Dubbo's Western Plains Zoo

It's quite a few years since we visited the Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo, so we were interested to find out what, if anything had changed.

With only a few days of our holidays remaining and the knowledge that there would be at least two more overnight stays before we arrived back at Alice Springs, we decided to have a lay-over day at Dubbo so we could revisit the zoo. Driving for 8-10 h per day is boring and wears one out, so a rest every so often is necessary, especially since the trip between Mildura (our next stop) and north through South Australia and back into the Territory is fairly ordinary. Especially when you've done it (the latter) dozens of times.

According to the Dubbo tourism site:

The City is a thriving regional home to some 40,000 people who have health, education, retail and professional services at their finger tips…and time on their hands. It’s the best of both worlds: city and country. There’s plenty of work ... great opportunities ... and the time to enjoy it all.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of regional towns throughout Australia that could be equally described. They are nice places with friendly people where life can be very comfortable. Having the Western Plains Zoo just outside the town is a bonus, especially for tourism.

The Western Plains Zoo is owned and managed by Taronga Zoo which is in Sydney.

Many of the unique African animals are present, there are some Asian animals and of course some Australian animals, all located in their own areas with nice roads and walkways wending among them. I perhaps like the meercats most as they are the animal most likely to make a lovely domestic pet (I think!). They seem to be a great example of synergy within a community ... everyone working together for the common good. Even in the safety of the Western Plains Zoo, one of the clan always finds a high spot and stands watch to protect the others from attack. They take this duty in turns and there is never a time when there is nobody watching out for the enemy.

The animal at the top, for anyone who hasn't seen one before, is a hairy-nosed wombat (unique to Australia).

If time permits, do look up the Western Plains Zoo link ... there is some interesting stuff there ... for anyone interested in animals that is.

Enjoy!

Robin

Escaping to Coolangatta - Queensland's Gold Coast

When you live in Central Australia, an isolated place about 1500 km from the beach and "Big Smoke" of the capital cities, occasionally you have to escape.  

During our recent escape, we spent five nights at Coolangatta, part of Queensland's popular Gold Coast. It was an unplanned part of our escapade, but never the less, pleasant.

We had intended staying at a time-share we had booked further south along the east coast of Australia at Port Macquarie (New South Wales), but unfortunately, flooding within the area put a stop to that. As a contingency measure, we headed for Coolangatta where it's sunny with warmish days and cool mornings and evenings.

The whole Gold Coast Strip is an entertainment and holiday region. Hundreds of thousands of people come here annually to soak up the sun, surf, fish, visit the numerous tourist attractions, gamble, shop, and have a break from the every day monotony of their mostly mundane lives. At the end of the calendar year the "Schoolies" flock to the coast to party, party, party and celebrate their success (or otherwise) at grade 12.

Coolangatta is far enough away from Surfers Paradise (often called Sufferer's Paradise) to be out of the glitter and high paced entertainment activities. It's more peaceful and you can find a parking place most days.

There are thousands of restaurants, cafes and hotels. If you can't find the food you want somewhere on the Gold Coast, you aren't really hungry. Attractions like Sea World and Dream World are still popular despite having been here for decades; a little like Disneyland in the USA.

Fortunately, there is a high speed highway at the back of the Gold Coast strip that enables one to drive from place to place without having to wend through traffic and 50 km/hr streets and traffic lights etc.

Only a few kilometres from Coolangatta and north of Surfers Paradise is Mudgeeraba, where our house is situated. We called in to have a look at it and the nearby Robina Shopping Town which is the largest shopping centre in the Gold Coast.

One day in the not-too-distant future, we will relocate to our Mudgeeraba house and be 3 km from Robina Shopping Town and far enough away from the entertainment strip for our quality of life not to be diminished. We are looking forward to it, but still have a year or two of caravanning to do first.

Robin

In Gordon's Backyard

In Gordon's backyard, there is a variety of interesting things.

When his cat died leaving him with a supply of fish-based cat foods, he decided to keep filling the cat's bowl hoping the neighbours' cats would trespass and help him get rid of it. 
They didn't. In their place came the magpies who descend every morning and most evenings to have their fill of cat food. As I watched them I couldn't help wondering if they'd continue eating it if they knew it was cat food. Of course they would ... I'm Caucasian but I eat Asian food. If I was really, really desperate, I'd probably eat cat food, or indeed the cat.

The strawberry patch has one huge, ripe strawberry, the garden bed some lovely colourful flowers, and near the shed, a potted plant that seems to say, "I'm here ... look at me, look at me!" Whatever they are called, they are among my favourite plant categories. I admire them. They have a beautiful simple symmetry that appeals to my sense of order, structure and space. Straight fronds, all parallel with each other, point towards the sky as if acknowledging the wonderful handiwork of the one true god, Mother Nature.

All they ask for is a little water and a place to grow. If only people were as simple.



Robin

2011 Brisbane Caravan Expo

Visiting a caravan expo is something akin to trying to take a drink from a fire hydrant; in the latter, there's so much water pressure, it's difficult enough to stay on one's feet, let alone, take a small mouth full. At the caravan expo, there was so much to see, it was overwhelming. By the time we had seen the fifth caravan, it was difficult to recall the features of the second. Thus the Canon came in very handy helping us to preserve a photographic aides memoire of those features we preferred.

We visited the show with Christina's brother Gordon and his wife Lindy who are Brisbanites. On arrival at the show there was a slight sprinkling of rain which, after about five minutes or so abated and thankfully remained at bay for the rest of our visit. The thought of getting wet on our rare visit to Brisbane didn't appeal at all.

The Caravan Expo included camping and associated products eg, electric generators, tents, portable refrigerators, and a range of RVs (Recreational Vehicles). You know, the tortoise-like motor vehicles where you have your house at the back of the vehicle and take it wherever you go. These don't appeal to us as it means you have to pack up your belongings inside the van every time you want to go somewhere. With a caravan it doesn't matter if you leave your plates and cups on the table, you drive off and leave it parked.

