Excellence in Travel

29/10/2024

https://www.msgongride.org.au/fundraisers/alancunningham



Alan Cunningham is riding in the 2024 MS Gong Ride, please like, share and donate

I'm taking part in the 2024 MS Gong Ride on 3 November to support people living with multiple sclerosis. https://www.msgongride.org.au/s/2375/28575/f

27/10/2024

With Lakeside Physio – I just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉

27/10/2024

Illawarra Cancer Carers what a day $50k plus raised for a wonderful local charity 💲💲💲

Without the ongoing support of so many local businesses and individuals this would not be possible 💟

I am so thrilled to be involved in this event City Beach Function Centre provided and amazing meal and venue

Thanks to all the people who sold raffle tickets 🤗 and donated prizes or purchased tickets for the event

Sue Hollick Carolyn Moselen Alan Cunningham Howard Court Julie Ann Paul Bessant Brooke-Peta Anthony Don Marlene Matthew Jennifer Turford Jackie Skeen Penny Wilson Woonona Florist Vera Rupa David Berry Alan Hollick Craig Hurkett Sandra Murphy Crown Diamond Jewellers Lakeside Physio Narelle LangridgeIllawarra District Netball Association Ivan MonslaveCity Cave Dapto Leonie Langston Coastline Driving Lessons Taronga Zoo Sydney Taronga Western Plains Zoo Greg Skeen Jacqui Conway Kay Kent Terese Strachan Breast Cancer Illawarra Fundraiser Williamson Isabella Lawyers Muz Moselen Keith Wilson Fraternity Club Fairy Meadow Wollongong Golf Club Port Kembla Golf Club Anthony Snape Excellence in Travel Stav Ioannou Maryellen Byers TAFE NSW

Thanks to all my supporters and followers for a wonderful day each and every one of you helped make a difference

24/10/2024

Come along and help continue the growth and development of grass roots Dapto Netball in the Illawarra District Netball Association

Without volunteers the club can’t function
Without a club the players vacant play

Are you passionate about netball and growing our club?

Call for nominations for committee have been sent out to members via email. To nominate for a position/s please complete the nomination form prior to midnight 22 October 2024.

https://bit.ly/402GDMD

24/10/2024

Small business is what keeps the community going

16/10/2024

Sunday, 8 September 2024

Up early for breakfast 🍳 and to deliver the hire car to the train station, it is being picked up on a car carrier to be returned to Normanton S&E Car Hire. I stroll back to the hotel to finalise the packing

Our train departs at 1pm, this leg of the “Sequel to the Great Train Journey of Australia” is one of the longest stretches on the train, and with the least amount of comfort Queensland Rail Travel

21hours and economy seats; sleeper carriages were taken out of service approximately six years ago. We soon find out so was the food service. No lunch is served, dinner will be a sandwich, think 7/11, and a juice, breakfast is cornflakes and a juice. Tea 🫖 and coffee ☕️ are complimentary - self serve at the end of the carriage

No hot food is available, no fruit, no yoghurt, a bit disappointing after the lovely service and food options on all the other services we have travelled on

Lucky I purchased some snacks; cheese, crackers and dip, on Saturday, otherwise me might starve 🤣 the only items for sale, delivered to your seat are chocolates and chips, or wine in a glass, I have my contraband and finish that plus top up with two “wine in a glass”

The arm rests can’t be moved, which makes any position other than upright impossible, 😡 wine in a glass, helps the situation. We speed along throughout the afternoon and evening, an extended stop at Hughenden

This town will be witness to the Germind Meteor Shower, December 14 & 14, with a caveat, “the wet season may increase cloud cover, which could impact on visibility”

We arrive into Townsville 10 minutes early, ⏰ with a checked luggage booked through to Brisbane, and the ability to store our other items, we head off to the local cafe, for breakfast, and to waste some time until the connection from Cairns, the “Spirit of Queensland” arrives for our journey 🛤️ to Brisbane

14/10/2024

Saturday, 7 September 2024

The end of our “Sequel to the Great Train Journey, of Australia” is coming to an end

Breakfast ☕️ in the restaurant, downstairs, compared to our dinner last night, it is very plain. Dinner was delicious, zucchini flowers, scallop risotto with pesto and pumpkin ravioli, burnt butter and sage.

