| Author | Message | ||
     Robert Noel Reddington Prolific User Username: bob_uk Post Number: 184 Registered: 5-2015 |
In the UK its still Thursday. Its Friday in Oz. Whats the weather like so I know what to expect tomorrow in the UK. I wish I could go to OZ and buy a 4x4 and tour for a couple of years. But money wise its got be 30 to 40k quid. I look at maps and Oz is so big and self contained. I like the big sky. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 1661 Registered: 4-2003 |
Bob, It is not too late but I would suggest a fly/drive visit where you fly between the major destinations and then hire a car to explore the region before moving on to the next destination. We are the largest island but smallest continent!! It has taken 60 years for me to visit almost all of Autralia for both work and pleasure - the last region left for me to visit is the Cape York region north of Cooktown. Just to remind you of the need for caution in the wild, the following photograph from the Adelaide River near Darwin in the Northern Territory might be of interest:  The following poem "My Country" by Dorothy MacKellar was written whilst she was living in Britain but longing for her home - the first verse refers to her location in the UK and later verses invoke her longing for her country: The love of field and coppice, Of green and shaded lanes. Of ordered woods and gardens Is running in your veins, Strong love of grey-blue distance Brown streams and soft dim skies I know but cannot share it, My love is otherwise. I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains. I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea, Her beauty and her terror - The wide brown land for me! A stark white ring-barked forest All tragic to the moon, The sapphire-misted mountains, The hot gold hush of noon. Green tangle of the brushes, Where lithe lianas coil, And orchids deck the tree-tops And ferns the warm dark soil. Core of my heart, my country! Her pitiless blue sky, When sick at heart, around us, We see the cattle die - But then the grey clouds gather, And we can bless again The drumming of an army, The steady, soaking rain. Core of my heart, my country! Land of the Rainbow Gold, For flood and fire and famine, She pays us back threefold - Over the thirsty paddocks, Watch, after many days, The filmy veil of greenness That thickens as we gaze. An opal-hearted country, A wilful, lavish land - All you who have not loved her, You will not understand - Though earth holds many splendours, Wherever I may die, I know to what brown country My homing thoughts will fly. Dorothea Mackellar | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Prolific User Username: bob_uk Post Number: 186 Registered: 5-2015 |
About the most dangerous animal in the UK is wild horses. Mainly because people do stupid things such as trying to stroke them. I ignore them and they ignore me. I make lots of noise so the horses know I am there and they move on. I only have to go a couple miles and in the country side. So not its quite nice. 2 miles the other way is town. I just wander around looking at stuff from tractors to pigs. Pigs are my favourite farm animal. Pigs can be dangerous. We race piglets. We paint them is racing colours with special paint. The pigs sčem to enjoy it. Fly drive sounds good. Still out of my financial reach. But you never know what the future holds. | ||
| Alex Peterson Unregistered guest Posted From: 101.170.42.162 |
Sydney Australia weather report for Bob UK. Last 3 days T shirt weather 18 -20* Celsius, sunny no wind cool nights. I am planning a big trip to the outback in my other car Toyota Landcruiser.I will post you my itinerary when organised, It will include the Dig Tree on Cooper Creek, this part of Australia is only safe to visit in winter as the summer heat is crazy. Have a look at this link http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/outback-nsw/adventure?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=display&utm_content=Don%27t%20Miss%20These%20Adventure%20Act Much of Oz is accessible in 2wd all year round. I will send more info soon. Pleased to hear your health problems are manageable. (Message approved by david_gore) | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Prolific User Username: bob_uk Post Number: 209 Registered: 5-2015 |
25c in Bournemouth and getting hotter tomorrow. | ||
| Jan Forrest Grand Master Username: got_one Post Number: 827 Registered: 1-2008 |
One is currently baking quite nicely in the South Yorkshire sun. Even with front and back doors wide open to afford a cooling breeze my digital thermometer is registering 26C inside the house. Global Warming can't happen too soon for me! | ||
| Geoff Wootton Grand Master Username: dounraey Post Number: 799 Registered: 5-2012 |
Strange orange disc appears in sky above Britain. | ||
| Peter Davidson New User Username: pedrotheswift Post Number: 9 Registered: 7-2004 |
We think that's a cool summer day in the middle of New South Wales Australia} | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Prolific User Username: bob_uk Post Number: 240 Registered: 5-2015 |
Huge thunderbolt has just hit a sub station 30 yards from my house. It was fecking loud. 6 inches of rain in 30 mins. The power went off for a second. The thunder storm was fantastic. I heard a rumble then a flash a long way away and then the rumble got louder and then thunder bolts everywhere. | ||
| Geoff Wootton Grand Master Username: dounraey Post Number: 803 Registered: 5-2012 |
