Previous LIONEL'S
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You
can't sleep 'ere!
Listen
Here
Tired
of cleaning the barby?
Victorian
Red Tape!
Here's
a skite!!!
Thanks!
Drummed out!
Who's talking?
Cheap Fuel??
Spelling
Jan. Caravan World
Huffin' and Puffin'!
Jacqui Lawson Cards
Panorama Guth gone!!
Different Emergency
Honesty
Maps
What Pump?
More Wallabies
Here's the caravan
show dates for 2006
New RV Movie
Hitched for life
Practical Caravan
(UK) article
An Oldie!
CarryVan
Where you visit
from
Airstream turns
75
Valentines Day
pampering
Arthur and Pat
at 100!
Another look at
where you live
Trike Around Australia
Kings Cross Car
Market
Free Camping
Blanchetown
- Peace on the Murray
Formula 1 Returns
Murphy - free for now!
Brass Band Concert a First for Oz
Reversing a Caravan
Lakeland Road open
26.11.05
At the recent
Bendigo Vic Leisurefest a fellow told me he hesitates to open
this website as he knows he will spend at least an hour on it!
It shows I must be doing something right - for him at least.
It's always great
to talk to people at the shows and share knowledge and information
or just chew the fat about this and that.
You can't
sleep 'ere!
One man with
a question had me flabergasted. He told me that he had parked
his car and small caravan off the road behind an organic food
outlet on the way to Hervey Bay. This was at about 2am and he
needed to take some medication that made him drowsy so he needed
at least two hours before being fit to drive again. A knock on
the door and there was a council officer telling him he
couldn't park there and if he didn't move he'd get a ticket!
The boss parking man arrived at 4am and handed him an infringement
notice. No explanation was accepted and so our traveller got
back on the road and drove to a caravan park in Hervey Bay, arriving
around 5am.
No amount of
discussion will change the council's mind and our caravanner
is faced with jail if he doesn't hand over more than $300! He
says he won't pay so if I hear any more I'll post it here.
The question
by the way was to see if I knew where he could get legal advice
as both the RACQ and RACV couldn't help.
Listen
Here
I'll be on radio
4BC in SE Queensland at 2pm or soon after on Saturday, 10th of
December. It's a caravanning and RVing segment and the Qld branch
of the Caravan Industry Australia has a different speaker featured
each week.
When I did a
live interview on ABC Cairns a while ago the first man to come
on after they opened the lines to listeners was a truckie with
a poem he wanted to read. The poem was a diatribe about caravnners
clogging the roads and doing the wrong thing. Picking myself
up off the floor, I was able to tell listeners that although
there are a few vanners still not using common sense on the roads,
there is an ongoing education programme that is aimed at getting
all road users to drive in a responsible manner.
Tired of
cleaning the barby?
For three days
recently I watched and listened while Donna and her mates from
Tefline showed people how to cook without having to clean the
barby or frypan. They had things like bacon and eggs cooking
with no fat and then the ultimate test - marinated chicken wings
covered in sticky goo. The sheet of special black plastic simply
wiped clean with a tissue! The delicious smell wafting over to
my stand had my taste buds a-tingle and when the show was drawing
to a close I bought three sets - barbecue/oven liner and baking
tray liner. These will be part of the Christmas goodies for our
three children.
Then it dawned
on me! Where's my set? So today a quick visit to the Bakeliners
premises at Carrum Downs and Donna soon had me fixed up with
another set plus two toasty bags. These little beauties are a
bag you can slip into your toaster to make lovely no-mess toasted
sandwiches. Just make the sandwich with a filling of your choice
and into the toaster with it. Use tongs to handle the bag once
the sandwich is cooked or you will have sore fingers like me!
Sounds like an
ad I know but I promised Donna I'd try the product and report
without fear or favour. The toasty bags are a little too wide
for our toaster Donna but a little fold over on one side fixes
that.
