The Big Lobster, Big Olive and Big Wine Bottle

Setting off on a roadtrip these days has begun to require the inclusion of an Aussie Big Thing, and crossing a border, to count as a proper trip. Our roadtrip to Radelaide crossed from Victoria to South Australia, and managed not one, but three Big Things!

The first was the Big Lobster in Kingston SE, which we aimed to see in our rough thinking about this trip to the cricket.

He's pretty ugly, and getting aged, weather-beaten and tired, Larry the Lobster is just sitting out on the highway outside of town, soaking in the sun, rain and wind. The tired little cafe and store behind him look like there have been there in the elements just as much as he has, and foiled our plans of getting a lifesize lobster as a keepsake/pisstake.

We found the Big Olive almost by chance, when discussing the other Big Things in the area as we travelled towards Tailem Bend.

The Big Olive is actually two, and amazingly made by the same artist who is responsible for Larry the Lobster! The stop here is more than worth the small detour we made, for tastings of olive oil, awesome olive tapenade and dukkah, and wine.

As we left the store to return to the car our saleswoman pointed out that the green olive is positioned perfectly so that at the right distance you can get a photo with you holding up that smaller olive. Perfect for those cheesy touristy photos!

The Big Wine Bottle, or Church Block for the more wine educated, is at Wirra Wirra Winery in McLaren Vale.

We stopped in here after lunch as our last break before reaching Adelaide, and the end of our roadtrip. Wine tasting was on offer, by a very cute barman, for the non-driving Sheilas.

The Wine Bottle is made of corks! All meshed together with wire, and stands in the carpark of the this picturesque winery in the hills of this South Australian wine region.

Roadtrip to Radelaide: Warrnambool to Adelaide

Waking in Warrnambool, we four Sheilas soon hit the road again to continue our roadtrip to Radelaide. We had breakfast before driving out of town west, in the sunny and hot, perfect sunny day.

We checked out the pretty colonial buildings of Port Fairy, before reaching Portland. Here we took a mini-stop, and explored the Cape Nelson Lighthouse on the waters edge.

Back onto Highway 1, we drove inland a little as we headed to and crossed over the border to South Australian. Mt Gambier was upon us before we really knew it, and lunchtime coincided perfectly.

A pub lunch at The 'G, and a couple of beers for the non-driving Sheilas, we also stopped off to see the Blue Lake. Telling the Sheilas about the colour changing lake, I don't think they really believed me until they saw the absolutely brilliant blue water below us in the extinct volcanic crater.

This lake is the town's water, and changes to this blue in November and gradually fades across Summer back to a grey-brown by around March. For this sunny, hot day for us it was gorgeous.

Further down the road, we reached the coast of SA, and Kingston SE. Here we acquired an onsite cabin at the caravan park, and walked down to the beach to dip our toes in the ocean.

The sunset here was amazing, and our blender party for the night was pretty great too! Luckily Jess had carted it across the country for the roadtrip!

Our last day of our roadtrip had us wind through to McLaren Vale for lunch and a winery stop, before reaching our destination of Adelaide. Taking the time to get across, and having a chance for the 4 of us to have some fun along the way in some new places was such a great idea!

Roadtrip to Radelaide: Ballarat to Warrnambool

A roadtrip to get to the cricket test in Adelaide was so much fun last year, we decided that we would complete the country crossing by arriving from Melbourne this time. Well, Ballarat actually, as Belinda, Jess and Dillo arrived by train ready for a night out as Night Zero.

Drinks at the Miner's Cottage before we went to the Lake View for dinner, more drinks, and to show off the sun setting across Lake Wendouree. The 'Rat put on a bit of a show for the out-of-towners, before we headed back into town to JD's for dodgy cover music, and then trusty Karova Lounge for dancing. A much larger night that was intended, Laura found some slightly weary roadtrippers the following morning when she joined us in Ballarat.

We finally picked up the hire car, and hit the road, leaving Dillo in Ballarat. Taking the Sheilas back out to the outskirts of Ballarat so that they could check off the Big Miner, we were alerted to a flat tyre as we started heading out in the right direction. Not a good start!

Stopping to add air, and hoping for the best, we drove down south on my memory-map, and eventually passed the Camperdown Clock Tower, after a lunch stop at Lismore. Down here, we turned towards the coast, and found the turn off for Simpson.

Now, Dillo had made a bit of noise about us first stopping for the first night of the roadtrip at his parent's farm, but as plans shaped up he went cold on the idea, and then dropped out of this leg, and thus our visit, altogether. Not to be deterred we found the turn off his home town, and then popped into the main store to ask for directions to the family farm. All a little too easy, we were directed and then let in for tea and biscuits, and then a tour, by his mum and dad! Ha!

