Australia Day

Yesterday was the first day we got rained out. We were going to play Bribbie Island Golf Course but just as we were ready to tee off at 1pm the rain started and continued for the rest of the day. The course looked good from what we could see but it is two hours north of the Gold Coast and off the beaten track. If you were on the Sunshine Coast as we are then it is a 50 minute drive and worth the time to check out this island and the course.

Today is Australian Day and so we decided to have an Aussie Breakfast in the park. They have speeches, petting zoo, sausage sizzle and damper bread. Had a great breakfast and then sat around and listened to the Australians songs. Later they had entertainment in the yatch club.

Weather today is 26 and overcast with wind but still pleasant.

This will probably be the last post that most of you read prior to arriving in Brisbane. I will be at the airport to greet and meet the group. Yes Kathleen I have not forgotten my driving promise.

We have booked Club Banora for Thursday week for our golf tournament. We will have lunch prior to teeing off at 1pm. We will tee off on the 10th and 1 st hole. Have booked power carts for everyone. We have to charge $35 for the afternoon. This covers the 18 holes with cart, lunch and prizes after the round. When we finish we will go into the club house where the award ceremony will take place. There will be a no host bar at that time.

It should be a good day for all and you will get a further opportunity to talk with the rest of the Canadians and meet some Australians as well. I think the press will also be there to cover the contest. Some of the prizes are provided by the bottle shop in Kingscliff. So please purchase from him and let him know that you appreciate his donations. It is a great little bottle shop and there is no need to drive into Tweed or somewhere else to purchase your supplies as his prices are equal to the other places.

Australia Day and an Aussie Brekkie 

Kookaburro 

Billabong Birds 

Caloundra Course

Yesterday we played at Caloundra. This is one of our unlimited courses. We have three on the Sunshine Coast that golfers can choose from. They are Mt. Coolum, Headlands and Caloundra. They are all 3 star courses and have pars of 72. Headlands is in the best shape this year with Caloundra having the best layout. Mt Coolum may be the more challenging.

Caloundra' rough lacks enough grass and the fairways are not as lush as one would want. The course is 5940 meters in length. The club house is good and the course is located near the centre of the city.

Caloundra is the south most location on the Sunshine Coast with good choice of beaches and a nice business center.

Playing there yesterday reminded me of something I wanted to rant about. Social golfers in Australia are believed to be ones that have not played too much, and play slowly. So to protect the tee boxes and speed up play a lot of courses have a set of yellow tees. They also have the traditional blue, white and red tees.

There is usually signs that say something like " visitors and social players must play from the yellow tees."

I don't have a problem with the concept but I do have a problem with the clubs charging full green fees for a shorter course and for making the assumption that if you are not a member then you must not know how to play or can not keep up.

We decided to play the yellow tees yesterday and found in a number of cases the tee boxes were not as well looked after and there were no yardage markers indicating the distance. Most cases you can pace of the distance from the nearest red marker but in a number of cases the yellow tees were stuck a long way from the others so you had to guess the distance. This of course matters on the par threes more than the other holes. Yellow tees should have signs like the blue, white, and red tees.

I have always played from the white tees as the blue tees here are mainly for the competitions. No one has ever said anything and they probably never will. So forget the yellow tees unless you want to play from there.

The more expensive courses like Twin Waters do not even put out yellow tees.

Caloundra staff feed the Lorikeets every day at 4pm. This brings in thousands of these very brightly coloured birds. There is a picture of two Lorikeets on the blog. You can also see these birds at feeding time at the Currumbin Wildlife Center on the Gold Coast.

Caloundra has some nice billabongs. They do not come into play much but they do attract plenty of bird life. We did spend a few minutes to stop and listen to their songs and calls and take some pictures. I got a good shot of a Kookaburra. These birds are the ones that sit in the trees and laugh at your golf shots.

It is getting close to departure time for the majority of you. If you are flying on airlines other than Singapore luggage weight becomes very important. Eliminate, eliminate the things you will never use.

Rope Tow on Nambour Course. 

Glass House Mts. 

