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The TASMANIA slideshow page of our holiday 2017 website gives an introduction to where we went in Tasmania via our diaries, photo slideshows & audible videos. Diaries run from 4th to the 8th April when we stayed with John & Diana. The slideshows after each diary segment help to pictorially show what is happening in the coreesponding words. Hope it helps, KHWD KeefH Web Designs TASMANIA Slideshows & Diary Tuesday 4 April At Launceston we collected our hire car (white Toyota Yashi 4 door hatchback) & set off at 9.45am via Evendale & Campbell Town & then took the scenic route to the east coast (as recommended by Diana). Diana is Keef’s 2nd cousin & we had visited her & John twice before in 2008 & 2013 when they lived in Huonville, Tasmania. This time they had had a house built on some land near Swansea which we had not seen before. We drove to Campbell Town, an old town with a history of convicts & settlers. It had an 1836 red brick bridge built by convicts over the Elizabeth River. We visited the Tourist Info centre & had a pie & coffee in the local bakery as we’d been up for hours. At Evandale a lot of English trees had autumn tints & the air was cooler & fresher than Sydney. It felt a bit like England but the fields were bone dry & the grass was yellow due to drought. Some local Aussies said it was just coming into winter now. We saw a few Tasmanian Devils dead at the side of the road (killed at night by traffic). The roads were empty & scenery was lovely – lots of mountain ridges but few rivers & streams. We stopped at Bicheno on the coast to buy flowers & chocs for John & Diana. They are both 79 & had bought a 5 acre plot of grassland & had a house built from scratch, with the same floor plan as their previous house in the Huon valley except this time the kitchen was open-plan. Their house was very nice with white & pink roses round the verandah. Diana had given us directions to their house which was a few minutes inland from Swansea, their nearest town on the coast. We arrived at John & Diana’s at 4.30pm – a long journey travelling from 4.30am (although we had stopped for about 1+ ¾ hrs for breaks, including breakfast in Campbell Town). It was nice to see them again & we all had some tea, cake & a catch-up (we had last done a Skype with them before we left England. We stored our big bags in their garage which had recently been built. They had been busy planting trees & John had done all the internal & external painting of the house himself. Diana cooked Flathead fish fillets (Aussie fish) in breadcrumbs with salad & homemade plum pie for dessert. We went to bed at 10pm as very tired – been awake for 18¼ hours since early this morning. 4 Apr 2017 Wednesday 5 April Tasmania Diana cooked us a full English breakfast. We all went in the hire car to 9 Mile Beach, Spikey Bridge (built by convicts), Spikey Beach & Rocky Hill Lookout over the bay towards Freycinet National Park. Warm weather today 24c with a gentle breeze. The beaches we visited were empty, with pristine sand & no parking fees (unlike Sydney). This eastern coast of Tasmania has so many quiet, sandy beaches & small sleepy settlements with hardly any shops, cafes or restaurants. John told us that there were 8 areas on the island where the water was unsafe to drink so people had to boil water or buy bottled water – not very 21st century. Tasmania does not seem to cater much for tourists compared to mainland Australia & we think it’s behind the times (40 years behind!). I expect a lot of Tasmanians like it this way – sleepy with not much going on. Certainly compared to having just left Sydney where people rushing around the massive city & suburbs must raise stress levels We noticed no wind farms at all on our car journeys & no solar panels on people’s roofs. Even petrol stations are few & far between & public transport was not visible. Wi-fi is not available in some small settlements & our sat-nav kept saying ‘GPS signal lost’ when we were in the country. There is only one road down the east coast by the Tasman Sea– the Tasman Highway- and there’s not much work available with mainly retired people living here. Keef & I like Tassie as it’s so different from the mainland & this is our 3rd visit. Most Aussies we’ve talked to in various States have never been to Tassie. It takes John & Diana 2 hours by car to reach Hobart or Launceston where they do their main shopping. Swansea does have a school, small library, 2 small IGA supermarkets, petrol station, fish & chip shop, a small museum & tourist info in the old schoolhouse, plus a motel & backpackers hostel. The seafood restaurant & hairdressers had closed down. There were a lot of houses & land for sale. John & Diana live about ½ mile from the main coastal road & near them there some new homes being built on large plots of land. Lots of fields nearby with long tinder dry grass & bush further away. Keef & I took lots of photos & we all returned back to John & Diana’s for tea & homemade walnut cake (Mary Berry had better watch out!) For dinner John cooked two delicious curries – chicken korma & beef rojan josh, with lentil dahl, poppadoms & naan bread. Watched TV for the rest of the evening. Thursday 6 April Tasmania Warm weather again. Diana cooked pancakes & maple syrup for breakfast. I seem to have picked up germs from the plane – have a cold, runny nose & stye on my inner eyelid. This is the second cold I’ve had on this big trip. We went out for the day to Freycinet National park, north of Swansea. We parked at the Visitors Centre & as J & D had an annual parks pass, we checked with the park staff that we could use it on the hire car – normal cost would be $24 per vehicle. This was twice the price of a day pass in other National Parks on the mainland. Took a photo of a stuffed wombat in the visitors centre – will email it to Charlie & Edie. We did a walk through the trees down to the bay and beach. Beautiful views – boats moored in crystal clear waters & the very large rocky isthmus called The Hazards. The walk to the famous Wineglass Bay takes 2 hours each way & is very arduous as it cuts across the isthmus, so we decided against this. We drove along a winding mountain road with ravines & bush on one side to Tourville Lighthouse where there was a circular boardwalk from the car park. There were spectacular views of the other side of The Hazards, a bit of Wineglass Bay & looking across the Tasman Sea. Didn’t see any whales or dolphins. We drove to Coles bay, a small settlement with few shops. From Coles Bay it’s 1,000kms to South Island, New Zealand. Had coffee & cake in a café. Lots of wasps around here. There were several holiday homes & a boat launch. Keef drove back to Swansea pier & jetty where we took some photos. John cooked prawn lasse, a Singapore dish, with soup, noodles, beans & prawns which we’d not had before – will have to do this recipe when we get home. Diana produced a homemade apricot pie with icecream. Waistbands were straining – slumped in front of the TV. Such nice food and how kind they are to us! Friday 7 April Tasmania Drove along the coast in a southerly direction towards Orford. We stopped at Triabunna Marina to look at the boats – fishing & leisure. Crayfish & prawns are fished from here. There’s a ferry to Maria island $50 per person which was a bit expensive. The Parks department are trying to introduce & breed Tasmanian Devils & wombats on the island. There used to be a penal colony there. A 4 hr boat trip with lunch cost $195 per person (or £121 pp)- all far too expensive. Before we left the UK Keef & I had seen a TV series on Australian islands with Martin Clunes as the presenter & Maria Island was one of the episodes. Whilst walking round the marina we noticed the smell of burning in the air & a smoke haze. Apparently the grass in the Hobart area was being burnt off to prevent bushfires but the wind was spreading the smoke halfway up the island. Apparently the fire brigade do the burning off. Unfortunately the smoke haze ruined the views of Freycinet & the inland mountains today. Just as well we saw Freycinet yesterday. We drove to Orford along the Tasman Highway & went into a café for coffee & cake. Apart from the café there’s a restaurant, a bridge over a river, a petrol station & some houses. We returned back along the highway a short distance & parked at Raspins Spit beach. This was named after a settler family called Raspins. We walked along the beautiful beach (hardly anyone around) which was full of shells & empty crab shells. We returned to Swansea & went into the small museum there which was housed in the old school & schoolhouse attached. Interesting history of settlers & convicts in the area. Went back to J & D’s for tea & cake. Diana cooked chicken breasts with mushroom sauce, vegs & potatoes dauphinoise & we ate the last of the apricot pie with homemade vanilla icecream. Went to bed at 10pm as getting up early tomorrow. Saturday 8 April Tasmania to Sydney Got up at 4.45am & still dark. Had showers & muesli for breakfast. John & Diana got up too. We said our farewells & thanked them for looking after us so well (the seat belts on the plane might be a little tight going back to Sydney). Yesterday John had kindly given us a painting of Wineglass Bay which he had done & it was carefully wrapped up at the bottom of one of the big bags. It was just beginning to get light outside & a lovely sunrise. We set off through Swansea north & took the Lake Leake road through the countryside which goes through Campbell Town. The direct journey took 2 hours to the airport. Saw lots of grey wallabies eating grass at the side of the road + a few dead ones too. Stopped on route very briefly at Campbell Town bakery again & bought 2 bacon & egg flans to eat at the airport. Once we hit the Midland Highway at Campbell Town the road was easier to drive as it was straighter. Keef got stopped by the Police doing 80kms in a 40kms temporary speed limit area where people were just setting up traffic cones in preparation for the Tasmanian speed car race today at Symonds Flat. Two policemen stopped us & one of them had a radar gun. K gave them his driving licence & they saw we were British tourists. Luckily Keef got a warning letter & a telling off (the policeman said he needed a “kick up the bum” & he had “avoided a hefty fine”. They probably let him off because the reduced speed limit signs were not much in evidence apart from one by the main entrance to the racetrack & there was no warning further back the state highway of changed speed restrictions for the day. Relieved we did not get a massive fine. After that bit of excitement we checked in the hire car at Launceston airport (we had driven 680kms total in Tasmania). We ate our bacon & egg flans & got our flight to Sydney at 9.30am which took 1½ hrs. 5-8 Apr 2017 Trailer

Sadly just 3 days on route to the southern hemisphere 1st time then a much longer stay on the 2nd return visit at the end of our almost 5 months away this time around 2 glorious weeks with family. National Gallery Biennele kids exhibition, Liao Fan Michelin Hawker centre, Singapore Zoo, Wet Wet Wet (Wild) park and much more, see the videos and slideshows to get the full picture SINGAPORE - Marine Parade & About in the City 2 Visits, Start of Holiday 31 Jan-3 Feb the End of Hols 30 May - 12 Jun "Family Time with Doug, Phoenix & Charlie" INTRODUCTION - 2 visits at start and end of the holiday Stay 1 - Sadly just 3 days on route to the southern hemisphere to break the journey but it was a chance to catch up with family and see our lovely grand daughter again. Plus some good eats esp. Quentin's Eurasian with family and C&A. The Escher exhibition at Art/ Science was a particular favourite of mine. MRT coming 2023 to a station near you at Marine Parade. Love East Coast Park, helped somewhat in the jet lag stakes. Stay2 - A much longer stay this time around. 2 glorious weeks with family. National Gallery Biennale kids exhibition, Liao Fan Michelin Hawker centre, Singapore Zoo, Wet Wet Wet (Wild) park, Mustafa's, Chinatown, East Coast Park BBQ and walks, Parkway Parade, The supercool Library and a fab long weekend in Malaysia at Lotus Desaru Beach Hotel Intro Map Diary 1st part only 31st Jan to 3rd Feb , 2nd via videos and slideshows 30th May- 14th June, no time to write a diary too busy having family fun! 😉 but you can look at the slideshows and photos to get an idea of what we did, including our posh weekend away in Malaysia. Tuesday 31 January 2017 Left Keef’s mum at around 5am – still dark. Took hire car (Easi Rent) to Sheraton Skyline Hotel & dumped it off. Caught free hopper bus to Heathrow (one bus drove straight past the hotel without picking us up so had to get the next one). Met Chris & Allyson at Heathrow for our flight with Emirates to Singapore via Dubai. 