Codgers perambulations

2008-12-01T04:05:00.000-08:00

When I wrote my last posting I had thought that it might have been the last of the trip as I did not expect anything of much interest worth writing about to take place in Dubai but as things turned out I do have a bit more to recount. To start with the flight from NZ to Oz was not without incident. It started well with a clear view of the Canterbury plains including the area around Mark's farm but cloud shrouded the whole of the west coast with just the peaks of the alps clear of the clouds. The meal was disappointing - chicken served tepid - and cabin crew offers to heat it up!! One toilet not working so the one just in front of our seats is in constant use and to cap it all the crew has an accident with the trolley which results in a bottle of wine being spilt over Marilyn. They are very apologetic and in an effort to make amends they give M a bottle of Dom Perignon Champagne assuring her that there will be no problem at the airport provided it is declared. We land at Sydney and have to leave the aircraft with our hand luggage which now includes the champers but as we go through Security the bottle is confiscated despite the explanation as to how we had come by it. M is not a happy bunny and is near to tears when asked by the receptionist in the Emirates Courtesy lounge if she has had a good flight. I tell her of our problems and she invites me to fill in a complaint form. In the nicest possible way I suggest that she should fill in the form as I had already made my complaint to her. She gets the message and by the time we re board the aircraft the message has reached the new crew who are falling over themselves to make amends. The toilet has still not been fixed though!!

Thursday 27th November. Land in Dubai at 5.30am and can't check into our room at the Tower Rotana Hotel until 10 which is a bore. Try to contact Joanna who works in the UAE without success but I have been e-mailed details of where Dhows are built in Dubai so get a taxi to the spot. As we approach what seems like a derelict area piled high with junk broken fibreglass boat moulds and scrap I can just see one Dhow in course of construction but no obvious road leading to it and the taxi drives on past the area until it comes to some dockyard gates with security guards. The driver asks me if I have a pass or who am I going to see. I try to explain I only want to see some boats being built and eventually the guard waves us in. We drive through the yard past lots of offices stores shipping agents chandlers etc and I am now beginning to wonder how the hell we are going to get back from here if I let the taxi go. Eventually we arrive beside the ship repair area where there are lots of big wooden Dhows chocked up on steel trolleys on railway track. I ask the driver if he can wait for half an hour or so and he says "OK. I go and pray" and switches off the meter. M and I wander off amongst the boats looking so completely out of place in our tourist garb and dangling camera surrounded by overalled Indian workmen in hard hats and ear defenders accompanied by a cacophony of beating hammers. Nobody seems to care so I am able to get a real close look at the shipwrights recaulking, replacing planking and re nailing with dump nails. Take lots of photos. Don't suppose they see too many tourists in here!! Our spiritually refreshed taxi driver meets us and starts the meter again to take us to the old part of town where we can get a water taxi ("abra" 20p fare) across the creek to the area of the town where the spice and gold souks can be found. M manages to be hijacked by a very persistent hustler who leads her off through a maze of passages and up some stairs to a small room (air-conditioned) stacked floor to ceiling with handbags of every known designer label (almost all of which are not known to this pair of old codgers) From under the counter he produces a box of gaudy watches - Rolex of course - but quickly gives up on me when I make it clear to him that I do not wear a watch so he then starts on M. She puts up a good fight and eventually I manage to drag her free from his clutches. Having done the souks beating off the approaches of every front man from every shop we wander along the quay where the cargo dhows are tied alongside and the quay is stacked high with boxes of cargo of every description and we make a booking to go on one of the dhows for an evening cruise around the creek with buffet dinner tomorrow evening.

Friday 28th November. Have nothing planned for today but as I am about to start breakfast I hear the word 'Rugby' mentioned in conversation between a couple of men at the next table. Never one to be shy at coming forward I ask if they are going to the Dubai Sevens and they confirm that they are but one of them says that he may not go and asks if I would like his ticket. Now there's a silly question and I finish up paying £20 for a £35 ticket but I have to find my own way to the ground as his mate is leaving in ten minutes and I have not yet had breakfast. All public transport in Dubai appears to be taxis (apart from the mini coaches that run from hotels to the shopping malls) but they are building a high level railway which is due to be opened in a year or so. I try to bum a ride with some other people outside the hotel who are going to the rugby without success so have to take a taxi on b my own thinking it will only be a fiver or so. Three quarters of an hour later we are still burning up the motorway across the desolate arid desert and the meter is reading £25. Finally we arrive at the stadium built in the desert with nothing else in sight. The stands are built with scaffolding. No seats but the boards are covered with plastic 'grass' for sitting on. The pitch is immaculate - like green as can be velvet and there are four 'outside' pitches for the junior games. The programme of games goes on until 8.00pm so I am not able to stay for all the games but do manage to see all the major countries play at least one game. I do manage to share a taxi for the return trip into town in the company of a well oiled Glaswegian who is convinced that we are being given the run around by the driver and is very forthright in making his convictions known to the driver. Very entertaining. The evening trip on the Dhow was fun and we had a good view of floodlit QE2 recently arrived in Dubai where she is going to be converted to a floating hotel/appartments. The mini-bus ride back to the hotel at the end of the evening was a thrill a minute with M's knuckles a ghostly white and feet hard on the brakes all the way.

Saturday 29th November. Flight home is without incident but I suspect that word has reached the crew that we are a crusty pair of codgers as we seem to be singled out for attention and I have had an e-mail from Emirates in London to tell me that they have heard our complaint in Australia and are looking into it.. We have a very helpful and thoughtful driver of the courtesy car who drives us home and so ends the Codgers Perambulations. A fantastic trip. I hope dear readers that you have found something to amuse. I doubt if I would have had the will power to keep up the blog without your feed back in the comments. Many thanks to you all. You are of course welcome to view the gallery of photos that has accumulated. Guaranteed cure for all insomniacs. Adieu Hackers.

2008-11-25T21:04:00.001-08:00

Proud farmer. The homestead and a big boys toy.

2008-11-25T20:05:00.000-08:00

Am now at Christchurch Airport waiting to start the journey home so this will probably be the last posting. Will be stopping in Dubai for a couple of days but that does very little for me unless I can get to see the old arab who builds big wooden boats on the beach.

Monday 24th November. On the drive up to Mark & Sue's farm at Happy Valley near Methven we stop at Bob Lynn's house to collecta signed copy of his book "Woodwork - My first seventy years". Found him in his workshop so took lots of pictures. It was very difficult to get away from him as he is stone deaf and wants to tell everybody of his life history. Dear old fellow and could have spent all day with him and learnt a lot if we had had the time. Drive on accross the Canterbury plains with dead straight roads for about 30kms. Find the farm without any difficulty. Mark takes us on a guided tour of the farm. 1600 acres. Beef Sheep (thousands) Barley Wheat and lots of grass. Unlike many of the farms on the plain he does not irregateand relies upon the slightly higher rainfall that occures close to Mount Hutt.He has linked two adjoining farms that occupy the terraces beside the river Rakaia. The terraces have been created by glacial action and it is an intriguing landscapeOver the millenia the top soils on the north side of the river have been blown by the prevailing wind and deposited on the terraces on the south side of the river. Mark has a hydroelectric power plant at the bottom of the farm which is powered by water in a 66KMS canal built in the depression. The electricity company sellswater to the farms through which the canal passes for the irrigation of the plains. Mark has just concluded a deal with the company that will facilitate the extension of the system. He has three working dogs and runs the whole show with the help ofjust one employee - a 70 year old Malayian war veteron who can't stop working.He also employs two men in their 60's for two months a year to do just fencing. The farm looks to be in very good order but a drop of rain would do a power of good to improve the growth of the grass for silage. Mark and Sue left Sussex to come out here 11 years ago since when they have managed to create a very successful farming enterprise out of farms that were very run down when they bought them. They have had their set backs from time to time such as devastating hail storms and snow storms. Sue'smother Heather is staying with them at present. H and M were friends as teeagers so had plenty to talk about. We stayed the night with them and Mark and I were able to put the world to rights and compare notes on farming today compared with farming in the thirties when my father and his grandfather farmed adjoining farms at Rogate in the very bad old days of farming. A blessed rain in the night and the river is running very high by the morning.

Tuesday 25th November. Our last whole day in NZ. Say our goodbyes to Mark and family and drive to Akaroa on the most extraordinary volcanic peninsular South East of Christchurch named by Capt Cook as Banks Island (He did not realise then that it is not an island) after Banks, the botanist he had onboard Endeavour at the time. Akoroa was founded by French settlers on the side of the flooded crater making a wonderful sheltered harbour. There is a strong French flavour to the place. Very picturesque. main tourist attraction is boat trips to swimwith or look at Dolphins. I watched a fishing boat unload its catch after three days at sea. Soles, Flounders and Brill all very good size. The boat trip was fully booked as the morning trip had been cancelled due to high winds soM not too disappointed as it would have been 'tippy'. We are booked into a self contained studio flat in a private house half way up the mountain side with a great view out over the village and harbour. Spend a lazy afternoon looking around the little local museum and doing some retail therapy. Cant get a table for dinner until 8.30 so the Gin o'clock hour gets extended during which time a good foundation for dinner is laid down particularly as we have to finish the gin tonight. We have to share a table in the restaurant with a couple of young chinese students on holiday from Sidney University and we enjoy eack other's company. The girl tells M that she reminds her of her mother! they are fromShanghi and get no grant from the Chinese Govmt. so we conclude that they must have wealthy parents to be able to support them at Uni and to take holidays. They are only children of course. The mealwas very good indeed - one of the best of the whole trip - and we share each others dishes. The place has tons of atmosphere as every bit of space on the walls and the ceiling have been covered with graffiti by customers over a period of 12 years. Most comments complimentary. There is a chef proprietor and his wife does all the waiting (32 covers -double sitting) and they only have one other in the kitchen. Not too expensive but the wine prices a a triffle high.

Wednesday 26th November., Drive toairport via Lyttleton - the old port of Christchurch and still used for commercial traffic. there is an interesting "time ball" here which was used in the olden days to signal to the ships in the harbour the exact Greewich meantime once a day. Breath a great sigh of relief when able to return the hire car without a scratch.

2008-11-22T23:35:00.000-08:00

Our day playing with engines.

2008-11-22T23:13:00.000-08:00

Sunday 23rd November. Again we start the day with no particular itinerary in mind except to drive in the direction of Christchurch to meet up with Mark and Sue on their farm tomorrow. First stop just outside Twizel at the bottom of Lake Pukaki where there is a big dam built as part of the Hydroelectric scheme built in the 70's. There is a fine view across the lake to the snow capped mountains but Mt.Cook still has it's head in the clouds. Alarge canal has been built to connect the two lakes Pukaki and Tekapo. No evidence of narrow boats on it!! As we approach Lake Tarpo we pass a sign to Mt St. John Observatory so decide to have a look. Wonderful all around view of the plains and lake from the top but the price of the coffee was eye watering. Decide to spend the night at Ashburton and on the way into town we come across a Steam Railway Restoration Society who are having an open day so stop for a ride. All the volunteers are very excited because this is the first day that they have been able to have two of their engines steamed up at the same time and they have brought out a third (smaller) engine for a photo shoot. The ride on the train is only a couple of miles but fun nevertheless. There is also a woodworking museum with a fantastic collection of wood working tools and lathes. In attendance is the 94 year old founder who is very keen to tell us all about the exhibits many of which he has made himself including a model of a staircase made when he was 10! Can't resist buying his book and getting him to sign it.

2008-11-22T22:55:00.000-08:00

Pictures of Bungy Bridge, a"Wheel Nut's" unusual garden fence, Wild lupins and the Wilderness.

2008-11-22T22:48:00.000-08:00

New driver for the Kingston Flyer

2008-11-22T02:25:00.000-08:00

Sorry guys. Can't seem to be able to downlaod pictures at present. You will have to be patient until I can get a stronger Wifi link.

