Author: Bill

We went North to the Dead Sea.  An amazing body of water that is the lowest spot on earth, 400 plus meters below sea level.  It is so salty there are chunks of salt floating in it.  There are a number of resorts on the Israeli side of the Dead Sea that are quite nice … we drove through them but did not spend any time there.

We left the Dead Sea and drove South and West of Masada to a town named Arad. We stayed there overnight because we wanted to climb Masada from the West side where the Roman Ramp was built the next morning on the shady side of the mountain. (Google the very interesting story story of Masada). There is a lift and path on the East side but that’s where all the tourists go so we went to the West side. Masada is a story of Israeli heroes who stood off the Romans for years. The walk up the ramp is steep but not too difficult. Walking around on the top is extremely interesting. There are information points throughout the top identifying what you are looking at, showing pictures of what things would have looked like when Masada was there. A DO NOT MISS.

A short summary of the story of Masada from Wikipedia: Masada is a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert, overlooking the western shore of the Dead Sea in southeastern Israel. The fort, built in the first century BC, was constructed atop a natural plateau rising over 400 m (1,300 ft) above the surrounding terrain, 20 km (12 mi) east of modern Arad.

The most significant remains at the site date to the reign of Herod the Great, King of Judaea under Roman administration c. 37–4 BC, who transformed Masada into a fortified desert refuge early in his rule. He enclosed the summit with a casemate wall and towers, and constructed storerooms, an advanced water system, and bathhouses, along with two elaborate palaces: one on the western side and another built across three terraces on the northern cliff. These palaces remain among the finest examples of Herodian architecture.

Masada is most renowned for its role during the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 AD), when it became the final holdout of Jewish rebels following the destruction of Jerusalem. A group known as the Sicarii, a radical faction led by Eleazar ben Ya’ir, defended the site against the Roman Tenth Legion under Lucius Flavius Silva. The Romans laid siege by building a circumvallation wall and a massive ramp. According to Josephus, when the walls were breached in 73/74 AD, the Romans found nearly 1,000 inhabitants had died by mass suicide—a claim that remains debated among historians. In modern times, the story of Masada was interpreted as a symbol of heroism that became influential in early Israeli national identity.

We spent the remainder of the day in Arad, found a place to have dinner, drove around a little.  Interesting place.

**A caution when visiting Israel, especially in the country.  Saturday is the Sabath (Holy Day, Day of Rest), they don’t play around … they shut down from sunset Friday night to sunset Saturday.  Make sure you ask about this regarding your hotel and where you plan to eat.

After Dinner we met a very nice couple from Paris who were occupying the room next to ours.  They were both Surgeons and on a holiday.  We sat in the evening cool, looking out over the desert, talked about where we had been in Israel and where we were going, had some wine … a great way to end the big day.

20 Oct:  Up and at’em again.  Off we went heading East to Jerusalem.  Many more people, more traffic, bigger roads but we got to Jerusalem in early afternoon, checked into our hotel, and walked to the Old Walled City of Jerusalem.  We walked around a bit, found a place that had great pizza and cold beer, had dinner and went back to the hotel.  We booked a tour to Bethlehem and Jericho in the Palestinian region before we went to bed through our hotel.  We were not able to drive in the Palestinian region so tours were the only way to get there.

** A personal note regarding the Old Walled City of Jerusalem.  It is located in the near middle of Jerusalem (the modern city) and is surrounded by a large wall (duh) but is dramatically different from the modern city.  Within the walls Jerusalem is a vast network of alleys, shops, streets, churches, places to eat and drink, steps, gates, and tunnels.  It is divided into four quarters but has no boundaries within, just different gates for entry.  It is crowded with people of many different faiths, ethnic backgrounds and races, as well as vendors and tour guides.  If you go there looking for a religious experience you must really focus on what is motivating your search.  The crowds, the vendors, the cars … all detract from the religious setting one might expect.  I do not refute the religious events that have occurred in this city, only caution a traveler that it is easily seen as more commercial than religious.

We spent the next several days exploring the old city of Jerusalem as well as the new city of Jerusalem. Quite the contrast. Both have a great deal of history.

21 Oct:  We went back to spend the day in Old Jerusalem.  We did all four quarters, the Holy Sepulcher, the Wailing Wall, a thousand gift shops, several restaurants, the Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Cross) and spent some time in New Jerusalem on the Israeli side … great train system, modern, great restaurants, busy people.  We saw people praying and weeping on the Holy Sepulcher, eating nearly any type food you can name, people praying at the Wailing Wall, tour guides leading bus loads of people, churches from at least four different faiths, church groups, student groups, and a lot of worn out people.  Definitely worth seeing, fighting the crowds, avoiding the vendors and leaving knowing you have been to Old Jerusalem. There are countless things to see in Jerusalem. One thing not to miss is the Holocaust Museum … extremely well done, informative, and moving. Jerusalem itself is a Vibrant city with many interesting places and things to see. It is a great place to stay that is in the center of most of the things to see in Israel. We stayed at a small boutique hotel just a couple blocks from Old Jerusalem, a couple blocks from the light rail, and a block from a main street that had oodles of restaurants, souvenir shops, ethnic foods, art shops, … The Hotel Malka, Great place, nice people.