The web site
is: http://bakeliners.com.au/
29.11.05
Victorian
Red Tape!
John, a Queensland
friend of mine who runs the excellent group 'Touring
Oz',
recently travelled to Victoria and wanted to revisit the'Twelve
Apostles' - or what remains of them. He's not too good on the
old pins and was shocked to find that the old car park is no
longer available to the public and to get to the Apostles viewing
platforms meant a long walk quite beyond his capabilities.
He was very disappointed
and has written to the Victorian Tourism Minister with his concerns.
Here's an excerpt
from his email.
Recently my
wife and I travelled by car from Hervey Bay in Queensland to
Victoria and beyond on what, due to health reasons, could be
the last major trip we are able to undertake.
Our main reason
for visiting Victoria was to revisit the Twelve Apostles on The
Great Ocean Road something we'd both experienced some years ago,
but wanted to do again.
Upon reaching
the Twelve Apostles, I was amazed to find that the general public
no longer had access to the parking area near the Twelve Apostles,
and the car park was now closed altogether.
In order to
view this "Aussie Icon" people are now obliged to gain
access via the underground walkway from the new Apostles Centre,
across the road from the previous car park, and this walk was
considerably more than I could undertake, due to a disability
which limits the distance I can walk, and the length of time
I can comfortably stand.
John tried to
get access to drive to the old car park but was refused permission
despite explaining his predicament.
It'll be interesting
to see the Minister's reply.
1.12.05
Here's
a skite!!!
This review arrived
in my email tonight from an RV consumer group in America. I wrote
a piece for Caravan World about emergencies based on an
article written by this group following the New Orleans disaster
and sent them a copy of Australia Calling. This is the
result.
|
Australia
is Calling
For the holidays,
we would like to share with you some 'lighter' news. The following
RVing review certainly arouses our adventureous spirit - we hope
you enjoy it.
If you've ever
had a desire to see kookaburras, koalas and kangaroos in their
natural habitat, you will relish the book Australia Calling:
The RV Travel Handbook by Lionel Mussell. Lavishly illustrated
with color photos, the book covers everything from choosing an
RV type, planning your trip, what to pack, emergency preparation,
the best communication devices to have when you're in the outback,
to (best of all) descriptions of the various travel routes to
and from major points of interest in all regions of Australia,
including the island of Tasmania.
It was surprising
to see photos of Australian RVs as well as vehicles made by manufacturers
familiar to Americans, such as Winnebago, and to note the contrast
in body styling. Australian RVs as well as those made for Australian
distribution appear to be on the small side in comparison with
American models. If looks are an indication, we'd say it's a
safe bet that Aussies value utility and durability over glitz
and glamour when choosing an RV.
You'll enjoy
Mr Mussell's easygoing, informal writing style, peppered here
and there with Australian vernacular such as "caravans"
for trailers and "cuppa" for "cup of coffee."
Aside from useful
advice about trip planning and budgeting, the real meat of Australia
Calling consists of Mr. Mussell's detailed, generously illustrated
travel routes that cover the entire continent. Mr sMussell possesses
an intimate knowledge of Australia off the beaten tourist path
and offers expert advice on where to go, what to see, where the
campgrounds are, and where to eat.
We've all heard
of Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, but who knew that towns with
names like Caloundra, Mooloolabah, Maroochydore, and Yandina
also have attractions worth exploring - like the Ginger Factory
at Yandina or the Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran
in the foothills of the Warrumbungle mountains? From wine country
in the temperate valleys of southeast Australia and its great
cities of Melbourne, Victoria, and Sydney, you'll follow the
Pacific coast to the Great Barrier Reef and the beaches of tropical
Queensland, then drive across the desert wastes of the central
outback to Ayers Rock and Alice Springs. Or follow the less traveled
north coast, washed by the Coral Sea, home to ancient aboriginal
culture and more akin to Asia than to the rest of Australia.
