tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62781949144496895372024-03-13T18:43:29.512+11:00Tale of a TomatoUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-67670037044510394792012-07-21T21:27:00.004+10:002012-07-21T21:28:31.418+10:00Pretty in Pink: Progress of the cake<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Progress on the birthday cake has resumed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have been experimenting with decorating the cake with white chocolate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfT0Jt64j7M8IrnxlUZm0WR5DPey6BKaQfnmYhTowEqSykAz-PpegQTgbFNFhQAdqRyAcXLuNEI6HjQ0rFyPTqowdNbZwX3fvPQoFnrG7nHIoR-rgTuXXBgYHzUB-fbfLZOgDmJX_Ti0/s1600/Elizabeth+6+yrs+cake+2012-07-21+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfT0Jt64j7M8IrnxlUZm0WR5DPey6BKaQfnmYhTowEqSykAz-PpegQTgbFNFhQAdqRyAcXLuNEI6HjQ0rFyPTqowdNbZwX3fvPQoFnrG7nHIoR-rgTuXXBgYHzUB-fbfLZOgDmJX_Ti0/s320/Elizabeth+6+yrs+cake+2012-07-21+002.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">E's 6th birthday cake<br />
- I am yet to work on the hair.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had read somewhere about a method of drizzling chocolate over the outside of a bowl or other container to spectacular effect.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is my first attempt at using this method - I loaded up the inside of the Dolly Varden tin with ice, and drizzled the white chocolate over the top.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The result is that the chocolate looks a little like a Christmas pudding - nothing like fine filigree work, but E likes it - and this is the important thing!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once the chocolate was set, I placed the chocolate on the iced cake, put the dolly inside, and piped the bodice and necklace.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next challenge is the hair: I am</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> experimenting with modelling paste and a <a href="http://www.wilton.com/technique/Grass" target="_blank">grass tip</a> to try making Rapunzel hair. The challenge will be joining the wet paste to the existing hair without it falling off, and not adding too much bulk around the head when the hair is added.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Canberra ACT 2601, Australia-35.2819998 149.1286843-35.2949618 149.1089433 -35.2690378 149.1484253tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-47114536563306717752012-07-02T20:38:00.001+10:002012-07-02T21:05:13.827+10:00Princesses, Cake, and Kmart<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This week, E - a 5 year old self-identified fairy - has specified that she would like a Rapunzel cake for her 6th birthday.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOkDrCZoUpCKeOVT-aIx-_ri75XHAWOln7aCWBRs6YNe_cz7Pm_BKM07IikgtFSrwqwa89cdG304VClY7U3i-yqdphi9N-nAvkA2sTVVP2zY8XJm5OUDibA_xuUWKtaUvrT9woURSFzg/s1600/blogger-image--170516856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOkDrCZoUpCKeOVT-aIx-_ri75XHAWOln7aCWBRs6YNe_cz7Pm_BKM07IikgtFSrwqwa89cdG304VClY7U3i-yqdphi9N-nAvkA2sTVVP2zY8XJm5OUDibA_xuUWKtaUvrT9woURSFzg/s320/blogger-image--170516856.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking fabulous in glad-wrap.<br />
Ready to be Rapunzeled!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have I mentioned that I like a challenge when it comes to decorating cakes?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In previous years I have made cakes for E themed on Dora the Explorer, a large pink castle, and a general dolly varden cake. As well as this I have made Bob the Builder cake and a Yoda cake for my son.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have been experimenting with an icing tip which is designed for grass and hair effects - it has many small holes at the tip, and so I am challenging myself to make some cartoon-realistic hair for Rapunzel. This involves extruding a continuous length of hair from the icing bag - no joins will be possible!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This hair will be layered on top of a dolls existing hair, and then extended and draped about to show how long Rapunzel's hair is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This afternoon E and I had a play with a few dolls to see which one would be most suited to going into the cake, and after selecting one, we dressed her in glad-wrap to protect her from becoming sticky, and to protect our party guests from anything toxic in the plastic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Making a child's cake always leaves me in a quandary. Fondant looks spectacular, but no-one in their right mind likes eating the stuff, yet butter cream tastes great, but is much harder to work with when modelling specific shapes. Butter cream is the icing which children lick off their piece of cake, and then abandon that bit of cake while they run off and play.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I shall be posting updates as the cake progresses.</span><br />
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</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, E, X and I saw the latest Disney/Pixar movie "Brave" on Friday evening. It is the tale of a princess, and it's an absolute cracker of a story!</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Set in Scotland in the time when big grizzly bears roamed the land, it's a story of balancing personal choice with tradition, gender roles, family responsibility, and the way things are. Naturally it is a journey of self discovery for our heroine Merida, who is a headstrong lass with a talent for archery. She takes us on a journey of outsmarting one's parents, consulting witches, and following Will O' The Wisps through Scottish highland forests before bringing us to the inevitable happy ending.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A movie which I recommend to anyone as great entertainment, and due to the girls-can-do-anything message it's compulsory viewing if you have a young daughter.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA31_bwsQFdCRK-G62ua9pkOPS3GQQ90ZX_0xooegzDL17Kbiao-Wzv_Np0MFKiUujiN_ltEcIFNuLs1M6zb5BFqY2zWNULI3uNa_Z4c0LdoAuzeWOCdpB-1EAnmuvFW_Dq2dLCm-wOCo/s1600/blogger-image-760519558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA31_bwsQFdCRK-G62ua9pkOPS3GQQ90ZX_0xooegzDL17Kbiao-Wzv_Np0MFKiUujiN_ltEcIFNuLs1M6zb5BFqY2zWNULI3uNa_Z4c0LdoAuzeWOCdpB-1EAnmuvFW_Dq2dLCm-wOCo/s320/blogger-image-760519558.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss E having a chat with Princess Bella.<br />
On the floor.<br />
In front of the DVDs.<br />
At Kmart Tuggeranong.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the movie, we dropped in to Kmart to find a number of real-life princesses! We found Snow White, Princess Bella, a few fairies, Ariel, Cinderella, and some suited people supposedly from Men-in-Black. All working as check-out chicks (None of the register-roosters were costumed up). </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You know the global financial crisis (GFC) has had an impact when princesses and fairies go and get jobs behind cash registers.</span><br />
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</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGI4FGoXZ2tytxH6oEdCYhDyU7SI_P6XS1uJEYc4YJEf8V1Y8Rx6DkWuG6L7YAmNbv2Ce9Nu0uHmvCzL2H-RXGuOu0WNyyBfcmN-c2IkrPVp3VQoWILRWZwhLz-uwRALTPOirYDAkhOI/s640/blogger-image--1854355660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGI4FGoXZ2tytxH6oEdCYhDyU7SI_P6XS1uJEYc4YJEf8V1Y8Rx6DkWuG6L7YAmNbv2Ce9Nu0uHmvCzL2H-RXGuOu0WNyyBfcmN-c2IkrPVp3VQoWILRWZwhLz-uwRALTPOirYDAkhOI/s640/blogger-image--1854355660.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to right: Snow White, random fairy, Miss E and Princess Bella admire<br />
the small crowd which have gathered before them at Kmart Tuggeranong.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That aside, Miss E was highly impressed in encountering royalty.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She must have made an impression because Cinderella, Princess Bella, and a fairy all took time out to chat to her.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The hot topic for E was that her birthday is coming up soon, and that her world is well and truly alive with princesses, castles, fairies, and all that is pink and frilly.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It certainly was an eventful evening!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Canberra ACT 2601, Australia-35.2819998 149.1286843-35.2949618 149.1089433 -35.2690378 149.1484253tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-3118467158402535792012-06-25T18:59:00.000+10:002012-06-25T21:29:09.653+10:00Berliner Huhnerfrikassee (Chicken fricassee)<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Based on a traditional recipe, Huhnerfrikassee (chicken fricassee) has perennially been a favourite meal of mine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The recipe in the cook book which my mother has used involves what I term "Convenience cooking" - most of the ingredients are tipped from cans, so the preparation time is minimal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the adapted recipe which has become a family favourite:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 cups of chicken gravy (home made, or powdered base works fine)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">About 500g of shredded chicken (a great use for leftovers from a roast chicken dinner)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6 quality frankfurts, sliced into 8mm - 10mm lengths</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">250g of cubed ham</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 tablespoons of lemon juice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 can asparagus pieces, drained (the tender, not crispy variety)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 can champignon mushrooms (whole or pieces), drained</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">100g-150g jar of capers in vinegar, drained</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 cup of peas (fresh, or frozen)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">200ml sour cream</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-069tD5jI6k6GXITAGFep6YitTITOel2BYvJgcm0aUJJJpQGIpov3okP26d5PMd5qMNTT0200t6YEDCkXbqGPM5Dae9psX2HURvJ_mSdUOmjqhfMIifJZcWyrrZA0c4tlbzSZ0DJiTM/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-069tD5jI6k6GXITAGFep6YitTITOel2BYvJgcm0aUJJJpQGIpov3okP26d5PMd5qMNTT0200t6YEDCkXbqGPM5Dae9psX2HURvJ_mSdUOmjqhfMIifJZcWyrrZA0c4tlbzSZ0DJiTM/s320/photo+(1).JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My version is less of a stew and more of a soup!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The method:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Step 1:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Place the gravy, chicken, frankfurters, ham, and lemon juice in a pot. Top up with water until the contents are covered by about 3cm of liquid. Stirring frequently, heat until the mix boils.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Step 2:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add the asparagus, mushrooms, capers, and peas. Top up with water if necessary. Stirring frequently, heat until the mix returns to the boil.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Step 3:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Take off the heat, stir in the sour cream, serve and enjoy!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I understand it, tradition requires that it be served with rice or mini-dumplings. I have never done so, and have just enjoyed the meatiness punctuated with the bold spots of flavour provided by the capers.</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=FFFFFF&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=taleofatoma-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&asins=3767005980" style="float: left;"></iframe><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dr Oetker's </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3767005980/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=taleofatoma-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=3767005980" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">German Cooking Today</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=taleofatoma-20&l=as2&o=1&a=3767005980" style="background-color: white; border: none !important; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> has a slightly more complicated version of this recipe on p86. His recipe adds a few more vegetables, but it's pretty much the same.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I do find it somewhat amusing that a recipe for a chicken soup contains more pork than chicken, but that's the German way!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Either way, it's a tasty soup with meat, meat, meat and packed with flavour. It takes me well under an hour to prepare, and it's a great winter warmer.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Best of all the kids absolutely love it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1Canberra ACT 2601, Australia-35.2819998 149.1286843-35.2949618 149.1089433 -35.2690378 149.1484253tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-81301338810612735092012-06-24T18:30:00.000+10:002012-06-25T00:38:08.266+10:00Contrasting Customer Service - Belconnen Style<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today being Sunday, I decided to go on an outing with X. Through his school he had recently earned a voucher for a free game of ten pin bowling at the local <a href="http://www.amfbowling.com.au/Centres/ACT/AMF-Belconnen.aspx" target="_blank">AMF bowling alley in Belconnen</a>.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">X's interest was piqued by a coin operated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_hockey" target="_blank">air hockey table</a> in the foyer of the bowling alley. As we'd arrived early for our booked lane, we decided to have a game. I dropped a $2 coin in, and the table fired up. But the machine did not produce a puck. After alerting a staff member and much ado, it transpired that the puck for this machine was lost.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjvwwTdgq7rx0bn02WEXzBRBYo4JMJBqYRppcL9yzd4sA2SwNwIGv5NOYK3q_Z9ehU6cKWXOc0GM_qCuTasSpo9S89p9BMMFdoTASiqUJ-9IyrCF1HYQlN5QIhJ5H0FKn6lDgw7qyCwc/s640/blogger-image--1589766787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjvwwTdgq7rx0bn02WEXzBRBYo4JMJBqYRppcL9yzd4sA2SwNwIGv5NOYK3q_Z9ehU6cKWXOc0GM_qCuTasSpo9S89p9BMMFdoTASiqUJ-9IyrCF1HYQlN5QIhJ5H0FKn6lDgw7qyCwc/s200/blogger-image--1589766787.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">No cash value, Not refundable<br />
Thanks AMF Belconnen!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was then handed two AMF game tokens by the employee to refund my game - I countered by requesting that I be provided with $2 cash - as I had not used tokens. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After another five minutes of arguing, it was carefully explained to me that it was their policy to only give tokens as giving cash would put the till balance out. Further, coins couldn't be removed from game machines as again, the machines had a counter, and removing money would result in the books not balancing. Of course, the manager wasn't in, but they'd take my number and the manager will call me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I left the matter there. Had X not had a voucher for a free game, we would have left and tried somewhere else.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAi5Oi6UFkER7IrpkacLpZZ5WeqbAJggHBV9vJxrpVwKB6WQgI0l9Kkqunz5Zi3oOD-JXNLhbpI601wwno63JptHXC9m3YCkxb67GhiNmkq2XAmHjarX9a9PQ6Iz3bWaE2tTqQF8xQAO8/s1600/98+all.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAi5Oi6UFkER7IrpkacLpZZ5WeqbAJggHBV9vJxrpVwKB6WQgI0l9Kkqunz5Zi3oOD-JXNLhbpI601wwno63JptHXC9m3YCkxb67GhiNmkq2XAmHjarX9a9PQ6Iz3bWaE2tTqQF8xQAO8/s320/98+all.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An awesome game resulting in a tie!<br />
