Another year over, a new one just begun

New Years Eve 2009.

It began in Victor Harbor. Just after 8 a.m. history was made. The Roberts family - Bill, Graham, Russell and Lynda - hit the fairway at Victor Harbor Golf Club. It was the first time the four of us had played together in a competition, and probably the first time we had all played golf together.

Victor Harbor is the home course of Bill and Lynda, and father is well known at the club where he has been a member for over 20 years. Lynda has only commenced her membership this year.


The bird man is always popular, and attracts the magpies on a number of holes. By the time we got to the twelfth his stock of crumbs was still intact and sufficient to feed the crowd that gathered.

By the time we got to the twelfth the youngest member of the family had already set up a commanding lead with a birdie 2 on the 10th (4 stableford points) and a par on 11 for another 4 stableford points. Lynda hung on to her lead and get back to the clubhouse with 41 stableford points and a clear margin over the men. To win the day Lynda played 5 shots under her handicap and will lose a few strokes before she plays in another competition.

The octogenarian managed to finish the 18 holes in the heat (it got to 41 degrees at Encounter Bay) and performed creditably in difficult conditions with 32 points, about 4 shots over his handicap. That probably means that Lynda beat him off the stick!


After golf there was time for a quick bite and coffee before heading back to Melbourne. Until Horsham the weather was hot and storm clouds were brewing. From Horsham to Ararat the rain was torrential - good for a land in drought, but not for farmers in the middle of harvest. After hours of careful driving it was good to get back to Melbourne before the year was out.

2009 is now gone. The year of change is over and we prepare to resume work in mid-January in Tasmania.

We look forward to new opportunities, new challenges and new experiences as we settle into Hobart.

Wedding Number 2

Sydney is a crazy place - great to visit but the roads go everywhere. We managed to find what we needed to, and were mostly on time. It was great to share again with family and to celebrate a major milestone in the lives of our extended family.

Congratulations to Dave and Jess on their wedding, we wish them all the very best for the years to come. The reception was a lot of fun - and Jess was smiling all day.

It was a great celebration, and it was great to be there for the occasion.

Family Connections

From a wedding in Melbourne we headed to wedding in Sydney. After months of travelling together Beth and I went in separate directions - Beth drove up with her parents while I went a little west to Orange to catch up with my brother and his family and t play a little golf on the way.

Fortunately Tocumwal Golf Club is on the way. A three night stopover was pleasant, with golf each day on the two well maintained courses. It is remarkable what can be done with an ample supply of recycled water.

At Orange it was more golf - with rounds at Orange Duntryleague, Wentworth Ex-Services, Blayney, and Cowra, as well as the odd nine holes at Orange Ex-Services either early in the morning or in the cool of the evening.

Five competitive rounds - and in the sibling contest I was second once more than I was first.



Considering the lack of water in Central NSW the Orange courses were in fairly good condition, although there is a lot of run on the fairways. For so many places the lack of water is having a devastating effect. Where recreation is concerned it is an issue that detracts from the experience. When it is your livelihood it can be a matter of financial survival. For golf clubs across the country the extended drought is tough but most will survive. For golfers we might just have to pay more to play golf, or get used to playing in less than ideal conditions.

Family and celebrations

One of the main reasons for being in Melbourne at this time is family - and especially family a family wedding.

Friday afternoon it was great to share at the wedding of Andy and Rachel. I cannot remember the last wedding I attended, and after six months of casual clothes putting on the glad rags for a wedding is a bit up-market. We did, and enjoyed the ceremony and the wedding breakfast.

The faith of the individuals and the families was evident in every aspect of the day. Among the highlights of the day were the speeches. Now it must be said that father of the groom (B.i.l. Bill) may need to add some brevity to his remarks. It is also something that yours truly can do some work on as well. The younger participants spoke exceptionally well - and with good humour allowed us to share some aspects of the journey to adulthood and this significant day. Well done guys.

The scary bit was thinking that these kids are now adults, holding down responsible jobs and exercising leadership in church and community. How can it be that my nephews (and my children) are now mature adults? They cannot possibly be old enough yet!

Sunday was a time to get back on deck and show some leadership myself. In a relaxed ceremony at Ocean Grove we gave thanks for the gift of Alana Ruth Kerr to her parents James and Loretta.
It was a privilege to share in the day, and see this young family and the community of friends that surround them.

In between I managed a round of golf at Whittlesea Golf Club. That was also cause for celebration bit that is another story.

Show me the money.

Last financial year the World Bank’s private sector arm more than doubled its support for fossil fuel projects to US$2.2 billion, while funding for renewable energy in the same period was a mere US$243 million. (Random fact from Rooted: Nourishing the environment debate)

So near and yet so far.

