Hello Mates 3/27/06

                                                  Australia '06
                                                        Hello Mates

Greetings............................and thanx for all of your concerns with regards to the cyclone. It hit Australia way to the north but the implications are being felt all across Australia. Reminds me of what the US went thru with the devastation in New Orleans. Same sort of finger pointing with the politicians trying to explain away the cries of too little too late. Some things are indeed Universal. Its been fun being down here with the games going on in Melbourne. Great pride thru out the country especially since the Australians are winning most of the gold.
The coverage of the games is so one sided that all they seem to broadcast are those events in which the Ausies win gold. The games did end a day or so ago and the country seems to be returning to normal.
When we last spoke, Susan and I had just arrived in Hobart in the southern part of Tasmania. Tasmania has been a real treat...................still no Kangaroo sightings other than those beside the highway with Michelin Tire markings up their backsides. We decided on three nites in Hobart at a great B&B that had been recommended by our hosts from a few nites back.......the referral system continues to work for us. Jeff and Jill, we stayed in the battery district just down the way from Leena of Hobarts........my, you guys spared no expense as that was quite the hotel. We booked a coach tour out to Port Arthur Penal colony and a visit for the day.

Quite a place, never an execution, but nevertheless a real hell hole. For many tho, it was a job training experience for life on the outside. No one was ever sent there directly from England, you had to be a re-offender to be sentenced there. Everyone did 4-12 months in solitary......just so as to get with the program.....then your training began. An awful lot of people learned a number of job skills that were important to Australia. The jail operated from the mid 1800's until it closed in 1877.......very few escapes!
One of the biggest tragedies to take place happened about ten years ago when a gun man came on the grounds to take the tour and ended up gunning down 35+ employees and tourists. Needless to say this put a bit of a damper on the spot as a tourist destination but it seems to have survived as hundreds were touring the day we were. Saturday in Hobart was Market day, and like everything else we seen to find the similarities between the US and the rest of the world most striking. Saw the same Sun Glass displays and Sock displays we find at our swap meets.........some items a bit more crafty but still the items found there for

the most part could be found at any swap meet in the states. My purchase for the day was a CD of Chinese music This guy was playing his two string violin and I was sold.................only problem is that it is so soothing its difficult to drive while listening to this guy..................After the Market we took a day trip out of town to a Town called Richmond and then to the Royal Botanical Gardens back in Hobart. Very comfortable city with a great array of seafood...................got pretty good a driving around in traffic.........Susan lost a few bucks at the waterfront casino and it was time to move on.

Sunday, found us heading to the airport for our 1-hour flight back to Melbourne. Our flight back was un-eventful as airline flights should be and as we were landing back into Melbourne I couldn't help but feel that with Bush's ratings at an all-time low he could use some version of the Pan Am games to rally his supporters. It did wonders for Melbourne and Australia's Prime Minister.......Tony Blair was here........the Queen earlier on and even Prince Charles and Camila showed up for the festivities. Bush could call our games the "American Meddles" and invite athletes from all those countries whose politics the US has meddled in with somewhat questionable results.....

Can't you just picture the Iraqi delegation heading up the opening ceremonies followed by..........the Iranians, the Cubans, not to be out done by the delegations from North and South Vietnam........don't forget the Koreans both north and south...................and we could even field participants from the confederate and rebel states.....

It could be a "lovely" affair and a sure ratings booster for the President. He should really think on it as his ratings are even lower on this side of the Pacific..................oh well, couldn't resist that!

We turned our phone in back in Melbourne as it wasn't working and weren't really using it. Verizon didn't work here like Sprint did last time in NZ. Picked up our rental car at the airport and the gal behind the counter upon seeing our rental agreement asked if Irvine was near Tustin as she had flown to the OC twice to act as a delivery nurse for her girlfriend (what's the word I'm looking for?)........................asked her how she learned how to home deliver and she said she purchased a kit over the Internet..................that was trusting...............she did it twice with both deliveries under an hour.
Made every effort to avoid the city center of Melbourne as the games were breaking up and people heading for home. Circled the city and headed out to the southwest for the "Great Ocean Road" up to Adelaide and Kangaroo Island. Took us about an hour plus to reach the surfing beach of Torquay where we had lunch on the bluffs over looking a dismal surf day. Weather was gorgeous and the temperatures in the upper 80's.
Headed out for Apollo Bay and the beginning of the Great Ocean Road......compares in spots to our Highway One up the coast from San Francisco.......................I like ours better but this is pretty spectacular. About an hour outside of Apollo Bay we encountered a terrible motorcycle accident. Two riders dead, covered with make-shift blankets, motor cycles scattered about with the police just arriving...................put a bit of a damper on the rest of the trip................but we arrived safely in Apollo Bay to find a cozy B&B..........................Jeff and Jill, this trip beginning to sound familiar?
Awoke the next day to drizzles and fog.....................not a good thing since we were closing in on the "Twelve Apostles" and good weather is a must to see these magnificent structures along the coast........probably Australia's most photographed rocks along the Highway........................actually make that 11 Apostles as one of the massive rock stuctures fell over awhile back..........................but as they are always being formed and shaped by the sea they are sure to be back to twelve and certainly more in the years ahead. Actually the weather co-operated but was still cold and blustery.
Ended our day at Port Fairy several hundred kilometers from Adelaide. Found another great B&B to lay our heads (actually bump our heads) as Susan went for quaint and booked us into one with ceilings lower than our place in Catalina.......nice place and a wonderful dinner in town.....................still walking to dinner at night for fear of being pulled over....................sober I'm lucky to be on the right (left) side................

