To Sum Up

To sum up we stayed in 32 different places. Each kitchen was a little different. We had small kitchens that were only one person could work and other kitchen that were easy to work in. Every place had different cooking facilities; gas or electric stoves, 4 burners or two, and ovens or none. We always had a microwave. There were only 2 places with ovens that had oven mitts. There were also different cooking utensils at each place. It was always an adventure to look around upon arrival to see what we had to work with for cooking.

Beds were another adventure. Some were very hard and some were soft. The amount of room around the bed could add challenges if it was narrow. You had to remember each night just where the bathroom was. Thank goodness there was usually enough light to see at night.

After 19000 km on the road, we are glad to be home but had a wonderful time. We are really glad we were able to have this adventure.

Saturday April 24, 2010 – Going Home

We were up at 5:30am to get ready for our day. It was about 2 hours to the Sydney airport. It was not a difficult drive.

We asked for a wheelchair at check in. I was brought one right at check in. After that I was treated very well. We were able to go through a special area at customs and at security. It was so nice. Charles was able to push me so that we did not need airport personnel with us. We were able to get around in the international terminal on our own. For the rest of the trip a wheel chair was waiting for me at the airplane door. In NZ we had a 4 hour layover and we were able to keep the wheel chair. However in San Francisco we were not able to keep the chair as we had a 7 hour layover. Here you need airport personnel with you and the chair the whole time. It was more difficult. I did not want to sit around for the 7 hours as we had already sat for 11 hours. However if we walked anywhere we had to walk back to our security area. It would have been nice to have the chair to make our way back with. My foot by the end was not very happy. We also did not have the chair for making our way through security. I was really glad we had a chair and golf cart for us at Vancouver. Again it made it so much easier going through customs and getting our bags. Unfortunately, I had to walk out of the international arrival area and on to the outside of the airport.

We were very glad to get to the hotel. I tried to read a little but kept falling asleep after the first page was finished. The first time I saw was 6:30am. Next it was almost 9am. We had to get up and get ready to leave. The hotel had a free continental breakfast which we had to get to before 10am. We had the shuttle booked for 11am.

I did not get a wheelchair at check in. After walking through security there was a golf cart waiting to take us to our gate. My foot was still not over the day before. We were dropped off at the elevator to take us down to the gate. Charles found a wheelchair there which I rode in while we waited for the flight. There was even a chair waiting in Kamloops. It did make getting around a lot easier.

Our ride was waiting for us in the airport. Soon we were home. It was so nice to be with our own things again.

Friday April 23, 2010 – Katoomba

Yesterday we just took it easy. Charles did the laundry and all the cooking as I sat around. My foot was really sore. In the evening we drove down to the Three Sisters Lookout. I was somewhat upset as it was only about a 3 min walk and we had to drive. It was well worth it. We stayed until the sun set.

Today is our last day in Australia and I did not want to sit around all day. We went to the cable railway for a ride down to the old coal mines. This railway had a 52° slope. When you get in the seats you are sloping back into the seat. I did not know that I should put my feet on the metal rung at the bottom. When we started down the slope I started slipping off the seat and my flip flops were coming off my feet. I could just see one of them flying down to the front of train and flying off. I don't think it would have fallen off the train. I am sure the front is not open. However when you are struggling to stay seated and not lose your shoes all sort of thoughts fly through your mind. The floor of the train was very slippery as well so getting my feet up on the bar was not easy. Sadly the ride was over too soon and I did not get to enjoy it very much. This railway was the way men go to the mine and the coal got out.

Once at the bottom, I took an easy walk through the forest. It was fun as there were plenty of signs telling you about the trees and wildlife. Charles broke off and took a longer walk down around the old mining buildings. We met up at the cable car to ride back up. We waited for three turns to go up because of the amount of tourist groups. The ride up was not as eventful as the one down. Being slower we got to see the surroundings. It was beautiful.

We took a ride over the gorge on another cable car. It had a see through bottom. We got to see the Katoomba Falls. There was not much water going over as they have not had rain for a couple of weeks. It was fun to look at the gorge from above. Again we saw some beautiful scenery.

