Julies News

Rover Visits Raglan

2012-02-01T13:50:00.030+13:00

Monday Auckland Anniversary Day

As there looked to be a few days of fine weather ahead, we thought that another short camping trip would be a good idea. There were road works to the north, so Raglan seemed like a good destination.

A lot less planning and preparation had gone into this trip so naturally a few things were forgotten; namely Doug's denim shorts! We called in at Pukekohe to try to buy some, but no luck, shops were shut. It was Anniversary Day.

The Landrover doesn't particularly like motorways, so we took Highway 22 from Pukekohe and had a lovely run on a quiet, excellent road.

It was such a hot day! We finally arrived in Raglan to find that everyone from the Waikato had decided to go there too. The town was was chocka-block! Every cafe was full, every carpark taken - Doug was longing to shed his hot jeans and buy some shorts. At last we found a carpark tucked away by the local Hospice shop. Doug couldn't believe how lucky he was when he spotted a pair of denim shorts on their shop model. Off the model they came, and on Doug they went - too big - but never mind. (No photo, I'm sorry - they were rather terrible.)

We then carried on over the bridge to find the camping ground. It was advertised as having 200 powered sites as well as various holiday cabins etc. There was a footbridge back over the river to town. The river was teeming with people, there were literally busloads - music was thumping and we felt a bit out of our comfort zone. Doug suggested that we just book in for one night, and see how it goes.

We were allocated our patch and were further put off to find a brightly painted surfy-van to be one of our neighbours.

It was amazing - when evening fell, the buses and hoards of people departed from the river and town, cleaners moved in and cleaned up all their rubbish, and the noisy thumping music stopped.

The holiday park was well run, quiet, and had excellent facilities. Even though it was very full there were always plenty of vacant showers, kitchen sinks etc. After one lovely quiet night we decided to book in for a second.

We sat on the beach after dinner and watched the sun go down. In the distance, we could see the outline of breakers on the horizon.

Tuesday

We met our surfer neighbour next morning. He was a nicely spoken young man who was looking forward to another day on the water.

We decided to explore on up the coast, and take a look at the surf beaches. Surfers come from many distant parts to ride 'the longest left in the world'. Soon we were looking down to one of the more popular beaches - we watched for a while, then travelled back towards Raglan.

The sandy beach, where Doug used to swim as a Hamilton youngster, seemed to stretch for miles. After lunch we walked; I enjoyed paddling on the edge and picking up a lot of the sticky black sand on my feet.

I'd had my fun; now it was time to find one of those 4WD tracks. Hopefully we wouldn't be met with a locked gate this time. The author of the 4WD book writes: 'This is the first of several difficult tracks that I'm willing to point you at but I haven't done myself......please ensure you are well equipped with plenty of recovery gear and provisions for an overnight stay just in case.' Please click the picture on the right to get the full effect. No, we didn't go there.

To end the day we visited the Bridal Veil Falls. After a walk through dense bush, we came to this beautiful waterfall that hurtled from a cleft in a rock to plummet a sheer 60 metres into a pool below. Doug took a phone movie. (This movie doesn't play on Chrome but is fine on Firefox.)

Apart from the volunteer Fire Brigade being called out in the night, we had another peaceful sleep.

Tairua Camping

2012-01-25T15:47:00.016+13:00

We've been here before! Last time we were heading this way, we crossed on the old bridge, and saw this new one almost ready to go. I couldn't help feeling a little sad - that old bridge was pretty neat with its swing-span in the middle. It was finished in 1928, making it possible for river craft with masts to travel up the river. At one time, the Waihou Riverwas navigable all the way up to Paeroa.

Once over the bridge, we pointed the Landrover towards Tairua.

Doug was not allowed to spend $2 on a hot shower so had to use our solar shower.

Tairua Motor Camp is right in the middle of town. 'Great', we thought. 'Just a short walk to the beach, and the shops.' We were better at putting up the tent this time - much better weather too.
A different story at 2 a.m! The sirens needed to be very loud to wake up the volunteer fire brigade. It took ages before they finally arrived and sped off in the fire engine. We finally drifted off again, only to we woken again by when the rescue helicopter that seemed to be looking for our tent. The sports field was adjacent to the camping ground and he landed there. It wasn't a good feeling knowing that some poor soul was being ferried off to hospital.

Doug had a few things he wanted to do at Tairua - the first was to go fishing. He tried off the wharf first thing in the morning - the tide was right, but the fish weren't biting.

The next thing on the list, was to explore some of the tracks that were suggested in his 4WD book. It was the usual story - all interesting looking tracks had gates and 'Keep Out' signs.

Further on, we found a road signposted to Broken Hill and Golden Hill Mines. Sounded promising!

The bushwalk alone, made it worthwhile.

An added bonus was coming across the relics of the Broken Hills Mine.

Further on we came to a mine entrance where work was obviously still going on. Our trusty Penquin NZ Travel Guide tells us that visitors can see demonstrations of traditional quartz-reef working method (by arrangement). Something for another time perhaps?

We probably could have entered this mine, but were too 'chicken'!

We found a track down to the river, where we ate our lunch. There was also a DOC camping ground tucked away in the trees.

Later in the afternoon we had a look at Tairua's ocean Beach. Tairua has this surf beach as well as a harbour.

Ambury Farm

2012-01-23T16:44:00.008+13:00

Stacey and Caleb were visiting for an hour or two today, so we decided to take them to Ambury Farm.

We watched sheep being sorted into pens for a while, then wandered on to have a close encounter with various pretty hens and handsome roosters. The kids enjoyed these, having had hens of their own as pets.

The turkey kept us entertained puffing himself up and stamping his foot.

Stacey was game to get in with the goats to pet them. The little one tried to escape each time someone went in through the gate.

To end our visit we took a little wander across the fields. It was hot so we headed back to the car to go and find an ice-cream.

We were quite amused - out of all the animals the children liked the hens the best!

Miranda Shorebird Centre

2012-01-14T14:40:00.025+13:00

A wee trip was called for to see whether the Landrover's 'new' carburettor would make any difference to truculant warm starts, and fuel economy. We have been to Miranda before, and noticed the Miranda Shorebird Centre.
After packing a picnic, cameras and our Russian army binoculars, we set off.

The first stop was the Shorebird Centre where we consulted a map of the area.

The top track looked interesting - you could drive in on it. We did; so had lots and lots of camper vans. What a lovely spot for 'freedom camping'. Most of them were stretched out on their campstretchers enjoying the sunshine. We went to the very end, then set off on a short walk. Unfortunately black clouds swept over, and soon we were all scurrying for shelter.

Two signs gave more information about the area - click on photos to enlarge.

We then drove around to where there was access to walking tracks and 'hides'. There were quite a few people there with serious camera gear, telescopes and binoculars. You really needed the binocs or telescope as the birds were a fair distance away. There were plenty of birds to see.

Closer to the water's edge, we came to a 'hide'. There, one of the Trust members had set up a telescope so we could observe the birds that were further away. I was very intrigued to spot some wrybills hiding at the back behind the pied oyster catchers and godwits. (I had never seen one before.) Other observers mentioned spotting turnstones and a reef heron

These are the birds that we viewed through the telescope.

Rain threatened again so once more we retreated to the Landrover.

I'm pleased to report that the Landrover started again beautifully after each stop. Unfortunately fuel economy did not improve.

We're really looking forward to camping out again once the weather settles.

Tuesday continued

2011-12-29T12:49:00.018+13:00

Our day was not finished yet. David had plenty more interesting places to explore - 'Did we want to drive through a river?' - Well not really - we don't want the old girl to conk! (The Landrover, I mean.)

We crossed this road bridge over the Tongariro River, to explore some tracks in the Kaimanawa Forest.

A short walk led us to this swing bridge high up over the Tongariro River. We were then in a really lovely forest. Camping areas with minimal facilities were hidden amongst the trees. There were various tracks, and we even came across a large group just setting out white water rafting down the Tongariro river.

The Tongariro River is part of the Tongariro Power Scheme which has canals, dams and tunnels supplying two power stations, Tokaanu near Turangi and Rangipo. Rangipo has been built underground just downstream from that road bridge and waterfall above. It is all managed by Genesis Energy.

Looking back up to the road bridge.

On the way home we drove through the Tongariro River ford just North of Turangi. Water was only about a foot deep, but it was a first time for us! David walked across first to check the bed and the depth. It had been a very full, enjoyable day.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning, Miriam and Ken arrived for breakfast. Ken's broken leg is now better, so they are enjoying being back on the bike after a number of months of no riding.

Heavy rain was forecast, so we set off home just after midday.

Rover Roams Ruapehu

2011-12-27T16:40:00.034+13:00

Boxing day, Doug and I set off in the Landrover to pay Christmas visits to my sister (and family) in Taupo, then to travel on further around the lake to my brother and sister-in-law at Motuoapa.

We had a pleasant trip - the road wasn't too busy - and had our usual coffee and lunch stops along the way.

Monday morning we awoke to drizzle and heavy cloud. We really hoped that the cloud would lift, so that we could proceed with our plan that was to travel down the Desert Rd, then take the Tukino turn off and make our way to the Tukino ski field on the eastern side of Mt Ruapehu. (The turn off is to the right, close to the highest point of the Desert Rd, before you reach Waioruru.)

The cloud began to lift, so
we were hopeful that we would get a nice view of the mountain before too long.

So far the road was 'a piece of cake'. There were rough patches but nothing compared to our previous outing.

Finally we reached the gate. We were quite expecting that our trip would end here, as you need to get a key from DOC to continue on up to the ski tow. It was a nice surprise to find the gate unlocked, so we were able to start on the 'real stuff.' There were impressive views over the edge! Most parts of the road were pretty good. The banks were steaming as the sun warmed them.

The mountain continued to clear as we climbed.

Finally we reached the end of the road. There were two ski huts here. We could see the ski tow, over a valley to the right.

To the left was the valley down which the most recent (2007) lahar travelled from the crater lake. See video here.

Very soon the cloud began to descend again - we had been very fortunate to have caught this small window of beautiful clear views.

After a picnic lunch, we made our way back down the mountain, stopping once to admire the alpine flowers.

Landrover Christmas Forest Run & Lunch

2011-12-17T19:00:00.038+13:00

After an early start, we met up at BP Papakura at 8.30 a.m. The Landrover members had obviously taken notice that there would be a prize for the 'Best Christmassy Decorated Landrover.' Families began bringing out the tinsel and Christmas stockings as soon as they were safely off the motorway. The third photo here shows a 'Forward Control' landrover resplendently decorated with a Christmas tree, and wooden outdoor chairs.

We set off at precisely 9:00a.m. and enjoyed a pleasant run to Waiuku Forest.

When we reached our destination, the drivers leapt into action, letting air out of their tyres. Apparently 25 psi is the optimum pressure for travelling well up and down sand dunes. Doug had no desire to let air out of his tyres - he was running at 28 psi and felt that would be fine. (How do you get all that air back in again before you travel home???)

The letting out of the air.

