Bouncing Back on Blog!

Can't keep me off for long! Back in hotel now and all packed, ready for flight later this evening. Wrist a bit painful, but could have been worse - it might have happened when I took a tumble in our first week away in Suffern!

Dave's been brilliant - up and down between hospital and hotel, seeing to all the insurance and flight details.

Jean

So that's it folks. Back in Blighty soon and look forward to catching up with everyone. Many thanks to all who've been following the blog and we hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have compiling it. Dave

Jean mishap

Much regret to say that Jean took a tumble outside the hotel on Wednesday lunchtime as she returned from some shopping and broke her left wrist. She was taken by ambulance to hospital and had surgery under general anaesthetic about 1700 local. She was able to sit up in bed quite soon afterwards and has had something to eat and drink.

She is in good spirits, all things considered, but it's not a great end to the trip especially as the surgeon has indicated it may take three months to heal properly. She's staying in hospital overnight but we hope/expect she will be cleared for the flight home leaving early on Friday at 0035 local and due in Heathrow at 0625 London time.

She was in quite a lot of pain up to the time of the op, not helped by the back problem, but typically battled bravely on. She says the wrist is okay when she's not moving it and I hope to speak to Qantas first thing tomorrow to see about getting the most advantageous seat - or upgrade if possible. The hospital stay looks like coming in at quite a hefty figure but I am in touch already with the insurance company who are making all the right noises. Dave

Solitary Swimming

The pool area was a much quieter place this afternoon than yesterday and we both managed to have the water to ourselves when we cooled off with a few lengths. Enjoyable relaxation.

Jean

Thai Waterways

We walked a little further this morning to suss out a market. We ate at the hotel last night and, while the food was good value, we wanted to find somewhere that provided authentic Thai food for tonight. We located a largish stretch of stalls with a variety of goods to which I’ll return for some bargains later. There were plenty of small roadside food stalls, but we wanted somewhere with more tables and away from the immediate noise and fumes from the road, which we found eventually.

A bridge over a tributary of the Chao Phraya River had a large part of the balustrade missing, possibly broken as a car smashed into it. Although the stream wasn’t particularly wide, there were plenty of vessels using it - water taxis hurrying on their way and a rubbish boat, with masked workers hooking the large bags aboard.

Jean

Busy Bangkok

After settling in at the hotel we took a stroll out this morning to become familiar with the local area. We were reminded immediately how busy (and dangerous!) the roads can be.




A busy shrine to the Hindu god Brahma was located on the corner, where people were burning incense as well as giving garlands of flowers and other offerings. Some musicians and singers were in a small alcove, and people were paying a small sum to join them in prayer.

Almost next door was what might be seen as a contrasting Western “shrine”.

Jean

Farewell to Australia

We said a fond farewell to Melbourne and Australia yesterday. Many thanks to Greg for all of his hospitality, despite the fact that he was busy covering the tennis in Melbourne, and also to Peta, who very kindly drove us to the airport. It was great to be treated to a lift as we had quite a lot of baggage, but was all the more welcome as it saved my dodgy back from any strain.

Jean

Flights

Pleasant 55-minute flight from Melbourne to Sydney to link up with the plane to Bangkok which t0ok about 8 1/2 hours. Time to watch four movies on Qantas's excellent inflight entertainment programme. Still plenty to choose from when we do the rest of the flight home to London early on Friday morning.

Landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport which is only a couple of years old and is state of the art (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suvarnabhumi_Airport)

Magnificent building, though currently more noted for the political demo which closed it for a week or so late last year. Hotel taxi whisked us the Courtyard Marriott where we are staying in rather a nice room (pictured). No bath though but outdoor swimming pool is some compensation. Dave

The Reuters Boys

My back is on the blink again after shimmying to try and avoid bumping into a guy who was crossing the road but looking behind him the other day. I therefore didn't want to do a great deal, but wasn't going to decline lunch which we enjoyed with Greg and Oss.

We fly to Thailand tomorrow.

