Journal of our holidays with Lynda & Michael Brooks, Jan-Feb 2024
These illustrated journals are based on Facebook posts made during that time, comprising the following separate trips:
Visit to Melbourne and the Twelve Apostles.
Touring Tasmania.
Car trip to Hyden, Esperance, Albany.
Visit to Sydney either side of our Viet/Camb tour.
Organised group tour of Vietnam.
Organised group tour of Cambodia.
Journal of our trip to Mandurah in January 2024, to enjoy an evening cruise around the canals to view the Christmas Lights.
This Illustrated Journal is an expansion on Facebook posts made during our evening cruise around the Mandurah canals in January 2024.
Journal of the Mandurah Christmas Lights cruise, Jan-24.
Journal of our trip to Sydney in Nov/December 2023, to attend a Computer Society meeting, and then a couple of days' holiday.
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 3-day stay in Sydney, either side of the ACS meeting, in November/December 2023.
Journal of the Sydney Trip, Nov-23.
Journal of our trip to Bridgetown in November 2023, to visit the Festival of Country Gardens.
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 3-day trip to Bridgetown in November 2023.
Journal of the Bridgetown Trip.
Journal of our Wildflowers Trips, August/September 2023
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 2-day trip to the Northern Wheatbelt (Mid-West, based on Jurien Bay), as well as visits to the local Trigg Bushland and Kings Park and Perth Hills, to see Wildflowers in August/September 2023.
Journal of the Aug/Sep-23 Wildflowers Trips
A map showing the location of Jurien Bay, Coorow and Lesueur can be seen HERE.
Journal of our Japan Cruise, Mar-Apr 2023.
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 18-day cruise around Japan in March/April 2023, along with Christine Wright, in order (primarily) to see the cherry blossoms.
Journal of the Mar/Apr-23 Japan cruise
Journal of our Norway Cruise, Jan-Feb 2023.
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 11-day cruise along the Norwegian coast in January/February 2023, along with Michael & Lynda Brooks.
Journal of the Jan/Feb-23 Norway cruise
Journal of our Sydney Trip, November 2022
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 6-day trip to Sydney including visits to the Blue Mountains and Royal National Park in November/December 2022.
Journal of the Nov/Dec-22 Sydney Trip
Journal of our Wildflower Trip, September 2022
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 2-day trip to the Northern Wheatbelt (Mid-West, based on Coorow), as well as visits to the local Trigg Bushland and Kings Park, to see Wildflowers in September 2022.
Journal of the Sep-22 Wildflower Trip
A map showing the location of Coorow can be seen HERE.
Journal of our Adelaide and Kangaroo Island Trip, April 2022
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 10-day trip to Adelaide and Kangaroo Island, South Australia in April 2022.
Journal of the Apr-22 South Australia Trip
A map showing the location of Kangaroo Island with respect to Adelaide can be seen HERE.
Journal of our Broome and Kimberley Cruise Trip, April 2022
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 9-day trip to Broome and a Kimberley Cruise, in the NW of Western Australia, undertaken in April 2022.
Journal of the Apr-22 Broome & Kimberley Trip
A map showing the location of the Kimberley cruise and Broome can be seen HERE.
Journal of our Denmark (WA) Trip, March 2022
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 3-day trip to Denmark, South of Perth, Western Australia in March 2022.
Journal of the Mar-22 Denmark Trip
A map showing the location of Denmark with respect to Perth can be seen HERE.
Journal of our Margaret River Trip, November 2021
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 2-day trip to Margaret River, South of Perth, Western Australia in November 2021.
Journal of the Nov-21 Margaret River Trip
A map showing the location of Margaret River with respect to Perth can be seen HERE.
Journal of our Northern Wheatbelt Wildflower Trip, August 2021
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 4-day trip to Geraldton and other Northern Wheatbelt towns of Western Australia in August 2021.
Journal of the Wildflower Trip (1.9MB in size)
A map of the region can be seen HERE.
Journal of our Kimberley Trip, June 2021
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 10-day trip to the Kimberley region of Western Australia in June 2021.
Journal of the Kimberley Trip
A map of the region can be seen HERE.
Journal of our Margaret River Trip, March 2021
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 3-day trip to Margaret River, South of Perth, Western Australia in March 2021.
Journal of the Mar-21 Margaret River Trip
A map showing the location of Margaret River with respect to Perth can be seen HERE.
Journal of our Adelaide & Kangaroo Island Trip, December 2020
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during our 16-day trip to Adelaide (to spend Christmas with the Adelaide Reids) and a few days on Kangaroo Island in December 2020.
Journal of the Adelaide/KI Trip (1.4MB in size)
Journal of our Bridgetown Trip, November 2020
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during and subsequent to our 2-day trip to the Western Australian town of Bridgetown (about 250km South of Perth), to see the Festival of Country Gardens, Spring 2020.