Then the briefing........I began to get a tad anxious. 'The Black Forest' was mentioned; 'Killer Hill' 'The Rifle Range' 'Paper Road' and worst of all the track where they would be at the top of the hill to make sure that our wheels were in the correct tracks because we wouldn't be able to see where we would be going. "Try and catch a glimpse of the sea, as you go over the top!"(Reminded me of Blackadder and Famous Five!)

I hopped out and took photos of Doug as he disappeared. Unfortunately by the time the last rover drove past me, I realized that I would have to hitch a ride or be left behind.

Once again on board, we approached our next challenge - I'm not sure whether this was the famous 'Killer Hill' or not. We thought that we would never get up. Three attempts and we were forced to call for help. Our rescuer wasn't keen on getting too close. He remained at the top and let down two tow ropes which he then joined to our long snatch strap. After a couple of attempts with much flinging of mud, we slowly made it to the top.

This is not girl stuff!

At various places along the way, we stopped while the drivers 'played'. One man was determined to get up this bank. He tried and kept trying, until he achieved it. Note the black smoke! There were mud puddles to 'play in' for those so inclined. We'd parked up to watch by this time - actually we were getting a bit hungry - it was long past lunch time. Time to move on.

A welcome stop to admire the view toward Waikato Heads. 'Coffee Time', they announced. We were so pleased that we had taken along coffee and a snack. We were not finished yet! Time to move on. I recalled that we hadn't yet done 'the brow of the hill where you can not see what is coming, don't forget to look at the sea' that was promised earlier.

Ha ha they kept the best for last! We lined up and watched each Rover make a sharp turn right, then attempt to climb a very steep hill. Most took more than one go, sliding back, then taking a flying run at it. After our previous experience I was dreading 'our turn'.

We did our usual 3-4 points to do the sharp right hand turn at which point I hopped out and walked up. Doug gave it 'lots of wellie' and up he went. It stuck at one point but eventually got there, and I hopped in for the dreaded descent. The guys at the top helped us to get the wheels lined up and down we went. The photo doesn't really do justice to the gradient - note the tiny people at the bottom.

At last everybody's tummies were rumbling and it was time to find our way back to the main road.

We ended up at Murray's Tractor Museum, Waiuku for a barbeque. (3.30 p.m. by now!)

The final 'event' for the drivers was to get the air back in those tyres, while the women and children enjoyed talking to the llamas.

Quite a day!

Te Aroha Rover Ramble

2011-12-03T16:38:00.019+13:00

After a busy week, we were both looking forward to a day out. We consulted the North Island 4 WD book, and decided to try a one-lane dirt road between Ohinewai and Highway 27. It wasn't too bad - gravel but a good surface. You can see the grass centre 'marking ' in the first shot. Doug was glad not to meet any budding rally drivers! I found myself muttering, "Pull on that wheel!" on some of the bends. Not a great lock on the vehicle, and there were some spectacular drops over the edge.

Here is the view from the summit.

Rain started as we were having a cuppa at the summit so we scuttled into the back. This photos shows the 'entertainment centre' - CD stacker to the left! I'm not sure if all of the speakers work.

We then drove on to Te Aroha, with the intention of a driving up the access road to the top of Mt Te Aroha. We were disappointed, yet again (remember our trip to Meremere?) to see the following sign.

Oh well - I was keen to visit some of the beautiful buildings I had spotted earlier.

I had never explored Te Aroha before. It has the most intact Victorian and Edwardian Spa in NZ. The building in the third photo is now the museum. Doug was interested to see if he could find out any more about his Grattan line. (His gt-grandfather Thomas Arthur Grattan (1851-1928) and his gt-grandmother Ellen Grattan nee Gorton (1857-1962) had lived there from 1880, before the town was even named.)

You can hear a 30 minute interview with Ellen Gorton about her trip from Otahuhu and her life in Waihau and Te Aroha.

(Back in 2007, we had visited Thomas Arthur Grattan's birthplace in Ireland, it was Phillipstown, Kings County, now it is Daingean, Co. Offaly, reverting to its Irish name after Irish Independence.)

Before leaving, we visited the local cemetery to see if we could find where Doug's Gt- Grandparents had been laid to rest.

We found Thomas Arthur Grattan's grave. He died 27th March 1928 aged 80. Beside his grave we found a headstone for Marion Jean Grattan, aged 7 who died 19th March 1935. She was Edward (Ted) & Ruby's daughter. Ted was their 9th child and the youngest. Doug's grandmother Isabella was the eldest child, b 1880, d 1926 aged 46.

We took a slightly different route home, taking a small detour to buy some Pokeno bacon and to enjoy an icecream.

Waiuku Forest / Waikato Heads Rover Ramble

2011-11-19T15:11:00.021+13:00

It promised to be a nice day for a ramble, so we set out with a picnic to explore Waiuku Forest. The 4 wheel drive tracks through the trees were shut off. (They are used by 4 wheel drive clubs by arrangement) There were other tracks though (rough and corrugated enough for me) that eventually ended up down near either the river or the ocean beach.

We had read about this open-cast mine that supplies the iron sands for Glenbrook Steel Mill
We were keen to have a quick look so had to engage 'low gear' to get in!

It was quite impressive. The forest trees (pine) appear to be growing in sand dunes.

Here are the views from a couple of different carparks. You can see the sea in the distance.

We found a nice picnic spot for lunch. We were kept entertained watching a family unloading their horses then setting out for a trek.

Whitianga

2011-11-06T09:49:00.024+13:00

The First Camp!

After making a huge list; we packed everything but the kitchen sink, and set off at 8:30am, for Whitianga. The weather forecast wasn't great - it's so difficult to tell what you will actually get at this time of the year.

The Rover travelled well. It just plodded along keeping the same steady speed - up and down hills. The radio was blaring behind us, but we couldn't hear it!

It's been a while since we travelled on this highway. The Kopu bridge is almost ready and looked very impressive.

We stopped at Tairua to have a stroll and a quick lunch. Soon we were on our way again; across the hills to beautiful Whitianga.

We hadn't really explored the area on a previous visit, so we spent sometime cruising around, getting the lay of the land. We were surprised to see how big it is. Even a huge new Warehouse and Mitre 10.

Whitianga even has its own Pauanui (Waterways) complete with huge expensive-looking houses with the required large boat moored out in front. We quickly moved on - didn't want to drag their property values down!

Our next stop was the camping ground. It was nearly empty apart from caravans on more permanent sites. We were able to choose our own patch. (Girl Guide training came flooding back - we looked for a nice flat spot - nothing worse than blood rushing to the head - or a wobbly stretcher!) Unfortunately the bit about putting the rear of the tent into the wind had to be relearned by experience.

The Rover setup worked well. It was great being able to boil the electric jug and make toast. The fridge worked off the battery while we were running, or could be plugged in to electricity. It was large enough to be very useful. Our cooking set up with a gas burner worked well.

I'm still learning to love the tent! It's flimsy and bendy - give me good old canvas and wooden poles any day! Every time the wind gusted the side stove in until Doug used extra poles, guys and pegs to make it more rigid.

Saturday dawned cold and the weather was now coming in the front. We really needed to turn the whole contraption around.

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon Doug mused that if we went home now, we could be back in Auckland before dark. Own bed and hot bath were great temptations!

That's what we did.

Muriwai Trip Saturday

2011-10-22T14:15:00.012+13:00

The 'Rover' need another test run to check on fuel economy after tweaking, so we set set off to see how the gannets were getting on with their nesting.

The adult birds were busy gathering material for nest building - one egg was visible from where we were standing.

As usual, there were fishermen trying their luck out on the point

Doug took some nice close-ups of gannets here.

We then drove down to the beach and took a stroll along the sand. This man was having a good time whizzing up and down the beach on a kind of a sand board.

Doug was pleased with the petrol economy when we filled up at the end of the trip. Not too different from the Skyline.

Picnic with the 'Rover'.

2011-10-16T14:50:00.010+13:00

We decided to take this rare fine day and try out a first, short trip in the Landrover. Hunua seemed a good close destination.

Doug has installed a handy handle which enables me to haul myself aloft. We haven't solved the problem of my dangling legs yet - I need a little shelf!

It took me a while to fine tune the air flow - too high tech for me! A lever that has to pull out, then over, opens a vent that allows filtered air to flow in through a mesh that keeps bugs out. Very cool! The window also took a bit of time to master. Press the button, tab will shift up and down, then you push and slide the window across, before it clicks down again.

The radio worked well - the bank of speakers across the width of the vehicle just behind our seats, was audible as long as we travelled on tarseal. I believe that this entertainment centre even has a CD player. I'm sure we will enjoy it when we go camping.

The plan was to try out the fridge/chilly-bin and the picnic table, before embarking on an overnight camp somewhere soon.

Our first stop was Hunua Falls. They looked particularly lovely when the sun came out and made a rainbow in the spray.

We then drove on to the Upper Mangatawhiri Dam. There is a palce to camp there, and lots of good tracks for mountain bikes.

After trying out our picnic table we took a walk to view the dam. You can see in the third photo that the dam is very full. It's spilling over just a little.

We enjoyed our day out.

Melbourne Zoo

2010-10-06T16:21:00.009+13:00

The weather forecast for today wasn't good - showers and thunder storms by lunch time. We awoke to another lovely day so decided to go to the zoo while we could.
We had a much better day on the trams. We were fortunate, too, at the zoo. Seniors are really being spoiled this week. As well as half price admission to the zoo, young people were constantly jumping out of their seats to let us sit down! (We're not that old!)

As forecasted very black clouds began to gather about midday - the storm hit us just as we reached shelter after hopping off our last tram, near to home.

Here are some pictures of the interesting creatures.

It was a lovely zoo - the animals looked happy and healthy. We enjoyed our visit very much.

Melbourne Tuesday - riding the trams

2010-10-05T18:10:00.009+13:00

After buying some same day pass tram tickets at our handy little superette across the road, we headed to the nearby tram stop. This was to be our first failure to understand the system - the numbers on the information boards just don't seem to correspond to what actually comes along. Eventually we followed what everyone else was doing and hopped on a number 109.

Our first stop was the State Library where Doug was able to look up some family history on the Grattans. They came from Ireland to Melbourne when his Gt-Grandfather was 14, he subsequently went to NZ about 10 years later and married Ellen Gorton born 1857 in Otahuhu. Her eldest daughter Isabelle was Doug's Grandmother whom he never met as she died very young. Gt - grandmother Ellen died aged 94. You can actually hear Ellen Grattan talk about her life through this interview made in the 1950s.

St George was slaying the Dragon in front of the library where we had our packed lunch in good Kiwi fashion.

Following lunch we thought a visit to St Kilda Beach was in order. We found a tram with 'St Kilda Beach' on the front. Pretty easy, eh? 'Nothing can go wrong'. We passed Luna Park entrance and the route details showed St Kilda Beach as one of the next stops. But the driver didn't announce stops any more and on we went for miles into the suburbs. Our trip ended when the ticket checkers hopped on board and put us off to head back. (They were actually quite nice, they yelled at the driver - told us that he was a trainee. They asked us if we were 'seniors', it's celebrating oldies this week - free transport etc.)

