Australian Adventure 2013 - 9

Friday evening, on Pete’s advice Pam ordered tickets for a movie in downtown Brisbane.  It was in a former IMAX theater (using the middle third of the screen, but full width) and was in 3-D, for which Pam had lots of the special glasses.  The movie was Gravity, a bit weak on plot but absolutely spectacular on special effects and scenery.

Saturday morning we went a couple of suburbs south to check out the first day of a new street market, which was so-so.  On the way I photographed (while still able to find one in bloom) the purple-flowered jacaranda tree – the local spring equivalent of our flowering trees at home.  They are scattered all over, including downtown Brisbane and have been lovely to see, especially several close together.

We then continued on a little and took the steep and winding road to the look-out area atop Mt. Gravatt.  Despite it being a typical hazy day, especially for taking pictures, the views were spectacular – I can only imagine how good they would be on a rare clear day.  After enjoying an “ice lolly” each we walked a bit amongst the trees on a rocky and fairly steep path.  Again it was all downhill outbound so we didn’t go too far as the return uphill was seriously good exercise!

Sunday was a pleasantly lazy day prior to the excitement of traveling north tomorrow.  We went down to the usual Farmers’ Market where both Pam and I bought a hat.  I have become a believer in the power of the Queensland sun.

Monday morning, after packing and having a leisurely breakfast we headed to the airport, utilizing a parking/bus service a little way from the airport.  For a domestic flight security was a little more relaxed, although Nick was pulled over for a random “sniffer” test for explosives!  The flight north, in a larger plane than I expected, took just under 1 ½ hours.  I was first reminded of the West Indies by an airport runway with ocean waves breaking on each end, and a more violent than usual deceleration.  The second reminder soon followed as we saw the vegetation.

The vast majority of “vehicles” on Hamilton Island are variations on a theme of golf carts, except I had never used a mandatory seat belt on a golf cart before.  Two staffers led the way with our luggage and we followed in the cart that is ours for the duration.  After a couple of stops to point out areas of interest we arrived at our rental apartment block.  The good news is that we are on the top (third) floor, the bad news is that there are no lifts (elevators)!  The view of the bay and the straight between us and Whitsunday Island to our north is splendid.

After a little time settling in (luckily we had “lunch” of a sort on the plane) we headed out, went down past the marina & shops and on up to a good lookout point.  We will go there again in better light and take some pictures, since this area suffers from the same haziness as is frequent in Brisbane, making picture-taking from the plane rather pointless.  After descending we went in and grocery shopped for the next couple of days at least in what appears to be the only mini-supermarket on the island, although there is a nice bakery from which we bought bread and plan to buy pies & sausage rolls for lunches.

We stopped on our way back to unpack the food to get some brochures and maps.  Somewhat later we took a lengthy stroll on the beach which, it being nearly low tide, was good and wide with room for lots of people.  After an early dinner we headed out again to the concierge to see about booking a day of Great Barrier Reef activities, primarily on board ship.  Tomorrow was fully booked but just three places remained for Wednesday, so we took them.  To prove how lucky was our timing, we found out that the concierge was to close for the night literally five minutes after we were finished.  We cruised down to the marina, parked and walked along the shops (mostly closed) and checked a few potential restaurants, after which we returned & settled in the apartment to watch a movie.  I imagine we will all sleep well tonight.

Tuesday was a gentle, relaxing, “on holiday” day.  Our first outing, before it became too hot was to try on of the many “trails” listed.  They vary from moderate, via rugged, to steep, as categorized on a map.  However they all start via the same allegedly “moderate” one up which we plodded, slowly, to the borderline of sweating.  We all agreed that trail walking was for the young and fit & not for retirees, so we returned, delighting in the fact that for once the return was downhill all the way!  We sought out the location, with a little difficulty, of a Thai restaurant that had been recommended & checked menus and prices.  Finally we went to a very nice “tourist” shop where I bought some mementos as did P & N.

