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Downtime in Adelaide

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

We took a few days “off” from traveling to catch up on email, laundry, and grocery shopping in Adelaide. We’re staying in a apartment here, and it’s been good to cook again. The central market provided amazing fresh fruits and veg, as well as some huge Italian meatballs – over ½ kilo each. During our wandering around the city, we came across a cricket match in progress at the Adelaide Oval. While we’re still trying to figure out a few of the nuances, it’s actually starting to make sense! Unfortunately the local South Australia Scorpions weren’t doing too well against the Victoria Spirit. Bummer.

Adelaide is a nice small city of about 1M people. The downtown area has a free bus service, but you can walk just about anywhere. It’s got a few quirks, but where else can you see a Christmas parade with the 3 Kings riding on real camels?

We also spent a nice afternoon in the Barossa and Eden Valleys visiting some of the many wineries. They are less than an hour drive from the city and produce some great Shiraz. Some of the vineyards export to the US and we found a few familiar names. We tasted a few at these cellar doors: Penfolds, Yalumba, Stanley Lambert, and Peter Lehmann. Most of them offer at least a dozen wines for free tasting and it was so difficult to decide which to try. In this area, you really can’t go wrong with a dry Reisling or a Shiraz blend.

Also, I wanted to thank all our friends and family for the comments you’ve been sending!  Keep ’em coming.  Finally, can anyone explain this scoreboard to us?

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Posted in Australia, Travel | 1 Comment »

WA does not mean “Washington”

Friday, December 5th, 2008

It stands for Western Australia, an enormous state in Australia, where we had grossly inadequate time to explore. We spent our time in Perth and the SW section of the state, but wish we could have spent time really exploring the state; driving north up to Monkey Mia, or explore the Kimberly (one of the last great frontiers on earth), or visit the Bungle Bungles, or drive the longest straight highway in the world on the Nullarbor Plain (and visit some of the great mines of the world). 

Perth was refreshing after baking in the Outback and reminded us of San Diego, or even Seattle (with good weather). it’s a very outdoorsy city with lots of parks and bike trails along the Swan River stretching all the way to Fremantle. We spent some time exploring the parks and biking. We then rented a car and headed south to the Margaret River area for some wine tasting. The region is renowned for premium wines and we quickly found out why.

We’ve had a lot of really forgettable, inexpensive Aussie wines. Margaret River reminded me just how amazing a full bodied Shiraz or Cab-Merlot blend can be. Just about everything we tasted was excellent, including a few Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blends that changed my mind about this combo. We visited these wineries: Cape Montelle, Leeuwin Estate, and Voyager. And the best part? All the tastings are free! Take that, Napa.

On our way back from MR, we decided to take a detour to Cape Leeuwin lighthouse, which is the most South and West point in Australia. It’s also the place where the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean meet. Along the way, we stopped at a beach called Prevelly Park to dip our toes in the Indian Ocean and stumbled on a surfing competition. The huge 4m waves were breaking perfectly, and the local guys seems to be winning against the Tassies and Queenslanders.

Back in Perth, we spent a day on Rottnest Island off the coast. We hired bikes and rode around the island stopping at different beaches for lunch and views. When we first arrived there was a big sign with “Do not feed the Quokkas. Danger, venomous snakes.” It soon made sense as we saw a “baby” Dugite, which is a poisonous snake, sunning himself along the road. We didn’t have to look far to find one of the native marsupials on the island called a Quokka. They are related to kangaroos and wallabies, but are about the size of a cat. Here are a few snaps from WA:

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Posted in Australia, Travel | 3 Comments »

Kangaroo Tails and Tales

Saturday, November 29th, 2008

This post is coming after a visit to the Northern Territory. It finally feels like we’ve entered the iconic outback image that travel agents, Hollywood, and that certain steak house have burned into our minds.

We arrived in Alice Springs to a rare downpour and got lucky enough to actually see the Todd River flowing.  It was dry again by dinner time, but a great sight anyway.  We took in pretty much all there is in “the Alice,” including a big night out at the local saloon where the menu includes prawns and ‘roo steaks, aka Reef ‘n Hop.

