Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

It is one of the biggest events of the year in Sydney and we felt we couldn’t give it a miss so on Saturday night we boarded a bus and set off for the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. With a well over 100 floats, about 10,000 performers and watched by over 150,000 people the event is massive – so massive in fact that it is almost impossible to see anything unless you are 6’6” or can find a convenient window or ladder! At this point the entrepreneurial spirit of Sydneysiders comes to the fore and street vendors selling plastic stools for $10 each were making a fortune. Against my better judgement Sandra insisted on buying a stool – but she reckons it was 10 bucks well spent and I must reluctantly agree.

With Sandra on her stool and me on tip-toes below we watched the parade. Colour (mainly pink) and noise dominated as every conceivable gay and lesbian group and organisation cavorted past – from Gay And Lesbian Advice (Gala for short – I can think of a rugby team in the Scottish Borders which might wince at that) to Gay Firefighters, Police, Doctors and Nurses, Surf Life Savers - the latter were particularly good, and so on. My particular favourite, given our current plans, was a group called “GayCampingNSW” (New South Wales) whose wonderful strapline was “Camp as a Row of Tents”

However I am glad that we are leaving Sydney soon, hopefully before the retaliatory Muslim jihad is unleashed – I can think of no other response after a 12 foot effigy of Osama bin Laden was paraded through the streets by gays and lesbians. It rather puts a few cartoons into the shade in terms of insults – allegedly of course. Perhaps the Tsunami about to be unleashed upon Australia following the Chilean earthquake is an immediate divine response to such blasphemy!

One particularly disconcerting feature of the evening was the number of young, beautiful women in various stages of undress that were on display, not just in the parade, but everywhere you looked. Normally this would not have been a problem for me but the knowledge that about 50% were actually men restrained some of my wilder fantasies! However, later that evening, I did find a woman - and have a photograph to prove it.

There is only so much one can take of "Dykes on Bikes" (honestly - they led the parade and one wouldn't have wanted to meet them in a dark alley - mind you, despite the looks, they are probably harmless social workers when out of their leathers) that after a couple of hours Sandra ditched her $10 investment and we headed for home. Taking back roads to avoid the crowds we inadvertently found ourselves back at the beginning of the parade route and were amazed to find there were still floats waiting to start out – several hours after the first ones left. It was at this stage I experienced an amazing co-incidence. I had lost sight of Sandra in the crowds and started casting around to find her. There I was in a city 12,000 miles from home, a city of 4 million people - a fair number of whom were milling around me in the streets, when out of the crowd came what seemed to be a familiar face. I looked at her and I obviously had that “Yes it looks like her but … no it couldn’t possibly be” look on my face – as did the person coming towards me. It turned out to be Ann Lawrie who worked in the same office as me in Edinburgh who was across in Australia for a holiday – small world!

Sandra and I ended the evening in a Vietnamese restaurant on Darling Street just a few minutes from home – a really good meal and another bottle of red.

Below are a few photos to give a flavour of the event.

We are thinking of another short camping trip tomorrow (Monday) so may be out of internet access for a few days.

PS The tsunami was a bit of a damp squib. All the beaches on the east coast were closed and people told to keep away. Consequently crowds flocked to the beaches to be disappointed when notthing happened.

Onward to Dunn's Swamp!

Well Tuesday 23 February was a momentous day – we took off with the 4WD and all the camping equipment. Leaving Sydney behind us we headed off for about 150 miles in a north-westerly direction to find a place with the none-too-inspiring name of “Dunn’s Swamp”. It was always our intention that, before heading off on the real journey, we would do a 1-2 week stint of camping to check that all was OK with the vehicle and equipment then head back to Sydney for any fine tuning”.

Being slightly ahead of schedule for purchasing the equipment we decided to have a short 2-day foray to see how things were shaping up. Johann suggested Dunn’s Swamp as a good campsite in Wollemi National Park next to a lake and with some good easy bushwalking that would not over-tax novices such as ourselves.

