Day 35: More Ludwig, More Schloss, More Wagner

Now today we put into practice our well learnt lesson from yesterday; we were at Linderhof Castle not long after opening, joining the very next tour at 9:30. Yay!
Now this castle was a lot smaller, and set in large, extensive grounds and gardens, and so was very different to the Neuschwanstein Castle we'd visited the day before.
Ludwig had Linderhof built to replicate and celebrate the French baroque period and as a tribute to Sun King Louis XIV, who Ludwig totally idolised.

New Zealand: Waitomo to Rotorua

Today was a beautiful sunny day, perfect weather. We left Matamata early morning and drove through rolling hills and rural properties. We broke fast in Ototohanga at a bakery in town.  We saw beautiful lakes and drove across narrow old weathered dam walls.

Luang Prabang and Pak Ou Caves

Up early today for a 6:00am pickup. We watched the monks doing their dawn alms collection. Very beautiful to watch. A large family had come to give alms and they were the centre of attention with lots of tourists taking their photo, even before the monks arrived.

The monks came in single file in their saffron robes accepting rice, bananas and other food without acknowledgement. When their bowls were full, or just at their choosing they take some food out of their bowls and give it to some poor children who were standing at the side of the procession.

Pindaya Caves and Inle Lake

Up early again, though getting later each day Mimi met us and took us to the airport. We passed many monks along the way doing their morning alms collection.

The flight to Heho only took 20 minutes, and we were met inside the airport by Meo (though not quite sure if that is her name, let alone spelt correctly!). She helped us collect our bags and took us outside to meet our guide Phyo (pronounced Peo, rhymes with Joe) and our driver Boney. We had an interesting and long drive through the countryside, including a stop in a small village at a roadside café where we had chick pea fritters. A little chicken clucked around under our tables eating up the dropped crumbs.

Hue what a lovely place

We woke early with the train still rocking along. We passed through some lovely green countryside, at times quite close to the mountains. We went through a number of tunnels, some of which had caves with stalactites visible as we rumbled through!. We stopped at a few stations where people madly tried to sell fruits and food through the train windows and we crossed a number of lovely rivers where we could see lift nets used to catch shrimps.

Michelle and Liam had struggled through the night to use the pit toilet at the end of train, trying desperately not to slip and fall into the hole as the train rocked back and forth only to later find out that the other end of the train had a normal Western style toilet!

Breakfast was a choice of pork bun or BBQ beef instant noodles, which was quite tasty. The instant noodles were very spicy.

We arrived in Hue shortly after 10:30 and it was hot! We took a taxi to the Festival Hue Hotel, and settled into our room. We had a nice lunch at the hotel by the pool; crab and mushroom soup for Michelle and I, and Liam had French Fries with mayonnaise as he didn't like his vegetable soup; though we found it quite delicious.

Liam had a quick dip in the pool before we went for our boat trip on the Perfume River. The boats looked great all lined up at the side of the river, with a flock of ducklings swimming in between them. We met the lovely mother and daughter who were our captains and cooks.

The river cruise was beautiful. Heading up the river we could see people dredging sand and pebbles from the river bottom, their heavily laden boats barely above the water as they traveled back to drop off their load of sand at the shore to collect a hard earned 100,000VND per boat load.

We continued up river to Minh Mangs Mausoleum, which featured the most magnificent gardens and lakes. We walked through some beautiful temples and courtyards and could see the hillside in which Minh Mang is reported to be buried.

Water Buffalo were playing in the water as we returned to the boat and made our way to Thien Mu Pagoda. It was starting to get a little dark, and a light rain was falling as we had a quick look around the complex. Michelle was starting to feel a little seedy, an omen for things to come. The pagoda was very peaceful with the Buddhist monks all sitting down for their dinner.

Michelle was starting to feel worse, so We returned to the dock where Michelle caught a taxi back to the hotel. The boat returned to the middle of the river where it dropped anchor near the Hue Citadel and Liam and I sat down to the most delicious feast of fish, pork, beef, chips, water spinach and peanuts and rice. It was indescribably magnificent as the boat floated gently in the middle of the river with the lights of Hue as a backdrop.

