Sunrise to sunset - From Home to Darwin

How exciting! This is day one of my trip to Darwin and the Kimberleys. A trip that has been a “dream”of mine for such a long time. The cameras (three of them) are primed and ready for action. Colin has been left at home to “keep the home fires burning” - he is not as keen about exploring as I am! However he did ferry us (son Steven and me) to the train station at sunrise.

The one and half hour train trip was quite uneventful, it was quite amusing to see how the travellers were seated so close to each other and yet managed to remain isolated from each other by either studying their smart phones or by staring blankly! Steven and I chatted to each other and stood out from the others because of it!

Once in the airport we checked in and I bought a very welcome cup of coffee. I was so ready for it!

Little Daffy bear posed for a few photographs along the way and was getting a bit weary by the time we sat in the transit lounge waiting for our plane to be called. It is tiring being so popular.

At last we were on our way. It was clear enough to take a shot out of the window as we left Brisbane – but we did not fly over the city so my photo is of the suburbs near the airport.

When we were approaching Darwin over the Gulf of Carpentaria we crossed over a few little islands, I couldn't resist taking another aerial shot because one of the islands was reminiscent of a manta ray, the row of little clouds formed the “tail”.

Once in the airport and the phones turned on I rang Colin to tell him we had arrived and Steven rang Lydia to tell her! At least we have our priorities right even if we both have left our partners at home!

We waited out the front of the airport for a friend (Susie) to collect us and I shot of yet another picture of the totems by the kerb.

I had heard so much about the Mindel Markets and this evening I eventually managed to see them. 

The sound of a didgeridoo player and drummer filled the air and we were drawn to the sound. A large crowd had surrounded them but I still managed to take a little video of them. What a wonderful sound. The “didge”player was using four different didgeridoos at the same time, each had a different tone. On the top of the sand dune behind the players were two little boys silhouetted against the evening sky, dancing to the rhythm. They were fun to watch. They were so unaware of being seen. Of course we had to go onto the beach to watch the sunset. 

It seems that all the tourists in Darwin had gathered on the beach to do just that! They made a wonderful shot too!

To draw my ramblings to a close, here is one of my sunset pictures. It was worth lugging the camera along!

AJ

Open water and sand

The grey clouds had all disappeared by the time we arrived at Nelson Bay to board our big cruiser. Today we were to chug out into the Port Stevens waters to see some of the dolphins that live out there. It was warm enough to shed fleeces and jackets but once we made our way out onto the open deck of the cruise boat and were underway it was certainly cold enough to put them back on again.

It wasn’t long before the first dolphins were spotted. A pod of around seven swam across in front of us. They didn’t do anything dramatic but they were beautiful as they did their formation swimming. The majority of people on the boat were young tourists from China and they were at first quite excited at the sight of the dolphins, however their enthusiasm soon waned and their interest switched to taking photographs of each other in poses around the boat! Fun to watch!

There were not too many dolphin sightings, so watching the young people perform for their cameras became far more interesting. I did take two still photographs of distant dolphins – the ones that were closer to the boat I took with my little video camera.

Unusually the boat pulled back into the marina and tied up before lunch was served. I guess it makes sense that the boat is not bobbing around on the water while people are wandering around with plates of food. We had out meal and left as the afternoon dolphin watchers boarded and started their tour with the second sitting of lunch on board! I think I prefer sailing before eating!

In the afternoon we drove only a little way north of Nelson Bay to where the beach reached for ever – inland! It looked as if we had arrived at the Sahara desert! Huge concrete pyramids reinforced that impression.

Our chariot was a regular looking street bus on a four wheel drive chassis. To negotiate the soft sand a special vehicle was imperative – we did see just how useless a two wheel drive car is on the sand – when we were leaving the beach we watched through the windows as a group of people valiantly tried to get their car un-stuck!

Our little group had fun being driven over the beach and up and over sand dunes. All of us “chickened out” at sand tobogganing. I was tempted but since I am accident prone I resisted the urge! There are a few more days to this holiday that I want to enjoy.

