Wheels on the Go - Accessible Travel living with Celiac Disease

November 25, 2025 – Australia – Cairns to Port Douglas Drive via Kuranda

November 25, 2025November 29, 2025Lmnei

We had to be out of the Mantra hotel by 10am so we were up fairly early and had a quick breakfast in the room and departed the hotel, with me filling up our water bottles in the lobby for the drive as I was certain it was going to be a hot and humid day! Here is the morning sunrise over Cairns –

We got to our car parked in the accessible parking spot and no tickets which is good however the birds in the tree had done a number on it overnight! We were now driving a very dirty car! Oh well, those are the breaks! The Mantra had limited free parking and I thought why take up one of the stalls when we can park on the street instead? Yup! Paid for that with a dirty car now!

We quickly got out of Cairns and on the drive to Kuranda. Most people, including when Karen and last visited Kuranda, take the train up one way and the skyride back down. The Kuranda Tourist train leaves from the Cairns train station, where we will be departing in 5 days to take the Queensland train to Brisbane. They do have a bus that returns people who take the skyride down from Kuranda back to the bus station. It is a worthwhile trip, however I distinctly remember how hard the train trip was on Karen and myself and personally, despite Andrew liking trains, I really did not want to experience it again. I was doing some reading prior to our trip and saw that we could take some “backroads” to Kuranda and then continue inland around to Port Douglas, which is north of Cairns by an hour. That is what we ended up doing!

It was a nice drive – at times reminded me of driving the Hope Princeton with the curves in the road and there was some construction going on however it was very well managed with temporary stop lights and queuing to use the single line. Soon we got to the Barron Falls Lookout, which is actually a stop on the train trip up to Kuranda. After parking at the lookout and walking down the sloping raised accessible pathway in the woods to the viewpoint what do you think showed up below us? The train! It stopped on its way to Kuranda village which was only about 10 more minutes up the small mountain. We got to see the train pull in below us and the people get out to take pictures of the Barron Falls (which were pretty small at this time of year) and then we went back to continue our drive to Kuranda town.

Kuranda is in the rainforest that surrounds Cairns and goes up the coast past Cape Tribulation. Port Douglas, where we are staying is on the beach, about 1/3 of the way to Cape Tribulation. I remember getting to Kuranda on the train with Karen, it being 100% humid and hot and seeing all these really cool artisans selling some very interesting handmade goods! I am not sure if it was because we drove into town, it has been 27 years, or COVID hit this area really hard but Kurana was just not the magical place that I remembered. It was 100% humid and hot though! I did buy some Australian souvenirs at a shop and then we walked around for a while, but the artisan feeling was gone. There were more tourist attractions (traps) now to visit too. I was just turned off! That said, we had some ice cream – good thing to do when it is bloody hot! Walking back to the car, I decided I needed a cold drink for the drive so we stopped at a restaurant stand and look what I found! Gluten Free Rice Burgers! Now, with this heat, there was no way I could eat one of these so I just took a picture instead and got my Coke Zero! Then we continued our drive to Port Douglas through the back hill country!

It was an interesting drive – unfortunately taking pictures from a fast moving car is not my forte so my pictures did not work out! It is also hard for Andrew to stop when there are cars behind us. We drove through some really nice small towns and then started down into a valley towards Port Douglas. We saw that there recently had been some type of forest fire (not huge trees – more like small trees but the ground was smoking and the trees were burnt) and that stunk as we drove by however we soon made it into Port Douglas and to the Sheraton Mirage Resort where we are to stay for the next 5 nights.

Finally we arrived at the Sheraton Grand Mirage Port Douglas Resort. I have been impressed with this resort so far – really early they sent out an email, as I am a frequent guest at Marriott hotels, asking me if there was anything that we wanted to do or needed during our stay. I responded indicating that I needed a shower chair for the walk in shower in the upgraded room that I had booked and I had some questions about activities as the original email mentioned booking early due to school vacations and holidays. They were awesome at getting back to me and told me that we were just before the school holidays, so we should be fine not making reservations at the restaurants however the Great Barrier Reef cruises do fill up. I then booked both dinner at the hotel and a trip to the Great Barrier Reef from Port Douglas. They also confirmed a shower chair would be in our hotel room.

I was met at check in and addressed by name, which surprised me, when we arrived and we were checked into the hotel. They mentioned they had “upgraded” us to a 3^rd floor room in the North Tower. I thought that was strange as I had booked a Lagoon/Pool view room that I thought was on the 1st floor. However, I figured it had to do with the shower situation. The bellmen took our suitcases to our room and I was driven in a cart while Andrew drove around and parked. He then jumped onto the cart and we were driven to the North Tower where our room was located. It required us to take an elevator up to the top or 3rd floor, go through 2 doors where there were hotel rooms in an air conditioned corridor with flat access and then to our room which had about a 4 inch lip to get into the room. I thought that was strange due to the discussions I had with them with regards to accessibility and the fact that they said we were upgraded. Sure enough, there was a walk in shower and a shower chair so I was happy! There also was a balcony however it faced the garden, it was not the Lagoon/Pool view room that I had paid to upgrade to. No issues I thought – just happy to be here!

We were going to go for a walk to check out the property however someone fell asleep (common occurrence at this time of the day in this kind of heat) so we postponed the walk until the morning!

November 24, 2025 – Australia – Sydney to Cairns – Travel Day and Seafood Pizza!

November 24, 2025November 29, 2025Lmnei

Again, we were up in good time to have a wonderful breakfast at the Pier One Hotel and then we departed, via Uber for the Sydney Airport to travel on Virgin Airlines to Cairns. We had a very nice Uber driver and on the way, I had booked to drop one piece of luggage off for storage as Andrew and I will be back at the airport on December 6th to overnight prior to flying to Singapore. No issues with Virgin Airlines moving our pre-assigned seats this time and got onto the plane just fine! It was just under a 3 hour flight to Cairns, which included a 1 hour time change with surprised us. Sydney, Australia area recently switched to Daylight Savings time however we soon found out that Queensland, where we are heading up north, does not switch and remains on the standard time. There are funny time zone changes all over Australia – sort of a bit like Canada – Newfoundland and in the Interior of BC.

Arrival at Cairns Airport was MUCH more smooth than the last time I was here 27 years ago! They actually have air bridges ways now! Once we found my walker (I do not think it is common for walkers and wheelchairs to be brought to the plane door in Australia and I seem to remember now Karen having that issue when traveling) we were able to walk through the airport – which it is a nice compact airport and out into the HEAT to get our rental car! Holy smokes! The humidity and heat was like walking into a hair dryer on the highest hot setting! We looked up the temperature and it was about 39 degrees and it was 6 pm in the evening! We got our rental car and made it to the Mantra Hotel which I had elected to stay in for our 1st night prior to driving to Port Douglas and the resort that we were headed for. I had done that for 2 reasons – not to tire Andrew out from traveling and then driving and 2nd, I thought driving to a village named Kuranda would be a nice option on the way to Port Douglas instead – we would get some mountain driving in!

We had a ocean view, kind of, from our hotel room. More like a tree top view! Cairns has changed QUITE a bit from what I remember of it 27 years ago. I picked this hotel for its location which was next to the Cairns Night Markets which Karen and I explored last time we were here however the waterfront of Cairns has now fully been filled in and a huge swimming pool installed! It looked really great from our balcony other than all the trees that have now grown into the area!

It was time to find some dinner so we decided to go for a walk and find someplace to eat along the boardwalk. Prior to getting to the boardwalk though we walked around the area that used to be beach and a pier (that I remember) and saw this beautiful swimming HUGE swimming pool that now fronts onto the beach with a walkway in front of it. The pool starts with a very narrow end and the slopes down deeper with some sand and different pool areas at the end as you can see.

We actually parked the car in front of the hotel in the daily parking bays, as it seems that the accessible parking had no time limit on parking there – such as overnight! The hotel required a checkout by 10 am so we thought the car would be just fine and we could see it from our room too! Tomorrow – back to the village of Kuranda!

November 23, 2025 – Australia – Sydney – Whitecaps, Dinner Cruise and Sunset at the Opera House

November 23, 2025November 28, 2025Lmnei

I woke up pretty early this morning to a VERY foggy harbour! The picture I took from the window did not work out so here is a different one that shows just how foggy it got compared to the bridge which the hotel was under. Apparently the ferries have issues running in the fog. By about 9 am it had lifted though and Andrew and I were able to go down for breakfast and we even snagged a table outside on the deck! Here is the picture of the fog along with some other pictures of this beautiful hotel –

We then relaxed for the rest of the day – I did some travel scouting for our future travels along with found out how to store luggage while we go north for 2 weeks and Andrew followed the Whitecaps, his favourite soccer team, while they played the LA FC soccer team and WON! At that point in time, and on a high, we departed for our Captain Cook Sunset Dinner Cruise that was leaving from Wharf 6 at Circular Quay!

Then we departed on the Captain Cook ship – which was 3 levels high – however with no elevator! So while we had purchased a more expensive dinner that was being served on the upper decks, we were given a window table on the main deck instead to watch the world go by and eat our dinner! Lets get sightseeing!

Our Dinner cruise is now over and the sun is starting to set and it is a beautiful WARM night for a walk so we decided as we were half way there, to walk over to the Opera House and take a peek at what we could see! The last time I went to the Opera House with Karen all we could do was walk around the bottom level as there was no way of getting upstairs – they had not build the elevator yet – they had escalators but her manual wheelchair would not fit on the escalator and also if I remember correctly they did not want us to try! So I was interested in seeing what was available now 27 years later!

Well, that was quite an evening! The Sydney Harbour is immense with so many little bays and then the islands in it too! It was awesome to sit and watch the world go by as we ate dinner. However for me the highlight of the evening was our impromptu walk to the Sydney Opera House – I had not planned on walking that far as I was still having some issues with pain, however after sitting for a couple of hours on the boat I was motivated to walk! As I said above, my goals were no that high, no pun intended – I was pretty aware that when the Opera House was built, which started in 1959 and opened in 1973, they were NOT thinking about wheelchair access! I was also aware that it was renovated in the mid-90’s as Karen and I were there in 1998 and at that time we were unable to get upstairs.

I was quite surprised when approaching the Opera House and its grand bank of stairs, that there was a sign for wheelchair access under the stairs, so we went and explored it of course! Well, sure enough, they have now put in what I would call a “fancy” service elevator which takes you up to the main floor of the Opera House. Yes the escalators are still there and I saw the sign still that no wheelchairs are allowed. I wish I had taken a picture of the elevator though as it did not have a ceiling which was kind of interesting! It was basically a nice elevator that was a platform with buttons on the side to go up and down a floor. Also on the ground floor where we entered were the appropriate washrooms that the Australian government now requires for accessibility.

So we went up the elevator and it was obvious that a concert was going on at the Opera House. The lobby was like the QE theatre with a coat check and employees in various positions guarding entrances – where I wanted to go was to the outside plaza that was at the top of the steps that I could not climb! But NO. There is a sign on the door and a rope across saying that during performances these doors are locked. Now, that did not make sense to me – I just took the elevator up and was in the lobby – other could do that – I guess they just do not want the general public coming through these doors and having to manage that volume. Fair enough. However the elevator is so I can get OUT so I can see from the Plaza as I cannot climb the 50 or so steps! I politely explained this to one of the ushers who was a bit confused, but got his manager and then a security guard and they let Andrew and me out onto the plaza and stood at the door until we returned.