Find yourself in the metropolitan port of Perth in western Australia
on the Indian Ocean, and return to southeast Australia via the
South Coast Highway where you can gaze out over the Southern
Ocean from majestic cliffs, knowing the nearest landfall is at
the bottom of the world.
As if that weren't
enough, scattered throughout the book are many practical tips
to make your journey safer and easier. If I have a criticism,
it would be the lack of detailed maps of each region. However,
Mr. Mussell stated early on that he omitted them on the assumption
that most readers would have their own maps (less likely, though,
for American readers). All in all, Australia Calling offers
an entertaining and comprehensive look at the facts and possibilities
of Australian RVing.
If your spirit
of adventure has been aroused by the foregoing, you may order
a copy of the book through Amazon.com.
Happy Holidays!
Sasha Sterling
RVCG Staff
|
3.12.05
This lovely little email arrived
in my in-box today.
Just a note to say thanks,
we bought a copy of 'The Big One' before setting off from our
home in the UK to spend a year traveling around Oz with a caravan.
We set out in Sept 2004 and flew back Sept 2005 and drove some
47,000kms and thoroughly enjoyed every minute.
If you are interested visit
our website: www.smithsdownunder.org.uk There are loads of photos and details
of the campsites we stopped at. Our route took us from Perth
north to Exmouth (to get some decent weather) and then back to
Perth and then anti-clockwise around your little island.
'The Big One' gave us lots
of ideas about how to set ourselves up and places to visit.
Drummed out!
Andy Grant - or AndyG as he's
more often known on the net - is out of hospital after a triple
bi-pass. Andy is a Drum Major living in Scotland and known for
his ability to wreck computers without even trying. He's also
known for his acerbic wit and intolerance of red-tape and bulldust.
Andy's wife has given him an iPod to help him with his walking
and some members of the clic group we both belong to have suggested
a walking frame would be more helpful. (Clic is (C)hat (L)ine
for (I)nternet (C)ampers.) It's good he's out of hospital and
back giving cyber cheek! (click 4 clicUK)
Here's his computer and probably soon his iPod! 
(click for sound)
6.12.05
Who's talking?
Having been smart about AndyG
and his computer woes I then did something so stupid I can't
believe I did it! I've been copying old vinyl records into the
computer and storing them in a folder called - surprisingly -
'Music'. Opening the folder on Sunday I noticed a folder called
'itunes' and thought, "That shouldn't be there!" and
trashed it. Brilliant - I'd deleted every piece of music stored
in my itunes programme! I bought recovery software and spent
quite a while trying to recover the lost files. Did it work?
Oh yes - I recovered more than a thousand music files but they
were only identified by numbers. Faced with the daunting task
of playing the intro to each one and then trying to identify
it was too much so at 5am yesterday I got up and started recopying
all the cds I had previously stored. The task's done and I am
infinitely wiser. The itunes programme is brilliant by the way
- you can ask the computer to get the cd information and it comes
back with album title, recording artist and track title.
Cheap Fuel??
FlyBuys in conjunction with
Coles is/are a running a promotion here in Australia that let's
you buy discounted fuel. You swap 1,000 FlyBuy points for vouchers
that can be used in conjunction with the usual Coles fuel discount
vouchers to give you 14cents off the pump price. Wonderful saving
- until it dawns that the 1,000 points you cashed in were worth
money! I haven't worked out how much the vouchers cost but you
have to get that back before you actually save anything
at all. The promotion is for a limited time so you would have
to know how much fuel you are likely to use in that time to see
if the scheme makes sense for you.
7.12.05
Spelling
North American visitors to
the site will notice that we Aussies spell some words in a different
way and in fact there's a page about this on the menu - Let's talk Oz
Yesterday a letter came saying: "LIONEL LIONEL LIONEL"
- and taking me to task for spelling kerb (British/Aussie)
as curb (US) in my latest 'On the Wallaby' column in 'Caravan
World' magazine. He then went on to say complimentary things
about the column so it was a nice letter really. My spell chucker
is no help as it spells in American English!
