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Published: April 6th 2008
Lazurus Long once said "Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending". So we're under pressure ... despite SJB's requests for continuing our blog (describing rain soaked Government or Finance Offices of the UK would be boring) - this is the final chapter.
We're not going to give you a brief history of Australia. Needless to say - this was one place that Captain Cook was really very serious about and which became a British colony. Some of us (thankfully all in the past now) have questioned whether this was a sensible thing to do (most notably at the back of Stadium Australia - as was - in the (UK) summer of 1999). Age has polished those rough edges and (Nath) can now appreciate the differences between the wonders that Australia offers the world (e.g. Burger Rings) the things that it doesn't (e.g. Prop Forwards).
Don't anyone get uppity now. We all know that this thing has been very tongue in cheek throughout (although we are realising that more and more people have not got this ... the volume of questions we have had about pumas has been incredible)...
On with the story
.....
Day 80 - March 20th 2008 - Copacabana, Central Coast, Australia The 19th March was a fleeting hour or two only as we crossed the International Date Lane on our flight from Pape'ete (Tahiti) to Sydney (Australia).
Stung by memories of trying to get a wooden Indonesian chess set into Sydney a decade ago - Nath insisted that Betsy declare some presenty type (wooden) things in our bags. As it turned out - the beagles were more interested in sniffing blue cheese in a Frenchman's bag. Nath was happy to pass through unhindered with only a fleeting set of questions from a young customs officer... a real win-win situation (particularly as the Frenchman looked guilty)
Our local contact in Sydney was Lizzy's friend from Uni (Emma) - and for the first time on the trip ... we had a (really) friendly face waiting for us. Emotional reunions over (Liz and Ems ... not stone hearted Nath - of course) we set off back to Rozelle ...
Ems set off for work - and left the intrepid explorers with a list of instructions about how to get to the Macquarie Centre ... near Em's work
Attack of the Killer Spiders
... no one dared get near to put a pound coin next to it for perspective. Even though it was deadand on the way to our Easter retreat. Nath was happy given our record in lots of countries with buses.
Repacked (AGAIN!!) so that we had one bag for the weekend ... set off with Nath carrying a big bag on his back... not sure the folks at the shopping centre quite knew what was going on ...
Drove for the hour up to Copacabana, got the keys, got the Tooheys New, did the barbie (fab!!) and then settled ready for bed.
And then we saw what Ems described as "the biggest spider" she had seen in her 8 years in Australia .... and Betsy is an arachnaphobic. To say Nath jumped into action, took on the spider, wrestled with him and emerged the victor would be a total fabrication. However - Ems did very well with the specially designed spider killer spray. The blighter went down with a hell of a fight - chasing Emma but eventually falling to his death from the top of the stairs.
Nath and Betsy emerged from the bathroom and asked if everything was ok.
And then we went to bed, coughing and choking from the intense spider killing
Identical to Bridlington ...
... grey sky, windy and cold sea. Perfect. Copacabana, Central Coast chemicals which were hanging in the air..... this is the problem with this place ... there are things looking to do you damage...
The definitive "Top 3s" of our trip (very kindly sponsored by some of our favourite things) starts with the "Ed Patagonia Award - Best Place Visited"
1. Galapagos
2. Easter Island
3. Mendoza
Honourable mentions: Torres del Paine Day 81 - March 21st 2008 (Good Friday) - Copacabana, Central Coast, Australia Don't let an Aussie ever tell you that it's always sunshining and wonderful in Australia. It isn't - and we have pictures to prove it. Today was like you were in Filey, or Hull for that matter. Ems was a bit down about this - but we set off for a walk anyways - along the coast to MacMasters Beech. We hadn't even needed a fan to keep us cool in bed.
Passed the surf clubs on the beach (all of the 305 surf clubs in Australia are sponsored by DHL) and then looking for crabs. Sat on the rocks, watched the surf ... and then decided that it was actually a little cold. So we went back
to the house.
Ems and Lizzy persuaded a DVD shop to lend us some DVDs ... we watched Elizabeth (the film ... not the person) ... and then Nath went running up hills for an hour. Getting fitter not fatter ... will show those types at home that I can eat 10 courses a day and not put weight on (that was a joke).
Another BBQ and then went round to Emma's friends place over the road for a few beers. Lots of British and Irish folk ... all with a life on the other side of the world ...
Tempting? It was at one stage we'd miss our Mums too much ...