22 Oct:  Having wore our legs off up to the knees yesterday, today is a good day to take a bus tour.  As I mentioned, we could not drive into Palestine so the bus tour seemed to be a good option.  When you book tours you must be aware that many tour operators combine their tour with others and essentially “Sell” you to a larger tour operator.  Also when you book tours you should be aware that tours take you where they want to take you, on their schedule.  So it was with this tour.  What started out as a tour with “about a dozen people” we ended up on a large bus with maybe 40 or 50 people.  We booked a tour to Bethlehem and Jericho and that is what we got.  We were picked up at O’dark thirty in a small van that went to 4 or 5 other pick up points.  Then we went to this area that had big buses, little buses, vans, and taxis.  We were told to be at a certain station point at 9 O’clock, where we could get something to eat or drink, and where the bathrooms were.  As it was still well before 8 we just hung out.  Buses, vans, and taxis were dropping people off from all over the place.  When we finally boarded the bus at 9 our reason for not taking bug tours was justified when one of the group on the bus asked where the bathroom was and would everyone please wait till they got back. … Then a dozen other people had to use the bathroom so waited an additional 30 minutes till that was all taken care of.  Finally we were on our way to Bethlehem to see where Jesus was born and later to Jericho where some really bad horns tore down some walls.  First stop, was at a church that was out in the hills where shepherds tended their flocks.  The church was built over a cave that was supposed to be like the one that the Shepard’s who saw the star were in while tending their sheep when Jesus was born.  Interesting.  Next stop, and most important to the tour operator, was at a large souvenir shop that offered “exceptional deals”.  Hmmm.  The goods sold at this store were the same goods you could buy nearly anywhere in the Jerusalem area.  Consequently, everyone got off the bus, did a quick walk about, and got back on the bus.  However, a handful of people continued to shop, chat with the owners, and generally waste every one’s time for the next 45 minutes … and everyone else just wanted to go see where Jesus was born.  Finally we started again.  We were on our way to the Church of the Nativity … The church was originally commissioned in 327 CE by Constantine the Great and his mother Helena on the site that was traditionally considered to be the birthplace of Jesus.

Okay … So we left Jericho and rode back to Jerusalem, mostly in the dark.  A long day but interesting. I would not recommend a bus tour like this,  if at all possible keep the group as small as you can and make sure you understand the itinerary and schedule BEFORE you buy it.  But wait!!  The trip was not over.  Our bus driver started getting phone calls on the way back and our guide got off the bus before we got back to Jerusalem … said it was where he had parked his car.  As we approached the city the driver pulled into a large parking lot and announced everyone would have to get off the bus and find their own way back to their hotels!!  It seems there were some demonstrations in Jerusalem and the police had shut off all highways into the city.  The driver was not able to help much as he spoke little English but pointed to a light rail station across the way and indicated we should catch that back to the city.  Guess what??? Yup, when we got to the station, the rail too had been shut down.  We know the light rail went near our hotel so we just started following the light rail tracks … we didn’t really know where we were or how far we had to go, just that walking was the only way we were going to get there.  Turned out it was only a couple miles … in the dark … and ironically, through the area with the demonstrations … Hmmm.  Anyhow, that was the end of a long day, a lousy tour, but we got to see what we wanted to see in Palestine.  Had a great Pizza for dinner and got a good night’s sleep.

If I sound skeptical, it is not because I was not impressed with the opportunity to visit the Holy Land and to see the actual places where Christianity was born.  The disappointing part of the entire place is how over commercialized it is.  You really loose the opportunity to “feel” the region.  However, it is the only place on earth where these sites exist so ….

23 Oct:  We spent the day exploring the Current City of Jerusalem.  Beautiful  place.  Decorated streets, murals, busy pleasant people.  Had a great time … Visited the Holocaust Museum by taking the light rail out to it, the city market, half way back to the hotel we stopped for lunch.  Great day to recover and enjoy ourselves.

24 Oct: Got up early, recovered our car, and left Jerusalem.  We are off to the region of Galilee.  Driving out of Jerusalem towards the Sea of Galilee is like going back in time.  The roads narrow, the villages become more “Rural” and everything kind of slows down.  We reached the Sea and drove south the very tip of it where the River Jordan flows from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea.  It is at the very start that John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Along the way:

We then drove north along the Dead Sea, through Tiberius to the town of Caparnaum where the Apostle Peter came from. There is a lovely church there in a very pleasant setting. Traveling along the shore we went past the site where Jesus performed the miracle of the Fishes and Loaves, preached the beatitudes, and spent most of his ministry years. The West side of the Sea of Galilee is very picturesque, with trees, flowers, and sea side parks. A pleasant change from the crowded streets of Jerusalem.

We spent the night in a small boutique hotel, The Way Inn, in Tsfat.  Tsfat is a artsy kind of town located in the mountains near the Lebanon border.  The Way Inn was a pleasant place to stay with easy walking to restaurants, galleries, and shopping. This was my DELICIOUS Breakfast. Found it twice since. Once in Tampa and once in Costa Rica.

25 Oct:  After an excellent breakfast at The Way Inn we continued our journey West … destination Acre, headquarters for a number of Christian Crusades.  Acre is right on the Mediterranean Sea, and served a a harbor and port for sailing ships bringing Ccrusaders and supplies to the holy land.  It hosts a very well cared for and interesting museum and an impressive fortress that has been there for centuries.  For a small fee you can wander through the entire complex visualizing life must have been like in the 14th century

From Acre we drove South along the Med to get to Haifa.  Haifa is Israel’s biggest port and and is an impressive city set between the Mediterranean Sea and Mt Carmel.  Haifa is great to look at but is just a big, busy city.  I’m sure there are museums and other things to look at but we had not found anything in our research that we wanted to see.  We stayed at a hotel in Mt Carmel and spend the afternoon walking around Mt Carmel.  Many shops, restaurants, bars, etc.  Not many pictures as it is just a nice city to see.

26 Oct:  We left Mt Carmel and continued South.  We were on our way to our final destination, Tel Aviv, but wanted to stop in Caesarea first. Caesarea was a small Roman resort town on the Mediterranean Sea.  One can tell by the types of buildings that remain, their layout, and location that it was an enviable place to go.  Definitely a good stop to see some history on the drive between Haifa and Tel Aviv.

From Caesarea we continued on our way to Tel Aviv.  Tel Aviv is a large metropolitan city bustling with commerce, tourism, government, and religion.  We checked into our hotel and took the car out to the airport to turn it in.  This was the end of our automobile experience and looking back, it was quite successful with no serious problems either with the car or driving.  If we were to go back to either Israel or Jordan, we would indeed again rent a car.  Best way to get around, no hassles, no schedule, no sales pitch by guides and drivers.  We took a cab back to our hotel and made arrangements for the same driver to return on the 28th to take us out to the airport for our return trip home.

