The Start of another trip

For any regular readers... (do I have any of these left??) it will come as no surprise to learn that I set off once again minus an important piece of equipment!!!!!!
After completing several laps of the house and deciding that I had not forgotten anything, away I went, arriving at Wazza's place (180 km from home) we very soon discovered that when I disconnected the MacBook I had left the magnetic cable and transformer behind, inquiries to Apple produced some good and some bad news, the good news was that they could supply a replacement, the bad news was that it would cost $99.00.
Some quick map study revealed that to return to Gympie and then rework day one from there would only add about 300 km and with Frank's very good economy this will only cost about $30.00 so tomorrow we will start out a bit earlier than we had planned and go via Gympie.
Before anyone offers the inevitable advice that I compile a list AND read it before leaving.... I did both of these things its just that my list didn't include Computer AND cables... you know the story about making things idiot proof.... Well I'm a better idiot than previous models!!!!!
No photos yet perhaps over the next few days???

Recent Trip... Random Thoughts

The "silly season" which I define as the Commercial side of Christmas is very nearly here so before I close the chapter on my recent trip I'll run a few more photos and some random thoughts by you.


For one reason or another these things all appealed to me.
Click on photos to enbiggen.


Just to prove you don't have to be in the city to face a red light, this one was 50 km from the nearest town and was there to keep traffic safe around some road works.

Please excuse this photo for being off-centre, I didn't check it before leaving the cemetery at Cowra NSW.

Beautifully laid out and maintained Japanese POW cemetery where the bodies of 234 prisoners of war who were killed during a mass breakout in 1944 are laid to rest.

Coming down the very windy road from the top of Mt Hotham my GPS nearly tied itself in knots trying to show the bends in the road... I could only get a glance at it as I was trying to stay on the road at the time.

Similarly the approach to the Burnley tunnel on the Monash Freeway was demanding most of my attention, freeways sure get you from point A to point B quickly and easily but you don't get to see much of the city or suburbs!!!

Inside the tunnel despite there being probably 100 lighted signs telling motorists not to change lanes the 4WD in front of me had just crossed from the left lane... some people don't (or can't) read!!!

From the distance this looked like a wooden tank stand that had been attacked by white ants (termites)

When I got closer I was surprised to see that the damaged posts were concrete, there must have been some form of electrolysis at work here.

South Australia is the driest state in the driest continent on earth, there are very few water reservoirs instead they pipe river Murray water thousands of miles to supply water to the towns and cities that need it.

Especially for Pamela some of the rolling hills that grow very good crops of wheat in SA.

There is a very healthy Jacaranda tree at the Fosters farm, a favourite tree for a favourite Daughter.

In the small town of Bellingen NSW a trendy window dresser had created a display using hessian wheat bags draped artistically over models in the local department store... they looked much better in the flesh (so to speak) but my other photos caught the glare from the window.

As the sign says the tiny Victorian town of Wunghnu claim to be the smallest sheep station in Australia with only one ewe!!!!

The Ladies in my life, somehow this was the only photo I took of Merle this trip.... there were others on her camera but not on mine.

My ex... Julie who lives in Mildura Vic. and is still one of my favourite people.

And of course my favourite daughter Vicki, what better note could I close on than that.

Still touring with Frank.

I am nearing home, should get there tomorrow afternoon all being well so in a couple of days I might even be able to do a proper post... who knows??


These photos were taken on Wednesday (its now Friday evening) I visited with 3 0f my cousins near the coast in Victoria, I went from there up into the Victorian high country, our winter snowfields.
As can be seen the day started out very well, pleasantly warm and clear.

As the morning progressed it started to cloud over but was still very pleasant.

When I reached the first snow resort it was still clear but getting worse fast.

This is what it was like at Mt Hotham ski village, probably the best alpine views in Australia are from here but I couldn't see more than 100 metres in front of the car by then so I'll have to collect some photos from elsewhere to post, the overnight minimum temperature on the mountain was -2 degrees Celsius (zero is freezing) so there was a chance of snow.

That seemed to tie in well with this poem... hope you enjoy it.

The Cowboys Prayer

Jake, the rancher, went one day
To fix a distant fence.
The wind was cold and gusty. . . .
And the clouds rolled gray and dense.

As he pounded the last staples in,
And gathered tools to go,
The temperature had fallen . . .
The wind and snow began to blow.

When he finally reached his pick-up,
He felt a heavy heart.
From the sound of that ignition,
He knew it wouldn't start.

