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Published: March 22nd 2011
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ONE HUNDRED NOT OUT – DAY 222 This is actually our one hundredth blog so we thought it might be a good time to review what we’ve done, how we approach preparing a blog and also to identify a few major highlights of our trip so far.
We know that our blog readers approach them in different ways. Some hang on every word (good on ‘em) and are happy with the full and detailed explanations of our day (we know we go on a bit!). Some save them up and read them a batch at a time. We know of at least three arrangements whereby they are copied and passed on to people who don’t have computers. Some others “quick read” the blogs, picking out only the things that appeal to them. Others just skip through the blogs in order to get to the photos. But we hope there are things in each blog that will appeal to everyone in one way or another.
We make no apologies for going into minute details sometimes. The blogs are our daily record of what we get up to – warts and all – and we want to be able
to refer back to them at any time and be reminded of how we filled our days. It’s not like a short holiday where you can probably recall everything that happened over, say, a fortnight. Potentially we could be “on the road” for eighteen months and don’t want to forget a thing. Yes, it would be easy just to select the single highlight each day and to reduce the blog content to a minimum. But then it wouldn’t be our daily diary and, truthfully, we are so pleased with our exploits most days that to leave something out would be a travesty.
We thought we might try to identify our “top ten” events so far. How do you pick so few out of about 222 days worth of holidaying all of which has been terrific? It’s virtually impossible, although there are some occasions which stand out, often for different reasons. So here goes with a small selection of our adventures so far – we’ll list them in chronological order.
Our three weeks house-sitting for David while he was in Africa We really love Warwick and got to know it well in these three weeks. If it was possible
to emigrate to Aus then Warwick is probably where we’d settle. Daphne was with us most of the time and, amongst many things, we watched the development of the sculpture project and even managed to squeeze in a three day trip to Mooloolaba (Alexandra Headland) which was most enjoyable.
Collecting Sweetie from Mansfield We spent a few days with S & D’s friends, ‘The Reeves’ family, who had kindly looked after the caravan for us. Whilst there we managed to fit in the viewing of the Footie Grand Final replay (the first match had ended in a nail-biting tie). This took place at Bernie and Doos’s house on a huge flat-screen telly and as some of those watching (who shall remain nameless) were Collingwood supporters there was much whooping and hollering as The Pies won.
Keppel Islands Catamaran Cruise Whilst staying at Kinka Beach near Yeppoon we signed up for a cruise. Everything about it was brilliant – the weather, the catamaran, the company, the islands, snorkelling opportunities – it was a superb day and excellent value for money.
Bargara Beach and the Mon Repos Turtle Rookery As wildlife adventures go you couldn’t do much better than
this. To be able to watch giant turtles digging a nest, laying their eggs and then leaving the area without any evidence of their presence was a wonderful experience, especially as it looked at one time as though it wasn’t going to happen.
Warwick Rodeo Week and A Touch of Tonga We deliberately timed another visit to Warwick to coincide with the rodeo week. It’s a special time in Warwick and, although some of the events weren’t necessarily our “cup of tea”, what we watched we thoroughly enjoyed and the atmosphere throughout the week was electric. Whilst in Warwick we met and spent time with Mele, a good friend of David’s. She kindly arranged a dinner party for us and others with a Tongan theme. The evening was extremely enjoyable with some traditional, albeit spontaneous, Tongan entertainment and we value highly Mele’s special friendship.
Graham Kettle meets Graeme Kettle http://www.travelblog.org/fred.php?id=554454During our stay in Bargara we accidently became aware of another Graeme Kettle. Inadvertently, part of his address was revealed to us (the receptionist at the caravan park thought Graham was Graeme!). We had already planned to stop at Graeme’s home town, Benalla, on our way back to Melbourne
and curiosity got the better of us. We arranged a meeting and an unusual but delightful evening was had by all.
Christmas Day in Melbourne We were delighted to be invited to nephew Grant’s house for Christmas dinner and what a dinner it was. Grant, Anna and the girls, Charlotte and Amy, were excellent hosts and how they managed to cater so well for 40 people is still a mystery. In the evening it was time to go to the Lynch family house for another round of food, drinks and lively conversation - what a brilliant day it was.
Boxing Day Test Match – The Ashes Boxing Day in Melbourne always means a test match and this year the visitors were England. Nephew Grant kindly arranged tickets for the second day (first day was sold out) and, with Daphne, we watched an enthralling day’s play. We bought tickets for the fourth day on which England secured a win by an innings and ensured the retention of The Ashes.
Ballarat – Sovereign Hill http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Ballarat/blog-561533.htmlOn our first real visit to Ballarat (we had passed through before) we spent several days enjoying the delights of this city. For us the
highlight was the Sovereign Hill Gold Mining exhibition (brilliant) together with an evening sound and light show based on the true story of “Blood on the Southern Cross” - a must for anyone visiting Ballarat.
South Australia From our first port of call in SA, Mount Gambier, up to our latest on the Eyre Peninsula (not yet blogged) we are constantly being pleasantly surprised by what SA has to offer. Places like Robe, Goolwa, Lake Meningee, Burra and Quorn (not forgetting Adelaide) threw up all sorts of fascinating places of interest and historical facts.
Eleven Days in New Zealand The whole trip – our holiday within a holiday – was brilliantly planned (by the travel agents) and seamlessly executed (by us) and included many memorable events. Perhaps the highlight, though not one we would rush to repeat, was the trip to the White Island volcano which was full of adventure, wonderment and fascination with not a little risk!!
Giant Pandas The trip to Adelaide Zoo was truly a brilliant end to what had been a fairly lengthy stay in Adelaide. To be able to see giant pandas in such scintillating form was fantastic – probably not something
Go the Pies!
Celebrating Collingwood's victory in the Footie Grand Final we will be able to repeat in a hurry.
So there we are – our top ten turned out to be twelve and some of those encompass more than one highlight (NZ for example). We could easily make another list as there have been so many enjoyable events.
Now we look forward (and hope you do too!) to the next hundred blogs!
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Darryl and Sarah
Wallaby Wanderers
Congratulations!
100 blogs - great going! Good on you! We love reading them, they're great. It's like you're secretly taking us around with you!! Here's to number 200!! lots of love x x x