If we were having coffee I would tell you I can’t believe how quickly this year is going. Since we last had coffee back in May I have been busy planning our Canadian/Alaskan holiday which we have just returned from. It was amazing. We worked out our own itinerary using the internet and were not disappointed.
On a previous Canadian trip 10 years ago, my husband and I visited the east coast. This trip we visited the west coast. So between both we have visited all 10 Canadian provinces and a small corner of the Yukon. We have also explored a large part of Alaska which was breathtaking. Not bad for a pair of Aussies eh.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that unfortunately the initial diagnosis for my hip was incorrect and I have needed regular physio to build up the muscles supporting it. I also have had a great benefit from orthotics to support my feet. Fortunately the effort I put in before we went away paid off and I had little trouble walking the 360 kilometers we covered in 6 weeks. On returning home however it is letting me know that it isn’t very happy at times.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that Ruby, our slide on camper has finally gone back to her maker to get repaired from the major water damage she has suffered. We are looking forward to getting her back and being able to take sneaky weekend getaways again.
If we were having coffee I would tell you I have enjoyed doing a number of puzzles this year. There was one however that I found quite challenging. It was in the shape of Mickey Mouse and made up of individual pictures of Mickey. No two pieces were the same. It took me a few months to sort him him out but in the end I was pleased with the end result.
Today I have gone slightly off script as I have looked for a straight J word for over month and came up with nothing. Therefore I have used the blogging trick of having a J in his name.
Edward John Eyres and his aboriginal companion Wylie was the first European to explore the interior of South Australia. They explored the area around the Flinders Rangers s well as The Great Australian Bight and Nullarbor Plain.
This sculpture to celebrate them is very striking and overlooks the lands that they once explored. They can be found at Whites Knob Lookout outside of Kimba.
The Eyre Peninsula and Lake Eyre in South Australia are also named in his honour.
This area is very arid, lacks water and has extremes in temperatures so it would have been hard work to explore.
One of our favourite things to do when we travel is op shopping. Small country towns in Australia always have opportunity (other known as charity) shops. Street libraries where you pick up and drop off free book are also always fun. Whenever we travel we take a stash of books that we no longer need to exchange and share the love.
This is some of the haul we picked up when we had a quick five day get away recently. Books are our main prize, followed by puzzles, music/DVD’s and other random oddments. I think that my favourite purchase on this trip was a 1980’s version of Trivial Pursuit. In a few weeks time my family is going away to celebrate family birthdays and we are having a 1980’s themed celebration. I didn’t know that it existed but I am now looking forward to giving it a go.
One of the first tours we took on our trip to South Australia was of the HMAS Whyalla. The Whyalla was the first ship built at Wyalla’s shipyards in 1941. It was one of 66 ships built in Whyalla and one of 4 Bathurst corvettes built for the second World War. Whyalla, South Australia has a steel works which made ship building easy. After the war the HMAS Whyalla was sold to Victorian Public Works and became the Rip and spent 38 years working as a lights maintenance ship. In 1984, she was sold to Whyalla City Council to become the centre piece of the Visitors Information Centre and Maritme Museum.
Photo credit: Google Images
Nobody would have thought that 46 years after her birth on the Whyalla slipway, the HMAS Whyalla would go back up the same slipway as she began her journey to her new home. Moving the Whyalla however didn’t go according to plan and became an engineering feat initself. It took major planning, problem solving and machinery to finally complete the task. The teams were given many sleepless nights and in the end according to the following documentary it took 220 tonnes of trailers, 328 wheels assisted by 2 prime movers to take her the 2 kilometres from the slipway to her final resting place 2 metres above the ground.
https://youtu.be/L4CAlQU_PV0
The HMAS Whyalla has now been restored back to her former glory as a WW2 corvette. Our tour guide was amazing and she was filled with interesting facts about the ship. I was fascinated to see what life on board would have been like for the young sailors. It was definitely a unique experience and worth staying the weekend in Whyalla to see. The Maritime Museum is on site as well and was also very interesting covering all of the areas varied maritime history.
