Singapore to Home

Day 34 - Singapore to Home

Ombersley

Thursday, 25 August 2011

We left Singapore on time, leaving at 23:30 local time. Wendy, Lizzi and I had just had enough time to have a foot massage by a machine, which was lovely until the people after us had theirs done wearing no socks and we started to worry about who might have been in there before us and in what state their feet might have been. Still, too late now.

We were all starting to feel fatigued when we took off from Singapore. The girls were feeling a little sick but they had some water and a short sleep and then felt better. The plane was almost completely full. We all slept a little but mainly wiled away the 13 hours watching the entertainment and eating. I got a bit peckish between the meals and went to see the stewardess and came back armed with sandwiches, crisps and chocolate for the troops, all gratis of course (at least pre-payed for as I explained to the girls).

After what seemed quite a long flight (although it was actually shorter than the outgoing flight) we arrived in Heathrow. We took a photo in the exact same spot as we did on the day we left, to complete the circle.

We had parked the car at Purple Parking and taken the option of them delivering the car to us at the airport. A quick phone call and the car was brought to us and off we went.

The journey home was uneventful and after a quick shower we went off to pick up Jessica's

GCSE results (5A*s and 7A's - pretty impressive). We then went over to Pauline and Ron's (Wendy's mum and dad) to collect Eddy. He looked really well, healthy and happy which was great to see. We had an impromptu lunch then came home for a short Nanna Nap. We are trying not to go to sleep too early to try and defeat the jet lag but Anna is spark out.

Well we have come to the end of our holiday. A holiday of a lifetime is a phrase often used and who knows what our holidays will be like in the future, but I would say that this holiday has come as close as is possible to a holiday of a lifetime. It was great to go back to Australia and see places we remember so well, and it was great to meet up with our good friends Cathy and Anthony and Sarah. The time and the miles seemed to fade away and it was as if they lived around the corner and we saw them every weekend.

This trip to Australia was made even more special than the last because we had the girls with us and it has been a real privilege and a joy to spend so much time together as a family.

Thanks Cathy for putting us up in Melbourne and for helping us organise our trips from there, and thanks for the AFL tickets, that was an experience never to be forgotten and I shall wear my Essendon hat with pride (sorry it isn't a Carlton one).

Thanks Anthony and Sarah for putting us up in Toowoomba, it was great to see you and I'm sorry that we only had such a short time together, but if you follow your 5 yr plan then we'll see you on your next big holiday, or maybe sooner if we can fix something up.

Thanks Tom and Rach, Pauline and Ron for looking after Eddy for us. I know he can be a bit full of energy and excitable, but he looked really healthy and happy when we picked him up and I'm not sure whether he missed us or not. I would like to think he did miss us but it's great to think that he has been so well looked after, so thanks.

Thanks Nigel and Jane and the girls, Geraldine and the boys for looking after our rabbit, Chucky, we will come and pick her up tomorrow.

Thanks Steve, Chris, Brian and Steph for keeping an eye on our place while we were away. I hope it wasn't too arduous a task and it is really reassuring knowing that you have someone keeping a watchful eye out for us.

So this is Chris signing off back in old blighty. Thanks for following the blog, I hope you found it interesting and possibly amusing in places. The special award for comment writing goes to Sue who managed to comment every day. We used to look forward to getting everyones comments which were automatically forwarded by email and it was always a moment of excitement when we read them out.

I have enjoyed writing the blog and it will be a lasting memory of our trip. It's going to feel funny not writing it any more so check it again in a little while in case I've carried on (don't think so).

