kms equals 4,117 kms or 2, 559 miles driven in New Zealand. AUDIOBOOK

By keef and annie hellinger, Feb 22 2020 06:40AM Not the Motorhome trip No 13 : Feb 17th – 21st 2020 A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog NOTTS->Knockerdown Farm, Peak District, Derbyshire, DE6 1NQ ->NOTTS 103 miles This was our 4th visit as a family to Knockerdown Farm, twice when the boys were younger and then for Annie’s 60th and now again during the half term break with Craig, Leanne and Edie. Lovely time although the weather as expected in early February was not that great being both very cold and wet, however this did not dampen our spirits one iota. Our full list of visits is 1. 3-6 Dec 1993, Wisels Cottage 2. Feb 1996, Wisels Cottage 3. 3-6 Jan 2014, Farwell Cottage 4. 17-21 Feb 2020, Sabinhay Cottage Left home about 1 pm on the Monday and went to Carsington water (see BLOG 49) where we had a bit of a damp stroll to the Visitors centre and a lovely cup of freshly brewed coffee in the mainsail café overlooking the lovely waters. We could not get into the cottage until 3pm and were surprised how close to the visitors centre the Cottages were. This time we were in Sabinhay, the one over the archway. In the past we have stayed in both Wisels and Farwell. Leanne and Edie arrived very soon after us and we all spent a bit of time unpacking the cars from in front of the cottage and then reparking them in the car park out front. Having settled in we went off for our daily swim. A ritual (including sauna for Grandpa) that we re-enacted daily, one of the real advantages of Knockerdown when the weather isn’t so great. Edie is really coming on in the swimming stakes, won’t be long now before she is a fully fledged dolphin ;) The other advantage is the very close proximity of the Knockerdown Inn, 2 yards over the road where we ate on both Tues and Weds evening. A very friendly family run pub with great food and Edie loved their doggies. We also discovered they run a campsite with facilities at the back of the pub so we may well yet we back in the motor home. Craig arrived after work at about 5.30pm. Grandpa cooked halloumi burgers with salad accompaniment for tea. We all retired pooped fairly early which was quite a theme throughout the hols , mostly a combination of fresh air and relaxing in my humble opinion. On the Tuesday C&L cycled around Carsington Water, a distance of about 8 miles. We took Edie to the playpark, Stone Island, button pressing in the Severn Trent exhibition area and then for a massive slab of choccy cake in the mainsail café. C&L joined us there after their ride. Wednesday we visited Matlock Farm park where Edie cuddled a guinea pig called Cinnamon. We saw lots of other lovely animals but it was seriously cold so we warmed up with lunch in their café then some indoor fun for Leanne and Edie in the Rainforest shed on the big slide. Thursday Leanne left for her spa days with Claire and we headed off to the Crich Tramway museum only to find on arrival it was sadly closed. Maybe we should have checked first, DOH! Anyhow no worries we spent most of the day at the Unesco World heritage site of Sir Richard Arkwright’s Cromford Mills, great fun and educational. Grandpa cooked Hunters chicken, Jacket pot , Cauli cheese and carrots for tea. Friday morning we were all up early to breakfast and pack the cars, then we visited the National Stone Centre at Wirksworth where Granny bought Edie some polished stones. Quite an interesting walk around and somewhere we had never been before. We then returned to the Priory at Loughborough for a final family lunch together before heading homewards. All in all a fab family break. Annie and I loved spending time with family! If you would like to see the slideshows and videos please CLICK HERE Historical view of our current and previous visits to Knockerdown farm, love it! #family

Created by KeefH Web Designs , July 3rd, 2023, 8.04 AM Incidentally between Canada day (1st July) and Independence Day (4th July) A Travel Blog by KeefH Web Designs Motorhome trip No55: 2nd July 2023 NOTTS-> Gainsborough Old Hall and back, mostly to try out the very expensive fixes on our T4 engine, have to say it was a success and a great day out, including Tuna mayo sarnie lunch with Nectarine and Choc brioche, oh and a coffee in the English Heritage café -> NOTTS 131 miles Prefer to listen than read a blog, click HERE for the audiobook. MENU Overview Travel Route Videos Panoramas Audiobooks The End OVERVIEW As you can tell from Blog 194 we had some severe problems with our lovely Wendy house van based on a Volkswagen T4 transporter in the last few days in Eire. Basically the oil warning light came on whenever you accelerated or slowed down and when it starts it is accompanied by a loud warning beep, extremely annoying. Anyhow we did top up with oil as directed by the manual, but could find no oil leaks so assumed on google searching it , it was an error with the oil pressure indicators. Anyhow to cut a long story short, we managed to nurse it back home and book it into our local garage. When I came 3 weeks later (as soon as they could fit us in) to start it up, smoke billowed out of the engine and it was mis-firing like crazy. Got it to the garage who discover the bolt on a fuel injector 5 had bust and needed work and piston regrind etc. etc. (sorry right over my head, I'm an IT guy not a mechanical engineer for my sins) #help So after a very expensive repair, way more than sticking plaster, we took it out for the day allegedly to Gainsborough but after 40 miles the same oil warning light and mega beeping was happening, so guess what, we took it back, 2 days later and yet more expense we got it back again. Oil sensors inside the engine replaced plus all wiring de-oiled (if that is a word) #hintsandtips The whole affair cost £2k, way more than we had anticipated so mega poor times to come #smile All the worked was charged at £60 per hour and supposedly (who can prove it?) took 15 hours, but I guess they had the engine head off on 2 separate occasions so maybe not unreasonable, any one out there with more experience or skillset care to comment, it would be gratefully received, thanks in anticipation. So once again full of trepidation for "what else can go wrong" we set out for Gainsborough again. This time, thank heavens, all was well with our lovely Wendy House #hooray So basically travel blog 195 is all about testing out the van and visiting a slightly nearby English Heritage property. This is our Travel Blog created by KeefH Web Designs for motorhome-travels dot net site, featuring a day out in the lovely Wendy House Van to English Heritage's Gainsborough Manor and Old Hall , plus lunch in the van in a side street, and we had our own loo, what more could you ask for, tee hee oh yes a van that work!!! To get a true overview of the manor house and hall click here . One word of advice, if you are visiting Monday to Saturday there is no car park as such and limited one hour parking on nearby streets, there are of course many public car parks in town you can walk from (10 mins max) BUT if like us you go on a Sunday there are many local streets you can park on for free for as long as you like #result Through out this travel blog all images can be seen by just clicking expand on any then scroll forward or backwards thru them, hope that helps? #help There is a lot of history in this fine medieval hall / manor house. Starting in the 1400s with Thomas Burgh who served Edward IV, and was given this land for his loyalty. Richard III stayed here with his wife (I bet that was an expensive visit for Thomas) stayed here, then Henry VII made one of the Thomas' a Lord so he was entitled to make it a castle, so he added the turret end as a sort of "I think I'm richer than though" moment. One of the Burgh line was the 1st husband of Henry VIII's 6th wife Catherine Parr. The old hall then went to the Hickman's and Bacon Hickman's until it was eventually used to home the destitute, and even became a theatre and market place, as well as being used as rooms for stage coach travellers at some point, boy its seen a lot. Walking the upper area was like being on a ship as the crooked walls and floors gave you that feeling. I've even learned more about the separatist movement and John Wesley so can't all be bad, learn something new every day #fun #hintsandtips Annie bought some lovely historical tea towels in the gift shop showing English monarchs through out time, class and adds to our respective DNA journeys via genealogy. Return to MENU TRAVEL ROUTE This was our travel route to Gainsborough old hall, up the M1, M18, A1 south to try out the van at speed and pressurise the engine to check all is fixed, then back through Retford and Worksop in Nottinghamshire and all the lovely villages before rejoining the M1 just past Rother Country Park. See it graphically now on a You Tube short. Return to MENU VIDEOS and SLIDESHOWS Here are a set of travel blog videos constructed from the day , some using newly found AI techniques, created by KeefH Web Designs (KHWD) This one is the complete set of images, hope you enjoy This one shows all the historical info for you to read at your leisure should you chose to do so, just stop the video at any point to read any board in full at your own speed, maybe even make it full screen to help, click the square in the bottom right hand corner, thanks This one shows just us on our day out, 4 videos, 3 of which are short reels in portrait mode and one in landscape, they are all only 3/4 of a minute long, the first 2 are created using AI and have been done to show the art of the possible by KeefH Web Designs, the rest were manually constructed. #enjoy Feel free to run these as full screen slideshows, thanks Here is a slideshow of some of the menus that featured in this house of 120+ kitchen staff back in the 1400s. It also shows a comparison over 129 years of the contents of a bedroom. Return to MENU PANORAMAS Here are a few of the panoramas I took inside the manor house including the old hall, what a spectacular building. No wonder it counts as one of the "finest" and "best preserved" medieval manor houses. The clever use of dangly cards, info bowls, info bedspreads and tablecloths and downloadable audios certainly grabbed and kept your attention and was a great way to learn. So well done English Heritage, we were impressed. Return to MENU AUDIOBOOKS The first of which is the audiobook of this blog collecting together the text to save you having to read it, some like that! This is a full slideshow with the audiobook as its audio overlay. Here are a few of the SoundCloud audio books that are available from English Heritage, the 3 we actually listened to on site don't seem to be readily available, maybe they are private, but as I still have the links on my phone, and these were specifically what we listened to I have added links for them whether they work or not for you is debatable as I sense it is clever enough to expect you to be in the building #audiobooks An overview, very nice gardens and surrounds We spent quite a while in the kitchens, the feast menus were amazing This couple were featured in the upstairs long room Here are the 3 we listen to, good luck, they still work on my phone but not necessarily for you, sorry 1. William Rose , wrapping machine maker and legend that is Cadbury's Roses chocolates, he lived in this building until the age of 17 with his parents His Candy wrappings patented machine can be read about HERE 2. Mrs. Smith , the resident who almost set fire to the whole building, oh dear 3. Mr. Sankey , an actor or impresario who performed in the great hall (I'm guessing!) not one of the many lodgers and destitute' s who lived here for a while although mostly it was a travellers inn after being Burghs/ Hickman and Hickman Bacon residences. Return to MENU THAT's ALL FOLKS! From the manor house Return to MENU

By keef and annie hellinger, Dec 2 2021 14.21 pm Between 11th August and 4th Sep 1999 picking up our hired motorhome near Vancouver airport, we had initially stayed in a hotel in a somewhat dodgy area of downtown Vancouver. Keef had booked it online so had no idea... druggies, drunks and hookers (sounds a bit like a Neil Young album title 😉) anyhow once into the old town area which wasn't that far it was fab, totem poles, gas town water street and Gassy Jack's famous exhibit the steam clock, the harbour area, lions gate bridge, sea planes, Stanley park (pretty sure there is an ice hockey cup called the Stanley Cup... who knew 😉, plus Canada Place their attempt at the Sydney Opera house! If you would like to read the full diary please click HERE or to listen to our adventures as an Audio book if you would prefer please click HERE thanks See the full site entry HERE As Moonfruit died on 7th December 2021 my previous HOLIDAY2010 site which contained our trips to Florida in 1997 and our trip to British Columbia in 1997 (plus briefly visiting pals David & Cathy & family in 1999 in Edmonton, Alberta) was migrated by Yell to WIX. I have decided to incorporate it here into my motorhome-travels blog site as an insurance against Yell increasing site charges quite substantially once a year is up, it will then be easy to remove the migrated site. In January 2022 I decided to work on the HOLIDAY 2010 site that had been very badly migrated i.e it did not work but after quite some effort I am happy to keep it in its new guise, click HERE to see the new version of Canada 1997, enjoy or just carry on with the blog here CANADA IN A MOTORHOME 1999, British Columbia & Vancouver Island Plus Alberta to Edmonton to stay with Friends, plus we travelled with Doug who was so into fishing at the time esp. around the Kamloops area, not sure he enjoyed my snoring though 😉 Time to see and hear about our trip in 1999 Slideshow of Provincial Flags of Canada 1999 holiday slideshows the 1997 talkies video Full Diary Canada 1999 Mostly British Columbia , Some Alberta to Edmonton and back Summary: We spent 25 Days in British Columbia and a bit of Alberta We took 185 Photos, all of which are included in the summary slideshows. Our trip to Canada in 1999 was from 11 August to 4th September, 25 days in our hired All Drive Classic 3000 3 berth motorhome combined with a hire car at the beginning for use to get around Vancouver Island and do the Inside passage loop from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert and then back down to Vancouver to swap the car for the camper van, when we had the car we stayed in B&B’s mostly and some motels, clearly once we had the van we stayed at campsites. Initially we started in Vancouver downtown in what was definitely not a nice area but was cheap and afforded us the opportunity to see the City of Vancouver quite easily, then across on the ferry to Vancouver island where we went to Tofino to do some whale watching in the Salish sea, actually saw a pod of Orca's just magical from our boat that left Telegraph Cove, after returning from Victoria, Vancouver Island and picking up the motorhome we went to see the Rockies, then much more of British Columbia eventually travelling up to Edmonton in Alberta to visit our pals David & Cathy & family, magical times with Doug who was 15 at that stage, fishing and chopping logs for our wild camp fire cooking was a true highlight. We stayed in some very remote campsites and managed to avoid the bears! In summary some of the highlights and places visited were Victoria, Vancouver Island, Vancouver City, Burnaby, West Vancouver, Cypress Provincial Park, inside passage by ferry, Prince Rupert, we drove much on the fab remote Highway 16 thru BC back down through some fabulous scenery to Vancouver swapped car for motorhome and then across to friends in Edmonton, plus we saw at various stages and in no particular order, Prince George, the BC ferry Tsawwassen thru US waters, and various Islands to Swartz Bay, Tsawwassen terminal is a 36 km drive from downtown Vancouver and is located at the southwest end of Highway 17 in Delta. Sailings departing from Tsawwassen provide service to Swartz Bay (Victoria), Duke Point (Nanaimo) and the Southern Gulf Islands. Visit the Tsawwassen Quay for shopping and a range of food and beverage options. On Vancouver Island we visited Sidney, Cassidy, stayed in Duncan, Crofton, Swartz Bay, Lake Cowichan, Port Renfrew, Nanoose Bay, Port Alberni, Beaver Creek, Long Beach, Tofino and then returned to the Islands Capital Victoria which is just such a lovely place with the historic Empress Hotel. We returned via the fabulous Shawnigan Lake, we also visited Sooke on the island where our B&B landlady told us a about the replica Captain James Cook ship the Endeavour on its re-enactment voyage, just wonderful especially as Captain Cook is our hero and we have tried on our travels to visit many of the places he went to , from Middlesborough to 1770, big tick, plus we remember the sordid Patricia Hotel, North Saanich, Cordova Bay, Thetis Lake Regional Park, Esquimalt, Millstream, Squamish, Whistler, Banff, Pemberton, Mount Currie, Lillooet, 70,100,150 mile house, Quesnel, Fraser Lake, Burns Lake, Gitnadoiks River Provincial Park, Hazelton, Seven sisters provincial park, Chemainus and all the wall murals, bit like the place in New Zealand called Kati Kati, Giant Sequoias, McBride, Athabasca Falls, White Water Rapids, MacMillan Provincial Park , the Canopy Bridge at Grouse Mountain and the Lumberjack games display there, The Fraser River, Gaslight Jack and Granville island, ferries galore, Moraine Lake, Robson Bight, Banff Springs Hotel, talk about posh, Jasper National Park, We camped in Kamloops where despite the time of year one of the residents in a caravan had their Christmas decorations up, bizarre but very festive, Kelowna , the pacific rim national park on Vancouver island was spectacular, we camped at gold river and visited Campbell River (later we discovered Annie has current rellies living there, shame we didn’t know at the time, Strathcona Park. We then drove up to Port Hardy staying in this old house B&B there before getting up very early to travel on the ferry up to Prince Rupert , this was the famed inside passage, we headed up the coast having set sail from Port Hardy through the magnificent glacial fjords of the Inside Passage to the stunning and wild destination of Prince Rupert. It passes through the Queen Charlotte sound but for us the weather sadly was appalling so we were a bit restricted in what we managed to see. We stayed at the Tall Trees B&B in Prince Rupert run by the lovey Kathy Butterfield who was so welcoming and told us quite a bit about the local area. Travelling back down to Vancouver in the car we stayed at a B&B in 100-mile house having had a quick look around Prince George after leaving Kathy. On the 22nd of August we made our way back to Vancouver having seen Whistler the previous day , remember mountain bikers coming hurtling down the now snow clear mountain sides, frightening, even in my hey day I would never have had the bottle to travel quite so fast, overnight we stayed in a B&B in Squamish, we then swapped the car for the motorhome before heading off to Edmonton. In the motorhome we visited Banff, Lake Louise which is where sadly our water tank came detached from the underside of the hire van, a very kind Canadian stopped and applied a rope he had to it to strap it up enough for us to get back into the town of Lake Louise where we took it to a garage having rung the hire company and had it welded back on, we kept the receipt so we could claim back later, on route we also saw Kootenay, Waterton, Roger’s Pass National Park, Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk, Seaplanes over Vancouver North Harbour, Spray Can Art, Bungee Jumping (not us just watching) near Nanaimo, Yoho National Park where we visited and went for a swim in the Radium Hot Water springs pool, it may have been chilly outside but in the water was heavenly. We also saw the Columbia Icefields Park where we travelled on a snow mobile / coach called the ice explorer out to the Athabasca glacier one of the ice fields 5 toes, do remember them specifically telling us all to stay within the perimeter rope for our safety, folk had died falling down the many crevasses, a foolish tourist in our party didn’t follow this advice and hoped over the fence to get a better picture, he was lucky. We also saw Aspen Grove, Art Ksan at Hazelton, the wonderful Butchart gardens, so loved that what an experience, Cathedral Grove, lots of wildlife along the roadways edge especially in the Rockies National Park, fishing on Nicola Lake outside Kamloops, Glacier National Park, Sulphur mountain which we took a cable car known as the Gondola to the top of , amazing views looking back down at Banff, Keef of course got his Hard Rock Café T-shirt from Banff, why not, smile, we also took the van into Calgary but it was just so busy we decided not to stay long and headed off to Edmonton, remember David clearly saying when we camped some 300 miles down the road, hey you were so nearby, Canadians have a different view of distance, their country is just so huge in comparison to the UK. Also visited West Ed Mall, amazing what was in there, Annie going down the hugely deep-water slide is one memory, the other is denting the side of the van on a bollard in the car park which I didn’t see, oh dear. We eventually drove back to Calgary to hand the van in there and did a deal on receipt against busted water tank and dent in van, so quits no charge for either party, result. All drive hire company gave us a lift to Calgary airport, part of our one way hire agreement and we flew back into Manchester I think via Keflavik in Iceland (but that may have been on the way out, can’t remember) but what I do remember is buying the Reykjavik T-shirt from the Hard Rock Café in the airport tee-hee and then home to Nottingham. A lovely trip with some great memories and shared with Doug in his teenage years, Craig was in Spain with his mates. That’s all folks, I think its quite enough but memories reconstructed in 2022 by KeefH Web Designs, thanks for listening folks. AUDIOBOOK

By keef and annie hellinger, Dec 1 2021 14.13 pm Day 161 - Thursday 3rd April 2008,Christchurch After wasting 3+hours packing, unpacking and repacking stuff to be posted off to Craig, numerous U-turns on SH and 3 visits to the post office we finally got off to visit the city center. Parked up behind the Science alive on Moorhouse St and caught the free shuttle into Cathederal Sq. walked passed market, river Avon to Art Museum (lovely building) Colin McMahon stuff no good but Goldie and Gottlieb on old Maori’s ace,Art museum, cathedral and graffiti freeze for City of flowers (now complete).Slightly effiminant gent desk at museum.How long it takes to get a parcel off including guy I rang for shipping freight who said when I asked about personal effects ‘that as long as they were horses that was fine!!!’ hoho a horse merchant.Remember a couple of Kiwi speedway giants Day 162 - Friday 4th April 2008,Christchurch Day spent at the Botanic gardens and packing. See NSW (Oz) for Day 163 a flight day. Day 163 - Saturday 5th April 2008,Christchurch to Sydney Got up early, did the final bits of packing. Had scrambled eggs, checked out of our motel and went to Northwood Mall. Mooched around, K bought Opshop CD then we filled up with petrol and took car back to NZ rentals. Guy said he wasn’t expecting us and we would have to pay $10NZD for transport to Airport, we put him straight, but he did prefer to panic about picking up domestic passengers and drop us off early, still np as Christchurch is a very small airport, smaller indeed than Auckland. Nice flight over to Sydney and really clear as we landed.Coast line of NSW, busy inner city, pails anything in NZ into insignificance in terms of size.Met really nice and helpful Air NZ check in lady, who was surprised we could ‘do’ round the world with so little luggage,not much to remember, but catching the shuttle from Sydney airport to the travelodge, cnr wentworth & goulburn was fun as the thai guy tried to cram in every last space Day 164 - Sunday 6th April 2008,Travelodge, Sydney Gr8 day, see the piccies but basically did the tourist bit 2day. Went on the city sightseeing open topped bus firstly around the City route then out to Bondi, via SCG and Fox studios. Ended up having a gr8 meal at Ice Cube on Darling harbour.Met lots of Japanese taking piccies everywhere.Gr8 walk on Bondi beach, spoke to Doug on MSN msg Day 165 - Monday 7th April 2008,Travelodge, Sydney, Cnr Wentworth & Goulburn Bit of a wasted day really but as bad weather not so bad. Got phone sorted but not vodem,wasted lots of time and bureaucratic nightmare,had to open a westpac bank account but still don’t know if it will get us thru the reqd 100 points for credit history, we will see in Tassie.World square, Irish pub and many vodaphone stores. Remember frustration oh and not a bad micro wave meal. Day 166 - Tuesday 8th April 2008,Travelodge, Sydney Gr8 day weather variable Got 3 day pass for monorail & light railway went to Darling harbour HMS Endeavour and Nat Maritime museum then onto the Imax to see the new 3d whales & dolphins Gr8 views of and from Darling harbour, we love Sydney Met Gr8 old Kiwi great granddad ex Navy on HMS End plus £15 paddie who was doing the same volunteer job. Alas Annie getting a really bad sore throat, really enjoyed the HMS endeavour. Day 167 - Wednesday 9th April 2008,Travelodge, Sydney Initially traveled by underground from museum to circular quay. Got the $16AD ferry ticket day tripper 2day and went to Watson bay, Manly & up the Paramatta river Had coffee/ ice chocolate at Risonni’s on Circular Quay at the end of the day Weather was mixed Sunny & Drizzle ranged from 18c to 24c.Lots and gr8 it was to, see the piccies, there were rather a lot of them. You will only get a limited set on the site.Met all the eastern European waiters at Doyle’s. Highlights:Seafood platter at Doyles Watson bay Annie rang Margaret and Brian at the end of the day,now used up all our Kiwi Vodaphone credit, Australian one working fine and online account set up. Our Westpac online banking will not work until we get out ATM cards (note write down the Handy card no 19 digits and BSB in our ‘little book of banking’ when we get them in Tassie + set up Vodem) Day 168 - Thursday 10th April 2008,Travelodge, Sydney, Taronga Zoo/ Opera House Taronga Zoo via Matilda ferries cruise and Swan Lake ballet at the Opera House ,Saw zillions of native animals. Enjoyed Express Thai nr World Square, gr8 meal and being exhausted by climbing stairs Day 169 - Friday 11th April 2008,Travelodge, Sydney Up not so early, used the last of our 3 day monorail/ light railway ticket to go to Victoria Galleries, Harbourside (Darling Harbour), Chinese gardens, Chinatown, Paddy’s Market, Lillyfield/ Rozelle Bay (ugh suburbs along with Glebe and Pyrmont),Chinese Gardens are superb, very tranquil,Met folk in Chinese restaurant in Chinatown,plus the ‘live’ tanks. surprised that we were the only non asian folk in Paddy’s market, its a great foodhall there for fresh produce. 2nd stay Day 226-228 Day 172 - Monday 14th April 2008,Huonville, Tasmania Family tree day, completely today. Given over to reserach and discussion with Diana. used PC a lot. We stayed in all day with John & Diana. Most memorable was the Calel/ Solomon saga. Day 173 - Tuesday 15th April 2008,Huonville, Tasmania John & Diana took us into Hobart so we could pick up our hire car. We then visited Mt Nelson, Mt Wellington, City center Hobart and Battery Point and spent the evening with J&D. Day 174 - Wednesday 16th April 2008,Huonville, Tasmania Went to see Tasman peninsular including Port Arthur, Tasman arch, blowholes etc Day 175 - Thursday 17th April 2008, Huonville, Tasmania Visited Bruny Island,gr8 day Up early caught 9.30am ferry from Kettering and came back on the 4.30 one from Robert point and then drove around the headland up to Cygnet again . Loved Adventure bay, Clement link rd, Nebraska beach, oh and a whole lot more. We even saw the fairy penguins footprints and met an Ozzie couple at top of the 164 step lookout at the neck , we took their picture, they took ours. Most memorable was having an Eastern Grey Roo run out in front of our car on the Clement Link road Day 176 - Friday 18th April 2008,Huonville, Tasmania Quiet day spent with J&D, not much to report Day 177 - Saturday 19th April 2008,Ranelagh to Strahan/ Queenstown , Tasmania Off on our trip around Tassie. Up at 6 (nice to leave J&D) left by 7.10am Drove via SH1 & A10 stopping at Hamilton for an early morning pie and coffee Then thru Derwent River down thru Queenstown into Strahan and then back to Queenstown having filled up with petrol alongside the Targa Tasmania classic cars The whole area is packed out We paid $150AD (£70+) rip off for an appalling accommodation Silver Hills Motel.Most memorable Wall in the Wilderness gallery (hand carved wooden designs/ murals from Huon pine) at Derwent Bridge.Lovely drive.Wall in the Wilderness was superb, Fraser-Gordon World Heritage nat park, Queenstown, Strahan.Met lady in motel with Rally driver hubbie plus stewards who taped off every dirt track entry to the road from Strahan to Queenstown, in case they came out and bashed into the rallyall roads are closed from 5.30pm thru to 12 noon 2moro Both night and day legs. Day 178 - Sunday 20th April 2008, Queenstown to Tullah , Tasmania Got up about 8-ish, had a leisurely breakfast as Targa Tasmania was still on and all roads closed until 12. Finally left at 12 after nice lady told us about the roads reopening. Had to return as oops forgot stuff in the fridge (déjà vu for New Plymouth) Then onto Strahan again. Weather excellent. Had a good walk around edge of lake. Saw seaplane land. Not that much to see and do at Strahan although we went down to the old Railway. Then drove onto Zeehan & Tullah. Budget motel booked and paid for online with Innkeepers but Lakeside Chalets have no record. Budget place. Lots and lots of ‘controlled burn’ plus Zeehan, Rosebury & Tullah mining towns plus had a walk on Henty sandunes and saw the lookout, found our way back by my footprints, it was very confusing.Met guy with ute and caravan at lookout , I had to move the car as he couldn’t do a U-ey.Getting very fed up paying between £60-80 per night for frankly crap accommodation, very overpriced and someone trying to charge one twice is also not good news. Got a bit lost at Henty Dunes. Day 179 - Monday 21st April 2008,Tullah to Smithton , Tasmania Up early to see workman walk past our window. We were trying to look at Lake Rosebury from our chalet window and see the wombats (alas none) After arguing over paying twice lakeside Chalets Tullah ($80AD Budget) we sorted them out and Annie drove all 250kms today via Cradle mountain to Wynyard, Rocky Cape into Smithton Reasonably good weather again 22c and v sunny Stayed Bridge Motel ($99AD).Saw controlled burn, Cradle mountain Nat park, gr8 north coast along the bass straits highway.Met a welsh lady who served us in restaurant at motel who has been here 20 years and is married to a local fisherman. She got me vinegar to go with our huge flake fish and chips McCains is in Smithton.Nice bottle of Oxford Landing (eve). At Cradle Mountain as Annie said the wildlife was ‘one blackbird and some wombat poo’. Day 180 - Tuesday 22nd April 2008,Smithton to Burnie via West point and Stanley, Tasmania Out of Motel by 10, drove west to Marawah Beach via the Dismal Swamp which sadly was closed as storm had bought trees down over exhibits (i.e slide) Spoke to guy but had no confidence it would reopen the next day. Then returned along Bass Highway visiting various beaches, Stanley & the Nut (Ace), Rocky cape nat park, crayfish creek, Egcombe.West point from Marawah beach, next left is Argentina. The Nut plus from the top by Chairlift. Gr8. Guy in Burnie motel office who had played music in the ‘Trent Bridge Inn’ Notts when 19.Views from top of Nut, Stanley, Controlled burn that looked like Hiroshima (tassie carbon footprint ain’t good) Annie saw gecko/ lizard at top of the Nut. 5th Chairlift we have been on ($10AD both). Day 181 - Wednesday 23rd April 2008,Burnie to Launceston, Tasmania Out by 10 from our upstairs apt in the Ocean View Motel, drizzling. Drove down to Penguin lookout, no chance , too built up and Burnie Dockers AFL ground. Burnie is almost the pits but not quite. Filled up with petrol and drove out along Highway 1 to Launceston then diverted off onto scenic route via Penguin (a hoot) Ulverstone, Delamoire and Gr8 Western Tiers , then on into Sandors on the Park Motel 2 blocks up from CBD, Brisbane St. Loads of fake penguins, even adorning the bins. The Western tiers lookout where we had lunch and the lovely Pine lake boardwalkthat was superb but the weather changed just like that from sunny to cloud and cold.Western Tiers Gr8, Nice meal and brulee in Launceston Motel plus 2 pts of beer - Cascade (Hobart), Boags is from Launceston (and you can smell it) Probably as the tassie’s will tell you ‘the best beer in the world’. Pencil pines were wonderful. Day 182 - Thursday 24th April 2008,Launceston, Tasmania Laid in had brekkie in the room, Apricot weeties in a mug with milk, how we have learned to cope and peanut butter on Helgas (bread). Then walked into town, got stuff for k’s Jocks Itch, Vodaphone $29AD cap (gives you $130AD) and then bought pair of trus to replace those that had disintegrated. Had lunch in bakers 13 dozen of pies, cakes (yummy apricot custard) then off to wildlife park – Devil’s haven (ace) and Cataract gorge at twilight.River Tamar.2 wallabies wild in Cataract Gorge reserve One let Annie get real close Plus all the lovely animals at the Launceston Lakes Wildlife park.Saw skippy, baby echidna, and many lovely birds oh and dumbie the wombie who wouldn’t come out of his pad.Ate in restaurant at Sandors on the park (again). Day 183 - Friday 25th April 2008,Launceston to St Helens, Tasmania Anzac day, checked out of Hotel in Launceston, $340+AD, filled with petrol and drove down the A3 thru Scottsdale, Derby and the tin mine valley to St Columba falls , Pyengena.Saw Derby bank and radio station, Dunes and beaches of St Helens, St Columba falls and cheese tasting,Priscilla the beer swilling pig at the pub in the paddock, Pyengena.Keef did 5 laps of the indoor pool, watching Kev Costner movie and Anzac day oh and grotty Bayside motel that cost as much as Launceston and is really tatty. Day 184 - Saturday 26th April 2008,St Helens to Swansea, Tasmania HOORAY, we have now been away 6 months. Left 10am v sunny 22c Shopped at local supermarket in St Helen’s then drove thru all the East coast beaches Diana’s, Sumpter, 4 Mile creek, Denisons, Bicheno, Coles Bay.See the piccies of beaches and wineglass bay, ace.Met no one in particular, guy on bike and woman with van who were fishing at Denison Beach plus dipstick in car who roared onto Diana’s beach to avoid getting stuck in the sand.Gravel track to Friendly Beach , had to turn back and that’s not just cos we didn’t pay our national parks fee. Annie looked for Penguins in the Rookery from our balcony in the Waterloo Inn Swansea.good value $97.50AD Wedding going on. Loved Freycinet NP. Day 185 - Sunday 27th April 2008,Swansea to Port Arthur, Tasmania Staying in our cottage for 2 days. Four seasons ‘Summer’ cottage in Tarrana on the Tasman peninsular. Lovely place but one is sure paying for it at £92 a night.East coast very interesting. Maria island ferry from Timmburra. Gr8 road from Orford, v rocky and hilly. Whole area very dry with CRITICAL water warnings everywhere. Met Noreen owner of cottage whose son had died in Illinois and husband with cancer. Her little grand daughter Scarlet was cute. She helped us get the Heater / Cooler working Very overcast all day.Had McDs in Sorrell, 1st in Oz.good tea first we had been able to cook for a while. Day 186 - Monday 28th April 2008,Port Arthur, Tasmania Staying in our cottage for 2 days. Got up late had full cooked brekkie Raining hard initially then brightened up Spent the day chilling, watching TV, reading, PC, gentle walk, very relaxing. Day 187 - Tuesday 29th April 2008,Port Arthur to Hobart, Tasmania Spent from 9.30 to 3.30 at Port Arthur, excellent day in the convict colony. Rain am, sun pm did guided tour , boat trip to Puer Point (boys prison island) and Isle of the Dead (12000 buried on this tiny island) and walked round most of it, asylum, severe etc etc then drove back via Sorrell (got cash from Westpac) into Sandy Bay. Stayed at 429 motel (Hobart), upgraded to exec overlooking the bay all for $85AD a bargain Saw lots see all 78 piccies.Well highlights anyway.Met gr8 lady who did the tour, born in Tassie, traveled as a kid to Papua New Guinea and Qld, discussed family trees.Remember Port Arthur plus wild Rosella’s, beautiful colours Day 188 - Wednesday 30th April 2008,Fly from Hobart to Perth, WA V long day, sunny but 11c in Hobart Drove up Sandy bay road to Shot tower and back to dump off car Gr8 scenery Met Diana & John. Visited IXL jam factory / wood design studio in Hobart harbour (ace!) Then to Mures for lunch Ace again Then to airport, said long goodbye Day 188 - Wednesday 30th April 2008,Fly from Hobart to Perth, WA Mid afternoon-ish Then to airport, said long goodbye, flew to Melbourne, 4 hrs wait rang Mum then 4 hrs flight to Perth with 2 hrs western time was really 3am before we got to bed Hotel not good we paid $105AD to Discovery west it is $75AD if you pay yourself still only here short time and out for most of it .Planes oh and 27 dresses movie (crap).Met Granny next to me from Melbourne to Perth who hadn’t seen her grandchildren for 3 years. Loved Getting to WA but sad to leave Tassie, pleasant memories. Day 189 - Thursday 1st May 2008,Perth, WA Got up late after very late to bed, 1am Western Time but 3am Eastern time (Tassie) Hotel not great 22c and sunny Made use of our time Walked thru town (lovely) went to Tourist Info (iCity in Oz, iSite in NZ) got stuff Then walked down to Barrack Jetty and got 2hr return ferry trip to Freemantle Lovely trip (see Piccies) Then caught Tram around Kings Park, got off at Murray st Went shopping for brekkie things in Woolies Then nice meal in Bobby Dazzlers.Met ferry crew and driver Real Ozzies plus Tram driver a hoot who embarrassed newlyweds.Remember Gr8 day, ferry and tram trip plus scenery. Roo steaks Day 190 - Friday 2nd May 2008,Perth, WA Nice hot day (24c) up earlyish cos of time diff from East coast. Had brekkie in Motel then walked into Murray St again via the various jetties and hopped on the tram Did the complete circuit, town, burswood area, jetty, kings park with various 10 min photo opportunities / leg stretch Very enjoyable Got back intending to get on Open topped bus they said it was gone, had lunch in Asian express (v nice and relatively cheap) then waited 1+hr still didn’t arrive Keef rang company and got stroppy when they said the guy hadn’t turned up/ had to leave early so got money back (hooray 2 free trips and a good evening meal) plus we had time to research our campervan trip. Visited Tourist info iCity , got loads of brochures to help start planning our round trip Perth, Wave Rock (Hyden) , Kalgoolie-Boulder, Esperance, Albany, Margaret River, Freemantle, Rottnest Island.definitely outback and needs treating with respect, leaving notes on Website. Met Guy in iCity, most helpful again. Remember Keef getting stroppy when they told us the bus wasn’t running, got all our money back $58AD, Meal in eve . Day 191 - Saturday 3rd May 2008,Perth to Quairading, WA Good & bad times with Britz!!! Got up early still suffering from 2hr jetlag. Packed and took stuff down to front of Mountway apts, which although budget were on reflection really close to the city center. Swan taxis (+61 131330) took us to 471 Gr8 eastern Highway (SH94) Britz, cheaper at $28AD than guy from Airport and further Hmmmm Britz in disarray, had a bit of a go after being made to wait 1hr for paperwork oh and our van not available, despite me having rung them the day before anyhow all ok in the end cos free upgrade gave us an automatic which is easier to drive and both of us can drive. Despite higher diesel prices.Then went to Midtown mall had lunch and did lots of shopping in Woolies Then set off for Quairading (half way to Hyden and Wave Rock). 