January 1st 2007...

Our first posting of the new year! We're just waiting to go to see 'Happy Feet' at the cinema. Hope you are all well and having a great start to 2007.
See you soon.
M & D
xxx

Friday 29th December...

After visiting the internet cafe we went for a quick lunch before heading to the beach for the day.
Afternoon spent sunbathing, swimming, jetty jumping (D only) and surfing! (if you can call it that when there was only a wave once every 10 minutes!)
Finished off with a game of beach cricket (England vs Australia).
Drive on to Nambucca Heads. Good accomodation with fantastic views (million dollar according to the brochure!)
All out for dinner at Matilda's - BYO booze accompanied by delicious steak (M) and duck (D). Yummy!
Last orders at the pub then a late night stroll back ending with dancing and swinging in the park.

Saturday 30th December...

Straight down to the beach to look at the heads. According to Dave that's what you call where the land almost meets.
Beautiful views and interesting grafitti on the rocks.
Drove 3 hours straight to Forster with a very brief stop off en route at the koala sanctuary.
Got to Forster then on a mission to find food and drink for a BBQ.
2 hours later arrived vack to find Tozer and Matt gone. Eventually found them with Matt hving cut his foot on some oysters!
Few hours drinking, chatting and eventually cooking the BBQ. Back to the hotel where M had a lazy night whilst D and the others went out for last orders.

Sunday 31st December (New Year's Eve!)...

Said our farewells to Tozer and Taneski and drove to Sydney. Very excited!
Beautiful drive in to Sydney. Dropped Miles at his backpackers then drove over the Harbour Bridge. So excited to finally see it and the Opera House.
Checked in at our very nice hotel then got the train back into town for the celebrations.
Grabbed a sandwich and people watched before meeting Miles and Caroline (plus others). After hours of wandering around trying to find a place we could take alcohol, we returned to our starting place adn found a lovely spot bang inbetween the bridge and the opera house in an area called 'The Rocks'.
Amazing night, few drinks, great atmosphere and the most amazing fireworks ever!
Back in bed by 2:00. Very tired but a great way to start 2007.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Monday 1st January...

Lazy start to the day then drove into Sydney. Found a great place to park (well done Mandy) then started what turned out to be an epic walk of the city!
Booked tickets to see 'Happy Feet' at the cinema then headed down to Circular Quay, near the Harbour bridge and Opera House.
Stopped for sustenance on the way then walked on to the bridge - M trying to decide if she can make it on the bridge climb. Watch this space!
Taxi back to Hyde Park to meet Miles then another epic walk through the botanic gardens to see the bridge and opera house from the opposite side!
Into China town for dinner and here we are, at the internet cafe waiting to see our film.

The sun has arrived!

Wednesday 27th December...

Arrived at Tozer's at 6:30 - surprisingly he was up to greet us!
Grabbed a few hours sleep as we didn't get much on the flight. M was very cold and the budget airline didn't carry blankets!
Tozer gave us a drive-by tour of Brisbane (in the rain) and then it was off to pick up the hire car. Our 'compact' car was large enough for us all to get in the boot! We have done well!
Off to the supermarket to get beer and food supplies then back to Tozer's for a BBQ.
We both had a nap in the afternoon then carried on until midnight with lovely food, beer and fairly good company!

Thursday 28th December...

No rain today but still very overcast. Not happy!
On the road early following Taneski to 'Surfer's Paradise'. Inappropriately named as it was a long way from paradise - very commercialised. The beach was nice but too cold to sit around for long.
Back on the road and we headed for Byron Bay. Still very commercialised and lots of 'hippy' types smoking illegal substances!
Had a lounge on the beach till the sun went in. D went body surfing then we were back on the road to our final resting place for the day - The 'Chapparal' motel in Ballina. Very close to the 'Big Prawn'!!
Delicious Thai meal for dinner then M left the boys to head for last orders at the nearby tavern.

Friday 29th December...

Up at 8:00. On the road again and straight through to Coffs Harbour. Just arrived and found an internet cafe!
The sun is shining and the sky is blue. I think I might like it here!
We're here for a few hours then on through to Nambucca Heads for the night. Only about 600km to Sydney!

Update From the East Coast...

