SYDNEY:is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania.
Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds the world's largest natural harbour and sprawls towards the Blue Mountains to the west. It was discovered by James Cook in 1770.
There are numerous inlets & bays like intriguing PARSLEY BAY, being so serene and isolated that to many locals it is still a secret place.
Residents of Sydney enjoy living in the most liveable city in the World like my childhood friend RICKY are known as "Sydneysiders".
JERVIS BAY:
with powder-fine sand and 102 sq kms of clear turquoise waters, the beaches of Jervis Bay on the NSW south coast are amongst the safest and most beautiful in the world.
Hyams Beach:Winning the Guinness World Record in 2006, Hyams Beach is renowned for having 'the whitest sand in the world'.
Jervis Bay is one of the best fishing destinations in NSW. The dedicated marine park ensures plenty of species to enjoy, like Flathead, Kingfish, Tuna & even Marlin.
POINT PERPENDICULAR: Is one of ONLY two places in the World where land based game fishers can catch Marlin from these 100 meter spectacular sheer cliffs.
NAROOMA:A costal town of 2,500, its name derived from the Aboriginal word meaning: CLEAR BLUE WATER.
MONTAGUE ISLAND:9 kms offshore is the largest island off the NSW coast after Lord Howe Island. It has been classified by the National Trust as a Landscape Conservation Area for its scenic, scientific and historical values. Around 90 bird species & 12,000 little penguines live on the 200 acre Island.
Several fishing charters boats leave from the Jetty along BLUEWATER DRIVE, when staring into the crystal blue waters don't be surprised to see Australian fur seals and huge manta rays playing under the charter boats.
THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS: or informanly as the (SNOWIES ): is the highest mountain range on the continent of Australia.
The range is also home to a mountain Plum Pine Conifer, that is the World's oldest living plant.
The highest peak in Australia is MT KOSCIUSZKO which reaches 2,228m ASL. Snow usually falls during JUNE, JULY & early AUGUST.
The range is perhaps best known for the SNOWY MOUNTAINS HYDRO-ELECTRIC SCHEME, which employed 100,000 men from 30 countries in 1939.
This scheme symbolises a period just after WW2 in which Australia become a ethnic melting pot.
RIDGES JINDABYNE RESORT:offers guests quality, affordable accommodation. Guests can dine in McEvoys Restaurant or Horizons Family Bistro. Hop into the indoor heated pool or onto the tennis court.
BRIGHT:
situated in the OVENSVALLEY around 319m ASL, at the foothills of Mt Hotham & Falls Creek which are 2 very famous Victorian ski resorts.
Renowned for its beauty in every season and particularly in Autumn with the natural beauty of the glorious European deciduous trees, changing colour before winter.
Come and discover the abundance of activities and things to enjoy, plus the famous Bright Autumn Festival...Mild days and crisp evenings makes a perfect place for a holiday.
The local area has an abundance and variety of plants and animals. Many wildflowers, large and small trees, undergrowth and even ferns can be seen close to each other.
Within literally just a few minutes walk from the town center.
Along OVENS RIVER you can see platypus, fish, yabbies and amphibians in their natural environment.
Overhead there are dragonflies, harmless native bees and many species of birds including willy wagtail, kookaburra, magpie and cockatoo.
ASHWOOD COTTAGES BRIGHT:"The Studio" is a unique style modern two storey cottage. It features parquetry flooring downstairs, open plan modern lounge, dining and kitchen, tinted windows, decking area opening of the living area with a setting for two and a BBQ overlooking the rural garden setting and backing onto the Ovens River.
ECHUCA:Located on the banks of the mighty Murray River, the twin towns of Echuca/Moama are an easy two and a half hour's drive from Melbourne. You're invited to explore the historic Port of Echuca and Wharf which is recognised as one of Australia's finest heritage icons and is home to the largest Paddlsteamer fleet in the world. Echuca, an Aboriginal name meaning "Meeting of the Waters" is indicative of the role rivers have played in the town's existence.
By the 1870s Echuca had risen to prominence as Australia's largest inland port. Being the point of shortest distance between the Murray River and the major city of Melbourne. Steam-driven paddleboats would arrive at the 400-metre long redgum Echuca Wharf, unloading it to be transported by rail to Melbourne. Wool, wheat, other grains, livestock and timber were the most common cargoes and all the boats were owned and controlled by the FREEMAN'S FAMILY.
The wharf has been listed as a Heritage Place on the Australian National Heritage List.
The port is home to the world's oldest operating wooden hulled paddle steamer: THE PS ADELAIDE built in 1866.
BEECHWORH BAKERY: Tom O’Tooleis by far, and without a doubt, Australia’s most entertaining, motivating and unorthodox speaker. He's also the owner of the most famous Australian bakery chain.
MILDURA:is a regional city of 31,000 in Victoria, often referred to as where the Mediterranean meets the outback!
It is known as the center of Australia's FOOD BOWL and is a major producer of fruits and wine supplying 80% of Victoria's food.
