Blake and Deb Down Under

The New Blog - Fiji

2009-12-15T22:54:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone, check out our new blog at blakeanddebinfiji.blogspot.com

See you there!

Home

2009-05-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s been over a week that we’ve been home so I suppose it’s about time I got around to finishing up the blog. I’ve been busy wading through a six-month tall pile of bills, statements, letters and the ubiquitous paperwork of everyday life. And I haven’t even started our taxes yet (I filed an extension electronically while we were away). We are reacquainting ourselves with driving on the right side of the road. We’ve also been busy reconnecting with family and friends. I’m happy to report that the cat did not hold a grudge and instead welcomed us back into her life with no hard feelings over our unexplained absence.

Certainly it is in many ways good to be home, surrounded by the people and things we care for. We forgot how nice the space we live in is. I missed my art studio. Soon I might even escape the confines of paperwork management and get back to painting large works of art, not just the small pieces I’ve limited myself to as we have traveled.

I do miss the sunshine though. And living constantly in shorts and sandals. And the new friends we made in Australia. And the sight of Kangaroos, Rainbow Lorikeets and Sulfur Crested Cockatoos. And the sounds of the Kookaburras and the Magpies. And the constant surprise at how differently and colorfully the Australians use the English language. And using meters and kilograms and degrees Centigrade like the rest of the planet. And Tim Tam cookies. And of course the sense of adventure from living somewhere unfamiliar.

But we’ve already started preliminary planning for next winter. We’re thinking Europe; maybe Spain and Portugal. We’ll try to do house sitting again whenever possible. That saved us a ton of money and lent a richness to the experience that you just don’t get as a typical hotel-bound tourist. So this blog is ended now but I’ll start a new one when we start our next trip– most likely in early December. The new blog will have a new name but I’ll do my best to let everyone know where to find it. Thanks to you all for following along with our adventures.

Cruise - Maui

2009-04-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

Our ship anchored off Lahaina, Maui in late morning. By the time everyone had gone through US Immigration and tendered ashore it was noon. I didn’t mind the late start because I had managed to come down with a nasty head cold and wasn’t feeling too energetic. We just walked through town checking out the many art galleries – most filled with awful tourist art – and a few other shops. Our only purchases were a large cup of mango-flavored shaved ice and some pharmaceuticals. We were back on the boat by 4pm. I know we’ll come back to Maui for an extended stay some day so I didn’t feel pressured to see that much. The highlight of our brief visit was the sight of two giant turtles mating in the shallow waters just offshore. They were at it for quite some time while we voyeuristic humans snapped what should probably be considered pornographic photos of them. Eventually the female had enough and threw the hapless male off her back. Then she bolted for the open water while the male swam confusedly around in circles looking for her. Pretty much like humans, really.

Maui is our last full day of the cruise. We head to Honolulu to disembark on Tuesday morning and fly home that afternoon. I’ll wrap up the blog with some closing thoughts upon our return.

Maui

Lowering the tender boats

Long line of people waiting to tender back to another cruise boat (not ours, thankfully)

Turtles in love.

"I said that's enough Harold! Get the hell off of me!"

The last sunset.

Cruise - Lost at Sea

2009-04-26T13:18:00.001-07:00

This stretch of four consecutive days at sea is a challenge. Both Deborah and I are struggling with boredom. We shouldn’t be; there are many activities on board. Things like bingo, dancing, cooking demonstrations, game shows, seminars on numerology... Yes, many activities in which I have absolutely no interest. I should be painting but, even if I had the necessary thinner with me, which I don’t, this windy, wave-tossed environment isn’t exactly conducive to my precise style of making art. So instead I edit my photographs, attend the daily history/destination lecture and write blog entries like this. Deborah goes to the gym every couple of days and has made use of the ship’s library to keep herself supplied with reading material. If the afternoon movie or evening show is of interest we attend that also. And of course we eat. Often.

Many people onboard seem to actually like the sea days. They lie all day in the sun, lined up in their deck chairs like sausages on a barbeque, self-turning every 30 minutes. All are dedicated to the proposition that, as one of the entertainers said, brown cellulite looks better than white cellulite. I tried the sunbathing gig one day but it just isn’t my scene. Deborah has to be careful about getting too much sun also.

The evening shows have been a mixed bag. Some, such a violinist and one of the singers, were actually pretty good. Others, such as the chubby Tom Jones impersonator, clearly demonstrated that they are at the point in their careers where they are reduced to working on cruise ships. Live music also pops up in the various lounges around the ship throughout the day. It too is a mixed bag. Unfortunately we often end up sitting within earshot of this one female vocalist who is just awful. Deborah just wants to wrestle the microphone away from her and beat her over the head with it.

I’ve heard an unsubstantiated rumor that the ship is only about half full, which perhaps shouldn’t be surprising given the state of the global economy. We paid just under $4000 for this cruise last summer. Just on a lark I checked the prices again a couple of weeks before we left and found the price had decreased to $2800 for the same type of stateroom. Once onboard, Deborah got to chatting (as she does) with a couple who booked at the last minute and paid only $1600. So much for the benefits of planning ahead.

Part of the difference is the $224 fuel surcharge, which was discontinued last fall, but only after we had already booked and paid. We didn’t get a refund in cash but we did get an onboard credit for that amount. That comes in handy since any illusion one may have had that everything on the ship is already paid for is quickly dispelled. All alcoholic drinks are extra. Sodas are extra. Lattes are extra. Many of the exercise classes are extra. You have to pay for any laundry services onboard, or salon services, or day spa services. Internet access is quite expensive. And of course there is the minibar, where even a bottle of water will set you back $5. All items are listed as available at a “nominal fee.” In this case a “nominal fee” translates as “an inflated price to which our captive audience has no alternative short of abstinence.” And any money left in your wallet after the plethora of nominal fees can be quickly extracted at the casino.

Fortunately we can be tightwads when necessary. So far we’ve managed to only splurge on one bottle of water (to be refilled and reused endlessly), one soda (to help Deborah choke down that cauliflower lodged in her esophagus), two laundry services, a whopping $3.50 poured foolishly into a slot machine, and of course a few hurried internet sessions to check email and post blog entries. We’ve also bought a few cocktails, although we generally wait for the two-for-one specials or just split one beer.

Some people must be racking up huge bills, especially given the amount of alcohol being consumed onboard. The cruise line must have underestimated the very considerable drinking capacity of the Australians, who make up the majority of guest onboard. Halfway through the trip they had already run out of the favored brands of Australian beer.

Tomorrow we will be landing in Laihaina, Maui. Later that evening we will be sailing over to Honolulu where our cruise will end the following morning. We fly home that same afternoon. I may not have the chance to blog on our day in Maui until we return home, but I’ll be sure to try and wrap things up in the next few days.

Deborah passing the time.

Towel sculpture by Tony the room steward.

Cruise - Bora Bora

2009-04-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

The doubly named Bora Bora was our third island in French Polynesia. It has a number of swanky resorts but the rest of the island is very pleasant also. We rented a couple of well-worn one speed bicycles (Deborah called them Pee Wee Herman bikes, but his was much nicer) with which to circle the island on a 22km (13 mi) mostly flat road. About a half hour down the road the seat on Deborah’s bike slid down to the bottom of the post, forcing her knees to be constantly bent as she tried to pedal. She said she felt like a circus monkey. I wisely refrained from drawing any correlation between the collapse of her bicycle seat and the weight of a certain part of her anatomy. We were able to borrow a wrench from a man working on his car to repair the seat to its proper height and continue on our journey.

Riding the bikes was great fun and we stopped often to admire views, take photos, grab a coke, and once to cool off in the lagoon. While floating in the water, a stingray passed between us and the shore, no more than 10 feet away. We also thought we saw a humpback whale but it turned out to just be another passenger from our cruise ship. All in all it was a great day which we finished off with some Tahitian beer before tendering back to the ship. Next up we have four straight days at sea (which is about three too many) before landing in Maui.

Cruise - Raiatea

2009-04-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

Our second island stop in French Polynesia was Raiatea. It’s lush, green, clean and beautiful. It doesn’t have Tahiti’s sandy beaches, but it also doesn’t have a lot of Tahiti’s problems. It’s not overdeveloped; traffic is not an issue; the houses are tidy and well cared for; there’s very little graffiti; and far fewer stray dogs. And if you really do want those sandy beaches you can just hire a boat to take you across the lagoon to one of the many little islands called motus.

We didn’t do that but we did hook up with another couple from the ship to hire a taxi to take us around the island. The driver spoke only a little English but enough for all of us to communicate what we wanted and understand what we were seeing. His wife and 2-year old daughter came along and rode quietly in the back. Apart from enjoying the general scenery as we drove around the island we stopped at a botanical garden, where even the dead leaves looked exotic, and a marae, or sacred site, where stone platforms and other structures were laid out for the performance of various rituals including sacrifices of vegetables, animals and tourists.

Our taxi companions Jim and Lisa were from Minnesota and therefore inevitably very nice. Her Midwest accent was so strong I could have sworn I was listening to a radio skit from Prairie Home Companion. She persuaded the taxi driver to stop somewhere she could buy some black pearls, a natural commodity for which these islands are famous, and she scored a good deal. We joined Jim and Lisa for lunch back on the ship before stepping back out in the heat and humidity to walk around town a bit. Eventually unable to stand our own B.O., we returned to the ship for a very necessary shower, followed by a beautiful sail out of the harbor near sunset before resuming the normally scheduled rounds of gluttony onboard.

Botanical Garden

Dead leaf as sculpture

The marae (sacred site)

View of nearby islands as we sail away from Raiatea.

Cruise - Tahiti

2009-04-22T01:00:00.001-07:00

Tahiti was a disappointment. We docked at Papeete, the main town on the island. Our impression: dirty, overdeveloped, heavy traffic, ugly concrete buildings, litter, lots of graffiti, stray dogs – not at all the postcard paradise we had imagined. I’m sure the fancy resorts are little oases (if you can afford them) but the rest of the island is less than inspiring. Still, we disembarked in the morning and found a bus tour that circled the island (for half the price of the shore excursions offered through the cruise line). The tour guide was an American, originally from Hawaii, and he was quite good and informative. The sites included a couple of nice viewpoints, a seaside blow hole which was less than impressive with the current water conditions, a waterfall, a cave, and a crappy museum. The latter was the Paul Gauguin museum, devoted to the famous French painter who spent many years in the islands. The museum had no originals, only faded reproductions arranged haphazardly in open air displays. This was not the Louvre. Our hope is that the remaining islands will be more like Rarotonga and less like Tahiti.

Here are a few photos which I’m sure will put a more positive spin on the place because I tend not to photograph the ugly bits.

Papeete - it looks better from the waterfront.

While docked, our cruise ship was the highest “building” on the island. There is a local law forbidding the construction of anything taller than a coconut tree (about 5 storeys).

A grotto or cave.

Cruise - Rarotonga

2009-04-19T23:01:00.000-07:00

After 5 ½ days at sea we finally reached our first port of call: the lush little gem of an island called Rarotonga, part of the Cook Islands. It was hot and sticky (even Deborah was sweating) but it was so nice to be on terra firma again. The island didn’t have a dock sufficient to handle our behemoth of a vessel so we had to tender ashore, which, after a delayed start, went smoothly with minimal drownings. We walked up to the Saturday Market so Deborah could make her contribution to the local economy and take care of some small gift purchases. She gave most of her business to just one vendor, who in turn rewarded us with a coconut drink straight from the shell. I’ve heard it’s a laxative so we refrained from buying any additional drinks.

We arranged our own circle tour around the island by hopping on the local bus. We stopped at a beautiful beach to swim...well, stand really, in the lagoon. There were little fish circling around us and occasionally startling Deborah. I thought they might give us one of those nibbling pedicures you hear about but apparently they either weren’t that hungry or found our feet too distasteful. The hordes of tourists from our cruise ship nearly overwhelmed the bus system but everyone seemed to make it back on board. Next up is another sea day (just one thankfully) followed by Tahiti.

The market.

Cruise - Are We There Yet?

2009-04-17T00:14:00.001-07:00

It’s Day 5 of our cruise and it’s Thursday. Yesterday was also Thursday. Strange thing, that International Dateline. Also strange is the realization that there is nothing but water for as far as the eye can see in every direction. We won’t reach our first destination, Rarotonga, Cook Islands, until Saturday. That’s the drawback to these repositioning cruises: you spend a lot of days at sea. We do our best to fill the time. We eat, walk laps around the deck, sit somewhere to read, hopefully in the sun, exercise, eat some more, sit somewhere else to read, go to a lecture, sit in the hot tub, eat some more, walk some more, go to a show. We nearly always take the stairs, even though we are on Deck 3 and usually end up hanging out on Decks 9 or 10, in a desperate attempt to burn off all those extra calories. Yes, the food is great, and ever abundant.

The ship is beautiful, albeit in a Disneyfied fashion. Our inside cabin, though windowless, is quite comfortable, and larger than I expected. It’s pitch black when the lights are out though. At night we leave the bathroom light on but the bathroom door closed so that a sliver of light escapes around the edges, just enough for navigation purposes when nature calls. Getting up in the morning is a challenge with the absence of natural light (or kookaburras) to announce the dawn. We find we need a wake up call.

