Visit Australia

[Bones]

Haha, reminds me of when I lived about 3 km out of a country town. Walking home after a big night, pitch black, you couldn't see the white lines, deathly quite, and then you hear the grass rustling beside you, and let out a scream ( deep hoarse) and run flat out for about a quarter mile before realising it's not the grim reaper, but a stupid cow or horse. Laugh now, but scary back then.

                                                            Tony.

[X-Ray]

Oh Yeah,  Been there Done That!!

[ribbert]

..........I guarantee the key will be tha people you meet along the way.

Great yarn Doug, you paint a great picture, I can see it now.

You are spot on about the people you meet when travelling making the most enduring memories. The sights and tourist attractions are great but it's the people that still put a smile on your face and most readily come to mind when thinking back on trips.'

As a young bloke I once tried to pawn my way home from Brisbane to Geelong (2000km's), finding the local bike/farm machinery business in country towns and offering non essential parts of my new bike (GT750) as security for fuel. The plan was to ride straight through without food or accommodation, as only a 20 yo would be fit enough and stupid enough to do through 'roo country.'

I got home having been fed and accommodated in stranger's homes, even sent off with a packed lunch from one place, given money as well as petrol, as long as I promised to eat properly on the road (from a motherly type) and not a single part of the bike was left for security along the way.

Don't ya just love country people.

I sent the money off as soon as I returned and flowers to the motherly type. I recall at least one of those people telling me she didn't want the money back, she liked to think if her son was in a similar predicament out on the road someone would do the same thing for him, she had a son my age who was travelling.

There was one other generous soul who insisted I not pay it back but pay it forward. Just keep the $20 and when I came across someone in need, give to them.

Heart warming experiences with our fellow man, and 40 odd years later I don't remember anything about that trip except the people I met. Mind, anyone who has done that trip will know there's nothing to remember anyway.
Noel

[stua1959]

Thats similar to when I did my first big adventure from Tasmania to Queensland on an old BMW R60. At a campground , my little tent amongst all the big caravans and RV's a woman came over early one morning with a plate of eggs, bacon and toast, and said I looked like I needed it. Same trip, I was stranded after my BM expired and I had to wait for parts, no money, daily ration was a bread roll from the bakery. A tour coach pulled in and set up camp next to me. When they settled in buckets of KFC appeared and were quickly dispatched. The aroma was torture and they must have noticed me drooling because the tour captain came over with the left overs. It was enough to last me two days. I must have looked miserable but in fact I was having the time of my life. Later on in that trip I had my leathers and helmet stolen from a youth Hostel. I had to ride the rest of the way to Brisbane in poring rain wearing a $2 second hand ladies raincoat.
Great memories

[roverfj1200]

Well ya right there Doug.. But travel can be more.. Sometimes its the miles and miles you spend alone with all your thoughts. But most it's the people you meet. Having done some long distance riding I find that the hardest person to get along with is one's self. 10 hours in a helmet with just you can make or break a man. Most of the time I feel blessed that I like myself and can hold a good conversation with myself for hours...

[CanDman]

Well ya right there Doug.. But travel can be more.. Sometimes its the miles and miles you spend alone with all your thoughts. But most it's the people you meet. Having done some long distance riding I find that the hardest person to get along with is one's self. 10 hours in a helmet with just you can make or break a man. Most of the time I feel blessed that I like myself and can hold a good conversation with myself for hours...

It is amazing what you can find between the ears within a helmet......

[roverfj1200]

Well ya right there Doug.. But travel can be more.. Sometimes its the miles and miles you spend alone with all your thoughts. But most it's the people you meet. Having done some long distance riding I find that the hardest person to get along with is one's self. 10 hours in a helmet with just you can make or break a man. Most of the time I feel blessed that I like myself and can hold a good conversation with myself for hours...

It is amazing what you can find between the ears within a helmet......

[Harvy]

With a couple of our northern hemisphere brothers (and a sister) over here at the moment for our rally, I found this an interesting read:

Harvy





'Value what you have and don't give it away.'



There's a lot to admire about Australia, especially if you're a visiting American, says David Mason.

More often than you might expect, Australian friends - patiently listening to me enthuse about their country - have said, ''We need outsiders like you to remind us what we have.''

So here it is - a small presumptuous list of what one foreigner admires in Oz.



1. Health care.

I know the controversies, but basic national health care is a gift.

In America, medical expenses are a leading cause of bankruptcy.

The drug companies dominate politics and advertising.

Obama is being crucified for taking halting baby steps towards sanity.

You can't turn on the telly without hours of drug advertisements - something I have never yet seen here.

And your emphasis on prevention - making cigarettes less accessible, for one - is a model.



2. Food.

Yes, we have great food in America too, especially in the big cities.

But your bread is less sweet, your lamb is cheaper, and your supermarket vegetables and fruits are fresher than ours.

Too often in my country an apple is a ball of pulp as big as your face.

The dainty Pink Lady apples of Oz are the juiciest I've had.   And don't get me started on coffee.

In American small towns it tastes like water flavoured with burnt dirt, but the smallest shop in the smallest town in Oz can make a first-rate latte.

I love your ubiquitous bakeries, your hot-cross buns. Shall I go on?



3. Language.

How do you do it?

The rhyming slang and Aboriginal place names like magic spells.

Words that seem vaguely English yet also resemble an argot from another planet.

