Saving Australia

It is dry here, very dry. When it rains the locals turn a wary eye to the sky hoping it continues. But it doesn’t. Severe drought throughout most of the country is causing hardship at every level – from the farmer to entire towns. In Coles Bay, Tasmania, the water storage sign is posted as empty. Water restrictions are in place in nearly every city and town. Farmers are reducing the size of their cattle herds at minimal prices to help offset costs because it takes hundreds of gallons of water to raise them. Citrus growers are cutting down trees as a means of saving the rest of the crop. Hanging clothes on the line to dry is common (yes, we are doing the same). Individuals, cities, and states are all taking measures to offset the strain.

Sustainability and environmental concerns are very much a part of living in Australia. The Great Ocean Ecolodge at the Cape Otway Centre for Conservation Ecology leads the way. The Centre is “off the grid” for all utilities except telephone. Solar panels provide power for all their electrical needs, including hot water. Rain water is collected in containers that hold up to 250,000 liters (65,789 gallons) of water that is gravity fed to the Centre. Everything that can be recycled is recycled either as food for certain animals, composting, and the local recycling center for everything else. They have virtually no garbage.

The Cape Otway Centre is the work of its owners, Lizzie and Shayne. Two twenty-somethings that had a dream come true in a very short amount of time. They are recognized experts in their fields, true conservationists, and have a passion for the land and its animals. They built the lodge themselves beam by beam, brick by brick. They are strong supporters of land management and work with LandCare Victoria, a land rehabilitation organization, in helping to return the vegetation on privately-owned properties to its original state.

The Centre is a luxury eco lodge, a learning center with classroom, and a sanctuary for injured or orphaned marsupials (koalas, kangaroos, and wallabies) that are released back into the wild when healthy. A baby incubator, now used for marsupials, takes up library space in the Centre’s sitting room/library. Human contact with the injured animals is kept to a minimum. Profits from the eco lodge and learning center are used to sustain animal and land rehabilitation projects.

The native land surrounding the Centre is home to koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, and other birds and animals too numerous to name. Taking a tour at dusk with Lizzie through their property can only be described as “priceless!” We were not only overwhelmed with her graciousness for taking the time with us, but at her passion and knowledge of each plant and animal that we happened upon. Many of the rehabilitated animals remain in the area after they are released. It is heartwarming to have wallabies or kangaroos pointed out by name and to hear their story. Our visit with Lizzie and Shayne and their mobs of kangaroo and parliaments of koala will remain a memory to last a lifetime.

Australia can be a harsh place. Evidence of this is provided in the unique adaptations of its flora and fauna. Australians are concerned about the impact of global warming on an already harsh environment. Through the efforts of Lizzie and Shayne, and many others, positive steps are being taken.

The koalas were hiding, but the kangaroos fooled us…

We were getting worried that we wouldn’t see a koala in the wild, or a kangaroo for that matter. After all, a 30-something man in Sydney told us he had only seen one koala in the wild his entire life, and rarely a kangaroo. So we went to the zoo to make sure that we could see and identify these strange and wonderful animals.

It’s been five weeks and we’ve seen all kinds of wildlife - except for koalas and kangaroos. And we’ve looked. We drove the rural outback for 3,500 kilometers and flew to Tasmania, always looking. We even risked driving rural roads in the late evening and stared at groves of eucalyptus until our eyes dried out, always looking. We were getting worried that we wouldn’t see the two animals that embody the Australian wildlife.

We would have been happy with the wildlife we’ve seen and we were hoping that we would see these animals on Kangaroo Island. Then, they seemed to materialize from the bush. They were part of the scrub and the eucalyptus forest. Maybe they were always there and we just couldn’t see them before. Maybe, we just hadn’t been here long enough and couldn’t be trusted.

Once you see one, they seem to appear on branches all around you. Little fur balls sitting in a crook of a branch so they won’t fall while sleeping. Koalas just sit in a tree. It’s what they do for 18 to 20 hours a day – just sit there. They stop sitting once in a while to eat some eucalyptus leaves or change their position, and then they go back to sitting. It’s part of what makes them cute.

While the koalas were hard to spot, the kangaroos had actually fooled us. We’ve seen hundreds of wallabies (really, hundreds) during our travels and we thought we knew the difference between a wallaby and a kangaroo. But a few kangaroos had snuck into our photos without telling us and now we know the difference.

