TravelStream™ news feed for member scootergal on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/scootergal en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:00:17 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226107320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226107320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226107320/tpod.html Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:00:17 -0500 The Snowy Ride 2008

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Thredbo Village, New South Wales, Australia

We would have had an early start except I couldn't find my keys. I had put them in the fridge so that I wouldn't forget my water bottle - so I spent half an hour turning out all my bags in a mad panic to find my keys. Mum eventually found them and we were on our way. We met up with the others at the Tea Club in Berry St Nowra - a delightful little gem of a cafe with the most gorgeous back garden and serene atmosphere. It was a great way to start the day.
We had an uneventful run down to Narooma where we stopped for a late lunch and then headed further south to Bega.

The "bikes" decided that they didn't need a top-up of petrol before tackling Brown Mountain - leaving the "scooters" to detour into Bega. By the time we caught up with them at Nimmatibel, Jenny had all but run out of petrol and needed the 2 litre reserve from Peter's jerry can to make it into Cooma.

It started spitting with rain just before Cooma and having learnt our lesson from last year, we stopped and donned our wet weather gear before we got drowned. We regrouped and refueled in Cooma, then stocked up with grog and munchies in Jindabyne ready for the final asaault up into the mountains. The last stretch was gruelling - cold and wet and windy - but finally riding into Thredbo at 7pm was like coming home.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226367960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226367960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226367960/tpod.html Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:58:35 -0500 The Snowy Ride 2008

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Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Another beautiful day dawns and I am really really not ready to return to reality.

4 days is way too short so next year I am gonna plan for at least a week away. The first stretch home is along the Monaro Highway between Jindabyne and Queanbeyan. I can't describe how mind-numbingly BORING this ride is, and more than once I vowed NOT to ever do it again.

We stopped at Bungendore for lunch and planned the next bit of the ride. We poured over the map but it seemed our only real option was to get past Goulburn and only then could we venture into the Southern Highlands for some nicer roads.

Garry decided he wanted to be put to sleep by the mind-numbingly boring Motorway so we parted ways at Goulburn and Mark and I went for a little play on the backroads.

The Southern Highlands is another very beautiful part of Australia, and although the roads aren't the best surface for riding, they are quite scenic and wind thru the countryside showing off lovely little pockets of delightful treasures.
We arrived back in Sydney quite late in the evening and after kissing the BOSS and washing my clothes, I was ready to repeat the entire exercise.

Alas I will need to wait another year.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226281260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226281260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226281260/tpod.html Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:55:39 -0500 The Snowy Ride 2008

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Tumbarumba, New South Wales, Australia

The sun came out, the wind nicked off and the day dawned bright.
After breakfast in the bakery, Peter and Nicole headed back to Sydney with 2000 other bikers. The rest of our little crowd met up with Ned and Kev and their little crowd to make a new little crowd.
We headed out of Thredbo along the Alpine Way towards Khancoban but the first downhill twisty bits were spoiled by a kamikazee Audi driver. Luckily for me I managed to avoid him but when I caught up to the mob at the rest stop, they were comparing survival notes.
Having ridden through England and Europe, I have to say that Australian drivers are by far the least tolerant of motorcycles - often using them as target practice.

Mark, Garry and I stopped for a break at the Southern Cloud memorial and by the time we caught up with the others at the 4 Bears Cafe at Tumbarumba, they had almost finished their lunch. They were all heading north in search of another pitstop before Sydney - only the 3 of us heading back to Thredbo.
We ventured along Elliots Way which is one of the nicest riding roads with lovely little twisty bits and fabulous scenery. It's hard to put into words just how magnificent this area is and photos just don't do it justice at all.

Sunday riding on the Alpine Way is excellent. Most of everyone has gone home and the roads are empty - particularly in the late afternoon. The vision ahead is often clear for 100's of metres so you can take the corners tighter and/or wider than you would normally have to. This makes for great riding conditions and lots of fun.

Once again we arrived back at the chalet exhausted and didn't even bother venturing out for dinner.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226194680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226194680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226194680/tpod.html Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:53:13 -0500 The Snowy Ride 2008

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Thredbo Village, New South Wales, Australia

It had rained all night and there were grumbles about venturing out and the preference for staying in bed... but eventually we got all riders on their steeds and down into the village for the Honda display.
The Snowy Ride is sponsored by Honda who donate a Goldwing as a lucky door prize and a Fireblade for the raffle. This year they brought with them their entire fleet of bikes and allowed people to test ride them through the village. I did however notice the absence of the Postie Bike.