It was SO NICE to be up that high! Beautiful view just as the sun was going down! As we were out there I saw people go up to the doors and try and get in despite the signs and get turned around, so I tried to time our return to the doors where they were waiting for us without being detected however someone did follow us and they were turned away – they tried to say they were with us but the guard knew better than that! I felt bad, however there really should be a better way to manage accessibility to such a popular tourist attraction than what we ran into. I suspect if there had not been any events going on in the building, that access to the elevator would not have been available.

Andrew and I then walked all the way back to the hotel around Circular Quay and the base of the bridge to the other side. It was very nice with the warm breezes of the evening. The sky was also pretty clear and I got a good shot of the moon! When we passed by the old buildings next to the Overseas Terminal, we noticed that what we thought was just seating prior, were actually 3 fairly high end restaurants that had their seating on the dock – very European like! Reminded me of being in Rome but the view was MUCH better in Sydney!

Back at our hotel we had a nightcap on the pier as we had 2 free drink coupons that the hotel had given us prior to retiring for the evening. Tomorrow we are going to the airport and flying to Cairns! Looking forward to returning to the north east part of Australia!

November 22, 2025 – Australia – Sydney – Circular Quay Markets, Metro System and Visiting friends Fijian style!

November 22, 2025November 27, 2025Lmnei

After another delicious breakfast in the restaurant, I contacted the daughter, Priya, of Mr. Dass and his wife, who I wanted to meet up with. Andrew and I then departed to visit the Markets at Circular Quay on the way to the Metro station to take the train to Kingswood, which is a suburb of Sydney. I would estimate, based on the distance, if we left from Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver, to be fairly far into Surrey, where we needed to go. Priya had given me directions which seemed pretty simple – get on the metro at Circular Quay and change at the Central Station (where we got off the Indian Pacific Train where there also is a Metro station) and then stay on the Metro to Kingswood. I was trying to type this into Google Maps so I could follow it however to no avail! I then resorted to the nice bellmen who knew me as they had to put the ramp down for me whenever I came back to the hotel to get us sorted out.

The bellman printed out a route for me and said something in a fairly heavy Indian accent that I did not understand, about train servicing work. The route looked fine to me and so into my purse it went and we were off to check out the Markets!

We walked around to the Circular Quay again and up some of the side streets to check out the market stalls. It is a VERY well organized market that happens on weekends in Sydney. I was looking for 2 things – a lanyard for my phone as my current one had broken and also flowers to take Mrs. Dass who was in the hospital. I was successful on my 2nd item only – which was awesome! I found a vendor who hand crafted paper flowers for wrists, headbands and chokers! Of course I bought a headband for myself and I bought a wrist band for Mrs. Dass. I thought it would be a perfect “flower” gift for someone in the hospital who cannot have a lot of flowers! I have included a picture of the headband that I bought which the wristband matched so you can see how beautiful the artistry is!

Now, as we were at Circular Quay, and I had my handy instructions from the bellman, it seemed very simple to get to the Nepean Hospital to see Mr. and Mrs. Dass again. I had heard from Priya in the morning that Mr. Dass had remembered me and was looking forward to meeting me again! We got to the station and found the lift to go upstairs to where the track was located. A station attendant actually flagged me down and asked if I needed a ramp to get onto the train, which I asked if it was level and he said yes, so then I said I thought I would be okay. Sure enough the train arrived and it was a level entrance like the Skytrain however the gap was about twice as wide! So basically I just jumped over it instead of rolling over it so my wheels would not get caught.

We rode 3 stops then changed, according to the bellman’s directions to another train. This time I was sitting next to the train map and I was plotting out all the stations that we had to go to and change trains, which were 4. We had done 1 change already. In looking at the map I realized that the instructions that Priya had sent me were MUCH more direct! So I messaged her and told her what the bellman printed out for me and she said it did not make sense. So Andrew and I got off the train and turned around, heading back a couple of stops to where we could catch the direct train like that Priya told us to take instead. That is where things fell off the rails, as the saying goes.

First, the station I chose to get off at was not wheelchair accessible! Yes, I could go up the escalator (not supposed to but hey – if I need to it is possible) however the other track we needed to change to was up STAIRS and that was a no go for me! AGAIN the station attendant asked me (these station attendants are awesome!) where I was going and I mentioned Kingswood and that is why we are trying to get on the Number 8 line. She then told us to get back on the same train in the same direction, which came again in 10 minutes and go 2 more stops and change to the Line 8 at that point as there are lifts at that station. Sounded good – however she then told me in understandable language what the bellman mentioned to me which I did not comprehend – Line 8 has track maintenance going on as it is a Saturday so the train stops about half way and we need to then get on a bus which will take an hour to get to the next station – it will be an express bus though. She had an app on her phone for helping people and I took a picture of what I was to do and then we were off – to go 2 more stations and then switch tracks to come back through this station above and onward until the bus bridge where we needed to get off.

Getting of at the station where the train stopped, Andrew and I were VERY confused as to where we were and where the bus stand was for the bus we were supposed to catch. I asked someone and they sent us to one side of the station and then that was incorrect so we walked back and at that point, Andrew asked another person and he pointed us in a different direction and then came running after us and took us up the lift and directed us to the correct bus stand as he was “horrified” he gave us incorrect information! We got onto that bus and sat down and right in front me was a screaming child! Oh joy. I just cannot get away from them! Luckily an elderly gentleman gave the child in the pram a “lolly” and everything settled down and she eventually fell asleep on our 50 minute drive along the express way. Needless to say, if Andrew and I had continued on the route that the bellman had given us, we would have been at the Nepean Hospital by now!

According to what the train attendant had shown me on her phone, the bus was going to take us to a certain train station and then we should take a different train (which also stops at this same station) back 2 stops to get to the Nepean hospital. Priya had messaged me that she would pick us up at the Kingswood station station where we were to end up, which I thought was great! As the bus came off the Highway, one of the passengers sitting across from us said to one of his kids – “see that is the Nepean Hospital” and sure enough, written as you can see below, sideways up the building it said Nepean Hospital! Skip getting on a the train going 2 stations! There was at taxi stand at the train station where the bus dropped us off and we took a taxi back instead. Enough travel on transit for that day! We left Circular Quay at 12:30pm as planned (actually a couple of minutes earlier) and were supposed to arrive at Kingswood station by 2pm. It was now 4pm! We saw a LOT of Sydney along the way however it was time to visit my friends parents!

I did let Priya know that we were in a taxi and arriving at the hospital very shortly. It is a BEAUTIFUL hospital – a public hospital like in Canada however newer. We arrived on the floor that Mrs. Dass is located and I turned the corner and ran right into PJ’s dad – just as I remembered him from 25 years ago! It was great to see him again! He is Fijian with white hair and quite statuesque looking with a big smile! He was so happy to see me and Andrew and made us feel at home right away.

Andrew remained in the very nice lounge area and had coffee with Mr. Dass while I went down to Mrs. Dass’s room and met with her and Priya along with some other relatives that were visiting, including PJ’s younger brother who is now a grown man! The last time I saw him he was about 14 years old. Like his dad and mum, along with his sister, he is also a very well known Fijian Indian musician in the Sydney area. In fact he had to leave soon for a concert after I arrived, however it was great seeing him again. I was surprised how many memories of my times with PJ came back to me when I was there – some of my memories were a bit confused from a time perspective, as they were affected by some of my treatments after my accident, however they came back nevertheless. One of the most interesting of them was the interactions with Mr. Dass and his philosophical outlook on life. He is a very well traveled and studied man and I remembered when back sitting in the lounge with Andrew and Mr. Dass, just how much PJ and his dad and I got into some discussions about people and the meaning of life as Mr. Dass had observed it around the world. It was at that time, Mr. Dass told me he had written and autobiography a few years back and would love to give me the book and he had one at home for me!

I then went and spent some more time talking to Priya and her mum, who unfortunately has the same brain cancer that PJ passed away from in 2004. Her mother is doing okay and her brain cancer was operable and she is recovering now. It was interesting as the neurosurgeon visited when I was in the room with Mrs. Dass and Priya and Mrs. Dass came to life and gave the neurosurgeon all kinds of grief about being in the hospital and wanting to go home! That is a sign of someone who is recovering in my impression! About that time Mr. Dass popped into the room then and invited us to dinner at Priya’s house. He said he had asked Andrew’s permission to ask me which I thought was amusing but awesome from a cultural perspective! I of course agree as ANY food cooked by the Dass family in my mind is AWESOME! I had one of my top 10 meals cooked for me by Mrs. Dass which was curry Dungeness Crab! Obviously not getting that down here, however their curry meals are lovely! After Mrs. Dass had her evening meal, we all climbed into a VERY small car that Priya had borrowed (trunk did not work so walker was beside me in the back and Andrew and I shared the back seat) with 3 bags of food and went to her house which was a very nice 3 bedroom house where she and her parents lived near the hospital.

A friend of Mr. Dass brought over some Kava and we took part in drinking some of it – Andrew more than me – that was his first time trying it – then Mr. Dass found a bottle of some bubbly wine that Priya had won at some point in time and Andrew opened it and we all sat down for dinner. Oh boy, I knew from the past that Fijian’s eat with their fingers. I had forgotten to tell Andrew about that. Priya did a very nice job in bringing Andrew and I forks for our food when she realized that fingers were not our style. If I had been alone I might have been okay however I had not washed my hands since the hospital! We had curry chicken and potatoes, jasmine rice and dahl. Well that is what I had! Andrew and Mr. Dass also had some other unknown and heat unknown dishes that had been prepared – breaded fish etc along with the bubbly wine. I knew that the curry chicken and potatoes was very mild as it had been fed to Mrs. Dass so it would probably be okay with me and it had no flour in it. Dahl and rice – right up my alley! It was an awesome meal and we finished it off with some VERY sweet mango’s!

It was now getting late – about 10:30 pm, so I called an Uber and we were driven an hour back to our hotel in comfort! Before leaving though Mr. Dass gave me his book and I promised to read it and keep in touch with him! It was a really inspiring and though provoking afternoon – remembering the past, their eldest son, my friend, who had passed away, Mr. Dass partially grieving the future of his wife passing away and also the life that they left behind in Fiji so they could be in Australia with their daughter. It was an experience I did not expect on this trip, but something I will treasure!

Now, tomorrow, we are going to take a sunset cruise! Also I am aware that Andrew is interested in a certain Whitecaps Soccer team and how they are going to do in the playoffs! Let’s see what happens!

November 21, 2025 – Australia – Sydney – Relaxation Day

November 21, 2025November 25, 2025Lmnei

Today I got up and the whole harbour was socked in with fog/clouds. It was not even worth taking a picture as it was white and you could not see anything! Good day for relaxing and recharging!

We went down to breakfast after a bit of a lie in and had yet again a wonderful breakfast buffet experience. Today they were offering smoothies and as there was another guest with Celiac they offered to make a smoothie for me at the same time. I guess they thought Andrew wanted one too as I ended up with 2 small GF smoothies!

