[{"content":"This page documents the key folders and files in the ElseyWorld repository.\nTop-level overview #Elseyworks/ ├── archetypes/ # Default front matter templates for new pages ├── assets/ # Source files processed by Hugo (CSS, images) ├── config/ # Hugo site configuration files ├── content/ # All site content (markdown pages) ├── data/ # (currently unused) Hugo data files ├── docs/ # Internal project documentation and briefs ├── i18n/ # Internationalisation string overrides ├── layouts/ # Custom Hugo templates overriding the theme ├── migration/ # Python tooling for legacy CMS content migration ├── public/ # Hugo build output — never edit directly ├── resources/ # Hugo internal cache — never edit directly ├── static/ # Static files copied verbatim to the build output └── themes/congo/ # The Congo theme — do not edit directly archetypes/ #Contains default.md — the front matter template Hugo uses when creating a new content page with hugo new. Edit this to change the default fields that appear in new pages.\nassets/ #Source assets that Hugo processes through its asset pipeline before publishing.\nassets/ ├── css/ │ └── custom.css # All custom CSS overrides for the site └── img/ ├── logo/ # Site logo images (light/dark variants) └── people/ # Author headshots used in bio components Key rule: custom.css is automatically bundled by Congo — no configuration needed. All custom styles go here, never inline or in theme files.\nconfig/_default/ #All Hugo configuration is split across these files:\nFile Purpose hugo.toml Core settings: base URL, title, language, timezone, pagination params.toml Congo theme parameters: colour scheme, navigation, social links, features languages.en.toml Language-specific settings (site title, description) menus.en.toml Navigation menu items markup.toml Goldmark markdown renderer settings, syntax highlighting, table of contents module.toml Hugo module configuration (theme import) content/ #All site content as markdown files. Hugo builds a page for every file here.\ncontent/ ├── _index.html # Home page ├── articles/ # Lynn\u0026#39;s magazine-style articles │ ├── business/ │ ├── careers/ │ ├── food-travel/ │ ├── health/ │ └── magazines/ ├── blog/ # Nick\u0026#39;s travel blog posts │ ├── asia-2009/ │ ├── australia-2002-trip-1/ │ ├── australia-2002-trip-2/ │ ├── australia-2009/ │ ├── moving-to-dc/ │ └── south-pacific-1997/ ├── categories/ # Taxonomy term pages (one per category) ├── contact/ # Contact pages for Nick and Lynn └── resources/ # Site guides and technical reference (this section) Most section landing pages use _index.md (branch bundles). Individual posts use index.md (leaf bundles) with co-located images in the same folder. See the index vs _index page for the distinction.\ndocs/ #Internal project documentation — not part of the published site. Contains planning briefs and notes used during development and content migration.\ni18n/ #Internationalisation override files. Currently unused but available to override any UI strings that the Congo theme defines (e.g. \u0026ldquo;Read more\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;Table of Contents\u0026rdquo;).\nlayouts/ #Custom Hugo templates that override the Congo theme. Hugo\u0026rsquo;s lookup order means any file here takes precedence over its equivalent in themes/congo/layouts/.\nlayouts/ ├── simple.html # Custom simple layout template ├── term.html # Custom taxonomy term layout ├── partials/ │ ├── article-link.html # Custom article link component │ ├── author.html # Author bio component │ ├── footer.html # Site footer override │ ├── logo.html # Site logo override │ ├── term-article-list.html # Article listing for taxonomy pages │ ├── functions/ # Hugo template helper functions │ └── header/ # Header partial overrides ├── resources/ │ └── list.html # Custom list template for the resources section └── shortcodes/ # Custom shortcodes (see Short Code Reference) Key rule: Never edit files inside themes/congo/. Always create an override in the matching path under layouts/.\nmigration/ #Python tooling used to fetch and migrate content from the legacy CMS. Not used in the day-to-day running of the site.\nFile Purpose main.py Entry point config.py Migration configuration (source URLs, paths) fetch.py Fetches pages from the legacy CMS migrate.py Converts fetched content to Hugo markdown parser.py Parses and cleans legacy HTML content images.py Downloads and processes images fingerprint.py Content fingerprinting to detect changes debug_fetch.py Debug helper for fetch operations image-migration-log.csv Log of migrated images internal-links-log.csv Log of internal link rewrites Run scripts as modules from the repo root with the virtual environment active:\nsource .venv/bin/activate python -m migration.fetch Package management uses uv (not pip). The virtual environment is at .venv/.\npublic/ #Hugo\u0026rsquo;s build output. Generated by running hugo or hugo server. Never edit files here directly — they are overwritten on every build. Deploy this folder to the hosting provider.\nresources/ #Hugo\u0026rsquo;s internal asset cache (generated files, processed images). Managed automatically by Hugo. Do not edit.\nstatic/ #Files copied verbatim into the root of the build output without any processing.\nstatic/ ├── CNAME # Custom domain for GitHub Pages hosting ├── site.webmanifest # PWA manifest for the site ├── apple-touch-icon.png # iOS home screen icon ├── favicon-*.png # Browser tab favicons ├── img/ # Static images referenced site-wide └── admin/ ├── index.html # Decap CMS admin interface └── config.yml # Decap CMS configuration Use static/ for files that need a fixed, known URL (e.g. favicon.ico, robots.txt). Use assets/ for files that need Hugo processing (e.g. CSS bundling).\nthemes/congo/ #The Congo Hugo theme, included as a Git submodule. Do not edit any files here. All customisations are made by placing override files in the corresponding layouts/, assets/, or static/ paths at the repo root — Hugo\u0026rsquo;s lookup order will prefer them automatically.\nTo update the theme: git submodule update --remote themes/congo\n","date":"3 May 2026","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/admin/technical/folder-structure/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"Folder Structure"},{"content":" Nick Elsey Lynn Elsey Nick's Travel Blogs Over the years we've had some fun travel adventures. At times, I felt the urge to take notes and share them with friends and family — even before blogging was a thing. Lynn's Articles A selection of articles by Lynn, plus some of the publications that Lynn has managed. GitHub Projects A select of Nick's open source projects on GitHub. VFR Flight Planner For any student VFR Pilots needing to complete an old fashioned VFR Flight Plan, here's a useful Excel version of this flight planning tool. ","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/","section":"Home Page","summary":"","title":"Home Page"},{"content":"Components #This site uses the following technologies\nHugo #The main engine that generates the site content from the markdown files and Tailwind CSS\nCongo Theme #Implements the theme for the Elseyworks site\nCloudflare #Provides DNS services for elseyworks.com as well as automatic SSL (via Let\u0026rsquo;s Encrypt) and the worker for Decap CMS authorisation.\nGitHub Pages #Hosts the actual site\nDecap CMS #The simple content management system. See the CMS Guide for the end user manual.\nInstallation #For the original installation of these components, see the following Notes in UpNote:\nHugo Implementation - Phase 1 for the setup of Hugo and the Congo theme. Hugo Implementation - Phase 2 for the Decap CMS + Github Pages + Cloudflare Implementation ","date":"3 May 2026","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/admin/technical/installation/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"Installation and Configuration"},{"content":"These are the yaml format key / value pairs at the start of a markdown page. Front matter fields used across this site are documented below.\nKey Type Description Used In title string Page title displayed in headers and lists All content types description string Meta description for SEO and page summaries All content types date datetime Publication date (format: 2009-04-21T00:00:00.000+10:00) Blog posts, articles, resources draft boolean Publication status (true = unpublished, false = published) All content types author string Post author attribution (e.g., Nick Elsey, Lynn Elsey) Blog posts, articles layout string Template to use: simple, term, or list Category pages, resources, contact pages, section indexes thumbnail string Page resource image filename for cards and headers (must be in same folder) Blog posts, articles, resources categories array Content taxonomy for grouping (e.g., [\u0026quot;Asia 2009\u0026quot;, \u0026quot;Nick\u0026quot;]) Blog posts, articles aliases array URL redirects from old paths (e.g., [\u0026quot;/post/old-url\u0026quot;]) All content types groupByYear boolean Group list items by year (true/false) Category pages, section indexes, resources defaultSortOrder string Default sort direction: asc or desc Category pages sortControl boolean Enable user-facing sort controls Category pages sortKey string Specify field to sort by (e.g., title) Resources section showBreadcrumbs boolean Show the bread crumb trail at the top of the page. showTableOfContents boolean Display table of contents in article Resources, technical guides showDate boolean Control date display Contact pages, resources showReadingTime boolean Control reading time estimate display Contact pages, resources showAuthor boolean Control author display Cascade settings cascade object Front matter properties to pass to all descendant pages Section index pages authorName string Author name (used in cascade, e.g., \u0026quot;Lynn Elsey\u0026quot;) Articles section cascade authorImage string Author photo path (used in cascade, e.g., \u0026quot;img/people/lynn_elsey_author.jpg\u0026quot;) Articles section cascade authorBio string Author biography (used in cascade) Articles section cascade articleClass string Custom CSS class for article content (e.g., ew-prose-full) Contact pages If you want to cascade any of these settings to all child pages and folder, add this to the branch bundle _index page front matter:\n[cascade] showAuthor = true System wide defaults #Enable / disable system wide settings by default, toggle the relevant parameter in /config/_default/params.toml. For example:\n[article] showAuthor = false Additional authors #Multiple authors are supported by Congo, so we created this file: /layouts/partials/author.html. This lets us the following block to the front matter of a branch bundle _index page to set this author for all child pages:\n[cascade] showAuthor = true authorName = \u0026#34;Lynn Elsey\u0026#34; authorImage = \u0026#34;img/lynn_author.jpg\u0026#34; authorBio = \u0026#34;I\u0026#39;m skilled at creating effective and engaging communications, targeted to maximise impact.\u0026#34; The showAuthor field on any child page can be used to override and disable the author deisplay for that page.\nCommon Front Matter Patterns by Content Type #Blog Posts (/content/blog/**/index.md):\ntitle: \u0026#34;Post Title\u0026#34; description: \u0026#34;Post summary for SEO and cards\u0026#34; date: 2009-04-21T00:00:00.000+10:00 author: Nick Elsey draft: false thumbnail: featured-image.jpg categories: - Asia 2009 - Nick aliases: - /post/old-url Articles (/content/articles/**/index.md):\ntitle: \u0026#34;Article Title\u0026#34; description: \u0026#34;Article summary\u0026#34; date: 2026-04-01T18:04:05+11:00 author: Lynn Elsey draft: false thumbnail: article-image.jpg categories: - Careers - Lynn Category Pages (/content/categories/*/_index.md):\ntitle: \u0026#34;Category Name\u0026#34; description: \u0026#34;Category description\u0026#34; layout: list groupByYear: true defaultSortOrder: asc sortControl: true aliases: - /old-category-url Resources (/content/resources/**/index.md):\ntitle: \u0026#34;Resource Title\u0026#34; description: \u0026#34;Resource description\u0026#34; date: 2026-04-01T10:00:00+11:00 draft: false layout: term thumbnail: resource-image.jpg showTableOfContents: true showDate: false showReadingTime: false sortKey: title Contact Pages (/content/contact/*/index.md):\ntitle: \u0026#34;Contact Page Title\u0026#34; date: 2026-04-01T10:00:00+11:00 draft: false layout: simple showDate: false showReadingTime: false articleClass: ew-prose-full Section Indexes with Cascade (/content/articles/_index.html):\ntitle: \u0026#34;Section Title\u0026#34; layout: simple groupByYear: false cascade: showAuthor: true authorName: \u0026#34;Lynn Elsey\u0026#34; authorImage: \u0026#34;img/people/lynn_elsey_author.jpg\u0026#34; authorBio: \u0026#34;Author biography text\u0026#34; ","date":"3 May 2026","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/admin/technical/front-matter/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"Page Front Matter"},{"content":"Useful tools and other resources.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"Resources"},{"content":"Custom shortcodes are defined in layouts/shortcodes/. They are called in markdown content using {{\u0026lt; shortcode-name param=\u0026quot;value\u0026quot; \u0026gt;}}.\nimg-float #Floats an image left or right with text wrapping around it. No caption or figure wrapper — just the \u0026lt;img\u0026gt; tag with a float class applied.\nParameters\nParameter Required Default Description src yes — Image path (relative to page or absolute) alt yes — Alt text for accessibility side yes — Float direction: left or right width no — Width as a plain number (treated as px) or any CSS value (e.g. 45%) height no — Height as a plain number (treated as px) or any CSS value href no — Wraps the image in a link to this URL Example\n{{\u0026lt; img-float src=\u0026#34;photo.jpg\u0026#34; alt=\u0026#34;A photo\u0026#34; side=\u0026#34;left\u0026#34; width=\u0026#34;300\u0026#34; \u0026gt;}} img-caption #Displays an image with a caption inside a \u0026lt;figure\u0026gt; element. Full-width (no float).\nParameters\nParameter Required Default Description src yes — Image path alt yes — Alt text caption no — Caption text displayed below the image width no — Width as a plain number (px) or CSS value height no — Height as a plain number (px) or CSS value href no — Wraps the image in a link Example\n{{\u0026lt; img-caption src=\u0026#34;photo.jpg\u0026#34; alt=\u0026#34;A photo\u0026#34; caption=\u0026#34;Standing at the summit.\u0026#34; \u0026gt;}} img-caption-float #Floats an image left or right with a caption, inside a \u0026lt;figure\u0026gt; element.\nParameters\nParameter Required Default Description src yes — Image path alt yes — Alt text side yes — Float direction: left or right caption no — Caption text displayed below the image width no — Width as a plain number (px) or CSS value height no — Height as a plain number (px) or CSS value href no — Wraps the image in a link Example\n{{\u0026lt; img-caption-float src=\u0026#34;photo.jpg\u0026#34; alt=\u0026#34;A photo\u0026#34; side=\u0026#34;right\u0026#34; width=\u0026#34;40%\u0026#34; caption=\u0026#34;The harbour at dawn.\u0026#34; \u0026gt;}} callout #Wraps inner markdown content in a styled callout box. Full-width, no float.\nParameters: none\nInner content: markdown (rendered as block content)\nExample\n{{\u0026lt; callout \u0026gt;}} **Tip:** Always back up your files before making changes. {{\u0026lt; /callout \u0026gt;}} callout-float #A callout box that floats left or right with text wrapping around it.\nParameters\nParameter Required Default Description side no left Float direction: left or right width no 65% Width of the callout box (any CSS value) Inner content: markdown (rendered as block content)\nExample\n{{\u0026lt; callout-float side=\u0026#34;right\u0026#34; width=\u0026#34;40%\u0026#34; \u0026gt;}} This is a pull quote or sidebar note floating to the right. {{\u0026lt; /callout-float \u0026gt;}} clear-float #Inserts a \u0026lt;div\u0026gt; that clears any active CSS floats. Use this after a sequence of floated images or callouts to prevent the float from affecting subsequent content.\nParameters: none\nExample\n{{\u0026lt; img-float src=\u0026#34;photo.jpg\u0026#34; alt=\u0026#34;Photo\u0026#34; side=\u0026#34;left\u0026#34; \u0026gt;}} Some text alongside the image... {{\u0026lt; clear-float \u0026gt;}} This paragraph is back to full width. contact-form #Renders a contact form powered by Web3Forms. Submissions are sent to the configured email address via the Web3Forms API. Includes honeypot spam protection.\nParameters\nParameter Required Default Description access_key yes — Web3Forms access key (from your Web3Forms account) subject no New message from ElseyWorld Subject line of the notification email Example\n{{\u0026lt; contact-form access_key=\u0026#34;your-key-here\u0026#34; subject=\u0026#34;Message from the contact page\u0026#34; \u0026gt;}} github-projects #Fetches and displays a user\u0026rsquo;s public GitHub repositories as a card grid, with a sort control. Forks and archived repos are excluded by default.\nParameters\nParameter Required Default Description user no Page param githubUser, or NickElseySpelloC GitHub username to fetch repos for includeForks no false Set to \u0026quot;true\u0026quot; to include forked repos includeArchived no false Set to \u0026quot;true\u0026quot; to include archived repos Page-level front matter params\nParam Description githubUser Default GitHub username (overrides the hardcoded fallback) githubExclude A list of repo names or URLs to hide from the output Example\n{{\u0026lt; github-projects user=\u0026#34;NickElseySpelloC\u0026#34; \u0026gt;}} With exclusions in front matter:\ngithubExclude: - my-private-looking-repo - https://github.com/NickElseySpelloC/old-project paypal-donate #Renders a PayPal Donate button linked to the site\u0026rsquo;s PayPal account.\nParameters\nParameter Required Default Description message no — Text shown next to the button, also used as the PayPal item name Example\n{{\u0026lt; paypal-donate message=\u0026#34;Support this site\u0026#34; \u0026gt;}} ","date":"3 May 2026","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/admin/technical/short-code-reference/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"Short Code Reference"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/admin/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"Site Administration"},{"content":"Installing the site on a new machine #cd ~/dev git clone https://github.com/NickElseySpelloC/Elseyworks git submodule update --init --recursive Documentation Available # Using the Site (see below) Front Matter Reference Short Code Reference Installation and Configuration Creating a new page #Use hugo to create a default page:\nhugo new content/resources/technical/index.md\nUnderstanding index vs _index pages # /_index.md — section (has children, renders as a list/branch) index.md — page (standalone leaf, no children allowed) If a folder contains other content pages, it needs /_index.md\nQuick comparison # Aspect _index.md index.md Bundle type Branch Leaf Template List/section Single/page Can have child pages ✅ Yes ❌ No Can co-locate assets ⚠️ Technically, but not ideal ✅ Yes, that\u0026rsquo;s the point Congo layout param e.g. layout: list e.g. layout: article _index.md — Branch Bundle #A folder containing _index.md is a branch bundle. It represents a section or list node in Hugo\u0026rsquo;s content tree.\nIt can have child pages nested beneath it Hugo renders it using a list template (e.g. layouts/_default/list.html) In Congo, this is where you set section-level front matter like title, description, and layout options that apply to the listing page for that section The content body in _index.md appears above the list of child pages (if the template supports it) To disable listing of the child pages, set the layout front matter field in the _index.md page to simple. Use a branch bundle folder when you want to have multiple pages in the same folder (like this folder) Example use: content/posts/_index.md — the landing page for your blog section, which lists all posts beneath it.\nindex.md — Leaf Bundle #A folder containing index.md (no underscore) is a leaf bundle. It represents a single page that owns everything inside its folder.\nIt cannot have child pages — Hugo treats everything inside the folder as assets belonging to that one page (images, attachments, etc.) Hugo renders it using a single/page template (e.g. layouts/_default/single.html) In Congo, this gets the full single-page treatment — article layout, breadcrumbs, reading time, etc. Example use: content/posts/my-great-post/index.md — a single blog post that co-locates its images in the same folder (content/posts/my-great-post/hero.jpg).\nHugo Taxonomy and Content #When auto-generating the content for a branch bundle folder, tt\u0026rsquo;s Hugo\u0026rsquo;s taxonomy system doing the heavy lifting — the _index.md file itself doesn\u0026rsquo;t contain any logic. Here\u0026rsquo;s how the pieces connect:\nHugo scans all content for front matterWhen Hugo builds the site, it reads every page and collects their categories values. Any page with categories: Nick gets registered against the \u0026ldquo;Nick\u0026rdquo; taxonomy term. Taxonomies are configured by defaultHugo has categories and tags as built-in taxonomies. You don\u0026rsquo;t need to declare them — they just work. (You can see this in taxonomies.toml if you want to customise them.) Hugo auto-generates term pagesFor every unique category value found, Hugo automatically generates a listing page at /categories//. For Nick that becomes /categories/nick/. These pages exist even without an _index.md file — Hugo generates them from the theme\u0026rsquo;s term.html layout. The (manually created) _index.md just provides metadataThe file you created at content/categories/nick/_index.md only supplies the title, description, and layout front matter. It overrides the defaults (e.g. giving it a nice title instead of just \u0026ldquo;Nick\u0026rdquo;). The actual list of matching posts is assembled by Hugo at build time and passed to the term.html template via .Data.Pages — the template doesn\u0026rsquo;t care where those pages physically live. Page Front Matter Fields #These are the yaml format key / value pairs at the start of a markdown page. Front matter fields used across this site are documented in the Front Matter page.\nShort Codes #Short codes are custom html insert blocks that can be used to create things like floating images, call out boxes, etc. Some of the more popular ones are documented below. See the Short Code Reference for the full list.\nImages #Image file locations #/assets — images that Hugo processes through its image pipeline (resizing, cropping, format conversion, fingerprinting). You access these via Hugo\u0026rsquo;s resources.Get function in templates. Congo uses this for things like the author photo.\n/static — images that Hugo copies to the output as-is with no processing. They\u0026rsquo;re served directly at the same path, e.g. static/images/uploads/my-photo.jpg becomes https://elseyworks.com/images/uploads/my-photo.jpg.\nCover and thumbnail images #Use the following front matter fields to control these aspects\nthumbnail: An image to be used on the list page thumbnail. cover: An image to be used as the article cover (hero) image. feature: An image to be used as the article cover (hero) image and also the thumbnail. You can also just create a file with this name in the bundle folder (e.g. thumbnail.jpg), rather than specify the front matter field. See feature cover and thumbnail images\nThe CMS will honor these settings as well.\nFloating an Image #You can still float an image in a page. The page can live in the current folder or under /static:\n{{\u0026lt; img-float src=\u0026quot;/img/home/cover-lynn_articles.jpg\u0026quot; side=\u0026ldquo;left\u0026rdquo; width=800 \u0026gt;}}\nCaptioned image (including floating captions) #Use this format to display an in-line a captioned image:\n{{\u0026lt; img-caption src=\u0026ldquo;villa-spalletti-trivelli-2.jpg\u0026rdquo; caption=\u0026ldquo;Villa Spalletti Trivelli\u0026rdquo; alt=\u0026quot;\u0026quot; \u0026gt;}}\nUse this format to float a captioned image\n{{\u0026lt; img-caption-float src=\u0026ldquo;villa-spalletti-trivelli-2.jpg\u0026rdquo; side=\u0026ldquo;left\u0026rdquo; caption=\u0026ldquo;Villa Spalletti Trivelli\u0026rdquo; alt=\u0026quot;\u0026quot; \u0026gt;}}\nBoth of these support width and height arguments also.\nClear a floating image #Use the clear-float shortcode to force any subsequent content to appear below the image:\n{{\u0026lt; clear-float \u0026gt;}}\nContent Controls #Call outs #Creating an inline call out box in the document:\n{{\u0026lt; callout \u0026gt;}}\nYour inline callout text here.\n{{\u0026lt; /callout \u0026gt;}}\nAnd a floating call out box:\n{{\u0026lt; callout-float side=\u0026ldquo;left\u0026rdquo; width=\u0026ldquo;70%\u0026rdquo; \u0026gt;}}\nYour inline callout text here.\n{{\u0026lt; /callout-float \u0026gt;}}\nUse the clear-float shortcode to force any subsequent content to appear below the call out box:\n{{\u0026lt; clear-float \u0026gt;}}\nStory Lead #Format a pagagraph as a story lead (sub-title) - generally used at the start of a document:\n{{\u0026lt; lead \u0026gt;}}\nVerona City Guide\n{{\u0026lt; /lead \u0026gt;}}\nURL redirects #Use the aliases: front matter field in the relevant target page:\naliases: - /good-stuff/vfrflightplanner/ - /old-path/flying-stuff/ Hugo Server #Run the server locally and include draft pages:\nhugo server -D Clean up the cache / destination folder\nhugo --cleanDestinationDir Deploying to Production #When you\u0026rsquo;re ready to push to production, simply commit and push the changes to Github.\nThe github workflow (see /.github/workflows/deploy.yml) will (on the Github server):\nCheck out the site Setup Hugo Build the site Deploy to Github pages: https://github.com/NickElseySpelloC/Elseyworks/deployments/github-pages ","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/admin/technical/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"Technical Overview"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Categories"},{"content":"Somewhere in KL # Temple However, the main challenge for KL appears to be actually finding the station. Most are underground and I spend a fruitless few minutes walking up and down the street trying to find the one I’m looking for (KL City Centre). In hindsight, I should have remembered that KL is one of the shopping Mecca’s of Asia and of course the best way to get to it is via the monstrous shopping mall underneath the Petronas Towers. (I only discover this at the end of the day.)\nDuring my repeated scampering across the highways trying to find the subway entrance, I’m distracted and amused by the walk signal for the pedestrian crossings In the good old days, you got a green guy when it was time to walk, and a red one when it was time best not to. Then the traffic engineers raised the ante by giving you a flashing red guy when it was time to get the hell off the road if you were still crossing. Some countries have gone a step further to give you a countdown timer, telling you exactly how long you have before you get run over. In KL, they’ve taken an amusing twist on this – the little green guy is an animated icon that walks when it’s time to walk, and when time is running out, he starts to run. Nice one.\n","date":"16 April 2026","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/just-a-test/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Just a test"},{"content":"All travel and blog posts by Nick Elsey.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/nick/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Nick's Posts"},{"content":"The sojourn continues - a week after returning from Western Australia, we\u0026rsquo;re getting ready for a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia\u0026hellip;just because it\u0026rsquo;s there.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/asia-2009/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"South East Asia 2009"},{"content":"This page is generated automatically from GitHub. Each project includes a link to the repository, a link to any published documentation or GitHub Pages site, and the About text pulled from GitHub.\nSort Name A-Z Name Z-A Recently Updated Least Recently Updated Elseyworld RepositoryDocs / Site No description provided on GitHub.\nHTML Updated Aug 3, 2026 ipad-sync Repository No description provided on GitHub.\nPython Updated Aug 24, 2026 test-basic Repository No description provided on GitHub.\nPython Updated Aug 7, 2026 TimeZonePlanner Repository No description provided on GitHub.\nNo primary language Updated May 24, 2026 VFRFlightPlanner Repository No description provided on GitHub.\nShell Updated Aug 24, 2026 ","date":"14 April 2026","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/github/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"GitHub Projects"},{"content":"Using the Elseyworks Content Management System.\nStep 1: Log In # Go to elseyworks.com/admin Click \u0026ldquo;Login with GitHub\u0026rdquo; If prompted, authorise the app on GitHub You\u0026rsquo;ll land on the Decap CMS dashboard Step 2: Create a New Post # In the left sidebar, click on the collection you want to add a page to The \u0026ldquo;Travel Blog\u0026rdquo; collections are for Nick The \u0026ldquo;Articles\u0026rdquo; collections are for Lynn\u0026rsquo;s content. See Nick if you need a new collection to be created. Click the \u0026ldquo;New\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; button (top right) to create a new page, or click on one of the existing pages to edit. The page editor will open Step 3: Fill In the Post Details #At the top of the editor you\u0026rsquo;ll see several fields:\nField What to enter Title The title of your page, e.g. \u0026ldquo;A Weekend in Verona\u0026rdquo; Description A short description of the aerticle or post. This text will be used on the category listing page (e.g. categories/food-travel/ ) Date The date of the post — click to get a date picker. Defaults to the current date and time. Thumbnail Image Select a thumbnail image to be used on the listing page. This can be one of the images used in the body. Draft Leave ON (true) while writing, turn OFF when ready to publish to the live site. Aliases Alternate URLs to this page. You can generally leave this blank for new pages. Step 4: Write Your Content #The large area below the fields is the body editor. It works like a basic word processor when the toggle is in Rich Text mode:\nBold — highlight text and click B Italic — highlight text and click I Headings — click the H1/H2/H3 dropdown Links — highlight text and click the chain icon, paste the URL Images — click the image icon, then \u0026ldquo;Choose an image\u0026rdquo; to upload from your computer (see below) 💡 Tip: You can toggle between the rich text editor and raw Markdown using the button in the top-right of the body editor. Use rich text for normal editing.\nStep 5: Images #You can insert either a regular image or a floating (text wrapped) image using the + button on the editor tool bar. This brings up the Images pop-up window. In this window you can:\nUpload images from your computer (one at a time) Select an iamge to be inserted at the current location in your content. Once an image has been selected, you will see a \u0026ldquo;Image\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;Float Image\u0026rdquo; panel inserted into your text in the editor, and the image previewed on the right.\nStep 6: Save a Draft #At any point while writing, click \u0026ldquo;Save\u0026rdquo; (top right). This saves your work without publishing it. The post will be marked as a draft and won\u0026rsquo;t appear on the live website yet.\nYou can come back and continue editing later — just click the post title in the Travel Blog list.\nStep 7: Preview Your Post #Click the \u0026ldquo;Preview\u0026rdquo; toggle (eye icon, top right of the editor) to see roughly how your post will look. Note this is an approximation — the live site may look slightly different.\nStep 8: Publish #When you\u0026rsquo;re happy with the post:\nFind the \u0026ldquo;Draft\u0026rdquo; toggle in the post fields at the top Switch it to OFF (false) Click \u0026ldquo;Publish\u0026rdquo; This commits the post to GitHub. Within about 2 minutes, GitHub Actions will automatically rebuild the site and your post will appear live at https://elseyworks.com.\nThings to Remember # ✅ Draft = ON means the post is hidden from the public ✅ Draft = OFF means the post is live ✅ Images you upload go into the page\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;bundle folder\u0026rdquo; automatically ⚠️ After publishing, allow up to 2 minutes for the site to rebuild before the post appears live Something Went Wrong? # Problem Solution Can\u0026rsquo;t log in Make sure you\u0026rsquo;re using your GitHub account Post not appearing after publish Wait 60 seconds and hard-refresh (Cmd+Shift+R) Image won\u0026rsquo;t upload Check file is JPG or PNG and under 10MB Accidentally published Edit the post, set Draft back to ON, and Save Last updated: April 2026\n","date":"14 April 2026","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/admin/cms-guide/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"CMS Guide"},{"content":"This is an Excel template I developed that helps you plan an event or meeting across multiple time zones. You can add up to 6 cities in addition to your home timezone. The tool will automatically calculate the current time in each, taking into account timezones and daylight savings. You can then save this document and reopen later for quick reference to your \u0026lsquo;favourite\u0026rsquo; locations.\nNote: The planner only works on Windows.\nDownload the Time Zone Planner # Requires Excel 2010 (or later) for Windows. Excel for Mac not supported If you find this Time Zone Planner tool useful, please make a small donation.\nSetup Page Time Chart Page ","date":"12 April 2026","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/time-zone-planner/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"Time Zone Planner"},{"content":" Nick Elsey Lynn Elsey ","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/contact/","section":"Contact Us","summary":"","title":"Contact Us"},{"content":" From my early days of covering Portland, Oregon’s thriving food scene and managing a weather magazine to profiling the head of Uber’s AsiaPacific legal team and creating an innovative indigenous career guide, I’ve been writing, editing and publishing engaging content for more than two decades.\nGet in Touch # Name Email Message Send Message ","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/contact/lynn/","section":"Contact Us","summary":"","title":"Lynn Elsey"},{"content":" I\u0026rsquo;ve spent 30 years helping organisations leverage technology to solve business problems, scale and diversify. My experience covers digital strategy, architecture, information management, program management, corporate and technology operations, scaled software delivery and infrastructure as a service.\nDemonstrated ability to build and lead goal oriented teams in a constantly changing world. Consistent history of architecting and delivering innovative, profitable solutions. Operational, engineering and strategy roles up to C-Level 5 US Patents Masters Certificate in Project Management Graduate of the AICD After 30 fun filled years in technology, I\u0026rsquo;ve finally retired and I\u0026rsquo;m currently focusing on health, happiness, family and travel. I\u0026rsquo;m also looking for opportunity to give something back - through board and/or charitable work.\nGet in Touch # Name Email Message Send Message ","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/contact/nick/","section":"Contact Us","summary":"","title":"Nick Elsey"},{"content":" Food \u0026 Travel From reviewing restaurants to watching the sun rise across Florence's Ponte Vecchio, I've been exploring food, wine and magical places for more than 15 years. Career Intelligence \u0026 Advice I've created content to help people at all stages of their careers, from developing an innovative guide for Indigenous students and crafting custom copy for Australia's top companies and universities to providing tips for busy professionals - helping people achieve more and prepare for jobs that don't exist today. Magazine Publishing Weather. Food. Outdoor pursuits. Financial advice. Geo-spatial sciences. I've worn a lot of editorial hats creating, developing and managing engaging and informative magazines and journals. Business / Professional Development From profiling the head of Uber's AsiaPacific legal team to creating a new financial magazine, I've been providing insightful professional and corporate content for more than a decade. Health \u0026 Nutrition Separating fact from fiction in the health and nutrition arena is not a job for the fainthearted. But uncovering the truth has a lot of upsides. Did you know that research has shown a link between drinking red wine and reducing osteoporosis? Or that following a Mediterranean diet might be good for mental as well as physical health? All Articles by Lynn Elsey All articles written by Lynn Elsey. ","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Lynn's Articles"},{"content":" South Pacific 1997 This is an account of our travels to Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. We both decided in late 1997 to give the rat race a break and head for the antipodes. Australia 2002 Trip 1 Four years after our original sojourn to the land down under, Lynn and I have decided to do it all again. This trip will be a little more expeditious than the last, but no less fun for that. Australia 2002 Trip 2 We're halfway through a year long sabbatical from the rat race. No sooner than we touched down in Portland at the end of our last trip did we ask ourselves - \"What were we thinking?\". It's cold and wet back home in Oregon - we should have stayed in Australia. Moving to DC In this chapter we'll not be chronicling our next vacation, but our translocation to some other part of the world. Australia 2009 Three years ago, Lynn and I moved down to Sydney from the states to experience a more mellow, equitable lifestyle. The work life balance in DC had become, well, too imbalanced. Enamoured with the Sydney environment, and impressed with the Aussie attitude to work and play, we decided to make the move down here ourselves and give it a fair go. Asia 2009 The sojourn continues - a week after returning from Western Australia, we're getting ready for a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia...just because it's there. All Posts by Nick All travel and blog posts by Nick Elsey. ","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Nick's Travel Blog"},{"content":"For any student VFR Pilots needing to complete an old fashioned VFR Flight Plan, here\u0026rsquo;s a useful Excel version of this flight planning tool.\nMany years back I received my Private Pilot\u0026rsquo;s License and in the process spent some time trying to find a decent cross country flight planning tool. I failed, and so created one of my own. Here\u0026rsquo;s some of the highlights of the tool:\nWorks on Excel for Windows and Excel for Mac (Excel 365 required) Planning check list Weight, balance and fuel calculations. Weather Log and FAA Flight Plan Form Navigation Log Weight, balance and fuel considerations Extensive automation, including a shared aircraft and airport database. No manual input of intermediary calculations. Where ever a figure or item can be calculated or looked up, it will be. No need for your calculator or E6B! ​ The basic layout of the navigation log is similar to the Jeppesen form, but takes it much further. Click on the image above for an example (this was the navigation log for my FAA check ride by the way). Of course nowadays everyone\u0026rsquo;s using Foreflight, but for those of you that prefer the traditional approach, this tool is for you!\nDownload the VFR Flight Planner v3.53 # Follow the installation instructions to install the flight planner before using. Requires Excel 365 and macros to be enabled. If you find this VFR Flight Planner tool useful, please make a small donation.\nSome screen shots # Check List Navigation Log Weather Briefing and Flight Plan Nick\u0026rsquo;s Training Notes #This document is a collection of various bits of information that I accumulated during my private pilot ground and flight training work, which I found difficult to commit to memory and therefore felt the need for somewhere to put it all down on paper. These are my ‘Cliff Notes’ for private pilot training.\nClick on an icon to open the notes in PDF or Word format\nVFR Flight Planner Release History #March 2025 - Version 3.53 # Fixed a bug in the airport / aircraft database creation process. December 2023 - Version 3.52 # Tested for compatibility with Sonoma (macOS 14.2) and Windows 11. Fixed problems with the Ribbon not displaying. This version no longer supports Excel 2013. Excel 365 dated Jan 2022 or later is required. Checks to confirm that Macros are enabled. Streamlined the installation process. Windows specific changes: Installs to the User\\Documents\\Custom Office Templates folder ​if it exists. Sets the Default Personal Templates Location Excel setting so that the File \u0026raquo; New \u0026raquo; Personal tab appears. ​​ December 2022 - Version 3.51 # Tested for compatibility with Ventura (macOS 13.1). Fixed a bug in the macro installation process. December 2020 - Version 3.50 # Tested for compatibility with Big Sur (macOS 11.0). You can now pick the preferred folder for the Airport \u0026amp; Aircraft database when installing the template (rather than it defaulting to your Documents folder). February 2020 - Version 3.42 #A couple of bug fixes to maintain compatibility with the latest version of Excel for Mac.\nMarch 2019 - Version 3.41 #Fixed bug in calculation of remaining fuel on Navigation Log pages (thanks Scott Stratmoen for reporting).\nJuly 2018 - Version 3.40 #Upgraded to work with the latest version of Office on Windows and Mac. Both the Windows and Mac version now use a custom ribbon bar for navigation. This version will only work with Excel 2013 or later for Windows or Mac.\n​Mac users please note - Due to limitations with the recent versions of Excel for Mac, the shared Airport / Aircraft database will be stored in this location: ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Documents. If you have a database from an earlier version, just copy it to this location.\nApril 2016 - Version 3.13 # Weather Briefing now shows correct total time enroute when using the second page of the nav log. October 2015 - Version 3.12 # Corrected calculation of total distance Correct carry over of distance and fuel to second page of planner log July 2015 - Version 3.1 # Corrected Total flight time and fuel consumption formulas on Navigation Log (formula missed two of the way points). Changed formatting in Airport Database so that runways (e.g. \u0026ldquo;08-27\u0026rdquo;) are not reformatted into a date. Added a second page to the Navigation Log for longer trips. Improved the formatting of the document. April 2013 - Version 3 # Full support for Excel 2011 for Mac including all automation and custom Flight Planner menu. New VFR Flight Planner ribbon in Excel 2007 / 2010 / 2013 for Windows Improved database management - aircraft and airports automatically synchronised with the shared database (so that you can share airport and aircraft data with fellow students). Formatting improvements and Bug fixes. ","date":"1 March 2025","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/flying/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"VFR Flight Planner"},{"content":"This Policy was last reviewed and updated on: 13th August 2024.\nElseyworks values and respects the privacy of the people we deal with. Elseyworks is committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and other applicable privacy laws and regulations.\nThis Privacy Policy (Policy) describes how we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information, and how we maintain the quality and security of your personal information.​\nWhat is personal information? #“Personal information” means any information or opinion, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. In general terms, this includes information or an opinion that personally identifies you either directly (e.g. your name) or indirectly.\nWhat personal information do we collect? #Absolutely nothing.\nOnline activity #The Elseyworks website uses cookies. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers the website puts on your device if you allow it. These cookies recognise when your device has visited our website(s) before, so we can distinguish you from other users of the website. This improves your experience and the Elseyworks website.\nWe do not use cookies to identify you, just to improve your experience on our website. If you do not wish to use the cookies, you can amend the settings on your internet browser so it will not automatically download cookies. However, if you remove or block cookies on your computer, please be aware that your browsing experience and our website’s functionality may be affected.\nWebsite analytics #Our website uses Google Analytics to help us better understand visitor traffic, so we can improve our services. Although this data is mostly anonymous, it is possible that under certain circumstances, we may connect it to you.\nLinks to third party sites #The Elseyworks website contains links to websites operated by third parties. If you access a third party website through our website, personal information may be collected by that third party website. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the privacy practices of any third party provider or website and we are not responsible for the privacy policies or the content of any third party provider or website. Third party providers / websites are responsible for informing you about their own privacy practices and we encourage you to read their privacy policies.\n","date":"13 August 2024","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/privacy-policy/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"Privacy Policy"},{"content":" Verona City Guide The home of medieval and Renaissance palaces, a Roman arena and Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, Verona is a compact jewel of Italian history, art and food.\nSTAY # If you are in the market for formal, sophisticated digs, Hotel Due Torri should be on the top of your list. Basking in an atmospheric location in Piazza Sant’Anastasia, this palace-based hotel is one of Verona’s top-shelf options. Along with rooms decorated in period furniture and tapestries, the hotel’s terrace is an inviting place to soak up the city’s classical atmosphere, day or night.\nA short stroll from the arena, the Grand Hotel des Arts ticks a lot of boxes – including offering a quiet respite from the crowds in Verona’s historic centre. Rooms in the art-flavoured hotel come equipped with Occitane products and a free minibar for those who book directly with the hotel.\nTravellers looking for something more modern might want to check out the Escalus Luxury Suites, which is within shouting distance of the ancient arena. Inside the 19th century building, guests are treated to light, contemporary rooms and designs. The generously-sized suites come well equipped, including bathrobes, slippers and coffee machines.\nEXPLORE #Verona’s main cathedral, the stately red and white striped Duomo, offers a journey through time, with ancient mosaic floors, ornate frescoes and an octagonal marble baptismal font that help illustrate the many layers of religious structures that have occupied the space since 362 AD.\nBasilica Sant’Anastasia, another stunning art-filled church, is a sublime example of Italian gothic architecture. The eye-catching decorated altars and chapels, including a famous Pisanello fresco, make it a must-see on your journey around Verona.\nIt is worth the hike to visit Basilica di San Zeno, a 4th century homage to Romanesque architecture. Don’t miss the rose window, known as the “Wheel of Fortune”, along with the stunning marble bas-relief doors and the Mantegna masterpiece triptych.\nEXPERIENCE # Verona’s Roman arena, dating from 1 AD, is the historic centrepiece to the city. One of the largest amphitheatres in Italy, its elliptical shape means it provides perfect acoustics from any seat while allowing it to accommodate a large number of spectators. Verona’s signature icon is still is in operation, although world class opera has replaced the gladiator contests of yore. It is wise to book ahead for tickets. The arena is open for tours daily.\nGet a taste of medieval life with a stroll around Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori, the city’s oldest gathering spots. If you are feeling fit, scale the 84 metre, 12th-century Torre dei Lamberti for a 360-degree view over the city’s historic centre. If your legs aren’t up to the 368 steps, a glass elevator can whisk you to the top.\nPunctuated by six towers and a moat, the ancient castle Castelvecchio was built to protect Verona during the Middle Ages. Today it serves as the city’s museum. Filled with ancient arts and masterpieces of Romanesque and gothic sculptures, along with stunning medieval and Renaissance paintings and frescoes, the museum offers a masterclass in European art.\nDRINK #Osteria del Bugiardo on Corso Porta Borsari is a popular bar and café, providing food and drink throughout the day and evening. Sample some of the region’s wines, including those from the owner’s Valpolicella vineyard, along with other drinks and traditional local dishes.\nFor something a little lighter and more local, visit Scapin Caffe Cucina Bottega. With a multi-page list of wines, bubbles and beers by the glass, this modern wine bar is a great place to try out an array of Italian tipples and yummy snacks.\nEAT #One of the city’s most romantic places to eat, Ristorante Ponte Pietra, serves up excellent regional cuisine in a series of charming rooms. The restaurant’s two terraces, overlooking the Adige river and the historic Ponte Pietra, provide a perfect setting for a candlelight dinner.\nThe Michelin-starred 12 Apostoli is one of Verona’s oldest and most extraordinary places to dine. From the historic frescoes and excavated ruins that provide a unique aura to the personal greetings from the chef and gourmet offering, it lives up to its reputation as a temple for food.\nDe Rossi has been providing Verona aficionados with delicious breads, pastries and snack, since 1947. Don’t leave without a bag of the Baci di Romeo and Giulietta biscotti, e.g., Romeo and Juliet kisses.\nSHOP #Verona’s two main shopping streets, Via Mazzini and Corso Porta Borsari, will fulfil the dreams of the most confirmed fashionistas – along with providing a nice dent in your pocketbook or wallet.\nIf wine is your thing, don’t miss Winefriends, where you can find an amazing array of interesting wines from all over Italy, many from smaller wineries. Store owners Lia and Marco are happy to provide useful information and suggestions about each of the wines.\nOUT OF TOWN #Valpolicella # Valpolicella, one of Italy’s most respected wine regions, lies less than a half hour’s drive from Verona. Most of the wineries offer tours and tastings, which luckily usually include a sampling of the area’s sumptuous red masterpiece – Amarone. The historic Masi winery and estate Serego Alighieri, which originally was the home of Dante’s son, has a suite of self-catering apartments tucked away in the lovely villa, which make an excellent base for extended wine tasting or as an escape from the heat of the Italian sun.\nLake Garda #A day or weekend getaway to Lake Garda is a favourite with Verona locals, especially during the summer months. As Italy’s largest lake, it is also a big draw for European vacationers.\nWith pastel villas and rolling green hills as background decor, the shores of the lake are dotted with more than 20 picturesque villages. Boating, swimming, hiking or relaxing in a waterside trattoria are all great ways to enjoy the lake, which is less than an hour from Verona.\nThis article originally appeared in the LSJ, October 2019.\nLaw Society Journal ","date":"17 January 2020","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/food-travel/a-weekend-in-verona/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"A weekend in Verona"},{"content":"From reviewing restaurants to watching the sun rise across Florence\u0026rsquo;s Ponte Vecchio, I\u0026rsquo;ve been exploring food, wine and magical places for more than 15 years.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/food-travel/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Food \u0026 Travel"},{"content":"All articles written by Lynn Elsey.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/lynn/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Lynn's Articles"},{"content":"Separating fact from fiction in the health and nutrition arena is not a job for the fainthearted. But uncovering the truth has a lot of upsides.\nDid you know that research has shown a link between drinking red wine and reducing osteoporosis? Or that following a Mediterranean diet might be good for mental as well as physical health?\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/health/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Health \u0026 Nutrition"},{"content":" A team of Australian researchers have doubled-down on upsides of going Med. In 2017 the team from Deakin University published results of a study which showed that following a Mediterranean style diet was an effective way to treat depression.\nAnd in May 2018, economic analysis of their research (published in BMC Public Health) found that following this type of diet was less expensive than other traditional forms of treatment and support for people suffering from clinical depression.\nMediterranean-style diets - which focus on eating lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, fish and olive oil, and avoiding highly processed, sugary and fried foods - have a long association with good health.\n","date":"13 March 2019","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/health/treating-depression-mediterranean-style/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Treating depression - Mediterranean style"},{"content":" LYNN ELSEY reports on a well-positioned hotel in Washington DC where service is king. In America’s capital, access is everything. The closer you are to power, the better. Elvis Presley certainly thought so. In 1970 when he wanted President Nixon to get him a federal agent badge, Presley based his campaign from the Washington Hotel, housed in a stately Beaux Arts building a block from the White House.\nAlthough the Washington Hotel became the W in 2009, Presley would feel at home here today. The W’s trendy ambiance – pink and purple hues, leopard-print lounges, occasional glittering chandelier – coupled with discreet, top notch service adroitly bridges the gap between being a hip place to hang out and providing the up-market extras that more mature travellers expect.\nSituated in the heart of Washington DC, the W is an excellent base for anyone seeking to win a favour from the Oval Office or simply wanting close proximity to many of the city’s key sights.\nIn the hotel’s sprawling high ceilinged lobby, music plays a starring role. Modern Elvises will feel right at home with individual listening stations perched aside comfy huge armchairs and lively music wafting all around; there’s even a DJ setup in one corner. The modern theme extends to a number of vivid paintings and murals throughout the hotel.\nThe W’s hip credentials come to a head at the hotel’s famed rooftop bar, called POV, which draws a steady crowd from all over. The view is fabulous, even if other patrons and music might make those in the sunset half of their lives feel a bit old. If you prefer to relax over a quiet drink, the W’s Root Cellar Whiskey Bar offers an array of top shelf whiskeys and other drinks along with plenty of interesting nibbles. In the warmer months, these can be enjoyed outdoors, as you watch all the action along famed Pennsylvania Avenue.\nAs someone past the peak of hipdom, I found the service, staff and amenities at the W a pleasant surprise. Everything was seamless; no request was too much. The reception staff always greeted us personally and everyone seemed poised to ensure that our stay was exceptional. The hotel’s trademark “Whatever/Whenever” service worked a charm.\nAs we settled into our quite spacious “Fantastic” suite, a fabulous welcoming treat arrived: a watermelon “pizza” served on a marble tray topped with a thin layer of Greek yoghurt and fresh berries. The delicious treat was just the start of many unexpected surprises.\nFor starters, our suite’s living area included a curving sofa, ever-so-tall armchair plus a dining table and chairs. The enormous bathroom came complete with a shower and tub, encased in frosted glass, large enough for a small party. And the suite offered mesmerising views over DC, including the adjacent White House.\nAstonishingly, the suite also came equipped with a private, complimentary bar. No minibar-sized booze here, we had an array of party-sized bottles of liquor plus two bottles of very nice wine. The minibar was also free, including champagne. Suite guests also get a generous $100 credit to use in the hotel, along with full breakfast and high-speed internet.\nThe W’s Mediterranean-themed restaurant, Pinea, was another pleasant surprise. Whether dining indoors or outside on the patio, the prices are more than reasonable for the quality, especially considering the location. Breakfast was decidedly king-like, with everything from yogurt and omelettes to American-style selections, including crab cakes benedict, waffles, steak and eggs and waffles. But everything came with an interesting twist – the omelette includes goat’s cheese, pancakes are made from whole wheat and ricotta. There’s even avocado on toast, with egg and spinach. Waistlines be warned.\nAfter a long day walking around the monuments, a visit to the W’s spa, called Bliss, is in order. It’s a bluey place, from the translucent blue sky mural at reception to the bluesy jazz music in the background. In short, an ideal place to relax, refresh and prepare for an evening on the town.\nEven if you aren’t hankering after a presidential favour, staying in a suite a stone’s throw from the White House and just blocks from many of the city’s major drawcards, most assuredly has its benefits. Channelling the King has never been so easy.\nOriginally published in the September 2018 edition of the NSW Law Society Journal.\nNSW Law Society Journal, September 2018 ","date":"1 September 2018","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/food-travel/w-hotel-washington-dc/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"W Hotel, Washington DC"},{"content":" America’s capital truly has something for everyone, from history boffins and wannabe spies to wine connoisseurs. LYNN ELSEY checks out the action inside the Beltway. TO DO #Guided tours of the US Capitol are open to the public and advance reservations are recommended. The Senate and House galleries, which are not included on the tour, are open to visits when in session. Australians can enquire about getting a pass at the appointment desk in the visitor centre.\nJust across the Potomac River from the Mall, American’s top military cemetery, Arlington National Cemetery, was created to honour those who had served the country. The formal and informal gardens and extensive grounds provides a scenic, peaceful and poignant reminder of the impact of military service. Key sights include the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is guarded 24/7 by special sentinels – don’t miss the hourly (or half-hourly in the summer) changing of the guard – and President Kennedy’s grave.\nFancy being a spy for a day? The International Spy Museum’s mission is to educate the public about espionage and intelligence work in an engaging, fun way. The museum, which is run by a former counterintelligence specialist, provides special tools and insight into the work of spies and secret agents. Anyone hankering to try out a bit of spy action will want to check out the museum’s “Spy in the City” activity, which involves using a set of clues, codes and intercepts to complete a secret mission somewhere in the city.\nTHE MONUMENTS #DC is awash in monuments and you can experience many of them for free. Luckily, most are centrally located and large enough in stature that you won’t need a map to find them.\nAt just under 170 meters, the Washington Monument dominates the DC skyline. The obelisk was erected in 1884 in honour of the country’s first president. Tickets can be purchased in advance or on the same day, when numbers allow.\nThe Jefferson Memorial, which was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, is another must-see. An imposing bronze statue of President Jefferson holds court over the grand marble rotunda, surrounded by inscriptions of some of his most famous words including the Declaration of Independence. The memorial’s location, on the banks of the Tidal Basin and a picturesque cherry tree-lined walkway, ensure that the memorial appears in many films and TV shows.\nAlong the western end of the National Mall, the Lincoln Memorial towers over the Reflecting Pool. Inspired by ancient Greek temples, 36 columns represent each state at the time of President Lincoln’s death. The words to the Gettysburg Address, one of Lincoln’s most famous speeches, is etched into the walls.\nThe remarkably simple but extraordinarily moving Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a stark reminder of the ravages of war. The dark granite walls are etched with the names of the 58,286 servicemen who were killed or went missing during the Vietnam War. The memorial was created by architect Maya Lin, who won a contest to design the memorial while still in university.\nTHE SMITHSONIAN #The Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum, education and research institute, dominates the National Mall in the heart of DC, with eleven museums and galleries, along with six other locations around the greater DC area. The galleries and museums, which are all free, also offer an array of lectures, concerts and films.\nThe Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery focus on art, including an Asian art collection with Chinese jades and bronzes and textiles, an extensive James McNeill Whistler collection and other famous American artists including Winslow Homer and Georgia O’Keeffe along with European masters. The striking, round Hirshhorn building features modern and contemporary art including works by Henry Moore, Jeff Koons and Rodin sculptures along with cutting- edge films. Visitors are encouraged to whisper their wishes to the branches of Yoko Ono’s “Wish Tree for Washington DC”; in the summer months the tree “blooms” with hand-scribed wishes from visitors.\nAs home to the world’s largest natural history collection, it’s no surprise that the Natural History Museum is enormous, including the ever-popular dinosaur displays, the Hope Diamond and Egyptian mummies. The African American Museum, the Smithsonian’s newest, documents African American life, art, history, and culture. Highlights include artefacts from America’s shameful era of slavery and civil rights fight to more recent cultural items, including a jacket and fedora worn by Michael Jackson.\nThe Air and Space Museum is home to the 1903 Wright Brothers plane and a lunar module along with acres of aviation and space related- memorabilia. It also offers hands-on activities, a planetarium and screenings of IMAX films on its five-storey-high screen.\nA short drive or trip on the city’s metro system takes you to the 65-hectare National Zoo, home to more than 1,500 animals, including the ever- popular giant pandas, Sumatran tigers and Asian elephants.\nGET OUT #Capitol Hill, adjacent to the stately building, is a popular place to live and play, complete with many renovated 19th century row houses. Eastern Market, a destination for fresh food, arts and crafts and events, has long been a weekend favourite for DC residents from all corners of the district.\nHome to students, politicians, West Wing staffers and diplomats, Georgetown is always abuzz with activity. The area’s cobblestone streets and trendy shops, bars and restaurants further add to the fun. Ever-trendy Dean \u0026amp; Deluca gourmet store/eatery epitomises the neighbourhood and includes an ever-popular café, bakery and charcuterie. Stroll through the grounds of Georgetown University to get a taste of the next decade’s high-profile lawyers, politicians and global heads of state.\nStretching more than 184 miles from Georgetown to Cumberland, Maryland, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, locally known as the P\u0026amp;O Canal, is a great way to explore the DC environs, whether by foot, bike or from a horse-drawn canal boat.\nSTAY #For a bit of old world style and service, look no further than the Jefferson Hotel. The historic boutique hotel adds a touch of elegance to any visit, from marble fireplaces and wood panelling to discrete, perfect service. Book lovers will relish the hotel’s First Library program, which sponsors a book for every room reservation toward the DC Public Library’s “Books from Birth” program, which sends DC children a book each month to keep, from birth until they turn five; foodies will enjoy the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Plume.\nThe Willard Intercontinental Hotel definitely has a presidential flair, from the red carpets and marble pillars to the shiny chandeliers. Its location, along Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House, and its grand lobby ensure that the hotel remains a favourite with politicians and well-heeled tourists alike.\nDRINK #Quill’sprivate club atmosphere ensures that this somewhat hidden bar and lounge is a popular place for lawyers, especially in early evening during the week. Along with an amusing list of cocktails – East Coast Filly, Roman Rondabout – wine lovers are in safe hands with the bar staff, who can recommend a sumptuous glass or two. The bar also serves snacks and light meals, often to the backdrop of live piano music. Quill is in the Jefferson Hotel.\nLocally known as one of the district’s best places to “be seen and not hear”, Off the Record, in the rather posh Hay-Adams Hotel, leaves no doubt about the area’s link to politics. Along with caricatures of the city\u0026rsquo;s political elite lining the walls, the bar offers collectible drink coasters, including Angela Merkel and everyone’s favourite Supreme Court Justice – Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It also offers an array of wines and food.\nEAT #Fishers Farmers Bakers offers eco-chic on the Georgetown waterfront. Its eclectic menu is based around the restaurant’s sustainable, grower-to-table experience that appears to be the trend du jour in DC these days. The restaurant’s eco credentials extend to the fixtures and fittings, which are heavy on the reclaimed or recycled scale.\nMichelin-starred Fiola’s restaurant’s reputation and location ensure it regularly appears on many “Best DC Restaurant” lists. Bargain hunters will find their weekday 3-course Maria Menu lunch menu a steal at $28; lovers of Italian wines will be happy at any time of the day or night.\nLe Diplomat, another popular DC haunt, is also the setting for the occasional State Department security service training exercise for new agents, which can add an extra slice of interest to a meal at the French café.\nOUT OF TOWN #Annapolis, Maryland, a charming colonial seaport town, which is the home of the US Naval Academy and the state’s capital. The Maryland State House is open to the public and offers free self-guided tour information. The town’s cobblestone lanes are full of cute antique shops, galleries and restaurants. If you hanker an adventure on water, kayaks and canoes can be hired at Annapolis Canoe and Kayak. The city’s famed Annapolis Sailing School hires out sailboats to qualified sailors. Non-sailors can enjoy one of their Evening Sails.\nFor a taste of the South and a peak into the creative mind of one of America’s most revered presidents, head to Monticello. Thomas Jefferson’s stately plantation, in the bucolic Virginia countryside, is considered one of Jefferson’s masterpieces, including a stately villa that he designed based on Italian Renaissance designs, along with gardens that showcase some of Jefferson’s interest in experimental horticulture. Tours also highlight the legacy of slavery during his time.\nWhile you are in the area, a visit to nearby Charlottesville might be of interest. Until recently the town was best known for its prestigious university but now is more often remembered as the scene of distressing racial strife in August 2017 – showcasing America at its worst.\nOriginally published in the September 2018 edition of the NSW Law Society Journal.\nNSW Law Society Journal, September 2018 ","date":"1 September 2018","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/food-travel/washington-dc-city-guide/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Washington DC City Guide"},{"content":" Portland’s hipster reputation, award-winning food and drink venues – 70 draft breweries and counting – and outdoorsy attitude have helped make this unassuming Pacific Northwest city a world-famous destination, writes LYNN ELSEY. Stay # RiverPlace Hotel The Craftsman-styled RiverPlace Hotel is a welcoming place to relax after a long flight or day of exploring the sights. From the laid-back staff to the warming stone fireplaces surrounded by cosy armchairs, the riverside hotel reflects Portland’s low-key vibe.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s nearly impossible not to slow down and enjoy the surroundings here. The hotel is a couple of blocks from the heart of the city centre and close to the Willamette River that runs through Portland, so there’s no excuse not to get out and stroll or cycle along the river’s pathways – when the weather permits.\nThe Heathman Hotel The Heathman Hotel personifies Portland’s knack for blending tradition with modernity. The hotel’s classic, understated elegance – complete with Beefeater- costumed doormen – provides all the “mod cons” in a soothing atmosphere. Rooms are beautifully turned out, with lots of wood panelling and crown moulding. And the hotel’s mezzanine library, a favourite haunt for visiting authors, is home to more than 2,700 signed books.\nEAT #Award-winning chef Greg Higgins has a passion for Pacific Northwest cooking and focuses on local, seasonal ingredients at Higgins Restaurant and Bar, a Portland favourite since it opened in the early 90s. Vegetarians and meat- lovers alike will find attractive options on the menu. Don’t miss the wild salmon when it’s in season.\nTrifecta With Ken Forkish, one of Portland’s best-known bakers, at the helm, it’s no surprise that Trifecta’s wood-fired oven plays a starring role in many dishes at this popular restaurant. Along with full meals, the tavern is a favourite spot for cocktails and happy hour. You can also sample Ken’s well-loved pizza at his outpost in the city centre.\nBar Mingo opened to accommodate the spillover from its larger sibling next door. The relaxed Italian trattoria is now equally popular for delicious and reasonably priced food, fabulous wines and an atmosphere that makes every guest feel like a local. Portland’s food carts are legendary, drawing rave reviews from Bon Appétit magazine and CNN. Most are in fixed “pods”, making it easy to track down and try out an array of cuisines, including fish and chips from the Flying Scotsman, Mauritian vegetable samosas at Chez Dodo or the much-feted Nong’s Khao Man Gai garlic and ginger chicken and rice. The Alder Street and Fifth Avenue pods are the most central; night owls may want to check out Cartopia.\nhigginsportland.com trifectapdx.com barmingo.com foodcartsportland.com Drink # Bar Vivant Although Portland has a global reputation for craft beers and pinot noir, lovers of international wines and champagne should make a beeline for Bar Vivant, which is frequently included on “Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine” honours lists. This wine and tapas bar is a convivial place to try out wines and bubbly from lesser- known small producers.\nHuber’s Café On a rainy evening, knocking back a flaming Spanish coffee (made with rum, triple sec and Kahlua, topped with whipped cream) at Huber’s Café is the perfect way to escape the elements. The atmospheric bar and restaurant features on the US National Register of Historic Places, replete with wood panelling, marble floors and showpiece bar.\nSample an array of interesting wines at Park Avenue Fine Wines. Housed in an old French bistro, the wine bar and retail store also serves up small plates and nibbles to accompany local and international wines, while you ponder which bottle of wine, or one or two, to take home.\nbarvivant.com hubers.com parkavenuewines.com/winebar Out of Town #Oregon’s leading wine region, the Willamette Valley, is home to two-thirds of the state’s wineries and vineyards. With a similar climate to France’s famous Burgundy and Alsace regions, the valley is acclaimed for its pinot noir. The area is easy to explore from Portland, and mushroom-lovers will want to book a place at the Joel Palmer House Restaurant in Dayton, where the menu revolves around wild mushrooms and truffles.