The first bit of overtaxing came in actually finding the place! Unfortunately our map did not provide enough detail and it was somewhat akin to trying to find Gore Glen using an AA roadmap of Great Britain. We stopped to ask directions in Kandos which appears to be the nearest place of habitation. An obliging young man with two massive dogs got us onto the right road. Driving through the village we saw a sign informing us that this was a dry township – initially assuming this related to lack of rainfall we were soon corrected when we saw that one of the two local pubs was derelict, the other was only selling food, the café only sold non-alcoholic drinks and the bottle-shop was a sad, neglected site. Thank goodness we stocked up in Lithgow.

The second taxing incident came on our arrival at Dunn’s Swamp. We stopped to find a place to camp but when I tried to restart the engine – it was dead, not even a chug from the starter motor. Instantly regretting not attending night classes prior to leaving home to learn how cars work and how to fix them when they went wrong, I searched for the thing to open the bonnet. My foray into the engine compartment was more for show than any notion of actually getting the thing going again. Things were looking serious as, although I had joined the NMRA - Australia’s equivalent of the AA - we couldn’t get a mobile phone signal to call them out – leading to another regret - that I hadn’t invested in a satellite phone.

However, within a minute, problem solved, the engine was running sweetly again and my stock with Sandra had risen dramatically. One of the battery terminals had come loose, probably with the bumpy roads, and even I was able to fix it easily – “Nae problem – what do we need a satellite phone for?”

Dunn’s Swamp was really a bit of a misnomer – Dunn’s Lake might have been more appropriate. A relatively small, irregular lake with at least one island, it was man-made about eighty years ago by flooding a gorge. The scene was a bit picture postcard-ish with dark, tranquil water and surrounded by mountains covered with mainly gumtrees. There were many strange rock formations which reminded us of the beehive shape of the Bungle Bungles up in the Kimberley which we visited a few years ago.

The campsite, close to the water, was relatively empty and if it hadn’t been for two organised groups camping some distance from us we would almost have had the place to ourselves. The first of these was the Sydney Bushwalkers Club, an elderly (well at least compared to us which probably makes them very old) bunch of old codgers who were staying for a week on a walking holiday. Unfortunately we were mistaken for members of this group so perhaps I should do something about my greying hair and beard!

The second group were from Dubbo Christian School on an Outward Bound type of course – surprisingly Sandra and I were not mistaken for members of this particular group! The kids, a mixed bunch of boys and girls all about 15 years of age, were in two separate camps with strict gender demarcation after lights out. Christian or not, I suspect that the teachers might have had their work cut out enforcing any non-fraternisation rules, or have teenagers changed from our days?

Sandra and I are very pleased with the tent (see photo). It is of modular construction with the basic module, which we might use when having a brief, overnight stop, being very easy and quick (30 seconds!) to erect. - this is basically the sleeping accommodation.
When staying a bit longer additional modules can be added including a living space, a covered area for cooking, making jewellery and writing a blog (Sandra and I are doing the latter two as I type) There is also a “screen room” module which provides additional space when necessary or when we have guests staying – we haven’t bothered with the screen room on this trip – nor have we erected the shower/toilet tent as there was a ‘long drop’ (environmentally friendly bush toilet) in close proximity. Our overnight toilet facilities at present consist of a green plastic wide necked wine carafe with lid. Any people planning to visit us take note of this fact in case you try to make the camp dinner table posher by decanting from the box! Being enroute to the long drop for the Sydney bush walkers we discovered that potties with lids are de rigueur for real campers.

As night fell I looked for the very expensive, re-chargeable electric lamp to throw some light on the kitchen whilst we prepared a meal. This became a learning exercise and we now know to take everything out of its box and read the instructions BEFORE setting out on a trip. Unfortunately the instructions said the lamp had to be charged for at least 15 hours before use with dire warnings of what would happen if it weren’t. Luckily we had head torches and a couple of small reading lights which lit the place well enough for us to cook and enjoy our steak and salad washed down with red wine.

Weather was a bit overcast and fleeces were brought out for evening sitting. Both of us thought we heard rain overnight but later discovered it was only the gum leaves falling on the tent. So much for scorching days and balmy evenings. However our freckles are joining up and we both look less peely-wally than when we arrived.

