Stop Press - Urgent Dispatches

Stop Press Urgent Posting:

You may remember I stopped at a place called "Berry Springs" just south of Darwin and swam in the warm waters of the Springs! 

Well today's newspaper announced that a 4.9 Metre Crocodile had been caught swimming in the same waters, they say he was seeking a Mate!! or a nice Meal!! sorry pal, I am just 2500 klicks away from you and I would not taste very meaty, as I am now jusdt skin and bones.

Regards

Nigel J Gauder

26th October 2009 - Cairns

Hi There Everyone,

Well! I have lost track of time, the days merge into one another and it is difficult to work out what to do next! The master plan is still in place and I have basically adhered to it, but to take stock of one’s circumstances and ponder one’s mortality before I start the next part of my trek, is the order of today. (Friday 23rd October)

After sampling well the touristy bits of Cairns, The Barrier Reef, Green Island (Blue Island, Purple Island and Black Island), the Sky Rail, By Scenic Train to Kuranda and all points North, South East and West, we (NCS and I) depart south.

We shall be calling at Mission Beach (Again) Townsville (Again to meet with Tim Thomas and his new wife – Jing)) down to Bowen to meet with John and Dell Alletson (From our adventures on the Barkly/Flinders Highways) then to a place called Coomina (where my old friend Alec Hall – The Prospector/Fisherman) has invited us to stay a while.

Then the Grand Haul South, where I shall pause I do not know, but we will be missing the Big Cities, why? Cos’ they have all changed into Metropolis’s and have no interest to me and besides, there are too many other interesting places to go.

Today, I write my Blog in the midst of Rainstorms, the like I have not seen since I was at Dongara in WA at the very start of my trek, perhaps it is the start of the “Wet” who knows.

NCS: NCS suffered a few leaks today, but all manageable, it was just the force of the storm and the winds that caused them, had to consider adjusting the new awning, it was good, but bellied with the amount of rain falling, had to get someone to assist me in understanding the dynamics of tying off the guy ropes.

Will now have to waterproof her, since I believe she has not had a rubdown for 25 years and it is due. I had thought the old fashioned remedy of using Candle-Wax would be solution, but again taking advice from other people, the solution is to use a Pressure Spray Solution her on her that will make her leak proof which I have now completed, again we shall see what happens!

Costs: Thought you would like to have an idea about Costings & Budgets etc. so here goes: - As a guide I would refer you to www.wickedcampers.com this is the very basic Camper-van here and they are utilised a great deal by varying ages, teens through to the Grey Nomads.

The hire of one of these Campers, that is the basic cost, is at A$20,000 (£10,000) per year or about A$95 (£50 per day), without petrol, without insurance cover and without grubstakes! You can easily double/treble the cost therefore to about £20/30,000 per annum.

My budget was set at £20,000 (A$40,000) which allowed for any anomalies and any extra costs (not foreseen from the UK). NCS cost out of my initial budget £3,000, plus running repairs £2,500 & Petrol costs at about £3,000, plus Grub-Stakes at £2,500 as described in earlier Blogs, and believe me as I am halfway through, I am also just over halfway through my budget at £12,000 left.

Methinks I am quid’s in, as the initial outlay is always the steepest spending curve, then at some stage you settle down to a measure of control.

However, the surprising and hidden costs, sting like hell!

The savings have been a) the costs of Fuel (average 70p per litre) b) getting to know and use the Free Camp Sites (have used about 25 during my trek (Saving £10 per day) and c) starting to be a wily shopper and shopping around (perhaps one of the reasons I have lost weight) not really folks! But just a thought!

Funnies: I had written None! Then remembered a little something I thought you might find, interesting! like the UK, Oz promotional prices use the A$1.99/A$2.99 through to A$9.99 as a carrot to buy, but there are no 1 Cents in the currency, so if you decide to take advantage of a bargain, the price is rounded-up to the full Dollar i.e. A$2.00/A$3.00/A$10.00.

You may, or may not think this is odd, but there is an old adage which says “If I could have a single penny out of every Bank Account I would be a rich man” so how many A$ Cents, multiplied by xyz and over that many years, has made someone, somewhere, very rich?

Just a thought!

Flora & Fauna: Same as usual. Same old Crocs’ Birds, Snakes, Lizards, Spiders, Cockroaches, Gecko’s, Bandicoots (Like a large Rat but with a long snout) Flowers, Tree’s, Bushes, again et al.