13.12.05
Caravan World came out yesterday and has a two of
my stories plus On the Wallaby. On page 119 there's an
article with a great idea for pegging down annexes when you are
on a concrete slab and forgot to take a masonary drill and some
wall plugs!
Then on pages 102/103 there's
'Birds Flock to Bowen'. It's not what you think - it's about
water birds on the lagoon that forms part of a new 'green' solution
for dealing with effluent in an un-sewered caravan park at Bowen
in North Queensland. The owners tell me the park has just won
the Q-Parks 'Best Inovation Award for 2005'. Well done
Russell and Adele.
14.12.05
Looking at the Mornington
Band's website just now I spotted a pic with me recently huffing
and puffing at a tuba!
16.12.05
Have you seen those lovely
Jacquie Lawson Christmas cards? There are many more as well and
they are at: http://www.jacquielawson.com/
19.12.05
Browsing the net this morning
I was shocked to see the following news item:
(This was on the 30th of October
this year and I must have missed it in the news that day).
Fire claims Alice
Springs art icon
The Northern Territory
fire service says it is too early to determine the cause of a
fire that destroyed an Alice Springs icon overnight.
Crews were called to the
art gallery Panorama Guth about 3:00am ACDT this morning.
A number of artworks have
been salvaged from the gallery, but the gallery's title piece,
a panoramic landscape, has been destroyed. Station officer Bob Colby says it
took more than an hour for the intense fire to be brought under
control because of the flammable materials inside the gallery.
"We were worried about
the paints and that in the shop, we were mostly concerned with
trying to extinguish the fire and obviously the great value of
a lot of the paintings that could have been destroyed and the
ones we managed to save," he said. He says arson has not been ruled out at this early
stage.
"We're still trying
to ascertain the cause of the fire," he said.
This makes me very sad as
we have enjoyed viewing the wonderful landscape several times
on visits to the Centre - a pleasure that will be denied to future
travellers.
Then I came across this today
in the RV Consumer Groups e-bulletin:
A different type of
emergency:
A few years ago on a cold
and frosty night, JD and I were awakened by a strange and powerful
odor. At first it was mild and hard to identify, but the aroma
quickly increased in strength and, looking at each other, we
both exclaimed, "Oh, no!" It was a skunk. Apparently,
it decided to spray right underneath our bedroom window. The
odor was so strong that our eyes teared, our noses burned, and
we wanted to gag. The house was quickly overwhelmed with the
incredibly powerful scent - so much so that we bundled up in
our coats and ran with our dogs on our heels to our old motor
home which, thankfully, was parked way across the property, quite
a distance from the house. The next day we opened up all doors
and windows in the house, but it did not help. We had to express-order
a special air filter/ozone generator and leave it on for two
days before we could return home. Our clothes and linen closets
had to be emptied and everything washed - the skunk's scent even
permeated the walls.
I'm glad we don't
have those critters in Australia!
20.12.05
Just when I was thinking that
the real spirit of Christmas was fading away, a letter and cheque
arrived today that gave me a wake up call that there are still
plenty of honest, good-hearted people around.
A book I sent to Queensland
a few weeks back arrived with just the empty envelope and no
book. These things happen very rarely so I sent a replacement
at no charge. This wasn't right, said the customer and started
to hound Australia Post until he got a refund. "This belongs
to you," he wrote and enclosed a cheque for $24!
I've just sent him a Christmas
card and a big thank you.
22.12.05
Maps
I see that my 'Maps' page
is one of the most visited on the site. I've added a few more
recently including the 'Public Toilet Map'. 'Questions and Answers'
remains the most popular after the front page and then comes
this page.
What Pump?
Here's a piece I wrote for
Christmas a few years ago when Peter Brock and Dick Johnson were
racing the Touring Cars on the mountain!
