nickharris87

Friday 27th February 2015.

We woke to a strange noise just before 8am – it turned out to be rain – not just a bit of a shower but a torrential downpour. We looked down at the traffic below and the cars were ploughing through water on the road! Not what you want on a cricket day.

After a nice FaceTime chat with Christopher, we got ourselves sorted. I went and got a coffee for Sue then went back to the lounge to type diary while she washed her hair. I had some fruit and coffee for breakfast and got caught up. By the time I had finished eating, the rain had stopped and there was blue sky in evidence, so we will see what happens. The breakfast buffet here is as good as I remember it – certainly enough to set us up for the day.

Later: The trend to blue sky and sunshine continued, and by about 11am, apart from a few puddles, it was hard to tell it had been raining. Once we were all sorted and ready, we walked to Circular Quay for advice about transport, as this is included in the price of tickets. This is a good deal as the tickets were only about a tenner. We were told that there were a series of shuttle buses from Circular Quay and Central out to the ground. Before we caught the bus we went to a nearby Woolworth’s and got sandwiches and fruit etc. for later.

The bus service was excellent – it was 1pm when we got to the bus stop and there was a bus in – we got on and it set of almost immediately for a formula one type drive through the fairly busy streets. We were dropped at the ground and had a wander outside – there was a steel drum band playing on top of a bus to greet fans in the fan zone – lots of South Africa and West Indies fans mixing and enjoying the now bright sunshine.

This is our second visit to this complex – on our first visit to Australia in 2010 we came to see George Michael at the adjacent rugby stadium. Inside the ground there is a very nice, and very reasonably priced modern food court, and – of course – lots of bars. The players were still on the pitch practicing, so we went down to the edge to take photos. There aren’t too many of the South Africans we recognised apart from AB De Villiers, Dale Steyn and of course Hashim Amla, who played for Notts in 2010. Over on the West Indian side of the pitch, again there were a lot of new players but most eyes were on Chris Gayle who had hit 215 in his last match. The West Indies seems far more laid back, which isn’t a surprise. Their main focus was when they started a quite intense and physical game of five a side football.

Our seats were really good in a fairly sparsely populated part of the ground, close to the pitch and next to the alcohol free zone. The ground isn’t anywhere near full, but the lower tier and the members area have a fair few in. South Africa won the toss and chose to bat. They made a steady but unspectacular start, with Amla pushing and prodding but not going mad. After 20 overs they were 87-1. By the time AB De Villiers came to the crease in the 30th over they were 146-3. Alma had made 65 and du Plessis 62.

That was when the fireworks started! De Villiers was majestic – he hit 162 not out from 66 balls as he and Rilee Rossouw took the West Indies attack apart. They scored 222 in the last 15 overs – De Villiers was smacking it to all parts of the ground and the crowd were going wild – it was fantastic to watch. They broke all sorts of records – AB hit the fastest ever ODI 150 – 64 balls. beating Shane Watson’s previous record by 19 balls. He also hit the fastest 50 (16 balls). The South Africans finished on 408-5 – the highest total ever hit in an ODI in Oz. It was the second highest total ever in the World Cup only India’s 413-7 against Bermuda was higher. The West Indian Captain Jason Holder finished on 1-104 off ten with his last two overs going for 64!

The West Indies innings after this was always going to be a challenge and when Chris Gayle was out for three, we all knew it was going to fade away. At 63-7 it was all over bar the shouting, but a bit of resistance from Jason Holder (56) got them to a semi respectable score of 151 all out, but the winning margin of 257 runs also equalled a World Cup record. The South African spinner Imran Tahir took 5-45 and he was great entertainment value, as every time he took a wicket he ran off waving his arms like he had just won the World Cup.

All in all, great entertainment for the 23,000 plus crowd. The crowd has swelled considerably during the late afternoon and evening, presumably as locals had come in after work. The final impressive act was the bussing away from the stadium. We went outside and there were two orderly queues at the bus stops – one for Central and a much shorter one for Circular Quay. There were also a great long line of busses waiting to get people away – very, very well organised.

In no time at all was were back at Circular Quay and decided to go into The Ship for a beer on a busy Friday night – it was very nice and really welcome – we also had a supper of chicken and feta pizza, as we had only eaten our picnic at the ground.

Back to the hotel about 10.30pm to settle down after another very enjoyable and memorable day.

Up at 0615 and breakfasted with the usual Weetbix and coffee, we were on the road checked out for 0730. It was only a short drive to the airport, it has rained during the night but it is fine now. We drove to the Thrifty car park where we picked the car up from, then dropped the keys off inside – they are much more laid back here about everything, there was no formality just a cheerful thanks and see you again we hope.

Final trip – 325.

There was a massive queue at the Jetstar check in – mainly Chinese people, but the bag drop only had about three people waiting, so we were soon sorted. We went through security and had a coffee while waiting for the plane to board at Gate 18. Today’s plane is an Airbus A321-231. We boarded at 0835 push back was at 0901 and wheels up at 0910. Flight time today is 2 hours 40 minutes.

We made a very tight turn immediately after take off, giving us great views of the airport and the beaches. I spent the entire flight converting the bullet points from about five days of diary to prose, so that I can update the blog. We were again given the coffee and banana muffin deal from our tickets, which was nice. This plane is also very busy, we were impressed by the flight manager who gave us a very detailed briefing abut the emergency exit because we were sitting in the exit row.

Another uneventful flight (which is good). We landed at the domestic terminal and made our way to baggage reclaim – Sue made some enquiries and found our best best would be to get the train to Circular Quay – we thought about getting a bus, but wouldn’t save any money. We bought two tickets for $17 each and went down to the platform – the train was only three minutes away and wasn’t busy at all.

