Now for something completely different

[Blackduck59]

7 minutes ago, Bowm54 said:

Hi Blackduck59, the RNZAF Boeing 757 aka aidforce1,  will be delivering crew for NZs two frigates, HMNZS Te Mana and Te Kaha which have for the past year or so been tied up at Esquimalt dockyard on Vancouver island having new combat systems fitted, to enable interoperability with allied navies for the next decade.
    The NZ navy has had a long relationship with the Canadian navy, in fact I done trips there in the late 70s and again in the early 80s.  Shortly afterward the NZ government got the pip with the USA over nuclear visits to NZ and sent the ships to the Middle East instead.   
  The North American trips were absolutely brilliant while they lasted.

 

I thought that might be the case, I have a buddy that works at Nellies Block in Naden and he mentioned there were some Kiwis in residence while the refits were under way. When I first saw the plane I thought it was one of ours, it was partially hidden by the Headquarters building for the helicopter squadron. When we were on our way home I spotted the kiwi in the rondelle and thought hmmm, I wonder why that is here.

Edited August 16, 2020 by Blackduck59

[Docker123]

Correct weight.

 

The books are a good read. The tv show was good, but I tired of it into the second series. 
 

The young girl Jane in the show was the year below my daughter at school.

 

[possum52]

I preferred the books too Adrian. Kerry ***** is quite a good writer. 
 

Leigh

Edited August 16, 2020 by possum52

[OzKiwiJJ]

51 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

That is a beauty Adrian, the Packard I showed earlier is the closest I have seen to that. I haven't read any Phryne Fisher books but I believe the car in the show is a real Hispano Suiza. As shown in the pictures the one from the TV show is a Dual Cowl Phaeton and the one in the first picture is a Drop Head Coupe. That crane mascot just drips with class.

Yes, the car in the TV show was the correct car from the books. When they filmed the first series they mentioned how lucky they were to actually find a Hispano Suiza in Australia, and the right colour.  In fact I think the owner lived in or near Melbourne. 

[Korimako]

On 8/15/2020 at 2:05 PM, Blackduck59 said:

This show is interesting much of the narration is done in Maori (is that the correct term for the indigenous language of New Zealand) with sub titles.

 

This is a very common and popular misconception. Maori are not indigenous to New Zealand. The first Maori arrivals in Aotearoa arrived (approximately) in the late 13th century from Polynesia - several hundred years before the first  Europeans arrived.

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

27 minutes ago, possum52 said:

I preferred the books too Adrian. Kerry ***** is quite a good writer. 
 

Leigh

I agree, the books are better although they did a decent job with the first series of the show. They didn't quite follow the original stories (where did that Aunt come from?) but the sets were fantastic, as were the costumes. I went to an exhibition of some of the costumes from the show, they actually sourced vintage fabrics for some of them.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Leigh, have you read Kerry Greenw.ood's Corinna Chapman series? Not to be read on an empty stomach though, some of the breads and muffins in it sound delicious!

 

Sometimes the autocensor here boggles my mind. What on earth is wrong with Kerry's surname?

Edited August 16, 2020 by OzKiwiJJ

[possum52]

32 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Leigh, have you read Kerry Greenw.ood's Corinna Chapman series? Not to be read on an empty stomach though, some of the breads and muffins in it sound delicious!

 

Sometimes the autocensor here boggles my mind. What on earth is wrong with Kerry's surname?

I know I tried to edit mine a number of times so I just left it as *****. Yes Julie I have read the Corinna Chapman books. The bread and muffins sound fantastic and very yum. Kerry is a very good descriptive writer.

 

Leigh

 

[Docker123]

Less hard to believe, she lives with a wizard (very close to where I am currently staying).

 

More hard to believe, she is a lawyer who still does some legal aid work.

 

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

53 minutes ago, possum52 said:

I know I tried to edit mine a number of times so I just left it as *****. Yes Julie I have read the Corinna Chapman books. The bread and muffins sound fantastic and very yum. Kerry is a very good descriptive writer.

 

Leigh

 

Sadly since the TV series and movie she hasn't been writing as much.

[OzKiwiJJ]

24 minutes ago, Docker123 said:

Less hard to believe, she lives with a wizard (very close to where I am currently staying).

 

More hard to believe, she is a lawyer who still does some legal aid work.

 

 

Why is it hard to believe she's a lawyer?

[Docker123]

1 minute ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Why is it hard to believe she's a lawyer?

more that she still practises as a lawyer.

 

[possum52]

1 minute ago, Docker123 said:

more that she still practises as a lawyer.

 

I think she still works as a locum duty solicitor for Legal Aid at Sunshine Court.

 

Leigh

[Blackduck59]

6 hours ago, Korimako said:

 

This is a very common and popular misconception. Maori are not indigenous to New Zealand. The first Maori arrivals in Aotearoa arrived (approximately) in the late 13th century from Polynesia - several hundred years before the first  Europeans arrived.

 

 

Thank you for the clarification, so were the islands uninhabited when they arrived? And do we refer to their language as Maori or do they have another name for it?

[ilikeanswers]

7 hours ago, Korimako said:

This is a very common and popular misconception. Maori are not indigenous to New Zealand. The first Maori arrivals in Aotearoa arrived (approximately) in the late 13th century from Polynesia - several hundred years before the first  Europeans arrived.

 

I googled indigenous people of New Zealand and I can't find any reference to Maori not being the indigenous people of NZ, (apart from one guy claiming the Ancient Egyptians got there first😂 Call me crazy but I might take that claim with a grain of salt😜). Do you have a source for your statement? I would really like some more info on this.

