"RANDOM WANDERINGS" tiabunna's Profile

We live at Batemans Bay, a beachside town on the southern coast of New South Wales. By the standards of most places it's pretty quiet (apart from holiday periods) but the climate is usually mild, the region largely unspoiled, and the lifestyle relaxed.

That said, we do enjoy getting away on trips, mostly around Australia - though I must admit to being way behind in writing my VT pages! Other activities, such as fishing, seem to keep getting in the way. :) If you’d care to stay a while and visit my VT pages, you’re most welcome. I’ve outlined some of the content in this opening page.

Update 5 Sept 2011. Apart from putting up a new main pic, this is just a short note to say that I'm heading off on travels again - this time to SE Asia. Back early October 2011, hopefully with some great stories and photos.

VTers touring Arnhem Land

In 2008 we had a very enjoyable trip to Darwin, looking around generally and taking in a great VT meeting. Most of all, the prior "VT Survivor" trip to Kakaduand Arnhem Land at the “Top End” of Australia was an unforgettable experience - delivering far more than any 'package tour' could ever hope: visiting quite "OTBP" places, superb scenery, wildlife, and opportunities to delve a little into Aboriginal culture. What I can't so readily show on VT were the great times we shared with other VTers and their partners, the laughter, and good food. Maybe that's as well, in view of (dare I say it) some ribald humour and bad singing.

Ste Chapelle, Paris

In 2007 we decided to visit some very dear friends in Nova Scotia, eastern Canada. From Australia, as strange as it may sound, a round-the-world ticket was less expensive than a return ticket would have been. We needed no more prompting to take the “round-the-world” option! We had a great time away, meeting several good VT pals in the process. But it’s embarrassing to admit that I’ve yet to complete VT pages on a large part of this trip: a matter of “overload” of experiences and photos. Here’s are my pages on the major stopovers:
Vienna
Paris
Montreal,
Québec (part completed
And more pages yet to come – hopefully soon!%

Our ship "parked" in pack ice

Long ago, I worked for a year at Macquarie Island, far south in the Southern Ocean. At that time I never expected to return there, or to Antarctica where I had spent over a year previously with work – even less did I expect to return as a tourist with my wife! But opportunities for travel have increased and our December 2005-January 2006 trip took us to Antarctica – no, not the Peninsula! We travelled by ship from Hobart to East Antarctica (that's the large roundish bit extending east from the Weddell Sea around under India and Australia to the Ross Sea) across the wide Southern Ocean, finally returning to New Zealand, and visiting remote and seldom-visited subantarctic islands en-route.

East Antarctica is somewhat larger than Australia, but has a population of no more than 1000 people. It takes in the main Antarctic plateau and most of the Antarctic ice sheet - colder, drier, and often windier than anywhere else. In terms of shape, think of an inverted saucer, steeper at the sides and gradually rising toward the middle. Our trip took us only to the fringes! Apart from workers at research stations, few people ever get to visit the interior. If ever you have the opportunity to visit Antarctica, I can only say Don’t hesitate, just do it!

King Penguin, Macquarie Island

The travel pages are:
Macquarie Island
Antarctica
Auckland Island

Kangaroos leaving our property

If you are considering visiting Australia, may I suggest you start at my main Australia page for a general information overview.

Australia (residents often just call it Oz) is a big place and we have family scattered around. So we travel quite a bit in Oz, if often to the same places!
Pages and places I can recommend include:
Canberra, Australia’s quite different capital city, where we lived for many years
Brisbane, the Queensland capital (I’d say allow about 2 days for the city) and a good base for visits to some great beaches, scenic mountains and sub tropical rain forests – allow somewhat more time!

I tend to the view that in general, modern cities are cities are cities though! Don’t come to Oz looking for chateaux, baroque or ancient buildings – we don’t have them. What makes Oz special to me are the vast unspoiled areas, the National Parks, beaches, and some of the more interesting little places. As examples:
- Murwillumbah near the Gold Coast beaches and National Parks with sub-tropical rainforests
- the little town of Cowra
- the very pleasant beachside town of Coffs Harbour

The lovely convict-built bridge in Ross

Tasmania is a different place again! It has more preserved history than the rest of Australia combined, spectacular scenery, and great foods and wines. You could spend weeks here (we have, and still have far more to see). I've yet to write more Tassie pages, for the moment here are some interesting OTBP Tassie visits to consider:
- the historic village of Ross
- a tiny place called Legerwood with some interesting tree carvings
- or St Helens and the Bay of Fires which has world-renowned beaches.

Lord Howe Island looms through the mists

I’m gradually compiling VT pages for some of the travels we have made over the years. It’s a slow process, especially where old photos need to be scanned, such as this photo from Lord Howe Island or the following photo taken near Oodnadatta in central Australia.

Camel wagon (in early 1970s), central Australia

Most importantly, we still have many more places we wish to visit, more to experience, and more people to meet. We're looking forward to it!