As we got to Circular Quay I got some wi-fi, and there was a message waiting to say our room was ready. We checked into room 2112 on the 21st floor – Sue had spoken to a lady while we were in Melbourne and asked for a room with a bath, and that is exactly what we got – a very nice room with a bath and a shower. Up to the lounge for a coffee and to catch up with the world, to learn that Christopher’s car has packed up AGAIN! It was 0320 in the UK,by the time we got the message so too late to speak to him. We had coffee and cakes and chilled for a while. The weather is okay, but nowhere near as hot as Adelaide or Cairns.

After the coffee, we had a walk out onto Circular Quay. First stop was a cash machine, as we are both running a bit low again. Second stop was the Transit Shop, where Sue has a long chat with a chap who told her our best bet for transport tickets during our stay were the new Opal card, which are more or less the same as Oyster cards in London and Octopus cards in Hong Kong – and the credit on them is valid for ten years. Sue bought two with $25 credit on them.

Following our noses a bit we wandered up to the main shopping street in Sydney – George Street. It is quite busy as there are lots of folk leaving work but it was a pleasant stroll. As we got to Market Street, we saw the State Theatre – on the board outside it said Michael Palin was playing two nights – last night and tonight! We went to the box office and they have tickets left, so we go two. They ranged in price from $95 to $195 and we got some nice seats towards the rear of the stalls for $95. The lady said it was a 2000 seat venue and wasn’t far off sold out. The show starts at 8pm and it was about 5.15pm when we got the tickets.

Back to the hotel to shower and change, then up to the lounge for a bite to eat. I felt a bit funny as it s the first time I have worn long trousers and proper shoes since we left Japan. The food offering was very nice – pork gyoza with sauce, plus the usual salads and cold meats – we managed to put a nice meal together. There were also some nice sweets and, of course, beer, wines and spirits. It was a bit rushed but we ate and drank our fill. The lingo was very busy but the staff worked hard ot clear tables and restock the buffet.

At 7.20pm we made a move and, of course, had to wait ages for the lift. It was a bit of a fast trek back to the theatre, but we made it in plenty of time. The show was very good – the format was Michael Palin being interviewed by a Sydney radio DJ – the first half was about his early life and his travel shows, the second half was about Python and his other films like A Fish Called Wanda. The theatre is very ornate with huge lobby area and a big organ in the stalls. A very nice evening all in all.

The show finished about 10.40pm and everyone left the theatre singing “Always look on the bright side of life”. We walked back to the hotel and got sorted. We checked our tickets and realised the cricket is tomorrow – not Saturday as we originally thought !

Wednesday 25th February 2015.

Up at 7.30am to check out after our usual breakfast of Weetbix and coffee. Apparently we have to empty all the bins in the unit as well as pack cases – this was spelt out on a note left under our door last night – it is to ‘help out the housekeepers’!. The only extras for us to pay at check out, were the pool towels and internet – two things I begrudge having to pay for.

Leaving the hotel, we drove up Macrossan Street. Then drove up Island Point Road to the look out up a very steep hill that is ‘not suitable for caravans!’ it was worth it, we got a great view of four mile beach. Back in the car and off to Quicksilver wharf. We arrived just before ten and all of the all staff were dealing with today’s departure, so we went to watch the boat go then went back in – they had found my glasses – a bit battered, one lens out but easily put right – great news. We had a look round the gift shops, but nothing grabbed Sue.

Clutching my glasses, we headed out of Port Douglas and south. We called at several of the villages / beaches on the way, (Oak Beach, trinity Beach and Yorkey’s Knob) just to have a look round but didn’t stop at any of them for any length of time. We drove right into Cairns and parked up at the official Tourist Info place. A nice lady (Sue) suggested the Mercure or any other near it, as they are a little bit out of the centre and likely to be cheaper. We drove to the Mercure and Sue went in. She managed to get a room for $139 for room 212. She also managed get an upgrade to an exec room because the chap dealing with her was a cricket fan.

Once that was sorted we had a drive back out to the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. – We parked up and bought two return tickets for $73 each, we didn’t get diamond vision (glass bottom). We were a bit hungry so we had lunch in the Canopy Cafe, next to the gift shop. I had a steak and potato pie whilst Sue had Veggie stack – sweet potato, aubergine and other veg warmed up in the microwave plus cups of coffee.

The Skyrail is a 7.5km (4.7 miles) cableway in Barron Gorge National Park. The first stretch is from the station at Smithfield – 14 towers to Red Peak station then we had to change gondolas- From tower 15 to Barron Falls Station then Tower 28 to Kuranda at tower 33. The trip is above the canopy of the rain forest with views of the Barron Fall and over the Barron River to Kuranda Village.

At the village there are lots of shops, market stalls and Aboriginal art and crafts. We walked up the main street and the rain started, a huge storm; then it stopped and the sun came out – very Floridian, we headed back towards station and had an ice cream, then it started again – very heavy warm rain. Waiting for a break in the rain that didn’t come, we walked to the station, there was a short queue before getting on but only for a few minutes. On the way back we got off at Barron Falls Station, we walked along the boardwalk to the lookouts over the spectacular Barron Gorge and Falls. We also saw a Bush Turkey in the trees – it wasn’t bothered by the people at all. There was a bit more rain, but they had supplied umbrellas so it wasn’t a problem.

Back on the Sky Rail to Red Peak Station, there was another boardwalk with spectacular views and good explanation of rain forest botany. We went back down to the bottom with an English lady and then to the car. We drove to the hotel and before going to our room we told the girl reception that I have Accor Platinum card. She tapped the number into the computer and gave us each a free drinks voucher and two codes for free internet, that would normally cost $15 each.

Up to room 212 – it is very nice with settee and bath, the digital TV includes Fox’s cricket channel. We settled in a bit, then went downstairs and after a lot of faffing about in the business centre thanks to the crap net connection, we managed print off boarding passes for tomorrow. Once this was done, we had a drive out to Cairns Central Shopping Mall – Kmart, Target,Coles and Myer are the mall anchors. We split up and had a wander, unfortunately it was 5.30pm and most of the non-anchor stores were in the process of closing. It was still a good mall though, very big by Oz standards. I got two three dollar (£1.50) t-shirts from Kmart, Sue tried on lots of bits but nothing caused the plastic to come out. At Coles we got milk, pop, plastic dishes for Weetbix and sweet for later.

