Tuesday 31st March – Goodbye Hong Kong
Walked to a McCafe in Causeway Bay to avoid paying £10/hr for internet. Then caught ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui and followed walk in guidebook, through jade market and northwards via street markets to Mong Kok and the goldfish market. Hundreds of tiny exotic pet fish hung up in polythene bags inn the open fronted shops.
Caught the underground mass transit system back to the waterfront and tried Dim Sum somewhat unsuccessfully, as what had looked like prawn balls turned out to be sesame seed coated rice balls with plum jam in the middle, which although quite nice, weren't really a great accompaniment to stir fried noodles.
The Hong Kong Art Gallery was patchy, the modern art was derivative, the contemporary art was so clever that we couldn't understand it. The ancient pottery though, was a delight, as was the exhibit of ancient gold articles.
Returned on the ferry to Wanchai, then caught a coach to the airport. The airport is very modern and well designed, but a disaster inside. You can buy diamonds from Cartier, but not a newspaper. It has entirely missed its market. We even incurred a 10% service charge at the bar on already overpriced drinks. These people are going to be in real trouble as the recession bites.
Writing this at the airport, sadly the last entry for this blog, but we have enjoyed our travels and are happy to be going home, pleased that the trip has gone so smoothly..
Thoughts on Hong Kong
I am afraid Christine is right. This place has lost its way. It used to be frenetic and cut-throat. It is now softer, flabbier and a shadow of its former self. I can only assume it is the effect of the change to communist government, and that the people who inspired the old regime and made it flourish must have moved on to places with less regulation. Perhaps it is significant that the newly reclaimed land between Central and Wanchai is going to be a park rather than more buildings. The skyscrapers are still here but the former spirit of the place isn't.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Hong Kong
Saturday 28th March continued – Hello Hong Kong
Comfortable flight with Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong. Watching 'Slumdog Millionaire' whilst flying over hundreds and hundreds of miles of jungle covered land. No settlements and just a few rivers and ridges breaking the monotonous vegetation.
Decided to take the bus from the new airport at Lantau Island to Hong Kong Island. It was dark and a bit rainy, but not cold. However the bus didn't quite follow the route we were anticipating and we were not sure where we were when the driver gestured to us to get off. It turned out to be next to Wanchai metro station, so we then set off in the direction of the hotel. The Saturday night streets in Wanchai were crowded with ex-pats overspilling from British pubs and clubs, and it was slow going manoeuvring the suitcases through the throng.
The Harbourview Hotel ( Harbourview International House – not to be confused with the Renaissance Harbour View just down the road) put us in a room on the 14th floor with a sort of angular floor to ceiling bay window overlooking Victoria Harbour. The view was magnificent with the tops of the skyscrapers lost in the clouds, the ferries scuttling across between the island and the mainland, and the lights of the magnificent harbour side towers reflected in the waters.
Sunday 29th March
After breakfast at a convenient DeliFrance, we walked eastwards to Causeway Bay via streets lined with bathroom and tap shops. Visited the Times Square mall and walked around the area until it woke up at about 11:00. Christine formed the opinion that Hong Kong is no longer the cheap place it used to be, electronics and clothes seem to be more expensive than in the UK.
Walked back westwards via the Hopewell Centre that I did the site investigation for in 1975. Then it wasn't even a hole in the ground, now it is a somewhat ageing cylindrical 70 storey tower, garishly lit at night and topped by a revolving restaurant.
Onward through the Admiralty and Central districts, picking our way through thousands of Filipino maids spending their day off picnicking in groups on the pavements, to the area around Hollywood Road. This was filled with antique/junk/curio shops where we browsed for ages. Mao Tse Tung would be glad to know his little red book is still being reprinted, there were large numbers of other reproduced articles, some such as Swiss watches with bullseye lenses were obvious, many were inscrutable and had no discernible purpose. Some of the antique jade and mammoth tusk carving in the finer shops was delectable and of course priceless.
Caught an old electric tram back. After we got on, the tram filled up completely with happy chattering maids. We were lucky to get off at the correct stop at Wanchai as we couldn't see where we were.
Tried to eat out locally in the evening. The whole area was seething with British, many in St George cross emblazoned fancy dress, due to an international rugby sevens match. Eventually ended up in a canteen style corner restaurant. Christine hadn't realised what Chinese cooks can do to fish and left most of it. Luckily I ordered pork which they are better at.
Monday 30th March
Took the tram to Central and then a whole series of covered travelators and increasingly steep escalators up to the mid-levels. Walked along to the Botanic Gardens which mainly housed aviaries and caged apes, including some very raucous gibbons. Then tried to keep the same altitude to find the Peak Tram, but the guide book was wrong and we had to descend quite a way to find the terminus.
Up the Peak Tram, a venerable cable car railway, to the upper terminus which had been rebuilt as a large, multi-storey steel clad anvil shaped construction with a viewing platform on top. It was hazy but bright and the view was spectacular. We had a snack lunch in a café next to a huge window looking out over the cityscape.
After descending, we walked to the Star Ferry terminal and boarded a ferry for Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon side of the harbour. There is now a promenade there with magnificent views across to the island. We were stopped by a group of Chinese students conducting a survey on tourists' attitudes to Hong Kong food. Christine was very restrained in her response as despite her experience of the previous night, she didn't want to offend them.
Walked up Nathan Road, which has become far less seedy than I remember it, but still accosted by men wanting to sell copies of Rolex watches. Looked at cameras but they were more expensive than in the UK. Wandered around back street markets and then returned to the ferry terminal. Night had fallen and the lights of the skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island were reflecting across the harbour in a magnificent panorama.
This time, boarded a ferry to the Wanchai Conference centre which is close to the hotel, but after a Guinness in the pub, decided to walk another kilometre to a restaurant recommended in the guide book.
The Shing Thai in Causeway Bay was a canteen style eatery with formica tabletops, but the classic Thai food was excellent (and not Chinese). Caught the tram back to Wanchai and so to bed.
Tuesday 31st March – The final day of globe-trotting.
Comfortable flight with Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong. Watching 'Slumdog Millionaire' whilst flying over hundreds and hundreds of miles of jungle covered land. No settlements and just a few rivers and ridges breaking the monotonous vegetation.
Decided to take the bus from the new airport at Lantau Island to Hong Kong Island. It was dark and a bit rainy, but not cold. However the bus didn't quite follow the route we were anticipating and we were not sure where we were when the driver gestured to us to get off. It turned out to be next to Wanchai metro station, so we then set off in the direction of the hotel. The Saturday night streets in Wanchai were crowded with ex-pats overspilling from British pubs and clubs, and it was slow going manoeuvring the suitcases through the throng.
The Harbourview Hotel ( Harbourview International House – not to be confused with the Renaissance Harbour View just down the road) put us in a room on the 14th floor with a sort of angular floor to ceiling bay window overlooking Victoria Harbour. The view was magnificent with the tops of the skyscrapers lost in the clouds, the ferries scuttling across between the island and the mainland, and the lights of the magnificent harbour side towers reflected in the waters.
Sunday 29th March
After breakfast at a convenient DeliFrance, we walked eastwards to Causeway Bay via streets lined with bathroom and tap shops. Visited the Times Square mall and walked around the area until it woke up at about 11:00. Christine formed the opinion that Hong Kong is no longer the cheap place it used to be, electronics and clothes seem to be more expensive than in the UK.
Walked back westwards via the Hopewell Centre that I did the site investigation for in 1975. Then it wasn't even a hole in the ground, now it is a somewhat ageing cylindrical 70 storey tower, garishly lit at night and topped by a revolving restaurant.
Onward through the Admiralty and Central districts, picking our way through thousands of Filipino maids spending their day off picnicking in groups on the pavements, to the area around Hollywood Road. This was filled with antique/junk/curio shops where we browsed for ages. Mao Tse Tung would be glad to know his little red book is still being reprinted, there were large numbers of other reproduced articles, some such as Swiss watches with bullseye lenses were obvious, many were inscrutable and had no discernible purpose. Some of the antique jade and mammoth tusk carving in the finer shops was delectable and of course priceless.
Caught an old electric tram back. After we got on, the tram filled up completely with happy chattering maids. We were lucky to get off at the correct stop at Wanchai as we couldn't see where we were.
Tried to eat out locally in the evening. The whole area was seething with British, many in St George cross emblazoned fancy dress, due to an international rugby sevens match. Eventually ended up in a canteen style corner restaurant. Christine hadn't realised what Chinese cooks can do to fish and left most of it. Luckily I ordered pork which they are better at.
Monday 30th March
Took the tram to Central and then a whole series of covered travelators and increasingly steep escalators up to the mid-levels. Walked along to the Botanic Gardens which mainly housed aviaries and caged apes, including some very raucous gibbons. Then tried to keep the same altitude to find the Peak Tram, but the guide book was wrong and we had to descend quite a way to find the terminus.
Up the Peak Tram, a venerable cable car railway, to the upper terminus which had been rebuilt as a large, multi-storey steel clad anvil shaped construction with a viewing platform on top. It was hazy but bright and the view was spectacular. We had a snack lunch in a café next to a huge window looking out over the cityscape.
After descending, we walked to the Star Ferry terminal and boarded a ferry for Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon side of the harbour. There is now a promenade there with magnificent views across to the island. We were stopped by a group of Chinese students conducting a survey on tourists' attitudes to Hong Kong food. Christine was very restrained in her response as despite her experience of the previous night, she didn't want to offend them.
Walked up Nathan Road, which has become far less seedy than I remember it, but still accosted by men wanting to sell copies of Rolex watches. Looked at cameras but they were more expensive than in the UK. Wandered around back street markets and then returned to the ferry terminal. Night had fallen and the lights of the skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island were reflecting across the harbour in a magnificent panorama.
This time, boarded a ferry to the Wanchai Conference centre which is close to the hotel, but after a Guinness in the pub, decided to walk another kilometre to a restaurant recommended in the guide book.
The Shing Thai in Causeway Bay was a canteen style eatery with formica tabletops, but the classic Thai food was excellent (and not Chinese). Caught the tram back to Wanchai and so to bed.
Tuesday 31st March – The final day of globe-trotting.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Goodbye Bali
Friday 27th March
We were both really upset by yesterday's events. It is the first time in our lives where our liberty has been curtailed by religion, and we were surprised how strongly we felt about it. It wasn't that we were mistreated or in any way made uncomfortable, it was the principle that we were not free to travel, even to the adjacent beach, which angered and alienated us.
Perhaps though it explains how the anti-communist pogrom, which was so violent here, could be reconciled with the polite, eager to please, apparently laid-back inhabitants. What was revealed yesterday was that beneath the smiles is something akin to an underlying authoritarian theocracy. An institution which has the power to police what is effectively a religious curfew using black clad men wielding large sticks.
We couldn't enjoy the day and realised that it was because we could not condone a system which could treat our rights so disrespectfully. A wasted day, except it taught us that however charming a place may be, if you are foreign to the society you may be treated in ways you do not understand.
Last night's supper was a farce. We. were guided to a restaurant in the grounds by torchlight. As most lights in the hotel were turned off as it was against the religious principles of the day to use artificial light, a high percentage of orders were being sent back as either wrong or inedible because although the cooking staff were doing their best to prepare the food in the inadequately lit kitchen, they couldn't see what they were doing.
Spent the morning snorkelling although a thunderstorm last night had left the water quite turbid.
Walked along the beach promenade in the afternoon. The tide was very low and people were wading in the lagoon or in small outrigger canoes, dotted across the surface right up to the reef, fishing in the low water.
Saturday 28th March – Goodbye Bali
Final swim in the sea, then onwards to the final part of our global tour.
We were both really upset by yesterday's events. It is the first time in our lives where our liberty has been curtailed by religion, and we were surprised how strongly we felt about it. It wasn't that we were mistreated or in any way made uncomfortable, it was the principle that we were not free to travel, even to the adjacent beach, which angered and alienated us.
Perhaps though it explains how the anti-communist pogrom, which was so violent here, could be reconciled with the polite, eager to please, apparently laid-back inhabitants. What was revealed yesterday was that beneath the smiles is something akin to an underlying authoritarian theocracy. An institution which has the power to police what is effectively a religious curfew using black clad men wielding large sticks.
We couldn't enjoy the day and realised that it was because we could not condone a system which could treat our rights so disrespectfully. A wasted day, except it taught us that however charming a place may be, if you are foreign to the society you may be treated in ways you do not understand.
Last night's supper was a farce. We. were guided to a restaurant in the grounds by torchlight. As most lights in the hotel were turned off as it was against the religious principles of the day to use artificial light, a high percentage of orders were being sent back as either wrong or inedible because although the cooking staff were doing their best to prepare the food in the inadequately lit kitchen, they couldn't see what they were doing.
Spent the morning snorkelling although a thunderstorm last night had left the water quite turbid.
Walked along the beach promenade in the afternoon. The tide was very low and people were wading in the lagoon or in small outrigger canoes, dotted across the surface right up to the reef, fishing in the low water.
Saturday 28th March – Goodbye Bali
Final swim in the sea, then onwards to the final part of our global tour.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sanur Beach - Prisoners of Nyepi
Tuesday 24th March – Sanur Beach
Breakfast at the hotel is a n impressive affair with a great selection of foods of various nationalities and eggs fried or made into omelettes on the spot in front of you by very deft ladies.
Snorkelled for most of morning, watching various fish, starfish etc. Was fascinated to find that the beach is oolitic. As well as coral and shell sand are spherules of calcium carbonate about 2mm diameter caused by precipitation from saturated solution in this evaporation enriched lagoon behind the barrier reef.
The tide was low in the afternoon and after lunch when we did get into the sea it was too turbid and the sun was too low.
Walked to Lumut restaurant almost opposite the Bali Hyatt as recommended in guide book, more competent cuisine than seems normal on Bali. Tried Arak, their rice wine, which is very smooth, dry and goes down well after a few Bintang lagers.
Wednesday 25th March
Snorkelling in the morning we saw what looked like a black ball about half a metre in diameter in the shallows. It turned out to be a shoal of thousands of tightly packed small black catfish. The fish at the leading edge of the shoal burrowed their mouths into the sandy sea bed, then the next wave of fish swam over them to repeat the activity and so the shoal progressed parallel to the beach. I assume this behaviour had evolved as it gave the appearance of a single very large creature to any prospective predator. Above them swam a number of yellow-tails presumably feeding off fragments of food disturbed from the sand by the catfish below.
We have been warned that tomorrow is Nyepi day, Hindu New Year. The whole island closes down. No traffic, no flights, no work, no lights and no entertainment. The Hindus are supposed to spend the day contemplating God. I wonder if God spends the day contemplating Hindus.
Thursday 26th March – Nyepi
I can't believe it. Not only can't we leave the hotel but they have cordoned off the beach too. Apparently it is OK to swim in the pool, but disrespectful to swim in the sea.
I don't mind being trapped in a hotel by storms or floods, but it is extremely galling to be confined by superstition. The Lonely Planet guide mentions on page 856 that businesses shut for the day, but had we realised the extent of the disruption, I think we would have brought forward our travel to Hong Kong to miss it.
It is an insidious entrapment, we don't want to cause offence to these very nice people, but we are effectively being held prisoner by their quaint beliefs.
Breakfast at the hotel is a n impressive affair with a great selection of foods of various nationalities and eggs fried or made into omelettes on the spot in front of you by very deft ladies.
Snorkelled for most of morning, watching various fish, starfish etc. Was fascinated to find that the beach is oolitic. As well as coral and shell sand are spherules of calcium carbonate about 2mm diameter caused by precipitation from saturated solution in this evaporation enriched lagoon behind the barrier reef.
The tide was low in the afternoon and after lunch when we did get into the sea it was too turbid and the sun was too low.
Walked to Lumut restaurant almost opposite the Bali Hyatt as recommended in guide book, more competent cuisine than seems normal on Bali. Tried Arak, their rice wine, which is very smooth, dry and goes down well after a few Bintang lagers.
Wednesday 25th March
Snorkelling in the morning we saw what looked like a black ball about half a metre in diameter in the shallows. It turned out to be a shoal of thousands of tightly packed small black catfish. The fish at the leading edge of the shoal burrowed their mouths into the sandy sea bed, then the next wave of fish swam over them to repeat the activity and so the shoal progressed parallel to the beach. I assume this behaviour had evolved as it gave the appearance of a single very large creature to any prospective predator. Above them swam a number of yellow-tails presumably feeding off fragments of food disturbed from the sand by the catfish below.
