The Week in Review

21-December-2008
Waiting for Boarding call at Mascot. Smooth process so far as airport quiet at 6.55am on a Sunday morning. This is our 3rd visit to the airport in as many weeks after farewelling Emma and then Tim. Now it's our turn. We are laden with duty free grog and gadgets galore although my b*&!$ internet is not working. Looking forward to an easy and short flight to Christchurch.
Tess is off for a walk. Not sure how many warm clothes we will need.
Phone has NZ maps so should be a simple 3 hour drive from the airport to Lake Tekapo. Also looking forward to using th new canon camera.
Nothing else of interest at present to report. Thank God the holidays are finally here!

28 December 2008
Well here we are * in Te Anau (tee-ah-now in Kiwi) ahead of our cruise on Doubtful Sound which should prove to be the highlight of the trip. Mind you, the past week hasn't been too shabby, so here is the week in review.
Day 1 – Sydney to Lake Tepako via Christchurch
As you can read above, we were quite familiar with the airport by the time it was our turn to leave but I still felt excited to be off on a much anticipated and long delayed tour of the South Island. Having grown up with Mum's stories of the Milford Track and skiing at Coronet Peak, along with Don's decade of residence in Auckland, it was finally my turn to witness the splendour of its scenery. And it has not disappointed.
I managed to snap some shots of the alps from 30000 feet as we crossed the coast on our Air NZ flight. Even though it is under 3 hours it was still not pleasant. I knew we had arrived in New Zealand when the stewardess announced (in a suddenly stronger accent) that we could now “send and receive tixt messages”.
We collected our trusty Toyota Corolla from Thrifty and placing ourselves once more in the hands of my Nokia Navigator, headed into the NZ road system. It was easy to adjust to the vehicle as they drive on the correct side of the road and speak English and we were soon on our way down State Hwy 8(?) bound for Geraldine and Tepako. The roads are smooth and uncrowded so we completed the long rive – almost 3 hours – without problem, arriving at Tepako around 7pm. I had been worried about finding our way such a distance on the first night but with dso much daylight I should have known better.
Lake Tepao did not disappoint nor did our B&B which was perched on a ridge off the main road with spectacular view across the lake – see the many shots. I still prefer it to Lake Wanaka and our hosts Leon and Rosemary, retired sheep farmers, ensured our visit was truly memorable. Dinner that night wa at Mackenzie's Bar and Grill and proved to be the best of a disappointing lot.
Day 2 – Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook National Park
As the weather was so good, we decided to take a scenic flight over the Mount Cook National Park with Air Safaris, operating out of Tepako. Tess was reassured by the size of the 12 seater aircraft and indeed it was a smooth and spectacular (thta word again) flight – see blog entry photos (http://vinesfam.blogspot.com/2008/12/mt-cook_23.html). We made a day of it by driving the 100ks to the base of the mountain, passing the beautiful Lake Pukaki along the way. Dinner was at Reflections – Tess's flounder was fine but my pork loin was a dry old schnitzel.
Day Three – Around Tekapo
The next day we walked aong a well made trail up to Cowan's Lakeview, which provided sweeping view across the township and the lake and gave us some much needed exercise after a few sedentary days. It was no hardship to sit on the verandah afterwards and upload photos and play with te Blog and we again shared an evening drink with ur hosts and were joined by an American Apple (Dad's workplace) family of three girls. They were headed for the Milford Track. Hope the 11 yr old managed it! The 16 yr old was enjoying the fre wireless to keep in touch with her boyfriend.
Day 4 – Tepako to Wanaka
We reluctantly drove west from Tepako passing Lake Pukaki again and through the towns of Twizel and Omarama and over the Lindis pass and after a couple of hours easy driving arrived at bustling Wanaka. Its 5000 people grow to 20K+ at Xmas and indeed during the ski season as well. Our accomodation was on a busy road but gave spectacular views (again I know) across the lake towards Mt Aspiring and the alps. We bought two UV filters for the canon's twin lenses and headed out towards Glendhu Bay, stumbling upon a gorge road that led to Shania Twain's property in Wanaka. It had a deep and noisy gorge crossing just befoe a large Private Road sign. We returned to Wanaka for supplies for dinner and enjoyed the view from our balcony.
Day 5 – Xmas Day – Wanaka
Our travel agent had booked lunch for us at a nearby reastaurunt, Finchy's, run by Muzza who features with white hair in the Kiwi Xmas photo on the Blog. We arrive promptly at 11.30 for champagne and canapes and then joined a table of six for a traditional hot dinner with plenty of wine and desserts. No one seemed in a hurry to leave and we enjoyed chatting to our new Kiwi friends and we were still there 6 hours later. Xmas night was quiet wth the wine having some impact on Tess who missed the two romantic comedies on tele.
Day 6 – Boxing Day – Queenstown and Glenorchy
We set off early on a cloudy day along the Crown Range road to Queenstown via Cardrona and Coronet Peaks. We descended a twisty road and diverted to the old gold mining town of Arrowtown. Lots of photo opportunities beside Lake Wakitipu later we arrived at our windy destination for lunch before returning to Wanaka via hwy 6, Cromwell and enjoying the vicarioius pleasure of watching people engag in a host of Xtreme sports like jet boating and bungee jumping. Why bother with scenery like this I will never know. I enjoyed th Indian meal that night although Tess was still battling a bug picked up at school.
Day 7 – Mt Aspiring and Rob Roy Glacier
The weather was perfect again so I decided we should attempt the 50k drive out to Raspberry Creek carpark at the foot of the range and see how difficult the tramp was to the viewing point – 3-4 hours moderate climb was what the map suggested.
After our faux thrill seeking the day before, today proved to be the genuine article what with the excitement of the drive along the gravel road, across half a dozen fords, heading deeper into ever narrowing tall valleys. We arrived at the carpark filled with rental cars and motorhomes and a lot of fit, young and well equipped hikers off for overnight stays on Mt Aspiring. A little daunted, we headed for the swing bridge, 15 minutes up the track. After bobbing our way across the rushing glacier river we climbed steadily 100 of of the 370 vertical metres to the lookout, enjoying views of the mountain and glacier through the dense beech forest, accompanied by the roar of the river. After an exciting blood sugar episode which left Tess a little tired, we took our potos at the ;ookout 30 minutes from the top – we'll save that climb foaother trip perhaps.
The Rob Roy glacier was impressive and the return journey much easier – I was relieved to hit bitumen once again.
After another enjoyable meal of cold cuts in our room it was after 10 o'clock and time for bed. So ended week one of our New Zealand holiday.