9.10am departure. Very exciting & looking forward to our great adventure in the southern hemisphere. Had to change planes in Dubai. Wednesday 1 February Singapore We were met at Singapore airport by Doug at 8.30am which we were not expecting, so it was a nice surprise. Chris & Allyson took a hotel hopper bus to their hotel Grand Mercure Roxy, Marine Parade Road. We got a taxi with Doug back to their flat in Marine Terrace. Met up with Phoenix in their lovely spacious flat on the 18th floor which they had moved into last August. We went to collect Charlie from her local playgroup. So nice to see Doug & family again, although it had only been a few weeks since they were with us at Christmas/ New Year. We went out for lunch at Babalicious, East Coast Park & had Singapore chicken & rice. Then we went for a paddle in the sea nearby with Charlie and we all sat on the beach. Joined by Chris & Allyson who walked along East Coast Park from their hotel. They came back with us to the flat for a drink, although Charlie & Phoenix had returned earlier for an afternoon nap. Later in the evening we all met up with C & A at Din Tai Fung, a famous & popular Chinese dumpling/noodle restaurant chain in Parkway Parade shopping mall, opposite C & A’s hotel. Very tired – jet lag kicking in as did not get much sleep on the planes. Thursday 2 February Singapore Took Charlie to playgroup. After lunch in a food court near Marina Bay Sands Hotel that we all went to the Science/Arts Museum. Saw brilliant Future World art/light/techno installations which Charlie loved. Keef went to see the Escher art exhibition and Doug saw the Nasa exhibition. We all thoroughly enjoyed the Future World installations which was very hands-on and magical & we were in there for hours. C & A visited Gardens on the Bay which they really enjoyed. In the evening we all met up at the Eurasian Community restaurant which Doug & Phoenix had recommended. Had various curries which were very good. Charlie had not had her normal afternoon nap so very tired. We got a bus back to the flat & C & A returned to their hotel. Friday 3 February Singapore to Perth Doug had to go back to work today. He & family had just returned from a short trip to Vietnam with P’s parents on Monday 30 Jan. After Charlie’s playgroup (9.45-11.45am) we walked with Phoenix & Charlie to their local library, then had lunch in the indoor food court at Parkway Parade. Keef & I got the bus back to the flat whist Phoenix walked back so Charlie could fall asleep in the pushchair. Had afternoon nap for 1 hour as still jet-lagged. Big rainstorm. Then we took a bus & walked to meet up with C & A & Doug at the outdoor food hawker centre in east Coast Park. Doug had his cycle gear on & his 21 gear bike. Very nice BBQ chicken wings/thighs & duck satay sticks etc. Doug cycled back from the park to the flat & the rest of us got taxis. Re-packed bags & Doug ordered taxi for us to Changi airport. D & P looked after us so well & sad to say our goodbyes but at least we will visit them again for 2 weeks at the end of the trip in June. Charlie is so adorable- we love her so much (soppy grandparents!) Met with C & A at airport – our flight to Perth was at 11.40 pm Diary Photos, Slideshows and Videos (The Talkies) Slideshows gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/18 gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/1 Talkies All images Slideshow Galleries Audio Diary Trailer

This is the South Island, New Zealand main page of our Big Trip holiday 2017 website and it gives an introduction to where we went in South Island via an overall summary, photo slideshows & audible videos as well as image galleries. Some of the highlights were St Arnaud, Lake Rotoroa, Waiwhakeheke bay, Whataroa river, Buller river, Murchison, White creek peninsular circular walk, Wagtails, Wekas, Araki waterfalls, Lewis pass, Waiau river, Kaikoura range, Haasy-Jackson Bay road, Oturu, + fun SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND Slideshows & Diary Intro Very pleased with this picture Learn about green mussels see below Arrived in Picton from Wellington on the Interislander ferry, Early morning start, Very wet day (haha welcome to south island), Shakespeare bay, Queen Charlotte Sound, Queen Charlotte drive, Ngakuta bay,Havelock, Green Mussels (yummy), Read all about mussels opposite (please) its very informative, Lady from Auckland, Freshness, straight from the sea, Long windy wet drive to Nelson, Town centre camp site over a bridge with a stream, nice calming stream noises, WOW museum and classic cars, so many clever costumes (see the slideshows),Lippydeema, Lord Maharajah and the Star bride, Goodbye Versaille starring Mrs Du Barry's monkey, Ishmaelian wingflapper to name but a few... go on look, you wont be disappointed.... What's the line "WOW makes Lady Gaga look like a librarian", Amazing Bras, Cars were Minis , Locomobiles, Vauxhall Vivas, Shaguar and many more, Tahunanui beach reserve , Board walks, Lunch, Winery areas, Pears, Apples, Kaiteriteri, Beach front history, sunsets, Wilsons ferries, Beached Whale pub, Fire, Singing barman, Rugby - Christchurch Vs Wellington, Abel Tasman National Park, The man who emptied his loo in the water area and covered it with leaves (Yuk! Sick!), Abel tasman boat trip, Totaroa, Awaroa, Medlands, Tonga Quarry, Torrent Bay, Bark Bay, Picnic, Coffee, Wind & Sun, New Zealand fur seal, Adele island and many other islands, kayaking, Solar panels, Tides , Motueka river, Kahurangi National park, Low cloud, Hinetai hops, Tapawera,Railways, Old police stations, Wooden Cow, Eels, Lake Rotoiti, Mr Angry and his boat, St Arnaud, Lake Rotoroa, Wet feet, nature walk, Red toadstools, Trees, colourful leaves, Buller river, Murchison, Heritage area, Fuel fillup, Buller Gorge Swing bridge, Waterfalls, Earthquakes, Floods, 2010,1929,White creek peninsular circular walk, Wagtails, Wekas, Bushline walk, Araki waterfalls, Logging on the buller,Springs junction for a pie lunch, Lewis pass, Waiau river, Kaikoura range, Road to Kaikoura Highway 70 via Rotherham and Waiau as SH1 closed due to Kaikoura earthquake 2016, Kaikoura camp site, Fish & Chips in town at No2, the best one (Tiki Takeaways) was sadly closed, Fyffe Quay, Old House chimney remains, Mountains, Snow covering, Boardwalk, The Point, Seal colony, No fishing, Smells, Views, Seals asleep on boardwalk and rocks, Road back, Many roadslips, Woodchester, Monet autumn views, man with coffee, Rejoin empty SH2 via Waiau, Christchurch, Britz office, Extra bedding, C&As van fixed - brakes/ headlamp bulb, Ours for internal light only, School party and rain at Christchurch Top10 site, Blue route bus into Bus station, Ballantynes department store, Devestation, Sad, Cathedral, Customs House, Chalice sculpture, Vintage trams, New Regent Street, Murals, Container City, Quake museum, Kiwi humour in the face of adversity, Columbo street, Mexican restuarant, Workman everywhere, often playing, Rain, Loosing each other on ring road around the airport, Sheffield pies,West coast road, Lake Lyndon, Castle Hill, snow, mountains, roads, State Highway 73, Kumara Junction, Great alpine way, Grasmere, Lake Pearson, great farming flats, Cass laggon track, Otira gorge and viaduct, Jackson tavern, Arthurs pass, Arthurs pass national park, Waimakariri river, Railways,Tranz alpine, Bridal veil falls and lookout, Visitors centre, Cobb & co stagecoach, Devils punchbowl bridge,Kumara gold town, Theatre, Hokitika, Tasman sea, Old town, Signs and chairs, Glow worms, Rainbows (lots of them), Ross Gold mining town, gaol, Heritage walk, Gold panning, Chinese influence, Jones flats, Museum, De Bakker cottage, Philip Ross May (local hero & Historian),Autumn colours, Mine shaft, Catholic church, Mining Memorabilia, New ross gold mine, Hari Hari, Guy Menzies, 1st solo flight Oz to Nz, Southern cross junior, Lunch, Whataroa river, Glacier flights, Rain, Glacier highway, Franz Josef wet walk, receding glacier, pain in knees , Lake Ianthe, Fox Glacier, Blue lake, Moraine, Haast valley, Bruce Bay, Stones for messages, Lake Matheson walks and views, Cafe, Coffee, Snow cover peaks, Knights point lookout, Whale watching, Mother and calf, Fox Glacier ski village, Pollax point peaks, Haast village, Haast campsite, Sunset, Eeerie colours on the peaks, Having to move pitches as the power didn't work at Haast Top10, Haasy-Jackson Bay road, Oturu, Harbour, Fan tails, Oturu river, Whitebait, Lobsters, Bridges (many), Neils Beach, Shearwaters, Hannahs crossing, Jackson Bay, Wharf (dodgy), Visitors centre, Whalers chimney remains, Whale (sighted by Annie), Pioneers, Fishing community, Return to Haast, Fuel station out, haast pass, Cameron Flat, Lunch, Mt Brewster and others, more snow, Mount Aspiring, Lake Wanaka, The Neck, Lake Hawea, Boundary Creek, Makarora Jack, Albert Town, Hawea, Wanaka, Snow predicted -2 it didnt arrive (hooray), Cold at night, Wanaka shore line, Luggate, Old motor cars, Town hall, Luggate - Cromwell Road, Tannersley estate vineyard, Lake Dunstan, 45th parallel, Lowburn, Mountain reflections, Cool seed pods, The Remarkables,Cromwell town - both new and old, Printing presses, Horses, Cartwheels, Paua art,Fruit town, sunshine, Goldfields, Kawarau gorge, Roaring Meg, Hydro power, A J Hackett bungy jumping, Warm outdoor fires, kawarau bridge, Shotover gorge, Queenstown campsite, Lake Wakatipu, Rainbows, Snow, Lumsden junction, Kingston, Old railway bridge, Garston, Mossburn, Stock crossing, Te Anau, lake Te Anau, Picture drome, Library, Coffee, Float planes, Kelpler track, Layby with Kea, Naughty alpine parrots - Kea, Car stripping trims, Homer Tunnel, waterfalls, Road slips, Rain, Milford sound lodge and camping ground, Milford village, Cruise terminal, Milford Mariner (our nature cruise boat), Nature cruise, NZ fur seals, Heron, Milford Sound is one of the true modern wonders of the world, Sigh loved it and nice to do it with pals, Low clouds, Mitre peak, The footstool, Sindbad gully, Many cruise liners, Massive crowds, Fur seals, Coffee, Warmth, Winds and cold,Tutoko Historic Suspension Bridge , Valley and river, Hollyford river and lookout, The Chasm walk and Kea (again) , Homer tunnel return, Mirroe lakes, such reflections, Ta Anau again, pitch where we camped in a tent in 2008, still there by the roses, Mossburn deer capital of NZ, red tussock grass, Lumsden, Gore, Clock tower and art gallery, Balclutha for a fab fish & chip lunch, Southern scenic highway, Dunedin, Otago peninsular (right hand coast), Taiaroa head scenic reserve, Royal Albatross centre, Prince Charles, Pilots beach, Blue Penguins (see video part 4), Portobello, Company bay, Broad bay, Wycliffe bay, Hooper inlet, Sandfly bay, Cape Saunders, Pilot beach viewing platform, Waiwhakeheke bay, Lighthouse, Dick Road, Allan beach, Sheep branding, Flotsam & jetsam, Lovely beach flowers, Highcliff road (scary and roadslips but great views), Dunedin city, Signal Hill lookot and memorial, University Oval cricket ground Dunedin, Baldwin street (the steepest in the world and I have the t-shirt somewhere to prove it!), Dunedin station lit up, travelling back to Portobello around the peninsular at night spectacular lights, Dunedin Vogel street murals, Blueskin Road, 19 Fathoms Foul memorial, Robert Falcon Scott memorial, Blueskin bay, Quarentine and Rakiriri islands, Waikouaiti and river, Karitane, Seacliff lookout, Pies in Waikouati village, Bushy beach reserve, Hide, Yellow eyed penguins, Oamaru victorian precinct, Jetty, Friendly Bay,Farmers market, Grain stores, Brewery, Distillery, Station, Picture frame, Steam punk (lots of it - class),Fat controller and the steam railway,Rakaia - salmon capital and goal, Banks Peninsular, Hilltop views, Akaroa, French very french, Jetty, Cinema, Passport office, Monet, Bedroom with a view, Churches, Roses, cats, Barrys bay, Little river, Silo stays, Over the hills in the rain, Gebbies pass, Dyers pass,Sugar loaf scenic reserve, Riccarton, Apollo motel (room11), Lone star last supper, Early rise, nice family, Airport off to Singapore (us), Hong Kong (C&A), tears, coffee in Sydney airport airside, Great times SEE THE FULL SOUTH ISLAND EXPERIENCE, 1 hr 57mins Summary To see the Dunedin Albatross live webcam, click here Albatross Cam To see Milford Sounds top 6 waterfalls click here Milford Sound Lodge and Camping was where we stayed Top 6 Waterfalls Cromwell Historic Precinct , Central Otago Slideshows Campsites Links The Talkies Gallery gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/48 Map Audio Book Trailer