150+kms nice drive, red dirt scenery and bush with ‘black boy’ (politically incorrect) trees. Campsite good and currently free Most memorable Getting free van upgrade Day 192 - Sunday 4th May 2008,Quairading to Narembeen via Wave Rock (Hyden), WA Nice long day Hot 28c at Wave rock Drove down highway 40 thru to Wave rock and then back part of it to go up to Narembeen ready to rejoin the Gr8 eastern highway to Kalgoorlie.Saw Wave rock plus a lot of red soil.Met guy at Quairading site who suggested a pub to visit outside Kalgoorlie cos wait for it there had been 2 murders there Hmmmm Oh and old aussie couple at Narembeen who gave us the once over. remember York, Midtown & Quairading. Young Brit couple who waited 5 hrs for their campervan and were supposedly going to Geraldton that day, not likely. Lady from Leeds working for Britz whom I gave some grief. Aussie in caravan at campsite (only other person) who ensured amenities were open for us Remember Wave rock, gr8 terayaki chicken evening meal cooked in our camper van Day 193 - Monday 5th May 2008,Wave Rock (Hyden)to Coolgardie, WA Been in Oz 1 month now. Up early cold night put heating on in campervan Left site about 10-ish 2nd day of not paying as no one about to pay. Visited Narembeen Town nice little historic plaques from gold mining days everywhere and some quaint old buildings (see the piccies) then drove 71kms straight (and I mean straight 2nd longest straight road in Oz after Nullarbor plain bit) single tar sealed with wide red gravel edges.only one road train, did WA travelers salute one nonchalant finger off steering column. Then at Merredin turned left onto Gr8 Eastern Highway 94 all the way to Coolgardie. Filled up at Roadhouse in Southern Cross and stopped at various places for tourist spots/ piccies Staying at campsite in Coolgardie (39km from Kalgoorlie-Bolder) $22AD not bad Dark by 5.30pm boo hiss Had a nice meal of 1st course: corn on the cob, Mains: spam, fried kumara, spaghetti followed by Cheese & Bikkies, saw RPF (Rabbit Proof Fence) No1 at Burracoggin, Yellowdine, Golden pipeline, Camels at Coolgardie, Road trains galore, met no one in particular,oh ozzie at Coolgardie campsite who sleeps out under the stars (cold) on a put-u-up bed, hoot! Day 194 - Tuesday 6th May 2008,Coolgardie to Kalgoorlie - Bolder, WA Up early-ish, v sunny and hot 31c although campervan said 38c at one point Annie did the washing 2 lots in machine Had a quick look at Coolgardie then drove into Kalgoorlie Lovely place still lots more to see went to Superpit and the Hall of fame mining museum Stayed at Prospectors Campsite $27AD, met folk in the next door caravan to us from Adelaide who have been travelling for 7 years and are from Kangaroo Island in SA They ran a store in Leanora and have been prospecting for gold They showed us a nugget they found. Remember the mines and the superpit Day 195 - Wednesday 7th May 2008,Kalgoorlie – Bolder to Norseman via Kambalda West, WA Up early, only cereal for brekkie Then went into town again, Woolies (food), iCity ,bank , post office (PC to Mum) then all the way up the historic Hannan St, and back again. Bought Tshirt and T towels We really like the feel of Kalgoorlie Then out to Bolder airport again to join the 11am tour When we came yesterday there was a private function so not on for the day Gr8 film and lecture then we saw the plane take off They do a gr8 job with v limited resources then drove down SH94 thru Kambaldi (where we had lunch) down to Norseman where we are staying at the Gateway campsite $23.50AD.Saw K-B towns, Skimpies (I wish), RFDS, Kambaldi new town, Norseman.Met folk from SA sheep station she was a governess, 10 people (oh and 40 aboriginals) on a farm the size of England. Plus Kiwi we gave a lift back into town who was born in Bromsgrove and lives in Hamilton, didn’t like the Oz landscape. Bad news from Belvoir, swietelsky only want to stay until June now, but hey hoe will continue to pester to see what they do for their £180 a month. Keef's first haircut since leaving the UK plus memorable meal and wine (home cooked) oh and played scrabble Day 196 - Thursday 8th May 2008,Norseman to Esperance, WA Good day (again) Showered had yogurt and croissants for brekkie then went off to look around Norseman. Camels, gold mine and great views from Beacon Point Lookout Then drove down highway 1 thru Salmon Gums, Grass Patch, Scaddan, Gibson past dried up salt lakes into Esperance. Wheatbelt change of scenery about Grass Patch But the major contrast from red outback to blue seas of Esperance was immense We like Esperance and twilight beach drive is ace, loads of beaches, saw lots of Road Trains, met Kiwi lady running campsite, nr beach $20AD.Remember Not so good Fish & Chip supper, worst yet! Beaches of Esperance and sealion showing off by Tanker Jetty Day 197 - Friday 9th May 2008,Esperance to Jerramungup Over 300k of driving Started out fairly overcast ended v sunny 26c had icecreams at Munglinup roadhouse, stopped off at Ravensthorpe for Tourist info and bottle shop Then on thru world famous (we think not!) Fitzgerald river Nat Park and onto J campsite ($23AD) Tame roo Priscilla we didn’t see but the gallah who said hallo On pc added money to MP3 RU and downloaded some new music Young Knives and Madonna, saw lots and lots of SH1, met guy with Rottweiler in next site.No water fill allowed at J campsite as dam only caters for 200 people oh and emptying the ‘potty’ for the first time, yuk and heavy,Jail at Ravensthorpe last used in 1962 and reminded me of a dunny Day 198 - Saturday 10th May 2008,Jerramungup to Albany Left campsite at about 11am after brekkie of yoghurt and bacon sarnies. Filled up with diesel in Jerramungup, $69AD took ages in shop only a queue of 3 but staff had an IQ of 3. Annie paid $4.65AD for loaf of bread WOW!!! Drove thru Gairdner, Boxwood Hill, Wellstead & Many Peaks (where we had lunch in a layby) into town Albany Nice place Drove round a bit then out to Torndirrup Nat Park, saw Frenchman bay (family BBQ but would be about to get wetGr8 granny down to kiddies, with camera on tripod) then blowholes (not windy enough) Tooks some interesting piccies then back to Acclaim campsite at Emu Point raining but gr8 weird sunset with rainbow. Ringng boys to use up Vodaphone allowance, saw lots but now back from the outback. Filled up with water which we were not allowed to do in Jerramungup Drove to Middleton beach which has a LED sign saying BEACH CLOSED DUE TO SHARK IN THE AREA,loved Torndirrup Nat Park Day 199 - Sunday 11th May 2008,Emu Point Albany to Northcliffe Channel 7 news, great white at Middleton beach eats 37 year old teacher We were there at 3pm and again 2day It happened 7.30am y’day we saw the sign about beach closed but hadn’t realized someone had been eaten He punched the shark and poked his fingers in its eyes and a mother of 3 swam in to help him, Mrs Lucas (v brave lady).We did tourist route round Middleton, Albany (packed with shark spotters although we didn’t see much) then on thru Denmark (ocean beach had a walk) thru Walpole/ Nornalup nat park and walked the Canopy walk in the Valley of the giants (ace 40m high) huge trees Tingle trees (tingle meaning red in Aboriginal) Getting late so pulled into RoundTuit Eco Campsite ($25AD) Best site so far They raise orphan roos and there were lots of wild ones even in front of our van plus Alpacas, saw lots but roos especially great as so close to our van, met couple who ran camp site, lovely people, remember Great white shark / Roos/ Valley of the Giants Day 200 - Monday 12th May 2008,Northcliffe to Margaret River Drove into Pemberton (filled with diesel narrowly avoiding taking top of campervan off as low roof at garage) went to Gloucester tree (60m high Tingle tree with footrung lookout) Didn’t go in as $20AD and no time Then down SH1 missed turning ended up near Nannup (41 extra k) and onto Augusta Nice seaside place and Leeuwin point where Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean and lighthouse then up Tourist route 250 via various caves (didn’t go as mostly closed and running out of daylight) via Hamelin bay into Margaret River (wineries by the score) Camping in town site $24AD + $10AD deposit, hard to park on limited site (steep edge and tree) but did it. 22c 2day some rain again 3rd day running and getting dark now by 5.15pm, Annie saw 2 roos in winery , emus and one roo running along fence, all in all a good animal day, saw o one in particular apart from the roos,Mummy roo & Joey o/side our campervan in the morning (Ahhhhhh – see the videos and piccies), Sand blasting at Hamelin Bay, Wyre Estate Shiraz (Margaret River) $20AD Wonderfuland v drunk making! Oh and hummus and toast, chicken teriyaki & rice and Belgian choc puds (yum!) Day 201 - Tuesday 13th May 2008,Margaret River to Bunbury Left in rain Visited the town of Margs Then onto Prevelly beach back up Caves road along the coast seeing various bays and into Yallingup Incredible surf beaches V high waves then lunch at Busselton raining then sunny Quite cold 2day only 16c max 20c Did walk on beach and pier then onto Bunbury Bought wine M/R and blue cheese and other stuff in IGA Margs and Coles Busso Gonna have a good tea Did PC stuff Modem stopped not sure why. Annie did washing whilst we both tried to photo the green parrots flying round Eucalypt trees near our van, met no one in particular, saw lots of Japanese tourists. Remember than we are not gonna let our house for 2.5 months so loan to family & friends, plus big surf. Day 202 - Wednesday 14th May 2008,Bunbury to Freemantle (Freo) Up late. Showered, breakfasted on good coffee and croissants, then off to Fremantle via SH1 past Cape Bouvard, Mandurah (really speading waterfront properties) Safety beach, Penguin island, City of Rockingham into Fremantle. Drove around the town, v busy, interesting buildings however then out via south beach to our posh campsite (4 stars) at Fremantle village. Sat out for first time on table and chairs. Sunny and rainy 2day. Has been like this now for 4 days 15c at night same as Long Eaton today, max however only 19c. Saw lots of expanding Perth via cities (and train for commuting) up to 74k away. Met surfer dude at campsite who set up our Rottnest express trip for 2moro, off to see the Quokka.Campsite, best yet but $31AD per night. Day 203 - Thursday 15th May 2008,Rottnest Island Coach trip around island plus walking. Rottnest (rats nest because germanic sailors thought the Quokka was a giant rat). It is a holiday isle now. Forgot camera battery (still in laptop) so bought Rottnest Island book instead. Day 204 - Friday 16th May 2008,Freo to Perth to Broome Did all the clean up stuff on the campervan, left about 10.30am and went back thru Freo town Annie took a load of photos Then drove back along H12 to Perth, avoided going right thru the centre although only just by going on the North Highway and then off onto the right Highway to find the Gr8 eastern highway and back to Britz. Sorted good ish deal (£4600+) for 3.5 months campervan from Adelaide to Sydney via Queensland.Then taxi (mad git that Anne had to shout at) to airport, good Fish & Chips lunch then onto Broome. Really hot when we arrived at 6pm 33c taxi to Ocean lodge hotel. Saw Movie on free tv – "PS I love you" OK-ish! Met Lady in motel plus many more aboriginal folk in Broome and on the plane than we have seen so far. Remember Freo & getting campervan back in one piece. Day 205 - Saturday 17th May 2008,Cable Beach, Broome All day chilling by the pool at our Ocean Lodge hotel.Gr8 day some shopping which was HOT walking to Woolies 35c. saw sun, sun and sun V relaxing. Weird movie called the Raging of Placid Lake . Met guy in England footie shirt.Listen to loads of gr8 stuff on the iPod Day 206 - Sunday 18th May 2008,Cable Beach, Broome Another day chillin by the pool, cooked brekkie to start us off and then lunch by the pool with earl grey. Oh then caught bus ($3,50AD) to cable beach, walked and photo-ed and came back for meal and wine, superb day (again) in Broome. Saw sunsets by the score. Met bus driver. Loved CSN&Y, CSN & David Crosby plus cable beach sunsets, we absolutely adored cable beach, fab place, fab pictures, fab weather. Day 207 - Monday 19th May 2008,Town, Town beach & Cable Beach, Broome Hot day 35c. Got $10AD all day bus pass Visited the town, nice and small Lots of vagrant aboriginal buying booze only and some v drunk at say 2pm Shopped for #Tshirts Then had lunch in Aussie pub plus watched Eng Vs Blackcaps cricket from UK Then onto Town beach (not gr8 after cable) then shopping at coles and post office (postcards to Mum , Craig & Doug) then onto Cable beach by bus. Drinks at Sunset bar then back to hotel for a swim and get ready for meal in town. Back by 7pm on last bus then Chinatown taxi home for 8.30pm. Saw lots & met staff in restaurant very friendly. remember the weather £6 for a ¾ pint glass of Matso’s (local brewer) ginger beer but quite alcoholic. They did a mango beer but at that price gave it a miss , Meal at Som Thai and lovely bottle of Watershed Marg river SavBlanc ($17AD and reduced from $21AD) bought in bottle shop over the road. Day 208 - Tuesday 20th May 2008,Geikie Gorge Trip Up at 5.30am caught new tour bus with Adam to the Gorge via Willare Roadhouse, Old Boab Tree, Fitzroy crossing (old & new) then the gorge. Trip by boat with Bill our indigenous guide, remember the 4 skins (aboriginal trad wisdom) ..boat trip, crocs, meal at road house very late back 11pm long day but a good one. Saw freshies and a whole lot more. met too many folk but Adam and Bill (guides) and couple from Sydney who had crossed the Nullarbor and had 8 weeks in WA. The whole day was gr8 eating boab fruit The views, everything, splendid trip well worth it Day 209 - Wednesday 21st May 2008,Broome to Darwin via Kunanarra by Airnorth Up 8-ish packed made sandwiches Taxi to airport left about 3.40 (20 mins late) Flew 1hr to Kunanarra deplaned 30mins then 40mins to Darwin taxi to Barossa street V close to city center Lorraine (lovely lady) met us.Saw River Ord, Lake Argyle.Met nice lady taxi driver, lots of info on tropical plants in Broome. Lorraine Swan in Darwin (and she had seen Elton John live in Darwin the week before). Remember Kunannarra, flight and Darwin (a big growing city) Day 226 - Saturday 7th June 2008,P/Boro (SA) to Broken Hill (NSW) Day 210 - Thursday 22nd May 2008,Darwin Walked into town, about 12ish then Hop on hop off bus, with drivers mum present $60AD saw most sights Stopped at Sky city casino had some drinks by the infinity pool then walked over to the Mindil Beach Sunset market (ace) Darwin is a nice city better than we expected.Loved the Mindil Beach Sunset market,Loads of folk at market which we went to in the eve and watched the sunset across the beach,Mindil Beach Sunset market, spray can artist, eMDee band, sunset and many many revelers (5k+), Day 211 - Friday 23rd May 2008,Darwin Went by taxi to the Museum & Arts center, spent about 2.5hrs there V interesting especially the Cyclone Tracy stuff then walked back in 33+c heat to bus stop where drunk and his even drunk aboriginal partner told us about buses Caught no4 into City center Did shopping My BNT Mosquitos shirt, Annies Tshirt and perfume plus food shopping 4 Ghan trip Then back to Unit 1, 4 Barossa st, Larrakeyah to chill ring Chris & Mum Thai meal Massaman chicken and 2 bed not too late after packing. Loved My NT rugby shirt, sweetheart the croc.photo of of ‘Tracy you bitch’ car a treat from cyclone experience in museum Day 212 - Saturday 24th May 2008,The Ghan, Darwin to Tennant Creek via Katherine White Cockatoos,Brummy bus driver in Katherine, 2 ozzie ladies in seats behind us on Ghan , Loved the Red North, long journey with very little sleep after a very early start. Day 213 - Sunday 25th May 2008,The Ghan, Tennant Creek to Alice Springs Moored up at Tenant Creek (John Flynn – 1st RFDS) from 1.30am to 6am Noone allowed out weird station no platform Neither of us slept that well in our Day/Nighter seats but gr8 trip Lots of red soil as we moved thru to Alice Springs by 11.15am 26c Caught shuttle to hotel had to wait 35mins to check in (not best pleased) but Uluru trip receipt had been faxed by Vaitor.Saw 5 red roos, 2 to keef, 3 to annie. Met 2 ladies behind us on red kangaroo (steerage class) cabin R seats r13-14 daughter in Esperance son in Darwin oh and Sid the Sloth He and his girlfriend slept (supposedly) all 27 hrs. Remember the Ghan, Annie slept for 2.5 hrs when we arrived at Aurora A-S hotel (v good with pool) deluxe room. Henley on Todd (boat race with a difference, no water so they have to carry them with their legs thru as though the River Todd had water in it which it does for very few occaisions a decade, let alone a year. Loved the the soil getting redder and redder as the Ghan travelled south. Day 214 - Monday 26th May 2008,Alice Springs Now been away 7 months,1st day on round Alice bus ticket. Telegraph station. Hot , Lovely views over Alice and trip round. Day 215 - Tuesday 27th May 2008,Uluru/ Olgas trip from Alice Springs Very long day 19hrs Got up 4.50am (having stayed up previous eve to see England thrash the Kiwis at cricket 2nd test) 1000k (625m) round trip. Just a very special day back in bed by 12.30am having washed our feet and red dust.Saw Mt Connor, Uluru & The Olgas, plus we did 3 walks.Met Brian the guide, pint sized ozzie who was v friendly but it was his first day guiding.Loved Uluru but really the whole day We had sparkling wine and a picnic as the sun went down over Uluru Really strange colours on the rocks. Day 216 - Wednesday 28th May 2008,Alice Springs Up late after long trip yesterday. Had brekkie (full English) at the Red Ochre Grill attached to our hotel, the Aurora, then showered, caught 2nd day on the Alice explorer out to the Old Ghan Museum (gr8 fun) then back into Alice and the Todd mall. Did Didgeridoo lesson booked tickets for evening show. Nice 3 course meal in restaurant Barramundi & Ginger, Steak/Fish&Chips, Pear & Apricot strudel & homemade ice-cream all for $38AD reach. The food at the hotel was very good value. Met Andrew Langford – Didge show, which we both saw and practised didge playing, fun but hard especially circular breathing. Sounds of Starlight Theatre.Plus no one in particular apart from drunk Aboriginal lady who wobbled into restaurant (sad) and security called the police. Day 217 - Thursday 29th May 2008,Alice Springs to Adelaide Up 8-ish Had gr8 cooked brekkie, then over to see Andrew and bought a Didge. Very pleased with it, made by aboriginal between Katherine & Darwin. Had it mailed home with free booklet. Then sent Craig note to say it was on its way Checked out of Hotel about 10.15 took longer cos I thought we had paid, we had not. Then shuttle bus ($34AD) to airport V nice airport Then flew to Adelaide Shuttle bus to Rockford. Not bad room although had to ask for 3 bits of maintenance Supposedly an upgrade and view of river Torrens, maybe!Annie took loads of gr8 piccies out of the plane of the Simpson & Mackay deserts and Lake Eyre.Met Andrew Didge man , plus yanks on shuttle bus to hotel in Adelaide who were very loud & opinionated. See SA for next day. Lots of driving 2day, overcast and windy/cold initially but warmed up. Only about 16c Very desolate landscape with a few Roadhouses and abandoned dwellings but the rivers ran with water and a red hue The Indian pacific railway line kept us company most of the way 300+k in all we have done over 18k miles since being away X-ing the border was fun No fruit/veg bins as we had expected having frantically used everything from SA up we needn’t have bothered Camping in Broken Hill for 2 nights Interesting town Went to Woolies to get loads of stuff and Westpac in Argent St (Silver?) to get cash Had nice Pork Korma for tea.Very desolate flat landscape with hills on the horizon (Barrier Ranges) plus 4 emus and countless wild goats.Vastness of the scenery, just imagine it in 45+c (no thanks) v desolate landscape Day 218 - Friday 30th May 2008,Adelaide Up earlish, showered, cereal in room then onto Adelaide Explorer tourist trip at 10.30am in King William St City tour thru N, E, S & W terrace plus a bit further out. North A the best Lots of piccies incl Sir Don Bradman and Adelaide Oval. Then went out to coast at Glenelg Only had 20mins there time to see beach and grab a sarnie.Lots to enjoy,Adelaide is ‘older’ than Perth and free settler built We liked many of the older buildings and parks. 22c and sunny.Met Annoying ozzie from Canberra who never stopped talking or contradicting the poor lady driver. Remember Indian meal opposite Rockford, Hindley St. New place had south Indian tikka & real samosas starter, rice&lentil pancake filled with chicken & pots with clamer (veg curry sauce) and coconut sauce, mango ice-cream (homemade) all for £26 for both of us. Ace! We will be back Day 219 - Saturday 31st May 2008,Adelaide Up very late Then off to rooftop pool and sauna at Rockford Hotel Roof open and v sunny Had to use sunscreen spent about 3.5hrs getting nicely roasted Then showered and walked into Rundle Mall to get books and maps for rest of trip Plus a bottle of Wolfblass (Riesling) and stuff for Tea oh and had Nandos for lunch. Did lots of Chillin, met lady in Haigh’s choccie shop with gloves.Remember not much apart from the words ‘chillin and someones gotta do it’ ace read in eve and watched movie Elizabeth with Cate Blancett. Day 220 - Sunday 1st June 2008, Adelaide 1st day of Winter and we spent most of it chillin by our Rooftop pool at the Rockford 23c and v sunny again Then went to Curry house opposite for a final meal.Meat Thali and Chicken Korma respectively A good new place Then back to pack and retire early.Loved the winter sun, met really friendly guy in Curry house who gave us free poppadums.Did Mums DVD video intro. Day 221 - Monday 2nd June 2008,Adelaide to Tanunda Checked out of hotel at 10 Caught taxi to Britz in Don Brad drive and paid for and picked up our home for the next 105 nights A Britz Elite Much better bed and driving than the other one but not so much storage or room Drove out to Elizabeth, odd as first manual in about 5 months. Did shopping in mall (Woolies) and got cash out of Westpac ATM oh and had lunch in food hall Then drove onto Barossa Valley had a look around bit of tasting and then bought gr8 bottle of Gramp’s (name of JC first Lutheran owner) Shiraz Up market wine price not too bad at $17AD Best wine we have had yet Stayed at Tanunda Family parks site.Jacobs Creek and Grant Burge Wines (5th gen).Barossa valley and the bottle of Gramp’s. Day 222 - Tuesday 3rd June 2008,Tanunda to Clare Left site at 10.30 Issue with hose, alas had to nick an attachment than someone had kindly left around. Drove into Tanunda, nice town, posted DVD to Mum. Did some shopping for pillows and a table lamp Then off to Mengler Hill lookout, superb views across the Valley Drove round most of Barossa then onto Clare arriving just at dusk many Riesling vineyards in Clare valley (all Lutheran).Lots of vineyards including Barossa Valley estate, Penfolds, Seppeltsfield Rd, Seppelts, Wolf Blass (alas Rockford & Bethany which were recommended to us just too expensive at $45+AD).met Wolf himself, touched me on the shoulder and talked to me, I shall never wash my shirt again.Bought 3 bottles.1.5 JC Shiraz reserve , JC Riesling and Penfolds Koonunga Hills, Drank 2 and had steak, hic! Day 223 - Wednesday 4th June 2008,Clare to Quorn Left about 10.30am Bit of a rush again Filled up with diesel and got some milk. Diesel only $35AD for ¼ tank, Better than the other Campervan Then drove off thru many little townships, mostly farming, including Gladstone, Laura (home of the sentimental blokebought pie and apricot slice from home of North Ice-cream) , Mt Remarkables Nat park, Goyder’s line, Horrocks pass, South Flinders range, semi arid lands up near Pt Augusta on A1, Old Ghan railway then Quorn for the night Annie did some more washing.Had to wait for 2k goods train in foothills of Flinders Range. 3 Roos on campsite, numerous Galahs and Rosella’s oh and gr8 sunset. Met Bronwyn at the campsite who told us about Quandong pie (we will try 2moro). Flinders range ace! remember the run down house at Gladstone and the sunsets at Quorn Day 224 - Thursday 5th June 2008,Quorn to Hawker Been in Oz 2 months 2day! Up about 8.30 Had full English left about 10.45am Had a good look around Quorn V interesting little place Bought Quangdong pies from café and some cobs for lunch Then started in drizzle driving to Wilpena Pound Alas heavens opened , very wet Mud desert rivers run so decided to stop at Hawker Big 4 campsite Hub of the Flinders Did laptop, read, cooked and chilled.Rain and lots of it for us we have been very lucky This is only our 2nd days rain in Oz We had about 4 ½ in NZ. Met campsite owners who had only moved in from Brisbane 4 weeks earlier.Remember rain and roads awash, semi arid desert, quangdong pie and bush melons. Day 225 - Friday 6th June 2008,Flinders Ranges Lovely day in the national park and Wilpena pound, saw loads of wildlife, 20+ emus, 50+ roos, 2 wedge tail eagles and numerous other birds, up early bought petrol in Hawker weather improved throughout the day and positively hot and sunny by late afternoon, i.e the clouds cleared off the ranges Drove from Hawker to Wilpena pound 57k stopping at every lookout on route Annie drove back to Hawker then I drove to Peterborough where we camped for the night Nice campsite Very windy at night though and thus cold. Saw the magnificent Flinders Ranges Nat Park.Lots of roos, many ozzies who didn’t pay the A$7.50 to go in the park, we did so felt smug but ripped off, still for what we saw it was well worth it.Loved The wildlife and the views Day 227 - Sunday 8th June 2008,Broken Hill & Silverton Pissed with rain all day! (can i say that here, YES, just have!) Got up late showered and had cooked brekkie Then we went off to Silverton – Ghost town about 25k from Broken Hill Cos of the rain some of the ditches were starting to flood .Luckily although red dirt on road still easily passable Visited Museum, saw Mad Max landscape Then came back to BH did bit of Tourist route Up Pat Keenan’s lookout Tourist Info then off to Silver City Cinema to see new Indiana Jones movie (v good) and back for Corned Beef hash and check on roads for 2moro.Saw wild camels. Met most unhelpful lady in Tourist Info.Silverton was gr8 as was its Museum. Day 228 - Monday 9th June 2008,Broken Hill to Mildura (Victoria) Left in heavy rain after sorting out camp loo (ugh!) Drove part of Tourist Route (TR) round Broken Hill Took some piccies Then shared driving along Silver City Highway 300k to Mildura just across the Victorian Border via Wentworth Nice campsite for 2 days Apex family park Booked Melbourne paddle steamer trip on Murray river $50AD.Saw 3 emus, 2 roos, 2 wedge tailed eagles, countless wild goats & 2 swagmen one on a bike (with dog in pannier), one on foot Both had cowboy hats, boots and one was carrying a saddle as well as his swag (sleeping bag). Junction of Murray & Darling rivers at Wentworth (which was a nice town).It pissed down most of the way and was 16c. Had Mainland creamy blue cheese & bikkies, fruit juice, apples and old gold roasted almond dark choc 4 lunch in a Outback lay by, deserted. See day 229 under Victoria next. 3rd stay Day 253-273, See Queensland for 273 Day 229 - Tuesday 10th June 2008, Mildura, Paddle steamer trip on the Murray GUp late, had cooked brekkie, went on the PS Melbourne paddle steamer thru Lock 11 on the Murray up past our campsite, v relaxed and pleasant journey in nice sunny weather 16c,Saw lots of the Murray river.Met Captain of boat, brief chat. Loved the whole boat journey We almost missed it It was just leaving the dock and we had to step on over the ropes $50AD. Day 230 - Wednesday 11th June 2008, Mildura Up late again (naughty campers!) Very sunny 17c, went into town Had a good walk around up Deakin (the main street), pie in Hukey’s then ice cream sundae whilst sitting outside in the sidewalk chairs. Then drove around tourist route and saw the various new expanding housing estates. Visited camp shop for 2nd time, had to get curtain things (from Spotlight) then cap for water that had (we assume) fallen off somewhere between Broken Hill and Mildura. Then returned to site new plot overlooking river for T (chicken Satay and rice).Visited the town. Met Odd couple from Adelaide in Millard caravan who tried at least 4 sites she with a toaster to check electrics (weird) the plug attachment is different.Mildura we liked, and the olmpic sized swimming pool, which we didn't have time to go in alas. Final Stay Day 231-240 in South Australia Day 231 - Thursday 12th June 2008, Mildura (Vic) to Murraybridge (SA) Up early, showered breakfasted and on the way by 10am Posted Mums card in Mildura on route Then across the border via Yamba (fruit fly inspection for fruit and veges), Paringa, Renmark (went for a walk and inside Tourist info site, watched film on 1956 Murray flood 38’ 1“), Berri, Karoonda and into Murraybridge where we are staying at Long island caravan park by the marina. Weather gr8 to start, sunny and hot, raining by the time we arrived. Was in shorts all day but still warm.Both reading books fast, soon with have finished the 3 extra we got in Adelaide.No one really unless you count the lady who came onboard to check our fridge at the border x-ing and the 3 Indian guys at Renmark lookout who were trimming the vines. Remember the Pelican at Renmark Day 232 - Friday 13th June 2008,Murraybridge to Aldinga Beach via McLaren Vale Went on M1 towards Adelaide, then to Hahndorf (odd twee German tourist place, but with gr8 houses) , Mt Barker , Adelaide Hills (could be the peak district with Littlehampton and Macclesfield) then into wonderful McLaren Vale and onto camp at Aldinga Beach. We tasted.d’Arenburg lovegrass/ laughing magpie.chapel hill; mclaren vale shiraz 06, the vicar06 and 18 year old port bought 1 d’arenburg and 2 chapel hill, 1 mvshiraz 06 and port oh plus we saw the rosemount estate, met Brit who ran campsite, real Londoner part of balmy army (cricket supporters). As I spoke London he gave us the prime site. Remember Shiraz plus lovely country views, booked kangaroo island trip to take campervan over 3 days £365 including 10% discount. Day 233 - Saturday 14th June 2008,Aldinga Beach to Cape Jervis, Fleurieu Peninsula Got up reasonable time, had shower, breakfast , did campervan ‘essentials’ and left site. V sunny / drizzly so a gr8 rainbow The whole day was a bit like that Got burnt whilst having coffee & banana muffins on bench outside at Normanville Beach (Annie fed sparrows) then wet when driving 10 mins later.Saw Aldinga beach with rock sand dunes (did a little walk, the climb back up was steep), S? beach were we drove around the smart 2nd holiday homes, Normanville, Second Valley, Cape Jervis (diesel real steep here1.90 , worst 1.93 (Hawker), best 1.71 (Paringa)) Saw 4 roos and white cockatoos at Cape Jervis plus our ferry. As we had already booked our Kangaroo Island trip rang the 2 campsites to ensure we get in. They said now empty as winter Found we gotta jettison all potatoes (quarantine) rang Craig in eve to tell him about David’s visit to 143. Loved wonderful, lush and undulating Fleurieu peninsula Day 234 - Sunday 15th June 2008,Kangaroo Island Travelled by 9am ferry over to Penneshaw Kangaroo Island (KI) Smooth as anything and sunny had to reverse campervan up ramp and into hold which wasn’t easy Channel 9 making Postcard travelogue on the boat Arrived and had a look around Penneshaw then American river, Kingscote (Reeves point), Emu Bay, Seal Bay, Visconne Bay and stopped at Western KI caravan site for 2 days, nice site,had a chat with ferry guy who said that ferrying was his winter job and he was a fisherman normally.Loved the Koala walk.Diary continued Day 235 - Monday 16th June 2008,Kangaroo Island Stayed most of the day at Western KI caravan site Had cooked brekkie V sunny Then watched Cuddles (our personal friendly Koala) who shinned up a tree outside our campervan and was there most of the day, admittedly after his 4 course eucalypt dinner, asleep! Afternoon / Evening went into Flinders Chase Nat park ($16AD) and saw Remarkable rocks and Admiralty Arch and lots of burnt bush, reasonable sunset. Saw Cuddles, met couple at Remarkable rocks for piccie taking swapping, him from Perth, her US. Day 236 - Tuesday 17th June 2008,Kangaroo Island Up early, another sunny day although v windy Had one last walk around the Koala walk in the park and saw 4 more Koalas Then drove down to visitors center in Flinders Chase Nat Park and then on round Western Hwy thru Paradana into Kingscote for lunch at the Ozone hotel.Saw a few things, burnt trees, dead echidna, wallabies, koalas, seed pods, met Chef at hotel and other simpering apologists! Worse Fish & Chips ever!!!! Asked for them to redo they did but still no better hake (ugh!) they offered us complimentary meal but we walked out Day 237 - Wednesday 18th June 2008,Kangaroo Island to Victor Harbor Stayed at Brownlea Caravan Park outside Kingscote. $25AD Up late had breakkie mossied around a bit and then left about 11.30 Just started to rain Drove about 45k to Penneshaw and set up camp overlooking Hogs bay for the 2hr wait for the Ferry. Had lunch and read after a little walk around reversed back onto Ferry Much better this time and had a somewhat bumpier crossing as rained the whole time Got off and drove onto Victor Harbor (a city – much bigger than we expected) 12000 people Stayed at family park £25AD. Saw sheep truck next to our van Alas we had left the window open so some nice smells on getting back to mainland. Met a whole lot of sheep,note Harbor mispelt as that’s the way the original oz official spelt it (oh dear!). Day 238 - Thursday 19th June 2008,Victor Harbor (VH) to Milang (Lake Alexandrina) via Middleton & Goolwa Left VH campsite at 10.30 Went to Bank and Telstra shop in town as well as Tourist Info site.Saw Victor Harbor, Granite Island including Horse drawn tram (Thomas& Carmel were the horses that drove us.Thomas@horsedrawntram.au.com etc), Port Eliot, Middleton (and kite surfers) Goolwa (and steam engine brewery, bought 6 assorted beers) and round Murray river termination in Lake Alexandrina to Milang where we stayed in the Oz parks caravan park on the shore ($19AD).Nice lady in iSite VH who had been to England Told us the 2 whales (southern right) we had seen in Backstairs passage between KI and Cape Jervis was in VH y’day (damn).Windy walk on cliffs at Granite island Day 239 - Friday 20th June 2008,Milang to Mt Gambier via Princes & Southport Hwys A day spent chasing rainbows, much sun and much rain but quite chilly. Left Milang, Annie drove 270+k, Keef 180+k so a long days drive, indeed further than we expected. Drove via Langhorne Creek, ferry at Wellington, Meningie, Policemans point, salt creek, Kingston SE, Robe, Beachport, Millicent and into Mt Gambier. Staying at Central Caravan park, run by Scots lady $22AD, saw lots of Road. Larry the Lobster @ Kingston SE (Naff caff), Old wine growing area (v thick stems) and Younghusband peninsula sand dunes/bank and lakes Lots of Chinese in coolie hats trimming grapevines plus Asian lady at beach port selling artic trout by the edge of the road.Met poor couple in caravan site next to us who like us couldn’t find the office had their plot 33 nicked and then got drenched setting up, we were inside looking on.Mac’s Fish & Chips @ Robe, flake in corn batter Ate them by the beach yummy Finished On Chesil beach audiobook on iPod, rubbish but made us both chuckle at how pompous Ian McEwan is. Took vey few photos but mostly of ferry crossing on Murray at Wellington. Day 240 - Saturday 21st June 2008, Mount Gambier (SA) to Ararat (Vic) V sunny when we got up about 15c Left town center caravan park and went up to Dormant volcano crater lakes (valley, leg of mutton (dry), and blue) drove around them all then Annie found a strange tree fruit (need look it up but similar to one on savaii) then drove out and over the border into Victoria.Met Scotch lady who ran the Mt Gambier Central site, been here for 30 years. Loved the lakes @ mount gambier. Stay 3 Day 240-253 Day 240 - Saturday 21st June 2008,Mt Gambier (SA) to Ararat (Vic) Then drove out and over the border into Victoria thru Casterton (diesel $1.90AD, expensive, lucky to get as closing sat lunchtime), Hamilton (shopping in Safeways $100AD, which is a subsidiary of Woolies), and whilst getting dark (time change to AET) thru Dunkeld, Glenthompson (NOTE everything is Scottish here in Grampians) , Willaura and into Ararat in the dark (Gold town) vaguely near Ballarat Stayed at Family park (nice) £22AD. Saw Grampians in the distance and some old interesting towns. Met . 