*I'm actually posting this at Wanaka while I have internet access but will update it once we are settled in Te Anau

Mount Aspiring Tramp

We are relaxing in our Wanaka accommodation, watching Gosford Park (good to type to)as we recover from our exertions. I am still uploading the photos which look lovely as usual so please try to find them and the google earth link if I manage to work out this blogger interface. Otherwise check the mac version once we're back.
Weather was as good as you can get here I imagine when we set off on the 51k drive to the Raspberry Creek carpark. It was an eventful drive with dramatic mountains on all sides, lots of gravel and motorhomes and half a dozen creeks to ford. There were a number of corollas at the terminus so it was not really a 4wd trek.
Tess and I were less prepared in all ways than most of the tampers - older, less fit and far more cheaply equipped. Nevertheless, we struggled across the swing ridge, scrambled up the path through the beech forest and were eventually rewarded with a spectacular view of Mt Aspiring and its Rob Roy glacier.

Xtreme Sports Day

Biker Shot

 
On the road from Tekapo to Wanaka, crossing Lindis Pass. One for old bikers like Russ and Bev. They seem to enjoy the bends. About to start our second day in Wanaka and expect crowds to increase. Interesting Xmas day with a long lunch at Finchy's and finishing with a drink afterwards with some of the locals further up the hill. Today we are off to Queenstown via Cardrona and the highest sealed road in Australasia. Should be fun.

 
Merry Xmas 2008 from Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand.
I hope you are having a relaxing and well deserved break. We would be celebrating Xmas two hours earlier than usual if Tess hadn't cancelled Xmas. This is one busy little holiday spot - check out the latest shots as soon as we have winnowed them down from the 200+ Tess snapped today. The joys of digitsl photography never cease to amaze. NZ is not disappointing - although if I were picky, TV is hopeless (is there an NZBC?) and some of the meals suck. Back to the crappy Xmas Eve movie.
BTW, The dull photo is actually just the first image of a movielette I made for you for Xmas. You can see it here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/rob.vines/NZ08#5283281551442716850

Mt Cook

 
View from visitor's centre Mt Cook. After a morning in the air which was fortunately, (read Flinder's Terror flight experience) spectacular, rather than terrifying, we drove to Mt Cook. zeven though we had seen many photos of this area nothing prepared us for the beauty. Parts remind me of Norway and The Swiss ALps. Sections of Lake Tekapo are very reminiscent of St Moritz yet without the crowds and expense.
Tess

NZ08

Mount Cook National Park

 
 
 
 
Not sure what you can see but we had a fantastic first day in NZ flying over and then driving to Mt Cook.

