On a days outing we headed down the Mornington Peninsula to Dromana where we came across some colorful beach changerooms. These rooms are located at all the beaches around here making a colourful splash on the foreshores. Continued on up to the lookout at Arthurs Seat where the chairlift was being tested prior to opening in a few weeks time. 12 months ago it partially collapsed causing a few injuries. From the top were terrific views over Port Phillip Bay and Mornington Peninsula but very windy. A few weeks later, a day after the chairlift opened, the wind caused it to be closed again as a chair was blown against a pylon. It was soon opened again but then they had a fire on the hill and it had to be closed again. It sounds jinxed!!
We met up with Melinda (niece), Kristy (niece) and Steve (Kristy's partner) and had lunch at Brighton and later coffee at St Kilda with a visit to the newly refurbished Luna Park.
Heading out of Melbourne on a cold, wet miserable day we tried to stop at a red light but all 8 wheels just skidded thru the intersection. Luckily the driver waiting to go thru saw us coming and didn't go when her light turned green. The rest of the way across the suburbs was done at 40Kmh as our nerves returned to normal.
At Ballarat I decided to replace all four Goodrich All-Terrain tyres with a set of cheap ones. My size Goodrich tyre wasn't available till February and at a cost of $270. I needed two as we had an unrepairable puncture on the way to Ballarat. I've had to throw away five tyres since I started this trip and they have all only been partially worn so this time Bob Jane fitted four new Symex Tyres for $500 the lot. A lot cheaper tyre to throw away in the future. Other travellers we have talked to are also going away from the Goodrich due to too many punctures.
I spent a couple more days detecting for gold outside Ballarat but I could not add any more to my stockpile of 1 nugget.
We spent the day at Sovereign Hill and I panned for gold adding two grains to my Mitchel River collection of gold dust. They put two ounces of gold grains/dust into the creek every fortnight. The trick is to use the side of the shovel to scrape the concrete bed of the creek, picking up the gold dust. The rest of the dust in the pan I gave to a child next to me who was so excited to receive it. We spent the whole day looking around this 25 hectare outdoor museum. Carriage builders, Tinsmiths, Blacksmiths, Candlemakers and a Confectionery Factory along with the restored boilers, pumps and mine buildings gave us plenty to see.
We headed for the Brisbane Ranges National Park but not having been able to get any details from the info centre at Ballarat we missed it and ended up in the Steiglitz Historic Park and visited the restored Court House in this ghost town. The entrance and camping area to Brisbane Ranges was far away to the north east so we decided to give it a miss.
Torquay is really the capital of Surf. The surfboard and clothing manufacturers headquarters are based here and there are heaps of surf shops. We strolled thru a few but didn't buy as the prices were so high and not really our style. At the main beach we went to there were plenty of people swimming and sunbaking while Sandy and I were still clothed in jeans, jumpers and jackets as it was only just nudging 20 degrees with a frosty wind blowing. These Victorians would die if it got to 40 degrees!!
We decided not to stay at Lorne as the Caravan Parks were $45 a night (school holidays) so we tried to get into the Allenvale Mill site in Angahook-Lorne State Park but it turned out to be a walk in camping area only. It was so busy in Lorne I had to double park with the van in the main street while Sandy went into the Tourist Bureau to find another camping spot. Thankfully the parking inspector was nice and let me wait till Sandy came out.
While waiting for mail at Warnambool we camped at Flying Horse Inn caravan park beside the railway line. The campsite being only metres from the track made the trains sound very loud as they flew past. The funny thing was that everytime the locals (in the park) heard the train coming they rushed out of their vans and jumped onto a row of old pine tree stumps and waved at the train hoping for a toot in return which they usually got. There must have been about six stumps, full of people waving 10 times a day at the trains.
Tower Hill was tempoarily closed due to a fire having been started there by persons unknown. This is a hill and lakes area formed by a volcanic eruption 25,000 years ago. From the lookout near Koroit you could see down into the crater to the lakes and vegetation below, quite an unusual vista to come across. Further inland are many more volcanic lakes in this area.
We spent a few days in Koroit catching up on chores like the annual van service. We also washed the van and car, something that we do infrequently due to water restrictions. On Australia Day the caretakers of the park put on a Karoke afternoon but they were the only ones game enough to get up and sing. A nice clean friendly park, only $11 a night with a free washing machine.
