Five years after retirement, I’m now separated and living on the outskirts of Ballarat in the Victorian Central Goldfields region
Revisiting NE Victoria
I grew to love NE Victoria when I lived there during the 1970s and 1980s, first in Wodonga and later in the Kiewa Valley on a dairy farm at Kergunyah and then in Yackandandah, a picturesque old gold mining town. Two of my children were born here. Over 30 years since moving to Melbourne, I… Continue reading Revisiting NE Victoria
China 2018 – Shanghai
Our last couple of days in China were spent in Shanghai, a magnificent modern city of some 24 million people: The Bund along the Huangpu lined with European colonial architecture. Just across the river sits modern China, best seen from our fabulous river cruise at night, when the neon light displays on all the buildings are… Continue reading China 2018 – Shanghai
China 2018 – Hangzhou, Wuxi and Suzhou
Hangzhou, Wuxi and Suzhou are renowned in China as three of the most beautiful cities in the country. Although we only spent one night in each on our whirlwind tour, I certainly loved what I saw. From Beijing we flew to Shanghai and then had a three hour bus ride to Hangzhou. It took all… Continue reading China 2018 – Hangzhou, Wuxi and Suzhou
China 2018 – Beijing
Our all-too-short Chinese tour started with a 3:00 am hotel arrival in Beijing. Exhausted and excited, we squeezed quite a few tourist sights into the next three days but only saw the city from the windows of the bus: Tiananmen Square – originally the main entrance to the imperial palace, the second largest public square in the… Continue reading China 2018 – Beijing
China 2018
What a fabulously interesting country China is to visit! We’ve seen Chinese influences in many countries throughout Asia, particularly in Vietnam, much of which was under Chinese rule for a thousand years. Even Australia had a significant Chinese population during the Gold Rush era. On a 10-day package tour to China in March this year… Continue reading China 2018
Australian Adventure 2017 – QLD – Beyond the Black Stump
May 2017 Blackall and Barcaldine, with their strong Labor and union connections are two places I’ve always wanted to visit. And here we are! I’m so excited in Blackall to see the Labor Federation Memorial, representing the first meeting that led to the first Shearers’ Union in 1886, the group that eventually became the Australian… Continue reading Australian Adventure 2017 – QLD – Beyond the Black Stump
Australian Adventure 2017 – NSW to QLD
May 2017 From Broken Hill we head east along the Barrier Highway via Wilcannia to Cobar. We stop for lunch and stroll along the Darling River at the historic port town of Wilcannia. The area has been home to the Baarkindji people for over 40,000 years and it is still has a large Aboriginal population.… Continue reading Australian Adventure 2017 – NSW to QLD
Australian Adventure 2017 – NSW
Backtracking to May 2017! Neither of us had previously explored Broken Hill so we agree to a sizeable detour. Great decision! So, we plot a route along the Murray and Darling Rivers via Wentworth, Pooncarie and Menindee. The confluence of these major river systems at Wentworth is always a big draw-card for me. But although we… Continue reading Australian Adventure 2017 – NSW
Australian Adventure 2017 – Victoria
Backtracking to the start of our journey up north in 2017. Working solely on my iPad to write my blog while we were away proved too difficult for my limited skills and the lack of reliable internet connections! At last our Australian adventure has begun! On Friday 28 April we left our chilly, drizzly home… Continue reading Australian Adventure 2017 – Victoria
mariasblueskies 