Posts Tagged With: Australia

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.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Hamilton Island, Queensland, Whitsunday’s | 1 Comment

A Bridge Too Far?

Posted on March 15, 2025 by julieallen36

Today was our last day in Sydney and we felt the need to get up closer to a couple of her icons. No, not Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman but the Bridge and the Opera House.

We set off early in the cool breeze of Sunday morning and strolled through the Rocks area where there was a nice arty market going on. It was very busy and there were some tasteful stalls selling art, food, crafts etc etc.

We were already under part of the Sydney Harbour Bridge but it was high above us and so we had to study several maps to find our way up. It was all rather confusing and looked like it might be quite a climb. We had no intention of climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge! Lots of people (Sue!) have encouraged us to do this but it’s not for us. I’m still feeling wobbly after the train journey and don’t like heights much at the best of times. Jane meanwhile was put off by the fact that you can’t take your own camera up there!! There are a variety of different climbs you can do. For example the Summit Tour will take you up the Upper Arch to the peak where you get a 360 degree view of Sydney. You then come back down on the arch on the other side of the bridge. It takes 3 hours and is 1332 steps. Or you could choose the ‘Summit Insider’ which takes just 2.5 hours and is only 1002 steps through the mesh of ironwork of the lower arch and back. Or you could choose to do the Burrawa- Aboriginal Climb (same as the Summit but hearing about an Aboriginal perspective on the bridge. Finally you could do ‘The Ultimate’ climb taking you across the entire span of the Bridge from South to North and back again. This takes 3.5 hrs and is 1621 steps. To be honest, that’s another reason why Jane and I didn’t do it- how would you choose?!

Anyway, meanwhile luckily I found us a lift to take us up to the pedestrian walkway at road level! How happy were we😀. There were lots of people doing the walk in both directions and others out for a jog who seemed to think we were a bit of a nuisance. The views over the edge of the harbour and city skyline are fantastic even from this level as we walked over the water and back again.

To celebrate our accomplishment we went back to The Rocks and found the oldest bar in Sydney- The Fortune of War which has been here since 1828. We had two schooners of 150 Lashes beer by James Squire which was very refreshing indeed. But the pub as a whole was a bit of a dive full of ‘Bogan’s’. So we went back to the Rocks Cafe for lunch but it was v busy today so we had to eat inside, upstairs which wasn’t quite the same.

Now we felt a bit hot and weary so we went back to the hotel for a blast of air con and a rest. After a couple of hours we headed out again, this time to explore more of the gorgeous Opera House. By now it was about 5-30pm and unfortunately, we hadn’t done our research and hadn’t realised that you can’t actually go inside the Opera House unless you have a ticket for an event or are in an organised tour. We’d missed our opportunity for that, so this was the third time Jane’s visited and still hasn’t been inside to admire the architecture!

Anyway, we wandered around trying to take arty photos of the sails but what we really wanted to see was the light show that takes place 3 x most nights. This takes place on the smaller set of sails and the best viewing spot is the ‘patio’ at the top of the famous steps. The show is called ‘Badu Gili -Healing Spirit‘. It celebrates the work of local and International First Nations artists and lasts just 6 mins. It was indeed very beautiful to watch the various projections make animals, sealife, botanicals and people ‘dance’ across the sails.

Once the show was over, we made our way back along the harbour side past the buzzing Opera Bar and said goodbye to the sparkling Sydney skyline.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Sydney | 4 Comments

Bus to Bondi

Posted on March 13, 2025 by julieallen36

Sorry once again for the radio silence. We’ve been busy having various ‘adventures’ in Hamilton Island. I can tell you more about those in due course but for now thought we’d catch up with Sydney.

So, back on day 3 in Sydney we decided to try and be a bit more relaxed. Today we were off to visit Bondi Beach and we’re going on the bus! Hurrah a new mode of transport. We caught the 333 from Circular Quay which was ready and waiting for us and because it was early, we easily got a seat. Today was Saturday so we’d noticed that the CBD was very quiet. During the week, the bars get busy after work- just like the good old days back in the UK!

