Onward to Bangkok

Friday 10th December    To Bangkok


Rose at 07.30 on this, the final day in Australia. Shower, and then to breakfast where Valerie cooked me the ‘Full English’ as a final treat. It’s a good job I don’t do this often.

After breakfast I completed my packing and cleared out all the unwanted stuff, which was not actually as much as I had anticipated although I am going to have to carry my coat.

Departed Willunga at about 10.30 as Valerie had to do a couple of errands on the way to the airport. Arrived at the airport at approximately 11.30 and checked in fairly quickly and was booked right through to Bangkok. Bid Valerie farewell at 13.15 and boarded the flight to Sydney.

Adelaide Airport Main Concourse

JB At Adelaide Airport - The Positioning Of The Sign Above My Head Was Purely Accidental

Arrived at Sydney on time at 15.45 local time and was transported by bus to the International Terminal where I had about an hour to wait before boarding the Bangkok flight.

At The Departure Gate - Sydney Airport

Although only an 8 hour 40 minute flight I was really glad when we landed at about 10.30 pm local time. Having negotiated immigration and customs I exited into the main concourse and was greeted by a young lady with a hotel placard who took over my luggage trolley and shepherded me to a hotel limousine which then transported me in luxury to the hotel where I arrived at 11.30 local time which is 7.00 hours ahead of UK time. Feeling pretty shattered but want to get the Blog drafted before I turn in and I am waiting for the hotel to provide me with a LAN cable so that I can get Internet Access.

Bangkok Airport - Arrivals Concourse

My Room At The Amari Atrium Hotel - Bangkok

Aus Day 81 - The Last Full day

Thursday 9th December    Aus Day 81


Rose at 07.30 after another night being disturbed by dog barking. Shower and breakfast but was then at a bit of a loss wondering what to do with myself as I didn’t have much to do until lunch time when Valerie is cooking a lunch for 6 of us.

Valerie found me something to do, moving furniture and peeling a huge pile of potatoes. I also did my last lot of laundry and started my final packing. The main item, of course, is the wine I bought yesterday which I individually wrapped in bubble-wrap and then cushioned between towels and soft clothing. I can only now hope that all will be well and that they survive intact. I will have to ditch some of my summer weight clothing to accommodate the wine but I don’t have a problem with that. Most of it is well old, anyway.

For those of you who are not acquainted with it, I have included a photo of Willunga House, where sister Valerie lives and also included a photo of the dining table all set for our lunch.

Willunga House - About 40 Kms South Of Adelaide

Table For Six Please!

The lunch turned out to be very pleasant with excellent food, and lovely company, mildly lubricated by very drinkable wine from the local McLaren Vale wineries. The lunch stretched out until about 5.00 pm and was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

7.00 pm saw me contacting Eileen on Skype and we had a good chat but won’t be able to talk again until Saturday as I will be travelling between Adelaide and Bangkok. The trip back to the UK is one I am now ready for but not looking forward to. I am beginning to go right off airline travel. Still, it has to be done so let’s get going.

My next Blog will also have to wait until Saturday when I should be able to bring you some news and views of Bangkok. So until then Good Night All.

Aus Day 80 - Farewell to the Van

Wednesday 8th December    Aus Day 80


Rose at 07.30 after another night being woken at intervals by barking dogs, mossies or, heavy rain. Shower and breakfast then Valerie drove me to the Kay Brother’s Winery where I purchased 4 bottles of their Rare Muscat which I had been lusting after for some time. I am going to have to be very careful how I pack them to ensure safe arrival in the UK but, hopefully all will be OK.

Some of you may recall me talking about “Fruit-Fly Quarantine” in the Blog on Saturday 4th December (Aus Day 76). Well, I have received a request to clarify what this actually means. What is doesn’t mean is that you have to catch them and keep each one in a little box for a specific period of time.

When crossing State Borders such as from the Northern Territory into Western Australia and from Western Australia into South Australia transportation of any form of fresh fruit or vegetables is illegal and can attract hefty fines. Plant pests and diseases can spread from one part of Australia to another through the movement of fruit, vegetables, plants, flowers, plant products and soil. The regulations are designed to prevent the spread of such pests and diseases. The above hyperlink should provide you with any further information you wish to see and I hope this answers the original question.

At 1.30 pm I set off in the camper van for the final time to deliver it to the depot in North Adelaide arriving there at 2.40 pm, having refuelled on the way. The depot was incredibly busy to the extent that I had to park my vehicle on the road because there was simply not enough space to drive it into the depot yard.

However, once I actually managed to get someone to attend to me, the hand over was relatively simple although I did present them with quite a list of things which need attending to. By this time Valerie had arrived in order to ferry me back to Willunga although we stopped off at Adelaide Market and a friend’s house for coffee, on the way.

We got back to Willunga just in time for me to establish Skype contact with Eileen thereby rounding off a good day.

I apologise for having no photographs today and will try to do better tomorrow. However, I have now all but completed my Australian travels and only have to wait until Friday before I fly out from Adelaide to Bangkok, via Sydney and then from Bangkok on Sunday night to UK, arriving home (weather permitting) on Monday morning.

