Going South

Well the weather has cooled off since I left Brisbane. Going south usually means warmth but not when south is New Zealand;-) The pilot announced 18 degrees Celsius in Wellington when we were about to land. I've been having to wear jeans/ hiking pants for the last three days and that's the first time in six weeks! Anyway, it's time to get writing…a lot has happened in the last three days!

On Sunday, Tony and Erin drove me to the airport where I headed to New Zealand for a three-week adventure! After a three and a half hour flight from Brisbane, I landed in Wellington which, is the capital. New Zealand is really two large islands named North Island and  South Island… “Welly” is located on the south end of North Island. I ended up having a middle seat…glad it was a fairly short flight. The three of us pretty well kept to ourselves until the last few minutes where one man told me he was from Christchurch and had lost his house in the earthquake there three years ago. I had recently watched a memorial service on TV for the 185 people who died in the earthquake. The other man was from Barrie, Ontario and working in NZ so I snagged a taxi ride to my hostel with him;-)

The Hostel

My first ever hostel! I didn’t do the hostel thing in my younger days but I figured now is as good a time as any to give it a go;-) In actual fact, there’s no way I could spend money on hotels and B and Bs (which are pricey these days) as a solo traveller for three weeks! The hostel where I stayed was part of a chain called YHA. I had a room to myself on the 6^th floor so that’s cushy when you’re talking hostels. My thinking was that I would book the first two hostels in single rooms ‘til I get my feet wet then go for the dorm rooms after that….Lord help me;-) I researched the ratings on the hostels and only went for those in mid eighties or higher. Trip Advisor was another great source of testimonials;-)

For the traveller on a budget, it was actually pretty good. I checked in at the main desk as if it were a hotel. I scoped out the eating areas and lounges then took the elevator up to the sixth. My room was small as you would expect but perfect for my needs. There was a washrooms/showers a couple of doors down the hall to be shared by a few rooms. It even had a hair dryer and straightener;-)

Wi-fi cost $5.00 for 24 hours but since I didn’t have any NZ cash at that point, buddy gave me the first day free so I didn’t have to use my VISA. Once I had myself sorted in my room, I went out to enjoy a couple of hours walking in the vicinity. The harbor was especially beautiful with a paved walkway with lots of walkers, joggers, skateboards and bicycles.  

There were a bunch of container units in one area that were being utilized as part of an art program for the city. Cool idea! I bet we could find some good uses for them in St.John’s including as I’ve heard some people say, turning them into affordable housing.

"Metaphobia is pathological fear of metaphors, analogy and allegory. It develops from persistent feelings of inadequacy and frustration when experiencing art." Are you symptomatic?;-) 

I used the money I saved on transportation to the hostel on a nice meal at the Hop Garden…Thai fishcakes were the specialty of the evening. Back at the hostel, I brought my laptop down to the common area to be around some people. I was surprised to see there were as many people my age and much older as there were young people! There were all kinds of combinations of people…small groups, couples, solo male and female travelers of all ages. I noticed as the night wore on however, only the younger ones were hanging around. Another interesting thing that first evening was that other than a few people cooking, and a couple of tables of people enjoying a beer, a good many people were sat off independently with their phones or tablets in their own little world….like I was doing;-) Even if you’re not in conversation, it’s nice for awhile to just be around everyone and listening to all the languages.

On Monday morning, after a horrible sleepless night, I purchased a flat white and bagel with organic jam and cream cheese for $6.00 in the main lobby of the hostel. “Flat white” is how you would order coffee and milk in Australia and New Zealand.

 I went to bed at around 10:00p.m., which was only 7:00p.m. Brisbane time but whatever, I didn’t get sleepy until about 5:30a.m. So, I slept ‘til 7:30a.m. and got on with the rest of the day, completely shattered I might add. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my coffee and sat with a friendly, young German fella who is studying in Melbourne and on holiday in NZ. He was all excited about visiting the Lord of the Rings movie sets including “The  Hobbit” which were filmed here. He told me about a couple of walks in the area so I set off for Mount Victoria right after breakfast. 