Should also note that Cicada’s are rampant here in the tropics for about 3 hours every night, their high-pitched sexual mating call is consistently loud. Cicada’s are the beetle that lives at the base of trees and surface every 20 years to chase a potential mate, make love, and then they pop their clogs, all in 24 hours. “Now that is what I call a One Night Stand”.

However, there again I nearly forgot! Whilst walking to the nearest Woollies (4 klicks) I espied Mango Tree’s abundant with ripe fruit, so with one of my plastic carrier bags (Still in vogue here) I filled it to the brim and carried it back. Then thought what do I do with them? After taking advice from neighbours (and bribing them with some fruit), I washed them and filled my little fridge, then tasted one, absolutely delicious, ripe and juicy ready for the Plucking!

Transport: Mike, same as usual. Buses, Trains, Road-Trains, Bicycles, Tandems, Cars, Ute’s, again et al.

Newspapers: I take “The Australian” Newspaper every day, it is a Political Journal and the number of editorials taken straight from the “UK Times newspaper” makes me think that there is a tie-up between them.

They are covering (limited though it be) the situation in the UK, this week it primarily about Gordon Brown and David Cameron (expenses) and out of the blue, large coverage about Tony Blair’s possible elevation to the EU Presidency, it also covers the money he is earning, just £5 million per annum, not bad for an ex-prime minister, methinks that they are attempting to knobble him, so he does not get the EU job!

Distance Learning: You may recall my Blog from Broome, where I had bumped into a Family who had intended to been the road for 10 years, and had a son who was very bright and did all his schooling in what they term “Distance Learning”.

Well today, just opposite me, I observed a family, Mum (Eileen) and her Triplets (2 Sons - Cameron and Deklan a Daughter – Gabrielle, under-going their schooling, Mum was very adamant that they have 3 hours a day of home Schooling with one-on-one teaching by her.

This has been brought about because they are travelling between States, and each State has its own curriculum (There is no national unified curriculum)

The ability Eileen has, as a UK Ex-Pat journalist, to pick and choose the very best systems from around the World (i.e. Singapore have the best Maths results in the world) which she utilises to further their education. Again, my observations tell me that it seems to work.

Tribal Peoples: Sorry to refer back to this one, but there are two memorable conversations that I have had on this trip, which I had n are:

1) My friend the Pentecostal Minister when he first went into the local Communities many years ago, (See past Blog) remarked to the Elders that there was a pungent stench, and could they tell him what it was? They related that when their people pass-on they are laid out in the trees, where members of their Family can come forth and visit, they then dip their hands into the juices of the dead person, rubbing it all over their bodies, hence the stench! They still do this, as it is in their Culture and has been for the past 50,000 Years.

2) That the Tribal peoples are prone, after drink, to lay down in the roads at night to sleep, (I know I have seen this for my own eye’s) unfortunately, they also lay down on the major trunk roads, where because of their colour (Jet Black) they are not noticeable from any distance, the Road-Trains which travel at great speed, have on occasions, run over them, not knowing that they are people, thinking possibly Wild Animals, then they have drawn in to the next Road-House, and washed their vehicle down!

This fact is not even reported to the Police.

Google now tells me that 180+ people are following my expidition!!

Where the next Blog will come from I do not know, nor do I know the time span, but I will keep you posted Folks!

Keep Smiling.

Nigel J Gauder
26th October 2009.

13th October 2009 (Birthday Boy day) - Cairns.

Hello Everyone,

This is my 2nd Blog from Cairns and into my 7th Month of my trek, having had tours, explanations et al from all and sundry, and having recovered from my Cold, I feel like a short up-date will be the order of the day!

Since this is Korea’s National Day (031009) and I met a crowd of them rehearsing with their big noisy concert to celebrate, I have been asked to include them into my blog, they feel a little miffed that I had mentioned everyone else but I had omitted them. Funny that! However, since my involvement with Koreans in my working life, they did seem to lack that confidence about themselves, these comments confirmed that perception.

I have reversed my view on Cairns and the surrounding Touristy bits. Tourism is the Major Industry here with a very limited life-span, due to what is called “The Big Wet” (The Monsoon Season) which starts about November and finishes in March, with Rain Falls as high as 15 inches in a day.

Therefore, the Tourist Industry has to get the most out of its market, like any Holiday Resort! Hence, it’s looking like, behaves like, and resembles Blackpool.

