AndrewDavid

hello to all of my australian friend's

while i was in australia for 5 weeks not long after the millennium. my ex and i encountered the entertaining Dinky. many of you on this site thought i was hallucinating, but i was eventually able to find a link from your ABC of an interview that Dinky gave them.

one of you kindly sent the news ( again from the ABC) that Dinky had retired partially due to arthritis ( i can sympathize). whomever sent the article to me did not include their name or a note. i 'm guessing it was johnj_au. if it was thank you. if it was someone else here thank you!

i have very fond memories of the time john, my ex and i spent in your country. the hospitality of many of you was tremendous. johnj and his wife visited my ex john and i in santa fe , new mexico where i lived before immigrating to Canada 8 years ago. i am a permanent resident now and my full citizenship application is on a pile in our Sydney which is in Nova Scotia.

Here i was visited by Robin and the wonderful and sadly missed Neil Cammack.

I have the air miles to return to Australia. i would like to explore the west coast of your fabulous island continent. i only lack someone to travel with and experience it.

cheers,
to you all from Canada's Victoria across the wide blue ocean from you

AndrewDavid

sadly , my ex john daw died this winter from complications arising form ALS ( lou gehrig's disease). he is missed by all who knew him

dottyp

Hi, AndrewDavid.

If I remember Dinky the singing dingo is just out of Alice Springs.We had hoped to see him on our way to Uluru but it wasn't possible.

Sorry to hear about your ex's passing.
Take care. Might bump into you in Victoria in early October!

Dot

Bokhara2

Hello Andrew, how nice to see you back on the Australian forum. I'm very sorry to hear about John's passing & always enjoyed reading about your Antipodean adventures. And your reparte with NeilOz was fun to watch.

Sadly, he won't be here to greet you, but lots of the rest of us are still here & I hope you come back to visit our wide brown land & jewelled seas soon.

margo_oz

AD - wonderful to see you.

I was sorry to read about John - he was the charmer!

We're happy to see you whenever!

AndrewDavid

Dot , Bokhara2 and Margo, thanks
for your kind words

iam sure this whole board misses neil

dot what brings you to victoria come october ( from seattle as i recall?)

dinky was an amazing performer

i really want to spend some time on the far west coast so a return trip to australia is on my wish list

cheers
AndrewDavid

dottyp

Hi, AndrewDavid,

When he heard we were going to Vancouver my brother (who lives in England) recommended Victoria Island as they have been there several times, especially the Butchart Gardens. In fact they have just been again a week or two ago!

I remember you mentioning some other gardens, too, which I have copied to my laptop, thanks. We come over on the ferry morning of 7 October, and go back to Vancouver on 8 October on the 6:20pm float plane, following your suggestion.

We are really looking forward to our visit, as with all the other places we are going to in the 3 months we are away. It is a true voyage of discovery.
Dot

SnR

AndrewDavid, hello to another forum friend from our past trips to Oz in 2004 and 2007!! Fancy meeting you here again! So sorry to hear of your ex's death and devastated to hear of NeilOz's, whom we met and toured Canberra with in 2007. He was a real asset to the forum and will be missed. Did you know that Pat in FNQ is also ill and her husband Mike passed away? So sad. I remember your great trip reports of Australia, notable Dinky the singing dog and also being marooned by a flood on the east coast, I think. Great attitude and writing style. Hope you find a travelling companion so we can hear about further travels in Oz. We hope to go again in 2015, this time to the GOR, Adelaide, and somewhere to snorkel (Western Australia is of interest except there was a very informative TR by someone regular whose name escapes me at the moment (was it you, Margo??) who drove the whole from Perth to Exmouth and back again and it sounded brutal. Even she didn't think it was a good idea in hindsight as I remember.--but snorkeling there is supposed to be fantastic, so we'll see.) When are you hoping to go again?

Dot, if you are reading this, are you coming to Seattle? I would love to meet you and show you around or at least discuss your itinerary, if interested. It is really fun to meet fellow Fodorites!!
Sally in Seattle

Bokhara2

The WA poster is Melnq8, and there are lots of great TRs of their happy wanderings around WA and New Zealand.

Bokhara2

PS: nice to see you popping in again Sally!
Say hi to R for me & it would be great to catch up with you both again when you're here next.

margo_oz

sadly not me in WA - I read of Mel's travels and wonder when I can manage that.

Terrorising the Europeans at Christmas - but after that.....

Bokhara2

Good for you Margo, where are you going & will the terrorizing extend to Wales?

I had a white Christmas in the Black Forest last year and it was beyond fabulous.

Melnq8

Hi Andrew - I live in WA and would be happy to help when you get to the planning stage.

WA is massive and you need a lot of time to do any in depth exploration. I have several detailed trip reports posted here on Fodor's from our numerous trips within WA as well as an ongoing report from the many day trips we've taken from Perth. Just click on my name and scroll through my trip reports should you want to read them.

Happy to help with any specific questions as they arise. My first suggestion - avoid traveling to WA from DEC-FEB if possible - it's stinking hot here that time of year. My favorite months here are April-May and Sept-Oct. I like June-August too, but those are our winter months, so higher chance of rain.

I'm hoping to terrorize some Europeans myself this Christmas if I ever manage to get it all sorted.

margo_oz

I'm taking on the Germans first, followed by the Swiss and then the Scots. If there's time after that, (and I have about 3 days) - then Wales could well come into the equation, or perhaps Devon/Cornwall again!

Mel...which part are you visiting?

Melnq8

Hi Margo -

We're planning to invade The Swiss, the Germans and possibly the Austrians, but nothing arranged yet. Our plan is to visit Switzerland first, before the ski areas are mobbed and prices skyrocket, then spend a few days around Christmas in Germany. Not sure where Austria fits in, or if it does. Early days yet, lots to sort out.

Are you headed to the Berner Oberland? Our favorite bit of Switzerland, although we're looking at the Engadine this time around.

AndrewDavid

hi to all, thanks for your offer Mel. i've enjoyed reading your reports here in the past. when it happens it will probably revolve around May swimming time w/ the whale sharks. not sure what year, but a guy can dream can't he!

cheers
AndrewDavid