Street-wise emus and kangaroos

23 07 2007

One of the things that many in the US have often asked is “Do kangaroos hop down the main street?” Those who have actually been to Australia never ask this question, and it often amuses us Aussies to answer “Yes”, just to see the reaction.

Well, yesterday we found a town where kangaroos and emus *do* roam the streets!! Despite the wintery weather (rain, strong winds, cold), we took a drive to Donnelly River, then on to Manjimup and Pemberton and back.

Donnelly River is an old mill town. Like many small towns in the southwest of Western Australia, when the timber mill closed the town died. But they kept the houses at Donnelly River and have made the place into a holiday village where you can rent out a whole house or two or three for a night or a week at a time. There are a couple of places like this in southwest, and they are ideal for large community, corporate, or school groups – or just a very big family!So we drove through the two streets in Donnelly River. And saw about 6 kangaroos and at least a dozen emus just wandering about without a care in the world. Some were strolling across the old school yard, others were lolling about on front lawns, some were lurking near verandas, others were sheltering out of the rain under trees in front yards, and still others were ambling down the road.

To the Americans I’ve kidded about this, I take it all back! Donnelly River is one town in Australia where kangaroos and emus *do* roam the streets!

More pictures of the kangaroos and emus at Donnelly River…

 Emu strolling along the main street of Donnelly River

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Categories : Australia, Travel

Non-existent customer service

23 07 2007

Yesterday we drove to Pemberton, some 60kms from here (see next post for details). One of the signs we saw coming in to town was for Jarrah Jacks Brewery and Woodsmoke Winery. Jarrah Jacks have won a few awards for their beer, so we decided to stop in on our way out of Pemberton. After negotiating the very pot-holed dirt road for a kilometre or so, we arrived at their magnificent building in a most beautiful location high on the top of a hill overlooking vineyards and a large dam.

We got there around 3:15pm, so there were few tables of people on the veranda still enjoying what remained of their Sunday lunch, or just having a lazy Sunday afternoon in a beautiful spot. When we fronted the bar/serving counter are there was just one other person in front of us – a guy paying his bill. There were four people behind the bar doing all sorts of things. We waited. We waited some more. Another couple came in, and one of the ‘busy’ staff decided to serve them. We waited a bit longer. The staff member serving the man in front of us said “Be with you in a minute.” Then promptly ignored us to tell another newcomer to the serving area about their snacks. The other three staff remained ‘busy’ but not with customers. We left.

We had waited at least 5 minutes for service that never came. It’s not that we weren’t noticed – at 6′ 3″ my husband is not unnoticeable. It’s not that they were busy with other customers – they weren’t. It’s not like it was closing time – they close at 6pm on a Sunday. We were ignored, plain and simple. Maybe each staff member in the serving area thought someone else was serving us. But I think that’s giving them too much of the benefit of the doubt. Personally, I think that the staff were too intent on their ‘chores’ to bother with paying customers. Bad mistake. We won’t be back.


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Categories : Food & Wine, Life stuff

Catching up…

21 07 2007

Phew! It’s been a *busy* week this week… Work for the new client has taken up much of my waking and thinking time, but I’ll get there.

Here are some updates from the past couple of weeks that I’ve been meaning to blog about for a while – I’ll do them all at once and get them out of the way:

