Health Update

The operation to remove the offending gall bladder is now slated for tomorrow, August 14th 2012.

The operation will be at the John Fawkner private hospital, Coburg.

The specialist uses a keyhole technique, that requires four small cuts to the abdomen, through which, (I assume), the gall bladder is dragged out.

I will be kept in over-night and provided that there are no complications, will be released on Wednesday.

Then a couple of days recuperation, and back to business!!

Thanks for all the emails and calls of support.

Cheers, Rod

Another Health update

A few people have complained that I am not keeping this blog up-to-date on my medical saga. So for those nice folk who care, this is where we are at.

I've been visiting the specialist every week, where he reviews the previous week's blood tests, decides that some aspects of the liver function are still not quite right, takes another blood sample and asks to see me same time next week.

In the mean time I'm still on a "3 glasses of red wine a week" liquid diet, and I have cut out all the foods that I like.


I am reminded of a novelty tray that Mum and Dad had hung on a wall at home. I never really understood the words as a kid, but it makes sense now. 

"Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening" 

The tray had two saying on it. The second one, (which I still don't understand) was:

"The best ten years of a woman's life are between 28 and 30"

Anyway, we had decided a date to have the gall bladder removed - July 24th 2012.

This morning's consultation was short and sweet. "Mr McLeod, you have a cold coming on. The surgery is cancelled."

"See me next week and we'll review your blood tests and see how your cold is progressing."

So, still waiting.... Maybe we'll do the operation in August.

Is all for now..... Cheers

Health Update

Many thanks to all those who have been inquiring about my recent health.

As some of you will know, I was hit with "obstructive jaundice" while we were at the Kruger National Park in South Africa last fortnight, and, after tests in a Johannesburg hospital, was advised to return to Australia for specialist treatment.

Last week, back in Australia, I had blood tests and an ultra scan, which confirms that the "obstructive jaundice" was indeed caused by a gall stone.

If I understand it correctly (and I probably don't!), the gallstone blocks the bile duct and instead of the bile passing through into the digestive tract, it has nowhere to go, so it is absorbed into your system.

The spread of bile throughout your system causes your skin to go yellow, your urine to go brown and your faeces to go white! 

Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and gut pain become the norm.The liver is also impacted - liver function levels becomes elevated.

So, the specialist tells me that there is residual "sludge" in my gall ladder, which means the gall bladder will have to be removed - but only when the liver gets back to normal.

So. it is a special diet of vegetables, lean meat, selected fruits and NO alcohol!!

I am seeing the specialist at the end of May, when he will take more blood samples to determine if the liver has improved, and we will then assess when the gall bladder is to be removed. 

This could go on for some time. 

The specialist thinks that I am "lucky" - there is no evidence of anything more sinister (cancer) and he thinks the problem was almost certainly a gallstone which has subsequently been passed. I received a good talking to about diet, weight and fitness. 

Obviously, further travel is not an option until this is all sorted, the gall bladder removed, and then only after some sort of recuperative period.

Which means that we will have to stay in Melbourne for the duration. This means renting a house or apartment, which means, as very few places lease for less that 12 months, we ain't going nowhere for a while!

Meanwhile, although tired, I am feeling better, the urine and faeces seem to be returning to normal, so that is probably also an indicator that the stone has passed and I am slowly returning to whatever for me is normal. 

We are staying at the old Brunswick Towers Motel on Moreland Rd until we find a suitable apartment - we are looking at 5 or 6 places in the next few days, so as soon as we get settled, move in, get the furniture of storage, services connected etc etc, we will try and get to see those of you who are around Melbourne.

I want to acknowledge Su for her excellent care and concern! She's been a rock!

In the meantime, as they say in the classics, "Keep taking the pills!"

Cheers, Rod

SPECIAL NOTICE

INTERRUPTION TO ADVENTURE

We apologise for this unscheduled interruption to our latest adventure, but circumstances beyond our control have forced an early return to Australia.

As noted earlier in the blog, Rod has had some digestive problems- which intensified last week (April 24th).  He was bedridden for two days, and, after a phone diagnosis, was sent to see a local Doctor, who diagnosed "Obstructive Jaundice".

The Kruger park safari was terminated and Rod was flown back to Johannesburg for a CT scan at the Milpark hospital, where a gall stone was identified. Further tests and a possible operation was mooted. Advised by the Doctor that there was a travel window of around three days, Rod and Su returned to Melbourne on Tuesday May 2nd.

The blog will be retrospectively updated as time (and energy) permits.

