Monthly Archives: March 2025

Out and About from Rosebridge House

Posted on March 31, 2025 by julieallen36

So, yes….as I mentioned the only slight snag with our BnB was that we didn’t have a car and options for eating out locally were very limited. Pete had explained that there was a good Italian Restaurant just 6 mins walk away but other than that we’d need to go into Kalamunda which was a 20 mins walk. Unfortunately, the latter was out of the question.

On our first night we decided to walk down to the Italian very slowly as it was still very hot at 5-30. We got there and the place looked shut. I popped downstairs and found their pizza takeaway place. The guy in there confirmed that the restaurant wasn’t open today and they had a problem with their pizza maker. Hopeless.

We had no choice but to get an Uber into Kalamunda and head to the Kalamunda Hotel, which Cate had recommended. This was a really local place full of families enjoying time together. It was very traditional and obviously had quite a history too. Jane and I weren’t all that hungry so we decided to share our meal and it was delicious.

When it came time to leave, Jane ordered us another Uber but it kept saying that the driver was 10 mins away and then after 7mins , they’d cancel. This happened twice and then eventually the wait time became 22 mins. Crikey, this wasn’t looking good. We were outside by now and asked the nice waitress who’d served us, whether there was a local taxi firm. There was but they came from down in the city and never gave an expected arrival time! All of this fuss for a 4 mins drive…

Enter scene left our heroes….Brad and his girlfriend Olivia, who had been chatting to the waitress and overheard our predicament. Brad piped up with ‘where do you need to get to Ladies?’ When we told him he said, with a broad smile, he could drop us off. It turned out he was a supplier to the hotel so the waitress vouched for him👍

We piled into the car with Brad and Olivia and off we went. They were absolutely lovely and turns out Brad’s family came to Australia on the 3rd boat of the colonisation of Swan River. Meanwhile, Olivia was telling Jane that her family were £10 poms who came over from Manchester, needing to evade the Mafia!! It was like a living history lesson. They dropped us off at the gate and we said our farewells, what a kind thing to do.

The next night we decided to risk walking to the Italian again. It is a lovely walk down there through an avenue of beautiful native trees. The meal and service was fabulous and on the way back we could see the most amazing sunset, over the city and down towards to the sea. We enjoyed the food so much that we went back again the following night after our big day out.

Indeed, our big day out. On our final day at Rosebridge House we decided to hire a car again and visit a couple of different parts of Perth. We picked up the car from Thrifty at the airport at about 9-30 and our first stop was Caversham Wildlife Park which is not too far away. It’s a wonderful place to see Australian wildlife and we had a great day. By 10am it was already incredibly hot and I was worried about us walking around this place. However, luckily there was plenty of shade and some places were vaguely air conditioned. They’re well organised and we particularly enjoyed the ‘Meet the Animals’ bit, photo with a Wombat (Neil), the Penguin feeding time, the Quokkas, the huge number of koalas but especially the baby one and the kangaroo walkthrough (possibly too many of one thing there….) . One of our favourites was the incredible Tasmanian Devil, who put on a little show for us once he’d woken up that is. He ran actively around his enclosure exploring every little bit as if he’d never seen it before. He climbed a tree and had a bath and his incredible ears shone bright red in the sunshine.

In between meeting all the animals we kept going back to the cafe area to cool off with more water and iced peach tea. It wasn’t until later that I saw just how red my face had got from the heat. All of the volunteers running this place were incredibly friendly and jolly and it was an excellent day out, where we stayed much longer than the 1:30 hours that coach trips are allowed.

Next we were supposed to be visiting the Swan River Valley. This is a wine growing region and I thought we’d be able to visit the vineyards and winery’s to have a look and maybe there would be some nice shops. However, it’s not really like that and because it was now so late (approaching 4pm) everything was starting to close. We popped into one winery ‘Sitella’ and the vines did look beautiful but it was too late to go into the Cellar Door. As we were still a bit frazzled and glad to be in the air conditioned car, we weren’t inclined to stop again and decided to just complete the circuit and call it a day.

We dropped the car off at the airport again and called an Uber to take us home. We had to meet him over at the airport terminal which was a bit of a pain in the heat but hey ho. He drove us nearly back to our place when I suddenly realised that I’d left my iPad in the hire car. It wasn’t in my bag and I remembered leaving it in the boot and something had gone ‘bump’ at one point. Obviously, it had fallen down the back. The Uber driver turned around and we headed back. I tried to phone Thrifty but they wanted me to email and said they’d get back to me within 7 years. I was very stressed, worried that they’d hire the car out again. We decided to try ‘Find My Device’ and sure enough my IPad came up on the map. However my worst fear was confirmed as my iPad was on the move. It appeared to be getting further away at first, oh no……now what….we pressed on and suddenly it looked as if we were following the car with my IPad in it! At this point Jane checked her back pack and guess what she found…..Oh yes, I had!!! We asked the Uber driver to turn around once more. Poor man. I felt hugely relieved that it now looked like it was only my pencil crayons that had fallen on the floor.