In order to see as much as possible in a short amount of time and on a tight budget, we booked a camping “safari” tour to Ayres Rock, otherwise known as Uluru.  Distances in this area are huge, and the roads are long, straight, and very empty.  After a 4 hour drive through sparse cattle stations and camel farms, we arrived at another rock formation called Kata Tjuta or the Olgas.  They are even taller than Uluru and very impressive.  We spent the night camping, but were up at 3:45AM in order to see the sunrise over Uluru.  Fantastic!

The Rock is even more interesting up close than I expected.  We did not climb it because the Aboriginal people consider it a sacred site and ask that you don’t.  Instead, we walked around the base, which pretty much takes up half a day in the unbelievable heat. 

The next evening included some good tucker cooked over the campfire, including a traditional outback bread called damper and a special treat, kangaroo tail.  After that we turned in, but not before I got to see the biggest scorpion I’ve ever seen.  Add to that an Indiana-Jones-sized centipede, and I decided to sleep in the tents, not in a swag on the ground.  Our next stop was Kings Canyon for a great hike around the rim and into an oasis called the Garden of Eden.

This part of the trip was truly hectic, dusty, and exhausting, but the scenery and experience was more than worth it.  I know everyone takes this photo, but who can resist the view?

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Posted in Australia, Travel | 2 Comments »

Big Mango

Monday, November 24th, 2008

We are back in Cairns now after spending some time in the Whitsundays.  The 8 hour drive each way gave us plenty of time to get used to driving on the other side of the road.  However, I still keep turning on the wipers every time I intend to signal.  The Bruce Highway is a two lane road that makes its way through mile after mile of banana, mango, and sugar cane plants.  There is even a railway system along the way to transport the cane to the many sugar mills. 

Airlie Beach is a nice resort town on the coast and the “gateway” to the 74 Whitsunday Islands.  We stayed there and then headed out to Daydream Island for a few days of sun and sand.  The weather didn’t cooperate – winds were way too strong and the waves too big – so we unfortunately didn’t get to sail or kayak.  It didn’t matter much and we just kicked back and enjoyed the resort.

I was thinking of posting pictures of the beach, palm trees, boats, etc. However, I think this one gives a better idea of the drive:

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Posted in Australia, Travel | 1 Comment »

Rainforest

Friday, November 21st, 2008

We spent 2 days in different parts of the rainforest.  Kuranda is a small village with lots of artsy and touristy shops in the middle of the rainforest.  We took a “skyrail”, which is something like a 7km long ski lift, to get to it and had great views of the top of the canopy.  Only about 10% of sunlight reaches the forest floor, so it’s remarkably cooler at the bottom.  We returned to Cairns via the Scenic Train which snakes along the mountain. 

The next day we did a “safari” which was a full day in the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation national parks.  It rained on and off all day, but I guess that is to be expected given it’s the RAINforest.  (Some tourists were grumbling about having to hike in the rain!)

It was a long day, but fantastic.  We spotted a Great Heron and an Azul Kingfisher on the banks of the Daintree River.  We were also extremely lucky to see a Cassowary.  They are very endangered and elusive birds that are about 4 feet tall with a bright blue head.  We saw one walking right in the middle of the road through the park, but he was too quick get a photo.  In addition to the animals, the plant life and the ecosystems are fascinating.  Finally, I have to comment on a few of the more dangerous elements of the rainsforest.  We saw Golden Orb spiders everywhere, and while they can grow to the size of dinner plates, the smaller ones are not that poisonous.  The same can not be said for the Cane Toads that are not indigenous and have become a pest.  Their skin is toxic to the touch, and we encountered a huge one.  Finally, this warning sign near the “safe” swimming hole says it all.

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And we did see several “freshies” or freshwater crocs along the river too!  Our conclusion:  The rainforest is amazing and beautiful in its own slightly threatening way.

Posted in Australia, Travel | No Comments »

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