Just a week left Down Under.

My time in Australia is fast disappearing, just where have the days, weeks and months gone to? In so many ways it has not been like an extended holiday at all, as I have been accepted so warmly into every day life here by so many people.

I have been spending as much time as possible at Jonesy's office working on my book and progress has been very good. I am quite impressed with my own diligence but then again it is a labour of love, and has brought back to me so many memories of a fantastic period in my life.

This has been the longest time that I have spent in an office environment since my retail travel days in the early 1990's. My thoughts have turned to my impending return to the UK and the need to seek some gainful employment. I have a few thoughts (believe it or not) but one of my first tasks will be to finalise the publication of my book.

My dinner looking worried!

So, back to the present and my remaining time in Australia. On Anzac evening I was invited to dinner by Glenda. Dianne, Michael and Jonesy were also in attendance and Glenda did us proud with a fantastic SCMB (Slow Cooked Mediterranean Beef)  dish. Dianne and Michael provided a delicious rice based coconut dessert and we had a brilliant night chatting and laughing over a few glasses of wine.

Four-up not two-up!

Jonesy and I had been given t-shirts by Myra with the legend 'Come in Spinner' upon them. This refers to a game known as 'two-up', where two coins are spun and punters bet on whether they land heads or tails. The game is only legally able to be played on 25th April, Anzac Day. We didn't play needless to say but it was a major event in many pubs across Australia that day.

I have become an honorary member of the Clueless Pub Trivia team and for the first time in my three months here, the team secured first place at Thursdays quiz at the Duke of Wellington. I'd like to say I was an integral part of that success however, as an example of my contribution this was the question. "Which country will host the 2015 Rugby World Cup?". Bearing in mind that I was wearing an England Rugby shirt, my considered answer was 'France'. The actual answer was...you've guessed it, England!

Boy, do I ever live up to the team name. What a miss I'll be to this team when I return to the UK. Any prospective trivia teams in the UK can contact me to negotiate my unique talents for their team now!!!

Friday morning had become power walking morning with Jonesy and Colin but, due to my cellulitis attack, I had been unable to participate for the previous month. This Friday I was up for the 6am start where we were joined by Eadesy (Jonesy's Rugby referee pal) just to make sure we were not slacking.

Breakie at Cha Cha's on The Junction.

After a brisk 45 minute run (well quick walk!), we adjoined to Cha Cha's cafe at The Junction and met Cookie and his wife Jenny for breakfast. This is a weekly occurrence, and is as much a social event amongst good friends. As good a way to start the day as any for sure.

Being my own boss, so to speak, I continued the exercise regime and cycled along the Newcastle Foreshore to Nobbys Beach and then walked along the beach, enjoying the solitude, sun and surf. A few surfers were doing their thing but otherwise the beach was empty. Even in Autumn the temperature today was 24c and I sat for some time reflecting on the last few months, and all of the lovely people who had contributed to making my time here so happy.

Anzac Day 2012.

I attended the Dawn Service at Nobbys Beach, Newcastle to commemorate Anzac Day. It was 25th April, 1915 that Australian and New Zealand forces landed on what is known as Anzac Cove, Gallipoli on the Turkish coast. In the ensuing campaign thousands of lives were lost without ever achieving the desired breakthrough to Constantinople (Istanbul) to support the Russians on the eastern front.

The service commenced at 5am as veterans marched to the staged area where a choir, chaplain and distinguished guests led tributes to the fallen, lest they be forgotten. Despite the wind causing an air temperature of only 5c, thousands of people attended this tribute. It was heartening to see so many young people with parents and grandparents paying their respects.

The service ended with a poignant rendition of the last post by a lone trumpeter as the sun was rising over the beach. This peaceful and beautiful scene contrasting with the hell that must have been unleashed on that fateful day at Anzac Cove.

Queensland's Gold Coast.

Miami Beach with Surfers Paradise in background.

