The Caravan Show

The train took about 35 minutes with one change but it was very cheap. Two adults return was about 11 Dollars or about £ 5.00. I am not sure how far you will get in the UK for £ 2.50 one way and certainly not Weybridge to Woking.

This show was huge and took place at a race track where there were outdoor exhibits as well as outdoor but undercover areas. We spent about 7 hours wandering around looking at some very fancy caravans.

As most people know we have a caravan, but not like those in OZ, where they make them for the outback with 4 x 4 wheels and the base of the van at least 24 inches from the road so that they can be driven over extremely bad surfaces in the outback.

The show was extremely busy with loads of people everywhere. We saw lots of interesting products including one to allow you to load your heavy boat on to the roof of the Toyota Land Cruiser. Boy I must get one of those but they are not available in UK. So I spoke to the Boss and will set him up with a contact. Perhaps if I had more time I could have marketed this product, but NO, I am retired now.

We headed home and walked back up George Street which was now crowded with Chinese, it looked like Hong Kong on a Saturday afternoon.

It has been a long day and so we will take advantage of the free titbits in the Exec lounge instead of going for dinner.

We arrive in Sydney

As there was no rush to get to Sydney, we had all the morning, in fact most of the day, to drive the 60 miles to this great town. So we had a long walk around the place where we stayed called strangely ‘The Entrance’

It’s a very new area where we were staying with a Resort Hotel plus a lot of new apartments with great views over where the river meets the sea. There were quite a few sandbanks where children could play safely and with lots of play areas for the older children and also it had not been spoiled by graffiti.

After taking a few photos we headed south and left on the old Pacific Highway but after about 10 miles it stopped and we had to revert to the new motorway. Actually this was good as the views from this new motorway, which is built up high through the mountains, provided spectacular views of the sea and forests and eventually Sydney.

Sydney is a very large town and so we had planned to arrive over the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge as that is also close to our Hotel which is on George Street. We followed the signs to the motorway we needed and then came across a new road signposted City and Bridge and so we followed it through miles of underground tunnels with signs talking about E Pay and No booths to pay any money on what was obviously a toll road. We finally arrived at the famous bridge, crossed it and found the Hilton Hotel almost immediately. We checked in and then two hours later took the car back to Hertz where we asked about this Toll road, they said if you do not pay within 24 hours they hit you with a big fine to which Hertz would add their bit. So a phone call later we were clear. I did complain that as tourists we are unaware of this system and they should surely put up some signs, to which she said ‘it would be a good idea but it’s not up to her’, Great.

We walked back from the Hertz office and came to a cathedral where there was a wedding taking place with three white Rolls Royce cars, an expensive Ferrari and Porsche, a pony and trap and two very expensive US made special motor bikes. We waited around for a while to see the bride but we left when she did not appear. We think it was a Mid-Eastern family wedding.

We walked around China Town and also visited the Station to check on travel details for our visit to the Caravan, RV, Camping and 4x4 Show. We went for a quick trip on the monorail down to Darling Harbour for a few photos and a bowl of noodles. This place was really buzzing with talent with so many Ladies nights out and Hen parties. I tried to get Jennifer to leave but she would not.

At the other end of the harbour was a Greek Community festival. Just too much excitement for us oldies.

And so we headed back to the Hotel for a quiet drink and bed

Travelling South in direction of Sydney

We left after breakfast, a bit later than intended as unbeknown to us there had been an electric brown out the previous day for about an hour and the clock by the side of the bed has stopped for about one hour ten minutes. When Noel woke up he looked at the clock and it said 0640, a bit early for morning tea and so further rest ensued and then he got up quietly at 0730 only to find breakfast being delivered, so it was really 0830.

We decided to have breakfast inside as the birds are fully aware when breakfast is delivered and some of them arrive on the doorstep singing for food, see picture, and if you leave the food on the outside table it goes very quickly indeed.

We headed South through a lot of road works, they are extending the motorway system further North and there were many miles of slow driving which made our arrival into Newcastle, about 100 miles from Sydney, about 1600 hrs

As the Easter holiday rush was over we had not booked anywhere. We were certainly put off by this place which is a large port and industrial area and with quite high Hotel and Motel prices and so we headed further South.

