Galvo's Life

Broome - The Finale

2009-10-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

Well it has all come to an end, for the trip around Oz anyway's.

it has been a real eye opener and a get to know one another experience for sure. We definitely were all ready to return home and even though a great time was had we were getting pretty sick of living in the camper trailer and undoing zips!!!! I would be happy to never have to undo another zip for a long time:)

Well this is my last travel post I hope those that have been reading and following along have enjoyed our little journey but all good things come to an end:(

This blog will continue however but with a different theme as as the title reads it is about my life.

As some of you may know I have decided to take a different route in life and head towards a career in a not so mainstream area but one that whether like it or not you are all part of and that is the Stock Market. We all have super accounts some have share investments through fund managers, others do a little stock trading etc So we are all exposed to a different degree. Anyway basically I am going full tilt into it and learning about how it all works, how economy's relate to each other and hopefully make some money along the way. But to me it is not just about making money it is a progression to a better way of life for Myself and the family. So as most of you on the email list that this goes out to won't really understand what I will be discussing, I am taking everyone off the mailing list as I only am allowed 10 addresses these will be taken up with fellow graduates and my coach, if you wish to check out what is going on from time to time just bookmark the page and have a look every now and then. Till we meet again

Galvo

Broome What can I say????? We lived here for 8 years and it holds some very special memories and some very close friends live there. The colours are outstanding and a photographers paradise from the ocean to the red cliffs and white sandy beaches.

We stayed for longer than expected as we were waiting on parts for the trailer as we were still having running gear problems, the manufacturer stood up and replaced all the running gear and upgraded the brakes for us to 12" electric off road which i must say is a huge difference in stopping power and has taken a fair bit of load of the cruiser!

The kids had a ball catching up with friends and playing on the beach, I had a great time flying on Cable Beach landing into magnificent sunsets:)

Deb's had a great time catching up with close friends and getting to relax as there were no deadlines.

Our close friends John and Sally let us stay at there property at 12mile and we had a ball just hanging by there pool and socializing (guys I never actually took any photos sorry). We also stayed at Gavin and Sarah's house in town also a swimming pool and many great meals and conversations were had I am missing these guys already.

Weather was sensational up there water was perfect temperature and well it was just Bloody Fantastic.

Anyways thanks for being a part of our life over the last year. I hope you enjoyed and got something out of it and remember live life and take every opportunity you can before it gets taken away.

Sayanara

Galvo

Nice Catch Gav

Almost Nice Catch Gav

Sarah and Deb's - Out to Party

The Kids Playing

Time To Leave Broome:(

The Whole Town Was Glad To See The Back Of Us

Fishing The Fitzroy - Unexpected Catch

Stand Off

About 6ft long

Broome Coastline at the Port

Looking The Other way

Playing At Cable Beach

The Girls at Guantheume Point

Broome Colours

Cable Beach Camels

Broome Frogs Keep Proving The Healthy Environment Frog Theory Out the Window - because most live in the sewer or your toilet? And that ain't a healthy place to be!!!!!

Humpback Whales Checking Our Catch- didn't take them long:)

Fathers Day Lunch at Zanders- You know your in Broome when you get the bill!!!!!

That's It
Galvo

Gibb River Rd

2009-09-14T18:06:00.001-07:00

Hi All Well We have been in Broome now for 3 weeks , had a ball and a great place to get stuck,.
The post Office lost our mail,and we had to wait for trailer parts so we have been here longer than expected.
It has been great though as we have had places to stay so haven't had to fork out heaps for accommodation.
he Gibb River Road was easy and basically a graded highway so not really an 4wd adventure anymore, if you want that you have to get further out which is becoming hard as either pastoral lease or aboriginal land and has been lock up!!!!
As it was getting late in the season and water was drying up we just did the main part of the track and went to the usual spots none of my special ones.....
Anyway it still is a beautiful part of the world .

Galvo

Tunnel Creek

Windjana Gorge

Bell Gorge

Barnett Gorge Art

Galvan's Gorge

Pentecost River (Big crocodiles here)

Cockburn Range (Our Office) See Emily holding the modem

Sunset Pentecost River

Barnett Gorge

Chamberlain Gorge - El Questro Station

Chamberlain Gorge Art

Kapok Tree

Kurrajong Tree

Emma Gorge

Emma Gorge

Emma Gorge

Emma Gorge

Pentecost River Upstream

Hiking up Emma Gorge

Galvo

The Bungles

2009-09-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

Well the Bungles didn't disappoint as usual, It is truly spectacular scenery and the colour range is magnificent. I don't think there is any more spectacular scenery in Australia than the Kimberly!
We are still with the Wellmans and are having a blast the kids are really enjoying themselves.
The road in was good basically just a graded road now with some creek crossings .
Anyway i hope you enjoy a snapshot of some of my pics.
Galvo

The Bungles are not just about the beehive domes

Balancing Rocks,Walking under these is a bit nerve racking.

Echidna Chasm

Ray of light Echidna Chasm

Another Perspective

Livingstonia Palms

Kununurra and Wyndham

2009-08-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

Awesome Scenery flying The Bastion

Sunset - I am flying at the bottom of pic Picture taken from the Bastion

Flying above the Pub luckily the landing is only 100m down the Rd

Parrys Lagoon Observatory

Getting a bit of height

I must say it was bloody beautiful from whee I was sitting.

Icon of the Kimberly - Boab Tree

Wandjina Art

Well Kununurra a favorite place of mine as the you are right smack bang in the middle of the Kimberly with some amazing scenery around some great galleries, great fishing and did I mention the scenery?

Here I had to do trailer repairs (again) We were still hanging out with the Wello's and took a trip across Ivanhoe crossing to Wyndham via the back track also stopping at the Bird observatory where I think I saw more birds up close than any other I have been to.

After I had finished repairs we moved to Wyndham for 4 days and I got some flying in with 3 days of flying what a great site but there was an inversion happening and I couldn't seem to break through it so didn't get to high but about 300m above the Bastion, What a view I wish I took the camera up for some pics:( I did get some video footage so will make up a You tube Vid when I get a chance!!

Well the weather has been hotting up with temps in the 30's we are finally getting some beach weather just need a beach??? Bring on Broome.

Galvo

Alice Springs to WA Yippee

2009-08-24T17:50:00.001-07:00

Well we are off along the Tanami towards WA and Halls Creek, there is an air of excitement and even the girls are excited although I don't think they realize just how far away we still are...

The Tanami is in really good condition and we met another couple traveling with there 2 kids and we did the trip together so a little bit of security there. It was good because the girls had some other kids to play with instead of boring old mum and dad.

We had a look at Wolf Creek Crater which was great for a sunset and on our way to Halls Creek I got my first flat tyre for the trip not bad considering I only had road tyres on.

We then had a bit of a look around Halls Creek and went out to Palm Springs and Sawtooth Gorge. We camped at Palm Springs and the colours of the rocks at sunset was magnificent.

It is great to see Halls Creek looking so good the alcohol bands seem to be having a positive effect as the town was clean and tidy with some great new facilities and new houses.

Warmen community( Turkey Creek) was the same and It was really refreshing to see the black fellas taking pride in themselves and the kids looking great. here was a nice gallery here and some refreshing aboriginal art that wasnt just dot paintings, more a contemporary feel.
They use only natural pigments as well and there colour range was fantastic .