The rain had stopped but the wind had picked up and the temperature was hovering just above freezing. We decided that the 300km loop around Alpine Way would not be wise so after breakfast we all headed off to Charlotte's Pass - a mere 60kms away. The wind was bad in Thredbo valley but it was even worse in Perisher valley. Peter on his poor little PX struggled up the mountain and took refuge in the resort at the top. Fortified with hot chocolate, Nicole, Garry and I took on the last kilometre to the lookout - although nothing could be seen from the lookout as the weather closed in rapidly. It was 3 degrees with a wind chill factor of -5 and I couldn't get off that mountain fast enough.
We heard later that one person had been literally blown off their bike and broke his leg.

Back in Jindabyne the temperature increased by 10 degrees but the wind was still a problem. We rode out to Dalgety along some of the most beautiful roads in the country, while Mark looked enviously at all the propertys "For Sale" along the way. It is indeed a glorious part of Australia.

At Dalgety showground we indulged in a fabulous lamb roll supplied by the locals, and then had dessert in the tea house on the corner. Freshly baked chocolate cake and good strong coffee and I was ready to challenge the wind again.

We tried getting back to Thredbo to watch the Mass Ride come in but we were too late and ended up riding in the tail end of it at 30km/h. This is not good in high winds and several times felt the wheels slide out from under me. It was exhausting riding and although we hadn't ridden very far that day, I still felt completely drained.

At 4pm we wandered down to the village square for the presentation where I met up with Nerida and Kevin and their mates. After listening to the speeches and NOT winning the Honda Goldwing we all retired back to our chalet for pre-dinner drinks and munchies. After pizza for dinner we all fell into bed exhausted.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226013300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226013300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/5/1226013300/tpod.html Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:48:09 -0500 The Snowy Ride 2008

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Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

From The Snowy Ride website www.snowyride.com.au
The Snowy Ride is a motorcycle event run annually in the Alpine Region of NSW and has raised over 1.3 million dollars for the "Steven Walter Fund".

The "Steven Walter Fund", which is the organiser and main benefactor of the Snowy Ride, is a non-profit organisation which was started following the passing of nineteen year old Steven Walter after an eight year battle with cancer. The Fund is involved in raising money for research into childhood cancer and the side effects of cancer treatment in children.

All monies raised by the Fund go directly to "The Children's Cancer Institute Australia" and all funds are directed into research.

*********************

This is the second time I have done the Snowy Ride - Garry and I had so much fun last year that we rebooked our accommodation in Thredbo before we left.
2008 has been a high stress year - the BOSS completed her final year at school and I launched a new business and became more of a workaholic with no life.
4 days full-on riding in the Snowy region is my type of "holiday".

We also doubled our number for this years jaunt. Jen, Ian, Nicole and Peter joined Mark, Garry and myself for the ride. I was riding my new Aprilia Sportcity 250 and I had barely run-in the engine. Garry was riding an MP3 400 loaned to us by Piaggio and Peter was riding a vintage Vespa PX200 which he had tweaked and tinkered with and was "nursing" her the distance. Pete has also learned to carry a jerry can of extra petrol as his fuel tank is the smallest in our group - and he is prone to running out at the most inopportune moments.
The other four riders were on "bikes" but we still allowed them to ride with us.

We left Sydney after work and headed down the coast - thankfully the weather was clear and the view from the top of Mt Ousley was spectacular. We stopping at Belmore Basin for fish n chips before continuing on to Nowra. Garry and I stayed at mum's while the rest of the mob found a motel.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/snowy07/1194575340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/snowy07/1194575340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/snowy07/1194575340/tpod.html Sat, 15 Nov 2008 01:16:21 -0500 The Snowy Ride

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Nowra, Australia

From The Snowy Ride website www.snowyride.com.au
The Snowy Ride is a motorcycle event run annually in the Alpine Region of NSW and has raised over 1.3 million dollars for the "Steven Walter Fund".

The "Steven Walter Fund", which is the organiser and main benefactor of the Snowy Ride, is a non-profit organisation which was started following the passing of nineteen year old Steven Walter after an eight year battle with cancer. The Fund is involved in raising money for research into childhood cancer and the side effects of cancer treatment in children.

All monies raised by the Fund go directly to "The Children's Cancer Institute Australia" and all funds are directed into research.

*********************
After my little jaunt through the Swiss Alps, I decided to see what the Australian Alps had to offer so I booked into the Snowy Ride with 2800 other motorcyclists. The BOSS decided not to come with me so my scooter buddy, Garry, agreed to join me.
Garry also rides an Aprilia Sportcity - albeit 50cc bigger than my 200cc. He has only been riding since last Christmas and we have spent many weekends zipping up to Mt White to tackle the twisties and improve our skills. We share of love of the "ride" - the simple pleasures in life - not fast but each corner better than the last.
Garry and his family emigrated from the UK, so he has seen very little of the Aussie countryside. The South East corner of NSW is where I grew up so I was looking forward to showing it off.

