Hup!
Back in Darwin after 6 nights on the road in a campervan touring Kakadu, Katherine Gorge and Litchfield National Parks with new friends Kim, Ian and Nina. Cool Photos to follow but there were dicy encounters with crocodiles, snakes, friendly wallabies and mad park rangers.
I'll be posting a decent story or two in the next couple of days but right now I really need a beer and some food!..
Tuesday 31 July 2007
Sunday 22 July 2007
Sail-a-Whale
"Ha! Ha ha ha! I love these animals!" Captain John shouts from the back of the catamaran. His face is beaming with excitement at the spectacle taking place only 10 meters to the starboard side of the boat.
Three Southern right whales, a mother and her calf and, erm Auntie Maureen are checking us out. Their huge black backs break the water, and the white markings on the heads are clearly visible. Richard the deck hand screams "I've seen her before, she was here last year" pointing to the mum. The calf breaths and a shot of water arcs into the air. The eight passengers on board are collectively holding our breath to see what will happen next.
The family suddenly ducks down beneath the waves and swims right under the twin hulls before appearing again on the port side. For a moment we've been accepted into part of this huge mammals family. And it's bloody amazing. For the next 25 minutes they keep in close contact with the boat occasionally raising their heads above the water, or 'spy hopping' to take a better look at us.
I'm on the HMV Sail-a-way, off the coast of Albany. The large bay is home each year to hundreds of Southern Right (named by hunters because they floated when shot, and contained lots of precious oil) and Humpback whales. They come here because of the warm Leeuwin current which pushes down the cape coast and the relative safety of the bay.
I say relative, because less than 30 years ago, whales were still hunted off the Southern Australian coast. Albany was at the centre of this trade. The aptly named ' Whale World' (party on!) at the nearby Frenchman's bay tells the story of the industry. It finally closed down on November 30 1978, one of the first big successes of the environmental lobby.
Now a new battle is being fought, this time by the Australian government against Japanese whales who are this year hunting 500 humpback whales in Australian governed Antarctic waters.
As we head for home with a wonderful pod of bottlenose dolphins playing in the bow wave before us, a humpback 'breaches' and jumps almost out of the water ahead of us. The noise is audible from over a kilometer away. Our luck seems endless this bright cold morning, and I don't want to be anywhere else....
Three Southern right whales, a mother and her calf and, erm Auntie Maureen are checking us out. Their huge black backs break the water, and the white markings on the heads are clearly visible. Richard the deck hand screams "I've seen her before, she was here last year" pointing to the mum. The calf breaths and a shot of water arcs into the air. The eight passengers on board are collectively holding our breath to see what will happen next.
The family suddenly ducks down beneath the waves and swims right under the twin hulls before appearing again on the port side. For a moment we've been accepted into part of this huge mammals family. And it's bloody amazing. For the next 25 minutes they keep in close contact with the boat occasionally raising their heads above the water, or 'spy hopping' to take a better look at us.
I'm on the HMV Sail-a-way, off the coast of Albany. The large bay is home each year to hundreds of Southern Right (named by hunters because they floated when shot, and contained lots of precious oil) and Humpback whales. They come here because of the warm Leeuwin current which pushes down the cape coast and the relative safety of the bay.
I say relative, because less than 30 years ago, whales were still hunted off the Southern Australian coast. Albany was at the centre of this trade. The aptly named ' Whale World' (party on!) at the nearby Frenchman's bay tells the story of the industry. It finally closed down on November 30 1978, one of the first big successes of the environmental lobby.
Now a new battle is being fought, this time by the Australian government against Japanese whales who are this year hunting 500 humpback whales in Australian governed Antarctic waters.
As we head for home with a wonderful pod of bottlenose dolphins playing in the bow wave before us, a humpback 'breaches' and jumps almost out of the water ahead of us. The noise is audible from over a kilometer away. Our luck seems endless this bright cold morning, and I don't want to be anywhere else....
A walk in the woods
You look up and it's still a way to go. The tree creaks alarmingly as it sways in the wind. You look down and it's a long way back to earth. You try to look out but all you get is driving rain in your face. Concentrate and hold on to the cold metal. Take a deep breath and start climbing again.
I'm at the Gloucester Tree in Pemberton, part of the giant forests of the South West. A dead straight and frankly huge tree only 3km from the town, this is the main attraction in the area. The tree is special for being one of four climbing trees. A series of metal spikes have been driven into the tree trunk at 1 foot intervals, all the way up to it's 50 meter top. They were first used by the forest rangers to act as a fire lookout. Now with only a flimsy looking side net you can climb all the way to the top too...
Probably best not done in the middle of a gale though. In the middle of winter. On your own.
