My Sth Korea Tour – November 2024 – Blog 2

Blog 2 Day 10 16/11/24

There’s a few photos here to hopefully admire. Enjoy. After ‘surviving’ my full day canvassing Busan, Sth Korea yesterday, 15/11/24 I was gearing up for another full Busan day undertaking the optional sightseeing tour $150AUD I paid for back in Australia at the time of booking this trip. Brekky was again superb on the sky floor, 21st floor where the city & harbour views are worthwhile & not many of our Japan stays had such views. Our bus started at 9.30am for 20 passengers, not the full bus of 30people with the 1^st stop the UN Memorial Cemetery, crossing over the amazing 7.42klm bi-level Gwangandaegyo Bridge (Diamond Bridge) again from yesterday. What a structure!!

On the roadway underneath the overhead road network, we came across a roundabout which identified the UN Forces in a memorial not far from the cemetery. I hastened a bus window photo as it was such an amazing memorial with soldiers around the upper rim, surrounded by country flags.

The United Nations Memorial Cemetery is an absolute peaceful & pristine landscape memorial to the UN aligned soldiers from 22 countries incl Australia. There are 2,328 graves here but growing due to the approval of allowing family loved ones to be buried together (by cremation ashes).

It is mandatory to enter the Memorial Hall (Chapel) before walking the grounds to see an excellent heart-warming film of the war history, the dedication ceremony & the making of this cemetery. If you weren’t moved by this, you have no soul. Many of us had tears & not ashamed to do so.

There were 41,000 UN troops killed in this war from 22 countries & all but the 2,328 soldiers were returned to their respective countries. Australia has 281 graves here, with the youngest just 18yrs of age. On the walls of the chapel are numerous displays, with the prominent one for me was to see the actual faces (photos) of the soldiers per country buried here.

All country flags are flown here & the grounds, layout are exceptional. Emotions really get to you to see the love & dedication of care for these troops. Such a moving tribute and quite some time can be spent here. Spending time here is certainly respectful and never a rush to get through it.

From this great memorial place we are diverted to more amazing elevated roadways, Diamond Bridge (Gwanga for short), high rises & stop on the Dongback Island headland near the Haeundae Beach where the impressive concrete & glass building was built for the 2005 APEC Summit involving 22 top countries, incl our Prime Minister, John Howard attended (far left in the photo).

Immediately at the entrance you cannot miss the incredible 6mx2.2m laquerwork inlaid with Mother of Pearl created by Kim Gyu-Jang, a master craftsman of Korea showing the 12 peaceful elements of longevity which includes the sun, cloud, mountain, rock, water, crane, deer, turtle, pine tree, herb of eternal youth, bamboo & the mythical peach. Such intense detail.

The circular conference meeting room is super impressive & below an equally impressive dome ceiling. Just below this ceiling line you can see the dark windows where the interpreters were doing their communication from. The work alone in the ceiling had me mesmerized no end. Incredible workmanship & design.

Scouring the walkway of the headland you can look back at the Apec Building and see this great structure, surrounding gardens & the 7.42klm bi-level Diamond Bridge and more of Busan in the distance. Sth Korea certainly excelled in presenting this area & view for the world leaders.

We were directed by our guide, Jade to walk further downhill, away from the APEC building to enjoy one of Busan’s selected & elite area’s Haeundae Beach as part of our free time before alighting onto the bus. Again, we had to be extra careful not to return to the bus with wet or sandy feet .. or else!!!!

Back on the bus, we head near our hotel area for the walk through of the Busan International Film Festival precinct where the celebration is held annually. Korean stars place their handprints in metal trays, much like in Hollywood & then set into the pavement. Jade pushed us towards the adjacent markets of Bupyeong, Khangtong & the largest Nampodong Int Market but most of us skipped these to sample the fun street stalls for pleasant food tasting. I had a meat pancake (crepe), followed by an apple & cream waffle with a Starbucks coffee. Very healthy, I’m sure!!

From there, we went West on a short bus ride to the cable car at Songdo Beach built in 2015. It is 365m long & each car holds 8 people & has a glass bottom floor (didn’t worry me, but others did). I sat opposite my favourite bus couple Ted & Maria who are absolutely wonderful to travel with. Reaching the top is a weird ‘theme’ of anything for children & family photo ops, much like a miniature Disney theme area. Most of us didn’t take to this poorer attempt of a tourist attraction, as it was purely for young families & headed down to the walkway bridge having open grilles walking over the ocean below for a photo opportunity too.

Glad to be back on the bus for our last stop & the late afternoon creeping in for the ‘ancient’ village of Huinnyeol Cultural Village built along the cliff face of Yeongdo. From Dec 2011 the houses were reborn for culture & art with the pathway of cafes & cultural places. The pathway is labelled A-L, so you know your place points & the view back towards the cable car. Jade said we have just enough time to do half the walk but 6 of us proved her wrong by doing the entire walk & return, right on sunset. The last 50m was a bit of a run, but I won. LOL!!

Today took 15,157 steps or 11.17klms so it was a bit of a day for us all. Being quite dark now with our bus returning to the hotel, most of us went in search for a late dinner & to be ready for our 8.30am departure towards Seoul in the morning which didn’t give me much time for this blog.

Stay happy, healthy & safe for my next blog & thank you immensely for reading & hope you like the photos. I trust the stories and photos will get better.

My South Korea Tour – November 2024

Blog 1 – Day 9 15/11/24

Before I jump into our first day in Sth Korea, I wish to somehow portray how magnificent Japan was for most of us on the tour the previous week on Blogs 1 – 4 (7 – 14/11/24). We were blessed with I’d say perfect Autumn weather over the 7 days with no rain & as much sun Autumn could provide. We received the best guide in Trend & certainly, the bus driver, Takanashi-son .. (spelling?) with their attention to detail, full professionalism & overall skill in dealing with so many personalities and safe driving.

Japan is a country that prides itself on the above personal traits without question as I’ve mentioned in previous blogs. Their culture is wonderful & most pleasing where we are warmly embraced. Criminal actions, like theft is extremely rare and the consequences of monumental shame, etc would be very harsh for the offender plus their family. As I walked the streets of Tokyo & Osaka, etc hundreds of bicycles are stored along the footpaths overnight & not one was locked. Going to a phone shop & the phones on display are not cabled locked like in Australia. Some of our passengers accidentally left their phones on tables & park benches & were still there when we searched for them quite some time after. Travellers were quickly advised at the checkout if they left money in machines or forgot their change. So honest.

The townships & cities are so clean, and every vehicle we saw was spotless to a fault and there are so many other examples that reflect the examples of the world’s crown jewel of Japan. I found Tokyo slightly cleaner than Osaka for some reason. I dread, the tourists & the increasing world influences might divert the teaching of their youth and their culture, professional & morals become compromised. P.s. Upon my return to Australia Japan had released a bulletin stating they are concerned now of the massive increase of say, Australian visitors, breaking records. So that confirmed my original thoughts when arriving in Busan, Sth Korea.

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From the horrors of the day prior in Japan from my last blog I hardly slept and constantly thought how I would confront our passenger from hell, .. DS that morning, for his actions and behaviours to date were beyond belief. I was happy we are staying in the Asti Hotel in Busan for a few nights, so I had no push to repack my bags, etc & get somewhat more settled.

The next day, a big touring day was planned with a bus departure for 9.30am but brekky first. Being somewhat early I found myself the only person in the brekky room apart from another couple on our tour, but I respected their privacy as they had paperwork on their table, etc & eating their breakfast & found another table some distance away.

Some minutes later, DS came from behind & put his hand on my shoulder & makes a joke “have you got my brekky ready”? I immediately stood up & faced him & said “you’re fkn kidding, unacceptable & inexcusable DS. Very poor form” in reference to his selfish stupidity act of yesterday & possibly I’m still venting from his past demeanours. Before I could say another word to continue my venting, he responded “I wanted to do it & I did it”!!! & he immediately walked away & forced a seat at the other couple’s table which again confirms his arrogance. What a vile piece he is!! I made sure he never entered my circle again or even sat in the bus seat next to me from that moment on. I later found a great seat at the rear left of the bus, close to my favourite travellers Ted & Maria & that’s where I stayed the entire Sth Korea bus journeys. From my last blog, DS had left the hotel in Osaka after breakfast on his own accord, flew to Busan, Sth Korea & checked into our nominated hotel without notifying anyone or Trend, our guide which enforced a formal missing person police report. A despicable act & not his first on this tour that involved the police & severe stress to us all on our bus.

Back to the tour @ 9.30am, where we headed off to the East, to Yongdusan Dragonhead Park but first we are in awe of Busan’s infrastructure for 3mil people, such as the elevated road highway network over a very large port moving 20+mil containers/ year & the sheer volume of residential apartment skyscrapers. 65% of residents of Busan live in these apartment setups. We pass over the amazing 7.2klm Gwangandaegyo Bridge (Diamond Bridge) which is the longest bi-level Bridge in Korea. What a structure!! Traffic flows one way South under & North on top. To get to the bridge from the North the traffic spirals up a corkscrew of elevated roadway. I can’t type what one traveller said when he noticed the window view .. & the height we were to travel. LOL!!! Much of the seaport, etc is on reclaimed land. We are so far behind in Australia regarding infrastructure. Obviously, these photos below were taken from the side bus windows.

Yongdusan means Dragon head emerging from the sea which is the shape of the peninsula. The temple is China influenced so you are met with 12 stone statues of the year you were born. My year was of the monkey. Haedong Yonggungsa Temple on the coastline. Most temples are in the mountain areas where in historical times was far safer from intruders & foes. The bell is used here for special occasions, like ringing in the new year. There is not much to write about this location so it really is basically a viewing one.