We have been warned that tomorrow is Nyepi day, Hindu New Year. The whole island closes down. No traffic, no flights, no work, no lights and no entertainment. The Hindus are supposed to spend the day contemplating God. I wonder if God spends the day contemplating Hindus.
Thursday 26th March – Nyepi
I can't believe it. Not only can't we leave the hotel but they have cordoned off the beach too. Apparently it is OK to swim in the pool, but disrespectful to swim in the sea.
I don't mind being trapped in a hotel by storms or floods, but it is extremely galling to be confined by superstition. The Lonely Planet guide mentions on page 856 that businesses shut for the day, but had we realised the extent of the disruption, I think we would have brought forward our travel to Hong Kong to miss it.
It is an insidious entrapment, we don't want to cause offence to these very nice people, but we are effectively being held prisoner by their quaint beliefs.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Hello Bali
Friday 20th March – Hello Bali
After lunch at Darwin airport, Jetstar decided to feed us on the flight to Bali, so we had supper as well. The link between Jetstar and Qantas seems to be inconsistent. However we took off into the sunset and landed at Denpassar inthe dark.
We discovered that the landing time given in our schedule was actually an hour later than when we arrived and there was an anxious time when no-one met us. Luckily I had the telephone number of the hotel and although my mobile again claimed the number was unrecognised ( it only seems to work about every third call), the information desk at the airport rang through and soon the welcome sight of my name on a placard held by an apologetic driver appeared.
The drive to Ubud was interesting after the soporific traffic of Australia. Motorbikes, scooters, cars and vans all vied with the occasional dog and pedestrian for possession of the road. Many of the roads were one way for cars but two way for motorbikes which was confusing. Mostly it didn't seem to matter which (if any) side of the road you drove on, as long as oncoming traffic could pass on the right
The hotel, Alam Indah, is charming. Perched on the side of a jungle filled ravine, it consists of a series of traditional Balinese dwellings terraced into the hillside. There are only 12 rooms with deeply carved doors, stone facades and private terraces. The buildings are up to three storeys high beneath a thatched roof. Set well back from the road, it is tranquil place with shrines to various gods at every corner. Offerings of flowers and incense in small woven palm leaf baskets are placed in the shrines daily, and also scattered on the ground to propitiate evil spirits.
Saturday 21st March
After a delightful breakfast, spent the morning around the swimming pool. The temperature must be in the 30s, and the stone edged pool is beautifully cool. Within the stone walls surrounding the terraces are carved animal reflecting the animist nature of the Hindu religion here.
Walked through the nearby Monkey Forest Sanctuary to Ubud village. The Monkey Forest teems with grey macaques which tried to steal my water bottle, and by the litter around had obviously had previous success with both water bottles and cameras. The temples in the forest could be part of an Indiana Jones movie set. As we explored one temple, a huge reptile well over a metre long splashed its way along the adjacent stream bed and darted out of sight between some rocks. We were assured that despite its appearance it wasn't a crocodile, just a large monitor lizard. I can see why the people here believe in dragons.
We reached the centre of the village past rows of art galleries, clothing shops and restaurants. The market was open and there were throngs of people. After a local beer, we asked the restaurant to phone the hotel who sent a driver to take us back. The Alam Indah has a complimentary on-demand shuttle service to and from the village running until 22:00.
Back for afternoon tea on the terrace and a rest, then shuttle back to the centre of Ubud to the Royal Palace for a performance of a traditional Balinese Legong dance. With night haven fallen and the temperature now about 25, the courtyard of the palace fills with people around a stage set in front of a magnificent entrance with gold doors and oil lights on the tiers of carved stonework above. Either side, the musicians in uniform costume beat out the rhythms on highly decorated xylophone like instruments with what look like geological hammers. Add a couple of wooden flutes, several drummers and some impressively large bronze gongs and you can produce an amazing amount of sound without any need for electronic amplification.
The dance lasted without interruption for an hour and a half, performed by slight Balinese ladies in traditional costume, a handsome prince and a masked ogre. The ladies kept an impassive face whilst they danced, but their eyes darted from side to side to express emotion. Each dancer, or group of dancers, would appear at the entrance, descend the steps in a stilted fashion, perform a dance and then retire in similar manner. There was a story to it, but as everything was so stylised it was better to ignore it and just enjoy the spectacle.
We ate at a posh restaurant, the Cafe Lotus where the tables looked out over a lily pond to a temple entrance and the massive bill came to just over 300,000 rupiah (about £18.60) .
Sunday 22nd March
Decided to centre ourselves at Sanur for the remainder of the stay and the hotel let us use their internet connection to book a hotel and arranged a car to take us.
Walked to Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), an art gallery spread over several buildings in a compound. There were traditional as well as modern paintings, including some striking surrealist perspectives by Walter Spies. A cup of tea was included in the admission price which was welcome as it was hot, even in the tea pavilion.
Walked back to the hotel for a light lunch and a swim. In the evening the hotel minibus took us to the performance of three dances at the Padang Tengal dance stage, a roughly tarmacked arena in front of a temple.
The Kekac dance consisted of an extract from the Ramayana with the musical accompaniment provided by about 150 men wearing only black and white checked skirts. They sat on the ground in a circle, three or four deep, around a central candelabra like structure of oil lamps, waving their hands and chanting “chak chak chak chak” rhythmically in time with calls and yelps. Traditionally dressed Balinese dance girls moved angularly in the centre, with appearances of masked characters from the temple behind and the story sung in Indonesian by a narrator during gaps in the chanting. The effect was often hilarious and both performers and spectators were obviously having a good time.
The second dance was a trance dance performed by two young girls with a chorus of ladies squatting on the ground behind, flanked by some of the men from the previous dance. The girls danced with their eyes shut then symbolically collapsed to the ground. Finally a shaman sprinkled them with holy water and the dance ended. The mood of this dance was more sombre, apparently it is a ritual to rid the village of evil spirits.
The third dance was preceded by removing the oil lamps and tipping a heap of dried coconut shells in the centre of the arena. These were then soaked in kerosene and set on fire. A dancer with a Balinese version of a hobby horse pranced around, kicking the blazing embers towards the encircled audience amidst smoke, spectacular showers of sparks and general consternation. Western health and safety officials would have loved it. I had to repeatedly kick burning coconut shells away from where they came to rest against my plastic chair leg. Men with brooms then brushed the embers back into the centre so the scattering could be repeated several times.
In all the dances lasted about an hour and a half and we ended the evening with probably the best presented meal of the trip so far at the Ibu Rai restaurant on Monkey Forest Road.
Monday 23rd March
Left Ubud and were driven to the coast at Sanur, to the Sanur Beach Hotel. It is an enormous rambling 1980s affair, somewhat haphazard in design and construction, half a dozen separate buildings surrounding palm shaded gardens and swimming pools adjacent to the beach. What it lacks in charm is, however, outweighed by the friendliness of the staff and the painstaking attention to maintenance and service of what is a comfortable but somewhat tired establishment.
The beach is sandy, gently sloping and the water very quiet as the bay is protected by a barrier reef where the waves constantly break with a faint roar.
We tried snorkelling but the water was very shallow and filled with long sea grass. Amidst the grass we saw large starfish, a few small fish and some long green worm shaped segmented creatures with tentacles at one end which were scraping algae from the surface of the grass and eating it. They were up to a metre long. The grass had small stinging creatures in it though which caused a short lived rash.
Went shopping, returning along the sea front to enjoy a beer at sunset.
After lunch at Darwin airport, Jetstar decided to feed us on the flight to Bali, so we had supper as well. The link between Jetstar and Qantas seems to be inconsistent. However we took off into the sunset and landed at Denpassar inthe dark.
We discovered that the landing time given in our schedule was actually an hour later than when we arrived and there was an anxious time when no-one met us. Luckily I had the telephone number of the hotel and although my mobile again claimed the number was unrecognised ( it only seems to work about every third call), the information desk at the airport rang through and soon the welcome sight of my name on a placard held by an apologetic driver appeared.
The drive to Ubud was interesting after the soporific traffic of Australia. Motorbikes, scooters, cars and vans all vied with the occasional dog and pedestrian for possession of the road. Many of the roads were one way for cars but two way for motorbikes which was confusing. Mostly it didn't seem to matter which (if any) side of the road you drove on, as long as oncoming traffic could pass on the right
The hotel, Alam Indah, is charming. Perched on the side of a jungle filled ravine, it consists of a series of traditional Balinese dwellings terraced into the hillside. There are only 12 rooms with deeply carved doors, stone facades and private terraces. The buildings are up to three storeys high beneath a thatched roof. Set well back from the road, it is tranquil place with shrines to various gods at every corner. Offerings of flowers and incense in small woven palm leaf baskets are placed in the shrines daily, and also scattered on the ground to propitiate evil spirits.
Saturday 21st March
After a delightful breakfast, spent the morning around the swimming pool. The temperature must be in the 30s, and the stone edged pool is beautifully cool. Within the stone walls surrounding the terraces are carved animal reflecting the animist nature of the Hindu religion here.
Walked through the nearby Monkey Forest Sanctuary to Ubud village. The Monkey Forest teems with grey macaques which tried to steal my water bottle, and by the litter around had obviously had previous success with both water bottles and cameras. The temples in the forest could be part of an Indiana Jones movie set. As we explored one temple, a huge reptile well over a metre long splashed its way along the adjacent stream bed and darted out of sight between some rocks. We were assured that despite its appearance it wasn't a crocodile, just a large monitor lizard. I can see why the people here believe in dragons.
We reached the centre of the village past rows of art galleries, clothing shops and restaurants. The market was open and there were throngs of people. After a local beer, we asked the restaurant to phone the hotel who sent a driver to take us back. The Alam Indah has a complimentary on-demand shuttle service to and from the village running until 22:00.
Back for afternoon tea on the terrace and a rest, then shuttle back to the centre of Ubud to the Royal Palace for a performance of a traditional Balinese Legong dance. With night haven fallen and the temperature now about 25, the courtyard of the palace fills with people around a stage set in front of a magnificent entrance with gold doors and oil lights on the tiers of carved stonework above. Either side, the musicians in uniform costume beat out the rhythms on highly decorated xylophone like instruments with what look like geological hammers. Add a couple of wooden flutes, several drummers and some impressively large bronze gongs and you can produce an amazing amount of sound without any need for electronic amplification.
The dance lasted without interruption for an hour and a half, performed by slight Balinese ladies in traditional costume, a handsome prince and a masked ogre. The ladies kept an impassive face whilst they danced, but their eyes darted from side to side to express emotion. Each dancer, or group of dancers, would appear at the entrance, descend the steps in a stilted fashion, perform a dance and then retire in similar manner. There was a story to it, but as everything was so stylised it was better to ignore it and just enjoy the spectacle.
We ate at a posh restaurant, the Cafe Lotus where the tables looked out over a lily pond to a temple entrance and the massive bill came to just over 300,000 rupiah (about £18.60) .
Sunday 22nd March
Decided to centre ourselves at Sanur for the remainder of the stay and the hotel let us use their internet connection to book a hotel and arranged a car to take us.
Walked to Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), an art gallery spread over several buildings in a compound. There were traditional as well as modern paintings, including some striking surrealist perspectives by Walter Spies. A cup of tea was included in the admission price which was welcome as it was hot, even in the tea pavilion.
Walked back to the hotel for a light lunch and a swim. In the evening the hotel minibus took us to the performance of three dances at the Padang Tengal dance stage, a roughly tarmacked arena in front of a temple.
The Kekac dance consisted of an extract from the Ramayana with the musical accompaniment provided by about 150 men wearing only black and white checked skirts. They sat on the ground in a circle, three or four deep, around a central candelabra like structure of oil lamps, waving their hands and chanting “chak chak chak chak” rhythmically in time with calls and yelps. Traditionally dressed Balinese dance girls moved angularly in the centre, with appearances of masked characters from the temple behind and the story sung in Indonesian by a narrator during gaps in the chanting. The effect was often hilarious and both performers and spectators were obviously having a good time.
The second dance was a trance dance performed by two young girls with a chorus of ladies squatting on the ground behind, flanked by some of the men from the previous dance. The girls danced with their eyes shut then symbolically collapsed to the ground. Finally a shaman sprinkled them with holy water and the dance ended. The mood of this dance was more sombre, apparently it is a ritual to rid the village of evil spirits.
The third dance was preceded by removing the oil lamps and tipping a heap of dried coconut shells in the centre of the arena. These were then soaked in kerosene and set on fire. A dancer with a Balinese version of a hobby horse pranced around, kicking the blazing embers towards the encircled audience amidst smoke, spectacular showers of sparks and general consternation. Western health and safety officials would have loved it. I had to repeatedly kick burning coconut shells away from where they came to rest against my plastic chair leg. Men with brooms then brushed the embers back into the centre so the scattering could be repeated several times.
In all the dances lasted about an hour and a half and we ended the evening with probably the best presented meal of the trip so far at the Ibu Rai restaurant on Monkey Forest Road.
Monday 23rd March
Left Ubud and were driven to the coast at Sanur, to the Sanur Beach Hotel. It is an enormous rambling 1980s affair, somewhat haphazard in design and construction, half a dozen separate buildings surrounding palm shaded gardens and swimming pools adjacent to the beach. What it lacks in charm is, however, outweighed by the friendliness of the staff and the painstaking attention to maintenance and service of what is a comfortable but somewhat tired establishment.
The beach is sandy, gently sloping and the water very quiet as the bay is protected by a barrier reef where the waves constantly break with a faint roar.
We tried snorkelling but the water was very shallow and filled with long sea grass. Amidst the grass we saw large starfish, a few small fish and some long green worm shaped segmented creatures with tentacles at one end which were scraping algae from the surface of the grass and eating it. They were up to a metre long. The grass had small stinging creatures in it though which caused a short lived rash.
Went shopping, returning along the sea front to enjoy a beer at sunset.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Goodbye Australia
Friday 20th March – Goodbye Australia
Left Hervey Bay just before 06:00 and drove south-westwards, joining the Bruce highway at Maryborough. The drive was slow due to speed restrictions until the road became motorway close to Noosa and the speed limit increased to 110 km/hr. Dropped car off at the airport at 10:00 after a big Aussie breakfast in the Coolabah Cafe at the nearby service station.
Superb flight to Darwin over outback and then the Gulf of Carpentaria. Darwin airport has free internet access so I can get up to date whilst waiting for the flight to Bali!
Notes on a Large Island
Aussie Speak
In Australia, they seem to be using English in an idiomatic fashion. Someone will tell you a fact, then invite you to wonder at it. For example the statement ' These trees are 30m tall.' may be followed by the question 'Isn't that amazing?', or 'This lake is 80,000 years old.' by the question 'Can you imagine that?'. The standard reply in most cases is 'Awesome!'. Conversations are thus carried out as a series of interposed statements and questions, inviting short appreciative responses. This fits in well with the cadence of the speech where phrases tend to be delivered with a rising pitch towards the end.
Possibly in an immigrant country where English is frequently not the first language, this form of speech allows the speaker to frequently monitor whether the respondent is actually understanding the information being imparted, similar to the use of 'innit?' or 'OK?' in some vernacular English dialects.
Questions are also used as introductions, so you are frequently asked ' How are you today?' by way of opening a conversation.
Inanimate objects are often imbued with personality, so I've heard ' A truck has decided to off-load its contents on the motorway' and ' Our submersible decided to go walk-about during the cyclone'.
Names are often abbreviated to end in 'y'. So Rockhampton is referred to as 'Rocky', Tasmania is 'Tazzy' and Bundaberg is 'Bundy'. I have no idea what 'Sydney' is the contacted form of.
Aussies.
From the media, I was expecting to meet Australians who were beer swilling, drunken, loud, opinionated and boorish. What I found was that those attributes seem to be confined to a few professional football players whilst the vast majority of the population are sober, happy, friendly, well educated, polite and charming people with a natural exuberance and inquisitiveness.
Aussie Driving
Australia is big. Everywhere is quite a distance away and you need to allow a lot of time for travel. The roads are like the UK in the 1960s. Speed limits are low, and because of urban sprawl along ribbon developments, speed restrictions make long distance driving extremely tedious in populated regions. Most accidents seem to be caused by drivers falling asleep and I think the soporific nature of the driving conditions is mostly to blame. Motorways are more like main roads. Bypasses are infrequent and where they do exist are likely to be restricted to similar speeds as driving through the town centre, and may actually take longer to drive round. Main roads tend to be single carriageway, one lane each way, with an additional passing lane every 5km or so. Petrol stations are infrequent and even on main routes may be over 50km apart, so it is important to refill more often than normal in order to maintain a range of at least 100km.
