Category: General

As I wrap up my notes on this awesome trip down under, I remind my readers that I write usually very brief messages so this will be my last lengthy blog at least for awhile. This draft was being written as we flew back home. The flight to Dallas is about 16 hours so why not write of our adventures?

We landed back in Sydney for our third and final week in Australia and was taken to the cruise ship. Seeing Sydney Harbor from the ship as the sunset was fabulous.

Our first night at sea was a bit rough but not too bad and was smooth sailing for the rest of our cruise. No need to promote life on a cruise liner while onboard as most readers are experienced. If not, book one to enjoy your own experience.

Our first port was in Melbourne. There is so much to see from views at the Eureka Skydeck to rides on vintage train to view wildlife. We chose the City tour and River Boat excursion for our trip. Prior to the excursion we had a wonderful walk along Port Phillip Bay or earlier in 1839 known as Sandridge, Port Melbourne. The walk along the Bay is wonderful but I suppose weather dependent since the Tasman Sea and Bass Straight join forces to make the sea a huge turbulance sometimes. Lucky for us, not this time.

Our city tour included a stop at the Shrine of Remembrance where at 11 each day a brief memorial service is held when a light travels across the words “Greater Love Hath No Man” to remember fallen soulders. Poppies fill a rembrance area lest we forget. From there we toured a botanical garden and Cook’s Cottage before our river boat ride on the Yarra River via the Southgate Lower Promenade.

We were back on the ship that evening to sail away to Hobart, Tasmania.

Another day at sea through the Bass Straits along Tasmania to port at Hobart. What sad history this port has as the place where prisoners were first brought. What makes it sad is that most of the crimes were petty in our understaning but yielded 5, 7, 14 year up to life sentences. Hard to imagine how a civilized country can be so uncivilized to its own people. Richmond Gaol “jail” is Australia’s oldest existing and best perserved colonial gaol built in 1825. We did not get a chance to tour that one as opted to tour the Female Factory. The buildings are mostly gone but the outline exists and between 1788 to 1853 some 25,000 women were imprisoned behind its walls. Many women arrived with infants and children of all ages. The infants stayed with the moms but others were farmed out as slaves. Many of the infants died as did the mothers. Those that survived the harsh conditions were often sent out as maids only to return if mis-obeyed or became sick or pregnant again. Wonder how they mis-obeyed?

On a brighter note, we did tour Australia’s oldest brewery called Cascade Brewery. It started out as a saw mill in 1824 but the owner was a bit too loose with client’s money so was also sent to gaol. He was not defeated as he dreamed up a better use than a saw mill while in prison. Made good use of his confinement!

We left Hobart for open seas to Wollongong. Spending another day at sea, we arrived in Wollongong next day with news media, boats, seadoos, helicopters and planes all greeting at the dock. We made history as first cruisliner to dock there ever. The town came out all to meet us and welcome us to there city. Just so happened that a Harley Thunder Roll event also in town. There were 1600 rolling through the town. What a site! Since we had seen Wollongong from our hill top views already driving with friends last time in Sydney, we decided to stay in the center and shop. The shops were awsome so made our day in the town a wonderful relaxing experience.

We sailed away from Wollongong for Sydney that evening. If you look at the map, you will discover there is not much distance to travel. When on a cruise, who cares. Right?

Our last day in Sydney was one last trip to Circle Quay to see the Opra House, Bridge and awesome harbor one more time. Fond memories now replace our journey for many years to come.

Nice to be back home to get ready for election day. O no. Is it too early to book another adventure?

T

Just a little recap for any new readers to my blog. I have been traveling for 4 weeks and writing about my adventures with my beautiful wife. Our first week was in Hawaii. The second week was spent in Sydney, Australia. You can go back to read my earlier notes. Now, this is our 2nd week in Australia where we spent the whole week with relatives in and around Brisbane. Though I have never met these relatives from my wife’s side, I feel a very close connection to their whole family through a book I read before this trip. The true story of a heart breaking loss of a child and the community strength of the whole Northern Territory plus all of Australia is written in this book called the “The Lost Boy” by Robert Wainwright. I will not try to cover the story here but encourage you to read this book to learn more about the heart of Australia.

