Australia: Tales from a Canadian Nomad: January 2012

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Sunday at the Big Hole and Ochre Pits

Ellery Creek Big Hole

Went to Ellery Creek Big Hole again today, with a friend K. We had a little swim, I nearly died swimming to the sandbar - so out of shape, can't remember the last time I was swimming that far. It was a gorgeous sunny day, not too hot, and then we had a little picnic before heading off to the Ochre Pits. This is where traditional local artists would gather various colors of ochre to use for paintings. Many artists now use commercial paints, but the pits are still visited by those wishing to use the traditional methods of painting. They were interesting when the sun was behind cloud cover but just glowed brilliantly when the sun came out from there. The gold just really looks rich, and the red and purples deepen. There was also greens, greys, and oranges. I think I might have to find out how they made paint from them and give it a go myself.

Ochre Pits

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Where Did January Go?

stinking hot

I can't believe January is nearly gone now, and we'll be heading into February. Summer will be over before we know it here in Australia and I couldn't be happier to see cooler temperatures and be able to leave my windows open again. It has been pretty hot here, not sufferingly so like humid temps in Darwin, or like it gets in Ontario and Nova Scotia back home in Canada, but hot enough with 42C as the highest I've seen in Alice Springs and 44C in Coober Pedy. This is a pic from my car's thermometer when it was sitting in the shade. Hot enough. I spend most of my time inside my flat these days with the air conditioning on. It's been too hot to go camping or hiking which I am missing! I am really looking forward to getting back to bushwalking in a month or so.
I went to my first Australia Day barbecue on Thursday - January 26th is Australia Day here, a public holiday where people get together and rejoice in being Australians. It marks the anniversary of the first fleet of convict ships arriving in Australia. Some folks refer to it as the invasion...I just like having the day off to spend with friends...so I went to a barbecue by the pool and drank beer all day. Fitting way to spend it as I not only celebrated Australia Day but I received my permanent residency visa this week as well, so I don't ever have to leave if I don't want to. Awesomeness.
I also drove to a place called Bonya this week with a co-worker for an investigation. It is along the Plenty Highway, a bush road that cuts through the Northern Territory and leads into Queensland. I'll be taking the same route with my sister in March, so was glad to have a look at it before then. Gas stations are sparse, so we will have to take a jerry can with some gas or we won't make it. We'll probably drive straight through and camp once we get across the border into Queensland. She arrives on the 25th of March so not long from now! We are both very excited about it.

termite mound

I saw this termite mound along the Plenty Highway. We saw several that were this big or bigger. They are like concrete when you touch them. I don't know if the termites are still in them or not as you can't see anything from the outside. Peculiar things they are.

Ellery Creek Big Hole

     Was meant to go camping this weekend with friends but they all bailed so we have downgraded to a drive out to Ellery Creek Big Hole for a swim and a picnic instead. It's a great place to swim when there are no lakes or rivers around, and you don't want to be in a pool filled with chemicals or salts. Ellery Creek Big Hole is a permanent waterhole, which is cool to find in the desert and the water is a bit chilly, which is nice on a hot day. My daughter and I went there when she was visiting at Christmas. We didn't stay long though as a thunderstorm was approaching and the water is not a good place to be when lightening strikes...they say this waterhole is very deep, at least 20-30 feet deep, which is why it's so cold I reckon. The bottom is all sandy though so that is real nice. We were going to camp here at the campground, which is a small one, but nice enough, has the basics. My car is still packed. I sweated like a bitch packing it on Thursday night, so was not impressed when everyone backed out, and too hot to unpack it. I'll just leave it in there for now, ready for the next trip. It's all in the back anyhow, great thing about the Rav 4 - big cargo area.
     I've been hiding out in the air con here, much like we hide out in the house during winter with the furnace or wood stove when it's cold. Lots to keep one occupied as I have Austar (satellite) and tons of movies, books, and my Wii. I have a friend coming over this evening to watch Trailer Park Boys for the first time...should be good for some laughs. If you haven't watched, I highly recommend it. The show follows two fictional trailer park bad boys and their friends as they botch up one money making scheme after another. Just hilarious!
     So that's been life in Australia this week...