Tekapo

 
 
 
 
Greetings from God's sheepyard.
It's 10.35pm as I type this via rachel's Visa USB lite on my tinytishiba so expect mistakes.
We are exhausted after our first day on NZ soil but in a good way. The flight over Mt Cook and the glaciers of NZ's Fiordland was spectacular so we took advantage of the sunny weather to drive there afterwards. More spectacular scenery and delightful names like Pukaiaki.

The Graduate

 
Tim takes a call in University House, ANU, prior to his graduation. Amanda, not Mrs Robinson, sits patiently in the foreground.

Wagga Wagga to Mildura

It’s very early in the morning as I write this, the wine having lost its magic about 2 am. It is raining. The free internet connection via ethernet cable is erratic. I expect it is time limited to 30 mins but it is better than nothing. I wonder where next we shall have such techno luxury?
Today is the real start to the trip. I’m looking forward to the drive despite Mike’s lack of enthusiasm for the Hay Plain. Perhaps he has driven it once too often. It is only my third crossing after our Xmas 1984 Barossa trip in the Bluebird, with Tim due any day, and then our unexpected continental crossing from Perth after the Compass debacle of ’91.
It’s 4.30 am. Will try to get some more sleep. Wish me luck:)

Wagga Wagga

Always loved that name. Like Nulla Nulla. Almost the limit of my knowledge of our first people, I regret to say but I blame my deficient private school education. All future embarrassments I plan to blame on Mad Cow disease. Thank God for that trip to England in 1980. Denny Crane.
Tess is watching "The Golden Compass" while I play with the free internet. Pleasant motel the Ambassador. Enjoyed a pizza in Baylis Street.
Easy trip to Canberra as usual. Late MacBreakfast at Sutton Forest surrounded by families who grew up on the stuff! Worked a treat, however, and we were soon delivering the Mazda to Emma and enjoying lunch (my shout) with Tim and Saskia as well. I left Tim with my new folding bike (eBay purchase) to iron out the wrinkles. Was hoping to explore the Flinders with it but I fear it would not hold my weight.
Off to Mildura tomorrow via Narrandera, Hay, Balranald and the Hay plain. I had lots of interesting observations to note as well but they seem to have deserted me. Check for an update tomorrow when the wine has lost its power.
Cheers!

Flinders Ranges Tour

Tomorrow we set sail for Wagga Wagga via Canberra on the first leg of our Springtime in the Flinders road trip. Armed with a new Aldi car fridge (hope it doesn't blow a fuse) and possibly taking my latest ebay purchase - a folding bicycle - we will cover thousands of miles in the 8 days we're away. We head off into uncertain weather but an exciting itinerary planned by Tess using wotif and others including Mildura, a couple of nights in the Clare Valley then two nights in Wilpena Pound and another two in Broken Hill on our way home. Our loooong trip home will be broken by one final stop with some old friends in Orange.
We enjoyed another lovely weekend in the Hunter to start the holidays and since then have been relaxing.
Enough of that!
Will keep you posted on this Blog (for PC users like George) as well as my Mac blog.
Rob

Michael's Musings

Below is the link to Mike's concise (he is a scientist!) report of our recent holiday drive from Bourke to Wilcannia along the Darling River. An interesting blend of photos from three or four sources - a taste of things to come in this digital world. The words are his alone. Thanks Mike.
My account of the trip begins with an entry called Zero Hour so scroll down if you want to start at the beginning.

Link:

Idalia Station

What better way to sum up an Australian farm than with this wonderful shot of Mike's of one of the working dogs on Idalia. I will add more details tomorrow but these kelpies were friendly and active members of the property.

