Road Trip South Australia reminds me of the last frontier and the road trip I took in 2003. Three Japanese students, Yukako, Megumi & Noriko & I travelled from the Gold Coastin Queensland, through Broken Hill NSW to Coober Pedy in South Australia, a fascinating opal mining town where most of the population live in underground houses, then on to Ayers Rock and back home to the Gold Coast via Hervey Bay where we went whale watching. On our marathon journey all through the Australian Outback we traveled 7,300 kilometers which was around 82 hours behind the wheel.
The above photo is at Tenterfield on the New England Highway.
This famous Australian singer son writer was born in Tenterfield. For a discounted room rate just book through THIS LINK.
Listen to Peter sing one of his famous songs about the Tenterfield sadler.
The first stage
Across NSW to South Australia.
Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia
Our first day on the road, we will overnight in Broken Hill.
Trades Hall in Broken Hill.
The Trades Hall is Broken Hill’s most historically important building.
Broken Hill in outback NSW.
Broken Hill over 1,100 km (680 mi) west of Sydney and surrounded by semi-desert.
For a very good discount on a Broken Hill hotel just book through THIS LINK.
Typical outback building
In the 19th and early 20th century Broken Hill was home to a community of Afghans. Afghans worked as camel drivers in parts of outback Australia, and they made a significant contribution to economic growth when transport options were limited. The camel drivers formed the first sizeable Muslim communities in Australia, and in Broken Hill they left their mark in the form of the first mosque in NSW (1891).
Wilmington South Australia
Wilmington is a farming community, known for sheep, wheat and barley, but more recently for the planting of olive groves.
Road Trip South Australia, the general store
Wilmington is 305 kilometres north of the state capital, Adelaide.
This was at Byron Bay near the start of our journey.
Such lovely young girls, Noriko Megumi & Yukako. Thanks for visiting my Surfers Paradise Road Trip South Australia photo blog. Next stop is Coober Pedy.
Surfers Paradise Sydney Trip seeing lots of friends & in particular caught up with Karen Greenwood an old girlfriend from 1991, 26 years ago. As you can see see still looks fantastic. 🙂 So many great memories came flooding back, it was certainly wonderful week Surfers Paradise. We are at Franks seafood cafe on Chevron Island.
I first visited this iconic bar on New Years Day 1982, 35 years ago. The reason I am so sure of the date is it was the day after my unforgettable NYE on Sydney harbour with my overloaded boat being showered by sky rockets.
First stop Kingscliff only a 40 minute drive.
Just a quick stop for a very good breakfast and some photos.
Great views over the beach from this excellent hotel, Use THIS LINK for a terrific discount on a room with a view.
The older side of Coogee
Many parts of Coogee are quite ancient as you can see, probably worth several million as a development site here in Arden Street.
This one is certainly worth preserving.
Not sure if it will be kept as a private residence or a guest house.
Overlooking Coogee Bay
As you can see Coogee is quite hilly.
Important safety message
When on the beach in Australia make sure you always use sun block-out, wear a hat & swim between the flags.
In recent years I have had many skin cancers removed, doctors tell me the damage was done many years ago before I turned 16 years of age. In those days we NEVER wore hats or used sun protection.
Things looked a little different in 1936
It was called Belmore Rd in 1930
Fabulous old photos.
How about 1905?
It certainly wasn’t Busy Chaotic Coogee Beach then. 🙂
Thanks for visiting my Busy Chaotic Coogee Beach Sydney photo blog, before you leave please check out Maroubra Beach which is a few kms south of Coogee.
Gosford Central Coast NSW is located on Brisbane Water just 80 km north of Sydney. Growing up in Sydney this area was where our family would spend our annual holidays.
Breakfast at Tommys Cafe at Gosford
Before driving to Coogee in Sydney I decided I needed a good breakfast.
Scrambled eggs & avocado
On Turkish toast of course. 🙂 TripAdvisor rate #6 of 101 Restaurants in Gosford.
A delightful spot in Gosford Central Coast NSW
I wish I could find Turkish bread in Thailand.
Perfect sunday morning in Gosford
From Gosford it’s just a short cruise to the magnificent Hawksbury River,
Starship Cruises
The “Lady Kendall” will take you on a 2.5 hour cruise for $37.
Gosford Sailing Club Club
Located on the foreshore of Brisbane Water. Check it out through THIS LINK.
Shooting some photos
I never go anywhere without my Canon. 🙂
A perfect place for a row.
Opposite the Leagues club.
Gosford Central Coast NSW Central Coast Stadium
The stadium has picturesque views over the Brisbane water.
Just book through THIS LINKfor an excellent discount.