\nHeading east from Portland, the Columbia River Gorge is America’s largest national scenic area. Dozens of waterfalls and a network of hiking trails provide opportunities for exploring along the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. The winds that rifle through the gorge have also made it a global hotspot for board-sailing sports.\nMount Hood’s year-round snowy peak provides a stunning reminder of the Pacific Northwest’s volcanic roots, and is a favourite spot for skiing, snowboarding and hiking. Perched partway up the mountain, Timberline Lodge is a National Historic Landmark and a majestic example of American mountain retreats that still thrives as a ski lodge, hotel and restaurant.\nOriginally published in the July 2018 edition of the NSW Law Society Journal.\nNSW Law Society Journal, July 2018 ","date":"1 July 2018","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/food-travel/portland/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Portland"},{"content":" Enjoy Oregon’s wild coastline from the comfort of a beachside sanctuary, says LYNN ELSEY. Oregon’s stunning, dramatic coastline is a big drawcard for most visitors to America’s Pacific Northwest. From windswept sand dunes to redwood-lined cliffs perched above pounding surf, the coast seems straight out of a dramatic novel – it’s the perfect setting for a brooding TV crime series.\nFortunately, this scenic coast also provides mile after mile of beautiful beaches, delicious seafood and places to shelter from the elements when storms arise. The ideal place to experience it all is Salishan Resort, just north of Cape Foulweather, where the forest meets the water at Gleneden Beach.\nA night or two at Salishan’s refined rustic sanctuary is an ideal way to embrace this beautiful but rugged slice of the world – without sacrificing any creature comforts. The resort reflects its Pacific Northwest surroundings throughout, with lots of timber features and an earthy colour palette. It also proudly features the work of regional artists, mainly Oregon-based, with more than 500 original drawings, prints and watercolours displayed around the resort and in the guest rooms.\nSpeaking of which, the resort’s 205 rooms, each with a stone fireplace, are spread around the more than 100-hectare property. Each comes equipped with a lovely view, whether it’s of the surrounding forests, the bay or the golf course.\nThe vaulted ceiling in my Premier Bay Room makes the enormous space seem even bigger. Two large windows overlooking the forest create a sense of being in a private residence rather than a hotel room. At the far end, floor- to-ceiling windows look out onto a private wooden deck, complete with enticing rocking chairs and a view of the bay beyond. Along with a king-size bed, there is a sofa, side chair, and a small dining table and chairs. It would be extremely easy to stay cocooned in the room, with just a warming fire and a glass of Oregonian pinot noir for company.\nOn a cool, slightly rainy afternoon, the lobby’s open fireplaces and large wingback chairs are another temptation to stay indoors. The formal dining room – a polished, upholstered affair – also invites me to stay inside until the morning. Still, the outdoors awaits.\nUp near the top of the resort, Salishan’s indoor tennis arena is a great weather-neutral option for Serena Williams wannabes. Additional exercise options include an indoor pool and full fitness centre with sauna.\nInstead, I head down to the beach. The golf course, which runs from the top of the property to the ocean, is a major drawcard for the resort. Its spectacular setting, punctuated with the sound of waves crashing on the beach, immediately propels me into “I really need to learn to golf” mode. The 18- hole course also comes with top environmental credentials, certified by the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program.\nA big plus of staying at the resort is having access to the adjacent private, gated community and scenic, seemingly endless deserted beach – the antithesis of Sydney’s packed, noisy summertime beach experience. It’s the type of place that prompts dreams of a holiday home across the Pacific.\nThe jewel in the Salishan crown is the spa. It was designed to embrace the local elements, featuring soothing stonework and dark timber finishes. After a soothing treatment, the indoor infinity pool – fronted by floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Siletz River – is nearly impossible to leave. The spa’s Hearth Room, with more of those enormous windows and a warming open fire, is further enticement to stay.\nDuring the day, the resort’s dining options include a casual restaurant and grill at the golf clubhouse. When evening descends, the formal dining room or the Attic – a lounge with casual fare and live music on weekends – provide welcoming respite from whatever Mother Nature has in store outside.\nSalishan allows guests to experience the grandeur of the Oregon coast without any sacrifices. It’s no surprise Condé Nast Traveler rated it the third best resort in the Pacific Northwest, and Travel + Leisure magazine featured it on the list of “10 Best Resort Hotels in the West” for 2017.\nOriginally published in the July 2018 edition of the NSW Law Society Journal.\nNSW Law Society Journal, July 2018 ","date":"1 July 2018","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/food-travel/salishan/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Salishan - A Luxury Escape on the Oregon Coast"},{"content":" One of the most common but least talked about forms of discrimination has enormous costs for society as well as the targeted individuals, LYNN ELSEY finds. Global job recruitment site glassdoor.com paints a disheartening picture about the fate of workers over 50, illustrated by the following comments from workers facing what has been\ncalled “the last acceptable form of discrimination”.\nI met with a recruiter this week. After getting through the look of disappointment when she saw how old I am she told me that many of their requests are for ‘a recent college graduate because they haven’t developed bad habits yet’.\nIf I am willing to work for entry-level wages, why wouldn’t you want my years of experience?\nI am sick of hearing older workers haven’t kept up with technology. I have been through MS-DOS, the many variations of Windows \u0026hellip; Word, Excel, and on and on. Eachtime I have had to learn and adapt. Give me a break.\nTrying to prove age discrimination from a legal perspective is virtually impossible unless a hiring person blurts it out – ‘you’re too old, and because of that we’re not hiring you’.\nNo wonder mature job seekers have learned to remove all dates from their resumés, limit their job history to roles from the past 10 years and do their best to appear “youthful”, making every effort to appeal to potential employers when faced with the situations similar to those noted above.\nThose fortunate enough to have jobs can find their career prospects stymied. They can be passed over for promotions or training opportunities, and their younger colleagues often consider them incapable of taking on new challenges.\nIn 2016, one in seven Australians was aged 65 and over, yet just 14 per cent of that age group was working, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This means a large pool of experienced, knowledgeable workers with proven skills is going to waste.\nAt the same time, plummeting birth rates and longer life spans are causing a collective wringing of hands across most modern economies, as employers wonder where they can find people to fill their job vacancies.\nThis pending demographic time bomb makes it difficult to comprehend how anyone could exclude or sideline a core group of capable employees from the workforce. Nonetheless,\nthe Australian Human Rights Commission, in the 2016 Willing to Work report, found that more than a quarter of Australians over the age of 50 have experienced age discrimination in the workplace in the past two years.\nAlong with offering proven skills and knowledge, mature workers are frequently noted for having more job stability and long-term commitment than millennials, who tend to move jobs frequently, according to US employment lawyer Lori Rassas, author of Over the Hill but not the Cliff.\nInstead of hiring and retaining more seasoned workers, studies show that employers are pushing aside older workers – or at least shutting them out. And when it comes to the all-important diversity quotas, people over the age of 45 rarely get a mention.\nQuantifying the problem #A 2017 study by the University of South Australia, Work Well, Retire Well, found that people over the age of 55 have more trouble getting a job, taking an average of 68 weeks compared to those aged 25 to 54 (49 weeks) and those aged 15 to 24 (30 weeks).\nClose to half the subjects in this study (44.1 per cent) encountered negative assumptions about their skills, learning ability or cognition based on their age, and a similar number (41.6 per cent) found their age made it difficult to get an interview or find work. Furthermore, 37.9 per cent reported that they were offered limited or no opportunities for promotion or training due to their age.\n“Workers also faced patronising attitudes, where employers or colleagues assumed they would struggle to pick up new technology or work systems quickly, due to their age,” the study authors said. The research also found that people as young as 45 could experience this ageist treatment.\n“Too many people are shut out of work because of underlying assumptions, stereotypes or myths associated with their age,” wrote Susan Ryan, then Age and Disability Discrimination Commissioner, in the foreword to the Commission’s Willing to Work inquiry in 2016. “These beliefs lead to discriminatory behaviours during recruitment, in the workplace and in decisions about training, promotion and retirement.”\nFrom an economic perspective, discriminating against workers over the age of 50 is a\nstaggering waste of money. According to the Willing to Work report, a 7 per cent increase in participation among the mature-age labour force would increase Australia’s 2022 gross domestic product by about $25 billion.\nWhat about the law? #The 2016 Urbis National Profile of Solicitors report shows the average age of solicitors has been moving slowly upwards to its current 42.4 years, up from 41.8 in 2011. Solicitors aged 65 and older have been the fastest growing group – a 23 per cent increase since 2011 – and now represent one in 12 solicitors.\nPeople are making decisions based on wrong assumptions. Law firms should be having honest conversations around this.\n\u0026ndash; PETER BUTLER\nHowever, although lawyers are trending older, promotions and partnerships appear to be heading in the other direction.\nThe Australian Financial Review’s 2016 Law Partnership Survey, for example, found that partnerships are being handed to younger lawyers rather than their more mature colleagues. Most appointments went to those aged 36 to 40 – an increase from 19 per cent to 36 per cent over the past year – with a corresponding drop in positions going to those aged 41 to 45.\nPeter Butler AM, a partner and former managing partner at Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), says the question – “why are there so few people over the age of 55 in law?” – is one that needs to be raised.\n“People are making decisions based on wrong assumptions, such as the assumption that older people are lacking in energy and drive or that they have lost interest in what is a very demanding profession,” Butler says. “This may be quite wrong.\n“Law firms should be having honest conversations around this. A case in point is the late Professor Bob Baxt AO. At a time when his peers were retiring, he joined us as a partner and then emeritus partner. He became an integral part of our competition practice and continued contributing to the profession and wider business community for many years. He not only had learning and wisdom, but passion and drive as well.”\nDanielle Kelly, HSF’s Head of Diversity and Inclusion, agrees: “Age isn’t a conversation we’ve had enough of.”\nCountering misconceptions #Including and supporting more seasoned workers can give employers access to crucial experience, skills and knowledge. It’s an opportunity BMW discovered firsthand.\nIn 2007, the German car giant faced what it perceived as a challenge to remaining competitive in the marketplace: an ageing workforce. For years, as it searched for technological leadership and improved productivity, the company had viewed the increasing age of its workforce as a problem rather than a solution.\nBut three managers at one of its Bavarian plants decided to eschew tradition and invited\na team of older workers to get involved in developing new work procedures. As a result, productivity increased by 7 per cent in one year, absenteeism dropped by half, and the product defect rate fell to zero.\nThe program was so successful that BMW now celebrates the project as a model for productivity and has rolled out similar projects in other plants.\nA new study from the College of Law adds further evidence to the misconception that older workers are unable or unwilling to take on new methods and technology. It found that 60 per cent of mature-age law students were excited about technological disruption; only 3 per cent reported feeling daunted by it.\n“Many of these aspiring lawyers come from industries that have already experienced wide-ranging disruption, such as the banking and health sectors,” says Ann-Maree David, Executive Director of the College. “Many will be choosing to leave their existing field of expertise and enter the legal profession because they know there will be opportunities whenever an industry is disrupted.”\nUncovering discrimination #A common justification for not recruiting older workers is that they aren’t interested in taking on a more junior role or they only want to work part-time. With this in mind, a team of researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco decided to see if there was any justification for these assumptions, and created an experiment to rule out factors other than age that could explain hiring practices.\nThis study, Age Discrimination and Hiring of Older Workers, involved submitting more than 40,000 fictitious but realistic résumés and applications for more than 13,000 jobs across the US. It found that older applicants had a 47 per cent lower chance of gaining a first-stage interview than applicants aged 29 to 31.\nOn the gender front, men fared much better than their female counterparts. The researchers suggested that the variation between men and women was because employers focus on physical appearance, referring to an earlier study that found “the effects of ageing on physical appearance are evaluated more harshly for women than for men”.\nAge discrimination, like other types of discrimination, can be hard to prove. An EY study commissioned by the Australian Human Rights Commission in April 2016 found that age discrimination in Australia usually occurs in:\nrecruiting, where older candidates are unable to get an interview or secure a position; pigeonholing, where older workers become stuck or constrained in a role; structural practice, where older workers are targeted for redundancy or restructuring, and training programs have age limits; or discriminatory culture or management practices, where older employees are perceived to be lacking “the hunger to progress”; less enthusiastic and energetic than their younger counterparts; closed- minded and inflexible; and unable to embrace ideas of change and new technology. The study noted that the discrimination was often subtle and indirect. For example, an employer might lose interest in a job candidate once their age became apparent and older workers might be subject to comments from other colleagues – often made in jest – that they are old or out of touch.\nMany older workers either put up with the situation or move on. Few make formal complaints, believing it would be difficult to prove and fearing they might be deemed a “troublemaker”.\nRecruitment professionals tread carefully around the topic of age discrimination. Jason\nElias, director of Elias Recruitment, says he hasn’t noticed any “overt” discrimination from employers.\n“Most of our clients are law firms and are aware of discrimination provisions and pretty compliant,” he says. “We have had a couple of firms make requests based on gender and ethnicity and we have decided not to work for them. On occasion, some employers have selected junior lawyers who may be in their first career over more mature-age graduates coming into law later. This may be for a variety of reasons and I can’t categorically say that age is a factor.”\nTo avoid bias and improve their chances with potential employers, some recruiters advise older clients to “dress youthfully”, avoid discussing roles that aren’t recent, and refrain from providing any information that shows they are more experienced than the interviewer, especially when the interviewer is significantly younger than the candidate.\nAARP – a powerful lobby group for older Americans – made a submission to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2017, highlighting common ways employers are getting around US rules that prohibit asking a candidate’s age. These include:\nspecifying a maximum number of years of expertise for a role; restricting recruitment for entry-level roles to university campuses, and requiring applicants to have a college-affiliated email address; requiring candidates to be “digital natives”, only accepting those who grew up using technology rather than those who learned to use it later in life; and using online job sites and forms that require applicants to include their date of birth and graduation dates in mandatory fields. According to Australian Age Discrimination Commissioner Kay Patterson, the wave of baby boomers entering the twilight phase of their careers is raising the curtain on age discrimination in the workplace.\n“They are healthier, living longer and have enlightened business understanding, which means they are aware of the advantages that older people can have in the workplace,” she says. “They recognise that it doesn’t make sense to ignore them.”\nFighting back #Google is currently facing a US-based class action lawsuit regarding age discrimination. The case started with one plaintiff in 2015 and at the end of 2017 included 270 people aged 40 and above, who claimed the tech company actively discriminated against job applicants. (The US Age Discrimination in Employment Act bars employers from discriminating against applicants and workers who are aged 40 and over.) The tech industry’s reputation for favouring youth over experience, regardless of the legality, is no secret. According to US marketing firm Statista, in 2016 the average age at Google was 30 – and it was 28 at Facebook; 29 at LinkedIn; and 31 at Apple, Amazon and Yahoo.\nBut these complaints and lawsuits related to ageing aren’t restricted to the tech industry. Another disgruntled American job seeker recently launched a lawsuit against PwC, claiming the global accounting giant has a policy of only recruiting millennials from college campuses to fill its entry-level jobs. According to Reuters and PwC, the average age of PwC workers is 27, and two-thirds of workers are in their 20s and 30s, although the median age of accountants and auditors overall is 43. Reuters also notes that Facebook settled an age discrimination case in 2013, in relation to job ads that specifically sought recent college graduates.\nFinding solutions #According to Kay Patterson, education is key to addressing many age discrimination issues in the workplace.\n“I think we need to introduce gerontology into education,” she says. “There are a lot of incorrect myths about older people”. Increased exposure to older workers would also help younger workers better understand the positive elements that more mature workers can add to the workplace, she says.\nPatterson says young recruiters who are reluctant to consider older candidates need to take some of the blame for discrimination. As she puts it: “Why wouldn’t you hire someone who is willing to do a job they are over-skilled for?”\nOn the other side of the Pacific, AARP, boasting its mission to “Disrupt Aging”, thinks that engaging in an array of activities is the way forward. These include documenting the business case for recruiting and retaining older workers and creating a national program that directs job seekers to employers that have pledged to give workers aged over 50 a level playing field.\nHowever, as the organisation said in its submission to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “these activities supplement, but are no substitute for, strong legal protections against age discrimination in the workplace, and enforcement of those protections”.\nThe Australian Human Rights Commission says all Australians need to take responsibility for fighting age discrimination. The Willing to Work report offers the following suggestions for managers and business owners.\nCreate a specific company policy outlining what ageism is and why it’s unacceptable. Ensure your leadership team understands this policy and agrees about how important it is. Review your hiring and candidate screening process to ensure there is no room for age-based biases (never request a date of birth in your application form, for example). Acknowledge any stereotypes you might believe about mature-aged workers and challenge their validity. Provide training and progression opportunities for staff based purely on merit, not age. Providing an environment where mature workers can participate and thrive in the workplace can reap rewards for individuals, businesses and society. Some Australian law firms are responding to the changing needs of their more senior partners and staff members by having them transition into consultant roles that include more flexible work hours and allow them to add value in key areas of expertise.\nThe ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research and the Centre for Research on Ageing Health and Wellbeing recently conducted a study (Australasian Journal on Ageing, Oct 2017, Gong and Kendig) involving people aged 45 to 64. The research found that: “Workforce transitions at mature ages are complex and particularly important because mature age workforce participation will have a major bearing on Australia’s productivity and fiscal sustainability, as well as personal wellbeing and financial capacities.”\nOriginally published in the April 2018 edition of the NSW Law Society Journal.**\nNSW Law Society Journal, April 2018 ","date":"1 April 2018","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/business/an-age-old-issue/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Age Discrimination at Work: An Age-Old Issue"},{"content":"From profiling the head of Uber\u0026rsquo;s AsiaPacific legal team to creating a new financial magazine, I\u0026rsquo;ve been providing insightful professional and corporate content for more than a decade.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/business/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Business / Professional"},{"content":"Don’t get tripped up by using phrases that might create negative impressions.\nTravis Bradberry, a specialist in emotional intelligence, has identified a number of frequently-used expressions that can undermine the credibility and skills of the speaker, noting that people often make quick judgements and have long memories about what they hear from their co-workers.\nHere are five phrases you might want to reconsider using:\n1. No problem #Yes, it is just a throwaway statement, but the underlying premise is that someone has asked you do something that is a problem – in other words, they have imposed on you. A better response would be to respond with a positive message: “I’ll be happy to do that”.\n2. I’m going to ask a stupid question #Don’t erode your credibility by suggesting, even in jest, that you are short on intelligence or confidence. Either your question is worth asking or it isn’t.\n3. This will only take a minute #This can sound as if you are going to rush through the request and perhaps not give it the attention it deserves, unless it really is something you can do in less than 60 seconds. Better to provide a more accurate description of how long it really will, and should, take to accomplish.\n4. I’ll try #Although it is nice to show that you are willing to give something a go, “trying” suggests that you don’t have the confidence to actually do the job. Bradberry suggests either taking full ownership of the task or recommending an alternative.\n5. I can’t #Bradberry says that when people hear this statement, they tend to think that you are saying that you won’t do something, in other words, that you aren’t willing to do what is needed. If you can’t achieve the task because you lack the skills or resources, then be up front and suggest alternate solutions. For example: “I am not an expert on that type of program. How about finding someone who is, and I can work along with them so that I can do it myself the next time?”\nOriginally published in the NSW Law Society eNewsletter.\n","date":"6 February 2018","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/careers/5-things-you-shouldn-t-say-at-work/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"5 things you shouldn’t say at work"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve created content to help people at all stages of their careers, from developing an innovative guide for Indigenous students and crafting custom copy for Australia\u0026rsquo;s top companies and universities to providing tips for busy professionals - helping people achieve more and prepare for jobs that don\u0026rsquo;t exist today.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/careers/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Career Intelligence \u0026 Advice"},{"content":"I wrote this article back in 2018, when upgrading an old Intel MacPro workstation was still a viable strategy for a powerful yet cost effective Mac workstation. Time has passed and the world has moved on a lot. In 2026, RAM, GPU and storage costs are very high and Apple has completed its migration to Apple Silicon. The new Apple Silicon laptops and desktops are great value for money (especially the MacMini).\nFurtheremore, the latest version of macOS that these MacPros can support is 10.14 Mojave, which is a long way from the latest release.\nAll that being said, I\u0026rsquo;ve kept this article here in case anyone\u0026rsquo;s intereste.\nI\u0026rsquo;m the happy owner of one of these guys - an Apple Mac Pro workstation, the \u0026ldquo;Mid-2012\u0026rdquo; edition to be exact. This was the last iteration of this design before Apple released their current (and much maligned) \u0026ldquo;trash can\u0026rdquo; Mac Pro in 2013. The Mid-2012 Mac Pro is the last real (aka upgradable) computer Apple ever released - its fully modular, supporting CPU, memory, disk and graphics card upgrades.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s now late 2018 and the technology in this \u0026ldquo;cheese grater\u0026rdquo; (as this version was known) is getting a bit dated. Apple still haven\u0026rsquo;t yet released a new workstation that I (or anyone) would want to buy, so I\u0026rsquo;ve been toying with the idea for a while now of upgrading this workstation to something a little more up to date.\nThen, Apple released the latest version of macOS (Mojave) and I wasn\u0026rsquo;t able to upgrade because the original graphics card doesn\u0026rsquo;t support Metal (Apple\u0026rsquo;s graphics programming standard). So, my hand was forced. Since I need to replace the graphics card, let\u0026rsquo;s make a project out of this\u0026hellip;\nOriginal Specifications #Mac Pro, Mid-2012. MacPro5,1. Currently running macOS High Sierra (10.13.6)\nCPU - Dual CPU processor board. Two x 2.4GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5645. 12 cores total Memory - 32 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 memory. Installed as four 8GB sticks, leaving 4 slots free for additional RAM. Graphics - Original Apple supplied ATI Radeon HD 5770 1Gb. Boot Disk - Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB (previously upgraded from the Apple stock 1 TB SATA hard drive) Original Performance #CPU and Graphics Card - I used Geekbench:\nCPU Single-Core Score: 2,241 CPU Multi-Core Score: 18,262 Graphics Card Compute: 10,280 Boot Disk - I had previously upgraded this to a Solid State Drive (SSD), so this will already be faster than the \u0026ldquo;stock\u0026rdquo; Apple hard drive. I used Disk Speed Test:\nWrite speed: 250 MB/s Read speed: 268 MB/s Upgrade Strategy #While this is a decent workstation, its core technology is dated. The expansion slots only support the PCIe 2.0 standard (not the latest PCIe 3.0), so throughput to any expansion cards will less than a modern PC can achieve. Likewise, the CPU and memory use dated architecture.\nTherefore, I wanted to do a reasonably cost effective upgrade - considerably cheaper than buying a new Apple computer (like an iMac Pro), but still extending the life span for a couple more years until Apple releases something more appealing.\nI\u0026rsquo;m going to upgrade the graphics card (so that I can run macOS Mojave), install a M.2 SSD boot drive, double the RAM to 64 GB and upgrade the CPUs (just for fun). I\u0026rsquo;ve broken each of these down into seperate mini-projects below. Each one includes a review of the different upgrade options, a shopping list, step by step instructions and performance improvements. Enjoy.\nMemory Upgrade (Easy) #Let\u0026rsquo;s start with an easy one first - adding another 32GB of RAM to take the system to 64GB. This won\u0026rsquo;t make a great deal of difference to the performance of the machine unless you\u0026rsquo;re using memory hungry apps (e.g. running a Windows VM). Run Activity Monitor (Applications \u0026gt; Utilities \u0026gt; Activity Monitor), click on the memory tab and look at the memory pressure chart at the bottom.\n​This machine uses error correcting \u0026ldquo;server\u0026rdquo; memory, so you need to make sure you buy the right stuff, specifically: PC10600 DDR3 ECC 1333MHz 240 Pin\nSince this is a dual CPU machine, I need to buy the memory in pairs (one for each CPU). For best performance, all the RAM sticks in the machine should be the same size (e.g. 8 x 8GB), but this isn\u0026rsquo;t required and the performance gain is trivial. I\u0026rsquo;m going to buy four additional 8GB sticks, taking me to 64GB total.\nShopping #Here\u0026rsquo;s a couple of options\n32Gb Memory Upgrade Kit from Other World Computing. OWC are the gold standard for Mac upgrade, but not the cheapest. eBay - You can buy used memory on eBay from considerably less. This is what I went for - worked fine. Make sure you search for the right type (8GB PC10600 DDR3 ECC 1333MHz 240 Pin). Installation #Click the links for images\nMake sure you\u0026rsquo;re static free! Power down the machine, unplug and remove the side panel. Flip the two catches out on the CPU tray and pull out - evenly. Lay the tray on a flat, stable surface. We\u0026rsquo;re going to install the 4 new RAM sticks in the 4 free slots shown. Open the side catches for each empty RAM slot and gently, firmly and evenly install each RAM stick, being sure to align the notch in the pins with the small tab in the RAM slot. Put everything back together, power on and check that you now have 64 Gb of RAM installed. Graphics Card Upgrade (Easy) #There\u0026rsquo;s a wide range of graphics cards to out there. The more modern, higher performance cards are quite expensive these days, thanks to all the Bitcoin miners. You needs may vary, depending on how graphics intensive your work is, but I wanted to find something that meet the following criteria:\nMetal Support: Supports the Metal API, so that I can run the latest macOS (Mojave). Apple Supported: Apple states that the card is compatible (see the list). Native Support: macOS has built in drivers for the card (no need to install additional drivers). Boot Support: Supports macOS boot screens - i.e. you can see the initial boot screen (Apple logo) and access recovery mode, etc. without needed in to re-install the original graphics card. Many of the higher performance cards don\u0026rsquo;t support this - you can still use them, but the screen will be blank until you get to the login screen. Performant: Gives me a x5 to x10 performance boost vs. my current card. Cost: Is reasonably cost effective. ​I spent some time reading and shopping around - here\u0026rsquo;s a few useful links if you want to do your own research:\nThe Most Powerful Mac Is 6 Years Old and Not Sold By Apple Apple Outlines Metal-Capable Cards Compatible With macOS Mojave on 2010 and 2012 Mac Pro Models Macvidcards - Recommended for the MacPro5,1 Passmark Software - Video Card Comparison I originally focused in on the SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 8GB GDDR5, which had good reports, but it doesn\u0026rsquo;t support the boot screen and was a bit expensive. I landed on the NVIDIA GTX 780 3 GB, which I bought from Macvidcards (via eBay). Macvidcards update the BIOS on the card so that it supports the macOS boot screens. So, how does this do against my criteria?\nMetal Support: Yes Apple Supported: Apple supports the NVIDIA 680, which is close enough. Native Support: Yes Boot Support: Yes (once ROM flashed by Macvicards) Performant: Yes - x8 performance improvement (see below) Cost: Kinda. Cost was US$325, so not too bad in today\u0026rsquo;s market. Shopping #Just one choice here. You may be able to find it a bit cheaper on eBay - just make it has an Apple compatible BIOS. The card shipped by Macvidcards includes the required power cables.\nNVIDIA GTX 780 3 GB from Macvicards Mini DisplayPort Female to DisplayPort Male Adapter - I have an Apple Cinema Display, which requires a mini-DP connection. The best resolution on the new graphics card is achieved using the DisplayPort outlet, so I purchased this adapter. Installation #Click the links for images\nGet the new graphics card connector ready. It comes with three cables. Connect two of them together as shown Make sure you\u0026rsquo;re static free! Power down the machine, unplug and remove the side panel. Unscrew the two thumb screws on the PCIe slot cover plate at the back of the Mac Pro and then remove. Press and hold the circular, grey button on the right edge of the fan assembly, then gently push the outer part of the assembly towards the front of the Mac Pro as shown. Disconnect the black PCIe power cable from the old graphics card, near the fan enclosure, and then gently remove the old graphics card (some wiggling required). Disconnect the old PCIe power cable from the motherboard, and connect the two new power cables to the two PCIe power blocks located as shown (image shown with old graphics card still installed). Install the new GTX 780 graphics card in the same slot as the old one. Make sure it\u0026rsquo;s seated correctly in the slot. Connect the two power cables to the 6 pin and 8 pin sockets on the graphics card. Tidy up the cables so that they won\u0026rsquo;t foul-up the fan enclosure, etc. Slide the fan enclosure back toward the rear of the MacPro. This will also move a metal locking bar underneath the graphics card to lock it in place. Replace the PCIe slot cover plate and tighten the screws (make sure you put it back the right way round). Replace the side panel. Connect your monitor to the DisplayPort connector on the graphics card (using an adapter cable if needed). Power up the MacPro, cross fingers and toes, and confirm you can see the grey screen and then Apple logo during boot. While running macOS High Sierra, the MacPro will work with Apple\u0026rsquo;s built in NVIDIA drivers, but you\u0026rsquo;ll get far better performance if you install the NVIDA provided macOS Web Driver (make sure you download the correct driver for your current version of macOS and build number).\nNote: Once we upgrade to macOS Mojave (10.14), the NVIDIA web driver will become obsolete and we\u0026rsquo;ll need to uninstall, but I wanted to test performance under High Sierra first.\nNow I upgraded to macOS Mojave. No issues to report. The NVIDIA web driver automatically disabled itself and I uninstalled (System Preference \u0026gt; NVIDIA Driver Manager \u0026gt; Open Uninstaller).\nNote - I have this card connected to an Apple CinemaDisplay (only connects via mini-DisplayPort) and an HP Z27 monitor (which I can highly recommend). These are connected via the DisplayPort port (using a mini-DP to DP adapter cable) and the HDMI port, respectively. The Apple display is being driven at full resolution (2560 x 1440) and the HP display at 4k (3840 x 2160) at 30Hz. In retrospect, I probably should have spent more time shopping around for a card with dual DisplayPorts, since DisplayPort is the \u0026ldquo;best\u0026rdquo; output (you can convert from DP to DVI or HDMI, but not the other way around).\nPerformance Improvement #Here\u0026rsquo;s the end result for the Graphics Geekbench scores:\nOriginal ATI Radeon card: 10,280 GTX 780 card using NVIDIA Web Drivers and macOS High Sierra: 65,176 (6.5 times faster) GTX 780 card using native Apple Metal driver and macOS Mojave: 81,922 (8 times faster) Excellent!\nGraphics Card Upgrade - Round 2 (Easy) #After using the NVIDIA GTX-780 for a while, I decided to upgrade to the SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 8GB GDDR5. The main reason for this - I needed two DisplayPort ports on the card that could drive my Apple Cinema display (2560 x 1440@60 Hz) and my HP Z27 display (4k at 60Hz). The GTX-780 only had one DisplayPort, which meant that I could only drive the HP display at 30Hz.\nThe RX-580 doesn\u0026rsquo;t have boot screen support, but I confirmed that even after upgrading to Mojave, I can still use the Apple\u0026rsquo;s original graphics card to get to the O/S recovery utilities (⌘-R when booting).\nShopping # SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 8GB GDDR5 Dual Mini PCI-E 6-Pin to Standard PCI-E 8-Pin Video Card Power Cable Mini DisplayPort Female to DisplayPort Male Adapter - I have an Apple Cinema Display, which requires a mini-DP connection. The best resolution on the new graphics card is achieved using the DisplayPort outlet, so I purchased this adapter. Installation #Installation is basically the same as for the NVIDIA card above. This card is not a full length card, so it\u0026rsquo;s easy to get into position - just make sure you move the locking bar back into place underneath the card after installing. This card only has one power cable - connect the 8-pin connector to the card, and the two 6-pin connectors to the motherboard located as shown.\nPerformance #Here\u0026rsquo;s the updated result for the Graphics Geekbench scores:\nOriginal ATI Radeon card: 10,280 GTX 780 card using native Apple Metal driver and macOS Mojave: 81,922 (8 times faster) RX-580 card using native Apple Metal driver and macOS Mojave: 140,433 (almost 14 times faster) - wow. Boot Disk Upgrade (Medium) #Today\u0026rsquo;s gold standard for high performance storage are M.2 Solid State Disks (SSD) using the NVMe standard, like the one to the right. Modern motherboards include slots for one or more of these devices, allowing data throughput of 3.2GB/s (that\u0026rsquo;s fast!). Older machines that don\u0026rsquo;t have onboard support for M.2 drives (like our beloved cheese-grater) can still accomodate the devices by using an adapter card plugged into a spare PCIe slot.\nThe Mid-2012 MacPro, running macOS High Sierra or later, does support NVMe devices in this manner, but unfortunately not as a boot drive. You can use one of these devices for additional storage, but not as your main Macintosh HD drive \u0026ndash; which is what I want to do. There is a hack to make this work, but it\u0026rsquo;s a really hacky-hack and not something that\u0026rsquo;s even remotely supported by Apple. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to run the risk of some future macOS upgrade making my machine un-bootable.\nFortunately, there is a solution. The previous iteration of the M.2 SSD technology was a standard called AHCI. This is a bit slower (only 1.5GB/s) than NVMe, but still considerably faster than the disk I\u0026rsquo;m currently using (a SATA SSD in one of the drive bays). The other downside is that AHCI drives are harder to come by and a bit more expensive per Gb of storage vs. the newer NVMe drives.\nThat was all very geeky wasn\u0026rsquo;t it? If that did something for you, here\u0026rsquo;s some further reading:\nThe Definitive Classic Mac Pro Upgrade Guide - Storage. The Mac Pro NVMe upgrade Apple forgot. How to Migrate Your Mac\u0026rsquo;s OS and Your Data to a New Drive. Shopping #After a lot of hunting around, I decided to go with a 500 Gb M.2 AHCI drive. It has less capacity than the SATA boot drive it\u0026rsquo;s replacing, but I can keep the old SSD drive for additional storage (as a second drive). Obviously I was currently using less than half of the space on my boot disk.\nSamsung SM951 - I bought a used one on eBay (there\u0026rsquo;s no moving parts after all). Be sure to buy the SM951 model, as this is the one that uses the AHCI rather than NVMe standard. Lycom DT-120 - This is the PCIe adapter card we\u0026rsquo;ll use. There are fancier options available (see this article for options) that with the right M.2 drive installed can achieve 3.2GB/s throughput, but these are much more expensive and you\u0026rsquo;ll only get this extra speed from a NVMe drive, which won\u0026rsquo;t work for our needs anyway. So, I went with the cheap option, which worked just fine. Installation #In this installation we\u0026rsquo;re going to copy the contents of our old boot drive onto the new Samsung SM951 drive by doing a TimeMachine restore. (Alternatively, if your existing boot disk is a bit of a mess, you could do a fresh install of macOS on the new drive and then use Migration Assistant to copy your settings and personal files from the old drive.)\n​Important - Make sure you have a complete TimeMachine backup of your existing boot drive before you start. Also make sure that if you\u0026rsquo;re upgrading to a smaller M.2 drive, then your current disk usage will fit on the new drive. Install the Samsung SM951 drive in the Lycom DT-120 adapter card. Just gently push it in at a bit of an angle into the socket on the board (being sure to align the notch in the card with the tab in the socket on the board). Once firmly in, push it down so it\u0026rsquo;s flush with the board and use the small screw (supplied) to screw the M.2 card onto the board. Make sure you\u0026rsquo;re static free! Power down the machine, unplug and remove the side panel. Unscrew the two thumb screws on the PCIe slot cover plate at the back of the Mac Pro and then remove. Remove the rear blanking plate blanking plate from the top PCIe slot and install the Lycom DT-120 card. Replace the PCIe slot cover plate and tighten the screws (make sure you put it back the right way round). Replace the side panel. Power on the machine and let it boot (we\u0026rsquo;re still booting from the old drive at this stage). Once logged in, run Disk Utility (Application \u0026gt; Utilities \u0026gt; Disk Utility), find your new disk and format it as APFS (use the Erase) option. Name it Samsung SM951 for now. Shut down again, remove the side panel and pull out your old boot drive - it\u0026rsquo;ll typically be installed in the first drive bay. Replace the side panel. Power on and immediately press and hold the ⌘+R buttons simultaneously until you see the Apple logo. This will boot the Mac into recovery mode. When the macOS Utilities menu appears, select Restore from Time Machine Backup. Select the backup you want to restore and then select the Samsung SM951 disk as your destination. Go and enjoy the great outdoors or spend some time with the family - this will take a while. The restore will reboot when complete, so when you come back to your Mac, it should be at the login screen. Login and re-enter your Apple, email, etc. passwords when prompted. Make sure all is well. Your new boot drive will now have the same name as your old one (e.g. Macintosh HD). ​If you want to reuse the old drive as additional storage, just shut the machine down, reconnect the drive and turn back on. The Mac should still use the new drive as the boot drive. Once logged in, you can Erase and reformat the old drive using Disk Utility (don\u0026rsquo;t worry, it won\u0026rsquo;t let you reformat the new boot drive by mistake).\nPerformance #I used Disk Speed Test to test the performance of my boot disks:\nOriginal Apple SATA hard drive:\nWrite speed: 140 MB/s Read speed: 150 MB/s My old SSD SATA disk:\nWrite speed: 250 MB/s Read speed: 268 MB/s New Samsung ​SM951 boot disk:\nWrite speed: 1,411 MB/s Read speed: 1,388 MB/s So, my new M.2 drive is close to the maximum theoretical performance (1,500 MB/s) and approximately 10 times faster than the original HDD that shipped with the MacPro. Cool.\nCPU Upgrade (Medium to Hard) #The Intel CPUs in this machine are several generations behind the latest, so there\u0026rsquo;s only so much we can do here. I bought my Mac Pro with two 2.4 GHz 5-Core Intel Xeon processors. The fastest CPUs available for this machine are the 3.6 GHz versions (also 6-cores), so a 50% speed boost. This probably isn\u0026rsquo;t going to be a cost effective upgrade, but I\u0026rsquo;m all in at this stage.\nShopping #So, the model we\u0026rsquo;re looking for is the 3.46 GHz 6-Core Westmere LGA1366 SLBVX Intel Xeon X5690 CPU. We also need some additional tools and parts for the swap job, so our complete shopping list is:\nA pair of 3.46 GHz X5690 CPUs Long 3mm hex wrench to remove heat sinks. Chempads to clean old thermal grease from heatsinks. Thermal grease for installing the new CPUs. Can of compressed air to clean off the dust. ​ We have a couple of ways to buy our bits: Option 1 - New upgrade kit\nYou can buy a complete upgrade kit on eBay that includes the CPU pair and all the other bits listed above. The easiest option but not the cheapest. Ideally, pick a kit that includes an anti-static strap.\nOption 2 - Buy individually\nBuy used CPUs on eBay and source each of the parts. This is the route I took, and while the used CPUs were considerably cheaper than the kit in option 1, the other bits started to add up (I couldn\u0026rsquo;t find a supplier to buy them all in one place, so Aussie shipping killed me a bit on this one. I suggest you price out the full list before going with option 2. Here\u0026rsquo;s what I bought:\nPair of \u0026ldquo;matched\u0026rdquo; CPUs from eBay. ​Shop around - I don\u0026rsquo;t think you need to buy them as a matched pair, just make sure you get the X5690. 3mm long handled hex wrench. I bought mine on Amazon.com.au, so much more expensive than the US site (thank you Amazon!) Heatsink cleaner - I ended up buying this cleaner solution, rather than the Chempads (which are hard to source in small quantities). Thermal grease - this was included with the CPUs I ordered on eBay. Aerosol can of air - You should be able to pick one of these up at any decent electronics or hardware store. Installation #This project is a little more advanced than the ones we\u0026rsquo;ve done before, but at this stage you\u0026rsquo;re a pro, right? The key thing here is to observe good anti-static precautions - you can easily fry those chips! If you bought a kit, you can use the included anti-static strap. Click the links for images.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s plenty of YouTube videos on this task as well. I followed along with this one (shows a single CPU upgrade, but you get the idea).\nMake sure you\u0026rsquo;re static free! Power down the machine, unplug and remove the side panel. Flip the two catches out on the CPU tray and pull out - evenly. Lay the tray on a flat, stable surface. Unscrew the 4 hex bolts in the heatsink using the long 3mm hex wrench. Unscrew each both a little bit at a time, evenly. Remove the heatsink pull straight up. A bit of wiggling may be required to disconnect the fan power connector. Pull gently - if excessive force is needed, you haven\u0026rsquo;t loosened the bolts enough. You should now look like this. Blow away any dust on the motherboard around the CPUs. Clean the heatsinks using the ArctiClean part 1 and part 2 cleaners, as per the video. Blow away any dust from the heatsinks. You should now look like this. Install the new CPUs, being careful to align the pins with the notches. Use ArctiClean part 2 to clean the surface of the CPU. Apply a small dot of thermal grease in the centre of each CPU, as per the video. Reinstall each heatsink in turn. When lowering onto to the motherboard, look for alignment of the two bolts near to the fan power connector. Once resting on the motherboard, tighten each bolt a little bit at a time, evenly. You may need to wiggle the hex wrench a bit initially to get the both to seat correctly. Reinstall the motherboard try in the Mac Pro, replace the side panel, connect all the cables, power on and keep your fingers crossed! Once logged back in, go to Apple \u0026gt; About this Mac \u0026gt; System Report\u0026hellip; and confirm that the new CPUs are ​recognised OK: Performance #I used Geekbench: Original scores with the 2.4 GHz CPUs were:\nCPU Single-Core Score: 2,241 CPU Multi-Core Score: 18,262 ​New scores with the 3.46 GHz CPUs were:\nCPU Single-Core Score: 2,919 (30% increase) CPU Multi-Core Score: 24,497 (34% increase) So - in summary, this one probably not worth the cost to do the upgrade, but fun to do nonetheless.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/mac-pro/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"Upgrading a Mac Pro Workstation"},{"content":"GitHub Issues, Without the Browser # GitIssues is a focused, native macOS app for managing GitHub issues across all your repositories. No browser tabs, no distractions — just your issues, organised and accessible from your desktop.\nSign in with your GitHub account and get straight to work. GitIssues gives you a clean, fast interface for the things you actually do with issues every day: creating them, updating them, labelling them, assigning them, and closing them — across every repo you have access to.\nKey Features # Browse and search issues across multiple repositories from a single window. Create new issues with full Markdown support and live preview. Edit issue titles, descriptions, labels and comments. Open and close issues without leaving the app. Filter by state (open, closed), repository, visibility (public, private) and your involvement (creator, assignee, collaborator). Rich Markdown rendering for issue descriptions and comments. View and add comments on any issue. Share, pin, clone and delete issues. Sort the issue in a variety of ways. Fast, native macOS experience - built with SwiftUI. Secure GitHub OAuth sign-in - your credentials are never stored by the app. Lightweight and private no analytics, no tracking, no data collection beyond what\u0026rsquo;s needed to connect to GitHub. Built for developers who live in GitHub Issues and want a faster, cleaner way to stay on top of them. Support and More Information #Please visit the GitIssues support page for more information, support contact and planned features.\n","date":"1 February 2018","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/resources/gitissues/","section":"Resources","summary":"","title":"GitHub Issue Manager"},{"content":" As society and the world evolves, are juries keeping up with the times? LYNN ELSEY investigates. The jury trial system has attracted its fair share of scrutiny and criticism throughout the centuries. But an increased volume of complex cases and use of experts, lengthier trials and the ease of access to external information in recent years have led to growing concerns about the capacity of jurors to truly understand and undertake their duties. In short, is the jury system still working or does it need fixing?\nSetting the scene #The NSW jury trial system, which is based on Section 80 of the Constitution (which, in turn, is based on the US Constitution) states that the “trial on indictment of any offence against any law of the Commonwealth shall be by jury” and that any person charged with a serious offence is entitled to have his or her innocence or guilt determined by their peers.\nThe 12 ordinary citizens who comprise a normal jury are deemed to be representative of the community. Because the jury process is secret, jurors are presumed to consider the case based on community values rather than external pressures, eliminating problems or perceptions that a judge or magistrate, for example, could be biased, side with authority, or are removed from the day-to- day life of ordinary people.\nResearch has found that judges who regularly hear criminal prosecutions without juries become “case-hardened” and are biased towards prosecution (Graham Fricke QC, “Trial by Jury”, Parliamentary Research Paper 1996-97).\nJury selection #Juror anonymity is a feature of NSW criminal trial process, in stark contrast to other jurisdictions, such as the US, where attorneys receive information on prospective jurors and are allowed to question them about their values and beliefs. In the US, jury selection in high-profile cases often involves jury consultants who undertake an array of methods to try to uncover details about the prospective jurors.\nIn NSW, however, jurors are identified only by a number, so challenges are based solely on what the person looks like.\nFollowing concerns that juries were mainly comprised of students, housewives and retirees, in recent years efforts have been made to try to ensure that a jury is more reflective of the community, including making it more difficult for people to avoid serving.\n“There seems to be more diversity on juries now, due to changes in who can serve and possibly that grounds for exemption are more difficult to get,” says Professor Nicholas Cowdery, AM QC, who served as the Director of Public Prosecutions for NSW from 1994-2011.\nRecent statistics from the NSW Sheriff back his observations. From February 2016 to February 2017, 81 per cent of jurors were employed, with ages fairly evenly spread across groups:\nREPUTATION MATTERS #In the US, the jury selection process for a recent securities and wire transfer fraud trial became an elaborate and at times humourous ordeal due to the reputation of the accused, Martin Shkreli.\nTwo years earlier, as CEO of a pharmaceutical company, Shkreli had hit the headlines and been called “the most hated man in America” when his company raised the price of two essential pharmaceuticals, an emergency allergy injection and an AIDS drug, by 400 and 5,000 per cent. The jury selection process for Shkreli’s fraud trial (which was unrelated to the pharmaceutical company) became a cause célèbre, lasting three days and involving 200 potential jurors being excused.\nSome of the reasons potential jurors felt they couldn’t be fair and impartial included:\nI think he’s a greedy little man He’s the most hated man in America From everything I’ve seen on the new, everything I’ve read, I believe the defendant is the face of corporate greed in America You’d have to convince me he was innocent rather than guilty He is as guilty as they come The only thing I’d be impartial about is what prison this guy goes to. Trial length #Trials are getting longer, which means jurors are required to hear and retain more information and have a longer time between hearing evidence and deliberating. This trend also affects the number of potential jurors and their ability to commit to a lengthier trial.\nFrom 1995 to 2011, the mean trial length in the NSW District Court increased by 60 per cent, from 5.47 to 8.79 days, according to the NSW Law Reform Commission.\nSupreme Court cases involving charges of murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and driving causing death also have lengthened. In 1990, the mean trial length was 12 days; in 2010 it was 26 days.\nIn 2017, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research released a brief showing that the average trial was 8.2 days, although length varied significantly depending on location and the type of trial. For example, the shortest trials were in Wagga Wagga (4.8 days on average) and the longest were held in Sydney (10.6 days).\nLonger trials affect the expectations and pressures of jurors. Trial advocate Manny Conditsis, who once had Man Haron Monis as a client, has noticed a change in attention spans and interest over the past 10 years.\n“Everyone has always been busy but the impact of social media means that now a significant number of jurors, while still a minority, don’t seem to be interested,” Conditsis observes.\n“A greater number appear to be frustrated with interruptions to their lives and having to keep coming back to court than in the past.”\nBarrister David Staehli SC, who was the Crown Prosecutor in the Oliver Curtis insider trading case, also feels that lengthy trials are a potential problem. “The longer the trial, the more likely jurors will become frustrated with the inconvenience or fall out with each other, and be less likely to remember evidence they may have heard months before.”\n“Among a lot of young people, there seems to be a sense of entitlement and a feeling that ‘I’ve done my few days, I’ve formed my opinions and now I want to get back to my life’.”\nDavid Staehli SC The longer the trial, the more likely jurors will become frustrated with the inconvenience or fall our with each other.\nManny Conditsis If you make an application for a judge-only trial, it is certainly a gamble. With a jury, the prosecution has to persuade 12 jurors ‘beyond reasonable doubt’; with a judge, only one mind has to be convinced.”\nChallenges of complexity #The capacity of juries to adequately fulfil their duties due to a growing complexity in cases, from use of DNA evidence to details on insider trading, is another area of concern. “It is true, in general, that trials are becoming longer and more detailed,” says Cowdery. “For example, fraud trials, and cases with medical and psychiatric issues often turn into a contest between experts.\n“The run-of-the-mill trials are dropping out; these matters don’t actually go to trial as much. There are more guilty pleas, even in murder cases, due to the removal of mandatory life sentences.”\nAs trials lengthen, jurors are being asked to handle more. But Cowdery remains optimistic. “I think the problems can be managed and that, by and large, jury trials are successful,” he observes. “In many cases, the issue is whether the accused acted dishonestly. Values, such as reasonableness, should also be determined by the representatives of the community. If counsel and the judge do their job, ordinary people can be enabled to understand to do their job.”\nThe increased use of experts means judges and counsel may need to undertake additional work to ensure a jury understands the evidence and the position of the expert, he says. “Ultimately, an expert is expressing his or her opinion, which can be accepted or dismissed.”\nStaehli says increasing levels of complexity are not just a challenge for jurors. “Lawyers also battle with understanding complex charges and how to convey the issues to jurors,” he says.\nNonetheless, Staehli hasn’t noticed any specific challenges regarding complex cases. “In the past two years, I haven’t detected any problems that jurors have with complexity.” But, he points out, the only way to determine this in a trial is from questions the jury asks.\nJames Ogloff, a professor and director of the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science at Swinburne University of Technology, who also trained as a lawyer, disagrees.\nOgloff has been studying juries for more than 30 years. He says research shows that many jurors struggle to understand the legal instructions from judges and the concept of “beyond reasonable doubt”.\n“A judge is trained to analyse evidence, to give proper weight to some evidence over other evidence, to assess witnesses veracity, to probe the arguments put by counsel, and is less likely to be swayed by emotive rhetoric,” he wrote in an article for The Drum in November 2013.\nHe questions the sensibility of allowing a group of lay people who deliberate in secret and “upon whom we rely to obey a judge’s instructions, particularly about leaving their prejudices at the courthouse door and not resorting to the internet but only focusing on the evidence before them.”\nStaehli can see both sides of the argument. “When it comes to a complex case, the defence might prefer more confusion, which could result in a hung jury,” he says. “On the other hand, juries are no better than a judge in determining what’s in someone’s head.”\nEither way, “it’s far more satisfying to convince a jury of your case than a judge”, Staehli says.\nOthers, such as Chief Justice Peter McLellan, have suggested it would be easier and cheaper to use a panel of assessors who would sit alongside a judge or panel of judges for complex cases.\n“For all the faults of the jury system, in the main, it gets it right,” says Conditsis. “If I was faced with doing away either judge- only or jury-only, I’d do away with the judge-only option. Luckily, we now have the option of both.”\nA Brisbane Supreme Court judge ruled that a $10 million defamation case against broadcaster Alan Jones will be conducted as a judge-only trial due to the case being too complex for a jury.\nJones, Harbour Radio, 4BC and Nick Cater, a columnist for The Australian, are being sued by members of a Toowoomba family who claim they were defamed in commentary about their quarry’s role in the 2011 Lockyer Valley floods.\nThe Wagner family applied for a judge-only trial, claiming that due to the complexity of the case, which includes 32 broadcasts, highly technical hydrological studies and evidence from experts, would be too much of a burden for a jury.\nJones’s QC, Rob Anderson, argued against this, saying that proper case management and jury directions could have addressed some of the complexity.\nHowever, on 10 October, Judge Peter Applegarth ruled in favour of the Wagner family.\n“The size and complexity of the jury’s enormous task presents an unacceptably high risk that it will be unable to perform its tasks,” he noted in his judgment.\nJury direction #One of the consequences of complex cases is more detailed jury direction, in order to provide jurors with an adequate understanding of the law and the issues of the case.\n“They have become enormously complicated in some cases. Counsel needs to be able to explain complex concepts. Judges need to take time on this. It’s more work for everybody,” says Cowdery.\nConcerns have been raised that jury directions aren’t effective in helping jurors do their jobs, are too detailed and complex, cause lengthier trials and confuse rather than help.\nIn November 2012, the NSW Law Reform Commission issued a report regarding directions to juries during criminal trials, which contained a number of suggestions, including:\nMore use of aids, such as a standard audio-visual presentation to explain DNA, to enhance understanding of evidence; Providing additional guidance on the standard of proof in regards to “beyond reasonable doubt”; Permitting expert evidence to be presented for both prosecution and defence in the same block; and Making it clear to jurors that they can ask questions and encourage them to seek clarification when necessary, even during the trial. Efforts to provide juries with more information, however, might result in less, rather than more, comprehension.\nResearch from the UK found wide inconsistencies in jurors’ capacities to understand judicial direction and low levels of understanding of what they actually meant. This included only 31 per cent of jurors actually understanding the directions. Comprehension did increase to 48 per cent when the directions were written, rather than verbal (“Are juries fair”, Ministry of Justice Research Series, Feb 2010, UK).\nImpact of social media #No one questions the explosion of external information now available at the fingertips of jurors 24/7, but the general response is, as jurors are instructed not to access these channels, it shouldn’t be an issue and isn’t a good reason to do away with juries.\n“We can only say, ‘Don’t do it’. It’s a criminal offence. You just have to rely on the good faith of the jury. I think the vast majority take it seriously,” says Cowdery.\nOne study, with Victoria’s Department of Justice, found that jurors considering a rape case only comprehended 40 per cent of the case. He also found jurors often made their decisions based on external anecdotal information, such as comparing the accused with someone they knew and assuming the two were similar, and that they spent very little time actually discussing the law – as little as 90 seconds – during two hours of deliberation.\nOgloff also discovered that Australian jurors had problems separating what they had seen on television with real cases and used terms such as “Miranda warnings” during discussions, although this had no relation to Australian law.\nJudge-only trials #In NSW, an accused person or the prosecutor in criminal proceedings in the District or Supreme Court may apply for a judge-alone trial. If the prosecution doesn’t agree, the case may still proceed if the court considers it in the interest of justice.\nAs more cases involving complex scientific, financial or legal concepts or instances of high pre-trial media attention increase, bringing into question issues of jury fairness, it is not surprising that the number of judge-only trials is on the rise.\nA report from the NSW Law Reform Commission, for example, found that the percentage of Supreme Court judge-only trials increased from 17 to 31 per cent from 2000-2011, and from 4 to 13 per cent in the District Court.\nDefense specialist Manny Conditsis has experienced these changes. “I would advise my client to request a judge versus jury trial in a complex case where there is significant expert evidence involved, such as medical situations involving psychiatric or psychological experts, which might be difficult for a jury to get their head around,” he says.\n“Also, cases where the jury wouldn’t be able to get past the heinous nature of the crime or where there is strong media and publicity would be unfavourable to the accused.”\nHowever, he also notes that requesting a judge-only trial includes an element of risk.\n“If you make an application for a judge-only trial, it is certainly a gamble,” Conditsis says. “With a jury, the prosecution has to persuade 12 jurors ‘beyond reasonable doubt’; with a judge, only one mind has to be convinced.\n“In my experience, judges don’t want to do judge-only trials, so you are also fighting instinct.”\nOn the other hand, some legal practitioners and experts are keen to see more trials adjudicated by judges. Greg Barns, a barrister and a director of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, believes it is time for debate about traditional jury trials, especially in regard to transparency.\nHowever, some legal professionals, such as Ogloff and Barns, feel the temptations can be difficult to ignore. In the UK study, three-quarters of jurors serving on high- profile cases admitted to being aware of media about the case during a trial, 26 per cent admitted to reading about the case online during the case, and 20 per cent found it difficult to put what they had seen or read in the media out of their mind, even though they were instructed by the judge not to do so.\nFor what it’s worth\u0026hellip; #Does the jury system needs fine-tuning, a bigger adjustment or no changes at all? The majority of legal experts and practitioners I spoke to for this article supported the jury system but also said that if they were innocent, they would opt for a judge-only trial; if guilty, a jury. So it looks as if the jury is still out.\nDID YOU KNOW? #Unsurprisingly, requirements for serving on a jury have changed over the centuries.\nFor example:\nIn the 14th century, British UK jurors had to reside in the locality of the dispute and be knowledgeable about the subject matter, so either be a witness to the event or personally acquainted with one of the litigants Until 1947, jurors in NSW were required to own property Women in Victoria were automatically exempt from jury duty until 1975 EXCUSE ME #Top reasons for being excused from NSW juries:\nIllness, disability or injury Financial hardship, conflict of interest Employment Carer for someone else 5 unusual excuses:\nI am allergic to air-conditioning I need to look after my cat I have a public transport phobia and have no one to drive me to court The planets are not presently aligned and it’s not a good fit for me I will fall asleep during the trial and my snoring will be a distraction *According to the NSW Sheriff’s office\nOriginally published in the November 2017 edition of the NSW Law Society Journal.\nNSW Law Society Journal, November 2017 ","date":"1 November 2017","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/business/are-juries-up-to-the-job/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Are juries up to the job?"},{"content":" Whether your interests lie in art, architecture, history, food, fountains or shopping, Rome pretty much tops the scales as a place to visit, as LYNN ELSEY explains. The only downside is having to leave. Stay # Villa Spalletti Trivelli The best way to experience Rome is to be a part of it. And there is no better way than living, albeit temporarily, in a historic villa. Villa Spalletti Trivelli, a sublime, atmospheric, family-owned hotel ticks all the boxes. It is close to the major sights but hidden away in a surprisingly peaceful location.\nThe understated elegance and low key ambiance allows guests to experience regal life in a five-star retreat. From having coffee and biscotti in the tapestry-lined drawing rooms to relaxing in the private outdoor garden, the hospitality extends to free minibars in the spacious rooms and complimentary drinks in the evenings.\nVilla Spalletti Trivelli The hotel also offers two garden suites with private courtyards and a range of personalised services, including having meals created by private chef and wine tasting at the family’s vineyard. With service as splendid as the surroundings, you won’t want to leave. Better yet, marry into the family.\nslh.com villaspallettitrivelli.com Drink #Bars are second homes to Italians. More than just a place to get a beer, Italians come here to for coffee, croissants, a quick lunch or an aperitivo as well as for a glass of wine or beer.\nStravinskij Bar If you are looking for an exceptionally stylish, peaceful and only-in-Rome experience, spend an hour or two at the Stravinskij Bar at the Hotel de Russie. The hotel, which is located in the famed Via Condotti shopping district, is a well- known haven for fashionistas so it comes as no surprise that sitting in the bar’s lovely outdoor piazza feels like stepping into a page of Vogue magazine; Versace to your right, Prada to your left and leggy blondes all around.\nSalotto42 The drinks are as dramatic as the clientele and come with Sydney- like prices, but you also get an array of delicious appetizers and no one will mind if you nurse one drink for hours.\nIf you are looking for something that feels more like a trendy Euro bar, Salotto42, in Piazza di Pietra, will probably fit the bill.\nroccofortehotels.com Eat #Rome, like most of Italy, has an enviable and seemingly endless supply of great local cuisine; Australians will take extra delight at the more than reasonable prices. Serious foodies will undoubtedly embark on some detailed sleuthing before arriving to create their own shortlist of places to eat, which might include Heinz Beck’s famed La Pergola.\nOn the other hand, if you are just happy to be in Rome and don’t want to spend too much energy or time trying to track down a specific Michelin-starred ristorante, you\ncan find really good food almost anywhere, as long as you steer clear of the obvious tourist playgrounds (cafes lining Piazza Navona, for example) and pick a menu without photos of food.\nArmando al Pantheon, in the middle of the centro storico, is a perennial favourite. The trattoria’s reasonable prices, good selection of local dishes and great location is why it appears on nearly every “Best dining” list and in many guidebooks.\nAlthough word is getting out, the Monti area, a vibrant dining and shopping area near the Colosseum and Forum, is still more local than tourist. In the early evening, the action takes place in the Piazza, where young and old come to drink and chat. Favourite dining options include Trattoria Monti, La Taverna dei Monti and Ai Tre Scalini.\nOne of the city’s hippest and most popular food and drink emporiums, Roscioli, should come with a warning notice to anyone who loves food. The gourmet deli, wine shop, bakery and restaurant is one of those places you stop by for just a minute and emerge hours later.