How good is that?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite this setback, X and I had a game each - he with the "bumpers" up on the lane, and me without. We both played hard, and we both played to win. So of course, we scored an exact tie! 98 points apiece!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">X was enthused to pursue playing arcade games, so rather than hang around the bowling alley, we headed up to <a href="http://www.tunzafun.com.au/index.php/store/21_Belconnen" target="_blank">Tunza Fun</a> in Westfield.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tunza Fun are located where an IntenCity arcade was previously situated in the Belconnen Westfield Mall. They operate using a pre-paid card system - instead of inserting cash players swipe their payment card to play a game. Their set up utilises a two tiered pricing model with cheaper game play for those who opt-in to receive their newsletter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">X received his new game card, and duly signed up for the newsletter. X began by taking me on in a game of air hockey, and then played a few other games. His grandmother would have been horrified had she known he had also had a go at a couple of shoot 'em up games too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After burning through the money I had deposited, the machines began rejecting the card. I had been adding up the prices as X went from machine to machine, and he still should have had a dollar left, but his card appeared to be down to 5c! We had been placed on the wrong pricing plan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nonplussed, we headed over to their service desk, where we were given an apology, an explanation of what had gone wrong, and the option to play any game in the arcade without charge to make up for the lost credit. The employee explained that it was their policy that every visitor to their business should be having "Tunza Fun" and it was their job to try to make this happen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">X chose to take me on again in another game of air hockey. I must say both of us need some practice, but we did indeed have "Tunza Fun".</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Tunza Fun game card.<br />
Tunza Fun Belconnen has<br />
awesome customer service!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I reflect on the service provided at each of these venues, there is no good reason for the very wide gap in service levels which we experienced. Tunza Fun is run with staff who behave like professionals, the game machines are modern and well maintained, and the prices are reasonable when compared to other entertainment outlets. On the other hand, AMF Belconnen is tired - they appear to have had little maintenance performed on their bowling lane equipment since being installed some 30 years ago: the bumpers operate very reluctantly, and the scoring was off a few times. Additionally the arcade game machines are shabby and game play is expensive. But this is not a flash in the pan: my occupation requires me to attend each venue from time to time, and my experience today is consistent with my previous visits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What really separates these two business is the attitude in which my son and I have been treated as customers: In each case there was $2 or less at issue. AMF quoted policy to us. Tunza Fun truly put us first - they said nothing was too much trouble, and the staff showed they meant it by delivering.</span></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Westfield Shoppingtown, 18 Benjamin Way, Belconnen ACT 2617, Australia-35.237417366220804 149.06576156616211-35.2439023662208 149.0558910661621 -35.230932366220806 149.07563206616211tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-50619672051366343582012-06-16T23:53:00.001+10:002012-06-18T11:31:53.997+10:00First Try at Cooking Feijoada<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today I attempted to cook the national dish of Brazil: Feijoada.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A year or so back, I met a Brazillian family who was touring in Canberra. Amongst other things, they related to me how amazed they were at how much meat Australians eat, and how cheap meat was. It transpired that in Brazil the main staple is black bean stew served on rice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During the camper holiday where some of our meals consisted of beans </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">instead of meat </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">as the base, I was reminded of the Brazillian staple.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Trawling through a few recipes, I compiled the following ingredients:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1kg black beans</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">600g smoked chorizo sausages, chopped into chunks</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 cloves garlic, pressed</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 onions, chopped finely</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 can of peeled, chopped tomatoes</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a few rashers of bacon, chopped very finely</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">boiled rice to serve</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I bought Brazillian black beans in Belconnen for $5.90/kg, and after soaking them overnight, I boiled the beans for an hour and a half.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While the beans were boiling, I placed the chorizo chunks, garlic, and onion in a pan and fried them off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Using a slotted spoon, I then lifted a few spoonfuls of beans from the pot of boiling beans, put them in a blender, and added the canned tomatoes. I whizzed them for about a minute. I added the resulting paste back into the pot of beans, along with the chorizo and onion mix.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRGfQpp7pYFbygkooUfcv1WIt1dYqDUBowSc6wbH0oCK93-clbHDTee9abT1AX2cioZxKER_xYL7wgmEKGOs4iTN5JSSWCsyP_mQ9M6fo68FCiVGFmXBmoNwQHar_eRM2rp5uoamE6WA/s1600/blogger-image-1946213305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRGfQpp7pYFbygkooUfcv1WIt1dYqDUBowSc6wbH0oCK93-clbHDTee9abT1AX2cioZxKER_xYL7wgmEKGOs4iTN5JSSWCsyP_mQ9M6fo68FCiVGFmXBmoNwQHar_eRM2rp5uoamE6WA/s320/blogger-image-1946213305.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first serve of my interpretation of Bazillian black bean stew.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Leaving </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the soup to boil for another ten minutes, I then fried the bacon to a medium </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">crisp, and allowed it to drain on paper towels.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I then served the sticky dark purple/brown soup on rice. A, X, and E were a little apprehensive at first, but they ate it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The colour is certainly different to the lighter coloured foods my family is used to. I must admit that I was a little apprehensive at first that I had done something wrong, as the colour was quite dark and muddy. However online descriptions and photographs of this dish assured me that what I had cooked was not too far from the mark. A blog called <a href="http://urbancuisinetour.com/rio-de-janeiro/" target="_blank">Urban Cuisine Tour features this dish (2nd dish from top).</a> Now I must admit that I don't know what collard greens are, or if I should serve Feijoada with some other greenery such as broccolini. This will be something I explore soon.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRGfQpp7pYFbygkooUfcv1WIt1dYqDUBowSc6wbH0oCK93-clbHDTee9abT1AX2cioZxKER_xYL7wgmEKGOs4iTN5JSSWCsyP_mQ9M6fo68FCiVGFmXBmoNwQHar_eRM2rp5uoamE6WA/s640/blogger-image-1946213305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Canberra ACT 2601, Australia-35.2819998 149.1286843-35.2949618 149.1089433 -35.2690378 149.1484253tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-15937645632514664522012-06-14T22:21:00.003+10:002012-06-18T11:30:44.271+10:00Telstra: How you wasted two hours of my life.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On our camper van holiday, both children lost their mobile phones. E lost hers near the Rhinoceros enclosure at <a href="http://www.taronga.org.au/taronga-western-plains-zoo" target="_blank">Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo</a>, so I am expecting a phone call from a Rhino sometime soon. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Diceros_bicornis.jpg/800px-Diceros_bicornis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Diceros_bicornis.jpg/800px-Diceros_bicornis.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Diceros_bicornis.jpg" target="_blank">Jonathunder</a> used here under the<br />
<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:GNU_Free_Documentation_License_1.2" target="_blank">GNU Free Documentation License v1.2</a> which applies to this image.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Considering that Rhinos lack knees - let alone </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">opposable thumbs, I suspect that they shall need help with making the call.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">X lost his at <a href="http://movieworld.myfun.com.au/" target="_blank">Warner Brothers Movie World</a>. Interestingly, guest services have found his phone in the lost property, but state that they cannot post the phone due to <a href="http://auspost.com.au/index.html" target="_blank">Australia Post</a> having rules preventing the posting of batteries. My reading of those <a href="http://auspost.com.au/personal/dangerous-goods-personal.html" target="_blank">rules concerning carriage of dangerous goods</a> is that it is fine to post mobile phones, but that the parcel must have a "Road Transport only" sticker attached, or at least a clear marking to similar effect, in red, near the recipient address. The guest services at Warner Brothers Movie World aren't moved by this and have refused to send the phone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But I digress. The point is that I now have two children without mobile phones. Naturally I have ordered replacement phones on eBay, and today I approached my local Telstra shop in Gungahlin for replacement SIM cards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On entering the shop I am greeted by a cheery bloke holding an iPad. He begins to assist by pulling out some blank SIM cards, and logs on to his terminal. Upon seeing that the terminal wanted some information which he would have to make a phone call to obtain, he announced that he couldn't help me any further, gave me the SIM cards and told me to call Telstra.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I dutifully call Telstra while doing my grocery shopping. Due to the accent, I suspect my call was taken in Manilla, Philipines. I am asked for the two service numbers, and the serial numbers on the two SIM cards in my possession. A moment later, I am advised that the SIM replacement is complete. I am amazed. This has been the easiest and most trouble free call to Telstra ever!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With my shopping in the car, I send an SMS to A to let her know I am on my way home.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Send Failed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hmm. My phone is showing no reception at all. A moment later my phone displays the message 'SOS calls only'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My phone has been cut off!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can't go back to the Telstra shop, as it's right on closing time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Argh!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Back at home I borrow A's phone to contact Telstra, who confirm my fears: my iPhone SIM has been "replaced" and a SIM card which is replaced can't be used again. There is no "roll-back" for the transaction carried out by the previous call-centre droid.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This call-centre droid assures me that I can obtain a replacement SIM when the local Telstra shop opens in the morning. I prompt him "That's great, but which Telstra store is open <i>NOW???</i>"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Queanbeyan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Queanbeyan Telstra store is open until 9pm. The silver lining to this news is that I can still have dinner, and I won't have to rush in order to arrive before closing time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, after dinner I drive the 30 kilometres, and the nice people in the Queanbeyan Telstra shop issue me with another two SIM cards, correcting the earlier error.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Altogether, correcting the silly error of a call-centre droid has taken 2 hours of my life. 2 hours which I won't get back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks Telstra! Your Gungahlin shop has demonstrated the heights of customer service, your call centre-droids have demonstrated how well they listen, and how much they take care when making changes which will result in major inconvenience to your customers. I am making a small wager of no money whatsoever that when I receive my bill I will be charged for four replacement SIM cards. When this happens, I will be asking Telstra to not only refund those charges, but also for some petrol money. <a href="http://calculators.ato.gov.au/scripts/axos/axos.asp?CONTEXT=&KBS=Car.xr4&go=ok" target="_blank">According to the Tax Office, the correct rate for 60 kilometres is about $44.</a> We shall see.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Hibberson St, Gungahlin ACT 2912, Australia-35.1853424 149.1335844-35.191831400000005 149.12371389999998 -35.1788534 149.1434549tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-26516090802740012872012-06-13T00:45:00.001+10:002012-06-18T11:28:50.214+10:00The End of a Camper Holiday! - Reflections<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, the holiday is over. We have re-joined reality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This holiday is our first proper break since the children were born. We need to do this more often!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This holiday has seen us travel by road for ten and a half days, covering 3812 kilometres.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Each and every meal we ate was prepared in the camper, except for dinner on Sunday night in Tamworth, and McDonald's for lunch on the way home. This was cheaper and healthier than eating out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Using a motor-home camper was great. I have been camping in tents before and using a camper is pure luxury by comparison. I can get up, take two steps and have a hot shower. I can stand up and not worry about touching wet canvas walls. When we travel, we can pull in to a caravan park, camp ground, or even beside the road, and get straight into bed. Carrying a ready-to-go kitchen is also fabulous: it means that food can be cooked as quickly as if cooking at home, and we don't need to rely on take-away or restaurants.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Carrying the bedrooms with us reduces stress too: we don't need to worry too much about booking ahead - if we are ever 'stuck' it is possible to just pull up on the side of a road somewhere.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Being on holiday doesn't stop the kids fighting amongst themselves. But travelling in our home removes most of the stress: If the kids haven't dressed early enough for the day, we can go to where we need to go and then the kids can get changed when we get there. If they are arguing while we are travelling, there is a choice of five seats with seatbelts in which they can sit, so it means keeping the children together or apart is a trivial matter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What would I do differently? Not too much - I might plan to do less: we settled in to a pattern of doing an activity in the morning, and then travelling in the evening which meant we would arrive at our destination and then go to sleep straight away. Breaking the travel and activities on separate days would have resulted in a more relaxed holiday - every second day could be a down day, with camp fires, lazy times reading books, going for walks and the like.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to X, the best bits of the holiday are a tie between the wallaby rescue, and the rides at Warner Brothers Movie World. E's favourite is the wallaby rescue too. A has been able to shed her concerns on how difficult it might be travelling in a camper. She has been impressed with how easy it has been, as well as impressed with how cheaply we have lived.