Well this has been another week on the road travelling by caravan with friends and taking the opportunity to visit family on the way. This is currently being written in beautiful Bargara on Queensland's Coral Coast. Max has a 93 year old aunt in nearby Bundaberg as well as some cousins living nearby. So lots of morning teas and passing around of old photos.
By coincidence a friend and former colleague from Canberra saw that I was visiting Bargara and as she now lives here, we took the opportunity to catch up over coffee. We last saw each other in 2003 but have kept in touch over the years via email while she lived in Cairns and I was in Melbourne.
Now for an even greater coincidence at the Bargara bowls club last night Max recognised his former next door neighbour from when he lived in Adelaide after leaving Darwin in the early 70s. So another opportunity to catch up on news of what each has done over the last four decades.
Bargara is such a small place and yet within a few days we have both caught up with people from our pasts. Now planning another visit early next year as we are heading back tomorrow and no more time for catch ups.
While here we walked through the National Park to the Mon Repos turtle rookery and just inside the park we came across a pod of some pretty big kangaroos. We walked quietly passed while they just stood and watched and on the way back they were still there. Lucky they were just happy to keep eating while keeping an eye on us. In the dry creek bed we spotted some huge emu prints but didn't see them, just their tracks. The bird life was fantastic with lots of green parrots.
The next day we drove round to the Mon Repos Turtle Centre to see the displays and there were some young European tourists there. They did not believe that the big loggerhead turtle on display was a real one (sadly dead but preserved as part of the display). They could not believe loggerheads get that big despite us saying so and other photos also showing rather large turtles.
Back in the 80s we had friends in Bundaberg so I have been to Mon Repos many times and seen the females laying eggs and also the babies hatching and making their way down to the sea. Both are fantastic experiences and truly amazing that the females might take 30 years to come back to the same beach and start reproducing. No wonder so many of our species are endangered.
Also visited Bert Hinkler's house in Bundaberg (shipped out here from England) and the huge Hinkler's Hall of Aviation which is a must visit. Of course we also visited the Bundy Rum Distillery and also the Big Barrel where they make all that great ginger beer. They now have a pineapple and coconut flavour and while doing the test taste I couldn't help thinking that they should go into partnership with the Distillery and put some rum in for the perfect cocktail! But then they probably would not be a kid's venue although plenty of adults there too.
So mostly tourist things this week but I have been reminded by AFFHO Congress 2015 that my two papers are due at the end of November. They appear to have set up Dropbox accounts for all Congress speakers to put their papers into. A new idea and also a good one as you can then also put your presentation in as well but that is not due until next year.
One of the official Congress geneabloggers, Pauleen, has written about the Congress 2015: Be a Winner in the Ballot which closes on 30 November so have a look and don't miss out.
This coming week I am still on the road but should have more time to focus on genealogy. At the least I always try to read Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Daily Newsletter, Chris Paton's British GENES blog and Jill Ball's Australian Genealogists Daily so that I am at least aware of what is happening around the genealogy world. Until next time happy researching.
By coincidence a friend and former colleague from Canberra saw that I was visiting Bargara and as she now lives here, we took the opportunity to catch up over coffee. We last saw each other in 2003 but have kept in touch over the years via email while she lived in Cairns and I was in Melbourne.
Now for an even greater coincidence at the Bargara bowls club last night Max recognised his former next door neighbour from when he lived in Adelaide after leaving Darwin in the early 70s. So another opportunity to catch up on news of what each has done over the last four decades.
Bargara is such a small place and yet within a few days we have both caught up with people from our pasts. Now planning another visit early next year as we are heading back tomorrow and no more time for catch ups.
While here we walked through the National Park to the Mon Repos turtle rookery and just inside the park we came across a pod of some pretty big kangaroos. We walked quietly passed while they just stood and watched and on the way back they were still there. Lucky they were just happy to keep eating while keeping an eye on us. In the dry creek bed we spotted some huge emu prints but didn't see them, just their tracks. The bird life was fantastic with lots of green parrots.
The next day we drove round to the Mon Repos Turtle Centre to see the displays and there were some young European tourists there. They did not believe that the big loggerhead turtle on display was a real one (sadly dead but preserved as part of the display). They could not believe loggerheads get that big despite us saying so and other photos also showing rather large turtles.
Back in the 80s we had friends in Bundaberg so I have been to Mon Repos many times and seen the females laying eggs and also the babies hatching and making their way down to the sea. Both are fantastic experiences and truly amazing that the females might take 30 years to come back to the same beach and start reproducing. No wonder so many of our species are endangered.
Also visited Bert Hinkler's house in Bundaberg (shipped out here from England) and the huge Hinkler's Hall of Aviation which is a must visit. Of course we also visited the Bundy Rum Distillery and also the Big Barrel where they make all that great ginger beer. They now have a pineapple and coconut flavour and while doing the test taste I couldn't help thinking that they should go into partnership with the Distillery and put some rum in for the perfect cocktail! But then they probably would not be a kid's venue although plenty of adults there too.
So mostly tourist things this week but I have been reminded by AFFHO Congress 2015 that my two papers are due at the end of November. They appear to have set up Dropbox accounts for all Congress speakers to put their papers into. A new idea and also a good one as you can then also put your presentation in as well but that is not due until next year.
One of the official Congress geneabloggers, Pauleen, has written about the Congress 2015: Be a Winner in the Ballot which closes on 30 November so have a look and don't miss out.
This coming week I am still on the road but should have more time to focus on genealogy. At the least I always try to read Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Daily Newsletter, Chris Paton's British GENES blog and Jill Ball's Australian Genealogists Daily so that I am at least aware of what is happening around the genealogy world. Until next time happy researching.
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