\narmandoalpantheon.it tavernadeimonti.info aitrescalini.org salumeriaroscioli.com Explore #As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Trying to see it all in one visit is, well, impossibile. Attempting to experience even a tenth of Rome’s treats in a few days will result in exhaustion and frustration – there is too much ground to cover and not enough time to let the beauty and amazement sink in. Consider breaking up visits to the big ticket places – the Vatican Museums, St Peter’s, Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon – with unscheduled and unstructured time. Spend an hour or two wandering around the backstreets without a map, stick your nose into a random church, you’ll often find a stunning display of art hidden behind a nondescript interior, with no tourists in sight.\nPlan on visiting some of your other ‘must do’s, including the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona and Spanish Steps, at either ends of the day, which usually translates into fewer crowds and more interesting light. On the other hand, the Via Condotti shopping area is infinitely more interesting late in the afternoon or early evening when the cafes are filled with stylish Italians.\nIf you are visiting Rome in peak season, buying tickets ahead of time or even booking a private tour for some of the main attractions is worth the effort; it will save time in queues.\nEscape #When you have had your fill of fountains and gold-flecked frescoes, start getting blasé about Michelangelo and tire of winding you way through crowds of gelato- eating tourists, it’s time for a break.\nSpending an hour or two on the seat of a bike might be just the thing. One of the best options is the Appian Way, part of Rome’s original roadway, circa 312 BC, that linked Rome to the Adriatic port of Brindisi. Today a 15-kilometre section has been preserved as a park, with a paved road and catacombs.\nYou can rent bikes (traditional and electric) and pick up useful information about the park at EcoBike, in the park’s tourist office.\nVilla Borghese Gardens, the third largest public park in Rome, offers\na welcome respite from the city’s noise, heat and tourists. A short walk from many of the city’s sights, the park offers acres of strolling around neoclassical buildings, lakes, fountains, theatres and sculptures.\nIt also houses the fabulous Villa Borghese, a superb collection of art from the 16th to the 18th century, including masterpieces by artists Raphael, Titian and Caravaggio. Runner take note, the gardens are one of the best places to go for a run in the city.\ninfopointappia.it Out of Town # Villa d’Este If time allows, Tivoli, a short train or car trip from the centre of Rome, offers two enticing UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Villa d’Este a 16th- century villa is a showpiece of Italian Renaissance culture, gardening and innovation. Its terraced gardens are filled with grottoes, music, statues and truly amazing water fountains.\nIn its heyday, as the imperial residence of the Roman emperor Hadrian, Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana), spread over an area twice the size of Pompeii with more than 30 buildings including full-scale reproductions of the emperor’s favourite Greek and Egyptian building. Today the remains of the complex demonstrate Hadrian’s power along with remarkable Roman architecture and building in the 2nd century in a peaceful setting.\nwww.villadestetivoli.info villaadriana.beniculturali.it Originally published in the October 2017 edition of the NSW Law Society Journal.\nLaw Society Journal, October 2017 ","date":"1 October 2017","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/food-travel/lynn-rome/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Rome"},{"content":" A new study finds that just thinking about your mobile causes a drop in mental ability, as Lynn Elsey discovers. Perhaps Steven Jobs is having a last laugh.\nA team of researchers have found that the presence of a smartphone leads to a significant reduction in cognitive capacity – even if the phone is switched off.\nThe team, from the University of Texas at Austin, wanted to measure how smartphones affected the ability to complete tasks. Their results won’t impress phone addicts.\nThe research, which was recently published in the “University of Chicago’s Journal of Association for Consumer Research”, found that participants who had their phones on the desk, either face up or down, performed significantly worse on tasks than subjects who left their phones in another room and slightly worse than those who kept their phones in a handbag or in a pocket.\nThey surmise that the mere presence of a phone may overwhelm limited-capacity cognitive resources, “thereby leaving fewer resources available for other tasks and undercutting cognitive performance.” It could be that the presence of a smartphone channels brain activity away from tasks at hand and towards focusing on avoiding picking up or using the phone.\n“Out of sight, out of mind” #“Your conscious mind isn’t thinking about your smartphone, but that process – the process of requiring yourself not to think about something – uses up some of your limited resources,” said Adrian Ward, an assistant professor of marketing and the leader author on the study.\nThe results weren’t affected by the phone being turned on or off, indicating that simply having a phone within sight or easy reach reduces the ability to perform tasks and to focus.\nSmart stuff #The researchers conclude that because smartphones transcend the normal realm of how new innovations impact consumers’ lives, “they have become “constant companions, offering unprecedented connection to information, entertainment and each other,” and therefore have an enormous potential to influence consumers.\nThe study authors suggest enacting “defined and protected periods of separation”, including using apps to track, filter and limit smartphone use.\nThe research adds to an increasing level of research about the negative impact of digital devices on concentration levels, including a study by De Montfort University (UK) that found a link between the time someone spent on a mobile phone or the internet and cognitive failures. Anyone looking to compound their concerns about smartphones should read psychology professor Jean Twenge’s recently published article in The Atlantic.\nThis article was originally published in the online journal of the Law Society of NSW.\n","date":"5 September 2017","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/careers/is-your-smartphone-making-you-stupid/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Is your smartphone making you stupid?"},{"content":" The gluten-free phenomena is not just a frustrating conundrum for health and medical professionals, it may be downright unhealthy, reports LYNN ELSEY. Is the world in the midst of a gluten-free food epidemic? In 2015, 10 per cent of all new food and beverage products launched worldwide were gluten free; from 2011 to 2016 the market value of gluten-free foods increased from US$1.7 billion to $3.5 billion, according to The Financial Times.\nAlthough less than 1 per cent of the population suffers from coeliac disease, a serious immune reaction to gluten, at least 20 per cent of the Australian and global population (mainly women) believe that going gluten-free could make their bodies healthier.\nSo why are so many people who don’t have a medically-diagnosed illness, devoting money, time and energy to avoid gluten?\nSome believe that gluten-free foods are a miracle cure for everything from autism, arthritis and weight loss to cancer; others just think they are healthier in general.\nAnother group believes they suffer from gluten intolerance, sometimes known as non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), which they think causes bloating and other digestive-related symptoms, including irritable bowel syndrome. As there is no validated test to diagnose gluten intolerance, people are either self-diagnosing or following advice from other sources, including alternative health care gurus, celebrities and magazine articles.\nHowever, an array of studies and research shows no connection between perceived gluten intolerance and the consumption of gluten.\nScience speaks #In 2014, Monash University researchers Dr Jessica Biesiekierski and Peter Gibson found no physical responses or underlying causes for any gastrointestinal distress reported from eating gluten.\nAfter noting that 63 per cent of the subjects were either self-diagnosed or following the recommendations of an alternative health provider, the researchers surmised that the problems were psychological.\nSimilar results were replicated in another study in Spain, which found that just 16 per cent of subjects who said they suffered from gluten intolerance exhibited related symptoms when exposed to gluten. And 40 per cent of those who were on the gluten-free diet in the double-blind study also reported symptoms. The researchers concluded that their results “cast doubt on gluten as the culprit food component in most patients with presumptive NCGS and highlight the importance of the placebo effect”.\nFAD OR FACT? #What’s the truth behind other trendy foods? Take this quick quiz to test your food knowledge.\n1 Energy bars are a healthy way to boost your energy\nConvenient, yes. Healthy, not so much.\nAs they often contain chocolate or yogurt, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils (linked to high blood pressure and clogged arteries) and artificial sweeteners and often have minimal nutritional value, many nutritionists rate them the same as a candy bar.\nAnything that provides calories helps boost energy levels, whether a banana, a chocolate cupcake or an energy bar. Eating a roll with a slice of cheese provides a similar energy burst as many bars and is probably healthier and cheaper. So, false.\n2 Eating salad without dressing is the healthiest option\nTossing your salad with lemon juice, low calorie or reduced fat- dressing, or avoiding it altogether, may lower the overall calorie count – but when it comes to your health, using an oil-based dressing is the smarter choice.\nThe fats in full-fat dressings (especially olive and canola oil) increase the uptake of important nutrients in salads, including carotenoids, which are associated with a reduced risk of several chronic and degenerative diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and macular degeneration.\n3 Coconut water improves athletic performance\nAfraid not. Studies show that drinking coconut water has no impact on hydration or performance during intensive workouts.\nWhat’s behind the reality gap? #According to a US-based coeliac specialist, Dr Amy Burkhart, “misinformation stems in part from internet lore and well-meaning friends. Friends describe the benefits they’ve achieved with a gluten-free diet, so others aim for similar results. Books and media outlets tout miraculous cures with gluten-free diets, so people follow suit”.\nBut, other than concerns that people are wasting money, what’s the problem?\nHealth and medical experts are increasingly concerned that gluten-free products are unhealthy. For starters, many contain high levels of sugar and fats and have significantly lower levels of protein, nutrients and useful dietary fibre than the ingredients they are replacing.\n“Many gluten-free products are higher in calories, fat, sodium and sugar because they need to enhance the flavour and texture to make up for the lack of gluten,” according to Marina Chaparro, a spokesperson for the US Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Researchers at the European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition have called for a widespread reformulation of gluten-free products to ensure they match the nutritional values of the foods they are replacing, following an assessment of 654 gluten-free products.\nResearchers at Harvard University’s Department of Nutrition have found that eliminating food such as bread, cereals and pasta leads to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, as the replacements often contain less dietary fibre and micronutrients, especially B vitamins. And whole grains – including wheat, barley and rye – are known to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases.\nThis is why most health professionals prefer people to avoid gluten-free diets unless absolutely necessary. “There is no need to be on a strict gluten-free diet unless you are diagnosed with coeliac disease,” according to Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) Georgie Rist, the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) spokesperson.\n“The promotion of gluten-free diets among people without coeliac disease should not be encouraged,” concluded Dr Andrew Chan, one the Harvard researchers.\nPeople who believe they suffer from gluten intolerance might want to read up on studies focusing on fermentable oligo-, di-, and monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPs), types of carbohydrates found in wheat, lentils, and mushrooms, which may play a role in stomach discomfort.\nIn the meantime, the gluten-free craze will undoubtedly continue to delight food manufacturers and baffle health professionals.\nOriginally published in the July 2017 edition of the NSW Law Society Journal.\nNSW Law Society Journal, July 2017 ","date":"1 July 2017","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/health/gluten-free-foods-magic-or-myth/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Gluten Free Foods: Magic or Myth?"},{"content":" Terri Janke’s passion for protecting the rights of Indigenous artists helped her develop a thriving law career, writes LYNN ELSEY. Copyright and passion are two words seldom encountered in the same sentence. But for Terri Janke, using copyright and intellectual property (IP) law to further the case of Indigenous social justice has been the raison d’être for a passionate legal career.\nAs a shy Wuthathi/Meriam girl growing up in Cairns, Janke never dreamed of becoming a lawyer and business owner. In a world where Indigenous students were automatically delegated to the remedial class regardless of aptitude, positive career role models were thin on the ground.\nBut reading Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird opened her eyes to the power of the law and social justice to change lives. When her older sister Toni enrolled in law at the University of New South Wales, Janke decided to do the same.\nShe admits she had a romanticised image of the law, expecting it to be like an episode of the television show LA Law. The reality was a shock. “It was really hard,” she says.\nJanke ended up leaving university, believing she wasn’t cut out for a legal career. She took a job as a secretary at an Aboriginal arts organisation and “fell in love” with Indigenous art. Janke worked her way up to a senior policy role. It was then that she became aware of the limitations of Australian copyright and IP law to fairly address issues relating to Aboriginal art and knowledge.\n“At the time, there was lots of talk about people ripping off Aboriginal art,” she says. Exposure to some inspiring young intellectual property lawyers and the realisation that copyright provided real avenues to achieve social justice prompted her to rethink her decision to quit law.\n\u0026ldquo;Around this time, we also had the Mabo case, which made me see the law wasn\u0026rsquo;t just about legislation but the dynamism of the common law,\u0026rdquo; she says.\nShe became passionate about the inability of copyright law to protect Indigenous cultural and IP rights, which gave her the incentive to return to university and resume her legal studies.\n\u0026ldquo;I realised I could use the power I had to turn bad into good. It fascinated me. I returned to uni and did an arts/law degree, now having a strong connection I didn\u0026rsquo;t have before. The rights to knowledge were so integral and so important and nobody else was doing it,\u0026rdquo; Janke says.\nSecond time around #With passion on her side. studying law was easier and Janke excelled. She was offered a summer clerkship at Phillips Fox, where she was exposed to life in a large law firm.\nPhillips Fox offered her a graduate position, bur she turned it down. instead joining a small firm. Frankel Lawyers which focuses on arts and entertainment. The firm won a contract to review laws relating to Australian Indigenous knowledge. The work stemmed from a growing awareness that IP laws didn\u0026rsquo;t address Indigenous culture and beliefs.\nJanke spent the next few years working on and authoring the landmark report Our Culture, Our Future. The report was influential in the development of legal recognition and protection for Indigenous cultural and IP rights.\nUsing business for change #Writing the report inspired Janke to focus on Indigenous copyright and IP issues. She realised she wanted to provide legal services to Indigenous clients, helping empower them to be creative and to prosper in business. So, she set out on her own.\nIn 2000, she opened a practice in Redfern specialising in copyright. Initially, she had just one client word got out and she had an array of artists seeking legal advice.\n“Most of the time they had no money, but some did end up becoming paying clients,” Janke says. She was happy to put in the hours as she recognised the importance of educating the Indigenous community about IP.\nJanke also put her love for writing to work. “Writing was a way to establish my reputation.” Along with contributing papers to legal and other formal publications, her talents extended to fiction, allowing her to reach a different audience. Her lyrical novel, Butterfly Song (Penguin Books), weaves concepts of native title and connections to land, stories and song through a story about an Indigenous law student.\nAs her business grew. she helped Indigenous artists with licensing agreements, contracts and trademarking. Clients range from Rene Kulitja, who created the “Yananyi Dreaming” design for Qantas’s Boeing 737-800 aircraft, to fashion designers.\nToday, copyright and Indigenous arts clients are the core of Janke’s practice, but her team also offers a full range of commercial law, IP, and governance and mediation services.\nSupporting Indigenous business development is a key aspect of the practice, including running nationwide workshops to help advise Indigenous entrepreneurs on issues ranging from starting a business to understanding contracts and leases.\n“We realised that we can’t solve everyone’s individual problems, so we decided to try to raise the educational level and awareness of Indigenous people in business,” Janke says.\nShe also has been closely involved with Supply Nation, which helps minority suppliers gain access to traditional supply and procurement chains, creating employment and providing role models of successful Indigenous businesspeople. The organisation also helps educate non-Indigenous providers on how to procure Indigenous services.\nJanke has created a series of cultural protocols for Indigenous projects, which helps protect rights, creates commercial opportunities and encourages Indigenous people to share their knowledge.\nShe and her team have worked with museums, libraries and other organisations such as Screen Australia, helping them explain and apply these protocols. For example, when the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris wanted to incorporate Indigenous arts into the façade of its building, it used Janke’s protocols as a framework.\nMaking a difference #Janke’s skill, passion and expertise haven’t gone unnoticed. In 2012, the Commonwealth Attorney-General named her Indigenous Legal Professional of the Year. She was named one of the Australian Financial Review and Westpac’s 100 Women of Influence in 2013. In 2015, she was a finalist in the Telstra Business Women’s Awards.\nJanke is comfortable with the limelight. “Growing up, I didn’t have any role models,” she says. “I realise how important it is to have someone to look at and say, ‘If they can do it, I can’. ”\nShe’s proud of her firm.\n“The practice has become well known. It’s got my name on it, but it’s not just me any more. The people who work here work hard, are dedicated and understand what we stand for. Everyone wants to make a difference. That’s what I am really proud of.\n“I get letters and cards from clients and community people thanking me for the work I am doing. And I still have a lot to do.\n“As an Indigenous lawyer, it is so much harder to prove yourself, especially as a small firm and as a woman. Seventeen years ago, when I started out on my own, everyone was saying, ‘Good luck, I guess you will be looking for a job in a few months’.”\nBut she’s still here – her passion and focus helping her build a successful practice.\nOriginally published in the July 2017 edition of the NSW Law Society Journal.\nNSW Law Society Journal, July 2017 ","date":"1 July 2017","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/business/terri-janke/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Terri Janke - The art of Justice"},{"content":" How graduates and higher education students secure meaningful work in an ideas economy. Starting work in a rapidly changing world involves having the right set of skills and attributes and a practical strategy.\nBeing a graduate or having higher education is a good start to securing meaningful work. Having relevant job search skills and attributes to successfully navigate the labour market landscape and prepare for a career in an ever-changing economy is the real key to landing, and excelling in meaningful work.\nIn 2012, the uncapping of Commonwealth funded university student places fundamentally unleashed a student demand-driven higher education system. This shift is one factor influencing the considerable challenges in labour market outcomes for individuals from various equity groups especially graduates from non-English speaking backgrounds and female graduates from science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields of study.\nThis white paper outlines key issues impacting graduates and higher education students when transitioning into the labour market. The paper specifically:\nExplores factors impacting graduates’ and higher education students’ entry into the labour market Offers particular insights for graduates in key equity groups who face labour market disadvantage, and Provides a blueprint for graduates and higher education students to secure meaningful work. I was the editor for this white paper.\n","date":"1 December 2016","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/careers/how-to-get-meaningful-work-in-an-ideas-economy/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"How to get meaningful work in an ideas economy"},{"content":" GradAustralia recently caught up with Shannon Goodchap, a manager in Google’s people operations team, for a bit of insight on their graduate recruiting process. What’s the best way to get into your graduate recruitment program? #By taking part in our student internship program. We have three different levels of internships open to uni students; our three-month-long program gives 70-80 interns a year the chance to work on a project.\nHow does the program work? #We hire around a dozen grads a year to work in a specific project area. It is up the individual to determine how long they want to work on that project or to move on to a different one.\nWhat type of grads are you looking for? #People who are interested in building the next great product. We hire generalists who can demonstrate skills across a number of areas, such as problem solving, and can also offer a fresh set of ideas. We build products for people around the world and are looking for people from diverse backgrounds to reflect the diversity of our users.\nHow can I stand out? #We want people with passion. Show us where you have applied your passion, skill or initiative toward building something. It could be anything – so, if it is music, tell us how you started a band.\nWe need to know that you will thrive in a collaborative work environment and want to see examples of teamwork and how you can work in a fast paced environment.\nWhat are some key attributes of successful candidates? #We are looking for people who can fit into the Google environment. They need to demonstrate that they can:\nadapt quickly show true leadership – which means knowing when to step up and when to take a back seat take initiative. The male to female balance across the IT industry is notably skewed towards men. Is Google making any special efforts to attract and retain women? #We want our workforce to reflect the diversity of our users, which includes women. Our focus to adjusting the balance is to create a better pipeline for diversity, for now and the future – not only at Google but also across the whole industry.\nOriginally published in the 2015 edition the Australia\u0026rsquo;s Top 100 Graduate Employers.\nHow to get noticed by Google. ","date":"2 February 2015","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/careers/how-to-get-noticed-by-google/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"How to get noticed by Google"},{"content":" Research that links drinking wine lower risks of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women has been noted by an international forum. Words by Lynn Elsey. A team of reviewers from the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research has backed a new study that found that drinking a couple of glasses of wine a day could be as effective as taking biophosphonates to help maintain bone strength and fight osteoporosis.\nThe reviewers based their findings on a study undertaken by researchers at the University of Oregon, US. The results, which were published in the September issue of Menopause, showed that a moderate intake of alcohol – one to two small glasses of wine, averaging 19 grams per day – lowered the risk of decreased bone density.\nBone weakness or osteoporosis is a major concern for fractures in post- menopausal women. According to the authors of the study, the weakness is the result of an imbalance between normal resorption, a process of old bone dissolving, and the laying down of new bone – which is known as ‘bone turnover’. After menopause, the resorption of old bone continues but the addition of new bone is less successful, leading to a decrease in bone density.\nThe Oregon study investigated the effect of moderate drinking on 40 healthy post-menopausal women and involved measurements during consumption, during a non-drinking phase and when the participants resumed drinking. The participants drank an average of 19 grams of wine per day, approximately 1 to 1.5 drinks per day (US).\nThe issue of moderate alcohol ingestion being positively correlated with bone mineral density in older adults, especially postmenopausal women, is now of little doubt\nThe results showed that consuming wine led to a reduction in bone turnover and therefore stronger bones. It also found that abstaining from alcohol resulted in increased bone among regular moderate drinkers. The researchers said that the most important aspect of the study may be that it has helped identify cellular mechanisms for the increase in bone turnover, creating a higher risk of developing osteoporosis. A resumption of drinking had an immediate effect of reducing the negative effects however.\nAccording to the forum reviewers, the results suggested that moderate alcohol consumption provides a similar effect to taking medicines commonly used to treat bone diseases, called biophosphonates.\n“The issue of moderate alcohol ingestion being positively correlated with bone mineral density in older adults, especially postmenopausal women, is now of little doubt”, Jonathan Powell and Ravin Jugdaohsingh, from the MRC Human Nutrition Research Group at Cambridge University, subsequently noted in a response to the initial posting of the forum’s paper.\nThe results support previous research that has shown greater bone mineral density and lower risk of fractures density found in moderate drinking post-menopausal women.\nThe International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research is a joint program between the Institute on Lifestyle and Health at Boston University School of Medicine (US) and Alcohol in Moderation (UK). The forum is designed to provide critiques, comments and expert opinion on research published on scientific publications and policy statements related to alcohol and health and to provide a source of expert opinion.\nThis article was originally published in Food Australia Magazine, the journal of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology.\nFood Australia Magazine ","date":"1 August 2013","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/health/is-red-wine-an-antidote-to-osteoporosis/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Is red wine an antidote to osteoporosis?"},{"content":" Providing nutrients to children has been named as the most cost effective method of improving lives around the world. Words by Lynn Elsey. A Danish scientist recently asked a panel of five leading economists, including four Nobel laureates, to determine the most cost-efficient way of improving\nthe world.\nTheir response? Fighting malnutrition through micronutrients. Bjørn Lomborg, head of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and an adjunct professor at Copenhagen Business School, is interested in addressing some of the most pressing global challenges and assessing options for tackling them. As part of his quest he assembled a panel of noted economists and asked them to answer the following question: What would be the best way of advancing global welfare, and particularly the welfare of developing countries, if $US75 billion of resources [15 per cent more than current aid spending] were at their disposal over a four-year initial period?\nTo help answer the question the panel was provided with copious amount of detailed research, undertaken by more than 50 experienced economists. The information covered 40 detailed investment ideas and included solutions covering a wide range of options for tackling an array of global problems including armed conflict, chronic disease, education shortages, hunger, population growth and water shortages. The ideas also detailed relevant costs and benefits.\nThese investments are simply good economics.\nGood economics #Based on the research and analysis provided, the panel selected 16 cost effective investment options to best improve the human condition. Topping the list was increasing nutrient intake in preschoolers by providing micronutrients through fortification and supplements.\n“One of the most compelling investments is to get nutrients to the world’s undernourished. The benefits from doing so – in terms of increased health, schooling, and productivity –\nFinn Thilsted are tremendous,” said Vernon Smith, professor of economics and law at the Chapman University and Nobel laureate, a member of the expert panel.\nThe winning solution was underpinned by a research paper (“Hunger and Nutrition, Investments to reduce hunger and undernutrition” by John Hoddinott, Mark Rosegrant and Maximo Torero of the International Food Policy Research Institute) that explored the potential of a $US3 billion investment. According to the paper, an investment of $US100 per child could provide a bundle of interventions – including micronutrient provision, improvement in diet quality and behavior change programs – that could lead to a 36 per cent reduction in chronic under nutrition in developing countries. Each dollar spent reducing chronic under nutrition has a $US30 payoff in benefits.\n“In its simplest form, the central argument of this paper is that these investments are simply good economics,” the authors noted.\nThe authors estimate that around 163 million pre-school children are deficient in vitamin A and around 1.8 billion people are deficient in iodine. According to their research, it is possible to eliminate vitamin A deficiencies in pre- school children, eliminate iodine deficiency globally and dramatically reduce maternal anemia during pregnancy for less than $US700 million annually.\n“The Nobel laureates’ list shows us there are many smart investments that could help so much of the planet, for very little cost. These are the places that policy-makers and philanthropists should direct their attention,” Lomborg said.\nThe Copenhagen Consensus Center is a nonprofit, Denmark-based think tank that that explores ways for governments and philanthropists to spend aid money.\nThe 16 smartest ways to improve the global quality of life #According to the Copenhagen Consensus 2012 Expert Panel, the following investments are the most cost effective ways of improving life around the world:\nMicronutrient interventions Expanding subsidies for malaria combination treatment Expanding childhood immunisation coverage De-worming schoolchildren Expanding treatment for tuberculosis R\u0026amp;D to increase yield enhancements Investing in effective early warning systems to protect against natural disasters Strengthening surgical capacity Hepatitis B immunisation Providing those in poorer countries with low-cost drugs for acute heart attacks A salt reduction campaign to reduce chronic disease Geo-engineering R\u0026amp;D into solar radiation management 13. Conditional cash transfers for school attendance Accelerated HIV vaccine R\u0026amp;D Extended field trial of schooling benefits information campaign Borehole and public hand pump intervention This article was originally published in Food Australia Magazine, the journal of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology.\nFood Australia Magazine ","date":"1 July 2013","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/health/a-very-smart-investment/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"A very smart investment"},{"content":"Last year, Franz Messerli, the Swiss-born director of hypertension program at St Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital and Columbia University in New York, published a slightly tongue-in-cheek paper in the New England Journal of Medicine, linking chocolate consumption with winning Nobel prizes.\nMesserli found a correlation between a country’s level of chocolate consumption and the number of Nobel laureates per capita. Switzerland came out on top – both in number of laureates and chocolate consumption – closely followed by Sweden and Denmark.\n“Since chocolate consumption has been documented to improve cognitive function, it seems most likely that in a dose-dependent way, chocolate intake provides the abundant fertile ground needed for the sprouting of Nobel laureates,” Messerli said in the paper.\nHe also noted that the link did not prove causation between the two.\nAnd now a team of British researchers has reported that drinking milk is related to winning Nobel prizes. The scientists, from Gloucester Royal Hospital in the UK, analysed milk consumption data from 22 countries and discovered that Sweden had the highest rate of milk and dairy product consumption per capita (340 kg per year) and also the highest rate of Nobel Prize winners (33 per 10 million population).\nSwitzerland, which followed closely behind with an average dairy consumption of 300 kg, has produced 32 laureates (per 10 million). China, with no Nobel winners, had the lowest dairy consumption with just 25kg per person.\nResults of the Nobel milk study were published in a letter in the January 2013 issue of Practical Neurology.\nThe researchers noted (as Messerli did) that although they found an association between dairy and Nobel laureates, this did not prove a cause and effect relationship.\nThe authors said that the higher levels of dairy consumption could be a reflection of a strong educational system but also suggested that the flavonoid content in chocolate might increase brain function.\n“So to improve your chances of winning Nobel Prizes you should not only eat more chocolate but perhaps drink milk, too: or strive for synergy with hot chocolate,” the authors concluded.\nThis article was originally published in Food Australia Magazine, the journal of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology.\nFood Australia Magazine ","date":"1 July 2013","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/health/nobel-secrets/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Nobel Secrets"},{"content":"Camel milk has played an important role in the diet of nomadic and pastoral cultures for centuries. Because it is highly transportable, convenient and a low-energy source of sustenance – nomads can live for up to a month on nothing but camel milk – it is an ideal alternative to cow’s milk in the arid regions of the world.\nAlong with its practical assets, camel milk has been identified as having significant health benefits including being high in iron, having three times the vitamin C as cow’s milk, rich in B vitamins, high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol. It also may be suitable for those who are lactose intolerant.\nThe Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) is a big fan. The organisation has found that “there is a growing recognition of the value and benefits of camels for their milk, meat and fibres”.\nHowever, because camel milk has a different protein composition to cow milk, attempts to make cheese from it haven’t been successful.\n“Camel milk is very difficult to coagulate because of its low levels of k-casein, the protein that makes the milk coagulate,” said Rolando Saltini, a Chr Hansen product manager. Use of bovine, microbial or vegetable coagulants result in either weak curd formation or a complete absence of clotting.\nHowever, the company has developed a new ingredient that could have far-reaching impact on the nomadic community. Far-M is pure camel chymosin produced by fermentation. Designed for both cow and camel milk processing, it allows production of firmer camel cheese. Also, production yields are comparable to those from cow’s milk cheese. It comes in a liquid and highly stable powder, making it suitable for transporting at ambient temperatures and to rural areas.\n“Since we are the only company producing camel chymosin by fermentation – the only coagulant that allows production of camel cheese – we feel that we have the obligation to support the development of this industry,” Saltini said.\nAs a result, Chr Hansen has teamed up with a Kenyan company, Oleleshwa Enterprises, to improve the conditions of small-scale camel owners in Kenya and Somalia. By developing basic knowledge about camel cheese production, the project aims to enable camel owners to produce camel cheese for sale as well as their own consumption.\nThe project also involves developing rural and industrial camel cheese recipes which will be provided to the African and Middle Eastern camel community free of charge, evaluating the taste of the cheese and developing production manuals.\nInitial results have been positive.\nAnne Bruntse, the director of Oleleshwa Enterprises, has reported that trial samples had resulted in cheese that tasted better, had a better consistency and made the cheese-making process easier.\n“If successful, this project could potentially improve the livelihood of thousands of rural inhabitants in Northern and Eastern Africa,” said Henriette Oellgaard, CSR Manager, Chr Hansen. She said that the project might also lead the way for future commercialisation of Far-M.\nThis article was originally published in Food Australia Magazine, the journal of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology.\nFood Australia Magazine. Click for the original copy. ","date":"1 June 2012","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/health/one-hump-or-two/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"One hump or two?"},{"content":"Weather. Food. Outdoor pursuits. Financial advice. Geo-spatial sciences. I\u0026rsquo;ve worn a lot of editorial hats creating, developing and managing engaging and informative magazines and journals.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/magazines/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Magazine Publishing"},{"content":" As editor of Position magazine and spatialsource.com I provided an array of geo-spatial content including GPS, satellite, technology, mapping and other spatial information. A Critical shortage #The demand for geospatial technology professionals is expanding at a much greater rate than the supply, says Chris Rizos. The head of the University of New South Wales School of Surveying and Spatial Information Systems raised the subject during the International Federation of Surveyors Congress in Sydney.\nRizos said that the rapid growth in geo-related fields such as satellites, 3D imaging and GPS, and in ever broadening areas such as environmental monitoring and climate change, was driving a growing demand for skilled professionals.\nUnfortunately, he said, the pool of such professionals is dangerously low. Also, the potential source of new professionals, students, is under resourced.\nRizos raised the much discussed scenario of aging demographics in the surveying industry. Currently only 20 per cent of those working in the profession are in their 20s he said.\n“Technology has revolutionised the world of surveying and spatial information in general, but we can no longer meet the needs of industry and government.”\nResponding to Haiti #Web 2.0 technologies will drive the future of geospatial technology for disaster mapping and emergency response. The observation was made by ESRI’s Brent Jones at the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) Congress in Sydney in April.\nJones and his team worked with numerous disaster response organisations in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake in January. The situation in Haiti clearly demonstrates the immense power and importance of volunteered geographic information, said Jones.\nThis citizen-sourced information – mobilised via a plethora of Web 2.0 technologies – is changing the way that governments and professionals use information in emergency situations.\nUser-generated content played a critical role in relief efforts in Haiti, he said. For example, OpenStreetMap users armed with little more than mobile phones were among those collecting intelligence in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake.\nAnother example is the ‘Text Haiti’ campaign, which managed to raise $396 million in only two days using a text-based donation system. Twitter and Facebook were also important components of the response, according to Jones.\n“All this data is being integrated in a Web 2.0 environment and is really changing the way we respond.”\nThe challenge for GIS professionals is how to extract accurate geospatial data from this storm of information. Importantly, many of these tools are being made freely available to non-GIS professionals.\n“What we’re seeing is two worlds – professional and consumer – coming together. This is how we’re going to respond to the next disaster. Everyone’s going to be able to mash one of these things together with what they want, using these rich base maps.”\nMobilising citizen knowledge by making data freely available to all means that the collective pool of intelligence becomes increasingly sophisticated, and yet it is simpler to use, Jones said. Because the data has been modeled, with symbology already in place, undertaking rich analysis via the web can be done quickly.\nRemote Sensing Keeps Expanding #The global civil and commercial remote sensing satellite market will be worth $16 billion by 2019, according to projections by US market intelligence firm Forecast International. Over the coming decade, it says, more than 100 individual remote sensing satellites will be launched.\nThe projections are contained in a report titled The Market for Civil and Commercial Remote Sensing Satellites, which covers 48 satellite production programs.\nGovernment and military agencies continue to be the most important consumers of satellite imagery, according to the report. The revenue generated from contracts with the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s NextView program has allowed both GeoEye and DigitalGlobe to upgrade their fleets and provide better value for both government and private clients.\nThe report also notes that privately operated satellite companies are increasingly\nin competition with public - private partnerships to develop and operate satellite fleets.\nIt adds that many programs around the world – such as the Indian Cartosat, Canadian Radarsat and Franco-Italian COSMO- SkyMed/Pleiades – blur the distinction between government and privately operated networks.\nWorld’s Smallest 3D Map # IBM scientists have created the smallest 3D map of the Earth. How small is it? So small that 1,000 such maps could fit on a grain of salt.\nThe scientists used a new technique involving a tiny silicon tip with a sharp apex – one million times smaller than an ant – to create tiny patterns and structures, and at greatly reduced cost and complexity.\nAlong with creating a way to make headlines, and really small maps, the project’s\ntechnology could lead to improvements in the development of nanoscale structures and devices. For example, it could be applied in future chip technology, medicine and opto-electronics.\nThe IBM team created several 3D and 2D patterns to demonstrate the groundbreaking techniques and capabilities of the project. These include a 25-nanometer-high 3D replica of Switzerland’s Matterhorn, made out of molecular glass, representing a scale of 1:5 billion.\nThe new technique achieves resolutions as high as 15 nanometers, and has a potential of going even smaller. The nanotip tool, which can sit on a tabletop, promises improved and extended capabilities at very high resolutions, but at one fifth to one tenth of the cost.\nAcid in the Arctic #An expedition has set out from northern Canada to investigate the potential effects of carbon dioxide on the Arctic Ocean.\nThe Catlin Arctic Survey 2010 is undertaking research into the impact of greenhouse gases on the marine life of the Arctic Ocean. The researchers will make the 777 kilometre hike to the pole, collecting water and marine life samples from beneath the ice.\nLead explorer Ann Daniels and two other scientists will investigate the rate of acidification of the Arctic and its effect on wildlife. Scientists believe that declining thickness is one of the reasons for the sudden disappearance of summer ice in the Arctic. The studies also include the impact of rising CO2 on some species. For example, increasing acidification of the oceans makes it more difficult for marine animals to form shells and bones.\nCatlin Group Limited, an international specialist property and casualty insurer and re-insurer based in London,is sponsoring the expedition. MDA Information Systems in Vancouver is providing information on ice state from its Radarsat-2 satellite. MDA will correlate the data collected from the expedition with the imagery to determine the ability of the radar technology to measure the thickness of the ice.\nA new web-based program is providing an innovative tool to track the spread of infectious diseases across time, geography and humans. Supramap, a supercomputer powered system designed by scientists in biomedical informatics at The Ohio State University in the US uses GIS to calculate and project evolutionary information.\nThe results have been called “weather maps for disease”. They provide a visual representation of when and where pathogens spread, how they jump from animals to humans, and evolve to resist drugs.\n“The Supramap tool set has broad utility not only in tracking human disease in time and space, but historical patterns of biodiversity and global biotic changes,” said Ward Wheeler, who is curator-in-charge of scientific computing at the American Museum of Natural History.\nWheeler is working on the Supramap project with a team of researchers headed by Daniel Janies, a biomedical informatics researcher at OSU. “Currently, we are investigating H1N1 cases from around the world – and Ohio – by building evolutionary trees to discover how this strain came to be assembled and jumped from animals to humans,” Janies said. “We are also monitoring specific viral genes for mutations that confer resistance to drugs.”\nThe project was originally designed to track the avian influenza virus. According to a paper published in the journal Cladistics, the program has already led to a link between a genetic mutation in the avian flu, to the virus jumping from birds into mammals.\nThe aim of the project is to receive a steady stream of genomic and geographic data on viruses from around the world. The data will be analysed nightly with updated maps available the following morning.\nJanies said that this would allow policymakers to make better decisions on critical issues. It will help determine global hotspots for the emergence of dangerous pathogens and identify where antiviral drugs would be most useful.\nThe researchers say that the program’s pathogen - tracking abilities could be used for a variety of purposes, including medical and natural history research, public health and national security decisions. They will also be valuable for tracking changes in animal or plant populations.\n“The goal is to provide a common framework for testing ideas on how complex interactions of animals, humans and the environment lead to the emergence of diseases,” Janies said.\nThe GIS underlay allows a disease’s spread to be plotted on a Google Earth map. This data can be layered with other information – population, climate, transportation and animal migration patterns – which helps illustrate the spread and possible new paths of the disease.\nAccording to Janies, presenting data in Supramap’s visually attractive format will enable researchers to better hypothesise about the spread of disease, and allow them to communicate their findings in a non-technical way.\n\u0026ldquo;We package the tools in an easy-to-use web-based application, so you don\u0026rsquo;t need a PhD in evolutionary biology and computer science to understand the trajectory and transmission of a disease,\u0026rdquo; Janies said.\nThe team is currently completing the development of a web interface that will provide easy access to the application by other scientists and public health officials.\nArcGIS Explorer # The new version ArcGIS Explorer improves the user interface and expands the maps available online. It features a new analysis gallery with advanced tools that allow a direct connection to geoprocessing services.\nThe basemap gallery has also been updated. It offers new ArcGIS online imagery and topographic and street maps. It also includes the new Manage My Basemaps option, which allows users to add or remove maps from the gallery or change the image associated with each base map.\nThe new release also supports enhanced layer package properties and the ability to fly along user defined paths. Bing Maps services have been built into ArcGIS Explorer to provide access to worldwide aerial and space-based imagery. Visit www.esri.com/arcgisexplorer for more information.\nExponare 4.0 # Pitney Bowes Business Insight has released the latest version of its web mapping product, Exponare. In version 4.0, users can edit attribute data within the program, enabling them to maintain their own data without the need for a desktop power tool.\nOther new features include the ability to open a layer and add it to any current work context. This allows users to access more data without administrator intervention, including opening additional layers when required.\nVersion 4.0 also has redlining capabilities that allow objects to be drawn, moved, deleted, saved and recalled. Users can save the annotations into MapInfo Professional. Visit www.pbinsight.com.au/products/location-intelligence/applications/mapping-analytical/exponare/ for more information.\nLeica Freebird #Leica has released the new IPAS Freebird. The inertial positioning and attitude system is designed to be integrated into sensor systems to enable geo-referencing.\nThe new version no longer requires a continuous lock on navigation satellites. It frees up mission planning by allowing much tighter turns between flight lines, with up to 25 per cent improvement in flight economy for aerial survey missions, according to the company. It also delivers a time saving of several minutes per turn.\nPreviously, GNSS-IMU processing required separate steps for GNSS trajectory and IMU processing. The new product enables those steps to be combined using GNSS raw measurements and tightly coupled GNSS-IMU processing. Visit www.leica-geosystems.com/en/News_360.htm?id=2372 for more information.\nEarthworks # Hemisphere GPS has released the Earthworks x200 excavator machine guidance system.\nIt is designed to improve operator accuracy and also simplify machine operations and reduce excavation rework. GPS and other precision sensors guide the operator.\nThe system is part of the company’s earthworks business unit that focuses on the design and manufacture of products for the construction market, including machine guidance and control of earth-moving machinery.\nIt can be used by operators of all skill levels, according to the manufacturer. Visit www.hemispheregps.com for more information.\nMocal Now # Yapp Mobile in Sydney has launched the Mocal application for the Apple iPhone. It duplicates the functions of a personal navigation device on Apple’s iPhone handset. The new product announces street names, supports 2D and 3D maps, offers a choice of day or night view, and works in both portrait and landscape display modes. The system will eventually go beyond street mapping functions, says yapp Mobile. The company says content providers such as TrueLocal, Eatability and Motormouth are already online. Visit www.mocal.com.au for more information.\nSPOT 2 # Johnny Appleseed has relaunched the Spot V2 Satellite Messenger which uses GPS and independent satellite communication to provide location information. According to the company the personal trackers have been used hundreds of rescue situations in numerous countries since their launch.\nFeatures include an SOS button that broadcasts the user’s GPS location every five minutes. Another button sends a message to specified contacts – via phone and email – every five minutes for an hour.\nContacts can also be sent messages detailing the user’s condition and their location. Another function lets the user know that the unit is fully operational. Visit www.ja-gps.com.au for more information.\nTransport Software #Navteq has released Navteq Transport, a digital map that includes truck-specific features to support truck and fleet management and navigation.\nMore than 20 attributes have been designed to encourage transport efficiencies. They include bridge heights and weight information, traffic signs, truck speed limits and preferred routes. These are available for most major Australian highways.\nThe mapping product also contains coverage of the Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, and Adelaide metro areas with arterial and secondary roads. It can be used with other company products, such as 3D visual content and imagery. See www.navteq.com for more information.\nPostion Magazine. Click for the original copy. ","date":"1 June 2010","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/magazines/position-magazine/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Position Magazine"},{"content":" A new web-based program is providing an innovative tool to track the spread of infectious diseases across time, geography and humans. Supramap, a supercomputer powered system designed by scientists in biomedical informatics at The Ohio State University in the US uses GIS to calculate and project evolutionary information.\nThe results have been called “weather maps for disease”. They provide a visual representation of when and where pathogens spread, how they jump from animals to humans, and evolve to resist drugs.\n“The Supramap tool set has broad utility not only in tracking human disease in time and space, but historical patterns of biodiversity and global biotic changes,” said Ward Wheeler, who is curator-in-charge of scientific computing at the American Museum of Natural History.\nWheeler is working on the Supramap project with a team of researchers headed by Daniel Janies, a biomedical informatics researcher at OSU. “Currently, we are investigating H1N1 cases from around the world – and Ohio – by building evolutionary trees to discover how this strain came to be assembled and jumped from animals to humans,” Janies said. “We are also monitoring specific viral genes for mutations that confer resistance to drugs.”\nThe project was originally designed to track the avian influenza virus. According to a paper published in the journal Cladistics, the program has already led to a link between a genetic mutation in the avian flu, to the virus jumping from birds into mammals.\nThe aim of the project is to receive a steady stream of genomic and geographic data on viruses from around the world. The data will be analysed nightly with updated maps available the following morning.\nJanies said that this would allow policymakers to make better decisions on critical issues. It will help determine global hotspots for the emergence of dangerous pathogens and identify where antiviral drugs would be most useful.\nThe researchers say that the program’s pathogen-tracking abilities could be used for a variety of purposes, including medical and natural history research, public health and national security decisions. They will also be valuable for tracking changes in animal or plant populations.\n“The goal is to provide a common framework for testing ideas on how complex interactions of animals, humans and the environment lead to the emergence of diseases,” Janies said.\nThe GIS underlay allows a disease’s spread to be plotted on a Google Earth map. This data can be layered with other information – population, climate, transportation and animal migration patterns – which helps illustrate the spread and possible new paths of the disease.\nAccording to Janies, presenting data in Supramap’s visually attractive format will enable researchers to better hypothesise about the spread of disease, and allow them to communicate their findings in a non-technical way.\n\u0026ldquo;We package the tools in an easy-to-use web-based application, so you don\u0026rsquo;t need a PhD in evolutionary biology and computer science to understand the trajectory and transmission of a disease,\u0026rdquo; Janies said.\nThe team is currently completing the development of a web interface that will provide easy access to the application by other scientists and public health officials.\nThis article was originally published in the June/July issue of Position Magazine.\nPosition Magazine, June/July 2010. Click for the original copy ","date":"1 June 2010","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/health/tracking-disease-with-supramap/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Tracking disease with supramap"},{"content":" Angkor Wat Again, I set my alarm with the best of intentions of rousing Mr Seuen at the crack of dawn and heading back out to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise. However, by the 5am alarm I have other ideas, and turn over for a couple more hours of sleep. After a particularly lazy start, I spend the morning exploring Siem Reap before catching my home to Sydney.\nI’ve only spent a couple of days here in Cambodia, but I come away enchanted. The people are even more hospitable and welcoming than the Vietnamese (if such a thing were possible) and what little I’ve seen of the country is wonderful. I’m sure we’ll be back.\nEpilogue #After this trip, Lynn and I have decided to take a break from Sydney and give Adelaide a fair-go. We’re renting out our home and will spend a few months, or maybe a year or two in South Australia.\nThis isn’t the end of the travelling however. We’ve loved what we’ve seen of Vietnam and Cambodia and hope to come back, just as soon as the bank balance is topped back up. In fact, I’m considering something a little more adventurous for the next outing - perhaps bike ride in the spirit of Long Way Round. I’m thinking about something along the lines of Singapore to Hanoi.\nWatch this space…\n","date":"4 May 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/flying-home/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Flying Home"},{"content":" Mr Seuen, The Tuk-Tuk driver Dawn, as it turns out, is hideously early, so the thought of getting to a temple by sunrise is quickly put to one side. Far better to take things a little more leisurely and tackle the sights after a morning dip, a hearty breakfast and more than a couple of cups of coffee.\nAccording to my trusty guidebook, the best way to get around is to hire a Tuk-tuk for the day. These are nothing like their Thai namesakes and consist of a motorbike pulling a two wheeled surrey that can comfortably seat four. The alternatives are far less appealing (car and driver – too aloof; motorcycle taxi – too scary; bicycle – too strenuous) and anyway, this way you have an informal guide when you need one, but the freedom to go at your own pace.\nIf you’re looking for a comprehensive guide to the temples of Angkor you’ve come to the wrong place. I only scratched the surface of what’s on offer and my comments are, as always, biased, sarcastic, incomplete and almost wholly lacking facts. As Frommer’s states, Angkor is the “Disneyland of Buddhist temples” and just like Disneyland (but even more so), it goes on and on. The temple complex covers 60 square miles and there are 20 odd structures scattered within this space. There are even temples within the temples – the outer walls of Angkor Thom enclose 1 square mile and within it’s boundaries there are four major structures that will keep you occupied for many a hot, sweaty hour. Bottom line – it’s big, there’s lot of it, and there’s lashings of history behind it. So, if you want the full picture, get a guide book!\nApproaching Angkor Wat The hotel concierge directs me to a rank of patiently waiting tuk-tuk drivers and their chariots just in front of the hotel, and I select one more or less at random (i.e. the first guy that wasn’t asleep). My driver for the day is Mr Seuen, and he’s clearly done this before. We huddle over my maps and weigh up the options and routes. He suggests a few itineraries, including the ‘regular tour’ and the ‘grand tour’. The latter sounds a little too much like a temple cramming exercise, so we settle for the regular tour with a couple of optional extras bolted on for fun.\nThe Library, Angkor Wat After stopping at the entrance complex to pickup my pass (a very efficient and officious process – you emerge with very natty photo-ID pass and US$20 the lighter), we head for Angkor Wat, superstar of the Angkor temples and the one you’ve most likely seen on the posters and postcards. Angkor Wat is massive, surrounded by 1 ¾ miles of moat, with central spires almost 700 feet tall. You enter via a 300’ long stone causeway across the moat (reconstructed by the French in the 60’s, a good thing because I didn’t fancy the swim), through the outer walls and into the main temple courtyard. Here you pause to gawp at the view across the inner courtyard. This includes a couple of lakes that offer the perfect setup for the sunrise shot of the main towers reflected off the water. My midmorning snaps are mediocre in comparison, but on the upside I’m probably far more rested and alert than the poor schleps that came out to take those pics.\nBias Relief, Angkor Wat Angkor Wat also offers my first encounter with the Cambodian hawkers. Much of what you read about this place makes them sounds relentless and draining, but in reality they’re pretty mellow and certainly no worse that what was laid on for us in Hanoi and Hoi An. Where Vietnam tends to favour the wizened old lady to separate you from a few of your hard earned dollars, here in Siem Reap they prefer to use young and endearing kids. These little waifs have an amazingly good English vocabulary and throw out some great one-liners that will make you smile and fork over the hard currency. By the end of my stay here I found myself the owner of more than a few unneeded sets of postcards that I was implored to buy.\nAnyway, back to the temple. In summary, it’s stunning. The detail of the stone carving is astounding and it goes on almost without end. The temple is riddled with passageways, courtyards and statues and every surface has been carved with bas reliefs. The temple was built by Suryavarman II in the 12th Century (with quite a lot of help I would imagine). By this point in history the Khmer had been in the temple construction business for quite some time and they clearly had got the hang of things by the got around to this place.\nAngkor Wat Right in the middle is the inner sanctum, which rises up through three levels to peak at 669 feet above ground. Unfortunately, the stairs to the top are closed off for repairs, but in hindsight it was probably a good thing – they’re are almost vertical and it’s a very long way up. One loose shoelace on the way down could ruin one’s whole day.\nAfter a highly enjoyable couple of hours pottering around, occasionally eavesdropping on tour guide’s patter, taking copious pics and generally have a fun, if hot and sweaty time of it, I make my way back to my waiting tuk-tuk. Mr Seuen has a stash of water bottles sitting on ice, and he hands me a cold one as I flop out the back seat (bless him).\nRecharged, we head north to Angkor Thom. For those of you with a short attention spans, this is the really big guy with the outer walls one mile on a side. We pass through the “South Gate” (cunningly named after its location on the south side of the temple) and head on in towards the buildings within.\nAngkor Thom is really a city, and the walls used to apparently enclose some 80 to 150 thousand inhabitants. Today, most of the grounds are now tropical forest and the only locals are marauding packs of monkeys that are only too eager of relieve the tourists of their edible goods.\nBayon Amazingly, the entire 60 sq mile Angkor complex was ‘lost’ for hundreds of years and its existence and location took on mythical proportions along the lines of Atlantis. A Frenchman by the name of Henri Mouhot literally tripped over it in 1861, and at that point most of the temples has been almost wholly overrun by jungle. The years that followed were less than ideal for the creep hacking archaeologists, what with repeated tangles with the Khmer Rouge, rampant pillaging of the artefacts and very persistent monkeys. Still, what’s left for us today is still awe inspiring and one of the largest religious monuments ever constructed.\nPrang, Bayon First stop is Bayon, smack in the centre of Angkor Thom and the centrepiece in presentation also. This one was constructed by Jayavarman VII around 1190. Jayavarman was pretty prolific when it came to temples, and when it came round to this one, his direction to the architect was clearly ‘lots of fiddly bits please.’ The place is wonderfully elaborate and intricate, and the frescos are a real hit, depicting all manner of events horrific and mundane. Throughout the place are scattered huge prang or towers, with a face on each of the four sides. Apparently the faces depict Jayavarman himself, although how anyone can be sure after all this time I’m not sure. After weaving my way through the temple, the indomitable Mr Seuen picks me up at the north side and from there it’s a quick run to the next stop – Baphuon.\nThere is where the French got a little carried away with themselves and their archaeological endeavours. Finding the place crumbling and overrun by forest, they decided to dismantle the place block by block, lay all the stones out in the grounds, and then reassemble the whole lot after a good bit of spit and polish. Unfortunately, their good efforts were interrupted by a war, and by the time that anyone got back to the place, the plans were long gone. What’s left is God’s own jigsaw puzzle. Multiple countries are now contributing funding to the reconstruction, but when you walk around you figure that they’ll be at it for many, many years to come.\nVimean Akhar In the 15th Century Baphuon was converted to a Buddhist temple and round the back you’ll find a massive reclining Buddha, undoubtedly constructed from the stone blocks that made up the towers of the original temple.\nAfter that, it gets pretty exhausting. It’s approaching midday now, the sun is going full blast and next up is Phimeanakas, aka Vimean Akhar – the ‘temple of air’. It faintly resembles a Incan pyramid, but not nearly as tall. I decide to take a hike to the top, which was a bit of a mistake (it’s taller than it looks). Still, the view from the top was almost worth the pint of fluids I lost on the way up.\nTa Prohm At this point, lunch was well in order and Mr Seuen whisked me a way to a little place that he knew (what were the chances?). Knowing that I was being led along, but being too dehydrated to care, we ended up at a restaurant opposite Sras Srang – a massive rectangular reservoir built by Jayavarman VII (the one with the perchance for fiddly bits) with small island temple in the middle where used to meditate. The temple is long gone, but 828 years later the reservoir is still there, full of water and more to the point, not full of leaves, weeds, shopping trolleys and car tyres. Puts your local pond to shame, doesn’t it?\nI digress. The food was just fine, the shade welcomed and the beer very cold. What more could the weary traveller ask for?\nTa Prohm Refreshed, we set off for Ta Prohm. This is the other ‘picture postcard’ temple, famous for the massive vines of the Khmer Spoong tree that infiltrate and strangle the structure. It’s all extremely photogenic and I and my fellow visitors fill many a Mb on our cameras with our photos. This place is a lot more run down than some of the earlier temples I visited, but all the more charismatic for it.\nMoving on to the last stop of the day and Banteay Kdei. This is another large site surrounded by an outer wall. Mr Seuen drops me on the west side and tells me he’ll met me at the opposite end by the Sras Srang reservoir. The child-hawkers are particularly persuasive here and I find myself the proud owner of yet another set of postcards. Banteay Kdei is agreeable in it’s own way, but pales somewhat in comparison to the earlier sites. On the upside, I do get to share my visit with a heard of Brahman cows that are happily keeping the grass trimmed inside the temple.\nThat’s more than enough temples for one day. The pool is calling my name, so we head back to the hotel to cool off and relax. Later, I head into downtown Seam Reap to explore the sights and scope out some dining options. After Saigon it’s pretty rustic, but there’s a market to explore, a river running through the middle of town that adds some contrast and enough hustle and bustle to keep the mind and eye amused. I head back to the hotel with the bests of intentions of going returning later for a dining experience, but the I’m overcome by a bout of sloth and end up eating at the Victoria again.\n","date":"3 May 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/temples-a-plenty/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Temples ‘a Plenty"},{"content":"In the morning we take a stroll down the street to check out the river (not overly picturesque, but sporting a surprising large amount of debris floating down river) and the hotel Majestic (for no other reason than the name, which it lived up to with some aplomb).\nTicking those two off the list, we head north for a decent hike out to the Jade Emperor Pagoda. Along the way we’re discussing the ubiquitous motorcycle transport in Vietnam and I’m interested to know how everyone can afford to ride one. Passing a bike shop, I duck inside to find out (because I know you’re dying to know). I can report that your run of the mill Yamaha 125 motorcycle retails for about VND16,000,000 (AU$1,260 or US$940) new (before haggling). That’s about ¼ of what you would pay in Australia, which sounds pretty cheap until you read about doctors are making less than 10% of that a month. So now you know, and you’ll sleep better for it I’m sure.\nNotre Dame Cathedral Saigon Monument Back to our Pagoda hike - we managed to walk past the turning a couple of times before a local took pity on us and pointed us in the right direction. It’s only 10 years old, but by the colour of the walls it looks like they’ve burnt about ten million incense sticks in the interim . It’s an interesting place to visit, not least for the people watching opportunities, but it probably only warrants a taxi ride there rather than the rather long and sweaty hike we undertook.\nBamboo for Sale Heading back, we decide to be sensible and flag a cab. After a bit of arm waving, one spots us and takes a rather dramatic side swipe across four lanes of traffic and through an amber traffic light to reach us. We jump in, he drives about 20 yards and then pulls over, grabs his wallet and jumps out, leaving the meter running. What the…$#@$ we think. Looking back, we see that he’s cought the attention of a couple of policeman (something I didn’t think it was actually possible to do) and is now busy pulling out over his documents and looking rather worried. Figuring he’ll be a while, we jump out and flag down another cab, feeling only somewhat guilty.