This is the Distances responsive page from our holiday travel website which is used to show both kilometer and mileage information including that which we drove ourselves plus slideshows and photos and links to all our holiday you tube playlists DISTANCES To recap we travelled in our hired motorhomes in both Australia and New Zealand on our 2017 Big Trip 9337 Miles or 15026 Kilometres, WOW! Distances travelled by Keef & Annie. NOTE Here are the distances we drove ourselves whilst on THE BIG TRIP, HOLIDAY 2017 which by implication as Chris & Allyson didn't go to Tasmania and did far more walking than us and drove the west coast of North island, New Zealand whilst we did the east coast means their total distance is likely to be some what less , but in reality probably not by that much. gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/5 Slideshow Gallery Trailer

Capture the spirit of exploration with HOLIDAY2017 (KHWD), a visual journey through landscapes, travel photography and stories from a year of unforgettable travel THE BIG TRIP HOLIDAY 2017 A TRAVEL BLOG WITH FRIENDS With our pals Chris & Allyson "If it moves snap it, if it doesn't.. snap it" 😉 Replicated by BLOG 168 If you enjoy my photography or website design & development , and wish to support it. You can now do so at buymeacoffee.com/khwd , thanks for supporting small local businesses Audiobook The Big Trip - 31st January - 14th June Audiobook voice overs for the site Should you prefer to listen rather than read The Big Trip: In 2017 we explored Singapore, Australia , the Cook Isles & New Zealand with our dear friends Chris & Allyson. At the end of the trip Annie & I spent time in Singapore / Malaysia with our family and Chris & Allyson visited Hong Kong. A lot of planning and pre booking went into this adventure to ensure we had a great time. We flew to Singapore for a stop over of 2 days to break the journey down under. We visited East Coast Park and the wonderful Quentin's restuarant. We arrived in Perth a bit jet lagged but excited and cruised the Swan river to Freo and had a fab day in the Botanic gardens in Kings Park. After a few nights we picked up our Britz motorhomes and after a quick swim off the Indian Ocean Drive we initially explored Monkey Mia (sadly no dolphins due to inclement weather) then onto the tropics of Western Australia Geraldton, Northampton (gallahs and Allyson fear of the clientele 😉 and a spin in Apollo 11 at Carnarvon before doing the loop thru the Wheatbelt and Wave Rock back to Perth via Albany. Esperance and Kalgoolie at this time were off limits due to some massive rains which washed out essential roads. We then took the luxurious Indian Pacific Railway to Adelaide across the Nullabor Plain. After that its was a quick flight to Alice Springs where we visited the fab Desert Park , ate Roo (Camel was off 😉 ) at the Red Ochre Cafe , avoided the cockroaches and pondered the insoluble Aboriginal problem. Then it was back to Adelaide to pick up another motorhome to explore some of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) before ending in Sydney for time with families. K&A flew down to Launceston in Tassie to visit rellies before returning to Sydney. From here we touched down in Auckland briefly before spending a fab but somewhat wet and humid week of chillin' in the Cook Isles in the Pacific ocean on the main island of Rarotonga, snorkelling, BBQ-ing or whatever took our fancy, lager at the Rarotonga brewery. Mis planned lugagge allowances to Rarotonga meant a somewhat fraught early morning experience trying to retrieve K&As 3rd bag, but all OK in the end 😉. Then its was back to Auckland to pick up another pair of motorhomes to explore both North & South island of New Zealand, crossing between the two via the Interislander ferry. After much Boysenberry ice cream we returned to the UK via 2 weeks with family in Singapore and C&A 3 days in Hong Kong. Saw so much and had such a fun time shared with our pals. What an amazing journey - travel definately broadens the mind. NOTE: For the Big Trip All photos, videos and slideshow content on this site were taken by one of the 4 of us! A much more in depth appreciation of what we did and when can be gleaned from the diaries. I encourage you to use the dropdown menus to fully immerse yourselves in the Big Trip, we also have galleries by person as well as headlines by place visited whether country, island or state. NOTE ALSO: For the BIg Trip tablet viewing best in landscape , also on mobiles use the dropdown in the top right hand side signified by 3 lines within a square, justsaying 😉 Thanks for looking Intro HEADLINES < > 1/12 Headlines The Big Trip Overall GALLERY This Big Trip gallery covers Singapore, Australia (Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territories,Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania), The Cook Isles (Rarotonga), New Zealand (North & South Islands) & Malaysia (Desaru long weekend break with family) #TICK #TheBIGTRIP gallery of images for the Big Trip downunder 2017 created by KeefH Web Designs gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/41 Galleries The Big Trip GALLERIES by Person Annie more images in a gallery created and uploaded by created by KeefH Web Designs gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/36 Annie Keef images featuring Keef uploaded and created by KeefH Web Designs gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/31 Keef Chris images of Chris uploaded and created by KeefH Web Designs gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/21 Chris Allyson images of Allyson uploaded and created by KeefH Web Designs gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/22 Allyson Visitors to the Big Trip Visitors KeefHWebDesigns@outlook.com +44 (0) 7843962729 site created by KeefH Web Designs , Sandiacre, Derbyshire, UK please help me out by taking my KHWD survey , less that 1 min to complete, thanks Mail Contact KHWD Calendars Singapore Campsites Australia Distances Cook Isles Wildlife New Zealand Full Slideshow Malaysia SEO Links Blog - Hints & Tips - Travelling with Pals in a Motorhome Are you ready for the ultimate adventure with your friends? Picture this - cruising through the stunning landscapes of Australia and New Zealand, with your best buddies by your side, all packed in a comfortable motorhome. Sounds like a dream, right? Well, it doesn't have to stay as a dream - it can become a reality! Gather your pals and get ready to embark on the journey of a lifetime, exploring the incredible wonders of these two beautiful countries. The first step to planning this epic adventure is finding the perfect motorhome to accommodate your group. Thankfully, with the convenience of modern technology, your search has been made remarkably easy. Head over to https://www.holiday2017.co.uk/ and discover the motorhomes we hired, they may suit your needs and preferences. With different sizes and models available, you can select the ideal one that provides both comfort and space for everyone. Try folk like Transport Holdings Ltd, they run Apollo, Britz, Maui etc. Once you have secured your stylish motorhome, it's time to hit the road and enjoy the breathtaking landscapes of Australia. From the iconic Great Barrier Reef to the spectacular Uluru, this vast continent offers countless natural wonders to explore. Imagine waking up in the morning to the sound of waves crashing on the golden beaches of the Sunshine Coast or enjoying a sunset picnic overlooking the scenic Great Ocean Road. With a motorhome, you have the freedom to go wherever your heart desires, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the beauty of Australia. After you have thoroughly enjoyed the wonders of Australia, it's time to hop across the Tasman Sea and experience the awe-inspiring landscapes of New Zealand. From stunning mountains and fjords to picturesque lakes and vibrant cities, New Zealand has it all. Start your journey in the charming city of Auckland and make your way down to the adventure capital, Queenstown. Along the way, you'll encounter breathtaking sights such as the geothermal wonders of Rotorua, the majestic Milford Sound, and the stunning Franz Josef Glacier. With a motorhome, you can take your time, soak in the stunning views, and create memories to last a lifetime. One of the greatest joys of travelling with pals in a motorhome is the sense of camaraderie and freedom it offers. You get to bond over long drives, share laughter at roadside picnics, and experience the thrill of discovering hidden gems together. Plus, with the convenience of having your accommodation on wheels, there's no need to worry about booking hotels or constantly unpacking and repacking your belongings. You'll have everything you need right there with you, making every day of your journey stress-free and enjoyable. So, what are you waiting for? Grab your friends, visit https://www.holiday2017.co.uk/, and start planning your unforgettable adventure across Australia and New Zealand. Get ready to create memories, witness stunning sights, and experience the joy of travelling with your closest pals. This journey will undoubtedly be the highlight of your friendship, so don't miss out on this incredible opportunity. Start your engines and let the adventure begin! For more information contact us anytime at KeefH Web Designs , you may even want a travel blog like this to record those adventures, you take the picture and videos and we will do the rest for you, how's that? Blog Trailer Travel Photography

The NEW SOUTH WALES page of our BIG TRIP holiday 2017 website gives an introduction to where we went in NSW via diaries, photo slideshows & audible videos. Some highlights were Eden, Twofold bay, Pambula beach, Merimbula, Tura beach, Tathra wharf and beach, Bermagui, Dalmeny, Central Tilba Historic Village (went there in 2007-8 but had forgotten its name), Borrell, Meeting up with Steve & Laura, Forsters Bay, Wagonga inlet, Narooma, Wagonga princess, Sexist jokes (not good!),Eurobodalla NP NEW SOUTH WALES Slideshows & Diary A Potted History Entering New South Wales (NSW) from Mallacoota (Victoria), Eden, harbour & whale museum, Old Tom, Ben Boyd , Whale lookout, Twofold bay, Pambula beach, fishing, roos, birds, Rosellas, Brewery (closed), Farm stores, Horse food, Merimbula, Tura beach, Tathra wharf and beach, Catching flatheads, plaice and salmon (well almost), Bermagui, Dalmeny, Central Tilba Historic Village (went there in 2007-8 but had forgotten its name), Borrell, Meeting up with Steve & Laura, Forsters Bay, Wagonga inlet, Narooma, Wagonga princess, Sexist jokes (not good!),Eurobodalla NP, Mill Bay boardwalk, Rays, Rain (lots), Overpriced fish & chips by campsite, Mogo, Batemans Bay, Kings Highway (B52), Great Dividing Range - no pics too scary driving,Braidswood, Bungedore,Bywong,Goulburn, Marulan, Mittagong, Rural NSW, Balmoral, Buxton, Thirlmere, NSW Railway museum, Cockatoos, Horses, Silverdale, Warragamba dam, visitors centre, Haviland Park, Narabeen Lakes, Class driving campaigns, Handing van back at Britz in a new area of Mascot by airport , Public transport (bus/train/bus) back to Beacon hill apartment, Chilling, Views, Pool, BBQ, Movies, Food, Wine, Beer, Friends, Family, Bus to Manly, Manly Ferry, Harbour & Manly views, Voyager of the Seas cruise liner (D&P&C were on it 2 months later), Botanic gardens, Picnic, Mrs Macquaries chair, Sunsets, Opera, Carmen, Voyager of the Seas, last ferry back, Possum in the park in the dark, Sunny pool days around the Bali hut, No 169 bus route & timetable i.e the Manly bus from our pad in Beacon Hill, if you are NERDY enough click HERE to see that full bus timetable, anorak's at the ready, Opal cards, Seeing LION at Warringah Mall on a rainy day , C&As time in Sydney with Laura & Steve visiting Blue Mountains & Parkes observatory , Jervis bay, Snakes, Walking, Rain, Hannah and Connor visited and we had a play in the pool, Balgowlah, Lamb dinner (yummy), Lovely seeing David & Hannah again, heavy rain for a day, bright sunshine, day out in sydney centre, manly ferry, circular quay, barangaroo wharf, cockle bay wharf, darling harbour, harbourside, Hard Rock Cafe, Circular ferry trip, Pyrmont bridge, History, Milsoms point, MacMahons point, Balmain East, Luna Park, Emerald Princess, Maritime museum, Endeavour, Sunsets, Rained all day so watched goldstone (poor), noctural animals (good) and oz gogglebox, Train trip to Broadmeadow, Newcastle to visit Annies cousin Susan, Gosford, Wygong, Hawkesbury river, back from Tassie, Ibis budget airport, Doughnuts (never again), fire alarm, Flight to NZ SEE THE FULL NEW SOUTH WALES EXPERIENCE, 47 mins Summary Slideshows Campsites The Talkies Australian Ad Campaigns - so much better than ours 2008 2017 gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/30 169. Manly – City a Sydney bus via Narraweena & Seaforth Our stop Highlighted - full anarak 209541. Belgrave St near Raglan St, 209542. Pittwater Rd near Steinton St, 209543. Pittwater Rd near Pine St,209544. Pittwater Rd near Collingwood St 209545. Pittwater