The final entry for 2006

May 23
Alice Springs
Sunny, mild, clear

(and May 24 an 25 in Sydney)

We're in our room at Elkes Hostel waiting for the Mulga bus to take us back to the airport for our flight to Sydney, so I thought I'd close the journal by writing about some of the smaller anecdotes from the trip. These are in no particular order. It is possible that I wrote about some of these in my other entries, so please be patient if I am repeating myself in some of these.

1. When we arrived in Australia, the big story in the news was the mining accident in Beaconsfield, Tasmania. Three miners were trapped about a kilometer underground; one was dead, but two were still alive. The rescue efforts were agonizingly slow, and the miners digging the rescue shaft were in constant danger of another collapse. But they got those two out alive, and they are recuperating in hospital right now.
   
2. In Central Australia, the time after sunrise seems to be a little colder and windier. I suspect that there's a strong downdraft after sunrise, as the air to the east heats and rises, initiating a connection roll.
   
3. I am now sitting in a laundromat in Sydney, on Wednesday morning. We leave on Friday. I have used this laundry for years, and it does not change much at all, although all the places around it are closing up. The Potts Point / Kings Cross area is changing, and not for the better, I fear. Today, we will purchase day passes for the students for the mass transit. I really do not know how I'll spend the day.
   
4. As we pulled into the McDonald's at Innisfail for lunch, our coach driver referred to it as "the American Embassy." There is a move down here to ban toys in the children's meals -- small parts can choke.
   
5. While walking about, I saw some school childre4n performing a dance concert at a band shell at Hides Corner, a mall in central Cairns. They were clearly having fun, and a few showed some genuine talent. Since both of my sons have been involved in competitive dance, I always appreciate it when I see a group of boys dancing -- I don't know about Australia, but I do know that American boys can get teased a bit if they dance.
   
6. I had my very favorite meal in Australia twice this year. The coral trout, blackened, at Barnacle Bill's, on the esplanade in Cairns.
   
7. When I return home, I think I'll put some Cecil B. de Mille movies on the NetFlix list. There was a documentary of his career shown on TV down here, and I think I now know where Ed Wood (Plan Nine from Outer Space) got his inspiration.
   
8. One of the issues facing the tropical rainforest is the impending extinction of the cassowary. Many species of rainforest trees require that their seed pass through a cassowary before germination. Among the threats to the cassowary, one of the biggest is the introduced feral pigs. These animals also inhabit the rainforest, have no natural predators and are only checked by crocodiles and human culling. When we were walking in the Daintree rainforest, we saw plenty of evidence of the pigs rooting in the undergrowth. The problem is that the pigs will get at the cassowary eggs. The cassowary is an aggressive bird, and is capable of killing a person, using a jumping attack and tearing with its leg claws, like a raptor. But they can only do so much against the invaders.
   
9. My colleague is a train buff, and so it made the trip for him when we saw a cane train motoring up the tracks alongside the highway.
   
10. It is now Wednesday evening. After a meal at a German restaurant (to my lovely wife: wiener schnitzel and red cabbage!), we are now watching the first game in the State of Origin series. This is a sort of an all-star game of the NRL, the National Rugby League. If you've watched rugby played, this game is slightly different, though I am unfamiliar enough with either form that it really does not matter. The game has now ended, with the Blues hanging on to win 17-16.
    
11. As I walked through Hyde Park yesterday, just after visiting the very solemn ANZAC War memorial at the south end, I saw ahead, near the fountain, hundreds of school children at play, having a day off from school. To the east, the bells of St. Mary’s cathedral were ringing gaily, as though for a wedding. The sun was shining through the trees, from a clear blue sky. You probably have those perfect moments in your life from time to time, too.
    

I’ll think I’ll just leave it like that. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this year’s journal. Thank you for your comments and suggestions. We are already thinking about the 2007 course, so please check back next year for our new stories.

Camping part three

This is the last of three entries about our camping trip. I am now in Alice Springs, an the internet kiosk. It's going to be a bit of a hassle to upload photos here, so I will probably do so tomorrow. Please visit the Flickr site then if you want to see some photos from the camping.

May 22
King's Creek Station
Sunny, mild, clear (again!)

We are on the coach, in fact, returning from our walk at Watarrka (King's Canyon). We will stop a moment at the station where we camped last night, and then push on to Alike Springs.

As I've done this sort of tour several times now, I've noticed that I am beginning to value different things about it. We walk at Uluru, Kata Tjuta, and Watarrka, and in that order, almost all the time. Uluru is very touristy, and I find that I am noticing that more and more, as though the things of real value are vanishing.

The walk at Kata Tjuta is more of a physical challenge. There are at least two step climbs and a climb up a tilted sandstone face. The ground is more difficult to traverse as well. Unlike Uluru, which is pretty much a big piece of sandstone slowly eroding from the wind, Kata Tjuta is a sandstone-volcanic rock conglomerate. Think of boulders held together by a sandstone matrix and you've got the idea. The sandstone still undergoes the wind erosion, but now the result is a surface in which relatively large sections can fall out at once. The loosening of a boulder the size of an emu egg is a small matter, but a car-sized boulder falling suddenly from a cliff face must be terrifying. As we walked, we saw much evidence of exactly that. Of course, once a large boulder has been dislodged, the wind works on the weak sandstone behind it, creating numerous depressions and mini-caves along the cliff faces. We stopped at the top of a passage between two large stones. The view was wonderful. One of the other tour groups was kind enough to take group photos of us using our own cameras, and we returned the favor.
Because the track we used goes up and down a lot, the return trip is about as taxing as the first half. Since it was later in the morning, a few people were more easily tired out by it. No injuries or sickness at all, parents, but a few decisions to take it easy on our final walk at Watarrka.

While I prefer Kata Tjuta to Uluru, Kata Tjuta is frustrating, as it generates questions that I know I will never have answered -- I have my guesses about how Aboriginal men use Kata Tjuta, but I know I won't ever really know.

The first night of our camping takes place at Ayers Rock Resort, the commercial portion of the enterprise at Uluru. It is pretty crowded, and while pleasant, you do not feel as if you're really out in the wild. King's Creek Station is where we spend our second night, and the camping here is much more satisfying. We are away from the crowds of Uluru, and still have a full-featured camping area. King's Creek Station is a working cattle station, one of the smaller ones, with the camping resort as a secondary venture. Nonetheless, they do offer toilets and showers; a camp store; attractions such as station tours by camel, 4wd, or even helicopter; a coffee shop with gourmet coffee; even an (expensive) internet connection! So, it was a nice night. The weather was not so cooperative, clouding over just enough to make star-gazing difficult, but all in all, a pretty good night. A few sprinkles, but nothing that the swag can't repel.

. . .


There is one incident that the students insist I share with you. During our drive from Kata Tjuta to King's Creek Station, we made a roadside stop. The first reason we stop is to collect firewood. One of the features of the Central Australian landscape is the presence of many dead trees: mulgas, desert oaks, gum trees. The trees die when the water table shifts of when other trees take their water supply. (Everything out here is about the availability of water). Collecting firewood is nothing more than going off the road a few dozen metres and picking up old dried-up dead bits. It takes only a few moments to collect more than enough for the night. We do this every year when we camp.
The other reason we stopped is to find a wichety grub. The wichety grub, the larval stage of the ghost moth, lives inside the roots of certain bushes, like the Gidgee or the mulga. Aboriginal women would find a likely bush, dig down to the woody roots, looking for one that is bulging. Breaking open the roots reveals the cream-colored grub, about the same size as your index finger. The Aborigines eat the grubs, raw if necessary, but more often cooked. The flavor -- I am told -- is like egg, but nuttier.


Now it is the usual practice for the tour guide to offer the grub to one of the students to eat. Every year, the students have refused, though, so the guide has always wound up eating it for us, holding the head and biting quickly right behind it. It's over pretty quick.

This year, two of our students ate wichety grubs. It is the first time this has happened. Now I am sworn to secrecy, so I cannot tell you who. Parents, it's their little puzzle for you. I can tell you that I have seen no ill physical effects from their doing this, although the culture of the group seems to have altered somewhat.

. . .

Today began with an early morning walk at Watarrka, a canyon system at the end of the Gill Range. This has become my favorite part of the camping trip; I never fail to learn some new things while on the walk.

The first part of this walk is a steep climb up Heart Attack Hill, aptly named -- unprepared tourists have died here. I am afraid that I started off at too fast a pace up the first hill, and my legs soon cramped. And after telling the students that it wasn't a race! I was embarrassed, but recovered and made it up to the top, where everyone was waiting for me.

The view is unique. The colors are actually simple: the rusty red earth, the clear blue sky with a few white clouds, the green leaves of the plants and the silvery gray of the dry and dead wood. At the top of the canyon, we're about 100 metres above the plain, and can therefore see for perhaps a hundred miles or more. The rock that makes up most of the canyon area is a sandstone that develops a tough rust-red coating when exposed to air.

Watarrka was important to the tribes in the vicinity for two related reasons. It was a reliable source of water, perhaps the only one until Uluru, a couple of hundred of kilometers away. The sandstone acts as a sponge and absorbs most of the rainwater that lands.

And of course, the presence of water means that there's a lot of bush tucker, the food gathered by the Aborigines. Our guide was able to offer us a lot of information about the plants on the canyon rim and their uses as bush tucker and bush medicine. I have some photos that I'll upload to Flickr, together with some explanations.

After a lunch stiop at Mt. Ebeneezer,we are on the last leg back to Alice Springs. The students are in a good mood, listening to and singing along with songs the guide is supplying from his iPod. There are clouds ahead, so perhaps it will be raining in Alice Springs when we arrive. Tonight I will try to find the time to upload these journals, after we have a group dinner.

Tomorrow, we will return to Sydney for our last few days in Australia.

Camping, part two

This is the second of three posts that I wrote while on our camping trip. Please make sure that you read all three. I will upload photos when I return to Sydney.

