It's Thursday afternoon - I'm at home, catching up with paperwork etc and Jo has just popped round to Anne's for a coffee. It's now 4 days since we got back on Sunday afternoon and I'm still waiting for the jet-lag to kick in. I can't believe it - I haven't really suffered so far. Of course, there's occasional bits of tiredness, but there would be anyway whether we had travelled long haul or not.
I think Jo has found it a little harder and certainly we have been going to bed a little earlier in the evening - the average so far has been 9 pm, but we're still getting up at 6 am. I even joined the Freewheelers on Monday's cycle and coped OK.
Tuesday was my second physio appointment in Inverurie - I've been given a new exercise and she applied some kinetic tape and has told me to go and play some golf and try it out. We had coffee with Carole afterwards - Luca was on half-term break/in-service day, so we weren't needed for the usual shuffling around. It was nice to see them again, however.
Jo was back at her swimming on Wednesday and I went out for another short cycle before attending the CAMRA branch meeting in the evening.
Our journey back from Australia went like clockwork - at least until we got to Fettercairn. Our driver, who I don't think had ever left the Central Belt, couldn't believe it when he saw the "Road Closed - Snow Gates Shut" sign. We had to re-direct him through Stonehaven and over the Slug road.
We miss Australia and everyone down there - and the sunshine - but it's also nice to be home again and we've been very fortunate with the weather, which has felt almost spring-like and it's only mid-February. I fear there must be further shocks to come.
Our house took ages to heat up after the heating being on a very low peep for 6 weeks, but it's fine and cosy now.
We haven't seen Gary yet, but we'll catch up with him on Tuesday. We need to catch up with Ross and Lizzie soon as well, but not sure when we'll be able to do that - and we're also due FaceTime calls with Kelly and Lucy too.
Ian R. Stewart Family Blog
Thursday, 16 February 2017
Saturday, 11 February 2017
Queensland (2)
Carrying on where I left off, Wednesday was a local day - the hire car wasn't coming out of the garage. We walked over to the beach and along until we came to the centre of Surfer's Paradise, where we left the sand behind and jumped on a tram heading south to Broadbeach.
We found a fabulous, huge, upmarket shopping mall there and wandered around it for a while before heading back to the beach to wander back up north to SP. We'd seen the earlier warnings about no swimming in the sea due to the high wind and tides and also the warning about "marine stingers", several of which had been washed up on the sand. They were fairly small, albeit with long tentacles, but the ones we saw at Broadbeach were substantial plump things and we certainly wouldn't mess with them:
It was hot - time for a beer and a bite. We had spotted the House of Brews earlier, so we headed there and did the usual paddle of samplers:
The pool back at our resort was our next stop and we returned to House of Brews for dinner in the evening - after an aborted trip to Southport.
Thursday was a day for the car again - we headed inland up the steep drive to Tamborine Mountain - a lovely place in the rainforest with lots of things to look at and do. Our first walk was down to Curtis Creek to see the falls there:
Next stop was the glowworm caves, after which we strolled down Gallery Walk. Jo liked the German cuckoo/grandfather clock shop:
Finally, time for a beer - and there was a lovely brewpub, adjacent to a cheese factory and bistro:
The main event of the day was to do the rainforest Skywalk:
That was great - and we managed one more short sightseeing walk before leaving the area - Cedar Creek Falls, where there are rock pools for swimming - and jumping from the rocks if you're young and foolish enough:
Back at the resort, we resorted to room service for dinner.
Friday was going to be another non-driving day, but we didn't just laze about - we took a short morning cruise along the river, then did some quick shopping and went back to our room for lunch, using the cheese that we had bought in Tamborine. The afternoon was then spent poolside before our final night's dinner at the teppanyaki table at the Marriott Misono restaurant. Great way to spend an evening - memories of Benihana all those years ago in Florida with Jim Cowie and his family. Excellent Mojitos to finish off a fine day.
Saturday morning and it was time to finish the packing. Our flight wasn't until 20:45 so we decided to spend the day looking at the city of Brisbane. We parked our car up and headed for one of the hop-on, hop-off bus tours. It was another steaming hot day and we got stuck in a traffic jam caused by a road accident, but finally hopped off at the South Bank - as recommended by Chris. After a spot of lunch, we headed for one of the local brewpubs, only to discover that there were two of them virtually next door to each other. It would have been rude to have only gone to one of them.