We decided to give St Kilda a miss and scuttled back into the CBD. The picture shows the view of leafy suburbs passing the tram.

Southgate is a flash shopping centre that can't be getting many visitors as the main entrance on the side of the Yarra is a demolition zone. We took this picture to look back on one day.

Melbourne shops were the usual bustle, we liked this one that sells Russian Dolls. We didn't go into Myer as we got lost inside there last visit.

To Melbourne

2010-10-04T17:42:00.006+13:00

We left Ocean Grove about 0815 and Gertrude the GPS led us through the Melbourne traffic to drop our bags at City Edge Apartments office, as we could not check in until 2pm.

Then Gertrude took us through the traffic again to the airport to drop off the rental car. The little Hyundai went well and was equally as good as the small Toyotas, VW, Fords, Vauxhalls that we have used in recent car hires.

We took the Skybus into the City and were walking to the Immigrant Museum when we came upon this large Kenworth truck on its side, due to it not fitting under the rail bridge in Flinders St.

An enjoyable hour followed, watching the recovery process.

Doug said the driver would have got a 'DCM' (don't come Monday).

This apartment is very 'basic'. A hotplate but no pot - how will we cook our broccoli?

It's Doug's birthday today - he's enjoyed receiving texts from his kids. We've got a nice bottle of wine to have with our microwaved Chinese!

Ocean Grove

2010-10-03T17:59:00.008+13:00

Ocean Grove has a 'holiday resort' feel to it. It is situated adjacent to a beautiful endless surf beach. The first place that we visited this morning was a nature reserve. It was only small with a few resident birds and this blue flowering creeper.

Next to the reserve was the local market with camel rides. The camels got a carrot as a reward. Doug thought that I should have a ride, but I declined.

After lunch we went to the local surf beach, where I paddled, while Doug enjoyed this dog, who chased seagulls for miles, right into the surf!

Further up the coast was the lighthouse at Point Lonsdale, looking across the entrance to Port Philip, Melbourne's harbour.

Tomorrow we will head for Melbourne fairly early. We will drop the car off, then use shank's pony and public transport until we leave, Thursday.

Great Ocean Highway

2010-10-02T20:41:00.008+13:00

We had a lovely, seven hour trip today from Warrnumbool to Ocean Grove, travelling along the South Coast. It was a beautiful, clear day, and the views were breathtaking.

Some beautiful scenery from the tourist spots. The 'grotto' (2nd pic) was so lovely.

'London Bridge' was connected to the mainland until it fell in 1990, stranding two tourists who needed helicopter rescue. Some of you may have seen it before it collapsed.

The Twelve Apostles are said to be the most photographed part of this road.

We took a lunch stop at a lighthouse and saw numerous koalas in the gum trees. They are so chubby and gorgeous. Doug spotted an Echineada (marsupial egg-laying mammal like a hedgehog) by the roadside.

Warrnumbool Friday

2010-10-01T19:34:00.007+13:00

First thing we went to the whale viewing location at Logan's Beach where you can view Right Whales on a good day. We only saw surfers; it is late in the season.

Then we headed down the coast to the nature reserve at Tower Hill, built around a dormant volcano. This was a most interesting place, and free! The reserve has been replanted and restocked with animals since about 1966.

Apparently snakes sometimes bask on the boardwalks - Doug was hoping to see one; I was hoping that we wouldn't. (I prefer my snakes behind glass!)

We loved the koalas, sitting in the gum trees in the carpark.

The fantail looks the same as ours. This blue wren was so pretty - difficult to get him to stay still.

Warrnumbool Thursday

2010-09-30T19:33:00.004+13:00

We are now halfway through our holiday. It was an easy drive from Hall's Gap to Warrnumbool; mostly through open country.

Our last sighting of the Grampians area was Mt Sturgeon and Mt Abrupt on the right. We have been told that it is mustard growing in the yellow fields.

Here is our unit in Warrnumbool, it seems to be very good value, maybe the fire station next door has something to do with the rates!

We had a quick drive around the breakwater when we first arrived. This afternoon we walked to town and wandered around the shops.

Hall's Gap Wednesday

2010-09-29T17:21:00.009+13:00

On our way back yesterday from a shopping trip to Stawell, we noticed this monument in a large flat field. It marks the location of 'The Treasury' on one of the streets of a town called Pleasant Creek, population 56,000 in 1856 gold rush days. It has been renamed Stawell.

More surprising, we found we were near Illawarra, which was an area connected to Doug's Waldron Family, and detailed in a book 'The Waldrons of Illawarra' that Doug has transcribed to the Internet. We will go back and have a better look around.

Here is where we were yesterday. Quite a climb! Both of us have a few sore muscles - we're reasonably fit, but not used to the step gradients.

Today we checked out Jimmy's Creek and Mt William, which had a couple of nice views. Light sleet and small hail shortened the visit.

Grampians-Pinnacles Tuesday

2010-09-28T17:47:00.006+13:00

All attempts to get a proper internet link failed, so we set off to explore the first of the Grampians walks.

We drove to the Wonderland carpark and walked through the Grand Canyon on the way up to The Pinnacles. It was fairly steep and rocky but with well formed paths and arrows.

Wonderful views at the top looked over Hall's gap and Lake Bellfield that we visited yesterday. Some rain dampened the trip down.

Bendigo to Hall's Gap, Monday

2010-09-28T17:35:00.006+13:00

After a supermarket & petrol top-up, we left Bendigo, and headed for Hall's Gap in the Grampians National Park.

Passing through Avoca we were amused by a couple of sights. We have been to Avoca, County Wicklow, on our first visit to Ireland but this one was not the same at all.

Hall's Gap is a popular tourist destination for trampers and walkers to view the mountains. We dropped in and walked across Lake Bellfield, an earth dam 3/4 of a kilometer long used for water storage and built in 1966.

This is a view down the valley from the dam, you can see why it is called Hall's Gap.

Back in Hall's Gap we saw our first kangaroos (apart from road kill) in the sports field!

This our comfortable little unit in Hall's Gap, the left half of this building. We were met by 3 emus that wander around freely.

Unfortunately mobile phone coverage has not really arrived here and the internet stick will not connect on the Vodafone network. This has been posted from Stawell, VIC, 22 km away.

Bendigo Sunday

2010-09-26T19:28:00.014+13:00

Today we had a trip out to Lake Eppalock for a picnic with Kristina and the kids. Last time Kristina was there, it was a cracked mud wasteland with just a tiny amount of water out in the middle.

It was beautiful today. We had a picnic under the gum trees, then took a walk so the kids could paddle.

Such fun - little by splash, the clothes became drenched - we eventually lured the children out with the promise of an ice-cream.

We then drove back into Bendigo to look at the colony of Flying Foxes in the gardens.

There were at least eight tall trees, full of these bats - they have settled into the gardens and decided to remain there. It was a bit smelly, but neat to see them.

Bendigo Saturday

2010-09-25T22:44:00.007+12:00

Wayne and Kristina hired some detecting equipment so that Doug could try his hand at gold prospecting. They set off with walkie-talkies to keep in touch; K and I hit the shops. (Spending the gold!)

The 'Findings' a nail, rivits, bullets! Fun though.

Bendigo Friday

2010-09-24T19:18:00.015+12:00

A cold morning - 6 degrees - like NZ used to have sometimes. Kristina emailed about 8 o'clock to say that the kids were ready and waiting for us.

We spent the morning just enjoying each other's company; Doug and Rhys had fun playing trains while the girls practised their knitting. After lunch we set out for some shopping and a walk.

Spotting birdlife around Lake Weeroona.

And the kid-life....

We finished the day with a visit to the 'Bendigo Pottery', then back to Kristina and Wayne's for dinner.

In Bendigo

2010-09-24T10:17:00.009+12:00

We had a very early start Thursday morning - David delayed going to bed so he could take us to the airport at 4.30 a.m.
Here is our Air NZ Boeing 777 waiting patiently for us.
We had a great flight - the cloudy skies were soon left behind.

After collecting our rental car, we re-aquainted ourselves with 'Gertrude' the GPS and set off for Bendigo. Gertrude hadn't caught up with the latest motorway developments so we had a bit of a stressful time getting under way. Commonsense over ruled her strident, "Off route! Off route!", and soon we were speeding towards our destination.

It is lovely being with Kristina, Wayne, Natasha, Emily and Rhys again after 18 months. They have sprouted since we last seen them; moved house and gained a cute kitten and another turtle.

Learning to knit with Nana. It takes patience but they were up for it!

Our motel - has toaster, but no knife or plates - kiwi ingenuity called for .

Mothers' Day

2010-05-09T15:47:00.003+12:00

Rob and David as well as Doug, and Robyn took Patti and I out to lunch for Mothers' Day.
It was very enjoyable. We enjoyed meeting Patti's daughter Robyn, for the first time.

Alex's Birthday

2010-05-01T15:38:00.007+12:00

My nephew Alex is 4 years old today. We popped in to deliver presents and sample some of his wonderful dragon birthday cake.

There were lots of presents to open - some for Charlotte too, as we had missed her birthday a couple of weeks ago. Frankie watched carefully from her highchair - that cake sure looks good.

Alex prepared to slice the dragon. "Shall I cut off his tail first, or his head?"

Port Waikato

2010-04-25T14:49:00.013+12:00

Doug had a whole day off, so we packed a picnic and set off to see where the mighty Waikato meets the sea.

The picturesque Tuakau Bridge crosses the river before you reach Port Waikato. There is a nice boat ramp and picnic ground beside the water.

We were impressed with the lovely surf beach on the coast. There was lots of activity - surfers, fishermen and people walking along the iron sands.

We back tracked a little to a nice picnic spot beside the river. There were magnificent sand dunes between us and the sea.

After lunch we set out to walk to the mouth of the river. We thought that once we got to the top of the dune, we would be able to see it.

It was like being on the moon! The dunes stretched on forever.

A 'sand fall'.

We abandoned our attempt to get to the actual mouth of the river - it was too far. Instead we walked back along the tidal mudflats checking out the local fishermen as we went.

2010-04-18T15:58:00.003+12:00

Thursday 15th April

Kristina had a flying visit to attend her graduation. See photos here.

Big Cat in our Street

2010-03-25T09:29:00.003+13:00

A 'Leopard' paid a brief visit yesterday. Handsome beast isn't it. Read about the trip they were on here.

Revisiting Puhinui Reserve

2010-03-18T18:16:00.010+13:00

We had a few hours today before I needed to think about work, so didn't go too far afield for lunch. Back we went to the Puhinui Reserve to have a better look.

We were quite surprised to see how it was all set up for equestrian events. There were also some rather interesting sheep varieties to be found.

We had hoped to get down to the water but it was fenced off as a bird sanctuary. The airport was close by in the other direction.

It was nice to take time out, to walk over the fields, climb fences (I'd really like to give that up!) and gather pine cones.