As we looked at various caravans, it became quite clear that most of them are similar with features dictated to designers by the need to maintain low weight and specific dimensions. This was, of course, no surprise to us, but it was a surprise that almost all the vans used the same fixtures and fittings. There are obviously few companies that design latches for doors and caravan air-conditioners.

Being novices at anything to do with towing, we were delighted to get a comprehensive explanation of all the ins and outs of ball weight, gross vehicle mass, tare weight etc from a lovely lady called Dale Timms of Nova Caravans, who has apparently spent decades designing and selling caravans. Knowing that our Landcruiser Prado's maximum towing weight is 3,000 kg, is a first step in deciding which caravan to buy.

Now we have several months to research what is available, what we need compared with what we want, to compare prices and buy something suitable for our towing vehicle and lifestyle. Only the Crusader range offers two comfortable leather chairs instead of bench seats, so it's possible that one simple feature - seating - could be the strongest determinant of what we buy after weight and price.

The search continues, but at least now, we know one end of a caravan from the other.

Robin

From The Alice to Cawnpore Lookout (Queensland)

When you drive east from Alice Springs to Queensland, there are only two ways to go; via Tennant Creek, 500 km to the north and then east along the Barkly Highway to Mount Isa or via the Plenty Highway. The Tennant Creek route is bitumenised (asphalt) 400 km longer and, when you've driven it hundreds of times, exceedingly boring. The Plenty Highway is a mostly gravel road that commences about 70 km north of The Alice and although rough in parts, is suitable for four wheel drive vehicles and trucks with high clearance.

With diesel fuel at $1.75 per Litre at Alice Springs, it's cheaper to go via the shorter dusty route and of course, a little quicker. As we hadn't been across the Plenty Highway for quite a few years, we decided to go that way saving money and revisiting the route we had taken two or three times previously, a good opportunity to see if anything had changed.

As you turn from the Stuart Highway (named after explorer John Stuart) into the Plenty Highway, you face a number of signs telling you about the road condition and the need for 4 wheel drive, this time after Jervois Station. (See photo at left). For at least a few kilometres, it was bitumenised, something new since our last trip. The Northern Territory Government extends the bitumen a few hundred metres or kilometres each year, depending on what funding is available. By 2090, or perhaps a little sooner, it will be fully bitumenised, but by then it will be of little benefit to me.

For this first leg of our journey, we had decided to travel to Cawnpore Lookout, an idyllic spot (well, idyllic by our standards) somewhere between Boulia, the first town in western Queensland and Winton, the next along the track. The lookout is on top of a little hill and the surrounding views are magic; ancient hills turned into buttes and other rugged shapes by millions of years of wind, rain and sun. Cawnpore is about 950 kilometres from The Alice and therefore, a good day's drive away.

When we arrived where we thought Cawnpore should be, it was pitch dark with a miniscule quarter moon revealing very little of the surrounding hills. We had a little trouble finding our way, but eventually located the lookout and drove up the steep slope to park on the top. Not a sound could be heard except for some crickets. As is common in outback Australia, the display of stars in the sky was outstanding. The Southern Cross and Milky Way were particularly bright and a cool breeze came from the south.

We boiled the billy for coffee and tea, had a cold dinner and then sat for a couple of hours enjoying the isolation, peace, tranquility and the beautiful heavenly display before pushing back the seats in our Prado and going to sleep. As morning broke, a lone road train (truck with five trailers) rumbled along the road below towards Boulia and we prepared for another day's drive, this time to Emerald, a coal mining and cotton growing township close to Rockhampton near the Queensland coast.

Our new Landcruiser Prado handled the rough, dusty roads very well and was much more comfortable than our previous, beloved Toyota Forerunner. We still have a long way to go.

Robin

PS: Double click graphic to see larger size.

Coming Soon Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia Trip

Watch this space! Next Saturday we are off in our shiny, almost new Landcruiser Prado Turbo-diesel four wheel drive for a four week trip through the three States and back into our beloved Northern Territory.

We head east from the Stuart Highway along the Plenty Highway 900 km into Western Queensland, head for Rockhampton on the east Coast then south down the Pacific Highway to Brisbane, further south into New South Wales to Port Macquarie. From NSW we drive west into the top part of South Australia and then head north back into the Northern Territory.

I'm going to post photos and descriptions of many of these areas we go to or through during our journey. You'll love them, so watch this space.

Robin

Merano Italy ... A Very Liveable Place

While we visited numerous lovely places during our overseas jaunt, all lovely for different reasons, I think perhaps my favourite was Merano in Italy. Merano is a city set among vineyards, apple orchards and snow-capped mountains and has an ambience difficult to explain. It feels comfortable, homely, just right.

Early after our arrival I realised that although we were in Italy, the Austrian influence was very strong indeed. Dual names were used for many places and Austrian coats of arms appeared more often than I would have expected. There were few people we found who spoke English, but one of them I enquired of about the Austrian influence in Italy. He told me that Merano had been part of Austria before the First World War and that after the war, Italy had taken over the city. However, the Austrians who live there, which is the majority, have never let go of their language or Austrianness, despite almost 100 years since WW1.

One of the things I liked most about Merano is that the city has been built around the existing vineyards and orchards so that there are vast hectares of them outside the city and on some of the hill slopes. Unlike many cities, they haven't bulldozed their agricultural asset to build concrete and metal structures.

Many of the houses and buildings on farmlets are hundreds of years old, made from stone and cement. Some have religious boxes with a cross bearing their Saviours' image in crucifixion with candles burning. Such faith!

The town centre is nicely laid out with covered walkway arches through which the crowds throng from shop to shop, all classy, nicely decked out shops, restaurants and hotels.

As the locals follow the very sensible practice of having an extended lunch break during which everything stops except the restaurants, the latter are chock block full of Meranians (?) drinking wine and eating scrumptious foods.

If you ever visit northern Italy, try to get to Merano ... it's a lovely city with much to see and do. If you ski ... on snow, you can do that all year round.

Robin

PS: Photos posted soon

The Best Made Plans of Mice and Travellers - When Things Go Wrong

We had a good morning leaving the Mondi Grundlsee Resort. Everything worked according to plan: we arose early, showered, I shaved, we dressed, packed, cleaned up our studio apartment and then headed for our last breakfast.

