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Australia

Are you coming to Perth? We've got great beaches here. All have white sand and blue water. There's Cottesloe. It has some trees and grass so that you don't have such a long walk over the hot sand to get to the water. There are a couple of hotels (Ocean Beach Hotel, Cottesloe Beach Hotel) on the beachfront if you want to have a lemon squash while looking out at the water.

A bit to the north of Cottesloe is Swanbourne beach and you can get all your gear off there, if that's your thing.

There's City Beach. That's got a groyne that you can walk out on. If it's rough, you can get some good waves breaking on the groyne. People also fish off the groyne (or they used to, I haven't been there in a while). City Beach is a good surf beach and you can get some waves there.

Scarborough is another popular beach. There are fish and chip shops there if you get hungry after your swim.

There's Hillarys. There's a big boat harbour there, and lots of shops and restaurants to look at or eat at. You can get the ferry from there to Rottnest Island. You can also get the ferry from Perth itself, and then you'll get a trip up the Swan River to Fremantle before crossing to Rottnest.

Rottnest is an island just off the coast. It's the home of quokkas, little wallaby-type animals. They live happily with the people who visit or stay on Rottnest during the summer, sometimes a tame one will let you pat it. The dutch explorer who discovered the quokkas mistook them for rats, that's why they called it Rottnest.

Rottnest has Thompson's Bay and the Basin. The Basin has a circular reef around it and the water in the middle is flat calm. It's a great place for little kids to swim because there are no waves at all and they can't get dumped by a wave.

If you come to Perth, you won't be disappointed by our beaches.
 
Hokulele said:
This may have already been covered earlier, but I would like an informative post on Australian beaches. I know a bit about Bondi and a few others from surf videos and a history on Duke Kahanamoku I have read, but I would enjoy reading a local's take on the beach scene.

Since it appears I will have some time off on my trip to Australia next month, I may as well request some information I can use. :D
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Too bad, Australian Beaches are reserved for Australians only.

If you would like my pass, I can provide you with my bank account details for a direct depost, that will then give you access to all areas. :)
 
Akhenaten said:
It's a small world, orphia.

I know the bloke who took that photo.

His name is Gary Ticehurst, or as I knew him when we worked together, Captain Ticehurst, AAAvn.

He left the service to become a helicopter pilot for the ABC, and presumably he was doing something along those lines when he took this pic.



[qimg]http://www.yvonneclaireadams.com/HostedStuff/Pelicans.jpg[/qimg]
Pelicans - Eyre Creek, Queensland - May 2009​


Fancy that.
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Fancy that, indeed! :eek: :) I'm flabbergasted!
 
A.A.Alfie said:
It's funny but Jack has got a fair bit of Hollywood work in the past few years playing.. Americans
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Yes I have seen him play "American generals".....and why not. We had Merryl Streep play "Lindy Chamberlain" and Robert Downey Jr should get a medal for playing an aussie in the same film and them a completely different aussie who is "a couple roos short of a paddock" in Tropical Thunder.

(We should make him a "guest aussie" like we did for Russell Crowe)

This makes me think of other "aussies" played by Americans. Fred Astaire in "On the Beach"! Are there many others? I wonder what the worst Aussie accent played by an American has ever been?
 
Hokulele said:
This may have already been covered earlier, but I would like an informative post on Australian beaches.
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In Sydney, a very nice beach is "Little Bay". It's in the French quarter of La Perouse and Sans Souci ( My fellow Australians will realise I'm taking "the piss" as the French left a long long long time ago)

Sun bleached sand is softly touched by warm blue water and you never get robbed because Sydney's "Long Bay Gaol" overlooks this lovely beach. The prison guards have wonderful suntans. I often sat on my towel on this beach watching the relatives of inmates throw tennis balls full of drugs over the wall after visiting time.

Little Bay beach ( looking one direction)
http://www.nswoceanbaths.info/pools/images/43_little_bay_rock_pool.jpg

Little Bay beach ( looking the other direction)
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200808/r281009_1192775.jpg

The local pub has a sign at the front door. "Prisoners will not be served beer unless accompanied by a guard"
 
Hokulele said:
At the moment, I will be on the east coast (Sydney
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If you've got plenty of time, Palm Beach is worth a drive to. Also go to Pittwater, it's very beautiful, I think.

I also liked Balmoral beach. It's on the harbor, not the sea, but it was a nice little spot.
 
Stone - 1974


Take The Ride.........................