Hire cars are restricted to sealed roads, so you need to check on a map to make sure the road to your destination is metalled.
Left Hervey Bay just before 06:00 and drove south-westwards, joining the Bruce highway at Maryborough. The drive was slow due to speed restrictions until the road became motorway close to Noosa and the speed limit increased to 110 km/hr. Dropped car off at the airport at 10:00 after a big Aussie breakfast in the Coolabah Cafe at the nearby service station.
Superb flight to Darwin over outback and then the Gulf of Carpentaria. Darwin airport has free internet access so I can get up to date whilst waiting for the flight to Bali!
Notes on a Large Island
Aussie Speak
In Australia, they seem to be using English in an idiomatic fashion. Someone will tell you a fact, then invite you to wonder at it. For example the statement ' These trees are 30m tall.' may be followed by the question 'Isn't that amazing?', or 'This lake is 80,000 years old.' by the question 'Can you imagine that?'. The standard reply in most cases is 'Awesome!'. Conversations are thus carried out as a series of interposed statements and questions, inviting short appreciative responses. This fits in well with the cadence of the speech where phrases tend to be delivered with a rising pitch towards the end.
Possibly in an immigrant country where English is frequently not the first language, this form of speech allows the speaker to frequently monitor whether the respondent is actually understanding the information being imparted, similar to the use of 'innit?' or 'OK?' in some vernacular English dialects.
Questions are also used as introductions, so you are frequently asked ' How are you today?' by way of opening a conversation.
Inanimate objects are often imbued with personality, so I've heard ' A truck has decided to off-load its contents on the motorway' and ' Our submersible decided to go walk-about during the cyclone'.
Names are often abbreviated to end in 'y'. So Rockhampton is referred to as 'Rocky', Tasmania is 'Tazzy' and Bundaberg is 'Bundy'. I have no idea what 'Sydney' is the contacted form of.
Aussies.
From the media, I was expecting to meet Australians who were beer swilling, drunken, loud, opinionated and boorish. What I found was that those attributes seem to be confined to a few professional football players whilst the vast majority of the population are sober, happy, friendly, well educated, polite and charming people with a natural exuberance and inquisitiveness.
Aussie Driving
Australia is big. Everywhere is quite a distance away and you need to allow a lot of time for travel. The roads are like the UK in the 1960s. Speed limits are low, and because of urban sprawl along ribbon developments, speed restrictions make long distance driving extremely tedious in populated regions. Most accidents seem to be caused by drivers falling asleep and I think the soporific nature of the driving conditions is mostly to blame. Motorways are more like main roads. Bypasses are infrequent and where they do exist are likely to be restricted to similar speeds as driving through the town centre, and may actually take longer to drive round. Main roads tend to be single carriageway, one lane each way, with an additional passing lane every 5km or so. Petrol stations are infrequent and even on main routes may be over 50km apart, so it is important to refill more often than normal in order to maintain a range of at least 100km.
Hire cars are restricted to sealed roads, so you need to check on a map to make sure the road to your destination is metalled.
Fraser Island
Tuesday 17th March – Emily's Birthday
Happy Birthday Emily. Sorry we missed your birthday. We were driving from Agnes Water to Hervey Bay, just a couple of hundred kilometres southwards. The weather was beautiful as we drove through pasture, sugar cane fields and groves of macadamia trees.
The information site at Hervey Bay recommended Lisianna holiday apartments right on the sea front, with a balcony on which I write this looking across the beach road to the safe, sandy beach. With the aid of the helpful owner of the comfortable apartments, we booked for a two day excursion to Frazer Island. The tour company will come to pick us up at 07:15 tomorrow and we will spend tomorrow night in a tent on the island. We leave the rental car here ( only 4WD roads on the island) and return for Thursday night. That will mean a very early 06:00 start to travel to Brisbane Airport on Friday morning, but we will return too late to travel on Thursday as night falls rapidly at about 18:30.
Spent the afternoon on the beach, swimming and snorkelling. As the tide fell, I discovered a small coral reef about 100m offshore. Nothing in comparison with the Great Barrier Reef, but there were several varieties of coral and fish. I've named it 'Emily's Reef' in honour of Emily's birthday, although being only a few metres across and perhaps 200mm above the surrounding sea bed level, I doubt it will make an appearance on any nautical charts of the bay. It's about 50m northeast of the seaward end of the pier.
Wednesday 18th March – Fraser Island
Picked up at 07:15 by what we mistook from the front to be a big green refuse truck, but turned out to be a 4WD 24 seater coach. Picking up a further 6 people, we crossed from Riverheads on the 09:00 barge to Fraser Island.
The bus was driven by Fritz, an exuberant Austrian Australian. We drove to Lake Birrabeen and swam in the white sand fringed perched dune lake, a hundred metres or so above sea level and with acidic water with a pH of 4.8. Then to Central Station for a quick walk through the rain forest, and on to the east coast. We drove up the beach to Happy Valley for a great buffet lunch, then northwards up the beach via various cliffs of coloured sand.
The cyclone had eroded a lot of sand from the beach, exposing 'coffee rock', a sediment where a lot of organic matter was mixed with the sand. (This formed the aquiclude under the perched dune lakes.) As we negotiated one outcrop, the bus rolled and the window next to Christine collided with a pandanus tree which had been brought down by the cyclone. The glass shattered, showering her with small shards of glass, but she was unhurt if a little shaken. We changed seats and for the rest of the trip she kindly let me have the window seat.
At about 17:00 we reached the camp at Cathedral Beach after visiting the historic Maheno ship wreck. The camp comprised permanent tents with wooden floors and a large communal tent with cooking facilities. To my surprise, Fritz turned out to be a man of many talents, one of which was cooking. Preceding the meal he cooked a taster dish of kangaroo which tasted similar to beef.
Thursday 19th March – Fraser Island
Awoke to heavy rain, but after a good breakfast, drove northwards up the beach to Indian Head, which turned out to be a porphyritic rhyolite headland. A sea eagle soared above and ospreys were perched in the pandanus trees.
Fritz preferred to call rain 'liquid sunshine'.
Then back southwards down the beach to walk to Lake Wabby, dammed by a moving sand dune called the Hammerhead Blow. We swam with large catfish, then walked south-eastwards for a couple of kilometres to where Fritz was waiting for us with the bus. Then to Central Station for a good lunch under cover as it was raining lightly. We then walked for a couple kilometres through the rain forest by a stream where we saw a catfish and an eel. Then it was time to rejoin the bus, return to the mainland on the barge, and back to the apartments.
It was an interesting trip despite the disappointing weather. Fritz was a great guide with a wide range of cultural, geological and botanical knowledge which he was enthusiastic in passing on to us.
Happy Birthday Emily. Sorry we missed your birthday. We were driving from Agnes Water to Hervey Bay, just a couple of hundred kilometres southwards. The weather was beautiful as we drove through pasture, sugar cane fields and groves of macadamia trees.
The information site at Hervey Bay recommended Lisianna holiday apartments right on the sea front, with a balcony on which I write this looking across the beach road to the safe, sandy beach. With the aid of the helpful owner of the comfortable apartments, we booked for a two day excursion to Frazer Island. The tour company will come to pick us up at 07:15 tomorrow and we will spend tomorrow night in a tent on the island. We leave the rental car here ( only 4WD roads on the island) and return for Thursday night. That will mean a very early 06:00 start to travel to Brisbane Airport on Friday morning, but we will return too late to travel on Thursday as night falls rapidly at about 18:30.
Spent the afternoon on the beach, swimming and snorkelling. As the tide fell, I discovered a small coral reef about 100m offshore. Nothing in comparison with the Great Barrier Reef, but there were several varieties of coral and fish. I've named it 'Emily's Reef' in honour of Emily's birthday, although being only a few metres across and perhaps 200mm above the surrounding sea bed level, I doubt it will make an appearance on any nautical charts of the bay. It's about 50m northeast of the seaward end of the pier.
Wednesday 18th March – Fraser Island
Picked up at 07:15 by what we mistook from the front to be a big green refuse truck, but turned out to be a 4WD 24 seater coach. Picking up a further 6 people, we crossed from Riverheads on the 09:00 barge to Fraser Island.
The bus was driven by Fritz, an exuberant Austrian Australian. We drove to Lake Birrabeen and swam in the white sand fringed perched dune lake, a hundred metres or so above sea level and with acidic water with a pH of 4.8. Then to Central Station for a quick walk through the rain forest, and on to the east coast. We drove up the beach to Happy Valley for a great buffet lunch, then northwards up the beach via various cliffs of coloured sand.
The cyclone had eroded a lot of sand from the beach, exposing 'coffee rock', a sediment where a lot of organic matter was mixed with the sand. (This formed the aquiclude under the perched dune lakes.) As we negotiated one outcrop, the bus rolled and the window next to Christine collided with a pandanus tree which had been brought down by the cyclone. The glass shattered, showering her with small shards of glass, but she was unhurt if a little shaken. We changed seats and for the rest of the trip she kindly let me have the window seat.
At about 17:00 we reached the camp at Cathedral Beach after visiting the historic Maheno ship wreck. The camp comprised permanent tents with wooden floors and a large communal tent with cooking facilities. To my surprise, Fritz turned out to be a man of many talents, one of which was cooking. Preceding the meal he cooked a taster dish of kangaroo which tasted similar to beef.
Thursday 19th March – Fraser Island
Awoke to heavy rain, but after a good breakfast, drove northwards up the beach to Indian Head, which turned out to be a porphyritic rhyolite headland. A sea eagle soared above and ospreys were perched in the pandanus trees.
Fritz preferred to call rain 'liquid sunshine'.
Then back southwards down the beach to walk to Lake Wabby, dammed by a moving sand dune called the Hammerhead Blow. We swam with large catfish, then walked south-eastwards for a couple of kilometres to where Fritz was waiting for us with the bus. Then to Central Station for a good lunch under cover as it was raining lightly. We then walked for a couple kilometres through the rain forest by a stream where we saw a catfish and an eel. Then it was time to rejoin the bus, return to the mainland on the barge, and back to the apartments.
It was an interesting trip despite the disappointing weather. Fritz was a great guide with a wide range of cultural, geological and botanical knowledge which he was enthusiastic in passing on to us.
The Great Barrier Reef
Sunday 15th March - Back to the coast
Drove back to Emerald, then turned southwards, pausing to admire the butte of Mount Zamia. Heading eastwards again we drove through basin and range topography with pasture and scattered coal mines for a couple of hundred kilometres. During this part of the drive we counted just 16 cars.
We booked our places on the 'Spirit of 1770' to Lady Musgrave Island for the following day at the township of 1770, then returned down the road to Agnes Water. Calling in at the Agnes Palms motel, we were given a double apartment with cooking and washing facilities and a verandah backing onto the coastal palm grove for the price of a standard motel room.
The boardwalk from the verandah lead a couple of hundred metres through the palms across footbridges over lagoons to the coast. The cyclone had eroded the coastal dune and the access steps now had a temporary vertical rope ladder connecting the top and bottom parts. Along the beach were whole trees that had fallen down the newly formed sand cliff.
Monday 16th March - Finally, the Great Barrier Reef
Up early to catch the boat at 07:30. The sea had a moderate swell and the catamaran was pitching a couple of metres through the waves. We reached Lady Musgrave island, a coral cay on the Great Barrier reef, in about two hours and moored to a pontoon in the centre of the atoll it protects.
The crew threw food into the water and a feeding frenzy erupted. The most spectacular were barracuda like Garfish which when they had a piece of food in their mouths would leap out of the water in an attempt to confuse and outrun any peers that might try to steal it.
We disembarked onto a glass bottomed boat, to reach the island via a turtle cleaning station – a piece of coral where the turtles had worn a hollow by rubbing around in it. The walk round the island was fascinating. Most is vegetated with Pisonia trees, which rot so fast that together with guano from the multitudes of birds, they make a fertile soil covering the coral rubble. The trees were densely inhabited by Noddy birds that had no fear of us, whilst Shearwaters had tunnelled into the ground beneath to make their nests,
On the beach we saw turtle tracks and excavations where turtles had hatched and scuttled down the shore to the sea, also a few broken eggs that hadn't made it.
Returning to the boat for an excellent buffet lunch, we put on our snorkel gear and swam around the coral heads in the atoll. There were myriads of fish of all sizes from minute brightly iridescent coloured fish to large striped fish nuzzling the coral. As you swam over them, giant clams closed their serpentine openings. The floor was mostly broken coral with very large black sea slugs ( soft bodied echinoderms) and a few starfish. The edges of the coral heads however were full of life with multi-coloured tabular corals, brain corals, fan corals and antler corals with blue tips, also a few soft corals.
We left about 15:00 and as we left the atoll we came across a line of giant Manta Rays feeding on a current of plankton. They were each several metres across, black diamond shapes with huge mouths showing when they broke the surface.
The swell had abated when we returned and the skipper did some very clever docking as the tide was out by the time we came into harbour and there was very little room to manoeuvre the boat.
Drove back to Emerald, then turned southwards, pausing to admire the butte of Mount Zamia. Heading eastwards again we drove through basin and range topography with pasture and scattered coal mines for a couple of hundred kilometres. During this part of the drive we counted just 16 cars.
We booked our places on the 'Spirit of 1770' to Lady Musgrave Island for the following day at the township of 1770, then returned down the road to Agnes Water. Calling in at the Agnes Palms motel, we were given a double apartment with cooking and washing facilities and a verandah backing onto the coastal palm grove for the price of a standard motel room.
The boardwalk from the verandah lead a couple of hundred metres through the palms across footbridges over lagoons to the coast. The cyclone had eroded the coastal dune and the access steps now had a temporary vertical rope ladder connecting the top and bottom parts. Along the beach were whole trees that had fallen down the newly formed sand cliff.
Monday 16th March - Finally, the Great Barrier Reef
Up early to catch the boat at 07:30. The sea had a moderate swell and the catamaran was pitching a couple of metres through the waves. We reached Lady Musgrave island, a coral cay on the Great Barrier reef, in about two hours and moored to a pontoon in the centre of the atoll it protects.
The crew threw food into the water and a feeding frenzy erupted. The most spectacular were barracuda like Garfish which when they had a piece of food in their mouths would leap out of the water in an attempt to confuse and outrun any peers that might try to steal it.
We disembarked onto a glass bottomed boat, to reach the island via a turtle cleaning station – a piece of coral where the turtles had worn a hollow by rubbing around in it. The walk round the island was fascinating. Most is vegetated with Pisonia trees, which rot so fast that together with guano from the multitudes of birds, they make a fertile soil covering the coral rubble. The trees were densely inhabited by Noddy birds that had no fear of us, whilst Shearwaters had tunnelled into the ground beneath to make their nests,
On the beach we saw turtle tracks and excavations where turtles had hatched and scuttled down the shore to the sea, also a few broken eggs that hadn't made it.
Returning to the boat for an excellent buffet lunch, we put on our snorkel gear and swam around the coral heads in the atoll. There were myriads of fish of all sizes from minute brightly iridescent coloured fish to large striped fish nuzzling the coral. As you swam over them, giant clams closed their serpentine openings. The floor was mostly broken coral with very large black sea slugs ( soft bodied echinoderms) and a few starfish. The edges of the coral heads however were full of life with multi-coloured tabular corals, brain corals, fan corals and antler corals with blue tips, also a few soft corals.
We left about 15:00 and as we left the atoll we came across a line of giant Manta Rays feeding on a current of plankton. They were each several metres across, black diamond shapes with huge mouths showing when they broke the surface.
The swell had abated when we returned and the skipper did some very clever docking as the tide was out by the time we came into harbour and there was very little room to manoeuvre the boat.
Gemfields
Friday 13th March – Gemfields
Woke up to gale force winds and grey skies. Looked at met forecast and decided that the seas were going to be too murky and rough for days for beach or reef. In addition there was an oil spill which closed the beaches around Brisbane. Ex-cyclone Hamish was still moving northwards, the only place with any sun seemed to be westward. By coincidence, the emerald, ruby and sapphire alluvial deposits were the same way.
We drove west along the Capricorn Highway ( as it follows the tropic) through pastureland dotted with gum trees, alongside the mineral line carrying coal from the interior. Each train consists of two locos, then 48 coal trucks, then another two locos and a final 48 coal trucks. We estimated the total length of each train as a kilometre, and we saw five or six during the morning. That is a lot of coal, I reckon in the order of 60,000 tons.
Stopped for lunch at the Blackdown Tablelands, a scarp edged plateau of cross bedded sandstone standing 600m above the level of the surrounding plain. It was cooler and a bit eerie up there.