Chris had muesli and a pancake with jam. I had a piece of toast with cheese and ham topping and a plate of fruit. It was supposed to keep us going for most of what was left of the day. And it did, as our minds were elsewhere.
We managed to share a taxi to Bad Aussie train station with another couple, so our fare was half what it would have been. Doing good so far. Then it happened ... it all turned to shit at Salzburg.

When we arrived at Salzburg, for some reason better known to someone else, we got on the wrong train. Yes, you read that correctly. In a panic to change trains, we got on a train returning to near where we had come from and not the train to Innesbruck. So we unneedlessly loaded our baggage onto a train taking us the wrong way. After about five minutes, we realised that we had erred. Needless to say, the train's first stop was an hour out of the starting point, at Linz.

We enjoyed viewing all the Austrian countryside that we had now seen three times, as we discussed how anyone as intelligent, well educated and travelled as we are could be so bloody stupid. Then we realised that shit happens and we would just go with the flow. What else could we do?

Things got better at Linz. We had time to scratch ourselves and grab a snack and drink and when Christina told our sorry tale to the ticketing people, they put us on a train direct to Innesbruck meaning we didn't have to return to Salzburg.

We loaded our considerable amount of luggage onto the Innesbruck train and thought we were cooking with gas. That is until we got to Belzano with only five minutes to change trains for the remainder of the trip to Merano. We could do it, especially since the nice ticket conductor had told us it was leaving from platform one.

We quickly offloaded our gear and headed for platform one using two lifts (elevators), both of which were the slowest we have ever seen. But we made it to platform one with two minutes to spare only to find the train closed down.

After we heard an announcement in Italian which we deciphered to mean the Merano train would now be leaving from platform five, we rushed to the lift and headed for platform five. Guess what? We missed the bloody train by about 10 seconds. It drove off as we headed to the doors with our bags.

Shortly after I finished my display of indecent and obscene language (thank goodness nobody was nearby), we trudged back to the main station area to see if there were any later trains. There was ... exactly one hour later and I'm sitting on it while I type this blog.

I've regained my composure, gotten over my guilt about my childish outburst of bad language, and regret that we couldn't advise our resort that we will be arriving late because we don't have the phone number, can't read an Italian telephone book, and really don't give a rat's bootlace anyway.

It can only get better from here.


Robin


Traveller's rule one: Never carry more than one small suitcase and a backpack

Traveller's rule two: Never carry more than one small suitcase unless you can't avoid it

Traveller's rule three: Never carry more than a backpack unless it's absolutely essential

Traveller's rule four: Always record every telephone number you think you could possibly need in your mobile phone. I'ts much easier than trying to read phone books in foreign languages.

Grundlsee in Beautiful Austria

It's absolutely stunningly beautiful with tall, snow-capped mountains, cool, fresh water in its lake, and quaint little houses all similar in design and structure. It's Grundlsee (Lake Grundl) a small village surrounding a lake near Bad Aussee east of Salzburg in Austria. (See two photos at bottom of collage - double click photo to enlarge)

Our time share at Beach House, Coolangatta in Australia is a six berth time share which allows us a number of "points" that we can use at any other time share anywhere on planet earth. We've never stayed at Beach House, but we've used it extensively elsewhere and when we stay in a place with fewer than six berths, our points go further.

At Grundlsee we stayed for a week at the Mondi Holiday Resort in a double bed studio which had a small kitchen and all the comforts one could want.

While at Grundlsee we did a lot of walking (see photo of Christina walking along a leaf strewn track). We took a bus to Bad Aussee and bought a few things including haircuts, some shoes, and a few other odds and ends including a nice lunch.

Accompanied by two lovely German ladies, with whom we had difficulty communicating, (but never the less enjoyed each others company), we did a horse and buggy tour of Bad Mittendorf a few kilometres away from Grundlsee. The photo above shows Christina with the two horses who did the hard work pulling us around town.

Part way on our journey, which was quite cheap at 24 Euros per head, we were handed some schnapps glasses and a bottle of schnapps to do a bit of quaffing. It warmed up the whole inner being and was lovely given that it was around 4 degrees C. We also stopped at a lovely little restaurant for lunch and of course, more schnapps. I had quite a glow by the time we got back onto the buggy as did the two German ladies.

Life in a town like Grundlsee and the many other similar towns in this part of Austria must be wonderful. Locals told us the snow was late this year, but should arrive soon. It had arrived on some of the tall hills surrounding the town, but not yet fallen in the town itself. We would have loved to have seen the snow fall ... next time.

Robin

From Rome to Palermo in Eight Days

Our tour of Sicily began in Rome and over 10 days took us down the west coat of Italy through the Bay of Naples, Sorrento, Isle of Capri, and Salerno to Taormina on the eastern tip of Sicily.


In Rome, we took some private time to walk around the Vatican which was only a few hundred metres from where we were staying. It has an ancient security wall around its perimeter and although aged, is still very impressive. Inside, it is spacious with lovely gardens and multiple buildings. (Photo of Chris at Vatican main entry - second left)

As part of our tour, we visited the Vatican Museum which is chock full of religious artifacts going back thousands of years. Most notable are the dozens of embroidered carpets representing decades, if not lifetimes of work for their artists. Truly beautiful works, like much of the work done throughout history in the belief that they were being done in the service of one or other gods. Zeuss for example; ancient Romans slaughtered 400 oxen per year to keep Zeus on side. It seems that Zeuss didn't reciprocate, so eventually he went the way of all gods ... into the wastebin of rationality. I wonder how long it will be before the current gods are seen for what they are and also discarded.


As part of our tour, We dined in a few nice restaurants experiencing the Italian/Sicilian cuisine, walked the local streets looking into the large number of high range fashion shops and more, scurried out of the way of Italian drivers, and (Robin) noticed that there are so many lean, shapely women who jam themselves into tight, tight jeans and wear long leather boots. Delightful!


The Isle of Capri is beautiful with lovely views of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Clearly a tourist destination, it has numerous old, stately hotels and charming shops (Photo of Robin in cake shop). We visited the "famous gardens" and Faraglioni Rocks and a funicular ride was included (inclined railway).