Catching up on Maria's travels

 Maria is now in Europe and had been a little too busy eating and sightseeing to keep us up to date with her travels. However she has managed to find a quiet moment to do a little bit of reminiscing. Enjoy her story!

Where do I start to tell you what we have been up to over the last seven days?  Well how about the day we started on the Scenic Crystal?  We were greeted like royalty and all the ladies received a beautiful long stemmed rose.  WOW!

 Flower Market in Basel

The food is fabulous but not as fabulous as was on the ship ... thank goodness but the mouth keeps opening!!  Right now while sailing on the River Rhine, I am sitting in a sunny corner, listening to beautiful music and can help myself to hot chocolate, icecream, coffee etc. all day and soon, at 4.30 we will be having an Ice-cream Bonanza which is a first for me. Then at 7.0 pm we have a booking at the Restaurant on board, to be followed by a walk through a magical town called Ruedesheim and the reason I know it's magical is because John and I have been there before and it was our favourite.  Let's hope that our memories will not disappoint us on the second time round.

 Basel, Switzerland.  Town Doctor checking tourists health - looking for Black Plague.

We stayed in Basel, Switzerland for a couple of days and today I can't remember where we went or what we did but what I do remember is that woman in some parts of Switzerland were not allowed to vote until 1990!!  Yes that date is right.  The right to vote did not come until 1971 but this was only in some regions.  The women would you believe, resisted the passing of the law in their regions, the right to vote.  The Supreme Court in the end stepped in and passed the law that all women had the right to vote irrespective of the region's preferences.


Tuesday 17th we went to the Black Forest and saw lots of Storks ... yes the birds that deliver babies to the lucky mum's and dad's.  They are so much larger than I imagined and much loved by the locals.  The village has even placed a CCT camera near a next which is on top of the Church's bell tower so that it can keep an eye on the babies' well being.  The nests are HUGE.

 

Some beautiful homes of the New Town, Heidelberg

The Blue Danube begins in the mountains of the Black Forest and we actually saw the spot which was only a small pond.  The other magical thing I saw while sitting in the bus was a couple picking berries on the mountainside.  So it's well and truly summer over here which reminds me to tell you that the temperature on most days starts off about 16, hits 24 in the early afternoon and peaks to 30+ by 8.00 pm.  I only have the one pair of summer pants (recent purchase) and 2 summer blouses, and one pair of black flats, so I am doing it tough as all the other ladies look beautiful in their summer dresses and shorts etc.  Oh well only another 9 days to "endure" such hardships.  (ha ha ha ... only kidding but washing every night no matter what the hour)

We had real "black forest" cake which I don't like so I didn't have it but am loving the bratswurzt and the bread is so delicious I am having 4 servings each time.  The farmers are given an annual payment to keep their meadows as meadows to prevent the pine trees from obliterating them.  It is a stunningly beautiful region.

Cuckoo Clock shop at Triberg, Germany.  Karl Marx was born here.

Yesterday Wednesday 18th we went to Strasbourg and visited the Notre Dame cathedral. I have to tell you this ... the boat is sailing past hundreds of people sitting on the river banks, irrespective if it's concrete, pebbles, or gravel soaking up the sun and going for swims on this very hot day but I have been told this is the case irrespective of the weather when its summer because the season is so very short ... so everybody makes the most of it.  Amazing sight.

Today we went to Heidelberg and what a beautiful town it is.  Like most of the town we have seen, there is the Old Town and the New Town and off course it's always the Old Town that has the most beauty but everybody want's to live in the New Town due to the amenities.

So that's it from me for now because I have to go to the Ice-cream Bonanza and I just don't know when I will get some free time again

Beautiful Baltic

I have had another update on the holiday that is being enjoyed by Maria and John, the ship has been "out of range" for a while so there is a bit of catching up to do. Maria has broken her visits to the different places into little paragraphs. Enjoy! (I did!)

Dover, England - we spent the day there and visited a beautiful village called Rye which used to supply the King with ships and it's greatest trade in the 18th century was in smuggling.  Today this medieval town with its cobbled streets and narrow passageways revealed some beautiful little 'houses' where you can have a bite to eat or buy souvenirs.  Our Tour Guide told us that Paul McCartney still lives there.  We saw some wonderful Oust houses which were places to dry the hops for beer but today they are private dwellings and very prime real estate.