We are currently staying at the Motel Dolma, Brunswick.

Wednesday April 11th 2012 - Cape Town - V&A hotel
Laps:0 Steps:0

By 9:00 we have disembarqued the ship. It was sad saying goodbye to team JERBBS  (Jack, Elaine, Rod, Robin, Barbara Su). They were a lot of fun to be with. We hope to catch them up in UK in the coming months.

Get 100% ripped off by a taxi driver taking us from the ship to the hotel. I don't begrudge this, as it is absolutely essential that this happens when you first visit a new city. Fare:150 rand. Current exchange rate is 7.8 rand to the Oz Dollar. To get an idea of prices, I divide the rand by 10 and then add back a third, thereabouts. So, 150 rand is $15 (divide by 10) + $5 (add back a third of $15) = about $20.

By 10:00 we were at the hotel. We had been advised by Arcadia that one of the best places to stay is the Victoria and Alfred (Victoria's son) waterfront area. We had booked a hotel very nearby - attached to a business school run by the universty.

Very stylish and comparatively cheap ($110 per night) compared to some of the rooms we were offered in Australia (up to $300/night).  After checking in, we went to the V&A complex - yes, another giant shopping complex. Albeit complete with waterfront, yachts, some music and a mini London eye.

We will try that when we get back from safari. We decided to walk into town - about 45 minutes. Found a nice cafe, had a meal and drank some wine. Prices are good - about 75% of that which you would pay in Australia.

                                                               Not another salad!

We get a taxi back to the V&A "Minimum fare is R50" says the taxi driver.

Thursday April 12th 2012 - Cape Town - V&A hotel 

We buy an all day "hop-on, hop-off" ticket and get to see the Cape Town sights, and hear the history. The bus also takes us to the Tabletop mountain cable car. Fare: 140 Rand each. Good value.

The Tabletop mountain absolutely dominates the city. Everywhere you look, you see bits of it. It's a fabulous view from the top when clouds are not obscuring the view. Today we are lucky - it's as clear as a bell.

Back down the mountain to the city, then dropped off in the city late afternoon.  Su buys some Tee Shirts for the grandkids in Green Market square.

                                                                   Su's new friend


 Take a taxi back - on the meter this time - R31. Getting cheaper every day!

So, we are beginning to realise that the hotel is pretty isolated, apart from easy access to the V&A shopping centre during daylight hours. We are told a taxi is the only "safe" method of getting around after dusk.  Still unsure what to believe about safety in Cape Town, we are hesitant to walk down the dark streets to the V&A for a meal, which anyway, is a bit of a tourist rip-off. We lose some weight.

Friday April 13th 2012 - Cape Town - V&A hotel 

Feeling a bit poorly with this flue thing.... Su is coughing badly, and Rod has a recurring stomach complaint as well... eeeerrrrruuuuupppppppttttt!

We decide that this hotel is wrong for us. It is nice, but tiny - and the rooms have some serious design flaws not initially recognised when we booked it. For example, the toilet and shower area is bounded by floor to ceiling glass. It is frosted up to head height and clear at the top. In the middle of the night, when someone uses the toilet, the lights shine directly into the bed area. And, for those of us with sensitive natures, sound attenuation is a big, big problem. The room is quite small - 6m x 4m x 3m high.

Time to introduce the "Body Volumes" concept.  All this started when Carolina was keening about her poor dog, Gringa, which had been placed in a kennel when she and Nick were travelling. Someone suggested that in terms of "body volumes", Gringa was doing much better in the large kennel, than living in her small dog house.  This is all very approximate.  If you convince four people to stand comfortably close together (but not cramped), they would take up a footprint of about 1 metre in floor space and around two metres in height.

This is approximately 2 cubic metres of volume. So each of the four individuals could be said to have a body volume of approximately 0.5 m3  If the room is 6x4x3 = 72m3 This means a couple will have 36 body volumes of room each. This may sound like a lot of space, but when you consider that our St Kilda house was probably 18mx6mx4m x two stories = 864 m3, then Su and I would have had approximately 430 body volumes each for living space.
 
So, back to our little cramped, badly designed hotel room. "No", the hotel had no rooms bigger than ours. They are all identically sized.  So, I did some research on the net and found a likely two bedroom apartment in Camps Bay, a beach suburb of CTown. High end, expensive, but hell we're on holidays!

