Hi there, this is Angel from Paradise just north of Brisbane. When I read last week that Somersoft would be no more, I cried. I love you ladies and guys and I just had to join over here. My profile page will tell you that Mr Angel and I are waiting for our IPs to increase in value and then we can retire from our mundane day jobs and travel around the country. We also love many things Italiene, like its food, coffee, motorbikes and fast red cars. We were supposed to be going to Italy and Spain or Greece for two months in 2016, but due to an oversupply issue at Gladstone, have downgraded to a ferry crossing to Tasmania instead. That's still overseas, right? Ce la vie Ciao. Helen
tassie sounds great! any detailed plans for your trip round oz? or is it on the to do list? caravan or motorhome? we've done a few k's over the last 5 or so years so always love a travel oz chat
and speaking of happy rock (gladstone) there are top spots nearby! heron island, 1770, tannum caravan park is upcoming now the fifo and workers are moving on
Hi Bob. We holidayed there two years ago, stayed at the Agnes Caravan park right on the beach then four days at Heron Island. Some time in the future we will "live" in the house at Gladdy during our travels, go fishing and renovate it, probably. Or at least lose the grandma colours paint job. Not the Glow in the Dark fish though.
HI Bob I was chatting to you a few weeks ago about jobs in the outback. We have rellos who are house sitters like Kathryn and Bob, so I've had a glimmer of that life. We will probably wander like you do, no set plan. I have previously travelled through some of SA and NT but hubby hasn't so I want to take him to some specific places like the Flinders Ranges. In my head I have quite a few different round trips visualised. This will be my fourth trip to Tasmania. We have no preference for caravans or motorhomes, we will see what is available when the time comes. We will have to fit at least one motorbike on the back somehow. Mr Angel is researching F150s and F250s atm. I also want to travel OS, preferably before we get too old and immobile, backpacker class.
You might be surprised as to how reasonable Europe is now....watch Greece.....they are about to go back to the stone ages....things should be a lot cheaper if they get thrown out of the EU...deservedly so...
OS would be great, but that just opens a massive can of worms!... although you can see a lot more countries and history with less k's! We have toyed with OS with the kids but need some more $$ before we took that punt, NZ is on the radar but after the ridiculous k's we do and the ADD way we attack it we think we'd need a week in NZ due to its size! we need to slow it up a little!! we're glad we did oz now, it is a big toll of the body, lots of driving, remoteness, lots of walking and strenuous sightseeing. we just did margaret river area over 5 or so days, awesome part of the country and glad we avoided the peak times! we did a couple of caves and its bloody hard work! one was 350 stairs to the bottom, and with kids we went up and down a few times!! We have had a taste of OS and its all paved and more man made history so theres a road right up to everything! ... side note (somewhat political) but australia needs to capitalise our natural wonders and preserve and show them off!! We are one of the last few "untouched" countries (greenies may say differently) but we have this amaing resource and rather than lock it up i feel there needs to be more done in National parks to open up tourism even more. I think a good example is el questro, never been and probably wont but they own a massive chunk of land and created a $$$resort in the bush. people want the bush and to experience but not everyone wants to get bashed around in a 4wd for hours and then go to take a shovel to the bathroom! ...but like everything its to be done in moderation and cant be a free for all.
I reckon we should move this conversation into the Coffee Lounge. In the meantime, the biggest hindrance to capitalising on Australia's natural beauty is the cost to get there and back. The majority of the population lives on the east coast and air fares, although much cheaper than they used to be, still cost a lot of money to go anywhere other than the capitals. In Europe and USA, the roads and train lines are already in place and as was said last night, it is easy to access all the sites. It's the cost and time factor to get there from Australia and back again that can be off putting, along with currency exchange. The reasons we piked out of going to Europe next year is that our houses have gone seriously negative cash flow now and Hubby's job is not secure any more. The last few years we could save big dollars quite easily but it isn't going to be like that again for a while. I've got enough cash already saved for a three week trip in Oz.
