Geelong Bushwalking Club Thursday 16th July

Hiking in the Brisbane Ranges again! To fill a gap in the program we were asked to lead a walk, so we followed part of Deadman's Loop, part of the Burchel Track, Native Youth Rack and Mulhooney's Track to reach Friday's Camp site. The only photo we took was at the Anakie Village roadhouse where we enjoyed refreshments before returning to Geelong.

Hip-Hip-Hooray. We are first round winners

Great news yesterday. The 50 chosen teams for the Taiwan Best Trip promotion have been announced and we are on the list. Already we have plans in motion with our 4-day itinery set for August 10,11,12,13. Peter and Yu Ting will come with us and there is a very real chance that Alex, Michelle and Hannah will climb Yushan (the Jade Mountain) with us too. Now we need to track down good airfares and delay our walking on the Bibbulmun Track for a week or two. Our thanks to the 290 people who voted for us and helped us across the line. We will keep you all posted. We are very excited.

Keeping fit and Taiwan Best Trip update

Yesterday was cold and frosty, so the bike ride to Fyansford was a bit chilly. There we met other GBC walkers and started the 12km river walk - very pleasant as the day turned sunny. The walk finished at the Fyansford hotel where coffee and other drinks were enjoyed before we rode our bikes home. The exciting news when we got home was to find that we had been mentioned in the Taipei Times last Saturday. Follow the hyperlink below and you will see what we mean.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2009/07/04/2003447846

The Best Trip in the World - TAIWAN

Great News! Our oldest son, Peter, and his wife Yu Ting, have decided to come with us to Taiwan if we are selected as one of the 50 teams to follow our 4-day itinery there. We hope that this will give us the opportunity to visit and spend time with our lovely daughter-in-law's family in Kaohsiung. But are things getting out of hand? Our second son, Alex is saying "why don't I come with Michelle and Hannah too?" He has reminded us of our hike together in January 2008 when we hiked to the top of Australia's highest mountain together. You can see the seven of us in the photograph at the summit. Whatever happens, we remain a team of two (The Senior Australians). It does mean that we may extend our holiday and see more of the beautiful island as three generation travelers.

From l to r:-Peter, Beth, Hannah, Alex, Yu Ting, Michelle, Joe

Thursday walks

We had wet and windy weather for our walk at Warnambool yesterday.

- despite this, a good time was had by all.

Whereas, last week, the Lake Elizabeth walk, it was much better.

Taiwan Best Trip

It won't be long before the 50 teams selected to follow their 4 day itineries are announced and we (The Senior Australians) are hoping to be one of them. Now that we have got this far, our son, Peter, and his wife, Yu Ting, are suggesting that they would like to return to Taiwan with us to act as our camera operators and interpreters. If they are able to come, they will not join our team, but their technical support will be grately appreciated. It is a little while since they have seen Yu Ting's parents in Kaohsiung, so it may be too good a chance for them to miss. If you were one of the many (mostly unknown to us) who voted for us and left comments, with thank you very much.

Taiwan Best Trip : Itinery details and Costing Estimates

TEAM: The Senior Australians
THEME: An Adventure for Older Bikers and Hikers/Kaohsiung and Jade Mountain.
ITINERY:
Day 1. Hire bicycles at True Love Ferry Wharf and ride to Lotus Pond (24.5 km.) See http://tourguide.travelking.com.tw/Kaohsiung/4/. With frequent stops at tourist attractions, (Jhongdu Wetlands, Kaohsiung Hakka Culture Centre, Tower of Light, Heart of the Love River, Dragon and Tiger Towers and a teahouse for Oolong tea) - this will take most of the day. After sunset, take a cruise on the Love Boat and visit a night market where we eat and buy provisions for the next 3 days. Later we meet Mark from Blue Skies Adventures (www.blueskiesadventures.com.tw) who will have organised our permits and passes to hike in the mountains. He will take us by car to the trail head of the mountain track (altitude 2600m). Sleep in a tent.
Day 2: This will be a fairly leisurely hike of 8.5km to Pai Yun Lodge (altitude 3400m). We stay in this lodge again at the end of Day 3. See the blueskies adventures website for photographs of the lodge. We will make this day as simple as possible, giving our bodies time to adjust to the altitude.
Day 3: Young and enthusiastic walkers get up early in order to reach the summit of Yushan , also known as Jade Mountain, (altitude 3952m) for sunrise. However, we will go at a much slower pace, planning to reach the summit by noon and returning to Pai Yun Lodge by late afternoon. The return trip will be 5.0km with a climb of 552m. If we are experiencing extreme weather conditions, low level walks will replace the trip to the summit.
Day 4: Return to the trail head and Mark will drive us to Dung Pu where there are hot springs. We will have time for some warm relaxation in the thermal pools. This is on the road to Sun Moon Lake and we have quick look around there before driving back to Kaohsiung. To celebrate the adventure, a banquet at a fine waterfront restaurant is planned.
COSTING:
(All amounts are estimates only and are quoted in Taiwan Dollars.)
Day1: Bicycle hire, Café breaks, boat cruise and night market: $1,200 per person.
Day2: (including transport to and from the mountain, permits, hire of camping equipment, insurance and guide fees for 3 days) $4,800 per person. Additional to that is the lodge accommodation of $300 per person. Note: There will be other tourists with us for the mountain section of the itinery and this has helped to reduce the per person cost.
Day3: Lodge accommodation, $300 pp.
Day4: Outdoor thermal pool $200 pp, meal at Sun Moon Lake $250 pp, banquet on return to Kaohsiung $700 pp.
This costing has been based on a 4day/3night itinery. If it is changed to a 4day/5night plan with two nights accommodation at the Zhong-xin hotel, and additional cost of $1,000 per person should be added.