The drive to Geelong from Port Fairy caused us to reflect on the change in our environment. Up north your could drive a hundred kilometers and only see one or two houses. Here it seems like there is a line of settlements along the road. SO many people - and of course the traffic.

I had to get away from it for a while, and found a nice little spot about 4 kms south of Colac. It was called the Colac Golf Course. A couple of hours there was enough for me to get perspective back and travel on to Geelong and family.

Port Fairy

Port Fairy has a lovely golf course situated about 6kms from the centre of town, and that is where I headed. Even though it was overcast, and there was a little bit of light rain around, I made my way to the course. It looked good...but there were lots of people around.

In another situation it might have been great. It was a VGA Seniors event running over two days - with shotgun starts. Course closed! Port Fairy Golf Club will have to wait for another day.
Their practice facilities got a bit of use though. Having travelled all this way in hope it seemed appropriate to ask permission and do some work on my short game. Yes there was a little bit of drizzle, but the day was warm, and I really didn't get that wet.

Later, when Beth had recovered from my extended absence, we did a little bit of sightseeing, and drove around the area.

Yes, we are back in Victoria. It was the cusp of summer - the skies were grey, and there were regular showers.

Yes, we were glad to be in Port Fairy, for that night there was heavy rain around Melbourne and a storm that ripped through Blackburn and caused a fair bit of damage.

The slogan on our number plate says it all - Victoria, the place to be. Yeah, right!

Victoria

If you go east for long enough you eventually run out of South Australia. That happened to us somewhere between Mount Gambier and Nelson.

Our first night back in Victoria was spent at Pritchards Campground, a lovely spot on the Glenelg River about 25 kms east of Portland on the Dartmoor Road. It was there that the initials GSWW became intelligible, and a noisy koala enjoyed chomping on eucalyptus leaves high in the trees above our van.

After setting up camp we also discovered that you are supposed to get your permit to camp and then go to the site. A specific site is booked, not just a place in the campground.
In our travels in NT, WA and SA we paid for our permit on the spot. There they trust you to fill out your own permit and put the money in. I guess that there may be a few more people wanting to camp in some of these spots, but it would have been helpful to have some sort of sign or indication BEFORE we camped there. Now we have to find some way of getting the money to Parks Victoria

For the uninitiated GSWW appears on a number of signs along the road - and it means Great South West Walk. We managed about 800 metres of the track as we caught a glimpse of the Glenelg River from a lookout spot.

On the Nelson to Portland Road we also spotted a family of emus - seven in all, happily feeding less than fifty metres from the busy highway. They are the first emus I can recall seeing in this part of the world, and to see seven was remarkable.

Family - and history.

There are things you discover as you travel the path of life... and among them are old photos.

Despite the fact that these pictures have been around for close to eighty years I have no recollection of seeing any of them. My father and his older sister are the children in the photo at left. I assume it was taken mid to late 1927.

In looking back into the past I discovered where my middle name came from. Maybe the information had been shared before, but now there is reason to remember. I have become the proud owner (or is that trustee) of a chair that once belonged to my great-great grandfather.

And then there is this posed photograph of mother - looking decidedly younger in this studio portrait.

But wait...there's more, but those other pictures are not going to appear here - at least not yet!

Family connections - golf

After Nullarbor Links Victor Harbor offered green fairways and green greens. With an 82 year old father who plays competition golf twice a week (now on a gopher), a sister who got interested early this year, and a brother-in-law who got the bug as well it was inevitable that golf was on the agenda.


A little time on the practice fairway, three visits to Victor Harbor Golf Club and one to South Lakes (Goolwa) meant time to sort out a few golfing problems.

Sorting out problems and scoring well do not always go together, but at least I managed to play two good nines in competition. The only problem was that one was on Tuesday and one was on Thursday. Hope remains!

At least I was able to help my sister find some extra distance off the tee for a while. The problem was not paralysis by analysis, but there are times when we concentrate so hard on getting things right that we just fail to give the ball a good solid whack! One trap that I occasionally fall into (especially on narrow fairways) is trying to steer the ball 'down the middle'. The result is often far worse that standing on the tee and trusting my swing.

Enough of golf already (not really but this is not the place - see www.thisgolfinglife.com/graham)

Where was Beth all this time? Well she had unrestricted access to the laptop to work on photos and in movie maker. A lot of progress was made in sorting out the thousands of photos we took on our way around Australia.

Family catch up

After a week of constant travel it was good to stop in one place for a week and to catch up with family. This week was the 12 month anniversary of my sisters death at age 57, the end result of an aggressive form of breast cancer. Her courage and strength in facing adversity were obvious, and she is still missed by her children, grand-children and wider family. Even so, life goes on.

At her funeral the final word was with Gloria. She knew time was running out, and made the most of that time spending all she could sharing with her children and grand-children. Some people do not have that time to say goodbye. It was a reminder for us all to value those we have while we can.