27 Oct:  Spent the day exploring Tel Aviv.  Walked South along the beach to Old Jaffa.  Old Jaffa was once the port city for Tel Aviv but now just sports marina that supports local fishing and tourism.  Walking around Old Jaffa was again a walk through history.  Old churches, museums, restaurants, etc.  It took the better part of the day to walk down and back and spend several hours exploring.  It is not that far but it was Saturday (The Sabbath) so everyone was out relaxing and enjoying their day off.  We did discover a wonderful Irish Pub in Tel Aviv, The Molly Bloom.  We had dinner there and were treated to a local group of musicians who gather and play Irish music every week.  According to a grade school teacher we met there, it is the best Irish Pub in Israel.

28 Oct:  Up early, check out, and our cabby was back to take us to the airport.  Uneventful trip home in spite of the airlines messing with everyone’s schedule and flights.  We did make it back and we are happy we went.

** A repeated last note.  I encourage you to google or do a web search on any of the places I have mentioned.  There are many, many pictures and history of each … all better than mine and my descriptions.  We just wanted to share our trip with you and our driving experience.  Thanks for reading.

JORDAN

This is where we traveled in Jordan:

15 Oct – We arrived in Amman at 2 A.M., got our Visa’s, picked up our luggage, cleared customs, and picked up our car.  We did get lost for a while while I was figuring out how the GPS worked but finally, we got to our Hotel in downtown Amman in an hour or two, checked in and bagged five or six hours of much needed sleep.

We got up in late morning, had some coffee and set off for our first destination; Jerash.  Jerash is located about 30 miles north of Amman.  It is, by far, the most “in tact” Roman ruin we have seen in our travels. We wandered, looked, photographed for most of the day. We drove there experiencing the local traffic, scenery, and environment … WOW, we were in Jordan.  Jerash is a very well presented ruin of an ancient civilization established around 100 BCE and destroyed around 800 CE by several earthquakes.  Most of the ruins are left from the Roman culture that lived there last.  There still is a Jerash, Jordan but it is a regular city, the remain or ruins is what you want to see … very interesting and a great deal of visible history.  Back to Amman late in the day, dinner, and a good night’s sleep.

A bunch of pictures here, all from Jerash. Not many captions as most are just different ruins we found about the old city. Several pictures of wexplanations and maps. All can be expanded on your screen to be readable. Enjoy.

The Ancient Roman City of Jerash

16 Oct: – Checked out of our hotel in Amman and started South, destination Petra.  Before getting seriously on our way to Petra we did a side trip to Mt Nebo where Moses is buried and is the sight of the location where Moses and the Israelites first saw the promised land.  There were a couple interesting churches and museums in nearby Madaba that we stopped in at.  If you want to know more details about these places I recommend Googling them and reading about them.  That has to be more interesting and much more accurate than what I can write about.  If we didn’t find them interesting, I usually don’t mention them.

MT NEBO

Mt Nebo is an elevated ridge in western Jordan that rises to about 2600 feet above sea level.It is a revered site in Abrahamic faiths as it is the biblical site where Moses viewed the Promised Land before his death. From the top there are panoramic views of the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea, and, on a clear day, Jerusalem.

PETRA

Many medieval fortresses left from the Crusades, numerous towns, and lots of people and local color.  In spite of all the activity and things to see we still made it to Petra by late afternoon.  Whew!!  Driving is okay but requires close attention as the locals do not hesitate to walk into the rode, right of way rules are loosely interpreted, and road signs are sometimes obscure and often in a foreign language.  I should clear up that it is safe and a little patience and a good GPS coupled with an expert navigator will get you where ever you want to go.  Nancy is awesome with maps and frequently argues with the GPS.  … and she is usually right!  

PETRA

We arrived early enough in the afternoon to do some reconnoitering around Petra and found they had a special lighting ceremony in Petra that evening.  We bought tickets, then went to our hotel, had dinner, and caught a taxi back to Petra (I wasn’t ready to do nighttime navigation yet!)  If you get a chance to see the lighting ceremony I would recommend it.  Any time you go into Petra you can walk or hire a horse, horse cart, or camel to ride in on.  We walked … got the kinks out of our legs from driving all day.  Great walk, wonderful show. I didn’t take many pictures due to the end of day light. Here’s a few.

17 Oct: Had a good breakfast and went to Petra.  Petra is a very interesting place.  An ancient civilization came out of the desert and carved many very impressive stone fronts to rooms, tops, temps, and government buildings into the face of sheer rock cliffs that formed a narrow canyon.  The red rock, the depth and width of the canyon, and the size of the buildings are incredible. Again, not many captions. Mostly rock formations and self explanatory kind of things.

We spent the entire day at Petra and walked our tootsies off but had a great time.  If you can, I recommend walking (make sure you have good hiking shoes) but anytime you get tired there is a dude near by ready to sell you a ride on a camel, cart, donkey, or horse.  We made it all the way up to the Monastery which is a healthy climb, lots of steps and great views.  Recommend the Philadelphia Beer at the rest center in the middle of Petra.   Petra is a truly amazing place to see and spend some time at.  If you are ever passing through Jordan, don’t pass it by.  Get more details and pictures on Google.

WADI RUM

18 OCT:  We left Petra and headed Southeast toward Wadi Rum.  Wadi Rum is a large National Park in the desert that features huge rock outcrops, long stretches of desert, blowing sand dunes, camels, sheep, and history.  It is quite large and you cannot drive around in it.  We stopped at the entrance visitors center and booked a 2 to 3 hour guided tour in a four wheel drive pick-up truck driven by a local guide.  Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and spoke very good English.  We even got him to display a little sense of humor before we finished.  Another “Don’t Miss’ and defiantly do a tour.  We found the three hours was sufficiently long and had a great time.  Longer, and shorter, tours are offered as well as groupies. Most people do not know that Wadi Rum was used for all the scenes on Mars for the Movie “The Martian” starring Matt Damon.