Coolum Beach 

Caloundra Course 

Twin Waters

Yesterday we played Twin Waters on the Sunshine Coast.This course is rated number 23 in Australia has a par of 72 and the length is 6100m. What a treat to play a 5 star course. It was 30 degrees and we had a tee time of 10:30 so we decided to take a cart. There was no one on the course so we made good time. The course was well looked after and water. Greens were fast but not too tricky. The fairways were wide so did not get into much trouble. We used the Guide Book and got on for 2 for one so our green fee was $34 for the round.

This week we will play Caloundra, Bribie Island and back to Twin Waters for our final round on the Sunshine Coast. Caloundra, Headlands, Mt Coolum are the courses that we offer in the unlimited packages. All three are 3.5 star courses. Maybe next year you would like to return and play the courses in this area.

In March Beth and I will be going to New Zealand to set up packages for the North Island. We will have packages for golfing in Taupo and the Hawks Bay area. We have finalized the car rentals and golf clubs but we have to find suitable accommodations for the golfers. Thus the purpose of the quick trip 1 week trip to NZ. We will keep you posted about these packages. We will also offer a combination package for both countries. This package may only be for 6 to 8 weeks.

I think the price will be about the same as Australia althought the cars and accommodation may be more.

Today we are off for a little trip through the Glass House Mountains. These are spectacular mountains that have very interesting shapes and each one is a separated from the others. The drive is a must and it takes you through some very interesting little towns. The towns of Malaney, Mapletown and Mountville. These town have gallery, restaurants with views of the mountains and coast, shops and walking trails. If you have time include this area on a trip north to the Sunshine Coast.

Emundi Market 

Some of the birds on the courses. 

Summary of the last few days

This weekend gave us perfect weather. The kind of days you have been dreaming of during the cold winter days. The sky was blue, the wind was light, the sand was white, the sea a turquoise and the water was warm.

We spent Saturday AM at the Eumundi Market. This is perhaps Australia's largest market. The whole town is devoted to the market on Wednesday and Saturday. You can find just about anything you want here. It features fruit and veggies, handicrafts, commercial products and camel rides. If you are on the Sunshine coast you should check it out.

After a tough morning shopping we headed to the Noosa Yatch Club for lunch and few cool ones on the deck while we watch the boats come and go. After lunch a bit of time on the beach and afternoon tea at the surf club.

Sunday was more of the same. Run, walk, jog on the beach, watch the surfers and a swim in the river. A latte at one of the outdoor coffee shops and another walk on a different beach.

Today back to work. Only after another swim in the river. Work today took us to the Caboolture Golf Club. This club is a par 72 and very pretty. It did need water as the rough was hard and dry and the fairways were not perfect. A number of the country courses can get dry as this one was starting to dry our because of the lack of rain. This town had water restrictions. Greens and tee boxes were in good shape and they had a nice club house. We only got in 12 holes when rain and lighting came in from the coast.

Caboolture is another one of our 2 for 1 on the Sunshine Coast. Would not make a special day of going here from the Gold Coast but if you were staying on the Sunshine Coast you would want to try it. One of the reasons to try it was that our green fee today was $6.25 each. Monday has green fees of $12.50 so our two for one gave us $6.25. Not only was the green fee within our budget but they gave us a fee beer as well. What more could you want.

Today I thought of a few tips that I should pass on.

1. You will be a sea level and on the coast so the air will be thicker thus you will need one more club than back home.
2. The courses are metric. If you do not add on 10% more for course markers you will come up a club short.
3. You will be required on all course to carry a budget of sand to fill your divits.

After a hard of work we are just staying in and watching the first round of the Australian Open. Tennis that is.

Nambour Course

Yesterday we played the Nambour Course. This is one of the 2 for 1 courses on the Sunshine Coast. From Kingscliff maybe 3 hrs so not worth driving that distance from the Gold Coast. We really liked the course and will play it again next week. It is a pretty course sitting in the hills about 30 minutes from the coast. We found it hilly and think we might take a cart next time. We paid $12 for the round, great bargain and a pleasant surprise.

We did notice a new device on the course. I did not take the camera so will try and get a picture next time of this rope tow. Yes a rope tow like you would find on an old ski hill. We push the button and grab the rope and it assists you in climbing the hill. Believe it or not it does work.

