Dee-Tours Down-Under

Four Years in Australia Went Fast

2007-05-11T20:24:00.000+10:00

I arrived in Tasmania via Sydney in May of 2003. Since then, I have lived in two towns in Tasmania, two in Victoria and two in New South Wales. By far, I prefer Hobart and Binalong Bay to Sydney and Melbourne. To those who also love Tasmania, no explanation is necessary. To those who love Sydney and Melbourne, no explanation is possible.

So here I am 4 years on. I'm no longer doing what I set out to do, but I am no less a Tasmaniac. Just love this place and pace, and 10 weeks in USA convinced me this is my true home. The Department of Immigration & Citizenship willing.

I have not updated my blog for 5 months because I've been engrossed in red tape of a visa extension, so I can continue to live and contribute to my chosen community. In the interim I have turned 6-0, lost touch with some mainlanders and made new friends on this tiny island at the edge of the planet. I have quit working on two enterprises and started two new endeavors. I never run out of ideas and fun things to do, albeit sometimes run out of energy and funds to live larger. Cést le vie!

Until the next chapter, Dee

Destination: OUT of this World

2006-12-03T13:07:00.000+11:00

Yes, that's an apt description of Tasmania. But if a picture is worth a thousand descriptive words, then see the camera atop my house in Binalong Bay pointing at the Bay of Fires. The view bankrupts the English language in trying to say it any better.

It's good to get lost, and this past week I drove all over parts of Tassie I'd never been before - and felt lost a bit. But made my way back 2200 kms and 7 days later to my favorite spot on the island, up here in the NE corner where the day breaks first in Australia. And where the crayfish (lobsters) are the best in the world. Gotta go get in my wet suit and catch one for dinner.

Ciao 4 now.

Destination Daylesford: Come for ChillOut Festival & Weekends

2006-11-19T15:40:00.000+11:00

'Tho I camped during ChillOut Festival in years past, I've had the opportunity to return to Daylesford with a local, and next time I'm staying at a B&B! The ChillOut Festival is every Labour Day weekend in March.

As a former resort B&B operator, I can relate to the guys who run the two gay owned and operated traditional B&B's in Daylesford. There are other GOO properties, but hard to find outside Rainbow Tourism, GalStays and SameSexTravel.

Among the OUT properties on Rainbow Tourism is Holyrood House, left, and Old Chilli, right, both boutique places with gay male hosts and traditional B&B experience. They are located within a few minutes of Daylesford CBD, but you'll want a car or bicycle for the steep hills. I walked from my lodging on the hill - and all around town - but needed a ride back to home base with the shopping bags!

Write me if you want first-hand photos and dee-tails of your prospectice visit there. Dee Farrell. Cheers.

USA Photo Album: Trip Memories with Friends & Family

2006-11-19T13:06:00.000+11:00

Here are some of the characters I met during my travels...thanks for the memories.

I travelled through 10 airports, flew more than 30,000 kms, and wore out 3 suitcases. Stopovers included Auckland (New Zealand) Chicago (both airports), Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Oakland, Kansas City (easiest), Denver International (favorite) and LAX airports (worst), and of course home port, Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport.

If this is Tuesday, it must be Tasmania. I'm here for an extended rest by the seashore, watching lazy waves, snorkeling for abalone, fishing for flathead, and hanging out by the oyster farm and fishing boats for the daily catch and harvest.

More travel news from the edge of the planet - when it happens. Ciao 4 now, Dee

Dee-touring down-under again: Good to be "home"

2006-11-19T12:51:00.000+11:00

My long stay in America was punctuated by a funeral on the front end and casting a ballot on the tail end in my homestate of Colorado. I trust my presence (virtual and physical) made a difference at both.

Marvelous Melbourne looked very mellow upon my arrival, and it feels great to be home. But I didn't linger long, as was swept away for anti-jet lag mind and body relaxation therapies in delicious Daylesford. Thanks to Mackie for making my afternoon possible with Ann and her magic fingers and hot rocks.