Well, we're now on our second leg of the Australian adventure. As requested mum, we've put the update all in one posting in date order. Hope this helps!!
Speak soon
M & D
xxxx

Tuesday 19th

Up around 9:00ish. Nice and surprisingly cool. Breakfast on the deck with Kanga and Roo back for some Alpen. Amazing! Into Busselton and found an internet café. Posted our first proper Blog and updated Flickr.
M bought Mask and Snorkel and discovered toothpaste is good for cleaning mask. Lunch at The Goose, overlooking the jetty and the sea. Gorgeous salads.
Down to the beach for an afternoon of swimming, snorkeling and sunbathing.
Back to the Carriage for a shower, game of cards and general lounging around before heading back to The Goose for dinner.
Saw three dolphins swimming in the sea and a ray whilst sat eating dinner. Wow!

Wednesday 20th

Packed and left the Kangaroos and carriage nice and tidy. Drove down south to Margaret River through the forest. Went to the tourist office and decided on visiting Lake Cave (It was raining so no chance of a sunbathe on the beach).
Both flagging a bit so tea and cake before the tour was very welcome.
1 hour tour round the caves then back to Margaret River for a wander round the shops and some lunch.
Met up with Miles, Iain, Bethan and Dave then drove the short distance to check into the chalet.
Spa, ensuite, outdoor beer fridge, pizza oven and BBQ. Great!
Evening spent drinking, eating and using the spa – a lot!

Thursday 21st

Up early and drove to Busselton for our jetty dive. Bit overcast and quite windy. Got all kitted up then got the boat out to the end of the jetty and had a great 50 minute dive through the pylons of the jetty. Swimming within shoals of yellow tails was amazing. Saw countless other fish, corals, octopus etc.
Back on the boat we were served much needed soup and rolls. Yum!
Quick lunch then a drive back to Margaret River – all snoozing on the way back after the early start.
Went to play 9 holes of Supa Golf (oversized clubs and balls). M a natural and D winning an easy victory.
Back to the chalet before heading in to town for dinner and drinks. D managed to persuade the pizza chef to give him some dough balls for the pizza oven!
Great walk home – no lights so the stars were amazing. Also a serenade by a group of frogs!

Friday 22nd

Leisurely start. Picked up at 10:00 by Matt, the chalet manager, for a wine tour.
Went to 2 cheese farms, 3 vineyards (Brookwood, Brooklands and Graylans), chocolate factory, venison farm and olive oil farm before heading to the Voyager estate for a delicious lunch.
Finished off the day with the Leeuwin winery (more wine!) back to the chalet via town to get beer and pizza supplies.
Homemade pizzas were a success all feeling very stuffed and tired.

Saturday 23rd

On the road by 6:00 to get the hire car back to Perth by 10:00 then off to AQWA for our shark dive – eeek!!
Both a bit nervous – D more so than M.
Quick tour round the aquarium whilst we were waiting for our Dive Master. Saw the sharks and other large fish that we would be swimming with. Very large and sinister looking.
Had a quick brief from the Dive Master – told us that the tank made the fishes look 1/3rd smaller than they really were. D now really scared!
30 minute dive was amazing, getting really close to sharks, stingrays, eagle rays, turtles etc. M was very surprised when a stingray swam over head rubbing his underside on the top of her head!
Lunch at the appropriately named ‘Sharkies’ then a lazy evening at Miles’s.

Sunday 24th

Had arranged to go to see Miles’s friend in Rockingham to go to Penguin Island.
Got down to the beach at 12:00. Quick burger (chips & gravy for M) then walked along the 200m sand bar to Penguin Island.
Lots of furry penguins sheltering under the rocks on the beach. Very cute and cuddly. Haven’t got any photos unfortunately but I’m sure dad would tell us they weren’t penguins! :o)
Went snorkeling and saw lots of fish – including a very rare weedy sea dragon. Amazing!
Quick stroll around the island then the return wade to the main land.
Beer at Dave’s with Miles accompanying on the piano.
Evening spent wrapping presents and getting ready for Christmas day with Miles, Iain and Bethan.
Late night stroll to look at the stars and dodge the sprinklers in the park!

Monday 25th

Christmas day! Father Christmas had been. Yay!
We all opened our presents before heading down to the beach for a BBQ. Couple of hours spent at the beach swimming, drinking, playing boules, having a BBQ before the sun got too much and we headed back to Miles’s.
Quick turn around then off to Iain and Bethan’s for Christmas dinner. Finally sat down at 7:30ish and had the feast of all feasts. Very yummy!
All fairly early to bed – we must be getting old!

