The Last Leg

The Last Leg

So our story comes to an end.

We spent a lovely day in Sydney on Sunday as it was the 75th Anniversary of their Harbour Bridge and there were huge bridge Birthday celebrations and fun and games all day which we were able to watch until it was time to fly out for Bangkok.

A long flight, over 8 hours during which we lost 4 hours due to time changes so we arrived in Bangkok at 0230 in their morning. Very hot and tired.

Never the less we were determined to see as many of the sights as we could and spend a hectic two days up and down the river visiting Royal Palaces and Temples until we were “templed out”. You can see the results here. Apart from the river taxis we also travelled by “Tuk Tuk’ as you can see. No Health and Safety rules here!

Of course we also spent a great deal of time and money in the bespoke tailors ordering some new clothes, that was fun, and provided a respite from teh 37 degree heat and humidity.

Tomorrow it’s another late day as we leave here at 0220 to arrive in Heathrow London at 11.30. What a journey, we hope you have enjoyed reading about it and looking at our pictures.

So for now from John & Susan it’s goodbye to the Orient and hello to Europe.

We are both looking forward to a proper cup of tea.

More Reef Pictures

Reef seen through the boottom of thre glass bottomed boat

Jb in the stupid Telly Tubby Suit against the jellyfish

Great Barrier Reef
From Cairns we took a short flight to Townsville where we joined our reef cruise on a 40 meter catamaran Coral Princess II and set off for an Island where we had our first snorkel off the beach.
Sue was very excited to see a huge stingray with blue spots. The weather had clouded over which was a bit disappointing but the sea was warm.
We were lucky that there were only 20 fellow cruisers on a boat with a capacity of 50 so we all got to know each other pretty well.
Next morning we suffered a rude awakening as the anchor was pulled up at 6am, no sleep for the snorkellers - it was clear we were there to snorkel whether we liked it or not and the regime was pretty strict. Our day was filled with lectures on Marine Biology and the reef, glass bottomed boat tours, snorkelling at various reefs and even cuddling some of the sea creatures from the deep (see picture!).
Unfortunately we picked the wrong time of year to do this as it was the rainy and jellyfish season, the seas were a bit rough and we had to wear Telly Tubbie suits against the jellyfish (see photo)
The first stop on day 2 was for a bbq breakfast at Pelorus Island which was interrupted by heavy rain. Appropriately we were taken on a tour of the rainforest. We stopped in the afternoon at Dunk Island which John had last visited 12 years ago and didn't recognise as the straw-thatched huts had been replaced by a multi-million $ resort.
The 3rd day was by far the best as we cruised to the Outer Barrier Reef and snorkelled over the most beautiful gardens of coral and thousands of fish of every hue.
Next stop Sydney and then our journey home via Bangkok, tonight we ate a supper of mudcrab under the stars and it's hard to think that this time next week we'll be back in sunny (?) Skipton.

Ayres Rock Weekend

Sunday Sunrise in the bush

Monday sunrise

Keep those flies off

Ayres Rock
After Sydney we flew to Ayres Rock, what a contrast, 39 degrees of dry heat in an arid dessert, the predominant colour being a dull red, the soil and the Rock itself, mainly due to the oxidisation of the iron ore in the locality, the only relief being some pale green scrubby trees, yet it has a beauty of it's own. It's hard to convey the beauty and majesty of this huge mass of rock which the Aboriginal people believe has so many mystical powers.
We were not booked on any organised tour on Saturday so we walked to a local lookout point to watch the sun go down, not much of a spectacle as the clouds built up at the last minute and we lost sight of the golden glow as it sank. We consoled ourselves in the Outpack Pioneer Hotel where there was the ooportunity to cook a steak of your choice on the communal BBQ, very Australian, see picture.

We can't tell you how many flies there are there, JB bought a special hat with built in net, see picture,
Sunday Morning it was up at 5 am to drive off on the first of two organised trips, this one being to a "Sunrise Breakfast'. Ten of us were shuttled off in a truck to an isolated spot in the bush where the guide sat us down with coffee and tea brewed on a campfire while we awaited sun up at 0640. It was well worth the effort and as the horizon lit up we were offered bacon and egg rolls, see picture.
That same evening was to be the highlight of our whole trip, a "Sounds of Silence" dinner. There were around 60 of us for this, we were driven off into the desert with a fine view of the rock while a lone diggeredoo player seranaded us (if that's the right word) as we supped ice cold champagne and ate little canapes of kangaroo and crocodile! The whole party then moved to the dining area which was laid with elegant white tablecloths and crystal under the stars which was to be followed by a illustrated talk about the stars in the southern skies. Sadly the skies darkened through the evening and lightening flashes started to replace the stars. By the time all the elegant diners had finished their main course the heavens opened and we got absolutely soaked. It hardly ever rains in this part of Australia, the organisers took no precautions and we all had to rush back to our coaches where they drove us to the best hotel in the resort for deserts, coffee and port. Imagine we had travelled over 12,00 miles for this experience and it was rained off, no stars, no magic. We were very dissappointed.
Undeterrred we got up agian at 0500 on Monday morning to go and look at another magical sunrise. The rain clouds had more or less gone and we were rewarded with another wonderful sunrise as you can see in the pictures.
It was a very tired couple of travellers who went to the airport on Monday lunchtime to continue the trip, this time we took off for Cairns. We shall be at sea now for three days so no more blog until we get back to Sydney on Saturday evening.