Once at the top the wind pins you back against the fence. The lookout sways about 1 meter. In the lashing rain I was pretty sure there's no fires to be concerned with. The view is remarkable even against the heavy leaden sky. In summer this would be wonderful. I'm just concentrating on not getting blown over the side.
The only problem now is getting down again..
I'm at the Gloucester Tree in Pemberton, part of the giant forests of the South West. A dead straight and frankly huge tree only 3km from the town, this is the main attraction in the area. The tree is special for being one of four climbing trees. A series of metal spikes have been driven into the tree trunk at 1 foot intervals, all the way up to it's 50 meter top. They were first used by the forest rangers to act as a fire lookout. Now with only a flimsy looking side net you can climb all the way to the top too...
Probably best not done in the middle of a gale though. In the middle of winter. On your own.
Once at the top the wind pins you back against the fence. The lookout sways about 1 meter. In the lashing rain I was pretty sure there's no fires to be concerned with. The view is remarkable even against the heavy leaden sky. In summer this would be wonderful. I'm just concentrating on not getting blown over the side.
The only problem now is getting down again..
Wednesday 18 July 2007
Caves and Quaffing
I've just arrived in Margaret River, which if anyone has been looking at the shelves of their local Oddbins recently is where some really nice plonk comes from. It is also famous for some very good surf at the river head, if you're brave enough (which I'm not - the waves are bloody huge), and some outstanding limestone caves.
Ngilgi Cave, is 28 meters deep and full of amazing stalagmites (they grow up) and stalactites (yup, they grow down). A bloke out trying to find his lost horse, came across the cave in 1899, and with a mate decided it would be a good weeze to show tourists around. In those days you had to crawl on your hands and knees with a candle to get through the system. Now they've put in useful things like electricity and steps. It's alot easier to navigate around but I bet it was more fun in those days.
After leaving the caves I headed south and hit the wineries. Most have open cellars and tastings. So in full 'Sideways' mode, I went to a few to check them out. It's all good fun pretending you know something about wine. I pretty much know nothing, but with a few choice phrases half remembered from old 'Food and Drink' shows I gave it a go.
Vasse Felix is the oldest of the wineries and is now a large concern. The driveway up to the sculptured lake and restaurant is impressive. Once inside you can sup on some very nice Chardonnay and some okay Cabarnet Merlot. I had a big temptation to pipe up with the line, "If any one orders f**king Merlot, I'm leaving!" But I managed to contain myself.
I pootled around some of the other wineries; (Laurence, Moss Brothers and Cullen's) just to get the full experience. I managed picked up a couple of decent bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon. With no room in the backpack looks like I'll have to drink them before my flight up to sunny Darwin on Monday. Chin Chin!
Monday 16 July 2007
Back on the road
I've left the city behind and I'm back on the road! With a stupidly cheap rental car, which has fancy things like power steering and a reverse that actually works.
I'm on a tour of the South West. The plan is to tour some of Margaret Rivers world famous wineries, go see where the Indian and Pacific ocean meet and climb an 80 meter tree. Woo and indeed Hoo!
A mention has to be made to the good folk at Pirates backpackers in Fremantle. It was Bastille day on Saturday so with a large French contingent we hosted a big party with lots of food, cheap Champagne and rousing renditions of "Aux Champs Elysees! ". Entente cordiale indeed!
I'm on a tour of the South West. The plan is to tour some of Margaret Rivers world famous wineries, go see where the Indian and Pacific ocean meet and climb an 80 meter tree. Woo and indeed Hoo!
A mention has to be made to the good folk at Pirates backpackers in Fremantle. It was Bastille day on Saturday so with a large French contingent we hosted a big party with lots of food, cheap Champagne and rousing renditions of "Aux Champs Elysees! ". Entente cordiale indeed!
Big things: Revelation Film Festival
On Saturday I took myself along to the very interesting Revelation Film festival. It was celebrating 10 years from humble beginnings in a basement to now covering 4 different locations and programming over 100 films, shorts and documentaries.
I saw an excellent documentary called 'Big Dreamers'. It's about the north Queensland town of Tully, which in a bid to generate tourism to the town decided to erect a big wellington boot, paint in gold and stick a frog on the side of it. Why?. Tully is the wettest town in Australia, and they though a gumboot would be a worth while symbol to that fact. I've been to Tully once in 2000, and it was chucking it down, so I can certainly agree with that.
Director Camille Hardman has produced a really entertaining film, and over the course of an hour shows the ups and downs of the local people as they set about erecting this boot. It was opened in 2003 and stands 7.9 meters high. Every year there is now a gumboot festival in the town.
What I can't get is the obsession with all things big in this country. Various towns around Australia have put up large bananas, gallahs, koala bears and even a giant potato. What on earth for? By and large they look ugly and stupid. It's embarrassing. But then people come on coach trips to look at these things. Never underestimate the stupidity of the general public, especially if they're in 40 degree heat. Sometimes you look at humanity and gently weep.
