Tales from the South Pacific, July 13-29, 2011 - Page 19 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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WOW! I just read the whole thing. What a fantastic trip; so many places and so much to do. I am envious; NZ and Australia are very high on my bucket list. Thanks for letting me enjoy it thru your eyes. Looking forward to more.
Naw, Larry! I used to get high all the time ... if I remember right...
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcneal
WOW! I just read the whole thing. What a fantastic trip; so many places and so much to do. I am envious; NZ and Australia are very high on my bucket list. Thanks for letting me enjoy it thru your eyes. Looking forward to more.
You're very welcome. Thanks for joining us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Two4Disney
Oh you must come back to the Northwest and see the Oregon Aquarium - love the otters. And I also love penguins!
Saturday, July 23 Off to the Blue Mountains of Katoomba
I got up about 5:30 AM, and dressed and made some tea. When I went downstairs I pulled up my email and my sister had checked in with Sue's folks to let them know we are having a great trip. They are fine.
It's raining, but I had checked the weather and it should be clearing to the west--the direction in which we are headed.
One of the many things that Sladj shared with us, especially for the younger folks on the trip, was about drivers licenses in Australia. It takes five years. Between the ages of 16 and 18, you must have 200 hours of supervised driving, and five hours of paid instruction. You are initially granted a probationary license that comes with a curfew and restrictions. Some states here in the US are headed in a similar direction.
We motored along while Sladj shared other aspects of Australian life, including being student, when you can vote for the first time (18 years old) and how you vote for the party rather than the person. She also shared a good deal of information concerning their system of health care.
We arrived at Scenic World, home of the world's steepest railway. It takes you to down into the Jemison Valley (I apologize if I haven't got that spelled correctly. My notes are a bit jangled).
It also has quite the view.
The Three Sisters (center of picture).And Blue Sky!
There is an aboriginal dream time legend about three sisters who got turned to stone for protection. It was supposed to be temporary but the magic jawbone was lost so they could not be turned back. The legend is recounted here--we were told the alternate legend that you will find if you scroll down.
A somewhat closer shot of the Three Sisters (left) with some of the local birds.
I rather liked the sign.
Heading DOWN. Though sitting on a seat, you really feel a bit like you are standing.
You sort of glide down under that plastic roof. Fun!
More fun facts!
It's quite the experience. Note that we will not going back up the same way.
One more time, but from quite a bit lower down from the ridge.
We actually headed down into a rainforest.
And on the other side...
Continued...
__________________
"&Larry"
A beautiful day in the neighborhood!
Last edited by LLaffinPlace; 08-06-2012 at 06:17 PM..
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Beautiful scenery. I wonder if the sisters are related to Lot's wife... they seem to have a lot in common!! Interesting trees. You didn't slip on the moss, did you??
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Interesting trees. You didn't slip on the moss, did you?? 
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