Puhinui Reserve

2010-03-09T13:10:00.006+13:00

We didn't roam so far from home today. After packing a picnic and our sand chairs we decided to eat lunch at a local reserve. We didn't really know what to expect as it isn't really advertised or even signposted.

To get there you turn left onto Price Rd after passing the Memorial Gardens in Puhinui Rd.

There is a brick wall and gate way - no sign. At the end of the drive more gates and then this sign.

We only walked a short way, then found this delightful pond. The reflections were lovely We were sad that a pair of Paradise Ducks took off when we approached. There was a lot of busy bird life - Pukekos, ducks,and swallows. We could also trace the progress of a huge carp as it swam close to the surface - often with a fin poking out. (See ripples in left picture, as it swims across the pond.)

The remains of the volcanic cone Matukutureia, also known as McLaughlin’s Mountain was to our left. We will go back another day and follow the track down to the sea.

Narrow Neck Beach

2010-03-08T16:57:00.012+13:00

We visited Narrow Neck Beach over at Devonport on Friday. It was so beautiful and the water looked very tempting. We haven't swum in the sea for about 17 years - I always used to love it, somehow we got out of the habit.

Today we went armed with togs, lunch and sunblock. The water was lovely - the togs a little tight - but there were plenty of others our age and shape taking a dip. (Sorry no photo - Doug appeared to have used wide-screen format by mistake. I'm sure I don't look like that!)

Both days there were children learning water skills.

A group of older children launched 470 class yachts and sailed off in pairs - they seemed to be experts. Later we saw them doing a spinnaker run out in the distance.

Some played cricket on the sand while others received instruction in sailing optimists, and kayaking. Note the tethered opti - a bit like having trainer wheels.

Farther out to sea we could see two huge Louis Vuitton boats match racing. (The LV Trophy Series officially begins tomorrow.)

Patchwork Cushion

2010-03-08T16:45:00.002+13:00

Front & Back Views

Today I finished my patchwork cushion - I can't wait to begin my next project.

Birthday 2010

2010-03-01T15:35:00.007+13:00

This one seems to have arrived hard on the heels of my last one.

Ali, Alex and Frankie arrived at lunchtime to take me out to lunch. We put Frankie in the stroller and wandered up to the Nathan Homestead Cafe.

It was pleasant sitting in the lovely old house. Alex enjoyed an endless supply of toys from the crèche while Frankie entertained other guests with her giggles and smiles.

Alex enjoyed playing in the playground after lunch.

Rob came around after work and we went off to the Thai restaurant up at the gardens for dinner. (It's under new management; spruced up, air conditioned - we were very impressed. The food was beautifully presented and delicious.)

Okahu Bay

2010-02-22T15:13:00.011+13:00

Today was our 'Day Off', as Doug was away over the weekend. We headed off into town to the Fish Mart for a delicious seafood cone, walked a bit to find a coffee, then drove to find a suitable spot to sit on the beach at Okahu Bay, looking across to Mt Victoria (Devonport).

There was plenty of activity to keep us amused. A group of children were learning how to sail Optimists. It was such hard work trying to get around that top mark. Some began to get blown backwards, while others tried to paddle.

It was good to watch this dad set off with his little child, to go for a paddle. The child sat behind Dad, with his own paddle. What a great way to teach the child 'how to do it'.

Then the kayaks came out. They all seemed to drift into shallow water, kids fell in and couldn't get back on their kayaks again. They splashed each other - kayak chaos! The teacher appeared to have no control at all - maybe she was getting them into a teachable frame of mind first.

Happy 4th Birthday Caleb!

2010-02-21T12:36:00.012+13:00

We loved being part of Caleb's birthday celebrations this morning. It's hard to believe that our youngest grandchild will be off to school this time next year. Stacey enjoyed helping to unwrap - she was included - a boogie board for her as well!

Caleb enjoyed each present as he unwrapped. He was delighted to find a set of batteries.
"My very own batteries!" "A helicopter that rescues lions!"

There were some goodies to eat - then outside to play with that neat radio-controlled car.

Sunflowers and Charlotte

2010-02-15T14:03:00.003+13:00

My niece Charlotte was around yesterday afternoon. She has been growing sunflowers at school, so was fascinated to see our crop. They were way taller than she!

Cabin Fever

2010-02-11T13:43:00.006+13:00

Today we decided to take an hour or two, away from the house, and find a nice spot for a picnic. The weather continues to be hot and dry.

Beachlands fitted the bill nicely. It was lovely sitting under a tree, looking across to Rocky Bay......

Visit to Miranda

2010-01-29T17:36:00.011+13:00

Such a lovely summer's day. Doug and I packed a lunch a set off in the MX5 to visit Miranda. This was the area where my great-grandparents finally settled after spending the first years of their marriage in Taranaki.

I have great admiration for my great-grandmother, Eva. Her first child was born at Manaia, the second at Kaupokanui, 3rd, Opunaki, 4th,Waimate Plans, 5th at Opunake again. The 6th child was born in Hawera, then 3 more daughters at Alton. Shortly before the 9th child was born, her husband, Robert, decided to move back up north. I remember being told of how Eva travelled with the five older children, four toddlers (the youngest being 4 months old) with only her crippled sister-in-law, Agnes, to help her. They would have travelled by train, boat and buggy, to join him!

A third son (child 10) was born at Pokeno railway station. (There must be a story there, too!) By 1901 the family were living at Miranda where child 11 was born. Three more children came along after that!

This amazing lady finally died at Miranda, in 1946, at the age of 84.

We could only catch a glimpse of 'Sunny Brae', from the road. This house was built on land that Robert purchased from the Maoris, after arriving in the area in the late 1890's (The first homestead was built on the high ridge overlooking the swamp to the south of its present position.) 'Sunny Brae' was built in 1902 .

Here is a view looking over the Firth of Thames.

I remember staying at 'Sunny Brae' as a child - in fact I celebrated my 7th birthday there. We sat around a huge farm dinner table; Dad's Aunty Flower had baked a wonderful marble cake for me and they presented me with a box of chocolates - I felt very special - but ruined it all by crying. Uncle Alf wanted me to sit on his knee and give him a kiss. I was terrified of him as he had a glass eye!

At the Miranda Cemetery we found some Coxhead graves. Robert and Eva are actually interred at Pukekohe. (This is where they lived with Robert's brother after handing the farm over to their son George.)

We took a different route home, travelling along the coast up to Clevedon.

Home and back to reality

2010-01-25T15:42:00.003+13:00

We stopped to have coffee on the way home and enjoyed this beautiful view near Mokau.

Manaia/Otakeho

2010-01-24T17:00:00.004+13:00

Doug and I left New Plymouth after breakfast to travel to Manaia, to visit the area where the Coxheads had broken in land and farmed in the late 1800's.

My grandmother, Robina Coxhead, was born during this time. (1891) Ruby's father, Robert had also been born in NZ (1851); Robert's father, a Robert as well, and wife, Isabella Muir arrived in NZ in 1842. They moved to Taranaki after living in the South Auckland area for a time.

Ruby's mother, Eva Hill was born in England. Her family moved to Taranaki when Eva and Robert married in 1885. The older Coxheads and Hills lived out their remaining years in Taranaki.

I was very keen to find my great-great-grandparent's graves.

We found the Coxhead graves in an old cemetery at a small settlement called Otakeho. Great-Gt- Grandmother doesn't get a mention, but I have been told that she is buried here too. It is north of Manaia. There was also a Hill grave that I haven't identified yet.

We then went back to Manaia to see if we could find some Hills. We were fortunate - here is the grave of Eva's parents Alfred and Julia Hill.

I had read that Eva and Robert's first home was on Palmer Rd. Robert broke in land and built a house for his wife and their first child, Miriam. As we drove towards the foothills I tried to imagine the view that Eva would have enjoyed from her new home. Cloud began to clear, and Mt Egmont revealed herself for the first time this weekend. What a beautiful view!

Lucy & Brendon's wedding

2010-01-24T08:07:00.004+13:00

'The Bungalow' was a beautiful setting for Lucy & Brendon's wedding. The wild west coast was the backdrop to the outdoor ceremony, Mt Egmont (cloudy) was to the east.

Here are a couple of pictures that I took. David will post a full set of his professional photos in a few days time.

41st Wedding Anniversary 11.01.2010

2010-01-12T08:44:00.008+13:00

Yesterday was our wedding Anniversary. We celebrated by having lunch at Galbraith's Ale House, Mt Eden Rd; that was once the Grafton Library.

We were married at St Andrews Church of England,Taupo, 41 years ago. (1969)

Frisbees in Cornwall park

2010-01-11T17:40:00.004+13:00

The day after the Family Gathering we went to Cornwall Park. We had a nice lunch and some relaxed hours with David & Ruth, Alison and her 3 offspring. Skills with the frisbee were the order of the day.

Charlotte caught on straight away and threw very well.

Alex needed his spare hand tucked in his pants to get a proper backhand throw. "But I can't see!"

With a hat adjustment he soon he had the knack!

Family Gathering 2010

2010-01-10T10:43:00.009+13:00

Our annual Family Gathering was hosted by Debbie, Chris, Hamish and Charlotte at their lovely home in Tuscany, Manukau. It was an enjoyable, happy occasion that we had all looked forward to.
David St George will publish the 'official' photos in the next day or two; meanwhile here are the best of David Alexander's.

Ali and Steve brought a great cake to commemorate the Jenkins and Alexander families. Left: Jenkins Family, probably about 1934. Max is at the back; Noline, Audrey and Merle in front.
Right photo:Alexander Family: Kath and Dorothy at the back; Josy, William (Dad) and Joe in front.(J&J were twins) We would estimate that it was taken in about 1930.

Here is a photo of Audrey cutting the cake helped by Charlotte and Alex. (Alison & Steve's children)

There was great hilarity as Steve cut it up. (Brought back memories of very noisy occasions in the past, when the Jenkins's used to get together.)

Soon it was time to pose for photos. There will be one of 'the cousins' on David's blog. It was so neat to have Suzanne and Mike here from Vancouver; and Glen and family from Sydney, this year. Here are the 'Outlaws' (married to cousins) and the cousin's children.

Finally we have the Geor family. It was lovely to meet Lucas and Isabella for the first time, and to catch up again with Glen, Lawrence, and Helene.

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T15:02:00.004+13:00

Doug and I took our cameras for a walk through the Botanical Gardens this afternoon. The roses are so lovely at present.

I always enjoy the English Cottage Garden - it reminds me of the garden we had in Bedford years ago.

Monday Walk in the Gardens

2009-12-28T12:26:00.007+13:00

Still beautiful weather - Doug and I had a walk through the Botanical gardens before it got too hot.

Christmas Celebrations

2009-12-28T12:15:00.003+13:00

Nana Loma, David and I had an enjoyable Christmas lunch at Terry and Sue's house in Grey Lynn. It was very low key and relaxing - we ate yummy food, chatted and played darts. A perfect N.Z. beautiful day. David has photos here:

Boxing day lunch was at our place. Ali, Steve and the children were there; also Robert, Stacey and Caleb, and Nana. Doug had a break from coach driving today. We enjoyed opening our presents, sitting outside, under the fejoa tree.See David's blogspot for photos.