The weather so far has gradually improved from our rainy departure in Sydney to sunny days on our two consecutive Thursdays. Temperatures have been in the 70s to low 80s (F). Until today it has been quite blustery though, with winds of 25-30 knots, enough to make those laps around the upper deck even better calorie burners. And of course those strong winds make for rough seas, the worst of which we felt last night. Fortunately those rough seas are supposed to be easing, otherwise we’ll be losing our extra calories a different way.

Just a bit windy.

Pool deck.

Proverbial Caribbean band.

Hopefully won't need this.

The Solarium (covered pool area).

Our little room on the seas.

Cruise - Goodbye Sydney, Goodbye Australia

2009-04-13T01:27:00.000-07:00

We spent our last few hours in Sydney walking through the Royal Botanical Gardens (again) and visiting the Art Museum (again). The latter had a special portrait exhibition that we wanted to see so it was worth the return trip. Or maybe we are more creatures of habit than we thought.

We boarded our Royal Caribbean cruise ship around 2:00pm and are now working our way through Sydney Harbour, headed for the South Pacific. We'll be out to sea for 3 or 4 days before we reach the Cook Islands. The onboard experience started on less than ideal terms for Deborah who, during our first meal, chipped a front tooth biting a little too vigorously on her fork, and later nearly passed out while trying to swallow an inadequately masticated chunk of califlower. She also got her period. Happy sailing!

Our floating monstrosity of luxury.

The two of us standing in front of our floating monstrosity of luxury.

View of Harbour Bridge (aka, the Coat Hanger) from the deck.

Sydney Opera House under stormy skies (it was raining as we pulled out of port).

Cooloola Cove - Departure

2009-04-12T14:59:00.000-07:00

As should be obvious from the lead photo on yesterday’s blog post, Kaz was quite pleased with what we did to her home. There really wasn’t a single room we didn’t do at least something to, and she wouldn’t admit to disliking anything. She liked our color choices, the new furniture arrangement, the repositioning of her wall art, the addition of the kitchen shelf and bamboo screen, and the way Deborah reinvented her furniture pieces. She was also very happy with the spruced up front garden. With the new landscaping plan in hand and some advice from Deborah on how to better approach pruning and the display of yard art, it seems that Kaz is brimming with ideas and newfound enthusiasm to tackle the rest of the yard.

We tagged along with Kaz’s son-in-law Ray who had some errands to run in Tin Can Bay. He took us to the “Tip Shop,” a section of the dump where they scavenge potentially valuable bits from the rest of the debris and offer it for sale to the public. Deborah was in shabby-chic heaven - fantastic browsing. If I were a sculptor instead of a painter I would be drooling over all the interesting chunks of metal and industrial springs and discarded car parts. Maybe construct a giant metallic wombat. If we had known of this place earlier we probably would have dragged countless cast-offs back to Kaz’s to use both inside and out. As it was, we couldn’t resist a shoulder-high metal windmill frame (a whopping $2) to plop in the yard.

Kaz’s granddaughter Kara, 5-year old daughter of Julie and Ray, presented us with an armful of souvenir prezzies (presents) to remind us of our time in Australia. We all enjoyed a nice meal together: dinner by Deborah, dessert (pavlova) by Julie. Nice, nice family. We hope we’ll cross paths again. The following morning we said our goodbyes and were driven by Ray to the Hervey Bay airport to catch our flight back to Sydney. Infant daughter Jazmine shared the back seat with Deborah and kept her entertained.

Back in Sydney we took a long walk through the city and returned to our favorite Indian restaurant for a late lunch. We’re just spending the one night here in Sydney. Tomorrow we catch our cruise ship and start winding our way through the South Pacific, ending up in Hawaii 16 days later, and from there we fly home. I’ll do my best to keep up with the blog during the cruise, but it will depend on the difficulty and/or expense of internet access on the high seas.

Cooloola Cove - The Reveal

2009-04-10T02:02:00.000-07:00

Today was the day for the big reveal. Kaz came back with daughter Julie, son-in-law Ray, and granddaughters Kara and Jasmine to see all the changes we've been making inside and out. For now I'll let the pictures tell the story.

Kaz is just a little excited to see the decorating changes.

Living Room. New furniture arrangement, which, as we can attest from having lived with it for a couple of weeks, works quite well. New gold paint, including a horizontal stripe to feature the grandchildren's art.

New paint on focal wall in bathroom.

This shelving unit was originally in the garage; works well with the gold paint and new display arrangement by Deborah (grandchildren's art again features prominently).

Gold paint carried into kitchen. Wall hangings relocated.

New shelf in kitchen.

China hutch (1930s?) repainted, distressed and reorganized by Deborah.

New focal wall in Master Bedroom painted to match existing bedding.

Kaz has no car so the garage is used as living space with screen doors facing the front garden.

New bamboo screen hides laundry area.

The front garden. Garage screen doors are to the left. New stone border, new placement of benches, yard art.

Arbor with bench and coffee maker planter on left.

Front gate, path leads to front door.

Really like that stone border.

Aloe relocated to form border, several plants relocated, pruned, benches and yard art relocated.

Cooloola Cove - The Bastard

2009-04-09T23:44:00.001-07:00

The weather improved enough yesterday to allow us to take a long walk and check out some new neighborhoods. Only once did we have to take shelter under the eaves of nearby building to wait out a passing squall. It felt good to give our legs a good workout.

Today the weather was spectacular. The lawn had actually dried out enough in most areas that I attempted to mow it; something it needed badly. On the front of Kaz’s mower it reads in big bold letters “The Bastard.” If this were any other country I’d think someone just put a sticker on the machine as a joke, but this being Australia I could believe that is actually the brand name. Anyway, The Bastard did fairly well, although it is clearly not made for a tall person, as my sore back will attest. Deborah had to relieve me for a spell; she said it was the first time in probably 30 years that she had mowed a lawn. We managed to get most of the extensive yard mowed but there were some areas that were still too wet. What should have been obvious to me from the start is that it is not at all easy to mow a swamp.

Deborah did a bit more pruning today as well so with the newly trimmed grass the yard looks much better. Kaz and family will be here tomorrow for the big reveal. We look forward to showing her all the changes – inside and out. She assures us she will like whatever we’ve done, but if not she can take solace in the fact that we will be out of the country in a couple of days and thereafter unable to do any more damage.

Waiting for a flood?

Typical, simple house.

In a new neighborhood called Cooloola Sands.

We quite like this one. It's really a couple of separate buildings with a common interior covered courtyard plus separate decks for each building plus a shared carport with its own curved cover.

More kookaburras
(photo by Deborah)

Last night's rainbow.

Cooloola Cove - Religion

2009-04-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

With Easter approaching the thoughts of many Australians turn to family gatherings, chocolate Easter eggs and hot cross buns. It’s mostly about the food. Like people in the other wealthy nations of the world, Australians are not particularly religious. (The USA is the glaring exception to the rule; Americans’ views are closer to those of people in developing nations in that religion plays a much more important role in their lives). According to the Religion Monitor international survey, two-thirds of Australians identify themselves as Christians but religion plays an important role in the minds and everyday lives of only a minority. And 28 per cent of the Australian population see themselves as not at all religious.

My impression is that for Australians their spiritual beliefs are a private matter and they don’t try to force their beliefs on others or inject them into public policy. Their politicians don’t end their speeches with “God Bless Australia.” As one who is not religious it is a great relief to live in such an environment, if only for a few months.

Australians have a healthy distrust of authority and so are less likely to follow the dogma of organized religious institutions or the rants of some plastic-haired television evangelist. Instead the trend here, as in other industrialized countries, is toward a looser, “patchwork” belief structure, which emphasizes individual interpretations and draws on elements from many different faiths. For example, here at Kaz’s we’ve found a picture of the Virgin Mary, several Buddha statues, and a poster of the “Ten Indian Commandments.”

Australian Aboriginal Mythology is another matter altogether – complex, mind blowing, and beyond my ability to properly explain. It centers on the Dreaming (or Dreamtime), which is both a creation myth and a kind of parallel universe. The past is viewed as eternal, and therefore also present. Features of the landscape are reminders of the Totemic Spiritual Beings who created them. These same beings also created the moral codes and social structures. The earth is considered sacred, conscious of the people, and dependent on them. Whether or not you buy into the veracity of the mythology, the practical consequence is a deep respect for the land and a kinship with all its creatures. In this way the attitude of the Aboriginal people is more reminiscent of that of the American Indians, and not so much of the dominion-over-the-earth approach of Christendom.

Cooloola Cove - Diggin' in the Rain

2009-04-06T02:06:00.000-07:00

Deborah has finished the last of the furniture repainting and the interior redesign of Kaz’s house is basically done, unless of course Deborah gets bored. For a $200 budget it looks pretty darn good. Photos will come after the reveal to Kaz at the end of the week.

We’ve now turned our attention to the exterior and are quickly learning the challenges of working in what is essentially a wetland. It seems as though it has rained at least some here every day for the last week and a half. We do get sun breaks and it is still warm, but the ground is just drenched and the yard is riddled with puddles nearly large enough to drown a dingo. To walk outside is to hear a rhythmic “squish, squish, squish.” Because the showers were warm we didn’t let them deter us from working outside. So we pruned, relocated plants, moved boulders, repositioned yard art, invented new yard art, and debated over what actually qualifies as yard art, all the while keeping a wary eye out for snakes (thankfully, none appeared). The result is a front yard that is much improved. It helps that Kaz had a lot of great plants; they were just overgrown or crowded in the wrong location. Now everything looks trim and tidy, but still lush and green, with more manageable pathways and well-placed yard art.

We’ve done a bit of cleaning up the side yards as well, but they and the enormous back yard will require a sizeable effort including regrading and the introduction of fill material, gravel, drain rock, flagstone, more plants, and a ½ scale reproduction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (budget allowing). I’ve drawn out a plan for the landscaping to use as a guide for future improvements, or as fuel for a fire to try and dry out one’s shoes.

Deborah's reinvention of a coffee maker.

Cooloola Cove - Avian Alarm Clock

2009-04-04T23:10:00.000-07:00

Our schedule is being dictated by the local wildlife. It’s too warm to sleep with the windows closed so we hear everything. As soon as the sun even thinks about rising above the horizon we are awakened by the Kookaburras’ maniacal laughter. Then the Sulfur Crested Cockatoos let out their incredibly loud screech as they fly past. There’s no sleeping through that. But then we hear the more normal peep of the magpie-larks who during the day are always begging (successfully) for bread crumbs outside our door. And finally we transition to the musical call of the Pied Butcherbird, similar to the magpies, who sound like the bridge computer on Star Trek. We are happy to stay awake for their strange and beautiful song.

When dusk approaches the Cockatoos screech again as they go to roost in the huge gum trees in the property next door. As darkness falls the insects buzz and the frogs pipe up. A few make the typical long drawn-out rrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeppppppp sound; seemingly thousands of others make a sound (with their throat sacs?) like tiny tapping on wood – it sounds like Santa’s workshop on deadline. It bothers Deborah a bit but I have no trouble falling asleep to the white noise. So we go to bed early and wake early, which is fine. You just have to remember that if you decide to stay up late one night the kookaburras won’t let you sleep in.

Kookaburra saving up energy for the morning revelry

(photo by Deborah)

Cooloola Cove - The Neighborhood

2009-04-01T23:34:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos I took during a walk around the neighborhood here a couple of days ago:
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As in much of Australia that we've seen, brick walls and either metal or tile roofs are standard.

This one has a bit of wood in the gables - unusual.

Serious shade device here.

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Looks like a garage, acts like a house.

This is actually a functioning mailbox.

One of the very few 2-storey homes in this neighborhood.

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At least some local residents are happy that there are still overhead power lines around here.

Cooloola Cove - Redecorating

2009-03-31T23:54:00.001-07:00

Deborah’s vision for redecorating Kaz’s house is rapidly being realized. I can’t give too many details because Kaz may be reading this blog and I don’t want to spoil the surprise. But suffice it to say that there is beautiful color on several walls which were once plain jane off-white. Paint, for some reason, is very expensive here. The 4 liter (1 gallon) can of paint we bought cost AU$70 (US$48); about twice what you’d pay in the US. Even the 1 liter (1 quart) cans of paint and primer were AU$30 (US$20). We used every last drop. It helps that Kaz had some spare paint lying around and that Lorraine brought some extra paint as well, much of which was mixed together to create new colors. Deborah has been painting and distressing many of the furniture pieces as well to give the once incongruent collection a more cohesive style. She has also been changing the placement of furniture and wall hangings, addressing the bedding, and digging for treasures in the closets, the yard and even the rubbish. She’s going for a contemporary cottage (shabby chic) look, based on Kaz’s existing furniture/belongings and her stated preferences. And it’s all looking good.

Once the interior changes are completed we’ll work on a plan for the exterior. There are a lot of great plants in the yard but some are hidden or in awkward locations and need to be pruned or moved. And drainage is a big issue. The big grassy back yard is a bit of a swamp right now with all the rain we’ve been having. Even though the last couple of days have been quite warm and sunny there are still sizeable puddles in the yard. The group of Ibises splashing around out back is happy, but it doesn’t serve the humans quite so well. Kaz doesn’t expect us to do any work on the yard, but I know Deborah can never be fully restrained. We do at least want to come up with a plan for regrading, planting areas, dry creeks, paths, etc. to make better use of this ½ acre lot. Hopefully this great weather will hold out.