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The choice of <a href="http://www.apollocamper.com/" target="_blank">Apollo </a>for the motor home rental will certainly need to be reviewed before we rent again. Apollo lack the attention to detail which I expect, and their inefficient procedures in checking vehicles out mean that hours are wasted picking up a vehicle from the yard. Despite completing their pre-registration process before attending the vehicle pick up still took almost two hours. One or two problems might be expected with a rental vehicle, but the accumulation of many problems demonstrates that Apollo really need to revise how they do business.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://aurentals.keacampers.com/en/default.aspx" target="_blank">Kea</a>, <a href="http://www.britz.com.au/" target="_blank">Britz</a>, <a href="http://www.maui.com.au/" target="_blank">Maui </a>and other brands will certainly be given greater consideration for next time. If we do go with Apollo for our next rental, I will certainly be scrutinising the vehicle very, very closely before accepting it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We achieved an excellent balance spending some nights in caravan parks and some in national parks. A highlight for me was the <a href="http://www.goldcoastholidaypark.com.au/" target="_blank">Gold Coast Holiday Park</a> - Q: what's better than a sausage sizzle? A: A FREE sausage sizzle! These people have a free sausage sizzle every Tuesday. How awesome is that?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What have I learned?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taking a family holiday is an opportunity to strengthen the relationships in our family, and an opportunity to gain perspective on life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.....and what's the most important thing about a holiday?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taking one!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Canberra ACT 2601, Australia-35.2819998 149.1286843-35.2949618 149.1089433 -35.2690378 149.1484253tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-41865743447496796112012-06-12T22:42:00.000+10:002012-06-18T11:28:20.595+10:00Day Eleven of a Camper Holiday! - Returning the Vehicle<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We were allowed to take the camper over dirt roads only when accessing a camp site. Otherwise we were required to keep the vehicle on sealed roads.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite our compliance with these policies, the camper was filthy - the camp sites at the end of dirt roads had been accessed in the rain, and on the Oberon - Goulburn road we had crossed some dirt roadwork sections</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Figuring that a clean vehicle was better than any arguments, I washed the mud and dirt off using a hose and broom - it came off easily enough without using car wash soap.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I also had to empty both the toilet and grey water tanks, and ensure the freshwater tank was full. Topping up the freshwater tank was simple enough, and the few litres of grey water went straight to the front garden. After realising that no public sewage dump points exist in the ACT I utilised the inspection shaft on my sewage system at home to deal with the toilet tank.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After double checking that everything had been cleared from inside the camper, I gave it a last sweep, and all was ready.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">X had decided to come with me to drop the camper off, so I booked an extra ticket with <a href="http://www.murrays.com.au/" target="_blank">Murrays Coaches</a>, and we headed off to Sydney.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">X and I had some good conversations about life and the world on the three hour drive, and it occurred to me that this was still part of our holiday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As we approached Sydney we drove into substantial rain; confirming that abandoning the coastal leg of our trip was the right decision.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I arrived at the <a href="http://www.apollocamper.com/campervan-hire-locations-sydney.aspx" target="_blank">Apollo Campers yard,</a> I was asked if we had any troubles with the vehicle. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I rattled off our troubles:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The fridge wasn't cooling</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The back door didn't lock</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the seat-belted seats in the back would frequently fall apart - it had screws loose, and the velcro securing the seat cushion was missing.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The dinette table between the two seat-belted bench seats would randomly detach and fall on to the passengers</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The plastic cover on the base of the front passenger seat kept detaching</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There was no plug provided for the kitchen sink</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The toaster would only accept one slice of toast</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The shower cubicle leaked a little bit into the main area of the camper</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The hot water heater was a real bugger - it needed frequent resets</span></li>
</ul>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFrgKI52rroBh-bUO-lPjRTQGZbbNzwuBeUCe9WjgzLkglcp03Aa6645DxH6P8QOk4S2iCp7bN0slUz4Krv6FeEgAwnKkHQUanQLN4th6fPFj0yifWq_jZMGkNbDrp2J-E74G3HiIZOY/s1600/photo+(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFrgKI52rroBh-bUO-lPjRTQGZbbNzwuBeUCe9WjgzLkglcp03Aa6645DxH6P8QOk4S2iCp7bN0slUz4Krv6FeEgAwnKkHQUanQLN4th6fPFj0yifWq_jZMGkNbDrp2J-E74G3HiIZOY/s320/photo+(5).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of the very heavy traffic in front of the Murrays coach.<br />
I am sure glad I wasn't driving through that mess!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To Apollo's credit I was provided with a refund for a full day's rental without argument.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">X and I then enjoyed an hour eating our packed lunch and wandering about Sydney Airport before joining the Murrays coach back to Canberra.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And that was our Camper Holiday!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-66491751548585903652012-06-11T22:08:00.000+10:002012-06-25T13:46:01.154+10:00Day Ten of a Camper Holiday! - Homeward Bound<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="380" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Dubbo,+New+South+Wales&daddr=Blayney,+New+South+Wales&hl=en&geocode=FZn_E_4d2pnbCCk7kaRMsHEPazEwJUSQtAkGBQ%3BFZ9WAP4deHTlCCk3445H3bYRazFwXEOQtAkGBA&aq=0&oq=blayney&sll=-31.758865,148.93126&sspn=1.270413,2.823486&mra=ls&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=-32.888813,148.930664&spn=1.752806,1.087646&z=8&output=embed" style="float: right;" width="200"></iframe><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After dropping the Joey off in Dubbo on day nine, we over-nighted in Blayney. Blayney is a place rooted in both mine and A's family history. My maternal-maternal great grandfather was born here, and Blayney is also just up the road from A's father's childhood town of Carcoar.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The weather in Blayney was less than kind - minus 4 degrees, and the reverse-cycle air conditioner iced up again which meant yet another cold, noisy night.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As this was our last day on the road, we promised the kids McDonald's for lunch - conditional on good behaviour - and went visiting A's two remaining grandparents.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our kids have been very lucky - luckier than most in that they have been able to meet and have some level of relationship with three of their great grandparents. My Oma has only passed on recently leaving the kids with two great grandparents, both of which are A's grandparents.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These great grandparents have recently moved into nursing homes - one in Bathurst, and the other in Taralga. So our itinerary was set: Bathurst nursing home, Taralga nursing home, Goulburn McDonald's, and then home to unpack and clean the camper.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="540" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Blayney,+New+South+Wales&daddr=Bathurst+Nursing+Home,+Boyd+Street,+Kelso,+New+South+Wales+to:Taralga,+New+South+Wales+to:McDonald's,+Commons+street,+goulburn+to:Canberra,+Australian+Capital+Territory&hl=en&geocode=FZ9WAP4deHTlCCk3445H3bYRazFwXEOQtAkGBA%3BFdQiAv4dK-LqCCF6jEVxhIixzym5PgAJ9uQRazHWE6MIef-e6A%3BFV8p8_0drBTuCCmx6vNT3lsRazEQ40OQtAkGBA%3BFTLK7f0dC_vsCCE9OwTlpU1krQ%3BFbCj5f0d7IXjCCkhkFywaU0WazFgVmmnbuoABQ&aq=0&oq=Taralga+&sll=-32.8879,148.93117&sspn=2.50922,5.646973&mra=ls&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=-34.388779,149.37561&spn=2.44777,1.098633&z=8&output=embed" style="float: left;" width="200"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The visit to Bathurst went well, and Nan was pleased to see us. She was in fine spirits, and the children behaved, remembered their manners and interacted well with her and each other.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During this visit a dark cloud was settling over my thoughts: The Oberon-Goulburn road crosses the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abercrombie_River" target="_blank">Abercrombie River</a> near Black Springs, and this crossing is at the bottom of a very deep gorge.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A very steep-sided deep gorge. With a little wooden bridge at the bottom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The largest vehicle I had taken over that crossing before now was a Toyota HiAce. When driving out of the gorge, I recall the road being so steep that I was supporting my weight by holding on to the steering wheel. Parts of the road are not only very very steep, but there are strange cambers too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was not looking forward to taking 4490 kilograms of motor home through the gorge.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the drive from Oberon to the top of the descent, I realised I was worrying too much about this gorge. After all I had followed tipper and dog combinations, and once I had even followed a semi-trailer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZzX8LC8hl7-lVzAQ3x3yfdJw0lv6cINVq5mhqXLEA88Bf-f0yMAX1C8MiiRSlkKN95Nxt-QtWKNAfJfjBMnhga2Ws1g3kDpyAe1-dAfujZI0eXpcpmFE1VOMvVjQsbys7bnkTEYSExY/s1600/Abercrombie+area+2012-06-10+058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZzX8LC8hl7-lVzAQ3x3yfdJw0lv6cINVq5mhqXLEA88Bf-f0yMAX1C8MiiRSlkKN95Nxt-QtWKNAfJfjBMnhga2Ws1g3kDpyAe1-dAfujZI0eXpcpmFE1VOMvVjQsbys7bnkTEYSExY/s400/Abercrombie+area+2012-06-10+058.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This road is steep - we are the same height as the horizon.<br />
Also note the camber of the road<br />
- it's not too clear, but the road is leaning hard to the left.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I calmed myself down, took a deep breath, set the gearbox to operate only in second gear, and started down the side of the gorge. At this point I was cursing silently over whatever rules forbid vehicles of less than 4.5 tonnes being fitted with exhaust brakes in Australia. I really could have used them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With the motor home hanging off the gearbox at about 35 kilometres per hour and my view of the steep descent below, my only job was now to steer and periodically apply the brake. There was little else for me to do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_FMCa57HMjU_ue9aLcXzu9La_FHuzedfHWQC4PmBDmsZYtog12fsB6AtVl8vkyIRJ6-qlYtMNGxQlPJt3PuB8510uxbW3hiL5e8juzBZNAqfqI0VwL6J7BK9nJt5cBrQ40VkhNi_ecH8/s1600/800px-Abercrombie_River_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_FMCa57HMjU_ue9aLcXzu9La_FHuzedfHWQC4PmBDmsZYtog12fsB6AtVl8vkyIRJ6-qlYtMNGxQlPJt3PuB8510uxbW3hiL5e8juzBZNAqfqI0VwL6J7BK9nJt5cBrQ40VkhNi_ecH8/s320/800px-Abercrombie_River_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bridge crossing the Abercrombie River.<br />
Photo by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Abercrombie_River_2.jpg" target="_blank">Grahamec</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The little wooden bridge crossing the river was looking worse for wear - part of the rails which prevent one from driving off the edge were missing, probably damaged in the recent floods.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The drive up the other side of the gorge was as slow as the descent.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Grandad in Taralga was pleased to see us, and broke into his usual story telling mode. Despite his frailty, this means that he is doing just fine.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a quick stop at McDonald's we arrived home and began the long process of moving out of the camper and back into our own home.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Canberra ACT 2601, Australia-35.2819998 149.1286843-35.2949618 149.1089433 -35.2690378 149.1484253tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-15319128078172322142012-06-11T00:23:00.000+10:002012-06-18T11:25:48.239+10:00Day Nine of a Camper Holiday! - The Best Day Ever!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We finished off day eight by heading south to Coonabarabran via Moree. I felt that remaining on the major highways was the simple choice - we had to be back in Canberra by the end of day ten.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="450" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=seven+oaks+fossicking,+sapphire&daddr=Coonabarabran,+New+South+Wales&hl=en&geocode=FSwcO_4dIQsECSGnTEU1ueCayw%3BFUfMIv4d7MrlCCnVDv9A5QYJazHQeEOQtAkGBA&aq=0&oq=coona&sll=-25.601902,148.31543&sspn=24.079776,45.175781&mra=ls&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=-30.372875,150.281982&spn=2.132579,2.329102&z=8&output=embed" width="425"></iframe><br />
<small><a href="https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=embed&saddr=seven+oaks+fossicking,+sapphire&daddr=Coonabarabran,+New+South+Wales&hl=en&geocode=FSwcO_4dIQsECSGnTEU1ueCayw%3BFUfMIv4d7MrlCCnVDv9A5QYJazHQeEOQtAkGBA&aq=0&oq=coona&sll=-25.601902,148.31543&sspn=24.079776,45.175781&mra=ls&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=-30.372875,150.281982&spn=2.132579,2.329102&z=8" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our sleep was disturbed at 3am by a hammering noise from the reverse cycle air-conditioner. The temperature in the Coonabarabran caravan park had dropped to minus 2 degrees, and the air conditioner had iced over. The result was that we woke up tired and cold.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">X's solution to this was that he and I should go outside and kick the soccer ball as we had done a few times before. Kicking a soccer ball certainly does warm the toes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our journey inland was to avoid the coastal rain, and before our diversion A had been looking forward to walking on the beach at Byron Bay. So we headed off to go on the <a href="http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkHome.aspx?id=N0035&s=FansHorizon#secStart" target="_blank">Fans Horizon walk in the Warrumbungle National Park</a>, followed by a double-back to the <a href="http://rsaa.anu.edu.au/observatories/siding-spring-observatory" target="_blank">observatories at Siding Springs</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But what we had planned was not going to happen....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few minutes away from the track head A swerved the camper around a dead wallaby, and then pulled over: we had both seen the much smaller wallaby standing next to the dead one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifR8DRzoSxgagKkKCzpE42rz2DZCq2MHM6MtP1MeQ76Iqi06KFwr9db_w5hg61MRlJDbq4-_hP7fSJmBeLlRFDvnpqsSbBQyLWXX6E9Qj_jfMK17gd3rHA-LXrlQQUo73iKijjlM2S93M/s1600/Wallaby+2012-06-09+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifR8DRzoSxgagKkKCzpE42rz2DZCq2MHM6MtP1MeQ76Iqi06KFwr9db_w5hg61MRlJDbq4-_hP7fSJmBeLlRFDvnpqsSbBQyLWXX6E9Qj_jfMK17gd3rHA-LXrlQQUo73iKijjlM2S93M/s400/Wallaby+2012-06-09+001.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This little joey has a cut nose -<br />