Jean

Tennis Again (2)

In the last match of the evening, Marcus Baghdatis was pitted against the American, Mardy Fish. Although the latter had the faster first serve, often at over two hundred kilometres an hour, Baghdatis was able to place his serve well, which was mre effective. His strokes from the baseline were more accurate and he had the added advantage of his famous band of travelling supporters who were extremely vociferous between points - more like a football crowd - but behaved impeccably during play. The Cypriot won 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. Jean

Tennis Again (1)

We had tickets for the evening session but arrived early thinking we might pick up some action on the outside courts, maybe some fast, exciting men’s doubles. In the event, we were accosted by a couple who were leaving the Rod Laver Arena early and asked if we’d like their corporate tickets for the remainder of the afternoon. So we saw the last set of the Jankovic - Sugiyama match in comfortable seats, which the top seed from Serbia, won 6-4, 6-4.



On to the evening and first match up was between Ana Ivanovo (seeded 5) and Alisa Kleybanova, which the 29th seed won 7-5, 6-7, 6-2. She played the better tennis in the first set, but came unstuck in the second as all of the vociferous spectators in the crowd were shouting for the Serbian, and cheering the Russian errors. The umpire had to intervene to ask people not to disturb the players between first and second serve.


Kleybanova held her nerve in the third though, with her heavy first serve and searing ground strokes. The majority of the crowd applauded a worthy winner.

Jean

Another loss

There would have been a photo or two here to illustrate visit to Australia's Museum of Horse Racing in the centre of Melbourne but stupidly I have lost/mislaid my camera. Last seen at a food outlet at Flinders Street Station. Reported lost to police but not very hopeful. Very sad as it was a retirement present from work colleagues. All mea culpa. Plenty of tennis to come later with pix by Jean. Went to the night session and did not get back indoors until past 0100. Dave

Scottish Player out of Aussie Open

No, not a shock dismissal for Andy Murray, but a loss for Elena Baltacha, the British number 3, by Amelie Mauresmo, the 20th seed from France.

We chose to go to one of the show courts to watch this as our first game. Baltacha was the better player in the first set, taking it 6-4.

The standard of her play dropped a little as Maureso upped her game in the second set and she lost it by six games to three.

Baltacha battled again in the third set, taking the first two games but, in the fierce heat and gusting wind, she couldn't maintain her superiority and lost the next six games. She showed she has the game to beat players of a higher ranking than he 134 in the world but will have to work on consistency.

Jean

At the tennis

Day four of the Australian Open tennis at Melbourne but day one for us as we caught up with world number one Rafael Nadal.

He reached the third round with a convincing 6-2 6-3 6-2 victory over Croatia's Roko Karanusic in one hour and 37 minutes at the Rod Laver Arena - the Centre Court.

Bookmakers have made Andy Murray favourite at 3-1 just ahead of Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. I reckon Murray can win it but 3-1 is skinny.

In the women's, Australia's Samantha Stosur, better known as a doubles player, looked quite good as she eased past Germany's Sabine Lisicki 6-3 6-4. Interesting day's tennis but not many surprises.

The shock exit of Venus Williams came at the Thursday night session when our tickets were no longer valid, but we saw the game on TV.

Dave

Super Night Out (2)

The Melbourne Club (pictured) is right out of the land of London's gentlemen's clubs. Beautiful place inside including huge dining room for up to 200 though only about a dozen of us were there on Wednesday night. Maybe the movers and shakers are still on holiday.

The lift is a virtual museum piece, all dark wood and grills, the billiards room as it should be, the library and reading room undisturbed and the garden at the back a haven of peace, far enough away from busy Collins Street.

Another gem is the wine cellar which is about 100 metres long and currently holds around 150,000 bottles. It also has private vaults where individual members can store their own wine ! Dave

Super Night Out

Tuesday 21st January

Peta treated us to a wonderful evening at The Melbourne Club. It is located in the heart of the city, but you wouldn’t know that from inside as all is peaceful and quiet. Firstly we had drinks in the garden, where a kookaburra sat on the back of a chair at our table and an old tree spread its branches far and wide giving plenty of much-appreciated shade.

The three course meal was beautifully presented, and delicious with the each part being served at suitable intervals and, after being shown round, we returned to the garden for coffee, brandy and chocolates.

Thanks Peta for a delightful and extremely indulgent evening.

Photography was not allowed inside so this one of us on the steps outside afterwards!

Jean

Melbourne Club

May not be a detailed blog until later today as we have been invited this evening to the Melbourne Club as guests of Tina's former work colleague Peta, who also spirited us into the members' enclosure at the Melbourne test match last month so many thanks to Peta.

