Countdown to Oz

[dwyman]

A month from now I'll be boarding a Qantas 747 in Los Angeles and heading for Sydney. My wife and I are very excited. This will be my second trip, her first. We'll be traveling with Dave Kriege of Obsession Telescopes and a number of other Yanks for a week of observing up in Coonabarabran using mostly Obsession scopes from 18" to 25" along with Andy Murrell's 20" Hector. We'll come back to Sydney for a week of sightseeing and other touristy stuff. Can't wait to knock back a Toohey's Old Black Ale. I really like a good dark beer.

:cheers:

[CoombellKid]

hmmmm could be worth making the effort to get to Coonabarabran just to
have a chat with Dave Kriege. hope you have a most enjoyable trip, and
the weather is accomodating.

Toohey's Old is a nice drop : )

regards,CS

[dwyman]

I'm sure Dave wouldn't mind. We're old mates, but it's your shout.

[xelasnave]

I know you will enjoy it ...it is so dark and is a great beer:D
Dont waste money on a return ticket you may not want to use it;).
alex

[iceman]

I bet you can't wait! Are you spending any time in Sydney? Would be great to meet up if you're around.

[dwyman]

Mike, email me your phone number. We have all week rail and ferry passes so we're pretty flexible. Would like to get together some evening.

[RB]

You're going to have a great time Don, any chance you'll be around the Central Coast at all, we meet at Kulnura once a month for an observing session.
Be great to meet you.

[dwyman]

We did this in April of 2005 too. Much smaller group this trip though. Only 5 yanks. Last time we had 16.

[dwyman]

Mike, my wife, Mary Ann, and I will be driving from Coona to Sydney on October 12 and staying until the 20th. I'm pretty sure Dave K is heading straight back to the states around the 12th.

[iceman]

Sounds great Don.

We can plan for a small observing meet, or just a get-together drink and chat.

After observing at Coona, it'll probably be quite a let-down to observe at Kulnura, only an hour from Sydney :)
I'll PM you my mobile#.

[dwyman]

Mike, I've been looking at the rail system in Sydney and it appears that we can ride from St. James or Martin Place to Gosford. Our hotel is between them, the Travelodge Phillip Street. I'll also have a mobile while there. I'm waiting on the SIM card and I'll get my phone number when it gets here.

[iceman]

Yes, Gosford is on the main North train line (heading out of Sydney to Newcastle).
I work near Sydney too though, so am happy to meet you down your way if it's more convenient. Will you have a hire car or are you relying on public transport?

[dwyman]

We'll be dropping off the rental car on the 12th after we drive back from Coona. We have purchased passes that cover Metro and City rail, bus, and ferry for the week between the 13th and the 19th.

[dwyman]

Three weeks to go!!!

[dwyman]

Two weeks and two days. Qantas serves Aussie beer on the flight. Wooohooo!!

By the way, I'll have a mobile phone with me. If I have to dial a number like 0425 99999, do I dial the "0" first? Seems like all your numbers start with "0". It's very different from our system.

[CoombellKid]

Yup! ya do Don

regards,CS

[dwyman]

Thanks, Rob.

[iceman]

The only time you don't dial the 0 is if dialing from international, or if you use the international prefix..

eg: +61425999999

[dwyman]

See now, that's what's confusing. I don't have + on my phone. How do I do that?

[iceman]

Usually you hold down 0 to get the +. Or it will be under "symbols".

[dwyman]

Two weeks!!!!

[CoombellKid]

Message from Tooheys, they regretfully tell us they will be out on strike
starting next week, and as such all stock will be sold by the end of next
week. You'll have to go with that xxxx stuff, it's so vile they had "x" out
the letters of it's name :lol: or was that they cant spell beer up there in QLD :whistle:

regards,CS

[dwyman]

No Tooheys? That's downright criminal.

[[1ponders]]

yea, well 'ow about 'ow dey spell tooh'eys in NZ....Tui :P

(ps my aitch key isn't working on this keyboad :( )

[GrahamL]

lucky it isn't te x key paul you'd ave to get te dictionary out to spell beer :P

ere you go i ave a few spare.hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhh :)

btw ope you ave a great time Don

[ballaratdragons]

tooh'eys

Seems to work fine :lol:

Sprung ya! :rofl:

[dwyman]

13 days........

[Dujon]

Stop the countdown!

