We flew via London to Perth, with a one night stopover at The Savoy, on a combination of British and Qatar Airways. Met up with John & Jayne in London, had drinks in American Bar then dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s The Savoy Grill. Good food but our Chateaubriand was over cooked. More Medium Well than Medium Rare. Great to catch up with J&J. On Thursday 20th, we arranged a car with UK Cars to pick us up from The Savoy at 12 noon for transfer to Heathrow Terminal 4. Car arrived on time & smooth ride to Terminal 4 - for 40 quid it was a bargain. Will use them again. Check in at T4 was quick. Going through security Gwyn decided she didn’t need to put her liquids in a plastic bag. Agent; “Any liquids”, Gwyn: “They are only small” Agent: “they need to be in a plastic bag” Gwyn “I haven’t got any” - which resulted in a 30 minute hold-up at security - as a lot of other women apparently didn’t see the need for plastic bags either! Qatar Airways Flight QR8 dep 4pm. Qatar lounge was very nice had champagne & light lunch (smoked salmon & hummus dip) & Business Class fantastic - puts BA to shame - on a par with BA First. Couple of hours in Doha - lounge a bit hangar like, then onto next flight QR900 at 2:25 am - had to go thru security to get on plane which seemed a bit overkill. Same level of service as first flight but with sheet, blanket & pyjamas. Skipped dinner & tried to sleep. Had breakfast couple of hours prior to landing - greek yoghurt/granola compote/smoked salmon with scrambled egg & chives on toasted muffin and good coffee. Arrived just after 6pm on the 21st. Transition through Perth airport was swift & painless, got a taxi & was at the hotel within an hour of landing! Taxi cost $39.50. Checked in to The Hyatt Regency on Adelaide Street. A bit out of the way but quite nice - rooms off a central atrium (suicide design!). Went for an hours walk along riverfront before turning in. Woke at 3:30 am. On Saturday we walked to Kings Park Botanical Gardens. It was a long walk so took free bus #935 back to CBD then walked around the shopping area - Hay St. Went to The Mint but missed tour so went back to hotel & in bed early. Next day (Sunday) met up with my cousin Ann who took us to City Beach & Freemantle. Had lunch at Little Creatures - a popular brewery & restaurant. Monday took it easy strolled around town. Bought a sim-card from Vodafone so that we would have a local contact number for emergencies. Real easy and peace of mind for A$20. Really nice lad who recommended several places to eat in Melbourne. It was a pleasure compared to the ‘hard-sell’ cell phone shops in the UK.