Later, I discovered the new wine bar and had my prophetic photo taken out front. Good luck to former Tasswegian Tim and his partner Devon on their new endeavor with local and international wines. It's sure to become the epicentre for fine wine and food from the region. Soon you'll be able to book winery tours with them whilst sampling the local vintages, arranged by Schoffered Tours .

Everyone's personal detour or journey should include a stop in Daylesford; I'll be back in March for the annual ChillOut Festival, no worries!

Deetouring around the good ole USA

2006-09-23T06:59:00.000+10:00

I'm stateside for 10 weeks to visit friends and family. After my birthfather died in June in Wisc. and my birthmother in Indiana had a series of strokes, I decided it was better to move up my business trip by 5 weeks to make sure I didn't miss another funeral and burial.

I'm in the middle of the cornfields, next to nowhere, somewhere in Mid-America. Dial up, not broadband, beer, not good Aussie wine, reading, not stupid TV & movies. Thankfully, my mother is good company and I'm getting a lot of oral history while we build photo albums of my journeys and of her many grandchildren.

Diversions besides counting corn cobs include cycling around the lake, pub and festival crawling for bluegrass music, and golfing in the middle of acres and acres of soybeans.

It is strange to be back, but looking forward to meeting up with my friends across my trwavels to PA, CA, KS and CO before departing for DownUnder home in mid-Nov.

Where am I now?

2006-06-18T22:29:00.000+10:00

Melbourne's been very FRESH, so I'm currently on the sunshine coast in the sunshine state...
On Sunday, our tour group left Brisbane for Straddie Island. Tomorrow I'm on my own and headed up to the Great Barrier Reef off Cairns and Port Douglas, the tropical end, for some more fun 'n sun. No diving this trip, just R&R by the pool. It's been 10 years since I've visited Queensland, and finding it very upmarket this go around. That's good for tourism!

May in Melbourne

2006-05-28T12:13:00.000+10:00

It's been a busy first quarter, what with relocating (back again) to Melbourne, starting up a branch office for Rainbow Tourism and DeeTours DownUnder, and scooter shopping.
The long-awaited "company car" has arrived from Korea, the home of modern scooters like this one called MIO and sold through Bowell in Australia. The colour is cool spearmint and she's taking me to Ricketts Point for a check out ride this Sunday.

Happy Trails, Dee-touring Dee

Happy detouring this season!

2005-12-11T16:02:00.000+11:00

Happy Holidays, friends and family, wherever you are this Christmas and New Year's.
Some of you are travelling and many are staying close to hearth and home. I'm repeating my beach & bubbly routine, returning to same spot on Bondi Beach where I have been for the past three Christmas Days. This year, I have a special French Champagne and a good book to read - plus plenty of sun tan oil and block. It may reach 100 F/38 C and that means there will be thousands more flocking to Sydney's iconic beach. (Click here if you have broadband and want to see MY BEACH live on webcam. I'm the one wearing a new black swimsuite and waving at the camera .)

The day after Chrissie is a national holiday downunder - called Boxing Day - and this year I think I will go to Coogee beach (I have been working on weekends at a apartment-hotel on the beach) . I want to steer away from the 12,000 Pomies (Brittish tourists) that flock to Bondi each Boxing Day. Last year, of course, was the traumatic tsunami in Indonesia, and I expect there will be memorial services on the beach and on everyone's mind of course. Hard to believe that as bad as that was, Katrina and the devastion in Pakistan/Kashmir were even worse. What a year to forget!

I am leaving Sydney after nearly a year to return on the New Year to Melbourne, an easier city to live in, although with not so nice beaches on the bay instead of ocean. Maybe this is the year some of you will put OZ on your itinerary and come visit me in Victoria.

I am looking forward to zooming around my new hometown on a Vespa (Santa's bringing me a sexy black helmet; and I'm buying the scooter once I'm settled from the move) and my New Year's Resolution is to establish my official handicap (it will be a high number as a golf hacker:>) ).