Kaz's house.

Back of the house. Note the solar hot water heater on the roof.

The swamp.

While Deborah works on refinishing furniture, her husband works on his vitamin D intake.

Cooloola Cove - Lorraine Returns

2009-03-29T00:43:00.000-07:00

Lorraine drove all the way up from Brisbane to spend the weekend with us, enduring a 4 hour traffic-congested ordeal on Friday night. It was great to see her again, the first time since November. She was kind enough to bring some spare bedding and paint for use in Deborah's redecorating efforts. Lorraine also brought four bottles of wine. We caught up on family news and heard about her trip to the States in December and January.

The weather here was less than ideal for her visit – warm and sporadically sunny but with rainstorms blowing through in rapid succession. On Saturday we took a walk along the waterfront path in Tin Can Bay and had lunch at the Marina. Sunday the weather was worse with only the briefest of respites from the frequent rain squalls. We nevertheless drove to Rainbow Beach, achieving only a quick look at the sand before making a mad dash back to the car as the rain began to pelt us once again. I drove Lorraine’s car to give her a break and also to get more practice on the left hand side. I did pretty well, almost assuring that I’ll have a hard time when we go home and I have to switch back to the right side. We won’t have a car for our last two weeks here so we took advantage of Lorraine’s wheels to get a few things at the hardware store and also to stock up on groceries. We also stopped at the bottle shop (liquor store) to get another six-pack of beer to hold us through our remaining days (for most Australians a six-pack would last about two hours). The sight of me, until recently a nondrinker, buying alcoholic beverages still causes Deborah to giggle with perverse pleasure.

Deborah and Lorraine

Mangroves

Paperbark Trees

Cooloola Cove - Hervey Bay

2009-03-26T02:00:00.000-07:00

The lovely Miss Myra has flown away home. We drove her up to Hervey Bay, where we returned the rental car. We had a nice breakfast before sending her off to the airport with someone from the car rental agency. Deborah and I then spent a couple of hours walking around Hervey Bay, including the long bayside path and the small botanical garden. Hervey Bay is noted as a base for trips to Fraser Island (although we did ours via Rainbow Beach) and also as a base for whale watching (not currently in season). After our wanderings we caught a bus back to Maryborough where Kaz’s daughter Julie picked us up and drove us the rest of the way back to Cooloola Cove. Now the house feels a bit strange. We had got rather used to having Myra around. Her 12 days with us went far too fast. Sadder still, in all that time she didn’t see a single kangaroo.

Deborah and Blake at Hervey Bay

The local postman.

A typical queenslander house.

The botanical garden.

Passing "motorists" stop for a chat. (Hervey Bay is a popular retirement community).

A monitor lizard.

Resident at the botanical garden's Orchid House.

Sorry, Lisa - more flower pictures.

Bye Bye, Myra.

Cooloola Cove - Fraser Island, Day Two

2009-03-25T00:05:00.000-07:00

The second day of our tour of Fraser Island covered more ground than day one. We stopped by a popular creek that led into the woods, climbed a headland known as Indian Head for great views, visited the Champagne Pools (basically large frothy tide pools good for swimming), stopped for photos of a shipwreck and some colorful rock formations know as the Pinnacles, and finished off deep in the interior of the island at the sandy shores of Lake McKenzie.

We saw two more dingoes, including one which walked right past us, just a few feet away, as we were leaving Lake McKenzie, although Deborah had her back turned and was completely oblivious to it until Myra and I pointed it out to her. Dingoes do occasionally attack and even kill humans, particularly children. The increasing number of violent encounters between dingoes and humans since the 1980s are thought to be a result of intentional and unintentional feeding of dingoes by tourists. The majority of attacks by dingoes on humans have occurred on Fraser Island, which has the genetically purest strain.

On the drive back to Rainbow Beach the driver spotted a spikey sphere at the edge of the surf, which turned out to be a puffer fish. The little fellow was in full expansion mode, obviously agitated or excited about something. A busload of tourists handling him and gawking at him probably didn’t help to calm him down, which seemed necessary if he was ever going to deflate and thus be able to swim back to deep water without being constantly pushed back to shore in his current soccer ball shape. At last we put our cameras away and climbed back on our bus, leaving him to his struggle, hoping for the best.

Watch your babies.

View from Indian Head.

Indian Head

Deborah and Blake

Champagne Pools.

The Pinnacles.

The Maheno shipwreck.

Just a bit rusty.

The girls at Lake McKenzie toasting with the previous day's leftover wine. They aren't picky.

Our spikey friend.

Cooloola Cove - Fraser Island, Day One

2009-03-24T03:45:00.000-07:00

For our final sightseeing adventure before Myra’s departure we decided on a two day tour of Fraser Island, reached via a short ferry ride from Rainbow Beach. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and is accessible only with 4WD vehicles. Despite being essentially a big pile of sand the island is extensively covered in forest and dotted with lakes and streams. The eastern shore serves as the main highway while the limited inland roads are narrow, undulating, bone rattling rivers of sand. Somehow our military-style tour bus had the mechanical wherewithal to navigate the treacherous terrain. We saw more than one self-drive 4WDers trying to extricate themselves from axel-deep sand.

Fraser Island is famous for its dingo population and we saw one trotting along the beach the first day. It looked a bit scrawny, not as if it had recently ate anyone’s baby. Our first major stop was the spring-fed Lake Wabby, which is reached by a long walk through forest and across sand dunes. This provided the opportunity to add to my collection of photographs of Deborah trudging miserably in the heat up steep, dusty trails. The lake was a popular swimming hole (too popular for my taste) and a beautiful green color. After lunch we rode on more bumpy roads (in an apparent attempt to dislodge said lunch) and walked through a temperate rain forest. The evening meal was a decent enough buffet affair, and was followed by a stroll around the resort grounds looking down for lizards and up for the unfamiliar stars of the southern sky.

The highway

The bus

The travelers

The dingo

The forest

The misery

The girls

The rainforest

The rainforest, again.

The beach.

Cooloola Cove - Bowling for Dolphins

2009-03-22T01:18:00.000-07:00

Despite having seen dolphins from just a few feet away earlier in the week at the daily feeding, we took a Dolphin Ferry cruise on Saturday to venture out into Tin Can Bay and see them from several hundred feet away. We did indeed see a few, and they even displayed some entertaining acrobatics, but my typically slow shutter finger left me with mostly photographs of slightly rippled water. The weather was sporadically rainy – we almost didn’t even go – but it turned out to be a pleasant cruise.

On the way back to Kaz’s house we stopped by one of the two Lawn Bowling places we’ve passed several times, wondering if it might be possible to, as the Australians say, “have a go” at the sport. It turns out you can only play as a guest of a member, but two very friendly older gentlemen offered to act as our hosts and lend us some balls (or bowls, I’m not actually sure what they call them) and show us how to play. Our primary instructor was George, an immigrant from Bulgaria, who showed great patience in teaching us technique, strategy, and the importance of not dropping the balls on your bare feet (one can play with bare feet as a substitute for flat soled shoes). We had great fun and plan to take George up on his offer to host us again anytime we like.

Thar she blows.

Stormy skies.

Deborah and Myra.

Deborah puts the wrong foot forward.

Myra lofts the ball too much.

Blake bends his back too much.

George explains why we should consider golf or tennis instead.

George shows us how it's done.

Cooloola Cove - Grooming

2009-03-21T03:52:00.000-07:00

Any sightseeing plans I had for Thursday were thwarted by the rain. Somehow the other members of this travelling party convinced me a worthy substitute activity would be to get pedicures. Deborah and Myra found what they describe as a lovely little one-woman skin care salon. For three hours they had their feet soaked, exfoliated, sanded, massaged and, I think, polyurethaned. Their cuticles were trimmed and their nails were cut and polished. Deborah’s feet were in such a sorry state from months of living in sandals that the poor salon owner nearly dislocated her shoulder trying to sand them to a reasonable texture. There was a hazy cloud of Deborah’s skin filings floating in the air, landing on the retail display. The resulting feet were admittedly pretty, but I’m not sure I would ever have the patience for such an extensive operation.

In other grooming news, Deborah decided to take advantage of Myra’s presence to get a much shorter haircut, one more in keeping with the warm, humid climate in which we currently find ourselves. This occurred in a couple of stages of increasingly shorter results, as Deborah grew braver. She now looks gorgeous and about 12 years old. I guess that makes me look like a pedophile.

Guess which one of us didn't have a pedicure.

Cooloola Cove - Maryborough

2009-03-20T02:28:00.000-07:00

On a rainy day we visited Maryborough, the town where Kaz’s daughter lives and the one through which we passed on our way down to Cooloola Cove. Maryborough is the birthplace of Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers, whose Myra-sized statue stands on a prominent corner on the main street. It was market day so we had a chance to browse the stalls of vegetables, crafts, and the always tempting Kettle Korn. Maryborough features a broad, green riverside park and plenty of historical buildings. Our favorite stop was the Brennan & Geraghty’s Store. It was established in the 1870s, operated for 100 years, and then turned over to the National Trust, which now operates it as a museum. It is full of decades old tins, bottles, boxes and advertisements. The caretaker/historian, whose style of beard was as old as the establishment, was full of informative descriptions of the store and its contents.

Brennan & Geraghty’s Store

Banyan tree in Queen's Park

An Ibis poses.

Cooloola Cove - Eating with Dolphins

2009-03-19T01:02:00.000-07:00

Tin Can Bay, just a few kilometers from where we are staying, is the site of a daily dolphin feeding. We rose early to catch the morning event. It is coordinated by a group of volunteers who make sure the dolphins are well taken care of. They are only fed about 10% of their daily requirement to ensure they don’t become overly dependent on human handouts. Members of the public are allowed to wade into the water in close proximity to the dolphins and even feed them (but not touch them). This is certainly the closest I have ever been or likely ever will be to these creatures – pretty remarkable really.

Two dolphins and a couple dozen homo sapiens showed up on the morning of our visit. The former showed a sense of humor when they slapped their tail fins on the water surface to send a nice spray in the direction of the latter. They added a few aerial leaps for our entertainment, or perhaps their own, or maybe to scrape parasites off their skins.

After the marine mammal breakfast we walked a long path following the shore, sharing our limited knowledge of Australian birds and trees with Myra. We saw many familiar faces (beaked ones), but also some new ones. We stopped for coffee halfway through the walk. Much to Deborah’s amazement, we did so at MY suggestion. I still don’t drink coffee but I have grown uncontrollably fond of Chai Lattes. Deborah is pleased at my new addiction, and the opportunity it presents to insert civilized interludes in what would otherwise be unrelenting marches to the far corners of the world.

Low tide.

Australian Honeyeater

Really low tide.

Cooloola Cove - Rainbow Beach

2009-03-18T02:09:00.000-07:00

Glorious sunshine found us heading to nearby Rainbow Beach for the day. We managed to avoid both sunburn and driving in the wrong lane, so it was a good day.

Rainbow Beach

Myra and Deborah

Strange patterns in the sand.

Party responsible for strange patterns in the sand.

Cooloola Cove - View from the Left Lane

2009-03-17T03:37:00.000-07:00

We left Sydney on an earlier flight which landed us in Hervey Bay in less than two hours. I had arranged for a rental car for the first time on this trip thinking it would make it easier to get around in this more rural location and to better show Myra around. I went with one of those rent-a-dent type places that rent out used cars for far less than the big name companies based at the airport. A very friendly lady from the rental agency picked us up at the airport and took us into town to get our not-so-new Toyota Corolla.

Our first stop was the home of Mary, Lorraine’s mother-in-law, and her husband Ed, who live in Hervey Bay (spelled “Hervey”, pronounced “Harvey”). We had met them over lunch in Gympie with Mary’s daughter Michelle and her husband Tony way back in November. I managed alright driving on the left side of the road apart from a tendency to be a bit center-shy, one squealing tire stop when I almost missed a turn and several instances of turning on the windshield wipers when I meant to use the turn signal. Slowly I became more comfortable with it. I think it helped that, even though we haven’t been driving here, we’ve been passengers in enough vehicles to get somewhat used to the reverse orientation.

Mary served us breakfast and Ed showed us their backyard aviary and collection of beautiful birds. Then it was back on the road down to Maryborough where Kaz, our next host, was staying with her daughter. We wanted to meet her before proceeding to her house in Cooloola Cove. Since Kaz wasn’t going to be at her own house while we were there, Deborah needed to interview her a bit because the main reason we were granted free lodging was so that Kaz could get some interior decorating and landscaping advice.

When we reached the house in Cooloola Cove we were happy to find the place spotlessly clean and the ½ acre lot full of many mature, beautiful plants. Our plan is to spend most of our first week sightseeing while Myra was here, and to do most of the interior and landscaping design work during the remaining three weeks. Deborah, however, was unable to contain herself and, with Myra's help, immediately started rearranging furniture.

