The curtain has closed on 2013

PHEW.....another year has just passed us by in the blink of an eye. 2013 was a busy year in more ways than one ,for myself I was running at about three quarter pace but that is fast enough for my weary old bones. There are others in my family who have been quite busy but that is there problem,as I close the door on 2013 the year has ended on a sadder note for people close to me ,death does not come easy for anybody and 2 in two day I ask myself WHY. So with a positive approach to 2014 lets not forget just how fragile we really are, with heads down and bum up we can enjoy our life on this wonderful planet for a long time to come.No more sad stuff I promise,with New Year's Eve only 8hrs away it should be time for some fun ,but not for  WADDA I will be on pooch patrol .The 4 women and one grandson in my life have flown to coop across the ditch to NZ for a short vacation .So the pampered pooches are under my control. HA HA, as man of the house I have been beaten by these 2 mangy pooches at every turn ,but I will hang in there till the owners of the said dogs return.To everybody who is following my blog site .......thanks and have a happy new year .Dont forget 16 weeks till the outback adventure begins."....................WADDA

When the clan gathers

Xmas has finally arrived and the family has gathered in the small mallee town of Wycheproof. This tradition has been going on for nearly 50 years so there is no reason for it to stop now. This year the numbers will be a bit thinner ,with some of the younger ones being overseas and others working,the numbers should still be around 40 .As we all sit down for a hot Xmas lunch there is much work to be done ,furniture to be move to accomadate the numbers ,everyone is kept very busy busy .As time moves on the clan starts to gather for this very special day ,to those of you who don't know this family just let me say one word to describe them SPECIAL!  With present giving completed it is time to begin our festive tradition.The now famous hot Xmas lunch at Mary and Doogs ,the eating is done so it's time to sit around over some fine red wine and cold beers ,and all the young one playing some music.As the day draws into night many of the family members move on to other location to continue the spirit of Xmas.To the die hards who stay behind rest is claiming them fast,what more can I say about this wonderful family as we wait for the next time this clan gathers.
Merry Xmas to one and all

                         WADDA

A day with my mate Big Jack

Where would I be without my mate Big Jack,who knows and who cares but what I do know is that I have just spent a day relaxing at the Yea races in his company,what a day.Just 5 days out from Xmas we head for the Yea race track for their annual Xmas race meeting ,as we board the bus in beautiful down town Seymour for the 35km trip to Yea another colourful character named Trevor also scrambled aboard, Trev has a glint in his eye and looking for some fun ,yes he has come to the right place.After a journey through the beautiful Trawool valley the track is soon in sight,we have arrived.Staking our slice of paradise doesn't take long ,and yes we are ready to go racing, Jack is put in charge of all our punting requirements,so after Trev and myself hand over our share Jack heads off to frighten s..t out of the bookies,Trev and I continue to laze about in this beautiful setting.As the day slowly drifts by so does our money.By the race 8 the bookies have the upper hand on our money but we are still alive in the Quaddie, we are excited this is what we have waited for all damm day .Over the odd cool drink things are starting to look up for the 3luckless punters ,because the last race atYea finished ahead of the Metro meeting we would miss seeing the last leg of the Quaddie on Sky tv.All is not lost ,yes you guessed it Trev has a secret weapon in his pocket ,in the blink of my eye he produces a mobile phone to save day.He informs the concerned punters  that he is up to the challenge with bit of high tec gear, with our heads bowed to listen to this vital race the battery died as the horses approached the finish line .Later by other means we got the result we wanted the boys are back in town.The time has come to leave this beautiful little country track and head for the bright lights of Seymour,our day is not done yet after a deal struck with the coach captain the drop off point is now the Railway Hotel. After stuffing a well done steak down,it's time to start the funny money auction,bidding started off at a cracking pace and we were soon left in the slipstream of some serious bidders.After gathering our thoughts I joined this bidding war for the last of these mystery gifts, bingo I have landed a prize and what a cracker it is just what me and Big Jack wanted a cheap arsed finger cutting electric saw .Oh we'll better than nothing I suppose ,as we carry our booty home i reflect on what a wonderful day and evening I spent with my mate Big Jack.