  • Mandalay Road Estate released their new Zinfandel vintage a couple of months ago, so we headed over there about a month ago to try it. Good stuff! New labels too, very in keeping with the whole “Road to Mandalay” theme. Early birds got a good discount on the new vintage too – $20 a bottle instead of the usual $25. So we bought a few… plus some port. We spent a lovely couple of hours tasting wine with Bernice and Tony, the owners and winemakers. We’ll be back!
  • We went to Bunbury for an appointment on Tuesday and popped in to a furniture store to see if they had any likely sofas (yes, the sofa saga continues…). They had one that suited our needs – and it was a sofa bed too! And they could deliver it the next day! I measured and double measured it after the last sofa fiasco, but when the delivery guys arrived with it on Wednesday they said it wouldn’t fit. Oh no! However, I *knew* it would – they only had to turn it on its side and it fitted through the doorway perfectly. Thinking outside the box was not up these guys alleys…
  • I’ve been having trouble with a R-E-A-L-L-Y S-S-L-L-O-O-O-W-W internet connection all week, and have spent many hours on the phone to the Business Customer Support section of iinet, my ISP. The first two people who dealt with the issue were very helpful and walked me through a whole lot of stuff to do isolation testing to confirm that it was somewhere on the phone line between me and iinet. The next people I dealt with over the following days obviously can’t read, because I had to repeat the issue and the steps already taken to them both. I’ve worked in enough IT companies to *know* that issues and steps taken are recorded – hell, I even had a job number that I quoted each time! At every step, I was promised that someone would get back to me – no-one ever did. iinet’s customer support has always been good (I’ve been with them for close on 10 years), but this episode has soured my previous good experiences with them. My guess is they’ve grown too big. At no time could I get one of the original staff who dealt with the problem on Monday back on the phone – they were always ‘out’ or ‘on another call’. Anyhow, the connection seems to be back to what it was. But I still don’t know if the fault was fixed (I do know a fault was lodged with Telstra by them), or if it’s a lucky chance that it’s back working again. BTW, isolation testing is no fun… I had to disconnect my server from the router, connect the router to the laptop, connect the laptop/router direct into the phone line, etc. Sounds simple, but that’s after power cycling the router a couple of times, rebooting the server, trying all three phone line extensions with and without filters, etc. etc. And most of it was done on the floor. All to confirm that the connection was like walking up to your thighs in treacle! Even slower than dial-up.
  • An observation about the one of the project teams I’m working with in Brisbane – there are about 27 on the team, five of whom are female. Which sorta fits the stats thrown around about the dearth of women in IT in Australia. Of the five females, one is a support person, one is a ex-geologist, two are programmers, and one (me!) is a technical writer. So two of those five are in the ‘helping’ side of IT.
  • Some sad news. A guy my husband played basketball with and against for many years passed away a day or so ago. He would’ve only been in his 50s, fit as a mallee bull, and was still coaching kids’ basketball teams. Vale, Mike.

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Categories : Life stuff

Dripping power

21 07 2007

Watch out for dripping power! And for just one customer in the Greater Perth area (wherever *that* is) to have reconnected to the internet…

I just received this network status notification from iinet (my ISP):

Technical Summary:
Due to storm activity, power has been dripped briefly to several suburbs in the Greater Perth area. This has caused a large volume of customers to become disconnected from the Internet, temporarily increasing load on the authentication system in Perth. This issue appears to have been overcome, and customer who have regained power should be able to reconnect without further issue.

I’ll have more on iinet later, but for now, this made me chuckle!


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Categories : Life stuff

Week in Brisbane: Summary

17 07 2007

I’ve been back a few days now (and as busy as!), so this will be a quick summary of my week in Brisbane last week:

