Author: Glendon

Retired Australian Lawyer having worked representing the innocent and the not so innocent in Australia and some of the remote parts of the world and having travelled widely through Europe, Western Russia, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Thailand Malaysia Solomon Islands northern China, Hong Kong and the UAE So now that I have the time I am writing about my travels present and past. Hope you enjoy exploring off the beaten track.

The Retirees Escape to Auckland – Part 4

Tomorrow we meet Cilla and Bob who were our inspiration to travel to Auckland New Zealand. Cilla and Bob live in Attenborough outside Nottingham (Yes the UK). For those who followed our travels in the UK you will already know them and for those who don’t then let me put it this way – Cilla organises the local church working bee for the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Attenborough and we toiled with her amongst the gravestones and Bob well he works at the Nottingham University (not Trent Uni). Cilla and Bob were visiting Auckland for their daughter’s wedding and we thought it was a good opportunity to catch up as our visiting flight was only 3 hours not 26 hours if we went to the UK.

Arrangements had been made – we would meet outside our apartment building and go to One Tree Hill and have lunch at a cafe close by. We knew when Bob had arrived – typical English driving you park your car in the direction you want to go not the direction of the traffic.

One Tree Hill located in Cornwall Park is a 182-metre (597 ft) an important memorial place for both Maori and other New Zealanders. Cilla was certain that visitors could no longer drive to the summit so we walked (and walked and walked and then climbed to the summit past the parked cars of the other visitors). It is surrounded by the suburbs but located within Cornwall Park which is owned by a private trust established to hold the land for the use of the public.  The summit provides views across the Auckland area, and allows visitors to see both of Auckland’s harbours.

On the summit of the hill is an obelisk (not a tree surprisingly), a memorial to Maori. Before the obelisk stands a bronze statue of a Māori warrior. Beneath it is the grave of Sir John Logan Campbell who bequeathed £5,000 for the obelisk and established the trust for the creation of Cornwall Park.

Watch Tower on the Thames
the source
Western side of the Tiower

Of course we then had to walk down the hill to the car for a short journey to the Cornwall Park Cafe. Whilst not as splendid as Tantalus, the ambience and the company made up for it and we reminisced about church yards gravestones and that bloody holly tree that I had to trim. It was lovely to meet them again and made us both miss the Midlands of England even more. After lunch (about 3.00pm) Bob dropped us at the Auckland City Hospital to try and recover the records of Kerry’s visit and pay any outstanding expenses. The clinical notes had not been written up and we are still waiting for the records. Australia and NZ have an agreement about emergency trips to the hospital so there was not charge for the overnight stay.

The Retirees Escape to Auckland – Part 3

Kerry has been released from hospital and insists that we embark on our plans for Waiheke Island and the Eco Zip Lines. It is a beautiful day and we catch the ferry to Waiheke. This is an island just off Auckland and a popular tourist site with many small wineries and breweries as well as walks and beaches. We pass Devonport, North Head the other islands and other travellers and within 30 mins we are docking.

Another piece of antiquity stolen from Egypt
Modern street furniture.
the Nottingham knitted Poppies

We transferred from the ferry to the bus with one other couple who turned out to be American tourists from Orange County. The bus wound its way along the smaller roads to give us scenic views of the island before arriving at Eco Zip Line HQ.

the Crowd
More of the crowd
And more of the crowd
the memorial
the parade

Eco Zip is a series of 3 zip lines (flying foxes) running over the top of some old original forest and modern regrowth. It appears expensive until you see the gear you have to wear and realise that there are two guides working with you all the way. The first line was very gentle to get us started then the second line faster and finally the last line rocketed us down hill about 60 kph thumping into the brake at the bottom. We were warned not to hold onto the bar to closely otherwise you can break your nose as you slam into the break.

the veterans
WW1 uniformed marcher
the Army
the Navy
the Commandos
the Mayor takes the salute
local scout group
the Air Force
The Tower Moat
the Poppy Waterfall
Looking toward the Thames
Looking to the east

Of course what comes down must walk back up only you get to see the forest you sailed over. After getting back to HQ we decided to join our American companions in a trip to a winery and brewery and we would have done that but I left my wallet in my zip line harness and after $35 cab fare we recovered the wallet and ended up at Tantalus Vineyard. A mistake the result of which we found the perfect place for lunch. Both a winery with surrounding vines and a brewery in a stylish building with the dining room styled like a 1950’s American house with bespoke light fittings.

