Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Great weekend with great friends
We had a wonderful weekend catching up with Craig and Kirsty, who we have last visited with in Y2K. Since then they have added two lovely children to their family, and are doing well in the coast city of Warnambool. We spent the afternoon at Logan's Beach watching the Australian National Kitesurfing Competition, quite entertaining even in the cool wind and weather.
News Sunday morning showed that our cool day was "good weather" as Melbourne, 4 hours up the Great Ocean Road, experienced record downpours, as a tail of the Cyclone dropped up to 190mm rain in some areas causing flooding of homes and roadways right across the region. More "inundation" and rescues as children are swept away in the streets. Truly, we have been dodging clouds. I hope our cousins in Melbourne are all okay, hopefully also escaping the damages that seem very widespread.
A quick trip to the shopping center let me replace a couple of items in Katie's wardrobe, both due to boredom and damage - red boxer shorts purchased in Thailand seem to have colored many of Katies clothes a horrible shade of off-brown. I am sure by the end of this trip, we will be throwing out many of all our clothes.
Now there are fires reported in Perth, in the area we visited a couple of times as we passed through on our travels. High winds, high temps, another "natural disaster zone".... poor prime minister Anna, she has had a very hard month.
News Sunday morning showed that our cool day was "good weather" as Melbourne, 4 hours up the Great Ocean Road, experienced record downpours, as a tail of the Cyclone dropped up to 190mm rain in some areas causing flooding of homes and roadways right across the region. More "inundation" and rescues as children are swept away in the streets. Truly, we have been dodging clouds. I hope our cousins in Melbourne are all okay, hopefully also escaping the damages that seem very widespread.
A quick trip to the shopping center let me replace a couple of items in Katie's wardrobe, both due to boredom and damage - red boxer shorts purchased in Thailand seem to have colored many of Katies clothes a horrible shade of off-brown. I am sure by the end of this trip, we will be throwing out many of all our clothes.
Now there are fires reported in Perth, in the area we visited a couple of times as we passed through on our travels. High winds, high temps, another "natural disaster zone".... poor prime minister Anna, she has had a very hard month.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Harsh weather, harsh news
It was 860k between Clare Valley and our destination of Warnambool, home of Craig and Kirsty our dear friends from Victoria. We arrived a little weary, but still ready to share a glass of wine and a lot of laughs. Katie hit it off instantly with Niahm and Declan, and was very happy to play with TOYS. It was nice to see her be a little girl for a while rather than needing to act the mini-teen with her siblings. Craig and Kirsty's home is beautiful, on a hill-top with a river view, and the ocean only a 10 minute drive away - far enough to be sheltered from the winds yet perfect to spend an afternoon at the shore.
As the cyclone Yasi ripped through Northern Queensland, we were again struck by the harsh nature of this climate. Much of the coast has been devastated, and the rain is again flooding the state. Now as much as 3/4 of Queensland has been declared a Disaster Zone in the last month or so. And more flooding to come, as the cyclone causes flooding downstream on all the rivers as they flow to Victoria and South Australia. If we do get to Queensland, what will be left to see?
Add to the disasters, we now have news of the violence in Cairo, Egypt and are concerned for the safety of our friends we have met only six weeks ago. We hope that they and their loved ones are all safe, and we are concerned for their future. I'm afraid there will not be many tourists to support their economy for quite some time. Hopefully their troubles will be righted quickly. There are many good people in Egypt who deserve a better life.
As the cyclone Yasi ripped through Northern Queensland, we were again struck by the harsh nature of this climate. Much of the coast has been devastated, and the rain is again flooding the state. Now as much as 3/4 of Queensland has been declared a Disaster Zone in the last month or so. And more flooding to come, as the cyclone causes flooding downstream on all the rivers as they flow to Victoria and South Australia. If we do get to Queensland, what will be left to see?
Add to the disasters, we now have news of the violence in Cairo, Egypt and are concerned for the safety of our friends we have met only six weeks ago. We hope that they and their loved ones are all safe, and we are concerned for their future. I'm afraid there will not be many tourists to support their economy for quite some time. Hopefully their troubles will be righted quickly. There are many good people in Egypt who deserve a better life.