On the way back we decided to get petrol so that we can return the car full tomorrow.

At Caltex Cairns I put in 23.04 litres costing $29.93 @ $1.299 per gallon – trip 318

Back to the hotel to wash and freshen up. We then had a walk next door to the Acacia Court hotel for a buffet meal. We had a look at it before committing and it looked very nice. There were a lot of salads and the cold section also included huge King Prawns and oysters. The hot mains had nice beef, fish, chicken wings and lots of diverse dishes. Sweets were also included, so I had cherry cheesecake and Sue had banana cake. A nice meal and very reasonable price.

Back next door to our hotel to use our free drinks vouchers. I had a Hahn Dry Lager and Sue had G&T. Very nice for nothing – thanks Amex. Back in the room for diary and sorting. The cricket was very good Ireland chasing a big total of 278 made by the UAE, but they did it with three balls to spare to win by two wickets. The internet here is painfully slow and prone to frequent drop outs – we can’t complain as we got it for nothing, but if I had paid $30 for both of us I wouldn’t be happy.

Trip 319.

Tuesday 24th February 2015

Alarm was set for for 0715. We had a nice FaceTime chat with Christopher after his first day at work, which he seemed to have enjoyed, even though he was doing boring computer learning for a a fair bit of it. We had toast and coffee for breakfast, then set off to walk to the harbour.

We got to the Quicksilver offices for 9am, and Sue got our tickets for inner reef trip. At 9.30am she went back in, to find that there had been some cancellations on the other boat so we can go on the big trip to Agincourt Reef. After we swapped our tickets and paid the extra money, we went to Berth 4 to board the huge Quicksilver VIII catamaran. http://www.quicksilver-cruises.com There are lots of Chinese I would estimate that they make up about 75% of the passengers and there are lot of Chinese speaking crew. One of the girls told us there are 450 passengers on board, and about 50 crew. We managed to snag two window seats on the lower deck and we were set to go. They had comp coffee, tea and biscuits available when we were moored but hot drinks are only served in port. They offered comp iced water and cordial all day.

Departure was just a little late at 10.05am and we had a slow cruise out of the harbour to the open Coral Sea, which was as calm as a mill pond. There were several good briefings on the many TV sets around the cabin as we sailed out. One from a Marine Biologist,explaining about the history of the reef and what we may see out there – he particularly emphasised the fish that Disney’s Nemo is based on. There was also a good briefing about snorkelling for those who hadn’t done it before and we took the advice of the crew and paid $7 each for the hire of lycra stinger suits.

After an hour and a quarter we moored up and a huge 50 metre pontoon that is anchored above the reef. We got our masks, snorkels, flippers and stinger suits and got changed – it is very well organised given the numbers they bring out each day. They gave us a buffet lunch before we went into the water. There was a good choice of salad, cold meats, pasta and two hot dishes with steamed rice – hot honey glazed beef and vegetable korma curry.

Once we had eaten we got changed and hit the water – it is truly fantastic, absolutely crystal clear with loads of fish really close to the boat – the water entry was a bit chaotic but once we were in it was okay. Sue did brilliantly, as she doesn’t like putting her head under water, or breathing through her mouth – both of which are pretty much essential in snorkelling, she found it quite difficult. She wasn’t put off though, and overcame her discomfort. The coral reef and the fish were just stunning – it was very well set up – they have ropes attached to buoys to guide those less confident out to the reefs. There are also plenty of activities for others too – those who are Padi qualified can go scuba diving – those who don’t want to swim can put a full diving suit on and go down steps for the underwater experience without the swimming. They also had several submersibles that you can go out in an also an underwater viewing platform on the pontoon.

After being in the water for ages Sue got out and went for a trip in the submersible – I stayed in the water and swam further out and was rewarded with seeing some stingrays on the bottom of the sea. I had one dodgy moment when I swam into a small jellyfish, and it hit one of the very few areas of exposed skin – my lip just below my mask – it looked huge when it was close up and made me jump, but it was actually quite tiny and clearly didn’t sting me.

Sue enjoyed her trip in the submersible and all too soon it was time to get changed and return to the boat. I can’t believe how quickly the day went. On the way back we sat upstairs on the sundeck. It was very cloudy as we got close to land and also quite breezy, as Sue found to her cost when she went to the front of the boat to take a photo and her visor blew off! We had a few drops of rain as we neared the port, but not enough to make us shelter indoors.

When we docked I went into the gift shop and treated myself to a Quicksilver polo shirt. and then we walked back to the unit. When we got back I realised I had misplaced my reading glasses. We got showered and changed and then headed out to a restaurant near the dock called Hog’s Breath Cafe which is one in a chain of about 80 around Oz. It wasn’t very busy and we got a table straight away. To start we shared Sicilian loaded potato skins. For main I had – Serious Steak Burger, which is – Double steak, double cheese, lettuce, red onion rings, beetroot, tomato, grilled onions and our hot Byron Bay Chilli Sauce. Sue had Lemon Myrtle Salmon, which is Pan-fried salmon sprinkled with a lemon myrtle, coconut and chilli rub, served with mashed potato and crisp house salad in a balsamic dressing. To drink I had a Carlton Mid and Sue Somalian Sauvignon Blanc. It was another nice meal. The Byron Bay chilli had a real kick. We also saw several flashes of lightning while we were eating.

We walked back to unit – we saw lots big birds in road. We now know they are Bush Stone Curlews, they walk all over and only seem to fly when they have to. At the unit – internet, diary and bed!

Trip – car didn’t move.

Monday 23rd February 2015

We were up at 7.15am, as this is really 8.15am body time. We had a chill morning washing and sorting. Breakfast was the familiar Weetbix and coffee. It is a lovely sunny hot morning, so once we were sorted we had a walk out into the town again. We walked along Mowbray Street and saw a strange Irish train – the Faugh a Ballagh, which dates from 1899 and is in the process of being restored. We also saw loads of tadpoles in the stream next to it.

