December and the year winds down - or is that up?

 As Christmas approached, we took short trips to see how my arm (and pelvis) would cope. All good albeit a little uncomfortable. Christmas gave us the opportunity to visit our caravan for a couple of days and enjoy most of the family;  our family Christmas get together was at Nathan and Vanessa’s place and it was a happy time. We met our newest great granddaughter, Trinity, and also said hello to Nathan’s new baby llama, Oris. It was a lovely weekend of quiet celebration.

View from the distillery

Viewed across the vinyard the house blends beautifully

Oris born September

Great grandpa with our newest great greanddaughterm, Trinity

Two pretty poppets - great grandaighters Taylor and Lily

Flying to Perth with arm well supported (but still uncomfortable)

The year that had started out badly with our twin crash-landing at the beginning of January ended on a sombre and sad note – the year was cursed from the beginning.  A week after our family Christmas party, we were flying to Perth. Lindsay’s brother-in-law Murray died after being hospitalised for a few weeks.  We arrived in time for the funeral and like most funerals it was a time of family closing ranks and supporting each other.  But in line with this dark year, a couple of days later Kerry, Lindsay’s sister and wife of Murray (who had just died), went into hospital to have stents put in some of her coronary vessels. She was beside herself as you can imagine and just wanted to be home to grieve.  We spent most of the rest of that week in the hospital with Kerry.  They released her the day before we were due to fly home.  

Our trustee fig tree which had  been pruned to within an inch of its life gifted us luscious fruit

Banks of beautiful colour

Our garden, our greeb barrier to the world, sustains us

We spent Christmas day with Anne-Marie and family and then hid away for the rest of this disastrous year. There were however a few highlights in what had been a year of death, horrible accidents and cancelled travel plans (India and Antarctica). We were blessed with a new great granddaughter, and we did enjoy our explorations through thirteen countries from Singapore to London (it should have been 16 but our journey was cruelly cut short by a few days!).  The year felt as if in some way time had been combed the wrong way – we simply couldn’t get on top of it. BUT next year is bound to be considerably better.

 Merry Christmas. This year our lights didn't involve climbing!

November – back from our overland Odyssey

 We are back from our big overland adventure and what an adventure it was - an amazing journey halfway around the world, by train -mostly. (You can read about it in my blog hwheat2025eurasia.blogspot.com once I have finished writing it!).  I have slowed somewhat AKA been distracted a lot in the last 6 months or more since our return but I’m catching up.

Singapore to London by train (mostly)

Where disaster struck. My arm was caught on the train steps - fortunately

I referred to unplanned/unwanted hiatuses earlier in the year and here comes another one! More monumental perhaps. In no-man’s land between Turkey and Bulgaria in the wee dark hours of the morning of October 12, I tripped and smashed my arm and shoulder. It was about 2 am and the platform, which was under reconstruction, was very dark. The upshot of that was that I landed squashed between the platform and the train with my arm at an alarming angle above my head. It could have been worse – I could have fallen right through to the rail lines and then I would have had to have been dragged somehow out from under the train. Doesn’t bear thinking about.  The train continued  on to Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria’s historic ‘City of Tsars once the medieval capital of Bulgaria). Why? The choices were few but we were a long way from a decent city hospital.  Fortunately we were armed with heavy duty pain killers but the pain was excruciating!  Thirty-six hours later Lindsay and I were driven to Bucharest and I was in a Bucharest hospital being assessed. My arm was not good, a spiral fracture, and I had 4 broken ribs, but I was alive! A few days later after more visits to the hospital, we were on a plane flying to London when I spent some days in a fog of pain waiting to get a flight home. Yes, I could have had surgery in Bucharest or London but I wanted to be home.  The long flight home was horrendous BUT we arrived safely. A day later I saw our lovely GP and between us, we found an orthopaedic surgeon who could see me in less than a week which was a miracle. The next day I was being operated on.  Sixteen days after the accident.