Mt.Victoria in Wellington

It was a beautiful day and spent about three hours walking, enjoying the views overlooking the city and having myself a picnic. On a side note, as this is my third day of hosteling, I’ve come across more German travelers than any others;-)

I spent the afternoon in the Cuba Street area which is a closed off area for pedestrians where there are shops, cafes and pubs. I had a burger in one spot there while watching some of the Oscars on big screens. I was pretty knackered by this point from lack of sleep so went back to the hostel for a rest. I finished off the evening by going for a late walk and shooting a few photos along the harbour front then picking up a few groceries in the supermarket conveniently located directly across from the hostel. I was sorry I didn't make it to the famous Te Papa Museum. 

Wellington Civic Centre

Wellington Harbour

Wellington Harbour

Wellington Harbour

Wellington Bay

Close One!

This morning, the hostel provided a shuttle service for a $3.00 fee, to the ferry terminal. Ferries run back and forth across Cook Strait throughout the day between Wellington and Picton which, is on the north end of South Island. Cook Strait as described by Wikipedia, “is one of the dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world”. I had been watching the forecast as my ferry travel day was getting closer and it didn’t look good. In fact, yesterday there were all kinds of weather warnings about gale force winds and heavy seas. I was right to be concerned…have a read:  Have a read: Storm

Thankfully, my ferry made it in just fine. The seas were surprisingly calm when we departed on the Interislander. Just like our ferry services at home, there were amazingly familiar stories about the various ferry break downs and substitute ferries brought in and all the rest of it;-)  There was some swell on for a little while when we first left Wellington Bay to cross Cook Strait.  This is where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea and the currents do all kinds of strange stuff here. Anyway, there wasn’t much to it and I have to say, it was one of the most pleasant voyages I was ever on! It was a three-hour journey and it flew by. I put on my wind proof clothing a couple of times to take a few snaps from the deck. Yup…it was a great trip but things went south after that as they say.

Picton Harbour

Picton Harbour

Once I picked up my bag, I approached a rental car place to ask about the best way to get to my new hostel, Tombstone Backpackers.

The guy says, “ I just saw Gord, I think he’s still out in the parking lot.” I didn’t know Gord of course but it didn’t take long for me to find him and his Tombstone. I hadn’t made arrangement with Gord to pick me up but he had tons of room so away I went with a handful of others.

Grapes growing under the eave of the Tombstone

This hostel like the YHA has a mix of young and older travelers. Unlike the YHA, it is a small, independently owned hostel and lends to a “homier” atmosphere. Coastal Pacific train to Christchurch. 

It is a five hour journey and supposed to be spectacular. I’ll have the ocean on one side and mountains on the other side for most of the journey. Lynn had a difficult time finding a place for me to stay in Christchurch (at my price;-) so I agreed to stay on a 6 bed, mixed dorm at the Jailhouse Backpackers for $28.  Sacred heart! I’ll try to be the first one to bed and put the blanket over my head! Reports to follow;-)

I really love this one. Again though, I have a room to myself. This will soon come to a halt. I didn’t have any arrangements made for accommodation after Picton so Lynn (owner) got on the phone and booked three more nights of my journey.

Since I will be flying out of Christchurch when I return to Brisbane, I will just spend the one night there and maybe longer on the other end. Lynn booked my next two nights at a farm stay in Akaroa  area where she has been herself and says it's quite beautiful. More on that later.

Well it's off to bed now as it's going for midnight. I hope to walk some of the Charlotte Track tomorrow  but the weather looks iffy so we'll see. Arrangements will have to be made for a water taxi to drop me off and pick me up;-) I had a lovely walk this evening along Bob's Bay. It's a walk along the Picton Harbour that goes along the beach then up along the bluffs. Beautiful! Guten nacht! Lots of deutsch being sprechened here tonight;-) 

Weather and Wine

I saw this notice on a local bulletin board recently. Never seen anything like it on the bulletin board  outside the Bidgoods Post Office at home;-)

Funny, I talking with a guy at a bus stop recently who was telling me proudly that Queensland didn't have any poisonous snakes and then I go and read this notice. Well it just says "Snake" not "Poisonous Snakes" so maybe buddy is right. Australia does have more species of poisonous snakes than anywhere else in the world or so I've been told. It says on the notice that buddy would relocate the snakes to D'Aguilar Park. I go walking there!!! 