Queensland's Gold Coast has 70 kilometres of beaches and 100,000 hectares of world heritage listed rainforest. If you then add every conceivable man-made attraction and thousands of hotel beds it is not hard to understand why it is the tourist Mecca of Australia.

Laurie and Carolyn live at Broadbeach Waters in a home that backs onto the Nerang River. We took a   walk along the promenade at Broadbeach on a gorgeous morning with the temperature topping 28c. It felt fairly humid and I was soon working up quite a sweat without actually working very hard.

Of those 70 kilometres of beaches; there are those ideal for walking, others with more secluded bays, and those boasting world-famous surf breaks. The Gold Coast provides something for everyone. This morning at Broadbeach the surf was quite strong and only a few folk were actually in the water. Most were like ourselves walking, whilst others jogged, cycled or roller-bladed.

Our moderate exercise over we retired to take a leisurely coffee and watch the world go by...fantastic. Back at Chez Daniel we were able to take a dip in the pool and relax by watching the different craft that use the Nerang River, a waterway that connects various parts of the community to the ocean. At nearby Surfers Paradise a large yacht basin can be found alongside the swish hotels and restaurants. It would be pleasant to own one of those floating 'gin palaces' or even an inflatable dinghy! (Not a kayak maybe after my performance on Lake Macquarie).

A number of years ago whilst I was working in the travel business, I had helped arrange for a family to emigrate to Australia. Jan lives at nearby Logan City, a 40 minute or so journey north up the highway and I  had managed to visit her a couple of times on my previous trips.Jan is looking well and we spent an hour catching up on her life and that of her family. Jan has never looked back since coming to Australia and doesn't seem to hold it against me for my part in that!

Keeping people aware.

Come on in!

Yet more friends of Jonesy's, Michael and Sonja, that I had also met first in 2002 and then on my subsequent visits, also live nearby. On this day they were taking advantage of the splendid Autumn (yes, Autumn!) weather and had taken their son James swimming at Miami Beach. This is situated a few kilometres south of Broadbeach, so we drove back down the highway to rendezvous with them.

Just in case.

We enjoyed lunch with them at a small beach-front cafe before getting ourselves wet in that fabulous water. The beach is perfect for families and has a life-saving team on duty. These guys and girls do an incredible job and indicate where it is safe to bathe by erecting red and yellow flags. There was also a notice board indicating water temperature (24.5c today), conditions and the hours that the beach is patrolled.

Today we were advised that there was a sweep from left to right and to remain in waist deep water. The sandy bottom was fairly even and we enjoyed the waves as they crashed in, leaving you completely submersed one moment and then only up to you knees the next. As I did swim around it soon became noticeable that I was being swept to my right, and of more concern, into deeper water. Time to get my feet down and observe the life-guards warnings of staying in waist deep water.

It was lovely to meet up again with Michael, Sonja and James. Their daughter Elizabeth is shortly to have her first child, so best wishes on that event to the parents and grandparents to be.

Carolyn excelled once again with a great feast that evening that we took sitting out on the patio. Not even the mozzies bothered or spoilt the night. Whether it was the sun, swimming or the surfeit of great food but I was unable to last to the end of the 'Taggart' episode on television, retiring gracefully to my bed.

The Nerang River

Chez Daniel

Food's great here!

All welcome, even 'slippery'

Jonesy & Laurie

So impressed were with the cafe Picollo at Miami Beach the previous day that we decided to host Carolyn and Laurie for breakfast there the following morning.

Afterwards we took a drive to Emerald Lakes, a fashionable area close by that has a French and Italian quarter.

It was time to take our leave of these lovely people and make our way south back to spend the night with Stephen and Michele at Bangalow. Yet another wonderful meal produced by our hosts to set us up for our early start the next morning for the long trek back to Newcastle.

Carolyn & Me

Jan asking where's the tum gone?

Fabulous meal thank you

Emerald Lakes

Sur le pont.

