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I've just returned from a short holiday with friends in the small central western NSW town of Blayney. I had planned to fly direct from the Sunshine Coast to Sydney where they had kindly agreed to pick me up for the three hour (plus) drive back to their home in Blayney. I began to be a little worried when a cyclone (later named Hamish) started to form off the coast of northern Queensland and head south, about a week before I was scheduled to leave. As it turned out my worries were justified. Not for any damage we might sustain from the cyclone (it had all but abated and headed back up north again by the time departure day arrived), but the airline decided to err on the side of caution and cancelled all flights for the day! This necessitated my having to arrive at the airport a whole three hours earlier so we could be bused to Brisbane and fly from there. Even this was not without hiccups however, as when I arrived at the duly appointed time (6.15am), it was to find several other passengers (some of whom had been there from as early as 5.30am) milling around the airport entrance – we were locked out! Some hurried phone calls were made and we were assured the bus was on it's way and we were to check in, in Brisbane, not in Maroochy as we had been told. The bus did indeed arrive on time and delivered us to Brisbane with plenty of time to spare so all was well in the end – the journey just took a few hours more than I was expecting. I always seem to manage an “adventure” when I'm travelling, but it all adds to the fun! The journey was to become even longer! My friends met me as arranged and after grabbing a quick bite of lunch at the airport, we set off for Blayney. We were all so busy chatting and catching up with news that we missed the motorway exit (for the west) and were well on our way south by the time we realised! Oh well, we just decided to continue on and take the “scenic route” via Goulburn, which added another good hour to the trip but it was very enjoyable and let me see some more countryside that I hadn't seen for a while! Even though I grew up in Sydney, I still had fun playing tourist, visiting some places I hadn't been to in years. One day we went to Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains, which is home to the famous rock formation, The Three Sisters, and some very spectacular scenery. After having lunch in a quaint little Tea Room which doubled as a teapot museum and was so filled with bric-a-brac that there wasn't a vacant square inch, we viewed the Three Sisters and photographed some of the great scenery before descending to the valley floor on the Scenic Railway. This is the steepest railway in the world and drops over the rim at an angle of 52 degrees – quite scary! It utilises the line originally used to bring coal up from the mines at the valley floor. There is a lovely rainforest walk at the bottom, to the lower terminus of the Cableway, a short distance away. We were able to ride the Cableway back up to the top, taking in more amazing views on the way. ( www.scenicworld.com.au/ ) Another day was spent at Jenolan Caves. I stayed at the historic Caves House twice as a child, the first time probably around 50 years ago, and ever since the place has held a real fascination for me. I worked out it's around 30 years since I was last there, but it still worked its magic on me! Caves House still looks very impressive from the outside but I was sad to see its somewhat “faded grandeur” on closer inspection. The setting though is still quite spectacular with the large Elizabethan style hotel building nestled down in the narrow ravine, surrounded by thickly-wooded, steep-sided hills. We did a formal tour of the Imperial Cave (the easiest graded one available!) and also a self-guided tour of the Nettle Cave and Devil's Coach House. We went down to the underground river level in the Imperial Cave and it's the clearest water I've ever seen – it was just like looking through glass. ( www.jenolancaves.org.au/ ). My calf muscles were well aware of the extra exercise they had received! I was also lucky enough to be in town for the weekend of the local show (county fair?). A delightful day was spent checking out the cooking, flowers, and craft exhibits, visiting the poultry and cattle pavilions and animal nursery, and watching a local high school circus show, as well as some of the wood chopping events (I always love those!). Around lunch time there was a grand parade as the “boys from the bush were back in town" with their utes and they put on quite a spectacle with “wheelies” and flames shooting from the exhausts! A little country show is so much more fun than the big capital city “agricultural exhibition” equivalent. There were also trips to the neighbouring regional centres of Orange and Bathurst and the lovely little historic village of Millthorpe ( www.millthorpe.com.au/ ), but before I knew it, it was time for the long trip back into Sydney for my flight home. Once again I had a little “adventure” by nearly missing my plane! As I ran into the terminal, the “last call” for my flight greeted my ears and I had a tense moment when the bag-drop person announced I was too late to get my baggage onboard (I had already checked-in online). However she made a quick phone call and assured me she could get it on after all, so off I raced. I was so lucky my flight was leaving from the first boarding gate, not right at the far end of the terminal, and I literally ran on to the end of the cue already boarding! It was a quick, uneventful flight home but I felt I'd earned the cheese and crackers and bubbly I decided to treat myself to!