Between Warrnambool and Princetown the coastal sandstone cliffs have been shaped by the wild winds and seas of the Southern Ocean. Lots of lookouts along the way, most parking areas are being moved further away from the cliffs as they were getting dangerously close to the edge as the cliffs are eroding away.
Port Fairy is one of the oldest seaports in Victoria and we had a cuppa on the wharf. A picturesque river with a small marina, boatyards and a fisherman's wharf. The town has a few small restored whaler's cottages as well as large historic residences. This area was heavily populated by the Irish when it was first settled so was aptly known as Belfast.
We stopped at Pritchards camp in the Lower Glenelg National Park where we saw an echidna, kangaroos, rabbits, possums and a heap of birds including a pair of Gang Gang Cockatoos. Both were covered with grey, white tipped feathers and the male had a bright orange/red head, a bit different to your pink and grey.
We stopped in at Picininny Ponds and had a look at the limestone cave/swamp. You need a permit to snorkel here but we didn't have one. Being so far from anywhere we thought we could take a quick dip and no one would know. But we decided not to and headed for Ewen Ponds where you can snorkel without a permit. Luckily we didn't wet our toes at Pickininni as on the way out we passed two Police trucks with recompression chamber and Police divers heading for the ponds. Boy would we have been caught out big time!!!!
Next month we will be in South Australia for a few weeks before heading to a couple of camp sites on the Nullarbor coast we have been told about.
We travelled up the coast as far as Carpenter Rocks where we stayed a few days and put the boat in. Bit windy but managed a few wrasse which turned out to be very mushy, yuck. Sandy caught an octopus which we skinned and kept for bait. Checked out the cave gardens and the blue lake at Mount Gambier. We travelled to Robe to pick up our mail but we were both impressed with Southend (crayfishing town) and Beachport (longest jetty in SA) which deserve a longer stay next time. At Cape Jaffa we filled the freezer with squid which we caught off the jetty. I caught a Port Jackson shark from the boat but let it go as it wasn't terribly big. Next was a drive along the Coorong National Park which lies adjacent to the mouth of the River Murray. It consists of a 100 km of shallow, salty lagoons which separate the mainland from the sandhills / beach. Good for bird watchers and mullet netters but it did not interest us much. We stopped at The Granites and 42 mile crossing with an overnight camp at Long Point.
Heading on further after a barge crossing over the Murray River we arrived at Goolwa. Being at the head of the Murray River there was a large boating community with plenty of houseboats available. Continuing down the Fleurieu Peninsula we camped at Port Elliot in a park overlooking Horseshoe Bay. Sandy had a very scenic walking track along the foreshore and cliffs the next morning.
At Victor Harbour a tram crossing takes people to Granite Island, home of a fairy penguin colony.
The National Park camping grounds around the Fleurieu Peninsula are set way back from the ocean, some up to 2 kms away. So we carried on around the peninsula until we found Rapid Bay with a council park on the foreshore. While here some friends we met last year at Bremer Bay contacted us and we arranged to meet them in Kalgoorlie so we headed off the next day.
We didn't stop at Adelaide as we will check it out next time. Heading north we stopped at Port Pirie for lunch then a visit to Telowie Gorge and Mambray Creek in Mount Remarkable National Park.
Sandy finally got her heat as it touched 47 deg on the drive to Streaky Bay. We decided to stay here for a few days as we camped right on the foreshore and went for a few dips to cool down. They forgot to turn the sprinklers off the first night and we were rudely awoken at 1:30am when the water hit the side of the van with the noise of a thunderstorm. The unlucky campers next door got the full blast of water into the tent waking them up with a start. They were flooded out and the park owners gave them a unit to stay in for the night.
We camped at Murrawijinie Caves on the Nullarbor. No trees as far as the eye can see.
We were told about some fishing spots on the coast so we took a track down to the cliffs at the WA/SA border. We were told we could get down to the ocean here but it looks like you have to go via Eucla. The lady at the roadhouse told us if you go via the airport at Eucla heading west along the coastal dunes you will find camping spots / fishing huts every 5 or 10 kms. We camped the night at the border on the cliffs then headed inland to the checkpoint before heading further west.