3 old ladies (knitting bobble hats) at Casterton Tourist info Nice lady gave us both a stick pin (mine map of oz, Annie a roo). Lunch at 4pm (naughty) Day 241 - Sunday 22nd June 2008,Ararat, Victoria Mixed day weather wise, sunny & cold & drizzly Did washing then went off to explore the town Got back at dusk Nice day.Saw J ward in Ararat goal, notorious! , Views of Grampians, Ararat & Pyrenees from One Tree Hill plus Gum San (tribute to Chinese miners who founded Ararat).Great guide for J ward (Keith) who we chatted to for ages, even showed us names register to ensure none of our relies had been in J ward (Lowlights guy who was 108 and had been institutionalized for over 60 years – William Wallace, plus 2 other ‘celebrated’ cases Joey Clancy, in from 13 and guy who was a self harmer and managed to kill himself with a biro (ugh!) all v depressing), met nice ladies in Gum San.Loved views from one tree hill. Day 242 - Monday 23rd June 2008,Ararat to Port Fairy via the Grampians Nat park Cold but mostly sunny day, approx 14c Filled up with diesel at Ararat and drove on tourist route thru Moyston to Halls gap (v touristy) then Mount Victory road steep and windy then back to Halls gap, onto Aboriginal center and thru the Nat park back to Dunkeld, Penshurst (past Chatsworth) and down v farming C-road to A1 (Princes Hwy) and Port Fairy where we are camping at a Family park , swish loos, $28AD but lots of mossies Gr8 day view wise .Boroka Lookout, Reed Lookout, walk to the Balconies, Mackenzie falls (although we chickened out after so much walking already) and went to see the nearer Broken Falls All ace views. Met lady at Port Fairy campsite who had been to Nottingham forest in 1987. Japanese at all lookouts (jumping photos) Couple from Ararat campsite who seem to follow us thru the park (left their caravan behind in Ararat). Remember wonderful views in the Grampians, trying Tawny port from Chapel Hill winery with Mexican meal in eve Day 243 - Tuesday 24th June 2008,Port Fairy to Warrnambool Raining in the morning (and most of the night) Went into town did some 2nd hand book browsing bought 3 then shopping in IGA and bought 2 bulbs from backstreet mechanic for campervan Then off to explore Port Fairy Quaint old shipping harbour Managed a good walk along old wharf in sunshine Then out to Griffiths island causeway and south beach Raining again Then we headed off to Warrnambool TI site plus booked into Flagstaff hill (light & sound show in eve) $51AD similar to Sovereign Hill show at Ballarat 13 years earlier only much much better laser show projected on water wall and story about Loch Ard shipwreck rather than gold mining. Nice evening Walked up hill from campsite. Campsite cost nothing as owners not there. Would have been $A27 which is expensive. Show plus drove out to Logan Beach whale nursery but pissing down so turned around and went back and had a look at old wharf before checking into campsite. Saw 2 bicyclists who were in a tent, poor souls! Met then again at Port Campbell.Too much Chapel Hill port sent us to sleep early! Day 244 - Wednesday 25th June 2008,Warrnambool to 12 Apostles and back to Port Campbell Gr8 day, Gr8 Ocean road, in our humble opinion one of the world sights! Very sunny but windy Went to Logan Beach whale nursery, saw mother southern right whale and her calf (spectacular) alas camera not really good enough but binoculars were. Serious waves for surfers. Then bank in town and off to the Great Ocean Raod (GOR) Warranambool was where Doug had to go into hospital for tetanus injections all those years ago (13) Then Hopkins (Doug) falls , Bay of Islands (pboro) , Cove bay east, Bay of Martyrs, the grotto, the arch, Port Campbell, Loch Ard gorge, 12 apostles..HOORAY!!! and gr8 sunshine.The best views ever! GOR!!!!! especially the 12 Apostles saw way more this time than we did in 1995 but it is now much more built up. Day 245 - Thursday 26th June 2008,Great Ocean Road Been away 8 months 2day! Up early-ish really bad night with wind and rain rocking the campervan Severe weather warning Did cooked brekkie plus all the van things and we left the site at Port Campbell by about 11 Drove back to Loch Ard gorge area Did 3 new viewings then back to 12 Apostles then Melba gully (couldn’t go, dirt road) Laver Hill (motel we stayed in 12 years ago), Apollo bay and Kennett River where Annie saw Koalas,Loch Ard wreck point, Blowhole, Thunder Cave and a whole lot more! The GR8 Ocean Rd is SUPERB!!!Saw lots of Japanese tourists doing stupid things especially the guy who lost his hat at end of 12 Apostles viewing spot and leapt over the fence to retrieve (mad!) whilst his pals took piccies of him Oh and coach driver who almost hit us after drifting across the middle line Too many Aussies drive on that line! Wind and rain at 12 apostles we got drowned! 5 Koalas in Otway Nat park (park behind Kennett River campsite) Day 246 - Friday 27th June 2008,Great Ocean Road Kennett River. Spent about an hour walking around the campsite ‘spotting’ the wildlife 4 Koalas & many birds Ace time (see the extensive piccies which tell the tale) then on down the GOR. So wonderful we had to keep stopping. Pattons & Mt Defiance lookout etc Lorne saw cockatoos, Fairhaven the sign for GOR (built by WW1 vets) then lunch at Torquay after looking in on Bells Beach (no surf) Then lighthouse at Aireys inlet then thru Geelong (Kiaranda Park, go Cats go!(ozzie rules footie team champs)) and up to Macedon, where we camped in family park ($25AD) with budgies in cage We were more or less the only folk there and cold as in Mountain ranges.Old car (RR?) just happen to go under the GOR sign as we arrived oh plus wonderful views down this stretch of the GOR, Met oOnly lady in campsite from Swan Hill whose husband was from Port Campbell Day 247 - Saturday 28th June 2008,Hanging Rock Left Macedon campsite about 11 Cold at night!!! Drove thru Woodend to Hanging Rock (Mt Diomedes) Climbed to the summit Took 1 ½ hours return Gr8 views Keef in real pain on return left knee Had to create a walking stick out of eucalypt branch to aid descent On reflection grade 3 strenuous not wise to do again! Then drove onto Bendigo (ok) and visited Mitchelton vineyard at Nagambie Lakes Gr8 lookout tower and art collection Print labels from artwork Bought 3 (2 Preece & 1 Mitchelton reds) Stayed at new Nagambie Lakes campsite (showers best yet).Met Essex boy manager at Nagambie lakes campsite who let us stay for free (saved $30AD) cos Annie mentioned Stanford le Hope (he came from Southend in 1981).Tried to buy a copy of Picnic at Hanging Rock but they had run out. Our i/net research showed the last missing chapter has some rubbish ending about extra-terrestrials and them getting stuck in rock cave , twaddle good job editor took it out! Day 248 - Sunday 29th June 2008,Nagambie Lakes to Melbourne Short day went into Nagambie bought lots of fruit and eggs , gr8 value $5.30 then drove down to Melbourne took just over 1 hour via Seymour where we stayed 13 years ago, think we recognized the Motel Got into Big 4 campsite in Coberg after visiting Lalor (between Epping & Thomstown in the City of Whittesea) Arrived at campsite about 3-ish. Did washing Had tea Watched really odd 1960 DVD with James Brolin in it set in Capetown (Haha), saw Lalor and 18 Derrick St where Keef lived as a kid Day 249 - Monday 30th June 2008,Melbourne A wonderful day out in Melbourne The place has really come on in 13 years walked 15 mins Picked up West Preston to St Kilda tram (112) into Collins St in the city used the free City loop tram and trams 70/48 to get around Got back to campsite at about 9pm.Saw Greek quarter, Flinders St station, Federation sq, Yarra river, MCG, Immigration Museum (in old custom house) & new docklands area.2 meals out, Greek at lunch in Tsindos (yummy) and Moroccan at MeccaBah on New Quay Docklands the eve Annie had a Monkey Business cocktail. Weather not gr8 cold and windy with a few spots of rain. Day 250 - Tuesday 1st July 2008,Melbourne to Mornington Late up, showered and left by about 11 Very stressful days driving thru Melbourne, Alas our map not quite good enough V sunny initially which gave way to some (limited) drizzle getting cold 13c made it 2 St Kilda after 2 false starts Then onto Elwood and saw where Keef used to live walked down Pine ave to shops bought some lunch from bakers delight (nice) then saw beach, high waves Then drove down coast.Baumaris etc etc Nepalean way (Highway 3) to Frankston and Mornington Did shopping in City of Frankston at Seaford. Got cash from Westpac bank machine in Mornington Saw beach Had 2 Apricot Danishes. Then back to Frankton to get 2 bits of foam Stayed at Mornington campsite $28. Saw the wild coast. Ladies in Mattress shop (v helpful) Lady at Rubber & Foam shop (ripped us off 50c, joke!). STRESS can become a 4 letter word when u are driving thru Melbourne. Trams are an added distraction trust us, we know , Saw Keef’s old house Day 251 - Wednesday 2nd July 2008,Mornington to Sale via Gippy Hwy & 90 Mile Beach Left by 10.20, Keef had to do the yuccy loo changing job how I’ll miss that NOT! Went into Mornington to post Mums postcard, got some more fuel ($180.5 cheapest yet!) and then traveled on thru Tabbah, Leonortha, Yaccam, Woodside, Stokeside down to Seaspray on 90 Mile Beach, then Golden beach, Paradise beach , Longford into Sale. Fairly long days drive. Annie did the long bit between L & end of 90 Mile Beach. Mixed weather sun and very strong wind & rain gales max 14c had lunch at Woodside Joined Top Tourist campsites at Sale $25 (just like Family parks) we are now members of 3 chains Note the South Gipplands Highway is shortened (as everything is) by the ozzies to Gippy Hwy (and on the signs). Saw 90 Mile Beach plus saw 2 huge sea eagles, one of which alas had a baby lamb in its grasp! Met hippy couple in camp kitchen at Sale. Bald gardener with shorts, moustache and boots/sox combo at Mornington site.Enjoyed 90 Mile Beach – is a little cold & windy (Antarctic cold) Day 252 - Thursday 3rd July 2008,Sale to Mallacoota Big days drive thru very varied scenery 320k. Saw port of Sale, got petrol then went via Bairnsdale, Stratford-u-Avon, Lakes Entrance(LE), Orbost (and the Snowy River) Cann River (more petrol) then thru the Croajingolong Nat park to Mallacoota where we camped at the Swampgully caravan park (family park $20 with discount) Cold and windy day 13c some sun, saw Port of Sale, Wood carvings @ Lake Entrance Marine parade, Pelicans, gr8 views from LE lookout before the town, Orbost wooden hut.Gr8 fish and chip lunch (our fave Flake) at Lakes Entrance the town of which is quite touristy, loved pelicans (lots) @ LE Day 253 - Friday 4th July 2008,Mallacoota (Vic)to Tathra (NSW) INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! Brilliant day Weather superb and warm 17c plus oh what wonderful views in Victoria’s Wilderness parks – Mallacoota & Gipsy Point (M & GP) were lovely. So peaceful,so scenerific, so lucky we are! Roos chillin' on the grass. Got up early braved the cold shower (10mins to get water to run hot!!!) then had cooked brekkie whilst watching a Kookaburra near our van Then to M & GP then back thru Genoa and on over the border into NSW We have left Victoria for the last time. Day 253 - Friday 4th July 2008,Mallacoota (Victoria) to Tathra (NSW) We have left Victoria for the last time had lunch at Eden beach (alas scene of recent dad who killed himself and kids, there have been a few whilst we have been here! Sad!) then on via the Sapphire Coast Highway thru Merimbula (shopping in Woolies & port/ beer from Bottle shop) into Tathra. Staying in family park $28 am right on the beach went for a late walk after Annie had done the laundry (cheapest machines yet $2 a wash!).Met Guy in woolies who was v friendly and chatty, looking fwd to his weekend off. Memorable Sun & Scenery. Day 254 - Saturday 5th July 2008,Tathra 2 Batemans Bay Up showered, breakfasted and gone by 10.30am Saw Tathra old wharf, walked thru memorial gardens (dead golfers) watched dolphins from T,Head lookout point whilst chatting to Irene & Liz. Drove on thru Sapphire coast scenic routes to Bermagui, Tilba, Central Tilba, Camel Rock, Mystery Bay into Batemans point (which is v touristy) Staying on Top Tourist site Cost $26 Not the gr8-est site too cramped weather good again for 2nd day 18c.5 gallahs (pink & grey parrots), 1 roo, heard bell birds (clear as a doorbell), dolphins and may have seen a platypus plus scenery, bank of red wildflowers.Met Irene (Canadian from Montreal who met and married her ozzie husband , nurse, in Scotland and lived in Aberdeen, which she loved) and Liz (born in Bradford) Both residence of Tathra. Nice ladies, younger than us Chatted with them for over and hour whilst we watched the Dolphins playing in the bay.Remember Dolphins in Tathra bay, weather Day 255 - Sunday 6th July 2008,Bateman’s Bay(BB) to Shoalhaven Heads Up 9-ish very sunny again hit 19c 2day left site at about 10.30am BB is big drove thru the various beaches stopped for a walk thru the reserve onto Surfside, almost completely deserted. Then on thru tourist route 4 as listed below eventually joining the Grand pacific drive at Nowra and staying at Shoalhaven Heads campsite Top Tourist expensive $29 plus 20c coins for 3mins shower , 1st such in Oz bad news.Surfside beach BB, Basin View, St Georges Basin, Sanctuary Point, Jervis Bay Nat Park, Hyams beach (gr8) and Bouderee Nat park (although at $10 to travel 5k down gravel roads we declined and went to the visitors center instead). Met guy with blue ute opposite who had occupied our camping slot when we arrived (bad news!) quite pleasant worked out of Goulburn as a lorry driver delivering fridges. Annie and I reckoned he was at the campsite with his piece of fluff (well mutton dressed as scrag-end).So hot Keef back in shorts and Tshirt. Annie in skirt Pelicans and 2 brightly coloured Rosellas. Squeaky sand at Hyams Beach, officially one of the whitest sand beaches in the world. Just loved the oh-so-wonderful Hyams Beach in Jervis bay Nat park. Day 256 - Monday 7th July 2008,Grand Pacific Drive (GPD) Shoalhaven heads, Seven Mile Beach, Gerroa, Gerrigong, Werri Beach, Kiama & Blowhole (weak on the day as not big swell in sea or blowy) Shellharbour, Port Kembla yuckindustrial, steelworks etc) Wollongong (fairly big) Lunch at Bellambi, Bulli, Sea Cliff Bridge, Coalcliff, Bald Hill lookout, Otford lookoutthen into Sydney thru Royal National Park Couldn’t find a campsite, looked in Cronulla (southern suburbs) so stayed in motel at Sutherland. Nice to watch mindless TV (US cop junk!)CSI Mon thru Fri! Saw lots, although spectacular in places the GPD is no where near as good as the GOR, met guy swimming in outdoor pool at Shellharbour who wanted to take our piccie, cold or what. Brewery in Woolongong that couldn’t sell me bottles of ale as didn’t have a license, how bad is that. In the end didn’t get any as had to go to drive thru bottle shop. Day 257 - Tuesday 8th July 2008,Botany Bay & Blue Mountains, Camped at Katoomba Up and out from out Motel by 10 despite Asian cleaner knocking at 8.30 & 9.30 She got a cheery P**S O** from us. Then drove down to Botany Bay at Kurnell which is where James Cook first landed. V interesting. Then back out thru paradise ave and kingsway to Princes Hwy and Highway 6 (Heathcote rd) towards Penrith. Almost stuck with toll freeway M75 where only e-tags accepted i.e no cash Then thru Campbelltown to Penrith filled with fuel Now takes about $50 for ½ a tank. On M4 to Katoomba after nice lunch in Silver Spur (Steak chain) on outskirts of Penrith went to Echo point, great views of 3 Sisters, Jamison Valley, Solitary Mt, Orphan Rock, Katoomba falls and a few Cockatoos last 4 from Reids Plateau which was opposite our campsite Walked up there late in the eve. Saw lots but the oh so wonderful Blue Mts. Sunny in Sydney, v cold at Blue Mts 4c at 7pm and biting winds. Met Ozzie couple with 2 daughters who took our piccie at Reids plateau, Blue Mts.Some real angry unfounded grief from 2 aussie drivers cos I was doing the speed limit on single lane and they couldn’t get past (didn’t really understand what else I could do) apart from accept them as arrogant b’stards. Day 258 - Wednesday 9th July 2008,Katoomba to Lithgow taking in Blue Mtns & Jenolan Caves Real cold night Left by 10 sunny so went over the road to see 3 Sisters, Orphan etc in sunlight What a difference from y’day then onto Blackheath and a different view of the Blue Mtns from first Evans Lookout then Govetts Leap Lookout, then on thru Mt Victoria (high), Hartley, Hampton and Jenolan Caves Got out about 4.30 and drove to Lithgow where we camped ($25) Started about 10c ended about 1c we need head north quick.3 gr8 views of the Blue Mts from Katoomba falls, Evans lookout & Govetts leap lookout. Plus Bridal Veil falls and the Pulpit then Imperial Cave tour ($40 with discount) at Jenolan Caves Parked alas in 3rd car park so 30min walk down (steep) luckily got a lift back up as Keef’s knee hurting by then (even after taking pain killers).Met guide for cave drop at Jenolan who gave us a lift back up at the end of the day. Amazing SNOW in Oz as we drove back up from Jenolan caves about 4.30pm The guy at the caves said Katoomba had had 2cms and in Lithgow campsite the lady said they had had some in the morning Day 259 - Thursday 10th July 2008,Lithgow 2 Narabeen, Sydney North Shore & FRENCHS FOREST Left by 11 after kerfuffle with gas cylinder Got petrol, asked to pay for 2 lots I said no Very cold again overnight (poss 2c) way better by the time we got to Sydney Long drive thru suburbs Not too bad apart from once getting lost on Pennant Hills Rd (HW7) After Lithgow, Bell, Mt Tomah (gr8 scenery thru Gr8 dividing range) Bells Line of Rd, Kurrajong Heights (gr8 long distance view of Sydney CBD) and Wollemi Nat Park then Richmond, Windsor (now suburbs of Sydney in our opinion) into Baulkham Hills shire then Chatswood, FF , Dee Why, Colloroy and camped at Big 4 Narabeen lakes campsite (20% discount winter, normally $45, expensive but good) May stay here when we come back to Sydney at the end. Saw about 150 km of gr8 scenery and fruit trees, apple pie a speciality, plus where Annie used to live and work. Met guy at Lithgow campsite who sorted out the gas container, $10 for ½ tank. Nice lady from Tassie (Cygnet) at Sydney campsite. Loved taking Annie back to where she lived and went to school for 4 years-ish in French’s Forest. Fish & Chips at Dee Why beach. Pics of Myers (ex Grace Bros, 49-51 Albert St, Chatswood) 148 FF Rd West and High School. Day 260 - Friday 11th July 2008,Sydney Narabeen Lakes to Anna Bay Port Stephens Left by 10 Did dump station (luvly NOT!) the to Pittwater/ Palm Beach/ Whale Beach (superb) drove back thru Sydney suberbs to Pymble (not 2 bad) then up Hwy1 to Nat Hwy 1 and lots of motorway (or equivalent ) Got off at Gosford (nice harbour) where we filled up with petrol and ate at our 1st Red Rooster (not bad) Drove around Tuggerah lakes inlet, the entrance, Norah head etc Really really nice, saw lots and met lots of Pelicans being fed at the Entrance Oh and some gr8 houses at both Palm Beach and Norah Head. Remember DVD from campsite that was reg 4 so couldn’t watch on laptop, watched laughably bad early 70s Leslie Nielsen movie instead (Power Kill). Day 261 - Saturday 12th July 2008,Port Stephens peninsular Had a cooked brekkie went to see Nelson Bay , Anna Bay and Stockton sandunes (Port Stephens area , gr8) then lots of driving up Pacific Hwy via Taree to Edgewater Holiday park ($24) in Port Macquarie where we stayed the night.Saw lots of motorway.Met a guy who ran out of fuel in front of us in Taree ‘almost made it to the servo’ Horrid Russian at Top Tourist park in Port Macquarie who off handedly said she had no slots. F1 powerboat championship in town this w/end. Remember getting hot, 20c Had picnic lunch in lay by on Hwy1. Loved Anna bay. Day 262 - Sunday 13th July 2008,Port Macquarie Brilliant warm sunny day,we are supposedly now in spring About 21c Spent another night in PM Gr8 place left campsite at about 10.20am Went along to the Koala Hospital. Saw cuddlies, Beaches and tropical plants plus 2 rabbits outside our van at Top Tourist site ($26).Met ex Airline pilot who worked as a volunteer at the Koala Hospital Most informative V sad stories about Billy, Birthday girl and a few other Koalas. Remember Beaches of Port Macquarie (7 of them) plus getting table and chairs out for 1st time in 6 weeks. Sat outside and on Flynn beach. Even got some minor sunburn. Day 263 - Monday 14th July 2008,Port Macquarie 2 Kempsey Left site at 9.45 am and drove off up Oxley Hwy to Billabong wildlife park Ace place Initially sunny then cold then sunny then rain, weird day After lunch in town shopped at Coles on the outskirts then drove to Kempsey (45k) and stayed in not so gr8 site (K Tourist Village) $25 Limited T as still full from lunch.See the many piccies but it was a gr8 wildlife day Oz has so many unique and interesting animals. Remember all the animals but especially the baby joey and Clancy oh and a huge lunch in town in the pancake house Day 264 - Tuesday 15th July 2008,Kempsey to South West Rocks via Tourist route 12 Very relaxing day. Tried recording kookaburra vocals at Kempsey Tourist Village camp site but they would not oblige. Left site at 10.30am went 5km up Pacific Hwy 1 to Fredericton (Fredo) and bought some of their world famous (?) pies, v good Had Buffalo, Beef & Burgundy, Chicken-Chilli-Honey, and 2 lemon meringue pies They also do emu,croc, roo etc may call in again on way back v good then returned to outskirts of Kempsey to get tourist route 12 to Crescent head the longest right hand break in the world, ideal for Malibu longboardssee surfer dudes that we are. Spent quite a few hours here paddling and chillin on the beach Really hot morning 23c with winds developing afternoon. Left here about 4pm and drove alongside river to Southwest rocks where we are staying for 2 days in Top Tourist park overlooking the McLeay River, fish jumping everywhere. Saw Gr8 surf beach, good waves, nice scenery alongside river drive. Loved Ozzie pie fanatics at Fredo’s pies oh and 2 Marilyn Munroes. Met Clancy, Stu the park guide, Eddy the dingo. Remember "Matthew tonight I will be.." plus sent next Newsletter to everyone Belvoir tried to closed down the case. Not having it! Day 265 - Wednesday 16th July 2008,South West Rocks Spent all day at the campsite (TT) relaxing reading and doing washing Initially sat out after cooked brekkie but then found it too cold so came in. Tried to get a DVD but region 4 did spaghetti & beef mince sauce for T with our favourite Mainland Creamy Blue & Tawny Port.Saw the river and @ sunset.Met no one apart from all the fisherman at the site. Reading ah what a luxury Annie did email to Brian & Gina BLOODY HELL Insel Fehman hotel in Samoa have billed us thru Visa 8 MONTHS LATE (thought we’d got away with that one for £85). Day 266 - Thursday 17th July 2008,South West Rocks to Nambucca Heads Changed loo (as Annie said ENJOY!) left campsite Went down to see SWR beaches There are 4 of them but the small surfing one is in our humble opinion the best Then onto Trial Bay gaol (named after the brig Trial which was stolen and sank) Then Arakoon and Gap beaches down to Smoky Cape Lighthouse (named by JC) then tourist route 14 thru Stuarts point/Grassy head/Scotts Head (all in yarrabini NP) – not as good as tourist route 12 although all beaches good Then onto Nambucca Heads Gr8 views from JC lookout and arrived campsite about 3 (having bought a load of booze from Liquor store in town) Had salad lunch outside on table and chairs, v sunny but soon dipped below hills was 23c 2day and after y’day a gr8 day weather-wise.Saw 2 Captain Cook Lookouts with ace views One at Smoky Cape Lighthouse and the other at Nambucca Heads.Remember Salad outside Buying local produce (Avoes & kiwi fruitavacados were 25p each) plus finding out what the red deciduous tree we like is.Coral (Erythina) Tree Day 267 - Friday 18th July 2008,Nambucca Heads 2 Darlington Beach Nice and sunny all day, drove not too far up past Coffs Harbour to Darlington beach big 4 campsite Initially staying for 2 days Nice site $35 a night.Saw various beaches, Sawtell, Bongil Bongil Nat park (but no Koalas), lots of roos, Coffs Harbour, The big banana (yuck!) and Darlington beach site,met couple from Crescent Head,terry (shop keeper) and his wife (nurse) chatted for quite a while they invited us over for a beer, we declined as had none to offer in return. Remember reading and lots of hot sunshine and amazing tropical plants. Day 268 - Saturday 19th July 2008,Darlington Beach campsite Gr8 day 2 showers superb weather and a gr8 meal in the eve at the campsites restaurant. Started with brekkie outside in the sun, melon: croissants and real coffee then ALL DAY reading round the pool with the occasional dip to cool off V hot and sunny 24c got sun burnt a bit, even tho used loads of sunblock! loved the pool & the sun.Met lady in restaurant who told us about a liqueur Madeira coffee.Finished CRISIS by Robin Cook (Keef) Started triple Agatha Christie (Annie) Oh meal cost $114 included 3 courses, bottle of sav blanc and 2 beers and 2 liqueur coffeesgarlic Turkish bread , Seafood basket (A), Steak (K), lemon & lime cheesecake (A) Macadamia/ Mango pie (K) Day 269 - Sunday 20th July 2008,Darlington Beach campsite Not as gr8 a day as y’day but still pretty warm in places 20c Sat out reading after going for 2k walk on Corindi beach, fun. Flora & fauna plus gr8 beach, tried some dumb japanese-type photos to prove we are younger than we are, alas failed with the jumpshots! Met again the 2 aussies terry (supermarket mgr) and his wife (nurse) from Crescent Head who work in Kempsey and were on hols here for 4 days, very pleasant. Talked to Doug via voicecall over i/net very clear and fast. Day 270 - Monday 21st July 2008,Darlington Beach Campsite Got up about 10, dirty stop in beds but we were up late last night on roo watch. Our friendly ma, pa and joey returned again 2night for the 3rd day running our campervan pitch must be their site Anyhow had cooked brekkie then went for a walk on Corindi beach again V sunny and hot 23c but windy then back Did some washing and went swimming and in the spa and read round pool. Most relaxing Had veal & veggies with Avo starter (50c) and cheese & bikkies pud with Rum & Bundaberg (A)VB bitter (K) to wash it down, gr8 day Shame we have to leave 2moro.Gr8 beach here named corindi beach. Met couple in Spa from near Gosford who were on hols. Remember Roos at our door! Day 271 - Tuesday 22nd July 2008,Darlington Beach to Ballina via Grafton, Casino, Lismore to Ballina Sunny when we left campsite (sadly) after 4 days, really enjoyed it there. Cold and overcast when we arrived in Ballina, saw lots of farm land, a few beaches and some older style towns. Met Ozzie from Coffs harbour who was working in Tweed Heads and motelling it in Shelly Beach Ballina. I’d stopped him to ask about the strange ‘bread fruit’ style palm he didn’t know what it was but we had a long chat about places we had each been to, especially in NZ. Remember Avo trees.Loo water running out Refilled in Lismore after sussing what was needed. Day 272 - Wednesday 23rd July 2008,Ballina to Tweed Heads Out by 10, grayish , wet and windy day went along the tourist roads (mostly) apart from Pacific Hwy (1) when we had no choice ending at Family park in Tweed Head just over the bridge Expensive for what it is ($33 but hey it’s a touristy area).Saw Lennox Head, Suffolk Park, Byron Bay incl Lighthouse (posh houses or what), Cape Byron, Brunswick Heads, Pottsville, Hastings Point, Kingscliff (v up and coming retirement / seaside area) into South Tweed Heads and cinema to see mamma mia (ace) and shopping at Coles. Enjoyed Hastings point waves, immense plus bought 3 new reading books,post mortem & blind faith by Ben Elton and the quest by Wilbur Smith Final stay Day 310-326, See Queensland for 310 & Singapore for 326 Day 273 - Thursday 24th July 2008,Tweed Heads 2 Labrador, Gold Coast Awful weather rained all night & day, hard so cut our loses and went to Harbour Town shopping mall for some retail therapy (bought boys & Phoenix stuff from Rip Curl) oh and went to Reading Cinemas to see X-files movie (ace) Staying at Treasure Island park Big4 Biggera Waters. Much movies & rain.$35 per night for Big4 site and we are in for 2 nights (forgot to get our deposit back, DOH!) Day 274 - Friday 25th July 2008,Treasure Island campsite Biggera Waters Nr Surfers Paradise Wet all night Dried up in the morning some sun and some overcast Decided to stay in did the washing DVD for Mum etc Reading, Chillin etc etc Off to Surfers 2moro Sorted out trip to see Peter B& family,Sun came out again hoorah, saw the campsite, Harbour town mall and Woolies Day 275 - Saturday 26th July 2008,Surfers Paradise (SP) Gr8 weather Left Biggera waters after 2 days Forgot to collect our $20 deposit, blast! Did loo stuff etc went to SP via Southport and had a choc milkshake in HRC 18c sunny Camping at Aspley (North Brisbane) for 2 days as near the Birtles home in Warner. OK site nothing grand but also convenient for train at Zillmere. Main Beach, Burleigh Heads, Miami, Isle of Capri, high rises etc. Met Surfer dudes and guy in Hard Rock Cafe (HRC). Remember HRC Tshirt the only one in Australasia but guy said those in Sydney & Melbourne were due to reopen in 2009. Police had cordoned off the bank area in Aspley as some foolish hoods had tried to dynamite it,they used too much explosive and in the end got away with nought but one guy almost blew his leg off police lorry had metal ATM on it! Day 276 - Sunday 27th July 2008,Brisbane Sunny to start with Visited Peter & Lorraine Birtles and their kids Alex (12) & Victoria (16)(daughter out) and had a very nice BBQ and chat They bought their land 8 years ago and built their house and pool Plus have beach house at St Agnes nr 1770 in QLD Had a gr8 chat really like them left about 3 having arrived at 1130 on the dot went to ATM nearby first Then came back to the campsite having first checked out Zillmere station b4 our trip into CBD 2moro Got table and chairs out and read in hot sunshine for about 1hr 20c 2day although lunch on Peters veranda was in the shade, liked Warner where they live is very out in the bush, liked seeing peter again. Day 277 - Monday 28th July 2008,Brisbane Up at 7.30am (wow!) Overcast Drove down to Zillmere station on City Rail and caught the train into Central Brisbane, spent the day in town Got Cheap off-peak tickets Zone 3 ($4.80 each, good value considering it was 25mins and 12 stops in – way easier than driving) Got off at Central station and crossed over to Anzac Sq (Ann St) and bought 2 all day Hopon Hopoff tourist bus tickets ($50 for 2) Great way to see the city 1 ½ hour trip went round once fully then got off at stop 4 Riverside Had lunch in Jade Buddha then hopped on the City Cat and went down river Brisbane and across to South Bank Had a nice stroll along here Sun came out but brisk wind made it v chilly Guy on bus said constant temp in B 21-29c, not true way colder than that with wind Eventually re-boarded bus at Gray St SS and back to stop 19 Central station Returned to Zillmere and drove out of B to Sunshine coast past Steve Irwin Way to Caloundra Finally got in at 4th site after Annie (thankfully) rang ahead Why was it so busy no-one could say and apparently not cos its nearest to Australia Zoo, saw City Beach with lifeguards Weird. Gr8 views from both Mt Coot-tha lookout and Bougainvillea way, met helpful lady at restaurant. Complained about Annies teriyaki chicken (all grissle) Got new meal (gr8 chicken) free plus 2 flat white so good value lunch, must try it again (not really!) Took loads of pictures, bloody tourist! Day 278 - Tuesday 29th July 2008,Steve Irwin’s (SI) Australia Zoo Beerwah Gr8 day at the zoofed elephants which we haven’t done b4 oh and a whole stack more see the pictures and video Full day , left after 4,15 and went to see the glass house mtns briefly named by our hero JC, saw loads esp animals of all sorts, baby tassie devil on lead (help), met Steve Irwin impersonator Michael, and Monty & Weipa the crocs Day 279 - Wednesday 30th July 2008,Caloundra to Maryborough Hot day again, 23c sunny, bit of driving Went to see beaches at Caloundra, filled up with fuel and then set off to Maryborough, tried ringing on route to book site but phone lost signal No worries as space when we arrived and nice helpful guy who told us about market , buildings, steam train etc etc to see in Maryborough $22. Saw Ettamogah pub, big pineapple, buderim ginger , nutworks, met a few folk.Remember ginger & cinnamon bliss ice cream, possibly the BEST ice-cream ever! Plus 1kg of hickory macadamia nuts for $23 gr8 value plus we tried all flavours until keef told off by lady for not using the tongs (naughty) Day 280 - Thursday 31st July 2008,Maryborough to Bundaberg Yet another hot day, 26c spent whole morning in Maryborough Lots to do, nice town and way better than Lonely planet made out Then went to Hervey bay (we will be back for whale watching when they arrive) Shelly & Torquay beaches plus marina then onto Bundeburg via Childers on the Bruce Hwy Stopped in Big 4 campsite $27 with discount Nice quiet tropical site A did washing We had spam, couscous and sweetcorn 4 T with passion fruit yoghurt and dark fruit cake for afters,saw lots.Mary river, Mary Poppins, old houses and store.MB is GOOD! Then Fraser island from Hervey bay, mud crabbing, pineapples, sugar cane. Market in town bought stuff including pineapple ($1.50), met Mary Poppins, PL Travers,had no idea she was from QLD, lived most of her life in London , remember Sun, sun and more sun, MB and Brockwurst in market. Annie remembering Childers pub with swing cowboy doors Childers was only a one pub township 40+ years ago, now big Day 281 - Friday 1st August 2008,Bundaberg to Benaraby (just below Gladstone) Another v hot and sunny day About 28c and we both had heat stroke headaches (alas) drinking lots more water which should help Visited Bundaberg Rum & Bundaberg Drinks Ltd (home of the ginger beer) Bought Doug a shirt (hope he likes it) plus 6 assorted drinks. Not interested in the Rum place although it had a nice old QLD building Then visited Agnes Water and 1770 then onto Benaraby. camping Big 4 empty $29 Had a 30min wait standstill on Bruce Hwy just outside Benaraby as road train off road and overturned Apparently happened 2 days ago and they were taking load off as couldn’t upright it.Used public dump station in Bundaberg then did tourist stuff in Bundaberg Cook 1770 (only a Lieutenant then), met lady from Abingdon in Bundaberg Rum Ltd who had been in Oz for 21 years (still no accent tho), saw Lorry overturned. Lizard on road (large) and lots of roos at 1770 Day 282 - Saturday 2nd August 2008,Benaraby to Mackay via Rockhampton Another hot day 24-26c tried out the aircon for the first time in the vans cab, cool! Had a nice walk around Rockhampton, nice place then lots of driving in heat, guess 350-ish k 2day arrived at site in Mackay but couldn’t get a power site so ended up on yucky site, tourist village Luckily only one night, saw Tropic of Capricorn (TOC), somewhat over touristy Annie said was much understated back 40 years, met 2 students taking photos in Rockhampton, enjoyed Crossing the TOC Day 283 - Sunday 3rd August 2008,Mackay to Airlie Beach (Whitsunday shire) Another hot sunny day, 26c left site at 9-ish horrid site pleased to go. Went and saw Mackay marina, beach and drove on breakwater Then saw 5 of the 31 beaches it boast Some were v v good and we went for a paddle on 2 saw some very interesting tropical plants see piccies Then onto Proserpine for lunch and into Big 4 Airlie cove site for 3 nights Expensive at $39 per night and not as good as Darlington Beach site. Did go for a swim (cold) and read books in sunshine from about 4pm Get dark slightly later this high up. Remember the beaches around Mackay ace after thinking Mackay wasn’t all