Chasing the Sun

Four times the size of California with one-eighth the population, the state of Queensland is vast.  Inland it can be deadly dry.  The northern coast is lushly tropical.  It boasts five UNESCO World Heritage sites including the only place on Earth where two touch.  It’s the home to real-life “cowboys” or stockman (as they say), crocodiles,  venomous snakes,  sharks, box jellyfish (one of the most lethal animals on the planet), and of course, the ever-present, ever-persistent fly!  It’s also where we conclude our three month antipodean odyssey. 

As I write Tony and I are on the 24-hour flight that brings us back to London and Coco!  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

We began our Queensland tour in Brisbane.  Brisbane struck me as a city turned inside-out.  Since it averages over 300 days of sunshine every year, everything that can be outside, is outside!…restaurants, entertainment spaces, coffee shops, malls.  Not to be outdone by the other major cities in Australia that face the ocean,  Brisbane has constructed a huge city beach.

Against a lot of good advice from Australians, we decided to drive Queensland.  I’ve learned from talking to the locals, they mostly fly around their country.  For good reason, it’s massive, there are pockets of population surrounded by hundreds of miles/kilometers of emptiness.  Also, there isn’t much in the way of super-highways or interstates.   Tony and I typically thwart good advice,  so we take to the roads in our trusty Nissan Trail X.

First stop the creatively named coastal town of Mooloolaba!  Loved seeing Hugh and Julie there for a four-hour lunch by the sea.  (It’s about then, that it hits me returning to “real” life is going to be tough.)

The next day we go to Australia Zoo, of Steve Irwin fame.  After having invested several hundred hours of my life watching Steve Irwin wrestle crocs and handle snakes like a charmer,  I wanted to see the zoo that inspired him and that he still inspires from the grave.

Tasmanian Devil (am I the only one that thinks of Bugs Bunny?)

    Dingo

As I look at my photos, it occurs to me that Crikey, I don’t have any of the crocs.  Bottom line, you got to see the prehistoric creature in person, no picture does him justice.

Next stop, Fraser Island, an ancient sandbar, which is accessible only by 4-wheel drive.  It’s the largest sand bar island in the world and the only place where a rainforest grows out of sand dunes!

It’s also one of only two places in the world you can take-off and land on the beach.  (The other is somewhere in Scotland.)  So, of course we took to the skies with finely hosed young man.

Then back on the road.  Tony and I wile away the time by solving the world’s problems, in our spare time we deliberate about what to do after our year of “Chasing the Sun”.  Time is drawing nigh.  I also amuse myself with various and and sundry photo opportunities, mostly made on the fly.

Incidentally,  Australians brag they are the only people in the world that eat the animals featured on their country’s seal.

Next to Airlie Beach.  Airlie’s claim to fame is that it’s the launching spot for visiting the Whitsunday Islands.  So named because Captain Cook “discovered” them on what he thought was Whitsunday, but like myself that whole International Dateline thing confused him and it was actually Monday.

We had hoped to set sail around the Whitsundays, but weather was not favorable, so we settled for a day trip on a charter motor boat.  The captain strongly discouraged us from going, saying if he wasn’t paid there’s no way he would go out on such rough seas.  Intrepid tourist that we are, we bounced a bit, but God was smiling on us and there was mostly peace on the seas.

Next, we go inland to the Outback!

One of the few roads that takes one into the Outback sits right on top of the 23 degree south  parallel, which is known as the Tropic of Capricorn, not surprisingly this road is called the Capricorn Highway.  We followed that line into the “real” Australia.

First stop, Emerald (population 12,895), home of the largest painting on an easel in the world!

Barcaldine (population 1,337), home to the Monument called Tree of Knowledge, where the Labour Party began in Australia.

   We drive for miles and miles and miles without seeing a car, a truck or a house.

When we get to a town.  We delight in whatever it has to offer, in this case a xylophone. 

Sometimes we find ourselves looking for amusement, for instance-do you know what this is?

It’s the picture you get when you place your finger over the camera lens of your iPhone and click.