 Tivoli Gardens, Stockholm, Denmark. Toys for big and little boys.

Copenhagen, Denmark - the Tivoli Gardens was my biggest and best surprise as I was expecting it to be a garden however it was much, much more and thrilled all of my senses no matter where I looked!  It had the most thrilling rides with scaled down versions for the children.  I tried to get on one but literally ran out of time.  Beautiful restaurants by the dozen, pavilions with activities for the children and adults, sculptures, water fountains and art!!  Birds, seagulls, ducks, fish, sharks and even old vintage cars for the Boys .. big and little.  We were told that when Walt Disney visited the place it inspired him to create Disneyland.  Naturally we saw the "Little Mermaid" and now there is also a "Big Mermaid" nearby (cruise ship terminal) and as I was taking a photograph of it I overheard an American woman saying how this one offended her.  Yes the Big Mermaid is much larger and so are her breasts however still in proportion to her body.

The delight of sitting on verandah and soaking up the sun and cruising along.

Tallin, Estonia - we walked up to Toompea Hill on a hot day but we were rewarded with a magnificent view of the Old Town below with it's many beautiful church spires and listened to a medieval concert.  The people here can understand the Finnish language and visa-versa and often the Fins will get on a 2 hr ferry across the Baltic Sea to drop in and shop.  Stunningly beautiful wool products but very rough and scratchy to touch.  So far I have not come across any wool products that were soft to feel.

Saint Petersburg, Russia - I don't know where to begin because the iconic palaces and churches we saw were overwhelming with their grandeur and opulence!  You could never imagine the amount of gold that has gone into the trimmings, furniture, statutes, mirror frames, chandeliers, wall paper, dinner sets, door frames, ceilings, floors, door handles, cutlery, glassware, vases etc. etc.  It is phenomenal!!!  Just tons and tons of it!  Literally!  Everything is gilt-edged!  Nothing escaped.  And humongous in size!  There is nothing to compare.

  Catherine's Palace.  Just the tip of the Gold Iceberg.

It was here that I first saw people soaking up the sun anywhere they could find a place to sit.  In the city or countryside it was simply a case of taking of the outer clothes and lying back.  I mostly saw this in the city.  Sadly the Russian history has left it's mark on its people as the older generation are angry.  Fortunately the younger ones are far more optimistic and outgoing.  Let's hope that the political future of the country will be a lot more stable and not experience any of the dreadful upheavals of the past.

Passenger feeding seagulls off the back of the ship until he almost lost thumb.

Helsinki, Finland - not much to write about really as we only did a walking tour through the City and as everybody is on holidays - they get 5 weeks holidays during the summer - the place was deserted.  Pretty town with a lovely lake which they skate on in the winter.  A fire in the 18th Century wiped the town out so all construction after that had to be in brick.   Sailing boats are lifted and "garaged" during the winter because of the damage the ice creates.  The trams look exactly like our Melbourne trams.  Same colour and shape.

Street Entertainer having a fun moment with tourists.

Stockholm, Sweden - to reach this beautiful City we had to sail through it's Archipelago which was stunningly beautiful.  We got up at 3.30 am and it took another 3 hours of sailing to reach the Port.  There are over 32,000 islands but not all of them are inhabited.   We visited City Hall where the Nobel winners get together for their Banquet meal, the Royal Residence which is now a museum as the Queen way back in the 1980's wanted her children to have a back yard which they now have by the hundreds of acres and can ride their horses, and the Vasa Museum ... an incredible sight because it is literally a museum BUILT AROUND a ship that sank 15 minutes after it's launch in 1628 and it's still in its original shape due to the water being brackish.

One of the many glorious and rare ocean sunsets we saw from our Balcony.

