Jindabyne - Cool Days

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

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.

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

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Jindabyne - Aussie Slang (Work/Business)

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)

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

Jindabyne - Deadly Creatures

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)

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

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)

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)