Most of the Motels we saw were either low standard and often without internet connection which I needed today so as to be able to make some Skype calls. We came across a new’ish resort area with golf courses etc (very nice but that was very pricy) and by now it’s beginning to get a bit late. We came across a Bridge to a place called ‘The Entrance’ a strange name but found a multi story hotel/apartment complex with a good price and so we are staying here for the night. Also it’s got a good internet connection so I can do my calls.

The front of the block is right on the sea front with a large area of new buildings and a large choice of restaurants and so we were pleased that we did not stay in Newcastle.

Sacred Mountain Retreat

We have booked two nights at this place South of Coffs Harbour. It is a romantic hideaway type of place and we have a small one bedroom cottage on the top of a mountain with sea views all around.

The only sounds are of the birds and the occasional aircraft, a bit like Weybridge???

We spent most of our first complete day really just taking it easy as we were both a bit tired from the previous days journey which took longer than expected. We were relieved to have done our food shopping first as the nearest place is a few miles away and neither of us felt like going out. There is no telephone in the cottage and no internet and so we had to beg borrow and steel some time on the owners private internet connection to be able to keep up with emails etc.

The weather was quite nice in the morning but by late afternoon the tropical down poor had arrived. The garden had many fruit trees in it from banana, papaya, lemons, pineapple and melons and probably more that we did not see. There was also a vegetable garden with a great choice. Breakfast was provided by the owner and mainly focused on the fruits from the garden.

The cottage was a good size and although nice we felt the furniture in the lounge could have been more comfortable and the TV could have been bigger. Perhaps we are just getting grumpy as we get older.

We went to bed to the sound of heavy rain but at least Noel was not dreaming of the very dangerous funnel web spider’s which he dreamed about the previous night.

Wednesday - we are off to Coffs Harbour

We headed off from Noosa and stopped to buy some fuel for the car. Prices for fuel are all over the place here. One day it is AUS$ 1.43 and a few days later AUS$ 1.27 (about Seventy pence per litre) and there is a big uproar in the press about the petrol companies increasing the prices when people want to travel over Easter.

We arrived at Brisbane, back to square one, and headed South alongside Surfers Paradise which is now a bit like Miami and/or Spanish high rise apartment blocks for miles on end. We are pleased we decided to stay in Noosa as it is a more salubrious place by far.

We arrived at the outskirts of Coffs Harbour after being chased down the Motorway by the huge Road Trains, they are bigger on other routes but these were big enough. On one I counted 36 tyres and they seem to love sitting three yards from the back of the car as you are travelling at 100 Kmh whilst they wait for several kilometres from the passing zones to appear. We did some food shopping and arrived at the Sacred Mountain Retreat which is miles from nowhere and sits on top of a small mountain with great views.

It was here that we discovered that the time had changed by one hour and upon investigation understood that Queensland refuses to follow all the other Australian States by changing it’s clock twice a year. Good on them.

We have just heard on the news that the new Australian Prime Minister is making his first overseas trip to Washington, London and Europe. Somehow I thought that UK was part of Europe. Actually I thought that UK had become part of the Eastern Bloc countries with so many Polish, Albanians etc living in the country.

NB Photos to be added when we have better (faster) internet connection. The average here in Oz appears to be 512K or if you are very very luck 2k

Noosa Monday and Tuesday

We were quite tired from the longer journey than expected and so we decided to keep our heads down for Monday and just took it easy, read books and watched TV. Not exiting really. We were enjoying being here so much that we asked if we could spend another day and that meant changing the next booked place, but this was not a problem.

Tuesday we felt much better and had recovered from the Trauma of Yeppoon. So we headed downtown and walked around Noosa Heads. It’s a nice little town and still buzzing with many restaurants and fashionable shops, Hugo Boss etc. The beach was crowded with people swimming whilst on the bay round the corner the surfers were out. Not huge surf but just enough to keep moving.

We did some food shopping at the local Woolworths and headed back to the house for the afternoon and some swimming. The new swimming goggles that we bought in Cairns are brilliant and Noel thinks he can see better with the goggles than with his own normal glasses. However he will look odd with swimming goggles driving the car and decided against using them.

We had some nice Salmon tonight and a cheap bottle of Oxford Landing Chardonnay. I am not sure if I mentioned that Supermarkets do not sell booze in this country and so you have to find a Booze store which is always difficult to find.

Travelling to Noosa Heads

We left Fawlty Towers early at 0700 and went to Rockhampton where we had breakfast. We needed to get away from this awful place.