Visby, Gotland, Sweden - I fell in love with this little Island as it was rural, it's paddocks chock full of wild summer flowers, and its beautiful town of Visby which still has a wall surrounding the town which once protected it's people.  It has the oldest Viking graves, it's wild horses were once exported to England and Ireland to work in the mines because of their temperament and size, the Island relies on fishing and agriculture today however the young people are often forced to move to find employment elsewhere.  The economic decline of the Island centuries ago,  resulted in the preservation of it's ancient buildings and monuments.

Warnemunde, Germany - we were so lucky to be here during one of it's annual festivals which made this seaside town into a fantasy, one that I have often read about in novels but have never seen.  The seaside walks were full of kiosks, each one selling something unique and colourful and once again we found ourselves walking on cobbled streets with narrow passageways and as a special treat, a huge lighthouse at the end of one of them.

Maria enjoying German Oom Pah Pah Band.  Yes it was a cold night.

  Later in the afternoon we went for a ride on the Molli Train which is quiet famous and had a ball all due to the locomotive being repositioned from the front (we were in the last carriage) to the back!!  So we copped it all, the sounds of the steam, the clanking of the bell and yes, even the black sooty smoke and laughed even though we were choking.   Later on that night on board the ship we were treated to a German meal of Bratwurst, sauerkraut and an Oom Pah Pah band so we danced, drank German beer and reluctantly crawled back home about 10.30 pm.

  Cruise coming to an end.  Second last pilot boat.

 (PS from AJ)  From one part of the world to another, Maria and John have now packed their cases and are on their merry way to Amsterdam where they will shortly start their next adventure - travelling down the River Rhine.

Maria's Sami experience

I have received another informative email from Maria about her travels - my own travels ended on Sunday with nothing new to tell you about - it was horribly cold and raining in the morning and it was a pleasure to climb into the car and turn the heater on for our long five hour drive back home. Warm at last! I really loved what I saw on Fraser Island and would jump at the chance to go back again. It would be lovely to see those "beauty spots" in sunshine! But I have Maria's story to share with you so here it is. . .


Yesterday (Saturday 22) we did not have a guide on our bus tour going to North Cape (Norway) and what a difference that made to our enjoyment of the trip ... no where near as interesting as we were left to our own devices and I got lost several times while looking for the highlights... and time was awasting!!  Sadly I missed out on seeing the Observatory but got to see most of the other things.

I decided to play with the ISO on the camera as the sky and landscape was darker than 'normal' and even though the pictures looked good on the camera's LCD screen it was a different story when I got home and looked at them on the iPad.  YUK!!!  Typical touristy mistake, not practicing before leaving home.  I met a guy the other day while waiting to get back on board after a day's outing and he told me that he only brought one SD card, the reason being is that he was depending to download his photos onto his tablet but something went haywire and now he was in trouble.  Not a happy chappy!

What can I tell you about North Cape?  Firstly let me take back a comment I said in my other email about North Cape being the world's most northern land point as I am not so sure anymore because the Captain of the Ship during his daily greeting to the Guests said it was the most northern point of Norway.

North Cape.  What does this world famous and dangerous place look like?
The Dream.  I thought I was going to be doing it tough like some Arctic explorer struggling through snow, hail, gale force winds, fog, hunger, ice and sub zero temperatures and come home a hero telling John of all my super human endeavours.

North Cape. The Reality.  Jammed packed with campervans/mobile homes & tourists to start off with.  And on this itty bitty dusty and unpaved road, we almost collided with four toll booths.  I was astounded.  The next picture to unfold was the grey landscape, no footpaths or 'roads', uneven ground covered in gravel and really, really, really dusty.  What else was there to see?  Miles and miles of grey skies and ocean.  In amongst of all of that there were a couple of sculptures that are photographed by the thousands each summer day.  See below.  Never-the-less still loved the experience.

Today (Sunday 23) I went along on a tour called the "Sami Experience" which John once again thought there was a better photo opportunity by walking through town.  Once again, John was right and he managed to take some stunning photographs.

Anyway the Sami Experience was unforgettable as we sat in a Sami hut, all 62 of us, some on benches and some on the Reindeer skins on the ground. The huge fire was warm and cosy, the Sami Leader told us about their culture in a slow and easy style, "sang" the unique Sami song, the cadence is more like a person in a trance while were served smoked samon and smoked reindeer meat with tea or coffee.