Crossing the Mighty Murray
Dawn the next morning marked the start of another big day of driving. Passing kangaroos in wheat fields, we crossed to the Goyder highway, which is the mark of arable land in South Australia over to the Murray River basin, near theVictoria state border. The River is in Flood, but has not peaked yet at Redmark, where we crossed the bridge and floodplain. We left the Clare Valley, one of the key wine-making regions, and passed through ag towns to another wine region, the Murraylands. More meat pies, and more roads to cover.
We debated which way was the best choice of direction - follow the Murray to Mildura and then south through the Grampian mountains, or south through more farms and vineyards. Luckily we went south, as we found out later Mildura had 155mm of rain that afternoon and several homes were "inundated" (they use that word often here it seems). The roads in the Grampians were closed and the area evacuated - good split-second decision on our part, dodging clouds again.
The drive was scenic, through rolling hills and crops, with many herds of cattle and sheep dotting the landscape. Then into the wine area of Lockier, where a lunch stop at The Poplars winery and restaurant . We learned alot about the Australian wine industry over a glass of Cabernet and Chardonnay. Fosters, the export beer company, has in the last 5 years or so bought up much of the South Australian vineyards, including Wolf Blass, Lindemans, Pennmans, and many of the other brands we would see in Canada. Then they get an export subsidy allowing them to pass all production costs off to the grape producers they buy from, and avoiding all the sales taxes of the Australian local markets. They are not well liked, nor respected as vintiers in these parts. Ummm, with the volumes produced in ideal conditions and relatively low-cost land, it certainly makes us rethink our Okanagan production options. There would be no possible way to compete with Fosters Beer Conglomerate.
We debated which way was the best choice of direction - follow the Murray to Mildura and then south through the Grampian mountains, or south through more farms and vineyards. Luckily we went south, as we found out later Mildura had 155mm of rain that afternoon and several homes were "inundated" (they use that word often here it seems). The roads in the Grampians were closed and the area evacuated - good split-second decision on our part, dodging clouds again.
The drive was scenic, through rolling hills and crops, with many herds of cattle and sheep dotting the landscape. Then into the wine area of Lockier, where a lunch stop at The Poplars winery and restaurant . We learned alot about the Australian wine industry over a glass of Cabernet and Chardonnay. Fosters, the export beer company, has in the last 5 years or so bought up much of the South Australian vineyards, including Wolf Blass, Lindemans, Pennmans, and many of the other brands we would see in Canada. Then they get an export subsidy allowing them to pass all production costs off to the grape producers they buy from, and avoiding all the sales taxes of the Australian local markets. They are not well liked, nor respected as vintiers in these parts. Ummm, with the volumes produced in ideal conditions and relatively low-cost land, it certainly makes us rethink our Okanagan production options. There would be no possible way to compete with Fosters Beer Conglomerate.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Clare Publlic Library
A barbeque breakfast of bacon and pancakes (we are becoming pro-griller's), and we were ready for a a 4k hike along the trail into the town. The old railway line has been developed into a great bicycle and walking path, with shady fruit trees and vineyards along the way. It was a hot afternoon, so made us think of Penticton and the Kettle Valley Rail... without the lake to cool off in though.
We found a great store called "Cheap as Chips", a type of Liquidation World with housewares, toys, some food items and "lollies". Derek and the girls were happy to find brand name Gatorade for cheaper than home, and we picked up some hair clips and a snack or two. Next stop was the library, a stone heritage building with the best librarian passing out coffee and treats as well as unlimited internet access - with the air conditioning, and refreshments, it was a great place to spend a few hours reviewing the Periodic Table (jr high science) and some new books for Katie (she is reciting her own by rote now rather than reading the actual words on the page). Travis was very happy to chat with his friends at home for a couple of hours. Even the kids agree, a library is a wonderful place.