It's Christmas Eve and
I'm suddenly inspired.....who is this man in the red robe?
The reference to Johnson
and Brock was to two of our top Australian sedan racing drivers
of that time using turbo chargers on their engines. Both of them
have sons now racing V8s at Bathurst - our premier Australian
car racing circuit..
In Aussie talk our 'caravan'
is a North American 'Travel Trailer' and 'van' is a caravan or
trailer.
---------------------------------------------------------
"WHAT PUMP?
A Christmas tale by Lionel
Mussell
It came in a flash of brilliance.
"Hey - its a pump," I shouted in excitement. "What's
a pump?" she asked with a look that suggested I'd put away
a few too many tinnies.
"An engine is - that's
what. How do you think Johnson and Brocky and those boys go so
flamin' fast? They use the engine as a pump and let the exhaust
gases drive a turbocharger so the wasted power going out the
back end is used to force-feed the motor."
"Oh," she said
with a great lack of enthusiasm. "What's that got to do
with the price of fish?"
"Well if there's so
much gas going to waste, why can't it be used to power a hovercraft?"
"Who wants a hovercraft?"
she enquired.
"We do," I patiently
explained. "We could have the world's first hovervan. A
caravan without wheels that can be towed over the roughest country
and on the worst corrugated road without as much as a pitch or
toss!"
Casting on a few stitches,
she gave me a look of pity, remarked that she supposed that would
be nice and carried on with her knitting.
The more I thought about
it the more feasible it became in my mind, and a few more tinnies
later when I crawled into bed my mind was filled with possibilities.
I hadn't been asleep long
when a hand on my shoulder shook me gently awake and I saw a
dim figure outlined beside the bed.
"Sssh," he whispered,
"don't wake her."
I sat up with a start.
There wasn't much light,
but my eyes could make out that he was wearing some kind of hood
and he had a beard. When I followed him into the kitchen he turned
the light on, and to my surprise he was dressed all in red and
his whiskers were as white as white.
He's dressed a bit stupid
I thought, with it being late December and the night as warm
as can be.
Late December! Cripes it
was more than that, I suddenly realised - it was Christmas Eve
and this... and this. . was it really... could it be?
He must have read my thoughts
or caught my startled expression, because he turned and smiling
said, "Yes, I'm Father Christmas. I know you haven't believed
in me for years, but I've believed in you and I knew that one
day you'd get an idea that would rock the world."
"That's not what my
wife says when I get ideas," I told him.
"I mean your 'Hovervan'
idea you had last night. It was so good an idea that I took a
couple of hours off from the toys and knocked one up for you
- come outside and look."
It's a wonder I hadn't
heard him back the Falcon out of the shed, because there it was
all hooked up to the fanciest looking van you ever saw. It was
all sleek and shiny and sat right on the ground with no wheels
- not even a jockey wheel as far as I could see.
A pipe ran from old Henry's
exhaust pipe to a fitting on the front of the van, but the funniest
thing was how low it was - it only came up to the bottom of the
car's back window.
"How does it work"
I asked as I wandered around the outfit.
"Start the car and
I'll show you," Santa replied
As I slid into the driving
seat, I could see that a new panel had been fitted under the
dashboard with buttons and switches on it.
As I fired up the motor
I saw the van lift a couple of inches as Santa squeezed into
the passenger seat.
"I don't think there's
room to get round here," I said. "Mustn't go over the
garden".
"Ho, ho, ho,"
he chuckled. "Did you forget it's a hovervan?"
I hadn't forgotten, but
I hadn't realised it could go over the flower beds without bringing
on a scathing attack next morning - like the one when I hadn't
noticed the newly dug bit of garden and had walked right through
some recently planted exotic bulbs.
"OK - Let's see how
she goes," grinned my robed friend. I do believe he was
as excited as me.