There was a Python snake living in a tree in the backyard here for over a year. Tony only recently "encouraged" it to move somewhere else not long before I arrived. Apparently it had eaten a couple of guinea pigs from next door! 

I wrote this next little part a few days ago so yesterday is not really yesterday and so on. It's actually been quite comfortable the last couple of days. 

It is s-o-o-o-o hot!! Yesterday it got up to 33 degrees but the “feels like” value was 35. Thankfully, it cooled off to 25 overnight;-) It’s much the same today. There’s really not much doing outdoors in those kind of temperatures…not for me anyway.  Bushwalks are out of the question unless you could get up in higher elevation. The high humidity is the killer and this area of Queensland is famous for it;-)  

I thought I might catch a movie this afternoon at The Barracks but this voice inside of me that said, “You can’t be going inside on a sunny day like this!” Doesn’t matter that every day is sunny…it’s been ingrained in me I s’pose that we have to “make hay while the sun shines”. Movies are for evenings or rainy days;-) There’s a saying here in Queensland that goes something like this: “Today is beautiful…but just wait ‘til tomorrow, it’ll be perfect!” Little different from “If ya don’t like the weather, wait five minutes”-)

The school where Erin is teaching is without air conditioning…I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it must be in those classrooms. The teachers have to ensure all students are wearing their big, broad sun hats and sunscreen when they go outside during recess and lunch breaks…surely not as time consuming as getting the little ones ready to go outside at home this time of the year with hats, mittens, boots, zippers etc. That is of course only when you can actually get outside. Often, the horizontal freezing rain, ice pellets, sleet, 100km winds, three metre high snowdrifts, combined with slippery conditions underfoot prevent the children from getting out at all. So….I guess I won’t be getting much sympathy complaining that’s it’s too hot sometimes… fair enough;-) Time for another photo in case you just want to look at the pictures;-)

Taken while walking along the Brisbane River

The weather here in Australia is as much a part of the news and conversation as it is at home in Newfoundland. It is a huge country geographically with very diverse climate conditions and extreme weather. First of all, it is one of the driest continents with half of it receiving less 25-30cm of rain a year. Eighty per cent of it gets less than 60cm. Newfoundland for example would get twice that on average and significantly higher in snowfall amounts. Drought conditions, bush fires, cyclones, flooding are part and parcel of life in many parts of this country. Even in the few weeks I’ve been here, newscasts have reported flooding in the Northern Territories  as it is their rainy season and drought in pretty well some part of every other states.

Bush fires are always a major threat in Australia with Victoria suffering immensely in the last few years. In February 2009, a series of bushfires came to be known as Black Saturday, killed 173 people and injured another four hundred.

Some areas are known for extremes, for example, Adelaide, broke records this year for having the most consecutive days over 40 degrees (12) then broke a record for the highest rainfall on another date!

So I did get to my movie but I went in the evening and I have to say, it was a movie experience rather than just a movie;-) Before I get to that part though, I have to mention the bus driver at my stop down the street. When I mentioned to him where I wanted to exit the bus, he said he didn’t stop anywhere near that area. In the meantime, when I got on the bus, he didn’t look at me but kept staring straight ahead, never said hello, k.m.a. or anything. I stepped off then and walked back home. I checked my computer and found that the bus did indeed stop near there…just a short five or seven minute walk away.

I went back to the bus stop and waited for the bus to come round again hoping I wouldn’t get the same contrary fella. As I was waiting, I knew I had a much shorter time to make the movie now and more importantly, order the wine I wanted. You see, that was the main reason I wanted to go…you could bring wine into the theatre;-)  I’d also have to run a bit and it was already warm and sticky out so I said, shag it, I’ll go another time and went home. Erin had just arrived home from yoga and without waiting for her boiling blood to cool down from the story of the unhelpful driver, we got in her car and she drove me there;-)

 The cinema was in a building called The Barracks, which is a converted military barracks. I would call it a sort of upscale affair as far as movie viewing goes. Before entering the upstairs cinema area, you pass through a wide aisle not unlike the aisle you would walk through going to a movie at Sobey’s Square if you went in the front entrance. The similarities stop completely after that as The Barracks aisle had all kinds of novelty shops, sushi bars, cafes, wine bars and nice restaurants on either side of the aisle. There were tables and beautiful upholstered chairs and stools for patrons in the aisle and it was buzzing with people and conversation. The end of the aisle before you headed up the stairs to the cinema was a glass wall with a city view.