Now it was time for lunch so we returned home. I rested my foot. After lunch and a rest we went to see the Leura Cascades. Leura is the aboriginal word for lava. It was not a long drive to get there. There were a number of steps down to the cascades. I am glad I went as far as I did. It was beautiful and serene. Charles continued further down the path as I made my way slowly back up the stairs. Through this area are lots of walking paths. You can walk back to the Three Sisters from here and then on to the cable car or the train to go back up the cliff. This was a wonderful way to end our trip.

We went down to the Three Sisters Lookout again to watch the sunset. It was a nice way to say goodbye.

Wednesday April 21, 2010 – to Katoomba

Today is our last time packing up all the little bits and pieces. When we leave on Saturday we will just have our suitcases and golf bag. It is hard to believe our trip is just about over. We had an easy trip over to Katoomba.

As we entered the area known as the Blue Mountains we stopped at Mitchells lookout. We could see back to the plains to the west of the range and into the valley to the east. It was breath taking. There were three different area to the look out so that Charles asked it I was going over to another area. I thought we were going back to the car. It would have been much better if I had just gone to the car. As I was stepping up on a boulder, I pushed off with my left foot. A searing pain shot through my arch. I could barely put any weight on this foot. Charles took a few more pictures before we made our way back to the car. After we got settle into our accommodation we headed to the hospital. I did not think I had broken anything but we wanted to be on the safe side. The doctor thinks I over stretched a ligament through the arch of my foot. I am to take it easy for the next few days. It will take quite a while to heal. I am not too happy as there are a number of things to see and do around here. I think my foot has been telling me to take some time off since Ayres Rock. Now it is taking revenge.

 

Tuesday April 20, 2010 – Around Dubbo

We had lots to see and do so we were ready to go by 9 am. We were going to go to the Homestead first then pay Mini golf then head for the caves. The first two items were in town and the caves were about 50 km south of town, As the first two did not open until 10, we reversed our order. We got to the caves in time for the 10 am tour of the Cathedral cave. We followed that by the Phosphate mine tour.

The Wellington caves are dissolution caves. The water seeps down from the top and dissolves the softer rock. The sided of the cave are very smooth from water action over the last 4 million years. There are caves on top of each other. Ones at the bottom have water in them as they are below the water table. There have been many floods of the caves over the years. One fellow was telling of a time in the 50's when the cave was flooded that people paid to just barely enter the cave to see it full of water. The gentleman was 11 at that time. Over this past Christmas there was lots of rain so the cave became wet inside. The altar formation in the cathedral cave had water running down it and catching in small troughs along the way. There was more rain in January but cave never flooded. The flows forming the altar glisten in the light. It looks like thousand of diamonds. As we continued on out tour we saw a column that had been broken and an area close by where the walls appeared to be wrenched apart. This are contained the remains of a roof from a cave. It is thought to have happen as a result of an earthquake.

The next chamber we saw was the Thunder cave. At one time it was called the woman's cave as it has the name Min in the ceiling. There is quite a bit of graffiti in the caves from when people used candles to light their way into the cave. There is an area in this cave where you can stand, beat you chest and hear how hollow you sound. Charles did this. I stood at the base of this are and sang our national anthem. The reverb was great. We then saw the well. It is part of the underwater caves below the water table. There is a depth and temperature gauge in the water. On the top of the water is a scum building up. This scum is crystals forming from evaporation. When this gets too heavy it will sink to the bottom and add to or form a new crystal layer. Sometime in the future mud will come in a cover this crystal layer, then a new layer will start. We left the tour a little early as there were 149 steps to climb to get out of the cave. It was a nice tour and there were only 4 of us doing it. The aboriginal peoples of the area knew of the caves but there is no evidence that they entered them. It is believed that they thought the caves were haunted by the big bats.