I backed over the garden
and we were soon headed out down the road. It was as though there
was no van there at all. You could only see it as you went round
right-hand bends because it was too low to see in the rear view
mirror. I also could now see that it was much narrower than the
car, and I thought that although this was all very well for travelling
it would be a pretty cramped thing to live in on a site.
As we left the street lamps
behind and began to get into the country I put my foot down and
there we were skimming along at a steady 100km/h and no sway
or rock or anything to suggest we were hauling a van behind.
"This is wonderful,"
I exclaimed. "I've never towed anything like this before."
"Try it off the road,"
he suggested. "I've made a few mods to the car too."
We had the lights on, and
I could see by the dash light that the new panel had some labels
on it. "Press this," smiled Santa, pointing to a button
marked 'up'.
I did and heard a bit of
a whirring sound. "What's that?" I asked.
"Oh, that's just the
electric motors winding the car up to give you more ground clearance.
We'll need that when we go across the paddocks," he explained.
We were approaching a lane,
so I turned into it and to my surprise found the outfit travelled
as smoothly over the bumps and potholes as on the bitumen.
Suddenly I spotted a quagmire
ahead and started to brake.
"Don't stop,"
said Santa reaching down and pressing another button.
"We've got four-wheel
drive now," he laughed as we ploughed through the mud with
no loss of speed.
There was no end to the
surprises that night. We tackled ploughed paddocks, sandy tracks,
gibber plains, black-soil mud and at one stage we rolled along
a wide sandy beach with sea on one side and huge dunes on the
other.
After what seemed ages,
Santa reluctantly turned to me and said we would have to get
back as his assistants would be ready for the toy run and he
mustn't disappoint the boys and girls.
As we entered the driveway
at home I still didn't know how the van worked, but he must have
been doing his mind reading act again because he said to come
round the side of the van but to leave the car engine running.
"It's all worked by
that pump you were talking about last night," he explained.
"You know - the one Brocky uses to run his turbo."
I hadn't reckoned on Father
Christmas following the car racing, but I suppose it gets pretty
boring up there at the North Pole.
When I walked around to
the side where he was waiting I noticed another little panel
and more buttons. He hit one with a flourish and the van began
to expand sideways. Another button prodded and up it went until
the roof was higher than me.
As it rose I could see
there were windows all round and a door right next to where we
stood. "Come in", he invited as he opened the door
and stepped inside.
I'd had a few shocks in
the past few hours but nothing prepared me for the sight that
met my eyes as I followed his tubby figure inside. I was about
to accept his invitation to join him for a glass of champagne
before exploring the vast and sumptuous interior that seemed
to stretch for ever when a harsh jingling sound suddenly shattered
the peaceful
night.
"You stupid nong -
you set the alarm as usual! Didn't you remember it was Christmas
and we don't have to get up early?" my wife grumbled as
I groped for the clock on the bedside table.
As I blinked in the early
dawn light I said, "Hey - remember that pump I was talking
about?"
"What pump?"
she sleepily replied, pulling the covers back round her as she
turned away from me."
More Wallabies
I've added a few recent columns
to the 'A
Few More Wallabies'
page and there are some additional Questions and Answers
28.12.05
Here's the caravan show
dates for 2006
Adelaide Caravan & Camping
Show & Off Road Show
Venue Royal Adelaide Showgrounds
Wednesday 22 February 2006 to Sunday 27th February 2006
http://www.caravanandcampingsa.com.au
Perth Caravan & Camping
Show
Venue Ascot Racecourse
Thursday 16 March 2006 to Monday 20 March 2006
www.caravan-wa.com.au
Sydney Caravan & Camping
Super Show
Venue Rosehill Racecourse
Saturday 22 April 2006 to Sunday 30 April 2006
http://www.supershow.com.au/
Melbourne Caravan & Camping
Show
Venue Caulfield Racecourse
Wednesday 17 May 2006 to Tuesday 23 May 2006
www.ciavic.com.au
Queensland Caravan Camping
& Touring Holiday Show
with Motorhomes & Campervans
Venue RNA Brisbane Showground's
Wednesday 7 June 2006 to Tuesday 13 June 2006
www.caravanqld.com.au
.30.12.05
Hitched for life
This was the opening of an
article about our friend Arthur Pullin and wife Pat today in
the Melbourne Herald Sun.