Off to have a look. Taxi fare: On the meter: Rand 180. Had a feeling we went the long way round. Great body volume size (around 150m3pp), right on the beach, great balcony looking at the sea, next to cafe's, restaurants, and regularly patrolled by security people into the late hours. We agreed to take the Camps Bay apartment. www.placeonthebay.co.za    

Feeling energised, we risk taking a "local" bus back to V&A waterfront. These local buses are privately run, 14-seat vans which have a defined route, but no formal bus stops. You get picked up at the terminus, or flag them down along the route.  van camps bay  They drop you off almost anywhere you want on the route. They are cheap. We get one which says it goes to V&A, but language can be a problem. Cost 8 Rand each (Wow!! value for money here!!)

However, we end up in town and its getting dark! Nervousness starts. Should we get a taxi?? I'm determined to get a local bus, but Su is cautioned by a local South Africaan lady "Don't do it, they'll muck you round, take a taxi" However, I'm determined, so we pile in, and in ten minutes, Su recognised where we are and we stop - delivered to the door! Cost 4 rand each. I just love it!!

Saturday April 14th 2012 - Cape Town Camps Bay 

We check out, get a refund on our two unused nights accommodation, and grab a cab.

Straight there this time - 80 Rand. Better. This apartment has a kitchenette, Yippee! back to basics food! We buy some foodstuffs at a little supermarket, and eat in tonight. Baked Beans, yum.

Sunday April 15th 2012 - Cape Town Camps Bay 

Veg out today - wind gets wild tonight.


Monday April 16th 2012 - Capetown Camps Bay 

Another veg out day. Feels like a real holiday. Terrific community here in a beautiful picturesqe setting - crashing sea on a pearly white beach below rugged mountains... idyllic!

                                                                       Camps Bay

Tuesday April 17th 2012 - Cape Town Camps Bay 

Send lots of postcards.... Found free wifi at a great cafe here, .... beginning to understand why it's called "Camps Bay"

Wednesday April 18th 2012 - Capetown Camps Bay

Local bus to Seapoint, along thecoast - Rand 7 each, explore shops and sights, buy a soft sided bag for Su to take on safari, buy some liquor. Local bus back: Rand 7 each.

                                                               Another new friend

Sunsets are the best I've ever seen...

Thursday April 19th 2012 - Cape Town Camps Bay 

Sunset walk.... Beautiful.

                                                                View from our balcony

Friday April 20th 2012 - Cape Town Camps Bay 

Lazy day - write up these notes.

Saturday April 21th 2012 - Fly to Joburg

Thursday April 5th 2012 - at sea
Laps:6 Steps:85

Friday April 6th 2012 - Durban
Laps:6 Steps:85

Su's notes in italc font

Hi to all. Have succumbed as usual to the Ship virus  but spent a few hours in Durban. An hour or more getting our SA sim cards and then getting them activated. Not something to be attempted alone!

Went into the shopping mall, got thoroughly bored, and came back to the ship.

Saturday April 7th 2012 - At sea
Laps:6 Steps:85

Last night wonderful electrical storm as good as any fireworks! Ship heeling like a yacht on Port Phillip bay - 82 knot blasts hitting us side on. At last some real weather! Big white waves crashing over our balcony, drinks tables running into walls in dining room
Fabulous stuff! Tonight the same. Not sure how we’ll get down there tonight! 

Sunday April 8th 2012 - Port Elizabeth
Laps:6 Steps:85

Great day in Port Elizabeth. (we hired a six seater taxi and guide - Lester) Two parks and waddya wanna  see? 

Zebra (Burchell's with the brown stripe through the white stripe starting halfway back)  a metre from window of our car,

 giraffe and young feeding by the roadside, 






cheetahs, rhino, ostrich  and any number of gazelle, impala, nyala, blesbuck springbok,

bushpigs, lots of bambi’s, wildebeest buffalo, warthogs, meerkat, gnu, 









Cape grey mongoose, and as for lions (fun playing with dozy five month old cubs) bengal tigers a bit of a cheat. ?.. 

We haven’t even started our safaris yet!! Really good parks with natural predators which we didn't see?  Jackals and something else. .. Terrific guide we hired away from ship. ...






             Tigers, a little bit far from home.....

Monday April 9th 2012 - At Sea
Laps:0 Steps:0

9th April (hard to type with all the rolling about)
Can't get out on balcony or decks again as soon as we left the shelter of the port. Heaven knows what those little wooden ships went through coming around Cape of Good Hope after what we went through!

No walking today - weather too rough and all the promenade decks were closed. Phewww!!

