To market, to market to buy a kangaroo and a koala and....

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Seems that I often find myself writing these entries at the end of the day, after "loads" of walking, and as said in an email, it seems that my brain turns to mush as the day goes on (so keep that in mind)....

Thanks as always for all your emails and comments, even though I don't respond to them all, it is always fun to hear your commentary. 😊

I must say, the only problematic situation we have encountered thus far is, the weather...overall all has been stellar. Awesome indeed. Or in Aussie speak, "Gorgeous!"

On Saturday we were driven around by Jeff. Much to Val's dismay, Jeff has a voice quite similar to one of the sharks in Finding Nemo...the one who says, "Fish are friends, not food." Consequently, I keep repeating, "Fish are friends, not food." over and over again...so hopefully she will not kill me in my sleep! Back to Jeff, he was our driver for our tour of the Great Ocean Road (Thanks Caroline for the tip, we booked our tour when we were state-side, thanks to the information my friend Holly shared...and I have been saying Melbin just as you said, which I think has become slightly irritating to Val...again, we hope she doesn't kill me in my sleep! 😊 Actually we get along remarkably well, that is why she is my best friend afterall, anyone who can put up with me...well, enough said.

I think she maybe secretly plotting something. I was trying a passion fruit the other morning...scooping out the seeds and some of the pulpy stuff...when she said to me, "I think you are only suppose to eat the seeds...the pulp is poisonous." Very funny Val!

The Great Ocean Road was spectacular! (Mom & Dad, it reminded me of the drive between Los Angeles and San Francisco along the coast...you know, the roadtrip where Kim & I were smooshed into the back seat of our "little car". 😊 The only drawback was the weather...it all started out fine...brisk (around 40 degrees!) and sunny...but then it began to rain, and rain, and rain. Well, you get the idea. But we made the best of it...and saw some amazing sights. The Twelve Apostles, limestone formations in the ocean (although one collapsed unexpectedly two years ago!), were quite breathtaking against the crashing waves of the ocean!

On Sunday we went to three markets!!! That is three markets in addition to the Queen Victoria Market we perused on Friday. My favorite, and I believe Val's too, was the Melbourne Design Market, that just happened to be happening in conjunction with the Melbourne Design Festival...what a grand chance occurance...although admittedly it was quite a pricey market, as we each purchased a stellar memento to commemorate our travels. Enroute to the St. Kilda's Market we met a lovely couple from Sydney on the tram (a trolley similar to those in San Francisco) who questioned us inquisitively about our travels in Australia. "Have you tried Vegemite?" and "Have you had some Australian wines?" We were pleased to respond that we had indeed tried both...the latter we were pleased with, and the former, well, I think it ranks up there with other wretched tasting flavours.

Just before we departed from Alice Springs, I was happy to receive a phone call from my friend Emelia (thanks e!). We had hoped to meet up in Melbourne, but that was not possible, as she is saving her funds to purchase a condo/apartment (and I clarified for her that condos are not just what people retire to in Florida, as I have one of my very own.) It was lovely to catch up via phone as opposed to swapping email, as had been the case since we met in India.

And now we are in Alice Springs, also called the Red Center, as aptly, the desert sand is red. Supposedly there are approximately 2,000 American here in a city of approximately 30,000. We are told they are working on top-secret missions, for the CIA or something of the sort. Oddly enough I was unable to find any information about this in the Lonely Planet guide. We have been told Aboriginal people come here to purchase things they can not find in the bush.

I was also pleased to find one of those direction posts that list cities and mileage...well, here it is in kilometers of course. One we found had home sweet home Chicago listed...we are a mere 15,749 kilometers away! 😊

One last thing before I depart...it is true, that kangaroo is consumed here in Australia. At a restaurant we ate at today there were numerous savoury bits on the menu: marinated kangaroo, a kangaroo burrito, an open camel steak sandwich, a kangaroo and bacon burger, and aussie skewers of kangaroo and camel!

And here's one for the recipe books! Kangarro Tail Soup with Witchetty Grubs (Which Chris you may find quite appealing as witchetty grubs remind me a lot of cicadas!)

Here are the ingredients:
1 Kangaroo tail cut into small pieces using meat cleaver
2 tbsp olive or canola oil
2 whole carrots, washed and peeled
3 onions, roughly chopped
4 stick celery, cut in half
1 leek , shredded
6 litres water
2 bay leaves
10 peppercorns
2 beef cubes
18 large witchetty grubs, lightly fried
salt and pepper

And here's the method:
Wash kangaroo tail pieces, place in the camp oven and top with cold water. Bring to the boil to blanch. Discard water and wash tails again to remove bone and blood. Heat camp oven with oil then lightly brown kangaroo tail. Add vegetables and water and bring to the boil. Skim off any scum. Add bay leaves, pepper corns and beef cubes. Simmer for 3 hours or until the kangaroo tail is tender. As liquid reduces replace with more water. Remove large vegetables and slice into smaller pieces, return to camp oven and season with salt and pepper. Cooked frozen vegetables can also be added. Serve in bowl and top with three witchetty grubs.

Yum! (Not!!)

Next stop for us, Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock prior to it's return to the Aboriginal people). I am very excited!! Perhaps we'll have another time change there, of a half hour!! So strange!!

So until the next installment.....

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Comments

[Michael]

Kangaroo
I bet kangaroo tastes a lot like chicken!

[Eric]

Kangaroo rides
Make sure you ask someone about the kangaroo rides I've always heard about. http://www.wklh.com/onDemandArchive.asp Look for 2/27/2007 Fred Klett's Kangaroo Rides. It's hilarious.

[Marcey]

Wel...
Hi Wendy, Soooo, do they have Kohl's downuncer? That's the most important thing to know. Did you get to Al Gore's "LIVE" concert? You're so green. Keep cooking those kangaroos sport and I'll be seeing you sooner than a waltz with Matilda.