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This is the last day of a magnificent holiday but started off with a bit of panic. When we arrived in Dubai last Friday the company providing the transfer to and from the hotel told us he would pick us up at 06:10 today, we queried it but was assured that was correct. So we set our alarm for 05:00 and at 05:10 the room  telephone rang and it was the concierge telling us our vehicle was waiting. It caused us  bit of panic but fortunately the bulk of the packing was complete. We threw the final bits in the cases and a porter came and collected them for us. Fortunately the rest of the day was uneventful. We arrived at the airport in good time and soon checked in and cleared the formalities. Our flight left bang on time and arrived at Heathrow at 13:50. After all the formalities we boarded the Oxford Airline bus and arrived at Thorne Hill park and ride Oxford where Steve picked us up and drove us home. 

It's been a remarkable holiday and trust you have enjoyed following our exploits. We wish to to thank all our friends in Australia who took time to meet us, accommodate us and show us around. We also wish to thank Zoe of Co op Travel Kidlington for organising the trip. 

Dubai

Friday 15th May 2015

As expected it was a long and tiring flight. We arrived about an hour later than scheduled at 08:30 and already the ambient temperature a mere 30 degrees. It's a massive airport and we had to catch a train to get to the baggage reclaim. Once we had collected our bags we cleared immigration and customs and met with our transfer coach driver. It was a about a half hour drive to our hotel at the Jumeirah resort. Due to our early arrival we were able to check in but couldn't access our room. However as we are leaving at some ungodly hour on the day of departure before the restaurant opens it was agreed we could have that breakfast today so we located the restaurant and had a decent meal, far from the plastic stuff served on the plane. Our first impression was what a wonderful place with all the staff eager to help, to the point of, when approaching a lift a member of staff leaps forward and presses the call button. After breakfast we sat in the reception until we our room was ready. Our room was on the fifteenth floor of a forty three story hotel. We had a magnificent view of a marina in the close area but Dubai being Dubai the distant view was obscured by high rise buildings. We accessed our room we freshened up having been up and in the same clothes for over twenty four hours. Having exchanged the warm clothes needed for Melbourne for shorts, tee shirts and sandals we set out to explore the resort, we walked along the beach and the boulevard and appreciated how clean the place was. We were quite tired so we returned to the hotel and relaxed by the pool until it was time for dinner. We had a lovely meal in the hotel's Italian restaurant then walked it off around the resort for a short time. Although it was still quite early it was time to retire to bed.

Saturday 16th May 2015

After a good nights sleep we had breakfast and set off the the tour bus. The first part took us past the sail building to the Palm Island where the Atlantis hotel is located, both buildings synonymous with Dubai. The city is full of high rise buildings but there's something magical about the place, it is not an ugly concrete jungle. We drove past beautiful marinas and beaches. Also trams and the monorail. When we arrived at the Atlantis hotel we changed route and went to the Dubai mall. It was enormous and contained every designer name you could think of. It also contained an underwater zoo, aquarium by any other name. Our bus ticket gave us free admission so we spent time looking round and managed to see  the Australian croc we missed out on in Queensland. We also discovered the entrance to the entrance to the Burj Khalfa, the tallest building. It is timed ticket access and today was full so we purchased tickets for Sunday. We walked back through the Mall where we headed back home on the tour buses. We arrived at 17:00 got changed into our swim wear and went for a dip. After which we had dinner then accessed t'internet before turning in.

Sunday 17th May 2015

Here we are the last full day of this amazing holiday. We went to the restaurant and once again had a good breakfast, during which a member of staff asked if she could be photographed with us. We agreed to this request then as we left she presented us with a thank you card with the photo printed on it. Today we were visiting the Burj Khalfa so we caught the Orange route tour bus and changed at the Palm hotel to the Blue route which took us the the Dubai Mall where the Burj Khalfa tower is located. We made our way to the entrance and were shown into a reception room where we were offered a drink and canapés. Then as a sign of the times we had to go through security to get to the lifts. You have to go up in two stages for the tower is the highest in the world at 555.7 metres or if you prefer 1,823 feet. The first lift takes you up to the 124 floor at two floors per second, we then changed lifts and ascended to the 148th floor. We left the lift and again greeted by staff with refreshments. We then walked out onto the observation platform for a stunning panoramic view of Dubai. I managed to get some decent pictures despite the haze. We then descended to the 124th floor where there is another observation platform so more pictures needed to be taken, also a souvenir ship that needed exploring. Once done we went back to the ground floor for some lunch. After we'd eaten we walked through the mall, it is so large there are taxis within, similar to the vehicles that transfer the infirm at airports. We found the exit to the car park where the tour buses operate from. This time we caught the Red route which took us around the older part of Dubai where the souks are, and where the dhow boats operate. Unfortunately we didn't have time to get off and walk round. We stayed on the bus back to the mall changed to the Blue route then onto the Orange back to our resort. Walking back to the hotel we came across a steak house so it was here we had, what we call in the Butcher household, our end of course dinner. Then back to the hotel to get our luggage ready for an early start for our flight home.