The breakfast buffet comprises of a pastry section (not pictured), a hot section, a cereal and guacamole section (make your own) and then a salad and bread section. In between the cereal and salad section was a gluten free section with bread and a toaster, along with blueberry muffins and banana bread. Oh the banana bread was delicious! Some of it actually made it into my paper napkin and up to our room as it was SO GOOD! This buffet was $38 each however as we stay at Marriott Hotels a lot, part of my benefits are free breakfasts, so we tend to eat a big breakfast to set us up right for the rest of the day!

We were then up in our room relaxing with the balcony doors open as the air conditioning was still broken in the hotel, when a knock happened on the door and we received a delivery from the hotel! They had “forgotten” to replace the gift they sent me yesterday (a Lemington cake which I could not eat and Andrew did not want to eat as it is covered in coconut) and here was a platter of the gluten free items that I just had at breakfast! Nice thought! We watched a lot of harbour traffic throughout the afternoon and also got our laundry done at a nearby location which we scoped out the night we arrived and all in all it was a great relaxing day! I did some trip planning – including what we were going to do tomorrow along with up in Cairns and the Gold Coast at this time too. We also found out there is another cruise ship terminal on the side of the bridge that we are on – so opposite to where we landed. It seems that Carnival Cruise lines, which has a ship in the area, docks primarily there.

When we went for dinner on Wednesday night when we arrived, I noticed on their weekly specials that Friday night they had fish and chips – so I asked the waitress at that time if they could make them gluten free and she said yes. So as it is Friday, we returned to the restaurant for gluten free fish and chips! Andrew, as he normally does when we are out, ordered beef for dinner and when my fish and chips arrived I was quite surprised! It was NOT what I was expecting! It was a piece of Dory fish, skin on, and chips! The waitress then said to me (as obviously my face did not look right) “did you expect deep fried fish and chips” which I said yes! She then said this is what fish and chips means here! Not a problem! I like Dory fish – just peeled the skin back and it was delicious! The chips were good too!

Well, I hope tomorrow is a nicer day! It was a great day to spend some down time of a trip that in the last 2 weeks has been pretty well on the go all the time – especially with the Indian Pacific – way more busy than relaxing than I expected it to be!

Lastly, Happy Birthday to my mother, whose birthday it is in Canada today, November 20th!

November 20, 2025 – Australia – Sydney – Ferry and Lunch with Sarah along with a visit to Manley Beach and gluten free goodies!

November 20, 2025November 25, 2025Lmnei

We had a wonderfully HOT sleep at the Pier One Hotel last night! Their Air Conditioning is broken! So we opened the balcony door and slept to the harbour breeze instead. It is about 24 degrees right now and lets say a bit sticky! There is a wonderful blue sky though and we got to get going to breakfast so that we have the energy to get to Circular Quay to meet Sarah!

After a wonderful breakfast at the restaurant in the lobby of the hotel – great buffet of food and a gluten free station which I loved, we were off on our walk to Circular Quay! To get there, as we were on one side of the Sydney Bridge, we needed to walk under the bridge and then around to Circular Quay, past the Overseas Terminal where we arrived. The Manly Ferry leaves from Quay 3 and we arrived just in time to get on the ferry! Similar to Vancouver, they have a card you can use on the ferry, and you can also scan your credit card to pay, which we did. Very convenient service!

When we got to the Manly Ferry Terminal, the 4 Pines Restaurant was across the street from the terminal. I had selected this restaurant due to its location as Sarah said she could meet us at the ferry terminal. The restaurant also had gluten free food on its menu which was a bonus! I had forgotten to check one LITTLE thing – was it accessible! Nope! So up about 20 stairs I went so that I could have lunch with my friend! It was awesome sitting on the balcony watching people arriving at the ferry terminal – we were the first patrons to arrive at the restaurant (yes we were early for once) so we got to select where to sit, and the place quickly filled up! I loved the reservation sign they had on the table – hand written with the 4 Pines logo on the back!

At that point, I phoned my mother to wish her a happy “Australian Time Zone” birthday as it is November 20th and her birthday were we are located! In Richmond, BC, where she is located – her birthday will be tomorrow…

Sarah arrived along with her Aussie accent she has acquired and we both had the shrimp tacos for lunch while Andrew had a burger! The pub actually brews its own beer so the display of beer options was a bit large, however Andrew finally settled on one that he was going to taste with his lunch. It was great seeing Sarah after all these years and hearing about her family who has grown – her oldest son Hamish was having his Grade 10 Formal tonight – which is like a graduation of sorts – at this point they continue at school to go to university, they go to trade school or to work. The other interesting thing that is happening in Australia, which I first thought I heard about in Melbourne but thought it could not be true, is that kids under 16 are going to be banned from Social Media and having cell phones effective December 10th. For Sarah’s youngest, that will only last a few months until he is 16, however it is a pretty interesting thing for the government to crack down on!

Sarah had to go back to work to a meeting so Andrew and I decided to walk to the beach in front of the 4 Pines restaurant, which was next to the Manly Ferry terminal. I THOUGH that was Manly Beach, however it was not. Manly Beach is on the other side of the peninsula so we then walked over to that side – much better!

We sat at the beach for a while and then we walked down the main street of Manly Beach which is sort of like Granville Street in downtown Vancouver – no cars allowed. There were lots of stores including a nice Gelato place named Anita’s where we stopped for a cool afternoon treat! Then on our way to the Ferry Terminal Andrew spotted a very important store “Whole Green Gluten Free Bakery”! Sarah had mentioned that one was going to open up and I had looked on Google Maps and Google for one however could not find one within 2 kilometers. Funny we would run into it on our walk! Needless to say, I patronized the store and ended up with a spanakopita, 2 Portuguese custard tarts and 2 chocolate croissants! I cannot wait to try them! Also, there was a Coles Grocery next door, so we acquired some snack food and things to make lunch/dinner in the room and we were ready to rumble and get back on to the ferry!

We quickly scanned onto what I thought was a waiting ferry, however it has just arrived and still had to let people off! Once we boarded, we sat downstairs as normal and had a great ride back to Circular Quay where we got off the ferry.

Now we are walking back to the Pier One Hotel for the evening. It was a full day! On our way there, we pass by the Museum of Contemporary Art – which was funny as it had a huge sign about it saying “MCA” and I thought when I saw the building from a far, that it was missing the “Y” and that it was probably a hostel like building. Nope! Now we are closer I see why the Y was missing! There were two interesting art pieces out front – this “eye” and the braided head of a woman! We then walked back around the Overseas Terminal and under the bridge to our hotel!

Lindy Lee, *Moon in a Dew Drop*, 2000 Artwork Installation

We relaxed tonight and had some of our goodies that we bought from Coles for dinner! Tomorrow we are not sure what we are going to do – the weather forecast is for rain! That is not good!

November 19, 2025 – Australia – Indian Pacific Train – Off Train Experience – Thrilling Rides in the Blue Mountains, Arrival in Sydney

November 19, 2025November 24, 2025Lmnei

Okay, morning came REALLY early today! That rock and roll train ride we are on is something that I will not miss. I much rather be on the sea which seems to have a pattern to its craziness than the sideways and up and down jerking of the train. Again, I felt like I was in a blender or a rock tumbler!

Our dining card indicated that breakfast was from 6:30 – 8:30 am. So around 7:45 am Andrew and I decided it would be a good time to get ready for breakfast and there was a knock at our door. It was Lily – the carriage attendant telling us that the train is arriving in Mount Victoria in 15 minutes and we need to leave what we want to have carried off the train for us in our room with a tag on it (which they provided the night before). That would be our roll aboard suitcase with our 2 days of clothes and various other items. Still in my night clothes we had to move fast! Andrew visited the bathroom/shower while I changed, took my medication and went to the next carriage to try and find something simple to eat like the chia pudding I had the day before. I ended up with toast for each of us (mine GF of course) and jam, coffee for Andrew and tea for me! They helped me carry it back to our room and we were able to have a quick breakfast before getting off the train. We said goodbye to our train compartment, and we got on the bus for our off-train excursion! Here are some pictures of the train and our bedroom that I took today –

Now that we have arrived in the beautiful station of Mount Victoria, we were ushered off the train and onto waiting busses. Once onto the bus and quite quickly onto a small highway, we had to stop for a “weight” check! While I have seen trucks having to do this in North America, I have never see busses do this before! We passed and the sign indicated that we could return to the highway – phew!

Today we are visiting the Blue Mountains, which are a World Heritage-listed area, known for their “soaring sandstone ridges wrapped in native flora”. Scenic World, which is where we are headed, includes four phenomenal mountain experiences – the Scenic Skyway, which takes you over ancient ravines, with 360-degree vistas and then onto the Scenic Cableway that glides over the forest to the valley floor and then up the Scenic Railway, the steepest passenger railway in the world! Once we complete that, we will go to Echo Point Lookout, which is perched on the edge of the escarpment in the town of Katoombah, for lunch and then be taken to the train station for a 2-hour private train ride into Sydney Central Station where our Indian Pacific Journey will end.

The Scenic Skyride was like the Grouse Mountain gondola but about twice the size – it went from one cliff to another in the National Park. It was a bit scary hanging between the two points however the view was phenomenal! It was like going from one edge of the Grand Canyon to the other in about 5 minutes (although the edges of this Grand Canyon were closer).

Panoramic view I took from Skyride

Once we were off the Skyride, we moved to an area in the building where a guide met us, named Warren, who had set out Aboriginal information and he did a talk for us. It was fascinating! He is half aboriginal himself and has spent a lot of time learning about the aboriginal people of Australia. There are over 200 different nation groups around Australia all with different languages or dialects. What intrigued me the most though was the gift that his mother gave him when he was in his 20’s which was a red kangaroo hide with his family “tree” drawings on it in the aboriginal language. He held it up for us and explained how it shows his parents, uncles, aunts and then him and his wife and two daughters. It also shows his aboriginal name, which is mother gave him and what his strengths are. The other interesting thing is that this belongs to him and when he passes away, it will be buried with him – it is not something that his family keeps. They believe that when the person’s life ends, so does their journey on the hide and so it is buried with them too.

There were other things on the tables that we talked about also – from eucalyptus leaves which smelled wonderful when you rubbed them, to different things the aboriginal people create and or use like blades or spear heads out of rock, wooden implements or plants which are very similar to the indigenous people in British Columbia.

Next, after visiting the ladies room and seeing a sign that is all so common in tourist areas these days, we went downstairs to get on the Cableway which would take us down, DOWN to the valley floor. Holy smokes – it was a good thing I was sitting down as when the car launched forward it suddenly went down a huge DROP and I am NOT a roller coaster type person! My stomach was in my throat! My mother would NOT have liked this either!

Now at the bottom and feeling much better, there was a wonderful boardwalk which we walked along and our guide, Warren, talked about the different features of the cliffs above us and how the nations would traverse down them at certain times of the year. He also talked about the different plants that we saw such as umbrella ferns. The floor of the valley did contain a mine many years back and while it has now been closed off, the entrance and the furnace where they burned the fire which pulled the oxygen through the mining shafts was still evident.