Kerry
Panorama
Our poppy is in there
Close up

By the way this place was great for its food and ambience. We ordered the wines and beers we wanted taste at our table with lunch. After lunch we strolled through the vines and down the road to our bus stop and rode the bus to the quay to catch our ferry ending a fabulous visit to Waiheke Island.

The Retirees Escape to Auckland – Part 2

At the end of Part 1 Kerry had been told by her GP to go to the Emergency Dept at the Auckland Hospital. This is not a place that tourists frequent so we did what everyone does – we called a cab. The hospital is on the edge of the CBD near the Domain and this was 5.30 pm peak hour Friday evening traffic. So it was close to 6.00 pm when we arrived. The GP had rung the Registrar so we got through the immediate steps quickly but thereafter things dragged until the ward nurse told me that visiting hours were almost up.

Temple of Zeus or what is left
Part of Portico around forum
part of the market in the forum

So after tucking Kerry into bed I headed to catch a bus back to the CBD and our Apartment which I did successfully first go. In addition I discovered another Auckland icon in the White Lady; a very large cafe de curbside/pie van that has been an institution in Auckland for 60 + years. After passing this cafe I could see the Apartment building and trekked home.

forum – part of the senate building
Forum view to Temple of Zues

Next day I reversed the journey and caught the bus back to the hospital. The x-rays, ct scans, blood tests had all been completed and a very weary Kerry greeted me with the news that she was unlikely to be discharged until after 2.30 pm that day. The investigation had identified her problem and they had commenced a course of treatment that she would have to continue after discharge. Kerry urged me to find something to do for the day so I ventured out into the street without any real idea of what I might do. So I walked outside and as I did so I asked at the information desk about a museum nearby. To my surprise the Auckland War Museum is in the domain next door to the hospital. So off I went.

Very quickly I found the Domain; literally 100 metres from the hospital steps. This is a large park area with a cricket oval water features the War Museum and open space. Unfortunately, the Museum is on the opposite side of the cricket oval. A brisk walk and I arrived at the back door (not that I knew that at the time). Entry for Auckland residents is free but for “International Tourists” (and that is what I am despite feeling as though I have gone to another suburb in Brisbane)it was $25. The entry was quite amazing. The exterior is a conservative museum look from the 40’s but the interior entry is modern raw and warm dressed timber a great contrast with the cold stone of the building exterior. The ground floor is made over to Maori traditions and culture and Maori/Pakea interaction following the Treaty of Waitangi and a tree house. The second floor is natural history and the third floor the war memorial. Inside is a desk made for General Baden Powell purchased by the museum from the family, a clock which has no particular history but gives the story of the creation of Greenwich Mean Time and how the introduction of railways necessitated the establishment of a unitary measure of time.

amphora discovered in the forum
Entrance House of the Faun
wall in the House of the Faun
Floor in part of the House of the Faun
Cistern in centre of house
murals on walls
portico over the baths
entrance showing the cistern for collecting rain water
Entrance House of the Faun
Courtyard House of the Faun
the portico – House of the Faun
the Faun on the cistern
wall frescos in well to do house
wall relief – baths
wall relief – baths
more murals
main men’s room
entrance to baths

Leaving the Domain I contacted Kerry about her discharge and there was still no word so I went to subway to get lunch and as Murphy’s Law applies Kerry was discharged and waiting for me. Show I showed her what I had learned of the Auckland bus system and we went home.

The Retirees Escape to Auckland – Part 1

Thanks to our travel in 2014 and 2015, we had earned loyalty points with EVA Air which we utilised to visit Auckland through the Star Alliance partnership with Air New Zealand. Auckland is presently 3 hours ahead of Brisbane so leaving Brisbane at 6.00 pm meant that we arrived at Auckland International Airport at midnight. We could have planned that better. Taxi fare to our apartment at Metro Apartments Courthouse Lane NZ$69.00. At 1.00 am in the morning we did not much care about anything but finding our bed.