We picked up the tour bus again eventually and then went to find our car - where did we park it again? No Sat Nav, so finding our way to the airport had to be done old school, but we got there safely in good time.
I'm finishing this blog after dinner on our flight on the huge Airbus 380 - upstairs of course. The internet is intermittent so I don't know if this post will make it or not - I'll find out when we get to Dubai.
We found a fabulous, huge, upmarket shopping mall there and wandered around it for a while before heading back to the beach to wander back up north to SP. We'd seen the earlier warnings about no swimming in the sea due to the high wind and tides and also the warning about "marine stingers", several of which had been washed up on the sand. They were fairly small, albeit with long tentacles, but the ones we saw at Broadbeach were substantial plump things and we certainly wouldn't mess with them:
It was hot - time for a beer and a bite. We had spotted the House of Brews earlier, so we headed there and did the usual paddle of samplers:
The pool back at our resort was our next stop and we returned to House of Brews for dinner in the evening - after an aborted trip to Southport.
Thursday was a day for the car again - we headed inland up the steep drive to Tamborine Mountain - a lovely place in the rainforest with lots of things to look at and do. Our first walk was down to Curtis Creek to see the falls there:
Next stop was the glowworm caves, after which we strolled down Gallery Walk. Jo liked the German cuckoo/grandfather clock shop:
Finally, time for a beer - and there was a lovely brewpub, adjacent to a cheese factory and bistro:
The main event of the day was to do the rainforest Skywalk:
That was great - and we managed one more short sightseeing walk before leaving the area - Cedar Creek Falls, where there are rock pools for swimming - and jumping from the rocks if you're young and foolish enough:
Back at the resort, we resorted to room service for dinner.
Friday was going to be another non-driving day, but we didn't just laze about - we took a short morning cruise along the river, then did some quick shopping and went back to our room for lunch, using the cheese that we had bought in Tamborine. The afternoon was then spent poolside before our final night's dinner at the teppanyaki table at the Marriott Misono restaurant. Great way to spend an evening - memories of Benihana all those years ago in Florida with Jim Cowie and his family. Excellent Mojitos to finish off a fine day.
Saturday morning and it was time to finish the packing. Our flight wasn't until 20:45 so we decided to spend the day looking at the city of Brisbane. We parked our car up and headed for one of the hop-on, hop-off bus tours. It was another steaming hot day and we got stuck in a traffic jam caused by a road accident, but finally hopped off at the South Bank - as recommended by Chris. After a spot of lunch, we headed for one of the local brewpubs, only to discover that there were two of them virtually next door to each other. It would have been rude to have only gone to one of them.
We picked up the tour bus again eventually and then went to find our car - where did we park it again? No Sat Nav, so finding our way to the airport had to be done old school, but we got there safely in good time.
I'm finishing this blog after dinner on our flight on the huge Airbus 380 - upstairs of course. The internet is intermittent so I don't know if this post will make it or not - I'll find out when we get to Dubai.
Thursday, 9 February 2017
Queensland
It's Friday morning on the Gold Coast and today's our last full day here. Tomorrow we drive back to Brisbane where we intend to spend the day in the city before catching our flight home at night.
Bringing the blog up to date again, last Friday afternoon Kelly, Jo and I decided to take the short trip to Port Adelaide for a couple of beers and to listen in to the Laneways Festival that was on from noon onwards. Our first beer was at the Birkenhead, where I took this photo of the view across the water:
Saturday, of course, was Chris' birthday bash at Sweet Amber Brew and that went well, despite the occasional shower. There was more rain on Sunday when we said our farewells to David, Lorene and Matt after brunch at Pilgrim cafe.
Kelly had taken Monday morning off and drove us to the airport for our flight to Brisbane. Sad farewells.
We picked up a hire car on arrival and drove south to Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast and checked in to the Marriott resort. Our first full day there was Tuesday and we decided to drive south to Byron Bay, which was Australia's hippy hang-out, but has now been gentrified as the middle classes and tourists moved in.