Funnies: I like travelling on Buses, Trains etc and having caught the bus quite a few times in and out of Cairns and having stopped every time at my usual “getting off stop”. I was truly amazed having pressed the “dinger” for my stop, to find us go sailing past, yelling at the Bus-Driver to stop, he shouted back “We never stop at this place”. Well, as you can imagine a slight tussle between us as to who was in the right, he again shouted “that if he stopped, he would be fined A$400 (£200)” and that I would have to go to the end of the line, so the end of the line it had to be!

All the other drivers, after this escapade, stopped at my usual stop.

It was suggested for me that to get good deals, I should pretend to be a local, and use the Camp Address as my local contact point.

Well! And to test the water, I went into a Hotel and asked the price per night, it was just A$195 (£99). I then asked if as a local I could get a better deal, they suggested that I went on-line and became a member of their Club. I did just that, and in due course, I receive an email that informed me, that as a New Member my “Welcome Pack” was waiting for me at their reception, along I go and collect same.

My membership card was Black in colour and my membership number was (Wait for it!) – 666 - (the devil incarnate). When I applied for the best room rate as a member, the price was A$104, a slight reduction of 50% in round figures; I have since learnt that the average reduction for locals is 40% off everything!

Miscellaneous: Sorry Guys but the Bucket shop contact for Airline Tickets is andrew.hawthorne@travelmood.com (Forgot the dot between his names).

NCS: I have worked wonders on NCS, she looks good and loved, I have taken her for a tour of the various Touristy places and she performed well. I now have the Australian habit of washing her and polishing her on a regular basis, but I have also learnt that the reason for people being so keen on having clean vehicles, is that back home in the Southern half of the Country, there is severe water-rationing and people are not allowed to wash their vehicles at all, so when they get to the North and water is aplenty, then a washing they do go!

Transport: Mike, petrol is down to £0.57p per litre, I know you will find it shocking!
I have also been, on occasions, been asked if I am a pensioner, my reply is always yes! Well that is a fact is it not? And bus fares have been automatically reduced to half-price thought if they ask me to prove it; I shall show them my UK Bus-Pass.

Reflections: I had thought on occasions, that having achieved what I set out to do, and now being many 1,000’s of Klicks further on in my trek, that the UK looked tempting and perhaps I would return home. However, the news out of the UK, reflected here in the newspapers, is that the UK is in dire straights; therefore I have decided not to add to the burden of the UK further, and return possibly in 2010.

Being a Mate, is a very important word here, it stems from the Military conflicts that Australia has been involved in over many years, and has evolved into the everyday use, with “Alright Mate?” as the most commonly used phrase. There is a positive attempt by at least 90% of people I have met, to live up to its general meaning, and they are very helpful in advice or assistance as and when needed. (I experience instances everyday)

It also binds the Australians into a “Togetherness” frame of mind, instil and retain a sense of “Social Cohesion” & “Nationalism”, which we in the UK have sadly lost.

Should however mention the coarseness of the Language, which is used in everyday terms, e.g. the word F**K is the norm’ (Along with every other known expletive) and spoken by all, Men, Women, and Children, not as a single expletive, but as an expression that covers every known situation. When you are first exposed to it, it hurts your ears! However, you then learn to understand that it is the Culture, based upon the harshness, first experienced by Convicts, and then the long haul through operating in very harsh climatic conditions, by the Pioneers, then the Miners and now the general populace.

No Apology I am afraid! I have been taken to task over my enthusiasm for what seems to be all things Australian, No Folks again it is speaking as I find.

Flora & Fauna: Crocodiles abound now and they are seen everyday both at sea and in the local creeks. There are trees of local fruit Mango’s, Pineapple Bushes, Oranges, Limes, Coconuts, and streams that flow full with Fish of all types, including Turtles.

Celebrations: This week (131009), I am a Birthday boy, which I have shared with my neighbours next door, Tanya (Birthday Girl) Victor and their Son Anthony, my friends Brett (Birthday Boy) & Carlie who have come up from Townsville enroute to going to the Tip of Australia – Cape York. The joint celebration was the renowned B.B.Q and lots of Amber Nectar.

That Folks is the short version; I shall shortly be travelling again very hard down the East Coast of Australia, and will include Tasmania. I shall try and fore-warn you of my planned route, but methinks like my original intention, it will change daily, but watch this space, and you will be amazed!

Keep Well.

Nigel J Gauder
13th October 2009.