There were more people on the roads today and almost as many coppers with speed cameras. We were slow and careful. The journey was more interesting than the previous day with more hills and variations to the scenery. We stopped in a little place for lunch and had some great food which restored our faith in the world. We arrived at Noosa and it was buzzing. We did not have a map of the place and it turned out to be much bigger that we thought. We arrived at the Information Centre and got a map and found the apartment. Thank god, it is great. It’s quite a new complex and we have plenty of space with private swimming pool and it was cheaper than this bloody Hotel we stayed in at Yeppoon.

We needed to buy some food for the evening and found the main supermarkets closed (it was Easter Sunday) but thankfully we found a 711 and bought some stuff for the morning. Dinner was baked beans on toast cooked by Jennifer, it was wonderful. We went to bed early as we were both very tired after the previous few days experience.

Travelling to Noosa Heads

We left Fawlty Towers early at 0700 and went to Rockhampton where we had breakfast. We needed to get away from this awful place.

There were more people on the roads today and almost as many coppers with speed cameras. We were slow and careful. The journey was more interesting than the previous day with more hills and variations to the scenery. We stopped in a little place for lunch and had some great food which restored our faith in the world. We arrived at Noosa and it was buzzing. We did not have a map of the place and it turned out to be much bigger that we thought. We arrived at the Information Centre and got a map and found the apartment. Thank god, it is great. It’s quite a new complex and we have plenty of space with private swimming pool and it was cheaper than this bloody Hotel we stayed in at Yeppoon.

We needed to buy some food for the evening and found the main supermarkets closed ( it was Easter Sunday) but thankfully we found a 711 and bought some stuff for the morning. Dinner was baked beans on toast cooked by Jennifer, it was wonderful. We went to bed early as we were both very tired after the previous few days experience.

Rydges Capricorn Resort- Yeppoon

As mentioned in the previous day’s blog, when we arrived in the room it was so cold, the air conditioning had been set to the lowest of low. This caused the floors to feel wet and also the walls were actually running with condensation in a big way.

Jennifer had also found broken glass on the floor in a small extra room which comes as part of the suite???

In the cool light of day, bearing in mind we had only arrived at the Hotel about 6 pm and by seven it was dark, we noticed some of the other problems with the room.

The bed had a broken leg, there was mould in many places and the main floor made of tiling was also dirty. The furniture was also in a poor condition and the so called sofa collapsed in the middle if you sat on it. We were very aware that the Hotel was full and no room change was possible, not that it would probably have made any difference. We considered our position, we had driven a very long way the previous day and so to go in the car again for a long day would be tiring but not only that, it is Easter and we had great difficulty finding rooms anywhere at this time and so we decided to tough it out.

We went for a walk around the complex and it has been put together quite well but after a while you can see that major investment in the Hotel is immediately required. The beach is very long but the notice advising of ‘Marine Stingers’ on the beach was set at the wrong angle and so you could only read it when you were on your way back from the beach. They also allow 4 x 4’s on the beach as well and although we only saw one it pays to be careful.

As we were about 20 kilometres from Yeppoon and not wanting to use the car we decided to have a late lunch. We ordered Hamburgers, a big mistake, these even made Mc Donald’s look like caviar. My first one was cold, Jennifer’s not so bad. My second attempt was better but overall the burger would most likely be the worst that I have ever tasted. It had been pre-packaged in a factory somewhere and then shoved in to a microwave. We left in disgust after paying almost £ 22.00 for this exotic meal.

In the afternoon we read on the balcony outside the room, to be inside was most depressing as it felt damp and smelt of mould, and in early evening went for a walk.

We had noticed some noisy teenagers earlier shouting and swearing, but now some were in the pool whilst holding beer cans which by the signs nearby were not allowed. No security anywhere. We also noticed that these huge pools had no underwater lights and it would not be easy to see anybody in trouble. In the UK Health and safety would have a fit.

We went to bed and our bedclothes felt damp and we both slept badly and longing for the night to go quickly so we could leave this place.

On check out I had a go at reception staff which I knew would be pointless as these problems need to be taken up with the corporate bosses and not some Hotel manager who was part of the problem but I had to get it off my chest. The male receptionist told me it was not their fault as the Japanese owners refused to spend the money to update the Hotel. It was a shock to find this was owned by a Japanese company (If this Hotel had been in Japan a ‘Hari Kari’ would have happened long ago) but only managed by Rydges??? This I will take up on my return to UK when I have more time for research and I will write to the appropriate organisations including the Australian Tourist Board. I remember the adverts for Australia late last year which included a girl in a bikini saying ‘and where the bloody hell are you’. It’s not surprising they need tourists with this type of Hotel around.

