Skiing again in Saalbach-Hinterglem

Having been away for so long in the southern hemisphere in December and January we are having our skiing holiday in March this year. We usually prefer going earlier in January or February since the colder weather then normally results in better snow conditions. In March it feels very warm with the result that the snow gets very soft and heavy after lunchtime.

We flew from Gatwick on Friday 8th at 09:50 on a very good BA flight to Salzburg and picked up our Avis hire car at the airport - a very quirky Citroen Picasso. A very easy 80Km drive south to Viehhofen stopping off at our favourite Spar supermarket in Saalfelden to stock up for the week. We arrived in Viehhofen in very good time where we are again staying at the HPB properties. I think this is our fifth time in Viehhofen, once in the summer and four times skiing. It really is an excellent location being only 3 miles from Saalbach and about 6 miles from Zell am See where the frozen lake is beautiful in winter.

I thought this was to be a defining skiing holiday as  a result of deteriorating knees. Last year I hired a Ski MoJo, a device which is claimed to reduce strain on the knees by up to 30%. It seemed to work well but unfortunately one of the fastenings broke loose on the 3rd day so I was not able to use it all week. The Ski MoJo has become very popular and hiring is now not so easy in the high season so I took the plunge and bought one. It certainly works and once you get over the palaver of putting it on, there is definitely a reduction in pressure on the knees.

The weather was not great for the first two days (Saturday and Sunday) with low cloud and even some rain. Apparently the week or so before we arrived had been very sunny and warm which meant that a lot of snow had melted. However, there had clearly been very significant snow falls earlier in the season and the "base" of snow is still considerable - a few bare patches at the bottom of the slopes but overall till very good snow conditions. Those skiers amongst you will know that on cloudy days, whilst you can see miles across the valley, it is sometime difficult to see the detail of the snowy piste in front of you.

On Monday the weather improved with a fair amount of sunshine and wonderful views all around. It is still warm and with temperatures around 7/8C the snow is getting soft quite quickly. Combined with tired limbs this means that we have not skied a great deal in the afternoon.

Having spent the first three days skiing around Saalbach, on the fourth day we headed for Hinterglemm and were rewarded with some great skiing and superb views. We both agree that Saalbach-Hinterglemm is an excellent ski area with very friendly people and a relaxed atmosphere. Skiing is never going to be an inexpensive holiday but Saalbach is very good value without sacrificing the quality and the extent of the skiing. One thing of note this year is that of ski fashion and it would appear that the era of grunge has gone! All of the youngsters are now in brightly coloured skiwear and Rosemary and I feel as if we are back in fashion!

Tuesday 29th January. Nunneries, temples and trams

We had decided to visit the Chi Lin Nunnery (Buddhist) and Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin temple (Taoist) which are in the north east of Kowloon so braving the rush hour melee on the metro we set off.

Ch Lin was quite beautiful and serene. It's quietness was even more surprising given the surrounding skyscrapers and roads. There were a number of extraordinary altars featuring the Buddha and several of his followers but sadly we were not allowed to photograph these.

The gardens featured a lot of bonsai trees which were much larger that the usual plant pot size.

By contrast Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin was loud, noisy and very busy with vast numbers of pilgrims lighting their joss sticks and waving them at various altars. Lots of people had brought offerings to the various gods (I'm sorry I am no expert on the Taoist religion), including one woman who appeared to have brought a cooked chicken. Several people also came to have their fortunes told using chim (bamboo "fortune sticks") which are shaken in a quiver type box until one falls to the ground. This is repeated many times and the results are interpreted by a fortune teller. However, many people seemed to be adopting a DIY approach to fortune telling and one chap was making detailed notes after each stick fell to the ground. All absolutely fascinating.

We had decided that it was now time to unleash the LLW on the shopping malls and I had done some (extremely unselfish research) and identified a highly regarded shoe shop in a smart mall in the centre of  Tsim Sha Tsui district. However, when we arrived there the LLW was much more concerned about finding a cafe for some refreshment and to rest her tired feet. Having accomplished this and ensured she was suitably reinvigorated with a couple of glasses of wine we set off for said shoe shop only for the LLW to declare that nothing on sale was suitable for her extremely discriminating taste. Well I did try!

Off then back to Hong Kong island and a planned ride of the famous old double decker trams which move slowly and not so serenely from west to east and back again. It was great but very busy, and having opted for the upper deck we had a terrific view of the chaotic bustle that is HK. Back on the Star Ferry to Kowloon before returning to our hotel for a short break (we must have walked at least 6 miles today). Our dinner this evening with be our last on this holiday which has been fabulous and we have enjoyed every minute of it.