Our first stop was out at the point where Cape Byron lighthouse is situated. It's a beautiful spot and we walked down from the lighhouse to the beach and rocks, then back up again, which proved to be a bit of a struggle in the heat:
After a refreshing drink, we headed for one of the local microbreweries and had a lovely lunch there, after which we spotted this strange sculpture adjacent to a funky backpackers' hostel:
So that was Tuesday. Got to go now, so more about our Queensland trip later.
Bringing the blog up to date again, last Friday afternoon Kelly, Jo and I decided to take the short trip to Port Adelaide for a couple of beers and to listen in to the Laneways Festival that was on from noon onwards. Our first beer was at the Birkenhead, where I took this photo of the view across the water:
Saturday, of course, was Chris' birthday bash at Sweet Amber Brew and that went well, despite the occasional shower. There was more rain on Sunday when we said our farewells to David, Lorene and Matt after brunch at Pilgrim cafe.
Kelly had taken Monday morning off and drove us to the airport for our flight to Brisbane. Sad farewells.
We picked up a hire car on arrival and drove south to Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast and checked in to the Marriott resort. Our first full day there was Tuesday and we decided to drive south to Byron Bay, which was Australia's hippy hang-out, but has now been gentrified as the middle classes and tourists moved in.
Our first stop was out at the point where Cape Byron lighthouse is situated. It's a beautiful spot and we walked down from the lighhouse to the beach and rocks, then back up again, which proved to be a bit of a struggle in the heat:
After a refreshing drink, we headed for one of the local microbreweries and had a lovely lunch there, after which we spotted this strange sculpture adjacent to a funky backpackers' hostel:
So that was Tuesday. Got to go now, so more about our Queensland trip later.
Friday, 3 February 2017
Friday afternoon
(If you're receiving this by email, remember it's much easier - and better - to view it directly on the blog - http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com.au/ - particularly when there's as many photos as this post.)
It's now lunchtime on Friday and we're waiting on Kelly coming home from work - she thinks she'll get away early today, and, if so, she might take us out to 50sixone (https://www.50sixone.com/), which describes itself as a Kitchen and Dessert Bar - sounds interesting.
On Wednesday afternoon, I retrieved my glasses from the cinema, then Jo and I walked out to Port Adelaide to do the short Kaurna Trail, which was punctuated by these educational signs:
It was a nice day for walking - not too hot - and we needed the 14,000 steps exercise.
On Thursday morning, I got back in the saddle and went for a 32 kms ride round the Port, returning to the scene of the emus - what was this one up to?:
We decided to take the trip down to Brighton to see Sculptures by the Sea. Train from Peterhead to Adelaide, then another out to Brighton:
I put a collage of some of the sculptures on Facebook, but here's a few more:
After a quick sandwich stop, Jo and I then walked the 5 kms along the beach from Brighton up to Glenelg, where we caught the tram back to the city, stopping for a quick beer at Lady Burra (http://ladyburrabrewhouse.com.au/) before catching the train back to Peterhead.
To close, a quick one of Miller and Asher last night:
It's now lunchtime on Friday and we're waiting on Kelly coming home from work - she thinks she'll get away early today, and, if so, she might take us out to 50sixone (https://www.50sixone.com/), which describes itself as a Kitchen and Dessert Bar - sounds interesting.
On Wednesday afternoon, I retrieved my glasses from the cinema, then Jo and I walked out to Port Adelaide to do the short Kaurna Trail, which was punctuated by these educational signs:
It was a nice day for walking - not too hot - and we needed the 14,000 steps exercise.
On Thursday morning, I got back in the saddle and went for a 32 kms ride round the Port, returning to the scene of the emus - what was this one up to?:
We decided to take the trip down to Brighton to see Sculptures by the Sea. Train from Peterhead to Adelaide, then another out to Brighton:
I put a collage of some of the sculptures on Facebook, but here's a few more:
After a quick sandwich stop, Jo and I then walked the 5 kms along the beach from Brighton up to Glenelg, where we caught the tram back to the city, stopping for a quick beer at Lady Burra (http://ladyburrabrewhouse.com.au/) before catching the train back to Peterhead.