Taormina, Enna, Erice, Agrigento, and Palermo were all worth visiting, but Taormina was our favourite. It exists on different levels up the hillside.


At Palermo we did a guided tour of the Valley of Temples, considered the finest Greek sanctuary in Sicily and rivaling those of Athens in their grandeur. (see photo). Our Sicilian tourist guides had an annoying language characteristic that seems to be universal among Sicilian tour guides (who taught them English?). They seem to add a after everything so a sentence in Sicilian English could sound like: "The Romans-a came here-a about 2,500 years ago-a. I have no idea where this peculiarity of speech comes from, but it seemed that they were adding it intentionally to emphasise its existence. Very peculiar.


Italian cities are obviously overcrowded with thousands and thousands of small cars crammed into everything that looks like a parking space. There are literally thousands of SMART cars (Mercedes Benz) and they park everywhere ... perfect for that type of environment and no doubt run on the smell of an oily rag. (see photo) I'd love one to drive about Alice Springs. The lack of car parking space and density of population in high-rise buildings has also created cities that are absolutely filthy, mor like some of the Arab countries we have visited than like Germany, which is quite the opposite.


We flew from Palermo to Munich and after staying overnight in a ridiculously expensive hotel (conveniently situated near the airport), we took a train from Munich to Bad Aussee and thence a taxi to the Mondi Resort at nearby Grundlsee.


More about Grundlsee next post.






Robin

Touring Turkey a Country of Differences

Turkey is a lovely country of differences not found elsewhere.

For example, it is populated by an almost majority muslim population, but has managed to remain democratic and secular thanks to it's greatest leader, Mustaffa Kamel Attaturk and those who have followed.

Sharia Law hasn't taken over in Turkey as it has elsewhere, much to the detriment of those countries like Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan.

Some areas, particularly in the less advanced, traditional country areas are more Islamic than the more modern parts such as Ankara and Istanbul. There, women wear the typical head scarves and dress more modestly than those in the more enlightened areas. The enlightened population wears Western dress and conducts itself very much as we do, however, I did note that almost everyone smokes. The health message about smoking has obviously not been delivered in Turkish society.

Noted Islamic historian, Daniel Pipes discusses Turkish Islamism and why Turkey is a modern, advanced society (unlike most other muslim countries) in his excellent address at Perth, Australia in August 2010.

Turkey is a geographically large country with a population of around 73 million. Most people seem to live in apartments and very few stand-alone houses were visible during our extensive trip of about 3,000 km. The cities were much cleaner than those in Egypt, Syria, or Jordan, but less clean than most Australian cities.

The food in Turkey was excellent and plentiful and the Turkish beer, Efes, was also nice once I became accustomed to it.

When you live in a "new" Western country like Australia, it's humbling to visit a country with a history as long and complex as Turkey's.

At Cappadocia (see photo one) there are thousands of sandstone mounds which ancient peoples have carved into to make dwellings. Mosques are plentiful, as would be expected and the Blue Mosque at Istanbul is one of the more historic mosques. Christina is seen entering the Blue Mosque in photo two. I had seen enough mosques and didn't want to take my shoes off yet again, so I remained outside to take the photo.

We made some new friends during our tour which included several other Australians, some Americans and Canadians. The photo of me (Robin) with Alec, a police officer from the USA, was taken at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, another excellent historical site that is huge.

Overall, the tour of Turkey was excellent. Our Turkish guide was well organised, very personable and humorous and had an in-depth knowledge of Islam, Turkish society and history. Our coach driver was miraculous being able to zoom between cars, park in spots just a tad bigger than the coach, and remain safe while taking us from place to place.

Of all the places, the Ataturk Memorial at Ankara was my favourite. It's huge with hundreds of artifacts and of beautiful stone construction. It demonstrates the love Turkish people have for their great leader who was obviously not only a leader, but a visionary. We need more people like him today.

We visited Gallipoli while here and remembered all the Australian and NZ men who had died defending the British Empire during the First World War. So many graves. So much wasted potential on both sides. It was a bit sad, but the saddest thing is that we haven't learnt from our mistakes. It seems that we are destined to keep creating the same mistakes over and over ... man's inhumanity to man seems to have no bounds.

Now of course, Australia and most other Western countries have a new enemy, one that works from within and without and must be defeated if we are not to lose our freedom and democracy.

I wonder what historians will have to say about those of us who live in the 20th Century once we have all returned to the dust from whence we came? Sadly, you and I will never know.

Robin

Egypt and the wow! Factor

Everyone has learnt something about Egypt, but it's not until you do the tour that you realise the impact the Egyptians made on this part of the planet. Most of the days we spent here were around 44 degrees Celsius. And it's approaching their winter!

The number of temples and structures devoted to the dozens of gods, is overwhelming. The fact that it's difficult to find a flat surface without heiroglyphs is also overwhelming. It seems that the Egyptians, whoever they were and wherever they came from, did nothing else but build massive stone structures and then write all over them.

Their engineering and mathematics must have been outstanding, but they didn't leave evidence of much else.At one stage it crossed my mind that we had paid a lot of money to see a lot of broken down old rocks. But every cent was worth it. It's something everyone needs to do once.


Our guide, Osama is an Egyptologist who knows his subject inside out and is also very passionate about it. Of course he is, he's Egyptian. How could anyone live here and not be interested in the history? Osama provided extensive overviews of each and every antiquity as well as held the group of about 34 together from a logistical point.


The townships we saw in Egypt are almost identical with other poor muslim Arab countries; run-down, dirty places with rubbish everywhere. Most muslim countries don't seem to work well. Author Ayan Hirsi Ali in her recently released book "Nomad" attributed this to the lack of critical thinking ability and a lack of motivation found in Islam that attributes everything that happens as the "will of god" (Inshállah) and waits for him, her or it to do the heavy lifting. Despite thousands of years, they still don't seem to have learnt that depending on someone else to do things, even Allah, is risky and the result shows in the lack of societal progress.