I loved that they have used the ships chain and anchors in the garden area.
On the eastern side of the Eyre Pennisula, South Australia lies the sleepy town of Cowell. With a regular population of approximately 1100 Cowell loves the tourists. They keep their economy running. As it is known for its fishing and seafood industries this is not a problem.
I personally love the town’s peoples creativity. The local artists instead of using an art gallery to display their art, they chose the towns public toilets. They call it Cowell’s Crap Art. Every wall that would normally be blank was filled with fun artwork including the artists name, contact number and price.
In Australia a crapper is slang for toilet and crap is slang for poor quality or to defecate. The art here was definitely a play on word as the quality of the artwork was great. I think it was very clever as people can chose to go into an art gallery but very few can avoid the town’s toilet.
Todays Cee’s Fun Fotos Challenge is all about cars-new, vintage or toy. When looking for inspiration on this weeks theme I discovered some photos of a Variety Bash vehicle. A few years ago I happened upon this car on one of my Sunday walks. She’s a gem.
The Variety Bash is a weeklong fun charity event. Participants work in teams, dress up and decorate their cars. To be eligible to enter cars must be a minimum of 25-30 years old depending on car type. The must also be registered, roadworthy and insured.
Throughout the weeklong adventure Variety Bashers call into small towns and communities along the way raising money for sick, disadvantaged and special needs kids.
Great job teams. This year the Variety Bash ends in Newcastle so if I am free I will join them at the finish line.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that my virtual coffee dates are very similar to my real life coffee dates. I love them but they are often a long time coming. That aside, I was happy to see that Natalie is still hosting our #weekend coffee share. Thank you. I find it welcoming to catch up with old friends as well as make new ones. I was surprised however to realise today that I had been MIA for nearly 12 months. How quickly that time has gone. I am hopeful that 2024 is the year that I get my blogging act together.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that I am still working 3 days a week despite giving a lot of thought into retirement. It’s weird. I know that I am ready but part of me doesn’t know who I am when I’m not a mental health nurse. At present I am on long service leave and not missing work at all. We have a few big trips planned for the next 12 months so I am thinking I have about 18 months left in me. Who knows, whichever way it goes I will definitely be taking Dolly Parton’s advice.
“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”
If we were having coffee I would tell you that my husband and I have become cruisers. Last year we went on 2 cruises to various parts of the South Pacific. Our first one was to New Caledonia and Vanuatu onboard the Carnival Splendor. It was a lot of fun. We visited Noumea, Mystery Island and Lifou.
In October, we joined The Mutiny On The Bounty cruise with P&O’s Pacific Adventure which followed the journey of Willliam Blythe. During the cruise we visited places associated with the mutiny including stopping for half an hour on the exact spot it occurred. We also stopped at Norfolk Island, Nukualoka and Vava’u (both part of Tonga) as well as Fiji’s Dravuni Island and Lautoka.
We found both cruises very relaxing however we were very unhappy with P& O’s food. It was lacking inspiration, very repetitive and you had to pay for choices such as pizza and burgers. Both of which were included on Carnival six months earlier.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that X (our grandson) turned one a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, we couldn’t spend the day with him as he was in Japan with his other grandmother. Despite this my daughter and I celebrated in our own way. We had Australian party food, party pies and sausage rolls as well as our family favourite cheese dip. Unfortunately, hubby was away minding X’s rabbits. To add to our enjoyment we had a few celebratory drinks and watched Shrek 1 & 2.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that I lost my mother just before Christmas. Unfortunately her death was a long goodbye as her body slowly shut down. Like every thing she did in life, her death was in her time. Looking back I think it is very interesting that my first and last visit to the nursing home were on the night shift. At least the first time I was returning her after a family celebration.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that I am continuing to enjoy my creative side again learning more about my Cricut cutting machine. I Love it when the items I design turn out well even if they aren’t perfect. My favourite things recently have been personalised chocolate wraps, my glitter baubles wall chart using our Christmas family colours of the last 20 years. Last year was Ice Christmas – white, silver and pale blue. I also created the gift boxes for the table settings. To complete this I also learnt to create stickers.