Then we came upon the “Scenic Railway” which I thought Andrew and I had seen on a railway show already on TV so I was expecting this “steepest railway in the world” to be an actual train with an engine. Warren, the guide said he would walk me back to the Cableway so I could ride back up, however I know how much Andrew likes trains so I said I would go down the 12 stairs and get onto the train – thinking it was a TRAIN. Okay, now, in all honesty, this was NOT a train ride. It was a reverse rollercoaster in my opinion, and it was NOT fun. There were signs about adjusting your “ride” to be laidback, original or cliffhanger. Warren took my walker folded up in a bench two rows in front of us however I was a BIT concerned when I saw the “train car” arrive and it was already on a slope and we had to get in over the edge and sit on the bench – the one that had different positions. I have NO IDEA what position our bench originally was in, however I am suspecting it was a cliffhanger situation and the train took off before we could figure it out and upwards and forwards we flung! I felt sorry for the man in front of me as I fell forward against the bar that was above the seat and put my knees into his back! All I could do was hang on while we were at a 50 degree climb upwards back up to where the Cableway originally left from. Holy cow (and a few other choice words) that is something I did NOT need and then I had to climb 20 stairs to get up to the building! Oh joy, I love it when people are up front and tell me what to expect. I think this is going to take me a few days to recover from! It was fun but my heart – yikes!

Now on solid earth, we got back on the bus – which I have neglected to point out is a wheelchair accessible double-decker bus, and we were driven to the Echo Point Lookout where there are some lovely restaurants, where we then had lunch, courtesy of the Indian Pacific Railway. We then were able to walk around the Echo Point Lookout and take pictures (and go shopping) and eventually our red double decker bus came to pick us up again to ferry us through the town of Katoombah to the train station. Oh wait. There were 2 red double-decker busses there and there were people on our bus that did not belong! They had to get off first. Then a couple of blocks later, a man from our group realized he left his jacket and wallet at the restaurant, so we had to go back and rescue it before getting to the train station! Good thing the train was delayed getting to the station!

Panorama view from Echo Point:

The train ride into Sydney was really nice. The train was a double-decker for the most part and really clean. We were able to sit on the entrance level where there was accessible seating and it was a very comfortable ride! I of course made use of the time and made a desk out of my walker and did some blogging now that we have re-joined civilization and my internet now works!

Train we rode from Blue Mountains to Sydney

At the Central Station, we then caught a taxi to take us to the Pier One Hotel which is right under the Sydney Bridge. We had planned to stay at this hotel when we were coming in 2020 and I had booked it far enough in advance so that we were able to stay on points as it is a VERY expensive hotel! It is about a 10-15 minute walk to Circular Quay which is on the other side of the bridge and right in front of Circular Quay is the Overseas Cruise Terminal where we arrived on the Noordam!

We got checked in and they put the ramp out for me so I could get into the hotel and then they explained that the lift that normally is used to get up the 8 steps from the entrance into the hotel was out of service, so there was a different way I could enter the hotel from the other side of the pier, which we then used later that night. The service at this hotel was unbelievable. QUOTE. We were upgraded to a room with a Juliette balcony (I had booked a water view) which was wonderful as it was HOT in Sydney so being able to open the balcony door was really nice!

Andrew and I went down to the restaurant for dinner and as we had a fairly good lunch, we just had some appetizers instead. I had some octopus on potatoes with pesto which was awesome and Andrew had some shrimp toast and fries – which were also gluten free as they have a gluten free fryer in the kitchen! After dinner we went for a walk along the piers – one to stretch our legs and to try and get the pain in my hip sorted out and second, I had found a laundry service that was near the hotel called “Wash on the Rocks” which would do a bag or two of laundry for you! We wanted to see where it was located so we could drop off some laundry the next day!

We then retired for the night. I am really excited about tomorrow as we are going to meet my friend from Class Software in Manly Beach! Sarah and her husband moved to Australia in early 2000 as Sarah is part Australian by birth and they have had a family here. On top of that we get to take a ferry!

November 18, 2025 – Australia – Indian Pacific Train trip – Off train experience – Visit to Broken Hill

November 18, 2025November 24, 2025Lmnei

Ever felt like you were lying sideways in a blender and trying to sleep? That was us on the Indian Pacific Train last night! I have taken lots of train rides in my life – Via, Amtrak, English, French and Italian trains along with the Ghan in Australia however I have never felt like I was being heavily vibrated all night long! Even the staff on the train said that the travel to Broken Hill, our next stop, was a bit “rough” last night! Great! We had just gotten rid of our “sea” legs and now we had to get “train legs”!

I was up early – at about 5 am as I could not handle the rocking and rolling anymore – half concerned I was going to fall off the narrow twin bed and the other half was that my back was getting sore from the jostling. I decided to visit the “bar” car which was right next door! Well, on a moving train, using a walker to get from carriage to carriage is a bit of a challenge! I first had to figure out how to open the door! In the “folds” of the protective covering between the cars, there I found a green button which flipped open the doors – not inward to the car – but towards me, teetering on the platform between the two train cars with my walker collapsed! Try again – this time I put my walker in a different position so when the doors flung open I could propel myself forward – success! Lets just say I did not enter the bar/sitting area car that elegantly however I remained standing which is good! There was a train attendant already there and I think I shocked her with my abrupt entrance! She offered me some tea, however I had a can of my old standby with me – Coke Zero – so I consumed that instead. I then had some peace and quite, albeit a bit wobbly, to do some writing! Only issue – no internet! So this is coming to you later alligators!

After a while, Andrew met me and we went for Breakfast. While we were on the waiting list for breakfast a man named Henry was wearing a Canada sweat shirt, and as I was wearing my Canada ball cap – I asked him where he was from! Oh, he had bought this shirt when he was on the Via Rail train from Toronto to Vancouver a couple of years ago, as he had gotten cold and he just liked wearing it – he was from near New Orleans! I was not aware that the dining car sat people in 3’s or 4’s so eventually a table came up and the hostess sat Henry with Andrew and I for breakfast. I know this is going to be VERY hard to believe, however from the point that we met Henry until we said goodbye, I do not think I said more than 10 words, other than to order my breakfast! He talked NON STOP about everything under the sun, including the orange haired individual that is causing havoc in the USA right now. Very opinionated American man! He was traveling with his wife, however she was resting so he had gotten up early. They were on the train from Perth to Sydney and were not getting off in Broken Hill as his wife did not feel like taking a tour. I was surprised how well Henry was able to breathe in his breakfast while still talking to us! Luckily they needed our table, so Andrew and I proceeded to leave and Henry was still talking to Andrew and the hostess intervened with my walker and said that there are others waiting for the table! As we left she apologized for sitting us together however most people on the train, after the 3 days from Perth, will not sit with Henry for meals due to his verbal diarrhea!

Once we are off the train, we got on motor coaches and we were off on our selected off train experience which is “Silver City Highlights”. This is a description of the tour:

“Departing from Broken Hill Station, this tour takes guests on a scenic drive through the heart of Australia’s outback. As you journey to the Living Desert State Park, knowledgeable drivers share fascinating insights about the rich history and unique landscapes surrounding Broken Hill. Arriving at the park, guests will experience the famous Living Desert Sculptures, a collection of striking sandstone artworks set against the backdrop of the vast desert. While soaking in this captivating scene, enjoy the flavours of native teas and Wattleseed brew, adding a touch of local culture to the experience.
Next, the tour heads to the Sulphide St Railway & Historical Museum, where a guided tour reveals the town’s vibrant past. Explore exhibits showcasing Broken Hill’s mining heritage, early railways, and its role in shaping the region’s development.
The tour concludes with a visit to the iconic Line of Lode Miners Memorial. Perched on a hill overlooking the town, the memorial offers breathtaking panoramic views, a moving tribute to the miners who contributed to the town’s legacy.”

What an AWESOME tour this was! It was about a 45 minute bus ride through Broken Hill (aka Silver City due to the mining) to the Living Desert State Park where we saw some emu’s beside the road ranging free – those are some BIG birds! It is really cool to see them run in the outback with their tail feathers fluffing behind them – unfortunately I did not get a picture of it! Soon we arrived at the Living Desert State Park and got to walk around and look at the various sculptures that were there that had been carved by people around the world.

Stopping just outside of Broken Hill – Outback

Now at the Living Desert State Park, we parked beneath the Living Desert Sculptures which are 12 sandstone sculptures in the middle of the desert outside Broken Hill. They are located on a 1 km walking trail that is located on a hill named Sundown at the top of the park. On April 1, 1993, an artist named Lawrence Beck organized a sculpture symposium of artists from around the world to carve into giant sandstone blocks weighing more than 53 tonnes that had been shipped by local contractors from Broken Hill, at no cost, in from the Wilcannia region in Australia. Apparently, Broken Hill is home to many artists and is known for its paintings, but not sculptures. The actual carving of the sandstone was very difficult as the tools that the artists were provided were not strong enough. So more time and tools were needed and finally, six weeks later, the artists unveiled their creations, and now this site is one of the most photographed in the Australian outback. While we were there at about 11 am, I can see how the light at sunrise or sunset would affect how these sculptures would be viewed and the different moods they would portray. Here are some of the sculptures with the name, their artist and where they live!

“Facing the Day and the Night” Edwardo Nasta Luna – Mexico City, Mexico

Panorama view from the top of the sculpture hill towards Broken Hill town.

We then got back onto the bus and drove into Broken Hill and up the huge tailings pile left from the mining days, to the top to the museum to represent the miners of the area. It was a pretty powerful exhibit and area! Here are some of the pictures that Andrew and I took –

On top – Visitor Centre on left, Miners Memorial on the right

View from top of tailings pile near visitor centre –

I did not make it to the display honoring the Miners as I got stuck in the washroom (locked out) – here are Andrew’s pictures of what he saw –

Next we drove back into town to the Railway Museum – that was quite a display! It seemed to be a labour of love from the community based on what I saw – a bunch of retired people who volunteer and keep the Railway Museum going each day – including a 96 year old volunteer in the gift shop! The experience started with a skit put on by two of the volunteers and then we could take various tours of the trains and museum on display. Andrew and I split up at this point so he could go climb onto the early trains where I took the accessible tour thought the museums.

After that wonderful tour, we got back onto the bus and re-joined the Indian Pacific Train – first for lunch, then to spend the afternoon and then for evening dinner and an overnight right to our next stop – Blue Mountains! The food on the Indian Pacific Train was unbelievably good – especially from a gluten free perspective!

When we got back onto the train, we realized our lunch time on our dining card matched the time on the clock! We were not told very much about our dining card other than these were our dining times. We therefore went through to the dining car and were seated for lunch at 1 pm. We shared our table with a lovely mother and daughter who live just south of Brisbane, AU. The mum is not only a Celiac, but dairy free too! We got to share some gluten free buns for lunch and I had a wonderful swordfish filet for lunch with a delicious green curry risotto. I had maple ice cream for dessert!