Rd near Balgowlah Rd,209546. Pittwater Rd near Eurobin Av,210030. Pittwater Rd near Queencliff Rd, 210032. IPittwater Rd near Oliver St 210033. Pittwater Rd near Riverview Pde,210034. Pittwater Rd near Western Av,210035. Pittwater Rd near Wakefield St ,210036. Pittwater Rd near Kentwell Rd 210037. Pittwater Rd near Sterland Av,2100111. Pittwater Rd near Warringah Mall,210015. Pittwater Rd near Roger St 210016. Pittwater Rd near Winbourne Rd 210017. Pittwater Rd near Pine Av,210018. Pittwater Rd near Federal Pde,210019. Pittwater Rd near Warringah Rd,209911. Pittwater Rd near May Rd 209912. Pittwater Rd near Pacific Pde,209913. Pittwater St Davids Av ,209996. Fisher Rd near Lewis St,209997. McIntosh Rd near Vale Av,209998. McIntosh Rd near Victor Rd 209999. McIntosh Rd near Beverley Job Park,2099100. McIntosh Rd near Mundara PI,209917. Alfred St near Oceania St,209918. Alfred St near Warringah Rd, 209992. Warringah Rd near Consul Rd,209993. Warringah Rd near Northcliffe Av,210067. Warringah Rd opp McKillop Rd,210068. Warringah Rd near Beacon Hill Rd (see 24-30 March) 210069. Warringah Rd near Willandra Rd,2100141. Warringah Rd near Earl St,210070. Warringah Rd near O'Connors Rd,210071. Warringah Rd near Goverment Rd, 210072. Warringah Rd near Jones St,208642. French Forest Rd near Patanga Rd,208643. Frenchs Forest Rd near Hurdis Av (Annie's old residence), 208644. Frenchs Forest Rd near Skyline PI,208637. Wakehurst Pwy near Frenchs Forest Rd,208674. Warrringah Rd near Bantry Bay Rd 208638. Wakehurst Pwy near Warringah Rd 208655. Wakehurst Pwy,208712. Wakehurst Pwy near Manly Dam Res,208713. Wakehurst Pwy near Kirkwood St,209254. Wakehurst Pwy near Judith St 209246. Wakehurst pwy near Burnt St,209247. Wakehurst Pwy near Armstrong St,209231. Wakehurst Pwy near Lister Av,209232. Wakehurst Pwy near Castle Cct 209233. Clontarf St near Montauban Av,209234. Frenchs Forest Rd near Montauban Av,209235. Frenchs Forest Rd near Baringa Av,209257. Frenchs Forest Rd near Macmillan St 209252. Sydney Rd near Hope St,209335. Manly Rd near Heaton Av,209212. Manly Rd near Avona Cr,208812. Spit Rd near Parriwi Rd,2088186. Spit Rd near Medusa St 2088187. Spit Rd near Parriwi Rd,2088188. Spit Rd near Stanton Rd,2088189. Spit Rd near Awaba St,2088243. Spit Rd at Clifford St,2088190. Spit road near Military Rd 2088192. Military Rd near Wudgong St,2088193. Military Rd near Lang St,2088194. Military Rd near Belmont Rd,209059. Military Rd near Cabramatta Rd 209019. Military Rd near Hampden Av,208944. Military Rd near Rangers Rd,208913. Military Rd near Wycombe Rd,208959. Military Rd at Bydown Lane,208960. Military Rd at Watson St 208912. Military Rd near Watson St,2000133. York St at Lang Park,200035. Wynyard Station, York St - Stand N,208657. Cemtery Front Gate Hakea Av,208671. Forest Way near Warringah Rd 208697. Naree Rd near Rabbett St,208649. Rabbett St near Holland Av,208664. Warrringah Rd near Bantry Bay Rd,200025. Wynyard Station, Carrington St - Stand E,200021. Wynyard Station, Carrington St - Stand A 208947. Military Rd near Watson St,208948. Military Rd near Wycombe Rd,209021. Military Rd near Hampden Av,209058. Military Rd near Cabramatta Rd,2088176. Military Rd near Prince St 2088177. Military Rd near Lang St,2088178. Military Rd near Bond St,2088179, Military Rd near Cowles Rd,2088180. Spit Junction, Spit Rd,2088181. Spit Rd near Awaba St 2088182. Spit Rd near Bickell Rd,2088183. Spit Rd near Quakers Rd, 2088184. Spit Rd near Medusa St,2088185. Spit Rd near Pearl Bay Av,208811. Spit Rd near Parriwi Rd,209213. Battle Bvde near Manly Rd 209214. Battle Bvd near Seaforth Cr,209215. Palmerston PI near Alan Av,209216. Ponsonby Pde near Palmerston PI,209222. Ponsonby Pde near Panorama Pde,209223. Ponsonby Pde near Sydney Rd 209224. Frenchs Forest Rd near Ellery Pde,209225. Frenchs Forest Rd near Macmillan St,209236. Frenchs Forest Rd near Baringa Av 209237. Frenchs Forest near Redman St 209238.Clontarf St near Montauban Av 209239. Wakehurst Pwy near Castle Cct,209240. Wakehurst Pwy near Lister Av, 209241. Wakehurst Pwy near Armstrong St,209242. Wakehurst Pwy near Burnt St 209243. Wakehurst Pwy near Judith St,209253. Wakehurst Pwy near Kirkwood St,208711. Wakehurst Pwy near Manly Dam Res,208630. Wakehurst Pwy,208631, Wakehurst pwy near Warringah Rd 208639. Frenchs Forest Rd near Skyline PI 208640. Frenchs Forest Rd near Romford Rd,208641. Frenchs Forest Rd near Inverness Av,208617. Frenchs Forest Rd near Patanga Rd 2100142. Warringah Rd near Jones St 2100143. Warringah Rd near Ellis Rd 2100144. Warringah Rd near Oxford Falls Rd,2100113. Warringah Rd near Cornish Av,2100114. Warringah Rd near Willandra Rd 2100139. Warringah Rd opp Beacon Hill Rd , us again on the return journey, 2100140. Warringah Rd near McKillop Rd,2099106. Warringah Rd near Princess Mary St 2099107. Warringah Rd near Waratah Pde,2099108. Warringah Rd near Alfred St,2099119. Alfred St near Warringah Rd,2099120. Alfred St near Amaral St,2099122. Alfred St near McIntosh Rd 2099115. McIntosh Rd near Mundara PI 2099116. McIntosh Rd near Victor Rd 2099117. McIntosh Rd near Vale Av 2099118. Fisher Rd near St David Av,209922. Pittwater Rd near Howard Av 209923. Pittwater Rd near Pacific Pde,210021. Pittwater Rd near Harbord Rd,210022. Pittwater Rd near Carter Rd ,210023. Pittwater Rd near Mitchell Av,210025. Pittwater Rd near Chard Rd 210026. Pittwater Rd near Orchard Rd,2100131. Pittwater Rd near Warringah Mall Stand A,210041.Pittwater Rd near Sterland Av 210042. Pittwater Rd near Corrie Rd 210043. Pittwater Rd near Wakefield St,210044. Pittwater Rd near Western Av,210045. Pittwater near Riverview Pde ,210046. Pittwater Rd near Oliver St 210047.Pittwater Rd near Aitken Av 209547. Pittwater Rd near Eurobin Av,209548. Pittwater Rd near Balgowlah Rd 209549. Pittwater Rd near Collingwood St 209550. Pittwater Rd near Pine St 209551. Pittwater Rd near Carlton St,209552. Pittwater Rd near IRagIan St,209553. Belgrave St near Sydney Rd 209554. West Esplanade Stand B - MANLY Our Bus Route Gallery Hard Hitting Ads Map Audio Diary Trailer

This page covers all the States and Territories we visisted with our pals chris & allyson in 2017 on the Big Trip in hired motorhomes. This covers Western Australia, The Indian Pacific Railway, Northern Territory Alice Springs flown from Adelaide and back, Adelaide-Sydney, Tasmania , Arrived in Perth, WA from Singapore. We saw the town before picking up the motorhomes and seeing Monkey Mia, Carnavon, Rottnest Island & the adorable quokkas, Margaret River but you can see this on the WA page AUSTRALIA - Aussie Adventures 4th February - 9th April 2017 States & Territories Oz - Western Australia Oz - Indian Pacific Railway Oz - South Australia Oz - Northern Territory Oz - Victoria Oz - New South Wales Oz - Tasmania Oz - Campsites Oz - Galleries "From Carnarvon in Northern WA, On the Indian Pacific Railway, Thru the Red Centre and then around the Coast Adelaide to Sydney, Plus Popping over to Tassie & Rellies" Happy 39th , Restaurant by Shag Inn, Perth INTRODUCTION Arrived in Perth, WA from Singapore. We saw the town before picking up the motorhomes and seeing Monkey Mia, Carnarvon, Rottnest Island & the adorable quokkas, Margaret River, Cape Leeuwin, Albany, Northam, Wave Rock, the wheat belt and a whole lot more before picking up the wonderful Indian Pacific railway to Adelaide, flight to and from Alice springs before picking up a 2nd set of motorhomes to see the Barossa Valley and more. We crossed over into Victoria from South Australia at Portland where we saw a Koala crossing the main road right in front of us. We headed around the coast taking in the fab Great Ocean Road, London Bridge, Loch Ard Gorge, The 12 Apostles to name but a few sights before crossing into New South Wales just above Mallacoota. We saw a lot of wildlife in Victoria especially at Kennet River where once again the Koalas obliged. Once in NSW we headed up for family time in Sydney, oh and Tassie for K&A. In Sydney thanks to Allyson we saw the wonderful spectacle that was Carmen in the harbour. Diaries and Slideshows and / or Videos (The Talkies) are available via each State of Australia via the dropdown menu or the BUTTONS above, thanks for looking Desert Park, Foothills of the Gap, Northern Territory Map Intro Slideshows gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/9 gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/5 gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/31 gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/5 gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/17 gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/10 gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/22 gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/30 gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/12 Galleries Audio Diary Trailer

This page shows some of the wildlife we encountered on our BIG TRIP in 2017 and images were taken by all 4 of us covering from snakes to cuddly koalas and all points in between, enjoy the slideshow WILDLIFE Wildlife spotted in Australia Western Australia Blue tongued skinks, Major Mitchell Cockatiel (white & pink feathers), emus, turtle, pelicans, eagles, goats, galahs, small frog, flock of white & yellow cockatoos, small lizard, green parakeets with yellow ring round neck – could be yellow ring lorikeets, alpacas of a farm, kangaroos, dead snake on road, budgies, quokkas, magpies, small black lizard 6-8” long, stick insects, dolphins, Australian sealions, 4 Ospreys, pelican colony, Little Blue Penguins, New Zealand fur seals. Northern Territory Lots of Aussie mammals, birds & reptiles in Desert Park, a wildlife park outside Alice Springs. Cockroaches in pavement in Alice at night. South Australia Corella parrots (white with lemon feathers under wings), large moorhens, stingray. Victoria Dead snake (brown) in middle of road. Koala crossing road, budgies, black rock wallaby, echidna, 4 koalas, wallaby, baby black snake, bandicoot, red & green parakeets, 2 sulphur crested cockatoos, seal by a jetty, grey kangaroo at Hanging Rock, thin lizard, large group of grey kangaroos & 1 albino one, black swans, large 3ft stingray with orange spots on top & orange underneath, koalas, bellbirds, small lizard. New South Wales Kangaroos, rainbow lorikeets, stingrays, white cockatoos, small geckos, dead wombats by highway, wattle bird, heron, ibis birds, possum. Tasmania Dead Tasmanian Devils by roadsides, plovers & sandpipers, kookaburra, wallabies. Wildlife in Cook Islands (Rarotonga) Plovers, sandpipers, small crabs, sea cucumbers, fish, geckos, black/brown birds. Wildlife spotted in New Zealand Green Praying Mantis, weka (bird), 3 kingfishers, eagle, dead possum, bush turkeys, black swans, large black eels, fantail birds, pet emus & small wallaby at campsite in Murchison, whales, rock wren, Kea alpine parrots, 2 dolphins, NZ fur seals, small albatross, white heron, grey herons, Little Blue & Yellow Eyed penguins, seals. A Gallery of some of that wildlife gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/43 Gallery Trailer