2008-11-22T01:35:00.001-08:00

Saturday 21st November. We start the day with no particular plans except to drive towards Twizel and as the day turns out we manage to pack in being on the footplate of a steam engine, Hacketts bungy Jump and prospecting for gold. Not bad for a couple of old codgers. It worked like this. We are driving back along highway 6 in the late morning feeling it was time for a coffee when we see a sign to "The Kingston Flyer Steam Train". Kingston is at the southern end of Lake Wakatipu and there is a single track line that runs beside the road down to Invercargill although so far as we can gather the steam train only goes a few miles down the line. The train is standing outside the station with steam up and nobody on the footplate. There are no fences and it is possible to walk all around the engine so yours truly grabs his chance and climbs aboard the engine to have a closer look at the controls etc. Marilyn having kittens particularly when the intercom in the cab crackles into life and asks the man on the engine to get down until the driver arrives. I have been spotted but not before the camera went click. The train is not due to leave for at least an hour so we decide to move on. In the village there is a house owned by a "Wheel Nut". See photo of his garden fence. Next stop Hacketts world famous bungy jump from the bridge over the Kawarau gorge. Thought I might get Marilyn to have a go if I blindfolded her but the jump captain thought she looked too frail and wrinkly and was worried that she might fall to pieces at the bottom when the rope pulled her up so we had to give it a miss. Of course I was all ready to have a go but didn't like to do so without M so reluctantly we drove on. Next stop the Kawarau Gorge Mining Centre. To get to the Centre we had to cross a footbridge high over the gorge which was a small victory for M. The Gold mining continued here for about 100 years and was last worked in 1969. Many of the early miners were Chinese and their simple dwellings/shelters have been reconstructed which give a good idea of how basic it was in the early days when there was no bridge across the gorge and everything had to be transported across in a crate suspended from a high wire. Water power provided the energy to drive the ore crushing machinery and we were given a demonstration of how it worked by the son of one of the last men to work the mine. He handed us a couple of nice sized nuggets of gold but I was not able to trouser them without his noticing. All very interesting.
We have passed through very varied landscapes - the most extreme being vast tracts of treeless ranges followed by great open planes irrigated by watering booms on wheels in spans of about 75 feet. The average number of linked booms has been 12 but we have seen one rig of 22 booms linked in line giving a total length of about 1650 feet. Seriously big operation. In this area the roads are lined with wild lupins that are infull bloom at the moment - the photo does not do them justice. M reckons that they have lined 60 Kms of road. The wild broom is also veryprolific making mountain sides ablaze in yellow. M has done most of the driving today - a doddle in this traffic. One car every 10 Kms!!

2008-11-21T13:32:00.000-08:00

Love your comments boys. Canada blew my socks off but Shotover blew my withered old brains away!! Nothing beats it so far. As for the lap episode - what can I say - Its so long since it last happened I have forgotten what to do!!

We had no idea that Roy and Helen were in NZ. Incredible chance meeting.

2008-11-21T13:27:00.000-08:00

Eat your hearts out Rupert and Luke!!!

2008-11-20T23:04:00.000-08:00

Friday 21st November. As anticipated today has been a bit of an anticlimax after the adrennalin rush of yesterday but none the less well worth while. The decision to take a coach toMilford Sound was a good move because the road in and out is over mountains and through a tunnel which causes Marilyn to bury her head in my lap a bit like Muffin hiding in the wardrobeon Narrow Boat Leo when she is frightened. We are getting a little OD'd on views but the 2 hour boat trip on the sound is good. Weather fine but windy. The boat is not too big and is able to get close in the sides of the fiord under the waterfalls. There is even a waterfall that is so high that sometimes the water doesn't reach the sea because the wind blows it up and away as spray. See penguins and fur seals but no dolphins. It's a bit lumpy at the mouth of the sound so the cruise out into the Tasman sea is curtailed. Instead we do a tour of the fishing fleet that works out of the sound (no fishing allowed in the sound itself) and they land a prodigious weight of crayfisk most of which is exported.

2008-11-20T23:00:00.000-08:00

We are in Lord of the Rings country and I don't know what Marilyn said to the strange Man in a pointed hat but when I looked round she had gone and all Icould see was this!!

2008-11-20T22:16:00.000-08:00

Thursday 20th November. Another glorious day and if Iwere writing a novel you would say that the next episode is too far fetched to be believed. We start the day with a quick gallop around the little local museum that tells of the lifeinArrowtown in the pioneering days of panning for gold in the river Arrow that runs behind the town. The main street has been restored to reflect how it looked long ago. We thendrive the few kms to Queenstown on the shore of Lake Wakatipu - an attractive thriving town being the centre of all the mad Kiwi outdoor activities. For $565 you can do a Skydive, ride a Jet boat through the Shotover river canyon, take a helicopter flight over Skipper Canyon and white water raft down the river Shotover Rapids. If bungy jumping is your thing the Nevis high wire at 134 metres is a must. Moored at the town quay is the America's Cup yacht NZL 14 and as I am giving it the once over and chatting to a crew member who has just returned from six months working on the boats at Spinnaker Quay in Portsmouth who should walk up behind me but Roy and Helen Scott from theEmswoth Slipper SC. Shouts of 'I don't believe it' but best of all over cups of coffee we compare notes and discover that they have been following in our footsteps a day behind us and have experienced exactly the same husband and wife stand off at the same spot on their travels. He wants to take her on a helicopter trip over the glacier but she can't face it etc.etc. We have a great laugh about it and I suggestthat we would all get on better if Roy and I went off and did our own thing so that Marilyn and Helen can go and do girlie things. 'What a good idea' says Roy. 'How do you fancy the Shotover Jet Boat ride?' 'Do bears shit in the woods?' say I and the rest you can guess. Within an hour or sowe are on the bus out to the river bwhere we are kitted out with spay coats and life jackets. We have the most thrilling ride you could ever imagine. The boats are quite small - 14 passengers and the driver (mad kiwi but brilliant) Twin engines giving 500HPand will run in 4 inches of water. It rockets through the narrow canyon missing the rocks byinches and the star turn is a 360 spin. The whole operation is very slick and by the time we get ashore and take off our coat and life jacket the onboard computer has downloaded to te shoreside computer a video of our run so that we can buy a CD of our ride before boarding the bus to return to town. Have taken lots of pictures/video but not all have 'come out' as we used to say in the days of film. It would seem that in my excitement I forgot to press the right button but if you want to see what its like go to the web site www.shotoverjet.com

The cruise down Milford Sound we have planned for tomorrow will be small beer after today. To save us the long drive out to Milford and back - round trip of 600kms in one day we decide to drive this evening to Te Anau (half way) and take a coach toMilford

2008-11-20T22:10:00.000-08:00

At the foot of Fox Glacier. Well 'She who must be obeyed' did say she wanted more ice for the G&T.

Main street Arrowtown.

I confirm the whitebait patty in the photo was BEFORE eating. You wouldn't like the AFTER picture.

2008-11-20T11:19:00.000-08:00

To bestest friends. Sorry we are too thick to pick up on your 'handle'. Much too clever for us. Pete would have loved seeing Garry's MG collection. Told him all about your baby.

Wednesday 19th Nov. A remarkable day. I am up early and take the car to Lake Matheson - about 4 kms away from where there is a popular photo shot of the snowcapped mountains reflected in the still waters of the lake but this morning Mt Cook has it'shead in the clouds and the water is not still. Bit of a wasted journey but the trees around the lake are nice - al draped inmoss and lychen. We drive up to Fox Glacier. The foot of the melting ice has receded about a mile in the last 100 years. The car park is a ten minute walk accross the moraine to reach the viewing point but the braver of us climb through the rope and scramble accross rocks and streams to the melting face. Well worth the effort (and risk of wet feet) to appreciate the scale of the monster. Marilyn does not make it to the face and the atmosphere between us issomewhat strained at this time. Needless to say its all my fault selfish mean old bastard that i am always insisting we do what I want to do. However I suspect that because her ladyship has not been sleeping too well and is getting very tired this may be a contributing factor. Just as we are leaving the glacier itstarts to raintocomplete the gloom of the atmosphere so the conversation in the car for the next 100kms can hardly be described as scintilating. However a stop for coffeeat a Salmon farm with very nice cafe attached helps to melt the ice and restore 'entente cordiale'. Another stop at lunch time at Haast - a smal community on the coast miles from anywhere - enables her ladyship to indulge some retail therapy at the Possom and Marino Wool store. It has recently been built with corrugated tin and whilst we are in there the heavens open and for half an hour the noise is so much that we can hardly hear ourselves think yet alone discuss the price of a Possom skin. There is a mobile stall in the road sellingWhite bait patties - see photo -so have to try one. Big mistake. I shall stick to the good old English style Whitebait. The drive down the west coasthas become somewhat monotomous with rain forest right up to the road onboth sides for hundreds of Kms. Soon after Haast however the road turns inland and climbs the Southern Alpes through the Haast pass. On the way up we pass lots of spectacular water falls and rivers. After the pass its like turning the page of a book because there is a complete change of scene. Now we are in the dry country. All the trees are gone and the sheer mountains are relaced with lower ranges and glens which remind us very much of Scotland. Eventhe streams here are called Burns. Sheep, Cattle and Deer (farmed not wild) grazing as far as the eye can see. Millions of head. The road passes down the side of great lakes, the clouds have cleared and everything is bathed in brilliant sunshine. Pause briefly in Wanaker, a nice town at the end of the lake, and then press on to Arrowtown (on Richard's recommendation) via yet another mountain road that passes through a ski area. Fine viewsout accross the valleyleading down into Arrowtown - founded when gold ws discovered in the river Arrow. Book into a nice Motel with a very well equiped attrctive chalet and settle down after supper in town to watch the All Blacks snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Munster. A great match.

2008-11-18T00:17:00.000-08:00

Tuesday 18th Nov. Not much to report today guys. Thanks for the comments. Can't work out who MG YAR is. We've had a long day today. Posted the blog in the tourist office in Murchison but unable to download pictures. Drove 164 Kms to Greymouth where we found WiFi hotspot in the railway station of all places so was able to post the latest pictures and catch up on the e-mails. There is a train that runs from Christchurch each morning to Greymouth with return trip in the afternoon. We have been thinking that we may do this and agonised over whether we should catch the train that was waiting in the station when we arrived in Greymouth and stay the night in Christchurch ,returning in the morningbut in the end it was decided to press on to FoxGlacier today and do the train when we get to Christchurch next week. The run from Murchison to Greymouth was beside the Buller Gorge for a lot of the way with many high bridges over the river. The jet boat rides must be fantastic. Some of the bridges are single track and also used by the train track. I bet some mad kiwis drive straight on up the railway track which is not fenced. From Greymouth to Hokitika the road is flat and straight along the coast. Stop at H and have a look in the Jade Factory. Expensive but nice. Watched the craftsmen working on the product. All very well presented. Stop again at Franz Josef which is the tourist centre for visiting the FJ glacier. Strong alpine atmosphere with sightseeing helicopters buzzing overhead but the mountain tops are shrouded in cloud. Can see the foot of the glacier from the road. Drive on the Fox Glacier, a much less glitz village, and book into B & B recommended by Andrew. Supper in local cafe. Rack of Lamb well presented but tough. Disappointing. We have driven 364 kms today.

2008-11-17T17:10:00.000-08:00

Carvings of tree stumps and recovery of the taxis.

2008-11-17T17:07:00.000-08:00

On the beach and on the walk

2008-11-17T17:03:00.000-08:00

Taxi Rank!! On the way to launch. Split Apple Rock

2008-11-17T16:59:00.000-08:00

Paul, Rebecca, Ryan, Dogs and Codger & Boys toys.