What's happening in your corner of the world? Please let me hear from you, either through comments on this blog, a phone call or email.

Cheers from dee-touring Dee downunder.

On the Road Again...

2005-10-29T13:51:00.000+10:00

...like my friend Willy Nelson sings, it's great to be "On the Road Again." Like Willy, I want to be on the road again on a BIKE, uh a suitable scooter. Have my eye on a Euro or HD 200, which is plenty big enough for me to dash around town and over to the beach between deadlines. Enough already with shoeleather express and non-express trains and buses!

On the Road Again also means summer road trips with my canine, feline and two-legged friends. Looking forward to camper vanning (RVing) across Victoria and next year further outback in Tropical Queensland. Eventually, I hope to see WA & Margaret River Wine Country outside of Perth. Western Australia is the only state I haven't visited yet, but it's on the agenda. Back home, I got to 48 of the states - including Alaska & Hawaii - but ran out of time or interest to see Iowa and Arkansas.

I'm here for another year or so, so Kome See Kangaroos & Kiwis with me! -Deetouring Dee
Writing from Coogee Beach (Sydney).

AND DIGBY MAKES THREE

2005-09-30T20:43:00.000+10:00

If you can't go on vacation without the family pet, then pack up the car and "doggie" bags and be off on a Pet Holiday along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria.

Yvonne & Digby, her 9 year old yellow lab, led me on a three-day odyssey tour of beaches, stretching from the famous surfing icon, Bells Beach, to the Dirty Dog Beach (which turned Digby into a muddy chocolate/dirty dog) near Apollo Bay, to the famous 12 Apostles close to the cliffside town of Port Campbell. We missed nary a beach (and found nary a shell, just rocks).

The three of us checked out a splendid waterfall at 400 m above Lorne, and stayed in a pet-friendly cabin in Wye River, where we hand fed birds and left celery for a curiously close koala!

New Mantra for Those With Incurable Wanderlust

2005-09-14T12:01:00.000+10:00

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, (dark)chocolate in one hand, (red) wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming 'Whooo Hooo! What a Ride.' " --Author Unknown (Dee's edits).

Thanks, Mike & Barbara, for supplying the healthful chocolate to consume with my gold medal pinot from Robyn & Charlie, both Tasmanian treasures.

Egypt at last?

2005-09-12T11:50:00.000+10:00

I got close, back in 1982 when I was in Greece. Met an Aussie on holiday in Athens who told me I should extend my vacation and travel onto Egypt. Wish I had, as it has rarely been safe since then for an American passport holder to travel to the classical sites. But I'm gonna try to get there next year to celebrate my final birthday (59!) inside the royal tombs in the Valley of Queens.

I recently talked my golf caddy in Byron Bay into putting together a distinctive dee-tour. When not on the golf course chasing up my errant balls, she's a tour guide and amateur archaeologist. Who better to tour the bazaars, museums, temples and belly dancing schools with?

If you've always wanted to explore Egypt, grab your friends and meet us in Cairo after Easter!

In Pursuit of the Perfect Pinot

2005-09-12T11:11:00.000+10:00

Since falling in love with the pinot noir grape varietal - and to a lesser extent its white cousin, pinot gris - I have travelled far and wide in the pursuit of the perfect pinot. I think I have found it in the terrior of northern Tasmania (which has been mis-named The Apple Isle).

The movie Sideways was made for pinot nuts like us! Also, don't miss the site pinotisland.com and the archived blog that reveals some of my favorite 40-degree south cool climate pinots.

For Women Travellers: Tasmania Escape 8-11 Dec.