May 21
Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park
Sunny, mild, clear

We have just finished watching the sunrise from a platform nearby Kata Tjuta, one of the other rock formations of interest in this neck of the woods. I hung back this time and let the others fight for their spot at the viewing rail. I've seen it before, after all. Most of the time, tourists look over at the sunrise taking place just to the left of Uluru in the distance.

I should explain a little about each of these several rock formations. Uluru is the Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock, the worlds largest monolith (single stone). It's the big orange rock you see in any commercial about Australia, a genuine icon of the country. It's not very surprising to learn that Uluru is sacred ground to the Anangu ("AHN-na-nu"), the indigenous people of these parts. As a part of the general consciousness raising in Australia about Aborigines and their history (after and before whites), many sacred and culturally important areas have been returned to control of the peoples who inhabit (or inhabited) the region. These folks are often referred to as the traditional owners, or traditional custodians.
Not only Uluru, but also Kata Tjuta is a part of the national park. Kata Tjuta means "many heads" and it really does look like a lot of large Cyclopean heads coming from the ground. The place has more cultural significance than does Uluru, especially to the men (men and women live very different lives in the Anangu world). The Anangu do not discuss this with outsiders, and little is known about the way this area is used.
I've written elsewhere about the reluctance of Aboriginal elders to share their culture and beliefs, so I won't repeat myself, except to say that it appears that some things are changing. Stories are being shared, whites are being invited to corroborrees, Aborigines are gaining control over the presentation of their lives in the media. At Uluru and Kata Tjuta, the cultural centre has been remodeled to reflect this new openness.
After we arrived yesterday, we went for a base walk around Uluru. This is a flat walk of about six miles, quite easy but long. The weather was cool enough so that no one was taxed by the heat. The students didn't like the flies much, though they were not as bad as they have been in years past -- they're just not used to them. The flies don't bite; they just want a bit if a drink, so they'll go after eyes, mouth, nose, and any bit of sweaty clothing. They're just annoying.

Our walkaround ended late enough so that we left immediately for a sunset viewing of Uluru. As the sun goes down, the rock goes through a series of color changes. I think every tour company in the Northern Territory was there to see this, and the scramble for a viewing spot was disappointing. Companies set up chairs and snack tables so close to the ropes that one could not get to a good photo spot without appearing rude. I finally stepped in front of one group briefly to take a photo, and said that I had come a long way to see this, too. I suppose it was the end of the day, and I was a little grumpy.

We made camp at Ayers Rock Resort, and had a very good chili made by our tour guide. He used camel meat. I generally don't like camel, but presented this way it was fine. While he was making dinner, I gave a brief star lecture which I think the students tolerated fairly well. The Southern Sky has some things that you just cannot see in New York. The interesting thing is that some of the things you can see are here, also, just in unexpected locations and orientations. We can see the handle of the Big Dipper, at least, though it is on the horizon. We can also see Leo overhead, just as you can right now, though here, it appears to be upside down. It isn't; we are.

But of course, one of the highlights of the southern sky is the Southern Cross, the five-star constellation seen on many of the national flags of the Southern Hemisphere. Just as you and I can use the Big Dipper to find north, one can use the Southern Cross to find south. The last two stars in the cup of the Big Dipper are pointer stars, in that they point at the north star Polaris, the star that appears to stay still as the rest of the celestial sphere rotates about it (it's Earth that's doing the rotating, of course). Once you've found Polaris, you know where north is. There is no south star (there actually is one, but it's far too dim to be seen without a telescope). But the South Celestial Pole, the spot in the sky about which the heavens spin, lies on a line drawn through the top and bottom stars of the Southern Cross. Those same stars also serve as a measuring stick, so you can find it even more easily -- count four of those units below the bottom star, and you've got it.

There is a star pattern called the False Cross; it's a part of the constellation Carina. It's somewhat larger that the true Cross, so someone using it for navigation or orienting would need to be able to distinguish the two. That's where more pointer stars come into play. The constellation surrounding the Cross is Centaurus. Stars in a constellation are named with Greek letters in descending order of brightness. The two brightest stars in the constellation Centaurus Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri, form a line that passes through the Cross before getting anywhere close to the False Cross.

So, you see, it's really quite simple(!) Throw out your compasses and GPS locators. May 21
Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park
Sunny, mild, clear

We have just finished watching the sunrise from a platform nearby Kata Tjuta, one of the other rock formations of interest in this neck of the woods. I hung back this time and let the others fight for their spot at the viewing rail. I've seen it before, after all. Most of the time, tourists look over at the sunrise taking place just to the left of Uluru in the distance.

I should explain a little about each of these several rock formations. Uluru is the Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock, the worlds largest monolith (single stone). It's the big orange rock you see in any commercial about Australia, a genuine icon of the country. It's not very surprising to learn that Uluru is sacred ground to the Anangu ("AHN-na-nu"), the indigenous people of these parts. As a part of the general consciousness raising in Australia about Aborigines and their history (after and before whites), many sacred and culturally important areas have been returned to control of the peoples who inhabit (or inhabited) the region. These folks are often referred to as the traditional owners, or traditional custodians.
Not only Uluru, but also Kata Tjuta is a part of the national park. Kata Tjuta means "many heads" and it really does look like a lot of large Cyclopean heads coming from the ground. The place has more cultural significance than does Uluru, especially to the men (men and women live very different lives in the Anangu world). The Anangu do not discuss this with outsiders, and little is known about the way this area is used.
I've written elsewhere about the reluctance of Aboriginal elders to share their culture and beliefs, so I won't repeat myself, except to say that it appears that some things are changing. Stories are being shared, whites are being invited to corroborrees, Aborigines are gaining control over the presentation of their lives in the media. At Uluru and Kata Tjuta, the cultural centre has been remodeled to reflect this new openness.
After we arrived yesterday, we went for a base walk around Uluru. This is a flat walk of about six miles, quite easy but long. The weather was cool enough so that no one was taxed by the heat. The students didn't like the flies much, though they were not as bad as they have been in years past -- they're just not used to them. The flies don't bite; they just want a bit if a drink, so they'll go after eyes, mouth, nose, and any bit of sweaty clothing. They're just annoying.

Our walkaround ended late enough so that we left immediately for a sunset viewing of Uluru. As the sun goes down, the rock goes through a series of color changes. I think every tour company in the Northern Territory was there to see this, and the scramble for a viewing spot was disappointing. Companies set up chairs and snack tables so close to the ropes that one could not get to a good photo spot without appearing rude. I finally stepped in front of one group briefly to take a photo, and said that I had come a long way to see this, too. I suppose it was the end of the day, and I was a little grumpy.

We made camp at Ayers Rock Resort, and had a very good chili made by our tour guide. He used camel meat. I generally don't like camel, but presented this way it was fine. While he was making dinner, I gave a brief star lecture which I think the students tolerated fairly well. The Southern Sky has some things that you just cannot see in New York. The interesting thing is that some of the things you can see are here, also, just in unexpected locations and orientations. We can see the handle of the Big Dipper, at least, though it is on the horizon. We can also see Leo overhead, just as you can right now, though here, it appears to be upside down. It isn't; we are.

But of course, one of the highlights of the southern sky is the Southern Cross, the five-star constellation seen on many of the national flags of the Southern Hemisphere. Just as you and I can use the Big Dipper to find north, one can use the Southern Cross to find south. The last two stars in the cup of the Big Dipper are pointer stars, in that they point at the north star Polaris, the star that appears to stay still as the rest of the celestial sphere rotates about it (it's Earth that's doing the rotating, of course). Once you've found Polaris, you know where north is. There is no south star (there actually is one, but it's far too dim to be seen without a telescope). But the South Celestial Pole, the spot in the sky about which the heavens spin, lies on a line drawn through the top and bottom stars of the Southern Cross. Those same stars also serve as a measuring stick, so you can find it even more easily -- count four of those units below the bottom star, and you've got it.

There is a star pattern called the False Cross; it's a part of the constellation Carina. It's somewhat larger that the true Cross, so someone using it for navigation or orienting would need to be able to distinguish the two. That's where more pointer stars come into play. The constellation surrounding the Cross is Centaurus. Stars in a constellation are named with Greek letters in descending order of brightness. The two brightest stars in the constellation Centaurus Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri, form a line that passes through the Cross before getting anywhere close to the False Cross.

So, you see, it's really quite simple(!) Throw out your compasses and GPS locators.

Camping, part one

This is the first of three entries that I wrote while on our camping trip. Please make sure you read all three.

I am not going to upload any photos at the moment; it'll be easier at the Global Gossip location in Sydney. So watch for those tomorrow.

--charlie


May 18-19
Alice Springs
Sunny, mild, clear

Currently, we are riding on the coach on our way to Uluru. We just left Noel Fullerton's Camel Farm, where we had our morning breakfast and restroom break. We've stopped there several times over the years; it's a very welcome sight on the lonely Stuart Highway. Students can go for a camel ride, or just wander about in the animal sanctuary. There's a pet dingo, and many magpies and galahs hanging about. But I want to write more about our two days in Alice Springs first, so I'll return to our camping trip later.

Our first evening included a concert given by Andrew Langford at his home shop, Sounds of Starlight, on the Todd Mall. A small didgeridoo shop fronts for a larger studio theatre, where Andrew and his two percussionist sidemen give a very nice concert lasting about 90 minutes. The concert includes a light show and a slide show, as well as the opportunity to interact with the musicians either by playing a didgeridoo or a percussion instrument. I was a maraca. Andrew displays a good knowledge of the indigenous people in the area, and freely acknowledges that the didgeridoo is not an instrument played by the language groups near and south of Alice Springs. Nevertheless, his concert reflects the creative artistic spirit that one sees expressed in many ways in Central Australia.

