Road Trip - Day 3: Canberra to Sydney

We were up early (still some residual jet-lag effects that have us waking up at 4am), to be greeted by a clear and crisp Canberra morning.  We checked out of the hotel and set off to do some sight seeing and check out a couple of national monuments in the nation's capital.

First stop was a drive up to the Mt. Ainslie lookout.  From this vantage point you overlook the entire city.  As it was a nice clear morning we had a great view.



View of Canberra from the Mt. Ainslie Lookout - Australian War Memorial in the foreground with Parliament House on the hill on the far side of Lake Burley Griffin

After getting a view of the city from the lookout we decided we would stop briefly at the Australian War Memorial and Parliament House before departing for Sydney.

The war memorial is a very large and moving place that recognizes all wars and confrontations that the Australian military has been involved with and the men and women that have served and fallen in those conflicts.

Below is a photo of 'Simpson and his Donkey' with a wounded soldier.  At Gallipoli in 1915, Simpson was a medic and his donkey was essentially an ambulance.  Together the two went forward multiple times to the battle front to retrieve wounded soldiers and return them to the field hospital.  Unfortunately, Simpson was killed after just four weeks of the battle.  The statue and story is very moving.

Simpson and his Donkey

A quick drive past Parliament House to see where the politicians tend to behave like children under the guise of running the country (they are the same the world over), and it was back on the road towards Sydney.

We made it into Sydney without event and checked into our hotel overlooking Coogee Beach - this place was our treat for ourselves and the views all along the beachfront were beautiful.

Heather on the Coogee Beach boardwalk

Tomorrow we will confirm our appointment to pick up Bernard from quarantine and then spend time in the Sydney area as we watch the clock slowly move towards collection time on Sunday morning... we can't wait!

Road Trip - Day 2: Balranald to Canberra

Day 2 was an uneventful drive across the Hay Plain.  Not much to see other than birds - Wedge Tailed Eagles taking advantage of the kangaroo road-kill, some emus in the scrub off to the side of the highway, pelicans along the irrigation ditches, sulphur crested cockatoos and plenty of the loud and slightly crazy pink, grey and white galahs eating grass seeds right on the edge of the road.

The countryside started to improve markedly as we approached the town of Wagga Wagga.  The flat saltbush plains gave way to gently rolling hills and grassland - I am sure the sheep and cattle are happier here than their brethren on the plains who are really doing it tough!

After a stop for lunch in Wagga, a short drive had us in Gundagai where we stopped to take a look at a pioneer monument - a statue of 'The Dog on The Tucker Box'.

In old Australian English, 'tucker' is food, so a 'tuckerbox' is a food chest. The dog was a drover's dog (a drover was a long distance overland cattle or sheep herder).  Being the faithful companions on the trail that dogs are, this monument shows a dog guarding his master's food chest.

We arrived in Canberra late in the afternoon and were greeted by one of the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos mentioned earlier as we checked into our hotel.

After a counter meal (this is a pub meal for those unfamiliar with the Australian terminology), it was off to bed with some sight-seeing around Canberra on the program for the morning prior to setting off for Sydney and the beautiful Coogee Beach - pictures to follow in the next installment of WTF? - Where are The Farrows?

Road Trip - Day 1: Adelaide to Balranald

We departed Adelaide on a wet and windy Wednesday morning en route to Sydney to spring our dog Bernard from the quarantine lock-up.  Along the way we would pass through a number of distinct regions, each of which has it's own name.

Although our drive took us through the Barossa Valley wine district just north of Adelaide there was no time to stop in at any of the dozens of wineries for any sampling - we were on a mission!

Onwards to the South Australian 'Riverland', which is a big fruit and nut growing region (olives, avocados, grapes, oranges, almonds).  We stopped briefly in the town of Renmark on the banks of the Murray River for some lunch before continuing our journey.

Soon after pulling out of Renmark, we crossed the border from South Australia into the state of Victoria and continued towards the regional center of Mildura.  Mildura has a population of about 30,000 and is the biggest town in the district called the 'Sunraysia'.  This is also a fruit and nut growing precinct that straddles the Murray River.  It does not rain much in these areas and there are just a couple of major rivers that are the source of water used to irrigate all of the agricultural activities that occur out this way.

From Mildura, which sits on the southern bank of the Murray River, a bridge took us immediately to the north side of the river and into the state of New South Wales (NSW).  The road ran parallel to the Murray for a while before the two diverged and the road continued across the western portion of what is known as the 'Hay Plains'.  For those of you that think that southern Saskatchewan is so flat that you can 'watch your dog run away for three days', I think the Hay Plains might have Saskatchewan beaten when it comes to being flat and featureless - perhaps a five day view if you have binoculars that are powerful enough!

So, after a fairly leisurely 585 km drive from Adelaide, we arrived at our destination for the first night about ½ an hour before sunset.  The small town of Balranald, which is situated on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River, is also on the main trucking route between Sydney and Adelaide.  The transport trucks rolled through town all night but our motel room was far enough off of the main drag that the rumble didn't really bother us.