Christmas Drive Thru

2009-12-22T08:48:00.004+13:00

Well, I've heard of Drive Through Movies, Drive Through Banking, Drive Through McDonalds but this was a new one on me - a Drive Through Nativity Scene. This is an annual event at the Greenlane Christian Centre.

What a neat atmosphere - lots of excited children - the odd little Santa wandering around and real sheep! We queued up and waited to board a truck that would take us around the scenes in 'hay bale
comfort'. One truck driver had two cute puppies with him, complete with reindeer antlers tied on with a bow beneath their chins.

You could remain in your own car. They were lined up 'Cook Strait Ferry' style. A large contingent of helpers were directing traffic; taking orders for coffee, or sausages; helping people to board the trucks, and chatting.

We watched a scene at a time, then were directed through high gates when it was time to move on. The sound system worked well so we were able to enjoy the jokes. The angel Gabriel was most impressive- he descended from a very high tree - let down by rope - then disappeared again into the darkness.

The final scene looked really beautiful.

It's their last night tonight.

Charlotte's Ballet Recital

2009-12-12T16:39:00.005+13:00

My niece Charlotte, had her end-of-year ballet recital this morning. Alex was granted special permission to take part as well - he had a lovely time 'dancing' around the Christmas tree. What a natural!

Frances wore her pretty dancing skirt and enjoyed watching all the fun. Her turn next time?

Senior Thankgiving Service

2009-12-10T09:17:00.005+13:00

I enjoyed being in the audience this year! The two senior classes put on a great performance of 'The Pied Piper'.

In this version, after the children had disappeared, the parents saw the error of their ways. They learned to put aside their worries, and interact with their children a little more.

The miserly mayor paid over the $1000 as promised, and the children returned unharmed to relaxed, music-making parents.

I do love a happy ending!

I was only away a couple of hours ......

2009-12-08T20:34:00.007+13:00

When I left for work about 2:30 pm, work was underway on replacing two sections of the flue of the wood fire. Doug was actually away trying to buy a larger plate to go up on the ceiling. He had been up the ladder a few times - it seemed steady enough. I wasn't really happy about the whole situation - ladder against the wall etc, but it worked perfectly well last time didn't it? (We have forgotten about the chimney bouncing off the roof and hitting the ute......that's another story.)

Two and a half hours later: As I drove up the driveway I looked up, through the living room window and noticed that the ladder was at a funny angle. It worried me a bit that Doug's car wasn't in the garage.

Worse was to come.... oh dear, the house was deserted, Dave had gone too....windows were still open... there was a hole in the wall, and tracks down where the ladder had slid.The ladder was poking through the wall one end; the other was firmly jammed against the piano.

Perhaps Doug and Dave gone to buy some wall board, I thought hopefully, before I saw the blood trail leading out to the tub in the kitchen!

Apparently the ladder slid down the wall - it was stopped by the piano. When Doug grabbed the ceiling plate he cut all the fingers on his left hand. David took him to the Dr. but didn't have time to text me first. I was rather shocked when I registered the ladder, the blood, and the empty house!

Being a reporter at heart Dave couldn't resist a photo while the fingers were being bound up, and anti tetanus administered. A few witty texts were exchanged and peace restored.

I was only away a couple of hours!

Warbird's Open Day

2009-12-06T15:20:00.005+13:00

We enjoyed the very 'low key' open day at Ardmore this afternoon. Here are the planes that I enjoyed seeing:

I remember flying in a DC3 when I was about 14. DC3's were still flown by our national airway. It was my first experience of flying, and I was scared stiff.

It amused me to see everyone looking up! This next one is a 'kit mustang'. (Thunder Mustang) It was very impressive to watch.

The good old Tiger Moth is always a favourite. They used to use these to tow up the gliders when I was a student at Ardmore Teachers'College.

Doug's pictures will be a whole lot better I'm sure!

Junior Thanksgiving Service

2009-12-04T15:20:00.006+13:00

It's nice to be in the audience this year! Lovely to see my last year's class taking part. There are some good little singers coming on!

Their production this year was It's a Cracker.

Robert Moves House

2009-11-28T14:05:00.006+13:00

Robert's rented house has sold, so he has had to find another. Doug, David and I went around to give him a hand this morning.

That huge TV was such a pain to take down the steep stairs.

Robert has managed to find a lovely little house at Bucklands Beach. The neighbours seemed very nice, and spoke to us as we backed down the long driveway. The little house is very cute. It has two bedrooms, which is an improvement on the last place - and no steep stairs!

Life Returns to Normal

2009-11-22T08:57:00.002+13:00

We have now been back 3 weeks and life has pretty much returned to normal. Doug is back driving coaches. I have been wading through our photos with the intention of putting everything that we have found onto a CD. Hopefully it will help to give family members a starting point if they visit these places one day. I hope to record the Trudgeons, Snaddons, Alexanders, Coxheads, and Jenkins families.

It's an interesting exercise. I have heard back from the lady who spoke to us in the Aldbourne church. She has sent this site address:

http://www.aldbourne.info/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=2644

Aldbourne, Wednesday

2009-10-29T08:36:00.013+13:00

We awoke to another fine day-it's unbelievably warm - 17 degrees today. It encouraged us to put away our scarves and get our T-shirts out again.

After an excellent breakfast, we set out, on foot, to find a rental car firm. We worked off our breakfast, and more, took local advice, and finally succumbed to buying a street map. We looked at the public transport options for visiting Aldbourne, (where my Gt-Gt-Grandfather Robert Coxhead was baptised) but there were no trains or buses that we could figure out, so we decided that a rental car was the way to go. Reading has almost no street names that we could find. We did find Budget Rent-a-car and the very helpful man sent us off happily in a very new Vauxhall Something.

We programmed 'Gertie' and set off to find Aldbourne. She sprang back into life with a map of Holland, but finally found she was in England and took us to Aldbourne. This is the town where Robert Coxhead (senior) was baptised in 1820. It is a lovely old village, with houses from 1600-1800, a village green and a most interesting church, where family members were baptised, married and buried over a number of years.

What a lovely village - it was very unspoiled apart from the traffic that passes through. I am so pleased that we found it. It is built around a village green. There are two village pumps. The people were friendly and happy to talk to us.

First of all we visited the beautiful old church. We didn't search the graveyard as others have already down that without success. Many of the gravestones are covered in moss, and impossible to read. (My great-great-grandfather was buried in NZ, so we would have needed to go back a fair way.) We met a lady in the church who took my email address and promised to keep me posted on any information that may come to light.

The church holds (for safe-keeping) a couple of horse-drawn fire engines from the early 1800s. They were bought after a number of fires in the village when up to 15 thatched cottages were destroyed inthe late 1700s and early 1800s.

The home that Robert Coxhead actually left, was a cottage in the small village of Snap (nearby). We asked some locals for directions. After lunch, we set off. This village was located about 2 miles west of Aldbourne. There was a walking track, so we parked the car and found we could walk to what was once 'Snap' by following a walking track through some fields. (Stinging nettles, blackberry, pheasants,electric fences, but no cattle beasts were encountered).The village had ceased to be used in the late 1800s and was now mostly fields. We decided to hunt for 'ruins'. We located what we are fairly confident, are the the old Coxhead house remains. We had an old map and were able to locate this windmill that is shown on the map. Only parts of a couple of walls remain. Doug found a piece of brick, for me, from the rubble.

On the way home, we visited Hungerford. This is the town where (Robert Coxhead's father) was born in 1787. It is a much bigger town, on a canal.

On returning to Reading and had decided to keep the rental car overnight (at no extra price), to save us taxi fares in the morning. We will take the train to Farnham, then the bus to Heathrow that runs each 10 minutes and takes 30 minutes. It sounds so easy compared to dragging our bags without handles onto the tube!
Note: This wasn't possible - there was however, an excellent bus service from Reading Station to Heathrow.

So we end our trip in nice warm weather, with the leaves now mostly on the ground. Ahead lies a 25 hour journey back to reality.

What a lovely time away we have had!

2009-10-28T09:16:00.005+13:00

Travel from Germany to Heathrow, Tuesday.

A lot happened today. We don't have any photos to show, as it was full on.

We were up at 6, breakfast with Annette & Georg at 6:30 . It was sad saying goodbye to Annette and Hannas the cat. We left the house in Georg's car at 7:15am. After taking the backroads we reached the Frankfurt autobahn, where there is no speed limit. It was a bit scary how some of the locals drive!

We reached the Frankfurt Airport without major incident, and drove to the recently opened, terminal 2. Georg parked the car and kindly saw us at the right check-in counter before he headed back home.

The airport security were the most detailed that we had encountered.

Doug had forgotten to pack his Swiss Army knife in the big suitcases and surprisingly, they let him keep it.

The flight was a little over an hour to Heathrow Terminal 5. We landed at about 12:30, then encountered, yet again, the queues for the non-EU passport holders. Only half an hour this time, and we then found our bags on the carousel despite the Terminal 5 computer declaring they didn't exist.

We took the underground into the city to Waterloo station. Trying to move heavy bags through the automatic gates caused failure of the second bag's towing handle, so Doug has since then been pulling both bags with bent knees. (Not a pretty sight!)

We purchased tickets for Reading and found the 15:30 train. Our bags and ourselves took 5 seats, but no-one seemed to mind as there was no other place for them.

At Reading we decided to take a taxi instead of walking 1 km with bent knees, and we were delivered to the Donnington House Hotel in the mostly standstill evening traffic. The hotel has no lift, as seems to be usual, but the desk clerk helped with our 40 kg up two levels.

Dinner in the local pub "Up in Arms' was good value and ended our day.(We're rather tired - bed looks good!)

Tomorrow will be the final day of our holiday. We plan on visiting the town that the Coxheads came from. (My paternal great-great grandfather).

To Heidelburg, Monday

2009-10-28T08:17:00.011+13:00

Here is a photo of Annette & Georg's lovely comfortable home in Limbach. Doug had to catch a photo this morning as we always seem to come home after dark, and we miss seeing it.

We awoke to a grey morning - at least it wasn't raining. The plan was to travel to Heidelburg . We would go to a museum if it was raining or explore the city if the drizzle cleared.

Georg parked the car in the Crowne Plaza, where their son, Frederik works. We were pleased to come across Frederik as we walked up through the hotel. Outside, we walked up the main street and looked in some of the shops.The drizzle had cleared!

We were amused by this cafe . It had blankets on the chairs for the smokers, who have to sit outside. The town was lovely. There were beautiful buildings every way we looked. Gypsies playing 'Kalinka' added to the atmosphere.

We walked on the bridge over the Maine River and up the hill for a view of the city. The statue on the bridge is tongue-in-cheek and each part is a little bit wrong. I was amused of their interpretation of the figure representing religion. (She has the cloth over her eyes!!) The scales of justice are lying against some stones in a very casual manner. Look at the face of the 'tough' warrior on the shield!