The second day was our tour. It was a little disorganized, as the tour company had one of their coaches break down and could not easily accommodate a group our size otherwise. I had to attend to another matter, and so missed out on the Desert Park, catching up with the group at lunch.

Sometimes, the 'can do' attitude leads to problems. A group of 25 showing up at a small eatery with little warning can create problems, especially if that group is on a schedule. Such was the case for this poor restaurant. They had very nice food, and the setting was a pleasant outdoor patio, but there was one table server and one cook, so we lost a lot of time at lunch. Our stops at the Telegraph Station, the School of the Air, the Royal Flying Doctors, and ANZAC Hill were therefore rushed.

The Telegraph Station is a living history museum adjoining a public park. When we arrived, there were many school children having an outing. One of the students started playing 'catch' with some of the Aboriginal youths who had a rugby ball. They were kicking it as much as throwing it, of course. The children were packing up to go, and we had our schedule to keep, so the catch game was frustratingly short, but it was nice to see even that small a connection made.

Our students arrived at the station in time to have a guided tour of the buildings. The telegraph station was one of several repeaters that linked Adelaide (and therefore early urban Australia) to Darwin. Darwin was linked to Asia via underwater lines, and so Australia was ultimately linked by telegraph back to mother England. Information from the central government could reach the Australian Outback in a matter of hours rather than weeks.

That we were rushed at The School of the Air was probably the biggest disappointment to me, since this stop is the one that resonates with students the most often. Certainly our education majors get a lot out of the brief visit to the nerve center of this unique school system. The School of the Air began as a side function of the Royal Flying Doctors Service (RFDS). The RFDS mission is to provide emergency medical care and transport, requiring radio. A teacher recognized that the radios, when not being used for medical emergencies, could be used as an educational aide for the children on the remote cattle stations or communities. After operating this way for some years, the School of the Air got its own frequencies and funding. It's been providing this service now for over 50 years, and have recently switched from radio to broadband satellite internet. It's a marvelous service, and, for those of us who sometimes get a little jaded with our huge educational industry in the State, drives home the point of just how important it really is to help our children everywhere learn as much as they can.

We do visit the RFDS centre as well. There were two emergency medical transports in progress while we were there, underscoring the importance of the service. The presentation consists of a short video, and Q&A session. They also have a small museum, gift shop, and grill. They are funded mostly from donations, including the ones they receive at centres like this one. I always drop most of my change into the bin when I visit -- I might need them before the day is over!

Our tour was a little taxed by the small bus we had to work with, so a few of us walked to ANZAC Hill to end the day. The view of Alice and the surrounding area is quite nice; the climb is well worth it. We could see what appeared to be controlled burns in the distance, as well as the portion of the MacDonnell range that are called the Caterpillars by the indigenous peoples.

The hill is located just north of the Todd Mall, so after a short walk down and some time at an internet stop (where I put in the previous short entry), I met my colleague and some students for a pleasant evening dinner at Keller's, a restaurant that features Swiss cuisine and Indian cuisine, an odd mix. I had beef vindaloo, a spicy beef stew (like yours, Dad, but a lot spicier) served with rice. A very pleasant way to end the day.

It is now midmorning; we've been on the road for a few hours. We just left our second stop of the day at Mt. Ebeneezer, a roadhouse located nearby the Aboriginal village of Imanpa. I finally took the plunge and bought a few Aboriginal prints made by local artists. One pays less here than in Sydney, and the artists get more since there are fewer middlemen taking their cut. I get it a little more than I did at first, but I have a lot to learn. Of course, the artists use modern media and have a lot more Western-style representation than they would have in the past -- I doubt that Aboriginal artists of a century ago even made prints as we think of them, probably using their skills to decorate their tools and utensils. In any case, not only do I get the prints, but a brief biography of each of the artists and a pamphlets describing the basics of the symbolism generally used in the art.

Alice Springs I

Hello, all. I just wanted to send a quick note up to the folks reading the journal to let you know that I have not gone away -- though I will tomorrow. We begin our camping adventure early , and will not return until two days later. So, I will probably not be able to post anything until we return.

And I only have a few moments to do this entry, so I will post more complete accounts of what we've been doing in Alice Springs later. We've had a lot of fun, and the weather has once again been most cooperative. We arrived yesterday, and spent the afternoon getting our bearings. In the evening, we were treated to a wonderful didgeridoo concert performed by Andrew Langford, an internationally known 'didge' virtuoso. He was also kind enough to help willing students learn the basics about the instrument, and involved most of the audience in a large jam with didges, rhythm sticks, and shakers.

Today we took a tour of Alice Springs. The Desert Park is an outdoor wilderness park that duplicates the environments found in Central Australia, red sand desert, dry riverbed woodlands, and salt pans. They also have exhibits for the flora and fauna of the area, and a free flight bird show. Very nice, and good preparation for our students brfore the camping adventure.

After the Park and a lunch, we made brief visits to each of these: the Telegraph Station, the School of the Air, the Royal Flying Doctors Centre, and ANZAC Hill. The Telegraph Station is the reason Alice is here, as one of teh spots with enough water to host a repeating station on the line from Darwin to Adelaide. The School of the Air is an educational services for children living in areas of Australia to remote for a school -- they go to school via the Internet, though it was by radio only a few years ago. The Royal Flying Doctors offers medical emergency service and transport to those injured in the remote Outback (I always make a donation. You never know ...). And ANZAC Hill is the town's memorial to teh soliders, and affords the best view of Alice Springs there is.

Well, I must go. I apologize for the typos and mistakes; I am not on my handheld as I write this. Please return in a few days for the rest of the story.

Our Rainforest Adventures

May 15 (-17)
Cairns
Cloudy, rainy (but nice on the 17th)

The weather continues to dampen our spirits -- it's too bad, since during this portion of the course, we are in a rain forest, so I suppose it's not terribly unusual to find it raining. We just returned from the Rainforestation, the final stop on our day up into the rain forests on the mountains just north of Cairns.

We began today with a ride up the Kuranda SkyRail, a cable car transit system that takes you up the mountain and just over the forest canopy. This unique viewpoint allows you to view the levels of the rain forest at once.

But the rain forest looked sick today. Maybe it was just the rain, but leaves looked yellowish and trees looked bare. Our coach driver had earlier said that there was wind damage to the trees here, as well as farther south, from Cyclone Larry. Perhaps that was what I was noticing.
There were two stops along the way. AT the first, there is a boardwalk that takes a few minutes if you race through it, but about 20 minutes if you follow one of the guides at the stop. Ours was a young Aboriginal man, who discussed the basics of a few of the more common plants of the rain forest.

The 'wait-awhile' cane is what you would call rattan, the cane commonly used to make furniture. It got the name 'wait-awhile' from the early European explorers, who would get hooked on the minute barbs on the vine, and then call out to their colleagues to wait awhile until they got loose. Aborigines would use it as a building material, and also as a water source when in need; cutting one of the vines is like opening a spigot.

The most striking tree of the rainforest is the strangler fig. The strangler is a parasite, starting off life high in the forest canopy, where the seeds are in bird droppings deposited in another tree that is the host. The seeds germinate, and send out vines seeking out the forest floor. Once the vine has found its way to the floor, the vine takes root and begins to grow thicker and harder, and sending out more vines all the time. After many years, the strangler has enclosed the host tree completely, which then dies. But the strangler has developed enough structural strength by then to support itself.

One of the huge trees of the rainforest is the kouri pine, among the largest evergreens in the world. The ones in Australia are relatively small, measuring only five feet in diameter or so. The tree has an excellent defense against the strangler fig, as it sheds its bark and lower branches as it grows, so any vines that start are thrown off before they can reach the ground.
There are plants that use other plants for scaffolding but are not parasitic. The elkhorn fern and the basket fern are examples of epiphytes, plants that live attached to or supported by a tree but do not use their host for any food, and do not kill the host. These plants collect nutrients from debris that falls from above, and water from rain. At Flickr, I have a photo of an elkhorn fern that I took at the Australian Zoo.

After the first stop, we resumed our ride up the mountains and over the canopy. We were high enough up the mountain at this point to be literally in the cloud cover, so that our visibility was limited. but as we glided into our second stop, the clouds parted long enough to reveal a very nice view of the Barron River Falls.

The Barron River flows through the tablelands before descending to the ocean through a series of falls. The Kuranda Scenic Railway runs along one side of the gorge through which the river falls, the SkyRail on the other. At the second stop of SkyRail, we are treated to not only several great views of the falls, but also of the Railway across the gorge, as well as some history of the installation of the power generating station located at the falls. The stop also has a very informative interactive center for learning more about the rainforest.

Our final stop on the SkyRail was in the mountain village of Kuranda, where our coach driver was waiting for us. We really have no chance this day to visit Kuranda, which is a shame for those who want to do some tourist shopping. They will have a free day on Wednesday. But today, our destination was Rainforestation.

Rainforestation is a private nature park that abuts the nearby national rainforest area that SkyRail goes over. At Rainforestation, we take a tour on Army DUKWs ("ducks") through the forest and on a small pond that lies above a private dam. The Army Ducks are US leftovers from WWII; we abandoned several thousand of these land/water hybrid vehicles behind after the end of the war with Japan, and many Aussies found uses for them. There are currently 12 in use at Rainforestation; they maintain them, including machining replacements parts and retooling engines to run on propane. Though the weather was not cooperating at all, the tour was just fine and informative.After our tour, e were treated to Aboriginal dancing. Though I have seen this show a few times, I still find it a very nice introduction to the Aboriginal life style that was. I do not believe that most of the indigenous people of Australia live this way or desire to. In fact, I think most of the dancers that we see at Rainforestation are middle-class Australians, much like anyone else. But the really important thing that I hope students get from the dance pieces is the humor that the dancers display, and how that comes from the dance itself. There's a sly wit that runs through a lot of the Aboriginal stories that I've heard, and I think it's actually an important part of their culture.