Booking in was a bit different. Whilst I stood guard over the luggage Kerry walked around to Kitchener St and the entrance to the Metro Building where our pass key had been left for collection. We learned later that the two building are joined internally. To my surprise our apartment was on the 29th floor. Again to my surprise it was modern with great views and a big bed. After catching up on sleep we awoke to a sunny but cool day and we were greeted by this view.

Arch of Septimus Severus
Carcere Di san Pietro (Mamertino)
the old cistern in Carcere Di san Pietro (Mamertino)
View from Cafe in Vittoriano

Breakfast called and we had a little trouble finding a suitable cafe. Lesson 1 – cafes are in High St not Queen St. Anyway we find a place and after breakfast we walked to the Sky Tower passing some interest improvisation with containers. Everywhere we look there is some thing different done with shipping containers of all sizes. On this occasion it was street vendors.

 

Principally we headed to the Tower as we were told this was the closest tourist information centre. Auckland has a number of volcanic plugs within it and they are steep. The tower is atop one so after a steady climb we arrived gained the info we wanted and decided that we had better have a look at this icon of Auckland. We rode the elevator to level 51 viewing platform. the elevator has a glass panel in the floor so that you can watch the ground drop away at some speed and then as you rise there are gaps in the building where you feel as though you are going to be flung out into the air. Interesting! At the top magnificent views with glass floor panels so that you can have the feeling of insecurity looking 51 floors to the ground, but wait there is more – up in a second elevator to the 60th floor for breathtaking views and the opportunity to watch the brave souls who have chosen to take the walk on the exterior of the Tower (obviously chained to the building).

an equestrian sculpture of Victor Emmanuel
View from Cafe in Vittoriano
“mist ifying” fan at the cafe
Elevator to the top of Vittoriano
the ruins of the Basilica of Julia from the top of Vittoriano
Goddess Victoria riding on quadrigas
Goddess Victoria riding on quadrigas
Rome with a view

After our “walk on the high side” we returned to our Apartment loaded with the groceries for a week. In the afternoon we decided to orientate our selves for later adventures so we walked down to the harbour and followed the harbour edge to Wynyard Quarter where we experienced another opening bridge. At first we wondered who’s car alarm was going off until we realised that the bridge was closing to allow a vessel to pass under into the docks. As we waited I noticed two locals sharing a yarn after swimming. The Wynyard quarter is a redeveloped area of the old waterfront and includes modern restaurants and modern designed buildings as well as more exotic uses of shipping containers (eg) this bus shelter.

“St. Mary and the Martyrs”
entry to the Pantheon

We slowly wound our way back to the Apartment where there is a Pizza Restaurant called Amore. It is reminiscent of our Pizza Restaurant in Rome – we dined there just about every night. And we were not disappointed – our waiter and one of the owners clearly was Italian born and told us he came from Milan area and spent some time in Rome sold Moretti beer and made a great pizza. Perfect.

Friday morning and we caught the ferry to Devonport, a harbour side village accessible by ferry or by road the difference being 7 mins by ferry or one and a half hour drive by road. We purchased the Devonport tour which included the return ferry ride and whilst there is not a lot to see at Devonport what is there is a laid back residential life with a maritime background and Maori heritage. We left the dock at 10.00 am and were surprised that people travelling from Devonport we just as numerous as those travelling to it. We got a great view of the harbour from the ferry. As we departed we saw the Ferry House as the early sailors would have seen it, the cruise liner at its terminal, the container terminal with the War Museum on the hill in the background and part of the NZ Navy.

“Santa Maria Rotonda”
Looking out from under the dome
Viewing the oculus
Bascilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri
Somewhere in there are those shorts

As we got nearer our destination we saw a lovely home on a headland and saw the iconic view of Auckland.

 

 

Teatro Dell’Opera Di Roma
Fountain in Piazza Republica

Our tour started on our arrival and we were joined by two other travellers both from Wollongong. We journeyed through the street of the village with our driver a retired sailor from the Naval base telling us the Maori heritage of North Head and maritime history of Flagstaff renamed Devonport when the semaphore purposes of Flagstaff Hill (now called Mt Victoria) changed. The Maori were removed from North Head and other headlands so the British could develop fortifications to protect the colony from other nations particularly the Russians.  The forts they developed never fired a shot in anger and the land is to be returned to the Maori but presently is public open space.

street sculpture
street decoration
street sculpture
Heliport and solar sail
I got the giggles
street decoration

Note the unique disappearing 8″ gun mounted on a pneumatic arm using the recoil to push it out of view.

