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.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Thursday, May 11, 2006
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Monday, May 08, 2006
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!
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!
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