This stop over has been remarkable, people had said things about Dubai that caused us to approach it with trepidation, how unfounded. The place is absolutely spotless and the people are so polite and friendly. All in all it was a perfect end to a perfect holiday.

Dubai blue dot shows our hotel location.

View fro hotel

View from Burj Khalifa 

Another view, note the man made island 

Val waiting to step outside

Our guide

World Record Certificate 

Melbourne

Melbourne 

Monday 11th May 2015

Up early to finish off the packing then after breakfast we were driven to Cambridge Square Hobart for elevenses. We were then taken to the airport where we said our goodbyes and after we had deposited our luggage we waited for our flight to be called. We boarded the plane at the appointed time and after about an hour and a half arrived in Melbourne. Our transfer was waiting and delivered us to our hotel. Once we'd checked in we took a walk round to familiarise ourselves of the area.

Tuesday 12th May 2015

Today it was time explore the city of Melbourne. Whilst the forecast wasn't for a heat wave it didn't seem too horrific so it was shorts again and it was a good decision despite a few little showers. It had been our intention to ride round the city on the double decker tourist bus that you get in most major cities so we headed off to where we thought the stop was but couldn't find it so we walked to where the free inner city tram starts and travelled to the information centre in Federation Square. Here we discovered that the city provide a shuttle bus for just five dollars, cheaper than the forty five dollars required by the commercial company yet supplied the  same service. So we caught the city shuttle bus and travelled around visiting a number of sites. We alighted at Queen Victoria market where we had lunch. We then rejoined the shuttle bus and drove sights such as Harbour Town, Docklands, Botanical Gardens and many more. We arrived back at Federation Square where I took some pictures of the locality including the Eurika building. This building has an interesting image on it as can be seen on the attached photograph, the gold represents the goldfields, the red represents the blood spilled at the Eurika uprising and the blue represents the flag raised by the gold miners. After this photo session and a bit of shopping we caught the free tram back to the hotel.

Wednesday 13th May 2015

The day started off very wet so we decided to visit an indoor venue. So donned our ponchos and walked to Melbourne Central Station our nearest point for the free tram service. We caught the circular tram to the Melbourne World Trade Centre  which houses the  Victoria Police Headquarters and police museum. We visited the museum and found the exhibits very interesting, particularly the armour worn by the Kelly Gang. After we finished our tour we purchased some souvenirs then had a snack in the canteen. Once refreshed we returned to the tram halt and discovered the rain had stopped and it become quite a bright day. We caught the tram to Parliament Square, where we alighted and I was able to photograph Parliament House and the Treasury Building before getting the tram back to Melbourne Central. Then a slow walk back to the hotel to start preparing our packing for tomorrow's journey to Dubai.

Thursday 14th May 2015

With the cases all packed we deposited them in the luggage locker and set about exploring the city for one final time. We caught the free tram to the Parliament Reserve where there was a magnificent water feature. We continued on along Albert Street where there were some quintessential Australian buildings then we walked through Fitzroy Gardens where there is a model Tudor village that was given by the London Borough of Lambeth in gratitude for the toys and food sent over from Melbourne during the Second World War. Also in the garden is a cottage the once belonged to Captain Cook's parents. It was originally in Yorkshire and was dismantled brick by brick and reassembled here. There is also a tree that has children's figures carved into it. Also an ancient post box or as it was known a Post Office receiving pillar. We left these gardens and caught the tram to Victoria Harbour where there is a shopping outlet. We had lunch here then returned to Federation Square and visited the Australian Museum of the Moving Image where we sat through Australian cinema during the First World War. This was really interesting bearing in mind cinema was in its infancy in those days. It included pieces of news reel , propaganda, feature films, cartoons and adverts, all silent. At five o'clock the museum closed so we caught our final tram back to the hotel for dinner and our luggage. On arrival at the hotel there were blue lights everywhere and roads closed, don't the police just love closing roads. We were concerned this could affect our pick up however our transfer arrived right on the button and delivered us to the airport. We checked in our luggage then queued for over half an hour to get through border control. It's worse getting out of Australia than getting back into Britain. Anyway they let us out and waited for the plane which was delayed half an hour.