Next stop the Bungles which Debbie is excited about as she has wanted to come here for years.

It does feel good to be standing on home turf again

Miles Birthday and camp oven choc cake

Wolf Creek Crater

The Wellmans and Galvin Clan - Wellmans are Josh Lisa Miles and Riley

Wolf Creek Campsite

Palm Springs Halls Creek

Awesome Reflection
Galvo

Cairns To Alice

2009-08-09T03:36:00.000-07:00

A rare pic altogether

The Changing colours of the Rock ( No filters or imagery has been added)

The Walk Up Uluru

We didn't do it.

Rick my paragliding guide in Alice Springs (This is by far my hardest launch)

A shot of Rick with Alice in the background

Camp along the Plenty Hwy

Termite Mound Plenty Hwy

Camp Sunset Plenty Hwy

Hi guys

Well have been without Internet connection for a while now as we have travelled the outback, with only brief periods of reception I am now once again way behind on my blog:)

We are still having trailer problems with the bearings getting hot (I have had them in and out 3 times) and the brakes giving me grief. It looks like I will be up for more cash and I am a little disappointed as this was an expensive trailer??? We have had nothing but trouble with the running gear since the new axle was fitted in Emerald.

Anyway on a better note we have had a bit of a blast in the NT and I managed a great flight in Alice Springs, 2.5hrs flying the cliff face right next to town bloody magic.

The new alcohol restrictions had us having to go dry at Uluru as we forgot to get booze before we left and the prices at the rock were lets just say extreme!!!!

The rock was amazing though and hopefully I will get some good images to blow up when I get home.

Further on we visited Kings Canyon but was disappointed as it just was not that great although we didn't do the rim walk due to Lucy.

The weather in Alice was bloody freezing with the day temps around the 22deg mark down to zero at night with ice on our kitchen bench one morning.

Anyway there is a bit of excitement in the air as we start to head west towards home.

Galvo

Cairns

2009-08-09T02:36:00.000-07:00

Hi followers and reli's and anyone who blunders onto my blog.
yes I know I am a slack Ba&$ar* and I say I will do better but never do:).
We are now in Wyndham and I am writing about Cairns:)
Cairns was bloody great that's all I am going to say and I could easily move there.
The wonderful people we met in Eungalla took us in and basically we felt like family so a big thanks goes out to John,Gale and Anah for your hospitality and you are welcome by my campfire anytime.....
What did we do?
We just had a good time going to the beach swimming pool catching up with Dick ,Fleur and Cale, we shopped drank I had a few flights from Rex's lookout and had my first trike flight which took me all the way from south of Cairns to nearly Cooktown (Bloomfield).
We also had an adventure camping trip to Cooktown where we followed an local blackfella into there weekend retreat which turned into a bit of a night mare as we ended up doing damage to car and trailer, probably the roughest track I have been on and the length with the trailer made it hard to get around trees and some we didn't hence the damage.
the beach when we finally got there was littered with rubbish.
I caught some small Barramundi but had to let them go as to small:(
Then back to Cairns for a week bloody lovely.
See ya for now
stay tuned for the Plenty Highway to Alice Springs.
Galvo

Our Airport (A small tin shed)

Sunrise

Flying Low along the Daintree

Local Scenery

More of

As above

Bloomfield Airport (our destination) John ,Greg and Leisle

Another nice beach

How good is the scenery

Our Rig I flew with Leisle on the way up and back with Greg.

More sunrise

Sign at Bloomfield airstrip

Any crocs down there?

More great scenery

Galvo

Paronella Park

2009-07-13T18:31:00.001-07:00

Paronella park was apparently a QLD must do...........
Basically built by a mad Spaniard and then it has been battered by several cyclones and now is basically a ruin but a family is flogging it off as tourist destination . was OK and an interesting story,gardens were impressive as planted from scratch.
But a few hours here was more than enough we camped overnight as tours were included in the fees.

Etty Bay

2009-07-13T18:10:00.001-07:00

Hi there again
Well from the Whitsunday's it's further north to a small beach called Etty Bay.
It was used by the Yanks during the war for R&R and the cassowary's come down the campsite to say hi every day. We spent 2 days here and had a great relax after our stressful time in the Whitsunday's :)
For those that don't know it's the dad that looks after the young, once the eggs are laid it's all up to him.

Lucy makes a new friend

First footprints on the next beach

Dad and chick

Dad

Airlie Beach - Whitsunday Is

2009-07-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

Link to Deb's underwater shots just double click on it ( mum)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=557602038&aid=102005#/album.php?id=1312418400&aid=28546

Hi Ya's All.
Well this is an exciting chapter so hang on to your seats for the big adventure.

We got to Airlie Beach and the weather has turned for the better absolutely fine Sky's warm weather and there is a nice buzz emulating from the camper now :)
We debated on he prospect of doing some trips out to the reef and the Whitsunday Islands but was pretty expensive for a family and was basically a bus run with heaps of tourists on the boats, so we then looked at going to stay on one of the islands, once again pricey and not only that you then had to buy all meals at the restaurants at over inflated prices mmmmmmmmm what to do now...????????
Well I have a yachting background and decided to check the Bare boat company's out and there were some good deals so we blew the budget and got one for a week:)
This gave us the options to go where we wanted, dodge the crowds,fish off the vessel, go sailing in a magnificent part of the world, it was our accommodation and last go snorkeling ourselves on some great coral reef.
The deal was done and the stage set for a sailing adventure.The kids have never been on a yacht so a great opportunity for them.
We had our briefing on board and stocked her up with beer and wine oh and some food:)
Then hit the hi seas.
I hope you enjoy some of the small highlights of our trip, it was a beauty ,the weather was excellent and only got a bit windy and rough on the last day.
I highly recommend everyone does this in there life time.

Our Yacht "Kickin Back"

A friendly local came and joined us for breakfast

Ahoy me maties ,you wouldn't' have any spare sunflower seeds would you...

Some of the reef we were snorkeling around

A big big big GT (giant trevally) about 80 to 100 pnds.

Elvis The Maori Wrasse Debs has some underwater pics of us swimming with this monster and patting it underwater. A magnificent animal.

Unfortunately there was no fish on the line:(

Debs on a little beach

Hang on the beach is a little bigger

Now we are getting lonely

Hill Inlet with Whitehaven beach in the back ground.

Now that beach doesn't look to crowded ? Lets Go

Finally something to eat ( Golden Trevally)

Another awesome Sunset

Eungella

2009-07-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

Hi all
Well our trip from Maraboon to here was a bit interesting with some dodgy work being carried out after our last little episode. Our hubs were still getting red hot so after some close inspections I realised the brake pads were rubbing so I removed them so we could make camp. Towing a 2ton camper without brakes is interesting to say the least.
Anyway all fixed except a spring needs replacing again but will sought that out in Cairns.
Eungella (yun-ga-la) was about getting some last thermic flights before we head back across the desert to Perth and it also is a fantastic tropical rain forest area.
We did some hikes got leaches crawling up our legs and shoes, saw some more platypus and I got some flying in.

