Ha ha ha, my belly laugh started at,

"...unbeaten and unbeatable english team take its first steps on the way to retaining the Ashes."

You're a great sport, Annhig & no doubt you'll repay our mirth in full measure at some time in the (hopefully next century) future.

I really enjoyed your trip report and in particular the details of Alan Gillander's tour. Next time I go up there,I'm definitely going to book a couple of days with him.

We had a bowerbird's nest on our place when I was a child. It was a treasure trove of shiny things, bits of crockery, glass in blue & green. 40 years after we left, I returned to that place & was overjoyed to see a nest still there. Exactly as & where I remembered.

Whether it was still in use or just undisturbed in the intervening years, I don't know. I have two little pieces of old china plate & a piece each of green & blue glass in a bowl on my credenza. Pieces of my childhood, picked up by my adult self.

What a thrill to see all those platypusses! I've only seen one in the wild and that was in a stream up near Armidale.

Glad you had such a good time & hope you'll come back to see us again soon.

I'm ashamed of myself. "Bowerbird's 'nest'" what was I thinking? It's a Bowerbird's Playground, or Bower, of course! And ours were spotted bower birds.

Bokhara - we just loved seeing the bower birds and their /bowers/tunnels/towers....Alan had brought a small piece of blue glass for the first bird we visited to add to his collection and it was soon added to the bower. Sounds as if blue is very popular with a certain type of bower bird.

Margo/bokhara- don't know what you're laughing about. you've got to come back here next year and that's going to be a whole new fish kettle. Though it must be said that the way we're playing at the moment, we might as well just give the series to you now!

Ann

We're not worried... yet!?

annhig what a great adventure. I am definitely going to talk to dh about Alan Gillanders tour. Seeing platypus is a must for me on this trip. I am also thinking it may be best to arrange a tour. I don't think I trust that I would be able to find them myself.
I'm sorry about your team.

cristeen, it was terrific, and our time with Alan was sadly rather shorter than we had hoped as they moved our flight times out of Cairns so we had to get a move on in the morning.

That said, he crammed a lot into the 1 1/2 days, visiting a lot of different and diverse habitats. And the platypuses were a real thrill. As you say, very difficult to spot yourself unless you know a good spot and a good time to visit it.

as for the "lads" things are looking up a bit and they are finally beginning to look as if they have remembered how to play. Against the indians, anyway. [which is not to disparage MS and his crew, but the aussies are the old enemy].

Well...you got rid of Pietersen. Thing may improve now, sadly!

hurray! we won a match, the first one since we whipped your lot last year [was it really only last year? incredible what can happen in 12 months]. Pietersen? who's he?

Yes, you conquered India (again).

He he :)

lol, sartoric, a historical perspective, no less. Actually, Cook has a good record against India and the year before last led England to a famous series win in India, and MS's tactics in trying to get Jimmy Anderson banned for a bit of afters with Jedejah seems to have backfired, as it just got him riled up.

Amazingly it's under 12 months til hostilities recommence in Cardiff. The series are coming so thick and fast at the moment that people are even saying that there is too much Ashes cricket; i never thought I'd hear that!

Annhig, have you written the nz part of your trip yet? Can't seem to find it if so.

no, sorry pthomas. The flesh is willing but the spirit is weak.

Thanks for showing interest!

...and your mob got clobbered again yesterday...in pyjama cricket :)

ok, margo, no need to torture me, - I was doing that myself by listening to it this morning. [it's still today here!] I am enjoying the aussie radio commentators though, especially the great Jim Maxwell. His session with Tony Abbott the other day was a classic.

I wonder if it is the disaster that was our last Ashes series that is causing my trip report writer's block?

Come on you can do it :-)

Ann, I've also been lurking with hope against hope that you will get away from Queensland (I mean the one in the Southern hemisphere) and to some other places where they allow you to write more.

It is fear of getting stuck myself after finding out about other travelers I can identify with that takes makes me lose interest in some areas.

Either the rest of your trip was very dull, or it gave you a writer's block or it was so bad that you do not wish to remember. Hence, Australia and NZ are now out of my wish list, I guess.

OC - on the contrary we had a great time. trouble is, so much of the detail has now disappeared from my consciousness that I'm struggling to put a worthwhile account together.

I'd hate you to think that it's not worth visiting Oz and NZ - the opposite is definitely the case.

Ann, I was joking. Or was it sour grapes?

I have a poker face when I joke but twitch my left hand little finger. A move, you obviously will not notice due to the distance between Istanbul and Cornwall.

And, just in case she or her fans read this, whereever I go with DW I always have a great time. twitch or not. (since I do not want a broken pinkie)

sorry, OC, even your humour did not survive the deadening effect of the internet that time.

Rejoining this thread. The itch to come back to Australia is getting the better of me. Thinking about 2016 for visit number three.