Tuesday 26th

Woke at Iain and Bethan’s. Lazy morning then cycled down to the river for a few hours there. Played a little bit of cricket. I bowled and caught Dave!
Managed to borrow Iain and Bethan’s car so we drove down to the beach for our last dip in the west coast sea then back to Miles’s to pack.
Evening back at Iain and Bethan’s for left overs. Another feast!
Iain drove us to the airport (after a last minute panic hunt for Miles’s iPod) and we boarded the plane at midnight for our flight over to the East Coast.

Wednesday 27th

It’s raining. I don’t like Brisbane. Hopefully it will improve.

Flickr Address..

Hello!
We're just round at Bethan and Iain's for some Christmas left overs so I've taken the opportunity to hop on and let you know the flickr link...

www.flickr.com/photos/mandydalziel/

(It's on your wikispaces link mum!!)

Things are still wonderful here. Thanks for your comments. Always good to hear that you're reading!
We're off to Brisbane tonight (overnight flight) then going down to Sydney over the next few days before we arrive there for New Year. Can't wait!
More to come soon but now it's dinner time!

Speak soon
M & D
xxx

Monday 18th December 2006...

Bit of a lie in and we were up by about 10. (Thankfully no hangover for Dave this time – must be the watered down beer they served at the cricket!)
Went into the city to pick up our hire car with Miles whilst Mandy packed our bag for the 1st of our road trips.
We (Just the 2 of us) hit the road by midday heading south towards Dunsborough. (Just near Margaret River) 3 hour drive and a Hungry Jacks burger later, we arrived at our accommodation. A converted railway carriage with en-suite, kitchenette, balcony and great views through the nearby forest – fantastic!
Drove down to the beach for a quick swim, sun-bathe and a drive around the headland. Beautiful clear blue/aqua waters with reefs a plenty!
Picked up a disappointing take-away on the way back to the carriage before sunset as we were told that the kangaroos might be around.
We went for a stroll armed with some pellet food, and lo-and-behold, we found ourselves feeding wild kangaroos – amazing experience. See flickr for just some of the photos.
Both on a real high and couldn’t stop grinning. Back to the carriage for a few games of cards, (Mandy fluked a 3-2 win at rummy) and then we were tucked up in bed nice and snug! (Never slept so comfortably on a train before!)
Night Night – more to come soon. (Only have diving, wine tours, swimming with sharks and much more sunshine to look forward to….. oh how we struggle)

Sunday 17th December 2006...

Up early and excited at the prospect of the 4th day of the 3rd test at the WACA!
Prepared food and finalised costumes before heading off at around 10:15.
Got to the WACA, 'Esky' too big so we were provided with bright yellow cool bags to keep the picnic cool.
Got to our seats. Great view of the crease - soon joined by Miles's friends then it was in to costume!
7 hours and countless beers later (I was drinking water mum!) saw England lose a couple of late wickets but all in all a great day. Great atmosphere very drunken Barmy Army...
We headed back and left Miles & friends to carry on in town. Ordered a lovely Chinese takeaway and tried to watch 'Sweet Home Alabama' but it was all too late and sleepy!

Saturday 16th December 2006...

Woke up late (10ish) with Dave having the mother of all hangovers!! (Little did he know it would last all day!)
45 minutes spent writing the Blog on Word so we didn't spend all day in an internet cafe getting back up to speed!
Then it was off to Fremantle (locally known as Freo). Lunch and much needed water on arrival followed by 2/3 hours wandering around getting stuff for Corgi outfits - fur material was a much needed find!
Back to Miles's via the supermarket for supplies for dinner and the cricket picnic.
I cooked Spag Bol whilst Dave struggled to make Corgi ears! We then all spent the rest of the evening making ears and paws. Also getting Miles ready for his day as the queen!

Friday 15th December 2006...

Second day of the diving course. Another beautiful day with clear blue skies. Down to 22.6 metres on our first dive (we’re only supposed to go down to 18m – oops!).
I had a coughing fit whilst my mask was full of water, but I managed not to freak out completely but did use up quite a lot fo air! Visibility was pretty rubbish but still saw a few fishies.
Second dive was a lot shallower, clearer and more fun. Lunch with huge burgers and me trying to fight my closing eyelids. Back to Miles’s for a quick snooze that turned into a 4 hour sleep! Up and out into town for a few beers and a curry.
Really good night followed by a long wait for a taxi. The Ashes are in town! Home and in bed by 2:30…

Thursday 14th December 2006...