Finally, I could not check out, however, as the computer system had broken down. We were so glad to leave.

A long day in the car

The sun was shining as we left Townsville and immediately took the wrong road. A great start to the journey. Anyway a quick U turn and we headed south. After we left Townsville the roads became very quiet indeed and you began to wonder if there was anybody else alive on the planet.

The drive went through a mixture of Banana plantations and also Sugar cane crops with miles of open country and fairly fast straight roads so that you could set the cruise control and go to sleep, not quite.

Occasionally we came across a few cars but we noticed that there was a lot of Police activity and there were quite a few people who had been stopped, we guess, for speeding.

Along the road side was the occasional dead Wallaby or Kangaroo, a bit different to cats and foxes that we have in UK, but if you hit a large Roo it will make a very large dent in you car as these are heavy animals. The journey took almost 10 hours and we did about 470 miles, quite tiring really but the Toyota Aurius was great.

We finally reached Rockhampton and headed off to Yeppoon to our supposed self catering room only to find that it was a standard Hotel room, whoops my fault Noel.

The room is not cheap and in a resort complex which at a glance looks nice. However it was full, due to the Easter holiday, and the room quality leaves a lot to be desired. When we arrived in the room we found that it smelt of mould and the air conditioning had been left at the mark saying ‘Frozen food’ as it was about minus 20 in there it seemed. When we checked in they apologised that it was necessary to leave the air con on as the rooms get very humid and wet??? And we found the bedroom walls running with water. I have never seen this in any hotel anywhere on my global travels so I can only put this down to a very old and ineffective air con system. Then Jennifer found broken glass on the floor. The floors are tiled and felt wet when you walked on them.

O boy will I have something to say in the ‘Customer reviews’

We headed off for dinner only to find that all the restaurant were fully booked but if you come back in one and half hours we can get you a table. The menu was OK, Buffet to start and finish and you order your main course. One unique approach they had was to the alcohol, first of all you could not drink at the bar due to it being Good Friday and you could only drink when you have dinner. They also had a ‘wine buffet’, you pay 20 dollars and you can have a choice of about 8 wines and drink as much as you like for up to two hours. So we did. It took away the pain of the poor room and air con and a long driving day.

We returned to the bedroom and found the TV did not work. They sent up the security guard to take a look as he said he knows something about Hi Tech stuff, he pulled and pushed a few plugs but no success. Better luck tomorrow.

Nb No photos this time as no time to take

Townsville walk about

We left the Hotel and headed down the beach and started talking to a Beach Lifeguard about the ‘Marine Stingers’ which are about this time of year. There are about six main types of jelly fish in the water between November and May and some can kill you!!! They have put swimming areas on the beach surrounded by special nets. But they still have to clear within the nets on a daily basis as the jelly fish find ways in. The sting can be either very painful or not so painful but you just die. So we won’t be going in the water then.

The sun was quite hot by now, I guess about 30/32 degrees Centigrade and we headed back in to town.

The beachfront at Townsville is extremely beautiful with lots of very clean beaches, many palm tress and also swimming pool areas where the adults and kids can play in safety.

Townsville was founded by the Brits in the mid 1800’s and just near the statue to the founder was this excellent Fish & Chip shop where we were forced to stop. I have to say that the Fish & Chip shops in New Zealand and Australia are considerably better quality than the average in the UK.

There are many old and very interesting buildings such as the Customs House and also the Grand Hotel but there is also a lot of new development going on.

By about 2.30 pm we were getting quite hot and so headed back to the Hotel, Jennifer to go for a swim and Noel to catch up on email etc.

Tomorrow is Good Friday and we have just read there is likely to be a run on petrol stations and so we need some fuel for tomorrows long journey and so we are heading out to find a petrol station.

Tomorrow will be an early start as we have a lot of miles to do and our next stop is a place called Yeppoon, about 450 miles from here.

Our drive to Townsville

The view from our room in Townsville

We left Cairns in the sun but it quickly turned to rain for a short while. The journey was actually very pleasant with hills pretending to be mountains running alongside the main highway called the Bruce Highway (quite original we thought)

We stopped in Innisfail to buy some provisions and also a sandwich for lunch. We found this Deli run by some Greeks who produced a sandwich of major proportions. An egg salad sandwich in the UK is quite different to the one we got here. It contained just about every salad ingredient know to man.

