Matilda Waltz

Hi there...long time no see!

I know it has been a very long time and I have no excuse except that I just couldn't be bothered. But here I am on the farm, a little bored, so thought I would post about what we did yesterday.

Stephen had the day off (Sunday - isn't it suppose to be the day of REST?) so we decided to tackle a few geocaches we had been putting off for a few years. They are all on top of Mount Matilda. 

I had a good talking to myself before we left and said there was to be 'no whinging' and just enjoy the experience. I knew I would get tired but...I needed the exercise. 

Anyway we set off and arrived at the bottom of Mt Matilda around 11am. We figured it would take us about two and a half hours for the round trip. In the cache description it said there was a bit of a climb from the car park and the rest was pretty flat. After a while we were wondering when the flat part was coming....finally it did! 

We arrived at the first cache 'Matilda Waltz', found it quickly and signed the log. I was feeling pretty good, not too tired and happily went on to the next cache. The flies were becoming annoying and I wished I had thought to bring my fly net...oh and a hat...fancy going out in the Australian bush without a hat, sunscreen, bug spray and net?? Thank goodness we took water!

Onward and upward to Speakers Chair and Gimlet Gully

We still had a fair way to go before we got to the next cache and walking was starting to hurt. Pain the the tops of my legs...something I had never experienced before. I wasn't out of breath or feeling really tired..it just hurt! Anyway I had another good talking to myself (in my head) and reminded myself of what we had talked about in the morning and pressed on.  'The Speakers Chair' named after the Hon T F Quinlan who was the Speaker of the House of Assembly at the time he climbed up here. Then we set off for the last cache, 'Conway Gimlet'.

Along the track Steve almost stepped on this little cutie. Both of us remembered these when we were children. A kid in Steve's class brought one to school in a shoe box and I remembered Dad bringing one home for us after a trip away in his truck.

Australian Thorny Devil

Ok getting pretty sore and now my knee is starting to ache. I had a car accident a few years ago and my left knee smashed through the glovebox and it's never been the same since. I told Steve to go ahead as I was getting slower and slower....he was soon out of site. I had some stern words to myself and even thought about those poor men who were on the Kakoda track and how hard it must have been for them. Really???

Finally I got to a T junction and called out "cooee" to Steve. He called back and said he was at GZ which was downhill. I decided it would be better for him and me if I just kept going along the track and he could catch up. It didn't take him long. I was in so much pain by now I could hardly walk, almost crying but what would be the point of that!! This track was full of rocks that had to be stepped over, up and down and every time I lifted my legs, it hurt.

Finally we arrived back at the entrance 7.5 km's and three hours later. Steve brought the car to me and I piled inside. I was so happy to sit down. 

It sounds a bit funny now but at the time......it was agony! We will never be going back there.

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Before I sign off I want to remember my beautiful nephew Dom. He chose to leave us seven weeks ago today. He was a lovely, caring person a talented musician with a passion for the blues. We are missing him greatly.

Rest in Peace now Dom. 

Beautiful Iceland

After a week in New York we were on the move again. We decided to take a private car to the airport which was waiting for us at the door of the hotel and cost  the same as a taxi. But it still took us over an hour and a half to travel from Manhattan Island to JFK airport. Traffic was crazy!! Luckily we had left with plenty of time to spare. The driver also had time to tell us his life story which was pretty sad as he had lost his job due to the GFC and lost his house to Hurricane Sandy.

Don't forget to click - READ MORE....

Caching, Farewell and Feasting

Not a lot going on here at the moment. The weather has been pretty cold so venturing outside isn't all that inviting. But, we did have another go at the Wandoo series of caches and made a bit more of a dent in it. We still have quite a few in that area to do so will return for the rest one day. Again we had a lovely day out in the bush and managed to log another 51 finds.

Family and The Wandoo Series

A couple of weeks ago when we were still in Calingiri seeding, we took a Sunday off and went to my sister Donna's place in Chidlow. We had a bit of a family get together with almost all our children's cousins with the exception of my daughter, Bianca. 

Donna arranged the day so we could catch up with Ross, Olga and little Henry,  the newest member of the family. They are in Perth for a few weeks visiting from Iceland.

The little man we were all hanging out to meet. Henry Thor, Vicki's first grandchild and Donna and my great nephew

Wheatbelt Wander

We were sitting at the table having breakfast on Friday morning when Steve checked for new caches in Western Australia. He said "Zodiachorizon and Blondie have put out more of those nano's on machinery. (They had already put a series of them out and we did them when we went to Esperence) Do ya wanna go?" I said "sure" not really meaning it. But before you know it we're packing a bag and booking  accommodation, just for the night, back the next day...and off we went!

Our first stop was Goomalling. The old train station has been done up very nicely!

Esperance to Albany 1000

Well most of this post is still in Esperance but we were heading for Albany. Had to share some of the beautiful scenery for those of you who haven't been before. And if you haven't, you should!!

Esperance Escapade

We have been waiting for a few months to get the time to travel down to Esperance from Perth and after completing one more small reno at home (a new toilet for guests) and a quick trip to Cervantes we are finally here. We took a few days to get here as we of course had to stop and do as many caches as possible. We visited some beautiful places on the way and some not so beautiful.

Geocaching Sunday

Last Sunday we decided we needed to get out of the house for a while and go for a drive. So, since we were out in the car we thought we may as well do as many geocaches as possible. We headed down south towards Ravenswood and the Pinjarra area and came back through Serpentine.

Colour on the way Home

Before we left Kal we visited the Oasis in the Desert cache. So glad we did it was in a lovely spot called Hammond Park with lots of Kangaroos, Emus, and a large variety of Galah's and Cockatiels.

Kalgoorlie - Part 3

There are many lovely old buildings in Kalgoorlie but because of the recent earthquakes a lot of them were covered in scaffolding. 

Kalgoorlie - Part 2

On our travels we did lots of caching. It took us to many interesting and beautiful places. 

Kalgoorlie - Part 1

Our first stop on our trip to Kalgoorlie was Meckering. A place I remember from my childhood because of a devastating earthquake in October 1968.

Munzeeeeee

We have found a new game to play! It's called Munzee and is another take on the Geocaching scavenger hunt game.

The long and the short...

Our small camera lens, which we used the most, decided to pack it in during the reno of the bathroom. We decided not to get it fixed because we have been planning for ages to get a new one.

Taking a Break!

We decided to get away from the house for a while because we have been stuck there for over a month doing the renovation of the ensuite. So we've come up to Cervantes to do a bit of caching and relaxing.

Cervantes & Geraldton Caching Trip

We decided it was time to place a new cache and set off for Cervantes, near where we're going to put it. We were stopped on the new Indian Ocean Drive by police and told the road was closed due to a fire.

Homeward Bound...

Day 27, 28 and 29

This will be the last post from Tassie.  The last couple days the internet has been in and out so that's why you haven't heard from us.

Port Arthur...Remarkable!

Day 26

Today we went to the Port Arthur Historic Site. We took about a hundred photos I've just picked a few.

Coaled Hearted

Day 25

Today we went for a walk

We're going to Port Arthur

Day 24

We travelled from Orford to Port Arthur today. We had a bit of trouble getting accommodation because it's a long weekend here. We hadn't heard about it of course and just about everything was booked out.