If we were having coffee I would ask you what is happening in your world?
Today is our national holiday Australia Day. It marks the arrival of the First Fleet and settlement in Australia.
To celebrate I have updated my 2015 Australia Day post, celebrating my A-Z of Australian things. Although far from a complete list it is fun way to share Australia. Included in the list are:
Animals
Birds
Food
Inventions
Items
Places
Treasures
A:Aboriginal Art – Paintings by indigenous Australians often using a dot design. To celebrate Australia Day Sydney lights up the Opera House at dawn each year with Aboriginal art. Today beautiful design would have been spectacular to see at dawn.
Photo Credit; Australian Associated Press
Anzac biscuits – Australian biscuits were eaten by our troops on the shores of Gallipoli hence the name. They are made from rolled oats, golden syrup, coconut and butter. There ingredients were chose due to their ability to not deteriorate over the long journey from Australia to the front.
Arnott’s Biscuits – Australia’s original biscuit brand is now more than 150 years old.
B: Beaches – Australia is known for its sandy beaches. The most famous being Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Since moving home to Newcastle I go to the beach regularly as it is a 5 minute drive or 30 minute walk from my house. Our local beaches are Bar Beach, Dixon Park and Merewether beach. Below is the few from Bar Beach carpark up towards Merewether with Dixon Park in-between.
Black Box Flight Recorder – The black box voice and data recorder was invented in Australia. Its invention has help to change airline safety as it guides investigators to the cause of crashes.
Beetroot – Your typical Aussie hamburger includes beetroot, lettuce, tomato, fried onion and barbeque sauce.
Baby Safety Capsule – Developed in 1984 to make sure babies and small children could be safely locked into a seatbelt.
C: Cockatoo – There are 21 varieties of Cockatoos in the world and all can be found in Australia. In my area the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo is common and are often seen on the ground in groups looking for food.
Caramello Koalas – Small Australian chocolate bar. They are very yummy.
Photo Credit: Cadbury
Cherry Ripe – My favourite chocolate bar. They are now also available in double dipped chocolate which takes the experience to a new level. Cherry, coconut and dark chocolate amazing.
D:Dual FlushToilet – A toilet with two flush buttons. The choice to flush either a half or full load of water makes a big difference to our water used daily.
Dame Edna – Australian iconic entertainer known for her comedy and ability to make fun of our way of life.
Didgeridoo – A wind instrument, invented by Aboriginals and originally found only in Northern Australia. It is thought to be the oldest musical instrument in the world.
E: Echidna – Australia’s most widely spread native animal. They and the platypus are the world’s only egg laying mammals. On many occasions while driving in the bush, we have seen them crossing the road. They are very cute to watch waddle.
Emu – Australian flightless bird. The can run very fast and have a habit of pecking you when you least expect it. My kids still remember one pecking my father when her wore a red shirt.
Esky – Portable coolers keeping food and drink cool in the Australian sun.
Electric Drill – Originally invented to drill through rock this technology was later adapted to household use.
F: Fair Dinkum – Aussie slang meaning true or fair. Used when you want someone to believe what you are telling them.
Fridge – In 1854 the first mechanical ice making machine was invented in Australia that lead to the development of the refrigerator—”fridge.”
G: Great Barrier Reef – World’s largest coral reef covering 2,300 kilometres off Queensland
Photo Credit: Google Images
G’day Mate – Australian welcome.
Google Maps – 2003-4 Australian’s Lars and Jens Rasmussen developed the platform that developed into Google Maps. Recently we saw the Google Maps cars while on the Nullabor Plains.