We found a great store called "Cheap as Chips", a type of Liquidation World with housewares, toys, some food items and "lollies". Derek and the girls were happy to find brand name Gatorade for cheaper than home, and we picked up some hair clips and a snack or two. Next stop was the library, a stone heritage building with the best librarian passing out coffee and treats as well as unlimited internet access - with the air conditioning, and refreshments, it was a great place to spend a few hours reviewing the Periodic Table (jr high science) and some new books for Katie (she is reciting her own by rote now rather than reading the actual words on the page). Travis was very happy to chat with his friends at home for a couple of hours. Even the kids agree, a library is a wonderful place.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Clare Valley, S.A.
We crossed the Eire peninsula to Port Augusta, and the temperature raised to 46 degrees, with a hot wind blowing. A quick stop for groceries for lunch and the ice cream melted in our hands faster than we could lick... man, a country of extremes (happy to report the grocery stores in South Aust are much better priced than in the Western State). Word from Graham and Kylie in Goondiwindi dashed our plans to head straight to Queensland as they told us it was "hot as" all the way across the Outback to Bourke and on to them, plus many roads are in flood as the floodwaters from three weeks ago had created lakes of rivers, one 90 k wide and 500 k far, an inland sea of a floodplain really, with the highways mapped somewhere beneath. As we didnt want to chance a hot drive to nowhere, we instead pointed the caravan south.
Down the highway past pink salt lakes and lightning skies, we directed our troop to the country town of Clare. The origin of vines in the valley dates to the Jesuit priests in the 1840s who barreled the sacramental drink for the alter of the churches of South Australia. As a town, Clare was on the wealthy transport line of copper mines and slate production, and had wealthy agricultural lands with stations shearing up to 200,000 sheep in the late 1800's. Beautiful stone buildings with leaded glass windows and great gumtrees are the legacy of the towns early days.
The caravan park with a swimming pool was the perfect place to stop for the night. We dodged the heat and cooled off under the trees, with the flocks of carellas and parrots filling the sky at night. We ended up staying for two nights, as a day of not driving anywhere was in order for the entire group of 6. And what a better place to stay than the pretty town of Clare.
Down the highway past pink salt lakes and lightning skies, we directed our troop to the country town of Clare. The origin of vines in the valley dates to the Jesuit priests in the 1840s who barreled the sacramental drink for the alter of the churches of South Australia. As a town, Clare was on the wealthy transport line of copper mines and slate production, and had wealthy agricultural lands with stations shearing up to 200,000 sheep in the late 1800's. Beautiful stone buildings with leaded glass windows and great gumtrees are the legacy of the towns early days.
The caravan park with a swimming pool was the perfect place to stop for the night. We dodged the heat and cooled off under the trees, with the flocks of carellas and parrots filling the sky at night. We ended up staying for two nights, as a day of not driving anywhere was in order for the entire group of 6. And what a better place to stay than the pretty town of Clare.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Cocklebiddy, who came up with this name? lol
Day 2 - shady spot along the road near Cocklebiddy, WA to Cedona, SA.
Up at the crack of dawn, we went through two time zones, 45 minutes ahead each time… weird. I though only Newfoundland did the “partial hour” thing, but Adelaide SA is 1.5 hours ahead of Perth, and it is managed by two 45 minute increments. Not sure where we make up the next 1.5 hours to Melbourne Victoria?
Coffee at a beautiful plateau of Madura, where the tablelands begin. Still nice scenery and decent cloudy cool weather, we are so lucky. Cross over the border to South Australia (ditch all fruits and veggies, sadly), quick lunch since the kids are finally awake at the Nallabor Roadhouse (ummm, pumpkin soup and more meat pies) and by 5 pm (really 1.5 hours earlier with time change) we are happily at the head of the storm, the sunny side, in the seaside town of Cedona, South Australia. We have crossed the Nullibor in 26 hours (take off hour for tire rotation in Albany), only 24 degrees heat and with the top diesel fuel price of $1.97/l.… not so bad at all. Next stop? Well, the Outback perhaps...
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