It had been a rather expensive day at the park but over a glass of wine at our now favourite Italian Restaurant, Jane and I agreed that the Tasmanian Devil’s ears alone were worth it.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Caversham Wildlife Park, Perth | Leave a comment

Slowing down in the Perth Hills

Posted on March 30, 2025 by julieallen36

Now that Jane was making good progress and after a couple of days relaxing out of hospital, it was time to move on. We had been due to go to Melbourne next and pick up a campervan to drive the Great Ocean Road. However, we’d already cancelled flights and campervans and decided to skip Melbourne altogether and just get ourselves to Perth where we could take it easy before our flight home.

To get to Perth we had to go via Brisbane on a late afternoon flight (1hr +).We had arranged wheelchair support with Qantas and their service was excellent. They looked after Jane and I superbly and not only did Jane get pushed around the airports in the electronic wheelchairs and help carrying all our bags but we also got to board the planes in Category 1 ie first which meant no stress whatsoever. Just to be clear, we didn’t get upgrade to First Class but what they did do was perfect. On the plane from Brisbane to Perth (5hours +) the aircrew even arranged to move the chap who was supposed to sit next to us to another seat so that we could have all the space to ourselves. 🙏

We arrived very late into Perth and got a taxi upto our accommodation in the Perth Hills. Rosebridge House Bed and Breakfast in Gooseberry Hill. Jane had found this place when looking for alternatives as we’d had to cancel in Freemantle. It was described as an ‘adult only retreat’ and we had 4 nights here which were absolute bliss. We had our own little garden apartment right next to the lovely pool. The owners Pete and Julia have been running the place for 18 years and had thought of everything you could possibly need. They were super accommodating and even helped me do a load of washing (much needed after 13 days at the Ibis!).

Every morning we had breakfast in the old fashioned but gorgeous dining room over looking the tropical gardens. Here Julia fed the ‘pets’ including the Bandicoots (very small cute marsupials and not rats despite their similar appearance), Rainbow Lorikeets and Australian Ring Neck parrots. We even had a brief visit from a Kookaburra one morning.

We spent two days just relaxing by the pool but we mostly had to stay in the shade because the temperatures were just too hot at 38 degrees. We’d also retreated into the Air Con to avoid the midday sun. I made the most of the pool and did lots of sketching whilst we were here. Jane meanwhile enjoyed reading her book and relaxing.

This lovely retreat attracted some interesting people who we chatted to over breakfast, all attracted by the peaceful nature of the place.

Cate, a scouser, living in Tasmania after a career as aircrew with Qantas. She was there with her partner Anthony and her son, as well as her Mum (aged 91) who had been visiting from the UK .

The couple from Hertfordshire who were very keen to tell us all the things we needed to do in Perth. The Bell Tower, the car Museum and as Jane described it…’several more very boring suggestions’!!!

Another Kate who was there visiting family members who were all elderly and ill.

Paul, the German chap probably in his 90s who could hardly walk but liked his sausage for breakfast and was on the phone looking for a bridge partner.

Emily, (well, let’s call her that) the very young backpacker from the UK who was on her own but feeling very over-whelmed by Perth. She’d had a great time in the hostels in Melbourne but come to Perth for the sunshine. However, she found the hostels here to be less friendly. She’d obviously been quite upset and her Mum had booked her into this lovely place for a couple of nights. She was going back into Perth looking more cheery and hoping to get work.

The house itself is v historic. It once belonged to a magistrate, and has classic Australian style architecture of a single storey, made of wood, with verandahs and a picket fence all around. The garden had been built from scratch by Pete and Julia and had lots of ‘secret’ shady places to sit. The trees are stunning and I enjoyed the challenge of trying to identify them with the help of Photos on my phone but I’m not sure how reliable it has been. But there were Eucalyptus, Hibiscus, Moreton Bay Ash, Honey Mesquite, Orange Jasmine, Magnolia, Tree Ferns, roses, geraniums and bourganvillea. Beautiful.

The only slight issue with staying up here in the Perth Hills without a car turned out to be eating out…but I’ll save that for the next post!

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Perth, Perth Hills | 1 Comment

Sunrise with the Bouncers

Posted on March 28, 2025 by julieallen36

For the second part of our car hire experience, we needed to make a very early start. We were off to find wildlife once more . When I’d told Leera (my friend back home, who has done big long trips round Australia) that we were stuck in Mackay, she said that we needed to go to Cape Hillsborough as it was ‘the most beautiful place in the world’. Here the forests meet the sea and the kangaroos and wallabies can be seen on the beach at sunrise and it was where she found so many sand dollars. It was about 50km from where we were staying and quite remote so I couldn’t really see how Jane and I were going to make it there.

So when Svetlana on reception also recommended this trip as well as the huge billboard at the entrance to the airport, it seemed very tempting.

However, we’d need to get up at 4am to get there in time. Well, that was just crazy talk …but Svetlana put forward a convincing argument of ‘well if it was a flight you’d just do it so…you have to! ‘

So, it was decided and we set the alarms for 3-45am so that we could be on the road by 4-30. It was very dark and the roads were pretty empty. We drove down the Bruce Highway which is a major road but only single lanes in places. The speed limit is mostly 100kmph but I trugged along at about 80. Thank goodness those huge long trucks hadn’t woken up yet.