that much i.e quite industrial, how wrong we were. Day 284 - Monday 4th August 2008,Airlie Cove Campsite Spent all day on site and boy was it relaxinggenerally chillin reading books, mags and listening to musicoh and we booked a day trip to Daydream island on the Whitsunday isles 2moro.4ft+ female goanna just next to our campervan plus mountains sunshine and lots of big green ants that we think bite, but not sure. Met nosey Germans in next campervan. Loved seeing the goanna at close quarters plus our pair of friendly bush turkeys Day 285 - Tuesday 5th August 2008,Daydream Island, Whitsundays The most wonderfully romantic place and day,no more to say See the piccies lots of them Idyllic plus whole day cost about $200, Oh so much, see the piccies, met bloke with ozzie wife from Hull who ran a restaurant in Penrith Sydney called the ‘Major Oak’ he had obviously been in showbiz as introduced a whole stack of 50s ‘names’ His wife drank green cocktails, loved Everything..gr8 trip, gr8 weather, gr8 lunch, gr8 company, gr8 swimming, gr8 fish ahhhhhhhhhhhhh Day 286 - Wednesday 6th August 2008,Airlie Beach, Whitsundays to Townsville Up early 7-ish washed and ‘decamped’ by 8.45 a record Did the dunny then drove down to Shute Harbour (nice) and onto Bowen rejoining Bruce Hwy 13k on from Proserpine Visited Bowen, interesting place but not gr8 beaches, then thru Home Hill, Ayr to Townsville.Saw the big mango @ Bowen and the 2nd naff thing in one day the big Brolga @ Townsville Tourist Info (TI). Met no one in particular apart from our ozzie pal with grey hair and outback beard who seems to be following us around (mackay, airlie beach plus asked us about trip to daydream whilst supping his alcopop from his cooler and now he "reckoned" townsville) , bought a Baz Lehrmann T-shirt in Bowen from the Australia movie. Remember Mango ice-cream Buying fresh fruit and veg produce at Bowen plus making a lamb rogan josh that will probably last for 3 meals.oh and gr8 views from Flagstaff Hill lookout at Bowen. Day 287 - Thursday 7th August 2008,Townsville & Magnetic Island Up about 8, gr8 sunny day again 28c and hot sun Drove down into Townsville along Ingham Road (9) to Castle Hill Lookout, v steep and windy but oh what views of TV and MI then back down into the strand (water front) parked up van all day $5 then caught sunferries ferry to MI 11.30am trip $29 each plus all day bus pass on MI cost $6.20 each so a gr8 cheap day out on a Barrier Reef island (honeymooners go here, although v different to Daydream island) Back on 4.25 boat and back to Westwood campsite 12 k north of Townsville. Saw (All on Magnetic Island):Nelly Bay, Arcadia, Gregory bay, Horseshoe bay, Picnic bay,the last was the best Paddled here, walked the length of the beach and read in the sun whilst watching flying fish (silvery) and a guy snorkeling with a harpoon and float with fish capture box attached. Met drunk ozzies, bad news, remember drunk ozzie and I mean drunk driving mokes and scooters, bad news plus keef driving like an ozzie and overtaking and turning on the inside, better not do that in the UK!!! Day 288 - Friday 8th August 2008,Townsville to Rollingstone via Saunders Beach Up about 8.30am Breakfasted and left site by 10 having pre booked 3 nights at the Big 4 Rollingstone beach site about 60k further up the Bruce Hwy towards Cairns Drove to the strand, walked along the beach front to the pool and had a nice swim Then retail therapy and off for lunch at the very nice Saunders beach Then onto our campsite and yet another swim V hot and sunny again 2day 28c, saw sea water pool @ townsville, the strand, river, botanic gardens and a great fabric shop (spotlight where Annie became a VIP member). Met danish? family that we last saw at Darlington Beach with teenage daughter and very young son. Day 289 - Saturday 9th August 2008, Rollingstone Day spent chillin Not a good night sleep wise for Keef, had nice brekkie of croissants and sat outside reading / listening to music with the table and chairs near the lagoon next to our van Alas this was after we’d been for a walk on the beach and done the washing ($3) and seen sign the signs about crocs We are well and truly in salty territory After reading and great smoked salmon salad lunch we chilled by the pool The pool here is ace It’s a RESORT and probably 2nd to Darlington Beach, saw Croc sign/ beach/ pool, met Germans, French oh and the odd ozzie plus ice-cream lady ringing her bell round the site selling prawns and fresh fish (mangrove snapper & reef fish), little budgie outside our van was fun in the eve. Day 290 - Sunday 10th August 2008,Rollingstone Whole day chillin and v nice it was to. Up late 9.30-ish had brekkie and read paper all about Olympics Then over to the pool and a dip followed by more chillin hard work but hey someone’s gotta do it 28c hot and sunny with pleasant wind off the sea. No crocs today! (or any other for that matter but sign at campsite a warning) Rang and booked 1 day Fishery falls (Cairns) and 3 days Cairns Crystal sites.Saw the pool, the sea and sun,lots of sand flies that seem to like Annie but not Keef (hooray!). Salad, listening to Led Zeppelin & CSN (&Y) on ipod, heard guy at the pool cheer cos ozzies had got their 1st gold in the swimming pool (beijing Olympics) Day 291 - Monday 11th August 2008,Rollingstone to Fishery Falls Left about 10 after being the dunny man. Poor Annie very badly bitten by sand flies so lots of tea tree cream used to soothe. Drove up coast 320k with a few detours All in all a very nice day Stayed at FF campsite where we stayed 13 years ago Very much changed, new pool but winner of best gardens V Tropical, saw Cardwell, Hinchinbrook island, Tam O’Shanter NP, Mission Beach, Dunk island, Innisfail, Tropical fruit winery at Murdering Point, met lady in Winery, v nice let us try the lot plus nutty guy who sold us the bananas ($1 for 1 kg, $2 for papaya (big)) who spoke with a plumy British accent who said “my mother was taken up the Khyber Pass by a British army officer” too much info really, hard to get away from him. Remember seeing all the gr8 islands and having a drink in the Fishery Falls pub and watching Tom Daley in sync diving on Ch7 Olympics big screen Day 292 - Tuesday 12th August 2008,Fishery Falls to Cairns Slightly overcast day today but muggier First since we have been in the Wet Tropics Left FF by 10 Drove to Gordonvale, 1st place we visited 13 years ago as needed bank (aboriginal guy with budgie on his shoulder) Not changed that much but bigger square than we remember and huge Sugarcane processing factory Then on into Cairns walked along the board walk, into harbour, past new lagoon , nice new boardwalk and off up Spense st to Hogs Breath Cafe (HBC) then down Grafton back to Esplanade and our Campervan Arrived at campsite – crystal cascade about 3pm read and chilled oh and drank copious amounts of Passion fruit wine (yummy) from Murdering Point winery. Tourist Info(TI) , Board walk, The Pier, Lots of high rise hotels and apartments (cairns is now a big city), CBD, Cafes & Bars, Fruit bats and some sun only 26c 2day Westpac to get out some dosh plus filled up with fuel So much cheaper in QLD with Coles/woolies 4c off voucher about $1.63 a litre,met Irish waitress in HBC, ranjit the crooner (we didn’t go but heard him) aweful,apparently had played with Glen Campbell, Helen Reddy & Barry Manilow - really! Went to Hogs Breathe café (HBC) for lunch V good and value wise also 2 beef wraps with hickory sauce, HBC curly fries & salad, followed by Mud pie/date pud and washed down with beer/ fruit juice All $60 (i.e £30) Nice Campsite v tropical , some new plants we haven’t seen before Day 293 - Wednesday 13th August 2008,Crystal Cascades Campsite, Cairns Up late, cooked brekkie then off to Kuranda for the day. Very good day, sunny again although some strong winds. Barron Gorge NP & Falls, Surprise Creek Falls, Lake Placid, Gr8 tropical plants, Cannonball tree, Butterflies especially Ulysses Blue,met no one in particular Annoying UK couple next door with 3 kids and one crying baby. Loved the sweet perfume smell of the plants of the Cannonball tree. Seeing Kuranda again Aussie Butterfly Sanctuary Day 294 - Thursday 14th August 2008,Crystal Cascades Campsite, Cairns A day of 2halves. Spent morning at site doing washing, reading, getting sunburnt (K) and then after a dinner of lemon pepper tuna salad wraps and mini bananas washed down with ginger cordial we went off on an expedition to see Lake Morris and the Copper load falls dam 16k thru the Isley Hills wet Tropics up very windy hilly roads not ideal for a 6.6m campervan but what a view.Some gr8 views of Cairns & the Wet Tropical Forest up Lake Morris rd,Ozzie drinkers at Rednault.girl in IGA said there were 300 males in the pub, must have been pint and sausage eve cheap, Dark Equador magnum ice creams at lake Morris, exchanging 10 books in Cairns ($20) for 4not a gr8 deal but we can’t carry them Day 295 - Friday 15th August 2008,Glengarry Holiday Park, Port Douglas Left Cairns about 10.30 Went and visited various beaches on the way up to Port Douglas (PD) and the AJ Hackett bungee jumping Then along coastal road, ace views past Rex Lookout and Hartley’s creek crocodile farm (v different from 13 years ago) to Port Douglas Aim to stay here 4 days and see Daintree, Mossman, Cape Trib & PD itself,Trinity beach, Yorkeys knob (much built up after 13 years), Clifton Beach (good) & Palm Cove (posh & expensive, similar to Noosa Heads),Very clammy and overcast for much of the day. Gr8 views along coastal road, similar to Great Ocean Road & Big Sur (US) Day 296 - Saturday 16th August 2008,Did lunch in Port Douglas Up about 9 washed did the dunny stuff etc on the van and then drove into Port Douglas. Hot & Humid 28c and 48% humidity no wind Parked up along the front WOW has PD ever changed in 13 years It is now a massive thriving tourist metropolis with resorts everywhere A shame really walked up main street then had lunch. Flagstaff Hill Lookout, 4 mile beach, Marina, Wharf, Church Shops, restaurants & resorts, met French waiter who told me ‘le red emerald feesh is orf’ so had to have Gold Based Snapper in Thai tamarind curry with macadamias Annie had Tempura reef fish with spiced coconut sauce and garlic mayo. 2 drinks, Ace meal and posh sea front restaurant $67 not bad and brits in next campsite from Yorkshire who had emigrated 2 ½ years ago Victorians escaping the winter, Gr8 meal Gr8 weather loved 4 mile beach. Day 297 - Sunday 17th August 2008,Cape Tribulation Named by Mr. JC again we had a wonderful day on Cape Trib See the pictures lots of them Not quite as hot and sultry as the previous day Indeed we shut the windows on the campervan at 11pm and turned off the aircon. Mossman, Cape Trib, Daintree River, Wonga Beach. met Solomon Islander (drunk) at ferry crossing at Daintree on the way back Claimed to be descended from a sugarcane plantation slave, loved all the lovely beaches and rainforest Day 298 - Monday 18th August 2008,Daintree Overcast and not so muggy. 25c went back to Daintree river x-ing to do a 1 ½ hour trip on the River train, gr8 fun Then onto Daintree town (not burnt down as far as we could see) not much there though Then back thru Mossman , down towards gorge, stopped as Aboriginal community area and back to site to read Did some shopping in Mossman Woolies,saw Crocs, lots 4 females 1 juvenile and Scarface, king of the patch 52 yrs old and the one we saw last time, met guides on boat, Japanese doing photo salutes Female Aboriginal drunk in road back to their ‘ghetto’ just outside Mossman (sad), salty crocodiles, tree snake, brahma cows Day 299 - Tuesday 19th August 2008,Port Douglas 2 Cooktown Up, showered and gone by 9.30. Started muggy and overcast, then got v hot & sunny, then real tropical winds whilst ascending some of the mountains and at campsite in Cooktown. Good journey arrived at about 1.30am This is as far north as we can go in QLD The rest is gravel road and mostly shut in wet season up to Weipa on the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape York and the Torres Straits Islands, 150k south of Papua New Guinea ,saw bush lots of it and much burnt plus a yellow sunbird at site in Port Douglas. remember wind that rocked the campervan,wax gum/ palm fruit,said goodbye to Swiss guy (he and his wife been in Oz 22years, sold up in Brisbane, been traveling 18 months and now having a house built on the coast nr Childers) plus UK guy from Yorkshire been in Oz 2 ½ years Day 300 - Wednesday 20th August 2008,Cooktown Drizzly and windy day but at least it now doesn’t get dark until 6.30pm (prev 5pm) Wind so strong overnight it shook the c’van. Went into Cooktown for the day, nice time with lunch at the bakery and a bit of shopping in the IGA,James Cook (JC) Museum, JC Statues / Plaques (3 in total) Monument, Statue of the gr8 man and cairn where he beached the HMS Endeavour for repairs after holing on the reef off Cooktown, met old guy in campervan behind who suggested beach & museum (we will go 2moro) and Fisho man. Now been away 300 days plus Annie did the washing and it dried in the rain, honest the wind was so strong! Guy at reception said this is typical Cooktown weather (Hmmm it says they have 7hrs of sunshine a day). Not long after we were back a brit was eaten by a salty when he was mud crabbing in the Endeavour river, the warninsg are everywhere, poor foolish soul. Day 301 - Thursday 21st August 2008,Cooktown Lazy day really, little hotter and mixed sunny / overcast but NO rain 26c went up Grassy hill (Cooks lookout) about 2/3rd then dirt track Went to Finch Bay (nice) Botanic Gardens, Bakery (pie and banana cakenot as good as Nadi Airport) then back to site for lunch Then off as far as the tar sealed road would take us north of Cooktown, about 22k past Marton and beyond Endeavour River crossing ,loved all of this + Cooktown airport (sweet) lots of tropical plants plus the lovely smell of Bush Mrytle + termite hills saw 6 roos at Botanic gardens and 1 in the wild near Marton (presumably named by JC after area of Middlesborough, his hometown), Annie made fresh lemon from bush lemons loved campsite mangoes Day 302 - Friday 22nd August 2008,Cooktown 2 Atherton Didn’t sleep so well, far too hot Up at 7.15 and showered etc and ready to go by 8.50am Went back thru Blackrock Mts to Lakeland where took photos of development road up to top Cape York (dirt track alas) and flocks of noisy white cockatoos Then onto Mareeba and Atherton. High roo count 2day plus one light brown dingo after roadkill. He was a little too fast to photo Did about 350 k and got to Atherton by 3.15pm including shopping, fuel and post office (sent 2 DVDs to Mum) Hot humid and overcast in Cooktown (blowy as always) but cooler in Atherton,Coffee world, roos on golf course at Mareeba, red rooster dinner, lovely tropical hut for BBQ by pool at campsite in Atherton, met guy on golf course at Mareeba popped up again 3 caravans down at our site in Atherton,hoots.’take a picture of you taking a picture of the tourists taking a picture of the roos on the golf course’, loved Roos on golf course Day 303 - Saturday 23rd August 2008,Atherton 2 Charters Towers Up at 7am (and it’s a hols, my life!) left by 8.30am Drove initially up over hills & rainforests of Gr8 Dividing range and past QLDs highest Town then via Kennedy Development road Hwy1 (single track tar mostly on top of wide gravel road) thru to the Lynd Junction on HWY40. HWY1 split at savannah way then onto Normanton & then onto NTs (the road round oz) so slightly less busy for us on what is called the Gregory Developmental rd We were well and truly in outback QLD Went thru (and stopped at for lunch and ice-cream respectively) Greenvale Road house and Bluewater springs roadhouse Got to Charters Towers at about 4-ish had driven 550+k today and reasonably warm Stayed at Big 4 site went to Drive in movie in eve Only 1 of 6 now left in QLD.Saw cattle droving, road trains, miles of outback roads, kids and adults in backs of utes with duvets, pillows watching drive in movies,Poirot, Hastings and the Big 4, got cracked windscreen from stone from road train, best loo paper in our whole trip oh and our 1st drive in movie saw double bill of Kung Fu panda and The Incredible Hulk Had fish & chips, wine, beer, rum and coke sweets galore Gr8 eve and all for £3.75 each WOW and the stars Day 304 - Sunday 24th August 2008,Charters Towers Up late, warm day but not humid Had bacon sandwiches Visited lookout walked town center Annie had done washing and alas broke big toe nail V painful Went to Charters Towers hospital to ‘have it sorted’ stayed 2 night in CT campsite to cut down the daily drivingCharters Towers Lovely old buildings At the goldrush had its own stock exchange 30k people and called itself the WORLD no need to go anywhere else for anything else, saw nutter cowboy / dangerous if you ask us Must have been the town loony, ugh Annie had to go to Charters Towers Hospital to have her busted big toe nail cut off Day 305 - Monday 25th August 2008,Charters Towers to Emerald Up at 7 Travelled over 500k 2day mostly on the Gregory Development road which apart from 20k was all normal 2 lane road if a little bumpy in places Not much township wise on the road Went thru Belyando Crossing roadhouse, Clermont (Blair Athol) both mining , Capilla into Emerald (both sunflower production seeds and oil) Interesting trip Staying in Top Tourist Lake Maraboon site ($27),Dried up rivers, brahma cows, brolgas , cotton fields, sunflower paintings, boab trees and at the campsite the friendliest rainbow lorikeets and Major Mitchell cockatoos, met camp site owners (gay couple) who did the evening sing song, note we did NOT attend but heard it,Hmmm, remember with fondness Annie feeding the lorikeets 2 Brolgas flying past our windscreen (close) Day 306 - Tuesday 26th August 2008,Emerald Gem Fields Left site at 10-ish having tried to coax the Lorikeets out with some melon, alas it didn’t work V Hot and sunny day 2day 25c Went to Emerald for a look around the Cattle market (fun), station, 2 fabric shops, bought some Koala buttons, Botanic gardens (not so hot) then shopping in Woolies (£10 for 50 glucosulphamine tablets, 4 times UK price) then drove onto Anarkie (yep pronounced that way) and Sapphire – did fossicking at Pats Gems gr8 fun found 13 sapphires which we keep for $8 bucket of WASH.saw loads see piccies, claim sites at Sapphire amusing,met cowboys at steers sale (emerald peak downs municipal sales yard) , all v friendly. We have now been away 10 months, loved finding 13 sapphires Day 307 - Wednesday 27th August 2008,Willows Gem Fields Up late, had cooked brekkie Read a bit then hired prospecting gear from the campsite $10 then drove off past the township limits past the cattle grid and set up ‘camp’ Bloody hard work and blistering sun – 27c (oh and we didn’t find any sapphires) but had a go for about 2hrs Then back for a shower etc before relaxing reading and tea (beef schnitzel, new pots & carrots ) ,Kookaburras, the diggings, met lady in campsite who ‘sold’ us the prospecting gear, loved Diggings, email from Craig, Margaret and John & Diana Day 308 - Thursday 28th August 2008,Willows Gem field 2 Roma Up at 6.45am Gone by 8.15am Visited Rubyvale, Anarkie (and Saphire again) Stopped briefly to shop in Emerald and get fuel ($1.53 incl the 8c off coupon, cheapest yet in OZ) Then on down Gregory Developmental rd to Roma thru Springsure, Rollerston (where we had lunch) and then a v long stretch with NOUGHT to Roma Nice site at Roma with lots of bottle trees (now are these Baobabs?).Wildlife count Emus=2, Wallabies=2, Roos=1, met no one in particular, miner with long grey beard & hair in Rubyvale,remember some of the ‘architecture’ in Rubyvale plus a plethora of naff ozzie icons! Day 309 - Friday 29th August 2008,Roma 2 St George via Surat Up reasonable time, left just b4 10am Then went into Roma for a look around Visited Westpac and drew out some money and closed our account Town had a good outback feel but not quite so classy buildings as Kalgoorlie. Annie bought 3 really good fabrics in huge higgledy piggeldy store in Roma ($175) We visited tourist info and the site of the Big Rig Roma is famous for Gas & Oil K bought a class (?) stubby cooler then drove on down Caenarvon Hwy to Surat Had lunch here of our fave C&B’s and visited township and Cobb & Co museum Weather mixed hot but for the 2nd day running heavy rain Clears the air though! Wildlife count Emus=1, Wallabies=1, met lady in westpac bank in Roma who had lived in London and was off on hols for 3 weeks with her family to South Island, NZ we traded info V pleasant Plus old lady in Roma TI , remember being told off by campsite owner for running grey water, 1st time in 88 days Cobb & Co museum in Surat (v good and interesting) Reopened tap just outside of site Day 310 - Saturday 30th August 2008,St George to Lightening Ridge via Dirranbandi & Hebel on the NSW border Very hot day 29c+ Went into St George, drove along St G terrace and Balonne riverside Then visited Emu Egg carving studio ($6 for both) Got diesel ($1.60v cheap) and shopping in Foodstuff .Then about 260k driving to Lightening Ridge. Met greek guy with Emu eggs Lunch at Hebel riverside and surprisingly NO wildlife and met Capt birdseye loudmouth / boring words from WA who never stopped talking plus nice scotch couple who have lived in Sydney for 20 years.Highlights Getting Annie her black opal necklace in Lightening Ridge plus lamb, mint & rosemary sausages from award winning butchers in St George. See NSW for next day Day 311 - Sunday 31st August 2008, Lightening Ridge Very wet day and previous night Only 14c unheard of for LR which is generally hot & humid. Gravel roads and others flooded We did a 3 hour Black opal tour which was great fun saw loadsmost routes around the diggings/ dwellings (well hovels) is by colour coded old ute doorsbizarre In the afternoon we fossicked in the mud A lot easier than sapphire digging.Hot springs baths, diggings plus a whole lot of hippies / eccentrics and hippy houses Quite like nowhere we have seen before has to be visited to be believed.Met American lady who did the Black Opal tour plus odd hippy couple her US/ he oz who do the Black queen plays (based around their collection of old gas lamps) Whacky backy or what? Oh plus old bearded miner (on diggings) who waved at us whilst hanging up his long johns in the rain. LR has a very high ‘mental health problem’ limit.Remember the tour plus doing the digging in front of the TI center Muddy or what as opal is found in clay we think we did quite well but only having our ‘pieces’ looked at will prove it. Sherman the teddy with sunnies has to be seen to be believed. Day 312 - Monday 1st September 2008,Lightening Ridge 2 Bourke Up at about 8 Checked out by 10 (after using palette knife to squeeze our van out from our rather over friendly next door neighbour) Went and had another look around LR in the sun. Bought some pressies in Opal shop and Annie did some more fossicking at TI Had our ‘gems’ valued at shop, most alas black or grey Potch (boo hiss) Then 290 k via Walgett into Outback NSW and Bourke Stayed at the Mitchell Campsite ($26 incl on suite) V nice site Wildlife Count: 1 skink, 9 emus, 1 tortoise/terrapin, many wild goats, Colorful birds LR: Bottle house, Hot bore water baths Brewarrina (slums and takeaway that was dodgy costing $9the road signs asked you to spend $20 in their town) why most folks just haired thru Bourke Wharf, River Darling, Town and TI/Shops.Met guy next site to us at Bourke from Adelaide Hills who had hit a carcass in his 4WD and therefore had to stop in Bourke. He reckoned dangerous Indigenous place, not that bad in our book Certainly not like Brewarrina where we stopped for lunch, everything with metal shutters, huge aboriginal population (note made Boro look like a picnic). Remember Bourke: Pop 3000 and shire is the size of Denmark (wow) Day 313 - Tuesday 2nd September 2008,Bourke 2 Dubbo Up at 7 Showered in our private on suite, good site The folk next to us had already gone Left about 8.45am went and took some piccies of town, bought stubbie cooler and award winning pies ($8for 2 way expensive!) Then onto Dubbo (400k total) via the straight (199k) Mitchell Hwy to Nyngan, then on via Nevertire, Trangie (had lunch here and bought some nice cakes in bakery) then Dubbo Weather good 26c and sunny (again).Wildlife Count: 13 emus& 4 chicks (alas didn’t get to photo) Colorful birds & a huge eagle perched roadside on a road kill roo. Remember Hotel Nyngan plus disused railway line all the way from Bourke to Nyngan oh and 3 coach ,loads of school kids visiting from the Port Stephens area Dubbo has a good zoo & old gaol Dubbo is a city and has 39k+ pop It is only 4 hrs drive from Sydney but we are going back up.Alas some very thin cattle that looked like they were starving and the herdsman on a trials bike had let them loose on the main Mitchell Hwy as there was at least some grass there Day 314 - Wednesday 3rd September 2008,Dubbo 2 Gunnedah via the wonderful Warrumbungle NP Up at 7 had been v cold overnight central NSW is apparently famous for hot days and cold nights esp at this time of year Left about 8.45am Did some quick shopping in Coles Dubbo and got some fuel Now $1.87 in NSW way more expensive than QLD Then drove onto Gilgandra had a look around Visitors center Then onto WNP, breathtaking see the piccies The Whitegum lookout walk especially Then across into New England, NSW (nice landscape & colours esp the flowering yellow oil seed rape against the brown sun dried grass) and into Gunnedah, Koala Capital of the Worldhaven’t seen any yet though Staying at Top Tourist site here ($20) Wildlife count: 5 emus, 16 big red roos, 5 feral goats (they were shooting them from copters during our visit to the Warrumbungle NP) and 3 wallabiesnot alas the rare bushy tailed ones.Met guy from Victoria in Dubbo whilst washing who had taken 8 weeks off work, got as far as Mission beach and had to turn back His daughter lived in Mildura.No one else really. Remember the absolutely wonderful Warrumbungle NP A real highlight oh and as spring the bright yellow of the Wattle , Dubbo hugely disappointing.Ranger (cop?) in Gunnedah who was gonna book Keef until he discovered he was a Pommie Tourist for parking campervan the wrong way roundwhilst going to Westpac ATM for cash. Alas some very thin sheep that looked like they were starving Day 315 - Thursday 4th September 2008,Gunnedah to Armidale Linda's birfday. Up about 8 Washed and breakfasted for the heavy Koala spotting day ahead. Went into Gunnedah Called in at Tourist Info and talked to Steve the full time Koala spotter Supposedly up at 4am spotting he gave us a long list of sightings and good spots both in and out of town Apparently there are about 5000 in the town So we set off and drove to all his certain locations NOT ONE After 2+ hours we left town almightily disappointed but happy we had at least seen these wonderful creatures in the wild on KI, SA and at Kennetts River on GOR, Vic. Then drove onto Tamworth thru Liverpool plains along Oxley Hwy Stopped here briefly for Red Rooster lunch and a quick look at the Country & Western Museum (outside only)its what Tamworth is famous forthen on across the Great Dividing range (v hilly and huge bolder rocks) thru Urella (home of bushranger or was it whacker?, Thunderboltsimilar to Ned Kelly but supposedly not so nastyand if you believe that) into Armidale. Shopped at Woolies, camped at Top Tourist site on outskirts $26. rained a lot. Saw Koala’s NOT!!!! No Koalas oh and Steve the Misleader! Guy at campsite in Armidale who was a Doc of Linguistics at the NSW New England Uni here He was nice chap and v interested in Pom accents Plus told me Ozzies do have accents i.e those from around Adelaide have a Pommie one, hee hee! We renamed Gunnedah the World Capital of NO SHOW Koala’s Day 316 - Friday 5th September 2008,Armidale 2 Darlington Beach Staying at DB campsite again for 3 days. The best site in all our travels. Site D6 this time (was D8 last) just outside the pool Up and gone by 10 V wet day all daymost of the New England and North NSW Coast was floods. Traveled along the Waterfall hwy , most appropriate although most were off down gravel tracks so not accessible, especially in the wet did about 260 difficult kilometers arrived about 2.30pm. RAIN & FLOODS:Armidale,Dorrigo, Sherrard falls, Guy Fawkes river, Bellinger River (burst its banks big style), Coffs Harbour, Woolgoolga (Indian area 2 mosques), Darlington beach, met guy from Grafton , next pitch, regular annual holiday for son from Vic (Byron Heads) and daughter from Qld (Atherton).had a lengthy chat with him about crocs, snakes and his trip by 4WD to Cape York (v hard). Remember ace pies in Dorrigo, being back at our fave campsite Day 317 - Saturday 6th September 2008,Darlington Beach Day of Chillin, just SO relaxing! Up late, had cooked brekkie Then Ozzie guy next door gave us his copy of the Weekend Australian which we read all day Annie did some washing Weather mostly good with several shower spots We brought washing in a one point and then put it back out again then guy gave us copy of The Sydney Morning Herald Papers here cost about $2.20 Had spag bol and chilled again, saw the sun and 2 newspapers, bliss! Met nice old guy in next caravan who seemed to have throat cancer Chatted for a while he had taken his young family to UK and Europe in 70s His wife was off back in Sydney saying goodbye to their daughter and family who were off for 3 weeks to UK Son in law worked for Ernst & Young, funded business trip then she was gonna fly up to Sunshine coast to meet him.Loved Chillin..... Day 318 - Sunday 7th September 2008,Darlington Beach Another fine day in DB 24c and v sunny Got sunburn despite now ‘all over’ tan Spent day reading papers and books V relaxing after dinner of wraps went for a stroll on Corindi beach, bit blowy and tide much further in than last time we were here then back out to main road and water lily lagoon, saw Roo family that were probably on our plot last time. Lorikeets and loads of banksias and other colourful plants, met a few folk from the site down by the beach plus helped guy who gave us yet another paper with his caravan hitch up. Loved just spending more time at our fave campsite and sad that we are leaving soon Day 319 - Monday 8th September 2008,Darlington Beach 2 Diamond Beach Near Forster-Tuncurry Up at 7.30 Showered, Brekkied & watched the duck and ducklings. Then set off for F-T via Coffs harbour, Fredo’s pies, Port Macquarie to Billabong to buy a 2nd Koala, then along the coast road to Laurieton we hadn’t done before thru Lake Cathie, Bonny Hills, North Haven and the Ocean Rd finally rejoining the Pacific Hwy just beyond Laurieton then onto our Big 4 campsite at Diamond Beach. Great facilities, pool but lousy sandy unleveled site at $30 per night Staying 2 nights before moving onto Sydney gets dark down here about 5.45pm bad news reasonably sunny today 22c.Saw baby ducklings (ahhhh).Met really old lady with the shakes in campsite who couldn’t work the mouse so I showed her how to use a bit of plain paper as a mouse mat. On plot 254 (rubbish) so moved. Remember finally getting thru to Australia post (cheated after 2 booked phone backs, hit the VIP/Expensive service and got thru..parcel left oz 5/6now check in UK) Day 320 - Tuesday 9th September 2008,Diamond Beach Got up 9.15am Showered Had bacon sarnies for brekkie and cereal (ah luxury!) Then went for a walk on the beach just in front of our campsite. Note the campsite is empty. Us and one other Gr8 facilities but really poor sandy, sloped pitches Beach nice then came back and read all day K finished Marker by Robin Cook, A finished Rage by Wilbur Smith. Had lamb steaks for T yummy.Saw galahs in flight, the beach, and on beach (deadly & dead) puffer fish. Remember walk on beach, good weather if somewhat windy 24c Day 321 - Wednesday 10th September 2008,Diamond Beach 2 Sydney (Narabeen lakes) via Forster-Tuncurry Drove along 2 loop roads we had not been along when we first went up the NSW coast, then thru Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP and down HWY3 Mona Vale rd into Narabeen and the Big 4 lakeside camp site we stayed at b4 We are here for 4 final days in Sydney Weather warm and sunny, 23c but chilly at night.Saw Forster-Tuncurry, nice sea lake, Booti-booti NP, Myall lakes NP, Pacific Hwy/freeway (1) and loads of road widening (poor Koalas!), Gosford, Terigal, Avaco Beach, Copacabana beach, Woy Woy, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP and Bobbin Head, Narabeen. Met guy at Diamond beach campsite who said he was off to UK for 1st time in 3 years time to visit Dundee where all his rellies came from.Stopped at Stanford Forster retail park to do final food shopping in Woolies and bought an additional suitcase in K-Mart ($29.99 + lock $2.99), getting thru Ku-Ring-Gai chase NP and not paying the $11 as offices closed plus just making campsite at 5.50pm it shut at 6pm (phew!!!!) Day 322 - Thursday 11th September 2008,Sydney centre Up about 8.30am Showered Breakfasted and then caught bus outside campsite into Manly No 155 Got 2 x day pass for buses, trains and ferries Gr8 value $16 each! Had a coffee and Gloria Jean’s on Manly Wharf then caught Jet cat across to circular quay Walked around passed Opera house , Bennalong Point to QE2 gates and Royal Botanic Gardens Then walked thru it out to Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair, then back again round to have lunch/ t in Wolfies. Alas Wolfies Grill closed so went to Italian Village (ace) $145 (approx £78) for 3 courses and drinks and a table with Opera House directly in front then walked up into the Rocks and back to ferry and bus ‘home’ Got back about 8-ish Pitch black Not many street lights and asked kind bus driver to tell us when to get off for Lakeside park NarabeenBeaut day, hot and sunny all day with nice cooling breeze off harbour Guess 22c bed at 1am after sorting out route back to Britz near airport Alas Sydney is all e-toll roads which means you can’t even use cash, nightmare. We reckon gonna have to do 30+ k extra, saw lots see the piccies plus Possums on campsite gate post. Met lots of folk especially Mrs Angry with the loud phone on the Manly Ferry back and bloke at gate with torch who pointed out the possums oh and American couple whom we traded photos (i.e we took one of them, they took one of us) with whilst in the Gardens.Just a lovely day, shame it’s possibly our last time in Sydney Still the best city in the World. NOT TRUE back in 2013 and you can never say never Day 323 - Friday 12th September 2008,Sydney (Narabeen Lakes) Lovely hot sunny day again with cool breeze 23c tried sorting out Parcel sent from Alice with Oz Post via phone (131318) Had to go down to PO in Narabeen to fill out a complaints form Now been 16 weeks lady tried to assure us, lets hope she is right Then drove up and parked in the surf club car park and walked along Narabeen beach, paddling (alas probably for the last time in Oz) Didn’t cross river as it came out into the sea as too fast and deep then went back to campsite and sat out on chairs with table Went possum spotting at night. Saw Beach, River , lakes Met guy from Adelaide (and Yorkshire) in next caravan Been in oz 36 years.Last paddle, hopefully sorting out parcel with oz post and luvverly sunshine!!! Boy how we are gonna miss that Day 324 - Saturday 13th September 2008,Manly Got up 8.30 Scorcher of a day First gr8 day of spring in Sydney 29c and v sunny 25c at 6pm Caught bus into Manly ($4 each each way – nice bus driver let us off one fare as we didn’t have change) Bought strawberry smoothie from Wharf, went to look where Anne used to live in Manly 6 or 9 Gilbert st (now gone but no 13 original) then went for walk along beach, packed , Corso packed , surfing and beach volley ball. Then looked in shops (too expensive) then had a gr8 meal in the Bavarian Bier exchange on the Wharf overlooking the harbour. Both had Veal and Claire valley white for Annie and a stein of Spaten Munchen for me. Rolled back on Bus, saw Manly beach in sun and throng! Met Len & Di in next door caravan. Downer (again) Barclays who screwed up and cut off our cash Day 325 - Sunday 14th September 2008,Sydney (Narabeen Lakes) 2 Holiday Inn (airport) Up at 8 packed final things Had breakfast Rained all night and hard, weird after previous days heat Got rid of rubbish, left leftovers in Kitchen for other campers – books, food, lamp etc Then after one final dunny man act we went off up Mona Vale road (Hwy3) across the Ryde bridge then down Concord road onto the Parramatta Rd (hwy4) and straight onto Hwy31 into Broadway (old part of Sth Sydney, close to city center) then out on Regent / Boundary to Gardiners and the Britz office. Returned van caught taxi 500m to Holiday Inn (cnr of O’Roidan & Bourke) $14 bit of a rip but no other way with so many suitcases. Saw Airport and enjoyed a bit of luxury at hotel.Gave our home back after 105 days, sad but nice as well, good to get the luxury of space etc in our Holiday Inn Hotel, Sydney airport, room 522 Nice meal in restaurant then went to bed early to try and sleep as up early, not easy as so hot Met no one – canned telstra modem (although still had to sort out in UK 3 months later) Day 326 - Monday 15th September 2008, Sydney 2 Hong Kong via Singapore Long day flying, watched lots and lots of movies on the flight Up about 4.45am , flew at 8.05am although it was 15mins late going Good airplane, Air Singapore had to swap at Changi and use posh fast shuttle train to our next gate The luggage got transferred automatically for us from one plane to the other Taxi at HK was a hoot Service guy wrote down the hotel in Chinese for the driver who we had fun communicating with by hand signals Kowloon a long way Over lovely bridge and under tunnel 45 mins drive Went to wrong hotel then had to go to New SD all fine £75 a night stayed 3 nights Hot 35c and 100% humidity, what we saw today,Airports and movies, who we met, Shuttle guy @ Holiday Inn Sydney who was annoyed we had loaded on our own bags. Jobsworth! Getting on the plane went very quickly when one considers it, taxi driving thru market to San Diego (wrong hotel) was amusing, took 1 picture of Changi airport only! Plus remembering my Dad with love, who died on this day 6 years earlier. Day 327 - Tuesday 16th September 2008,Hong Kong Breakfasted at McDonalds Nathan Road, Jordan Then got Urban Day pass for the MTR (Metro) ($50HK-£4) Went to TST and walked to star ferry Crossed to Central ($8HK-63p) Walked across bridge up into IFC mall Had juice and muffin then back on Star Ferry Went to Hard rock Café for drink and t-shirt then onto Sham Shui Po for Computer bits Knackered as hot and humid (36c/ 100%+) back to hotel to flake Went to sleep and only had bits and pieces from Bakery on MTR for Tea. Met loads of very nice folk who helped us whenever we looked at a map even though we weren’t lost. Celebrated Keef’s 54th B’day spent in Hard Rock Cafe (TST) and Computer Nerdsville , Sham Shui Po, plus lunch up Mt Victoria via Peak Train & saw a Wedding on Star Ferry. Probably for a magazine. Day 328 - Wednesday 17th September 2008, Hong Kong Breakfasted at McDonalds Nathan Road, Jordan Then got Urban Day pass for the MTR ($50HK) Then went up to Central and walked thru business district to the Peak Train went up to the top, alas very humid and unclear views but had great birfday lunch at Pappa Gumps Shrimps etc Then back to TST for light and sound show (spectacular) then back to hotel for a rest Had bits from bakery for t plus 2 bowls of fruit the hotel left. met loads of folk esp American gi (retired) and Chinese girlfriend from Schezhan.Enjoyed Tram ride, night lights and music show, retail therapy. Day 329 - Thursday 18th September 2008,Hong Kong 2 England and Home!!!! Very little sleep and alas Keef was sick overnight so jaded when we caught taxi back to airport K put poor guy off by giving him misleading airport terminal info Finally got to T1 gate 3 for Air NZ, long flight 12hrs 20mins which went quickly Craig collected us at Heathrow glad to be back Had fish and chips from Sandiacre fish bar at Craig’s then managed to stay up to 10pm then flopped No real jet lag at all..can’t wait for the next hols!!! THE END for now, watched 4 movies the best of which was a Kiwi movie called 2nd hand wedding, met a Nice girl from Ghangzho who was studying at Bristol (2nd year) reminded us of Phoenix. Loved Arriving at t1 not t3 Heathrow. Craig’s sign saying AGEING HIPPIES