On the bus we head to the 120m high Busan Tower for a 360° view of the vast city but not the rest of the city hidden behind the mountains. I took the photos in a clockwise sequence hoping you will get some idea of the city layout that is in view. The last photo is from the ground looking up to the tower.

From there we venture into Korea’s largest fish market. From the photos off the tower, you can see a roof line like the Sydney Opera House (white shells). That is the fish market & is full of tanks with all kinds of fish & sea creatures and a massive market to scale. Only 1 couple stayed for a fish lunch where you can arrange for the vendor to organise the cooking of your purchase, the rest of us found cafes, etc for our hour break. No-one seemed keen to do the fish cuisine today.

Back on the bus, we headed towards the ancient village of Gamcheon Cultural Village set into a mountain face. This area was formed straight after the Korean War ending in 1953 by shanties (poor people, refugees, etc) being a safer place to be, away from the open plains. Over the years, the shanties were replaced by brick & concrete & then painted in whatever colour was available. This new area is nicknamed ‘Machu Picchu of Busan’. You can get lost in the mazes of alleys in this precinct & Ed (a favourite traveller) almost did. I would love to provide a photo of the site map but unfortunately, it is copyright, therefore I can’t. The site map was purchased for around $2AUD at the Village Information Centre & was a real help & if you do the designated safer circuits (to prevent getting lost) you can apply certain location stickers. The full circuit can take around 2hrs. We are constantly reminded we are entering private areas, therefore to be extra quiet & respectful of their privacy when taking photos, etc. Looking from the Little Prince viewpoint you get the best view of the village like my photo looking south. There is so much art & photo zones to enjoy. Of course, when we are all done & on the bus, the same lady I spoke about in previous blogs was again very late or lost finally came to the bus escorted by fellow searchers, making us very late to our hotel, arriving quite late in the afternoon. Arghh!!!

The below photos are more of Gamcheon Cultural Village looking firstly, South & the North showing the expansive size & vibrant colours.

Today I encountered 10,577 steps or 7.61klms so I was keen for some energy food … & a beer or two but first I took a photo of the Busan Main Railway Station adjacent to our Asti Hotel & the street of Chinatown for the best takes on a good meal. Several streets have different themes, like Texas Street, etc.

Another big day tomorrow with a 9.30am start for the optional sightseeing tour I paid in advance back in Australia. Stay happy, healthy & safe for my next blog & thank you immensely for reading & hope you like the photos. I trust the stories and photos will get better.

My Japan Tour – November 2024 – Blog 2

Highlights of Japan & Sth Korea – 16day Tour 2024 Days 3 & 4

From my last blog of doing some 13.72klms of walking the day prior I truly slept well and was up @ 5.30am for brekky & bus departure for 8am on our first out of city tour to Mt Fuji. DS (a tagged passenger) from my last blog showed up for breakfast if nothing had happened from the night before … never crossed his mind that I was concerned for his safety of not knowing if he had returned to our hotel. I certainly wasn’t pleased with his lack of understanding on being part of a team tour and to add to that a couple of passengers had delayed our departure by 20mins. So frustrating when people show how selfish they are & still never an apology forthcoming.

Suffice to say, I was back in my bus seat with DS again sitting next to me & with his constant negative talking was a strain on myself & other passengers, but I knew I had to keep DS in some form of control as I felt I was the best person that could handle him. My hardest duty was to stop DS from talking when Trend (our guide) was talking to us via a microphone. So disrespectful.

Traffic congestion was insane & took about 1hr just to get to Tokyo city outskirts & it continued all the way to Mt Fuji much to the frustration of DS. Unfortunately, the tour timing didn’t help with us travelling on a Saturday morning when a lot of local citizens travel to Mt Fuji for a common getaway. Mt Fuji is only about 150klms from our hotel but felt a lot longer. The highway was 2 lanes all the way but full & we travelled through about 20+ tunnels & some were obscenely long. I could not help admiring the road network infrastructure (bridges & tunnels) which are beyond belief. Just amazing! We were advised many of these tunnels were constructed using the old mining methods and mass manual labour & when technology chimed in there were proper mining equipment utilised, such as vehicular jackhammer machines, box rail carts, conveyor belt extraction, etc and much later massive drilling machines.

I hope you can appreciate my ‘skill’ .. LOL!! … in taking some photos via the bus travelling above 100klms/ hr. There were no other opportunities given. Once you consider the extreme mountainous ranges you can understand how important these road tunnels are in linking the various villages along the way. In older times, it would take over a week for villagers to connect with another village scaling over these mountains. They had to be self-supporting for centuries & at times be their own ‘government’. The villages would also, be very cold in winter, nestled amongst these giant ranges.

Getting closer to Mt Fuji the road became narrower & steeper with constant winding of tight corners and occasionally another bus would come into view & we all breathed in, with bus mirrors just missing each other & with little reduced speed. Our bus driver, Takanashi-son .. (spelling?) was clearly showing his driving skills and it wasn’t long before I realised, he was the best bus driver I have ever experienced and knew we were going to be safe on this tour.

Finally arrived at Mt Fuji 2300m elevation @ 12.20pm, some 4hrs of bus travel & one 15mins relief stop (remember, just 150klms travelled). Temp 4°C but felt like 2°C without the brisk wind factor. We can’t complain by having a great ‘sunny’ day greeting us. The car & bus parking was at the highest elevation of the road system at the main 5^th Station, but for trekkers you can venture up to 7^th Station & with strict approval & conditions go to the top. Sadly, today & at certain previous times Mt Fuji didn’t have its usual snow-covered top which didn’t help with the aesthetics and photos. Based upon the upcoming weather, we may have missed the snow by just a few days.

There is a short walk from the bus up to the central 5^th Station complex where your first photos can be taken of Mt Fuji, then viewing the location shrine and the rear viewing platform overlooking the village of Kofu (left) & Lake Kawaguchiko to the right. Once everyone had done the full viewing of Mt Fuji, we were back onto the bus heading for Kofu & Lake Kawaguchiko (2^nd largest of the Fuji Five Lakes) to undertake a 20mins lake cruise in a traditional boat to see another angle of Mt Fuji. Cruising on the lake was quite brisk to say the least but it was well worth it & the price included in our tour. DS decided to be the only one to stay on the bus for he said it wasn’t worth his time of 20mins. Looking out from the boat & at the wharf we all really appreciated the strength of the glowing colours of Autumn through the trees & foliage these past 2 days. You can’t but help noticing this beautiful scenery.

Top left photo – Brilliant Autumn Foliage. Top Right – Lake Kawaguchiko with road highway bridge in background. Middle right – Traditional Japanese Boat. Bottom photo – Mt Fuji from centre of lake using the cloud as artificial snow effect.

Back on the bus for about 3hrs (130klms) to Saku on the way to the Nagano region (centre of the Japan, Honshu Island). We arrived quite late again at Saku, but the brand-new Hotel Route-Inn was superb with my top floor room, 603 amazing. In the coming days we will be heading to Hiroshima, so those undertaking this optional tour must pay their 550,000yen ($550AUD) per person today so Trend can book & pay for all the bullet train travel & tickets involved. Luckily, or good management, I had thought of potential forthcoming issues & had the required cash on me as my debit card wouldn’t work on Trend’s device. Whew!

Today, was a lot easier on my feet with only 2.71klms of walking. Tomorrow, we head NW to Nagano.

Day 4 10/11

Just an overnight stay, so it was easy packing and in readiness for an early brekky at 6.30am for 8am bus departure. When I awoke, I looked out from my 6^th floor window to see a large, ploughed field and looking like a nice day unfolding. By the time I left my room some 10mins later and found my brekky table the outside area was full of fog. I was advised it was 0°C @ 6am then heavy frost eventuated. No doubt the weather changes rapidly leading into winter. The breakfast buffets have all been well serviced to date and with a mixture of Japanese & western food, so it was bonus to sample a few different things & making up for the limited dinner options, if any, once our bus arrived late at night. Obviously, I didn’t like some of the Japanese food offerings and some I didn’t even know their names so I confided in myself that I at least tried a good range but be more wary next breakfast.

Again, the usual suspects were late getting to the bus .. but with no pushback from others was surprising, seeing how frustrating this is becoming. I guess, with 30 travellers we all can’t be friends so I will surmise there will be pushback forthcoming surely. One later comer (Indian couple from Melbourne) frequently arrives late, takes off his coat, folds it neatly & places it on his above rack, then inspects his backpack before placing it next to his coat & this delays the driver from departing. When we have a stop, he is the first up, slowly puts on his coat & checks his carry bag thereby delaying most of the bus from alighting. He & his wife will evidently feature in my future blogs.

Our first stop will be at Takayama (Taka=tall, Yama=Mountain) some 3.5hrs away of the most winding of roads & amazing infrastructure, sheer cliff faces netted, pinned & steel cables used for kilometres. The hwy follows the rapids of the Ryuo River mostly & then the Shio River that shows off their various hydro schemes, for there is plenty of water streaming down. Some boulders in these streams are massive, so lots of water pushed them there. The extra-long road tunnels (2 lanes wide one way) where some start at 800m in length up to 4.7klms long through mountains so high & coated fiercely with pine, cypress & cedar trees somehow growing vertical off the steep slopes. At times you can see a few areas where ‘tree avalanche’ damage has occurred, much like in New Zealand, Sth Island.

Again, lots of small villages located in isolated valleys where all available useable land is fully utilised. The road travels this time of the year (Nov, Autumn) is awesome of colour, ultra clear water & some dam water with glacial type colour bringing so much pleasure to one’s eyes. I would dread travelling here in winter with snow chains, etc on the terrain encountered today.