Dunn's Swamp saw our first grey kangaroo lurking about in the bushes. On attempting to get closer it hopped off. However photo attached - look carefully as they are well camouflaged. It also gave James an opportunity to lurk unseen in tree trunks waiting for other wildlife sightings - again well camouflaged so you will have to look carefully!








Our Dunn’s Swamp experiment was deemed a success with a number of lessons learnt so back to Sydney for a bit of fine tuning and to celebrate Johann’s sixtieth birthday. On the way back we stopped at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, a place which we have visited before, with breath taking views over the mountains and valleys (see photo). We did the usual touristy things along with the busloads of other tourists with hardly an English word being heard. The roads in this area were originally built by convicts. As you can see from the photo the Aboriginals were bemused by the idea of road building especially when it involved only people in chains doing the work whilst the overseer drank tea.







Evening was spent having a drink with old friends who we hadn’t yet met this visit then off to a French Restaurant for a Birthday Meal and a bottle of red - It's a hard life.

PS Sorry to those of you who had posted comments and they didn't appear - I had inadvertently switched this facility off. It is now back on - all comments have now been posted as will any future comments. James

Kerri and The Chinese New Year

I had an e-mail from my cousin in Canada to let me know that her sister's daughter Kerri is arriving in Australia for a holiday and that she may be making contact. After a bit of working out it transpires (I think!) that Kerri is my First Cousin Once Removed - let me know if I am wrong.

Kerri duly rang up and she came round to Johann's house for a meal - where the first picture was taken.

Co-incidentally the Sydney Chinese New Year parade was on that night so Kerri, Sandra and I trooped in to watch the celebrations. The parade was followed by a firework display at Darling Harbour which provides an excellent backdrop for such events. Things would have ended there, however we started watching a street performer and Kerri was picked out from the crowd to "assist" - so we stayed until the grand finale with the street performer perched on a bike, which in turn was perched on a 15 foot pole, juggling flaming torches and a chainsaw. Pretty run of the mill stuff for those of you familiar with Fringe performers in the Royal Mile at the Edinburgh festival - but I wouldn't like to try it!

PS It can be a small, confusing world - Kerri's family hail from Toronto, Canada whilst my Australian relatives hail from Toronto, Australia.

Solar Power, Police and a beach BBQ

The debate of Petrol Generator vs Solar Power has finally been resolved. Having weighed up the pros and cons of each system, particularly the ecological and environmental arguments vs practicality issues, we finally decided, in true Scottish fashion, to go for the cheaper! Up until the last minute this was the petrol generator which I could buy for $1050 (£600) as opposed to solar which was coming in at $1300 (£750) however I came across a supplier of solar systems who sold via the Internet but were willing to sell direct to any member of the public who could find their way to their warehouse (thank goodness for SatNav) I managed to pick up a system for $350 (£200) Probably a black market import from the sweatshops of Mumbai but as long as it works ....

Having bought the tent we decided to have a practice erection to make sure that all the bits were there and to ensure that, when the trip finally starts, we would not look like a couple of absolute amateurs getting tied up in knots. As the overall length of our home for the rest of the year is over 8 metres we decided to go to a local park for the trial run as Johann's city-centre garden was not quite big enough. I thought the exercise went tolerably well however Lex (short for Alexander) Steven's girlfriend Ana's son, obviously had some doubts as to my competence in erecting tents - or at least that's what seems to be coming across in the photo!

We also had problems with the local constabulary as camping in the park is somewhat frowned upon. I think that some of the more snooty Sydney-siders, out for their evening constitutional, reported us to the police as undesireable tinks despoiling their public places.

The polis duly arrived in their paddy-wagon, grim faced and ready for action. Whilst I hid in the tent we deployed the ultimate diplomatic weapon - Sandra, whose placatory skills are legendary. Satisfied that we were not setting up a tinkers encampment nor even staying the night the two officers turned back into human beings and were even offering camping tips to the obviously inexperienced poms. When I plucked up enough courage to come out of the tent, two of Sydney's finest were putty in Sandra's hands!