Melbourne

Flinders St station

Tram at Federation Square

Queen Victoria market

The five dollar shuttle bus

The circular tram

Inside the circular tram

Post Office receiving pillar

Tasmania

Tasmania

Wednesday 6th May 2015

Flew from Canberra to Hobart via Melbourne. Both flights were good and uneventful. We arrived  at Hobart  airport and after we collected our luggage our friend Roger came and collected us. While we waited the heavens opened. We drove to Austin's Ferry and on arrival the rain turned to hail. A lovely welcome to Tasmania. 

Thursday 7th May 2015

It had been our intention to visit Richmond, but the weather was so bad, pouring rain and high winds, in fact certain parts of the island not too far from where we were were covered in snow. So we decided to go to an indoor location and visit MONA, museum of old and new art (www.mona.net.au refers) the gallery has been excavated in the cliffs. We found some exhibits fascinating  but some were really bizarre nevertheless it was an interesting time. Whilst there we were able to see Mount Wellington covered with snow.

Friday 8th May 2015

Weather a little better today so we visited Hobart. After strolling around this very interesting town we decided to go on a harbour cruise. This little cruise took us around the harbour up to the Tasman Bridge providing some interesting facts about the place. After our trip we continued our exploration of the city before returning home. In the evening we returned to Hobart and went to the flicks to see "A Royal Night Out" really funny film ( spooky as this film is set on the night of 8th May) after which we had a meal and returned home. 

Saturday 9th May 2015

We drove back to Hobart where we breakfasted at one of the waterside cafes then took a wander around the renown Salamanca market. Set between graceful plane trees and the mellow sandstone facades of historic warehouses, Hobart's famous market at Salamanca Place attracts thousands of locals and visitors, every Saturday of the year. They come to visit more than 300 stalls for the food and music, fresh fruit, crisp organic vegetables, hot baked spuds, the warm aroma of a coffee and croissant, buskers singing the blues, stroking a harp or strumming a lively folk song. They come for breakfast, scrambled eggs and orange juice at a Salamanca cafe, then a stroll along the hundreds of stalls, meeting friendly people who make or grow what they sell. Salamanca Market highlights fine Tasmanian art & craft including hand-worked glass, innovative design in Tasmanian timbers, stylish clothing and bold ceramics.

Salamanca Market is close to historic St David’s Park on the fringe of Hobart's central business district. From the market, it's a short climb up Kelly's Steps to reach the Georgian cottages and the village atmosphere of Battery Point. Hobart's picturesque waterfront is also nearby – cross Salamanca lawns to the docks, where hard-working fishing boats are berthed close to cruising yachts and a square-rigger or two.

After we'd exhausted the market we drove to Richmond a beautiful village maintaining the heritage of the area. The bridge at Richmond spans the Coal River was built by convict labour between January 1823 and September 1825 and is said to be the oldest bridge in Australia. (www.richmondvillage.com.au refers). Whilst here we took advantage of having a drink in a typical Aussie pub called the Richmond Arm Hotel.

After Richmond we headed a few miles down the road to the Puddleduck winery, a beautiful setting where you can sample a wine sitting on the decking overlooking a duck pond and the magnificent rolling hills of Tasmania. (www.puddleduck.com.au refers)

Sunday 10th May 2015

We drove north out of Hobart heading towards Bothwell. On our journey we drove over the Bridgewater bridge which meant we had been over all of the Derwent River crossings, the other two being the Tasman and the Bowen bridges. As our journey continued we went through places called Bagdad (sic) Jericho and we crossed the Jordan River but we were not in the Middle East. In fact we thought how much the landscape reminded us of The English Lake District only to discover we were in a part of Tassie called, guess what, the Lake District. At Bothwell we had lunch then visited the distillery at Nant which is said to produce one of the best whiskies in the world. After a few tastings we drove to Brighton via Melton Mowbray to visit some friends of the Wolfes. Then back to Austin's Ferry for some family time as it was Mothers' Day and Roger & Laurie's family joined us for tea.

Tasmania 

Hobart and the area we stayed 

Mount Wellington with snow.

View from Wolfes' home

Salamanca Market

Richmond Bridge

Canberra

After our lovely few days in South New South Wales we returned to Canberra where we basically just chilled and spent time with the Souter family although we did some visiting. On Saturday 2nd May we went back to the Australian Mint and purchased a set of 2015 uncirculated coins as a christening present for our Grandson. I also treated myself to a two up set (Google it) for a bit of fun.