To get to Takayama we traversed about 30+ road tunnels & arrived at 11.40am where Trend took us down the normal ‘main street’ (I detest walking close by Trend’s Trip a Deal blue flag like the thousands of pampered tourists on bus tours, so I hang back whenever possible, same for my new friend Ed from Melbourne). You can see the flag waving in the rear of one of the photos. Trend showed us the narrow alley ‘streets’ of the Ebisutaigumi Preservation Area then we had our own free time wandering until 1.45pm through this ancient part of the township where we were advised the tourists outnumber the citizens here. Above two shops you can see two large saki balls suspended from the roof. The largest one confirms the oldest Saki brewery. The rickshaws were there for the obvious tourists and due to the crowding in the alleyways I could not help but wonder in amazement on how they avoided the people & still not allow a wheel to enter dangerously into the water gutters on each side of the alley.

Seeing a honey ice cream outlet next to the Saki brewery, I was easily conned to see what this delight would be like. I chose a Bee Pollen & Manuka Honey Ice Cream tub … & an absolute woo hoo!!!! Another bus traveller saw my delight & she was easily persuaded too. After nearing bus departure time I met some young workers at their new coffee nook store in the main street for a well-earned coffee .. they had limited English, but we ‘communicated’ well, and they waved to me a few times as I walked by. They were so friendly & respectful & I made sure I returned the same. Back on the bus, but again we are missing someone. Yes, it was DS. The bus parking was just a street away from our tour walk so how did he get lost? Well over 20mins had passed & then Trend received 2 phone calls. One from her Tokyo manager & the other one from the local police. DS had entered the police station he found where it rained into utter confusion. They looked at his passport, searched his backpack, for he was being erratic, etc which police would not appreciate. Typical DS.

In Japan, it must be life or death to involve the police & heavily ‘punished’ for the tour guide losing a passenger. DS was lost & he expected the police to simply drive him to the bus stop which they eventually did when the TAD manager confirmed who he was. Again, the matter became much worse when DS exiting the police car yelling to Trend “it’s her fault”! What a piece of work!!! The police then went further on Trend. When DS sat next to me, I gave it to him of his poor form. He said it to Trend as a joke & didn’t accept any fault or later even apologised. Other passengers agreed with me, but DS remained his usual self-serving self. Trend was very hurt but repeatedly stated she was happy DS was safe. Two years ago, one of her passengers died from a heart attack at Mt Fuji & it took her a long time before she continued as a guide.

Back on the bus for more dreaded DS hours & about another 30+ tunnels, with one being an amazing 11klms long we finally arrived at Shirakawa, near Gifu, another UNESCO site. After Trend’s bus intro we were allowed free walking of the site & if enough time to see the village from the observatory hill. The first task was to walk across the heavily constructed suspension bridge linking the only way to the historical site.

The first thing I noticed was the very thick rice stems thatched for the roof coverings of dwellings and secondly, the warning signs for snow falling from the roofs in Winter. Yikes!! After seeing the miniature water wheel still working, I visited the museum house of the original Wada family, who lived in the largest Gassho-Zukuri style house in Shirakawa-go. Paid my 400yen entry fee & mandatorily took off my shoes to wander through this very unusual house & see how it operated with a central internal hearth bowl kitchen & open floor immediately above for heating & drying of clothes & obviously sleeping warmth. The roof & walls are all tied with thick rope bonds & lined with small diameter bamboo reeds after scaling the incredibly steep timber stairs (limited floor wastage).

Top Left photo – Wada Family workers & storage building. Top right – Wada House (rear of photo) & worker’s building on right. Middle right – Centre kitchen stove & hearth. Bottom right – Various carry wreaths. Bottom Left – Top floor showing house roof & wall structure & floor.

Along the walls are carry wreathes to enable the wearer to carry heavier weights for long journeys and to take the stress off their backs. The main income for the Wada family back then was silkworms to make silk & surprisingly, gunpowder. Now that is a unique diversity of business.

Not sure of timing but headed for the steep walkway up to the observatory platform to look over the village. Other passengers coming down said I’ll be too late for the bus; well, I certainly proved them wrong much to their amazement & in beating some of the other passengers as well. Below right photo shows Wada House on the left foreground with the trees around it. The suspension bridge is out of view on far right background.

View of historical village from Observatory Hill

Back on the bus on time (go figure), we stopped after an hour to refuel the bus & then our guide, Trend confirmed our scheduled hotel couldn’t accommodate us tonight as we were running a little late and another bus tour was now arriving there. Within a very short while we were provided another hotel but not in Gifu as arranged. The hotel was another Hotel Route-Inn @ Nishihongodori & that again was superb.

Later, I checked with Trend & asked if she had sent her daily report to her manager where she confirmed she had already done so. After explaining to Trend how the bus passengers saw the DS/ Police incident I insisted she use my name as a reference & submit another report to her manager using my summary of words before her head hits the pillow. She finally promised she would & was so grateful, and she again confirmed that to me the next morning the manager received her 2^nd report & was more relieved on the expected outcome. Trend was totally innocent of the DS/ Police debacle.

A very long day & walking 7.51klms & lucky (again, good management) we all bought some light food for dinner at the pit stop as restaurants were already closed in small villages. Brekky set for 6.30am & 8.30am bus departure.

Stay happy, healthy & safe for my next blog & thank you immensely for reading & hope you like the photos. I trust the stories and photos will get better.

My Japan Tour – November 2024 – Blog 1

Highlights of Japan & Sth Korea – 16day Tour 2024

Days 1 & 2

Seeing this is my first international trip since COVID I settled for a warmup travel experience & Japan jumped out at me, hence I found a few good deals and finally settled on the below trip. Immediately booking this trip on 1^st August 2024 I arranged my best travel insurance for my age group to be Cover-More this time. Surprisingly or more shockingly it is highly recommended to include a policy that has Covid coverage. With the deal below one of the available dates was 7^th November 2024 and my research stated this was a good time of the year to visit Japan & also seeing that I am not a cold loving weather person the timing matched, apart from my family have a lot of birthdays in November, so I requested all birthdays are postponed till my return. My request was hastily refused. LOL!!! Regrettably I also missed my granddaughter’s Year 12 formal too but photos sent to me on the trip really gave me such pleasure & pride.

Trip A Deal – Group Tour – Highlights of Japan & Sth Korea – 16day tour, $6,463.00AUD with my optional day tours. The hardest thing was to succumb to the sole traveller fee of $1,200 & Brisbane airport fee $200 included.

7days Japan, 7days Sth Korea, 2 days flying times: EXCLUSIONS
• Visa fees and requirements .. not required for Aus travellers on tourist trip under 90days.
• Domestic transfers and flights not stated in the deal offer
• Meals/beverages not stated in the deal offer
• Recommended gratuities/tipping … $10AUD/ person/ day
• Personal expenses
• Travel insurance

Within this tour itinerary I have choices of optional tours & activities, so I chose only 2, with the first one on Day 7 at Osaka, Japan with a bullet train trip to Hiroshima for 55,000 JPY ($550AUD) per person (payable on tour in local currency) & is recommended for a ferry cruise to a nearby island as it enables viewing of several sights not able to be done from the mainland. The 2^nd one was a Busan City Tour in Sth Korea with costs included in package price.

After much anticipation and a fair bit of anxiety (Post COVID unknown??) November arrived and my tour effectively started from my hometown of Yamba in Northern New South Wales & travelling to my daughter’s place in Canungra (3hrs drive away), at the bottom of the tourist village & landscape of Mt Tamborine located, Gold Coast, Sthrn Queensland which is frustratingly set at a different daylight-saving time of 1hour behind which really sucks when you are travelling interstate. After spending 2 days with my family, my son-in-law Jason drove me direct to the Brisbane Domestic Airport for a 7.45am flight to Sydney, QF511 where I’ll transfer to Sydney International Airport for my 12noon (Daylight Saving Time again) Tokyo flight of 10hrs with a Qantas A333 jet on QF59. Arriving at 6am I was able to have brekky at The Aviary where the service was brilliant & avo smash/ coffee was superb before my first flight.

Once I adjusted my large backpack (duffle bag configured) for check-in luggage a very helpful Qantas staff member applied my bag tag & placed it straight onto the conveyor however, he rushed off & there was no-one around to confirm if my backpack will be placed on my Tokyo plane or do I pick it up on a carousel when I arrive in Sydney. Upon landing in Sydney, I was instructed to go direct to Gate 15 to meet a free shuttle bus to the International Terminal across the taxiways I was heavily involved in 2 of their constructions back in 1986-87. From the bus the taxiways looked in good shape. With fingers crossed I hoped my backpack arrives in Tokyo with me. Gulp!!

Going through the numerous bag & bio screenings of 2 flights in Australia we board the large plane, with me walking out onto the tarmac for the rear entry. A lady was struggling with her large carry-on and looking after her 7 or so year old son down the stairs I insisted (she didn’t want to trouble me) I carried the bag all the way down & up the steps into the plane to her amazement and heartfelt thanks. I had no trouble at all in doing it & knew I had made a positive difference to somebody (one of my life’s mantras).

My Tokyo QF59 flight is an Airbus A330 seating up to 300+ passengers and we were completely full for this trip seeing Japan is an absolute travel favourite for us Australians, especially this 2024 year. Our flight flies directly over Brisbane (again!!), Cairns, Port Moresby & Guam with lots of Pacific water underneath. As you can see from the flight info photos there are some interesting stats to review. After some mind numbing 10hrs, we finally land at Tokyo Haneda Airport at 8pm their time (Japan is 2 hrs behind Sydney Daylight Saving Time). The airport is so large, it seemed about 1klm of walking before we came to bag collection (my bag arrived!!.. yay!!), Agriculture Declaration & then Customs/ Immigration.