The drive was about 260 miles before we arrived in Townsville. First impressions of Townsville when we arrived by train, see earlier Blog, were just the same as this time as we drove though what seemed like miles of Industrial areas, some of it quite run down, before we reached our Hotel on the beachfront.

The Apartment/Hotel is an older ex Hotel, we think, which has been refurbished and the rooms are not large but adequate however with a great view overlooking the beach and sea (see photo)

After settling in we went for a walk around town for about an hour and half before heading back to have a beer at the bar next door and then back for our evening meal.

Tomorrow we plan to walk the city.

Our day trip to Kuranda

The coach picked us up at about 0800 and we headed off to Freshwater Station to pick up the train. When we got there the check in desk was very inefficient and quite disorganised and something I will write to them about when I get home.

The train arrived promptly for our one hour forty minute Scenic journey but quite frankly for most of the route any views were blocked by tunnels, trees and high sided cuttings. It should be called a Historic Railway and not a Scenic Railway. The only decent view was when we reached Barron Falls which were great as there has been loads of rain recently and the falls were very full.

The train was quite busy with allocated seating but the tour organisers need a whippin’ to get the planning in order. The village of Kuranda was quite commercialised with many shops selling everything from Didgeridoos to dresses and crocodile heads to leather belts, not really our style. We made a visit to the ‘Butterfly Sanctuary, the butterflies were really colourful and quite large in some cases. One was so large it could pick up a person and carry them off for lunch!!!

The German lady who gave the tour was quite interesting in a German sort of way and loved talking about the elongated mating process. IT IZ OFZEN THEY MATE FOR ZEE 24 HOURSZ AND ZEN THEE BOY IS TIRED- (I should think so to) or something like that but she did make it very interesting.

We had lunch at a little café selling traditional Aussie pies which were very good indeed.
We walked down to the river but we were aware that the boat rides had been cancelled and when we got there we could see why. The river must have come up several feet and there was quite a lot of rubbish from the forest lying around.

The trip back on the SKYRAIL, which in fact is a cable car, travels across the top of the tropical forest for about one hour and fifteen minutes. Your make two changes en-route and can look around at those stations, for me and Jennifer this was the highlight of the trip.

The coach took us back to the Apartment and we quickly rented a taxi to take us to the Airport to pick up our hire car. We had requested a Toyota Camry, the same type of car that we had in New Zealand and the check in staff confirmed that one was available but when they printed out the documents we had been given a Hyundai something or other. We complained and they upgraded us to another Toyota with the same body as the Camry but a six cylinder engine, very nice indeed.

Tomorrow we leave for Townsville on our route down to Sydney where we shall arrive, we hope, on the 29^th.

Monday- Let’s hit the town

After a slow breakfast we took the resort bus down town and headed for the station to try and get reimbursement for the part of the train ride that was cancelled. We did get a refund but we don’t thinks it’s enough so I will take this up at a later date.

We walked around Cairns and both agreed it’s a very nice town indeed with wide open streets, lots of trees, shrubs and gardens and of course it’s on the coast. The sun was shining and we came across a very large free swimming complex in the middle of town next to the sea where there are changing rooms and toilets provided, it was quite packed. It is called the Lagoon and is just that, irregular in shape with a sandy beach and shallow water at one end for small children and deep water for the adults at the other side. The bay here is quite shallow so that when the tide is out it is a long way to the sea.

We had a pleasant lunch in a little café and then when walking along the road came across a shop that does prescription swimming goggles for about £22.00, they are about £70.00 in UK and so we both bought a pair.

On our earlier walk through a large mall with some very interesting shops we saw a very nice butcher and so headed back to buy some steaks for tonight.

The walk around the town was great and we also came across an Irish Bar where they were celebrating ‘St Patrick’s Day’ with green beer and huge hats with music being provided by the local rock radio station, the crowd seemed to be having a great time.

Along the road was the ‘Grand Hotel’ which had put up 6 green balloons and played Irish Music to attract the crowd but most people were down the road in the proper Irish bar.

The steak was good but no wine as it is not the weekend any more.

Wow, Good news, as have just discovered I have found the free internet connection again. Thanks mate whoever you are.