One of my favorite stops was Alpha (population 402) where we met Nola.  Nola ran the visitor center and had a passion for petrified wood and rocks found in the area.  This area of Australia was a highly pressurized so there are sapphire, rubies and opals it’s a jewelry box!  Also petrified forest and dinosaur bones!

Eventually, we found our way to Longreach!  Longreach (population 4,340)   is home to two fabulous museums, the QANTAS Founders Museum and the Stockman’s Hall of Fame.

What I loved about Longreach was the fact real ranchers came into town.  These guys were proper cowboys or stockmen (as they say).   I’m not sure why, but it does a heart good to know there are still people out there that herd cattle, even if the guys on horseback are getting back-up from a helicopter.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos – – it just seems weird to sidle up to a stranger and say, “can I take your picture so the folks back home can see a real cowboy?”

I went to the local IGA,  this is a beautiful grocery store.  I mean they have roasted chickens and gorgeous produce.  They even have Nutella!  I was impressed because this town is teeny-tiny.  I inquired of the cheery check-out lad, “how far do your customers travel?”  He said, “It’s the only grocery store in 500 kilometers (310 miles) in any direction.”

From the metropolis of Longreach we go to Winton (population 954).  We stayed in a old west style hotel where you’d expect Miss Kitty and Matt to be sharing the day’s news.  But it’s real claim to fame is two-fold.  First, it’s where Waltzing Matilda was penned and first performed.  You’ve heard it.  It’s the pride of Australia!

If you haven’t heard it.   

Also Lyndon B Johnson spent the night here one night.  This of course begs the question what on Earth was LBJ doing in Winton?  Turns out his plane crashed nearby and the North Gregory was his refuge.

Winton also has a wall made of junk.  I don’t know why.

Not far from Winton is the Australian Age of Dinosaurs!  We visited the actual lab where dinosaur bones are being cataloged and studied.  It’s small but fascinating to actually touch the bones as they are being carved out from the rocks that encapsulate them.   As the folksy genius explained after carving away a bit of rock, “we are the first humans to ever see that and no creature has seen it a few thousand years.”

On the road again….

Sometimes there are no fences. 

As we turn toward the coast, the landscape changes drastically. Eventually the dusty plains give way to sugar cane and the endless flat… ends….and becomes green mountains….

We spent our last week of our three month adventure in Port Douglas!  A delightful small town on the sea!

We visited Daintree Rainforest which holds the distinct honor of being the only place in the world where two UNESCO World Heritage sites touch each other…..Daintree touches the Great Barrier Reef!

Once again, we saluted the crocodile… though he has a brain the size of a walnut, he has my undying respect!

We visited the Great Barrier Reef – – Tony dived it one day and snorkeled with me the next day.  It’s an underwater extravaganza!  The diversity in the types of coral and the colors of fish range from electric blue to big bird yellow.  It’s magical!  As I do not have underwater camera, you’ll just have to take my word for it!  Or better yet, if you haven’t already, go see it for yourself!

So concludes our three month journey in the Southern Hemisphere…..

New Adventures ahead…..I know it’s an adventure because I’m not sure what’s going to happen next!

When we were in Australia, the locals confided, under their breath (due to the rivalry in the two Antipodean playgrounds), “You will love New Zealand, it’s gorgeous!”  When we got here, the North Islanders said, “You will love the South Island, it’s even more gorgeous!”  That seemed a tall order given that in the North Island, one is always surrounded by rolling hills, lakes and rivers.

Holy Cow, it’s true!  The South Island IS even more beautiful!  There are still rolling hills and pastures with sheep and dairy cows, but in the South Island, they have a backdrop of snow-capped mountains.  The lakes are glacier, so they are a bright, other-worldly-blue.  And let’s not forget the abundance of waterfalls, native forest, swinging bridges and glaciers.

Also, I have a soft-spot for the Kiwis, both North and South Islanders.  They are like laid-back British folks.  Before coming here, previous travelers told me NZ reminded them of the States 50 years ago.  I can see why they said that.