Then it was back to our carriage and bedroom for some afternoon relaxation and further blending action from the tracks! I proceeded to almost complete the winding of the wool that I had bought on Kangaroo Island – the wool I bought at the Pike Place Market is still in jail in the suitcase somewhere in the baggage compartment of the train! I still do not know what I am going to make, however as I think I mentioned previously, I have enough for a short sleeved sweater and the wool is just heavenly to feel!

It was amazing how fast the time when by – we watched out our window and there was a road next to the train along with some pipes. Along that path we could see both kangaroos hopping and emu’s running – it was fascinating to see! When I took the Ghan with Karen we did not see all this wildlife! Also our Ghan trip was overnight – if I remember we boarded in the afternoon and ate dinner while traveling along the outback and then slept overnight and woke up in Alice Springs. Today we actually got to see some of Australia go by our cabin window!

Eventually 6 pm rolled along and we made our way through the bar/sitting car to the dining car. It was at this point in time I figured out the doors on the train! I did not have to push the darn green button beside the door, which was pretty awkward to do with a walker in front of you – instead the wait staff on the train pushed a button on the ground next to the door and the door opened! Now why did someone not mention that to me? You learn by observing sometimes!

For evening dinner we shared our table with a couple from outside of Sydney. They were pretty Australian like and the gentleman was very opinionated. He also was not impressed with how the train was bumping along! We had a great dinner again – I had some cauliflower soup, that was okay, some very moist chicken and then an “Eton Mess” which I first had in Ireland, as my dessert. I think this is the 3^rd time I have had an Eton Mess now and I really liked this one – the one in Ireland the meringue was a bit hard, the one on the Noordam was just too sweet and this one was really perfect – a mix between soft meringue, fruit, whip cream and some custard. Not overly sweet – just perfect!

Back in our bedroom for the night, I was NOT looking forward to being rocked to sleep again tonight however what was one to do? Andrew looked pretty comfortable in his cocoon bed so off to sleep I went! I rocked away for about 3 hours and then a miracle happened – we had to wait for another train! Silence and stillness at 3 am! From then on I finally got some sleep!

Tomorrow we will be exploring the Blue Mountains which are a couple of hours outside of Sydney.

November 17, 2025 – Australia – Flight to Adelaide, Check-in to Indian Pacific Railway, Seppeltsfield Winery dinner and back to the train!

November 17, 2025November 22, 2025Lmnei

We were off in good time to get to the Melbourne Airport – this time we took the tollway and it was much faster! I do not mind driving surface streets if it is at night like when we arrived at 10 pm however when it was going to take double the time to drive to the airport on the surface streets vs. the tollway, the tollway was the way to go! The rental car company only adds a dollar to the toll, so that is not a bad expense to save that much time. Pretty smooth drive to the airport and we got the car filled up with petrol and returned with no issue.

Moving to check-in – for the domestic airlines in Australia they are REALLY big on self check bagging which is getting more popular in Canada. However if you have a mobility device to check in like a walker, it does not allow you to get your baggage tags! Andrew could get his baggage tag but not me. That requires an agent intervention. Also they weigh EVERYTHING here! They asked how much my walker weighed and I guessed (a pure random guess) 8 kg and she went and weighed it and guess what? It was 8 kg! Good to know! So it got is baggage tag along with my luggage and then the dreaded putting it onto the luggage belt happened. On the luggage belt, which you are supposed to do yourself, it is weight and sized. If it is not correct it is rejected. Our first suitcase was rejected for some unknown reason – however I knew it was the right size and weight – it said it was only 9 kg and I knew it was about 20 kg. We tried again as the agent came back with my walker and magic! It worked! Technician proximity syndrome rules again! The rest of our luggage was onto the belt and whisked away just fine.

Andrew, not sure what planet he was on or if he had not had enough caffeine, returned our baggage cart with my roll aboard suitcase which normally contains my medical stuff, however this time, as we were getting on a train had our clothes for 2 days, and left it on the cart! Another passenger saw it sitting on the returned baggage cart and came and got Andrew to mention that he might want the bag. Oh the trials and tribulations of traveling! Now we are set, bags checked, need to go through security! Security here in Australia is great! They have the more advanced bin system like YVR is putting in where there are 4-5 stations where people line up to put their things in bins and the bins are fed under the table so there is no waiting for them. Also, as I think I already mentioned – there are no walk through scanners or body scanners where you have to hold your arms up – you just stand sideways with your arms crooked and your feet apart between to wide walls and they can tell if you are carrying anything or not. As I carry a battery pack for my phone and laptop, in Australia, it needs to carried on you so I carry it in my purse as it always needs to be inspected after going through the scanner. Overall – very fast process and no laptops or other electronic devices need to come out of bags which is also awesome! Less crowding at the security lines!

I did neglect to mention that we did have a LITTLE issue with seating on this flight. Originally we were assigned seats 15A and B however the computer reassigned us to 27A and 27B as I cannot sit in an exit row due to having a declared disability (using a walker). That is an issue as in Australia rows 16 and higher board from the back of the plane and I was NOT going to climb those stairs! They did find seats for us more forward in the plane which was great – however I was a bit concerned when I first saw our boarding passes!

We arrived at the Adelaide Airport with no issues and picked up our luggage (as we had been her only 5 days prior) so we knew where we were going. It is not a large airport! We had passed the Taxi Stand when picking up our rental car the first time through so this time we just went to the Taxi Stand and got a taxi to take us to the Parklands Train Station in Adelaide to catch the Indian Pacific Train. The instructions for the train were not very specific – I knew that it left at about 10 pm at night, and that they were serving dinner at the train station prior to that, and it was recommended that we check in about 3 hours in advance. It was now about 3 pm so I figured we were pretty early, as when we drove up in the taxi there was no one to be seen such as the counter pictured below! Sure enough though inside the station there were people at the check-in counters more than happy to help us! We got our luggage checked in to Sydney and then the roll aboard checked in which was going to be placed in our train bedroom. We kept our knapsacks with us as at that point they contained my electronics and medication.

We sat in the lovely waiting area at the train station and eventually a really nice lady named Meg came and joined us – she works for Journey Beyond who runs the various Australian trains – The Ghan (which I have taken to Alice Springs with Karen however it runs Adelaide to Darwin and back), The Indian Pacific (Perth – Sydney and back), The Great Southern (Adelaide to Brisbane and back) and the Overland which is a day train from Adelaide to Melbourne and back. Today, Meg was making sure we had all the pertinent information that we needed for the evening and she also checked in with regards to my dietary needs. We found out that we were actually taking a bus to a winery that was about an hour away for dinner and dancing and then would be returned, with the other train passengers who had gotten off the Indian Pacific at a stop a bit earlier and gotten on similar busses, at the Adelaide station at about 10:30 pm to start our journey to Sydney.

Just before 5 pm the bus driver came and got Andrew and I so that I could get on the bus and he could stow my walker. There was another lady who also used a walker, younger than me, who also was helped onto the bus by her husband. We ended up sitting with them at dinner time. The drive to the winery was lovely – my pictures did not work out though that I took through the bus windows – they are all blurry! The one thing that I did learn was they have two different kinds of wines vines in Australia – they have the vines that go on trellises like we see in North America and then they have “bush” vines which are much older and have come from Germany. Both are hand picked, however the bush variety are harder to harvest and are much more expensive a wine.

At the winery we were lead into another shed – so Aussie – and a beautiful display of the wines that the Seppeltsfield Winery produces. I was also really glad to see they had a unique vintage on hand called Coke Zero too for those who do not drink wine! Andrew was very happy with the wine selection that came with both dinner and the after dinner port! Shortly after arriving, we were seated – first all the people who were on the train were seated in their sections based on the train – there is Platinum, Gold Premium and Gold accommodation. Then there was the table for the “joiners” as we were called – the 18 people, including Andrew and I that got on in Adelaide who were on a separate bus.

The food was exquisite – I have no other words to say – I cannot comment on the “shared platter” food as I was fed my own plate due to the possibility of cross contamination with gluten, however my pesto chicken was moist and tasty – such an excellent job at cooking it for a banquet situation of about 200 people! The “shared platter” food was a selection of roasted beet root, eye fillet beef, marinated chicken with basil/pesto and crispy chicken skin, along with a bowl of potatoes and carrots. The chef then came up on the bandstand and talked about the history of the winery and the food preparation and how it is all locally sourced. Then he talked about the dessert, which were brownies and some other assorted items, however the port that the winery makes was included in the brownies. Now I cannot report in on the brownies, I had a wonderful GF ice cream, fruit and chocolate shavings desert, however Andrew had both the port (mine and his) and the brownie and he did say they were very good! I think really good as check out that last picture! He had no issues falling asleep that night!

The winery then did a demonstration of how they “burn” the cask to age the port to enhance the flavour. The layer of burnt wood acts as a filter stripping away unwanted flavours from the spirit as it ages and mellows any rough edges. As char, it also gives breaking down hemicellulose in the wood surface to form disolvable sugars that create caramel, toffee, nutty and maple flavours. Unfortunately as I was seated, along with the lady beside me, I could not see the demonstration, however Andrew got a picture of it afterwards! They used a flame from a propane tank to do the job.

Then the band started playing and the fiddler who was part of the band came down onto the dance floor and lead the dancers around the dining room as she played along – it was a really fun thing to watch! Along with having to use the loo, which was located outside, I also took a walk at that point across a little bridge to stretch my legs in the still warm air of the evening. On my way back the chef was standing outside in his white jacket, so I thanked him so much for my awesome gluten free meal and that it is so comforting to be able to come to an event like this in Australia and be fed (along with bread), which is a luxury that we often do not get without extra work or advance planning in Canada. He appreciated the feedback!

Soon after I returned from my walk outside, we were lead back to our respective busses for the 45 minute drive back to the train station – this time it would be shorter as we were not going to be in Adelaide rush hour traffic! We quickly boarded the train, met our train attendant named Lily, and got settled into our bedroom! I have more pictures tomorrow of our compartment, tonight it was fairly dark so the only picture I got were from the outside and a very happy train sleeper – not for long though!

Tomorrow, after breakfast, the train stops in Broken Hill, which is a fairly important town in the history of Australia and it’s mining industry – more on that tomorrow!

November 16, 2025 – Australia – Melbourne – Victoria Market shopping, St. Kilda and Brighton Beach visits and Beach Houses!

November 16, 2025November 22, 2025Lmnei

It is Sunday! A great day for a drive! We are going to go to Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market and then to visit some beaches to see some VERY expensive property! Let’s go! First, navigating to the CBD of Melbourne with Andrew driving – quite a task! We made it to the CBD however soon we realized that we had to go right, and as I mentioned yesterday, we ran into a hook turn! I was SO GLAD I had learned about them! Here is how Google describes them –

“A hook turn in Melbourne is a right-hand turn made from the far-left lane at designated intersections, which are common in the city’s CBD where trams operate. This maneuver allows cars to turn right without blocking tram lanes by first moving into the intersection from the left, stopping in a designated area on the far side, and then completing the turn when the light for the road they are entering turns green.”

Do you want to see a video about it? Check this out: https://youtu.be/813AJZdX5HY

We were successful on our first try! Yahoo! Soon we arrived at the parking area for Queen Victoria Market where I saw some Accessible parking signs along with some metre spots. We saw an empty accessible spot and I checked Google (my friend) and sure enough, if you have your placard, you get to park for free for the time listed – in this case 2 hours! Bonus! Now, let us go shopping!