Sunday- A day of rest

The Lakes Resort where we are staying

Sunday arrived along with the continued rain storms but at least we had nothing planned for the day except to watch the Formula 1 Grand Prix from Melbourne. We discovered that they not only cover the GP but all the other races as well and so we watched the Porsche and the Celebrity races which were quite interesting.

We needed some shopping for lunch and went out and stumbled upon a Subway and so had lunch there whilst it rained. The small supermarket was about half a mile away and we made that and got back to the apartment before the heavens opened again.

The Grand Prix was very exciting to watch and great to see Maclaren and Lewis win. It was also noticeable that Maclaren did not get secrets from Ferrari as they too would have gone off the road several times and have their engines break down. Part way through we got a phone call from the tour company responsible for our Kuranda Rail trip to say the line is blocked due to a land slip caused by the heavy rain and what do you want to do?. So we have delayed our trip by one day and hope we get back in time to pick up our hire car from Cairns Airport.

After the GP we headed down the road to find a wireless internet signal and check email, we also had a couple of beers and also bought a bottle of Chardonnay to go along with the half a kilo of fresh prawns (£5.00 only) which we enjoyed very much.

TV in NZ and OZ is all adverts unless you watch the ‘Adult Channels’ which we don’t, well not yet anyway. The weather forecast for tomorrow is looking better, let’s hope so.

Green Island day

As we opened our eyes we could hear rain pouring down,

so at 0645 I phoned reception to see if the trip was likely to be cancelled but apparently not. We were collected by bus, at 0725, which made another couple of Hotel stops and the bus gradually filled up with Japanese nationals. We arrived at the Ferry pier and it was similar to being at Tokyo Ueno Station in rush hour. I did not realise that Cairns was a suburb of Tokyo.

The very large catamaran, which carries more than a Jumbo jet, left through rain and bumpy seas for about 50 minutes and arrived as the rain, at good tropical strength, proceeded to drench the arriving passengers. It is supposed to be sunny in Queensland (the sunshine state!) but nobody told the man upstairs. The walkway from the ferry to ‘dry land’, Ha, was about 150 yards and without cover most people were very wet when they hit the Island and cover. Lucky it was warm.

We were booked on the 10.00 Glass bottom boat and saw a few fish as we bounced up and down on the waves but not at the clarity we would have liked. Lunch was included in our trip and so after a quick 30 minute walk around the Island (sorry Ginza) we headed toward the food tent and were entitled to ‘plate’ food but we were lucky to be able to be upgraded to two plates, Wow. Lunch was actually quite poor in quality and many of the Japanese had been forewarned and they were getting food from various outlets and putting that on their plate as well.

It rained heavily again as we sat by the pool watching the scuba trainees leaning how to go under without drowning and that was good entertainment for about an hour and then we caught the cat ferry back and arrived back at our apartment at 1600 hrs.

We are staying in a place called the Lakes Resort and I am glad that we booked it as it is of good quality and anything else after our train/bus experience would not have been good. The resort restaurants are nice but also expensive and on the bus ride in the morning we had noticed, about 200 yards from the Hotel, a fresh fish shop which also appeared to provide cooked food as well and this was true. So later we had an excellent Barramundi and chips in the paper and sat outside to eat it. Boy was it good. Then it decided to rain and in minutes the roads were flooded and it chucked it down (Singapore style) for about an hour without a break. We decided that we would give it a go to get back to the Hotel and then suddenly it almost stopped and we got home without being drenched. We watched TV and then went to bed knowing that tomorrow we are under no pressure to do anything.

Incidentally there are no internet connections in the resort except for wireless in one restaurant but then I found an unsecured network from somewhere which I used but this Sunday morning when writing the blog I have noticed that this connection has gone. Damn and blast.

13/14 March the good, the bad and the downright ugly

We left the apartment with the sun shining and headed for the train station to meet our train called the Sunlander with Queenslander Class. The train arrived promptly and we got on board to a very pleasant experience. We had been given a cabin with two beds and access to the Lounge and the restaurant as part of this expensive package.

The train departed at about 1300 hours and a little late for lunch and so we waited for early afternoon tea of scones and cream and some very tasty sandwiches and a nice cup of English breakfast tea. What could be nicer as Brisbane got further away by the minute.

The flat lands became more interesting as we passed through the suburbs and eventually left the big town behind. Just before dinner the entertainer arrived comprised of a pretty average piano player but with a nice glass of Chardonnay to hand it sounded great. Dinner was excellent and then to bed, both of us slept on the moving train reasonably well but we were up early for breakfast. Another passenger had mislaid his watch and woke up to daylight he thought and so got up and dressed only to find the daylight was caused by us parking in a well lit station at 03.30 in the morning.

