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Hash-Packing the World
  • Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
  • Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

Hash-Packing the World

Whether you know me as Nancy Webb or Pat Bonetar, I hope you enjoyed my trip through 4 continents and 17 countries! I can't wait to do it again!! Read more
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  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

    Netflix & Shopping

    April 18, 2019 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    Just back from the grocery store. Everything is closed on Good Friday tomorrow.

    My friend left town this morning, so I have her lovely little home and Carrie the kitty to myself until I fly to Australia on Easter Sunday. Sweet as!!

    Now back to Netflix. Yay!

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

    Queen Victoria Building

    April 22, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    Sniffer Dog picked me up at the airport yesterday evening. We had a lovely night with Wayne, a neighbor and fellow hasher, celebrating not having to watch some cooking competition on the tele. Four bottles of bubbly later.... Welcome to Sydney!

    Sunrise was beautiful this morning. After a nice cuppa (cup of tea) and eggs and toast for brekky (breakfast), Sniffer took me back to Sydney. We're at the Queen Victoria Building now, a wonderfully restored indoor shopping mall originally built in 1898. Stained glass, tiled floors, and center dome. Just lovely.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
    1

    Hashing in Sydney

    April 23, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    Sniffer Dog took me to the Hard Rock Cafe after the QVB yesterday. Awesome!!

    Last night we went to the Botany Bay Hash House Harriers trail in Kogarah. Great folks, many of whom I'll see in Port Douglas in two weeks at Croc Nash Hash (Australia's biannual national hash event). Yay!

    Today, we're doing administrative duties, Sniffer with her father's estate and I with my continuing travels.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

    Hanging With The Girls By The Pool

    April 25, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    I arrived in Cairns and went straight to the Cairns Hash House Harriettes trail (women only) where I met up with several hashers who had been at New Zealand Nash Hash. After that, the men collected us and we we went back to the campground where we hung out until finally calling it a night.

    We were up this morning at 04:30 and drove into Cairns For the ANZAC Day dawn service at the Cenotaph on the Cairns Esplanade. It was a beautiful sunrise on a somber remembrance of Australian and New Zealand servicemembers' sacrifices. You can view the video here: https://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/anzac…

    After the service we had a nice fryup brekky at the campground, then I went for a nap. When I woke up, I found Helen and Sally at the pool, so I joined them. It's 30°C/85°F with about 75% humidity. Wonderfully balmy!

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

    All of That

    April 26, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    After the pool yesterday, I spent the rest of the day relaxing in the cabin with the air conditioning. Sweet as!

    This morning, Helen and I took a short walk through the local park that borders a graceful stream very close to the campground. Just lovely.

    Today, Helen, Barry, Sally and I are on a mission for haircut, pedicures, food, and electronics. Not for all of us and not in that order, but all of that nonetheless.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

    Fish and Chips by the Esplanade

    April 27, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    Last night the six of us (Helen, Barry, Sally, Brian, Linda, and I) went to a Hasher couple's home on the other side of Cairns. Along with another hasher, we had a great evening of food, music, and adult beverages. The ceiling lights on their veranda had geckos in them (picture), which kept us entertained during conversational lulls.

    This morning, Helen, Brian, and I took Brian's and Linda's Australian Cattle Dog Billy to the creek for a swim. She is so sweet.

    After that, Barry, Sally, Helen, and I went into Cairns for the Saturday market in the Esplanade. The park area has a free public swimming pool like no other I've seen on a waterfront. Now we're having a lunch of fish and chips. Yummy!

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️

    P.S.: Yesterday's haircut mission was a success!    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
    1

    ON ON to Townsville

    April 28, 2019 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 77 °F

    Last night, five of us went to another hasher's home for a Welcome [Back] to Cairns get together. What a great group of people.

    This morning, Brian and Billy the Dog gave me a lift to the Greyhound bus stop on the Esplanade. We left at a little after 08:00. The trip has been uneventful so far; the scenery is nothing but sugar cane fields wedged between mountains on the west and ocean on the east. Beautiful in an almost barren way.