To close, a quick one of Miller and Asher last night:
Wednesday, 1 February 2017
Wednesday
We had a lovely long lunch with the McDonalds on Monday. In the end, we decided on Sean's Kitchen (https://www.adelaidecasino.com.au/restaurants/seans-kitchen/). Sean Connolly is a bit of a celebrity TV chef, with restaurants under his name in various cities, including Sydney, Auckland and Byron Bay, as well as Adelaide. There's a price tag goes with that of course, but it was very good and we had a nice time catching up with John and Lorraine, finishing the afternoon off with a couple of beers at Clever Little Tailor.
The heat of the weekend had gone and it has been relatively cool since - low to mid 20's. Isn't it funny how easy the body adjusts to the local temperature? Back home we'd be saying it's too hot, but once you've experienced a few days of temperature in the mid-high 30's, and then suddenly drop by 10 C, then you quickly notice the difference.
I went for another short game of pitch and putt yesterday - I'm not ready for proper golf yet. Still doing my daily knee exercises - it'll only be a couple of weeks till my next physio appointment. I cycled there with a 9-iron and a putter strapped to the crossbar, while Jo stayed in Derby St, catching up with the backlog washing after the weekend. I wasn't gone long and was back in time for us to walk along to the local cinema and see La La Land. I enjoyed it as a spectacle, but Jo couldn't empathise with the characters.
We did the shopping then prepared tea - or at least Jo did. Hamburgers from the local butcher were good.
Miller and Asher seemed to have a good first day at their new child care yesterday (http://faithmontessori.education/) - they both arrived home last night in good spirits.
I completed my next radio show for RDR last night and hopefully it will start broadcasting this Saturday. My 12 chosen tracks of Aussie Rock were:
I'm now on to my 4th book of the holidays. I finally finished the very difficult read of the Man Booker prize-winning A Brief History of Seven Killings, then the much simpler trawls through of Bob Harris' and Eric Burdon's biographies and now I'm starting an Irish crime novel written - surprisingly - by Graham Norton.
Today, Chris is off work and has taken Miller to the movies to see Sing!, whilst Jo and I look after Asher this morning. Not sure about this afternoon yet, although I do have to pick up my reading glasses from the cinema - I dropped them there yesterday.
The heat of the weekend had gone and it has been relatively cool since - low to mid 20's. Isn't it funny how easy the body adjusts to the local temperature? Back home we'd be saying it's too hot, but once you've experienced a few days of temperature in the mid-high 30's, and then suddenly drop by 10 C, then you quickly notice the difference.
I went for another short game of pitch and putt yesterday - I'm not ready for proper golf yet. Still doing my daily knee exercises - it'll only be a couple of weeks till my next physio appointment. I cycled there with a 9-iron and a putter strapped to the crossbar, while Jo stayed in Derby St, catching up with the backlog washing after the weekend. I wasn't gone long and was back in time for us to walk along to the local cinema and see La La Land. I enjoyed it as a spectacle, but Jo couldn't empathise with the characters.
We did the shopping then prepared tea - or at least Jo did. Hamburgers from the local butcher were good.
Miller and Asher seemed to have a good first day at their new child care yesterday (http://faithmontessori.education/) - they both arrived home last night in good spirits.
I completed my next radio show for RDR last night and hopefully it will start broadcasting this Saturday. My 12 chosen tracks of Aussie Rock were:
- Easybeats - Friday on my mind
- Saints - Stranded
- Midnight Oil - Beds are burning
- Cold Chisel - Khe Sanh
- Wolfmother - Woman
- Little River Band - Reminiscing
- Divinyls - I touch myself
- INXS - Never tear us apart
- Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Red right hand
- Crowded House - Weather with you
- Men at Work - Who can it be now?
- AC/DC - Whole lotta Rosie
You don't have to wait for River Dee Radio's transmission, however, as it can be heard or downloaded directly from my Dropbox at https://www.dropbox.com/s/mat6alr3043soav/Aussie%202.mp3?dl=0
I'm now on to my 4th book of the holidays. I finally finished the very difficult read of the Man Booker prize-winning A Brief History of Seven Killings, then the much simpler trawls through of Bob Harris' and Eric Burdon's biographies and now I'm starting an Irish crime novel written - surprisingly - by Graham Norton.