Friday, January 20, 2012

Those Crazy Aussies

Well, I'm 9 months in here in central Australia and even though we both speak English, these crazy Aussies sure have some strange terms for things that continue to puzzle me. Here are a few of my favorites:

Lollies - now, I would assume lollies were lollipops. Simple abbreviation, right? Wrong. Lollies can refer to any kind of candy from a lollipop to gummy bears to a chocolate bar.
Beetroot - we just call it beets. The root is the beet, just like the carrot is the root, but we don't call them carrotroot. And they put it on a sandwich or a burger. Gross.
Chewie - now my first image is Chewbacca from Star Wars...not even close. Chewies here refer to chewing gum. Yeah, they like to add ie on many things here.
Toastie - really? Why can't it just be toast? But it's not, it's toastie.
Fruit toast - what on earth I thought? Well it simply means raisin bread that has been toasted.
Esky - um what? Just means a cooler, like a cooler you take camping and pack your beer in with ice. Ask for a cooler and they look at you like you spoke Klingon.
Schooner - I picture a boat with sails. Nope. It's a small glass of beer. You order a schooner of beer, or a pot of beer. Yeah, pot. If I asked for a pot of beer in Canada someone would bring me a saucepan of beer.
Slab - in Canada it could mean a couple of things - on the east coast, it often refers to a kitchen countertop. In the autopsy room it means the stainless steel table they lay the body on. In other places it refers to a portion - slab of meat, slab of wood, or slab of bread. Here in Australia, a slab is a case of beer. Yeah, have no idea where that one comes from.
Bench - I picture something to sit on, a bench. Like what you find in the park, or in the courtroom. Not here. Bench is your kitchen countertop. I have no idea why.
Ute - I picture nothing for this one really, but in Australia, it refers to a truck. I don't know why they don't call a truck a truck, but here they call them utes.
Chooks - my personal favorite. This is what they call chickens.
Root - I think of either the root of a tree, or rooting for the home team. Talk about root here and someone is having sex. For example, "he was rooting her for that last two weeks" (naughty boy)
Slash - well, I think of someone with a knife cutting. Not here, going for a slash is what men sometimes call going to the bathroom.
Tea - well, tea. Like Tetley or Red Rose is what I think of. Nope. Refers to supper, or an afternoon or morning snack. Sounds hilarious when someone tells me they are going home to cook tea.
Ambo - I just think someone forgot the "R" in Rambo. Over here it means ambulance.
Firies - Again, I think someone forgot a letter in Fairies. Nope - refers to fire fighters. And sparkies are electricians.
Bathers - I think of people who bathe. Not in Australia - it's a swimsuit, mostly a men's swim trunks.
Bikkie - Say what? refers to biscuits, but not what we think of as a biscuit - like a tea biscuit, but a cookie. They don't call them cookies, they call them bikkies.
Bottle Shop - well, I would think it is where you can buy bottles, as in empty bottles. Nah, it refers to the liquor store.
Dob - I had never heard it before, but it means to tattle on someone - you dob them in.
Hairy armpitters - this one made me laugh out loud. This refers to hippies, apparently because they think all hippies do not shave their armpits.
Grog - I think of some character in a Harry Potter movie - but it refers to alcohol in any form.
Icy pole - I think of a pole, such as a fence post, that is icy. Over here it refers to a Mr Freeze, or freezie as they are commonly known in Canada.
Mob - I think of either the mafia or a swarm of people out to get you, like an angry mob. In Australia it refers to a group of people, such as your family, or where you work. "You mob" might mean your family, and we get called FACS mob all the time (even though our name is now DCF - Department of Children and Families)
Mozzies - means mosquitoes.
Op shop - I had no idea about this one, but it refers to second hand stores.
Pokies - well, my mind went in the gutter on this one, but is simply refers to the slot machines or video lottery machines.
Rego - I was asked this and had no idea what they meant. It is my car registration, as in the licence plate number.
Salvos - I don't know, I guess it sounds like people who put salve on others, ha ha. No, it refers to Salvation Army folks, or the Salvation Army thrift store. St. Vincent de Paul's is referred to as Vinny's.
Shout - of course, I thought it meant to shout, to yell, to holler. Nah, it means if it is your shout, you get to pay for it. If it is my shout, I get to pay for it.
Tucker - I think of someone who gets tired out. No, it refers to food, as in bush tucker which is local food from the bush.
Whinge - never heard this one before, but it means to whine.
Crook - well, naturally I think of a criminal, a crook. Not here. It means you're sick, you're feeling crook.
bitumen - again, had no idea what they were talking about. This simply means a paved road, asphalt road.
Tomato sauce - this one got me a lot in the beginning. I thought tomato sauce was, well, tomato sauce like you add to a pot of spaghetti sauce. No, it's ketchup.