Sunday 3rd May 2015

A really warm day so we started the day sitting in the garden. We then went out for lunch on the way we stopped at the lookout in order to view Government House where the Governor General lives. This is as near as you can get to it. After lunch we went to the bush fire memorial. In 2003, when we were last here and we left just the week before, a bush fire devastated Canberra. Four people were killed and many injured. Much of the area was razed. This memorial is not only for the dead but for the devastation and the subsequent camaraderie these fires bought. Like many Australian memorials it isn't just a focal point it tells a story. There are two walls on which are inscribed comments from the community and there are metal columns between which are thousands of photographs taken by the public showing people with their burnt out homes, the fire crews in action and families holding a bag which was all they had left. Very humbling. In the afternoon we returned home and were joined by the Souter grandchildren who provided us with some music on their string instruments. They were very good.

Monday 4th May 2015

Another lovely day the first part of which was spent the garden then Duncan and I went for a spin in his 1971 MGB convertible. It was a different drive as it's been a few years since I'd driven a car with a manual gearbox and no power steering and the first time I'd ever driven an open top car.

After lunch we returned to the war memorial to witness the five o'clock closing ceremony. We had arrived a little early but it was good fortune for we were able to see the Federation Guard rehearse the catafalque party ceremony. This is held every first and third Wednesday in the month to augment the ceremony we were seeing this afternoon. The guard were in their fatigues but did not detract from the precision of the ceremony. At five o'clock the ceremony started. Each night a differently fallen Australian military person is chosen and a citation read out. This person can be from any conflict, be it First World War through to Afghanistan. Tonight's person was a private soldier, William Thomas LIBBIS, killed at Gallipoli. After the citation is read a piper plays a lament during which wreaths are laid. This evening the fire and ambulance services were represented. After this the last post is played and the ceremony closed. This happens every night and is relayed to every RSL branch in the country. (www.awm.gov.au refers). After this we drove up to the top of Mount Ainsley, dusk was falling so we couldn't get the full benefit of the view but nevertheless it was still good looking over the Canberra night skyline. There was still enough light to get a photograph or two. After Mount Ainsley we took a trip up Mount Pleasant by this time is was quite dark but it did make looking at the full moon rise over the mountain top ever more spectacular. Coming down from Mount Pleasant was a bit hairy for despite being in Australia's capital city it is bush like with a narrow road, steep decline with sharp bends, furthermore this is the time kangaroos come to life and appear out of nowhere. We had a few jump out in front of us but nothing to cause concern. 

Tuesday 5th May 2015

We visited the Museum of Australian Democracy which is located in the Old Parliament House. It still has the two chambers, House of Representatives and the Senate, which incidentally are based on the British two houses, Commons and Lords right down to the colour of the leather seats as applicable. Also in the building available for inspection are the Prime Minister's office, the cabinet room and ancillary offices. This building was vacated in 1988 when the Federal Government moved to its new premises. It was really an interesting building to walk around. (www.moadoph.gov.au refers) very different to the museum of the same name in Ballarat.

After lunch we returned to the billet to get ready for the next phase of the holiday in Tasmania.

Government House

The Bush Fire Memorial (these pillars contain photos)

Bush Fire Memorial (Comments from Community)

Bush Fire Memorial 

ANZAC Parade

Catafalque party rehearsal 

War Memorial closing ceremony piper and bugler 

War Memorial closing ceremony 

Panoramic view of Canberra from Mount Ainsley 

View from Mount Ainsley 

New South Wales (South Coast)

Monday 27th April 2015

We left Canberra and headed south and were soon in New South Wales. We stopped at the village of Bungendore where we visited the wood work gallery. This gallery exhibits and promotes Australian wood art, sculpture,giftware and contemporary furniture by the country's foremost designer/makers. The gallery was designed to create the ideal environment exhibiting wood and other media. It was built in 1994 entirely from Australian materials including jarrah for the post, beams and staircase. Tasmanian oak for the floors, ebonised Victorian ash for the window and door frames and NSW flooded gum wall paneling. (www.bungendorewoodworks.com.au refers). We continued our journey and had a short stop in the historical town of Braidwood.

Braidwood is a really typical Australian town with lovely architecture. It's church was started in 1865 which is old by Australian standards. We continued our journey through the Clyde mountain range and over the Clyde river to an area called the Eurobodalla region. We stopped for lunch of fish and chips which we ate whilst sitting on a deck. At the same time watching the pelicans eat the scraps being discarded by the fishermen. After lunch we headed for Tuross where we had rented a holiday apartment known in Australia as a unit. This unit was on a headland overlooking the ocean. We sat on the lawn imbibing the wonderful view when we were joined by a couple of kookaburras, the first we have seen since our arrival in Australia.

