Singapore

A beautiful and gentle Orang utan at Singapore Zoo. Without any doubt Singapore Zoo is the most beautiful I have ever visited. It made such a refreshing change to see the animals given plenty of space and not in tiny cages. The first animals we saw on entering the zoo were the Cotton Top Marmosets. These beautiful little monkeys were living in the trees near the entrance and you could reach out and touch them. Picture below.

Here's me at the World famous Raffles Hotel.

While there Taras and I enjoyed a High Tea in the lavish Tiffin Room.

This was my first visit to Singapore but it certainly won't be my last. The country is spotlessly clean, the transport is easy to navigate (even for someone like me, who was once told he couldn't find his way out of a paper bag) and the shopping malls are fantastic for those wanting to shop, shop, shop.

The Garden - twelve months on

As promised, here is an apdated picture of the garden I designed and built shortly after arriving in Australia last year.

Life begins at Forty!

Hobart

My life has officially started now that I've reached 40. Not wanting to let this birthday just pass by like many others I decided to celebrate by spending five days holiday on the beautiful island of Tasmania.

Those of you that know me well are aware that I have a passion for boating and yachting. On my birthday Taras and I were in Hobart, the state capital of Tasmania. We didn't know at the time of booking that the Australian Wooden Boat Festival was taking place. It was a brilliant day and we both had a great day. Below are a few pictures of the beautiful boats we saw.







Hell Hole to Haven



The picture above looks like an idyllic place to enjoy a short break, visit a museum or relax in one of the coffee shops. Between 1833 and 1877 the 'visitors' would have viewed this place as being hell on earth. Now a major tourist attraction Port Arthur was once a penal colony.

The British prison system was so overwhelmed that an alternative was sought and the solution was transportation to Australia for some of the most hardened criminals. After 1853, Women and even boys as young as nine were transported here for the crime of stealing apples and handkerchiefs. The men and boys were put to hard labour logging and cutting stone for the ongoing building at the site.



Above are some of the gardens at the site.



One of the two churches at Port Arthur