H: Holden cars – Holden is an Australian automaker that was based in South Australia. With limited choice for cars in the early days many families including mine had a Holden. Unfortunately, the Holden factory closed in 2017 and along with it car manufacturing in this country.
G: Goanna – Goanna’s are monitor lizards found in Australia. They are scary and can move very quickly. We once saw one up close and person in in a National Park. Bravely we waited for him to move rather than have him think we were dinner.
I: Icy Pole – Famous Australian water ice block especially good on days like today. Its 35-36 degrees on the coast and early 40’s away from the coast. So far the hottest day this year.
Photo Credit: Peters Icecream
J: Jackaroo/Jillaroo – Male and Female workers on a cattle or sheep station in Australia.
Jumbuck – Name for sheep in Waltzing Matilda.
K: Kangaroo – One of Australia’s most iconic marsupials. This restaurant allowed the kangaroos to come to the table. Personally not sure how I feel about that but I was walking past not having food delivered.
Koala – Small bear-like herbivorous marsupial that eats gum leaves. After the recent tragic fires these amazing Australian animals are endangered as so many were killed. We now have less than 100,000 koala in the country. and working hard to provide safe environments for them to live safely in the wild.
Kookaburra – Known for their laugh Kookaburras can be found everywhere. We have often had one or two visit our backyard.
L: Lamingtons – Spongy butter cake coated in chocolate sauce and rolled in coconut.
Long wearing Contact Lens – Were developed by the CSIRO as the original ones couldn’t stay in day and night for long periods.
M: Melbourne Cup – “The race that stops the nation” is the richest two-mile handicap horse race in the world. Run the first Tuesday in November, it is a public holiday in Melbourne.
Meat Pie – The meat pie is an Australian icon. Traditionally it is pastry filled with beef and gravy just big enough to fit into your hand, making it easy to eat on the go.
Macadamia – A tree nut specific to Australia with a creamy texture.
Meter Maids – In the 1960’s meter maids literally went around the Gold Coast putting coins in the newly introduced parking meters as a protest.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
N: Nullabor Plains – 1200 kilometre stretch of desert runs from South Australia in the east to Western Australia. Its name means no trees, just flat mostly straight road. In fact, the Nullabor holds the record for the worlds stretch of straight bitumen 146.6 kilkometres.
New South Wales – My home state between Queensland and Victoria.
O: Opera House – Multi-purpose entertaining venue on Sydney Harbour. A white building during festivities it is changed dramatically using lights.
Outback – The Outback is the large, remote, arid space that covers a Australia. Usually covered in red soil.
P: Platypus – Unique Australian mammal that looks like a cross between a duck and beaver. There are found in rivers but are very hard to spot. This concrete platypus is found in a park in an area they are found.
Plastic Banknotes – Invented by the CSIRO, making bank notes tougher and reducing their ability to be counterfeited. We were also the first country to have all notes changed from paper to plastic.
Powerboard -Invented in 1972 allows multiple electrical devices to be powered from one electrical socket.
Q:Quokka – Australian macropod about the size of a cat found on Rottnest Island off Perth. They are so cute and love to take a selfie with you.
Quoll – Carnivorous Australian marsupial first seen by Captain Cook in 1770.
Photo Credit: Wikipeadia
Queensland– Australian state north of New south Wales.
R: Rotary Clothes Hoist – Clothes line that raises and lowers as well as swings around in the wind. Growing up in Australia many backyards had them. I am fortunate I still have one as they dry your clothes quickly and effortlessly.
Photo Credit: Google
Rottnest Island – 18 kilometres off Perth, it is home to Quokkas, pristine beaches and world-class surf.
S: Sydney Harbour Bridge – The world’s largest steel arch bridge and connects Sydney to the north shore. When we lived in Sydney I travelled across it everyday on my way to work and never tired of the sight.
Surf Life Savers – Australians classics that keep our beaches safe by rescuing swimmers in difficulty. Drowning in the ocean are too common in Australia particularly in unpatrolled beaches.
