Dee- Member Map, Blogs, Reviews, Tips

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Tasmanian Foodie Adventures - Blog on QGuide.com

Tasmanian Foodie Adventures - Blog on QGuide.com

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Joy Riding - Up in the Air

In a former life, I swear I was a wing walker and member of the 99s with Amelia Earhart. In my father's life as a pilot, he flew in an open cockpit plane like this Tiger Moth biplane circa 1940.

When I was on the Gold Coast in Queensland last week, I was treated to a thrill seeker flight over the coast. Loop de loops. No prob. Whale watching when you're upside down? Problem. I took my father's silver wings with me for luck.

Gotta say, this was probably the best way to see Surfers Paradise and I highly recommend flight seeing -without the aerobatics if you prefer.

Comment from travel blogger

Hi,

I spend a fair amount of time reading blogs to get an idea for what people are passionate about. Life is too short as the saying goes… So I just wanted to tell you that you’re doing a great job!

Nick Steele
nick.steele@vikingrivercruises.com

Adventure B4 Dee-mentia

Adventure Before Dementia...my new motto, as seen on bumper of a Wicked Campervan. (And it was wicked looking. No doubt the young adventurers to whom it belongs are having fun in their youth.)

It's all about celebrating every day. As a gypsy-on-the-go, I've been rev'n it up as I push past middle age. 60 is the new 40, after all.

I've been back in my adopted homeland, Australia, for two months already, and have a Tasmanian driver's license with motorcycle rating, so now I just need wheels/scooter to explore further afar.

To date, I have gotten lost on the train and ended up in the wrong suburb, and spent way too long getting to the beach via train, bus and afoot. I eventually find my way home, so hopefully that means I'm not demented - at least in that sense!

My other mantra is "Be a traveler, not a tourist." Pretty apt for someone in tourism industry. Off to my next discovery...

The Devil Made Me Do It

Both I and my server are nicknamed The Devil. We hail from Tasmania and are friends with a few Tasmanian devils. No names or marisupials mentioned.

I recently did a road trip following the East Coast Escape itinerary I helped develop when I was a food & wine tour operator from 2003-2007. It was my first time in a campervan and travelling solo without paid passengers.

Much better to go at my own pace so I could perform some rituals... and those do not include a flashlight search for the noctural devil, a nasty and noisy animal to say the least.

First, I donned my shell necklace I made from a seashell I picked up on my last day in Tasmania two years ago. Then I put on my Florida Apalachicola Bay Oysters t-shirt to have my photo taken on the foreshore of the Great Oyster Bay . Then I opened a local craft beer called Hazards Ale and sat myself down to enjoy the seascape at the foot of the Hazards Mountains for which it is named.

Then I had goosebumps, but it wasn't from the 10 degrees or the rain-grown giant mosquitos, rather from admiring my renewed Tasmanian Driver's License. I found my spiritual home and am becoming a Tasmaniac again!

Sundays in Sydneys

I normally go directly to the beach at Bondi. Full stop.

But this weekend, I took a dee-tour to the Australian Museum before going down to the sandy strip. The walk from the train station through Hyde Park to the front door of the exhibition hall provided some great people watching. It never ceases to amaze me what frolicking folks do in a public park on a sunny, spring day!

The jewels of the Nile never cease to amaze me, either. The prospect of seeing some gold and bead specimens displayed with modern renditions of ancient designs was what drew me to the show, more so than the mummies. Seen one mummy, seen them all.

I was looking for a distinctive Eye of Horus pendant, but all the gift shop had were ordinary. The exhibit itself was anything but ordinary, so I highly recommend it.

Afterwards, I met some new friends at a new wine pub in North Bondi called simply The Shop. Expresso Cafe by day and wine bar by night, it was my kind of place. Especially since I found wine by the glass from some pretty unusual wine districts in Victoria and from Margaret River, where I'm headed for the first time soon. I had my favorite Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir called The Cups. (The vineyard is below sea level and below the 9th hole of the golf course, hence the cup.)

Cheers to both deetours this weekend!