Our walk to took us to the docks and along Wharf Street and Port Douglas Park, several photo ops later we reached the Police Station, which had a big ‘Open’ sign on the door but a smaller ‘out on patrol’ one underneath it. We walked onto Macrossan Street to Coles supermarket again for drinks and bread.

Sue booked a trip for us out to the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow while I walked back to unit and made sandwiches. Sue joined me – the lass she had booked the trip with was from Stoke on Trent! She couldn’t get on the one she wanted to the Outer Reef, but had booked us onto the one to the inner reef and waitlisted us for the other one.

I went to sit by the pool for a bit and Sue sorted clothes. England are playing Scotland it all sorted very well with Moeen and Belly putting on a solid opening partnership. Moeen got his century but then we started to lose quick wickets.

After some discussion, and poring over maps, we made the decision to head up to the Daintree Rain Forest area . We had to drive back out to the 44, then north onto the 14 through Mossman which is quite big place with lots of shops including very big Woolworth’s. Carrying on north to Daintree very green and humid – a lot like New Zealand. We parked up and had a walk down to the river but we didn’t see any crocs. It is still really hot but amazingly green.

Sue took over the driving and we stopped at Daintree Village General store an for ice cream but they had all melted in the freezer! We went for a look at the ferry over the river, it is very much like the Sandbanks Ferry in Dorset, but we didn’t bother going over.

Starting back south, we called at Wonga Beach, which was deserted and then at Newell Beach , which was also deserted. It is still red hot, but we can see storm clouds in the distance over the mountains. Listening to the radio news, it is all all about the Cyclone Marcia clean up, which is entered around Rockhampton, which is a long way south of us – about half way to Brisbane. No mention of England cricket in the sports bulletin, so we assume they won, or it would have been the lead story without a doubt.

After having a walk on Newell Beach Sue drove onto Mossman. We called into the Woolies, but despite its size, there is no cafe, so we headed back to the unit for coffee and a shower. We also found out that England won by 100 plus runs. Christopher was starting his new job as we were sat drinking coffee, but we were thinking abut him.

We got changed and had a walk out to the supermarket. They have flying foxes here too – they are equally as noisy – they are classified as an endangered species, but the numbers we have seen would dispute that. For food we settled on an Italian place called Bucci. For starter we shared salted cod with bread and for main Sue had pan fried local barramundi with Tuscan fennel and orange salad salsa verde. I had Cotoletta Alla Milanese, which is parmesan herb and chilli breaded free range chicken breast with garlic and lemon butter, heirloom tomato and fennel salad.

Our waitress was from Essex! We both had a beer which was missed off bill. Being very honest , we pointed out their mistake, which seemed to take them by surprise! It was a very nice meal, but it was the dearest to date at $100 plus.

We walked back to the unit. I did diary and Sue ironed – Robbie Williams in concert from the Royal Albert Hall was on the TV followed by Coldplay in concert from the Sydney Opera House. We settled down at a reasonable time as we have a fairly early start tomorrow.

Trip 210km

Sunday 22nd February 2015

Our alarms were set for 3.40am! But, we both beat them, and got sorted and breakfast very quickly. We were on the road for 4.15am in the dark. Along the quiet, but by no means deserted streets of Adelaide.

Last job was to fill up with petrol at the United Garage just outside the airport – the fuel cost $44.99 – 37.59 litres at $1.197 a litre.

Trip 1401km.

At the airport, we dropped the car at the Thrifty garage and dropped the key in the box – Final trip 1402km.

This all meant we were checked in with bags gone before 5am. The airport is fairly busy. There are three planes out at six am and several just after. There isn’t a Priority Pass lounge in our terminal, so Sue had to buy some very expensive water and also got a morning paper. The lounge area at gate 25 is very busy but we only had a short wait before we boarded into seats 1a and 1b right at the front of the very full plane. There is an off duty pilot next to us, and he appeared to be fast asleep well before we pushed back. Our plane is an Airbus 320. Push back was exactly on time at 0600, wheels up was 0610. It was still dark for our take off to the south and we quickly swung round and headed up country. Our flight time is 2 hours 47 minutes and we have to put our watches back half an hour so that we will land at 0830.

An on time landing after an uneventful flight spent snoozing and reading – I had forgotten that the fare I booked included and $5 food and drink voucher – this was covered by their special offer of coffee and a banana muffin for $5 so we enjoyed one of those. After we landed we went straight to Thrifty desk, which was in the baggage reclaim area. There was no queue so we were sorted immediately, by a very efficient agent who didn’t try any big sell on upgrades or insurance. Once we had done that we went to get our bags from the carousel and went outside to the Thrifty parking area. The first thing that struck us was that it was hot and very humid – almost Floridian.

The car was a Kia Cerato S, on a Victoria plate – 384TBO with 46,861km on the clock.

Once I had familiarised myself with the car we drove into the centre of Cairns and parked up on the Esplanade near the Hilton and a tourist info office. As it is Sunday, street parking is free. We had a brief look in the tourist office, but it wasn’t an official one and was geared for selling trips and excursions. There are two big cruise ships moored in the city centre – the Royal Caribbean -Rhapsody of the Sea – this boat had been subject of a local news story when it was caught in the path of Cyclone Marcia, – http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/rhapsody-of-the-seas-photos-show-storm-hitting-cruise-ship/story-fnizu4n5-1227237231375 the second ship was a smaller one called The Albatross, which is apparently operated by a small German company called Phoenix Reisen.

Walking into the town centre which was just waking up early on this Sunday morning we saw some trees with literally hundreds of flying foxes hanging from the branches – they were unbelievable noisy and quite smelly – they were easy to photograph in the trees but we had several futile attempt at snapping them in flight and then gave up. We made use of the very clean public facilities on the main street then went to Woolworth’s for a coffee.