I was trussed like a chook for over 2 weeks - with obvious results

Upper arm and shoulder pinned back in place with 17 screws

Back with the birds and the bees

A lovely welcome home

And the birds were happy too

The following couple of weeks past in a fog of pain killers but slowly I roused myself and even got outside to enjoy our wee garden.  Lindsay was an amazing wonderful nurse.  My bed and armchair were my favourite places, although sleeping was difficult and I had to rely on sleeping pills so much so that I feared that I would become totally dependent on them for the rest of my life. But time passed and as we waited for me to become more mobile, we spent time editing our blogs and got a few of our trips turned into books. 

Sadly we had to cancel our expedition to Antarctica. My doctor said “absolutely not!” What a year - two trip cancelled and one cut short.  It was turning out to be a grim year – with the exception of our overland train journey. Even though that trip was cut short, it was a great experience.  Doctors’ and physio appointments became my main ‘entertainment’ while Lindsay spent a few hours every other day at Keiser’ physio trying to strengthen his hips and legs in the hope of avoiding the need for hip replacement surgery.   

And so our next adventure begins ..... !

It is the eve of our departure on our Grand Asian Caravan and I again I am scrabbling to get my Blog travel-ready. I’m not sure how it happens every trip, but there’s a good reason: all our travel/packing preparartions get priority and I leave until last my most favourite thing – talking to you. At least all the permits and travel applications are done and all the perishables are consumed or tossed and any non-cooked meats gone (eaten or cooked) from the freezer.  So it is just me and you for the next 10 weeks!  It is going to be an awesome adventure.

The Grand Asian Caravan 61 day route (the arrow points to just one of many exciting destinations)

After a long and unplanned/unwanted hiatus, we are about to depart on this wonderful odyssey with Sundowners Overland - this will be our third overland journey with this terrific travel company which first took us to Siberian Russia 9 years ago. This time we will travel from Singapore to London - traversing nearly half of the globe from Singapore at the tip of the Malay Peninsula to central London - almost the entire way traveling by train. It will be an exciting and unique journey through 16 countries (including Tibet a 60-year-old bucket list place for me), a journey of over 22,000 km.

This year, 2025, will be a memorable year! Starting with a rather spectacular fall (after the fashion of a double swan dive! and 5 plus months recovery) we have picked ourselves up to tackle this epic Eurasian odyssey. We will wrap up the year by spending Christmas and New Year in one of our favourite places, Antarctica, following in the footsteps of Sir Douglas Mawson - at least some of his footsteps, as well as sailing to the Magnetic South Pole the discovery of which was one of his amazing achievements.

As someone wise (anon I think) said … “Sometimes the extent of a journey isn’t measured by distance, but by the new thoughts and feelings it generates. “  Come with me to explore exotic, ancient places and cultures.  I will post on this blog when we return because I am not travelling my laptop but you can follow our journey on Facebook if you are so inclined. Check in here: http://facebook.com/heather.wheat.925

Bon voyage and a bientot! 

Sydney condensed

After 6 months with little or no exercise, we weel and truly made up for it here - and felt it! We rode the buses, trains and light rail, and ferries named for famous Australian authors such as Ruth Parks and Ethel Turner. Of course we had the mandatory fish and chips at Doyle’s on the Wharf, visited the beautiful Chinese Friendship Gardens as well as Chinatown and Paddy’s market. Looked for old specimens at the Australian Museum (and decided Melbourne’s Museum is better ... shhh). Fought through torrential rain to eat a celebratory dinner at an old favourite - Malabar where they gave us a card and a special traditional dessert to guarantee a prosperous year ahead. Lovely people.

The gorgeous Alamein Fountain at the top of The Cross 

Eating in wee hole-in-the-wall cafes - this one made the best truffle and cheese toastie

The tranquil Chinese Friendship Gardens at Darling Harbour

McElone Park - one of our favourite parks just down the rock wall from our place.