The Italian Quarter (pounder!)

Sunrise over Bangalow

Early morning mist at Bangalow

We left Bangalow at 6.15am just as the sun was rising and were rewarded with a lovely vista across the fields and into the valley adjacent to Stephen and Michele's home. We took the Pacific Highway on our return journey as Jonesy had a meeting that evening that he couldn't afford to miss. It isn't as scenically challenged as you might expect and we made good time stopping for a quick breakfast the Newcastle side of Grafton.

Jonesy wanted to stop and check on the health of an old family friend, Marcie, who lives at Woolgoolga. We found Marcie well and spent a while chatting to her. Woolgoolga is infamous for its Indian population and has a large Sikh Temple.

Not far further south we passed through Coffs Harbour with its oversized banana proudly sitting at the side of the highway. The weather was beginning to cool by now and the previous blue sky was replaced by light and then dark grey clouds and rain.

By the time we reached the outskirts of Newcastle the rain had become heavy and the temperature had fallen to 18c from a high of 28.5c at the outset of our journey. All in all a great week away catching up with friends and seeing new territory at the same time.

Sikh Temple, Woolgoolga. 

In two weeks time I will be jetting back to the UK. Where has my three months gone to I'm thinking. Never mind, I must make the most of the time left.

Road trip to Queensland

I had the opportunity to take a road trip with Jonesy that would take us north from Newcastle to visit his brother at Banaglow, close to the Queensland border. From there to go to stay with Laurie and Carolyn at Broadbeach Waters, near Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast.

We set off early and Jonesy suggested taking an alternative route to the Pacific Highway. This would take us up the wonderfully named Bucketts Way and then Thunderbolt Way. We would be travelling through the Great Dividing Range, the fourth longest range in the world stretching 3,500km (2,175 miles). It reaches from western Victoria to the north-eastern tip of Queensland, traversing the eastern coast of the continent. As a matter of interest, the three ranges longer are; The Andes (South America), The Rockies (North America), and The Himalayas (Asia).

We travelled through the small towns of Booral ,Stroud and Stratford, complete with the Avon River (of course), before coming to Gloucester. Here we stopped for coffee and raisin toast before joining Thunderbolt Way. This road was named after a certain Fred Ward, alias Captain Thunderbolt.

Ward was a bushranger ( highwayman or robber who lived in the bush to avoid arrest) and was jailed for stealing and receiving 75 horses at Maitland, NSW in 1856. Sentenced to 10 years hard labour, he was released on licence in 1860 but re-arrested for failing to to turn up to be accounted for.He was sent back to gaol to serve out his original sentence plus, an additional three years.

He escaped in 1863 and carried out various robberies in the New England district, avoiding arrest using his undoubted riding skills. In 1865 his luck ran out as he was chased and shot by the police at Kentucky Creek near the town of Uralla. It is in the cemetery here that you can find his grave. Captain Thunderbolt, last of the bushrangers.

We continued our journey through the towns of Armidale, with its historic railway station, Guyra and Glen Innes. We stopped the night at the town of Tenterfield at the Jumbuck Inn. Now we were in the heart of the Great Dividing Range and the temperature had dropped appreciably to 13c.

We continued onwards the next day and were beginning to descend into the valley towards the coast. The low cloud and rain spoilt what would have been some lovely views but I did see my first Kangaroo of this visit to Australia, and my first ever in NSW, as it bounded across the road in front of us much to Jonesy's relief.

We passed through Casino and then Lismore before picking up the Pacific Highway and coming to  Bangalow where Jonesy's brother and sister-in law live. I had stayed with Stephen and Michele on my previous visits in 2002, 2007 and last year. There lovely home is situated on the outskirts of the town and is surrounded by its own mini rain-forest.

We visited the nearby resort of Byron Bay, mainland Australia's most easterly point and famous for its lighthouse and laid back surfing patrons, before meeting up with other friends of Jonesy's, Harold and Shelley for dinner.

