We’re really going back for this one … back beyond the start of the blog, back to even beyond the ‘Trip Diary’. Back to 1992 … and that was so long ago, I had to check the stamps on an old passport to remember which year it happened.

Of course, it’s easier now I have a digital camera, because all my pictures are date-stamped. But, back then, I don’t believe I even had a computer.

Since we’re about to take a journey on the Ghan, though, I thought I would write something about a trip on the Pichi Richi Railway. This runs over the Pichi Richi Pass, in the Flinders Ranges, and the track it runs on used to be part of the ‘old’ 3’6″ gauge Ghan. Nowadays, of course, it’s standard gauge, and by-passes the mountains completely.

The train operates between Quorn and Port Augusta, although, when we rode it, the line only went as far as a place called Woolshed Flats. The engine, ‘W6’, came from Western Australia, which, like South Australia and Queensland, used this gauge extensively. I later saw one of the original Ghan engines in the National Railway Museum, in Port Adelaide.

They don’t always operate a steam loco, though, in fact, they close down completely during the summer months, and, on days of serious fire risk, it’s replaced by a diesel loco. And, even when a steam loco is operated, it’s followed by a diesel with fire-fighting equipment aboard.

Riding in those old-time carriages was fun, and the end platforms made excellent photographic vantage points. It took me back to the early 60s, when I lived in Adelaide, and such carriages were … well, not in regular use, but brought out when the need arose. But, I don’t think I would have cared for an overnight trip to Alice Springs in one.

Yes, I have. I’ve seen the film, and I’ve seen a live performance by an Amateur Operatic Society, where a somewhat portly, fifty-ish jeweller with a Yorkshire accent tried to convince us he was a Lieutenant in the US Marines. We’re not supposed to notice these things, though, and I enjoyed the performance nevertheless.

I’ve even read James A. Michener’s ‘Tales of the South Pacific’, on which the show is based. But, this is the first time I’ve seen a professional stage production, and, with modern technology, they made it seem as fresh and new as when it first came out … in nineteen-fifty-something, as I recall?

We liked it so much that we’ve ordered the DVD of the film. And, next evening there’s nothing on television, we’ll be watching it … and playing ‘Spot the young Larry Hagman’.

Photo by Charlotte Hipkiss

Naturally, I couldn’t take any pictures of the performance, but it crossed my mind that it doesn’t look like I’m going to get any decent snow pix this year. So, these are from Canada, where Charlotte, our grand-daughter, is spending a semester at Queen’s University, Kingston … (or, was that King’s University, Queenston?)

Photo by Charlotte Hipkiss

If you’d rather read about somewhere warmer, my latest article is at http://www.offbeattravel.com/kuranda-skyrail-railway-queensland-australia.html

Kinsale: September 16th, 2011

There is a village on the edge of Kinsale called Scilly. A footpath runs through it. This, naturally, became known as the Scilly Walk, thus paving the way for countless Monty Python jokes.

(If, by chance, you’re unfamiliar with Monty Python, may I direct you to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhlQfXUk7w ?)

I left the car in the park outside Charles Fort, and walked the short distance down the road to Summer Cove, where the path begins. It’s a surfaced path, leading around the bay into Scilly, at a pub called the Spaniard, from where it’s only a short walk into Kinsale.

On the way, there’s some good views of the town and the harbour, and the path is fringed with flowers, both wildflowers and ‘garden escapes’.

It’s a short walk, but one well worth taking if you have an hour or so to spare. But, when you get to Kinsale, you’ll want to spend far longer than an hour there.

I can’t help it. Whenever I do something, I compare it with something similar I did in the past. When I cruised Australia’s River Murray in 2006, I couldn’t help contrasting it with cruising on the Nile some years before.

On the Egyptian boat, the Captain was a nondescript little man in a galabiya and turban, who ranked somewhere between the First and Second Chef. He was briefly introduced on the first day, then bustled off to his duties. We never saw him again.

On the other hand, Captain Ray Weedon, master of the Murray Princess, was highly visible. He told us about his ship, the history and geology of the river and the wildlife we would see … and we could knock on the door of the wheelhouse and speak to him any time. He looked like a ship’s Captain, too, rather than one of the Forty Thieves!