An exciting place to see.  Caravans used to stop here on the way to Petra hundreds and hundreds of years ago.  The colors, sand, rocks, and cliffs are astounding to see.

We left Wadi Rum and continued South to Aquba where we checked into our hotel and turned in our rental.  The rental center was about mile away so we walked back. It was a pleasant afternoon, the street followed along the Red Sea’s edge. Our hotel was on the Red Sea so we spent the evening at the hotel having dinner and enjoying the evening watch the people on the beach, the sun setting, and people enjoying themselves. Our experience was very good in Jordan. A country many people do not get to see.

The next sub post covers our time in Israel.

**** THIS IS A REPOSTED TRIP. IT HAS MANY MORE PICTURES AND UPDATED COMMENTARY AND CAPTIONS. THE FIRST POST WAS MY FIRST WEBSITE POSTING USING A DIFFERENT PROVIDER. I TRANSFERRED IT AND IT DIDN’T DO WELL. HERE’S THE NEW ON … PLEASE ENJOY.********

Nancy had Petra near the top of her “Must See” list so it was kind of the cornerstone for our trip.  We felt as long as we were so close by, we should go and visit Israel and the Holy Land.  We checked a number of tours and found they went some of the places we wanted to go and many more we had no interest in.  I did some research on driving in Jordan and Israel, VISA requirements, and traveling alone and found it was not all that difficult to do.  We could rent cars in both countries but could not take one across the border so we rented one in each country.  Both Jordan and Israel allowed us, as U.S. citizens, to buy visitor’s Visa’s at the entry point to the country.  There is an exception to that at the Allenby bridge but we didn’t go that way so it was not a problem.  We made our plane reservations, worked out a travel plan, booked hotels where we planned to stay, rented cars in each country and we were set.

– Air Travel:  We did not want to backtrack so we booked a Multiple city ticket flying into Amman, and departing Tel Aviv to go back to the states.  There were a number of selections available so we just picked out the times we wanted to arrive and depart.  We usually use an on-line search and booking system like KAYAK to find and buy our tickets, or will book directly with the airline we want to use.

– Visa’s:  We flew into Amman and purchased Visitor’s Visa’s at the airport Immigration site.  They accept only Jordanian currency or Credit cards so be prepared to either exchange some money right as you get there or use a credit card.

– CARS, Guidance, and Communications:  We had booked a rental car through a U.S. rental company. **If you are making a long trip make sure you get unlimited mileage.  As we could not take our Jordanian rental across the border we planned to turn it in at our last destination in Jordan, Aqaba.  There were rental car counters in both Aqaba and Eilat, Israel so we dropped off the Jordanian car, took a taxi to the border, walked across at the Wadi Araba Border Crossing, brought our Israeli Visa’s at the Israeli immigration point, caught a taxi into Eilat and our rental car company.  We picked up our rental in Eilat and drove it for the rest of the trip, leaving it at the airport in Tel Aviv.  Be aware there is not a great deal of GPS maps available in Israel so we used a WiFi Hotspot and our iPads for guidance.  We were able to purchase a Garman map for our NUVI for Jordan and it worked fine.  As always with maps, there is a mix of languages so don’t get confused.  We did download a generic map for our NUVI that did work in the GPS for Israel but it was spotty so we backed everything up with the hotspot and google maps.  We did not have a telephone during this trip.  We relied on WiFi signals along the way in restaurants, coffee shops, malls, and hotels as well as using our rental car Hotspot for updating our email, making adjustments to reservations, etc. … worked well.

**A note about driving.  When we rent cars they are usually small compacts that are maneuverable, fuel efficient, and don’t stand out.  We very seldom have troubles with local people.  On this trip, in Jordan, there were groups of single males, mostly young, that would hang out on corners and watch, or make comments.  Once they attempted to stop us by stepping out in front of us.  I tried my best but was unable to run any of them over … they are quick little buggers.  Bottom line, stay alert, avoid crowds, don’t draw attention to yourself.

Hotels:  We try to stay in 4 star type hotels.  When we can’t find chains brand hotels we know and like we use Booking.com to find the rest of them.  We prefer booking.com as you do not pay until you are eye to eye with the hotel management and you can negotiate problems directly.  We seldom have significant problems with hotels as English is spoken in nearly every hotel in the world and by staying with the better brands have avoided unpleasantness.

I have split this post into two subposts to keep it shorter and more manageable. The first sub is our time in Jordon and the second is our time in Israel. Lastly, this post is a reposting of my original post updating the pictures and layout. There are many more pictures … most of the commentary remains the same. Enjy.

** A repeated last note.  I encourage you to google or do a web search on any of the places I have mentioned.  There are many, many pictures and history of each … all better than mine and my descriptions.  We just wanted to share our trip with you and our driving experience.  Thanks for reading.**

We had to go to Brisbane for an appointment in late August, we wanted to visit our oldest Granddaughter in Perth, and we wanted to take a long train ride across Australia, north/south or east/west or the other way didn’t matter. Looking a our calendar we decided to combine the three and “Get’er Done” so we could plan other trips.

Brisbane was a given but this time we thought we would spend a day or two more there and take in a show at the QPAC (Queensland Performing Arts Center) while we were in town. It’s a 5 to 6 hour drive to Brisbane from where we live so taking in a few cultural events was worth the effort. Our appointment was on a Friday morning so we drove down Thursday and had dinner at our favorite Irish Pub in Brisbane Thursday evenin, got the Friday morning business completed, and spent Friday afternoon exploring downtown Brisbane. Great place.

Friday evening we went to see “Pride & Prejudice” at the Playhouse in the QPAC. Great show, very well done, pleasant evening. Because our hotel was downtown we walked to the show and back. I had my UBER numbers ready in case it was cold or raining but it turned out to be a nice evening and nice walk.