What I find most remarkable is that the Egyptians were obviously excellent civil engineers but believed so strongly in the supernatural as to spend most of their time, effort and resources building and preparing for an afterlife not founded on rationale or evidence ... humankind's continuing need to find a purpose for being and an explanation for the universe that has perpetuated throughout recorded history and resulted in thousands, if not tens of thousands of religous myths, even by today's enlightened masses.


The question foremost on my mind is why, after the Egyptian civilization crumbled and after the Roman era, why has this great country become a second-rate country? Maybe if I read the book on Egypt that Christina bought, I'll find out, although I feel I already know at least part of the answer.


At the time of writing, we have spent our first day at Istanbul ... an apparently much more civilised, clean and functional place than Egypt.



Robin

Our End of Week Get-together

The last day of the week at this end of the planet is Thursday. Our hosts and friends had arranged a social get-together for us Thursday evening, one of many we had held over the years in the same pleasant venue.


A cosy group of friends and colleagues was able to attend arriving at around 8 pm. It was great to be able to spend a little time with each updating on what they had been doing and what we had done during our two years since leaving. We felt as though we hadn't really been gone for two years. What had we done in all that time, other than gotten a tad older?

The bottom right photo of the collage is a pre-arrival photo of one of two large rooms in our hosts' house that are used for entertainment. By Australian standards, the house is a mansion. It has three large bedrooms each with complete ensuites, a large kitchen, servant's quarters, two large entertainment areas and another large area used as a television room. The ceilings are perhaps 13 or 14 feet and the entrance has a paved, garden area that is quite large also. Nothing is done small in the United Arab Emirates where there is so much wealth it's unbelievable.


Serge's bar shown at left is the same as the one Christina bought me for my last birthday in the UAE. The difference between Serge's and mine is that mine bad a couple of borers included at no extra expense. They did the long trip to Australia and died in our loungeroom after we heard them boring away inside and sprayed the cabinet. Fortunately, my bar is still standing.


Tonight we are having dinner at the Bawadi Mall with some friends who couldn't make the Thursday night bash. Tomorrow we drive out to Abu Dhabi airport around 0530 h for our flight to Cairo and subsequent tour of Egypt. It's a tough life, but someone has to do it.


Robin

A Little Like Coming Home

Arriving at Abu Dhabi airport was a little like coming home ... the home we had left two years ago. Had we been residents of the Emirates living in Australia for two years or residents of Australia living in the Emirates? Although the answer is clear, sometimes it felt like a bit of a jumble.

The flight over was terrible. Thirteen hours travelling cattle class with a young man nearby who vomited at regular intervals or made loud choking noises. An apparent Downs Syndrome boy, it was hard not to feel sorry for him and his parents while at the same time having to put up with the noises while eating, trying to sleep and fill in time with the hope that the journey would be over soon. We realised that being parents of a hearing impaired son at times it had been difficult enough for us, but it could have been much worse.

After months of rain and cold weather at Alice Springs, it was lovely to arrive at Abu Dhabi with 30 degree heat and rain free. Although the sky was full of sand dust, it was still very pleasant.

We took a taxi to Al Ain to our friends'place which is, by Australian standards, almost a palace for two people. A property like theirs in Sydney would be worth millions. When we saw it again, memories of the many dinners and parties we had attended at this fine edifice ... Canadian Thanks-Givings, Christmas Dinners, and a few just to say goodbye to friends who were departing or ad hoc events with just one or two couples.

After cleaning up and getting a change of clothes we took a taxi to Al Ain Mall where Christina wanted to visit one of our favourite restaurants, the Beirut, to see if their humous and Lebanese bread was still as nice as it had been. To our delight it was.

There's more to do today and on the weekend we hear that one of our friends is having a party for us. How fortunate can one be? What a great start to our holiday.

If only one could live at Al Ain and not have to work, we'd be here in a flash.

Robin

The Difficulty Deciding What to Take ...

No matter how you do it, deciding what to take and what to leave behind when you travel is a difficult task.

I like to lay out in front of me, usually on our bed, all those things I think I need to take. Then I rationalise between what I want to take and what I really need, bearing in mind that I will buy something while away ... a few souvenirs and presents for family and friends. A new shirt or pair of boots.

When you are going to both hot and cold climates, it's even a greater challenge. Because we are spending the first half of our holiday in the Middle East where it will be warmish, we have decided not to take too many heavy winter clothes. We'll buy what we need during the second half of our journey in the Italian and Austrian Alps, the UK and Scotland where it will be colder. If we are really lucky and those countries are having heatwaves (oh, yeah?) then we won't have to buy anything.

Buying new clothes means you are able to discard some of the worn-out stuff you've been carrying about but are too attached to to ditch. Well, I get attached to my clothes and stuff, don't you?

It's very hard to turf out something that has kept you warm winter after winter ... an old faithful ... and to recruit something untried and untested.

So, the packing continues. As we leave tomorrow, decisions need to be made, rationalising needs to be done. We need to fit our stuff into our new Delsey suit cases and by some miracle be less than the allocated weight.

Tomorrow it's Alice Springs to Adelaide to Melbourne and then to Abu Dhabi. It will be a little like going home.

Robin

One Week Until Our Overseas Tour

There's only a week to go before we fly out of Central Australia to Melbourne and thence the world. Needless to say, we are excited about having a break from Alice Springs and visiting our many friends at Al Ain and elsewhere. Also, when you live at Alice Springs so far away from the coast and other cities, it's necessary to have a break at least annually as the place becomes too small.

Here is our itinerary. For security reasons, I have not provided local contact details or exact locations, but friends can email us to find those out if need be.

We are doing several tours, one nine day trip through Egypt that includes a boat trip up the Nile. We do a 14 day bus tour through the more historical parts of Turkey including Gallipoli, which all Australians need to visit at least once. There's also a nine day tour through Italy that includes Naples and Sicily.

We have a time share at the Gold Coast in Queensland (Australia) that is transferable to other countries. We will be using it to stay at locations in the Austrian Alps, the Italian Alps and the countryside somewhere in France. (wee, wee).