most likely caused when she crawled out of her mothers pouch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I ran back and picked up the tiny creature which was still covered in some of her mothers blood. I wrapped her in my blue Census jumper and held her close to my chest where she quickly calmed down. When I had picked her up she was shivering and making noises like a sick dog.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There was clearly nothing to be done for the mother - her bright red blood was on the road, and in several places very white pieces of splintered bone were sticking through her skin.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhreYwmU9_qc_yJFm6DEx7_UVPLp-p7qn6MyWYZEhRHuMurqxKienpt0DzpkxjYifRi8oUda0jBN3JXNymP6GZxQdBozyGrUFLqL_XpA83X1Sep4zWRHLq7oOyPGY9xz0I01l6CrFX1P4s/s1600/Wallaby+2012-06-09+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhreYwmU9_qc_yJFm6DEx7_UVPLp-p7qn6MyWYZEhRHuMurqxKienpt0DzpkxjYifRi8oUda0jBN3JXNymP6GZxQdBozyGrUFLqL_XpA83X1Sep4zWRHLq7oOyPGY9xz0I01l6CrFX1P4s/s320/Wallaby+2012-06-09+006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">X taking seriously his job of keeping the joey<br />
warm, in the dark, yet able to breathe.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few minutes later the four of us marched in to the Warrumbungle visitor's centre where the ranger advised us that the usual <a href="http://www.wires.org.au/" target="_blank">WIRES</a> wildlife person in the area was in Sydney, and that we would need to deal with WIRES in either Gunnedah or Dubbo. I was a little surprised that the ranger seemed uncaring about the plight of an injured animal in the National Park (isn't this what rangers are meant to do?) so I was tempted to place the little Wallaby on the floor of the visitors centre and leave.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We resolved to follow through with what we committed to when we picked the joey up. Either option of Dubbo or Gunnedah meant the cancellation of our bush walking and observatory visit. Dubbo was in the direction we needed to travel, and so we contacted WIRES Dubbo and agreed on a meeting point in town.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdrU46ZinQdIQfRB3mJs8D07WwkC4MEGuP7BjvChAVQJULFI_0DEQwqIq6zHlSz7tyxyFbK6Zxh8l9K5PJrVfbUn6qvRYWVg-NURNfSk3s5iNLXIFiOL9oaRTeLX1sr7XXOfKIWmY2WQ/s1600/Wallaby+2012-06-09+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdrU46ZinQdIQfRB3mJs8D07WwkC4MEGuP7BjvChAVQJULFI_0DEQwqIq6zHlSz7tyxyFbK6Zxh8l9K5PJrVfbUn6qvRYWVg-NURNfSk3s5iNLXIFiOL9oaRTeLX1sr7XXOfKIWmY2WQ/s320/Wallaby+2012-06-09+007.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">E was very happy to hold the joey wallaby.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">X was awarded the job of nursing the wallaby against his chest while we headed to Dubbo. Needless to say, E was quite put out, but I feel X's more mature outlook and his ability to not take a look at the joey every few minutes made him the right choice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For two hours the joey rested, and eventually slept against X's chest, wrapped in my jumper.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">E was given a turn holding the little one, and she handed the joey over to the WIRES lady in Dubbo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Being the jubilee, we named the joey "Lizzie the second". </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We learned that this creature was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp_wallaby" target="_blank">Swamp Wallaby</a>, and that swamp wallabies are the only true wallaby - other wallabies being more closely related to kangaroos. The WIRES lady also told us that a Swamp Wallaby of this age would not normally every leave her mothers pouch, and would have most likely been eaten by a fox, if she didn't first perish in the cold weather.</span><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="360" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Coonabarabran,+New+South+Wales&daddr=Dubbo,+New+South+Wales&hl=en&geocode=FUfMIv4d7MrlCCnVDv9A5QYJazHQeEOQtAkGBA%3BFZn_E_4d2pnbCCk7kaRMsHEPazEwJUSQtAkGBQ&aq=0&oq=Dubbo&sll=-32.40308,148.93126&sspn=2.522879,5.646973&mra=ls&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=-31.760867,148.930664&spn=1.68137,1.428223&z=8&output=embed" style="float: right;" width="260"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, in just a few days we have gone from learning about being a wildlife warrior to actually applying the conservation message and saving this injured animal. While Swamp Wallabies are not themselves an endangered species, this little joey was directly endangered and our actions made a difference to her.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCVzntXvfKEynixdUIz2r1XqcxYqaqYxc4yrXpaXZf6SJPAiBGLK3hJ58eYaud2oeUQ4r8TCiOz03fHTOfCWaCWWWpV2E4pa9LFolHzsva7wUhokE6UKGuubARCO-aW0HHD8LRaiPgfss/s1600/photo+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCVzntXvfKEynixdUIz2r1XqcxYqaqYxc4yrXpaXZf6SJPAiBGLK3hJ58eYaud2oeUQ4r8TCiOz03fHTOfCWaCWWWpV2E4pa9LFolHzsva7wUhokE6UKGuubARCO-aW0HHD8LRaiPgfss/s400/photo+(4).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">X (at left) skates Dubbo skate park.<br />
Note the full pipe in the background and to the right.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The children hadn't had any opportunity to ride their <a href="http://www.razor.com/au/" target="_blank">Razor scooters</a> during this holiday trip, so when I pulled into </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dubbo's</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://dubbo.nsw.gov.au/RecreationandCulture/SkatePark.html" target="_blank">Victoria Park skate park</a>, X exclaimed "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dubbo appears to have the scoop on the rest of Australia: their skate park doesn't feature a half-pipe, but features Australia's first FULL pipe. I can only wonder if anybody has managed to do the full loop yet, and wonder how many broken bones can be attributed to those trying.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At dinner time when we reminded the kids that this dinner would be the last in the camper van, the howls of protest from both children reassured me that this holiday experience was worthwhile and a hopefully a memorable one for both children.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2Victoria Park, Dubbo NSW 2830, Australia-32.2471857 148.6079601-32.260615200000004 148.5882191 -32.2337562 148.62770110000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-73150069313323118012012-06-10T01:01:00.001+10:002012-06-18T11:25:00.746+10:00Day Eight of a Camper Holiday! - Sapphires<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having left the coast behind we woke up on the property of <a href="http://www.sapphiresinverell.com.au/sapphires/gems/index.asp" target="_blank">7 Oaks Fossicking</a> - the previous afternoon of driving being highly uneventful. 7 Oaks is in the locality of Sapphire, North East of Inverell.</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="400" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=-28.413776,+153.022448&daddr=-29.7433851,151.2309404+to:seven+oaks+fossicking,+sapphire&hl=en&geocode=FbBwTv4d8O8eCQ%3BFecmOv4d3JkDCSn_AY7LzfihazExJshytAkGEw%3BFSwcO_4dIQsECSGnTEU1ueCayw&aq=0&oq=long+plain+lan&sll=-29.742544,151.221356&sspn=0.022767,0.044117&mra=dvme&mrsp=1&sz=15&via=1&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=-29.00814,152.20459&spn=1.921558,2.526855&z=8&output=embed" width="460"></iframe><br />
<small><a href="https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=embed&saddr=-28.413776,+153.022448&daddr=-29.7433851,151.2309404+to:seven+oaks+fossicking,+sapphire&hl=en&geocode=FbBwTv4d8O8eCQ%3BFecmOv4d3JkDCSn_AY7LzfihazExJshytAkGEw%3BFSwcO_4dIQsECSGnTEU1ueCayw&aq=0&oq=long+plain+lan&sll=-29.742544,151.221356&sspn=0.022767,0.044117&mra=dvme&mrsp=1&sz=15&via=1&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=-29.00814,152.20459&spn=1.921558,2.526855&z=8" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAvNWABz0HoYVL7Zu79f6snWdh7yABdURmkL5kz3ygVNStm4tSs_8UQKct6S8qkW4TXiyrFl66HajvZFOEKYzAMgFY2vEalKDc_91yYk0xBLO7f5vzYEd8cxbscxlQX3audCpTkfrdH0/s1600/Inverell+sapphires+2012-06-08+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAvNWABz0HoYVL7Zu79f6snWdh7yABdURmkL5kz3ygVNStm4tSs_8UQKct6S8qkW4TXiyrFl66HajvZFOEKYzAMgFY2vEalKDc_91yYk0xBLO7f5vzYEd8cxbscxlQX3audCpTkfrdH0/s320/Inverell+sapphires+2012-06-08+024.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">E helping me mix buckets of mud</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our hosts Peter and Nicole run a mixed business: Nicole took us to our campsite by the river, and the next morning Peter provided a hands on lesson on how to prospect. When not providing fossicking lessons Peter cuts, splits, sells and delivers firewood, as well as teaching welding at the local TAFE.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The campsite is well appointed - Bob, the caretaker lives in the campground, and is friendly and happy to help, and the campground is supplied with a camp kitchen, drinking water, hot shower, and long-drop toilet.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWwjn7jziZoLlDQrBDYjhVPJSI7kmY0GuqoNjvgfaL_lABtefejPzTpkAa41_Kuke0gfFdR9wjgHDHzKYbnZBnL6ie6mNxzfJG2iPV401lovT-HkItxL0VDRvfd89b1tXMzD1ScuHwvE/s1600/Inverell+sapphires+2012-06-08+027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWwjn7jziZoLlDQrBDYjhVPJSI7kmY0GuqoNjvgfaL_lABtefejPzTpkAa41_Kuke0gfFdR9wjgHDHzKYbnZBnL6ie6mNxzfJG2iPV401lovT-HkItxL0VDRvfd89b1tXMzD1ScuHwvE/s320/Inverell+sapphires+2012-06-08+027.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teamwork!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fossicking is a fairly simple process:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It begins with taking a few shovel-fulls of dirt from a mound Peter has provided. That dirt is then put in a bucket, and covered with water to soak in to the clay.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The mud mixture is then tipped through two sieves (one coarse, the other fine) which are stacked together.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The two sieves are then placed in a drum of water and agitated to wash the clay away.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The contents of the coarse sieve are then quickly inspected to locate any huge sapphires before being discarded.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The fine sieve is then re-rinsed, and agitated in an up-and-down motion to bring the heavier sapphires and zircon to the bottom and centre of the sieve.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The sieve is then quickly inverted on a Hessian bag which allows for sapphires to be quickly located in the sunlight.</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV27yMNZiGz_NWHQ8zfa95bVQVbJI2jWjiGJPjeijdyye0XNEEFP0eXUolk55h17vSffHZefy9t0n15M8iw9CtKyl_KDYSgCBBraKHSEShysJ7tCBOQeAFuKD6T2ObtWXO7qKxsrK30L4/s1600/Inverell+sapphires+2012-06-08+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV27yMNZiGz_NWHQ8zfa95bVQVbJI2jWjiGJPjeijdyye0XNEEFP0eXUolk55h17vSffHZefy9t0n15M8iw9CtKyl_KDYSgCBBraKHSEShysJ7tCBOQeAFuKD6T2ObtWXO7qKxsrK30L4/s320/Inverell+sapphires+2012-06-08+022.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">X was an absolute champion at spotting sapphires!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The demonstration from Peter consisted of clear instructions on how to correctly use the supplied equipment, and I particularly appreciated that he took the time to explain at each step not only what he was doing, but why he was doing it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I quickly found that posture is important when sloshing around a few kilograms of rocks and mud in a drum of water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Persistence and patience are also very important. We found gems every few sieve loads of rocks, and X and E have keen eyes for spotting sparkly stones.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZNGzH9BkQwleENOyTcMLn-rUVASK716yu12aVvgwpLz1O8RjZvtSt2nbu2ZKN8q1ftlxKfdCc3uMlBUczqjNnQWZYSolixLmnfZtmOr0LDKhsrZ8wZjOOnP6V5CM8e2LAlLtOCbbuZE/s1600/Inverell+sapphires+2012-06-08+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZNGzH9BkQwleENOyTcMLn-rUVASK716yu12aVvgwpLz1O8RjZvtSt2nbu2ZKN8q1ftlxKfdCc3uMlBUczqjNnQWZYSolixLmnfZtmOr0LDKhsrZ8wZjOOnP6V5CM8e2LAlLtOCbbuZE/s320/Inverell+sapphires+2012-06-08+028.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our sapphires.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A was initially not interested but she became curious, and I think the fossicking bug may have bitten her - she had some trouble leaving the circular piles of small washed stones which I was producing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We found a few small sapphires as well as some other interesting rocks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For me, this is the best part of our holiday to date. A very simple activity in which the whole family participated, relatively cheap at $20pp for fossicking (compared to the hundreds for dreamworld or a zoo), and it's punctuated by shared moments of joy and amazement when we find little blue stones.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We really enjoyed ourselves - I never thought I'd have such a rewarding time playing with mud!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I shall definitely be back!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Rickeys Ln, Sapphire NSW 2360, Australia-29.6863943 151.268582-29.7001888 151.248841 -29.6725998 151.28832300000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-58243246070304638802012-06-09T23:29:00.003+10:002012-06-18T11:24:17.049+10:00Day Seven of a Camper Holiday! - Border Ranges National Park<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgm-z1b6Vujbq8sadjahmYvQS7DvmQG2V1qOCFj2qtuN9ZgksBclHGMBlWUbE98hqiqEwaRtVR4cwFfEgA5hpo5KD_EBMj5n5p_a2Xc53RgMTY2HOC-buXgD0tC1kxWZQidfRcuAoUy4c/s1600/Border+Ranges+2012-06-07+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgm-z1b6Vujbq8sadjahmYvQS7DvmQG2V1qOCFj2qtuN9ZgksBclHGMBlWUbE98hqiqEwaRtVR4cwFfEgA5hpo5KD_EBMj5n5p_a2Xc53RgMTY2HOC-buXgD0tC1kxWZQidfRcuAoUy4c/s200/Border+Ranges+2012-06-07+001.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Camper parked at Sheepstation Creek camp ground.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Waking up and listening to the rain on the camper roof was disappointing. Our original plan was to return to Canberra via the Pacific Highway stopping around Byron Bay, Wauchope, and Newcastle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet the rain was not so bad: the day was warm, and we were in beautiful rainforest surroundings.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFP5yPYTBoY6qeh7U3slHpQOC9XdRp4X1tkqTQNlUm0sVBTZBw1W2Kw7hp_vAqDgOXoC8q7_AhFiFNYpJulaojcFt7oajm_y1LCd9gSzUhgITbW1frha5N1IC0BbGqCWN9Tl8MA2QyZU/s1600/Border+Ranges+2012-06-07+009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFP5yPYTBoY6qeh7U3slHpQOC9XdRp4X1tkqTQNlUm0sVBTZBw1W2Kw7hp_vAqDgOXoC8q7_AhFiFNYpJulaojcFt7oajm_y1LCd9gSzUhgITbW1frha5N1IC0BbGqCWN9Tl8MA2QyZU/s320/Border+Ranges+2012-06-07+009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The path crossed the creek many times.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">X and A had got up early and gone for a walk, leaving me and E to sleep in. When I emerged, X had returned and so declared himself my tour guide. We walked the 2 kilometre track to the Brushbox Falls lookout.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7TUi0zhqFQ2Ocnk1lnuL3mboxWjYyQQX5OmT0itMK9ZgrJwkC36HhgE5pq9Y6r8nkzVU0kWcQqVDy83a-UyN_VXwxtywuy1UUl7Kh0OAIV5lO8LJg1A2iI9KG_sx_gf3CBP1jMZQWRb8/s1600/Border+Ranges+2012-06-07+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7TUi0zhqFQ2Ocnk1lnuL3mboxWjYyQQX5OmT0itMK9ZgrJwkC36HhgE5pq9Y6r8nkzVU0kWcQqVDy83a-UyN_VXwxtywuy1UUl7Kh0OAIV5lO8LJg1A2iI9KG_sx_gf3CBP1jMZQWRb8/s320/Border+Ranges+2012-06-07+011.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Green everywhere. Green leaves, green moss. Gorgeous!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The track took us across a large, shallow gully, and it was interesting to note the variations in the forest - initially the forest had sparsely spaced trees with a grassy undergrowth, and as we crossed the bottom of the gully, the trees formed a dense canopy, making a </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">muddy</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">path in the cold air.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-IZ-Ik-dUn8RYKIYX7DzcIdkQ2FD0XS01TDXjf5BCJBhP20g35tZpx5vVSDgDccxWb-R-XUqx1NIhU_rxZOUG8DhFBYTXYxRDs3erH7-d8KnOdpbFJK7yS6bBOUFqDrAiAyeLvik_i0/s1600/Border+Ranges+2012-06-07+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-IZ-Ik-dUn8RYKIYX7DzcIdkQ2FD0XS01TDXjf5BCJBhP20g35tZpx5vVSDgDccxWb-R-XUqx1NIhU_rxZOUG8DhFBYTXYxRDs3erH7-d8KnOdpbFJK7yS6bBOUFqDrAiAyeLvik_i0/s200/Border+Ranges+2012-06-07+015.JPG" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A strangler fig.