The Settlers Tavern
A terrific T Bone have Settlers Tavern at 2 Hely Street, West Gosford. They have a great menu for a local pub, check it out on THIS LINK.
All the meals were excellent
My friend Geoff had the pasta & his ex fiance Nana ordered a huge meal of steak & seafood. Geoff is a regular visitor to Thailand, follow THIS LINKto see his 50th birthday party.
Time to head south to Sydney.
The last leg of my road trip is just a short drive south to Sydney along the Pacific Highway.
Yamba Clarence River NSW Coast has a population of just over 6,000, which tends to triple in the holiday season. The economy is based on tourism & fishing. Yamba was my 2nd stop after leaving Surfers Paradise where I had spent a week catching up with friends.
Mathew Flinders was the first European to visit Yamba Bay in July 1799.
If you live in Yamba you gotta have a boat.
The fishing is wonderful all along the NSW Coast.
If you don’t have a boat…
Go to one of the seafood restaurants along the Clarence River.
Or buy fresh seafood here
Then sit in the park close by and enjoy it. 🙂
Or perhaps here
I really love those Sydney Rock oysters (double this price in Sydney) plus the fabulous prawns.
Here is the place to eat
A nice park overlooking the water is the perfect spot to polish off your prawns & oysters.
You can watch the waves rolling in
The surf was fairly rough today on March 10th 2017.
You may like to compare room rates to the Moby Dick motel, just use THIS LINK for a great room rate.
Room with a view
When the Pacific Hotel in Yamba in northern New South Wales opened in 1934 it was lauded as “the most perfectly appointed place of all seaside resorts north of Sydney”.
The view from your room.
Eighty seven years later, the Art Deco pub still stands majestically overlooking her namesake in this town at the mouth of the Clarence River.
For a terrific room rate just book through THIS LINK.
Thanks for visiting my Yamba Clarence River NSW Coast photo blog. Next stop is Port Macquarie, check out the painted rock art by the river.
Kingscliff Northern Rivers NSW was my first stop after leaving Surfers Paradise where I had spent a week catching up with friends. My plan was to travel down the coast to Sydney stopping at various coastal towns on the way.
Kettles on
Very popular for breakfast as you can see.
Eggs Benedict for me.
Cooked to perfection. 🙂
Huge breakfast for my brother Ian.
There is nothing wrong with his appetite. 🙂
Kingscliff Northern Rivers NSW
A fairly typical coastal town with lots of coffee shops, tourists & terrific beaches.
For instance
Miles & miles of surf & sand & deserted at 9am on Wednesday March 8th 2017.
Short walk from the beach to the shops
Kingscliff Northern Rivers Coast NSW is a tourist destination with a population of a little over 6,000 with beach and estuary access for swimming, surfing, fishing and all types of water sports.
Choppy surf today
Kingscliff is only 14 kms from Coolangatta airport.
Location
It’s obvious why Kingscliff is so popular given how close it is to the Gold Coast.
A beautiful day
Kingscliff by the beach.
Kingscliff estuary
A nice peaceful picnic area.
Picnic area beside the estuary.
Grab the morning paper & relax under the trees.
Time to hit the road & head south
I got an amazing deal on my hire car from Apex, 6 days hire and drop it off at Sydney airport for only $150, a special relocation deal.
Here we go
After an excellent breakfast I’m on the road again.
Hundreds of new townhouses
So many new homes, the demand is obviously here.
Other towns heading south.
All are nice little seaside villages, I may well wind up in this area when I return permanently to Australia in the next few years.
This was Chinderah on the way to Kingscliff.
One lazy pelican and Mount Warning in the distance.
The highway to Byron Bay.
I thought I would bypass Byron Bay and head for Yamba.
Road tunnel
Cutting through the hills.
Inside the tunnel
Lucky for me there is very little traffic.
Thanks for visiting my Kingscliff Northern Rivers NSW photo blog.
Kitchens Robina Town Centre Gold Coast is the largest and most expensive in QLD costing a whopping $160,000,000. Combining bars, cafes, restaurants along with 40 fresh food retailers. Spread over two levels it features eateries from local hospitality heavyweights such as the Honeyeater Kitchen from ex-Songbirds chef Trent Scarr, David Hayles’ Betty’s Burgers and James Brady’s Mr Pigs Bakehouse; alongside celebrity chef George Calombaris’ first Queensland restaurant, Jimmy Grants.
Kitchens Robina Town Centre Gold Coast
The whole place is quite spectacular, I will certainly visit again next time I’m on the coast.