A big kiss to all my fans

Pioneer Valley

Just Enjoying Life

Looking back towards launch (on the top left)

Lake Maraboon Pictures

2009-06-01T04:17:00.001-07:00

Debs Out on The Lake

Lake Maraboon

HaHa Pigeon

Rainbow Lorakeets

Rainbow Lorakeets

Our Deck

Lucy Was In Her Element

Drama's On The Highway

2009-05-31T18:45:00.001-07:00

Hello There
Well the good mechanical run couldn't go on forever and it finally happened 35km outside Emerald on our way to do some fossicking for saphires out around Willis gem fields.
The trailer bearings seized thankfully on the outside of the road as the trailer dropped and noises occurred.
AS I started to slowdown Debs looked at me and said "Whats that"
I pointed out the window so she could see the wheel overtake us in a ball of flames.
It started a couple of fires on the way which I managed to put out and travelled about 500m coming to a rest about 200m in the bush over a railway line in a paddock.
So we ended up after much frustration getting a tiltray to come and pick it up the next morning .
Thankfully know one broke the locks and stole anything!

We ended up staying at Lake Maraboon and had a OK time out there managed to catch a few Red claw, and Debs had some nice paddles in the Yak.
The birds were really friendly and if you had toast on the deck you got mugged by the Rainbow Lorakeets.
We ended up 6 nights here and now we have arrived at a beautiful spot in the rain forest called Eungella which also has a great launch and one of my last chances for a thermic flight the weather has turned to crap, hence the blog catch up as we are directly under the tower and have the fastest connection we have had on the whole trip:).

Roadworks aren't going to be happy

The Site - I Have Crossed The Rd As Safer

The Damage
Another View

Loading On

Loaded

Fraser Is

2009-05-31T17:17:00.000-07:00

Fraser Is was pretty amazing, we had good weather for all but the last couple of days, I even managed to get a flight in Here's a link to a small video I have posted on You Tube Click Here

We fished a lot (not much luck) Mostly just hung out and toured most of the Island.
Lake McKenzie and Lake Boomajin were amazing and crystal clear.
Anyway we had a great time the dingo's never harassed us, well worth a visit.
I guess the only disappointing part was the amount of rubbish washed up on the East coast:( it was everywhere and of course the morons who couldn't walk an extra 3oft to put there bags in the bin and left it out for the crows and Dingos. Morons!
Enjoy the Pics
Galvo

Maheno Shipwreck

Maheno

Sandblow-One Of the Many

Lake Boomajin

Dingo

The Beach Highway

She is So Cute

Eli Creek

Launch

Enjoying the Elevated View

Em's 9th Birthday

2009-05-31T16:17:00.001-07:00

Our home at Inskip Point near Rainbow Beach while Deb's was in PNG delivering babies for a couple of weeks.
The beach was only 50m away.

Time For Some Fun

Debs got back on Emily's birthday What a present.

Time For A Movie

The Girls Just Love The Beach

Tin Can Bay Dolphins

2009-05-31T15:54:00.001-07:00

Hi There Tin Can Bay was great as the girls got to feed the dolphins three times each as there was not many people there. The dolphins names are Mystique and Harmony but don't ask which is which.
Turned out to be a really fantastic day.

Captain Grace

Northern NSW to QLD

2009-04-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hello to all my followers (All 3) :)

Well it has been a long time once again but due to pressure I have to rise from my beach towel and put finger to key.

Well I think I left you hanging while we were in the Goldcoast, from there we headed south again to a friends house, Madison and Karens property just inland from Byron Bay.
At this stage the weather was still not so good but not to wet. Everyone had a great time and Madison was great with the kids, they got to have rides on a big quad bike, play with the chooks and cows, I got a surf at Byron, Debs got some shopping done and everyone got on really well.

We got some amazing pics there as they were high on the hill and the valley filled with cloud but clear above and there were some awesome sunrises.

I got an invite to Killarney from Mad's as there was a group going and the weather looked good so off we went for a week flying with other pilots, it was a great experience and launch was stunning. The town was small and not a lot there and our caravan park was very noisy (roosters,crows,trucks and loud bangs from the fields to keep the birds away) but the flying was great and the local farmers very friendly and helpful.

From there we moved onto Canungra where we had a great camp along side a creek with platypus in it which we saw most days and could get fairly close in the Kayak.

I had some great flights here as well and the kids loved liloing down the creek, heaps of canetoads here and alongside Heinze Dam there were literally hundreds of thousands of toadlets.

I managed a personal best here flying 26km from Beachmont to Beaudesert (Pauline Hanson Country), I should've gone further but made a wrong decision which put me on the ground.

While we were here we drove into Sea World and spent the day there, it was a rip off but the kids had a great time and the shark pool was awesome. It was here that some low life stole Debs camera...

By now the rain had started to fall a bit more regularly and we spent our last night anxiously watching the creek rise after the caretaker mentioned that a caravan had been washed away where we were camped a couple of years ago, needless to say no sleep for me that night but we were prepared with a fast pack up as we had put everything away already. the creek only rose about 1.5m and still had a couple to go before it affected us.

After Canungra we went and stayed with some friends from Broome, Belinda, Mark, Zacharia, Samuel and Bridie, the rain didn't let up and the mould moved into the tent with a vengeance so out with the bleach and a resealer, took a full day and we were lucky that it didn't rain most of the day and there was a breeze blowing so it could dry out, but then it poured for another week and we had to hit some trouble spots again but now all good. In the end I think it was 22 days straight of light and torrential rain, not good when in a camper trailer. :-(

We were glad to get out of the mud and move onto the Glass House Mtns where Chris and Bill met up with us we only had a couple of days rain then the weather improved and has been great ever since :-)

The Glass House Mtn's were pretty awesome , amazing structures and make for some interesting scenery.

We were just a short drive from Australia Zoo so we were off to check that out as the kids have wanted to go since the start, I was very impressed with it, in fact the animal enclosures are the best I have ever seen and have way more space than any place I have ever been, they had a wide range of food selections (even healthy stuff unlike most zoos) and was at a reasonable price in fact normal price. We were also lucky to have Bindi there and Terry and Bob made an appearance as well. The bird show in the Crocautorium was fantastic as they released a whole heap of native Australian birds to fly around the audience and land at various places, it was funny seeing black cockies and rainbow lorikeets dive bombing the audience and just flying around close to everyone then the trainers would give a hand signal and they would land on there arm and they were gone. They included a fair bit of humour in the show as well. It was a great day.

So Chris and Bill left and we headed for Rainbow Beach where we are camped now. Just me and the kids as Debs is in the PNG highlands with the headhunters,we don't have any contact so hope is all going well and I am sure it is.

So it's me and the kids I would love to say it is all going smoothly but Lucy is missing mum and is playing up a fair bit but Em and Grace have been behaving themselves, I think I will just have to wear them out more.