Tuesday April 10th 2012 - Capetown
Laps:0 Steps:0

Too crook to do laps today. Just went into the waterfront to book our hotel.

Couple of personal notes -


Talked to Joanne Stew and Nick on Skype this morning, its great to hear the voices! 


Toni how's your training going? Keep us up to date with when and where please. We don't know any masters and you'll be a grand one.


Georgia congrats on your band result!! A national second is brilliant!! Glad you're back with the music 

African Telephone numbers

These are our South African telephone numbers:


Rod  +27 797 798 180

Su  +27 826 732 152

The "+" sign is the international code, the "27" is the country code and the remainder is the mobile SIM number.

Just type in the number exactly as shown above - the "+" sign will be suitably converted by your telephone carrier.

You can ring or send a text. Remember, we are 9 hours behind Melbourne time - when it's 6.00pm in Melbourne, it is 9:00 am in Africa.

We will shortly write up Durban, Port Elizabeth and the game parks we visited. Terrific!!

Thursday March 29th 2012 - at sea 
Laps:6 Steps:85

The sea has been very calm so far this cruise... but we are promised a change in the weather soon.

Su is a bit crook - a cold coming on?? I dine alone with our other four dinner companions.

Have I mentioned the Bose Soundlink wireless portable speaker?  I had bought some Bose sound cancelling earphones (SC3's) from  Meyers in the city, and when picking them up, I had asked idly if  Bose had a portable speaker through which I could play music from  the iPod built into my iPhone.

I was amazed at the quality of this little stereo speaker. Not that  little - 10"x5"x2" (250mm x 125mm x 50mm) and weighing a couple of  pounds (1.5kgs)

It hooks up to the iPhone wirelessly via bluetooth,  and with a rechargeable battery that last from 3-8 hours between  charges, (depending on volume), there are no trailing wires. And  excellent build quality.

It uses some of the typical Bose acoustic tricks - you set it up a  short distance from a wall and it back projects the bass frequencies  from a speaker in the rear of the unit. The treble comes from stereo  speakers in the front. An amazing sound.

So I bought one. At dusk, over a G&T or two, we have been listening  to Earl Klugh's jazz/fusion album called "Cool" with Bob James on  piano. Top stuff. This is one of the best musical bits of kit I own.  

Friday March 30th 2012 - at sea 
Laps:6 Steps:85x2

Another formal night. We have an alcohol free day and a dining-room  free day. Clocks go back one hour.

Saturday March 31st 2012 - at sea 
Laps:6 Steps:85

A pre-dinner drinks party this evening in the cabin of one of our  dinner table couples. We take some gin and the Bose portable  speaker.   Good fun. We resolve to hold another soon.

Sunday April 1st 2012 - at sea 
Laps:6 Steps:85
Clocks go back one hour.

Monday April 2st 2012 - Mauritius Isle 
Laps:6 Steps:85

We rarely take up the ship's organised tours, because they (a) cost  a lot, (b) take one to shopping centres, and (c) flood the area your  visiting, with lots of old, slow moving pensioners (us!)

The previous night, our dinner party members suggested we collectively hire a local taxi and do the sights independently. This  is the strategy Su and I nomally employ, so we gladly went along  with the idea.
One of our intrepid members duly went ashore this morning and  negotiated the hire of a local taxi for 4 hours.  We headed off towards the south of the island.

(L-R) Su, Rod, Elaine, Jack, Barbara, Robin

First port of call  was a small extinct volcano calderra, with a lookout over the  island.  Next was a diamond showroom. Groan! None of was really interested in  buying stuff, so we then banned any more shops. This raise his  eyebrows a bit, but he went along with it.





We then stopped at a hand made glass factory - very interesting. The  workers were wearing almost  no personal protective equipment (PPE) at all!!  They will all go blind and deaf without PPE.

We then stopped at a model ship factory/showroom. Despite some  initial doubts, this turned out to be a real winner. 
                       
A personalised  tour of the workshop, foundry, lathe room, assembly area, and  finally the show room, was fascinating. Check it out!!  www.mauritiusshipmodels.com


Then a drive down to the south to see the "coloured sands" - a  nature park featuring different coloured clays. Yes....

Finally, a  quick stop at a supermarket to stock up on tonic water, then the  race back to catch the ship, fighting through peak hour traffic to  get back in time.  