                          WADdA

Where is Wadda

It has been a few days since I have posted a blog so here goes any way.Along with a fairly heavy work program i have been to visit my daughter in Bendigo and also attend a mates 60th birthday on Saturday night.On Saturday morning with many chores to attend to ,my wife and her friend Cheryl departed for Bendigo for some retail therapy,later that morning my mate Jack and myself make our way out of town also to Bendigo but our plans did not include any retail therapy.As we turn off the Mciver highway and make our way to Braidies tavern on the out skirts of town we pass lake Eppalock which is almost full.On arrival at the tavern we are greeted by owner who makes us feel most welcome and after partaking in a couple pots we head for town.Our wives arrive back from their  foray to the shops ,just happy to have completed another bout of Xmas shopping .With time slipping by we ready ourselves for a big night out  at our friends 60th some 15ks out of town.As our wives don't drink so myself and Jack hooked in and had our fair share of the refreshments that were made available.After many hours of this hospitality we knew it was time to retire,the non drinking women then took us home ,what a great night out.Sunday morning things were just so so .As I had to go to work on Sunday night I took it very quite for the rest of the day.What more can I say it was a great weekend away with our friend and it is now time to hit the road to Melbourne work is calling.
                                          WADDA

Time to reflect

It has been a couple of months since I started this project on blogging ,believe it or not I am making some progress.By Good Friday 2014 I should have this machine up to speed in readiness for our long awaited adventure to the wilds of outback Australia .The 4 blokes embarking on this trip of male bonding and enlightenment just happen to be brother in laws so the company should make for a good trip.The make up of these 4 travellers is wide and diverse ,ranging from a stock and station agent ,business man ,Telstra technician  and last but not least a train driver ,it does not come any better than that .So to all of you people who are going to follow this adventure ,stay hooked up over the next18 week as this adventure starts to unravel into something special .A rough rundown goes like this ,we will travel over 11500 Kim's in 23 days to some of Australia's most isolated regions ,this trip will not be for the faint hearted or the whinges .THIS IS MEN ONLY

New it team member

Hi I have had to employ the services of a new IT member to help with photo incursion
                   WADDA

Monument of Black Caviar at Nagambie Australia

Trying to insert photos

This is lesson 101 in the photo attachment to my blog .Lets hope I can grasp the way of this proceed ure  other wise it is back to the drawing boards

Quite times

We'll the holiday is over ,yes it's back to work next week .My time spent over the last 6weeks has not been real productive but I did manage to complete a few chores I had planned.Firstley we visited my son who lives in Byron Bay ,then off to Ocean Grove with our grand children for a short break.I also had work done on the house roof in preparation for the installation of  some solar panels.In regards to my trip to the outback all the leg work has been done and most of the bookings have been taken care of, so our departure date is set for 18/4/2014 .Well with Xmas not far away I will have to pull my finger out and start to gear up for a full on festive season at the inlaws in Wycheproof Vic .Gotta go for now
             WADDA

Gone to the beach

Today is Friday ,another week of my life has just passed by .The decision has been made to head down to Ocean Grove for the weekend ,I will leave early as a trip to the blood bank is in my plans.On arrival some area beautification will take place then It will be time to relax and await the later arrival of  the rest of the family.With the arrival of the family also mean the arrival of Coco and Fluffy dog, yes we allow animals to stay as well. Saturday sees the ladies in a frenzy as it is time to hit the shops in Geelong,with there speedy departure my grandson Cooper and I are left home alone to fend for ourselves.With not much to do and all day to do it in we jump in the ute and head to Point Lonsdale to take a few photos around the lighthouse and surrounds with Coopers new camera .Talk about the paparazzi ,yes we sure did get some photos .On the road again this time it is to Faggs hardware store to obtain a bit of stuff  for some minor repairs around the place also a snack at the sausage sizzle .We return home and wait for the ladies to return from the shops .As the dogs start to stir we soon know the reason, yes the ladies have returned with lots of shopping .It is time for a cool drink so hoo roo