Pure Meats
Butchers have come a long way since I grew up, I clearly remember them having sawdust on the floor. Here is an explanation from an old butcher explaining why;
When my Dad and I butchered, we used it as a safety enhancement and for ease of cleanup as was mentioned. No, we wouldn’t have meat on the floor, but it seemed as the floor would get slippery over time, and without sawdust, it was only a matter of time before someone would slip and it didn’t matter much what you had for footwear.
Often we wore cowboy boots as you basically stand for 8 to 14 hours at a time and it seemed easier on you, but as you can imagine they aren’t known for tractive abilities. If you are packing a 135# or so hind, you really want your feet to stay under you. We never would have worked without sawdust on the floor in the back, the front we left sawdust free but eventually it would make its way up there.
It is a pain though tracking sawdust all over the place, in your vehicle, etc.
Naturally the beef must be hung. 🙂
Why is meat hung you may well ask;
Meat hanging is a culinary process, used in beef ageing, that improves the flavor of meats by allowing the natural enzymes in the meat to break down the tissue through dry ageing. The process also allows the water in the meat to evaporate, thus concentrating the flavor.
Fish Lab by William Wu
Not only is this a good looking restaurant they also have a “drying room” next door. Follow THIS LINK for more about it.
The drying room
I have never seen anything like this before in a food court.
One of the many cafes
There is certainly lots of choices where to have a coffee here.
Too many coffee shops are never enough. 🙂
Not too sure if they are all making a living, and I’m guessing the rents are astronomical.
Such a feeling of space.
The high ceilings and open plan gives a feeling of space.
Spectacular roof at Kitchens Robina Town Centre Gold Coast
The architects have really done a great job here.
Lucky Luciano’s
I wonder if it’s a mafia hangout? 🙂
Woolworth’s for some serious shopping.
As you can see Kitchens Robina Town Centre Gold Coast caters for everything.
Farewell from Robina
Thanks for visiting my Kitchens Robina Town Centre Gold Coast photo blog.
Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.
The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.
Contemplating life beyond 2000 after just completing a huge around the world trip with Tony Murphy & John Martin aka Pothole. The fabulous trip began in November 1999 in Los Angeles then on to Miami, Mexico City, Bolivia, San Paulo, Rio di Janeiro, Salavador, Paris, Bangkok & finishing in Koh Samui.
Consequently I really expected 2000 to be a bit of a let down, after all how do you recover after a two month trip like that one?
The photo above was in Sydney for Pothole’s 50th birthday on February 1st. That’s our good mate Paul Slaughter with the glasses & the lovely Kathy who was Pothole’s girlfriend at the time. He was punching way above his weight as you can clearly see. 🙂
Sadly I was as well.
Punching above my weight also with an Italian princess I met & fell for in Koh Samui.
What a smile
Her name was Barbara Manelli, however to me she will always be “Gypsy”.
Consequently in March I headed to Florence to see if there was any future pursuing this gorgeous creature. I soon found out that a brief tropical island fling was soon forgotten back in Italy. 🙂
Italy to Australia via Bangkok
I figured there was only one way to fix a broken heart & that was a week in Bangkok on the way home. 🙂
The usual suspects, John Moon, Jim Bell aka “HO HO”, & John “Secrets” Sinclair.
John Sinclair aka Secrets at Main Beach.
Here is John with one of the gorgeous Main Beach waitresses.
The dreaded black list.
Over the years Secrets has always had a black list of people who have been guilty of some indiscretion of which he has not approved of. I have been on & off the list a few times over the years, now in February 2017 I am, with quite a few others, most certainly firmly back on the list. Consequently to commemorate this honour I designed a T shirt & Pothole has arranged to have them printed. 🙂
Owned & run by Paul Allen a larger than life Gold Coast character, passed away far to young in 1013.
Celebrated my birthday at the Boardroom in Southport.
Always a few sexy girls at the Boardroom which was owned & run by Malcolm Pearce.
Always a lot of fun
As you can clearly see I was being totally dominated here. 🙂
Skye from Launceston
What a knockout, here we are having lunch at Melbas.
Let’s go back to Italy
A flashback to March when my pursuit of the beautiful Gypsy crashed & burned. No that’s not really true, after Samui it never really got off the ground. 🙂
San Gimignano
We did all the tourist things then I headed south to Rome to hook up with my friend Paul McNeil & Scooter Boy.
The Spanish Steps in Rome
I hired a car & the 3 of us had a great road trip through Naples, Sorrento, Positano all the way down to Reggio in Southern Italy, the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria.
Artist at work in Positano.