We then moved on to the next Fort Takapuna. Much the same as North Head. Then onto Mount Victoria (Flagstaff Hill) which the Maori are talking about closing to the public. But not yet so we might be one of the last non Maori to go up the hill. Anyway we looked back to North Head and across to the docks at Auckland. We also looked at Rangitoto a volcanic island formed around 600 years ago and the latest addition to the NZ Navy built for them in Melbourne an urgent response ship.

the Theatre
seating for the theatre
portico on gladiator’s square
Gladiatorial square

After a relaxing morning we went home and Kerry visited a doctor regarding extreme stomach pain which she had been coping with for a few days. The GP was uncertain and with the weekend upon us she rang the Registrar at the Auckland Hospital and off we went to No 14 on the top ten favourite tourist spots in Auckland – Auckland Hospital

 

 

 

The Retirees at GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art) Brisbane

Wake up and out of bed, clean my teeth, brush my hair and pull on my pants for today we are going to GOMA with the grandkids. For those who don’t know GOMA has great interactive projects for children as well as some serious Art. The kids love a visit as it engages their minds – well for a period any way. Today they have an interactive display with mirrors and artificial hair and a display on three sisters of Mornington Is. An Icelandic artist has the view that self image is important and that vanity can be a positive not a negative so she has created this experience for children. We arrive and much to my surprise there are two giant slides in the main foyer of GOMA – there is only a lower limit on age but it does not open till next week.

the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
a remnant of the Forum

Still there is a lot to do. We go through the foyer and the hairy doorway into the Mirror room.

the Curia and the Arch of Septimius Severus.
View across the Forum
the ruins of the Temple of Saturn

We then explored the world of Bennickt Island and the artist expression of 3 aboriginal sisters remembering their ancestral home. The big kids enjoyed it as much as the little kids.

Vittoriano – Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Mercato Monti Urban Market

In no time it is time for lunch and we go to the cafe in GOMA beside the river and observe the superb location of the building, some of its crazy art and the brazen water dragons feeding on hand outs from cafe patrons.

note the flood warning built in the bridge

The Retirees go to Melbourne – Kinky Boots

Whilst in the UK we heard or saw the story of a 3rd generation family owned boot company which was struggling and at risk of going under. So, when Kerry saw that “Kinky Boots” was coming to Melbourne we were keen to go and see the musical. Secondly the music for the story was written by Cyndi Lauper – one of Kerry’s favourite singers.

We flew down on the Thursday morning with the view of having the weekend in Melbourne to finally catch up with pseudo son Damian, Barbara and their daughter Chloe and Kerry’s niece Aimee and her partner Joel. Thursday night we went to the show at the Her Majestys Theatre in Exhibition St. The performance was great. Kerry was disappointed with the seats but that might be the result of allowing an agency to do the booking for you – lesson for next time.

We had no plans for Friday. Melbourne has a tourist circuit bus which gives you a hop on hop off facility for two days for the grand price of $10 per person. Stop 4 is in Exhibition St where we were staying at the Mantra Apartment Hotel. So, we travelled on the bus getting off at Victoria Markets to browse through the extensive offering of everything. We reboarded the bus and travelled down to Docklands for a bit of shopping and to see the changes.