\n60\u0026#39;s Tribute Architecture On way back we drive by another very inviting looking courtyard restaurant, and feeling a little peckish and thirsty for beer \u0026amp; caffeine, we cut our ride short and jump out. As always, the service was great, the food tasty and good value, and the beer nice and cold. This place was obviously a notch above average as offered valet parking…motorcycle valet parking that is. The good ladies and gents of Saigon would pull up on their shiny mopeds, a liveried guy would rush out, take the bike and wheel it into a parking spot.\nAnd that’s all we have for Vietnam. Lynn and I head back to the hotel to pack and then take a ride to the airport where we’ll split for the next couple of days. Lynn’s heading back to Sydney to begin our move to Adelaide, while I’m taking a couple more nights to detour via Cambodia and the temples of Angkor Wat.\nSo, Vietnam in summary:\nA great country Tourist friendly, but with a purpose and energy that goes far beyond tourism. The people are great – friendly and welcoming. Never have I felt so safe in a country. The food is varied and generally wonderful. With a little bit of common sense, you can go without a rumbly tummy the whole time. We have only scratched the surface and will definitely come back again. You’d be crazy to miss it. ","date":"2 May 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/goodbye-vietnam/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Goodbye Vietnam"},{"content":" Victoria Hotel I’m excited to check out Cambodia and compare it to Vietnam. Being a closeted Brit, my experience of this country is only marginally exceed by my knowledge of it (i.e. approaching zero). For me, like many others, visions of Cambodia are limited to the horrors of war, land mines, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.\nMy guidebook offers limited coverage (it’s simply an appendix to the Vietnam Guide), but it suggests that the average age of the population is quite young (due to 1/5th of the population being killed off by the Khmer Rouge) and that landmine victims are very prevalent, as are the landmines themselves. Granted, I’m only visiting Seam Reap which is hardly representative of the country as a whole, but it’ll be eye opening nonetheless.\nThe Leper King After a quick ‘n painless hour on Vietnam Airlines, I land at Siem Reap international airport. The building is new, but constructed in the signature Cambodian style with high, steeply angled roofs covered in red terracotta tile and lots of wonderful fiddly bits on the corners (you can tell I’ve never written for Architectural Digest). It was also pretty quick to get out of, which is always a plus.\nThe mercifully brief drive in from the airport was a showcase of hotel names and chains. There are dozens of them along the way, ranging from the mangy to sweeping and palatial. Obviously, a lot of people pass through here, but it’s a surprise that they all get enough business to stay afloat. After a brief but torrential downpour during which all the pedestrians and half the mopeds dive and drive for cover inside the nearest café (it’s that time of day) we arrive at my abode for the next couple of nights - the Victoria Hotel.\nAngkor Wat This is a bit of a splurge; the Victoria chain is usually in the sharp-intake-of-breath category for us, but here in Cambodia the prices are approaching reasonableness, and hey, what the heck – I’m worth it! (Too bad Lynn had to head home.) The hotel has the feel of an African game lodge – the halls are decked with lashings of teak, rattan and interesting statuary. My room is very nicely appointed thank you very much, but I have to fork out for internet access, something that has been gratis throughout our stay in Vietnam.\nIt’s getting on, and I feel the irresistible urge to throw myself in the pool, drink a beer and generally be incredibly lazy. I’m sure the temples will still be there tomorrow and besides, I hear you’re supposed to get an early start and view them at sunrise. That’s a good enough excuse for me, so I spend the rest of the evening doing lounging around, gently abusing the cocktail menu and taking in a very agreeable dinner by the pool.\n","date":"2 May 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/hello-cambodia/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Hello Cambodia"},{"content":" Saigon Opera House And so we arrive at our last city in Vietnam – Saigon. Our expectations of this city are low – much of what we’ve read suggest a massive, crowded, noisy concrete metropolis that should be treated as a gateway and best and got out of as quickly as possible. We’re forced to spend a night here as we couldn’t connect to our international flights the same day, so we’re going to make the best of it. On the upside, going in with low expectations means that you have a far better chance to be pleasantly surprised\u0026hellip;\nDespite our best efforts to avoid it, we make a bad call on the taxi front and managed to get ripped off for the ride into town. It’s not that it was a lot of money, but it’s the principle of the thing you know.\nSaigon or Ho Chi Minh City?\nIn 1975, Saigon fell to the north Vietnamese army, and the following year was officially renamed to Ho Chi Minh City. So why am I not entitling this entry “Ho Chi Minh”? Well, it’s not quite that simple. Many of the locals still call this city by its former name, and technically, HCMC refers to the greater metropolitan area, while Saigon is the name for the district 1 or the city centre. It’s similar to the District of Columbia vs. Washington or Canberra vs. the ACT. Since we never made it that far out of town, I think I’m safe using the S-word.\nPost Office For our one night in the big smoke we’re staying at the Duxton Hotel, selected after some careful sleuthing on Trip Advisor and the like. To quote the web site’s blurb, it’s “located right in the heart of vibrant Ho Chi Minh City”, and as we drive in we are indeed pleasantly surprised (see, I told you). Indeed, I’d go as far to say that we’re impressed. The streets of district 1 (aka Saigon) are big, broad and attractively lined with trees and wide, usable sidewalks. Granted we’re arriving on a public holiday, but the traffic is minimal – certainly far less than we experienced in Hanoi. The Duxton Hotel is indeed conveniently placed right in the ‘French Quarter’ of Saigon, and the surrounding buildings and boulevards attest to the designation.\nPhone Booths in the Post Office After checking in we go for a bit of a random wander and quickly stumble across some very attractive sights, including the Opera House, City Hall, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Saigon Post Office (more on these in a bit), without really trying.\nOne thing Saigon does have a good reputation for is food – apparently far better than anything else in Vietnam, and way way better than anything you’re going to be served at your favourite Vietnamese restaurant back home (yes, even yours). As our initiation into this culinary venture, we took lunch at the Temple Club, a very atmospheric colonial style restaurant that had received glowing reviews. Unfortunately, Lynn’s choice took a couple of goes to get right, but in the end the food was just fine and the setting perfect.\nAfter a spot of lazing and digesting back at the hotel we set out on a more serious and structured exploration of the surrounding streets. As Robert Reid’s map shows, this isn’t particularly challenging – the sights are densely packed around here and it’s easy to tick them off at a pretty rapid pace.\nThe Vietnam Times\nInternational newspapers such as the Herald Tribune or Australian are hard to come by, but the English language Vietnam Times often makes for an amusing, if somewhat self centred alternative. The concept of political correctness is still in its infancy here, as you can see by the following sampling:\nJob recruitment ads stating that candidates must be young, male and good looking. We’re not talking about models or perhaps flight attendants here – these are ads for run of the mill positions such as a project manager. The Hanoi city government are considering requiring doctors working in public hospitals to have a medical certificate! The article goes on to point out that in other countries this is actually common practice, and in some cases doctors have to study for several years before being able to take the test. [Note to self – get really good medical coverage and evacuation insurance for the next trip]. The same body of elected leaders are also considering legislative changes that would for the first time promote the construction of family apartments in Hanoi, rather than individual houses. Given the chaos and crowding of this city, you would have thought that this would have occurred to them somewhat sooner. And, one of my personal favourites – an article about a new federal government program to increase the average high of the population by a few centimetres. One of our personal favourites was the Post Office, which sounds a little strange I know, but the inside has to be seen to be believed. A beautifully decorated, curving ceiling, old fashioned teller counters and the best bit was the telephone booths – like something out of an Agatha Christie novel. Hopefully our somewhat dorky pics do it justice.\nReunification Palace The main attraction in Saigon is of course the Reunification Palace. Formerly known as the Independence Palace, this was the place where a north Vietnamese tank ran roughshod over the front gates and ended the war. After spending a thoroughly enjoyable hour wandering around its halls and galleries, I can happily report that it hasn’t change a bit in the succeeding 34 years. Literally. This place is a living monument to 1960’s architecture, style and taste; it’s like walking into the set of an Austin Powers movie. The furniture was undoubtedly bleeding edge when it was installed all those years ago, but is wonderfully clichéd today. The best bit is the basement, where you can wander at will though the narrow concrete corridors and poke your nose into tiny rooms filled with ancient radio gear, steel desks and maps adorned with suitably warlike looking icons and annotations.\nEvacuation Helicopter After all that excitement we sauntered back towards the hotel, enjoying the streets and sights along the way. It was nice to note that a good number of the old colonial style buildings are still in use as government offices and haven’t been bulldozed in favour of some modern glass edifice.\nSaigon seems to sport a goodly number of inviting, courtyard style restaurants, and for dinner we checked into one of the most highly rated of these - Quan An Ngon. I had eaten at their sister restaurant during my first days in Hanoi and enjoyed it, but in comparison to later venues it wasn’t overly spectacular. The man from Frommer’sraved about this one however (“…the best in Vietnam”), so we gave it a go. It was certainly popular – crammed fully of packed tables and harassed looking waiters rushing between them. In summary, there was plenty of people watching opportunities, but the food was just OK – nothing to rave about. Clearly the guy from Frommer’s needs to get himself on a plane to Hoi An, spend an evening at Song Hoai and reset his expectations.\n","date":"1 May 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/saigon/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Saigon"},{"content":" Lynn and Kitch, Prenn Falls Today is Victory Day where they celebrate the fall of Saigon in 1975 and the end of the American (aka Vietnam) war, and tomorrow is Labour Day, which being a socialist republic, is also celebrated with full vigour. Before coming to Vietnam we’ve read that foreigners are not always welcomed, especially those with an American accent. Lynn’s accent has been morphed somewhat by 10 years in the UK, but even so, we were wondering how we’d be received today. As it turns out, very well indeed, just like any other day.\nThis was obviously the day to just get out into the streets and soak up the atmosphere. The crowds and motorbikes were out in full force. There didn’t appear to be a great deal in the way of organised parades or marches, but every so often a bizarre looking float would wend its way through the sea of traffic with the folks on top merrily waving to the crowds.\nVictory Day Float The afternoon took us out to a place called Prenn Falls. Even the tourist brochures had failed to disguise the kitschy nature of this place, and once we got there we realised why – it’s saturated with it. High brow entertainment it’s not, but the place was a real laugh and well worth the visit.\nNick and Kitch, Prenn Falls As I write this I realise that we didn’t come away from Dalat with a very extensive inventory of sights and attractions under our belt. Much of our time here was spent just wandering around the town, drinking coffee, enjoying the views and holing up in our very cosy villa when the skies opened. Not very adventurous I know, but very relaxing and deservedly decadent.\n","date":"30 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/victorious-dalat/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Victorious Dalat"},{"content":"In the morning we jump on our moped and headed out to the Trac Lam Zen Monastery. Being up in the hills, Dalat is not only cooler but wetter than the coast, so we’re dodging the thunderclouds on the way out, hoping to stay dry.\nThe monastery is dedicated to the Truc Lam Ten Tu sect of Zen (quite the mouthful), which is a flavour of Zen that was founded over 900 years ago. In the interim, the monks have clearly been polishing up their monastery building and gardening skills in their spare time; both are absolutely magnificent. The buildings are immaculately kept and very serene, but the gardens take the prize. Everything is in perfect order and the colours and shapes are a joy to behold. The monastery is on the side of a hill that runs down to a large lake and the views across it to the hills beyond are enough to make you want to sign up and join the monks.\nDinner was back at Long Hoa where we were welcomed back like long lost friends.\n","date":"29 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/the-monks-of-dalat/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"The Monks of Dalat"},{"content":"Next stop on the grand tour is Dalat, about 100km inland and up in the hills. It was originally settled by the French in the 1890’s as a resort from the maddening heat and humidity of the coast.\nLandslide! There’s no direct flight from Nha Trang, so for our daily dose of adventure we decide to take the bus. When we booked our seats yesterday the tour office sported pictures of sleek, modern coaches with reclining, ergonomic seats and young, nubile attendants passing out cocktails and moist towels along the way (I might be a little hazy on some of the details). As it turns out, that was the other bus; ours was a little more basic and down to earth. The trip however was a beautiful and enchanting cross section of Vietnam, and some of the climbs up and down the hills along the way provided for a bit of heart racing excitement along the way. At one point our journey was brought to an abrupt halt by a landslide that had only very recently blocked the road. When we pulled up, a very dinky little bulldozer had just arrived from God knows where and was diligently nudging the mud and rocks around to try and clear a path. We all piled off the bus and stood around making educated and insightful comments on the probability of getting through before lunch (we did).\nCentral market The fountain Driving on, you begin to realise that they really did just hack this road (it’s the ‘new’ road and only recently opened) through the hills without a great deal of thought to what they left beside the cuttings and embankments. With my eyes open to the newfound possibilities and landslide, I could see plenty more opportunities for road blockage in the months and years to come.\nDalat was beautiful. Approaching the town we see hillsides covered in patches of greenhouses, interspersed with long stretches of pine forests. Closer in there’s a random smattering of wonderful old French colonial villas, left over from the prior century. The town itself is built centred around the appealing Xuan Huong Lake and a central market that surrounds a big fountain. True to it’s French roots, the town even sports a mini-Eiffel Tower on the hillside.\nA villa at Ana Mandara For the next few nights we’re splurging and staying at the Ana Mandara Villas. The resort is built around seventeen original French villas that have been restored and converted into suites. Needless to say the rooms and the general ambiance of the place are magnificent.\nCentral market wares Our first lunch in town is at Long Hoa, as recommended by Frommers. The food was excellent and both the staff and fellow dinners very friendly. Over the next couple of days we’d come back here occasionally to eat or simply recharge on caffeine, and each time they remember us and welcomed us back as long time customers.\nAfter lunch, we take a stroll through the centre of town and begin to appreciate how much this place is dedicated to horticulture. There are beautiful gardens scattered around the town, and it seems to be an ideal climate for fruit, veg and flowers. Everything seems to be incredibly vibrant and larger than life. We stop off at the tourist office to pickup the obligatory moped, an the guy behind the counter identifies the state flower on my NSW driver’s license (a Waratah) and tells me that they grow them up here, and Banksia also.\nMini Eiffel Tower Dinner at was at Ngoc Hai, right next to the central market. The food was OK, but the menu made interesting reading. It included a ‘wild animal’ section that offered porcupine, ant eater, deer and boar.\n","date":"28 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/delightful-dalat/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Delightful Dalat"},{"content":"Early this morning we say a fond farewell to Hoi An and drive back up to Danang to catch a flight down to Nha Trang. Since we’ve been diligent focusing on the sights and culture for these past few days (well kinda), we figure that we’re long over due for some R\u0026amp;R on the beach (those pagodas can be exhausting you know). Nha Trang is apparently one of the best beach destinations, so the plan is to spend a couple of nights here being lazy and recharging the batteries.\nWhere to next? We’ve booked into the Diamond Bay resort, a few kilometres south of town. The resort was recently host to the Miss Universe 2008 pageant (something they make much fanfare of on the billboards on the way in from the airport). Picking this place was our first mistake. The reviews on Trip Advisor were mixed, and as it turned out, the folks that raved about the place had no taste, and the ones that slammed it were spot on. It’s not that it was horribly grotty or anything, but just an utterly characterless concrete and marble blob on the beach. Being twenty minutes drive from town you were pretty much hostage to all they had to offer, which as it turned out, wasn’t much. After a desperate attempt by the hotel to bribe us into staying by way of an upgrade (to a ‘suite’ that featured a bathtub which would have comfortably housed the entire Sydney Swans team, but not much else), we grabbed a cab for downtown.\nNha Trang keeps the red flag flying We ended up staying at the sister hotel to the one we had just left in Hoi An. This should have been a good measure of the place, but it turned out to be the smaller, uglier sister that should have strangled at birth. Dirt cheap though, so what the heck.\nAfter dumping our bags, we take a stroll over to the beach. On a global scale, you can see why visitors would rate this beach – the sand is pleasant enough, there’s lots of shady spots to hang out for an afternoon of lounging, and the beach is attractively lined with a good number restaurants, parks and promenades. However, hailing from Sydney we’re rather spoilt when it comes to beaches and so we weren’t quite as enthused as we might have been. The fact that it was blowing pretty hard didn’t help either (nothing worse than getting sand blasted after loading up on the suntan lotion).\nAnd then it started to rain…and rain…oh my did it rain. Even for such a diligent and unbiased observer such as myself (!), it’s hard to see a new town in its best light under these circumstances.\nSo, in summary, Nha Trang was a bit of a bust for us, but don’t let that put you off visiting – you might love it.\n","date":"27 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/nha-trang-briefly/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Nha Trang, briefly"},{"content":"New day, new city. Lynn has us booked on flights to Danang this morning, which is the closest airport to Hoi An, our next port of call. The little I know if Danang has been gleaned from various war movies and Robin Williams’ one liners from \u0026ldquo;Good Morning Vietnam\u0026rdquo;. Needless to say I was going in with an open mind.\nReady for coffee We only passed through Danang on the way to Hoi An, but first impressions were of a rebuilt city. Danang was heavily bombed during the American War (as they call it over here) and as a result there’s not many building older than 30 years. They’ve done a good job with the rebuild though – the streets are broad, well paved and bordered by wide planted pavements (lots of room for motorcycle parking and shopkeeper sprawl when things really take off). When originally built a good chunk of change was obviously invested in the road to Hoi An, but it’s now looking a little sad and crumbly. Like a lot of infrastructure projects we’ve seen in Vietnam, it appears to the casual observer that there’s good money to be had for the original investment, but none for the upkeep.\nJapanese bridge The road runs parallel to the ocean, separated by a wide swathe of rather windswept and grassy beach. Rather surprisingly, its construction mania over there; huge hotels and resorts are springing up all the down the 20 odd kilometres to Hoi An, complete with Greg Norman designed golf courses. The vast majority seem to be a work in progress and you have to wonder who’s going to fill all those rooms. I would imagine that the builders and financiers are currently in a multimillion dollar game of turkey, seeing who’s going to blink first and drop out; there’s clearly way too many to serve the current need.\nTypical Hoi An street Our home from home for the next few nights will be the Phuoc An River Hotel, right on the river and a short moped run to the centre of town. Our room is basic but serviceable (and even better after a very equitable upgrade to a suite on day two). After dumping our stuff we stroll across the road for a coffee at one of the restaurant / bars sitting on the river bank. Vietnamese coffee is a tricky affair; they serve it in a little aluminium filter device that sits on top of your cup and slowly drips coffee through. Slowly usually being the operative word – depending on whether you get lucky with your filter, the coffee can sometimes take a long long time in coming. But when it works it delivers a very strong, pungent and stimulating cuppa – worth the wait.\nCantonese Assembly Hall Lynn and horse While waiting and sipping, we also get our first sighting of foot rowing. The Vietnamese seem to go in for wierd and wonderful ways of rowing a boat. I thought that the forward rowing seen up in Halong Bay was interesting, but this is frankly quite bizarre. I guess it first came about when someone was tired of waiting for his coffee to finish dripping, so needed both hands free while rowing the boat?\nWe originally only intended to spend a couple of nights in Hoi An but ended up spending four here. I won’t bore you with a day-by-day recital, but let me share the highlights…\nHoi An is a restored village, and they’ve done a wonderful job of making all the old shops and dwellings clean, beautiful but still authentic. It really is a Vietnamese wonderland. Other than the general eye candy to be had wondering the streets, the main tourist attractions are food, buildings and clothes.\nIt’s a foodie heaven – there are an abundance of great places to eat and they’re all in inviting settings. As Lynn will attest, there’s also a good selection of bakeries and coffee shops to peruse.\nAttraction number two, and the one that most folks go home talking about, are the tailor-made clothes. There are countless places where you can get any manner of clothes and shoes made to measure in just one day, ranging from a simple shirt to a suit and all the trimmings. The craftsmanship looks pretty good, but you really need know exactly what you want (cut, style, cloth, etc.) before signing up. The prices are spectacularly cheap as well.\nTam tam cafe The delights are rounded out by a good selection of temples, assembly halls, historic family houses and the like. They have an interesting ticketing system here, where one ticket gets you into one attraction from each category, but that’s usually more than enough to get a good feel for the town. Somewhat amusingly, many of tours of the historic family homes end up in the back room with a brazen and extensive selection of trinkets, carvings and other miscellaneous bric-a-brac that’s up for sale. One place we visited even claimed to have dug up hoards of old Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese coins that have now loving cleaned, polished, dated and mounted (“yours for the low low price of…”). It’s all rather harmless and innocent though.\nView from the Phuoc An River Hotel Central Hoi An is allegedly motorbike free, which we discover the hard way after riding our newly rented wheels into town and being on the receiving end of lots of glares and arm waving. It seems that it’s only bike free on certain times and days, but we could never figure out what the system was. We therefore took the approach that most of the locals used, which was to get a good run up at it and then coast with the engine off through the bike-free bits.\nI’m not going to list all the sights and destinations here (go buy a guild book if you’re looking for that), but what I will give you is the perfect 24 hours in Hoi An:\nTake in Robert Reid’s walking tour, but buy an entrance ticket to the Hoi An World Cultural Heritage Organisation attractions so that you can take in some of the main attractions as well. Our personal favourites were the Japanese Covered Bridge; Phuc Kien Assembly Hall, Museum of Trade Ceramics, the Old House of Quan Thang and last but not least the Handicraft Workshop (time your visit to take in one of the music festival sessions at 10:15am or 3:15pm – the game of musical bingo has to be seen and heard to be believed).\nTake a mid morning coffee and croissant break at Cargo (117 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street) – great coffee, wonderful pain au chocolate.\nWhen you’re ready for it, lunch is waiting for you at Thanh Hien (113 Bach Dang Street). Sit out front and look out over river while you enjoy the Chicken 5 Spices and a nice cold glass of Tiger beer– Mmmmm!\nGird yourself up and take in some sights on the walking tour in the afternoon, or if you’re feeling lazy, jump on a moped and head for the beach about 5 km to the east.\nDinner has to be at Song Hoai – The Saigon Times Club (119 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street). It’s simply the best in town (after extensive research). Be sure to head upstairs and grab a table on the open air veranda. If you order nothing else, be sure to order –\nFried Sakura Spring Roll\nSautéed Chicken and Onion with Satay\nStewed Chicken with Pepper in Clay Pot\nSautéed assorted vegetables with mushrooms\nRelax in a wicker chair across the road with after dinner Mojitos at the Tam Tam Café (110 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street). Happy hour is from 8:30 to 10, so your partner’s drinks are free. If you’ve still got some energy, head upstairs for a game of pool in the funky billiards room.\nCollapse.\nNeedless to say, Hoi An was one of the favourites of our trip and it’s not to be missed by even the most cursory tour of this amazing country.\n","date":"26 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/four-nights-in-hoi-an/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Four nights in Hoi An"},{"content":" This morning Lynn flies in from Kuala Lumpur, so after a lazy start I ride out with the car and driver to meet her at the airport and fill her in on all the news and hard won Vietnamese local knowledge.\nWe spend the afternoon walking a condensed version of the Hanoi tours and I astound Lynn with my newfound knowledge of all things Hanoi. Needless to say, she’s impressed. I think. We round off the day with a gentle introduction to beer corner, followed by dinner at 69 Bar and Café (I’m becoming a regular!).\n","date":"22 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/lynn-arrives/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Lynn Arrives"},{"content":"With my last full day in Hanoi before Lynn arrives, I toyed with the idea of a day tour out into the country to take in some pagodas and other attractions.\nYesterday I had stopped by a couple of the tour offices (the city is chocker with them), but the itinerary didn’t sound too appealing. As the very nice lady behind the counter explained…”Well, we pick you up at you hotel at 7am. It’s a 2 hour drive to Ninh Binh. Once there we pick up the bicycles for a three hour ride…” Whoa there! 7am! Bicycles!? In this heat? Who’s paying for this tour anyway?\nSo, on to plan B. One of the more adventurous adventures to be had in these parts is a four day motorbike ride up into the hills around Sepa. This is something that both Frommers and Robert Reid rave about this (“it’s a hoot”), and our trip to Vietnam was inspired in part by the Top Gear episode when the guys ride their bikes across the country (a must see if you missed it), so while I’m here I’m highly motivated to spend at least a day or two on two wheels.\n99.999 percent of the ‘motorbikes’ in Vietnam are what the rest of us would call mopeds. Runabouts of 125cc or less which are fine for pootling around town (or if you’re a local, carrying around the wife, kids, dog and kitchen sink), but not so appealing for longer trips. The guide books suggest renting a Minsk which is Russian motorbike – single cylinder, two stroke, 100cc, but built to be abused and handle the potholes and dirt roads found in the hills. There’s even a web site dedicated to Vietnam / Minsk adventures. So, yesterday I took a stroll to one of the few shops that rented these beasts to have a gander. And I have to say, it was a pretty horrifying sight. Drum brakes front and rear (i.e. stopping is optional under the best of circumstances), little or no suspension and pretty weak ground clearance. They may be romantic and adventurous, but I would imagine that road rash is pretty much guaranteed for any decent trip. I passed.\nMinsk madness Luckily, as I’m reeling away from the Minsk vendor in horror, I stumble across Flamingo Travel (5A Dinh Liet) that rent out perfectly acceptable 250cc Honda trail bikes for around US$25 a day. Nothing special back home, but around these parts you’re riding the Ferrari of motorcycles. So here I am bright and early this morning (well reasonably early) with a fist full of dollars, ready to pickup my steed for the day. While filling in the paperwork I’m shocked to learn that the cost for full replacement of the bike is $8000! (You can by a one for a third of that back home). I guess the look on my face said it all when they asked if I wanted a bike lock.\nA more sensible bike I spend quite some time getting out of town (Hanoi sprawls for some distance) and probably took a couple of smoker-years off my life in the process; the traffic fumes are pretty intense. On the upside, it was quite amusing riding the Honda through the sea of other bikes. I’m a foot higher than the rest and when ever I stop for some water or to cough up my lungs, the locals saunter over to check out the wheels. They seem to be quite amazed by how high it is off the ground.\nMy target for the morning is Hoa Bin, about 70km south west of Hanoi. It’s the first stop on the four day Hanoi / Sepa loop, so I figure I’ll get there for lunch and see how I feel about going further. Once out of town the going is much easier and the countryside beautiful. I get a little taste of the scenery to be found further north and there are some amazing cliffs and rock formations to oogle along the way.\nMy route to Hoa Bing and back (click for detail) Hoa Binh isn’t much to look at, but by now it’s lunch time and the next major town is quite a ways down the road, so I start hunting for places to eat. After a while, it’s not looking good but I eventually find a restaurant on the top of one of the hotels that doesn’t look too scary. I saunter in and ask in my best pidgeon English for a menu, only to find that not only do none of the staff speak a word of English, but that they have no menus (determined after a brief but intense miming session). Yes, I know I’m in a foreign country, but I’ve already become complacent to the fact that every establishment I’ve visited to date speaks just enough English for both parties to get by. But I guess I’m in the countryside now.\nWe managed to get the fact across that a cold beer would be quite welcome right now, and while sipping that and contemplating my next move, one of the waitresses miraculously turns up with a menu - lots of appetizing choices, written in both Vietnamese and English – excellent! Unfortunately, the fact that it had the name of a completely different restaurant on the front cover should have been a warning. As soon as I start to point out the dishes I fancy, the waitress starts shaking her head – no, we don’t have that. I try half a dozen choices and I’m zero for six. Uh oh. Luckily, one of the other diners that does speak English takes pity on me and comes over to help out. I reel off a few of my favourite dishes, he suggests some others that I might be interested in, and the result was quite agreeable.\nSomewhere near Hoa Bing The restaurant is quite big and has far more tables than eaters. As I relax and slowly work my way through my feast, I’m amused to watch the tactics of some of the other parties. They’ll order a course, dig in and have a grand old time chowing down and throwing the food around. After a while, they all get up, move over to the adjunct table (leaving the last one looking like a roman banquet blew through) and order the next course. And so on, across the room they go.\nOver the tail end of lunch I ponder the next leg of my journey. The next town in the four day loop (Son La) is a way away, and I’d have to back track if I went that way (I don’t have another three free days to complete the loop). One of my local maps shows an intriguing back road that loops up round the back of Ba Vi nature reserve then back into Hanoi from the northwest. It’s a very thin line on the map that runs right next to the river and it’s hard to tell if it isn’t just a printing error. None of my other maps show it and Google Maps has no idea. But hey, what the heck – this is an adventure right?\nAfter a few false starts driving down roads that peter out into goat tracks, I finally pick up a tarmac road that seems to be going somewhere. Every so often I pass through a tiny village that’s not on any of the maps, but I think I’m going roughly the right way because I can still see the river on my left. After a while I pass a small milestone stating that it’s 15 km to Che. Again, nowhere to be found on the map, but every kilometre another milestone would show up – Che 11 km; Che 10 km and so on. Wow, this must be a major town to deserve so many signs along the way. I’m getting close, but the road is suspiciously empty of major habitation. And then I reach the milestone marker – Che 0 km, which is kept company by a couple of very simple dwellings and a little old lady selling some veggies. That was Che.\nNeedless to say, since I’m sitting here on the sofa in Adelaide writing this, I made it back to Hanoi safe and sound. The little jaunt was well worth it and during our next trip to Vietnam I plan to spend a lot more time on the road. But boy oh boy did I need a shower after the trip to wash off the sweat and road grime.\n","date":"21 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/hoa-binh-or-bust/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Hoa Binh or Bust"},{"content":"In the morning we way slowly made our way back to shore after a hearty, tasty and undoubtedly cholesterol laden breakfast. Along the way we visited one of the floating villages. They are literally that – a couple of dozen small wooden houses floating on a platform of planks and old barrels. They apparently live almost exclusively off the sea – either fishing or tending nearby fish farms. Even through they’re only a few yards from the rocky shoreline, they have no connection with it. It’s obvious that their other main source of hard cash is yours truly and my fellow floating tourists. As we pull into the bay, we’re met by a small flotilla of row boats, each laden with food or trinkets and usually rowed by a very young kid (to further soften you up into handing over some dollars). It’s also interesting to note that they have an unusual forward rowing technique. It has the obvious advantage that you can see where you’re going (all the better to track your tourist target), but apparently it’s much harder than it looks.\nFloating village On the bumpy ride back to Hanoi you really get an appreciation for how much this country relies on manual labour to get things done. There’s very little heavy machinery in use in construction sites and fields. For example, you’ll see a bunch of guys building a new house and hauling the bricks up to the second floor by hand, mixing the concrete by hand, building a very rickety-looking bamboo scaffolding, and so on. Even the traffic barriers at railway crossing appear to be manned by a guy sitting in a hut (not sure what happens he’s off sick and forgets to call in).\nAs well see later on, throughout Vietnam you’ll see folks selling goods by the side of the street. On this stretch of road, the goods on offer are small loaves of bread, like a short baguette. You’ll see a little old lady squatting next to a box full of loaves, wearing a face mask to try and filter out the worse of the traffic fumes. What’s interesting is that this goes on for ages – every 100 yards or so you’ll see another vendor, with an identical offering. After a couple of miles and several dozen bready offerings later, you have you wonder how much the last lady is selling.\nBack in town, I check into my hotel (the Elegance 3; highly recommended on trip advisor) and then head back into the wilds of Hanoi Old Quarter to stretch my legs, see a bit more of the streets and to reacquaint myself with beer corner. After an idle hour watching the fleets of cyclos roll by (generally carrying a cargo of one slightly bewildered, rather overweight American tourists and propelled by small, wiry and straining Hanoiese), I treat myself to a minor splurge of a dinner at La Restaurant and Bar (25 Ly Quoc Su Street) and round off the evening with aperitif at the I-Box Bar and Café.\nCyclos ready for action I-Box is a stupid name for a place to drink, but apparently this is the bar of the hour and the place to be seen. It oozes atmosphere – dim lighting, plush velvety furniture, Hookahs on the table and a great big tinted window to the outside world – perfect for surreptitiously watching the crazy Hanoi traffic go by. I’ve been doing some background reading on the wine industry here (mainly to try and figure out why good wine is so hard to come by, and so bloody expensive when you do). Apparently for a lot of Vietnamese, the taste is only part of the attraction; it’s also important to be seen to be drinking an expensive drink, ideally in a venue such as this. Far better to be seen with a well known and expensive bottle in front of you, rather than spend good money on a wine that may be fantastic, but no one else recognises. It sounded rather sad a vein when I read this, but sure enough at this bar you can not only buy shots of scotch and brandy, but whole bottles. I amuse myself by perusing the extensive list of available bottle, which starts off reasonably innocuously with Jack Daniels finishes with a flair on a bottle of Remy Martin Louis XIII (so special it has its own web site). Yours for a mere 25 million dong.\nWanna buy a phone number? ","date":"20 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/back-to-hanoi/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Back to Hanoi"},{"content":"I’m spending the next night and two days aboard the Emeraude on Halong Bay. Halong Bay is about 150 km, or 3 hours east of Hanoi and should be included on even the most perfunctory of Vietnamese itineraries. What makes it so attractive, and indeed deserving of its UNESCO World Heritage status, are the thousands of limestone karsts pinnacles that the emerge dramatically from the water.\nTourists wanting to see the sights are well served by dozens and dozens of junks that serve all taste and budgets, ranging from backpacker to Ritz Carlton afloat. My boat is a little different from the rest in that it’s a converted paddle steamer, rather than the traditional teak wooden junk. I’ve done my research and it’s supposed to be pretty good, and being French, is a bit special on the gastronomic front. I’m looking forward to 24 hours of being pampered.\nPottery under construction The drive down is rather long, tedious and bumpy and after more than a couple of coffees before the off, I was beginning to wonder how much longer it was going to take. Just when I couldn’t cross my knees any further, we pulled into a massive pottery warehouse thing for a break and an opportunity to flog some stuff to the captive travellers. Never was a porcelain break more appreciated.\nWe ship anywhere While the whole raison d’être for this place was to sell various goods to the weary traveller, it was actually quite fun. Up front is a massive store that sells all manner of pottery, silk embroidery and the like, but out back you can actually wander around the factory floor and watch them make the stuff. An Occupational Health and Safety inspector would have a heart attack if he visited here, but it was fascinating none the less to see the big pots and jars being moulded, fired and painted.\nYour typical Halong junk Our boat Back on the bus for the final run to Halong Bay. After another hour or so we pull up at the embarcation café facility (last chance to buy a bottle of overpriced wine for the trip) and are hit by a blast of hot humid air as we get off the bus – it’s much warmer over here than Hanoi – so we all scurry inside for a coffee and final email check before being transferred to the boat a few minutes later. We pass a couple of other traditional teak junks before reaching our boat which sure enough doesn’t have the same romantic look to it. But once onboard, well hey, who cares. You can’t see the outside of the boat when you’re sitting on the sundeck enjoying your welcoming cocktail, now can you?\nAfter brief reconnoitre of my cabin (very nice and very cosy), we’re off for a sedate cruise out into the bay. The bay is scattered with hundreds upon thousands of these abrupt, towering islands and the scenery is really quite spectacular. As we round each island, it’s is a bit like working your way through an advent calendar at Christmas time. Each new vista brings new and pleasant surprises – interesting shapes, dark and spooky caves, other boats to check out and critique, or even a floating village.\nOne of 5,000 odd karsts After an hour or two of cruising, the first stop is Surprise Cave. Discovered by the French in 1901, it’s a popular destination for the overnight boats and we’re greeted at the bay by a fleet (jumble?) of junks. I’m a little worried that it’s going to be uncontrolled, wall to wall, elbow shoving chaos in there, but as it turns out, they have a system.\nHalong Bay There’s one way in, and a different way back out, so each boat delivers its boat load (so to speak) at the unloading dock, the group works they way up to and through the cave, and by the time you emerge blinking and smiling from the other end, your junk or tender has moved over to the pickup dock ready for the pickup (after you have dodged the obligatory crowd of hawkers of course). The captains have obviously come to some form of gentleman’s agreement and they ensure that each group is delivered after sensible interval from the last so that everyone feels that they have the caves at least somewhat to themselves.\nSurprise cave But wait I hear you cry! “What’s the surprise?” Well, the surprise is the, or more specifically, the next one. To start, you climb up a fairly steep flight of steps and enter an interesting and decently sized cave. Hmm, not bad you think…nice stalactites. Seen better before, but generally OK. You take a bunch of pics, have a bit of a poke around, and then walk up a narrow, small flight of steps on the other side to your waiting boat.\nMore surprises You round the corner and…Mon dieu! A bigger cave. Much bigger. This one isn’t too shabby at all. So, that’s the surprise you think – nice one. Lots of pictures are taken and after a while you make your way over to the other side and to exit tunnel. But then, Sacre bleu! An even bigger cave. This one’s a monster. You fill up your camera’s memory card snapping away in this one. Anyway, third strike and you’re out, but it’s well worth it.\nHawkers waiting at the exit There were other activities on the itinerary to be enjoyed, but the swimming didn’t look too tempting given the colour of the water, and the kayaking looked too much like hard work. However, the lounge deck was offering happy hour and spring roll making demonstrations, so I opted for that instead. And so the evening went.\nDinner was excellent and pre dinner entertainment was in the form of a Taiwanese film crew that had come on board for a couple of hours to film. The anchor was of the rugged, chiselled chin type (thankfully a guy), and he brought along a full entourage of young, attractive and rather vaporous assistants who spent the evening taking pictures of themselves with their phones and then admiring the results (in essence, a case study in narcissism – Freud would have had a field day).\nThe evening was rounded out by a showing of Indochine (primarily because part of it was filmed here) and a good night’s kip, gentled rocked to sleep.\n","date":"19 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/on-the-boat/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"On the Boat"},{"content":" Lantern Street Off the a bright and early start (well, reasonably early), I launch out into the streets for the full-sized version – Reid’s 36 Streets Walking Tour. It’s almost impossible to describe, but the streets are complete eye-candy and the walk is a visual and auditory assault on the senses.\nBamboo Street The 36 streets refer to what I can best describe as the themed streets. Each street is almost exclusively dedicated to selling a certain type of wares. Along the way I encounter lacquer box, tin box, straw mat, kite and bamboo streets. Better yet, different stores on a street specialise even further. For example, 46 Hang Thiec Street (Tin Street) appeared to exclusively sell kitchen extractor hoods. Most of this stuff is hand made, right there in the shop front. As a result, Hang Thiec is even noisier than most as the guys all hammer away, making boxes, extractor hoods and what not.\nStreet Name Translations of Old Quarter Trades:\nHang Bac \u0026ndash; silver Hang Be \u0026ndash; rattan rafts Hang Bo \u0026ndash; baskets Hang Bong \u0026ndash; cotton Hang Buom \u0026ndash; sails Hang Ca \u0026ndash; fish Hang Can \u0026ndash; scales Hang Cot \u0026ndash; bamboo mats Hang Da \u0026ndash; leather Hang Dao \u0026ndash; silk Hang Dau \u0026ndash; beans Hang Dieu \u0026ndash; bongs and pipes Hang Dong \u0026ndash; brass Hang Duong \u0026ndash; sugar Hang Ga \u0026ndash; chicken Hang Gai \u0026ndash; hemp and rope Hang Giay \u0026ndash; paper Hang Hom \u0026ndash; coffins Hang Khoai \u0026ndash; sweet potatoes Hang Luoc \u0026ndash; combs Hang Ma \u0026ndash; paper replicas/toys Hang Mam \u0026ndash; fish Hang Manh \u0026ndash; bamboo shades Hang Muoi \u0026ndash; salt Hang Non \u0026ndash; conical hats Hang Quat \u0026ndash; fans Hang Than \u0026ndash; charcoal Hang Thiec \u0026ndash; tin Hang Thung \u0026ndash; barrels Hang Tre \u0026ndash; bamboo Hang Trong \u0026ndash; drums Hang Vai \u0026ndash; cloth Wanna Buy a Belt? As the list above shows, there’s quite a variety to be had. I guess the advantage is, if you need something specific, you know exactly where to go find it, but if you have a long shopping lists of odd and ends to purchase, you have a bit of a hike ahead of you. In these modern times, Hanoi has progressed it’s street offerings and now goes beyond the basics to offer you streets dedicated to the sale of sticking tape \u0026amp; rope, kitchen cleaning products, baby clothes, sunglasses street and (I kid you not), ceiling fan motors. So, if you’re caught short in Hanoi without your sunnies, head for the southern block of Hang Can street and you won’t be disappointed.\nKite Street To date, I’ve been making notes for this journal on my phone (slow) or on random bits of paper (easy to loose). I decide to buy a little notebook that I could stick in my pocket and whip out at a moments notice; all I needed now was to find was Small Notebook Street, and I’ll be all set. And, indeed I did. Well, I exaggerate on the specialization a bit, but the block of Dong Xuan just south of the central market is stationary supplies, and I found just what I was looking for.\nHanoi Opera House After a while, it almost becomes a mind-game. Turn the street corner, and try and figure out as quickly as possible what the street’s speciality is. Some of the larger ones are more generalised, but many do have a theme. It also makes you wonder who’s doing all the shopping. Particularly in the old quarter, just about every building is either a restaurant, shop, tour office or hotel. Everyone seems to be going somewhere else, but there aren’t a great deal of folks actually shopping. Who’s buying all this stuff?\nHo Chi Minh\u0026#39;s House It’s pretty easy to get lost in this town, or I should say, hard to find your way home. You always know exactly where you are at all times – every shop has not just the street number, but full address written above the door. So, for example, you know you’re currently at 64 Hang Bac Street. However, if you’ve taken a few random and unadvised turns, the trick is finding Hang Bac on your map. The tourist maps are generally pitiful and only label some of the streets. The equivalent of an A-Z atlas doesn’t exist at all as far as I can tell. As a result, you find yourself taking a few more random turns until you eventually find a street that you can place on the map. The trick (obvious in hindsight) is to find the biggest, busiest street you can. But overall, the signage in Hanoi (and all of Vietnam) is excellent and something that the USA and Australia should seek to emulate.\nThings you find on the back of a motorbike Lunch is at 69 Bar and Café (69 May May Street), which turns out to be a hit. A lovely old Hanoi ‘tube’ house with a great balcony upstairs to sit, eat and watch the crazy Hanoi life wash by.\nThe end of my walking tour drops me at the corner of Luong Ngoc Quyen and Ta Hien streets, which is loving known as Bia Hoi corner (Hoi Beer corner). All four corners sport a basic little beer selling emporium with very tiny little plastic chairs lined up out front. Calling these places bars would be a disservice to just about every other drinking establishment on the plant (you can’t even go inside), but the beer is OK and it sells for VND3,000 a glass (that’s about AU$0.25 or US$0.18), so the price is right. It’s a favourite hangout for some of the longer term tourists and expats and it’s a super place to simply sit and watching the world go buy.\nTip for the entrepreneurs\nIf you’re considering going into manufacturing in Vietnam, the first criteria for any product smaller than say a medium sized boat, must be that you can carry it on, or behind a motorbike. Fail that test, and no one’s going to buy it.\nAnd trust me, Hanoi puts on quite the street show. If nothing else, watching what goes by on the back of a motorbike is quite astounding – tall, teetering stacks of beer crates; whole families (dad driving, mum behind, daughter behind mum and baby standing up in front); guy riding pillion holding several very large sheets of glass on his lap between him and the driver (God help them if they fall off); guy carrying 40 foot lengths of rebar (steel rod) by simply dragging it behind the bike; and, to top it all, two bikes, each towing a small trailer stacked with a huge coil of plastic pipe, but the same pipe snaking across the ground between the two bikes.\nAnother early start tomorrow as I have a date with Halong Bay.\n","date":"18 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/hanoi-round-2/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Hanoi Round 2"},{"content":"Over the next weeks these journal entries will attempt to give a slice of Vietnam and our experience of it. If you’re looking for a comprehensive and unbiased guidebook to Vietnam, you’ve come to the wrong place. I suggest you buy a Frommer’s Guide (or hit their web site), or take a look at Robert Reid’s excellent online guide.\nHowever, if you’re looking for a not too skewed, and hopefully humorous sampling of the this amazing country…read on.\nHanoi Traffic Deciding to break myself in gently to the Vietnam experience, I have the hotel send a car to meet me at the airport, which turns out to be good way to break yourself into the Vietnamese traffic which is, in summary, crazy. Lots and lots of motorbikes, gratuitous use of the horn at all times, manic defensive driving and little regard for rules of the road. Traffic lights seem to be advisory at best (when the light turns red, only about half of the bikes stop). Roundabouts might have appeared to be a good idea to the city planners, but they only work if you actually give way to the guy already going round it. This doesn’t seem to be the preferred choice for about 99% of the drivers. The result is pretty chaotic to say the least. A fun spectator sport is watching traffic at a major cross roads - waves of traffic come in from all four directions and somehow, miraculously, they pass through each other without incident. It’s almost as if they have some special variation on the laws of physics round these parts. It really has to be seen to be believed.\nTube House I’ve read somewhere that property tax on residential housing is assessed based on the width of the street facing side. Sounds reasonable, but it has a dramatic influence on the architecture. Virtually all the properties are what they call ‘tube houses’ – very narrow, three to or four stories tall, and stretching way back from the street. Most have some kind of store at the front, and one or more families will live behind and above.\nI check in to my hotel (the Hong Ngoc, conveniently placed in the Old Quarter) and then hit the streets. Lynn has found a great web site called Reid on Travel, written by an ex-Lonely Planet author and it has an good inventory of things to see and places to stay and eat. This afternoon I’m taking his French Quarter walking tour for a test drive. It’s a ‘lite’ version of his 36 streets tour that I’ll tackle in tomorrow.\nHoam Kiem Lake First stop is Hoam Kiem lake, the centre point of the city and very useful navigation point. Hoam Kiem means ‘Lake of the Recovered Sword’ and it refers to the legend of King Le Thai To who, in the 15th century, was leant a magical sword by the Gods to defeat the Chinese invaders. And defect them he did, not once but three times. Eventually, once the invading hoards were well and truly vanquished, a giant turtle came up from the lake and took the sword back. Never to be seen again.\nKing To King To is something of a hero in these parts, and you’ll find several statues and monuments dedicated to him around the lake (although the cynics might say that if he was such an all conquering hero, and armed with a magic sword no less, it wouldn’t have taken him three goes to take care of the problem). Allegedly there are still turtles to be seen in the lake today, but given the colour of the water it’s a stretch at best, and your best bet is the giant, stuffed specimen on show in the temple at the centre of the lake.\nSword Snatching Turtle I come across a bank and decide to exchange some Aussie dollars for Vietnamese Dong. The exchange rate is about 13,000, so 1,000 Dong doesn’t buy you very much at all. I’m handed a wad of bills. Being the savvy traveller, I had one back and ask the lady to break it into something smaller, figuring that buying my first coffee with a 100,000 note might not be appreciated. Unfortunately, the punctuation on the zeros on these notes is minimal at best, and I hand her a 10,000 by mistake. I’m essentially asking her to break up $1 into smaller notes, which explains the strange look I get. Nonetheless, she’s happy to hand me back an assortment of small and quite useless notes that will linger in my wallet for days to come.\nGiven their disregard for traffic lights and signals, pedestrian crossings are of course utterly ignored as well. Folks therefore cross everywhere. The trick is to step out and just keep walking slowly and deliberately - they’ll see you and drive around you. What you really don’t want to do is freeze half way across – it gets very unpleasant in a hurry if you do. Crossing the larger streets takes some nerve through, and I actually find it easier to avoid making eye contact with the oncoming traffic, figuring if I don’t see them, they’ll have to spot and avoid me.\nYour Average Hanoi Sidewalk The French Quarter is a little more open than the Old Quarter with broader streets and pavements that you can actually walk on. (In the more cramped streets of the Old Quarter, most pavements are given over to parked motorbikes, corner food stalls and the random sprawl of good in front of shops. You therefore spend most of your time walking in the street). Scattered throughout this neighbourhood are wonderful edifices of colonial buildings including the Opera House, Governor of Tonkin’s Residence and the Sofitel Metropole Hotel. The latter is apparently the place to stay in Hanoi, and Reid points out that after 3pm, there’s a chocolate bar to be sampled. Being a bit of a chocoholic, I divert and boy-oh-boy, do they do the name justice. For about $15 you have all the chocolate you can eat from a very broad selection. I think my waistline just gained half an inch right there and then.\nGovernor of Tonkin’s Residence My first Vietnamese meal tonight is at Quan An Ngon. Hgon means delicious, so it sounds hopeful. It turns out to be a courtyard affair with lots of open air kitchen stall setups scattered around it. It’s an upscale version of the food stalls you find and dodge round on just about every street corner of Hanoi. (However, hygiene at those places is somewhat less than ideal, and I figure I’ll give my stomach a few days before trying those.) So, this place is a good compromise and it’s packed with Vietnamese diners which is a promising sign. I order a sampling of dishes, all of which are pretty good. As we’ll learn with Vietnam, food and beer is pretty cheap at all but the most upscale of restaurants, and you’ll typically pay on the order of VND40,000 to VND70,000 for a entrée (about AU$4 or US$3). Even more exciting, the local premium beer (Tiger Beer) usually goes for VND20,000 – whoo hoo!\nAs I eat, I’m pouring over the maps and my guidebook (Frommer’s – a slightly more upscale alternative to the ubiquitous, but rather backpacker centric Lonely Planet). One of the big advantages of Vietnam is that they use a familiar character set for the written language, and (as an antithesis of German) words are all of one syllable. Not quite as straight forward to pronounce as Malaysian, but you’re in with a fighting chance of making yourself understood.\n","date":"17 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/hello-hanoi/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Hello Hanoi"},{"content":"On the way out I came across a piece in the in-flight magazine called “KL city tour”. Having utterly failed to do any background research on the city, I decide to let this be my guide. The itinerary has me starting at 8am, but I fluff that and don’t get out of the hotel until after nine.\nPetronas Towers The hotel overlooks a very nicely manicured park, on the other side of which are the Petronas Towers. One of the benefits of my room is the park view and being on the 27th floor it offers a close-up and absolutely stunning view of what was, up until recently, the tallest buildings in the world.\nI’m taking the light rail (aka subway / underground) to my first stop on the grand tour. Once you’re in the station it’s a painless and non-intimidating system to use. (There’s something about using a subway system in a new city for the first time. After a day or so you feel like a local and can navigate your way round easily, but on the first encounter it’s all rather new and confusing.)\nRunning Man Walk Signal However, the main challenge for KL appears to be actually finding the station. Most are underground and I spend a fruitless few minutes walking up and down the street trying to find the one I’m looking for (KL City Centre). In hindsight, I should have remembered that KL is one of the shopping Mecca’s of Asia and of course the best way to get to it is via the monstrous shopping mall underneath the Petronas Towers. (I only discover this at the end of the day.)\nDuring my repeated scampering across the highways trying to find the subway entrance, I’m distracted and amused by the walk signal for the pedestrian crossings In the good old days, you got a green guy when it was time to walk, and a red one when it was time best not to. Then the traffic engineers raised the ante by giving you a flashing red guy when it was time to get the hell off the road if you were still crossing. Some countries have gone a step further to give you a countdown timer, telling you exactly how long you have before you get run over. In KL, they’ve taken an amusing twist on this – the little green guy is an animated icon that walks when it’s time to walk, and when time is running out, he starts to run. Nice one.\nIndependence Square I exit at Masjid Jamek station and walk up the road towards Independence Square. My stroll takes me past the old Magistrates Courts, posted outside of which are a handful of guys, each setup with a couple of small stools and a typewriter sitting on a box. They appear to be typewriters-for-hire, as one of them had a customer who was chatting away to him as he furiously typed up some important looking document.\nRoyal Selangor Club Independence square is a great big rectangle of manicured grass flanked by relics of the colonial era including and St Mary’s Church (visited by the Queen (bless her) not once, but twice) and the old boys ground zero, the Royal Selangor Club. When the Brits were turfed out of the country in 1957, the Malaysians rather pragmatically appear to have simply erected a massive great flagpole at one end of the green, hosted their shiny new flag and called the whole place Independence square. Saved a lots of tedious hassle constructing your own square that way.\nSri Maha Mariamman Temple I head into the Chinatown to get my sampling of temples (Sri Maha Mariamman and Tze Ya if you’re taking notes), which offer a lovely respite from the noise and crowds of the streets and a great place to grab a lung full in incense, before launching back out into the streets. KL really has the feel of a city with real intent and purpose, rather than being primarily a tourist destination. We Anglo-Saxon tourists are definitely in the minority; pasty pale skins aside, we’re easily identifiable by the slightly starry-eyed look, shorts (none of the locals wear them) and (only for the Brits), sandals with black socks. We’re reasonably sparse on the streets and exchange the eye-contact and faint smile of camaraderie as we pass each other.\nSin Seng Nam Continuing to follow my city tour to the letter, lunch is at Sin Seng Nam, a hole in the wall place near Independence Square. It’s authentic – while I eat, the local bankers and shop merchants hurry in their suits for a quick bite. It’s also clearly a local favourite – one guy pulls up outside at a red light, gives three honks on his horn and exchanges some terse but complex hand signals with the owner at the front door. Before the lights have changed, a portion of chicken and rice is wrapped and handed to him through the window. I wonder what four honks gets – chicken curry?\nFor the Aussie readers: One of the sections was endangered parrots. Inside I was rather amused to see that this included a healthy flock of Lorikeets and Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. Someone should probably reassure these guys that these two species at least are doing very well and in no danger on extinction in Australia.\nAfter lunch, my guide suggests taking a cab to the Lake Gardens as a break from the city hubbub. I flag one down, jump in and confidently call out “Lake Gardens – front entrance please!” to the driver. He turns round, looks me up and down and patiently explains that it’s a very big place and there are many entrances. Where exactly did I want to go. Err…umm… I rummaged in my pack for a map and pick an attraction in the park more or less at random – “Bird Park please.”\nInhabitants of Bird Park Bird Park turns out to be to be the world largest enclosed, walk through aviary and is quite special. It’s a little rough round the edges and seedy, but they have an amazing collection of feathered friends and it’s huge – you could happily spend a couple of hours wandering around inside. It’s not just Malaysian birdlife on offer either – they have a selection from around the globe, ranging from the tiddliest songbird, to a flock of Ostriches.\nHaving my fill of birdlife, I decide to walk back into town through the park. Lake Gardens is a massive space and seems to be a breading ground for national intuitions. On the relatively short hike back I pass the national mosque, museum and planetarium to name a few. The last stretch is somewhat a challenge through – I’m trying to get to Pasar Seni subway station, but have to cross a handful of rather busy roads, a train track and a river to get there, and for the life of me can’t figure out how to do it. It gets almost surreal when I get to the incomplete pedestrian crossing that stops 10 feet short from the overpass I’m standing on.\nKL\u0026#39;s National Mosque I get there eventually, take a painless ride back to KLCC and discover the proper way in and out of the KLCC station – via the awe inspiring Suria KLCC shopping mall.\nI’ve trolled the web sites and guide books and decided to eat at Enak tonight, which allegedly offers an excellent sampling of real Malaysian food and is in the Starhill Gallery Mall. Usually not the most inspiring location for a place to eat, but this mall is something else; opulent and fancy doesn’t begin to do it justice. It’s the kind of place that an average guy (among which I include myself) can’t afford to shop at a single store. It’s packed to the rafters with Gucci this, Dior that and Valentino the other – I’ve never seen anything quite like it. The restaurant section is almost some kind of theme park in of itself - each one has an architectural theme and that theme extends out to take over the pavement, walls and ceiling as well. Anyway, the food was great, the service wonderful and a good time was had by all. I round off the evening with an aperitif at the Skybar back at the hotel, which includes a pool and picture window booths overlooking the awesome nightscape of the Petronas Towers.\nSo, first impressions of KL is a typical Asian city – mopeds, noise and chaos, but probably not nearly as full-on as Bangkok or Hong Kong (or indeed, as we will learn later, Hanoi). While there are plenty of busy streets, the city seems to have a very good scattering of parks and green spaces that are immaculately kept. Everyone is very friendly to the stand out tourist such as myself, and I wasn’t hassled by beggars or hawkers once. It’s hot and humid, but if you like that kind of thing this counts as a plus. Overall, a big thumbs up – my only disappointment in hindsight is that I only had a day to see it.\nEarly start tomorrow for my next stop - Hanoi.\n","date":"16 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/12-hours-in-kl/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"12 hours in KL"},{"content":" Petronas Towers Today I depart for Kuala Lumpur and after a couple of nights there, on to Hanoi. Lynn is staying on in Sydney for a few more days of Mosman R\u0026amp;R and to sort out our move to Adelaide (bless her!).\nI’ve decided to travel as light as possible for this trip. I usually pack way too much, don’t use half the stuff I take and just get hot and bothered lugging all the extra crap around the country. So, I’m proud to report that I’ve managed to get it down to a single carry on bag, which will make the airport transits much simpler. It remains to be seen what I’ll miss.\nI’m flying Malaysian Airlines and managed to snag an exit row, so the flight is painless and the food actually quite good (Chicken curry – Mmmm). Once again I’m reminded of how big Australia is – after eating two meals, having a drink, reading a couple of chapters, watching a movie and having a bit of a kip, we still haven’t cleared Aussie airspace.\nKL airport is simply wonderful. Big, modern, very clean, incredibly efficient and almost totally deserted. I walk straight up to the customs desk with no queues what so ever, and I’m shaking hands with my driver 15 mins after the plane pulled up to the jet way. For the next two nights I’ll be calling the Traders Hotel home, which is much nicer than it sounds. It’s owned by the Shangri-La chain and one notch down from their signature hotels, but the differences are pretty minor. I’ve splurged for a club level room, so breakfast, drinks, WiFi etc. are included. It’s late and I’m reasonably knackered after my hours of immobility on the plane, so I grab a perfectly acceptable dinner at the hotel and crash.\n","date":"15 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/asia-2009/flying-to-kuala-lumpur/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Flying to Kuala Lumpur"},{"content":"The work life balance in DC had become, well, too imbalanced. Enamoured with the Sydney environment, and impressed with the Aussie attitude to work and play, we decided to make the move down here ourselves and give it a fair go.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/australia-2009/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Australia 2009"},{"content":"7 Apr 2009 #We’re heading back to base for about a week before the next outing, this one a little further afield (Vietnam and Cambodia). We’ve wasted a couple of agreeable days hanging in a very cosy federation cottage in the Barossa, near Angaston.\nUsually, the eating out opportunities in these smaller country towns are pretty dire, but we discovered a great place called the Roaring 40’s Café just down the road. It’s not much to look at outside or in, and the name is pretty tacky, but the food is outstanding and wine list, while terse, is well appointed and great value for money ($6.90 for a great glass of wine). Needless to say, we forage there regularly over the two days, with one of the highlights being the Extreme Beef Vindaloo Pizza (I’m not kidding). It tastes far better than it sounds.\nSummertown Cottage View I’d like to report that we fully utilised our time in the Barossa to explore the countryside, wineries and what ever other delights this wonderful part of the world has to offer. However, after 3 weeks of fairly manic sightseeing, I for one have to admit to a not inconsiderable degree of sloth. The cottage was very cosy, the log burning fireplace warm and inviting, and besides the owners had left a few DVDs lying around that badly needed watching.\nSummertown Cottage On our way back to Adelaide we stop at Summertown in the hills to the view the rental that Lynn heard about last week. It’s an old, original sandstone block federation home that’s been extended outback to 3 bedrooms. Inside it’s nothing spectacular and made somewhat less appealing by the grungy current tenants. The original, front part of the house is also very original on the inside – right down to the fact that it’s the same unfinished, unplastered sandstone block on the inside as well. However, the view outback is to die for – it sits on 6 acres of rolling vineyards and looks out over a beautiful valley and the hills beyond. Other than a radio mast on the adjoining hill, there’s pretty much no other civilisation to be seen. Better yet, it’s 15 mins drive down the hill to Adelaide, available on short term rental (so we can bail if we don’t like it after all) and it’s only $300 a week. We sign.