We are camped at Inskip point about 40m to the beach and the weather is great and the water is starting to clear up, I had a small flight the day before Debs left and the coastal scenery is awesome as it gets it's name from the different coloured sands along the cliffs.
Well Debs is back in just under 2 weeks but I'm not counting and we are off on a boat to Tin Can Bay tomorrow morning to feed the dolphins so hopefully should be a good day. We have been fishing heaps but absolutely nothing :(

See ya later and will right again soon promis (yeah right)

Gold Coast Camp

Madisons and Karens Property And our New Camp 4 Days

Morning Mist

Sunrise Mads House

Mads Clowning Around

The Girls

Emptying The Rubbish Farm Style

Sunset Profile Mads and Lucy

Killarney East Launch

Killarny East Launch

Camp Canungra

Satin Bower Bird

Waterfall

Em Grace Lucy

And Then It Started To Rain- Canungra

Sea World

Polar Bear at Sea World

Big Bird Sea World

Lucy's Reaction to Big Bird

Sea World

Aquarium

4D Movie -You get wet as well and smoke fills the room. This is where debs camera went missing :(

Still Raining Glass House Mts (About 20 Days Straight Now)

Australia Zoo

If Left Alone It Is Possible For A Salt Water Croc to Grow This Big, Scary

How Cool Is This

And This

Terry Irwin Made an Appearance

The Bird Show Was Awsome. We were Graced With Heaps of Birds Flying Around And Joining The Crowd

Bindi And The Crocmen (kids Loved It ,But Way to Naf For Me)

Dingo- The Animals Here Are Treated Like Royalty

Emily Was Terrified

Mary Caincross Rainforest

As Above

Glass House Mountains

Galvo

Blue Mountains,Sydney to Goldcoast

2009-03-04T14:25:00.000-08:00

Well finally I have had a decent Internet connection and time where I can sit down for a day and review our adventures. As this is how long it takes with this Blogger to upload pictures.
We left Bundeena for the Blue mountains and we had a neat little free camp set up in the bush.
The weather was somewhere between raining and really hot.....
We managed some of the shorter walks and I also managed to jump off one of the cliffs for a fly which was awesome even though it was short and not very high the scenery was great.
It was during this time here that we were to learn of the tragedy unfolding in Victoria and our hearts go to those caught up in the bush fires.
From the Blue Mountains we headed for Gosford to get some warranty work done on the trailer, we rented a little (tiny) cabin in a caravan park for 5 days while this was being carried out and the weather was terrible solid rain all week.
As we had an offer to stay in Sydney with the Malouf's who we met in Kangaroo Valley we decided to head down while they finished the work on the trailer and stay in a real house!!!!!
We had an awesome time in Sydney and our hosts were fantastic , we even had choccies on our bed when we arrived:)).
The house overlooks middle harbour and has fantastic views.
They are just great people and we really hope to be able to catch up with them again soon. Thanks George,Suzy,Caitlin and Jonty.
They eventually forced us out kicking and screaming into a mud hole called Myall Lakes :):):) As there had been so much rain in the last 10 days the campsite was mostly under water but we found what we thought was a dry spot until it rained more that night:((.
But that was the last rain and we got to try out the new YAK ,the Blue Beast
I went for a 12.5 km paddle and had blisters on both thumbs to prove it, Debs went on a couple of girlie paddles but loves it.
After we camped at a spot called Tiona just south of Forster in the Booti Booti National Park. It was here that i managed to use the yak for some fishing and got a good haul of Flathead , well actually Em caught 2 I caught 3, Grace the fishing nut didn't do so well but she did try hard.
Debs went on a bigger paddle and the wind was up with some chop about so she raced home as she had a bit of a scare (The Wus).
I had my first surf in 15yrs and it wasn't pretty at an awesome beach called Seal Rocks, Debs went for an ocean paddle and got cocky as she had thought she had got back to the beach safe through the surf, Then got slammed on the beach by a small wave , she had a huge lump on her head and lost her sunnies.......... it was funny though.
I went out to show her how to catch the waves and got slammed myself , This Yak is better for cruising and fishing than the surf:)
We then headed back into Laurieton for some flying and i managed to get some low flights and a OK one off of North Brother but no XC (cross country).
From there it was onto the Gold Coast for a course I am doing on share stuff via the Waterfall Way which ended up being a really long way round caught a heap of trout but all small.
Anyway here we are in Surfers paradise surrounded by high rises.Weather is great, thunderstorm last night perfect today.
Sorry about the wait
Galvo

Blue Mountains Train Ride

Three Sister's

Three Sisters

Morning Shot- Blue Mountains

Our Ferral Kids

Taronga Zoo

Our Pet Monkeys

Seal Show

Like My Whiskers

Markets-Sydney

Guess Where?

Grace Doing Her Bit

Caitlin And Jonty Malouf

Ferry To Sydney

The Malouf View

Kids Dress Up

Princess Grace

Princess Lucy

The Monsters Turn Into Angels

The Smile Says It All

Our Mudhole-Myall Lakes

Debs And Her New Toy- The YAK

Sunset -Tiona

Tiona -Sunset Flat Head City

Indian Head-Laurieton

Ebor Falls

Dangar Falls

Wollomombi Falls

The Big Prawn

Canberra - Kangaroo Valley - Bundeena

2009-02-02T14:44:00.000-08:00

Hi again
Well here I am sitting in a superb location (After we cleaned up the poo and toilet paper from some moron) in the bush in the Blue Mountains in the Megalong Valley.

Birds are going off kids are in school and Lucy is well just being Lucy (loud).

We have had a busy time holidaying since my last post and there has been a mix of emotions from meeting great people to the lows of the War memorial in Canberra and seeing just how bad our Grandads had it over sea's and the horrors that they were a part of, to the living conditions in the mud and cold. This is a place that every Aussie should visit I spent two days there but coulde have spent longer and I would be lying if i said i didn't have a tear in my eye the whole time I was there, in fact even now just thinking back another has formed.

The national Museum in canberra was a disappointment lots of open space very little content :(.

The Zoo was pretty good with an aquarium and good reptile display, the big cats also had good open areas and I managed to get some good pics of a few of them.

I had a couple of good flights here and I had to get out of bed at 5am to fly one sight bloody crazy but good fun, the guys in the local club were great and I would love to come back.

After Canberra we ended up on the coast in Moruya and we rented a dinghy for a few hours fishing ,lots of tiddlers caught and a small amount of sunburn.

From here we went to Kangaroo Valley

This turned out to be a great move as we met some great people and had a fantastic time .

The kids made friends straight away Lucy lost her trainer wheels and the families all hit it off as well, so a great Australia day weekend was had.

There were heaps of Wombts and Goanas and I even saw two lyrebirds which was a bit of a highlight.

After KV we headed for the coast again so i could possibly have a fly at Stanwell park a famous Aussie flying site, we camped close by in Coledale which was on the beach, it had the potential to be a great spot but due to being right next door to the toilets and a truckstop it lost it's appeal as Debs and i were getting no sleep and the weather was no good for flying so we hightailed it out of there to Bundeena in the Royal Nat Park.
My cousin lives here and it was great to catch up, we had lunch one day over in Cronulla at Hogs Breath where I had a steak that was supposedly cooked for 18hrs?
The next night we rode our bikes to my cousins (Jeff , Barbara and Ollie)
They had cooked up a storm and some of the tastiest curries Iv'e had in a long time. On the way home we saw a deer as well.
After Bundeena its to our current bush camp in the Blue mountains.

Heather on an early paddle KV

Our campsite KV

Now this is unbelievable if you had have seen the rig he was using?? Maybe the fish was either stupid or had help :)

George with his prize catch

Wally the Wombat

Our Red Bellied who was around most days.

DS Party

Canberra Zoo- Olive Python

Mr Murray Cod

Mountain Lion

Tiger- Two great shots

The kids all love the Dingos

Rock Python
Canberra Pilots are a bit weird

Lake George - Sunrise before flight

Sunrise Lake George

What are we doing the sun isn't even up yet.

Stanwell Park-Bummer i never got to fly here. Awsome coast line.