I traced our route on my phone so I could work out where we needed to get off. We went through the very busy Bondi Junction. There was a huge queue of people waiting to get on as the alternative way to get to the beach is to catch the train and then hop on our bus.

Bondi Beach is huge and we wanted to get off at one end where the Icebergs Swimming Pool is. It gets its name because it’s famous for people swimming all year round. Jane wasn’t keen because the water looked ‘dirty’. I think it’s just natural seawater and looks spectacular with the rocks and splashing waves all around it.

Again, today the weather wasn’t too great and so we’d decided not to do the whole Bondi to Coogee Walk. It involves quite a lot of steep steps and there was a definite chance of rain. We had some obligatory photos on the rocks and then a coffee inside Icebergs.

Afterwards we had a little walk along the paved walkway which was v beautiful. I climbed the first set of steep steps to have a look at the views the other way. There were lots of incredibly fit people out for a run.

As I turned back it started to rain and this time we’d come prepared with our foldaway rain ponchos. They did just the job but looked ridiculous.

I then made my way down onto the beach but Jane stayed at the top to take some pics. Her bad back was still hanging about so we took the opportunity to just not make it any worse. The beach is pretty impressive and there were lots of people out surfing. Unfortunately, there were also lots of small ex-Jellyfish on the beach. Yuk.

After our morning down here we caught the bus back to town St Martin’s Place and walked through to the New South Wales Art Gallery. It was a relief to hand in our heavy back packs and we headed to the cafe as our first stop. Here we had a nice cup of tea and our very first ‘Lamington’ to share. This little beauty is like a Raspberry Ruffle cake.

After this we had about an hour to check out the best of the artwork. In the modern bit of the gallery called Naala Badu (seeing waters) we really enjoyed the Aboriginal art. Some huge pieces of colourful, dotty, splendidness and some smaller, more ‘primitive’ pieces of painting and ceramics depicting everyday scenes.

Next we visited the older building called Naala Nura (seeing Country). Here Jane visited the blue walls of the European and International section and I ran round the pink walls of the wonderful 20th century Australian collection.

We had a walk back to our hotel for a rest before heading out again for dinner. Tonight Jane found us a fab little Chinese restaurant TAO near the main shopping district. Jane was in search of the XO Sauce which she remembered having last time she was in Sydney over 20 years ago.

So much for a more relaxing day, eh?!

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Bondi, Sydney | 3 Comments

Back to the 80’s and 90’s

Posted on March 10, 2025 by julieallen36

Back in the 1980s I’d read a book which had always stuck in my mind. I’d forgotten what it was called but I remembered that it involved a ferry trip across Sydney Harbour to Manly. So on my list of things to do in Sydney, I had the famous ferry trip. What struck me about the book at the time was that, whilst I was commuting to London from Reigate on a smoky, dirty train every day, people across the world could catch a ferry to their office.

I’ve discovered that the book was indeed called ‘Last Ferry to Manly’ written by Jill Neville in 1984 and is about a woman leaving her life in London behind and going back to her roots in Sydney.

So even though the weather wasn’t great today , rather overcast with sun forecast for later, we decided to make the trip.

This involves catching the dear old ferry to Manly down at Circular Quay, just at the end of our road. With a bit of waffly guidance from the helpful volunteer. We sorted me an Opal card from the ever present Ezymart and then we were both able to tap and go. The ferry was quite large and at 9-30am had hardly anyone on it . We easily got a seat outside upfront so that we could enjoy the views of the harbour, bridge and Opera House.

But as we got further out into the harbour, it got distinctly breezy and we weren’t really dressed for this. So , we gave up and went inside, just before an announcement came over the tannoy that said they recommended everyone to come inside as it was going to be choppier than normal and you might get rather wet. The two who chose to stay outside did indeed get wet! 😱

We started to get really tossed about as we approached the mouth of the harbour and it was really unpleasant and a tiny bit scary even if everyone was pretending it was funny.

