Return to Germany

When we went to Germany for the cruise on the Rhine last Christmas we noticed that on either side of the river there was a dedicated cycle path, and from this observation an idea was born.

What about a holiday cycling through the Rhine valley from Mainz to Cologne in a week.

As the water flows pretty rapidly in this direction it seemed perfectly logical that it must be downhill and flat, so far so good, so the planning and saving started for the adventure at the end of August.

Ok ..... return ferry to Holland, train from Amsterdam to Mainz, return from Cologne, ride about 25 miles a day, Youth Hostels and guesthouses, work out budget, complete bookings.

We had our bikes serviced and put in a few miles training in the month before our departure so by the end of August we were raring to go.

The day soon arrived and not a terribly good start, locked myself out of my apartment, missed the DFDS bus to the ferry terminal, however we had time in hand to recover the situation and were soon on board, in our cabin and sailing out past the South Shield Light on our way to Holland.

We docked on time, smooth transfer by DFDS bus to Amsterdam, then negotiating the confusion that is left luggage at Amsterdan Centraal. We had a few hours until our train left for Mainz so we cycled into Dam
Square to people watch, coffee and some lunch.

Our German ICE train left on time, and changes in Cologne and Weisbaden saw us deposited in Mainz by 1800.







On board ICE 127



The hostel information told us to look for bus 62 or 63 at the station and we were soon squueezed into a peak hour bendy bus with bikes and all our gear.

"Sprecken ze English"
"Ya a little"
"How many stops to the Jugenhaus"

By this time the bus was becoming rather amused by the goings on of these two foreigners and after a short consideration the answer was we needed to be off at the sixth stop. There was a sort of a countdown and we soon found ourselves on the footpath not far from our newly refurbished hostel.


Tired but happy we had arrived for the start of our new adventure.

The Little Jewel

What a marvelous thing these bus passes are and I'm not the only one who thinks so either by the measure of the queue that waited for the 685 bus to Newcastle.

We had decided on a day at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle which turned out to be a little gem of interactive exhibits and neatly delivered bite size chunks of information.
Spread over three floors there were galleries for fashion, entrepreneurs, The River Tyne, local regiments, working people and the Turb‌inia, the worlds first turbine steam boat.

The Museum building is a sympathetic conversion of the CO OP buildings and the best thing of all it's free.



What an amazing vessel - Turbinia head on;
40 knots in 1900 which lead to a revolution in marine power and propeller design.


Well worth the visit.

Australian Epilogue

We have now been back home a week, back at work, back to the normality of everyday life, back to cold weather, back to front.

Only last week ...........

Up early, packed the car and checked out of our excellent cabin at the Big4 Caravan Park in Nowra.

Morning tea with the folks and an upsetting farewell, we headed the 200 kilometers north to Sydney and our rendezvous with Emirates and the flight back to Blighty.

We left plenty of time for the journey which allowed stops at the Mount Keira lookout to give us our final panoramic views of the NSW South Coast and Woolongong, the handback of our comfortable hire car, negotiating the unfamillliar Sydney southern suburbs and cut and thrust of Sydney traffic. All negotiated with minimal stress.
Again Emirates facility to allow online check in 24 hours before the flight, made the process at the airline desk smooth and efficient.
Always worth asking ...... "any chance for an upgrade?"
"Sorry Sir, business class is full I'm afraid".

Our flight back to the UK routed us via Bangkok (8 hours) to refuel, then onto Dubai (9 hours). Change aircraft (1.5 hour connection - tight) and 8 hours to Newcastle.
Departed Sydney about 45 minutes late which was a worry with the tight connection at Dubai, but hey what can you do about it?
Arrived Bangkok at one in the morning and discovered we didn't have to get off the aircraft for refuelling. This was rather good as it means you don't have to go through all the security checks again.
"Excuse me Sir can I see your boarding pass please?"
"OK"
"Follow me please, these are your new boarding passes we are upgrading you to business class"

Thank you Emirates.

We made up time at Bangkok and were back in the air before you knew it, stretching out in our new surroundings for a comfortable flight to Dubai, arriving bang on time.
A quick change, some duty free, back in cattle class again and an event free flight to Newcastle, landing a half hour early.
Golly was it cold!