Journal of the Bridgetown Trip (850KB in size)
Journal of our WA Great Southern Trip, September 2020
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during and subsequent
to our 7-day drive to Hyden, Esperance, Hopetoun, Albany, Manjimup.
Great Southern Blog (2.1MB)
For an enlarged (10MB) version of the Route Map, go to
Great-Southern-route-map.gif
Journal of our brief Trip to Beijing, China, 17-20 September 2019
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during (and mostly, because of Internet issues, subsequent to) our quick trip to Beijing, primarily in order for me to deliver a paper at the CODATA International Conference, held 19-20 September (CODATA Conf Website).
Journal of the September 2019 Trip to Beijing (5.5MB in size)
Journal of our WA Wheatbelt Trip, September 2019
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts made during and subsequent to our 3-days trip into the Western Australian Wheatbelt, to see Spring wildflowers and granite outcrops (for which this area is renowened) and the town (Tammin) where Helen spent some of her childhood.
Journal of the Wheatbelt Trip (1.4MB in size)
Journal of our European Trip, May-June 2019
This Illustrated Journal is based on Facebook posts covering the period 4-May to 25-Jun-19, during which we toured Ireland (by car), cruised on Russian rivers from Moscow to St Petersburg, visited Liverpool, cruised between Scottish Islands, spent a week near Oxford with friends, travelled to Tallinn (Estonia) for a work TNC (networking) Conference, and then had a couple of days in London before returning home. It has been constructed as separate Blogs (Ireland, Russia, Scotland, etc) to make each file manageable. Return to this Blog home page to see them all.
Ireland Tour Map
Journal of the Ireland component of our Trip (1.4MB in size)
Russian Cruise Map
Journal of the Russian component of our Trip (3.5MB in size)
Journal of the Liverpool component of our Trip (0.48MB in size)
Scottish Cruise Map
Journal of the Scottish component of our Trip (1.2MB in size)
Journal of the UK and Tallinn, Estonia component of our Trip (0.85MB in size)
Pacific Jewel Cruise to S.E.Asia Journal, March 2019
Journal of the Cruise from Fremantle to S.E.Asia, ending in Singapore
[note that this PDF file is about 4.5MB in size]
This illustrated Journal is based on the Facebook posts made during the trip, 1 to 14 March 2019; it will shortly have additional comments, reflections, annotations, etc to provide more detail.
China Trip Journal, September 2018
China Tour Map
China Tour Journal
[note that this PDF file is about 4.8MB in size]
This illustrated Journal is based on the Facebook posts made during the trip, but with additional "reflections" at the end.
Karijini Trip Journal, July 2018
Karijini Tour Map
Karijini Trip Journal
[note that this PDF file is about 3.5MB in size]
This illustrated Journal is based on the Facebook posts made during the trip, but I am planning to add quite a bit more text to it (rather rudimentary as at 20-Aug-18).
Israel/Jordan Journal, April 2018
Israel Journal
Note that this PDF file is 1.9MB, including many photos.
This illustrated Journal is based on the Facebook posts made during the trip, but somewhat enhanced, and with a General Reflections section at the end.
Queen Mary 2 Voyage Blog: 10-Jan to 12-Feb-18
Map of the route taken (Southampton to Fremantle, via Cape Town) is near the start of the Journal.
QM2 Cruise Blog (no photos, just text)
Queen Mary 2 Voyage Journal: 10-Jan to 12-Feb-18
This is the above Blog, but in chronological order, and including photos (PDF file 1.9MB).
QM2 Cruise Journal
French Rivers Cruise Journal: 13-Jun to 2-Jul-17
This illustrated Journal is based on the Facebook posts (in chronological order of posting) made during the trip, which involved 2 cruises, first on the Seine, then on the Saone and Rhone rivers.
French Rivers Route Map
French Rivers Trip Journal, June 2017
Driving Holiday in New Zealand: February 2017
Hired a car in Auckland and drove around New Zealand with Lynda & Michael Brooks, 6-Feb-17 to 28-Feb-17, returning from Christchurch.
New Zealand Drive Holiday, Feb 2017.
Murray River Trip Journal: 4/7-Oct-16
This illustrated Journal covers a few days on a houseboat on the River Murray in South Australia, shared with Ian, Nikki, Erica & Louisa.
Trip Journal, October 2016
Lake Ballard Trip Journal: 28/30-Sep-16
This illustrated Journal covers a couple of days checking out Kalgoorlie and Lake Ballard.
Trip Journal, September 2016
Lesueur National Park Trip Journal: 18/19-Sep-16
This illustrated Journal covers a couple of days checking out wildflowers in Lesueur National Park and nearby.