However, it didn’t last long and as we turned towards Manly things calmed down. Manly Wharf is very picturesque with a backdrop of Norfolk Pine trees making the water deep emerald green. Unfortunately, it was still rather cloudy. We visited the friendly Tourist Information Centre and then got sidetracked doing some shopping down the pedestrian ‘Corso’. We needed ‘Rashee’ vests for the next stages of our trip and we were successful in the numerous surf shops of Manly.

The place is busy but has a relaxed laid back surfer vibe and we walked along one end of the huge long sandy main beach of Manly. The beach walk has a mix of floppy blond-haired surfer kids, dazed tourists and the genteel retirees of Sydney strolling along. I even found an Art Group out for a spot of En Plein Air painting but disappointingly they weren’t very chatty and seemed to think I was a nutter not to be engaged with.

We had a coffee and snack at a little takeaway place next to the Surf and Rescue Club and watched the world go by before continuing our planned walk round to Shelly Beach. This had been recommended by Kirie off the train and is an easy 20 mins walk along a paved walkway. Today, however, it was very busy as the ‘Nippers’ (9 year olds) were in town for their swimming and life saving competitions. It was a very colourful scene but unfortunately it started to rain and we had absolutely no protection with us! So we tried our best to shelter under the rocks and palm trees with everyone else. By the time the rain stopped , we’d run out of time and after collecting our freebie plastic (why?) Manly glasses form the Tourist Info folk, we headed back and caught the return ferry to Sydney.

After a quick relax and change we were off out again. This time it was back to the 90s. I’d arranged ages ago to meet up with an old Lloyds Bank colleague from my days working as branch manager in Islington. Andy worked with me and back in 1997 when he was 22, I’d encouraged him to go off travelling when he wasn’t sure whether to stick with a career with Lloyds or not! Off he went ….to Thailand , India and then Australia. It was meant to be a round the world trip but in Australia he met Emma and never looked back. Nor did he ever complete the round the world trip! I hadn’t been in touch with Andy since way back then but found him via LinkedIn! So tonight, we met up at the iconic Opera Bar on the quayside next to the Opera House in the sunshine. I met Emma, and Andy met Jane, for the first time. It was great to catch up (well, at least some of the last 30 years!). Emma was absolutely lovely and it turned out that the Minstrels we’d carried all the way over from the UK for Andy, were in fact for Emma, who now thought we were lovely too🤗. We heard all about life in Sydney, they live in Kingsford just south of Bondi Beach and have 3 boys aged 22, 18 and 16. But they still enjoyed their exotic travels and I think it’s fair to say that Andy doesn’t regret leaving Lloyds! He’s worked for several of the big Aussie banks but now works to Woolworth’s specialising in Payments.

From the Opera Bar we made our way over to Barangaroo and upto CIRQ rooftop bar- 26 floors up in the Crown Building currently the tallest in Sydney at 271 and 75 floors. The views from the open air here were spectacular if a little breezy and we enjoyed a selection of tasty ‘tapas’ like dishes with our Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon which apparently cost £75. Hm bit of a mistake there on my part when the guy said the cheaper one wasn’t available. Giddy with the excitement of the day is my excuse. I never was very good on the Foreign Exchange counter.

At about 9pm we got a taxi back to our hotel and said our farewells to Andy and Emma as they ran off to catch their train home. What a lovely day it had been.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Manly, Sydney | Leave a comment

32,000 steps around Sydney

Posted on March 10, 2025 by julieallen36

The next day we woke up at 8am after a luxurious nights sleep in our hotel. We’re staying in the Tankstream Hotel on Pitt Street which is right in the CBD with fantastic access to all the main things we wanted to do. Well done Jane👏

We got ready for the day and headed out onto the wet streets. It had been raining but the forecast looked more promising. We picked up a map from reception and tried to get our bearings. We were heading for the Botanical Gardens with the plan to walk round there and then carry on to see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

Unfortunately, the receptionist told us a fib about there only being one access point to the gardens so we did rather more walking than I’d planned. The Botanical Gardens are pretty large and the sign posts aren’t great so we ended up actually leaving the park in search of a coffee. We tried to find the site of the gorgeous picture in our guide book which had called us here in the first place but the lady in Info said those flowers weren’t out just now and in fact , they’d moved that lovely tree because it was falling down and she couldn’t remember where they’d put it!