This was the seventh year of the Snowy Ride has been held in Thredbo but it was my first. There's not much to it... just turn up and ride - collect stamps at various checkpoints and then enter the competition to win a Honda Goldwing or a Honda Fireblade.
Simple really - as long as you have accommodation.
I tried booking a hotel back in May but I got the same answer where ever I rang - sorry no vacancy. Seems that all the motorcyclists book a year in advance. Good timing is everything. As luck would have it, I scored a cancellation - a whole apartment: sleeps 5.

I also invited my cousin Mark to join us - even though he rides a 1000cc motorcycle, I allowed him to ride with us.

It had been raining all week and the online forecast was not optimistic. Riding in the rain is not pleasant at the best of times. Riding a scooter in the rain is less attractive. Riding a scooter in the rain 2000kms on country backroads is just plain crazy.

Never let it be said that I live a beige life.

Garry and I departed (in the rain) at 6.35pm from Sydney. We managed to avoid the worst of the peak hour traffic and the rain turned into drizzle and then stopped altogether about 20kms down the road. We were literally riding off into the sunset and the temptation to detour through the twisties at National Park was resisted.
The weather started to close in again and just to make it more interesting, the wind picked up on the top of the escarpment. The fog warning lights were active so we nipped down Bulli Pass to loose altitude and get out of the wind. Garry had never been down Bulli Pass and didn't quite know what to expect (especially in the dark). It is a very very steep twisty road and many a truck has lost its brakes on the way down and ended up in the loungeroom of the house at the bottom.

We arrived at my girlfriends house in Wollongong for a quick pitstop and stretch of the limbs. Riding a scooter is not too rough on the body - when I rode a motorbike I suffered from lower back pain due to leaning forward but a scooter is more like the "sit up and beg" position. The Sportcity in particular has the most comfortable seat out of all the scooters I have tried.
After a quick coffee we headed off for the last leg to Nowra - only 100kms away. It would normally have taken about 1 hour from Wollongong but when we stopped to refuel at Kiama we realised that there were no petrol stations open after 7pm. I left Garry twiddling his thumbs in the main street while I backtracked to Albion Park to fill up. 45 minutes later and we were once again heading in the right direction.

The last 50km stretch into Nowra is on a dark, windy backroad - mostly flat but a challenge at night. It was just as we hit this stretch that the weather hit us. Torrential rain and strong wind - I was leading us blindly, not able to see more than 20 metres ahead.
We arrived at mum's close to midnight, drenched to the skin and shivering from the cold.
We had a cup of tea to warm us up and hung all our dripping gear in front of the heater - the waterproof gloves I had purchased that day were not waterproof. I fell into bed exhausted and exhilarated, hoping for better weather for big ride the next day.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/4/1200797760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/4/1200797760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/4/1200797760/tpod.html Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:40:46 -0500 10 days in a leaky boat

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Sydney, Australia

Final thoughts on cruising as a mode of travel: I LOVED IT !!

Leaving behind the emails and mobile phone, being able to totally switch off the brain and eliminate all decision making, having all your food and entertainment needs met without having to lift a finger, having 10 fabulous dinner parties without having to cook or wash up, not having to constantly pack and unpack, choosing to do everything or nothing... it was divine.

A large portion of the credit must go to the company - our 2 wonderful waiters and our 6 incredible dinner companions - it was a delight to have been placed at a table with this mob.
And most of all... I was so lucky to be able to share this experience with My Best Buddy.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/4/1200013680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/4/1200013680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/4/1200013680/tpod.html Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:21:34 -0500 10 days in a leaky boat

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Northeast of Sydney somewhere, Australia

I slept in till 8:30 which is very unusual for me. Breakfast is served from 7am till 9am so we made it just in time. Although wildy tempting to go the full cooked breakfast with all the trimmings I knew my system couldn't handle it first thing in the morning so I resisted and stuck to muesli and coffee.
After brekkie we decided to 'walk a mile" and not surprisingly, it only took 20 mins to complete 3 circuits. As we passed the library we grabbed the daily sudoku. The Princess Patter, the daily newsletter, listed all the activites for the day including trivia bingo, craft lessons, computer lessons, etc. We decided to do none of the above, instead we retired to Lido to catch some rays. MBB had completed three sudoku's before I managed to complete one - I kept dozing off, my brain completely switched into neutral.

