New Zealand

Got into Auckland about 5.00 pm last Thursday 26th. I was to make my way to Lake Taupo, I thought it was about 2 hours away but was advised when I pickled the hire car up it was more like 3.5 hrs. I decided it was too far to drive that night as I had been up since 5.30 am. As it happens it was a good decision as the journey eventually took me in total over 4 hours. I headed for a Hamilton about 120km from Auckland to spend the night and got quite a nice room at a Motel for a reasonable price.
I got to Lake Taupo the following day but the weather had started to deteriorate quite badly with very heavy rain and quite strong winds. The weather really only cleared properly yesterday. I am staying at a backpackers Lodge called Rainbow Lodge, its quite nice, I have my own room with a shower and toilet. The place is actually run and owned by a Scottish guy called Ross, there is a constant stream of people coming and going from all corners of the world. This is the second time on my journey I have stayed in a backpackers lodge, the other was at Byron Bay. If you are on a tight budget I can certainly recommend them.
As I said the weather has now cleared, its cold but sunny, just like a nice crisp winters day at home. Lake Taupo is more or less in the middle of North Island and is huge, more like a small sea. The mountains and volcanoes surrounding the lake are beautiful and so big.
There is also another local connection I have found. There is a guy who drives the limo for Skydive Taupo, he is called John he comes from Sedgefield.
Now to the Skydiving, there are 3 skydive operations in Lake Taupo, all situated at Taupo Airport, Skydiving is very big here, mainly tandems (its a lot cheaper here than in England). The centre I have been jumping at is Skydive Taupo, they operate a Cresco Turbine, which takes 8 or 9 people. Its quite a plane and Pink (you can't miss it). All of the staff have been great, I will give them a roll call later. The view from 12,000 feet is stunning, it is so clear you can see as far as the Pacific Ocean.
When I initially contacted the DZ when I arrived here I spoke to Lottie who runs the manifest and told her the reason for the trip. She has been fantastic, she contacted the local Newspaper for me, the Taupo times, and they sent a reporter and photographer out yesterday, so I was able to tell them about the charity and Colitis and Crohn's disease.
As I said the staff at the DZ have been very kind and helpful, they even gave me the first jump free.
I will be staying in Taupo until Thursday morning and then plan to head to Rotorua to try and jump at a DZ there. However the weather is forecast to turn bad again, so we will have to see how things go. I have taken quite a few pictures and the DZ have also kindly taken some pictures of me under canopy. I cannot put them on through the PC I am using at the moment. But will get them on when I can.

Sydney + Gareth !!

This is an amazing storey. Yesterday I went into Sydney from Picton by train. Because the train was splitting (only so many carriages on the train were going into central Sydney) I had to move carriages, the carriage was quite full and I sat down next to a young bloke. After a while he turned to me and asked if the train was stopping at Central (what a person to ask), I said I hoped so as I was heading in that direction. His accent was local, as very local, he then asked me where I came from, I told him Sunderland, he then said he was also from Sunderland. Within minutes we both realised we actually knew each other, I had interviewed him for a Job in my department a few years previously (the move was blocked by his boss). His name is Gareth (sorry Gareth can't remember surname) and he had worked at our garages at Stoneygate and on Wessington way. Gareth has been out here for about a year and loves it here. He offered to show me around Sydney, which was great for me as I got to see much more than if I started off on my own. The chances of such a meeting must be millions to one, life is so surprising.

So to Sydney, first impressions are is its just what you expect, the Sydney opera house is incredible and much bigger than it looks on TV. The Sydney harbour bridge is huge. It has some scaffolding on it at the moment, but it still looks good. You can actually walk up and over the spans of the bridge. We could just make out a couple of groups walking on each span as we were watching. The shore line is very busy with all kinds of ferries, charter boats and the like coming and going all of the time. The weather was very good when we were there so there are some nice pictures. The city its self is a bit infectious as you don't want to leave. I only scratched the surface on my wanders. Anyone who likes shopping would love it. One of the large shopping areas is named after Queen Victoria, its very old fashioned inside and has several levels with a central atrium. If you have been to Jenners in Edinburgh its a lot like that but bigger. The Pope is visiting the city in about a months time, so the Cathedral St Mary's is getting all spruced up for the visit. Gareth had to leave about 1 pm but before we split we got someone to take a picture of us to-gether to prove we actually met. I hope he gets what he needs to continue his life in OZ.

By about 3.30 I was worn out and set off back to Picton. As usual I have attached a whole load of pictures, I hope you like them. Finally, I have attached a photo taken at Sydney Skydivers the other day, I had trouble posting it the first time round. Off to New Zealand to-morrow, so not sure when next posting will be .john 25/6

Mowbray Park Farm

On my last posting I promised some pictures. You will see a couple of people in the shots, one is of Paul by the tractor, he came out to OZ 25 years ago from Wigan, he still has the Wigan accent but loves Australia. I was helping Paul a few days around the farm and he is a great guy. The other picture is of Fred shearing a sheep, he has had 58 years practice at taking the top coat off, so he is a bit of an expert. The other pictures of kittens, donkeys, alpacas etc were taken this morning on my trip around the farm. The farm itself is set in about 200 acres of rolling green countryside.