So much of the last few weeks has been taken up with tracking down and buying equipment for the trip that we have consequently neglected our role as tourists. So today (Saturday) we decided to do what most of the locals seem to do on a warm and sunny weekend - go to the beach for a barbie. We spent a very pleasant day with Steven, Ana and Lex at the beach - Steven provided the drinks and gas BBQ and we provided the transport and food.

The photo shows Steven and Sandra engrossed in the Saturday papers - I'm somewhat concerned with Sandra's reading matter as she seems to be taking a particular interest in property prices! This was a pleasant grassy area behind the beach as the beach itself was far too hot for delicate Scottish complexions.

However commonsence did not prevail for too long and after the barbie we headed into the ocean - the sea was warm, the waves were huge and we had a fantastic time. This is Sandra just before she took the plunge. For those Bield readers amongst you (I hope that there are some readers out there!!) Sandra wants you to know that this swimming costume was financed from the money you gave her to leave!!

The photo shows her in her "pink" phase - tomorrow is likely to see her enter into her "lobster-and-sore-as-hell" phase - it happens every time!

We are just about ready to go, however we have a number of committments which are likely to keep us in Sydney for a few weeks yet. In particular this includes Johann's "significant" birthday party - the actual birthday is next week and the party is the following week-end and we have been roped in to help organise. Whilst our catering for 140 at Jon and Lisa's wedding last summer was, I think, very successful - we only achieved this with a pretty slick support team (you know who you are) I hope we can repeat the operation.

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Fabulous meals, stunning views and Sandra shows she can drive The Beast

One of the problems of doing such a lot outwith the framework of a working week is that it is so easy to lose track of what day of the week it is! I think it was on Saturday that we bought a substantial amount of camping equipment - in addition to the tents, beds and cooker we now have a host of assorted camping paraphernalia to make life easier on our trip around Australia.

Key issues remaining to be resolved include exact details of toileting arrangements. Previous trips have seen us disappearing behind a convenient bush with a spade and a roll of toilet paper - unfortunately the ground tends to be very hard and much effort is required to dig a big enough hole. In consideration of the fact we have invited some of you more delicate readers to join us, people who may blanch at the thought of squatting over a hand dug hole (you know who you are!) we will be investing in more sophisticated facilities.

We also need to decide on our camping power source - do we go for a petrol generator - more noisy and frowned upon by the eco-police; or perhaps a solar panel - quiet and more eco-friendly.

Sunday saw us travelling north to Kilcare near Woy Woy (Spike Milligan fans will know all about Woy Woy) to meet Alan and Sue, friends of Johann who last year had done a similar trip to the one we are planning. Although only lasting about three months, they faced many of the challenges Sandra and I will face. When they were on the road they kept up an e-mail blog which we followed avidly (or at least I did) Unfortunately it chronicled a series of disasters - smashed wheels, lousy campsites, cafes with poor coffee etc.

Sue and Alan live in a elevated house with wonderful views over the sea and coast and they provided us with a fabulous meal. Alan spent a lot of time converting me from a generators to solar panels and was a mine of useful information. I was particularly grateful when, after examining my Nissan Patrol and almost disappearing into the engine compartment, he announced it was in almost new condition and had never been used off-road or through water - a good buy.

Monday saw us meeting up with an old friend (Johann's ex-husband) who is a professor of something mathematical at Wollongong University south of Sydney. We met for lunch at the Scarborough Hotel - it is built on a cliff overlooking beaches and rocky foreshores. We sat out side and the views were stunning - as was the food - barramundi and chips!

On the way back to Sydney a significant milestone was achieved - Sandra took the wheel of the Nissan Patrol for the first time. Despite the size and weight of the vehicle and the unfamiliar roads she coped admirably - as expected - and we arrived back home with no upsets, she even managed to park it! I must admit however the navigation issues we would normally have expected were largely overcome by the SatNav - an essential gizmo for getting round a city sixteen time larger than Edinburgh.

We also stopped at Bulli Lookouts which gave an incredible view of the area. A viewing platform erected by the local Rotary club took you out over a very long drop - best avoided if suffering from vertigo.