Much of the rest of the morning was spent sitting on the nicely shaded balcony, in the breeze, reading and watching various aquatic activities off the beach and out in the strait between us and Whitsunday Island.  (The word “Whitsunday” applies to both the archipelago in general and one of the islands in particular, since it was on a Whitsunday that Captain Cook discovered them).

At lunchtime we headed to the minuscule “downtown” and to the bakery where we bought pies and pasties for lunch, which we ate at a picnic table up on a vantage point atop one of the many hills.  Afterwards we “explored” in our golf cart both high roads and low (very little is level on Hamilton Island) before returning to our base.  Bravely Pam went down to the beach, since the tide was fairly high and tried to have a little swim but was frustrated by the shallowness so she mostly sunbathed for a little while instead.  In the evening we went out and had a very nice dinner indeed in the Thai restaurant – I had soft shell crab!

Wednesday we “did” the Great Barrier Reef.  We went down to the Marina in good time to check-in, and in due course board, the two-deck catamaran cruise ship/ferry and at nine o’clock were on our way for the 2 ¼ hour trip out to “Reefworld” a permanent installation out on an edge of the Reef.  The first 2/3rds were pleasant, a light buffet (from which we picked just assorted fruit) being served along with tea or coffee.  Nick rode outdoors all the way, Pam and I soon retreated to inside the upper cabin.  The last third was somewhat more exciting as the more open sea was rather rougher than had been expected.

Docked at Reefworld we could choose our activities.  We all three elected to take the semi-submersed Subsea Adventure vessel that cruised out along the side of the reef and back for 20 minutes or so.  We took a lot of pictures when our side was against the reef, although how they will come out is yet to be seen.  None of us signed up for scuba diving, which was a significant extra fee, but we all decided to try the snorkeling that is the primary activity for which most people make this trip.  We donned wetsuits (also called stinger suits) as a safety precaution, as well as in our cases a sort of lifejacket, then headed down the steps to sea level to put on our masks and snorkels at one end and our flippers at the other.  Despite my qualms I was determined to give it a go, to prove my manhood, I suppose.

Unfortunately the sea above the reef was very much rougher than is usually the case so although I headed out, staying close to the safety ropes, my actual time looking down through the mask at the fish and the coral reef was pretty limited.  The waves got bigger and started breaking over my head and after getting a couple of sloshes of salt water into my mouth, through which I was breathing, all my childhood nightmares of the horrors of death by drowning began to resurface.  I did not succumb to my fears but I did realize that my heart rate was becoming seriously high and the last thing I needed was a full blown panic attack so I carefully made my way back to the diving jetty and with great relief hauled myself up to safety and the ability to breathe normally.  Almost immediately behind me was Pam, who suffers the same inbuilt fears, and who made the same decision that the looking wasn’t worth it.  Somewhat to our surprise even Nick soon came back aboard and we all agreed that for snorkelers with almost no experience it was just too rough for enjoyment.

Dried off and changed, we then partook of the very decent cold lunch, served buffet style in the main cabin of the ship but which we chose to eat in the fresh air up on the pontoon.  After relaxing a while we descended the steps to the underwater observatory where we were able to see, and try to photograph, a wide variety of reef fish who seemed remarkably undisturbed by the coming and going of the scuba divers from nearby.

Pam & I then decided to take another turn in the subsea adventure vessel, and this time we struck gold.  We were part of a small group, so could switch from side to side, whichever was more interesting, and with the tide now at its highest the vessel was able to go above the reef, not just alongside it as it had the first time.  This was really interesting and we could easily hear and follow the “marine biologist” telling us what we were seeing.  Thereafter we all relaxed for a while before re-boarding for the return journey.  We were early enough to be able to strategically pick our seats, once again Pam & me in the main cabin, but downstairs this time and Nick up and out in the open.