The War Memorial-Canberra . These men of the 2/16th my uncle Sully would've fought alongside. The ones that never came home.

There are heaps of these figurenes of all the different battles throughout the memorial.

Stained Glass at the Hall of Rememberence

Simpson and His Donkey

The faces of all the soldiers(prisoners) killed on the Sandokan Death March- Murdered by the Japanese

Lest We Forget

A small portion of the men killed-WW1 Galvo

South Coast to Canberra

2009-01-10T02:05:00.000-08:00

Well guys a lot has happened we had a great time in Corryong, We swam in the Snowy River, Got the highest I've ever been on my glider just over 9ooo'

Had new years eve with a load of cowboys and generally just had fun.

Tumut campsite while we were waiting for mail turned out to be a highlight, And it was a great place for our mail to be held up....

We are now in Canberra and I have had 2 short flights and have been to the Zoo and National Gallery still heaps to see and do But that's for the next post. hope you enjoy some of my pics i even braved letting go of the controls to take some pics in the air.

Steve

On the Road from Buchan to the Snowy River

Lunch Pit Stop (can do these in 15min start to Finish)

The Mighty Snowy River

The Kids Li lowing Down the Snowy River

Emu and Chicks

Snowy's

Rest Stop

New Years Eve- Corryong Rodeo Heehaw

Somewhere near Corryong

Corryong- Nice boots approx 1100m off ground, My First Climb here at 5.30pm I took to 2700m.

Corryong Launch - Clearing Left of Centre Forground-Mt Kosiosko small peak right of centre in background.

Rockflat Campsite-Tumut on Goobragandra Creek (Best to date and Free)

A Rare Moment Debs in the water, It's finally warming up Yippee

I even Caught 2 trout-Rainbow's One upstream and one Down

Blowering Dam Wall with the Tumut River in Background (Crystal Clear)

Blowering Dam

Portland to Apollo Bay-The Great Ocean Rd

2008-12-25T15:22:00.000-08:00

Well Guys I've been a bit slack and haven't done any work on my blog ,but in my defence I've been busy having fun.....

We are now in Apollo Bay ,well actually it's our last day here after 10 days of mixed weather.

We have had a day of 80km hr winds all day,or 42knots. But that day was warm, we have had rain but only light and we have had nice sunshine with a cold wind chill.

I have managed to log a few hours of flying which I have filmed some of so stay tuned to more boring air footage ,i will try and add some good chilled music so you can fall asleep easier :).

Xmas Day was fantastic great weather hell I even got wet up to my shorts teaching Emily to Surf (Vid to come) . After the pressie thing and a huge feed of pancakes and ice cream and chocolate almonds to many coffees I ran up the hill and had a great 1hr flight, back home for light rest a couple of ales then down to the beach for the surfing lessons.

The kids got spoilt as usual but it was so good to actually be home for Xmas as last year I was offshore getting ready for a cyclone, in fact it was this day(Boxing Day) I tore my tendons in my shoulder.

So it has been a whole year since I last worked.......fan bloody tastic!

OK Mt Gambier was our next spot after Tunkililla then onto Portland. Had a great bush camp there and did some mountain biking as there was a race track around our campsite, then it was a long drive to Apollo Bay where we have been based ever since.

We have been on some rain forest walks,Koala spotting,paragliding,fishing(no luck) and just relaxing.

A highlight has been the platypus that lives in the creek right in front of our tent as this is the first one we have ever seen and managed a couple of photos last night after trying all week., boy there weird.

I'm not looking forward to packing up and leaving but we must and am keen to get to the warm weather. So it's off to Torquay near Melbourne tomorrow and the rest of the Great Ocean Rd which is truly and awesome drive and scenery is well scenic.

Galvo

The Big Crayfish

Mt Gambier Sink Hole

Blue Lake Mt Gambier

Sink Hole -Mt Gambier

On the Ground -Greys Rd Kennet River - Great Ocean Rd

King Parrot - Great Ocean Rd

Koala- Greys

Apollo Bay- Flying

Strong Wind Apollo Bay - Using car as wind block???

Grace- Cute As

Lucy- Gorgeous

Emily & Grace

Cape Otway Lighthouse

Otway Nat Park- Triplet Falls

Triplet Falls

Mountain Ash - Largest Eucalypt

The Otway Fly-I hate manmade structures and get scared of heights on them, Funny really??

From The top of tower - Otway Fly

rainforest Walk-Otway Nat Park

Run

Oops

Xmas

The Look Says It All

Water Rat

Platypus
Platypus-Weird huh

The End to a Great Day

For more adventures and pictures go here to the kids own blog, see Emily Surf the huge waves, Hear ferocious koalas it's all there.

http://littleaussieadventures.blogspot.com/

Steve

My Photo Album

2008-12-14T21:53:00.000-08:00

http://picasaweb.google.com/Galvo703/GalvoSLife#
http://picasaweb.google.com/Galvo703/FlyingPics#
Links will take you directly to the photo Album.
Sorry about the previous link.
Galvo

My You Tube Page

2008-12-12T15:39:00.000-08:00

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=OhJ5wrxrEkY&feature=channel_page

Adelaide and Kangaroo Is

2008-12-10T03:18:00.000-08:00

Well we have left Kangaroo Is after nine days of blustery conditions and rain :(. We still managed to have some fun though and I even caught a couple of fish and some Marron and Yabbies so we ate well one night...

We managed to see some koalas but not as many kangaroos as we thought and really most of the animals were dead on the side of the road....
There was so much road kill it was hard to believe really so there must be plenty of wildlife around just that we didn't see a lot . Although we did see heaps of seals and we met some funny Italian campers as well who thought like us that Australia was warm in the summer and had no warm clothes so all there photos for the last month they were wearing exactly the same clothes
We only stayed in Adelaide for a couple of days , and a place called Rapid Bay on the Flieuier Peninsula for one night before KI.

After KI we raced to a spot called Tunkillilla which happens to be a good flying spot and as we pulled in there were two gliders in the air so I quickly launched and got a nice 1.5hr flight in.

We saw from the hill heaps of dolphins surfing the waves ,kangaroos and managed to export to Victor Harbour heaps of earwigs that moved in with us...

Victor Harbour was great for a shower as we hadn't had a proper one for ten days so was well appreciated by us and anyone that came into contact with us.
We are now in Mt Gambier after a long drive and it's bloody freezing here too.

Galvo

Rapid Bay

Our only wild Koala

Passion

While these two duked it out the above male got the glory.

Cape Borda Lighthouse

Cape Borda Museum

Yacca's - After The Bushfires the Grass Trees were all in flower and the biggest Flower stalks I have ever seen.

Dinner - Australian Salmon -Marron and Yabbies mmmmm

Stokes Bay

The Remarkable Rocks -And there pretty remarkable.

Tunkillilla - Flieuier Peninsular

Tunk - SunsetDolphins At Play

Hotham Downhill

2008-11-25T04:14:00.000-08:00

Hi all this is just a test to see how some editing software for my bullet camera works as windows won't work with the M-peg 2 and I can't seem to get a codec patch. The writing in the middle of the video is because I haven't given them any coin yet.
I got to speeds of 59km on my mountain bike and you will notice that on the last corner before i stopped and Debs came screeching to a halt that I got major speed wobbles and nearly lost it due to a weight on my wheel for speed readings I have removed it so should look forward to more speed soon. camera mounted on handlebars it was actually better after this but I ran out of batteries.
Don't criticise to much it's my first attempt and I am just testing
Galvo

Naracoorte

2008-11-25T03:06:00.000-08:00

Hi again I have finally caught up:)

Well I am writing this post from Naracoorte after a hard days caving :).