“the throne room”
the throne
Part of the interior artwork
Ceiling of the patio
History of the Icon

Docklands has some unusual street art which is all very different. Like the squatting red figures and the “termite mounds”. You also have some dramatic views of the Melbourne CBD skyline. We walked through Docklands to the Old Woolshed Pub for a bite of lunch. Great use of former warehouses but later in the day we saw on the news that just after we left the pub and caught the bus again the Woolshed Pub was destroyed by fire. Just a coincidence! Anyway, our journey ended at the base of the Eureka Tower to visit the viewing platform on the 88 floor and Kerry saw this;

The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
inside Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

The Trike journey started in the office and then for 2 to 3 hours we travelled around Albert Park (the track, the swans and their signets, and the skyline) following the F1 track and then down to St Kilda, Brighton Beach (for an ice cream and view the beach huts and the Melbourne skyline) and Black Rock (the Melbourne skyline). Kerry loved the acceleration as Clive our driver and guide manoeuvred through Friday evening Melbourne traffic. With the ride finished we returned to our apartment to plan our Saturday.

inside Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
inside Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
inside Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
walking around the inner wall
From the plaza at the rear of Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
inside the walls
the ravaged southern walls

The morning started with a visit to some of Melbourne’s famous lanes and then lunch with Damian and Chloe at a new hotel in Collingwood. Chloe very quickly lost her shyness and interacted with us as old friends. Later Damian (who owns and runs a music agency) informed Kerry that he could get tickets for us to see Goldie Hawn on Monday evening and before I knew it the deal was done (mucking up some engagements I had arranged for Tuesday but…). That evening we visited Melbourne’s Comic Lounge in Errol St North Melbourne. Dinner and show for $55 per head was good value and the show was great. Five acts with each comedian bringing a different flavour to the evening.

walking around the inner wall
the front row seats
the underground passages under the arena
two of the tourists
reconstructed arena
cross erected in 18th century
the bigger picture

Sunday and we met Aimee and Joel and travelled to the Bellarine Peninsula outside of Geelong – new territory for us. It took about an hour which gave us plenty of time to catch up. As we drove towards Basil’s Farm we saw the signs to Scotchmans Hill. No question – we had to go to the cellar door.

Palatine Hill
Imperial Arch outside the Colosseum

After tasting for an hour and purchasing some for Ron (later on), we moved on to Basil’s Farm for lunch. The menu included many of the fruits and vegetables grown on the farm. The bouillabaisse included Tasmanian seafood and the cheese platter that followed was all local product. We could not miss the cellar door and spent 40 to 50 minutes there taking some samples for later. Lovely way to spend a Sunday.

Approaching the Colosseum
underground passages
arch of Titus
one of the entrances for the Romans

Monday morning, we returned to the lanes of Melbourne. As we had to check out of the hotel, visit Suzie and move to Aimee’s place we returned to the hotel checked out and then took a cab to Middle Park. Suzie, an old friend was babysitting for her daughter and had noticed we were in Melbourne from Facebook postings. Morning tea and lunch with Suzie and both her daughters who turned up for various reasons and we arranged travelling to Aimee’s place.

the Basilica of Maxentius

Tuesday we caught the tram back to the city ending up at the National Gallery of Victoria. Located in Federation Square, the gallery displays some of the most important pieces of Australian early art – artists like Roberts, Conder McCubbin and Boyd. We spent a few hours here only able to see the early Australian collection and the collection of some of the donors to the gallery. Hours more too see. We returned to our temporary home to prepare for the show at the Regent Theatre. Damian surprised us at the theatre and we went to dinner before viewing Peter Hellier and Goldie Hawn having a chat on a couch for an hour or so. It was interesting but we had seen Billy Crystal in the same format in Brissie and I preferred that.

So, that ended our Melbourne trip. The next morning, we returned to Brisbane. Our next tour will be to Auckland in a few weeks.

The Retirees on the Move Again – Tasmania in Ten – Last Day in Tassie

The next day Saturday and Paul and Emily were not working and the kids were not at school. So we went to Salamanca Markets. Emily has the best parking spot for the markets even on busy days.

Papal Apartment

A stroll around the markets, a visit to Princes Park (Paul works for the council caring for this park and others), then to the Signal House (the park once housed canon to protect the Harbour) and back to the markets.

Carpark Bus Station and Metro Anangina
the Markets Anangina

Lunch was followed by a trip to the other side of the harbour for scones and coffee with Emily’s parents. The Sydney Swans were playing North Melbourne at Bellerive Oval and that is where they live at Howrah so a little bit of excitement there. Paul wanted to show us the matching gun emplacement on this side of the harbour before we fell upon the scones and coffee.

St John’s Lateran
Doors from Domus Faustae

Like all good things our trip came to an end and we returned to much warmer weather to prepare for the working week.