And then there are the common expressions they use that you may have heard before such as:

Cracking the shits - refers to someone being rather pissed off at someone about something
Taking the piss - if it weren't for the word "the" I would assume someone is urinating. Not here. Taking the piss means giving someone a hard time for fun.
This arvo - this means this afternoon. I have no idea why because there is no "v" in afternoon.

Australians are crazy, and that's why I love it here!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Nature of the Beast

Scabies. That's the beast of the month. I've managed to go 10 years in this profession without catching it or it's cousin by association - lice. And now I have and boy was I itchy! At first I thought it was just another round of mosquito bites like always, so I scratched, applied more bug stuff and carried on. Then the spots kept appearing and the itching became worse. Uh oh....what have we here. So I did a little research online and determined it was likely scabies. So I went to the chemist (drugstore) and showed him. He then showed me scabies cream. Okay, good enough. I'll get right on that. He also gave me some phenergan for the itching along with the cream. Failing to read the directions, I came home and applied cream to all the spots. And continued to itch.      Day two - read instructions, realize my error - one must apply the cream to the entire body from the neck down. Great. Let's try this again. So I rub the cream all over the body, and I'm still itching. The cream does not stop the itch, it simply kills the scabies mites and all their friends. So now I was off to the store again, this time for calamine lotion - it might leave whitish marks all over the body but it sure works well. So then I realize that I have not been able to reach my back.
     Day three - text a friend to come over and put scabies cream on my back, I would supply the gloves. That turned out to be too much to ask of my one good friend here who recoils from personal touch, so she brought a friend who could do it (another friend of mine, not some stranger). So lathered that onto my back, and then had to wait. With each application you have to leave it on for at least 8 hours. Then came the waiting until I could finally wash the last of the cream off. More itching and calamine lotion.
     Day four - finally headed back to work. The itching has finally subsided (although not entirely gone) and I was ready for human contact again. Of course, heading back to work after scabies is always fun...people look at you as if you have just come through the plague. I wore sleeved clothing and a long skirt so they wouldn't have to look at it, but they were still itching psychosomatically. Whatever...they will probably get it anyhow, heh heh. I didn't know I had them for weeks, and kept passing it off as more fly bites. I was covered in them on Christmas Day when I had that horrible night camping in Port Pirie - thought I was attacked by mosquitoes - not so much. I was carrying scabies!!! Dammit. Now I have to get my sleeping bag washed out, along with the camping foam cover, and possibly my seat covers in my car. My friend F. who drove home with me from Melbourne is likely going to get them. She is the skittish hands-off friend who wouldn't rub cream on my back. Awww...
     Most people only get scabies in a couple of places, but because I was oblivious to them, and had fly bites to scratch as well, I spread it to nearly ALL of my body. I have spots on my legs front and back, feet, hands, arms, shoulders, all across my belly and even down the crack of my butt...I know, as disgusting as it sounds, it is even more disgusting in person. Even I don't want to touch my body...
     So that was the start to my new year. Scratching scabies...if only having them once made a person immune like chicken pox....the one thing that struck me though is just how many of the kids we deal with here have scabies, often infected and untreated. They have to be downright miserable...poor little things.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Life Goes On

Since my daughter returned to Canada last week, life in Australia has been pretty average, which also works well for me. The work week was busy, and the weekend busy as well until today. Went to a nice Thai restaurant for a going away party for a co-worker earlier in the week, and another going away party at the Rock Bar here in Alice Springs on Friday night. Yesterday I had some friends over and we played Mario Cart on my Wii. It was the first time I'd played another player on it, as I just got the second controller in the mail this past week. I think I might order a couple more so we can play with more people. I also need to look for more games. I've rented a few, but I'd like to buy some I know I'll play often.
I was shopping at Coles the other day (Coles is a popular supermarket) and as I was pushing my cart back to the car, I echoed past sentiment - I hate their shopping cart wheels here. They all swivel so there is no control over the cart, and I usually have to walk next to it to keep it from smashing into someone's car. The parking lot is very slanted with speed bumps everywhere, and lots of traffic both auto and human. Australians!