SA Great

I heard that SA Great has now changed its name to Advantage SA, witha sub-brand Advantage Adelaide. There was apparently some confusion with South Africa they say. Great move to change after only ten years of confusion!

Whatever, it was great to be back in SA. Beth got quite emotional as we were coming through Port Augusta, but there may have been other reasons for that!

Once over the border and into SA we stopped at a couple of places on our way to Victor Harbor.

Streaky Bay was a lovely respite by the sea, even though the temperature was still high. A gentle breeze at night at least cooled us down a bit.

Looking back it was ironic that as we headed to Streaky Bay ABC local radio was focusing on the 'catastrophic fire alert' procedures for schools. Two days later they were implemented for the first time ever! Then it rained. The farmers were celebrating their first decent harvest in years, then some got hit by fires, and those who hadn't finished their harvest had to cope with unseasonal rain. Farming is a tough life!

The next night was Port Broughton, and we were glad the caravan park had a great swimming pool. It was delightful!

When we set up camp on the shores of Spencer Gulf we were well clear of the Nullarbor. Yet getting on the way some of the scenery looked eerily like the area we left a couple of days ago.

South Australia is the driest state in the country, and driving through the area around near Whyalla and Port Augusta it was not at all hard to beleive.

Then it was on to Victor, via Copper Coast Salvos (it was Sunday morning) and Adelaide.

South and East

We managed 3000 kilometers in one week across the Nullarbor, but opted to cruise across to Melbourne at a more leisurely pace.

One night at Parnka Point on the Coorong allowed us to glimpse some of the local wildlife. Blue-tongue lizards (about four in the space of 500 metres), a bearded dragon, a snake, an echnida and some emus were all at home in this little section of park where we camped.

Much is being made of the condition of the Coorong which is suffering because no water is flowing in from the Murray. It is a fascinating area, with a mixture of salt and river water combining in a unique lake area that is but one big sand dune back from the oceans and Lacepede Bay.

Further down the coast are the southern ports - Kingston, Robe and Beachport. Despite travelling the road before I cannot recall stopping and visiting any of these places. No doubt they were all once bustling fishing villages and shipping ports, but now are mainly tourist and holiday destinations.
Each of them has much to offer the visitor who wants to wind down near the sea. From my perspective each of the centres has a golf course, so any of the three would be great places to stay! Kingston also has a good bike path, and the original Cape Jaffa lighthouse sits as a museum feature near the foreshore.


We enjoyed our brief visit, and will look to return for a more extended stay at some stage in the future.

Crossing the Nullarbor

Nullarbor Links shaped the timing of our trip across this part of Australia, but we did check out some of the scenery along the way.

The Roe Plains are an interesting variation in the Landscape between Madura and Eucla (or Eucla and Madura if you come from the east. As you travel along those plains look out for the boot tree, the CD tree and the clothes tree. Not part of the natural landscape the evidence of human activity adds variety, and of course, if you need another pair of shoes, a CD or some item of clothing the fruit of those trees might come in handy!

The spectacular Bunda Cliffs that look out over the great Australian Bight.


At times these views are just a kilometre or from the highway and are worth checking out.


Just past Nullarbor Roadhouse is the head of the bight.
We were a month late for the whales that rest there on their journey south, but it was still interesting to call in. No whales, but on the way out we spotted a group of feral camels making their way east.
For those familiar with the Nativity story the wise men were missing, and the camels were heading the wrong way.

And then there are the Nullarbor plains. We crossed the Nullarbor, but the actual Nullarbor plains are only a very small portion of the trip.

The treeless plains do not take your breath away, but they are impressive in their own way.

And of course there are other signs along the way.

Travelling in daylight hours meant that we did not see any wombats, and only just caught a glimpse of the odd kangaroo. You already know about the camels.

For us the travelling part of the journey is coming to an end. Now it is back to touch base with family, attend a few weddings, and prepare for Christmas. Thoughts are turning slowly to next year, and there is some time available for other things as well.

Nullarbor Golf Wrap Up

Four days, and forty degree heat. 18 holes and 1395 kilometres. It was done. All that remained was mathematics (add up the score) and go to the Ceduna Visitor Centre for my certificate.

Disappointed? Yes. Double and triple bogeys meant a card that did not reflect my idea of a good score.

Happy - yes! I had completed the course. Card Number 377 was complete.

Off to the visitor centre and I was asked my score. It goes on the certificate. How embarrassing. The certificate will include my score.



"How did you go?" was the question.
"It was a lot of fun, an experience," came my reply, "but lost balls, penalties and a bad three putt didn't help my score."
"So what was your score, it goes on your certificate."
"88" was my response.
"Wow, that's terrific! This is first certificate I have done for a score less than 100."
Another voice from behind the counter added "...and some of them have been almost twice that."

