Another Surfer Dude

Surf's Up!

Trawling through the several hundred piccies from the recent trip to Oz, it's clear I was mesmerised by surfing.

At the beginning of the Great Ocean Road you pass through the Surf Coast near Angelsea, the cradle of Aussie surfing.

Well, here a picture of Surfies Point on Phillip Island instead.



I haven't got a clue about surfing and I'm pretty useless in water. I don't understand why these guys don't get the surf board clonking them on the noggin'

Anyhow, here's another piccie from Surfies Point.

Swan Lager

Sorry Aussies. I never really developed a taste for Aussie beer. I tried Victoria Bitter, Melbourne Bitter, Cascade, Boag's and Cooper's. Of them all, my preference was for Cooper's Sparkling Ale. Also tried Redback, a wheat beer. Not bad, but I'm not a huge fan of wheat beer.

Must admit I didn't try the local Perth drop, Swan Lager. It used to be brewed at this lovely site on the Swan River.



Oh, I'm not too keen on Aussie wine either. But, nothing personal. Don't fancy wine generally.

Overlooking Perth

Here's a nice picture of downtown Perth.



Oh bugger, someone put a freeway in the way.

Arrive Alive

Driving around Australia was not quite as daunting as I thought it might.

Generally speaking I found Australian drivers far more courteous and law abiding than their UK counterparts. Most drivers kept their speed on open roads; not always careful in built up areas. There was little in the way of aggressive driving, certainly no tailgating.

Okay, this was a limited three week period, but it was in three different states and in urban, suburban and rural areas. Some apsects weren't that great such as poor lane discipline on motorways/freeways and not a huge awareness of pedestrians at intersections (though I put that down to bad signalling where drivers get a green filter light when pedestrians have right of way.)

However, overall driving behaviour was markedly better.

I wonder how much of this is down to the extensive road safety advertising campaigns. Victoria runs a very in your face campaign. The latest drink/drive campaign features the tag line: "Just over the limit? You bloody idiot".

On most main roads in the country there are frequent signs alerting drivers to fatigue and the perils of "micro sleeps".

You will also find that the use of speed cameras is not popular, but perhaps not as much as it is in the UK. I don't know if cameras are limited to accident blackspots like they are supposed to be in the UK. Cameras are less visible because they've not painted them yellow like they are in the UK.

Still, there must be bad driving around. We saw an overturned car on the Westgate Freeway when driving back into Melbourne.

My Mate

According to the Footprint guide to Australia, you are either a Marmite person or a Vegemite person. The latter is the Aussie version of the former. Or is it the other way around.

For the uninitiated, both are yeast extract. What might that be? Well, it's one of the few yummy black foods around. You spread it on toast in the morning. It fills you with the goodness of vitamin B. So good!

For most breakfasts in Oz, Vegemite was on offer. Being a good boy, needing my vit B, I spread the vegemite and munched away. Okay, a bit waxy and not quite as tasty.

So, Saturday morning it was a delight to dip in the Marmite jar.

This mate is a Marmite person.

Regular or Premium?

These pictures brought back to mind a very bad cartoon from way back.

An alien lands at a deserted petrol/gas station and, talking to the pump, says

"Take your finger out of your ear Earthman and take me to your leader!"

Funny what the road can do to your brain.

The G

One of the last things we did in Melbourne...

A tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the MCG, which is undergoing massive renovations in preparation for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.



Only ten days previously, the MCG staged the 2004 Aussie Rules Grand Final. Port Adelaide beat the defending champion Brisbane Lions to take their first ever AFL premiership. I watched on TV, stubbie in hand.

Aussie Politics

Dateline: back in Blighty

During a break from driving in Tasmania, the Donut came face to face with the island's federal member, Dick Adams.

It was on a sunny day in the historic burgh of Hamilton on the way to the west side of the island. We were walking around the "town" looking for food for lunch. As we stopped to peruse the local information board, a car pulling a caravan pulled into the town's middle. The car was blazoned with Adams' election banner, as was the caravan.

Adams, the consummate politician, wandered up and introduced himself. He immediately recognised that we were visitors. I reaffirmed that telling him that unfortunately we couldn't vote for him.

In what seems a common occurrence on telling him we were from England he announced a direct family linkage. His wife is from Devon.

Well, Adams may have retained his seat, but John Howard has retained the premiership.

It was interesting to observe the election whilst in Oz. A much more confrontation and personal campaign that we experience in Britain. Australia allows direct TV advertising - like the US. It was also interesting to see that real policies - like the opposition Labor Party's Medicare policy - emerging in the midst of an election campaign.

Howard easily kept hold of power. Labor, led by the comparative novice Mark Latham, put up a good show. But, from the outside it looked an uphill struggle.

zzzzzzzz

Dateline: Singapore: 4:29 am

Must stay awake. Musn't miss flight.

stay on internetttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Spending time in Tassie

Finding a place and time to post has not been easy. But, fear not the Donut is alive and not yet stung by a Aussie venomous creature.

A couple of days in Philip Island - not quite Melbourne's Delaware Beach to DC, nor Brighton to London - over the weekend were nice and relaxing. Weather wasn't that brilliant, but plenty of walks and booze made up for that. I think.

In Tassie, it's been a bit of a raod trip. Tassie's a bit bigger than you might imagine. Takes about 4-6 hours to cross from east to west, depending on how often you stop and refuel or just wander of the road to look at the sights.

Earlier this week, we were in Strahan (prnounced Strahhhhwn), which is the only port on the west coast and the hub for activities in the World Heritage Site. In the wind and rain, our catamaran, the Lady Jane II cruised out through Hell's Gates into the Southern Ocean, then back trhough McQuarie Harbour and up the Gordan River into the rain forest.

Yes. It rained in the rain forest. But, in case you don't know, the Gordon is one of the few truly wild rivers left in Australia if not the world. The pictures look great, but I've not found a place to upload them yet. May have to wait for Blighty.

Today was spent in the former penal colony of Port Arthur. I need a few more minutes to deal with Port Arthur. Right now, I need to dash back to the motel (think Motel 5 1/2). Suffice it to say for now, it was a good day, but one that leaves me feeling sad. I'll tell you why the next time I can get some surfing time.