7 days till we leave for australia!

[Dominick]

Good job, keep them coming.  Dominick

[alantani]

ok, sunday.  we finally get to snorkle on the great barrier reef. 





there are alot of boats going out. 









we stopped off an frazier island to drop some passengers off.







now, off the the edge of the reef.





































http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNyzOsu-7M4&feature=vmdshb

[redsetta]

This is great Alan - thanks for sharing it all with us.
I'll definitely be havin' a beer at Jack's pub when I'm there next month!
Cheers, Justin

[alantani]

one of the largest tackle shops on the east coast of australia is the tackle warehouse in brisbane.



i had exchanged some e-mails with the guys there about getting reel parts shipped over.  it's a huge shop, probably on par with the outdoor proshop in oakland, california. 



meet steve!

[Norcal Pescador]

Oh .... my ..... Gosh!! What a shop!   Now I know where to find Justin when he goes on holiday.

Is Steve going to join our clan of reel-a-holics?

[Harry]

Gday Alan & family

nice photos , boy you certainly have done some kilometers of our barren country ayyy?   Bigger country than you thought?

Good to see you were all rugged up around the  Alice , was our coldest August morning here in Adelaide for many  years this morning.

cheers Harry

[alantani]

last night was really a treat.  our hosts were peter and eva boyd.  we drove down to the gold coast and met peter and joanne pakula.  we stopped off at the house and then headed off for dinner. 





we headed back to his house and got a tour of the garage. 





















it was really interesting when he pulled out the black light. 









this was really a treat.  peter pakula actually has a reel that was once owned by President John F. Kennedy.

[broadway]

Alan,
    There's too much to comment about, but the highlights for me were that AWESOME tackle warehouse, the Jack Kennedy reel, The great barrier reef, the hurse that drove Jack to his finally resting place (RIP), and all the smiles on your families' faces... Joy looks like she's having a blast!  Happy wife, happy life
Thank you again for sharing a beautiful experience,
Dom

PS- I never saw anybody come back from Australia without a tan... is it chilly all over there now (winter) , or are the coasts warm enough to bronze a body?

[Nessie Hunter]

Just Simply amazing..   

What a trip so far!!!  (and you took us all along with you)!!!

[alantani]

yeah, it's the dead of winter right now.  it's 7:40 am and 46 degrees outside.  pretty chilly.

[Bruce]

Wow holy Alvey warehouse!
Quite a place.
  Thank you for shareing.

                        Buzz

[alantani]

for the last leg of our trip, peter and eva boyd were our hosts.  they have beautiful home in brisbane and they have two totally spoiled afghan hounds.  they have started a small business after being retired for 10 years, and have been importing extra low voltage heat shrink terminals.  these come in from pensacola, florida, and are mil spec, ul certified and are a quarter of the price of the asian imported equivalents that are commonly used in australia now.  

i haven't mentioned this before, but the prices of things here are totally absurd.  a burger costs $10.  a coke from a vending machine costs $4.  a brand new grady white 258 might sell for $200K.  peter and eva's electrical terminals are a quarter the price of the stuff being imported from asia.









he also carries a full range of shrink tubing.



now here is the interesting stuff.  some of the shrink tubing is clear and is filled wth adhesive.  it shrinks down to a quarter of it's orignal diameter.  it would be great for rigging double hook rigs for marlin.  





here's what the wiring in peter's boat looks like!



if you're in australia and want to check these out, contact peter at superiorterminals@bigpond.com.au

[Alto Mare]

Always nice to see US exporting goods....we need to see more of that.
BTW, I'm really enjoying all of your shots, thanks!
Sal

[alantani]

this evening we drove north to radcliffe and passed mount beerwah.



we stopped off at steve irwin's zoo.



montville was our second stop.









we finished off with a great dinner.  many thanks! 

[broadway]

Now that's a perfect wiring job on Peter's boat!
Nice to see Peter broke out the good stuff for his guests
Dom