Tuesday April 3st 2012 - Reunion Isle 
Laps:0 Steps:0

Su's got this lurgi this morning, so I head off alone to catch the  shuttle bus, which takes us to St Gilles area, where I get some  badly needed currency out of an ATM. This island is a French  protectorate, so it uses the Euro currency, which will suit my  purposes when I get to Europe. One minor problem with visiting many  different countries, is the clutch of small notes and coins that one  ends up with at the end of the visit. I've been avoiding changing my  diminishing pile of Australian/US dollars to the point where I had  to borrow $USD10 from the taxi driver yesterday!

Anyway, in the little seaside village, I struggle to make my  intentions clear in my almost non-existent French; conversations  which ends up being part English, part schoolboy French but mostly  Italian.  Asking one shop owner the whereabouts of an internet cafe, I am  misunderstood, and am served a very good espresso coffee. With a  Gallic shrug of acceptance, I drink the coffee, and we talk about  the different ways to "correct" coffee. He then points me in the  (correct) direction of a cybercafe - "a droit!"  It was a nice, gentle, little adventure.

Finally back in digital land, where I speak the language fluently, I sit down at the computer screen, to download the latest economist!

Sacre bleu! The keyboard is French! The QWERTY keyboard is missing!  The keys are all in different places!

I have to single-finger hunt-and-peck to find the right keys to press to log on. And all the system messages, (and all the menus),  are all in French.

Lucky the Proprietor speaks excellent English, and he teaches me where the "@" sign is. You have to press a  combination of three keys to get it. I think the French have  reassigned the keyboard to fit in all those funny umlauts, graves,  ecute's etc.  So much for digital fluency.

I buy some postcards, some cheap French wine, and head back to the  ship. Good fun. Clocks go back tonight. We are now eight hours behind Melbourne  time. Su is still feeling less than 100%, so we skip dinner and have  an early night.

Wednesday April 4th 2012 - at sea
Laps:6 Steps:85

Bad weather - rain, wind, a swell, the ship is displaying a lot of movement. Not many people on the Promenade deck this morning.  I sit in the cafe and write this nonsense up….

Thursday 29th March 2012

Didn't get time to drink this in Kalgoorlie (sorry Stew!), but managed it on board. Many thanks to Mike Kaploon - and to Nick for teaching me how to upload photos!

Friday March 16 sail away 

We cab it to Freemantle and check in. Very efficient, my worst fears not eventuating: "Sorry, Mr McLeod, we don't seem to have a valid booking under your name"

"But, we were offered a refund if we gave up our special cabin and took a smaller one!"

"I can see that you did have a special cabin, but that was cancelled.... Sorry."

Anyway, all went to plan and we are given cabin A002 - the forward-most cabin on the port side, good balcony, plenty of room, fridge, TV, lounge, all the good stuff.

After unpacking all our stuff (Still too much!!), we head off to explore the ship, and later, we go to dinner to meet our new dinner companions. Two nice British couples, one of whom had flown from UK to Perth just yesterday to catch the boat back to Southhampton.

Saturday March 17th - at sea

Bands. Not much to say really... the one duo I've seen so far - guy on synthesizer with electronic backing, woman singing, is of the usual ship standard: awful. 'Nuff said.

Three times around Deck 3 (Promenade deck) is one mile. I manage 9 laps this morning.

Sunday March 18th - at sea


A very good theatre on the boat - plush seats, steeply raked, for good viewing.
Good PA system. Look forward to seeing some shows here.
Promenade laps today: 6 + 85 steps back up to our cabin up on Deck 8.

Monday March 19th 2012 - at sea
Laps:6 Steps:85

Spend the day getting lost on the boat in two of the three dimensions. Up and down the decks, bow to aft is confusing (I have to keep looking out the windows at the water to see which way we are going) - but port to starboard seems to be OK.

Tuesday March 20th 2012 - Bali
Laps:0 Steps:0

We anchor about 20 minutes from the Bali dock. Impressive! P&O have tendered 1200 people from ship to shore by 11:00 am. Very fast. I remenber the Princess took 8 hours to get 1500 passengers from the ship to the Port Arthur dock a couple of years ago. Seems to be quite well organised this boat!

Su decides she doesn't want to go ashore. I grab the tender from the ship to the local port. The free shuttle bus takes us passengers straight past the army of local Bali vendors desperate to prise my money away from me ("Foiled! Ha Ha!") and, after a 20 minute drive, the bus dumps us about two blocks from the beach. It drizzels. After a quick walk along the beach, I return to the shuttle bus and head back to the ship.
Bali - crumbling infrastructure, waterways clogged with rubbish, rotting piles of garbage piled up in tottering pyramids, mad traffic, a few mangy dogs, skinny or ugly enought to have avoided the local delicacies menu.... Not my favourite place in the world.