Another early start. Up at 5:00, out by 6:00 to head down to the dive centre. Straight on to the boat ready to do our first open water dives 1 & 2. Should have been a shore dive in a river with little to see but we seemed to be having all the luck and got to go out in to the deep blue sea!!
Very cool, chilled out instructor (originally from Lancashire) took us through what we were to expect then we were taking our first big stride into the sea off the back of the boat. Very chilly but so good!
Very clear water – saw crayfish, starfish, angel fish, all sorts of fish! I had one looking back at me through my mask. Very exciting!
On our second dive of the day we even saw a Port Jackson Shark lying on the bottom about 1metre long.
Lunch with Miles then we were dropped off at the beach where we had the whole beach to ourselves. Had a few dips in the lovely clear blue water – very strong current.
Cards, snacks and TV watching a bit of cricket (Aussies all out for 244) and early to bed.

Wednesday 13th December 2006...

Up at 5:45. Miles dropped us in town to get a bus to Rockingham. Arrived at the jetty, provided with wetsuits, snorkel and mask and instructed how to swim with Dolphins!! “Just lie there and don’t touch”.
Amazing experience. We did 3 dives and came within a few feet of the dolphins. We have a lovely souvenir DVD which you can all see on our return!!
Nodding dogs on the bus on the way back. Met by Miles for a quick beer in town then back home via the dive centre to register for our diving course and get fitted up for wetsuits.
Had a BBQ in the garden (no shrimps on the Barbie though!), very tired, in bed by 9:00! Great day…

Tuesday 12th December 2006...

Really bad nights sleep – I was very restless between 2:00 and 3:00. Very unusual for me not to be able to sleep!
Up at 9:00, quick breakfast then off for our dive medicals. Given the all clear to dive (the doctor was from Chalfont St. Giles!) yippee!
Off to Caversham Wildlife Park where we got to feed kangaroos, stroke a koala and I got to cuddle a wombat!
Stopped off at Hillary’s marina for lunch then back to Miles’s for a quick turn around before heading off to the WACA for a game of 20-20 (England old boys vs Australia old boys). England managed a win which might well be the only game we get to see them win!!
Met lots of Miles’s friends, a few too many beers, great atmosphere and sunshine!! Back ‘home’ and bed by 11:00. Pooped!

Monday 11th December 2006...

Awake at 6:00am with me giving renditions of ‘Status Quo’ and ‘Super Ted’! Went to the airport to check-in then back to the hotel for breakfast before the flight to Perth left at 9:40.
In-flight entertainment didn’t work – at all – very unimpressed. A 5 ½ hour flight with nothing to do other than play cards – and we couldn’t remember the rules for any games so ended up playing snap until it got a bit raucous and Dave was cheating!
Met by Miles at the airport then stuck in rush-hour traffic as we headed back to his house.
Dropped our stuff off then straight down to the beach for a quick dip before the sun went down. Welcome to Australia!!
Miles arrived with Fish and Chips and we sat watching the sun go down before taking a quick driving tour of Perth. A few beers and TV before bed.

Sunday 10th December 2006...

3:30 am is not a good time to be awake drinking cups of tea! The wonders of jet lag…. Eventually fell back asleep at 5:00 and awoke at 9:15am. Up and out to catch the KLIA train to KL Central. Very nice, clean and punctual. Lovely rendition of Jingle Bells along with other Christmas classics.
Arrived in KL Central and got another train (KL URT) to KL City Centre. Walked out into the blistering heat and humidity of KL, heading for the Petronas Towers. Unfortunately we arrived to find that all tickets had gone at 8:30 to walk across the sky bridge. (maybe we should have gone there when we were awake at 3:30!) We were both gutted as I had managed to psyche myself up to do it – and wanted to be one up on Ben. We decided to go up the Menara Tower which is much taller and allows better views of the city. After a 1.5 mile walk, Dave lost half his body weight in sweat (nice!) and I was even glowing slightly! The views from the top were pretty good and the Petronas Towers looked tiny – beat you there Ben!!
Got a taxi back to the Petronas Towers then spent far too long wandering round the large selection of shops on offer. Quick photo session in the park before thunder and lightning started.
Back at the hotel by 6:30 (I was catching flies on the way back on the train!). I stopped for a manicure and pedicure whilst Dave went to the gym. Back to Degrees for another lovely dinner (Dave had Thai soup which blew his head off!) then to bed for about midnight.

Saturday 9th December 2006...