Tomorrow we set out towards Australia's national capital of Canberra.  Hopefully we will arrive early enough to take a few photos of some national monuments to include in the next installment of WTF? - Where are The Farrows?

Family Catch-Up, Koalas & Jet Lag

We arrived in Adelaide last Friday afternoon and headed straight for the hills just a few kilometres east of the city centre.

My sister Nicole, and her husband Michael, live up there on an acre or so of land and we are staying with them for a few days before a quick 1,500km road trip to Sydney to collect Bernard once he has been released from quarantine.  We will then turn around and the three of us will return to Adelaide and move into our own short term accommodation.

Over the weekend the weather was great and we had a relaxing time catching up with not just Nicole and Michael but also my aunt Christine and her son, my cousin, Marcel when they came up the hill for lunch on Sunday.  Marcel and I could not work out how long it had been since we had last seen each other but that didn't matter it was just really nice to get together again.

After lunch, we had a nice surprise when some Australian wildlife presented itself to us.  We noticed a pair of koalas in one of the large Eucalyptus trees that surround the house.  These koalas are apparently regulars here.  The trees around Nicole & Michaels' house are part of their territory.  We managed to get a couple of nice photos of them, one of which you can see below.



This koala was quite happy to have his photo taken!


On the jet-lag front, we are slowly getting over it.  We tend to run out of steam around 4 or 5 o'clock each afternoon but with company we have managed to find a second wind and stay awake until about 9 pm before having to give up and go to bed.  Then, almost like clockwork we will wake up just after 2am each morning - we lie awake for an hour or so (sometimes two), then fall back to sleep until we finally get up around 6am for a coffee while we listen to the birds stirring and watch it become light outside as the new day begins.

Soon enough our body clocks will be in the right time zone and we will be back to normal.

Next post will likely come from somewhere on the road between Adelaide and Sydney.  Stay tuned...

Arrival in Australia

G'day everyone!

We are back on Australian soil.

The flight was pretty smooth with only minor turbulence every now and again across the Pacific and we actually arrived 30 minutes ahead of schedule - good news, right?

Yes and no - while the flight was shorter than it normally is (that's the good news), we still didn't get off of the plane any earlier as our gate was not ready for us (that's the not so good news).

Once at the gate, we were then required to sit for another 10 minutes while the Australian Quarantine agency fumigated the plane.  They open all of the overhead lockers and spray the inside of them with some sort of disinfectant, then walk back up the aisles spraying the same stuff all over the place with everyone having to remain in their seats as they do so - and we thought our dog Bernard was the only one of us that had to go through a quarantine process before being let outside!  Note: to any of you from overseas that are planning to visit us here, this happens on every long haul flight that arrives in Australia (not just the ones delivering Canadians to these shores).  That's something for you to look forward to (or at least prepare for) - it is our governments little way of saying "Welcome to OZ"!

After all of that, with our Australian passports in hand we breezed through immigration without a problem - membership does have it's privileges!  Our luggage showed up on the carousel after just a short wait and then it was out through customs and into the world.

We made a bee-line for the lounge at the domestic terminal and each had a refreshing hot shower.  A cup of coffee while we looked out of the windows at the pouring rain coming down on the tarmac and we started to relax.  We had a couple of hours before our flight to Adelaide so a glass of good Australian red for Heather and a cold beer for me and we really started to feel as though we had arrived!

Arrival In Australia - May 1st 2015

Not sure what the next blog will describe but it will once again answer that burning question - WTF? - Where are The Farrows?

Heather & Grant leave Canada

After a long and drawn out process our departure day has finally arrived and the beautiful sunny 21°C day that Toronto has put on is the best weather that has been seen here since October last year - maybe we should stay?  No - we are well beyond the point of no return at this stage to be changing our minds now!

Bernard update:
He departed Vancouver on-time just before midnight on Tuesday and as the eastern time zone folks were getting into their work days and the early risers on the West Coast grabbed their first coffee on Wednesday morning, he was passing overtop of the Hawaiian Islands.  All has gone smoothly so far and with 5 ½ hours in the air behind him, there is only another 10 hours to go.

As for Heather & myself, we leave Toronto this evening 'wheels-up' at 8pm.  We wish it was earlier in the day as we are all packed and ready to go.  The time spent just waiting seems to pass so slowly - at least it is a nice day for a walk outside.

Fast forward ➡➡ to 6pm Wed 29 April 2015, and WTF? - Where are The Farrows? at the moment?

We are checked in all the way through to Adelaide.