2005-09-08T16:11:00.000+10:00

I'm excited about co-leading this pamper n play trip to my favorite place on the planet - the east coast of Tasmania. Even before I moved there two years ago, I was always mesmerized by the name and reputation of Wineglass Bay. It is worth every step to hike down - and back up - to this strip of sand that has been voted "one of the top 10 beaches in the world!" We'll be taking some local Tassie wines along to Wineglass Bay, of course.
During the tour, we'll also explore the lovely Friendly Beaches, also inside Freycinet National Park. If anyone is on the beach at the same time as us, I'll be disappointed. There's enough coastline for everyone to have a private beach in Tassie. Yes, the water's a bit fresh, so bring your wet suit or other protective shirts over your bathers.
After two days of play in Freycinet, we'll return to Hobart, where no Saturday is complete without shopping at Salamanca Market, the largest outdoor food and crafts market in Australia!
Contact Bushwise for more information and bookings.

Ex-Pats Living And Thriving Down Under

2005-09-07T17:23:00.000+10:00

Check out my article that ran recently on escapeartist.com.

Australia and New Zealand are very appealing to Americans because of the similarities in lifestyle, language and currency - and for a lot more reasons, politics aside. There’s a plethora of MIAs (migration agents) and unique services like BMI (Business Migration Investments & Tours) that are headed by ex-pat Americans eager to help you make the “sea change.” And there are organisations like AAA (Australian-American Association) and Newcomers Network to tell you where to go to network with fellow ex-pats.
Escape Artist is part of a group of online magazines published by International Living. I subscribed to both prior to moving downunder, and highly recommend that you sign up today if you want to move here tomorrow. Just do it!

Have you found where you belong?

2005-08-31T11:30:00.000+10:00

Sea Change or Quantum Leap? At the wise age of "double nickel", I followed my passion for travel and photography and all-things Aussie. I sold my home, robbed my SEP account (to the chagrin of my financial advisor, but with his best wishes, too!) and headed downunder on a personal journey.

Two years on, after dee-tours in Tasmania and Victoria, I now live in Sydney near the spot my love affair began on Bondi Beach. My income may be minimal, but I've never been "richer" or happier.

Joseph Campbell, a mythologist - whatever that is - says, "There is no security in following the call to adventure, but to refuse the call means stagnation." I was stagnating in Corporate America...Thank god I listened to the wakeup calls!

I know what I'm doing is right for me, and those who really know me remain happy for me on my voyage of discovery. Finding and listening to my inner voice has had many rewards already, even if I do have to sometimes remind myself why I'm doing this. I'm working hard at web content writing and freelance magazine writing - but what I write about and photograph is travel, and the pamper and play stuff (golfing, spa resorts, exploring the outback of beyond, food & wine, and beaches, beaches and more beaches).

My mantra is "Go wherever you are meant to go and trust... whatever is meant to happen will find you." If you have a dream, prepare to make a change. Slow down until you hear your real voice and then start to follow it!

PS I may have left Denver behind, but not the music of John Denver. Whenever I'm homesick, a little "Rocky Mountain High" gets me through the blues.

On the road again

2005-08-30T13:50:00.000+10:00

I count my blessings every day vis a vis the job I have created for myself downunder, which allows a good bit of travel across to New Zealand, around Australia, and especially to Victoria where my travel companion resides between trysts.

Serendipitiously, I'm off to Mauritius next month on a golf/spa/resort junket at the behest of the tourism department. Hard work, writing articles for luxury travel and golf magazines...I know of no one who can do it better! Better bone up on my creole and French champagnes.

Seriously, I have quite a few freelance credits, and I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time with the right golf/spa/resort magazine contacts to make the cut. I'll be travelling with other journalists and event planners and taking a look at that country's travel and hospitality industry. The images I've seen of the golf courses and spas are so tantilizing...maybe I won't come back!
I'll send you a postcard. More news as it happens...

Deetouring DownUnder

2005-08-03T15:25:00.000+10:00

Dee's back from The Outback and living in the world's favorite holiday city, Sydney. It's not so nice when you live here, better when you're "just visiting."

Nevertheless, I'm still on holiday while my friends and family are slaving away in Corporate America. I am at the halfway mark on a four-year, long-stay resident visa - which means I have to start working hard so that I can qualify for permanent residency and eventually, citizenship. Dual passports is this journeywoman's dream!