As we walked back to the car we noticed along from waterfront that the sea was very cloudy and very high over grass, we guessed this must be some aftermath of the recent cyclone. Setting off agin we drove north along the coastal highway. The cloud has burned off it is now very hot . En route we stopped at a viewpoint, then drove into Port Douglas. It was only just after 12, but we found The Meridian hotel very easily and managed to check in lovely apartment 19a. There is a nice cool underground car park with a lift to our apartment on the second floor, which is a bonus.

The complex is very luxurious and the fixtures, fittings and the pool are top notch – we have a nice two room apartment with a kitchenette and huge fridge, which is nice. I was surprised to find that we had to pay for wi-fi! $20 a day, with discount if you had it for the week. Before we unpacked properly, we drove to Coles in the shopping area and stocked up on drinks, bread, fruit, cereal – salad items for lunch and other essentials. Next door to Coles in the very upmarket shopping area is a Country Target, which ironically has free wi-fi.

Back at the unit. Sue made lovely ham and cheese cobs with really nice crusty cobs we had got. We also took the plunge with internet, paying $40 – I am afraid what used to be a luxury has now become an essential. Once we had eaten we had a walk over to the beach, which is only a couple of hundred metres away just past the Port Douglas motel, which looks cheap and cheerful and also does free wi-fi!

Sue had a chat with the with deckchair man, he offered us a special deal, but we aren’t stopping very long. We could see millions of tiny sand balls all over the beach below the tide line, there were also lots of tiny crabs diving in and out of small holes – the chap explained that the crabs dig down, extract some nutrients from the sand, then throw it away, so all the balls are created by the crabs. There was a netted off swimming area as this time of year there are lots of jellyfish, known as stingers. All along the beach there are warning notices about them and each notice has a bottle of vinegar attached to it, to pour of stings. I went into the lovely warm water and had a bit of a swim about inside the net. Sue sat on the beach and chilled, but did manage a bit of a paddle.

Back to the Meridian, we decided to have a walk into town, it is only a shirt distance, but would have been too far to carry the bags full of liquids and food. We eventually made it back to Coles and got Weetbix that we had forgotten and treated ourselves to an ice cream. There was still some warmth on the sun when we got back so we had a nice swim in the hotel pool. It had lovely warm water.

As the sun went down, we went back upstairs and got changed. Sue also did some washing, as the hotel provide free washers and driers. Once we were sorted we went out for a meal. It was dark at 7.30pm but very warm still. We walked up and down Main Street. there are lots of places to eat some very expensive and some closed, as this is their off season.

After some debate we settled on a bar / restaurant called Rattle and Hum. I had a lovely prime rib , which surprisingly was chargrilled not roast, as it is in the US, and it was on medium side of medium rare but very nice. Sue had the local speciality fish – Barramundi, pan fried with mash and veg – all very nice. Because we were walking, I had a pint of Carlton Mid and Sue had a wine. Very good meals – the cricket was on the TV – India look like they are going to beat South Africa quite easily.

Back at the apartment, we chilled and settled down

Trip 77km

Saturday 21st February 2015

Up this morning for a day sampling the delights that Adelaide has to offer. Sue had chatted with the hotel people last night, as we had considered getting a bus into town, but she was told we would be fine driving as there is plenty of on street parking. We had the usual breakfast of Weetbix and coffee, we also he a nice FaceTime chat with Christopher, now that he has finished as a Duties Manager. He seemed quite touched that they had given him chocolates and a £30 iTunes voucher as leaving presents. He starts as an Analyst on Monday morning at Radford Road. Before we set off I checked in for our up coming Jetstar and Air Asia flights. Jetstar check in opens 48 hours before flight but Air Asia is 14 days!

The nice lady on reception offered to print the boarding passes if we emailed them to her. This was a nice touch. We did that, then hit the road. It was very hot, but the roads were fairly quiet as we made our way to the city centre. We parked up on Frome Street at 10.30am. On a Saturday on street parking is only charged till 12 noon and the payment is a flat rate of $2.

Walking into the city past the city beach, which looks a lot more appealing than Mansfield’s or Nottingham’s, we realised just how hot the sun is. The forecast is for it to get over 40 today and it can’t be far off that already. It was so hot that we were soon glad to dive into the aircon in a city mall called Rundle Place. It is a very nice mall with a good food court, and a big sports shop. Lots of world cup souvenirs – the England shirts haven’t been consigned to the clearance section yet.

Back out into the sun, we continued our wander onto the main shopping street of Adelaide – Rundle Street. Our destination is the Adelaide Oval and it was soon apparent we were going i the right direction as it is huge and dominates the skyline. We walked through a nice park at the side of the river pausing for a photo op with the black swans and the fountains, as well as a very nice church. Adelaide is in the throes of its Fringe and there are lots of stages being set up in the park. We saw a poster for Michael Palin doing a one man show. Unfortunately it was on Thursday – we have missed it by two days.

At the Oval we did a complete circuit before we got to the main entrance – we went past the tennis club that is part of the complex – there is a pro tournament starting next week and there were several players out practicing in the searing heat – it was good to watch for a bit. We saw that there was a security guy on one of the doors so we went to see if we could blag our way in to get photos – he invited us in, as this is where the stadium tours start.

Inside it was lovely and cool so we took a couple of photos then signed up for the 1pm tour. We had some time to kill and asked if there was anywhere to get a drink – the girl was very apologetic and said because the ground had been taken over by the ICC for the world cup, all the Coke and other drinks machines had to be covered up because Pepsi are a major sponsor. She said there was chilled water in the mother and baby room, which was more than welcome.

Before the tour started we spent some time in the Sir Donald Bradman Museum – he is a local hero and the museum is very well set up. It has quite a lot about the Bodyline series. At 1pm our tour guide Katrina took a group of about 20 of us on the tour. It was very well done – Katrina was very knowledgeable, both about cricket and Aussie Rules Football, which is clearly her main interest. We went up to the fifth level and had a bird’s eye view of both the ground and the city behind us, then we visited all parts of the ground. There are lots of AFL trophies and shirts on display as both the Power and the Crows play the games here but obviously they didn’t mean much to us.