Thursday 12 July 2007
Freemantle & Facebook
I've now relocated from Perth to the sunny seaside in Freemantle. It's nice here, you can eat fish and chips by the dockside and do battle with very brave seagulls. There's some cool cafe's and pubs to hang out in and some interesting shops to browse. Also the cat in the place where I'm staying comes and sleeps on my lap.
Oh, and I've finally joined the online frippery which is Facebook. I had no idea what it was until I went travelling and now everyone seems to be jumping on this particular bandwagon. Enjoy.
Oh, and I've finally joined the online frippery which is Facebook. I had no idea what it was until I went travelling and now everyone seems to be jumping on this particular bandwagon. Enjoy.
Tuesday 10 July 2007
Perth; What makes a decent city?
Right, I've finally made it to WA. After the outback adventure, it's back into city life. Perth is the most isolated capital city in the world, but it seems to be coping just fine. The skyscrapers glimmer against the blue sky, people jog along the swan river and catch up with the gossip at a pavement side cafe.
WA has the highest economic growth and the lowest unemployment of all Australia, and the locals seemed pretty chuffed with their lot. From the vantage point of glorious Kings Park, overlooking the CBD, I started wondering what makes some cities better than others.
Any city can win me over, and be guaranteed my love and devotion for ever if it gets a few of the following right.
1) You've got to be able to walk around it (Berlin yes; LA, no!). You don't get any sense of a place sitting behind a wheel of a car in 4 lanes of traffic.
2) Have at least one bonkers architect run riot (Barcelona and Gaudi for example). Do not have uniform buildings or you'll end up looking like San Jose, or worse Coventry.
3) Make sure you have a decent city park. Perth is a good example, Kings Park has great views and interesting design. Vancouver's' Stanley park is also fantastic. Imagine London without Hyde Park or Hamstead Heath? I'd rather not. One exception to this rule is Paris. It has no decent central parks, but it has the Seine and 'Shakespeare & Co' so I'll let it off.
4) A good place to have a drink or three. The best way to get to know the locals is over a beer/bottle of wine. Seville is great for this, as is Bangkok. Try getting drunk in Denver? It's bloody hard, which is why it sucks.
5) Culture! Throw a festival and I'll buy a ticket. Edinburgh shrugs off it's stuffy image and goes mad in August, Austin TX is brilliant because of SXSW. Geneva on the other hand just has banks - boo!
6) Throw in a couple of good cafe's, second hand bookstores and record shops ( "Do you have anything that goes 'Beep la la, love, beep' I think it's on a white lable?") and I'm more smitten than a teenage crush.
It's that easy, go on cities of the world, what are you waiting for!
WA has the highest economic growth and the lowest unemployment of all Australia, and the locals seemed pretty chuffed with their lot. From the vantage point of glorious Kings Park, overlooking the CBD, I started wondering what makes some cities better than others.
Any city can win me over, and be guaranteed my love and devotion for ever if it gets a few of the following right.
1) You've got to be able to walk around it (Berlin yes; LA, no!). You don't get any sense of a place sitting behind a wheel of a car in 4 lanes of traffic.
2) Have at least one bonkers architect run riot (Barcelona and Gaudi for example). Do not have uniform buildings or you'll end up looking like San Jose, or worse Coventry.
3) Make sure you have a decent city park. Perth is a good example, Kings Park has great views and interesting design. Vancouver's' Stanley park is also fantastic. Imagine London without Hyde Park or Hamstead Heath? I'd rather not. One exception to this rule is Paris. It has no decent central parks, but it has the Seine and 'Shakespeare & Co' so I'll let it off.
4) A good place to have a drink or three. The best way to get to know the locals is over a beer/bottle of wine. Seville is great for this, as is Bangkok. Try getting drunk in Denver? It's bloody hard, which is why it sucks.
5) Culture! Throw a festival and I'll buy a ticket. Edinburgh shrugs off it's stuffy image and goes mad in August, Austin TX is brilliant because of SXSW. Geneva on the other hand just has banks - boo!
6) Throw in a couple of good cafe's, second hand bookstores and record shops ( "Do you have anything that goes 'Beep la la, love, beep' I think it's on a white lable?") and I'm more smitten than a teenage crush.
It's that easy, go on cities of the world, what are you waiting for!
Saturday 7 July 2007
Alice Springs update
Yup the blog is back! After a two week hiatus I've managed to find a computer in this little ol' town in the middle of the desert. So Here's some photo's taken along the road from Adelaide to Alice Springs in a 4x4 with a group of mad French, Dutch and Adelaidians.