The Retirees on the Move Again – Tasmania in Ten – South Hobart Mt Wellington and Mt Pleasant

The journey into south Hobart was almost as winding as the trip to Queenstown. We followed a new moon into Hobart. Night made it difficult to spot the house but a vigorously waving Emily caught our attention. After a happy reunion we dine on impromptu pizzas with a bottle of red – very nice indeed.

Paul is our youngest son and Emily is his wife. They have two daughters Finney and Lola and live in a three – bedroom house almost at the pinnacle of Mt Wellington. As they live under Mt Wellington our first visit the next day Friday was to the summit of the mountain where we were whipped by very strong winds. Of course this is where I received a call on my mobile from a solicitor enquiring on one of my files. The wind was so strong and the reception terrible I had to confess to being on top of Mt Wellington. As I explored the old shelter Kerry was being blown away on the walkway below the new lookout shelter. We enjoyed a cup of coffee whilst watching everyone else sheltering from the wind. The drive back down was quite hairy.

Truly enormous – St Peters square and the Basilica
Lunch – a bit disappointing
Museo Nazioanale Di Castel Sant’Angelo
internal bridge – likely once a draw bridge
Entry into the Castle
Kerry’s friend
Cafe – Museo Nazioanale Di Castel Sant’Angelo

Next we went to lunch at Frogmore Creek Winery. A friend of our daughter Carly, Shelly is managing the restaurant and cellar. Carly had strongly recommended we make time to visit and she was not wrong. Beautiful food, presented in an innovative way and not expensive with a view 2nd to none. We were looking at Mt Pleasant and the two radio telescope dishes operated by the University of Tasmania. It is home to three radio astronomy antennas and the Grote Reber Museum.

Frogmore wineries is made up of the Cambridge Vineyard and the Campania Vineyard. The Cambridge vineyard is situated on the base of the foothills at the end of the Coal River Valley, planted around Frogmore Creek Wines’ Cellar Door and the Restaurant overlooking the picturesque Barilla Bay. The Cambridge vineyard was first established between 1998-1999 and is the differentiated by a smaller diurnal variation than more inland vineyards (milder days and nights) – the moderating effect is from the proximity to the sea (Barilla Bay). We were impressed with the wines and joined their wine Club.

view to the Tiber
View to St Peter’s Basilica

We ordered lunch and my curiosity made me google the Observatory to see if they did tours. They did but not today but I turned on my charm (??) and organised that after our first two courses we would do the tour and then come back for dessert. Which is what we did.

Grote Reber was the father of radio astronomy, being the first person to build a “big dish” antenna for the purpose of mapping the sky at radio frequencies. He discovered many discrete radio sources, and he mapped the band of bright radio emission from our Galaxy, the Milky Way.

Reber came to Tasmania in the late 1950s because of its unique location at high magnetic latitude in the southern hemisphere. He spent 40 years studying low frequency emissions with telescopes he built himself, first in partnership with the University of Tasmania School of Physics, and later on his own at Bothwell. His accomplishments are remarkable, not only in radio astronomy but also in electrical powered transport, in carbon dating of aboriginal settlements, and in the patterns made by growing bean plants. The museum has exhibits that show Reber’s telescopes, his life’s work, and his many other interests. A unique feature is Reber’s original radio shack, the control building for the radio telescope array at Bothwell, which is installed at the Museum with Reber’s original radio equipment in place.

The museum also shows the radio frequency spectrum with graphic illustrations and physical demonstrations of electromagnetic waves. The radio sky is shown, with matching illustrations of galaxies as seen in the radio and optical spectrum data acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope. A feature of the Museum is a Virtual Reality Theatre, provided by the Swinburne University of Technology. The museum will show entertaining and educational movies and demonstrations in three dimensions.

A feature for us was to visit the control room and see the atomic clock and learn of the impending visit by NASA in respect of the smaller of the two telescopes.

We then returned to desserts that were out of this world (very fitting I thought). After lunch we tried the wines at the wine tasting to finish off a most remarkable day.