Wednesday March 21st 2012 - at sea
Laps:6 Steps:85

We check out the bands... there's a very good piano based trio which provides all the strict tempo ballroom music during the day and then lets-off steam at nights up on deck.  

Thursday March 22nd 2012 - at sea
Laps:6 Steps:85

Go and watch the "Killer Queen" show, "Spectacular" Music completely studio produced into some kind of musical - OK if you like that sort of thing. Some lead vocals live, but all the Queen multichorus vocals are pre-recorded. A big disappointment. Why did I expect anything else??

Friday March 23rd 2012 - Singapore
Laps:6 Steps:85

Having discounted our fares so heavily, P&O can only afford to pay for a berth at the remote Singapore container port, so we get bussed into a local shopping centre from there....

Managed to buy a few essentials (tonic water, handwash) Didn't find an internet cafe, went back on board fairly promptly. Sigh! Getting bored with visiting Singapore...


Saturday March 24th 2012 - Kuala Lumpur (Hapy Birthday, Olive)
Laps:6 Steps:85
Sigh! Getting bored with visiting Malaysia... we stay on board and read our Kindle Apps.

Sunday March 25th 2012 - Langkawie
Laps:6 Steps:85

Got off today in Langkawie to see if I could find my camera I left two years go in a little bar.

A little bit early for the bars to be open, so we amused ourselves pretend shopping in all the craft shops and then ate a tolerably good pizza, rolled out to the thinnest specifications I have ever seen!

Returned to the bar and told the sorry story of leaving my camera behind two years ago. Surprisingly, they said they didn't have it! The two barmen turned to look at each other, slapped their thighs and even laughed out loud, when I suggested it might be up on a shelf behind them somewhere! Left a very small tip!

Langkawie is a real change from Bali - neat, clean and pretty cheap. Enjoyed the short time here.

Monday March 26th 2012 - at sea
Laps:5 Steps:85 (Deck partially closed off)

Went to the "Live - Swing Music Spectacular" in the theatre, not expecting too much. Surprise! A live swing band - trumpet, trom, tenor and alto sax, bass, drums, piano. Only a little electronic backing in some songs and a good, tight, driving sound.

The singers and dancers performed solidly, but the singers particularly, were on a hiding to nothing. Trying to emulate the singing persona's of the best vocalists of the 20th century - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jn - was bound to invoke unfavourable comparison. After all, they are really dancers, not singers.

Tuesday March 27th 20121 - at sea
Laps:6 Steps:85

We've decided that we need to get to wherever in Europe we are going to settle, as soon as possible. After all, if we are based in Italy, there are few locations that are more that an hour or two by air.

So, rather than carting 70kgs of luggage around Africa, we can just pack a small case and spend a week or ten days travelling light. So, today was spent looking for a way to get from Capetown to Europe. Managed to find a cruise that leaves Capetown on May 6th and ends at Dover. As our safaris finish on May 1st, this seems ideal. The ship is with the cruise line we all love to hate - Princess line.

As both P&O and Princess cruiselines are owned by Carnaval, I thought that, ever the optomist, it might be possible to book the Princess cruise through P&O. After an hour of trying to link into Princess' system, the Future Sales officer gave up. She did manage to find out that the cruise was fully booked and the waitlist was about 60 people long, but she couldn't add my name to the list, because she could not get the computer past the question "What size dining table would you like to sit at? 2, 4, 6 or 8 people?"

I decided not to bother persuing this line of action. Undaunted, I went on line and booked a balcony cabin direct through www.VacationsToGo.com

Saw the "Merseys" tonight, comprising the lead singers from "The Merseybeats" and the "Rockin Berries" in a nostalgic 1960's concert. Pretty good.

Wednesday March 28th 20121 - at sea
Laps:6 Steps:85

Formal dining dress code this evening. This means we don't go to the dining room as I didn't pack my tuxedo....

Su's pense



Finally quit the house Thursday 8th March,  exhausted and 
grubby .... looking forward to having only a couple of  suitcases to deal with but mostly dinner with friends. 


Last night!  


It was great to see Monika and Bill after such a long time, and it goes without saying our favourite playmates and regular international discussion group members Toni and Graeme were with us. Then home to the glamour of bunkbeds at the nearby backpackers hostel at the end of the road. Never let it be said I've forgotten my roots David. No wardrobe thank goodness.