After the show, we had a very nice lunch followed by a visit to the animal park. But it was so rainy that it was not very enjoyable. The day was somewhat of a disappointment.

. . .

Today is May 16; we have just returned from our trip to the Daintree Rainforest. This was a very enjoyable introduction to the oldest rainforest in the world, at about 130 million years. Our early morning ride included a tour of Port Douglas and a brief stop in Mossman, before our arrival at the Daintree river for our river cruise.

The cruise on the river serves one purpose, really, to see crocodiles and pythons in the wild. For a change, the weather was nice and sunny, so we were successful, seeing two large male crocs, one smaller female, and a baby only a few weeks old. We saw two pythons curled up in trees by the river as well. But the crocs easily capture your imagination with their sinister ways. The truth is that they are simply very successful predators who have been at this millions of years longer than we have, and that our impression of their behavior says more about us than them.
After our cruise and a ferry crossing, we took a rainforest walk that was brief but informative. Evidence of the damage cased by feral pigs was apparent at many points on the walk.

We lunched once again as a part of the tour. While waiting for lunch, some of us visited an enclosure sanctuary for kangaroos that have been injured and cannot return to the wild. One of those kangaroos took a special interest in me, wrapping his forelegs around my leg and vigorous licking my leg and biting at y pants! I'll see if one of the students has a photo of this they're willing to share -- it was pretty funny. After our lunch, we drove farther up the coast, past Cape Tribulation to the Emmagen Creek, where we had a swim and an afternoon snack of tropical fruits, billy tea and damper bread. We then made our way back to Cape Tribulation for some time on the beach. After a brief stop for homemade tropical fruit ice cream, we drove back, ending a very nice day.

. . .

Today is May 17. I'm sitting at Hides Corner, a outside mall in central Cairns. The weather has finally turned beautiful, so I'm glad that the students will have at least one day in Cairns with decent weather. Yesterday was good, but we spent our time a couple hours north in the Daintree.

When I read over what I wrote yesterday, I realized that it was mostly a description of what we did with very little reflection. I was in a hurry to get all caught up with my journal writing before going to Alice, where I will once again likely be out of touch for a few days. Since I have a few moments now before the Cairns museum opens, I thought I'd write down a little bit more.

First, this morning I spent walking down the esplanade again, but I spent a lot more time examining the mud, and was rewarded in two ways. I finally saw some mudskippers! These are fish that have lungs as well as gills, and can therefore survive in the exposed mud flat at low tide. They were at play just below the boardwalk, and I even managed to get some video of them -- it's on the still camera, so I don't know that it will turn out well.

I also saw cone shells moving. The cone shell is a mollusk with a deadly venomous barb that one should always stay away from. I saw one in the mud, and noted that there was a curved trail away from it. Suspecting that I was seeing a trail it made on its own, I waited for a few minutes, and sure enough, it moved -- about an inch!. I waited awhile longer to make sure of what I was seeing. I have some video of this, too, but I don't think it will be very convincing.I did get a photo of pelicans flying to their morning gathering spot that I hope will turn out. I'll see in a bit when I go to the internet cafe. If they turn out, I'll upload them to Flickr.

I guess a few parents read what I wrote about the reef cruise and expressed concern for their children. Everyone is fine; it was nothing more than some nausea induced by the choppiness of the waiter; it only affected a few of the people on the boat (one or two students and one or two other passengers), and it only lasted a little while. So, please, don't worry; they're having the time of their lives. By the way, if you like my journal, please let me know. You can post a comment, or you can e-mail me at chjacobson@elmira.edu. I do check my mail as much as I can, and am always happy to hear from parents, friends, family, and colleagues. So far, I've been able to answer every e-mail I've received.

Mother's Day

May 14 (Mother's Day)
Cairns
Cloudy, breezy

Happy Mother's Day.

This is the beginning of our third full day in Cairns. Yesterday, as we got on the transfer bus for our Reef cruise, I briefly saw this strange yellow ball in the eastern sky; the coach driver said he thought it might be the sun, but he couldn't be sure as no one had seen it in recent memory. The students appear convinced that my colleague and I have been lying to them all along about beautiful, sunny Cairns in tropical north Queensland (TNG).

There's not too much to say about the transfer from Townsville to Cairns, apart from the destruction left behind by Cyclone Larry. This cyclone came ashore in Innisfail some weeks ago with 300 km/hr winds, comparable to Hurricane Katrina. The eye was 80 km wide, and the storm itself was some 350 km wide. The severe building damage was evident all around, though many roofs had already been repaired. Of course, once a roof has been peeled off during a storm, nothing stops the rain from getting inside and ruining everything. That 80% of the banana crop was destroyed was reflected in the ridiculously high prices we say in the stores: about $10 AUD per kilo -- that converts to about $3.60 USD per pound, about ten times what we normally pay in the States. The banana plantations we saw had new growth on the old, knocked over stalks, although it will be another 9 months before those plants bear fruit. 20% of the sugar cane crop was wiped out, though this was less evident from what we saw.

The biggest evidence of the cyclone by far was the damage to the forested hillsides. As we drove along, we could see that the trees had been stripped bare by the fierce winds. It seemed as though we were driving through the remnants of a massive forest fire -- this is the tropics; it's supposed to be lush growth! But the trees here are resilient, so I imagine that it will look just fine in a few months.

And, of course, no one was killed. That was the best news to come out of the storm. The early news reports credited this to the experiences of the citizens of New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina; when people realized that this one was comparable in size to Katrina, they boarded up and got out of the way fast.

We arrived in Cairns in a drizzle. After check in and bit of unpacking, we took the students over to the Cock 'n' Bull for a pleasant dinner. I spent most of Friday morning out and about in the city, doing some prep work for our reef cruise, answering e-mails, and ordering Mother's Day flowers (hope you liked them!). I sat out a rainstorm at an outdoor cafe on the esplanade eating a mediocre fish and chips lunch, and returned here to do laundry and get ready for the evening at ReefTeach.

We have done ReefTeach every year of the course. It is a two hour lecture, delivered by dive instructor/marine biologist/mad Irishman Paddy Coldwell. Backed with slides and props in his theatre/shop, Paddy delivers an animated introduction to the Great Barrier Reef, its flora and fauna, and how people ought to behave while snorkeling or diving on it. He's a little over the top at times, but his style involves a lot of repetition and distilling the essential knowledge tourists need in order to enjoy the reef without damaging it. When our students go on the cruise the next day, they invariably talk about the Reef in the terms that they learned at ReefTeach.

Yesterday was our cruise of the Passions of Paradise II (POPII), a twin-hull sailboat that takes us out about 90 minutes to the middle patch reef. The specific reef we go to is Paradise Reef, for which the POPII has the only license to visit. The result of this licensure is that the owners of POPII have a great incentive to keep their bit in good shape, and so we get a great view of the reef.

. . .

I've relocated to the downtown esplanade. It is about 10:30 am on Mother's Day, and already the grills nearby are up and running, as families are bringing their mothers out for a day of relaxing fun by the lagoon. Even though it continues to be overcast and rain threatens, it does not appears to have stopped the picnickers and sightseers. Children are kicking about rugby balls, people are enjoying ice reams, tour helicopters are flying low over the mud flats and the mangroves.

Back to the reef cruise ... I have usually bought a disposable underwater camera to take along, but I decided to do without this year, thinking -- correctly -- that the thing just took away from my enjoyment and appreciation of what I was looking at. So, I just went out snorkeling and watching, and was much happier with the experience. I saw all manner of fish, coral, anemones, and other sea life out and about. Mostly you see damsel fish, a broad category that refers more to the shape than anything else. Damsels have squaring bodies with some bullet-shaping to their head, a somewhat curved tail, and fins on their side that they use somewhat like birds use their wings. These small fins allow for both forward and backward motion. There are bluegreen damsels, striped damsels, chocolate-dipped damsels, just to mention a few; you can probably guess what they look like. Damsels can be quite small, as are the bluegreens, but can get to be about 6' long (like the chocolate dipped).

I also saw some clownfish living inside their anemones. I did not see Nemo. There are several varieties of clownfish, and the orange and white Nemo is only one of them. The ones that I saw were the black two-striped anemone fish -- again, I'll let you work out what they look like.

. . .

I've relocated to the Cairns library, just up the street from Global Gossip, where I'll upload this journal entry. As with the library in NSW, I am impressed with the extent to which it is used, even on Mother's Day. Of course, some folks are just in to use the internet service, but many families are here with their children. There seems to be more of that type of interaction here, as though they have time for it.

Okay, back again to the Reef ... what I really enjoyed doing this time was just looking at the coral. While there are many species of coral, they are not always identified by shape and color. The same species of hard coral can appear as a boulder, as a staghorn shape, a plate, or a bunch of conical fingers. The color can vary as well, determined by the nature of the underlying rock to which they're attached, the time in their life cycle, the water conditions around them, and other factors. Hard coral have a hard skeleton inside their bodies, so touching hard coral immediately injures the animals. We are told by every dive instructor around to never touch hard coral.

There's a lot of soft coral at Paradise Reef, too. Soft coral is a sort of group organism, with many individuals connected via a simple nervous system. They have a simple musculature that allows them to extend out beyond their shell to obtain nutrients from the water for the algae they host (and depend upon for food). Divers will touch the soft coral to observe it withdraw into its shells; the effect is striking. It also stresses the animals, so one should not do it very often.

The appeal of the hard coral to me is very mathematical, and is related to dynamical systems, my area of expertise. The behavior of the individual coral animal is governed by simple rules: grow to a certain size, then split into three and repeat. It seems reasonable to assume that their growth can be modeled mathematically, and that the different shapes that they ultimately assume can be thought of as arising from initial and/or boundary conditions. My assumption is that this is a well-studied topic, but I think I'll look around it as time permits.

