Saturday, April 01, 2006

The Hunter, or the Hunted?

We've uploaded some photos of our short weekend in Hawks Nest. Sunset from the Singing Bridge (the bridge makes a sound when the wind is just right); the HUGE lizard, a goana, at the ferry crossing; and the cutest coin operated barbie in Australia.

Tonight we went for a dip in luminescent waters of the Bronte seawater pool. Even though the weather has been cooling off a bit lately, the pool water is still tolerable and is a nice way to relax before dinner. Our meal was enchiladas, with marginal corn tortillas that are good until 2008 and excellent enchilada sauce imported from the States (thanks Mom and Dad!)

posted by ncawthon at 8:02 PM

Hawk's Nest and Tea Garden

Just waking up at the Tea Garden Hotel Motel (Hol-i-day Inn?) where we spent our night being serenaded by the adjacent pub's Joe Cocker tribute band. Tribute may not have been the correct word, slander should be more appropriate. The local scene at the Tea Garden Hotel Motel Pub dance floor was akin to a train wreck, you really didn't want to watch what was going on, but it was hard to look away. Oh, the horror.

We rolled into town yesterday arvo, having stopped at a delictible prawn shack (pictured) for some late lunch / early supper. We then spent a few hours walking around the twin towns of Hawks Nest and Tea Garden, both about a three hour drive from Sydney. These are towns in flux, many properties for sale, presumably from Sydney holiday home owners trying to balance a falling real estate market. There is also the current legislation that will make this area a state marine park, effectively killing all recreational and commercial fishing. As this town sits on the Myall river and we saw no fewer that a half-dozen groups casually fishing on a Friday after work, not to mention those who fish for a living, the style of life would certianly be affected.

We had great dinner last night at a river bank cafe, fresh oysters and lobster that were swimming happily in the sea that morning, unaware that the bottom of my belly would be their resting place that night.

Today we are going to check out a koala habitat, drive across a car ferry to the other end of the isthmus, circling back around the scenic route towards the Hunter Valley wine regions on the way home.

posted by ncawthon at 2:20 PM

Friday, March 31, 2006

Aussie Dollar is Falling - Waves are Rising

We've had a busy week with 2 hockey training sessions (Peggy), 2 baseball training sessions (Nick), a few classes to teach (both of us), and our regular work schedule on top of that. We've decided we need a much needed break so we're heading up the coast to Port Stephens for the night. But before we leave, we have breaking news ...

The waves in Bronte have been HUGE this week, among the largest we've seen since moving here. A cyclone that moved into the Tasman Sea is responsible for kicking up the huge surf. On Monday, we did as the locals do and took our cameras to the beach to watch the waves. There were a handful of surfers out -- but no even tried to catch a wave in the 30 minutes we watched. A swimmer crazy enough to check out the surf was 'rescued' by the lifeguards and towed into the beach on the back of a jet ski. We later saw the swimmer on the boardwalk bragging that we was in fine shape out there swimming and only agreed to be rescued because he'd always wanted to see what it was like to be on a jet ski. (That's Aussie mentality for you!)

For those of you contemplating a trip down under, we'd like to bring to your attention the recent fall of the Aussie dollar against the greenback. It's recently hit a 18-month low against the dollar, getting as low as 0.71 AUD = 1 USD. The lower the Aussie dollar goes, the further your money will go on your trip here. Save up to 10%!

posted by Peggy C. at 11:06 AM

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Severed Heads and Nonsense

To round of our weekend d'extravaganza, we toured the Bronte House in the morning and went to a Human Body exhibition later that afternoon. Adding in Peggy's field hockey match before all of that, and we had another busy day.

The Bronte House is right down the road from us, but a million miles out of our price range. It is a historical landmark, dating back to the first generations of settlers hundreds of years ago. It is opened for public view a few weekends out of the year, the rest of the time resided in by a member of the Murdoch media magnate clan. We were not sure if they were hiding in some of houses other rooms, or did they just vacate for the weekend altogether.