by keef & annie hellinger 20 June 2021, 5.20 pm Motorhome trip No 43 : Jun 14th-19th 2021 A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog NOTTS->Birnam Perthshire Scotland ->NOTTS by 3 relay transporters (boo!) 497 miles This was to be our 1st true motorhome trip outside of lockdown for a month to Scotland taking in the North Coast 500, Harris and Lewis and pals on Mull. Sadly it didn't end as well as we had hoped but we did have a fun few days in Glasgow beforehand. MENU Intro Diary Slideshows Travel Blog Routes Retro Scottish Travels The End COMMENTARY / OVERVIEW / DIARY Sadly this was not the best trip to Scotland we have ever had but I include the travel blog anyhow but we did have a good few days in lovely Glasgow first before disaster struck!. INTRODUCTION After all the meticulous planning and wrestling to get campsites on the heavily overbooked NC500 sadly we only got to do 6 days , but what lovely six days visiting pals Mandy and Colin in the Lake District, staying and visiting Coniston Water, an interesting Caravan and Motorhome club site in the Coppice woods with now 350+ pitches (we stayed on pitch numbers 302 & 194, they also have glamping pods) with a lovely walk down out of the site across a farm to Coniston Water, revisiting reunion site at Threlkeld, and 3 lovely days in Glasgow staying at the Strathclyde Country Park (pitch 99) and using Park & Ride from Belshill to get into central Glasgow, a city we dearly love, the highlight of and there were many 2 days on the trot in Mrs Cranstons Charles Rennie Macingtosh’s art nouveau inspired Willow tea rooms. Class plus some fab art by his wife Margaret MacDonald (esp. the gesso panel on the stairs) and the Mad Hatters tea party was a true delight, plus the Kibble glass house at the fab Botanic Gardens , in our humble opinion a true competitor of Kew Gardens. Go to MENU DIARY We endured / listened (quietly to hide our accents) the Tartan army ready to travel to Wembley at the Central station and again in George Square, very loud of voice but happy and well behaved (maybe?) with liquid food (Tenants) for the journey. Anyhow SADLY because on the way up to Inverness on the A9 to start the NC500 after seeing now both Perth’s (Scotland and Western Oz) our lovely Wendy house started to make the most incredible noise from the engine and power slipped, we pulled off on a side road sign posted Birnam and stopped it. I have had an experience with an old Cortina years ago where the engine timing belt snapped and knew it could damage the engine. We contacted the insurance folks who sent out a mechanic from Blair Atoll who said it’s the timing chain. Sadly no garage in the Highlands could do it and after ringing around getting it fixed in Perth / Glasgow would have meant up to 2 weeks in a B&B / Hotel, no fun so reluctantly we decided to get transported back home. Bad news, but no one is hurt, we will get the van sorted locally (hopefully it doesn’t need a new engine but who knows) and will redo this trip next year. If you would like to see slideshow of our “limited” fun please CLICK HERE, thanks PS we now LOVE French Earl Grey tea, give it a whirl if you can find it PPS the first transporter driver from Blair Atoll quipped "I love nothing better than deporting the English from Scotland" ;) plus remember after the England / Scotland 0-0 draw at Wembley in Euro 2020 (played 21 because of Covid) the Scots TV station played Braveheart ;) Thanks for looking, folks. PLEASING UPDATE: 14/7/21 after 3 and 1/2 weeks in major surgery our beloved Wendy House is now back on the road and as recuperation we took her out for a 40 mile spin to put the engine under pressure, I am pleased to say all OK so can now start planning a few local trips to continue her rehabilitation ;) Go to MENU SLIDESHOWS #motorhome #motorhometravels #travelsin2021 #campsites It may have been bad but at least we can say it wasn't this bad, taken in arisaig scotland around the same time Go to MENU SCOTTISH TRAVEL BLOG ROUTES Here is a set of videos, reels and shorts showing all out Scotland travel blog routes graphically, enjoy Go to MENU RETRO SCOTTISH FAMILY HOLIDAY VIDEOS Recreated these in 2023 , enjoy my utubeo videos Go to Menu THE END

By keef and annie hellinger, June 19 2022 8.36AM A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog Not The Motorhome trip No 17 : May 27th 2022 – June 18th 2022 MENU Introduction Hazelgrove Barn, Laneshawbridge, Lancashire Photoshoot Gartocharn, West Dumbartonshire, Loch Lomond, Scotland A week back and around Sandiacre Covid finally negative after 19 days Audiobook Scottish Travel Blog Routes Retro Scottish Family Travels Videos Tags and Comments INTRODUCTION Welcome to Blog 182, a real family affair. Our family from Singapore were over for 3 weeks, the first time we have seen them in 3 years due to the pandemic. Just so lovely to spend time with them, unfortunately as we let our hair down i.e pubs, restaurants, and crowded places Keef (Grandpa) got covid. Anyhow it was still a fab time. Left at 3.30 am on Friday 27th May to pick them up from Heathrow, got there with plenty of time to spare, mask on I was the first person in Arrivals and therefore bagged the best viewing slot in the house armed with my welcome card I buckled down to greet them all. As space was limited for baggage in the Merc Annie had to stay behind. Due to some baggage handling issues at Heathrow (maybe staff shortages? who knows) they were quite a while before they came through, just how wonderful was that! Whilst waiting for them I reveled in what appeared to be a reenactment of "Love Actually" as the hugs and cheers as people's loved ones came through those arrival swing doors was truly lovely #emotional Interestingly there were lots of folks who came up to look at my sign, thinking I was a taxi service #teehee After pick up we travelled back up to Sandiacre, stopping at Newport Pagnell services for a slap up "full english" breakfast with black pudding, one of their fave things that is impossible to find in Singapore #class. Got back to all greet Annie and they chilled and tried to overcome jet lag. Not easy. They decided that they didnt need an extra day to recover and were happy to travel up to Lancashire on the Saturday to greet Craig & Leanne and family who were going up first. We all kept it a surprise. During the planning of the combined family holiday we had booked a large holiday home , Hazelgrove Barn, in Laneshawbridge on a farm, made possible to get us all together as it was half term in England and the Queens 70th jubilee affording 2 days public holiday, #goodstuff For the second week whilst Craig and co returned to work and school we were travelling onto a second holiday home, again on a farm, called Curlew Cottage very near to Loch Lomond , an area we love a lot but have never really stayed in. It was so nice we may well take the campervan back there sometime, Keef has already sussed out a campsite very near to Gartocharn. The 3rd week was spent doing family stuff back home in the Sandiacre area in Nottinghamshire. The whole 3 weeks went far too quickly, but it was ALL just magical. Thanks for visiting Singapore. #biglove The total mileage in the Kia when I returned it was 786 miles. This is a Geo Map produced by Google Maps telling me where we went in those 3 weeks, it makes interesting reading. #bigbrotheriswatchingyou #smile If you would like to see all our blogs on non-motorhome family trips use this TIMELINE page, thanks for looking Return to MENU THE WHOLE FAMILY IN LANCASHIRE So we travelled up to Lancashire in both the hire car and our own car. At one point, unbeknown to Keef having put the handbrake on on a hill, a green locking button came on on the Kia which meant as I tried to move off it wouldn't and smoked like crazy, a smell we spent ages trying to remove with windows open. Very kindly Annie who was driving behind me put on her hazards. Finally got it sorted and we arrived over hill and dale at the holiday home just a Craig was going off to do the shopping in Burnley, a lovely surprise and Edie was hugely excited to meet up with Charlie when she wasn't expecting it. As you arrived in the area Hazelgrove barn was just so visible on the horizon guiding you to it. What an incredible modern property owned by Cheryl & Steve and one we booked through Hoseasons. A very nice friendly couple and a well equipped establishment with cot and stair gates and 360 degree views to die for. Perfect for a big family of 10. DIARY Day 1 Saturday 28th May 2022 - Arrival, Surprise Hallo's all around and settle in, unpack, tea, catch up and off to bed reasonably early. One thing I remember was the lovely pix of Tate hugging and kissing Ned, a pleasure (mostly) that carried on for the rest of the week. Day 2 Sunday 29th May 2022 - BBQ Sunday, tried out their brand new kit and outside decking table and chairs, the kids loved hiding in the storage box, a real hoot. Watched Forest at Wembley returning to the premiership after 23 years, a whole stack of Hellinger noise, COYRs. What a tense game which we had to watch with copious amounts of alcohol. Day 3 Monday 30th May 2022 - Day out at Thornton Hall Country Park at Thornton in Craven about 15 minutes drive away from the holiday home. We all saw and fed the animals, the girls having ice cream, bit of a playpark outside, mostly wet sadly, but both saw Dino live spectacular about T-Rex and others (fake in Charlies words) and played in the indoor kids area, Phoenix even made it up the tricky slope. We ate inside. The girls had the opportunity to dig for dinosaur eggs which they did and found treasure. A fun day out. Charlie said "its cold Grandpa" tee-hee, now how surprising is that in comparison to Singapore, G&G will be complaining of the heat at Christmas. Day 4 Tuesday 31st May 2022 - Started after mass cooked brekkie done by Doug (Yummy) of scrambled egg and avocado on toast, with Craig and Tate's usual bike ride of discovery, Tate absolutely loves it, to see the joy in his face is a wonder to behold. The girls then put on their lovely yellow dresses and did some dancing along to music provided by the ever present Alexa, ha-ha. After brekkie it was time for a walk to wear off some of the grub so Grandpa put on his walking boots and took his camera off up the gravel driveway turning left up the hill to the woodland, over slugs and sheep poo (remember those Edie) to the Trig point on the Pennine Bridleway with fab views back over the surrounding countryside. There was even picnic benches and seats up there to take those views in. Pretty soon initially Doug and family joined me then Craig and family. It was quite magical up there over the dry stone wall. In the afternoon we all drove to Burnley in the pouring rain to the Airtime play indoor shed , which all bar G&G went on. It was a nightmare to park there and in fairness had the feel of a Covid petri dish but the kids and adults loved the workout, they were so tired on return to the cottage. #exhausted Day 5 Wednesday 1st June 2022 - weather today very mixed, so a morning in and around the house, after lunch Grandpa put on his walking boots and headed off up Warley Wise lane to the Black Lane Ends Tavern, so named after the brook nearby called the Black Lane Scar. I took a few pix on route, quite windy. Had a nice pint of Tim Taylors landlord and sat outside admiring the view. It started spitting so I decided to start back but bumped into the family walking towards the pub so joining them returned for a second pint, after all it is a holiday. poor craig had mostly had to carry Edie's bike. This is the pub that C&L had eaten at on the first day before we arrived. It has a really good garden with kids play apparatus so we sat outside. There was a sausage dog some local kids had bought along that the kids were fascinated by, frankly I would not have allowed it on the apparatus but hey ho I'm an old fogie, tee-hee. Keef got the menu so we could pre order for Friday lunch , it would be busy as the 2nd day of the bank holiday for the Queen's 70th jubilee celebrations and the pub needed our orders. All were given bar Phoenix and Annie who had stayed back at the cottage. Grandpa had a major emoji failure, no idea how, but shouldn't press the phone in your pocket I would suggest #teehee Grandpa cooked a "sunday dinner" of roast pork and all the trimmings on a wednesday and Edie and Craig made the Platinum Pudding recipe for afters, and yummy it all was. Day 6 Thursday 2nd June 2022 - up early, got ready for our professional family photo shoot. Suited and booted we headed off in the 3 cars to Wycoller country park where Leanne had arranged to meet the photographer. After one false start the Kia and Merc duly arrived at the Atom panopticon car park and introduced ourselves to Steve the photographer from Preston. After some frantic phone calls C&L who had visited many of the country park's car parks (teehee) arrived and we were ready. The shoot took about 45 minutes in total, a lovely view from here, twas a little nippy but one and all enjoyed it and picking the dandelion clocks was a big hit for the grand children. See photoshoot below, click here if you prefer. Having said our goodbyes to Steve and huge thanks to Leanne for arranging we all headed off into Colne, a place many of us had already visited to do our shopping in Sainsburys. We all managed to park in the sideroad near Sainsbo's. Walked back into town and enjoyed the wonderful Queen's jubilee celebrations that were going on, music at the church, fun fair rides, face painting, balloon animals, circus demonstrations, clog dancing and the girls getting a donkey ride and all free , or mostly. Candy floss was consumed and then dumped, just far too sugary. D&P liked the look of a table in a closed antiques store, indeed they tried for a few days to get but eventually gave up. Craig & I even answered a church survey on the reasons for their dwindling congregation, feeling full of the spirit of Jubilee times. #kind On the way back Keef called in at the pub to let them know Annie & Phoenix's order and the final decision for the kids, we were now fully booked up for our meal tomorrow. In the evening Craig & Leanne kindly added Charlie and Alfie to their child caring repertoire and Doug & Phoenix kindly took us oldies out to the White Swan at Fence, near Burnley for a lovely Michelin starred meal, now how lovely was that. There are many pix of the fine food and probably worth viewing then alongside the White Swan menu. We returned quite late after driving into empty petrol forecourts in Colne, closed we had forgotten because it was a 2 day bank holiday. Petrol & Diesel prices have risen sharply. Day 7 Friday 3rd June 2022 - weather changeable, we all walked down to the pub at the end of the road, takes about 30 minutes, ready for our prebooked meal at 12 noon. G&G set off first as a little slow these days, the others soon caught us up. Our reserved table in the corner was right next to a roaring fire with no windows open, just too hot really, maybe this is where I caught Covid BA5 but who knows, anyhow it was a very nice meal and time and the sticky toffee pudding with custard for after's was too die for. The girls did colouring at the table pre food. Edie had got her socks wet in puddles on the way up but they soon dried in front of the fire. Post dinner we went out into the garden and the kids played on the swings etc. for quite a while. Ned loved the numerous cars. On the walk back we spied a lovely red admiral butterfly on the dry stone wall in the sun. A very pleasant amble back. C&L had gone ahead to get Tate to sleep so Edie came with us as had wanted to play on the swings with Charlie, I love the way they get on so well. In the afternoon we started the packing , boo hiss, this week was going far too quickly. Phoenix had pre booked horse riding at Jerusalem farm just down the road for the girls. Steve the owner had suggested it as an option on the first day we arrived, inspired by their Colne donkey riding they were both looking forward to it, it was an hour session and the lady doing it was very good at instructing them, there was one girl there who had been doing it every Friday since the age of 3, unaccompanied she looked a dead cert for a future Olympic gold in Dressage. Day 8 Saturday 4th June 2022 - sadly very wet and windy this morning, glad we had done some of the car packing yesterday evening. Got the final packing done. Said our fond farewells to Craig, Leanne, Edie & Tate and set out on what was to become a mammoth journey to Scotland, click HERE to read on Local Map Here are the slideshows and talkies videos capturing our wonderful family time in Lancashire Highlights slideshow day by day The full slideshow of some 444 images taken at Hazelgrove barn and surrounding areas The Talkies Return to MENU PHOTOSHOOT AT WYCOLLER COUNTRY PARK We got up early to go off to the country park for a family photoshoot Leanne had kindly arranged with a professional photographer, Steve from Preston. We arrived after getting minorly lost at the Pendle Atom in the Wycoller Country Park , Laneshawbridge entrance but Craig & Leanne took a little longer as unbeknown to us there were quite a few car parks in the area. Eventually they arrived and we were able to get on with the shoot which was fun controlling the little ones, ha-ha. Steve was a nice chap, the Atom was a little graffitied sadly and surprisingly the skies on some of his pix were missing / very faded, maybe that was on purpose, who knows but I have manipulated some of them with photoshop / photo studio 12. Hopefully it has made an improvement. Here is the slideshow of that Photoshoot plus a little bit on the Pendle Atom, set in just fab countryside and an area we have never visited before. The Pendle Atom. Pendle’s Panopticon, Atom, rests on the hillside above Wycoller village in Wycoller Country Park. Constructed in ferro-cement with a surface coating of metal-based paint, it is both a striking contemporary viewing point and shelter from which to enjoy Pendle’s glorious scenery, and an intriguing and beautiful object which can be viewed from afar. From inside, its circular viewing spaces frame spectacular views of the surrounding countryside, and an initially hidden, polished steel ball reflects back those views to the visitor. Wycoller is a historic settlement dating back beyond 1000BC. It has close links with the Brontes, and Charlotte is thought to have been a frequent visitor. In 1973 the village was declared a conservation area and the surrounding 350 acres of farmland were designated a Country Park. Wycoller has several unusual architectural features, including seven small bridges that cross Wycoller Beck, and an 18th-century five-aisled barn, now converted into a visitor centre. Return to MENU US AND THE SINGAPORE HELLINGERS AT LOCH LOMOND, SCOTLAND Overall the weather was good for the first 4 days then it took a turn for the worse, eventually forcing us to leave on the Saturday in howling gales and strong rainstorms, which didnt stop until we got to the English Borders on the M74 heading towards Carlisle. We stayed in Curlew Cottage on East Cambusmoon Farm owned by Deborah & Steve who were very friendly and helpful. She was from Surrey he from Yorkshire and had been there since 2006 buying the farm as a derelict concern and doing it up, wonderfully well. They had a small holding we looked out onto with a few sheep, one brown sort a rare breed. The shed next to us when wet was the sheep's refuge, what wimpy sheep #haha They also had a vegetable garden with some lovely apple trees, fruits and flowers, including some lovely pink ornamental poppies which Keef discussed with Steve. In the orchard bit of it where the hens, which Charlie & Alfie loved going to and feeding them. We kept all our food scraps for them in a container provided, with 2 holiday cottages on site they must have been the best fed hens in the neighbourhood. The flap on the hen house we would lift in the morning to see what the girls had laid, indeed on one occasion we caught on of the black hens just laying. So nice to be on a farm in a great location for the grandkids. The trampoline in the shed and slides etc. on site were well used , it was fun watching Doug and Phoenix also bouncing from my self isolation in the bedroom, I got a good view of the trampoline. Charlie was very good at it. On the wall was a quote from the Scottish Bard, Rabbie Burns and a good one it was too. Also tribute to Charles Rennie Mackintosh and surprisingly Mick Jagger. DIARY DAY 1 (and 8 for Lancashire Diary) Saturday 4th June 2022 - Having left Lancashire it took us about 2 hours to get across to the M6 in the Lake District. We stopped at Skipton at the Tesco's fuel station to fill up both cars for the long journey. By now it had finally stopped raining. We then initially stopped at a café on route to the M6 for everyone to have a comfort break but despite the sign saying open it was closed at a bank holiday. We then got caught behind a tractor for miles cross country, well Annie who was driving the merc did, Keef drove slowly in front of the tractor so as not to lose her. Finally crossed into Scotland on the M6 near Gretna Green, the motorway then turning into the M74. Charlie was suffering immeasurable pain due to ear ache and infection. We stopped then at a service station called Annandale Waters on the M74 which had a lovely lake to walk around. We all lunched, us on Cornish Pasties, the others on other beverages and food although poor Charlie was in no state to eat she cried endlessly as Phoenix tried in vain to comfort her, poor Charlie. After spending quite a while at the services we decided to visit a pharmacist in nearby town of Moffat to get medical help. The guy examined Charlie as best he could and prescribed ibuprofen and kiddie paracetamol to alleviate in part her pain. It worked for a bit. He also told us to ring 111 if it got worse and / or there was discharge from the ear. We crossed the Erskine bridge and were in familiar territory, Dumbarton, then through Alexandria onto the village of Gartocharn and turning into Dunchryne Road with its playpark on the left hand side. Initially we missed the East Cambusmoon Farm sign as only in one direction and hidden in the hedge. Also a coach was coming down the very narrow road, weird. So we both pulled into the car park by our Curlew cottage, exhausted but pleased to arrive and get unpacked and settled in a nurse Charlie. The journey was listed as 3 hours 40 mins, it took us 3 times as long for obvious reasons. Keef and Annie popped out into Alexandria to get fish and chip suppers for everyone, it had been a massive journey and we were all too tired to cook. D&P eventually managed o settle the kids especially Charlie but she did not have a good night. DAY 2 Sunday 5th June 2022 - As there had been discharge from Charlies ear overnight Keef rang NHS 111 to get help. A nice lady Kimberly eventually helped but the phone reception was so poor on the farm that any slight movement of ones head wiped out the call. Anyhow after numerous failed attempts Keef talked to a doctor, strong Glaswegian accent a nd tricky to understand BUT we got Charlie into the Vale of Leven hospital in Alexandria for an emergency appointment at 11 am. Keef , Doug and Charlie drove there and saw a very nice lady doctor wo was very gentle, caring and informative. She gave us one jar of penicillin and a prescription to get a second the next day, they only having limited supplies at the hospital. It started to work its magic as anti-biotics often do fairly quickly and soon Charlie was eating again and looking much more like her normal self, thank heavens, poor girls, ear ache is awful. We all had a bit of a look around the area and whilst Charlie slept it off , looked after by Granny the rest of us went out in the hire car to the Loch Lomond shores area in Balloch and went to what in the end was a disappointing farmers market. Nice views and sunshine however. We bought some black pudding, pies and scones. Keef cooked an evening meal using pies etc. from the farmers market and left over veg from the previous cottage we had bought with us. DAY 3 Monday 6th June - Day out in Glasgow, Charlie now fine. Up early we drove into Balloch and parked for free near the station, interestingly all car parks in this beauty spot area are free, why can't England do the same I wonder? We bought return train tickets into Glasgow Queen Street station for everyone , except Ned of course, he is too young. Granny & Grandpa couldn't get concessions without a ScotRail seniors card, and our State bus passes only work in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, NOT Scotland, weird I would venture! Nice train, the kids enjoyed the journey which stopped at most stations on the way into Glasgow. Grandpa teased / amused Charlie with lots of strange Scottish anecdotes mostly centered around the town names... Singer / Drum-somewhere/ Bowling, Auch Eye The Noo-dle. Queen Street is very convenient for George Square. We all used the loo's first (50p what a rip-off!) The Hop On Hop Off bus had changed location around George Square since we last visited due to some road works and segregating the area right next to the station so we walked down to where stop 1 now is. The nice lady gave Annie & I concessions based on our Reykjavík tickets and the rest a discounted Family ticket so win-win. We hopped on the bus all of us bar Granny upstairs in the sheltered bit at the front, just in case but in fairness it was a very dry and hot day, even if Charlie felt cold #smile We then took the bus trip around through all the sights including Billy Connolly murals, Glickman's the oldest sweet shop in Glasgow, People's Park, That pub where women were only allowed from the late 70s (dreadful!) , the fabulous Kelvingrove museum and a whole lot more taking about 1 hour 20 minutes getting off at stop 19. Annie and I have now done the bus tour 3 times, but it was so nice to share what we both feel is our fave small city in the UK (well currently in the UK but who knows going forward!). Although we passed the Clyde side Distillery we didn't stop as Doug had other plans for later in the week whiskey wise. Stop 19, we walked up to the Willow Tea Rooms where Keef had booked us all in for a special tea, not the Mad Hatter's Tea party this time but a special service and creation for the Queen's 70th Jubilee including a little cake version of the Platinum Pudding Craig had made on Wednesday 1st June. It was all so nice, Doug had the Islay whiskey version, and we had our lovely French Earl Grey Tea. We couldn't manage all the somewhat sickly ice cakes so asked for a doggie box to take them away, G&G tried later on in the evening to eat them but just too sugary so chucked them away. The willow tea rooms are Charles Rennie Mackintosh inspired, we both love his work and the art work from his wife Margaret. Maybe take a look via the links, you won't be disappointed. Interestingly we started with sausage roll, gourmet ones, seemed to have been a theme of this holiday, we will never go into Greggs again to avoid disappointment. After the tea rooms we decided to walk back to Charing Cross and saw the lovely old preserved tenement block, after that we thought we would have time to make it up to the Kelvingrove but it was hot and the children (and oldies) were getting tired so we stopped at Kelvin park's kids playground to let them have some fun. We decided after that we were running out of time so started walking back along Royal Circus (such fab buildings, always reminds me of Bath). The very kind Hop On Hop Off bus driver we had had in the morning recognised us and stopped to let us on mid stops. We then got off at the Royal Opera house area and walked up to the Hard Rock Café for tea, Charlie kindly bought Grandpa a T-shirt. Granny noted I had already got one from a previous visit tee-hee. Charlie fell to sleep in her pasta poor girl, still partly recovering we suspected. Anyhow after the meal we hailed a passing Glaswegian couple with baby and asked them the way to Queen Street station. Amusingly they pointed, we tourists were right next to it. Caught the train back to Balloch got back in our cars and arrived tired and happy back at Curlew Cottage, a fun day out, I think everyone enjoyed their City break, we so love Glasgow. DAY 4 Tuesday 7th June 2022 Not Keef's best day sadly. Family fed the chickens in the morning. The decision was to go in the afternoon to Luss (a fab place Annie and I stopped at on our earlier trip to Scotland, Blog 177) on the edge of Loch Lomond. Doug had arranged to hire some bikes for them. Keef felt unwell and retired to bed for an hour before lunch. We then drove in both cars to Luss where Doug had booked us into the Village Rest for lunch, Keef paid to park them in the long stay car park, it was a short walk to the café, all had dinner except Keef who had a coffee, I felt awful, and it was very hot today. After lunch we walked down to the water's edge by the pier, what fab views over the loch. The bike hire lady kitted them all out, they only had a couple of hours I think. Anyhow off they went for a fab ride on the loch edge pathway, i think they all had a great time. G&G walked back to the cars. Keef just slept all day whilst waiting for their return, luckily the windows were open as at this stage I didn't know I had Covid. After this we went back to the cottage, Keef went straight to bed at 5pm and slept right thru basically being asleep for 24 hours. They had tea which was the BBQ (a lot to chose from in the shed) and played games etc. DAY 5 Wednesday 8th June 2022 Keef isolating all day. Not a great day weather wise either. Doug & Phoenix went shopping at the Aldi in Alexandria and had a bit of a look around, Keef had very high fever and therefore slept a lot of the day. Annie did some crochet and reading but it was hacking it down with rain outside, Singapore's cooked a nice meal in the evening. The kids watched some TV and played games, Granny played a lot of games with Charlie. What you might call sadly a bit of a washed out day DAY 6 Thursday 9th June 2022 All up and having breakfast, Keef still isolating in the back bedroom, Annie camped in the spare room with single beds downstairs as an obvious precaution. Doug & Phoenix and Ned in a cot in the bedroom to the left up the stairs, Charlie the bedroom to the right. We had fixed up one of the 2 transported stair gates at the top of the stairs, a good safety measure for Ned, although he just loves going up and down stairs , with a little supervision. Cot wise although the cottage provided one, it was very heavy and as Ned already used to the travel one we transported we put that up for him. After breakfast Doug and family took the Mercedes over to the Renton area for Charlie's private horse riding lesson, something she loves, and this lady was a very good one on one instructor, she even had Charlie doing some show jumping admittedly over very low fences. Charlie told us all about it when she returned. After that they went on for the Whiskey tour in Old Kilpatrick, the Auchentoshan Distillery in Dalmuir area of Clydesbank. The journey in total distance from the cottage is about 30 minutes and 15 miles so reasonably close. Even though they had paid for me and explained I had Covid they couldn't get the fee for me back, not good, so they took all the free samples which when I was a little better back in Sandiacre I shared with Doug whilst watching England footy on the telly. Overall whilst the found the tour informative, Doug was not impressed with their whiskeys. Since he ordered 2 bottles via Amazon, one the whiskey of the year 2022 to take back to Singapore. Whilst they were out, Annie being negative and Keef wearing his mask, we both went out for a lovely local walk up the hill by the roads, so nice to get out into the fresh air, some lovely views, saw the ploughed fields close up and lots of wild flowers and pollinators on the road edges. It was quite steep up to the top parallel with the woods. On the way down Keef went into the woodland path entrance mentioned in the cottage blurb, owned by locals, and a woodland path walk up to the top lined with, wait for it, flower pot men, hidden in bushes , up trees, ha-ha, made of course of old flower pots the locals have a good sense of humour and it would keep kids amused for hours trying to find them. All in all a nice walk. We had cheese and bikkies outside for lunch until it drizzled and we had to rush inside, which meant reapplying the mask, itchy or what? #safe After lunch Keef took the hire car out to explore further on from where we had walked up the hill. Windows open, lots of very small farm tracks to basically nowhere along initially Dunchryne Road then past Caldarvan Station (out in the middle of nowhere) past equestrian centers towards Croftamie but turning back along the old school road and back out onto the old Military Road (A811) at Buchanan, part of the Loch Lomond National Park, lovely, with both a riding stables , RSPV bird sanctuary and interestingly a campsite for motorhomes, which if Annie and I come back we would stay at, a lovely area, so a good reckie and it got me out of the house. Doug cooked in the evening, Annie always bought my meals into the back bedroom so I could keep apart from the rest of the family #boo DAY 7 Friday 10th June 2022 After breakfast took both cars into Balloch and parked in the central free car park by the play park. Walked down to the Sweeney cruise ships office where Keef got tickets for all bar himself, masked up it was still far to risky. The family went on the lovely cruise trip on Loch Lomond and took lots of pictures, Charlie as well, G&G had bought both girls a digital camera to use on the holiday. As the trip was for an hour Keef went off and filled up with fuel, Doug had done the Merc yesterday. I also called into Aldi to get some provisions and stopped on the way back to Balloch at that lovely old Victorian façade opposite the Vale of Leven hospital, where we had taken Charlie , in Alexandria to take some pix, now derelict but what an amazing building, must have a preservation order on it. At Balloch I strolled around a took at lot of pictures, eventually filming their boat coming back in. I then strolled along passed Balloch house to meet them. We then went back to the playpark by the cars for the kids to have some fun times, dinosaur eggs, aerial runways and lots of rustic apparatus to play on #fun After that we returned to the cottage, lunch, feeding the chickens one last time, trampolining, Keef isolating in the back bedroom watching , then sadly packing, time had flown by. We got quite a lot of the boots packed, thank heavens and tomorrow morning for last minute stuff it was hacking it down with rain. DAY 8 Saturday 11th June 2022 Packed up the rest of the remaining stuff , Phoenix