Our aventure to Australia, planned for so long, was over.


Views of Woolongong from Mount Keira lookout

Back to the Shoalhaven.

Arrived in Nowra at the Big 4 caravan site where we booked into our cabin for the final two nights. These are wonderfully self contained units with private facilities and perfectly suit our purposes, and very modestly priced as well.
Very hot yesterday in the low 30's as we drove the 3 hours along the side of dried up lake George, refuelled at Goulburn then down through Kangaroo Valley and into Nowra, the main town of the Shoalhaven area.

We had an enjoyable and restful day with parents, reminiscing and enjoying each others company, then a lunch at a local restaurant before returning to our cabin mid afternoon to pack for our return flight home to England tomorrow.

We have 17.5 hours to Dubai, then 8 hours to Newcastle ..... we can't wait :-(

PS my thanks to MacDonalds for providing free WiFi in the restaurants which I can pick up from our cabin near by.

Mixing with Presidents

A very busy day and, very, very hot in Canberra. We decided on the Explorer bus as the best way to see the Capital in the short time we had. An important reason for coming to Canberra was to witness the entry on the Wall of Remembrance of my great uncle who was killed at Gallipoli on 8th August 1915 aged just 18.

For $25 you can use the Explorer Bus to visit all the main sites of the capital hopping on and off all day and the first stop was the Australian War Memorial.

There seemed a bit of a do at the AWM with police and security highly visible and as we waited to enter the G for George Lancaster striking by night sight and sound show we bumped into the President of Malta on an official state visit.
Well not literally bumped into but near enough for me to claim so.

We paid our respects to the fallen, and set off on a full day sightseeing which included attendance at Prime Ministers question time in the spectacular Houses of Parliament built inside Capital Hill in Canberra.
As our bus driver said of the huge Australian flag flying from the mast atop the hill;
"that's the only flag in Australia that is held up by hot air"

Parliament and Capital Hill


Visited; Australian War Memorial, National Art Gallery, Parliament House, Old Parliament House, National Museum of Australia.

Tomorrow its back to the coast via Kangaroo Valley and a final visit with my parents.

The Farmers Daughter and Canberra.

We started the day with a bright sunny morning in Mudgee, a small town on the central midwest of NSW which has become the latest medal winning wine growing region, producing a range of excellent wines not yet available in the UK. We visited Farmers Daughter winery on the recommendation of my brother and sampled some of their fine sparkling Chardonnays and Merlots before setting a course south to the nations capital.

Ready to sample some Farmers Daughter!

Heavy road iron - B2 double articulated lorry common on Australian roads.


We journeyed through the former 1850's gold rush towns of Hill End, Sofala and Bathurst in temperatures in the low 30's watching as huge cumulus clouds built during the afternoon.

Our car radio crackled ... Radio 2BS Bathurst "we interrupt programmes for a weather warning, heavy rain, squalls, and hail."

Luckily for us we were south of the main action but still received some heavy rain in places with the thermometer dropping to 18C in half an hour.

We drove into Canberra in bright sunshine, reflecting on a day of changing weather, gravel roads, magnificent countryside and ready for a good nights sleep.


Canberra YHA right in the centre of the city.

A day on the lake

Newcastle, Hexham, Morpeth, Seaham .... pinch me, I'm in England, oh no I'm not - it's too hot. 32 degrees so the outside air temperature readout said although it was a cool 18 in the Ford Falcon as we headed for Tuncurry on the mid north NSW coast and my brothers home. The 400 kilometers sped by quickly and we were soon at our destination and treated to a warm welcome and a free flowing BBQ that passed late into the night.

The huge Wallis Lakes are larger than Sydney Harbour and drain into the Pacific though a small fast flowing entrance with the town of Tuncurry on the Northside and Forster on the Southside.


Super cool ..... Ron and Julie at speed.

The area is best seen from a fast powerboat and my family has just that. Down the slip onto the boat and away we went, 4 of us plus Harley, my family's Stafford bull terrier. Around the lake we flew in and out of the islands that dot this wonderful inland waterway, until we came ashore on an island where we BBQ our lunch, washed down with some very cold beers. We left our island and headed for home as the thunderclouds built up in the afternoon, and we were only in the house some 15 minutes before the heavens opened.