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The path crossed the creek several times, and then went up a muddy slope.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With my limited knowledge of rainforest habitats I was able to point out a few features to X, such as strangler figs living their parasitic life on another tree, and luxuriant layers of moss growing on fallen timber.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The lookout consisted of </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a wooden platform built in the side of the hill.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxjP83AbD1ku7e8hoYkViF179q7W589qIHQLdSV7-2MOaVmR6Xoe9VKihHzgUa258ETBGvy6HrRCk1yaXf0V-FsYBM4pP2JUluJPAdj-G-ty2RUgfcMEJk718pEyskOZXVTPvIOSOkTI/s1600/Border+Ranges+2012-06-07+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxjP83AbD1ku7e8hoYkViF179q7W589qIHQLdSV7-2MOaVmR6Xoe9VKihHzgUa258ETBGvy6HrRCk1yaXf0V-FsYBM4pP2JUluJPAdj-G-ty2RUgfcMEJk718pEyskOZXVTPvIOSOkTI/s320/Border+Ranges+2012-06-07+023.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">X's favourite waterfall photo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The falls were lovely, and I took the opportunity to try and experiment with camera shutter speeds to achieve different effects - slower speeds resulting in a silkier appearance of the water, and <a href="http://www.unique-photography-concepts.com/relationship.html" target="_blank">greater depth of field</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We wandered back to the camp ground, and sheltered from the rain in the communal camp kitchen where we checked the weather reports. Wet weather all along the New South Wales coast meant that we needed to move further inland to stay dry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Staying in Sheepstation Creek would be lovely, but it was simply too wet to go on longer hikes with the kids.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After some research and deliberation, we decided to break camp and fossick for Sapphires.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_S56hcBFASVhGLveWZJOO6yQ7XU3BRERe_c8IbVP_j9xTgzIiszaxkCqN4wQ13Bsfm-qPDxbar6X6p3zSYJZAkSy7SZv0KbErsIj0sIDW6eJxXL2v02llL18ZynhOd6D_rUR440yEG8U/s1600/Border+Ranges+2012-06-07+029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_S56hcBFASVhGLveWZJOO6yQ7XU3BRERe_c8IbVP_j9xTgzIiszaxkCqN4wQ13Bsfm-qPDxbar6X6p3zSYJZAkSy7SZv0KbErsIj0sIDW6eJxXL2v02llL18ZynhOd6D_rUR440yEG8U/s320/Border+Ranges+2012-06-07+029.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Wren checks in on us at the camp kitchen.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Border Ranges National Park, Wiangaree Forest Rd, NSW 2474, Australia-28.3992061 153.0440053-28.427141600000002 153.00452330000002 -28.3712706 153.0834873tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-13694745311521826862012-06-09T21:31:00.001+10:002012-06-18T11:23:50.300+10:00Day Six of a Camper Holiday! - Heading Down to Border Ranges National Park<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a day at Warner Brothers Movie World A was a little frayed around the edges, so we decided to head for a National Park to camp for the night. I chose Sheepstation Creek campground in the Border Ranges National Park.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="550" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Warner+Bros+Movie+World,+Entertainment+Road,+Oxenford,+Queensland&daddr=-28.413776,+153.022448&hl=en&geocode=FVAtVv4dJmAjCSHMeqzTjwb-xg%3BFbBwTv4d8O8eCQ&aq=0&oq=CANUNGRA++&sll=-28.170086,153.102722&sspn=0.658577,1.411743&mra=pr&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=-28.171296,153.102722&spn=0.665833,0.54657&z=10&output=embed" width="400"></iframe><br />
<small><a href="https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=embed&saddr=Warner+Bros+Movie+World,+Entertainment+Road,+Oxenford,+Queensland&daddr=-28.413776,+153.022448&hl=en&geocode=FVAtVv4dJmAjCSHMeqzTjwb-xg%3BFbBwTv4d8O8eCQ&aq=0&oq=CANUNGRA++&sll=-28.170086,153.102722&sspn=0.658577,1.411743&mra=pr&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=-28.171296,153.102722&spn=0.665833,0.54657&z=10" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The drive to the Border Ranges become hair-raising when between Oxenford and Canungra the fuel warning light lit up. The vehicle manual indicated that once the warning light was lit I had only 7 litres of fuel left. I knew there were two petrol stations in Canungra, which was only 20 kilometres away. But I was worried when I considered that the vehicle was averaging 14 litres per hundred kilometres and we had a very big mountain to climb and then descend on the other side.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As it was, we made it to Canungra and fuelled up. We calculated that we had less than one and a half litres remaining in the fuel tank. I was very relieved, not just because of the inconvenience we would have faced in getting fuel, but as this vehicle has a Diesel engine, we would have had a bugger of a time bleeding the fuel lines and priming the fuel pump.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once we passed through Mount Chinghee National Park we drove in some amazingly hilly country - going up some hills the vehicle would downshift to second gear and we would crawl along, and when we crested the hills I couldn't see the road until we were descending proper.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_378966612"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://static.lifeislocal.com.au/multimedia/images/large/1538874.jpg" width="129" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/dpi-needs-help-to-identify-horse-float-driver/2355272.aspx?storypage=0" target="_blank">Photo from The Land.</a><br />
This naughty bloke took<br />
his horse interstate without<br />
organising tick treatment.<br />
I imagine that there are<br />
similar photos on a DPI<br />
computer somewhere of<br />
me driving a motor-home.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span id="goog_378966614"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We crossed the New South Wales - Queensland border at Richmond Gap where I was intrigued to find a pair of speed cameras very near each other and facing in opposite directions. Despite travelling very slowly, we had both the front and back of the vehicle photographed. Signs advised that these were surveillance cameras installed by New South Wales Department of Primary Industries. It seems that these cameras are a very big deal on the Eastern end of the NSW-QLD border. Late 2011 some bloke had towed a horse across the border after obscuring his number plates and <a href="http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/dpi-needs-help-to-identify-horse-float-driver/2355272.aspx?storypage=0" target="_blank">triggered a major search effort</a>. All of this effort is to quarantine New South Wales against cattle ticks which infest the coastal areas of Queensland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My studies in law immediately bring to mind constitutional issues here. I immediately ask myself 'Is the New South Wales response reasonable and proportionate to the threat against which they are protecting?' If so, then we are not dealing with a protectionist matter, and the actions of New South Wales in running this system are reasonable and are not in breach of <i><a href="http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2004C00469/Html/Text" target="_blank">The Constitution</a></i> which prohibits restrictions on interstate trade.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also of interest at the border is a sign advising motorists that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lions_Road" target="_blank">road was built and is maintained by the Kyogle branch of the Lions Club</a>, and a money box is attached, inviting donations. We stopped and A emptied her pockets of coins into the box. This is the first time I have driven on a toll road which operates on an honesty system - not only in terms of whether you pay, but how much you contribute too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Campsite was a few kilometres further and we arrived in the dark. After encountering my second honesty box for the day into which I paid my camping fees, we found a suitable site and set up camp.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Border Ranges National Park, Wiangaree Forest Rd, NSW 2474, Australia-28.3992061 153.0440053-28.427141600000002 153.00452330000002 -28.3712706 153.0834873tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-6868832275361156852012-06-09T15:29:00.001+10:002012-06-18T11:22:46.077+10:00Day Six of a Camper Holiday! - Warner Brothers Movie World<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After travelling south and staying at the conveniently located <a href="http://www.goldcoastholidaypark.com.au/" target="_blank">Gold Coast Holiday Park</a>, we spent the day at Movie World.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVaVbHYbpx94H6LCXBF5vkXIcj_ae7KZUQe99odAm9k9pdzPZnkz1ktrig2LE0XwgVYik0gttDuScLMO2S0GaTJic100MYjcD7EYl3J-3QUZhDWM_kNhqI_iO4sNejBgX3FdxacPmPMc/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVaVbHYbpx94H6LCXBF5vkXIcj_ae7KZUQe99odAm9k9pdzPZnkz1ktrig2LE0XwgVYik0gttDuScLMO2S0GaTJic100MYjcD7EYl3J-3QUZhDWM_kNhqI_iO4sNejBgX3FdxacPmPMc/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the carpark of Warner Bothers Movie World, Oxenford<br />
Visible from left to right are: The Green Lantern roller-coaster,<br />
the Batman Batwing, and the Superman Escape roller-coaster.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="330" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Australia+Zoo,+Steve+Irwin+Way,+Beerwah,+Queensland&daddr=Gold+Coast+Holiday+Park+%26+Motel,+Helensvale,+Queensland&hl=en&geocode=FTJ7Zv4dwAEeCSEz7WoUoQQtkQ%3BFetTVv4dF3QjCSGMTMSjWj8QWA&aq=0&oq=Gold+Coast+Holiday+&sll=-27.899405,153.315461&sspn=0.010373,0.022058&mra=ls&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=-27.366889,153.138428&spn=1.609825,1.087646&z=8&output=embed" style="float: left;" width="200"></iframe></span></div>
<small><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><a href="https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=embed&saddr=Australia+Zoo,+Steve+Irwin+Way,+Beerwah,+Queensland&daddr=Gold+Coast+Holiday+Park+%26+Motel,+Helensvale,+Queensland&hl=en&geocode=FTJ7Zv4dwAEeCSEz7WoUoQQtkQ%3BFetTVv4dF3QjCSGMTMSjWj8QWA&aq=0&oq=Gold+Coast+Holiday+&sll=-27.899405,153.315461&sspn=0.010373,0.022058&mra=ls&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=-27.366889,153.138428&spn=1.609825,1.087646&z=8" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></span></small><br />
<small><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></small><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While my impression of</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.australiazoo.com.au/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Australia Zoo</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">is one of a place built on passion but running on a commercial agenda, I still suffered culture shock at</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://movieworld.myfun.com.au/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Warner Brothers Movie World</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can't describe Movie World as being anything other than a massive assault on the senses. With noisy bone shuddering rides and frequent shows featuring loud music, it was just what the kids were looking for. A took the opportunity to leave the kids with me, while she rode several roller coasters limited to people taller than our kids.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Wild West Falls log ride was an opportunity for the whole family to go on a ride together, which began serenely, and ended with E continually screaming in my ear on the ride down to the splash pool.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We all enjoyed movie world for the amusement park that it is. We will probably even go back, yet some parts of the day left a sour note.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I still feel affronted by the presence of time-share salespeople at Movie World. They targeted my family and I, giving us a few competition scratch cards in what I suspect was a faux competition. When we didn't scratch up a prize we were presented with another free entry, and guess what? We scratched up first prize of a holiday to Thailand (plus a $99 booking fee). But to claim it required that we pay a $40 booking deposit for a 90 minute seminar the next morning. The $40 fee would then be refunded when we turned up. But we didn't book and we didn't pay. To me at least the whole thing felt like the Australian equivalent of a <a href="http://www.419eater.com/" target="_blank">Nigerian 419 scam</a>. These people didn't know us, continually fed us scratch cards until we won a prize, and then wanted money from us and required us to sit through a 90 minute seminar in order to claim that prize. I feel that Village Roadshow (who run Movie World) have sullied their reputation by providing these people with a kiosk.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You will note that this posting is lacking in photographs from inside Movie World. This is for two reasons:</span><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I didn't take a camera as it was at risk of getting wet, broken or stolen.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I refrained from using my iPhone in taking photos due to the signs plastered throughout the park advising that camera use was banned due to copyright laws. I can't think of which section of the </span><a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca1968133/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Copyright Act 1968</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> could possibly apply to prevent people taking photos of curios in a shop, or taking photos of people on a ride.</span></li>
</ol>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguDRk6OAn63_YCgnZAKeMryz4ft2Ej5P_bT8MRSyz3qAuDf6FHkR5H_trjx3JzsqKdWeJJnb8o4c_3SuZ_yWD0UNSO7EzWTwqJwsUn-AO-02mNmbMsffrfUQstkV9UjhzIPuH2OQZDzJs/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguDRk6OAn63_YCgnZAKeMryz4ft2Ej5P_bT8MRSyz3qAuDf6FHkR5H_trjx3JzsqKdWeJJnb8o4c_3SuZ_yWD0UNSO7EzWTwqJwsUn-AO-02mNmbMsffrfUQstkV9UjhzIPuH2OQZDzJs/s320/photo+(1).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the few areas where photographs were encouraged.<br />
Hollywood Stunt Driver show.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet we were invited to take photographs during the Hollywood Stunt Driver show, but were reminded that all photos were to be personal souvenirs only. So I now share with you one of my souvenir photos taken on my mobile phone during the Hollywood Stunt Driver show.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I particularly enjoyed the show - there was a story which was played out in front of us, and the participants were demonstrating real skill: supposedly we were here to film a movie sequence depicting an Italian jewellery store robbery which result in some high speed chases. A new bumbling crew member causes all sorts of strife, but there's a happy ending of course: after all we are at 'Hollywood on the Gold Coast'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Warner Bros Movie World, Entertainment Rd, Oxenford QLD 4210, Australia-27.906736 153.3133185-27.920768 153.2935775 -27.892704 153.33305950000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-65624514144288022052012-06-09T12:06:00.000+10:002012-06-18T11:22:22.042+10:00Days Five of a Camper Holiday! - Crikey! Australia Zoo<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Visiting <a href="http://www.australiazoo.com.au/" target="_blank">Australia Zoo</a> was interesting. While Australia Zoo is famous for its crocodiles the zoo has an extensive collection of other animals including Asian Elephants, Tigers, Koalas, various birds of prey, and dozens of Kangaroos.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ECvGx26iduZA3F4TaSbtxNAR-2umnk_ibc_xvefUw5ou6iODRVfXmxS5FqkDVMFk9SZUuxsZTNDn9HvbQKX34unIXwtGeBf24ej_AHn5-mRJ3ZkUXLnehTRQn_WM2_Zg6PB8pZpMBYg/s1600/Australia+Zoo+2012-06-05+041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ECvGx26iduZA3F4TaSbtxNAR-2umnk_ibc_xvefUw5ou6iODRVfXmxS5FqkDVMFk9SZUuxsZTNDn9HvbQKX34unIXwtGeBf24ej_AHn5-mRJ3ZkUXLnehTRQn_WM2_Zg6PB8pZpMBYg/s320/Australia+Zoo+2012-06-05+041.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someone gets paid to paint the toenails<br />