Eventually we left the Bruce Highway and started to head down a very windy lane towards Cape Hillsborough. It had started to rain and was very steamy outside. We finally made it to the car park at Casuarina Beach. There was obviously a campsite beyond a red-lit barrier and there was a car parked in the car park with all its lights on. There was a couple mooching about outside it. I got out of our car and asked them, if they were here to see the Roos and wallabies. They said they were and pointed in the direction of a path down to the beach.

Jane and I walked down with the aid of torches on our phones.The beach was in darkness but there was a sign saying ‘Welcome to Kangaroos on the Beach’ . It warned that you shouldn’t touch the Roos, not to have bright lights and no blocking the Roos exits. A little further along we could make out a few lights so we headed off in that direction.

As we approached we could see the silhouettes of 3 kangaroos and several wallabies. We kept behind the line and tried to listen to the Ranger but couldn’t hear a word. The Roos were mostly eating mangrove pods and some cereal (Puffa Puffa Rice) provided by the Ranger. They moved about pretty oblivious to their audience and got really close. Well the Roos did, the Wallabies seemed to keep their distance. Meanwhile, even though it was a bit cloudy the sun did rise turning the sky shades of orange and pink. It was a very beautiful and tranquil scene as most people were very respectful and quiet.

As it got later the animals moved towards the forest – getting closer to the people who couldn’t resist petting them. They didn’t seem to mind at all but the Ranger did and told people ‘not to touch as they are wild animals, you know.’ He rewarded Jane and I , who had resisted temptation, with stickers!

By 6:35 the sun was up and the Roos and wallabies bounced off into the trees – the show was over. The lazy folk who were just turning up were disappointed and by 6:35am the beach was empty . Jane and I agreed it had been a fab experience at a stunning, natural place. Happy, we drove the scenic route back to our hotel , now able to enjoy the views on the way. We even saw one cheeky wallaby eating leaves by the side of the road. He looked more surprised to see us than we did him! It was so cute it didn’t look real. We arrive back at about 8:30 just in time for breakfast.

After this we decided that we felt fine and would make the most of our car hire by driving the short distance to Eimio Beach. Here we found Mango Avenue – a terrific mango tree arch over the lane . No fuss is made about this at all but it’s stunning.

Then we drove round to Eimeo Beach where despite the signs warning of crocodiles, deadly jellyfish and strong currents, there were plenty of people out surfing and enjoying the waves.

Hold on a minute….did someone say there were crocodiles in the sea……what were the people thinking.🫣

We found a spot by the Surf Club to sit down in the shade and admire the views. I think it’s just one of quite a few beautiful beaches around Mackay. I did a little sketch and it was really enjoyable. The young girl serving us a cold drink got chatting to me about my watercolours. She enjoyed painting too but said she hadn’t been able to find any decent paints in K-Mart. I told her about mine which are about 30 years old and still going strong.

The day was incredibly hot by now and we were ready to make a move. What a splendid morning we had had. I drove back and retuned the car and then we spent the rest of the day taking it easy and enjoying all of the wondrous things that the Ibis had to offer.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Cape Hillsborough, Mackay, Queensland | 5 Comments

Platypus Drive

Posted on March 28, 2025 by julieallen36

After a good nights sleep at the Ibis it was time for Jane to be released back into the big, wide world. I’d introduced her to the joys of the Ibis buffet breakfast and given her a big plate (Alan) to load up with the plentiful supplies. We then had a restful morning.

We decided that maybe instead of just sitting round the Ibis, we could hire a car for a few days and venture out. However, here in Mackay car hire was extortionate and so we decided we could only afford one for 24 hours, noon til noon.

We asked Svetlana on reception, what we could do and where to go. Her first suggestion was to drive up to Eungella and see the platypus in the wild. Well, we didn’t need any further encouragement but she mentioned that we could stop on the way at Pinnacle Pies so we knew we were onto a winner!

I picked up the car from the airport at noon and was served by the nice man from Guildford and I was soon walking away with the keys. Waiting for me was a brand new Mazda Automatic. I got in and realised that I had absolutely no idea how to drive it, as it’s been ages since I’ve rented an Automatic! Luckily, Jane, who has never driven an automatic in her life, was able to tell me what I needed to do and I eventually managed to turn it on. I put it in Drive and off we went.

The roads in Mackay on a Saturday were very quiet and we drove a short distance to our first stop, the World’s Smallest Roundabout. Don’t tell me Mackay hasn’t got anything to offer tourists! It’s actually in a very nice residential area close to the beach and most importantly, getting here gave me the chance to practice driving the car.

Now we were ready for the main trip. This was to drive up what’s known as ‘Pioneer Valley’ apparently one of the most beautiful valleys in Australia. Or did they say ‘in Mackay’? 🤣

We drove through the pretty villages of Marion, Mirani, Gargett, Finch Hatton and finally Eungella following the mighty Pioneer River. The valley is known for its sugar cane production and there are vast fields of the stuff all along the route as well as several huge mills and lots of railway lines for transporting the crop. It is like a scene from a movie probably starring Sidney Poitier.