Sydney - Manly Beach

2009-03-16T04:48:00.000-07:00

On our last day in Sydney (for now) we took the ferry out to Manly Beach where we spent most of the day in the glorious sunshine. Later for dinner we returned to the Indian restaurant that Deborah and I overate at a couple of days earlier. This time we ordered sensibly and, with Myra helping us split the portions, avoided feeling like a bloated dingoes after a kill.

Babes on the beach: Deborah and Myra

Do not panic; this is only a test.

Pretty Myra on the ferry back from Manly.

Sydney - Downtown

2009-03-15T03:10:00.000-07:00

We returned to the historical neighborhood known as The Rocks, this time with Myra along. We stumbled across a seemingly endless parade of white uniforms. The navy is in port, the biggest contingent since the Vietnam War we are told. Our first stop was the Saturday market. We escaped with only a few small purchases (one can seldom escape unscathed at such places in the company of women). Our plan to take a walking tour of The Rocks was thwarted when we were informed that the tour was already booked out. This struck as odd since, as Myra pointed out, it’s not as if they have a limited number of seats on a walking tour. Undeterred, we made up our own walking tour through the old stone streets and alleys. Next we proceeded to Darling Harbor, which was the site of a Thailand Festival. Deborah and Myra took the opportunity to have Thai foot massages while I killed time listening to the opening ceremonies and mind numbingly boring speeches by various Thai and Australian government officials. This was followed by less boring music and dancing but we nevertheless proceeded to the nearby Chinese Garden, which Deborah and I had visited previously but loved and so were happy to return. Afterward we wound our way through the streets of Chinatown, stopping for spicy squid and beer. What could be better?

Navy boys parade in The Rocks

Saturday Market

The Rocks

Puppet Maker shop in The Rocks

Deborah and Myra being pampered at the hands of cheap Asian labor.

Thailand Festival

Thai dancers

Sydney - Myra Arrives

2009-03-14T04:20:00.000-07:00

Friday brought the much anticipated arrival of our friend Myra. She looked pretty good for having just survived a 15 hour flight from L.A. Since she arrived early in the morning we dived right into the sightseeing after dropping off her bags at the hotel. We took a cruise of Sydney Harbour and had a leisurely late lunch near the Opera House. This was followed by a long walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens where Myra was introduced to some of the strange and wonderful flora and fauna of Australia, including giant fruit bats, chaotically-rooted fig trees and Sulfur Crested Cockatoos, the most we’ve seen so far, whose horrible screech as they fly belies their noble appearance. We made it an early evening with Myra understandably fading as jet lag took its toll.

Myra and Deborah

The iconic Sydney Opera House, from the harbor cruise ship

Luna Park

A small cabin by the water

Royal Botanical Gardens

Fruit Bat

Pitcher Plant

Sulfur Crested Cockatoo (a thirsty one)

Sydney - Return Engagement

2009-03-13T05:06:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday Merrilyn drove us to Cooma to catch the bus to Canberra where we changed buses and headed to Sydney. As we progressed on our journey the dry, brown landscapes slowly turned to green. They’ve been getting some welcome rain here. When we reached the hotel in Sydney we discovered that Merrilyn and David had paid for several breakfasts during our stay – a generous and thoughtful gift. We ate at a really nice Indian restaurant where we were served ridiculously large portions. I ate everything and felt pregnant.

Thursday we skipped breakfast (still pregnant) and hit the streets in an attempt to burn some calories and see some new scenery. Our previous days in Sydney back in December/January we spent doing primarily the usual touristy stuff. This day we instead walked through leafy neighborhoods full of Victorian architecture and grassy parks with great views of the harbor. We also checked out the somewhat sleazy Kings Cross area and the gay-centric Osborne Street. In one discount store Deborah found a water pistol shaped like a penis. She didn’t buy it. For our big meal of the day we returned to our favorite International Food Court on the Pitt Street Pedestrian Mall. This time I had a salad.

Jindabyne - Last Days

2009-03-11T03:51:00.000-07:00

Merrilyn and David have left their beach house (reluctantly) and are back at the inn in time for our departure. They would have loved for us to stay longer but it is time for us to take the next step in our adventure. We’re heading back to Sydney to meet Myra and then head back up to Queensland.

On our last full day in Jindabyne Merrilyn’s sister Bev had us over for lunch. Later we gave Merrilyn and David as a gift a small painting I had done of Lake Jindabyne. That evening they treated us to a scrumptious dinner at a local Thai restaurant, followed by a drive into the mountains in search of kangaroos and the ever-elusive wombat. We scored on both counts. The wombat was a special treat given its failure to make an appearance on our previous scouting mission.

Jindabyne has been a good experience for us. Apart from a few cold days and a few ridiculously hot days the weather has been really nice. This is a quiet place without many sightseeing opportunities, but that has been a nice change of place for us. It has given me the opportunity to do a lot painting. And Deborah has enjoyed running the inn and learning the tricks of the trade. Plus we feel we’ve made good friends in Merrilyn and David and are sure we will see them again, either in the US or in Australia.

Deborah was surprised that I hadn’t put any photos of our Jindabyne flat in the blog yet so I’m rectifying that situation below.

View from our balcony.

Our bedroom (one of three)

Another Huntsman spider parked on our bedroom curtain, prior to his demise at the end of a broom.

Timmy spent one last energetic day on our couch.

Jindabyne - Gay Rights

2009-03-09T04:28:00.000-07:00

We will be heading back to Sydney in a few days but not in time to see the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardis Gras parade, which occurred this past weekend. Apparently it is quite the affair, attracting 300,000 revelers from around the world. More than 130 floats and 9,500 people participated in the procession, which began as a protest march for equal rights for gays in 1978. It has since grown into one of the world's largest and most flamboyant gay pride events. Spectators waited for up to six hours for prime viewing spots along the 2.4-km (1.5-mile) parade route. Lots of sequins, feathers, wigs and leather were on display. And of course the iconic Dykes on Bikes.

What’s remarkable is that this isn’t at all a fringe event. That is evident from the size of the crowd but also by the broad array of participants. According to the AP, “Lifeguards, cheerleaders, nurses and sports teams strutted and spun to their floats' music. Banks, schools and churches were represented, as were the Australian Federal Police, the Defense Department and state firefighters. All of the marchers, whether flamboyant in feathers and high heels or wearing their official work uniforms, were grinning ear-to-ear as they waved to the crowd.”

Gay rights have been gradually increasing in Australia since the 1970’s, particularly at the state/territory level. Progress at the federal level had been slower, particularly under John Howard’s administration, which constantly attempted to block recognition of same-sex couples. In November of 2007 John Howard’s coalition lost the election to Kevin Rudd’s Labor Party, which openly supported rights for same-sex couples. The new government followed through last year as lawmakers passed legislation giving homosexual couples the same rights as heterosexuals, though they have not legalized same-sex marriages. The progress in legislation coincides with changes in public opinion. A nationwide Galaxy poll in 2007 showed 71% of respondents agreed that same-sex partners should have the same legal rights as heterosexual couples, and 57% of respondents supported same-sex marriage.

Jindabyne - Scavenging and Toilets

2009-03-07T21:54:00.000-08:00

Most of our guests have checked out after the busy weekend. Deborah has been busy cleaning rooms all day. (No, I haven’t helped her; she says she needs something to do). She has discovered that there are definitely scavenging opportunities for innkeepers. Guests, either through forgetfulness or a desire to lighten their load, leave all manner of things behind. Today Deborah scored four bottles of shampoo and conditioner. In previous days we’ve inherited bottles of beer, an air freshener, cartons of milk, cheese, bread, and a frozen food box of the traditional but oddly named “bubble and squeak” (a fried patty of mashed potatoes and chopped vegetables). We’ve also ended up with a cell phone charger, although this is of less use to us and Deborah has tried unsuccessfully to reunite it with its owner.

Deborah finds it interesting how much you can learn about people from tidying their rooms. In the rooms where the engineer types stay you’ll see laptops and newspapers. In the rooms of the worker dudes you find beer cans and pizza boxes and the occasional home-made bong. Some guests are neat and tidy, some are total slobs. Some even bring their favorite stuffed animal to sleep with.

Deborah says each room holds the smell of its occupant and the variety of human scents is truly amazing. Men definitely smell different than women, but within each gender there is a vast array of individual odors. One of the more distinctive in this regard is one of the workers who frequently stays here in one the basement rooms and regularly leaves skid marks in the toilet. Deborah has dubbed him “The Pooper.” He makes no attempt to clean his own toilet despite the fact that every room is equipped with a toilet brush.

Speaking of toilets, that is exactly what they call them here – both the fixture and the room. We Americans pussyfoot around the subject with terms like bathroom, lavatory, powder room, ladies room and restroom. But on more than one occasion when we’ve been at a museum or in a train station Deborah has asked someone where to find the restroom and they, thinking she in her strange American accent must have said “restaurant”, proceeded to give her directions to the nearest eatery. No, you have to ask where the “toilet” is. This takes some getting used to as it sounds a bit crass to our ears, even though it is thoroughly truthful and to the point. On rare occasions you might also hear the friendly traditional English term “the loo,” which I quite like. Or, if you’d like to revert back to Aussie slang you can call it the "dunny" or the "thunderbox."

Jindabyne - Indigenous People

2009-03-05T00:21:00.000-08:00

It’s a familiar story. White Europeans sail across the seas in search of new lands and riches. Inevitably, these “new lands” are already occupied, but the indigenous tribes are divided and unable to match the Europeans’ weaponry. Those that fight back are killed; those that cooperate eventually have their land taken anyway or die of introduced diseases. The indigenous population shrinks, intermixes with the invaders via rape or intermarriage, and their culture is eroded by assimilation policies. Their descendants live at the margins of society, often in isolated communities that struggle with poverty, poor health, unemployment, crime and alcoholism. North America, South America, Australia, many other places...it’s all very familiar.

In the case of Australia the indigenous people are commonly referred to as Aborigines (or “Abo’s”, a derogatory term, although we’ve heard many Australians use it). But there is a second, distinct group known as Torres Strait Islanders, who inhabit the islands off the northern tip of Queensland. Together they number about 500,000 people, or 2.6% of the total population. Many of that number are only “part” rather than “full” indigenous.

There is debate among researchers as to when the ancestors of the indigenous people first arrived in Australia. It is at least 40,000 years ago, but maybe as high as 70,000. At any rate, this is a very, very old culture. At the time of the first British settlements there were several hundred distinct indigenous languages. Now all but 20 are either extinct or endangered. The indigenous languages have been shown to be unrelated to any outside of Australia.

Today the Aboriginal population is mostly urbanized, although about a quarter lives in remote settlements. In our travels, limited as they are to the southeast coast, we have seen very few. The Northern Territory, which we haven’t visited, has the largest indigenous population percentage-wise (32%), while each of the other states and territories has less than 4%. The government provides aid to Aboriginal communities and individuals to help fight their many social ills. I’m not sure how much is given but it is enough to make many of the non-indigenous Australians resent it. As I said, it’s a familiar story.

I’ll have more posts on the Aboriginal people in future posts.

Jindabyne - The Wind

2009-03-03T21:11:00.000-08:00

It's nice and sunny here today but quite windy, as evidenced by this photo of Deborah doing her best impression of Cousin It.
_

And speaking of (breaking) wind, here's another Aussie slang term:

Dutch Oven - farting under the bed cover blankets and pulling the covers over someone else's head

Jindabyne - Meat

2009-03-01T04:26:00.000-08:00

Deborah has been low energy for last few days and has been craving red meat. It’s been a year and a third since we became pescatarians (vegetarians who eat seafood) and it may be catching up with her. Her lack of vigor has probably been compounded by her totally abstaining from wheat for the last 8 weeks, a grain to which she is allergic, and also eating minimal sugar. She’s losing weight but also losing energy. So like a junkie in need of an iron fix she hightailed it to the grocery store for some beef and broccoli. She swallowed her guilt along with the dead animal flesh and actually started to feel better after just a couple of hours. It’s still too early to tell if the result is real or psychosomatic. At any rate she doesn’t plan on an extended carnivorous binge, but the occasional steak may be in order to keep her functioning.

It’s somewhat ironic that she is the one to break with our pescatarian ways given that the primary reason we started this diet was to lower her cholesterol. I went along with it after learning more about the unhealthy consequences of the meat-rich western diet (we eat much more protein than our bodies can even process), not to mention the horrible conditions in the factory farms and slaughterhouses, and the environmental degradation that results from our industrial approach to livestock.

The Australian beef industry is huge and exports 60% of production, primarily to the USA and Japan. Exports aren’t hurt by the fact that Australia is free of mad cow disease. My understanding is that Australian beef is almost entirely grass-fed. This is in contrast to the USA where we take the cattle out of the pastures where they would naturally graze on grass and instead crowd them into feed lots where they are force-fed corn, a grain that makes them sick and could actually kill them unless done gradually and while they are continually pumped full of antibiotics. But the corn fattens them up faster, as do the protein supplements and growth hormones. And faster equals more profitable, even it means an inhumane, nutritionally inferior product and a heightened prevalence of E. coli bacteria. (Listen to me on my high horse...or high cow).