However, we simply weren’t prepared for the koalas and magnificent kangaroos that we’ve seen on Cape Otway near the Great Ocean Road. We’ve seen koalas in the trees (the usual perch) and on the ground, young and old. They like to have one tree to themselves. A group in one area is called a “parliament.” The only thing that they eat is a particular eucalyptus leaf that is their whole source of nourishment and water. It is spring in Oz now, the mating season. These cute, cuddly balls of fur are looking for love. You’d think they’d make a simple, loving, cooing sound. But, no… the male koala grunts – like an old pig! The female responds with a nagging, chattering shout.

Often, you will see one kangaroo, but there are almost always more nearby. We saw our first Eastern Grey Kangaroo on a golf course. The next mob (a group of roos) we encountered was near the Great Ocean Ecolodge on Cape Otway. One large male over seven feet tall, males and females of varying sizes, and little joeys, all complacently feeding on the green grasses of the bush.

We have to move on – Kangaroo Island is calling – but we could have spent days with these animals. They have a surreal beauty that is unique and common for Oz, but is so unusual for us. We can’t wait to find more as we travel the last legs of our journey.

From hot to cold...

We needed to cool off. Really! The tropics are wonderful and there are a thousand things to see on the Great Barrier Reef and in the Daintree Rainforest. After all, both are World Heritage sites and incredibly beautiful. But, we are Oregonians. That means we have rain and overcast skies in our blood. We just don’t feel right unless rain touches our heads once in awhile. Besides, we brought clothing for warm and cold weather. We have to make sure that we use all of our equipment.

We are in Tasmania. We have traveled nearly as far as one can travel to traverse Australia from North to South. And we have what we needed. Cool weather, green forests, and rain. In fact, if it weren’t for the eucalypt forests and Aussie-speak, we could be deluded into thinking we were in Oregon.

It is beautiful here. Our time is short, but this is the place where we almost called home to sell the house and our possessions so that we could relocate. We spent two nights on Bruny Island in a place called Adventure Bay. Captain Cook landed here. Captain Bligh planted a garden. There is a place called Two Tree Point where Cook’s botanist drew a picture of the landscape - it looks the same today. The little museum tells you all about it.

Tassie is a magical place where ever you go. Two thirds of the island are World Heritage sites. We walked with penguins last night. Yes, penguins. We watched as humpback whales fished along the coast. We were dive-bombed by shearwater birds by the 1,000s. The coastline is stunning.

Yes, we have cooled off - and yet we are excited to see another side of Oz.

Aussie speak...

Travels in the Australian countryside gave us an opportunity to learn some of the local vernacular. Picking up the hire-car in Sydney, we forgot to check the petrol, worried as we were about setting off on the left side of the road. Sixty kilometers later found us looking for a petrol station. Finding a convenience station, we put 30 liters of regular in the tank at AUD$1.30/ltr.

In the rural outback, we drove nearly 2000 kilometers before seeing a stop light. Intersections are controlled with "Give Way" (as in yield) signs and round-a-bouts that circle to the left. Everyone told us to watch out for the road trains (triple or quadruple trailer rigs that deliver goods and farm supplies to the rural outback) as they tend to take up the greater share of the road. They also told us to watch out for the roos in the early dawn and evening hours.

In the morning, we would stop for a sausage or franklin (as in hot dog) roll before taking to the road. Take away could be found at small cafés, bistros, McDonalds, KFC, or Happy Jacks that seemed to be the Oz Burger King. Many of the smaller, rural outback towns all had at least one bakery, some had two or three. Eating at the local sports club, we have ordered, among other things, fillet (pronounced fill-it), rump steak, burger with mince (ground beef), always with chips (French fries) or mash.

To drink, we would have lemonade (sprite), tap water served in a liter wine or beer bottle, or a pot of beer. We had to check the trading hours to see when we could have dinner. We could usually find a toilet in many of the towns, but not always at the café. We could always get directions to a public toilet somewhere in the town.