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Sydney, more of our tale...

To finish yesterday's blog, on Wednesday we had an amazing conclusion to our connection with Saga as a couple of our friends met the Chief Executive of in a Sydney street and he invited us to his private party at the Opera House to watch the two Saga cruise liners, Ruby and Rose as they sailed away to continue their World Cruise. A select few met on a private balcony at the Opera House overlooking the harbour, the CEO and his wife, the Finance Director and his wife, the two ships Captains who had changed over in Sydney and us, champagne flowed like water as the ships sailed out together to a fantastic firework display. Not a bad way to end our Saga holiday.

Next morning we were collected by Malcolm Hill who took us on a wonderful tour of the Northern Beaches, amazing scenery and splendid coffee and lunch venues
Malcolm and Sue went to view the aboriginal rock carvings and actually viewed a huge black snake and a big furry wallaby
Then a splendid non-bbq dinner at Malcolm's (rain stopped play)

Melbourne continued

Melbourne continued….

Since our tour of the Dandenongs and the Yarrow Valley our feet have hardly touched the ground.

It’s worth explaining that John’s Uncle Alf, who is 86 lives near Melbourne as does his daughter, Elizabeth (JB’s cousin) and her husband David and it is they who have been kind enough to entertain us for a few days and show off the sites.

On Thursday we set off driving south to Sorrento where we crossed the bay to Queenscliffe in search of “The Great Ocean Road” which runs along the south coast of Victoria. The were so many spectacular views that required frequent stops for photo opportunities that we didn’t arrive at our destination, Apollo Bay until around 6 p.m.

Next day we recovered from the journey by swimming, painting and looking around the town before a trip out to Maites Rest, where there was a unique opportunity to study the huge trees and many ferns. Myrtle Beech trees being a feature of the area, providing a canopy under which all types of ferns flourish.

Sue and David managed a round fo golf on the local links, not clear who won while JB and Elizabeth cooked up a BBQ of local fish and wine. We all spelt very well!!

Saturday there was more site seeing, a local carnival of surf riders and then all too soon it was a drive back over the Ottway Mountains and a picnic on route.

Sunday the weather was slightly cooler with a hint of rain but it never developed, pity for the locals who are suffering badly with the drought. So we all went off for a family BBQ at a local park, Gumbuya, four generations of relatives from Alf at 86 to his great granddaughter, Ashlyn at 2 months, not that the latter ate much of the vast array of steaks, sausages, chops etc etc. It was fun and to Sue’s delight there were Kangaroos and many other indigenous animals in the park (see picture)

On Monday we met up with another friend, Alan Coleman who took us for a very fine lunch in Canterbury, which made us feel very much at home. We had not seen Alan since we last met in Spain last year so itwas good to catchup with him, then all too soon it was time for a last family dinner with the Holden and the Humbles. We had a wonderful trip in Dandenong thanks to them all then Sue and I flew to Sydney to rejoin the Sag Ruby for an evening of 10th anniversay Celebrations back on the ship for dinner, chamapgne and a night at the famous Sydney Opera House. The latter was a mixed blessing. The Operas was Alcina by Handle, rather boring and four and a half hours long, something of an overdose of Culture there and I'm sorry to say we left after three hours! Still it was good to meet up with old friends from the ship and a good time was had by all as the Ruby was moored right alongside Circle Quay, opposite the Opera House,a romantic setting as you can see.

Tomorrow we meet up with Malcolm Hill and old friend from London who now lives in Sydney so that's another treat and another story....

Next Leg

Blog for Freemantle & Perth

All went very well in Freemantle and we left our friends on the ship and took at short train ride to Perth where we checked into our hotel.
Following Frans Beerling’s advice we took the free CAT Bus around the city and explored the delight’s of King’s Park and a pub, amusingly named "The Lucky Shag!"
Next day we decided to take an excursion to Rottnest Island, about ten miles off shore where we hired bicycles to explore this delightful paradise, there was a threat of thunderstorms but we stayed dry and JB managed a painting while Sue took a dip in the rather cold waters of the Indian Ocean. We were interested to see the little "Quokkas!, a sort of cross between a large rat and a kangaroo! That’s why the Dutch called it Rottnest, because they figured they were large rats!
By Tuesday we were off again this time on a Quantas flight to Melbourne where we were met by Alf, David and Elizabeth. They made us very welcome and we soon felt at home in their home where the temperature was a comfortable 24 degrees.
Since then our feet have not touched the ground as they whirled us around the delights of Melbourne, Dandenong and surrounding areas. On our drive down to Apollo Bat alonng teh Great Ocean Road Sue spotted wild Koala Bears so she was really happy.

You can see photos of us feeding the wild Crimson Rosellas and outside a café where we fed ourselves oh and the Koala too.
More news anon….