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Coddiwomple Stardate 180424

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After leaving New Zealand we were back in Australia for 3 weeks before heading on our 23-day voyage to Seattle. We spent 2 weeks in Melbourne catching up with family and friends before catching a train to Sydney. Then a week in Sydney once again catching up with more family and friends. We filled up our time well in Sydney by boarding several ferries that took us to Parramatta, Cockatoo Island, Manly and Toronga Zoo. Also caught a bus down to Coogee and walked back to Bondi. I had to try one of the many rock pools along the coast and chose a nice one recommended by Jade at Bronte Beach and it was a warm day for a refreshing swim. On the 22 nd April we boarded our cruise ship “Explorer of the Seas” It took us 1½ hours to get on the ship. I felt like cattle being herded to slaughter through multiple check ins and the border force. The ocean liner has 14 levels 4000 passengers and 1200 staff. This cruise ship holds 13 x the amount of people that are living on Stuart Island. The ne...
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Coddiwomple Stardate 190117

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This is the last post for our travels this time around. It has now been 20 months since we left our home in Wellard. The next 18 months have been planned out which includes two more trips to Stuart Island and one to Geraldton for about 5 months. After that we are not sure. If you have been following our blogs you will know we have seen and done so much. Lived in many homes,countries and have been accepted by so many people. One down side of it all is that we cannot imagine staying very long in one place. We know we will have to at some point in our lives, just not yet. Our month stay in Bournemouth has been the longest. It's been nice to be somewhere permanently for Christmas and New Year. Just like last year when we stayed in the Lower Hut area in New Zealand. We had use of one of the families cars. Another Mini Cooper S. Which Sharon would put on the top of her new car list next to a Jeep Wrangler. Everything is walking distance from the house whether it is shops, beach or park...
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Coddiwomple Stardate 181217

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Sunday after a slow morning from the cocktail party the previous night we made our way to Dover. When we picked up the hire car, we have always paid for the extra insurance to cover damage to the vehicle. They also have another insurance that covers you for tyre, windscreen, loss of keys & breakdown service. It is another $11 a day. I have never worried about it before. We were told if we damage a windscreen it would cost us $1900 to replace. Which is 3x the price in Australia. I decided to take out the extra cover. 30mins into our trip there is a loud bang as a stone bounces of the windscreen and leaves a nice divot on the drivers side. We arrived in Dover about four hours after leaving Bournemouth. Not an exciting drive it was all on motorways. We parked out the front of the hotel which is right on Dover's main beach. Went inside to see if they had any free parking available which they did out the back and over the road behind buildings. We were given a parking permit for o...
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Coddiwomple Stardate 181203

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Our first day in London was cold and clear. I spent the morning plotting all the places to see on my offline maps for the next 8 days,  thanks to Jason's long list of things to see. Most of the places to visit don't open until 10.00am which gives us plenty of time just to lounge around in the warm hotel room. Before heading into a 2 degree morning. It is about a 10min walk to our closest tube station Kilburn on the Jubilee Line. You can use your credit card on the entrance gates to the trains so no travel card or tickets need to be purchased. We also could of payed with C/C on the buses in Thornhill, Scotland. I was thinking how far more technologically advanced the UK is compared to the US. You may have read from my previous blogs on how outdated payment options were in the US compared to other countries. I have also watched plenty of people paying for purchases and train fares on their phone by tapping. The US was fascinated when we showed them you can tap a card for purch...
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Coddiwomple Stardate 181121

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We arrived at Cardigan early afternoon. Another wet day. There had been conflicting emails about our check in times at the Llety Teifi Guest House. One email said 12.00pm another was 3.00pm. The contact number had far to many digits so ringing wasn't an option. We decided to go there and find out. The closest we could park to the accommodation was 700m away. If any of you have lived or holidayed in the UK you will know parking is a premium where ever you go. Villages were built way before the concept of motor vehicles. When we finally found the Guest House no one was in attendance. We found a sign that told you how much you would be fined if you parked in there car park and you were not a guest. In small print was a web address, typed that in and found a correct telephone number and contacted them. Book in time was 3.00pm and someone will be on site. We had two hours to fill in. We went for a drive to the mouth of the Afon (river) Teifi and had lunch, while watching all the rain ...
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