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 –…
The entire East Coast of Australia is currently in lockdown The Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus has reached here and is playing havoc with our lives again. This is the second year that we have celebrated our wedding anniversary in lockdown. Yesterday, we celebrated 49 years together. Last year we had booked a luxury…
This last day of our trip has been entirely unremarkable. We only stopped once during the day for a quick lunch. Little of the scenery that we passed was new to us. The weather forecast for the day was for cool temperatures and considerable rain. When we left the town of Horsham this morning it…
The virus restrictions in Victoria have been further lifted to allow us to move about freely within the state. Masks are now only required indoors and pubs and restaurants are allowed to seat many more customers. It has been 24 days since our last community transmission of the virus and right now, the state is…
I have been watching the judicial inquiry into the escape of coronavirus from the hotel isolation program when incompetent and apparently corrupt security companies were hired to guard people who had returned from overseas and were placed in compulsory hotel isolation. The incompetence of these guards allowed the virus to escape into the community resulting…
This year, Anzac Day is very different. No Dawn Service, No March, No Reunion. Because of the Corona Virus restrictions, local commemorations have all been cancelled with only formal services conducted at state and national levels. These are without public participation and were broadcast over the radio or Internet live streaming services. As a veteran,…
Our flight from Perth landed at Heathrow just a few minutes late at 5.10 am after a seventeen hour non-stop flight from Perth. We were through immigration and customs very quickly. Australians can now use the electronic passport gates at Heathrow and this helps eliminate the two-hour long queue that we faced last time we…
On Saturday, I attended one of the annual memorial services conducted by the Friends of the 15th Brigade to commemorate the death of Harold ‘Pompey’ Elliott at the Burwood Cemetery in Melbourne. Just after WW1, Pompey was one of the three most famous names in Australia along with General John Monash and Albert Jacka. Brigadier…
While I have been out late at night visiting Canberra’s Enlighten attractions, I have also been getting up before dawn each morning to see the hot air balloons that are also operating here over this long weekend. On Saturday, out first morning here, I woke up late but quickly threw on some clothes and bolted…
I was quite happy with my photos from our first night out at Enlighten and we decided to go out on our second night and take some more distant images from some of the further Canberra viewpoints.The weather was quite mild so it was very comfortable being out at night. Our plans were delayed somewhat…