One reason is the music.  Most of the music on the radio, in the restaurants and bars is from the 60s and 70s.  (Yes, I know Lorde is from here and they are very proud of their Kiwi daughter.  She was on the front page, above the fold, for three days after winning the Grammy.  But she’s an export business, like their lambs.)  What you hear is John Denver, Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen…  Everybody, everywhere listens to the Oldies, but without nostalgia.  Teens on the beach are bopping to Jump, like we did 30 years ago.  I like it.

Another reason, you might think of yesteryear is that on the edge of every town is at least one or two kids with back-packs on and thumbs-up, hitching to the next town.  We picked up two great German boys.  It was fun.  I wish I felt safe to do that in the US.

The timing of the day seems more like it did when I was growing up too.  Most people seem to leave work about 5:00.  They eat at 6:00 or 6:30.  Restaurants are closing by 8:30.  And you pay on the way out.

Don’t misunderstand.  I do not mean to imply they are naive or anachronistic.  They get it.  More than once, a Kiwi told me they had won the ‘zip-code lottery.’  One transplant said, “We know there are bad things that go on in the world out there.  We are so happy to be here.”

So, now in no particular order, the 10 reasons that I love New Zealand….

1.  The mailboxes!

2. The mountains!  The Milford Track was a dream come true.  I’ve wanted to walk those magical 33.5 miles for about 15 years!  It lived up to every imagined step.  Even the wet slog over the pass.*  (See below.)

The Milford Track

Lake Matheson

Kaikoura

3.  The Rivers!

The Milford Track

4. The lakes!

Nelson Lake Hike

5.  The Alpacas!  I fell in love with Alpacas while on the South Island and determined I wanted to be an Alpaca farmer.  Tony reminded me that when we were in the Barossa Valley, I wanted to be a lavender farmer.  These all sound good to me.

6.  The swinging bridges!

7.  The trees!  Giant Sequoias, Palm Trees, Fern Trees….

8.  The Waterfalls!

9.  The Glaciers!

Fox Glacier

10.  The Hay!  The Cows!  

Okay….11…The Adventure!

*Previously mentioned wet slog over MacKinnon Pass.  This may not be a favorite day, but one I’ll never forget.

Next Queensland….according to Bill Bryson (thanks Liz and Lynn), people there are as “crazy as a box of cut-snakes!”

Time is screaming by!  We are now already over our half-way mark.  So I’ll give you a highlights list of the last couple of weeks!

1.  Loved Melbourne!  Loved the neighborhoods!  Loved the energy!  Loved the tennis!  Loved seeing Rachel Perry after all these years and meeting her gorgeous family!  Loved the pianos scattered all over town for anyone to play!  One of my favorite bits though was how unbelievably clean the city is.  Tony and I were watching a street performer (as we often do) on the South Bank.  To get comfy, I sat down on the pavement.  When I did that, it struck me – the streets and sidewalks are spotless.

2.  The New Zealand Adventure begins!  In Auckland we had the most glorious treat.  We were invited to stay with Granny Annie!  Tony’s former PA, Natalie Coveney, insisted that we stay with her Granny Annie.  As we had heard about the fabulous Granny Annie for years, we were delighted!

Granny Annie and Gang!

Granny took us to the Maritime Museum, where we found relics from the Royal New Zealand Navy’s ships.  This apparatus was utilized when the American’s tales became too tall.

3.  Kerikeri was such a delight we came for one night and stayed for three.  This was the historic portion of our trip.  Nearby the Waitangi  Treaty was signed.  This is when the Maori people signed over the ownership of their lands to the English, which might have been a bit puzzling to the indigenous folks because they didn’t really appreciate this concept of “owning” land. Now days land and money is given back to the Maori as the treaty was broken soon after it was signed.

There was amazing hiking all around Kerikeri.  New Zealand is stunningly beautiful!!!  There always seems to be a forest,  a cave (with glow worms), a waterfall, a mountain or a river around the corner!