We failed to stop at Melba House (Home of Dame Nellie Peach Melba) but couldn’t resist the signs for Platypus Beach. This turned out to be just a rough track down to the river underneath the road bridge. It’s apparently a popular bathing spot but the jokers in the car leaving as we arrived, said that there was a croc down there but it would probably be ok!!! Very funny, mate. Of course, there were no crocs or platypus to be seen.

We did also stop for a famous pie at Pinnacle Pies which is a busy, family run place in the middle of nowhere. We chose the famous Steak and Potato pie which came covered in the famous mushy peas , as is the tradition. It was really good!

The scenery was stunning with the ever changing weather and light. Classically Australian (gum trees, farm tracks and sugar cane). However, at Netherdale we suddenly started to get warning signs. No petrol for 500 km, sharp bends, steep road, blind bends on narrow road, skidding risk, rockfalls, unsuitable for caravans, dips in the road. Svetlana hadn’t mentioned this part of the journey. As we started to climb up the escarpment and out of the valley, it got hot and steamy and then rainy. Oh great, but it was too late to turn back now….we were only 5km from the platypus!

At least it was very quiet…I think the only vehicle I met was a car trailling a caravan. So much for the signs…. This road was definitely on a par with other scary ones like The Bealach na Ba in Scotland or the road to Thrypti in Crete. But here the Aussie’s forget to mention it and don’t even give it a name.

At the top of the pass we stopped to look at the views from Goodes Viewpoint. They were only rated as ‘Goode’ because they need to do some hedge clearance to open up the view a bit which looks straight back down the valley we’d driven through. The other thing Jane spotted here was a kookaburra sitting in a branch minding its own business. Hurrah.

Then we drove onto our final destination Broken River. Here we are definitely up in the tropics. It’s very wet but there is just a 40metre walk from the car park to the viewing platform by the river. There are just a handful of people here and straight away we spot a platypus. They are very small and cute. You spot some bubbles, they surface, then in 30seconds- they’re gone again. As everyone else wandered off we stayed patiently and we were rewarded with a second little platypus who surfaced right beneath us. As we got back to the car we felt smug that we’d followed advice and worn our trainers and socks as we watched people in crocs and flip flops trying to remove leeches from between their toes! Very happy with our day, we retraced our steps and got home just in time for our meal out!

Tonight we left the Ibis behind once more and I drove us into Mackay centre where Jane had booked us in to the very trendy Indian Restaurant ‘Roshin by Raj’. The centre of town looked lovely all lit up in the evening glow and a warm drizzle. The glow was actually coming from the Gelateria on the corner which provided a tasty pudding to finish our meal.

The Indian food was really tasty and just what the Doctor had ordered. We were all done and off to bed by 8-30 as we had a big (relaxed) day ahead of us.😉🦘🌅

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Mackay, Pioneer Valley, Queensland | 3 Comments

The Kindness of Strangers- the missing photos!

Posted on March 28, 2025 by julieallen36

Hello, apologies but it appears that the photos for the last post didn’t upload. I thought this was because of poor WiFi strength where we’ve just been staying, but having now arrived at our shiny new hotel in Perth CBD it appears that this wasn’t the case. In fact, I’m just too prolific and had run out of space on WordPress…maybe because of using the big photos? More research needed on that. But for now, I’ve upgraded and by popular demand (well David mentioned it!) here are the photos from the last post.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Mackay, Queensland | Leave a comment

The Kindness of Strangers- Mackay, Queensland

Posted on March 24, 2025 by julieallen36

Whilst Jane made her way to hospital on the big chopper, I arrived back on Hamilton Island with Aaron. The team at Hamilton Air had waited for us to get back and we agreed with Dan, the owner, that Aaron would fly me the next morning to Mackay. Aaron was fantastic, keeping in touch with the team at Reefworld and letting me know via WhatsApp when Jane got picked up and how she was doing.

He then agreed that if I packed all of our bags, he’d come and collect them later in the evening so that I could take them all with me in the morning. I rushed around the apartment trying to get it all done and sure enough he arrived in a golf buggy and took the majority of it away. I gave him a harvest festival box of all the things that we’d bought at the IGA supermarket as we wouldn’t be needing any of that now as we would not be returning. He continued to be my contact point with the hospital in Mackay once Jane had arrived and it was a huge relief to know that she was now in the hands of the Emergency Team there. At 9pm I got a text from Jane to let me know she was doing much better and that I should get some sleep!

This didn’t really happen as although I was totally shattered I couldn’t get the air con in the bedroom to work and it was stiffling. Ah well.

The next morning I was up early and had to walk down the road with my remaining bags to get my lift to the heliport. Aaron was ready and waiting for me and off we flew to Mackay. It was a beautiful morning but all I wanted to do was get back to Jane.

At the Mackay Airport , Aaron helped me get all the bags out and ordered me a taxi and we said our farewells, me giving him a huge hug of thanks.

Luckily, the taxi never came and I ended up dragging my bags over to the Ibis Hotel where I have been staying for the last 12 nights! Initially I think Jane thought she’d be out after a day but this turned out not to be the case! The first person I met at the Ibis was Becs on reception, who looked wide-eyed at me when I explained my predicament. She booked me in for one night and then got me a cab to take me to the hospital.