borrowed this photo from the net

taken during one of the races last year

     Work has been busy enough, but not super busy. I did get a couple of bush trips in. One week I went to Papunya again and then to a community I hadn't been to before - Finke. It was quite a tidy little community, which was a nice change. There are other social issues there, but I think my favorite part was the drive there. I drove with another worker so we shared driving. It was a rather sandy bush road that followed along with the Finke Desert Race track, so we saw a lot of the club service stops and had to watch our speed in the sandy tracks. The Toyota land cruiser I drive for work does a great job on the bush roads, so it was a fun run. We saw a few big lizards, lots of cows and some horses with a very new foal wobbling about. Didn't get a photo but the we did turn around and have a look at them as the girls we were transporting that day also wanted a second look at the little one. We also saw an assortment of dead cars, and a lot of the signs for the Desert Race are painted onto the hood of a car, and then installed upright. I'll have to stop for photos the next time I go there. The race is pretty amazing. I went to the start line last year but this year I think I'll go camping along the trail, which is the very popular thing to do. The race is over 200kms, so people camp all along the road that I drove on this past Friday. Here is a cool video that shows a lot of the race along the way: Finke Desert Race it's long but you can just watch a short bit of it and see how the race is.
     The weather has been quite nice, not too hot most of the time. My laundry dried in about an hour yesterday - something to love about living in the desert! I have to get at my garden this week, so might go out at that later with Dundee. He likes the garden but is only allowed out when I'm there to watch him as he will try to bolt if he thinks you're not watching. Little bastard. He has been hot on the trail of the many bugs, flies, and lizards. We had a small lizard in the house the other day and he chased it mercilessly once it made it to the floor as he first spotted it on the wall. I'm not sure if he got to eat the whole thing or just the tail, as the lizard was still running when he went under the wicker ottoman, never to be heard from again.

     So I'm off to play some Mario Cart...kicking ass and taking names...

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Australian Adventures with Amber

Happiest greeting for the new year. I've been traveling with little internet access as my daughter and I explored the Northern Territory, South Australia, and Victoria. We packed a great deal of activities in, along with some adventurous take away and dining in experiences, and of course, heading to the beach to swim. I thought I would post a summary of the entire holiday to share with your our experiences. We had a terrific time, despite the scorching heat of the desert or the crowds of people that swarmed some of the activities, landmarks, and restaurants. We traveled 6268 kms in 11 days. One territory and two states, dipping our toes into a variety of gulfs, bays, and straits, not to mention several salt lakes, barely a drop in them. We camped at 6 campgrounds, slept in two hotels, and spent two nights at a friend's house who gracefully offered us her home while she was away for a music festival.

Day 1 - Traveled to Uluru, stopping at Rainbow Valley to hike near some magnificent rock, and then at the meteorite craters along the Stuart Highway. My daughter enjoyed Rainbow Valley and the vibe it gave off. It was rather hot so we didn't hike far near the craters. We then camped out at Uluru after watching the spectacular sunset unfold around it, creating colors before you. It was so beautiful up close as well, and we drove around the base before taking a starlit hike at the base of the rock in the dark, though a bit jumpy in the dark in the desert with hardly anyone around. We bumped into a couple on the side of the road, and offered them help with their breakdown. They had bent the rim on a tire and flattened it while going over a large pothole. They had it under control but were worried they might get locked in if there is a gate to the park as it was nearly closing time. We agreed to do so, but found there were no staff and no gates to be closed, so headed back to the campground for the night. We saw them some time later just near our tent looking for a place to sleep with a blanket. I recognized them in the dark and we found out they didn't have accommodation for the night as they had hoped to find a hotel room, but being peak holiday season, there was not a room in sight and the choices are limited. So we offered them one of our tents at the campground. They had only two towels they were going to sleep on. They were very grateful and Amber and I bunked in together. I snored my head off and drove A. nuts.