No worries as we BBQ'd surf and turf on metal skewers, freshly caught fish and home made chips, amply washed down with excellent Mudgee wines for dinner on the upstairs patio of my brothers house while lightening and thunder flashed all around.

Sorry to leave we headed into Forster for and excellent breakfast at the Paradise Cafe built out over the water near the entrance to the lake before the long drive to the new wine area of Mudgee in central NSW.
Up through the Hunter region we stopped at the Wyndham Estate for a little sampling of their excellent Shiraz. This is the home and very place where Shiraz grapes were first grown in Oz and recommended is their Bin 555. Through the upper Hunter region to Denman (Rosemont Estate) and beyond and over the Great Dividing Range and down into Mudgee. Pulled into the traditional old style Oriental Hotel after 8 exhilarating hours of fabulous touring.


The traditional Oriental Hotel in Mudgee







Tomorrow we visit the Farmers Daughter and Logan wineries before heading for the Federal Capital of Australia ..... Canberra.

PS very many thanks to Julie for the surf and turf (recipe please) and Ron for not burning them!

Photo catchup ...... the last few days

Kiama blowhole, south coast NSW











The ocean bridge, built when the road fell into the sea, near Stanwell Park NSW







It needs no further description







The famous "4" Sisters, the Blue mountains near Sydney.








Sylvia in the Jamison Valley, Blue Mountains.

Surfs up!

Sitting here in Queenscliffe one of the northern Sydney beaches after a morning surf to build the appetite before a leisurely brunch at Ashers in Manly.
We had a great drive up to Sydney from Nowra along the coastline and the new ocean bridge north of Woollongong. Our electronic tag for the tollways proved successful as we swooped through the harbour tunnel to emerge in North Sydney on our way to stay with a friend in Queenscliffe.
Yesterday dawned bright and sunny as we headed for Katoomba in the Blue Mountains and our rendezvous with the three sisters. Cable car down into the Jamison Valley a walk through rain forest, the most wonderful pumkin soup at Common Ground then back into Sydney to see the Queen Victoria berthed at Circular Quay and back to our diggs for the end of an exhausting but exhilarating day.
Today we head for Foster on the mid NSW coast to stay with my brother passing through Newcastle and Hexham ........ wow!

Now in Nowra

Lakes Entrance provided clear and sunny weather to compliment the fine evening of our Valentines Day dinner aboard a floating restaurant moored in the harbourside.
Our long drive to Nowra lead us through spectacular coastal scenery, up into the Snowy Mountains and the high Monaro before rejoining the coast again at Ulladulla and the long run into Nowra. After seven and a half hours we turned into our cabin at the Big 4 site, called my parents and settled down to a comfortable night.

We have been on the go for two days taking in all the sights of the Shoalhaven district which culminated today in a visit to Kangaroo Valley and lunch on the verandah of the general store at Barrengarry. You see this shop sells the best meat pies in the world and boy were they delicious.
Sylvia saw her first mob of wild kangaroos, talked to a kookabarra, marvelled at the black cockatoos, rozellas, and lorakeets, fed a family of magpies, gazed over vast vistas of the southern New South Wales coast and walked on the pure white sands of Jervis Bay.

Tomorrow we head for Sydney.


Ninety mile beach, Lakes Entrance, Victoria.











All of us and the Worlds Best Pies, Barrengarry, Kangaroo Valley







Genuine Aussi meat pie








The mob








Kooka and friend








The two of us with the family on the white sands of Jervis Bay

Marvelous Melbourne

From down in the market to up in the Rialto and Melbourne in between we have had a fabulous day. Bright and sunny with a light cool breeze about the mid twenties it's hard to realise that over 140 people have been killed not far from here in the devastating fires. The parks are parched from the searing 47 degree heat last week, but for us, the cooler weather is just perfect.

Melbourne is a very pleasant surprise, being compact and very easy to get around using the free Heritage trams and tourist buses.

Our day started with a walk to the Victoria Market and the greatest range of produce you would see anywhere in the world. A tram ride around the city ended with a picnic in Fitzroy Park overlooking Captain Cooks birth cottage,totally dismantled at Great Ayrton North Yorkshire, shipped to Melbourne and rebuilt brick by brick.