Anyway….there were lots of beautiful trees, ferns, roses and unusual plants to look at and some interesting birds too. We saw colourful laurikeets and white ibis are ten a penny round here, basically like pigeons scavenging in the litter bins!

Next we got a better map of the gardens and headed to Mrs Macquarie’s point and chair. Governor Lachlan Macquarie was one of the v early Governors of the colony of New South Wales and basically a fairly decent bloke trying to keep everyone happy (Government back home, military, convicts and Indigenous locals). Later on he lost favour as a group of colonists reported him as being too liberal with the convicts and too generous to the locals. The sandstone chair was carved by convicts for his wife Elizabeth , who liked to gaze out to the bay from this point.

We liked staring at the view here today too, although I suspect a little different today with both the Bridge and the Opera House on fine display. There were lots of other tourists here too including a large group of Korean’s who rushed about madly trying to get their pics. One of them was a little too ambitious and slid off the rock he jumped onto and into the sea, up to his waist in sea water.

Meanwhile, I introduced the Korean’s to sea glass hunting!

We wandered round to the carved sandstone wave rock and then made our way up to a food van where we got a lemonade and sat under the shade of a huge fig tree. Here we got chatting to a nice lady from Brisbane. She’d escaped the incoming Cyclone Alfred to watch her son debut for the state Rugby team. We’ve met several folk from Brisbane now, all starting to worry about what this huge storm would bring. Folk back home have also asked if we’re going to be ok as our next stop is Hamilton Island in Queensland. However, it’s been described as being like us being in W Ireland and the storm happening in Portugal so I think we will be ok. 👍

The cold drink revised us and so we continued our walk all along the waterfront where I did a sketch of the Opera House and Jane read her book. We then walked around to the Rocks where Jane found us The Rocks Cafe to eat at. It was lovely having a meal outside. It was only 4-30pm but the place was busy and the food and service excellent. We even took a slice of Passionfruit Cheesecake and Pecan pie home for pudding later. Yum.

Back at the hotel we relaxed in the air con and I got creative with collage on my sketch of the Opera House and caught up with this blog. Jane meanwhile fell asleep, the 32, 000 steps had nearly broken her.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Sydney, The Rocks | Leave a comment

Into the Blue Mountains

Posted on March 8, 2025 by julieallen36

After all of the fun and games yesterday, we had a sedate dinner on board the train and then did a bit of tidying up our cabin before bedtime. This would be our last sleep onboard and I was already saying things like ‘I don’t want to get off the train…..boo’.

But we needed to be up early again for our trip into the Blue Mountains. We got off the train at Mount Victoria where a fleet of buses were waiting to take us all on our different tours. Our bus was a big red London Double Decker bus that struggled to make it up some of the hills around here but caught the attention of the Korean tourists.

As we drove to Scenic World the driver gave a v good commentary on the Blue Mountains. However, today it looked as if nothing would be particularly scenic as the mountains were covered in mist! When we got off we were handed freebie Indian Pacific ponchos which were very welcome as it was rather damp.

Interestingly, as we get nearer to Sydney we are catching up with all the history that I’ve been listening to on the superb ‘A History of Australia Podcast’. I’ve been listening to this back home whilst taking Molly for walks and doing chores etc. It’s by an Australian undergraduate called Anthony and is really good (nerdy). So far I’ve listening to 37 episodes and we’re only upto 1830!