Also most of Australia's dried fruit, grapes, citrus, almonds, pistachios, olives, carrots and asparagus are grown in the Mildura region.
Because of its importance there is a "fruit fly exclusion zone" thus it is illegal to bring any fresh fruits and vegetables from outside into the Mildura region.
Random roadblocks are set up to detect violations, which can result in fines up to AUS $20,000..... OUCH!
Mildura's most famous chef and restaurant are Stefano de Pieriand his Italian
restaurant, Stefano's.
STEFANO'S:restaurant, located in the cellar of the Grand Hotel
at 135 Langtree Ave Mildura, it serves only locally grown produce & wine.
NURIOOTPA:is the major commercial center in the Barossa Valley of South Australia, about 1 hour drive north fom Adelaide. It is a picturesque town with grape wines growing on many buildings of the main street and vineyards surrounding the town
It is also home to many famous wineries including: BETHANY, WOLF BLASS & PETER LEHMANN.
PENFOLDS:Penfolds Grange is an Australian icon, a heritage listed wine protected by the National Trust of South Australia which captures both a sense of place and the essence of Australian agricultural ingenuity and innovation.
Heritage comes with a price as this famous 2 bottle GRANGE box & video set retails for $6,000.
SCHULZ:
The story of the Schulz family in Australia dates back to 1849 when, according to early church records, Johann August Schulz arrived aboard the ship “Australia” from Posen a small province in Prussia.
In 1994 some 140 years later, Marcus Schulz a fifth generation vigneron was the first of the family to dabble in making wine from the grapevines planted by his forefathers. Initially these wines were made solely for family and close friends but after some gentle coaxing and prodding Marcus has released these wines commercially for the first time in 2004.
In the SCHULZ WINES tasting room above, were I chatted to MR Schulz and purchased some of his famous MARCUS SHIRAZwine named after himself. He told me that a little bit of this wine even goes into the making of GRANGE.....
MAGGIE BEER FARM:
was established in May 2014 with one purpose to improve the food experience for everyone in aged care. Of course though the purpose seems simple, the implications, the needs, the opportunities, the reasons, the difficulties and the resolve present a rich recipe; and for that we need the help of many committed people who will follow us on the journey.
40's CAFE PIZZA:This cafe in ANGASTON of the BARROSA VALLEY was the winner of the best pizza in Australia. So we had to try the seafood pizza for lunch. It was very delicious as expected.....hehehe
ARDROSSAN:is a town on the East coast of the YORKE PENINSULA, about 150 kms, (90mins) by road from Adelaide.
It is notable for its deep water shipping port, and its 30m towering coastal cliffs of red clay.
But its main claim to fame as the signs show are CRABS..........
If ‘blue swimmer crabs' are your favourite, then this is the place to rake in the shallows at low tide.
One of South Australia's small pleasures is crab raking, or "dabbing", as the locals call it, a common pastime in the Yorke gulf regions. We raked up over 20 within 1 hour.
After raking up the crabs, the next process is cooking for 6 mins in boiling salt water. Be ready on the clock, to quicky cool them off in icy cold water for the best meat texture.
The delicious results speak for themselves, we tried 1/2 boiled and the other 1/2 on the BBQ.
TIDDY WIDDY TOWERS:
was our comfortable accomodation only 5 mins walk to the crab raking beach.
Nice views of the beach right out in front, LOW TIDES are the blue swimmers raking times & HIGH TIDES are the whiting fishing times.
While staying in the seafood capital of Australia you would be crazy not to wet a line and try your luck. Which I did with a couple of the famous fishing charter companies below.
I ventured out 22 kms to the Sir Joseph Banks Group of 21 islandswith skipper David for a full day of fishing some of SA’s best KG Whiting grounds.
The group is named after Sir Joseph Banks,who was a sponsor of the 1802 Investigator voyage.
What a fun filled day, all 4 of us bagged out on the max allowed limit of (10) King George whiting per person. In addition I also caught (6) red rock cod & (1) flathead.
The King George whiting or (Sillaginodes punctatus). The largest whiting in the World is endemic only to Australia inhabiting the south coast of the country from Jurien Bay, WA to Botany Bay, NSW. Growing to a elbow slapping length of 72 cm and 4.8 kg in weight.
WHY NOT FISHING CHARTERS:
provides access to the fish rich & wild waters with spectacular scenery of southern Eyre Peninsula Islands, they also allow anglers to target a selection of Blue Groper, Snapper, Nannygai, Blue Morwong.
The morning departure was around 7:00 am from the Port Lincoln Marina.
Convenient as we were staying in the Marina Villaonly a 5 minutes walk away.
Travelling over 80kms out to the NEPUNE ISLANDSnamed by Mathew Flinders in 1802 as they seemed to be inaccessible to men of that time. Over 200 years later and not much has changed, as it takes over 2.5 hrs at full steam just one way to arrive at the fishing grounds.
But well worth the time & distance, as the results speak for themselves, heaps of HQ eating red Nannygai (Alfonso) & Snapper up to 3kgs.