Later we walked back over the bridge and up to the castle. It was very impressive. Part of it is in good order; part is under restoration. The remainder is in ruins.

It has a very large wine barrel that has been restored. It had a capacity of 227,000 litres. Apparently it has never been full.

We ended the day with a nice meal in a small village where we stopped, on our way home.

Germany, Sunday

2009-10-26T07:22:00.017+13:00

We awoke to cloudy but fine morning and enjoyed our first 'frustuck' in Germany. (Very similar to the Dutch 'ontbijt' - in both cases,some kind person had paid an early visit to the 'baecker' for delicious fresh bread rolls.)

Annette & Georg took us out on a trip to nearby provinces to visit local towns. each with old buildings from the 1300s.

First was Eberbach, a beautiful old town built on the River Neckar,in the province of Baden. The autumn colours are at their most brilliant. We were impressed by the high water marks recorded one of the old buildings along the river. The highest mark was dated 1759.

Annette and Georg hurried us along as they said that the next town, in the province of Hessen, was even more interesting and picturesque.

The next town that we drove to was Michelstadt. On one building you could see how these black and white buildings are made, with a wooden frame and mixture of mortar and straw in the gaps.

The final town we visited was Miltenberg, in Bavaria. Here a harvest market was in progress, with a touch of halloween. It was very busy. We queued up to enter a car park. One car could go in as long as one car came out.

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The town has a old castle, and a wall that gave good views over the city and the Maen River.

Doug found this cafe of interest, where he could eat the goose that bit him in Holland.

Finally we headed home to Limbach after this nice meal of bratwurst and sauerkraut at an organic restaurant near Miltenberg.

To Germany, Saturday

2009-10-25T08:32:00.004+13:00

We had four trains to catch today, so started early and planned to catch the 8:30 am train to Amsterdam from Bovenkarspel. We had to be in Amsterdam to be on the 10:34 international train to Germany. We were early as usual, and walked onto the platform at Bovenkarspel at 8am to catch the earlier train just as they closed the doors and moved off. They then announced the 8:30 train was cancelled. Stress! The 9am train was running a few minutes late but was an Intercity and had us in Amsterdam at just after 10am.

The international train was nearly full, and the only place for our 20kg bags was in the overhead luggage rack. We sat opposite some German people who spoke no English. A Chinese man opposite was using a large Toshiba laptop that one lady used as a support as she walked along the aisle, to the surprise of its owner.

We left behind the flat wetlands and cows, for rolling hills and trees.

We could see we had reached Germany as the colours of the trains changed to red. 4 hours later we changed trains in Frankfurt airport, than again at Mannheim to reach Heidelburg about 3:45 pm. It was nice to be off the trains, even though they run at 170 km/h. It would be a better trip without the luggage.

Medemblik and Urk, Friday

2009-10-24T04:47:00.009+13:00

This was our last full day in Holland. We had picked up a rental car Thursday evening, so set off this morning to see if we could find the old house at Onderdyke that we lived in for a few months, in 1970. We also hoped to find the gas compressor station that Doug worked on at the time. We then planned to follow our noses for the rest of the day.

To begin with driving on the wrong side was hard enough. We found it difficult to navigate as Gertie the GPS kept talking rubbish until we turned her silly voice off and used her as just a map display. We eventually found Onderdyke (about 1 km from Medemblik) and after a couple of passes on the dyke, spotted our house. This house is mainly remembered for its spiders and antique sewage system - straight into the canal.

After a coffee stop, we spent a pleasant time in Medemblik's main street, it seemed much bigger than we remembered.

Next we drove out looking for the Wieringermeer Compressor Station, but after asking directions that would have dropped us into a canal, gave up. We drove to the town of Schagen, having not been there before, but it didn't appeal photographically. The old church was an 'Out of Africa' shop and the other shops had the usual household stuff.

We decided to visit the island of Urk during the afternoon, so set out to drive across the Markermeer Dyke highway between Enkhuizen and Lelystad, then further on, North to Urk.

This highway is a fine piece of engineering. It is 57 km long and includes water level gates, a lifting bridge, and the naviduct in the picture, where the ships sail over the traffic. There are lot of wind generators close to the road, and in the distance.

Here are some photos around Urk, which once was an island but later had a causeway built out to it.

This cat was hopefully watching some boys fishing.

Hoorn & Enkhuizen Thursday

2009-10-23T08:02:00.014+13:00

We had a very nice dinner with Gordon & Geertje at 'Hotel Het Roode Hert' last night. The hotel only has 12 rooms and mainly relies on being a very good restaurant. The presentation was up to the UK 'Masterchef' standard.

In the morning we headed out into the rain and decided that a museum would be a good idea until midday when it was meant to clear. We went to the Westfries Museum, in Hoorn, pictured above. It was most interesting, as Hoorn was a major seaport in the 1400-1700s catering to the sailing ships trading with the East Indies. The museum had a lot of fine paintings from that period, as well as interesting exhibits.

After lunch, we went for a drive around Hoorn to try and find some of the old familiar places that we had enjoyed 39 years ago. We particularly wanted to show G & G the 'Hoofdtoren' and the beautiful old houses around the harbour. We couldn't remember where it was. When it seemed that we were going to have to give up, we happened upon a police car, so Doug asked directions.

'The what?', he was asked.
' The 'Hoofdtoren'.
' Oh, you mean the 'Hoofdtoren! Follow Us'.

I've always imagined being in a situation like this. No sirens or flashing lights, but pretty neat all the same! Through the streets we went and soon the Hoofdtoren was before us, as beautiful as ever!

The 'Hoofdtoren' is a big tower in the entrance to the harbour. There were a lot of traditional sailing vessels in the harbour, known as 'botters' and notable for the centreboards on either side of the hull that are rotated to give the boat less sideways slip in the shallow waters.

The bronze figures of the three boys commemorate the trip of three boys from Bontekoe that travelled in sailing ships to the East indies in 1518-1520.

After that we then went to Enkhuizen and had a look around their harbour and tower. Enkhuizen has been a city since 1355. It is another town that peaked in the mid 17th Century.

About 4pm we picked up our rental car. It is a Peugeot diesel' the same as we had in Devon except the handlebars on the wrong side. We followed G & G back to the hotel for coffee and to say, 'Goodbye.' Gordon & Geertje then set off south, back home to Vianen.

Tomorrow the excitement begins. We'll see how Doug copes with driving on the 'wrong' side after all these years.

Amsterdam Wednesday

2009-10-22T20:32:00.009+13:00

Gordon dropped us off at the Vianen bus station this morning, and we made our own way to Utrecht Centraal train station. There we caught the train to Amsterdam for a few hours before continuing to Bovenkarspel, 2km from Enkhuizen.

Our last visit to Amsterdam was nearly 40 years ago. Then there were a few long-haired hippies - today it seemed 'seedier' with lots of 'coffee shops' offering drugs. We walked on to the Dam, which was fairly peaceful, apart from the sideshow that had been set up, including a couple of alarming rides!

We walked back near the station and took a canal boat tour, which gave a better view of the old houses, warehouses and houseboats. These were the sights that we had been looking for.

The smallest house.

This old ship 'The Amsterdam' is a replica of one sunk in 1749.

Near the end of the canal trip, you could see the multi-story bike park and some other bike storage near the train station.

We continued our train trip to Bovenkarspel and have 3 nights in Hotel-Restaurant 'Het Roode Hert' which dates from 1595. Gordon & Geertje have joined us and here we are having 'ontbijt' (breakfast).

This old hotel is lovely. There are more than a dozen old clocks in the rooms that make up the restaurant, as well as sporting trophies old paintings, and antique furniture. The accomodation is fairly basic, but clean and the beds are comfortable.

Unfortunately it's a wet day - we can't really complain as we've had wonderful weather for most of the time.

Haarlem

2009-10-21T20:31:00.011+13:00

This morning,Gordon dropped us, and Geertje, at the train station in Utrecht. Doug wanted to book and buy our train tickets for German, so we took our queue ticket and waited patiently gor our number to come up. That done, we traipsed the bewildering station to find the correct platform for travel to Amsterdam.where we changed for Haarlem. (Geertje grew up there). The train was a double decker, fast and quiet.

Haarlem is an old town and very photogenic. Just point the camera for pictures like these.

Visiting a Dutch town would not be complete without sampling a smoked eel or herring. We had a smoked eel (gerookt paling).

Later in the day we joined the 'English' tour of Corrie ten Boom's house. For those who haven't heard of her, she was part of a family that hid Jews from the Germans in WW2. 6 people hid behind this false wall for up to 2 days. Access was via the hatch in the cupboard on the left.

Haarlem, has a very big church, St Bravos. (Built in the 1300's.) The pipe organ was huge. Mozart played the organ in 1766 (he was 10 years old at the time) Handel played this organ as well. Frans Hals was buried here.

People on bikes are interesting! Imagine if everyone who has left their bike at the train station each brought a car!
It appears that the small child on the front of this tandem is steering.

We are off to the north of Holland today to the area where we lived in 1970. (Kristina was born in Hoorn.)

Vianen and Kinderdyke

2009-10-20T20:26:00.010+13:00

Geertje took us for a walk in Vianen. It is a pretty walled town, about 10 km South of Utrecht, with several buildings from the 1600s and 1700s.

It is close to the Rhine, and has some canals, locks and dykes. The Rhine has all types of passing boats, carrying freight from Germany to Rotterdam.

After that Gordon drove us all to Kinderdyke to see a group of 17 restored windmills, set up in the 1700s for pumping water and draining the land under sea level. People live in them, they are fitted with beds and living areas.

Kinderdyke had a group of geese that liked the look of Doug and gave him a few firm bites. He didn't want to offer his leg for some more bites, photos were hard to take due my helpless laughter.

Depart Scotland, Sunday.

2009-10-19T21:03:00.003+13:00

We said goodbye to Mike & Joan & Finlay at Sauchenford Cottage and headed for Edinburgh. As we had a spare hour before checking we decided to drive to the city centre and have a look around. We missed the motorway exit and it was 14 miles to the next exit! 28 miles later we found the city centre, which was full of roadworks, cars and blocked roads.

We did see Edinburgh Castle and took this photo. The city looks to be a very interesting place to explore on foot!

Check-in on EasyJet was OK, they don't allocate seats so you don't want to be last on board. The Airbus A319 took us to Amsterdam down the coast of England, then a left turn to Holland and we landed ontime after about 1 hour 10 min.

Gordon was there to meet us and an hour later we were in Vianen where Geertje had dinner underway. It was very nice to see them again.

Loch Lomond Saturday

2009-10-18T05:44:00.009+13:00

A visit to Scotland would not be complete without a visit to Loch Lomond. Partly famous for the song: By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes.......

On this lovely autumn day, we were amazed at the beauty. Here are a few of the photos we took.