The Victoria slideshow page of our holiday 2017 website gives an introduction to where we went in Victoria via our diaries, photo slideshows & pictures, the diary covers date 9th to 19th March 2017 with slideshows below each diary portion making it easy to bring to life all the words pictorally, enjoy please VICTORIA Slideshows & Diary Thursday 9 March Mount Gambier to Portland, Victoria After we had crossed the state border into Victoria & on the outskirts of Portland, the next town, we were surprised to see a lone adult koala crossing the road directly in front of us!! We had to brake in order to not run him over. I took a photo of him – gorgeous cuddly!! We stopped for fuel ($1.24 litre for diesel) & drove into the town. It’s a port with container ships but did not look that busy. We spied out a fish & chip shop on the seafront for later & then found a campsite. When we returned later at 8pm the fish shop had closed so instead we went to a restaurant further along the seafront & had barramundi, chips & salad. Back at the campsite we had a game of cards. Friday 10 March Portland- Warrnambool Sunny & hot again. After breakfast we drove to Cape Bridgwater to see the blowhole, petrified forest & seal colony. The blowhole was not very spectacular – more like a wave crashing against the rocks. We had to take a wooden boardwalk down to the viewing area & were attacked by annoying biting flies, especially as we were wearing shorts. The petrified forest was a misnomer – it was limestone rock eroded by sea water & then eroded by wind to form weird vertical tube-like shapes which were several metres tall. We saw no seals or other marine life. On the return journey we found the seal colony car park and found that to walk to it along the headland took 3 hours. We didn’t have time was we had food to buy & we were aiming to get to start the Great Ocean Road scenic route along the coast the next day. We returned to Portland & did a big food shop at Aldi (did not know that Aldi supermarkets were in Australia). When we left Portland, unbeknownst to us all at the time we got speeding fines from a camera which clocked us doing 6mph over the limit & this fine ($197 = £106) was posted to our home address in England as Britz had given the police our address. As our post was being re-directed to Craig & Leanne’s house they got the fine a couple of weeks later & e-mailed us about it. Obviously we had to pay the fine to the Victorian police. Drove to Port Fairy – a lovely little town on a river with a heritage wharf with small yachts & motor launches moored. Some of the old wooden houses looked fab with beautiful cottage gardens, white picket fences & wooden verandahs with wrought-iron work. Thought it looked a bit like New England – very pretty. Stopped at a bakery for a late lunch with seating outside & bought pies & cake. The chicken & leek pie was the worst pie I had ever had – it was mainly a glutinous white sauce. The town was busy as a 3 day folk festival was about to start with thousands of people expected. The tickets were more expensive than the Glastonbury festival. There was an afternoon concert for children with musicians singing silly songs. We couldn’t stay in the Big 4 campsite here as it was fully booked, so we decided to drive on to Warrnambool & look for a campsite near there, although we knew there wasn’t a Big 4 there. At Warrnambool we called in at the tourist info & the helpful lady there found us the last 2 available pitches at a Top Tourist campsite in town. We stayed one night & they both had en-suite loos/showers etc on the pitches. We got 10% off & the site was packed. Keef cooked pork & vegetables in a Japanese sauce with rice & I did some papaya & passionfruit for dessert. There were still people arriving with trailer tents in the dark – lots of families with kids as it was a Bank Holiday weekend in Victoria – Labor Day. Saturday 11 March Warrnambool &, Great Ocean Road to Princeton Cool but & sunny today. Set off along the Great Ocean Road, one of the top scenic coastal drives in the world and visited all the places of interest & viewpoints. This was the 3rd time Keef & I have visited. The Bay of Islands & Bay of Martyrs were spectacular rock formations along the coast. At The Grotto further along the route we saw an echidna waddling along a grassy bank next to the steps leading to the grotto. Took lots of photos. Saw a thin (pencil) black snake on the same bank. By midday the weather had warmed up & it became hot & sunny. At one of the viewpoints & spotted a creature in the grass next to the path & took a photo – it looked a bit like a rodent. It got very busy at Loch Ard Gorge as there were lots of coaches. Also very busy at the 12 Apostles – now there are only 6 rock stacks left as the rest have fallen into the sea with erosion. The visitors centre no longer has info on the rock stacks & erosion (2 cms of coast eroded a year) as it’s now a kiosk selling snacks & drinks. There were lots of signs warning about venomous snakes around the car park. It started to drizzle with rain as we left the 12 Apostles. At the end of the day we stopped at a campground in Princeton which was reached down a very short dirt road & a bridge over the Giltbrook River. The campsite was a council owned recreational ground & was only $20 a night but had no electric hook-up. We parked next to some tents. It was raining by now, but overnight it became torrential. Keef & I slept well with the rain drumming on the roof. Sunday 12 March Great Ocean Road to Geelong Awoke to see ponds had formed near our van. Some of the tents had leaked & the occupoants had spent the night in their cars. Left Princeton & drove down a secondary road to Cape Otway, through the Great Otway National Park – 11 kms. We looked out for koalas but did not see any. Near the Cape there were a lot of dead trees with no leaves. There was a charge of $19.50 (£11.70) each to visit the lighthouse which was set back from the entrance so you could not even see it from a distance. Being a Bank Holiday weekend the car park was jammed & Keef & I did not think it was worth the money to see the 1856 lighthouse. We’d been inside the similar aged lighthouse on Rottnest Island which was free to visitors. Chris & Allyson decided to do it so we agreed to meet up later in Apollo Bay further along the GOR. Keef & I returned along the road & kewpt stopping in lay-bys to look for koalas but saw none. Apollo Bay had changed considerably since we were last there in 2008 & not for the better in our opinion. Now so touristy & full of coaches, fast food joints & not attractive. Keef & I went into the tourist info centre & asked the lady if the Kennett River campsite was still operational & she confirmed it was. We then went to a supermarket to buy milk & bread & had lunch in our van. C & A used their walkie –talkie to say they were in Apollo Bay & we met up. They stayed in Apollo Bay to get some lunch & we went on to Kennett River & unfortunately found the campsite was full. While we were waiting for them to arrive by the campsite Keef & I saw some koalas in the gum trees & took some photos. One was asleep & the other was higher up eating leaves. Chris & Allyson arrived & were excited to see some koalas. A man alerted us to some other trees where a koala was eating leaves & moving around lower down the branches. At one point I thought he was going to fall but their claws are very sharp to help them cling on. Took lots of photos & video. Love those koalas – they are so adorable. Lucky to see 3 koalas at Kennett River. We carried on along the Great Ocean Road to look for another campsite & it was so busy everywhere. Gorgeous views of the blue-turquoise Southern Ocean with cliffs & waves crashing on beaches. After the town of Lorne (like Oxford Street at sale time) we decided to turn inland as it was so busy & we knew we’d never get a pitch at any campsite along the rest of the route judging by the packed sites around the Lorne area. We drove over the Otway Ranges & I saw another koala asleep in a tree branch above the road. Eventually the National Park ran out & we came to hills with fields & farms. We tried at Winchelsea to find a campsite but no luck – we were advised to go along the Princes Highway 1 towards Geelong & stay at a service station area for the night. It was free & had some toilets. Keef & I did tuna & salad wraps & papaya for dinner. Tomorrow we head into Melbourne. Monday 13 March (Bank Holiday Monday) Mount Macedon & Hanging Rock to Melbourne Another hot & sunny day. Set off north of Geelong to Mount Macedon on the Great Dividing Range. Lots of open bush as it was a national park & therefore very susceptible to bushfires. Drove through the town & on to Hanging Rock. Now you have to pay for car parking so we had to get a day ticket $10 as there was a barrier across the entrance. Keef & I went to the visitor centre again (we last climbed the Rock in 2008) & read about the book & film ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’. It was the remains of a volcanic caldera that once erupted a long time ago. Chris & Allyson followed the path to the top & they said it was busy as it was the Bank Holiday. We said we would do the picnic when they returned. Keef & I read our Kindles in the field where our vans & other cars were parked. We got quite a surprise when a large grey kangaroo suddenly bounced between the two motorhomes. It saw us sitting in our picnic chairs, skidded on the gravel edge of the car park road right next to us & then did a U-turn & hurriedly jumped back past our van when I exclaimed Oh! The roo had obviously panicked when he saw us. We knew there were kangaroos in the park as there were notices but we certainly didn’t expect to see one so close in a field with lots of vehicles parked round the edge. It’s strange how you come across wildlife when you least expect it, like the koala walking across the road. After Hanging Rock we headed south to the Big 4 campsite at Coburg, North Melbourne. We booked two nights at this campsite so we could visit Melbourne tomorrow. We could not get two pitches next to one another though. I did two loads of washing & hung it between the van & a tree & some of it was dry by the evening. Tuesday 14 March Melbourne Walked through Coburg residential area to get the tram into the city centre. A very hot day 32-33c especially as we were doing a lot of walking. Did not like the graffiti on walls, houses, shops, flats & anything that was stationary – looked tacky & unkempt. We saw Federation Square, then walked along the River Yarra to the 1950s Olympic Park, entertainment stadiums, tennis centre where the Australian Open is held, & the cricket ground. Next week-end is the Oz Grand Prix motor racing round Melbourne. Had a rest & drink to cool off in the café at the cricket ground. Allyson & Keef, who were ardent cricket fans, took lots of photos of statues of famous cricketers including one of Shane Warne complete with mullet hairstyle. A security lady was doing bag searches on everyone who went inside the building. We caught the tram from the cricket ground back to the city centre & then took the old style tram which is free around the central route. We got off at the Greek Quarter expecting to have a late lunch there. Unfortunately it had virtually disappeared as there were only two restaurants left and they were closed. The tram commentary said that Melbourne had the highest concentration of Greeks in the world after Athens. Instead we went into a Greek cake shop & had drinks, savoury filo pastries & baklava, which were tasty. Then we decided that as it was after 4pm it was not worth tramping the streets in the heat until the restaurants opened in the evening, so walked back towards Collins Street & the tram back to Coburg. On route we stopped at a pub for some cold drinks. I had pear cider and the others had beer. The pub was called James Squire who was a convict sent to Sydney with the first fleet for robbery. He set up a brewery with some hops & became a successful brewer in Parramatta. We returned on the tram in rush hour but Keef was offered a seat because he had a walking stick with him. Then a long walk back to the campsite – in all we walked 6½ miles today in the heat !! We were very tired. Did a snack supper of tea & cheese & biscuits & apple in our van as it was too dark to sit outside. Had a lovely cool shower- bliss! 9-10 Mar 2017 11-12 Mar 2017 13-14 Mar 2017 15-16 Mar 2017 Wednesday 15 March Melbourne to Gippsland & Traralgon Left Big 4 campsite & got fuel then the sat nav took us through the outskirts of Melbourne which took about an hour- a big city. Headed down the Mornington Peninsula from St Kilda (lots of tall palm tree, a funfair, beach & beautiful homes) which had a bit of a Miami vibe. We did some food shopping at Woolies in Frankston & Chris bought some more toilet blue liquid stuff at Bunnings $17.50 as our supply had run out. We ate lunch at Mornington on a picnic table & the seagulls were pestering us as we ate our roast chicken rolls. Looked at the map & decided that if we wanted to spend 2 days at Lakes Entrance then we needed to get a move on as it was 3 o’clock & we were still on the Mornington Peninsula. Decided to cut across country inland to a Big 4 campsite just off the Princes Highway at Traralgon. This was a brand new campsite $32.40 with a swim pool & excellent camp kitchen. Had burgers, potato salad, Greek salad & strawberries & nectarines. By now it was dark. I chatted to a woman from Scotland who had lived 37 years in perth & never been to Rottnest Island or Monkey Mia! Played cards. Thursday 16 March Traralgon to Lakes Entrance Keef did a bacon & egg cob for breakfast in the new camp kitchen. Drove along the Princes Highway to Sale, which used to be a busy Victorian inland port. Cargo & people used to arrive by boat through Lakes Entrance & there was also a railway line which went all the way to Melbourne. My ancestor Edwin Masters was a ship’s captain on the Emeo which carried wood & coal from Lakes Entrance to Sale in Victorian times. He lived at Lakes Entrance & died in1921. I only discovered this in my family tree research after Keef & I had already visited Sale & L/E in 2008. Saw some sulphur crested cockatoos in a tree at Sale harbour. Drove to Lakes Entrance & went to the lookout to see the sea lakes & isthmus & further down the hill we saw the entrance channel to the three lakes. We were hoping to stay at the 4* Big 4 in Lakes Entrance for two nights. It had 3 swimming pools but unfortunately it was full. We ended up in a Tops Park in the town which was small & cramped but at least they had two pitches next to each other. We decided to stay 1 night rather than 2. We walked along the foreshore & across a pedestrian bridge & saw some black swans. We crossed over the narrow sandy isthmus to the beach which was called 90 Mile Beach. Another ancestor of mine, Capt Alfred Masters who was a brother of Edwin, & had been a master mariner in the Merchant Navy in England, drowned off this beach in 1892 when his schooner carrying cargo sprang a leak & he couldn’t swim to shore. Captain Masters was only 33 & engaged to be married. The bush along the coast was not a good place to walk through due to venomous snakes & paralysis ticks. The weather was turning very windy & cool so Keef & I walked back to the motorhome whilst Chris & Allyson walked 6kms along the isthmus track. They said that there were signs warning people about snakes so good job I didn’t go. Keef & I used the camp kitchen (which was very good) & did chicken, jacket potatoes, carrots, beans & onions. 