Certificate in hand we left the air-conditioned visitor centre and headed out into the heat again.

The challenge had been faced; Nullarbor Golf Links had been conquered. Well, conquered is not really the right word. We had survived the heat, the dust and the distance. We had endured ants, march flies (they sting), three corner jacks and the flies at Eucla. I had lost two golf balls - and we found seven. It had still been a lot of fun, and added much needed variety to 1400 kilometres of our 2900 trip to Adelaide.

Would I play Nullarbor Links again? Yes ,Yes, Yes! Maybe I would try for some cooler weather next time. It was a little warm, unusually hot in fact, as we crossed the Nullarbor early in November 2009.
Would my faithful photographer document the event? Seems I need a golfing partner next time; she is not planning to do it again.

Nullarbor Links is not Kingston Heath. They will never hold the Australian Masters on this course, but it is an experience not to be missed. Next time you head across the Nullarbor, take your golf clubs.

Day 4 The Last Leg!

After a frustrating Day 3 the end was near. Days 2 and 3 had been hot (the weather, not the golf) and another 40 degrees plus awaited. Only four holes to go.

Nundroo was first on the list. Ten o'clock in the morning and the temperature was climbing. Beth needed a little encouragement to walk the 600 metres to the tee, but the faithful photographer was still determined to see the course to the end. Up and over the hill we went - into the never never! This time there was a slight change of strategy. Beth was going to try and watch the ball as well as take photos. Clever!

The challenge here was the fairway. First the drive had to find the fairway, and then it had to bounce straight. Striding confidently to the tee I struck the ball a mighty blow. Moments later I proceeded up the fairway before turning right into the long grass to look for my ball.

My heart sank as I considered yet another lost ball. Fortunately the grass was not as thick as it appeared. Discretion was called for!

Tiger Woods might play a long iron or fairway metal (a.k.a. a fairway wood) for his second on such a hole. Not me. I played a pitching wedge.

Tiger Woods would go for the green on such a hole. Not me. I was just trying to find the fairway.

The theory on a long hole is driver, long iron, pitch then putt. My practice was becoming driver, pitch, long iron, chip, then putt. When things went bad it was driver, pitch, long iron, pitch, short iron, pitch, chip then putt, and putt again!!!!

At Nundroo I managed to finish my mixed up order with a one putt and a par 5, to my great relief. After the hotel we enjoyed great coffee in a cool roadhouse. Need to go? They have the best kept toilet facilities my caddy had seen throughout this experience.

Hole 16 (counting down here....only 2 more to go) was a short uphill par 4 with a few trees in the way. I found one tree back left of the green, but a one putt saved the day.

My course notes said that Penong hole was on the golf course. Conversation at the roadhouse confirmed that it was on the site of the golf course, which had not been visible for about 20 years.



Last stop Ceduna. This time the holes were on the local golf course and the territory looked less frightening. Two short approach shots meant a good putt was needed to save par before headed to Denial Bay, the name of my last hole.

Unfortunately it was into the wind, and my photographer captured the tragedy as it unfolded. To avoid a possible out of bounds on the right I went left... and then managed to mess up 3 of the next five shots. The last of these was only about 15 centimetres, and that I got right.

Next post - the wrap up!

Day 3 - Day of Disaster Take 2

The day started well enough at Madura. A lovely 125 metres uphill par 3. Aim the trees, aim left of the flag and it will be OK. Two putts later I had a par to start the day and things were looking brighter.

Mundrabilla is halfway along the Roe plains and there is the Watering hole. It stared well enough, I saw the ball go left of the fairway, hit a rock and bounce at right angles on to the fairway. Well, that's what I thought. Being careful I played a provisional. It was a great shot and it was needed. After searching for a while and not finding my first shot I know why the guy drove his buggy into the old swimming pool!

Ah Eucla. Halfway along our journey and on to a real golf course. Another easier hole, with wide open fairway and a little bit of a head wind. No long grass to hide you ball, not scrub left of right, just a couple of bushes on the fairway. A duck hook left meant it was in the sparse but long grass. We found 6 balls - we did not find mine! With the provisional ball another shot was dropped as well.

Now the Euclascourse has some of the friendliest flies around. Despite all her efforts and almost constant movement Beth did not walk alone!

At Border Village, just a 12 kilometer drive we found another par three. It was not as frightening to look at as Balladonia, nor was it as long but when your tee shot goes right under a tree it can still be a problem.

The final hole for the day was a Nullarbor Roadhouse. A par 5, and the chance to get a par. Yeah right! Military golf ended my day - left, right, left. Add a penalty and some into the wind shots that didn't make the distance and the day finished with a triple bogey even though I did not loose a ball.

Maybe things will be better tomorrow. Surely they couldn't be worse.