Trip Journal, September 2016
2016 Trip Journal: 20-May-16 to 4-Jul-16
This illustrated Journal covers a week on a narrowboat on the Llangollen Canal (30-May to 6-Jun), a trip to Prague (for the work TNC conference, 9 to 16-Jun), a cruise on the Poesia around the Western Mediterranean from Marseille (18 to 25-Jun), and a few days in Provence (in a B&B in St Maximin, 25 to 30-Jun), returning to Perth on 3-Jul-16.
Trip Journal, May-June 2016 (incomplete)
Cruise around New Zealand: November 2015
A cruise starting (24-Nov-15) and finishing (7-Dec-15) in Sydney aboard the Dawn Princess, with Trevor & Liz Parry.
New Zealand Cruise Nov/Dec 2015
Short Holiday in Bright, Victoria: July 2015
Hired a cottage near bright, Victoria, shared with Ian, Nikki, Erica & Louisa, 6-Jul to 13-Jul-15.
Bright, July 2015 (TBA).
European Trip Journal: mid-2015
This UK/EU trip started on 19-May-15 and ended on 24-Jun-15. It encompassed some time with the Brooks near Oxford, a cruise circumnavigating Britain on the Royal Princess (21-May to 2-Jun), a trip to Porto, Portugal (13 to 20-Jun, mostly for the TNC Conference), and a quick trip on 22-Jun to Ffald-y-Brenan near Fishguard in Wales.
Trip Journal, May-June 2015 (TBA).
Trip on The Ghan, etc: March 2015
This holiday started on 16-Mar-15 with a short stay in Darwin, including a visit to Kakadu, then a 3-day train journey on The Ghan from Darwin to Adelaide, with stops in Katherine and Alice Springs (11 to 13-Mar) then 3 nights on a paddle steamer on the Murray River (13 to 16-Mar), followed by a cruise on the Pacific Jewel from Adelaide to Fremantle (16 to 22-Mar, via Kangaroo Island and Esperance).
Ghan Trip, March 2015 (TBA).
Work Trip to Doha, Qatar: Feb/Mar 2015
Alex travelled as a member of an international panel to review the Qatar Foundation’s Research & Education Network, 28-Feb to 2-Mar-15.
Doha, Feb/Mar 2015 (TBA).
Short Break in Dunsborough: New Year 2015
Took a short break with the Parrys to their son’s time-share in Dunsborough, 31-Dec-14 to 2-Jan-15.
Dunsborough, New Year 2015 (TBA).
Christmas in Adelaide: December 2014
Spent a week with Ian, Nikki, Erica & Louisa over Christmas and Nikki's birthday, culminating in a walk up (and down) Mount Lofty.
Adelaide, December 2014 (TBA).
Glasshouse Mountains, Queensland: June 2014
A short break in the Glasshouse Mountains north of Brisbane, Queensland, 28-Jun to 30-Jun-14, prior to the annual eResearch Conference on the South Bank in Brisbane, 1-Jul to 5-Jul-14.
Glasshouse Mountains, June 2014 (TBA).
European Trip Journal: April/May 2014
This trip started on 17-Apr-14 with a few days in London (including visits to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle). It then took in a cruise on the Eurodam from Rome around the Western Med then to Copenhagen (22-Apr to 11-May), with a couple of nights in Copenhagen. Then to Ireland (Dublin, for TNC), with a short excursion to Belfast (18-May to 27-May). On the way home, a stopover in Doha, Qatar (30-May to 1-Jun, a little consulting work).
Trip Journal, April-May 2014 (TBA).
European Trip Journal: July-Sep 2013
This trip started on 26-Jul-13 with a week in a cottage in the Lake District (to 3-Aug), which included a quick dash to Edinburgh to take in Paul Goddard's play in the Fringe. It was followed immediately by a cruise from Southampton (9 to 16-Aug) on the Oceana to the Norwegian fjords (including the Flam railway). This was followed by a week in a cottage in Marloes, West Wales (20 to 27-Aug), lent to us by a colleague, and then a few days in northern Italy (28 to 31-Aug: Milan, Isola Bella, Cinque Terre). That ended in Venice, where we embarked on a cruise around the Eastern Med on the Ryndam 31-Aug to 14-Sep). We returned home on 18-Sep-13.
Trip Journal, July-Sep 2013 (TBA).
Kuwait and Qatar: June 2013
This was a work consulting trip (Alex alone) to Kuwait and Qatar, 25-Jun to 30-Jun-13.
Kuwait-Qatar, June 2013 (TBA).
Tasmania Short Break: April 2013
We took a few days (11 to 14-Apr) to sightsee after the THETA Conference in Hobart, 7 to 10-Apr-13, staying at a B&B in the Huon Valley.