Saturday was errands day, We did some shopping at the places we visited on Friday, had an early dinner, then went to Mass late Saturday afternoon at St Stephen’s Cathedral which is also in downtown Brisbane. Beautiful church. We decided to try a Mexican Resteraunt not too far from the church … it was busy, the food was okay. Australians don’t understand TexMex.

Sunday morning we were up early, drove to the airport, left our car with a park garage, shuttled over to the terminal and flew to Perth. Samantha (Sam), our Granddaughter, had rehearsals all afternoon so we checked out a rental car at the Perth airport, drove to our hotel in downtown Perth, checked in, and decided to take a walk to get the kinks out of out legs. Just the right distance away is an establishment called “Nightcap at the Belgian Beer Cafe” so we stopped and had a Trappist Blond. While we were there, Sammy walked in. Seems her rehearsal was right across the street and we had messaged her that we were going to the Belgian bar and would contact her later about dinner. A very nice reunion.

Sam was busy Monday and Tuesday as she was getting ready for the opening of a new play she was directing. We had planned to go south to Mandurah to visit our daughter-in-laws parents but we both had contracted a cold and thought we would just isolate for a day or so. So we just took the day off. Neither of us felt that well and vegging out was appealing..

Tuesday, we did a little walk about downtown where we were staying. Nice area. A few photos of the central walking shopping area and the buildings along it.

Wednesday Sam joined us and we went down to Fremantle. Perth, although next to the Pacific Ocean, does not have a port. That feature is provided by Fremantle (That’s where “Quigley Down Under” arrived in Australia at). There we toured the Maritime Museum, walked around eye balling interesting things, rode a ferris wheel, and had a beer before we came home.

The Maritime museum was especially interesting as it a big selection of boats and history. To top it off they had a Virtual Reality (VR) theater that put you underwater in the Great Barrier Reef.

We wandered around looking at the different displays and ships.

We walked around Freo (Oz for Fremantle) a while and ended up riding a ferris wheel.

Feeling better Thursday we scooped up Sam and drove down to Mandurah to visit her other Grandparents. Mandurah is mostly a retirement kind of town absorbing the retired from Perth. Nice place. Had a great visit, some fine food, and a nice drive.

On Saturday we took a cab over to the Perth Central Train Station and signed in for our train ride. A bit about the train.

• The Indian Pacific is a famous long-distance passenger train in Australia. It runs across the whole country from Perth on the west coast to Sydney on the east coast. The trip covers 4,352 kilometers (2,705 miles) and takes four days and three nights. 
• History and Route
• Started on February 23, 1970, after tracks were joined to a single standard gauge.
• Named after the two oceans it connects: the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
• Passes through the Blue Mountains, Broken Hill, Adelaide, and the Nullarbor Plain.
• Features the world’s longest single straight stretch of railway track at 479 kilometers (298 miles). 
• Life on Board
• Operates like a moving luxury hotel with all-inclusive dining and drinks.
• Offers two main cabin levels: Gold Service and Platinum Service.
• Includes off-train excursions and cultural stops in outback towns.
• The train we rode had 27 cars and was 860 Meters long.  We were only able to get Gold service due to our late booking so we ended up with bunk beds.  The food and tours was the same for both classes.  All food and drink was included in the price of the trip.  We had 204 guests on board.  The train was split up so there was a dining car and a lounge car for every two cabin cars.  No crowds, no fighting for seats.

The trip was five days and four nights. The terrain was outbackish for 80% of the way, then the Blue Mountains on the east coast produced beautiful scenery and mountain forests.

This was our first long trip on a train. We had considered others but I was always reluctant because you just watched everything pass by and couldn’t stop and look at things. Because the Nullabor (the huge barren part of Australia) was a large part of this trip, I wasn’t so concerned about seeing stuff. There were several interesting stops along the the way so we signed up.

The trip started at the station where you checked in your luggage. You were permitted only one small bag in your cabin, The cabins were small and the bathrooms even smaller so every square inch counted. The company hosted a reception at the station with sandwiches, drinks and music while everyone processed in. Once the train was ready we all boarded and went to our cabins, put out stuff in, and retired to the lounge car.

W had a pleasant evening, a very nice dinner, and turned in.

The next morning we had a six AM tour of “The Super Pit”, one of Australia largest, open pit, gold mines. We boarded buses and headed into Kalgoorlie and the Super Pit.

Back on the train. Some folks got off and boarded “The Ghan” which was another trip that went from Adelaide to Darwin … oooff! We stayed on the the next morning we found ourselves approaching Broken Hill, another mining town. These mines were shaft mines and the mined ores like zinc, copper, lead, etc. Nancy and I had selected a tour named “A Taste of Broken Hill” and we were off.

Back on the train and headed for the Blue Mountains.

After disembarking, we transferred to Scenic World for four phenomenal mountain experiences. The Scenic Skyway took us above ancient ravines, visible 270 meters below through the glass cabin floor. Our view was 360 degrees and featured the Three Sisters, the Jamison Valley, and Katoomba Falls.

Then, we boarded the Scenic Railway, the steepest passenger railway in the world. Toured the mine area, then joined the Scenic Cableway and glided over the forest as you ascended more than 500 meters back to the top.

Finally, we traveled to the Hydro Majestic Hotel, which is perched high on the escarpment overlooking the Megalong Valley. Here, we enjoyed a light lunch set against sweeping views across the Blue Mountains landscape.

After lunch, we boarded a private charter train that took us through to Sydney Central Station, concluding your epic journey.

The ride to Sydney was nice, it was in a modern new train. Then we had a smooth transition to the airport vis taxi. Checked our luggae and flew to Brisbane. Caught the last shuttle to our car park, drove to our hotel and got a great nights sleep. Next morning we drove home.