It has been a really interesting little stop especially since the kids are doing prehistoric stuff with there schooling and learning about extinct animals and how they can become this way.

Well as I said earlier Naracoorte is South Australia's only world heritage listed spot and it is due to the amount of mega fauna fossils found in the limestone caves.

The most abundant find was in A fossil cave where they believe 95% of the skeletons found were trapped here by falling into what they call pit traps (a hole in the ground leading into a chamber). These pit traps collected animals over thousands of years and usually closed up after the it filled with animals debri and dirt washed in to the hole. As the case with Fossil cave there were nine pit traps over a short space opening and closing at different times so a broad range of species have been found.

It was fully closed off and the paleontologists actually dug there way in.

They believe there is about 5000-9000t of dirt and bones in one area of the cave which they are still working on today.

they have stopped digging up other caves as much of the material showing up is the same stuff.

They have found Tasmanian Tigers, Tassie Devils,Giant tree eating kangaroos, a type of snake that had signs of hip bones, and a mega fauna lion type marsupial plus heaps of animals around today like possums,echidnas,snakes and kangaroos.

They have a really good discovery centre where they have made the animals as they believe they would've looked like although they don't know what colour they would've been.

They come to life and growl hiss and all the rest plus move around a bit which was all to much for little Lucy who lasted about 30sec and had to wait outside with Mum until I could do a swap with her.

Anyway it's been a great adventure and to top it off the kids found a piece of rock with a fossilised shell in it to take home.

Enjoy the pics.

Galvo

It's ok Lucy he eats trees)The weid tree eating kangarooSome Big Old megafauna thingamebob thing?

The Aussie Lion That was at the entrance to the Display growling and moving it's head,lucy had no chance really.

Tassie Tigers proof that Tassie was joined to the mainland.Skeleton of the Lion (I just love the shadows)Some of the bones At the dig. These are preserved bones not fossilised.Megafauna BonesCave Formations

The Tree Eating Kangaroo. Long Front Legs,And only a Single Toe to Stand Higher.Long Straws Visitor to our Campsite - Blue Wren

The Grampians

2008-11-24T22:19:00.000-08:00

Well we just spent nearly a week in the Grampians in VIC, it rained ,hailed and was generally very cold one day it stayed around the 7deg mark brrrrrrrr.

But the sun did come out a few times but not usually when we were at a scenic spot though but i managed a couple of OK shots, I was expecting more.

The kids enjoyed some of the hikes up the mountains and Lucy surprised us on a nearly 5km hike which half was up hill although she faded at the end.

The cultural centre there was really good and camping was great and we managed great free campsite which was great and only a couple km from some bush dunny's so could do the quick trip if necessary.

It's very dry here considering we are just coming out of winter and unless they get some more rain will be a long hot and dry summer,lets keep our fingers crossed.

The park was burnt out only two years ago and some areas are still closed but it was amazing to see the regrowth and the wild flowers were in some places abundant.

It really is a wonderful place and would have loved to do some of the longer walks but hard with the kids and also my right knee is giving me a spot of bother every now and then.

There's heaps of kangaroos and emus here and also Echidnas which we never saw but the evidence was everywhere,apparently there are Koala's here as well but i think the fire probably wiped out a large no of them.

We were camped out just under the Mt Difficult range down from Troopers Creek campsite where up to 11 police troopers were camped to catch those illegal immigrants on the way to the goldfields, another obstacle for the Chinese?

It's good to know that we can survive in the bush and be self sufficient and we used less than 100l of water for the five of us for 6 days although I don't think we smelt so good.....

We went to a small town where some friends of ours recommended the pub meal there called Dunkeld, a very small town so we were thinking usual pub a bit rough, well we were in for a surprise very swank indeed with the yuppies all dressed in there spotless Guchi hiking outfits or dressed better and us after week in the bush unshaven,unshowered,and well with three feral kids.

the meal was absolutely sublime and the wines were beautiful, so $115 later we walked out much to the approval of the rest of the guests no doubt but it was great for us to be apart of civilisation again, just would've been nice to be spruced up and on our own.

Anyways enjoy the shots and next stop Naracoorte.

Yes Honey You Look Ok - Mt Zero

Climb up to the Pinnacle

The Pinnacle

Vista

Same Spot As Above
Lookout Back into Halls Gap

Aboriginal Art

Another Vista
Nice Light - Difficult Range

From Our Campsite - Mt Difficult
Had to Include some Wildflowers

The First of Many Giant Things no Doubt

Galvo

Bendigo

2008-11-24T18:06:00.000-08:00

Well just catching up with where we've been, we are now in Naracoorte the only world heritage site in South Oz but more on that later.

Bendigo was a lot of fun and the kids seemed to have good time for a change, I think we almost got through a whole day without a whinge and whine, well almost anyway.

We stayed for three days and did a mine tour,panned for gold with Debs having the keenest eye for gold, a bit of a worry but once she had found one spec it was hard for her to leave, but we had to return later in the day where she had the most luck and we walked away with a whopping six grains of gold the size of sand.
So now we can travel for an extra 10min :).

The mine tour was in the Deborah mine and it was interesting to see how the miners lived and worked with over 6000 mines in the area in the old days and 35000 people all flocked here to reap the benefit's.

Their was a huge Chinese population and to commemorate this a fantastic Chinese museum where they house some very valuable royal Chinese artefact's and home to the longest imperial dragon in the world called Sun Loong also now retired but the oldest imperial dragon called Loong. The chines had a 10pnd ta each for the people importing them so they used to drop them off in South Australia and make them walk 1000m to the goldfields, but they treated them well as they had rest and water stops for them along the way!!!!

Bendigo has some beautiful old buildings and a lot of history and I really enjoyed the place although in the middle of a drought at the moment like the rest of Southern Australia.

It's gotta be here Somewhere LucyHIHO it's off to Work we go.Sun Loong

Chinese GardenIn Front of Sun LoongGold FeverLoong (oldest imperial Dragon in the World) has 5 horns which only imperial ones were allowed.

Echuca

2008-11-24T03:15:00.000-08:00

Hi guys sorry for the lack of action but we have been out of contact for the last week in the Grampians.

Well Echuka was not to shabby free camping on the banks of the Murry River. We went on a paddle steamer and just hung by the river swimming and fishing (no luck).

Some friends from Broome came and visited us from Stanhope and a sore head was the result the next day.

Our Swimming HoleThe Local Cruise ShipHome on The River BankLocal Recycling MachineKids had to make a Savanah for School

Galvo

Bright Hotrods

2008-11-12T01:24:00.000-08:00

Well we finally left Bright and are now in Echuca on the VIC-NSW border camped out in the bush on the banks of the Murry River. I'm sitting 20"from the waters edge beer in pocket on chair just gone dark with a paddle steamer going by all lit up, cockatoos screeching and kookaburras going off.

Bright was great and had plenty to do there,I got a great 1hr flight in the morning and then decided to land and pack up and get to next destination.

We caught up with an old friend from Broome Dave Millard who was an electrician but now owns a small supermarket in Stanhope, lets just say I woke up a bit rough.