  • VirginBlue flight left after 10:30pm on Monday night. They stuffed up the seat allocation so this guy and I were both allocated the same seat. The steward had a hissy fit at me and was rude and obnoxious. I posted my letter of complaint to VirginBlue today. Will I fly with them again? Nope. Not if I have anything to do with it! Their motto: “The on-time airline.” My experience? That’s BS!
  • Had meetings and workshops with the new team the entire week. Great group of people. Mixture of software tech-heads and geology/mining people.
  • The company is very transparent – employees at all levels are kept informed of the bottom line at all times. The company doesn’t have ‘feel good’ mission statements or sprout off about how much they value their employees – they just do it! Actions speak louder than words and their actions the entire week were terrific. There’s no need for talking the talk if you can walk the walk.
  • The social events they had organised for the team were great. On Tuesday night we had dinner at the “Pig and Whistle”, an Irish pub in the Brisbane CBD. There were probably about 30 of us and the company picked up the tab for the food and the drinks. On Thursday night we went to the Strike Bowling Bar to do ten-pin bowling (Craig, you’ll be impressed! I chose the lime green/yellow/fluoro bowling ball!!). Lots of yummy finger food and snacks served. Open bar… yes, including cocktails! Mmmm… Long Island Iced Tea and Caprioska! After the bowling, we adjourned to the pool tables. Some left at a reasonable hour; some were still there at 3:00am!! (or so we heard the next day – it sure wasn’t me!)
  • Our Perth team stayed at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane, about a 20 minute walk from the office. Breakfast was excellent. Rooms were good except for the tiny and very awkward bathrooms (The toilet was directly behind the door, and you couldn’t open the door more than halfway as a result. Reaching around the door and the toilet to turn on the shower was an exercise in contortion!) Internet access was…. wait for it… 55c a MINUTE!! Highway robbery. I checked email etc. at the office. Even though the company paid all charges, that to me was an absolute rip-off.
  • Qantas Club at Brisbane Airport on Friday night was standing room only! I’ve never seen a lounge that busy. After the flights to Sydney and Melbourne had left, it cleared out enough to find some chairs to sit on.
  • Qantas flight home was uneventful – and on time. Got in just after 11:00pm Friday, grabbed bags, caught shuttle to carpark out in Woop-Woop, car started OK (but was FILTHY), overnight accommodation was cheap but fine.
  • Drove home on Saturday, stopping off in Mandurah to get fuel, put car through car wash, grab a late breakfast (mmmm…. Aussie meat pie!), look at sofas in a couple of stores and write down measurements of those I liked. One in particular took my fancy. After the last experience with sofas, this time I asked for a tape measure when I walked in and wrote down details of the height of the back, the width, and the depth of the seat. I won’t get caught again.

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Categories : Australia, Business/Work, Travel

Brisbane trip 4: What price a shower?

9 07 2007

When I arrived in Sydney at 7:00pm, I discovered that my 8:30pm flight was delayed until 10:00pm (or later). Damn! After comfirming the new flight time and asking about internet access, the VirginBlue counter staff person told me I could get into the Lounge for $30 for a single visit. And that there was food, wine, free internet, showers, etc. Well, I needed no more convincing! What price a decent shower??? And I figured that if I bought dinner and a wine or two in the terminal, plus paid for internet access, I’d be close to spending $30 anyway. So that’s what I did. Bought a single access pass to the Velocity Lounge. Very similar to the Qantas Club lounges, though smaller and lots less people.

First stop – a shower! Then food (nibbles) and wine (3 glasses of Devil’s Lair Fifth leg Shiraz) + nougat and paneforte… Easily $30 worth!! Oh, and free wireless internet access, though it was a bit flakey. Actually, it was really flakey. It worked once for about 2 minutes, then died, and I couldn’t reconnect except via dial-up.

So here I am in Sydney Airport waiting for a late night flight to Brisbane… I doubt I’ll get to the hotel before midnight, and I have my first meeting tomorrow morning at 8:00am.


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Categories : Australia, Travel

Brisbane trip 3: Hanging around airports

9 07 2007

I had a bite to eat at the Dome coffee shop inside the VirginBlue terminal (Yes, TFP, I had Dome’s Caesar Salad – and it was GOOD, though the bowl was quite small. Lots of hot chicken, bacon, and shaved parmesan. Yummy!). Then I hung around until the flight.

Uneventful flight to Sydney; listened to more podcasts on the drive up and on the flight. Nothing to get excited about – just techie/geekie stuff! And read half of a book, and listened to a couple of albums while I read, plus did some work. Everything on VirginBlue costs – $10 for Foxtel programming, and you pay for food and drinks. I’d eaten at Dome and had paid an exhorbitant $3.60 for a Diet Coke at the cafe in the departure area before boarding the plane, so I didn’t buy anything on board.


