The Big Island, Hawaii - Ten Day Tour Itinerary

 

The Big Island, Hawaii, February 2012. 

If you’re a non-US national like us, a first time visit to any Hawaiian island is most probably going to shock you.  This could be a shock of seismic proportions, potentially even earth shattering.  You may have the idyllic vision of a remote Hawaiian Island comprising of a glorious white sandy beach, with palm trees swaying gently behind you as the crystal clear ocean laps in front of you, and a Hula girl serves you the freshest of tropical cocktails.  And you may well find this. But you’ll also find islands of destructive and seemingly bleak volcanic landscapes, huge rugged and smouldering mountains, lush tropical rainforests, and windswept isolated coastlines battered relentlessly by Ocean.  Some of the volcanic plains are too volatile to visit, large stretches of the coastline too dangerous to even paddle in, and the climate so diverse that you could be sunbathing and skiing all on the same day. This is the real Hawaii, and once you’re over the shattering of your pre-conceptions, one that will make your visit simply unforgettable.

The Boxing Day Test - the world's greatest sports event.

December 26 2013, Melbourne.

The Boxing Day Test Match is possibly the world's best sports event. There I said it. Yes, I know that is a pretty bold statement, especially when I've never been to the World Cup Finals, or the London Olympics, or the Superbowl. But I honestly don't know how they could compete.
 

The annual cricket fest combines a clash of two of the game's giants, in the world's biggest and most impressive sports coliseum of the MCG, and taken in breathlessly by almost one hundred thousand sports mad fans. Yes, yes I hear you - isn't Brazil playing the World Cup Final against Spain in Rio de Janeiro next year going to be just like that? Not quite, here is how the Boxing Day Test comes into its own. It's all down to its magnificent and fortuitous timing. It's Boxing Day, it's a national holiday, it's Christmas time, and everybody, and I mean everybody is in the mood to party. And what better place to do it.

The Coal Creek Motel, Korumburra: Country hospitality at its best!

You can't beat country hospitality when it's done well and the Coal Creek Motel does it very, very well. You'll find the motel just on the outskirts of Korumburra, in South Gippsland, just opposite the Coal Creek Museum and Park.

We stayed here for a local basketball tournament, and we all agreed that it was the best place we've stayed so far. The owners were so helpful, even going beyond their call of duty to give us a lift to the pub and back!

Now that's service.

Daylesford Review - a relaxing weekend escape in the country.

March 2013. Daylesford, Victoria. 

The country. A spa. Galleries. Cafes. A motel. A lake. My wife. X

This was my slightly out of character Facebook post after a weekend in the popular country town of Daylesford, Victoria. In my defence, I defy the toughest, meanest, most unromantic and insensitive alpha male in the world not to turn into a big softy after a few days of relaxation here. And I am none of the above, so a meltdown was always on the cards.

The Tawny Frogmouth

#7 The Tawny Frogmouth
Sept 2012, Lara, Victoria

You beauty. We have never seen one in the wild before, and then we stumbled across this Frogmouth perched on a fence post in nearby Serendip! Frogmouths are as big as Owls, and as stocky as a prop on a rugby field. Their camaflage is their major and only defensive weapon, and we can vouch on it being very effective - Alison still couldn't see it after I pointed it out three times, from only a metre away!
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A visit to Melbourne Museum.

September 2012, Melbourne, Victoria. 

For a reason unknown to either of us, it's taken us over two and a half years to visit Melbourne Museum.  We could put up a weak case of being too busy, or living too far from the city, or having far better things to do in our lives, but we'd be flat out lying on each and every point. 

Our only defense could be that the museum's marketing department isn't particularly good. As we arrived on its doorstep to meet our friends Glenn and Jess, it dawned on me that I must have walked right by it at least half a dozen times before without the slightest acknowledgement of its presence. In hindsight, that was at least six times too many, and it won't be happening again any time soon.

Roller Blading in Port Melbourne!

September 2012, Melbourne, Victoria.

As the sun finally crept out of its winter hibernation yesterday, it took no time for the crowds to flock to the seaside. These past few months of cold, wet and windy days seemed to have merged into one long depressing mass of grey, so yesterday was almost a public celebration that it may finally all be over.

It was the perfect time to dig out our old roller blades; they always come packaged with smiles all round. I mean, you're forty (well, almost forty in Alison's case), you can't skate particularly well, can't stop particularly well, and you probably should know better. But who cares. This is Port Melbourne on a Sunday, anything goes, and it's time for fun.