As I type Sandra is putting her practical skills to use - rather than buy bedding she is sitting in front of a sewing machine running up colour co-ordinated pillow cases, sheets and mattress covers - is there no end to her talent!?

Just a quickie today.
A very hot and sweaty trip round various shopping malls for basic stuff for our trip. Thank goodness for air con in both the car and the various venues as the mercury was up to 37C (for those of you still on pounds, shillings and pence that's about 98F)

Most of the kit is now bought although we still need a generator (to make sure the fridge keeps the beer cold) and comfortable seats.

Spent the evening in the local pub taking in pints of Guinness and a rugby match.

Ironing and dangerous creatures

Something seldom experienced in Scotland is housework in hot weather. My two tasks today have been ironing (lesson learned: I am going to dump all the clothes that require ironing) and defrosting Johann's freezer (lesson learned; the food defrosts faster wrapped in thick towels than the ice in the freezer even with containers of boiling water to help it on it's way). Both tasks generated bucket loads of sweat, the second task frostbitten fingers as I realised how quick the food was defrosting. Must have a beer to compensate for the water loss and the pain.

Yesterday James and I got lost going for a walk to the coffee shop only a few hundred yards from the new house It seemed like several kms later we eventually got the breakfast we were looking for. Birchgrove, our new part of the Balmain peninsula is very leafy with beautiful parks, pretty houses and views of Sydney harbour from every corner you turn.

The photo showing James with Sydney Harbour Bridge was taken a few yards from our new squat.

This morning I got up and found a cockroach trapped in my empty glass from last night. The glass of course contained my usual tipple of red wine. Unfortunately for the cockroach I had drained my glass before going to bed so after James tried to drown the thing unsuccessfully it suffered squashing without anaesthetic.

Last night we had a Parisian evening at the art gallery. The singer was fine but the accordionist went on a bit too long. Walked back to the car through the Domain, a large public park in the centre of Sydney surrounded by skyscrapers. It was a wonderful walk, balmy and breezy.

The photo is me taking in a bit of modern art at the Art Gallery prior to the performance.

Today we purchased our home for the next few months. For those interested it is called an Oztent and is erected in 30 seconds flat even by us (well James did it actually but it was my intention to help I just didn't get downstairs fast enough). We also purchased beds which in use are well off the ground in case of dangerous animals although I suspect any self respecting dangerous animal can climb. James bought a stove. He did ask my advice about which one we should buy but as everyone knows I have little expertise in the stove field so left the final decision to him.

The tent is now pitched in Johann's garden. However I think the overnight trial run should wait until this weekend when Steven, Ana and Lex can help us set up camp. Steven thinks we are mad buying an expensive tent. He would have gone for the cheap as chips one which would have blown away in the first breeze. However Johann and Stretch have offered to buy this one from us when we return home so there is method in our madness.

Our library is growing. Today on top of the national parks, bird and flowers of Australia books we have we got one on Australia's venomous animals and what to do if bitten. The only thing biting us so far are the mosquitoes. They are bad enough and are not even mentioned in this book.

By the way yet another idiot has been bitten by a shark. It will take a lot of effort to get me in the sea beyond my ankles

The Big Beast

A very short blog today.

Well here it is - The Big Beast!

I've still got to put the Rhino roof system on top as we will have a lot to carry - but feel that today was a significant step forward. It also has a fridge / freezer so cold beers shouldn't be too much of a problem

Bring on the open road!

Eating, Drinking and Long Lost Relatives

Another weekend of socialising - I'm almost wishing we were on the road!!

Went to an Indian Restaurant in Balmain on Friday night. Johann wasn't there as she had a School Governors meeting although she turned up later for a drink. The meal was very good, well up to Itihass standards (for those in Dalkeith) but have you noticed - where ever you are in the world the basic Indian menu and the food is pretty much the same all over - except that is in India!! Strange. After the meal it was back to a friends house for drinks and to watch a short film their son had produced, directed, starred in and had probably made the coffee! Photo shows the troops.