Tags: Mountains Caves Holidays Views
My first venture to the far side of this continent (around 3500km west, “as the crow flies”) was a very enjoyable adventure, made more so by the great hospitality and local knowledge of my long-time pen pal, Dorothy. Dorothy is a Red Hat lady (the Queen of her group, in fact!) so knows the priorities - dessert is obligatory, as is indulging yourself and having a good time! We have been pen pals for well over 20 years and have met twice previously (both times she visited me here), but it was still a bit of a “leap of faith” to commit to a four day driving tour with me, one on one - what if I had some strange habits! I’m sure I probably do, but she was kind enough to take them on board and not mention them! I even introduced her to the ritual of playing Spotto on long drives, even though I’d forgotten to bring along the Spotto sheet. Phyl and I have devised our own game which I produced on the computer with about 60 items on a laminated sheet, which can be ticked off daily and then wiped clean for use the next day. We’ve played it so often on our many trips that I know most of the items by heart! It became more a game of “The Rich List”, as Dorothy got the hang of the sort of things we were looking out for and would ask, “Is such and such on the list?”, to which I would reply, “It’s on The List!”, in my best Andrew O’Keefe impression! The adventure started out very early and almost became derailed when the driver of the Airport transfer bus arrived 10 minutes early at 4.30AM and then proceeded to get lost, and then dry bogged (!) at the bottom of a very steep driveway (to nowhere and nowhere to turn around), trying to find his next pickup. We had to leave the van at the bottom and trudge to the top, in the dark and light rain, with only his flashlight to guide us! Even with his taking charge of my luggage, I still needed a couple of rests on the way up - it was very steep! Luckily he was able to call a Taxi and we were able to make our connections but I was really hoping it wasn’t an omen for the rest of the trip. I needn’t have worried, it all went like clockwork from then on. Dorothy and her husband, Ted, were there to meet me at Perth Airport and whisked me out of the city, stopping just long enough for a delicious meal at an old pub on the outskirts. We then headed to their 150 acre property, about two hours drive east of Perth, at Beverley. Along the way we stopped to pick up their first ever “batch” of olive oil, made from olives they had grown on their property and left to be processed, on their way in to pick me up. We also had afternoon tea in York, which is WA’s oldest inland town and has so many beautiful old buildings. There was just enough time for a brief look around the house and surrounds, a visit to the hens to collect the eggs (they were not overly impressed, having already retired for the night!), and to open a bottle of bubbly for a quiet pre-dinner drink and then the delicious meal itself, which she had prepared earlier. Their home is a lovely old farm house which apparently had seen better days, but Ted has done wonders with it. There are still a couple of things he has on his list, but the bulk of the renovations has been done, and it is now a very roomy and comfortable home - with cupboard space to die for. We had a reasonably early night as, going on WA time, I had been up since 2AM (two hours behind here) and we wanted to make a fairly early start the next morning as we had a long drive ahead of us. After a delicious country breakfast of bacon and creamy scrambled eggs, fresh orange juice and coffee, we headed off south towards Albany, on the state’s southern coastline. We travelled a route parallel to the main highway, which was so much nicer as it went through all the little country towns, about 30 or 40 km apart, and we had a little stop in each one, breaking the journey up and making it seem not quite so long. We had a yummy Devonshire Tea at one stop, which proved so large, it became lunch, we just grabbed some fruit to munch along the way! We arrived in Albany about 4ish and had a quick look around town and then Dorothy took me to Mt Clarence where there is a memorial to the WWI troops - the original ANZACS departed from Albany - and a great 180 degree view. (This entailed another steep climb - I managed to get my exercise each day, as you will discover as you read - just as well, with all the delicious foods and wines that were also part of this trip!) Then it was back to our motel, with fish and chips from an award winning local takeaway for dinner. Dorothy’s decision to visit Mt Clarence that afternoon proved prudent as we awoke to some rather nasty weather the next morning. Thankfully, it didn’t last long, or perhaps we just drove out of it as we headed west and then north. Before leaving Albany, we visited their new Whiskey Distillery, where I had been hoping to buy a bottle or two. However, they have only had one “batch” so far and they are all individually numbered, and well out of my price range. Even the 10ml “tastings” are charged for but I was able to have a small tasting - enough to know that it was very smooth and quite delicious! We stopped in the town of Denmark, for another yummy morning tea that became lunch, and then headed off on a wine trail loop road that returned to the highway further along. Here I found the very best winery ever - Ducketts Mill Winery. They not only had a good range of wines, but also port, cheese and fudge. I mean what more could you ask for! With so many wineries to chose from, I had to devise some sort of way to decide which ones to visit. What could be more logical than choosing the ones I liked the sound of the names of! Therefore, we also visited the Rickety Gate Winery and Bettenay Premium Wines, who happen to have a “Lost the Plot” label! We were deciding that was enough for one day, when we came upon Somerset Hill, who very slyly had a sign at their gateway shouting “Champagne and Belgian Chocolates”. Well the car just steered right in there, of its own accord! That afternoon we visited the Valley of the Giants