The excitement of the day was far from over.  The high winds that had made it rough over and around the reef also made the open sea significantly rougher than it had been outbound.  At times the waves were big enough that as we crashed into them the spray would pass clear above the top of the vessel.  Nick was obliged to retreat down stairs and for a while was not allowed back.  His bag of towels, clothes, and etc. were soaked.  Meanwhile, Pam (who had wisely taken a very effective seasickness pill prior to each 2+ hour cruise leg) and I were sitting comfortably and reading, a bit buffeted but not too badly.  It wasn’t too long before a string of poor sailors of both sexes were hustling aft to succumb to seasickness, although we heard later that the crew did an excellent job of handling & helping them.  Things improved quite a bit once we reached the edge of the Whitsunday archipelago and afternoon snacks/tea/coffee could be served for those that wanted.  Coffee and cake went down well!  For the last half-hour we were allowed up on to the front deck for a nice blow.  It was very windy, but very pleasant.  We docked at 5:00 PM.

Back at the apartment we relaxed, drank tea, and all took a shower to remove the salt from our skins.  Eventually we headed “downtown” to the fish and chip shop.  We had to wait a while and after sitting outside for a little moved inside and appropriated three stools at the window counter to keep out of the wind, which still blows mightily.  The fish was good and the chips were also excellent but probably three times what any of us needed or could eat – it reminded me of going to Three Guys with Annie.  No doubt we will all sleep well tonight.

Thursday was mostly quiet.  We went down to hunt down the management of this apartment to make arrangements for our departure tomorrow and to get a few postcards.  Later we went to the little Post Office to get stamps and send off the cards, picking a few additions for our lunch before returning.

Somewhat after lunch, with the tide right at its highest point we walked down to the beach for a little swim.  The tide-fall is quite large here and, with the very shallow beach, after its initial drop from high it retreats out some 200 yards by low tide.  The swim was pleasant and restored my faith in ocean swimming.  It was nice to be able to immediately spit out any salt water from the mouth and, not being out of our depths we could swim, in short bursts, with enthusiasm.  After a while I walked through knee-high water to read a sign that explained all the construction we kept hearing and on my way back I disturbed not one but two rays.  They were not large, the first about dinner plate size and the other somewhat bigger, but it was interesting to see them burst from the sand and cruise off.

Late afternoon we went for a walk up what is normally an off-road vehicle “road”.  It was good exercise.  Subsequently we headed back through town and up to the lookout area to join a fair mass of people gathered to watch the sunset over the islands.  It was a cloudless but hazy day and the sunset, while very pretty to see was not any extraordinary experience.

Friday marked the end of our time on the island.  After breakfast we packed and then just sat around on the balcony watching activities on the beach and all reading books.  It was very restful & relaxing.  Around mid-day, after another phone call, a guy came with a cart plus trailer for our luggage and took us to the airport, for the usual hurry up and wait routine.  The flight was uneventful, after we turned at the end of the runway a good 20 yards from the breaking waves of the ocean to maximize the take-off run!  The flight was smooth, and clouds were not a problem, but the air was distinctly murky preventing any good look, or photos, of the land beneath us.  All went smoothly in Brisbane and we are now reconnected to the outside electronic world and settling back into the usual routines.

Australian Adventure 2013 - 8

Wednesday was a family day.  We all managed to find things to do for much of the morning after which Nick fetched the children for the rest of the day.  Sometime after lunch Pam & I took them to a sea front playground and a walk out along the jetty, renting a video on the way back to keep them entertained for the rest of the afternoon.  Faye & Christine (au pair) arrived for dinner, but Peter (G) was hung up in the operating theater with an emergency and couldn’t make it for dinner.  After dinner they all left and peace was again restored to the household!

Thursday morning started with yet another blood sugar number in the one-teens – Pam’s food must be very good for me as well as being tasty.  Before 6:00 AM Pam and I were walking briskly along the “people trail” beside the sea with the tide again high in the early morning.

This was “meet the cousins day”!  John’s eldest cousin is Margery Jacqueline Boscott, daughter of his father’s eldest sister by her first marriage (and half-sister to Michael Wells by her second marriage).  Margery and her husband came out to Australia, permanently, in 1968 and she is now widowed.  She has a daughter Hilary, who in turn has a daughter Narawi currently living with her mother in a small apartment.  Margery also has a son Martin, still living at home, effectively as a caregiver having not had any source of income beyond welfare for as long as Pam & Nick have known them.  Margery says we met sometime in the 1940’s at our grandparents’ home and claims to have a picture of the two of us taken on that occasion.  She hopes to find it before we meet again.  Next summer I will turn 75 and she will turn 90 within a month of each other.