The next fishing spot was Red Rocks which was about 30 kms from the highway. It took us a couple of hours to get there as we travelled slowly down this skinny track. Half a dozen fishing huts including a two storey one. These had mostly been built out of driftwood, flotsam and jetsom. It must not have been the fishing season as they were all vacant, one owner turned up later and told us the fish haven't been biting for six weeks, just our luck. When we got to the camping area I found that the floor under the batteries had collapsed. I had to remove the front of the van and glue, screw and reinforce the floor, the staples supplied by Windsor weren't strong enough !!!!!!
After leaving Red Rocks we travelled a fair way and camped at the Yadadinia Rock Hole just south of Balladonia. Nice and peaceful with a few roos around and lots of birds. Next we travelled via Norseman arriving at Kalgoorlie in the afternoon. Les and Iris arrived a few days later and we caught up on all the gossip. We went and saw a little poof at the Superpit, they blast every day and the one we saw was just a small cloud of dust with a bit of a rumble. In the picture below the drill rig was getting the ground ready for a big blast which we were looking forward to but being so close to the viewing platform they closed the gates. We did hear some of the blasts back at the park and they would have been good to see.
I have a Minelab gold detector training course in March at Kal so will hang around for that then head back to Perth to catch up on a few things. We will be meeting Peter and Dulcie back in the goldfields near Leonora at the end of March for some intensive gold detecting.
I had a really good training lesson with Minelab, run by Lindsey Stockdale, while I was in Kalgoorlie. I learnt a lot on how to set up the gold detector and trying it out on various pieces of gold at different depths. Still no luck finding any more gold but soon!!!
We caught up with Les and Iris whom we last saw down at Bremer Bay. We spent a week together catching up on where we had both been in the last 12 months. It's enjoyable to catch up with fellow travellers.
On the way back to Perth we stopped at Karalee Rock which is just east of Southern Cross. This was a water catchment area for the old railway line. An engineering feat of the day which provided over 6 kms of metre high walls diverting the water run off from the rock to a dam. This was then pumped south to the railway line. The camping area can cater for around 20 groups, each with their own campfire. A drop loo is provided. We were told late in the day that the dam is full of Yabbies so next time we go past we may drop in for a feast.
This may be our last web update for a few months as after Perth we will be heading out past Sandstone for some serious gold detecting. With no phone service in the area we wont be able to update the webpages or receive any emails. So no later than July, when we will be at Ningaloo diving with the sharks again, we should be able to get back on the web.
Well we got out of Perth after getting all the things on "the list" done.
While in Perth we decided to buy a Waeco Fridge/Freezer. We bought up big and put 3 weeks of food into the freezer and 4 days later it still hadn't frozen. After a few calls and a visit to the repair centre they finally decided it was faulty and gave us a new one. 24 hours later it was beginning to freeze most of the food.
Limited phone service out here so I have combined the months and will update the pages when I can.
We contacted Peter and Dulcie who have just started caretaking Lake Mason Station for Conservation And Land Management (CALM). We headed off to Sandstone with an overnight stop at Paynes Find. Arriving at Lake Mason we were soon talking our heads off catching up with 12 months of gossip since we last saw them at Munglinip Beach down south of WA.
Peter took me around the area explaining the different soil and rock types and where you were likely to find gold. Using the Geographical maps we found a few old mineshafts and explored different fault lines through the area. Most areas are covered by mining leases but there are still areas you can go but not where the gold is! I've only found 3 small pieces so far.
A few years back Dulcie's uncle had been housesitting for them while they went to Perth for a few days. They received a phone call from a very nervous uncle saying that someone was outside the house shooting a gun and the dog was dead. He said he would lock himself in his room until they got home the next day. When they arrived they soon sussed out what had happened. They had brewed some alcoholic ginger beer, which had started to explode causing the "gunshots" and the dog had lapped up the beer until he passed out dead drunk!
Late in April Dulcie had a stroke and was flown to Perth by the Royal Flying Doctors (RFDS). Peter followed her down to Perth 2 days later. We were now the temporary caretakers of the one million acre pastoral station. We didn't see that coming when we retired to travel. It turned out that Dulcie had a brain tumor which was safely removed after a 9 hour operation. What a fighter!
While Dulcie was in Perth we had a visitor from Esperance, Rex, who helped Sandy rebuild a chicken run as Dulcie was planning on getting a few chooks. They did a great job. I spent 3 days doing a major service on the car then a couple of more days producing a birdhouse as a present for Dulcie when she gets home.