The club dates back to 1839 and over time has counted prime ministers, governor generals and various other political, business and social elite among its members. Full details on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Club

We are there because Peta's ladies' club is having some refurbishment and in the meantime members are being allowed to use the Melbourne. I am not sure whether my old club, the Redcar and District Working Men's, holds similar rights but I will ask. Dave

Twin Bridges

No, not twins, as one is forty years older than the other, but they have the same design.

The first span of the Kings Bridge over the South Esk River in Launceston was manufactured in Manchester and brought out to Tassie, where it was floated into place in 1863. The trouble was, it only had one lane so, forty years later when traffic levels had increased considerably, the authorities decided to commission another similar span. They gave the work to a local company who copied the design of the original and put it into place beside the original in 1903.

Jean

The Huon Pine

The huon pine tree is not actually a pine but a podocarp, an evergreen conifer found mostly in cooler areas of the southern hemisphere, especially Tasmania. It is a slow growing, but long-lived tree, which was and is highly prized fine grain, golden colour and the fact that it does not rot easily due to a natural oil it contains. It was over-logged and, as it grows so slowly, it s numbers have been dwindling. It now has protected status within Tasmania.

This boat, which we by-passed today on our cruise, is built from huon pine and our captain informed us that it is likely to outlive all of the boats around it.

Jean

A sting in the tail

An hour before heading to Launceston airport to return the car and catch the flight to Melbourne there was a nasty surprise.

I had parked in a street near the river while we caught a 50-minute pleasure-boat cruise which took in the port and the nearby gorge.

When we returned there was a 50 dollar parking fine on the windscreen, not for overstaying our time, but for allegedly parking out of the designated bay. To us this looked nonsense and we intend to dispute it. We have pictures of where we were and the car, seen here in happier times, looks to be well within limits. Not guilty, m’lud. Dave

The nearly Royal yacht

In other circumstances this vessel Wyuna, moored these days in Launceston, could have been the Royal Yacht, instead of Britannia.

It’s a similar shape and design to the one that was finally chosen all those years ago but apparently not quite big enough and Britannia got the nod.

Since then Wyuna has had a varied career including being leased for the period of Sydney Olympics in 2000 to Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. - real royalty! Dave

Stephen King Memorial

The memorial is about five metres high and consists of seven copper representations of poppy capsules. It was unveiled in March 2004 and although Stephen was present, he died three months later.

From this you might have guessed that the memorial is not dedicated to the famous American author! In fact, it commemorates the man who pioneered the Tasmanian poppy industry.

The pharmaceutical industry needs poppies for morphine, codeine and thebaine. Apparently poppies had been grown in South-East England but the alkaloid content was not fairly low, meaning that insufficient morphine could be produced. Tasmania was identified as an ideal location with an excellent climate for poppy production so Stephen King (an Oxford botanist) emigrated to Tasmania in 1965 to supervise research and production of poppies in the state.

He was tremendously successful, and Tasmania now supplies about fifty per cent of the world’s morphine, codeine and thebaine requirements.

Jean

Pohutukawa Trees

We saw many examples of this tree while in New Zealand. It is a native that has beautiful bright red flowers which bloom between November and January and is sometimes known as the New Zealand Christmas tree. Many naturalists in NZ are concerned as it is under threat particularly from browsing by the common brush tail possum which was introduced from Australia and strips the tree of its leaves extremely quickly.
I was therefore quite surprised to see several examples of this lovely tree on our walk this morning along the banks of the Mersey River in Devonport.

Jean

Trains again

As noted previously, Tasmania has had no passenger rail services since 1978 which is quite a surprise.

Various enthusiasts around the island run local tourist trips like this one at Devonport. They have four steam trains but none is working at present so the hourly 20 minute service up and down the local riverside is operated by a diesel unit (top right) dating back 70 years but still working well. Dave

Also, as noted previously the Spirit of Tasmania sails regularly between Melbourne and Devonport where she was docked on Monday morning after an overnight crossing.