We covered a lot of territory including Isle of Capri, this quickly became my favourite part of Italy until 2010 when I discovered the Cinque Terre. 🙂
Xmas lunch
Tradition dictated we would gather at Melbas each year for a Xmas lunch, here we have Jim “Ho Ho” Bell, John “Secrets” Sinclair, David Herd & Tony Murphy.
Best ever Melbas barmaid
Her name is Aurora & we all fell in love with her. 🙂
Family & friends come to visit
My brother Warren & his wife Kerry with my cute little niece Laura. On the left is Chris Lockwood & his partner in happier times.
My best friend Ziggy
We had lots of fun together, plus he was an excellent guard dog.
At the end of the day 2000 certainly was another good year.
From the top left is Malvina from Paris, Rush from Thailand, & Kerry & Simone from Australia.
Thanks for visiting my Contemplating life beyond 2000 photo blog.
This is not a travel blog just my personal photo collection from the 1970s & 80s, check it out if you wish.
Arabella St Longueville
Farewell Melbourne hello Sydney
Farewell Melbourne hello Sydney, it was early 1976 after a dramatic final few months living in Melbourne, I resigned from Sanyo Office Machines, moved to Arabella St Longueville in Sydney & started a new job as NSW sales manager with Wilkins Servis washing machines. I rented a beautiful waterfront home with the view you see above & a garage for my red E-Type Jag.
Little did I realise the next 11 years would be the most successful money making decade of my life, along with an almost non stop party regime and included luxury waterfront apartments, Jaguars & Mercedes plus a Bertram fly bridge cruiser parked outside my condo, & last but not least a red Doberman called Baxter.
This was actually 1975
However it features my friends & my beloved Jag in Beechworth Victoria, how about the hair & the bell bottom jeans? 🙂
Looking back the 1970s was probably my most exciting decade.
Carol Aboud
It didn’t take me long to get tied up with Carol who had a hair dressing salon in Double Bay. She also had a husband & 4 children but these minor complications did not stop us from having a lot of fun over the next 4 years.
There is a very funny story involving Carol on another blog, just follow THIS LINK.
My beautiful mother celebrating my birthday on the 7-7-77
What a great date for my birthday to fall on. When friends see these old photos is it any wonder they suggest I looked like a Miami drug dealer? 🙂
My Dad Arthur & my 2 best friends Wolf Wottke & Ron Walsh.
My two buddies surprised me by flying over from Adelaide without prior warning. That was a fabulous birthday present.
Carol’s birthday November 1978.
Check out the hair colour & the gold chains.
New Years Eve 1978
Apologies for the fuzzy photo, but you get the picture. 🙂
French Champagne of course
From memory we were at the Castle Cove house of my friend Peter H & the booze was really flowing.
Oh Carol, I am but a fool…..
Neil Sedaka "Oh Carol"
Peter Luciano RIP
Peter & his wife in 1979, he was Carol’s brother and sadly passed away a year or two later.
December 1978
We hired a houseboat for a weekend cruise on Hawksbury River. Two Peters, yours truly & Rob Symonds.
Talking about boats
This was my Bertram 25 moored right outside my condo at 72 Wrights Rd Drummoyne. I enjoyed six great years here & threw so many parties that I became the most hated person in the building.
St Georges Crescent Drummoyne
Just around the corner from my condo I purchased another waterfront apartment, so now I owned 2 condos & a terrace house in Glebe, I was on a roll. Working now as NSW Sales Manager for Remington Typewriters before moving to the word processing division. Enjoyed the job but hated the back stabbers, & there were plenty of them.
Selling all my Sydney properties over the years was one of my worst ever decisions, I should have kept at least one.
After the Jaguar XJ6 I upgraded to a white Mercedes Sports, life was good.
In my eyes this was one of the prettiest cars ever built.
View from my condo
With my Bertram moored right out front.
Another party at Wrights Rd
This gorgeous redhead called Beryl worked with Carol in the Double Bay salon, she had just had a boob job and I couldn’t help but admire them. 🙂
While we are on the subject of boobs….
You could never accuse Carol of being shy. 🙂
And the winner is Angie
Her name was Angela Savic, she was the girlfriend of my best friend Wolf. Without a doubt she had the best body out of all the girls we knew. Our very own Greek Goddess. 🙂
The music in the 70s produced many of my all time favourite songs, here are 3 of those.
Neale, David, Ian, Bryan & Warren, it’s a shame the photo is such poor quality.