Australians love their meat as much as Americans, and will start drooling at the mention of pork chops or snags (sausages) on the barbie (barbeque). Still, we haven’t had any trouble at all finding seafood or vegetarian alternatives wherever we’ve gone. I’ve grown quite fond of salad sandwiches, which are ubiquitous.

I’m actually not opposed to eating meat. I just want to ensure that the animal I’m eating is healthy, lived a natural life and was killed in a humane way. If my nephew traipsed through the woods and shot a deer, I would eat it. And, though I haven’t done so yet, I think I would eat kangaroo. Kangaroo meat is only produced from non-protected species of free ranging animals on property owned by individuals, not via organized farming. But for now I’m okay sticking with seafood (not farm raised), and at any rate want to continue eating much less meat than I used to. Now I’m off to find some nice road kill for Deborah.

Jindabyne - Quiet Days

2009-02-27T20:54:00.000-08:00

Jindabyne grows more quiet, which suits me fine. The streets are quieter, there are fewer boats on the lake, and the swimmers have all but disappeared. Even our raucous galahs have vanished from the tree out front. The weather is still beautiful but I guess summer days are dwindling and people are going back to their normal lives. Our group of workers has spent their last week here at the inn, at least for a while, and we don’t expect to see them again. We have just one couple as guests tonight. We’ll have nearly a full house next weekend thanks to a music festival in nearby Thredbo, but until then it should be quiet here. As I say, that suits me fine.

Jindabyne - Another Spider Encounter

2009-02-25T23:29:00.000-08:00

Merrilyn and David have returned to their beach house so we are back to fulfilling our duties as innkeepers. Tuesday after locking up the building for the night I went into the tiny office to turn on the answering machine and have a look at the phone which had been acting up. I reached down to test the outlet where the phone’s transformer was plugged in when suddenly something moved. I jerked my hand back just as an enormous, hairy, ugly spider climbed onto the top of the transformer. He was about the size of a chocolate chip cookie. I felt eight beady eyes staring back at me.

Immediately I begin to scan my brain for the characteristics of the most poisonous spiders in this beast-ridden country. It wasn’t a Redback. Could it be a Funnel-Web? Damn, I couldn’t remember what they look like. Obviously I had to play it safe and kill the thing, especially considering my regrettable history with spider bites. I thought about sucking it up with the vacuum cleaner from a safe distance, but then who knows if it wouldn’t survive in the vacuum bag for days or weeks, only to find a way to crawl back out or pounce on whoever was unlucky enough to empty the bag. Besides, if I left the room to get the vacuum you just know that by the time I made it back to the office the spider would have moved to some dark corner, not to be found again that night. He’d stay lurking in the shadows, and each time we needed to use the office we would have to creep in scanning the room with paranoid glances, unsure of which piece of paper or pencil box he was hiding behind. No, I had to kill it now.

A sturdy mailing tube presented itself as a likely weapon: strong, not too bulky, and long enough to keep my bare hand at a safe distance. Unfortunately, the spider’s location wasn’t well exposed, with part of his body protected by the bulk of the transformer and some other wires hanging in the way of a clear shot. Nevertheless, after taking careful aim, I took a good whack at him. Predictably, all I managed to do was knock the transformer out of the outlet, which fell and knocked over a couple of plastic containers full of keys and loose envelopes, all of which fell into a messy pile on the floor. And I didn’t know where the spider was. I thought he fell, but I didn’t know if he was alive or dead or if he was somewhere in the pile on the floor, or hiding in some newly found crevice, or if he had crawled under the door out into the lobby. I scanned the ground but was disappointed to not see any spider corpses. So he was alive (and probably pissed off).

I poked at the pile of debris I had knocked onto the floor, and picked up the pieces one by one, carefully examining each for attached arachnids before grasping it with my fingers. Then I took another look around the tiny office, standing there in my bare feet, cursing how cluttered and dimly lit it was. This place was a spider’s dream: there must have been a thousand hiding spots. I needed a flashlight. I cautiously opened the door into the lobby, also dimly lit, and walked out one step at a time, thoroughly scanning the ground before each footfall. No sign of him.

I ran upstairs to get the flashlight in our flat. I breathlessly explained the encounter to Deborah, who was amused to see me so animated. We descended to the lobby with flashlight in hand to search for the escaped spider. At last we pulled a potted plant aside to find him lurking in a corner. He was a sitting duck. Deborah promptly bludgeoned him to death with the handle of a broom.

A little internet research identified our hairy little nemesis as a Badge Huntsman Spider – not one of the really poisonous ones. Mostly harmless, really, despite it’s nefarious appearance. They can bite, and it will hurt, but it’s certainly not going to kill you. But now we can’t get the theme from Spider Man out of our heads or, alternatively, Homer Simpson’s version of “Spider Pig.” Of course, when Deborah tells this story she is the heroic spider killer and I am the squealing little girl but, for the record, I fervently contest that characterization.
_

Badge Huntsman Spider

(Not the actual spider, who is now thoroughly squished)

Jindabyne - In Search of Wombats

2009-02-24T20:57:00.001-08:00

Merrilyn drove us out on the road to the swanky Thredbo resort around dusk in search of animals that tend to come out that time of day. We didn’t see nearly as many as she expected but we did spot a little family of emus, which is a rare sight according to Merrilyn, and a smattering of kangaroos and wallabies. Merrilyn insisted I scare the emus away from the road for their own safety, ignoring the fact that I was endangering MY safety by threatening a sharp-beaked mother with children in tow. Fortunately no pecking ensued.

We crept along the road for a long time scanning the adjacent grassy fields for signs of wombats but none were to be found. Merrilyn was just as surprised not to see wombats as she was to instead see emus. But Deborah and I didn’t feel at all cheated; it was an enjoyable excursion.

Why did the Emu cross the road?

Either a kangaroo or a very large rabbit.

This one knows how to pose.

Deborah after tackling a couple of wild dingoes.

Jindabyne - Flowing Festival

2009-02-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was the occasion of the oddly named Flowing Festival here in Jindabyne. We walked down on Sunday along with Merrilyn to check it out. This decidedly small town festival is centered around the dragon boat races in which teams of 20 paddle forty-foot long boats which, presumably for aesthetic rather than hydrodynamic reasons, have been fashioned with dragon heads and tails. There were also a few amusement rides, a mini Renewable Energy and Climate Change Expo, a craft/farmers/flea market and the usual assortment of food vendors. Deborah purchased a jar of oversized olives stuffed with anchovies. She claims they are delicious but I can’t imagine how.

The Flowing Festival

Dragon Boat Races

The next participants wait in line.

Jindabyne - Dinner with the South Africans

2009-02-21T23:19:00.001-08:00

Merrilyn decided to give to her sister Bev as a birthday present a 90 minute facial/massage as administered yesterday by the talented Ms. Deborah. Proving there is no limit to her generosity, Deborah then gave Bev a cut and color. Bev was most pleased with the results and thankful at the disappearance of her persistent headache.

Later that day Merrilyn prepared a fabulous meal which we shared with her and David, as well as Bev and her husband Ken (with the dogs looking on hungrily). The conversation ranged across many topics including Americans’ infamously weak grasp of world geography. On a recent trip to the US Merrilyn and David were engaged in conversation with a young American who, when told they were originally from South Africa, said “I thought you had a southern accent!” Another time they were asked where in Africa was South Africa (in the North maybe?). When they neglected to mention their South African roots and merely said they were from Australia, they were complimented on their “Australian” accents. Merrilyn and David, despite having been in Australia for twenty odd years, don’t sound Australian at all.

Here now, in case the need arises, are some different ways to describe the act of vomiting:

American: Pray to the Porcelain Goddess
South African: Talk on the Big White Telephone
Australian: Technicolor Yawn

Bev and Ken

Merrilyn and David

Jindabyne - Blue Lake

2009-02-19T23:13:00.000-08:00

I tagged along with David on his way to work to take another hike in the Charlotte Pass area, this time without Deborah. I won't say how much faster I travelled without her since she was thoughtfull enough to pack me a fine lunch for the trail . The weather was good and the flies merciful, making for a very nice hike to Blue Lake. Once there I had the place to myself. There's nothing quite like being alone in the wilderness. Photos follow:

Jindabyne - Dog Sitting

2009-02-19T02:21:00.000-08:00

David and Merrilyn were gone all day yesterday due to a doctor appointment in Canberra. They left us in charge of "the children." Billy and Timmy are Maltese; Andy is a Yorky. Timmy is quite old. He has goopy eyes, no hair on his tail (it looks like a rat's tail), and smells a bit. His hind legs don't work particularly well so he pretty much stays wherever you plop him. I took the other two for a walk where Billy proved an uncanny ability to pee on every tree, stump and lampost on our route. Andy ignored the vast acres of grass around us and pooped directly in the middle of the concrete sidewalk.

The boys: Billy, Andy and Timmy (left to right)

Looks guilty - not sure why...

Timmy and his favorite stuffed animal, with his favorite blanket, sitting in his favorite chair.

Jindabyne - Dalgety

2009-02-17T00:42:00.001-08:00

Merrilyn and David are back at the inn for a few days. I’m sure they were reluctant to leave their beach house but David has a doctor’s appointment in Canberra and also has some work to do at Charlotte’s Pass. It was good to see them again (as well as the dogs). Last night they took us out for a nice dinner here in town.

Today Merrilyn played tour guide and took us for a drive out to Dalgety, a small – make that VERY small – town on the banks of the Snowy River. Its claim to fame is that is was once in the running to be the site of the national capital until it lost out to Canberra, largely due to the fact that, according to Sydney residents, it was too close to Melbourne. We poked our heads into a couple of shops including an antiques place which was in an old garage/machine shop complete with old tools, old cars and old fashioned gas pumps. The Snowy River itself has its charms although it has been so heavily dammed and diverted that last year it carried only 4% of its original flow. Those living downstream have lobbied for the flow to be increased to 15% this year, but it is said that is unlikely to be met.

Bridge across the Snowy River leading to Dalgety

Apparently they still work

An antique Holden Ute

Inside the antique shop

more inside the antique shop

Merrilyn and Deborah

The Snow River...or at least what's left of it.

Jindabyne - Metric System

2009-02-15T00:35:00.000-08:00

As Fareed Zakaria pointed out in his excellent book “The Post-American World,” only three countries in the world don't use the metric system - Liberia, Myanmar, and the United States. Australia, of course, is on board with the rest of the world and we have to adjust accordingly while we are living here. So weather reports force us to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, maps force us to convert kilometers to miles, scales force us to convert kilograms to pounds, Deborah’s diet tracking force us to convert kilojoules to calories. We are getting lots of practice with our math. This would probably be a good mental agility regimen for Alzheimer’s patients.

Yesterday, Valentine’s Day, we took a long walk around the lake to the boulder strewn cove I like so much. Deborah made a nice picnic that we enjoyed on the beach. We had glorious weather, much nicer than we were expecting, and I got a little too much sun. It was probably the first time this whole trip that I neglected to lather up with sunscreen and I paid the price. I’m not quite lobster boy but I do look as if I’ve been standing too close to the microwave.

Jindabyne - Aussie Slang (People)

2009-02-13T01:18:00.000-08:00

Here is another installment of your Aussie slang dictionary, this time under the subject of People:

Aussie (Australian)
bloke (man, guy)
polly (politician)
greenie (environmentalist)
postie (postman, mailman)
surfie (person who surfs)
yobbo (a rude, ill-mannered person)
pom (an Englishman, short for pomegranate, either rhyming slang for immigrant or alluding to the sunburned complexion)
oldies (parents)

at the lakeshore

Gallahs hanging out in front of the inn

Blake and Deborah in cold weather gear
(it actually feels rather weird not wearing shorts and sandals)

Jindabyne - Cool Days

2009-02-11T00:52:00.000-08:00

It’s hard to believe we had 38C (100F) temperatures just a few days ago when we are now reaching only about 16C (59F). Nevertheless we saw a couple of men swimming in the lake today. All you could see above the surface of the water were each man's head and one hand holding a bottle of beer (only in Australia!). I guess that’s how they were staying warm.

At least the cooler weather is aiding those fighting the bushfires in Victoria. I have to say the Australians are showing a tremendous amount of support and solidarity with the bushfire victims. Everywhere you turn there is another fundraiser and they've raised tens of millions of dollars plus copious donations of food, clothes, etc.

A couple of days ago I took advantage of the cooler temperatures to take an extended walk along the lake shoreline to a peaceful, picturesque cove with a bolder strewn beach. Here are a few photos:

Jindabyne - Fire and Flood

2009-02-09T00:28:00.001-08:00

The neighboring state of Victoria, the border of which is just across the mountains from us, is currently suffering from dozens of bushfires. (Australians use the term “bush” to refer to undeveloped land and rural, country areas). The fires started during Saturday’s record temperatures. Over 130 people have died so far and over 750 homes have been lost. The death toll is expected to rise as the search for the missing continues. They say this is Australia’s worst natural disaster in history.

This story is dominating the news and there are some horrific stories coming out about whole towns being virtually wiped out, 40 storey high flames racing like a train across the countryside, residents huddling in swimming pools as the flames approached their homes, burnt-out cars strewn across the roads, having been engulfed in flames as people tried unsuccessfully to outrun the flames, some only to die in head-on collisions on the smoke-filled roads. Smoke from the fires is said to have reached as far as New Zealand.