                                                     WADDA

First shot fired

The jobs on,yes the plans for the Kimmberly trip are being made and laid. Departure date is scheduled for 18th of April and arrival date back home is around Saturday the10th of May, this is the start of a true adventure to some of our  remotest country also the most harshest.Hopefully me and my 3 travelling companions return unscathed.The first 3 days will be taken up with a rapid drive through the middle of this vast land of ours to Kununurra where the real fun begins.Three nights to be spent at this location ,with a drive toWyndham also El Questro station.Hairy Dogs Fishing camp has also attracted my attention ,a visit there could be on the cards to try to catch the elusive big Barra. After heading south to HallsCreek taking in the Bungle Bungles and Wolf Creek crater.We will be then going to FitzroyCrossing Derby then to Broome for a few days.As we push south toMarble Bar Port Headland and beyond ,Exmouth will show up on our radar ,few days in this region and it time to keep moving.Kalbari and Geraldton soon pass us by but Perth is our next place for a bit of  R&R.We are now about to start heading east for our beloved Victoria. Kalgoolie should be our next stopover for a visit to the super pit and Patty Hannans pub, gotta go that big open space called the Nullabour plains awaits our arrival.The great Australian bight has also taken the fancy of these 4 travellers so some time will be spent at the lookouts. Coffin Bay the oyster capital of S.A will also be targeted by us as well as Port Augusta ,hope to be able to cage dive with the white pointer sharks but that is to be confirmed at a later date.Many thanks to my followers ,I hope you enjoy the rest of my blogs leading up to this great adventure

                                       WADDA

The story so far.

With my introduction to my ipad i am struggling .Yes folks me the tech nerd is having trouble with this piece of equipment ,I seem to be able to master the type and text messages ok ,but sending photos is causing me some grief,so I hope my situation improves in the near future.When I am on my brother in laws bonding trip to the far reaches of Northern Western Australia I would love to be able to send some action shots of this great adventure.So bye for now it is back to the grind stone to see if I can improve my skills

                            WADDA

Photo test

I am trying to attach my first photo ,so here goes

Race results from Wyche races

How good am I ,I found four investor for my radical plan to fleece the bookies,they included 3sister I nlaws and a out of tower named Gay.With my fellow gamblers in tow we head for the track to plan our next move.The suggested entry fee to this intended heist is 20.00dollars a pop,we'll to cut along story short things did not go plan and pretty soon there were some long faces at our table and we were down 4zip.These investors were not looking for my blood yet but I sensed it wouldn't be long,I slivered out of this situation for a while to gather my thoughts ,but no ideas were forthcoming so I placed my self  at there mercy and hoped for the best.With no new plans or ideas we keep to our word  a battled away at the last 4 races......but still no luck.Yes we crashed 8zip ,to the credit of my fellow investor I would like to thank all of them for making this another great family day out,so again girls thank you
                WADDA

Gone racing at Wycheproof

That time of the year,yes people the Wyche cup is on again today. People come from far and wide to attend this great race meeting ,held at the Mt Wycheproof race course.First up today I will be trying to con a couple of my sister in laws into some sort of racing syndicate and then try to make our fortune HA HA .I am just waiting for the paper to arrive with the racing guide inside so I can make my selections then it will be over to my punting partners to make some solid selections.They assure me that they know which end of the horse is which ,I sure as he'll hope so or Waddas cash could be gone down the gurgler

                                      WADDA

Free fuel

Yes folks that's what in will take for me to travel Pacific highway ever again.FREE FUEL Because I will never be going that way again,12hrs from Byron Bay to Goulburn .We had speed restrictions from Byron Bay to Port Macquarie ,by then the highway bypasses everything so there is diddly to see ,very boring but as I have been known to say shit happens.Our arrival into Goulburn around 8pm this pair of travellers had just about had enough so on locating a motel was high on our list. Job done booked in and set about ordering some room service.Stop press MissDenny has just voiced her opinion and said the trees were pretty ,maybe some of the trees were ok but a 1000ks of them did not impress the editor.Crashed early for we were buggered and still about 550ks to get back home to sunnySeymour .Bye for now

                                               WADDA

Crystal castle.....Wow

Last day at Byron Bay before we return back down South,wonder what is on the menu for today.Well a plan has been hatched for a trip to the Crystal Castle up in the hinterland  above Byron Bay, bit sceptical about castles and fairies in the garden stuff but thought what the hell,so here we go.Our arrival at this place of mystery soon had me wanting to see more of place ,with my ipad I tried to capture as much of the surrounds as possible.With Kristen and Bonnie and the good wife MissDenny we set out on a journey of enlightenment around this vast area  of gardens ponds and walking trails ,with life size crystals just everywhere and the gardens are another story. After a lunch we leave the land of fairies and goobly gook and head higher up into hills to a place called Minyan Falls .As the commodore starts to head upwards you can notice the steepness and sheer beauty of this place.Miss Denny is freaking out as there is no safety fencing and danger around every corner,at last we have arrived at the place of plenty of water but alas to our surprise the water fall was almost dry.The view from this height made the climb worth the effort, job done so we meander down these very steep hills back to the flat lands ofByronBay to finish the day off with a cool drink