Several gorgeous hikes started right outside our little motel….

By the way, allow me to take the time to tell you I now have a new love…the motel, the motor court or the motor inn!  The institution that would have lined Route 66 or even Highway 70 (for my Nashville friends) a few decades ago.  These little motels have housed us across Australia and New Zealand!  They are typically owned by a couple that welcome us,  direct us (better than any concierge), then they clean our room (complete with a handy-dandy strip guaranteeing a sanitary potty), clean the pool, water the plants….  As someone who spent several thousand nights in Marriott Courtyards and Hampton Inns, never getting closer to the owner than that painting of  Mr JW Marriott that adorns the lobby of his hotels, I’m so excited about this new “discovery”!

4.  Hobbiton!  From Kerikeri we went to Matamata (so many towns are so nice they must be named twice), home to Peter Jackson’s vision of The Shire.

4.  Next we made our way to Lake Taupo where I had the opportunity to check yet another item off my bucket list!   To ride in float/sea plane!  This was one of those totally cool things that I’ve dreamt of doing since I was a little kid and watched “adventure” movies.  We took off from Lake Taupo, landed in Waikato River, then hiked through a geothermal field called Orakaei Korako.  When we took off again from the middle of the river, we barreled, swinging side to side.  Utterly amazing!  It was a fantasy come true!

5.  Since it’s a geothermal environment, a mud bath is mandatory.

We finished off the North Island with a visit to the very livable city of Wellington.  In Wellington we saw the second installment of the Hobbit movies in the very theatre that was lovingly restored for the world premier of the Return of the King (the third installment of the Lord of the Ring trilogy).

From Wellington we board the ferry for the South Island…..Even devoted North Islanders say the South Island is EVEN MORE beautiful!

Australia is sometimes called Noah’s Ark.  There are animals here that are found no where else on Earth.  As previously discussed many of them kill you within 4 minutes of meeting them.  Most, however are adorable!

I have no photos of my favorite animal event which we went to last night on Phillip Island, the Penguin Parade.  No photos were allowed.

This was very exciting, and even more so because we had previously attempted a “penguin parade” when we were on Kangaroo Island.  We had made our way to Kingscote, ate dinner early, thrilled to see the march of fairy penguins across the beach at dusk!  Imagine our despair when we arrived and learned that our plans were thwarted.  There was a note on the door saying there was no longer a parade because the New Zealand Fur Seals had…well…devoured the little penguins.  Just earlier that day we had oohed and aahed over how cute the New Zealand Fur Seals were, now I thought of them in a slightly different light.

At any rate last night we got to see thousands of happy, healthy, hearty fairy penguins waddle out of the Southern Ocean and onto the beach-but no photos allowed.  You just have to trust me.  It was enchanting to see the foot high, blue wings spread for balance and white bellies shining as they shuffle across the expanse of sand, safely to their waiting chicks.

Then there’s also these cuter-than-Plush Toy Koalas?  There is an ample supply of them on Kangaroo Island because they have no natural predators.   If they were awake, which is a big “if” because they sleep 20 hours a day, they stared down at us with the most bemused expression.

Obviously, there was an abundance of kangaroos on Kangaroo Island along with an ample supply of wallabies.

They particularly like to come out when you are driving, at night.  One night we counted 46 animals that either scampered, hopped or crawled in front of us on a harrowing drive back to our lodging.

We also visited Seal Bay Conservation Park.  Guests accompany a ranger to the beach to see the resting, tan blubbery sea-lions.  These are not the New Zealand penguin-eating seals.  These are fish-eating Australian Seals.

There’s cockatoos and parrots are everywhere.

 Some of the critters are a little prehistoric looking, like this little guy we met along a hike….

and then there is Larry the Lobster who resides outside a depressing little town at the end of the Great Ocean Road.

As you know, the driving motivation for the last 8 months has been for Tony and I to “chase the sun”, we caught it!  The Red Center of Australia is that red because the earth itself is sunburned!  As I mentioned in the previous post, it was 43C (109F) upon arrival.