Even more tragic is that, while the numerous fires are largely the result of recent lightning strikes, authorities suspect arsonists are responsible for lighting or relighting some of the fires. Kevin Rudd, Australia's Prime Minister, described them as "mass murder.” A report released last week by the government’s Australian Institute of Criminology said half of the nation’s 20,000 to 30,000 bush fires each year are started deliberately. Bushfires are a normal event in Australia but the recent record high temperatures in combination with the ongoing drought and unfavorable winds made these fires reach unprecedented scale and ferocity.

It is a tragic irony that while these fires were raging in Victoria the northern parts of Queensland were suffering from record flooding. At least a couple of towns have been cut off completely for days. Crocodiles in flooded creeks running through the middle of some towns have hampered rescue efforts. A 5 year old boy who followed his dog into the floodwaters is feared to have been taken by a crocodile. Monsoon rains are a seasonal norm for the “top end” of Australia but, again like the fires in Victoria, the intensity this time is extreme.

Thankfully, things are quite placid here in Jindabyne.

The following photos are from smh.com.au and guardian.co.au.

Jindabyne - Aussie Slang (Work/Business)

2009-02-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

After hitting 38C (100F) yesterday and 36C (97F) today, we are supposed to cool down to a high of 19C (66F) tomorrow and 12C (54F) on Tuesday. Welcome to mountain weather. I’ll take the atmospheric whiplash if it means we’ll have better sleeping weather for the next few nights.

And now for another taste of Aussie slang, this time on the subject of work/business:

hard yakka (hard work)
bottle shop (liquor store)
panel beaters (auto body repair shop)
truckie (truck driver)
tradie (tradesman)
sparkie (electrician)

The flowers around the lake are in full bloom. Here are a couple of pics:

Jindabyne - Deadly Creatures

2009-02-06T01:25:00.000-08:00

Deborah was cleaning rooms today along with her young Aussie helper Scott. In one of the bathrooms Scott found and carefully dispatched with extended arm one of Australia’s many poisonous spiders. He said it was a Whitetail, a small spider whose bite will within hours start to turn the skin gray, and within days eat away at your flesh leaving a wound that can only be repaired with a skin graft. Some online research suggests that is a significant exaggeration but it nevertheless is a good idea to avoid being bitten by this particular arachnid. The really nasty spiders here are the Redback (similar to the Black Widow) and the Sydney Funnel-Web. Still, thanks to the development of anti-venom, since 1956 nobody has died from a Redback bite and since 1980 nobody has died from a Sydney Funnel-web bite.

Australia is famous for its deadly creatures. In addition to the aforementioned spiders are venomous species of scorpion, jellyfish, octopus, stingray, stonefish, and snakes. In fact, of the ten most venomous snakes in the world, Australia has somewhere between seven and all ten, depending on your source. Even the shy little Platypus has spurs on its back legs that can deliver a viciously painful toxin to the unwary. And of course there are the infamous saltwater crocodiles and Great White Sharks.

Here are some more reasons I don’t swim:

Box Jellyfish – contact with its toxic tentacles can stop cardio-respitory function in three minutes. Box Jellyfish kill more people in Australia than sharks, snakes and saltwater crocs.

Irukandji Jellyfish- only about an inch in diameter, it can nevertheless cause death to humans within days.

Blue Ringged Octopus – deadly bite, no known cure.

Stonefish – named for its rock-like camouflage, it resides in shallow waters and is easily stepped on. It has thirteen sharp and extremely toxic dorsal spines. Its venom can kill a human in two hours.

Saltwater Crocodile – the world’s largest reptile, it ambushes those foolish enough to enter its habitat and stand too close to the water’s edge. The croc will clamp its jaws around the victim and dive underwater, corkscrewing violently in an attempt to drown its victim and rip it in half. Luckily, more than half of Australia's 100 or so croc-attack victims over the last century have survived. It is actually a protected species now.

Great White Shark – has an average of 2800 teeth in its mouth. Good for dentists; not so good for the rest of us.

Deborah's little friend.

Jindabyne - Aussie Slang (Food)

2009-02-02T22:34:00.001-08:00

A big thunderstorm blew in last evening, flickering the power on and off a couple of times and bringing much needed rain. I had just watered all the rose beds, which no doubt caused the deluge. This weather system brought welcome respite from the heat today. Deborah and I took a nice walk down by the lake. We also had a pleasant visit from Merrilyn's sister Bev who owns another inn in town.

Here now are more Aussie slang terms, this time under the category of "food," followed by a couple more pictures of the lake.

tucker (food)
avos (avocados)
bikkies (cookies, also called biscuits)
brekkie (breakfast)
sultanas (raisins)
barbie (barbeque)
esky (cooler)
coldie (beer)
stubbie (a 375ml beer bottle)
tallie (a 750ml beer bottle)
stubbie holder (polystyrene insulated drink holder)
snag (sausage)
Maccas (McDonalds)

Jindabyne - Television

2009-02-01T22:20:00.000-08:00

I watched the Super Bowl today. It was strange to watch it at 10:30 in the morning on a Monday, but such is the time zone difference. I haven’t been following the NFL season at all and it receives scant coverage over here where rugby, cricket, soccer, tennis and Australian Rules football (whatever that is) dominate. I would have forgotten about it completely if not for a brief mention on a sports news broadcast about the first Australian to play in the Super Bowl (Arizona’s punter). Merrilyn and David gave us their cable box to use while they are at their beach house so we have many channels to choose from and I was able to find one showing the game, not that I particularly cared whether Arizona or Pittsburgh prevailed.

Much of our time here has been spent in places with only the five “free-to-air” channels available - three commercial and two public – which usually suffices. I understand there will eventually be 15 free channels as the transition to digital progresses. Subscription television via cable and satellite is widely available just as in the USA, with about the same number and types of channels, but I think it costs a bit less here. I’m not sure how many Australians opt for cable or satellite and how many just get by with the free channels.

Apparently Australia does produce some of its own programs, but it seems like the majority are familiar American shows or British shows. So yes, we get American Idol. (Just don’t tell Deborah that there is also an Australian Idol or we’ll have to watch that too.) The start times are sometimes odd and seemingly haphazard though: a sitcom may start at 7:40pm or a movie at 8:35pm. They also have movie-like ratings for non-movie programs indicating whether they are for mature audiences or general audiences or whatever – probably a good idea. I believe they also have restrictions on what time of day certain programs (or even advertising) can be shown. So I guess if you’re looking for the racy stuff you’ll have to stay up late.

The grass around the lake is getting brown. We need rain...

Jindabyne - Aussie Slang (clothing)

2009-02-01T01:08:00.000-08:00

It's cooler here today, thankfully. Here are some clothing-related Aussie slang items:

thongs (flip flops, cheap backless sandals)
sunnies (sunglasses)
cozzie (swim suit, short for “costume”)

and our favorite...

budgie smuggler (a speedo, budgies are small parakeet-like birds)

Jindabyne - Guests and Galahs

2009-01-29T22:15:00.000-08:00

With the long weekend over we find ourselves for the first time with an empty inn. We have a group of four men who will continue to stay here Monday to Friday (they are working in the area and their company puts them up here), but we have no tourists at the moment. So, barring any last minute calls or drop-ins, we may have the place to ourselves this weekend. Our hot weather continues; it was supposed to be 39C (102F) today. At least it’s not humid.

For entertainment we always have the Galahs, the cockatoo-like birds that are plentiful in all of Australia but especially here in Jindabyne. They gather in great numbers in the big tree outside our flat and we enjoy watching their antics as they come and go. They have a lovable clownish aspect to them. When it rains they hang upside down from the branches and flap their wings as if showering. Merrilyn says they do that from the power lines also. But in this heat even the Galahs are listless.

Galahs in the tree outside our flat.

"Is that you I smell?"

Jindabyne - Feel the Heat

2009-01-27T23:22:00.000-08:00

It's a hot one today. We were supposed to reach 36C (97F). They say it will hit 38C (100F) tomorrow, and stay quite hot for the rest of the week. This is not usual so we don't have A/C here, just a fan to help cool us off, as well as Deborah's fine iced tea. We are supposed to be cooler here in the mountains and yet Sydney only hit 28C (81F) today. This seems terribly unfair.

Jindabyne - Australia Day Cricket

2009-01-26T22:48:00.001-08:00

Australia Day was a holiday for everyone but Deborah, who was cleaning up after guests who had checked out. Her new position as innkeeper has firmly reinforced her opinion that some people are pigs. A glance at the recycling bin reinforces another conclusion: that Australians drink a LOT of beer. Granted, the weather has been quite hot and even I, who didn’t drink at all until about a year ago, drank a beer three days in a row. Unprecedented for me. Deborah asks if I’m becoming an alcoholic. I tell her no, I’m just becoming Australian.

I spent Australia Day painting (what else) and also watching Cricket on television. I saw a bit of it back in November but had no idea what was going on and quickly abandoned it. But Merrilyn, before she left for the beach house, sat down and explained the basics of the game to me, and now I actually enjoy watching it. The novelty may wear off eventually, but for now it is entertaining, if for no other reason than to hear the announcer use bizarre terms like bowlers, overs and wickets.

Apparently there are a number of variations of the game, some of which last about 3 hours and some of which are played over 5 days! The one I watched (off and on) yesterday was “only” a one-day game, lasting maybe 8 hours or so. I can’t imagine the numbness in the behinds of the spectators who sit in the grandstands watching the entire game. One of the amusing rituals of the long games is when they break for tea. Cricket is played by virtually all the former colonies of the British Empire. Yesterday’s match saw the Australians, who are supposed to be the world’s leading team, lose to the South Africans. Perhaps that explains the surplus of empty beer bottles.

Another view of Lake Jindabyne

Jindabyne - The Irish Are Coming!

2009-01-25T01:12:00.000-08:00

Jindabyne is hosting an Irish Festival this weekend and our inn is fairly full, with a few of the guests sporting genuine, born of the old sod Irish brogues. Our lack of vacancies is compounded by the fact that this weekend marks the end of school summer holidays and it is a long weekend: Monday is Australia Day, a national holiday. Australia Day commemorates the anniversary of the landing of the first fleet in 1788 and the beginning of British Colonization of this land. I’m guessing the Aboriginal people here do not celebrate with quite the same level of enthusiasm as the rest.

We were able to catch a bit of Irish dancing, pipe playing, and traditional music on Saturday. Today I watched a bit of Ladies Hurling, which sounds like a sorority post-party regurgitation ritual but is actually a traditional Irish sport, supposedly the world’s fastest field team sport. I missed the men’s play but it was interesting to see the ladies have at it. The Hurling match was followed by Men’s Gaelic Football, which looked like a combination of rugby, soccer, and a bit of volleyball. You get the impression they were just making the rules up as they went along, but apparently the game’s roots date back to medieval times.

Pipe Band

Sword Dance

Ladies Hurling

Men's Gaelic Football

Someday this will be us.

Jindabyne - An Alarming Night

2009-01-22T00:03:00.000-08:00

Merrilyn and David were finally able to take off for their beach house, leaving us in charge of the inn. They hadn’t been gone more than 10 minutes before Deborah booked her first room. She was born for this, frankly – adeptly dealing with customers, handling the reservation books, taking payments and exercising her considerable domestic skills in tidying the rooms, taking care of laundry, watering plants, etc. She actually enjoys it so I don’t feel too guilty letting her run the show while I park myself in front of my portable easel, lending only minimal help when she needs me to.

Of course, our first night on our own we were awakened (along with the guests) at midnight by the fire alarm. We had to scramble for our clothes, race downstairs to the alarm control box, unlock it, and test our memory of Merrilyn’s briefing on what buttons to press and how to diagnose the problem. We were able to silence the alarm but were unable to find any infernos on the top floor where the control box said to look for the problem. We also knocked on the doors of the guests to make sure they were not engulfed in flames. They ensured us they were not. Satisfied that it was a false alarm, we went back to bed but, with our hearts still pounding, found it hard to get back to sleep. We just managed to do so about an hour later when suddenly the alarm sounded again. So it was back on with the clothes, back downstairs, push more buttons, search fruitlessly for flames, return to our flat to lie wide-eyed in bed.

Eventually we did finally fall asleep until about 2:00am when, you guessed it, the alarm went off a third time. Aaaaaarrrrgh! We silenced it once more and called Merrilyn to ask for advice. The alarm actually went off a fourth time while we were on the phone. We had to wake the top floor guests again to check for evidence of combustion (thankfully everyone was understanding, and not ablaze). Under Merrilyn’s direction we turned the whole system off and left it to the next day to sort out. Deborah and I nevertheless stayed up until 3:00 drinking tea and trying to calm down, only half believing the alarm would not go off again. Needless to say, it was a restless night.

Today the alarm technicians stopped by to check out the system, finding no obvious problems. Later they stopped by again to inform us ours was not an isolated incident. Other establishments (including Merrilyn’s sister’s inn, as it turns out) had their alarms go off in the wee hours also. They suspect some sort of power surge, probably related to the thunderstorms that raged in the night. We are really hoping for a less exciting evening tonight.