Bob Sounds like Tampa. Last heavy storm was about a week ago. Thunderbolts everywhere. The rain was so heavy the pool was filling up and in danger of flooding the lanai and house, if it overflowed. I was just about to go out into the storm and start the pool pump in reverse to lower the water level when a huge crack took out the local power substation. I was left watching the pool level going up and up with absolutely nothing I could do about it. Fortunately, the storm passed with the pool just half an inch from overflowing. These storms are very enjoyable to experience, except when your house is threatened. Pleased to hear the UK is having such great weather at the moment. Geoff | ||
| Robert Noel Reddington Prolific User Username: bob_uk Post Number: 241 Registered: 5-2015 |
Mini tropical storms are a feature of Bournemouth and Poole. We are surrounded by hills and open to the sea on the south side. We live in a sun bowl. The energy causes mini tropical storms. Tomorrow it will be fine. I live 195 ft above sea level and 150 ft above river level. Its uphill to get to my house the land rises over 3 miles so the hills aren't steep. Basically any water flows down hill away from me. Some guys live by The River Stour and it can flood quick. In the winter below 0c is very rare. I get away with 3mths only of central heating most years. I am not so good in the heat and tend to laze around. I am Ok down to 5c. I like the Bournemouth climate more than enough rain to keep nature oiled. And not too hot or cold. Bournemouth sits between Christchurch and Poole as the 3 towns have expanded they are sort of joined together I live in Bournemouth but some of my neighbours live in Poole. Its a nice place to live with a low crime rate apart from murders for some reason. The population is mainly people from London and the Midlands. I came from London but after 31 years I am considered as a local. Poole Harbour is the second largest natural habour in the world. Sidney Oz is first. Poole harbour is a giant playground for boaters I used to hire a little day boat with a single cylinder lister diesel and putt putt around the habour with the kids and a picnic. Davis Boat Hire. Nice people. There's a 6 knot speed limit in the habour but if one asks nicely the habour master will allow as fast as you can behind Brownsea island. The River Frome joins the habour to the west. The River is navigable to Wareham. Dorset. A smuggler's route A lot of the main roads in the area were smuggler's routes. I live on one. The local revenue men were being paid off by the smuggler's a bottle of brandy and a free dinner sort of thing. 5% of the goods were going missing. Which was put down to mishaps every body was happy. Unfortunately a thug got greedy. The revenue men objected because it would bring government troops down to Dorset. The thug shot him with a musket. The local people then had a pitch battle with the thug and his gang and kicked them out of Dorset. The Government troops turned up and restored order. The government decided that to keep the peace and keep commerce going to largely ignore the kick backs and smuggling but make it known that the government knew and to be careful. We also like Tampa had pirates. Which became the Royal Navy. I live in a 1930s private housing estate. Bournemouth is famous for Bungalows. I lead a happy easy life style in a major European resort. Plus we have the Jurassic coast line. I am so lucky. Mind you the harder one works the luckier one becomes. I have relations and mates in London and when they visit they want to live in the area. They are amazed at the amount of wild life from bats to feral pigs and wild horses. I live 100 yards from a nature reserve. Which has a rare sand lizard. Also adders which are best left alone. Free to get in. I make lots of noise because wild horses hide in bushes and if you catch the horse off guard it can charge. And you won't out run it. Local people holiday at home. Some haven't been out of Dorset for years. Because they have no reason. A few of my friends have surnames that are Dorset village names. Tarrant and Hinton are common. One of my mates is descended from Admiral Hinton. Admiral Hinton had a village named after him. Which alll gets vety confusing with the Hintons especially when the Hampshire Dorset border got moved so Hinton ended up in Dorset. Check out a guy called Judge Jeffreys and Dorchester UK. He hung lots of people. Also Tolpuddle Martyrs. This first workers union in the world. Clouds hill for Lawrence of Arabia. | ||
| Geoff Wootton Grand Master Username: dounraey Post Number: 804 Registered: 5-2012 |
Bob I'm surprised you know of Tampa's links with pirates. Each year Tampa runs the Gasparilla Pirate Festival. Gasparilla was the nickname of Jose Gaspar, a Spanish pirate who raided the west coast of Florida during the late 18th century. It is the stuff of folklore - there is no actual evidence of his existence. Bit like Robin Hood and King Arthur. Anyway, great excuse for a party. Geoff | ||
| Randy Roberson Grand Master Username: wascator Post Number: 482 Registered: 5-2009 |
River Stour: my Car SRH 9391 was originally purchased by a gentleman from the Stourbridge area; he was a farmer-landowner whose land got suddenly valuable when approved for development, so he bought everything in sight. Stourbridge Castle, for one; a 1970 Silver Shadow in Seychelles blue for another. Major Fellows was his name. I suppose this is off-topic, so I stop here... |