In the press box, there were notices posted with the log in and password for the stadium wi-fi, so I was able to do a Facebook check in. We sat where the players sit before going into bat, then went to the old scoreboard. Three sides of the ground have huge modern stands, but one end still has the old scoreboard and lawns backed by huge trees for standing room – apparently both the scoreboard and the tress are heritage sites, so cannot be knocked down. The scoreboard is a fascinating old relic of the old days – all mechanical needing about 8 or 9 people to operate it. When we went inside, it is like a sweat box because of its metal roof. Some of the controls are driven by hand cranked bike chains, and the only nod to technology is a light switch at the side of some of the player’s names to show who is bowling and who is in strike

Another World Cup quirk was revealed during the tour of the corporate hospitality area, which is sponsored by Audi and normally features one of their top of the range cars on display – this has been covered up, as Hyundai are one of the ICC sponsors and have one of their cars, a Sonata on display near the scoreboard.

Other nice bits of the tour were the changing rooms, which I have to say are a bit basic – we went into the room that had just been used by the Pakistan team in their recent game with India and still had the players name cards in it. One of the last stops was the South Australia Crocket Museum which features the actual Sheffield Shield, trophy – this stays here despite the fact that SA don’t win it very often. It also features memorabilia of their famous players including Ian Chappel, Sir Garfield Sobers, Jason Gillespie and Barry Richards, who set all sorts of records in his brief tenure here.

At the end of the tour, we watched the tennis players a bit more, there is also a massive TV screen over the main entrance – it should be showing the Australia V Bangladesh game from Brisbane but it has been rained off thanks to Cyclone Marcia. It did show some highlights of the West Indies / Pakistan game where the Pakistanis were 1-4 at one stage. It looks like the Windies re bouncing back from the thumping Ireland gave them

Leaving the stadium we walked back over the river in search of food, as it was after 2.30pm. We walked over a new $52 million dollar footbridge and thought he very impressive old railway station. We made our way back to Rundle Street and went into the Rundle Mall where we found a food court – I had a couple of slices of pizza for $2 each – with hindsight, maybe one would have been sufficient – Sue had a chicken sandwich

Back out on Rundle Street, we called in the Apple Store for the wi-fi and a Facebook check in , we didn’t go in Kmart, but we did go into Target for another much needed drink and Sue got a top. Our destination now is the East End, which is the arty section of the city and features lots of the Fringe shows. We were fascinated by the number of coins that had been planted into the pavement in several areas – I am sure that if that was the UK someone would have been along with a chisel during the night, as there are loads of them.

At a park by the river there were lots of small tents and food stalls – the tents were for the shows, none of which really appealed to us. We had a sit and people watched for a time, taking advantage of the free water tanks, before making our way back to the car.

The plan had been to get sandwich stuff from one of the Woolworth’s / Coles / Foodland stores we had passed on the way into town. What we didn’t realise was that nearly all supermarkets here – particularly the main ones all shut at 5pm on a Saturday and it was 5.30pm when we were looking!

Back at the hotel, our boarding passes were done and waiting for us, and we were told of a supermarket called Drakes near the hotel that opens till 10pm so we had a walk there. It was only relatively small but it was clean and well stocked. We both got a veggie Frittata to heat in the microwave, some salad and some drink – a cheap and cheerful room picnic, like the old days.

Back in the room we chilled, ate our salad and caught upon the internet, We also packed our bags ready for the bags ready for the ridiculously early start tomorrow. The motel is very, very busy they told us they had turned away loads of people and even manager’s room is being used being used.
In fact, they are booked solid for the next few weeks.

Trip 1390km

I got chance to sort through the photos on my computer – we have already taken about 2570!

Friday 20th February 2015.

Another driving day today. It is the last of our long driving days and should be slightly shorter than yesterday. We got up at the usual time and breakfasted on Weetbix and coffee again before getting on the road before the 10am check out – it is a simple road to Adelaide, following the Southern Ports Highway that we spent a lot of yesterday on, then the A1 / M1. The speed limit in South Australia is 110kmh for a lot of the time – compared to a maximum of 100kmh in Victoria.

Firstly we had to back track a bit to pick up the main road, then it was north following the line of the coast. We made very good progress on very quiet, fast, straight and even a little boring roads. Hitting the 1 and going along very rural countryside. First stop was a place called Kingston, where Sue went in and chatted to the Tourist Info guide again and got maps etc. I stayed outside in the hot sun topping my tan up and taking photos.

Before we left Kingston we called into a BP garage and I put another $20 worth of petrol in to prevent problems later. There isn’t too much to see on this road, but we did make a detour to see The Granites – a series of granite rocks in the sea- what was remarkable here was the fantastic beach they were on and there wasn’t a soul in sight for miles around.

Sue took over the driving and continued north until we got to a one horse town called Salt Creek, where we stopped at the all in one restaurant / camp ground / petrol station for a coffee – Sue was chatting to the girl behind the counter who had only just arrived from Germany and was doing work in Australia – she had got this job in the middle of nowhere via the internet!

I was kept amused while Sue was inside by a couple of Aussie ladies in their sixties who were getting wound up about a ‘snake’ that was crawling around the radiator of a pick up parked outside the cafe – they were shouting that it was moving until a local Crocodile Dundee hero came to have a look and grabbed it – then snapped it, as it was a twig not a snake!!

My turn to drive again and I piloted us north, stopping briefly at Policeman’s Point for a photo op. Next stop proper was Tailem Bend, where we parked up outside a bakery and had a nice lunch of cobs. I had cheese salad and Sue had chicken salad, we got chatting to some locals about the weather and the UK once again. Back on the road, we hit the A1 again and quickly got to Murray Bridge and joined the M1 where we had to get used to the concept of other vehicles sharing the road again.