2008-11-17T13:32:00.000-08:00

Monday 17th Nov. Today we are booked to go on a walk in the Abel Tasman Park. There are no roads in the park so the only way to get about is on Shank's Pony or the water taxis that will take you from beach to beach. It's a very novel experience at the start of the day to be picked up from your accommodation by coach and driven to Manahue Bay where the water taxi is waiting - parked on a trailer attached to a tractor. The passengers board the boat, don their life jackets and are then towed by the tractor down the road for quarter of mile and then onto the beach where the boat is launched - Bit like a life boat beach launch. First we are taken to see what must be the most photographed rock in NZ. It is called the Split Apple as it looks just like that. (Will send photo when next able to find somewhere to download from my laptop) We are then taken 13Kms up the coast (a bit lumpy and M has a few white knuckle moments) where we are dropped off onto a deserted beach - feel a bit like Robinson Crusoe and look for human footprint. By now it is a lovely sunny day. The track through the sub-tropical forest is cool and fresh after the rain in the night and the waterfalls are spectacular. It takes us five hours - not a bad effort for a couple of old codgers and well worth the effort even though we were knackered by the end. At the entrance to the park there is a collection of wood carvings of gigantic size out of tree trunks. (Photos later). On the road again to Murchison where we book into a Motel. Sitting in car for 2 hours gives the legs a chance to seize up and so fell all over the place when we got out of the car. This township is beside the Buller River which is the centre of the white water rafting but don't think I am going to be able to persuade M to have a go. Supper in the local 'Hotel' - rather a grand description. Oh dear!! M says I must not tell Luke. We are asked if we want veggies or salad with the main course. When we enquire what the veggies are we are told that there is only one portion left and are shown a plate with pre-cooked Cabbage, carrots, potato and broccli covered with cling film ready to go into the microwave. We chose salad.

2008-11-17T13:26:00.000-08:00

Sunday 16th November. Nothing much to report today. Drive from Blenheim to Marahue which is on the Southern end of the Abal Tasman National Park stopping in Nelson to use the Internet Cafe to update the blog. Book into George Bloomfield's B & B called The Stabbles - no horses now but he used to breed and train racehorses and hire out trekking ponies. He invites us to pick as many oranges and lemons as we like from his wonderful garden. There is a lot of fruit grown in this area and even hops for the local brewery. Our room is in a very well equiped Chalet and the breakfast is good. Poured with rain and blew a gale in the night.

2008-11-15T16:51:00.000-08:00

Celebration lunch. Followed by soon to be Roast Beef followed by view of Jonty's house taken from the top of the hill behind house.

2008-11-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

View from Jonty's house and drift wood on the beach at Lake Ferry with mouth of river behind M (after it has been dug out.

2008-11-15T13:28:00.000-08:00

Saturday 15th Nov. And so we say farewell to Martinborough. Tearful goodbyes. We have got on so well together but I fear we have set back Jonty's work schedule somewhat. Hour and half drive to Wellington to catch the 2 o'clock ferry to south island - a three hour voyage. Could have left the car at Wellington and got another at Picton but to hell with the expense and paid for the car to go on the ferry(NZ$85) and save Marilyn having to lug all the bags as foot passengers. It is very windy today but the sea is not rough. The Ferry can take trains as well as vehicles and it is quite full. Very scenic as we pass between the off shore islands and up Queen Charlotte Sound and into Picton sound. Half hour drive to Blenheim in the Marleborough Wine producing area. Rebecca and Pauls house is single storey sitting in over 4 acres of land aand is surrounded by vineyards. Two dogs, one pig, two peacocks, chicken of all shapes and sizes, ducks, ducklings one absent horse and two absent goats. They moved out here from Hayling Island less than three years ago and are very happy. Paul does building maintenance work and Rabecca has a job with the vineyards. Two sons Daniel (12) and Ryan (7) also very happy and have made lots of friends. They both have mini motor bikes and are able to ride to their friends through the vineyards without having to go on public roads. Paul was a member of the Hayling lifeboat crew so is in his element here with a 22ft speed boat from which they always catch fish. Hasn't had a blank day yet. There are Salmon farms in the sounds as well as Mussle farms. They make us very welcome and it is fun to bring them up to date with news from home. Paul is a very keen Pompey fan and is not a happy bunny with Redknapp.

2008-11-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

Friday 14th Nov Yet another fine day. Spend the morning in Martinborough having a conducted tour of the Bottling plant of which Jonty is a director. The plant bottles nearly all the wine produced in the area. Today they are bottling a full tanker load of Pinot Noir but since the wine has not yet been sold it is not being labeled. It will be stored at the plant in very large crates for the time being and then labeled when they know which country it is going to be exported to. Lunch at the Medici Cafe in town and then go to see Jonty's parents Garry and Heather. Their house is also on the farm but at the other end set on high ground with grand view accross the Martinborough plain. Garry collects and restores old MG cars and is getting ready to take eight of them to a rally in a few weeks time. Friends are coming from all over the world to drive them to the rally. He has two large sheds in which to house the collection which also includes an old Wolsley and a Riley Pathfinder not to mention the Grey Fergie. There is also a covered yard where he stores the wrecks that he has canibalised for spare parts. His workshop puts me to shame as it is so tidy. Have supper with them and watch a magnificent sunset accross the Martinborough plain with the Cook Straits in the distance and on the horizon the snow capped peaks of the Kiakoura Ranges over 100 mile away.

2008-11-15T12:56:00.000-08:00

Thursday 13th Nov. How long can our luck hold with the weather? It's another fine day. Spent an hour in the town library of all places as it's the only place I can find with internet but can't connect my laptop so not able to send you any pictures. Have been told that we have to be back at the farm by midday as Jonty wants to show us the rest of the farm and the vineyards that they lease to a producer but it turns out that this is all a subterfuge to get us to a Restaurant attached to a Winery where he has at the request of the boys arranged for us to have a romantic 40th Wedding Anniversary lunch. Very sweet of them but I insist that Jonty and Mary join us for lunch as two old farts who have been married for 40 years have run out of things to talk about. It was great fun. Photos will follow when I can connect my laptop to download. Thank you Rupert and Luke. A wonderful kind thought. J & M's two daughters are charming Natasha(11) and Melissa (8) M is a talented little artist (lots of her pictures around the house) with a buubly personality - never stops talking. N is more reserved but has her talents also - ballet - and we watch her play in a hockey match in the afternoon.

2008-11-15T12:16:00.000-08:00

Continuing from where I left off - Jonty farms about 1600 acres on his own with the aid of 4 working dogs, a quad bike. Sheep and beef. The farm was quite run down when he took over 7 years ago since when he has put in a great deal of hard work and money to get it up together. There are about 80 miles of conventional post with eight wires fencing. A lot of new fencing has been put up together with electric fencing plus 150 new 14 foot gates. Cattle and sheep yards have been renewed and several paddocks have had land drains renewed plus additional water storeage ponds ((called Dams out here). The house is timber clad with a verandah on three sides. The original house was built in the 19th century and has been modernised with a large extension built on in the same style. Lovely polished hardhard wood floors throughout. Our room is en-suite with super big shower. Large high ceilinged hall with open staircase and open balustraded landing leading to bedrooms at each end of the house. Open plan kitchen with living room nearly as big as the whole ground floor of the White House.

Wednesday 12th November. The weather for the last few days has been glorious and today has been just perfect. Jonty takes us for a drive to Lake Ferry where the river Ruamahange meets the sea. At this time of year the river is not flowing very fast and is quite low and if there is a Southerly gale it throws up so much sand and shingle on the shore that it closes off the mouth of the rivercreating a lake which slowly fills to well above sea level. In the old days a team of about 25 volunteers would hand dig a channel for the water to run into the sea. Once they had dug enough to get the water running the scouring action would do the rest and by the next morning there would be a deep channel 100 metres wide. Of course it is now done by machine and the last time this happened was only 5 days ago but we could see the level to which the lake had risen by the huge bank of drift wood and tree trunks that had been washed down by the river onto the shore. We have a very nice lunch at the cafe beside the beach and watch the fishermen netting Whitebait along the shore. Their Whitebait are tiny and resemble baby eels rather than the small fish fry that we are accustomed to. In the afternoon we have a guided tour of the farm. There are fantastic views from the high ground behind the homestead which look out over the whole Martinborough plain. - the wine growing area. Some of the paddocks over wghich we drive in the Ute are very steep - very hairy for us old greytops. The cattle look in very good condition but there are no lambs now as all 3000 of them were sent off last week for their fatal appoinment with mint sauce and rosemary!!

2008-11-12T14:05:00.000-08:00

Tuesday 11th Before leaving Stratford I have to drive up the mountain to inspect the set up for skiing. The summit is once again shrouded in cloud but the base of the cloud is just above the car park for the ski fields so we get a good view out accross the countryside around the base of the mountain. You have to be fit to ski here as the carpark is along hike from the bottom of the lifts. The whole mountain is a National Park. It is a very similar shape to Mount Fujiama in Japan. Classic snow capped volanic cone. Very striking. The lower slopes are covered in dense bush and quite exotic. Am told there are wild Kiwi here. We stop at Wanganui for a coffee on the road to Martinborough. The road takes us through the gorge between the Taraua Range and the Ruahire Range. Very steep sidedand very windy road built on the side of the gorge on concrete platforms in places with sheer drops from the side of the road down to the river in the bottom of the gorge. M is in the passengers seat next to the edge. Very white knuckled!!. Manage to pick up a speeding ticket despite having been warned by all my friends who have experience of driving in NZ. The fuzz where driving towards me at the time but still managed to clock me at 74 in a 50 limit. Issued a fixed penalty ticket but have 28 days to pay. Guess what!!. Arrive at Jonty and Mary's house at tea time (Gin o'clock by M's watch). they have the most wonderful homestead house with views to die for.
Have to close for now as I am in a publis library and some people want to get on the computer. Talk to you later.

2008-11-12T13:16:00.000-08:00

Monday 10th December. Lake Tarpou is on the edge of the thermal region so in the hope of seeing some geysers(Hot water geysers not diamond geysers!) we head off to the Wairakei Thermal Valley which is up a dirt track past a Thermal Generation Plant shrouded in a cloud of steam rising from the scalding water that runs along open drain pipes. Eventually arrive at a tired looking chalet selling devonshire cream teas. Outside there are peacocks, chickens of all descriptions, an alpacha (recently clipped and looking very self conscious). The proprrietor is a five star con artist who relieves the tourists of $12 eachto take a walk up the valley on a self guided tour in the hope of seeing geysers etc. At least I beat him down to $10 (could not persuade M to jump over the fence to get in free!) It's all a bit ofn a disappointment as the boiling mud pools have dried up and the water geysers are now just steam vents as a result of the generation plant drawing off too much water down the valley. Set off for the Taranaki area where I hope to be able to trace an old friend of William's who he met in Austria over 40 years ago and brought home and stayed for nearly a year. To get to the village that he came from we turn off the "Forgotten World Highway" (very appropriate name) onto a road that takes us through the mountains the highest part of which is not tarmaced. Marilyn is driving and decides that it must be a goat track despite it being called a major road on the map. Sure enough we come accross several wild goats at the summit. Most amusing of all is a sign beside the track in the middle of nowhere saying "Polling Station" (There was a general election last week) Beside the sign nailed to a tree stump is a lavatory seast with the lid up. Just goes to show that even in NZ are regarded with the same sentiment as in the UK. After a very long and twisting drive we arrive at Uruti - Max's village. It is so small that we have driven past it before we realise it is there. Consists of a little tin church, a school with only 10 pupils until two more joined today, a community hall and a few houses scattered over the hinterland. The school secretary directs me to Blake Hall's house as he is one of the oldest inhabitants. His house is up a steep rough track and he looks a bit like a hermit with long white beard and bare feet. (he is a fencer). He knew Max well but sadly he died of a heart attack whilst giving a skiing lesson on Mount Taranaki well over 10 years ago. Directs us to a memorial plaque at the community hall which is dated 1991. All very sad but at least he died doing what he loved doing. His mother had also died about a year ago in her 90's so there is noone else for us to see. Felt rather flat after the anticipation of meeting up with a friend. Drive on into Stratford at the foot of Mount Taranaki the summit of which is lost in the clouds. Book into a B & B that can only be described as "Jaded Colonial" run by retired farmer and his wife both in their 80's.bAcre and a half of garden filled with over 100 different Rhododendrons most of which were in bloom. Quite a sight. Apparently the whole area is well known for it's Rhodies. There's hardly a sole about in downtown Stratford at 8.30 in the evening probably because it is a dairy farming area where everyone gets up at 4.00 in the morning. Not a place for M. Just at dusk the cloud lifts from the mountain and we have a sight of it in all it's snow capped splendour.