This and her sister ship were built in Finland in 1998, weigh in at around 30,000 tonnes and have berths for around 800 passengers. They do the 430-km trip in around 10 hours. Dave

Launceston to Cradle Mountain

The first half of the one hundred and fifty kilometres between Launceston and Cradle Mountain was through plains and rolling countryside with cattle, sheep, horses and the odd hens with scattered farms and small settlements. The general appearance was rather English, although the grass was very dry and yellow, so it would have to have been during a dry English summer! Looking at the plant life in more detail, though, showed that this was not the U.K. as, although there were some imported trees, the majority were native ones. The wild flowers were a combination of European favourites and native species.

During the part closer to Cradle Mountain the roads became narrow and hilly with several hairpin bends as we travelled through forest.

Just on the borders of the park we saw our first wombat and kangaroo - I had just about given up on seeing the later in the wild, so the sighting was very timely.

The Cradle Mountain Lake St Claire National Park covers a fifth of Tasmania. It is World Heritage-listed and, although we only saw a tiny proportion of it, is clearly a magnificent wilderness with breath-taking scenery.

Cradle Mountain itself has a very distinctive shape which was created by the action of glaciers on both sides wearing back towards each other leaving a sharp knife-edged ridge known as an arete. In fact, this is Dove Lake and, once again, we were lucky enough to visit when the weather was sunny and hot, with clear blue skies. This is just to prove that I climbed Glacier Rock for to achieve a good vantage point for the mountain across the lake.

The black currawongs looked as if they thought they owned the place and were a constant presence with their harsh calls, even when they weren’t visible. This rascal alighted on a bush just above a man sitting on a bench. I was about to say, jokingly, “Look out for your baguette”, as it was eying the food longingly, when the bird flew down and snatched half of the filling!

Jean

Murals

The small town of Sheffield half way between Launceston and the Cradle Mountain turned out to have lots to recommend it.

Over recent years they have run a mural competition with the best nine displayed in the centre of town and then voted on, partly by judges and partly by the public.

This was one of the entrants for last year which Jean and I both liked. The artists were asked to express hopes for universal peace. I am not clear of the link with this one but it was a striking piece of work. Over the years the competition has grown in stature and now attracts an internatonal field each year. Dave

A winner at last

After the glories of Cradle Mountain and the surrounds to the delights of Mowbray Heights harness racing (trotting) about 10 minutes drive from our hotel in Launceston - and a winner at last (pictured).

The horse had a King in its name (King's A Coach) so was a natural for Jean and I lumped on as well. Only trouble is it was even money favourite and eventually failed to balance out evening losses.

Interesting evening though. A provincial track but well run and a decent crowd for a Sunday night. Dave

Gorgeous Gorge

Cataract Gorge, or The Gorge as locals call it, was spotted by William Collins, when exploring the area in the ship Lady Nelson in 1804. He wrote, "Upon approaching the entrance I observed a large fall of water over rocks, nearly a quarter of a mile up a straight gully between perpendicular rocks about 150 ft high. The beauty of the scene is probably not surpassed in the world".

The dolerite rock, which occurs in volcanic areas, is dark grey in colour and I can imagine the scenery might look rather bleak on a wet, windy winter’s day, but on this sunny, warm morning the scene below me while riding the chairlift certainly was an attractive one.

Jean

Cheapskates

As the majority of motels in New Zealand were equipped with at least a basic level of kitchen appliances, we cut our daily expenditure by purchasing provisions from a supermarket. We then made our own breakfast, and sometimes an evening meal in our room.

This routine hasn’t been as easy in Tasmania as equipment is not always available and, cheapskates that we are, we found ourselves spreading peanut butter and marmalade with a teaspoon this morning.

Jean

Make mine a Boag's

The Boag's centre for beer lovers is located in the middle of Launceston. A guy called James Boag started a Tasmanian brewing tradition on the banks of the Esk River in 1852 which continues to this day.

The Brewery's history can be traced in the museum section of the the centre but is not open on weekends so had to pass on that one. However, I can vouch for the beer which I sampled on Friday night with my steak sandwich. Dave

Waiting for March

Spent the day looking round Launceston, Tasmania's second largest city with a population of around 100,000.

Nice place with many houses enjoying great views down to the port and river below. Quite a busy shopping area but a touch of the New Zealands as many outlets close as early as 4 p.m on a Saturday.

