Guess The Mystery Fruit...

that I had with my lunch yesterday:

Exciting Things...

My first few weeks in Australia have flown by. I've started working Mondays and Fridays doing data entry (part of the study I'm also doing my thesis on) so today I spent a full day at work. It's pretty mind-numbing stuff -- copying number after number into excel spreadsheets on a tiny laptop. I'll be glad when it's over! In the meantime I'm waiting for data to be sent to us so that I can start my analysis.

Last weekend my friend Leah (and her new fiancee, congrats!!) moved in to a house just a few blocks away from me. She was kind enough to loan me her bike (that used to belong to our friend Ina) to use this semester. On Saturday I got brave enough to take it out, and managed to find my way over to campus. It's actually a pretty nice bike ride, most of it along bikeway that is boardered by bushland and parks. Perhaps someday I'll be fit enough to ride the bike to and from school without soaking myself in sweat...one can dream. I'll post pictures of it on here soon.

Today brought me two nice surprises. This evening, as I was making my dinner I kept thinking to myself, 'geeze, something smells really good!' This soft scent of flowers kept wafting through the windows, and for some reason it took me awhile to go investigate. When I finally walked outside I realized what I'd been smelling:

Jasmine! Oh my goodness...all of the bushes that line the veranda outside are Jasmine bushes, and they just started blooming tonight! I wish I could post the scent on here...I immediately cut a bunch of blooms and brought them into my room. They smell divine!!

My other surprise is the result of an earlier surprise this week...a visit from my friend Jess who graduated and moved back to Canada in December!! Luckily for us, she flew all the way back here to interview for medical school at Bond University, so we get to see her again. We went back to our old watering hole, Batavia, last week, and tonight she told me that I had to go get some of her favorite ice cream. I followed instructions and came home with a pint of Homer Hudson Chocolate Rock ice cream...and wow...I can't believe I haven't had this before! It was on sale (a sign, perhaps?) and is the richest, most heavenly smooth and delicious chocolate ice cream I've ever had. I mean, look at this:

It's like eating tar!!! Definitely satisfied my chocolate craving for the night. Now I can go to sleep happy :o)

Last, but not least, I just want to stick a little something about my friend Jody on here! You guys remember her, right?? She graduated and went back to Canada in December, where she has enjoyed spending time with her family and has started to search for the right job. Meanwhile...you may have seen in the headlines that Tourism Queensland recently created a new position, The Best Job In The World, as caretaker of the Great Barrier Reef Islands. This is a dream job that they're also using as a marketing tool, pretty clever if you ask me! The caretaker who is selected from all of the applicants gets to live in posh accommodation, explore the Great Barrier Reef day in and day out, and gets a pretty hefty salary too ($150,000 for 6 months!). Jody, who I think has the perfect personality for the job, just uploaded her video application! Take a peek and give her 5 stars, because she definitely deserves to make the shortlist of candidates:

http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/applicants/watch/sRWMX8nDtYs

Bushfires and Other News...

I have been wanting to post something about the bushfires for days, and now that I finally have internet at home I'm able to do so. Some of you have expressed concern that I might be affected by the fires, and thankfully that's not the case. Melbourne is about 1000 miles away from where I am, so the only thing I might experience is the smoke rolling northward next week. I've marked the two locations on the map below to give you some idea of the distance:


It's hard to tell when the coverage of the fires started in the US -- presumably after the fires had wreaked most of their havoc on the greater Melbourne area. In the weeks prior (just around the time I traveled back to Australia) the entire area of Victoria was experiencing an intense heatwave. Temperatures remained in the 40s (well over 100F) for days on end. The area had also gone for 27 days without any rain, leaving the bushland surrounding Melbourne city about as dry as it gets. Before the fires broke out, the news footage centered on koalas desperate for a drink of water. A friend of a friend who was in Melbourne at the time reported that it felt like standing in front of a giant hairdryer all day long.