Don, if you wish your life away in such a manner imagine how short your stay will be. Take your time, savour the prospect and enjoy the anticipation. Treasure every second else your trip pass like the blur of a tourist's 'what's next' list.

Most of us who live here, just as no doubt you do your own territory, love the place. We'd like you to eventually go back home with a good impression of the country and not some crazy paving montage that you'll forget over time.

What's the point of keeping the viewfinder of your camera stuck to your eye all the time (as so many visitors do) if you don't take the time to look around and talk to the locals?

Scolding session is now over. *rings bell*

[[1ponders]]

Don't know how that one sprung up Ken. I had been driving me nuts trying to run a computer class without a "h" on the keyboard. :rolleyes:


Becareful when you get here Don. The fumes from the gum trees has been known to confuse visitors down under. So much so they lose their way home and end up staying befuddled and down under ;)

[dwyman]

Dear John. Just trying to have a little fun here. This is my third trip to Oz so it's nothing new to me. But it is exciting. I've been to Europe and Asia as well as Canada and Mexico. All have their good and bad points, but in my mind Australia stands out. Maybe its because the people are so friendly and the whole feel of it is so laid back. Maybe it's the clear blue skies in the day and the dark black skies at night. Maybe it's the beer. Probably it's all of the above and more. Sorry that my excitement upsets you. I'll try to keep it under control.

[Dujon]

I had gathered, Don, from your earlier posts that you are a seasoned traveller hence my own post was tongue in cheek. Please forgive me, good sir. :(

No doubt my comments were coloured by my wife's recent visit to the south west of this country at which time I gave her similar advice. She still came back with a memory card full of images taken with the happy snap camera I purchased for her before she left.

Whatever: I wish you a safe trip and dark skies.

12 days to go. :doh:

[dwyman]

Ah yes. The wonders of the internet and not being able to discern the tone of a message. No harm, no foul. I'm bringing my wife along this trip. She's in charge of the camera.
:cheers:

[dwyman]

at a whisper, "11 days"

[ballaratdragons]

Not that many of us have seen the sky much lately, day or night. But the clouds look nice if your into clouds :lol:

We'll do our best to turn the skies clear for you :thumbsup:

[dwyman]

I live in the state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin is an indian word which means "land of the endless cloud". I'm great at cloud identification.

[xelasnave]

Mmmm there are parts of this land that could do with a renaming... New Wisconsin... maybe.

I certainly hope it is clear for your stay...you dont want to be stuck in the Pub night after night.

alex

[dwyman]

That would be devastating. Is Australia properly stocked with beer? I've been known to put away a few schooners when I put my mind to it.

[xelasnave]

Apparently not...a small percentage of the population gets most of it... so I guess the others are missing out... its that old 20/80 rule... 20% of the people drink 80% of the beer ...or something like that.

Still I feel there is a fair chance there will still be some left for you and your friends....

Enjoy your trip and your stay.
alex

[dwyman]

I'm a single digit midget.

9 days

[CoombellKid]

Wow! wont the girls be impressed with you :rofl::rofl::rofl:

regards,CS

[dwyman]

Ouch!

[CoombellKid]

You want mine? the spacebar works intermitantly neither of the two "SHIFT"
keys except if you bash the right one, but that is starting to fail. Oh well it
has to go back with the ex's puter next week, so I'll buy new one :whistle:

regards,CS

[dwyman]

7 days to Vegemite.

[dwyman]

6 days. Better warn the roos that I'll be driving up to Coona next Saturday.

[Tannehill]

They're already lining up to hurl themselves in front of your car. Better check to ensure your WI auto insur covers you in a rental car here, or be prepared to pay the daily extra here to minimize your losses.

(stay left...left....left.....left....)

scott

[CoombellKid]

Weve had a not too bad couple of seasons up here, lots of young ones
running/bouncing around. I have to close the gate of a night to stop them
coming into the yard. nearly walked right into one as I was coming out our
front door a couple of weeks back, scared the living be-jeezus out of me.

regards,CS

[dwyman]

5 days.........

[h0ughy]

I see your no where near excited to be coming over Don?

[dwyman]

I really enjoyed my last trip. I had a hard time getting on the plane to come back.

[Tannehill]

Don, in honor of the upcoming congregation of Wisconsin residents in Coona I've attached this rare photo, visible only from Wisconsin on clear nights after consuming liters of Point Beer.