Photo Credit: Google Images
Surf Ski – Australian invention to assist in saving lives see above photo
Speedos – Australian men’s swimmers—sometimes colloquially referred to as “budgie smugglers.”
Splayd – Australian invention that combines the spoon fork and knife
Spray-on Skin – Invented in 1999 by Professor Fiona Wood, this technology saved many lives after the 2002 Bali bombing.
T: Tim Tams – Iconic Arnott’s biscuits that involves two layers of chocolate biscuits joined together with chocolate cream and covered in chocolate.
U: Ugg Boots –Unisex sheep skin boot with fleece on the inside.
Uluru –Also known as Ayers Rock is a large sandstone rock in the Northern Territory.
Photo Credit: Google Images
Ultrasounds – Invented in Australia through work with the Department of Health.
V: Vegemite – Sandwich spread most Australians won’t travel without and most of the rest of the world try but find it very bitter.
Victoria – Southern State of Australia on the East Coast—Capital is Melbourne.
W: Wiggles – The original Wiggles —children’s entertainers—are Australian. The group which is now over 30 years old is the most popular children’s entertainers in the world. I can remember seeing them perform in the local shopping centre as they began their journey.
Photo Credit: Wiggles
Wine casks – Wine casks are an Australian invention to carry large amounts of wine in a plastic bladder with a simple pouring spout
Wi-Fi Hotspots – Wi Fi technology was invented in Australia through research at the CSIRO.
Winged Keel – First invented by Ben Lexcen for Australia II in the America’s Cup.
X: XXXX Beer – Famous brand of Queensland beer
Y: Yackandandah – Small tourist town near the New South Wales and Victorian border. It was the setting for the iconic Australian movie, Strange Bedfellows.
Z: Zeehan – Former silver and gold mining town in Tasmania
Truby Travels is a new post series on Inspiring Max based on our adventures in Truby (our slide-on camper named Ruby and our Iveco called True Blue.) It will replace the older series Ruby Tuesday.
One of the first places we visited was Magnetic Hill, Orroroo. This tourist attraction is free and unique and gives the feeling of travelling backwards up a hill. Hubby and I had a lot of fun playing with it. We went up and down the hill many times because we could until someone came along to spoil our fun. It was fascinating to us that despite our heavy vehicle it did feel like we were rolling up hill.
Although we had never heard of them before, magnetic hills are found around the world. Australia has 4 of them. They are special and come about because of the local lay of the land. They are formed when the horizon is either curved or you can’t see it. It is an optical illusion.
When we got to Magnet Hill the sign asked you to turn off your ignition, put your car in neutral and take your foot off the brake. We were told steel cars go up the hill while aluminum and plastic cars go down.
Photos courtesy of Orroroo government website as we were too busy playing to take photos.
We loved the giant magnet that they have added to the roadside to help explain the phenonium.
Magnet Hill really was something to be seen to be believed.
We happened up this spectacular sculpture by accident. It can be found be the side of the road in the outback New South Wales town of Yeoval. Population under 300 people.
Yeoval was the childhood home of Banjo Patterson, a famous Australian poet. In an effort to attract more visitors to the town, the curator of the Banjo Patterson Museum went in search of a special piece of public artwork. In 2010, Robbie Waterhouse (Australian racing identity) donated the sculpture to the town.
The sculpture titled Abstract Head of Henry Moore was created by his protégé Drago Marin Cherina. Henry Moore was said to be the greatest sculpture of the 20th century. He created large scale abstract bronze sculptures that can be found all around the world. To honour his mentor Drago created a similar abstract sculpture of Henry’s head. This became as part of his art collection that he lost to Robbie after a failed business venture. It is reported that Drago thinks that Henry would have enjoyed his final home as he loved the country side.
The six tonne sculpture is one of the largest in Australia.
Thanks to Cee for this week’s inspiration of the letter H.