We drove over to the far side of Brisbane, picked up Hilary & Narawi, went to a nearby golf course/restaurant where all but Nick disembarked so he could go and get Margery and Martin.  We all had a light lunch and a soft drink for a stunning $200 for the seven of us, which Nick & I split.  We then went, again in two car loads back to Margery’s house for more conversation and afternoon tea.  They devote a whole large room in their house to two cockatiels plus a formerly injured stray Indian parrot of some kind.  They also feed large quantities of wild birds largely of the generic “parrot” variety some of which arrived for their evening feeding allowing some photos to be taken before we left for home.

Friday was “white knuckle day”.  I woke early and saw that outside was officially only 57 degrees F.  Nevertheless before 6:00 AM Pam and I were again walking briskly along the sea front, in shirtsleeves, the exercise and bright sunshine compensating for the temperature and slight breeze.  After breakfast Pam headed into the city for a summer haircut and assorted shopping of the female variety.

Since it was clear that Nick wanted to go jet skiing after about 6 months hiatus of that activity I agreed to go with him.  In my naivety I assumed the sea would still be the glassy calm it had been when Pam & I were walking and that “up the river” would be similar to a trip across Lake Monroe.  WRONG!  Apart from maybe three minutes around the point at which we actually turned around on the river it was wet, cold, bumpy and scary making me clutch the small passenger strap with both hands white-knuckled!  Far from resenting the need for a life jacket I was happy to have it for wet protection and warmth.  On a list of activities to do for fun I would put jet skiing at the very bottom!  That is yet another thing my sister and I have in common.

I am also being very frustrated by Tara.  After nearly a year of being able to email Annie there I find that suddenly I am getting all my emails back marked undeliverable because Tara thinks they are "spam".  I have written to the generic "contact us" address from their web site and hope that my name will be removed from their spam list, otherwise Annie will not get to hear from me again until November, since her home email has proved unreliable and has been canceled.

Australian Adventure 2013 - 7

Much of Saturday was relatively quiet and mundane, with all of us pottering about at various tasks.  At one point I went with Pam to a nearby mall for a couple of things followed by, in the same mall, a significant grocery shop to lay in supplies for the next few days.  However, the primary activity of the daytime was planning, researching and booking our other two major trips (Barrier Reef was booked long before I got here), one to Sydney for straight tourism and the other to Melbourne for a combination of tourism & a visit to friends of P & N (the female half of which was my late sister Fliss’s best friend when we were all young & by extension a friend of mine).  Since all three trips include flights & two need accommodation the credit cards are taking some serious hits!  However, it has allowed us to more nearly balance our expenses without person-to-person transfers which are proving to be surprisingly difficult between currencies and incompatible banking systems.

The main event of the day was Brisbane’s annual fireworks show.  Faye had tickets, good for all of us plus parking for one vehicle, from Rebecca’s school (a PTA fundraiser).  Most of the hilltops and strategic high cliff tops in and around Brisbane were appropriated in the very early days by the Catholic hierarchy for churches, monasteries, convents and so on.  This had once been a convent and is now All Hallows school, one of Brisbane’s better ones and the reason for Faye’s “conversion” to Catholicism.  Its large grassy quadrangle had a great view of fully half of the show & a bit of a view of the other half, one half being from the bridge and the other from a barge in the river hidden from us by one of Brisbane’s many high-rise buildings.

While we waited there were a couple or three low-level flyovers by the RAAF and rather more by assorted military helicopters, to the delight of the children.  The Storey Bridge is always outlined by many lights, all of which are capable of many colors and can be changed virtually instantaneously.  They were an integral part of the show.  The fireworks were, well, fireworks, bright and noisy and very intense.  Several of the pictures I took actually came out fairly well and I have posted them on Flickr.