View of the moon from the back veranda (nothing to do with what I'm writing…just a snap)

Once upstairs though was the best! When you purchased your movie ticket, you could also order wine and a cheese platter to take in with you! There were all kinds of comfy chairs around to enjoy some wine as you sat looking out over the city while waiting to go inside and watch your movie. I didn’t order a cheese platter as it was really a thing for two people and it was $18.00. I was having a glass of wine to take inside though just because I could!!;-)

I saw the movie Nebraska which is a drama set in sepia tones about one elderly man’s mission to get to Lincoln, Nebraska to collect on his one million dollar winning sweepstakes ticket. Remember those things we used to get all the time….didn’t they come with Reader’s Digest? I didn’t care what they showed on that screen… the seats were large, cushiony and comfortable…I was almost wishing it would recline though, …there were only about six of us in the whole theatre and no one sitting in my front view so I felt like I had the place all to myself. It was just lovely;-)

After the movie, I had a quick walk around the immediate area as it was buzzing with life! People were out and about enjoying the bars and restaurants on a beautiful evening. As I headed up the road though, to find a bus stop, down came the rain….hard! I found one sheltered bus stop but when I inquired about the bus I needed, I was told that the bus didn’t stop there at this time of the evening. I walked on in the dark and pouring rain up the busy street pass the Suncorp Football Stadium to another stop. By this time, I was soaked! It was warm though and I was pretty sure I’d make it home before hyperthermia set in. 

I found a stop with the best bus driver in the world! As most of the drivers I’ve met since I’ve arrived, he was very helpful and dropped me off at The Gap Village, which is the shopping area I frequent and about a fifteen-minute walk from home. Still in the dark and pouring rain, through a couple of short cut trails, I make it home, changed and all was good!

 It brought me back to a time when my children were young and we were at the cabin in Gambo. In those days, we could only get to the cabin by boat. I can’t remember what it was we needed, all I know is, I volunteered to go to town to get whatever it was. This involved taking the canoe up the pond to Mint Brook. I didn’t have to go too far up the pond and I hugged the shoreline, which was hard paddling because it was shallow. I went by myself in the pitch black and I mean black with a grocery bag over my head because it started to rain. Maybe it was on the way back it started to rain. In any event, our van was parked on the other side of the brook so I pulled the canoe up and drove into Gambo. I recall coming back and turning off the van lights, it was so dark. Even heading up the brook onto the pond, it was awhile before I even made out a cabin light. I don’t think I would be fussy about doing that now;-)

I spent another enjoyable afternoon earlier in the week at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art or GOMA.  It was another “stinker” heat wise as they say so an afternoon in a cool environment was in order. I went against my sunny/hot code and walked inside. Thankfully, the devil didn’t strike me dead and the sunny days have continued so I wasn’t punished for doing so;-) Anyway, here are a few shots from the exhibition:

You can say what you like about art, it usually calls up some sort of response from your gut. You like it, you hate it violently, love it passionately, you’re totally awestruck, or as I tend to be a good bit of the time…bewildered by it;-) Whatever the case, the main exhibit I viewed brought forth a myriad of feelings and I have to say was well worth the fifteen dollars IMHO. Just showing off my texting lingo;-) I learned a new one today….HTH….which is “hope that helps;-) Okay the art….it was by Cai guo-Qiang: Falling Back to Earth.  You can read all about the exhibits on line. The one with the animals around the water was amazing. I walked around the display taking my time at least three times. The biggest impact was when I first walked in the room. Were the animals stuffed? Were they created? How did Cai (pronounced "Sigh") come up with this concept and what are the main ideas behind it? I watched a video there on how the display was created and some of Cai’s earlier work. He’s responsible for some of the most fantastic fireworks displays at Olympic and cultural events around the world. Happy reading (or not;-)

Beware of Bikie Gangs

Bikies ( say as "bike-eez)

It's thirty degrees here now with humidity levels at 61%. I'm sitting here in our air conditioned living room wondering if we might get a thunderstorm out of it. It's a perfectly good time to write a few lines in my poor, neglected blog. Wait a minute…do you write "in" your blog, "on" your blog, "for" your blog?….