Ninh Binh, where Coc and Bich are words of beauty

Ninh Binh - Tam Coc 31st March 2004

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When we arranged our Vietnam tour through Griwswald's offices in Sydney, they no longer ran the tours to Tam Coc due to the excessive hard sell and hassling that tourists received. We were still keen to go to Tam Coc regardless, as the pictures we had seen were so beautiful. So we arranged a tour through Sinh Café at the hotel. We were picked up at around 7:30 and taken to a meeting place where we met our fellow travelers (about 15 of us). There was a lot of mucking around with buses and waiting but eventually we were off.

We saw another fatal accident on the highway; a minibus had a head on collision with a large truck. The truck was on it's side, and the minibus and it's occupants, well it was something I didn't really want to see. The road was very busy with lots of trucks and buses and an English woman on the bus was getting very jittery in the traffic. Thankfully we finally arrived in the peaceful and scenic Hoa Lu, the tenth century capital of Vietnam. We visited the first temple at the base of Saddle Mountain.

After spending some time exploring through the temple Den Dinh Tien Hoang we prepared for a climb up Saddle Mountain. Liam was given the opportunity to sit on the back of a water buffalo while we waited for everybody!

The climb was steep, and Michelle decided to wait at the bottom. Near the top was an altar, and Liam and I made our offerings. Everybody had disappeared whilst we were at the altar, and the man there pointed down a small muddy trail, which I though indicated that was the way everybody had gone. But he was also pointing at my camera. We headed off down the narrow path and came out on the limestone cliff with fantastic views over the river below. By the time we got back down the mountain the rest of the group had gone off to the other temple and I'd missed out. But I think the views were worth it.

We returned back to the bus, along the road at the base of the mountain, picking up a cool drink along the way. Everybody was soon loaded back onto the bus and we made our way down the windy roads to Bich Dong.

Bich Dong, otherwise known as the Jade Grotto is a Buddhist Temple in the side of the mountain. Steps framed with banyan trees lead up to the temple, and the path and steps lead further up the mountain through a cave with green stones and a large bell. Eventually we came out near the top of the mountain at a third temple, with views out across the countryside.

Next stop was Tam Coc, or Three Caves. It was just as beautiful as the pictures we had seen. We had lunch in a small restaurant across from the river, which was quite average, but OK. Not the same standard of food as we had had on the tours organised by Griswalds. The spring rolls were stone cold, and luckily one of the girls on our tour was Vietnamese, and so could complain on our behalf. Liam found the pit toilets fascinating. We then boarded the row boats for the beautiful trip down the river, passing through rice paddies and past magnificent limestone karsts. Ladies were working the rice paddies by the river, and goats clambered on the mountainsides above us. We floated through the three caves which are the namesake of the region, and spent a good time at the furthest point on the trip looking off into the valley beyond at the mountain scenery. It truly is Ha Long Bay on land.

The hardsell started on the way back; at least the trip out was peaceful and enjoyable. But it wasn't too bad; we bought a little and politely said no a lot. They at least had a sense of humour with the various messages on the T-Shirt given us by the Kangaroo Cafe, but it didn't work. I was able to divert the conversation a little too, but not for too long. When we arrived at the dock we were immediately hassled to pay a tip for the boat rower as well.

We travelled back to Ha Noi the way we had come, again seeing another accident where some poor soul had been knocked off his bike by a bus in the rain. The roads in Vietnam from our experience were very dangerous. I was much happier travelling in buses with local drivers, as opposed to travelling ourselves on xe oms.

We were dropped back at the bus depot, instead of back at our hotels which was a bit of a surprise. The English lady, who had not enjoyed the bus trip back, being constantly worried about being in an accident, was certainly no less happier being dropped off at the edge of town.

I didn't immediately recognise where we were, but felt sure of the direction of the lake. It was great walking through the streets of the city, past little kitchens on the footpath and kids playing everywhere.

We asked another tourist we passed for directions to the lake, which confirmed we were heading in the right direction. We stopped into the Kangaroo Cafe for a drink, only to find out they also now arranged trips to Tam Coc. I'm sure it would have been better run, but we had a great and exciting day regardless. We jumped in a taxi back to the hotel where we had dinner and got ready for our train trip off to Hue at 10:00PM.