The "Emma 'Sheila - Capsicum - Chips (for crisps) - Lolly Shop' Seanor Award" for Best Meal
1. La Cabrera (Buenos Aires)
2. Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge (Machu Picchu)
3. Cavas de Carno (Mendoza) Day 82 - March 22nd 2008 (Easter Saturday) - Copacabana, Central Coast, Australia Still cloudy when we got up today .. felt sorry for Ems (who was on her hols) and the tan was most definitely starting to wash off. Things were not looking
Who's a pretty boy then?
... our balcony, Copacabana, Central Coast good. Nath was cajoled into going to Terrigel - just north of Copacabana (instead of him sitting watching tele). Terrigel wasn't too terrible an idea actually ... although the similarities to a British seaside town were remarkable ... including the wind. This was Filey.
Had coffee .. did a little shopping ... and then went back to watch Die Hard IV on the DVD machine ... it was all very very chilled out. Ate lots of cheese - which set Nath off into hyperchondria about his heart.
Em's friends had organised a huge BBQ this evening for the various groups of friends in the area. Ems put a pineapple on her head ... and we ate lots .. and then Nath went to bed before the karaoke started. There was a moment of weakness when Niall (one of the Irish guys) started singing Black Velvet Band .. and seemingly didn't know the verses (ooh ... if Nath had been 10 pints down all hell would have broken lose and before long we'd all have been singing about killer ducks eating t'worms)
Nath left the two girls with Popstar on the Playstation and went to bed. The out
Party time in Copocabana ...
Betsy, Ems and Claire at the big BBQ of tune singing may have had something to do with it or he can get very boring like that. It's all about getting old.
The "Galapagos Seal Award" for Top Notch Accommodation
1. Hotel Bora Bora
2. Finca Adalgisa (Mendoza)
3. Te Ora (Hanga Roa, Easter Island) Day 83 - March 23rd 2008 (Easter Sunday) - Copacabana, Central Coast, Australia The Easter Bunny is a very clever rabbit. We know this because when we woke on Easter morning two remarkable things had happened which could be attributable to anyone else.
Firstly it was sunny ... like ... very sunny with lots of blue sky (yippee!!) and then secondly ... there were easter eggs outside our bedroom door. It was all very eGGciting.
There were a few additional people strewn over the house when Nath woke... but the hangovers were only slight. Nath felt fine. But then again he did go to bed 5 hours prior to everyone else.
Had brekkie and headed to the beech. Met with the others and played cricket ... it seemed a very popular game on the beach. We're pretty sure that the game could really take
Easter fun in Copabana ...
... Ems and Ian get into the spirit ... off in Australia given the right conditions.
Nath had enough sun quite early as Ems scared him with stories of skin cancer. Nath wondered whether it had been a good idea to go on the tan offensive at all ... particularly when he heard that skin cancer victims sometimes had parts of their face removed. Nasty.
Instead Nath watched NRL on the tele. It was pretty clear that the days of Martin Lang were still in full force. Concussions - leading to enforced absences of about 90 seconds before the player is fit enough for action (versus the 6 weeks in the UK) - are still common. Out and out violence - very regular. All very entertaining. This game could also take off in Australia it seems.
Emma's young man (Ian) arrived this evening from his martial arts training weekend in Canberra. Nath was very respectful of the Irish during the early exchanges ... just in case. To be fair he looked exhausted but perked up a bit when we had several steaks from the barbie...
Barbies are not quite the same out here. Have you ever tried cooking outside, in the sunshine? It's really odd
... and nothing like cooking under an umbrella in the rain and wind. It could take off when global warming makes Erringden Moor more like the Outback. Hopefully this may begin during the forthcoming summer.
Nath and Betsy went to bed whilst Emma and Ian nipped round to the other house to say hi. They returned fairly quickly ... those hangovers must have started to kick in as the majority were in bed.
The "Ahu Tongariki Award" for Value for Money
1. Bus Journeys in Ecuador
2. El Albergue Hotel (Ollantaytambo)
3. Litre Box of Argentinian Wine for 50p (Mendoza) Day 84 - March 24th 2008 (Easter Monday) - Rozelle, Sydney, Australia Sunny again ... beach again ... although this time we had Cancer Council factor 30 sun gel on. Nath felt like the horse had bolted somewhat but nevertheless thought it best to buy some.
Watched some very crazy folk running from the top of the beach, into the sea, swimming round a bouy 100 metres off shore back to the beach, running back to the top of the beach before doing it all over again. They looked pretty fit (apart from
A thorn between two roses
... Earny hasn't altered much ... the lad at the back who needed to do a few more laps). Nath decided that this wasn't necessary given his lean state. Betsy agreed.
There was a little noise about the traffic so we headed back to Sydney about 3pm. Nath drove Ems car whilst Ian and Emma went in Ian's hire car. Nath realised that Betsy really was an exceptional back seat driver ... got back to the house and then went for a short walk along Balmain Cove.