Aus Day 79 -Adelaide Shopping

Tuesday 7th December    Aus Day 79


Rose at 08.20 this morning, the latest I’ve been during the whole of this trip. Lovely bed but spent half the night chasing a mossie. Showered in my en-suite bathroom then joined Valerie for breakfast.

Spent an hour re-constructing the interior of the van and getting all the bedding etc sorted out. Now it just needs a quick sweep out and refuelling before I hand it in to the depot.

At 11.00 am we left the house to go shopping in Adelaide although we had to stop off in Aldinga as Valerie had an appointment to keep.

We arrived at Adelaide Market at about 12.30 an had a spot of lunch at Lucia’s. Then continued to Rundle Mall on the free tram service just as it was starting to rain. Spent the next 4 hours wandering around the shops up and down the Mall, with some success, before making our way back to the market to pick up the car and join the rush hour traffic back onto the expressway heading for Willunga.

Adelaide Indoor Market

Santa In Rundle Mall

Valerie Posing In Davy Jones Apartment Store

Select Your Christmas Decorations

Valerie cooked us a very nice mushroom omelette which was washed down with another bottle of Shiraz then at about 8.30 pm we took ourselves off to the pub at the top of the main street having a good chat and returning home and off to bed at about 10.45.

Aus Day 78 - Almost There.

Monday 7th December    Aus Day 78


Rose at 07.30 after being woken at 05.00 by about ¾ hour of very gusty wind which abated as quickly as it arrived. Shower and breakfast for the last time in this van. Tonight I will be sleeping in a “proper” bed, courtesy of sister Valerie, assuming I can get t the other side of Adelaide without mishap.

Readied the van for travelling and on my way out of the caravan park, performed the port-a-loo dump routine for the last time. I shan’t miss that particular activity. Set off at about 09.30 with approximately 403 kilometres to go to get to Willunga.

The Road To Adelaide Just South Of Pt Augusta

The Road To Adelaide Just Before Port Wakefield

Traffic Chaos As I Try To Get Into Adelaide

An uneventful journey although traffic density is gradually increasing as I go south. Refuelled at Port Wakefield which will see me through until the final refuel before handing the van back. I had decided to follow the A13 through Adelaide as this leads directly to the M2 Expressway, the quick route to Willunga. Unfortunately, having turned off the A1, I was almost immediately confronted by roadwork chaos. There seemed to be major reconstruction going on with very little in the way of effective traffic management other than ‘let them sort it out for themselves.’ However, I managed to stay calm and ‘go with the flow,’ as slow as it was. Anyway, I eventually got to the expressway just as the southbound flow started and from there it was plain sailing until I arrived at Willunga House at about 2.45.

McLaren Vale Approaching Willunga

The Van Parked Up Safely At Willunga House

I parked the van up and got most of my stuff off-loaded and lodged in my on-suite bedroom which has a lovely double bed covered with crisp white sheets. I shall get the van sorted out tomorrow in readiness for getting it returned to the depot in Adelaide on Wednesday.

Valerie cooked us a very nice Spag Bol for tea which went down very nicely with a bottle of Shiraz, after which I had a wonderful Skype session with Eileen. It won’t be long now before we are back together.

Valerie and I had a good childhood reminiscences session an a general chat about more current things before I set to to get this Blog completed before Zebedee can find out where I am. However, I am now off to my "Proper" bed so Good Night All.

Aus Day 77 - Rain, Lightning and More Rain

Sunday 5th December    Aus Day 77

A dismal night with rain and thunder waking me at frequent intervals. Rose at 07.30 with rain and thunder still at it. Had breakfast and then dashed to the shower during a break in the rain but, it was raining again for the dash back to the van.

It looks as though rain is set in for a while so got quite wet while carrying out the external tasks to get the van ready to move. It isn’t too warm either.

Departed from the caravan park at about 09.30 but a couple of kilometres down the road the battery warning light illuminated. I pulled over and tried re-cycling a couple of times but without success so I turned back into Ceduna looking for a public phone box so that I could phone Apollo and report the problem. However, having got to the phone I tried re-cycling one more time – success! – the battery light remained off so I decided to take the chance and set off on the road to Pt Augusta at about 10.00 am.

It wasn’t long before the rain started up again and at times became quite torrential, along with spectacular displays of lightning. I seemed to be travelling with the weather as torrential rain and lightning continued for the next 150 kms before it finally eased off. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in a position to take photos.

Eventually I refuelled at 13.45 in Kimba which claims to be half way across Australia, and counts a “Big Gulah” amongst its attractions.

Kimba's Big Gulah

I had a second photo opportunity at a place called “Iron Knob” (yes, it is on the map) which is a famous iron ore mining town that appears to be one gigantic slag heap.


Iron Knob From The Eyre Highway



A Closer View of Iron Knob

The rain restarted as I as approaching Pt Augusta but, I arrived at the caravan park where I had stayed when I was starting my trip at about 3.30 pm.

I parked up and got my laundry on before getting started on drafting this Blog. There was not much else to do before my scheduled Skype contact with Eileen so made myself some tea and watched the News on TV until the appointed time. Made my day, as usual, and afterwards I sat down to complete the Blog before relaxing for the remainder of the evening.

Zebedee finally caught up with me at about 11.00pm and sent me straight to bed. Good Night All.