Captains Flat Hotel April 21 2012

[Mal S7]

I am in! Sat night only for me. I have a friend who may come along too.

cheers
Mal

[ME 109]

My brother Ken and his mate Mark, only Saturday night I think.

[Deleted User 287]

Yep, Still going.
Is there still a camp for the Sunday night being tossed around as well?

Quite possible Bob, let's see what this latest discussion brings up.

Geehi may be a good location for a second night out.

Cool map: http://www.exploroz.com/Places/76075/NS ... _Area.aspx

[Doug]

Bugger!
I'm goingto have to pull out of the weekend. My dad ( 91y/o and blind) needs me to escort him up to Darwin and back on the Ghan and the trip straddles that weekend!
Great weather for a ride at the moment, so am hoping to make up for it a bit over easter.
Doug

[Deleted User 287]

Bugger!
I'm goingto have to pull out of the weekend. My dad ( 91y/o and blind) needs me to escort him up to Darwin and back on the Ghan and the trip straddles that weekend!
Great weather for a ride at the moment, so am hoping to make up for it a bit over easter.
Doug

Enjoy your time with your Dad. I hope it all goes well.

[Duane Ausherman]

When the air ticket arrives i will be bound to join you chaps.

[Deleted User 287]

My dad ( 91y/o and blind) needs me to escort him up to Darwin and back on the Ghan

I was bored and curious, so I had to find out what a "Ghan" was.
How interesting!
Is this a pleasure trip?


http://www.railaustralia.com.au/theGhan.php

[Doug]

Well yes, it is.
Dad went blind about 5 years ago with a burst blood vessel and he's been rebuilding his life ever since. and has been bangingon for years about riding the Ghan!.. named after the Afghan Camel drivers that provided freight tarnsport in the centre of Australia in thew 19C and early 20C.
This trip is marketted as an Anzac commemoration journey marking the 70th Anniversery of the bombinmg of Darwin shortly after Pearl Harbour and fromt he same strike force. THis was an event thatwas hushed up at the time, but in fact resulted in about 250 lives lost. The train trip will pause at the Adelaide River War Cemetery just south of Darwin where the dead from the bombing are buried,then continues on arriving eventually in Adelaide .
Dad is beside himself with excitement!.. and I;m really looking forward to spending such an extended period of tme with him.

Not long ago,and well after he went blind , he confessed to me that he's always wanted to have a motorbike but that never happened! I think he's a bit enviopus of me on my old boxer!!
So although I'll be missing the Captains Flat ride, I reckon the Darwin trip might almost make up for it!!

Doug

[grant81rs]

Gidday fellas,

Doug, what a fantastic trip to be making with your dad, the memories from that will be gold mate.

Enjoy and please pass on my best of wishes to your dad..

[Deleted User 287]

Doug,

PM me if you want a copy of my Dad's Service Diary. He was among the first Yanks to hit the Australian coast:

Jan. 10, 1942 - I go into San Francisco for my last time.

Jan. 12 - At 4 A.M. we went aboard the President Coolidge. At 4:00 PM we pulled out of the harbor.

Jan. 12 to Feb. 1 - we were at sea. We ate twice a day and the food was very good until the last few days. Many of the boys got sick. I was lucky I didn't get sick. Our 20th day at sea we saw land. It was a jagged coast line that seemed to be barren. Out of the water rose large rocks that seemed to almost tell of an ancient race. As we sailed up the coast line and the rocks became land and farms we could almost feel the warmth of the peoples hearts that they were glad to see us come. As we sailed on from every point on the shore could be seen the reflection of mirrors against the sun. It was the sign of the people giving us our first welcome. What was to follow none of us knew, but it was to be a very pleasant surprise at least for a short time. Later on we really learned that there was to be no "Glory in War".

Feb. 2 - We unloaded off the boat and were taken to Camp Darley some 40 miles from Melbourne. Our camp had tin shacks for barracks and we slept on the floor on straw tichs called Palisasie. We went into a small village called Bacaus Marsh [Bacchus Marsh] some five files away and found out that Australian beer had quite a kick to it.

If you have one of those portable computer reader things, you might be able to load it on it and read it to him on the trip!