Now to Sydney

Arrived in Sydney from Brisbane last Thursday about 3.30 . However by the time I got sorted out I hit the rush hour traffic. By the time I got to Picton which is about 65 miles from Sydney it was pitch black and lashing down with rain. Got hopelessly lost several times, however did eventually find the place I was staying at about 7.15 pm. I am staying at a place called Mowbray Park. Its called a farm, but you would consider it more of a country house. Its owned and run by the Couch family. They have holiday accommodation for all ages. I have spent a few days helping out and its a great place for kids, they can run about, go horse riding, have camp fires and generally let their hair down. They also host conferences and have specialist riding events for adults. I have been made to feel very much at home by everyone here. There is a web site you can visit which will tell you much more about the place http://www.farmstayholidays.com.au/

I will get some pictures of the place on my next posting.

The farm is run by Blair Briggs who manages the farm with with his wife Jacqui (Jacqui is part of the Couch family), they have very generously agreed to let me stay here free of charge, the money I would have paid will be donated to NACC.

Now to skydiving. I have managed to get to Sydney Skydivers on Saturday, its a bigger operation than I expected. It has a large landing area and good facilities. It operates a PAC Turbine and and Skyvan. I got to jump out of both of them. I did 3 jumps in all. A solo, a two way and a 3 way. Everyone seemed very friendly and I had no trouble finding someone to jump with. I have put some pictures on the blog of my visit to the DZ. There is a nice one with the Australian flag on it. I am not sure if I am going to get back to the DZ as my time .here is quite short. I plan to go into Sydney to-morrow to do some sightseeing.

Will get back with a further update on Sydney, hopefully before long

Goodbye Ramblers and Toogoolawah

It's funny how some places leave an impression on you. This has been one of those places for me. I will not miss the trips to the loo in the middle of the night - though I did get a fantastic view of the stars and the milky way. I will not miss the cold of the caravan in the last couple of nights. I will however miss the people, Sarah and Gus, Rodney, Macca, Al, Harvey (the backs healing up now!!), Dave (monkey), Lynette and her mom at the video shop where I sent all of my e-mails from, plus other too numerous to mention (you who know me know what I am like with names).
Toogoolawah and the general area are just so down to earth, with some beautiful scenery and a much better pace of life - as for the Ramblers Skydive, I and most other skydivers could not ask for more.
One final thing before I close, the local radio station Valley FM 95.9 fm is run by Anna Wheildon, Anna used to work for the BBC. I met Anna and her husband Ken a few days before I left, Anna was kind enough to allow me a live interview on her radio programme (12/6). It allowed me to talk about my journey and the charity NACC - this is the first time I have been in a radio studio - it seemed to go OK and I was thankful to be able to talk about Colitis and Crohns disease and the aims of NACC. I am a bit behind in writing this as Internet access has taken me a while to sort out. john 18/6

Byron Bay

Its about a three and a half hour drive to Byron Bay. The place is about a 160 km south of Brisbane. The place was named by Captain Cook. Its an absolute surfers paradise, with a huge curving beach and rollers coming in for surfers to ride. The backdrop is green and in the distance mountainous. The colours at sunset are stunning with reds, yellow and orange. I have taken quite a few pictures and hope you like them. Some of them are taken from the lighthouse which is on a steep hill about 3km out of the centre of town. The weather has not exactly been great with quite a bit of heavy rain. However I have been able to get 2 jumps in. The view from 14,000 is spectacular. There are lots of tandems parachute jumps done here, but they do cater for experienced skydivers and they also do AFF training. All of the staff were very helpful and Steve the Chief Instructor (that's me and Steve by the plane) made me feel at home and got me onto the lifts I wanted. There is lots to see around Byron Bay, unfortunately I leave to-morrow for Sydney, but have enjoyed the experience of being here. I hope you enjoy the attached pictures. john 18/6

Ramblers North West of Brisbane

Before I start on Ramblers a few words on Brisbane. In some ways it is a little like Perth in that it seems very modern with lots of high rise glass covered and glittering buildings. However where Perth is reasonably flat Brisbane is very hilly, it has a Cathedral in the centre of the city which is nestled within the towering glass sky scrapers - see pictures. Brisbane seems much bigger than Perth and there seems to be endless shops and stores. I would like to go back there again but am not sure if I will make it before I leave.

Now to Ramblers - Ramblers skydive centre is purpose built. It is located in the Somerset region which is North West of Brisbane and about 2 hours drive from Brisbane. As I got past the outskirts of the city heading to-wards a place called Esk, the countryside became very green and undulating - a bit like the lake district but not quite as hilly. I passed over a dam which skirted the Wivenhoe lake. The view was truly beautiful, with large expanses of water with green hills as a backdrop.