\nAfter dropping off our faithful Toyota off at a storage place, we grab a cab to the airport for the flight back to Sydney. We’re in town for about a week before we head north for Vietnam. But, that’s another chapter…\n","date":"7 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/back-to-sydney/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Back to Sydney"},{"content":"4 Apr 2009 # Exploring Perth We check out from the Jemelup Chalets for the run back up to Perth. While the accommodation has been quite acceptable, the owners obviously come from the same stock as the video store manager and have an unhealthy delight in pointless and annoying rules. During checkin they told us that we must submit to a full inspection before we could check out. We leave the keys and leave early to avoid it, just to make a point (albeit a rather silly one).\nWe’re spending one more night at Gerry’s place in Claremont (stick with what you know) before heading back to Adelaide. We find ourselves in Subiaco around lunchtime, so I decide to give that pizza place a go after all. I mean, if it’s been voted the world’s best pizza, it can’t be that bad, even if it is sold precooked and by the slice. I’m happy to report that it was actually pretty good, bordering on super. Great crust (think and crispy) and unusual and tasty toppings. If you’re ever in the neighbourhood, give it a go.\nSunset Drinks The weather today has been outstanding – hot, sunny and calm, so we decide to round it off by a sunset drink at the beach. One of the advantages of Perth over say Melbourne or Sydney is a lot of west facing coastline, and therefore lots off opportunities for sunset drinks / meals / sailing / etc. We find a place (Barchetta) right on the waterfront and spend an very agreeable hour or two drinking bubbly and snacking while watching the sun disappear into the water.\nTomorrow we fly back to Adelaide for a couple of days. Our original plan was to head straight back to Sydney, but Jetstar recently cancelled all their direct Perth to Sydney flights, and the remaining carriers have jacked their prices accordingly. Since it’s now cheaper to do the trips in two hops via Adelaide, we’re going to take the opportunity to stop off in the Barossa Valley for a couple of days.\n","date":"4 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/western-sunsets-are-the-best/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Western Sunsets Are The Best"},{"content":"3 Apr 2009 #Passing the time while Lynn takes a turn at the wheel, I browse our trusty Australia road atlas (don’t you just love a good map?). It’s shocking to see how little territory we’ve covered in our travels so far. Even though we’ve clocked about 3,000 km so far, we’ve barely scratched the surface. This really is a bloody big country. Did you know that if you take a right turn off the main road running across the Nullabore plain from Adelaide to Perth, it would be 1,200 km until you hit the next sealed road. Twelve hundred kilometres before the next real road!\nEven more amazing is the Google Streets guy. For those of you who’ve had their head in the sand recently, this is latest Google blessing (or gross invasion of your privacy, depending on your outlook) whereby you can view 360 pictures of just about any street in the country. Try it sometime and then think about the poor guy who had to drive the Google camera car down all those roads. There had to be times when was absolutely bored out of his mind. As you can see from the image opposite, even the Google guy wasn’t brave enough to try going up through the middle of Western Australia.\nCape to Cape Walk Anyway, back to the business at hand. We’re exploring the delights of the Margaret River area today, and indeed, it is quite delightful. Rolling hills, dotted with vineyards and golden brown fields (admittedly, a little more brown than golden these days), and some quite terrific beaches. We pull into a couple of spots near Yallingup and the water colour is picture-postcard perfect. Crystal clear and a shade of aquamarine that just makes you want to run down the sand and dive in. And what sand it is – bright white, find grained almost powdery and just the right sized stretch of beach between the road and waterline. Best of all – they’re practically deserted.\nNeedless to say, I’m so enchanted by the coastline that I forgo an afternoon of wine tasting for a stroll along the cape to cape trail, a walking track that runs for 135 km between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin. Too much for one afternoon, but I give it a small sampling. My stretch finishes at Yallingup and the long, curving Smiths Beach. I call Lynn for a pickup when I get to the start of the beach (destination in sight), but it’s a bloody long length of sand and but the time I get to the other end, Lynn has been waiting for a while, and my calves are burning something fierce.\n","date":"3 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/cape-to-cape/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Cape to Cape"},{"content":"2 Apr 2009 #We’re taking a break from Perth for a couple of day to head south down the coast to the Margaret River area. We enjoyed the area last time we were here – pretty, relaxed, loads of great wineries and not too built up. We hear that progress has come to the area in the intervening dozen years, but we’re going to go found out for ourselves.\nWe’re taking the coast route down, slower but presumably more picturesque than the freeway. It doesn’t get off to a good start. You can’t see the ocean for most of the run, and the urban and industrial sprawl from Perth seems to go on for ever. It’s quite amazing really – an hour and half south of the city, in the middle of nowhere, these tightly packed housing developments spring up with surprising regularity. 10 or 20 acres subdivided into tiny little lots with mini-MacMansions crammed in side-by-side. But, there are no significant towns for an hour more in any direction. What on earth do all these people do out here? Presumably some are retirement homes, but if so there are an awful lot of retirees heading out this way.\nMargaret River Coastline Further south the road and coastline converge and we pass through some more agreeable towns and landscapes. The religious communities clearly think the same; we come across a stretch of beachfront that’s lined by an alarming number of religious ‘camps’. Name your faith, there’s one here for you. From the mainstream Presbyterians and Catholics to the more out there Seventh Day Adventists and Scientologists. Bizarre that they’re all squished in elbow-to-elbow along this one stretch of beach. Either this is the best coastline in the world, or the local planning council sensibly lumped them all in one place so that everyone else could conveniently avoid the lot in one go.\nCloser to our stop for the night, we pull into Dunsborough to stock on essential BBQ supplies. Given that we’re out in the sticks, we decide to rent a video for the evening and sign up with the local rental outlet. Sometimes, it never ceases to amaze me why folks seem to make up rules just for the perverse delight of doing so. The nice lady behind the counter spends precious time explaining how the returns work and how we’re supposed to go some other store in the mall if the rental place is closed, but that store is still open, but only on alternate Tuesdays… It’ll all too exhausting to relate here in detail, but everyone’s lives would be considerably simpler all round if they’re just pull a bloody mail-slot in their front door.\nJemelup Chalet Our humble abode for the next two nights will be the Jemelup Chalets, which doesn’t sound too promising but it was the best we could find on short notice. The chalets are buried in the middle of a tangled web of back roads that run for dozens of miles into the countryside. Thankfully, we still have a mobile signal and are therefore guided faultlessly to the mark by Google maps. It turns out that area is the supersize version of the housing estates we saw earlier. Like any good development it sports well built and sign posted roads; a liberal sprinkling of roundabouts; plots cleared, numbered and ready for construction. It’s just that here the lots are measured in acres, rather than square meters. It’s better than it sounds, and besides they have roos up the wazoo around here.\n","date":"2 April 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/south-to-margaret-river/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"South to Margaret River"},{"content":"31 Mar 2009 # Cottesloe Beach On our way into Fremantle two days ago we stopped off at Cottesloe beach and were quite taken with it. It’s a very attractive little beachfront town with a great beach and some interesting places to eat. Unlike a lot of the coastal towns we’ve encountered so far, this guy seems to have found the secret recipe for success; so we decide to find somewhere to stay in the area, and end up at the “Luxury Bungalow”. This is a little one bedroom place round the back of Gerry’s house, and boy, does Gerry know how to kit out a cottage. It’s good all those knick-knacks and vital supplies that you invariably end up needing / wanting on a longer trip, and well as the bare necessities: decent BBQ; massive and well appointed bathroom; gourmet kitchen; dishwasher; washing machine; big flat-screen TV; Foxtel with all the channels. You know – the basics). So, if you’re looking for a place to stay near the beach, give Gerry a call.\nIf, while I’m out and about, an inspiring thought or observation hits me, I’ll occasionally make a note on my phone so that I remember it later while writing this journal. While cryptic, most of these notes make sense a few days later when I’m writing up. However, I occasionally come up against one that leaves me perplexed. So, in closing for today, I’ll leave you with this closing note in the hope that it makes more sense to you than me: “Pavement trains $700”.\nWe’ve pick up some tips on the most desirable neighbourhoods to live in around Perth, and one of these is Subiaco – purported to be the Mosman of Perth, so to speak. So we head on over and take a wander round. Our first encounter is with a wonderful bakery that sells real baguettes (so important in life), so the neighbourhood passes the first test. Additional points are quickly accumulated by good coffee, an attractive yet useful mix of shops, and close proximity to some beautiful wide open spaces.\nSubiaco lays claim to the home of the Worlds best pizza. No, not Perth’s best, or Australia’s best, but the best in the world. Quite a claim and something I would imagine the Italians might take umbrage at. It’s a place just off the main strip – small, nay cramped, with a selection of large sheets of precooked pizza, available by the slice. My God, what are they thinking? You can’t make world beating pizza this way. Foolishly, we step back out and give it a miss. For now.\nKings Park After stocking up on good food and coffee, we drive a few blocks towards the city and into Kings Park. This is Perth’s major park and botanical garden, and certainly rivals anything that Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide has to offer (and that’s saying a lot – I’m a big fan of all three). It offers some beautifully kept grounds, sweeping vistas of the city, two rivers that converge on it (the Swan and Canning rivers) and some peachy places to picnic. We proceeded to do just that.\nThere’s one road that loops round that park (and it’s a pretty big – the road takes 6 km to complete the loop). All the way round the road is attractively lined with mature eucalyptus trees every 20m or so. Sadly though, each tree has a small plaque at its base, dedicating the tree to an Australian that gave their life in one of the wars. There’s a lot of trees.\nBack near Swanbourne, we note that the town is home to one of the very few nudist beaches in prudish Australia (aptly named Swanbourne Nudist Beach for those of you that are looking). We steer clear. (Golden rule of nudist beaches – you’ll only find people you don’t, under any circumstances, want to see without their clothes on).\nI round off the day with a stroll through the neighbourhood to the beach, which is surprising pleasant. This is clearly a suburb with surplus income and a series of agreeable walking paths wind around the houses and parks and lead me eventually to Swanbourne beach.\nGranted, we’ve only been here a short time, but Perth has the impression of being a windy city, and to prove the point, I’m met at the beach with quite a blast. The sunbathers are sensibly absent (their tans would be sandblasted away), but there are a few kite-surfers doing battle with the wind and waves. These guys are crazy – it’s really blowing out on the water and I briefly linger, jaw dropped, to watch a couple of guys go hurtling by hauled along by an impressively large expanse of cloth. Presumably there’s a way of going upwind, but the guys I’m watching don’t seem to have figured it out yet. (While I write this, a few days later, they’re probably pulling up somewhere on the Indonesian coastline).\n","date":"31 March 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/subiaco/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Subiaco"},{"content":"30 Mar 2009 # The Cruiser Today was a day of pampering. A friend of a friend (the actual connection is far too complex to relate here) has invited us for a day’s cruising on the Swan river – a hard offer to refuse. We’re picked up at 11, ferried to the Royal Flying Squadron yacht club and board a very fancy motor cruiser, complete with a skipper, acres of walnut veneer and more drink than four boat’s worth could consume in a day.\nWe spend a very pleasant hour or two pootling down river to Fremantle and tie up to one of the restaurants for fish ‘n chips (I mean, what else could one order under the circumstances?). The original plan was a brief foray out into the Indian Ocean for a crossing to Carnac Island (only 10 km from the harbour mouth), but we quickly turn back when the boat starts to pitch and roll once we clear the harbour. Too much danger of spilling one’s drink, don’t you know.\nThe day’s entertainment was rounded out by one of the guests unfortunately getting stuck in the toilet (aka ‘head’). There was much ingenious fiddling with the lock and more than a couple of bent credit cards to show for it, but to no avail. The only other way out was via a very narrow porthole. She wasn’t coming out, so they eventually sent in a guy to jimmy the lock from the inside. I could have done it of course if it wasn’t for my manly build.\n","date":"30 March 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/cruising-the-river/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Cruising the River"},{"content":"29 Mar 2009 #This one is a painful, oh-my-God early start. We have a 7:15 am flight to catch, so we pack, prep and book a taxi the night before so that we can make a clean start this morning. After 30 minutes of waiting, the taxi is still a no show – grrrrr!. I call to cancel it (so he doesn’t wake up the property owner if he ever did show up) and we now start throwing our gear in the car to drive to the airport, at which point the taxi cruises by, slows down and then drives off. GRRRRR!!\nThankfully, the traffic is almost nonexistent on the way, but I’m still pushing it to try and make up the time. All’s well until I catch the nauseating double-flash of the speed camera in my rear view mirror. GGRRRRRR%$\u0026amp;$%$^!!!! (If anyone from Adelaide Independent Taxi’s is reading this – you owe me the price of one speeding fine!)\nThe flight to Perth is reasonably painless, with entertainment provided by a couple of very loud, very Aussie and not so sober wide-boys from Perth. That is, it’s amusing right up until you see the flight attendants holding a strained and terse conversation with the pilot – this is the kind of behaviour that they’ll happily turn the plane around for these days to drop off the trouble makers where they found them.\nThankfully, it doesn’t come to that and we make it to Perth safe, sound, and thanks to a couple of time zones and the vagaries of Australian daylight saving rules, bloody early in the morning.\nGuildford Park Since it we happen to be on the right side of Perth for it, we begin by heading northeast to the Swan river valley, just a brief drive from the airport. This is one of main wine regions for West Australia, heralded by Guildford (no less) – the ‘Gateway to the Swan River’. Guildford is one of the towns created during the early days of settlement of Western Australia, conveniently placed a day’s ride (about 20 km) from Perth itself. It can therefore carry the ‘historic’ prefix more justifiably than most.\nAs for the Swan River Valley itself – not much to write home about I’m afraid. Tediously flat, dotted with annoyingly commercial wineries (some actually charge you to taste their wines for God sake) and little in the way of interesting scenery to make things more, well, interesting. But I think it just got us at a low moment, somewhat jet lagged and seriously caffeine deprived.\nTonight we’re checking in to “The Stables” in Fremantle (the port of Perth, about 30 mins drive west). The Stables are indeed a converted stable and while it oozes character and charm, it could also do with a good mucking-out, so to speak; it’s a bit grubby. We spend the afternoon reacquainting ourselves with ‘Freo, as it’s affectionately known around here. We were last here 12 years ago and we’re somewhat surprised how little it’s changed since then. The market is vibrant and fun, but the rest of the town has just a hint of seediness about it. Still, there are a few good places to eat and drink and even on a Sunday evening, there’s quite a crowd fully availing themselves of both facilities.\n","date":"29 March 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/swan-valley/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Swan Valley"},{"content":"28 Mar 2009 #For the last three days we taken a break from the country cottages for a slice of suburbia. Its proven hard to find anything in town, so we’re staying in this granny-flat kinda of place in the Adelaide suburb of St Georges. The place is a lot better than I make it sound.\nAdelaide seems to have gone for the micro-suburb approach to town planning, so much so that the local maps dispense with naming most of streets and just try to name the majority of the suburbs, figuring that you can navigate by that alone. Given that you can heave a brick and comfortably hit at least a couple, they’re probably right.\nWe squander our time here with some shopping expeditions (stocking up on hiking gear for the next trip – a guy can spend a lot of cash here), hiking in the hills and regular visits to Ying Chow. If you’re a fan of Asian food and ever happen to find yourself in Adelaide, make this place your first priority. The décor is basic, the place is always packed, but the food is simply outstanding.\nWaterfall Gulley Another highlight are the strolls in the hills. I get into the habit of heading out late in the afternoon and I’m treated to some wonderful, crowd free hikes with superb views of the city, ocean and sun setting over the lot of it. So, if you’re taking notes on things-to-do-in-Adelaide, add Waterfall Gulley and Morialta Conservation Park to your list.\nMorialta Conservation Reserve I round off the day with a frustrating battle with technology – I’m trying to figure out the best approach for putting our copious pics up on the web. The two main contenders are Flickr (brought to you by Yahoo) and Picasa (courtesy of Google).\nThings have progresses here in recent years and a gentleman’s basic requirements for a photo web site are not what they used to be. Photo-montages, slide shows, friend lists and geo-mapping are the minimum standard a discerning photo-snapper has come to expect.\nI’m initially attracted to the former by the simple one-click Flickr button in iPhoto (the Mac photo application). While Flickr offers most of my basic requirements its amazingly won’t let you sort pictures by the date they were taken. The forums are bursting with pissed-off posts from users begging for this feature, but apparently Yahoo have ignored the pleas for a couple of years now.\nSo, lesson learned - never doubt the power of the Google. If you’re a Mac user, read this page for the magic recipe for success.\nTomorrow we have to get up well before the crack of dawn to catch a flight to Perth.\n","date":"28 March 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/flying-west/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Flying West"},{"content":"26 Mar 2009 # After another late and lazy start to the morning, we swing by one of our favourite wineries (Hugo) to stock up and then head back to towards Adelaide. First stop – Stirling, just down the road from Hahndorf and home to a recently discovered bakery / foodie store that is simply marvellous. Highlights include real baguettes, brownies to die for and lots of other digestibles for the discerning consumer who are not so concerned about their waistline. We stock up.\nWhile browsing for places to rent (we’re thinking of spending a year out here after our travels), Lynn gets talking to a realtor who’s about to put a nearby cottage on the market. It’s out in the country, on about 10 acres of land and overlooks vineyards and a beautiful valley in the Adelaide Hills. This is the kind of place you can imagine waking up to in the mornings….we plan on checking it out next week. Who knows, this could be our next home.\n","date":"26 March 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/heading-for-adelaide/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Heading for Adelaide"},{"content":"25 Mar 2009 # Black Rabbit Cottage We’ve been spending the last three days hanging out at Black Rabbit Cottage in the McLaren Vale wine country, about 30 mins south of Adelaide. This is utter heaven for Lynn and I – a wonderful cottage to stay, stuck in beautiful countryside and surrounded some fantastic wineries.\nThe cottage is very well appointed – no less than three bedrooms, a massive bathroom and a huge and fully equipped country kitchen. Yours for the bargain price of $160 a night – way better than a hotel room. It even comes with a very friendly dog (Jess) and cat (Tiger) from next door who are more than happy to keep you company, especially during mealtimes.\nI‘ve been hoarding a bottle of Penfold\u0026rsquo;s Grange for the past 2 years or so, trying to choose the appropriate celebratory moment to crack it open. This is the Rolls Royce of Australian wines, with a good year running in excess of $1000 a bottle (needless to say, this was a gift not a purchase). Our time at Black Rabbit Cottage, and the sabbatical from life, seems as good a reason as any. Yummy!\nDon\u0026#39;t take my picture! Our general indolence is punctuated by occasional sightseeing forays. It comes as a bit of a surprise to us that the beach is only 10 mins from here. We’ve stayed in McLaren vale a number of times over the years and never really realised it was so close. Unfortunately they’re a bit of a let down. It’s hard to put your finger on it – they have most of the important ingredients required for a nice beech town, but just don’t quite appeal.\nNick and Mac We head further south to the bustling town of Victor Harbour. Highlights include a scenic island connected to the town by a causeway (explored), a horse drawn tram to take you over there, ably pulled by a horse named Mac (spotted, photographed and gave Mac a quick scratch behind the ear) and a colony of Little Penguins (missed - couple of false sightings, but the closest we got was the stuffed guy on the café counter).\n","date":"25 March 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/black-wabbit/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Black Wabbit"},{"content":"22 Mar 2009 #Early start this morning – we’re on the road before sunrise (groan) and driving like a bat out of hell for Hahndorf, just east of Adelaide. Google maps has this trip as just shy of 700km (not the heart-stopping 16,100km it originally returned when it thought I was trying to make it to Hahndorf, Germany).\nOur original plan was to do this in two days and stop off at some appealing country accommodation along the way. But, as it turns out, there are none to be had, so we’re going for it. Google says this should take 9 hours – pah!\nThis is dead-flat-dead-straight road territory. Quite hypnotising really – the only thing slowing you down is the heat-warped road surface that makes anything over 130 km/h a bit of a bumpy ride. Overtaking is actually a little more interesting than you would imagine – since the road itself is almost totally featureless, it’s hard to see any oncoming traffic from the heat haze. On the upside, there is no oncoming traffic – we drive for 20 mins or more before seeing another car.\nThe monotony of the road is briefly alleviated by a pair of eagles feeding off some random road-kill. We’re pretty sure they were Wedge-tailed Eagles, as the picture right clearly shows (sadly, no zoom lens on the iPhone). You’ll have to take our word for it that they were huge and magnificent.\nA Wedge Tailed Eagle We eventually make it to the Victoria / South Australia boarder and stop for lunch about 50 kms past it at the somewhat optimistically named Bordertown. The place is full of bikers (the manual variety), which is quite surprising since we’re still a long way from anywhere – explains why they’re all looking so flushed. I have possibly one of the worse sandwiches of my life. We move on.\nRoad to Warracknabeal Unlike the USA, roadside billboards seem to be prohibited along the main highways. Therefore, the RTA (the Aussie roads authority) have taken it upon themselves to relieve the rolling monotony. In these parts, they appear to be currently obsessed with the possibility of you falling asleep at the wheel (admitted a very real possibility). Every so often there are signs to exhorting you to Powernap now!! (What, right now? Shouldn’t I pull over first?). Apparently Powernaps are good, but Microsleeps are bad. After a while they tire of the explicit and start to wax-lyrical with gems like “dozy drivers die”. It’s interesting the extent to which Aussie slang and colloquialisms are taken as red by the authorities; God help you if you’re not a native English speaker, you’d really struggle to make sense of some of this stuff.\nHahndorf Pub We spend the night in Hahndorf, a little slice of Germany just east of Adelaide. If lederhosen, bratwurst and real German beer are your thing, this it the place for you. On a balmy Sunday afternoon, it appears to be the thing for a multitude of rather overweight tourists wandering up and down the street, with various Deutschland-knickknacks and hotdogs in hand. We retire to our hotel for a nice cuppa and a brief, but well deserved Powernap (taking one now!!).\nLater, once the day trippers have loaded back onto their buses, we venture out. Absent the hoards, it’s actually quite an appealing, picturesque town. Bratwurst, wasn’t our thing, so we try our luck at one of the very few non-German places to eat and luck out with a very enjoyable Chinese dinner. However, good German beer is my thing, we round out the evening with a couple of mugs of that.\n","date":"22 March 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/heading-for-hahndorf/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Heading for Hahndorf"},{"content":"21 Mar 2009 #After a good fry up to start the morning with a creeping coronary, we head off to Bendigo – a fairly sizable town in these parts (greater Bendigo population 100,000). Heck, let’s stick our neck out and call it a city.\nQueen Victoria in Bendigo Bendigo is famous (probably world famous) for being the home of both the Myer department store, and Bendigo Bank (I’m assuming they named the bank after the town, not the other way round). It also has a reputation of being ‘one of the best inland places to live in Australia’. We make it our mission to uncover the truth behind this bold allegation.\nSo, for those of you that have future plans that include the city of Bendigo, here are Nick and Lynn’s Cliff Notes (compiled after 2 hours of painstaking research):\nBuilding and boulevards – 3 stars. The main street is pretty good and offers the added attraction of a taking tram running down the middle, but the town boasts more than a couple of eyesores also. Visitor centre’s claim to be the ‘grandest in the land’ – pretty much confirmed. When you see it, you have to admit, it’s a pretty grand building. Bendigo Bank – check – still there. But now housed in a shockingly ugly modernesque chrome and glass thing. The Mall – 1 star. Boring, ugly and little improved by daylight. Delusions of grandeur – medium. Tourist brochure up-sell is about par for the course, but the ‘greater Bendigo city’ boarder starts 60 km out, so they’re definitely going for the land grab. Other points of interest:\nHome to the best pies in Australian (winner, 2008) – Blackhawk Bakery. So, if pies are your thing, this is a plus. Place to be, and be seen (eating) – The Wine Bank. A combined wine store / café (always a promising combination). Book a table though – we were rejected as unprepared. Having spent much of the day driving and generally being un-energetic, I decide to tackle the rather large hill behind our cottage on our return. Turns out to be considerably steeper close up, and it’s a bit of a wonder that my lungs haven’t exploded by the time I eventually get to the top. The view is however spectacular.\n","date":"21 March 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/bendigo/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Bendigo"},{"content":"20 Mar 2009 #After a probably unjustified amount of random pottering and futzing about, we finally get on the road midmorning. We’re hearing west-ish towards the tiny town of Tooberac, just 10 km south of the slightly less tiny town of Heathcote. Even through its less than a quarter of the distance we did yesterday, we manage to squander most of the day getting there.\nMerindoc Cottage It’s a pretty drive over – lots of rolling hills and intermittent eucalyptus forests, but my goodness it’s brown. We’ve heard about the drought in these parts, but you can really begin to appreciate the hardship the farms and wineries must be going through. Even the gum trees seem to be wilting.\nOne exciting diversion – a bloody great big Emu standing right by the side of the road. We also distract ourselves with win tasting at Wood Park, Mitchelton and Tablik.\nFor the next two nights we’re staying at Merindoc Cottage – a wonderful place attached to a 2,500 acre working farm and winery. Once again, Lynn’s diligence and homework has paid off - we’re well off the beaten track here and the only thing to see are hills (pretty big ones at that), cows, horses and birds. Relaxed would be a good way to describe us at this point.\n","date":"20 March 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/driving-to-tooberac/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Driving to Tooberac"},{"content":"19 Mar 2009 #OK, enough of the background - back to the adventure. We start off with a longish drive south to our first night’s stay; a place near Beechworth, Victoria which is about an hour south of the NSW border. We start relatively early and neglect to fully load up on caffeine before we go, so the first few hours are distracted by regular stops to buy, and unload, coffee.\nHolbrook Submarine During the past few weeks, I’ve fully taken to heart the mantra “a light traveller is a happy traveller” (or something to that effect). This important guidelines has been used to justify several gadget acquisitions in the quest for technology consolidation and weight reduction. So, while Lynn takes a turn at the wheel, I’m playing with the new Apple MacBook Air (sleek, light and oh so sexy), broadband wireless access courtesy of Telstra and an Apple G3 iPhone. With this technology troika, I can do amazing things such pull up driving directions on the iPhone, place myself on the map with the built in GPS), take a pic of Lynn (automagically tagged with lat/long coordinates), upload the pic to iPhoto , which then tells me that this is indeed a picture of Lynn (using the ‘Faces’ facial recognition feature) and the picture was taken just north of Albery (with a map to prove the point). Needless to say, my relentless exhortations to “check this out!” and sticking various toys under Lynn’s nose while she’s driving keeps her amused, entertained and content that this was all money well spent. (I think).\nAbly guided along the way by said technology, we sail through Holbrook on our way to the boarder. This turns out to be a cunning play on words, since Holbrook has to be the only inland town in Australia that can boast a fully grown submarine parked on the high street. That had to be a night to remember for the crew if they managed to dock it here.\nAt Albery we must make a complicated exit onto the road to Beechworth. I decide this is an excellent opportunity to the iPhone do the navigating. Unfortunately, fairly consistent internet access is pretty much a prerequisite. As a result, we loose guidance at the vital moment and need to have a couple of go’s at some of the junctions to get it right. Could have been an ugly moment, but hey – half the adventure is getting there (and getting lost), right?\nBeechworth The town of Beechworth is slated to be ‘historic’, ‘picturesque’ and so more. As usual, the local tourist guide has gone a little overboard in selling the delights and attractions:\nNorth East Victoria has a well-kept secret and for thousands of years we’ve been keeping it safe for you.\nNestling in the foothills of the Australian Alps and surrounded by lush valleys and spectacular scenery – Beechworth sparkles like a rare and precious jewel, rich in beauty, history and culture.\n\u0026hellip;you’ll be reminded of a Jane Austin novel\u0026hellip;\nAnd that’s just a sampling from the first two pages of the guide. Needless to say, upselling-the-township seems to be a highly competitive sport in these parts, so much so that it’s hard to heave a brick without hitting at least a couple of historic and visually stunning towns.\nSadly, the reality is usually somewhat more sobering and the best source of entertainment is often to be had by reading the brochure out loud while driving down the main street, amusing oneself with the ironic comparisons.\nSo, imagine our surprise when Beechworth turns out to be something quite special. It’s hard to put your finger on it, but if you sat down and drew up the specifications from scratch for your ideal, quaint-but-liveable town (population under 2,500), you’d probably come up with something pretty close to this. Broad streets lined with visually appealing Victorian stone building. Shops and cafés that were candy for the eye, but which actually sold stuff you wanted to buy. Some great places to eat and good coffee. A couple of nice looking hotels (pubs) that you wouldn’t be intimidated to drink in (indeed, would actually want to spend an afternoon in). And to top it off, surrounded by some very picturesque scenery and rolling hills. In summary…Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm.\nChestnut Farm After some time ogling Beechworth, we drive on for a few more km to our humble abode for the night – Chestnut Farm Cottage in the tiny town of Stanley. They weren’t kidding about the chestnuts – the place it thick with them, but the cottage is just perfect. After dinner, we wander down the street to the Stanley Pub \u0026amp; Bistro.\nStanley Pub It’s had some rave reviews, so we have visions of curling up on a couple of comfy chairs, favourite tipple in hand, and comparing notes on the journey so far. Unfortunately, a couple of bus loads of occupational therapy students from the local uni are out on some form of fancy dress / drink-and-be-merry outing. We seem to have joined them at approximately stop four or five of their tour, and given that the male/female ratio is approx 2½/100, both the volume and octaves are very high. The locals have retreated outside and are standing around puffing out their cheeks and rolling their eyes. We return a sympathy puff and roll as we beat a hasty retreat.\nWe walk back in the pitch dark and take in a very starry sky. I’d wax-lyrical about the sight, but frankly, words fail me. Let’s just say it was pretty awesome.\n","date":"19 March 2009","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2009/leaving-sydney/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Leaving Sydney"},{"content":" I created and served as founding editor and writer for Professional Planner magazine. Here\u0026rsquo;s a selection of my work with the publication. Out of Africa #Vivienne James, a private adviser for Investec, provides insight into the world of boutique banking. Lynn Elsey reports.\nInvestec may be a relative newcomer to Australia’s private banking realm, but if its client profile is any indication, the South African private bank has covered a lot of ground in just a few years. Investec traces its roots to trading as a Johannes- burg leasing company in 1974, eventually expand- ing to an international business platform, with core activities centred in South Africa and the UK. Investec entered the Australian market in 1997 and acquired a banking license in 2002. It currently has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.\nInvestec Bank (Australia) Limited offers a range of investment banking services and products to high net worth individuals, the corporate market and charitable organisations.\nWith client investment assets set at a minimum of $2 million, working as one of Investec’s four private advisers provides Vivienne James with a fairly sophisticated clientele. According to James, Investec is quite prescriptive with its private bank- ing strategy: to achieve, after tax and inflation, a five percent return plus return of capital. The private advisers aim to reach this target through a mixture of shares, property, fixed interest and cash.\nThe Process #Investec advisers work up a model for new clients, covering a one to five year period, to provide what they feel are realistic expectations. Implemen- tation involves a mixture of strategies,“depending on a client’s comfort and goals,” James says. The key is meeting the client’s income requirements.\nJames says that one of the challenges of the job is communication; ensuring that the client under- stands the bank’s philosophy. She feels that a key to achieving this and overall success as an adviser is to “start by listening to your client” in order to understand what they want to achieve and their problems. James holds face-to-face meetings with her clients quarterly, which allows her to discuss recent events which might affect her client, such as a change of a fund’s manager.\nThe Nitty Gritty #Investec private advisers operate under a very specific fee structure, determined by assets under advice. Clients need to have a minimum of $2 million available for investment; quite an increase in the three years since James came on board, when client asset minimums were “closer to $1 million”.\nAccording to James, the current fee structure came about because two of the Australian partners at Investec are accountants who didn’t like charg- ing on an hourly basis. They felt that clients would be reluctant to call and ask for advice, even though it was needed, if it was going to cost them. James says there has been reluctance by clients to accept a straight fee, hence the asset-based model.\nInvestec advisers rebate all upfront commissions,“but it’s not often that we have any, as we mostly use direct shares and wholesale funds,” James says. However, they don’t rebate trailing fees. James said that these constitute such an insignifi- cant amount that the cost of administration to calculate and pay back doesn’t justify it. She says that this is always fully explained and not an issue to her clients. She does, however, agree that there is a potential conflict with trails and says that Investec advisers always try to dial them down.\nJames currently has 50 clients – all came to her as referrals – and is targeted to increase that to 65. The largest component of her pay is her base salary, which is augmented by bonuses that come mainly from developing and increasing her client base.\nJames prides the Investec advisory service as being completely transparent, through total disclosure of all fees to the client.“Conflict of interest is important because of how it appears to the client, especially regarding referral business,” she says. James admits that although Investec advisers operate on a fee-based structure, some potential conflicts do exist, mainly from the Investec products which are available to clients.\nConflict of interest is important because of how it appears to the client\n“We aren’t truly independent,” she says,“but the product is separate.” Although Investec “doesn’t produce a lot of products” they do exist and the advisers do recommend them. James admits that someone in Investec “will get a fee from that invest- ment; it will go indirectly to private advisers” but wasn’t clear on the specifics.“We try and manage it the best we can.”\nProfessional Planner. Click for the original copy. ","date":"1 November 2007","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/magazines/professional-planner-magazine/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Professional Planner Magazine"},{"content":" Don\u0026rsquo;t let your online persona get between you and that job. Make your on line presence an asset. Social networking sites are a great way to stay in touch with friends and family, organise events and share photos and videos. However, while this might seem like a comfortable environment to hang out with your friends, recruiters are increasingly using these same networks as a way of vetting their applications.\nSo how do you balance both? #Whether you are a dedicated social networker or just spend a few hours a week on networking sites, it is worth giving serious thought to who can access your data. Unless you have made the effort to change your privacy setting, your profile could be visible to any Tom, Dick or HR person and may even be searchable on Google.\nJoining location networks on Facebook will also open up your profile to anyone on that network, not just your friends. If you make use of Facebook\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;check in\u0026rdquo; feature, others can easily find out how you have been spending your free time.\nScreening on screen #Most employers use social networks to screen candidates. This means that if your profile is public, your future employer could have insight into more than just your qualifications and work experience. Therefore the content you place online can have a big impact on your future.\nThis doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean you need to remove every trace of your existence, just that you need to be savvy and ensure that your online persona portrays you at your best to employers.\nManaging your net rep #Think about what content you are happy for anyone to see and what you feel is best saved for people you already know. A good option is to use Linkedin for your professional life and Facebook for your private life.\nMake use of the settings Facebook has introduced to help with privacy issues. You can choose who can see particular status updates, photos and anything else, including recruiters.\nPop your name into a search engine and see what comes up. Most social networks have a public listing that contains posted information from your profile and a link. This can be switched off by editing your privacy settings, and while you are at it, why not switch your profile to \u0026ldquo;friends only\u0026rdquo;? That way, should some clued­ up recruiter search on the site itself, they will only have access to the content that you want them to see.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t forget areas such as biogs, forum posts and other applications such as YouTube. If you have ever posted anything under your real name it could show up in a search. So if you have ranted about an organisation or expressed views that are contrary to a potential employer\u0026rsquo;s\npolicies, you could be shooting yourself in the foot.\nUse the net for your job hunt #Remember that the web isn\u0026rsquo;t just there to catch you out; it can also be your friend in the recruitment process. In one study, half of recruiters said that the information they had found about a candidate online had positively influenced their decision-making.\nSome graduate recruiters have started posting groups on social networks to make it easier for graduates to get in touch and find out about their organisations, which can be an excellent opportunity to network.\nTwitter can also be a good way to connect with employers. You can use it to listen to what favoured recruiters are saying and to keep up-to­date with their latest news. If you are interested in working for an organisation, sign up ro ir.s Twirrer pages to find out the latest company information and recruitment activities.\nYou could also interact with an employer on Twitter or Linkedin prior to an interview and then refer to the exchange when you meet the recruiter in person.\nConsider setting up your own website or biog. This will demonstrate initiative and, if you do it right, could be a good way of showing off your creativity and communication skills, as well as presenting a suitably professional image. You can use this space to describe your achievements more fully. The web is a valuable resource and you can have fun with it, just remember it is a public arena. That way, with luck, it will be a help, rather than a hindrance, when it comes to finding your perfect graduate career.\nTips for making social media work for you # Be aware: Google yourself regularl y to see what information about you is out there for anyone to find Be proactive: Use networking to help you develop and maintain your reputation and relationships Be consistent: Make your personal brand consistent across any platform that is accessible to a po tential employer Be knowledgeable: Get to know what people in you­target field are interested in hearing about to ensure your messages hit the target. Originally published in the 2015 edition the Australia\u0026rsquo;s Top 100 Graduate Employers.\nTop 100 Graduate Employers. Click for original content. ","date":"1 February 2005","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/careers/let-the-net-work-for-you/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Let the Net work for you"},{"content":" The Pacific Northwest ranges from bustling city Seattle to wild, remote Walla Walla. LYNN ELSEY recommends the best places to visit, sleep and eat. They do things differently out here. Nike, Microsoft, Starbucks and the odd volcanic eruption aside, the Pacific Northwest is America\u0026rsquo;s capital of understatement.\nDown the coast in California, flash and extravagance are the norm. The wine industry follows suit in the Napa and Sonoma valleys where wineries function as theme parks and getting a table at chef Thomas Keller\u0026rsquo;s French Laundry becomes more important than the meal itself.\nUp north, spectacular scenery - majestic mountains, carpets of ever­green forests, rushing rivers - does the shouting. Everything else just goes about life with a quiet ease.\nOregon caught the world\u0026rsquo;s attention with sumptuous Pinot Noirs, these days her Pinot Cris are drawing accolades and awards. Washington State, Oregon\u0026rsquo;s neighbour to the north, has quietly turned into one of the country\u0026rsquo;s most watched wine-producing regions and is now America\u0026rsquo;s second largest producer of premium wines.\nPortland is big enough to offer first-class hotels, excellent restaurants and lots of antique stores without the less desirable trappings - traffic, noise, urban sprawl - of a large metropolis. Constant reminders of the surrounding natural beauty are on every corner: bronze bears frolic in fountains, traffic yields to the majestic elk statue smack in the middle of Main Street and the Willamette River babbles through the centre of the city. The snowy peak of stately Mount Hood frames Portland, on clear days the remnants of Mt St Helens and other, still intact, volcmoes add an extra touch of drama.\nON THE TOWN #You don\u0026rsquo;t need to leave town to sample many wine gems. Oregon Wines on Broadway, a congenial wine bar downtown, is a great source of Oregonian wines as well as those from neighbouring states. As expected, Willamette valley Pinot Noirs, from wineries like Domaine Serene and Beaux Frères, play a starring role.\nA few blocks away, Greg Higgins matches the delights of Pacific Northwest wines with gorgeous food. The northwest is known for excellent seafood, and his smooth, unpretentious restaurant is a perfect place to explore the bounties from the region\u0026rsquo;s ocean and rivers. Up in the northwest district, a favourite setting for shopping, dining and people-watching, Vitaly Paley also pairs the region\u0026rsquo;s fine vintages with superlative cooking.\nTo stay in Portland, both the Hotel Lucia and the Heathman Hotel provide mature comforts with style.\nWith Portland as your base, an hour\u0026rsquo;s drive places you in the centre of the North Willamette Valley wine region. Function definitely takes precedence over style in the quiet valley. Wineries are usually small. It is rare to find anything other than wine to buy. Some are only open for tasting by appointment, othen, such as Beaux Frères, not at all.\nOREGON GUIDE BOOK #Wineries #WILLAKENZIE ESTATE\nTasting: Daily in the summer, Fri-Sun in the winter and by appointment. Laughlin Road, Yamhill.\nTel: + 1 503 662 3280\nDon\u0026rsquo;t miss: Emery and Aliette Pinot Noir, 2000 Pinot Gris.\nDOMAINE DROUHIN OREGON\nTasting: Open by appointment Wed-Sat. Dundee\nTel: + 1 503 864 2700\nDon\u0026rsquo;t miss: Louise Drouhin Pinot Noir, Chardonnay Red Hills Estate\nARCHERY SUMMIT WINERY\nTasting: The-Sun: reservations are required. Archery Summit Road, Dayton\nTel: + 1 503 864-4300\nDon\u0026rsquo;t miss: 1999 Archery Summit Estate; 2000 Vireton-Blanc de Collines Rouges\nBRICKHOUSE VINEYARDS\nTasting: By appointment. Lewis Rogers Lane, Newberg\nTel: +1 503 538-5136\nDining #HIGGINS. 1239 SW Broadway\nTel: +1 503 222 9070\nPALEYS PLACE. 1204 NW 21st Ave\nTel: +1 503 243 2403\nOREGON WINES ON BROADWAY, 515 SW Broadway.\nTel: +1 503 228 4655\nJOEL PALMER HOUSE, 600 Ferry Street, Dayton.\nTel: +1 503 864 2995 (call for directions). A must for fungi aficionados.\nAccomodation #HOTEL LUCIA, 400 SW Broadway\nTel: +1 503 225 1717\nHEATHMAN HOTEL, 1001 SW Broadway\nTel: +1 503 241 4100\nMore info: Portland Oregon Visitors Association, 1000 SW Broadway, Suite 2300, Portland, OR 97205. Tel: +1 503 275 9750.\nVisitors who venture to the eastern side of the cascade Mountains should prepare for a visual shock. While the western slopes of the Pacific Northwest are defined by swathes of\nemerald, eastwanfs green gives way to brown rolling hills. Central Washington is as dry and sunny as the coastal flank is wet and cloudy. Sagacious Pinots deflect to fuller­-bodied cabernets and Merlots.\nWalla Walla is a five-hour drive from almost everywhere. The journey from Portland takes you smack through the gorgeous Columbia Gorge into the heart of a wilder west.\nFor years Walla Walla was off the beaten track. The small college town was best known for its occasional mention as a generic remote location and its delicious sweet onions.\nLeonetti set up shop in 1977; an auspicious precursor to the 30+, often highly acclaimed wineries in the area today. Walla Walla\u0026rsquo;s wine industry is informal, small and often innovative. The proof is in the buildings. Wine is poured in old school houses, trolley stations and mills. Reininger Winery was founded in the original \u0026lsquo;crash house\u0026rsquo; (runway fire engine house) at the Walla Walla Aiiport.\nWalla walla\u0026rsquo;s remote location helps retain the low-key flavour of the area but, fortunately, the gourmands have found their way to the city\u0026rsquo;s historic brick-buildinged downtown.\n\u0026lsquo;You can\u0026rsquo;t go wrong with Whitehouse-Crawford,\u0026rsquo; says Darcey Fugman-Small, of Woodward Canyon Winery, \u0026lsquo;it\u0026rsquo;s the nicest place in town.\u0026rsquo; Other favourites include Creektown Café, perfect for alfresco dining, and the Grapefields wine bar with its \u0026lsquo;cool atmosphere and good food\u0026rsquo;.\nWALLA WALLA GUIDE BOOK #Wineries #L\u0026rsquo;ECOLE NO 41\nTasting: Daily (call during winter) in the old schoolhouse. 41 Lowden School Road.\nTel: +1 503 525 0948\nCAYUSE VINEYARDS\nTasting: Fri-Sun or by appointment. East Main Street, Walla Walla. Tel: +1 509 526 0686\nDon\u0026rsquo;t Miss: 1999 Syrah Walla Walla Valley\nWOODWARD CANYON\nTasting: Daily. Lowden. Tel:+ 1 509 525 4129\nDon\u0026rsquo;t Miss: 2000 Walla Walla Valley and Columbia Yallay Marlots, all the Cabernet Sauvignons and Columbia Valley Chardonnay\nREININGER WINERY\nTasting: \u0026lsquo;If we\u0026rsquo;re here, w\u0026rsquo;re open.\u0026rsquo; Appointments useful. C Street. Walla Walla.\nTel: +1 509 522 1994\nDon\u0026rsquo;t Miss: 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley. 1999 Medal Walla Walla Valley\nCANOE RIDGE VINEYARD\nTasting: Daily. Cherry Street, Walla Walla.\nTel: +1 509 527 0885\nDon\u0026rsquo;t miss: Vineyard Chardonnay\nDining #GRAPEFIELDS, 4E Main Street\nTel: +1 509 522 3993\nWHITEHOUSE-CRAWFORD RESTAURANT. 55 Cherry Street. Walla Walla.\nTel: + 1 509 525 2222\nAccomodation #MILL CREEK INN. 2014 Mill Creek Road, Walla Walla.\nTel: + 1 589 522 1234. This old wheat ranch offers collage, barn and hayloft accomodation with fantastic views.\nMARCUS WHITMAN HOTEL, 6 West Rose Steet. Walla Walla.\nTel: +1 509 525 2200. A historic building in the town centre.\nMore info: Walla Walla Chamber of Commerce, PO BOX 644, Walla Walla, WA 99362 Tel: +1 509 525 0850\nAfter the ochre and western tones of Central Washington, Seattle feels like an oasis of sophistication. Lakes, rivers and bays anchor the rolling hills. Mount Rainier looms in the background. Unlike Portland, Seattle bustles. Skyscrapers and sports stadiums dominate the downtown skyline, restaurants, pricey boutiques and Starbucks coffee stores fill in the gaps.\nSandwiched between the commerce, trees and water are some of the state\u0026rsquo;s finer wineries. Though they operate their tasting rooms in the Seattle area, most source their grapes from vineyards in the Yakima, Walla Walla and Columbia Valley regions.\nAlthough a bona fide member of the laid-back Pacific Northwest fraternity, Seattle does it with a dose of worldly-wise consumerism. The area\u0026rsquo;s oldest winery, Chateau Ste Michelle, borders on the winery-as-event theme. The stately winery offers a variety of classes, concerts, and even a glass art gallery along with award-winning wines. But it is still worth a visit.\nFor something more subdued, visit Cadence. The perfunctory building, in an industrial downtown Seattle location, houses one of the city\u0026rsquo;s top wineries. And in the leafy Woodinville area, DeLille and Hedges shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be missed.\nFor accommodation, the Willows Lodge provides plush, lodging and is well located for wine touring. But if city living beckons, make a beeline for the Alexis Hotel in the heart of Seattle.\nSeattle-ites are proud of their bounty. Local wines garner special attention and the wine merchants are delighted to point you in the direction of delicious unsung heroes. Restaurant wine lists are often treasure troves of unknown but worth-discovering newcomers as well as hard-to-find gems (such as Leonetti Cabernet Sauvignon).\nFor dining, Cascadia and Campagne match terrific wines with stylish fare; Ray\u0026rsquo;s Boathouse adds a bay-front setting.\nSEATTLE GUIDE BOOK #Wineries #CHATEAU STE MICHELLE\nTasting: Daily. Woodinville\nTel: +1 425 415 3632\nDELILLE CELLARS\nTasting: By appointment only, Fri preferred. Woodinville\nTel: +1 425 489 0544\nDon\u0026rsquo;t Miss: Velvety Syrahs, Chaleur Estat, Yaldma Valley Red, Chaleur Estate Blanc\nCADENCE WINERY\nTasting: By appointment. Seattle\nTel: +1 206 381 9507\nDon\u0026rsquo;t Miss: Reserve 2000, Tapteil 2000, Ciel du Cheval, Sprint Valley 2000\nHEDGES CELLARS\nTasting: Mon-Sat. lssaquah.\nTel: +1 425 391 6056\nDon\u0026rsquo;t miss: Red Mountain Reserve. Three Vinyards\nDining #CASCADIA. 2328 First Ave\nTel: +1 206 448 8884\nCAMPAGNE, 86 Pine St\nTel: +1 206 728 2800\nRAYS BOATHOUSE. 6049 Seaview Ave. NW.\nTel: +1 206 789 3770\nAccomodation #ALEXIS HOTEL. 1007 First Avanue, Seattle.\nTel: +1 206 624 4844. Superlative service.\nTHE WILLOWS LODGE. 14580 NE 145th St, Woodinville.\nTel: +1 425 424 3900. Lodge style accomodation.\nFor free information and visitor guides call Washington State Tourism on +44 (O) 20 7978 5233 or visit www.experiencewashington.com\nOriginally published in the June 2003 edition of Decanter Magazine.\nDecanter Magazine, June 2003 ","date":"7 June 2003","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/food-travel/the-wild-west/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"The Wild West"},{"content":"28 Jul 2002 # Home of \u0026#39;democracy\u0026#39; A week later and the dust has finally settled. It feels like the last week has been consumed with unpacking boxes, shuttling cars and frantic shopping for the bare essentials that ended up in storage.\nWe spend the first night in DC with my brother, and then drove over to the apartment building bright and early the following morning. We were treated to a glorious summer day in DC, which like most of them, consisted of 950F heat and approx. 70% humidity. This is the main reason why so many people respond with “I could never live there!” when we told them we were moving to DC (the other is fear of gun shots), but we still love it.\nAmazingly, the apartment building exceed our expectations (and we have very high expectations). It’s new, clean, well appointed and in a great location, just off Connecticut Avenue, less than 3 miles north of the White House. We can see the Washington monument from our window and have a plethora of interesting shops and restaurants just round the corner. Better yet, the nearest Metro (underground / subway) station is 4 minutes from here.\nDon\u0026#39;t look now but there\u0026#39;s a bloody great big monument behind you... Our cars arrived just a couple of days after we did, much sooner than expected. We spent the morning searching the city for a large spot of unoccupied tarmac (no easy task, believe me), so that the guy could unload the transporter. He was a little late in our rendezvous, having being woken in the middle of the night by the noise of his truck being rammed by another, practically ripping one of the cars off the back in the process. We got to examine the results the next day. The car had been chained down to the platform and as a result most of its underside had been ripped away where the chains were attached. The cars was, needless to say, a write off. Oh to be a fly on the wall when the customer received that one.\nLook at the back of a nickel Only in the past couple of days have we found time to actually start to explore this amazing city. So far it hasn’t disappointed. We took a walking tour of the Mall on Wednesday, with yours truly acting as a tour guide (ironic but true). Later, after taking receipt of our bicycles from Mr. UPS, we spent an afternoon cycling through Rock Creek Park and downtown.\nIn addition to the countless museums, memorials and attractions, Washington is blessed with many miles of trails - cycling seems to be a very popular pastime here. For example, it was possible for me to cycle the 10 miles from our apartment to downtown Alexandria without using a road once.\nThe plan is still for us to go on to Australia in about 3 months, assuming we don’t get too enamoured with this city first. The visa madness continues with no sign of abating, but hopefully they’ll come to their senses soon or later and realise that Lynn and I have something to offer the country!\n","date":"28 July 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/moving-to-dc/all-s-well-in-washington/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"All's well in Washington"},{"content":"In this chapter we\u0026rsquo;ll not be chronicling our next vacation, but our translocation to some other part of the world.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/moving-to-dc/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Moving to DC"},{"content":"21 Jul 2002 #After six weeks of moving madness, we’ve finally reached our final night in Oregon and tomorrow we depart for Washington, DC. At some points along the way it seems like everything was conspiring to thwart us - it would’ve been simpler and easier to stay put and rent in Oregon.\nThe other shipping container The moving company (who’ll remain nameless) turned out to have lost the useful attribute of competence since we last used them 5 years ago. Granted, our move was a little more complicated than most (a two part affair – first into storage, and then on to a destination and continent to be named later). Our contact seemed to believe it was much simpler to guess the answers to our questions, and then state them as fact, rather than go to the extra effort of finding out. This caused massive confusion and frustration all round, and by the time the moving guys turned up, we just looking to find that last straw. Still, the guys doing the heavy lifting redeemed themselves (and the company) nicely, and Lynn and I spent the day lounging out in the back yard, enjoying our last sunny Oregonian day, while they did all the hard work.\nOur last month in Oregon has been punctuated by numerous lists-of-things-to-do, that included seemingly innocuous, but incredibly time consuming tasks, such as ‘find apartment in DC’, ‘ship cat to DC’, ‘ship cars to DC’, etc. In hindsight, there is a great business opportunity for someone to start a “we’ll get you from A-to-B and handle all the details” company (although the name could use some work). It’s all very well signing up the moving company, but there are a thousand other things that need to be taken care of and all take a lot longer than you expect.\nTake for example shipping cars. Where I come from (England) this is a very simple affair – you simply drove them to the nearest large train station and put them on the back of a train. A few hours later, they’re at their destination. You can even take the same train yourself to get there. Granted, this country is a little larger, but I assumed that the process would be similar, if somewhat longer, over here. Simply drop them off at the nearest Amtrak station and pick them up at the other end two or three days later, right?\nBye, bye house Wrong. Amazingly, Amtrak don’t transport cars and the only way of getting them there is to drive them yourself or pay an auto-hauler the sum of $1,000 plus per car to drive them there on the back of a car transporter. Considering the dozens of auto-transport companies out there, all of whom are charging basically the same rate, this appears to be a massive missed opportunity for our friends in the choo-choo department. And you wonder why Amtrak is always on the verge of bankruptcy.\nWhile all this list-mania was going on, I was studying furiously towards my private pilots license. I wanted to wrap this up and get though the FAA check-ride before we moved - the Washington DC airspace isn’t the most student pilot friendly place in the country. With a week to spare I’m happy to report that I made it, and can now claim to be a fully fledged, if somewhat novice, private pilot. Once we get to DC I’m looking forward to flying a few circles around the white house (just kidding!).\nSo, here we are, our last night in Oregon. Even though our house is bare, we decided to ‘camp out’ here rather than spend it in a hotel. The cat’s freaked out (but just wait till tomorrow), there’s nothing to eat or sit on, but it’s still an adventure.\n","date":"21 July 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/moving-to-dc/the-last-night/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"The Last Night"},{"content":"We’d given some thought to other places in the states that we might like to live in, but due to our craving need for a hot climate and an acceptably cosmopolitan atmosphere, Florida was the only place we could up with as a potentially acceptable backup destination, should the plans for Australia fall foul of the immigration bureaucrats.\nHaving spent, between us, perhaps 3 or 4 weeks in the state to date, we figured that we should really go over and take a look to see if this was an acceptable second choice after all.\nMany of you are probably wondering at this point – why on earth would anyone want to move there? It’s sweltering hot \u0026amp; humid year round and full of swamps, bugs and the blue rinse brigade, right? Well, kinda. True, it is hot, but that’s the way we like it. Sure, some areas are predominantly populated with retired New Yorkers, but we hear that some other bits aren’t too bad. And the bugs and swamps – well, we’ll just have to see.\nAnd anyway, this is just plan B right? So, we don’t have to take it too seriously. Just a little vacation, disguised as a research trip.\nVisa Madness #Much of my time since we got back from Florida has been divided between learning to fly (with the help of an airplane and an instructor) and applying for an Australian work visa. I have to say the former is proving to be easier and a lot more fun.\nI think we decided to move to Australia a generation too late. Back when, anyone who wanted to move there would be welcomed with open arms. Hell, if you stayed for a year they’d even pay for you to get there. Niceties like visas, qualifications and job experience were unheard of. The only qualification you needed to get in was a desire to try it.\nSadly, things are a little different today. Independent immigration is a reasonably equitable points based system. The more points you get, the more chance you have of getting in. If you don’t have enough to reach the ‘pass mark’, don’t waste your time applying. You mainly get points for being young (over 45’s need not apply), an English speaker and having an occupation that’s in demand. Race, creed or color doesn’t enter into the equation (although it used to).\nThat’s the good news, and according to the check list, I have enough points to pass Go and pay $200. The bad news is that the Australian Department of Immigration (DIMA) appear to have learnt their trade from the American Immigration and Naturalisation Service (look up bureaucracy in the dictionary and it says “see United States INS Department”).\nHaving the points is one thing. Proving it is quite something else. Over half my points are based on my chosen occupation of “Information Technology Manager”. But, before I can even apply for the visa, I must plead my case to the Australian Computer Society so that they can officially certify that I am indeed a fine, upstanding and qualified IT Manager. The fact that I’ve been gainfully employed as such for many years isn’t enough for DIMA apparently.\nThe ACS application is an exercise in pure academic bloody mindedness. You would have thought the goal was to prove that I was qualified to work as an IT manager, but no. Rather they are looking to prove that my work experience is a suitable substitute for a degree in computer science, regardless of how a prospective employer might view this experience. To quote from the ACS forms: “In short, the qualities which make practitioners valuable to their clients and employers are not necessarily those which promote a wide knowledge of contemporary information technology for which [an application could be certified].”\nMind boggling. Still, the application (and substantial check) is on its way to the ACS, so, in a month or two we’ll see what they have to say.\n26 May 2002 #So much for planning. Today, after having our house on the market for just five days, we sold it. We were tempted to say no to the buyer (“it’s just too quick!”), but the offer was too good to refuse (they paid our asking price, gave us almost two months to vacate and they were cash buyers).\nStill, it’s enough to freak you out (and believe me, it did). Now our idealistic plans for a lazy, extended move have been thwarted and we need to work out where we’re moving to, and quick. Just knowing which continent would be a start.\n29 May 2002 #Suddenly our trip to Florida takes on a new sense of urgency. I’m writing this sitting on a United flight to Orlando. I’m heading out a couple of days early to see if I can watch a shuttle launch (yes, I’m one of those types) and Lynn will be following me out on Friday.\nWe plan to start in Tampa and Sarasota, on the west coast and see what its like (the consensus from friends and family is that this is a good place to start). From there we’ll head south along to the coast to Naples, and then head east, through the Everglades and across the state to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach (home of the greatest voting screw up in the history of America).\nTo round off the trip, we’ll fly up from Miami to Washington, DC and spend the weekend with my brother, who’s just moved out here from England.\n31 May 2002 #I’ve spent the last two night at the Celebration Hotel in the Town of Celebration, Florida. This is the ultimate planned community, an entire town designed and built from scratch by the Disney “Imagineering” department. If this sounds like staying in downtown Disneyland, it is. Not quite sure what possessed me when I booked it, but it’s too late now.\nStill, the effect comes off reasonably well. It’s certainly pretty and very clean, and not a single pair of Mickey-ears in sight. But two nights are more than enough.\nI ambitiously decide to go for a jog around some of the numerous lakes after I check in at 5 PM. Those who know me well will be near fainting with the shocking revelation of Nick exercising, but yes, it’s true. However, this is all still rather new to me and to date, I’ve only been running at home in Oregon, in a much more forgiving climate. As I quickly discover, running in 90 0F and 99% humidity is something else all together, and after a couple of miles I’m all too ready to jump into the lakes, rather than run round them. I decide that tomorrow I’ll run first thing in the morning when it’s cooler – should be a lot easier then, right?\nWrong.\nThursday morning, after standing in a cold shower for an eternity trying to stabilise my body temperature, I head east toward the Atlantic coast and the Kennedy Space Center to hopefully catch sight of the shuttle STS-111 climbing towards the stars. I figure (naively as it turns out) that since this is midweek and a school day, it won’t be too busy.\nHow wrong I am – it seems like half of Florida have also decided that this sounds like a fine plan and have joined me at the visitor center. There must be 10,000 visitors there if there are a dozen. I spend a few hours trying the to enjoy the center, but eventually get frustrated and annoyed by the countless hordes and the idiocy of most of the exhibits.\nThe KSC visitor center has consistently been one of the most popular attractions in Florida since the late sixties and now gets millions of folks passing through each year. We’re not just talking about folks burnt out on Disneyland and looking to fill their last day before going home – most of the people here appear to have a genuine interest in the space program and all that that entails. Why oh why then does the KSC feel that the average IQ of it’s visitor is 70 and their attention span no more than 60 seconds tops? There are some notable exceptions (the rocket garden and the meet-the-astronaut programs), but most of the exhibits are shallow, trivial or downright insulting. KSC apparently spent $120M recently on upgrades and improvements, but I’m hard pressed to spot the difference from 5 years ago.\nUp until recently, you used to be able to take a bus \u0026amp; walking tour to many of the restricted areas of the KSC, including the huge Vehicle Assembly Building, the shuttle launch pads and the new International Space Station control center. But, between the post 9/11 clamp down and the pre-launch restrictions, a visit to the Saturn V exhibition building was the only highlight of our tour (although the sight of a complete Saturn V launch assembly inside the building was admittedly quite impressive).\nStill, I’m not here to tour the facilities, I’m here to watch a few million pounds of highly flammable chemicals consumed in short order. A couple of hours before the launch I find myself hanging out at the only alfresco bar in the visitor center with several like minded soles. We’ve toyed with the idea of paying an extra $15 to get on a bus to a viewing site perhaps 3 miles closer to the action, but after seeing that perhaps 7,000 visitors are in the process of doing the same thing, we determine that right here is by far the best viewing spot.\nUnfortunately, it’s not to be. Twenty minutes before the designated time, the launch is scratched (there, I’ve picked up the lingo and everything) due to weather. At this point our decision to skip trip out to the viewing area turns out to be highly enlightened. While those poor saps are getting bused back to the visitor center, only to spend countless more hours stuck in traffic, I’m long gone and heading back to my hotel.