Unfortunately due to the lack of space at the old site I was forced to delete all our photos from December, 2013 to December, 2014.
We have, however, created 6 volumes of e-books from the old blog and they are available at http://www.blookup.com in the Trips section. They are called The Travels of Yogi and Boo Boo. (Volumes 1 to 6).
I had promised Lynn a trip to South West Rocks for some time. The main highway south to Sydney goes through Kempsey and she has often asked about South West Rocks when she sees the turn off sign. This is the perfect time of the year to visit as it is quiet there, the school kids are not on holiday and it’s whale watching season.
We managed to get a good deal on a couple of nights at an historical inn right near the beach so we packed the car and set off.
Dinner of fresh prawns, oysters and a very cold bottle of bubbly.
Our room has a big balcony. We find a butcher who sells fresh local seafood so we buy a kilo of prawns and some fresh oysters then head back via the bottle shop to pick up a cold bottle of champers. Perfect dinner on the balcony.
7 September, 2016
The view from our balcony.
It is a beautiful day the next morning so we head off for a walk on the beach then a drive to Smoky Cape lighthouse and a walk around Trial Bay Gaol.
The lighthouse and guesthouse at Smoky Cape.View from the Lighthouse at Smokey Cape – South West Rocks.Looking back at Smokey Cape.South West Rocks hike in the National Park.A very secluded beach.The guardian of the lawn.Trial Bay Gaol from the walking path through the bush.Some of the friendly wildlife at South West Rocks.
We also spent the evening down by the caravan park watching whales not far from the beach. This has been a most relaxing couple of days and we agreed to return after more of our overseas adventures have been completed.
By February the beach crowds started to thin and we had our Burleigh Heads back to ourselves and our friends again. We seemed to do a lot of very little this summer but still seemed to be very busy. In early March we booked an 18-day cruise to Hawaii from Sydney via Noumea, Fiji, Pape’ete and Mo’orea. We decided to stay at Waikiki Beach for an extra 3 days so that we had time to see a bit of Honolulu.
18 April, 2016
We flew to Sydney and paid to be collected from the airport by the cruise shuttle bus. This also gave us priority check-in for the ship which we didn’t really value until we saw the incredibly long queue at the international cruise terminal at Sydney’s Circular Quay. We must remember this if we do another cruise from Sydney. The cost of the shuttle was less than a taxi fare and the benefits are an extra bonus.
The cruise ship was the Carnival Legend. It is not in the same league as the Celebrity Reflexion but this was a special deal that we bought and it was only costing us A$50 per day each. The ship was a bit gaudy but we had a balcony cabin and it was very comfortable.
We were due to cast off at 7:00 pm but loading had been delayed due to extra equipment being taken to Fiji as part of the Fiji rebuilding project after a cyclone had ripped the country apart in February this year.
By 8:00 pm we were away. We really don’t care if the ship is not up to our standards. It is just nice to take a sea voyage since this is only our second cruise and the first was only on the Med so I am hopeful of some rougher weather to feel like we are really at sea.
Time for a drink or two while we wait for loading to finish.Shoving off at last.
19 April, 2016
Lynn tells me I should take a photo of the room before we mess it up.
21 April, 2016
What, no waves?
Our cabin has a great view of the ocean. The balcony is a great place to sit and relax. The food on the ship is pretty good and the booze is fairly expensive but not unreasonable. We are more than happy with the great value deal that we have. The only issue that we have is that the air conditioning on the ship inside must be set to about 18 deg. C. The outside temperature is a beautiful 25 deg. C so we have our room on heating during the night and the balcony doors open during the day.
Each day we have been going to the stand-up comedy show before dinner then the main show after dinner. The shows are not great quality but are still worth seeing. We won’t be bored on this cruise.
Cruising in to Noumea.Arriving in the tin mining town of Noumea.
I have been to New Caledonia before and found it to be a bit damaged by the French and not what you would expect to see as a tropical island. Still, we plan to have a look around while we are docked for the day.
Sunny day in New Caledonia.
Our cabin is midships and on the top passenger deck. Above us is the pool and cafe decks.
Strolling around Noumea.
Noumea is not a place that we would return to but the stroll around the centre of town was pleasant enough.
All dressed up and nowhere to go.
Lynn scrubs up pretty good each night for dinner. It must be me that is the problem. At dinner we are allocated a permanent table for the entire voyage at the main restaurant. The table is for four with 2 other guests. The only time that we saw the other couple was on the first night. After that we had the table to ourselves. Many people choose to eat at the buffet (not really our style) or do the rounds of the optional restaurants. We got to know our waiters and because there was only two of us we were quite spoilt.
23 April, 2016
Today we arrived in Fiji. Unfortunately the cruise ships dock at Port Denarau which means that we are ferried in to the port which is a bit away from anything. I have been to Fiji a few times and unless you are at a nice resort there is not much to see in the towns.
Fiji on the starboard side.The Carnival Legend at anchour in Fiji.
Still, we take the tender to the dockside and have a short stroll around. Nothing to see here so we head back to the comfort of the ship and take advantage of the lack of other guests.
