"STEVE HAS MOVED TO AUSTRALIA " Steve-H's Profile

Rural France + agricultural motorcycle = big grin.

12 YEARS OF TRAVEL WITH VT.

STEVE'S LATEST TRIPS - The BIG one, I moved from grotty London to beautiful Western Australia where I can ride my bike without fear of being flattened by women in Volkswagens - but that's another story.
There is so much to see and do, it's a whole new life, a fresh start and best of all I am now working on Rottnest Island.

Over the years I've handled more than a few enquiries from people wanting to get married in the Whitsunday Islands and you know what? some of those folk actually went to sunny Australia and tied the knot, I'd like to think I had a small part to play in that, well done to you all. It shows that we are easily found by people using search engines to research their holidays because none of the people who made contact were VT members, there are probably some who didn't contact me but still took my advice, we are all giving a little help to the travel community, thats the power of Virtual Tourist.
If you fancy the Whitsundays for your wedding then drop me a line, meanwhile have a look at my Island pages A Whitsunday Wedding.

CLICK ON THE TRAVEL PAGES TAB AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE AND TAKE A LOOK AT THE WORLD MAP TO SEE WHERE I'VE BEEN, FIND OUT WHAT I GOT UP TO AND FIND OUT ABOUT ALL THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE I'VE MET ON MY TRAVELS.

If you look in the bottom of your sock drawer and find loose change from at least thirty different currencies, then you, my friend, are a traveller indeed....mind you, the Euro has put a stop to this sort of collecting.

My aim is to build pages to show where I've been and what I got up to while I was there. I'll give tips and warnings wherever possible, I'll certainly post lots of photographs and answer any questions along the way but my primary aim is to store memories and details for my friends and family to see what i've been doing so that I don't have to traipse around the country, pockets bulging with photographs, to re-tell tales of amazing deeds in far off places. So, if you want to know what Steve has been doing all year and where he has been lately, you are in the right place, read on.

STEVES GOALS FOR 2013....

The man behind the lense.

What`s next for our intrepid traveller? ......

Let's look at my travel plans for 2013.
In May I will hop over to Queensland, a mere 4400 kilometers, party with friends for a while then head south to the Australian National Motorcycle Museum. After a day in biker heaven I will press on to Sydney to see yet more friends.
In September I hope to be heading back to Europe for a few weeks, a visit to Maidstone & London and hopefully a trip to Kos Island in Greece.

Well, I have waved goodbye to London, no more Borough Market on a Saturday morning & The Doghouse pub in the evenings, I now live in Western Australia just south of Perth & I work on Rottnest Island so I'll be able to build up a fantastic page or two about this wonderful resort island.

And Finally...
Travel can sometimes be a frustrating experience. I had arranged through my local MP to climb the Clock Tower at the Houses of Parliament to see Big Ben, the 13 ton bell that marks time for us Londoners. A party of 12 went up the 300+ steps in early September 2011. This could be one of my travel highlights, the worlds largest four-faced chiming clock offers some unique views of London, what an experience, what a unique opportunity, what a dissapointment!...no cameras allowed, who's going to believe i was ever there?

2010 & 2011 at a glance.

In the heart of France 2010

2010
Australia
Perth -Rottnest Island --Fremantle then on to Sydney -Watsons Bay --Manly next stop was Brisbane -Oxenford --Mount Tambourine

France
Ebeon -Cognac --Ile D'Oleron ---Fenioux

2011
Australia
Perth -Rottnest Island --Fremantle

Moving to Australia

Snow & shorts! must be New Zealand

Latest news...I'm planning to visit the UK for a mega party with friends later this year, I have time to spare and was going to visit a friend in Greece but he'll be on tour at the time so I now have to find something else to do, perhaps Germany, perhaps France, who knows......

Sunshine or snow, it's all travel to me.

The ice tunnels inside the Jungfrau

Why the face pulling and where were we? During our trip to Switzerland we decided to take the tourist train to the top of the Jungfrau ( the top of Europe ) but the weather was always against us. Fortunately we could see the mountain from our rooms, when it wasn't obscured by cloud, on the very last day of our holiday we awoke to see the peaks bathed in sunlight so off we went with all haste. After a few hours on the trains, enjoying the spectacular scenery, we made it to the Jungfraujoch via Lauterbrunnen and Kleine Scheidegg. At 3454 meters we were as far as we could go without a guide as the summit is actually 4158 meters, Rod was annoyed as he wanted to go to the summit but couldn't get a guide to take him. The route from the train to the plateau on the snow covered mountain is via tunnels of ice made from almost pure water, the glassy surfaces invited much touching and in places they were a bit small so i was rubbing against the walls as we made our way through the ice caves to the open air and despite the cold and lack of oxygen (run a few paces and you are out of breath) i did it all in one shirt and a pair of shorts, Rod of course looked like Scott of the Antarctic, Sheila just stood around looking cool.