Jenny Dale
Jenny with the red eyes was another nice girl from the late 70s who wandered into my life occasionally. 🙂
Let’s finish the year off properly
Well 1979 turned out to be a very tumultuous year, Remington gave me the flick and I joined the company who had the agency for Qyx the new word processor taking the world by storm. I did a marketing course with Exxon in Philadelphia and topped the class, there were 25 Americans in the course with me the only foreigner. Back to Australia to launch the product nationally but only lasted a few months before having a blowup with the company directors who showed me the door. I was never good at taking instructions from fools. 🙂
Now in 2023 at the ripe old age of 79, I guessing I just may have been a rebel without a cause. 🙂
To top off the year finally Carol & I parted company after 4 terrific years painting the town, I suspect I may have been going through a mid life crisis. 🙂 🙂
Consequently I took 3 months off, spent lots of time on my boat, travelled to Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand & Bali then opened my very own liquor store in March 1980.
Sydenham Cellars
Yippee, cheap booze for me. 🙂
Opening night
My friend Debbie Don was part of the celebration. More photos on THIS LINK.
The 1970s were probably the most interesting & dramatic of my life. 1972 saw me return to Sydney after a 2 year stint in Melbourne, only to see me head to Adelaide for two years as State manager for Sanyo, then back to Melbourne for two years with Sanyo before returning to Sydney in 1976.
Made some money, broke some hearts & had a lot of fun.
I was very good at my job, Sales & Marketing in the cut throat business equipment industry was a tough gig, but on reflection & being & brutally honest, my arrogant autocratic management style that worked well in the 60s & 70s was out dated in later decades. Consequently recognising my limitations I went back to what I was good at, which was selling. In the mid 80s I had a successful few years at Canon followed by 7 or 8 very good years as a financial planner with a couple of banks in QLD. In 1998 I took a year off work to travel & never really worked again. 🙂
Thanks for visiting my Farewell Melbourne hello Sydney photo blog.
It’s now 2023 and here is Glenn Frey to tell you exactly how I feel today.
Brisbane City River South Bank was a pleasant surprise for me, it had been many years since I last visited and the changes were many. Way back in the 90s when I worked for Metway Bank and the NRMA I would travel there regularly for the endless tedious meetings banks & insurance companies were famous for. This trip was purely for pleasure after spending 10 days on the Gold Coast.
Uniting Church Albert St
Across the road from City Hall stands this delightful old church which was originally built in 1888.
From the old to the new
Infinity tower is the magnificent tall building (81 floors) on the left and the monster on the far right is 1 William Street which will house only government departments. The photo was taken from the William Jolly Bridge.
The William Jolly Bridge
The art deco design bride was built during the depression and opened in March 1932.
Sunday Suitcase sale August 21st 2016
The majority seemed to be backpackers selling their old clothes.
Treasury Casino
Treasury Casino was formerly the Lands Administration Building until it became a casino in 1995.
Many cranes on the skyline
There is no doubt Brisbane is in the middle of a building boom, just count the cranes on this small part of the city.
The CityHopper lets you travel the Brisbane river for free, the ferries run every 30 minutes between 6am and midnight, seven days a week. Follow the link below for all the information.
Another great way to see Brisbane’s city and suburbs. Check out THIS LINK for my photo blog.
A sunny Sunday afternoon at South Bank.
Lots of people cross the river to visit South Bank with its many attractions.
South Bank tranquil garden
The garden has a genuine rain forest feel.
A beautiful pagoda.
This Nepalese Pagoda was originally brought to Brisbane for Expo 88, in fact I actually remember seeing it back then. Incredibly this is one of only three Nepalese peace pagodas in the world to be located outside of Nepal.
As you can see from my Brisbane City South Bank photo blog there is so much to see in this great city.
The Wheel of Brisbane
Nowhere near as large as London or Tokyo but it certainly looks very nice at night. ?
Approaching Equilibrium
A rather interesting sculpture
Brisbane City South Bank
This sculpture in front of the Queensland Art Gallery is named “Approaching Equilibrium”, I guess people with more understanding of art than I possess will appreciate it. In my opinion a better name would be “Big Black Mosquito”. 🙂
The heart of Brisbane
The Queen Street Mall is certainly the heart of Brisbane, no traffic, lots of shops & restaurants.
Relax in the Mall
A great “people watching” place where you can enjoy dinner & a glass of wine.
Lots of colour, lots of shops
Day or night the mall is a hive of activity.
Eagle Street pier
Eagle Street is Brisbane’s business hub, jump on a City Cat and cruise along the river past many of the cities landmarks.
Huge towers beside Eagle Street wharf.
Lots of offices and lots of good bars & restaurants to capture the workers for lunch and dinner.
Brisbane City South Bank
Cruise past the wheel on your way to lunch at The Regatta Hotel, you won’t be disappointed. 🙂
Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.
The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.
Apologies for the fuzzy photo, but you get the picture. 🙂