 The hut (completely covered by soil with grass growing out of the soil, excellent insulation) soon filled up with smoke even though it had a "chimney" and the embers from the fire filtered down onto all of us.  I had to laugh when I noticed where I was sitting on the Reindeer skins that the hair had come off and was all over my jeans.  As I said, it was an unforgettable and delightful experience. 

I forgot to tell you that the weather changed within seconds.  When getting dressed this morning it was 18 C at 8.00 so I thought it was going to be a scorcher and got dressed accordingly.  Well it was something that had to be seen to be believed.  During the outing the fog rolled in and the temperature dropped drammatically.  Amazing and  quite frightening that it could happen without warning.  A regular occurence I was told.

I got back on board by 2.00 pm and the harbour within an hour was fogged in.  We set sail about 6.00 pm and we have been fogged in ever since. 

Off on another short break

Although the sun wasn’t shining, it was bright and not raining when Colin and I left home for our three days on Fraser Island. It is quite a long drive (six hours, thanks to major road works in several places) but we broke up the distance with a couple of stops. The first was at a service station where we enjoyed a coffee and shared a most delicious apple crumble muffin from “wild bean” café and the second was to eat our packed lunch in the rose gardens at Maryborough. I can share a picture of Colin eating his lunch but the roses behind him will be at their best in quite a few months time!

Colin enjoying his lunch in the Rose Gardens of Maryborough

Very near to the rose park was a striking old building, I couldn’t resist pulling the car over as we were leaving to take a photograph of it, the huge embossed arch that was once the entrance revealed that this was once a flour mill belonging to the Dominion Milling Company. The place is vacant and for sale – but I would have loved to wander around it and take a few more photos!

 The old mill near the rose gardens

We set the GPS so that we could find the booking office for Kingfisher bay and the poor “girl” giving the directions nearly had a coronary when the twisty road changed direction and became a beautiful motorway! She told me to turn left, follow the highlighted route and eventually demanded I do a U-turn! Silence eventually reigned when the motorway rejoined the original road! So much for the Garmin update! (Garmin is the make of the GPS).

 Almost at the ferry to Fraser Island

We arrived at Riverheads in good time and after checking in our suitcase we went off exploring (and taking photos) for a while. The homes built here all look neat and expensive and the gardens are all tidy – not overflowing with colour but neat with lawns and shrubs. The ferry trip across from the mainland to Fraser Island took around forty minutes, I was pleased that I had my new “toy” with me, I managed to read two chapters of my latest novel on it! 

Not too many passengers on the ferry to Kingfisher Bay

The sand hills of the island looked drab and colourless under the grey clouds so the camera stayed in the case throughout the journey!

A little coach was waiting for us on the jetty and it dropped us off at the front door of the resort. What an impressive entry!

The entrance to the Kingfisher Bay hotel.

A young man guided us into a room where he advised us of the different restaurants and activities that were available. With the top temperatures for the next two days to be below 20 degrees none of us was too excited by the offer of outdoor swimming pools heated or otherwise nor about the canoes, stand-up paddleboards or any of the activities that involved getting wet! Perhaps a ride on a “Segway” might be a challenge! I have never tried one of those. Tennis is not my scene, nor is sitting on a bar stool! There are plenty of places to get tipsy!

Tomorrow we are going on a tour of the beauty spots – but the weather forecast is not very encouraging. Fingers crossed!

AJ

Maria is in Norway

Maria is enjoying her chilly cruise across the North Sea and has visited a port in Norway, Here is an update of her story.

We arrived at Stavanger, Norway this morning and what an amazingly beautiful place it is. The industrial part of town looks like a National Park with everything in its place and spotlessly clean.  We saw only one bit of graffiti in the not so good part of town.  It is as cold as I thought it would be.  The Long Johns saved the day as the wind it bitterly cold. As soon as the sun is hidden behind a cloud - it's murder!

