Yee Haw - 2018 Country Music Tour - Just like Tamworth, but on a cruise ship!

We enjoy going to Tamworth, although we do not go every year, and in 2017 we picked up a brochure about a country music cruise. It was expensive, but it stayed in our minds as we love cruising, and every now and then I would check the website. In August, just under 3 months until the cruise, a price came up that we thought was good, considering the amount of artists that were on board, so we booked it. Booking was easy and a lovely consultant from Cruisin' Country was very helpful.

We were not disappointed. It was just like Tamworth, but on a cruise ship. The ship was Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas - our favourite RC ship (so far), so lots of good venues with stages.

We were particularly keen to see Mel and Susie,

Graham Roger (and Trevor Tolton),

and Graeme Connors, but there were so many more that were so good, that we are now keen to see. There was one song that I came away from the cruise singing in my head over and over, and it was one of Graeme Connors - Beach House - love it.

Most venues were perfect for the performers and more importantly, the passengers. Many evenings we spent in the Schooner Bar sitting in seats where we couldn't see the performers, but could still enjoy the music. Here we are enjoying the Hillbilly Goats - from a distance. Such fun.

The Colony Club was the same - if one could get a seat. We were fortunate to get good seats early in the cruise for the first performance of Tracey Killeen. She told the life story of Patsy Cline.

Pool area wasn't ideal, mainly due to the sun, but we did get to see many great artists there, especially when many were crowded into the Centrum to see Chad Morgan!!

One of the theme nights was True Colours and passengers were encouraged to wear sports team colours. Of course the Eastern Suburbs ROOSTERS were well represented. The pool party that evening was fun. 

We were disappointed with the venue for Mel and Susie. They did the morning show with other bush poets Grant Luhrs, Bob Magor, and Greg North in the Centrum. The Centrum is a great space, but it is not a good concert venue. Most of the artists that performed there also performed in other venues on the ship. The problem with the Centrum is there is not enough seating for the many many people who wanted to be there. The great Chad Morgan only appeared in the Centrum and the last Final Show. The Morning Show started at 9am each day and went until 11. I went past most mornings between 8-8.30am and all the seats were already taken and even going back anytime between 9-11am - no seats. Sadly only saw snippets of Mel and Susie as standing room only, and one can only stand for so long!! We felt sorry for the elderly who simply could not stand for any length of time.
Mel and Susie in the Centrum.

 

Chad Morgan in the Centrum.

Each night there was a Headliner Show that was repeated for each main dining room seating, and our cruise cards were different colours to indicate which show we were allowed access to. In reality there was not enough room for all passengers to sit in the theatre. By the end of the 7 night cruise, we needed to get to the theatre a good hour before the show to get a good seat - thanks goodness for drink waiters!

One of my favourites - Troy Cassar-Daley

We were introduced to so many other country music artists, and had the chance to see some favourites, like Allan Caswell. We got great seats in the Schooner Bar half way through his show when passengers left to get to another show early. 

As frequent cruisers we are use to cruising on Royal Caribbean and the Country Music Cruise is NOT like a normal cruise. Yes, accommodation, meals, entertainment are included but it was not the same. First, we did not see our cabin attendant once - have no idea of his name, or what he looks like - we did get two towel animals on the cruise. We like to have evening meals with the same people and the same table staff. This was not the case on the chartered Country Music cruise. We ended up eating in the Waterfront buffet with some people we met in the main dining room one night. Something to keep in mind next time we do Country Music Cruise. There are also not many of the 'usual' cruise ship activities. There was the 'belly flop' competition, but that was about all. I did miss the trivia quizzes that are a normal part of regular cruising. One thing we found interesting was the Drinks Package was more expensive on this cruise. We did two cruises 11 days apart, both on Royal Caribbean. The first, this Country Music Cruise, the Deluxe Beverage drinks package was $89.64 each per day. On the following cruise, 11 days later the price was $73.14 each per day. A big difference, with no reason for the difference. 

The cruise did include two ports: Noumea and Isle of Pines. We have been to both ports many times and stayed on board for Noumea, but did a local island tour off ship at Isle of Pines - see next blog post. We had a great time, especially with family traveling with us. This was island night in our favourite meeting place - the Champagne Bar.

We found that there was so much great entertainment on the cruise that we were never in the cabin - so the choice of an interior cabin was a good choice for this cruise. We loved the cruise and hope to go on the next one - with Michael Waugh, O'Shea, the lovely Amber Lawrence (that was also on this cruise), Camille and Stuie, Bob Corbett Band, and Gina Jeffreys.    