Thanks again and lots of love from Wendy, Chris, Jess, Lizzi and Anna xxx

	The Trip Completed [Map]

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Brisbane to Singapore

Day 33 - Brisbane to Singapore

Brisbane Airport, Singapore Airport

Wednesday, 24 August 2011

Well this is it, we're off today. We woke at about 7, showered and dressed then emptied the hire car and packed ready to go. We ate as much of the left over stuff as we could (I only managed half a bottle of tomato ketchup) and chucked the rest. I wanted to leave it in case the cleaners wanted it but Wendy thought it was better to throw it away. I did give one of the cleaners a pineapple and she seemed pleased. Wendy, the Eco Terrorist, even threw away a cool bag and ice block which I was sure could have been recycled. I did tell Wendy I thought she was an Eco Terrorist, and when she started speaking to me again we set off for the airport. We were a bit on the early side so we dropped in to McWifi to upload yesterday's blog and have a coffee.

Then we went to the airport and handed back the keys to the hire car, which was as simple as that. No forms, no signing etc, I just gave the keys to some bloke in the car park who said he'd take care of things and drove the car away, strangely laughing. I'm sure it'll be fine though but I did turn down his kind offer of taking our bags for us too. Not sure why he was wearing a balaclava but hey, this is Australia.

We had inadvertently left Wendy's coat in the hire car in Melbourne and Thrifty had arranged for it to be sent to Brisbane for us to pick up. However it looks like it has been run over, bleached and then set on fire just for good measure. We get the message Thrifty - don't leave stuff in your cars. I have taken photos and will email Thrifty but I'm not sure what they will do.

Then we went off to check-in, nervously carrying several items of hand luggage each, including plastic bags of stuff we had collected on our way and a didgeridoo, along with suitcases stuffed to the gunnels and seeming rather heavier than they were on the way here.

There was no problem and checking in went smoothly. Wendy's suitcase is on it's last legs and has sustained several airline induced injuries along the way including tears and a couple of lost handles, so we had had it professionally wrapped and sealed in cling film for $10.00.

We went through security which seemed a little less stringent than some. I suspect the X-ray man had spotted our Rolf CD in my bag as he was whistling Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport quite loudly in a knowing sort of way as we walked away. We didn't feel ridiculed, we felt proud. We are now fully paid up members of the DDRS (Don't dis. Rolf Society)

We did a bit of the usual shopping that you do in airports. You know the sort of thing - buy any old rubbish to use up your cash, and spend anything left on chocolate - then waited for our plane.

We were called to boarding exactly on time. Singapore Airlines is a great carrier. The staff are all really helpful and good looking too, and that's just the stewards.

We have just crossed the coast of Australia south-west of Darwin and are now crossing the ocean. Everyone is engrossed in the inflight entertainment, but I have been sitting in Lizzi's window seat and watching the countryside pass by below us. Australia is amazingly barren and huge with occasional long straight roads which seem to be going nowhere, and river beds both dry and wet and very occasional houses and settlements. Life in those settlements must be tough. There were several large bush fires as we crossed the Northern Territory.

We have had our meal (choice of beef stew or wok fried chicken) and now it must be time for a Singapore Sling. We are having Korean style fried rice with beef, egg and kimchi (no idea, and can't google up here either) for our next meal, or chicken and leek pie if you don't fancy that. As we are now over the ocean I think I'll watch Kung Fu Panda 2. Jess said that it is hilarious.

We have now arrived at Singapore and are waiting for our connecting flight to Heathrow. The local time is 20:47 and our connecting flight leaves at 23:30. Singapore airport is smart but quite warm and humid, it's currently 32 degrees outside!

	Nearly ready for off [Map]		Missed. Taken from a moving car [Map]
	Coat attack [Map]		We got the message Thrifty [Map]
	I don't fancy sitting next to him [Map]

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Brisbane

Day 32 - Brisbane

Brisbane

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

We left our cabin in Surfer''s Paradise just after 10, but before heading for Brisbane we stopped at the Post Office to arrange to pay my speeding ticket (boo hoo). I had to buy a money order and post it to them. The weather wasn't good, warm but rainy. It had been pouring with rain all night. After parting with my hard-earned, we drove up to Brisbane, it's about 40 mins north of the Gold Coast. We had planned a day of reminiscing and the girls were very patient. First we tracked down Storey Bridge which you would have thought would be easy to find but those tricky Aussies had hidden it and it took ages to locate it. Brisbane has changed quite a lot since we were here 20 yrs ago and there are loads of over passes and bridges we didn't know about. In fact we had to drop in to McWifi to enter our destinations into the iPad sat nav (we uploaded the blog pages at the same time). We had just about given up when it appeared in front of us and we ended up driving over it three times. We stopped near the bridge and walked down the waterfront to where Wendy and I occasionally used to go for coffee on a Sunday morning.