Time flew by and before we knew it, it was lunchtime. Another 3 course meal, another mile and another mandatory snooze and before we knew it, dinner time was upon us.
Tonight was the captains cocktail party and formal dress for dinner. Neither MBB nor I own anything resembling a cocktail dress, much less a formal ball gown so we made do (black is good) and oggled enviously at the parade of gowns and tuxedos on dispaly.
We didn't meet the Captain but we had a lovely chat to the assistant cruise director who gave us a run-down of the working conditions. The crew work 7 days a week for 6-10 months straight depending on their contract. They share a cabin and have very little free time or 'space'. Apart from phone cards and internet time they have very little to spend their money on and rarely get to go onshore at all the exotic ports.
Dinner was once again a very pleasant occasion - we seemed to have had excellent luck with our table companions as they all have a similar sense of humour. The Tassie couple didn't show up so we are figuring they asked to be moved. Mick turned up with some chronic sunburn - his sun glasses having left an odd white streak on either side of his face.
After dinner I quickly stripped off the 'formal' gear and changed back into my comfy clothes. We raced off to catch the 10:15 show called "Shimmy" but we were rather disappointed with the amateurish type production. It was less like a Vegas type show and more like a high school concert. Luckily the music and dancing moved pretty fast so we weren't too bored and it was all over in an hour.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/4/1200538260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/4/1200538260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/4/1200538260/tpod.html Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:14:15 -0500 10 days in a leaky boat

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South Pacific somewhere, Australia

Lazy day mooching around the ship - went to bingo, morning trivia, walked a mile, afternoon trivia, walked another mile, ate, ate and ate, swam, did suduko and once again, we were last ones to leave the restaurant that night. The sea was very very rough - and many people were seasick.

Rash update: all the dots have joined up and it now just looks like red angry sunburn again. It has now started spreading around to the backs of my legs and I have reclaimed one ankle from the swelling.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/4/1200451740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/4/1200451740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/scootergal/4/1200451740/tpod.html Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:12:34 -0500 10 days in a leaky boat

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Wala, Vanuatu

Today is a very special day. One year ago today a very dear friend died, she was only 23 years old and just beginning her life. She would light up any room she entered and always made you feel special. Dear Jasmine, I miss you so.

I woke early and went on deck to watch the tenders being lowered into the water. We had already anchored off a most beautiful island and natives were paddling whole families in canoes over to the beach to entertain us. MBB was still asleep so I had a quick breakfast and joined one of the tenders for the trip ashore. We landed on a stunning beach dotted with dozens of native huts and shelters selling more colourful sarongs and shell necklaces (glad to see there was no mass produced plastic crap). Our island visit began with a tour of cultural life lead by Julie. It was a short walking tour, 10 tourists at a time through the rainforest to about 10 'stations' each with a different display of village skills: fire making, yam planting, warrior dancing, drumming and singing. Each station had a banana leaf on the ground for coins - native version of busking I suppose.

Tip 1: take lots and lots of dollar coins and give generously. They put on a spectacular show, very authentic and well presented, and they rely on the cruise ships for a large slice of their income - and there are only about four cruise ships which visit each month.
Tip 2: Take lots of Vatu currency notes. At the end of the day the villagers have pockets full of Aussie coins and they want to exchange them for local currency. You can always use the coins onboard in the casino.

After 40 minutes we were all hot and sweaty so we ran for the crystal clear warm surf pausing only long enough to divest ourselves of excess clothing. The water was stunningly divine and I did not budge for a full hour. More people had now arrived by the continuous stream of tenders and now I was sharing the beach with 1500 of my closest friends. I got out of the water and was dry before I even reached my pile of clothes.

I wandered down through the stalls and looked at all the wares. I bought a garland woven from palm leaves and decorated with frangipanis and bougainvilleas then struck out to the furthest end of the village (about a kilometre) to find a quiet spot. I asked the villagers if I could swim there and they asked what the garland was for. When I explained that it was a tribute to my dead friend they sang a nice song as I released the garland in the water. I was a very special moment.

At lunch time I jumped back on a tender for the 5 minute ride back to the ship. I grabbed lunch alone in the Horizon Court as there was no sign of MBB. I left her another note and went back to the island - spending the rest of the afternoon neck deep in water. It was a truly divine day and I would have been happy to have skipped Noumea and Port Vila altogether and just spent four days on Wala.
By 3pm we were all back on the ship ready for the 3 day journey back to Sydney.
The clouds were closing in again and it started to rain just as we were leaving Vanuatu. I haven't yet managed to see a proper sunset because of the clouds - and I did say I'd like to see a sunrise but I doubt that is going to happen as I have been sleeping so well!!



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