Dave and Issy Sheehan

DaveandIssy

Dave and Issy Sheehan

Former TravelPod Member: the.sheehan
Joined: June 22nd, 2015

We live in Melbourne, Australia, with our three offspring Scott, Emma and Troy, Coco the dog, and cats Sidney and Chilli. As at 2015 our offspring have all left school and should, in theory at least, be capable of fending for themselves, so as long as they don't kill each other or burn the house down, we can now happily trip off into the sunset.

Issy was born in Malta. She came to Australia with her family when she was four, and as at early 2015 she's never been back.

I was born in London to Australian parents who met on a cruise ship, got married in England, had me, and then turned around and came home. I come from a long line of enthusiastic travellers, and was fortunate to have travelled a lot when I was growing up. My maternal great grandfather was a published travel writer, and even managed to die on a ship cruising to Noumea way back in 1933.

The Midnight Oil House

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Naracoorte May 15th 2024

Midnight Oil House, Burra

DaveandIssy

I’m up before dawn and head a few kilometres out of town to get an early morning view of the ruins of a Cobb and Co Coach House Hotel. It’s apparently famous for appearing on the front cover of the “Diesel and Oil” LP, which was released by the iconic Australian rock group Midnight Oil back in 1987. It just looks like a ruined farmhouse …. well apart from a sign pointing to stony a car park right in front of it, and another sign saying that you’re not allowed to camp. There’s absolutely no one here, and I think you’d probably have to be a slightly over-obsessed “Oils” fan to even think about setting up your tent here on the gravel, but each to their own I suppose. I was hoping to recreate the photo, ... read more

The Company Director … from the Strip Club

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Burra May 14th 2024

Burra Hotel

DaveandIssy

We awake to a flood of messages from extended family members back home. It seems someone thought it would be a good idea to set a car on fire and launch it into the front of a house back home in Melbourne. This wouldn’t normally generate too much family attention …. except the house was in our very own quiet middle-class residential suburban street. A panicked phone call to our son Scott, who’s house sitting for us while we’re away, confirms the house wasn’t ours, in fact he’s blissfully ignorant of the whole incident. That’s a relief. The residence involved is a fair way down the street, and we don’t know the occupants, which it seems is probably a very good thing. They were reportedly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, reluctant to talk to the press. One newspaper ... read more

Our cell block walkway … sorry hotel room balcony …. Woomera Air For e Base

Outback Military Rations

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Woomera May 13th 2024

Lake Hart

DaveandIssy

Today we’ll be continuing the long slog south through outback South Australia, this time 375 kilometres to the small outback town of Woomera. We know they like opal mining out here, but it seems that's not the only thing worth digging up in this vast empty landscape. We pass a sign to the perhaps slightly quirkily named Peculiar Knob Mine, which we read is the source of some of the highest grade iron ore in the entire country. I thought Wimmera was just a regular town, but it looks like it’s actually an Air Force base, which I guess could be a sort of a town. It’s all very military looking - identical style houses and two storey apartment blocks straight out of the 1950s. We’ve booked ourselves into the Eldo Hotel which sounded like a ... read more

Road on Repeat

Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Coober Pedy May 12th 2024

The empty road, outback South Australia

DaveandIssy

It’s Mother’s Day, when our offspring get to shower my beloved with love and affection, and gifts … or at least they would if they were here. As I think I noted previously I thought it was Mother’s Day last Sunday, so I dutifully went out and bought my beloved a box of chocolates before I realised my mistake. Perhaps unsurprisingly they’ve all been eaten, so now it’s off to the shop at the Desert Oaks Resort here in the thriving metropolis of Erldunda, population 25, in search of another suitable offering. I’m not sure packets of chips or spare parts for caravans are quite going to cut it, but all good, my beloved insists that it’s the thought that counts. I hope she means it. Today we continue our long journey home, 500 odd kilometres ... read more

The Centre of the Centre of Australia

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Erldunda May 11th 2024

Erldunda, Centre of the Centre of Australia

DaveandIssy

Today we start the long journey home, all two and a half thousand odd kilometres of it. And the downside of living in such a vast empty land is that there aren’t a lot of route options other than the one we used to get here. So we’re going to need to come up with things to write about that don’t just repeat what we wrote on the way up … or resort to random observations. Let’s go with the random observations … so some readers might want to stop here. We've noticed that when we’re out here in the back of beyond on near deserted roads it seems to be customary to acknowledge drivers coming the other way. You’re apparently supposed to do this by very casually lifting your index finger slowly off the steering ... read more

Centre of the Centre of Australia marked

Where are all the Animals?