[Blackduck59]

Okay once again we are back in planning mode for the down under adventure, target January/February 2022. So first stop on the cruise is Bay of Islands, tender port🤔. So we are now in rif raf class so will be late off the ship. We are there from 0800 to 1700 hrs. I understand that the tenders dock right by the treaty grounds so that will be a definite stop so after that what to do with the rest of the limited time we have left before getting back to the ship (keeping in mind I like to be back aboard at least an hour before "all aboard")

The other part is the land tour in Oz, we are planning to drive. Is 4 days enough to allow from Sydney to Phillip Island. I would like to drive about 4 hours a day and be able to stop and enjoy adventure as we go. I'm thinking first stop Batehaven, maybe Les will be around and spin a few yarns for us🙂

[Docker123]

The coastal route is roughly 1,000km. Not freeway driving, so slower speeds in many places.

 

I think it is about 4 hours from Sydney to Chateau Les.  Very pretty area.   
A few more hours south to Eden and Bega Valley area. Beautiful.  Seafood, cheeses, food, big trees, coast.  
 

Next main stop I would look at is Mallacoota on the Victorian Coast (Genoa on this map). Squeaky beach, views, etc.  one of the towns absolutely devastated by the bushfires and trying to rebuild both infrastructure and tourism.

 

That could be 3 days. The 4th day could be a long drive across the south coast to get you to Phillip Island (Cowes on the map).  Possibly better to break it to a 5th day With a stop at Wilson’s promontory. (Forster on this map)
 

 

[Russell21]

7 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

Thank you for the clarification, so were the islands uninhabited when they arrived? And do we refer to their language as Maori or do they have another name for it?

 

7 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I googled indigenous people of New Zealand and I can't find any reference to Maori not being the indigenous people of NZ, (apart from one guy claiming the Ancient Egyptians got there first😂 Call me crazy but I might take that claim with a grain of salt😜). Do you have a source for your statement? I would really like some more info on this.

The islands were inhabited but the Maori, as they are now known, eliminated them. My information comes from a very large exhibition in the Te Papa museum in Wellington, which is definitely worth a visit and is worth more time than you can normally spend when on a cruise. I would love to spend about 3-4 days in there.

[NSWP]

50 minutes ago, Docker123 said:

The coastal route is roughly 1,000km. Not freeway driving, so slower speeds in many places.

 

I think it is about 4 hours from Sydney to Chateau Les.  Very pretty area.   
A few more hours south to Eden and Bega Valley area. Beautiful.  Seafood, cheeses, food, big trees, coast.  
 

Next main stop I would look at is Mallacoota on the Victorian Coast (Genoa on this map). Squeaky beach, views, etc.  one of the towns absolutely devastated by the bushfires and trying to rebuild both infrastructure and tourism.

 

That could be 3 days. The 4th day could be a long drive across the south coast to get you to Phillip Island (Cowes on the map).  Possibly better to break it to a 5th day With a stop at Wilson’s promontory. (Forster on this map)
 

 

Lakes Entrance nice too. Sydney to here with a couple of stops, i.e Kiama, about 4.5 hrs. I am heading down to Eden again for a couple of nights solace, end of this month, I like it there. Alas no cruise ships in, trawlers and tugs.

[Docker123]

Just a quick heads up on the touring, because I haven’t noticed exact dates.

 

Summer holidays.

 

Schools typically go back just after Australia Day (26 January). So, all along that coastal route will be high accommodation demand, and high prices. Plus, lots of vehicles on often windy windy roads.  
 

 

[NSWP]

10 minutes ago, Docker123 said:

Just a quick heads up on the touring, because I haven’t noticed exact dates.

 

Summer holidays.

 

Schools typically go back just after Australia Day (26 January). So, all along that coastal route will be high accommodation demand, and high prices. Plus, lots of vehicles on often windy windy roads.  
 

 

Correct Adrian, a nightmare down here, Mic and his bretheren from natcap. 

Edited August 16, 2020 by NSWP

[lyndarra]

19 hours ago, NSWP said:

Had a feed there many times, late 60's, early 70's, whilst escorting the long and wide loads up north, in particular to the Power station constructions up at Lake Munmorah, Liddell etc.  Kangy Roadhouse was on the Pacific Hwy @ Ourimbah. Memories.

 

There was even a little zoo attached from memory, Aussie natives, like Roos and black snakes.

 

 

Is that a Copper, ops, Cooper "S" escort?

[lyndarra]

On 8/16/2020 at 8:12 AM, Blackduck59 said:

And I saw this yesterday and thought some may find it nice

Nice bit of kit. 2002?

[Blackduck59]

5 minutes ago, Docker123 said:

Just a quick heads up on the touring, because I haven’t noticed exact dates.

 

Summer holidays.

 

Schools typically go back just after Australia Day (26 January). So, all along that coastal route will be high accommodation demand, and high prices. Plus, lots of vehicles on often windy windy roads.  
 

 

Thanks Adrian, the cruise ends in Sydney on the 28th of January 2022 and we will be there a couple of days. We will be booking accommodation as early as possible. I just now finished cancelling all the accommodation we had booked for the now cancelled trip. All that was around different places in Victoria, we will try to re-book most of the same places for the new adventure. The Sydney to Phillip Island part is where we need to find new places to stay. 

[NSWP]

1 minute ago, lyndarra said:

Is that a Copper, ops, Cooper "S" escort?

It is a mini but morris mini 850 or 1100. Sedan or panel van, they were the escort vehicles. The Cooper S were pursuit vehicles. Circa 1970. Been there done that, no air con back then, nice out Wilcannia way in Jan, 4x4 air con, wind the windows down.