The Murray is Australia’s largest river, and the world’s fourth largest. By the time the Darling River has joined it at Mildura, seven rivers have made their contribution to its waters. And, its catchment area is four times the size of Britain.

The river served as an important transport link in the past. It has been referred to as ‘Australia’s Mississippi’, and paddleboats used to ply the river carrying passengers and produce.

Captain Ray told us that there’d been some controversy when the Princess was built in 1986. She’s a stern-wheeler, more like a Mississippi riverboat than anything else.

‘The traditional Murray steamer was a side-wheeler’ he said ‘but we wanted the widest ship which would pass though the locks further up-river’.

The Princess isn’t actually a ‘steamer’. It’s diesel-engined … but since the last true steamer I sailed on used to cough gobbets of soot out of the funnel, and over the passengers, that’s a misnomer I’ll happily forgive!

One of my favourite places on the ship was the two-storey lounge in the stern, where a gigantic window gives a view of the paddle wheel churning up the water, to the delight of the jet-skiers and water-skiers who seemed always to be following us. Close second came the dining room, where the chef excelled himself every time.

The base of Murray Princess is at Mannum, about 50 miles east of Adelaide. It moors at the Mary Ann Reserve, where, in 1852, Captain William Randell built the first-ever Murray paddle steamer, the Mary Ann.

We moored overnight on the riverbank, where the only facilities were a notice telling the times the Princess used the berth, and requesting other river users to stay clear at these times.

We only really touched a major township at Murray Bridge, where we visited an Aboriginal centre, and saw a display of dancing and music before checking out the museum and a chocolate factory.

On the other occasions, though, there was still plenty to do. On one occasion, we took a nature walk, conducted by the First Officer, who pointed out some of the wildlife, and showed us a ‘canoe tree’, from which Aborigines had long since removed the bark to make a canoe, but still left the tree alive. The following day, we joined a little boat, the Dragonfly, for a ‘wetland safari’.

The only disappointment was a walk to the cliff-top to see the sunrise. We were up at 6 am. Unfortunately, the sun wasn’t, although we couldn’t be too hard on the crew. That really was beyond their control!

For further information visit:

www.captaincook.com.au

www.murraylands.info

www.southaustralia.com

www.murrayriver.com.au

On Saturday, they opened a new cake shop in Amesbury. At home, we don’t eat a lot of cake; I suppose mainly, because we regard cake as something to serve with afternoon tea, which we don’t do. In fact, I tried to remember the last time we had cake; Christmas, of course, Paul’s wedding, back in September … and, before that? … oh, of course! The delicious chocolate cake on the cruise in February!

I went to have a look anyway. Mainly out of curiosity, but the fact there was a complimentary glass of wine and cupcake on the first day contributed largely. And, I wanted to check out if there was any difference between the ‘cupcakes’ we see so much of these days, and the good old ‘Fairy Cakes’ of youth.

I think the main difference is in the decoration. You couldn’t do a lot with fairy cakes. Scoop them out, fill the resultant hole with whipped cream, and stick the bit you scooped out into it to form ‘wings’. Or, just ice it. You could vary the colour of your icing by adding cochineal or cocoa powder or whatever, and decorate them with ‘those little silver balls I can’t remember the name of’ or ‘hundreds and thousands’ (aka ‘sprinkles’ or ‘rainbow Jimmies’ or whatever you call them where you’re from). These also came in chocolate, too … known to irreverent little boys as ‘chocolate mouse-droppings’, although we didn’t call them ‘droppings’ when there were no adults around!

The cupcakes we had here were decorated in the shape of roses, and many other designs are possible, too. I remembered an anniversary party we’d been to, where a picture of the husband and wife had been iced into the cupcakes they handed out. And, I remember thinking, as I did now, it seemed such a shame to eat them.

But, eat it I did … and very nice it was, too!

If your way ever takes you to Amesbury, check them out at www.dazzleandbake.co.uk

Blarney: 15^th September 2011

Just to give you an idea … here’s the Blarney Stone from ground level; you can see the heads looking down the hole near the top of the tower. However, even without the Stone, Blarney Castle is still worth a visit, as you’ll see from the video.

All too soon, the time came around to head for home. But, we weren’t saying ‘Goodbye’ to Australia, just ‘See ya later’, for the ‘plan’ for ‘Australia Invasion 2012’ was already being hatched.