We did a trip to the Lysefjord (sounds like Lucyfjord) and the quirky attractions made my day.  The boat had the responsibility of delivering the newspapers, this was done by just tossing them overboard onto the jetty.  The next attraction was calling in on a huge colony of seals, three goats which were called Clinton, Gorbachev and Brezhnev, after that we parked right under a fabulous waterfall where one of the crew filled a spotlessly clean bucket of water and offered each of us a drink.  This water had to be the best I have ever tasted in my life.  No animals live on the island which meant the water was really, really clean.

For morning tea we had the local waffles with fresh cream and home made jam.  Once again, I have never tasted such delicious jam and cream.  The other thing John and I noticed was the clarity of the air as it is incredibly clear making it a photographer's dream.
Maria

....................

Maria has limited internet connection (which costs an arm and a leg) and will be unable to send updates daily as a result. However I shall add more of her story as I receive them. Today there were no pictures to show the places that were visited so I have used a couple of pictures that are not mine - the first one I have been able to give credit to the photographer but the second came from a travel site with no reference to the photographer. I have changed the sky in the photo (the one of Lysefjord) but I would have liked to have known the name of the person who took it in the first place to give him or her, credit for it. AJ
AJ

On the high seas

Maria is aboard ship and off on a cruise across the North Sea. This is her story.

Well if I thought that London was cold, Dover proved to be a totally different meaning of brute cold winds!! Even the ship had troubles with the wind as it required two tugboats to get it away from the birth!!  The winds were over 54 km an hour.  Believe me it was a memorable experience. What a pity we had to leave London when the skies were blue and all dressed up for the trooping of the colour.

Last night I signed up to the package deal for the wifi on board ship and now have to see how it works because it is expensive no matter how you look at it and I hope it will not prove to be as inefficient as has been told to me in the past.

The ship is beautiful but cost cutting measures are obvious, the most annoying one is the toilet paper.  I am astounded that it even stays on the roll because it's sooooooo thin!!!   Some bathroom mirrors are kind and not give you the heebie jeebies when you see your reflection but the one in our cabin shows every crook, cranny and crevice that has been etched over the years, but what is even more depressing are the lines!!!  Where on earth did they come from?!  There are hundreds of them.  

Yesterday was once again, a difficult day spent mostly travelling not long distances, but tied up with getting from one point to another and listening to other travellers over-talking others in their group. We finally got on board the ship hungry and tired.  It sailed on time at 5.00 pm and our luggage arrived shortly after.  Two people unpacking in a small room naturally takes extra time and I have found I am still sorting things out this morning.  

We have a formal night on this evening so the long black dress is hanging up and ready to go.  At 11.00 am there is going to be a "dancing with the stars" event in the showroom which I am looking forward to.  

Maria

Maria's travels

One of our "Visions" members left for a very special holiday on Monday and since communication with all her friends is so difficult when travelling abroad I promised to put her travel stories here in my blog. When there is no access to the Internet, Maria will write post cards and letters.
Here is Maria's story so far . . .

Driving  to the airport in the wee small hours.

MONDAY: As you can see we made it to the airport and the next best surprise is that my iPad is working and I was even smart enough to transfer photos from my camera while sitting here in amazement..  Just love all of this technology.
So far I can't remember anything that I've forgotten, John has had his morning coffee and I am wondering what to do with myself for the next 3 hours.  Last night I downloaded a couple of books onto the iPad but I'm feeling too excited to just read... 👯
I also found out how to access emoticons from the iPad keyboard which I must share with you when I get back home.
Well looks like when I'm at airports and hopefully hotels, I will be able to let you know what we have been up to.

The foyer of the Airport Hotel in Singapore

 TUESDAY: It is just wonderful to be off the plane and walking around the airport trying to get in some exercise before going to bed.  It is 31 degrees with a delightful warm breeze.  We are staying at the Airport Crown Plaza and it is gorgeous.  Tomorrow morning we are up at 5.00 am and will be flying to London in a new 380 Airbus. I will try and get a photo of it on the inside.  We are currently having our "happy hour" drinky poos.  Thank you for alerting me to the free wifi at airports, hotels etc. I am learning heaps more about my iPad which is exciting.  We had champagne with our breakfast.  A guy sitting next to John typed on his laptop for the whole duration of the flight .. what was impressive was how his fingers just flew over the keyboard so it became obvious he was keeping up with the flow of his thoughts.  One baby on board that cried on take off and landing .. what an angel as I thought we were in for the long haul. Not sure when I can write again but hopefully soon.  Must go as John has finished his drink.