We left the station in the hands of some friends of Peter and Dulcie whom they met at Starvation Bay, Ian and Leslie. Heading further east we met up with Jacko who took me for a drive north of Leinster looking for gold. We picked up 9 pieces in around 5 hours of detecting with Jacko getting the largest one at 4 grams. We are staying at Leinster Caravan Park (free to all travellers) while our food freezes. It appears to take around 48 hours on the maximum setting.
see April
Welcome back to our WebPages, hopefully we will now be updating them regularly as we will have phone service for a while.
We camped on LakeWays Station after calling the owners advising them that we were coming. After my quick visit with Jacko I was looking forward to finding heaps of gold. Mostly it turned out to be one piece every second day with the highlights being one at 3 grams, a patch where I found two pieces of gold and a lump of quartz which has 3 to 10 grams of gold in a small part of it.
I took to wandering around the bush and found some of the pieces away from the dryblowing areas and other detectorist holes which was exciting but except for one place there was only one piece of gold to be found at each location I detected. You would think if there was one piece of gold there had to be more in the same area!
After finding a quartz reef, which had spread over an acre down an incline, my detector screamed and looking down I could see a gold vein glittering in the sunlight looking back up at me. Just think, no prospector had ever walked over that piece waiting to be picked up. I was so excited as 2/3 of the rock was covered in mud, buried underground. I hoisted the 4 kilo rock onto my hip and walked the kilometre back to camp. I whooped for joy and told Sandy that we had just paid the detector off but she didn't believe me until she looked at the rock with the gold shining brightly! After washing the rock we found that the gold was only in a small part of the rock but it was still so exciting to find. I will have to get a dolly to crush the quartz/gold to be able to pan the gold out of the resulting dust. This will give me something to do next month at Ningaloo.
After leaving LakeWays we stopped at Wiluna to stock up on food. The veggies were fresh and Sandy had a ball. Much better than Meekatharra which had a limited range of everything.
From Meeka we headed towards Mt Augustus crossing over the Gascoyne and Murchison River
Just before Mt Augustus Station, another flat tyre. Every car that came into the station, no matter which direction they came, had a flat tyre!
The next morning we climbed to the top taking lunch with us taking 2 1/4 hours to get to the top. 2 1/2 times bigger than Ayres Rock and 858 metres higher than the surrounding red sandplains. I think all the gold detector walking has made me fitter as it was a 6km trail to the top, almost all of it going up! Sandy made it easy but I needed a couple of rest stops. When we got down a couple were waiting for us as they had a flat tyre and their jack broke. Later that night I fixed the puncture for them so that at least they had a spare tyre.
On the way down I made a mistake and took the Gully trail at the junction. This involved following a boulder strewn riverbed all the way to the bottom. On a lot of the boulders Sandy had to sit, then slide down, as her legs were just a bit short. 3 1/2 hours later we made it back to the carpark and the Gully Trail was worth it to see the beautiful rock formations eroded by the water.
On the morning we left we stopped out on the main road to take a photo and I noticed the van's watertank was falling out, a bolt had snapped off. Back to the caravan park and a few tekscrews later we were back on the road.
At Meekatharra I picked up some Mining Tenement maps for Cobra Station so back to detecting we go. We arrived at Cobra and chatted to Keith and Joan who were caretaking the property for CALM. Cobra is about to be leased to a private group who are supposed to be updating the accommodation and as they own a lot of the mining leases on the station they will be allowing visitors to detect on their mining leases. We met Bruno who 4 years ago found a patch of gold and subsequently pegged a lease. He detected over 200 ounces of nuggets!!! All this within 400 metres of the existing mining leases which have been going for over 20 years.
Bruno has been driving, walking and camping for many kilometres around this area over the past 4 years. He found another patch of gold of which he recovered 50 ounces of alluvial gold and uncovered a rich seam of gold about 1 foot below the ground. He believes this is the same reef that was found then lost many years ago. The story goes that Matt Newell who died of cancer in Carnarvon hospital in the 30's told a truck driver before he passed away that he had found the mother load. He described the find as about 6 miles out and said no one would find it as it is not where they would expect it to be. The truck driver later asked the publican if Matt was bringing in any gold. He was bringing in alluvial nuggets then just before he had to go to hospital he showed the publican specimens of reef gold that made his eyes pop out. Bruno's reef is 10 kms from the road amongst some large square boulders on top of a small hill, not where you would expect gold to be and 6 miles from the road! Good luck to him.