Then on to Emerald ( named due to its verdure, no connection with gems) to replenish provisions and get the Information site lady to telephone ahead to check the place we wanted to stay was open.
After Emerald, we were driving with cotton fields either side of the road. Eventually we reached the turning for Willows Gemfields, described as part mining camp, part township and booked into a cabin at the Gem Air Village. It is block built with a 1950s feel but fully functional.
Sat on the warm back step whilst the sun went down, drinking wine and watching a kangaroo browsing unconcernedly just the other side of the track.
463km today, but it isn't raining.
Saturday 14th March
Woke up to cloudless day, birds singing including at one stage a cacophony of kookaburras. Eat breakfast sitting on the back step of the cabin, accompanied by a flock of Rainbow Parakeets and even more Apostle Birds ( like large thrushes, but reputed to live in groups of 12), both so fearless that several hopped up onto the step with us to peck up crumbs.
Walked around the corner, past a bunch of kangaroos, to meet Ruth at the Bonanza Claim. She showed us how to recognise and separate sapphires from the gem bearing gravel using a sieve, water and a piece of sacking on a board. The sun shone as we worked, with little cumulus clouds dotted around a clear blue sky. A kangaroo with a joey peeking out of her pouch came to investigate, whilst a kookaburra sat watching from a nearby tree. Beautiful morning made more memorable as with Ruth's guidance we gradually accumulated a collection of small blue and green sapphires.
After a siesta, went to meet Ruth and her husband Paul at their home near the claim. They showed us an impressive collection of sapphires that they had found and Paul had cut. The difference between the rough stones which just look like bits of broken glass and the cut stones which are alive with light is amazing. Paul had bought a gem facetting machine and taught himself to use it, even developing a novel five sided cut which caused the stones to 'fire' (sparkle) more than the traditional cut. We left our largest finds with him to see what he could do with them.
In the evening, we went just outside the cabin to watch a family of kangaroos browse on the newly cut grass across the track. As we watched, first one then another loped across the track to investigate us. I actually touched the smaller one on the nose as it sniffed my hands. We remained together for about twenty minutes in the gloom as night fell around us. It was quite magical to be with such strange and unlikely creatures.
Woke up to gale force winds and grey skies. Looked at met forecast and decided that the seas were going to be too murky and rough for days for beach or reef. In addition there was an oil spill which closed the beaches around Brisbane. Ex-cyclone Hamish was still moving northwards, the only place with any sun seemed to be westward. By coincidence, the emerald, ruby and sapphire alluvial deposits were the same way.
We drove west along the Capricorn Highway ( as it follows the tropic) through pastureland dotted with gum trees, alongside the mineral line carrying coal from the interior. Each train consists of two locos, then 48 coal trucks, then another two locos and a final 48 coal trucks. We estimated the total length of each train as a kilometre, and we saw five or six during the morning. That is a lot of coal, I reckon in the order of 60,000 tons.
Stopped for lunch at the Blackdown Tablelands, a scarp edged plateau of cross bedded sandstone standing 600m above the level of the surrounding plain. It was cooler and a bit eerie up there.
Then on to Emerald ( named due to its verdure, no connection with gems) to replenish provisions and get the Information site lady to telephone ahead to check the place we wanted to stay was open.
After Emerald, we were driving with cotton fields either side of the road. Eventually we reached the turning for Willows Gemfields, described as part mining camp, part township and booked into a cabin at the Gem Air Village. It is block built with a 1950s feel but fully functional.
Sat on the warm back step whilst the sun went down, drinking wine and watching a kangaroo browsing unconcernedly just the other side of the track.
463km today, but it isn't raining.
Saturday 14th March
Woke up to cloudless day, birds singing including at one stage a cacophony of kookaburras. Eat breakfast sitting on the back step of the cabin, accompanied by a flock of Rainbow Parakeets and even more Apostle Birds ( like large thrushes, but reputed to live in groups of 12), both so fearless that several hopped up onto the step with us to peck up crumbs.
Walked around the corner, past a bunch of kangaroos, to meet Ruth at the Bonanza Claim. She showed us how to recognise and separate sapphires from the gem bearing gravel using a sieve, water and a piece of sacking on a board. The sun shone as we worked, with little cumulus clouds dotted around a clear blue sky. A kangaroo with a joey peeking out of her pouch came to investigate, whilst a kookaburra sat watching from a nearby tree. Beautiful morning made more memorable as with Ruth's guidance we gradually accumulated a collection of small blue and green sapphires.
After a siesta, went to meet Ruth and her husband Paul at their home near the claim. They showed us an impressive collection of sapphires that they had found and Paul had cut. The difference between the rough stones which just look like bits of broken glass and the cut stones which are alive with light is amazing. Paul had bought a gem facetting machine and taught himself to use it, even developing a novel five sided cut which caused the stones to 'fire' (sparkle) more than the traditional cut. We left our largest finds with him to see what he could do with them.
In the evening, we went just outside the cabin to watch a family of kangaroos browse on the newly cut grass across the track. As we watched, first one then another loped across the track to investigate us. I actually touched the smaller one on the nose as it sniffed my hands. We remained together for about twenty minutes in the gloom as night fell around us. It was quite magical to be with such strange and unlikely creatures.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tropical Rain Stops Play
Thursday 12th March – Tropical Rain Stops Play
Woke up to heavy tropical rain. Temperature still in the 80s but grey skies, continuous rain and gusty winds all day.
Drove up to Yeppoon for supplies past beautiful (if soggy) bays containing palm fringed sandy beaches but the sea is choppy, brown and turbid with run-off. It will take some time to clear so no chance of seeing anything at the Great Barrier Reef which tantalisingly lies only a few miles offshore.
Time to finalise planning for Bali and Hong Kong. This is the first day since Fiji that we have been completely defeated by the weather. Decided to stay the night and decide tomorrow what to do.
Woke up to heavy tropical rain. Temperature still in the 80s but grey skies, continuous rain and gusty winds all day.
Drove up to Yeppoon for supplies past beautiful (if soggy) bays containing palm fringed sandy beaches but the sea is choppy, brown and turbid with run-off. It will take some time to clear so no chance of seeing anything at the Great Barrier Reef which tantalisingly lies only a few miles offshore.
Time to finalise planning for Bali and Hong Kong. This is the first day since Fiji that we have been completely defeated by the weather. Decided to stay the night and decide tomorrow what to do.
The Tropic of Capricorn
Wednesday March 11th – The Tropic of Capricorn
We decided that as Cyclone Hamish had moved southwards, we would move northwards and see how far we could travel in a day. Leaving early, we managed to navigate through Brisbane with only a minor detour. We headed up the fabled Bruce Highway, motorway near the city though still with a 100km speed limit, through overcast weather with bands of rain.
Calling into a service station for a big Aussie breakfast, a tourist guide told us it was quite possible to drive to Rockhampton in a day, and gave us maps of the area. We hadn't thought that this was possible because the slowness of driving in Australia caused by having to crawl through each sprawling community (no bypasses) and overtaking lanes at approximately 5km intervals on the single carriageway roads, usually limits daily travel to three or four hundred kilometres.
We drove northwards following the inland route, only stopping for a coffee and fuel, until we reached Rockhampton at 4:30pm. The country was quite tame, grassy plains with eucalyptus trees dotted about and a few sugar cane plantations, with forested mountains inland. The rain became less frequent and the temperature steadily climbed to reach 87F. Unfortunately the radio reported that Hamish had unexpectedly done a 'U' turn and was now following us.
As we neared Rockhampton, we crossed over a railway line with a long coal train crawling along towards the coast from the hinterland. It was quite a sight as the trucks must have stretched for the best part of a mile in length.
The information site at Rockhampton was actually situated on the tropic of Capricorn with a monument at the line and markers for the tropical and temperate zones either side. The nice lady at the site suggested a caravan park on the coast just south of Yeppoon, but it would shut a 6pm.
We hurriedly stocked up on provisions at the nearby Woolworths, then drove to the coast. As we neared Yeppoon, I saw a road heading off to Emu Park, which was close to our destination. However as we drove down it, we became concerned that we weren't passing through the villages marked on the map. Luckily though, it turned out to be a faster route and we arrived at the Coolwaters caravan park just as the owner was in the process of locking up the reception office.
We have a very comfortable cabin with air conditioning, two bedrooms, kitchen and shower room on a very well maintained quiet site. Altogether we covered 724km during the day and travelled further north in a day than we had originally planned for the complete trip. The new plan is to travel in shorter hops back via the coast to Brisbane
We decided that as Cyclone Hamish had moved southwards, we would move northwards and see how far we could travel in a day. Leaving early, we managed to navigate through Brisbane with only a minor detour. We headed up the fabled Bruce Highway, motorway near the city though still with a 100km speed limit, through overcast weather with bands of rain.
Calling into a service station for a big Aussie breakfast, a tourist guide told us it was quite possible to drive to Rockhampton in a day, and gave us maps of the area. We hadn't thought that this was possible because the slowness of driving in Australia caused by having to crawl through each sprawling community (no bypasses) and overtaking lanes at approximately 5km intervals on the single carriageway roads, usually limits daily travel to three or four hundred kilometres.
We drove northwards following the inland route, only stopping for a coffee and fuel, until we reached Rockhampton at 4:30pm. The country was quite tame, grassy plains with eucalyptus trees dotted about and a few sugar cane plantations, with forested mountains inland. The rain became less frequent and the temperature steadily climbed to reach 87F. Unfortunately the radio reported that Hamish had unexpectedly done a 'U' turn and was now following us.
As we neared Rockhampton, we crossed over a railway line with a long coal train crawling along towards the coast from the hinterland. It was quite a sight as the trucks must have stretched for the best part of a mile in length.
The information site at Rockhampton was actually situated on the tropic of Capricorn with a monument at the line and markers for the tropical and temperate zones either side. The nice lady at the site suggested a caravan park on the coast just south of Yeppoon, but it would shut a 6pm.
We hurriedly stocked up on provisions at the nearby Woolworths, then drove to the coast. As we neared Yeppoon, I saw a road heading off to Emu Park, which was close to our destination. However as we drove down it, we became concerned that we weren't passing through the villages marked on the map. Luckily though, it turned out to be a faster route and we arrived at the Coolwaters caravan park just as the owner was in the process of locking up the reception office.
We have a very comfortable cabin with air conditioning, two bedrooms, kitchen and shower room on a very well maintained quiet site. Altogether we covered 724km during the day and travelled further north in a day than we had originally planned for the complete trip. The new plan is to travel in shorter hops back via the coast to Brisbane
To Brisbane
Tuesday March 10th – to Brisbane
Did some shopping in Adelaide, then drove to airport and dropped car, a Hyundai Elantra. The flight to Brisbane was run by Qantas and was very pleasant. When we could see through the cloud cover, the outback was not as dry as we expected. There were large fields of arid reddish pasture, but also huge areas, probably 100 square miles at a time, of forestry.
We had a problem picking up the car at Brisbane. I'd booked a 4 door car through an agency that provides insurance against rental excesses, but the car supplied was a Getz which being a small 2 door hadn't the boot capacity for our two suitcases. After a discussion with the dispatch lady at Thrifty, we got a 'free upgrade' to the size of car originally ordered! Now we have a Ford Focus for the next 10 days.
Drove to Brisbane and found our hotel, the Sapphire Resort in South Brisbane probably more easily than we should have. I think we had a lot of luck as our maps weren't good. The hotel is comfortable enough but seems security obsessed and we assume this part of the city has troubles. However we wandered about the local streets to find dinner and only met friendly people.
Did some shopping in Adelaide, then drove to airport and dropped car, a Hyundai Elantra. The flight to Brisbane was run by Qantas and was very pleasant. When we could see through the cloud cover, the outback was not as dry as we expected. There were large fields of arid reddish pasture, but also huge areas, probably 100 square miles at a time, of forestry.
We had a problem picking up the car at Brisbane. I'd booked a 4 door car through an agency that provides insurance against rental excesses, but the car supplied was a Getz which being a small 2 door hadn't the boot capacity for our two suitcases. After a discussion with the dispatch lady at Thrifty, we got a 'free upgrade' to the size of car originally ordered! Now we have a Ford Focus for the next 10 days.
Drove to Brisbane and found our hotel, the Sapphire Resort in South Brisbane probably more easily than we should have. I think we had a lot of luck as our maps weren't good. The hotel is comfortable enough but seems security obsessed and we assume this part of the city has troubles. However we wandered about the local streets to find dinner and only met friendly people.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
To Adelaide
Sunday 8th March – to Adelaide
Woke up slightly earlier than expected as Southern Australia is 30 minutes behind Victoria. Toured around the parts of Robe we hadn't walked to the previous evening, it's a very pretty and well-heeled town in contrast to many we've been though.
Drove westwards along the Koorong, a desolate area where the longshore drift sandspit has trapped a lagoon between itself and the old coastline about a hundred miles long. The lagoon has partially evaporated due to the drought so is lined by large areas of salt pan. Inland is flat and mostly used for cattle grazing except some areas where there are very productive vineyards.
The day was hot and sunny for a change and I thought it would be nice to go for a swim, so we headed for a beach. As we drove down the road, an unexpected ferry occurred. We didn't have a good map and it turned out the once mighty Murray river was in the way. Luckily it was a free cable ferry ( like a chain ferry but faster and quieter), and due to the drought the river wasn't very wide.
We stopped at Strathalbyn for a picnic lunch with table and benches in the central park. It was a very pretty little town, people strolling in the park, children playing. Originally settled by Scots it sits nestled in hills but was considerably warmer than Scotland, about 28 degrees centigrade.
The information centre told us of a good bay to swim in, but it would have meant a 150 km detour so we decided to head for Adelaide instead. Probably a good decision as we arrived in the late afternoon still with enough energy to walk around town in the evening.
Found the 'Breakfree Diirectors Appartments' easily, well appointed quiet apartments on a street full of restaurants of almost all cuisines.
Monday 9th March – Adelaide
Walked to the Botanic Gardens. Superb, on a par with Montreal and Singapore. Inclusive collection of cycads, lake with huge carp and turtles, beautiful old palm house and the best collection of cacti we have ever seen.. All in a manicured setting with well maintained paths and walkways with parakeets. swooping through the foliage The bicentennial glasshouse is perhaps a triumph of containment over content, but with very striking architecture and climate control. The water lily building is a sublime confection of steel and glass.
Then on to the Art Gallery and a large collection of silverware as well as Australian art from Victorian to contemporary. Possibly the most difficult to hang was a full size fluorescent blue rhinoceros set horizontally with its feet on a wall about a metre above the floor.
Then the museum. We found that a new geological period had been agreed a few years ago, based on trace fossils found in the nearby Flinders Range. The Ediacaran precedes the Cambrian and we saw the fossils of the creatures that preceded the trilobites.
In another gallery was the skeleton of the largest marsupial yet found, a horse size beast with crossed over leg bones.
There was a good mineralogical collection, but for me the star of the show was a diffusion cloud chamber. This is a detection device that allows you to see the tracks of sub-atomic particles from local sources probably including some of the nearby uranium ore samples as well as from cosmic rays from interstellar space.
Woke up slightly earlier than expected as Southern Australia is 30 minutes behind Victoria. Toured around the parts of Robe we hadn't walked to the previous evening, it's a very pretty and well-heeled town in contrast to many we've been though.
Drove westwards along the Koorong, a desolate area where the longshore drift sandspit has trapped a lagoon between itself and the old coastline about a hundred miles long. The lagoon has partially evaporated due to the drought so is lined by large areas of salt pan. Inland is flat and mostly used for cattle grazing except some areas where there are very productive vineyards.
The day was hot and sunny for a change and I thought it would be nice to go for a swim, so we headed for a beach. As we drove down the road, an unexpected ferry occurred. We didn't have a good map and it turned out the once mighty Murray river was in the way. Luckily it was a free cable ferry ( like a chain ferry but faster and quieter), and due to the drought the river wasn't very wide.
We stopped at Strathalbyn for a picnic lunch with table and benches in the central park. It was a very pretty little town, people strolling in the park, children playing. Originally settled by Scots it sits nestled in hills but was considerably warmer than Scotland, about 28 degrees centigrade.
The information centre told us of a good bay to swim in, but it would have meant a 150 km detour so we decided to head for Adelaide instead. Probably a good decision as we arrived in the late afternoon still with enough energy to walk around town in the evening.
Found the 'Breakfree Diirectors Appartments' easily, well appointed quiet apartments on a street full of restaurants of almost all cuisines.