Monday 28th January Hong Kong

We started the day in Hong Kong with a walk along the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade in Kowloon which has wonderful views over the skyline of Hong Kong island. The weather was slightly cool with a misty haze over the island but ideal for walking. We passed the Avenue of the Stars where Chinese film stars are remembered. Then we were stopped by a teacher with a small group of school children who was keen to allow them to practice their English on us; this seemed to be quite commonplace around Hong Kong. On then to the famous Star Ferry which plies between Kowloon and Hong Kong island. Fabulous views in all directions as we crossed the short distance between the two.

We walked all around the main financial district viewing some amazing architecture including the HSBC building and the Bank of China (photo below). On the way through the CBD we stopped at a huge very upmarket food hall which seemed to sell everything from the most expensive wines to live lobster specially flown in from Boston - its a strange world!

Our next plan was to take the 15 bus up to the lower station of the Peak tram and take in the views from the summit. We headed in to Central Metro station to purchase our Octopus cards and yes they do exactly the same as Oyster in London. The underground concourse at Central is huge and we seemed to walk miles before finding the bus terminus where we duly boarded the 15. So focused were we upon the sites that we did not notice the bus pass the Peak Tram station so we enjoyed (?) a bus trip up to the top - a very hair raising ride on a double decker bus (all HK buses are double deckers). The views from the summit were wonderful and well worth the ride. After a quick lunch and beer at a very nice restaurant at the top we did manage to get the tram for the ride down. The architecture of the tower blocks all the way up and down the mountain is quite extraordinary and sometimes it is difficult to understand how they remain standing.

By now we had walked many miles and it was time to get back to the hotel for a short rest before heading out for the evening. We set off to visit the Temple Street Night Markets before dinner. Quite literally everything seemed to be on sale there and it was really buzzy and busy. Along one side of the market were huge numbers of small restaurants with their owners touting for business on the pavement. However, we decided to give these a miss and find a restaurant closer to our hotel for a meal. We ended up at a fairly upmarket Cantonese restaurant and had a good meal including the most enormous plate of scallops.

Walking back to the hotel we experienced the HK skyline at night for the first time and as you can see it is quite something. HK is clearly still a very successful city and lots of wealth was on display wherever one looked. One thing that did surprise us was that there seemed to be very few tourists from Europe or the USA and by far the majority (I guess more than 90%) appeared to be from mainland China.

Sunday 28th January. Leaving the southern hemisphere

The promised rain arrived during the night with crashing thunder, violent lightning and a torrential downpour. By morning the storm had largely passed but it was still raining. Given that we had some tricky navigation to find our way back to the car rental depot and that the weather was clearly not about to improve we abandoned any ides of scenic routes and took the direct route back to Sydney.

I made a new friend at a petrol station when another customer asked me if I knew whether or not the local Woolworths ( a large OZ supermarket chain) was open today. I explained that I was from England and that sadly Woolworth's were definitely no longer open there. He then explained that his daughter was working in a pub in London and was very keen to know my view on whether London was a safe city or not. I told him that London was a great city and he should not worry. After a reasonably long conversation I made it back to the car where the lovely lady wife was looking concerned at the length of my absence.

On then to Sydney Airport and to find the car hire depot which when we left it seemed to be in an area of small one way streets intersected by several very busy roads populated with drivers who would rival those in London for aggressive driving. The LLW has clearly honed her navigational skills of late and we had a faultless journey back to the car hire place. Will probably now dispense with sat navs  and in any case the LLW has a much nicer voice than that woman on the sat nav.

Loads of time to spare when we arrived at the airport and now enjoying the lounge facilities before our Virgin flight to Hong Kong.

A very good flight slightly spoiled by a very irritating entertainment system and the LLW came close to throwing things on a couple of occasions  Pretty much on time into Hong Kong and we quickly found a taxi which very speedily took us to our hotel in Kowloon just across the water from Hong Kong island! Our first sight of Hong Kong was of course at night and it is quite spectacular.

Saturday 26th January Australia Day

Before we left Jervis Bay the charming owner on our motel (who was a Kiwi and looked as though he had at one time been an All Black second row) recommended Supply Jervis Bay for breakfast so off we went. So popular was it that no seats were to be found so we ordered our take aways and sat on a bench looking out across the beautiful white sands of Jervis Bay

After leaving Husky we decided to take a cross country route to our next destination of Kaloomba in the Blue Mountains. Very soon we left the coastal plain and were climbing steeply to a magnificent viewpoint at Cambewarra lookout. Sadly it was quite misty and looked as though it may take a while to clear so we soon resumed our journey via Kangaroo Valley (none to be seen) and Moss Vale. The scenery was magnificent with lots of tree ferns and little sign of the extreme drought which has affected the coastline plain and the interior of Australia. It sounds as if the dry period is about to end as we had watched the local news on television and heard about serious flooding in Queensland which very much reminded us of our trip there two years ago.  Apparently the rain is on the way south and will reach the Sydney area tomorrow.