The local cab firm is 13Cabs and my first driver was Sean. More about him and the other drivers later but for now let’s get back to Jane. It took about 15 mins to get to the hospital and I was pointed in the direction of the Emergency Department. Here I found Jane in a partitioned area, hooked up to all sorts of machinery, drips and still on oxygen. She was already SO much better than she had been when I’d last seen her and quite alert and planning her escape. It was quite a relief.

Then in came the team of Doctors who were looking after Jane. There must have been about 8 of them and then it was all a bit much.

So, I’m going to cut a long story short now and what I really wanted to say was how utterly amazing everyone that I have met and who has looked after Jane, has been. I’d never heard of Mackay, Queensland before we arrived here and it certainly wasn’t on our itinerary to visit. However, I have to say that I have fallen in love with this place, a city of just 121,691 people , 972km north of Brisbane. Surrounded by sugar cane fields, it is now a service centre of the mining industry of the Bowen Basin. So here are some of those I wish to thank.

The Staff and residents at the Ibis Hotel- after 12 nights here I’ve got to know lots of the staff who have looked after me so well. Becs, Svetlana, Kushall and others on reception dealing with my constant requests to extend my stay. Katie and all the team in the restaurant and bar where the food has been fantastic and varied, the McLaren Vale Shiraz – perfect and where they’ve introduced me to my new favourite pudding. Cardamom Spiced Coconut Custard Sri Lankan Watalappan. Made with coconut milk, jaggery, nutmeg, cashew crumble and served with fresh fruits. Delicious.

Meanwhile, the residents have been endlessly fascinating. Lots of miners coming and going as they start and end their 7 day shifts, First Nations Ladies having a business meeting and talking about getting the Elders on their side, weekend golfers, holiday makers and all-night clubbers. Early on I was asked by one couple who I’d said hello to in the lift whether I wanted to join them for dinner, as I was on my own. I politely declined and they were absolutely lovely about it. Then on about Weds I met Robert Todd ‘Toddy’ to his friends. He sat next to me at dinner (I mostly sat at Table 18 underneath the TV) and I warned him that someone else sitting at his table had just smashed a glass by nudging the table when he got up. We got chatting and it turned out he was originally from Cornwall. He’d spent 20 years in New Zealand before he and his partner, Lisa-Marie, and his kids moved to Hervey Bay 7 years ago. He was in business to business sales and we spent the evening chatting about everything from his own experiences of ill health (heart attack), the Australian economy, and Toddy’s Top 3 tips for sales success! He was funny, kind, self- deprecating and swore like a true Aussie and it was just nice to find out a little bit about where I was staying.

The taxi drivers of 13Cabs have picked me up from the Ibis, taken me to and from the hospital everyday. Sean was the first driver to pick me up and in fact he took me home on the first day too. I thought maybe Sean was their only driver but this wasn’t the case. I also met John, Mr Singh, Tao from Zimbabwe, Varindar and several others. All were kind and chatted to me about my day. Sean would wave to me every time I saw him and make a point of stopping to ask how Jane was doing.

The team at CQ Rescue helicopters. This is the organisation who sent the helicopter to rescue Jane. There base is right here on the airport and I could see the helicopters coming and going from my bedroom window. One afternoon after getting back a bit early I decided to take a wander over to see if I could go in and thank them. There was no obvious way in so I asked a chap in the car park where the door was. He asked who I was there to see and I started to explain the story. It turned out he was the CEO of CQ Rescue and he invited me in to show me around. He told me that they’re kind of a charity with sponsors and help from the Queensland Government. He said that they’d invested in 2 new AW139 Helicopters , one of which had rescued Jane. These choppers went 30% further and 30% faster than their old ones providing a World Class Rescue service. He said that without this new helicopter, they would not have able to get out to where Jane was rescued from. The two choppers had cost AUS $ 52 million. Unfortunately, there was no crew around when I visited , they were all out on another rescue at the mines. Thank goodness for the brave and clever people who stay away from home to provide this service on 7 day shifts and thank goodness for all the fund raisers who made the purchase of the new choppers happen.

Next I want to thank all of the staff at the Mackay Base Hospital where Jane was taken and looked after so so well. The Emergency Team were brilliant and thorough. One of them just had an inkling that it might not have been asthma and got the cardio doctor to look at Jane. The nurses on Emergency were full of energy and cheerful. Whilst we were there we saw how they had to deal with some really difficult patients, including one guy with mental health problems and issues with ‘the system’. He kept kicking off because they wouldn’t let him go outside for a cigarette. It took 2 security guards and 4 policemen to restrain him.

The Nurses, Cleaners, Wardies and catering team on Jane’s Ward, G2 were superb. Jasmine was Jane’s nurse for 6 days running. She was smart, funny, helpful, kind and totally on top of Jane’s situation. She was my favourite. We also loved Jenny the cleaner who came every day to do such a thorough job of cleaning Jane’s room. (Yes, she had her own en suite). She was lovely and helpful especially when my mobile phone went missing when I’d been helping Jane have a shower. I couldn’t find it anywhere but she said ‘I’ll just check Michael’s room’……Michael was one of Jane’s neighbours. He had dementia and kept forgetting where his room was and coming into Jane’s . Sure enough , he was sitting on the balcony with my phone in his hand listening to it ring out with ‘Find My Phone’. Thank you Jenny!