The SHED (that is an Aussie term for a tin roofed building) that the Queen Victoria Market is under is HUGE and is very well organized! As we walked in from the parking area, there were lots of Aisles with letters and each store was listed with a number on a chart – so they were pretty permanent stalls in the market. Starting with A and up to about G – those were all merchandise stalls. Then came the produce and those kinds of stalls in the aisles after that. Across the lane was a building, where we ended up for some food – which had a food fair, and it also shared space in that shed with the seafood and meat part of the market. The Market runs 5 days a week – not on Mondays or Wednesdays which I found interesting!

When walking the Aisles and trying NOT to buy anything, I ran into a Syrian store with a very nice gentleman from Aleppo, which is a city in Syria. I surprised him with the two Arabic words that I know – hello and thank-you and he was QUITE the sales man – basically sucking up to Andrew to get me to purchase things! He even offered Andrew a chair to sit in while I shopped! I did get a couple of items from his store – that was about all that I got at the Queen Victoria Markets. I was good!

We eventually went across the lane to the food fair and I was pretty excited to find some Singapore Noodles, which are made with rice noodles, curry, scrambled eggs, chicken and shrimp that could be made gluten free! Andrew and I shared the dish before going back to the car and driving out to the beaches we wanted to see!

Now, back in the car, we are driving to St. Kilda Beach – which is a pretty well known beach south of Melbourne. Along the way we saw some really nice wrought iron on buildings and some art deco buildings. Eventually we arrived at the St. Kilda Beach! We drove past the Marina, the pier and then past the salt water Bath House! Eventually we made it to a park where there was a beach we could get out and look around – it was beautiful – waves crashing in on such a pristine beach!

Then we continued driving to some of the most expensive real estate in the Melbourne area based on square footage – no, these are not houses on the street – these are the famous beach houses of Brighton Beach! Some of these beach houses which have no electricity or plumbing sell for upwards of a million dollars! Most are passed down in families for use during the summer beach days. Formally called “Bathing Boxes” most were built between 1907 and 1933 with a total of 93 bathing boxes on the beach today. As you can see they are painted very unique colours representing patriotism or family heritage. Right now, other than a place to change your clothes for the beach, they are primarily used to store beach equipment and for gatherings of family and friends. I must admit the beach in front of them was not that large – so it must be quite crowded during the full summer months!

However the beach for me was a trove of sea treasurers – shells! I have acquired an assortment of them that I hope will make their way home in one piece! First, here are the pictures of the Beach House and Lifeguard Station and the path down to the beach which we traveled. It was a nice walk however Andrew did mumble something about seeing an elevator – however I thought that was strange as they had a path so we proceeded down the path! Soon we found ourselves at the bottom in front of the Lifeguard station where they were hosing down their equipment (and the picture I took the guy is hosing down his legs) from the beach and putting it away for the night. It was only about 4 pm however I guess they close up shop early! We then proceeded onto the beach to view the bathing boxes!

Brighton Beach House & Lifeguard Station

Here is a wonderful view of the bathing boxes along the beach with Andrew the subject of the picture! See what I mean about the beach not being very long in front of the boxes! I was able to walk along the part of the sand where the waves were coming in as it was fairly solid for a fair ways to view the boxes and also the shells at my feet!

We then drove back to the hotel, which was not that far away. St. Kilda and Brighton Beach are suburbs of Melbourne, just like Richmond, so it was actually a fairly short drive back to Richmond, where we were staying. Next to our hotel is the Yarra River, which runs through Melbourne, this is a picture of it and the park that surrounds it.

Now it is time to pack as tomorrow is a BIG day – we are flying back to Adelaide in order to join the Indian Pacific Train as it travels from Perth to Sydney. You can get on in Perth and travel all the way to Sydney, however due to the high cost of this train, I thought that the 2 night, 3 day experience from Adelaide would be awesome for Andrew’s introduction to Australian Luxury trains! Now, to pack…and ensure our luggage is under 23 kg! More tomorrow!

November 15, 2025 – Australia – Melbourne – CBD – Didi ride, Pub Crawl and phenomenal dinner experience!

November 15, 2025November 20, 2025Lmnei

After a bit of a late night last night from the Penguin Parade, we elected to sleep in and then get up and phone home to those who needed phone calls to ensure we are still alive and well underneath the world! I spent some time doing some research on things to do in Melbourne that did not involve driving and found a tour that was wheelchair accessible (I have experience with Melbourne NOT being accessible) and involved going to pubs for drinks! What a great thing to do! It was departing at 3:45 pm from the Queen Victoria Market in the CBD so we just had to figure out how to get there without driving and we were set!

While we were getting ready to depart, I got a phone call on WhatsUp – which is an app that is used to message and phone people around the world except in North America it seems, which uses WiFi instead of a phone plan, from a guy named Lenny who asked if I needed the tour to be wheelchair accessible. Hmm. This conversation could go two ways and I decided to take the higher road and say, yes, it is advertised that way and that is why we signed up. He then asked if I could go up 2 flights of stairs – not the response I was expecting – and I said no, not unless it was an emergency! He then explained that the 1st bar had an elevator however the 2nd bar was upstairs! He would look into taking the group to an alternate bar if I was okay going up about a 4 inch step (which I was). He did not call me back so I figured everything was great and we planned to get there!

Looking at the tram that was near the hotel it was going to take an hour to get downtown so instead Google Maps suggested using DiDi which is a ride share service we later found out, from Asia. Very similar to Uber, a nice gentleman met us named Andrew and drove us downtown in his gold coloured car! He also drives for Uber and in chatting with him it sounds like Melbourne and the state of Victoria had similar issues with ride share services that British Columbia did with the taxi drivers not wanting the “extra” competition. All is well now, which I think is the same in Vancouver based on what I see at YVR airport. Andrew, the driver, got Andrew and I nice and safely to the street right outside of the Queen Victoria Market.

We met Lenny, the tour guide from Drinking History Tours, for the “Creepy Tales, Bars & Laneways Of Melbourne Walking Tour” at the Queen Victoria Market. Lenny is a professor of computer programming at the Melbourne University which is located in the downtown of Melbourne and he does this “tour” job on the side so he can drink while being paid!

There were 12 people, including Andrew and I on the tour – 6 women who were on a “girls weekend” from north of Melbourne, a couple from Sydney and 2 friends from Melbourne and us. We were the “foreigners”. After a short walk, we arrived at the Work Shop bar which used to be a motorcycle bike repair shop – which was upstairs! A fairly hidden bar which you would miss if you were not paying attention when you walked by when heading towards the Queen Victoria Markets. If you were heading the other direction, you would miss it!

We arrived at Work Shop and the rest of the tour went upstairs while I waited while Lenny went and got the bar manager to send the lift down to get me. Funny enough, the lift was also their storage facility for beer kegs and other things so we had to squeeze into a narrow passageway between some shelving and up we went! Upstairs was lovely! We sat next to an outside roof top bar area and talked to one another and Andrew enjoyed a pint along with the others. All the others on the tour had bought the all inclusive drinking package for the tour – which they got to try some pretty interesting types of drinks – I opted for the non-inclusive package as I do not drink and that would be a waste of money! I also found out when looking at the prices on the different bar menus that the prices for drinks in Melbourne are quite expensive! While my Coke Zero is normally about 5 AUD, drinks range 15-20 AUD! We stayed and chatted and Lenny told us some history of the area and then we moved on and walked to the next bar, this time passing by a historical area of Melbourne where there is a swing set art piece to commemorate some Australian aboriginals who were hanged for something that they did not do. The display was actually quite profound – the swing set below is supposed to be holding up the two coffins and allowing them to “swing free” in the wind. However they are concrete so they do not do that. The empty news boxes behind the swing set display different articles about the two men who were hanged and the controversy around that event. Funny enough, this swing set is facing the old Melbourne Gaol – which is pictured in the next few photos. No longer a jail, it is now a museum and historical place. Onwards we then walked!

During the walk I talked to one of the 2 ladies who live in Melbourne but only takes transit and she was talking to Lenny about the “hook turn” and how strange and unique they were to Melbourne downtown. I thought I would ask what this was and I sure was glad I did! First you have to remember we are driving on the left side of the street. If you want to go right which is across traffic like a left hand turn in Canada, in some intersections in Melbourne, you actually go into the LEFT lane (not right which would be logical) and sit there in a box with a right turn sign painted on the ground until the lights change and THEN you make your right turn. So if you think of two lanes of traffic driving down the left lane going straight they get to flow unimpeded with no one stopping the traffic to make the right hand turn. Instead, the car that wants to make the right turn lines up on the left hand side of the 2 lanes of traffic and then turns across both lanes once the light has stopped, just in front of the traffic that was to head straight from the other direction. Confused? Stay tuned! We will do one of these hook turns SUCCESSFULLY tomorrow! I was SO GLAD I asked her the question today!

We then arrived at the bar called Arcane Fairies – which was the replacement bar (which the others in the group did not know) that had the 4 inch lip to get into it which was no an issue. Very interesting bar with flying angels in the ceiling! Yet another beer decision for Andrew and another Coke Zero for me! We stayed a little while and Lenny described the bar that they normally go to which is the 2nd and 3rd story above this bar called Storyville – it is basically an old library filled with books with a bar and tables. The only way you know that this bar exists is the painting on the wall and the door that you see below.

Display for 2 Aboriginal men who were hanged

We then left the Arcane Fairies bar and walked down the lane next to Storyville to see the entrance to that bar. We then wound for about 8 blocks through the business district where Lenny told us stories of various things that happened over the years in Melbourne – the ghosts and mysteries part of this tour was not as exciting as I thought it was going to be – not sure if the lack of my alcohol consumption had anything to do with that! We passed many beautiful Art Deco buildings on our walk – however the most important one that I saw was the “Ministry of Crab” one which had actual bronze crabs on the outside of the building! They are blurry due to the printing below. Not sure what the Ministry of Crab is all about however it sounded pretty mysterious to me!

Eventually Lenny walked us down a lane and we entered a door – no sign for what bar this was – the only hint that it might be a bar was that there were stanchions outside to manage a crowd. The entrance was nice and bright however once we got inside – WOW it was DARK! I know that I hit many people with my walker wheels and frame but I could not see where I was going or what was in my way at one point in time! They had reserved seating for us and we did get situated and then we all pulled out our cell phones and turned on our flashlights to read the various menus! At this point I was hungry and my low blood sugar alarm was going off so I had some brie and GF crackers as a snack. There was some confusion though as to what I ordered as when I originally asked the waitress what was gluten free she told me that they could substitute the bread for crisps. When I ordered I then said I wanted the brie cheese with the GF chips like she suggested (I substituted chips for crisps) and that was a mistake! I ended up with a cheese plate with GF crackers and a bowl of french fries that I could not eat! Oh well. Stupid terminology – I should know better not to use the word chips! The bar was lovely and crowded and after a while of being outside in the sunlight our eyes did adjust! Some of the ladies in the group had some very interesting sounding drinks – they had some really fancy names like Mint Julip! Andrew had a local Ale that Lenny suggested to him and I had a vintage Coke Zero – aged to perfection! After chatting for a while, that was the end of the tour, so we parted ways.