Doug had been suffering from the cold, since we set out. He decided that a hill climb would help to get the blood circulating, so we looked for a 'ben' of our size. This one will do nicely!

We just needed to climb the fence then up we'd go. We don't have a photo of me climbing the fence but you do have it now on record that it is the last fence that I am ever going to climb. As soon as I alighted I saw the evidence that a very large Scottish horned beastie had passed that way fairly recently so back over the fence I went at speed!

We found a lesser 'ben' that served us just as well just down the road.

This wee robin decided to visit us. (We speak a wee bit of Scottish noo).

On the way home we passed these wind generators in the hills and had a closer look at the monument to William Wallace. It is in the distance in the Stirling Castle photos from yesterday.

Stirling Castle

2009-10-17T05:36:00.008+13:00

A chilly start and blue skies with our neighbourly cows breathing steam over the Skoda. Joan (owner of the cottage) is vegetarian and tells the cows, 'You're safe with me'.

A visit to Stirling Castle was the plan for today. It's a dramatic sight on the skyline, just down the road, from our cottage. It is built on a volcanic outcrop, with stunning views over the area to the Ochil Hills in the distance. Robert the Bruce keeps a watchful eye on the visitors.
The 'King's House', constructed for James IV in 1496, is still in use. We were disappointed that the Palace, built by James V to house himself and his French queen, Mary of Guise,was undergoing a major renovation. Their daughter Mary (Queen of Scots) was born there shortly before his death in 1542. Mary lived there after she returned from France in 1561. It is being restored to as close to original as they can.

Stirling Castle is very impressive from a distance, and looks North towards the William Wallace memorial.

Here are views inside the kitchens, re-created to the 1500s.

A walk along the walls gives spectacular views.

After the castle tour, we had a guided tour through the Argyle House, which has been restored as accurately as possible to the 1500s. The house was once owned by William Alexander, featured here in the fireplace. Ha, Doug, I have a big house, too!

Finally, the autumn colours on the Ochil Hills.

Around Alloa, Thursday

2009-10-16T05:39:00.006+13:00

This morning we decided that we would try and locate the house belonging to Paul Snaddon, Spirits Seller, 6 rooms with windows, on the South side of the Toll (or Turnpike) Road identified in the 1871 census as being in the 'New Sauchie Village' in Clackmannanshire. After asking at the local libraries, we further identified some handwritten words as 'Star Inn'. No Star Inn here.......

Here is the main street of New Sauchie showing the Co-Op built in the 1840s and as it is today, now a "Royal Tandoori', a physio and a hair stylist.

More discussions in the Sauchie library sent us to Clackmannan, which had this tollgate from the 1800s, but, once again, no Star Inn. The helpful ladies in the library there sent us back to Alloa.

Eureka!! The Star Inn at 56 Drysdale St, Alloa is a heritage building from about 1870 and has about 6 rooms with windows. The bar lady (left in the picture) was certain this was the only Star Inn, and there had never been one in Sauchie. It is located just past the library, off the main street. We also met a local named John, who (we think) knew someone in the war who went to NZ and seemed keen to know if we were left-footed or right-footed (something to do with local soccer teams, no doubt a wrong answer gives you a punch on the nose). We could understand about one word in ten. "Ah dinna ken another Star Inn". He insisted on a kiss "furr the memories" which I managed to turn into a quick peck on the cheek, then my feet accelerated quickly away.(The things I do for this family!)

Dundee and Tay Bridge

2009-10-15T03:51:00.013+13:00

We were expecting a wet day, but it was just the opposite - people keep asking us to come back in spring!

Dundee and the Tay bridge seemed like a good plan whatever the weather. Doug was very keen to see the Tay bridge. I was hoping that we might find the house where, Great-great Aunt Maria lived, before being whisked away by 'Uncle' George Snaddon to be his third wife. (I remember her very well - she taught Miriam and I to do somersaults on our front lawn at Clive.)

We typed in the address 11 Balgay Road, Dundee (see below) into Gertie the GPS and set off. We over ruled Gertie, early on so that we took a more scenic route.

The countryside was very pretty, with the autumn colours and hay fields.

Before crossing the Tay Bridge, we stopped in a beautiful little town called Newport-on-Tay that had lovely views of the Tay railway bridge, road bridge and harbour and a welcome coffee stop.

After crossing the Tay on the road bridge, we had a look at the 'Discovery' from Capt Scott's expedition to the Antarctic.

Next we followed Gertie's instructions carefully and very soon found ourselves outside Gt-Aunt Maria's house at 11 Balgay Rd. The owner was there and was happy to chat with us.

Finally we went on top of the lookout called Law Hill and took these pictures looking over the harbour. It was such a calm beautiful day. The reflections in the water were so beautiful.

The railway bridge had a disaster on December 28th, 1879, when some of these girders collapsed while a train crossed in a storm, causing the loss of over 90 lives.

Tuesday in Alloa, Scotland

2009-10-14T07:11:00.012+13:00

First thing this morning , I did some washing, and with my 'King Midas in reverse' touch, managed to make the washing machine pump cease to operate. It needed manual draining into a flat tray, good thing the floor was tiled. In Carrick-on-Shannon the dishwasher capacitor start broke, requiring 1.5 hours of a serviceman at dinner time, and I have managed to make two Boeing 747 screens require 'Control-Alt-Delete'. Ho, hum.....

Following damage control, we headed into Alloa for a look around. This is the town where many of the Snaddons lived. My great-grandfather, Walter was actually born a few miles away in Sauchie (pronounced Sockie).

Alloa is a very interesting old town. We set out on foot to look for churchyards but found that the churches here did not have them. Eventually we did found a very old, locked churchyard attached to a boarded up church. People running a mission drop-in centre directed us to the town registrar.

We found the Registry (births, deaths, marriages) Office. The lady there gave us a remarkable service for an hour, finding and printing out Snaddon and Patterson births, deaths, marriages, census results back to the 1700s.

After lunch, Doug took a photo of these autumn leaves, then had a discussion with the local kids who wanted to know "What kind of camera is that?" "How many megapixels?"It was neat to hear them singing a funny little ditty as they played on the swing.

The registrar told us who to contact to get the key and a plan for the old Alloa graveyard. There we found 12 Snaddons and Pattersons. I still need to sift through all this information - it's looking interesting! Many of the graves from the 1700s had these skull and crossbones, an hourglass and the sextons's tools. A warning to future generations perhaps?

We ended the day with a trip through the National Trust Alloa Tower, a remarkable old structure from about 1394 with walls that were metres thick.

And here to finish off this post is a poem by "Sandy the Post" Snaddon, who delivered the mail until 1904 at the age of 61.(We found this collection at the local library.)

THE BRAW LASSIE THAT LIVES IN OOR TOON

There is a braw kimmer wha lives in oor toon,
Jist twenty-six years come the first day o' June;
The lads by the dizen are a' after her,
and stick tae the lass like a green hagen bur.

Nae doot she is bonnie, baith tidy and clean,
As straping a lassie that ever I've seen;
They'll aye be weel aff wah ever she gets,
A weel daein' hizzie without any bad debts.

Lovely, isn't it!

Off to Scotland

2009-10-13T06:53:00.006+13:00

Up at 05:30 after another bad night's sleep thanks to the pub over the road from the YHA. We caught our Flybe Dash 8 to Edinburgh without any problems, and had some nice views.

Oh no, the propellor stopped when I took a photo! We picked up our Skoda rental car at Edinburgh from the Europcar agency. We are pleased the Skoda showed none of its 1960 forebears habits of breaking down and falling apart.

Our cottage was easily found, with the help of Gertrude the GPS who has all the roads in her brain again. We had a very nice welcome coffee from the owners and they gave us a 'starter kit' of lunch and other useful things. The cottage is immaculate and in nice country surroundings with cows and horses and Finlay the dog.

We visited Alloa and Sauchie, where my gt-grandfather lived. Unfortunately the locals speak a dialect we can't understand, and wanting a 'road map' we needed to ask for a 'rude marp'.
We're tired after our early start and bed looks good. This cottage has a bath! I can't wait.

Sunday, Belfast

2009-10-12T03:54:00.013+13:00

Sleeping at the YHA was difficult with this noisy Unionist pub outside the window. Look at the red, white & blue kerbstones.

After breakfast, we took a self-guided 'Lonely Planet' walk around the city, here are some of the fine buildings.

The town hall and city coat-of-arms.

Queen's University and the Methodist College (Ruth's school).

River Lagan flows down to the docks and becomes Lough Lagan, past Carrickfergus to the sea.

Plenty of separatist messages here.

The Police take it all seriously!

Lastly, some funny signs & graffiti.

We'll be up early tomorrow morning to catch a bus to Belfast City Airport for our flight to Edinbourgh.

Saturday, Belfast

2009-10-11T09:54:00.005+13:00

We reached the Belfast YHA after navigating the streets and returning the rental car to the airport (which was not without some stress).

While some of you had a Sunday sleep-in, we had a walk around Belfast on Saturday night. Here are a few pictures.

Now it's bedtime, the thumping pub music and drunken singing is just starting outside our window.

Friday, last day at Carrick-on-Shannon

2009-10-10T23:18:00.001+13:00

We found there was one burial ground that we had not seen, at Killumod, with a Waldron vault from 1725, but as you can see it is now a ruin.

Paddy Waldron sent us an email saying that he had found Waldron links to the Lloyds, and would we please enter the family vault at Hillstreet and record the names on the coffins to see who is buried there.

Yes Paddy, we would enjoy doing that (gulp) so off we set in the rain but thankfully no bats or thunder and lightning. We did some food shopping first, worried that we might not feel like it later. Brave Doug entered the tomb and took the photos while I bravely kept watch. One marble plaque that was in there might interest you all:

"In memory of the Rev John Lloyd, for 23 years curate, and for 12 years incumbent of this parish. He officiated in this church and preached from the words 'be ye also ready' on Sunday November 28th 1847 being the first Sunday in Advent, and on his way home was waylaid and murdered. This tablet is erected in memory of a faithful pastor, a kind father and a tender and beloved pastor by his afflicted widow."

It's been an interesting week, off tomorrow to Belfast for 2 days.

Waldrons Thursday

2009-10-09T23:19:00.008+13:00

Paddy Waldron arrived late Wednesday night and stayed in our spare room. The mission today was to meet Amie Sterling (nee Waldron-Hamilton), look at her collection of photos from the Ashfort estate, visit the house called Cartron and two nearby graveyards with Waldron graves. Doug's Waldron ancestors lived in this area and in both of these houses after they had to sell the Dromellan Castle (Franham Estate) mentioned on yesterday's blog.

This is Ann Sheridan, she and her husband manage the Ashfort estate, with Amie Sterling (nee Waldron-Hamilton).

Paddy was good company and had a lot of the Waldron history in his head. Here he is at the Ashfort gate, and a picture of the gate hinge!

Amie was also a very interesting lady with about 6 photo albums of life in the big house at Ashfort.

She had a lot of portrait photos that we could copy, here are a few.