Bus to airport So on to Adelaide to rendezvous with shipmates from our first cruise Barbara and John and Greg Milkins, (sorry to miss you Wendy! ) Lee and Michael Kaploon, Nick and Carol. What a joy to see them all again. Friday dinner with all. Next day market and lunch at Chianti Classico in Hutt St. with Barbara and John. 


Fabulous food and company..


Back to hotel to meet Lee Michael Nick and Carol for dinner. Still with John and Barbara. .. 


Sunday Carol and I went to the market again but it was closed at 9am so we had breakfast. Hate saying goodbye to family. Waved them off to do some furniture for their new house in Port Pirie.
On Sunday after a few hours in the airport lounge,  we headed off to the centre of the goldfields Kalgoorlie. 


Here reside our golden boys Tex and Hunter and Stewart and Christina. The Glendevon is looking fantastic, a true labour of love and dedication. What an enormous undertakng! Can't wait to see the next stage at the end of the year.


 We had a terrific time with all, far too short as usual, and caught up again with  Christina's parents Ann and Kurt, sister Steph, Brad and Zachary.  


We took the littlies out for lunch ( lime spiders ) and an  'around the region'  local bus trip. No expense spared! It's always hard to leave the family. Hate seeing Stew driving away .... Another visit over.


I booked us into the YHA in Perth because it's good value etc. Close to all we needed. Great atmosphere and such friendly people and fab breakfast for 18 dollars for two. 


I know it from taking Su Boyle  (our friend from Italy) for the 2008 Hash House Harriers International. So far all splendid.


Having a delayed arrival in Perth and early departure we were not able to catch up with Lochie our staggeringly brilliant grandson, now 14, or Len and Aldy Bagnall. We were disappointed but nothing to be done! See you at Christmas Lochie! 


Weigh anchor and Sail Away  ... 


[Just heard thar there will be no stop in the  Seychelles this trip. Demn those scurrilous pesky piratical people.]


Rod is going ashore today in Bali, a last  minute decision after breakfast,  and I suspect he has a secret assignation with someone in an internet cafe!!  I decided not to go thus avoiding having to face the beggars like last time!  I know ..  I know!!


It's a true Indonesian day, completely overcast, a nice 25,  a light warm drizzle to paddle in. It's lovely having the deck windows to myself, lots of quiet and sea-swooshings in the background!  I might treat myself to a glass of bubbles for lunch! The house bubbles are a very cheeky Prosecco .. such a happy coincidence. I wish you were all here with us, then all would be perfect!!  A few guitars, some good harmonies, Kel the podmaster, et al. Blues Brothers renditions by Joanne  ... Ros and Bill jiving. You get the idea.


Didn't have bubbles .... Rod came back early and so we had lunch instead. He's at the movies now (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy). It was such a dark (in colour) film I went home so that Rod could relax. Not having to explain everything to me.


No extravagant sunset tonight ... We've been spoiled so far. Impossible really to capture but I keep trying. Rod took some good shots.  


I can't describe how wonderful it is to be rocked to sleep by the ocean! I haven't slept so well since the last ship. 


Our cabin is nearly at the top of the ship and so far, there's not a single thing wrong with it! No noises above or discos all night. We are right at the pointy end so may yet get some 'pitching'  if it gets rough  .. and Rod can't wait! 'Bring on the weather!' he cries gleefully, tugging on his sou'wester and buckling on his iPod. 


I'm happy to wait, it's too hard to walk about when the floor keeps dropping away. Then abruptly the knees are up under the chin.  A bit like learning to trot standing up! 


It's all about rhythm.

xxxx Su 

Friday 16th - sailing day!

Arrived in Perth last night, after a few days in Kalgoorlie with Christina, Stew and the two boys, Tex and Hunter. It was great catching up - the boys have grown in lots of different ways and each of them are developing real, distinct, personalities.

The Glendevon project has momentum now, with the upper internals being close to completion and other heritage works progressing well. Handrails, along the first floor decks, have added a dimension and depth to the outdoor area. See  http://theglendevonhotel.com/

We stayed at the Youth Hostel in central Perth last night - great place at very good rates, a private room with en suite, quiet - what more could you ask? http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/wa/perth-surrounds/perth-backpackers-hostel/

Looking forward to checking in at the ship at midday today. We are curious to see what sort of cabin we get assigned, after giving up our superior balcony cabin.

The Australian Waterside Union is on strike today  - we didn't miss their stoppage as I had initially thought we would.