They still tow their van to RACV Caravan Club rallies and have
booked in for the National Rally in three years time!
Herald Sun, 31-12-2005, SATURDAY
One has hit 100 and
the other is almost there, but Arthur and Pat Pullin still like
to hit the road as Australia's oldest caravanners The only cross
word between Arthur and Pat Pullin is the newspaper crossword
they do every morning from 9.30am to 10... Rest of the story........
1.1.06
I sent a link with Arthurs
pic to clic in UK and almost instantly got this comment:
Hi Lionel,
Re your digest to CLIC, if Arthur and Pat have hit the grand
age of 100 and look like that I for sure am leaving the purple
heather and beautiful mountains behind to come and live in Aussieland!!
Arthur doesn`t look a day over 70!!!!! How does he do it?????
I am 47 and thought I looked young till I saw that photo!!!!!
If I look that young at 80 I will be over the moon!! What
do you lot live on over there that keeps those youthful looks?????
I love reading your digests and as one of your previous readers
have stated I know I can only clic to your site when I have plenty
of time to myself as I too know I will be there longer that expected!!!
From the land of hills and heather (Scotland) have a lovely
New Year, keep up the digests and all the good work and
best wishes to all your readers.
Mary
3.1.06
Arthur - the full story.
Sorry I had to split the picture
- my scanner won't scan a full newspaper tabloid page. Arthur
5.1.06
I've scannned an article of
mine from 'Practical Caravan' Jan. 2006 edition and put
it on a new page together with the original drafts. The Jayco
is not our's - it belongs to Jonathon from 'Touring-Oz'
'Caravanning
Down Under'
6.1.06
I found this old RV on the
net tonight! There's a link to the copyright owners on my Overseas Links page
7.1.06
Something a bit more modern
came my way tonight - the Carry-Van slide on. It's now on my
Manufacturers page
9.1.06
Just
had a look at where you all live - this is a shot of the last
20 visitors locations.
Blog!!!! just for the heck
of it I've just created a blog.
15.1.06
In
the emails today came a link to a great story about Airstream caravans (Travel Trailers) in the
US. It featured a lady called Hunter Hampden who is a dedicated
Airstrean full-timer.
19.1.06
Here's
one for you John!
MANZANILLO, Mexico (Jan. 17,
2005) - This Valentine's Day,
Manzanillo's hottest resort plays Cupid with "romance revival"
packages designed to inspire intimacy: gourmet dinners in secluded
areas of the hotel and a special turn down service.
For just $80 US, couples dine
under the stars on the hotel's
suspension bridge with spectacular 360-degree views of the property
and Manzanillo's distant port lights, while crashing waves provides
the ultimate serenade. The intimate three-course Valentine's
dinner
for two includes heart-shaped salmon tartar, beef medallions
and
lobster scaloppini with coriander and honey-wasabe cream sauce,
and
chocolate stuffed pear with pecans and cinnamon caramel. This
deluxe "romance revival" package concludes with a special
in-suite
turn down service: a flower-petal strewn bed, chocolates on the
pillow
and a single red rose for your sweetie.
20.1.06
John couldn't remember what they were talking about and I even
forgot that Feb 14th is Valantines Day! I think all you North
Americans should rush down to Manzanillo at once - tell 'em Lionel
sent you.
Rallying
again
I'm writing this from Warragul
in Gippsland and we are at a rally of the RACV Caravan Club.