\nWhat I didn\u0026#39;t get to see And what a drive back it turns out to be – right through the thunderstorm that the wise gentleman from NASA decided was rough enough to cancel the launch. It’s a doozy – black skies, waterfall style rain and almost continuous lightening strikes, some no more than 200 yards away from my car. It’s at this point that you really realize how flat Florida really is and you hope that the roadside power pylons don’t run out, because if they do, you are suddenly going to be highest point around!\nStill, I survived to tell the tale (obviously) and now, Friday morning, I’m heading west from Orlando toward Tampa to pick up Lynn and make a start on the real purpose of our trip – home hunting!\nBut wait! I have a few hours to kill before Lynn’s plane is due to land, so I detour to Sarasota (about 50 miles south of Tampa and currently top of our candidate list for potential future Elsey – Florida residences) and swing by the aviation school for an hour’s flying and sightseeing.\nI’m still learning the art of throwing an airplane around the sky (or more importantly, putting it back down on the ground afterward), so I bring one of the local instructors along for the ride. Dave gives me the option of heading northing into Tampa’s class-B airspace or south toward the class-E airspace of Naples. For the non-pilots among you, this is kinda of like offering a surgical student, on their first visit to the operating theatre, the choice between removing a mole and a particularly tricky heart-lung replacement operation. Needless to say, I went for the mole removal, and metaphorically speaking, had a great time doing it.\n1 Jun 2002 #Having picked up Lynn at the airport and checked into the Pier Hotel in Saint Petersburg (quaint is the best adjective I can use), we spend the day touring this town and north to Clearwater, Tarpon Lake and environs. While it’s not the worst place in the world that we could choose to live, it’s not ideal either. We have alternating flash images of California strip mall, run down ramshackle towns – ‘Deliverance’ style and expensive high rise beach front condos. Still, between the trailer trash and the developer madness, there are some spots that don’t look too bad.\nDowntown Saint Petersburg turns out to be quite inviting, including major pluses of a varied grocery store and great wine bar (these factors are second only to availability of air \u0026amp; water in importance when selecting a place to live).\nSo, not totally disheartened, but with high hopes of finding something better, we’ll be heading south tomorrow morning to rendezvous with a realtor who’s eager to show us the community highlights of Sarasota. We shall see…\n3 Jun 2002 #Sarasota was a bust. After spending Sunday morning touring houses with a friendly local realtor, we decide that this area might well be quaint, but there ain’t anything to do here. Sarasota is about 50 miles south of Tampa on the south side of Tampa bay, too far to commute into Tampa for work, not big enough to offer us gainful employment locally.\nThe city sprawls for many miles in all directions, and it seems like countless new 10,000 home sub divisions are springing up every year. God knows what all these people do down here – certainly not work. Unfortunately, even though the vegetation is very lush round here, the developers have a habit of bulldozing out all the greenery when they put in a new subdivision, so there’s nothing left but grass between the houses and so absolutely no privacy. It seems almost impossible to find a nice, newer house in an older more established neighbourhood.\nWe were supposed to spend the night here, but by early afternoon we abandon the city and head south for Venice (nothing much to report here) and on to Naples. This is smaller city that also seems to cater solely to the retired crowd, this time the ultra rich segment. We spend the night here, and have fun ogling the ridiculously expensive \u0026amp; kitsch stores. The center of old Naples revolves around a row of beach front houses known as millionaires row; and these houses were built in 1886. Need I say more.\nSo, by Monday morning we’re heading east, towards Fort Lauderdale, crossing what is ominously known as ‘Alligator Alley’. This turns out to be an arrow straight stretch of freeway through the everglades, which unlike the movies, consists primary of an awful lot of long grass as far as the eye can see. The occasional rest stop gives you the opportunity to pee, stock up on carbonated sugar drinks, check out the alligators in the adjacent swamp (I think they must survive on tourist handouts) and launch your boat.\nYes, I’m not kidding. Sixty miles from the ocean, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by countless miles of swamp, bugs, oppressive heat and peckish reptiles, there are boat ramps where you can launch your watercraft of choice and presumably go fishing (although what there is to catch I can’t imagine). It never ceases to amaze me the predilection of anglers to be able to go fishing in the most unlikely of places. We later pass a couple of guys in a small dingy, fishing in the middle of what can only be charitably described as a large puddle in the middle of a freeway intersection. Perhaps they were angling for hubcaps?\n5 Jun 2002 # It’s Wednesday, so this must be Ft. Lauderdale. I feel like we’re on some kind of nightmarish package bus tour where you get to see 7 cities in 6 days. To add to the disorientation, I wake up every morning thinking we’re back in Australia, since that’s the only other hot and sunny place we’ve been to in the past year. I think my body is trying to tell me that we need to move down under, rather than go east.\nStill, on with the quest. Learning from our Sarasota mistake of looking at houses when we had no idea about the lay of the land, we’ve been spending the past couple of days driving in ever increasing circles around downtown Ft, Lauderdale, trying to find a nice / affordable / private / convenient neighbourhood. By lunchtime today, we conclude that such a beast doesn’t exist, at least for what we’re prepared to pay. Sure, there are lovely established suburbs right near the city center, but for ½ million dollars you get a shack. On the flip side, you can have your McMansion, complete with some land, but it’s an hours drive from downtown and it literally backs onto the everglades (alligators in your swimming pool for free!). We conclude that while Ft. Lauderdale might have a lot more going for it (starting with actual employment opportunities), the cost of living is (of course) proportionally much higher.\nStill, it’s an interesting place to visit. This place should really be called Venice – inland waterways permeate for miles inland, and there must be tens of thousands of properties that back onto them (increasing their value in the process). The developers, knowing a sure thing when they see one, have built whole sub divisions where the streets alternate with canals, so that every house can have a 40’ yacht tied up at the end of the yard.\nAnd what yachts they are. Unbelievably large floating gin palaces tied up at the end of just about every other house. Even though the houses sell for millions, many of them have more money tied up in the boat than the property. Where on earth does all the money come from?\nWe’re beginning to realise that this city has a frightening high proportion of well to do wannabies. The boats are just one manifestation of the cultured snobbery of the area. Another is the names they give to some of the suburbs. Names like “The Enclave”, “Croissant Park”, “The Outback” and “Polo Club Estates” give you a clue. Most of these places are gated communities, which tells you something about the paranoia of the folks behind the walls.\nWe round out the afternoon heading north along the beach toward Boca Raton, if for no other reason that it’s reputation for intense pretention (we have to go see) and the names similarity to the fabled Seinfeld Sr. retirement community of Boca Vista. I’m happy to report that Boca Raton lived up to our expectations and indeed exceeded them. To date, it’s the only place I’ve been to that offers valet parking for the shopping mall!\nWe have a couple more days in Florida before we’re due to fly up to Washington to stay with my brother, but by this point we’re totally burnt out on house and home hunting, so tomorrow we’re heading south to the Florida Keys, to see if we can’t catch ourselves some tropical island relaxation instead.\nBack in Oregon #So, here we are, a week later back in Oregon, and with a whole new set of plans and ideas to tangle with. By the time we left Florida on Friday, we decided that the state really wasn’t for us. Although the weather gets high marks, everything else gets a failing grade. To sum it up, the state seems to be seriously lacking in character, charm, culture and a cosmopolitan feel (and probably many other adjectives starting with ‘C’).\nOn the up side, we fell in love with Washington, DC in a weekend.\nI had been there for just a week a few years back, and Lynn took it in on her high school highway history trip when she was fifteen. Needless to say we both had fond, if rather fuzzy memories of the place, but didn’t really expect them to be confirmed by current reality.\nWe stayed with my brother, who had recently moved over with work from the UK, in a lovely town house in the middle of Georgetown. Although the climate in DC is less than ideal perhaps 5 months of the year, for character and substance, DC is to Florida what the London Symphony is to Britney Spears. We basically liked it. If you’re prepared to commute a bit (well, actually quite a lot), the housing isn’t too expensive either.\nSince the Australia visa thing is taking longer than expected, and now having sold our house in less than a week, we find ourselves in need of a home for a two or three months. Rather than loiter in Oregon in some apartment, we’ve now decided to spend the time in DC instead. That way, if the Australia thing falls through, we’re right where we want to be. To this end, we’ve spent the last couple of days investigating all the exhausting complexities of shipping, storage, and all the complexities of moving from here to Washington, and then on to Australia.\nFor example, did you know that the United States is the only country in the world that measures transportation costs by weight, rather than by volume. Therefore, if we move all our worldly goods to DC, the heavy stuff makes it expensive (and believe me, it’s expensive). But, if we move to Australia, the bulky stuff adds to the costs. So, we’re now in the process of wandering through our home, trying to decide what’s bulky, heavy or has generally outlived its welcome.\n","date":"26 May 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/moving-to-dc/finding-florida/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Finding Florida"},{"content":"About a month has gone by since the last instalment and much has changed in our plans.\nRock Creek Park Those of you that have been following along will know that we are in the process of applying for an Australian immigration visa - no easy task believe me. Some progress has been made. I’ve finally managed to convince the Australian Computer Society that I’m an adequately capable software guy, and we have been allowed to proceed to second base (so to speak) and actually apply to the Australian Government for a visa, now that we can demonstrate potential for contribution, rather than freeloading.\nHowever, we’ve also leant that once the visa is issued, we are basically free to come and go for the next 5 years, as long as we show some degree of affinity to the country at the end of that time. This is a bit of a revelation to us, as we previously imagined that after the visa was issued, we’d only have a little time to use it or loose it.\nTo cut to the chase, we’ve decided to stay, at least for a few years. Since we’ve been here we’ve grown more and more enamored with this city it seems a shame to miss the opportunity to spend some time here. Granted, we’re only seeing the fun side until we get jobs and have to tackle a daily commute, but we’re confident that we can make a go of it.\nWhat’s so special about this place anyway? Well, let me give you some of the highlights…\nThe Metro System #…is one of the coolest systems around. They only started building it in 1969 but there’s now 83 stations on the network, and with a couple of exceptions, you can get to just about anywhere you need to be in DC and northern Virginia. It’s clean, fast, safe and comprehensible and you can even take your bike on it.\nI thoroughly recommend any visitor uses this system, rather than trying to drive around town, especially since the street layout here is particularly daunting for the average American driver.\nParks, Rails and Trails # Great Falls Park If you’re an outdoors type, this is definitely the place for you. There are hundreds of miles of trails and thousands of acres of parks, much of them in DC itself. In particular there are a number of rails to trails conversions here. I’d never heard of this before, but apparently this is a nationwide program to convert old, disused railway tracks into cycling, running and jogging trails. There are at least a 100 miles of these to be had in the immediate vicinity of DC, including the outstanding (and very popular) W\u0026amp;OD trail.\nRight in the middle of DC is Rock Creek Park, with over 1,700 acres of woodland to be explored. This place is so accommodating to the self-propelled crowd that they even block off the major thoroughfare to traffic at weekends so that it can be exclusively enjoyed the joggers, cyclists and inline skaters.\nBig attractions, little city # Party Animals Compared to any of the other major US cities, DC is just tiny. It covers just 68 square miles and holds about 600,000 residents. And yet, there is just so much to see and do here that it’s almost overwhelming at times. You can’t heave a brick without hitting a museum, historical site, theatre or fun place to eat. To do justice to the tourist sights alone would take many months.\nBut more than that, DC boasts a broad spectrum of cultures, people and places. Your average middle class white American is definitely in the minority here, overshadowed by not only African-Americans, but representatives of just about every other race and creed on the planet. For those of you living in say New York or Miami, this couldn’t be less interesting, but for someone who spent the last few years in Oregon (the Idaho of the Pacific Northwest), it’s a refreshing change. And along with these varied peoples comes a cultural mix that makes the city so much more vibrant and interesting. The choice of restaurants is much better for it also.\nWeather #Many people would say this is one of the low-lights of this part of the world, but we love it. Granted, we’ve only been here for a couple of months now, but in that time we’ve probably only had a handful of crappy-gray-rainy days. The rest have been hot humid and sunny (at least until the evening thunderstorm).\nA lot of people bitch about the heat \u0026amp; sweat (including most of the locals), but we love it. Granted, the winters will be a little cooler than Brisbane, Australia, but on average the climate here is vastly superior to Portland.\nStill, it’s not all a bed of roses. We’re both hard into the job hunting and it’s not proving to be quite the walk in the park that we’d hoped for. For me especially, my opportunities are somewhat reduced since, as a resident alien, I can’t get security clearance (eliminating perhaps 40% of the jobs) and I’ve specialised in telecommunications (those companies are firing, rather than hiring). We’ll probably find something soon, but if not, we may be moving to Australia after all!\n","date":"24 May 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/moving-to-dc/how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"How do I love thee?... Let me count the ways"},{"content":"24 Apr 2002 - Housing hysteria # No longer to be had for a song... Something has happened in Adelaide in the past 4 years. When we were first here, back in \u0026lsquo;98, we were shocked to see how cheap the housing was. For approximately $AU250,000 ($US130,000) you could get a large 4 bedroom house, with a few acres of land within easy commuting distance of the city.\nNo more. We spend a few increasingly frustrating days touring the city in ever increasing circles, being aghast at the prices being commanded for housing in the nice parts of the city \u0026amp; \u0026lsquo;burbs. It seems to be at least twice as expensive now.\nStill, on a global scale, this place is still a lot cheaper than many other cities (Sydney, San Francisco, New York, London, etc.), but it\u0026rsquo;s no longer the bargain-basement prices we had hoped for.\nHowever, if you\u0026rsquo;re willing to commute a bit, there are still some real steals to be had further out in the bush - and with lots of land included (it\u0026rsquo;s hard to find anything under 20 acres). The idea of owning some land, growing a few grapes perhaps, does have some appeal.\nNick on trading laws\u0026hellip; #In our last journal I did a side bar on Sunday trading laws over here. It gets even more ridiculous.\nWhile shopping at one of the large grocery stores we notice a banner - \u0026ldquo;Now open from midnight!\u0026rdquo;. Cool we say, but surely you mean \u0026lsquo;open until midnight\u0026rsquo;, right?\nWrong! The store opens at midnight 6 days a week, but closes at 5 PM for 4 of these days and 7 PM for the other two! God help anyone who works late here and wants to pick up a little dinner on the way home. Oh, and it\u0026rsquo;s still closed all day Sunday. Of course.\nWelcome dear strangers! #Sticker shock aside, we\u0026rsquo;re still very much enamoured with this town. The weather continues to be delightful, even though we\u0026rsquo;re now coming into autumn. Everyone here is wonderfully friendly and laid back. A case in point - after an hour or two spent exploring the botanical gardens we decide that we\u0026rsquo;ve earned a glass of wine, and toddle off to a little wine bar that Lynn has read about. We encounter one of the local art dealers / gossip columnist who appears to be a regular here. Within a few minutes we\u0026rsquo;re friends, he\u0026rsquo;s bought us a bottle of wine, the owner has come over to join us and we amicably spend the rest of the afternoon chatting.\nAfter living in the United States for a few years, it\u0026rsquo;s hard not to be cynical and suspicious of a complete stranger when they offer to buy you a bottle of wine just because they enjoy talking to you (what\u0026rsquo;s he after?), but here you quickly realise that for the most part, people are not out to get you or rip you off, they just want to get to know you a little better.\nFood and wine #Continuing the Adelaide sales pitch - if you\u0026rsquo;re foodie or enjoy the occasional tipple, this is definitely the place for you. We are constantly amazed at the quality of the restaurants out here. The prices are very reasonable and even the most casual looking place serves up great dishes.\nLicensed restaurants always have a great selection of wines by the bottle or glass, and more often than not at a reasonable markup (unlike the states where 300% is not uncommon). Not all restaurants have a license (it seems to be harder to get over here), but all allow you to \u0026lsquo;BYO\u0026rsquo; which is a great way to enjoy your favourite bottle with your meal.\nInterlude at Miner\u0026rsquo;s Cottage # Miner\u0026#39;s Cottage Feeling quite frazzled by all the running around, house hunting and general research we\u0026rsquo;ve been doing over the past week or two, we take a couple of days vacation from the vacation out at Miner\u0026rsquo;s Cottage. This is one of our favourite places to stay out in the Barossa Valley, north of Adelaide. We spend a relaxing couple of days doing nothing more than a spot of wine tasting and giving the BBQ a bit of a work out.\nOriginally, we had planned to fly back to Sydney and spend our last couple of days there before going home to the states, but we recently had a momentary panic that we haven\u0026rsquo;t done justice to this country before making Adelaide our home for the next few years. After all there are several cities that we haven\u0026rsquo;t even been to yet, and we are moving here in part for better (i.e. hotter) weather than we get in Oregon, so shouldn\u0026rsquo;t we be at least checking out some of these places?\nSo, we decide to \u0026lsquo;do Brisbane\u0026rsquo; in just 24 hours. Not necessarily to select it in favor of Adelaide, but possibly to eliminate it from the running. Brisbane is approximately ⅓ of the way up the east coast of Australia and it\u0026rsquo;s allegedly hot, tropical, has 243 days of sunshine a year and is full of surfers. And that\u0026rsquo;s all we know about it, apart from the pictures, which look inviting (of course). So, we\u0026rsquo;ll go take a look\u0026hellip;\n","date":"24 April 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2002-trip-2/adelaide-again/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Adelaide Again"},{"content":"We\u0026rsquo;re halfway through a year long sabbatical from the rat race. No sooner than we touched down in Portland at the end of our last trip did we ask ourselves - \u0026ldquo;What were we thinking?\u0026rdquo;. It\u0026rsquo;s cold and wet back home in Oregon - we should have stayed in Australia.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/australia-2002-trip-2/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Australia 2002 Trip 2"},{"content":"20 Apr 2002 - Balmy Brisbane # Brisbane by day... Another pleasant and uneventful Virgin Blue flight and here we are in Brisbane, in the far south east corner, and capital of, Queensland, Australia\u0026rsquo;s sunshine state. This state is the home of the Great Barrier Reef, tropical rain forests, surfer dudes, gold mines and the Steve Irwin (the Crocodile Hunter).\nAnd a future home for Nick \u0026amp; Lynn, perhaps?\nWhat can I say about this place? Well, for starters it\u0026rsquo;s warm. Even though we\u0026rsquo;re two months shy of the coldest part of the year, it still feels very warm and tropical - day and night. Downtown is very compact, even more so that Adelaide, occupying a small curve in the river. It\u0026rsquo;s quite picturesque though, with a number of older stone Victorian style buildings, and a few newer look-alikes.\nWe spend the rest of the day furiously scoping out out the nicer suburbs for housing opportunities and quickly discover that close in to the city, housing is much cheaper here than Adelaide, much to our surprise. Fifteen minutes drive from downtown the city abruptly transitions into \u0026lsquo;bush\u0026rsquo; and there are large (2 to 10 acre) plots of land to be had for very reasonable prices. After the stick shock we received in Adelaide, this is encouraging.\nHaving never been to Brisbane before, and knowing little about it other than it\u0026rsquo;s juxtaposition to the Gold Coast (surfer paradise), I for one assumed that this city was going to be full of laidback surfer dudes, cheap bars and the grunge crowd. Not so. It turns out to be a very pleasant city with a beautiful riverfront, lots of gardens and greenery and some great places to eat out.\nWe leave this place more confused and conflicted than when we arrived. We had hoped to eliminate this town as a possible place to live and confirm our wisdom in picking Adelaide, but it wasn\u0026rsquo;t to be. Brisbane is much warmer, has cheaper housing, better job opportunities and is right night to some of the best diving in the world!\nSalacious Sydney # Interesting outdoor dining here We spend our last 24 hours back in Sydney, and decide to splurge a bit and stay at the Inter-Continental near the waterfront. Our patronage is rewarded with a double upgrade to a very nice room with gorgeous views and wonderfully obsequious service. It\u0026rsquo;s a a beautiful in the city and we have a great time strolling through the botanical gardens, taking a lazy meal out at the local wine bar and generally making the most of the hotel facilities (including the club lounge with free bar!). It\u0026rsquo;s been a wonderful 3 weeks down here and we know we\u0026rsquo;ll be back for more. We just need to work out where exactly..\nBye, bye Sydney ","date":"20 April 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2002-trip-2/brisbane-sydney-and-beyond/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Brisbane, Sydney and Beyond"},{"content":"16 Apr 2002 - Virgin on the ridiculous # Richard spotted With a little help from a friendly guy at the checkout desk, we uncover a well hidden, but extremely expeditious expressway out to the airport and are there with lots of time to kill. This turns out to be a good thing as the lines are out of the door. We\u0026rsquo;re flying for the first time on Virgin Blue, which is a bit of a bargain basement airline, so we\u0026rsquo;re somewhat resigned to a long wait. However, the counter staff are extremely efficient (they could show their US counterparts a thing or two) and we\u0026rsquo;re done in no time.\nLynn takes off on her flight for Adelaide, but I have a couple of hours to kill before my flight leaves. The terminal is a bit of a pit and there\u0026rsquo;s not much to do, but my wait is made more fun by a spotting of Sir Richard Branson himself no less (chief executive of the Virgin group, that includes Virgin Blue). I figure no one will know who he is over here (he lives in the UK) but he\u0026rsquo;s mobbed and takes half an hour to cross the terminal, being stopped constantly for photos and autographs.\nOut back of beyond # Spoil Sport After hanging out at the local marina bar for a bit in Townsville, we all pile on board the good ship Spoil Sport, our home for the next week. This is a magnificent dive boat - huge and very well equipped, run by Mike Ball Dive Expeditions. The boat was custom built for the company and it shows - everything has been thought of. Those of you that\u0026rsquo;ve been following along will know that I went out with Mike Ball four years ago on the Super Sport, but this ship is definitely a notch above that boat.\nAnyway, enough of the gushing already - you had to be there to appreciate it. We cruise through the night out to the Yongala Wreck, which is quite interesting if you\u0026rsquo;ve never tried this before. It\u0026rsquo;s not too rough, but it\u0026rsquo;s still a bit like being on a roller coaster while lying in bed. Definitely Dramamine time.\nOur first days of diving is on the Yongala Wreck. This is an old passenger steamship that went down in 1911, taking 121 people to the bottom. The site is miles from the nearest reef and so there\u0026rsquo;s nothing but sand all around. Therefore, all the wildlife is concentrated on the 300\u0026rsquo; long wreck, and in incredible density. Words fail me to describe the variety and volume of creatures to be seen. For those of you who grew up watching Jacques Cousteau documentaries, cast your mind back to some of the very best footage and you\u0026rsquo;ll have some idea what we\u0026rsquo;re talking about here. On a single dive here you\u0026rsquo;ll see more stuff than on 50 dives elsewhere.\nThis week long trip is classes as an \u0026rsquo;exploratory trip\u0026rsquo;, and for the next few days we do just that. Some intense overnight sailing brings us to Abington Reef, and later to the Diamond Islands, putting us 200 miles off shore. These dive sites are so far off the beaten track they haven\u0026rsquo;t seen a diver for at least 5 years. It\u0026rsquo;s quite a thrill and privilege to jump in the water and to know that no one has seen what you\u0026rsquo;re about to see. 📷The Diamond Islands are particularly spectacular - small sand cays surrounded by huge fringes of coral reef. Very Robinson Crusoe like. East Diamond is home to a lighthouse and uncountable thousands of birds - frigate birds, boobies, terns and many more, so many that the sky almost turns dark with them. We take an outboard over to the island one afternoon and have a bit of a walk around. The noise is astounding and the smell something else. This is a nesting site for these creatures and space is at a premium - the ground is thick with nests, right down to the edge of the beach. These birds have probably never seen a human before and are more curious that shy, so its easy to get very close to them.\nThe diving out here is wonderful. Not quite the density of wildlife that we saw on the Yongala Wreck but still lots of stuff to see including turtles, rays, huge wrasse, sharks and much more. The reef is riddled with caves or \u0026lsquo;swim through\u0026rsquo;, which make for some interesting times, especially when the cave narrows and becomes more of a squeeze through.\nYou tend to assume that everything there is to be known about the Great Barrier Reef has already been discovered, documented, put in a nice glossy textbook and is now for sale at Amazon.com. No so - there are probably thousands and thousands of fish species alone yet to be discovered, let alone described. For example, on one of our dives out here, my dive buddy Murray discovered what appeared to be a new species of anemone fish.\nThe Great Barrier Reef #Five days into the trip and we\u0026rsquo;ve all settled into a very comfortable routine that largely consists of eating, diving, drinking and sleeping. We\u0026rsquo;re averaging four dives a day, and although they\u0026rsquo;re none too strenuous, we\u0026rsquo;re all ravenously hungry all the time - when the bell rings for a meal, it\u0026rsquo;s a stampede for the galley.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ve been blessed on this trip with fantastic weather, calm seas and very special diving. We hop around the Great Barrier Reef, taking in sites such as Anemone City, Trigger Happy (named for the photo opportunities), Cod Wall and Scuba Zoo.\nThe latter is the \u0026ldquo;dive with the sharks\u0026rdquo; site. We\u0026rsquo;ve seen numerous reef sharks along the way, but this is where they ring the dinner bell, summon them in great quantities and actually feed them. It\u0026rsquo;s quite an experience, especially the point where they release 50 pounds of dead fish into the water and the sharks go into a feeding frenzy. It takes them no more than a minute to devour the lot.\nBack on dry land #Before we know it, the trip is over and we\u0026rsquo;re back on dry land (although it feels like it\u0026rsquo;s still rocking and rolling). We say fond farewells to our new found friends and go our separate ways. After spending a night in Townsville I\u0026rsquo;m heading for Adelaide tomorrow to rendezvous with Lynn, which takes us on to the next chapter in this journal.\n","date":"16 April 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2002-trip-2/look-out-below/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Look out below!"},{"content":"9 Apr 2002 - Qantas or bust #For a little bit of exotic excitement, Lynn and I start off this vacation approximately 2,000 miles apart. No really - Lynn decided to use our flight from Portland to Los Angeles as an excuse to go a day early and detour via San Diego to visit her parents. I stay home and pack instead.\nThe plan is to rendezvous at the Daily Grill bar in the LAX international terminal around 8 or 9 PM, with explicit instructions that if one of us is a no show, the other is to continue to Sydney and we\u0026rsquo;ll catch up there (which seemed like a good idea at the time, but in hindsight was a bit unrealistic). Amazingly we both saunter into the terminal at exactly the same time and breeze through a very short check-in line at the Qantas counter.\nNow here\u0026rsquo;s a stupid thing - even though the departure board shows at least a couple of dozen international flights leaving after 9 PM and the airport is fairly well crowded with travelers, all the eateries close up shop at 9 PM sharp (except McDonalds, but that doesn\u0026rsquo;t count). For someone who hasn\u0026rsquo;t eaten since noon, this comes as a bit of a blow. Sounds like someone is missing a bit of a business opportunity here. On the upside, the bar was still open and I\u0026rsquo;m told there are lots of carbohydrates in a beer.\nWe depart at midnight for a 14 hour haul to Sydney, usually a fairly arduous ordeal for us plebeians back in econo-class, but this one was a breeze. The plane was so empty that everyone had a row of 3 or 4 seats all to themselves. Whooppeee! After a couple of glasses of wine I manage to get at least 9 hours of fairly uninterrupted sleep, which is practically nirvana for air travel. One could rave about Aeroflot when you have this many seats to yourself.\nHello Sydney # What a way to come to work We land at 7 AM local time, swan through customs and manage to escape the quarantine inspectors with minor aggravation (Lynn was accused of concealing undisclosed food products, namely one tube of extra strong mints). We pick up our rental car (after Lynn helpfully points out that the next counter down is renting out at ½ the rate we\u0026rsquo;re paying) and head into town.\nTonight we plan on driving directly out to the Blue Mountains and spending a couple of nights there, but it\u0026rsquo;s still only 8 AM so we figure it\u0026rsquo;s a little to early to check in at the cottage. Plan B - time for a Starbucks (there are at least eight in Sydney). Caffeine buzz accomplished, we wander around The Rocks and soak in the sunshine \u0026amp; warmth like a pair of iguanas. It\u0026rsquo;s a beautiful sunny, cloudless morning in Sydney and we happily sit back on a park bench and watch the commuters arrive on the ferries (I still think this is an extremely cool way to get to work).\nThe Blue Mountains # Weeroona Cottage Lynn calls the cottage that we\u0026rsquo;ve booked for the first couple of nights and we\u0026rsquo;re told that it\u0026rsquo;s unoccupied, so we can come on up when ever we want. We hit the road - by this point I\u0026rsquo;m really craving a nice hot shower.\nOur place to stay is Weeroona Cottage in the town of Wentworth Falls. It\u0026rsquo;s marvelous (the Lynn Elsey accommodation expertise strikes again). In addition to a charming, well illuminated little cottage you get 3 acres of gardens into the bargain. For those of you that like to travel in packs of 8 or more, the larger Weeroona House can also be had for just $250 / night (weekdays), which comes with 4 bedrooms and 2 baths and it\u0026rsquo;s beautiful into the bargain. Anyway, enough of the advertising already.\nLynn and I have a spot of lunch at the Conservation Hut out near Wentworth Falls, launching point for my favourite walk last time we were here (the food is excellent too). Later in the afternoon Lynn blows away the cobwebs by taking a quick jog back out here, and I make my usual contribution to the fitness regime by driving out to pick her up. It\u0026rsquo;s at this point I\u0026rsquo;m horrified to discover that one of the best tracks in the Blue Mountains has just been closed for the next 6 to 12 months, apparently because it\u0026rsquo;s unsafe. Blast - there go my hiking plans for tomorrow! Lynn writes\u0026hellip;\u0026lsquo;Blue Mountains Redux\u0026rsquo; #As soon as we hit the mountains, Nick morphs into Fitness Guy. Those who know never walk if you can drive Nick, would be shocked at the transformation.\nConsider this: Very bright, and very, very early on our first morning in the mountains (I’d say the birds were still chirping, but they are always making some sort of clever noise over here) Nick anxiously quizzes me about when we are departing on our Wentworth Falls bushwalk (that’s hike, in Aussie-speak). I say something like, “well, in an hour or two, after I’ve had a chance to wake up, have a cup of coffee.”\nNick starts pacing the beautifully polished hardwood floors in our charming cottage. He walks outside, strolls around the garden and returns with a forecast.\n“It’s gorgeous.”\nI nod. And return to my toast.\n“We should probably go before it get too hot, don’t you think?”\nI nod again.\n“What time, then?”\nI manage to buy an hour of time.\nThen we’re off. It is a fine walk. My favorite part is the corn-on-the-cob trees (see photo), closely followed by squishing through muddy streams in my newest pair of running shoes. Nick’s is probably scrambling over rocks and managing to avoid the muddy streams.\nScarily\u0026mdash;even though we are now in the heart of Sydney\u0026mdash;the gung-ho exercise campaign still rages on. This morning Nick headed a walking tour of Darling Harbour, with a short break allowed at Starbucks. He led the way on a lovely rainforest-y stroll north of Mosman Bay this afternoon. There have even been reports that someone looking just like Nick was seen running in nearby Hyde Park.\nIt must be the Shiraz.\nSo here we are, back in the Blue Mountains again. The jetlag caught us early last night, but miraculously we were able to get a full night\u0026rsquo;s sleep and woke this morning feeling remarkably good, all things considered. The folks that confidently state that you need a day to recovery from every crossed time zone need to get out a little more often. We\u0026rsquo;re blessed with a beautiful sunny morning and decide to go for a bit of a hike. Our route is forcibly curtailed by the National Pass closure, but it\u0026rsquo;s enjoyable nonetheless, including a section allegedly trail-blazed by none other than Charles Darwin.\nBack to Sydney # Our room with a view After a picturesque picnic out at Sublime Point we drive back down into the big city to take up residence for a few days before we part company and head for points afar. It\u0026rsquo;s a beautiful day and also a Saturday, so it seems like every other Sydneysider has decided to head for the hills - our hills. The traffic is a bitch. After two hours and some tense navigational exchanges, we make it to our destination (the Medina Grand Apartments), including a detour via one of favourite wine stores (First Estate) to stock up on some essential supplies. Even though we check in after the appointment time, we\u0026rsquo;re told that our room has yet to be cleaned, but \u0026ldquo;it\u0026rsquo;s OK, because I\u0026rsquo;ve paged housekeeping\u0026rdquo;. We give the lady behind the desk a couple of icy stares and that, combined with the terse conversation she has with Ms. Housekeeping, gets us an upgrade to a spectacular room. A room with a view, no less.\nOn our first evening back in Sydney we decide to make a pilgrimage back out to Rose Bay Afloat, one of our favorite restaurants the last time we were here. However, I\u0026rsquo;m sorry to report that in single months since we were here, the place has changed hands and gone decidedly down hill. Now it\u0026rsquo;s chips (fries) with every entree and a pitiful wine list to accompany them. We bale out and spend a the rest of the evening unsuccessfully chasing down a decent meal. Change isn\u0026rsquo;t always good!\nThe sun takes a vacation on our second day here and we take the opportunity of some cooler weather to do a bit of a walk about. We start by taking a walking tour of Darling Harbour, which is as silly as it sounds. For anyone who\u0026rsquo;s been to a Disney resort, this will bring on a flash of deja vous - lots of themed restaurants, shiny clean boardwalks and lots of attractions for the camera toting tourists.\nLater in the afternoon we drive north of the city for some more rustic entertainment and take a stroll around Manly Harbour (all sorts of clever word plays spring to mind at this point, but none that can encompass Lynn\u0026rsquo;s presence, so we\u0026rsquo;ll skip it). As with a lot of the areas around Sydney, much of the prime real estate is given over to public parks and beaches, including the wonderful Manly Scenic Walk, which (time permitting) will take you all the way round the harbour to Manly Beach (but you\u0026rsquo;d need several hours to do it). If you were adventurous you could take a ferry to Mossman, walk to Manly Beach and take the ferry home from there.\nMind the gap Driving back into the City over the famous Harbour Bridge, I come to the shocking realisation that the beautiful stone towers at either end of the bridge serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever. Why? Because there\u0026rsquo;s a bloody great big gap between the steel arch and the towers themselves. A bit of background research reveals the truth that the stone towers were included for atheistic purposes only. Given when this bridge was built and the effort required to do it, that\u0026rsquo;s quite impressive. Or really stupid - I\u0026rsquo;m not sure which.\nFor our last full day in Sydney, I decide to continue the Manly / Walk-about / Workout theme and take a stroll around the harbour. However, the harbour is a bit on the huge side and walking around it would probably take many days, so instead I\u0026rsquo;ll tackle a little chunk of it.\nSo, while Lynn goes into the city for a meeting, I take a ferry from the Circular Quay in the city, out to Watson Bay, which is the most eastern point before you run out of Australia and end up in the ocean. From there I plan to walk back along the waterfront to Double Bay (where we\u0026rsquo;re staying tonight). On the map this doesn\u0026rsquo;t look too bad, perhaps a 5 mile walk, but there\u0026rsquo;s lots of bays, coves and other fiddly bits that I suspect will make it a little further.\nI was right\nStill, it is a beautiful walk. For some bits you\u0026rsquo;re walking the back streets, but much of the walk follows the Foreshore Walk, which is literally at the water\u0026rsquo;s edge. The trail is very narrow with lots of ups and downs, twists and turns. Every time you swear you\u0026rsquo;ve taken a wrong turn and are about to end up in some multi-million dollar back yard, the trail swoops off in new direction and you find yourself on the edge of an idyllic little beach, or on a cliff with a magnificent view of the harbour and city. As a bonus, this is a great opportunity to a get a look in on the backside (so to speak) of some of the most expensive real estate in Australia.\nTomorrow Lynn and I head for the airport and then part company for a week. Lynn will be heading towards Adelaide to begin some research into the possibilities of making it a home, while I head north to Townsville where my ship awaits to take me for a weeks diving on the Great Barrier Reef.\n","date":"9 April 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2002-trip-2/sydney-and-getting-there/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Sydney, and getting there"},{"content":"Four years after our original sojourn to the land down under, Lynn and I have decided to do it all again. This trip will be a little more expeditious than the last, but no less fun for that.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/australia-2002-trip-1/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Australia 2002 - Trip 1"},{"content":"24 Feb 2002 - Back to Sydney #We drive back down from the mountains and head back into Sydney, admiring the view for the last time along the way. Once we get there our first stop is a bit of lunch in the district of Balmain, just west of the city centre and overlooking Darling Harbour.\nThe area is quaint in parts, although other bits cry out for a bit of TLC and restoration. It\u0026rsquo;s amazing to us that in an area with such outrageously high housing prices you can find so many run down and decrepit buildings. Who owns these places and don\u0026rsquo;t they know they\u0026rsquo;re sitting on a goldmine?\nAfter lunch (at a place called Mango - very tasty), we have a bit of a wander down the main street and check out the prices of houses in the realtor (real estate) windows. Wow! We\u0026rsquo;re talking London or San Francisco prices here. They have tiny 2 or 3 bedroom terrace houses with no parking and a perhaps 100 sq feet of yard going for $800,000 (US$400,000 or UK£258,000). Ouch! Don\u0026rsquo;t forget the average salary round these parts is about AUS$75,000. How does anyone afford to buy a place here? Apparently, it\u0026rsquo;s got a lot worse in the past year, where prices have escalated dramatically and now there\u0026rsquo;s a shortage of houses for sale, driving prices up even further. Bottom line - if you were planning on investing in Sydney real estate, you\u0026rsquo;ve missed the boat. You should have been down here 10 years ago mate!\nWe drive into the city and check into our apartment (Medina Classic Apartments, right in the middle of the city) and swing by Starbucks for a caffeine hit (it\u0026rsquo;s been sooo long!). We then hop back into the car and take a scenic drive out east through Double Bay, Rose Bay and Watson Bay.\nAs the names suggest, these area are a series of very picturesque suburbs sitting on bays overlooking the Sydney harbour. We\u0026rsquo;re talking prime real estate here. Some of the houses on the hill overlook the harbour, a bay full of beautiful yachts and the Sydney city skyline. Basically a view to die for - and in many cases this is probably what it took - it must have taken a lot of inheritance money to pay for some of these pads!\nAt Rose Bay we stop off at the Bluefin restaurant in the Rose Bay Afloat floating thingy (see photo) and enjoy the view so much that we make a reservation for dinner. We have a great time sitting here, watching the sea planes come and go and also the locals making a pigs ear of things on the boat ramp.\nHome to the Bluefin Restaurant On to Watson Bay and we hop out again for a stroll round one of the numerous public parks that dot the bays. Today is Sunday, and a sunny one at that. Since the Sidney-siders (as the locals are known) have basically been deluged with rain for the past few weeks, everyone is out today making the most of the weather and having a bit of a picnic or BBQ (the art of BBQ is almost a region over here).\nIf you\u0026rsquo;re a visitor to Sydney, you\u0026rsquo;d be well advised to avoid the tourist spots over the sunny weekends as they got totally mobbed (on week days they\u0026rsquo;re almost deserted by comparison).\nBack to the apartment. We drop the car off at a local parking garage (we\u0026rsquo;ve managed to wangle a deal on the room where parking is included, which turns out to be a bit of a coup since it costs $60 a day to park here). After wash and brush up in the room, we had back to the parking lot to pick up the car so that we can head back out to Bluefin for dinner. It\u0026rsquo;s at this point that we discover that the parking lot is shut up tight for the night and the swipe card to get us in there after hours is safely tucked away in the car. Blast! Luckily, while I search aimlessly and fruitlessly for another way in, Lynn collars someone else with a swipe card and retrieves the car.\nI\u0026rsquo;m happy to report that the effort to get out to Bluefin was well rewarded. The seafood there was absolutely delicious - this is a must for any Sydney visitor! The meal is made all the more entertaining by the slight rocking of the boat in the bay (or was it just that last glass of wine I had?).\n25 Feb 2002 - Sydney day 2 # What a spot for a picnic! We spend most of the day shopping for essential supplies and stuff that we\u0026rsquo;ll be taking back home to the states. Lunch is a picnic on the rocks out near Rose Bay, overlooking the Sydney skyline and the harbour. It\u0026rsquo;s a cloudy day, but at this point we\u0026rsquo;re grateful as we\u0026rsquo;d have been fried to a crisp in full sunlight. All in all, a very salubrious spot for a picnic.\nAfter lunch we finally track down a reasonably priced bottle of Grant Burge Meshach. This is stunning stuff - we discovered it while we were out in the Barossa Valley and had to get a bottle before we went home. Frankly, this stuff is way better (and a lot cheaper) that Penfolds Grange, the flagship Aussie wine.\nTonight we rendezvous with Eric, Lynn\u0026rsquo;s friend from Portland, and hang out at the Wine Banc eating and spending outrageous sums on the well marked up wine list.\n26 Feb 2002 - Sydney day 3 # Bye bye Sydney A fairly uneventful last full day in Sydney. Unable to miss the opportunity, we head back out to Bluefin for lunch and again we are not disappointed. We\u0026rsquo;re even recognised and welcomed back like regulars, which was nice.\nThis evening, after a bit of take away from the local Chinese restaurant, we head out to meet a friend of Lynn\u0026rsquo;s and her husband. We spend a delightful evening sitting outside, overlooking the harbour bridge, the opera house and the general comings and goings of Sydney\u0026rsquo;s humanity. A very nice way to round off the vacation.\n27 Feb 2002 - Flying home #And so the time has come to say a fond farewell to Sydney and the land of Oz. This has been a great trip and Lynn and I are determined to get ourselves back down here again later this year. I\u0026rsquo;m typing this last chapter from the innards of a 747, so if you\u0026rsquo;re reading this we\u0026rsquo;ll have to assume that we made it back safely.\n","date":"24 February 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2002-trip-1/sydney-and-home/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Sydney and Home"},{"content":"19 Feb 2002 - Flying to Sydney # Hey, it\u0026#39;s a jungle out there! This morning we wave a fond farewell to Adelaide (sob sob), and jump on plane Sydney, enroute for the Blue Mountains (hooray!). After spending a week here in Adelaide and the Barossa Valley we are again enamoured with the place. Our initial misgivings when we arrived can, on reflection, can be attributed to the crummy weather and dodgy accommodation we had waiting for us. It\u0026rsquo;s amazing what a week of hot sunny days will do to change your disposition!\nNick on\u0026hellip;Airport Security #It\u0026rsquo;s quite a shock to take an internal flight in Australia after traveling in the US. The security measures over here are nowhere near as extreme (i.e. mindlessly overblown) as in the states. For example -\nAt Adelaide, you leave your rental car right in front of the airport (literally). There is no one there to greet you, you simply drop the keys off inside. We were only asked for ID once at the check-in desk, and then only one of us had to produce it. The security checkpoint was a breeze - no lines, no need to unpack every electronic item, take off your shoes, get a strip search, etc. You breeze through in 20 seconds. Sydney airport still has luggage lockers! The only concession to security is that someone now has to come check your bags before you leave them in the locker. Lynn and I are already on the hypothetical \u0026ldquo;we\u0026rsquo;d love to live here for a while\u0026rdquo; conversation (we do this just about every time we go somewhere we like) and of course the dilemma is where to live - Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide? Sydney is of course the most practical if you want to get a job (most of the software and publishing businesses are centred there), but housing prices are atrocious! Melbourne is a fun, beautiful town with lots of good restaurants, but most Australians agree that the weather sucks. However, Lynn and I agree that if we didn\u0026rsquo;t have to work, Adelaide would be the place to be - the weather is great, the city is just the right size, the surrounding countryside is beautiful and the housing is dirt cheap. Still, it\u0026rsquo;s tough to get a job there.\nA scribbly gum Anyway, I digress. After a very painless flight to Sydney (see sidebar), I wander off to pick up the rental car while Lynn gets the luggage. About 45 minutes later we finally manage to reconnect and head out of the airport. I made the mistake of doing an online booking and then compounded it by change the pickup date online also. Of course, the rental counter had no record of my booking (but it took many minutes of fumbling and keyboard tapping to work this out). Luckily I had the reservation printout so they had to give me a car, even though they were turning away other walk-up customers.\nWe leave Sydney in our shiny clean rental car (that won\u0026rsquo;t last long) and head towards the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are an hour\u0026rsquo;s drive west of Sydney and are really more like large hills than true mountains, but are stunningly beautiful nonetheless. The mountain range is one huge national park, and the highway goes across the main ridge, connecting all the towns along the way. On either side of it there are numerous dramatic cliffs and views out over the valleys, filled with rainforest and no human habitation at all. Wonderful!\nAs you may know, we arrived in Australia just a couple of weeks after they finally extinguished some of the most extensive forest fires in recent memory. Before we left the states we had seen amazing footage of thousands of acres of the Blue Mountains going up in smoke and flame. Therefore, we were a little apprehensive about this bit of the trip, expecting to see nothing but a lot of charcoal. We couldn\u0026rsquo;t have been more wrong - if you didn\u0026rsquo;t know what to look for, you would never have know that the fires had come through here at all. It turns out that the fires were actually a plus for us, in that many tourists have stayed away from the area, expecting (as we did) the worst.\nOur first stop is the tourist information centre near Greenbrook. We had already booked ourselves in by email at Scribbly Gum Cottage in Leura for the first three nights and this was going to just be a quick stop for directions. 30 minutes later and for reasons too tedious to relate here, we leave with a 2 night booking at Acorn Cottage instead. Turns out this was a big mistake as the cottage was a bitty damp and generally crummy. We decide to stay the night and get the hell out of there tomorrow morning. The evening wasn\u0026rsquo;t a complete loss however - left overs from Ying Chow for dinner! Yummy!\n20 Feb 2002 - Blue Mountains day 1 #Lynn, being the wonderful accommodation whizz that she is, has managed to score us a great place to stay for the next few nights. She called up to inquire about a place with wonderful views over the valley, but it was booked up. However, the lady tells Lynn that she has another wonderful cottage in town, called Scribbly Gum Cottage no less! We were obviously fated to stay here, so we take her up on the offer and are not disappointed - it\u0026rsquo;s a lovely place, lots of space and well appointed. By the time we leave we will be favourably comparing this place to Miners Cottage in the Barossa (our very favourite place to stay).\nLynn\u0026#39;s latest bag in the cottage hunt - Scribbly Gum Cottage While Lynn spends the morning settling in and exploring the town of Leura, I spend it doing a fantastic hike around the Wentworth Falls. I did this walk 4 years ago when we were here last and came away totally enamoured with the views and the experience. This time it was even better, so much so that I was inspired to write up a little illustrated guide to the best way of attacking this trail.\nLynn joins me for lunch at the Conservation Hut at the end of the hike, but by this point I\u0026rsquo;m so buzzed by the experience that I decline the ride back to Leura and hike back instead. This turns out to be quite the work out - there are a lot of steps along the way!\nI meet Lynn back at our newfound abode and sit back with a beer in the back garden (complete with a scribby gum tree of course). Later I drop Lynn off at Echo point (where you have a great view of the Three Sisters and hoards of Japanese tourists) so that she can jog back to the cottage.\nNick on\u0026hellip;Cottage vs. Hotel? #I\u0026rsquo;m hardly the expert on this, but if you\u0026rsquo;re visiting the Australian countryside, you need to decide\u0026hellip;hotel or cottage? Over here, the word \u0026lsquo;hotel\u0026rsquo; can cover a multitude of sins, ranging from what is essentially the local pub with some rooms upstairs, to beautiful places(with prices to match). For us, it\u0026rsquo;s really a no-brainer. Cottages are the way to go. For about AUS$125 a night, you can get a beautiful two or three bedroom cottage, with full kitchen, garden and often laundry facilities. The only thing lacking is room service!\nCompare this to a night at the Echoes Hotel near Leura which ranges from about AUS$300 to AUS$400 a night for two). Admittedly this is on the higher end of the quality scale, but value for money, a cottage has to be the way to go.\nFinally - if you\u0026rsquo;re staying in one of the major cities, consider staying in a managed apartment, rather than hotel. Granted, the hotel luxuries like porters and room service are missing, but for the same price or less, a managed apartment gives you one or two bedrooms, a full kitchen, laundry, parking and lots of space to spread out!\n21 Feb 2002 - Blue Mountains day 2 #We spend a fairly lazy day exploring some of the local scenic highlights, and some of the local bakeries too. We drive back out to Echo Point so that Lynn can scope out a couple of hotels for an article. Although the prices are a little steep, the Echoes Hotel comes out a winner. It\u0026rsquo;s a boutique hotel (i.e. small - only about a dozen rooms), but it\u0026rsquo;s perched on the cliff top and every room comes with a view to die for. If you\u0026rsquo;re looking for romantic place to sit back, drink bubbly and admire the view, this has to be a winner!\nGovett\u0026#39;s Leap Falls Since we\u0026rsquo;re in the area, we decide to park and wander out to the top of the Three Sisters lookout, to scope out the start of the hike we\u0026rsquo;re planning for tomorrow. Echo point is one few places we\u0026rsquo;ve come across that actually charges to park - and what a charge it is - $2.20 and hour! Hell, we only plan on being gone for 20 minutes, so we\u0026rsquo;ll tout the law and skip buying the ticket.\nEven though it\u0026rsquo;s one of the most popular viewpoints in the Blue Mountains, it has to be said that this spot is well worth a visit. Echo Point looks out over the valley and across to the Three Sisters. From here it\u0026rsquo;s an easy 10 minute walk to the lookout at the top of the Three Sisters itself.\nAfter drinking in the view, we return to the car to find a parking fine waiting for us. Blast! Now we know how they pay for the upkeep of this place - charge you exorbitant rates to park and outrageous penalties if you don\u0026rsquo;t buy the ticket.\nWe round off the afternoon nicely with a jog out to Sublime Point, just outside Leura. That is, Lynn jogs out there and I drive out to meet her. The name of this place is justified - it\u0026rsquo;s another beautiful lookout point with fantastic views of the Three Sisters and the Jamison Valley. I sit out there, drinking a beer and dangling my feet over the edge. (A tip - just before you reach the lookout platform, turn left just after the big boulder, walk 10 yards through the shrubs and you\u0026rsquo;ll come out on a secluded little rock promontory. A great place for a picnic).\n22 Feb 2002 - Blue Mountains day 3 # Lynn \u0026amp; Nick at Sublime Point Lynn and I spend a delightful morning taking a hike from the Three Sisters to the bottom of the Scenic Railway. The climb down the 1,000 or so stairs by the Three Sisters is \u0026lsquo;interesting\u0026rsquo;, but well worth it. One of the great things about this hike is that you don\u0026rsquo;t have to walk back up - you can take the train! There is an old coal hauling train, now converted to a tourist hauler, this runs from the cliff top to the valley floor. It also lays claim to being the world steepest inclined railway (520 if you\u0026rsquo;re interested). The ride up is a blast! Click here for details on the hike.\nThree Sisters After a spot of lunch in Katoomba, I spend a couple of hour sunning myself on the deck, drinking a nice cold beer and catching up on this journal, while Lynn heads off to do a spot of wine tasting research (which was a bit of a bust apparently, since the place was closed).\nWe round out the afternoon by getting to tick off one of our \u0026lsquo;must do\u0026rsquo; things for this year, which was to have a glass of bubbly sitting at our favourite spot at Sublime Point.\n23 Feb 2002 - Blue Mountains day 4 #Today is the day that I tackle the mother of all day hikes (at least according to the guide books). Still feeling a little unchallenged by the previous Wentworth Falls and Three Sisters hikes, I pick one that\u0026rsquo;s supposed to be an 8 hour job, reserved for \u0026lsquo;experienced walkers\u0026rsquo; (what ever that means - I\u0026rsquo;m experienced, I\u0026rsquo;ve been walking just about all my life!).\nThis hike will take me from Evans Lookout, near the town of Blackheath, down through the Grand Canyon and into the valley floor. The ascent is next to the Govetts Leap Falls and back to the tourist information centre, where Lynn will be picking me up.\nGovett\u0026#39;s Leap Falls - from the bottom Knowing that the time estimates for these hikes are normally very generous, we arrange to rendezvous at 3 PM, giving me 6 hours to complete the hike. The descent down the Grand Canyon is quite beautiful, following a creek through rain forest like flora. You feel like you\u0026rsquo;ve wandered onto the set of the Lord of the Rings. There are a lot of steps going down and the whole time you keep thinking \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;ve got to go all the way back up\u0026rdquo;.\nAnd what a hike back up it is! The photo left shows the view from the bottom of the falls and it\u0026rsquo;s an arduous 45 minutes from the valley floor to get to this point. From here, it gets really steep - you literally follow a path up the cliff face. At several points during the walk up I really though I was going to get a second look at my breakfast. All in all this was a great walk to do, but your return on the invested exertion probably isn\u0026rsquo;t as good as the Wentworth Falls or Three Sisters hikes.\nAnd how long did it take? About 4 hours, half the estimated time in the guidebooks. I the folks at the Parks Service are a bunch of wimps!\nNot fancying the prospect of hanging out at a tourist information center for the next two hours waiting for Lynn (I mean really, the place is full of tourists you know), I get a taxi back to the cottage, hoping to catch Lynn before she goes out for the afternoon. I don\u0026rsquo;t - Lynn has already take off on a couple of hikes of her own and we spend the rest of the afternoon in a series of near misses, finally meeting back up again around 5:30.\nWe round the evening off nicely with a bit of dinner at home in the cottage (a very yummy pizza take away from Terrafirma in Leura for me) and amuse ourselves with the latest media hyperventilation over the two Aussie winter Olympic gold medal winners.\nTomorrow we say a fond farewell to the Blue Mountains and head into Sydney for the last three days of our vacation, which takes us on to the next, and final chapter of this journal.\n","date":"19 February 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2002-trip-1/the-blue-mountains/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"The Blue Mountains"},{"content":"10 Feb 2002 - Driving to Adelaide # You get to see an awful lot of this view We wave a fond farewell to the Wongary Cottages and hit the road for Adelaide. We have approximately 350 miles to get there, but at this point we can do this kind of mileage in our sleep. First stop, just a couple of miles out from the cottages, are the Naracoorte Caves, a collection of limestone holes in the ground, full of prehistoric fossils and dripping stalactites. I do a bit of spelunking while Lynn hangs out in the visitor\u0026rsquo;s centre, trying to warm up.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a long drive to Adelaide and very hypnotic. The picture on the right say\u0026rsquo;s it all - this is the most exciting thing I could find to photograph for hours. The scenery is picturesque, but there is sure a lot of it!\nSunshine! Yes - for the first time in what seems like ages, we get treated to blue skies and blazing sunshine. Whoo hoo! Adelaide here we come! One of the things that we find very amusing is the inordinate number of tiny towns along the way. Every 20 or 30 miles or so, you\u0026rsquo;ll see a sign with something to the effect of -\nWelcome to Beltbuckle #A tidy town\nPopulation 13¼\nYou then drive past a general store, one house and a farm (and if it\u0026rsquo;s a slightly larger town, a gas station and a grain silo), and then 200 yards later you pass the farewell sign:\nThanks for visiting Beltbuckle #(not that you really intended to)\nA tidy town\nPopulation 13 (the cat died)\nThe question is - why do they bother? It must cost the state a fortune in signposts alone.\nWe stop off in the town of Keith (a virtual metropolis) and pick up a couple of sandwiches for lunch. While waiting for the delicacies to be constructed I glance over the newspapers and notice that Princess Margaret has died. Do you think that this will become one of those seminal moments in life where everyone can say where they were when Kennedy was shot and now, when princess Margaret died? I hope so, \u0026lsquo;cos I will surely be able to remember where I was.\nLynn writes\u0026hellip;\u0026lsquo;Food, glorious food #You never know what you will find in an Aussie sandwich. A roll, sparingly labeled “chicken,” might also include beet, hard-boiled egg, tomato, lettuce, cheese and butter but never mayonnaise. A “Mexican” included slices of grilled eggplant, onions and red peppers, with a bit of cheese and smattering of flavorful aioli, all served on a Turkish roll. Tuna gets paired with shredded carrots, fresh tomatoes and cucumber. No mayonnaise in sight. Fillings seem to get a bit gooey-er the further west you go. Breads range from your standard sliced stuff to the ever-popular focaccia and soft baguettes. The one consistent factor is size — enormous.\nA water mill. Pretentious wine tasters to be found inside Just shy of Adelaide we stop of in the town of Bridgewater (cunningly named after the historic bridge that they built over the river\u0026rsquo;s water). Highlights included an old mill with a huge water wheel that is now a restaurant \u0026amp; wine tasting room, full of some rather pretentious wine tasting types. Lynn and I sup a glass or two, standing next to a rather crass American who\u0026rsquo;s announcing to anyone within earshot that he\u0026rsquo;s over from the states on a multi-month wine tasting tour. He swills and spits his wine into a nearby bucket and we\u0026rsquo;re tempted to swill and spit our wine onto his shoes.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ve got ourselves booked into the Saville Park Suites in Adelaide, having picked the place primarily on the strength of the sister apartments in Melbourne, which looked quite swanky (at least from the lobby). Unfortunately, the suites turn out to be in Adelaide\u0026rsquo;s red light district, appear to be habituated by druggies and the touring grunge-rock bands and worse yet, the room is awful.\nFive minutes after checking in, we check right back out again, and high tail it over to the Old Lion Apartments, which is where we stayed last time we were were here. We\u0026rsquo;re welcomed back like long lost friends. After dumping our stuff (which somehow now seems to take about ½ hour, even though we left the states with two suitcases - I think our luggage is breeding) we head into Adelaide for a bit of a recon.\nLast time we were in Aus in \u0026lsquo;98, Adelaide was by far our favorite city, while Sydney was a big disappointment. Since we have conversely loved Syney this time around, we\u0026rsquo;re interested to see what our first reaction will be to Adelaide now. The answer is\u0026hellip;.\u0026rsquo;errr\u0026hellip;.don\u0026rsquo;t think so\u0026rsquo;. The city\u0026rsquo;s not terrible, but we have an immediate negative reason to it. Perhaps it\u0026rsquo;s the fact that the weather isn\u0026rsquo;t as nice this time around, or that we got off to a bad start, but the city just seems so much more grungy and run down than Sydney or Melbourne.\nHowever, the day finishes off on a high note. Lynn is researching an article she\u0026rsquo;ll be writing from a U.K. wine magazine, and as part of this we are to eat at Ying Chow (114 Gouger Street) in Adelaide\u0026rsquo;s China town. Now, for those of you that know me know that I love Chinese food - indeed I used to average 4 meals a week. Needless to say I have eaten a lot of Chinese \u0026amp; Asian meals and consider myself a bit of a connoisseur on the matter. I have to say that this meal was, by far, the best Chinese food I\u0026rsquo;ve ever tasted! I felt like I\u0026rsquo;d died and gone to heaven. If you ever find yourself in this city (and you should if you have the chance - it has a lot going for it) - you must go to Ying Chow and have the \u0026lsquo;E-Shand chicken\u0026rsquo;. Ohhh\u0026hellip;.my\u0026hellip;.God!!!! For the celibate readers, this is as good as life is going to get for you.\n11 Feb 2002 - Adelaide day 1 # Queen Vic in her square Sunshine! We wake to a bright sunny day! Hey, Adelaide isn\u0026rsquo;t all that bad after all. Lynn has a long list of wine bars, restaurants and wine stores to poke around in for her article, so we split up today and go our own way.\nLynn drops me in the middle of Victoria Square (aptly named for the statue of Queen Victoria in the middle of it). I\u0026rsquo;m optimistically dressed in shorts and a tee-shirt, but it\u0026rsquo;s still pretty chilly in the shade. I pick a direction and walk briskly, trying to outrun the cold breeze.\nBy some spooky coincidence, I turn a corner end up just down the road from the Saville Road Suites, location of yesterday\u0026rsquo;s check-in-debacle. As I walk out of the red light district, I\u0026rsquo;m struck by the incongruity of it all. Every so often you\u0026rsquo;ll pass a fancy 5 star hotel, with a massage parlour and an adult book store on either side. You have to wonder which came first - the porn or the hotels.\nMuseum of South Australia My next stop is the Museum of South Australia. I\u0026rsquo;m usually a sucker for this kind of thing and can happily spend hours poking around the exhibits, but I find this building strangely unfulfilling. It\u0026rsquo;s gets off to a good start, with a collection of dolphin \u0026amp; whale skeletons in the foyer (you can even ogle them while taking a tea break in the cafe), but after that, it gets strangely obsessed with all things Aboriginal. Now, I realise that the Aboriginal culture is an important part of Australian life and history and any self-respecting Aussie museum most devote some floor space to it, but there should be so much more than this! A small placard tells me that this museum has over 1 million vertebrate animal specimens alone in it\u0026rsquo;s collection, and yet over 50% of this rather small museum is given over to displays of Aboriginal artefacts, culture, etc. Interesting though these are, frankly, after you\u0026rsquo;ve seen one pointy spear, you\u0026rsquo;ve seen them all.\nTorrens River I bail after an hour or so and head over to the Adelaide Zoo, strolling beside the delightful Torrens Lake River on the way. Adelaide and Canberra are unique among the Australian cities in that they were actually designed from scratch, rather than grown amorphously from a bunch of convict\u0026rsquo;s huts. While Canberra exhibits a striking resemblance to Washington, D.C. in it\u0026rsquo;s layout, I\u0026rsquo;m less sure what Mr. William Light (the designer) had in mind for Adelaide. The layout is a bit drunkard to be honest. However, one of the better ideas of Mr. Light has was to surround the immediate downtown area with a series or parks and botanical gardens (which was awfully nice of him). The Melbourne Zoo can be found on the banks of the river in one of these very same parks.\nA Macaw, desperately trying to avoid extinction I must admit I have a wonderful time in the zoo. I always feel a little guilty in these places, especially in a zoo such as Adelaide\u0026rsquo;s which has a very limited amount of real estate to play with, resulting in some of the larger primates and big cats locked into way too small enclosures and exhibiting heartbreaking repetitive behaviour. But then you sit and listen how the zoo is helping to save the 15 remaining species of wild macaws and you just want to give them lots of money and big hug.\nTonight Lynn is being whisked off to the Penfolds winery for a wine tasting and food gorging tour, but I\u0026rsquo;ve decided that Mr. Chow really needs another visit, just to make sure that last night wasn\u0026rsquo;t some kind of taste bud illusion.\nIt wasn\u0026rsquo;t!\n12 Feb 2002 - Miners Cottage # Hanging out in Miners Cottage Sometimes life is good, and then sometimes life deals you a royal flush and it just can\u0026rsquo;t get any better than this. We\u0026rsquo;ve spent the last three days up in the Barossa Valley, staying at the Miners Cottage. For those of you that\u0026rsquo;ve done their homework and read our last Antipodean Journal, you\u0026rsquo;ll know that we loved staying here more than anywhere else. Sometimes the old adage \u0026lsquo;you can\u0026rsquo;t go home\u0026rsquo; just isn\u0026rsquo;t true - we loved it just as much, if not more, this time round than than the last.\nThe Barossa Valley in all its glory I won\u0026rsquo;t bore you with all the details, but needless to say, we\u0026rsquo;ve just spent a very relaxing three days just hanging out, checking out the local wineries and generally being the living incarnation of the word \u0026lsquo;mellow\u0026rsquo;.