Day 2 - Left Uluru and headed south, making it to Coober Pedy after driving hundreds of miles in nearly empty landscape. It was stinking hot at 44C. The underground campground was closed until January so we checked out an above ground one - decided it was going to be miserable to be out on a dirt lot with no grass next to campers running generators for their air con - it will be so friggin hot. We opted for an underground hotel and were pleased with the option. It was budget rooming, but cool - located in a formerly working opal mine, they converted the rooms and tunnels to an underground hotel. It was pleasantly cool underground and the rooms worked out just fine. Basic bunks and a stone closet. We went out for supper and came back and looked at our photos from the day before turning in. Long driving day tomorrow too.

Day 3 - Left Coober Pedy after checking out an opal mine and stocking up some food and ice. It was still stinking hot. Gross, let's get out of the desert today for sure. We headed for Port Pirie thinking the campground would be lovely. Not so much. Was not beachside as described, and there were that many flies we were insane with bites. I received over 70 which was quite miserable as I scratched to no end. It's easy to scratch your arm or leg and not feel silly at all but I had to scratch my belly the most, having sustained 24 bites on there alone...yeah, one big welt really. Standing there scratching my belly the next day was surely entertainment for someone. We managed to find a restaurant that was open and went out for a nice Christmas Eve Dinner. We tried to go to beach before supper but it started to rain. We had some beers and played some cards instead.

Day 4 - Christmas Day - we got up from the rotten night of sleep the night before, with temperatures in the 30s all night as well as all day, and packed up the gear heading to Adelaide for our nice hotel stay. We couldn't find any restaurants open for miles so opted for a picnic at a rest area, once we found a gas station that sold sandwiches on thick Turkish bread. We found the hotel in good time and went off to explore the beach at Glenelg. It was pretty windy when we stepped off the tram at Glenelg. The skies were turbulent and you could tell rain was a-comin. My daughter really wanted to swim, and had her suit on underneath her shorts and top so jumped right in. I didn't and we didn't see a change area so I became the beach photographer. I got some nice shots of her frolicking in the waves. You forget how old they are when they play like young children. Nice to see she remembers how to have fun. We then made our back past the many closed stores and waited for the tram to take us back to the hotel where we dined in the hotel restaurant that night. We planned to go to a winery the next day and maybe squeeze in some more beach time.

Day 5 - We packed up once again, and headed south to the beach after realizing we would not make an early morning tour at a winery because it was over an hour's drive away. We trucked on down to the beach went right in the water, loving the warmth and trying to ignore the continuing wind. We had fun enough in the waves, despite the seaweed that was present due to turbulent seas. We then tried to sit in the sun and dry our bodies, but the wind blew the sand into our eyes so we packed up again and headed to shop up the street and scope out a place for lunch. We then headed northeast to Jacob's Creek Winery and took a tour and a tasting that was just lovely. A beautiful day in the hills surrounded by vineyards and trees, it was such a nice day. Then we headed south to the ferry at Cape Jervais to Kangaroo Island. Google maps was testing our patience and sent us on a shortcut that took twice as long as it wound itself through the Adelaide Hills. We did get to see an echidna crossing the road which was cool. We managed to get onto the last ferry, book into a campground on the other side and then headed to the island for a few nights. It was cold on the ferry and I had not brought anything with sleeves, so once we landed I was on the hunt for a jacket or sweater. We crossed the strait and headed for the campground where we set up in the dark and cooked a delicious supper.

Day 6 - We packed up at Penneshaw and headed out to explore the island. It was packed with activities and we had to narrow it down to some favorites as we really only had one full day there. We first went to Emu Ridge which manufactures emu oil, eucalyptus oil, and a variety of other products. It is the eucalyptus oil that you smell as you drive onto the property and it greets the nostrils once you open the door to the visitor centre. We explored the gift shop while we waited for the tour to start. We were then ushered into an old fashioned carriage to watch a short film clip about the history of the company. They grow narrow leaf eucalyptus only on Kangaroo Island so that was cool, and the guide showed us around the property and explained the process of extracting the eucalyptus oil from the plant. From Emu Ridge we made our way to Seal Cove to see the sea lion colony there. They were so much fun to watch on such a gorgeous blue sky day. After the sea lions we headed for Kelly Caves for a tour of the rock formations in the limestone caves. From the caves we went for a bit of a drive around the island before heading to the Koala Sanctuary to see if we could spot some koalas in the trees, which we did! We must have seen a dozen or more, most of them snoozing in the afternoon sun. So very cute and fuzzy...Then we were off to the Remarkable Rocks. Yes, they are remarkable! Day ran out and so we headed for the campground in Kingscote where we settled in for a bit then headed out for a night-time penguin walk - they were so cool to watch in the dark. They only come out of the water at night-time because it isn't safe for them to do so in daylight for fear of predators. It was a great day, and we were exhausted by the time we made it back to camp.