On Tuesday morning we flew with Qantas to Broome. It was Anzac day, so roads were very quiet & no issues at the airport. Broome was extremely hot - Bob, the shuttle driver thought we were lucky as it was ‘only’ 35 deg C. We stayed at the Mangrove Hotel - a 5 minute ride from the airport - and arranged a ‘late’ checkout for11am. Room quite large & clean but air-conditioning was vicious so either boiling hot or freezing - kept getting up to turn air-con on/off all night! We took the local bus to Cable Beach $4 each way pp. Had drink in Zanders Bar & watched the sunset. Took the last bus back at 6:15pm. Had fish & chips, a beer & glass of wine at hotel for dinner - A$73. Good food and service. Walked into ‘Town’ Wednesday (26th) morning - bought a cap & Gwyn got her pearl! We chose the Mangrove as it was a Silversea meeting point. We checked out at 11 and were shown to the waiting area. It was really hot & the ‘refreshments’ turned out to be iced water. There was no rep from Silversea - definitely not Seabourn! Buses arrived pretty much on time at 12:30 - it was a bit confusing with everyone making sure the luggage got on the bus, but it all worked out & we were transported to the ship - The Silversea Discoverer. Day 1 - embarkation. Low key affair - cold towels & half a glass of champagne - again, not exactly Seabourn! Registration, life-raft drill & safety briefing. Lunch buffet - small & congested. Wine OK though. Had dinner in main restaurant - lots of large tables & very few for ‘2’. Started new table & sat with one other couple - had the ‘trout’ which turned out to be a chunky white fish akin to grouper. When I questioned it I was told it was ‘Tasmanian Trout’ & I was shown a picture of what looked like a red hind or red grouper - definitely not a trout! Still, it tasted good & was well presented. Think I upset the waitress. Day 2: Montgomery reef - arrived at approx. 1:30pm, first zodiac at 3:00. We were in the second group at 3:30pm. Morning presentations about the Kimberley - size, geography, economy. History, first settlers etc. First one good, second one a bit soporific (Pirates & Heroes, French & Portuguese?). Zodiac ride very disappointing. The reef ‘rises out of the sea’ as the tide falls. We had a large tide so quite a spectacle. However, our zodiac driver seemed bored with the whole thing & got his jollies zooming about from side to side (we were in a ‘river‘ or channel with the reef on either side), never stopping long enough to take a half decent picture or explain to us what was going on (maybe it was self explanatory). I, at least, expected to have the chance a photograph of birds feeding on stranded fish, or turtles exposed by the outgoing tide - but no such luck. Perhaps the two sitting at the front got a couple of good pics but as I was at the rear, I got a lot of the back of their heads! The other zodiacs seemed to be taking more time to take in the spectacle - moving slower & staying still more & some passengers reported that they all took turns going to the front to have their picture taken with the waters flooding off the reef as a backdrop. We were the second to last zodiac to embark & the first to return - by a good 30 minutes! Not a good first experience. Day 3: Talbot Bay & Horizontal Falls. This morning we have 2 zodiac trips & a speed boat thru the falls. Got up at 5:30 to catch the sunrise, but not a very good one. First zodiacs out at 6 to catch the ebb tide. We were on the second wave at 6:30. Only a 20 - 30 minute ride but good (had Brad as zodiac driver). Our group is on the speedboat at 10:00 for a 30 minute ride thru the falls, then we have a longer zodiac tour (1 ¾ hrs) at 10:45 am. Found out that can order pancakes etc at breakfast & not just restricted to the buffet! In afternoon zodiac tour of Falls (to see effect of Flood tide) & Cyclone Bay - where tour boats operate from. Saw a Rock Wallaby but not much else going on. However, tides rushing in to smaller bays made for an exciting ride. Dinner invite with Brad (tour leader) & Karen. Ian & Jennifer (Aussie) & Gregory & Olivia (Iowa State uni.). had Snails in garlic (lovely), spinach & strawberry salad, Venison, & chocolate assiette for dessert - all very nice.

Day 4: Mitchell Falls (helicopter - optional extra) & Hunter river. On first helicopter at 6:15 - weather overcast with a little rain which helped with slow shutter speeds & made for cooler experience. Falls quite impressive but would have liked a bit more time to take it in. 20 min ride each way & 50 mins at the Falls. Good experience if a little expensive. Those that didn’t do the helicopter went out early on zodiacs up Hunter River ‘Croc Hunting’. All reported good sightings & eagles ‘fishing’. At 9:00 we took the zodiac to see the ancient Wanjina Rock art on Wanjina Island. Very wet crossing but interesting - had to lie on back to see it. At 3:00 clock, there was a zodiac tour of the Hunter River for those of us who didn’t go on the morning tour. Saw eyes & nostrils of one small croc & a few birds but too far away & light not good enough to capture. Mangroves were interesting - there are 28 species of mangrove in the Kimberley - the most any other country has is 3, with most countries having only one. Had nice dinner “a deux’, I had Aussie Pie (deelish), followed by the Boston Clam chowder (bit insipid, as found all the soups so far), fillet of kangaroo (very nice, distinctive flavour, but kept hopping out of bed all night!), dessert I had macadamia & Banana cake with chocolate ice-cream (quite nice). Gwyneth had veggie stuff & pumpkin cannelloni (OK), leak & goat cheese fondue (delish), pavlova w/vaniila ice-cream (seemed the better choice). Sunday Day 5: Vansittart Bay: Jar Island - so named because they found a jar on landing. In first group at 7:30 to see the Gwion Gwion rock paintings (or Bradshaw Art because it was discovered by Joseph Bradshaw in 1891). The origins are unknown but believed to be 17,000 yrs old. There are 2 sites - very interesting & Gwyn & I, discovered another set of paintings (incl. a kangaroo) on an exploratory walk along the beach - our guides knew of them but had lost track of the location so Gwyn took them to the site. Monday Day 6: Visit to Anjo Peninsula to see wreckage of 2nd World War C53 (DC3). It was to be a wet landing followed by a walk across a salt plain but the plain was flooded when we arrived, so we had to circumnavigate it. Interestingly, we were able to walk back across it as tide had fallen very quickly. On February 1942, during a return flight from Perth to Broome, the pilot made a navigational error and crashed landed on a salt pan. No lives were lost and the crew members were rescued after almost a week in the bush. The plane wreck was quite interesting - looked like it was put together out of meccano.