I found two lovely 5 gram nuggets whilst I was there. The first one just after we arrived at 3.30pm and the second one first thing the next morning. A week before another person found one nugget over 2 ounces!
Time to pack the detector away, I have found around 1 ounce of gold over the past few months which will pay for the petrol to get here, with the most expensive being $1.40 a litre at Mt Augustus.
Next stop Kennedy Ranges.
The ranges were smaller than expected being only around 100 metres high but they were still nice to see. A couple of hikes up the gorges took us past dry waterfalls and green pools of water.
We headed towards Carnarvon but decided not to arrive until Monday so we dropped in to Doorawarrah Station where Brian allowed us to camp at Cathada Pool. When I told him I had been detecting he told me that the Afghans used a well near where we were to camp and I should try detecting around the well. One of his aboriginal station hands came in a few years back with a small clay pot stuffed with rag, a parchment with foreign writing on it and around 4 ounces of gold nuggets inside! Unfortunately all I found was lots of cans, wire and rusty steel.
Next stop Carnarvon for supplies. Had to replace the tyre we damaged at Mt Augustus as it was unrepairable. Three days here packing the van with heaps of food and filling the water tanks up. Travelled all the way to Ningaloo Station by 2.00 pm then slowed for the track in then the last 30 kms were done at walking pace as the corrugations were bad. Arrived at our camp by 4.30pm and set up the annexes the next day. Met up with old friends and have caught some fish for tea to keep Sandy happy. Still very windy but hopefully it will get calmer in a few weeks allowing us some good diving weather.
Life has settled down to sand, sun and fishing. Hopefully, when the sun comes out instead of hiding behind the clouds, I can do some snorkelling as well.
We have met up with friends here at Ningaloo and have been enjoying ourselves. We have managed to do a bit of fishing with Nor-west snapper the main catch, which are very nice to eat. Squid are in abundance and we have been pickling a few jars worth. This is a great place to put your feet up and relax.
Had a bit of spare time so I made a dunny out of coke cans. Complete with flushing loo, a cobweb, bucket and toilet paper. It stands about 400mm high.
We had a trip outside the reef fishing in about 50 feet of water. A whooshing sound alerted us to a couple of whales bearing down on us so we started the motor quickly and moved out of their path. We watched them from about 50 feet as these giants of the sea swam past. No sooner had we gone back to our fishing spot than more came along causing Sandy a lot of distress. She didn't like whales the size of a locomotive swimming straight at her? About 10 passed us in half an hour and we decided to go to safer, shallower waters for fishing that day. Sandy says she could have almost patted them as they went past because they were so close.
We have had a lot of rain this year and everything is green and flowering. This is supposed to be the wettest July for 5 years up here. One day we had 138mm, a couple of 4WD's were bogged in a mud hole south of here on the track to Ningaloo Station and had to be left overnight until they could be recovered. Another camp had 2 creeks on either side of them, which are normally dry, these filled up quickly to over 6 feet in depth threatening to wash them away. They were stuck with water on 2 sides from the creeks and the third side was the ocean. If I was them I would be very worried with nowhere to go.
That's all for now, should be much the same next month so see you then.
Were still camping on the Bundera Coastal Protection Zone overlooking Ningaloo Reef. It appears that radical camping changes will occur here in the very near future so were not sure when or if we will be allowed back here again. Such a pity when you mix business, politicians and campers that the campers always seem to miss out. From information I have heard campers have been coming here for over 30 years and now were about to see it end because of a few people in power who wish to change it all.
The weather has not been as kind as we wished it to be but it was still nice. Mostly 10 knot winds and 25 degrees with blue skies. Last time we were here we had calmer days and 30 degrees allowing us to go snorkelling without a chilly wind after the swim.
We have located a good fishing spot that has allowed us to catch some excellent eating, Spangled Emperor.
With only a few days before we left Sandy caught the camp record of a Spangled at 70cm long. I had just as much fun watching her excitement as she reeled in her catch, as she had catching it. I tried to stop her jumping and screaming until I actually got the net around the fish but to no avail. I had thoughts of seeing it swim away if the line broke before I netted it and got it into the boat.
Earlier on Sandy also caught a whopper squid. 90cm long with just the squid tube measuring 35cm. Colin, a fellow camper who showed us his squid spot, just beat Sandy's record with a tube of 36cm.
I finally got some time to do some painting. It's been a while.