Our guided tour around Federation Square, watching the rowers on the Yarra River and a whizzup 55 floors of the Rialto Tower ended a very fine day.

Today we are off to Lakes Entrance in Eastern Victoria


Transport for the day







Rialto Tower








Sunsets on another day








Beautiful Melbourne

Adelaide and The Great Ocean Road

Lunch at the Flying Fish in Port Elloit on our last day In Adelaide.







Our farewell BBQ








Africa on a plate








Coachman's cottage YHA Port Fairy








Port Fairy Harbour








Bay of Islands - Great Ocean Road, Victoria








Says it all








The 12 Apostles plus 2

Petaluma Winery Adelaide Hills

Sampling the product



then




Lunch with our friends.

Safely in Australia

0730 on a cool morning ie about 20C staying at friends in Adelaide. 

We had a terrific if not long flight with Emirates and would recommend them to anybody. The service and meals were super. Qantas on the other hand were very ordinary but the two and a quarter hour flight from Sydney to Adelaide was quickly over and ontime.

The temperature here has fallen to the mid twenties after a week of heat over 40's C so everyone is relieved. Gardens are really parched and we have had reports of terrible bush fires near Melbourne with over 40 people killed yesterday. It wont affect our plans as we are touring around the coast to Melbourne and that area seems unaffected.

Today we take a tour of Adelaide then lunch with our friends at a vineyard in the Adelaide hills. Barbie tonight.

Sylvia's packed, Kenn nearly

Stuff everywhere but it's organised chaos.










We are pre checked in with the airline, have our seat allocation and our complimentary hotel room in Dubai, bags packed !!!!!, papers in order, tickets, passport, medical kit, ........

Sandra will make sure we get to Newcastle airport on time on Friday ..... big thank you Sandra.

Relax

Now where is that to do list ............... ?

My Channel video

I wanted to stream this video when I posted a record of our trip the Germany in the last post, but couldn't quite work out the best way to do it.

Shooting snippets of video with a digital camera while travelling, and posting it to a blog, presents a number of challenges, not least of which are editing and ensuring the finished size does not overwhelm communications.

I didn't want to have a bells and whistles video editor software on my little netbook, because I can't use it properly and I would rather enjoy the travel experience than spend most of the time bent over the computer.

I discovered, that my little point and shoot Casio has a basic video edit function, and a nifty piece of free software called Avidemux, which can convert and compress my visual efforts.

So sit back and enjoy a crossing of the English channel using the channel shuttle.

On in England



Off in France

Somewhere near the truth

A 4 day cruise on the Rhine vicariously described as a party cruise by our tour operator Phoenix Holidays seemed just the anecdote to see out the hectic year that was 2008. The actuality and the description in the travel brochure proved to be somewhere near the truth for our festive break.

Our journey started with a 2230 pickup in Newcastle, through the channel tunnel, ending 20 hours later as we stepped aboard MS Arlene, moored at Boppard on the Rhine, and shown to our spacious cabin. There is a secret here, pay the extra and book one of the five standard cabins on the Promenade deck, it is well worth it.

Our cruise over the next two days revealed itself to be a 20 kilometer sail downstream to Koblenz followed next day by a 7 hours, 70 kms upstream slog against a strong current to Rudesheim. Even in cold sunny days and glistening sharp frosts this part of the Rhine remains beautifully spectacular


With Christmas over and the tourism season not yet started Boppard, Kolblenz and Rudesheim remain pretty well closed with very little happening except for those businesses catering to the out of season cruise market. The honourable exception was Siegfried's Mechanical Music Cabinet which captivated us with its collection of working mechanical instruments.


Always to hand was the Arlene where we could retreat from the cold to warm drinks and excellent dining while musically entertained by electronic keyboard our live entertainment. If you consider Deal or no Deal, and a minimum £10 raffle to be engaging party entertainment then you would be well satisfied. But a cruise is all about your fellow passengers and our table proved an agreeable lot.

We were ushered off our boat with a 0600 bags outside cabin doors call on our final day for our long return journey home arriving at our drop off point at 0220 next morning, our drivers shaving an hour and a half off the scheduled time.










All in all a great 4 days.