The Piccolo Bar - a favourite haunt over the last 20 years

Vittorio Bianchi ran the Piccolo Bar - “to live in the Cross meant that you knew Vito..." 

Sad farewells on our last morning before heading for the train.

I have many stories and pix from this trip which I hope to share with you one day but right now another train awaits. More anon ....

A trip back in time ....

The train trip included a little unexpected drama halfway when high winds brought down a huge tree over the lines and we were held up for about an hour while the poor train staff had to saw and carry branches off the lines but fortunately, we managed to get going again.

It was a big tree and the train rolled over a fair bit of the tree before it could stop 

The guys worked hard to free the train

.... with inadequate tools, poor things

Unfortunately we arrived very late but not too late to crack a bottle of bubbles and gaze out at the spectacular view of lights spilling into the water.  Happily, this visit, we were able to book our same old shoebox in Potts Point overlooking the magnificent middle and outer Sydney Harbour. It’s a magic view (even with the crane nearby!) 

Magnificent view!

We woke to the most glorious sunrise and the same $million views that we fell in love with 20 years ago when we bought this little gem. We’re here only for a short visit to celebrate 40 years of being together and to revisit places tinged with romance and not a little nostalgia: memories of stolen weekends in Sydney half a lifetime ago. I reckoned back then that I could live here even it had to be in a shoebox. Twenty years later we fell in love with Sydney all over again when I spent a sabbatical up here and we decided we just had to buy a ‘shoebox’ (and travel up from Melbourne as often as we could!). We reluctantly sold this wee place 8-9 years ago so we could travel more widely - and didn’t we just do that with great gusto!

The advertising for our place in Potts Point when it went on the market in 2016

Back in the saddle and on the road

Over the first 4-5 months of this year, I discovered that movement is a gift not to be taken for granted. Simply going for a walk was a bit of a luxury as I got back on my feet and tackled the slow process of regaining strength. Both of us faced this as Lindsay had been diagnosed with arthritis in both hips and we were feeling a little nervous about our 61-day train trip coming up in mid-August.  But our doctor assured us we’d be fine (providing we packed lots of pain killers!) and resassured me that my pelvic fractures would be strong enough to tackle bumpy train rides. We took a few long drives in the country to test out our injured parts and slowly slowly we managed to  handle more. And as I was reminded by an inspirational person, I did look back and smile at how far I had come!

With our 40th anniversary approaching mid-year we decided to take a train trip to Sydney and back – a dress rehearsal for our ‘Grand Asian Caravan’ odyssey (by train not camel!) a little later in the year. It would help us get our ‘train legs’ and balance back in action - not to mention that we like seeing the land pass beside us and enjoy experiencing the sense of distance that land travel affords. And we were practicing travelling light!  It was to be a bit of a dry run. 

Still restricted but not idle

Four weeks into my enforced ‘immobility’ and you’ll be pleased to know that I’m still here - like where am I going to go?! I’m doing OK. Not allowed to go dancing yet but my head is OK (when the drugs don’t spin me out, man oh man there are some nasty ones!). I have not been idle in spite of the dam restrictions.  I’m managing to take the edge of my impatience as between us, Lindsay - my partner in ALL things including falling! - and I are slowly editing travel blogs from the last 9 years adventures so we can have them printed for posterity. I think my foreword might be “keep travelling it’s too dangerous being at home”.  I’m just doing South America  2023. We’ve finished Chile and Bolivia and they are at the printers and are just staruing to tackle Peru and the Amazon. 

Pushing through reeds on the Amazon's back waters - from the comfort of my bed! 

It has been wonderful wandering down memory lane as we’ve edited my travel blogs together. Lindsay is now buried in an amazing 6 week caravan trip which took us from the very northwestern corner of NSW to the most southeastern point in Victoria back in the summer of 2019. While he was doing that, I revisited our travels to some of the Mediterranean islands in 2023. It a lot of fun reliving those adventures. 

Our 2023 travels produced 5 volumes - from the Antarctic to the Arctic via other exotic places