At the end of this month we caught up with Les and Iris (campers from Bremer Bay) at Geraldton then arrived back in Perth. Now we are getting ready for a much-needed holiday as we fly to Thailand for a month arriving back in October.
Just for a change of pace we took a month off touring Australia and headed for Thailand with our niece who was eloping with her partner Jules. We participated in their marriage ceremony, monks, elephants and all. We spent a week in Bangkok, 2 weeks in the islands and a week north at Kanchanaburi. The Thai people were very friendly and the scenery and culture is so different to Aus.
If you wander onto the back roads you will find quite an extensive network of canals with longboats carrying around 50 passengers. A very fast, sometimes wet trip as you travel across Bangkok for around (Aus)20c a trip. The only problem was the smell of sewerage from the grey/black water. We looked at shopping malls, did a tour of Jim Thomson's silk house, bought Sandy's dress and Brendan and I our Jon De Burghs for the wedding.
In Khao San road the vendors chase the dollars from the backpacking community. The prices are quite cheap with a large variety of good for sale. The Tuk-Tuk drivers constantly try to get your business but a shake of the head usually sees them move on.
We were going to go to the Floating Markets but we all felt a bit off from the previous days outings, so we forfeited the trip.
We caught the cheaper 6am flight to Koh Samui, dropped our bags at the King's Garden Resort then went walking around Chaweng Beach and the local streets.
We visited a timeshare resort. After the seminar and tour we decided not to take up the offer. They wanted to sign you up there and then and not let you think first. Earlier a guy on a scooter started talking to Melinda, Sandy and myself and offered us 3 scratchies which could win us big prizes and all we had to do was go to a 90 min seminar. Melinda and myself got a scratchie from the rear of his bumbag and Sandy got one from the front. Sandy got three stars, which entitled her to one of the grand prizes, video, camera, trip, cruise, gold etc. We won a tshirt each. After our tour and seminar Sandy was allowed to scratch the box on the front which indicates which prize she has one. She won a 7 day luxury holiday in the resort all expenses paid providing she took it between 3 and 18 months time, attended another compulsory seminar (failure to do so and they will charge you full price for the accommodation and meals) and other clauses which made it a very unattractive prize. Just for fun we decided to check out a theory the next time someone approached us. Sure enough the next day a german on a scooter stopped us with one for Sandy out of the front and two for us from the rear. Sandy got 3 stars again and then acting a bit dumb proceeded to scratch the front panel and sure enough she won the same prize again. He said it was OK and they would still accept the card as it was a mistake. We got a tshirt each again. I proceeded to tell him that we were already on a dream holiday and didn't need another one. Boy did he get upset, jumped on his bike and proceeded to abuse Sandy as he drove off as he didn't get what he wanted. 5 minutes later he drove past us again still abusing us. Such a con, it was nice to upset them so much, as anyone who signed could be losing a lot of money. The amount they were charging A$20,000, means that every villa built in the resort allows them to sell timeshares to the value of A$500,000 even though the actual cost to build would have been closer to A$10,000. The profile probably says the wife has more power over the husband so she would be the one to win the "big prize" every time. I have since heard that these cons are happening everywhere so beware. If you have 4 hours of time to waste and want a look go for it and get what you can, we got 2 x tshirts, 3 x lunches, a 20 min scenic tour, a resort tour and a taxi back to our resort after.
Just off Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui where we stayed was a small island which we waded out to and found a Buddah on top of the island looking out to the ocean. The many headed snake is protecting the sleeping Buddah. It was a surprise for us to find this amongst the vegetation with no other buildings in view anywhere.
THE WEDDING
The big day arrived. I started the day setting off hundreds of firecrackers outside the resort to scare away the evil spirits. It woke all the neighbours too, fun! Then the elephant arrived and the early risers were surprised to see the bride and groom riding the elephant up and down the beach.
The ceremony started with the monks arriving, the ceremony itself then the monks were fed by the now married bride and groom. This was followed by everyone who attended, blessing the couple with holy water. That evening Sandy and I as the eldest of the group helped in the blessing of the bridal bed.
We let off some more fireworks including some skyrockets that night then retired to bed.
Travelling around the islands you can use utes which carry up to 10 people in the back, sort of like a mini bus. They do charge high prices for the journey but cheaper than the taxis. You negotiate the fare before you climb in. We hired a 4wd with Brendan and Ned following behind on scooters. Unfortunately Spud had heatstroke from the day before and spent the next three days in bed. We drove around the complete island checking out the sights.