Back on the road eventually, we followed the directions provided by Dillo's mum as she waved us off....and we totally missed the Twelve Apostles! Oops! Another missed-train-in-China type story for us to laugh about!

We took in the rugged shipwreck coastline, stopping at each of the (more well signposted!!) tourist places, including the Loch Ard Gorge. Totally enchanted by this place as a kid and the story of the survivors who sought refuge here in 1878, it was pretty cool to revisit and take it in again. So pretty, and yet such a rough stretch of land.

As the sun stared to sink lower we checked out the now broken London Bridge before we reached Port Campbell and started to think about finding a place to stay the night.

Finding that the speedway was on at Warrnambool this night, our lackadaisical go-with-the-flow non-planning suddenly looked a little shaky as we started having issues finding a place to stay. Stopping at one of the dodgiest looking places possible, we secured a room at the Turn In Motel for the night at last! Comparing it to Norman Bates' motel, we made a trip to grab dinner and drinking supplies for the night, and settled in to watch the tennis.

Norman, aka Bill Hunter as we named him, was surprised and delighted at having 4 Sheilas stay, after he had declared his motel a speedway patron-free place. He was very friendly, and regardless of it's rustic 60s look and details, it was a perfect stop for our desire to seek out stops out of the ordinary!

Seventh Blogiversary

I have been blogging for seven years now. 7! Wow. This post is my 770th, which is a long way from my first posts as I set off to the UK for my "Working Holiday".

Having this blog has allowed me to record and share many of my travel experiences, stories and photos, and has enabled me to have a living breathing record of these times. Plus it has allowed me to track all the great things I do at home, and also lets me write in a non-clinical fashion, after being bogged in injury-talk and reports at work.

I have actually just written, and had published, 2 articles over on the travel blog called Travel With A Mate. The first timed in for the beginning of the Australian Open, talking about Seeking Grand Slam Tennis Internationally, and then my tale of diagnosis and warning about my DVT, called Deep Vein Thrombosis: Scary and (mostly) Preventable.

I have now also created a Facebook page for the blog, so you can be aware of new posts when they are published from that feed.

My last couple of NaBloPoMo months has pulled in some traffic, which has been delightful, to know this little page is being read. Watching some posts of late become some of my most read has been really rewarding. Hopefully I can keep this type of readership up, with some travel plans in the next 12 months shaping up.

Thanks for reading for the last seven years!

Australian Open '12: Day 2

Backing up for a second day at the Australian Open, for a full 11 hours of tennis on Tuesday, we returned to Melbourne Park to do it all again! Wow! Love that we get this chance, with the Slam event right here in Melbourne.

Starting again out on Margaret Court, Melissa, Mum and I joined Belinda, and Jessica and Marea to watch Spaniard Ferrer take an easy 2 set lead of his first round match. Ensuring we were sun smart in the baking heat, we soon escaped again, to get into the shade of Rod Laver Arena.

Defending Champ Novak Djokovic was next up, and completed a seemingly effortless and clinical 3 set match.

Our luck with the draw and our Centre Court tickets continued, with Aussie Sam Stosur scheduled as the last match for the day inside. We settled in with such great expectations, given the last time we saw her and her success in that Slam.

But Romanian Sorana Cirstea was just too good, with Sam barely putting up a challenge. So disappointing for the US Open winner from last year, and our highest ranked Aussie on the circuit. At the after match interview, Sorana said she knew that she was disliked at the moment by the crowd for putting out our Sam, but given her performance, and charming comments, she won us over right there! Ha!

A gap in our schedule here, we all met up with Katrina, Mark and Caitlin at the Jacob's Creek bar, for some chilled time in air-conditioned comfort with some white wine. Keeping on eye on the matches around us, and the time for the scheduled band, we soon split up and I worked my way back into Margaret Court Arena, with persistence and patience. Always very important and necessary tools at the tennis!

Here, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga was in the process of losing the second set, in a surprise situation for the 6th seed, against Uzbekistan Istomi.

As the sun set behind the city, with the MCG and Rod Laver looking impressive in the twilight, and the birds and bugs joined the packed crowd out in the elements, Jo worked his way back to claim the match. Reaching almost 3 hours of match time, the French star collected the 3rd set with ease, and then worked hard for the 4th.

Fist pumps and a commando roll, Jo put on an impressive and energetic show, and even managed to dance around and stir the crowd up in thanks at the end of this epic and entertaining match.

What a great, and epic, two days of tennis! These first 2 days of the tournament are always amazing because you have the full spread of the Draw playing on all courts, and so there are awesome games on everywhere, all the time. Got to love the Open!