of kangaroos. Seriously.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I feel that Australia Zoo has become a victim of its own success - a certain commercial glitz exists and it exudes from the 1500 seat eatery, the massive <a href="http://www.australiazoo.com.au/visit-us/exhibits/the-crocoseum/" target="_blank">5000 seat 'crocoseum</a>' show area, and brand Bindi: Bindi the jungle girl, Bindi the wildlife warrior, Bindi stars in free willy, Bindi presents her new 'Boot camp' TV series, Bindi towels, Bindi drink bottles, Bindi books, just Bindi Bindi Bindi Bindi. It feels like a stage production rather than a zoo. Every possible merchandising angle is exploited - there are gift shops scattered throughout the zoo.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I imagine had Steve Irwin not achieved international TV success his zoo would feel much more like </span><a href="http://www.mogozoo.com.au/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Mogo Zoo</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> near Batemans Bay: a quiet and simple layout with modest buildings and animal enclosures.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wandering around Australia Zoo, I was amazed to see their kangaroos receiving a pedicure. The kangaroos were having their toenails painted. With nail polish. When I asked the woman who was applying the nail polish about what she was doing, she explained that painting the toenails of the kangaroos each week was better and less invasive than using an ear tag for identification. She detailed how each kangaroo had its own nail polish colour and this was required so accurate records could be kept regarding health, feeding and other observations.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFXwp6pH6AmCed9jroBVNKK94OnE3TOBcRAKve-Sj1PTkgHZRN56mOu8Bo6In3bmqF6RGStH9totBLBx-kfjU_TEUMz123RDYva2bvu6xqpYTtd5GUmQieS-bvbL7BxDDgEQKA-_WKLw/s1600/Australia+Zoo+2012-06-05+053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFXwp6pH6AmCed9jroBVNKK94OnE3TOBcRAKve-Sj1PTkgHZRN56mOu8Bo6In3bmqF6RGStH9totBLBx-kfjU_TEUMz123RDYva2bvu6xqpYTtd5GUmQieS-bvbL7BxDDgEQKA-_WKLw/s320/Australia+Zoo+2012-06-05+053.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, it's a cutesy-wutesy joey koala -<br />
eating from it's mother's butt.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the koala enclosure many people were listening, enthralled by the keeper talk. Enthral turned to disgust when the keeper explained that baby koalas are first weaned off milk and on to pap: specialised poo from the mother which is easier to digest than fresh leaves, and this weaning process also helps the joey to inherit suitable stomach flora appropriate for the digestion of fresh eucalyptus leaves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But it is just nature - this is what works for koalas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The croc demonstration in the Crocoseum began with a showing of various snakes and included a demonstration of how to apply first aid for snake bites. After a showing of the birds at the zoo, we finally got to see one crocodile put through his paces. We were shown how far crocodiles can lunge: when they are in water, they can lunge a good body length, yet once on land they are rather slow. We were told that this ability to lunge is all thanks to crocodiles having a very powerful tail.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I respect what Australia Zoo does. They have a strong and consistent conservation message, and the passion of the now departed Steve Irwin cuts clearly through the blatant commercialism and milking of tourists wallets. I was was worried that my Australia Zoo experience might have been a visit to a shrine to Steve, I was instead very impressed at the balance which has been achieved between keeping his conservation message alive, and getting on with business.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Australia Zoo, Steve Irwin Way, Beerwah QLD 4519, Australia-26.8382216 152.961472-26.8523901 152.94173099999998 -26.8240531 152.981213tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-34918890616731895582012-06-08T23:13:00.002+10:002012-06-21T22:30:10.804+10:00Self congratulation post #2 - CPAP power supply.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A uses a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_positive_airway_pressure" target="_blank">CPAP machine</a> (Constant Positive Air Pressure machine) when she sleeps. This type of machine helps people treat sleep apnoea. Use of any kind of medical equipment generally ties the user to a power outlet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A's machine is one of the very popular <a href="http://www.healthcare.philips.com/au_en/homehealth/sleep/systemone/index.wpd" target="_blank">Philips Respironics System One machines</a>. The unit is supplied with a 12 Volt transformer which attaches to a 240 Volt outlet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Previous camping trips have worked with the use of a long extension cable reaching in to our tent. While successful, this approach is inconvenient and has severely restricted our choice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Respironics do have a battery pack for the System One, for which <a href="http://www.cpapaustralia.com.au/shopping/resmed-power-station-ii-part24921.html" target="_blank">CPAP Australia charge their <i>discount price</i> of $520</a>. But they advise to not use the humidifier heater unit, and state that the battery life will vary depending on the pressure being delivered by your specific machine. To me at least, I don't see the point in spending that much money on a battery pack to then not be able to use the device it is meant to be powering. A tells me that using the CPAP without the humidifier/heater results in her nose bleeding.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The battery pack isn't the only thing which is bloody expensive. <a href="http://www.cpapaustralia.com.au/shopping/respironics-shielded-dc-power-cord-1001956.html" target="_blank">The power cable to attach the CPAP machine to a standard 12V cigarette-lighter outlet is $60</a>. You got that right: $60 smackeroos!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Combined, that's a serious amount of money for a very unsatisfactory solution. I can imagine that a large number of people feel tethered to a power point, and less able to enjoy an active life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This situation was hard to believe: there is no commercially available solution for the users of CPAP machines to go camping without compromising on their CPAP therapy.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEX7ckU4EmP3vQ7FtH9_JPWFbJ92jG67tUGZuRk8qcmN0VAbc2qJABavml29hb8CNFNaPFaf7BS3UWSJVMXxJXIKNuZLOUonBq9RGSKetXcIKGoITSgj-yueOUlMhwq4_RoGHjdwCVdjY/s1600/CPAP+setup+2012-06-03+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEX7ckU4EmP3vQ7FtH9_JPWFbJ92jG67tUGZuRk8qcmN0VAbc2qJABavml29hb8CNFNaPFaf7BS3UWSJVMXxJXIKNuZLOUonBq9RGSKetXcIKGoITSgj-yueOUlMhwq4_RoGHjdwCVdjY/s320/CPAP+setup+2012-06-03+001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Waeco battery pack with charger cable and the<br />
Respironics CPAP with my home made 12V supply cable.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, after a few simple tests using my trusty multimeter, I determined that the machine draws 2.2 Amps, and uses 12 Volts. After some searching, I found the perfect equipment: Waeco, who make car fridges have a battery pack to use when you are not using your car, thus converting your car fridge into a camping fridge. They call this the <a href="http://www.waeco.com.au/products5.asp?id=259&catId=77&subCatId=78&subCatId2=127" target="_blank">Waeco CoolPower RAPS 36</a>, and <a href="http://caravansplus.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=9578" target="_blank">I bought one from a local Queanbeyan firm Caravans Plus for $301.50</a>. I also soldered together a plug and a cigarette lighter plug pre-fitted to a curly cable which I bought from from Jaycar and Autopro respectively. I could have saved myself a soldering job and just bought the cable pre-made. <a href="http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=PP1997" target="_blank">The pre-made cable is a mere $4.95 from Jaycar</a>. I figured that at 2.2 Amps, the RAPS 36 (being rated at 36 Amp Hours) could supply the CPAP for a theoretical 16.3 hours: 36/2.2 = 16.3636. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These off the shelf components totalled $306.45, which compared very favourably to the "official" solution which would have cost $580.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In fairness to the Respironics people, I don't know if their equipment is specifically approved by the <a href="http://tga.gov.au/" target="_blank">Therapeutic Goods Administration</a> (the Australian equivalent of USAs <a href="http://www.fda.gov/" target="_blank">Food and Drug Administration</a>). The Respironics battery pack is promoted as being permitted for use on airlines, but as far as I can tell, so is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VRLA_battery#Absorbed_glass_mat" target="_blank">absorbent glass mat technology</a> used in the Waeco battery pack. The official Respironics cable also comes with shielding - but shielding from what I don't know. I did note that the image depicts a ferrite bead filter fitted at either end of the cable. I can't see why this is important, but should the need become apparent, <a href="http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=LF1256&form=CAT2&SUBCATID=970#1" target="_blank">I shall be spending another $3.95</a> to fit some.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The only substantive differences between the two battery packs are weight: the Respironics weighs in at 2 kilograms and the Waeco is a whopping 13.6 kilograms, and the other difference is capacity: the Respironics is about 8 Amp hours and won't last the night with the humidifier in use while the Waeco has more than four times the capacity at 36 Amp hours.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before leaving for the camping holiday, A tested the unit overnight and it performed flawlessly taking the Waeco unit to half of its charged capacity. In theory this means that this solution could be used for two nights running without the need to charge the battery, but we haven't tested that. The battery pack comes with a car charging cable which charges the unit as you drive, and two terminals at the top may be used to attach an ordinary car battery charger for charging from the grid. The battery pack also has a socket enabling it to be joined to a second identical unit, and I am confident that such a setup could supply power for at least three nights.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-16025273596058158762012-06-07T17:31:00.000+10:002012-06-18T11:21:40.937+10:00Day Four of a Camper Holiday! - Tamworth to Coochin Creek<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the wax museum, we settled in for another long drive. We aimed for <a href="http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/beerburrum-beerwah/camping.html" target="_blank">Coochin Creek campground</a>, not far from <a href="http://www.australiazoo.com.au/" target="_blank">Australia Zoo</a>. This was to be our first night without the convenience of mains power and running water.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cross-border tussle</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our route took us up the New England Highway through Armidale, Tenterfield, Warwick and Emerald. When we reached the twin towns of Wallangarra and Jennings, we stopped and had some fun on the New South Wales / Queensland border. X and E found the whole concept quite novel, which was surprising given the (literally) thousands of times they have crossed the New South Wales / Australian Capital Territory border.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />I think the whole concept of "Queensland" was the more exciting part - actually being in a place a long way away was what made a potentially mundane activity something extraordinary.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7W8GVuPpeianzyVKRVi3EbXdkr9CXCAOLfqNogjcqpl1N_JIq5qr-HrhbophjfeB6UoIHmtvgl-adYa7xC79OCxcAV2EXgpR_t74QxyIuqd-wj8Ca8wuesjlRihTiVzRmCWuIdQtgj1k/s1600/Cross+the+Border+2012-06-04+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7W8GVuPpeianzyVKRVi3EbXdkr9CXCAOLfqNogjcqpl1N_JIq5qr-HrhbophjfeB6UoIHmtvgl-adYa7xC79OCxcAV2EXgpR_t74QxyIuqd-wj8Ca8wuesjlRihTiVzRmCWuIdQtgj1k/s320/Cross+the+Border+2012-06-04+004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The train billboard at the border</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A very large billboard thanking us for visiting the Queensland downs was just on the New South Wales side of the border. The billboard is cut in the shape of a train, and it has stairs and a platform behind it for punters to have their photo taken.</span><span style="font-size: 14px;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once we reached the Bruce Highway in Beerwah, we found that the intersections had been modified so it was no longer possible to turn right without the aid of an overpass. This resulted in a 30 minute detour, which was very frustrating. Despite my frustration, I do appreciate that at-grade freeway intersections are very dangerous, and are responsible for a high number of crashes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We arrived at Coochin Creek after dark, and established camp. What we found in the morning was a gorgeous, sensitively developed bush camp ground beside the Coochin creek.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">X with soccer ball in the morning at Coochin Creek campground.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the morning: Australia Zoo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-32809843549029338872012-06-06T23:44:00.001+10:002012-06-18T11:20:49.068+10:00Day Four of a Camper Holiday! - The Big Guitar, Life in Wax<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yee-Yah! Monday morning we boot-scooted back to Tamworth to check out the Big Guitar. "Oh yes, my wife has left me, my dog has died, I've crashed; now my truck's on it's side". Yodelee-hee-ee!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The obligatory tourist photo.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Uh, yes. While I don't mind country and western music, I am not a fanatic of nor can I write the lyrics of country music.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKI-FEl8__iRkReLfdNXDTzkhpawu4MaSH4jaAkbi7AGU6f5_LQo_qlhWo6ZEvHuxMvi1aXNeut3d7IS1rjMy_-3IhpqnFD2pZofb_rche1AAp2YisEiA00PLF0CtrB0qwikLjQan0pBI/s1600/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKI-FEl8__iRkReLfdNXDTzkhpawu4MaSH4jaAkbi7AGU6f5_LQo_qlhWo6ZEvHuxMvi1aXNeut3d7IS1rjMy_-3IhpqnFD2pZofb_rche1AAp2YisEiA00PLF0CtrB0qwikLjQan0pBI/s320/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+001.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melinda stopped me in my tracks.<br />