The catering team meanwhile fed and watered Jane and she was particularly fond of their puddings – pineapple upside down cake and custard, Bread and Butter pudding and Apple Crumble and Custard. Meanwhile I enjoyed my choice of very unhealthy lunches from the cafe downstairs or Docs Place across the road where the ladies made the most tasty plain old cheese and onion sandwich.

Finally, I want to thank the Cardio Team at the marvelous Mackay Base Hospital. From the young Doctor who first suspected that Jane had experienced Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy to her consultant Mr Sachin Sondhi. The team made sure she received all of the help and meds she needed and were tireless in their efforts to get a complete diagnosis and left no stone unturned. Jane had X-rays, blood tests , ECGs, Echocardiograms and MRI scans to rule out blocked arteries and other problems. The big thing I noticed about this team was the way they all took real time to listen to Jane. They never interrupted but they listened and then weren’t afraid to offer opposing viewpoints to the Consultant, alternative approaches etc.

All of this care was provided under a reciprocal agreement between Australia and the UK, whereby treatment provided in a public hospital has been provided free of charge. All we needed to do was apply for a Medicare card and they were even (mostly) incredibly helpful whilst we did this. Another thing I’ve noticed here is that people take your word for things. They don’t ask for proof, or question you. They trust you and do the right thing.

So as Jane has now made a good enough recovery to be released from hospital and to continue onward travel, we are incredibly grateful to everyone in Mackay. Jane always told me that I’d love the Aussie’s and we are just so lucky that this happened here. Mackay ❤️❤️❤️

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Mackay, Queensland | Leave a comment

What Happened Next- Not for those of a nervous disposition.

Posted on March 23, 2025 by julieallen36

This next post starts with a ‘health’ warning. ⛔️ I’m about to explain what happened when we got in the water on the Great Barrier Reef but I have to warn you that it was not pleasant as Jane became very unwell. The good news is that 13 days later, she is out of hospital and doing much better. But if you don’t want to know the detail then maybe don’t read this post. Thankyou.

We had been in the water for only about 5 mins and were swimming across to the reef face, over the rope, as we’d been told to do. The water was very murky with lots of bits in it rather than the clarity you might expect. I could see the reef and the staghorn coral and there were a few smallish fish to be seen through the murk.

As always, I kept a close eye on Jane to make sure she is ok but she bobbed up and said that she was struggling to breathe. I said ok let’s just swim back to the pontoon (5 metres away) but Jane started to swim in completely the wrong direction and was clearly disorientated.

I called to Aaron (the Heli Pilot) as he was watching us to make sure we were safe. He came down to where we’d literally just put our flippers on and helped Jane get on there and sit down. By now, however, she was really struggling and coughing up something that didn’t look good at all. We sat for a while and then Aaron somehow helped Jane get up the steps. He sat her down on a plastic chair and helped Jane remove her life rest. Now she looked really ill, no colour at all. Thinking that she was having a severe asthma attack, Jane asked Aaron to get her Ventolin puffer which he did, but Jane didn’t have the breath to inhale it. Despite all this, Jane kept encouraging me to carry on snorkelling……..er…..no…I don’t think so.

Next thing was that Regan, Jacob and Shelly came into action. They are part of the crew based on Reefworld and they’re just kids under 30. But boy they were totally in control of the situation. They immediately put Jane on oxygen and started to monitor her blood pressure and heart rate. They were on the phone to medics back on the mainland and recorded absolutely everything that happened and divided up their roles. It was really very impressive as meanwhile I was in a bit of a state of shock. Aaron started puffing Jane’s Ventolin to her via the oxygen mask.

Elsewhere, the overnight guests who stay on Reefworld, were wanting to go on their guided snorkel and one woman was complaining that she didn’t have enough shampoo in her room. Poor things.

It became obvious that although Jane had stabilised, she was still struggling to breathe and she was getting more and more tired as she was closing her eyes. We all kept talking to her trying to keep her awake. Jane was going to need to be evacuated and the only transport there was the Helicopter we’d arrived on. However, Aaron wasn’t equipped to support Jane or to take the oxygen so this was a non- starter. The medics on the other end of the phone, were in fact from the Helicopter Rescue Service and it was decided that they’d be coming out to get Jane. This could take another 2 hours and when they arrived they wouldn’t be able to take me.

I was given a choice of either waiting with Jane and then having to stay on Reefworld overnight but then having problems getting to Jane in the morning. Or I could leave Jane and go back in our helicopter with Aaron. To start with I said no way was I leaving Jane but then they said that the rescue helicopter would be there in about 25 mins. The trouble was it was getting dark and Aaron had to leave NOW. It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make but Aaron was very clear in his recommendation that I go with him. I checked in with Jane and she agreed that this was the best thing as then I could get back to her quicker the next morning.

So off Aaron and I flew, back to Hamilton Island. It should have been a lovely sunset ride back for me and Jane but now it wasn’t any fun at all.

I’ll let Jane tell you what happened next after I left……..

Guest Blogger: Jane

Hey everyone Jane here, writing this two days after being discharged from hospital, having made sufficient a recovery from my Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy heart failure, I no longer required a hospital bed anymore hurrah!