Our first stop for the day is the Outback Centre, also known as the Information Centre, gathering brochures and maps, of the region and the city, things to see and do. We can’t get on a City Tour, it is a Saturday - everything winds down on the weekend, and all the shops, close at 1pm on Saturday. Coles and Woolies, have an extended trade, open to 6pm. Nothing will be open tomorrow 🙅‍♀️

We take a drive out to the lookout, 👀 only to find the road is closed, for repairs, there are a couple of other vantage points, so all is not lost, until we find one is only accessible via a steep walking track. The third option is ok, as long as you don’t have a caravan

The water tank is painted with various local animals and the view is is nearly 360’ over the city and surrounds. The city area is split into two areas, River 🏞️ Side and Mine ⛏️ Side. The local power plant is run on gas and hydrogen and Mt Isa is home to a HUGE Solar Farm, which goes on and on forever, along the train corridor, it is the Dugald River solar farm and is the largest solar facility on a remote grid in Australia, supplying 88 megawatts of power to the, I sm hoping we will see this tomorrow

Next stop is Lake Moondarra, also known as the East Leichhardt Dam, located approximately 25km from the city centre, A lovely park area, with picnic spots, water sports; skiing and canoeing, are two of these. There is no camping or overnight stays permitted in this area.

There are lots of people enjoying the sunshine; kid’s parties, families picnicking, games of frisbee and cricket are just some of the activities being undertaken. A few walkers and a couple of cyclists are braving he warmer weather.

A shopping stop for some supplies, in anticipation of our 21 hour trip on The Inlander, Mt Isa to Townsville and our day and visit to Mt Isa is completed, I was last here in 1983 with my Grandma, travelling on the bus to Darwin Adele Kluth, and prior to that it was 1982, a school excursion, again a bus trip, to Ayers Rock (now known as Uluru) Sue Hollick, Marco Brugnatti three visit in 40 years, possibly a bit higher than the average tourist

13/10/2024

Friday, 6 September 2024

Up and ready to depart for Mt Isa, turn right at the driveway, of the Gulfland Motel & Caravan Park Normanton. Drive to Cloncurry and turn right. 499km

First of all we pick up bacon and egg 🥓 🍳 🍞 roll from Rosies, they only have what they have, available until 10.30am, unless sold out before. We get the last two, on display, not game to ask if any more will be made, this morning, it is only 8.30am

Next stop is the Tourist Information Shop, it has a wealth of souvenirs and is very reasonably priced, a nice surprise in this part of the country.

A fantastic display relating to the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders, stockmen and women, of the local area who work on the properties in the surrounding areas, including one lady who is a head stock-person, and it is believed she is the first Aboriginal lady to hold such a position.

One of the stations, Delta Downs is over 1 million wild acres and is owned by the Kurtijar Aboriginal Corporation

Last stop is the Post Office, a bulk dispatch of postcards, look out in your letter box 📬, you just never know

The speed limit for the best part of the start of the trip is 110km, a short pit stop an hour in, then we are off again, speed limit drops to 100km and the road becomes one lane in lots of places, with even further speed reductions, the estimated arrival time is blowing out, as we progress

First scheduled stop is the Burke and Wills Roadhouse Four Way Cross Roads, 200km completed. Morning tea stop, stock up on lollies and a couple of drinks, thankfully we don’t need petrol, $2.40 per litre, loads of Twelve Apostle Birds, so called as they are usually in groups of twelve, and multiples of 12

Next stop we are aiming for is Cloncurry, 185km. By the time we reach Cloncurry we have driven the full length of “Matilda Way” A great chance to get out and stretch the legs (and back), the pool and park is being used to their full capacity, with lots of kids taking advantage off the wonderful we weather. They also have a great EV charging set-up