So Jake did what most of us
Would do if we had been there . . .
He humbly bowed his balding head
And sent aloft a prayer.

As he turned the key for the last time,
He softly cursed his luck,
They found him three days later,
Frozen stiff in that old truck.

Now Jake had been around in life,
And done his share of roaming,
But when he saw Heaven, he was shocked,
It looked just like Wyoming!

Of all the saints in Heaven,
His favorite was St. Peter.
They talked a minute or 2, or maybe it was 3

No one keeps score up in Heaven, time is free.

"I've always heard," Jake said to Pete,
"That God will answer prayer,
But the one time I asked for help,
Well He just plain wasn't there."

"Does God answer prayers of some,
And ignore the prayers of others?
That don't seem exactly square,
I know all men are brothers."

"Or does He randomly reply,
Without good rhyme or reason?
Maybe, it's the time of day,
The weather or the season?"

"Now I ain't trying to act smart,
It's just the way I feel.
And I was wondering, could you tell me . . .
What the heck's the deal?"

Peter listened very patiently,
And, when Jake was done,
There were smiles of recognition,
And he said, "So, you're the one !"

"That day your truck, it wouldn't start,
And you sent your prayer a flying,
You gave us all a bad time,
With hundreds of us trying."

"A thousand angels rushed,
To check the status of your file.
But you know Jake, we hadn't heard
From you in quite a while."

"And, though all prayers are answered,
And, God ain't got no quota,
He didn't recognize your voice,
And, started a truck in Minnesota !!"

Good luck for someone!!!!!!

Trip to Victoria... and ????

After 3 days of sight-seeing and driving I'm now in Victoria.

I'm not sure whether the church would agree with the definition of a "Cute" church but if there is one that qualifies this one surely is it.

First stop after leaving Willow Tree was at Scone, this is the stock horse capital of Australia, I just loved this bronze statue of mare and foal in a park at Scone.

This horse was quite content to have a bird as a passenger... but then I suppose it was only a feather weight.


Driving toward this rocky outcrop I couldn't help thinking about Mount Rushmore in the USA, (c'mon use some imagination folks.)


There is a small town near Dubbo in central NSW named Dunnedo which always brings a smile to my face when I see or hear it, Dunny is a crude term for an outside toilet here in Australia so why on earth the town would have been named Dunnedo is beyond me.

The golden grain fields are now mostly harvested but occasionally I passed a paddock with crop still standing, it seems to have been a bountiful year here as is the case with the Foster's in SA, we are all thankful for that.

I am now at Merle's in Shepparton in the middle of a heatwave so have barely ventured out of the air-conditioned comfort of the house so far, good chance to catch up with Merle.

Brisbane to Vic... Day 2

This shows the Ebor waterfall, Ebor is another pretty little town located in the New England ranges, its cooler and has a more reliable rainfall in the higher spots so its always green and pleasant.

















From Dorrigo to Tamworth (Australia's Country Music Capital) on The Waterfall Way is through some really pretty countryside but my trip timing was out by a couple of weeks in the case of the wattle blossom imagine the photo here with golden blossom covering every tree along the road verge.









At Tamworth I spent a pleasant hour browsing the shops and heritage buildings, I was intrigued by the old hitching post on the sidewalk.

















But what's with the people who named this pub the White Bull, are they colour blind???
Click photos to enbiggen.




There is a very nice memorial to the First Fleet (who kindly delivered us the criminals and convicts that made up our original white inhabitants) in a tiny township in central NSW, nowhere near where the first settlers would have been.
See explanatory sign on the gate!!!!




There is a large "ShadeSail" structure in the park and as this photo shows at the rear side there is a realistic set of sails quite similar to those that would have been on the ships used at the time... very impressive!!

















Its all in a very pretty setting and I'm pleased to see that someone has gone to the trouble of creating this memorial.









This is located just short of "Willow Tree" where a good friend (mostly) WT aka Dingo lives, he was good enough to offer food and a bed as well as some instruction in the use of a computer!!!
Yeah, he's one of those smart ass types that actually understand computers!!!!

Another good day, heading towards Merle's tomorrow.

Nov 2009 trip

I have used Microsoft LiveWriter to prepare this post as I can set it out while off line so while I haven't got a permanent internet connection its very handy, I've just arrived at Merle's so I'm posting it as-is some of the photo placements could be better..... Next time!!!!

For anyone who is interested and has access to a map of NSW you can trace my circuitous route from Warren’s place this AM to Dorrigo in the New England Ranges of NSW.