Set off for a Thai meal in Balmain (lovely) and agreed that we would take Ems and Ian for a meal on Wednesday night ... our last night on this marvellous trip...
On the way home Ian took us to a pub for a Guinness (of which he approved). As a bonus highlights of Man U beating Liverpool were on the TV... I won't say any more than that. The mother-in-law (to be!) would not be happy ....
The "Michigan Alsation Award" for Incredible Vistas
1. Torres - 1 of which has no name but is made of GRANITE (Torres del Paine)
2. Waynu Picchu (Machu Picchu)
3. Pacific Ocean (Easter Island) Day 85 - March 25th 2008 - Rozelle, Sydney, Australia Cloudy again.
Went running the 7km loop around the Cove. With Emma's directions of "keep the water on your right" ringing in our ears. So we did. And an hour later we decided to stop and think rather than simply following directions. When we did think - it became obvious that it probably wasn't that straight forward and that at some point we would have to head in a homeward direction.
We got back eventually.
As a reward we had one of those Big Breakfasts. They really are very very good.
Got to the bus stop to go to Sydney - very happy that there wasn't anything that these buses could throw at us that the other countries hadn't thrown already. Which was kind of silly ... as the problem with Australia in this instance is that we can speak the language. So we kept getting on buses with fancy questions (e.g. does this stop at the Town Hall? or to Circular Quay please) and the drivers kept directing us to another bus. So 4 came and went before (half an hour later) we eventually
Big Little Guy
Struan is going to be more like Russ than Kieran ... which is good news for England (if Janna and the Wallabies allow it ...) just sat down after giving the driver $6.
Wandered to the Rocks ... did some shopping ... took some cloudy pictures of the harbour bridge and generally wandered around.
Sydney is one of our favourite cities. We really do love the place - so it was pretty straightforward to while away several hours.
At 5pm we headed to the PWC offices to meet up with Janna and Earny. We were happy that Earny could arrange to leave at 5pm so we could see them. Apart from we found out that Earny never leaves after 5pm and that this was the same for the majority of people all over the city. And they have this (normally sunny) weather ... and this space ... and this sport ... and the beach ... and ... and .. (stop it).
Earny was ranting about his car being broken and the ineptitude of those in the car rental business, students, garages etc. (same old same old). He hasn't altered at all.
Got back to the house and got "the tour". It is safe to say that the tour was Nath's kind of tour rather than Betsy's. This is the kitchen.
The Tyne Bridge
... Sydney Australia This is the living room. This is a bedroom. This is a bedroom. This is a bedroom (the bedrooms went on for a bit). Anyways - we saw the house. And it's lovely a great home to bring up a 6 aside football team.
Nath was a bit concerned about the dog's (Maggy's) eyes. Kieran assured him that it was perfectly normal. Nath was sure they looked completely different so surely couldn't work properly. Kieran never tired of telling Nath to shut up.
Janna turned up with Struan who was in a bit overawed with two complete strangers in his house. It is safe to say that Struan is going to be a big lad. Given the range of options for his international rugby career (Canada, Australia, Scotland and England) there is forced to be some heated debate. Our money is on Janna - who was unsure that you could extrapolate the current size of an 18 year old child into his 21 year old form. Kieran refused to believe this.
Here's to a 7ft 1in back row forward in a few years time.
Had a takeaway, watched tv and generally caught up with the Earnshaws.
It was really great to see them and they were very excited about the engagement.
Got a taxi back to Ems through a traditional British rainstorm. A reminder of things to come the following week?
The "Martin the Manta Ray Award" for most beautiful journey
1. Riobamba to Guayaquil (Ecuador)
2. Ollantaytambo to Aguas Caliente (Peru)
3. Devil Nose Train (Ecuador) Day 86 - March 26th 2008 - Rozelle, Sydney, Australia It decided to be a beautiful day today. We went into Sydney early and got our touristy piccys ... of the Tyne Bridge (still confuses Nath) and the Opera House. Nathan got accosted by some very rude Japanese people who wanted him to shashin shashin them against the opera house. Being the polite Brit he did so and smiled sweetly.
Did lots of shopping (including the purchase of 3 new suits - and 6 pairs of trousers ... big groins you see - for Nath). Got on the ferry to Balmain East. It wasn't a very long trip. So as Betsy was on deck snapping away for the album, Nath was day dreaming downstairs. He was rudely awakened by Lizzy shouting that
this was our stop ...