After that we headed for The Royal Brisbane Hospital and parked just outside the car park we used to use every day. We then walked round the hospital grounds videoing and thinking that security would come and chuck us off any time, but they didn't. Not surprisingly the hospital has changed a lot and lots of the buildings we knew had been flattened and re-built. There is a nursing museum which is open on Tuesdays from 11 to 2 but we had just missed it. The person in charge was still there but didn't have any spare time to let us look round but she did take our address and said she would post some info to us.

From there we moved on to Riverton Street in Clayfield and had a good look round the block of flats at no. 84. We used to live in flat 6. Luckily no-one called the police as we nosed round. I had a look through one of the windows and I think even the furniture is the same. It looked exactly the same as it did 21 yrs ago, only 21 yrs older. Even the washing line was the same. I once left my clothes hanging out overnight and in the morning they had been nicked...even my pants!

After that we had a drive down Sandgate Rd and saw the shopping mall we used to use and saw the convenience store (7/11 store) which had an armed robbery while I was doing some shopping in it when we were here last (I didn't know it had happened as I was in the back of the shop at the time, I only found out there had been a robbery because the cashier didn't nave any change).

We then found a motel and got changed and went out for our last dinner here in Australia. We went to The Breakfast Creek Hotel, which is a restaurant we remember well. You choose your steak and they cook it for you - very nice. I had the rib eye, Anna had a petite rib eye, Jess and Lizzi had a Mignon steak (wrapped in bacon) and Wendy had a nice rump (actually she had rib fillet but that wouldn't have been funny). After that we went into central Brisbane to a 24hr pancake house (Pancake Manor) for pudding. Anna had Blueberry Heaven, Jess had Strawberry Patch, Lizzi (surprise surprise) had Chocolate Jewels and Wendy had a nice rump (ha ha, actually we shared a Bananarama pancake with butterscotch sauce).

The girls are in bed now and Wendy is saying goodbye to Cathy on the phone. It is sad that we are leaving tomorrow but we have all said that we have had a great holiday and are looking forward to seeing our family, friends and dog but not necessarily in that order! (only joking.....I forgot the rabbit).

I'm off to bed now but keep following the blog as I'll be blogging until we get home on Thursday. In fact, it's become such a habit that I might just keep going!!

	Storey Bridge [Map]		Down memory lane [Map]
	Riverton Street [Map]		6/84 Riverton Street [Map]
	Breakfast Creek Hotel [Map]		Brekky Creek Steaks [Map]
	Placing order [Map]		Bananarama Pancakes [Map]
	Chocolate Jewels [Map]		Strawberry Patch [Map]
	Blueberry Heaven [Map]

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Surfer's Paradise

Day 31 - Surfer's Paradise

Surfers Paradise

Monday, 22 August 2011

We got up at 6am so we could have a coffee with Anthony before he left for work, then Sarah and I took the dogs for a walk for about an hour around Toowoomba, and we had a good chat about the ups and downs of their lives over the years.

After breakfast we had a tour of the house and gardens (I had been round yesterday with Anthony and seen the man things like the shed and the water collection tanks), but the ladies had been chatting inside and so wanted a tour before we left.

We said our goodbyes and set off for Surfer's Paradise at about 11. It's about a 2 hr drive starting off with a steep descent off the range.

We found some accommodation in a cabin at The Main Beach Holiday Resort which was very nice, unlike the weather. It was windy and rainy but still warm(ish). In fact the wind and rain were so bad that the only people on the beach were TV weather reporters.