With all the current arrivals & scramble, I was struggling to find my QR entrance code on my phone I did some weeks prior, hence I had to do the declarations all over again, 2 copies of their cards. Lucky, I had my own pen. I presented my fingerprints & passports twice. While all this scramble was happening, I could not miss a man about 70 getting highly agitated & putting on a fuss & I was waiting for police interaction or similar for his ‘erratic’ behaviour. A woman assisted him by filling in his forms to calm him down.

Escaping the airside scramble I was warmly greeted by our Trip a Deal guide, Trend. A happy young lady of about 34yrs old (photo below). She did a role call of our 2 tour groups & then I noticed the 70yr old was in my group. Yikes!!! We boarded the bus & arrived at our nearby hotel of 2 nights, Hotel Mystays Hanenda @ 9.45pm with my room 227 awaiting. Trend reminded us that hotel rooms & most rooms in Japan are quite compact so hopefully we will be comfortable. The photo shows the bed & air con size, so you can judge the compact size (photo below). The ensuite was very good & my first use of a bidet. LOL! The hotel also presented a pair of Japanese pyjamas & a set of slippers to undertake the Japanese room ritual. They insisted I take the slippers with me for the other hotels I stay at. Alarm set to ensure we board the bus at 9.30am tomorrow & have ablutions and brekky before then. 2 night stay.

Some pertinent things about Japan are: Japan is an island country in East Asia, located in the Pacific Ocean where the Japanese archipelago consists of nearly 7,000 islands, of which the four main ones (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu) represent more than 95% of its territory. Japan is divided in 9 regions from north to south: Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai (also called Kinki), Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa. On the administrative level, the country is managed through 47 prefectures.

126 million Japanese people live on a territory stretching over 3,000 kilometres long and 378 000 km². Mountains cover 71% of the land and the coastline extends up to 30,000 kilometres long. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the capital and the neighbouring prefectures, is the largest metropolis in the world with over 37 million inhabitants in what is called the ‘Capital Region’. The other largest cities by population in Japan are, from the biggest: Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kobe, Kyoto and Fukuoka. Japan is the 11th most inhabited country in the world. However, the country has been in demographic decline for many years due to a very low birth rate of 0.7. Currently, 100Yen is around $1AUD.

A few things I learnt in Japan through Trend was that the culture demands the population to do their very best, be professional at all times, be totally honest & trustworthy and make your prescence the best it can be. If you are an employee, it is expected you would attend your workplace 30mins prior & if a meeting is planned then the same applies & be ready to commence right on time. With Trend, it was quite obvious she excels in all those attributes. She works very long hours, is very meticulous in ensuring our tour goes well and that everyone remains safe. Same goes for our amazing bus driver, Takanashi-son .. (Spelling?) who would be the best bus driver I have ever experienced. As my blogs will further explain, Japan & their people are amazing and great to be accepted so warmly & knowing how good they really are. Now, please retain this information as my blogs progress through the tour.

Day 2

Everything went to plan for 9.30am departure except I had to sit next to the 70yr old, DS for our first journey. Lucky me! DS was a full-on talker, so through our conversation I could see we were annoying some of the other passengers and also whilst Trend was educating us of what we will be doing today & what is expected of us on this tour, seeing she will be our guide for the entire tour. I had to bring DS up to speed when we stepped off the bus, as he wasn’t listening of course. Problem #1.

Our first stop was 40mins away, the Tsukiji Outer Market where it is very busy through mainly 4 small street/ lanes, lots of tourists and Japanese cuisine, focusing on mainly fish. DS couldn’t handle this scramble for long, so he went back to the bus. This stop wouldn’t be on my must do list either as we boarded again some 40mins later.

Our next stop was closer to the ‘CBD’ of Tokyo at the Meiji Shrine, dedicated to the Imperial Family in 1926, a Shinto religious site and amazing 17-hectare garden landscape. At each entry you are greeted by huge White Cedar Tree Shrine gates. With the bus entry conditions you have to walk around to the other side entry to see the main Shrine gate which is by far bigger in statue.

All Shinto Japanese show great respect at these gates where they stop, bow correctly & then enter. At other locations at certain buildings and shrines they bow again & do a solitary loud clap after prayer/ wish. Japanese come here for special events, like parents when their children reach the ages of 5, 7 & 9 in traditional Kimono costumes to seek fortune, good future, education, health & all family life important issues in seeking blessings. These youngsters are just so cute in the way they dress and react to the volumes of photos, etc. The odd ages are especially important in Japanese heritage culture.

This shrine caters for especially approved privileged marriages, in traditional costumes and it is such a big deal for just 2hours of organising and ceremony. These marriage events cost the families $10K AUD & after they leave the shrine location to do their own reception ceremonies elsewhere. These marriage ceremonies are so precisely performed and set almost to the minute.

It came to 11.30am & I was becoming quite cold (8°C & breezy) & some fingers turning white, so I went back to Trend patiently waiting at the Cedar Tree gate. I reconfirmed I was not doing the afternoon’s optional tour & wanted directions to the Shibuya town centre, some kilometres away. I told Trend DS wasn’t doing the tour either & that was who she was waiting for. The other passengers doing the optional tour were already on the bus. Problem #2.

I went back & looked around for DS but no luck … depends how you look at this .. LOL!!! I walked to the other side of the garden site to find the extra-large Cedar Tree gate & a welcoming café & ablutions block before heading to the Shibuya Sky area. Walking, looking at Google Maps (frowned upon in Japan when walking at the same time, so I always stopped) and dodging the increasing volume of population takes a great skill at times. Finally, I found myself at the Shibuya Sky area to witness the daytime scramble. I stopped by the pedestrian lights to watch several volumes of crossing, along with the unusually fast go-karts & classic rods (adrenalin joy rides) scooting past. The go-karts too fast for my camera action (operator error). Lol!

The Shibuya Scramble is a major road junction involving several road interactions and when traffic stops the pedestrians have a full-on walking scramble to get their respective sides of the intersection. It is sort of like, New York’s Time Sq, except it is not as visually electric with only a few neo signs, lighting, etc … but it is daytime. I noticed across the street the railway network is mainly elevated above ground except for the necessary tunnels. Japan is highly recognised for their train network.

Checking my day hours left I was starting to calculate my return to my hotel. The Shibuya station line was mainly a East/ West line & my hotel is on the South line which has a station some 6klms away. Thinking that is a decent achievable walk I started off, seeing a lot of Tokyo’s inner suburbs, making out I’m not a tourist. In considering Tokyo on having only Day 2 it is impossible to see all of this most populated city in the world of some 14million in 2023 census, so I envisage returning another time or year to fully soak in more cities & regions of Japan.

After a bit of Google Maps flaws & some 90mins later I arrived at Kitashinagawa Station where I was helped to buy a train ticket for Platform 1 for Anamori-inari Station by the platform officer, as the electronic machine was totally in Japanese. He was so helpful & told me to hurry for the train coming in. I showed my ticket to train conductor who guided me to sit down in the train. Arghh!!!! It was going in the wrong direction & now told me to get off at the next station, Shirakawa (a major station). I was now on Platform 3 & needing 1, so eventually worked that out. Whew!

After about 30mins I finally worked out the electronic train indicator board as it showed the next 2 trains coming in & their stations but it showed Japanese for some 15 seconds & English in 7 seconds. The 1^st train with my Anamori-inari station (#14) light on came in & was far too crowded to get on so I had to wait another 4trains before my train came in. I was determined to get on, no matter what!! Time was really against me now. Yes, I had a bit of room, my daypack was in my hands, knowing it was silly to have it on my back in these conditions. I grabbed the above hand restraint strap with 2 young small Japanese ladies up against me, then wham!!! We get the full-on Japanese train crush with platform officers forcing us even closer like in a rugby scrum. Yikes! .. talk about a crush! .. & I mean crush!!! I apologised to the ladies now looking at my chest, but they obviously don’t speak English or are used to this crush format. I did feel sorry for them, being so short.

Shirakawa Train Station Indicator Board (English)

After a few stops I finally arrived at my station & the stress of escaping was unbelievable & was so thrilled of achieving that unsurmountable goal. Now it is dark but only another 4mins to the Hotel & I was so relieved to have completed my journey. Whew!! Before retiring, I checked with reception on DS but they weren’t sure if he had arrived. I knocked on his door 3 separate times till late at night but no answer. Getting worried now. I was thankful reception had some Grilled Chicken Diavola style for dinner (2,090 yen) I could take to my room.

In my room my phone confirmed I had walked 13.72klms for the day. Buggared! 7am brekky for tomorrow morning & an 8am bus departure. Found out at brekky DS had caught a taxi from the Meiji Shrine within the first 30mins & cost him 8,700yen $87Aud. Ouch!! He never told anyone what he was doing & this was the first of many issues we had with DS. Problem #3. He is the old man with the white cap, far left of the photo in the Shrine surround. DS will form more of my blogs .. you can’t believe what he ended up doing. Stay tuned!!!

Stay happy, healthy & safe for my next blog & thank you immensely for reading & hope you like the photos. I trust the stories and photos will get better. Stay in The Present!!!

Another Local Travel – Jet Flight – Archerfield Airport Brisbane

Another Local Travel – Jet Flight – Archerfield Airport Brisbane

Last November (2023) our family, including my ex participated in contributing to a fund raising for an extreme jet flight to fulfil our eldest son Scott’s dream & goal to fly in a jet fighter. It was in fitting with reaching his milestone age of 40 … yes, that makes me much older & thanks for the sly grins on that. To be clear, that’s Scott on the left .. LOL!!! The photo below is from our just completed the 4-day Machu Picchu Trek.