We stopped at Fitzroy Falls but were not prepared for the awesome (in the true sense not the Antipodean one) and very vertiginous views. Really quite special and we saw a Kingfisher catch a fish in the stream just before the falls. The falls fell a huge distance but there was very little water which I guess just shows how dry it has been even in the mountains.

On then towards Kaloomba and it was quite slow driving with plenty of twists and turns. We had a short pit stop at a very nice and very popular cafe at Picton before arriving in Kaloomba mid afternoon. The view across the blue mountains from Echo Point is quite staggering and in spite of the fact that I had seen numerous photos of it previously, I was astounded at the vista. Echo Point is very close to the famous Three Sisters rock formation and has tremendous views in all directions. Again, extremely vertiginous but definitely not to be missed.

After checking in to our hotel we drove through the town looking for somewhere to eat but nothing really appealed ( nor did anything in our guidebook) so we decided to return to the hotel and ask the very helpful owner for her recommendations. She immediately recommended the RSL club ( Returned and Services League of Australia Club)  for a good quality but informal meal and said that they had a Chinese restaurant plus local dishes. Off we went and we received a very friendly greeting from a lady who explained the options. In essence there was a fabulous eat as much as you like buffet with a wonderful Chinese section which we decided to concentrate on. A good bottle of Margaret River Chardonnay from WA and we were well set. It was truly excellent and I must admit that we returned for seconds although clearly lots of other patrons thought thirds and fourths were in order. 

Back at out hotel were we watched some of the ladies final from Melbourne before falling asleep!

Friday 25th January. Very white beaches at Jervis Bay

We stayed at the Holiday Inn at Sydney airport and set off to collect our hire car. After going around the houses a bit we picked up the car just down the road from the hotel. A white Suzuki Swift and white seems to be a very popular car colour in OZ.

The traffic lights in the Sydney area are just awful and cause no end of problems. The Sydney traffic is quite bad but not London standards and if the traffic lights were this bad in London then nothing would move.

However, we eventually cleared the Sydney area and it was plain sailing down past Wollangong and along the NSW coast.

Again it was very hot and as soon as we arrived at Jervis Bay we went down to Hyams Beach for a lovely swim. According to the Guiness book of records, the sand at Hyams is the whitest in the world.  We are not sure about that but it was certainly very beautiful?

We were expecting the area to be very busy since its Australia Day tomorrow and Monday is a Bank Holiday. The area around Jervis Bay is a favourite holiday and weekend playground for Sydneyites.
However, it's not currently very busy and as you will see from the photos the beaches are not exactly crowded.

After checking in to our hotel and we walked down through Huskisson village and swam again at Huskisson beach which was just as lovely. Big waves and lots of fun.

Dinner was booked at the Gunyah restaurant at the Paperbark Camp, Wollamia which is in the bush just outside of Husky. It was great; perched high above the ground and well below the canopy of gum trees, we had a great view into the bush. The food was terrific and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening and even saw a Kangaroo on our way back.

Thursday 24th January. Leaving Tassie

The must see attraction in Launceston is the Cataract Gorge and since we had run out of time to see it yesterday evening, we decided to view this morning before leaving for Hobart  Airport. Some very steep streets out of town to reach the car park near the gorge but after that it was easy going and the area is very scenic with attractive, but natural looking planting surrounding the river and a pleasant path all the way round for exercise.    There is a fairly shaky suspension bridge over the gorge which we crossed and a small chair lift which runs horizontally across the gorge (which we did not use). Some brave soles were swimming in the pool which is part of the river (which I'm sure was very cold) rather than using the excellent swimming pool located on the lawns just below the cafe. Since we had skipped breakfast we had a coffee and croissant with a fantastic view across the gorge.

Time to move on and we set off on the main road to Hobart which was fairly flat and straight. Everywhere we looked the countryside was parched and either a brown or very sandy colour. Clearly no significant rain for some time and listening to the local radio station yesterday we heard that the drought is forecast to continue for the foreseeable future.

Before returning to Hobart airport we planned to visit seven mile beach and this require a detour along a B road via Richmond. As soon as we started on this road there were more wallabies dead on the road. Apparently this happens at night and the authorities are running a campaign to limit speed at night time.

Richmond was a very pleasant small town and we stopped for a quick snack. Obviously it is a popular day trip with all of the usual shops plus it is in the centre of the Coal Valley wine area and featured a number of wine shops and vineyards. 

Seven mile beach was truly vast and also very, very windy. Not suitable for swimming but very good for blowing someone's inflatable miles along the beach (via the sea). You can just about see them retrieving it in the photo.

Off to the airport, left the Kia Sportage at Hertz and checked in reasonably early for our flight. Who should be on out flight but "Punter" Ponting that well known Tasmanian. If you don't know who Punter is ask your cricketing friends!