17-19 Mar 2017 Friday 17 March Lakes Entrance to Mallacoota Another day of warm weather but not as hot as previous days. We stopped four times on the journey mainly travelling along the Princes Highway. We stopped briefly in Orbost to see the tiny pioneer wood house which was original. The house once had a family with 10 children. It’s now the tourist info & the lady there recommended we go on a loop road to Marlo and Cape Conran which we decided to do. We followed the road by the bank of the mighty Snowy River (made famous by the Oz poet Banjo Patterson in ‘The Man From Snowy River’ which I read at school in Sydney). The river starts in the Snowy Mountains in NSW & empties into the Bass Strait, Victoria. Marlo was a tiny place with a little pier and we were surprised to hear a huffing noise from under the jetty. It was a large seal who was looking for fish. We saw him at very close range & he was looking at us. Liked his big eyes & long whiskers & we took some photos. The sun came out & the sea looked blue with the breakers crashing on the shore. Right near the mouth of the Snowy River we saw an old man panning for gold by using a suction tube to get the sediment from the river bed and putting it through a sieve. We went to Cape Conran but did not see any koalas. Did a short walk onto a beach which stretched for miles along the coastline. This area of coastline in Victoria is called the Wilderness Coast & mainly national park. Saw a dead seal on the beach. We rejoined the Princes Highway & stopped after Bell Bird Creek to do a rainforest walk. This was in an area called the Benum River Rainforest which was a tiny pocket of temperate rainforest with tree ferns, creepers and trees with a small stream. The walk was about a mile and some of it was boardwalk & the rest was forest track & dirt road. Luckily didn’t see any snakes. We were looking out for a duck billed platypus in the small stream and though we saw some holes in the bank we did not see any. I saw a small lizard on top of a mossy fallen tree trunk and Allyson took a photo of it. We continued along the Princes Highway & drove through virgin bush where the eucalyptus trees stretched for miles. This was called Alfred National Park & Croajingolong National Park. We drove down a side road to Gipsy Point which K & I had visited before – a quiet little sea inlet with a few homes, holiday cottages & boat jetty. The tourist brochure said that lyre birds & sea eagles could be seen here. We did see 3 large kangaroos lazing on a lawn in front of someone’s house. We carried on the route to Mallacoota & on the outskirts of the small town I saw a whole group of kangaroos in a field. We just got booked in at the Foreshore Camping Ground ($32 a night per pitch site) before they closed at 5pm. Nice views across the inlet to virgin bush, some tiny islands and the Howe Range hills in the distance. Had sausages for dinner. We are staying two nights here. Saturday 18 March At Mallacoota, Victoria all day After breakfast Chris & Allyson walked to the shops in Mallacoota and Keef & I went for a long walk (about 2 hours) around the campsite. This was a big site with 769 pitches but the facilities were very old fashioned but adequate. It was popular with fishing people who even brought their boats with their caravans. At one of the many boat jetties we saw a very large stingray come up to the surface looking for fish & crustaceans. It had orange spots/splodges on its brown back, orange under its wings & was about 3 feet across. Unfortunately Keef was not quick enough to get a photo before it swam down from the surface & away. We then walked out of one end of the campsite towards Shady Gully looking for koalas in the trees. We returned to the jetty on the way back but the ray had moved on. Then we called in at the camp reception office to ask about koalas & other wildlife. The man there was very chatty (he was a retired volunteer) but he did not know the type of stingray that we’d seen. Then he said that a koala had been spotted high up in a tree on the other side of the campsite so we walked along looking at the trees in the area specified. We saw it asleep & Keef took some pictures. We could hear the surf loudly crashing on the beach part-way across the inlet. By 1pm it started drizzling so we returned to the motorhome. Chris & Allyson returned and said they had found a good café to have breakfast tomorrow morning & they had seen a nice eco driftwood sculpture that they wanted to buy in a local art gallery. For lunch we had tuna wraps & salad. It was drizzly all afternoon so I did some cross-stitch embroidery (a Christmas sampler). Wi-fi was difficult to get into & was very erratic. We’ve had this problem in nearly all campsites where the free wi-fi is very restricted or it does not work unless you’re seated on the top of the nearest telecoms mast! Just as dusk I went back to look for the koala but he had moved away from the tree. On the way back to the motorhome I saw 11 kangaroos (including a rare albino one) feeding on a grassy plot across the road from the campsite & I took some photos. Chris & Allyson cooked fish on their campervan pull-out BBQ, with veggies & wine. Shame that the weather had turned overcast & showery later in the afternoon. We had some heavy rain during the night. Sunday 19 March Mallacoota to Pambula Beach, NSW Weather brighter & some hot sunshine later in the morning. We drove into the town & went to the café called Lucy’s for cooked breakfast which was tasty & coffee. We then drove through the residential area of Mallacoota where there was a sign by some woods which showed lyre birds were around, but we didn’t see any. Keef thought he saw a snake by someone’s front garden so we turned round the block to have another look but it had gone. Stopped at a car park at Double Creek where there were some very noisy bellbirds but no koalas Trailer

We stayed at the Raina Beach house in Titikaveka, right on the beach front and close to the fruits of the sea lagoon, the best places for snorkelling in the Cook Isles. It wasn't so easy to find in the dark. We had a hire car so explored COOK ISLANDS - We stayed on RAROTONGA Raina Beach House, 10-17 April 2017 "Paradise Home by the Sea" Little Polynesian Restaurant, Titikaveka INTRODUCTION We stayed at the Raina Beach house in Titikaveka, right on the beach front and close to the fruits of the sea lagoon, the best places for snorkeling in the Cook Isles. It wasn't so easy to find in the dark. We had a hire car so explored as well as chilled. Loved the lush interior on the inner road, Wigmore's waterfall, the botanic gardens and lemon cheesecake, Muri burgers, Rarotonga brewery lager and the capital Avarua on the outer road. Nice chill time here on the island at our Raina beach house close to the waters edge. Loved snorkeling, sun bathing, reading , kayaking (well some of us), exploring the island both inner and outer roads, Rarotonga brewery, Little Polynesian restaurant, Botanic gardens, Lemon cheesecake, Muri burgers, University, Museum, Outriggers, Church services, Tropical flowers and customs. Jack Fruit, Botanic Gardens Map Intro Cook Island Diary Monday 10 April Auckland to Rarotonga, Cook Islands Our flight to Rarotonga in the South Pacific was not part of our round the world ticket & Keef had to book this separately in England. The plane left Auckland at 4.30pm ( Virgin Australia) & it took 4 hours. We arrived at 10.30pm & apart from turning our watches forward 2 hours we had crossed the international date line. This meant we gained a day but would lose it on our return to Auckland – found it difficult to get my head round this time travel. By the time we cleared customs & bio-hazard questions we collected our hire car which we’d booked in England. We were staying in the Raina Beach House, Titikaveka & it proved tricky to find in the dark as not well signposted. Eventually at midnight we found the right house & had a cup of tea as we were so thirsty (we were not allowed to bring any water into the country). Had a cool shower before turning in. Monday again/ Groundhog Day We all unpacked our bags. I did some laundry & we went for a dip in the lagoon right outside our holiday house. There was a narrow sandy beach at the bottom of some steps from the garden. Beautiful day. Chris got one of the 2 canoes from the garden & went off paddling. I saw lots of sea cucumbers on the sandy sea bed & had to be careful not to tread on them. The water in the lagoon was warm & the coral reef was some distance away but very loud surf. The wall of water breaking over the reef was visible from the shore. Chris, Allyson & Keef saw some brightly coloured fish. After swimming we drove into Avarua, the main town in Rarotonga (also the capital of the Cook Islands). We went past the long white bungalow that was the Cook Islands Parliament. The Queen has a representative here although the Cooks became independent in 1967 (50 years ago). The NZ government helps to ‘administer’ & assist when required to do so. There’s also a NZ High Commission here. We had lunch near the harbour sitting outside a small shack, next to lots of other eateries. The food was excellent – Chris & Allyson had fish of the day with rice & salad, Keef had chicken with peanut butter sauce, salad & rice & I had a toasted cheese & ham sandwich. Keef & I were very thirsty was it was getting very hot so we shared a litre of tropical fruit juice. We walked along to the small harbour with a few small ships moored. One ship was loading cargo to be shipped to one of the other 14 islands in the Cooks. Rarotonga is the main island in the group so has the post office & airport link with New Zealand. There was a cruise ship moored out in the bay. We went to a supermarket for food shopping. Prices were high as most goods were imported apart from local produce. We returned to the beach house & had another swim in the lagoon. Snorkel equipment was provided @ $5NZ a day. The currency is Kiwi dollars apart from a one, two & three dollar coin. The $2 coin was triangular in shape (decided to keep one as a souvenir). We all sat out on the wooden decking – beautiful view of the lagoon & reef. Later on Chris & Keef had a toast sandwich but Allyson & I weren’t hungry. It gets dark about 6pm here but there was no sunset tonight. Apparently the best sunsets are on the east of the island. Lovely & relaxing listening to the waves lapping on the beach & the distant surf pounding on the reef. Chris did some star gazing when the clouds cleared. Tuesday 11 April Rarotonga The big waves crashing on the reef today meant that the sand was churned up in the lagoon. Also the sea came up almost to the top of the narrow beach. Chris, Allyson & Keef went snorkelling whilst I paddled. After breakfast & showers we drove back into Avarua along the west coast. We looked at the shops, including gift & pearl shops & saw the new Court House building. Also walked past Banana Court, which was a hotel built in 1905. In those days there weren’t many shops & houses & a photo board outside the building showed the main street in 1905 with mainly palm trees, vegetation & not much else. The airport was built in the early 1970s which brought in more tourists, especially from New Zealand. Now the main street has one & two storey buildings, apart from the tall Court House. The people were very friendly & helpful. Went into the tourist info & Allyson looked at the pearl shops. The black pearls are cultured pearls farmed on one of the other islands. The locals all greet everyone with Kia Orana (hello) & many local women wear floral garlands on their heads. The language spoken is similar to Maori. Keef & I thought that Rarotonga looked more prosperous than Vanua Levu (Fiji), Western