We also visited Michaelmas Cay, a stage 2 reef island. As the ocean levels change, or as the coral dies and debris builds up, islands can emerge from the ocean. These islands are at first nothing but a little spot of sand and coral debris, and are called stage 1 islands. As time goes by, sea birds will find these islands and flock to them, and their droppings will fertilize the sand and permit the growing of grasses and other simple shore plants, creating a stage 2 island. Michaelmas Cay is one of these. When trees get hold, the island is called stage 3, and when a rainforest canopy develops, stage 4. The birds were everywhere! Not all of the students went to the island itself, probably recalling the Hitchock movie. Indeed, I suspect that the inspiration for The Birds came from visits to islands like Michaelmas Cay, where the sounds of the birds crying is continuous, and their behavior intense. We saw birds flying, birds hunkered down, birds fighting with other birds for territory, birds going through mating dances, burds hovering in the stiff breeze, birds swooping past you at close range, ... I spent about a half-hour filming and looking around before returning to the boat. Looking at my bird guide, I am fairly sure that I saw oystercatchers, masked lapwings, Australian darters, and of course gulls.

The sea conditions were only fair yesterday; we had swells of about 1 meter at the reef and up to over 2 meters when moving from site to site and returning to shore. It was cloudy all day, though it never rained and the sun did try to break through. Viewing conditions were also only fair, without the sunlight. Comfort was an issue, too; a few of the passengers on the boat became seasick, it's always a shame when that happens, though after the boat stops moving and you get into the water that usually goes away.

The crew on the boat is always great. One of the crew did magic tricks all day for small groups, others would spend time in small talk. One of the dive instructors was kind enough to extend an offer to my colleague and I for next year's course, a sort of preboard introduction to snorkeling and diving, something we might do the day before getting on board.

I talked for awhile with a teacher at the equivalent of our community colleges, who was finishing up a holiday that had included a visit to a corroborree, an Aboriginal gathering and celebration. It seems that there are many of these held, and that recently, the tribal elders have been inviting whitefellas. It's worth looking into ...

It's time to go and upload this ... I'm also going to find out whether there truly is baseball in Cairns. The day is improving, it appears nice and sunny outside now.

Charlie, the Food Critic?!

This is the final of four entries that I wrote while on Magnetic Island and unable to upload my journal entries. Please make sure that you read all four. You might also want to check out my Flickr account to see any new photos that I've uploaded.

May 10
Magnetic Island
Mild, windy, and sunny

I'm still at Picnic Bay, having just had lunch, and I'm now waiting for the bus. Since I've about twenty minutes before it arrives, I thought I'd start my next entry.

I did just finish lunch, and it was excellent. I ate at Fred's Bar and Grill, and had the spicy green lentil soup. They serve it with a generous portion of bread, for $6.50 AUD. I realized while eating that I have not talked about food much since I've been here, and so I thought I'd write a little about Australian cuisine, Australian grocery and other food buying, and Australian restaurants.

When one thinks about Australian cuisine, probably the first question is whether or not there is a real Australian cuisine. After all, they started off as a British convict colony, and they continued to have very close ties to Mother England at least until WWII, so isn't it possible that what Australian cuisine is a British derivative?There are certainly aspects of Australian cuisine that resemble British cooking. Certain dishes continue to be featured prominently here: meat pies, bangers and mash, etc. There is the beetroot slice atop every burger. And even a lasagna might come with a side of mashed potatoes!Closely related to an inherited British influence would be an Irish influence -- not because of similarities between Irish cookery and British cookery (there are a few), but rather because of the ethnic makeup of the Convicts, many of whom were essentially Irish political prisoners. But the truth is that that there are many other influences on Australia, and the British and Irish influence might be waning. Australia is a nation of immigrants, really; the descendants of the Convicts account for about only 2% of the total population. People came to Australia in the later part of the XIX century seeking wealth through land and/or gold. In the twentieth century, European (read 'white') immigration was encouraged. In the first few years of the XXI century, this has shifted to Asian countries. Australian foreign policy has become much more pro-Asian, with the recognition that if for no other reason than geography, Australia will always be trading with countries like China, Japan, and Indonesia, probably more so than with any European country or the USA.

Of course, American popular culture spreads almost everywhere, so why not here? And while you do see McDonald's and KFC in every town, you do see signs that other cultures are at work here, particularly Asian cultures. We were just in Brisbane last week celebrating Buddha's birthday in a country with Christian roots! But every city has its variety of Asian eateries: Indian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, and of course Chinese. Over the years, I've eaten Thai food served by immigrants from Thailand, Indian food served by Indians, Chinese food served by Chinese. Now that is not to say that there is only Asian influence here. There must have been a wave of immigration from the Mediterranean and Asia Minor at some point, as there are many restaurants featuring Italian, Greek, Turkish, Lebanese, and other middle eastern cuisines. Less often (but not absent) are European restaurants featuring German, French, or other cuisine; or African restaurants.Finally, there is the other American cuisine here, Mexican cuisine.

So, there are many imported cultures here to contribute to an Australian cuisine, but I have left out an important one: the indigenous culture of Australia, the Aboriginal culture. It certainly stands to reason that the natives knew a thing or two about cooking kangaroos and emus, though the settlers could have treated kangaroo like beef or venison and emu like duck or goose and obtained reasonable results. The more important ingredient that indigenous culture could add to Australian cuisine was the concept of bush tucker, food that you get by directly gathering from the land. I've written before about the reluctance of the Aboriginals to share their knowledge of the land with the whites, but that does seem to be changing, and certainly with food. There are now several books out on indigenous cuisine, and it has had an effect on the way people approach cooking. In Alice Springs, I've had kangaroo fillet in quodong sauce (quodong is a bitter fruit found in the drier regions of the Outback). Cuisine is also shaped by cultural attitudes. Australians are fit and active, are very conscious of their health, and adjust their eating habits accordingly. Many of the meals I've had here are 'low carb' although I don't think that the Atkin's diet is the reason. A typical luncheon or light dinner meal consists of a main course, with a vegetable and a salad, and possibly 'chips' (you'd call them 'fries'.) So, the main source of carbs is the potatoes. Salad is considered an ingredient as much as it is a course; one can get a 'sandwich with salad,' meaning that the sandwich will have lettuce and shredded carrot on it. The lettuce is often a variety called 'rocket,' a red leafed variety with pointed leaves vaguely reminiscent of dandelions. Side salads will often also have fresh bean sprouts and other raw vegetables in them.Restaurant menus are often set up to follows courses. One can order an appetizer, an entree, and a main. I think that Australians by and large are familiar with Americans' confusion about entree and main, since we as a rule don't really do that, substituting a soup/salad course in its place. The pricing appears to be almost always ala carte, although that seems to be changing in some spots.

Some grocery stores would be very familiar to Americans, while others have a more European look, with separate shops for meats, fish, produce, and baked good, and the grocery shop in the more limited role of offering processed foods and dairy. This type of food market appears most often in shopping malls, so one would have access to pharmacies and housewares stores as well. It's a way to shop, I'm sure, but it's not my style.

I've raved about a few meals in Australia. My very favorite meal so far over the years I've been doing this continues to be the blackened coral trout at Barnacle Bills in Cairns. It is a broiled fish with a very spicy seasoning that reminds me more of a Caribbean jerk seasoning than a blackening. But it is very tasty. It's served with a rocket salad and rice. There's a Thai dish I get at the Arun Thai Restaurant in Sydney that's very good. It's a beef dish in a sauce that is almost like the sauce in a Mongolian beef or lamb dish. The interesting thing they do at that restaurant is to sprinkle crunchy bits of spinach on top of the dish -- I'm certain they chop the spinach up and deep-fry it to get the right effect. It's served with rice.I've eaten at a few places on the Queen St. Mall in Brisbane that are pretty good. This year, the memorable meal there was Mongolian lamb at Jimmy's. I'm not a fan of lamb, but this was pretty good. It was also accompanied by rice. When we're in Alice, we have eaten at the Overlanders Steak House, and we'll probably take the students there this year. They have a huge meal on the menu, too big for me, that includes sample portions of kangaroo, crocodile, camel, and emu. Probably many of the students will try it. I'll have the kangaroo mignon cooked medium, and a crocodile croquette with a cream sauce. It's called 'mignon' only because of it's resemblance to the portion cut from a beef tenderloin, but this actually comes from the tail, where the best tasting meat is found. I'd have to add the lentil soup I had today to my list of favorite meals in Australia. The spicy part of 'spicy green lentil' came from the curry that formed the base of the flavoring, though there was cilantro present as well. There's a pepper used in some Asian dishes that is at once sweet and hot; there was some of that in this soup as well. Served with a nice hot baguette, it was simple and delicious.

I guess Australian cuisine exists more or less in the same way that USA cuisine exists, as a synthesis of several different immigrant cuisines, shaped by availability and necessity. We have our chili; they have their barramundi and chips. As they continue to be influenced by Asian cuisine, it will be interesting to see how their own shifts.

The Forts

This is the third of four entries that I wrote while on Magnetic Island and unable to upload things. Be sure you read all four entries.

May 9
Magnetic Island
Hot, breezy, and sunny early
Cloudy in late afternoon

I wrote a short entry earlier today while at an internet kiosk over at Arcadia, but I suspect that I won't be uploading anything until I get up to Cairns on Thursday. Let me apologize if things are a little out of order, but I think that will be the way of it for now. Several of the places I've stopped at both here and in Brisbane have said that they anticipate having a connection like Global Gossip by next year, so perhaps the 2007 trip will fare better.