In 1974 Sandy Harbutt released his labour of love based around his interest and association with the Sydney bike scene. Quickly dismissed by film critics and the general public, Stone has gone on to be a wonderful early entry into the Australian film renaissance.


No less than Quentin Tarantino has described Stone as one of the best bikie films of all time. Unlike similar entries such as Easy Rider, this film does not try to gloss over any elements of gang life. The fact that the Hells Angels worked closely with Harbutt focuses on the strange counter culture with honour that was a feature of Australian gangs in the early 70‘s.

The title of the film refers to the lead character, Stone. A police officer played by the forgettable Ken Shorter. His job is to be embedded in a bikie gang - The Grave Diggers, who are being targeted after accidentally witnessing a political assassination. Because of the restrictive time line the film covers this is often seen as unrealistic and decidedly rushed.


Through the course of the film, the Grave Diggers come to respect Stone up to a point. This is inspite his Prince Valiant haircut, and outright groovy riding leathers. Stone in his own way respects the Grave Diggers as he learns more of their personal stories and what makes them tick.


In one particular scene members of the gang go into how they all came together. Much is made of the social and emotional dislocation many of the male members felt after returning from the Vietnam war. In particular the shame they felt at leaving before the job was done. Toad reveals he was a world ranked heavy weight fighter before dropping out to just ride....really ride


As the film progresses, Stone begins to investigate possible leads to the murders of gang members is surprised to find how few enemy the gang actually has in the the local community, particularly businesses who see them as positive influence.

Most of the acting is exceptionally forgettable with one major exception, Toad played by the wonderful Hugh Keays- Byrne. A former Shakespearean actor, who got talked into appearing in the film by Harbutt. Keays-Bryne went on to play the powerful role of Toe Cutter in the first Mad Max film, as well as many other Miller productions. His powerful final scene Gore Hill cemetery is worth the rental of the DVD alone


Although never a commercial success at the time, the film quickly embedded itself in Australian memory. The extended funeral ride featuring some 400 bike riders. The bloody decapitation at the start of the film as well as the amazing stunt of riding a bike over a 100 foot cliff into the ocean. These are the things people remember.


The equipment used in the film might seem a little odd to US bike fans. Harley Davidson never became identified with the bikie culture the way it did in the US. For Australia, the Kawaski 900 was the dream bike that everyone aspired to. And heavily modified versions care of the local chapter of the Hells Angels dominate the film

Although made over 30 years ago, this film still contains strong adult content including full frontal nudity and extensive drug use. So caution should be used in viewing the film around children


Finally, for Sydney-siders the film represents quiet a time capsule of Sydney in the early 70‘s. Much of the road scenes are filmed around the lower North Shore, with the final scenes of the film being shot in the then recently closed Gore Hill Cemetery. By all reports the cemetery is still left in much the same condition it was in during filming all those years ago.


The gang’s main base of operations and nude swimming scene was filmed at the old gun fortifications at George’s Head, Middle Harbour. Built in 1870, the area was heavily modified during World War 2 during the imminent threat of Japanese invasion. Even today people with good eyes can spot many of the fortifications and machine gun nests hidden by cliffs around the harbour


A scene worth paying attention to is the confrontation between the Grave Diggers and the Black Hawks. It is filmed in front of the old Forth & Clyde Hotel in Mort Bay that had closed the previous year. Fortunately the site is heritage listed and stands to this day. However paying close attention to the scene shows at least three accidents with bikes, and some remarkable confusion about where people and bikes should be etc
​
 
Hokulele said:
This may have already been covered earlier, but I would like an informative post on Australian beaches. I know a bit about Bondi and a few others from surf videos and a history on Duke Kahanamoku I have read, but I would enjoy reading a local's take on the beach scene.

Since it appears I will have some time off on my trip to Australia next month, I may as well request some information I can use. :D
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I wouldn't bother, as you can see most Australian beaches are far too crowded to enjoy.
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mulambin.jpg

fishermansbeach.jpg

backtoyeppoon.jpg
 
Hokulele said:
This may have already been covered earlier, but I would like an informative post on Australian beaches. I know a bit about Bondi and a few others from surf videos and a history on Duke Kahanamoku I have read, but I would enjoy reading a local's take on the beach scene.

Since it appears I will have some time off on my trip to Australia next month, I may as well request some information I can use. :D
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All the really good Surf Beaches are in Victoria and WA. Bells Beach, about two hours southwest of Melbourne, is the most well known to the surfing aficionado.
 
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