Much of Sunday was consumed in general relaxation and the consumption of a large English breakfast, a light lunch and a roast lamb dinner all beautifully prepared by Pam.  In the morning Pam & I drove down to the coast road, walked a little to the local farmer’s market and back to the car after a nice browse.  At this time of year it is almost as large a Columbus’ market but with less actual farm produce and more crafty stuff, as well as second hand, especially books.  I bought nothing but Pam got a few veggies as well as some young plants to be planted in her yard/garden.

In the afternoon we went over to the Brisbane River, near the mouth, to an old military fort, originally built in the mid-1800’s as a defense against potential Russian expansionism and actually kept in active use, with some updates until well after WW II before being abandoned & allowed to rot for a while.  It is now being restored (slowly) by the Fort Lytton Historical Association.  On a quiet afternoon we were welcomed by a very enthusiastic and talkative docent/guide, ex-military, and both saw and learned a great deal more than we had planned.  They have a largely restored “disappearing gun”, oddly enough designed by the same guy who designed Tower Bridge.  The guns could be aimed according to a spotter, pop up, fire, and pop down again to disappear behind not just concrete but huge, disguising earthworks.  There is little record of much, if any, firing in anger.  We were all glad to get back home for a cuppa tea!

As an observation, this area reminds me of my growing up years insofar as little or nothing commercial operates 24 hours, and very little indeed is open on Sundays.  Very strong labor unions, plus a just-finished governing run by the Labor Party means no work is done either.  It was eerie to see a large docklands area absolutely and totally still.

Monday was a low-key family visit day of ordinary household activities.  We did slip out in the afternoon for a bit of a shopping expedition, but Pam was a little frustrated by “retired husband syndrome” or go-find-pay-return with general browsing not allowed!  Two “differences” struck me.  One was that instead of escalators they tend to use angled “people movers”, no steps but just having your feet tilted up or down, which are a bit unnerving when one is unused to them.  The other was that because of a climate that only varies from very warm to very hot standard clothing tends to be a very much higher usage of shorts for men under working/shopping/whatever circumstances, and all but older women favor short skirts or very abbreviated short-shorts – nice if one enjoys looking at legs!

Another difference discussed as we headed home is the popularity of “utes” (presumably derived from utility).  They are particularly popular with “tradies” (skilled tradesmen).  At the larger end these are like the US “Avalanche”  - a 4-wheel drive vehicle with a large 4-door cab and an absurdly small pick-up type bed, suitable only for maybe a couple of sheep or a large tool-box.  The smaller versions resemble an unsuccessful chevvy vehicle of the 70’s, a front half like a luxurious car and the back (with no apparent separation) like a low, covered, pick-up bed.  Sometimes the car part ends with a back and a flatbed is substituted for the fancy covered usual back half.

Tuesday was “Zoo Day”.  We made a respectably early start and headed over to the far side of Brisbane to what is officially called the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, a cross between a small regular zoo and a petting zoo.  Since the day was warm and getting steadily hotter we were quite glad it was not any larger, and in fact we made our escape at about the same time as was going from warm to hot as well as crowded to very crowded since it is still Spring break here.

I will be posting some pictures on Flickr but most are rather disappointing.  All the splendid colorful birds were behind fine but heavy-gauge wire netting (to prevent the stupid from partial loss of fingers!), the platypus habitat was very dark as platypuses are nocturnal and must be tricked into thinking day is night and vice versa, the heat and sun had sent a number of animals into dens, but it was still very interesting for me.  On the other hand, despite their tendency towards somnolence, the koalas were very accessible (if a bit smelly), and a large grassy area was effectively a petting zoo for Grey (and female Red) Kangaroos with tame (but not pettable) Emus.  It was great to see these birds and animals in person even if my pictures are very so-so.

Since for various reasons none of us had had adequate sleep in the previous 24 hours the post-lunch period saw a lot of human somnolence for a while.  Later Pam went out for yet another grocery shop while Nick & I pottered about separately.