Cuong, who was going to be our guide for the rest of our holiday in Vietnam picked us up at the hotel and took us to the train station in a taxi. Taxis do run off meters in Vietnam! It was a tropical thunderstorm and was raining quite heavily, and somebody grabbed one of my bags out of the taxi and started carrying it to the train for me. I was struggling with the bag I had, and was desperately trying to hold my pants up as they were a bit too big, and sorely needed a belt. Of course when we arrived in our berth on the train the demand for payment was made, and quite a high price demanded as well. After some argument we managed to pay US$1, and we settled into the train and were soon off, and asleep.

From Ha Noi to Ha Long Bay: a touch of France, a dogs dinner and hard as a rock

We woke up early; it was a very quiet hotel well away from the bustle and noise of Ha Noi, though the Restaurant was full of French people for breakfast. Breakfast was a buffet - nice baguettes, omelettes and French toast (croissants?). We had some time to kill before the bus arrived to take us on our tour of Ha Long Bay, so we took a walk down the road from the hotel. Instant culture shock for Michelle and Liam, with lots of motorbikes and cyclo drivers wanting to take us for a ride. We bought some postcards at an exorbitant price and then walked back to the hotel.

The minibus soon arrived for our Ha Long Bay Tour. There were about 15 of us on the tour. We stopped for morning tea at a disabled workshop a couple of hours into the trip to stretch the legs and allow a toilet stop. I bought a stone dragon and a stone water buffalo sculpture and Michelle picked up a some embroidered coasters.

We had lunch at Ha Long City at a very nice restaurant; though the main attraction was the dogs in a basket on the back of a motorbike which we could see from the back window. Yes, they do eat dogs in Vietnam... After lunch it was only a short 10 minute drive to the wharf.

We boarded the dragon boat and were soon making our way past floating houses, small boats selling food and groceries and many fishing craft. Ha Long bay is serenely beautiful, with characteristically magnificent limestone karsts peppered throughout the green waters of the bay.

We visited a huge limestone cave which had postcard views back into the bay, then cruised through islands until 6pm. Everyone chatting and playing games. Liam was having a ball with 3 other kids being on board, playing "Pirates".

Unfortunately it was too cold to swim - and very cool this evening, so sleeping out on deck under the stars was also out.

Dinner was similar to lunch; fish, prawns, rice, vegetables and salad. With the generators turned off it was very quiet sleeping on the boat, and pitch black!

Queensland Road Trip

Wanting a winter escape from Melbourne, we planned a short holiday on the Gold Coast with Michelle's parents, Glenda and Arthur.  Also, wanting to add a bit of variety to the trip up and back, we diverted from the usual Newell path.

The Trip Up

After spending the night in Coonabarabran, we drove into Gunnedah at sunrise and then to Lake Keepit, the site of my Irish ancestor's first settlement in Australia.  Past Tamworth, we drove past the huge granite boulders at Moonbi pass, stopping a short while at the lookout.  On through Armidale and Glenn Innes, we passed some beautiful countryside near Deepwater and explored the Bungulla Station near Tenterfield, before heading to the coast at Ballina.  Sugar cane, sugar cane and more sugar cane and we eventually found ourselves at Burleigh Heads.

Around and about South-East Queensland

We had a great time spending a couple of days on the beach, especially Tallebudgera which is very kid friendly.  We also tried a bit of fishing here, catching a few toadies.  We did a trip up into the Hinterlands, taking in Springbrook Falls, and the Natural Arch; visited Sanctuary Cove; went to Movie World and Wet 'N' Wild; and also visited the Glasshouse Mountains, enjoying lunch at Moss's Cafe with some spectacular mountain scenery of old worn volcanic plugs with a strong aboriginal heritage.  We also explored the rainforest walk at Marie Cairncross, and the arty crafty township of Maleny before heading back, enjoying a delicious fresh crushed pineapple juice along the way.

The Trip Back

Also wanting to make something of the long trip back, so we headed down the coast past fields of sugar cane to Grafton and taking the Gwydir Highway to Glenn Innes.  The scenery along the rocky Mann River was magnificent, but was surpassed by the climb up the Gibraltar Range through rainforest with glorious views.  We passed some promising looking fishing spots shy of Glenn Innes where we stopped for lunch in the park near the visitor centre.