120km to Mt Isa, nearly there. We have passed millions on termite mounds, thousands of cattle, miles of fencing, hundreds of kangaroo and far too animals dead from cars and trucks

13/10/2024

How good was the Dapto Netball Net Set Go and Junior and Intermediate Presentation, 🏅Friday night Dapto Leagues Club

The committee did an amazing job, I can’t take any credit I was “train travelling with Queensland Rail Travel” while all the planning was going on 🚂

Great fun, the kids loved the glow in the dark disco, 🪩 with most of the committee up and dancing 🕺to the beat too

Keep scrolling thru the photos annd you will see Paul Bessant and I, ever faithful to the club, this year I was also able to be part of the Club Sponsors Program Excellence in Travel, looking forward to the opportunity again in 2025

All the 2024 Dapto Cherubs were here plus a growing Alumni of Dapto Cherubs, this year we were able to witness two precious previous Dapto Cherubs players, take away two of the Clubs most prestigious awards, Lillian Baines - Deb Kennedy Award and Jessica Keys - Clubperson of the Year

Well done ladies, you are very worthy recipients and it has been our pleasure 😍 to watch you both, and all the other Dapto Cherubs, over the years, grow and develop into young people, with a love for life, the community and most importantly Netball 🏐 💙💛

Looking forward to a bigger and better 2025

12/10/2024

Thanks to Ross Transport for helping with storing these important support aids for our local community
Illawarra Cancer Carers and their trusty band if merry men and women who help maintain, repair, catalogue and sell this invaluable equipment
Another one if the innovative ways this amazing local charity helps the Illawarra

The Annual Banquet at the Beach. Is coming up very soon, City Beach Function Centre is the place to be seen
Sunday, 27 October
11.30
Come Fly With Us
Enjoy lunch, drinks and have the opportunity to win a Diamond Tennis Bracelt, thanks to Crown Diamond Jewellers for their continued support

Contact me this weekend to get your tickets, sales closing, time ticking

10/10/2024

Thursday, 5 September 2024
Gulflander - Croydon to Normanton

The staff Croydon Club Hotel take our luggage, 🧳 including the walker to the station, and mum and I meander down. Stopping to look at the Men’s Ward, it is a lovely old home, complete with a wrap around verandah, relocated to this site, in association with the demolition of the original hospital

Dave, Danny and Kiwi are readily preparing the train, for an on-time departure, there are not many passengers returning to Normanton, in fact, it is only mum and I 🚂

Yesterday, the train was full, we feel a bit special today

One gentleman is going as far as Black Bull and the other passengers are two of the “track and inspection crew”

We enjoy the rocking and rolling of the train carriage and tack along making great time. Morning tea is a muffin and coffee at Black Bull, again, this has been the tea-stop since the 1890’s and a chance to review the original Queensland Rail infrastructure and stretch the legs 🦿, no other travellers make it much easier to explore the site

It is worthwhile going back, as you get to see all the things we missed on the way down 🥰

Croydon was a lovely village, and the hotel room had the best disabled access bathroom and room layout, for anyone with mobility issues, we have had on this trip, once past Brisbane

We are back in Normanton at exactly 1.30pm, ⏰ the tourist information shop is not open, that will be a job for the morning, we were going to have a drink at the Albion Hotel, sadly it is not mobility friendly. The other establishments don’t look overly friendly, mobility ♿️ or otherwise

Petrol ⛽️ for our drive tomorrow, $2.05 per litre

10/10/2024

A range of outdated equipment is left along the line, the scenery is ever changing and interesting, as we travel towards Blackbull for morning tea

This is filmed thru the stairs and open door, no electronic doors to close

The train crew, received a complaint, a few years ago, a passenger wrote to Queensland Rail, to express their disappointment in the scenery. It was boring, lots of dead trees and the animals were hard to see.