Tuesday Day 7: George River & King George IV Falls. Opted for the 6 hour outing - 3 hr zodiac & hike up to top of the falls. Early start at 7:00. Approx 14k (1 ½ hrs) to falls. Steep cliffs either side. Didn’t see much by way of wildlife. One croc in water but couldn’t get close. Dry landing on rocks followed by 90 - 100mtr scramble up steep rocky ‘path’ to plateau. Brad did not exaggerate the difficulty! Approx 1 km walk at the top to the upper falls.

Wednesday Day 8: Wyndham. Silversea offered a couple of inclusive tours, a cruise on the Ord River or a scenic flight over the Bungle Bungles (our choice). In fact the Bungle Bungles were the main reason for the trip - a tick off Gwyn’s Bucket List. There were two groups, one flew from Wyndham over the Bungles to Kununurra for lunch then a bus ride back. While a second group were bused to Kununurra for lunch prior to flying over the Bungles back to Wyndham. We were in the fly out/bus back group. The flight included Lake Argyle & the Argyle Diamond Mine. It was one of the highlights of the trip.

Thursday Day 9: at sea to East Timor (to comply with maritime rules for int‘l ships). Sadly, the scheduled trip to Jaco Island was cancelled by the East Timor authorities. Some weeks earlier a cruise ship ran aground & damaged a coral reef, so the Indonesian authorities cancelled all cruise landings. It was a boring 2 days with rough seas and a lot of people suffering sea sickness. Cabin walls ought to be a bit thicker! Friday Day 10: Spent the day in Darwin (in place of Jaco Island). Silversea had organised several tours and we opted for the Litchfield whole day tour - which turned out to be a big mistake! Didn’t fathom that the day would be spent mostly on the bus - even more so as one bus broke down in Litchfield so our bus driver had to run a ferry system for both busloads until a replacement bus could be sent out. Meant that we couldn’t see as much as we should have & had very little time at the places we did stop at. All in all a disappointing day. Dinner tonight at Hanuman in Darwin with Sanjay & Lynne. Good night out! Saturday May 6th: Disembarkation. Took a taxi to Bargain Car rentals on Mitchell St. Bernadette checked us in & at first gave us a Kia Picanto but too small so changed to Hyundai Accent. Proved to be a nice car. Drove to Kakadu - missed turning in Darwin but managed to get on right road (they had no GPS‘s available). Stopped at Kmart & Woolworths just prior to the Arnhem Highway for a coffee, water, wine & beer. It’s approximately 250 km to Kakadu. Stopped at Wetlands Information Center en route, quite interesting, and got information for getting park pass for Kakadu - gas station just outside the Park. Seems to be a bit of an honour system as no one ever asked to see our pass. Checked in at The Crocodile Hotel for a 3 night stay. Room spacious but basic - bathroom needed renovating but had a bath so Gwyn happy. Went to the park information center to see what was happening & get our bearings. Nice little café & very informative. Not much in Jabiru by way of bars/restaurants so we dined in the hotel restaurant on 1st night - service slow, food OK - then got takeout from the restaurant next 2 nights. Gwyn & Marlene (of Wrexham lager fame) from ‘our ship’ were there the 2nd night, so we had a drink with them. They were on a bus tour from Darwin, then they were going to join a tour from Darwin back to Broome overland.