We went to the esplanade and did some souvenir shopping and then went to Coles supermarket to get provisions. I bought some marinated Kangaroo steaks for the barbie. We went back to the cabin and cooked up a feast using the BBQ which is on the decking outside as well as pasta, salad etc.

The weather was still rainy and the park have a DVD library and so we watched Ghost Town (with Ricky Gervais - very funny) and then Aliens in the Attic (weird).

Then off to bed. It's our last full day tomorrow and we are planning to drive to Brisbane for a trip down memory lane for Wendy and me (we lived and worked there in 1990-91).

	Surfer's Paradise? [Map]		Not many surfers out there! [Map]
	At the Shops [Map]		Main Beach Resort Park [Map]
	Our Cabin [Map]		BBQ Area [Map]

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Toowoomba

Day 30 - Toowoomba

Toowoomba

Sunday, 21 August 2011

Today we were travelling to Toowoomba to see Anthony and Sarah Cerqui who are Anna's god parents. They have three children (Emma, Bec and Anthony jnr.). We left Noosa about 10 and popped to McWifi then set off on our journey. The weather wasn't great, warm but showery and we decided we would make better time going via Brisbane. However we didn't account for stationary traffic on The Bruce Highway so we took a detour and headed across country through Kilcoy and Esk and up onto the range that way. Anthony told us later that that is the way he would have gone anyway. We arrived in Toowoomba a little later than planned (about 1pm) and then struggled to find their house. I tried to phone them but couldn't get through and eventually Anthony phoned us and guided us to their home.

Anthony is a private Obstetrician and they live in a lovely house on the outskirts of Toowoomba. It was great to see them and we shared a chicken salad lunch. Anthony still thinks of Wendy as Wendy Jinks and thought it was really funny that she still pronounces words that end in G with a hard G at the end (sinG, rinGinG etc) and the girls do to. It sounds normal to us but Anthony thought it was very funny.

As you can imagine, we spent some time reminiscing (poor girls). Anthony and I worked together for a month or so in Toowoomba and we were often the only doctors in the hospital. We both clearly remember saving the life of an asthmatic lady who we had to intubate between us (Anthony intubated and I read out the instructions). I remember their shed, which was infested with red-back spiders. Just for your interest, 20 yrs ago Anthony influenced me by telling me that wearing a vest in hot weather made him more comfortable, and I've worn a vest ever since (not the same one). As you can imagine the girls were finding stories like these fascinating.

They also remembered Wendy's teddy bEar, Dakin, and were amazed that the bear was still with us, although the bear now belongs to Jess and is called Emily!

Then we went for a walk with their two dogs. They have a little dog called Baci (Italian for kiss) but recently they have been worried by security and have bought themselves a Blue Healer called Alvin, which is a cattle dog. This dog lives outside and it's not safe to go into their garden if Anthony and Sarah aren't with you. However I thought I'd made friends with Alvin so went out to take some video of their garden. Alvin noticed me by their summer house and came over and shepherded me back to the house. He is trained to nip the heels of cattle and he tries to bite the back of your jeans at the knee. Apparently then he just holds you and stops you leaving. I think he secretly liked me as he didn't actually bite me!

We had a lovely evening. We had a fondue with prawns, fish, beef and lamb, followed by marshmallows and strawberries in chocolate.

Anthony was operating at 06:30 the next morning but we went to bed quite late.

	Fondue [Map]		Anthony and Chris [Map]
	Sarah, Baci and Alvin [Map]		BBQ area overlooking Tennis Court [Map]

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Noosa

Day 29 - Noosa

Noosaville

Saturday, 20 August 2011

After breakfast we packed up and set off for Noosa. We had a drive down the esplanade of Hervey Bay as we had all enjoyed our stay here and we wanted one last look. Then we headed off down the Bruce Highway towards Noosa which is approximately 2 hrs drive away. We entertained ourselves in the usual way (mainly singing to the music from the iPod, the girls only let us have Rolf on for a few minutes although I think they secretly like it).