Monday 9th March – Adelaide
Walked to the Botanic Gardens. Superb, on a par with Montreal and Singapore. Inclusive collection of cycads, lake with huge carp and turtles, beautiful old palm house and the best collection of cacti we have ever seen.. All in a manicured setting with well maintained paths and walkways with parakeets. swooping through the foliage The bicentennial glasshouse is perhaps a triumph of containment over content, but with very striking architecture and climate control. The water lily building is a sublime confection of steel and glass.
Then on to the Art Gallery and a large collection of silverware as well as Australian art from Victorian to contemporary. Possibly the most difficult to hang was a full size fluorescent blue rhinoceros set horizontally with its feet on a wall about a metre above the floor.
Then the museum. We found that a new geological period had been agreed a few years ago, based on trace fossils found in the nearby Flinders Range. The Ediacaran precedes the Cambrian and we saw the fossils of the creatures that preceded the trilobites.
In another gallery was the skeleton of the largest marsupial yet found, a horse size beast with crossed over leg bones.
There was a good mineralogical collection, but for me the star of the show was a diffusion cloud chamber. This is a detection device that allows you to see the tracks of sub-atomic particles from local sources probably including some of the nearby uranium ore samples as well as from cosmic rays from interstellar space.
Great Ocean Road
Friday 6th March – The Great Ocean Road
Left Geelong and drove to Torquay to the start of the Great Ocean Road. At Urquarts Bluff, the rocks were banded in swirls of pink and red like a raspberry ripple ice cream..
Stopped at Lorne to look at the Erskine Falls. They would have been spectacular if more than a dribble of water was falling over them, that's the problem with 5 year droughts. However, as we walked to Teddy's Lookout over the bay, we came upon a koala sitting in a tree and as we walked back to kookaburras alighted in trees next to us.
Driving on, I saw an echidna scrambling along at the side of the road, but by the time we had found somewhere to park and walk back it had disappeared into the bush. Later we rounded a corner and saw lots of people at the side of the road. We parked and walked back to find three koalas perched precariously in trees by the road. One completely asleep and oblivious to its audience.
Then we went inland and turned down the recently metalled Turton track through miles of a tree fern lined narrow lanes through the Otway rain forest. This brought us to the Otway Fly, 600m of steel walkway supported by cable stayed steel towers up to 30m above ground level which meant we were walking amongst the treetop canopy of Eucalyptus mountain ash and black beech.
Onwards to the 12 Apostles, iconic Cretaceous sandstone sea stacks jutting out into the Southern Ocean with the surf pounding at their base. Quite spectacular. The day had been overcast with showers, but next we stopped at the Bay of Islands and it was lit by the evening sun and was utterly magnificent. The ocean had broken through a gap in the cliffs to form an inland bay dotted with sea stacks.
Quick dash for our night's lodging at LadyBay Apartments at Warrnambool. These were very comfortable and luckily had a restaurant attached as it was late by the time we arrived.
Saturday 7th March – to Robe
Warrnambool seaside was very pretty from our balcony in the morning, but alas we had no time to explore it. After replenishing our supplies, breakfast occurred at the Tower Hill Nature Reserve. This was an extinct volcanic crater complete with lake and central peak almost invisible from the adjacent main road. As we eat breakfast, Christine happened to look up to discover a koala fast asleep in the crook of a branch above us. A few minutes later an emu strutted imperiously past, pretending indifference to the obviously tempting morsels. One of our best breakfast stops.
We tried to follow a trail to 'the last volcano', but became slightly lost. In our efforts to find another path, I climbed a hill to be confronted by a kangaroo taller than myself. He decided to bound away into the brush, but when Christine joined me another one broke cover into view.
Eventually we retraced our route and found the central crater lake. Then we drove to Portland and a strange 'fossilised forest' at Cape Bridgewater. Here dune sands had overlain basalt, then the calciferous groundwater drawn up and evaporating had turned the sands into a limestone. Some form of solution had then taken place to form multitudes of empty tree-like vertical cylindrical cavities with concretionary walls. It looked like a fossilised forest, but probably the 'trees' had started off life as thick grasses.
Lunch at the beach, then drove to Mount Gambier where we looked into the blue lake. This was a maar (never heard the term before) a volcanic eruption where the ejecta just sits on the pre-existing surface. In this case a limestone, so you could see a thin layer of basalt on its surface, then a mound of volcanic ash. All in the crater walls around a beautiful blue circular lake.
Crossed into Southern Australia, where thankfully the speed limit is 110 km/hr and the sun shines. Drove hard to the comfortable Robetown motor inn.
Left Geelong and drove to Torquay to the start of the Great Ocean Road. At Urquarts Bluff, the rocks were banded in swirls of pink and red like a raspberry ripple ice cream..
Stopped at Lorne to look at the Erskine Falls. They would have been spectacular if more than a dribble of water was falling over them, that's the problem with 5 year droughts. However, as we walked to Teddy's Lookout over the bay, we came upon a koala sitting in a tree and as we walked back to kookaburras alighted in trees next to us.
Driving on, I saw an echidna scrambling along at the side of the road, but by the time we had found somewhere to park and walk back it had disappeared into the bush. Later we rounded a corner and saw lots of people at the side of the road. We parked and walked back to find three koalas perched precariously in trees by the road. One completely asleep and oblivious to its audience.
Then we went inland and turned down the recently metalled Turton track through miles of a tree fern lined narrow lanes through the Otway rain forest. This brought us to the Otway Fly, 600m of steel walkway supported by cable stayed steel towers up to 30m above ground level which meant we were walking amongst the treetop canopy of Eucalyptus mountain ash and black beech.
Onwards to the 12 Apostles, iconic Cretaceous sandstone sea stacks jutting out into the Southern Ocean with the surf pounding at their base. Quite spectacular. The day had been overcast with showers, but next we stopped at the Bay of Islands and it was lit by the evening sun and was utterly magnificent. The ocean had broken through a gap in the cliffs to form an inland bay dotted with sea stacks.
Quick dash for our night's lodging at LadyBay Apartments at Warrnambool. These were very comfortable and luckily had a restaurant attached as it was late by the time we arrived.
Saturday 7th March – to Robe
Warrnambool seaside was very pretty from our balcony in the morning, but alas we had no time to explore it. After replenishing our supplies, breakfast occurred at the Tower Hill Nature Reserve. This was an extinct volcanic crater complete with lake and central peak almost invisible from the adjacent main road. As we eat breakfast, Christine happened to look up to discover a koala fast asleep in the crook of a branch above us. A few minutes later an emu strutted imperiously past, pretending indifference to the obviously tempting morsels. One of our best breakfast stops.
We tried to follow a trail to 'the last volcano', but became slightly lost. In our efforts to find another path, I climbed a hill to be confronted by a kangaroo taller than myself. He decided to bound away into the brush, but when Christine joined me another one broke cover into view.
Eventually we retraced our route and found the central crater lake. Then we drove to Portland and a strange 'fossilised forest' at Cape Bridgewater. Here dune sands had overlain basalt, then the calciferous groundwater drawn up and evaporating had turned the sands into a limestone. Some form of solution had then taken place to form multitudes of empty tree-like vertical cylindrical cavities with concretionary walls. It looked like a fossilised forest, but probably the 'trees' had started off life as thick grasses.
Lunch at the beach, then drove to Mount Gambier where we looked into the blue lake. This was a maar (never heard the term before) a volcanic eruption where the ejecta just sits on the pre-existing surface. In this case a limestone, so you could see a thin layer of basalt on its surface, then a mound of volcanic ash. All in the crater walls around a beautiful blue circular lake.
Crossed into Southern Australia, where thankfully the speed limit is 110 km/hr and the sun shines. Drove hard to the comfortable Robetown motor inn.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The Great Ocean Road
Friday 6th March – The Great Ocean Road
Left Geelong and drove to Torquay to the start of the Great Ocean Road. At Urquarts Bluff, the rocks were banded in swirls of pink and red like a raspberry ripple ice cream..
Stopped at Lorne to look at the Erskine Falls. They would have been spectacular if more than a dribble of water was falling over them, that's the problem with 5 year droughts. However, as we walked to Teddy's Lookout over the bay, we came upon a koala sitting in a tree and as we walked back to kookaburras alighted in trees next to us.
Driving on, I saw an echidna scrambling along at the side of the road, but by the time we had found somewhere to park and walk back it had disappeared into the bush. Later we rounded a corner and saw lots of people at the side of the road. We parked and walked back to find three koalas perched precariously in trees by the road. One completely asleep and oblivious to its audience.
Then we went inland and turned down the recently metalled Turton track through miles of a tree fern lined narrow lanes through the Otway rain forest. This brought us to the Otway Fly, 600m of steel walkway supported by cable stayed steel towers up to 30m above ground level which meant we were walking amongst the treetop canopy of Eucalyptus mountain ash and black beech.
Onwards to the 12 Apostles, iconic Cretaceous sandstone sea stacks jutting out into the Southern Ocean with the surf pounding at their base. Quite spectacular. The day had been overcast with showers, but next we stopped at the Bay of Islands and it was lit by the evening sun and was utterly magnificent. The ocean had broken through a gap in the cliffs to form an inland bay dotted with sea stacks.
Quick dash for our night's lodging at LadyBay Apartments at Warrnambool. These were very comfortable and luckily had a restaurant attached as it was late by the time we arrived.
Saturday 7th March – to Robe
Warrnambool seaside was very pretty from our balcony in the morning, but alas we had no time to explore it. After replenishing our supplies, breakfast occurred at the Tower Hill Nature Reserve. This was an extinct volcanic crater complete with lake and central peak almost invisible from the adjacent main road. As we eat breakfast, Christine happened to look up to discover a koala fast asleep in the crook of a branch above us. A few minutes later an emu strutted imperiously past, pretending indifference to the obviously tempting morsels. One of our best breakfast stops.
We tried to follow a trail to 'the last volcano', but became slightly lost. In our efforts to find another path, I climbed a hill to be confronted by a kangaroo taller than myself. He decided to bound away into the brush, but when Christine joined me another one broke cover into view.
Eventually we retraced our route and found the central crater lake. Then we drove to Portland and a strange 'fossilised forest' at Cape Bridgewater. Here dune sands had overlain basalt, then the calciferous groundwater drawn up and evaporating had turned the sands into a limestone. Some form of solution had then taken place to form multitudes of empty tree-like vertical cylindrical cavities with concretionary walls. It looked like a fossilised forest, but probably the 'trees' had started off life as thick grasses.
Lunch at the beach, then drove to Mount Gambier where we looked into the blue lake. This was a maar (never heard the term before) a volcanic eruption where the ejecta just sits on the pre-existing surface. In this case a limestone, so you could see a thin layer of basalt on its surface, then a mound of volcanic ash. All in the crater walls around a beautiful blue circular lake.
Crossed into Southern Australia, where thankfully the speed limit is 110 km/hr and the sun shines. Drove hard to the comfortable Robetown motor inn.
Left Geelong and drove to Torquay to the start of the Great Ocean Road. At Urquarts Bluff, the rocks were banded in swirls of pink and red like a raspberry ripple ice cream..
Stopped at Lorne to look at the Erskine Falls. They would have been spectacular if more than a dribble of water was falling over them, that's the problem with 5 year droughts. However, as we walked to Teddy's Lookout over the bay, we came upon a koala sitting in a tree and as we walked back to kookaburras alighted in trees next to us.
Driving on, I saw an echidna scrambling along at the side of the road, but by the time we had found somewhere to park and walk back it had disappeared into the bush. Later we rounded a corner and saw lots of people at the side of the road. We parked and walked back to find three koalas perched precariously in trees by the road. One completely asleep and oblivious to its audience.
Then we went inland and turned down the recently metalled Turton track through miles of a tree fern lined narrow lanes through the Otway rain forest. This brought us to the Otway Fly, 600m of steel walkway supported by cable stayed steel towers up to 30m above ground level which meant we were walking amongst the treetop canopy of Eucalyptus mountain ash and black beech.
Onwards to the 12 Apostles, iconic Cretaceous sandstone sea stacks jutting out into the Southern Ocean with the surf pounding at their base. Quite spectacular. The day had been overcast with showers, but next we stopped at the Bay of Islands and it was lit by the evening sun and was utterly magnificent. The ocean had broken through a gap in the cliffs to form an inland bay dotted with sea stacks.
Quick dash for our night's lodging at LadyBay Apartments at Warrnambool. These were very comfortable and luckily had a restaurant attached as it was late by the time we arrived.
Saturday 7th March – to Robe
Warrnambool seaside was very pretty from our balcony in the morning, but alas we had no time to explore it. After replenishing our supplies, breakfast occurred at the Tower Hill Nature Reserve. This was an extinct volcanic crater complete with lake and central peak almost invisible from the adjacent main road. As we eat breakfast, Christine happened to look up to discover a koala fast asleep in the crook of a branch above us. A few minutes later an emu strutted imperiously past, pretending indifference to the obviously tempting morsels. One of our best breakfast stops.
We tried to follow a trail to 'the last volcano', but became slightly lost. In our efforts to find another path, I climbed a hill to be confronted by a kangaroo taller than myself. He decided to bound away into the brush, but when Christine joined me another one broke cover into view.
Eventually we retraced our route and found the central crater lake. Then we drove to Portland and a strange 'fossilised forest' at Cape Bridgewater. Here dune sands had overlain basalt, then the calciferous groundwater drawn up and evaporating had turned the sands into a limestone. Some form of solution had then taken place to form multitudes of empty tree-like vertical cylindrical cavities with concretionary walls. It looked like a fossilised forest, but probably the 'trees' had started off life as thick grasses.
Lunch at the beach, then drove to Mount Gambier where we looked into the blue lake. This was a maar (never heard the term before) a volcanic eruption where the ejecta just sits on the pre-existing surface. In this case a limestone, so you could see a thin layer of basalt on its surface, then a mound of volcanic ash. All in the crater walls around a beautiful blue circular lake.
Crossed into Southern Australia, where thankfully the speed limit is 110 km/hr and the sun shines. Drove hard to the comfortable Robetown motor inn.
Geelong
Thursday 5th March – Geelong
Sheila picked us up and drove to Geelong Botanic Gardens. The Arid Garden was most impressively designed and executed, with sweeping curves of contrasting light sand and dark basalt. The planting was mostly a combination of native and Canarian plants with many cycads.
Then on to the Jerralinga Sanctuary at Barwon Heads on the Bellarine peninsular. This was a very extensive collection of native animals and birds, as well as providing rescue facilities for injured wildlife. We saw ( and patted) koalas, watched kookaburras, dingos, wombats, kangaroos and wallabies. A very nice guide opened up the quarters of the nocturnal possums and one was obliging enough to peek out at us and have his photo taken. We also saw an echidna, a spiny marsupial ant-eater.
Lunch at the Wharf Shed back at Geelong, then to the National Wool Museum in an old wool warehouse. Around the Geelong seafront are beautifully carved and painted wooden bollards, each several metres tall and artfully sculpted to resemble a local historical figure. In the basement studio of the museum was the final sculpture, a tribute resembling the original artist who had recently died.
The museum had a working Jacquard loom and an old ex-patriot carpetmaker from Kidderminster demonstrated how it worked by weaving part of an Axminster carpet. It was intriguing to see it working, but at least we could understand what it was doing which we couldn't with several other wool processing machines. The museum was extremely interesting, including its explanation of the origin of the lyrics to 'Waltzing Matilda' as political comment about the poor treatment of shearers at the time.
Then it was time to say goodbye, we hope it won't be another 30 years before we next meet.
Sheila picked us up and drove to Geelong Botanic Gardens. The Arid Garden was most impressively designed and executed, with sweeping curves of contrasting light sand and dark basalt. The planting was mostly a combination of native and Canarian plants with many cycads.
Then on to the Jerralinga Sanctuary at Barwon Heads on the Bellarine peninsular. This was a very extensive collection of native animals and birds, as well as providing rescue facilities for injured wildlife. We saw ( and patted) koalas, watched kookaburras, dingos, wombats, kangaroos and wallabies. A very nice guide opened up the quarters of the nocturnal possums and one was obliging enough to peek out at us and have his photo taken. We also saw an echidna, a spiny marsupial ant-eater.
Lunch at the Wharf Shed back at Geelong, then to the National Wool Museum in an old wool warehouse. Around the Geelong seafront are beautifully carved and painted wooden bollards, each several metres tall and artfully sculpted to resemble a local historical figure. In the basement studio of the museum was the final sculpture, a tribute resembling the original artist who had recently died.