Maria and John in the 'plane

 WEDNESDAY: John and I tried to leave the airport yesterday without our luggage or going through immigration.  Now that gave us both a BIG BIG fright as it brought to our attention that we are not the sharpest knives in the drawer anymore.  Boo hoo!! We hardly slept last night as we were on tender-hooks worrying about the alarm clocks not going off.  I know, hard to believe.  It's pouring over here but still so lovely and warm. 

Unmistakably "LONDON"

THURSDAY: What can I say about the weather in London?  Grey, wet and very cold and everybody has complained that the sun has only shown itself for about 4 days in the past year, and that happened last week!  The wind is really blustery which has stirred the pollen and yesterday was difficult as everybody was sneezing and holding handkerchiefs to their noses and at the same time trying to protect their eyes from grit that was flying all around.  Apparently there is a lot more pollen in the air than usual due to the abnormal amount of rain that fell during winter.

London is getting ready for the Queen's Birthday which is going to be celebrated this Saturday and of course the Trooping of the Colours is going to be the main event which John and I will miss as we will be driving down to Dover to board the Ryndam for our cruise to see the Fjords of Norway.

 

With this picture of a grey squirrel among the daisies we leave Maria's story for today.
With the technology that we have today, keeping in contact across the miles has become so much easier. Personally I did not expect photographs with Maria's emails - but of course the iPad is a camera as well as an email device and can be used in the same way as a smart phone! I am learning!
AJ

From Cairns to Cooktown

After picking up the hire car we “hit the road” and were soon at Port Douglas. This is a place that has blossomed so much since we first visited in the 1980s – so much so that we can hardly find anything that is the same – but we did! The little Church has not been moved or changed and we came across it just as the morning Sunday Service was starting.

 We could here the congregation singing one of the old, old hymns I remember from my childhood! “There is a green hill far away without a city wall” Remember it?

Only inches away from the little church the Sunday market was in full swing and I enjoyed our wander through the stalls and was quite tempted by one of the paintings by one of the artists – until I saw several others EXACTLY the same in different sizes! That put me off! If I am to buy an oil painting I want it to be unique!

The drive to Cooktown had me worried – we seemed to be heading South when I thought we should be going North. It is a horrible feeling not knowing if you are on the right road or not and there are no road signs to help and reassure! Fortunately there was a map in the glovebox and Colin told me that we were heading in the right direction and to stop worrying! I wasn’t happy until we reached Lakeland. Our son, Steven had told us to drive off the highway and find the coffee house.

 It is a place you wouldn’t find unless someone had told you where to look. We bought a coffee  there – locally grown and prepared and enjoyed it while sitting under the shade of the veranda.

Refreshed and alert again we continued on our long trek to Cooktown. The sight of a heap of black stones made us pull up to see what this was all about! 

 We had come across “Black Mountain” and the black stones are the solidified magma from a small volcano that had pushed up into a cone, the weather had caused the cooled material to crack and decompose between the cracks so forming lots of boulders. The black is a layer of lichen that has adhered to the rocks over hundreds of years.

From there it was only a few more minutes before we were in the famous landing place of the Explorer James Cook and the motel in which were are to stay for the next two nights. What a view we have from our window!

 Feeling as though we had been sitting down all day (well we had!) we walked the length of Charlotte Street taking photographs as we went – there are many old buildings and interesting things to see on that one street! 

 Now we shall take the car and drive to where we shall have a meal. I think I have made Colin walk far enough for one day!

AJ

By the way - If you click on any one of the pictures you can see all of them much larger and clearer - there will be an arrow that will allow you to scroll through them. Should you need to comment and find the process too difficult, drop me a line - joanren AT gmail.com (written that way so the address is not "clickable!")