The M1 took us right into Adelaide, down a very long and steep hill that seems to have safety overkill with run off tracks and lorry only lanes – it’s not THAT steep! Our destination for two nights is the Welcome Inn 277 on Glen Osmond Road (named after one of the lesser known of the brothers presumably !)

Check in was easy into a ground floor unit number 4 – listening to the radio has not been easy en route – it is open season for ridiculing the poms on the radio, as we have been thrashed by the Black Caps in Wellington – we were all out for 123, with Tim Southee taking 7-33, and then the Kiwis knocked them off in 12.2 overs with Brendan McCullum hitting 77 off 25 balls! Steven Finn went for 29 off two overs! The radio Deejays are loving it!

Once we were sorted, Sue navigated us through the busy rush hour traffic out to Sir Donald Bradman Way and out to the airport to iron out a potential problem for Sunday – we fly out at 6am but the car hire place doesn’t open until later, and we were told when we picked it up that we would have to take it back Saturday night – Sue spoke to a very nice chap who said it wasn’t a problem – we could take it back before they open on Sunday and leave the keys in a special box – sorted!

Rather than battle back through town, we decided to go out to the beaches – First stop was Henley Beach – great place packed with people enjoying the sun, the beautiful soft white sand and the sea. We walked out to the end of a jetty, just as two cops were walking out to sort out a complaint about kids jumping off the end of the pier / jetty into the water – all the kids looked totally innocent as the cops made sure the knew it was illegal, then as soon as they had gone they were diving and back flipping off the end with no problem whatsoever 😉

We also watched some crab fishermen for a while, then went to a supermarket for a drink and then back to the car. Henley Beach is a great place, but it is one of many little beach side communities along the coast – all wonderful places to live. As we drove north, we saw a huge stadium, so thinking it may be the Adelaide Oval. We went to investigate – it was the AAMI stadium, right next to a huge Westfield shopping mall with Target, Kmart and many other huge shops. We managed to park up and watched some of the Aussie Rules boys practicing. I got talking to an old boy who is a groundsman.

He explained that this isn’t the Adelaide Oval – that is in town – this is the traditional home of two Adelaide AFL teams, the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power, but it is soon to be knocked down as they have moved to the Oval and this is going to be a housing development. He took us inside to show it off – it is a really nice modern stadium with two huge video screens and a capacity of 51,240. last night it was home to a One Direction Concert and there is still quite a bit of evidence of that about, but the stage has been dismantled and has moved on. We took photos and thanked him for his hospitality.

Back in the car we went to the shopping centre, which is shut apart from the anchor stores, we got some cash from a cash machine in the food court – I got my text from Lloyds a few minutes later – excellent! We decided to eat at the bistro at the stadium – it is called the Checkside Tavern. We got a table straight away and I had Deconstructed chicken cordon bleu and Sue had a fish off the specials board called Basa, which is a white river fish. There was also a help your self salad and hot veg bar, the whole set up including the gambling is very similar to last night in fact the bill was identical too. Sue had asked if she could have the Basa with mash and veg rather than chips, but that wasn’t possible – she could help herself to potato and veg from the self serve bar, but had to have the chips and then leave them!

After we had eaten we nipped over to Coles for cookies and beer, then had a drive back to the motel, where I put another $18 worth of fuel in at United garage, Henley Beach (15litres) Trip 1364, to take it back to half full and prevent any issues – we know there is a 24 hour garage at the airport for Sunday morning.

Back at the hotel for sweet, diary, and sorting.

Trip 1379km – 412 today.

Thursday 19th February 2015

Up at the usual time now, just before 8am and we had our Weetbix breakfast with coffee and got sorted – it is a lovely sunny morning and promises to be a hot one. We were on the road for ten and heading towards Portland, past Tower Hill in fairly busy but reasonably fast traffic. Once we left the conurbation, the traffic thinned considerably and we enjoyed the scenery as we stayed on the A1 all the way to Portland. We even heard Leo Sayer on local radio, played to celebrate and plug his upcoming concert appearance. Local radio here really is local!

At Portland we parked up at the Tourist info place which is in the harbour and it part of a Maritime Discovery Centre across from the busy docks where a big boat of sand was loading up. Sue had a another long chat with the volunteer there and came out armed with maps and tips. First stop was a photo op in the quaint town centre on Bentinck Street then we drove down the main shopping street and turned left onto Bridgewater Road.

Our destination is Cape Bridgewater, where there is a really interesting and positively spooky petrified forest. Again great free parking and a well marked path. We had a good walk to the forest and took loads of photos then walked to the Blow Holes which are rock formations of basalt and scoria rocks which create spectacular spouts of sea spray. There is also a big viewing platform to watch the Blue Whales that feed close to shore in this area – unfortunately none were in evidence this morning.

Our next stop was the Tarragal Cave and Bridgwater Lake – both of which gave good photo ops and chance to walk in the sun. The cave was a bit of a climb from the road but the rocks and the views made it worthwhile. On the way back to the Main Road, I saw a big brown snake slithering at the side of the road, we spun round but it was gone – seeing a dead one in the road a mile or two further on wasn’t quite the same.

Carrying on our next destination was Mount Gambier, further along the A1. On the way we passed over the State Line from Victoria to South Australia and as well as dire warnings about bringing fruit into the state, we also had to set our watches back half an hour, something we have never had to do before.

At Mount Gambier we parked up in some really good under cover (free) parking and had a walk in search of a late lunch We found a cafe and bakery called Metro and I had a bacon and cheese pie whilst Sue had a chicken sandwich and we both had a lovely coffee – it is really hot now, but we managed a walk round yet another very nice town centre. The main attraction in Mount Gambier is a blue lake which is just that – a remarkably coloured lake in the town with the now expected parking and viewing facilities laid on -we passed a very pleasant half hour or more climbing and walking and taking loads of snaps.

The radio news as we have been traveling has been about two cyclones (Hurricanes in the northern hemisphere) that are going to hit Australia tonight and tomorrow – one is going to hit the Northern Territories and one is going to hit Queensland – not good when we fly up there in a couple of days time.