Weather stays around 28 with a breeze. From your letters I understand Alberta is in a deep freeze.

This next section should be printed and brought with you to help you organize your golf. Since we have added to the program with the Golf Bank and Golf Guide memberships we have made it a little more complicated than the old way of just golfing at 2 courses.

• Club Banora $15 and play as much as you like- 075524 6666- 10 minutes from Kingscliff
• Ocean Shores (top 100 course)- located at Brunswick Heads about 40 minutes south of Kingscliff. 02668 0124 $40 includes golf, cart and lunch
• Tweed Coolangatta (top 100 course)- 075524 5545- $17.50 Use the guides two for one midweek. After using guide use golf bank card for $28 a round. Booked on the internet or $30 if paid at course.
• Emerald Lakes -075524 5545 - $22- use guide 2 for 1 after Golf Bank for $45 with a cart. Book on internet. 30 minute drive and you can play at night on 9 holes.
• Gainsbough Greens - 075546 6003- $52 use card and pay at course, includes cart Mon-Fri. 40 min drive.
• Gold Coast -075532940-$20 use guide then use card for additional visits @ $25 45min drive. Pay at course.
• Sanctuary Cove (top 100 course) -075577 6031- $59 use card and only can book on internet. Includes cart and about 1 hr drive. Worth doing as very nice area and you will want to go here to see the area, shops and harbor.
• Surfers Paradise-075575 1666 -$30- Use guide, also only $16.50 after 3pm might get in 18 before dark. 40 min drive
• Parkwoods International- 0755946835- Use guide $31.50 and about 40 min drive.
• Robina Woods-rated #19- 075593 1766- 1:30 $62 with cart, 2:20 $52 with cart. Excellent course.
• The Colonial (top 100)- was Paradise Springs- 075593 2777-1;30 $53 with cart, 2:30 $41 with cart. Right now should be able to get in 18 at 2:30 tee off. If you show up early they may let you go early if no one in front of you.

The following courses are 1 hour or more away but offer good value and let you see some of the country.

• Kooralbyn Resort(top 100 course) - 0755446495- $24.50 use guide two for one Mon-Wed and includes cart. When you take the drive here make sure you check out a number of the pubs. There is a pub tour in this area.
• Indooroopilly (top 100 course)-073721 2173- $20 use guide mid week for 2 for 1. Golf here and then visit Brisbane.
• Twin Waters (rated #23 course-0754450 9594- $30.50 use guide for 2 for 1. If you plan to take a trip to the Sunshine Coast or Fraser Island you should stop and play here. Excellent value. 3 hrs north of Kingscliff

Suggested play for those that want to play 3 times a week;

• Tweed Coolangatta- play both courses for two for one then go back and play your favorite 18 again.
• Club Banora- play three times or more, price is right.
• Emerald Lakes- pay twice on your two for ones and maybe once at night.
• Ocean Shores- play once and maybe check out Byron Bay when down that way
• sanctuary Cove- play once and check out area.
• Kooralbyn Resort- play once and check out area.
• Twin Waters- play once if going to Sunshine Coast to look around.

Only a suggested itinerary- I know some of you will want to play more and try some of the other more expensive courses. Kingscliff has a course, not recommended but fees are only $10 and you can get a hit in. Last year a number of people did play it as they could walk on in the morning.

Please bring you Tip Booklet as you will need the directions for getting to Kingscliff from the car rental.

Mother and child. 

One of our friends on the course 

Trip to Kingscliff

Yesterday we drove the 3 hours to Kingscliff from the Sunshine Coast. We are happy to report that Kingscliff looked as good as every. Over the past year a few more quality restaurants have open as well as a new Outrigger Resort. There are about half a dozen new condo developments under construction so we should be able to add some new deluxe units for next year.

We are trying to set up a golf tournament for the first Thursday that you are here. We are trying to get times at Club Banora. After the little tournament we will have a barbie and a few drinks. This will give you a chance to meet your fellow Canadians as well as some fair dinkum aussies.

