Blogs from Oceania - page 7819

Hiya folks, I arrived in Auckland around lunchtime and not feeling too tired despite only having an hours sleep between Dubai and Auckland. The journey was in three parts Dubai --- Singapore --- Brisbane --- Auckland. The first two flights were about 7hrs or so. Quite a cool part of the flight was getting to stay on the plane in Singapore while the plane was refueled and passangers got on and off. The cleaners came onboard and gave the plane a not so thorough going over. Quite a serious point was put across the flight intercom as we arrived in Singapore, we were reminded that drug smugglers could be punished using the death penalty, that gave me quite a shiver even although I would never dream of doing that, but you do hear stories of 'innocent' ... read more

A little late I know - but we've been very busy & the internet is so busy in most places we've been. Well - here we are in Airlie Beach something like 800km down the coast from Cairns. This is the jumping off point to get onto the Whitsunday Islands, a group of supposedly gorgeous islands that were pushed through the ocean by the movement of the continental plates. They include Whitehaven beach - the 5th most beautiful beach in the world apparently! In about two hours Kate and I jump on a racing yacht and spend a couple of days(and nights) sailing around them. This will be something to look forward to, especially after having had a few days of poor weather, the clouds have finally parted and we're enjoying full on aussie sunshine. Airlie is quite tropical, pretty ... read more

Found some pix from various events in Aus, thought I share them with you.... read more

Sunday, 28 June I started my week by spending six hours behind the wheel driving to Adelong in NSW. We are in the middle of winter and the weather was typical of this time of year. On my journeys up the Hume Freeway I usually take my first break at a town called Holebrook, about half an hour east of Albury. It was around three in the afternoon when I arrived outside the Bed and Breakfast establishment in the main street of Adelong. The room was very basic but comfortable. After taking in my overnight bag I decided there was favourable weather for a trip to the Adelong Falls. Beside the creek are ruins of an old gold mining company. History tells us, it was one of the first areas in NSW to find gold in ... read more

There was this amazing park just out of Alice Springs with many displays including thorny devils and eagles. ... read more