This is how I travelled around London.

Travelin

When I lived in London I found that the best way to get around was by motorcycle, because it's a two wheeler I didn't have to pay the congestion charge, 'what's the congestion charge?' I hear you cry, well, 4 wheelers that want to come into central London must pay a daily toll of £8 Congestion Charging and you had better pay it because London is littered with tens of thousands of cameras that read your number plates, if you miss a payment you will be fined bulk. So far motorcycles are exempt from the charge because they don't cause the congestion but it won't be long before the government sees this as an 'oversight' and another revenue stream.
So, be warned, if you want to drive around London make sure your hire company explains the process for paying the Congestion Charge, it isn't a nationwide scheme yet, in fact some cities have voted against it, it's effects are debatable but it's a small relief for those of us who have bikes and use them to get around London.

Steve walks on water.

On the ice in Bruhl, new year 2009

My first trip of 2009 was to Bruhl in Germany for the new year celebrations and to visit friends, while there we went for a hike around a local nature reserve. It was freezing cold, cold enough for the lakes to ice over, so off we went and walked all over them, another first for me.

Racking up the miles

Should I enter this in a VT photo competition?

I put this here as it seems to sum up how i feel at times, are these people going home or going away? There is no light so full of hope as the dawn.

Intro Updated Apr 20, 2013
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Personal Pages (1)

Written Aug 4, 2011

1 photo

Donating, disposing, selling & recycling.

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Comments (36)

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- Need help planning 7-9 days in the Whitsundays, Port Douglas, and Cairns<\/a>\'. I appreciate your advice." data-reportAbuseItemOnPageDetails="Comment #1, ID=10059995" data-anchorFragment="?showComment=10059995#comments" data-reportURL="http://members.virtualtourist.com/members/reportAbuse/" data-contentTitle="Thanks for your answer to \'Need help planning 7-9 days in the Whitsundays, Port Douglas, and Cairns<\/a>\'. I appreciate your advice." data-photoURL="" data-commentAuthor="robin2013 http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/173d51/" data-authorName="robin2013" data-authorProfileURL="http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/173d51/">Report abuse
robin2013 May 12, 2013 at 6:32 PM

Thanks for your answer to 'Need help planning 7-9 days in the Whitsundays, Port Douglas, and Cairns'. I appreciate your advice.
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Usctwin Oct 29, 2012 at 3:39 PM

Have a great birthday, Steve!
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DaHongHua Oct 29, 2012 at 2:13 AM

Nice to meet you in today's birthday list. A warm happy birthday greeting to you from Malaysia. Wish you all the best to keep travelling years and years. Cheers.
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australia2 Aug 29, 2012 at 3:48 AM

Steve I just picked up that you work(ed?)on Rotto!!??
TTTAPU n YouTube is very interested in my very much home movie clips of which I'm slowly putting up there.!? Lots of other Rotto there too. Mine, 'Vintage'! ... No more 'chat' here. Bending the rules, eh.
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australia2 Aug 25, 2012 at 8:10 AM

Steve, your 'Plumber in Paradise' site is superb.;-))
('Laurie Edward' on Youtube - more (old) Rotto VHS video clips there.)
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australia2 Aug 25, 2012 at 8:00 AM

Drop in and see me sometime. We have similar tastes about a generation apart.
My '49(?) Triumph Speed Twin (Trumpy) gave me heeps!! of pleasure In RAAF Ballarat. And drop in to my Rotto page soon. a wonderful place is our W.A.
My son drives around inside the 'congestion tax' area. Sold his Beemer sadly.
Cheers Steve. Laurie.
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blonid Aug 8, 2011 at 7:28 AM

cont.... we travelled to NWS, Brisbane,Melbourne and drove the great Ocean road to Adelaide. Sorry this Thnak you is late but I have been meaning to do this for ages. Lisa aka Blonid x
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edachsund Mar 30, 2011 at 9:50 PM

hi hi, good stories on your page. I like... ;-)
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nikki36hh Feb 22, 2011 at 3:25 PM

Back from oz again.. !
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aussirose Oct 28, 2010 at 10:13 PM

Happy birthday Steve! Have a great day mate!! Hugs xx