According to the caravaner’s bible, ‘Camps Australia Wide’ suggested there was a lovely free camping spot at The Granites just north of Kingston so with an open mind we decided to check it out It turned out to be a sizeable bituminized carpark located just behind a small sand dune but with some sea views if you were lucky. There was a small viewing platform from which a constant stream of visitors stopped to take photos. A 4x4 track down to the beach giving access to fishing locations many miles north and south providing you were in and out between the low tides. The clean sandy beach stretched as far as the eye could see in both directions. An isolated group of granite rocks stood proud at the waters edge, hence the name. This was quite ... read more

On a glorious autumn day and being afforded the luxury of not having to share the road with all the others escaping city life for the Adelaide Cup Holiday Long week end we hit the road early Friday morning. Expressway after expressway and with a coffee stop in Willunga we arrived in Normanville at midday. After setting up the caravan what better way to celebrate the start of our Limestone Coast break than with fish and chips and a beer. Isn’t this what you do at the beach? And we know … this is not the Limestone Coast but first we were to spend the weekend with our friends, Sheila and Brian in the Normanville Caravan Park. We were glad we got there early as by the end of the day the place was packed. With ... read more

Our last full day in Kyoto was a rainy day. We have been very lucky with the weather this trip so we did not complain. We had heard of a temple complex that was supposed to be spectacular and trip advisor rated it very highly so we worked out the train to catch and headed off. The map suggested that this temple was a distance from the station but when we walked out of the station the first thing we saw was a bright orange tori gate at the start of a wide walkway. This was going to be easy. Next to the tori gate was a large bronze statue of a fox with what looked like a golden cob of corn in its mouth. Kind of wierd but definitely fascinating. At the end of the ... read more

Everybody knows Hiroshima due to its terrible place in history. In fact our prompt to come here was to visit the Peace park and museum. There is little doubt that its past has had a profound impact on its people and yet there is a strong sence of peace and hope. Hiroshima is an excellent example of a place that is not dwelling on the past but forging a positive future. Even the destruction of the city has been turned to its advantage as Hiroshima has been rebuilt with wide tree lined streets and beautiful parks and gardens. Our hotel room overlooks a tree lined boulevard that runs to the Peace park not far away. At night this boulevard is transformed by elaborate Christmas light displays and is full of families enjoying the sight. The areas ... read more

Today was the justification for this whole trip, it was Jason and Kanoko's wedding day. After dressing the family walked to the wedding venue, not too far away, for a 13:50 start. Like most Japanese things there were many ellements to this celebration. We initially assembled in a private waiting room with the groom's family where we were served a special wedding green tea and some snacks. The schedule of events was discussed so people were aware of their roles. The two families lined up side by side, in order of importance, then followed by friends. In this fashion we proceeded to the shrine, where our order translated into our seating down the two side of the shrine. This was a formal traditional Shinto wedding. As a part of the proceedings the couple received numerous ceremonial ... read more