Tuesday 28th April 2015

Sometimes you can wake up and wonder where you are. Today there was no mistaking we were in Australia for we were woken by a chorus of kookaburras. Furthermore it was a clear blue sky and a warm day. This enabled to wear our shorts, tee shirt and sandals for the first time since we'd left Sydney. 

Suitably attired we drove out to witness the beautiful coastline we were visiting. First stop was Potato Point then to Duesbury Head with a magnificent view across to Montague Island. Then we drove to Narooma where we stopped for tea and ANZAC biscuits. We then drove off crossing the lift bridge that goes over Wagonga Inlet and arrived at Tilba a historic village managed by the National Trust. This whole village has shops and pubs with 19th century architecture. It also has a traditional cheese factory. Interestingly the cemetery for this area is right out of the village on the top of a headland. A strange place but an uninterrupted view out to see. Might seem macabre but worth a visit. Having left this village we headed for Bermagui. Again a lovely place worth the visit. The whole day was outstanding. (www.eurobodalla.com.au refers)

Wednesday 29th April 2015

No kookaburra dawn chorus this morning but a lovely morning for exploring the points of the Batemans Bay. Our first stop was Bingie Bingie which you can see by the photo below is awesome. Bingi Bingi means full stomach and gets its Aboriginal name from the abundance of food and medicine available from the flora in the area. We moved onto Mullimburra and saw the coastline from a different perspective. It was now time for elevenses so we drove off road into the bush to where it met the beach and had a beverage. We had been recommended to view a place called Congo. We found a lovely caravan park which would have been right up our street had it been in the UK but apart from that Congo had nothing to offer. So we moved onto Moruya beach where the waves hitting the rocks provided brilliant sound effects.malso at this point was another small cemetery overlooking the sea. This cemetery was old with the graves dating from the 19th century. The residents of this region obviously like their departed to look out to sea. We then moved to the golf club for lunch, like all the clubs we've visited provided excellent value. After lunch we went to downtown Moruya where there are some fascinating buildings and scattered along the the main street are some magnificently carved wooden statues. We then drove to off to Narooma to get some provisions the go to the inlet and watch the massive stingrays swimming about. With the day drawing to a close we returned to the billet. As we drove past the Tuross golf course we saw the largest mob of kangaroos in the wild since we've arrived in Australia. Just aside from the main group was a massive great roo, obviously the alpha male. He was certainly a big un.

Thursday 30th April 2015

No kookaburra today either but we did witness a seal frolicking in the lagoon opposite. He was there to be seen but very camera shy so alas no pictures. We were off to the bush today but on the way we stopped at the beautiful All Saints church in Bodalla which was built in 1881. After this visit we left the main highway taking the Kianga road into the bush. We drove along the track to the Harold Buckeridge lookout. We stopped and admired the view then drove deeper into the bush stopping for some tucker at a clearing. We continued our journey through the bush and rejoined the highway near Narooma where we went to the golf club for lunch. We'll miss these clubs when we get home to the U.K. After lunch around the Wagonga Inlet where there is rock formation amongst which is the Australian Rock. This rock has a hole in it,which with a bit of imagination resembles the outline of Australia. See below and draw you own conclusion. We then drove back to Tuross Head and as it was such a lovely warm day we called at the cafe where we sat on its jetty drinking our afternoon tea. Back at the billet our seal was still visible. We sat on our patio where we were joined by a kookaburra who was so tame allowed Val to feed it. Made her day. 

Friday 1st May 2015

Our last day at Tuross Head. After doing the chores in the billet we returned the key and had one final look at the sea at an aptly named place called One Tree point part of the McWilliam park. Having taken some pictures we moved on stopping at Bermagui for elevenses. We continued our journey and stopped at Tathra to see and photograph its famous wharf. Once done we headed for Bega where we found another country club where we were able to get a superb lunch very cheaply. We left Bega and climbed Brown mountain, part of the Great Divide range stopping at the Fred Piper lookout for a view across the bush and the mountains. We drove along the winding road to Nimmitabel where we stopped for afternoon tea. We reached the summit and drove through Cooma and what was interesting this town is near the winter sports centre so there were shops offering snow boards and skis for hire. Of course the snow isn't here yet but it still felt strange as we were in shorts.  We then continued along the road with sweeping bends admiring the countryside around us there was so much of it, it could only be Australia. After day's drive we arrive back in the ACT and the Souter home. It was a brilliant week with fantastic weather and a great experience seeing places off the conventional Pomm itinerary.

The area we covered 

Batemans Bay

The view from the billet 

Our friendly Kookaburras 

Wind shaped tree at Bingie Bingie

Australian Rock Narooma 

Golden beach at Bingie Bingie