On February 7th, conditions reached their peak, when Melbourne recorded its highest ever temperature reading of 46.4C (115 degrees), and winds gusted to 120 km/h (75 mph). By the end of the day, hundreds of fires had broken out throughout the state, many believed to be the work of arsonists. What ensued sounds to me (and everyone else) like utter chaos -- fires exploded out of control, and raced through towns ravaging home after home. Residents of some areas had no warning, as fires changed direction with the wind and sped across the hills and valleys. The first few seconds of video here give you an idea of how fast we're talking.

the Wandong fire, which killed 4 people and burned 150 homes

The stories that survivors have to tell are harrowing, and give you an idea of how split-second decisions changed lives forever: A woman in Kinglake who huddled under a dampened blanket in a creek with her infant son as the fire roared across them. A couple who drove their car through a wall of fire and into a dam, where they stayed submerged surrounded by smoke and flames for hours. An elderly couple who retreated to a room in their house, were badly burned, and who stayed huddled together in the smouldering wreckage for 7 hours -- too scared to emerge. Teenaged girls who suffered burns on their feet because they didn't have time to put shoes on when flames shot through the windows of their home. The roads leading out of some towns are littered with burnt-out cars -- many of them containing residents who weren't able to escape. The footage has been chilling to say the least.


Several towns and popular tourist spots have been completely wiped off the map. Marysville, described as Melbourne's 'honeymooners capitol', was totally destroyed and has been sealed off completely since the fire struck. The entire town is considered a crime scene, and investigators have been working for days to locate residents who stayed behind to fight the fire. This 360 view of Strathewen, another hard hit area, gives you an idea of what has been left on the ground.

Marysville

The Yarra Valley, Melbourne's wine capital, was also hit by fires. Several wineries burned to the ground, and several others lost thousands of vines to the fires. Some of them are supposed to host weddings in days or weeks, and some can't even contact their brides because all of their paperwork was burned.

Yarra Valley on fire

At the moment, about 1.1 million acres of land has been burned, 1800 homes have been destroyed, 7000 people have been displaced, and 181 people have lost their lives. Everyone expects that these numbers will rise, and most of the news stations are speculating that the death toll is actually closer to 300. I can't even imagine the enormity of the job that lies ahead for everyone involved in the aftermath.

a satellite view of some of the fires, looking south towards melbourne and the ocean

the Melbourne skyline from Kinglake, another town that was virtually destroyed

Meanwhile, animals have also been affected by the fires. I've seen videos of a burnt kangaroo cowering in a burned-out shed, an echidna with a burned snout, possum and koalas with burned feet, etc etc etc. Perhaps you've seen the pictures of Sam, the now infamous koala bear who was snapped taking a drink of water from a volunteer firefighter. She was taken to a carer to have her burned paws treated, and has apparently fallen in love with another koala bear at the center. Gotta love those happy endings :o)


About 15 fires are still burning and threatening nearby towns, and smaller fires continue to pop up. As I mentioned earlier, police have found evidence of arson in several of the fires, and have begun making arrests and questioning suspects. The disbelief and total sorrow that residents displayed on the news in the past few days has been replaced with truly searing anger. I'm positive that if the police left it to some of the locals, there wouldn't be much left of any suspects to prosecute. On the other hand, I've also gotten to watch the Aussies pull together to support victims of the fire. So far, they've raised over $100 million for the relief effort, and have shipped boatloads of household goods and clothing down to Victoria. Hopefully the worst is over now, and the people of Melbourne can start to rebuild their lives.

Ironically, at the same time areas of Queensland are suffering from severe flooding. From what I gather, two large monsoon troughs have moved through Queensland recently, dumping huge amounts of rain on the northern and interior parts of the state. Several people have drowned, and one 5 year old boy was taken by a crocodile (coincidentally, just meters away from where I took some of my Daintree River pictures) last week. In one area, floodwaters were pouring over a spillway at the rate of 1.5 billion liters (4 million gallons) a DAY. Reportedly, that's enough water to fill Sydney Harbor every day. That's a lot of water. I think the most touching thing I've seen, though, is the reaction of the flood victims to the bushfire victims. On the news they all seem humbled by the scale of the loss in Melbourne, and downplay their own suffering. Some flood victims received $1000 relief checks from the government this week, and a number of them turned right around and gave their checks to the Red Cross Bushfire fund. Amazing.

The rain has finally reached as far south as Brisbane, which I can confirm having slogged through it all day today. I think we're supposed to get 3-4 inches overnight, with more to come tomorrow. It's nice to have a break from the heat, so I won't complain too much!