The trip was interesting. The staff on the train and the facilities were great. We enjoyed meeting many of the people. Our groups were small in the lounge cars so it was easy to meet and get to know everyone you traveled with. Worst part was the noise and jostling of the cars. Sleep was impossible most of the night. The tracks, relaid from narrow gauge seventy five years ago were uneven, and bumpy. The cars, although well kept, were 75 years old and had seen their better days structurally. Squeaks, thumps, bangs, whooshes, you name it and it was there. So, while we did enjoy our trip across Australia, both ways, we will probably not do the train again.

This 1200+ Kilometer trip to Cairns was our third trip there. There are a number of Photo’s here on this website of our trips up along the coast to get to Cairns. The first time was in December 2023 when we took our Caravan up along the coast exploring. We spent a couple days in Cairns. Later, in June 2025, we again went to Cairns and spent a day or two there as we prepared to travel the Savannah Hiway across Northern Queensland. You can find both of those in the menu.

This trip was for the purpose of meeting some long time friends who were on a tour of Australia and FiJi and had a three day stop in Cairns. They spent the first day with their tour group and explored the Great Barrier Reef which lies just off the coast by Cairns. They told us they had a great time and got to see a lot of coral, fish, and ocean. We met them, we stayed at the same hotel, the evening of their first day when they got back from their tour. We had dinner and discussed our plans for them over the next two days.

They had not seen much of the interior of Australia so we booked all of us on the 7.5 kilometer long Rainforest Cableway that leaves Cairns and lifts the riders over the vast rainforests, mountains, and waterways, and arrives some two and a half hours later in a small mountain town called Kuranda. For the return we booked the scenic Kuranda Scenic Railway from Kuranda back to Cairns, another scenic two hour ride.

While at the top of the mountain range we toured the village of Kuranda and spent spend several hours at The Rainforest Nature Park. which included a small zoo featuring Australian animals, a Duck boat ride which toured through the rainforest at the eye level, an Aboriginal dance demonstration, an aboriginal Didgeridoo performance, and a spear throwing demonstration.

Fred and Francis live in New Mexico and have discovered the joy of traveling. When we heard they were coming through Australia we worked out a plan to spend a couple days with them. We first got to know Fred and Francis during my first assignment to Scott AFB in 1983. I didn’t work with Fred but Nancy and Francis traveled the same volunteer and social circles and the four of us were often at official and social events. Over the years Nancy and I would stop by and see them when we were traveling and we kept in contact through mail. NAncy and I were delighted we would get a chance to see them once more and show them some of Australia.

Nancy and I took two days to get to Cairns. While we have seen the sights along the way a couple times, everything changes as well as seasons so it is always interesting to make the drive. We spent our first night in a little town called Ayr (Pronounced air) and made it to Cairns the next day.

When we met in the late afternoon, we did a little catch up then got to the important stuff … dinner. As they were not familiar with the local area they asked if we could recommend a place to have dinner. We recommended a nearby RSL club. RSL stands for “Returned & Services League of Australia” … don’t ask me what all that stands for, Australians come up with the interesting names for stuff!. It is much like the US’s Veterans Clubs or American legion. The difference is that Nancy and I found if there is an RSL in town, it is one of the better places to eat. They are well run, serve great food, and are decently priced. They run from small restaurant/bar type places in smaller towns to very large clubs with different venues for eating or social interaction. We had enjoyed dinner at the RSL in Ayr and figured the much larger one in Cairns would be good … and it was.

The plan we proposed to Fred and Francis was to spend the next day riding the Cableway up to Kuranda, spend two or three hours there, and take the train back to Cairns. We would start out early and finish up late afternoon. The next day, we proposed to take a drive farther north to Port Douglas which is a small coastal town about seventy five kilometers north of Cairns. They wanted to see some rural Australia and when you proceed north out of Cairns, that’s rural Australia. Most of the east coast, especially the northern part of Australia is quite tropical so you don’t see the bleached desert everyone thinks of when they hear “outback” but it is considered outback. They thought the plan was great so that’s what we did.

I do not have many pictures of our two days. As I mentioned, we have been in Cairns before and have posted a quite a few pictures of the Cairns area in the posts I mentioned earlier. So, what I am going to do is load the pictures I did take, add captions to them, and you can fit them in along our trip.

We did go a little farther North but the road kinda petered out so we returned. I didn’t get many pictures in Port Douglas but we had lunch there, starting with Crocodile appetizers… mmmm. All in all it was a wonderful two day experience for all of us. Fred and Francis got to see much of Australia they will not see on a tour and Nancy and I did some things we hadn’t done before and got to spend some quality time with friends. Always a winner.

Looking for someplace new to go, Nancy and I came across Fiji. Fiji is a fairly popular destination for many Aussies so we thought we would give it a try. It is one of only a few places we can go without flying for 12+ hours to get there. A mere three and a half hour flight on Fiji Air and you are in Fiji, 1700 miles from Brisbane.

Until you travel across it or through part of it it is difficult to understand how big the Pacific Ocean really is. Anyhow, we booked a week at the Marriott Resort on Fiji, packed a few relaxing type clothes, and took off.

Fiji is a fairly undeveloped country full of happy people who live on Fiji time which is a rather relaxed way of looking at doing stuff. Most of the tourist connected activities, up scale housing, and a golf course are on a small island called Denarau Island just a little ways from Nadi, which hosts the country’s best airport. Suva is the Capitol and is about twice the size of Nadi. Nadi’s population is around 50,000 people. Fiji is surrounded by hundreds of smaller islands, some have people on them, some don’t. They all have sandy beaches and some tropical growth in he center if they are large enough.

The Marriott Resort is not on Denarau Island but rather about 50 kilometers south and west of Nadi, along the coast. We chose the Marriott because I always wanted to stay at one of these tropical island kind of places on a beach, or over the water. There were no over the water places available but we did get a nice place on the beach. Turns out the beach place is better because the only places you can go from the over the water ones is straight into the water or along a long walk back to the beach. We had the beach right outside of our back door.