And there is a cyclone developing up the West Australian coast - our itinerary is supposed to take us right through that area - could be interesting....

Internet access will begin to be a problem from now on, but we will gallently push on through turbulent, unchartered waters.

Communicating with us:-

Email addresses are extant, so please continue to use those....

Telephones: to avoid Telstra's exhorbitant international dialing charges, we are planning to purchase local sim cards wherever possible, and I will post the new telephone numbers to this blog as appropriate.
Until later!

Leaving Melbourne

Wednesday March 7th 2012.

Finally, the ardous task of boxing up all our worldly possessions is complete and today, the movers (Little Red Trucks) came to cart everything to Fort Knox, the self storage place. Both the 3x3 metre lockups are jam packed. My back is seriously complaining. Tonight we move into the backpackers motel on Fitzroy St, exhausted.

Thursday March 8th 

We clean and clean and clean. Midday, the steam cleaning man comes to do the carpet, and at 4.00 pm, I hand over the keys to Lynne, the managing agent. The place looks very good - miles better than when we moved in!!

Another night at the backpackers, this time with our noise cancelling earphones on, to cancel out the incredible noise of the St Kilda rabble that roam up and down the street at all hours. 

Don't they have a home to go to??

Then I get a call from the travel agent, telling me that our superior balcony suite has been over-booked and would we like a downgrade to a standard balcony suite?

"Not really" I answer. 

"How about if we offer you a discount on your fare?"

"OK then"

The McLeod luck has struck again!! The money we saved on the fares will (go towards) paying off the bar bill! Ripper!

A rip roaring night that evening with friends the Eddie-Pows and Monika and Bill, just down from Qld. 

Friday March 9th

Waving goodbye to Melbourne, we jet off to Adelaide and for dinner, join Greg, Mike and Lee, and Nick and Carol, down from Port Pirie where Nick now works. A good night.

Saturday March 10th.

Join old friends John and Barbara  for lunch at a good Italian restaurant called "Chianti Classico" in Hutt St. As it turns out, it is John's 85th birthday, so celebrations continue on, into the night. Fall into bed around midnight.

Sunday March 11th.

A little hungover, we take it easy in the morning and spend the afternoon in the Qantas lounge writing up these notes. We fly to Kalgoorlie this evening.

On Safari

In late April, we are meeting up with two other Australian couples in Johannesburg. We all fly to a resort at Sabi Sands for 4 days, ( http://www.lionsands.com/ ) where we will hold our 10th Grange dinner (see  http://rod-stuff.com/grange/index.html  )

Then we fly off to another resort at  Victoria falls for three nights  ( http://www.royalchundu.com )

McLeods about to go trekking again....

Welcome to our new blog. Google seems to be the simplest and quickest way to let people know what we are up to.

So lets start. Here is our initial itinerary:

March 9th 2012 - We leave Melbourne for Adelaide
March 11th 2012 - Leave Adelaide for Kalgoorlie
March 15th 2012 - Leave Kal for Perth.
March 16th - set sail from Freemantle on the P&O Arcadia for Cape Town, South Africa.

For details on Arcadia see http://www.cruiseaway.com.au/ship/arcadia?gclid=CMOLuumIn64CFQaBpAodTiO-1w


Our cruise itinerary is:

DAY DATE PORT
Fri Mar 16 Perth (Fremantle), Australia Embark pm
Sat Mar 17 At Sea
Sun Mar 18 At Sea
Mon Mar 19 At Sea
Tue Mar 20 Bali, Indonesia
Wed Mar 21 At Sea
Thu Mar 22 At Sea
Fri Mar 23 Singapore
Sat Mar 24 Kuala Lumpur (Port Kelang), Malaysia
Sun Mar 25 Langkawi, Malaysia
Mon Mar 26 At Sea
Tue Mar 27 At Sea
Wed Mar 28 At Sea
Thu Mar 29 At Sea
Fri Mar 30 At Sea
Sat Mar 31 Victoria, Seychelles
Sun Apr 1 At Sea
Mon Apr 2 At Sea
Tue Apr 3 Mauritius (Port Louis)
Wed Apr 4 Pointe des Galets, Reunion Island
Thu Apr 5 At Sea
Fri Apr 6 At Sea
Sat Apr 7 At Sea
Sun Apr 8 Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Mon Apr 9 Cape Town, South Africa
Tue Apr 10 Cape Town, South Africa
Wed Apr 11 Cape Town, South Africa Disembark am