The museum had a working Jacquard loom and an old ex-patriot carpetmaker from Kidderminster demonstrated how it worked by weaving part of an Axminster carpet. It was intriguing to see it working, but at least we could understand what it was doing which we couldn't with several other wool processing machines. The museum was extremely interesting, including its explanation of the origin of the lyrics to 'Waltzing Matilda' as political comment about the poor treatment of shearers at the time.
Then it was time to say goodbye, we hope it won't be another 30 years before we next meet.
Bendigo and Ballarat
Tuesday 3rd March – No picnic at Hanging Rock
Left Melbourne in the rain and headed towards Bendigo on the Calder Highway.
On the way we stopped at Organ Pipes National Park, a very small park centred on a magnificent outcrop of columnar basalt in a deeply incised creek bank. We were the only people in the place, and as we walked around a track by the creek, we came upon several Eastern Grey Kangaroos browsing on the undergrowth. Everywhere else was dry and brown so they had come down to graze greenery by the stream, One had a pouch that wriggled, but the joey didn't peek out. They didn't have much fear of us and let us get quite close before bounding off.
Next stop was supposed to have been a picnic at Hanging Rock, but when we got to the entrance, the gates were locked and the place had mysteriously closed. Everyone had disappeared - spooky or what? The best explanation we could come up with was that the high gusty winds had uprooted a gum tree up the road which brought down a power line with it ( a couple of police cars blocked the road there) and probably the loss of power meant the site had to close.
Drove onwards to Bendigo and the Central Deborah Gold Mine. This was a beautifully preserved mine with all the headgear, engines and processing equipment still working. We went on an underground tour 60m below surface. The guide was very knowledgeable and both explained and demonstrated how the mine was operated, including letting me use a pneumatic rock drill! However the highlight for me was watching an Eimco rocker shovel in operation. I had never expected to ever see one of these startlingly noisy and brutal machines going again.
Then after a quick walk about Bendigo, with a coffee at the famous Gillies pie shop (imfamously once advertised as ' The pies that fill but do not kill'), we drove to Ballarat through more dusty country even though it was starting to rain. The weather was exceptionally windy and the clouds were a strange colour as they were heavily laden with dust.
We found our apartment with difficulty as we didn't have a map, only to find the reception office closed and the phone not working. Luckily another resident rang up the management for us and they explained the key was between the screen door and the main door. As it was now pouring with rain and blowing a gale, we were very pleased to get inside.
Wednesday 4th March
Went to nearby Gold Museum in Ballarat. Intriguing modern museum explaining the history of the goldfield and the tribulations of the miners, especially the tax that led to the Eureka Stockade revolt.
Also fascinating displays of nuggets and explanations of the ways of working and the uses of gold, especially as coinage.
Then into Ballarat itself to wander through the Victorian streets built on a grand scale. The art gallery had a wonderful selection of Australian art including some striking modern pieces in a modern extension to the original Victorian gallery and was well worth looking round.
On to Geelong but by back roads because we stopped for lunch at the desolate Steiglitz National Park. Dust was blowing in between showers of rain and the gum tree and grass tree trunks were blackened by bushfires, probably a few years earlier. A strange and cruelly difficult landscape.
Found the Best Western motor lodge with the help of the information centre. I must have not been paying attention when I booked it, as Christine forcibly pointed out, as it is directly on the very busy Princes Highway with a lot of traffic noise.
On the positive side, our friend Sheila had left a message for us at reception and we spent a very pleasant evening chatting to her and her mother at their home.
Left Melbourne in the rain and headed towards Bendigo on the Calder Highway.
On the way we stopped at Organ Pipes National Park, a very small park centred on a magnificent outcrop of columnar basalt in a deeply incised creek bank. We were the only people in the place, and as we walked around a track by the creek, we came upon several Eastern Grey Kangaroos browsing on the undergrowth. Everywhere else was dry and brown so they had come down to graze greenery by the stream, One had a pouch that wriggled, but the joey didn't peek out. They didn't have much fear of us and let us get quite close before bounding off.
Next stop was supposed to have been a picnic at Hanging Rock, but when we got to the entrance, the gates were locked and the place had mysteriously closed. Everyone had disappeared - spooky or what? The best explanation we could come up with was that the high gusty winds had uprooted a gum tree up the road which brought down a power line with it ( a couple of police cars blocked the road there) and probably the loss of power meant the site had to close.
Drove onwards to Bendigo and the Central Deborah Gold Mine. This was a beautifully preserved mine with all the headgear, engines and processing equipment still working. We went on an underground tour 60m below surface. The guide was very knowledgeable and both explained and demonstrated how the mine was operated, including letting me use a pneumatic rock drill! However the highlight for me was watching an Eimco rocker shovel in operation. I had never expected to ever see one of these startlingly noisy and brutal machines going again.
Then after a quick walk about Bendigo, with a coffee at the famous Gillies pie shop (imfamously once advertised as ' The pies that fill but do not kill'), we drove to Ballarat through more dusty country even though it was starting to rain. The weather was exceptionally windy and the clouds were a strange colour as they were heavily laden with dust.
We found our apartment with difficulty as we didn't have a map, only to find the reception office closed and the phone not working. Luckily another resident rang up the management for us and they explained the key was between the screen door and the main door. As it was now pouring with rain and blowing a gale, we were very pleased to get inside.
Wednesday 4th March
Went to nearby Gold Museum in Ballarat. Intriguing modern museum explaining the history of the goldfield and the tribulations of the miners, especially the tax that led to the Eureka Stockade revolt.
Also fascinating displays of nuggets and explanations of the ways of working and the uses of gold, especially as coinage.
Then into Ballarat itself to wander through the Victorian streets built on a grand scale. The art gallery had a wonderful selection of Australian art including some striking modern pieces in a modern extension to the original Victorian gallery and was well worth looking round.
On to Geelong but by back roads because we stopped for lunch at the desolate Steiglitz National Park. Dust was blowing in between showers of rain and the gum tree and grass tree trunks were blackened by bushfires, probably a few years earlier. A strange and cruelly difficult landscape.
Found the Best Western motor lodge with the help of the information centre. I must have not been paying attention when I booked it, as Christine forcibly pointed out, as it is directly on the very busy Princes Highway with a lot of traffic noise.
On the positive side, our friend Sheila had left a message for us at reception and we spent a very pleasant evening chatting to her and her mother at their home.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Melbourne
Sunday 1st March – Melbourne
This is a city built on Parisian lines, well tram lines anyway. The roads are broad with the trams running in the centre, and many Victorian and later facades have been retained even though a lot of skyscraper building has occurred.
Walked across the Yarra river bridge to the Sunday art market at the arts complex. Hundreds of vendors selling artistically designed trinkets. One man had found a use for silver plated teapots by using them as the upper parts of wind-chimes with various cutlery suspended beneath.
Then caught the free City Circle Tram to Victoria Market. Old wooden trams run frequently both ways around the city centre with recorded commentary describing where you are. At the huge covered market we bought salad vegetables, then caught the tram again to complete a circuitous journey.
In the afternoon we strolled around the Botanic Gardens. Not a patch on Sydney's mostly due to lack of water. It was interesting that plants were very distressed and dying even in the part of the grounds devoted to arid conditions. Really only the cacti were happy.
The weather was overcast all day, and slightly chilly.
Monday 2nd March
Sunny today. Walked to Melbourne museum which is a very modern construction full of interactive displays, including a walk-through forest complete with fish and birds.
Took the tram to docklands for coffee, the regeneration is large scale but seems underpopulated.
Back to the apartment for lunch, then a trip to a shopping mall to see a cliock that plays 'Waltzing Matilda' every hour. Turned out to be made by Seiko who have a strange Japanese idea of what the unofficial Australian anthem should sound like! Completed the day with a beer in a bar on the banks of the Yarra.
Melbourne on a weekday is definitely busier than on a Sunday, but not as busy as Sydney, although there does seem to be more construction going on.
This is a city built on Parisian lines, well tram lines anyway. The roads are broad with the trams running in the centre, and many Victorian and later facades have been retained even though a lot of skyscraper building has occurred.
Walked across the Yarra river bridge to the Sunday art market at the arts complex. Hundreds of vendors selling artistically designed trinkets. One man had found a use for silver plated teapots by using them as the upper parts of wind-chimes with various cutlery suspended beneath.
Then caught the free City Circle Tram to Victoria Market. Old wooden trams run frequently both ways around the city centre with recorded commentary describing where you are. At the huge covered market we bought salad vegetables, then caught the tram again to complete a circuitous journey.
In the afternoon we strolled around the Botanic Gardens. Not a patch on Sydney's mostly due to lack of water. It was interesting that plants were very distressed and dying even in the part of the grounds devoted to arid conditions. Really only the cacti were happy.
The weather was overcast all day, and slightly chilly.
Monday 2nd March
Sunny today. Walked to Melbourne museum which is a very modern construction full of interactive displays, including a walk-through forest complete with fish and birds.
Took the tram to docklands for coffee, the regeneration is large scale but seems underpopulated.
Back to the apartment for lunch, then a trip to a shopping mall to see a cliock that plays 'Waltzing Matilda' every hour. Turned out to be made by Seiko who have a strange Japanese idea of what the unofficial Australian anthem should sound like! Completed the day with a beer in a bar on the banks of the Yarra.
Melbourne on a weekday is definitely busier than on a Sunday, but not as busy as Sydney, although there does seem to be more construction going on.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Melbourne Sunday
Sunday 1st March – Melbourne
This is a city built on Parisian lines, well tram lines anyway. The roads are broad with the trams running in the centre, and many Victorian and later facades have been retained even though a lot of skyscraper building has occurred.
Walked across the Yarra river bridge to the Sunday art market at the arts complex. Hundreds of vendors selling artistically designed trinkets. One man had found a use for silver plated teapots by using them as the upper parts of wind-chimes with various cutlery suspended beneath.
Then caught the free City Circle Tram to Victoria Market. Old wooden trams run frequently both ways around the city centre with recorded commentary describing where you are. At the huge covered market we bought salad vegetables, then caught the tram again to complete a circuitous journey.
In the afternoon we strolled around the Botanic Gardens. Not a patch on Sydney's mostly due to lack of water. It was interesting that plants were very distressed and dying even in the part of the grounds devoted to arid conditions. Really only the cacti were happy.
The weather was overcast all day, and slightly chilly.
This is a city built on Parisian lines, well tram lines anyway. The roads are broad with the trams running in the centre, and many Victorian and later facades have been retained even though a lot of skyscraper building has occurred.
Walked across the Yarra river bridge to the Sunday art market at the arts complex. Hundreds of vendors selling artistically designed trinkets. One man had found a use for silver plated teapots by using them as the upper parts of wind-chimes with various cutlery suspended beneath.
Then caught the free City Circle Tram to Victoria Market. Old wooden trams run frequently both ways around the city centre with recorded commentary describing where you are. At the huge covered market we bought salad vegetables, then caught the tram again to complete a circuitous journey.
In the afternoon we strolled around the Botanic Gardens. Not a patch on Sydney's mostly due to lack of water. It was interesting that plants were very distressed and dying even in the part of the grounds devoted to arid conditions. Really only the cacti were happy.
The weather was overcast all day, and slightly chilly.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Sydney to Melbourne
Tuesday 24th February – 1030km to Melbourne
Eventually picked up car from Europcar at the Mercure hotel, had to go and have breakfast as car wasn't ready, then set off without a map or much help. Nice new car but very poor organisation. However, made it out of Sydney without much fuss and proceeded southwards, past Botany bay to Wollongong. Stopped to buy provisions just south, then drove onwards beneath the lowering scarp of Illawarra to the sleepy little town of Kiama to look at a blow-hole in columnar basalt which, as it was low tide, wasn't blowing. In compensation, though, an albatross wheeled past, the first we had seen. The Tourist Information centre recommended the Kiama Ocean View Motor Inn, which provided us with a comfortable clean room for the night.
The trick to this seems to be to stop and an Information Centre soon after 4pm because they close at 5pm. They recommend local motels that are of a decent standard and all is well.
Wednesday 25th February - 900km to Melbourne.
High tide when we left, and the blow-hole was blowing spray to the height of about 5 metres, even with the moderate swell.
Drove further south, stopping at Batemans Bay for coffee, then the pretty town of Narooma for pic-nic lunch and a swim in a small bay protected by a net. The sun was hot, the water was cold but with masks and snorkels we could see the waters were alive with fish. Unsettlingly one of the first I saw was a jellyfish, but it swam off whilst I was watching it. In some places it was like swimming in an aquarium, fish everywhere.
Driving as far as Batemans Bay was frustrating because of incessant low speed limits. It was like driving in slow motion. Afterwards the limit was mainly 100 kph which although not fast at least meant we could travel at similar speeds as in New Zealand.
Then stopped for the night at Merimbula. The Info centre recommended the Black Dolphin Motel which provided a magnificent room with its verandah looking out over Lake Merimbula to the sunset. Staggeringly beautiful. Parakeets squabbling noisily in the palm trees, egrets stalking the shallows for fish, the odd pelican mooching around and mountains in the distance. A glass of chilled white wine, a few olives and a temperature of about 23 degrees C on the verandah as the sun goes down. Am I making anyone jealous?
Thursday 26th February – 575 km from Melbourne
Drove southwards again, spotting our first kangaroo browsing in a field by the side of the road, and later on metre high termite mounds. Decided to postpone filling up with petrol until the town of Genoa. It was only after we had passed through it that we realised we hadn't seen a petrol station. The next town was 83km further, which we weren't going to make, so we retraced our route back to Genoa, and found a shop with a petrol pump outside it. Unfortunately it had a faded paper notice on it reading 'No petrol, nearest pump Mallacoota 23km'. Luckily, although the indicator was on empty by the time we got there 23km of twisty roads later, we were able to fill up. Taught us that towns on the map can't be relied on to have petrol and to always keep at least 100km range in the tank.
It was raining at Mallacoota so we decided to press on. The weather gradually improved as we drove through miles and miles of fairly similar eucalyptus forest and we reached our objective, Lakes Entrance at lunchtime.
Lakes Entrance is a funny place, a tourist town with few tourists that closes at 5pm. The Information Centre recommended a lovely motel, the Sand Bar Motel, where not only do you get a spacious room, but cooked breakfast too – all for $AU85 per night.
Went walking and met a man walking his dog on the beach. Christine asked him if the many jellyfish we saw stranded on the sand were dangerous. He said they didn't have stingers and then asked her to observe his dog. It was a German Shepherd without a tail. He said that one night, high on drugs and alcohol, he had fetched hi axe and chopped off the dog's tail. Christine looked aghast, he went on ' well the Pom's eat oxtail soup, we eat kangaroo tail, so I just wanted something for my shepherd's pie'. Christine then realised she had been well wound up and laughed.
Later we found a restaurant boat moored in the middle of the fishing fleet – claimed to be the largest fleet in the Southern ocean. Although we only intended to drink a couple of beers as the sun went down, we ended up staying to dine on a seafood platter for two. This was a combination of hot and cold fish and seafood with chips and salad, all on a huge plate. The oysters and scallops were the best we had ever tasted. Also included were what i think were called Moreton Bay Bugs, which looked a bit like crayfish but tasted more like crab,
Friday 27th February – 315km to Melbourne
Hired a day boat and chugged up and down the lakes. Not only did the boat not have neutral or reverse (except an oar), it didn't have a starter either (just a hand cranked starting handle). To change speed involved putting your hand into the engine compartment and manually adjusting the carburettor.
First we sailed up the North Arm to a little jetty at the top of the lake where we moored and walked up the hill to the Wyanga Park winery. Met the very personable white bearded owner, Henry. He said that he always commended northern folk of any country for the warmth of their friendship, and that he always followed this commendation with the comment 'and the looseness of their women'. At this point he seemed to loose half his audience too but his wine was excellent.
As we entered the second lake, the sky became overcast and the wind started to blow. We decided not to go all the way to the end but to turn around at the end of a sand island. The lakes are formed by waters landlocked by the Ninety Mile Beach sand spit. As we turned, the motor faltered. I looked over the stern to see whether the propeller was fouled., and was surprised to see that not only were we not moving, but there wasn't sufficient depth of water to float in. We had inadvertently grounded on a submerged sand bank. Luckily a few pushes with the oar and we were free, but it was a desolate spot to get stranded.
Back on terra firma a game of mini-golf completed a very 'holiday' sort of day. We won't reveal the result save to say it was closer than the last game.
Saturday 28th February – to Melbourne
Drove westward stopping at the Dandenong National park where white and pink cockatoos flitted around the entrance. As we walked down a tree fern lined path under the canopy of high eucalyptus trees, Christine spotted a movement in the undergrowth. It was a Lyre bird scratching for food amongst the forest litter.
