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Published: January 15th 2009
Sydney, Bondi Beach
This picture is for Cat and James, now living in Fairbanks, Alaska, and (I just checked) enjoying daytime highs of -28°C. I met them on the Bellingham to Juneau ferry back in November whilst they were travelling to their new jobs and they taught me to play Rummy. They should be compensated for low temperatures by getting the wildest lightshow in the world as the Aurorae peak at around this time. And I've got to say that right now, even sitting on Bondi Beach bikini spotting, I still think I prefer [i]too cold[/i] over [i]too hot[/i].Bondi Beach -
tick! Opera House and bridge -
tick! Meat pie -
tick! 'Roos, emus, possums and koalas all ticked as well; it's a photo checklist out here. No spiders yet though; if I find a redback in my clothes before putting them on I'll try and get a picture for you. That is if I remember to shake my clothes at all...
Sarah: "...just hold your trousers out and shake them out before putting them on."
Mart: "Oh, I haven't been doing that."
Merryn (motioning): "And your shoes, just up-end your shoes and give them a shake before putting your foot into them?"
Mart: "Erm, I haven't been doing that either...."
- I am reminded of the Bill Bryson book Down Under, in which he writes much more eloquently than I can about how many different ways to die there are in Australia. Whether by thirst, insect, hoop-snakes, shark or blood-loss after being kicked by a cassowarry, they are all slow and painful. Check out the
Australian Spider Identification Chart - enough to cause sleepless nights and nervousness about reaching into cupboards. We have the Loch Ness Monster only because we killed off our dangerous wildlife years ago
Biggest bats I ever saw (Sydney botanical gardens)
I kind of liked Sydney, though could have done with more than 3 days there. The Botanical gardens are around the corner from the Opera House, which overlooks the famous bridge. but she's internationally famous; I have not yet visited a country where they didn't know about Nessie. The Australians have the Bunyip which is actually an Aboriginal legend, but it seems to me it's an unecessary one given how dangerous the place is. We use monster stories to keep children in line but it seems to me out here all you need is to capture a funnel-web spider in a glass jar and wave it in their faces to get unquestioning obedience.
He also wrote about the national character better than I could, so I won't try except to say I was surprised to find it so
British. I have come to a foreign country that has heat and desert... and its just a bunch of Brits transplanted somewhere warm. Getting off the train in Sydney it even looked like London. All the infrastructure: overhead pylons, different eras of brick building, building facades, that unreadable graffiti. If you were to kidnap me in a black sack and dump me here without telling me where I was then pull the sack off, I'd think I was in London. In Japan the place is festooned with overhead wiring because they never
Staying with Sharon in Woollongong
Picture shows Sharon, her neighbour Dave with whom I was juggling, his Daughter and Ellis whom I taught 3-ball juggling and diabolo. bury a cable; in Peru they seem to use low-wattage bulbs everywhere so the place is dim, and the kerbs are a full foot-high, so you have to watch your bumper when parking the car - if you deleted the people and the signs, you'd still know you were in another country. Not so here.
And I am here to do nothing other than chill out and see friends I've not seen for a few years. So in Sydney I visited Bondi and Manly beaches for a bit of bikini spotting; saw the biggest bats ever; and I wanted to walk over the top of the bridge but at 4 hostel-nights I thought it was a bit steep.
I got the train to Wollongong to see Sharon and her family. I went to school with Sharon but I never kept in touch with anybody when I left. Then she popped into my world again only last Summer via friendsreunited when I was planning this trip. I said I'd call by. Cue an afternoon rendezvous at the beach; and evening barbequeue catching up on our lives; teaching her kids to juggle and run a diabolo; Mount Keira lookout. She
Club passing at Sharon's place in Woollongong
Been a long time, but Dave put up with my erratic passing and lobbed a few reverse spinners to me, some of which I even caught. Sharon lives in Woollongong now with husband Mark and children Ellis, Sean and George. and Mark have 3 great children and a spectacular view out their back garden; they have arrived in a wonderful place.
In Melbourne I was bar-hopping:
Section 8; Little Creatures dining hall;
Madame Brussels; the Queen Victoria night-market;
the Workshop and a handful of others. Melbourne prides itself on being the cultural capital of Australia but I didn't spend quite long enough to confirm this for myself. I am a fan of the pack of cards you can get with all these bars on though - it's called "Bar Secrets" and makes for a great random pub generator for when you can't think of where to go next. Somebody should make a smaller version for Aberdeen. It helped that I had a local to guide me around; I first met Merryn over 2 years ago now, on a minibus exiting Geneva airport for Chamonix. I was on my way to my friend John's stag and sat next to Merryn who was herself on a round-the-world trip. Phone numbers, text messages and all that, and the next night she became the first woman I've ever seen on a stag night. She is a bit of a wine connisseour, very knowledgeable about it and
Shrine of Remembrance
Melbourne's memorial to their war dead. The entrance passes the words "Lest we forget". I'd joked to Merryn that somewhere in Australia I wanted a picture of red earth, blue sky and a single cloud. Turns out I didn't even have to travel into the outback to get it. one burning hot afternoon guided me around the Coonawarra region for tastings at
Leconfield;
Majella;
Wynns. Preferred the Hugh Hamilton "The Ratbag" 2006 Merlot most of all, but that's from McLaren Vale, scheduled for this coming weekend.
I am on the lookout for Australian whisky too according to my inflight magazine. There appears to be some around. When I get some I'll report back.
Other things of note: I found out what Anzac biscuits are (sort of a flapjack, and so named because people used to make and send them to the troops); It's a full moon just now so when it sets again I'm looking forward to some Southern sky stargazing because the milky way galaxy is much brighter from this hemisphere. And what's with the half-hour time difference in South Australia? In New South Wales and Victoria it's 2pm, in Western Australia it's 1pm, but in South Australia it's 2:30. Are these people perpetually late for TV programmes or what?
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Sharol
non-member comment
HELLO HELLO
Hi Mart..Great photos again.. You are in Oz I see.. How come no photo of those who need few more spots on their bikini?? hahaha Keep the photos coming... btw..what camera are you using at the moment.. The photos are great..especially at the beach.. Till we meet ...Sharol xx