Darrell our Gold Coast Family Car Rental fellow is also looking at organizing a day cruise on the Broadwater. Not sure of the details but it could be an interesting day if we can get a decent price. The Broadwater is the area west and north of Surfers. There are some million dollar homes, islands and stunning views. Could be an excellent day. If you are interested let me know. I will post complete details as we get them.

Bianca our wonderful property manager has arranged for coffee pots to be added to the condos. This means you will not have to drink tea or instant coffee. She has also organized a survival package for the first day. This is just a little package with some soap, TP, cream, tea, coffee, etc to get you started. A very good grocery store is only a few blocks away.

Right now I think we will have 3 or 4 restaurants that will provide you with some kind of discount. Tracies at the south end of Kingscliff is going to give us pasta night 3 nights a week. This is excellent because the price is around $17 and we will get it for $10. You can also take your own wine. I think corkage is $2.75 per person.

Three other restaurants are going to come up with some discounts, probably around 10%. I will keep you posted.

Maybe the best news is the bottle shop, Schooners, in Kingscliff will be giving us a discount, maybe $2 or so. Watch for details.

Golfing at Headland - Sunshine Coast

Golfed at Headlands today. This is one of the courses we offer in the unlimited golf package on the Sunshine Coast. It is par 72 and 6100 meters in length. Water comes into play on 4 or 5 holes. It would be about a 4 star course. The location is excellent, just a few minutes from downtown Mooloolaba. The course is in excellent shape and all the greens are good.

Headlands dress code indicates no open shoes- this means no golf sandals.

Driving hints- Basic speed limit in built-up areas is now 50km unless otherwise signed. Basic speed limit elsewhere is 100km. Be aware that Queensland Police have nothing more productive to do with their time than book people for speeding, so they have speed cameras in vehicles parked on the side of most major freeways as well as unmarked patrol cars out on the roads, as well as gutter mounted radar guns, both static and handheld.

There are red light cameras at many intersections around Brisbane.

Wearing seatbelts is compulsory for everyone in the car.

It is also against the law to talk on a hand held cell phone whilst driving a car.

Remember the legal limit is .05 and breathalizer units can be found most days and nights on the roads around the Gold Coast.

Temperature a little cool today only going to 26.

If you encounter plane delays as we did please email us if big delays or call me at 61 04 22 257 302. The country code is 61 and I think you have to leave out the zero but you have to use it within Australia.

Reading over the plane delay report I do not think I gave Singapore Airlines enough credit. They looked after us very well and apologized many times. They gave us an over night kit which contained a night shirt and all the bathroom items you would need. They also gave everyone a 5 minute phone call anywhere in the world.

View from the balcony 

Long wait in Vancouver

Continuing on with the Vancouver story.

Around 1:30 Singapore Airlines issued us with a $10 lunch voucher. This told us that we were in for a longer wait. Had lunch and were sitting around talking to other passengers. We were all glad they found the problem and were fixing it before we were in the air.

At 3: 30 They anounce that we would be staying overnight and we would be bussed to a hotel. The problem was central fuel system hydraulics and would take 16 hrs to fix. They moved us all by bus to the Richmond Inn. This was a nice hotel. They gave us voucher for dinner and breakfast and told us they would pick us up at 6:15am.

Next morning we boarded the bus and went back to airport. We did not have our baggage so security was quick. They had more food at the departure lounge, donuts, muffins, coffee, juice etc. We boarded at 8am and departed around 8:30. They worked everything out with the people that had missed connections. There was no bitching and everyone took it in stride. They also gave us a box of chocolates. Which ended up causing us a little problem later on.

The flight was long but had lots of food, drink, entertainment to pass the time. Read a book and watch 4 movies. We had a brief one hour stop in Seoul and on to Singapore.

Arrived in Singapore at 6:30 pm and got our luggage and cleared customs. I check the golf clubs at the baggage counter there. The cost this year is 8 Singapore dollars. Which is about $5 Canadian. The banks at the airport were giving us $1.32 Singapore for each Canadian dollar. The hotel was giving $1.25.

Bus to the hotel took about 30 minutes. We stayed at the peninsular where most of you are going to stay. Nice lobby and pool where you can enjoy a cold one after a day of sightseeing and shopping. Excellent location. Hotel appears to be renovating the rooms. We got an older room that was very comfortable but dated.