We slept in Swags under the stars, eat horrible vegemite sandwiches, stopped at the pinkest roadhouse in the world and drank in the most remote pub in Australia. All that before joining the tourist crowds to look at the sunset over Uluru (Ayers Rock to any colonial types out there.) 'Props out' as they might say to Tomato Joe, Amanda, Marleen, Blandine, Julien 'good night everybody!' and David and Diane.
We slept in Swags under the stars, eat horrible vegemite sandwiches, stopped at the pinkest roadhouse in the world and drank in the most remote pub in Australia. All that before joining the tourist crowds to look at the sunset over Uluru (Ayers Rock to any colonial types out there.) 'Props out' as they might say to Tomato Joe, Amanda, Marleen, Blandine, Julien 'good night everybody!' and David and Diane.
Talc Alf
Remote places seem to attract some interesting people. Talc Alf is one of them. Born in Holland, Cornelius Johan Alferink found his way to Australia in 1960. he's had a varied an interesting career from outback explorer, geological surveyor and now doing the twice weekly post run from Lyndhurst.
What Talc Alf is famous for is his carved stone art, campaign for a Australian republic (with a new flag) and a truely bizarre take on the origins of the Alphabet. Talc's take on it is literal geographic.
Talc Alf produces printed sheets with the alphabet on them with ideas the B = women, because if you turn a B on it's side it looks like a pair of breasts....
Terry & Sharpy, the Iga Warta Experience
"Ah, man this is really difficult to do" says Terry Coulthard as he places his cut finger on the fretboard of his guitar. The pain races through his nerves and a wince appears on his face. He battles on gamely though and finishes the song. A group of 8 of us are sitting around the campfire listening to Terry as he sings some of his people's stories. The pride is obvious in his voice as he relates the creation stories of his people.
We were at Iga Warta, a small community set up in the Northern Flinders Ranges of South Australia by the Adnyamathanha Aboriginal group. Enterprising brothers Cliff and Terry Coulthard have been inviting visitors on to their land to learn more about their local culture. It's a way of helping keep a threatened tradition alive and for them to make a living out of the land they were born into. Paul Kelly and Joel Edgerton are some of the celebrities who have visited this charming place. It was refreshing to see first hand a positive situation, in amongst a negative environment.
Aboriginal groups around Australia are in for a hard time at the moment. A damning report entitled 'little children are sacred' released last month paints a gloomy picture of Indigenous life in remote communities. Alcoholism is rife, job opportunities are scarce, life expectancy is low and child abuse is common. Prime Minister John Howard is using the report to 'get tough' on Aboriginal communities by withholding benefits and drafting in more police, just in time for elections later this year.
Iga Warta was in stark contrast to the portrait of a people beaten down by decades of displacement and loss of hope and meaning. Here was local people coming together to make something valuable from their land.
After a night sleeping around the campfire in our swags, another local, Sharpy took us out for a drive to the Ochre pits. He showed us the different colours of ochre and how, when mixed with water, they paint onto your skin. He told us of old ceremonies where boys would go out for years at a time in to the bush to be taught the laws of the group. They don't manage to do that these days as a vast open face coal mine has ripped through their sacred sites to provide low grade fuel for the Port Augusta power station.
We left the community with an insight into a different life and a song written by Terry's little cousin "Oh my Walla' which would be sung all the way to Uluru.
We were at Iga Warta, a small community set up in the Northern Flinders Ranges of South Australia by the Adnyamathanha Aboriginal group. Enterprising brothers Cliff and Terry Coulthard have been inviting visitors on to their land to learn more about their local culture. It's a way of helping keep a threatened tradition alive and for them to make a living out of the land they were born into. Paul Kelly and Joel Edgerton are some of the celebrities who have visited this charming place. It was refreshing to see first hand a positive situation, in amongst a negative environment.
Aboriginal groups around Australia are in for a hard time at the moment. A damning report entitled 'little children are sacred' released last month paints a gloomy picture of Indigenous life in remote communities. Alcoholism is rife, job opportunities are scarce, life expectancy is low and child abuse is common. Prime Minister John Howard is using the report to 'get tough' on Aboriginal communities by withholding benefits and drafting in more police, just in time for elections later this year.
Iga Warta was in stark contrast to the portrait of a people beaten down by decades of displacement and loss of hope and meaning. Here was local people coming together to make something valuable from their land.
After a night sleeping around the campfire in our swags, another local, Sharpy took us out for a drive to the Ochre pits. He showed us the different colours of ochre and how, when mixed with water, they paint onto your skin. He told us of old ceremonies where boys would go out for years at a time in to the bush to be taught the laws of the group. They don't manage to do that these days as a vast open face coal mine has ripped through their sacred sites to provide low grade fuel for the Port Augusta power station.We left the community with an insight into a different life and a song written by Terry's little cousin "Oh my Walla' which would be sung all the way to Uluru.
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