Our bush camp here is awesome and I have run the generator for the first time and used our little hot water system much to the humour of our kids .

I finally feel we are settling in and look forward to more bush camps as this is magic.
After another couple of days we will head off to Bendigo and then the Grampians.

Weather is starting to really warm up now but no doubt the Grampians will be colder.
Leave you with a couple of the 200 pics I took of the hotrods.

Galvo

I think it could do with some bigger tyres?

A Happy Car

One of the 100 flame jobs

No room for the kids :)

The Stig Even Made an Appearance

Plenty of 50's and 60's

More Flames

Just Ugly

Nice Caddie

More Pics

2008-11-08T01:37:00.000-08:00

First Snow (Slush)

Graces B-Day Brekkie

All Together

Snow Cone Time

Rare Pic

Sugar Fix

Bright Bull

2008-11-05T20:49:00.000-08:00

Well still in bright, weather hasn't been much chop for flying but a couple of days ago I had a great flight which had me viewing down and across the Victorian Alps. It was very cold but have some new gloves now as took ages for hands to thaw out.

Anyway views were spectacular and i managed to fly averagely well for a while and managed about 1900m and 1.5 hours straight line distance of 14.5 km.

Towards the end when I was getting low I got belted by a really rough thermal a few times so called it quits as was very cold.

Decided to land in this nice paddock with some cows at the other end.
As usual they were really interested to see me and jogged over to say hello, I gathered the glider up before they could walk all over it and started walking to the fence with them in tow, then all of a sudden i here this thundering and turned to see all the cows scattering and a very big black beast bearing down on me.

As I was still attached to the harness and wing there wasn't a lot i could do so I just knelt down and prayed, The BEAST came to a sudden Holt about 15" away with dust everywhere and the bull bellowing and stomping his feet sniffing the air (I'd say to wonder what the new poo smell was). He was not happy then began semi circling me it was at this point that I mumbled something like mum.

I just kept my eyes low and myself as small as possible , after about 1min he got bored with me and I managed to back away to the fence slowly with him only showing disapproval a couple of times.

He then got the whiff of one of his ladies and got back to doing what Bulls do.
once I was safely over the fence I gave him whats for and if i had the freezer space I would've bought him and then made steaks out of him :)

Anyway it was Graces B-day yesterday and we drove u[p to Mt Buffalo and had a look around, we then went down to a park where the girls went for a lilo along the river and had a play ,cake and drinks and then home.

Mt buffalo is beautiful but some real fire damage from a few years ago, so a lot of dead wood around.
Anyway we have decided to stay a little longer as really nice here and we are not in any hurry plus there's a hot rod gathering here on the weekend and judging by the cars that are here now it will be something worth seeing, approx 300 will be here.

Anyways must go hope your enjoying our jaunt.

Galvo

Rosella
Dead WoodView near the HornDebs Saving the DayThe Monsters

From Manilla To Bright (VIC)

2008-11-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

Well we've been pretty busy and havn't had a connection for a little while so will give you an update.

We left Manilla and went to Dubbo to see the Western Plains Zoo, I also managed to get new rear springs on the car there and it is much better now with the shocks and springs.

On our way to Orange to catch up with Chris and Bill before they headed back to Perth we stopped at a small town called Parkes. This is where the movie the Dish was made and they have a huge radio telescope which was instrumental in bringing the pictures of the the first landing on the moon.

We then caught up with Chris and Bill in Orange and stayed just one night but we got to see a bit of the place and the kids had a stay over with nana, which they loved.

We then headed south again stopping at some small towns for breaks.

Canowindra had a fish fossil museum, then it was Cowra the site of a large Japanese POW breakout where a couple of hundred Japanese POW's were killed and 4 Australians. They also had this Japanese Garden there that was 14 acres the biggest in the southern hemisphere and was stunning, I don't think my pics will do it justice.

We then had a roadside camp just south of Young and then a big drive to Bright.

Bright is an alpine town and is in the heart of our snowfields, it is a really nice spot and we are going to stay for a week. I have had 2 small flights here and there is a spring festival so has been great for Debs and the kids.

They had a great fireworks display last night and it's the first time Lucy has seen them she was wrapped. It was a really good night.

Looks like more rain for a few nights but the camper seems to be nice and dry.

We seem to be always waiting on our mail? it seems to take ages to get it and is a little tricky in planning ahead.

Anyway must go .

Galvo

The Dish (A must see Movie) Parkes NSW

Obvious

Western plains Outlook

BongoKing of the Beasts

Japanese Garden - CowraJapanese Garden - CowraJapanese garden - CowraPrehistoric Fish MuseumMt Canobolis

Manilla

2008-10-27T00:23:00.000-07:00

Cold in Manilla

Lucy and new bike

Emily

Snug as a bug

The Mountain @ Manilla (Mt Borah)

The West Take off @ Sunset

Hi all sorry it's been a while And I know your hanging out:)

Any way We have left Manilla and are now in Dubbo. We have had to put new shocks and springs on the cruiser as was too soft for towing our Camper trailer and is much better now.

Manilla was blown out for the first few days but I managed 3 flights and 2 good ones.

The first was just a 30 min flight but got back up the hill and managed to fly 21.5km.

And the next day Approx 17km.

I hopefull will get some good pics at the Western plains Zoo.

We all have bikes now and are going to ride around the zoo on Pushies then it's off to orange to catch up with chris and Bull before they head back to Perth.

We might give them some whining kids to take with them??

There's a couple of Pics from our drive to Manilla as well some nice waterfall spots we stopped at.

Tia Falls

Aspley Falls

Leaving Laurieton

2008-10-19T00:46:00.000-07:00

Well it's time to leave Laurieton :(

We stayed a few extra days as our mail hadn't arrived.

Hopefully it is here tomorrow or it will have to get forwarded on.

I have had a great time and got some good flying in, and the kids have had a great time to.

We went for a fish today (no Luck) and saw some whales cruising the coast so girls were all excited.

We are on our way to Manilla (another famous paragliding venue where they hold one of the world cup rounds) on the way we will camp near some waterfalls and do some hikes (walks) It's only 4 hours to Manilla but we will take two days.

Then It's off to The Western Plains Zoo so should get some good pics there.

We have to get the kids and Debs some bikes before hand as you can ride a pushbike around the Zoo, and they need them anyway to keep them amused at campsites.

Anyway some pics of Laurieton to leave you with we will definitely come back this way on our way back up the coast.

Galvo

Kids to the right, See I wasn't always flying I do give up perfect flying conditions to be a good Dad .

Mother and Calf Humpback having some fun on there way to Antarctica

Girls just want to have fun

Our campsite in Laurieton

Some we visitors to our front door, Lucy throwing bread (Wood Ducks)

Once again Dads doing the right thing, Bands at the surf club, gliders in the air.

Emily signed up for drum practice at the last campsite in Umina. That night they all did there thing at the talent show, It was really good and quite funny at the same time they played for 30min.

Emily banging away, They had a guy play first and they followed

Just had to leave you with this view at take off , at 1000m it looks even better :) Taff I'll take you for a flight one day :) Steve committed .

Great Flight

2008-10-16T04:28:00.000-07:00

Had a great flight off of North Brother 2 hrs and got to cloudbase in my first thermals :) Some pics Debs took, I have the orange and white and grey glider.