Scott was always trying to match the time with his work and stressing about the potential variable cost of higher jet fuel expense if the voucher money didn’t cover it. With constant badgering from the sidelines on those involved my son-in-law Jason coordinated the time for Scott, and also his work shifts which is far more demanding than Scott’s. Well done, Jason, for the time was set 26^th September 2024.

Now we have a commitment I travelled to my daughter & Jason’s home at Canungra Queensland some 3hrs by car the day before the flight and to meet up with Scott who also stayed overnight. The only issue was for clear weather and in the hope the flight isn’t postponed.

Up early knowing the traffic to Brisbane can normally be horrendous we arrived at Fighter Pilot Adventure Flights, 612 Lores Bonney Drive Archerfield on the outer perimeter of the airport at their assigned hanger well before Scott’s timed flight. https://fighterpilot.com.au

We arrived to be met with Paul who conducted the induction session and allowed us to be air side to be closer to the operations. The L39 Albatros 2-seater jet was going through its initial warm up & testing procedure. The jet has a max speed of 872Km/h & producing up to 6.5 G forces but the airstrip region closely monitors these jet runs in this busy domestic airport. The L39 Albatros is the safest jet trainer in the world, so that was very comforting. It has been used in over 30 air forces for training & some are weapons fitted.

We purchased the Gold Level 30minute flight (most popular) $2,550.00. There is a Platinum Level @ $3,450.00 & definitely has some upgrade features in the flight.

Scott was fitted out in a proper flight suit & fighter helmet. The suit only just fitted him in the largest size available. The flight path is heading west to Wyaralong Dam, which is located at the base of Mt Joyce, north-west of the township of Beaudesert some 60klm straight line away & due west of Canungra.

Being airside we were able to see a male walking past us in an approved air suit full of injected adrenaline and promoting the experience. We all thought he was the pilot. Our surprise was to see the pilot then exiting the jet with Paul’s help of a medium step ladder. The pilot was dressed in jeans and a shirt normally fitted out for a farmer. He was too large for a flight suit, so he doesn’t use one. He was the most unassuming image of a jet pilot, with us being judgmental.

The jet was now undertaking re-fueling and there was a time period for us to peruse the hanger & memorabilia including an Indian suicide shift war motorcycle in extremely good condition (suicide shift is a gear stick extending up from the gearbox, alongside the fuel tank & is positioned between the legs of the rider). Apologies for no photo. There was also a radius map showing the flying range from London towards Germany by some set aircraft at the time of WW2 & this confirmed how well the war of flight was so well orchestrated to reach their targets.

Some 20mins later, Paul ushered us to the aircraft area & to take photos of Scott sitting in the cockpit and gaining the safety drill & instructions from the pilot, Cameron. Within another 10mins the jet was underway for the 30min flight. There was a thin cloud cover being pushed by high winds above and Paul confirmed this was the perfect weather for a jet flight as clouds like these really show Scott the true jet speed. I mentioned to Scott prior that Goose was in the 2nd seat behind Maverick so he must be Goose for the day. A sly grin & a quick retort followed of course.

I can’t believe how quick the 30mins passed us by and seeing the jet land at quite some speed, compared to the single prop plane taking off a minute earlier. The jet taxied over to the parking bay near the storage hanger and from there we experienced Scott’s adrenaline of the flight, which is quite rare for us, as Scott is usually very calm & subdued in conversation. With Scott’s flight being the last for the day we enjoyed a very long chat with the pilot & owner, Cameron. Jason scored a wonderful interaction with Cameron as he is a registered light plane pilot who when upon leaving school entered the air force to become a jet pilot only to have the air force damage his back and forced him out after major surgery.

Cameron has a large property out at Warwick (West of Brisbane) & commutes to Brisbane on set days in his Cessna light plane as he has his own airstrip on his property. His father who originally had the 2 L39 jets, 2 war prop planes, hangers, etc over time sold them to Cameron as he started to retire. Cameron learnt to fly by his father when he was 15 and kept evolving and is also a qualified Jet Engineer who maintains and fixes his own jets & planes and others who have such aircraft. He also has a specialist Jet Welding workshop.

In seeing most of Cameron’s aircrafts and what is involved it surely boils down to the love of the industry & flying, for this adventure jet flight setup there is approx. $150k just in insurance costs alone annually. The jet takes about 250L of jet fuel each flight @ approx. $2.60/l currently. The registrations, maintenance, etc is a cost that would scare anyone entertaining such an operation.

Our next mission is to get Jason into a flight with his idol, Matt Hall who operates adrenaline light plane acrobatics out of Port Macquarie & Sydney under https://www.matthallracing.com

I’ll end this Blog here, so stay safe, happy & hopefully enjoy the photos as much as I have had reviewing them.

“Communication … Communication … Talk to each other”. From a song “Kite” on the concert DVD “Go Home” by U2 @ Slane Castle. YouTube have it also.

Thank you again for reading my blogs and I trust you will stay safe, happy & healthy for 2024. I do not receive any commissions &/or ‘perks’ from the above nominated businesses & locations as I am purely happy to provide the acknowledgement and connection.

I always look forward to seeing the feedback so don’t be afraid to comment. Live life to the most and a quote that I truly love is from Eckhart Tolle ..

“If I am not the hero of my life … who in the hell could be?”

Great Ocean Road & Grampians Tour – January 2024 Blog #2

Great Ocean Road & Grampians Tour – January 2024 – Days 5 – 7

I trust you have read Blog #1 so you can understand the following blogs that #2 are Days 5-7 where they are going to be huge for commentary & photos, such is what will unfold on this famous coastal stretch of amazing sights. Hope you enjoy this as much as we both did.

Day 5

Well, we are into our 5th day in Melbourne & we both set our alarms to 8.30am for a 10.30 checkout of Wyndham. EGR has a bit to do & I had the emergency of getting a new drink bottle from my preferred Kathmandu store after losing it last night. Kathmandu didn’t open till 10am & when walking I realised, I had not had breakfast & couldn’t afford the time when I returned to Wyndham. I found this small cafe in The Block Av which had the most delicious porridge (photo) & it was better than it looked too!!! The Block Av is where the Tea Rooms 1892 is located where we visited on Day 3 (refer to previous blog).

Of course, Kathmandu had a new series of drink bottles & not of my preferred type so had to settle for one that was at least suitable. $40 thank you as well!! On my way next door to Wyndham, contractors were putting in new large shop front glass so that was great to watch for a while with the equipment they were using & how precise they were using the apparatus arm. I have spent a lot of time working with glass panels & it is certainly not fun when they shatter (explode). Getting back to Wyndham, EGR was ready & keen to get underway. Perfect timing. Now for the huge haul of luggage to the street.

Of course, my task for EGR was to find an Uber that could take all of our gear to Somerton (Northern suburb) to pick up our Mercedes Voyager campervan. She scored a Tesla Y model & it looked far too small but Sean, the driver, had us packed & on the way in no time. It all fitted in the extra-large boot.

EGR making the conversation about the Tesla & asking Sean some questions on his life … it was a burst of laughter & “No Way”!!! For Sean worked with EGR’s aunty at Qantas for decades in Melbourne & he knew the aunty’s family & children too. Well, it was bloody hard for me to get another sentence in for the entire 35mins of travel. Such a small world & the conversations never eased.

Upon reaching our Britz destination in Somerton that’s when our day changed dramatically. The entry room was packed with people & only 2 desks were operating. We took the line as soon as we entered the room, only to be told later we needed to be in the other line. Then later found that any line would have done. Argh!!! 2 young British girls were in front of us, but we were both trapped with 3 sets of Chinese family travellers at the desk. Despite a few mandatory Britz emails sent to each hirer prior to arrival they chose not to read them & to check-in online! The lady at the counter had to then go through all 3 couples before they could get their vehicle & to check their driver’s licence & credentials first & then walk them through the hiring terms & conditions singularly. This took almost 2hrs & their kids were uncontrollable shockers too which we had to control for EGR’s well-being.

People in the other line that came in after us had already got their vehicle & gone & now we had just the one lady at the counter working & the other desk closed. Finally, the Chinese were finished & the 2 British girls were done in under 12mins, & the same for us. Then the waiting took place in getting our vans. We gave a few bananas to the girls as they had no food & starting to struggle with the heat & feeling stranded. Another hour had past & then the British girls were on their way & travelling to Adelaide, then flying to Perth. We had a great time with them & photos were taken with EGR. Finally, our van was ready but in getting the induction I found I couldn’t open the sliding door from the inside. Rowan, the serviceman disputed this but then couldn’t open it either so another 20mins transpired & then later it was confirmed it could not be fixed easily & we will be provided with another van and another 20mins delay getting the van commissioned. Rowan, with his manager came back with a $75 credit to me for the delay & inconvenience, etc. Again, the other van arrived but it was now a Mercedes Sprinter (better) & the handover completed after 2 people worked hard to get the filthy windscreen clean necessary for driving. Now we are on our way (We arrived at 11.50am & now leaving 4.55pm). 4 bloody hrs!!! Apologies for the bad mug shot of the next photo selfie. LOL!! EGR always looks great!

We were now pushed for time to get to Geelong for urgent grocery shopping for travelling & to see some sights in time (The famous Pro Surfing Beach of Bell’s Beach, etc with one photo) to get to Anglesea to stay overnight & charge the van battery up as recommended. We missed seeing the first stop of Torquay now & more time at Bell’s Beach.

Prior to arrival at Anglesea Caravan Park, they notified us of the afterhours office safe code to get the site instructions, but the code was incomplete so luckily, we managed to get phone help to obtain our specific set code for the boom gate entry. We eventually found our site & EGR started erecting her swag while I setup the van. We managed to get squared away, hooked everything up for the van, showered & had dinner at 8.40pm. What a day!!! EGR had done the initial drive to Geelong for food shopping than me to Bell’s Beach & EGR to Anglesea, for she wanted me to see the sights along the way as much as possible. That was a huge effort of EGR to do this driving, knowing her disability issues. Sleep is now well overdue, especially for EGR, but we survived this day & hope EGR has enough stamina for tomorrow.