I arrived at the airport to be met by a golf buggy to whisk me to the hotel (glad to see that it was an EZ-Go Textron golf buggy – we sell them engines!!!)
Unfortunately was feeling sick when I arrived at the airport, managed to hold on until I got to the hotel room, was sick then promptly fell asleep for 5 hours!
Lazy day eating, swimming in the pool and having a massage.
Dave arrived (late) at about 7:30. I met him “looking very summery” and then another fun buggy ride back to the hotel.
Showered then out for dinner. We decided to stay in the hotel (KL City Centre was a 30 minute train ride in) and ate in a restaurant called ‘Degrees’. Very yummy food then the jet lag started (Dave struggling to put together simple sentences) so we headed to bed.

Friday 8th December 2006...

Left JC’s at 8:00am for the airport. Checked in and had an over priced fry up before Dave left and I headed through to departures.
My flight left 20 minutes late but the entertainment system on board was pretty good (I watched You, Me & Dupree, The Illusionist and The Ant Bully) and I snoozed for a little bit!
Whilst I was in the air, Dave was shopping in Windsor, chatting with JC and meeting his ex-colleagues from Lewandowski’s for lunch.
Somehow I arrived in Kuala Lumpur 20 minutes early!
Dave’s flight left an hour late (the crew were late arriving!) but he did manage to get an emergency exit seat so was very happy that he could stretch his legs out.
Meanwhile back in Burnham, JC was whizzing around in the Seat Ibiza as we had insured him on it due to his car giving up only a few days before we left!

We're in Perth!

Just a very quick blog as we've just got back from a swim with dolphins and are both in need of a shower to remove the sand!
Having an awesome time! Kuala Lumpur was very hot and humid so the windy city of Perth is a pleasant change.
Lovely and hot and sunny. We've been keeping a notebook of everything we've been up to so will do a more in-depth Blog once we've got a bit more time.
Hope you're all doing OK and having a lovely winter. Summer's great!!
Speak to you soon

M & D
xxx

Better late than never...

Last weekend was a very hectic one!
Friday night we left Peterborough at 6:00 and drove down to Burnham to see JC. He was mid-packing for a weekend booze cruise to Cherbourg (not asleep for once!)
Dave and I watched TV (a thoroughly depressing episode of Eastenders - although good news that Pauline has finally been killed off!!) and got a takeaway. Most disappointed with the Chinese - must be due to all the scrummy food I've been cooking recently!

Saturday we were up early. Dave had arranged a site visit to see a patch of land that needed a house putting on it. Oh, and shops he has informed me!
I went shopping....
Bought some lovely boots, you'll like them mum, and a few Christmas presents.

Dave picked me up and we headed off to Twickenham via McDonalds. Dave had been very sensible and pre-booked a parking space for us at a local school so we parked up and walked the short distance to the Guinness tent. I was nominated driver so Dave and his friend Pete made up for what I couldn't drink!

The game started fairly well and I had a 'ref link' which meant I could hear everything the referee was saying. Made the game so much more interesting - well, for me anyway. probably annoyed the hell out of everyone around me as I kept informing Dave of what the ref was saying!
Bit gutted we lost but the atmosphere was great and so good to finally get to Twickenham.

40 seconds before the final whistle we made a sharp exit and trotted back to the car for the next step in our epic adventure.

An hour and a half later we arrived at Emma and Mark's house in Derby. Emma was singing in a group who had formed to do a charity night to raise money for NSPCC.
Her Dad, step mum, Mark's mum and dad and her two brothers all arrived to the village hall where it was being held and had a fantastic night.
I won a prize (bit of a fix!) and then had to sing to 'Mustang Sally' with 3 other Mandys!! I've only ever met 3 other Mandys in my life!

Sunday we had planned to head back to Peterborough quite early but Mark's mum was insistent that we stayed for roast dinner - how could we refuse! It was decided that we would pretend it was Christmas as Em and Mark are also away for Christmas in New Zealand - not sure that Dave and I would normally be at their Christmas dinner but it was lovely! No crackers or christmas tree though... :o(

Another weekend over...

Wednesday saw an exciting turn of events. I got the letter from work that I was hoping for. Not quite as clear cut as I had hoped but still good news none the less - won't go in to too much detail in case someone from work has found this page!!

Off to Maghull this weekend to see mummy and daddy. Dave's looking forward to mum taking him on the tram! :o)

Glad to hear all is well with everyone.

M & D
xxxxxxxxx