So, we arrived late in the afternoon, processed through immigration and customs and went to collect our rental car. Nancy had done some research regarding the island and a drive through the central highlands was highly recommended with the use of a 4 wheel drive vehicle being the preferred mode. I had reserved a 4 Wheel drive SUV but when we got to the counter they said they do not have 4 wheel drive SUV’s. If I wanted a 4 wheel drive, I would have to rent a UTE (Aussie for pick up truck), so I did. We were able to get Google maps on our phones so that showed us the way, along with an advisory that they were several heavy traffic delays along the way. Due to the delay getting the rental and the traffic, it was dark by the time we got out of town. That’s when the drive became interesting.

As I mentioned, Fiji is fairly under developed so most of the people do not have cars. They use public trans or walk. When they walk they walk along the side of the road, in the dark, in dark clothing … and they cross whenever they feel like it. Consequently, it is not uncommon, while driving in the dark, to suddenly have a person, or several, appear in front of you. Caution was the key so we didn’t hit anyone. It did slow us down.

Once we got further out into the country, there were fewer humans but cows, pigs, and horses started appearing right next to or right on the road, again, caution prevailed and we made it to the Marriott without any drama. We checked in, got a golf cart ride out to our villa, unpacked a bit and turned in. The resort is very nice. The people there treat you very well, they have several restaurants, bars, and a bunch of activities you can sign up for. I likened it to a cruise ship, where they prefer you stay right on board and spend your money there rather than spend it somewhere else. Here’s a few pictures of our arrival.

As I mentioned, it rained most of the first day we were there. Gave us a chance to unwind a bit, get our bearings, book some activities and plan our stay. Our first day was the only day it rained. The rest of the time it was mostly sunny and in the mid 80’s. Being a small Island it was quite humid but that was okay. We booked jet ski rides for each of us for the next day, then the following day we did some driving around to see some local sites. Went to a Hindu Temple and The Sleeping Giant Garden.

So that was day three. The weather was holding out so we were pleased we had booked a boat cruise out of Denarau Island to a private island where we could snorkel, scuba, surf, tour in a glass bottom boat, kayak, or paddle board. It was an all day tour that included lunch and drinks.

That was the island cruise. had a great time, it still had not rained so the next day we decided to assault the hills. There are no “mountains” on Fiji but the geography rises sharply from the coastal areas into high (1000 to 2000 foot) ridges that run across the island in several places. These mountains are referred to as the central highlands. While they are not real high, they are exceptionally rugged. Steep slopes, crevasses, rivers, and very poor roads make crossing or touring them a challenge. We had a leisurely breakfast then “headed for the hills” so to speak. Our initial plan was to proceed up a popular road to what they referred to as the top, then turn around and return. I was very grateful we had our Ute as the road was a big challenge. But, because of the larger wheels, wider tires, and 4 wheel drive it was just plain fun.

When we go to the top we felt that proceeding on to another road that would take us out to the coast would be more interesting than reversing on the course we had just driven, so we did. It was a bit longer than what we had planned but was very impressive. First a few pictures from around the resort then off to the hills.

We completed our drive, returned to the resort, and stopped by the Fish Bar for some rehydration.

Our last day there we took another drive that was supposed to be along the shore. It may have been but the brush and dunes prevented you from seeing the ocean. We did the drive and returned, packed, and prepared for the next day’s departure. Here’s someone we spotted along the drive.

We were up at 4 AM the next morning, got a ride with our luggage to checkout, drove back to the airport, turned in our rental, checked in for our flight, had a coffee for breakfast, flew back to Brisbane and drove home to Tannum sands. Made it home by 5, had a pizza, and turned in early. A good vacation. thanks for coming along.

Seeing the Northern Lights from above the Arctic Circle has been on our bucket list for a long time. For some reason, we never ventured North very much during the times we lived in Europe. A while back one of us read where the Northern Lights were supposed to be especially strong this season (Late Sept 2025-March 2026) so we decided it was time to go. Since we have moved to Australia we have made it a point to maximize our flights to get to Europe or the Americas because they are both extremely long and quite expensive. So, when we fly, we make the most of our destination.

We decided late September was perfect because it is right in the center of the German wine festival season, the weather was still pleasant, all the kids are back in school, and all the Moms and Dads have finished their summer vacations and are back at work. Mostly just us older folks left. We made a plan to fly to Germany, spend some time there looking up long time German friends and enjoying the fall wine season, booked a flight to Tromso Norway which is reputed to be one of the best places to observe the northern lights, then fly back to Germany, regroup, and fly back to Oz.

The first place we went was to Germany. Here’s the plan:

After an eight hour flight to Singapore from Brisbane, a three hour layover in Singapore, a thirteen hour flight to from Singapore to Frankfurt, we finally made it to Germany and set out along the Rhine River where some of the best German wines are made. We turned back south in Koblenz following the Mosel where more great German wines are made. Then froom BernKaste-Keuz we drove to Kaiserslautern to visit friends, then on to Saint Marins where our favorite winery is at. From there, we drove North to Denmark. More about that later. Here are some of my photos from the trip up the Rhine and down the Mosel, and at Saint Martins.

We spent a couple days in the area we lived in once, met friends, visited favorite places. Decided to take a few days and drive to Denmark. Why? Why, because we have never been there! What better reason to go. It is merely a 840 Kilometer drive. So we did. Took two days to get there. Hit some really bad traffic along the way. Germany is overloaded with cars and trucks. Hundreds of trucks pass from the eastern europe countries to the west coast to ship stuff out of the big western ports. There was also a great deal of construction so it was an interesting drive. None the less we made it to Kolding Denmark and checked into our hotel. Our plan was to drive west the next day to the west coast of Denmark and visit the North Sea villages along the coast. We did that and it was a fun day. Here’s some photos:

We drove back to Germany and checked in for one night at the airport hotel. Tomorrow we are flying to Tromso Norway to see if we can catch the Northern lights. The trip back from Denmark was better. Nancy found a less complicated route. Took two days, we had not seen much of Northern Germany so all good. We like staying at the airport cuz it has a lot of interesting stores and restaurants. Here’s a few shots of the airport then Tromso.

