Blogs from Oceania - page 4

Another easy start today. I set the alarm for 7:20, as Angelika and I were up late chatting… and I’m feeling so tired. I can’t believe that I’m on day 35 already!!! My case is a mess, but it’s closed, and ready to go. I was showered, and ready to go by 7:50. I took my stuff round to Angelika and Timo’s place. Today is Lyndsey’s 53rd birthday. We ate congregating to give her a cake, card, little gift and little cake. We all arrived, lit the candle, then sent her a text to come to number 2 house. She came round, probably expecting we had a problem, we all sang happy birthday, gave her the bits. She seemed happy with the effort we had made for her. I guess it’s hard when you’re on your, ... read more

Last night while we were having dinner Bernie and Cathy found notices online indicating that the Eyre Highway east of Border Village was closed and a detour via the Old Eyre Highway was in place. We decided not to worry too much about it last night hoping that the way would be clear this morning. Anyway, we thought, that ‘could’ facilitate a visit to the Koonalda Homestead because it looked like the detour went on the old highway to the homestead and then returned to Highway A1 via the access road to the homestead? Aiming to leave at 8.15am this morning we were packed and ready to go at 7.45am … even though all the digital watches said it was only 7.00am! Groan, it felt like we were on the road again before we went to ... read more

Travel is not reward for working, it's education for living-Anthony Bourdain Back to the Pacific Ocean and following in the footsteps of Captain Cook. In the past year I have been tempted by some incredible airfare flash sales to the South Pacific, and here we are again, this time headed to New Zealand after a deal too good to pass up with some Delta miles I earned on a credit card. We, like so many others, have been enchanted with going to New Zealand ever since seeing the Lord of the Rings movies. This incredible country largely stayed off travelers radars before Peter Jackson showed the world the gorgeous expanses offered here. He recognized its the only place that could double as a fantasy world with little needed cgi. Our flight was a 13 hour non-stop ... read more

When I arrived in Dunedin around lunch time 4 weeks ago, I went to the hostel to drop of my bags and went out to discover the city. This let me to a streetart scavenger hunt which was very fun. Sadly one of the artworks I had been looking forward to the most had been over painted (there was a reference foto). The next day I went on a nature cruise to see the albatros and sea lions. We were very lucky as we saw three of the four sea lions that live in the harboor. My last day in Dunedin I visited the world steepest street and spent the afternoon at the beach. With 16°C water temperatur the ocean wasn't very warm, but warm enough to go swimming. Beaches really are my most favorite place ... read more

One thing that Wes did tell us yesterday that I forgot to record is that the mining staff in Kalgoorlie are not FIFO (Fly In, Fly Out). In fact in Kalgoorlie, they have a different saying for FIFO, Fit In or F Off. There must still be some FIFO though because Rydge’s guest car park was nearly empty on Saturday morning. In fact, out tariff last night was cheaper than for the previous two nights with Rydges offering a discounted room rate at weekends! Perhaps the workers who went home for the weekend work at mines other than the super pit? Another thing I’ve been meaning to mention is the World’s Longest Golfcourse, the Nullarbor Links. Before we left home, we were aware of the fact that we could play 18 holes of golf between Ceduna ... read more