was kindly taking the risk of travelling back with me in the hire car, we both wore masks to lessen the risk of transmission. The kids , Doug & Annie in the Merc. Doug driving the first part. We set off in pouring rain across the Erskine Bridge in convoy, passed Bowling (tee-hee) and all the other train stops on route we had discovered on our way into Glasgow. Joining the M74 thru Glasgow outskirts and on to initially Cairn Lodge services just off M74 near Douglas, a farmers market services, we had been to before , for coffee, comfort break and breakfast snacks, I had a yummy homemade cheese and onion version of a scotch pie. Stopped for about 50 minutes then it was on in the still rain to the TeBay Farmshop and Kitchen services for lunch, not actually the one I was thinking of which was Killington Lake , but equally as good. Keef ate separately, all very nice food, quite crowded. After lunch Annie and I went for a walk around its small lake and looked in at the family eating. I pretended to Charlie that the loch ness monster was in the lake but sharp girl, she was not fooled #ohgrandpa We stayed outside and waited for them to finish and go to the farm shop where Doug bought Scottish Strawberries, and some black pudding slices to take back to Singapore. After that we headed back down the M6 , a very long journey, but much quicker than on the way up for obvious reasons #poorcharlie Doug drove as far as the services before junction 15 , the Stoke turn off where Annie took over. As P & I were so much in front by then (and had no house keys) we went on through Stoke and back to Asda in Long Eaton to get fuel and some food shopping and gifts for their friends back home, some trad English stuff. By the time we got back to Sandiacre they had arrived and unpacked. I unpacked the KIA ready to return the next day. Exhausted we had a simple tea (pizza if memory serves me right) and all off to bed, so glad we went to Scotland, despite my limiting Covid it was family fun. I was still testing positive every day. The journey back was about 350 miles. Local Map Here are the slideshows and talkies videos capturing our wonderful family time in Scotland Firstly a highlights slideshow with music and images with text, allowing 5 seconds for each image so you can fully take it in. Next the full image slideshow showing all 455 images And finally the Talkies video with us in full voice. PANORAMAS Return to MENU A WEEK BACK AND AROUND SANDIACRE, NOTTINGHAM Having done the long days travelling back in the 2 cars (ours and the hired Kia Sportage - what a Yuk car, certainly would not recommend) from Loch Lomond, was pouring in Scotland as we did our final loading up, so glad we had packed the boots mostly in the dry the night before. We arrived home to spent a further week here with Doug, Phoenix, Charlie & Ned as well as meeting up with the Swannington Hellingers. Early Sunday morning we returned the hire car back to Europcar, not surprisingly after the multi event fiasco on picking it up (3 journeys - they didn't recognise my old style UK driving license and I needed passport rather than photo id) the lady was late... should have been there at 9am didn't arrive until 10 am, Grrr The main highlights were lunch at the Priory Loughborough on Sunday (minus Keef & Phoenix) plus a very warm and sunny day out at East Leake's Manor Farm plus Strawberry picking at Wymeswold and a last supper for the Singapore Hellingers on Friday evening of pulled pork, jackets and salad followed by those lovely strawberries and ice cream , prior to Saturday's trip back down to Heathrow, which took quite a while but we all had to leave early as Keef needed to be back in Nottingham for the multi rescheduled Yes "Close to the Edge" concert with pal Neil S at the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham. Luckily their plane left on time, a long journey home but oh so glad we were all able to spent time together after 3 years of pandemic and create some lovely memories to share. Here are some summary slideshows of that final shared week, both images with music and the talkies. #enjoy Firstly highlights with text and Bryan Adams Secondly all the images from week 3's fun Finally for week 3 all the talkie videos merged into one, ace stuff. #talkies #noisy So that covers both the images and talkies taken during week 3 of the fab Singapore Hellinger's visit #lovelytimes Return to MENU OMICRON, BA5 - NOT NICE 😷 This wrecked my 3 weeks, who knows where I got it from but if you trace back 5 days from when I first tested positive, it was either the Queens Jubilee day at Colne (unlikely as outside), the posh 1 star Michelin meal Doug & Phoenix kindly treated us to at Fence, near Burnley , or the Black Lane Ends pub (with roaring fire in summer, no windows open) or most likely in my humble opinion, the COVID petri dish that was the kids indoor air play area in Burnley , but with all these things who knows and does it really matter, the one thing I do know is that from the Tuesday of the 2nd week when I slept for 24 hours , had a very red raw sore throat, hacking uncontrollable cough, and huge fever that then returned for a further 2 other days with huge high fever that it was COVID and I would not recommend it for even my worst enemy. It meant I self isolated for nearly all the week in Scotland in the back bedroom and have become an expert in full time mask wearing, those NHS cotton ones are so itchy but I desperately did not want any of the rest of my family to get it, luckily they didn't. Even Annie who sat with me in the car on that Tuesday at the wonderful Luss whilst they all went bike riding around Loch Lomond shores. I have included a video diary I took to record these sad events , the real cons being that after waiting 3 years because of the ghastly pandemic to see my lovely Singapore Hellinger family that was pretty limited in terms of emotional cuddles of my grand kids #boo This is my sad COVID video diary Yippee Day 19 - Finally free of this ghastly virus, would truly like not to get it again but as a silent infector that is difficult to ensure Return to MENU AUDIOBOOK Return to MENU SCOTTISH TRAVEL BLOG ROUTES Return to Menu RETRO SCOTTISH FAMILY TRAVELS utubeo videos recreated in a more modern way in 2023 Return to Menu THAT'S ALL FOLKS

Created by KeefH Web Designs, December 3rd, 2022, 17.04 PM A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog Genealogy Info No 4, 1925 to 1930 INTRODUCTION This is a very retrospective blog, during the winter months of November and December 2022 I decided to translate most of the handwritten diaries we hold in our Family Tree data to supplement our Genealogy info featured here under the Family tab, good website design, backing up audiobooks, videos and slideshow with text. Enjoy! MENU Diary Audiobook of Indian times Audiobook, Gertie's full diary Video with audiobook overlay showing relevant and irrelevant images of life in the Army and India created via Clipchamp by KeefH Web Designs Trailer DIARY Introduction, real accounts of life in India in a posted British Army family 1925 to 1930 captured by KeefH Web Designs from a diary all handwritten by Annie’s Aunt Gertrude, just invaluable records, captured and turned into an audiobook by KeefH Web Designs in 2022 for prosperity, it would be awful to lose this history. An earlier audio book version of her full diary had been made in 2011 but the quality of text to speech voices has improved dramatically since then, hence the recreation, just so much clearer and less computerised speech on the spoken word. A full updated audiobook of her diary is also now available but it is over 9 and a half hours long, so probably not to be listened to in one go. ARRIVING IN INDIA 1925-1926, Birkenhead to Bombay We set of in March 1925. At that time, I was nine. Ralph was five. Bob was 2½, and Jean seven months. The land was covered in deep snow on the morning we left. All the neighbour's turned out to wish us well. We were all very happy. We sailed from Birkenhead on the "City of Lahore." It was a small ship with only 1st. and 2nd passenger accommodation. Officers and their wives and families travelled 1st. class and 2nd class was for Warrant Officers, wives and families. We had a small, four berthed cabin, so there was very little room and we had to get dressed and undressed one at a time. Meals were taken all together except that the children had high tea while the adults took dinner at night. I was left in charge while mother and father had their evening meal. One evening I was in great difficulties trying to change the baby's nappy when a black steward, a Goanese, looked in. He took the baby from me deftly dealt with her and restored order, and after that he always came to see if we were all right. The white stewardess’s did nothing for us. They only attended to those who had tipped them at the beginning of the voyage. Mother and father had thought that tips were given at the end. A stewardess was supposed to bring mother a glass of milk every night because she was feeding the baby, but it only arrived twice. Mother was constantly anxious in case the baby should suffer, but by drinking father’s coffee at dinner and being supplied with lemonade from the bar she got by. The stewards who cleaned the cabins were black-skinned, mostly Goanese, and they were very pleasant. The dining-room stewards were olive skinned and extremely handsome and smart, Portuguese from Goa. Every morning the baby's cot was lashed to the railings on deck. The lascars who swabbed the deck used to take a great interest in the baby and talked to her and she seemed to like their dark faces and did not mind their moving her to another· part of the deck so that they could do their scrubbing. I was always left in charge of the baby in the early morning like Miriam watching over Baby Moses. The lascar boson used to talk to me pleasantly. I liked and trusted them all. For the first few days it was very cold and we had to be well wrapped up when we were on deck. Beef tea was brought round for our mid-morning drink and it seemed very good. It was rough in the Bay of Biscay and most people were seasick but none of our family were ill. To my great disappointment we passed Gibraltar and Malta in the night and so there was nothing to be seen for several days but the sea. Deck games were started and I learned to play quoits, a big canvas swimming pool was erected and filled with sea water; there were concerts and competitions of all sorts and a fancy dress party for the children. The usual pattern for the day was to take up our positions on deck with the deckchairs which we had brought from home, keeping the same position throughout the voyage. It was a lazy life. People walked round and round the decks for exercise. One day we lost Ralph. We searched everywhere for him and were beginning to get desperate when a beaming stoker led him up from the engine room. "I wanted to see how the ship works,” said Ralph. Every evening we used to watch passengers dancing on the 1st. class deck. I loved watching the ladies’ beautiful evening dresses. This was a new end very luxurious world for me. I had never seen people dressed like that before. Mother was not so keen on 1st. class passengers because the laundry room was always full of nannies washing and ironing their mistresses’ finery when she needed to wash the baby's clothes. Officers could have a free passage for their nannies and many of the young women were not children's nurses at all. They were often friends of their so-called employers having a free trip to India where there was a very good chance of finding husbands. Marriageable girls were scarce in India. At Port Said little boats came alongside and the bumboat men tried to sell their wares to the passengers. And boys dived for pennies thrown from the ship. We went ashore. I was entranced with my first sight of "the mysterious East" but the rest of the family were not at all impressed. Mother thought it was very hot and dirty and was troubled by the crowds of beggar ch1ldren who kept following us begging for alms. Wh1le we were having cold dr1nks at an outside cafe a guli-guli man came along and did his conjuring tricks w1th chicks and cups. The main point of our expedition ashore was to buy topees. In those days it was thought that anyone who went out 1n the tropical sun bareheaded was certain to die of sunstroke. We did not l1ke wearing the heavy topees because they made us very hot. For five years it was one of mother’s many worries to ensure that the family went out suitably hatted. In India there were better topees for children, lighter in weight, shaped like hats and covered in patterned cotton. Mother always had a sunshade and refused to wear a topee. I think that she was very sensible. When we were going through the Suez Canal, I never tired of watching the Arabs with their camels along the banks. They seemed so near and sometimes they waved and called to us. The canal was to narrow for ships to pass unless one of them was right into the shore. It was exciting seeing a ship going back to England when we were manoeuvring to pass. It was very hot in the Red Sea. We saw sharks and flying fish and one day a shoal of dolphins came alongside and followed the ship for some time, enjoying the food that was thrown out to them. Aden was just as I had expected, a hot, barren rock. The ship coaled there. Three weeks after leaving Birkenhead we landed in Bombay. From the ship Bombay looked very grand with its large, white buildings. Bombay to Lahore But when we got ashore, we felt overwhelmed with crowds of people, noise, smells, and the tremendous heat. We went straight to the railway station, how we got there I do not remember and father left us in the ladies' waiting room while he went off to find out where we were to go. He had not been given his posting before we left England. The woman in charge" of the waiting room was a Eurasian. Her three daughters came in end I thought they were the most beautiful girls I had ever seen. After what seemed to us a long time father came back with a car to take us to a transit hostel for service families. There we were given a meal, had a wash, got cooled off and waited until it was time to go for our train to Lahore. I always had my atlas with me so I was able to find out where Lahore was. It had been suggested that we went to a transit camp at Deolali, a British Army transit camp in Maharashtra, India and then decided that we should go straight to Lahore. Later we discovered that we had had a very lucky escape as there had been an outbreak of cholera at Deolali and several people had died. At any time it was notoriously hot and unhealthy. Father had to bribe a railway official to get a compartment to ourselves. The porters who carried the luggage asked for a great many rupees and father meekly paid up. He never learned how to "beat them down" even when he suspected he was being cheated. It was against his principles. Meals on the train had to be ordered in advance and for five people for three days the cost was exorbitant. But nothing could be done. After that we all took our own food on journeys and a primus stove so that we could have tea end plenty of boiled water to drink. But at this stage we were novices with much to learn. The compartment was much bigger than we had expected. There were four long settee which served also as beds and two bunks which let down for the night. Adjoining the compartment was the self contained toilet compartment. There was no corridor. Our meals therefore would be brought to us at stops and the dishes collected at the next station. By this time it was getting dark so we all got ready for bed. I had one of the top bunks. It had a little window so I could look out at all the strange sights outside. To our surprise an Indian gentleman got in just as the train was due to go. He said not a word but made up his bed, put on pyjamas and went to bed. When we woke in the morning he had gone. Nobody had seen him get out a1though I thought I had been awake all night. The train seemed to have frequent stops. Every station was crowded with Indians. They settled to be camping out there. Some slept on the platform, others sat round their fires, cooking and eating their food. The noise and smells were very strange to me. I wondered whether all these peop1e lived permanently in the railway stations. But as soon as the rain started to steam out hordes of them leaped at the handles of the doors and hung on and some climbed on the roof, careless of their lives. Presumably they were having e free ride. There were 1st, 2nd and 3rd class carriages. Father's free warrant was always for 2nd class. There was no racial discrimination in travel by rail. Rich Indians travelled 1st. class but most Indians endured the rigours of the 3rd. class. Here compartments had only narrow wooden seats and the passengers were tightly crowded together. It must have been terrible for them in the heat on long journeys. Our expensive meals were far from satisfactory but we were not at all hungry. But we could not get enough to drink and were extremely thirsty. Father asked the refreshment car for more tea or soft drinks or boiled water. This was refused because it had not been ordered ahead. Even palm-greasing brought no results. Obviously we could not drink the water supplied for washing. There were taps on every station platform and Indians drinking from them. Mother wanted to get out for water but father said it would be full of typhoid and cholera germs and we must never drink unboiled water. She was also tempted to buy tea from the char wallahs on the platform but again father stopped her. Mother was feeding the baby, who was becoming very listless through lack of fluid. We did not understand at the time but, much later, mother said that she had thought that the baby would die on the journey. However the baby soon recovered after we had left the train, and all was well. There were fruit vendors at every station and it was decided that we would risk eating fruit. The oranges were loose-skinned, rather like large tangerines but less juicy and tasty. There were three kinds of bananas, little yellow ones, large greenish ones and red skinned. The two latter were rather tasteless. Then there were sweet lychee with their husky skins, cape gooseberries and, best of all juicy mangoes. There is no neat way of eating a mango. One must have a wash afterwards. I used to clean the stones and brush the hairs so that they looked like little furry animals. The journey to Lahore took three days and nights. It was a long time for children to be cooppd up and Ralph and Bob needed a lot of entertaining. I think I was the only one really to enjoy it. There was a great deal to see. When we were going through the Thar Desert and I tired of looking at nothing but sand I had books to read. The Punjab was much more densely populated and interesting. At last we reached Lahore. We travelled from the station to the Cantonment in tongae which were two-wheeled horse-drawn carriages with seats back to back. Father found out where we were to live and we went on to our bungalow. It was at one end of a block of army quarters. There were four enormous rooms, a smaller one, a big veranda and a bathroom. The bathroom contained a wash-stand, a wooden commode and a zinc bath standing in an area with a little brick wall round it and had a hole in the wall, an essential part of the plumbing. The bath was emptied by tipping it up so that the water ran through the hole into an open drain outside. We learned later to put a brick over the hole because several times we found a snake in the bathroom which had crawled through the hole. Father killed them with a stick. There was no water supply, halfway along the block of houses there was an outside tap and the water had to be carried from there. Water for baths was heated in kerosene tins in the cookhouse about a hundred yards away and carried to the bathroom by a sweeper, an untouchable. He also emptied the commode and swept the bungalow floor carrying bath water twice a day for six people was a tremendous job in itself. I think his few rupees pay was well earned. Sweepers never spoke to us and always kept their eyes down. Probably they know no English except the call of "Sweeper” so we could not communicate with them. I used to feel very sorry for them. The only modern convenience was electricity. There were big electric fans in every room. This was standard equipment in all army quarters on the plains so we never had to employ a punkah wallah. The army supplied the basic furniture, beds, tables and chairs. Soon after we arrived, a furniture wallah came to ask what furniture we wanted to hire. It was the usual practice to hire furniture by the month. So we had wardrobes, cal1ed almirahs, chests of drawers, a desk, bookshelves, small tables and basketwork armchairs all delivered that day. The chairs were designed for army living, with footrests and broad arms to hold a sahib’s chhota peg or burra peg.(2011: from british empire: chhota or chota means miniature jug for holding small alcoholic drink, i.e single scotch & soda or burra peg means double-whiskey) A man came to see if we wanted straw matting for the stone floors. He cleverly carpeted the whole bungalow, wall-to-wall, weaving the matting to fit. It looked very good and was clean and springy. It was only meant to last for a few months and was inexpensive. Each time we moved house we had new matting. We also bought dhurris, cotton carpets, and numnahs, felt rugs embroidered in bright colours. The beds had frames for mosquito nets. The nets were essential but we did not like them because they seemed to make us hotter. When we went to bed mother put down the nets and tucked them in, first making sure that there were no mosquitoes inside. During the night she always did a tour of all the beds, listening for a buzz. If there was, there had to be a thorough search until the intruder was caught and killed. On the way to the bungalow we had discovered a marvellous shop in the cantonment, owned by a Parsee family called Jamset Jee. It was as good a grocer’s shop as any in England. They also sold hardware. Adjoining the shop was a little bazaar, extremely clean because the stalls were let by the Jamset Jees, where one could, buy meat, poultry, fruit and vegetables. So we bought plenty of food, some china and cutlery and a primus stove and had an enjoyable meal in our big empty bungalow. Later on mother and father became very friendly with the Jamset Jee brothers and went to a wedding reception in their garden. Mother enjoyed it tremendously. We were told in detail of the luxurious food, Indian and English, which was offered and the elegance of its presentation. She was charmed with the good manners of the Indian guests. Long afterwards she used to repeat part of the first sermon she had heard in India. The minister had said that British army families should not judge India by camp followers. They were not likely to know Indians who were uncorrupted. They were certainly not likely to understand Indian culture. Mother always said that this was true. She regretted that there was never again an encounter such as that with the Jamset Jees. Our big oak boxes arrived some days later. When they were unpacked it was discovered that the contents of one had been stolen and it was packed with the bulky red petticoats of an Indian mill woman. Almost all of mother’s linen had gone. The box had been full of crocheted and embroidered tablecloths, sheets, pillowcases and towels, work which had taken her more than ten happy years to create. Her lovely wedding presents from her relations and lifelong friends in Blyth had also gone. Mother wept. The day after we arrived we had a cook, or khansama, a bearer, an ayah, a sweeper and a dog. Nanak, an engaging young man with a cheerful grin, turned up first and assured us that he was the best cook in Lahore and had chits to prove it. Most of his testimonials were obvious forgeries. It was common practice to pay babus in the bazaar to write them. We discovered later that Nanak had only worked, as a bobajee for privates’ families before coming to us. However, we had to have a cook. It was physically impossible for a memsahib to do her own cooking in the cookhouse for this was one of a row of cookhouses some distance from the house where Indian men servants worked over open fires, stirring their dokshis and gossiping together. Nanak would do for a while. But as time passed he was still with us. Nanak was engaged at 25 rupees a month and food.(2011: 1 rupee = 1s 4d in 1925 which is £1 13s 3d and at todays rate is £50 for a months pay) He said we must have a bearer, an ayah and a sweeper and could supply them. He went away and came back with all three. The bearer was a tall, thin, young man. His only dut1es seemed to be to wait on us at table and do a little light dusting. He thought he was going to be a gentleman's valet but father would have none of this. So when we moved up to the hills his services were dispensed with. The ayah turned out to be Nanak's aunt. She was a large fat woman who could speak no English. It soon became evident that she had never been an ayah before and knew nothing about babies, English or otherwise. Mother continued to look after the baby and the ayah's only contribution was to watch over her tenderly. So she was soon given her notice. Another ayah was engaged. This one was more efficient, but she nursed the baby constantly and never let her move about. Mother was afraid that the baby would never learn to crawl or walk. Somebody told her tales of ayahs drugging babies to keep them still and quiet, and so after a time this ayah too was dismissed, and thereafter mother looked after the children by herself. Nanak was a terrible cook. He produced his masterpieces with triumph and never knew that they were often thrown out to the kite hawks. Every day he made a cake for afternoon tea and came dashing across from the cookhouse with it steaming hot from the oven. Birthday cakes were his Speciality. These were entirely his own idea. Whenever there was a birthday in the family he would make a cake iced in brilliant red, green, blue and yellow, the bigger and brighter the better. It was horribly sickly, but a kind thought. For my birthday I was given a little gramophone. Nanak proudly presented me with some second hand records he had bought in the bazaar. The favourites were "Light Cavalry", "In a Monastery Garden" and "The Laughing policeman". They were played over and over again and nobody tired of turning the handle. In those days there were no were no record players or television or radio. We entertained ourselves and were never bored. Mother did not dare venture into the cookhouse for some time and when she did pluck up courage to do an inspection she was horrified at the lack of hygiene. So Nanak was given lessons on keeping the cookhouse clean scouring the dekahis (cooking pans) and washing the towels regularly. Sometime later we had a Valor stove sent out from England. It could be kept in the bungalow for mother to do some of the cooking and she gave lessons to the cook. We all thought that everything she made was superb. The cooks had to go every morning to collect the army rations which were bread, meat, vegetables and other basic foods. Every evening before the cook went home he came to say "Take account, memsahib." Then all his expenditure for the day was added up and more money given him for the next day’s purchases together with the orders for the meals. We used to have a cooked meal at midday and again in the evening because meat was much cheaper than in England, only a few annas(pennies) a pound. Apart from that, our food was as nearly as possible what we would have eaten in England, except for more curries and fewer salads. New dishes were stuffed “brinjals” (aubergines) and "humph" which was a cow's hump. It was good, solid, salted beef which we enjoyed very much. When buying a leg of lamb we always chose one with its foot left on because goat was often passed off as lamb or mutton. After the cook had gone and the children had been put to bed mother and father made tea with the Primus and had tea and biscuits on the verandah in the dark. It was cooler by then. After a while I was promoted to stay up for tea with them. It was a great honour! All drinking water had to be boiled ad cooled in a chatti, an earthenware pitcher standing in another pot of cold water. There were no refrigerators then. Butter and milk were similarly kept cool. The butter and milk were similarly kept cool. The butter and milk were bought twice a day from the government dairy and bread was obtained from the government bakery. Our dog Nutty had joined us on our first day in Lahore. He was given to father by a soldier who was going back to England. It was a common practice for soldiers to keep dogs as pets and guard dogs. They were allowed to sleep in the barrack rooms and food was no problem as they could be fed on beef. Nutty was a mongrel, but he was a beautiful dog, much bigger than a retriever, with a smooth, silky, nut-brown coat. He had a furrowed forehead, and so we thought there must be some bloodhound in his ancestry. The first night he was kept tied up on the veranda because he howled mournfully and incessantly, in the morning he was gone leaving a broken rope behind. A little later his previous owner bought him back, and this time Nutty agreed to stay. He gradually settled down and became as fond of us as we were of him. His favourite trick was to pull the ribbons off my plaits and run off with them, with me in hot pursuit. He chose to sleep in my bedroom. One night I was awakened by Nutty’s growling. H1s teeth were bared and the hair on the back of his neck was standing on end. This was a very different beast from the normally gentle Nutty. Then I saw a stick poking through the latch of the door, trying to lift the heavy bar which was the only means of fastening the door. I shouted for father and he ran out at once, but could see nothing. The loose waliahs(2011 wallah) (burglars) had probably reached the cover of nearby trees. These great times were full of wild life. There were tree rats, like squirrels, brilliant parakeets, minah birds, cross end kite hawks. Kite hawks swooped down on any food they could see. Cooks used to run across with the food to avoid them and the children never ate outside for fear of attack. Bob’s hand was badly gashed one day while he was holding some fruit. At night we used to hear the jackals howling, a most eerie sound. They came close in to raid the dustbins. We seldom saw them in the daytime. Animals were no trouble to us but insects certainly were.The bungalow had no ceiling and enormous spiders used to drop down on us. As far as I know, they were harmless but they were most unpleasant. Scorpions had to be given a very wide birth. One day the cook came running to mother with a scorpion hanging on to his hand. He had been wiping the cookhouse table and had not seen the scorpion until it was too late. Mother took him by the arm and rushed him to the hospital at top speed and he was dealt with immediately. He might have died if he had not had medical attention at once. There were black ants, white ants, beetles, flies, mosquitoes and other pests which had to be kept in subjection with insect sprays. When the locusts came it was an incredible sight. The sky suddenly turned black with swarms of them. Then they landed and in a few minutes there was not a trace of vegetation left, not a blade of grass. The attack was over and the ground was covered with dead locusts. After the scorpion episode Nanak brought his wife and two little boys to see us. His wife was a pretty young girl who shyly hung her head and the children were plump and jolly. Poor, incompetent Nanek was very fond of all of us. Especially Bob. "Bobbie is a teak chotah waliah”,(2011 chota wallah, another spelling, is a “little guy") he would say, carrying him about on his shoulder. The children in the family returned his affection. All the Indian servants that we had were affectionate to chl1dren. I think it must be an Indian characteristic. It was marvellous for the children but for parents there could be emotional blackmail if they were soft hearted, as ours were, and incompetent servants quickly became unsackable. Another form of blackmail was that Nanak said that he was a Christian and that Christians were persecuted in the bazaar. We felt sorry for him at first but we later gathered that he had no religion and therefore was free to eat any food, Hindu, Moslem, or ours, especially ours. We learned to accept the minor pilfering of food as a way of life. When we first arrived father had said that we must be polite to the servants, and we all were. But many people were not. They shouted and swore at their servants. I heard them as I passed their quarters. Some even kicked. I saw that too. Some of the privateers, proud of having servants for the first and only time in their lives, were the worst offenders. The cantonment where we lived was an army camp, clean and whitewashed, but unromantic. For a change we sometimes went to the city of Lahore. We travelled by tonga along the Mell, which I remember as a beautiful road with grass, shrubs and roses on either side. The gardens were well maintained by melis, Indian gardeners. We first came to the European part of the city where there were wide streets, good shops of all kinds, hotels, cafes and beautiful bungalows. We continued on to the Anarkali Bazaar, the largest bazaar we saw in India. This we all found very exciting. It was a mass of stalls and was densely populated, it was smelly and noisy and incredibly crowded, but very interesting. What we did not like were the beggars who surrounded us with calls of “Baksheesh, sahib”. Many of them were terribly diseased and mutilated. It was said that some of them, the professional beggars, injured themselves to gain more pity. At first mother and father gave some baksheesh but that was fatal because more and more of them crowded round and followed us, and, although sympathetic, theye had very little money to spare. The poverty and squalor were unbelievable to our English eyes. But there was plenty to see, stalls of all kinds, selling fruit, silks, sticky sweets, brass, carpets, clothes, everything imaginable. It was usual for the stallholder to ask for more for his goods than he expected to get. Then the customer would offer a great deal less. The seller then came down a bit and the customer up a bit, and so it went on until a satisfactory price was agreed. Mother and father could never get accustomed to this system and were never very good at haggling. Beyond the Anarkali Bazaar was the walled city. We always had to turn back when we reached the gate because the city was out of bounds British troops. It looked like a continuation of the bazaar but was even more crowded and exotic. Not very far from where we lived was the Suddah Bazaar. This was the most beautiful of all bazaars. Every stall was stacked and hung with the loveliest of materials for all purposes to suit both British and Indians of all classes. Some stalls specialised in readymade saris of rich colours and patterns in the finest of cottons and silks and gauzes, others specialised in silks alone. Striped silks were favoured at this time by English ladies and were thought to be as cool as cotton. It was a very clean bazaar and mother used to enjoy going there to buy materials. Our clothes were made by dhurzis, native tailors or dressmakers of amazing skill. They had English pattern books but no paper patterns. We looked through the books, chose the style we wanted and it was made up exactly like the pictures. Some dhurzis specialised in children’s clothes. I remember an old man with a beard dyed red who used to come round regularly with a large bundle of dresses, shirts, shorts and underclothes that he had made. These were spread out on the verandah. He sold some and took orders. He always had a tape measure round his neck and needles and pins in his turban. Then there was a very high class dressmaker who made the most exquisite dresses. When I was going off to boarding school he made me several white silk dresses w1th smocking, gauging and picot edges done by hand. Box wallahs came regularly and spread out their wares on the verandah. "You look, memsahib. If you no like, you no buy.” We bought as many Treasures as we could afford. There were brass ornaments, carved wooden Tables, trays and book rests, a carpet and rugs. Many of these were sent home to England as presents. We still have some Indian brass and three carved tables in our house. The carpet was from Baluchistan. It was full of desert and when we got it and it had to be hung on the line and beaten with sticks to get it clean. There were no vacuum cleaners then. It was immensely heavy and it took several people to carry it. It was red and blue, in a traditional pattern, and in one place the blue was slightly different, evidence, if it was needed, that it had been made by hand by skilled tribal workmen. We had our carpet for over forty years. When it was given away to a neighbour it was not worn out, just slightly shabby in the part near the doorway. The carpet wallah was different in appearance from all other box wallahs. He was very fair skinned, wore a tight fitting black coat in the style of superior merchants, but unlike any other we had seen, he wore a fez. We thought that he was a Persian. In the usual fashion, he spread his carpets on the verandah and showed them off, one by one. Mother admired them all but especially the rugs from Bokhara. The carpet from Baluchistan, however, was cheaper and seemed to be very hardwearing, and so it was bought. All his wares had been so beautiful that she wished she could have, there and then, purchased carpets and rugs to furnish her own house and to send home to all her relations, but that was out of the question. The merchant called several times and on each occasion mother said that, of course, a11 his carpets were beautiful but she had spent all she could afford. Still he spread out his wares and always she looked and admired. Then having tried her out, he came to the point; he wanted her to take his carpets to England and sell them for him; they would be partners and share the profits. Mother said that she was no business woma she knew nothing about selling; but she could steal his rugs very easily under this system. He said that he knew that he could trust her. She said that he should try the officers up the hill, who must be better customers. No, he said, he wanted no dealings with them for their children mocked him. They were "budmash".