We are home!

We arrived home at 11:30 PM Monday 28th. It is 42 hours since we left northern Australia. We are a bit tired so I will wait until tomorrow to provide more information about our trip.

Darwin

It is Sunday 27 of May, 2007. We left Nhulunbuy tonight at 8:30 PM. It was a bit sad to say good by to our good friends Dave and Sue Buick and specially to Bob, their dog. I do become attached to the canines very easy. Today was also a good day, we played a 9 hole round of Golf. It has been 15 to 20 years since I played last, I didn't do to bad. The course is nice, we saw a few parrots and kakatoos. The kakatoos (spelling?) are the white birds that you see in the US in pet stores, they are every where here. After golf we went back to the house for brunch and took care of our suit cases. In the afternoon, we took a short walk to a beautiful house owned by Alcan Gove. It overlooks the town and has a nice view of the ocean. The afternoon was pleasant, a few crackers, a bottle of Crowded House Sauvignon Blanc complemented the evening. It was time to go back to the Buick's home, have dinner and get ready to leave to the airport. It is 12:24 AM in Darwing and we are wating for our Qantas flight to take us to Sydney. Until then, good night.

TOP END - EL PUNTO FINAL

Saturday, Sue, Dave, Peggy and I drove to Rocky Point, a 40 minute drive although the distance as a crow flies it is only 25 km, using a Toyota 4 WD. This is the place where you need a 4 wheel drive vehicle. The scenery is just amazing, most of the roads are there because of previous bauxite mining. The sorroundings are full of eucaliptus trees. All the areas that have been mined have been rehabilitated with seeds of previous vegetation, in this case eucaliptus. We saw Dingos, wild dogs, and fresh tracks of Buffalos. After 40 minutes of driving we suddenly come up to the beach and the ocean. In front of us is the ARAFURA SEA, on our left is a river dicharging to the sea. Dave advises us not to go in the river's water because of the crocodile population. The sand is fine and almost white, the water an aquamarine color, clear. Bob the dog inmediatelly gets out of the car and runs to play in the water. He likes to chase sticks, however when I throw a stick to the water the sticks sinks and Bob can not find it. We get back in the car and drive along the beach towards the south east. The topography changes, a cliff appears in front of us, again the view is fantastic. We drive down to the beach and make camp for a picnic. We set up a nice wine, cheese and grapes. A wonderful Sauvignon Blanc, The Crowded House, from New Zeland. This wine can't get any better, nice bouquet, taste of pears. Then to swimming, It is safe to swim in this area, no crocs!!. Bob is real surfer, Dave puts him on top of a surf board and Bob goes into the ocean. He really enjoys it. I soon find out that he also is the lifeguard because when I start swiming away from him and deeper into the ocean he starts crying and barking. He does the same for anyone of us. After swimming for a while, Dave pulls out a kite. I have not flown a kite in years, this one is far more advanced than the kites I used to build back in my childhood in Ecuador. Made out of fiberglass, it is strong, and made to be flown in this type of winds. It takes a while to learn to control this kite and it is good exercise. I enjoyed it, I ask Peggy to add this toy for a father's day gift. A nice wish, maybe I'll get one. It is mid afternoon, we leave the beach and start our travel back to town through the bush. The Northern Territory has a lot to offer, this area is known as the TOP END and not the OUTBACK by the Australians. I can understand why the aborigines want to protect the area from tourism. We would not have had the opportunity to see this virgin land if it would have been filled with hotels, shops etc. You just have to see this area with your own eyes to appreciate the beauty of mother nature. THANKS DAVE AND SUE!!!

Friday 25

Our visit is winding down, we have a few activities today. The town of Nhulunbuy although very small is very pleasant. The people are friendly, observing a few runners, bikers both women, and men on the roads give us the impression that the place is safe. From the top of a small hill where an overlook platform is located we could clearly see the region's layout. To the west is the Gove refinery, 10 km, in fron of us and north the town, to the south nothing but vegetation. The ocean surrounds the city and there is plenty of beaches to visit. We will do this this weekend. We are enjoying the company of Dave and Sue Buick. They have taken us under their wing and we are staying at their home. Bob, the dog, is happy running around the house and in their backyard. He is slowing down a bit due to his age. More to come .....

Wednesday 23

We arrived to Gove (Nhulunbuy) last night at 8:00 PM our time via Cairns. The time since we left San Antonio was 47 hours. We were very tired and had no problem falling sleep. This morning I came to the refinery at 7:00 AM and have spent the day in meetings. It is an interesting place, more to come tomorrow.

G'day mate,

Gusa and Peggy

Sydney

It is 9:30 AM in Sydney, we arrived about one hour ago. The approach to the Airport is from the east and on the right we could see downtown Sydney. The city is extemely clean. The driving is on the left side of the roads. Beautiful Fall temperature, 62 F, clear skies. The people are very friendly and helpful. Now we are waiting for our next flight to Cairns located on the north east corner of Australia. We'll be there for about 6 hours and may have a bit of time to go to the city and have an afternoon snack.

We are not too.... tired, maybe because of our stop in Honolulu and the sleep that we had in our trip from there to Sydney.

Honolulu

It is 4:15 AM Monday morning, we have been away from home 22:00hours. Left San Antonio at 9 AM to Phoenix and then to Vancouver where we arrived at 1:30 PM Vancouver time, went through Canadian immigration, and costums. We took a taxi to Richmond Center, it has been raining quite a bit and the light coats we packed came very handy. Walked a bit around a mall and had a late lunch. Then, back to the Airport. Had to go through USA immigration and costumes because we where in Canada flying Honolulu which is US territory. Now we are in Hawai, got off the plane, did notget the usual Hawaina welcome with dancing girls and lai flowers. Rest for 45 minutes before continuing to Sydney. It is the tropics again temperature of 78 degrees F. The airport is open, which keeps the place cool. We are beginning to feel a bit tired, our eyes a red, we did sleep for about 3 hours of the 6 hour trip from Vancouver to Honolulu. I am not to please about the Air Canada service. The wines were on the cheap side, nothing to talk about it, aside of the Asian Shrimp the Salmon was so, so. I can tell that they are cutting corners in order to save money. The little bags that they give you in business class only contains toothpaste and tooth brush, no longer it has shaving cream and a razor, so I guess that I will have a beard by the time I get to Australia.

Spring Activities

The weekend of April 21, Madelaine and Marcel came to spend the weekend with us. Although the visit was not as great for the kids as they had anticipated it, we did enjoy it. Firday night I became quite ill with a stomach virus which lasted until the next Tueday. Marcel ended up in the Urgent Care center Saturday night bcause Sue bit him on hte nose while he place his face near Sue's face when shen was having her supper. The bit was minor but in any case it was a bit scare. We did manage to entertained them and have a good time.

May is turning out to be very busy, the weather is getting better, there is less rain therefore more time to do landscaping and more visitors to the hill country.


There is progress on the backyard, the trees are getting mulch around them, and very soon we will have a patio so that we can enjoy the cool evenings in the hill country.

This past Friday Peggy and I took advantage of the good weather and flew Clotilde to Midland to spend the day with Emory and Ann. Although the time was short, we did a few things with the grandparents. Their health has improved considerably from the last time we saw them which was in early March. Peggy visited a classmate of hers, Kathy, who unfortunately is in the hospital due to a stroke but is on her way to recovery. We returned Friday evening. Saturday and Sunday we had a visit from our good friends from Victoria, Sandy and Pete. We always enjoy their company, went to San Antonio to eat sushi at Suzhi Zushi, a great place. Sunday I took Sandy and Pete for a ride around the area in Clotilde.