My Favourite Photos of the Week in 2013

Taken by me for your enjoyment!

The below photos are all of the Turnbull Orr & Co Offices and store in Port Albert in Victoria. The oldest to buildings in Eastern Victoria. Built in 1841 and protected by Heritage Victoria. The buildings were built between 1841 and 1844 and owned by Robert Turnbull, who also owned the entire area of Port Albert. The port and buildings were used predominately to export cattle and sheep to Van Diemans Land (Tasmania) as well as other pastoral interests, including the supply of rural stores for other buildings in the area.

Photos taken on the 4th July 2012

Please do NOT copy any of the photos on this blog - if you would like to use any photos, please leave a comment with contact details, Photos will be supplied without watermark and at full size. All comments are moderated and photo requests won't be shown to the public. Thank-you

Please note that no photo has been photo-shopped or altered in anyway on this blog, cropped yes, photo-shopped/altered NO!

Enjoy all of natures beauty!

Please feel free to visit Redbubble (below) and see photos that I think you might like to buy. Available world-wide, delivered to your doorstep!

Thank-you

My Favourite Photos of the Week

Taken by me for your enjoyment!

Please do NOT copy any of the photos on this blog - if you would like to use any photos, please leave a comment with contact details, Photos will be supplied without watermark and at full size. All comments are moderated and photo requests won't be shown to the public. Thank-you

 

Paradise beach, Gippsland, Photo taken on the 4th July 2012

 

Paradise beach, Gippsland, Photo taken on the 4th July 2012

 

 

Paradise beach, Gippsland, Photo taken on the 4th July 2012

 

 

Paradise beach, Gippsland, Photo taken on the 4th July 2012

 

 

Please note that no photo has been photo-shopped or altered in anyway on this blog, cropped yes, photo-shopped/altered NO!

Enjoy all of natures beauty!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! (or is it?)

*Twas the month before Christmas*
*When all through our land,*
*Not a Christian was praying*
*Nor taking a stand.*
*See the PC Police had taken away,*
*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*
*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*
*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*
*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*
* December 25th is just a "Holiday ".*

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, cheques and credit*
*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*
*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*
*Something was changing, something quite odd! *
*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*
*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*
*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*
* At Myers the word Christmas - was nowhere to be found.*
*At K-Mart and Target and Woolies and Coles*
*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*

*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-is-ty*
*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*
*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*
*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Gillard!*
*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*
*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*
*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith;*
* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*
*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*
*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*
*So as you celebrate "Summer Break" under your "Dream Tree"*
*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*
*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*
*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, Not Happy Holiday!*
*Christ is 'The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!*

(The earliest reference I can find to this, is December 2006) if anyone knows the origins, I'm happy to attribute)

The Tourism industry and those in the Tourist Industry

I’ve just come back from 10 days on the road. I wasn’t surprised at the attitude of some operators, both in food outlets and accommodation and other areas associated with the tourism industry.

Some examples:-
Example 1:- End of a row of shops, not far from the main centre of activity, but far enough away that business ‘may’ be affected. A fish and chip shop, empty at 5pm in a well-known tourist town. I was going to order some dinner as we had just arrived in town. I walked in and walked straight back out. The reason? The small packets of tomato sauce and tar-tare sauce, individually priced at $0.50 EACH. The accepted cost is $0.20.
FAIL

Example 2:- A National Park, ticket fee applies, the operator could see I was having trouble walking (I had crutches) he offered to get the gates opened to allow vehicle access closer to the area we wanted to visit.
WIN

Example 3:- Caravan Park, in a tourist only town (pop. 400) The town lives for tourism and fishing. In fact 2 caravan parks and multiple B&B’s and motels and 1 hotel. Again tourists are the main income for many businesses in this town. The caravan park operator closes the office at 6pm, by comparison most operators don’t close their doors until 8pm (as many people don’t decide until near on dark to settle for the night) Operator was quite put out that we knocked on the door to get a lighter for their BBQ that wasn’t working without a gas stove lighter.
Same operator different day (most parks are keypad in/out) the operator had changed the codes and failed to notify us this was the case. We went to exit at 10pm to go fishing, only to find we couldn’t leave. We rang the park owner/manager as there was no-one in attendance at the residence, only to be verbally abused for doing so. The conversation took 15 minutes and the whole time the verbal tirade was disgusting. We are the PAYING customer and should be treated as such.
(The operator DID apologise the following morning) but it was too late for us – we won’t be returning.
FAIL

If you work or earn an income from visitors to your town, area, establishment or accommodation, you MUST be polite. I know ‘tourists’ can be painful, I know they can be demanding, but keep in mind bad word travels 10 times quicker than good.

We’ve already warned 2 people off that caravan park, and no doubt they will warn others.

I grew up in a tourist town, with my parents income derived from so-called tourists. Those tourists put food on the table and clothes on my back. You never know who will be the next ‘tourist’ through your town and they could make or break you.

Don’t think there are always others, yes there are – but they will only come once and never darken your doorstep again. Be polite and encourage return custom, people will go out of their way to re-visit old haunts just to see a smiling face.

PS – some of the people who came through my parents’ establishment, did so for 20 years and then the children came.

Discovery Campervans ripped me off

My husband and I decided to book a campervan holiday, it was mid 2009 that we decided we needed a break. With the stress of the bushfires and trying to get a cookbook up and running for in support of a bushfire affected town, we really needed a break.

We booked the holiday, we booked airfares, everything for the four of us as a family just to get away for a week. We had booked to leave March 2010.

Two days before we were due to fly my father died. We hurriedly delayed everything and re-scheduled what could be rescheduled. Paid the penalty fees and thought no problems.

I haven’t been terribly well these last 18months, most likely due to stress. We re-scheduled for September School Holidays (way back in March 2010). Then thrown a curve ball that my son is going to New Zealand with school for hockey, My daughter doesn’t know if she is coming or going and I just threw my hands up in the air and couldn’t manage with re-scheduling again.

We paid $547 (plus 2 x $100) for re-scheduling.

The email I received from Discovery Campervans clearly stated “If you decide to take a campervan holiday in the next 6 months or so – we will gladly transfer the deposit over to your new booking”

I thought this deposit to be transferred was $547.00 – I was wrong – our deposit is apparently $79 – the rest goes swinging in the wind.

I’m sitting here crying at the moment because everything is just too F*** hard