Today, Chris is off work and has taken Miller to the movies to see Sing!, whilst Jo and I look after Asher this morning. Not sure about this afternoon yet, although I do have to pick up my reading glasses from the cinema - I dropped them there yesterday.
Sunday, 29 January 2017
Counting down
It's Monday morning here in Adelaide and it's now just a week until we leave here and head for Brisbane then home after a few days' R & R. It's been all action, however - first there was Australia Day on Thursday, then we had our weekend down in Carrickalinga.
We went to Civic Park in Tea Tree Gully where they had a huge water slide set up, but the lines were so long, we didn't bother. Miller and his cousin Abi went on the bouncy castle and we all had ice creams - from New Zealand, of all places. Here's Chris and brother Matt and kids:
Chris, Miller and I formed the advance party down south on Friday, whilst Jo stayed in Semaphore with Asher and waited for Kelly to finish work.
Early on Saturday morning, Jo and I went for a walk along the beach:
Later on, all of us spent some time on the beach and in the water. Then, in the afternoon, 5 of us drove back to Myponga and the lovely little Smiling Samoyed microbrewery. Matt BBQ'd for us in the evening.
So, today (Monday), we're meeting up with John and Lorraine McDonald from Banchory, who have been spending the weekend in Adelaide. Not sure where we'll end up for lunch, but it could be a long one.
We went to Civic Park in Tea Tree Gully where they had a huge water slide set up, but the lines were so long, we didn't bother. Miller and his cousin Abi went on the bouncy castle and we all had ice creams - from New Zealand, of all places. Here's Chris and brother Matt and kids:
Chris, Miller and I formed the advance party down south on Friday, whilst Jo stayed in Semaphore with Asher and waited for Kelly to finish work.
Early on Saturday morning, Jo and I went for a walk along the beach:
Later on, all of us spent some time on the beach and in the water. Then, in the afternoon, 5 of us drove back to Myponga and the lovely little Smiling Samoyed microbrewery. Matt BBQ'd for us in the evening.
So, today (Monday), we're meeting up with John and Lorraine McDonald from Banchory, who have been spending the weekend in Adelaide. Not sure where we'll end up for lunch, but it could be a long one.
Tuesday, 24 January 2017
The Domino effect
No - it wasn't pizza, but Jo is the 3rd one to go down with the gastro bug in the last week - first Kelly, then me, now Jo. Chris reckons he's immune because he took it earlier this month - hope he's right.
So today's plans to travel by train in to the city were scuppered. Jo spent most of the day in bed sleeping and I went out for a very gentle bike ride this afternoon - it wasn't too hot and I took it very easy with many stops just to make sure my poor little body could cope after the bug then the car crash.
We'll see what tomorrow brings. I imagine Jo will want to stay local even if she's feeling better. She would like to be fit for Australia Day on Thursday and certainly for the trip down to Carrickalinga on Friday.
Better news ahead hopefully!
So today's plans to travel by train in to the city were scuppered. Jo spent most of the day in bed sleeping and I went out for a very gentle bike ride this afternoon - it wasn't too hot and I took it very easy with many stops just to make sure my poor little body could cope after the bug then the car crash.
We'll see what tomorrow brings. I imagine Jo will want to stay local even if she's feeling better. She would like to be fit for Australia Day on Thursday and certainly for the trip down to Carrickalinga on Friday.
Better news ahead hopefully!
Sunday, 22 January 2017
Sunday evening update
It's not been a great weekend - not for me anyway. I picked up the gastro bug that Kelly had and was out of action from about Friday lunchtime onwards and it's only now that I'm starting to feel almost human again. Why, I've even had a glass of wine tonight!
We went in to the city this afternoon to see the final day of the Tour Down Under and Chris drove me back. As we were going along Prospect Road, we stopped at some roadworks and were rear-ended by a guy, who, ironically, claimed he was reading the warning notice and didn't notice we'd stopped! It was a fair shunt and I immediately felt it in my middle back and neck. Both Chris and I are OK just now, but these things often come out later so we'll see what we feel like tomorrow - and over the next few weeks.
To top it all, I've just watched Andy getting unexpectedly knocked out of the Aussie Open. I guess he's fated never to win this one now - this year was his big chance - world no.1, no. 1 seed and Djokovic already knocked out.