As we say: Veni, Vidi, Cheesey

See you soon.

Scott

[snowyskiesau]

I second this insurance advice. I've learned the hard way that the extra $30 a day for full (no excess) cover is well worth it.
It was only a small kangaroo and the damage didn't look THAT bad. $400 odd dollars for the excess.

Don't worry about keeping to the left, rental cars have a little sticker on the dashboard reminding you to do just that. :)

[dwyman]

Thanks for the advice all.

So Scott, do you want me to bring you a couple pounds of good old Wisconsin Cheddar and some Brats?

[wavelandscott]

While not everyone may truly understand this post, it is actually very very funny! :thumbsup:

It is quite unusual to find such fine humour from "behind the cheddar curtain" of Wisconsin...

as a "Big Ten Boy" (Go Boilers) it really struck me as very funny first thing this morning...

Cheers!

[Tannehill]

THanks Don, but I was back for two weeks just a couple weeks back, and got my fix of local-made brats and ate plenty of cheese and good ol' corn fed beef. I did miss the meat pies and local pizza here, tho....

Here, the cheddar-like cheese is termed tasty. Sharp cheddar is extra tasty. When I enquired at the deli counter for some "sharp cheddar" I got a blank look at first (altho sharp is also a descriptive term here, but the young person didn't quite know that). Finally she realized I was (at the time) Oz-impaired, and asked me very nicely "Would you like some tasty cheese or extra tasty?"

I didn't quite know what to say....I mean, who is going to say "No, no tasty cheese...Do you have any fetid cheese?" to a question like that?

But I soon found that extra tasty is Aussie for sharp cheddar.

No, thanks Don, I'm okay for now. Still luxuriating in the fabulously varied ethnic food offerings of Melbourne. It's amazing, I am eating my way thru this town.

Haven't quite gotten the cohones to try kangaroo meat yet, tho...

scott

[Tannehill]

Thank you. I do believe that cheese humor is best enjoyed in the morning....

Now all I have to do it reset my clock so I can stay up all night with my jet-lagged fellow Wisconsinites.

per cappucino ad astra!

scott

[gary]

Cheeseheads Welcome Here. :welcome:

[dwyman]

Hey Gary. See you in a couple of days.

2 Days!!!

[Glenhuon]

Haven't quite gotten the cohones to try kangaroo meat yet, tho...

scott[/quote]

Give it a try, very tasty if cooked the right way. Makes a yummy curry too. :)

Glenhuon

[dwyman]

Wow, leaving in less than 24 hours. Won't be long now.

[CoombellKid]

I hope the bushfires dont hinder your travels out to Coona. Have a safe trip

regards,CS

[dwyman]

Bushfires? What bushfires? Where bushfires? The travel brochure didn't say nuthing about bushfires.

[CoombellKid]

Don,

have a read here...

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/

The highway north out of Sydney and also rail were closed yesterday.

regards,CS

[CoombellKid]

btw, BBQ Kangaroo goes well wif Tooheys Old : )

regards,CS

[dwyman]

I'll bring some Ketchup.......I mean Tomato Sauce.

Looks like the fires are north and a bit east. No worries mate. I'm heading up to Coona via Mudgee.

[h0ughy]

have a nice trip over Don

[CoombellKid]

Well you'll have to BBQ the roo's yourself then :lol: better with sweet chilli sauce imo :thumbsup:

If you could bring some of that lovely Canadian maple sirup, now that would
almost be worth a drive to coona :)

regards,CS

[gary]

Hi Don,

Coming from the frozen tundra of North America, you might be pleased to
learn that it has been unseasonably warm here. So much so, that yesterday we had
36C (97F) in parts of the city and some inevitiable bush fires (which oddly enough
seem to always correspond with school holidays).

As a safety precaution, the freeway in our locale here was closed whilst crews
attended to a minor incident. However, at the time of writing, the freeway is
again open and we should not have any problems with regards travel.

Enjoy the flight.

Best Regards

Gary

[dwyman]

Thanks, Gary. We're here and resting at the Ibis. My mobile isn't working yet. Have to call their support number in the morn. The 18" UC didn't make it. Qantas will deliver it to Coona when it arrives on Saturday's plane.

Don

[CoombellKid]

Glad you made it safe and sound to our fair land. Hope you have a most
enjoyable trip!!

regards,CS