And if you fancy a night at the rather handsome Princess Theatre you'll have to wait a while. There's nothing on until March. Have to say generally 0n the arts side that both NZ and Australia compare modestly to London with all its huge variety and depth. Dave

Another blow (hole)

Attractions at Bicheno, our Thursday night stopover on the East coast, included another blowhole but as noted before I am out of luck with them. Today promised more as there was a strong wind blowing but when push came to shove it was another modest affair so I am now 0-3.

Fortunes may change on Sunday though as I see from the local paper Launceston has a harness racing (trotting) track and I hope to call in. Even now I can hear the bookmakers running for cover. Dave

Bicheno to Launceston

Walked down to some of the granite rocks near our motel this morning and Dave was dwarfed by the size of them.

Quite a drive today as we went south to begin with to see something of the Freychinet Peninsula and had some glimpses of the beautiful pink granite mountains and stretches of green, blue and turquoise sea.

Back through Bicheno and northwards up the coast before turning west to Launceston (pronounced Lorn-ce-ston here). We took the A3 - the scenic route - and it was a somewhat different from the UK version!

Stopped off at St Helens for refreshment, where there were several small jetties for fishermen. Apparently fish are abundant here with a great diversity of species, including one that tickled my fancy - the Bastard Trumpeter.

Jean

p-p-p-Pick up a Penguin

15th January 2009

Not a good photo, but the best I could do at 22:00 with camera flash banned.

This evening we had the most amazing adventure at a rookery of fairy penguins.

By the way, those of my age will recognise the headline but for younger readers, it was an old advert for Penguin chocolate bars.

On the edges of Bicheno is a rookery that was established many, many years ago. There are about eight hundred penguins on the mainland and another sixteen or seventeen hundred on Diamond island just offshore. They come to this rookery to breed and when the chicks are old enough, migrate elsewhere until the next breeding season. The birds lay their two eggs in nests, which may be natural or wooden boxes. One parent will stay with the chicks for about three weeks while the other goes fishing for food both for themselves and the little ones, which they regurgitate when they return. Some of the nests, in fact, are over a road and in the gardens of local inhabitants.

Apparently the parents go out at 04:00 or 04:30. We saw them returning at about 21:30, so these guys really work hard in the breeding season.

Groups of about twenty people are bussed up to the rookery and taken round by a guide. Not only did we see penguins coming out of the sea and over the rocks, but waddling up the pathway and actually right past us - we could, literally have picked one up, if we didn't mind being bitten! We were also able to see into some of the boxes and watch parents and chicks.

Jean

A Tale of Two Bridges

15th January 2009

Just south of Swansea, we came across two strange bridges, the first named the Three-arched Bridge at Mayfield Bay. This was a tiny one built to allow a track to pass over the Old Man Creek to the sea.

The second was the Spiky Bridge, built for the “free” settlers to enjoy a more comfortable journey along the coach road, which was very bumpy and crossed several large gullies. Agreement to built it was only given after the governor was given a lift home by one of the inhabitants, who deliberately drove over the worst of the gullies in the coach at great speed and shook the governor up something shocking!

The link? They were both built by convicts.

Jean

The Convict Executioner

15th January 2009

Two of my stories are linked to Dave’s description of Richmond. One of the convicts at the gaol, Solomon Blay, was transported for a term of fourteen years for making counterfeit coins in 1836. By 1841 he had been awarded the title of Sheriff’s Operator as he had become a hangman (despite still being a prisoner). He was even allowed out of Richmond Gaol for the purpose of executing prisoners at Hobart and Launceston!

Mind Your Step!

The building of St Luke the Physician Church was started in 1834 and two years later a couple enquired about being wed there. Only trouble was, the floor was not complete, so the minister had to arrange to have planks laid over the joists so the happy couple and friends could walk up the aisle and tie the knot.

Jean

Richmond

I know Richmond in Yorkshire very well, Richmond in Surrey quite well but Richmond in Tasmania not at all, until yesterday.
It used to be quite important in the early to late 19th century as a town linking Hobart and the south. A very English-looking church survives from the early period as does the inevitable jail ..
Among the many convicts who served a sentence in the prison was a a guy called Ikey who is said to be the inspiration for Fagin for Charles Dickens. The CV fits as he was a well known “fence” who did time in Australia before being allowed to return to England.
Another feature of Richmond is the bridge over the river which is said to be the oldest working bridge still in operation in Australia. Dave