En route we stopped at Eumundi which is a small town which is known for it's weekly market. It reminded us very much of Kuranda market. There were loads of stores selling jewellery and arts & crafts as well as the usual food stores etc. We wandered around but didn't buy much, apart from a potato swizzler which was a potato turned through an apple peeler and stretched out like a spring on a wooden skewer then fried. Five bucks for a potato! Still, the girls enjoyed it.

We had an ice cream served to us by a guy with a strong French accent. He had lived in Noosa for seven yrs. I wanted to ask him for minkey flavour but resisted the temptation and had toasted macadamia instead.

We then completed our journey and arrived in Noosa in the early afternoon. We found some accommodation after a short search and are staying in apartment no. 4 of Noosa Gardens. It is a small 2 storey house with 2 bedrooms and everything we need, not least a washing machine as some of our clothes are starting to walk around on their own. We have done 3 loads of washing and we all feel a lot better.

In the afternoon we hired a little motor boat and tootled up the river at Noosa. Noosa is a place where people with lots of money live and there are some very impressive houses on the waterfront, all with their own little beach and mooring and some nice boats too. Jess did most of the driving which caused Anna great anxiety!

After we had had a good nose we took our little boat back and went off to choose somewhere to have dinner. Wendy had her heart set on a sea-food platter as we once had one in Noosa 20yrs ago in a restaurant called The Pelican. Sadly The Pelican no longer exists. We were recommended the surf club but when we went to have a look it was a bit pubby and so we settled on a restaurant called Cafe Le Monde but we had to go on spec as they wouldn't take a booking (I think the restaurant was booked up and we would have to wait for someone to have finished their meal before we could have a table). We went back to our accommodation and got changed then went out for dinner.

Their was no problem getting a table. Jess had sea-food pizza, Lizzi had calamari, Anna had a pizza and Wendy and I shared an enormous sea-food platter. Oysters, crab, huge prawns, whole baby octopuses (the girls felt sorry for these but they were tasty), Moreton bay bugs, fish, pieces of fried fish, calamari, scallops, smoked salmon, chips and a selection of fresh tropical fruits. It was lovely but by the time we had finished I felt that I would never ever eat again. We were stuffed.

We went back home and the girls went straight to bed. Tomorrow we are going to Toowoomba to visit Anthony and Sarah Cerqui who we met when we were here 20 yrs ago and went to their wedding. They are god-parents to Anna and we are looking forward to seeing them.

	Potato Swizzler [Map]		On Boat at Noosa [Map]
	Jess takes the wheel [Map]		Bayside property [Map]
	Our boat [Map]		At Cafe Le Monde [Map]

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Whale Watching Hervey Bay

Day 28 - Whale Watching Hervey Bay

Hervey Bay

Friday, 19 August 2011

Well, today was a great day. We were picked up from Fraser Lodge (our campsite) at 06:50 and taken to the marina to meet our boat. We had chosen The Blue Dolphin as our tour boat to go whale watching. This is an 11.6m catamaran which was virtually brand new, having been launched only a few weeks ago. Peter and Jodie were our hosts and we were met on board with a coffee and a Danish pastry. Peter is an expert on whales and gave us a briefing on hump back whales while we were motoring out to the bay (the catamaran is a sail boat but we were motoring out to get to the whales as quickly as possible). The boat was great and we could go where we liked on board. There were 24 guests on board. On our way out we could see a few other boats that were faster than us but were only out for half a day, and were letting us know where the whales were. However, well before we reached the other boats we came across our first couple of whales which entertained us by leaping out of the water and slamming their bodies down. We watched them for a while then motored on into the bay. Peter seemed to know where to go to look for the whales as we kept away from the other boats (there weren't that many other boats, perhaps 3 or 4) and we had some VERY close encounters. The whales seemed interested in us and would poke their heads up out of the water about 6 feet from the boat, getting high enough so their eyes were above the water, then they would roll over and show us their tummies and fins. Often they would suspend themselves upside down in the water with their tails resting on the surface and just stay there. Our boat had steps down to the water level at the back and we could literally stand about 6 feet from these 30 tonne mammals. They definitely seemed curious about us. I was wearing a pink checked shirt and I think I must have had a crill-like appearance. Peter told us to whoop and holler and try and be interesting to the whales and it certainly seemed to work. In fact Lizzi thought there might be a whale tour office under the water selling human-watching tickets to whales. It certainly wasn't clear who was watching who.

