Tag: travel

TrainLink Adventure Scone

I am on my first train trip using my pensioner TrainLink tickets. I chose Scone as my first destination as they are holding the APRA Ariat National Rodeo Finals at White Park Equine Complex. Here in NSW as a Senior we can travel within Sydney to Blue Mountains, Wollongong, Newcastle all day on train bus ferry light rail metro for $2.50. Outside of this is considered regional area and when we get to Pensioner status (67 and meet various conditions) we get 4 free regional train (TrainLink) trips a year.

I decided to upgrade my ticket to First Class which cost an additional $11.65 each way from Sydney to Scone. Unfortunately there is trackwork for the return trip and they have replaced the train with a coach for the second leg so I have been given a refund of $11.65 for the return journey. I could have cancelled the whole trip but this is one of my new adventures, so train and coach it will be.

The train trip was comfortable enough. Of course nothing like the lovely Japanese fast trains but they are in a very different price range. The seats recline. There is a food section to purchase snacks and you can order a hot meal. There are toilets which are more spacious than on a plane. On this trip the economy section had very few people and First Class was full and and discovered that having my ticket I could sit in either section. Good to know as the First Class got quite noisy because of the number of people. The trip took 4 hours.

I arrived at Scone station and it is a small town station.

I got a bit anxious as I discovered there is no Uber service in this town. But I went into full travel trouble shooting mode. Google came up with a local taxi. I felt very bad because it is only a 3 minute ride to the hotel and I had to wait 15 to 20 minutes for a taxi to come. I discovered Kay is the only taxi in Scone and she is a senior herself. There are no taxis in Scone at night. However, if you attend the local RSL, they have a courtesy bus. None of this would matter too much but when you are hauling 20kg of luggage (luckily I had some drink and food with me) and a lot of the road to the hotel does not have a path and it is a 15 minute walk, in 28 degrees, it could have been a disaster.

Scone has a population of 5,000 people it is very well known for its thoroughbred horse breeding and it is known as Australia’s horse capital. Apparently it is the second biggest horse breeding centre behind Kentucky in the USA. Interesting comparison considering Scone is a tiny small town and Kentucky is a state.

Three days of rodeo with an interesting mix of crowd. I spent 2 days amongst the general crowd. Some people camping, others staying in motels, some who travel the circuit, for others this is their first rodeo. My 3rd day I splurged and bought a VIP ticket so spent a day amongst sponsors and competitor families.

The events were bareback bronc, breakaway roping, barrel racing, bull riding, rope & tie, steer wrestling, saddle bronc, team roping. I love horseriding but never could I hope to achieve these skills. I feel every pain in every part of their body while riding and cannot imagine the back pain these riders will suffer through their life.

I learned that there are many rules required to be adhered to to ensure the animals are not hurt. These horses cost between $30000 and $50000. Not a cheap sport. That does not include upkeep.

I spoke to one saddle bronc competitor and it costs them $60000 for a year. This includes entry fees, travel for themselves and their horses. Entry fee for the National was $750 a Saddle costs $4000 lasts about 8 years chaps $2000. 1st prize at this competition is about $8000 cash saddle about $4000, horse feed, a belt buckle and other various prizes. One competitor has won $68000 for the year. Some have a sponsor so they manage a little better than those who do not.

Thank you Scone for a delightful 3 days. Some photos of the town when I went exploring.

As there was trackwork my return trip to Sydney was via coach. It was comfortable. Remember it was free.  If I had done this trip by car it would have cost over $100. Thank you TrainLink. I enjoyed my trip immensely even with the change of plan to return by coach instead of train.

New Years Eve Wolli Creek 2024

A New Year, and my first New Year’s Eve celebration in my new home in Wolli Creek felt like a good time to commence a new blog.

This is my first post on the blogger site. I have a blog edibiasutti.au which I have been running since 2018 when my older son, Carlos, suggested I document my travels. In 2018 I did a 5 month roadtrip of back roads of every contiguous USA state and can proudly say I have been to every USA state.  I then added my travels around Australia and other countries. 

After 16 years in a 4 bedroom/2 bathroom 115 year old house in Sydenham under the Sydney Airport flight path, I decided to downsize to a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom 20 year old unit in Wolli Creek, 5 minute drive down the road. 

I now have spectacular views of Sydney Airport and water views of Wolli Creek and Botany Bay out to the ocean.

For several years I spent NYE somewhere on Sydney Harbour or its foreshore to enjoy the spectacular Sydney fireworks. This year I thought we might enjoy my new home and perhaps find some entertainment by some illegal fireworks as the lead up to NYE, there have been many fireworks going off in this area.  I have many fond and scary memories of “cracker night” where we let off fireworks at home, in local parks, had parties and BBQs and let off fireworks anywhere.  The Government banned fireworks in NSW in 1986 due to pressure from the Royal College of Physicians because of the many injuries and deaths caused by ignorance and accidents. However in my new home we had some unexpected entertainment.

Just prior to the above lot of fireworks, 3 firebrigades were called to a fire caused by illegal fireworks which could have caused a lot more damage. My pickleball centre was nearby and was at risk!!

Happy New Year to all and may 2025 bring wonderful memories,  joy with people you love and many exciting adventures.

Hobart Tasmania

In September 2024 I finally got to explore my final state of Australia. A little embarrassing considering I have been to every USA state on a roadtrip in 2018, most of which you can check out here edibiasutti.au.

Well Tasmania was a delight and a surprise. So much to see and do that I will break it down into areas. Tasmania is often forgotten on maps, but this gem should never be considered an inferior place in any way. I would put it on my list of first places to explore after Sydney. I would be so happy to go back there, even though I am not a fan of cold weather, Tasmania is beautiful, quirky, stunning, historical, modern – a must go to place.

I had wonderful company on this almost 2 week trip with Tess, who had started as my Airbnb guest in October 2023 and she just never left. Tess was on a work holiday visa and used my Sydney home as a base to live and learn the Aussie city culture but went off on trips around Australia for weekends and a week at a time.  I was fortunate to have her company for her last few days in Australia on this wonderful trip.

We picked up our rental car at Hobart Airport. I get my rental cars through the broker billiger-mietwagen.de with whom I always get amazing deals. They are a German company and most of the information is in German but I have had no difficulty getting translations with Google and communication by email is efficient in English.

We based ourselves in the Waterfront Lodge Motel just outside of Hobart city for the first three days. Warm, clean, comfortable and good communication with management.  

Hobart has it all. Great food, history, culture, beautiful waterfront, mountains and wildlife. A must do is the MONA (Museum of Old and New Art). You can either drive or I highly recommend taking the ferry and you can go as a Pleb or a Posh.  Tess and I decided to go Posh.  

This Museum requires a bit of a warning that some things may offend if a bit prudish, but we loved it all. I loved the resident composer. It was his last day. He had been there for 360 days. Every day he composed a piece of music for a quartet. Every day a new quartet would come in and perform the piece he composed.  What an amazing piece of art! 

There are many walks around Hobart including the Battery Point Sculputure Trail or the In Bobby’s Footsteps are self guided walks. These walks show you some beautiful old residential areas, Salamanca Markets area and the beautiful waterfront. And it is where the Sydney to Hobart yacht race ends on New Year’s Eve.

We got up close and fed some Aussie wildlife at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary  Highly recommend the after hours tour. 

Mount Wellington is an amazing drive. Be aware not to look over the edge of the road if you suffer vertigo. It is bitterly cold and windy but the views are spectacular.