Jindabyne - Charlotte Pass

2009-01-20T02:51:00.001-08:00

David is still fighting the shingles and even had to postpone a planned-for knee operation until he is totally over it. He would like to complete his recovery at their beach house but needed to get some work done before he and Merrilyn could leave Jindabyne. He works as the manager at Charlotte Pass, the highest of the ski resorts in this area (and all of Australia for that matter). He went to work yesterday for the first time in a long time and today was kind enough to take us along with him so we could do a bit of hiking in Kosciuszko National Park, wherein lies Charlotte Pass.

We could have walked the 9km one way to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko, which at 2228 meters (7310 ft) is the highest peak in Australia. It’s not even a steep trail. But I’ve heard the view is nothing to write home about and we had limited time and the weather was a bit dicey so we instead headed across a valley toward Blue Lake, which we never quite reached. Deborah’s knees, lungs, and brain were not handling the steep trail well and the flies were both unmerciful and surprisingly undeterred by the strong winds. We stopped for a picnic but had to eat standing up, the better to shake off the swarm of flies attaching themselves to our legs. As the thunderclouds rolled in and started to spit on us we headed back to the car.

Despite some difficult conditions it was actually a nice hike. Alpine areas like this have a stark beauty like no other. Even Deborah, when not cursing under her breath at her sadistic husband for dragging her up and down this torture course, was glad she got the chance to see this striking landscape. Back at the resort Dave treated us to some refreshments and we enjoyed trading travels in Oz stories with a fellow North American (Canadian) who was tending bar. As an added bonus, on the drive back Dave pointed out a kangaroo and a couple of bush wallabies along the side of the road. And they weren’t even dead.

Charlotte Pass Ski Resort - a bit quiet this time of year.

The two left forks are streams, the right fork is our trail.

At the stream crossing.

Mount Kosciuszko in the distance.

Snow Gums - a winter hardy variety.

A good time of year for wildflowers (as well as flies apparently)

Me with a few hiking companions.

Possibly the last snow field left in Australia.

Another snow gum tree.

Yes, she is as miserable as she looks.

Jindabyne - Residential Architecture

2009-01-18T21:53:00.000-08:00

A walk around the Jindabyne quickly confirms that this is a resort community centered around the winter ski season. It seems as though every other residential building is a lodge or B&B. Most of the architecture is pretty bland here in town, but a few of the lodges have the inevitable Swiss Chalet/Bavarian flourishes to evoke that classic kitschy winter wonderland ambiance. It sounds like Jindabyne doesn’t really get all that much snow, however; it’s mostly in their minds (and the surrounding mountains).

Merrilyn took us to see some of the outlying residential communities where the architecture is more interesting. The homes here are different than the ones we’ve seen in other parts of Australia. Elsewhere you see mostly brick or stucco with tile or metal roofs. Here you see less brick and the roofs are mostly metal. I’ve also seen a fair bit of corrugated metal siding, often used in combination with stone or stucco – a look I rather like.

There are definitely regional variations as well. Around Brisbane we saw a historical style called the Queenslander, which has large shady verandahs, filigree detail and is raised off the ground to catch the cooling breezes and protect from floodwaters. In the part of Sydney where we stayed almost every house was brick. In Canberra they were mostly stucco.

The gum trees that grow everywhere here are brittle and twisting and don’t make for good construction material. That may be why you don’t see that much wood used. Even the cabinets are usually laminate (yuck) or something similar. Tile floors are common, carpet less so – which makes sense in a warm climate. Newer homes often have closets like we are used to (robes they call them), albeit a bit smaller, but older homes either don’t have them or have a kind of cabinet instead. We haven’t been in high end homes, but the kitchen counters we’ve seen have all been laminate. The bathroom vanities have all been the type with the sinks molded into the counter rather than separate. Surprisingly, we haven’t seen many master suites with double sinks.

It’s impossible to know if what we’ve seen in our limited time here has been a representative sample of Australian architecture. But based on what we have seen I would say that overall the construction materials used in the exterior of houses here is superior to ours (more permanent), but the interior finishes are inferior. Below are some of the photos I’ve taken of houses, mostly in Brisbane near the start of our trip when everything seemed new and different and my camera was out to record it all.

A Queenslander (not my picture)

This and the next several photos were taken in Brisbane near where we were staying in the suburb of Runcorn.

Brick walls and tile roof - that's the uniform.

Rainwater storage tanks - thankfully most are not this ugly.

Note the pattern on the driveway. This is very common in Brisbane. Plain concrete driveways must be a major architectural faux pas. Note also the handsome pedestal mailbox on the left side of the driveway - also very common. Makes our pressure treated 4x4 posts look rather pitiful.

Nice landscaping...and another mailbox.

Another driveway pattern. The window at left has an external shade that can roll down and shade the window on hot days.

Solar water heater on the roof.

Flats (apartments) in Jindabyne.

Merrylin and David used to own this pseudo-Bavarian lodge. Merrylin's sister owns it now.

Jindabyne: Nice mix of corrugated steel siding above and stone below.

Modern house with a nice view of Lake Jindabyne.

Jindabyne - Automobiles

2009-01-16T01:33:00.000-08:00

Australia, like the USA, is a car-centric country. It doesn’t have an extensive mass transit network like Europe, for instance; probably due to lack of population density, lower gas prices (less than half the price in Europe, about 25-30% higher than the USA though) and maybe for cultural reasons as well. Anyway, Australians depend on their cars to get around. I say this even though Deborah and I have managed to get around within the big cities very easily without a car. But most Australians still prefer to drive. And if you want to get to some of the outlying areas, it’s really the only viable option.

They don’t have a lot of the big gas-guzzling SUVs like we do. Smaller, fuel efficient cars are more prevalent. Japanese models seem to be the most popular, especially Toyota. Also popular is the Australian-made Holden brand, which is a subsidiary of General Motors. I’ve also seen plenty of Fords, Hondas, Mazdas, Volkswagons, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Hyundais, Peugeots, Subarus, etc. There are a lot of familiar models here, but some unfamiliar ones as well. And of course their steering wheels are all on the wrong side.

The very popular Holden Commodore - our Sydney hosts had two of these, both new, both green.

You don't see so many of the typical pickup trucks that we are used to. The type pictured here is more common. They call it a "Ute," which is short for utility vehicle.

You thought the El Camino was extinct? Not in Australia.

Jindabyne - The Lake

2009-01-12T22:26:00.000-08:00

Lake Jindabyne is a man-made lake created in the 1960’s by damming the Snowy River. The new lake actually submerged the old town of Jindabyne, which still lies below. The new town was built on the shores of the new lake. It has a population of about 4000 and sits 991m (3251 ft) above sea level. The highest peak on mainland Australia is the nearby Mt. Kosciuszko at 2228m (7310 ft). Why do I sound like an almanac?

There is a nice walking/biking path around much of the lake, which we have made good use of. Apart from that I don’t expect to do a lot of sightseeing here. It’s just a quiet place with a pleasant climate to spend some time painting. We’ll be here until March 11. In the meantime I’ll try to post some blog entries on more general subjects related to Australia: cars, health care, architecture, etc. Stay tuned...

Sailboat race on the lake.

The path.

A passing child called this the "Twisty Tree"

Jindabyne - Arrival

2009-01-10T21:38:00.000-08:00

We were glad we stopped in Canberra, but we were also glad we didn’t stay longer. Three days is about right. Our next stop, Jindabyne, is not well-served by public transportation. We were able to take a bus as far as Cooma but then had to rely on our next hosts to drive us the remaining 60km. Merrilyn was right on time to meet us at the bus stop and was kind enough to take us grocery shopping in Cooma where, she informed us, prices are a bit less than in Jindabyne.

She had to drive carefully as dusk was approaching and that is when kangaroos and echidnas tend to wander onto the road. We did in fact see a kangaroo in a nearby field and an echidna (a spiney, narrow snouted, porcupine-like mammal) shuffling along the side of the road. The echidna was thwarted in its attempt to move into the field ahead by a mesh fence. According to Merrilyn if one had sturdy gloves one could attempt to pick it up and move it the other side of the fence, but probably not successfully as the echidna has an amazing ability to burrow in and grip the ground and thus become virtually immovable. Another interesting and thankfully irrelevant fact about echidnas is that they have a four-headed penis.

Our new digs are a ski lodge owned by our hosts Merrilyn and David, who are originally from South Africa but have been in Australia for many years. Jindabyne is in the Snowy Mountains and is most popular in winter due to its proximity to nearby ski resorts. As it sits on the shores of a lake of the same name it is also a draw in summer for boating, fishing, swimming, and other aquatic endeavors in which I do not participate.

Merrilyn and David have a beach house they like to escape to in the off season and often bring in house sitters to look after the lodge while they are away. As it turns out they are hanging around here a bit longer as David has a case of the shingles he is trying to shake. (For some in the roofing trade that last sentence is a bad pun). In the meantime they are teaching us (well, Deborah really) how to run the inn. As Deborah and I have talked about opening a B&B someday, this is really good experience. Deborah calls it her B&B boot camp. She is helping to tidy up the rooms and learning from Merrilyn the tricks of the trade. Deborah is happy to have something to do while I paint, which should be most of the time while here in Jindabyne. This is my best opportunity to get a lot of painting done so I plan to make the most of it.

Our accommodation.

Deborah in full battle gear.

Canberra - Parliament and Museums

2009-01-09T01:36:00.000-08:00

Canberra’s parliament building is not your traditional marble and granite neoclassical edifice perched on a hill. Instead it is a modern building dating back only to 1988 which is tucked into a hillside with a huge spacey flagpole rising from its center. We enjoyed a guided tour of the halls and chambers. Unfortunately, parliament is not currently sitting so we were unable to witness any of the famous interparty squabbling.

We also toured the National Art Gallery, but it was a bit disappointing. We didn’t have the time or inclination to see the special Degas exhibit but instead concentrated on the permanent collection. The best part was the South Asian pieces, for which I have a special fondness. The rest was unremarkable.

The National Museum of Australia on the other hand was excellent. It’s a historical/sociological/environmental museum in a funky modern building. Very interesting exhibits presented in varied, entertaining, tech-savvy ways. And it’s free!

We also enjoyed the War Memorial, which is part that – a memorial – and part museum. It depicts the Australian contribution to World Wars I and II in particular, and honors the Australian soldiers who lost their lives in those conflicts. We had a guided tour and it was good to get an Australian perspective on the great wars. The tour guide griped a bit about how Hollywood war movies tend to recast events to give the Americans all the credit and make them look like the only heroes. If it’s rated PG, he said, it stands for Propaganda Garbage.

The Old Parliament House served its function from 1927-1988 and is now primarily a museum.

The new Parliament House.

The 265 foot flagpole

Senate chambers. This is where the magic happens...

View from the Parliament House grass-covered roof. In the mid-distance is the white Old Parliament House. In the distance beyond is the War Memorial.

View of Lake Burley Griffin, the National Museum of Australia (modern building at left with red sections), and in foreground an embassy compound (Thailand?)

The War Memorial

List of names of the fallen. People put poppies next to loved ones.

You know Australia had a great many Irish immigrants. Lots of Flynns on these walls.

Many full-size, actual, real deal war machines on display.

The screen behind periodically shows a Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) directed WWI dogfight film with surround sound.

Canberra - Botanical Gardens

2009-01-08T00:45:00.000-08:00

The National Botanical Gardens are, depending on your point of view, either more naturalistic or less well maintained than the others we have visited on this trip. We especially liked the botanical gardens in Adelaide and Sydney much better. Still, it was worth an afternoon stroll to see more of the local flora. Deborah may not agree as it was quite hot that day and she was fairly melting by mid-afternoon. We escaped to an air conditioned movie theatre to cool off while watching Brad Pitt do his best Louisiana drawl in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which we both liked.

Botanical Gardens

Beautiful Gum Trees

As one early explorer noted, in this curious land the trees keep their leaves and shed their bark.

Star Trek prop?

Orchid

A confused tree (can't decide which way to grow)

Canberra - Arrival

2009-01-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

Canberra is the nation’s capital and sits within the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It was established in 1908 and located exactly midway between the competing principal cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Australians do not think highly of Canberra, not just because it is full of politicians, but also because they regard it as dull and sterile. Our first impressions suggest that opinion is well founded. The city is laid out according to a carefully conceived plan with lots of concentric circles and intersecting axes, leaving large swaths of dry-looking grass providing pedestrian-unfriendly distances between important pieces of bland architecture.

Upon arrival we walked in the heat along quiet, mostly deserted streets to our hotel, feeling as if we were in a Twilight Zone episode set in a post-apocalyptic future. Then we walked back into the civic center on more remarkably unpeopled sidewalks in a prolonged search for a restaurant that was actually open. In fairness though, it was a Sunday, the parliament is not currently in session and the schools are on summer break. Maybe it is livelier at other times of the year. Or maybe not.

Sydney - Departure

2009-01-06T01:25:00.000-08:00

We decided to leave Sydney a few days earlier than originally planned. Our Sydney hosts weren’t able to break away for any vacation time so didn’t need our services as house sitters. They generously offered to have us continue to stay with them anyway, but we felt at least a little guilty about being such freeloading leeches and our next hosts in Jindabyne actually asked if we could come early. Fortunately we were able to oblige them. We really like Sydney and there is plenty more to see but we’ll be back for a couple of days in mid-March after our stint in Jindabyne is over.