Tasmania, April 2013 (TBA).
European Trip Journal: Jan-Mar 2013
This was the last of our trips to UK in which we based ourselves at the Nook cottage in Bourton-on-the-Water. We travelled there on 14-Jan-13, with our first "venture" being a conference (+ some sightseeing) in Vienna 11-Feb to 14-Feb-13. Our next excursion was to Portofino (14-Mar) followed a by a cruise on the Divina from Genoa to Venice (15 to 23-Mar). We then spent several days with the Brooks in Venice (23 to 26-Mar). On returning to the UK, we completed our clearing-out of the Nook and flew back to Perth on 31-Mar-13.
Trip Journal, Jan-Mar 2013 (TBA).
European Trip Journal: Jan-Jun 2012
We left Perth on 12-Jan-12; after a time at the Nook (13-Jan to 18-Feb), we embarked (along with Michael & Lynda Brooks) in Bergen on the Hurtigruten ship Trollfjord for 4 nights sailing up the Norwegian coast to Tromso (above the Arctic Circle), followed by 1 night in Tromso (19 to 24-Feb-12). In March (24 to 29-Mar) we spent several days with Ian & family at Bedruthan Steps Hotel in North Cornwall. In April, Alex went on a consulting assignment to Kuwait (20 to 23-Apr), and then we went on a bus tour to Holland, to see Floriade and Kerkenhof (27 to 30-Apr). We hired a narrow boat for 1 day (6-May-12) with Ian and family on the Kennet & Avon Canal, from Hilperton Marina. Later in May, we travelled to Iceland (for TNC and some sightseeing), from 19 to 26-May. This was followed by a cruise from Southampton on the Arcadia to the Norwegian fjords (27-May to 3-Jun). We returned home on 5-Jun-12.
Trip Journal, Jan-Jun 2012 (TBA).
European Trip Journal: Sep-Nov 2011
We left Perth on 8-Sep-11, and stayed at the Nook, Bourton-on-the-Water. Alex made a brief visit to Helsinki for 2 Workshops (12 to 14-Sep). The next "big event" was a cruise on the Danube, Danube-Main canal, Main and Rhine rivers, from Budapest to Amsterdam, with Trevor & Liz Parry, on the Avalon Panorama (21-Sep to 5-Oct-11). We took a trip to Philadelphia, USA to attend the Voice of the Apostles Conference in Lancaster, and explore local Amish culture (18 to 24-Oct). We returned home to Perth on 2-Nov-11.
Trip Journal, Sep-Nov 2011 (TBA).
European Trip Journal: May-Jun 2011
We left Perth on 13-May, and immediately travelled to Prague (for the TNC Conference and a bit of sightseeing), returning to England on 20-May. We then stayed at the Nook, Bourton-on-the-Water, doing a little local sightseeing and visiting with Ian and family. We returned home to Perth on 8-Jun-11.
Trip Journal, May-Jun 2011 (TBA).
Sydney: April 2011
We travelled to Sydney for the CCA-Educause work Conference, plus a little sightseeing, from 1 to 6-Apr-11.
Sydney, April 2012 (TBA).
Cervantes and Jurien: March 2011
We had a 2-day break to visit Cervantes (The Pinnacles) and Jurien Bay (diving with sea lions), from 6 to 7-Mar-11.
Cervantes and Jurien, March 2011 (TBA).
European Trip Journal: Oct-10 to Jan-11
Left Perth on 27-Oct-10 to travel to England where we stayed at the Nook. Alex travelled to Atlanta, USA to attend the Internet2 Conference (from 30-Oct to 4-Nov). We attended Hannah Brooks' wedding to Martin Clark on 13-Nov-10. Overnight in Manchester (24-Nov-10) for a work meeting. We travelled to Paris on Eurostar with Chris Wright on 28-Nov, staying at the Opera Intercontinental (courtesy of Chris' employee status with IHG Group). Returning to London on Eurostar on 3-Dec-10. Returning to Perth on 26-Jan-11.
Trip Journal, Oct-10 to Jan-11 (TBA).
Earlier Trip Journals: 2005 to 2010
More illustrated Journals (TBA) will cover other trips undertaken between 2005 and 2010: including Inside Passage cruise, Denali, & Canadian Rockies; possibly some others I've forgotten (we travelled to the UK and spent time at the Nook, Bourton-on-the-Water, every year from 2005.
Trip Journals, 2005-2010 (TBA)
Alex Reid
12-Jan-18/5-Mar-18/7-May-18/30-Sep-18/8-Nov-18/17-Dec-18/16-Mar-19/3-Aug-19/11-Oct-19/8-Jun-20/2-Dec-21/13-May-22/22-Sep-22/13-Dec-22/13-May-23/18-Sep-23/19-Mar-24