2008-11-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

Hacky's playroom!!

2008-11-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

Zoom in to see how old the tree is and how big it was when Cook discovered NZ.

2008-11-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

Sunday 9th November.Fond farewells to June after a hearty breakfast. Just up the road there is a museum dedicated to the Kauri tree and having already studies a guide book inJune's house we decide that we cannot leave the area without first going to have a look and it turns out to be a very good decision. Could have spent hours in there. Have taken masses of photos so you will have to attend the lecture tour to see them. It depicts the complete story of the pioneering days and has tableaus of how they lived and how they felled and processed the timber. It is only in here that one gets to understand the scale of these wonderful trees. Stunning collection of Amber (the gum that is excreated from the tree) William would love to see the collection of old chainsaws, log moving tackle, saw mills, catapillar tractor that revolutionary, steam engines etc. Will attach picture of a trunk and the chainsaw blade that was used to fell it. Must be well over 10 feet long. Long drive down to Lake Taupo in the hot springs area. Plan to sightsee the geysers in the morning.

2008-11-09T03:25:00.000-08:00

Fish dock on left with Shop on right followed by she who must be obeyed with trotters in the trough followed by skipper at controls of ferry.

2008-11-09T01:12:00.001-08:00

Saturday 8th November Election day in NZ. Victory to National Party. Farmers delighted. Lady PM resigns as leader of Labour. We agonise over whether we should go on a boat trip around the islands but decide to save the boating for Milford Sound in South Island. Marilyn admits that she cannot see a thing with her present spectacles and buys a new pair of double the strength. She can now see that she has been holding the map upside down and there is every hope that we will be able to have a whole day's drive without an argument. Will now try to persuade her to trade in her ear trumpet for a proper deaf aid. Get on the road early and head for Mangonui where we are told by Richard that there is the best Fish & Chips shop in NZ if not the world. Our route involves taking a 10 minute ferry ride which links the Russell peninsular to the mainland and saves a long drive around the old Russell road. On the way to the ferry we find an oyster farm with a closed sign outside but this does not deter your faithful scribe from having a good nose around which brings out the boss' wife who is very friendly and gives me all the low down. The oysters are in trays laid out right accross the top of the bay. They are regenerated from the natural fall of spat (seed oyster) from the main stock which is being fattened. The spat settles on trays laid out for the purpose and this is later shaken out into the keep trays where it grows into marketable size oyster. Nice little business. The ferry is a floating bridge type vessel with very sophisticated propulsion unit. 2 engines driving two propeller units - one at each end and off set from the centre line. The whole propeller untis turn through 360 degrees so that the helmsman has complete contol and can turn the vessel on a sixpence. I climb up to the bridge and have a good chat with the skipper as we make the crossing, We get to Mangorui by lunchtime and the fish shop lives up to it's reputation. M has Snapper and chips and declares it to be very good. I have crayfish (lobster) salad - all washed down with a nice Sauvignon Blanc. Continue west about round the top of North Island but skip a visit to 90 mile beach - the peninsular that runs North to the top of NZ at Cape Reinga. As we drive South we pass through almost mountainous country which is very thickly wooded and windy roads and very steep. Very little traffic. At one spot we come accross a dead Possom in the road and a very large bird (Eagle size) pecking at the carcass but before we have a chance to pull up and identify the bird - would you believe it - another car comes the other way a drives the bird away.
A very striking feature of the countryside where there are streams/rivers is the prolific growth of Airum Lillies everywhere. Keep driving until late afternoon and when we get to Dargaville we try to find a B & B. Stop at one but there is nobody at home and since Dargaville tooks a bit of a dump we decide to press on to the the next place where the book tells us there is a B & B. Find it at Matakohe where June Weber welcomes us to her "Homestay"(not a B & B). I put her in her very late 70's (Husband, a retired dairy farmer, died in March)and she reminded me very much of my Grandmother - same shape and features and tough personality with good sence of humour. "Now you will have a drink won't you and what would you like for supper?" G & T for M (now there's a surprise) and beer for me. Later -"Now you will have another one won't you?" "Did a bird ever fly on one wing?" says I. Over dinner we learn that her daughter lives in Southsea and grandaughter lives in Cosham of all places. Later I am invited to inspect her late husband's workshop only to discover that many of his wood turning tools were purchased from CRM in Waterlooville where I buy my woodworking tools. As I've said often before "Its a small world!" She is a dear old lady and tells us a remakable story of how 28 years ago a sperm whale was washed up dead on the beach near their farm. They went to inspect what was left of the carcass and found on the beach a large lump of evil smelling substance which they suspected might be of some value. Together they hauled it up the beach and covered it up to conceal it until they could get back to the spot with a boat. A couple of days later they recovered it and after contacting several perfumiers who were not interested they found one who suspected that it might be of value despite the fact that most perfumiers now use synthetics. He sent a sample to Chanel who said they wished to buy it (it was of course the genuine article - ambergris) and offered a figure which exceeded their wildest dreams. I'm not sure of the exact figure but net they received something like £75,000. (it may have been NZ$) but it was enough to build a house and on top of that they invested it at first in Premium bonds (NZ equivilent) and won a further $50,000. Now that's what I call lucky. To cap it all the bill for drinks dinner bed and full english breakfast was NZ$100. and she would not let me go without taking a piece of Kouri wood to turn into a bowl.

2008-11-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

Can't pass a tractor hitched to a boat trailer without giving it a try!!

Very large tree outside the local nick at Russell. Can you spot the tree creeper?

2008-11-07T12:10:00.000-08:00

Friday 7th November. Richard has given us all the low down on places to visit and says we must see the Bay of Islands whilst we are in North Island so have driven up to Russell via the scenic route. It claims to have the oldest pub in NZ - The Duke of Marlborough - where we thought we would have dinner but it didn't look all that special and as luck would have it they said they were fully booked despite there being very few tables being used which gave us the excuse to walk out and have a very good fillet steak in Sally's cafe. Spent the night in a studio appartmentwith computer wireless link so thats why I have been able to catch up with the blog and send some e-mails.

2008-11-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

They say this tree is over 800 years old. Its BIG!

2008-11-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

Thursday 6th November. So Obama is to be President of the USA. Maybe things will start to get better now but the Stock Market still continues to fall as does the £ against the OZ and NZ dollar. Should have bought more last week when I was getting a much better rate. Ah well - who cares when you are on your hols!! Richard and Marcia take us on a drive around the Warkworth area taking in all the bays abd beaches. This whole country is a continuous series of spectacular views. We stop for lunch at a nice cafe - not your MacDonalds - allvery nice and very reasonably priced washed down with a SauvignonBlanc. Get back to the house for a cup of afternoon tea - very English - and then R and I go to a meeting of "The Grumpies". It would seem that all the Old Farts of the Sand Spit area have come to an arrangement with the local Pizza Shop - run by a pair of sisters - that encourages them to meet there on Thursday evenings for a few "Sundowners" So far as I can gather they have done a deal that gets them their drinks at a discount plus the odd Pizza is provided free as a nibble. They are from all walks of life - many of them Poms some of whom have been in NZ most of their working life - and, if you need anything done, first go to the Grumpies who will put you right. Met lots of interesting guys one of whom had been at the Melbourne Cup and had won NZ$29,000. Yes -twenty nine thousand dollars. BBQ for supper.

2008-11-07T01:54:00.000-08:00

Hows this for a setting for a house?

2008-11-07T00:57:00.000-08:00

Tuesday 4th November. Melbourne Cup day when half Australia stops work for the day. Wendy is a member and has managed to get tickets for us as we are overseas visitors so we are all dressed up in our finest and set off for Flemington. There are ten races on the card and the first one starts at 10.20 - before we can get to the track as we first have to drop off Jessie and Maddie who will be looked after by Ernie's sister for the day. Ernie has been given a tip for a runner in the first race so we all have a bet on it as we drive to the racecourse and listen to the commentary on the radio. It comes in at 15/2 so at least we start the day on a high with some bookies money to spend. At the racecourse Ernie shows his tainer's badge so we are able to park the car in the park reserved for the horse trailers. Very handy and felt very important. Millions of dollars have recently been spent on the place and it shows. Roses everywhere. Even an avenue of climbing roses trained over archs a coupleof hundred yards long. See photo. A new members stand has been built which is all glassed in. Not sure if I like it as I prefer to be more in touch with the crowd rather than being shut away from the punters. The crowd is over 110,ooo. There is a constant stream of people ariving by helicopters and even by boat as the river runs alongside the racecourse. There is a wonderful air of excitement and determination to have a good fun day made all the better by the wondeful sunshine with a cooling breeze. All the young women in fancy hats and short skirts looking gorgeous. Even 'er in doors did justice to the expenditure on the hat. Sadly not another winner all day but did have a good run for our money in the big race as I was on the second horse that lost but the shortest of nostrils. The winning trainer trained his first winner of the Cup 50 years ago and this was his 12th cup winner.,. He's now 80. Marilyn fancied the winner but changed her mind at the last minute. She should have followed Ernie's daughters who each backed the winner to win over $200 each. A wonderful day to remember and a real high on which to finish our visit to OZ.

Wednesday 5th November. And so we say farewell to the fair city of Melbourne and fly to Auckland NZ. Have to be at the airport by 6.15am to catch the 8.15 flight so M not very communicative. The first thing that strikes us as we fly into NZ is the green after the scorched brown of OZ. Collect hire car (Nissan) and drive straight up to Richard and Marcia at Sand Spit near Warkworth. (2 hours) The directions that we have been given by Richard are very clear and we arrive without a cross word - maybe a record I suspect. My powers of description are not up to giving you a fair picture of the countryside that does justice to the breathtaking views around every corner. I can now see where the garden designers get their ideas for the use of the NZ tree ferns. They grow in such profusion here amongst the thick - sometimes impenitrable bush. R & M's house stands in nearly 2 acres of hillside 260 feet above the foreshore. It is densely covered with wild bush that is protected so it cannotbe built on. Pathways have been cut through the bush to provided walkways down to the beach. See photo attached of the view that greeted us as we drove over the crest of the hill leading down to Richard's house which is the one nearest to the camera with the curved top window. The house has three levels with a verandah/balcony at the first floor level. It faces south with viws out over Kawau Bay. It is a timber frame building clad with shiplap boards with large windows and lots of foldaway doors that lead out onto the balcony. Originally the ground floor was a double garage but Richard has turned it into a very large self contained suite for the children/grandchildren. First floor is open plan with a kitchen area leading into the dining area and the lounge area with a small seperate study and an ensuite guests bedroom. The top floor has the master bedroom suite. It is beautifully fitted out and the icing on the cake is the swimming pol at the back of the first floor terrace. We are made to feel very welcome and the G & T hits all the right spots for M

2008-11-07T00:45:00.000-08:00

The team at the races. Still looking good as we are ahead with the bookies at this stage. Pockets not so full later in the day. Sorry boys that the background in these shots is not so colourful as in the other shots I have already published!!

2008-11-07T00:38:00.000-08:00

This is the exerciser being towed behind the yellow peril referred to in earlier report. Certainly brings back memories of towing the horse box behind my yellow peril all those years ago when the boys were riding ponies.