Those who visit this page often will know I have talked about
Arthur and Pat Pullin who turned 100 a few days back. Sure enough
this wonderful couple rolled into the park just after us and
quickly had their caravan (trailer) set up. There's going to
be a special afternoon tea for them tomorrow so I may be able
to get a few pics for this page.
21.1.06
There was and here's the link to the pictures
23.1.06
I've
just had another look to see where the most recent visitors to
the site live!
25.1.06
Trike Around Australia
Back in July last year at
Rockhampton, we caught up with a courageous couple who were riding
around Australia with a VW engined trike towing a teardrop caravan.
They were on an epic journey to raise money for Arthritis and
daily update their website with details of their progress.
They are in Victoria at present
and have only about 44 days to go to end their trek in Canberra.
You can follow their incredible journey at: http://www.trikearoundaustralia.com.au
Here are a couple of pics
I took of their outfit. There are a lot more on their website.
28.1.06
Just spotted a great - and
true - quote in the RACV's Feb. 2006 RoyalAuto magazine
"The best car safety device is a rear-view mirror with
a cop in it"
Dudley Moore
2.2.06
Kings Cross Car Market
A Canadian journalist who had
just been down here on holiday put me on to this market where
overseas visitors go to buy and sell vehicles including campervans
and motorhomes'
Sounds like a great idea -
someone who has just completed a great Aussie trip meeting up
with new arrivals looking for something suitable for a dream
holiday without running the gauntlet of searching all over. If
anyone has used the service I'd love to hear from you with comments
good and bad.
http://www.carmarket.com.au/
3.2.06
I've just added a new page
of Questions and Answers. Some are recent and others go back
a bit. There are hundreds more to process but it's a tedious
job. Here
it is!
6.2.06
Irate Viscount owners descend
on Viscount factory, Daily
Telegraph report.
Have you any information to add that might help? Have you been
ripped off?
9.2.06
Remember Murphy? My 'Living
with Murphy' book is out of print but I thought I might re-publish
it as a cheap ebook. A couple of draft chapters are here if you'd like a look.
13.2.06
Just added the excellent strip
maps of major highways to my 'Maps' page.
24.2.06
Just joined the new caravan
park group 'OZ Parks'. At the Adelaide Caravan Show I noticed
that Lane Cove National Park Tourist Park has become a member
so I'll get my 10% discount when I stay there this year.
We stayed at the up-market
Hopkins River Caravan Park near Warnambool Vic recently and were
very impressed. A report will be in my On the Wallaby'
column in the April 'Caravan World'.
26.2.06
Free Camping
I just had a great offer from
Darren Wilson offering free camping without power or $5 with
power at his pub in Queensland! Here's what he said - and by
the way it's for any RVers.
Hi Lionel,
Darren Wilson here.
I would like to offer if we
may, a relaxed FREE camping spot for any of your members. My
partner Janet and myself have just taken over the Muckadilla
Hotel/Motel on the Warrago Hwy at Muckadilla (between Roma &
Mitchell) which has an amazing artesian spa)).
After many years in the contracting
and construction industry, we believe we have the perfect spot
for campers as a stop over on their annual holidays. Boasting
free camping, $5 a night if you need power, free use of our salt
water, chlorinated pool, free shower and toilet in camp grounds
and coin operated laundry facilities, we also have a menu for
the budget conscious with the likes of corned beef & white
sauce, sausages & onion gravy, roast chicken or beef,rissoles,and
lasagne, all come with vegies or salad for a price of $8 per
meal.
We will also be having a Christmas
in July with camp oven cook Scott Richardson who will be cooking
a three course meal the traditional way (date to be determined
but bookings a must) If you would like to tell your members as
we have had a number of travellers stay with us since taking
over, and have been receiving some very positive feedback. You
can try our website www.muckadillahotel.com.au or phone (07) 46268318.
We look forward to seeing
you all sometime in the future.
Thanx Darren & Janet
7.3.06