Uluru from the air.

We went to this baked area of creation to see Uluru or Ayers Rock.  Uluru, the name given by the indigenous folks (the Anangu), believe it to be sacred.  The new comers didn’t really ask anyone if this monolith had a name, choosing to come up with one of their own.  To name, rename and then with new sensitivity rename the rename has, of course, be done all over the world.

Whatever its moniker, it is an impressive hunk of sandstone that rises 1150 feet straight up out of miles of flatness.

         We visited it at sunrise.           

Another rock formation about 30 miles away is Kata-Tjuta (literally “many heads”).  This is also a sacred place for the original inhabitants. My lovely blue bonnet is actually a fly mask!

It was satisfying to get our first glimpse of the famed Outback.  As promised it was a whole bunch of nothin’!  That’s impressive too.

Do the critters get bigger?  I might need something bigger than a blue bonnet!

Next we make our way to Adelaide, frequently described as Australia’s under-rated gem of a city.

First fly update:  As I write, I’m sitting in a hotel lobby/bar with a green fly swatter in one hand and typing with the other.  This hand is sometimes interrupted as I swat one the little buggers off my face.  They are winning as I have on more than one occasion hit myself in the forehead as if having a “eureka” moment but actually trying to smash my tormenter.  We are now in the “Red Center”, this area does not supply the big juicy horse flies of the Blue Mountains, here they are mean, midget flies that dive for lips, ears and nostrils.   I find myself waving my arms about my face and shoulders, screaming like a banshee…

In other news….. I loved the Hunter Valley, or The Hunter as it’s called locally.   The mountains in the distance and the valleys and meadows covered with vineyards and cows remind me of the best of Sonoma and Santa Rosa.  The boutique wineries offer free and friendly tastings.   Also, I adored where we stayed — a young couple runs a small winery with 6 acres under vine and a few attached turn-of-the-century rooms with a vast wrap around porch.

Another fabulous part of our time in The Hunter was meeting up with Joe and Fiona who have just moved to Australia from London.

Last year as we anticipated what a year of chasing the sun might be like, Tony said, I want to ring in New Year’s Eve in Sydney.   It really was as grand as we hoped it would be.  As we rolled back into Sydney from the wine country, you could almost feel the anticipation building in the city.

“Revelers”,  as the  2 million people who flock to the harbor are called, began filling in the parks and the quay at 9am on New Year’s Eve.  2 million people I will remind your is almost 10% of the countries population and almost half of Sydney’s population.  It was a buzz every where as the whole city prepares for a party.  [We spent the morning walking from Bondi to Bronte (thank you Audrey).

We watched the festivities from the Royal Botanical Gardens – – there was an aerial acrobatic show to keep the millions entertained until the “real” show began.  Also, I was completely mesmerized by the huge, fox like bats that circled above our heads all evening.  They were magnificent!  At 9pm the family show shot off from the barges in the water.  This  firework extravaganza would be bigger than anything I’ve ever seen, but it’s just the prelude to the midnight spectacular!

The countdown began as the crowd shouted 10, 9, 8….then 12 minutes of amazing fireworks exploding on the barges that flank the bridge and on the bridge itself, it was gorgeous!  Then the music stopped and the a voice announced, “Ladies and Gentlemen,  Her  Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II” and we hear Queen Elizabeth inaugurating the Sydney Opera House 40 years ago, then fireworks explode from the iconic roof.  My favorite part came near the end as white lights flowed from the side of the bridge like water rolling off a dam into the harbor below.   It was all I had imagined.

New Years Day we hiked from Manly to Spit.  Stunning!!!

January 2nd, we headed to the Red Hot Center of the country to see Ayers Rock or Uluru.  As we disembarked from the bus that brought us to the hotel, the driver said, “Remember folks, this is not a holiday, this is an experience.  It will feel like one too.  Ladies and Gentlemen it will be 43 degrees today.”   That’s Celsius, aka 110 Fahrenheit….. oh and you know there will be a few flies…..