A few other terms we’ve experienced along the way:
Fossicking – to look for gems or semi precious stones (and rocks or shells as well)
Righti-o, a north Queensland term for okay, it works, thank you, and just about any time!
No worries – the Aussie answer to no problem and okay
No drama – the Custom’s agent’s response to our declaration of bringing chocolate into the country
Sealed or unsealed road – road surfaced with bitumen or just a plain, dirt road
Stubby hole – the foam cup used to keep one’s can or bottle of beer cold
Pot and schooner – sizes of beer from the tap
Cellar House – a winery tasting room
Pokies – poker or pull tab machines
Youse – for a form of you
G’day – not used everywhere, more common the farther you get away from the cities
And of course, the very common Mate! – the general term of familiarity.

Into another world...

It almost defies description, until you sink into its azure water. The warmth surrounds you and lulls you into wandering forever. Swimming the surface with fins, snorkel, and mask, I was a visitor to a foreign world, like space. The water is shallow, allowing the space traveler to see into this world with ease and still have the comfort that our world is only an inch away. The environment seems oblivious to my presence, little fish swimming about doing chores among the coral statues, and larger fish lurked around, hopefully well fed…

The white sand bottom gives way to a mass of coral. Nothing compares. Fans, cantaloupes, brains, antlers, and shapes I’m unable to describe. The sun is filtered even at this depth, yet the colors follow the rainbow, the color purely a work of art.

It is the only living organism that can be seen from space and certainly one of the greatest natural wonders of the world – the Great Barrier Reef. The Reef is 1500 miles of nature’s art, an eco system that compares to none. It was a privilege to visit this extraordinary place, but visiting comes with a price. Yes, it costs money to visit, but the very act of visiting impacts the Reef. The Reef is a World Heritage site and Australia is working hard to preserve its beauty.

As we leave, the Reef calls to me like the siren it is, it blue water inviting me for another swim…

Driving the Rural Outback

3000 (plus) kilometers from Sydney to Port Douglas! Seeing Australia’s best and not so necessarily worst – from a major city to small rural outback settlements, it was a week of driving that we’ll never forget. There are times when one of us remembers a stop along the journey, when it was actually in another place all together – we have to piece it out by where did we eat, where did we find (or not find!!!) chai tea lattes for Karen. And, as try as we may, we just didn’t get everything journaled!

Reaching the northern section of New South Wales found us in Lightning Ridge – home of Australian’s black opal. Shifting through mounds of mine tailings with a stick (as recommended by the information center volunteer) found a few pieces of opal potch (the bottom layer of the opal) and maybe a piece or two of nice opal (we’ll know more when we get them home and cut) – and many “pretty” rocks. Two more days into the center of Queensland and Emerald – home to sapphires, rubies, and other gem stones, (but no emeralds). Three buckets of dirt later, we are proud owners of three nice stones (star sapphire {black}, green sapphire, a zircon (reddish color), and many multiple shades of blue “tell and show” sapphires.

The first rural outback roadhouse was an interesting place. Owner Mandy brought good, sound advice about the 25 kilometers of “skinny” road ahead and an introduction to her new friend, Christmas Dinner (2008), a baby wild boar that had been left behind.

Skinny roads provide a new and frightening experience! A skinny road is a single lane (very single lane) of roadway in which a road train (ie: tractor truck with usually three or four trailers) barely fits down the center. We hadn’t seen a road train for about an hour when we hit that piece of road and - Murphy’s Law – six of them spaced out every few minutes. The good news is that the shoulders are very wide, the ground hard, and the road straight enough that we could see them coming! We had been thinking about driving all the way north on the Great Inland Way to Cairns, but changed our mind knowing that there was about 200 miles of skinny road beyond Charters Towers if we kept going that direction. We headed east to Townsville – tourist traps, traffic, and beautiful coastlines.

A stop in Charters Towers brought us to Towers Hill, a historic gold mining site. Local information suggested that visitors take a walking tour to see wildlife in the area including rock wallabies. We took a short walk through a historical park and saw a lonely wallaby and felt fortunate to see an animal in the wild. As we chatted with each other standing in the middle of the trail – hoping to see another one – we decided it was time for dinner. As soon as we turned around – there were six wallabies sitting on rocks just behind us – not sure who startled who? We jumped, they jumped, and that began our hour wait, watch, and photo shoot evening with the mob! Much smaller than a kangaroo, a rock wallaby has a tail about three feet long which is used for balance as they hop through, up, and over rock piles. Baby wallabies – also called joeys – are quite small and spend most of their time with just their heads sticking out of the pouch. An occasional foot comes out, but we weren’t lucky to see the whole body.