This is what I remember of what happened next. Julie left to go back to Hamilton island and I was sitting on a chair in only my new swimming costume, with an oxygen mask on taking very shallow breaths and wanting to go to sleep. The people looking after me had the job of keeping me awake and monitoring my vitals until my rescue helicopter arrived to take me to the mainland and an ambulance that would transport me to a hospital in Queensland.

They moved me to a tender (like a floating platform) and all three of them got on with me and my oxygen tank. On the pontoon the “black noddy” sea birds were gathering (too many at one time to be honest), the staff hated them, they poo over everything and it’s their job to clean it up. To ensure they didn’t poo over me, Shelly armed herself with a noodle (yes the flotation device type) and was swiping at them as they flew past.

The birds fly very close to the water and then circle back and land on the railings of the pontoon to have a poo. Presumably they are looking for food. Imagine my surprise when there was an almighty splash next to the tender and the bird was gone, apparently the giant trevally we had seen through the under water chamber earlier, leapt out and caught one for their tea! It was like I was in my own episode of the “Blue Planet”!

Well that passed the time till the rescue helicopter arrived. Shelly was very excited. It was too big and too heavy to set down on the little pontoon that Aaron had used, so they were going to have to hover over it. I was told they would lower someone down who would get me ready to be air lifted up to the helicopter 😱

The Helicopter got into position and I could see a rope drop down to the pontoon. Then out of the Helicopter came my “Knight in shining armour”, that was Shelly’s description! “Here he comes” she said, “your knight in shining armour”. Once safely down, the Reefworld team took the tender to the pontoon and I was helped across by my ‘Knight in Shining armour’ – Ashleigh (a girl) – imagine my delight! It was her job to get me into a hoist like a nappy that went up between my legs, then secured me with big metal clips to her and for us both to go up to the helicopter together. Fancy a girl being qualified to do that Shelly 🤣

Needless to say my heart rate may have gone up a bit at that point! Well once on board, the medics gave me something to help my breathing and they kept me calm whilst they took me to Mackay in Queensland! The rest is the boring hospital bit, so that’s all for now folks!

Ashleigh (on the far right), Jane’s Knight in Shining Armour.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Great Barrier Reef, Hamilton Island | 6 Comments

Best of Both Worlds

Posted on March 20, 2025 by julieallen36

After our koala experience it was still only early in the day and we were happy to go back to the house for a chill. However, we were looking at the weather for our trip the next day and it didn’t look too promising…perhaps a little bit too windy. We decided to take a chance and see if we could change our trip to that afternoon instead as we really didn’t want to miss out. Luckily for us, they had space.

We had our lunch at the apartment and then at 12:45 we were checked in for our ‘Best of Both Worlds’ helicopter flight with Hamilton Air. This really was going to be a trip of a lifetime and I was incredibly excited to be doing it. We met our helicopter pilot , Aaron, and after we were weighed, he took us out to the micro helicopter that was waiting for us on the tarmac. It was indeed micro and we agreed that Jane would sit upfront with Aaron and I’d be in the back.

We set off and were soon flying over the sandy bays, forested hillsides and sparkling sea. It had turned into a rather lovely, hot sunny afternoon.

Soon we were flying right along Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island. This is the place I’ve wanted to see for such a long time as it often features in the lists of best beaches in the world etc. It is much longer than I’d expected at 7kms and is famous for its dazzling white 98% pure silica sand and turquoise waters. Lots of boat trips visit the beach and in fact we’d be doing one of these the day after next. But for now Aaron promised to land us where there’d be no one else around. Well, this was almost true…although to start with there was another helicopter landed right near us. Once we landed, Aaron helped us get out and set up a picnic mat and umbrella for us. He even offered us some bubbles, but we declined and just had water! The silica sand is incredibly bright but it doesn’t actually get hot on your feet so it was lovely to walk around and then have a paddle. We had about 45 mins here and Aaron encouraged us to have a swim. I was a little bit nervous of the stingers but after a while I decided to go for it and had a tiny dip, just so I could say I did! The water was lovely and warm and ‘sans’ (without) Jellyfish!

Jane meanwhile took lots of photos as the light kept changing with the sun coming in and out of the clouds. It really is the most beautiful place although how exactly we were going to fill a day here in 2 days time, I wasn’t sure.

Next we were back in the helicopter and now we flew over the other famous view of Hill Inlet. Here the silica sand swirls about in the mouth of the inlet and it is a spectacular sight.

Now Aaron said it would be about a 25 mins flight until we reached our next stop which was Hardy Reef on the Outer Great Barrier Reef. In the meantime we flew over the incredible reefs for miles admiring the colours and patterns below. He pointed out Hook Reef and the Instagram Favourite ‘Heart Reef’ which we circled twice. Some parts of the reef are exposed whereas in other places the water can be up to 60metres deep.

