Archive for the ‘ Travel ’ Category

Back on the road

Author: Striker

Dec 12

I’m back on the road in two ways, actually. With thanks to my mate, Andrew, the TX5 was able to pass it’s blue-slip inspection, and is once again registered.

How I’ve missed driving this thing.

 

The other kind is that I’m travelling again. I’m currently sitting in Morayfield, Queensland, having recently been to the Coffs Harbour, the Gold Coast, Bundaberg and Maroochydore.

 

I’m kicking myself for not installing cruise control in the TX5, though. I bought the setup from Scott, and it’s sitting in my garage. The TX5 is considerably smaller than my XR6, and as such, cramps are much more common. Cruise control would meant hat I could move my foot and leg around a bit without worrying about pissing off other drivers.

 

When I get back to Sydney I’m going to install both the cruise control, and the better suspension package (shocks/springs/swaybar). That will make the TX5 handle a lot better, and be much nicer to drive for long periods of time.

 

It’s starting to cool down outside, which I’m glad of. It’s been 33 degrees outside most of the day. Hopefully we’ll get a little rain, too.

I don’t miss Sydney in the slightest, but I do miss the 20 degree rainy weather down there.

0 Comments
Filed under: Travel, TX5 | Tagged as: , , ,

Auslan on my travels

Author: Striker

Jul 19

I’ve told anyone who would give me more than three seconds bout my travels lately. Where I’ve been, what I’m doing. It’s been a great three weeks, and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.

What I haven’t talked about much is that I was able to use my Auslan while I was away.

 

In Melbourne, even though I visited both Deaf Children Australia and the Victorian College for the Deaf (the school that Frederick J Rose started in 1860), I didn’t meet any Deaf people, nor did I get the opportunity to sign.

In Brisbane, I arrived about an hour before an Auslan social (I got up at midnight, so I could drive to Brisbane, and be there in time for the social) and met a lovely Deaf guy named John. John, some other people and myself sat in the cafe drinking coffees for four hours or so during which we talked about travel mainly, with John detailing his experiences traveling to Israel, and dealing with the military presence there.

 

My friend, Rick, is also interested in Auslan, so being that I didn’t buy him anything for his birthday, I enrolled him in the Auslan 1 (Introduction to Auslan) course in his local area. As it turns out, John will be teaching the course.

 

Towards the end of my time in Brisbane, I went on a car cruise with a whole bunch of other cars. While we were all hanging out at a corner shop waiting for our food, I saw one of the girl jokingly sign “bitch” to a guy who had mocked something she said. He joking replied with the sign “mental”, so I signed “I know that sign..”.

There was a little surprise over everyone’s ability to sign (however limited all of us were). Auslan is not the most widely used language, and I would think it more common to run in to someone who speaks Dutch, than it would be to find another (non-Deaf) person who signs well enough to have a basic conversation.

 

Speaking of basic conversations, I received a letter from TAFE today, and it stated that I was “competent” in the modules I have completed, including “Use of simple Auslan for personal purposes”.

0 Comments
Filed under: Auslan, Travel | Tagged as: , , , , , ,

Bundaberg

Author: Striker

Jul 15

It’s 4pm, on a “horrible” day in Bundaberg. At least that’s what the locals tell me.

It’s overcast, which I quite like, and according to them, it’s wet and windy.

If it was any more summer-like, I’d be looking for an air-conditioner. It’s 20 degrees, and their version of windy means someone over-heard their neighbour say that his second-cousin’s grandmother saw a leaf move.

Autumn, Winter and Spring are beautiful up here. Summer is a little too extreme for my liking, but I generally sit indoors anyway, so it doesn’t matter much to me.

 

I went out for lunch and, at quarter to three, the shops on the main street started closing. The owner of the take-away/cafe told me that he could hear a schooner calling his name, so it was time to close up. While late night shopping technically exists here, last night I noticed the doors to the bank were open a shade before 8, and I remarked about my surprise that the banks stayed open for late night shopping, too.

Apparently “late night” means 6pm or 7pm, and the most likely reason for the doors to the bank to be open at this hour was voted ‘robbery in progress’.

It really is a sleepy old town here, but I do like the atmosphere and the old buildings.

0 Comments
Filed under: Travel | Tagged as: , ,

Kiama trip

Author: Striker

May 26

I’ve had itchy feet for a long time now, and after talking about going travelling and camping with many people, I went on a small day-trip with a mate of mine, Adam.

 

The idea was to scout some locations for longer camping stays down the South Coast.

 

So off we went to Kiama, where we visited the blow-hole. One of the thoughts that sticks with me most from the day is that I should have brought my hiking boots, which I always do when travelling, but didn’t do for our little drive. I now know better for next time.

Also, I think I need to go to the army disposal store, and buy some new boots. Either some GPs, or SWAT boots. Both would be good for hiking. The GPs have more ankle support, but the SWAT boots are apparently a lot more comfortable to wear. I remember day one of my old GPs. I came out of that with more blisters than I care to remember.

 

Normally we would have driven down the coast road, but I wanted to stop by Macarthur Parts Plus, which is in Narellan, so we took the highway down to Kiama instead. Kiama is a beautiful town, very green and very scenic.

The blow-hole is awesome to watch. There is a sign nearby which details how and why it works.

Past the blow-hole is an outcrop of volcanic rock, good for a bit of a climb if you’re in to that kind of thing. I am, and am definitely going to return with decent boots, so that I can travel faster over the rocks. I found that I needed a bit more ankle support than my work boots gave.

 

On the return journey, we decided to have dinner in Kangaroo Valley, which is one of the more beautiful drives I’ve been on (Kangaroo Valley Road, on the South). When we got there, a shade before 5pm, we stopped in at the Fudge Shop, where I used to deliver Dutch candy, and I bought three flavours of fudge.

The owner is a funny bloke, it’ll be a shame to see him go (the business is currently for sale).

 

We asked about places to eat in Kangaroo Valley, and he mentioned that we’d have to hurry, as the bridge on the North side (our route home) was closing in an hour for nightly works. The bridge is currently undergoing full restoration and repair from 6pm to 6am daily.

 

Dinner ended up being had in the Mittagong RSL. It’s a typically expensive RSL feed, and nothing there stood out from the norm aside from a lamb stroganoff, which I tried, and was the best stroganoff I’d had. The sides that came with it were pretty dismal, though.

Photos from the trip can be found in the Gallery

0 Comments
Filed under: Travel | Tagged as: , , , , , , , , , , ,