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Kings Canyon May 10th 2024

Ginty’s Lookout

DaveandIssy

I walk nervously into the breakfast room expecting the usual chaos. But no, it seems bus people have finally packed up and gone, and peace and tranquility has returned … and they didn’t even break the coffee machine, or burn the place down while they were trying to work out how to use the toaster... I’m keen for Issy to see at least part of the splendour of Kings Canyon, so we set off up the path onto the south rim. It hasn’t got any less spectacular overnight … and we see another animal, the second in two days, and this one’s even a native. OK it might only be a few centimetres long, a lizard sunning itself on a rock, but when you haven’t seen a single native animal in the wild since you arrived ... read more

Just One Lousy Rabbit

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Kings Canyon May 9th 2024

Kings Canyon

DaveandIssy

Today’s plan is to hike around Kings Canyon. Issy’s opted for a rest day so it looks like I’m on my own. But first I need to survive breakfast. Elderly bus people are packed in here again, and chaos reigns supreme. As was the case last night I struggle to find anywhere to sit, and the queue for the eggs is almost out the door. I wouldn’t have thought it was that hard to operate one of those hotel type conveyor belt toasters, but these guys certainly seem to be struggling. There’s half a loaf worth of slices backed up in there and no one seems quite sure how to extract them. I hope someone figures it out before the whole place catches fire. Eighty-five something lady from Florida doesn't look overly happy about the long ... read more

Looking west into the desert from Kings Canyon

When Does the Bootscooting Start?

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Kings Canyon May 8th 2024

Sunset, George Gill Range, Watarrka National Park

DaveandIssy

Today we head 300 or so kilometres north- east to Kings Canyon in the Watarrka National Park. But first a quick stop at the Yulara petrol station, where we enjoy the privilege of paying somewhere around 40% more per litre than the current price back in Melbourne. It seems the premium petrol that we’re told our chariot needs is indeed a very valuable commodity out here. There’s a padlock on the bowser, and the sign says we need to go inside and beg for a key before we‘re allowed to pump even a single drop of this liquid gold. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen anything like that before. I can only assume the whole padlock thing is to stop you driving away without paying, but I’m not sure why you couldn’t do that anyway …. ... read more

Flies, Flies and More Flies

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Kata Tjuta May 7th 2024

Kata Tjuta

DaveandIssy

As I stroll back from breakfast it’s a bit hard not to notice the “do not disturb” sign on the door of the room next to ours. And this wouldn't normally be worthy of comment, except it’s been there every time we’ve walked past since we got here a couple of days ago. I guess the inhabitants might be honeymooners. I hope so. I’m not sure I want to think too hard about other possible explanations. Issy’s legs have gone on strike after yesterday’s exertions, so I head off alone to explore Kata Tjuṯa (also known as Mount Olga), Uluṟu’s slightly lesser known neighbour, 50 odd kilometres to the west. It consists of 36 spectacular red granite, basalt and sandstone domes, the tallest of which rises 546 metres above the surrounding plain, and is thus nearly ... read more

Shape Shifting Evil Spirits

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Uluru May 6th 2024

Uluṟu base walk

DaveandIssy

Today we plan to take the 10 kilometre odd stroll around the base of the mighty monolith that is Uluṟu. But first we must survive breakfast. I decide I must have dreamed I watched a spectacular Uluṟu sunset last night. We just can’t be out here in the back of beyond of our vast homeland; we’re clearly in some mass tourist resort hotel next to Disneyland - screaming kids, and foreign tourists of every colour and creed fighting over a buffet. As I said yesterday we hardly saw a single person on the hundreds of kilometres of road in here …. unless I dreamt that bit as well … and I know I’ve asked before, but where exactly did all these people come from and how did they get here? Anyway, nothing that a coffee won’t ... read more

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