Northey Notes

We arrived at Kidman’s Camp at 4pm, peak hour for caravan parks everywhere. They had no record of my email booking of course but fortunately they did have powered sites aplenty and our onsite cabin is spacious and well appointed. We declined the ensuite deluxe log cabins in order to keep the campers company and I/m glad we saved the money – see Rob’s photo of the view they have from their decks! Yes the Darling River (2m, down from its February peak of 9m) is nearby but there is a kilometre of ugly, sandy scrub between them and the river except in flood. The facilities are clean and close by so we have not suffered. In fact the kids were delighted by the sight of a couple of small roos grazing on the park lawn near their campsite (see the slideshow). The grass is green and some flowers are blooming, making it a very pleasant spot to stay a couple of days.
The weather has been generally kind – low 20s and little wind although we came through some sun showers on the drive into Bourke. The sun is yet to rise today but I expect a clear day in the 20s again. We plan to visit nearby Mount Oxley and then walk around the sites of the Port of Bourke. BTW, that was the name of the Pub we ate in last night and I can recommend their beer garden and Bistro (T-Bone and salad). At 2.30pm we hope to catch the MV Jandra (see Mike’s word document in an earlier post) for a one hour cruise along the muddy Darling. Things are not quite as they may be advertised on the Web out here but reflect country common sense – there is no special Sunday cruise and they need a minimum of 4 adults before they venture out but on the plus side, the prices are also generally a bit lower than advertised.
My travelling companions have been enjoying my CB banter as you would expect (call signs “Chatterbox” and “Batman”) while co-driver has been a little less effusive about my GPS Navigator, the Nokia 6110. To be honest, she hasn’t had to say or do much on these long straight stretches, once Mike had finished with his unscheduled detours, which did upset her. I remain impressed with its capabilities – you never know when it might be handy to know the back streets of Nyngan – and the tracker has faithfully plotted our progress – see Google Earth file.
The Darling River Run doesn’t really start until tomorrow but the holiday has been enjoyable already. The Grey Nomads in the caravan park are unfailingly polite and quiet and I am sitting here in a comfortable double bed – Rob has spread his gear over two double bunks – while Bev and her family seem to be sleeping peacefully on the ground next door. Mike caters for all eventualities and his base camp would do Everest climbers proud. The kids are welcome company as this might be Hannah’s (or should I say “Mal”) last family holiday. Her Nikon camera is impressive but Rob and I are pleased with our respective point and shoot digitals. This Blog is not the place for award winning photos anyway.
Time to close. No internet coverage here so this Journal will probably be uploaded in one great burst once I’m home.
C’est La Vie.
Rob


Google Link:

Bourke Bound

2nd Offline Entry
19 April 2008

I have broken up my first entry in order to include a slideshow of our first real day on the road - to Bourke and the start of our exploration of the Darling River Run. Apperently, the river only drops 30 metres in the 2200 kilometres between the Queensland and Victorian borders, hence its slow current and tendency to inundate surrounding land for miles.

Sunday, 20 April 2008
4.50am
Kidman’s Camp
Bourke, Far West, NSW

Up early with the full moon today. Rob has kindly told me I did not have to sneak around quietly as he was also awake so I have fired up the old Toshiba to record our journey yesterday.
We set out from Orange pretty well laden to the gunwales with the overflow from Mike’s vehicle. With four on board, he has a full Prado but it seems to cope effortlessly with it. My Rav has also performed in typical Toyota style ie. Nothing like a Landrover! Mike took us on a few detours from the direct Mitchell Highway route including a visit to Bev’s school; at Molong and a scenic drive to Dubbo which brought us in near the Lion Park.
It was very cold as we filled the tank and searched in vain for an SD card for my video camera. We passed through Trangie and Narromine on our way to our lunch stop at Nyngan. With its brightly painted railway station and old Huey, it provided us with our first photo op. See link below. The food in the local café was acceptable and Rob performed a public service at the ATM for an elderly gent with a few under the belt (it was 1pm by now). He gave Rob his card, told him his PIN and told Rob he was “a gentleman” after receiving back his $100 and keycard. Such trust! I can see Oki doing the same in his rapidly approaching dotage in Kandos. May be a good way to defray fuel costs on outback adventures.
Off again with another driver change in both cars, with Russell accumulating valuable driving hours and Rob learning to use the Cruise Control. Ahead lay a 200K straight stretch to Bourke but we stopped regularly for more driver changes and photo shoots. The road and towns along the way have not been as dire as my Broken Hill born and raised Head Teacher (Hi Di) had warned me they were and so far we have even avoided food poisoning!