Many stalls along the roads open up in the afternoon and stay open till late. This appears to be the norm in Thailand. One had many timber carvings, I was unsure whether our customs would allow them back into Aus but have since been told that when they check them, if they don't find any borer holes your fine.
In a fishing village "Bo Phut", contained accommodation, restaurants, ferries and shops. Here we found a near new house that could be rented out for A$300 a month plus electricity.
There were fish and squid being dried in the sun. Take a closer look and you would see the flies and ants having a taste too.
Still on Koh Samui
We found a new Buddha that was just being constructed. It isn't on any tourist maps yet but will surpass the Big Buddha when finished for a tourist attraction. The associated temple is brand new with the ceramics, mosaics and inlaid mirrors pristine and shiny. The inside is painted with frescoes on the ceiling with all the walls painted as well.
Hundreds of Long Boats are used as fishing boats and some as tourist's taxis. We had many lazy days just soaking up the sun and a swim now and again to cool off. We found a nice restaurant down the beach where they set up low benches and tables on the beach. You lay down or sit up and have your meals. Very relaxing and carefree.
Late on the last night Sandy, Melinda and Jules had another Thai massage. At 4.30am the next morning we saw Melinda and Jules off at the airport then we caught a ferry to Koh Pha Ngan where we stayed at Haad Yow on the North West end of the island. The "Full Moon Party" was at the other end of the island on Haad Rin beach but we decided that we enjoyed the quieter life and stayed put leaving others to enjoy the music, alcohol and drugs at the big party.
Sunset from our verandah on Haad Yow beach. Not bad for A$10 a night. The lights on the horizon are from a squid fishing boat. On some nights you could count up to 20 squidding boats.
We hired out a scooter and drove down to the main city of Thongsala for some shopping and a fruit platter that Sandy had found previously in a shop when we first arrived on the island. We travelled north again via small villages and side visits to waterfalls, ending up at Chaloklum Bay, a fishing port. Here we watched a fishing boat being unloaded, all the fish are dumped on the concrete jetty then put in baskets and weighed. Following the coast we made our way back to the resort visiting all the beaches on the way.
In the fresh produce markets they have shredded plastic bags spinning above the chickens, meat or fish trying to keep the flies away. Not a refrigerator in sight but some stalls do have ice delivered to keep the goods cool.
We returned to Kho Samui and the next morning we caught the early flight back to Bangkok. This time we stayed at My House guest house near Khao San Rd. it was quiet and friendly. The next day we caught a 4 day tour to Kanchanaburi 130 kms west of Bangkok. We visited the Allied Prisoners Cemetery, the Jeath War Museum and the famous bridge on the river Kwai.
During World War II the Japanese constructed the Death Railway during which over 16,000 Prisoners Of War and 100,000 Asians died.
Erywyn Falls National Park had over a course of 2.5 Kms, seven waterfalls. We had just enough time to get to the seventh and back to the bus again.
We visited the Tiger Monastery. They have huge plans to look after injured tigers and train cubs to return to the wild. They have been looking after tigers for around 9 years and it appears nothing has been done towards the master plan yet. The tigers are kept in bare concrete cages and for the tourists they have half a dozen drugged tigers that you pay for the handlers to take your photo. It was very depressing to see these magnificent beasts kept this way. Not a place we will return to.
We stayed on a houseboat at the elephant camp. The shower floor was covered in mesh to keep out the water rats. A girl on the next boat came out of her unit to see a snake on the railing in front of her.
The shower and toilet water goes straight into the river and you can watch, thru the floor, the fish feeding!
Every morning the elephants get a bath including a baby elephant which appeared to love bath time.
I took Sandy for an elephant ride thru the forest, I don't think she was too happy with me driving and was glad when the handler got back on! Just for fun, the elephant pushed over a large dead tree with a bit of coaxing from all three of us.
At Hellfire Pass where many POW's lost their lives while building the railway the Australian Govt has set up a wonderful museum, but our tour itinerary didn't allow us enough time to absorb it all.
After a bamboo raft ride down the river Kwai we had to go across a suspension bridge. Sandy doesn't even like little ones so with my arm firmly around her waist I quick marched her across before she panicked too much. She was relieved to get across safe and sound.