I headed first for Beaudesert which is still in Qld. Then on to Kyogle in NSW, just before I got to Kyogle I saw this old Farmall Tractor on the roadside when I stopped to take a photo the owner came out so we chatted for a pleasant half hour or so, he also had this VERY nice 1939 model Chevrolet as well.

When I introduced myself he said his name was Kelly Webb, then followed an explanation that he didn’t like his Christian name so when people started calling him “Ned Kelly” after our most famous bushranger (highway-man) he decided to adopt the name “Kelly”.

Our discussion had been mainly about old cars and tractors so when I said goodbye and I’ll see you around again sometime he chimed in with, “if I’m still around… I’m a 1932 model you know” when I said I was a 1936 model he took heart and said we would meet again, I hope so, he was a very interesting bloke to talk with.

I stopped again before Kyogle to take some photos of the old railway “loop” which was built in early years to enable the old steam trains, which were used to transport the timber that was cut in the ranges, to negotiate the steep terrain through the ranges.

Kyogle has a very steep lookout over the town unfortunately its pretty overgrown blocking out a lot of the view.

On to Casino then to Grafton, this town is the undisputed jacaranda tree capital of Australia, the Gympie jacaranda’s are past their prime as it has been so dry during spring this year.

I had read about a very old Department store in Billingen so that was the next port of call, I caught them just before closing time and took a few photos, it’s a very nice old town which still has most of its old buildings intact.

Along “The Waterfall Way” with a couple of stop’s for the Newell Falls

and Dangar Falls just outside of Dorrigo… where I’m spending the night.

All-told an interesting day and “Frank” behaved perfectly so we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Touring With Frank

Well folks I'm on the move again,this weekend I'm visiting Warren in Brisbane and on Monday I'm heading south... through NSW to Victoria where I will visit with lots of friends and family, this is an annual (at least) catch up and always enjoyable.

After a couple of weeks of this I will Head for SA to visit with Favourite Daughter and FOSSIL, they are VERY busy with their best harvest for many years so I'm keeping out of the way for a while until they get most of it done.

The plan was that then Warren and I would go across to WA but as he is still a part of the work force committed to paying our tax bill he was unable to get holidays at the right time so we have put that trip on hold until next year.

Will keep in touch when the opportunity arises, have fun... I intend to!!!

Its not much further to Wudinna!!!!

We have been on the move again!! Rex, who is recovering well from his recent surgery, decided that he was indispensable at Wudinna so we went home to the farm for a few days.

In truth, he is a born and bred farmer who was starting to get bored in the city!!!

This put paid to the idea that Wazza and I would have a look around at some of the sights close to Adelaide, luckily Wazza is pretty easy going and fits in with whatever is happening.

I have posted some more photos…. Makes for a quick and easy way to do a post and will finish the story of our weeks adventure sometime soon, we fly out of Adelaide to Brisbane tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon and there is a public holiday on Monday so we will be able to catch our breath then.

Please click on photos to enbiggen.

Just to finish "The Gnomes" story here we are with the instigator (and chief make up lady) receiving our instructions.

The lake and parkland at the Adelaide unit is now all green and beautiful after getting some good rainfall.

There is a fair bit of limestone in some of the paddocks so they were "stone rolling" to crush the limestone, each of the 3 rollers weighs about 30 tonnes so they do a good job on the rocks.

There is also quite a few granite outcrops in the area, the memorial to the local farming community was designed and made by a local artist, it looks pretty impressive in the flesh.

This encouraged us to visit one of the granite outcrops, Pindalpa Rock, for a look around... it too is quite impressive.

Here we have Rex and Vicki (Rex was very good and stayed with the car so he wouldn't put any strain on his operation.

Vicki on the other hand was really feeling well and clambered all over the rocky outcrop.

Wazza is seen here invoking the wrath of the storm gods who were gathering behind him, they sent down a torrent of rain upon us but we survived to tell the tale.

Vicki's dog Timmy really enjoyed running up, down, and around on the rock and showing us just how fit he was and how unfit we were.

Here the two of them are waiting for Wazza and I to catch up!!!!!!

We were tempted into all this exercise by the promise of some good "taddying" in the pools on top of the rock, for those who might not know about Taddying, it is the collecting of tadpoles that hatch from eggs laid in the pools by frogs, this is a time honoured occupation which we were only to keen to participate in... but alas, there wasn't a taddy to be found.

Rex is seen here resting with his wheat collar on after the adventure.

Here are some other goats out for some exercise, these are feral animals and are plentiful in some parts of Australia.