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Categories : Australia, Travel

Brisbane trip 2: Perth Airport parking

9 07 2007

I’d checked the info on the internet about long term parking at Perth Airport, and it clearly said no bookings were required. When I got there, the first sign for Long Term parking indicated that only 24 bays were available. So I dutifully followed the signs, only to go by three Long term parking lots all of which had the FULL signs out! So it was back to the Overflow parking lot way in the back of beyond to find parking. The good thing: It was only $25 for unlimited parking, compared to the $55 I was expecting for the time I needed to be there. And it was secure – well, there was a fence around the lot… A shuttle took me and another guy to the airport at no cost (that would’ve been rich!) but via a very circuitous route – first the driver stopped at his car to get his water bottle, then at one of the full parking lots he stopped to undo the chain and padlock to let a guy out, then finally we got to the terminals. Lucky the other guy and I weren’t in a hurry… Such a hick town approach, compared to airport shuttles in the US.

The parking situation at Perth Domestic Airport is atrocious and getting worse by the day. With so many fly in/fly out workers, there’s just no space for Long Term parkers. While many catch a cab to the airport or get a lift from their partners, not all of us can do that (especially when we live some 3.5 hours drive from the Airport!). I don’t know why Perth Airport has this ‘thing’ about wide-open spaces – it can be the only reason they’ve never put in a multi-storey carpark, which is sorely needed.


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Categories : Australia, Travel

Brisbane trip 1: Getting there

9 07 2007

I left home at 7:40am. It was pretty foggy at the house, but was a pea souper in town. However, the fog lifted just out of town and it remained clear the entire trip to Perth.

I had a good run through to the Kwinana Freeway, but roadworks starting at Thomas Rd meant that I got out of that traffic jam and on to Thomas Rd. I had plenty of time to get to the airport, but waiting an hour or so of it in a traffic jam would mean that it would be tight. A better option was to get off the freeway and head to Nicholson Rd and then the Roe and Tonkin Highways.

Despite lots of roadworks and heavy truck traffic on Thomas and Nicholson Rds, this proved a wise move. I made the airport by 11:30, some 3.5 hours after leaving home. And then the fun began…


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Categories : Australia, Business/Work, Travel

Long commute to work

9 07 2007

I’m off to spend a week in the new client’s offices – in Brisbane! Let’s see… That’ll be:

  • 3 to 4 hours drive to Perth. It’s very foggy here this morning, so the trip may be even longer; time spent in Perth getting to the airport will depend on traffic.
  • 1 to 2 hours airport ‘hang time’ waiting for the VirginBlue flight to leave. They still say 30 minutes on the ticketing info, but the reality these days is to arrive at least an hour before your flight time to get through the security checks. That’s domestic. With international, you have to allow 3 hours.
  • 3 to 4 hour flight to Sydney
  • 1.5 hours ‘hang time’ at Sydney airport
  • 1.5 to 2 hours flight to Brisbane
  • 30 minute wait for luggage
  • 30 minute taxi drive to hotel

By my reckoning, I’ll leave here around 7am and not get to the hotel until close to 11pm tonight. That’s about 16 hours of travel and ‘hang around time’. Oops, make that 14 hours. 11pm Queensland time is 9pm Perth time…

The next four days are in Brisbane with the rest of the Perth crew who took the same flights yesterday (Sunday). We have a packed work agenda every day and every night except Wednesday. On Friday, we’ll work all day, then catch the 7:30pm Qantas flight back to Perth. At least that’s a direct flight! I think the flight is about 5 hours. I know we get in to Perth around 11pm Perth time. I’ll then be staying overnight at a city hotel, and driving back on Saturday.

There’s no way I’ll drive back Friday night – 8 hour work day + 5 hour flight + couple of hours ‘hang time’ between work and flight departure = 15 hours. Add to that a 3 to 4 hour drive home – in the dark, possibly in fog, with kangaroos around on the latter sections of the trip. Nope. No way.

So I’m out of here in about an hour. If I’m quiet all week, you’ll know why!


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Categories : Business/Work

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