With apologies to those who saw it on FB, I do like this photo I took of Miller this afternoon as we were heading back to the car:
Tomorrow, Jo and I are babysitting all day as the usual sitter, Amanda. is also down with the gastro bug just now. Then, Jo and I have 2 "free" days - and the trains are running in to Adelaide again after some major works these last 3 weeks, so I dare say we'll take the chance to have a day or two in the city. After that, it's Australia Day on Thursday and then we're off to Carrickalinga for the weekend again. We come back on Sunday night and then we're having lunch with John and Lorraine McDonald on Monday - they're spending a quick weekend in Adelaide in between visiting their son in Sydney.
We went in to the city this afternoon to see the final day of the Tour Down Under and Chris drove me back. As we were going along Prospect Road, we stopped at some roadworks and were rear-ended by a guy, who, ironically, claimed he was reading the warning notice and didn't notice we'd stopped! It was a fair shunt and I immediately felt it in my middle back and neck. Both Chris and I are OK just now, but these things often come out later so we'll see what we feel like tomorrow - and over the next few weeks.
To top it all, I've just watched Andy getting unexpectedly knocked out of the Aussie Open. I guess he's fated never to win this one now - this year was his big chance - world no.1, no. 1 seed and Djokovic already knocked out.
With apologies to those who saw it on FB, I do like this photo I took of Miller this afternoon as we were heading back to the car:
Tomorrow, Jo and I are babysitting all day as the usual sitter, Amanda. is also down with the gastro bug just now. Then, Jo and I have 2 "free" days - and the trains are running in to Adelaide again after some major works these last 3 weeks, so I dare say we'll take the chance to have a day or two in the city. After that, it's Australia Day on Thursday and then we're off to Carrickalinga for the weekend again. We come back on Sunday night and then we're having lunch with John and Lorraine McDonald on Monday - they're spending a quick weekend in Adelaide in between visiting their son in Sydney.
Friday, 20 January 2017
Past half way
Yes - we're already past the halfway point of our holiday, so I thought it was time I notated what we've done since we came back from our Uluru/Alice trip last weekend.
On Sunday, it was Family Day as part of the launch of the Tour Down Under and we all travelled in to the city to have a look around. We started in the square:
Then we moved over to one of the parks, seeking the bouncy castle for Miller:
We got free ice lollies and Miller almost posed for his photo with the BUPA (one of the sponsors) Owl:
Asher has grown so much since we arrived - and his second tooth on the top has fully come through now - looks like he's going to be a gap tooth baby:
That was Sunday - but what happened Monday and Tuesday? I can't remember all the details - my camera has finally given up the ghost and I always used it to record what we were up to so that I didn't forget. I've still got my phone, however and I'll persevere with that for now.
On Monday, I went in to the city with Chris first thing in the morning. The plan was for me to cycle back from there along the River Torrens cycle path, but I ran in to some initial technical difficulties with re-fitting the wheels - the brakes were a particular problem. It took me ages to get it sorted, but then I noticed that the back brakes were binding so I inverted the bike and was trying to figure out how to sort this when a white knight pulled up beside me. Would you believe he was a jack of all trades, including, fortunately, mobile bike repairs! He got me going again in no time. A$20 well spent.
We walked along to the local short golf course on Tuesday and I managed to play 18 holes round what is just a pitch and putt course, but the good news is my left knee didn't let me down. It was very hot - 38C before lunchtime and heading for 40+ in the afternoon. Pity the poor riders in the Tour Down Under, who were starting the race today.
On Wednesday, Kelly wasn't feeling too well and took the day off work, which allowed us to take her car in to the city to see the matinee performance of Dusty, the Musical:
On Thursday, we stayed local. We had coffee and a cake on the upper patio at the Palais, then walked along the pier, followed by a stroll round the shops in Semaphore Road. I bought a cheap t-shirt and a CD - Dusty in Memphis. Our plan was to go to the cinema but we needed some refreshment first - it was very hot again. We had a couple of beers in Sweet Amber Brew then popped in to the cinema, but I didn't realise they don't have half an hour of trailers beforehand here and we had already missed the start of the film, so we just did the food shopping and headed back to Derby St.