May 7th-9th Kakadu. Very Hot -35 Cdeg. The Kakadu Highway is the major artery through the Park, providing access to all the sights, and the Park Information Center. The Road to Obirr (major cave paintings) was closed to 2-wheel drive vehicles (still flooded) so we went to Nourlangie Rock to see the Nieebrugge paintings there. This is a collection of three main sites that include Burrungkuy (Nourlangie), Kuwarddewardde Lookout and Anbangbang Shelter. Prior to the site, we pulled off the road to climb a rock that provided views across to Nourlangie & beyond to Arnhem land. In Kakadu the rock art is known by the aboriginal name ‘Gunbim’. For more information on rock art in kakadu visit www.parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/do/rock-art/. Cindy on reception told us about the lake at Jabiru so we went there to catch sunset - really very nice. Next day we had booked a Yellow River cruise at 9:00 am. It was about an hours drive to Cooimba, so early start. Rueben (Scottish mother, aboriginal father), our guide, a bit too cheery (lots of ‘bloody’s‘, & ‘you mob’s’) pointed out that ‘his family’ owned just about every business around - cruises, fishing charters, air charters, Cooimba Lodge & camp sites - and that they ate just about anything & everything that moved! Spotted a dingo (chalk another one for John), a few crocs but nothing particularly exciting - still worth the trip. On way back to Jabiru stopped at Aboriginal Cultural Center - quite interesting; and, Mirrai Lookout, atop Mount Cahill. It was a 1.5 km hike in mid-day heat & definitely not worth the sweat. In the evening we went back to the lake for a walk but not very many birds about this night. Saw lot of fruit bats in Jabiru - they are not hard to find, just follow your nose - they stink.

On 9th drove back to Darwin. Overall opinion of Crocodile Hotel - if best in area then don’t want to see the rest! Stopped in at the Mary River Wilderness Retreat on the way. We just wanted a coffee, but on discovering that it was a wilderness park we paid a small entrance fee & hiked one of the trails. Lots of wallabies, but very hot. We stayed overnight at Ramada Suites Zen Quarter, Darwin Basic but had washing machine so got washing done. Had fish & chips for supper from hotel restaurant - expensive & not very good. Breakfast next morning not a lot better. Morning of the 10th, flew Darwin to Melbourne. Dropped car at airport - was a driver from Bargain Rentals in the lot so handed keys over. Would recommend Bargain Rentals. Check-in and security fuss free. Good flight on Qantas, arrived Melbourne & took taxi to the hotel. Took a lot longer & cost more than we thought it would (Aud$60.00). Stayed at The Windsor Hotel - a historic hotel, centrally placed, convenient to shopping & restaurants. Spent 2 nights at the Windsor. Breakfast was included - really good. Had dinner at a tapas restaurant in the street art district (recommended by the lad in Vodafone in Perth). Good but not cheap. Next day, got up early & walked down to the river before breakfast. Then went to the local Market, bought t-shirts, stuffed toys & an Aussie hat. Had burgers form a healthy, hole-in-the-wall burger joint, with a bottle of wine. Cheap & good. May 12th. Rented car through Sixt, got a cab to the office & then had to walk, with our bags, 3 blocks to the garage. Car a bit of a clunker - Suzuki Swift with 100k+ miles on the clock. Had rented a GPS, which, once we got it working proved to be a good investment! Despite appearances the car ran well.

Our first stop was to be Chris’s Beacon Point Villas & Restaurant near Apollo Bay (www.chriss.com.au). On way stopped at Torquay - official start of the Great Ocean Road - for a comfort break & coffee. Drove to Anzac Point to look at the beach. Chris’s place is a bit off the beaten path but definitely worth it. Stayed 2 nights, breakfast was included but dinner extra. Interesting menus, great views over the ocean. Craft fair on in Apollo Bay, had a look around, talked to locals & Gwyn bought 2 glass pendants. Drove to Otway Lighthouse & had a look around - fairly interesting but not sure it‘s worth the entrance fee. Spotted several koalas on the way to the lighthouse. They sleep a lot.