Before I get into my 2nd week, I think it should help you Americans to know some common words not easily understood. Here is a brief list.

1. Piddle means to urinate so replace with “muck around”.
2. Tire is heard as “tar”.
3. Bible is heard as “barber”.
4. Pearl is heard as “pill”.
5. Meat is heard as “mick”.
So do not piddle in a person’s shed as they may hit you with a tar or a barber and say what a pill mick head you shella.

Also, concession is not snacks instead it means benefits for old age pensioners.

We landed in Brisbane and immediately felt at home. We met children and grand children as if they were our own. We took family photos overlooking Brisbane and Mt Coot-tha then traveled to their home in Caloundra. Currimundi is a suberb of Caloundra as I understand where we saw beautiful beaches with nice walks along the beach for shops and restaraunts.  What a beautiful drive along the Sunshine Coast! We met my wife’s aunt and heard stories of old. New stories were added to our memory bank. The next two days we had more walks along the beaches, walked in a protected rain forrest, sampled local cheeses, viewed McCarthy’s Lookout to see the Blackall Range and the Glass House Mountains, and Gerrard’s Lookout. What a great time to be with family seeing sights we would not have seen otherwise!

The next day we spent all day at Steve Irwin’s zoo. Most people know Steve in the USA for his daring stunts with crocodiles but visiting the Australia Zoo home of the Crocodile Hunter was awesome. I wish I could show my grandchildren the passion for his dreams. It is a first class exhibition of God’s unique creatures. I encourage the reader to research yourself.

Back at our home away from home in Caloundra, we continued to share our family stories with more children and grand children. We swam, ate some awesome meals, fished for crabs and actually caught a few for the barbie.

The weekend was spent more of the same and Church included. This brings me to another observation about the Auzzies. Their Christian faith journey is strong. We witnessed our family’s personal health struggles and their refusal to believe in man’s prognosis over faith in God and His miracles.

The next day we headed back to Sydney for a cruise down to Melbourne, Tasmania, then back to Wollongong and Sydney.

The memories we made with our Brisbane family will last a lifetime and hopefully will be past on to the next generations in these words and pictures.

T

The magic continues as we go to new adventures in the large island called Australia. In fact, Australia has about 8000 small islands around her coastline making it a great attraction for any beach lover. The most noticable attraction I found fascinating was not the beaches but the people. They are all friendly with a great sence of humor and all seemed to speak a similar dialect. We spent one week in Sydney, one week in Brisbane, back to Sydney to cruise south to Melbourne, Tasmania before heading back to Sydney with a stop at Wollongong. What a trip! I started writing this blog while we travel through calm seas to Wollongong. I put this trip in chronicle order by weeks. This is the first week.

We met two Australian couples on our Hawaiian journey that are now forever connected with us as friends. It is amazing how God works to connect his people. Just a breif encounter to offer a group picture turned into a wonderful friendship. We exchanged emails and planned a meeting in Sydney. A few days later, we found ourselves planning a week end together outside Sydney to the blue mountains to the west and south to Gymea. Before I get ahead of myself, let me share the beautiful sites of Sydney.

We saw “My Fair Lady” at the iconic Sydney Opera House and toured Bondi beach on our first full day. Our second day was a climb up to the equally iconic Harbor Bridge which took about 3 hours but the narrative and scenic view was well worth the climb. Our 3rd day was spent on a ferry to Manly beach. Great place to shop! We finished with more shopping around the Rocks and a nice meal in the sky tower restaurant. The next day we walked more around the Rocks and in Hyde Park, spent a great time at an Asian Noodle Festival finishing our 4th day hanging out. The adventures continue with our new friends.