Samoa and Tonga & the homes looked more sturdily built with well-kept gardens. A lot of the locals use mopeds to get around & to go to work. We went to Trader Jacks, a bar by the sea, & had some drinks & then drove back through town to a micro brewery run by a local family. On the walls were framed black & white photos of the town in the early days. There were lots of free range chickens wandering round the streets. Cockerels start crowing before dawn at 5am (I was woken up on our first morning). Not seen any pigs wandering about like they do in other Pacific islands. There is one main road round the island which is 32kms long/20 mls & also an inner road which goes part of the way round. The island was once volcanic & has some tall peaks now covered in rainforest. We saw volcanic black lava remains on our local beach. The island is popular for weddings/ honeymoons & probably a lot of Aussies & Kiwis go there. We drove back to the beach house & at 5pm started cooking the marinated chicken pieces we’d bought in the supermarket. The gas oven ignited but would not stay on so we had to use the electric oven to pre-cook the chicken before putting it on the BBQ. Had salad & some huge rolls from the local bakery with the chicken. Allyson & I wrote our diaries (I had to catch up since we flew from Auckland) & we read our Kindles. Raining outside so we sat indoors. During the night there was a massive rain storm with strong winds. The torrential rain woke us up as well as the doors rattling. Keef got back to sleep. At 4 am I wandered round the house checking that the glass louvres on the windows were not letting the rain in. Still awake at 6.45am when the lightning started & then came the thunder at 7.30. Eventually I dropped off to sleep & slept in until 10.45am!! Before we left Auckland we heard about a tropical cyclone forming in the Vanuatu area expected to be Category 3. It was named Cyclone Cook but as it was much further to the north of the Cooks we were not bothered about it reaching us, although the stormy weather meant that we were getting the peripheral wind & rain. Before we booked the Cook Islands part of the trip I checked when the cyclone season started & ended - November- March. Wednesday 12 April Rarotonga Had a late breakfast. Chris & Keef went snorkelling but saw no fish as the strong winds had stirred up the sand in the lagoon. I read my Kindle on the chaise longue on the decking (Bill Bryson’s ‘One Summer’ about events in the USA in 1927. We all decided to visit the botanical gardens & walked there as it was near the beach house. Very tropical & well-kept even though the ground was a little soggy in places after last night’s storm. Most of the heavy rain had drained away – no wonder there is dense rainforest in the centre of the island. We took lots of photos then went to the café in the gardens to sample their ‘world famous’ lemon meringue cheesecake pie with two scoops of vanilla icecream & fresh tropical fruit slices – yummy. We all walked back to the beach house for a cup of tea. At 5pm we set off by car to see a children’s singing & dancing show in Avarua. The lady at the tourist info centre recommended the show to us, as there would be traditional songs & dances by teams of local schoolchildren competing. We went to the second evening of the competition & the event was held in the Cultural Centre arena – a big building with a large stage, & tiered seating around three sides with wooden louvre shutters to let the breeze in & rows of seating in front of the stage. Lots of families were eating snacks from the food stalls outside the arena. The tickets cost $10 per person & although tourist info told us the show started at 6pm it didn’t start until 6.30pm. Chris & Allyson had booked us all in to a local restaurant called Little Polynesian (a small resort as well) at 7.30 so unfortunately we all had to leave after 45 mins during the intermission. The competition was wonderful as the children of varying ages sang traditional Cook Islands songs & danced accompanied by drums & ukuleles. The boys & girls wore traditional Cook Islands grass skirts with the girls having flower garlands in their hair. A lot of women in the audience also wore floral garlands. We saw two school teams perform & they ranged in age from nursery to teens. The little 3 & 4 year olds looked so sweet in their grass skirts & most of them hadn’t a clue about the singing/dancing but stood near the edge of the stage with their teacher. The teachers & some of the teenagers stood at the back & played the music. The audience were told not to take photos or videos because of the young children performing. It was well worth seeing the performances even though it was cut short by our departure. Drove back to the Little Polynesian & had a nice two course meal under an open fale with palm thatched roof on the terrace next to the swimming pool. I had smoked marlin fishcakes with a lime hollandaise sauce & homemade chutney as the starter & then chicken breast stuffed with island spinach served with rice & vegetables. We all enjoyed our mneals & then Keef drove us back along the main road to the beach house. We had a cup of tea & Allyson & I caught up with our diaries. There was wi-fi at the house but there were charges so we didn’t think it was worth doing for 7 days & would probably have been too slow anyway. We could catch up with friends & family when we returned to Auckland. During the night there was more heavy rain drumming on the roof & the wind increased. Don’t think I’ve had a proper nights sleep since I arrived here due to storms, thunder & cockerels. Also I got badly bitten on my arms & legs when we were at the botanical gardens today & they were itchy at night. Keef didn’t sleep that well either. Thursday 13 April Rarotonga I was woken at 8.25am by the cockerel crowing in the garden. The chickens are free range & I’m thinking of guiding them towards the oven, especially that cockerel. Had a shower & sat on the decking & read my Kindle. The others all went snorkelling. Chris showed Keef & I some tropical fish on his underwater videocam. Rain showers. The two guys next door who did the cleaning & changed the towels brought us bananas, coconut & today they brought another coconut & a large chunk of jackfruit. It was overcast & rainy for most of the day with the occasional dry period. Keef & I did some tourist stuff in the car & Chris & Allyson went for a long walk along the coast road & a road up to Wigmore’s Waterfall. It was named after a landowner here. Keef & I drove along the coast road on the east side of the island through Muri, a tourist area with some small resorts, cafes, burger bar, beach bars etc. We stopped at a church in Matavera but it started raining again. We stopped in Avarua again & saw a very old church c 1834 which had walls 3 feet thick to withstand the annual cyclones. The local chief had a gravestone by the main door & his ‘Palace of Makea’ was a large wooden building opposite the church in a grassy field but this was closed. We then went to the Museum of the Cook Islands (+library) in Avarua but this was closed for Easter. In the gardens there was an original outrigger canoe on display under cover. Across the road was the small University of the South Pacific which was also closed for Easter (students have to pay tuition fees there). We walked into the main reception area where there were some replicas of traditional wooden canoes & carved wooden statues, plus a board which listed all the graduates for that year. Obviously a very small uni as there were not that many names listed. We drove to the Takamoa Theological College through impressive large wrought iron gates to a large lawned area by a car park. The white colonial building in the grounds was the original headquarters of the Church Missionary Society in the Cook Islands. On a stone monument at the front of the building was a list of all the missionaries & quite a lot of them were converted local people who were sent out to other islands to preach & convert the people. The monument listed several missionaries who were ‘martyred’ – i.e killed by the locals & eaten. Quite a dangerous career being a missionary in these parts. Sailors used to fear being shipwrecked on these South Pacific islands because they knew they would be killed & eaten – they called the islands the ‘cannibal isles’. We visited the National Museum in another part of the main town and it was open today – hooray! We were hoping to find out about the people & their culture. Some interesting old black & white photos of local chiefs & missionaries – all in Victorian clothes & suits – how they managed wearing long sleeved heavy serge suits & dresses with jackets in the heat & humidity I don’t know. The Victorians loved to put their own cultural values above those of the locals – would the Cook Islanders be considered to be ‘converted to God’ by dressing the same as the British? Why didn’t the Brits relax their dress & wear loose linen clothes in this climate? Mad dogs & Englishmen phrase comes to mind. We also saw some wood artifacts – carved statues, weapons, a stool with serrated shell tied on the front for scraping out coconuts (genius design) & some beautiful woven fine straw hats made by local crafts people. A lot of the museum had an exhibition about Cook Islanders who had served in WWI in France, Gallipoli & North Africa. A lot of them died of malaria & some died in the trenches in France. Some came from Rarotonga & a few were from the outlying islands & each soldier had a photo on the wall. The Islanders were used as navvies to dig the trenches as the British did not want to train them to handle guns & Munitions. These men were very young and had all volunteered to go to war, even though it was on the other side of the world & in the middle of nowhere. Strange that they felt so compelled to enlist in a war that had no immediate effect on them, their families or environment & yet did they feel a sense of duty to the Commonwealth & Britain to do so? Some of the men were buried in war graves in France. Several received bravery awards – the Military Medal & Distinguished Service Cross. ANZAC day is commemorated in this museum in Rarotonga. Keef & I returned to the beach house around dusk & later Chris & Keef drove to get us all some fish & chips which we ate indoors. Friday 14 April Good Friday Rarotonga Weather still overcast & rainy but the sea was clear for snorkelling & kayaking. Chris & Allyson did a walk along the coast road to Muri & K & I drove around the inner road. We visited the same waterfall as C & A & there were people sitting in the pool on a ledge at the bottom of the waterfall, which was not very high. A girl told us that the pool was 8 feet deep & she dived off the ledge as the locals said it was OK to do so. Along the inner ring road were houses, small fields of taro, papaya, cassava & orange trees. We saw a breadfruit tree with large fruit like melons. Also saw small goats, a couple of cows & some pigs tied to a tree with a long leash of rope. We noticed that so many houses had shipping containers in the front gardens. We thought that these were used as emergency quarters during a cyclone but would not be much good for a tsunami. There is a tsunami escape route on the south side of the island which is a road built especially towards higher ground. There are also tsunami sirens that act as a warning to the population. We came out at Avarua along the inner ring road and passed a cinema where families were just leaving & tucking into fast food at stalls located outside. We took some photos of the Cook Islands Parliament building. Drove back along the east coast looking for Chris & Allyson walking back as there were no buses on Good Friday. Didn’t see them, so we returned to the beach house & found they had just got back from their walk. Keef cooked spiced kumara (NZ variety of sweet potato) & omelettes & I made a salad using up the leftovers as we were returning to NZ on Sunday evening. Saturday 15 April Rarotonga Much better weather today (we must have caught the far edge of the Vanuatu cyclone to the NW of us. We had an early breakfast & drove into Avarua for the weekly market. Lots of colourful market stalls selling everything from black pearls/ shell jewelry, handmade ukuleles, straw hats, food, smoothies, beach wraps (pareo), clothing etc. There were performers who did a show on the raised stage – adults & older children who sang, danced & played various styles of drum. The drummers had won lots of annual music awards representing the Cook Is in South Pacific competitions, including every year for the past 5 years. There was a voluntary collection of money from the audience which went towards travel expenses of local children doing a school pupil swap in USA, Oz & NZ so they could