Paving from Hadrian’s time
Palace of Justice
Sleeping rough
Service station
Cartier – Bresson
Fountain at Henri Cartier- Bresson
Fountain at Palassio di Spagne
Sunset

 

Dinner that night at the Shipwrights Arms was not as wonderful as Frogmore but it was with the family and we all enjoyed it.

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The Retirees on the Move Again – Tasmania in Ten – West Coast Wilderness Railway

Watered and fed we returned to our caravan park, slept as best we could then showered in the freezing cold of the ablutions block the following morning, before boarding the Mt Lyell No 3 steam engine for a ride from Queenstown to Dubbil Barril. The West Coast Wilderness Railway is a reconstruction of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company railway in Tasmania between Queenstown and Regatta Point, Strahan. The railway is significant because of its Abt system to conquer the mountainous terrain through rainforest, with original locomotives still operating on the railway today. Now operating as a tourist experience with a focus on sharing the history of the Tasmania’s West Coast, the original railway began operations in 1897 as the only link between Queenstown and the port of Strahan. The railway utilised the Abt rack and pinion system for steep sections and the gauge is 3 ft 6 in. The Abt system was devised by Roman Abt, a Swiss locomotive engineer.

A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail. This allows the trains to operate on steep grades above around 7 to 10%, which is the maximum for friction-based rail.

What the!
Magnum deluxe
Pretty good!

We stopped at various stations (now abandoned except for the tourists attending the trip), panned for gold at Lynchford, walked through a cold weather rain forest, and saw trestle bridges built by hand from forest timber, witnessed a hand operated turntable at Dubbil Barril and were feed every step of the way. The “guard” Thomas told us the story of the two Irish miners Crotty and Bowes Kelly (and co-opted two passengers into playing the parts) along the journey making some of the more boring parts entertaining.

We started with sparkling wine and salmon canapes before arriving at the gold town of Lynchford where we panned for a tiny speck of gold. Yes only one tiny speck was found. Here we saw the F O Henry sign above the shop door reminding us of the demount-able store we saw in a picture in the Hall at Lake Margaret and F O Henry went on to become one of Tasmania’s wealthiest men.

Via Germanico
the queue

After panning for gold we had scones jam and cream before our next stop to take on water for the boiler after our engine had got to the top of the mountain. We got to see the rack and pinion system in operation.

Pinecone Courtyard
Dome of the Basilica
Debra
Papal Apartments
Gallery of Maps
ceiling of the Gallery of Maps

After this stop we cruised down the mountain through the gorge amazed at the rugged country through which the railway had been built by manual labour and into Dubbil Barril where we strolled through a forest walk whilst the engineers turned the engine around for the trip back to Queenstown. The turntable is manual and lots of steam is expelled during the process and not just from the engine. On our return journey we snacked on salad wraps and hot chocolate. Thomas finished his tale of the rivalry between the Irish miners and how that determined the death of some towns and the survival of Queenstown.

Pinecone Courtyard
Octagonal Courtyard
Laocoön and His Sons
the Belvedere Torso
huge ceremonial saucer
Red Porphyry Sarcophagus of Constantina
Hercules in bronze
Tapestry in the Tapestry Gallery
Resurrection of Christ

After a very enjoyable journey we went home to the van and commenced our journey to Hobart, still full from all the food on the train. It is one of the longer legs of our journey and we encountered a full moon on the way finally arriving at Paul and Emily’s house in South Hobart around 6.30pm.

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The Retirees on the Move Again – Tasmania in Ten – Queenstown

We said farewell to Strahan the following day heading towards Queenstown in the rough and rugged mountains of the West Coast. Queenstown’s history has long been tied to the mining industry. First explored in 1862, alluvial gold was discovered at Mount Lyell in 1880 but when the gold petered out in 1892, an Irish miner by the name of Crotty began searching for copper. In the 1900s, Queenstown was the centre of the Mount Lyell mining district and had numerous smelting works, brick-works, and sawmills. The town in its heyday had the world’s biggest copper mine and had a collection of hotels, churches and schools that have all significantly reduced since the reduction of mining.

Owing to a combination of tree removal for use in the smelters and the smelter fumes (for about 40 years), and the heavy annual rainfall (about 3 metres per year), the erosion of the shallow horizon topsoil back to the harder rock profile contributed to the stark state of the mountains for many decades. There was a brief boom in prosperity in the 1980s, with the building of several nearby dams by the Hydro. The Darwin and Crotty dams that comprise Lake Burbury were built during this period. But hydro power had been introduced to the area much earlier at Lake Margaret.