                             WADDA

Bangalow market

As the day dawns fine and clear the overnight weather was wet and and windy.Today we are heading to the markets at Bangalow about a10minute drive from Kristen and Bonnie's to hunt down some bargains.Proberley same old shit but a different location ,but a market is a market so let hit the road and to gather as much s..t as we can. With a team effort this should be possible,this market is crazy so many people and so much stuff to see,sure to keep the women happy

                                                        WADDA

Testing my skills

You guessed it I am at it again.Trying to operate this god damm machine on my own,without the help of my I.T team who I must say left me in a lurch and went to school....little buggers.Well regarding our trip to the outback things a going along quite well with the start date almost confirmed as Anzac Day 2014.My wife and I are heading up to Byron bay next week for a bit of R&R at Kristen&Bonnies new shack so I am thinking thi will be

Going to ByronBay

Yes folks iam on the road to Krittas place in the beautiful Byron Bay on the north coast of NSW .with me as a travelling companion is the bride who I will call Miss Denny.Yesterday which was Wednesday we set sail at arou

I hate this f.....g ipad

My time on this machine will be limited if I don't start to understand what in the hell is going on ,my operational skills seem to be waning and my along with my understanding of this small but complex piece of s..t . We'll we will see how I go this time with my latest up date .We arrive at Kristen and Bonnie's around 6.30 pm after a 850 km journey through some wild but beautiful country. From Tenterfield across to Byron bay was very hilly and a lot of twists and turns, but worth the effort. A few cool drinks were consumed but an early night beckoned .Friday was a day of eating and of course shopping yes lots of shopping,I scored a new pair of thongs also a pair of hiking boots to be used on my big trip to the Kimmberleys next year.Today Saturday I was up early and rode Kriddas bike to the local bakery for a coffee and egg and bacon roll very nice at 6.30am to start another day of who knows what.Today has dawned clear and sunny top temp today is forecast 28cl so maybe i will hit the surf and chill out for the morning,the ladies may have other plans but the surf comes first.Stop press Bonnie informs me that she has to go to work.Bad luck Bon Bon we will make our plan without you.

        WADDA

Tiddle Winkers No help

I'm here at the IT teams house waiting for some assisance.  None forthcoming at the moment!  Will have to take advice from a third string player, my daughter, ha,ha!

I have spent the day googling and studying maps of the outback and beyond.  It's amazing how big and vast our country really is.  I'm thinking a few more days may need to be added to the adventure. In the coming weeks I will be studying more about the 'Hairy Dog' and his fishing camp, sounds fun. Hairy Dogs fishing camp is located on the Ord River in the East Kimberly region, W.A.  Also checking out helicopter flights over the Bungle Bungles and Wolfe Creek Crater (the movie is the sole reason I am flying over it).

                                                Wadda

Wadda Goes Walkabout: Teaching an old dog new tricks

Wadda Goes Walkabout: Teaching an old dog new tricks: Welcome one and all to Wadda's wide world of wit as he winds his way through the Wild West. Stay tuned to keep abreast of the daily tria...

Re logging in

You guessed it yes I now know how to log .let the lesson begin

Tech-ing up

With the arrival of my new iPad....... A first time user of this fan dangled machine I have gathered together an IT team of which my 2lovely grandchildren will be part of. The reason for this I will be going on an outback adventure to the East Kimberley region of Northern WA.Accompanied by 3 brother in laws.This trip is planned for around April 2014 ,and take in some 11700 KLMS over period  of about 23days returning via the Nullabour  plains back toVictoria.So while l practise my blogging be mindful that I will be trying to embrace this new found toy.

                                                                             Wadda

Teaching an old dog new tricks

Welcome one and all to Wadda's wide world of wit as he winds his way through the Wild West. Stay tuned to keep abreast of the daily trials and tribulations of four intrepid travellers in search of their long lost youth.

The searing outback heat coupled with the close confines of a territory wagon are sure to deliver timeless acts of hilarity.  As we draw closer to the departure date Wadda will be sharpening his blunt IT skills and sharing some of his hopes and aspirations with his myriad of followers.

Move over Bill Gates, here comes the Wadda!

Signed Wadda's IT Tech Support Team