Unfortunately, we will need to carry winter and summer clothing, which increases the load. However, we've invested in two new travel bags that are sturdy but light and will take as little heavy stuff as possible.

While we are touring I will update this blog as often as possible. If you want to be advised of updates, why not follow the blog so you get notified that a new post has been made?

I've also been asked to be a guest blogger on a travel blog, but have yet to find out more about that.

Watch this space!

A Long Cold Winter

As I write, it's been raining again overnight and golf for this morning is cancelled. With the rain, it's not as cold as it has been, but is still cold enough to have a heater on and the doors and windows closed.

This winter seems to have been colder than previous. In fact, we have had the coldest day ever recorded in Central Australia this month. The temperature never went about 6 degrees Celsius for the day. Now I know some of you who live in places where it gets really cold, will have a giggle at that. However, remember that Central Australia is an arid, dry environment that also gets very hot in summer. We're accustomed to it getting cold in winter, but not that cold for so long. I recall a minus 6 degrees once, but it usually occurs when one is wrapped up in bed ... or should be.

For only the second time in our 38 years together, Christina has been very sick with influenza and bronchitis having had about seven days of it. So much for the innoculations we had for swine flu and normal flu. I had a dose that kept me away from work for two days, but it wasn't anywhere near as severe as the dose Christina has ... probably one of the dubious benefits of working in a hospital.

Anyway, I'm off to Darwin for a few days next week where it will be warmer and I can soak in some sun beams and return home feeling all the better for it.

Robin

Travels in Wonderlands

My dear wife Christina has been busy for the last couple of weeks booking hotels, air flights, and otherwise arranging our trip overseas for September to December. We will be visiting the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Turkey, France, Austria, Germany, the UK and Scotland and calling in to see some of our friends enroute.

As soon as we have everything finalised, I'll prepare an itinerary and post it online somewhere for friends to download. That way, if you are going to be home or near where we are, we may be able to get together.

There's a fair bit of arranging to do, but Chris is doing a top job as she does with everything she touches. She's one of those lucky people who seems to be able to do everything, also she does tell me occasionally that she can't make pavlova ... tough. Get over it I say.

This will probably be the last great trip we do and we will have a lovely house available for close friends who would like to spend three months at Alice Springs. All you'd have to do is make sure the watering system keeps going and the plants don't die. However, three months is a long time to spend at Alice Springs, you can see everything here in about two or three weeks. But, it would be a perfect opportunity to sit around and write your memoirs, recover from a broken heart, or something else that doesn't involve too much touring. Think about it.

Watch this space for the itinerary.

Robin

Christina's 60th Birthday Party

On Saturday, 17th April 2010, my wife and best friend turned 60. It's just a number, but it is linked to a lot of other numbers like our meeting on 1 January 1972 at Hobart, Tasmania; our marriage on 17th February 1973, the birthdays of our children Dale and Meredith in 1975 and 1977 respectively, and finally, the 37 years we've spent together.

Cause and effect.

When I look back, the evening we met at a friend's party seems quite clear as does the chemistry. But since then, much has happened and somehow we've both reached the latter years of our lives.

Where did the time go? Why did it go so fast while we were focusing on the minutia of life?

As I searched for some photos of Christina for a PowerPoint display, I found numerous photos taken in the first years of our lives together. I was taken back by how very attractive my wife is and hoped that over the ensuing years I had taken time to tell her that ... as I'm sure I must have on numerous occasions.

Getting older isn't all that bad. A day or two after her birthday, I reminded Chris to complete the application forms for her Seniors Card and Seniors Concession Card, both of which are available from the Northern Territory Government on production of various documentary evidence. The Seniors Card is available to anyone over 60 and enables one to get discounts when purchasing from businesses or government agencies that subscribe to the scheme of giving discounts to senior citizens. The card we all really want is the Seniors Concession Card (not available to men until 65 which I feel stinks).

When Christina gets her concession card, part of the cost of our utilities, car registration and insurance, house rates and a few other things will be discounted. That's good, because it frees up money we can now spend on prescription medicines that we will inevitably need as our bodies continue to age. Life has a way of looking after us with its checks and balances.

The next major event in our lives will hopefully be when we sell our house at Alice Springs, buy a new four wheel drive and a caravan and head off to travel all over this lovely country.

That sounds like the Great Australian Dream.

Robin

The Reason for Angry Old Men

With the rigours of work, a minimal social life, looking after house, car and body, I haven't posted here since Australia Day. For a person who loves English language, writing, and who is garrulous, it's totally out of character. So, here I am for an April ramble.


Now that I'm an old man (I prefer older) I know why people refer to "angry old men". Or more to the point, I know why older men get angry. It's because we've been around long enough to see the decay in society, the incompetence of governments, the disorder of organisations, and the absolute stupidity of our fellow human beings. Let me explain.

When one is 20 something our minds are filled with establishing our educational qualifications and careers; we hope that romance is in the air and everything around us is interesting, fresh and new.

Advance by 40 years and you've been there, done that. You know that:

1. despite what anyone says, there is no such thing as a perfectly functional organisation. No matter what spin anyone tries to put on it, Board members, the press, the Chief Executive Officer, you know that every organisation you have experienced has a shit load of dead wood; managers that couldn't organise sex in a brothel, and only performing at a part of its capacity. Yes, some are better than others, but at a fundamental level, most organisations stumble along
2. personal relationships, especially those of a romantic/intimate nature, are doomed to be difficult, heart-breaking and disappointing for you or others you know; there's no such thing as a perfect relationship. All you need do is look at domestic violence figures, divorce stats, and read the news
3. otherwise smart people get knocked over by substance abuse. You wonder why increasing numbers of supposedly sensible, intelligent people sniff cocaine, stick needles full of junk in their arms, or smoke cannabis
4. billions mindlessly allow religions to control their dress, reproduction, suppress half of their population because they aren't male, and brainwash their faithful followers with guilt and the fear of eternal damnation without a shred of evidence
5. having a non-discriminatory immigration policy sounds very up-market and "nice", but is totally disasterous for a Western, liberal society being threatened with muslim immigrants who won't integrate and who agitate to impose their way of life on the rest of us
6. governments never tackle the difficult issues, only those where they can score points and get re-elected into office
7. the Keynesian system of economics doesn't work and is partially responsible for the irresponsible use of our natural resources and damage to our environment

In the end you get angry and decide that you will never vote again because when you do, you always get a politician; you decide that you will never again tick a box that asks if you are "Aboriginal or Non Aboriginal" because you don't feel like being classified by race; you begin agitating to governments to ban muslim immigration, solve aboriginal alcohol abuse by banning them from drinking, and you try to show people how religion is the most divisive force on the planet responsible for most of humanity's misery.