\nOne of the highlights was a dinner party at Glen Ewin Estate, friends of the owners of Miners cottage. The evening was perfect - a long lazy evening under the stars, eating great food, drinking way too much wine and enjoying great company. Once again the Australians demonstrate their innate tendency for incredible friendliness to complete strangers.\n13 Feb 2002 - Adelaide #Today we drove down from Miners Cottage (waving a fond farewell as we left) and we\u0026rsquo;re staying at the Grand Apartments in North Adelaide tonight, just round the corner from the Old Lion Apartments.\nLynn is checking out the National Wine Center today, which was built at great expense and hoopla to represent the great Australian wine industry to anyone who\u0026rsquo;s interested. Unfortunately, most of the visitors to this part of the world appear to be more interested in visiting the wineries, rather than the wine center, so it\u0026rsquo;s become a bit of a white elephant and a money pit.\nMeanwhile, while Lynn does that and checks out various restaurants and wine bars, I vegetate. Boy, what a lazy bum I was today! No energy at all - I think all this heat and wine tasting has caught up with me.\nLynn and I round off the day catching up on a bit of the local TV shows. There\u0026rsquo;s one called Auction Action (or something similarly inane) where the TV station sends round a whole bunch off beefy blokes to \u0026lsquo;fix up your house a bit\u0026rsquo; just 12 hours before it\u0026rsquo;s due to be auctioned off (most houses are sold by auction in this country). The look on the owners faces when they were allowed back in to see the \u0026lsquo;after\u0026rsquo; version were priceless. The shocking part of it was the price that the place sold for. This was a tiny little two bedroom single story 1500 sq foot Sydney suburb house, with perhaps 5000 sq feet of garden (yard) and it finally went for AUS$500,000 (US$250,000, UK£160,000). Yikes - housing in Sydney is expensive, especially when you consider that the average salary for that part of the world is about AUS$75,000 (US$38,000, UK£25,000)!\n14 Feb 2002 - Adelaide Hills # Al-Ru Farm Cottage Tonight we plan on staying at a delightful little cottage on Al-Ru Farm in the Adelaide Hills. Alan and Ruth (Al-Ru Farm - get it?), are friends of Godfrey, the owner of Miners Cottage. We stopped over here on Wednesday night on our way to Glen Ewin and liked it so much we decided to come back.\nHell, now we\u0026#39;re really lost! But, I\u0026rsquo;m getting ahead of myself. As we leave Adelaide we pass a parking lot with a few folks crowding around some suspiciously shaped cars. This turns out to be the starting line for the Australian Solar Car race, a 2,000 km (1,250 mile) 8 day race, the main contending vehicles being purely solar powered (although there are battery and gas/electric hybrid vehicles also).\nHey mate - where\u0026#39;s the gas cap? The weird thing was that even though the local politicians and TV camera crews had turned out to give them a send off, almost none of the local population had. In fact, for an event that (hopefully) represents the transportation technology of tomorrow, local interest in the event was pitifully low. Still, we had fun.\nThe entry from the boys in blue Our lunch pit-stop was in the town of Hahndorf, just outside Adelaide, which as the name suggests, has a distinctly Bavarian feel to it. If you didn\u0026rsquo;t know any better, you\u0026rsquo;d swear that Adelaide had contracted out to the Disneyworld architects to come over and construct a Bavarian Village for them, but apparently it\u0026rsquo;s the genuine article, settled by a bunch of Germans 150 years ago. If you\u0026rsquo;re into the chalet and bratwurst scene, this place is for you.\nHowever, on the upside it has to be said the restaurants serve some mighty fine import beers.\nFeeling a sudden need to absorb the culture of our Deutschland brethren, I settle in to a lunch of sausage and German beer, while Lynn wanders off to find the local tourist info shop and eat something with a little less carbohydrate.\nThe rest of the afternoon is spent sampling a couple of the local wineries, and stopping off at the World\u0026rsquo;s Largest Rocking Horse (60 feet tall no less). I\u0026rsquo;ll bet there aren\u0026rsquo;t many folks out there that can lay claim to that!\nNick on Sunday trading\u0026hellip; #Just when you think the Aussies have paradise nailed, you wake up on a Sunday morning and it feels like you\u0026rsquo;re back in the UK 15 years ago. Just about everything is closed, except the home improvement stores. Even the shopping malls and huge chain grocery stores are closed all day Sunday!\nThis would be unthinkable in the states, and is almost unheard of in the UK today (except for some of the more remote villages in north Wales and the Lake District).\nBut down here in Australia, it\u0026rsquo;s a day of rest (or home improvement), whether you like it or not. However, rather than these trading laws being imposed by the religious right (as was the case in the UK), I suspect that over here it\u0026rsquo;s for a much more enlighten reason - work is much less important to folks over here and they really do want to get the day off. This working theory is backed up by the fact that most of the parks were populated by the locals firing up the \u0026lsquo;barbie (BBQ) and getting setup for a day in the sun. No worries mate!\n16 Feb 2002 - Adelaide Hills # Al-Ru Farm Well, today we were supposed take our leave of Al-Ru Cottage and head over to stay in another cottage in the McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide, but frankly, we really can\u0026rsquo;t be bothered. We like it here too much, and we\u0026rsquo;ve accumulated so much junk by this point that it takes 20 minutes to load up the car and unload at the other end. So - we\u0026rsquo;re staying here another night instead.\nBut, we can\u0026rsquo;t miss out on the McLaren Vale, site of some of the best wines in Australia, so after a hearty breakfast, we jump in the car and head south.\nHey! Look what I found in the garden Once we get through Adelaide (fairly easy most of the time, a breeze during the Sunday morning desertion), our trip on south is expedited by a most unusual freeway. Unlike most freeways (or motorways) where you expect to be able to drive in both directions, this one only allows one direction at a time. It must have been built on a very tight budget, since it only has two lanes, and twice a day the direction is changed so that both lanes are either going south or north at any one time. It\u0026rsquo;s quite strange when you think about it - back to back signposts; exit ramps on the wrong side of the road which double up as on ramps also; lots and lots of surveillance cameras (so that they know the last vehicle has cleared to freeway before allowing traffic on from the other end). It\u0026rsquo;s enough to make your head spin.\nNeedless to say, we made it to the wine country without being killed in a head-on accident by some illiterate tourist. The wineries were duly perused and some good buys were found.\n17 Feb 2002 - Adelaide # Henley Beach, west of Adelaide We make a lazy start out from Al-Ru Cottage and head on into town again for a night in the Grand Apartments, our last night in Adelaide (sob sob).\nWhile Lynn spends a few hours in the afternoon exploring downtown Adelaide and the Botanical Gardens (which are apparently very picturesque), I head directly west for some time on the beach.\nA mere 15 minutes later I\u0026rsquo;ve reached Henley Beach, and what a beach it is. Fine, white sand, tolerably warm water, very few people and mile and miles of it! After a very pleasant lunch in the sun, I go for a stroll along the beach and quite loose myself in the exercise. 30 minutes later, I find myself a long way from where I started and decided it\u0026rsquo;s time to turn around and head back to the car.\nTomorrow we jump on a plane back to Sydney, en-route for the Blue Mountains, which was a big hit with us last time were were down here. Hopefully, the weather with be nice to us (it\u0026rsquo;s still raining back in Sydney).\n","date":"10 February 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2002-trip-1/adelaide-and-the-barossa-valley/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Adelaide and the Barossa Valley"},{"content":"8 Feb 2002 - Driving to Port Fairy # Some of the \u0026#34;twelve\u0026#34; Apostles Last night I spent ½ hour in voice-mail jail, trying for sign up for a Citylink pass, so that when we left Melbourne this morning we wouldn\u0026rsquo;t \u0026lsquo;cop another $100 for grievous use of a toll road. Unfortunately, my efforts were in vain since the road going south west from Melbourne (even though it had the same number as the one we came in on), wasn\u0026rsquo;t actually a toll road. Blast!\nLondon Bridge...falling down The Victoria state coastline is supposed to be some of the most picturesque in the country so we\u0026rsquo;re planning on taking the scenic (i.e. longer) route to Adelaide. Unfortunately, for the first part of the drive much of the scenery consists of dark, scudding clouds and intermittent rain storms. Still, the landscape is very beautiful\nThe coastline is made of limestone, so there are lots of caves, coves and colorful rock formations to be seen along the way. One of the most popular sights are the 12 Apostles, including (in true American style) an \u0026lsquo;interpretive center\u0026rsquo;. The 12 Apostles are a series of rock formations carved out of the local coastline (see pictures on this page). In the past the locals have given them a number of different monikers, including the \u0026lsquo;sow and piglets\u0026rsquo;, but recently \u0026rsquo;the 12 Apostles\u0026rsquo; we deemed to be more formal sounding. The thought that strikes Lynn and I is that it\u0026rsquo;s awfully convenient that there are 12 or these rock formations, rather than 13 or 11. We secretly suspect that they blew up one or two to make the title fit!\nLynn writes\u0026hellip;\u0026lsquo;Searching for Hedgehogs\u0026rsquo; #One of Nick’s obsessions over here is not looking for kangaroos or koalas, but finding hedgehogs. Not the prickly things found running around your garden, but a sweet. The bars appear to be filled with layers of biscuit, caramel, chocolate and perhaps a hint of nougat. Nick has become quite finicky; some even get tossed aside after one bite. To date, the best was found in a small town somewhere between Melbourne and Port Fairy. But there are still loads of bakeries to explore.\nPicturesque Port Fairy We spend the rest of the morning rock formation hopping along the coastline, taking in sights such as the Loch Ard Gorge (sight of the Loch Ard shipwreck, in case you were wondering), the Blow Hole, the Thunder Cave (which are presumably fairly self explanatory) and London Bridge (which is indeed falling down - one arch collapsed 10 years ago, stranding two hapless tourists).\nTonight we stay at Port Fairy, a quaint little town on the coast. Since this is our first opportunity to stay somewhere with an ocean view, we snag a cottage right on the ocean front. Well, I can reliably report that Port Fairy is very windy! Lynn and I go for a quick walk through the town, but get blown back to our room in short order.\n9 Feb 2002 - Coonawara #Today is a short days drive up to the Coonawara wine district, just over the boarder in the state of South Australia. This state is allegedly the driest, harshest and most inhospitable in the country. Up in there northern part of the state there is a town called Coober Pedy that gets so hot in the summer (up to 48oC / 118oF) that most of the population live underground.\nLynn and I will do anything for some sunshine!\nSheep playing tennis Unfortunately, the rain doesn\u0026rsquo;t stop as we cross into South Australia, but we are rewarded with the sight of a tennis court full of sheep during the drive (but children must keep off!)\nThe Coonawara wine district is tiny, just 12 miles long and 1¼ miles wide, defined by the rich red Terra Rosa soil of the region. This district is famous for its Cabernet Sauvignon wines, so we\u0026rsquo;re looking forward to checking it out.\nFirst a pit stop for lunch at the Hermitage Cafe. The car park is full of folks from all over the country gathered for a Petanque (Boules) tournament. We dodge their silver balls and make it into the restaurant unscathed for a very tasty lunch.\nLynn and I spend the next few hours in a very enjoyable tour of some of the local wineries. Impressed as we were with the density of the wineries in the Hunter Valley, this place is even better. While you could tour the Hunter Valley on a bicycle, you could do this place on foot! We were particularly enamored with one winery where the lady kept the good stuff ($80 a bottle, not officially available for tasting) under the counter until the coach tour party departed, and then let it pour!\nWongary Cottage Tonight we get very luck and choose to stay in the Wongary Cottages, just north of the Coonawara wine region. This is a delightfully quaint little cottage, built from the local limestone. While Lynn goes jogging, I get a tour of the vineyards from our host and get a fascinating crash course in the art of growing grapes. The bottom line - it isn\u0026rsquo;t nearly as simple as it looks (but you probably already knew that).\nOur hosts are very friendly and we all end up sitting round the kitchen table, drinking wine and beer and having a jolly good B.S. session.\nTomorrow we rise (hoping for some real sunshine) and drive like a bat out of hell for Adelaide, which takes us to the next chapter in our journal.\n","date":"8 February 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2002-trip-1/enroute-to-adelaide/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Enroute to Adelaide"},{"content":"5 Feb 2002 - Melbourne Day 1 # Melbourne State Library It\u0026rsquo;s been pissing down all last night, so we rise early (well, fairly early), eager to hit the road, move west and try and out run the rain. It\u0026rsquo;s a fairly easy two hour drive from here to Melbourne. Coming in to the city we make the mistake to taking the Citylink freeway, which looks nice and quick with light traffic and lots of lanes. Turns out to be a toll road. No problem we say, pay when we get off, except that you have to purchase a pass in advance before you get on the road as there are no tool booths - it\u0026rsquo;s all automated. Bit of a bummer if you\u0026rsquo;ve never been here before. Apparently, if you use the freeway without a pass they photograph your license plate and send you a $100 fine in the mail. But hey, we\u0026rsquo;re just dumb tourists right, so not to worry!\nWe\u0026rsquo;re booked into the Medina Apartments just outside Melbourne in an area known as South Yarra. This is just down the road from the place we stayed at last time we were here. This is the trendy part of town (of course), full of stylish clothes shops, bakeries, and very tempting looking restaurants.\nLynn writes\u0026hellip;\u0026lsquo;All about money\u0026rsquo; #Australian’s have effectively eliminated the nuisance of carrying around piles of small change. When you pay with cash, anything ending with less than three cents gets rounded down; three and four become five. Credit cards do reflect the actual price\u0026ndash;which leads one to images of frantic accountants trying to balance the books.\nThe Exhibition Building While Lynn heads off to replenish our food supplies, I head into the city to do a bit of exploration. Melbourne has a quite wonderful transport system which not only includes a very comprehensive bus and rail network, but a great tram system, better than anywhere else I\u0026rsquo;ve seen. The trams are slower than the trains, but a lot more fun way to get around. Best of all, for about US$2.50 you can get a day pass that gives you unlimited travel on all these forms of transport.\nMelbourne is a very well laid out city and the center is very compact - it\u0026rsquo;s very easy to see many of the sights on foot. I wonder around, taking in the Melbourne State Library, the Exhibition Building, the very modern looking Melbourne Museum, and the State Parliament Building.\nMelbourne Museum Phew! Time for a sit-down and a beer. I spy the Windsor Hotel just across the street from the State Parliament Building, the fanciest hotel in town and decide that a bit more sightseeing of the hotel bar would be appropriate.\nSuitably refreshed, I wander back to the center of the city and get a tram back to South Yarra. Since it\u0026rsquo;s now close to rush hour, the trip takes forever as the tram has do battle on the roads with every other commuter . Still, it\u0026rsquo;s fun just sitting back and watching the world go by and casually observing all the commuters.\nDinner tonight is at the Melbourne Wine Bar, a trendy little place on St. Kilda street, a couple of miles from where we\u0026rsquo;re staying. Lynn has read about this place in many a guide book and gastronomic review, and it\u0026rsquo;s currently the in place to eat. Turns out the food is great, the wine list even better and the people watching opportunities are the best. A good time is had by one and all!\n6 Feb 2002 - Melbourne Day 2 # Shopping Mall After a good fry up for breakfast, Lynn and I embark on a major day\u0026rsquo;s walk-about in Melbourne. Having done the whirlwind tour yesterday, I act as the infinitely knowledgeable tour guide, much to Lynn\u0026rsquo;s amusement.\nWe take in some more of the sights and then have a bit of a picnic lunch in the Carlton Gardens, next to the Exhibition Building. Very salubrious it was too.\nIn the afternoon we take off for the local grocery stores to stock up on some provisions and stumble on the biggest, most amazingly well stocked wine store I\u0026rsquo;ve ever seen - I feel like I\u0026rsquo;ve died and gone to heaven! Needless to say we pick up a few bare essentials.\nMelbourne from the Botanic Gardens We finish off the day with a walk round the Botanic Gardens. Australia, being a nation made up primarily of a lot of ex-pat Brits, is quite obsessed with all things botanical, gardens included. The Botanic Gardens are huge, covering many acres and are wonderfully well kept with hundred of varieties of tress, shrubs and flowers. The highlight of the walk however had to be when Lynn pointed out a tree full of \u0026lsquo;birds\u0026rsquo; only to have me tell her that the birds were in fact huge fruit bats!\n7 Feb 2002 - Melbourne Day 3 #A big day for me today. After a late start, I drive down to Sorrento, which is about 50 miles south of Melbourne, out at the mouth of Port Philip Bay. Today I get to go swim with the Dolphins!\nThe drive down is beautiful, full of rolling hills and marvellous sandy beaches. I get there in time for an early lunch and then head out to the quay to meet the boat, the Polperro. We have a great time, and end up getting to swim not only with bottlenose dolphins, but also seals as well. These animals are very friendly and curious and get within 10 feet of us.\nThe crew of the Polperro are running quite an operation here. Rather than just use these sightseeing trips to make money, they\u0026rsquo;re really using it as a means to an end to raise awareness for their cause. They have been actively campaigning to introduce legislation to limit the contact between the dolphins and mankind, so that they don\u0026rsquo;t become habituated on us. And very successful they\u0026rsquo;ve been as well - there is now an AUS$100,000 fine for feeding a dolphin! Take a look at their web site for more information.\nDinner tonight is at Barolo, a wonderful Italian restaurant. Even though we get completely soaked walking the ¼ mile down there, we have a great time. Tomorrow we leave Melbourne to start making our way for Adelaide, which means another chapter in this journal.\n","date":"5 February 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2002-trip-1/melbourne/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Melbourne"},{"content":"1 Feb 2002 - Driving to the Hunter Valley # Hunter Valley Accomodation Excitement is in the air! Today we wave a fond fair-well to Sydney and make a start on our travels. Unfortunately it\u0026rsquo;s not an auspicious start. This morning it\u0026rsquo;s raining\u0026hellip;and I don\u0026rsquo;t mean your mamby-pamby Oregonian type rain (I might just get quite wet if I stand out here for a few more minutes)\u0026hellip;I mean real R - A - I - N! This is the tropical downpour variety, so heavy that you can barely see beyond the front of your car, even with the wipers going full speed. The roads are completely awash and the traffic is crawling as a result.\nLynn writes\u0026hellip; #If images of Mother England abound down under, influences from America are never far away. I lost count of the number of Starbuck’s in Sydney’s city center (their proliferation has been a surprising delight, and relief, to Nick). Tourist stores and wineries sell baseball caps along with tee shirts and key chains (although I have yet to see someone wearing a baseball cap). McDonald’s is everywhere. Sometimes with a twist. In a town called Wyoming, McDonald’s loos came equipped with black lights. Pretty cool if you are wearing a white tee shirt.\nSince we\u0026rsquo;re heading north, we decide that we have to go over the Sydney Harbor bridge, rather than take the tunnel - we\u0026rsquo;ve been admiring this structure from afar for 4 years now (on and off), so we have to finally give it a whirl. Unfortunately, what with the rain and everything, the only view we are afforded from the top of the bridge is of the bridge itself. The rest of Sydney is lost in the hydro-haze.\nGod knows I\u0026rsquo;m all for public transport, but the occasional freeway / motorway would be nice. Unfortunately, these kinds of roads are pretty rare around Sydney (let alone the rest of the country), so it takes us a good hour to get out of the city.\nNick on wine tasting\u0026hellip; #I feel compelled to compare and contrast the wine tasting experience in Oregon and Australia.\nNow over here, wine tasting is a fantastic experience. None of the wineries charge anything to taste, they pour generous samples and have a very large selection to choose from. Some of the larger wineries such as Mount Pleasant allow you to taste not only the locally cultivated stuff, but also wines from their other wineries around the country. Finally, the staff pouring the wines are unfailingly friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Best of all, you can walk away with a really scrummy tasting bottle of wine for about US$7!\nNow, back in Oregon, they had a great year for Pinot Noir sometime back, and ever since it\u0026rsquo;s really gone to their heads. The wineries usually charge at least $5 to taste (and some up to $20), the pourings are microscopic and the selection usually limited. All this would be OK if the wines were gangbuster, but frankly, they\u0026rsquo;re living off their past triumphs and today most of the wines are adequate in taste and vastly overpriced. On average, I would say that Oregonian wines of equivalent quality are easily 4 to 5 times as expensive as the Aussie offerings!\nBuffs Cottages We eventually break free of the city and head north on route 1. Just when we\u0026rsquo;re finally getting some miles (sorry kilometers) behind us, we inadvisably decide to take to a \u0026lsquo;scenic detour\u0026rsquo;. Maybe we\u0026rsquo;re getting used to it, but we forget that it\u0026rsquo;s still raining cats \u0026rsquo;n dogs, so the scenery primary consists of bedraggled foliage, occasionally interspersed with bedraggled people.\nWe finally arrive at Cessnock, the town in the center of the wine district. After procuring a bed for the night at the Buffs Cottages (yes, really), we head out into the countryside to sample some wines. Whoo hoo! The first things that strikes us about this region, compared to any other we\u0026rsquo;ve been to before, is the density of wineries per square mile. If you are super conscientious about drinking \u0026amp; driving (and/or really wanted to drink a lot), this would be perfect area to go wine tasting on a bicycle.\nAbout to drink wine However, since we couldn\u0026rsquo;t fit out mountain bikes in our suitcases, Lynn and I will just have to settle for former plan. We hit three wineries (Rothbury Estate, Mount Pleasant Estate and Tyrell\u0026rsquo;s Vineyard), drink conscientiously, have a great time chatting with the folks pouring the good stuff, and come away with some great bottles of wine.\nWe pick up some food for dinner and head back to the cottage - a delightful secluded place out in the bush. A bit of BBQ steak rounds off the day quite nicely (oh, and some catching up on some extra credit wine tasting didn\u0026rsquo;t hurt too much either).\n2 Feb 2002 - Staying in the Hunter Valley #As you can see from the picture above, Buffs Cottages back on to some rather tame and inviting looking bush, so I decide to go on a bit of a \u0026lsquo;walk about\u0026rsquo; this morning. Turns out the owners have a few hundred acres of land to their name and I have a wonderful time traipsing through the trees, spying kangaroos and other unusual (at least for me) wildlife.\nNick on road signs\u0026hellip; # One of the more fun parts about driving around Australia is the road signs. For starters, you get the 'beware of the wildlife' type warning signs, but you're not really sure what it is you're supposed to be avoiding (and how big), such as the one shown here (it's a Wombat, just in case you were wondering). Then you get the police warning signs. These guys needs to take a few lessons from the British in stealth tactics. Not only do they put up signs when the patrol cars are out and about, they tell you exactly what they\u0026rsquo;re looking to nick to you - \u0026lsquo;Police are targeting Seat Belts in this area\u0026rsquo; - for example.\nSpeed camera have made it to Australia, but they make it so easy to spot them that you\u0026rsquo;d literally have to be blind to get caught by one. They start a few miles out from the device with a couple of friendly warning signs - \u0026lsquo;Warning, speed camera\u0026rsquo;s in use in this area\u0026rsquo;, but 200 yards before the actual camera they put 4 huge warning signs and 4 speed limit placards. When you get to this collection you know that you have to slow down to the speed limit for exactly 30 seconds, pass the camera and then speed up again!\nMost amusing of all are the signs and billboards that fall into the category of \u0026lsquo;do this and you\u0026rsquo;re an idiot\u0026rsquo;. For example, they have some interesting ways of persuading you to wear a seatbelt, such as a picture of a smashed in car windshield with the caption \u0026lsquo;No Belt, No Brains\u0026rsquo;. Certainly to the point.\nMy only recommendation on doing this kind of walk is to try and avoid being the first person of the day to blaze the trail. The spiders over here have a tendency to spin huge webs across the trail, at head height, which the casual walker then stumbles blindly into. And the spiders are huge!\nRevitalised and at one with nature again (or at least the smaller, creepy-crawly aspects of it), we head north for Maitland, not for any particular reason other than it\u0026rsquo;s there. Once we get there and confirm that Maitland is indeed where it is supposed to be, we have a bit of a browse round the tourist information centre, come to the realisation that all the good wineries are back down south around Cessnock, and so promptly turn right around again!\nWe spend a relaxing lunch back at the Mount Pleasant winery, made all the more fun for sitting back and watching a couple of guys dismantle, repair and reassemble a fountain, only to realize that it was now all crooked and they had to do it all over again. Work is so much more fun when you can sit back and watch someone else do it!\nChez Vous cottages We spend the afternoon rambling around a few more wineries and then check into the quaintly named Chez Vous cottages for the night. Our next door neighbour turns out to be a groom with an imminently appointment at the local church. And very nervous he sounded too (we had a bit of a gossip with the parents of the bride the next day and all went off OK apparently). But here\u0026rsquo;s the cool part - even though we only spent an hour talking to these complete strangers, they were unbelievably friendly and helpful and ended up inviting us to come and stay at their home!\n3 Feb 2002 - Staying in the Hunter Valley #Slow start this morning. We hit a couple of wineries and then have lunch at a Thai restaurant that\u0026rsquo;s part of another winery. Interesting, even though they sell wines next door, the restaurant doesn\u0026rsquo;t have a drink license.\nThe licensing laws over here make it somewhat harder for a restaurant to get an alcohol license, compared to the United States or the UK. But those that fail to make the grade (or can\u0026rsquo;t be bothered to try) instead do \u0026lsquo;BYO\u0026rsquo; (Bring Your Own), which is a highly amicable arrangement, since you don\u0026rsquo;t have to pay any markup to drink wine with your meal, and there\u0026rsquo;s no corkage fee either.\nCedar Creek Cottages This afternoon we head over to Wollumbi, a tiny little town with a population of no more than 250. The town boats the oldest church in Australia (built around 1840 by the local God fearing citizens). Interestingly, the local Inn / bar / hotel was constructed 17 years earlier by convict labor, so you can see where their priorities really were!\nTonight we stay at the Cedar Creek Cottages just outside Wollumbi, a very quaint little place actually on a local winery. The owners have a few hundred acres of land and farm three species of deer, in addition to various varieties of grape. We take a very pleasant stroll through the property, encountering 400 or so Bambi look a-likes.\nKookaburra bird The evening is finished over with a bit of wine consumption (of course!), doing battle with the BBQ and listening to the laughing Kookaburra birds.\n4 Feb 2002 - Driving to Melbourne #We wake to torrential rain and so decide to skip plans for a morning walk and instead head south towards Melbourne, the next big city on our itinerary. We had originally planned to make this a leisurely 3 day trip (it\u0026rsquo;s about 750 miles) and make our first night stop in Kangaroo Valley - just 150 miles south of Sydney, but it\u0026rsquo;s raining so hard that we decide to just go for it and get as far as we can, trying to out run the rain.\nHolbrook Therefore, this was one of the less exciting day of our journey so far - basically a road trip. We get about 600 miles and spend the night in a rather grim little motel in Albury. The highlight of the day was passing through the town of Holbrook (the adopted home of the Australian Submarine Squadron), which has apparently decided to honour the fact by planting a bloody enormous great big submarine in the town centre (the HMS Otway, if you care). For those of you not tracing this trip on your handy Australian road atlas, Holbrook is about 200 miles from the sea, so the question that begs to be answered is how on earth did they get it here (and why)? But, it was still raining, so your intrepid traveler couldn\u0026rsquo;t be bothered to get out of the car to find out!\nTomorrow we have a short trip to reach Melbourne, which means a new chapter in this journal.\n","date":"1 February 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2002-trip-1/the-hunter-valley/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"The Hunter Valley"},{"content":"29 Jan 2002 - Sydney Day 1 #Getting through Sydney airport is fairly painless, with the exception that I make the mistake of answering in the affirmative when asked if we\u0026rsquo;ve been anywhere near a mad cows in the past 6 months. Other than a few people I could mention that fit that description, we had been to England last November, home to some of the maddest cows known to man. So we\u0026rsquo;ve diverted to the quarantine area so that a very nice man can take a look at the soles of our shoes.\nLynn writes\u0026hellip;\u0026rsquo; News Tidbits' # A campaign is afoot by local Aborigines to remove the emu and kangaroo from the Australian coat of arms. “Visitors are sometimes puzzled by the fact we are the only people in the world to eat our coat of arms,” said Sydney Herald columnist Tony Stephens. Numerous, and often humorous, letters to the editor of the paper quashed Stephens support for the emu and kangaroo\u0026mdash;apparently loads of other country’s happily include edible animals on their coats of arms. Another hot topic in the press involves Australia’s Minister of Tourism. Due to his busy schedule, he recently had his dog transported home\u0026ndash;with personal driver\u0026ndash;in a fancy government vehicle. Tongues are wagging about the use, and abuse, of government privileges. In the meantime, the minister’s dog has run away from home. After emptying the nearest ATM, we flag a taxi and head for downtown Sydney. Our first couple of nights in Sydney is to be spent in the Regent Hotel. Lynn is very excited by this - she\u0026rsquo;s been researching the possibilities for Sydney accommodation for ages now and is quite sure we have a real bargain heading our way. And she\u0026rsquo;s right - it\u0026rsquo;s a \u0026lsquo;beaut (as the Australians like to say).\nBy now it\u0026rsquo;s still only 11 in the morning. We\u0026rsquo;re promised a room with a view of the harbor, but if we want to sleep in same bed tonight, we\u0026rsquo;ll have to wait for a couple of hours before the room\u0026rsquo;s ready.\nEven though we have been basically sitting, eating and generally vegetating for the 24 hours, we are surprisingly hungry, so we take off for a walk round The Rocks and lunch. The Rocks are actually the oldest part of Sydney, overlooking the harbour, the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. This is where the first convicts / settlers were offloaded in 1788. This is about as ancient as it gets in this country. For those of you living on the west coast of the United States, this may sound rather old, but for most countries this barely warrants extra attention. None of the original buildings survived (they were made of mud after all), but up until the 1980\u0026rsquo;s many historic building survived, even though the area had become rather decrepit and unappreciated.\nSydney Opera House Sydney, like all modern, progressive cities, has a population of architects and they of course saw this historic blight as opportunity to modernise (i.e. bulldoze). Fortunately, some folks came to their senses in time and instead the area has been cleaned up into a rather quaint, charming collection of restaurants, cafes, interesting buildings and spectacular views.\nRefreshed and replenished, we return to the hotel, check in and finally get to shower off the travel grime. Much better!\nWe head out again for some serious strolling. First stop is of course the Sydney Opera House. This is just round Sydney Cove from our hotel, and easy 10 minute walk. The Opera House is probably the best known sight in Australia, at least for a foreigner and it certainly deserves a moment of your time. The Opera House is built on a piece of land that protrudes out into the harbour, so if you walk round the front of the building you get to see some great sights.\nNick On place names\u0026hellip; #For citizens of the great British empire, a visit to Sydney is an amusing exposure to place name schizophrenia. Half of the place names in this city don\u0026rsquo;t get any more British (Hyde Park, Paddington, King\u0026rsquo;s Cross, Royal Botanic Gardens) and the rest don\u0026rsquo;t get any less British (Woolloomooloo, Ultimo, Parramatta).\nThis really sums up one of the cornerstones of Sydney society - the racial and cultural mix. This place is really a mixing pot - beyond the obvious British and native Aborigine inhabitants, you\u0026rsquo;ll find folks here from all over the world. In a way, Sydney (and all of Australia) is a lot like the United States, in that it\u0026rsquo;s a land of immigrants.\nAs we walk on up past the Royal Botanic Gardens, we pass copious coach-loads of very fancily clad folks. Turns out they arriving for a night at the opera, but there are loads of them. It\u0026rsquo;s still only 2 or 3 in the afternoon and really hot, so we we\u0026rsquo;re not at all envious of them.\nWe take in some of the sights of Sydney. Considering that virtually nothing here is more than a hundred years old, they\u0026rsquo;ve really done a great job of blending the old(-ish) with the new. There\u0026rsquo;s a remarkable lack of sixties era concrete monstrosities here. We finish off the walk about with a visit to the local wine store. For those of you that have read our previous Australia diary , you\u0026rsquo;ll know that Lynn and I are bit fanatical about the wines from this part of the world. Needless to say we have a great time browsing and come away with a nice bottle of bubbly.\nDinner tonight is at the bel mondo, a nearby restaurant that it currently the talk of the town. Fortunately for us, those talking have all good things to say!\n30 Jan 2002 - Sydney Day 2 # Archibold Fountain After a good \u0026lsquo;ole greasy fry-up breakfast to get us firing on all cylinders, we catch a train to nearby St. James to continue our Sydney walk about. We take in the rather wonderful Archibald Fountain and then jaywalk over the street to St. Mary\u0026rsquo;s cathedral. This is the Australian equivalent of Westminster Abbey in London, in more ways than one, in that it\u0026rsquo;s almost as awe inspiring and the architecture is just the same (gargoyles and all). However, it really makes you stop and think when you realise that construction only started in 1880 and was just finished last year. It\u0026rsquo;s one thing to embark on a construction like this when labor was plentiful and very cheap, quite something else when it\u0026rsquo;s a lot more expensive and the local\u0026rsquo;s don\u0026rsquo;t exactly have a lot of free time on their hands, what with trying to establish a new nation and everything.\nRose Bay Moving on, we hit the department stores and Lynn goes shopping - arrrggghh! Back to the hotel, a spot of lunch on The Rocks (so to speak) and then we jump on a ferry at Circular Quay for Double Bay. One of the many cool things about this city is that it\u0026rsquo;s on a massive harbour, and so it has quite an extensive ferry network to transport you to various coves, bays, beaches and outlying communities. This is no tourist trapping - these are real working boats and a lot of Sydney-siders commute to work this way (I could think of a lot worse ways to get to work).\nAnd now a word from the little woman …. #After reading Nick’s daily diary, some of you might come away with the impression that I have devoted most of my time in Sydney shopping. Time for a correction. On our ferry stopover in Double Bay, for example, while Nick sipped on a cold Toohey’s New in a sidewalk café, I was checking out the Sir Stamford Hotel (got a good deal too). And checking out the bakeries.\nThe following morning, while Nick was viewing Sydney from atop the AMP Tower, I spent most of my time perusing the gourmet food halls of Peter Jones department store. I’m not sure if sampling delicious, and beautifully presented, hand-sized morsels of roasted chicken and pumpkin pie or smoked salmon risotto cakes actually qualifies as shopping. It’s really more like grazing.\nMy “shopping” trips also included the essential visit to a specific bakery, just off George St., to pick up a daily supply of chocolate croissants for Nick. I rest my case. (Okay, I did pick up a pretty linen short skirt along the way).\nDouble Bay is two or three coves east of downtown Sydney, home to some rather posh looking houses and exclusive stores. I sit at a sidewalk cafe, reading my book and consuming an extended lunch. Lynn goes shopping - a very amicable arrangement I think.\nWe take the ferry back to Circular Quay via Rose Bay and Watson\u0026rsquo;s Bay. The trip back, approaching the Opera House and Harbour Bridge is spectacular.\nThis dinner tonight is in China Town at the Golden Century Seafood Chinese restaurant. This is a restaurant where you can really relate to your food. One wall is covered with aquaria full of lobster, shrimp, crabs, fish of many types, and more. If you want some Barramundi for example (a local fish, very tasty), they\u0026rsquo;ll throw a live one in a plastic bag and bring it to your table for inspection (still twitching) before hauling it off to the kitchen to do unspeakable things to it. Lynn orders a vegetarian dish and I order duck. What wimps!\nTonight we rendezvous with Eric, a friend and work college of Lynn who left Oregon a couple of months ago to move out to Australia. Jetlag not withstanding, copious quantities of wine was consumed and we talked into the early hours.\n31 Jan 2002 - Sydney Day 3 # AMP Tower Bit of a late start this morning (can\u0026rsquo;t imagine why). We head off down town again. Lynn goes shopping, but I resist the temptation and instead head to the top of the AMP Tower (the tallest observation desk in the Southern Hemisphere no less) for some superb panoramic views of Sydney.\nAfter that I take a wander over to the car rental at 100 Williams Street, belated realising that this address gave me little clue as to where the place actually was (see left). After spending an exciting 30 minutes watching the lady pecking away at her keyboard (the process was almost as interminable as checking in for a flight), I pick up the car, meet up Lynn back at the hotel and we drive over to Double Bay.\nWhen we were here yesterday Lynn got us a another great deal at the Sir Stamford hotel, so we\u0026rsquo;re staying here tonight. The room is a two floor deal with the bed upstairs in the loft. Very cute.\nNick On street numbering\u0026hellip; #For the yanks abroad here in Australia, the street numbering conventions here are awfully confusing. In the states, each block on a street increments house numbers by 100, regardless of how many building there are on that block. Therefore, you know that say 2400 Main Street is 24 blocks from the start, or 2.4 miles. If the cross streets are numeric, then the nearest cross street will be 24th. Very simple.\nHowever, over here (and in the UK), they have this strange habit of numbering building sequentially. So if you have an address like 100 Williams Street, you have no idea where on the street that building is. Worse, as buildings get knocked down and replaced, they find that there aren\u0026rsquo;t enough numbers to go around, so you have buildings numbered 5, 7, 9, 11, 11A, 11B, 13, etc. Worse, shops and business seems to have a total aversion to actually putting their street number on the front of the building, so you often have to guesstimate which one is your destination from it\u0026rsquo;s location relative to that last numbered building you saw ½ a mile away!\nFor the first time since we got here we have a relaxing afternoon consisting of nothing more than a bit of walking, eating, napping and swimming (not necessarily in that order).\nTonight Eric comes over again and we all take off for a local Italian restaurant for a bit to eat. Most agreeable. Tomorrow we plan to rise with the dawn and head north for the coast and the Hunter Valley.\n","date":"29 January 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2002-trip-1/sydney/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Sydney"},{"content":"27 Jan 2002 - Portland #A couple of months into my year long sabbatical from work, and the day has finally come for us to take leave of this dreary state. Lynn has been solidly web-surfing for weeks now and has lots of ideas and plans for this month long trip to Aus. The day has finally come to execute!\nNick and Lynn snowed in The past few weeks here in Oregon have been mightily depressing – cold, wet, gray weather, enough to put the happiest of soles into a S.A.D. funk. Lynn and I have always been the sun worshiping type, so winters in Oregon always get us down.\nPerversely, we’re given a winter-wonderland send off. After days and days of gray and drizzle, we wake up on Sunday morning to 6 inches of crisp snow. Beautiful! The world (or at least our back yard) seems so much quieter and serene for this white blanket.\nHowever, we’ve booked a shuttle to take us to the airport, and the only way to get to our house is either a) go up some steep hills; b) go down some steep hills; c) do both. Knowing that Oregonians take to driving in snow like my cat takes to quantum physics, we begin to worry that we may be serene and stranded. We need to reconnoiter and check our the road conditions….a man’s job!\nNick On airport security\u0026hellip; #What the hell is up with airport security these days? I’m for safer airline travel as much as the next guy, but the airport and airlines sure have a strange interpretation of the word ‘secure’. Some of the more blatantly stupid aspects of airline travel, post Sept 11:\nAirport security is reactionary, rather than proactive. Some nutter tries to detonate the Nike explosives, and they now have every other person taking off their shoes and X-raying them. God help us when some terrorist smuggles a bomb on board in a body cavity! There is no concept profiling. Worse, airport screeners are explicitly told not to subject travelers to extra attention based on their race, religion or ethnicity [see the DOT web site for screening guidelines]. Sorry, but in my book the Ayatollah look alike need to get at least as much attention as grandma or you average business traveler. The obsession with photo ID! You are asked to show this at least three times before your can make it on the plan. What, terrorists don’t have driving licenses? Metal detectors with their sensitivity turned up so high you’d have to be a naked anemic to get through it without setting it off. And even though they have 6 metal detector lines, anyone who sets one off (i.e. everyone) gets funneled into another line for some real personal attention, so holding up everyone else. The bloody chaos of the whole thing. It’s bad enough that most of the security measures are pointless and poorly implemented. The worst part of it is that every time you travel, it looks like all these new measures were implemented just a few hours ago and came as a complete shock to everyone who had to implement them. The people working the X-rays machines and metal detectors are clueless, poorly trained, dumb, or all of the above. I take Lynn’s car. The nominal excuse is that it’s an Audi (all wheel drive), but in reality, in the highly unlikely event that I do have an anticipated connection with an immovable object, better that it doesn’t happen in my car! Disappointingly however, they’ve already ploughed most of the roads, so I have little opportunity to exercise my extreme-conditions driving prowess.\nWe have a 3 PM flight to Los Angeles and the trip to Portland airport turns out to be disappointingly uneventful. We spend 10 minutes queuing to check in to the Alaska counter and then 30 minutes queuing to get through the ‘security check point’.\nWe loiter by the baggage carousel in Los Angeles for ½ hour or so before our bags arrive, and then saunter over to the International Terminal. Check in at the Qantas desk is actually quite painless for a change, so we now have a few hours to burn before our flight leaves.\nI head for the bar.\nA couple of cold ones later, and I’m ready to face the world and another security check point. Just when I’m getting ready to go, Lynn returns from her tour of the LAX emporia with a stricken look on her face – the queue for the security check point is so long it actually goes out the front door! Lynn takes of to get in line. I have another beer.\nAbout an hour later we are finally through to the gate. Rather than rant ‘n rave some more, let’s just say I now know where the Portland airport employees go for their security-screening techniques refresher course.\nInteresting, our Qantas flight has managed to connect up with a gate that’s literally marooned in the middle of the airport, so we have to get there by bus. The bus unloads, we all troupe indoors, upstairs and onto the plane. Go figure. Who the hell designs these airports anyway?\n28 Jan 2002 - Oblivion #Due to the wonders of airline travel and the international dateline, Monday is currently MIA. Those lost 24 hours will be retrieved a month from now.\n29 Jan 2002 - Arriving in Sydney #Amazingly, for a 14+ hour flight, time goes very quickly. Qantas does a movie marathon throughout the night flight, but I ignore them all. Spend some time reading and writing these pages, but I actually manage to sleep for what I think is a couple of minutes, but which turns out to be about 8 hours.\nWe land in Sydney\u0026hellip;\n","date":"27 January 2002","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/australia-2002-trip-1/leaving-on-a-jet-plane/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Leaving on a Jet Plane"},{"content":" In the late 1990’s, Portland Oregon DJ Mike Rich decided to try his hand at writing. His first attempt, a screenplay titled Finding Forrester, won a Nicholl Fellowship (a competition sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and was picked up by Sony/Columbia studios for production, starring Sean Connery and Anna Paquin, with Gus Van Sant as director.\nIn 1999 I caught up with Mike, at the Portland radio studio, where he was still working. Because the interview was scheduled to appear in a fashion-themed issue of a weekly newspaper (OurTown) I needed to include some fashion-related questions.\nWriting #Q: Is the story true about deciding you wanted to write a screenplay, then going to the library, checking out a book on screenplay writing and then \u0026hellip; ?\nA: Almost. I actually bought the book from Powell\u0026rsquo;s [Portland’s famed bookstore].\nQ: Why a screenplay?\nA: I think there\u0026rsquo;s been a change from wanting to write the Great American Novel. Now it\u0026rsquo;s a screenplay. I was too intimidated to write a novel; I still would be.\nQ: What\u0026rsquo;s the status of Finding Forrester?\nA: I\u0026rsquo;m on the fourth re-write. My contract only called for the original script and two rewrites but so far they haven\u0026rsquo;t brought in anyone else.\nQ: Isn\u0026rsquo;t that unusual? A: Yes.\nQ: Do you get much say in the movie, like casting or music? A: No. It\u0026rsquo;s their screenplay; I\u0026rsquo;m a writer for hire.\nFashion #Q: What are they wearing in Hollywood these days? A: Black. Actually I\u0026rsquo;m detecting a little change, I\u0026rsquo;ve noticed a little shift towards brown, but it\u0026rsquo;s gotta be dark brown. There\u0026rsquo;s no color.\nQ: So what do you wear on your trips to L.A.? A: Often something as simple as a pair of jeans, Nike golf cap and Nike sneakers; you have to maintain the Oregonian image.\nQ: And for your most recent trip, which involved a meeting with the executive producer and Sean Connery? A: I bought a Joseph Abboud shirt. It\u0026rsquo;s the first time I\u0026rsquo;ve ever spent $100 on a shirt.\nQ: What color? A: Brown\nQ: Dark? A: Hmm, yes.\nQ: How did it make you feel? A: I had a case of buyer\u0026rsquo;s remorse. But how many times do you spend a day with Sean Connery?\nQ: Where do you shop? A: Nordstrom, Meier and Frank; I guess I\u0026rsquo;m a mall guy.\nQ: Shopping tactics? A: I find the assistant and ask for advice.\nQ: Shopping motto? A: Keep the receipt.\nQ: What do you wear on air? A: Usually Dockers, with something like a regular Oregon-flannel pattern shirt. In the summer, shorts and a Tommy Bahama shirt. And I have been known in the wintertime to come in sweats – it\u0026rsquo;s radio. Obviously I dress for the occasion, if a big guy comes in, then I adjust.\nQ: A big guy-like who? A: Jackson Browne.\nMusic #Q: What do you listen to when you aren\u0026rsquo;t on the air? A: The type of things we play here (KINK), Sting, Clapton. Also I like the old standards like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Cole Porter. And what filters down from my daughters.\nQ: What was your first album? A: Grand Funk Railroad, “We\u0026rsquo;re an American Band”. I still have it.\nHollywood and fame #Q: So, when are you moving to Hollywood? A: If my aspirations are just to write, I can stay here in Portland. It’s easy to fly down for two or three-day meetings. The change comes if you want to direct or produce, then you gotta go there. For now, I just want to write. The reality is that if you write three or four screenplays you can retire. I\u0026rsquo;m smart enough to know it\u0026rsquo;s been a great ride but it could dry up tomorrow. In L.A. you are either hot or cold. And when you\u0026rsquo;re cold, it’s difficult to get hot again.\nQ: Do you find life in Hollywood really that different from Portland? A: They put me up at the Four Seasons. I looked at the kids’ menu and saw that a brownie cost $7.50. $7.50! The other day we had lunch in the Rita Hayworth Building at Sony Studios; three Caesars and three iced teas cost $79. It\u0026rsquo;s a different economy.\nQ: How was your day with Connery? A: He\u0026rsquo;s very Sean Connery; he speaks very softly, which surprised me.\nQ: Did you imagine Sean Connery for your character Widham Forrester? A: No. I\u0026rsquo;d envisioned more of a Robert Duvall-type; the character was American. But we\u0026rsquo;ve changed the story so Forrester is now a Scottish-born author. I changed some of the lines as well, there were just some things I couldn\u0026rsquo;t picture Sean Connery saying.\nQ: If there was a movie about your life, who would you choose to play you? A: Jeff Daniels. I\u0026rsquo;m an unassuming guy, just a guy who still values time with his family.\nQ: At what point do you stop thinking of Hollywood as a different world and become part of it? At what point do you stop blinking at the $7.50 brownies? A: I don\u0026rsquo;t know. I\u0026rsquo;m still blinking.\nMike has continued his success with writing screenplays, including The Rookie, Secretariat and Cars 3.\n","date":"1 June 1999","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/articles/business/finding-mike-rich/","section":"Lynn's Articles","summary":"","title":"Finding Mike Rich"},{"content":"Finally! You\u0026rsquo;ve reached the final chapter of this journal. Just a couple more page-downs and you won\u0026rsquo;t need to read my constant ramblings any longer (or at least until the next vacation).\n22 Mar 1997 - Cairns #Lynn dropped me off at Sydney airport this morning. This afternoon, Lynn gets on a plane for LAX and home, but I\u0026rsquo;m just not quite done with this vacation, so I\u0026rsquo;m off to the tropical north of Queensland for another 10 days of fun. My primary goal is a few days on a live-aboard dive boat, sailing the outer reef and diving like it\u0026rsquo;s going out of fashion.\nI had originally booked an eight day trip with Mike Ball (the Ritz Carlton of dive companies), out of Townsville, but this got cancelled, so instead I\u0026rsquo;m going on a 4 day trip out of Cairns, starting tomorrow. Faced with a few spare days on my hands, I tried to get an earlier flight home, but Qantas was all booked up. Too bad!\nLynn and I were in Cairns about 6 years ago, so I was keen to see how much it had changed. After checking into my hotel, I took a walk down the Esplanade into town. Surprisingly, the place hasn\u0026rsquo;t grown as much as I expected. Three fancy new hotel had sprung up near downtown (one complete with Casino), but other than that, life continues as before. This places relies heavily on far east tourism and I guess the downturn in that part of the world has had it\u0026rsquo;s effects.\nDinner\u0026rsquo;s at Dundee\u0026rsquo;s Restaurant. Of the 15 or so tables, I\u0026rsquo;m the only non-Japanese diner.\n23 Mar 1997 - Great Barrier Reef #A very early start today - up at 6 am! I set three different alarms the night before to be sure. I also asked the hotel to book me a taxi to take me to the Mike Ball rendezvous point, since I needed to leave so early. He just laughed and told me that taxis start queuing up outside the hotels at 4 am. Cairns is the great base station for a huge number of outdoor activities in Queensland, and most of them start early!\nAll the divers are meeting at the Cairns Colonial club hotel, just north of town and I arrive in time for several cups of coffee. We\u0026rsquo;re then whisked off to Cairns airport for a 50 minute flight to Lizard island, a good way north west of Cairns, where we\u0026rsquo;ll meet our dive boat, SuperSport. The pilots fly the two planes below 1,000 feet the whole way, so that divers can avoid decompression sickness.\nWhat should have been a great view of reefs is somewhat marred by heavy rain. Unfortunately this is a portent of worse to come. It turns out that cyclone Nathan (cyclone is the southern hemisphere equivalent of a hurricane) is playing havoc in the area and will cause considerably misery for the first 24 hours of our trip.\nWe\u0026rsquo;re taken out to SuperSport in two inflatables and get a good view of the ship on the way. She\u0026rsquo;s a big (87 foot) catamaran, custom built for diving. This turns out to be the best dive boat I\u0026rsquo;ve been on far - the attention to detail is incredible. Every aspect of diving has been considered and catered to. I\u0026rsquo;ve got my own cabin on the top deck (she can take 26 guests, but there only 16 on board for this trip, so there\u0026rsquo;s plenty of space). This is good for the view, but bad when the ship is rolling as you\u0026rsquo;re further from the centre of gravity.\nNick Diving Our first stop is to be the Cod Hole, 3 hours cruising north of Lizard Island. As soon as we leave harbour, the cyclone\u0026rsquo;s effect are really felt and the boat start to rock and roll with a vengeance. It\u0026rsquo;s almost impossible to stand upright and half the guests are seasick. Dramamine is consumed in copious quantities. I\u0026rsquo;m feeling a little queasy myself, but manage to keep my breakfast on the inside.\nThe Cod Hole is a world famous dive site, probably the Great Barrier Reef\u0026rsquo;s best known. It\u0026rsquo;s famous for Potato Cod that grow to huge dimensions - 6 foot or more. They\u0026rsquo;re very tolerant of divers (especially since they get fed once in a while) and will allow you get within a few inches of them. Since I plan on doing another 10 or so dives this trip, I won\u0026rsquo;t bore you with the details of each one, but I\u0026rsquo;ll try to give you a feel for a few of the highlights as they come along.\nWe spent a few hours being chased around the ocean by Nathan until we finally found another dive site, Pixie\u0026rsquo;s Pinnacle, that wasn\u0026rsquo;t being trashed by huge swells. This was supposed to be followed by a night dive, but the weather precluded it. Indeed, the Nathan\u0026rsquo;s track didn\u0026rsquo;t follow the predications, so we had to run right back to Lizard Island for safe overnight shelter. By evening, I\u0026rsquo;d got my sea legs, but I had to practically hold on to the bed all night to stop myself falling out.\n24 Mar 1997 - Great Barrier Reef #The conditions were much better this morning and continued improve through out the day, to the extent that we were treated to a sunset by the end.\nWe returned to the Cod Hole for the first dive, this time to feed them. A couple of pounds of pilchards were handed out by one of the dive masters, while everyone else sat in a circle and watched. The cod and bass were obviously expecting the visit, and it turned into quite a feeding frenzy. We were barged into by the cod in their eagerness to get to the food. This turned out to be a great dive, other highlights included a turtle, a shoal of huge barracuda (6 foot long) and a sleeping Grey Whaler shark. I hired an underwater still camera for this dive, so I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to seeing how they come out.\nEric Gingold We then started sailing south again, Nathan having finally left us alone. Couple more relatively uneventful dives in the afternoon, and then on south for our final dive of the day - a night dive! Night diving is an exhilarating experience and quite freaky. The whole nature of the reef changes at night, with many animals, such as crayfish and the hard coral, coming out to feed, while others go to sleep. We came across several large reef sharks dozing on the sea floor during the dive, but perhaps the strangest animal to be seen is the other divers. I enjoyed turning off my dive light and watching another group approach me. With all the beams from their dive lights scanning back and forth, it looked a lot like something from Close Encounters!\nWe have an ex-Chicago Bulls NBA player on board, Eric Gingold and he\u0026rsquo;s tall - 7 foot 3 inches! Poor guy spends his entire time doubled over to avoid the low clearances on the boat. He end up sleeping up on the sundeck, as the bed\u0026rsquo;s are barely 6 foot long. A real nice guy with a great sense of humour.\n25 Mar 1997 - Great Barrier Reef #A great day to be alive. Hot, hot sunshine and calm seas. Four great dives with just an incredible abundance of reef wildlife. The best stuff is to be seen in the first 30 feet or so of water, and we would regularly spend 20 minutes or more hanging over just a few square feet of coral, and still not see everything.\nMy dive buddy for the trip has been Cyrus Bark, a German who turns out to be a very proficient diver. We work very well together as a buddy pair, we always want to go in same direction and see the same things, and consume air at exactly the same rate. All the divers on this trip are using dive computers rather than dive tables, which increases your possible dive duration massively and is the only way to get four or more dives in a day. In fact, the time limitation to our dive is not no-decompression limits, but remaining air, so it\u0026rsquo;s great to have a buddy that doesn’t consume air faster than yourself.\nI was hoping to make my one hundredth dive this trip, but because of the lost dives on the first day, this was not to be. Oh well, I guess I\u0026rsquo;ll just have to come back again soon.\nThe last night onboard gives us a clear sky and so we are treated to a mind boggling star vista. This far from land, there are no lights to wash out the stars and the view is just amazing. We all lie on our back on the sun deck, drinking beer, eating BBQ prawns and convincing each other that we can name all the constellations in the sky. Definitely a great day to be alive.\n26 Mar 1997 - Cairns # The Guests We wake up in a marina just north of Cairns and are treated to a farewell breakfast. We\u0026rsquo;ve got to be good friends with each other and the staff over the past 4 days and we\u0026rsquo;re all sorry to see the trip end. I\u0026rsquo;m almost tempted to stay on board for another 4 days, but restrain myself.\nI\u0026rsquo;m dropped off at the Tradewinds hotel in town and Eric decides to stay here too. We share the lobby with about 200 local high school students who are using the conference facilities for a day\u0026rsquo;s sex education! How things change. Thankfully they\u0026rsquo;re not staying the night, but I escape to the pool for a couple of hours nonetheless.\nTomorrow, Eric and I are off for a long day\u0026rsquo;s white water rafting. Of course they start early - 6:30 am pickup, so I spend the afternoon sleeping and washing the salt out of my clothes. I wake up just in time for an beautiful sunset. The sun is setting behind the hills to the west and I\u0026rsquo;m treated to the sight of thousands of fruit bats flying out off the hills and towards town.\nThe evening is spent with Eric and his cousin, Brad, clubbing in Cairns. This turns out to be a bit of a misnomer, since all the \u0026lsquo;clubs\u0026rsquo; are packed to the rafters with sloppy, drunken backpackers.\n27 Mar 1997 - Tully River #After a very early start, we are taken on a 2 hour coach ride south to the Tully river for a day\u0026rsquo;s battle with the elements, specifically H20. The Tully river is the place to go white water rafting in Australia. The company we are using, Raging Thunder, is very well run and we have a great day. The rapids are a little too tame for our liking, especially since Eric, Brad and I are joined by three more guys with a similar outlook on life, and we end up being the raft to be feared for the day.\n28 Mar 1997 - Cairns and Port Douglas #A late start this morning after another late night on the town. We\u0026rsquo;ve hired a convertible for the day and we drive north to Port Douglas after lunch to check it out. After the rigors of the past few days, this is a welcome day of relaxation in a very quaint and sleepy town. Lynn and I spent a few days here several years ago, but it doesn\u0026rsquo;t seem to have changed one bit since then.\nWe spend some time on the beach, but swimming is limited to a small section enclosed by nets. This is the \u0026lsquo;stinger\u0026rsquo; season in Queensland, which means that box jellyfish are prevalent in the coastal water. You can very easily die from a sting, so there\u0026rsquo;s no one swimming outside the net. The enclosure is not at all crowded, and there\u0026rsquo;s another 4 miles of beach to walk along. This part of the country is blessed with almost continuous golden sandy beaches.\nBack to Cairns for another evening with the Back Packers.\n29 Mar 1997 - Port Douglas #Today I take my leave of Eric and Brad. I plan to head back up to Port Douglas to round of this strenuous vacation with a couple days of serious pool lounging. Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a brief brunch with a few of the Tradewinds staff we\u0026rsquo;ve befriended turned out to be a 5 hour food and drink orgy (all you can consume for one price). Eric and I spend a few hours in the pool drinking coffee until I\u0026rsquo;m sober enough to drive again.\nSo, about 6 hours later than planned, I hop into a convertible (you have to do these things in style) and head north to the Raddison Reef Resort.\n30 Mar 1997 - Port Douglas #Mission accomplished. Day wasted, being almost entirely devoted to pool lounging, interspersed with some fine dining. Started the day with a run on 4 mile beach (only half of it), so I\u0026rsquo;m feeling very virtuous.\n31 Mar 1997 - Port Douglas #The most exciting thing I can report for today\u0026rsquo;s activities was a hike in the local rain forest. The place lived up to it\u0026rsquo;s name and I got totally soaked half way round. I was going to round off the walk with a dip in the local river, but after the rain there didn\u0026rsquo;t seem much point.\n1 Apr 1997 - Homeward Bound #And today\u0026rsquo;s the day. I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to going home to all those creature comforts, although Lynn tells me that it\u0026rsquo;s been snowing and worse in Portland since she got back. As I drive back towards Cairns, I suddenly realise that I was supposed to be in Sydney last night, as I couldn\u0026rsquo;t get the Cairns to Sydney flight to connect with my Sydney to LAX flight. Ooops! Luckily, there is an earlier flight out of Cairns that the USA Qantas office knew nothing about, so everything\u0026rsquo;s cool.\nI\u0026rsquo;m typing this on the flight from Sydney, so only 11 hours more and I\u0026rsquo;ll be in LAX and another 6 after that and I\u0026rsquo;ll be home. It\u0026rsquo;s been a fun trip. If I had to do it all over again, I\u0026rsquo;d take about twice as long and spend more time at each stop. Other than that, I\u0026rsquo;d thoroughly recommend this part of the world to anyone.\n","date":"22 March 1997","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/south-pacific-1997/queensland-and-the-great-barrier-reef/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef"},{"content":"Posts from our 1997 South Pacific trip.\n","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/categories/south-pacific-1997/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"South Pacific 1997"},{"content":"Welcome to the penultimate chapter in this rambling journal. We\u0026rsquo;re slowly heading towards Sydney and the final stop for one of us at least.\n16 Mar 1997 - Berrima #Another long day\u0026rsquo;s driving brings eventually to the \u0026lsquo;historic\u0026rsquo; town of Berrima, about 130 km west of Sydney. We stay in the \u0026ldquo;Coach and Horses\u0026rdquo; cottage in the town center. The day ends on a emotional low point for us - I think the rigors of non-stop travel have finally caught up with us. \u0026lsquo;Nuff said.\n17 Mar 1997 - Blue Mountains # The Blue Mountains We plan to spend a couple more days in the country before heading into the big city. The big dilemma through was - sea or sky? More specifically, do we head South East to the coast and drive up the coastline into Sydney, or North East towards to the Blue Mountains? For no particular reason we choose the latter.\nThe drive took a little longer, not helped by the windy roads, and the fact that we were driving along the wrong windy roads all together. A one point the road came to an abrupt end at the edge of a cliff (this was our first clue we weren\u0026rsquo;t quite on track), but the view out over a valley and large lake was quite awe inspiring, so that was OK then.\nLunch was a quick stop to chow on some chook in Picton and then onwards to the Blue Mountains. God knows why they call them that though, since they aren\u0026rsquo;t really mountains and they\u0026rsquo;re certainly not blue. In fact, the Blue Mountains are really a plateau, perhaps 1,500 feet above the surrounding countryside, with very step cliffs virtually all the way around. Most of the towns are perched on the edge of a cliff, and if you were a town planner in this part of the world, you\u0026rsquo;d do the same thing, because the views out over the valleys and the cliffs that surround are quite beyond words. I\u0026rsquo;m still working on the words, so I\u0026rsquo;ll get back to this later.\nSublime Point Our first stop in the mountains is Wentworth falls, which is the name of the town and the river as it plunges over the edge of the world. The falls are over 900 feet high and that\u0026rsquo;s about average around here. By the time they reach the bottom, the river (admittedly very low at this time of year) is nothing more than mist. There are several trails around here that join up the multitudinous lookout points, like god\u0026rsquo;s dot-to-dot puzzle. Some of them actually run along the cliff face halfway down, where the rock has been eroded away. The views are still there and the words are still defying me.\nAfter the usual frantic scrimmage in the tourist center, we find a place to stay, called the Crabapple Cottage. Turns out to be an entire house in a lovely wooden part of the town of Leura, and a short walk from the shops, bakeries, restaurants and wine store (with the biggest underground cellar in all of Australia). I think we find these kind of places on instinct by now.\nAfter a bout of serious, heavy duty loitering, we drive out to \u0026ldquo;Sublime Point\u0026rdquo;, another lookout on a promontory that juts out into the valley. We\u0026rsquo;re the only people there and we take the short walk through the bush to the lookout point, which is right at the edge and surrounded on three sides by shear cliffs. This is the first time I can say \u0026ldquo;heart-stopping views\u0026rdquo; and really mean it. As we walked out of the trees, I could actually feel a lump in my throat, the views were just so overwhelmingly beautiful. And large. You had to be there, but the closest I can come to it is - take the Grand canyon, fill it with trees and you\u0026rsquo;re close.\nThey Jameson valley below is just filled with Eucalyptus forest and the full range of Australian wildlife noises. Even though the trees were more than 1,000 feet below us, we could hear them quite clearly. The Sulfur Crested Cockatoos were making their presence know with a vengeance (we\u0026rsquo;ve come to realize that this bird is about as common as Pigeons). The whole Jameson valley is a wildlife preserve, to the extent that the public aren\u0026rsquo;t allowed to even walk down there. Civilization such as cars and buildings are out of the question.\nAnyway, I\u0026rsquo;m rambling. Dinner was supposed to be at a restaurant called \u0026ldquo;The Ferns\u0026rdquo; in Leura. The menu looked good and it had atmosphere, but apparently what it lacked was food. After an hour of waiting, we got talking to a threesome at the next table (Brits). They\u0026rsquo;d been waiting for and hour and a half, and had only seen two meals, which had to be sent back on account of being cold and raw! The advantage of a BYO is that until the food arrives, you owe them nothing, so we grabbed what was left of our wine and voted with our feet. We ended up instead in a café (\u0026ldquo;The Food and the Dishes\u0026rdquo; - get it?) and got some spectacularly scrumptious food in about 10 minutes. We were shortly joined by the three Brits who had also given up.\n18 Mar 1997 - Blue Mountains # Sublime Point Drove out to Katoomba, another town 10 minutes away and paid a visit to a key tourist spot - \u0026ldquo;Echo Point\u0026rdquo; and the \u0026ldquo;Three Sisters\u0026rdquo;. Echo Point was a lookout that again quite spectacular, with views over to the nearby Three Sisters. Unfortunately, it had the misfortune to be 50 feet from the car park and heavily marked on all the maps, so the place was full of tour busses disgorging their hordes. We didn\u0026rsquo;t stay long.