But I do know that the Blue Mountains were seen as an impassable barrier by the first settlers from the time of Captain Cook landing in 1770. It wasn’t until 1813 that Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson along with 4 servants (convicts) and 6 dogs (let’s call them Woody, Buddy, Winston, Molly, Maevie and Dougal) , 2 cats (Bibi and Lily) and 1 Budgie (Toto the Intrepid) managed to find a way across. I do feel an entirely separate story coming on about this unlikely band but perhaps that should be for another day!

We drove through the town of Blaxland which was first settled way back then and allowed the colony to continue because it provided access to reliable farmland further beyond. Notably today I spotted the billboard advertising MacDonald’s in Blaxland so still providing a source of food today. Boom boom.

Meanwhile back at ‘Not so very scenic world’, Katoomba. It was time to get off the bus and start the rides! Basically, here they’ve created a bunch of different ways to travel across the canyons and forests of the Blue Mountains. First up was the Scenic Skyway which at 270m is Australia’s highest cable car. I’m sure the views normally are terrific but today….nothing! However, we were allowed in before everyone else which was great.

This took us to the next ride the Scenic Railway. At a 52 degree incline this is the steepest passenger train in the world. The metal seats are bucket like but when the driver said ‘hold on tight’ I thought it was a joke as there was nothing to hold us in and I had my rucksack in one hand and my camera in the other. As we set off the train tilted vertically and I felt myself sliding down. Oops! I was able to jab my foot up against the front and stop myself from….well , let’s not think about that but I do have a few Health and Safety concerns about this ride. Imagine if one of the tiny 3 sisters from the train were on here , I don’t think they could hold themselves on.

After these thrills and nearly spills , we took a leisurely stroll along the Scenic Walkway amid the ancient, temperate rainforest. Here we got up close to the flora of Eucalyptus, Banksia, Ferns, Acacia, Honeysuckle, rhododendron and huge strong vines.

By now the mists were starting to clear as we took our final ride on the Scenic Cableway. This is Australia’s biggest cable car and takes us back upto the Scenic Shopping Emporium. Jane and I ignored all this and just started to admire the views across the vast expanse of mountains and forests below.

But we’re not finished yet….no. We leave scenic world behind now and drive over to Echo Point which is the famous viewpoint for the iconic Three Sisters. These are 3 ancient sandstone formations from 200 million years ago (Triassic) named Meehni, Wimlah and Gunneddoo by the Aboriginal indigenous people.

But even though the sun was out we weren’t going to look at them. It was time for the Indian Pacific folk to eat lunch and consume vast quantities of free beer and wine. Dear God, they love a freebie! Unfortunately, around about the Scenic Walkway, I’d started to feel horrible motion ‘sickness’ after being on the train for so long. Not exactly sick but just like I was still walking on something that was rocking and feeling very unsteady. At lunch I discovered that others (all women) were feeling the same way.

So as soon as we’d scoffed the excellent taster board , Jane and I skipped off to see the view of the Three Sisters. Now the mists had completely cleared and the formations looked stunning in the sunshine! Not for the first time this trip, I felt a little bit over-whelmed (tired).

It had been a great trip, once again extremely well organised by the team at Journey Beyond who run the Indian Pacific Train. At Katoomba Station we boarded a local train that had been specially hired to get us back into Sydney and relaxed for the 2 hours it took before we arrived into Sydney Central Station.

Our luggage had all been taken off the original train and lay waiting for us in orderly queues next to where we got off. Amazing but then it all became a bit of a bunfight as people rushed to find their things. Suddenly there was a scream from a nearby train door and it was one of the 3 sisters who had fallen between the train and the platform and badly hurt her leg. Poor lady. The Indian Pacific team did all they could to look after her but that was definitely going to hurt in the morning.

Of course, we had our own issues what with Jane’s back and there was no way I could lug all of our luggage to a taxi. Did I mention that we had a lot?! So I guarded everything whilst Jane went and fetched Greg, a super helpful chap, who helped us get everything to the taxi queue and then waited with us until one came. Thank you lovely Greg and all of the Indian Pacific crew. The train has been absolutely amazing and we’ve loved everything about it. As I overheard someone else saying ‘I could get used to someone telling me to go here, do this, do that, cook my dinner and make my bed!’