On to Ingham, a small town further north along the coast for the night. There’s not much in Ingham, though it is a major hub for sugar cane farming and refining. If your timing is off, you get stopped at the tracks for sugar cane trams – a small engine pulling oversized metal baskets on a narrow gauge track. However, Ingham does have the Tyto Wetlands, which has a listing of over 100 birds that are frequent visitors. It was the form of a very large “bird” that caught our attention as we drove past – turning quickly at the next street to drive back to see “what is that?” It wasn’t birds at all – it was a mob of over 200 wallabies! Wallabies have a certain comfort zone – not quite sure of the distance, but come too close and off they go! A good two hours of wandering in and around the park, seeing just how close we could get! Now that’s the way to spend an evening in Australia!

Ending our second week, we are now in Port Douglas. It has been a long week of driving, of seeing the many faces of life in the rural outback. Would we do it again? Without a doubt – YES!

Living in the outback…..

The village consisted of a wide spot in the road. It was a cross-road, or, at least, a ‘T’. It actually warranted a mention in a travel brochure - even though there was only a few homes, a general store, pub, and a funny little out-of-place restaurant. Hebel was the place where we were going to sample lunch in an outback pub, but there was this funny little out-of-place restaurant with gingerbread decorations and concrete lawn art luring us through its turnstile gate. “Chicken schnitzel w/chips,” or, “Lasagna w/chips” said the chalkboard out front. It also bragged of various pastries that were sure to satisfy any traveler’s sweet tooth. We had to stop.

I bet you thought this was about food… It’s not. In reality, it’s about taking the risk of asking a person that you have never met why they live in Hebel. You see, inside the little out-of-place restaurant was an Australian couple that have been married for 36 years. The husband is German and spoke with a German/Australian accent, so we didn’t understand but half of what he said. The wife didn’t say much at all. When you take the risk of asking a German/Australian why he lives in Hebel, a place where there is little conversation be prepared for a long explanation. In addition, we had to be entertained while the fryer was warmed up for cooking the chips (french fries).

Our proprietor, the German/Australian, was also a chef. They moved to Hebel because it was a way to get away from the rush and crush of the fast life in the city. The chef had been very successful and had invented a pizza crust that no one could refuse. It was even going to be mass produced and exported to America. Then he had a heart attack. Everything came to a screeching halt. He wanted to turn the business over to his 20 and 15 year old sons, but they just didn’t want it. He said “they would be multi-millionaires now.” So it was off to the outback and a cross-road with a slower life.

An hour later, the fryer came to temperature and our chicken schnitzel with chips was delivered. The story was over and we had a nice meal. His slower life forced us to slow down too, and we took a piece of apple crumble to go as we left.

Journey to the Outback

Hire car agencies (reads: rental car) around the world seem to have many of the same attributes. Picking up a hire car was a bit more interesting than getting one in the U.S. - the usual push to get you to buy the extra insurance – the scare tactics of a kangaroo jumping out in front of the car! Scarier is that the driver is on the right side of the car, and you drive on the left side of the road - left, LEFT! Fortunately, the gas and break pedals are in the right places – everything else is reversed. The turn signal (at home) is the windshield wiper here…. Can’t tell you how many times we’ve washed the windows over the last couple of days!!

The Great Inland Way traverses nearly 2,000 miles of the Australian continent between Sydney and Cairns. It consists of four lane city highways (Sydney), four lane rolling hills and agricultural land (to Katoomba), and two lane plains – flat as far as you can see (Dubbo) – with barely a shoulder.

Unfortunately, much of the route is littered with the bodies of an unbelievable number of dead kangaroos. There are warnings in every map, brochure, and signs - just about everywhere telling drivers to watch for Roos if driving during the early morning or late evening. Some areas are worse than others, and it seems like the dryer the area the greater the carnage. We have spoken with a number of people that are sympathetic with the situation and an equal number that are not. The posted speed limit in the outback is 100 – 110 KPH. (62 – 68 MPH). People traveling at night slow to 40 KPH to avoid hitting a roo and we’ve heard stories of trips taking two or three times the normal travel time.

The country is full of unique Australian wildlife. In addition to the many birds that we have seen, we have been fortunate to see a few Roos, several flocks of emus, and even a large herd of camels! Yes, camels – they were imported to Australia for construction use in the outback.