Back out on the street now, it was about 7pm and still very light out. I had seen a Thai restaurant that we had walked past on the way to the bar so I thought we could go there for dinner. Basically as I was rolling by I saw a big menu and gluten free in close proximity to each other. We got back to that restaurant and the Thai restaurant was NEXT to a restaurant that was completely gluten free but only open for Breakfast and Lunch! Oh well! Lets check out my friend Google! On Google I saw a wheelchair accessible restaurant that served gluten free food with really good reviews about 1/2 a kilometre away – so we decided to walk there instead – it was on the same street so we could not get lost! Its name was Tazio and was a modern Italian restaurant and the risotto that someone had about 2 months ago was OUTSTANDING! Right up my line of thinking!

It was a nice walk, albeit a bit up hill to Tazio – it was interesting to pass by some of the lanes in Melbourne like the one below that have lots of tagging (spray paint artwork) and mystery doors! Now with our experience with the mystery bars I started to wonder what was behind some of those places! Eventually we ran into Tazio and at the front door, there was a sign blocking the entrance and then a bell, which is not accessible for someone to ring, to get access to the restaurant. Instead we followed the instructions and went around the corner and down the lane to the door where your are “supposed” to enter which of course has stairs! Andrew went up and asked about having dinner and that I could not get into the restaurant and could they open the front door please. He was told we needed a reservation! By this time I was waiting at the front door as I could see tables vacant in the restaurant and did not think they would not seat us. But no, you needed a reservation Andrew told me again. I quickly popped onto the internet and made a reservation for 20 minutes later at 8:30 pm! What to do in the meantime? Go shopping! I needed some more Coke Zero for tomorrow as the downside of Marriott Hotels is they serve Pepsi! Across the street was a convenience store so we patronized it and then hung out on the street corner for about 10 minutes until it was reservation time.

Back at Tazio, remember this place advertised that it was wheelchair accessible, Andrew rang the door bell. No one answered. We were both hungry. We rang it again and again no answer. Andrew went down the lane to the entrance to ask them to let me in. At the same time I phoned them and left a message about accessibility and how I had a reservation and mentioned that on the reservation it was noted that I needed an accessible table and why do they not answer the door or the phone? Then the Asian guests sitting inside the door saw my predicament and they started calling for the waitress and finally the door was opened and they sat Andrew and I in the window, just inside the door from the street. You might say I was a bit peeved at this point and Andrew was not a happy camper either. I think the waitress who brought us water noticed this and the manage then came by and listened to how hard it was to get into the restaurant despite being indicated as wheelchair accessible on Google and she offered to buy us a beverage! I thought that was very nice so I ordered a Coke Zero and she asked me if I wanted something alcoholic and I said that I did not drink but Andrew I am sure would like something! Andrew then ordered a glass of red wine and she brought the bottle!

The waitress then came back and I asked about gluten free options for a Celiac and she suggested some things however my mind was already set when I found that risotto was not on the menu – I was having the GF Prawn and Motza cheese pizza! The waitress recommended to Andrew that the lamb pasta is the specialty of the restaurant so he went ahead and ordered that. Oh my goodness – I have had GF pizza in Italy (home to pizza), Spain, New Zealand, other places of Australia and Canada and this was the BEST pizza crust I have ever eaten! It was so light and fluffy but thin at the same time – I ate the WHOLE 10 inch pizza as for once the dough was not that filling! Andrew totally enjoyed his lamb pasta too – the pasta noodles looked like narrow lasagna noodles with the undulations in them but in a string! Never seen that type before! As it was getting late, we then decided to get the bill and the manager came back to the table again and apologized again for the trouble we had this evening, had listened to my phone message and said that they were short staffed and that the manager (who was not on duty) had received the phone message and told her to provide dinner on the house! I was SHOCKED! We thanked her profusely! I am going to write a good review of the restaurant despite what happened from an accessibility standpoint.

After that lovely dinner and surprise, we then used Didi to get back to the hotel in Richmond, outside of Melbourne. It only took us about 12 minutes to get back as we used the tollways this time instead of surface streets. I did not know that this is an option in Didi but it was nice despite the $7 AUD add on for the tolls!

At this point, as we had such a fun afternoon and evening, we decided we were not going to get up early the next morning to visit the 12 Apostles which is the other thing that I wanted to do when visiting Melbourne. It is a drive of about 400 km round trip without any extra stops on the Ocean Road which runs along the south side of the state of Victoria back towards Adelaide and about 2 hours along, there are now about 7 “stacks” of limestone off the shore which are quite remarkable to see. They have been caused due to the erosion of the shore. There actually are not 12 of them – as I mentioned there are about 7 right now however as they fall down the number decreases and as more are eroded from the cliffs, more might occur. Here are some pictures of them! The drive that I wanted to take and had planned out looks like it will take us about 7 hours minimum!

Due to how I am feeling we decided instead to just go downtown tomorrow, as it is a Sunday and check out the Queen Victoria Market and then take a drive to St. Kilda and Brighton Beaches instead! Join us tomorrow as we explore some sandy venues!

November 14, 2025 – Australia – Melbourne – Phillip Island – Koala Conservation Reserve and a little Penguin Parade!

November 14, 2025November 20, 2025Lmnei

Today we had a relaxed morning and this afternoon we are going to drive to Phillip Island, which is south of Melbourne. I first went to Phillip Island on a bus tour with my friend Karen 27 years ago when we wanted to see the Penguin Parade. Karen LOVED penguins and we thought it would be a fun thing to do! It was very physically demanding on me as we had to get on and off a highway bus however we had a great time! I have always remembered how cute the penguins were walking in from the surf and if I was to return to Melbourne, I wanted to return! That is what we are going to do today, however we are going to drive ourselves, and visit a Koala Conservation Reserve on the way! Now that our lunch is packed – thanks to Andrew – we are on our way! The drive is about 90 minutes to Phillip Island.

Once on Phillip Island, we first stopped at the Koala Conservation Reserve, as the Penguin Parade is a sunset event when the birds come in to nest for the evening. We arrived at the Koala Conservation Centre and it was a very nice building with a display about Koala’s, which some of the information we had learned from the walk on Kangaroo Island was confirmed, and then there was some more information that was more applicable to the Melbourne area.

As the koala was actually eating at the time I took short video! Here it is!

Now, after a quick visit to the loo, we were off to the Penguin Parade! I knew we were running early, however last time I was there we were on a bus and I wanted to ensure that I had plenty of time to explore the area and the displays. The drive was fairly short however nice along the fairly flat Phillip Island. The only interesting thing we passed was a Go-Kart racetrack that looks to be quite popular! While no one was racing they had HUGE grass parking lots to support the grandstands. Just before the Penguin Parade we saw a sign for Flynn’s Beach which we decided to investigate! It seemed to be a surfers beach based on the parking lot and the number of surfers that were either getting into or out of wet suites for surfing! We walked along the path (more like trudged along once it turned into sand with my walker) to the lookout point and watched the surfers in the water. The waves were not that high in my impression however there were about 20 of them out there waiting for a “wave”.

Next, the piece de resistance! The Penguin Walk! We arrived at about 5:30 pm and they were just getting set up for the evening. While the centre opens at noon each day, the doors down to the penguin viewing areas are not open until just before the viewing times to lessen the impact on the penguins. So someone did a bit of shopping and then we had an AWESOME meal at the cafe for dinner! I am still amazed how good the gluten free offerings are in Australia – I had a vegetarian burger with a gluten free bun that I could have mistaken for a gluten bun it was that good! Downright amazing! Then we proceeded to walk down to the Penguin Viewing area. I had bought Penguin Plus tickets – I had previously sat in the General viewing area with Karen however the accessible seating was not that good, so decided to pay a bit more for a smaller viewing area. That was a good decision! We got up close and personal with the little penguins as they floated in from the sea, had what my dad and Neil Dirom would call a Management Meeting and then decided to proceed up the beach to their burrows. Here are my pictures!

Again it was an amazing experience to witness. How these little penguins can go into the water and find food during the day and then come back to their nests at night to feed their family and get to the right beach is remarkable! Seeing them appear at sunset surfing in on the waves was really fun too!

Here is another video of yet another Management Meeting under the walkway as we walked back up to the Penguin Walk centre to exit for the night –

Now back at the Conservation Centre, we quickly got back into the car and turned on the HEAT to warm up after that experience! I do remember getting cold when at the Penguin Parade with Karen, more importantly I remember Karen getting very cold, however the wind was up tonight and it was a bit chilly! Of course Andrew had forgotten his ball cap so that hairless noggin was uncovered after the sun set and it got a bit chilly out there! For the first time in Australia, I had to switch from the Air Con to heat which was a bit of a strange experience! We then drove without issues back to Melbourne for the evening – Andrew doing a really great job of concentrating on the “other” side of the road and driving in the dark! I was keeping watch too just to ensure we stayed in the correct lanes…

Our plan tomorrow is to go visit Downtown or the CBD (Central Business District) of Melbourne! Lets see what we can get up to doing that – the Melbourne CBD is a fascinating area – it has all these lane ways with stores and various vendors in them – should be interesting to see what we find!

November 13, 2025 – Australia – Melbourne – Timeout! Relax, Richmond Medical Clinic and Coles Shopping Trip

November 13, 2025November 18, 2025Lmnei

Today we slept in. Well, someone slept in and someone went downstairs for breakfast and got a gluten free cheese sandwich and tea! I will let you figure out which one did what! I let the person who had just driven over 800 km from Adelaide round trip get some rest however I was hungry – lets blame it on the cruise ship! My body wanted food! I went downstairs at about 9:45 am and they were just finishing up the breakfast buffet in the hotel we are staying at – Element by Marriott. This is a pretty modern hotel and lets say the restaurant is not what a regular hotel restaurant normally serves for breakfast – they kind of leaned towards Asian fusion type food. The buffet was not appropriate for me and they were just starting to take it down so they asked me what I would like and I said what do you have that is suitable for someone with Celiac Disease? They said how about a grilled cheese sandwich? I said you bet! I then helped myself to a cup of tea and sat at one of the breakfast tables and waited for my grilled cheese sandwich which showed up fairly fast! I was quite impressed! The restaurant, named Mint Lane, seems to be used by a lot of people who work in the business complex where the hotel is located.

Once Andrew woke up, as I noticed on the lunch menu they had gluten free calamari, I suggested we go down there for a simple lunch if he was hungry! So we did! WOW – now I have eating calamari around the world however these must have been the biggest calamari rings I have ever seen! However they were also VERY delicious and well seasoned/cooked!

Back in our hotel room, the view out the window was quite interesting with the blinds now open! We had these really tall – like 6 feet tall plant blossoms sticking up and pretty birds landing on them! Interesting to watch! Andrew figured out that the plant and the blossom stalk is called a Doryanthes Excelsa or Gymea Lily.