Australian Open '12: Day 1

A hot day at Melbourne Park was the opening of the Australian Open this year, with a full day of tennis, sun and heat, beer and music.

We all congregated at Margaret Court for the first game, coming from all different directions of Melbourne and Ballarat for our first day of the Open. Taking our seats, with our backs to the morning sun, we watched Aussie Casey Dellacqua complete a classy win for her first round.

Melbourne put on the perfect day, without a cloud in the sky, and the city glistening in the background. Melissa, Mum, Belinda and I plotted out our plan for the day, and at the end of this first game sought shelter from the heat and sun, and took our seats inside Rod Laver Arena for the next match.

A big match up, Australia's Bernard Tomic took on a usual favourite of ours, Spanish Verdasco. Tomic was nowhere in this match for the first 2 sets, as Fernando blitzed in his bright fluro outfit.

Our young countryman started to claw back in the third set, and then took the fourth also, a little easier as he started to hit his shots, and step up to the task. Almost 4 hours in duration, Tomic pulled off what seemed impossible at the beginning, to emerge the winner and move into the next round. He also won over the crowd with his humble and polished post-match interview, as he becomes our most exciting current tennis player.

This match completed Belinda's international Grand Slam of seeing an Aussie play on Centre Court in all 4 tournaments....very jealous!

Back outside, and coming to terms with the time, we grabbed some beer and waited the patient wait to grab seats in Show Court 2 to see most of the second set of Marcos Baghdatis.

The Cypriot struggled in this set, taking it to a tiebreak, but snatching it in the end. Watching the time, we saw this out to the change, and then made our escape to get to the other side of the park and the Heineken Bar for the musical act of the night.

Being slightly disorientated given the shift of the Bar this year, we grabbed a spot to see Tim Freedman and the Half Idle, with a few more beers. The stage was set up with Tim looking into the sun, the lead singer from The Whitlams played a set bulked with tracks from the band, with just a sprinkling of his recent solo tracks.

Half Idle indeed, these 2 lads being Tim's band for the night didn't seem to know The Whitlams' songs and their parts, and he was certainly missing the female additions of his solo release tour. Nevertheless, Tim was chatty with a fairly non-involved crowd, as we were joined by Cass and Flash for a few more drinks.

Around 6 hours of live tennis under our belts for the day, we called it a night, and walked back over to the MCG and the car, with the light fading completely over the Melbourne night sky.

Waving The Flag

Since combining travel and my love of cricket, I have travelled with Waving The Flag for my last two overseas tours, and highly recommend it for the service, the personal touch, the gathering of like minded travellers and sports fans, and also for the wonder of Luke ‘Sparrow’ Gillian.

I first heard of ‘Sparrow’ when I was in Sri Lanka for the cricket in 2004, but met him in South Africa in 2006 where a mate and I joined his tour for the tests. Here we met the group of people with Waving The Flag, of all ages and backgrounds with one passion – to see the Aussies play cricket somewhere around the world. And many of this group have become lasting friends for me, such is the family of Flaggers that Luke’s tour creates – with many a catch up beer to be had back on home soil for the home tests. I have joined him in the West Indies in 2008, and again in Sri Lanka in 2011, and due to return to the tour again for the next two international tours (at the very least!).

For a fairly independent traveller, Luke’s tours allow you to do your own thing, in equal measure with being part of the group, and enjoying the vast local knowledge that he has picked up along his many years of touring. Part of the tour, along with tickets to the cricket, is a pre-test dinner and a plan for a local drinks destination after the end of the day’s play.

Joining the tour on your own is also not an issue, as you are fully welcomed and quickly become part of the fold. As a chick who likes cricket, you’d be surprised how many other girls this relaxed tour attracts, with usually an equal ratio. This is impressive, and a testament to Luke’s tours, given the numbers who return tour after tour.

In Sri Lanka last year the sight of Luke at the Arrivals gate in Colombo after a day of travel to get there was such a joy and comfort. He had arranged our transfer, meeting us personally to ensure the group of Flaggers joining the tour that night would travel to 3 hours down to Galle without any hassle. He had even ensured there were cold beers and the local rum awaiting us in the van for the trip down! Luke’s attention to detail, and anticipation of what his travelling group will need is spot on!

I recommend Waving The Flag to anyone who has the desire to see the Australian team play in any of the cricket nations, as a trip of a lifetime that Luke personally ensures exceeds expectations.

*This has been written to be added to the long list of testimonials to Luke and his tours, on the Waving The Flag site, but I was keen to have it included here too.

Luke is taking bookings for the West Indies tour for March and April, up until 31st January....get planning and booking! It's going to be amazing!