Can’t please all the people all the time

10/10/2024

Thursday, 4 September 2024
The Gulflander
Normanton - Croydon

The train Gulflander and line are Heritage Listed and it is 96 miles, between the two towns. This line is still measured in miles, on the left hand side of the track 🛤️, in direction of travel to Normanton, the right hand side is km, for track maintenance crews. It is not connected to the Queensland Rail Travel Network and the original plans were to have the line go to Cloncurry, the discovery of gold at Golden Gate changed these plans, and the line was deviated to Croydon

We are given a metal tea-cup ☕️ for a morning tea break, we will stop at Blackbull, for tea and cake 🧁. We also get a souvenir booklet

The train travels up over the ridge and at the top of the ridge, we stop to see the “flood marker” the 1990 flood 🌊 is about 30cm off the bottom, the 1974 flood, as a direct result of Cyclone Tracy (25 December 1974) measures above the top of the train carriage, it is hard to imagine this amount of water. Normanton and Karumba were evacuated as a direct result of the cyclone

Along the way, we are provided a running commentary of all the wonderful things we pass by. This includes stopping at the 38 Mile Marker, East Hayden, to deliver the mail 📮. This was a regular event, once, now it only happens on the rare occasion, it is nice to be involved in a practice of by-gone era

Animals we spot, include eagles 🦅, kanagaroo 🦘, lots of assorted bird life 🦜, including ducks and pigeons. We also learn about the railway line repairs and maintenance crews who still check the line every week. A commemorative memorial is located along the line, for a young road worker who was killed while on leave. There is also a un-marked grave from many years ago. Fortunately the track crews and the main roads staff maintain both of these sites

The driver gives lots of interesting facts about the various trees 🌳 along the way, including the rubber tree, which was/is used in golf balls ⛳️ and dentistry 🦷

We arrive into Croyden, promptly at 1.30pm, a walk and scooter ride to our accomodation 500m up the road, is an oasis. Croydon Club Hotel, the last of 16 pubs, in town, is a delight. The staff are super friendly and the accommodation, is first rate “disability access”, better than the majority we have experienced along this journey

I enjoy a swim, it is over 30’ and the water is refreshing, Lakeside Physio will be pleased when I assure him I have been continuing with my exercises 😂

The kitchen opens at 5.30pm, dinner tonight is garlic bread 🥖 pork chops 🐷 and prawn cutlets 🍤

The sun sets 🌅 over the railway line and another day of our holiday is completed

09/10/2024

Tuesday, 3 September 2024

We drive back to Normanton, to stay one night, before joining the “Gulflander” tomorrow to travel to Croydon

We see out first Cane Toad, as we are leaving our accommodation 🐸

Lunch is at Rosie’s Cafe, opposite the Purple Pub, but not before we inspect the largest crocodile, 🐊8.6m long (about a car and a half in length) captured in this area, if not the world in 1957 by Krystina Pawlowski, the beast is know as Krys, in HER honour, a renowned female crocodile hunter, famous for her one shot kills, pink nail polish and immaculate hair, regardless of what’re or what she was doing

We eventually locate our hotel and settle in for the afternoon, some washing and a swim, 👙there is very limited (unreliable) internet again today

We elect for room service meals, collect your own, and enjoy a glass of wine 🍷 with our prawn skewers 🦐and chips

An early night for an early start, Normanton S&E Car Hire have arranged for us to be able to secure park, in the railway staff carpark, great service, for our request to “one way hire, to Mt Isa. Highly recommend if you need a car in this part of Australia 🇦🇺

09/10/2024

To be a successful club, we need volunteers
If you are a senior player. One along and vote, have your day on how YOUR club is managed in the future 🏐

Are you passionate about netball and growing our club?

Call for nominations for committee have been sent out to members via email. To nominate for a position/s please complete the nomination form prior to midnight 22 October 2024.

https://bit.ly/402GDMD

08/10/2024

Monday, 2 September 2024

I drop Paul and Ayla to the airport, then mum, return the car and catch the shuttle to the airport, a busy morning 🌞

Our plane departs on time, the ground crew and first officer in Cairns, could not be more helpful for mum, she is lifted to the plane, and helped into her seat. Due to the alcohol restrictions in the Gulf area, no alcohol is permitted to be carried or served on the flight

We descend into Normanton, with a thud ‼️ our hire car is in the car park, as promised and the engine is running, to allow the air conditioner to cool the car, it is 29’

We head out to Karumba, travelling along the Matilda Way, for the evening, a drive around the town, there is a Barramundi Hatchery, a large wharf, lots of boats, a primary school, supermarket and a pub.