Today was my day to wander up to The Forts, a WWII relic on the island. During the war, Magnetic Island was considered a good spot for an observation and signaling post, since any Japanese attack on Townsville would need to go past here. Our tour guides have told us that there are still many old-timers on the island who can recall a lot about the US and ANZAC forces stationed here. But apart from a couple of shipwrecks, all that remains from that time are the gun emplacements and the reinforced buildings at the observation post. This area is called The Forts, and is about a 3km hike total: a little over 1km in, then an 800m circuit before coming back out. It's s significant hike up; you're changing elevation at least 300 feet from the beginning of the trail to the post itself. It's a very pleasant walk, though. The trail takes you past many striking rock formations. Magnetic Island is essentially a lot of volcanic granite rock with sandy soil on top that the plants grow in; the rocks are revealed when the sand is eroded away. The trail is also a showcase of almost all the exotic flora you might find over here: Norfolk Island pines, eucalyptus (of course), wattle, banksia, satanay; there's even a few strangler figs up there. The wildlife folks have attempted to introduce a koala colony on the island, and The Forts are considered one of the best spots to see one. I have not, though in both years when we've been here some of the students have. I'm usually so busy watching my feet that I'm sure I've passed within a few feet of them without noticing.

At the end of the walk is a 800m circuit that takes you through the remnants of the post: a couple of gun emplacements, the command center, and the signal station. The signal station is at the very highest point (of course) and affords the best views of the island, and the shipping channels. The mainland is on the other side, so you cannot see it so well. There were two men at the signal station when I got there, on holiday from Townsville with their families. We chatted for a bit, mostly about the weather, ad then I was on my way. I had begun the walk with my colleague, but he soon told me to go on ahead, that he was going to do it at a slower pace. I never saw him as a completed the circuit and headed back, but when I got to the bus stop, there he was! We figure that he must have passed when I was talking with those men. But talk about a tortoise and hare race .....

. .


It is now May 10, about 11:30 am. I just got done with a hike from Nelly Bay over to Picnic Bay, and then a climb up to Hawking Point, overlooking Picnic, Nelly, and Rocky Bays. I'm sitting at the Picnic Bay Mall, a sort of an esplanade from the old jetty that runs the length of the beach. It is a beautiful day, with a very nice breeze blowing -- and a chap with a weed whacker wandering about making lots of noise. Well, it is his job ...The view at Hawking Point is probably the loveliest that I've seen on the island thus far. You can see across the strait to Townsville, you can look down on Picnic, Nelly, and Rocky Bays, and you can get a pretty good feel for the geography of the southeastern portion of the island. At the bottom of the climb, there was an Australian couple who asked me if it was the trail. I must not look much like a tourist; I guess I'll have to dress better or something! They must have followed me up, since I saw them again after I stopped at a nice viewpoint about halfway up. It was a bit of a tricky climb, but the three of us managed to get to the top after only a couple of false turns. They were on holiday up from Brisbane, so we chatted a bit about the weather down south. Water is always on the mind of the Australians; it is so dry all over, but especially from Brisbane and on south. I know there are many people who think that this is nothing more than cyclical variation; they may be right and I hope that they're right, but I fear that the changes we're seeing in the climate are not going away. But enough about that. I'm going to have lunch and then head back to Nelly Bay for some relaxation and packing. We're going to have a group dinner tonight. Then tomorrow, it's off to Cairns.

Our Train to Magnetic Island

This is the second of four entries that I've accumulated while out of internet touch. Please make sure your read all four.

May 8
Magnetic Island
Hot and muggy early, breezy and milder later

We are in our room at the end of our first of three days on Magnetic Island. I'll write about our tour today, but first I'll write about the train ride.

But before that, I should mention that my colleague has found game shows on tv just now. He's watching Deal or no Deal -- now he's watching Family Feud. Both are Australian versions of the US shows, although it is possible that our shows are the copies.

About the train: we boarded the Sunlander Sunday morning and arrived in Townsville on Monday morning, sleeping on the train over night. This was a first-time experience for most of the students, and I think it was a mixed bag for them. Some students enjoy the change of pace, others found it boring. For me, I enjoy just looking out the window and watching Australia go by. I saw several species of birds, one kangaroo, and four emus. Th emus were especially surprising, as I saw them in sugar cane field that had just been planted. The meals on the train were reasonably priced and quite a good value. I had also brought a few snacks along, so I was not going hungry. They showed movies in the club car to pass the time, too. But the movie they showed was National Treasure, one I had already seen and was not interested in seeing again. I am assisting a student via e-mail as he completes a study of dynamical systems, so I spent most of the rest of my time finishing up one of the chapters of that.

. . .

It is now the morning of May 9. I am sitting on the porch of our cabin at Magnetic Island, looking out over the resort. It's a quiet little park at the end of village street. The resort consists of a-frame cabins and cottages, with island wildlife roaming through. very tranquil and refreshing.

We hired a group tour for yesterday, and I'm very glad we did. We had been on the island several years ago, when we were first figuring out the course, and we had no guide then -- just some stupid 'party' bus for the resort we stayed at (not where we are now). We missed so much as a result! Our tour took us from Picnic Bay, nearest the mainland, to Horseshoe Bay on the far side. Our tour guide Steve is well on his way to becoming a classic Aussie character: a curmudgeon with a soft heart. But he was a lot of fun, and what he said was true most of the time. He did show us some great views of the bays and beaches; that's easy enough. But we also saw, fed, and petted rock wallabies living in a colony in the rocky crevices near the car ferry landing. We found a free range koala nearby Horseshoe Bay -- to the consternation of my colleague who had made it an assignment for the students to find a free range koala while they were here. (I'm sure they'll find others).

We will eat breakfast shortly, and then I'm off to hike about and explore. There a a lot of places that I hope to revisit today, and I'll tell you about it later.

The Australian Zoo

This is the first of four journal entries that I've accumulated. Make sure your read all four.

May 6
Brisbane
Sunny and mild

We are on the way to the Australian Zoo, for a day of more sightseeing. It's already been an interesting trip, and we just started. The arrival and departure messages at the train station were a little messed up, and the express train platform was switched at the last moment. But, we're on our way. The trip will take a little over an hour, and then we will be picked up by a coach at Beerwah to take us over to the zoo. Since I have some time now, I thought I'd write a little more about Lone Pine, and then about some of the other things that are going on in Australia.

One of the things that I did not mention about Lone Pine was the children. There were several school groups visiting the sanctuary yesterday, so I had a bit of a chance to watch the children and their teachers. Of course, they all wear uniforms -- it's a look, but I always liken it to gang colors (I know, I know; I shouldn't). I think children are probably the same everywhere, before their culture begins shaping them (and, sadly, sometimes twisting them). Their behavior has no affectation; when they are happy they laugh; when they need us they cry; when they're learning something they care about they're intense. I was standing near the cassowary enclosure while a sanctuary worker was speaking to them, and was struck by the level of questions from the children about the bird.

But it's easy to imagine why they'd be so interested; the cassowary is such a striking animal: red, blue, and black, with a large horn on its head. I'll see if any of my photos of it turned out, and post them on Flickr if they did. The cassowary is another animal that is very endangered. The estimate is that there are fewer than 2500 left in the wild. The cassowary is a keystone species, too, in that the basic trees of the tropical rainforest depend upon the cassowary for their propagation. Seeds of the trees must pass through the gut of the cassowary before they can germinate. If the cassowary goes extinct, the tropical rainforest of Queensland will eventually pass away.

After we returned to the hotel, we took the students to the South Bank Parklands for a dinner at Kapsali's, a Greek restaurant in the park. The meal was okay, and some of the students said theirs was very good. I had fried ricotta and grilled vegetables with panini bread. The atmosphere was pleasant, and a good time was had by all.

Brisbane is celebrating the birth of the Buddha this weekend. It's a very happy affair; lots of red lanterns are hung throughout the park, there's a carnival ride area for the children, and there were Asian acrobats performing in a big arena. There will be fireworks tonight and tomorrow night. There are several statues of the Buddha set up all around that good Buddhists can wash. And a lot of information for the curious who want to learn more about Buddhism.

There was a Queensland Police booth set up, primarily for children. My colleague has been expressing interest for a few yearn now in getting a police hat, and they had color-and-cut-out hats that I think are the closest he'll come to getting one. Now all I need are some crayons ...

. . .

Now we are on the train on our way back from the Australian Zoo. The zoo is very well appointed; Steve has marketed himself well.Steve is, of course, Steve Irwin, the Crocodiles Hunter. The Australian Zoo began as a reptile park owned by Irwin's parents, where he spent his youth learning the business and rescuing crocodiles and other animals. He's parleyed the success of the television show into much more land for the zoo. It's currently 70 acres, with plans to expand to 315 over the next several years, including exhibits on Asia, Africa, Madagascar, and the Americas.

It compares favorably with most of what we've seen as far as exhibit quality goes. I found the 'Crocoseum' shows to be a little disappointing, though. A little too slick, with less substance than I would have liked. But, I'm probably just being snooty. The Crocoseum is a 5000 seat outdoor theatre designed for live interactive animal shows. The show lasted about 80 minutes, consisting of four smaller shows. The first was on snakes and included a somewhat hokey skit on snakebite. The second was on tigers and was pretty good. I was surprised to see tigers playing like kittens with toys their handlers tossed about. The third show was a free fight bird show that was okay (Taronga's is better). The last show was the crocodile show, and was nice. We haven't had that sort of experience since the first year at the Johnson Creek Crocodile farm, and I must say that this was much more civilized -- no beating the crocs with a leaf rake. The Crocoseum has a large video screen that captures the performance from a variety of angles, a refreshment concourse, and a food court nearby. It's quite a little setup. The zoo stresses interaction with the animals. One has opportunities to pet and hold many animals, including koalas and baby crocs, as well as opportunities to feed kangaroos and elephants. The enclosures for koalas and kangaroos have 'rest areas' -- for the animals, not for the people. These are portions of the enclosure with little wooden barricades with signs saying "Rest Area, Please Keep Out" or some variation on that. I guess the premise is that the animals will learn that when they are in those areas they are less likely to be bothered by people.