Walked for an hour back to the house and then started the packing job ... Lizzy went swimming and then we got ready for our posh meal at Ripples, next to Lunar Park on the north harbour shore (the restaurant where Earny proposed to Janna too we had learned).
Into town, had a couple of Guinnesses with Ian at Circular Quay and then got on that ferry again.
Had a wonderful meal in wonderful company. But we knew that this was the end. The last evening. And tonight would be the last time on this trip that we slept in a bed which wasn't our own... it was all very sad (sort of).
It was thundering as we got in our taxi to go home ...
The "Vignuit - El Albergue Award" for South American Brands
1. LAN Airlines
2. Malbec Grapes
3. Inka Cola Day 87 - March 27th 2008 - In Transit to England And so this was it. The end. However it was more trepidation that sadness as we made our way around Balmain Cove again ... trying to squeeze the last ounces
A bit of British glamour comes to Sydney Harbour ..
... Nath was wary of NRL players lurking in the shadows ... off our frames before we were accused of being too fat at home.
23 hours on a flight. In economy. It's rubbish.
Went to Sydney to pick up the suits. All good. Had another big breakfast. Fantastic. Had to repack completely to get the suits in.
Nath found himself worried about the weight limits but we confirmed we were under 60kg using Emma's scales. 58kg to be exact.
Had a rather inflammatory taxi driver. Had some pretty interesting views on world politics.
Disaster at the airport when we found out it was a 20kg limit on our bags. The man at checkin was very nice though and allowed everything through except part of Lizzy's backpack. We were still way over the limit though. Nath put the flexibility down to the fact we were there 4 hours before (admittedly this doesn't explain why we were in the last seats at the back of the aircraft .. row 75).
A pleasant 8 hours to Singapore, 2 hours transit and then a highly unpleasant 13 hours sitting next to a couple of rotund elderly Ozzies. No sleep (or very limited amounts) ... and the flight was awful,
We're on our way home ...
.... don't look too excited very bumpy. It certainly focuses the mind when - in dreadful "Turbulence" (did anyone see that film? make the effort, it's great, MERRY CHRISTMAS!) - the map shows that you are in between Kabul and Tehran ... don't ... come ... down ... now ...
The "Amarangochi Tours Award" for rubbish hikes and trips
1. Tena Rainforest
2. Tena Waterfalls
3. Maunga Terevaka (Easter Island) Day 88 - March 28th 2008 - Bell House, England .... so the days sort of merge
Eventually got to Heathrow - and as we came into land at T4 the air host (he was a man) said to Nath "if anything happens to me ... you know how to open the doors?" ... err... do you know something I don't know? The guy told Nathan his horror stories ... and even when we landed told us of a time when the engines caught fire and nearly sucked passengers into the turbine ....
Oh good.
Bags took some time - and then we transferred ourselves to T5 for a short flight to Manc-land - unaware of the farce that was unfolding.
Needless to say - as
Standing Room Only ...
... for the arrival in Manchester Airport we write this on Wednesday 02/04 (6 days later) - only 1 of our 3 bags is with us (Note this is now being edited on Sunday 6th April...9 days later and there is still no update on the bags!). 24 flights ... countless miles ... 8 countries ... and the 30 minute flight to Manchester (delayed by 90 mins too) is the one which causes the grief...
When we did get there ... the welcome party was incredible. Little Lily Hilton ... with a very impressive banner ... jumping and screaming ... all very emotional ...
The "British Incas Award" for Outstanding Blog Comments
1. Stephanie Jane Branston
2. Angela Cunningham
3. Tom Cunningham & Sara Tomkins (for services to reciprocal blogging) And so ... the end. But of course - as Theodor Seuss Geisel once said (you know .Theodor right?, long hair, curly teeth) - "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened". This is the last blog ... there will be no continuation ... go out at the top ... don't look back ...
We hope you've enjoyed it - and thanks for those comments.
RIP Inca Nath x
Just like Cragg Vale ..
... err... well ... guess what? IT IS CRAGG VALE!!
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Tom C
non-member comment
...the end
...and so as with all good things - the end has sadly come. So glad you factored into your travel plans an intention to keep us all so well updated with your adventures. A simple postcard would have done, but oh no- you've certainly succeeded in raising the bar when it comes to holiday homebound communication. Id say based on the average holiday of about say 10 days you have ironically spent the best part of an average mans holiday (whilst you should have been enjoying your own) sat at a desk behind a computer updating us on your travels. Very honourable. Thanks again for the thrills n spills, the lies n laughs, the pics n quips, the sunburn n suntan, the over eating, the crash diets, the education, the explosion, the proposal, the dodgy look-a-likes, the list goes on. RIP Inca Nath - Welcome back to the real world.