The next morning, after breakfast, we met Harold and Shelley for coffee at Stephen's favourite haunt, Lilianas. This fine cafe/restaurant was formerly The Opossum Creek Public School from 1911-1963. After coffee we continued our journey north to the NSW/QLD border at Tweed Heads.

Here we paid a visit to Point Danger and the Captain Cook Memorial where you can actually straddle the border. Cook had named this Point Danger owing to the dangerous reefs that he encountered off the coast here on 17th May, 1770. The memorial and lighthouse was erected in his honour in 1970 to commemorate the 200th  anniversary of his arrival.

Thunderbolt's Grave at Uralla.

Armidale Railway Station

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Captain Cook Memorial, Point Danger

Byron Bay, Australia's most easterly point.

Brunswick Beach, Byron Bay

Lilianas Cafe/Restaurant, Opossum Creek.

The temperature by now was 28c with clear blue skies as we continued onto Broadbeach Waters via the coastal tourist route taking us through Currumbin, Palm Beach, Burleigh Heads and Miami Beach. We were to stay with our good friends Laurie and Carolyn for the next three nights.

A Gangster and a Sausage- Sizzle.

Jonesy had been invited to a 50th birthday party with a 'gangster' fancy dress theme. he became re-invented as the notorious 'Al Ca-Jones', the Mafia Don of Hamilton. While he was mixing with the 'underworld' of Newcastle, I was watching the Newcastle Knights losing yet again, this time to St.George Illawarrah, live on national television.

Alleyway Express Cafe.

$5 breakfast..what a bargain!

Saturday morning and we started off by having a $5 breakfast at the Alleyway Express Cafe on Beaumont Street. To work off this excess, I went for a cycle along the Newcastle Foreshore and then a great walk along Nobbys Beach.

There off..what mayhem!

What about us?

Stockton Ferry weaving through the traffic.

The foreshore was busy, both on and off the water; a yacht race, kayaking, the Stockton Ferry weaving its way through the traffic and a huge cargo ship being escorted out to sea. Cyclists, joggers, power-walkers and strolling families all vying for space and utilising the cafes, restaurants and public BBQs found here. I'll say again how lucky the people of Newcastle are to have such a lovely environment to enjoy.

That evening we had been invited to a 'sausage-sizzle' by Stephen and Trudie Bull. They had been the first of Jonesy's friends that I had met on my first visit to Newcastle back in 2002. On the way we stopped at a drive-through 'bottleo', no messing in Australia when it comes to buying your booze!

They laid on a fantastic feast for us, not just the 'snags' and we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. We ate out on their terrace until the flying beasties forced us inside. Thanks guys for a great night and for helping me put on a few pounds!!

Trudie, Stephen and Tyler.

Blimey! It's a sausage -sizzler!

Drive through 'Bottleo'

On the way home we called into see Drago, Jonesy's Slovenian friend to watch the second half of the English F.A. Cup semi-final match live from Wembley Stadium. We were obviously the bad luck that Everton didn't need, as their Merseyside rivals Liverpool, overturned a 1-0 half time deficit to run out 2-1 winners. Drago kicked us out as soon as the final whistle sounded as he had to be up at 6am to watch his beloved Barcelona live on television. Still, a better bet than the Knights, eh Drago!

Happy Easter.

The weather here in New South Wales was superb for the Easter weekend, warm, sunny and dry. On Easter Saturday Jonesy and I headed for the Hunter Valley Vineyards. With over 120 wineries and in excess of 3,500 hectares of vines, the Hunter Valley represents one of Australia's largest wine producing areas. From large Internationally known wines such as McGuigan through to boutique wineries there is something for every taste. Add to this cheese, chocolate and other gourmet food outlets, hotels and leisure pursuits people flock to the Hunter Valley from all over the world.

Humpty Dumpty before his big fall.

Jack and Jill in free fall.

What the fork? with the dish and the spoon!