2008-11-07T00:29:00.000-08:00

Chris Kachel and Ernie Ewert, that famous Australian Tennis doubles pair putting the world to rights over the BarB. Last time we saw them together was thirty years ago!!

2008-11-06T00:58:00.000-08:00

Am now in NZ and have some catching up to do. Am not able to connect my pc to the house wireless so have borrowed Richards PC to do thisbut can't send any pictures. Will continue from where I left off last time. Our first full day in Melbourne we arranged to meet Jeff M for lunch. Wendy drove us into the city and gave us a conducted tour of all the places of interest. She has worked for the Herald Sun (a Murdoch tabloid) for 28 years but now only works two days a week as PA for one of the country's leading business/economics journalists so has her fingure well on the pulse of what's going on. The girls can't resist a spot of retail therapy which results in the purchase of a hat for M. I am dragged to the jewellers' windows where some very un-subtle hints are dropped in front of a diamond and ruby necklace. I had a bad attack of misted glasses at the time coupled with a profound deafness. Jeff's office is on the 45th floor from which there is a fantastic view accross the city but M cannot bring herself to stand close to the window to enjoy it.Had a good chat with Jeff over lunch and caught up with the news. Life in the finnancial world at a time when markets accross the globe are in free fall can be quite hectic. He sends all his best wishes to all his friends in England. Very sorry to hear of Ronald's problems. Supper back at the ranch - throw anothger shrimp on the BarB Bruce.
Saturday morning I went to the farm with Ernie first thing to help do the horse. First we fed the horses with mixture of oats, maze, pellets, chopped lucern, chaff, crushed barley, carrots, apple vinigar and god knows what else (I'm not allowed to disclose the secret ingredient). Then they are given a bit of a work out around the track, a jockey comes in to ride each one and on the days he is not able to come in (riding in a race somewhere) the horses are exercised in a splendid cage that is towed behind the yellow peril (anchient ford cortina). After exercise they are given a swim in the special tank and then returned to their seperate paddocks where they finish their feed. If you want to know anything about training a race horse just call me!! Next we collected Ernie's parents (in their mid 90's) for lunch at a newly opened Golf Club House in the middle of what is to be a new development built around the homestaed of what was once a 100,000 acre cattle station to the west of the city. Maybe the present financial climate will put a damper on the sale of the houses. In the evening we drive out to the north east outskirts of the city to have a BBQ at Chris and Kay K's house. They have a very flash BBQ set up in the back garden overlooking a very smart Clay Tennis Court where Chris is able to give coaching lessons although he does not have much time for that now that he has been appointd national coach to the Chinese. It's sad to hear that Australian tennis is in such decline since the days when Ernie and Chris were playing at their peak at Wimbldon. There are not nearly so many young players now. Kay is a very talented artist and I was delighted to see a picture she had painted of an alpine meadow in Austria at Axarm Litzum over which I skied with the boys twenty eight years ago. We stay the night with Chris and Kaybecause we have been invited to sunday lunch with Maureen and Tony (Maureen worked for Larcomes nearly thirty years ago). They live just a few miles from C & K. It is our 40th wedding anniversary. M & T's house stands in a 20 acre plot at the end of a dirt road. The ground slopes down to a creek and they keep sheep goats and a horse. A wedge tailed eagle has it's nest in a tree beside the creek. M & T have five children (we meet three) all doiung well - one daughter is a Vet. They have been in OZ for 27 years now. It turns out that their daughter lives next door at the end of the garden to Chris and Kay but they have never met. What a small world. Lovely lunch with champers for a pipe opener. Walk around the estate after lunch and drive home to E & W in his car (1991 V8 Holden) at Gin o'clock.
Monday. Today we have a 175 KM drive to Bendigo - a town built on Gold mining which has left a legacy of very fine civic buildings but when the gold ran out it fell into decline since when there has been a revival. Now grows apples and vines for wine production. Met up with Neil Clark in town and follow him to his house a mile or so from the centre of town. Original house is 19th century built in three acre plot but rebuilt in the 20's - single storey of course with tin roof. Lots of Art Deco. Very grand. Great fun to meet again after 38 years. Found my name in their visitors book - entry dated 1967 the occasion being a party when clearly I was pissed as I gave my address as "No fixed abode" Neil has not changed a bit. Still has a clear Scotts accent and just the same mannerisms. Now has a very successful Agricultural Consultancy business. Is also a member of the bag club like me so we have much to compare notes about. After lunch Neil has to fly to Adelaide on business so M and I have a brouse about town before driving back to Melbourne (me to the Art gallery M to the park). Lovely day. Interesting drive and no problems with the navigation so we are still talking!! Time for bed now so will try to catch up in the morning. Cheers.

2008-11-04T12:29:00.000-08:00

Have at last found a plug into the internet that isn't costing me - the the hospitality lounge of Emirates waiting for the flight to NZ at 7.00AM. M not entirely with it.Will use the time to download some pictures and give you the story later. Went to the Melbourne Cup yesterday so her are some hats horses and Ernie with his exercise machine behind the yellow peril. Speak to you later.

2008-11-02T14:17:00.000-08:00

Sorry to have been incommunicardo for so long. Have not been able to find time to get to a internet cafe to connect to my computer. Am now at Ernie and Wendy Ewerts house in Melbourne. Am so impressed with Muffins efforts. Didn't realise she was so talented.
Our last full day in Surfers Paradise was very lazy indeed. M soaking up the rays - me in the shade reading. Dinner in the evening at a Tai restaurant - average, made no better by being served on cold plates which seems to be a common fault out here. After dinner a stroll along the seafront where there was a pavement market - mostly tat but did buy a hand made fishing lure which I am assured will certainly catch bass at home and if I am successful I can send him a photo and get another lure free. An offer that could not be refused.
Thursday we flew down to Melbourne. Good flight with Virgin Blue. Met at airport by Ernie and driven out to Caroline Springs - a new residential estate on the western edge of the city. We went via his farm where he trains race horses and stopped to give them their afternoon feed. The countryside to the west of Melbourne is very flat and very dry. They have had hardly any rain for over 7 years. Consequently the paddocks are very crisp. The farm is about 60 acres and has a small track for training the horses. Ernie's father started training here about 45 years ago and trained his 100th winner at the age of 86. He is now 93. Ernie has now taken over. They are one of the nearest training establisments to the city and they are able to use the Flemington (home of the Melbourne Cup) facilities as part of the training program. We are given a wonderful welcome by Wendy and their two daughters Jessie (8) and Madalyn (5). Pictuures to follow later. The house is single storey and very spacious. M says she could live here. Must stop for now

2008-10-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of pictures of the inland side of Surfers. Our apartment block is the lower sandy coloured one in the middle of the picture. The other is of a typical waterfront property but this one didn't have the helicopter on the dock!!

Have just been able to pick up the comments and am staggered to discover that Muffin appears to know more about blogging than me. Well done Muffin. Its great and you look well and beautiful. M is not with me at the moment in the Chat Room Cafe - Cooking in the sun beside the pool. but will tell her all your news when I get back and no doubt next time she will want to come with me to the blog shop instead of Gucci shop!!

2008-10-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

Tuesday. Glorious Gold Coast weather. M plans a day relaxing beside the poolbut first has to endure another two hour boat trip with me - this time a cruise around the canals and riverdown to the ocean. The waterfront houses of the rich and famous costing tens of millions of dollars (Aus) are quite something. M picks one modest little number at a mere A$6million. How the other half live.So far as Icanmake out the whole area is dedicated to and dependent upon the holiday maker. there are dozens of high rise apartment blocks one of which claims to be the highest residential blockin the world although I suspect that claim will soon be exceeded by the building going on in Dubai.
In Queensland they don't have daylight saving time. Consequently it gets dak soon after 6 but is light at 3.30 in the morning (doesn't suite M) Apparently several governments in the past have tried to introduce itbut it has always been voted out by the farmers. Everyone tends to eat early in the evening (oysters followed by Barramundi and chips this evening) and we have been ready forbed before10. Poor old dears!
They have just had the Indy here last week - racing cars around the streets - so there is still an atmosphere of high octaine and petrol heads with very flash high performance cars about the place.
Delighted to hear from home that you are still reading this rubbish and best of all that Ronald is well on the way to recovery after his operation and is expected out of hospital shortly .

2008-10-28T01:17:00.000-07:00

2008-10-28T01:05:00.000-07:00

2008-10-28T00:22:00.000-07:00

Monday27th. Most people are leaving camp today. Always sad when the Circus leaves town. Sadly sme are going straight home but others are off on excursions. Bob &Jean are on a Harley Davidson ride around Sydney. Peter and Jill are climbing to the top of the Harbour Bridge. We fly up to the Gold coast - Surfers Paradise. We have been lent a one bed appartment on the 9th floor of a 14 floor block just a few minutes walk from the beach. When we walked into the appartment the blinds were drawnand when M pulled them back she let out a squeal of delight. There before us was the most fantastic vista lokking inland over the river/canals to the distant hills. Lots of pictures and will try to include some if it doesn't take up too much of the time that I am allowed on this connection. As soon as we have dumped our luggage we hot foot it to the beach. Soft white sand as far as the eye can see in both directions and so we have a paddle in the Pacific.

2008-10-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys. I'm getting with it slowly. Have found a Chat Room Restaurant that has free wireless connection if you spen $4. So here we go to catch up on the last few days.

Sunday 26th Oct. Finals day for Marilyn and Pink Ticket day for me. NZwon the champioships by one point from Australia. A great disappoinment for our hosts made all the more bitter a pill to swallow by reason of the victors being their arch antipodean rivals Sad to report that engalnd were beaten out ofsight and only have themselves to blame. It has been a very successful Championships and the Australians could not have done more to make us all so welcome and keep us entertained. The organisation was brilliant. They provided 6 ponies for every team and more in reserve - all transported into Sydney over vast distances. The rugby pitch was a great venue and stood up well to the pounding of the hooves. One man spent his entire days shovelling up horse sh*t as soon as it was deposited so that the field was clean at all times. 270 sat down to dinner in the eveningat the RSL club for the presentations and a knees up. the trophies were presented by 'Er indoors' in her presidential capacity. A good time was had by all and the games were declared to have been the best ever and most important of all the youngsters made many new friends from all over the world. England host the championships next year and have been set quite some challenge.

My Pink Ticket day was very different. Up at crack of sparrow fart to allow myself plenty of time to get intoSydney and catch a ferry to North Sydney Wharf to go racing. Discovered the explaination for the apparent missnomer of the Sydney Flying Squadron for a sailing club is that the founder of the club decided to name it after Sir Francis Drake's Flying Squadron - very appropriate for the speedy 18ft sciffs. Until about a couple of years ago all the sciffs in the harbour - traditional and modern - raced from the squadron but then the sponsors of the modern sciffs decided to move to another club. Consequently only the trads reeeemain with the Squadron. Quite a financial blow as it appears to be very big business here. The regatta today is at another club in the harbour so we are towed there. There are only three of us today one of which has a crew of ten -yes ten- and we have a crew of six. On arrival at the regatta we have to lie alongside a pontoon to get the sailsup. All the gear is very heavy and very basic. No modern gadgets - ever has belaying pins instead of jambing cleats. The boat with rig weighs over 700kgs. I had offered to bring some beers on board but the skipper - John Toon - said he didn't like drink onboard - safety and all that. Imagine my surprise therefore when the last crew member to join us - Fergie - arives late but laden down with six paks of beer and a bucket of ice. so much for an Oz dry boat where they never take any notice of the skipper. This is going to be fun. there is a medium breeze but a bit patchy particularly in the lee of the headlands and islands. The course is a down wind first leg followed by a beat, a run, a beat and a run to the finish. Its a persuit race and we are second to start. We put in a very good 4th windward leg and are neck and neck to take the lead at the mark but the spinnaker hoist is a shambles when Fergie drops the third section of the spinnaker pole into the ogin. (the pole needs to be so long that it is in three 8ft sections that have to be slotted together each time the spinnaker is needed. A nearby saling cruised is hailed to recover the pole but can't get it back to us quickly enough so we have to imprevise with the wisker pole (my boaty friends will know what I am talking about) The front two crew members in the boat handle the spinnaker and the jib, Doug handles the main sheet and John is the helm at the back leaving Fergie and me in the middle to do the rest - Lee clothes (the boat has so little freeboard that there are lee clothes on both sides that have to be put up and down each time the boat tacks - running back stays plus a main back stay used when the spinnaker is used, bailng and weight trimming. Talk about bobbing up and down like a whores draws. The lee clothes are critical because the boat will sink in an instant if the leward clothe is not put up as soon as the boat goes about and the windward clothe dropped to allow the crew to sit on the gunnal as the boat heals. they all get very excited and use some good old fashioned Australian phrases if it looks lke I am not going to get the clothe up in time. The sail back to the Squadron developes into another race but again we are frustrated by the flooky winds under the harbour bridge and beside the opera house where the wash from all the ferries comeing and going knock us back. Once ashore the boat has to be completely de-rigged as it is stored on a road trailer in the road outside Johnn's home. It sure is hard work racing a a traditiona 18ft sciff but a truly wonderful experience and great fun with a friendly and keen crew.