Do you think that our housekeeper wants a tip?
Lynn and I don’t see the point of “towel art” that many resorts and ships seem to go in for. However, this particular piece of art really caught our attention.
27 April, 2016
Time to do some reading on deck.
After 5 (very relaxing) days at sea we arrived at Pape’ete in Tahiti. Lynn has never been to Tahiti so we have purchased a day tour of the main island. The first time that I was here I drove around the island and found that it was so much nicer the further that you went away from Pape’ete. It has been over 25 years since I was last in Tahiti so I am looking forward to remembering it all again.
Arriving in Pape’ete, Tahiti.Looking back at Pape’ette.
We have beautiful weather for the tour and really enjoy it. We also went to the site where Captain Cook landed before he discovered Australia and did his astrological calculations.
On June 3, 1769, British navigator Captain James Cook, British naturalist Joseph Banks, British astronomer Charles Green and Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander recorded the transit of Venus on the island of Tahiti during Cook’s first voyage around the world. During a transit, Venus appears as a small black disc traveling across the Sun. This unusual astronomical phenomenon takes place in a pattern that repeats itself every 243 years. It includes two transits that are eight years apart, separated by breaks of 121.5 and 105.5 years. These men, along with a crew of scientists, were commissioned by the Royal Society of London for the primary purpose of viewing the transit of Venus. Not only would their findings help expand scientific knowledge, it would help with navigation by accurately calculating the observer’s longitude. At this time, longitude was difficult to determine and not always precise.
A “secret” mission that followed the transit included the exploration of the South Pacific to find the legendary Terra Australis Incognita or “unknown land of the South.”
Lynn with our local tour guide.She looked tall next to Lynn.The black sands of Tahiti.The lighthouse built near where Captain Cook was anchored.A blow hole in the volcanic rocks of Tahiti.Green hills on the main island.Global warming may be an issue for this resident.In a ceremonial area.Hiding won’t help.
28 April, 2016
It is very cloudy today and there are rain squalls about. Lynn has been so looking forward to seeing Bali Hai and it will be a shame if it clouds over while we are on the tour of Mo’orea.
Bali Hai – our special island.
We can see Bali Hai from the top deck of the ship but we plan to get much closer today.
Anchored in Mo’orea.
Too cold and wet for the pool deck.Can you swim out to the boat from here?An island store on Mo’orea.At last… Lynn can say that she has seen Bali Hai up close.
It is a shame that Lynn didn’t get to see Mo’orea in sunshine. I was a little disappointed that Tahiti seems to be a bit run down these days. It is unbelievably expensive to stay at any of the good resorts and it was sad to see the place that I had stayed so many years ago was now just a dilapidated and abandoned paddock.
29 April, 2016
Next stop, Bora Bora. Still the weather is dull and quite wet. We just made it ashore when it bucketed down but by the time we were collected for our tour the rain had eased.
Over-water resort in Bora Bora.Crystal clear tropical waters.Weather closing in.Still beautiful in the bad weather.Guns that never fired during WW II.Starting to clear as we depart Tahiti.Still too cool to swim in the adults only pool area.
30 April, 2016
Due mainly to the cold and wet weather both of us have come down with a cold. The freezing air conditioning hasn’t helped so we plan to just take lots of cold and flu drugs and rest in our cabin while we are at sea for the next few days.
In accordance with recent tradition, JP and Nathalie generously invite us once again to their gorgeous house at Raby Bay for their New Year party with a bunch of their friends – accompanied, as usual, by lots of great company, laughter, food and alcoholic beverages – and literally buckets of Moet. We plan to stay overnight and leave the following afternoon. We leave 3 days later.
15 January, 2016
Both our birthdays go by without much fuss. The tourists have all flocked to the beach so the crowds are everywhere, the parking spaces are scarce and our favourite restaurants are busy. We are very much looking forward to the end of school holidays when the beach will become ours again.
Still we are enjoying our walks on the beach and escaping to our balcony when it gets too busy down below. We have new neighbours who we wave to while we have breakfast on the balcony each morning. One day while taking a morning walk on the beach we meet up with them. This is an opportunity to introduce ourselves to Peter and Anna.
Peter and Anna from Apartment 92.
Peter is a keen golfer and we manage to play a few games of golf during 2016.
Peter and Anna become good friends and they invite us to join their regular Trivia team at the Bowling Club on Wednesday nights. We enjoy these nights immensely and we even win a few times.
18 January, 2016
Wayne and Kay at Burleigh Heads.
Wayne and Kay come down for a couple of days to make us eat and drink too much. Tough life here at Burleigh Heads.
Can’t get tired of the view.
26 Jaunuary, 2016
Even the farm folk from the lovely and quiet highlands come and join us. Now it is our turn to return their hospitality.
On the beach with David on Australia Day.
The beach can get very hot in mid summer but we have a very nice pool to cool off in once we get back from the beach. Good life here.