Eventually, we could see the pontoon of Reefworld at Hardy Reef and we landed onto a separate floating platform and waited whilst the big boat full of day trippers packed up and left. Thank goodness, it had 240 people on board and looked a bit hectic. Once they’d gone we were picked up by Regan on a tender and taken the short distance over to the pontoon. The only people remaining at Reefworld were us and the handful of folk who’d be staying overnight! Whilst Aaron got things organised we had a look through the windows of the underwater chamber and then it was time to get into our Stinger suits. These are basically a one piece blue suit that covers you from head to toe and protects you from Jellyfish stings. They insist that everyone wears them out here and we looked like a very attractive couple of Smurfs. We got our masks, snorkels, life vests, cameras and fins ready and Aaron gave us the instructions on where to swim etc. Let the adventures begin….this was where Jane had first learned that she could snorkel but now would be my first opportunity to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Great Barrier Reef, Hamilton Island | Leave a comment

Breakfast with the Koalas

Posted on March 19, 2025 by julieallen36

The next day we woke up early very excited about our plans for the day. We had a special treat planned which was our kind Christmas present from David and Jayne.

We went off in the Golf Buggy for our appointment for breakfast at Hamilton Island Wildlife. It’s in a gorgeous tropical setting but is only very small. Our treat was to have an ‘experience’ with the koalas in the cafe area and we could have a cup of coffee there too! When we arrived there were already lots of people in the cafe but when the keeper arrived and went into the glass enclosure with the koala, we found ourselves at the front of the queue. We tried to be polite and let the lady with the three kids go first but they were phaffing about too much, so in we went.

Our ‘experience’ was basically getting to stand really close to the koala and have our photos taken. We were even allowed to stroke it although we were both very cautious of doing this. The keeper had just woken the koala up and so it was quite alert, whereas later on it just dropped off to sleep! We also learned a little bit about Koalas from the keeper but don’t ask me what, as I was too enamoured with the cute beauty to take any notice! We had a lovely time but after about 15 mins it was time to let someone else have a go.

After this we walked around the rest of the enclosures where they also had more koalas, a dingo, all sorts of bouncy wallabies and kangaroos as well as some birds. We thought it was a lovely experience, thanks to Dave and Jayne. Xx

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Hamilton Island, Koala | 2 Comments

The White Lotus Series 23- Hamilton Island

Posted on March 17, 2025 by julieallen36

Today (well actually about a week ago) we moved onto Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday Islands, Queensland. Getting here involved a 2 hour flight from Sydney to Hamilton Island. Originally, we thought we’d be staying in Airlie Beach but after a little mis-understanding in our booking plans, we ended up actually on this island paradise.

It was an easy flight north over Brisbane and Gympie (love that name) . This involved flying high above the remains of ex-Cyclone Alfred which had caused a lot of damage in the area. However, today it wasn’t even really very bumpy. Phew.

As we flew into the island we had excellent views and as we got off the plane the heat and humidity hit us. We’d arrived in the tropics for sure! It’s only a small airport and we were soon collecting our bags and meeting our young rep Sienna.

There are hardly any full-sized vehicles on Hamilton Island, which is v small and so everyone drives around in golf buggies. Our holiday home came with its own golf buggy and now was the time for me to learn to drive it. Whoopee! I’ve never driven a golf buggy before and my only experience of something similar was we rented some sort of buggy in Malta for a day. Those were really difficult to drive, turn and brake smoothly. Luckily, these were much better and you could turn them on a sixpence.

Sienna put all our bags on her buggy and we went off in convoy upto our apartment at No 7 Compass Point. The cleaners were still sorting out and so we decided to go back down to the harbour and do a bit of shopping for our self catering stay. We discovered the marvellous IGA supermarket. We had a lovely time exploring the aisles of this emporium looking at all the exotic things that we could put in our trolley. Apples, tomatoes, bread, cereals, water, Heinz Baked Beans and dried chicken noodle soup! What a treat we were going to have. The only thing missing was booze! The friendly lady said we needed to go right next door to see Hamish in the ‘Bottle O’. Here we got our selves a cold bottle of rose and a few Lashes beers.

The view over the harbour from the IGA is picture perfect with the most incredible turquoise blue water I think I’ve ever seen. There are some pretty tasty super yachts in the harbour too. However, now it was time for us to whizz backup to our apartment in the buggy. My face hurt from smiling so much at the joy of driving about!

Upon arrival at our apartment I could not believe the result that Jane had got us here. Our apartment was huge and mostly newly refurbished. The lounge had massive sliding doors that lead out onto a decked area overlooking the fabulous palms and gumtrees and down to the water. It soon started raining again but we could sit on the deck undercover and chill for the first time in a while. It was so peaceful with just the chatter of birds which turned out to be our friendly group of Cockatoos. The sign said not to encourage them by feeding them but clearly the French folk upstairs didn’t understand this as at one point they had 3 lined up on their balcony!

A little later we relented and came inside to the cool air conditioning and my mind started to wander towards tea. We ordered a pizza online and then I jumped in the buggy to go and fetch it. Always a pleasure, never a chore! The most surreal thing happened as I got to the end of our lane when I stopped to look right before I turned out. There was a small creature staring right back at me and I’d never seen one of these before. I found myself saying out loud ‘Oh hello. What are you? And what are you doing here?’ . It was in fact the big cute eyes of a wallaby but before she had time to reply, she bounced off across the road. Unbelievable and just wait until I tell Jane what she’d missed.

Apart from that, the trip to fetch the pizza was uneventful and we had a relaxing evening inside before it was time for bed.