We decided to stay with the flight that we had planned on so gave up a day in Singapore. Singapore airlines said they would refund the one night stay.

Flight to Brisbane was excellent. Slept most of the way and saw one movie. Service on Singapore was excellent all the way but this was even better.

On the way over we were in row 32 which is one back of bulkhead. We had 5 children in front of us but they were very good. However we decided that since they had more leg room in the bulk head row they took it from us one row back. On the way to Brisbane we had row 63 which was second from the back. Large amount of leg room. We also had middle section which had 3 seats. No one in the third seat so Beth and I had lots of room. Also you got service from both sides and the galley was right behind us. We are going to ask for back row seat from now on.

Remember Australia does not allow food to be brought into the country. Lots of signs and anoucnements to declare all food. Two years ago we declared candy but were told it was ok to bring in and they let us keep it. Remember the chocolates I mentioned earlier. Well we did not think about them either. When you leave customs they scan all your bags. They asked us to go to agent where we got the third degree, did we pack the stuff, did we read our customs card, did we sign it etc, etc. Anyway he finally pulled out the chocolates and asked me to read item 6 on card which says no food, fruit etc. I said did he consider lollies as breaking this rule. He said no but we should have declared them as they did not know from the scan what it was. Anyway he sent us on the way after his little scare. So declare all items of food or throw them away.

In the Singapore departure lounge there are immigration and custom forms on the table. Make sure you pick them up and fill them out on the plane. If you miss them there are more at the other end.

Brisbane had rain when we arrived but the next day it cleared with a high of 27. We had jet lag so did not do much other than buy groceries.

Today had breakfast on the balcony and watched the joggers, bikers, and walkers go by. The beach is right across the road and we can see some surfers doing their thing. Makes the flight well worth while.

Good news is petrol is 80.4 cents a litter. And if you purchase your groceries at Woolies or Coles you will get a coupon giving you 4 cents a litter off you next petrol purchase.

Sitting in Vancouver

Right now we are sitting in Vancouver Airport with another delay.

Checked in at Edmonton two hours prior to departure. AC booked our seat all the way through to Brisbane and gave us our boarding passes through to Singapore. Luggage was checked through to Singapore and they did not weight the clubs. They just told me to take the clubs to the special area and put them on the baggage belt for special items. Things were looking good.

We got to the departure gate to find that the plane was over booked by 15 people. We ended up being one hour late for departure. We had plenty of time to change gates in Vancouver. Singapore is using gate 55. We had time for a bite of lunch but 1/2 way into the soup we got paged. Seems Singapore's computer had lost our passport details and we had to give the details to them once again. All your passport details were given to them so you should be ok. They claimed it was for Korea.

As they were starting to board us we get an announcement that the plane has mechanical problems and we will be delayed. Right now we over 15 minutes after planned departure and no more announcements have been made.

Those departing via Vancouver will find a money exchange in the area of gate 55. There you can get some Singapore and Australian Dollars. They are selling Singapore Dollars for $0.80 and Australian dollars for $1.01.

Check the rates as they seem high. I will report what the rates are in Singapore.

Hopefully we will board soon and be on our way.

-22 on Jan 2. 

Leaving Tomorrow

With the temperature showing -22 on my thermometer I am very glad to be leaving tomorrow. The sky is blue, the ground is white and there is no wind. I guess it could be worse.

Tried Singapore Airlines site to book our seats. It did not work. So will have to check in at the departure gate in Vancouver. I wrote Singapore Airlines indicating that it did not work for me and wondered why. Seems strange that Singapore Airlines check in did not work as they do everything else so well. Might get a reply at some point in the future. Those departing from Edmonton via Vancouver you will have your bags checked all the way to Singapore. You will only need to clear customs once and that is in Singapore.

Every year we say we will take less but it seems we are always trying to eliminate things and the suite case is still full. This we have two sets of clubs in one travel bag. One large suitcase and one small backpack for checking. I will take my computer and Beth will take a carry on.

On next posting hopefully be from Singapore with updates on airport, bag check, hotels and other items we find interesting or important.