I love the way institutional names get turned into diminutives - Vinnie's and Salvos - and absolutely nothing's sacred.

Everything's an opportunity for word games and everyone's a nickname.

Lingo makes the world go round.

It's the spontaneous wit of the people that tickles me most.

Late one night at a barbie my new mate Suds remarked, ''Nothing's the same since 24-7.'' Amen.



4. Free-to-air TV.

In Oz, you buy a TV, plug it in and watch some of the best programming I've ever seen - uncensored.

In America, you can't get diddly-squat without paying a cable or satellite company heavy fees.

In Oz a few channels make it hard to choose.

In America, you've got 400 channels and nothing to watch.



5. Small shops.

Outside the big cities in America corporations have nearly erased them.

Identical malls with identical restaurants serving inferior food.

Except for geography, it's hard to tell one American town from another.

The ''take-away'' culture here is wonderful.

Human encounters are real - stirring happens, stories get told.

The curries are to die for. And you don't have to tip!



6. Free camping.

We used to have this too, and I guess it's still free when you backpack miles away from the roads.

But I love the fact that in Oz everyone owns the shore and in many places you can pull up a camper van and stare at the sea for weeks.

I love the ''primitive'' and independent campgrounds, the life out of doors.

The few idiots who leave their stubbies and rubbish behind in these pristine places ought to be transported in chains.



7. Religion.

In America, it's everywhere - especially where it's not supposed to be, like politics.

I imagine you have your Pharisees too, making a big public show of devotion, but I have yet to meet one here.



8. Roads.

Peak hour aside, I've found travel on your roads pure heaven.

My country's ''freeways'' are crowded, crumbling, insanely knotted with looping overpasses - it's like racing homicidal maniacs on fraying spaghetti.

I've taken the Hume without stress, and I love the Princes Highway when it's two lanes.

Ninety minutes south of Batemans Bay I was sorry to see one billboard for a McDonald's.

It's blocking a lovely paddock view. Someone should remove it.



9. Real multiculturalism.

I know there are tensions, just like anywhere else, but I love the distinctiveness of your communities and the way you publicly acknowledge the Aboriginal past.

Recently, too, I spent quality time with Melbourne Greeks, and was gratified both by their devotion to their own great language and culture and their openness to an Afghan lunch.



10. Fewer guns.

You had Port Arthur in 1996 and got real in response.

America replicates such massacres several times a year and nothing changes.

Why?

Our religion of individual rights makes the good of the community an impossible dream.

Instead of mateship we have ''It's mine and nobody else's''.

We talk a great game about freedom, but too often live in fear.

There's more to say - your kaleidoscopic birds, your perfumed bush in springtime, your vast beaches.

These are just a few blessings that make Australia a rarity.

Of course, it's not paradise - nowhere is - but I love it here.

No need to wave flags like Americans and add to the world's windiness.

Just value what you have, pray for it, work hard for it and don't give it away.

 

David Mason is a US writer and professor, and poet laureate of Colorado.

[baldy3853]

Harvy had one to many beverages last night 

[The General]

With a couple of our northern hemisphere brothers (and a sister) over here at the moment for our rally, I found this an interesting read:

Harvy

I agree Harv. Yesterday I ducked into Robina (Gold Coast) for a quick lunch with my sister. (Was originally suppose to be brekky, but some mates stuffed that up on Sateday!)... anyhow, it turned out ta be a party cause Uncle Doug was turn`n up in a sidecar! Lunch & free Kid`s rides took up a bit of time before we were on the road. ..Fantastic New freeway South, eventually passing an old Church (Broadwater) offering to give me my daily bread. (It`s now a bakery..how could we resist!). Passed Byron Bay as quick as I could, (Pull in there & I mighta run into Can D Man again!...I mean I luv him, but taquila shots have would have an affect on this old body that`s been preened for Port and I was hoping ta make Jindabyne this week!)...Hear tell there off ta Nimbin to mow lawns after Byron!
Very tempted to head off tha highway inta those little one way coastal yet Country Towns of Iluka, Yamba, Evans Head etc, but woke up today to the best Mango Smoothie ever in a Grafton Hotel. The owner took them off an on site tree in front of my eyes & put`m through the blender..Yum. (Did a platter too with strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, rockmelon, split seedless grapes, passionfruit, kiwifruit and of course Mango with a little yoghurt on top)....ummm..might duck into Minnie waters for a quick surf!...
I would really like to explore this area one year...but reality is the entire Coast of Australia is Excellent and safe. 

[stpenroute]

Wow... that was awesome. I feel the same way every time I go to Montreal, Canada from the US. I just do NOT want to go back home!   

Scott

[Klavdy]

They tried to make me go to rehab but I said, 'No, no, no.'



Yes, I've been black but when I come back you'll know, know, know,



They tried to make me go to rehab but I said, 'No, no, no.'



Great day was had by all, a brief run down to Byron, drinks at the Great Northern and the weather report is fine for lunch.
More pics and a yarn later,,,

[Arnie]

This video is one all the visitors to Australia should watch.
   (and probably most of the Aussies as well)

  Rip Currents -- Surf Life Saving and UNSW

[bcguide]

l thought this was a serious post till you got to the part about coffee. I have never been served instant coffee in the US and 1/3 of the time thats what was given to me in Oz   ick 

[X-Ray]

Ahhhh, so THAT'S Mr Bean! Right, got it now.