Next on the list of things to do was to deal with my ongoing pain – so I looked up a local doctors clinic in Richmond, the suburb of Melbourne where we were staying and picked a doctor from their website which to make and appointment with. His name was Dr Tuan Nguyen and while Australian, he also had a specialty in Pharmacology, which like my pain specialist, I thought would be an advantage. I made an appointment to see him to get the medication that Dr. Ong, my pain doctor had recommended that I get when we were in Maui, which I was not able to get and the ship did not have on board with them. The office was not very far away and it was a pretty seamless experience! Cost me $108 AUD which is not bad either! I received my prescription of Baclofen, which is used for people with spinal cord injuries and muscle spasms like I have and he had no issues prescribing it to me which was good! Then it was off to Coles, which is a grocery store and to a pharmacy to get my prescription filled!

Got the prescription filled – a whopping $17 AUD for the medication! I think I pay more in Canada for 100 tablets! Pretty good! Now off across the shopping mall to Coles to get some sustenance for our day trips for the next couple of days! I was particularly looking at their gluten free sections of course and found what I was looking for – Gluten Free Weetabix! It is made from Sorghum and is an excellent start to the day! Especially for those with diabetes as it does not raise your blood sugar due to the protein content in the sorghum. After getting a selection of buns, meat, cheese, chips, drinks, cookies and breakfast items we were on our way back to the hotel to relax for the rest of the evening. On our way back to the hotel, we passed by a beautiful old church that perhaps Andrew’s mother had seen when she lived in Melbourne, so we took a picture of it!

Tomorrow, we are going to drive to Phillip Island, which is south of Melbourne and visit some little penguins! I have been here before with Karen and looking forward to going back as they were just SO CUTE waddling up onto the beach after a day out at sea! Looking forward to also taking my new medication and getting my body back into better form too! See you tomorrow!

November 12, 2025 – Australia – Lighthouse, ferry, drive back to Adelaide and Flight to Melbourne!

November 12, 2025November 18, 2025Lmnei

Today, as I mentioned last night, we are going to take a short jaunt to the Cape Willoughby Lighthouse which is on the small easternmost point of Kangaroo Island and then back to Pennshaw to catch the 1:30 pm ferry back to Adelaide. The Cape Willoughby Lighthouse was the first lighthouse to be built in South Australia in 1852 and it is still operational today. It stands 27 metres high with 102 steps to the lookout tower, and offers stunning panoramic view across Backstairs Passage and the Kangaroo Island coastline. You can actually stay at a cottage at the lighthouse, however they were already booked by the time I was booking our vacation 9 months out!

View on drive to Cape Willoughby Lighthouse

Now, back to Pennshaw, which really is a small town centered around the ferry terminal, we arrived right when the earlier ferry was departing so we were first in line for the ferry we had reservations on! That allowed us to go check in and spend some quality time in the terminal relaxing and having a bit of lunch (and the one gluten free item in the display case) before boarding the ferry, which again, Andrew and I will do separately. The water was an AMAZING colour at the ferry terminal! When we saw the ferry arriving, we finally saw how the ferry operates (the ferry was already at the dock when we arrived on Monday morning) which is that it drives only in one direction and loads from the stern! So each time it comes into dock, it arrives and then pivots around to back in and let down the ramp at the stern!

Now we are off the ferry, we are taking a different route back into Adelaide than when we drove to Victor Harbour. This road will take us mainly along the water and beaches until we hit the M2 and then into Adelaide and to the airport. One thing that I did not realize is that the Adelaide Airport is actually south of the city – it is between the city and the beach! So that was an interesting discovery we made as we drove the surface streets to get gas, return the car and then the shuttle to the airport.

This is our first time flying Virgin Australia – we flew Qantas from Sydney to Adelaide and the rest of our tickets are on Virgin Australia whom Air Canada partners with. Similar to Qantas, they board the first 15 rows by the Jetway and then the last 15-ish rows through the stairs up to the back of the plane. The plane sure gets boarded fast! They were spot on getting me onto the plane in advance so they could take my walker and put into the hold of the plane – it was funny we followed a man, who Andrew called a Sumo wrestler due to his size, along with his sister and brother onto the plane. Of all the seats on the plane, this man was sitting behind me! Lets just say he did not fit into his seat at all. His sister and him took up the 3 seats on that side of the plane. I believe their brother was sitting behind his brother. Anyways, every time the Sumo Wrestler type brother laughed, Andrew and my seats shook! This was our 2nd experience on a flight with passengers behind us that caused issues with our seats – no wonder I prefer business class! However the guy was really good about it – other than he could not stop laughing and even suggested I put my seat back! I declined and said I was fine sitting up for the 50 minute flight…

We arrived in Melbourne after dark and were one of two couples who were the last to show up at the car rental agency before it shut down for the night – they were waiting for us! So we got into our car pretty fast with some personal service and we off to drive to our hotel in Richmond, which is a suburb of Melbourne – sort of like Burnaby is for Vancouver. I had selected this hotel for 3 reasons – 1. It had on site laundry where we could do our own laundry 2. The points price was within reason for a stay and 3. There was rapid transit across the street to downtown Melbourne!

Long travel day! Nice bed again – time for some sleep! Lets see what we get up to tomorrow!

November 11, 2025 – Australia – Kangaroo Island Sightseeing – Remarkable Rocks, Sunbathing Sea Lions and Pizza!

November 11, 2025November 17, 2025Lmnei

Welcome to our day on Kangaroo Island! Today, we are going to do a LOT of driving, as I previously mentioned, I did not realize how LARGE this island is! It is hard balancing rest and relaxation with wanting to do things too! I was amazed as I got 6 hours straight sleep which is a record so far on this trip for me! So quiet and peaceful! The bed was so comfortable too – a great comforter on it plus a wonderful thick cotton blanket – the kind I like!

The owner had provided GF corn flakes for me (she had asked if anyone had food allergies which is cool) along with GF bread and for Andrew there was an assortment of cereals to choose from along with milk, yogurt and fruit cups in the fridge. Oh and there was coffee too! Two kinds – instant and French press! Such luxury! After a good breakfast we were off on our quest today to discover Kangaroo Island. However first, as we had already done some driving to Victor Harbour, the ferry and to the Hanson Nature Park and we were going to do more, we needed to get some gas so we did not run out in the wilderness! As we had stopped and gotten groceries yesterday in Kingscote, we had a coupon for 4 cents off gas, so we decided to make use of it! We drove back to Kingscote and got some gas and then back across the Island to Seal Bay to visit the Southern Fur Sea Lions who like to visit the beach there.

Again, here is the map of where we are going and what we are going to do for reference – today we are going to drive from Kingscote (middle top right) down to the bottom on the red road to where you see a little red “hook” in the middle – that is Seal Bay. Then we will continue to the left past the blue arrow where we were yesterday to where the road turns and heads south. Right where it turns and heads south is the entrance to the Flinders Chase National Park. From there, which is hard to see on this map, we will go to both Remarkable Rocks and Cape du Couedic to see the lighthouse and Admirals Arch. Then we will drive the red road heading north called West End Road and then along Playford Road back to Kingscote for dinner and then back to Beaudin Beach which is just to the right of Pennshaw where the ferry terminal is to our B&B. That will be about 350 kilometers of driving for Andrew today! I told you that KI is a BIG island!

Another point about driving on Kangaroo Island – it is quite interesting when looking at the map above or Google Maps – it shows roads like red and brown above – however not all of them are paved! Some are hard packed dirt and some are just dirt and rocks. It adds to the fun when driving. And then, on all the roads every kilometre or two there also would be a kangaroo at the side of the road – usually feet up on its back – dead.

After successfully getting gas in Kingscoke and Lynda getting some beverages, we arrived at Seal Bay, which is another conservation area and it has about a ½ kilomentre sloping ramp down to a viewing area where you can see the sea lions on the beach hanging out for the day. These southern sea lions, like the ones near Horseshoe Bay outside of Vancouver, are fur bearing sea lions, unlike seals which do not have fur. That is a pretty big distinction that they ranger who was at the education centre told me, after she asked where we were from (like it was not obvious from my hat!). Andrew and I bought tickets to go down and sea the see the sun bathing sea lions! Here are our pictures of the roll down to the beach viewing area!

It was interesting to see the whale skeleton on our way down – there are Humpback and Southern Right whales that ply the waters from May to October as they make their way to breeding grounds. These types of whales are baleen whales who do not have teeth – they have bristles instead which filter food from the water. There also are sperm and killer whales in the area, with teeth that hunt other whales and sea lions as we saw on the beach.

Now we have visited the mainly female sea lions and their offspring and heard the honking of some males, it is time for us to go to the National Park and check out some Remarkable Rocks, Lighthouse and the Admirals Arch! This was going to take us about 90 minutes to drive to, however this road is going to be paved…. based on our experience yesterday! Along the way, we passed by the Hanson Conservation area and eventually arrived at the Flinders Chase National Park. We got there at about 2:45 pm and it was just before it closed! I was a bit hungry so we quickly got a map of where we needed to go and visited the restaurant which was closing at 3 pm. The ONLY snack left was guess what? A gluten free caramel nut bar! They even showed me the box before serving it to me – I was pretty excited to get such a rare treat! Now that I have power food, we were off to drive to Remarkable Rocks!

The Remarkable Rocks are a rock formation that was formed by molten rock over 500 million years ago that pushed up as the upper layer cracked and peeled away forming a type of granite. The exposed red granite is made up of quartz, feldspar and mica where it has had thousands of years of surface weathering and erosion to make the rocks look like they do today. These are known as domed inselbergs or “islands of rocks”.

Back in the car, we were then off to the Cape du Couedic Lighthouse and then Andrew went and did the Admiral’s Arch walk – which was not accessible for me. The Cape du Couedic Lighthouse, which I was able to visit, is named after the French Naval Officer Charles Louis du Couedic. As the Southern Ocean was a nasty place for sailors due to extreme weather and poor visibility, many shipwrecks happened. This lighthouse, built in 1907, had lamps fueled by oil and kerosene and its lights could be seen up to 40 km away at sea. The lighthouse now uses solar powered LED lights to fuel the light source.

Then Andrew walked down to the Admirals Arch to check it out while I waited in the car. The arch has been carved by sea erosion over thousands of years and is known for its distinctive stalactites and a colony of long-nosed fur seals that frequent the area on their way to Seal Bay.

Now, we are getting hungry! We decided to take the “northern route” back to Kingscote for a change of scenery and go for dinner. As data coverage on Kangaroo Island is a bit LACKING (thus is why these posts got backlogged) I was able to find a restaurant that served gluten free pizza when we got close to the small town called Bella and boy it was GOOD! Andrew had the meat lovers pizza as normal and I had a chicken and spinach pizza – the crust was so light, thin and easy to eat that I ate the whole thing! Wow! Now with full stomachs, we checked out the local “swimming beach” which is actually a guarded pool with salt water with a breakwater so the tide comes in and out, with sand and picnic shelters! Pretty nice! As the sun was starting to set though and we still had about 45 minutes to drive, we decided to get going back to the B&B for the nigh!

Kingscote Town Council (City Hall) Building

Tomorrow we are going to visit the lighthouse that is on the north east point of Kangaroo Island – not far from where we are staying and then back to Pennshaw to catch the ferry at 1 pm. We have a 7 pm flight to Melbourne tomorrow from Adelaide for the next part of our journey! See you tomorrow!