Unfortunately, the original plan … stay in Adelaide, fly to Darwin and return to Adelaide on the Ghan, doing a tour of the Red Centre on the way … got scuppered just before Christmas, when the Great Southern Railway decided the Ghan would only operate once a week until June.

So, the plan now is:

Arrive Adelaide 24^th March

Fly to Darwin 14^th April

Tours of Darwin, the harbour and the Kakadu National Park

Ghan train to Alice Springs 18^th April

Tours of Alice Springs, Uluru, King’s Canyon and the Olgas

Greyhound bus to Coober Pedy 23^rd April

Overnight Greyhound to Adelaide evening of 24^th April

Fly home 9^th May.

We haven’t made any definite plans for the time we’ll be in Adelaide, but probably revisiting (and getting better pictures of) stuff we’ve already seen.

What I’ll do with the ‘Wednesday Dish’ until we leave is post ‘retrospectives’ of previous visits to Australia before I started the blog. I may also include some podcasts, although it’s a laborious process producing them, as I have to wait until the house, and the street outside are relatively quiet.

Speaking of podcasts, Chris Christensen issued one about Northern Queensland only the other day; it’s at http://australia.amateurtraveler.com/tag/audio-travel-podcast

But, here in the UK, registration numbers must conform to a formula, and there are, it has to be admitted, some ingenious ways of getting round it … if you’re prepared to pay the often extortionate price. Therefore, they’re often seen as the mark of the person with more money than sense.

For instance, some years ago, I was offered the number plate K31THK. I declined, because I could think of much better things to spend £450 on.  I also remembered Mrs Woolf, my primary school teacher, smacking my fingers for writing Es like 3s.

And, a friend pointed out, if I wanted a personalised plate, it would be much cheaper to change my name to HG51XJE. (Don’t wave if you see this, by the way … I traded it in 5 years ago!)

I remember once buying a car with the registration letters ROB. I thought the number of people who know my name isn’t Rob must be infinitesimal compared with those who don’t know.

‘My thoughts exactly!’ said the guy who sold it to me ‘My name is Alastair!’

Nevertheless, I had to smile when I saw these two recently. The one on the bus is purely accidental … it’s one of a sequential block issued to the buses on our Park and Ride service. And, I’d hazard a guess that the owner of the other one is a cat lover.

You can see my latest at http://www.tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/kenya-s-samburu-game-lodge

Blarney Castle : September 15th, 2011

Even disregarding the famous stone, Blarney Castle is still worth a visit. It stands in a commanding, dominant position on a rock. It’s set in extensive gardens, which includes ‘Rock Close’, a trail which leads through surreally distorted rocks. Another feature is the ‘Poison Garden’, which is exactly what the name implies. The plants are all poisonous normally, although many can be used, in small quantities, for medicinal purposes.

There’s also a cave under the castle, from which tunnels are said to lead to Cork, and even into Kerry. But, there are many who say that’s just a lot of blarney.

Outside the castle grounds is the Blarney Woolen Mill, whose quality products, as well as those of other manufacturers are on sale at a multi-floor store that’s much bigger than the mill itself. It’s not just woolen products that are on sale here, either.

I never was a great fan of the ‘Irish Theme Pub’, that can be found over most of the world. Sure, they serve Guinness, wear green shirts and say ‘faith an’ bejazus!’ a lot, but, apart from that, they’re usually about as Irish as Vladimir Putin.

In Ireland, though, you get the real deal. Close by is a lovely old pub called Christy’s, which is a good place to stop by for a lunchtime sandwich. Their BLT is one of the best I ever tasted, but their ham and mustard was a little heavy on the mustard. And, of course, a small Murphy’s!

Click to view slideshow.

Brisbane: 26^th August 2010

‘In this cage, ladies and gentlemen, we have the Oozlum Bird. When agitated, it flies around in ever-decreasing circles at ever-increasing velocity until it finally disappears … etc. etc.’

If you’ve waited a week to see the images of Barak, the platypus, here he is. That’s an advantage of video; any written description of a visit to a zoo or animal park tends, if you’re not very careful, to sound like a primary school kid’s essay on a visit to the zoo.

So, I shall say no more, and just invite you to sit back and enjoy.