Blogs from Kununurra, Western Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 8

Whilst in Darwin Dave and I visited the Aviation Heritage Centre where they have a fully refurbished B52 bomber on permanent loan from the American Air Force, this was the forefront of the development of the jet airliner. This bomber towers over a replica Spitfire, a Mirage Fighter and an ex-RAAF Sabre There was also a great display on the bombing of Darwin by the Japanese in February 1942, only two months after bombing Pearl Harbour. Details of the attack were kept as an official secret for 50 years, therefore most people were and probably still are unaware of the devastation and how close the Japanese were to invading our corner of the world. The raids were the first of almost 100 air raids against Australia during 1942–43. This event is often called the "Pearl Harbour ... read more

Well, um, hellloooo, one more sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The excitement has set in. We are organising the last minute things today. House sitting, cleaning, Ange's hair, washing the car, Ange's hair, doing the lawns, Ange's hair, packing, oh, and Ange is getting her hair done today. Eight more measly hours defending the constabulary of Kununurra, is all that is required from ourselves this evening, a last hoorah, if you will. The alarm is set for 5.30am tomorrow morning, which will see us embark on our epic journey across Australia and ultimately, across the world, to the land of Baseball and Beer, Hamburgers and Hooters, and of course, Vegas and Viagra! Not that we are looking to link any of those items.... The drive will leave Kununurra at 6am for a nice afternoon in Darwin followed with a quick ... read more

Another beautiful day in Kununurra, we spent the morning catching up on washing and trying to find someone to look at the air conditioner in the ute. Hopefully the mechanic can look at it tomorrow. David and Max headed down to the Ivanhoe Crossing to see if they could catch a barra, David managed to catch one but it was too small to keep so another fishing trip will have to be organised. Today we took our flight around the Bungle Bungles which was great. Our flight started over Lake Argyle and continued on to the Bungle Bungles before heading back toward Kununurra and flying over the Argyle Diamond mine. David caught up with Tony Touhey for a quick beer and catch up on news from home. Before we were spoilt by Norelle with a great ... read more

We were all up early today and off to breakfast at the Ivanhoe Cafe before heading down to Lake Kununurra to watch Rhys finish his 20km run ! After cheering Rhys over the line and congratulating him on a great effort we set off to the airport to book a flight over the Bungle Bungles for tomorrow. Next on the agenda was a drive around the farming area around Kununurra and a look at the rice crop being grown in the Ord Irrigation System. Russell is also trying to set up a visit to the research farm and a tour with the manager which will be great. Back to town an a lazy afternoon in the pool and watching the footy. Tomorrow we will try to get the air conditioning fixed in the ute before heading ... read more

Wednesday (6th) was the day of my hair appointment and for the roo-bar to be fixed. We drove the car to Paul’s lovely house in a street called “Mistletoe”. Luckily it was within easy walking distance of the centre where the hairdresser was located so it all worked perfectly. I left Graham with the phone and some money to buy himself a coffee to while away the time. He treated himself to a custard tart and spent some of the time doing crosswords. He got talking to a fellow who had been on yesterday’s trip and, by sheer coincidence, his wife then joined me in the hairdressers to have her hair done. After about an hour, Paul rang to confirm the welding had been completed so Graham strolled off to collect the car. He had done ... read more