Finding our apartment 'Metro at Bank Place' in the very centre of Melbourne was a nightmare due to the combination of one way roads and trams with the rule that when you want to turn right, you have to stop on the left of the street and then turn right across the lines when the lights change to amber. I was glad to park the car safely in a multi-story car park where I hope to leave it until we leave.
The four star apartment is very comfortable, includes a washing machine and a dishwasher and is in a converted Victorian building with high ceilings.
Eventually picked up car from Europcar at the Mercure hotel, had to go and have breakfast as car wasn't ready, then set off without a map or much help. Nice new car but very poor organisation. However, made it out of Sydney without much fuss and proceeded southwards, past Botany bay to Wollongong. Stopped to buy provisions just south, then drove onwards beneath the lowering scarp of Illawarra to the sleepy little town of Kiama to look at a blow-hole in columnar basalt which, as it was low tide, wasn't blowing. In compensation, though, an albatross wheeled past, the first we had seen. The Tourist Information centre recommended the Kiama Ocean View Motor Inn, which provided us with a comfortable clean room for the night.
The trick to this seems to be to stop and an Information Centre soon after 4pm because they close at 5pm. They recommend local motels that are of a decent standard and all is well.
Wednesday 25th February - 900km to Melbourne.
High tide when we left, and the blow-hole was blowing spray to the height of about 5 metres, even with the moderate swell.
Drove further south, stopping at Batemans Bay for coffee, then the pretty town of Narooma for pic-nic lunch and a swim in a small bay protected by a net. The sun was hot, the water was cold but with masks and snorkels we could see the waters were alive with fish. Unsettlingly one of the first I saw was a jellyfish, but it swam off whilst I was watching it. In some places it was like swimming in an aquarium, fish everywhere.
Driving as far as Batemans Bay was frustrating because of incessant low speed limits. It was like driving in slow motion. Afterwards the limit was mainly 100 kph which although not fast at least meant we could travel at similar speeds as in New Zealand.
Then stopped for the night at Merimbula. The Info centre recommended the Black Dolphin Motel which provided a magnificent room with its verandah looking out over Lake Merimbula to the sunset. Staggeringly beautiful. Parakeets squabbling noisily in the palm trees, egrets stalking the shallows for fish, the odd pelican mooching around and mountains in the distance. A glass of chilled white wine, a few olives and a temperature of about 23 degrees C on the verandah as the sun goes down. Am I making anyone jealous?
Thursday 26th February – 575 km from Melbourne
Drove southwards again, spotting our first kangaroo browsing in a field by the side of the road, and later on metre high termite mounds. Decided to postpone filling up with petrol until the town of Genoa. It was only after we had passed through it that we realised we hadn't seen a petrol station. The next town was 83km further, which we weren't going to make, so we retraced our route back to Genoa, and found a shop with a petrol pump outside it. Unfortunately it had a faded paper notice on it reading 'No petrol, nearest pump Mallacoota 23km'. Luckily, although the indicator was on empty by the time we got there 23km of twisty roads later, we were able to fill up. Taught us that towns on the map can't be relied on to have petrol and to always keep at least 100km range in the tank.
It was raining at Mallacoota so we decided to press on. The weather gradually improved as we drove through miles and miles of fairly similar eucalyptus forest and we reached our objective, Lakes Entrance at lunchtime.
Lakes Entrance is a funny place, a tourist town with few tourists that closes at 5pm. The Information Centre recommended a lovely motel, the Sand Bar Motel, where not only do you get a spacious room, but cooked breakfast too – all for $AU85 per night.
Went walking and met a man walking his dog on the beach. Christine asked him if the many jellyfish we saw stranded on the sand were dangerous. He said they didn't have stingers and then asked her to observe his dog. It was a German Shepherd without a tail. He said that one night, high on drugs and alcohol, he had fetched hi axe and chopped off the dog's tail. Christine looked aghast, he went on ' well the Pom's eat oxtail soup, we eat kangaroo tail, so I just wanted something for my shepherd's pie'. Christine then realised she had been well wound up and laughed.
Later we found a restaurant boat moored in the middle of the fishing fleet – claimed to be the largest fleet in the Southern ocean. Although we only intended to drink a couple of beers as the sun went down, we ended up staying to dine on a seafood platter for two. This was a combination of hot and cold fish and seafood with chips and salad, all on a huge plate. The oysters and scallops were the best we had ever tasted. Also included were what i think were called Moreton Bay Bugs, which looked a bit like crayfish but tasted more like crab,
Friday 27th February – 315km to Melbourne
Hired a day boat and chugged up and down the lakes. Not only did the boat not have neutral or reverse (except an oar), it didn't have a starter either (just a hand cranked starting handle). To change speed involved putting your hand into the engine compartment and manually adjusting the carburettor.
First we sailed up the North Arm to a little jetty at the top of the lake where we moored and walked up the hill to the Wyanga Park winery. Met the very personable white bearded owner, Henry. He said that he always commended northern folk of any country for the warmth of their friendship, and that he always followed this commendation with the comment 'and the looseness of their women'. At this point he seemed to loose half his audience too but his wine was excellent.
As we entered the second lake, the sky became overcast and the wind started to blow. We decided not to go all the way to the end but to turn around at the end of a sand island. The lakes are formed by waters landlocked by the Ninety Mile Beach sand spit. As we turned, the motor faltered. I looked over the stern to see whether the propeller was fouled., and was surprised to see that not only were we not moving, but there wasn't sufficient depth of water to float in. We had inadvertently grounded on a submerged sand bank. Luckily a few pushes with the oar and we were free, but it was a desolate spot to get stranded.
Back on terra firma a game of mini-golf completed a very 'holiday' sort of day. We won't reveal the result save to say it was closer than the last game.
Saturday 28th February – to Melbourne
Drove westward stopping at the Dandenong National park where white and pink cockatoos flitted around the entrance. As we walked down a tree fern lined path under the canopy of high eucalyptus trees, Christine spotted a movement in the undergrowth. It was a Lyre bird scratching for food amongst the forest litter.
Finding our apartment 'Metro at Bank Place' in the very centre of Melbourne was a nightmare due to the combination of one way roads and trams with the rule that when you want to turn right, you have to stop on the left of the street and then turn right across the lines when the lights change to amber. I was glad to park the car safely in a multi-story car park where I hope to leave it until we leave.
The four star apartment is very comfortable, includes a washing machine and a dishwasher and is in a converted Victorian building with high ceilings.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Australia
Friday 20th February – Bye bye New Zealand, hello Australia
Rainy day in Christchurch. Returned car and flew to Sydney in a flight run on behalf of Quantas by Jetstar, an airline seemingly run entirely by accountants and a singularly unimpressive experience. We caught the minibus that shuttles between the airport and central hotels. The traffic was very congested as it was a Friday evening. The Grace Hotel is venerable and well situated. We are on the tenth floor, well away from traffic noise.
The contrast between Christchurch and Sydney is immense. Not only is the population much younger and numerous, but Sydney seems vibrant and aspirational compared with Christchurch which appeared somnambulant and directionless.
Saturday 21st February
Went out hunting breakfast, which we found just behind Circular Quay, a very busy area with ferries coming and going constantly. Walked to the Sydney Opera house just round the bay which when you get close to it is far better than even at a distance. The exhilarating curves and peaks of the roofs counterpoising the angular glasswork is inspirational. The location is magnificent. We both agreed it to be one of the finest buildings we had ever seen.
Then back around the quay and up around the Rocks area. The Museum of Modern Art was fun for the most part and shelter from a thunderstorm. Then across the Sydney Harbour Bridge which has a walkway one side, traffic in the middle and a double-decker railway at the other side.
Returning, we ambled around the NSW Government house gardens and into the Botanic Gardens. It was by now late afternoon and the flying foxes were stirring from their daytime sleep. The treetops were festooned by what at first looked like dark bags hanging from the upper branches, but were actually huge bats suspended upside down.
Overcast with rain in evening.
Sunday 22nd February
Hunted down breakfast at Darling Harbour, where we found that in Australia they apply a 10% surcharge for eating on a Sunday as well as bank holidays. Much less busy than Circular Quay and more enclosed by the old wooden Pyremont swing bridge. Then walked through to Paddy's Markets and wandered around the stalls. Returned to drop our purchases at the hotel by travelling a full circuit on the monorail which swings in and out of buildings and surprisingly close to corners and walls.
Walked across Hyde park to the Australian Museum. One of the best mineral collections I can remember seeing, also a surprisingly unsanitised performance by a local aborigine explaining his origins and music with the digeridoo mimicking the sounds of native animals and birds.
We left the museum to find the sun had come out, and walked on to the Art gallery to look at Australian art. Paused outside to watch some form of short film festival in the park. Seemed to consist of sitting in sponsored cardboard seats watching a big screen whilst eating jelly beans.
Onwards, we walked to Mrs Macquarie's chair, a seat carved into the cross bedded Permian sandstone below a natural overhang, and round the bay back to the Sydney Opera House. The steps at the front were teeming with people watching the Victorian Bush Fire memorial concert on another big screen.
An expensive beer on the quayside while the sun set, then back to the hotel.
Monday 23rd February
Caught the Manly ferry and walked to Shelley Beach on the ocean side. Great trip across the harbour to a pleasant low key beachside community. The sun shone and the water was warm and luckily shark free.
Rainy day in Christchurch. Returned car and flew to Sydney in a flight run on behalf of Quantas by Jetstar, an airline seemingly run entirely by accountants and a singularly unimpressive experience. We caught the minibus that shuttles between the airport and central hotels. The traffic was very congested as it was a Friday evening. The Grace Hotel is venerable and well situated. We are on the tenth floor, well away from traffic noise.
The contrast between Christchurch and Sydney is immense. Not only is the population much younger and numerous, but Sydney seems vibrant and aspirational compared with Christchurch which appeared somnambulant and directionless.
Saturday 21st February
Went out hunting breakfast, which we found just behind Circular Quay, a very busy area with ferries coming and going constantly. Walked to the Sydney Opera house just round the bay which when you get close to it is far better than even at a distance. The exhilarating curves and peaks of the roofs counterpoising the angular glasswork is inspirational. The location is magnificent. We both agreed it to be one of the finest buildings we had ever seen.
Then back around the quay and up around the Rocks area. The Museum of Modern Art was fun for the most part and shelter from a thunderstorm. Then across the Sydney Harbour Bridge which has a walkway one side, traffic in the middle and a double-decker railway at the other side.
Returning, we ambled around the NSW Government house gardens and into the Botanic Gardens. It was by now late afternoon and the flying foxes were stirring from their daytime sleep. The treetops were festooned by what at first looked like dark bags hanging from the upper branches, but were actually huge bats suspended upside down.
Overcast with rain in evening.
Sunday 22nd February
Hunted down breakfast at Darling Harbour, where we found that in Australia they apply a 10% surcharge for eating on a Sunday as well as bank holidays. Much less busy than Circular Quay and more enclosed by the old wooden Pyremont swing bridge. Then walked through to Paddy's Markets and wandered around the stalls. Returned to drop our purchases at the hotel by travelling a full circuit on the monorail which swings in and out of buildings and surprisingly close to corners and walls.
Walked across Hyde park to the Australian Museum. One of the best mineral collections I can remember seeing, also a surprisingly unsanitised performance by a local aborigine explaining his origins and music with the digeridoo mimicking the sounds of native animals and birds.
We left the museum to find the sun had come out, and walked on to the Art gallery to look at Australian art. Paused outside to watch some form of short film festival in the park. Seemed to consist of sitting in sponsored cardboard seats watching a big screen whilst eating jelly beans.
Onwards, we walked to Mrs Macquarie's chair, a seat carved into the cross bedded Permian sandstone below a natural overhang, and round the bay back to the Sydney Opera House. The steps at the front were teeming with people watching the Victorian Bush Fire memorial concert on another big screen.
An expensive beer on the quayside while the sun set, then back to the hotel.
Monday 23rd February
Caught the Manly ferry and walked to Shelley Beach on the ocean side. Great trip across the harbour to a pleasant low key beachside community. The sun shone and the water was warm and luckily shark free.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Christchurch
Wednesday 18th February – to Christchurch
Lazy day today after yesterday's exertions. Beautiful scenic drive through the mountains along wide flat river valleys and across to the Canterbury plain. Easily found the Copthorne hotel with comfortable room. Spent afternoon in the Botanic Gardens, just a few minutes walk away.
Thursday 19th February
Spent what was left of the day after a long brunch in the Christchurch Art Gallery. This is a purpose designed steel and glass structure with the most comprehensive collection of New Zealand art beautifully hung and lit. The modern art was particularly good. Also walked round the adjacent old Canterbury University which now houses artistic enterprises. It is somewhat demeaning that the magnificent old buildings still labelled ' Chemistry', 'Physics' etc. have now mostly become galleries of tourist memorabilia in the shape of kiwis or sheep. There were a few exceptions, one fine painter in a garret room and some passionate tapestry weavers.
Lazy day today after yesterday's exertions. Beautiful scenic drive through the mountains along wide flat river valleys and across to the Canterbury plain. Easily found the Copthorne hotel with comfortable room. Spent afternoon in the Botanic Gardens, just a few minutes walk away.
Thursday 19th February
Spent what was left of the day after a long brunch in the Christchurch Art Gallery. This is a purpose designed steel and glass structure with the most comprehensive collection of New Zealand art beautifully hung and lit. The modern art was particularly good. Also walked round the adjacent old Canterbury University which now houses artistic enterprises. It is somewhat demeaning that the magnificent old buildings still labelled ' Chemistry', 'Physics' etc. have now mostly become galleries of tourist memorabilia in the shape of kiwis or sheep. There were a few exceptions, one fine painter in a garret room and some passionate tapestry weavers.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
16 - 17th February
Monday 16th February – to Arthur's Pass
Drove northwards via the old gold mining town of Ross and the laid back town of Hokitika which was good fun. Then inland to Arthur's pass which Tony at Takaka claimed was discovered by his grandfather. Found our motel, the Arthur's Pass Alpine Motel very easily. Spacious cabin with good facilities.
Then walked to the Devil's Punchbowl falls, a short walk away.
Tuesday 17th February – the high spot of the holiday?
Awakened at 2am by shunting! The railway and road share the narrow valley and the noise reverberates when the wagons are being marshalled.
To the Dept of Conservation office after breakfast to check the weather forecast and register our intention to climb Avalanche Peak. If you haven't posted the intention's form counterfoil in their box by next morning, they call out the rescue service for you. Very good idea.
We bought Christine a walking pole before we started. So now it is official. Christine has a walking stick!
Starting at 09.30 we climbed up the steep trail up to the bushline, then upwards over grass then scree and rock towards the summit. All the route was beautifully waymarked. We started at 760m above sea level, and reached the summit at 1800m at 13.45. The weather was fine and the cloudbase fairly high so the views were tremendous.
Over the top section we were accompanied by Kea, large alpine parrots who although intelligent enough to scrounge ham sandwiches from climbers, apparently cannot read the signs saying it is bad for them. It is surreal to be high in the mountains, way above any vegetation, and be sitting within feet of a large parrot.
Back down the Scott track which was supposed to be gentler, but in fact because the track doubled as a watercourse in wet weather, was very difficult with boulders and frequent very steep sections. It took us until 18:00 to get back to the road, and Christine swearing she was never going up another mountain, ever.
As we walked back, a train drew in from Greymouth headed by no less than five diesel engines. Three then went back to Greymouth, the train continuing towards Christchurch down the downhill grade with only two engines, It shows the gradient up from Greymouth must be vicious.
Monday, February 16, 2009
14 - 15th February
Saturday 14th February
Beautiful day. Drove northwards through Central Otago valleys lined with vineyards. We had sampled a local Pinot Noir the previous evening and it was impressively good.
Then onward first beside Lake Wanaka and then the stunningly serene Lake Hawea before stopping at the Blue Pools at the confluence of two rivers where the boardwalk overlooked deep pools with large rainbow trout swimming around, then Fantail Falls where visitors had surreally piled the flat schistose pebbles and cobbles of the dried river bed into vertical cairns. The road followed glacial valleys surrounded by majestic mountains including the snow topped Mount Cook in the background.
Crossing the impressive Haast bridge, we reached Fox Glacier. The snout was about twenty minutes walk from the car park. Streaked grey with morraine but deep blue where crevasses cut into the face.
Then northwards to find our rather cramped Bellavista motel at Franz Joseph. The motel booklet includes this anonymous poem to indicate the pluvial nature of the area.