(2011: Indian word meaning a bad character : a worthless person ) Mother did not go into business, but many years later we saw in a connoisseurs' carpet shop our Baluchistan carpet in the window. We went inside and were allowed to see their eastern treasures. Like mother we coveted them all. But the prices made them coverings for the houses of near millionaires. How had they reached such prices? Who made the profit? Certainly not the makers, nor the merchant, travelling afar to buy from the vil1ages and then to sell from door to door. Other box wallahs had sad times for mother. Many memsahib’s stole their wares and the English children too were thieves and very cheeky. Ralph and Bob heard such tales with indignation. "They are stealing thieves” one of them said. Snake charmers came to the bungalows. It was said that the poison fangs of the cobras had been removed. We took no chances and kept well back. Sometimes the snake charmer had a huge python coiled round his body. In the hills there were dancing brown bears. I felt sorry for the the poor , chained animals being made to stand on their hind legs and jog about. Occasionally, we went to the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore. They were really beautiful with flowers and lawns. Elegant young men used to wander about carrying books and chanting. We thought they were students from the university, reciting poetry. Our first stay in Lahore was brief because the hot weather was coming on when wives and families a11 went to the hills. It was too hot for them to stay on the plains, although most. of the soldiers had to remain in the terrific heat. I can remember that father was sometimes with us and sometimes not, but I do not know how his time was divided. He was attached to the Royal Berkshire Regiment at this time. With the help of some non-A.E.C. instructors he educated the men and prepared them for their third, second, first, and special class certificates. Some were barely illiterate and others were preparing to take external degree. He was also in charge of the education of an Indian regiment. He used to visit them periodically but as he did not know their language, he could not teach them. That was left to a ‘havilder' (an Indian sergeant) who often used to come to see father at home to report on his progress and afterwards take tea. He spoke perfect English and was a very pleasant visitor. Father was also in charge of the school for the children of the British regiments and he sometimes taught us. Our first hill station was Dagshai in the foothills of the Himalayas. We travelled overnight by an ordinary train to Kalka, where we changed to the small-gauge railway. It wound round and round the mountain, climbing higher and higher. Often there was a sheer drop on one side but the little train hung on. The vegetation grew more and lusher as we climbed higher. It became cooler and was a great relief from the heat of Lahore. We got off the train at Darempore Station where we had to take tongas for the rest of the journey. The horses went at top speed and we hung on, thinking that we would be over the khud ( steep hillside) at any moment. But we arrive safely with all our "small luggage". The heavy stuff, boxes and trunks, was carried up from Daremore by coolies. They had. bands round their heads to support the load on their backs. They did not look very strong with their thin legs but they could carry tremendously heavy burdens. The, furniture hirer had his godown ( store ) at Darampore and the furniture was all carried up by Coolies. It was a terrible sight. We were told that sometimes they fell down a precipice to their deaths. Our house seemed more English and homely than the bungalow in Lahore. There were wooden floors instead of stone. The rooms were smaller but there were more of them. We used to have wood fires in the cool evenings. There was no electricity but we had oil lamps. Nanek, had come with us, bringing his wife and children. He had been given extra money for the journey but before we had gone far he came to us in great distress saying his family was starving. So mother handed out provisions from her food box. She had learned to take plenty of food and drink on journeys. Dagshai When we arrived at Dagshai. Nanak had to get his family housed in the bazaar and we did not see him again for a week. However, mother did the cooking, to our great satisfaction. It was possible because the cookhouse adjoined the house. It was good to see so many growing things after the dust and glare of the plains. Growing wild everywhere on the hill slopes were great deoder cedars, walnut trees and great sweeps of purple rhododendrons in massive, high clumps. Single, brilliantly coloured and sharply patterned dahlias were universal. How they survived the heavy snows of winter, even here in the foothills of the Himalayas, I have never understood, I often think of it when I am carefully lifting my own English dahlias, drying them, storing them at the right temperature, and dusting them against mould. The boys were always on the lookout for a walnut tree close to the road. The walnuts, however, were never ripe when we were in the hills and all they got for their efforts was darkly stained hands. The whole family longed to leave the roads, quiet though they were. The khud could be dangerous, as all of us knew. The undergrowth was certainly full of snakes, and every child knew about them, not only from hearing about them but from seeing them in their own bathroom or crossing a path. I had once encountered a cobra on the way to school, hissing and with its hood raised. I had immediately gone home and returned with an adult. No-one at all suggested that I was cowardly; it was the correct drill known to all of us. Another snake which was common was the krait, which was a dull blue in colour and very venomous. On the khud theee were also likely to be jackals. These would not attack a human being unless they had rabies and this was a constant fear. They might, however, very well attack a dog. Even on the road it was was always an interesting walk. We saw long-tailed monkeys, although they kept their distance, and twice we saw a leopard. So every evening the whole family walked round the mountain and it could all be seen , including the little bazaar, in an hour or so. After a while father found a wild place for us. It was a very beautiful pool surrounded by rocks, but it was a long walk and so only Ralph, Bob and I went with him. We frolicked in the pool while he stood guard with a stout stick. One evening, as we were going home, an old man on a donkey offered Ralph a ride. He lifted him on the donkey's back and at once the donkey plunged and kicked and threw Ralph off. It lashed out at his hea1d. We were greatly alarmed, but apart from a huge bump he was none the worse. In India there are three seasons, "Cold weather," "Hot Weather," and "Monsoons." It was very hot before the rains came end everybody was longing for the weather to break. Then suddenly it would start to rain, not like rain in England, but pouring down in torrents which continued for several days at a time. Steam rose from the hot earth and it was very humid. Then it became cooler and we were much more comfortable. Father said that in Lahore the whole area suddenly became green in two or three days. The heavy rainfall went on for about two months. Then there was some pleasant weather before we moved down to Lahore again. Winter in Lahore was best of all. It was just like an English summer but without rain. In the evening it turned cool and we had wood fires. They were not always necessary but seemed cheerful. There was hardly any twilight in India. It changed quite suddenly from bright sunshine to darkness. I think it was at this time that we nearly lost Jean. She had been playing on the verandeh and somebody suddenly called out. "Jean as amongst the buffaloes." There she was, a tiny figure in a white dress in the midst of herd of huge, black buffaloes. They were grazing peacefully, and she was going amongst them , patting their legs. We were all aghast. Poor Nanek threw his tea towel over his head and wailed "Chotah Jean Baba will be dead." We did not know what to do. If we went near the buffaloes they might have stampeded and trodden Jean underfoot. Father said 'Keep still and quiet." So we did and hoped. After what seemed like years, Jean decided that buffaloes were not much fun to play with and came wandering back. She must have been about eighteen months at the time. Father and mother were unusual in their now established pattern of walking, and seeing the sights, always in the company or their children. Some couples, confident that there were servants to attend to their Household were always ready for social life. This usually began in the regimental tennis club and in dances in the mess. Neither father nor mother played tennis but we all watched regularly. Father attended mess dances; he liked conversation, he considered it a social duty, and he had taken on the supervision of the bar where he took pleasure in straightening out mess funds and thereafter keeping them immaculately. There had been a suppressed scandal about his predecessor and some misappropriation of funds. Father was confident that he would be more alert than some because he was virtually a teetotaller. So these occasions for father were quite interesting and enjoyable. Mother, however though quite as convivial as father, refused to attend any evening functions. She would trust no-one to guard her brood, espec1ally at night. Then came news of a high spot in the social round. This was the annual Regimental Shoot for Ladies. Officers' wives were particularly enthusiastic. They practised regularly on the regimental rifle range which was periodically cleared for their use. Father, who was a good shot himself, persuaded mother to enter. She agreed. Although she had never in her life held a rifle or any other sort of firearm. As she went into the rifle range she was not worrying about the shooting itself; her secret anxiety was that she might look undignified when lying down to shoot. But all was well, she discovered, for the legs of each competitor were carefully shrouded in a blanket. Mother’s turn came, and father went with her to tell her how to hold the rifle, take aim and fire it, was time someone told her. She turned and saw that the worst had happened: she had scratched her smartest English shoes. At the end it was announced that mother had won the competition end that she was the best Ladles' Shot in the regiment, and she had won two silver gilt serving spoons. We were all bursting with pride. Mother could do anything, if only she put her mind, to it. Nowshera Then father was posted to the Seaforth Highlanders in Nowshera. Nowshera was on the North West Frontier near Peshawar. Consequently we had to pack up again. Nenak came to us in tears, saying that his father would not let him go so far away. It was decided, reluctantly, that it was too long a journey for Nutty, and so he was given to an unmarried sergeant who admired him. Nutty knew him and went peacefully. Ralph and Bob were quite upset at losing both Nanak and Nutty. When we said goodbye to Nanek Bob clung to his legs and cried. It was a long journey to Nowshera but not unpleasant. By now we were seasoned travellers. Father was pleased to be posted to a Scottish regiment and the Seaforth were splendid in every way. They treated us very well and made us fee1 welcome. The schoolmaster in a regiment was often thought of as an outsider. It may have helped that father himself was a scot. Mother became especially friendly with Mrs. Mar the Regimental sergeant Major's wife. Mrs.Mar had come from Scotland as the nanny to the children of the a commanding officer and had been married from his house. When she told mother about her wedding I was listening and found it most romantic. She said that the colonel and his wife had treated her as a daughter. They were still very fond of her and she of them. Mr.Mar was very young to have become a R.S.M and was reputed to have been a very good one. He was a handsome Highlander with golden hair, and their baby Spenser, was exactly like him. They were an extremely pleasant couple. Mrs.Mar was very efficient; she had excellent servants and her house was run like clockwork. She was exceptionally gentle mannered. Mother said she seemed like the wife of a minister. I was asked by Mrs.Mar to sell poppies for Remembrance Sunday and, much against my will, since I was very shy, I agreed. I was to go round the married quarters. At the end of the morning most of my poppies were gone but my collecting box was very light. Several women had given me one anna and taken poppies for the whole family, and some of them had very large families. As I was going, disconsolately home an Indian Ghurka officer stopped me and gave me ten rupees for one poppy. I was overwhelmed. It was about one tenth of fathers weekly pay. Nowshera was a hot and dusty place. It left no lasting impression on me.We found a very superior cook who wore a fez. All went well until an ice-cream machine was bought. It had to have ice put in it and the cook turned the handle until the custard turned into ice-cream. The icecream was so popular that we wore out the cook. He gave in his notice, saying he could do it no more. Then we had Nanoo. He was a delicate looking man with a sad, gentle face. He was a very good cook, perfectly clean, and most satisfactory when he was working, but periodically he disappeared for weeks on end and then returned and resumed his duties without any explanations. It was assumed that he lost himself in the bazaars for long bouts of alcohol and drugs. He had his own dog, Punjera, who stayed outside the cookhouse all day Jean, the baby, was devoted to both of them and she,of course, was Nanoo’s favourite. Punjera was the ugliest parish dog she could ever see, but he was very affable and Nanoo kept him clean and free from fleas. Nanoo’s departure was as sad as that of Nanek. Nanoo was dismissed for stealing from the school. There could be no doubt of his guilt. I heard my parents discussing, very seriously, what they should do. They liked Nanoo, they were sorry for him because there must be something very far wrong with his private life, about which we knew nothinq, and he was going downhill fast. But they concluded, a theft from us could have been overlooked, with a warning, but a theft from the school had to be reported. So he was sent away. Jean ran after him crying. It was very distressing. We had to have a chokidar or night watchman, while we were on the North West Frontier. His job was to guard the house against raiders during the night. He kept his charpoy, a wooden framed bed with webbing, on the verandah, and as soon as it was dark he lay down and snored loudly all night. To make a good show he kept a big axe under his pillow. By paying a chokidar we ensured that his friends and relations did not rob us. He was a tribesman, a Pathan, a tall, handsome man with a fair skin , hooked nose and blue eyes. His beard was dyed red. The pathans were fine looking people, very proud of themselves and fierce fighters. British soldiers had to sleep with their rifles beside them to prevent their being stolen. If a man lost his rifle he was in serious trouble. The raiders were clever thieves and we heard stories of barrack rooms being entirely looted while the men slept. There was sporadic tribal fighting on the North West Frontier but nothing serious whilst we were there. While we were in Nowshera I learnt Scottish dancing. The young private who was caretaker of the gymnasium invited all the children of the regiment for lessons. He played the bagpipes. I enjoyed it and went regularly. It was useful to me years later when I went to school in Scotland and knew the dances already. My teacher, Mrs. Macrae, went with her husband, a sergeant in the regiment, to see the Khyber Pass. They also had splendid holidays on a houseboat in Kashmir and in Simla. I was very envious when she told us about it and showed her photographs. But a family of our size had no money for holidays. I think it must have been the heat and dust that made father think of emigrating to Canada. At that time it was possible to buy land in Canada extremely cheaply. In the less favoured parts lend was given away free to settlers. Father sent for all the information and got lots of books on farming. We decided that we would go to New Brunswick and build a log cabin and be highly successful farmers. We were all very enthusiastic, all, that is except mother. She said nothing, but let us go on with all our talking. She knew father was not really serious about it. But it was good entertainment for several weeks. We got a second dog while we were in Nowshera. An Indian sergeant gave him to father as a present. He had been stolen by an Indian soldier from a camel caravan and was confiscated by the sergeant. They thought this was an exceptional dog. His name was Tiger. He was a big, grey and white dog, strong and fearless, but gentle and tame with the family. We did not know what breed he was, father thought he must be part timber wolf. He certainly looked like a wolf. All other dogs were afraid of him but he only once attacked one and that was not his fault. We were all out walking one evening when we met a young officer with his bull mastiff. As we were passing them he deliberately, with complete contempt for all us as low orders, set his dog onto Tiger. The bull mastiff sprang, but Tiger was too quick for him. In a second the face of the English dog was ripped open and pouring with blood and Tiger was sitting silent and grim amongst us. We were all horrified. Mother in particular grieved for the poor English dog, so beautiful, so well-trained, so basically tame. The young lieutenant, however, felt no shame, and tried to intimidate father, saying that he had not heard the last of this and dogs like ours would be better destroyed. We all stood our ground and father told him that he did not deserve so good a dog. Finally we went our separate ways, Tiger, as ever, walking with us, not on a lead, not at heel, unferocious, returning home with his family. "Sit! Stay! Heel!" Tiger walked with us, not behind us, and never on a lead. I did not know until much later that dogs have only one meal a day. Tiger ate when we did. The cook brought his food after he had served our meal. He enjoyed tea very much. On two occasions it was reported to us that Tiger had been seen chasing leopards in the hills. We were not surprised. One day when we were up in the hills we met an old hill woman with a yoke on her shoulders to carry two pots of wild honey which she had collected to sell. She was wearing unusual pantaloons and had very bandy legs. Those legs were irresistible to Tiger. He darted through them sending the old dame and her honey flying. Then, if dogs can laugh, he did! The old woman was ,naturally, most indignant. We picked her up, dusted her down and paid her for her honey and loss of dignity, and she went off mollified. Jean, who was just a toddler used to roll about on the floor with Tiger and ride on his back, and we were afraid that he would hurt her. The teacher at my school, however, was afraid of him. He always came to school with us and sat quietly at my feet. At playtimes he frolicked with the children and was given titbits from their lunches. The teacher asked for him to be kept at home and so he was, but ten minutes after we had started, there he was in his usual place. This went on for several days, and so she gave up and tolerated the extra pupil. Cherat The hill station for Nowshera was Cherat. It was not far away and not very high and seemed little or no improvement on Nowshera, equally hot and barren. There was a double wedding while we were in Cherat. Two young women came out from Scotland to marry Seaforth sergeants. They had been engaged before the regiment left for India. I thoroughly enjoyed the wedding and the reception which was arranged by Mrs.Mar. It was rare for soldiers to marry while they were in India. They did not get a marriage allowance and quarters until they were twenty-six, and they had to ask the Commanding Officer’s permission to marry. If the girl was Eurasian, the permission would almost certainly be refused. There was little or no chance for ordinary soldiers to meet British girls. Sometimes Eurasian girls attended the regimental dances, but before they could be invited their names had to be submitted to the Commanding Officer and they were carefully investigated to make sure they were respectable. Eurasians were usually referred to as “chee chee” or even worse as “chilli crackers”. We were delighted when we heard that the Seaforths had been posted to Lahore. We had not expected to see it again. For the rest of our time in India we were stationed in Lahore for the winter months and in Dagshai, Sabathu and Kasouli (2011: Kasauli)for the summer. The hill stations were all much the same, but Kasouli was more beautiful than the others. News had somehow reached nanek that we were coming back to Lahore and he came to meet us. He was delighted to see the children, and they to see him. He thought he was bound to be reinstated as our khensama (2011: a male servant who cooks and often is also responsible for taking care of the house and organizing other servants) but we had brought our cook with us and Nanek was working for a private’s family nearby, so it was not possible. He was disappointed, but thereafter he made periodic visits bringing sticky sweets for the chotah wallahs (children, lit. little people). We were very proud to belong to the Seaforth Highlanders. It was a great sight to see them on parade, so smart in their kilts and with the pipe band or regimental band playing. It was mostly the pipe band. The regimental band was often away on engagements. The bandsmen were paid extra for this, and so were much more prosperous than the other men. This caused some ill-feeling in the regiment. Father, however, liked them very much because he found a number who were intelligent and genuinely ambitious to improve their education in preparation for civilian life. They were already skilled musicians. Now, with father’s help and their own correspondence course, they were working for external degrees of London University, usually in Economics. Church parade was compulsory for the men. There were special racks in the pews to hold their rifles. We always went to church. Mother liked being able to attend a Presbyterian church again. The families had to sit at the front and the troops behind them. What we did not like was seeing defaulters doing ‘jerkers’. As a punishment they had to march up and down, in full uniform, with packs on their backs. This was sometimes in tropical temperatures. Father always told us to avert our eyes when passing them to save them embarrassment. Mother, of course , was shocked and indignant. "They are only lads" she would say. "Some day they will kill them." Every New Year's Day there was a big parade in Lahore. All the British and Indian troops of the district took part and the Governor General took the salute. The Indian Cavalry regiments, with their magnificent uniforms and with pennants flying from their lances, rode past on their beautifully groomed horses. Then there were the Camel Corps and the smart little Ghurkas and other picturesque Indian troops. The British soldiers were extremely smart, but plain in comparison, except, of course, for the Scottish regiments. There were military bands playing and tanks rolling along. It was a most splendid occasion. The Seaforths had celebrated Hogmanay the night before but they showed little sign of their carousels. Father said that some of them did not go to bed at all; they continued their jollifications until it was time to be smartened up from the parade. They were kept standing for hours, long before the inspection was due. For spectators it was a magnificent sight, but should a soldier faint on parade it was literally a crime. In the regiment, however, the ordeal was considered a joke because it was assumed that any who fainted had drunk too deep and too long the night before. Father could enjoy all parades because the Seaforths excused him from all strictly military duties. Splendid Christmas parties were given for the children of the regiment. Every child was given an expensive toy or book and a dress or jumper and the ladies had a silk dress length. Mrs. Mar chose the presents with great care and they were always suitable. One Christmas in Lahore stands out in my memory. Grannie wrote to say that a Blyth woman and her Indian army husband were home on leave and had offered to bring us our Christmas presents to save posting them. But they lived somewhere beyond Lahore and we were to meet their train when it stopped at Lahore station. We were later given the time of the train. Mother and I got up very early that morning – it seemed like the middle of the night to me- and went by tonge to the station. It was very dark and cold and I had a rug to keep me warm. It seemed a tremendous adventure. We arrived at the station in good time and when the train pulled in the people were looking out for us. They gave us our parcels and after they had departed mother and I went to a smart restaurant in Lahore and had breakfast. Then we went home with the presents which were bound to be lovely. The rest of the family were just getting up.We were allocated a much better bungalow that our first one. It was detached and stood in its own compound. Father made a garden and grew annual flowers and lettuces. They did very well because he dug irrigation channels which he filled with water. He worked hard on the garden and it gave him great satisfaction. There were some scrubby baobabs around the compound and there lived a mongoose. We were very pleased about this and put out food regularly for it. We would have liked it for a pet but we seldom saw it. It certainly earned its keep because we were not bothered with snakes there at all. We had had snakes in the house before this, some of them cobras. Father kept a big stick ready to deal with them. Schools were provided for the children of British soldiers. Each regiment had an army schoolmistress attached to it as well as an A.E.C (2011: Army Education Corps) Warrant Officer. The small places like Nowshera , where there was only one regiment, it would be a one teacher school with perhaps some assistance from the A.E.C men , and in larger military stations, such as Lahore, the teaching staff gathered together to make a big school. The age range was from five to fourteen. This was the normal pattern in British schools at that time. Children left school at fourteen unless they attended grammar schools. These army schools were just as good as schools in England, better in fact, because theye were so well equipped. Our family all went to them. We were constantly changing schools but it did not seem to do us any harm. Mrs. Macrae was the Seaforth teacher. She was a very strong-minded lady with aloud voice and a habit of calling children, silly little rabbits, bit I got on very well with her and liked and respected her. She was married to a Seaforth sergeant, a gentle, mild, handsome Highlander. He was very fond of children, especially our family, but they had none of their own. After we had left India we heard that at last they had had a baby and we were very glad for them. The army gave scholarships for children to go to boarding schools of their parents’ choice. When I was nearly eleven I took the examination. I had been well prepared for it. Father coached me and Mrs. Macrae gave me extra lessons in the evenings. Mother thought it was too much for me and I was being overpowered by a dominating personality. She could hear Mrs. Macrae in her house next door but she could never hear me. In fact I was having a most enjoyable time. Mrs. Macrae always gave me smart refreshments at half time which made me feel quite adult. The examination was held in Father’s school. I was the only candidate. Father was in attendance to hand out the papers and the invigilator was 2nd. Lieutenant The Viscount Tarbet. He was the education officer for the regiment, which meant he was the liaison officer between the regiment and the A.E.C. I knew him well because he often came to the house to see father. I thought he was the most charming and handsome young man I had ever known. Bonnie Prince Charlie should have been exactly like that. In honour of the occasion he wore his kilt and full dress uniform. Whenever I looked up he smiled encouragingly. It was a pleasant examination. A few weeks later a young soldier from the adjutant’s office came up to me on the veranda. He was carrying a note and smiling broadly. I said “I’ll fetch my father”. “No” he said, this is for you. I opened up my letter. It said that I had been awarded a scholarship of so many rupees a year and that I had come first in the whole of India. I could not believe it at first. The young soldier said it is true, congratulations. I’m very glad for you. That was the first of many congratulations. Shortly afterwards there was a telegram of congratulations from the Governor General. Then the Seaforth’s commanding officer and father’s A.E.C captain and Viscount Tarbet and all sorts of other people came. It was overwhelming but enjoyably so. The first thing to be done was to choose a school. Most of the boarding schools for Northern India were in Simla and so we had all Prospectuses. We were told that convent schools were the best and so, although I was not a Roman Catholic, it was decided that I should go to the Convent of Jesus and Mary. There were two schools on the same campus, the Boarding School and the St. Francis School. My scholarship would have more than covered the keep for the St. Francis school but was not enough for the Boarding school. Mother thought I should have best and decided that she could just manage to pay the difference. After I had been at Simla for a year I took the Punjab Middle school examination and won another scholarship so that my school fees were more than covered. I was glad to feel that I was almost self-supporting for the next two years. The list of school uniform and equipment required was enormous and mother, amazed, supplied everything on the list. I found later that most of the girls did not have so many of each item. But mother was determined that I should be provided with all that the school demanded. I had to have warm gym slips, blouses and dresses for cold weather, cotton gym slips and blouses for warm weather, white silk dresses for best, white silk dresses for Sundays, and colourful dresses for Saturdays. There had to be dozens of underclothes for two kinds of weather, a blazer, a warm coat, a dressing gown, black shoes, brown shoes, white shoes, slippers, tennis shoes, black cotton stockings, brown cotton stockings, white cotton stockings, white silk stockings, black woollen stockings, white cotton gloves, brown leather gloves, bath towels, hand towels, a mattress, pillows, blankets, sheets, pillowcases, white bedcover, serviettes, silver serviette ring, shoe cleaning equipment, mending equipment, hair ribbons, navy, white & mauve, English & French dictionary, mathematics instruments, sponge bag, soap dish, soap, brush and dish and an enamelled mug. We were not allowed to wear socks, and all dresses had to have long sleeves. We could not understand why it was considered immodest for little girls to show their arms. It was very uncomfortable in hot weather. Mother went to the dhurzi’s cotton mills for a great quantity of material which was made up by the ordinary dhurzi. The grand dhurzi made my silk dresses most beautifully. Then I had to have two metal trunks to contain my vast trousseau. Mother’s contribution was to print my name neatly in marking ink on yards and yards of tape. I stitched the names on - a very long job. SIMLA 1926-1930 The school year started on 1st. March and finished on 1st. December. It was too cold for the girls to remain in Simla for the three winter months. There were ten days holiday in the summer for girls whose homes were near Simla. Fortunately my family were in the Simla Hills at that time. Father took me in the train as far as Kalka, the terminus for the mountain railway. There all the girls gathered up in the charge of some teachers, and we all travelled up to Simla together. At Simla there was a fleet of rickshaws waiting and we piled in, two or three to a rickshaw. I had never ridden in a rickshaw before and it was a strange sensation to be jogging along pulled by a coolie. The coolies did not walk, they ran all the time. I was amazed to see deep snow and brilliant sunshine. It was just like Switzerland. I had not seen snow since leaving England. The school was some distance away and we passed through Simla town. Its houses, churches, shops and hotels looked extremely English to me. In the next three years I saw very little of Simla, but I thought it was a beautiful place. It was very fashionable. All the "best" people, including the Viceroy and his staff, spent the summer there. I had read Kipling’s stories of Simla and it was just as I had imagined it. The school was a very long, low building with a veranda running its whole length. There was a big compound and trees and flower beds and a khud with a path leading down to the netball and tennis courts. It looked very attractive. The dormitories had white curtains, which were never drawn, round the beds. They were tied with red, blue, yellow or green bows and the dormitories were called the Red Dormitory, the Blue Dormitory and so on. Apart from being new to a boarding school I had never known nuns before and the girls were different from any I had ever known. I felt very, very strange and suddenly wished I were at home with mother and father and my brothers and sister. I cried myself to sleep that night. In the three years I was there I never really got over my homesickness. Many of the other girls were the same. We used to make calendars and cross off the days till it was time to go home again. "Only another so many days," we would say to each other. The St. Francis School was at one end of the long building and we were near the other. Between the two were classrooms and dining rooms. At our end were the nuns' common room and the "parlours" -sitting rooms for visitors and the music rooms. Beyond them was the church, and, some distance away, a teachers' training college run by the convent and a monastery. We were not allowed to go beyond the church except on special occasions. St. Francis' School was just the same as the Boarding School, so far as I could see, except that they did not have the curtains and bows in their Dormitories and they did not use serviettes. But there was a great deal of snobbery and the girls of my school considered themselves vastly superior to the others. We had lessons together but were not supposed to fraternize in our spare time. We kept to our end and they kept to theirs. Later on my best friend was a St. Francis girl. Her name was Catherine Braganza. She was a Goanese and quite black. I found her intelligent and sensitive and I liked her better than any of the other girls. We used to sit together in the no-man’s land between the two schools. This was not stopped, but I was asked several times by nuns why I was so friendly with Catherine. "Weren't there better girls in my own school?" I said, "No. I like her." And they left it at that. When I started school I was put in a class of girls of my own age. After a short time it was evident that I was wrongly placed and so I was moved up two classes. The other girls were thirteen or fourteen and I was eleven but I seemed to fit in. All the way through I was top of the class. I wish I could say that this was due to my natural brilliance and that it was all effortless but it was not so. I tried very hard and was determined to do well. I felt I owed it to my parents who were sacrificing so much to keep me at what they thought was the best school possible and so I always did my very best. Domestic science was most peculiar. We cooked on a long charcoal stove with holes along the top and little ovens below. There was no way of regulating the heat. Whatever we made was taken away to the big kitchen and what became of it I do not know. We certainly did not have it. In laundry work we sometimes starched and ironed the nuns' collars and caps. The ironing was done with box irons filled with hot charcoal. The caps were corrugated round the front, with a soft cap for the head, and were crimped with goffering irons. Some of the girls used these to wave their hair when they were unobserved. Most