2008-10-25T04:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening. Today has been a wonderful day which fulfilled all its promise. The games are well under weigh and all the terms that should have done wellhave done well and are in the A finalsand there is very little to choose between them so it should be a great final Aus. NZ France Canada England Wales Luxemburg. For my part I took myself off to Sydney again. This time I have twigged that I can buy an old farts all day go anywhere ticket for $2.50. ( just over £1) Bus into Sydney (got off at the right stop this time)short walk to Circular Quay and catch ferryto what is,I am told, the nearest quay to where Iam aiming - the Sydney Flying Squadron - nothing to do with flying but boats. It is the home of the Traditional Sydney Harbour 18 footer Sciffs - all replicas of the old boats - not the modern highly sponsored modern versions. Trouble is I have been given some bum info and so Hackers has a long walk to the Squadron but at least I am seeing plenty of the area - even the Luna Park fun fair but i didn't fancy a ride. The Squadron has a nice clubhouse with first floor bar and restaurant and balcony overlooking the water. On the lawn beside the building there are 7 sciffs getting rigged ready for launching. Igot chatting to one of the crews and asked them if it would be possible to bum a ride on one of the support boats. No problem mate, buy a ticket at the bar for a place on the ferry that will be following the race. So off to the bar for an old farts ticket for a few dollars, four bottles of beer (to keep up the liquids of course) and a bag of chips (bit of a come down after the oysters yesterday but one has to slum it now and again). The ferry is one of the old wooden double deckers like the one we were on the other night and i stood in the bow with a perfect view of the proceedings. the harbour is teaming with sailing boats from the lowly fleet of 40 lasers to a lesser fleet of Maxis - What a spectacle! Its all so well organised. there are two knowledgable commentators on board and I get a chance to chat with one of them (Paul) while his mate is doing the talking. Also meet a very friendly member of the club (Craig) who mademefeel very much at homeand insisted when I said goodbye that Ishould take his beerglass cooler jacket as a momento. The race was a persuit race lasting about two and half hours in wonderful sunny conditions and a 12 knot breeze and 1 knot of tide. The crew Ihad chatted to before the race and who had told me that Ishouldn't put my money on themcame second. After the race I managed to have another chat with them. The helmsman is John Toon (same name as a rugby chum at home) and it would seem that my luck is in. He has invited me to joinhis crew for tomorrows race - 'Er indoorspermitting. WOW! Ever since the days when ,as a tenager, I used to sail 18 foot nationals at Bosham I have always wonderedwhat it would be like to sail a Sydney Harbour 18. It will mean missing the finals of the IMGA World Championships but she'sgiven me a pink ticket. And so to bed - very excited. There will be lots to tell next timebut not sure when I will next be able to get on line as we fly up to Surfers Paradise on Monday.

2008-10-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday 24th. To use one of Pat Lewis' pet phrases - "Turned out nice again". At last the sun is back. Spent the day in Sydney yesterday. Bought a day tripper ticket for $16. which entitles me to go anywhere on the trains buses and ferries. Fantastic value. Bus into Sydney (45 mins) Missed the stop for the ferries so had to walk back through the city centre to get to cirular quay where the ferries go from. The place is very busy and the pavements are crowded with every colour creed and nationality under the sun. So much for white Australia. The new high rise office buildingsare impressive - lots of glass. Take a ferry cat to Watson bay. v fast. Lots of yachts out sailing - a wonderful sailing breeze. Have lunch at Doyles on the Wharf - not the maun restaurant on the beach but just as much fun. You order your fish at the fish and chipscounter and then when its ready you take it to the tables either inside the building or on the veranda overlooking the wharf and the beach. Rather than have the fish and chips I opted for half doz oysters gollowed by sea food salad - king prawns smoked salmon oysters crab and greenery washeddown with a glass of Sauvignon blanc $30. Scrummy. After lunch walked up to Southern Head lighthouse - the entrance to the harbour where there are the old Victorian fortifications. Wonderful great Armstrong Cannonguarding the entrance. Lots of flowers growing wild on the headland - a sea of blue morning glories. On the way to the headland the path passes by some steps leading down to a nudist beach. Peering through the trees in the hope of catching a glimse of the glorious female form I was disappointed to see only middle aged men strolling up and down the beach and it was only when they started towave toeach other with their dicks that I suspected that it may be a favourite rendez vous for the Sydney Gays - a team I certainly don't play for!! Missed the last ferry back to the city so hade to take the bus which was driven by a female hell bent on making sure every one on the road knew who was in charge. Interesting ride. Spent the evening at another Surf club - not so good as the previous one but the drinks are fairly cheap .

2008-10-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

Zoom in on the surfer an see if you recognise her!!

Friday At last this morning bears promise of a fine day for the first day of the world championships. It is a brilliant sunny morning made slight;y cloudy by the arrival at 7.15 of the painters who started to paint the outside of the Chalet. My loyal readers will know only too well how the banging of the ladders against the side of the wooden walls will have been received by her indoors at that hour of the morning. Nasty!! Yesterday morning Itook myself off for a walk to the Surf Club via the cliff topsin the pouring rain and howling wind. At one stage I wondered what I was doing sitting in a bus shelter on the underside of the world (Sunny Oz) just the get out of the wind and rain. The surf was good and watched 18guys havingfun in the rain. Took some video but don't think I will be able to post on the blog at the moment as may take up too much expensive tie downloading. Yesterday eveningwas the officialopening ceremony of the games held on the rugby ground. A covered stage (Like a pop concert) was set up on the pitch in front of the Grandstand . A local highschool band played some hot music (v good) the junior choir sang some good Australian songs, All the teams were paraded. The Mayor declared the Games open and then some pop/rock singers (don't ask me their names) entertained us for the next three hours or so with some belting songs and some disco music in the interval. And all the time the rain fell in sheets. Such a shame for the organisers who have put so much effort in.
Today Marilyn will be doing her stuff at the Games so I plan to take myself off to the flesh pots of Sydney City and will report tomorrow. Cheers.

2008-10-22T22:14:00.000-07:00

Thursday 23rdOctober. Yesterday was the coldest October day here for 30 years. Snow in the ble mountains behind Sydney. Pissing with rain and howling wind allmorning but happily it cleared up in the late afternoon when we embarked on a wooden 100 year old ferry for a trip"Round the 'arbour mate" with a so called supper on board - I would have called them nibbles. The most striking thing for me about the harbour is that the waters edge is all steep too sandstone rock. There do not appear to be any shelving beachs in the oparts that we passed. Consequently all the properties at the waters edge have their private landings and masses of boats/yachts moored off in all the bays. The houses rise up the slopes so that even the ones at the back have a view out over the harbour. The Sun set when we were half way through the trip so that when we returned to the central Quay in the middle of the city beside the Opera Houseand the Bridge we had a wonderful light display. Everyone still very hungry upon return to base (but well oiled and plenty of singing on the coach) so Pizzas all round. Weather today no better. More rain but it does not seem to have worried the surfers. Will try to send pictures later.

2008-10-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 21st Oct. Surprisingly it's not a hot sunny day - overcast and windy. All Australia will be down in the dumps as they lost the second test against India by over 300 runs. An excursion has been arranged to visit the Reptile Zoo which is an hours coach ride back up the highway that we came down on Sunday so won't be seeing fresh countryside. Tthe star attraction at the Zoo is not a reptile but Tasmanian Devils which are becoming an endangered species due to a very contagious epidemic of facial cancer. they appear to be very bad tempered but we are assured that this is all part of their usual behavour. The most popular animals are of course the Koala bears and the Roos which are very tame and allow you to stroke and feed them from hand. Can't say we got very excited by the Crocs Aligators and venemous snakes. Spend the evening at the Warriewood Surf Life Saving Club on the edge of the beach under the cliff. Felt very much at home as the club house has been built by the members themselves and do all the catering and bar staff with volunteers. The only paid employee is the administrator. The principal activity is safety patroling the beach but they do all the traditional life saving drill competitions rowing boat races through the surf (four oarsmen and a steerer) Surf boarding etc. Met the Captain returning the boat on a road trailer to the boathouse in the basement of the clubhouse. A lot of the rowers are rugby players in the winter months so you can understand that I felt we had a great deal in common. A beach BBQ had been planned for the evening but the weather was against us so 170 of us moved inside the club for a very good cold meal followed by a disco. The kids are all mixing well and having a great time. Pity about the weather. As I write this on Wednesday morning it is cold wet and windy!! Cheers for now.

2008-10-21T04:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been off line for a few days.

Sunday 19th Oct. Today we return to Sydney. Fond farewells to JimAly and Shelly over coffee at the breakfast bar. Everything used to be free here when it was first opened as a facility for all the impoverished visiting grooms but because it became abused by the surrounding populace who started to drive in from Scoon to have a free breakfast they now charge for the grub. Easy drive (after the first 20km all on dirt roads) In the area surrounding Scoonthere are lots of stud farms and between them we are told that they produce 6000 foals a year. I have never seen so many horses all ept in beautifully groomed paddocks with post and rail fences. Stop at supermarket to shop for supplies for the next week. All the essentials such as tonic water (bought the gin at the airport)coffee and six packs of beer. Also stop at a vineyard in the hunter Valley in the mistaken hope of being able to buy some half decent local wine at sensible prices. Wishful thinking as it is geared very much for the tourist with swanky restaurant and dolly birdsin the house uniform handing out tasters. we buy a couple of bottlesof Chardonnay $20. each (£10) Stop at a supermarket wine shop where the same wine is $13. a bottle. Much happier. One thinks of the Hunter Valley as one of the major Australian wine producing area but from the main road running through the region on the way to Sydney one only sees a few vineyards and the most striking thing is the very extensive open caste coal mining which has totally reshaped the landscape. Arrive at Sydney Lakeside Holiday Complex at Narabeen in the late afternoon without any navigational trouble so your scribe and she who must be obeyed are still on speaking terms. The holiday complex contains Chalets/Villas and a large caravan parking area. we have a two roomed Villa overlooking an inletfrom the sea (Tasman Sea). Very comfortable with all mod cons. For the benefit of my world wide readership I should perhaps explain that the main purpose of our visit to Oz is to attend the World championship of the Internation Mounted Games Association.which are to be held at the Pittwater Rugby Ground here in Narrabeen which is maybe 20 miles north of Manley. The ponies have been provided by the host country so all the competitors (except Australia) will be riding on borrowed ponies. The disappointment is that only 11 countries instead of the original 17 which were hoped for will be competing. Ireland and Scotland are two of the defaulters which is a poor show, I think they blame the economic situation but Iam not convinced as they would have had to enter at least a year ago before the s**t hit the fan in the economic world.