We went out for a great meal at the family’s favorite Italian restaurant as a way to say thank you and goodbye. Next it’s off to Canberra for a couple of days then continuing on to Jindabyne.

Angel the cockatiel

Angel on Deborah's foot

Bobo

Lady

Paul, Sharon, Garry, Nick and Jacinda (left to right)

"I wonder if someone is going to throw this thing"

Sydney - Aquarium and Zoo

2009-01-04T02:26:00.000-08:00

We toured the aquarium and zoo in Sydney on separate days. Given it was summer and school holidays we should have expected the mobs of people we encountered at both, and the large percentage of annoying children. The aquarium featured underwater “tubes” through which we land dwellers could walk and gain an unusual perspective on the sea creatures swimming all around. The zoo has a great location on a hillside across the harbor and is reached by ferry. It was a fine zoo, but it was also our fourth since arriving in Australia two months ago so we were a bit “zooed out.” Still, we particularly enjoyed the Chimpanzees, which for some reason we seldom see in zoos. They’re probably too busy solving puzzles given to them by people in lab coats.

Underwater viewpoint at the aquarium

A dugong (similar to a manatee) smiles for the camera

Another sleeping koala

Komodo Dragon

The ever popular meerkats

Not quite as popular iguanas

Waiting for a bus

Sydney - Royal Botanical Gardens, Part 2

2009-01-03T01:08:00.000-08:00

I seem to have cultivated on this trip an unexpected interest in photographing flowers. A return trip to the Royal Botanical Gardens further fed this uncharacteristic personal development, as the following photographs will attest.

Tropical Center within the Royal Botanical Gardens

A rather wet orchid

Pitcher Plant

Dragonfly

Bat Orchid

More orchids

Paperbark tree (you just want to reach up and peel it)

Spider Lily

Colorful Leaves

Hibiscus (I think)

View of Opera House and Harbour Bridge from Royal Botanical Gardens

Unknown Lily

Fig Tree

More bloody flowers

Sydney - Royal Botanical Gardens

2009-01-02T03:40:00.000-08:00

The Royal Botanical Gardens are a colorful oasis in Sydney’s downtown and provided a pleasant diversion for most of a day. I played Mr. Photographer while Deborah, who was feeling a bit off, laid on various nearby benches impersonating a homeless person. She said she only lacked a newspaper to drape over her head. Still, she enjoyed watching the birds and the clouds from this unaccustomed vantage point while I wandered about aiming my lens at anything stationary and interesting. The gardens are divided into several different sections, each featuring a particular type of plant life. We only managed to see a few of these but we will definitely make a return trip.

A big surprise was the discovery of a colony of rather large fruit bats hanging in the trees. I had always pictured bats as residing in dark caves during daylight hours but these were out there in broad daylight, hanging upside down in the trees, squawking at each other, and pooping on the unwary pedestrians below. Occasionally one would fly from one perch to another and you could see that iconic batwing shape and also get a sense of just how large they are. Very cool.

The Royal Botanical Gardens

In the cactus garden

Looks like an explosion but it's just another cactus plant

Bottle Tree

Fruit Bats in the trees

Dracula's kitty

Sydney - A Correction

2009-01-01T23:55:00.000-08:00

Sharon has informed me that the rock formation I mentioned in the recent post about the Blue Mountains is actually the Three Sisters, not the Three Fingers. How I confused females of common parentage with forelimb digits I cannot say. But I stand humbly corrected.

Sydney - City Center

2009-01-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

More excursions into Sydney’s downtown brought us to the Pitt Street Pedestrian Mall, Hyde Park, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. At the Art Gallery I was very pleased to discover the strange but beautiful work of Australian surrealist painter James Gleeson. We walked a fair bit until my long suffering wife requested a respite on a park bench, which was good for the always entertaining sport of people watching. We definitely like Sydney. It is Australia’s New York, but it doesn’t feel as big and hectic, is a bit cleaner, and the buskers play didgeridoos.

New Years Eve is a big deal here with something like a million and a half people converging on downtown. There are not one but two fireworks shows that evening on Sydney Harbour. One is at midnight of course, but there is also an earlier “family fireworks” at 9pm for the kids and old farts like ourselves who struggle to stay awake until midnight. We’ve seen enough fireworks over the years to not get too excited by them anymore. So rather than try to make it into and out of town from our distant suburb, we instead watched the show on television.

Downtown Sydney

An indoor mall

Love this highly detailed sculpture and all the little flowers and critters included on the base

Architecture old...

... and new.

Hyde Park with St. Mary's Cathedral in the background

Fountain in Hyde Park

The landmark Sydney Tower looms outside the atrium

Sydney - The Blue Mountains

2008-12-30T03:27:00.000-08:00

Paul and Sharon and the kids were nice enough to take us on a day trip with them to the Blue Mountains which are an hour or two west of the city. We started at a viewpoint overlooking a rock formation known as The Three Fingers. (If the outer two fingers ever topple they will have to rename it The Obscene Gesture). This was followed by an hour walk on a trail skirting the cliff face with nice views along the way.

On the way back we stopped at the town of Windsor for lunch, and also at the site of Jacinda and Nick’s upcoming wedding. On approaching the latter Paul rolled down the car windows so that we could hear the bellbirds in the surrounding trees. Amazingly, they actually do sound like bells – like no other bird I’ve heard before.

The Three Fingers

Okay, not the Grand Canyon, but nice...

Paul, in classic Aussie footwear

Lush vegetation along the trail

Sydney - The Rocks and Chinatown

2008-12-29T02:13:00.000-08:00

A more successful experience with the public transportation system brought us by bus into the city center for another day of sightseeing. This time we concentrated on Chinatown, a nearby open air Sunday Market, and the historic district known as The Rocks. The latter is the site of the first European settlement in Sydney and retains much of the old architecture and cobblestone streets.

Deborah purchased a fragrant sachet to put in her suitcase for the curious purpose of making it smell like lavender. I guess it’s a girl thing. I on the other hand purchased a new hat (#3 for this trip) to replace the cheap “old guy” hat that I had purchased in haste when my beloved hat #1 disappeared. More recently I also lost my favorite pair of cargo shorts, known affectionately to us as “the file cabinet” for its numerous and ample pockets. I think I left it in our hotel in Adelaide along with my favorite new shirt, which I purchased for a whopping $3 at a thrift store in Brisbane. Apparently I am determined to leave bits of my wardrobe spread all across Australia.

Chinatown

A Chinatown shop full of thousands of asian knick knacks, leaving little room to maneuver for 6'-2" tourists with backpacks.

The Sunday Market under a canopy of stylish tents.

The Rocks

A very cool puppet shop in The Rocks

Historic architecture in The Rocks

Eye-catching pub sign downtown

From across the harbor a view of the vintage amusement park known as Luna Park.

The famous Opera House

The almost as famous Harbor Bridge

Harbor Bridge again. Notice the little figures on top of the bridge at upper left, who were willing to pay a not so little figure to do a guided climb of the bridge.

Sydney - Darling Harbor and Chinese Garden

2008-12-27T02:22:00.000-08:00

We are staying in Kellyville, a Sydney suburb about a 45 minute drive from downtown, or longer if, like us, you are using public transportation. We made our first foray into the city via a somewhat convoluted combination of car (thanks, Paul and Sharon), bus, and train. It was prescheduled track maintenance that interfered with a more straightforward journey. It’s a learning process.

Once in downtown we walked around the Darling Harbor area which includes the aquarium (we’re saving that for another visit), an IMAX theatre, parks, shops, eateries, and many other magnets for the tourist dollar. We ended up spending most of our time in the Chinese Garden, a tranquil oasis where we strolled and sat and drank tea and watched dragonflies trying to have sex.

Darling Harbor

One of many inventive fountains found in the district.

View of high rise residential buildings from the Chinese Garden.

The Chinese Garden

A horny dragonfly

The Chinese Garden

Costumes can be rented for torturing children with endless photographic opportunities. White people can rent these as well but are almost certain to appear goofy.

An ibis in the Chinese Garden.

The English Garden -- no, just kidding, Chinese Garden again.

Amazing photo by Deborah, on one of the rare occassions I let go of the camera.

The Chinese Garden

Deborah, who says she now looks like her mother in old age.

A not very Chinese couple.

Sydney - Christmas in Oz

2008-12-26T02:24:00.000-08:00

It was just a two hour flight from Adelaide to Sydney, the location of our new housesit – which isn’t really a housesit. Paul and Sharon were kind enough to pick us up at the airport and bring us to their home. When we first communicated with them several months ago they were planning a cruise and needed us to look after their home and pets. In recent weeks their cruise plans fell through but, remarkably, they still wanted us to come and stay with them. They may or may not still take some sort of short trip sometime during our stay, thus justifying the free lodging we’re receiving.

Their’s is a four bedroom, three bath house of good size, not dissimilar to a typical American home in size and layout. Its occupants include Paul and Sharon, their son Garry, their daughter Jacinda, her fiancé Nick, two gentle giant Rottweilers, two budgies, a cockatiel, and us. It is a full house. The cockatiel is named Angel and he rules the house, favoring to stay outside of his cage, preferably perched either on Nick’s shoulder or on a stuffed white leopard named “Bunny.”

We arrived here on Christmas Eve when Paul and Garry (the latter reluctantly dressed as an elf) cruised the neighborhoods in a fire truck with their fellow volunteer firefighters, one of whom was decked out as Santa. They announced their arrival with horn and siren and passed out candies (lollies they call them here) to the waiting children. On Christmas day we were surprised to find presents for us under the tree including two stuffed toys (one Koala and one Galah, an indigenous bird), two travel neck pillows and a couple of “stubby holders” (insulated drink holders). Quite a haul for us. Fortunately Deborah saved us from embarrassment by having the foresight to assemble a gift for our host family consisting of cheeses, crackers, chocolates, candies (sorry, “lollies”), and the godlike cookies known as Tim Tams. Christmas dinner was not the typical fare we are used to but instead consisted of baked oysters, prawns, fresh rolls, three different cold salads, a tossed salad, a fruit platter, avacadoes, wine, and a delicious dessert called "trifle" (whipped cream, cake, jello, custard, layered and chilled).

The rest of Christmas day we watched movies and played Wii Fit, during which Deborah discovered her fitness age was 59 (and 80 with Wii Sport). Blake is only 32 according to Wii Fit, but is content to stay married to this much older woman.

It was a strange Christmas, being so far from home where they are buried in snow while we are thousands of miles away sitting around in shorts and sandals. We miss our family back home of course, but our Sydney hosts have made us feel very welcome and we are grateful for this interesting new experience.

Our Christmas booty

Adelaide - Goodbye to Adelaide

2008-12-22T03:41:00.000-08:00

We spent our last full day in Adelaide visiting an art gallery, a couple of parks, and revisiting favorite sights The Central Market and the Botanical Gardens. This is a great city and I'm going to miss it.

Starting our day with a healthy snack at the Central Market:

Rocky Road and Mars Bar Muffins.

Back at the Botanical Gardens

Setup for one of many weddings held in the botanical gardens.

In the botanical garden's conservatory

Amazing root system of a type of fig tree, with carefully placed children forced into position to provide scale.

love those gum trees

Adelaide - Port Adelaide

2008-12-21T03:12:00.000-08:00

We spent the day in Port Adelaide, an easy train ride from Adelaide. It's a partly gentrified industrial port town with a Sunday Market and several museums. We took a 2 hour dolphin watching cruise on the river for the amazingly low price of AU$4 per person (about US$2.75). We only saw a couple of dolphins and, suprisingly, one dog crossing the river. But even if we hadn't seen any it was a very pleasant cruise, more than you'd expect given the rather industrial scenery. The glorious sunshine didn't hurt.

Port Adelaide waterfront

My one partially successful photo of a dolphin.

The industrial landscape, actually kind of interesting

Not our tour boat

Me with the wind blowing in what's left of my hair.

The Railroad Museum

Adelaide - Hahndorf and The Cedars

2008-12-19T02:38:00.000-08:00

We returned to the German settled town of Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills. This time we travelled via public bus to afford us more time than our previous rushed visit as part of a tour. It turns out there wasn’t that much more to see. Still, we picked up a used book for me, a used sweater for Deborah (it was a bit chilly that morning) and had a nice chat with the friendly husband and wife proprietors of the thrift shop. Then, after a nice lunch of fish and chips we walked a fair bit to The Cedars, the 150 acre homestead of famous* South Australian artist Hans Heysen, whose amazing paintings we saw in Adelaide at the Gallery of South Australia. We toured the grand but comfortable family home, the artist’s studio, and the pastoral acreage full of Heysen’s beloved gum trees as well as a few cows and large numbers of annoying flies.

* We hadn’t heard of him previous to coming to Adelaide but have been assured that he is indeed famous.

Deborah in Hahndorf in her $5 sweater

Hahndorf (this is not our bus)

Hans Heysen's studio. I am so envious.

Gum trees

Another gum tree

Blake checks out the type of studio he can actually afford.

Another majestic gum tree

purveyors of pies