We then did the phosphate mine tour. The mine opened in 1914 and closed in 1918. There was not enough phosphate to make the mine worthwhile. The miners used picks and shovels for most of the mining. We saw examples of the crystal and mud layers in the rock in the mine. It is quite interesting to see how the layers were formed so very many years ago. Phosphate glows when blue light is applied to them. The crystal layer above it retains some light which continues to glow for a short time after the lights are turned off. There are lots of fossils in the mine. However these are only bits and pieces of skeletons or sea shells. This area is frequently flooded with red dirt, so that the fossils are washed in with these flows. You can clearly see teeth from a number of animals. Around the area whole skeletons of various animals have been found.

We ate lunch here at the site. There was a great picnic area.

After we ate we headed back to Dubbo to see the homestead. The building that remains as the homestead was started in 1836. It is a structure known as a slab hut. It is rough outside but the walls inside are plastered. The stables were finished by 1852. Over the years there have been two kitchen extensions, one on either side. The first burnt down so that a second was built off the other end. This one was lost in a flood. In 1871 Thomas Baird purchases the property and his family and descendents continued to live here until the 1950's In 1986 it was giving by Baird's descendants to the National Trust of Australia. It took two years to restore it to its 1850 grandeur. One of the things I notices was how cool it was inside even with the sun beating down on it. We had a nice visit here.

There is a small observatory on the way back to town. They had an Astro Mini Golf. We decided to play. It was different as there was no carpet down on the runs. They were just rough concrete. Your ball could bounce in any direction. It was lots of fun. We were given a pamphlet with interesting facts about what each hole represented. The course sated with the sun and end with the black hole. I did beat Charles so that was an added benefit.

Charles went for a swim after returned to our accommodation. He went out to get fries to have with our hamburgers for supper. He asked for enough for 2 adults. I am not sure how much they thought 2 adults could eat but we got enough to feed at least 6 adults. When Charles brought in the package I though he had purchased something extra but no just fries.

Monday April 19, 2010 – Dubbo

We did very little yesterday. Being Sunday not much is open. Charles tried to golf but there was a tournament on. We did go in the hot pools 3 times.

This morning we had a slow start. We did not have far to go so it didn't matter. There were lots of semis on the road today. Some had oversize loads. We had to follow one with a mining truck on it. It took up most of the road. It finally turned off to Gunnedah. We went straight through.

As we neared Coonbarabran we started to notice signs with planets on them. The first was Uranus and the second Saturn. We did not think to stop and take pictures of the signs. When we stopped for lunch at Gilgandra there was a sign there with Neptune. It turns out that the observatory outside Coonabarabran is the sun. On the road out from there are mercury, venus, earth, mars and jupiter. Then along the roads leading out from Coonabarabran there are signs with the other planets on them. If we had only stopped to see what the signs were all about. This is quite a novel idea. There are a number of observatories in this general area. Dubbo and Gilgandra also have ones. When we got to Dubbo there was a sign for pluto.

After checking in we headed downtown to do some shopping and see the old Goal. The goal opened in 1887 and closed in 1966. Like so many other attractions this was interactive. One of the exhibits was about a hangman. It was a hologram. What an amazing show. It was a very enjoyable afternoon.

Saturday April 17, 2010 – To Moree

Just as we finished up packing the car it started to pour rain. We waited a short while to get in the car but the rain did not let up. We made a wild dash to the car. It poured rain for most of the trip by the sunshine coast. Once Charles turned the wipers on faster and it rained harder.

Thank goodness the rain stopped before Brisbane. Our GPS unit had a hissy fit. It would not stay on the map. It wanted to help us find police station. It was very frustrating. There was lots of colourful language going on in the car. At least she kept talking to us so we could make out way through the Brisbane suburbs and on to Toowamba.

We stopped for lunch at Millmerrran. It was a quiet little place. Most everything was closed up for the afternoon. Just the pub and liquor store were open. They had a beautiful painting on the side of the town water tank.

As we traveled further south we started to see cacti. There were tall and had red flowers on them. This was the most cacti we had seen on our trip. There was a lot of traffic on the road especially trucks. It was a pleasant trip.

Moree is known for its hot pools. The campground where we are staying has some very nice ones. It was so relaxing to get in them after the long day.