EGR had brought her swag from her home at the Sunshine Coast in Queensland to help in her comfort & security (disability issues). She loves her swag & relates it to her cocoon so that is her preference for sleeping this entire trip. She had to buy new poles for it & have them delivered to Melbourne Post Office. Her stepdad had apparently misplaced her poles. Thankfully, they arrived in Melbourne the day prior to picking up the van with EGR so relieved.

Day 6

Woke up surprisingly well at 8.10am after a real full day prior. Most campgrounds have a 10am exit curfew so our phone alarms will be used unfortunately to make this deadline. EGR was disturbed by people talking loud well after midnight. I didn’t hear them from within the van. The 2 security workers patrolling at night in their golfcart obviously didn’t do their job in keeping the peace as per the site’s strict rules. While in the campground at the 10am check-out curfew we drove to the rear of the campground & was able to park & venture down the walk ramp to see the wide expanse of the Anglesea beach & the huge vertical sandstone cliffs looking about 40m high (bit dangerous with sheer land drops unexpectantly at times). After a brief chat with a local couple & a few photos we sneaked out of the campground until being stuck at the boom gate, possibly being well after the exit curfew. Very thankful for the groundsman to press the bypass code buttons with no penalty imposed.

From there we hit the Great Ocean Rd (GOR) again. The first stop was the Loveridge Lookout over Princess Mary Bay. Magnificent view & from the lookout you can clearly see the giant landslip towards the sea which happened in 1903. At this lookout, a visitor living within the region noticed my Yamba Backpackers t shirt (he had been to Yamba) & with this, gave us a quick history overview which was brilliant & well received. From there we stopped briefly at Fairhaven to take a quick photo from the side of the road of the famous Pole House. Superbly fitted out now for an expensive Airbnb. Due to driving I was unable to take more photos so apologies for the limited number. EGR couldn’t handle more driving & that was totally expected & acceptable.

From there to Lorne & up the hill to Teddy’s Lookout where we did about 10mins walking to see great ocean views. Lorne is a fair-sized town for numerous cafes & shops & a great looking pub. Next stop was in a nearby location as this lookout & was a meandering road & steep descent out the back of Lorne to Erskine Falls. Caravans, buses, etc not allowed into the forest road & very limited parking for a RV. After parking the walk down is of timber & rock steps (lots of them & people knew it on the way back due to the steepness of the terrain). What a glorious sight to behold of the waterfall, ferns & pure nature. We were able to scale the boulders & stream to get closer to the waterfall & take great photos. A truly beautiful spot. EGR was keen for a photo, so she scrambled to get closer to the waterfall trusting her to do it safely & I left to take the photo of course.

We travelled back through Lorne’s shoreline street, still busy in the cafes with lots of travellers & locals. Not far out from Lorne we came across another lookout, Mt Defiance, with 2 plaques. One read The GOR was built & commemorated to the soldiers of WW1 1914-1919 & the roadworks commenced almost straight after the war. The further we ventured down The GOR the fiercer the ocean became until we reached Separation Ck, Wye River & Kennett River further on. Definitely not safe for swimming or surfing.

Another great Lookout was Cape Patton with the most colourful of ocean which quickly reminded me of the famous Queensland Whitsunday Island waters I saw last year. With similar views & winding roads we stopped briefly at stopover points & then ultimately to Apollo Bay Campgrounds just out of the township on the Southeastern side. This was an average campground but cost effective however, Leigh at the office was sensational in helping us find an EGR suitable site. We did our setup on the first site only to find the neighbours of young men too inconsiderate & loud where EGR can’t tolerate that sort of noise & even with her earplugs at night would still be an unhealthy outcome for her. Leigh found us a few more sites & after scouring we only found 1 that was eventually suitable.

The setting up of our campsite is getting into a fine art & well-choreographed. I set the van up, EGR does her swag, etc & sort out her night requirements. After those tasks were completed, we later managed to have some red wine (mine with preservatives, EGR with special non-preservatives), dips/ crackers & a game of Phase 10 EGR educated me on & to which I competed well in my first round. We’ll continue the tournament another day hoping I’ll beat EGR. I cooked the BBQ, EGR did the salad & we both cleaned up, walked to the beach & back just before sunset & then off to the showers, now it’s getting past EGR’s sleep pattern. After a back burn flame I rechecked the BBQ gas lead & it appears to have a defect (tiny hole), so it will be indoor cooking from here on in. Arghh!! I’m so grateful EGR has a superb culinary outlook for this old man. She has managed to ensure we ate & drank well on this tour & has been of wonderful support. Sitting back relaxing it was then we needed to plan our times for campground entry to enable a smooth transition into nightfall to ensure EGR in gaining as much sleep as possible & to help stamina recovery.

All in all, I managed 5.4klms of walking (so too, EGR) & the road trip from Lorne to Apollo Bay took quite some hours to do despite the mere 47klms of road travel. So much to see & tomorrow should be even better.

Day 7

Out of the Apollo Bay campsite at 10am (deadline achieved) & turned left back through the township & up the hill to view from Marriner’s Lookout, which is part of private land where the owners provide access to this great location. There’re about 9 car spaces up there and our 7m RV was the biggest that should venture there & we were blessed no-one was coming back down on that narrow tight hairpin road. Took some great photos & without much ado we were back on the road in 30mins however, time was well spent.

We are now driving more inland so it’s more forest & pastures for some 81klms heading up to the northern most point of the road at Lavers Hill so not much to see & with just 17klms of road trip down we came across signage of Mate’s Rest Rainforest Walk named after a park ranger from long ago. What a great decision to venture into a small loop carpark with only 2 large vehicle spaces available. We did the 800m forest walk in 35mins as per the advice on walk signage with so much to see & to embrace.

This walk showed the true dinosaur era of ferns, moss, fungi & massive Beech Myrtle & other trees. The forest is so thick with vegetation. The low level easy gradient walkway is made up of elevated galv welded grid mesh (custom built) & very stable & accurate with a little bit of crusher dust & compacted soil on other walkways. A truly wonderful 35mins & so refreshing of cool, oxygen enriched air from the thick vegetation, much like the base of a waterfall gives.

Out initial itinerary allowed for a few hours to undertake the Otway Fly … Tree line Walkway & then ride the zipline back to the entry just outside of Lavers Hill. Upon our research & prior contact with management they could not advise on the type of ferocity at the end points of the zipline therefore thought it best not to partake, as EGR cannot afford any more whiplash damage. For most people this is a must do on the GOR journey & pre-injury EGR was a great zipline lover.

Back on the road we went non-stop on winding road all the way to Princetown Campground for an early setup. This campground is ideal to be close to the famous 12 Apostles & you get what you pay for @ $25 for 2 adults & a powered site. The toilets are a drop shute (no cistern, just a long drop open hole, but with a toilet pan .. yay!) separated by some 25m from the shower blocks, bored water, so no refilling of your fresh water & no dump site for waste disposal … nothing else. All in all, an open quiet area & not as many campers this time of year. Plenty of kangaroos at dusk. The campground is built around an AFL sports ground, so we were lucky there was no game or training on.

With time on our side for now, we engaged in a card game (Phase 10) again, dips & crackers & a mild curry lunch EGR made the other day. Yummo!! It was good to be ahead of EGR in this game & in seeing her do so well in her managing her health & stamina. Revising our trip plans we thought it best to drive 10mins down The GOR to see the famous 12 Apostles off the sheer cliffs of the coastline before sunset. We expected a quiet time considering the time of day, & being February but alas, buses full of tourists, mostly Asian & Chinese swamping the place. EGR & I quickly overtook their meandering & still we had to be patient & clever in taking our photos. One very rude Chinese man cut through knocking EGR hard. Respecting the crowd, I eventually stood next to him & gave him an absolute mouthful, but he didn’t speak English, or he hid it very well. Anyway, it was good to vent my disgust in his behaviour & his lack of manners & there was a hint he knew what I was on about. Sure enough, he had many of his rude followers with him as we found out later. Such rude self-centred uncaring people.

Some photos were hard to take with the cloud cover but very pleased we are seeing them in their glory. After a full intake of the 12 Apostles, EGR mentioned the chocolate/ alpaca farm on our way back. With a short drive we turned left into Princetown Rd & drove for 7klms to a beautiful farm, G.O.R.G.E Chocolates where we had far too many choices of chocolates, nuts, rocky road, jams, gifts, etc, etc. It was good to see a decent carpark too for a 7m van. You can feed the alpacas for $5, stay at the Cafe & very soon they will finish constructing farm stay cabins that are well underway. Certainly, a nice place to visit & as EGR stated a great place to stay soon & have chocolate on tap. LOL!!

On our way back, we stopped for 5 minutes, quite near to the vile Ferguson Wind Farm of 3 windmills. I wish I had some dynamite to blow these monstrous useless environmental hazards & killers. The whoosh sound was numbing from these toxic material blades. They suck birdlife in with their wind swirls & are the ultimate in environmental disasters not to mention the 200+ cubic metres of concrete imbedded into the foundation.

When reaching the GOR again we turned back (right turn) toward the 12 Apostles & then took a left turn at the nearby Gibson Steps signage. EGR advised me to put on my thermal under shirt while she wore her heavy wind vest. We sure did need it. The chilly wind was quite strong. Here at this location, again only 2 long vehicle bays but we were lucky to get 1. The Gibson Steps are large steps leading down along the face of the 80ft high cliff face with signage saying cliff faces can collapse at any time without warning so stay close to the ocean & not the cliff. Der!!! But again, some Asians walked along the sand under the cliff face & that was very unnerving for us both to see.