December at the beach brings back lots of childhood memories. While growing up the family spent nearly every Christmas at Brunswick Heads on the beach. You can keep your windy, wintery nights. Give me cold beer and lots of seafood.
David and Barry showing us around the National Park.
In early December we head to Cousin Barry’s farm down at Cougal in the Border Ranges National Park. The views from the farmhouse porch are wonderful and we try to catch up with David and Barry a few times each year to enjoy the great company, lots of wine and fabulous food.
Getting these guys to visit us has always been difficult and you can understand why after a few days at the farm. Still, the guys have agreed to spend a couple of days at the beach in January.
21 December, 2015
The plan is to do some sailing while we are back in Queensland so we signed up for a sailing lesson. We had a day out sailing on the old “Southern Cross” which was originally built as an America’s Cup challenger.
Learning to sail on Moreton Bay.What a great day for sailing.
Lynn learnt heaps about sailing just in one day. She even saved us from running aground when one of the other trainees wasn’t watching the depth indicators.
Not without a life jacket…
24 December, 2015
Christmas will be very quiet this year. We have no plans to do anything except eat and drink too much and perhaps go down to the beach for a swim. Great times…
The Christmas stockings given to us by Susie and Paul in Rome.
29 December, 2015
Tonight we are going to a 20/20 Cricket match with Ken and Helen Price. We haven’t caught up with them since Londa, Italy so it will be great to see them again. Since we plan to drink a bit at the cricket (it is customary to do so) we drove to the Prices and took the train to the Gabba. We will take the train back after the cricket and stay the night at their place.
In 2012 we had stayed in a lovely boutique hotel on the lake’s edge in Bellano, a small town to the south of Dervio. This trip we had found a light and bright, modern studio flat in Dervio so that became our base while at Lake Como. The town is small, and although it is bisected by a reasonably busy railway line, the town itself is quiet. Composed mainly of residences, some shops and businesses (the frutta e verdura shop was on the ground floor of the apartment), a few bars and restaurants, civic square, library, cinema, churches, playground, caravan park and the center for water sports on the Lake – small marinas, dinghys, hobie cats, wind and kite surfing. A large chunk of foreshore was parkland. This part of the park was heavily populated by the surfers on weekends.
We found a walkway along the Lake edge.
Walking down to the lake from the apartment we had a choice of walkway to the left towards the ‘sporting’ part of the town (photo) and the excellent Le Vele Restaurant, or right to the newly-created and illuminated promenade past some impressive lakeside residences.
The mountains to the west from our lounge room window.
The weather was a mix of very clear, sunny days or days with low cloud or mist. Whichever, we had some very impressive views from the skylight windows in our studio – in every direction.
The Church bell tower from our lounge room window.
The church bells used to ring on the hour, making a big deal out of 12 noon. It was lovely to hear church bells once again. Our Brisbane apartment overlooks St John’s Cathedral and we were treated to pealing bells every Sunday morning.
More views to the north west from the bathroom window.
We drove through this range of mountains, which extended to the north, on our trip to Switzerland.
For 35 years I have worked in the finance industry and during that time I traveled for work around Australia, to Europe, Asia and America. Many people would think that travel for work is prestigious but the people who do it regularly find it tedious, exhausting and stressful.
The worst part about work travel is that you tend to only see the inside of airplanes, taxis, hotels and office blocks.
My work photo.Lynn in London.
Lynn wanted to travel from a very young age and moved to the UK to live and work as a Records Manager so that she could spend as much time as possible exploring the UK and Europe.
As anyone knows, who has tried to “do” Europe from Australia on their short annual holidays, Europe is a long way away and the jetlag burns a couple of days of the holiday and slows you down at work for a couple of days when you get back.
My plan was always to retire as early as possible so that I could be a “slow” tourist and travel the world (and Australia) like a local and at an easy pace.
Lynn and I first met on 19th January, 1974 while we were both on holidays at a small seaside country town in northern NSW, Australia called Coffs Harbour. Lynn lived in Albury, on the NSW/Victoria border and was there with her parents on vacation when she was just 17 years old and I was a lad of 20 living and working in Sydney.
This is no place to present all the details of our lives but we remained friends throughout the years as our lives led us in different directions and in different countries.
In 2010 I moved to Brisbane to take up my “wind down to retirement” job and Lynn joined me to escape the impending doom of the UK and Europe after the Global Financial Crisis. We bought a very nice apartment in the CBD of Brisbane where we lived from 2010 until we “escaped” our working lives and launched our retirement travels in December, 2013.
During my wind down years we developed our retirement travel “Bucket Lists”, researched costs, developed budgets, rearranged investments and took a few overseas holidays to test our travel plans. We called it “doing a recce”, a reconnoiter of some of our travel target countries.
This blog was established for a number of purposes including:
As a diary of our travels so that in the future we will have some context around the vast number of photos that we take.
So that friends and family can see our photos and read about our adventures if and when they choose so that we won’t bore them with endless stories and photos when we return.
Keep records of the wonderful people we meet on the way.
We are traveling under the names of Yogi & Boo Boo as this seems to pretty much sum up our personalities.
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