Though they are not Australian, of course, I found the exhibits on the cheetahs and elephants, along with the tiger show, to be very illuminating about Australians in general and about Irwin in particular. As a part of the show and exhibits, the animal handlers suggested that Australia, due to its wealth and stable government, has an obligation to act to protect not only its own wildlife, but to help to protect the wildlife in other countries as well, particularly those that are not wealthy or stable enough to do so. As far as I know, this is not official government policy, but rather the principles that guide Steve and the Australian zoo.

. . .

It is now May 7, at about 10:30am. We have been on the Sunlander train just under two hours, having made one stop at Caboolture. The ride is pleasant, and I hope it will be a time for relaxation for the students. I'll write more about the train in my next post. I wanted to finish my thoughts about yesterday.

Once Australians hear our accent and mark us as Americans, they will sometimes approach one of us and engage in conversation. I am sometimes surprised at the ease with which they'll do this. I had two such conversations yesterday. While we were waiting for the train that would tack us to the Zoo, an older woman came up to me and said "So you're the American group going to the zoo?" as though our presence was common knowledge throughout the land. But she was very nice, and eager to tell me about her trip to Colorado. On the way back from the zoo, a man in a waiter's uniform talked to me about sports.

I'll wrap this up for now and explore the train a bit. I'll write more about it later.

Yet another short note

It would appear that I am doomed to not upload anything before I get to Cairns later this week, so I'm going to post a short note about some of the things we've done. Expect to see longer (and more grammatical) entries later on. But for now, I'll write a little about Magnetic Island.

First, the name. Capt. James Cook was the first whitefella to sail about in this part of the world, and so he named a lot of the places according to his whim. Cape Tribulation is so named because -- well, he suffered tribulation there. The day of the week he logged Thursday Island? Well, you get the idea. This island is called Magnetic Island because his compass went haywire while he was sailing by, and it could not possibly hve been because his compass was broken, right? So, the island must have mysterious magnetic powers. Of course, no one else has ever observed this, but the name has stuck.

It's the dry tropics here, so you get the heat but not as much humidity -- it's pretty pleasant. Yesterday, when we arrived, there was a cloud cover that our tour guide (I'll write more about him in a coming post) said was most unusual. Today is sunny, warm, and breezy, just about ideal. The island has many microclimates. While hiking about this morning, there were times when I was getting a wonderful cool onshore breeze, and other times when it was oppressively hot and muggy on the trail. I'm in shorts and SPF 30 sunscreen, and haven't noticed a burn yet (knock on wood). My early morning walk was just late enough to miss the sunrise a Nelly Bay, but the was enough wind to create tiny waves in the bay. The forecast was for small swells of about 1 meter or so during the day. Some of our students went out on the ocean for adventues, so they have excellent conditions.

The island folk are relaxed and friendly, perhaps a little more laid back than I'm used to, but if that's their biggest problem then something must be going right for them. There's a lot of development going on, so I suppose that in a few years this will be very different, much more touristy than it is now.

We watched a house being moved today. My colleague and I were waiting for the island bus to take us to a hiking trail when we saw a police cars coming down the road followed by an enormous trailer. It was a half-finished house that was being relocated to nearby our resort. I do wonder if it would be cheaper to just tear down and rebuild? But, it was amusing; there was a sign that said 'no entry' in the way, so the truck driver and his assistant just tore it down.

I am in a village called Arcadia, about 2 km away from Nelly Bay, where we are staying. I must finish this up in two minutes, and then I'll hit the trail back to the resort. Watch for more posts later on, when we get to Cairns. Bye!

Another short note

This is another short note to let you know that I'm still around. Today was our trip to the Australian Zoo -- that's the one owned by the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. I'll upload a post to it as soon as I can.
We leave tomorrow for Townsville, so I am not sure when I'll be near a computer again. We will be on the train for 24 hours, and will be in Townsville itself for only a couple of hours before getting on the ferry for Magnetic Island. I do not know what conditions I'll find there. But, I will keep up on the writing, and post entries as soon as I can.

Several days into one

There are svereal days here. This is the first day I could get to a machine.

May 2-4
Canberra
Partly sunny and cool

This was a day of travel, from Sydney to Canberra. Our drive was about six hours, leaving at 9 and arriving a little after 3. We made a few stops: at Berrima, at Goulburn, at Lake George, and at Mt. Ainslie. We finally arrived at the City Walk Hotel, where I am writing this.

Berrima is a pleasant village off the Hume highway, about 90 minutes south of Sydney. When driving in to the town, you could easily imagine that you were in a New England town in the autumn, as there are so many deciduous trees about. What makes this surprising to me is that the native trees in Australia: eucalyptus, banksia, paperbark, etc., are all evergreen. There should be no fall, no fall color. Yet, there it was, all around us. I don't know that the importation of the European species of trees has had a deleterious effect on the ecosystem in the same way as the introduced animals have, but it may well have. In any case, the upshot is that there is fall color here.

We stopped for lunch at a McDonald's just off the highway in Goulburn. The similarities and differences between McDonalds in Australia and in America are evident: there's a pastry shop built into the store, as well as a deli section. And of course, the burgers have a nice slice of beetroot on them. I don't know how that got started, but it's an interesting taste. One student pointed out that the beet adds a sweetness similar to ketchup. I think it's more like sweet pickle relish, but the idea is the same.

After lunch, we made our way down to Canberra. We stopped for a few minutes along Lake George, a dried-up catchment for the surrounding mountains. It is not so many years ago that the lake was full; one can find photos from the 50's of boating on the lake. The coach driver told me that there had been a few inches of water here and there last year after a winter storm, but that was the exception. The stations lease the lakebed for grazing; as we drove by we could see many sheep wandering about. The entire area is so very dry. They have been in the grip of a drought for several years now, with little sign of it abating. There are numerous water usage restrictions in place in the Goulburn area. It seems to be a very different situation from that which we've run into in the Alice Springs area. I do wonder if Australia is a continent in transition, with arid and arable regions interchanging.

Our hotel is the City Walk, a very nice budget hotel right off the central shopping area in Canberra. It's going through a remodeling right now -- hence the delays in posting these journal entries (no internet). But it's very clean and fairly roomy, so I think we'll be using it next year.

. . .

It's now May 4, and we are waiting at the Canberra airport for our flight to Brisbane. I thought I'd catch you up on our activities from yesterday: Parliament House, the U.S. Embassy, and the ANZAC War Memorial.

We began our day tour at Parliament House, the seat of Australian government. It is a striking building, with architecture laden with symbolism. You can see it from anywhere in Canberra, it seems; four angled aluminum struts like boomerangs supporting a large Australian flag. The building itself though is mostly below ground, with parkland above it -- so the people are above the government, not the other way 'round. The interior of the building is very beautiful, with a freshness to its design appropriate to a young country.

Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable, not only of his own government but also of our own. Australia's government is similar to ours in that it is bicameral, with a house of representatives apportioned by population, and a senate equally apportioned by state. It is unlike ours in that it is a parliament. The party that controls the house forms the government, with the party's leader becoming the prime minister. So, there's no real separate executive branch.

Oddly enough, I found a star guide with aboriginal constellations and legends at the souvenir shop. Seemed like an odd place to find such a thing, but I'll take it.

Our next stop was the U.S. Embassy. Now I'll frankly admit that this is a part of the tour that makes me the most nervous -- I don't think anything bad will happen, it's just that foreign policy stuff not my thing at all, so I assume that the students will be bored to tears by it. But the fact is that the students respond very well to the officers' stories, and I think we usually get a few students who begin thinking about a career in the Foreign Service after this meeting. We had brief presentations by three section heads: public affairs, economics, and political. These were followed by a question-&-answer session in which the students acquitted themselves very well, coming up with questions that I would not have thought of.

We broke for lunch at the city's central area, actually not far from our hotel. Most of the students opted to buy lunch in the food court on the lower level of the main shopping area. I had a kebab plate from a Turkish place, very good. It included tabouli salad and some humus, one of my favorites. There was a little boy and his mum sitting nearby us, and the boy kept his eye on me the whole time. The exotic American. Probably, I just had food in my beard.

Our last stop for the day was the ANZAC War Memorial. For me, the War Memorial is always a bit of an emotional stop. I do not think that there's one bit of romance to war, and it a testament to just how stupid we are as a species to get ourselves into these bloody debacles. But having said that, I have found in recent years a fascination with the strategies and tactics of battle, and the way that the will of the troops seems ultimately to be the deciding factor in who will carry the day. It seems that the best military leaders understand this, and the best troops will seek these leaders out and fight beyond their strength for them.

There's an example of this showcased at the ANZAC War Museum that involves US and Australian troops cooperating for perhaps the first time. In WWI, US troops were under orders not to take commands from the Australian General Monash, who they had heard was an excellent and unconventional tactician. So, they went to his camp. took off their US uniforms, put on the ANZAC's, and fought with Aussie troops in a successful battle in France (and I will look up the battle for you, gentle reader). It was the first of a series of cooperative ventures that would culminate in the ANZUS treaty.

Australia was attacked by Japan in WWII, and their troops were away defending British interests in Africa. There was very little to stop Japan from occupying at least the northern half of Australia -- except us. At least one objective of the Battle of the Coral Sea was to push Japan away from Australia, and Australians viewed our entry into that battle as a rescue. Australians have not forgotten that, and have stood with us ever since, even when they don't like our actions.

I found The Black Diggers at the ANZAC souvenir shop, too! I had read some at the NSW library, but am very happy to have my own copy now. When we're at Magnetic Island, I might take the ferry back into Townsville to do some more work on my project.

We are currently on the flight to Brisbane, and are about to start our descent, so I will sign off for now.

. . .

It is now May 5. We returned from Lone Pine Koala sanctuary awhile ago, and I wandered about until I found this Global Gossip location on Edward St. near the Eagle St. Pier. I am pretty impressed with Global Gossip, and will try to find them wherever I can.