\nInstead, it was back to Leura, pickup a picnic lunch and then out to Sublime Point again. We sat on this rock outcrop, dangling our feet over the edge, eating and watching the world go by. I think I can safely say it was the best picnic spot I\u0026rsquo;ve been to in this life time.\nThe afternoons was wasted lounging, doing a bit of shopping and catching up on the washing (take advantage of that washing machine when you can). Spent the evening learning the idiosyncrasies of a new BBQ the hard way (hard for the food anyway).\n19 Mar 1997 - Blue Mountains #Today was supposed to be our first day in the big city, but after finding a gem such as Crabapple Cottage, we\u0026rsquo;ve decided to stay on for another night and \u0026lsquo;do\u0026rsquo; Syndey in two days!\nAfter our tentative explorations of the local trails yesterday, I decide that I\u0026rsquo;m going to spend this morning doing some seriouswalking. At 8am sharp, Lynn drops me off at the head of the \u0026ldquo;National Trail\u0026rdquo;, which is supposed to bring me back to the start 4 to 5 hours later. It\u0026rsquo;s graded as hard, but the trail runs along the cliff edge two thirds of the ways down and promises some spectacular scenery, so this is the trail for me.\nThe times are indicated as \u0026lsquo;conservative\u0026rsquo;, but an hour and a half later, I\u0026rsquo;ve done the vast majority of the loop including all the hard bits (there are a lot of stairs going down and up). The walk did deliver all that it promised through, and more. The trail descends the cliff face alongside a waterfall, and then goes under several more as you proceed along the cliff face. And when I mean under, I mean it literally - the stream is falling on you as you cross it. It\u0026rsquo;s fine at this time of year, but in the rainy season it must be something else.\nAnyway, I end up doing three different walks to pass the time before my midday rendezvous with Lynn and thoroughly enjoy myself. In the first three hours of walking, I only meet three other people. Cleve - you\u0026rsquo;d love this area.\nLynn picks me up at 12 and we drive back to Sublime Point and picnic again at our favorite spot. In the afternoon we drive a few miles north to the town of Blackheath and stick our noses over a couple more lookout points. These face in the opposite direction, in towards the valley that makes a huge dimple in the center of the Blue Mountains plateau. It\u0026rsquo;s called the Grand Canyon!\n20 Mar 1997 - Sydney #We make an early start this morning, and a beautiful one it is too. By 8 am it\u0026rsquo;s blue sky and already 25 0C. The drive down to Sydney was uneventful, if a little slow. They have this great motorway (a.k.a. Freeway) most of the way, but it appears they\u0026rsquo;ve just discovered traffic cones, and we loose half of the lanes to them. Sydney, as the guide books warned us, is a regular old \u0026lsquo;big city\u0026rsquo; and holds no surprises to anyone harking from USA or the UK.\nSydney Opera House Still, we drive through town to the area called The Rocks which is where the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge hang out. Its quite impressive. We have a spot of lunch at this little café right next to the Opera House - great views.\nAfter lunch we drive east a couple of miles to our hotel. This is supposed to be a super-swanky place where all the rock stars hang out. It turns out to be in a slightly seedy area of town called Kings Cross. For those from the UK - it\u0026rsquo;s similar in character to the British version! We were right about the stars though, there are memorabilia in the foyer from many of the all time greats (you be the judge), including Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Cliff Richard, Elton John and a few others we\u0026rsquo;d never heard of. The room we had wasn\u0026rsquo;t bad, but I guess the high rollers go for something a little more expensive.\nSydney Opera House We while away an hour or so taking a dip in the roof-top pool and then we drive back to the Circular Quay, which is the hub for Sydney\u0026rsquo;s extensive ferry system. To travel a little further a field in Sydney Harbour, it\u0026rsquo;s the only way to travel (a lot of commuters certainly think so anyway). We jump on the JetCat to Manly beach, which is just north of the Harbour entrance. Surfer\u0026rsquo;s paradise and warm water too!\nAfter driving around a bit, we decide that King Cross is not too scary, and venture out in the evening for a little dinner. We\u0026rsquo;re told by the receptionist that it\u0026rsquo;s quite safe, just as long as we avoid the short-cuts through dark alleys.\n21 Mar 1997 - Sydney #Breakfast\u0026rsquo;s included in the room rate, so we make shameless pigs of ourselves. To burn off all those calories, we do a little more sightseeing in the car, taking in Bondi Beech (the surfer paradise). This being Saturday, the place is crawling with the dudes and there\u0026rsquo;s nowhere to park, so we keep moving.\nBack into town and we go our separate ways for the afternoon. Lynn drops me off to explore the delights of Darling Harbour, while she goes off to do a little window shopping.\nDarling Harbour is just round the corner from The Rocks, on the other side of the Harbour Bridge. The is a little like Epcot-On-Water, but without the Disney tie in. One of the main attractions is the Sydney Aquarium, which is what brings me there. Turns out to be very enlightening, with the highlight being the huge shark tank that you actually walk through in a glass tunnel.\nWith a little time on my hands, I pay a visit to the IMAX theatre next door, which is apparently the biggest in the world - the screen is 8 stories high! They\u0026rsquo;re showing the Everest picture that was filmed in the middle of the Everest disaster that happened during May 1996. I read John Krakauer\u0026rsquo;s book (Into Thin Air) and so I was quite keen to see this film, which really brought home the monumental effort it takes to do this climb.\nAnyway, back to the hotel for another dip in the pool and then out into the depths of Sydney\u0026rsquo;s suburbs to hunt for a great last-night meal. Tomorrow, Lynn takes off for LAX and home, while I continue the adventure. My next stop is Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef for a few days diving on a Live Aboard. But that\u0026rsquo;s just going to have to wait for the next, and final chapter…\n","date":"16 March 1997","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/south-pacific-1997/sydney-and-nsw/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Sydney and NSW"},{"content":"Well, here we are again, slowly making our way across the bottom right hand corner of Australia. This chapter is brought to you from the picturesque state of Victoria (go straight north from the island of Tasmania and you can\u0026rsquo;t miss it).\n11 Mar 1997 - Enroute to Melbourne #A long drive today, out from Miner\u0026rsquo;s Cottage and east through the \u0026ldquo;Big Desert\u0026rdquo; towards Victoria. That’s what I love about this country - they\u0026rsquo;re so elemental and unsubtle. There\u0026rsquo;s the \u0026ldquo;Big Desert\u0026rdquo; and just south of that the \u0026ldquo;Little Desert\u0026rdquo;, and no prizes for guessing which one covers the most territory. To give you another example, we had great fun on our drive reading some of the road signs. Classics included:\nIf you drink, then drive, you\u0026rsquo;re a bloody idiot\nOr how about:\nDozing drivers die.\nYup, no doubt about the hidden message there.\nAnyway, tonight we\u0026rsquo;re staying in the Grampian mountains (an Australian\u0026rsquo;s idea of a mountain is most people\u0026rsquo;s idea of a large hill). They are quite spectacular nonetheless, simply because they simply \u0026lsquo;appear\u0026rsquo; out of the dead flat plain (and disappear just as quick on the other side). One moment you\u0026rsquo;re driving across this dead straight desert road and then next your winding around these hairpin hill climbs.\nThis is another of Australia multitudinous nature reserves and our first surprise is a kangaroo viewing area. This turns out to be a patch of grass with a load of roos just lying their, prostrate in the midday heat. They\u0026rsquo;re incredibly tame - we could walk right up to them without them moving an inch. We felt quite foolish for all our previous roo-snapping expeditions after stopping here.\nOn the other side of the hills we descended into the town of Halls Gap. I don\u0026rsquo;t know who Hall was, but he (or she) sure knew a gap when they saw one. Here\u0026rsquo;s god\u0026rsquo;s recipe for the area (atheists should always spell god without the capital G):\nTake one rock plateau, say 1,000 feet above the surrounding countryside. Make it about 5 miles wide and 1,000 feet deep. Tip said plateau at an angle of about 30 degrees on it\u0026rsquo;s long side. Now knock out a bloody big chunk right in the middle of it. Put a small town in this gap. Quite impressive as you drive into town.\nPioneer Cottage We\u0026rsquo;re staying in the Pioneer cottages, a few miles the other side of town and quite out in the back of beyond. Our log cabin can easily sleep 10, but is still nice enough. The view out the front door is quite spectacular - fields, hills (s\u0026rsquo;cuse me, mountains), majestic sweeping mobs of kangaroos, etc.\nI drive back into town later on to grab a Chinese take away. While I\u0026rsquo;m waiting I take a wander in the park and nearly trip over a few grazing roos in the dark. Back in the cabin, I spend a fun 20 minutes trying to swat the flies that snuck in the front door with me (is the only purpose in a fly\u0026rsquo;s life is completely annoy human beings?)\n12 Mar 1997 - Melbourne #More driving, more countryside, more heat. We approach Melbourne. We\u0026rsquo;ve been looking forward to spending some time in this city. We\u0026rsquo;ve been reliably informed (by the New York Times no less) that Melbourne and Sydney have become the de facto worldwide centers of cuisine. Cities such as New York, London and San Francisco have become poor second-cousins by comparison. Being fond of the occasional bite to eat, we reckon we could enjoy ourselves in a place like this.\nWe check in to the South Yarra Hill Suites, in one of the high-restaurant density parts of town. Very nice place it is too. It\u0026rsquo;s been about 40 oC (104 oF) all day today, so I go and jump in the pool while Lynn takes a walk to check out the local stores. Turns out this place is Lynn heaven - loads of great bakeries and clothes shops with outfits that actually fit!\nTonight we eat at the Café Antico, which is a treat because we can actually walk there from our apartment. We celebrate the fact by downing a bottle of Preece Chardonnay in short order.\n13 Mar 1997 -Melbourne #We head off to explore downtown Melbourne. This city is blessed with a great tram system that makes getting around easy and fun. On our drive through the city center yesterday we came across a street that appeared to be dedicated to motorcycle shops. Being an ex-biker (a temporary situation I hope) I felt the strong urge to review that latest developments in biking hardware. Strangely enough, Lynn felt more drawn to the fashion stores, so we went our own separate, happy ways for an hour or so.\nAfter some intense research, I can now reliably report that street bikes are currently just as large, appealing and lethal as they ever were, only with fatter tires.\nWe rendezvoused on the steps of the state parliament building, which looked a lot like the shots of the capitol building in Washington DC that you see in all the movies - lots of steps and columns.\nAfter managing to spend an entire afternoon being totally unproductive, I jump in the car to grab a takeaway for dinner and discover one of the downsides to this city - the traffic! It takes me ½ hour to get 1 mile down the road and back.\n14 Mar 1997 -Melbourne #Another lazy day. I fall out of bed at about 8:30 or 9:00, and that only because Lynn\u0026rsquo;s bugging me about wasting the day away. We drive down to the coast about 5 miles from here to pay a visit to St. Kildas. Not much to report, except that the Tasman Sea is a lot warmer than the Indian Ocean.\nIn the afternoon I take a tram back into town (there are a couple of minor engineering details I needed to review on the motorcycle front) and later meet Lynn for coffee and one of the (many) cafés. She surprises me by declaring she\u0026rsquo;d like to go grab a glass of wine (in the afternoon!) and I practically fall over myself in my eagerness to comply. We walk over the river to the \u0026ldquo;South Bank Center\u0026rdquo; and see what Walter\u0026rsquo;s Wine bar has to offer.\nDinner tonight is anther short walk, to the Golden Triangle Thai restaurant this time. We do the BYO (that\u0026rsquo;s Bring-Your-Own [bottle] to the uninitiated) and have a fun time doing a bit of retrospection on our lives. The restaurant is next to one of the tram lines (which all run down the middle of the roads) and Melbourne has this quaint \u0026ldquo;restaurant tram\u0026rdquo; upon which you can dine, drink and watch the city go by, all for the princely sum of $75 a head. We wave to the tram dinners as they trundle by and they wave back.\n15 Mar 1997 -Central Victorian High Country #A day of driving. We slowly depart Melbourne, but it seems to take for ever to get out into some real countryside. We\u0026rsquo;re heading for the hills and a quite country retreat to get some mellow time after the hustle and bustle of 3 days in the city.\nThis being Sunday, it\u0026rsquo;s biker\u0026rsquo;s day and they\u0026rsquo;re out in force. Weekend motor biking seems to be a popular pastime in this country (and New Zealand also), and I\u0026rsquo;m happy to report that most of them are riding real bikes, not those ridiculous Harleys and Honda Goldwings. Every other town we drive through has a great mass of bikes and bikers all hanging around the local pub. I\u0026rsquo;m jealous.\nA stop over in Alexandria for lunch (I have chicken and chips, or chook as they call it here) and then on to Mansfield where we\u0026rsquo;re staying tonight - in the \u0026ldquo;Alpine Country Cottage\u0026rdquo;. We assume that with a name like that I\u0026rsquo;ll be out in the country with views of rolling hills, but we\u0026rsquo;re sadly disappointed. It turns out to be just on the outskirts of Mansfield and not a particularly attractive outskirt at that. So we go back to the tourist information center and sign ourselves up for the \u0026ldquo;Wombat Hills Country Cottage\u0026rdquo; instead, if you can believe a name like that.\nThe wombats have taste as it turns out. We stay in a delightful little cottage, overlooking those rolling hills we were expecting all along. Lynn has just returned from a run as I type this and reports that there and some very wired looking angora goats around here, lots of hills but no wombats spotted yet.\nTomorrow we face a long day\u0026rsquo;s driving in our continual eastward haul towards Sydney. This takes us to our final stop on our grand tour, a new state (New South Wales) and a new chapter in this journal.\n","date":"11 March 1997","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/south-pacific-1997/melbourne-and-victoria/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Melbourne and Victoria"},{"content":"Greetings, and welcome to chapter 5 of the journal, which brings us to beautiful Adelaide and the Barossa valley in the state of South Australia. This chapter is a little brief, mainly since all the boring repetitive bits have been left out (boring to you anyway).\nWe got a little exhausted by all our traveling to date, especially the \u0026ldquo;see city XXX in a day\u0026rdquo; stuff, so we kinda slowed down around this point. In fact, we found this lovely little place called Miner\u0026rsquo;s Cottage and just couldn\u0026rsquo;t get away for quite some time. But I\u0026rsquo;m getting ahead of myself….\n3 Mar 1997 - Barossa Valley # Adelaide Map We arrive in the afternoon on the flight from Perth. It took us 1½ hour less time to get back to Adelaide from Perth than it took us to get there. Go figure that one out. We drive through Adelaide on our way out to the Barossa valley and we like what we see.\nAdelaide was laid out on a grid pattern, but unlike many other USA cities that have suffered big-time urban sprawl, the city center of Adelaide is surrounded by parks on all sides. Outside the parks it has a number of \u0026lsquo;suburbs\u0026rsquo;, but frankly you can walk across the area cover by this map in 20 minutes - it\u0026rsquo;s not a big city.\nAfter a little hectic detour to the tourist information office (exit Lynn carrying a huge pile of brochures and leaflets) we drive out of town into the Barossa Valley, heading for the town of Birdwood. We drive though the rolling Adelaide Hills on the way - very dry at this time of year.\nTonight we stay in a tin hut that’s been \u0026lsquo;quaintified\u0026rsquo; (new word for your dictionary). Nothing spectacular. The only place to eat is the Birdwood Hotel, that turns out to be OK, if a little rough around the edges.\nAussie Hotels #Just about every small town in Australia always has a \u0026lsquo;hotel\u0026rsquo; in the middle of it. This is really the place where the boys come to hang out and drink beer. Attractions include beer (cold and lots of it), tough looking outback types drinking said beer, pokies (a.k.a. slot machines, one arm bandits, poker machines) and possibly a restaurant (of the \u0026ldquo;all meals $5.99, Tuesday night is schnitzel night\u0026rdquo; variety). Oh, and a room or two to sleep in.\n4 Mar 1997 - Barossa Valley # Yalumba Winery Up and at \u0026rsquo;em. Today\u0026rsquo;s the day we make our second great pilgrimage of the holiday - Yalumba (our first was to Cloudy Bay). This winery produces one of the greatest inexpensive sparkling wines we\u0026rsquo;ve ever tasted. Called \u0026ldquo;Pinot Noir Curvee One\u0026rdquo;, it can be had for less than A$10 out here (US$6.60). We used to drink it like water in the UK, but went through an enforced period of abstinence when we moved to the USA. I\u0026rsquo;m happy to say they started to imported it to the states last year. Anyway, we went to pay homage and try some of their other offerings. We were welcomed like long lost relatives and had a great time. Didn\u0026rsquo;t leave empty handed either.\nAfter a brief visit to another winery (Seppeltsfield) we have lunch at the café Lanzerac in Tanunda. Then we\u0026rsquo;re off to our accommodation for tonight….Miner\u0026rsquo;s Cottage. Boy did we love this place!\nMiners Cottage It\u0026rsquo;s just outside a town called Lyndoch (for those of you who\u0026rsquo;re following all this with a large map of Australia at your side), in the Cockatoo Valley. And they call it that for a reason, because the area is thick with the things. After staying here I\u0026rsquo;ve decided never to own one of these birds. They are beautiful to look at and when there\u0026rsquo;s a whole flock of them flying around in their native habitat, it\u0026rsquo;s a sight to behold, by wow, do these guys make weird noises. Around dusk each night they seem to wake up (stopping their snoring and groaning noises) and start to fly around making these incredible screeching calls. Amazing.\nAnyway, the Miner\u0026rsquo;s Cottage is just what it sounds, a little old stone cottage, very low doors, cool inside and beautifully appointed, with a porch outback that looks down into a beautiful garden and then out over the hills. The owners (Brenda and Godfrey) live next door and became good friends during our stay. Also of notable mention was Lucy (the 3 ½ year old petulant daughter) and Holly \u0026amp; Daisy, the two very friendly Labradors.\nThe Dam We work out the kinks from our day’s driving by taking a walk up through the hills to the Whispering Wall. This is actually a reservoir dam that has an unusual property. If two people stand at the top of the dam (one on each side) and whisper towards the dam wall, the other person can hear them as if they were 2 feet away, when in fact they’re 500 feet away. Holly and Daisy accompany us on this little walk and become our constant companions on all the subsequent walks and runs we take. They’re great fun to have along, even if Daisy is predisposed to jumping into the muddiest of puddles and then shaking it all off right next to you.\n5 Mar 1997 - Barossa Valley #Today we hit the wineries of the Barossa valley with a vengeance.\nBarossa produces abut 85% of Australia’s wines and it shows – the wineries we visit are no-nonsense places – dedicated to high quality, good value wines with none of the tourist frills we found in other places (such as Margret’s River).\nHighlights included Henschke, Peter Lehmann, Yaldara and Seppeltsfield wineries. The last two have the most amazing old stone buildings – worth a visit just in themselves.\nA picnic lunch at Peter Lehmann and then back to Miner’s Cottage to generally loiter for the afternoon. Dinner’s at The Park back in Tanunda. I devour some more of the local wildlife and Lynn sticks to chicken.\n6 Mar 1997 - Adelaide #We\u0026rsquo;re off to Adelaide for a couple of day this morning, but we decided that we love Miner\u0026rsquo;s Cottage so much that we\u0026rsquo;re coming back here after that. We arrive in Adelaide mid morning, grab some lunch and then split up for the afternoon. Lynn goes shopping and I wander the city, covering lots of territory and getting some significant blisters into the bargain.\nTonight we stay in the \u0026ldquo;Old Lion apartments\u0026rdquo; in one of the trendy suburbs that surround the city center parks. We decide to have a night in, in front of the telly eating takeaway. Australian TV is made up in the most part by English and American imports (thankfully not just the crappy ones), but they do have some good home-grown offerings, including a local version of the show \u0026ldquo;have I got news for you\u0026rdquo;. This will be familiar to the UK readers, but for the rest of you, this is a show where two teams take it in turns to generally take the piss out of the week’s news \u0026amp; current affairs (and get points for doing so). The UK version was one of our favourite shows when we lived there, and the Aussie program turned out to be quite good too. Luckily, we have been reading the papers for a couple of weeks by now so we could actually get some of the jokes.\n7 Mar 1997 - Adelaide #We explore the hills and towns around Adelaide. Highlights included Mount Lofty (don\u0026rsquo;t you just love the subtlety of this country), which had fantastic views of the city and a very cold biting wind, and Hahndorf, a genuine German town.\nWe stay in the Georgia Mews Cottages tonight and dinner is at the restaurant in town, called \u0026ldquo;The Oxford\u0026rdquo;. This is, according to the guide books, the place to go. Turns out to be the best food we\u0026rsquo;ve had the entire trip.\n8 Mar 1998 - Barossa Valley #Back out to the Barossa and The Miner\u0026rsquo;s Cottage again today - hooray! Lynn and I are getting a little exhausted by all our non-stop travels at this point, so we\u0026rsquo;re looking forward to a couple of days of doing zombie impersonations. So, this is where the diary gets a little light.\nOn our way out of town, we stop off in Oakbank to check out a house that’s for sale. Wow, housing is really cheap around here, and we\u0026rsquo;re only ½ an hour from the city. We could actually afford to buy our ‘dream house’ here. The way they sell houses in this country is a little unusual though – the vast majority are sold by auction. None of the listings we’ve seen give any indication as to how much a house might sell for, so we’re not quite sure how you can shop around.\nAnyway, after a picnic lunch at Yalumba (they’re getting to know us by now), we arrive back at Miner’s Cottage.\n9 Mar 1998 - Barossa Valley #Lazy day. Bit of eating and drinking, bit of exercise with the dogs. Back to bed.\n10 Mar 1998 - Barossa Valley #For the second time this vacation I actually get up early and go jogging. I’m a physical wreck after about 100 feet, but the dogs keep me going.\nWe were going to move on today, but Brenda (the owner) has given us a free night, so we again spend the day recharging ourselves. A bit of wine tasting in the afternoon after lunch on the BBQ s is about as exciting as it gets.\nTomorrow we’re starting our drive towards Melbourne, which means a new state (Victoria) and a new chapter in this journal……until then.\n","date":"3 March 1997","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/south-pacific-1997/adelaide-and-south-australia/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Adelaide and South Australia"},{"content":"26 Feb 1997 - Fremantle #Welcome to the next chapter of the great vacation diary. As I\u0026rsquo;m sure you\u0026rsquo;ve noticed, this journal has grown too large for one page and I\u0026rsquo;ve broken it down into separate chapters. It\u0026rsquo;s amazing how much time you can spend doing this kind of thing.\nHere we are in Australia. Our first stop is in Western Australia.\nSome WA facts: #This is an amazing country and an even more amazing state. For example:\nAustralia is about the same size as the United States of America, but only has a population of 18 million, compared to the USA\u0026rsquo;s 260 million. Western Australia has a population of only 1.7 million, but it occupies 1/3 of the entire country - 1 million square miles. Of that, 70% of western Australians live in the state capitol, Perth. That works out to around 1 person to every 2 square miles outside Perth. The two main industries in this state are mining and sheep. With the latter, they don\u0026rsquo;t mess around, sheep farms (or stations as they call them here) can be as large as the state of Kentucky. Perth is remote. It\u0026rsquo;s 2,000 miles from the next major city. In fact, it\u0026rsquo;s closer to cities in Indonesia that it\u0026rsquo;s nearest Australia neighbor, Adelaide (2,600 miles away). There are places in this state where you can be almost 1,000 miles from any road, and that\u0026rsquo;s just a dirt track suitable for 4wd vehicles only. Perth skyline So, last night (and tonight) we stay in the South Beach Apartments in Fremantle. This is a town about 15 km SW of Perth, where the Swan River reaches the Indian Ocean. Once again, the apartment was great - two bedrooms, separate kitchen \u0026amp; lounge and all the appliances! Our apartment (and several dozen more) are located in an old biscuit factory on the south side of town. This area is rapidly being \u0026lsquo;yuppiefied\u0026rsquo; with all the old buildings being converted into swanky apartments, bars, restaurants, etc.\nBit of excitement this morning. I was trying to cook some eggs when I produced a huge cloud of smoke after dropping some butter into a pan that had been heated to about 2000o. Moments later we hear a distant alarm, but fail to make the connection. The manager is soon knocking on our door. We assume she\u0026rsquo;s her to introduce herself (since we arrived late last night), and her intro of \u0026ldquo;is everything all right?\u0026rdquo; contributed to this assumption. But…it turns out she\u0026rsquo;s here to see if we\u0026rsquo;ve burnt to death yet.\n\u0026ldquo;No, everything\u0026rsquo;s fine\u0026rdquo;, we say, \u0026ldquo;but we could use a frying pan\u0026rdquo; (missing from our inventory).\nOff she goes and few minutes later there\u0026rsquo;s another knock at the door. Cool we think, that was quick. I open the door to be greeted by a contingent from the local fire brigade! Opps.\nWe drive back up to Perth to explore for the morning and rapidly fall in love with this city. The downtown is compact and quite beautiful. All the buildings are either older stone 2 / 3 story or a (limited) number of modern skyscrapers. The places is crawling with parks and gardens. The city is on the side of a hill that gently slopes down to the Swan River. Fantastic. I can see why everyone who comes here thinks it\u0026rsquo;s the best place to live in Australia. Even Lynn, who was less than keen to come to this part of the country is quite effusive about the place.\nWe drive over the river to South Perth for lunch and then return to the north side to pay a visit to Kings Park. This overlooks Perth and claims to be the largest forest park within city limits in the entire southern hemisphere. Or something like that. We\u0026rsquo;re learning that the Aussies \u0026amp; Kiwis like to lay claim to the largest, widest, tallest or oldest something or other in just about every town in the country. Anyway, the park was big.\nBack to Fremantle, detouring to the beach to stick our toes in the Indian Ocean (a first for us). I can reliably report that the Indian Ocean is cold.\nOff for a wander downtown. Now this is a place I could grow to love. Very quaint town, not at all touristy and some beautiful architecture. That have a street that known colloquially as \u0026ldquo;cappuccino alley\u0026rdquo; and it\u0026rsquo;s busting at the seams with restaurants, cafes and bars. We felt quite at home.\nDinner was at the Sail and Anchor on cappuccino alley. Lynn has something light and healthy, while I devour Kangaroo parcels (basically, Roo in filo pastry). Another member of the local fauna to tick off the list.\n27 Feb 1997 - Fremantle \u0026amp; Margaret\u0026rsquo;s River #We prepare to depart Fremantle for 3 days down at Margaret\u0026rsquo;s River. This is a town about 3 hours south of here that’s supposed to be very nice, and coincidentally happens to be in the heart of WA wine region. Amazing coincidence! It\u0026rsquo;ll be good to spend 3 days at the same location without having to pack.\nThe place we\u0026rsquo;re staying at has a barbie (that’s Aussie for BBQ, not a bimbo doll), so we stock up on the appropriate basic food groups (meat, wine, beer). Lynn\u0026rsquo;s discovered the best grocery store in town, called Coles (she\u0026rsquo;s like a bloodhound for these things) and I have to say I\u0026rsquo;m impressed. Never go shopping here when you\u0026rsquo;re hungry.\nAfter that, Lynn dumps me outside the local hippie hangout for a massage. This will be my first. Ever. In my life. I have to say this is not exactly my favorite way to pass time, but I\u0026rsquo;ve had a very painful neck for about two months now, and the pain has finally won over the reticence. Twenty minutes of some serious dope music and I have to say I\u0026rsquo;m no better for the experience.\nThe drive down to Margaret\u0026rsquo;s River was quite interesting. Every time we thought we were out in the back of beyond (or outback as they call it round here), we would come across another residential housing development. Each looked very palatial and we began to wonder what the hell everyone did around here to afford these places, and more to the point, where did they go to earn it.\nOur accommodation turned out to be great (again). Lynn is proving to be a whiz at finding all the best places to stay on this trip - she should become a travel agent. They go by the name of Waterfall Cottages, but unfortunately the waterfall dried up several months ago (together with the entire river) and it\u0026rsquo;s not due to make a reappearance for some time to come. They don\u0026rsquo;t mess around with summer round here.\nOur first winery visit of the region was to Cape Mentelle, which is owned by the same company (Veuve Cliquot) as owns Cloudy Bay, so we had to pay it a visit. I\u0026rsquo;m sorry to report that their wines were not up to Cloudy Bay\u0026rsquo;s standards and more expensive to boot. This sorry state of affairs was to be repeated at all the other wineries we visited in this region. Still, we know that well be tasting better and more reasonably priced wines at our next destination - the Barossa Valley outside Adelaide.\nAnd the big excitement of the day - on our way back to the cottage in the evening, we saw our first kangaroo in the wild! Just sitting there in the middle of the road. It turns out that these guys are best seen during dawn or dusk. This is borne out when Lynn is practically mobbed by a whole group of them tomorrow morning.\n28 Feb 1997 - Margaret\u0026rsquo;s River #After successfully cooking some breakfast without summoning the fire brigade, we head out into the uncharted territories of the Margaret\u0026rsquo;s River wine region. Actually, it\u0026rsquo;s extremey well charted by several maps and guides, but it\u0026rsquo;s all new to us. We pay a visit to Cullens and Vasse Felix, two of the best know wineries in the region and the latter recommended by the New York Times (which has yet to let us down). Unfortunately, it lets us down. These wines are OK, but overpriced.\nSo, on to the beach for a bracing dip. We pick the beach that according the surf guide has the largest waves in the region. We get there to find that the waves have been given the day off - I\u0026rsquo;ve seen larger swell in my bath water. We stick our toes in the water and wimp out of the planned swim when we nearly loose them to frostbite. Our walk along the beach is enlivened by the local mutt dog that constantly begs me to throw a stick for him.\nOur big adventure of the day is an expedition into the Calgardup Adventure Cave. This was a \u0026lsquo;self guided\u0026rsquo; tour and we had the caves to ourselves. Quite cool.\n1 Mar 1997 - Margaret\u0026rsquo;s River #Woken again by the birds at some god-awful time of the morning. You know you\u0026rsquo;re in a foreign and when you hear these guys shrieking first thing. Think back to those corny jungle noises you always hear on the Tarzan movies and the like. Well, this is the country where they recorded them.\nSince my vacation to date has consisted primarily of eating and drinking, the old love-handles were getting a little out of hand, so I decided to talk a walk/jog (i.e. jog on the flat bit and downhill, walk up hill). It being dawn or soon thereafter, the countryside was once again thick with kangaroos. Don\u0026rsquo;t know where they find the space to hide themselves for the rest of the day.\nOnce Lynn and I had returned from our respect exercise outings (we never go together, I don\u0026rsquo;t want Lynn to see the sad fact of exactly how unfit I am), we take off the for the beach. I was determined to brave a dip this time, so I just ran down the beach as fast as I could, working on the premise that momentum would do what willpower failed to do yesterday. I survived full immersion for about 3 seconds.\nAs we sat at one of the surfer-dude cafés near the beach, eating lunch (Lynn something healthy in a sandwich, me fish and chips), we noticed that one of the tires on our rental car was ½ flat (or ½ full, depending on your outlook on life). Bugger. If we were nice people and we hadn\u0026rsquo;t had so much grief from Avis to date with our car rentals (don\u0026rsquo;t get me started on that one) we would get the tire fixed. But it wasn\u0026rsquo;t to be, so we just swapped it with the spare and half-heartedly commiserated with the next customer to get a flat in this car.\n2 Mar 1997 - Margaret\u0026rsquo;s River \u0026amp; Perth #Once again Lynn rises early to jog and commune with the kangaroos. I lie in bed and drink tea. I reckon that walk yesterday will allow me to feel self righteous for at least another week.\nToday we leave Margaret\u0026rsquo;s River and return to Perth. We\u0026rsquo;re staying down town for the night so that we can catch an early flight to Adelaide the next morning. The 3 hour drive back to Perth is fairly uneventful, only enlivened by a forced stop off for lunch in Fremantle (I had to pick up a computer bit I left in the apartments when we stayed here last). Even though today is a public holiday in WA (although we still can\u0026rsquo;t work out what it\u0026rsquo;s celebrating), Fremantle is once again a jumping joint.\nWe reach Perth around 2 pm and check into the Miss Maud Swedish Hotel. You get the idea. After a quick change of rooms, we find it\u0026rsquo;s not too bad, but we\u0026rsquo;ve been rather spoilt by all our other accommodations to date.\nThe rest of the afternoon is spent wandering round town (which is like a ghost town due to the public holiday) and trying to return our Avis rental car (the downtown office is locked up, even though they swear it\u0026rsquo;s supposed to be open until 6 pm. Bastards).\nTonight I will (hopefully) met up with my old drinking buddy and dive partner, Dave. I spent many a Monday night with Dave down the pub in England before emigrating to the states. Dave left for Perth just before me and this is the first time I will have seen him in 3 years. Looking forwarding to pumping him for info on Perth.\nWell, that bring me up to date. Until next time…\n","date":"26 February 1997","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/south-pacific-1997/western-australia/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Western Australia"},{"content":"23 Feb 1997 - Christchurch #We wake to clouds and a major temperature drop. Had to happen sometime. Our planned picture shoot of the mountains (which come right down to the sea here) are curtailed and we head off for Christchurch, our last stop in NZ (sob, sniff).\nChristchurch Like every other town in NZ (other than Auckland), this city is small. Blink while driving though and you’ll miss it. The town is portrayed as being very much like Cambridge (in the UK) and it does live up it’s image. Very picturesque, complete with a river Avon running thorough the middle and punts floating by.\nWe continue our research project into finding a way of shipping ‘unaccompanied baggage’ (i.e. a pair of dirty socks and a case of NZ wine) back to the USA. A visit to the Qantas office downtown and we find that the USA is the only country in the world that denies all knowledge of this process. Regular shipping is the only way to go. After hearing the shipping rates we resolve to drink our wine hoard instead.\nLunch is at a café called Dux de Lux in the ‘Art Center’ of Christchurch. This is the old University buildings, converted into a complex of cafés, museums and tasteful art shops. Very chic.\nI spend an hour or two in the afternoon wandering through the Botanic Gardens. Quick incredible. From what we can work out, 100 years ago this town consisted on one hut and a couple of lost colonists, but many of these trees are huge and have to be way older than that. We the Maori into Botanic gardens?. Anyway, these gardens are well worth the exercise.\nFor the next two nights we stay in the Fino Castemente Suites. For just NZ$135 a night we get two bedrooms (one for bodies and one for junk \u0026amp; suitcases), a bathroom and a separate living room and kitchen with all the appliances. Wow.\nLynn spends the evening tormenting the washer / dryer and I head off to the cinema (Starship Troupers – crap).\n24 Feb 1997 - Christchurch #A lazy day in Christchurch. I spend a couple of hours just hanging out and reading (in our lovely apartment) while Lynn goes into town to do ‘stuff’. We do another tour of the Botanic gardens on her return and I spend an hour in a museum within the Arts Center.\nWe spend a couple of hours in the afternoon doing the ‘Port Hills Tour’ drive around Christchurch, Littleton Bay and the surrounding hills. Very picturesque and very hilly. The guide map we’re working from is quite amusing. Who ever wrote it was obviously given the brief – \u0026ldquo;come up with a 2 hour drive round the nicer parts of Christchurch \u0026amp; environs, and point out 15 landmarks along the way\u0026rdquo;. We figure they were getting desperate by number 7 or so. Landmarks included a large rock, a perfectly ordinary bridge over a tiny river and the one \u0026amp; only casino in town.\nLynn phones Avis to get the address of their downtown office (we have an Avis map of Christchurch, but of course this isn’t marked). She get the street name \u0026amp; number, but then spends the next 10 minutes trying to find out the cross street. No matter how she phrases the question, this lady just can’t get it. She’s now a leading contender for Lynn’s ‘dumbest person of the year’ award.\nDinner at the Mythai restaurant (Thai food and very good too).\n25 Feb 1997 - On to Perth, Australia #We drop of the car, grab a coffee and catch a shuttle to the airport. Today we bid a fond farewell to NZ and fly to Perth, Australia.\nChristchurch airport is dinky and guess what – under construction! Of the five we’ve been though so far this trip, Auckland was the only one not being fixed up / improved / messed up.\nA quick flight to Sydney on our first real Qantas airplane (all the other ‘Qantas’ flights to date have actually been on other code-sharing airlines). We stay in Sydney long enough to get some Aussie money (very colorful) and to discover that we are making a stop in Adelaide on our way to Perth.\nWe’re thrown off the plane at Adelaide long enough to grab a beer (me) and lots of Adelaide tourist info (Lynn – for our visit here next week). Back on the plane. Movie (the new James Bond - the usual ridiculous plot with a totally unbelievable villain, but fun anyway). A bit of typing, and we’re up to date again. Until next time…\n","date":"23 February 1997","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/south-pacific-1997/christchurch-new-zealand/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Christchurch, New Zealand"},{"content":"20 Feb 1997 - Wellington, Ferry to Picton \u0026amp; Marlborough Region #Lynn’s is overdosing on the Dramamine in preparation for our 3 hour ferry ride to Picton on the South Island, and I hedge my bets and down a couple too. We dump the car at the port and climb aboard the ship. We’re off, and I’m up to date again!\nA lovely sail though the channels and waterways to Picton. The ferry terminal is one of the nicest we’ve ever seen, but this town appears to be a backpacker’s paradise – they’re everywhere! Picton is the starting point for some apparently excellent multi-day treks over the local countryside. The conveyor belt that (eventually) delivers our luggage is heaving with backpacks – God knows how anyone can tell them all apart!\nOut into the sunshine and half a dozen strides across the car park to the Avis counter. Our car is even smaller than the last one (if that’s possible) but we eventually manage to persuade all our luggage to join us in the car.\nCloud Bay Winery More windy roads over the hills and down into the valley of the Marlborough region. We head directly for the Cloudy Bay winery. For those of you who aren’t in-the-know, this is the Sauvignon Blanc of NZ and the visit is something of a pilgrimage for us. This stuff was very hard to come by in the UK and even harder in the USA. Available for only a couple of months in the year, it had a loyal following that would snap up all the bottles quicker than you could say saluté. Most wine stores in the UK had an allocation of just one case, and the entire state or Oregon apparently only got two!\nAnyway, we had a ball. Got to taste their reds (good, but not as good as the Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay) and their bubbly (so good we bought a bottle). We spent some time bullshitting wine talk with the staff and met Miles \u0026amp; Kyra (with baby Richard in tow). They were over from Sydney, visiting the ‘rels (Aussie lingo for relatives) and also indulging their tastes in NZ wines. And for the INI readers among you, get this – Miles works for Lucent in Sydney (enterprise market)! Needless to say we got on like a house on fire and ended up having dinner together at anther winery (Hunters). We plan on dropping in on them when we pass though Sydney. I may just get a job with Miles and never come back! We’ll see.\nNext it’s over the road to Alan Scott winery and then we check in to the Marlborough Hotel, just outside the town of, guess where…. Marlborough. Very nice, so nice in fact that we cancel our hotel booking in Christchurch and have them book us in at their sister hotel.\nRest of the afternoon spent wandering round town (Lynn) and playing with the computer (Nick). I spend ages trying to send \u0026amp; receive E-Mail. Man, the phone system in this country is screwed up!\nDinner you already know about, so that’s it for another day.\n21 Feb 1997 - Marlborough Region #Today is the day of the Grand Marlborough Wine Tour. I decided to get a hearty breakfast inside me to before I consume many hearty wines, so we go into town in search of a bistro for a good fry up. We are once again reminded that the day doesn’t appear to start for this country until well past 9 am (I like that). So, back to the hotel for a couple of good (but expensive) eggs.\nWine orgy time. For anyone interested, some of the better wineries included Seresin, Celler le Brun, Hunters and Corbins/Stoneleigh. The Seresin Chardonnay was outrageously good and only NZ$18 (US$12) a bottle! Wow! At one winery we meet a guy from Oregon City (about 3 miles from our home) on a research trip to the region (i.e. a vacation being written off on taxes). He grows Pinot Noir and Cabernet grapes for use by home wine makers. Needless to say I got his card.\nLunch was a sandwich in the park with the ducks. Lots and lots of ducks. Who practically sat on our knees and salivated while we ate. The ducks went hungry (we were afraid it’d be Alfred Hitchcock all over again if we fed them).\nThe night was spent in the Knightsbridge Motel. A romantic evening watching a movie and eating take away from the Bamboo Garden.\n22 Feb 1997 - Kaikoura #We’re off to Kaikoura today. A detour along the way for the Vavasour winery in the Atawere Valley (a bit early for that kinda of thing, but we courageously work our way though their wine list).\nKaikoura’s claim to fame is marine wildlife. You name it and they have it – seals, dolphins, whales, crayfish, etc. The big thing to do here is swim with the dolphins (Dusky dolphins if you’re interested, apparently the most friendly and playfully dolphin species, which is quite handy for Kaikoura). Unfortunately, the dolphins are a little too friendly and are oversubscribed for the next two days, so instead I pull out my dive card and sign up for a dive with the seals (fur seals to be precise).\nLynn takes off to check into our room, hike up Fyffe mountain and tour the town (if you could design a personalized nightmare for Lynn, going out in a small boat in the swells and jumping into freezing cold water with large marine creatures would be pretty close to the mark).\nNeedless to say, my dive was quite incredible. There you are, hanging in the water about 30 feet down, swooshing back and forth between the rocks and kelp in a major surge, and all around you there are these fur seals doing the most amazing acrobatics. If you just stay still, they get bored and go off, but if you imitate their movements (roll over, do back flips and wave your arms), them hang around to play. Very cool.\nThe place is crawling with crayfish (a.k.a. rock lobsters). I’m in the \u0026ldquo;look but don’t touch\u0026rdquo; category of diver, but others are here for their dinner. Back on the boat I find from them that looking is easy, catching is something else. The only ones they got are undersize and have to be thrown back (which I guess is how the big ones get to be big).\nI made a new friend on the boat – Monica. Turns out she works with Andersen Consulting in Chicago, in the Call Center business. I just can’t get away from this stuff!\nTonight we stay in the Old Convent Inn. This I run by a Frenchman, Marc and a Kiwi, Wendy (a native New Zealander, not a small flightless bird). They have this charming story of how the met in Greece, fell in love and came back to NZ to discover this old convent that they are still fixing up to this day.\nDinner at the Crayfish Pot café downtown. Great steak.\n","date":"20 February 1997","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/south-pacific-1997/wine-country-new-zealand/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Wine Country, New Zealand"},{"content":"16 Feb 1997 - Rotorua \u0026amp; Lake Taupo #So here we are, in the land of stinks and eruptions! We are staying on the shores of Lake Taupo, in the center of the North Island and the volcanic heartland of this country. We learnt that NZ actually straddles the gap between two tectonic plates and Lake Taupo (which is quite large) is actually an old caldera.\nThe drive down here was fun and very scenic. An enforced delay at one point due to a large trailer that managed to come unhitched and go straight through a barrier and over the side of a cliff. Most exciting.\nMade a brief stop in Rotorua for a McDonalds. This place had the most amazing Maori carvings all along the walls inside. Next stop….the Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland!\nVolcanic Land This place was a geothermal amusement park. You spend a couple of hours wandering along the paths and at every corner there are the most amazing sights. The names give you some clue - Devil’s Ink Pots, Artists’ Palette, Opal Pool and Champagne Pool. Incredible. The smells were quite appalling through.\nAnd then on to Lake Taupo. Stopped for a nice cold one by the lake before checking into the Le Chalet Suisse Motel. Dinner was at the Ploughmans pub. Their byline – \u0026ldquo;You’ve heard that the best thing about England was the pubs, well now you can find out what they were talking about\u0026rdquo;. Quite authentic, apart from the fact that it wasn’t raining!\nInterlude: #I’ve just finished reviewing this journal for the first time, and I have to say it has a rather negative tone to it. Well, just wanted you all to know that we’re having a wonderful time. Fiji and NZ have both exceeded our expectation, and we have high hopes that our vacation will continue in the same vein. We now return you to the regular programming\u0026hellip;.\n17 Feb 1997 - Lake Taupo \u0026amp; Napier #Today we’re off to Napier and the start of the NZ wine country. About time! Lynn’s rule of thumb for driving holds true again, but we get there eventually. Napier town is a strange but fun place. The old town was totally wiped out in the 1930’s by a major earthquake (quite common in NZ) and so, in the best Californian tradition, they didn’t learn from nature and go elsewhere, but rebuilt the entire town. Since Art Deco was the thing at that time, they built all the buildings in that style. They’re quite beautiful (good thing it didn’t happen in the 1960’s) and they were celebrating the fact next weekend with a ‘Art Deco weekend’.\nSpent the afternoon basically hanging out, bit of shopping and making lots of visits to the Visitors Bureau (which are very good in this country).\nLynn’s Contribution: #Lynn’s first rule of New Zealand travel - \u0026ldquo;take any time between towns listed in the locally produced guide books\u0026hellip;..and double them\u0026rdquo;!*\nOther than that, driving in NZ is a treat. Only two speed limits that we can determine, 50K and 100k (approx. 65mph). On all roads. Fun indeed - most of the roads are just two lane things, but surrounded by gorgeous and ever changing landscapes.\n18 Feb 1997 - Napier \u0026amp; Martinborough #Big excitement this morning – a visit to the Kiwi house! This is our first chance to actually see live Kiwis in the flesh! We’re first there when it opens and we rush excitedly past the displays and into a very dark room containing the Kiwi cage. Your first impression when you see them is \u0026ldquo;no wonder these birds are dying out\u0026rdquo; – they look kinda useless.\nLynn torments me with some clothes shopping before we depart beautiful Napier for Martinborough – this heartland of the wine country on the North Island – all right!\nDriving on the roads for a Brit is like going though a time warp. Half the cars are shinny new Hondas and Toyotas and the other half are all the British cars I remember from my youth (and the junky ones at that). I figure that when the UK car makers stopped producing a model, they shipped all the remaining excess inventory off to NZ. I can’t work out how they’ve survived for so long though.\nFinally we get to Martinborough. Tonight we are actually staying at a winery called Margrain. Cool. Very nice room outside town overlooking the fields and hills. Very peaceful, except for the gas-gun bird-scaring devices that sound like a shotgun going off.\nMartinborough town consists of one large square with a couple of shops and a hotel around it. That’s basically it. Very quaint. Dinner is a takeaway from the Flying Fish Gourmet Takeaway. Back to the room and we sit, watching the sun go down over the fields, eating our dinner (‘cuse me, gourmet dinner) and quaffing a Sauvignon Blanc from Villa Maria. Most pleasant.\n19 Feb 1997 - Martinborough \u0026amp; Wellington # Backbencher Pub Well it’s the talk of the town – a lot of lost sleep for everyone last night because someone forgot to turn off the gas gun. We slept like the dead I’m glad to report.\nStopped off at Palliser, Martinborough, Waimarama and Te Mata Wineries today. Great stuff, the only disappointing thing is that everyone’s Pinot Noir (which is what this region specializes in) has all sold out. We don’t leave empty handed though.\nAnd so off to our last stop on the North Island – Wellington, the capital of this fine country. We drive though the ‘mountain’ range to get there (small mountains, but impressively windy roads – where’s my Prelude when I need it?).\nWe drive around a corner and there it is – Wellington, sitting on the bay. Our first impression is – wow, it’s small! You can see just about every suburb of the city sitting on the hill side. We later find out from a native Wellingtonite that the population is only 450,000.\nBeehive Building We rapidly fall in love with this place. It’s really just like San Francisco, but with about 1/5th the population and complete with cable cars, steep hills, great food and questionable weather. Anyone who doesn’t live here calls this city \u0026ldquo;Wonderful Windy Wellington\u0026rdquo;. It was blowing a good one down on the waterfront, but we were reliably informed that this was average. They have 40 days a year when they get 60+ mph winds!\nLunch is a visit to the Back Bencher’s pub, opposite the parliament building (called the beehive, because guess what – it looks like a beehive)! This places is filled with characatures of the MPs and lots of rather wicked cartoons on the walls. This place is obviously a bit of an institution, since there are pictures of the MPs standing alongside their dummy (who’s the real dummy though?).\nThe beehive is a quite hideous building, even worse for the fact that stands right next to the old parliament building. This looks like a beautiful stone block building, but is in fact the second largest wooden building in the world. Wow!\nTe Papa While Lynn goes on a search for coffee and snacks, I spend a couple of hours in Te Papa – the \u0026ldquo;Museum of NZ\u0026rdquo; that just opened to much fanfare a few days ago. Now, this building is very large and has some fantastic exhibits. If this had opened in any major city in the USA or UK, there would be lines around the block for week to come. But here in the land of the sheep and few people, I just walked straight in – now lines, no crowds and free entry!\nAfter checking into The Bay Plaza Hotel (with a windy 7th floor view of the harbor), we take off for the One Red Dog Restaurant for dinner. I’ve died and gone to heaven. This place has a wine list to die for – all the best NZ wines, and every one is available by the glass! The joint is jumping and we have to wait in the bar for 45 minutes for a table (I’m absolutely devastated by this of course). I have (and I’m not kidding here) a ‘One Reptile Pizza’ for dinner – crocodile lightly marinated in coconut and sweet chili. Delicious!\n","date":"16 February 1997","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/south-pacific-1997/lakes-volcanos-and-wellington-new-zealand/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Lakes, Volcanos and Wellington, New Zealand"},{"content":"14 Feb 1997 - Auckland \u0026amp; Whangarei # Wow, Valentines day. And what a way to spend it. We woke up in the Kiwi International Motel in Auckland. A nice enough place, if a little sparse. Still, the Air New Zealand pilots stay here, so it can’t be all bad.\nI have a genetically based bigotry against any hostelry with the word \u0026ldquo;Motel\u0026rdquo; in it’s name. This comes from being born and bred in England, where Motels are places that axe murderers and bikers stay. Here in NZ, everything is either a motel or a Bed \u0026amp; breakfast. The former pleasant enough, the latter having less facilities and triple the prices.\nAnyway, off to the Avis desk at the airport again to pickup our car. Mass confusion because we’re 2 days early (even though we faxed them the changed date). Our prepaid voucher amazingly doesn’t pre-pay quite enough (it\u0026rsquo;s incredible how car rental agencies can pull all sorts of additional charges out of the air when they need to).\nFinally we’re off, heading north toward the Bay of Islands – Auckland’s playground. I read in Frommer’s that Auckland has more boats per capital than anywhere else on the planet. Driving past the marina downtown you can believe it too.\nAs we get further north, the countryside appears with a vengeance. It’s just one park, forest or reserve after another. The trees are a mix of coniferous, rain forest and strange looking giant fern trees (which I’m sure aren’t called \u0026ldquo;giant fern trees\u0026rdquo;).\nWe stop at the Puhoi Hotel, in downtown Puhoi for a beer and burger. This is a tinny little town that is currently swapped by visitors to the annual country show. Still, we find a parking space and sit on the top of the hill outside the pub, drinking (good) cold beer and watching the world (and the local weekend bikers) go by. Very pleasant.\nIn the afternoon we make it to the Settlers Hotel in Whangarei (and that’s one of the easier Maori words). Once again, ‘motel’ fits the NZ definition rather than the British. We spend the rest of the afternoon dawdling through various parks and reserves, generally checking out the flora \u0026amp; fauna. This place is beautiful. We are already talking about \u0026ldquo;how could we come an live out here\u0026rdquo; which only happens when we really like a place.\nOK, up to date again. I’m quaffing my wine (a cheeky little Sauvignon Blanc from Montana) as Lynn’s getting really hungry. We’re off to the local marina from a spot of dinner. Later.\n15 Jan 1997 - Whangarei and Bay Islands #We wake after a another surprisingly good night’s sleep, considering this is only a double bed. After the king size at home it seems way too cramped. Lynn makes me tea and I lounge around and read while she goes jogging. I’ll start exercising any day now.\nToday we’re off on a jaunt up north to the \u0026ldquo;Bay of Islands\u0026rdquo;. This is just what is sounds, a large bay with 144 islands, and about 10 times that many tourist attractions. This really is the playground of the North.\nWe drive through several towns around the bay that look like a NZ equivalent of Brighton or Blackpool. Lots of tea shops, cafés, gift shops and water-oriented tourist attractions. After stopping for a bit of lunch, we head north again, pausing briefly to take in the Haruru Falls (which don’t fall very far) before reaching the town of Kerikeri.\nHere we hit up our first two wineries of the tour – Marsden (very nice) and Cottle Hill (run by a very arrogant guy from San Diego no less), before proceeding to our northernmost point of our trek – the Aroha Island Ecological Center, home to some of the last Kiwis in NZ (their national icon). They say these bird are very shy and they’re right, the only ones we see are stuffed or on video.\nAnd now we start our run south. Back to the Settlers Hotel for tonight and then an early start for the long run down to Lake Taupo and the geysers!\n","date":"14 February 1997","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/south-pacific-1997/auckland-whangarei-new-zealand/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Auckland and North, New Zealand"},{"content":"12 Feb 1997 - Yasawa Lodge # Our first full day at Yasawa. Breakfast is interrupted by Vili – the activities director, who tells abut all the fun activities talking place today in Paradise. This guy is more camp than Mr Inman (\u0026ldquo;Are you being served\u0026rdquo;?).\nAfter breakfast I depart on a snorkeling trip. I’m joined by a newlywed couple from Holland and we’re taken about 15 minutes south in a long boat. There’s no shade in the boat and the sun is already brutal. To our surprise, we’re dumped on a beach and the boat disappears for an hour (to the local village for a gossip we suspect).\nStill, the water is warm and there is some nice soft corals, but nothing like the sights at Cousteau.\nOn the return trip, I huddle under my beach towel, trying to hide every bit of skin from the midday sun. However, the sun outsmarts me (not too difficult to do) and manages to burn the back of my legs quite satisfactorily.\nWe decide to bail out early. There is just something about this place that we just don’t like. Perhaps if we hadn’t been to Cousteau first, this would be paradise (as Vili keeps informing us it is). Lynn has a word with the manager. I cower by the pool, avoiding the unpleasant confrontation. She returns with good news and bad – yes we can get out on the charter tomorrow, but no they won’t refund us for the two days we won’t be spending here after all. Screw it, we’ll go anyway. We have a growing list of whinges and complaints that we’ll carefully craft into a letter once we leave. Let’s see how they react once we get our letter published in Condé dé Nast Traveler Magazine.\nLynn departs for a trip to the local Fiji village in the afternoon. Apparently, the locals continue to reinforce our impression of a genuinely friendly nation of people. There is a little healthy commercialism thrown in at the end, although Lynn manages to escape relative unscathed with a small shell necklace.\n13 Feb 1997 - Leaving for Auckland #Lynn has an early morning panic crisis. \u0026ldquo;We’re wasting all this money by leaving early\u0026rdquo;. She’s spent most of the night worrying about it. Being Lynn, she just can’t make a decision, so I do it for her. Screw it, we’re off. The money’s spent either way (we’re not hopeful for a refund), so what’s the point in staying if we’re not happy here?\nWe spend the morning on the beach, then back to our room to pack and down to the main lodge for our final meal. Time turns glacial. We swear the word has got around the staff and they’re being deliberately slow in serving us. Finally, we’re on the bus/trunk/bure-on-wheels and off to the airport.\nTo our horror, we find we’re sharing the plane with the director of the resort! This guy gave Lynn a really hard time of it when she told them we were leaving early. Thankfully, he studiously ignores us for the entire time.\nBack to Nadi again. Waste some time rearranging our car rental in New Zealand with Avis and hanging out in the Aero View lounge. No problems getting our Qantas flights (once again masquerading as Air Pacific) changed to today – they didn’t even charge us the $70 fee for the pleasure.\nFinally, we off on a little 737, with seats to spare. Lynn and I sit, separated by a seat pilled high with junk, blankets and discarded food \u0026amp; drink utensils. We hand the Frommer’s \u0026ldquo;New Zealand for $50 a day\u0026rdquo; guide book back and forth, bewildered at the choices we have to fill our 2 weeks (and 2 extra days) in this country.\nI pull out the laptop and begin to type, which gets me up to date once again\u0026hellip;\n","date":"12 February 1997","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/south-pacific-1997/yasawa-lodge-fiji/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Yasawa Lodge, Fiji"},{"content":"7 Feb 1997 -Arriving at Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort # Ten hours, forty two minutes, two crap movies, 7 hours of highly interrupted sleep and two plastic meals, courtesy of Air Pacific we’re there. We all stick our noses to the windows for our first, non-photographic view of this south pacific paradise. Will it be all it’s alleged to be, or will turn or to be another society given over to greed, poverty, blatant tourism and abandonment of their cultural identity?\nWe step off the plane into a blast of heat and humidity, but after the rain and winter of Portland, we’ll take everything this island can throw at us. We quickly learn the most common word by far in the Fijian language – Bula, which basically means Hello, hi, great to see you, how’s the wife \u0026amp; kids? The security guard, Bula! The customs officers (renowned throughout the world for their surliness and gruffness) – Bula! Everyone we meet for the rest of our time here – Bula!\nThrough passport control, grab the bags, and out onto the concourse. This is always the acid test of a country – how you’re treated by the locals a places like airports? Is everyone out to rip you off and get their cut of your cash? Well, there was this Fijian lady, jumping up and down, shouting \u0026ldquo;Nick and Lynn\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;Nick and Lynn\u0026rdquo;! Like a long lost relative. Sauvni turns out to representative of the Fijian hospitality and completely the opposite of our worse fears.\nGenuinely friendly, she helps with the bags and takes us over to the Sunflower airlines counter where we check in for our puddle-jumper flight to Sauvsauv. They’ve got a special on today – buy the return flights in cash and it’s half price! Our suspicious minds go into over-time. What’s the catch? We still can’t believe that the people are really this friendly, that there’s got to be a sting to all of this. But it’s true; the counter agent weights our bags\u0026hellip;.and then weighs us! Thankfully, the scale’s display isn\u0026rsquo;t working on our side of the counter . Nonetheless, I breath out before stepping on. And the look of horror on Lynn’s face is a sight to see!\nThe plane was a twin otter – about 24 seats. The flight was fun, but the landing was a little hairy – the landing strip was so narrow!\nOff the plane, into the van and off we go along the un-metaled road to the resort, Jean-Michel Cousteau. This is our first real glimpse of the island and we like what we see. Beautiful, green luscious country side and well kept up at that. No sign of the trash and litter that’s all too common on many Caribbean islands. There seems to be a real pride in the environment.\nAnd finally, we’re there. We are met by Mike, the temporary manager of the resort. He shows us to our Bure personally. This is basically a large thatched building with two walls that are all screens and shutters. No a single pane of glass anywhere. It feels like you’re living in the open air – wonderful.\n8 Feb 1997 - Jean-Michel Cousteau ResortFirst full day here. We’re both up early, woken at first light by the birds singing right outside our ‘window’. A quick bite to eat and I’m off diving, which is everything it’s been cracked up to be. Beautiful corals, huge variety of fish, warm water and good visibility. There was a good swell once we got outside the reef surrounding the resort and I’m sorry to say that I was actually sea sick for the first time in my life! I can now sympathise with Lynn and her terror of anything to do with boats.\nThe afternoon is given over to just hanging out, swimming, walking and reading. There no more than 8 couples staying here currently, and we meet all of them. Most of the people here are older professionals, doctors, etc. Everyone is very friendly and keen to hear about each other’s lives and plans.\nJust about everyone here is in transit. Everyone has either come from somewhere else or is going there next. Most commonly, New Zealand and Australia. It seems that it’s just too expensive to come to Fiji alone. We seem to be ahead of the pack in that we’re traveling for two months. Most are off for much less than this, but then most haven’t quit their jobs to be here!\n9 Feb 1997 - Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort #As I write this, it’s about 5:30 pm. I managed to scrounge up some Dramamine last night, so no worries with the diving today. On our first dive we descended into a large shoal of barracuda at about 40 feet, just hanging there looking menacing. Later we saw a small turtle. On the second dive, less fish but some absolutely beautiful hard corals at about 20 feet.\nAfter lunch I crashed out for an hour or two – the excitement and Dramamine has caught up with me, while Lynn gossips with the ladies at the bar. I sleep though a tremendous thunderstorm apparently.\nSo, up to date now. Time to send off an E-Mail to friends and family.\n10 Feb 1997 - Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort #A lazy day like no other. Spent the morning diving again. I’m the only guest this time, but Nui, Jerry and the captain were along for the ride. The first dive was a lovely wall dive. At one point, we were hanging at about 90 feet off a shear wall of coral, which descended several hundred feet into a deep blue abyss. And that was the name of the dive site – \u0026ldquo;The Deep Blue\u0026rdquo;.\nSecond dive was in \u0026ldquo;The Grotto\u0026rdquo;. This consisted of a several elongated bommies which we swam over and around. As with all the dives at Cousteau, lots of fish, lots of corals, but not many large animals.\n11 Feb 1997 - Heading for Yasawa #Today we’re off to our next adventure. We depart Cousteau to the serenade of guests and staff – most of the resort has turned out to wave us off. We’re sad to leave this place – we really felt at home here. We promise that we’ll come back next year.\nWe’re dropped off at the Savusavu ‘airport’, which consists of two offices, one for Air Fiji and Sunflower, squared off from each other over the waiting area. There seems to be a friendly rivalry between these two airlines. A garage for the fire truck completes the picture.\nAnd the waiting area is fully populated by ex-pat Americans who’ve made Fiji their second home. We talk to one couple who, on their second visit to Fiji are buying land and property so that they can ‘escape’ the summers of Hawaii for 4 months of the year.\nWe’re met at Nadi airport again by Sauvni. Helpful and friendly as ever, so helps us collect our baggage and escorts us up to the Aero View lounge – an air conditioned bar and restaurant above the main concourse that appears to be undiscovered by the rest of the airport population.\nWe hang out, drink beer and eat lunch before catching the charter Sunflower Airlines flight to Yasawa lodge. This is a 30 minute flight in a 6 seat Britian Islander. Yasawa island is the northern most island in the Yasawa chain, which defines the eastern most edge of the Fiji islands. The flight is uneventful, but the landing is an ‘interesting’ decent onto a short sloping grass strip.\nWe are met by the Yasawa Lodge welcoming committee, including the Manger (Simone), the resident band and a turnout from the local Fijian village. We are transported to the resort on a genuine WWII vintage truck, complete with thatched roof, serenaded by the band all the way.\nThis resort is supposed to be a lot more up-market than Cousteau, but it has a completely different feel, frankly something we just don’t quite synchronize with. Both Lynn and I feel from the start that this just isn’t really our kind of resort, although we don’t voice our feelings to each other until later.\nWe’re shown to our bure…very nice, only spoilt by a sleepless night dues to some incredibly loud plumbing.\n","date":"7 February 1997","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/south-pacific-1997/jean-michel-cousteau-resort-fiji/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort, Fiji"},{"content":" At the last minute, we cancelled our shuttle ride to the air and took up Colleen (our neighbour) on her offer of a ride to the airport. Three and a half hours later, we were in LAX, all bags collected from the Alaska carousel and hiking over to the International terminal. Looking good so far.\nEven flown internationally? Why is it that the international terminal at just about any major airport seems to be run to a completely different set of rules than the domestic? As we wandered through the hall, looking for the Qantas desks, we just had the sinking feeling that the longest lines in the building were going to be ours. And they were! Two hours later, we’ve finally checked in - 390 passengers and only one agent for our flight!\nSo, we waste an hour or so in the bar, idling watching the huge departure boards slowly whittle their way down to our flight. We play the little mind games, like \u0026ldquo;what’s the most exciting destination on the board\u0026rdquo;? After years of mundane trips to Newark, Spokane and Denver, we’re pleasantly surprised to discover that we are going to the most idyllic location listed – Nadi, the main hub for the Fijian islands.\nFinally, we all crowd onto the plane, a 747-400. Big. Very big.\n","date":"5 February 1997","permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/blog/south-pacific-1997/portland-la/","section":"Nick's Travel Blog","summary":"","title":"Portland \u0026 LA"},{"content":"","date":null,"permalink":"https://elseyworks.com/tags/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tags"}]