Although the change in attitude from subservient compliance to stubborn resistance looks like "angry", it's really that we have matured and see the world in a different light.

In the end, every day is a beautiful day. We can hopefully, live our lives with a sense of achievement and fulfillment. Occasionally we should reflect on how extremely rare was the probability of our birth and be thankful that our spermatozoon led the pack.

Now that was a different post.

Robin

Australia Day 2010

Australia Day this year is a relatively quiet one for our family. Christina is on afternoon shift at the hospital and I'm home alone watching tennis and doing some tasks about the house, including monitoring some turkey legs getting cooked in our slow cooker.

Shortly I'm going over to our son, Dale's place for a beer (just one, since I'm driving) and to console him a bit as his car was set ablaze by some hoons recently and is a wipe off. What pleasure do these people get destroying someone's property?

My son's not a millionaire and, although the vehicle was insured, he'll not get back in cash what the utility value of it was.

On Saturday evening we have a late Australia Day celebration with friends which should compensate for the slowness of the actual day ... today.

My father was born on Australia Day and when I was a young fellow he told me we got a public holiday to celebrate it. For an hour or two, I'm sure I believed him. He would have been 92 today had he not died too early.

As the chorus our National Anthem states, "Advance Australia Fair."

Robin

Christmas Day 2009 at the Henrys'

Here we are, the four of us. Our son Dale, Robin (me), daughter Meredith, and wife Christina.

Apart from grandson Tory Muller, this is our whole family. Christina and I are orphans and I have no brothers or sisters. Christina has a brother.

We were enjoying one of our occasional family breakfasts when we all gather at my house and have a brunch (half way between breakfast and lunch). Usually it's pancakes, coffee, juice, fruit, and perhaps a cup of coffee. Sometimes we have bacon and eggs with tomatoes on toast, but as this was Christmas Day and we were heading to the Crowne Plaza Hotel for Christmas dinner, we had light pancakes with a bit of mixed fruit and as the morning progressed the girls had champagne and Dale and I had a YUPPIE beer called a Crownie.

At 11:40 we departed for the Crowne Plaza Hotel for our fabulous lunch of seafood, a variety of warm and cold meats, salad, vegetables and six or seven different types of sweet including cheese cake, my favourite.

We had a lovely day, didn't eat or drink too much and after lunch lazed about watching some videos before cranking up the barbecue again, this time to cook some tiger prawns that had been sent down from Darwin. We had a light dinner of salads, prawns, (shrimps to some of you) and cold meat and eventually fizzled out at 9 pm.

If you celebrated Christmas Day, we hope you had as nice a day as we did.

Robin

Grandson Tory Jet Muller Turns 8!

If I hadn't experienced it, I would have said there was no way Tory could have turned eight.

Why, it seems like only yesterday that we rocked up at the Midwifery Unit at the Alice Springs Hospital to see what millions of years of genetic history had presented us; A healthy boy with unexpected blue eyes and an elongated head from his vacuum (Ventouse) delivery.

Interestingly, both his grandmothers are midwives and were working at the Alice Springs Hospital during the birth.

Although it seems like yesterday (as these things do), much water has passed under the bridge in the last eight years. (See him in the photo with his school mates and mum while cutting his birthday cake).

Tory has been fortunate enough during that time to visit the United Arab Emirates twice, to visit Thailand, Singapore and a number of Australian destinations. Much more travel than I had done by that age, although I did move to and live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya between the ages 7 and 10.

He plays soccer, cricket, baseball and more. In the near future I'm going to introduce him to squash and maybe one day he will volunteer to be my golf caddy.

Tory tends to be a bit wild and wooly at times, but that's healthy for an eight year old. We get on well and I'm looking forward to many years of companionship including having a beer with him in a hotel somewhere on or shortly after 24 November 2019 when he reaches legal age.

As one of my colleagues from Al Ain Women's College wrote after his email signature, "If I had known grandchildren were so much fun, I would have had them first."

Hmmm, but I would have missed many wonderful years seeing my daughter and son reach adulthood.

Stay well.

Robin

Walking In Wonderland

Well, Wonderland may be hyperbole, but it is rather pleasant walking in the hills that surround our street.


This morning a little after 5:30 am I left our house (see the faint yellow sign), turned right (heading left on the photo)  and up on the hill following the white spotted, black line.

There is a couple of spots with moderately steep upgrades that get the heart pumping. It's a pleasant walk that takes about 30 minutes ... all the exercise an old dog (and even some young dogs!) needs.

From the surrounding hills, you can see The Gap south of Alice Springs through which the old Afghan camel trains used to pass. Nowdays of course, our trains and motor vehicles pass heading south to Ayres Rock (Uluru) and into South Australia or heading north to Alice Springs and beyond. You can also get a good view of the rest of the MacDonnel Ranges, the result of upheavals of an inland sea billions of years ago that later dried, vegetated and left such an impressive mark on the landscape.

As a boy, I collected various types of trilobite fossils from the countryside around Tennant Creek, 500km north of Alice Springs. They are somewhere between 250 and 500 million years old, which is an inconceivable number of years when compared with the minuscule 70 or 80 we spend here.

The weather this morning was very comfortable and I never ran into anyone walking their dogs as I often do.

While walking I took several photos of the surrounds and one of my house, which I have posted on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119326&id=557304789&l=a2141c74f7 
Usually kangaroos, some of which hop into our backyard, or around our house at sunrise or sunset appear whtn you walk this track, but I didn't see any today. When you walk close to them they are either lying down in the shade and, startled by your presence take to flight or they are grazing and move a few more metres out of your way.