Breakfast was fine but trying to have a shower in a moving train was quite an experience particularly on sharp bends.

And so as the morning drifted by and 1130 arrived I started thinking about whether to have the Chardonnay or the Sauvignon Blanc with lunch. Then came the unexpected announcement that the train would stop in 20 minutes in Townsville as overnight it had rained heavily and the track was flooded but never mind we have organised coaches for you for the next 250 miles or so. Lunch was effectively cancelled and so was the famous crab, Prawn and fish selection that was scheduled for 6.30 disappeared out the window. The transfer to the bus was ok but for the fact that we subsequently found the air conditioning in the bus was not working which is not good when the sun is shining at 30 degrees.

We thought at first that it was that the doors were open but after 25 minutes I challenged the driver who said his was working and so ours must be. I explained that the vents were pouring out nothing but hot air which he found quite difficult to understand as quote “if mine is working so must yours be.”

There were 14 of us downstairs and the remaining 30 upstairs and the air con was working fine up there but for 5 hours we had to endure heat which was most uncomfortable at about 32 degrees I guess. The journey passed through some very flooded areas but not enough to stop the traffic but as we could not see the Rail track we had to accept the reasons for our change of plan.

After about two hours there was a strong complaint to the driver to stop the bus for people to get some water which he originally rejected but finally succumbed to the pressure and stopped.

We finally arrived on a bloody bus at Cairns Station and very exhausted indeed. We took a cab to the Hotel and then found out that our first included trip leaves at 7.25 in the morning. We thought about this but finally decided to go.

From a beautiful start to a dismal end of the two days was not great and we keep on dreaming about what we missed. We now have to visit the station to get our money back for the portion of the journey we did not complete.

Tomorrow we go to Green Island by Catamaran and so we hope that is good although we are rather tired at the moment.

It’s Ferry Day

The sun was shining as we left the apartment and headed for the Ferry to get us, in the first place, to the other side of the Brisbane River.

From there we took the City Cat down river to the sea, but the boat stopped after visiting a few pick up and drop off points at Bretts Wharf. As there wasn’t much to see at the wharf we stayed on board then headed back up the river and got off at Bulimba. During our trip we had heard the ferry conductor talking about good places to eat and Bulimba was discussed. We got off the Cat and headed up Oxford Street to the small, but well off town of Bulimba where there was a good choice of places to eat. We had a very nice lunch at a restaurant called ‘Licorice’ and then headed back to the ferry and continued our journey to the other end of the Cat’s route at the University of Queensland. In Brisbane it’s almost like being in Hong Kong as there are so many Asians in this country with lots of kids going to the University here.

The river journey is very interesting and we passed many old houses and many new apartment blocks. It’s a bit like Weybridge where they tear down the old houses and put up blocks of flats from 8 stories up to 40. The journey on the Cat from one end to the other lasts about 45 minutes and the ferry moves very fast indeed. At one place on the river there is a main road which runs along by the river where you can see the cars etc and we could see that we were slightly faster than the vehicles on the road.

On a previous journey on Monday we had noticed that there are a number of ‘workers’ who only have to cross the river in about 10 minutes and they are home from work. So this is a nice place to work.

Tomorrow we have to check out from the apartment we are in and head for the station where we join The Sunlander Train to Cairns. This should be great but fattening based on the menu’s we have seen and it looks similar to a cruise liner and I guess we will be without internet for the next two days.

What did you do today- well not a lot!

We decided that we would have any easy day for a couple of reasons. It’s been quite some time since we had a day off and do nothing and also Noel had some ankle swelling problems - old age creeping in I guess.

So we spent the day reading, relaxing and not a lot more and it was great. Tomorrow will be different as we want to ride the ferries.

Brisbane walk-about day

We had breakfast in a little café near the Hotel Ibis and then did about an hours walk around town to see what the place is like.

We were quite impressed, this is a nice place to be with new modern offices and apartments and also the shopping areas on Queens Road and Albert Street (sound like Auckland doesn’t it) were really quite busy.

Mid morning we went back to the Hotel and moved to the one bedroom apartment we had rented for three nights in Kangaroo Point, the river bends a lot here, and Kangaroo Point is on a bend in the river opposite the city centre. When we arrived they informed us we had been upgraded for some reason to a three bedroom apartment with great views, see photos.