I'll end another epic blog post with some more pictures I promised of the new apartment. I've been here almost a week now and absolutely love it.

my bedroom, with two big windows and an awesome ceiling fan

I can see the Catholic church across the street, St. Finbarr's, from my room
(those aren't security bars, they're used to shield rooms from direct sunlight in the afternoons)

my new view of the city...slightly more obstructed than my old view!
(this window faces southeast, so it doesn't have the bars)

the wrap-around verandah -- huge!

This Woolworths is literally across the street, which is probably a bad thing. It opened the day after I moved in and is the nicest grocery store I've ever been in!

This neighborhood has everything I need -- all within one block. I still can't get over it. Grocery store (actually, two), fresh produce market, restaurants (chipper, Chinese, Thai, Indian, Italian, sushi), cafes, the post, a blockbuster, a gym (that I'm thinking about joining), chemists, newsagents, banks. It's all here.

Leah came over the other day to see the place, and we wandered over to the fresh produce market to check it out. We saw these two weird little fruits and decided we had to try them -- paradise pears and sugarplums (like the fairy!). We were really excited about being brave and trying exotic fruits, but they really just tasted like their larger relatives.

Till next time...

I Can't Believe...

...I never posted pictures of my trip with Mara on here! Here is an abridged version.

For those of you who don't know, Mara is my aunt who lives in Boston and promised me she'd come visit during my time in Australia. Lo and behold, she wasn't lying (not that she ever would!) and we got to take a whirlwind trip around OZ at the end of November. We started in Melbourne, where we stayed at Robinson's in the City, a wonderful B&B run by our friendly host Paul.

Robinson's is housed in an old bakery, and breakfast is served right next to the old brick ovens. They give the room a great atmosphere! This B&B was really nice and Paul was friendly and helpful during our stay in Melbourne. I'd definitely go back if I had the chance!

Mara and I had a few days to explore Melbourne, and I have to say that it's probably my favorite city in Australia so far. It has a grid-type layout and is small and easy to navigate. The buildings are a mix of new and old, and there are lots of tiny alleyways to explore. There are plenty of great little cafes and boutiques too.

Melbourne has an extensive network of trams that run on almost every street, and add a great touch to the city. To overcome problems with traffic, Melbourne created what is known as the 'hook turn'. I thought this was such a funky traffic rule -- the point is to keep cars that want to turn right from idling in the tramways (which run down the middle of the street), subsequently holding up tram traffic. The solution? Turn right from the left only. Cars that wish to turn right pull all the way to the left and situate themselves in front of the traffic running perpendicular. When the lights change, they proceed straight across the intersection. So funny!

Mara and I left the city for two different day tours, the first of which was a tour of the Great Ocean Road. This is a Pacific Highway-inspired road that stretches along the coastline west of Melbourne. One of the first attractions of the day was an area inhabited by wild koalas -- the first ones I had seen in the wild! They are Southern Koalas and are much larger than the ones I'm used to seeing in Queensland.

The main attraction along the Great Ocean Road are a set of sea stacks called the Twelve Apostles. The stacks are formed slowly as the limestone coastline is eroded by the sea. The scenery is a spectacular contrast of the blue-green ocean, the brown and yellow limestone, and the shades of green shrubbery covering the cliffs. To top it all off, Mara sprung for a helicopter ride along the cliffs, which was beyond words -- so fun and amazing! I had a smile on my face the entire time and it was definitely a highlight of the trip.

The last stop on our day tour was London Bridge. This formation used to be a complete bridge, but collapsed unexpectedly one day, stranding two tourists who had ventured out to the far side. Apparently, while a rescue was being planned the two were circled by news helicopters for hours! Imagine the frustration!

Our second day tour was really an evening tour, and took us to Philip Island, home of the Little Penguin. This species of penguin is the smallest in the world, and the colony on Philip Island is one of the largest ones in Australia. Unfortunately I didn't get any actual pictures of the penguins (photos were not allowed), but it was also an amazing sight to see. Tourists line up on special viewing platforms and wait as the sun disappears. Slowly, groups of these tiny penguins emerge from the surf and start to waddle up the beach and into the hills of the island to their respective burrows. In a matter of minutes the numbers double and triple, until the whole island is inundated with penguins calling to their mates and making the most hysterical squawking noises. It's an amazing sight, and pretty cool to think that it's been happening over and over every night for thousands of years.