I nearly said hello to her wax effigy!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite this, our time the big guitar was fascinating. While we got the obligatory photo of us standing in front of this golden miracle of fibreglass, we also had a look through the wax museum. Now, I've never been to a wax museum before, and the first few figures didn't grab me at all. Then the wax model of <a href="http://www.melindaschneider.com/" target="_blank">Melinda Schneider</a> stopped me in my tracks. The creators of this wax model are brilliant. I was convinced that there was a real flesh and blood person standing right there. Maybe everyone feels this way on their first visit to a wax museum, maybe not, but I remain amazed.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUMfakLVJH8t4ghAZKBCWi167A-JvjawzWukQ4goEzFwP7M0ZR2BmXvYlznA1RgS3y0iKuDC_dBA4DwXx8JOWmB2BunP4QDwu7eIZPrEs6Ob51A1k_dphcqLQcGz9kR3THTEsAICyBcC0/s1600/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUMfakLVJH8t4ghAZKBCWi167A-JvjawzWukQ4goEzFwP7M0ZR2BmXvYlznA1RgS3y0iKuDC_dBA4DwXx8JOWmB2BunP4QDwu7eIZPrEs6Ob51A1k_dphcqLQcGz9kR3THTEsAICyBcC0/s200/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+002.JPG" width="170" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smoky's rifle guitar all-in-one.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I also picked up some Australian history. I learned that Smoky Dawson was nuts: let's face it, who fits a rifle to their guitar? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to the write-up in the museum, he grafted a Canadian trapper's rifle to his guitar. No detail was given on if and when it was fired. It has left me wondering whether he did this for convenience - reducing the number of things he had to carry everywhere, or if he was just doing it to show off - possibly being an early mastermind of the press and the free advertising/PR which comes with expressing such eccentricities.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I mentioned, I don't mind country and western music, and one of the few artists I know is <a href="http://www.leekernaghan.com/" target="_blank">Lee Kernaghan</a>. So with X on my hip, I took the chance for a photo with Lee's wax edition.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTysdsO_z7hVVOLzT-r9pPYujglgMoI7-xZpYa4KaYD_i7ibiGDUICWlyhhjrBSHXFHGMckRzedoQp49TvkrRokRG98heksx-Zu-P2a7xffKDyh_GsFc9UL3f_6IrgkxUUMF06u9Ntf0/s1600/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTysdsO_z7hVVOLzT-r9pPYujglgMoI7-xZpYa4KaYD_i7ibiGDUICWlyhhjrBSHXFHGMckRzedoQp49TvkrRokRG98heksx-Zu-P2a7xffKDyh_GsFc9UL3f_6IrgkxUUMF06u9Ntf0/s400/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+007.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, X, and Lee</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-13765520157762865162012-06-06T21:53:00.000+10:002012-06-18T11:20:22.418+10:00Day Four of a Camper Holiday! - Random Ramblings<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now there are some things I just don't get.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I was younger and travelling up in a lift I used to ask my mum if we'd later be using a lower. She would respond by telling be to not be "deliberately dense". So it was a long time before I figured it out myself.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf2paGKrx6zqwVAAOAvbiotqvoXtt6zW3HJaeXAhSxW3Nv8oW9kkMOh-Dvx6dkepz3GdCnuxlOuV-sjyiJzT9bXsbks1YkifOdZNn9KBwfyKlN1CSQJGUbIr4Uq-cfR7WF37Vf71hF4Ks/s1600/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf2paGKrx6zqwVAAOAvbiotqvoXtt6zW3HJaeXAhSxW3Nv8oW9kkMOh-Dvx6dkepz3GdCnuxlOuV-sjyiJzT9bXsbks1YkifOdZNn9KBwfyKlN1CSQJGUbIr4Uq-cfR7WF37Vf71hF4Ks/s200/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+011.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two people and a dog.<br />
The shorter person has an arm growing from their hip!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While going for a w</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">alk on Monday morning in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemingha,_New_South_Wales" target="_blank">Nemingha</a> (North Tamworth)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I started wondering:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why is the shorter person of indeterminate gender who is depicted </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">on the holiday park sign</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> growing a short arm from their hip?</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ekzt900mAPllQeV94oDXs04zujQLA7xVKSZUZS-54_r8j3gvRZ3jDk82WXd4nzg_xEIm6qc8y66urOa4ixSiunwtpP8tWZv6ZaoMVpN6jPpifHGfh0KNXrE97sv5xQTA1E5CYRmqXXU/s1600/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ekzt900mAPllQeV94oDXs04zujQLA7xVKSZUZS-54_r8j3gvRZ3jDk82WXd4nzg_xEIm6qc8y66urOa4ixSiunwtpP8tWZv6ZaoMVpN6jPpifHGfh0KNXrE97sv5xQTA1E5CYRmqXXU/s200/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+012.JPG" width="141" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An enormous 8-ball, large person,<br />
standard sized bike, and minature car.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> And I understand the need for a sign indicating a shared zone: it is so the 8-ball doesn't roll over the extra tall person's bicycle, which is next to the minature car.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This van park on the outer reaches of Tamworth must be a little bit odd as the proportions on the sign are just amazing. Either that, or I am yet to see the 8-ball or the bicycle - both of which which tower above cars.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg140nfSaAoXIO-AXNbBWTjGxMUBkorARyUHnOcsgYD0_j0CmXc8mtdTQphgnJH02p8pOah3939PbKm9lYpJnySoqGd_9E1yOQMCQbbbA1Fs2miMzDb9woFQ2h1JHTusX4R1ITaALf9Ios/s1600/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg140nfSaAoXIO-AXNbBWTjGxMUBkorARyUHnOcsgYD0_j0CmXc8mtdTQphgnJH02p8pOah3939PbKm9lYpJnySoqGd_9E1yOQMCQbbbA1Fs2miMzDb9woFQ2h1JHTusX4R1ITaALf9Ios/s320/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+013.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But what speed is the new limit?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Which brings me to one of my favourite beefs. What is the point of displaying signage telling people what they shouldn't be doing, rather than what they should?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In many contexts, this is fair enough, eg for a "no smoking" sign the alternative behaviour is quite obvious.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVXFsOsOkXA3AtS74k82p_Mi4sXYNjcUQWD97w10dkIx5-2W6-k2UeLD-CRflKEx7YDRPjo7YJKtFIEODwu7yc6_310ZYMaSIMZu9FHCs-NfmcmdFny5_YsAer3r29bBdfzkxbjFaIDU/s1600/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVXFsOsOkXA3AtS74k82p_Mi4sXYNjcUQWD97w10dkIx5-2W6-k2UeLD-CRflKEx7YDRPjo7YJKtFIEODwu7yc6_310ZYMaSIMZu9FHCs-NfmcmdFny5_YsAer3r29bBdfzkxbjFaIDU/s320/Big+Guitar+and+Wax+Museum+2012-06-04+014.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The owner/caretaker flies the Eureka flag.<br />
A protest for miner's rights and against unfair taxes?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But road signs implemented all over New South Wales such as "END 50 AREA" are really quite pointless. Leaving a 50 area is great, but at what speed am I meant to be travelling instead of 50? Back when Gunning Council was calling for comment on their plans to introduce a 50 zone in Gundaroo, I wrote to them asking if they would be using the END 50 AREA signs, and if so, what speed should I be travelling once I had passed that sign. Their reply was "Your submission has been noted". When I wrote back explaining that I wasn't making a submission, but seeking clarification on what they were proposing to do they didn't reply.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The owner/caretaker residence was flying a Eureka flag. I can only wonder if he pays his taxes....</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-14562982913865747272012-06-04T23:12:00.001+10:002012-06-18T11:19:48.786+10:00Day Three of a Camper Holiday! - Lunch in the Warrumbungles<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a slow start involving the usual routine, plus grocery shopping and fuelling up, we left Dubbo, and set Tamworth as our destination.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We travelled via <a href="http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/nationalparks/parkhome.aspx?id=N0035" target="_blank">Warrumbungle National Park</a> and stopped near a lookout for lunch. I remained behind cooking butter chicken and rice, while A, X, &E walked the 500m to the lookout.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="350" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Dubbo+City+Holiday+Park,+Whylandra+Street,+Dubbo,+New+South+Wales&daddr=warrumbungles+national+park,+coonabarabran+to:Tamworth,+New+South+Wales&hl=en&geocode=FbT3E_4d_WHbCCFKG-pgGB6JIg%3BFcTKIv4d82XhCCFgGP9ztQkGDw%3BFXOWJf4dxgP_CCkf1kI4tpgKazFwKUSQtAkGBQ&aq=0&oq=tamwor&sll=-30.486551,149.688721&sspn=1.342007,2.705383&mra=ls&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=-31.578535,149.765625&spn=3.27555,4.669189&z=7&output=embed" width="425"></iframe></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieiaJAWyRUswuLIAOx8E-WBlQfLtAS6asqnz_YEWvyHO96Ofh0HP4djnVpQxosQVEYM_WOQ4lpzYs5rTPLPUP4Z2oypWTSiC-3Gv3vQQiACbL2YfTYw5ZR-hnTcBW2F0FWk1Y0jJOm75Y/s1600/photo+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieiaJAWyRUswuLIAOx8E-WBlQfLtAS6asqnz_YEWvyHO96Ofh0HP4djnVpQxosQVEYM_WOQ4lpzYs5rTPLPUP4Z2oypWTSiC-3Gv3vQQiACbL2YfTYw5ZR-hnTcBW2F0FWk1Y0jJOm75Y/s200/photo+(2).JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butter Chicken and Rice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<small><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><a href="https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=d&source=embed&saddr=Dubbo+City+Holiday+Park,+Whylandra+Street,+Dubbo,+New+South+Wales&daddr=warrumbungles+national+park,+coonabarabran+to:Tamworth,+New+South+Wales&hl=en&geocode=FbT3E_4d_WHbCCFKG-pgGB6JIg%3BFcTKIv4d82XhCCFgGP9ztQkGDw%3BFXOWJf4dxgP_CCkf1kI4tpgKazFwKUSQtAkGBQ&aq=0&oq=tamwor&sll=-30.486551,149.688721&sspn=1.342007,2.705383&mra=ls&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=-31.578535,149.765625&spn=3.27555,4.669189&z=7" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></span></small>
<br />
<small><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></small><br />
<small><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">X and E had protested bitterly about the Thai green curry which we had served the night before - it was too spicy for their taste. Today's butter chicken provoked enthusiastic responses when I served, and disappointment when requests for second helpings were rebuffed with an empty pan.</span></small><br />
<small><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></small><br />
<small><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On their walk the kids took a rather lovely collection of photos:</span></small><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCeha1-kL-zNU2_fHsZiCqjxG4kxsgOoDBTVxvn8nBdYhm5PgfXNoSVPPmjMoJLRFsSieiewNJ5LshtO7cFqrg-pM-x9aPsSfMtZH4W42sp2cV9i2HMWTdkvuXsyu9JBRf4Yhf6APB1w/s1600/Warrumbungles+2012-06-03+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCeha1-kL-zNU2_fHsZiCqjxG4kxsgOoDBTVxvn8nBdYhm5PgfXNoSVPPmjMoJLRFsSieiewNJ5LshtO7cFqrg-pM-x9aPsSfMtZH4W42sp2cV9i2HMWTdkvuXsyu9JBRf4Yhf6APB1w/s200/Warrumbungles+2012-06-03+002.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well, plenty of white, plenty of gums to look at!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJlDAd46I1xFNi5jsovQa-As3RFof3Gv7a-W5ny2dOweT6Sx2sFhEPqsf74_UJ7HBODGGp6WCbfhFoyiFggjg5LMc1xp_gYAa6zQmHxnIgukbf81DDUdX_WCMpMimGhz-6KXpqHK7aAk/s1600/Warrumbungles+2012-06-03+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJlDAd46I1xFNi5jsovQa-As3RFof3Gv7a-W5ny2dOweT6Sx2sFhEPqsf74_UJ7HBODGGp6WCbfhFoyiFggjg5LMc1xp_gYAa6zQmHxnIgukbf81DDUdX_WCMpMimGhz-6KXpqHK7aAk/s200/Warrumbungles+2012-06-03+001.JPG" width="200" /></a><column><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUrWw9weA78-X5KQxpstvPGP9cxUbjX_tzatMRq8sP05glvS2M4zV2vm_urhMsP0AcKZ50gQ7eF3YBTooOmaZpmeQlc8vLsgVejcEWlkFHmKDUB3ZbuF19EsarUnNNHpCYUhIGVb6PS0/s1600/Warrumbungles+2012-06-03+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUrWw9weA78-X5KQxpstvPGP9cxUbjX_tzatMRq8sP05glvS2M4zV2vm_urhMsP0AcKZ50gQ7eF3YBTooOmaZpmeQlc8vLsgVejcEWlkFHmKDUB3ZbuF19EsarUnNNHpCYUhIGVb6PS0/s200/Warrumbungles+2012-06-03+003.JPG" width="200" /></a><row>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnVhFUEoptodtWohXcH7LvcDZADM-K7uYcdpt1TkdrOqvA1YwxrIHiYnL3zJEiMSVZmSYUpk_7ybqBQwSjIF3u5YRxspd-jyXTcb_flrLvj39RJurpWzceRGho-vX4nDK2h4Nt-zifrNQ/s1600/Warrumbungles+2012-06-03+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnVhFUEoptodtWohXcH7LvcDZADM-K7uYcdpt1TkdrOqvA1YwxrIHiYnL3zJEiMSVZmSYUpk_7ybqBQwSjIF3u5YRxspd-jyXTcb_flrLvj39RJurpWzceRGho-vX4nDK2h4Nt-zifrNQ/s200/Warrumbungles+2012-06-03+018.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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</table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Whitegum Lookout, Warrumbungle National Park, Coonabarabran NSW 2357, Australia-31.2743001 148.9894267-31.3828721 148.8314982 -31.165728100000003 149.1473552tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-8016220851007003082012-06-04T16:12:00.002+10:002012-06-18T11:19:16.401+10:00Day Three of a Camper Holiday! - Oh! Crap<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our <a href="http://www.apollocamper.com/" target="_blank">Apollo camper</a> motor-home is quite a comfortable vehicle with many creature comforts. It's fitted with a fridge (which doesn't work), a sink, stove, microwave oven, reverse cycle air conditioner, shower, and a toilet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes: a toilet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A toilet in a motor vehicle means only one thing after a few days.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DUMP TIME!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pv4mp1_DHXQW1sqrSFH4pV4Xuvl2o1usRtTYjmu5sqtBEK_GSzgbK1PIp83cPIy-BgEbHCgOJ1CDB9a2__fz1W4F0TK0H2mvP5LxoMOUQs-1smE1ElGsb7E2jwDNiOlZB1rfJjsHqqc/s1600/Dumping+2012-06-03+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pv4mp1_DHXQW1sqrSFH4pV4Xuvl2o1usRtTYjmu5sqtBEK_GSzgbK1PIp83cPIy-BgEbHCgOJ1CDB9a2__fz1W4F0TK0H2mvP5LxoMOUQs-1smE1ElGsb7E2jwDNiOlZB1rfJjsHqqc/s320/Dumping+2012-06-03+004.JPG" width="257" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The grey hose is draining our grey water tank,<br />and the green is filling our freshwater tank.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most caravan parks now have a "dump point", and this includes our current home: Dubbo City Caravan Park.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Be warned: don't attempt to read this post during, or immediately following a meal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was the first time I have ever assisted a vehicle to take a dump. I started with the easy bits - draining the grey water (from the sink & shower), and taking on fresh water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thinking about my infection control training, I made sure I put away our fresh and grey water hoses before I started dealing with the sewage cassette.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Glad that I had the foresight to bring a handful of rubber gloves with me, I opened the hatch to find an odd plastic box and 1.5" pipe ends.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguWxXWx8ZLLu2qsL91h0fZKcClGlekOolqfOlgTiYpktsqjQanXs2UUH0Vfb7RIs4Vg323csmC-XnsVhjCLGlZUI1UFG0JJj_aKqkO1yQyKaGozwDZY8CLp1TSMZZ8FjRIfO1FxTh58_k/s1600/Dumping+2012-06-03+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguWxXWx8ZLLu2qsL91h0fZKcClGlekOolqfOlgTiYpktsqjQanXs2UUH0Vfb7RIs4Vg323csmC-XnsVhjCLGlZUI1UFG0JJj_aKqkO1yQyKaGozwDZY8CLp1TSMZZ8FjRIfO1FxTh58_k/s200/Dumping+2012-06-03+005.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The outside hatch has been opened,<br />revealing the workings of the toilet.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I gingerly disengaged the latch, and pulled out the box. I said a few words of thanks for remembering my gloves as a few small brown drops trickled on to my right hand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Carefully lifting the cassette with both hands, I moved it to the brickwork surrounding the dump point.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhON7mX9BAPPVCD9LNaO4WNEs1hBckfP3ef8o6zPfirv-wY5-ZlolU5iNy2o43NzP7sRWwIkt-0DEWx6DsbR8gqcStAG2RrQCJ7DSDZyu_AFFDjiECzieFlBJbKE9OvYl_it3UrkSgdx0I/s1600/Dumping+2012-06-03+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhON7mX9BAPPVCD9LNaO4WNEs1hBckfP3ef8o6zPfirv-wY5-ZlolU5iNy2o43NzP7sRWwIkt-0DEWx6DsbR8gqcStAG2RrQCJ7DSDZyu_AFFDjiECzieFlBJbKE9OvYl_it3UrkSgdx0I/s320/Dumping+2012-06-03+022.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hosing out the cassette.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't know whose water bottle that is.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The cassette was a well designed contraption - it had wheels at the back, and resembled one of those pull-along vacuum cleaners. The inlet was fitted with two valves which automatically engaged as I pulled the box out of the motor-home. The outlet was a short length of pipe fitted with a screw cap. Handily, the pipe can be rotated for easier emptying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I found that tipping onto a grate was a little bit of a challenge, and I was in danger of being splashed, so I switched to using the above-ground pipe end, and found that it worked rather better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once the cassette was back in its hatch, and a chemical toilet-lolly flushed into the unit, the process was complete. In all it took about twenty minutes - I figure that's not bad for a first time dumper.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Dubbo NSW 2830, Australia-32.2438146 148.6094976-32.2975346 148.53053359999998 -32.1900946 148.6884616tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-68039362521639616252012-06-04T00:39:00.003+10:002012-06-18T11:18:08.061+10:00Day Two of a Camper Holiday! Part Two.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Day Two: The Zoo - after lunch.