Day 7 - we packed up camp again and did some shopping in town before catching the noon ferry to the mainland again. We headed across the countryside, getting turned around a few times but savoring the lost routes as we got close enough to an echidna this time for my daughter to touch it on the back...and then run away...South Australia is very hilly so we were on windy bendy roads for some time. We found our stopping place in Naracoorte and settled into another campsite before heading out that night for another cave tour, this one of bats. We also toured an older less used cave by the bats where people can rent out the space for special events - the cave has also been designated as a World Heritage Site, which is great.

Day 8 - It was a noisy restless night at the campground due to crying children - wish they would leave them at home sometimes...tent walls are just too thin! From Naracoorte we headed south to the Great Ocean Road, stopping in Port Fairy for a walk on the beach and some lunch in town. From there we followed the Great Ocean Road and marveled at the amazing rock formations along the coast. There were many tourists so parking lots were full and photo ops a challenge at times. My favorite was the Grotto. We stopped at several rock formations and had a fabulous drive along the coast, soaking in the ocean's grandeur. I miss it here in Alice Springs. We found another campsite, more noisy kids, lots of wind but the most amazing kangaroo sighting on the whole trip - we were camped next to a huge field and we spotted some kangaroos here and there and then at one point the whole mob jumped off from one end of the field to the other - it was quite a show. The stars shone brightly that night, but the wind remained cold so Amber and I crawled into my tent and played cards for a bit before cooking supper.

Day 9 - We were Melbourne bound today, leaving the tents packed up for the weekend. My friend and former co-worker lives in Melbourne, was heading out for a music festival for the weekend so loaned us her flat. We arrived in the city at about 2pm, did some shopping, caught up with my friend, went out for dinner, and then to the movies for Tower Heist - great laughs. We had enough of crowds by then though and were looking forward to getting out on the ocean tomorrow.

Day 10 - Amber and I packed up for the day and drove south to Sorrento to meet our tour guides for a dolphin swim. I didn't swim, but Amber did. I stayed on the boat with other viewers and watched the whole scene go down. Amber did well with the snorkel and wetsuit, seeing some dolphins and seals up close and personal from her point of view in the water. I saw dozens from the side of the boat, swimming to and fro, under the boat, off the bow, a d back around the swimmers. Copped a nasty sunburn on me though despite wearing sunscreen. The sun's glare on the ocean played a huge part I'm sure. That night we decided we were too tired to bother going out, so ordered in pizza, and watched some movies and a Rolling Stones show on tv. It was a quiet new year's eve, but we were happy enough. It had been such a busy couple of weeks, so needed some down time.

Day 11 - We packed up from Melbourne and I dropped my daughter off at the airport for her long journey home and picked up a friend who was driving back with me to Alice Springs. It was a long haul and we camped roadside at a rest area in central South Australia, having run out of steam about 11pm. My friend slept in the car to avoid being raped and murdered (her fears) while I sweat it out in my tent. Didn't sleep = too darned hot. Couldn't wait to get home. The stars were spectacular though in the darkness of the desert.

Day 12 - We were up at dawn and jumped on the highway home for Alice, couldn't wait. We were both quite exhausted as my friend had a busy Christmas as well. All we wanted was to be OUT OF THE CAR! So just after 5pm we finally landed in Alice Springs. Yahfrigginhoo! It was a busy holiday but I had a great time with my girl and I think she truly enjoyed her Australian experience.

We saw many animals - kangaroos, camels, horses, goanna and other lizards, parrots, echidnas, foxes, koalas, wallabies, sea lions, bats, spiders, snakes, and so much more. We took hundreds of photos, and had huge belly laughs and talked until we were too tired to go on. It was great to catch up with my daughter and explore a part of Australia together. I'd do it all over again in a moment.