After driving along some of the most twisting roads in Tasmania, we finally arrived in Queenstown greeted by the Galley Museum (formerly the Imperial Hotel) in view of the Queenstown Railway which would be the highlight of our stay in Queenstown. After locating our caravan park, we returned to the Galley Museum and for the grand sum of $5 each we were able to look through the relics of the mining industry and community that grew up in that rugged and remote place. It is a tremendous community resource displaying photos and memorabilia of the town from foundation through the turbulent and prosperous years of the gold rush and the copper boom into the more mellow years of tourism. Each of the rooms of the hotel was brim full of the memorabilia, including a room dedicated the Royal Order of the Antediluvian Buffaloes.

the Dining Room Queens College
Chestnut Tree Court
inside the chapel Queens College
Punting on the River Cam
Queens College flora
Kings College

As we left the museum we were fare welled by one of its stalwart inhabitants.

We had learnt about the Iron Blow, Mount Lyell Mining company and North Mount Lyell Mining company and some of the rivalry between two Irish miners Crotty and Bowes Kelly and were to learn more about them on our railway adventure tomorrow.

Rotary meeting – Saffron Waldron
Woolloongabba banner
the Cross Keys Saffron Waldron
High St Saffron Waldron

On the way to the Iron blow we passed a waterfall but the walk way was out of action due to a rock fall and travelling back down we got a good idea of the size and scope of Queenstown. Returning to the township we stopped at the Skopa which is a hill overlooking part of the town and it is decorated with a canon left over from a re – enactment of a Boer war battle.

Saffron Waldron’s Church
the Vicarage beside the church
the Town Well and Town Hall
Blickling House

Kerry had booked a tour of the Lake Margaret Hydro Power Station and due to the time of the year we found ourselves the only persons on the tour. In 1911 the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company decided to make more extensive use of electricity in its smelting operations. It selected Lake Margaret, a small lake high up on Mount Sedgwick, to the north-west of the town, as its catchment area. The water was originally conveyed from the dam via a 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) wood stave pipeline. The Australian Woodpipe Company was consulted and employed to construct the wooden pipeline. The Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Company determined that not only was a wooden pipeline cheaper to construct, but it was also more efficient and durable than iron or steel. The local native Tasmanian timber King Billy Pine was studied but it was decided not to be suitable. The wood stave pipeline was subsequently constructed from Oregon Pine (Douglas Fir), which was imported from Canada. The timber was shipped to the west coast town of Strahan and was transported to the Lake Margaret precinct via the ABT Railway (more about this tomorrow). This pipeline rapidly deteriorated and in 1938 was replaced by a King Billy Pine wood stave pipeline, with the timber sourced locally. This pipeline was still in service until the 30 June 2006 closure of the Lake Margaret Power Scheme.

In June 2008 a decision was made to return the Lake Margaret Power Station back to operational capacity. Lake Margaret system was reopened in 2009. The refurbishment included rebuilding the 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) wood stave penstock for the Upper Power Station. The upper power station was reopened on 12 November 2009, and the lower power station on 23 July 2010. We toured the site visiting the former workers’ cottages and their Hall, the Upper power station and the weir with views of the wooden portions of the pipeline. When visiting the workers’ cottages, we saw the description of the vegetables grown by the workers spelt out in stones by those workers who revisited the township on a “Back to Lake Margaret Reunion”.

Dining Room
One of the bedrooms
the Beach at Shearingham
Bedroom 2
the house and gardens
the Entry staircase
RAF museum and memorial
Embroidery on dislaly at Blickling
Breakfast at East Midlands Airport

After the tour we returned to town and our caravan park. We decided we would go to the empire Hotel for dinner. Another of the 14 hotels established during the boom times, it boasts a staircase made out of local blackwood which was sent to England for manufacture and returned to the hotel for installation. The meals were quite reasonable and the poker machines gave up their bounty to Kerry.

the Spanish Stairs
Hotel Arcadia – our home
Ciampino Airport

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