42nd and final day...

Cinnamon french toast for breakfast in our b&b with ocean view in Half Moon Bay is followed by a final drive along freeway 92 and 101 towards SF airport. Another beautiful day in prospect and the wind is less arctic

41 Days In...

Our last full day in the US of A.  Last night we stayed in a Holiday Inn just a spit away from the canning works of Monterey.  My companion wanted to come here because of John Steinbeck's Cannery Row and as we had decided to come south to Monterey

39 Days In...

Coming to America, I thought that the streets would be full of iconic American makes of cars, not large ones of course but still Chevrolets, Oldsmobiles Buicks etc. In fact, there are hardly any US motors and as many

38 Days In...

Leaving the safety and gentility of Christchurch after a lovely walk up the Port Hills and a final lunch with our friends, I had a few qualms about the changeover in LA.  These were perfectly justified as we arrived an hour late from Auckland to

37 Days In...

Leaving the trendy town of Queenstown after gawping at the cost of real estate we met a guy from Norwich in a local bar.  He had been taking a long holiday in NZ and was intending to come back and settle in Auckland if he could ever get round

35 Days In...

Arrived in Christchurch and met by friend and her little boy.  Struck by the lack of traffic on the way to friend's house, though rather concerned by the rule allowing priority to drivers turning right - one to watch out for.  Next day

31 Days In...

Thoughts on leaving Oz. Pokies pokies everywhere - the gambling industry is huge in small and large town Australia.Roads not as good as I had imagined, those freeways and highways of my imagination don't exist.Drive-thru bottle stores (off licences)BYO

31 Days In...

Leaving Mackay we set off down our old friend the Bruce Hwy in the direction of the town of 1770 where Capt. Cook first made landfall in May 1770.  Held up by an accident on the highway (not a good road and very busy with campervans and huge semis

28 Days In....

Tomorrow we leave tropical Mackay after 6 days with cousins and aunts and uncles.  It's been an action-packed time of family get-togethers, photos and visits.  The recent floods have been THE topic of conversation around here.  My cousin

21 Days In...

We're now officially in the Tropics, having crossed the Tropic of Capricorn at Rockhampton (or Rocky to Aussies who like to abbreviate).  It's been a nervous trip up from Brisbane as Porky the Landrover is unhappy with its clutch and we've been trying

19 Days In...

Brisbane is an ever-increasing city with new developments springing up everywhere.  We stayed with a friend in the south west suburbs - most Australians seem to be suburbanites.  Long low bungalows with wraparound verandas, outside barbecues,

16 Days In...

Left Sydney in a hire car (easier said than done with the traffic on the northern suburbs) and took Pacific Highway in the direction of Brisbane. Mourned the loss of our wonderful bookshop on Oxford St - 2 floors

15 Days In...

And so we arrived in Sydney to stay in the Paddington area, a lively verging on the seedy neighbourhood with a very nice little hotel next to a bookshop, like all the best hotels. I love Sydney, the situation on the

13 days in...

Hello from South Australia, the festival state. Temperature since we've been here: 40C. But a very dry heat so not so tiring. We're staying with Tom's cousin who has a little house in the south of Adelaide near the

Eleven days in...

Headed down from Perth on the metro-type train to the sleepy seaside resort of Mandurah. Except that it is actually a glitzy marina resort of over 60,000 citizens. Stations on the way: Burdock, Holborn, Banana