But now it’s welcome to Sydney folks!

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Blue Mountains, Indian Pacific Train, Sydney | 6 Comments

Things to do in Broken Hill

Posted on March 8, 2025 by julieallen36

The next day Jane woke me from my slumber at 6-20am even though we’d agreed we didn’t need to get up until 7. She said she’d had a really bad nights sleep mithering about us not getting on the right tour and running the conversation she’d now be having with Thomas, over and over in her head. Apparently, I’d left the outcome rather too open ended 🤣

Whilst I had a quick shower it was Jane’s turn to march off down the train to see your man. Upon her return she could report that in fact all was well and by chance, two people had cancelled off our first choice tour, so now we were back in again. Nice one Thomas.

So you might wonder what was this incredible tour that we were so keen to join. Well, when in Broken Hill the only tour worth doing is the ‘Shelita, Queen of the Outback Tour’ based on the iconic film from 1994 ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ which we’d watch just before we left for Oz.

It’s a rather sad film and this was the reason we were now doing a tour of a back of beyond town with our fabulous drag queen, Shelita. The surprising thing to me were the other 38 people on this tour whose average age was about 78. I’m not sure some of them knew what they’d signed up for but maybe we’re just dragged in by the word ‘Bingo’.

It was already incredibly hot and so we were all glad to take our tour at a very leisurely pace on foot round the quaint old town. Shelita couldn’t got too fast herself due to the outrageously high heeled shoes, of course. As we ambled along we were shown various landmarks from both the film and mining history of the town.

Next we all got on board our Disco Bus and we drove upto the Lode Line viewpoint and memorial. As we drove along we were accompanied by a selection of jolly ABBA tunes. The viewpoint was on top of the old slag heaps which loom over the entire town.

Up here, Jane and I had a nice chat with Shelita as well as photos. She gave us all the gossip on her meetings with Miriam Margolyes and Griff Rhys Jones who included Shelita in their TV programmes about Oz. But that’s between us and Shelita!

Back on the bus once more and we made our way to a Brewery where we all piled out once more and were encouraged to dress up in their glittery hats and feather boas etc! We had been right at the back in the bus so this meant that we were left to sit on the front table which everyone else had been avoiding like the plague. Tasty snacks were served and beers were cracked open. It must have been about 11-30am by now.

In between, Shelita made several fabulous outfit changes before we had a couple more games. One of which involved guessing the celebrity name from clues. Scooby Doo was indeed the answer! Jane won a lovely Indian Pacific fridge magnet and tote bag. Hurrah!

The morning progressed with Shelita doing some excellent lip syncing to Pet Shops Boys and Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’ etc before we settled down to the serious business of Drag Queen Bingo. This is just like normal bingo except…..no, no just like normal bingo!

The finale was when Shelita said she needed a couple of backing singers and naturally, she chose me and Jane. Now this sort of audience participation is not normally my kind of thing…..but up we got and we’re then joined by a few others including the oldest man on the train who was celebrating his birthday. The music started and Shelita checked in with Jane that we knew the song. There was no mistaking the iconic introduction to YMCA by the Village People and of course we know all the actions, even if I wasn’t 100% sure which way round my C should be. Everyone else was singing along and having a whale of a time and something about the outfit I was wearing made me feel very much like a Village Person! Meanwhile, Jane seemed to forget all about her bad back and it was all joyous fun.

After a few last photos it was time to get back in the Disco Bus which took us back to the train. What a fabulous morning with the really rather lovely Shelita.

Back on the train, people on the other tours tried to convince us that they’d had a very nice time too down the silver mine and in the railway museum 🥱🥱

We were quite exhausted by our morning so Jane lay down and had a nap and I spent the whole afternoon staring out of the cabin window spotting kangaroos. Once again there were many about lurking in the shadows of the trees. Hold on a minute, did that one have a feather boa on?