Our next stop was Sydney -- my first time to this city too. We were exhausted the first day and made the wise decision of taking a relaxing harbor cruise. Sydney Harbor is really amazing -- huge, and beautiful. We also had a lovely day, so I was lulled to sleep shortly after Mara shot this photo of the bridge and opera house!

We also got tickets to one of the hop-on, hop-off buses and managed to see most of the main sights in the city. I've got to say that besides the harbor and the landmarks, Sydney is really just like any other big city. It was nice, but I think I prefer somewhere a bit smaller!

Mara and I got a great tip from one of the travel agents at the visitor's center, and booked a tour with a new wine touring company called Southern Crush. Our guide Seamus is a Napa transplant and took us (and one other couple) on a wonderful day of tasting in Sydney's Southern Highlands. This was probably one of my favorite days on the whole trip, but then again they were all favorites! We visited four boutique wineries and enjoyed a three-course lunch with paired wines, plus a cheese-plate at the end of the day. I was so stuffed with food and wine by the end of the day that I could barely move!

After our time in Sydney we traveled to northern Queensland, where our next host Julie collected us from Cairns airport. Julie and Rod run Zimzala B&B, which is located in Holloway's Beach just north of Cairns city. This place is fabulous!!! The town and beach are both tiny, but have everything you might require for a short stay. Mara and I walked down to the beach, but didn't get in the water as it was (and still is) stinger season. The jellyfish (stingers) that pose a threat in the northern parts of Queensland breed in the estuaries during the spring months. As the summer progresses the coastal areas fill with singers, so on the hottest days residents can't even hop in the ocean! There are several different types -- the weakest will just make you feel a little silly, while the most lethal can kill a grown man in 3 minutes flat. They are no joke. Holloway's Beach has a 'stinger net' (standard for beaches in northern Queensland) which provides a 'safe' area to swim, but it's also surrounded by signs like these:

This comforting sign reads "All bathers are advised to wear additional clothing such as a t-shirt, especially children and persons with sensitive skin. The stinger resistant enclosure is designed to afford a reasonable measure of protection from dangerous marine stingers, but users are advised that no warranty is given of absolute protection." Additional clothing? Reasonable protection? I definitely want to get in the water now! Swimming pool, anyone?

Luckily Julie and Rod have a fantastic one, where is where we spent the end of our first day in Cairns. The next morning we were scheduled to head off into the Daintree Rainforest on a day tour, but not before Rod presented us with our first Zimzala breakfast. Can you say...heaven! Those of you that know me best know that I am a lover of fresh fruit, and Rod's breakfast starts out with an amazing platter of it. All kinds of stuff -- mango, melon (water, cantelope, honeydew), lychee, nashi pear, paw paw (papaya), passionfruit, kiwi, pineapple. Seriously, heaven. But, that wasn't all! Fruit is just the appetizer -- we also got delicious pancakes separated by crushed banana, freshly baked croissants, juice, and coffee.

Here I am, on could 9 (notice the completely devoured plate of fruit)

Our day tour of the Daintree was fantastic -- great guide and great group of people. We traveled north and stopped to take a rainforest walk -- this was also my first time in tropical rainforest, which was beyond humid and lush.

Our guide pointed out this Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher

We traveled farther north and stopped to take in Cape Tribulation, where we saw more comforting stinger signs (there was also a sign opposite this one warning that the waters are inhabited by crocodiles)

Next we took our 4X4 bus up the Bloomfield Track, which is a famous 4X4 track that stretches along the coast into Far North Queensland. Our guide took us to one of his favorite swimming holes, which felt like a really tucked-away special spot. Normally you wouldn't want to go swimming in any of the rivers this far north because of crocodiles, but this one was far enough inland that we were safe. I wasn't brave enough to jump in (those of you who know me also know that I am seriously afraid of water with leafy bottoms), but Mara was a total badass and plunged right in!