It rained and rained and rained
The average fall was well maintained
And when the tracks were simply bogs
It started raining cats and dogs
After a drought of half an hour
We had a most refreshing shower
And then most curious of all
A gentle rain began to fall
Next day but one was fairly dry
Save for one deluge from the sky
Which wetted the party to the skin
And then at last the Rain set in
Sunday 15th February
Booked a half day trip up the glacier with Franz Joseph Glacier Guides. They provided socks, boots, waterproof jacket and crampons, then took us by coach to the glacier car park. Then a 2.6km walk along braided river deposits and through brush along the valley side to the glacier snout. Steps had been cut up the ice face and rope handrails attached to ice screws. We put on our crampons and ascended several hundred metres up and about a kilometre along the glacier. We looked into deep blue ice and climbed along crevasses. It was incredible being up on the ice surface and the crampons work very well. It is difficult to believe that your feet are going to remain where you place them on a steep ice surface, but they do. Altogether, it was a five and a half hour trip and we were tired but happy by the end of it. After our return, it started to rain.
13th February
Friday 13th February – Otago Goldfields – Christine strikes gold!
Drove to Kawarau gorge to the Goldfields Mining Centre. Jim, our very friendly and knowledgeable guide powered up the pelton wheel driven stamping machine and also demonstrated a water jet used for hydraulic mining of the alluvial gold deposit.
Finally he demonstrated panning and had dug up a pile of alluvial deposit from beneath a boulder further down the valley. Soon after starting panning from the pile, Christine discovered a large flake of gold, probably several grains in weight, almost a small nugget and about the largest size found in the area.
Then we drove on to Cromwell and a restored historic town that had been saved when the area was flooded for a hydro scheme.
Then a detour to Bannockburn, not for a battle, but because it is the centre of wine production in the area. I can vouch that the white is very drinkable.
Then to Arrowtown, a similar restored goldfield town, but with better coffee.
Finally back to Queenstown, a glass of wine on the lakeside and watching the vintage steam ship 'Earnslaw' gradually get larger as she steamed across the lake and into her mooring.
Drove to Kawarau gorge to the Goldfields Mining Centre. Jim, our very friendly and knowledgeable guide powered up the pelton wheel driven stamping machine and also demonstrated a water jet used for hydraulic mining of the alluvial gold deposit.
Finally he demonstrated panning and had dug up a pile of alluvial deposit from beneath a boulder further down the valley. Soon after starting panning from the pile, Christine discovered a large flake of gold, probably several grains in weight, almost a small nugget and about the largest size found in the area.
Then we drove on to Cromwell and a restored historic town that had been saved when the area was flooded for a hydro scheme.
Then a detour to Bannockburn, not for a battle, but because it is the centre of wine production in the area. I can vouch that the white is very drinkable.
Then to Arrowtown, a similar restored goldfield town, but with better coffee.
Finally back to Queenstown, a glass of wine on the lakeside and watching the vintage steam ship 'Earnslaw' gradually get larger as she steamed across the lake and into her mooring.
11th - 12th February
11th February – Milford Sound
Following a spectacular drive through high glacial valleys surrounded by mountainous peaks, then finally a kilometre long road tunnel through a valley head into a cirque on the seaward side, we reached Milford Sound. This is an overdeepened fiord formed during the ice ages.
The weather was overcast but the cloud base was high and it was mercifully dry, not a frequent occurrence at a place with an annual rainfall of 6.7 metres, an average approaching three quarters of an inch per day.
We boarded the 'Milford Wanderer' and found that rather than sharing a cabin with strangers, they had assigned us a cabin to ourselves. We set sail through dramatic scenery, the rock walls of the fiord reaching up to 1200 metres and with snow and ice still visible on the south facing slopes of the peaks far above us.
The ship moored in Harrison's Bay and we went off kayaking. The water was clear, cold because it was fed from glacial meltwater, and calm. We heard penguins on the shore but couldn't see them. It was a wonderful feeling to be out on the water by ourselves in such an atmospheric location. Well, alone except for the occasional attentions of sand flies. Despite applying Deet to known vulnerable areas, they discovered that the tops of our heads were tasty too.
After dinner, because I had emailed when booking that it was our 60th birthday tour, we were presented with a complimentary bottle of wine, and found three friendly Germans to help us celebrate.
12th February
The next morning dawned fine again and the ship headed out to the Tasman Sea. Looking back, you could understand how Captain Cook had completely missed the Sound. You couldn't see the entrance at all. Then we cruised back to the head of the fiord, pausing to poke the bows under a waterfall higher than Niagara.
As we moored, we spotted a penguin calmly watching us from under the jetty.
Long drive to Queenstown, partially through rain. Found our motel, 'The Lofts', easily and it has not only a bath, but a washing and a drying machine too.
10th February
10th February – Te Anau
Followed the Southern Scenic Route past windswept beaches and bays until we eventually turned northwards towards the mountains. Stopped to view the Clivden suspension bridge, somewhat less prepossessing than its quasi namesake, but a pleasant stroll. One abutment is underlain by a voluminous spring where water gushes up from the limestone beneath.
Then onto Clivden caves. As the only torch we had between us was the LEDs of my mobile phone, we didn't penetrate far inside the long horizontal passageways.
Lunch occurred at an idyllic lakeshore picnic spot at Lake Manapouri. Then on to Te Anau.
Stopped at the Dept of Conservation wildlife sanctuary where we found an essential guide to prevent us from confusing a Takahe with a Puketu, and an indigenous parrot who spent much time trying to unscrew the nuts that held his cage together, with his beak. As many New Zealand bird names are a mix of unusual consonants with a few vowels, I intend to use them advantageously in Scrabble when I return.
Found the rather basic Fiordland Motel with some difficulty as its position on Google maps differed from reality by about half a kilometre. Possibly due to transcurrent movement along the Alpine fault that runs along the lake in front of it.
Followed the Southern Scenic Route past windswept beaches and bays until we eventually turned northwards towards the mountains. Stopped to view the Clivden suspension bridge, somewhat less prepossessing than its quasi namesake, but a pleasant stroll. One abutment is underlain by a voluminous spring where water gushes up from the limestone beneath.
Then onto Clivden caves. As the only torch we had between us was the LEDs of my mobile phone, we didn't penetrate far inside the long horizontal passageways.
Lunch occurred at an idyllic lakeshore picnic spot at Lake Manapouri. Then on to Te Anau.
Stopped at the Dept of Conservation wildlife sanctuary where we found an essential guide to prevent us from confusing a Takahe with a Puketu, and an indigenous parrot who spent much time trying to unscrew the nuts that held his cage together, with his beak. As many New Zealand bird names are a mix of unusual consonants with a few vowels, I intend to use them advantageously in Scrabble when I return.
Found the rather basic Fiordland Motel with some difficulty as its position on Google maps differed from reality by about half a kilometre. Possibly due to transcurrent movement along the Alpine fault that runs along the lake in front of it.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
9th February 2009
Drove southwards through heavy rain to Curio Bay where the remains of a Jurassic forest lie on a wave cut platform on the shore. Lengths of tree trunks, still with their circular sections preserved by silicification, can be traced for 10 metres or so, whilst stumps are still in-situ. The only other exposure I've heard of like this is in Arizona.
Then on to Slope Point where we braved the rain to walk to the southernmost tip of South Island. We were rewarded by a signpost showing we were almost equidistant from the equator and the South Pole.
A couple of people we met at Slope Point said they had just seen dolphins and a sea lion at Porpoise Bay, just round from Curio Bay, so we retraced our route and found a covered picnic site ( what were the chances of finding somewhere dry to eat in the rain!) overlooking the bay where a pod of Hector's dolphins were swimming and playing. The sea lion must have sloped off, but as we watched, the dolphins leapt out of the water perhaps two metres clear into the air. It was a 'thanks for all the fish' moment, but they wouldn't repeat it while I had the camera running.
On via a small museum at Waikawa, warm, dry and full of interesting items just like a museum should be, to Tokanui where we picked up the key to the motel unit from the Tavern. The motel unit turned out to be a large comfortable house up the next street. The rain stopped and we dried out our clothes using their electric heaters.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
7th February – to Dunedin
A journey day. Left Akaroa early and drove uneventfully southwards through the Canterbury Plain. Stopped at Timaru for coffee and decided that it was possibly the most boring town in New Zealand. It was like being in back in Britain in the late 1950's, probably on a Sunday, when it was raining and something good was on the telly.
Then stopped at the Moeraki boulders, extraordinarily large and spheroidal septarian nodules up to a metre in diameter which had weathered from the low cliff and sat undisturbed on the beach. The tide was well in, so the Pacific waves were breaking around them.
Found our hotel, LivingSpace, easily. The rooms are very small but perfectly formed with a large curved sliding glass partition to the shower area.
Dunedin is the most southerly city in the country, largely built by Victorian Scots, and abounding with Scottish street names and Victorian gothic architecture.
Tried to eat out, but probably as it was the Saturday night of a national holiday weekend, all the restaurants seemed to have unexpectedly closed and we were forced into McDonalds for the first time. Interestingly, this was a branch in which the concept of fast food had evolved into fast food after a long wait.
8th February - Otago Peninsular
Drove in beautiful weather along the Otago peninsular to Penguin Place. This endeavour is devoted to trying to save the endangered Yellow Eyed Penguin. A very knowledgeable guide called Tim took us round, explaining the habits and problems of the birds. From various hides connected by semi-tunnels we were able to get close to several chicks.
Drove to the end of the Peninsular where there is an albatross colony, but the birds had flown and we didn't see any.
Back to the art gallery in Dunedin which apart from worthy Victorian portraits of Victorian worthies, and an off -colour Monet, had an interesting exhibition of works by a local artist.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Thursday 5th February Hanmer Springs
Got away early, sad to leave Tony at Carlconna House as we had got on so well over the three days that he had become a friend. Uneventful drive at first over Takaka Hill – this is an understatement. Takaka Hill is a mountain that separates Golden Bay from the rest of the world. The single road across is the only way in or out except by walking four or five days.
Then we drove at first through young steep river valleys, then older valleys with flat floors and finally huge glacial 'U' shaped valleys with braided rivercourses sprawling across their floors. Stopped in Murchison for coffee then on across the Alpine Fault from the Australasian plate to the Pacific plate.
Hanmer Springs is a delightful quiet, open town centred on the thermal springs at the confluence of several mountain valleys. We found the comfortably appointed Hanmer Resort Motel easily. After a game of mini-golf which was a closer contest than before, although of similar outcome, we went to the Thermal Baths.
We entered at the Over 60's reduced rate, and so after two hours soaking in the various thermal pools with views across the trees to the enclosing mountains, became officially both old and wrinkly.
Friday 6th February
Started early and drove past Christchurch on the gently undulating Canterbury Plain to the village of Akeroa. This is set on the waterfront inside an old volcano that has been breached by the sea on one side, crating a sheltered harbourage. It was formerly a French colony and the road names are still French. Our motel, the comfortable Driftwood Wai iti was on the waterfront and for a few dollars we hired their two person kayak and paddled up and down the length of the bay. It was faster than a single kayak, but surprisingly difficult to steer.
Today is Waitangi Day. This commemorates the signing of the first treaty between the Maori and the British Government. It was a bi-lingual treaty, both in English and Maori, but because Maori was a phonetic, idiomatic language, the translation was somewhat ambivalent as many of the concepts had no direct counterpart. Hence the Maori with no equivalent for the word 'pre-emption' were later surprised to find that they could only sell their land to the Crown. Thus the treaty perpetuated troubled relations rather than solving them.
A similar state of affairs prevailed at supper time, when we had eaten a nicely prepared barbecue on the lawn of a local restaurant and were surprised to find the bill 15% higher than stated. This was explained as the Waitangi day surcharge, which all New Zealanders know about but foreign tourists do not. This neatly exemplifies how the Maori must have felt about British traditions.
Sunday 1st February
Spent most day at Te Papa museum. Recently built, this is the national museum, brilliantly constructed and really interesting displays on geology, natural history and immigration..
Monday 2nd February
Up early to catch the ferry to South Island. Hadn't realised this isn't like a normal ferry. After crossing the Cook Strait, it dives towards a mountain wall which opens up to reveal a passageway, the Tory passage, leading into Queen Charlotte Sound. Almost like cruising through the fiords of Norway.
Drove through breathtaking scenery from Picton towards Nelson, then over a marble mountain range down to Takaka in Golden Bay. Golden both because it has a gigh annual sunnshine rate, but also because they used to mine gold here.
Found Carlconna House where we are staying and were warmly welcomed by Tony and Cath, our hosts. The house is wooden, totally renovated and dates from 1874, although it was moved once to avoid a railway.
Tuesday 3nd February
Following Tony's advice and sketchmaps we drive first to the Abel Tasman memorial. This guy should win the prize for not spotting the elephant in the room. He sailed from Mauritius and managed to completely miss Australia, just bumping into Tasmania and New Zealand on his voyage. Then up a valley and across an Indiana Jones style rope bridge to a waterfall. Lunch occurred by a gentle sandy beach followed by a swim and a game of mini-golf. I was not allowed to add up the scores so cannot divulge who won.
Then on to Pupu springs, the largest spring in New Zealand. They have installed and upside down periscope and as the water is so clear, we could watch a diving bird forage underwater and see a big fish swim by.
Wednesday 4th February
Drove westwards to Wharariki beach. From car park you walk through huge dunes and beach has islands of conglomerate with caves that are approachable at low tide. The northernmost has caves right the way through it so that waves that break on the seaward side ripple through about 100m to reappear as bores in the cave mouth on the landward side. One cave also has a thin coal seam in it.
The central island has several rock pools and is home to a colony of seals. We watched a family of mother, father and four cubs playing on the rocks, scrambling up and down into pools and calling to one another.
Then round to Cape Farewell, the northernmost point of South Island, with an impressive sea arch.
Then on to the start of the large Farewell spit, a long sand spit about 20km in length. However looked fairly desolate and rain was coming so we high tailed it back to the little village of Collingwood. As Tony had foretold, home of Rosy Glow chocolates – yum.
As rain decided not to abate, drove eastwards to the Aorere gold fields. An alluvial gold mining area with little now to show of its past. We tramped along tracks for several hours but saw no traces of gold, just an uninviting looking limestone cave deep in the bush. However as we returned along another track, just as we were getting very unsure whether we would ever see the car again, we met a guy walking the same way who confirmed we were on the right track. As we were changing our boots at the car, he came over and showed us a jam jar with water in it. The bottom was covered with the gold flakes he had extracted from one of the streams. Christine estimated he had about 5g of gold, which he said had taken him two days of work. Work apparently consisted of bedding what he called a 'Swiss Box' in a stream, damming around it to get a good current of water flowing though it, then attaching a flexible tube to a suction spigot. The flow through the box produced the suction, probably by the Venturi effect. The sediment passed a series of riffles where the flakes of gold, each several millimetres across, were trapped. He seemed to be inhabiting an old camper van in the car park, prospecting for gold as his living.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday 30th January
Drove south from Rotorua to Waimangu volcanic valley. Spectacular lakes of steaming water in craters formed by the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera. Walked down to lake Tarawera and thankfully caught bus back up.
Tried to find visitor centre for Geothermal energy plant north of Taupo, but it had disappeared so lunched at Huka falls. Then drove over forested and increasingly dessicated land to the Pacific coast at Napier. Here there are lots of vineyards as it is part of the Hawkes Bay area.
Found Napier prison after a bit of a struggle and became inmates. The room ( former cell) has bars at the window and a padlock on the door.
Went walking into Napier. The town was flattened by an earthquake in 1931 and was rebuilt in the style of the time, art deco. However, possibly as they were a bit concerned about safety, none of the buildings are above 2 stories, so although much of the art deco style is intact, it completely lacks the scale and proportions, say, of Miami Beach.
The town was largely closed, no-one about, and we failed to find a decent restaurant so ended up on the beach with fish and chips and and admiring squadron of gulls.
Saturday 31st January
Travel to Wellington. Uneventful journey mostly along a plain parallel to a range of mountains topped by clouds. Stopped at small winery to buy a bottle.
From observations made on this trip so far, we are of the opinion that New Zealanders really like sheds. They like them so much that lots of them live in them and call them houses. They are often quite pretty to look at and neatly cared for, but are basically just small wooden sheds with corrugated roofs usually crammed together in tiny plots along the roadside. We haven't as yet discovered why, there doesn't seem to be any shortage of land. It must be a cultural preference.
After accidentally leaving Wellington soon after entering it, we found the hotel easily on the second pass. Walked to the cable car and rode up to the Botanic Gardens above the city. Great gardens and lovely walk down clearly marked all the way.
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