When I reached Ramblers I was greeted by the DZ manager a guy called Rodney, in each hand he had a cold beer, one for him and one for me as a welcome to Ramblers - not a bad start. I was shown to my accommodation which is a large caravan, not the Ritz but comfortable and dry.

Ramblers is just outside of a small town called Toogoolawah. The setting of the DZ is generally flat with some banking on the perimeter of the DZ and there are trees scattered around giving shade. The thing that has struck me is the wildlife, particularly the birds. There are parrots flying around all over - they wake you up with a right din in the morning. In the distance I have seen some kangaroo's and there is a Koala lurking around in the trees somewhere but I have not seen it yet. A few days ago I saw a huge stick insect, it must have been 8 or 9 ins long and about one and half ins thick.

The set up for parachuting here is very good. They have two Cessna Caravan Turbine aircraft which whisk you up to 14,000 feet in about 10 minutes. So far I have had 5 jumps. As ever I have made some new friends Sarah and Gus (Sara is a Kiwi and Gus is from Argentina) I have attached a picture of me and Gus with pilot Jason just before we boarded the aircraft. Two other new friends are Ceri (pronounced Kerry)and Ulli, (Ceri the name originates in Wales - though Ceri is very much an Ozzy) Ulli, Ceri's girlfriend is from Germany. All of the skydive pictures taken in this section were taken by Ceri.

This past weekend has been very busy here - its a holiday weekend to celebrate the Queens birthday, I also believe it was the anniversary of the opening of Ramblers.

Part of last weekend it was raining, so Sarah, Gus and I went to the Toogoolawah Show. It was very much a local country show with farm animals, horse riding and "Pig Racing".

I have attached some pictures taken while I have been here, I hope you will like them.

Finally next Sunday I plan to move to Byron Bay which is south of Brisbane, I am told it is very beautiful there - I will let you know john 11/6

Back to Jo Berg !!

I got an e-mail from Chris Grosch who I stayed with when I went to Johannesburg (Chris is one of the founder members of JSC (Johannesburg Skydiving Club)) just to say hello. Chris pointed out that I had made a posting on my visit to JSC but for some reason it seems to have slipped off the blog - have no idea how - almost certainly pilot error !.
For the record, Jo Berg was one of the places people tried to put me off visiting, but I must honestly say I was shown such kindness while I was there, particularly from Chris and friends and neighbours, at no time did I feel at risk. Clearly you need to take advice from wherever, but you need to make your own mind up and take sensible precautions.
The DZ at JSC is about 60 miles outside of the city. While I was there the weather was great and I got 6 jumps in. The facilities at the club are very good, they have a great canteen, nice bar and all the facilities you would expect from a well run and busy DZ. The plane they had was as PAC turbine. Very fast and got us up to 11'500 feet in about 10 minutes.
The DZ its self is at 5,ooo above sea level which makes it about the third highest DZ in the world.
The land around the DZ is quite flat, its in a Gold Mining region so you can see the mines as you fly up to altitude. Because the air much thinner there I had to be a bit more careful as I came into land as the parachute flies though the air with less resistance. However no problems and had good landings.
I left JSC with very good memories and made some new friends. 9/6

Skydive Express - East of Perth - OZ

I moved up to Skydive Express on Friday 30th May. Its about a 3 hr drive from Pinjarra to York. York is East of Perth and very much inland compared to where I was staying before. York is quite a small town and quite old fashioned apparently there are lots of festivals held there. I wish I had time to look around, but I was staying at the DZ at Skydive Express which is a little way out of town.

Skydive Express is a much bigger operation than the previous DZ. In some ways its very similar to the JSC at Jo Berg. They have a Cessna Caravan and a Cessna 182. They operate up to 15,000 feet. While I was there the weather was good and I got 6 Jumps in. All from 12,000 ft +. The thing that you notice from that height is how flat the countryside is, its quite green, though they have had quite a bit of rain, I gather the countryside changes colour quite quickly depending upon how dry or wet it is.

As with everywhere I have been I was well looked after. The canteen facilities are run by a lady called Toots and on an evening they did real home cooked meals. Plenty to eat and very reasonably priced. The place is owned by a guy called John, he has clearly invested a lot in the place and its really quite modern with good shower and toilet facilities. The Chief instructor is a guy called Dixie, he and his partner had just come back from Perris in the US and he clearly has lots of experience and runs a very slick operation.

With luck I have attached a few pictures for you to have a look at. As I write this blog, I am at video shop in Toogoolawah using there Internet connection and I have forgot to bring with me the list of pictures. The pictures should be me and Dixie, Skydive Express plane, Bell Tower (very modern) from the waterfront in Perth - I think the bells in the tower came from St Martin in the Fields in London. Perth street scene.

Finally, its my birthday to-day so I am going to celebrate by having a coffee and cake in the local coffee shop (when I find it).

Chow for now John 4/6