of the girls had piano lessons. This was an extra and so I did not have them. The sound of scales being practised and the click of metronomes seemed to go on all the time. The nuns were of various nationalities. English, Eurasian, French, German and one was Spanish. Rumour had it that she had been a Spanish Countess. Those who were not teachers ran the domestic side of the school. The nuns, I think, taught efficiently, but they showed no warmth or affection to us at any time. I, in turn, obeyed them and worked for them; but I did not like them. All the time that I was at Simla I knew that this relationship was unnatural, and I never understood it. Two nuns were quite different from the others. They were Sister Rosie and Sister Lily. They were very pretty Indians and lay sisters. They both worked in the school hospital under the supervision of an old nun. We were expected at all times to stand when a nun passed, and if one was engrossed in a book and happened not to see her one was in trouble. Otherwise the nun always passed without a smile or any sign of recognition. When I was new in Simla I stood for Sister Rosie. She laughed and said that I need not stand for her. Thereafter I always stood for them both with pleasure and always received a warm smile in return. Every morning there was a surgery at the school hospital. There were always a great many candidates for admission. It was most enjoyable to be kept in as a patient. We were looked after by the two lay sisters. We all thought they were the loveliest people we knew, so kind and cheerful and homely. They made us feel very comfortable, tucking thick red blankets round us. My ailments were very minor and so I could enjoy my few hospital visits. Most of the morning queue, however, was returned to duty after a dose of salts or castor oil. We were given the choice! The girls were mostly Anglo-Indians. There were hardly any who had come from England as I had. Army officers and senior Indian Civil Servants usually sent their children home to England when they were of school age. The girls in Simla were the daughters of railway officials, oil men, shop keepers, and merchants. They had always lived in India and expected that they always would. Most of them were Eurasians, although this was never admitted. It was considered shameful. Most British people in India despised Eurasians, as did the Indians, and they themselves had no pride in their ancestry and pretended to be entirely British. I could never understand the British attitude. Many of the girls were strikingly beautiful with their dark hair and olive complexions. But fair hair and fair skin were considered the quintessence of beauty and I was much admired by all. In fact I was a very ordinary looking, healthy girl such as one would have seen by the thousand back home. The girls secretly tried all sorts of creams and lotions to make their skin paler. When the nuns discovered them using talcum powder on their faces they were in serious trouble. One day, when we were being inspected before going on an outing, one girl was called out of line and denounced for wearing rouge on her cheeks. In front of us all her cheeks were vigorously scrubbed with a flannel by the nun. In fact nothing came off on the flannel. She just happened to have particularly nice rosy cheeks. No apology was given. It was very cold when we arrived in Simla and remained so for several weeks. It was very cold again before we went home for the winter holiday. But there was no heating whatsoever in the school. The nuns had a fire in their common room but that was all. We used to be absolutely frozen and wore our overcoats all the time, even to lessons and meals. Some of us put warm water into little bottles which were kept in our pockets to give a few minutes warmth to our cold hands. Bath mornings were worst. My dormitory was a long way from the bathroom. We had to go down some open stairs and along a very long open verandah, dressed in a dressing gown with a coat over it and carrying our bundles of clothes. This was no joke at six o'clock in the morning and with deep snow on the ground. We had only one bath a week. This was quite enough in the Winter, we thought, but not enough in the hot weather. At home we bathed twice a day and would have liked more; only the colossal labour of preparing a bath prevented this. The bathing arrangements were peculiar. There was a huge bathroom with shelves all round on which stood our enamel basins and jugs with our names on them. On ordinary mornings we washed there. On bath days the room was filled with zinc baths. Coolies kept coming in with hot and cold water to fill them and to empty the used ones. Before we left our dormitories we had to put on long robes made of ticking. We got into the baths wearing them and washed ourselves with complete modesty and yet in public. It took great skill to get dried and dressed and to get rid of the wet gown. We were taught how to do it with decorum. The older girls bathed in private in cubicles. I envied them. I found that all the girls in my class had this privilege and so I plucked up courage and asked if I could have a cubicle. I said that I was in Standard VII and by virtue of my seniority in studies I was entitled to it The answer was ,” No. You are only eleven. Not until you are older.” I waited a month and asked again and had the same reply. When I was a week older I repeated my dignified request and this time the nun weakly gave in. I thought it was only fair because I knew that big, fat, stupid girls had cubicles. I was small, admittedly, but I had my dignity. It was a great struggle to wash my long hair and even to plait it. Mother had always done it for me. On one of my holidays I told her of my difficulties and she immediately had it cut. When I went back, to my surprise, all the nuns exclaimed that it was a terrible thing that my long hair was gone. Later I tried for a locker. Only the older girls had bedside lockers to hold their possessions. I put forward my argument that I was in a senior class. It was just as before and I won in the end. But I was told that first I must get a cover for the locker and some ornaments and photographs to stand on it. Of course mother sent something suitable by return of post. Breakfast was always thin, sweetened porridge without milk and dhal( lentils) and rice. The main meal usually consisted of curry, mostly vegetable, and rice, or dhal and rice, followed by semolina or sago or rice pudding. Tea was a cup of tea and one slice of bread with either butter or jam. Supper was cocoa and one slice of bread. We lined up and collected our food which was served out by an old bearer with a red beard and a severe manner. When everybody was served we could go with our plates for a second helping if there was any left. All eyes were on the serving table when the queue was coming to an end. One day there was a near riot. Everybody rushed forward with their plates and spoons, desperate for more. The little French nun who was in charge could do nothing but wring her hands. The old bearer made for the door carrying his dish, hotly pursued by the hungry horde. Then he turned, lifted his dish above his head and said loudly and clearly, "You are supposed to be young ladies, but you are behaving like savages. Sit down! ". We all slunk back to our places, bitterly ashamed. Nobody had ever heard the bearer speak before. One night I was so hungry that I ate a whole jar of vaseline that I had to put on my chapped hands. We used to eat nasturtium seeds and leaves that grew in the garden. Some of the girls had food parcels sent from home. I did not have them because mother naturally thought that I was being well fed and I never told her otherwise. I never complained to mother and father about anything at Simla. Some girls from Karachi became friendly with me and asked me to sit at their table. They often had parcels and they shared their good things with me. I was not a cadger but I was glad to have kind friends. These girls, about ten of them, were all sisters or cousins or close friends. Their fathers worked for the Iranian Oil Company. They all had Irish names and so, although none of them had ever been anywhere but India, their forbears must have come from Ireland. They were good girls, pious Catholics and well thought of by the nuns, but they were not at all academic. One of them was nearly twenty when she left school. She was a very nice girl but she kept coming back to try to pass her examinations and never succeeded. When eventually she did not return after a holiday I asked what she was doing. "She got married last month," said her sister. On Sunday afternoons the tuck shop was open. Our pocket money was kept for us so we did not know how much money we had or if we had any at all. Most of the girls seemed to be very well off and were able to buy sweets and chocolate every time. I was not so affluent. We had to buy our own soap and toothpaste at the shop. It was very hard if, after queuing up in eager anticipation, there was no money or only enough for toothpaste. On Saturdays we had school in the morning and were free in the afternoon after we had done our mending. The mending was in big clothes baskets and as our names were called we went to collect it. The lucky ones who had none could go free. The other's had to mend their clothes and have them inspected before they could go. Nothing was ever condemned as worn out, it had to be mended time and time again and darned properly. Drawing holes together would not do. Mother exclaimed in horror when she saw vests and stockings which were darned all over and said she should have been told that I needed new ones. Some of us had very little playtime on Saturdays. If, to make matters worse, there were no sweets on Sunday, life seemed very hard. We went to church every morning before breakfast and on Sundays in the evening too. The few Protestants had to go to church with the others because there was nobody to take charge of us. There was no pressure on us to be converted to Roman Catholicism but we were made to feel that we were different from the others. A nun once said to me, “You are a good girl in spite of being a Protestant." I am sure that there is more tolerance nowadays on both sides. I always took my Bible to church and read it solidly. There were hymns at the back which I sang silently to myself. One day I got into trouble for letting some girls read my Bible because they were allowed to read it for themselves. I read the Bible from end to end several times in the three years that I was there. On Sunday there was a sermon and I listened to that. At first there was a German priest who spoke very poor English. His sermons were always about what bad girls we were. We thought this was unfair because we were not bad girls. Then there was a young English priest, handsome and charming. He gave good sermons and talked to the girls pleasantly. We all liked him. The Bishop of Simla, came for special occasions. He was a most impressive figure, tall and stately. I had never seen a bishop of any kind before and he was just as I had imagined a bishop would be. The papal legate from the Vatican visited the school once on his tour of India. He was Italian and spoke no English. Later he became Pope Pious XII. During Lent the nuns and girls went into retreat. It seemed to me to be for a long time but it was probably only the week before Easter. They went to church, had religious instruction, read religious books and did not talk. The non-Catholics were given some school work to get on with and told not to speak to the other girls. We could speak to each other of course. The school seemed very silent. When Easter Sunday came there was great rejoicing. We wore our best clothes and had splendid meals. May was a special month. It was the month of Mary and we had to be especially good. If we did anything wrong we were given a black mark and these marks were added up at the end of the month. It was very difficult to avoid them. They were given for being a minute late, for having untidy hair, for not polishing our shoes well enough, for spilling food and many other peccadilloes. On the last day of May, there was a special service taken by the Bishop of Simla. We proceeded to church, wearing our best white dresses and each carrying a candle. There our names were called out, first the girls with no black marks, then those with one, then two, then three, then four. We went forward and kissed the bishop's ring and he put crowns of flowers on our heads, gold for no black marks, silver for one, white for two, blue for three and pink for four. Most of the girls had no crowns. I had a gold crown each time. Although I was always well behaved, it took a great deal of effort to avoid those black marks. After the ceremony in church was over, we lined up outside in order of merit. There we were joined by the monks from the monastery and the students from the college. We walked in procession to the Grotto, carrying our candles and singing hymns. The Grotto was in the grounds but some distance away from the school. It was beautiful. There was a big statue of the Virgin Mary, and in front of it were flower beds and many little paths and rockeries, with holders where we put our candles. There were roses everywhere, mainly creamy buff ones which were possibly Gloire de Dijon. Even now I can remember the scent of the roses and incense and candles. When we had sung some more hymns and the bishop had addressed us and had prayed, it was getting dark. The hundreds of candles were left softly glowing as we walked back. Once a year we had our feast day, the day of Saint Ignatius, our patron saint. After a later start than our usual six o'clock rising we went to church dressed in our best clothes, our hair curled and tied with mauve ribbons, and with bunches of artificial violets pinned to our dresses. There was a special mass and we went back to a splendid breakfast. We then changed into non-uniform dresses and went down the hill to the tennis courts where we played games for the rest of the morning. We were given refreshments of Indian sweets and lemonade. I had never tasted Indian sweets before. They were fried in ghee, boiling butter. Some were sweet and sticky and others were spicy or savoury. Most of them were delicious. For dinner we had chicken curry and trifle, as much as we could eat. Then we changed our dresses yet again, this time into party dresses. One year it was a fancy dress party. I was a Dutch girl. The party went on until bedtime. There was an orchestra from the town and we had dancing and games, non-stop. The Charleston was the popular dance of that time and all the girls did it. But the Black Bottom was banned because it was said to be vulgar. The buffet was marvellous with all sorts of luxurious food and there was claret cup. There surely could not have been any wine in it. We smuggled out some food to our friends of St. Francis' School and when it was their feast day they did the same for us. The day after the orgy we were back to normal, though some girls were rather bilious. Feast or famine. In my first year at the school there was a concert to raise money for the Church. We prepared for it for months ahead. Professional painters came to paint the scenery and a stage was put up with footlights. No expense was spared on the costumes. I was with a group singing Irish songs and dancing. I cannot remember much about the concert but it was a great success. The college students took part as well as the girls. The general public came on the first two nights and each time the hall was packed. The audiences were very enthusiastic. The third night was reserved for Indian ladies. We did not know who they were but thought they must all be princesses. Their saris and jewels were magnificent. They looked as if they had come out of the Arabian Nights. There was a great deal of chattering and giggling as they took their seats. The concert started and the talking and laughing went on and continued throughout the performance. They took no notice whatsoever. The concert went on as usual but everybody was disappointed. There was not even any applause. The Hindu Festival of light, Diwali, was in the autumn. Hindus used to light many little lamps in clay dishes and put them outside their houses. From the wall at the back of the school we could see all the little lights twinkling in the village nearby. The festivities ended with fireworks. We found it very entertaining. There was some trouble about this same wall. Down a slope was the road leading to the town. Some girls were caught talking to soldiers who were on the road. It was the scandal of the century. It was kept very hush hush but of course it leaked out to the rest of us. I could not understand why it was such a criminal offence, nor why anybody should bother to climb onto a wall just to talk to soldiers. I was used to seeing soldiers all the time. We went to the pictures twice while I was there, first to "Ben Hur" and then to "The King of Kings". The whole school went in rickshaws. These were great treats and we talked about them for weeks afterwards. Other outings were for the select few. There was a music festival for Simla schools. I was in the school choir. A party of us went to another convent school to a garden fete. I was amongst them. I was also one of the chosen few who went to the Viceroy's garden party. It seemed to me to be most unfair that I should have the few treats that there were and others had none. I thought that I was preferred partly because I was always well behaved but also because they liked to show off my fair hair and complexion. The garden party was for representatives of all the boarding schools in Simla. We were dressed in our very best, complete with violets and mauve ribbons. The inspection before we set out was even more stringent than usual. Not a hair was out or place. We had to ride two to a rickshaw instead of the usual three so as not to get our dresses crushed. Vice Regal Lodge was palatial, with beautiful grounds and flower beds. There were marquees on the lawn with little tables set for tea. We were entertained by charming, young aides-de-camp who showed us round and then plied us with exquisite refreshments. None of us needed much persuasion to eat! Then there was a film show followed by ice-cream and lemonade. We were disappointed not to see the Viceroy or his wife, but we had been entertained right royally. One morning I was summoned to the parlour. There were the Reverend Mother and, to my amazement, my old teacher, Mrs.Macrae. She was having a short holiday in Simla. I was delighted to see her but felt somewhat inhibited by the presence of the Reverend Mother. Mrs.Macrae asked if she could take me out for the day. 'No, "was the reply, "because her parents have not told me that you were coming. She cannot go without their permission." I was not at all perturbed. I knew Mrs.Macrae would not take "No" for an answer. She would get her own way even if it meant standing up to a Reverend Mother. And she did. I was sent off to get changed and I did it in double quick time. When I got back Mrs.Macrae was alone. She said that she would like to have a quick look at the school. Lessons had started and so we kept well away from classrooms and I took her to see the dormitories, the bathrooms, and the dining room. The next day I was reprimanded for taking her round without permission. It had not occurred to either of us. "And did you even show her the bathrooms and lavatories?" It seemed that this was the worst thing that I had done during my entire stay in the school. I had a splendid day out. We saw the whole of Simla. I had only seen it in passing a few times before. It seemed a most elegant place. We looked at the shops and Mrs.Macrae took me into a bookshop which was just like a shop in England. She said that I was to have some books. I had a good look round and chose one. "You must have some more” she said, and so I came out with four lovely books. We had meals at the hotel where she was staying. It seemed to me the most luxurious place I had ever seen. Of course she plied me with food. I remember that there was a plate of strawberry tarts with cream which seemed to disappear very quickly and she asked for another plateful. But best of all was the talk of home. She spoke of mother and father, and of how the boys were getting on, and of Jean's latest sayings, and of children whom I knew. She even talked about Tiger whom she did not really like. I wished I could have gone back with her. No time limit had been set and so she said that I might as well have as long a day as possible, and not go back until bedtime. When we got back I was carrying my four books, a big box of chocolates, and two large boxes of cakes. Mrs.Macrae embraced me warmly and said ”Keep your pecker up. You are doing all right. I will go to see the family as soon as I get back.” After she had gone I had a nice warm feeling inside me which was not just a full stomach. A nun who was standing by said “Was that your mother or your aunt?" "No, she used to be my teacher”. “But she has given you all these things, and she kissed you," she said in surprised tones. "Yes," I said, "She likes me." That night I could be Lady Bountiful with my cakes and chocolates. In the summer we had ten days holiday. I was lucky that Dagshai, Sabathu, and then Kasauli were near enough for me to go home. It was lovely to be home and the holiday seemed much too short. But we had three months holiday in the winter. That was the best time of all. The checking and packing of clothes had to be started several weeks ahead. It was a great thrill to be summoned to the linen room to pack. Excitement mounted as the day of our release grew nearer. Most of us hardly slept at all the night before. When we looked out in the early morning darkness there were the lights of hundreds of rickshaws waiting for us. After church and breakfast we were given sandwiches and our own money for the journey. Then we were off. A few nuns came to the station to see us safely on the train. Probably they were glad to see us go. We were all together on the first lap of the journey on the mountain railway down to Kalka. It was traditional to sing all the way in the little train. We used to sing to the tune of “Riding down to Bangor" Riding down to Kalka, On the homebound train, No more awful lessons, Isn't it a shame. No more watery porridge, No more rice and Dhal, After this long journey, We'll be home again. There were numerous verses which I do not remember. The nuns would have been horrified if they had heard us. At Kalka we went our several ways. Some of the girls had very long journeys to Southern India. My journey to Lahore took only part of a day and one night. There were quite a number of girls who lived in Lahore and one teacher, and so my travelling was no trouble. At Lahore Station I was handed over to mother and father and three months of happiness started. When I went back on 1st. March the homesickness began all over again. Home to Kasauli then England We had had five years in India and were due to go back home in the spring of 1930. So 1929 was to be my last year at Simla. Soon after my fourteenth birthday in November I was sent for one day and the Reverend Mother said that I had to go home to Kasauli at once. She said that my mother was in hospital and I was needed to look after my brothers and sister. I was most alarmed and asked what was wrong with mother. All she would say was that I would be told when I got home. I was to go and pack and then go for a meal, and a rickshaw would be waiting to take me to the station. I got ready in a daze. There was no time to say goodbye to my friends. The more time elapsed the deeper grew my panic. Before I got home I was really afraid. I was accustomed to mother having babies. That was something pleasant. I was sure that the mystery meant she was desperately ill of some illness that the nuns could not mention. The truth of it was that mother was having a baby, but this time as she was over forty they wanted her to have a longer time in hospital. I was to help at home until the baby was born and as soon as mother was fit to travel, we were all going back to England again. Nearly everybody had left Kasauli by now and gone down to the plains. Father had been granted leave to stay on until the baby was born. It was strange living in such a deserted place. There were not even many stalls left in the bazaar. The only people living near us were the barrack warden and his wife who stayed in Kasauli permanently. She had not known mother before, but kindly visited her every day in hospital. We all went to the hospital every afternoon. There was no school for Ralph, Bob and Jean, of course. I would get them all washed and in clean clothes to face mother's inspection and before I had finished off the third one the other two would be outside and dirty again. I found it was best to get Jean done first, as she was less insubordinate than the boys and more likely to stay put, and then the other two simultaneously so that they could not escape. Another of my duties was to give the cook his orders and "take account, miss-sahib”. I found this very difficult. I was not good at planning menus and often had to appeal to the cook for suggestions. There was a great deal of washing and ironing, not only for the tribe at home, but for mother and later for the baby. Washing was no trouble but ironing with flat irons heated on a primus stove took me hours and hours of toil as everything had to be perfect. The domestic science I had learned at school did not seem to be of much use to me. I asked father if he could iron and he just said, "Why bother. Just give them a bit of a smooth down." I cannot imagine what he was doing while I was struggling with my chores. Perhaps he was packing. One day a letter came from the Reverend Mother in Simla. She asked if I could be left to finish any schooling there and then go on to their teachers' training college. I could stay with them throughout the time at no charge and they would take good care of me. Father wrote straight back declining the kind offer. There was no need for consultation. The idea of abandoning me was unthinkable. Besides, their qualifications would not count in England and I would have been there for ever. I knew that there could be no question of my being left behind but at the same time the letter was a shock. Before we left India the Reverend Mother wrote again to wish us a safe journey and gave a most glowing account of my work and character. I felt rather confused. It seemed that I had not understood the nuns at all. Anne was born on 23rd. November 1929. She was a beautiful baby weighing 8½ lbs. We all thought she was lovely. Mother was the only patient in the hospital. The staff consisted of two army sisters and an ayah. They were glad to have a patient and enjoyed the baby. There were always a great many monkeys in the hill stations and they became very bold when there were so few people about. Mother said they scampered about on the roof and came on the veranda. She was afraid that they would harm the baby when the door was left open and she was confined to bed. Their chattering was very disturbing. Soon after the baby was born father was recalled to duty in Lahore. The Seaforth’s had been very generous in granting him so much leave. Mother and Anne had to be left until mother was fit to travel. Father and I unpacked only the essentials as it was going to be for such a short time. We went to Lahore and bought a cot and a bath for the baby, and some thick tweed for a coat for me. The cot folded up and it had a white muslin valance and canopy. It was very pretty. The bath had a lid so that it could contain the baby's clothes for travelling. Mother was pleased and surprised at our purchases. It was unusual to find warm material in India. My coat was warm enough for Scottish winters and I wore it for several years. When it was time for mother to come home father tried to get a few more days leave to go to Kasauli to collect her, but it could not be granted as he had already had so much. So she was escorted on the journey by a young Royal Army Medical Corps orderly. Mother said that he was most kind and helpful. He held the baby throughout the journey. She was amused that a young unmarried man should be so experienced with a new baby. Father went with a car to meet them at the station. I got the family spruced up for her arrival. They insisted on going to the end of the road to watch for the car. When it came along they ran behind it and got covered in clouds of dust, so that when mother saw them they were filthy. I do not think she was convinced that they had been perfectly clean and tidy a few minutes before. There was not much time to get ready for embarkation. We were to sail in January. Mother could have delayed going as the baby was so young but she wanted to get home. Before the baby was born mother had been informed about this embarkation. "Tell them I will be on the ship," she said. The nurses pulled comical faces behind her back, but she met her deadline. The serious preparation for this trip was to get us all kitted up for the rigours of a Scottish winter. Fortunately Kasauli, by now, was quite cold and so the change was not as abrupt as might have been. The Seaforths sometimes legitimately sold surplus kilts and mother bought one. There were many yards of material in it, enough to make skirts for the girls and trousers for the boys. When families were going home, the army gave them so many yards of cream flannel for each child. As there were five of us there was a vast amount. The clever dhurzi made vests and pants for the boys, combinations for Jean and me, his own invention, and pyjamas for all. It was very comical because it was not thought seemly for the dhurzi to see us in a state of undress and so mother measured us and tried the garments on all the children in the bedroom, stepping out onto the verandah to report her findings to the old dhurzi. I can remember one day, when he came for a fitting, mother was holding the baby who was crying. Without a word he took the baby from mother. She stopped crying immediately and mother was free to take us into the house for the trying on of the underclothes. One of mother’s friends knitted all the baby’s clothes. She was kept in jumpers and pants instead of the usual fancy dresses and petticoats for ease in travelling. We were all very sad that Tiger had to be left behind. He was given to a soldier, but not until the night before we left because we thought that he might come home again. Just as the train was pulling out of Lahore station, Tiger dashed onto the platform. He ran alongside the train at tremendous speed, dragging a great chain behind him, while the cook, who had come to see us off, ran in pursuit, trying, in vain, to catch him. We hung out of the windows, afraid that he would be run over by another train. He ran until he was exhausted and dropped out of sight. It was harrowing for all of us. How our clever Tiger knew that we were at the station and on that particular train is a mystery. But we all knew that there would never be another dog like Tiger. We were to sail from Karachi on the troopship “Devonshire." It was a long train journey from Lahore, two days and nights, but it took three days and nights to Bombay, and so it could have been worse. We were now such seasoned travellers that the journey was easy and quite pleasant, The picnic basket with all its contents and the Primus stove were given to coolies on the quay as we embarked. The “Devonshire” was a much bigger ship than the one on which we had set out for India. There was third class as well as first and second. Sergeants and other ranks travelled third. Father thought that it was unfair that sergeants travelled in inferior accommodation from ours, and he was particularly embarrassed since he knew a number of sergeants socially, having belonged to the same mess. I do not think that third class accommodation was bad but it was crowded. The men had P. E. sessions to break the day and father and other A. E. C. men offered light weight courses as entertainment. But for the most part, from their deck came the interminable chant of housey-housey and crown and anchor. We had to get to our deck through theirs. Men always spoke to father. If I went alone they spoke to me, kindly and pleasantly. I did not know what to say. Once I dropped mother's button box and buttons rolled all over the deck. Immediately men were scrambling to pick them up. I was so embarrassed that I wished I could have vanished into thin air. There were social graces that I had not learned at Simla and I knew it. However, it was a perfectly comfortable voyage and we all enjoyed it. Mother, Jean, Anne and I had a cabin to ourselves and father and the boys shared a cabin with one man. Everything was most smoothly organised for our comfort and entertainment. The children had their meals separately from the adults and were supervised only by the stewards. I was fourteen and so ,to my delight, I was classed as grown up. I used to put on a party dress for dinner. The boys ate tremendously. With no parents to check them, instead of choosing from the menu, they went right through it regularly. The stewards must have been very indulgent to them. Nobody was seasick or bilious. When we left Port Said we all threw our topees into the sea. We were told that this was always done as a final farewell to India. It was a strange sight to see them all bobbing about in the water. We were always demanding to be measured on birthdays and other important occasions to see who had grown most. I am certain that there would be no pencil marks on cabin walls from our parents. But I can record that we landed at Southampton in February 1930 when I was fourteen, Ralph ten, Bob seven and a half, Jean five and a half years and Anne two months. It was bitterly cold, but the sun shone brilliantly. It was good to be home. THE END Return to MENU AUDIOBOOK of INDIA Return to MENU AUNT GERTIES FULL DIARY Return to MENU VIDEO Return to MENU That's all Folks

By keef & annie, Mar 11 2012 01:39PM Are you planning on taking your motorhome to Ireland? A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog We came across this wonderful site which should help you. Total Camping Ireland lists information on every Campsite, Campervan, Tent, Caravan Park, Touring Park in Ireland for your Holiday. So like us go and have a look. We cannot wait to return to the lovely Emerald Isles. We definitely high recommend this site if you are off to Eire We consulted it before our major trip to Eire in 2018, Blog 129 as well as the ACSI sites and Motorhome and Caravan club sites. Both clubs have handbooks if you are not keen to use their websites or phone apps The INDEX page has TAGs for all Blogs and by year or month, A-Z INDEX alphabetically or just using the LETTERs in the Tag maps, or you can use the SEARCH page to look for something or just use the search facilities here on the BLOG or the associated Blogs attached to each Blog, entirely up to you, there is a wealth of ways to find what you want, thanks for looking motorhome-travel blog, LIKE to join our Facebook community or have a look at all our great "motorhomes" on our pin board, why not, join the conversation “motorhomes R us” 😉 🌠 ✅ 🤔 Here are some Travel Route videos to accompany this blog plus show the route we took using info provided by this site in 2018. We aim to return in 2023 to complete the Wild Atlantic Way as well as visit the Giant's causeway in Northern Ireland.

By keef and annie hellinger, Aug 6 2016 07:44AM See below... South America and China are the real ones left for us, oh and Greenland and Antarctica, will be fun to see how to get the Motorhome there ;) Update 2021, now been to China , see Blog 133 Updated 2023, now been to Thailand, See Blog 192 Original / Previous map 2016 It's a process code if you click on the top box you will be able to enter your own places visited hopefully #tick As at 2016 As at 2017 since all these travel maps are now out of date I will have to create a more up to date one in a later blog, note to self action for 2022 when I have a spare moment not dealing with 10 website needing to be "redone" on WIX as Moonfruit dies, Grrrr See our Round the World Ticket flights / Travel Blog routes plus click on the link to see ALL TRAVEL BLOG routes HERE, Thanks That's all Folks!!!

By keef and annie hellinger, Aug 1 2016 07:42AM I have taken time to revisit our old holiday website and hopefully improved the videos and photo slideshows as well as make the website much more "mobile" friendly. It now doesn't look too bad on your phone. We loved this holiday and it is reawakening the travel bug in us. To go directly to our 2007-8 holiday site please click HERE thanks Please enjoy and let us know what you think PS Music on the website slideshows is by the fabulous Fijian band Rosiloa (or Black Rose), just click on the speaker symbol to listen See the travel blog route and flight path we used That's it for our gap year

By keef and annie hellinger, Jul 15 2016 02:36PM We have now been to North Island three times and South Island twice on our 2007/8, 2013 and 2017 trips. We camped under canvas in 2007/8 for 55 days plus used motels / car but are probably a little too old now for tenting so in 2013 & 2017 used a Britz hired motorhome. If you would like to see more click below 2007/8 2013 2017 #majortrip #revisited #friends #motorhome #motorhometravels #travelsin2016 #campsites #family Have a look at the Travel Blog route / flight path you tube video created by KeefH Web Designs, why don't you? That's it for reviewing our Gap Year