We needed some food shopping and so walked to the Ferry Pier and travelled back to town where we walked around for some hours and then headed for the main Railway Station to suss it out as we need to go there on Thursday for our train ride to Cairns.

The Station is quite big and undergoing extensive renovation which it really does need. Brisbane Airport is a Palace by comparison. We are pleased that we did go as there are two entrances, one the main one, and a little one at the back which is where we have to go. They are about 300 yards apart, up and down stairs and escalators and through crowded areas. The entrance we need is the small one where the Taxi can park outside and we are 10 yards from the platform. Well worth the visit.

A statue in the centre of Queen Street

We headed back and went to Woolworths (Aussi style) and did some food shopping for the next few days.

They don’t sell alcohol in supermarkets and so we were forced to stop by the pub near to our apartment to sample the local ale.

We then had an evening watching TV, catching up with Blogs and generally keeping busy. We may have a quiet day in the apartment tomorrow for a change.

Auckland last day and Brisbane

We had a slow start to the day as we had to repack all of our cases for travel to Brisbane. When we first got to New Zealand we emptied and repacked our bags so as to make it easier when travelling. When we got to a Motel we only had one small bag with clothes for the next few days. This was great and the same practise we used when travelling in USA but it takes a little while to reorganise.

So bags packed and left with the luggage dept we headed off for breakfast. It was a bit late and so we had an early lunch instead and then off down to the port. I had packed my camera which is a shame as although I had intended not to take any more Auckland photos we got down to the port and tied up at the quayside was the Sapphire Princess the same ship we had seen in Doubtful Sound.

Tied up at the quay it looked enormous with people coming and going at an alarming rate.

We had a coffee and then headed slowly back to the Hotel to pick up our luggage and head out to the airport and boy was this place humming. It would appear that loads of people from the ship were leaving by plane and we were pleased we had decided to splash out on Club Class as this avoided a huge check-in wait.

So we said Goodbye to New Zealand we have had a wonderful time.

The flight was just over three hours and Noel watched ‘Michael Moore’s film Sicko’ which looked at the US healthcare programmes, and the way that the insurance companies treat their customers

We arrived at Brisbane Airport and we were very impressed by the speed of immigration, baggage handling and Customs we were out of the airport in about 20 minutes.

The taxi driver informed us that it had rained heavily for the last 14 days out of 20 but at least now the water shortage is officially over. He also said that the rain was on the way out at which point it started to rain quite heavily.

Tomorrow we change Hotels and start exploring Brisbane and it’s surrounds for three days before we leave on the train for Cairns.

Our Day in Auckland

We left the Crowne Plaza Hotel and headed off for a day out in this lovely City. There has been quite a lot of building and development work since we were last here which is very noticeable down by the water front.

After cruising around the cafes we then took a ferry boat ride over to the island of Waireke which is about 45 minutes away on a catamaran. The ferry was quite busy with teenagers and the twenties all of whom were heading for a free pop concert on the Island. We sat next to a group of American girls who could not utter a complete sentence without saying the work ‘Like’ at least two to three times. Like, man, it’s really like a good day out like, like you get the picture like.

The Island when we arrived was hot and sunny and so we headed up the main road and walked about two kilometres in to town. The pop concert must have been quite some way away as there were no signs or sounds at all. There are a lot of very modern houses on this Island and also a lot for sale but prices seem to be high.

We walked back to the port and caught the ferry back, then walked round the harbour to where the Annual Boat Show was being held. From the side of the harbour you could see the many different sizes and shapes of boats that are available. I understand that New Zealand people have more boats per capita than anywhere else in the world. There were some amazing boats there costing millions I guess and well beyond our means.

We then walked through the main shopping street, Queen Street and up the hill to see what films were showing at the IMAX Cinema. We booked for ‘I AM LEGEND’ starring Will Smith, a very good and scary film, they made New York without people and completely overgrown quite realistic.

We had had an early dinner at the ‘Wagamama’ restaurant which has recently opened here. The streets are crowded with Asians and there appears to be more Chinese and Asian restaurants than any other type.

This town has a lot of money as you can tell by the number of Jewellery, Camera and fashion brand name shops available. The Asians have brought a lot of money to this town and you can see them driving the most expensive cars.

Tomorrow we leave for Australia, where has the time gone??