leyton.org

We’re driving north at the moment between Brisbane and Cairns, along the ‘Bruce Highway’. We’ve hired a campervan for the duration, and judging by all the waves we’re getting along the road, have joined something of a friendly club. Either that or I’ve left the electrical cord dangling out of the back of the van…

We’re in Rockhampton right now - it’s right on the Tropic of Capricorn, so things are promising to get a lot hotter and more humid as we move further north. As we drive along, we’ve been struck by the very distinct and (to me) typically Australian scenery: Orange or even bright Red soil; Eucalyptus trees (many of which appear charred from bush fires); Kangaroo warning signs on the road. Dead Kangaroos (or Wallabies) on the side of the road are a distinct reminder of the stern advice received from the campervan company not to drive at night: Kangaroos really do make nasty dents in the front of vehicles. On a morbid note, they make a change from dead Possomms which seem to litter the roads around New Zealand (They’re something of a pest on the other side of “The Ditch”).

We stayed our first night with a very distant relative (my fourth cousin, once removed). I’d received an e-mail whilst in Japan from a chap who was researching his family tree. After a bit of e-mail conversation, he concluded we were related through my paternal grandmother (Nancy Crinage). As we were visiting Australia, and the Brisbane area where he lives, we were invited to visit, and ended up staying the night in their garden in our new campervan. A fascinating time, and we were made to feel very welcome, plus we received plenty of hints and suggestions for our time in Australia, which we’re looking forward to investigating as we head up to Cairns. It’s also a good reason for hosting a website. He’d come across my Grandfathers (Paul Leyton) obituary via Google, where my grandmother is mentioned. I’m looking forward to explaining the story to my relatives when we return, and comparing the research my grandfather had done into our family tree in the 1980’s.

So, we’re continuing up towards Cairns over the next few days. It’s about 1700km between Brisbane and Cairns, and we’ve about 1050km remaining. We’re planning on stopping to investigate the Whitsundays, and also - with some luck - to spot some wild Platypus in a National park off the main road west of Mackay that has been suggested to us. We’ll of course be aiming to get out on the Great Barrier Reef when we get to Cairns, but inland has some treats too. The views out across the jungle canopy is supposed to be stunning. After that, we’re off to Uluru (Ayers Rock) - we’ve booked up to practically every trip/walk possible in the area, and are very excited about things.

Keep the e-mails coming. It’s always nice to hear from friends and relatives whilst we’re away! Oh, and Frances mum has updated the Japan pics we sent back a while back. Left to right, top to bottom: Governmental building near Shinjuku station (viewing level at the top); View from said building (of a rather dull looking park); Senso-ji in Tokyo; Kamakura temple - Buddhist wedding was just ‘warming up’ with some music before the arrival of guests; Our room in Fuji-Hakone Guest house; Park near to the waterfront in Tokyo (we’d just visited the worlds biggest fish market nearby); Me enjoying a meal in Fuji-Hakone; Fireplace in the same restaurant; Frances and our meals in same restaurant.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 25th, 2004 at 7:42 am and is filed under Travelling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.