This is not the only route one can walk. Tory and I took off on an unknown track a few months back and took 2.5h to get back home. Even Tory was stuffed when we got back, which was a good sign.

Robin

The Betts Shoes for Old Feet

What has a pair of old shoes got to do with a blog about travels, visitors and the like? Stay tuned and I'll tell you.

Over a decade ago while working at the Commonwealth Building in Alice Springs, I walked to and from work every day except on the rare days when it rained and occasionally when I woke up tired and cranky and just couldn't be bothered. It was a 20 minute walk each way, all the exercise an aging body needed.

Because I've had gout in my two large toes, first diagnosed when I left the Air Force at 24 years of age, it was always a struggle to find a shoe that provided both optimum comfort and a business style. At my elevated level, I couldn't really wear coloured sneakers to work. Not good for the corporate image.

The first pair of "walking" shoes I found that were black leather were Reebok sneakers. They just passed the business appearance test but lasted about 20 months before they were worn through on the bottom. Out they went.

Next came the Rockports and then another pair of so-called walking shoes, neither of which was really satisfactory. In desperation, I searched the (then) four shops in Alice Springs looking for something I felt didn't actually exist. I found the above pair of Airflex shoes at Betts ... The Best Shoes for Old Feet. I'm still wearing them probably a decade later.

They were wide enough to relieve my gout problems (exacerbated by lateral compression) and the inner sole was well cushioned. Not only that, they looked nice enough to wear to work.

The boots shown above have walked in most capital cities in Australia. They spent three years walking the corridors of the Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE, they've been to Germany, Scotland, Canada, Hong Kong, Cyprus, and these days pound the long concrete walkways of the Alice Springs Correctional Centre (If they had a memory they could tell a tale or two!). They cost me $75 AU and were without doubt, the best value for money I've ever experienced. Look at the sole shown in the photo ... hardly any wear. Outside, they shine brightly when polished. Inside's a different story. The Airflex innersole has died and although still relatively comfortable, I very much wanted a replacement.

Saturday I found it. The Betts Hawk, $170 AU and hopefully my new friends for the next decade. The Hawk also is lighter and has no metal parts to set off metal detectors when you walk through airport security scanners. Now how's that for two pairs of shoes and maybe many thousands of kilometres travelled?

Have you got a favourite product you'd like to share with us? Write a comment between now and end of November and have a chance to win a baseball cap or a beer cooler from Alice Springs. (Only two prizes. Robin is judge and his opinion is final)

Robin

Ewaninga Rock Carvings and Crocodile Burgers

Diane and Gerry had a busy day on Friday. We took them to the Ewaninga Rock Carvings south of Alice Springs, Emily Gap to the south east and then went for dinner at the Overlander Steakhouse, one of Alice Springs' most popular restaurants.

The first photo is of the girls at the entrance to the Ewaninga Rock Carvings Reserve inspecting the route map. It's a very pleasant walk with a salt pan and several collections of petroyglyphs that

were carved by Aborigines using hard stones, probably quartzite of which the region has numerous outcrops.

The second photo shows some of the petroglyphs although they aren't all that visible with full sunlight on them. The circle in Aboriginal useage usually refers to a community or group of people. Some of the other shapes are figures of people and kangaroos.

On our way back to town, we detoured off the Stuart Highway towards Ross River where we visited Emily Gap.

Emily Gap has numerous ochre paintings that have to do with three caterpillars, although I have no idea how the photo of the vertical lines at left relates to caterpillars.

There's nothing at the site that looks like a caterpillar, although much of Aboriginal art is based on their Dreamtime or religious mythology and isn't always clear.

There was a cold wind developing at Emily Gap and it seemed to be flowing through the gap, so we didn't bother to stay long enough to debate what we were looking at. I took a few photos and headed back to the warmth of the car.

On the way home we decided to detour to the Overlander Steakhouse as our visitors wanted to try some local cuisine such as emu, kangaroo, camel or crocodile. They decided on the crocodile burgers, but neither really enjoyed it and said they'd probably not eat it again.

We'd called into the Bojangles Saloon for lunch earlier in the day, but had arrived too late for the lunch menu ... the kitchen was closed!

Diane tried an Australian beer (as did I, even though I've had 45 years practice ;-)) so, without lunch, by the time we'd walked about Ewaninga and Emily Gap, we were all pretty hungry.

This morning we arose at 5:30 am and put our visitors on a bus for a two day tour of Ayres Rock and Kings Canyon. They go to one of the destinations the first day, return to Erldunda which is about 200 km east of Ayres Rock where they stay overnight. The next day the head off to the second destination.

It's the same trip that friends Michael and Linda Fairhart and Sofie and Maureen did earlier this year and all reports are that it's a good trip.

I'm off to Darwin for the week on Monday and our visitors fly out to Perth on Tuesday.

Robin

Friends Visit from Al Ain

We are always delighted to have our friends visit. This weekend we have the pleasure of Gerry Jones and Diane Evans' company.

Gerry and Diane work at the Al Ain Women's College for the UAE's Higher Colleges of Technology.


They had flown into Darwin and spent a few days there and at Kakadu (east of Darwin in Arnhem Land) before heading south on The Ghan Railway. They arrived Thursday morning and on Thursday evening we went for the hill walk at the back of our house. There are numerous walks, but the one I usually do, sometimes accompanied by grandson Tory, is the 20 minute one. It's a horse-shoe shape. We enter the left side of the horse-shoe just up the road from my house and walk back to nearby Terry Court with another five minutes walk to return home.


In the early evening or early morning, the view across the Central Australian landscape and of the McDonnell Ranges is awe inspiring and stunning. Typically the sky is stark blue providing a panoramic background for 360 degrees as far as one can see.


At the time of writing the ladies are at the Alice Springs Desert Park. On return we'll have lunch at Bojangles Saloon (as Diane wanted to have a drink in a traditional Australian pub) and then head out of town to show them the Ewaninga Rock Carvings ... ancient Aboriginal artwork (petroglyphs).


I'll post more photos of Ewaninga (pronounced "youwaninga") etc later.


Robin