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJICwaK7PX20tNmzxw62hJVV3ezF_TL-s2_wRHq6WEk9m6A4tBmeACYH420IATt4fvh5POIpmJJykid79cbpZHo-lgWPvccREtg063gKaYuRYKfeNhEzj0Eshnlu7N5DONIGnQcpXRILo/s1600/2012-06-02+001+2012-06-02+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJICwaK7PX20tNmzxw62hJVV3ezF_TL-s2_wRHq6WEk9m6A4tBmeACYH420IATt4fvh5POIpmJJykid79cbpZHo-lgWPvccREtg063gKaYuRYKfeNhEzj0Eshnlu7N5DONIGnQcpXRILo/s320/2012-06-02+001+2012-06-02+024.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes E, I can see you!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Up on the African viewing platform Miss E was quite insistent that she needed two dollars to be able to see the giraffes and other African savannah animals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She refused to accept my advice that these animals are best viewed with one's eyes, and no telescope is needed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh-kay!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnSBYY1-AbPTWK04x9hO9c7fzux46T0fDCoq9Acx21YTwkjrqoVmDiF7a5Tg9cD4usbzntwkCNNop04uDGD2R8tiagWLJ0KWDGxS4CHat3RxeCIuj0mIX0NqXsBuCD4sJqs4YbEKBZ8E/s1600/2012-06-02+001+2012-06-02+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnSBYY1-AbPTWK04x9hO9c7fzux46T0fDCoq9Acx21YTwkjrqoVmDiF7a5Tg9cD4usbzntwkCNNop04uDGD2R8tiagWLJ0KWDGxS4CHat3RxeCIuj0mIX0NqXsBuCD4sJqs4YbEKBZ8E/s320/2012-06-02+001+2012-06-02+028.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On fibreglass elephants.<br /> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now maybe I am a dag, or maybe the kids will appreciate the photo one day, but I insisted that X and E climb on to the fibreglass elephants for a photo opportunity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The rain was still spasmodic, so normal exploration of the zoo was impossible without risking our good health.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">X wanted especially to see monkeys and primates generally, so we drove around to the Siamangs.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8hwdJQSkuSajdSB-1Fi1CKp4mjcE_5yNTj2gfggTJvym0JSOkbc1oCssw0Y1bWE-FUjHVu27kkSRFUoEoRbOI2RS4eQm4RCgQhJstQ9uRA9ICeCeWZQN7Nrn5QAd-TUg-BI3vJVwt2Y/s1600/Western+Plains+Zoo+2012-06-02+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8hwdJQSkuSajdSB-1Fi1CKp4mjcE_5yNTj2gfggTJvym0JSOkbc1oCssw0Y1bWE-FUjHVu27kkSRFUoEoRbOI2RS4eQm4RCgQhJstQ9uRA9ICeCeWZQN7Nrn5QAd-TUg-BI3vJVwt2Y/s320/Western+Plains+Zoo+2012-06-02+001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">X just loved watching the monkeys.<br />I think they were subdued due<br />to the inclement weather.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The <a href="http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-siamang.html" target="_blank">Siamangs </a>were quiet. Quieter than any other time I have ever encountered Siamangs. But these animals certainly are show-offs. Not content to just sit and sleep on a platform anywhere on their island, they swung over to the platform nearest to us and pretended to fall asleep, and as we were leaving, they swung over to platforms near another group of zoo tourists before resuming their foxing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">E's special request was to see turtles. The <a href="http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/galapagos-tortoise/" target="_blank">Galapagos Tortoise</a> in fact - that was the picture on the zoo map to which she was pointing.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1uW7tU64PNfv_mEkjVMkS7BD0NXDxfccvR5D1B8Q1eqyaC-FGPayhaQ-Zd97OQi2jWOY8EfB1faY4jQf0dAdtEo1WlZX9ix7OAwvnYVtx3wuoK2gzYsbOUGhXiwltP63U1eejIlIiTrA/s1600/2012-06-02+001+2012-06-02+038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1uW7tU64PNfv_mEkjVMkS7BD0NXDxfccvR5D1B8Q1eqyaC-FGPayhaQ-Zd97OQi2jWOY8EfB1faY4jQf0dAdtEo1WlZX9ix7OAwvnYVtx3wuoK2gzYsbOUGhXiwltP63U1eejIlIiTrA/s320/2012-06-02+001+2012-06-02+038.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Galapagos Tortoises; one climbing on the back of another.<br />
Photo by X.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once at the turtle enclosure, E exclaimed "Look, look, that one's climbing on the back of another turtle!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So X took a picture of it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh. Dear. </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1Western Plains Zoo, Obley Rd, Dubbo NSW 2830, Australia-32.2797118 148.5800965-32.2931363 148.5603555 -32.2662873 148.5998375tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-74358802249025180752012-06-03T23:50:00.001+10:002012-06-18T11:17:45.488+10:00Day Two of a Camper Holiday! Part one.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Day Two: The Zoo - up to lunchtime.</span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOin6fEHa5CXz9rkr02AM64eoWaHgNOmteE941Pqm-vgFNYMNfau3zts1x_VpvKSThzpcD2zjyd08NasD3Hwgd4YBV136Y2VwZf7J7ok7nP-n11CIX3QEJZ3JRwKGpb2RV3j_HKaDAN6k/s1600/2012-06-02+001+2012-06-02+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOin6fEHa5CXz9rkr02AM64eoWaHgNOmteE941Pqm-vgFNYMNfau3zts1x_VpvKSThzpcD2zjyd08NasD3Hwgd4YBV136Y2VwZf7J7ok7nP-n11CIX3QEJZ3JRwKGpb2RV3j_HKaDAN6k/s320/2012-06-02+001+2012-06-02+006.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy the hippo showing off some amazing tusks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Photo by X.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After some fussing about on Saturday morning, we waved our <a href="http://www.zoo.org.au/members" target="_blank">Zoos Victoria membership cards</a>, and drove in to <a href="http://www.taronga.org.au/taronga-western-plains-zoo" target="_blank">Western Plains zoo</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I initially thought it would be a challenge to take the motor-home around the zoo circuit, but it was no hassle at all. The continual light rain was keeping visitor numbers to a minimum, and so we shared the zoo with very few others.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="350" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=western+plains+zoo+dubbo&sll=-32.272137,148.587274&sspn=0.067637,0.122223&ie=UTF8&hq=western+plains+zoo&hnear=Dubbo+New+South+Wales,+Australia&t=m&ll=-32.276974,148.57893&spn=0.025326,0.036478&z=14&output=embed" width="425"></iframe></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><small><a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=western+plains+zoo+dubbo&sll=-32.272137,148.587274&sspn=0.067637,0.122223&ie=UTF8&hq=western+plains+zoo&hnear=Dubbo+New+South+Wales,+Australia&t=m&ll=-32.276974,148.57893&spn=0.025326,0.036478&z=14" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I recall visiting this zoo years ago with Grandpa and Grandma Tomato when I was just about 7 or 8 years old - a similar age to X now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I remember the dust, and I recall the place being amazingly crowded - crowded with yellow bicycles, and small open-top <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_Moke" target="_blank">Moke cars</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dad and I rented a yellow tandem bike to ride around the Zoo circuit, I can't say I remember the animals, but I remember impressing my dad by being the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandem_bicycle#Terminology" target="_blank">stoker on the tandem</a>, and pedalling hard enough to push both of us along.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In my subsequent visits to the zoo, I have always missed the tandem bikes, although the standard bicycle and Moke rentals continued for some time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Notably, the Mokes have now gone too, and the zoo now rents out electric vehicles. These seem to be comfy enough, and offer seating for six. The nice man at the rental shed suggested that on account of the rain I would be warmer and happier to take the motor-home through the zoo. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, after visiting the African hunting dogs, and attending zoo-keeper talks for the hippopotamus and elephant, I found myself cooking sausages, and watching frolicking camels through the window.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFlKcbESXpABWMwLwaREBsaMEAf319Vd6MRvRj1_y1lkHpWH6kFtUruOxtzUlYwqodKoP5UjX26MFkeh324k0HMuDaACyRsAwmFaebMtd8fLjxCSeb4GCAfxOO8Yj8mOTJykRdUH8bSM/s1600/2012-06-02+001+2012-06-02+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFlKcbESXpABWMwLwaREBsaMEAf319Vd6MRvRj1_y1lkHpWH6kFtUruOxtzUlYwqodKoP5UjX26MFkeh324k0HMuDaACyRsAwmFaebMtd8fLjxCSeb4GCAfxOO8Yj8mOTJykRdUH8bSM/s320/2012-06-02+001+2012-06-02+010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuddles. Photo by Karl.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.taronga.org.au/blog/2011-08-15/how-do-you-teach-hippo-new-tricks" target="_blank">Happy the hippo has been blogged about by zoo staff</a>, <span style="font-size: x-small;">(his photo was taken by X - it is at the top of this post)</span> and it is the first time I can remember seeing hippo tusks so closely. I'd certainly not like to surprise a hippo any time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.taronga.org.au/animals/african-elephant/cuddles" target="_blank">Cuddles the African elephant</a> has been at Western Plains Zoo since the 70s, so I can't help wondering if she remembers seeing me before. She has only one tusk, and is the only African elephant left in Australia. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The kids certainly loved both talks, and X was fascinated with Happy the Hippo.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Western Plains Zoo, Obley Rd, Dubbo NSW 2830, Australia-32.2797118 148.5800965-32.2931373 148.5603555 -32.266286300000004 148.5998375tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-41263574912540597782012-06-03T00:49:00.003+10:002012-06-18T11:16:39.737+10:00Day One of a Camper Holiday! - The Long Drive<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite non-operational fridges and other dramas in beginning our holiday, we finished loading up and left Canberra at 6pm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I set the GPS for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubbo" target="_blank">Dubbo</a>, set out on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barton_Highway" target="_blank">Barton Highway</a> - aiming for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yass,_New_South_Wales" target="_blank">Yass</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was excited and on a bit of a natural buzz: we were actually going on a holiday! N</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ot counting the odd weekend getaway, this is o</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ur first actual holiday as a family!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wow.</span><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="350" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=canberra&daddr=dubbo+city+caravan+park&hl=en&sll=-35.336606,149.034734&sspn=0.008157,0.015278&geocode=FbCj5f0d7IXjCCkhkFywaU0WazFgVmmnbuoABQ%3BFbT3E_4d_WHbCCFKG-pgGB6JIg&mra=ls&t=m&ie=UTF8&ll=-33.764435,148.864895&spn=3.03735,0.54363&output=embed" width="425"></iframe><br />
<small><a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=canberra&daddr=dubbo+city+caravan+park&hl=en&sll=-35.336606,149.034734&sspn=0.008157,0.015278&geocode=FbCj5f0d7IXjCCkhkFywaU0WazFgVmmnbuoABQ%3BFbT3E_4d_WHbCCFKG-pgGB6JIg&mra=ls&t=m&ie=UTF8&ll=-33.764435,148.864895&spn=3.03735,0.54363&source=embed" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wanted to get as far away from Canberra as I could -</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> while I fuelled up at Yass, A made sandwiches in the back for a quick meal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, back on the road with one other stop, we made it to Dubbo just before midnight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The route was via Canowindra and up the Mitchell Highway. For my previous journeys in this direction, I always had travelled via Forbes and the Newell Highway, but careful study of the map indicated that this way was shorter by some 40 kilometres. In consideration of driving in the evening, I also figured I would avoid travelling with the Melbourne-Brisbane B Doubles on the Newell making for easier driving.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The journey was nicely uneventful with the kids enjoying the novelty of the whole experience - due to the internal layout of the travelling seats they were able to colour in and do find-a-word puzzles at the kitchen table, even though I received the odd complaint that the road was too bumpy and some of the colouring in was going outside the lines!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We lost E to the land of sleep around 8pm, but X was far too excited and remained awake for the whole journey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once in <a href="http://www.dubbocityholidaypark.com.au/" target="_blank">Dubbo City Holiday Park</a> we figured out how to convert the furniture to beds (not the greatest design!) and turned in for some sleep - tomorrow: <a href="http://www.taronga.org.au/taronga-western-plains-zoo" target="_blank">The Zoo!</a></span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1Dubbo NSW 2830, Australia-32.2438146 148.6094976-32.2975346 148.53053359999998 -32.1900946 148.6884616tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6278194914449689537.post-48784940733659844342012-06-03T00:07:00.002+10:002012-06-18T11:15:53.277+10:00Day One of a Camper Holiday! - Uh-Oh<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Day One - continued: Loading the motor-home.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPcZUXrXaLrcrJeoTJrIfa9C4NvhzkgAlvnRcTYbswXMm6m4inquu1y5C0NOVxy0aV_QIiO3zE7PMtZLkfx0-NfT6JNE68qZixzGfizUf9xV9LUXUIEataDvw_PTLTNw-_sMbTFtM0-4/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPcZUXrXaLrcrJeoTJrIfa9C4NvhzkgAlvnRcTYbswXMm6m4inquu1y5C0NOVxy0aV_QIiO3zE7PMtZLkfx0-NfT6JNE68qZixzGfizUf9xV9LUXUIEataDvw_PTLTNw-_sMbTFtM0-4/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For a few days prior to fetching the motor-home on Friday, I was busy preparing meal plans, buying and sorting groceries, and organising the family to prepare clothing, toys, and equipment for our holiday. This way, I could arrive in the motor-home, load up, and leave that evening.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I reversed into the driveway right on 4pm, and grabbed my first box full of groceries, and started packing the kitchen. The second box was an assortment of ham, sausages, chicken, cheese and other perishables. As I began loading the first pack of ham in to the fridge, I noticed a distinct lack of cold. In fact the freezer compartment was noticeably warm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I checked the switch. The fridge was on, and had been on for at least four hours, and Christina at Apollo had assured me that the fridges were never switched off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shit.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC_igEp_aSpvIpEPm7A2i3WFQAm5uBQCGhQVJQw91jwHPnL7JL_0b8LR4F4WXDT2LGctTfjJ-2vAJ1qYONACEzK6Rdyz0R6ZyDUVnZHDf2ZTKYVJa9A8bt5aGcxlB19J0Ld6LJjgnFYlI/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC_igEp_aSpvIpEPm7A2i3WFQAm5uBQCGhQVJQw91jwHPnL7JL_0b8LR4F4WXDT2LGctTfjJ-2vAJ1qYONACEzK6Rdyz0R6ZyDUVnZHDf2ZTKYVJa9A8bt5aGcxlB19J0Ld6LJjgnFYlI/s320/photo+(1).JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Fridge.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A call to Apollo resulted in a surprisingly respectful troubleshooting routine on their part. That is, when I said that I had checked the switch, and that the fridge had been on for at least four hours, and it wasn't even slightly cold, they actually believed me! Coming from an IT background the first rule of answering the tech-support phone is: <i>Never, ever believe the customer</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a few back-and-forth phone calls which established that I was unwilling to drive back to Sydney to swap the vehicle over, and that Sydney wasn't included in my travel plans, we made a deal: I will use my Esky* filled with ice until I made it to Brisbane where I would drop into the Apollo head office to have the fridge seen to. In return Apollo will throw money at me for the inconvenience. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*genuine branded cooler, otherwise I would use the term "cooler" lest Nylex send their lawyers after me for infringing their trademark.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We shall see what happens when we arrive in Brisbane on Monday or Tuesday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Canberra ACT 2601, Australia-35.2819998 149.1286843-35.6962008 148.49697030000002 -34.8677988 149.7603983