Afterwards we had some tea and a tropical fruit tasting (like I needed to eat more fruit). Clockwise from the left are: pineapple, paw paw, sapodilla, Amazonian custard apple, sugar banana, dragonfruit, and lychee. I really enjoyed the custard apple -- the creamiest fruit I've ever had! The sapodilla was also interesting, and tasted just like caramel.

Our last activity of the day was a quick boat tour on the Daintree River -- one of the largest rivers in the area and home to a large population of saltwater crocodiles. The banks of the river are covered in signage warning you of the danger -- the largest crocs known to live in this river are 5 meters long. This is really hard to imagine, and I can't really describe it too well -- I've seen a saltwater croc in a zoo here that was probably 3 meters long, and it was terrifyingly huge. These guys are massive, and really dangerous. Really tragically, last week a 5 year old boy (whose father is a tour guide on the river) was taken by a crocodile when he tried to shoo it away from his dog.

But, the river is also a beautiful one. A thunderstorm slowly rolled in as we motored along in our tour boat, so it was really kind of eerie and still on the river that afternoon. We only spotted one crocodile, and it was too submerged to make out clearly. It does add a kind of 'Jaws' like feeling though, gliding along on this glassy water and knowing there could be these huge dinosaur-like beasts just under the surface.

The next day was our Great Barrier Reef tour, and Rod came through that morning with another incredible breakfast. This one was the amazing fruit plate, followed by fresh homemade banana bread with mango and raspberry sauce, honey, and mascarpone cheese. This was so rich and wonderful, I have no idea how I ate as much of it as I did!

We were booked on a boat called ReefMagic for our tour, which took about an hour to speed out to its own floating pontoon on Moore Reef, part of the outer reef system. I've done a fair bit of snorkeling and diving on fringe reefs in the Whitsundays, which are considered part of the Great Barrier Reef, but had never been on a freestanding reef before. I was excited! For safety-sake, and to protect us from the sun, we actually paid the crew to outfit us in these ridiculous nylon stinger suits! There are stingers out on the reef, but the most dangerous ones stay close to the shorline. However, better safe than dead...and when else would I get to wear something this dumb?!

The snorkeling was indescribable. The reef comes right up to the surface of the water, so we could get extremely close to the coral and sealife. There were fish absolutely EVERYWHERE. The pictures can't do it justice, but here are some of my favorites:

This guy is a sea slug -- feels kind of like a big fleshy worm. The best feature of this animal was that if you turned him around and squeezed his anus, water would shoot out like a gun! Gotta love that.

This was my favorite fish on the reef -- I have no idea what it's called. I like to think of it as the 80s fish because it has all those great neon colors that were so popular when I was a kid. Really striking and bright!

Some lovely fish -- I believe the one on the right-hand side with the white tail is called a 'Bitten Chocolate' something, because it looks like a piece of chocolate that someone took a hunk out of.

Mara and I left Cairns early the following morning and headed to Brisbane, where she stayed another few days before heading back home. I was pictured-out by that time, so I don't have much to share of her time in Brisbane! I took her to all the usual sights, including Lone Pine where she got to cuddle her own koala...

How sweet is that?

And make friends with the kangaroos...

The day we visited was pretty hot, and a big group of the kangaroos had collected in the sade of a tree for a nap. Jody (who came with us) and I thought it was so funny that we decided to pose with the 'roos...most of them ignored us!

Mara also happened to be in Brisbane for two hard days for each of us -- first, my dog died on Thanksgiving, and the following day was her wedding anniversary to her late husband and my uncle, Stephen. It was really nice to have her around, and we had a really nice day on her anniversary when I took her up into the Glasshouse Mountains north of the city. I've talked about these on here before, but I had never actually been into the area. The mountains are the leftover cores of ancient volcanoes, and are very significant spiritually to the local Aboriginal people. The area surrounding them is filled with lovely countryside and sleepy towns, and we had a nice afternoon wandering through the valleys and taking in the scenery.I'm hoping (and pretty sure) that her trip was fantastic and magical for her, because I know it was that for me! I'll always be grateful for all the things we got to see together -- I never would have gotten to all these places on my own, and it was even better to see them with someone I love. Thanks for the memories Mara!