We continuing down the New England Highway through Armidale and on past Tamworth, collecting an unfortunate Kookaburra along the way.  He cracked the windscreen, which I'm sure faired better than he did.  On through Willow Tree, Scone and Muswellbrook where we spent the night.

From Muswellbrook, we headed cross country through Denman and then across through the top of Wollemi National Park, with honeycombed cliffs climbing abruptly from the valley.  We passed a huge freight train, then meandered into the hills, passing the Kerrabee Tunnel before coming out into the valley at Murrumbo Gap and Bylong Flat where we had a close up look at a Wedgetailed Eagle on the verge as we passed.

We continued past Capertee and a number of collieries, skirting the Gardens of Stone which I plan to explore on a future trip.  We arrived in Lithgow and made our way down the windy but scenic road to Jenolan Caves.  We explored two caves, the Imperial and the Orient, both where breathtaking and the first time the kids had been into limestone caves which they were most impressed with.  It was my 4th visit to the caves but still as magical as the first.  Next visit will have to include the River Cave for the kids.

After lunch with the Currawongs, we climbed out the back road to Oberon, through the Gurnang State Forest and into Goulburn for dinner.  Not wanting to spend another night from home, and to be home on my Birthday we continued through down the Hume Freeway into the evening, arriving home some time around midnight, if not slightly after.

Hamilton Explorer Range Rover Club Trip

A Weekend camping trip with Liam and Mark Linkin

Saturday

This wasn't really a 4WD trip, and the greater majority of the trip was on good quality sealed bitumen.  What this trip was about, was exploring some of the volcanic history of Western Victoria.

Our meeting place was at Lismore at 9:00, which meant a fairly early start from home to get there in time.  After introductions, and a briefing we made our way around the old Flax Mills in Lismore and then headed off to Mt Elephant.  Mt Elephant is a giant scoria cone, but is wholly on private land and we were not able to arrange access to drive up the cone.

We drove on to Lake Bolac, where I suspect Liam influenced one of the other young boys on the trip to fall into the lake and had our morning tea on the rocky shore.  From memory, Lake Bolac was formed by the lava flows blocking old stream beds forming a natural dam.

From Lake Bolac we drove to Penshurst and had our lunch on Mt Rouse.  Quite good views from the fire tower where overlooking the plains, and we could also see quite clearly Mt Napier, which would be our next destination.  After exploring the scoria cones on the face of the volcano, we headed off to Mt Napier and our campsite for the night.

We arrived into Mt Napier State Park from the north, via Buckley Swamp and proceeded to climb to the top of the volcanic cone.  Again we had quite excellent views, and the Western lip of the volcanic crater was missing where the lava had spilled out and flowed out to form the Byaduk lava tubes, which we would explore on Sunday.

I was quite impressed with Liam's climbing, having made it to the top of the volcano easily.  We saw some goats on the side of the cone, and we climbed down into the crater as well before making our way back down the mountain side and getting completely lost on our way back to camp.

The tents were quite hard to pitch, due to the ground consisting entirely of small volcanic stones just below the shallow top soil and grass.  There were also some enormous toadstools growing beneath the trees, which all of the kids found quite fascinating.  A short walk at night to spot any possums and then we were off to sleep for a very noisy night, thanks to a number of koalas.

Sunday

On Sunday we saw some very interesting formations, apparently quite unique in the world where the cooling lava had solidified into rock, then been buckled upwards forming mounds of basalt called tumuli.

These were on a farmers property easily visible from the road through an electrified fence which the kids had great fun with by forming a chain of hands and then grabbing the fence so that all where zapped.

From here we visited the Byaduk Lava tubes, some of which had collapsed ceilings allowing us to enter them and explore by torch light.

We drove along the Henty Highway, which gave us views back across the lava plains to Mt Napier and then made for our lunch destination at Wannon Falls.

The falls were in great form, with a very decent flow of water.  The track down to the falls base was closed, and looked like it had been for a long time.  A new viewing platform had been built at the top of the falls since I had last visited.

After lunch we visited Nigretta Falls further up the Wannon River and then drove up the west side of the Grampians in search of Brolgas, but did not find any.  We cut across the Grampians (on which Road I can't recall) and headed out along some dirt tracks to Moyston and back home.