Blogs from Parramatta, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania - page 4

Ok .. so its been a while since I have updated. There is a good reason for this however ..... I ain't gone yet! Have been getting things ready to go, and doing a few things around the house before I head off. Almost all done now. I plan to head off around the 26th May and will post more regular updates when I am on the road. I have added a few pics of my home for the next 3 - 4 months - set up in the backyard. Some apt words to describe it would be .... palatial, extravagant, homely. Ok ... small!! But it is only for moi and its not designed to house a big screen or queen size bed! Anthony - I do need a name for my new home. Any ... read more

No ... still have not left yet. But I feel compelled, for those who are not within the privileged group who already know, to explain the "name" of my blog. JOLLY GREEN GIANT So here goes ...... To complete a trip such as the one I am planning, it is prudent to be prepared. Therefore, specifically for this trip, I acquired a 2000 model Toyota Landcruiser 100 series. Cruisers go forever - they just don't stop (famous last words?). The car appears to be well looked after, has low kilometres, and is green in colour. Which brings me to the purpose of this entry. A work colleague ... who also happens to be a world renowned author (his most successful publication being "The Book of Letters" - are we counting sales on two hands yet Anthony?) ... read more

Hi All what a day! The day started out fine, the sun was shining, we got to the airport after check out at 10 am, and walked around, found somewhere to sit down, had morning tea and started walking around the shops again so we could see what there was to fill in time while we waited for our plane. Found the observation deck, was great up there watching the planes land. Then the world turned up side down, we got a call from someone at QANTAS letting us know that our plane to Norfolk Island was cancelled due to the weather, here we are looking at blue skies but apparently the weather out there over Norfolk was bad enough for them to call the plane off. So we have to turn up again at the ... read more

When visiting a new country there are many ways to learn about it. A good place to start in Australia is with its history. The entire continent was occupied by Europeans just over 200 years ago, 219 to be exact. It is a fairly large continent, almost the same size as mainland USA which is sometimes called the lower or contiguous 48 states and has an area of about 7.9 million square kilometres. Mainland Australia has an area of 7.6 million square kilometres. In the first decade, just a few hundred people rising to just a few thousand by the end of that decade transformed the entire continent in such a way that the process became irreversible. Yes many of the indigenous people did suffer, their population was reduced from somewhere around a million to ... read more

Well this is my last day at work for nine months (wow nine months that’s massive). I am here at work just wondering what tomorrow is going to bring. Am I going to get to the airport on time? Will I get upgraded to business class? Is there going to be traffic on the way to the airport. Have I packed enough? Have I packed too much (most like the case from past experiences)? What is my mum going to do without me for 9 months? Also what am I going to do without my mum for 9 months? Is my mum going to cry as she sees me off? Will I be shedding a quite tear of my own? One thing I do know tomorrow is going to bring is excitement, adventure, happiness, fear, nervousness, ... read more