Also had a great 1 hr flight today off of middle Brother . Heaps of police around and I startled one copper as i came into land as they were in the middle of a drug bust we think but wouldn't tell us.

Debs has been home schoolingand we will hang here till end of weekend then head out to some waterfalls and then Manilla then onto the plains zoo in dubbo.

Galvo

Exitement Turns to Dismay

2008-10-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how to write this post?

Well The car is fantastic and the camper trailer is awesome, and there is heaps of storage in the camper so shouldnt have to load the car up to much.

Well I picked the family up at Sydney airport and managed to dodge most of the maniacs that seem to drive here although an impatiant trucky who didn't want to slow down for anyone including corners gave me a bit of a scare.

We all got back to Gosford and stayed at the RSL in West Gosford , we then went to pick up the trailer that I had spent the previous day loading.

We drove around and finally found the beds for the kids we wanted at Camper World, this is where I left my wallet on the roof or tailgate with approx $1450 in it:( Realising this after we had driven to Umina Campsite.

Add to this I broke the screen on my new Tom Tom 920 :( so was a day full of mixed emotion. Ifelt really sick after that but today is a new day the kids have had a ball, Emily has done some drum lessons and is playing in a band tonight? Grace and Lucy have played in the shallows for hours catching small fish and building sand castles.

Umina campground is huge and our view is fantastic, heaps of activities for the kids and a massive playground, highly recommended.

Heres some pics of our new camper and location.

Galvo

North Brother

2008-10-07T03:01:00.000-07:00

Had a great Sleddie from here Awsome flying sight,

Was pretty nervous as was my first flight on my new glider.

I have since had a 30min flight from South East Bonnies.

Im in Gosford now and the trailer looks awesome. i will post some pics of it tomorrow.

Debs and the kids arrive tomorrow which I'm really looking forward to.

I don't know how we are going to fit it all in but I'm sure we will manage.

Staying in a RSL motel tonight and tomorrow night then it's camping in style from here on in.

Galvo

First paragliding Pics

2008-09-21T00:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of pics of Mike Annear and Eric Tromes (red glider) at Serpentine Perth WA, The Eagle is renouned for attacking the pilots wings at this location and the last photo shows him claws out a 1/2 a second before making contact with the glider.

Eric tried using a loud compressed air horn but the eagle just let out a war cry and had another go?

First Pics with the D300

2008-09-08T06:18:00.000-07:00

Everlasting in my 3yr olds hand at 200mm. I believe the VR must be pretty good as we were both a little shaky!!

Monarch Butterfly

Anigozanthos Manglesii

Calothamnus Quadrifidus

Isopogen Dubious

Hibertia Cuneiformis

All the pics were taken handholding the camera on an overcast windy day. Some of the pics have been cropped but thats all.

New camera

2008-09-08T06:05:00.000-07:00

Well I finally took the plunge and bought myself a digital SLR,
I got myself a Nikon D300 with a Nikkor 18-200 VR lense which should be ideal for the trip around Oz. I can't believe it took me so long,as these things are awesome.
It's going to be great to get back into photography again and cheaper now as i can just deleat the crap shots.
I have so much to learn and not just the digital photography side and all the tricks of the camera but also the editing and publishing side as well.
I have taken some shots in my garden and I am impressed at how close I can get with this zoom tele lens, I should be able to get some great macro shots as well as landscape shots with this lens.
Look up happy in the dictionary and you will see a picture of me:)>
Galvo

Australia Here We Come!!!

2008-08-11T04:28:00.000-07:00

Well our house has been sold and our adventure is about to start in Oct 08.

I have bought a Landcruiser GXV in QLD and our new home on wheels is being built in Gosford sydney.

We have decided to all fly over to Sydney and start our trip there as it was cheaper than freighting the trailer back here then driving across.

So we have traded our beautiful house for a TENT??

The New Beast

has a console fridge,leather seats with custom fitted sheepskins,woodgrain trim and a sunroof.

Back view of our camper trailer

Front view of trailer

Close up of our camper

What our kitchen will look like

Please note pics are not our trailer but the same model.

21st Century Seminar In Perth

2008-05-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

This Jamie McIntyre the founder of 21C.

Tony Christiansen the most inspirational person I have ever met.
Race car driver,olimpic swimmer, Built one of the biggest sign writing businesses in the southern hemisphere,Pilot and has climbed Mt Kilomanjaro all with no legs.

Debbie the Ninja ,
THIS MEANS I CAN

This is me
COURAGE
TAKE ACTION

My Buddy Peter
Peter is doing some amazing stuff,like developing clip together panelling to build buildings and is off to Botswana to build a orphanage in June.
He is also developing a way to turn rubbish into diesel now theres an idea.

Well all I can say is that it was a very inspiring and motivational weekend and I would personally like to thank all the 21st Century crew for the effort they put in.
I would also like to thank all the speakers, they all had so much to offer and so many amazing ways to make our lives that much better.
A special thanks to Craig Jarvis for words of wisdom.
THANK YOU

Emily's Talent Show

2008-04-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

Emily had a talent show at school and anyone who wanted a shot could have a go. Her back up was Meg her buddy.

She was shaking before the event and I'm so proud that she got up and sang the song that she had been practicing at home.

The fact she got up and performed is fantastic and there's a bit of a lesson for us all.

As it's not the fact that you win or lose but that you had the courage to go for it.

Well done Emily

People I Admire

2008-04-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

From time to time I will submit info on someone I admire, or Quotes I feel are relevant to the way we SHOULD perceive life or act out our precious time on this planet. These will be ordinary people who through willpower and a positive MINDSET have achieved amazing things.

Peter Bland was born with a hole in his heart. At the age of 8, he survived open heart surgery. His trek to the North Pole was undertaken only 12 months after his 2nd major bout of open heart surgery.

Disaster On The Antarctic Peninsula
With the North Pole behind him, Peter was ready for his next adventure. Peter and his friend, Jay Watson, set out to cross the Antarctic peninsula, unsupported. On the very last day of the journey, Peter Bland was swept away by an avalanche, into a crevasse. Falling the equivalent of 14 stories, Peter suffered massive injuries. For 3 days, Jay Watson lay on top of Peter to keep him warm and alive until rescuers arrived. Thanks to his friends persistence, Peter is still alive today.

Remarkable Facts About Peter Bland

1: Peter Bland has successfully raised over $14 Million dollars for charity
2: He has produced 2 television documentaries
3: He is the first Australian to the North Magnetic Pole
4: He has survived 2 major bouts of open heart surgery and carried on as normal
5: Peter founded Adventure Odyssey, where he takes people to Antarctica on lifetime adventures with his thrillionaire mate: Nik Halik
6: Peter is now a successful public speaker, motivating people with stories of his adventures.

Quote

If we want, what we want then we have to be prepared to do, today what others won’t so we will have tomorrow what others don’t - Peter Bland

Albany Xmas Trip 2007

2008-03-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

The family went down to Albany for a few days before Xmas, I was to finish my paragliding restricted license if the weather behaved.

We had a great time and I had some good flights, the kids had a great time too even though it was windy and wet a lot of the time.

One of the highlights was taking the kids to Whale World where watched a 3d movie, the kids were hilarious.

Kids in Action

2008-03-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

Summer Fun

2008-03-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

Our neighbour built this slide in his front paddock.

Our Family Home

2008-03-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

Wildflowers from our garden