We had a storm last night - thunder, lightning and rain, but it seemed to stop in the middle of the night. This morning (Friday) it was a cool and cloudy start, but I needed to get out on the bike again. It was pretty windy so I made it a short one. I'm now home alone as Chris, who's off today, took Jo and the boys down to the new Day Care that Miller and Asher will be going to at the end of the month. Apart from blogging, I may use some of the spare time to start putting together my next show for River Dee Radio - Aussie Rock is going to be the theme.
On Sunday, it was Family Day as part of the launch of the Tour Down Under and we all travelled in to the city to have a look around. We started in the square:
Then we moved over to one of the parks, seeking the bouncy castle for Miller:
We got free ice lollies and Miller almost posed for his photo with the BUPA (one of the sponsors) Owl:
Asher has grown so much since we arrived - and his second tooth on the top has fully come through now - looks like he's going to be a gap tooth baby:
That was Sunday - but what happened Monday and Tuesday? I can't remember all the details - my camera has finally given up the ghost and I always used it to record what we were up to so that I didn't forget. I've still got my phone, however and I'll persevere with that for now.
On Monday, I went in to the city with Chris first thing in the morning. The plan was for me to cycle back from there along the River Torrens cycle path, but I ran in to some initial technical difficulties with re-fitting the wheels - the brakes were a particular problem. It took me ages to get it sorted, but then I noticed that the back brakes were binding so I inverted the bike and was trying to figure out how to sort this when a white knight pulled up beside me. Would you believe he was a jack of all trades, including, fortunately, mobile bike repairs! He got me going again in no time. A$20 well spent.
We walked along to the local short golf course on Tuesday and I managed to play 18 holes round what is just a pitch and putt course, but the good news is my left knee didn't let me down. It was very hot - 38C before lunchtime and heading for 40+ in the afternoon. Pity the poor riders in the Tour Down Under, who were starting the race today.
On Wednesday, Kelly wasn't feeling too well and took the day off work, which allowed us to take her car in to the city to see the matinee performance of Dusty, the Musical:
On Thursday, we stayed local. We had coffee and a cake on the upper patio at the Palais, then walked along the pier, followed by a stroll round the shops in Semaphore Road. I bought a cheap t-shirt and a CD - Dusty in Memphis. Our plan was to go to the cinema but we needed some refreshment first - it was very hot again. We had a couple of beers in Sweet Amber Brew then popped in to the cinema, but I didn't realise they don't have half an hour of trailers beforehand here and we had already missed the start of the film, so we just did the food shopping and headed back to Derby St.
We had a storm last night - thunder, lightning and rain, but it seemed to stop in the middle of the night. This morning (Friday) it was a cool and cloudy start, but I needed to get out on the bike again. It was pretty windy so I made it a short one. I'm now home alone as Chris, who's off today, took Jo and the boys down to the new Day Care that Miller and Asher will be going to at the end of the month. Apart from blogging, I may use some of the spare time to start putting together my next show for River Dee Radio - Aussie Rock is going to be the theme.
Sunday, 15 January 2017
Alice Springs and Uluru mini-break
We got back from our 4 days/3 nights excursion to the Red Centre - well, that's what they used to call it anyway. Today it looks distinctly greener than they've seen it for many years after a number of storms hit the area when we were there. We were both fortunate and unfortunate with the weather - we got a rare chance to see this semi-arid zone having some precipitation bringing the desert plants to life all of a sudden, but we also managed to escape getting wet ourselves as every time we ventured out it was hot and dry. On the other hand, some thin clouds blotted both the sunset and sunrise at Uluru and we never quite saw the big rock at its finest, with the changing colours and shades as the sun rises and falls, but overall it was a great experience.
Before going on to the full story and photos of this, here's a couple from last Tuesday when we met up with David and Lorene for lunch. They drove us down to the Henley Beach Hotel and afterwards to Glenelg for ice cream:
Chris drove us to the airport on Wednesday morning on his way to work. We didn't mind being there a bit early, but we were disappointed to find out that the only lounge there was Qantas and we couldn't get in there as we were flying cattle class. Never mind, it's a nice airport and Muffin Break filled the time.