EGR tested the ocean water & came back with “icy cold!!” .. again “der!”. Looking straight out the ocean horizon you are looking straight toward Antarctica & feeling the onshore wind. What else would one expect!! We took some great photos of a few Apostles & it was time to get back to our camp site for an early dinner. Despite all the best plans we are still getting into our respective beds for sleep at 10pm. Alarm set for tomorrow’s big day at 5.30am for sunrise.

Stay safe, happy & hopefully enjoy the photos. Lots more to come.

“Communication … Communication … Talk to each other”. From a song “Kite” on the concert DVD “Go Home” by U2 @ Slane Castle. YouTube has it also.

Thank you again for reading my blogs and I trust you will stay safe, happy & healthy for 2024 and for it to be a far better year for all. I do not receive any commissions &/or ‘perks’ from the above nominated businesses & locations as I am purely happy to provide the acknowledgement and connection.

I always look forward to seeing feedback so don’t be afraid to comment. My next blog/s will be more of the Great Ocean Road where experiences & views will give more reasons to life & of how life changes, & not just for me.

Live life to the most and a quote that I truly love is from Eckhart Tolle .. “If I am not the hero of my life … who in the hell could be?”

Great Ocean Road & Grampians Tour – January 2024 Blog #1

My Great Ocean Road & Grampians Tour – January 2024 Blog #1

First, may I say apologies for the large gap in my travel blog publications. Since 11^th September 2023 to 8^th January 2024 with a few weeks off in-between I did major renovations to my cousin’s house in Coffs Harbour, some 90mins away. There were 2 large decks 4m off the ground that were severely unsafe plus major work needed for the house to sell. So glad that I managed to finish it & still alive. Lol!!

I never thought I had a bucket list of travels but somewhere in my backyard brain I longed to do The Great Ocean Road (GOR) in Victoria at some point. It was only searching my Wyndham Resort Ownership website I found they had returned to offer a Winnebago/ van travel option. Seeing I had enough points I was able to score a 2bed apartment at Wyndham Melbourne, 199 William St for a few days soaking up Melbourne & then obtaining the van for 7days hire. The 2 bed was the only apartment available for the timing required.

These blogs I will be doing on the GOR have a large volume of photos so sit back & enjoy these like I did. I used a platform called Polarsteps on my phone to help with my daily adventures in writing & photos so you may wish to upload & follow me on that too. It’s free. A Netherlands friend put me onto it when I planned their Sydney to Cairns road trip late last year. There is far too much to write about The Great Ocean Road & The Grampians, so it is left up to you to set your own itinerary & be satisfied with what you achieved. It may several tours of this region to accomplish a full in-depth tour of the sights, wineries, events, etc, etc. Such an awesome region of history too. I did my best to research prior, but on my journey, I found useful booklets along the way so if you can get the Travel Planner booklet Edition 4 from www.visitgreatoceanroad.org.au you will find this amazing & of great help in setting your targets. Here’s a map to show the coast road townships & circled places we stayed but first we have a few days in Melbourne before travelling. Melbourne is Victoria’s capital city of some 6Mil people. Melbourne is located in top right of photo map.

With all things confirmed I booked my Virgin flight from Gold Coast Airport, 30 Jan 2024 & this involved leaving Yamba & staying at my son’s place (Matt & Ashlee) at Banora Point where they will drop me off for the plane on their way to work. This made me so early I had to wait many hours for the flight, but I never minded this, for the opportunity to watch people being excited, crying in good-byes & all the other emotions involved in travelling & fewer people checking in … along with a great coffee. Never been one to have a beer prior to flying.

Many years ago, I met a young Australian lady travelling our great country at my cousin’s Backpackers at Yamba, NSW. She was vibrant and gained a front of house job there for quite some time. She loved Yamba & stayed. Like most workers & backpackers we all chatted & got on famously, even with this old bloke. EGR (Privacy respected) eventually left but over time she helped me in providing free travel to a German backpacker, Anita where I was able to take her completely around the Sth Island of NZ in 2017 in a 6berth Winnabago to which she & her parents remain ever grateful. EGR stayed in touch & at some point I ‘helped’ her through some terrible times she was having, albeit by phone. Long story short, EGR, with her parents were travelling in a convoy with EGR doing her own driving with a small A shaped caravan, late in 2023 as her first major test, & she wanted to catchup with me & others at Yamba to show her parents what she experienced in Yamba years ago & to meet me of course.

My initial shock when she walked into the backpackers, now a boutique hotel & micro-brewery, The Wobbly Chook Brewing Company, (post COVID) was EGR had an assistance dog, Duke (Great Dane x Bull Arab) .. Yikes!! That’s a big assistance dog! We had a great chat & The Great Ocean Road trip (GOR) came up & after a while she asked if she could come along & without Duke. She wanted to see if she could cope without Duke & wanted to revisit the GOR she did quite some years ago & would be a great navigator for me too. I said, sure, if you could deal with me. LOL!!! In Mid-January 2024 after a myriad of texts we both confirmed we were ready to go & all flights, etc were booked. Lucky, I originally booked the 2bed apartment prior.

Day 1 of Escape

Back at the airport now & arriving quite early I bag dropped my luggage & proceeded to security where a young Brazilian man was bringing his checked bag through the security & I pulled him up on it just as the security officer stopped him. I took him back around to the bag drop & showed him how to do it through the terminals scattered around on the floor. Nothing was checking out on the terminal pad & was stating baggage closed. He was flying Jetstar, so I immediately began to get the picture. There was a Jetstar counter on the opposite side of the terminal & I explained all to the staff. His flight was almost finished boarding, so they had to rebook him on another flight. He was so thankful for my assistance. Just prior to going to my departure gate he saw me in the crowd & thanked me again, leaving with huge smiles & a wave. He was so relieved to be on his way.

Still in G/Coast & when my boarding call was announced I saw a young lady standing just outside the departure lounge ropes & was wondering seeing her stressed and somewhat anxious. I hope she is all right.

I boarded the 737-800 airbus & obtained a window seat & in 2+hrs arrived in Melbourne Tullamarine with the weather remarkably fine. Melbourne is renowned for having 4 seasons in one day. My friend, EGR from the Sunshine Coast, Qld texted me, for her flight was now cancelled due to a heavy storm. She can’t fly till late tomorrow now. I was reading this text while waiting for my bag pickup on the carousel when I noticed the young lady, mentioned before, standing next to me. I said “Hi” & explained to her my friend just had her flight cancelled so plans have changed somewhat. I asked her about standing outside the ropes at the airport. She was waiting for a standby seat & was so relieved to get one on my flight. I then asked her if her trip to Melbourne was business, or pleasure. She replied “divorce” & started to tear up. With a few words, I was able to ease her pain & regained her smile, with more discussion I offered her a coffee to talk more if that was of help seeing I had been where she was many years prior. I was sure she was going to agree when her phone rang & she had to walk off for privacy. I had my large backpack now off the carousel, but she was still on the phone & walking to the carpark. I would have loved to have had coffee with her & offer my divorce & new life experiences if that is what she would be seeking. It was sad to see her alone in her world.

With EGR delayed I clambered onto the shuttle Skybus (can’t miss them – shiny red) to the Southern Cross Station for $23.80 (no pensioner discount .. arghh!!) a few blocks from my Wyndham resort in the CBD. After checking in, I returned back to the Sthrn Cross Station & scaled the street elevators to see what was behind the wall of buildings on that busy Spencer St. At the top was a large open causeway & open area for pedestrian access to buildings & train lines, plus the enormous Marvel Stadium. This stadium has an operating roof when needed & is so large it has cricket matches here, mainly, 20 & 50over games. There are no events scheduled here at present & there appears to be no internal tours available. I only have memories of TV games played there. After a walkaround EGR sent a list of special food required for her health condition for her arrival tomorrow & Coles food shop was just below on ground floor to make it all well-timed & easy. After shopping & storing the goods into the resort apartment’s fridge, etc I perused the street for dinner & found a Porterhouse Steak meal at Kings St Pub. Steak + 1pint of beer $56.80 thanks very much. Ouch!!! They only served pots or pints, no schooners. The pint cost around $16. Walked overall 9.76klms so that well exceeded my health step daily average of course. Nice 26°C for Melbourne. My 2bed apartment was excellent, such is the normal Wyndham high standard. I took the 2^nd bedroom, so EGR could have the master & ensuite to make it better for her over the next 3 days.

Looking out from the Concourse towards Docklands

Day 2

Woke up at 6am for an early Wyndham owner update which included brekky, coffee & juice. Finally, I had a great update from Wyndham. Best one for years. After that, I headed off for a 2+klm walk to the famous 110,000+ seat MCG stadium tour + Sports Museum Tour (2+hrs). Walked along the Yarra River past Flinders St Station & watched numerous rowing teams on my way. Also encountered the mass dismantling of the Australian Open Tennis setup which had just completed next door to the MCG.

The first things you see are the enormous structure of the stadium & the 6 x 80m light towers & then coming close to several bronze statues of legends, like Shane Warne, Betty Cuthbert & Shirley Strickland to name a few outside of Gate 3 entrance. Whilst the stadium is huge from the outside, it is only when you enter that you realize the playing ground is quite deeper than the surrounding land outside.

A volunteer MCG member was our tour guide & within a few minutes the guide, already frustrated, begged me to keep the group together & flowing, for any wandering or stopping affects the tours of others following us. The tours are only available when there are no events scheduled. The tours of both cost $35 in total on a concession, so they are of great value. Keeping the group together was a huge task & I lost my patience & tolerance particularly on an Indian family who showed utter contempt of keeping together. These Indians were so disgusting, rude, arrogant & my words spoken to them were quite direct & accurate. My blood was boiling!! Worst ever experienced on any tour I had undertaken. Afterwards, the tour guide was so very thankful that I did a great job. He too was very annoyed with them & disgusted with their behaviour.