Road Trip 3 - opal country

Needing a break after being home for some 6 weeks, and with Peter working renovating, and me still sorting out books and school stuff, we headed off in the direction of Lightning Ridge, N.S.W. We arranged on our first 2017 Road Trip to Tamworth, to catch up with friends of almost 30 years, Steph and Eddie. They were doing a Graham Rogers Country Music Tour that ended in Lightning Ridge.

We only had planned about 10 days away, before needing to be home again for other commitments, so the first few days were long 3 – 4 hour drives and overnighters. After a few last minute house tasks we headed off.

First stop was Warwick for lunch and petrol. Next was Inglewood in Queensland for overnight. This is a free site provided by the town and it is well looked after, even providing free firewood for the barbecue. There are no toilets or water available, and one must be fully self-contained, but on the other side of the highway there are toilets, potable water and a dump point. The town has a few cafes and a pub, and a great pizza shop. We stocked up on milk, bread, and ham … and Peter had his coffee -$4.50 - 7/10 and he was happy.

We next stopped at Yelabon to look at the remains of the old dingo fence, which was interesting.

We stopped at Goondiwindi for petrol and continued along the Cunningham Highway to the Barwon Highway. We saw lots of cotton on the side of the road, so it must be harvesting time. 

Our next overnight stop was Nindigully Pub. We have been here before and obviously got here a little late as there would have been about 40-50 vans already here. We camped along side the Mooney River, across from the pub. There is a short walk along the river that has information boards about the history of the area.

The pub has a happy hour at 4.30pm and a bell is rung to let all the campers know. Drinks are $1 of a middy and house wine. Dinner menu is a little expensive, but if one can get there for lunch the prices are reasonable. We (as in Peter) had a few beers in the beer garden and watched as the camp fire was lit. They do not have moscato or sweet wines, so I drank water. It is a very interesting pub and well worth a look. Walking back to the van we could hear the cows mooing across the river as they were herded back to where-ever.

The next day we took a different road, the Thallon-Dirranbandi Road, which was much better, to Lightning Ridge. We checked in to the Opal Caravan Park and found Steph and Eddie. This is a lovely caravan park, although a little expensive. It has much better facilities than last time we were here, and although it is a fair distance from town, it is close to the hot artesian baths.

We like Lightning Ridge, and have been here a few times. Just so much to see and do. This time we chose to do the Green Car door tour again up to Nettleton's First Shaft. This was built in 1902 by Charles Nettleton, and although he found no opals at first, he did in future shafts. There is a labyrinth there that was built about 2011, no one is sure by who, it just appeared. One walks around the maze and contemplates good thoughts. Also at the site is an old house made of mostly cans. It has been added to since the last time we were up here and now coloured bottles form a part of the structure.

One of the great things at Lightning Ridge is the duo – Mel and Susie. We first saw them in Winton, and have been following them (maybe stalking) on FaceBook. They are very good story tellers, and are now based at Lightning Ridge and perform 6 afternoons a week at the Opal Caravan Park. 

As we were meeting up with friends on their last leg of a country music tag along, we were happy to see some new artists that we did really like. Trevor Tolton is a young performer that has a voice that reminded me of Mark Lindsay – anyone remember him?? Here Trevor (right) is performing with Alan Percy (left).

Here is the star of the Tag-along Graham Rogers. We enjoyed the concerts.

After a great 3 days at Lightning Ridge, 4 vans with 8 of us headed north to St George. We stopped at Hebel, just over the border on the Queensland side. There is not a lot there. A general store (with terrible coffee) and a pub. It is believed the Kelly gang frequented back in the day.

There is a free camp north of St George, off the Carnarvon Highway before one gets to Beardmore Dam and along the banks of Lake Kajarabie. There is room for a few vans right beside the lake, and room for many more just up on a flat part of the camp. We set up, keeping in mind the large overhanging trees, and stayed two nights, simply relaxing. We also were able to have a fire, so we got to use our new fire pit. It was great.

We had a great catch up with Steph and Eddie, but the next day we parted ways as we headed further north-east, and they headed south. 

We had planned on staying the night at Westmar camp, but the toilets were closed and it was a little exposed to the highway, so we continued on to Dalby. We can upon Bowenville Reserve. How have we not been here before?!?!? It is a large open grassed area on the banks of Oakey Creek. There are so many places for vans. The only down side is there is one small toilet block, so one really needs to be self-contained. We liked it so much we stayed an extra night before heading home.

So home again for a few weeks and then another road trip - woo hoo!