Here’s our flight plan for Norway. See a little of Tromso, drive across Norway to Finland, across Finland to Sweden … Only a 350 Kilometer round trip. Same route both ways, they don’t have many highways up there. Tromso is located about 350 Kilometers north of the Arctic circle (for you navigator types it is right around 70 degrees north). It’s a beautiful little city with a great deal of activity. We spent four nights there. Toured the city and local area the first day, drove to Finland and Sweden the next, hung out one day that was windy and rainy, and left the next. We saw the northern lights three of the four nights, one night from our hotel room. Great experience. Awesome photos follow.

Here’s some pictures of the incredible mountains, Fjords, and places in Norway, Finland, and Sweden.

Here’s some local shots in Tromso:

Okay … The finally. These are pictures of the Northern Lights that we saw during our stay. You can see them with the naked eye but more color appears when you take a picture of them. Some of the pictures are a bit fuzzy but I was just using my phone and trying not to move while it recorded. The white spots on some of the pictures are stars. Enjoy:

We flew back to Frankfurt. Used the day to have lunch with some very good friends, then repack our three weeks of dirty clothes and flew home. Great trip. Hope you liked it.

Many people are not aware that Australia was attacked by the Japanese during WWII. A significant defensive effort by Australia and it’s allies, including the U.S., turned the tide back and the US continued to use Australia as a foothold in the Pacific Ocean to fight the Japanese. The crash site is not too far from where we live and is in the middle of a very rugged National Park called “Kroombit Tops National Park”. Nancy and I have been there before but did not visit the crash site due to its very remote location and the very sportty road to get to it. Now, after having driven the Savanah Way in Northern Queensland, we decided to takle the road to Beautiful Betsy. Here’s a brief story I found on Google about the crash. There is a lot of information about the event, the park, and the drive to get there on the internet.

FROM GOGGLE: “A USAAF B-24 Liberator bomber ‘Beautiful Betsy’ went missing in February 1945, with eight lives lost. One of the veteran planes of its unit, in the latter years of the war Beautiful Betsy had been pensioned off active service and was used to transport fresh fruit, ice cream, alcohol and live poultry.  

The Liberator was on a night flight from Darwin to Brisbane with six American crew members – Lieutenants McDaniel, Routt, Owen and Kilcheski, and Sergeants Lemons and Tucker. Also on board were two RAF Spitfire pilots, who are said to have joined the flight at the last moment. One of the men, Flying Officer Cannon, was to have been married to aircraftwoman Daphne Studders of Brisbane and the other, Flight Lieutenant Cook, was to have been his best man at a wedding planned for 3 March. 

Despite many search attempts, the Liberator was not found until 1994, when Queensland National Parks and Wildlife ranger Mark Roe happened upon the wreckage while conducting a controlled burn in Kroombit Tops National Park, around 150km from Gladstone. Damage to the propellers suggested the plane had been spinning when the crash occurred, and personal effects that identified all personnel, including what appeared to be a wedding ring, were found at the site. “

It was indeed a challenging drive to get out there. No pictures because I was wrestling the steering wheel and Nancy was grabbing the dash trying not to be thrown around. The drive was about 40 Kilometers, round trip, from the “main road” in the park. Once we got to the site, there was a parking lot and a 5 Km hike to get to the crash site.

Personal comment: One of the geographic features of Australia that continues to amaze me is the ruggedness of any of the hills, big and small. Many vertical walls, many rocks and rock formations, deep, deep gullies, and massive trees. The Gum trees, formally known as Eucalyptus (there’s about 20 varieties of them) they tower over everything. We have a couple right behind our house and I never tire of looking up into them.

Anyhow, here are the pictures I took of the site. There is another post in this blog about one of our trips out to the park, it is under a post called “The Oz Adventure”. It includes much more about the roads and other parts of the park. The park, and getting there, is an incredible adventure. I’m not going to put much in the captions. Most are just pictures of the parts left at the crash site that Mother Nature or souvenir hunters haven’t claimed. Others of info signs that describe things. Enjoy.

That’s it. It was an adventure and after driving and hiking through the mountains, gullies, and creeks to get there, it is understandable why it took so long for the crash site to be found.

“A multi-award-winning light and art spectacular, transforming the Gladstone Tondoon Botanic Gardens into a kaleidoscope of colour over three magical nights.“

This is how the Gladstone Regional Council presents it’s annual LUMINUS lighting display in the Gladstone Tondoon Botanical Gardens. We have not visited the Botanical Gardens during the day or any specific time of the year so we really don’t know what it looks like. Last night we visited, for the second year in a row, at night, their LUMINUS exhibition. We went a second time because we were so impressed with it last year we wanted to see it again. While the lights, effects, and programs are impressive and entertaining, what we really appreciate is the amount of work the staff that put it together must have performed to present it.

If you have read our “where we have been” piece presented on the opening of this website, you will see we have been to many exciting things, we have even been to Disneyworld and EPCOT several times to enjoy their evening light shows. Nowhere have we been that has produced the magical feeling you can experience walking through the Botanical Gardens as they are lit up wit millions of lights, different colors, light art, light crafts, and light entertainment. We only stayed a couple of hours but once again enjoyed it immensely.

Lastly, as you would expect, here are a few pictures I took while we strolled around. Missing this year, at least last night, were the large “Lightening Bugs” that walked around fascinating kids, both big and small. Enjoy the pics.

That was it. The Botanical Gardens are located just outside the city in a more rural area, consequently there is not a great deal of parking available. The result is people parking nearly everywhere, and with the Ozzies and the souped up Utes for Outback Camping, it gets pretty interesting. Anyhow, it was again a great show. Some, or many, of the pictures may have been repeats from last year but I wanted to provide fresh pixels for your viewing pleasure. Hope you enjoyed it.