The tours overall took some 70mins & so much history. In the Sports Museum tour (you are left to wander on your own & time) there is an AI hologram of the famous spinner Shane Warne talking about his career & what cricket meant to him & his history he had in this 10mins viewing. He’s greatly missed in the cricket world & the hologram was so real looking. His children have now set up a great charity to do with the heart.

We walked the hallowed ground of grass at the fence line & to see the wicket being prepared in the centre, but sadly not to see the change rooms, due to no access with cricket between West Indies & Australia in 2 days’ time on a one-day 50s game. The large expanse of grass & wicket pitches in about 2weeks time will be totally covered with a temporary floor for the upcoming Taylor Swift concert where she will play in front of her ever-biggest crowd of some 110,000 people. The grass will then be fully ripped up & replaced in time for the upcoming Aust Rules Football game where there are 3 clubs that share this ground. The wicket pitches are drop-ins so they will be lifted by special machines & replaced with a football drop-in centre pitch.

After the museum, I walked back towards Wyndham resort plus more groceries for EGR arriving much later today. With great timing EGR text me she was minutes away in a black Lexus Uber & will need help with her baggage. She was NOT wrong!!! She brought everything. I asked her where the kitchen sink was? LOL!!

With EGR now settled & very thankful & comfortable in seeing her bedroom & ensuite. A little overwhelmed, I think of providing her so-called ‘special treatment’. Again, we had to get more specialist food & decided on having dinner out as well. Getting back to the apartment EGR had hit the wall & off to bed but we managed to see the pool on the roof area (23rd Floor) & city sites prior. EGR has a low body battery & can’t handle noise, crowds & long conversations due to her brain disability (injury). With my day I had accrued over 20,000 steps or 15.29klms. Definitely, need sleep too & an easier day tomorrow.

Day 3

After a big walk day yesterday & with EGR needing recovery time I found myself waking up at 8.30am & a text from EGR needing to sleep till at least 10.30am. After a half bowl of yoghurt & blueberries I hit the walking pathway again. I found Hardware Lane where numerous coffee shops & restaurants rev backup from the previous night’s surge. Then revisited 333 Collins St to see the awesome historical internal building masterpiece of the general public area & then to Federation Sq/ Flinders St Railway Station.

Reviewing my Google Maps, I noticed Capt James Cook’s cottage was about 1klm away in the magnificent garden area. Cook being a true hero of mine I had to see this. Such a tragedy that he only spent a mere 4yrs at his home with his wife Elizabeth & had 6 children who all died prior to James & Elizabeth & therefore no heirs became of it. This house is a bit confusing, for it was Capt Cook’s father’s house. Purchasing a $7 ticket I was able to enter inside & see how they lived in such mini quarters. This house was built in 1755 for Cook’s father as a reward from his employer after his son James Cook joined the Navy. James Cook never lived in this house. Sir Russell Grimwade in 1933 learnt that the cottage was for sale in Britain. Grimwade then had the cottage dismantled & rebuilt in Melbourne 1934, making it the oldest house in Australia & felt it was worthy for Australia to be gifted this historical home. Inside the small, fenced enclosure volunteers were dressed in historical outfits & provided a commentary to any questions offered. At the side of the cottage is a full garden of vegetables/ herbs grown back then to show what was needed to live well. The rear of the house is the attached stable for the horses. An old-style garage for the transport vehicles. LOL!!!

From there I went past the historical buildings of significance, such as the Dept of Education, Old Treasury Building (now The Melbourne Museum) & finally the large Criminal building .. oops! .. Victoria’s Parliament House. I know I was right the first time!! Corruption at the highest-level prior, during & post COVID & still continuing. Can’t wait for justice on those criminal politicians.

Clockwise from Top Left – Cook’s House Frontage, Cook’s House from Stable End, Old Treasury Building, now Arts Museum, Victoria’s Parliament House (Criminal House more like it).

Taking Bourke St, I ventured on a tram within the free tram zone area where I was now able to meet up with EGR after her sleep in. I literally stepped off to almost fall into her lap on a platform seat. LOL! EGR, letting me know she feels better took me to Degreaves St Mall, then to “The Block Arcade” where there is a strong history of an amazing building & in the early 1800s socialites paraded around for daily communication & recognition. A real snobbery affair each day & was the place to be noticed if you met the grade required. Inside this historic building we had high tea in the most prestigious tea house in Australia called The Tea Rooms 1892. I had coconut, mango & black tea with a Mango mousse cake. Yummo!!! This tea house is always visited by EGR & her parents on their visits to Melbourne & extremely popular with tourists & citizens. EGR was super pleased to shout me this treat & to show me the better parts of Melbourne. We then went to Brunetti’s nearby where massive amounts of cakes; pastries & even pizzas are made. Their displays of their range were beyond belief & very popular for cake & coffee. Such an amazing place.

Walking further past Flinders’ St Station we crossed the 1868 bridge to the 2nd floor of Hamer Hall on Southbank for another city view. The bridge photo has EGR above the centre span sign on her way back to the resort for a much-needed recuperation prior to dinner with her friend later. Good battery management EGR.

Clockwise from Top Left – Flinders St Station Elevation, The Block Arcade, Brunetti’s Frontage, One of Brunett’s Displays, 1868 Bridge (St Kilda Rd Start), Flinders St Station Frontage opposite Federation Square.

I continued to walk Southbank & found Soho Restaurant where I enjoyed beers in Happy Hour till 6pm, great music and watched the hundreds of people walking past & the crazy EV scooters screaming past at a stupid speed & then back to the resort waiting up for EGR who needed to sleep almost as soon as she walked in. A big day for her.

Tomorrow, I have the entire day on my own due to EGR’s appointments with friends & relatives, so will look for more activities & sights.

Day 4

With EGR sleeping in as agreed .. I had the whole day & night to occupy myself. First, I had to cut up the butternut pumpkin & cauliflower after brekky for EGR to make her ‘famous’ mild curry before she meets her friend & later some relatives. EGR has to sleep with earplugs so my cutting up noise wasn’t a problem, although I still kept things as quiet as possible.

Walking down Little Bourke St I stopped at Trim in Hardware St for coffee (very nice) & then walked to Flinders St Railway Station to catch the #38 old tram for a free city tram loop travel. The carriage used is now 101yrs old & certainly travelled like it. 🤣

The p.a had failed so I was left to help a few travellers as I had the Tram Map showing locations & platforms. It was there I met a very young Chinese student who sat next to me & wanted to know our current location & the conversation then expanded considerably with more of her questions about this old man. Her friends stayed a few seats away (shy). Time flew & after her requesting my travelling website blog for her father & some inspirational reading for her, we took some photos as well. My travel website being, https://bhlifestyles.travel.blog All in all, she & her friends ended up doing 1.5 of the city loops (about 50mins) with me before she could alight, such was our conversations. She was such great company & thankful for my friendship.

For myself, I eventually did 2.5loops & with that, helped 2 very location confused American ladies who were so grateful in getting them to alight correctly. At the same time, I helped a Korean family to alight at their stop. I should get paid by Vic Transport; I think.

Getting off at Flinders Station it was time for a beverage so after a few choices I eventually found myself at Brunetti’s again for a pastry, surprisingly called Escargo .. found it was a scroll but the swirls resembled a snail .. whew!! & a great Lavazza coffee. I thought the pastry was a typical coffee scroll but no coffee, just smears of vegemite … a bit weird & definitely, not sweet. I settled down to do my computer ‘stuff’ on one of their large high tables (such a great spot) & then wandered around the streets & later had a health smoothie in Degreaves St. Such a cruisey day.

After seeing a fair bit of Melbourne, I was wondering what I can now fit it on my last sightseeing day. Doing a 360° I saw a neon sign stating Australia are playing the West Indies in a day/ night (50over cricket game) at the MCG today starting at 2pm. With another 2klms of walking I bought a General Admission ticket for $23 at Gate 3, so glad I did the MCG tour days earlier, so I knew where I was going, etc. I watched an entertaining game for quite a few hours but reluctantly, yet responsibly had to get back to my resort for dinner & to do my washing & drying ready for the Great Ocean Rd tour tomorrow & to assist EGR if required upon her return. Australia’s Capt Steve Smith came into bat just when I left & I missed his great innings. Bummer!!! Australia did win comfortably in the end.

For dinner, I funnily found myself back at Trim restaurant. Food was sensational. Upon leaving & almost back to the resort I found that I had lost my treasured well-travelled water bottle slipping out of my backpacks side pocket, so I retraced my steps to no avail. I was very attached to that water bottle I took to several countries. With so many people following me, not one person even bothered to advise me of my dropped bottle. I guess, that is Melbourne & city people. Thoughtless & detached.

I managed to do my laundry & completed some tasks just before EGR returned from her relatives visit. She was excited but now so worn out it may be a struggle to get away at the right time tomorrow. She had accomplished so much today. Tomorrow will be a full day too. All in all, I did 9.74klms today of walking so it’s sleep time for me too. Next blog will be the start of the Great Ocean Road, so stay tuned.

Stay safe, happy & hopefully enjoy the photos. Lots more to come.

“Communication … Communication … Talk to each other”. From a song “Kite” on the concert DVD “Go Home” by U2 @ Slane Castle. YouTube have it also.

Live life to the most and a quote that I truly love is from Eckhart Tolle .. “If I am not the hero of my life … who in the hell could be?”

BH Life Travels

Travelling as a mature male, noticing life & leaving miniature footprints on Earth

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