Recently I was listening to the premier of Queensland, Campbell Newman, talking about plans to deal with bikie gangs down the Gold Coast. “Bikie gangs?” Somehow, a bikie gang doesn’t sound as tough or threatening as a bike gang but that’s how you would refer to them here in Australia.

Kindergarten-kindie, university-uni, Brisbane-Brissie, Tasmania-Tassie, Christmas-Chrissie, present-prezzy, sunglasses-sunnies, and on and on goes the Australian slang, sometimes with British and American crossover. If you’re taking a “sickie”, you’re taking a sick day though you’re not really sick. Speaking of sick, if you’re ill, you’re “crook” as in, "He was crook today. Some terms are popular over the whole of Australia while others are terms you might hear more often in the country. If you ask someone about what they might be up to in the "arvo", you are asking about their afternoon. 

Certainly as Newfoundlanders, we have much in common with Australia in that we have our own colloquialisms/vernacular enough to fill a thick dictionary! Similarly, many of our expressions would be more common "round the bay" and with older generations than in larger centres and with younger people. My mother had an expression she used if she was upset or mildly angry about something, "Wouldn't that jar your preserves!" That's not one I hear these days but still one of my favourites;-)

Ongoing Possum Visits

Here’s my little possum friend from my first post.She visits the patio most evenings before climbing the trees in the backyard. A couple of nights ago I fed her apple pieces right from my hand. 

Here is a photograph of the baby possum that had to be rescued from under the patio floorboards my first week here. It has really grown in four weeks and mother is happy to leave it on its' own these days.

Wooly Sheep

“Here we are in New South Wales, shearing sheep as big as whales


With leather necks and daggy tails and hides as tough as rusty nails.”

No I’m not in NSW but still in Queensland immediately to the north;-) You may recognize that verse from a song performed by our own Masterless Men though it’s been sung by many others long before.

I witnessed a sheep shearing demonstration recently…now that’s back breaking work! (the sheep shearing demo…not me witnessing it;-)

The belt this guy is hanging over is designed to take some of the strain off the back.  He gave a short but informative presentation about the first merino sheep brought over from Spain 200 years ago and how the industry has evolved over the years.

Not all wool is the same….the characteristics differ according to the type of sheep. Australia produces most of the world’s merino sheep wool, which is a fine wool used mostly for clothing and said to be the best quality in the world. New Zealand is the second largest producer of wool but it is crossbred wool, stronger fibres and used for carpets and upholstery. 

                                                                                           Sheep are usually shorn once a year using ordinary hand shears or machine driven hand-pieces and there are sheep shearing competitions worldwide. It's fascinating to read about the wool industry and the challenges it faces today including competition with synthetics, low market prices and higher lamb meat prices. Lots of info online including this in government document produced in 2010: Australian Wool Industry (AWI) 

The Kelpie

The preferred dog for cattle/livestock work here in Australia is the Kelpie or Kelpie cross. It is said the Kelpie is such an efficient worker, it can save farmers the cost of hiring several hands when mustering livestock which is to gather or roundup the livestock.

They have a natural herding instinct and are able to drive livestock long distances in extreme climate and conditions. It was amazing to see a Kelpie in action as I did at a recent demonstration for tourists.  I've seen Border Collies in Scotland and England herd sheep and again, they are amazing to watch and invaluable to the farmers/graziers.

One special move a Kelpie has to walk across the backs of sheep to break them up in a  jam.

          This sheep might be giving some attitude but the Kelpie is not having anything to do with it;-)

Birds of Prey

It's pretty cool to see how trainers handle birds of prey such as falcons and barn owls which are the only two that come to mind at the moment from this particular demonstration. The birds swoop through the crowd, snatch targets thrown in the air during flight, pitch on the trainer's hand and on strategically placed perches. They'll pretty well spit nickels for rewards of live, chubby, little mice. Got some great shots of the tails hanging out of beaks as the birds gulp down their treat but I'll spare those images here…you wouldn't like photos of yourself eating would ya;-)