The sitting room was delightful, encouraging quite a bit of sitting. I tried to sit, as designated by the name of the room, but the velvet barrier kept me from doing so. There were victorian furnishings, porcelin lamps, floral print wallpaper and impressionist paintings. It was every preservationist's dream.

The real treat to this grand affair were the gardens. Different trails criss crossed the hillside, allowing visitors to meander among the tropical plants, checking out the fountains and massive spider webs. They even had their own compost heap! Man, rich people have all the cool sh*t.

We then darted off to the Olympic Park to meet our friends Rich and Ellen, and to go see dozens of preserved human bodies (and body parts) on display in one of the exhibition halls. In our pre-exhibit gathering, it was clear that we weren't sure what to expect. Abnormalities, demonstrative displays (how long our intestines really were) and interactive booths were all hypothesized. Unfortunatly, none of those came to pass. For $20, we got to see plasticized humans in poses like skiing (downhill, not cross country), tennis and archery. Oh, there was also a cadaver playing chess, but he was taking forever to move!

Some of the bodies looked a little worse for the wear, having bits and pieces snipped off, all in the name of science. There was the obligitory healthy lung versus a smoker lung. We got to see what it would look like if one was dissected into two inch slices down the length of your body. There was certainly a haberdashery of various parts and components to be gawked at, all which were meant to be educational.

I recall seeing something similar in London a few years ago, with presentation being much better. The Aussie version felt a little like a highschool science fair. There was a TV on a cart, laminated note cards, folding tables and the like. On the whole, it didn't feel veryscientific - more just cheesy.

posted by ncawthon at 1:32 PM

Monday, March 27, 2006

Of Dog and Man

On my way into school this morning, a very centered looking man was about the subway with his small dog scurrying behind him. The dog was not on a leash, and the man made no effort to corral the dog places. There was just the assumption (on the man's part) that where ever the man would go, the dog would follow. I'm not sure what the dog was assuming, likely something to do with the promise of unseen bone-shaped biscuits.

When we sat down on the train, the obedient little dog took a couple steps in a circle and plopped down on the floor. I didn't see the man look a single time to see if the dog had followed him onto the train, he just knew he was there. When other passengers had to walk by to transfer cars, the dog oblidgingly got up and moved out of the way, the man never looking up from his newspaper. The dog never lost eye contact with the man, but the man never made eye contact with the dog. When it came to their stop, the man just made a slight grab for his bag and up popped the dog, ready to follow.

Not having a leash was a testament to the nuturing (perhaps neutering) ability of the man, and the loyalty of the dog. A leash would have demeaned them both, instead they came off as being both highly functional and intelligent.

posted by ncawthon at 10:23 AM

Sunday, March 26, 2006

A Day at the Bowls

Today, we're at the Erskineville Lawn Bowling Club with Peggy's cricket club. The coversation at hand has been varied: tastes that should never go together in consumer food items (abalone and macademia nuts), to the presence of religion in the U.S. and the rise of the Mega Church. Our bowling team seems to be struggling a bit, having lost each of the bowls we've played. Lawn bowling is quite fun, but its hard to stay intense about it given the slow pace of the game. After about 40 minutes, we were pretty much dunzo.

This just in - hilarity has ensued! The skies just opened up and about sixty people got drenched in the down pout. Not a light rain at all, but a huge shower all of the sudden, catching all by surprise. This photo is everyone running for cover. We were lucky to have been under shelter at the time. The weather has been dramatically mixed this past week, scorching hot the one minute with thundershowers the next. We're clearly in between seasons now, with summer exiting and fall creeping its way in. The water has gotten cooler and the waves somewhat larger.

Tonight is going to be a night in, likely, we're pretty tuckered after a morning of first baseball, then a brunch, then lawn bowling. A good Saturday, chock full of Aussie activity.

posted by ncawthon at 10:26 AM