Lone Pine is a wonderful sanctuary. If you've ever watched the Animal Planet channel and have seen a show on koalas, it's likely that it was filmed at Lone Pine. The sanctuary is committed to protecting the koala, which these days is very endangered due to loss of habitat -- that means that people are cutting down the eucalyptus forests to build more. It's probably a losing battle, but they're fighting the good fight.

But there's so much more at Lone Pine: kangaroos that you can feed by hand, emus, wombats, sheep and sheep dogs, injured birds that are cared for, dingoes, and many other Australian animals. We were there for over 2 1/2 hours, and the students could have stayed for the rest of the day.

The one disappointment was that the flying fox colony was gone! We always take the Mirimar Cruise up the Brisbane River to see the fruit bats, a huge colony that covers an entire island in the river. but as we approached the spot, the boat pilot told us that the bats had flown away a few days before. As we left the boat, I asked him what was going on, and he said that the bats had been leaving in the winter for the last few years, but they had never left this early. I wonder if this signals a change in their behavior. If so, that would be pretty sad; seeing the colony on the cruise has always been a high point.

I'll post some photos of the last few days at Flickr. We are at the Australian Zoo tomorrow -- that's the one run by Steve, the Crocodile Hunter. Then we leave Sunday for Townsville and Magnetic Island. If you don't see a new post for a few days, it's because I'm in transit. But I will write when I can.

A quick note

May 4
Brisbane
Sunny and Warm

This is a very quick note written on a machine at which I cannot upload my extensive journal entry about our Canberra trip. I will try to find such a place tomorrow. I'll suffice it for the moment to say that Canberra was cool, and the weather threatened the entire time, but never really stormed. The places we visited: Parliament House, the U.S. Embassy, and the ANZAC War Memorial, were all very well-received by the students. In general, our students this year have been pretty willing to engage the course and get from it what we hope they will. Time will tell, of course, but I've been pleased at what I've seen so far.

Our flight to Brisbane was uneventful -- the best kind. Once we had arrived at the TinBilly and got the rooms straightened out, my colleague and I went off to the South Bank Parklands, an extensive park area on the Brisbane River. Tomorrow is the Brisbane celebration of Buddha's Birthday, and we plan to be right in the middle of it -- we have reservations for the group at a Greek restaurant nearby the main arena where the big events in the celebration will be held. It should be a very nice experience for the students.

I am about out of time, so I will be off.

Placid Monday

May 1
Sydney
Sunny and pleasant(again!)

Today is a laundry day for me. We leave tomorrow for Canberra, so I want to get all my stuff in order.

I thought I'd write a little more about the group activities of the first two days: the Hyde Parks Barracks, the Australian Museum, the Taronga Zoo, and the Sydney Aquarium.

The very first thing we do after dropping our bags off at the hotel is to walk about a kilometer to the Hyde Park Barracks, one of the locations that housed the Convicts. You'll note the capitalization; the term 'Convict' in Australia refers only to those men and women that were sent to Australia from Britain for crimes (like stealing bread or being Irish). We like to make this our first stop; the students have just been through a 30-hour jaunt and might therefore feel some sympathy for the Convicts who had so much greater an ordeal.Our tour guide for the Barracks is different every year, and my colleague and I have noticed that each tour guide has a different aspect of the Barracks that they like to emphasize. One year it was the various uses of the Barracks, another year it was the more general history of immigration into Australia. This year, our guide concentrated on the punishments that the Convicts received. It was a little gruesome for my taste, but several of the students told me they thought it was great.

After the Barracks, we gather for a moment in Hyde Park to orient the students to the city. The park is beautiful, as are many of the parklands in the vicinity of Circular Quay and the Opera House. The students then have about 90 minutes for lunch and changing money before we move on.

Our next stop is the Australian/ Museum, where the students visit the exhibit on the indigenous peoples, the Aborigines and the Torres Strait Islanders. The exhibit includes both artifacts and testimony, and gives a fairly accurate perception of the state of affairs between white Australia and native Australia. After this visit, the students are on their own for the rest of the day.

The second day introduces the students to the fauna of Australia as we visit the Taronga Zoo and the Sydney Aquarium. We get to both via subways and ferries, so this is also a day to get the students familiar with these. Our hotel is very close to the Kings Cross subway station on the Eastern Suburbs line. Someone traveling to the end of this line would find themselves at Bondi Junction, where one could board a bus to get to the famous Bondi Beach. But we go the other way, toward the main loop. We make one transfer, which takes us to Circular Quay (pronounced "key"). It's one of those memorable moments in our course when the subway goes above ground, makes a turn, and the students get their close-up view of the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. We usually take a few moments on the platform so the students can snap a few photos, then we move down to the wharf and take the ferry to Taronga Zoo.

Taronga Zoo is one of the better zoos I've seen. The animals are very well cared for; the exhibits are clean and informative, and there are daily shows all over the park. The zoo is on a hillside. We begin at the top after a picturesque ride in a cablecar; most of the rest of the visit is a slow walk down the hill. My favorite part of the zoo is the free flight bird show, an engaging introduction to some of the birds of Australia. I was only slightly disappointed this year at the echidna exhibit, as it was hidden. On the other hand, there was a wombat out and about. I think I've a photo of it; I'll post it if I do.

The Sydney Aquarium is a very good way for the students to get a close-up look at several animals, some of which they may or may not see at all in the wild, and others that they may want to not see so closely. The Aquarium has platypuses, penguins and great white sharks (those are the animals the students will likely not see in the wild); reef fishes (that they probably will see) and a nice large saltwater crocodile (that they would not want to be near). There are two oceanariums that have walk-through tunnels. one is for the sea lions; the other is for the sharks and rays. It's this second one that I find the most fascinating, as the behavior of the rays is very striking. Their motion is distinct from both swimming and flying; it is more an undulation. They also seem to like to lay atop the tunnels; the largest covers the entire top.

. . .

It is now much later in the afternoon. I spent a good portion of the time at the library again, doing more research, and I came across a very nice short movie, Harry's War. This is a short movie about an Aboriginal ANZAC soldier fighting in New Guinea in 1942, his relationship with his mates, his family, and his totem animals. It's a sad story -- as the film finished I was getting a little choked up, probably not a good idea in a public place like a library. The man who played Harry is David Ngoombujarra. He has a wonderful deep voice -- I suspect we've heard him in voiceovers from time to time. All the performances were good. The dialogue was a little preachy at moments, though the restrictions of a half-hour time slot might create that possibility. The direction and editing was okay. All in all, it was time well spent. I'll probably see about getting it in the USA. AT the moment, the TV here at the hotel lounge is showing Spiderman II, so I think I'll stop for now and enjoy the movie's end.

NSW Library

April 30
Partly sunny, afternoon clouds
Sydney

I am sitting in the State Library of NSW with my new library card! It's 'blue level' Reader's Card, which will allow me to request material from the stack. I cannot borrow anything, of course. I am not sure if it will help me with my project, but it's a start.

Last year, I picked up a book on the history of the Djabugay people, an aboriginal group in Tropical North Queensland. It was an unusual text in that the account is from the point of view of the Djabugay themselves. In the book, the author tells about the time during W.W.II when black American soldiers were stationed in Queensland, and were befriended by the Djabugay. To the Djabugay, the soldiers were remarkable and inspiring. They were just as dark-skinned as any Aborigine, yet they were accorded a level of respect by the white soldiers that was not even imagined by the indigenous people. My objective during this trip is to learn more about this period and the interactions that took place then. I suspect that black soldiers in W.W.II would not say that the treatment they received by the military was all that great. We all of us know that we have had a rough road to social equality and that there's lots left to do. And I would not want to make any sort of argument that smacked of relativism. It just sounds like a neat story to me, and I hope to learn more about it.

So anyway, that's what I am about here today. The library is a very well-used place; I even had trouble finding a place to sit down to write this. The stacks are closed; one makes requests for materials, which are then delivered to bins nearby the circulation area. There are people of all ages and races, researching all manner of things. I am currently sitting nearby the Family History section. I suppose that this would be a place where one could find out a lot more about the Convicts.
. . .

It's about 30 minutes later. I have requested two books which should be retrieved from the stacks in about 20 minutes. I have asked for America's Australia, Australia's America and The Black Diggers: Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in the Second World War. The titles sounded interesting, and I hope they'll lead to something. The library also has several works on Black Americans in the armed forces, and several other works on Aborigines in the military here.
I'm a little surprised at some of that, as I had thought that Aborigines were not allowed to serve at the time. Australian attitudes about the native people have evolved, though they have a ways to go, but I'm pretty sure that since Aborigines were not citizens, they were not allowed into the military. There's one rather humorous story worth sharing. Apparently, some of the Djabugay women were out one day and spotted unfamiliar faces climbing in the trees near Cairns. The men they saw looked enough like the pictures of Japanese they had seen that they were convinced that the Japanese were invading right there. (The idea was not far-fetched; the Japanese had already bombed Darwin; the Australian forces were stretched to the limit protecting British African interests, and there was in place a contingency plan to forfeit all of northern Australia to the Japanese should they invade. One of the big reasons that Australia always seems to back America so wholeheartedly is that America -- not Britain -- came to their rescue after the bombing of Darwin.) But the fact was that the men in the trees were from the island of Java, and were being trained as scouts.

. . .

It's now early Monday morning. I spent the rest of yesterday continuing to reserach my project, and walking about the Royal Botanical Gardens. One of the most striking features of the gardens in the flying fox colony, thousands of fruit bats hanging in the trees. Though they are relatively inactive during the day, there were still several instances where the bats would fly about. I didn't get a good picture, but will try again today. There is also a flock of sulphur-crested cockatoos that fly about and squawk a lot -- I wonder if there's some tension between the species.

I wanted to mention my photos at Flickr. If you want, you can go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/chazjac/ and take a look. It might take a little bit if you're using a dialup account. I'll try to upload at least one photo every time I post, so you should frequently see something new. Occasionally, I'll post photos directly in the blog, too.