By the time the other boats had zoomed over to us, we had already moved on to the next pod (a group of whales is called a pod, and if they belonged to me they would be an iPod).

We saw plenty of dolphins too, but the whales were simply majestic. It was a far better experience than any of us had hoped would be possible.

Unfortunately, in the excitement, I had a bit of a video camera disaster. I must have got mixed up with my on and off button and was switching the camera off when the whales were performing and switching it back on when I put it back in the bag. Luckily I noticed what I was doing before the battery died and I did manage to get some pretty cool footage. However in many ways it was a blessing in disguise as when the camera ran out of battery, I was able to watch the whales and enjoy the amazing experience for itself without having to worry about the camera. We did take just over a million photos though, many of which were of the sea, either before or just after the whales had jumped!

Must mention lunch- very nice cold meats buffet with a complimentary beer, wine or soft drink, which we hurriedly ate, however the whales were a bit inconsiderate and we kept having to put our plates down when another whale appeared.

I reckon the whales were near our boat for a couple of hours, it was great.

When our time was up we set sail for home, literally. We got the sails up and made our way back to Hervey Bay, with a selection of tropical fruits and banana cake to keep us going. Dolphins were swimming in our bow wave and we were surrounded by whales as we left. It was great. The girls all said they thought it was one of their best days ever.

When we got back to shore we were driven back to our campsite. We then went out to one of the local pubs to come down from the excitement and talk about our day. However the test match was on in the pub and I spent most of the time trying to explain the concept of a night-watchman to the girls.

Spag boll for tea. Everyone is in bed again (it is half past eight after all). We leave Hervey Bay tomorrow morning, and we're sorry to leave as it is a lovely town. We are heading for Noosa in the morning. The staff here have recommended we drop in to Eumundi Market on the way, and also visit a pub which has been made like a cartoon (I can't remember the name of this).

	Photo 1 [Map]		Photo 2 [Map]
	Photo 3 [Map]		Photo 4 [Map]
	Photo 5 [Map]		Photo 6 [Map]
	Photo 7 [Map]		Photo 8 [Map]
	The Blue Dolphin [Map]		Photo 9 [Map]
	Photo 10 [Map]		Photo 11 [Map]
	Photo 12 [Map]		Photo 13 [Map]

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Hervey Bay

Day 27 - Hervey Bay

Thursday, 18 August 2011

After breakfast we strolled down to reception to look at what trips are available. There are lots of different operators offering trips to see the hump back whales as this is the whale watching capital of the world. They all offer something slightly different for around the same price. After some family discussion, we have decided to go on a sailing trip on a catamaran with an experienced whale watching skipper. The bad news is at it will be another early start and we will be picked up at 06:55 tomorrow morning.

So, what to do today? We decided to go fishing from a boat but when we arrived, the skipper hadn't turned up and there was only one elderly sailor running the trip. He wanted to take us out to the boat on an old tin motor boat. The water was choppy and we decided that it wasn't safe, so we had a refund and hired some rods and went fishing from Burrum heads which is near Hervey Bay. We planned to cook our fish on the BBQ and took a big bucket to bring it all home in. We took squid and worms as bait and spent a fun few hours fishing. I'm not saying we didn't catch any fish, but we had chicken curry for tea. Not a bite! Still, it was fun. Some Pelicans arrived as if to mock us so we moved on.

I tried more fishing later, this time from the pier in Hervey Bay. I caught one toad fish.

A quiet evening back at the ranch, looking forward to tomorrow's trip.

	Cabin at Fraser Lodge [Map]		Roundabout at Hervey Bay [Map]
	Anna getting ready to fish [Map]		Fishing [Map]
	Still nothing [Map]		Pelicans Arrive [Map]

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