    Now, the bus has stopped in Cardwell for a lunch stop on the way to Townsville. I'm meeting up with three other hashers there--Soak, Mole, and my buddy Xerox. What trouble we get up to is yet to be determined. 😉

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

    In The Bush

    April 30, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    Went to the aquarium yesterday. Packed the truck this morning and little Max wanted to go with. There was a wallaby at Soak's house. We found Starsky & Hutch's Ford Ranchero at the pub that was closed. Stopped at Little Crystal Falls. Found a hussie sign in front of which the boys made me stand.

    Now, we're heading for the first night of camp in the bush.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
    Bustard, which looks like a giant roadrunnerMassive termite mounds

    No One Died Last Night

    May 1, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    A lot of things in Australia try to kill you. Luckily, the only one we've come across so far is a kangaroo that wanted a very short ride on the front of Stroker's campervan. Bang! No serious damage to the car though.

    We saw a dead dingo and very much alive emus. Xerox and Mole went car surfing, which is when the roo tagged the other vehicle. The termite mounds are incredibly humongous and change color with the soil. We saw one that someone had topped with a hardhat. It looked like the mound had eaten him. We forded a river with the boys on top of the truck.

    Now, we've stopped at the pub in Mount Garnet for a quick beer and the noon selfie.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

    Australia Nash Hash Day 0

    May 3, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    We made it to Port Douglas on Thursday afternoon without anyone dying, but we think Mole may turn into a rock wallaby soon. I know you don't think that's funny, but I'm crying tears of hysterical laughter. We missed the Red Dress Run, but ran into most of the participating hashers later that evening. Nice town.

    No selfie because I'm at the hotel just about to get in the shower. This evening is the formal start of Croc Nash Hash 2019.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

    Australia Nash Hash Day 1

    May 4, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    The opening ceremony for Nash Hash was great, with the unveiling the true identity of Shazza the Croc and Aboriginal dances to welcome us to Port Douglas. The rest of the time was catching up with friends and making new ones.

    This one was pretty difficult to get going. The grass was fairly cool though, so I tried to take a quick snooze before the buses picked us up for the runs. (I'm just kidding. Someone would've probably peed on me 😂😂😂.)

    Now, we're on the bus heading to Mossman Gorge for the run.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
    Blow up pool toy. I had to do a double take though.Do you see the butterfly? He stayed on me for about 10 minutes.By he time I checked in, they only had 7X size shirts.

    Australia Nash Hash Day 2

    May 5, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    Yesterday's trail was nice. I met some new people, had a wee poo in my shorts when I saw the inflatable crocs, and made everyone's camera roll with the little butterfly who wouldn't leave my shirt. After trail, food, and.circle, we bused back to our hotels to clean up and reconvened at the stadium venue. There were some Hash Acts, a great band, and an Ug (don't ask), but it's all pretty blurry.

    By the end of the night, we had discovered that, yes indeed, you can fit four Hashers into a size 7X shirt. Which is mine. And we didn't rip it! I think I'll make a skirt out of it.

    Today, were at the venue again, and Xerox has busted out the guitar. Yay!

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

    Australia Nash Hash Day 2.5

    May 6, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    Yesterday, not much after noon, we finished up Nash Hash by registering for the 2021 event to be held in Adelaide, hosting some boat races (team speed drinking), having a hilarious wet shirt contest, and hugging lots of new and old friends.

    The remainder of Sunday was much like the past week, but three of us snuck away from the bar around 22:00. Water, please!

    This morning, we've popped the last bottle of champagne and are about to put Helen (my Scottish hash mum) in a van for the airport. I love this bunch of crazies.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

    Quiet Day

    May 7, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    After we sent Helen off to the airport, the gang went for lunch and jumped on a river cruise. We saw several huge Great Egrets, a couple of tiny Brahminy Kites, and a few Mudskipper Gobis. We also saw a couple of juvenile Estuarine Crocodiles "Salties" sunning on the banks--2 meters/6.5 feet! The Captain claimed at that size they weren't really dangerous to an adult human. It's the fully grown ones who eat you--5 meters/16.5 feet! Nope nope nope. (But I can't wait to see one that big. From a boat. From a big boat. 😉)

    After the boat, we went back to our rooms to clean up, then met for a wonderful dinner. I had three spring rolls (baramundi, prawn, and crocodile), a dozen oysters (half Thai, half Kilpatrick--I only ate three), and a lamb rump roast with green beans and rosemary potato bake all in a red wine jus. Holy mackerel, soooo very delicious! No party tonight, and most of us said goodbye for the last time until the next time. A few of us went back to the hotel for a while to laugh with and at each other. I got to sit next to the rock wallaby. 😂

    This morning came early because I had to see off three more of the group and move into a smaller room. There was a massive brown grasshopper on the handrail. I wonder if it will try to kill me, too 😉.