Pressing on we headed for Robe, where we had booked a night in the Robetown Motel for the night. Sue took over the driving after a bit and took us all the way into Robe – we arrived before 5pm which was good going. The motel was easy to find and we checked into a very nice clean and airy unit number 9 without a problem. The lady checking us in, who I assume was the owner gave me a map and marked up all the good local restaurants and places on interest.

After unpacking and catching up on wi-fi we decided to have a walk onto the beach – we changed into flip flops and I put my trunks on and we walked past some lovely houses and a very busy caravan site to Hooper’s beach and then to the Town Beach – the sea is lovely and clear, the beach has really soft sand, but the water is COLD! We both had a bit of a paddle but didn’t bother with a swim!

Making our way up to the tourist info centre, which was closed, we took photos of another impressive war memorial then waled down the main shopping street – Victoria Street back towards the motel – nearly of the shops were closed even though it wasn’t six yet – a lot closed at 4pm.

The local supermarket was open so we got milk, and ice cream each and a cake for sweet tonight, then went back to the unit to freshen up and change. Once we were sorted we had a drive out in search of food – we also drove to the harbour where all of the lobster boats land their catch and up to The Obelisk at the top of the town overlooking Cape Dombey – where we saw a wonderful sunset and took some arty photos.

After a bit of a debate about food we finished up at the Robe Hotel, which is a huge place doubling up as a pub, a hotel, a bottle store and a bit of a casino. It was really busy, and we couldn’t get a table in the restaurant immediately but lovely staff suggested we ate in the bar. After we had decided Sue went to order and they had sorted us a table in the restaurant – a nice touch.

Sue had a fish called flathead with mashed potato and spinach – I had fajitas which were both chicken and beef and were a LOT of food – there was also a salad bar included in the very reasonable price of the meal – fortunately they took Visa, as we are running low on cash and didn’t fancy coppering up in the bar!

Back to the motel to sort and get sorted. We also booked what looks like a very nice hotel in Port Douglas near Cairns for three nights using an offer from Amex Platinum Travel.

Trip – 967 KM – 401 today.

Wednesday 18th February 2015.

A REAL chill morning – no alarm and a morning doing washing, sorting and diary. We had coffee and Weetbix for breakfast and weren’t in any rush at all – bliss. I managed to upload a few more days of diary to the blog and had a bit of a sort in my suitcase – Sue did another clothes wash and got stuff loaded in the tumble drier – the lady at reception said it would be okay to leave them, as most of the guests are out at work all day.

It was almost noon by the time we finally got on the road.The plan is to see the sights and do some walking. First stop was the huge sea wall / breakwater at the end of Viaduct Road – we parked up and had a walk on the rocks and then along the huge structure that helps form a perfectly flat and calm harbour area – it is a great feat of engineering – we could see the beaches on the other side of Lady Bay. We also watched huge shoals of fish moving like balls in the water, which is very clear.

Back in the car we drove across to Thunder Point, as had a walk in the nature reserve – great photo ops of the sea and and the rocks. Back in the car we were ready for some lunch, so we drove past the quaint Warrnambool railway station and into the town centre, parking up close to where we parked last night. We walked up Liebig Street and found Mack’s Snacks which is Warrnambool’s oldest cafe – established in 1948.

They have lots of lovely food on display and after some debate, we both had the same thing – stuffed jacket potatoes, with cheese, ham, spring onion, corn and other nice flavours, served with soured cream and coleslaw. With a coffee it really hit the spot. After we had eaten we walked along the shopping street and then back to the car.

Next stop was the Flume car park where we intended to have a walk on the beach – the car park is for the surf beach and the swimming, beach – there is a really good path all the way along the beach edge – clearly marked into two lanes – walk on the left! The sun was trying to break through. Off to the left is Granny’s Grave, 1300 metres away, so we made that our goal – part of the way along the path there was a beach entrance. We walked onto the unbelievably soft sand and had a walk along the beach, but it was like walking in treacle, so we went back to the path and carried on to Granny’s Grave – it is the grave of Mrs James Raddlestone, the first white lady to be buried in Warrnambool in 1848, when the settlement was less than a year old.

The sun is now out and is blazing down on a lovely afternoon. We walked back along the path and back to the car. A brief stop at the tourist office to use the facilities and thank the ladies for their recommendation, then on to Logan’s Beach which is the site of a really good whale watching platform. The whales come to the waters off Warrnambool between October and December to breed and are easily visible from the shore. There are some really nice houses in this area and some still being built – seems an ideal place to live. We then walked to the mouth of the Hopkin’s River just round the corner.

As we were taking a photo, a chap walking his dog offered to take a photo and we got talking, he asked how long we were in Warrnambool for and suggested we go to a local wildlife centre and described how emus walk round the car park and said there were free BBQ’s in the picnic area – he sold it to us but couldn’t remember its name. We said thank you and came back to the unit to sort the clothes in the tumble drier – a little internet research identified the place he described as Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve, which is just west of Warrnambool along the A1.

After Sue had sorted the clothes, we went to Coles and bought salad, bread and some lovely meat – some fillet of port and some nice beef steak. the park was easy to find and a real experience. We drove into what is in effect a volcanic crater and saw some wonderful rock strata. Before we parked up se saw some Emus in the car park. We also saw some people looking up into trees and saw a couple of Koalas.

There are various walks in the park and we did the Wagon Bay Loop – just under 2km – we enjoyed the walk and saw more koalas and some rabbits, as well as several birds and more emus. We then set up camp at one of the picnic tables and fired up an electric BBQ – very, very impressive and all free. We had a lovely meal despite the attempts of the emus to pinch the food and to peck at the scraps on the hot BBQ until I shooed them off. It was an interesting experience to say the least. After we had eaten I did my good deed by pointing out a couple of koalas to some German tourists, who were blissfully ignorant of what was above them.

A slow drive out of the park and a call at Dennington Woolworths for a sweet and milk before getting back to the unit for sweet, ironing, diary and sorting.

Trip – 575km