Cablog

Extraordinary

(cabbie finalists in Perth)

Whenever I poll passengers travelling around Australia the majority nominate The Kimberley in the north west as the best location of all. And needless to say it's definitely on my own Big Lap itinerary, one day. 

An unusual tourism campaign is currently being conducted by Tourism Western Australia, based on a nine week taxi journey around the State - The Extraordinary Taxi Ride.

Five cabbies have been selected as finalists to ferry some lucky passengers on 11 different legs from the vinyards of Margaret River to the outback and The Kimberley, to name a few.

Here you'll find short videos of the cabbies presenting their 'extraordinary' credentials for voters to consider.

Readers can also enter the competition by choosing a destination for a berth as a lucky passenger. To enter submit either a 1 minute video or 250 words detailing yourself and an accompanying passenger.

So, how about touring Western Australia in a taxi driven by an extraordinary cabbie? Just perfect.

(Cable Beach, Broome)

Engaged

Last night I engaged three taxis around town, as a passenger. Each journey was without locality or language issues, so nothing to report there.

This week my girlfriend and I are on holidays and managed to find a sweet movie, re a recent post.

On Monday night we got lucky with Mao's Last Dancer, an entertaining and uplifting account of Li Cunxin's true story. Highly recommended.

And thanks to readers who suggested other suitable films worth watching together, especially one dealing with blogging and romance!

Speaking of romance my son and his delightful girlfriend have just announced their engagement so last night we celebrated with a sumptuous dinner at King Street, Wharf. Many times in the cab I've waited outside the Japanese restaurant, Kobe Jones saying to myself, one night I'm going to have a slap-up meal at that joint. Now I have and can highly recommend the banquet dinner for two, with a selection of matching wines. A fat time was had by all.

And speaking of engagements, here's a sweet photo of my mother in 1943 aged 21, newly engaged and reading a letter from my Dad who was away at war. Awww.

Hastings

Yesterday we took a road trip from Port Macquarie to Long Flat, on the upper Hastings River, via Pipeclay. Another perfect day in this fast finishing holiday.

Grommets

Grommets at Port Macquarie breakwall, home to a world bodyboard champion.

Look for a travel video tomorrow.

Freakin'

Ripped!

The final 50 for the Best Job in the World have now been shortlisted, viewed here.

And, and...I wuz robbed, ripped, cheated ! It's, it's...ageism, dat's wot it is, dud dude.

But seriously, I found the whole exercise incredibly exciting, inspirational and a wonderful learning experience. So good luck to all the candidates, in particular our five Aussie and nine Ninger finalists.

UPDATE: Top 50 breakdown.

UPDATE 2: Only bikini babes need apply

Paradise

What got the creative juices flowing again to enable my return to blogging has been producing a video application for The Best Job in the World. When I first saw the advertisement in the New Year I thought, mate, that's for me. Then just as quickly admitted, why would they choose a 55-year-old taxi driver? Hilarious!

However after further consideration and prompting from others I thought, why not? For a highly paid blogging job on the Great Barrier Reef - bugger it, I'd do it for free - one must have a go. Even though some 1500 applications are being received each day.

Finally I got the piece shot, edited and mixed on the 'ol camera/phone and uploaded. Then realised that not only had the compression failed but there was also a copyright issue involving four seconds of music. So I cleaned it up, re-submitted and now both videos have been posted ! No matter, I have two chances.

Feel free to view my application and give it a rating. You may just help this old fart win a wild Card finalist berth to a week on Hamilton Island. Also check out some of the varied and often superb applicants from around the world.

Away

Normally my vacation images are sent from the phone. However I've been having trouble with the N95 image editor resulting in dud re-sizing.

So I've used a mate's PC to post a dozen shots of my travels this week, from south to north. They're of the mid-North Coast in a few specific places, reflecting stays with friends in those areas.

Here's a challenge for those familiar with the area to correctly guess the localities. Whoever scores the highest result wins....err, a dinner with yours truly at the Regent Street Gas, Guts 'n Go. (Judges decision is final; dinner anytime between 10pm and 1am; no pick-ups, transfers or accomodation provided; no travel or food security available; win at your own risk, thrillseekers!).

Home

After an excellent week away I’m back home and ready for work tomorrow night. However the old body clock is totally reversed and I’m currently running on normal hours. Doesn’t matter as it was wonderful to rise with the birds for a change and experience a full day of light ! In particular the last couple of spring-like days has been a bonus. And full marks to reader Vacuity for correctly guessing the location of the most recent video shot a South West Rocks.

Regarding videos there'll be more to come over the next few days. Whilst the Nokia N95 captured video and images in high quality, their rendering through the Vox video player deteriorated somewhat when uploaded from the phone. So I'm keen to demonstrate the device's capabilities when presented from a PC, or in a different media player.

Before leaving last week I had a drink with a couple of mates. On learning of my travel plans one exclaimed, "You drive for a living and then get behind the wheel for a holiday - I don’t get it ?" I laughed at his perfectly valid observation, "That’s right. I should be flying to Bali to sit on a beach for a week. If it wasn’t for the dodgy perceptions of a middle-aged bloke holidaying alone in Asia, I probably would." Sad but true.

However the operative word here is ‘alone’, for the defining motivation of my vacations over the years has been to seek out the company of friends living in glorious locations. Coupled with this desire is the journey itself, the act of getting there being as enjoyable as the company itself. In particular there are many areas I’ve worked in over the years, veritable paradises well worth revisiting. That's Australia, a hard place to leave.

Wog Tour

Wogblogger wraps up a two week road tour of France and Spain in a Mazda MX5. Check out her unique commentary on the trip supported by copious images of countryside, museums, cathedrals, markets and more. Great stuff.

UPDATE : Apropos the Wog's adventure, The World's Greatest Driving Road.