On a train trip back towards Bangkok we travelled over the only remaining section of the POW railway, about 30kms worth. On some of the bridges the train slowed down to a walking pace and the bridges creaked and groaned under the weight. I'm not sure how long they will last before they collapse?
In Bangkok, as in all of Thailand, the elephants are held in high esteem. On the main road we found some topiary elephants.
We spent a day getting the final shopping done at the MBK centre then back to My House at 7pm. The MBK centre has hundreds of small shops and stalls selling everything you want at good prices. The next day we just strolled around the area we were staying in relaxing before the trip back to Aus the next morning.
We are now back in Perth and will be here for a while as I will be updating the cruiser, building a new storage unit on the tray and making a lightweight boat trailer. If anyone knows of a good, cheap 79 series trayback for sale let me know. I have been attending the auctions and hope to find a good one soon.
Sandy and her sister Lauren entered the City to Freo walk just after we got home from Thailand. Laura, Jack (Lauren's children) and myself were the cheer squad in the car meeting up with them every 30 minutes or so.
Well after around a dozen auctions I finally managed to find and buy a new vehicle I was happy with. Being an ex Telstra worker how could I refuse an ex Telstra 4WD!
I have purchased a 2000 model Nissan Patrol 4.2 diesel with a Trademate all aluminium back on it. It has Old Man Emu springs and shockies all round. Roo and tow bar with spotlights on the front. I have removed the existing 8 inch rims and tyres and purchased 6 split rims and fitted Michelin XZY 14 ply exploration tyres. Hopefully these will not get destroyed like the Goodrich All Terrain did and last longer than 30,000 kms. The Cruiser sold the first day I advertised to a happy new owner from Geraldton.
I built a dismountable boat trailer, which is currently being galvanised and fits on the roof of the Patrol under the boat. I have fitted the two original 85 litre water tanks from the Landcruiser and added another one which with the 40 litre under tray tank allows me to now carry around 450 litres of water in the van and car.
I purchased a $98 Bunning's GMC generator and will try that out to see if they work OK. It is cheaper than getting the Honda serviced.
Sandy has been busy washing and polishing the van, repacking the interior and helping me when she can. It has been helpful staying with Sandy's parents as the van fits and the shed has plenty of tools.
Next month I will be checking the mechanicals of the van and car before heading off on the 27th of December, first stop will be Cape Riche.
December allowed me to check out and service the new Nissan while completing the modifications. Also the boat trailer was galvanised and mounted on the car. The trailer only weighs 30kg and so far works well.
One of Sandy's Father's neighbour, Ken, was interested when I told him I used to make Biltong, a South African dried meat. He promptly made up a drying box and allowed me to use it before I left Perth. I now have half a dozen sticks of meat and I'm trying to work out how I can make some more on the road because they won't last long, yummy. It is raw meat cut into 1 inch square strips about 10 inches long and marinated overnight in vinegar, salt, brown sugar, corriander, pepper and any other spices you want. It is then dried over 4 to 7 days until it is hard. You can buy it from some butchers who make it for their customers.
Christmas day was spent in Perth with our families before heading off to Cape Riche. Two years ago we had Christmas at Cape Riche and had hailstones and we were flooded with the torrential downpour. We should have learnt our lesson! Sandy's sister Lauren, hubby Tony and kids Laura and Jack came with us for the first week. We set up camp then it started to rain, the tent leaked and the kids sleeping bags got wet so they slept in the annexe. Lauren slept on the van floor and Tony slept in the back of the car. We had musical beds over the next 3 days as sleeping arrangements changed daily. It eventually settled down as we all got organised. Lauren and Laura didn't believe they could shower with only 5 litres of water each, Laura being 13 was horrified. At the end of the trip I think they were using less than 5 litres each, well done. Jack caught his first big edible fish, a large King George Whiting, and was so excited. He enjoyed his fish for tea that night. We all settled down to a slow relaxing camping lifestyle with fishing, swimming, walking and small driving trips to pass the time away.
We packed up camp after they left and drove to Bremer Bay where we are currently camped. Les and Iris are also camped here and I was invited out in their boat for a fishing trip to the islands. A Harlequin fish and two Queen Snappers were my catches of the day, this will keep us going for a week. Still a bit windy but things should start to calm down as we head towards March/April which are supposed to be the best times on the South coast.
Next month we will still be here then onto Lucky Bay sometime in February.