    No issue in getting everyone on their shuttles, but I had an issue. I couldn't pay for my new room because my debit card wouldn't work and the lady wouldn't take cash. I figured the bank blocked the card again with all of my traveling (despite a travel notification, the system just does it sometimes). But no, it couldn't be something as simple as turning the card back on. Oh, no, not today. Today it has to be that they reissued me a different card and mailed it to Texas because they said my card had been compromised. Which it hasn't been. And they can't turn the one I have back on. They're going to FedEx me a new card to the hotel in Port Douglas. EXCEPT by the time it gets here I won't be here anymore (they won't overnight overseas). Aarrgghhh. So now it looks like I'll have to come back to PD before making my way south to Cairns, which means I lose my ride to Cairns. Aarrgghhh.

    Luckily, I brought a couple of AAA travel cards with me that still had enough to pay for the next three nights of hotel room. Also luckily, I still have Aussie and US cash that will see me through. And most of all, I don't have to stay upset because tomorrow I'm going on my Great Barrier Reef snorkel trip! Yay!!

    Now, I'm just cooling off in the hotel room, downloading my camera pics to my laptop, and stopping my bills from pulling payments off my non-existent debit card (aarrgghhh). [Omm. Great Barrier Reef tomorrow. Omm.]

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

    Great Barrier Reef...Fishing?

    May 8, 2019, Great Barrier Reef ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    Well, my bad luck from yesterday morning didn't end with the debit card. That afternoon the snorkel charter emailed me that my GBR snorkel trip was cancelled for lack of participation. Aarrgghhh. I had them rebook me for Thursday, but the weren't hopeful that would go either. They said not to worry if it cancelled though, because they would refund my money. To my debit card. Aarrgghhh. When I explained about the card no longer working, they said I would have to work out the refund with the booking agency. In Auckland, New Zealand. Aarrgghhh. I hope the trip goes on Thursday, as much to see the reef as to finish this maddening endless loop of aarrgghhhs.

    After that conversation, I threw up my hands and headed into town for food and groceries where I ran into Richard and Christine (Hashers). He booked a fishing charter for today, and I was able to get on at the last minute. [They wouldn't take cash, so I had to use my AAA emergency card again. Aarrgghhh.]

    So today we're fishing the Great Barrier Reef instead of snorkeling it. Well, at least I'm at it even though I can't see it.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the FISH. ✌️

    P.S.: Post-Trip Update: Rich and I caught several fish between us, but not all the ones in the picture. There were 12 of us fishing. I caught 3 keepers, 1 bait fish, and a couple of small ones, and Rich got about 6-7 keepers with another dozen or so too small to keep. Here's the list of what the boat pulled in but didn't necessarily keep. The ones we caught have an asterisk.

    *Nannygai (big pink ones)
    *Coral trout (coral color with spots; smaller than nannygai; I caught one)
    *Green spotted cod (not in the picture; about same size as coral trout but green with black spots; I caught two)
    *Sweet lips (white with yellow fin; used for bait; my first catch)
    *Red emporer (first type of fish in the boat; red, no spots)
    Spanish mackerel (huge silver one in the pic; I reeled in a small one off another line)
    Gold-spotted trevally (greeny-gold in the pic)
    Cobia (not in the pic; looked just like https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobia)
    Red bass (not in the pic; poisonous)
    Remora (not in the pic; sucker fish usually found on sharks)    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

    Great Barrier Reef...Snorkling!

    May 9, 2019, Great Barrier Reef ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    I didn't do anything yesterday after the fishing trip. I only got about three hours of sleep the night before, so by the time I got back to the hotel, I was beat. I think I was out before 23:00.