We went to Cartron about 3pm and the owners let us have a look around. This is the house Capt Charles Waldron was born in. He and his wife and children left for Australia to found the "Waldrons of Illawarra" and the NZ branch of the family.

Then it was out to the churchyard at Annaduff to view the Waldron vault.

The last visit was out past the village of Hillstreet to the graveyard with two Waldron graves. We took cleaning equipment and found the following, including two Waldron family coats-of-arms with the three bulls. The inscription reads:
"This monnument was erected in memory of Mr Michael Walldron who deeparted his life ye 2nd day of April 1716 in his 65th year of his age his youngest daughter Ann Mitchell was interred ye 19th May in year 1715 in ye 29th year of her age.
Francis Waldron, wife to Mr Michael Waldron jnr dyed the 27th July 1725 in the 30th yeare of her age. Mrs Jane Waldron, wife to Mt Michael waldron Snr dyed in April 1723 in the 72nd year of her age. Mr Michael Waldron jnr dyed the ? day of April 1757 in the 48th year of his age."

Evening arrived and it was time to part from all these nice people. Paddy took us out to an excellent dinner in Carrick-on-Shannon and headed South on his 3 hour journey home.

Boyle Wednesday

2009-10-08T22:20:00.000+13:00

We had a quiet day and sorted out mundane things like washing, then headed into Carrick-on-Shannon for the internet cafe and lunch by the river.

We then went about 15km to Boyle, where this old abbey is under restoration. It was built by Cistercian monks in the 12th Century, but also occupied in 1659 by the military, who turned it into a fort. They even built a stone doghouse. The stonemasons re-building it have numbered all the stones they are re-installing.

Cavan Tuesday, a taste of fabulous wealth!

2009-10-08T00:11:00.005+13:00

As previously recorded, we found the old Waldron houses in Co Roscommon in the past few days, so we didn't have high expectations of finding the "Dromellan Castle, Co.Cavan, in the Barony of Loghtee" that was awarded to Sir Richard Waldron by King James I in 1609.

When we visited UK in 2007 we visited Charley Hall in Leicestershire that the Waldrons had taken off them by investors in the late 1500s. Dromellan Castle was allotted to them by King James I in 1609. The people in the Waldron estates here in Co Roscommon had not heard of it.

Off to the town of Cavan we went, in the drizzle and light rain. First we found an internet Cafe to clear our emails, then we paid a visit to the Cavan library. Cavan is pronounced like 'Kevin', not like 'Car-Van'. The nice lady in the genealogy section finished a tedious phone call with someone who had not done any groundwork and wanted all the answers. She was a bit surprised at our enquiry, then typed in a few things and said that Dromellan had been re-named the Farnham Estate and was now a large hotel! She gave us a map and book, and now we have pieced together the following:

The story begins with Henry Waldron, Esq born abour 1450, who developed a brewery 'without Newgate' in London, and with his money bought large estates in Leicestershire over 300 years,

In 1609, his gt-gt-grandson Sir Richard Waldron left Charley Hall (after the investors took it off him in court) and settled at Dromellan Castle, Co.Cavan, Ireland, an estate of 2000 acres allotted by King James I. There was also a manor at Dromhill, the total estates being about 7000 acres. In 1664, due to gambling debts, his son, Sir Thomas Waldron sold Dromellan Castle to Bishop Maxwell whose his eldest son John Maxwell took over control of the estate in 1672 when the Bishop died. It seems that the original house was rebuilt in the 1700-1800 period by the Maxwells. In 1756 John Maxwell was awarded the title Baron Farnham of Farnham, and the property has been known since then as the Farnham Estate. Parts of the manor house had dry rot and were demolished in 1961 and the building seen today is about 1/3 of the original house. It is operated as Radison Hotel, www.farnhamestate.com

We had a look at 'our estate', then with approval of the hotel desk lady took a walk through the manor house and had a look at the gatehouse and the remaining buildings.

We thought we would be quite at home with shooting a few pheasants for dinner on our 2000 acres, instructing the staff and gardeners what was required and entertaining a few regal visitors.

On the way home we visited the Cavan County Museum at Ballyjamesduff, where they hold many artifacts and paintings from Farnham, nothing as old as the Waldron period, however.

Unfortunately the Waldron story is one of losing major investments by gambling and we wondered if they were not encouraged to leave for Australia in 1831, the trip leading to Illawarra in NSW and the New Zealand branch of the family. More recently, in the early 1900's, Doug's gt-grandfather achieved infamy by painting a horse another colour in Auckland (making a fast horse look like a slow horse). The genes had obviously been passed on!

On another subject entirely, we have been amused to see all the crows flying to their night roost on top of this transmission tower! Crows are the most common bird here.

Carrick-on-Shannon 3 Monday

2009-10-06T23:34:00.005+13:00

What an interesting day it has been!

Our day began with a visit to Carrick-on Shannon to have a morning coffee in an Internet-cafe.Reception wasn't really that great - Doug went from table to table while I wondered if they would ask us to leave! Emails done, we set out to look for some of the family graveyards and stately homes that had been part of the Waldron presence in this area. (At one time they managed 1500 acres.) We found a Protestant Church - St Ann's, and a graveyard at Drumsna.There was a family vault that had been built by Hubert Kelly Waldron, who married his cousin Elizabeth Barbara Waldron. Their 3 sons died in infancy and they were survived by their daughters, one of whom (Barbara Elizabeth) inherited the house called Ashfort and married John Hamilton. The children were surnamed Waldron-Hamilton. A couple of Waldrons were County Sheriff in the early 1800s.

A walk through the village resulted in more interesting 'finds'. We looked through an open door and noticed a vintage car. The owner appeared and we had a neat time talking to him.He was an entertaining character with a collection of Ford Model-Ts and a Morris Bullnose Cowley. Look at the snake's head on the horn! He was also very interested in family history. Anthony Trollop had visited the village, and had written some of his works while staying at Taylor's Inn. 'Our man' had recently played the part of Trollop in a local production produced to promote the area. (He had a fine beard.)

Other interesting features included a battle in 1795 with 3000 soldiers on this bridge.(It is still in use and has never been rebuilt.) And more recently a man shot in the street by the 'Black and Tan' soldiers in the 1920s.

After lunch we then went looking for Ashfort.This is another house that the Waldrons owned in the district. Here is a picture of the old house taken about 1923. The present owners demolished it fairly recently as the roof had gone and it was in danger of collapsing.(it had consisted of 32 rooms.) These are the gates! The property is farmed by Ann & Paddy Sheridan, Ann is related to the Waldron-Hamiltons. They made us most welcome when we knocked on the door. Bush telegraph had kept tabs on us and they were expecting our visit!

After a cuppa and a chat, they took us to a nearby graveyard which had Waldron graves from before 1800. It also had a vault for the Lloyd family (no connection) which had been broken into and you could walk in beside the coffins! Gaaa!

Carrick-on-Shannon 2 (Sunday)

2009-10-05T22:16:00.002+13:00

First thing this morning, we set off to try and find the 'big house' that Doug's Waldron ancestors left from when they went to Australia. Charles Waldron was born at this house, called Cartron, in 1780. (They had lived in the house since 1697). After selling it in 1831, Charles, his wife and nine children emigrated to Australia. (They bought a property near Woolongong and he was Magistrate of the Territory for a year until he was killed in a fight between two female convicts).

We asked directions from a local man who sent us to what turned out to be the right place. He said, "And are ye coming home from Australia?". It's nice how they regard you as coming home after 5 generations! Doug knocked on the door and we were invited in by Mary and Bernard who made us welcome. They were most interested in the history of the house prior to 1837.They were able to add to Doug's knowledge and suggested other people that we should meet. They agreed that Doug can to bring Paddy Waldron to see the house on Thursday.

We talked to one of the people they suggested and he gave us heaps of instructions as to how to get to the Protestant Churches where Waldrons and Hamiltons are buried. There is also another 'big house' to find. I think that he realised how difficult it was for us to follow. His parting shot was, " If it's orll too much for ye, ye can come back." (It was, and we will.)

After that we had what will be a daily trip into Carrick-On-Shannon to check email and update the blog at a wireless Internet cafe. We enjoyed having lunch and watching this girl learning 'tethered rowing'. Something for Kelly, perhaps?

Doug's birthday today.......the second one that he's had in Ireland. It's been sunny and reasonably warm.

Carrick-On-Shannon

2009-10-05T00:39:00.006+13:00

We left the Little Pig's House at about 09:30 and headed South, through Omagh and Enniskillen towards the Ireland border.

A brief stop at Enniskillen to view Lough Erne, one of many lakes in this area.The wind was cold!

The only border sign is one saying 100 KMH (speed in KMH), then by 3pm we were in Carrick-On-Shannon and we had a walk in the town before heading through the Saturday afternoon traffic jam to our cottage about 8km from town.

It is 2 bedrooms and quite large, and appears to have been cleaned by a man so I have had some work to do! But it is well equipped and we even have an open fire and some peat logs to try out.

Doug was very surprised to find our Vodafone 'Vodem' actually connected to Vodafone.ie in roaming mode. But it used up our remaining 9 pounds balance just checking email, with no emails to read!!!! So we are posting this using free wireless at a cafe in town.

PS Doug managed to find the Waldron's house at Cartron, that they sold in 1835. (His mother's family). Picture tomorrow.

Goodbye Northern Ireland

2009-10-03T05:28:00.004+13:00

Some pictures to wrap up our stay:

Finn McCool making the Giant's Causeway, in order to battle a giant from Scotland.

The entrance to the town of Dervock, displaying its allegience!

The door on the Little Pig's House, Armoy. Our home for two weeks and a nice place to stay, in a 300 year old sort of way! And another building on this farm with the wind generator in the background.

The weather forecast for our trip South tomorrow is for widespread storms and travel disruptions.

Visit to Inch Island

2009-10-02T08:44:00.004+13:00

Some excitement as we approached Derry on our way to Inch Island. We were slowed down by police as we approached the city. Officers both sides of the road had machine guns ready to do damage. They were looking for someone trying to leave the city. Scary stuff!

Inch Island is connected to the mainland by two causeways (dykes) built by Dutch engineers in the mid 1850s. They have created a huge freshwater wildfowl reserve between the causeways.

We had made earlier phone contact with Langford and Doreen McCandless, whom Alison had stayed with 20 years ago. Doreen was outside watching out for us. She took us inside to meet Langford who was making a very dignified descent on his stair lift. Both Langford and Doreen had difficulty walking, but they did not allow it to slow them down, even a bit. They made us very welcome. After a chat, they took us for a tour of Inch Island. Walking sticks were put in the car, Doreen took the wheel, and off we went! This was followed by a delicious lunch at a restaurant in a local mainland town.

After lunch we visited the old fort 'Grianan Ailligh' on a hill overlooking Inch Island.This fort was built around the time of the birth of Christ. During the 5th and 12th centuries it was controlled by the O'Neills, the clan that ruled this area. It was built without mortar, is about 5m thick, and has underground tunnels.

A lovely day out!