On Saturday, after a hard days vehicle shopping, we all went round to Steven's (our son's) house for a meal.

Sunday continued the mad social whirl with a lunch time barbecue at which the food was superb - huge prawns, oysters and of course sausages on the barbie - with sweets to follow. It's going to be a hard job to keep up this standard when I'm trying to produce meals in the bush on a campfire!

The photo on the right is of our host and to me he just epitomises the Australian BBQ host!

The lower picture is at the same BBQ and shows Sandra in typical pose with her sister Johann (in black) behind her and Stretch, her partner, towering over everyone on the right

On Monday morning we had a visit from a long lost Douglas relative whom I had never met before. It turns out I have lots of "cousins" in New South Wales and Queensland who are all very keen to meet Sandra and I and to provide hospitality. Sandra let slip that I have my kilt with me so I suspect it might get one or two airings!

Monday pm was spent in the city centre making sure that everything was in place for getting the car tomorrow especially insurance. I was also going to join the NRMA, which is the Australian equivalent of the AA/RAC, only to find that my UK AA membership gives me reciprocal rights so I was able to join free of charge - nice one. As a new member they also gave me a free set of maps covering the whole of Australia.

All for now - I expect the next posting will have photographs of our new big white tank - the Nissan Patrol Turbo Diesel - can't wait!

Drought Busters, Mudslides and the Edinburgh Tattoo

Well that's the vehicle bought!

I was much taken with a Toyota Landcruiser GXL which was an automatic with cruise control and electric everything - exceptionally comfortable and a very good drive but unfortunately with a petrol engine and with 290,000k on the clock. Wiser council prevailed (I was told it wouldn't last the journey, there were too many electrics to go wrong, running costs would be high and there would be a low resale value at the end of the trip) and we went for a Nissan Patrol - diesel, manual, 2005 model with a low mileage which we should be able to re-sell without too much depreciation.

The salesman - a real patter merchant - was also able to sell me a bespoke storage unit for the back with drawers and a sliding platform for a fridge, a Rhino roof rack to substantially increase luggage capacity and a fridge/freezer - all of course at a ridiculously low price (according to the patter merchant!) I think he was actually right but for me the main thing was to take away the hassle of sourcing all of these things separately and having them fitted.

Now we have the vehicle we can look more seriously at tents etc.

Drought Busters

Much of Australia has been very dry and, before leaving, Sandra often joked that when we arrived the heavens would open - AND SHE WAS RIGHT!!

Yesterday and last night saw rain over much of Australia and the Sydney area was particularly dampish - so much so that this morning we woke to find that a retaining wall between Johann's house and next door's garden had partially collapsed. As next door's garden was higher the resultant mudslide deposited mud and soil against the basement of Johann's house with a some overflow into the house itself - what a mess! Whilst not structurally significant to the integrity of the actual house it was still a bit of a pain.

However, as a silver lining to this particular cloud, as we dug out the soil it was not given back to the neighbours but put onto Johann's vegetable patch.

The photo shows the area after most of the soil had been dug out and spread on the garden - it looks like a bit of re-building will be required!

One very sad aspect of the wet weather is I suspect that it will have a dampening effect on the Edinburgh Military Tattoo which is on in Sydney this week. They have built a $1m replica of Edinburgh Castle at the Sydney Football Ground and are doing the full production.

I'm going to give it a miss as, when I went to the Tattoo in Edinburgh a couple of years ago, it rained throughout - I couldn't face that again!

Tomorrow we are meeting some fairly distant Douglas relatives who we have never met before. They are down in Sydney for the Tattoo tonight and I hope the rain holds off for them.

Tents, cars and Hash House Harriettes

Hello Blog Watchers (assuming that there are some of you out there - it's almost impossible to know if anyone is reading the blog - let me know if you are)

It's been a few days since the last post but they have been very busy days indeed. We have done the rounds of the tent and camping shops and are starting to narrow down on what we need. The general advice seems to go for something light and easily transportable which means you can go for a bigger tent for your money - we have decided against the trailer tent. However, when did we listen to advice?! We are leaning towards the more durable (and more expensive) end of the market as, for the next 10 months or so, this is to be our home. Steven, our son's, advice was to buy cheap then throw away and replace. As well as tentage the other big budget items are likely to be a fridge / freezer and a generator for electricity.

