Staircase to the Moon only happens at certain times of the year when the full moon rises and shines over the mud flats when the tide is low. During our recent visit to Broome we were fortunate to see this happen from the grounds of our accommodation. My camera is not the best, (a poor […]

Santiago is over 100 kms from the port of San Antonio, which is now the main cruise port for Chile. It used to be Valparaiso, but the unions became too troublesome so the Chilean government moved the main port to San Antonio, where they don’t seem to have the same labour problems. To get from […]

As soon as we had the required time living in Australia we applied for Australian citizenship in Melbourne. It was planned for us to take the oath and to attend a citizen ceremony until Skypak asked me to move to Sydney, which put an end to our citizenship plans in Melbourne. We had to start […]

I knew that I had made an impression with this fellow – as soon as he saw me, he turned his back . . . We were visiting the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, which is free to enter and all they ask is a donation to the work of looking after sick or injured […]

On our arrival in Lisbon I phoned the ‘greeter’ to let her know that we had arrived and that we were queuing for a taxi. As we reached the front of the queue I indicated that we required a large vehicle to accommodate four people and all our luggage. The vehicle assigned to us resulted in […]

About an hour and a half from Cowra is Parkes, so name after Henry Parkes in 1873 later Sir Henry Parkes. Sir Henry in the town centre of Parkes. Parkes is now famous for the radio telescope that is located just outside of the town. It was built in 1961, but only the basic structure […]

Dunera at Tilbury in the early 1960’s We sailed without any passengers from Tilbury (London) to Edinburgh in the Firth of Forth in Scotland, for a cruise of Scottish students to the Baltic. Our first port of call was Kristiansand on the southern tip of Norway. I did miss the heat of the Mediterranean, even […]

A quiet town with a very unusual historical link. We took a ship’s cruise, because I was unable to find a ‘walker’ guide. Another temple – Kehi Jingu Shrine, or as the locals call it “Kei-san,” I took the above photo, but as usual you couldn’t get a clear shot for the tourists :- o) This shot […]

Perhaps A Brief Encounter should have been the title of this blog. Celia Johnson & Trevor Howard in a 1945 romantic drama, which might have links to Punta del Este. A British lady, Margaret Elizabeth Douglas, was born in Punta del Este in 1918. Her mother was Anglo – Argentinian and her father was Canadian […]

Muscat means ‘anchorage’ in English, and it is obvious why it got that name being protected by a rocky island. The above photograph is from the internet – it was taken in 1970, two years after my visit. This is Muscat harbour in 1903, the fort that can be seen is the Al Jalali Fort. […]

Arrived in Colombo to be greeted, just below our cabin balcony, by an elephant. Not sure that I was happy with the use of the elephant as a photo prop. The elephant, in my opinion, seemed to be stressed as he or she shook its head to make a large bell that was tied around its […]

After leaving Tarawa it was a short 805 mile flight to Funafuti, Tuvalu, but it still took about three hours in the HS 148. The aircraft carried more freight than it did passengers, because not many people visited Funafuti, other than returning residents, and the occasional businessman, i.e your truly. As we made our approach to […]

Savusavu is on the island Vanua Levu, which is on the smaller of the two larger Fijian islands, and I have marked the location. Savusavu is unspoiled & a place that is unhurried and free of most modern trappings and has managed to retain much of yesteryear. Savusavu was a popular trading port for sailing […]

A few years ago Maureen & I and three other couples had a seven week holiday of self catering, self drive around the UK. We hired a mini-bus and stayed in farms and apartments – all self catering. We were a mix of three ex Poms, three Australians, a New Zealander and a Russo – German. […]