and did the Tree Top Walk - a suspended walk through the tops of WA’s world-famous tingle trees, some of the most enormous trees in the world. The walkway soars 40 metres into the tingle canopy and opens up a world that most people never see - an amazing experience. From there it was a solid two hour drive to reach Bridgetown where we stayed the night with Dorothy’s sister. Next morning there was a real pea-souper and it still hadn’t lifted when we finally got on our way about 10am. We travelled east again heading out to the coast and the Margaret River region, famed for its wineries. Before tackling some more wineries, we visited one of the many limestone caves in the area, Mammoth Cave, where we could tour the cave at out own pace, using individual audio headsets. Here we found this day’s exercise in the form of the 170 odd steps out of the cave back to the surface, quite a distance (and on the other side of the main road), from the entrance, as well as the many ups and downs within the cave. We visited about three more wineries but I had to start slowing up on my purchases as I was fast running out of space! I had originally packed for the trip in my small case, but thankfully remembered I’d be coming home with more than I’d taken, so repacked into my larger one. As it was, I managed to bring home NINE (9) bottles of wine/port and a wine glass from one of them, and all arrived home safely - you don’t work for Aust Post and not learn how to pack things securely! I’m sure I must have been over the 20kg limit but I got away with it! We stayed in Busselton that night and next morning walked out to the end of the Busselton Jetty and back. At two kilometres in length, it is the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere - see, I told you I was getting my exercise! From there it was basically just the run north towards Perth, stopping off for a brief look around Bunbury and Fremantle. We had lunch at a lovely glass-fronted restaurant, right on the beach at Bunbury, where I had the best sweet potato soup I’ve ever tasted. We reached Perth by late afternoon and checked into our inner city hotel, whereupon Dorothy decided another bottle of champagne was needed and we dined in the hotel restaurant. My last day was spent touring the highlights of Perth - a visit to the Royal Mint and a lovely walk through Kings Park, the botanical gardens, which gives a wonderfully elevated view of the Perth skyline, and lunch at the kiosk there. Then a quick drive along the beaches before Dorothy dropped me off at the motel close to the Airport, so I could be close by for my 6.30am flight the next morning. The motel was just one step up from those cubicle type Japanese ones you see on Getaway but was convenient, cheap and clean, which is all that was really needed! The next day was spent travelling, with me finally crossing my threshold at about 6.30pm - a long day, but a wonderful holiday. I will return… (Photos from this trip can be seen in my Gallery)
Tags: West Aust Holiday Wineries Caves
My second visit to this delightful destination didn’t disappoint! It was such a strange feeling as we left the Airport and headed through town to our accommodation, Fletcher Christian Apartments, the same place we stayed almost five years ago. It could easily have been five months ago - nothing seemed to have changed, which of course, is just the way we liked it! I think a big part of Norfolk Island’s charm is the feeling of stepping back through a sort of time warp, to a time when things were slower paced, less stressful, friendlier - in a word - simpler. Something like stepping back into the mid to late 1950’s! It was good to find that this was still the case - we were once again told not to bother locking the car (we may not get it open again!), if we wanted something from the office/reception area, “Just come over and help yourselves, the door is always open, even at night”. The reception area has a small library, lovely sitting room feel and huge cupboards filled with travel blankets, picnic sets, thermoses, umbrellas, beach towels, etc… and an Internet access kiosk - that part was new! This time Phyllis and I took along our mutual friend, Denyse, who hadn’t been to Norfolk Island before. She also hadn’t been on a “girls only” trip before, so we took great enjoyment in introducing her to the delights of both! Our first port of call was the Government run Tourist Information Centre to book the tours we wanted. We booked from here last time and found it better than booking with each individual tour operator - easier to get it all done in the one place, and for the same cost. Our first tour was for a Sunset Fish Fry on our second night there. We booked a different one from last time, however unfortunately the weather was against us and during the afternoon there was a phone call to tell us it had been moved indoors due to the threat of rain - they have had a much bigger rainfall this year than they are used to. The one saving grace was that the venue was just across the road from us so we were able to walk over and back, and the food was almost as yummy as if we had been eating it on the cliff tops watching the sun disappear into the ocean! Nestled in the “lower middle” of the South Pacific, around 1600km east of Sydney, 1500km east of Brisbane, 1000km north of Auckland NZ and 1000km south of New Caledonia, and being only five by eight kilometres (three by five miles) in circumference with a total area of 3455ha, the island is quite remote and isolated, and rather unique, given it’s history as a penal settlement and then home to the descendants of the Bounty Mutineers. We had tried to prepare Denyse for the fact that grocery shopping there is an entirely different exercise than at home. To keep the Island disease free, no fresh fruit or vegetables are allowed in so they need to be completely self sufficient in that area. Sometimes the weather can play havoc with that, such as the above average rainfall mentioned above. It all but wiped out their crop of tomatoes and poor Denyse was almost going into withdrawal by the time we located some at the