The Blue Mountains are called blue because of the vast eucalyptus trees that are very toxic and when together in mass, cause the blue affect from a distance. It is amazing how these trees are the Koula staple diet. They will eat 5 kilos or about 10 pounds of its leaves daily. Their digestive system is so complicated and takes most of their energy to break down the toxins. No wander they sleep 20 out of a 24 hour day! Our new friends picked us up on the 5th day in Sydney and drove us to the Hydro Majestic Hotel founded in 1904. It is an Icon of Australia located atop an escarpment in the blue mountains. It was built by a retailing magnate named Mark Foy as a lavish hydropathic establishment for the wealthy and influential of the period. He believed in the miracles of water to cure along with the pure air of the mountains. Interesting to note that the hotel was opened on the 4th of July, 1904. The extravagant sanatorium lost its fashion shortly after construction but the Hydro Majestic Hotel remains a beautiful site to see.

We then went to ride a very steep railroad incline originally for cole mining now for site seeing of the three sister mountains, falls and bush walks. We met up with the second couple later that evening for a wonderful blessed meal.

On our 6th day, we had breakfast and walk around the beach near Gymea and a lovely drive out towards Wollongong to see more beaches and cliffs. People actually hang glide off these cliffs! We had a great picnic along the Hacking river. Did you know that a Kookabura is a very tricky bird? He flew down and took one of our freshly cooked sausages. Cheeky bird!

We left our friends with sadness that we were departing but gladness that we now have new friends forever. May God grant them peace and joy. Thanks for such a great time!

T

It has occurred to me lately that life is one great big game. I love history and find myself sometimes in the stories of old. I have been traveling with my wife of 37 years with close friends to the Highlands of Scotland meeting family and other friends along the way. Now, that is a land of events that have changed history forever! How about those McDonald’s and Cambel’s! The McDonald’s were massacred in Glencoe region because they were too slow to claim allengence to William of Orange. Ok, I may be historically challenged but makes the Hatfield and McCoy dispute look tame. What about those Jacobites and Rob Roy? Research the life and challenges of Scotland’s family histories if interested. Even my own last name is linked with the ancient clans of Scotland. I believe we are led by our desires to seek the unknown and devine guidance to point us into our own historical storyline. It is a game! The Wars of the Roses was a series of wars for control of the throne of England. They were fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet, those of Lancaster and York. Did you know the war of roses is where the author of the game of thrones got his inspiration? There is a lot of parallels between the Lancaster and York families in the English history and those of the fictional series. Lannister is to Lancaster as Stark is to York. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin is an exciting twist of fiction and facts to make history come alive in our imaginations. I will leave to your own explorations for further discoveries. Did you know early American patriats battled barbaric tribes of Muslim pirates along the Barbary coast in North Africa before we even had a formalized navy? Also, will leave that up to you to discover fundamental truths that history does indeed repeat itself. It is all a game of life. It did not matter that Henry VIII had a daughter to carry on his lineage. He wanted a son and was determined to revise traditional values to suit his purpose. The world have fought battles for centuries on some of these revisions. What does that have to do with the here and now? As human beings in the game of life, we move along the flow and swept into history. We should strive to keep our values pure and our traditions unchanged but the course of history is full of events out of our personal control. I believe it is how we handle the changes as they come that make the difference in our lives. Afterall, it is all in the game. I pray you get in the game of life and not simply float along the tides of change only to wake up one day saying what happened?

T

History was made in the year 1066. Anyone other than my British connections know why? Okay, I will let you know. The Battle of Hastings in October led to on Christmas Day, 1066, William being crowned the first Norman King of England in Westminster Abbey. Some may say this was the beginning of the British Empire. Now, before I get hammered for getting my facts historically incorrect, I stand corrected if slightly off target. But what about Brexit today? Britain exited the European Union this day, June 24, 2016. Now, I have heard that today marks the beginning of the end for the British Empire. On the other hand, some say they are now much stronger by declaring their independents. Didn’t the USA declare independents in 1776 or dare we forget? I am excited that today we witnessed a historical event and I for one say good for you Britain. I hope you all the best in your decision. I look forward to this country becoming more involved in our own history as we celebrate our independence. May we never forget our history and the price we paid for our freedom.

T