May 14th, after breakfast, we resumed our journey along the Great Ocean Road. We had booked a hotel in Koroit, near Port Fairy, a drive of 177 kms or 2 ½ hours without stops but as this stretch included the 12 Apostles & the most dramatic coastline, we didn’t arrive until after 7 pm. True to form we (that is I) stopped everywhere there was a potential photo opportunity, taking in the Apostles (at Gibson Steps & the official overlook), London Bridge, Loch Ard Gorge & the Bay of Islands. It may have just been bad timing but we managed to coincide with several busloads of mainly Chinese tourists on a day trip from Melbourne - armed with their selfie sticks & throwing scarves in the air. Try as we might we couldn’t shake them. It was dark when we arrived at St. Patrick’s Luxury Boutique Hotel, a former convent, in Keroit & the place looked closed. After knocking on the door a couple of times the owner answered to tell us that she thought we had cancelled. Turned out that she was closing for the season the next day & we were the only guests booked in. Having shown us to our room she suggested that we should go to eat straight away as the restaurants closed early. Not feeling like a ‘posh’ dinner we chose the first pub that we came across, which happened to be Mickey Bourke’s Koroit Hotel - an iconic Irish pub established in 1853. It being Mother’s Day the only choice was an all you can eat buffet, which turned out to be pretty darn good. It might have been an Irish Pub but the chef was Indian! However, being the only non-locals in the place, and feeling a bit like the entertainment we ate quite quickly & returned to out hotel. Being the only guests we had the best room in the house.

A guide at Otway had told us about Tower Hill Nature Reserve an extinct volcano that is a wildlife reserve which happened to be just round the corner from our hotel in Koroit. So, having agreed to a late breakfast, we headed off at first light to the reserve. It had several walking trails and is home to Emu’s, wallabies, kangaroo’s & koala’s. The visitor center/ranger station wasn’t yet open, so not daring to be late for breakfast we legged it round one of the shorter trails but managed to spot quite a lot of wildlife. I would recommend St Patrick's Luxury Boutique Hotel & wish we had allowed more time in the area. Apparently Koroit is famed for it’s annual Irish festival at the end of April. Next day, May 15th, we set off again for Robe, a drive of 284 kms. Technically the Great Ocean Road ends at Port Fairy, so from here we were following the coast up to Adelaide. We stopped briefly at Port Fairy, a small fishing village, Portland (comfort break), Mount Gambier to view the Blue Lake, and Nelson. We arrived in Robe early evening where we had booked a room at the historic Robe House B&B. Built in 1847 it was the first building to be built in Robe & home to the Government Resident from 1847-1869. It is described as a 'hosted b&b', meaning that the owner does not live on-site. We had been given instructions where to find the key. Sadly, as we were the only patrons we were put in the modern annexe & not the house itself. It was a bit early for the restaurants so we ended up buying fish & chips from the local chippie & taking them back to our room. Perhaps the best fish & chips we’ve ever tasted. Next morning after breakfast - a diy affair with breakfast items in the refrigerator - we settled-up & took a short drive along the esplanade. Quite pretty, with several surfers in action. Then it was off to Adelaide, a drive of 337kms. Not a particularly exciting drive. Pulled off the road at The Coorong - mouth of the Murray River to view pelicans. Stopped at Meningie, on the shores of Lake Albert for a comfort break & had a pie at the bakery. Says something about the drive when a highlight is a pie! If I was to do the trip again I would drive round trip Melbourne to Port Fairy returning via Ballarat, and skip Adelaide. We had 3 nights in Adelaide, staying at the Sofitel. We kept the car for one day & drove to the Barossa Valley & the Germanic town of Hahndorf. It is a pretty area, but it was not the growing season so the vines were bereft of fruit, and several wineries were closed. We (Gwyn - I was driving) did however manage a tasting and we bought a couple of aprons to take home. When we got to Hahndorf, it was raining heavily so ducked into the first restaurant we came across for lunch. Walked about then had coffee & a vanilla slice at Otto’s bakery. We returned the car to the airport & got a taxi back to our hotel. Not the experience we had hoped for, but glad we did it nonetheless. The next day we walked around Adelaide, visiting the market, the botanical gardens & the wine museum. First night we had dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Asian restaurant which was really good. Second night we went to a Moroccan restaurant where the hostess turned out to be from Tynemouth (Nr. Newcastle UK - my neck of the woods). Three nights/Two days in Adelaide was enough. On the 19th it was off to the airport for flight to Perth then connecting to Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong (with a six hour layover) to London. Although not as good as Qatar, Cathay still outshone British Airways. We stayed overnight at Sofitel Heathrow Terminal 5, then flew up to Newcastle for 3 nights at Slaley Hall before flying home.