Today was particularly hot and sweaty going round car show rooms. We have narrowed down our choice of vehicles to a Toyota Landcruiser or Nissan Patrol and a number seem to be available and within budget - we are off again tomorrow for a few more test drives.

Of course it's not all been work and no play - on Wednesay we went for a walk at Watson's Bay and here is me beside the famous Doyles Restaurant.

It was a bit of deja vu for Sandra and I as this is where we spent our last afternoon on a previous trip to Australia.

We met up with a group of (mostly) female runners who go for a run (or in many cases a walk) every Wednesday. Johann, Sandra's sister, is a member of this group and we "got involved" - this generally meant drinking and Sandra and I were forced against our will to drink beer in a oner - again there is photographic evidence!

These were the local "Hash House Harriers" - female section known as The Harriettes - a harmless group of middle aged, middle class eccentrics who like a drink - we felt quite at home!

After the sporting! activities we adjourned to a local Thai restaurant for a meal. As the place didn't serve alcohol, myself and one of the party, an American called Tom (right front in photo) disappeared to the local pub for a carry out where we got involved in the quiz night and were invited back next week.

All for now, off to bed to prepare for another had day 4WD testing.

Oh, one final thing, particularly for those who know Sandra in her professional role, she identified a bus driver who she considered to have "attitudinal problems" and tried to put him in his place. However Aussie bus drivers don't like being put in their place by a Pommy female so a small row erupted. She claims it was a draw - but we were still put off the bus!

Welcome to Australia

The natives have been very welcoming. I have 33 mosquito bites! James has less but he did not indulge as much in the balmy evening last night. It is warm outside at 10pm! It is warm at midnight! In fact it is warm throughout the night. Johann has no air con so fans are on in the bedroom until James gets irritated with the noise and switches them off. He then starts snoring so I get up and switch them back on. The pattern repeats itself all night until the garbage men come at 5.30am.

The mosquito bites did not all happen outside. One accompanied us in and spent the night feasting on new blood.. The wee b met its demise at about 4am and I washed my blood off the wall this morning. Very good blood it looked too.

Today has been spent on the internet (James) looking at local 4 wheel landcruisers for sale. Tomorrow he goes out with Steven to visit where they are located. I have told him he needs to locate the vehicle and then I will sanction it. My job is to ensure we have the domestic implements to ensure James can cook all the meals enroute and we have a bed to sleep in. Total control without the garage visits.

For Bield followers: Look after my red car if it is still owned by Bield. When I returned it I felt my freedom was going. Still to drive on Aussie roads. Sydney is so big and the inlets of the harbour are so confusing we don't know where we are at any point in time. Steven has given us his sat nav for tomorrow.

Still have my phone. Forgot to take it with me today! Fortunately Lolly my sister's dog knows her way around and led me to her favourite park and home again.

Sandra

We now have access to money and mobile phones

Just a quick one today and pretty boring fare it is too.
After a long lie in on Sunday (up at 12 noon) we spent the afternoon doing a recce of camping gear shops followed by a dinner with David and Lesley, people we have met on several of our previous Australian trips. Dinner was constantly interrupted with cheers and groans both for and against Andy Murray.

Monday was spent organising boring, but important, domestic issues - a long visit to the bank to ensure the money had arrived and arranging the relevant plastic etc - followed by a trip to a mobile phone shop to buy two phones, one for me and one for Sandra. I'm a bit dubious about the latter as when she had a work mobile she either forgot to charge it, forgot where she had left it or just didn't bother to answer it.

Finally, dinner with Steven (our son) and Ana his girlfriend.

Tomorrow we move into the house we are looking after for the next few weeks and starting the search for a suitable 4 wheel drive.

PS for anyone who wants to try, James' new mobile phone number is 0438375587
I'm sorry I can't give you Sandra's number - she can't find the phone - and she's only had it a few hours !!