There is a pumping terminal at the rear of our accommodation, filling road trains, constantly. We later learn this is “tailings” from a local mine (over 500km away) which are piped to here, then transported to the coast, for export to various countries in Asia and beyond

Our destination for dinner this evening, with a bonus sunset, is Karumba Point, along the way, the golf club is alive with wallabies, they are very small, 🦘they are having a feast on the greens and surrounds

The sunset at the Gulf of Carpentaria, is nothing short of stunning 🌅

I will let the photo’s tell the story

07/10/2024

Sunday,1 September 2024
Fathers Day
Cairns

A lazy morning, though Paul and Ayla are up early to enjoy a swim. I do some work, clients want to travel 🚂 ✈️ 🛳️

Lunch is booked for 1pm, Paul, Ayla and I wander the streets to do some shopping, lots of stores are closed, no Sunday trade in Cairns!

Lunch is a seafood platter for two, with a side serve of crocodile spring rolls 🐊, which we all share. Mum and I share the bottle of wine, taking the rest home to enjoy later this evening

The restaurant is busy, with lots of families celebrating🥰 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦

After lunch Ayla and Paul enjoy a swim, the water is a bit too cold for my liking, and the afternoon sun has gone from the area, I watch from the balcony

Later in the afternoon Paul, Ayla & I take a stroll along The Esplanade and enjoy a ride on the Ferris Wheel, dads are free 🆓

Sadly, our holiday is coming to an end, with our departure from Cairns tomorrow, Paul and Ayla back to Sydney, mum and I, heading to Normanton, Rex Airlines are still servicing the rural and regional areas of Australia

06/10/2024

The Annual Fundraiser is back, same amazing venue, great food, local entertainment and with the same goal! Raise funds and awareness for the Illawarra Cancer Carers

The Illawarra Cancer Carers sewing ladies will be there with a selection of hand made items for sale, a chance to do some early Christmas shopping

Prizes to be won, games to be played (please bring cash) silent auction items to be purchased and a major auction plus the raffle will be drawn LIVE. All funds raised stay with the Illawarra Cancer Carers

Limited tickets are still available https://bit.ly/4dMGL6F

Or if you would like a chance to win tickets (2 people) to enjoy lunch, overlooking City Beach, with drinks and entertainment at City Beach Function Centre

Sunday, 27 October 2024
11.30am

Simply like and share my page Excellence in Travel

Winners will be contacted and announced on Sunday, 20 October 2024 at 3pm

Looking forward to the day and to help raise money for a wonderful local charity

03/10/2024

Saturday, 31 August 2024

Reef Experience - our day to trip to the Great Barrier Reef, mum is coming along for the ride, our boat ⛴️ is due to depart the Cairns Wharf at 8.30am

The ride to the reef is smooth, and takes 90 minutes. First stop is Normans Five Finger Reef, the water is crystal clear as we get off to snorkel, Ayla-Rose is off and swimming, with no fear or concern, at all, she is even able to swim underwater, breathing with her snorkel, very impressive, it is something I have never been able to master 🤗

We spend about 45 minutes in the water, observing lots of lovely fish and beautiful coral. Lunch is served, as we make out way to the next snorkelling spot

It is just as peaceful and lovely as the first, though this time I stay onboard, and watch. Ayla and Paul have two swimming sessions here. As we are preparing to depart a large sea-turtle 🐢 is seen, he is very majestic

An opportunity to enjoy the sun-deck on our way back to Cairns, it was a lovely, if not exhausting day.

We must stop at reception, Georgia Kate has sent flowers for Paul for Fathers Day 🌸, they are beautiful and he is very surprised 😘

The majority of the photos are taken by the professional photographer, on board. I’ll let the photos do the talking, they are beautiful