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

STEVES LAST TRIP - AUSTRALIA, THIS IS THE BIG ONE FOLKS, I'M EMIGRATING - WATCH THIS SPACE.....

STEVE'S LATEST TRIPS - Australia early in 2011, a visit to sunny Perth for a party & meeting up with friends from Sydney and London, another lap of Rottnest Island and some time on it's wonderful beaches. I also went to Cottesloe, Rockingham, Mandurah, Penguin Island and Busselton as well as a few of the wonderful vinyeards of W.A.
The spring saw me on tour again visiting almost 60 towns & cities in the UK with the Solid Silver 60's Show. A week in the south of France soaking up the wonderfully relaxed atmosphere.

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.

The man behind the lense.

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

Let's look at my travel plans for 2011.
I went back to Australia, this time with Singapore Airlines, having survived one of the coldest winters on record I wanted to get some sun on my belly. I'll be back in Australia in September courtesy of the Immigration Department and my residency visa.
In August, I was at the Bulldog Bash in Warwickshire as usual & this years 25th annivesary event was a cracker.

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 have 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 will ascend the 300+ steps in early September. 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?

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

Snow & shorts! must be New Zealand

Latest news...My visa has been processed, it took 18 months to find out I was eligible to migrate to Australia, I've gone through all the checks and everything is on track, don't know when I'll be moving but watch this space for details.
OK, it's official, the whole process took 18 months & I will be moving to australia in September 2011. Right now I am recycling, donating, disposing & selling like crazy.

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.

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.

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.

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.