Off to Orange

Friday, 18 April 2008

Darling River Run
Offline Entry No. 1
Orange, NSW, Australia

Arrived safely after pleasant afternoon drive from Blaxland. Accident at Blackheath delayed us 15 minutes but was much worse for eastbound travellers. Stopped at Bathurst Subway for possibly worst coffee ever. Searched in vain for a locking wheel nut for spare tyre carrier. Enjoyable dinner with Mike’s family. I hope Bev enjoys the tent! Mike’s fridge is very impressive as it would want to be for the price!
Look for the Google Earth link* below for a map of our route west. Tomorrow, Dubbo, Nyngan and Bourke!

*Coming soon!

http://groups.google.com/group/vinesfam-life/files?hl=en&upload=1

Camp Bourke

Welcome to the first Darling River Run Post. I'm actually back home in Blaxland after the 2110k epic journey but due to technical hitches* I was unable to post during the trip. So I have decided to adopt the Dickens ploy of publishing it chapter by chapter. Instead of charging sixpence a chapter, I will expect at least one comment before I will post the next day's journal. I know it's not quite Dickens prose but then it is free!
This dashingly handsome young man is Mike's son Russell. Occasionally useful around a campsite. More of him later.....


*I forgot to reactivate my optus internet on my mobile before I left so had no way of connecting even in those few outback spots that Telstra deigns to cover. At least each post is considered. Stay tuned for next post if you're good. Rob.

Zero Hour

Tomorrow Rob and I set out for Orange on the first day of our epic Outback adventure. Following in the footsteps of the mighty Leyland Brothers, Mike will be our noble leader as we venture west beyond Dubbo, Nyngan and Bourke with his own daughter playing Mal Leyland on cameras. Rob and I have stripped the Rav down to its front seats so we can fit our luggage as well as Bev's excess! See attached fotos(I am putting in a few deliberate mistakes to encourage readers to leave comments). I have packed my recovery gear so that in the event of vehicle trouble we can be rescued! Tess still wants to stay home. Don't know why.
I will try to incorporate as much technical information like GPS waypoints and Google Earth files for those interested. I wish I had arranged for mobile internet before I left but Mike doubts the coverage would be great. So be prepared for a delay in updating although I remain optimistic that our Homestead stay on the Darling Run will have ADSL2!
Elsewhere in my Blog, I have been playing with photos from our 2001 Top End Tour - see earlier posts - and have worked out how to use Picassa's web galleries. I have put the Queensland shots up first and will do the others later. I am impressed with this free hosting service - makes my Dot Mac subscription look a little expensive but it is not quite as easy. Ironic that I, a Mac Man of long standing, should be playing with PC software just as my sister Rose has finally seen the Macbook Pro light. We don't mention her first macs anymore, or her work with now defunct mac companies. I await rapturous reviews of the hardware from her soon. Leave a comment Rose.
So off tomorrow afternoon. Weather here is grey and drizzling.Forecast is not clear.

Tropical Queensland

Here are the pictures from our tour of Tropical Queensland in 2001. They accompany my travel diary. See link in earlier post.

Outback Map

Route for the Darling River Run
Click on Google Maps link below:
Stay tuned for more.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=Orange+%2B+NSW&daddr=Bourke+%2B+nsw+to:Wilcannia+to:cobar+to:condobolin+to:orange+%2Bnsw&mra=pe&mrcr=4&sll=-31.644029,145.524902&sspn=4.554359,10.195313&ie=UTF8&ll=-31.718822,146.260986&spn=4.522444,10.239258&z=7

Darling River Run

Thanks to Mike, I am about to set off on a 4WD trip "back 'o Bourke".
It all starts with a drive west to Bourke via Orange, Dubbo and Nyngan.
We view the sites of the port of Bourke (see attached file) before setting off down the track that follows Australia's second longest river. The Darling River currently has some water in it so it seems a good time to check out this major western NSW waterway and some of the small communities that owe their existence to this once mighty river.
Stay tuned for updates on this Blog once our convoy embarks on the journey.

Here is Mike's itinerary:

file:///Volumes/vinesfam1/Public/Darling%20River%20Run%20Part%201.doc

Memorial Service Recording

Dear Friends,
I have been trying to make available for some time a recording of the words spoken at the memorial service for Lorraine Vines held in 2007 at Royal Sydney Golf Club. The recording was made with my phone but the quality is okay. It is a 50MB file. I hope it works.

file:///Volumes/vinesfam1/Public/Memorial%20Service%201.mp3

Top End Tour Part 1

Below is the first entry I made during our wonderful, Ansett frequent-flyer points tour of Australia's Top End - Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. We took some great photos along the way and you may enjoy reading my impressions which can no doubt only improve with the passing of time!

