What we've been up to January and February 2012

Poor little Mystery Ship had a catastrophe while we were home in Calgary over Christmas. The power went out on the docks for several days. All of our frozen foods thawed and were on the verge of spoiling before the problem was discovered by our boat checker. Of course everything had to be "binned" (Australian for - put into the garbage can). The marina's response was that we shouldn't leave food in our freezers while away. Our argument was that the marina power should stay on and the marina personnel should check the boats like they told us they would! Oh well, it is done now.

 

Things have been busy for us January and February, but it is mostly just work stuff, getting the boat all back up to snuff again; ready for the next cruising season. We did our motor tour which took a good chunk of time.  We also did a boat jaunt up to Manly Harbour by Brisbane for a few days just to shake the dust off of everything. In boats, if you don't use it, mysteriously, whatever it is, doesn't work the next time you turn it on. There is an inside channel from Sanctuary Cove to Brisbane between the North and South Stradbroke Islands and the main land, much like the Great Sandy Straits further north (did that last year) very shallow, sandy bottom and well protected from the travel conditions that one would face if on the outside in the open ocean. So it was a fun, easy cruise and we got to check Brisbane out.

 

We've met quite a few Australian boater couples in the Sanctuary Cove Marina, so our social calendar has been quite full. We work gruelling hours, like common deck hands, all day long under the relentless Australian sun then kick back with these people for refreshments, laughter and good fun in the evenings. Our Australian dialect is getting better "Hayagawn mate" is Hello, "heaps" is lots, "too easy"…… you get the picture. "All good!"

 

The weather has been a mix of hot, hot sun and drenching, flooding rains, big contrast, but not really any big deal.  Life is pretty good in this little corner of the world.

Motor Home Travels of South Austalia - Final Chapter (Finally?)

21 We are getting a bit tired of "holidaying". So, today is Sunday - after Mass (we managed to find another church - google is a great thing), we head off down the road, backward (meaning we have been here before), to Coogee Bay. There is a new housing development going in and we spend the afternoon browsing through Show Homes. Today is the first day of calm weather along the south part of Australia and it is absolutely gorgeous. This is a marina community and this is the time to sell houses, but it only lasts until mid afternoon when the winds pick up and the water is crazy again.  Things are really getting boring now…. When we get back to the camp ground, we wash the exterior of the camper van. Three weeks and 4000 plus kilometers of sun baked bugs - we have quite a job to get it clean (part of the rental contract - sucks. Don't they have employees? Why do we pay rental fees?)

 

22 Final day. We spend the morning cleaning up the interior of the unit. That done, we head off to see a bit of the country side in the Swan Valley, north east of Perth. This is their wine area, but we've done that kind of thing already, so our efforts are pretty half hearted. We stop at two cellar doors and visit more than anything. Bought some great chilli cheese! We turned the camper van in and taxied to our hotel. It is a dump! There is a great business opportunity for hoteliers in Perth. There are no vacancies in any hotel within 10 k of the airport! Anyway, it is only 2:00pm and the room sucks, so we catch a bus into downtown Perth. The big deal about today is that we have found the best Thai food restaurant "Ever", Hahm (or Red Orchid on the cc receipt). This is now our number ONE rated eating experience in Australia.

 

23 Fly back to Brisbane and rent a car back to the boat. The holiday within a holiday is done. It has been great. Glen and I have received many blessings.

 

Still South Australia - Part 10

17 Today we are making a bee line for Perth, 425 km. But by 11:00 we are getting bored with the interior driving (all really nice farm land, but miles and miles of it) and head back out to the coast which brings us to a place called Mandurah and it seems to be interesting enough that we will stay here for tonight and we'll check it out tomorrow.

 

18 Although Mandurah is a larger center, the down town is still only a 1/2 hour drive through and we buzz of to Clifton Lake for a walk to see the thrombolites - oxygen creating organisms that make little rock like humps in the water. These are throw backs to the evolutionary times when our atmosphere was being created. With that done, we head up the coast to Freemantle and Perth. A stop in Freemantle for a pizza and a brief look at the Ship Wreck Museum has us planning how the next few days will unfold. Freemantle is said to be best on the weekend, so we carry on to Perth - basically the same city - as we will do Perth tomorrow and come back to Freemantle when it is a happening place.

 

19 We are back to taking the public transit again, because the motor home is too big to maneuver on city streets. Actually, it is nice to be able to just stare out the window and (for me) not worry about determining where we are on the GPS and the map so that we arrive where we plan - we know where this thing goes! All things considered, Perth is just another city. We explore the streets well and our priority is to find a great place for dinner. Just talking to people is how it all happens - Glen decided that he needed to have a personal care kit (nail clipper, scissors etc in a travel case) and just by chance in one of the arcades (malls) that we are there is a shop for such things. So we get chatting with the owners and long story short we are directed to an Italian restaurant for dinner (The BEST!). "Perugino" is all that they said it would be, this is a good thing as we have not had great food experiences so far, except for "Appellations" in the Barossa wine region.

 

20 Back to Freemantle, it is an easy drive from where we are stationed. We spend the day doing "tourist" things, buying souvenirs, lunching in sidewalk cafes, doing tours. We are now the proud owners of an authentic didgeridoo, Glen will entertain guests (kidding). The Freemantle Prison tour is fascinating; I never want to go to jail! This place started, to house the prisoners sent from England and operated until 1991 as a high security prison.  They only ever had a "bucket" for a toilet! (no such thing as plumbing in 1850, so no room was allowed for flush toilets) Oh, for a short period they tried chemical toilets, but the inmates figured out how to make the chemicals "palatable" for drinking by filtering it through a loaf of bread and they got all disorderly, so that idea was disbanded. With the chemicalized bread, they used to leave it on their window sills so the resident birds could eat it, then they (the inmates) would laugh themselves silly (remember they were stoned on toilet chemical) as the birds - now drunk - would fly into the walls! Small things amuse small minds - right?

Motor Home Travels of South Australia - Part 9

15 On to Albany today, a mere 525 k further along the coast. We get in early enough to explore the down town before we park up at our "deluxe" (really) camp ground. We have our own private bathroom/shower facility. Even though the caravan unit we have rented has it's own bathroom and shower, it is far easier to use the amenities provided by the parks we camp in, so you can imagine that having a private bathroom is pretty "posh" (or maybe you don't care!). We are mere footsteps from the crashing surf which is bashing onto the powder white sandy beach that stretches the whole length of the bay - several kilometers. Of course we have to get out there and feel the sand between our toes and get sprayed with the vaporized sea water. There are couple of guys kite surfing along the breaking waves - the wind is howling at about 40 knots - so when they catch air….they fly about 30 feet up and most times they aren't in control enough to land right side up, thus bombing back into the water. It is quite exhilarating to watch.

 

16 Albany's National Park has sealed road access so we have the privilege of getting up close and personal with the local wilderness. We are set for a day of walking and hit all of the natural wonders and do a trek across one of the home bay's sheltering headlands. Great views, beautiful scenery, lots of exercise and the high light was catching a flock of Black Cockatoos feeding. What a gang of characters! They squawk like crazy as they fly from bush to bush and then talk to each other in "mum, mum, mum" little voices while they eat. These are very large birds and this is their only area of habitat according to the new bird book that we have of Australia's Birds. Oh and we have about 100 pictures of three different types of lizards. We have some serious picture editing to do when we finally get down to it, one of each will be fine.