Our summer is much more mild than usual but this week we have had some nice days that made it very pleasant to be out and about. Our first day out was to go for a drive down to the Morning Peninsula to Seawind Gardens and have a picnic lunch. We picked up a baguette…
I’m getting more grumpy as I get older, but I’ve decided to do something about it. I have over 85,000 photos in my image collection from my travel to over 65 countries, along with images from my many local photo shoots. Rather than just have them just sit on my hard drive, I’ve created a…
For the last few days, Jill and I have been staying at the RACV (Royal Automobile Club of Victoria) Resort at Healesville. It is the first time that we have been away together since Jill’s accident in Singapore last September. It was a test to see how well we would cope with some time away…
At the moment, Melbourne is abuzz with excitement and activity. We wrestled with big crowds, today, as we drove into the CBD for lunch and then to see one of Melbourne’s outstanding art attractions.. At the moment, in Melbourne, we have the Australian Open tennis match at the Tennis Centre with big crowds, closed streets and…
The Kimberley region of Australia is about as far from Melbourne as you can get. It is diagonally across the continent and is a vast and remote area of the outback. Life there is tough . Tides in the town of Derby average about 11 metres (36 feet). The water temperature of the public swimming…
The period between Christmas and New Year is quite a relaxed time of year for us. The rush leading up to Christmas is over and it’s time to sit back, relax and catch up with some outstanding tasks. We have had cool and moist weather over the last three years because of the La Niña…
This is my last full day in Queenstown and it is a lovely day. I am almost recovered from my experience with Covid – just a little bit of a stuffy nose, but I feel like I am pretty much back to normal. There is little wind and the sky is blue. I caught the…
The Heritage Adventurer returned to the Port of Bluff at a quick pace to get there before forecast gale force winds. We docked on the high tide at around midnight andI have to say that it was much easier to sleep at a calm mooring rather than on the rough sea earlier in the night.…
It’s a long between places in this area of the ocean. To reach Macquarie Island from the Auckland islands, it took a day and a night of sailing. It took a similar period to get from Macquarie Island (my last post) to Campbell island. It is now taking us in another 36 hours to return…
Over the last few days, we have been at Macquarie Island, deep in the Southern Ocean . On the island is an Antarctic research station and Australian weather station, Of all things, there is a Telstra mobile phone tower. Because of Covid regulations, we were not allied to visit the base but we had plenty…
We have spent the last two days on the second of the Sub-Antarctic Islands on this trip – Auckland Islands. We are at around 50 degrees south – a much higher level of latitude than Antarctica but still s long way south. Our first stop at these islands was Enderbee Island, the subject of my…
We cleared immigration and sailed last night from the Port of Bluff on the Heritage Adventurer. Strong south westerly winds created large seas and the ship rocked and rolled all night By midday today they had mellowed and are now quite flat. For me, w we see alking is a bit like having Parkinson’s –…
After Yesterday’s wet weather, today was fine, and a t times, even sunny. Having rented a car I was able to drive over the rather spectacular Crown Range to Wānaka with my friend Michael. We stopped in many places to take photographs or just to appreciate the local scenery. For a distance where the road…
Today I am starting a new adventure – one that takes in a number of sub-Antarctic Islands in the Southern Ocean. I will board a ship that departs from the port of Bluff at the southernmost point in New Zealand on a tour that will take 12 days to visit some remarkably scenic places that…
Apollo Bay is one of my favourite places to visit. Last week, I managed to spend three days there in the company of 22 other members of my Probus club. Jill’s mobility has increased enough for me to leave her for a few days, although I was careful to stock the fridge and do the…
We are in some trouble here in Victoria. The weather forecast for the next day or so is for up to 100 mm (4 inches) of rain. It will cause extensive flooding. I searched the DIY stores and even Amazon to see if I could find some Gopher Wood to build an ark, as Noah…
It was an arduous and long trip home from Singapore yesterday and we are very happy to be back in our own home again. Jill was discharged from the Ng Teng Fong Hospital in Singapore on Saturday, after we started planning a week ago for her to be ready to come home. She had her…