Sunday markets, albeit rather small and pricey! We did the Glass Bottom Boat tour again as Denyse had never been on one. She loved it of course, as it’s just in the little lagoon in Emily Bay and you’re literally one minute from the coral when setting off. Phyl and I however, were a little disappointed to find that apparently coral has a “season” and whilst it had been in season when we were last there in October and beautifully colourful, this time it was not the season so nowhere near as colourful. We also did a Progressive Dinner again this time and as it was to different homes from the ones we visited last time, it was very interesting and the food delicious. This time we also elected to do the guide led Convict Settlement Tour which proved to be a great decision. Last time we just wandered around on our own which was fun but the amount of background information we received this time, made it even more enjoyable. We visited most of the convict ruins, including the gaol, cemetery, Commissariat Store which now houses All Saints Church on its first floor, complete with stained glass windows, and finished up with afternoon tea on the veranda of one of the beautifully restored homes in Quality Row. These were originally the homes for the officials and the restored ones are again used this way with the Public Servants residing there for the tenure of their service. For all the tours where morning or afternoon tea is served, the cakes are home made by one “little old lady” in her 70’s! Wherever you go, the atmosphere is one of being invited along on a family outing, where everyone knows everyone else and pitches in to help. Another first time experience for us all was the Culla & Co tour - a horse and carriage tour with two gorgeous Clydesdales, out onto a grassy cliff top on private property for a picnic of beautifully fresh egg sandwiches, made earlier that morning by Culla himself, and tea and coffee. Culla is a real character - I have no idea if it is his first, last or nick name - he introduces himself, “I’m Culla, just Culla”, and he loves his horses. He introduced us to them, one was Sam but for the life of me, I can’t remember the other (old timers’ is lurking!). I remembered Sam because when I was a little girl and used to go on the milk run with my Dad on our horse and cart, our horse was also Sam, although he was not a Clydesdale, just a smaller draught horse (which Culla informed me, meant he was a Clydesdale cross). He invited the more spritely of the group to climb up into the front seat (most people who visit Norfolk Island are of a certain age!), so I made a beeline for it and Phyl wasn’t far behind me, Denyse having to make do with the second seat. We traded places and made the return journey in the back, letting others have the first and second seats. Whilst it was only a few kilometres (nothing can be very far from anything else on Norfolk Island!), the journey took about an hour each way, with around an hour out on the point for our picnic and photography. Some of the roads tend to be narrow, reminding me of my stay in England (also very green, as there), and as far as can be on the Island, were “main” roads, so the normal traffic just had to wait until there was a chance to pass, but there was no blowing of horns, impatience or gestures, other than a friendly wave and a brief greeting by name. We had to go through a “major intersection” at one point, whereby Culla called, “Look to the right, boys, look to the right” and then after they had dutifully obeyed, “Look to the left, boys, look to the left”. Again, in unison, they did as they were told and then Culla said, “Walk on boys”, and off we went slowly through the intersection whilst on coming traffic slowed to allow us through, again with a wave and cheery greeting. At another point there was a fairly long, reasonably steep gradient. There was a ute waiting for us and Culla produced a large towing rope which he proceeded to hitch to the carriage and the ute tow ball, and off we went again with this “assist engine” helping the boys up the hill - the dog was in the back of the ute, supervising the whole operation! Try any of that around the main roads here! We mentioned to Culla that he wasn’t here last time we came and he said, “I’m always here, when was it?”. When we replied, “October”, he said, “Ah, that’s Grand Final time, I never miss the Grand Final, been going for the last 20 years”! It was a truly delightful morning. Two new places that we definitely had to add to our itinerary were the Two Chimneys Winery and Norfolk Island Liquors, both of which required numerous tastings! We also included a guided tour of some of the Island’s beautiful gardens and farm/cottage industries (including a quarter horse farm, pottery, and wood turning workshop) which was very interesting. This tour finished off with a visit to Sweeties, the Island lolly shop and chocolate maker. Of course, we had already visited this shop, having discovered it on our first visit, but that didn’t mean that we didn’t need to join in the tastings and buy some more supplies! There was also the obligatory shopping and I came away with FOUR new pairs of shoes. After all, the “main reason” for returning was so I could buy another pair of the Rieker sandals that I had purchased last time! Those sandals took me from the deserts of Egypt to the flooded sidewalks of New York in a summer downpour and all places in between, and were the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned. Sadly, the New York episode almost finished them off, so a new pair was needed. To be on the safe side, I bought two, plus a pair of closed in leather walking shoes, and while I was about it, I thought I may as well buy my work shoes as well (after all, I get reimbursed for those!). You can buy Riekers in Australia, but they are about twice the price. (Never mind the price of airfares etc., there is logic in there… somewhere!). You would think twice would be enough, but we all agree, we could easily go again… and probably will!
Tags: Holidays Pacific Island
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