Monday 20th Oct. I have to get the car (Toyota Camray?) back to Budget in downtown Sydney by 10am but we are somewhat late in getting started this morning and as you may all know the navigator is hardly sweetness and light before noon. She is put to the test after we have crossed over the bridge into centralSydney and we are a hour late in returning the car. Manage to blag my way out of having to pay for an extra day. The return journey to Narrabeen will be by ferry and bus. The ferries run from Circular Quay close to the Opera House so we walk there via Hyde Park and the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Oper House. Have unch beside the Quay. Seafood salad - expensive and not nice. The 40 minute ferry ride $8 each was interesting and I was pleased to see Sydney Harbour Heads - the entrance to the harbour from the ocean. Manley is nice and will try to visit it again later in the week. Eat your heart out Geoff McNicol. I am getting stuck into Vegemite but it ain't as good as Marmite. Dinner this evening at the Pittwater RSL Club which is a Returned Servicemens Club (a bit like our Ex-Servicemens Clubs but much bigger. better equiped and many many more fruit machines which provide all the profit to keep itgoing. Am afraid i am going to be a bit stingy on the photos for a day or two as Iam having to pay £5 an hour for the internet link here. Cheers for now.

2008-10-18T13:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys. Have missed a day. Just didn't feel up to writing the blog after a long day on Friday nor indeed on Saturday but woke up at crack of dawn this morning (Sunday 19th October) and write this to the tune of the dawn chorus - mostly the screech of parrots. Love your comments. Keep them coming if you want me to keep this up as it encourages me to know that at least someone is taking an interest. You ask for more photos so will attach a load. I haven't mastered the layout very well so the continuity of the photo may be a bit confusing. I can't seem to get the photos beside the text that explains the content but will be able to make all clear upon our return at the illustrated talk!! No falling asleep at the back there.

The Quad bike is great for getting about here at Ellerston - plenty of street cred - but Marilyn enjoys the Golf buggy - see photo of her with Aly - our hostess - and Monty the mut. Most of the men get about the place on Uts (Utility Trucks). More about my exploits on the Quad later. Next photo - Marilyn with her latest bestest friend - a jack of all trades official Kangaroo culler, tree doctor (he was at the house here to inject some gum trees that are looking a bit sick) better on the horses. Marilyn has got some tips for the Melbourne Cup. He put his teeth in just for the photo. Next a couple of shots of the Vets clinic followed by two of the main guys Johno and Stuart with sun glasses on his hat(Jim's brother who was one of the top Australian players with a 7 handicap whose playing days were ended about three years ago when he had a terrible accident and broke his neck. Now has plates to hold him all together. Next is a homestead spotted on our drive into the ranges. Then a long distance view from the ranges. The gum tree speaks for itself. Another homestead not the portaloo dunny in the back. Return to Ellerston from the road. I have never seen Marilyn play golf but she did at one time. She never told me her handicap but perhaps it was the fact that she was never told that you have to buy a set of clubs. The next two are the par 5 9th hole. first the tee to the crest of the hill second from the hill to the green behind the trees on the left. In the middle of the course is the Gocart track. Hole 7 is a tricky one . Its a par 4 and from the tee to the fairway is over 220 yards. The green is guarded by the bunkers to the right behind the tree. Then a photo of Jim Gilmore our host - the general manager. Finally a group of supporters watching Ellerston White playing in the Tournament that started on Saturday.L to R Mandy Fisher (Husband Jeff plays for Ellerston Black - he comes from Wale) Marilyn. Helen (another small world case - she comes from Hayling Island and went to school with Hedgers) Jim G. and his son Neal. Hope that all makes sense.

Friday morning was another morning spent with Al watching him shove his arm up Mare's arses. He uses an ultra sound scanner to check if the breeding mares are at the right stage to be inseminated or the receptor mares are ready to receive an embryo. Also he treated a mare that was very lame indeed. To my ignorant eye it looked for all the world that she had a shoulder injury but in fact it was a stone bruised hoof which I am told can be very sore indeed and prevents the animal from putting her hoof to the ground. Its a bit like a blood blister under your nail that hurts like buggery until the pressure is released. In the afternoon M & I took a tour around on the Quad bike - M driving with me on the back. Quite happy and pleased with herself until she read the warning signs on the bike that no passengers were to be taken.there follows a wobbly but manage to persuade her that it would be OK to continue as the signs were only there to protect the manufacturer against claims. Even so she got off and I had to drive down some of the steep slopes. Called on Shelly (Surrogate mother to the baby Wombat) where we found her with Aly and Ella having a sundowner on the veranda. Marilyn insists on a last cuddle of the wombat. Dinner in the evening at the Club You go to the hotplate counter where you are served the meal of your choice lamb, pork, chicken etc Vegs which included pumpkin -v nice - sweet corn and all the usual. You can also cook your own steak on two big grilling griddles. The cold counter has nice salads king prawns oysters Asparagus etc.There is a well stocked help yourself desert table in the middle of the room. Marilyn considers the Pavlova is to die for. We also went there on Thursday evening when Jim suggested we had steak. He cooked two of the most enormous T bone steaks I have ever seen. Sadly they were a bit tough and I think the reason is that they don't hang the carcass for long enough. When we went to the butcher earlier in the week I had seen a carcass that had only just that minute been slaughtered and he told me that they hang them for two weeks.

Saturday was the start of the week long tournament. There are four visiting teams and two from Ellerston Each team plays one of the other teams each day and then there is a finals day. The horses are stabled in the guest stable blocks scattered about the estate. The vehicles they have are vast. They can each take 21 horses. Spent the morning having a tour about the estate on the Quad bike taking photos and planned to spend the rest of the day watching the Polo but my plans went slightly adrift when the bike died on me in the middle of the golf course. Out of petrol so walked in what I thought was the right direction to get back . Fortunately I found the farrier shoeing one of the visitors horses and got a lift back to the house. Now we leave Ellerston and drive back to Sydney. Had hoped to be able togo viaNewcastleway and look up Tara but sadly she will not be at home today. Lets hope the driveback will be less traumatic than the drive out. Will stop in the Hunter valley and hopefully buy some wine.

2008-10-15T23:43:00.000-07:00

Thursday 16th. A glorious sunny fresh day not too hot. (20c) I have spent the morning with the Vet - Al Simpson - watching him at work. I get the impression that he is one of Australia's leading vets in his field of experties in horse breeding. He has over 700 horses to look after here on top of which he also treats animals from outside. I never thought that I would get interested in such a subject.This afternoon we took the Land Cruiser (complete with refrigerator for the drinks) and drove up to Barrington Tops which is a national park up in the hills/mountains where the temperature was 7 degrees lower than in Ellerston. Fifty mile drive during which we saw one other vehicle. Spectacular views but dififficult to capture the sense of space on the camera. Plenty of dead Wombats in the road (very like Badgers in the UK) also plenty of Roos (dead and alive) One Roo nearly came to a sticky end when it jumped into the road in front of us. Saw several Wedge Tail Eagles. They have a 7foot wing span and we were able to get within 50feet or so of them roosting in a gum tree but I was not organised enough to get a decent photo. Very spectacular. The locals tell me that they will often take a lamb. Saw one or two being mobed by several small birds. The colours of the birds here don't cease to amaze me.

More proof today that it is such a small world. Marilyn walked into the walled garden (about an acre!!) and was talking to the lady gardner and the plumber who was fixing the irregation system. It turns out that the gardner is married to the sister of Poppy and Mathew who played mounted games with the boys.

Another box has been ticked in the list of things to see. Duck Billed Platipus spotted by M in the river. Sadly no Koala bear yet. Will have to wait for that at the Steve Irwin Australia Zoo in Queensland which we plan to visit week after next.

2008-10-14T23:10:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 15th. Good fun today. Go on a mini tour around the homestead garden in search of a Bower bird's nest.(look it up on google - David Attenborough on You Tube). We find a couple of nests in the making. They are fasinating little birds that pick up one colour articles to attract a mate. In the case of our nests they have gone for anything Blue. Ribbon, plastic, Biro etc. Aly drives M on a golf buggy for the start of out tour looking for all the world like a Popemobile. M looks very anxious as they slow almost to a stop in the middle of a ford crossing of the river. Later transfer to quad bike. Never thought I would see the day when M sat astride any form of motor bike or that I would have the courage to allow her to drive it with me on the pillion. Needless to say she was quite pleased with herself once we all got over the initial shock. Saw three large birds soaring in the distance and at first thought they may be Buzzards but have been told that they were most likely Eagles. The blossom in the gardens is wonderful particularly the Jacaranda. Stop to watch some Polo but rain started so ran for cover of the stables. Signing off for now. Keep the comments coming folks.

2008-10-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

Not much to report today as it pissed with rain all afternoon. Had hoped to have been able to watch a few Chukas but they had to abandon. Jim and Ali's bungalow is very spacious. Tin roof of course and when it rains it don't arf rattle. The rooms have high ceilings (12ft?)Kitchen/Sittingroom 20ft by 45ft four over oil fired Aga. Lounge/Diningroom same size. Not sure how many bedrooms- probably four. We are in the guest wing with our own vast bathroom (Bath, Shower his and hers basins etc) Around the whole building there is a verandah supporting wisteria vines and roses. With the onset of rain it has brought all the snails outand they are crawling all over the verandah. the gardner in me requires that I spend half an hour collecting them up and putting paid to them (warm salt water). Attached a few pictures .Views accross the valley which show a couple of the stable blocks and one of the polo fields. The other is of a couple of Roos.You might have to zoom the see.

Ellerston Polo Club

2008-10-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

Monday 13th October. This is the most fantastic place and I wish my proes were up to giving you a true feel for the scale and beauty of the place. A bit of background may help. It is owned by one of the richest if not the richest men in Australia - James Packer inherited from his father Kerry Packer inherited from his father Sir Frank Packer. The homestead and surrounding enclosure of nearly 2000 acres is all fenced in with wire mesh fence and is referred to by the stockmen outside the fence as the "Goldern Triangle" with some good reason for it encloses an entire community of people engaged in the running of the establishment. This consists of the Polo establishment and the Golf establishment and all the supporting infrastructure. To list just some of the facilities : Three H shaped stable blocks each leg being approx 200 feet long and 60 feet wide. Each block has about 45/50 boxes offices toilets washing machine room rest room etc.

Several polo fields in immaculate condition. Vet's clinic - said to be one of the best in the southern hemisphere. Farrier's shop. Dozens of bungalows scattered about within the trees (15000 have been planted) to accommodate the staff. A gymnasium, tennis courts, Cinema, Clubhouse with restaurant, school (20 children and two teachers), general stores, countless additional stables for visiting teams, dozens of bungalows for the visitors. On the golf side there is the most incrdible golfcourse designed by Greg Norman kept in immaculate condition and probly one of the most chalenging courses to be found anywhere in the world. There is a 1km go cart track, helicopters, hanger and support crew and pilots - the list is endless. Outside the fence there are tens of thousands of acres for sheep and cattle rearing as far as the eye can see to the distant mountains. There is an inhouse butcher who does all the slaughtering of the home grown meat. Sheep shearing sheds and accommodation for the shearers of the highest standard - thousands of sheep and thousands of herefords. Hope you've got the picture, It's BIG.

Jim is the polo manager and has been here for 23 years. When KP first employed him he had been Australia's best polo player and his input has been a very major factor in the success of the Ellerston Club and the very successful breeding operation. Today he took us on a conducted tour but like a prat I left my camera in the house so you are going to have to wait for pictures. First we visited the maternity paddocks to inspect the new born foals. One born within the last hour and woud have liked to have taken a photo of its first touch by human hand. Next to see the Vet - Al - testing the mares for ovulation. The routine is to collect the stallions semen, splt it into three measures and then impregnate three mares. Once the mare is successfully pregnant the embryo is flushed out and implanted into a surrogate mare. The success rate is about 80% and I am staggered to be told that the success rate for all pregnancies in humans is only 40% - a figure I find hard to believe. There must be over 700 horses here and that takes some looking after.