• Air Canada will take us from Toronto to Vancouver (5 hours);

• After a 1½ hour stop in Vancouver we continue with Air Canada through to Sydney (15 ½ hours of flying time);
• A 6 hour connection time in Sydney awaits us but that was our choice so that we can comfortably clear immigration and customs.  You never know how long things can take when you tick the 'citizen returning to resume residency' box on the entry form.  We also need to get from the international terminal across to the domestic terminal in Sydney (a 5 minute walk then a further 5 minute bus ride away);
• A refreshing shower, a change of clothes and a strong coffee or two in the QANTAS lounge will help make us feel a bit more human again before our final flight;
• QANTAS (stands for Queensland And Northern Territory Air Services), also known as 'The Flying Kangaroo' (see logo below), will take us on the last leg from Sydney to Adelaide (1½ hours)

With 22 hours of flight time and about 8 hours of processing and waiting in various airports along the way we will have been en route for around 30 hours by the time we collect our bags (hopefully) in Adelaide.  Needless to say (but I will say it anyway), we will be shattered by the time we get to my sister's house in Adelaide late on Friday afternoon.

So, to answer the question posed earlier, WTF? - Where are The Farrows? at the moment?  - we have just settled into the comfy chairs in the Air Canada lounge at YYZ (Toronto) for a pre-flight cocktail or two.  If we were smart we would have our drinks standing up because we have nothing but being seated for hours ahead of us.  Not so sure how smart we are but we ARE ready to go!

 

Heather sending final Facebook goodbyes from the Maple Leaf Lounge in Toronto

That is it for now.  There will be at least 30 hours of 'radio silence' from us while we move ourselves from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere, and do a bit of 'time travelling' as we cross the international date line (we leave Vancouver on Wednesday, fly for 15 ½ hours but when we land in Sydney it will be Friday) - Thursday never happens!

Stay tuned for our next blog posting which will be our first from Down Under...

PS: Have been tracking Bernard's flight - he has just landed in Sydney.  That first pee on Aussie soil after 20 hours in his crate is going to be some sweet sweet relief !!!

Parting thoughts

For Heather, born and raised in Canada, she is leaving home and that is a tough thing to do but the silver lining is that our move to Australia is also a return to her adopted country.

For me, the move means I am leaving my adopted country to return to my birthplace.  While I am 'going home' I am also 'leaving home'.  I have taken some time to reflect upon what Canada means to me - it took me longer than I thought it would and got deeper than I thought it would too.  As the process went on it became all the more important to me so I started to write a few things down.  Below is a summary of my thoughts and feelings...

New adventures are exciting but in order to start the next phase in our life together means the end of a special and very significant part of my life.  It is with more than a little sadness that I have to accept that fact that tomorrow we will be leaving the Great White North.

For the last 21 years of my life since I first arrived on January 3rd 1994, I have lived and worked in Canada for all but 3 years and 8 months of that time.

During that time I have experienced several life changing moments:

• Most significantly, when in Vancouver I met, fell in love with and married Heather, a Canadian girl that grew up on the prairies but calls Vancouver home - best thing that ever happened to me;
• Learned to love the Canadian way of life.  Long summer days camping amongst the abundant green forests and fields, blue skies backing snow capped mountains, clear crisp rivers, all of the wildlife - beautiful stuff.  Even the winters, some colder and longer than others, were fun:
• A couple of Vancouver winters were a gentle introduction to Canada as the winters there don't really count at all;
• 11 winters spent in or north of Yellowknife, NWT and 3 prairie winters in Saskatoon were a true taste of the 'real deal' as far as winter living is concerned - if that sort of time served doesn't qualify you for at least 'honorary Canadian' status then I don't know what you have to do;
• The last 3 or 4 Toronto winters, while not exactly 'hard' (but don't tell that to Torontonians), were a nice way to enjoy the snow and other winter activities without being in the deep freeze for months on end.
• Spent 3 1/2  great years in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where we learned some unique things about the place:
• Roughrider Green is the dominant colour in the province:
• A CFL football team can still lose a game after the time clock has run out;
• Perogies and an 'Old Pilsner' makes for a decent breakfast after a morning spent curling;
• Daylight saving time doesn't have to happen in a progressive society
• Also during our time in Saskatchewan, we were adopted by our dog Bernard when he was but a fluffy 9 week old, 13lb puppy living on a sheep farm near Kindersley, Saskatchewan.  He has since grown into the 150lb master of the household that exerts WAY more influence over what we do in our daily lives than a dog ever should.  We have enjoyed every day of the time we have had him and hope that the fur coat that worked so well for him in Canada does not become too much of a burden for him in the heat of Australia;
• I finally became a Canadian citizen in May 2013.  For the record, this remains a proud day in my life and I don't understand why I didn't lock this in sooner.

Below are some images of Canada that are immediately recognizable to all that have spent any time here and will be part of my memories for ever.

It is sad to go but that time has come.  A fond farewell to all of the friends we have made and colleagues we have lived, worked and played with from the West Coast to the Arctic to The Prairies and Ontario and to all the other places across the country we have visited and enjoyed while here.

An open invitation exists for anyone that makes it to Adelaide in Australia to visit us and stay a while and catch up on old times and make some new ones.

Bye for now.