I have decided to place the entire word file in my public folder on .Mac which means you can read it all at once if you like. There is a sample below. I will also publish a selection of the shots we took when I work out how to do it. Click on the link below to go to the Word document:

http://file///Volumes/vinesfam1/Public/Travel%20Diary.doc

21/6/01

Dear Friends,

I'm up at 4.30am after keeping some odd hours during the first 3 days of our Top End Tour. We enjoyed a very civilised start to the holiday with dinner at Amanda Stedman's in Marrickville. The next morning we transferred our luggage from the Magna wagon to her more compact Honda HRV for the short drive to Mascot. Can't think of a more relaxing way to get there. We only had two concerns, the first being how we would get from Cairns to Darwin now that our airline, Flightwest, had just gone bust (a la Compass in '91) and secondly, whether we were lugging a useless laptop on our travels (more later). Anyway, our flight on one of the noticeably aging Ansett 767 jets left promptly with the kids slumming it in economy while their parents were trying the footrests in Business Class. The wines flowed freely up our end even though it was a 9am flight. I was restrained.

Trinity Beach Photos

Of course the hotel transfers we had been promised on arrival at Cairns 3 hours later failed to materialise but a friendly bus operator called George, the first of many Torres Strait (I'm guessing) Islander bus drivers, managed to organise a lift for us. The Roydon Beachfront Apartments are just that - right across a narrow street from Trinity Beach. Very spacious two bedroom/2 bathroom apartment with big white tiles throughout and wide open living room with HiFi and video and fans everywhere as well as air con., which is not necessary in June. A big southerly swell has made the water muddy and the beach unappealing but the sound waves is perfect. Eddie at the desk has been very helpful organising tours and other ways to spend our money. Cairns seems very tourist-centred.

The big attraction is of course the Reef. We realised how many make daily visits on our return to the Port of Cairns last night when we joined a convoy of busses to return to our accommodation. The trip to Green Island had been less than an unalloyed success, however, and in fact in my less charitable moments I considered that I had paid $200 to make Emma seasick. There was a strong wind warning accompanied by gale force winds and coupled with the lowest tides of the year, the snorkelling amongst the fish and coral was less than ideal. I had this nifty disposable underwater camera but given the turbidity of the water, I don't hold much hope for the photos. Fortunately the island itself offered shelter and we were not marooned on it as long as Tom Hanks had been. We hope today's $200 is better spent.

Today we ascend the Atherton Tableland to Kuranda via a quaint old railway that overlooks the Barron Falls. After window shopping in the markets of Kuranda we descend in a cable car called the Skyrail. That is the plan anyway. The weather continues mild with no sign of rain. Will let you know how the day turns out/ Now if only we had splashed out on that digital video camera....

Speaking of technology, we have had our hiccups and our triumphs. The laptop that Rachel Stedman had very kindly given to us had been in for a service - a PC slot modem and a new Flash Memory card all the way from Taiwan. Got it home the day we left for Sydney and it wouldn't work. We had planned to use it given that we were on the road for a month. Tim could write his comparative literature essay and we could keep on the Net too. I was not happy but we packed it anyway and fortunately found that if connected to AC power overnight it works. I'm about to see how the Net part works. That was the hiccup. The triumph has been using the mobile phone to call Mum's mobile at night when it's free (I hope). After a few unexpected disconnections Mum has become expert in its use and we look forward to regular updates. The SMS message informing her of our safe arrival AND Tim's election as school prefect for 2002 was less successful but Oki will inservice her on Friday before the brandies I hope! Will phone our non-Optus friends on the weekend. Better try to send this now. Will try to get Tess's slant on things another day.

In the Beginning ...

Now that I have experimented with Blogs on my Macintosh, it is time to venture into the bigger PC pond.

I have been impressed with the blogger efforts of my friends and family so here goes.
I have been doing some Autumn gardening today and feel quite chuffed as we may be putting the house on the market in the near future. Yes, we've decided if we're to be empty-nesters, we'll downsize and relocate the nest. Abbotsford here we come!
I am going to include links to my Travel Blog and my 2001 Top End Tour site as it develops.
Welcome!