It's a small world as we all know and just to prove it Marilyn has met a young English Polo player here who was in the Goodwood Pony club when Marilyn taught him Mounted Games - James Harper. In the afternoon we visit the Vet's wife to see the orphaned baby Wombat that she is nursing. They have decided to call it Angelina. Have seen more Roos and the most fantastic assortment of coloured birds.

2008-10-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the comments guys.It's great to know that someone is reading this rubbish. Have had an e-mail from Muffin to Mummy. All appears well. Mummy has replied to Muffin - of course!! Much to report on todays fun but too late now to type (1.30am) so will try to find time tomorrow. Cheers. Hackers

2008-10-13T06:59:00.000-07:00

2008-10-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to have been able to make use of the time in the aircraft to write up the next posting having read in the splurge about the aircraft that they have a facility for charging laptops and sending e-mails etc. At 33ooo feet over the South China sea I asked the Airhostess - sorry ,very non PC - the flight attendant to 'plug me in' thinking that there would be a plug beside my seat (after all this is business class don't you know) but nothing quite as grand as that. The plug is in a cupboard in the service area so she has to put the computer in the cupboard. Two hours later I ask for it back only to discover that the dozey b**** has forgotten to plug it in. She was mortified and asked if there was anything she could do for me to make up. Now its not often I get an offer like that and was about to suggest that we join the mile high club together but then realised that my bag may be a bar to membership so I just gave her a smack hand and she gave me a box of chocolates. Nothing spectacular on the second day in Bangkok. Marilyn is delighted with the new silk jacket. At the airport there was a somewhat comic scene. Checking in at the First Class desk was a young stubble chinned Arab with about eight youngish women in tow - all dressed in black robes and gold jewelery - with a veritable mountain of luggage. M and I moved on into the hospitality lounge and were settled down to G&Tfor her, champers for me and a delicate plate smoked salmon and nibbles when the Arab team enter all with large paper carrier bags bearing that world famous logo - "Burger King" - and proceeded to stuff themselves with chips. Marilyn's face was a picture. Spent the waiting time on the internet getting a route plan from Sydney to Ellerston.

Sunday 12th October.

Saw dawn rise over Oz and landed in Sydney about 8.30. Hire car from Budge and armed with a street map of Sydney (supplid with the car and the route instructions downloaded from Google?Multimap we set off. So far as I can recall we have never reached a destination with me driving and Marilyn navigating without having had a blazing row and this trip would prove to be no exception. Much to our mutual surprise we manage to get out of the city without too much trouble. If it had been a weekday the traffic would have been whole lot different. Sidney Harbour Bridge is pretty damned impressive. The Pacific Highway is super but after a hundred miles or so we get a bit anxious that we may have missed our turn off. The route instructions are not very clear. We drive for a further half hour or so and decide the time has come to exit the motorway and that's when the first grumblings start. Stop at a roadside shop and ask directions. We have come off the motorway too soon. Marilyn not happy with the route instructions and says I was too bloody mean and should have hired a 'sat nav' with the car. Stop at a services and buy a map. Things get better but it's too good to last. Having left the motorway we are driving through a small town in the Hunter Valley when the instructions from the navigator are not sufficiently clear to the driver who invites her in a manner which was not to her liking to put her f****** glasses on. That was when the balloon went up and there was a serious explosion in the passengers seat. The language was such that if it were too be repeated here I would be in danger of having this Blog closed down. Let me just record that at that moment I was left in no doubt that I was not the flavour of the month, that I would from then on be doing my own navigating and that her only wish was to return to England to be reunited with Muffin.

Our hosts for the next few days are Jim and Ali Gilmore and Jim has given us intructions to meet him at a Polo match where he is playing. Our arrival there following an eight hour flight and a five hour drive (the last two hours of which being spent in an artic atmosphere) was not the most auspicious. Ali is not there as she is taking daughter Amy back to boarding schoolin Sydney and Jim is just about to take part in the Final Chuka. However we are made most welcome by their friends and the perma frost begins to thaw. Jim's team lost the final but it was fun to watch. The last time I watched Polo was probably more than 60 years agoand without knowing much about the game it struck me that the field was hardly suitable for the game it was that rough. This impression was confirmed when we later got back to Ellerston when Jim drove us around the estate. Here the polo fields are immaculate. Have our first sighting of Kangaroos (some dead - road kill) Supper in the Clubhouse and then round to a neighbour's house for a few drinksthen back to Jim's house by which time Ali is back from Sydney. Come 11.30 M & I can hardly keep our eyes open and so to bed.

2008-10-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

Friday 10th October. Have arranged a trip up the river this afternoon. Spend the morning - v.hot and humid - on shopping expedition to look for a ladiesTailor as Marilyn wants a silk jacket made for her. No success. I am so hot and sweaty that Iam ashamed to report that Iam driven to taking a dive into an 'English Pub' just to take advantage of the air conditioning. The traffic is amazing and at the height of the rush hour a team of paintersare painting the kerb stones. No barriers/no signs/no lane closures/no traffic cones. Just get on with the job. How refreshing.

The boat trip was fun. Up river on a fast sight seeing on a fast 24m launch then transfer to a former rice barge to return at a more leisurely pace. The rainy season has just finished and so the river is high and many of the riverside shanty houses are indanger of flooding. All the boats seem to be fitted with ex-car/truck engines. The fast narrow boats have them mounted on a stand with a long propshaft extending out over the transom. They go like the proverbial off a shovel throwing up a cock'scomb of spay from the prop. Take lots of photos of engines. You know me. Back to the hotel in time for 'Happy Hour' and guess who is gasping for a G&T. She's so keen to get stuck into it that she tries todrink through a plastis swizzle stick mistaking it for a straw. Likes the shape of the glass so much that she nicks it!. Can't take her anywhere. It's only now that we have got back to the hotel that Marilyn discovers a Tailor in the building and arranges for a jacket to be made in 24 hours. In the evening we take the Skytrain - a high level railway - to have supper at a restaurant that Marilyn found when she brought her mother here nearly thirty years ago. Its called Cabbages and Condoms and is run as a charity with all the profits going to the promotion of contraception and safe sex. A super meal. More than we could eat and drink for less than £25. for the two of us. When the bill came I didn't take much notice of the goodies on the plate thinking they were mints but I realised that I might have found them a bit chewy when Marilyn suggested that she took them home for the boys. You'veuessed it. They were packets of condoms.

Wandering around the Patpong street market tonight it struck me how very few of the Thai people are over weight. Can't say that about the tourists. Not many smoking either. Have been told that blocks of modern one roomed flats do not have kitchens. The cooked food is so cheap in the street markets that people don't bother to cook at home.

2008-10-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 8th October 2008. Today is the start of the Old Codgers' Perambulations and the first trauma of the day will be for Marilyn to part with the love of her life - not me, I'm going with her. She takes Muffin for a walk and then leaves her with Angela where she will have a great time in company with a pack of Pointers. Thank goodness it's a glorious sunny day so that I can get on with putting all the Fuchsias and Geraniums in the greenhouse and finish planting the bulbs. (Have already planted onions, shallots and broad beans. Have never been so ahead of the garden in my life!!) It takes all day and am just about to get in the shower when the car arrives to take us to Heathrow. The car is part of the Business Class deal with Emirates Airways. Marilyn is worriedthat we may be held up in traffic and has ordered it early. Realise that I have not got a spare pair of glasses so ring opticians for details of my test so that I know what to get if I lose them. A somewhat comic scene as the optician rings back when I am in the shower shouting for Marilyn to answer the phone but she has disappeared. Its not every day you talk to your optician's receptionist whilst in the all togethers. The run to Heathrow is without a hold up so we are hours ahead of ourselves but it has it's advantage as we are offered seats on an earlier flight on an aircraft that has fully flat reclining seats. A real plus. We barely have time to take full advantage of the goodies in the hospitality lounge but smoked salmon and Black Velvet goes down a treat. It's a clear moonlight night and I'm like an excited schoolboy looking out of the window at all the pretty lights on the ground . The English Channel looks like a mere river from this height. Marily much taken by the flight attendant - Jamie -"Oh!! Young Man!!" - who looks after us very well. Plenty of G & T for her ladyship and I just couldn't say no to a glass or two of Champagne. The lights of Kuwait are brilliant and the flares of the Oil rigs in the gulf beam out in the dark. The sun is setting with a wonderful red glow as we approach Dubai - our first stop.
Masses of new building work at the airport. It is vast and we have a lot of walking. What surprises us is the masses of people sleeping on the floors throughout the terminal building - totally wrapped in sheets looking like corpses layed out after some disaster. Weird. The hospitality lounge is very full and not as well appointed as the one at Heathrow but they do have today's (Thursday) papers already thanks to the wonders of modern electronic technology. We have a couple of hours to wait so spend the time reading and people watching. All sorts coming and going - some women covered from head to toe in black only showing their eyes, some men dressed in wonderful pristine white robes and headgear, western bums in trainers and tee shirt, business men in suits on their mobiles looking earnest and a couple of wide eyed Old Codgers off on their 'trip of a lifetime' taking it all in.

Our next leg is to Bangkok where we will stay for a couple of nights. A different aircraft this time which seems smaller. It does not have such nice seats and the food is not so good but the Champagne before take off is a nice touch. We fly out over the Gulf of Oman - I can see at least 50 tankers at anchor off the coast which I presume are waiting to load oil - and then along the coast of Iran and on over Karachi. Can't see much of India as there is light cloud cover and later climb above 33000 feet to clear nimbus clouds. Night falls as we approach Bangkok and we have another 'light show' of a big city at night. The charming Thai girl courier who meets us makes conversation by asking us how long we have been together and how big our family is. Answer 40 years (much wide eyed surprise) 2 sons 5 grandchildren. She says all the right things with plenty of smiles and bowing and sends us on our way in the taxi which Marilyn drives all the way from the back seat with her foot hard on the break for most of the way. Book into the Dusit Thani Hotel - a vast pile of a place with eight restaurants. We are upgraded for some reason that I am not sure of - probably overbooked on standard rooms - so we have a room with a sittingroom and sumptuous bathroom. We are feeling a bit tired so can't face going out on the town tonight and opt to dine in the buffet style restaurant which is beautifully presented. A very wide choise of cuisine - Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Western. The oysters were great as were Crayfish (two types and big)prawns,scallops,smoked salmon, asparagus, chili duck, lamb, thai vegetables, green tea flavoured creme bruille, fresh fruit etc. And so to bed. Temperature outside 30c. No pictures yet. Sight seeing tomorrow.

2008-10-05T11:06:00.000-07:00

Much against my better judgment I have been persuaded to start a blog on which to record our forthcoming trip to Oz and NZ. Kathy Pilgrim has set it up for me and told me to tell all my friends the address of the blog so that they can get into it but I'm damned if I know what my address is or what to tell my friends they have to do. Like most old codgers I will have to rely upon the children to sort it out. The trouble is Iam fast running out of time before we leave for the airport on Wednesday. Needless to say Marilyn has been packing for weeks now but I have not yet had the courage to unpack half the stuff that she is certain I am going to need. Will leave that to the last minute.

Have tried to put a picture on the page but have failed miserably. I had chosen a picture which Luke e-mailed to me of the Grandchildren in the Soapbox Go Cart that we built but the bloody computer says that it is not in a form that it is able to recognise so you will have to do without the picture.

2008-10-04T03:24:00.000-07:00

this should start at heathrow airport on wednesday - hopefully your plane will not be delayed, but if it is it willgive you a chance to let all you friends know that you are going to do a blog

for your holidays. WE CAN'T WAIT!!!!