Today finds us headed to Robe (another Jeff and Jill stop) still about an 1 1/2 hours away in Mt Gambier (sp) We are headed for the Barossa wine district outside of Adelaide for a Day or two then to Kangaroo Island, back to Adelaide for the flight to Melbourne and then on home on the 5th.......................Matthew.....clean the house up we are on the way home...........................


.gary and susan

Greetings from Down Under Australia 3/22/06

                  Greetings from Down Under
                                                            Australia  2006

Greetings Everyone,
It really was a long flight, made a bit easier after upgrading to business class. We felt we got such a deal on the coach fare, that a few bucks more would be well worth it. United had just upgraded it's business class to an almost fully reclining seat so after a few drinks..............sleep wasn't much a a problem. Rosemary Howes, you would have hated the flight inasmuch as we took off on Thursday the 16th, missed the 17th(St Patrick's Day) crossing the international date line and arrived Sydney on Saturday the 18th. A short layover in Sydney at it was back on the plane for Melbourne (Melbun) where we joined most of the commonwealth from around the world celebrating the Commonwealth Games.

The City was all decked out hosting the games which consisted of the summer Olympics with only the commonwealth nations being invited......Australia, NZ, So. Africa, India, Canada, England.........didn't the U.S. once belong?.......................but we were not invited. 24 Hour coverage on the TV to include cricket, and lawn bowling.........about as thrilling as Olympic Curling. We were two nites in Melbourne getting quite good at riding the train system as well as the tram system. One of the oldest systems in the world and covers virtually the entire city. We stayed a bit out of town and thank god I didn't have a car then what with all of the tram tracks......me sitting on the wrong side of the car......and driving on the wrong side of the street had all the makings of a disaster....................my days of easy driving are about to end as we do return to Melbourne, pick up a car and head for the Great Ocean Road.......then on to Kangaroo Island then up to Adelaide.........but I'm getting ahead of myself. Had some great fun downtown with all the other tourists......all you had to do was to pull out a map and a host of volunteers for the games would descend on you to see if you needed help..............and usually we did.
It was nice tho, since almost everyone was from out of town and need help navigating the city. Had a great stay,with some fine meals.
Monday, the 20th we caught an early "Virgin Blue" flight to Tasmania, I have to say that Richard Branson really does know how to operate an airline...........he handles most of the in country flights in Australia......now New Zealand and he is beginning to operate through out the So Pacific as far north as Samoa. We arrived in Tasmania (its that big chunk of land to the south of Melbourne) a brief one hour flight. Off the plane to our rental car......

Here I go...............................We had rented a phone in Melbourne for the trip but it turned out to be about as clear as talking thru tin cans over a string................we plan on turning the phone back in, in a day or so. We did manage one phone call and got a room for the night. Into the town of Lauceston in the middle and to the north of the Island. Our B&B was a well kept secret as we couldn't understand directions to the place........lousy phone....and couldn't get thru the accent. After driving in circles for awhile we realized the B&B was in a pedestrian maul and couldn't be reached by car..........................finally arrived to a lovely place.........if you are here long enough one begins to use "lovely" more and more.......................Got our bearings and headed out of town for a walk up
Cataract Gorge for a "spot" of lunch and then returned to the car for a drive up the Tamar Valley to the northern most tip called Beauty Point and a short visit to the "Sea Horse Museum and Research Facility" Tasmania is a bit short on cultural spots but do their best when it comes to nature and the wilder things in life.

The Tamar Valley is quite a wine region but I'm still a bit hesitant to drink and drive with the level at .05 and
the jail time even harsher. Got back into Launceston and stumbled upon a Mexican Restaurant that wasn't half bad...............always enjoy trying the local cuisine.
We had hoped to spend another nite there but there was no room at the Inn.......so we headed out early the next morning for St Helens on the East Coast of Tasmania.......................about a two hour drive for those who know where they are going and are comfortable racing about on the left side of the road. Reached the coast with nothing special in mind as to where to stay or what to see. Even tho, Tasmania is touted as a natural habitat for species unknown anywhere else in the world, our only experience has been observing the "dead ones" that didn't make it across the road the nite before. Unlike the 'possums of New Zealand, the Tasmanian 'road kills" are a bit larger in scale.................the wambats........the wallabys........ and even the Tasmania Devils will all  play hell with the front end of your car should you encounter them at night..................it is still my hope to see live ones of the above species, that aren't caged or have tire marks across their bodies......Jeff and Jill have promised me live animals once we reach Kangaroo Island.

We made our way down the east coast to a lovely (there's that word again) town of Bicheno about 125 miles to the north of Hobart. Found a great B&B "the Old Tram Road Bed and Breakfast" ........decided to spend a couple of nites there and take some day trips out from the town. Great National Park system that we found out on the coast then back to the nature park to witness the 4pm feeding of the Tasmania Devils..............nasty little guys who really like there "meat"...............................my first live animal viewing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did see Australia's three varieties of snakes..................since there are only 3, and all are venemous............I guess it best to avoid snakes in general.
Today, we took a leisurely drive, down the coast to Hobart. The weather was dry but a bit overcast. Our hosts from Bicheno had made reservations for us in Hobart, and a good thing as the town is fairly well booked. Tomorrow, I take a break from the driving ritual as we have booked a coach tour out to the Port Arthur Penal colony.........weather is scheduled to head into the 80's (mid 20's centigrade to us locals).........so we should have just a "lovely" day of touring about.
Sunday we fly back to Melbourne to begin our drive up the Great Ocean Road on our way to Kangaroo Island then eventually on to Adelaide.........that's all for now..........................Matthew, don't kill Mom's plants and pick-up Trinity"s shit..................love to all...................your mate, Gary