Jonesy on the fiddle!

We went to another of the valley's attractions, the Hunter Valley Gardens. Created by Bill Roache (not he of Coronation Street fame), his 50 gardeners took 4 years to plan and plant the 60 acres  and 10 feature gardens that comprise the park.

One of these themed gardens was especially popular this Easter. Storybook Gardens was the setting for a children's Easter Egg hunt. There are 8km of walkways through the gardens and a guided tour train runs for those wishing to let it take the strain for them.

Brumby stallions.

Chinese pagoda.

This was a challenge for my recovery from the cellulitis that had affected my left foot, and I am happy to report that I suffered no reaction to the 3 hours of walking that we did around the different gardens. The Rose Garden would have been spectacular had we been visiting at the right time of the year, so it was the Chinese Garden that stole my vote as the most memorable. The clever art of topiary was in evidence with various animals depicted and in particular, the Brumby horses were very much in evidence.

The other themed gardens were; the Sunken Garden, the Formal Garden, the Indian Mosaic Garden, the Italian Grotto, the Oriental Garden and the Fountains and Statues Garden.

On our return journey we drove through the towns of Cessnock and Maitland and past the Sugarloaf Lookout, with its views over the Hexham Wetlands.

On Easter Sunday we took a drive around part of Lake Macquarie and took lunch at Wangi Wangi (pronounced Wongi Wongi).  Some of the properties that border the Lake are fantastic, many with their own private jetty and would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. I couldn't help but wonder at the fantastic outdoor lifestyle of the citizens of New South Wales. As Jonesy commented, it can be easy to take this wonderful countryside for granted.

I had been invited to join Alan and Callum to watch the NRL (National Rugby League) game between the Newcastle Knights and the Paramatta Eels at the Hunter Stadium that afternoon. Paramatta is a suburb of Sydney and many of their fans made the relatively short journey to support their heroes. This helped swell the crowd to a respectable 24,518 on a warm and bright Easter Sunday afternoon.

Sunbathing on the grass at the game.

The Knights score a penalty for 2 points.

The Eels players warming up.

Knights cheerleaders warm up the crowd.

Unfortunately the game didn't exactly get the fans on the edge of their seats and the Knights shaded a contest between two teams who seemed low on confidence and frightened to lose. Still, a enjoyable distraction even though I don't follow this form of the rugby code normally.

That evening we had arranged to meet up with old friends from my first visit to Australia in 2002, Stephen and Trudie and their son Tyler. We met at the Honeysuckle Hotel, a new venue situated on the Newcastle Foreshore and a very popular and happening place with the local people.

I had met Stephen and Trudie on my first day in Newcastle, 10 years ago, as Jonesy and I had breakfast at the Bogie Hole Cafe near the beach. The Bogie Hole is no longer so called, and now goes by the name of the Raw Cafe.

As we caught up on our respective lives we were treated to a quite spectacular storm with torrential rain and brilliant flashes of lightning that lit up the whole river area. When the storm had abated we made our way to Beaumont Street and had a pleasant Chinese meal before promising to join Stephen and Trudie for a 'sausage sizzle' before I return to the UK.

Easter Monday and the weather was still superb although quite windy. Jonesy, together with a couple of his Father's friends, took advantage of the weather to take Peter for a short outing from his Nursing Home.

This was the first time that he had been out other than on a hospital visit and by all accounts he enjoyed the excursion very much. It was also a fillip for Jonesy to have his Dad out for a couple of hours and hopefully this can be repeated in the future.

Meanwhile I decided to road test my foot by having a short cycle that actually turned into a slightly longer cycle to Newcastle Beach. I stopped for a coffee and some raisin toast at the aforementioned Raw Cafe and enjoyed the lovely sunshine before cycling back to Jonesy's unit. Thankfully, I suffered no reaction to the exercise.

The rest of the day was spent talking and relaxing and trying to plan where we might go over the remaining 4 weeks of my stay.