Arriving at Alice Springs airport for the first time, you get a real feeling of the outback - no long travelators there - you walk from the airport through what seems a bit like the bush to the terminal building:
We were picked up and taken to our hotel, where our room was ready for us, so we dumped our bags and grabbed a quick lunch before our next pick-up for the Alice Springs afternoon tour, which encompassed:
- The School of the Air
- Telegraph Station
- Flying Doctor service
- Reptile Centre
- Anzac Hill memorial
The first one taught us how kids are taught remotely over the vast distances of central Australia's Northern Territories - and we finally managed to buy fly nets here, which we had been told were essential for our visit to Uluru the following day.
The second one was the most interesting for me - a well preserved site from the very early days of communications, with some lovely walks and mountain bike paths all round it. We didn't have time to do any of the walks, but there was a little hill there - Trig Hill - and I worked out I had just enough time to climb it and get back in time for the bus leaving:
On to the famous Flying Doctor service - memories of old black and white TV series which started in 1959. Here's the opening credits for you nostalgia freaks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smCe8TBF3po.
The Reptile Centre not only let us view the most dangerous snakes in the world - virtually all Australian - but we also got a tutorial on what to do and what not to do out in the bush, with particularly detailed instructions on the procedure to follow should we be bitten by a snake. It felt a bit like a Health & Safety talk, but it was surely sound advice.
Our last stop was at the war memorial on Anzac Hill, from where you get fine views of the town and surrounding countryside:
We were returned to our hotel at dusk, just in time for us to jump in the pool to cool down after a hot and sweaty afternoon. We dined on site that night.
An early start on Thursday for the five and a half hour drive to Uluru/Ayer's Rock resort. Yes, that's right - five and a half hours (including stops) - it's 467 kms! The coach was comfortable and the ride easy. Our first toilet and refreshment stop also afforded us the opportunity of camel rides (declined!):
Further on was the Mount Ebenezer Roadhouse:
then it was the Mount Conner viewpoint:
to the uninitiated, it looks a lot like Uluru. Locals call it fooleroo.
You can see why this area is called the Red Centre - the dust and grit gets everywhere. On the other side of where Jo's standing, there's a large salt water lake.
The real thing we wouldn't see until later on, but you can see the difference now between Uluru and "fooleroo", can't you?:
We got to Ayer's Rock resort in good time to check and have a spot of lunch. The Sails in the Desert hotel was lovely - pity we weren't going to be spending much time there.
Our afternoon/evening tour took us to the Cultural Centre where we learned about the local indigenous Anangu aborigines, who regard Uluru as a sacred place and, as a result, photographs are not allowed in certain areas - but we more than made up for it in other areas. Our guide took us round part of the rock and told us a few of the Aboriginal fables:
At the sunset viewing area, we met a couple of young girls from Dundee who took this photo for us:
We also met a guy, originally from Edinburgh, and his wife, and we sat beside them at dinner, which was held indoors at the Cultural Centre due to the threatening storms.
Friday morning was a really early rise - we were being picked up at 4:30 am to head for the sunrise viewing point at Uluru. The sky to the east promised much:
Slowly, aided by an almost full moon, Uluru came in to the light:
Those eyes and that face kept haunting me - and I don't mean Jo.
Next stop was the range of 36 domed rocks at Kata Tjuta, which were as impressive, or even more so, than Uluru itself:
I'm not sure I captured their full majesty in any of the above photos - they were very impressive. There was a gap between a couple of the domes - Walpa Gorge - and we took a walk through there:
By 10 am we were back in our hotel, where we showered, changed and packed for the long coach ride back to Alice. There were still storms in the area and when we hit the Stuart Highway again, the sight from the front of our bus was a little alarming:
We got through safely in the end and settled in to our hotel and ordered room service for dinner.
In the morning (Saturday), we awoke to the sound of another storm overhead. By now, the Todd River was in full flow - so much so that, when the rains eventually subsided and we went out for a short walk, we heard the sound of kids laughing and went to have a look and found an Aborigine family wallowing in the muddy waters - they probably had never been able to do this before in their lives as the river bed is usually just a dry sandy base:
In the town centre, we spotted an artistic wall:
So that was it - a hugely enjoyable break.
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