see other parts of the world. The entertainment was great, they allowed photos/videos to be taken & in between light drizzle showers the sun came out. Very high U.V & also became extremely humid. Had a lovely fruit smoothie at a market stall. Allyson bought some black pearl gifts for her family & some small artwork prints. We all walked along to the Tourist Info to ask about a music afternoon at the beach from 2.30-9.30 that we’d heard about. She wasn’t clear about it, so sounded a bit hit & miss. Walked on to Trader Jacks bar for a drink but they were closed (why on a Saturday afternoon?) Walked back to Foodland supermarket & bought some cereal & fruit juice, then drove to the lager micro brewery again on the outskirts of town. Humidity today has been excessive & as we have no internet we’ve no idea of temperatures. Thought we’d return to the beach house & a welcome swim in the lagoon to cool off. Very refreshing having dripped sweat all afternoon. Chris & Allyson decided to take the car & drive along the inner ring road which we said was worth an explore & told them about the missionary colonial building in Avarua. On the way back they had spotted a popular burger bar in Muri which would be ideal for the evening meal. We all had cup of tea & showers & went to the burger bar. Decided to bring the food back to the house as the wet weather had increased the mosquito population. Very nice burgers. We all did some packing, had showers again & went to bed. Sunday 16 April Rarotonga to Auckland Got up at 8am & the phone rang at 8.15. When I answered it was Tanya (the beach house owner) contacting us about our departure. Yesterday Keef had negotiated an extension to 11am for us to stay on longer than 10am as Tanya had told him that new visitors were arriving at 2pm today. She rang today to change this, saying for an additional cost we could stay until 7pm tonight. Our flight back to Auckland was at 11.15pm so it would be much better for us to stay here all day than to load up the hire car with all our bags & spend hours in a bar. C & A thought this was a good idea too, so we agreed to extend the rental until 7pm & then the male cleaners could come in then. Keef & I went to put some fuel in the car at the local garage & shop. We bought 2 oranges (they were green on the outside but still looked like oranges inside). We heard singing in the local church which was beautiful, so got our camera & Allyson’s camera to take some photos of the locals in the church, one of the oldest in Rarotonga. We looked through the open windows & everyone was in their Sunday best with flower garlands/straw hats worn by the women. Saw some NZ tourists that we’d met on the beach the other day sitting on a pew. Spent the rest of the day relaxing, taking photos, watching kite surfers, a canoeist on an outrigger canoe, beach walking & reading. For lunch we had smoked marlin slices on toast & leftover nibbles & fruit. Keef & I had booked the restaurant at the Little Polynesian resort again for 7.15pm. We had showers, completed our last minute packing, then drove along to the restaurant. Had a nice meal & chatted to our waitress who was from Fiji. I had marlin fishcakes again, chicken salad & vanilla bean brulee with alcohol infused pineapple pieces. We set off to the airport. It was 28c & very humid. We’d had rain showers during the meal & at the airport. The plane was delayed an hour – it had come from Sydney via Auckland – so we didn’t leave Rarotonga until 12.15. The airline was Virgin Australia & not much room in the seats or leg room. I was seated next to the window & as it was dark there was no view at take-off. Tried to sleep after completing the NZ arrival bio-hazard security cards with the long list of what you could not bring into the country. Probably managed about 1½ hrs sleep. The flight took 4 hours to Auckland & as we crossed the international date line again we lost a day – Easter Monday. When we landed it was Tuesday 2.30am. Diary Slideshows The Talkies gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/20 Gallery Audio Diary Trailer

This is the North Island New Zealand page of our BIG TRIP holiday 2017 website and gives an introduction to where we went on North Island via summaries photo slideshows, galleries & audible videos. There is also a map of our favourite Papamoa Beach campsite, bliss. Plus a slideshow showing all the campsites we stayed at on North Island for reference. Some highlights were Tutikaka, Matapouri, Kawakawa, Ohua, Okiato, Russell, Hundertwasser, Hangi,Clapham clocks, Waterfall , Manawoara, Rawhiti NORTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND Slideshows & Diary Arrived (1st time) in Auckland from Sydney, Overnight then Cook Isles, Walk, Wait, Agapanthus, Arrived (2nd time) from Rarotonga, Cook Isles. 3 days central area, harbour, wharves, ferries,coast to coast walk (for C&A) , Maritime museum, murals, tepid baths,Britomart, Queens wharf, Quay st, Federal St, Churches, slopes,Hobson west marina, Masters games, Wynyard quarter, amazing architecture,Fish market, Heritage landing, North Wharf, Sarah, Pier 4, Rangitoto, Volcanic explorer tour,Summit views, Motutapu, Lava, Sunshine, Day out in Devonport, The Arcade, Esplanade Hotel,Victoria Road, King & Queens parade, various reserves, Mount Victoria, Clarys, Haircut, Hauraki gulf, Auckland art gallery, Maoiri paintings,The body laid bare exhibition, Joseph at the Civic, Collecting vans at Richard Pearce drive, Mangere, Auckland, Extra hidden costs, Orewa, Beach, Man with tourettes, Orewa beach,Countdown/Pac-N-Save/New World,shells, historic Puhoi, Twin coast highway, Mangawhai heads, Ruakaka beach, Whangerai, Hatea river, Town basin, glassblowing, canopy bridge, Tutikaka, Matapouri, Kawakawa, Ohua, Okiato, Russell, Hundertwasser, Hangi,Clapham clocks, Waterfall , Manawoara, Rawhiti, wetlands, marae, Waimarama bay, Bay of Islands, Historic Russell, pier, boat ramps, ferries, sunshine, exotic sub tropical plants, Tapeka point, Rocky bay reserve, Weka, Paihai, Water taxis, Waitangi, Whangaroa, marlin, wharfs & jetties, Volcanic plus, 90 mile beach, Twilight beach, Tapotupotu bay, DOC, Tyres R Us, Kevin the AAman, Cape Reinga, Lighthouse, Te Paki reserve, Old Kahina tree, Views to die for, Te Paki sand dunes, Broadwood, Kohukohu, Hokianga ferry, Twin coast highway, Rawene, Opononi, Aria-te-aru reserve, South heads, historic Dargaville, meeting up with C&A again in countdown car park, Donelly crossing, loggers, fab kiwi trees, Kaiwaka, farm stay, outside loo with a view, C&A visited lake Kai Iwi on the way to Dargaville, we did east coast, they did west coast, remet Whakapapa village then Wellington, Kaipara coast sculpture park, Helensville, Ginger crunch railway cafe, flat whites, Railways, Thames, Coromandel peninsular & Forest park, Wharf, Ferry, Shelly beach, Colville, Horse, Wahine, Music festival, Buddist retreat, Port Jackson, gravel road,Top of coro, Mercury bay, Tairua, freedom camping, waves, rain (lots),fishing off rocks, Waihi beach, Katikati, murals, Mount Manganui, Pilot bay, Marine parade, Motuotou & Moturiki islands, boysenberry icecream, Papamoa beach, beach street, strelitzia,Maori sculpture, bluebiyou restuarant, chalets, sunshine, relaxing, fun, chatting to guy from england , Pikowai, Pacific coast highway, Te Puke, Thornton, Whakatane, 2 islands, Smokin' volcano, Edgecumbe floods, Mt Edgecombe, Galatea road, sickly horse, Lunch at lake Aniwhenua, autumn colours, Hydro electric dam, Kopuriki, Road only just opened due to floods, Murupara, Maori funeral, Forests, Lake Taupo, Reids Carving, Breweries, Fooderies, Outrigger boats, Tourist info, icecream, Lake lookout, DOC site, Free, Tongariro views, sunsets, fishing boats, great sleep, cold at night - getting so, 5 mile bay site, Motuoapa bay, licorice (spelling haha!) cafe, flat whites, black swans, novelty VW cabins, Desert road, Turangi,National Park, Restuarant (not this time), Tranz Alpine station, Whakapapa village, rain, meeting up with C&A again at the dump station, Visitors centre, Cafe coffee, snow, Chateau Tongariro, Taihape, Gumboots, Spooner hill road, sheep, cows, Gentle annie pass, Moawhango, views to die for, Rangitikei river, Silverdale historic bridge, Valleys, Mountains, Hastings , 1930s architecture,Queens & Railway St, Westermans, Clock tower, Te Mata peak, Ocean beach, Waimarama, Blue cod, Fish & chips St Aubyn st, Surfers, Havelock north, Duart house and gardens, Murals, Wineries, Tukituki river, Kairakau beach, reflections, Paua shells, ice creams at waipawa, Waipukurau, Lake Hatuma, Wanstead, Wallingford bridge, sheep (again), Porangahau, Never finding the beach down the gravel road (cooks tooth), Longest name of place in the world (no don't ask me to spell it ;) ) ,Pacific Ocean, Cape Turnagain, Our hero Capt Cook, Herbertville, Wimbeldon, Route 52, Pongaroa, Eketahuna, Pagans, Hippies, Sacrificing virgins (ok maybe not!), Electricity, Late at night, Kiwi country, Herberts store, Steak & Cheese Pies, Museum, Masterton, Wool shed, Joseph Masters, Queen Elizabeth park, Aratoi, Maori ripoff, Tinui, Anzac church & cross, Castlepoint, Deliverance cove, Riversdale beach, Wairarapa wine region, late night into Martinborough, Memorial square, Pain & Kershaw, lake Ferry, Lake Okone and spit, old motorhomes, Cape Palliser, Paua shells, Palliser bay, Ngawi, Tractors, Rock lobster, Road slips,Putangirua pinnacles , Wellington Top10 campsite (so changed), Harbour from Pencarrow head to Lyall bay, shells, ferries, Ward island, Wellesley college, Eastbourne, Day bay,Wahine disaster,Moa point, Middle earth, Trolley buses, Waterfront at night, Te Papa, Macs Brewery, Curry, up early for Interislander ferry, Traffic jams SEE THE FULL NORTH ISLAND EXPERIENCE, 1hr 55mins gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/62 Gallery Summary Love Papamoa Slideshows Campsites The Talkies Map Audio Diary Trailer

The WESTERN AUSTRALIA page of our BIG TRIP holiday 2017 website gives an introduction to where we went in WA via diaries, photo slideshows & audible videos. Arrived in Perth, WA from Singapore. We saw the town before picking up the motorhomes and seeing Monkey Mia, Carnavon, Rottnest Island & the adorable quokkas, Margaret River but you can see all of this and more on this WA page WESTERN AUSTRALIA Slideshows & Diary Indian Pacific Railway Highlights of our time in Western Australia see slideshows and diary gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/32 gallery images created by KeefH Web Designs for this Travel Photography site with care and love 1/3 Gallery Includes Perth (3 days), Freemantle (Freo), Ledge point, Pinnacle National Park, Cervantes, Thirsty Point, Jurien Bay, Indian Ocean drive, Greenhough hanging tree, Geraldton, Northampton, Nerren Nerren, Billabong & Overlander roadhouses, World heritage drive, Monkey Mia, Shark Bay, Shell beach, Denham, Carnavon, Nanga, Hamelin Pool (where the desert meet the sea), Space Museum, Gascoyne River, Port Denison, Badgingarra, Moora, Brand Highway, Avon River, Northam, Crossing the flooded road nr Hyden, Wave Rock, Kalgarin farm stay, Wheatbelt, Snake, Blue tounged skinks, Tin Horse highway, Kulin, Dumbleyung, Bluebird, Mens Sheds, Railway, Farming, Boot fences, Kojonup - possibly the best campsite in the world NOT!, Rosellas, Mount Barker, Porongurup, Albany Highway, Castle Rock at the Porongurup National Park, Brig Amity, Princess Royal harbour, Middleton beach , Scenic drive Wilsons bay, Denmark, Greens pool, Elephant Rocks, Parry beach (for lunch) and the hippy in the van, valley of the Giants red tingle trees and tree top walk, Quokka on the path, Northcliffe eco park and roos plus roos jumping across road at dusk,Pemberton, Augusta, Cape Leeuwin and lighthouse, Leeuwin-Naturaliste national park,Margaret river, cape Mentelle winery, Lenton Brae winery plus tour and ladies picture of a family house in Lenton, Nottingham, we will try and find it, cheeky monkey brewery, Cowaramup, Busselton and the pier / jetty, Bunbury and Koombana bay , plus non dolphin watching, although in fairness Chris & Allyson did see one on their walk. Mangrove board walk, sub tropical flowers, Lechenault inlet and estuary, swimming in the site pool, sunbathing, chilling, intersting sub tropical birds, Avalon beach, Mandurah, Rockingham, Penguin island, seals, little blue penguins, board walks, conservation areas, Freemantle or Freo, Ferries, Van bumps, Rottnest island, Quokkas again, cycle rides, swims, guided tours, walks in the sun, history, lunch, cafes, ice creams, friends, fun, rocks, boats , blowholes, blue seas and skies and ice creams , royal perth hotel, lucky shag bar and aqua bar for our 39th wedding anniversary in perth SEE THE FULL WESTERN OZ EXPERIENCE, 1hr 19mins Slideshows Summary WA Campsites Talkies Map Audio Diary Trailer