    This morning I was out of bed at 07:00 very excited for my snorkeling trip. We left the marina around 08:30 and now we're at the first of two locations in the Agincourt reef group. This little part is dive site Your Place (technically reef #3); our second will be snorkel site Totem just to the east. (You can dive and snorkel both.)

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the FISH. ✌️

    P.S.: Post-Snorkle Update: What an amazing day on the Great Barrier Reef! These are just some of what I saw:
    Wobbegong shark
    Sting ray
    Maori wrasse
    Porcupine fish
    White-tip reef shark
    Black-tip reef shark
    GBR anemone fish with babies
    Tomato fish
    Unicorn fish
    Giant clam
    Diagonal banded sweetlips
    Sea cucumbers
    Trumpet fish
    Moorish idol
    Blackspotted puffer (aka dognose)
    Lizard fish
    Heaps of parrot fish, trigger fish, wrasses, butterfly fish, angelfish, hard corals, soft corals, grass-like macroalgae, etc.    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
    2.2-meter Estuarine Crocodile4.5-meter salty called ScarfaceScarfaceScarface with female behind himScarface with female behind him (arrow points to her)

    Daintree Rainforest Day 1

    May 10, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    After yesterday's snorkeling, I had dinner with Richard and Christine, then went to bed pretty early.

    This morning, they saw me off at about 09:00 for my overnight trip in the Daintree Rainforest.

    Our first stop was in Mossman Gorge where we were treated to an Aboriginal smoking ceremony and skin painting demonstration. We took a short walk into the gorge where we saw the remains of a brush turkey nest. There is a beautiful swimming spot (no crocs) and a suspension bridge. It's a very beautiful place.

    Now we're on a boat (might be big enough) in the Daintree River about to see if we can find some of the big Salties.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️

    P.S.: I've added the results of the river cruise because I have so many pictures to for tomorrow's post.

    We first saw juvenile 2.2-meter (7-foot) croc, approximately 10-12 years old, which could've been either male or female. Females get about 2.5 meters.

    Next we saw "Scarface," a 4.5-meter (almost 15 feet) male estimated to weigh 650 kilograms (over 1400 pounds). He's the dominant male in this 6-10 kilometer stretch of water. Behind him, there is a smaller female. The last picture has an arrow to point her out.

    These are perfect predators. Despite how far away we were--my camera was at maximum zoom--the guide said if you went overboard, he could not get you back in the boat before Scarface would eat you. The rule of thumb around here is that crocs only eat stupid people. I like to that it's more like foolish people. Either way, the crocs will try to take you if you make yourself prey. Terrifyingly magnificent.

    Read this for a heartbreaking story from 2016:
    https://m.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/last-w…

    And this follow up story last year from the surviving friend:
    https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/new…    Read more

  • Nancy Webb...Pat BonetarHash-Packing the WorldNancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
    Golden orb spiderRed cedar in front of a paperbark tree surrounded by a curtain figBrush turkey

    Daintree Rainforest Day 2

    May 11, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    What a beautiful place is the Daintree. "Where the rainforest meets the reef" is its slogan. So true!

    I took a long walk yesterday afternoon on the Dubuji Boardwalk, winding up on Myall Beach (don't get close to the water!). I saw loads of orange-footed scrubfowl (no picture). They're about the size of the guineas my grandfather had, but brown with a greenish iridescent breast and bright orange legs and feet.

    After the walk, I stopped by the local store for an ice cream and ran into their pet peacock Eugene guarding the entry. He finally let me in.

    As I was walking back to the lodge, the bats began to come out. They're almost as big as the ones in Okinawa. What a racket they make!

    Walking back to the cabin after dinner, I almost stepped on several cane toads. I'm hoping they were what was making all the rustling noise in the undergrowth. I walked back pretty quickly and didn't stop to investigate.

    This morning, I had breakfast and checked out, then I took another walk. I popped out on Cape Tribulation Beach where the high tide comes right up to the trees. Luckily, the tide was out leaving a huge swathe of flat sand that appeared croc free. I definitely didn't get close enough to the water to find out.

    I also walked around the boardwalk again in one last attempt to see a cassowary. I found scat, but no bird. Poop. (Pun intended 😉.)

    Now, I'm walking to the lodge's cafe for lunch before the van picks me up to go back to Port Douglas.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️

    (I forgot to take a selfie.)    Read more

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