Bondeluk, an aboriginal elder gave us a 4 hour tour through the bush in Lawson. We enjoyed a nice hike to Cataract and Federal Falls and saw some tremendous scenery. He explained many of the unique plants and told us their medicinal and other uses by the Aborigines. We had a picnic lunch by Federal Falls. It was a great experience.
Tuesday evening was our first presentation which was in front of 200 people at the Penrith Panthers Club. It was well received albeit a little long for club presentations. It was a very nice dinner where alumni of Rotary Foundation programs were also recognized.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday's adventures
Pete’s been after me about keeping up with the blog so its Tuesday and I’m in the backseat of a Subaru writing as we head for Lawson and the Aboriginal center. We’ve just practiced singing our nat’l anthem, which has been requested for tonight…
Yesterday started with breakfast on the patio, with lorikeets and cockatoos in the backyard. Muesli with yogurt and a banana and milk, oj and coffee. Paul and I met up with the others at Café Cee in Glenbrook; a local shop donated tea towels to us all. Had a vegetarian sandwich with roasted pumpkin, yum.
Met Fiona, who went to NC last year on GSE.
Then to Lennox Bridge, where Paul had Amy Beth looking at the bridge and trying to see what was unusual about it. Finally it became clear that one edge was straight and the other curved. Paul said the road we drove up, that took us 15 minutes, used to take the horses 3 days! Amazing what blacktop can do for a journey.
From the bridge, we went to Blue Mountains Nat’l Park to the Red Hand Cave. It was a nice drive on dirt roads through the bush. I asked what the plants were that had corn-cob looking things hanging off them and was told they were banksias, named after Captain Cook’s botanist Banks. Many of the trees were completely black from bush fires that had gone through in 2000. Smooth red trees = agoraphora???
Gum nuts were miniature and cool, would have like to bring them home. Mountain devil = plant.
As I took my bag off from over my head the strap caught my earring and it dropped through the metal walkway. I had no sooner said, “Oh no, I’ve dropped an earing!’ than Pete dove underneath and rummaged through the leaves to look for it. Luckily there weren’t any snakes and he found it! Hooray!
The cave was quite small and more handprints showed up in the photos than when just looking at the stone. They’re said to be about 4,000 years old and were all sizes, children too. There was one sort of cartoon looking one with big fat fingers. Amazing to think of all the places in all the mountains, people were there and doing that. They’d outline their hands or blow the paint around it.
We finished our day with a visit to a park which gave us our first experience with kangaroos. There were three with one being a female with a Joey in her pouch. He poked his head and feet out at different times.
Yesterday started with breakfast on the patio, with lorikeets and cockatoos in the backyard. Muesli with yogurt and a banana and milk, oj and coffee. Paul and I met up with the others at Café Cee in Glenbrook; a local shop donated tea towels to us all. Had a vegetarian sandwich with roasted pumpkin, yum.
Met Fiona, who went to NC last year on GSE.
Then to Lennox Bridge, where Paul had Amy Beth looking at the bridge and trying to see what was unusual about it. Finally it became clear that one edge was straight and the other curved. Paul said the road we drove up, that took us 15 minutes, used to take the horses 3 days! Amazing what blacktop can do for a journey.
From the bridge, we went to Blue Mountains Nat’l Park to the Red Hand Cave. It was a nice drive on dirt roads through the bush. I asked what the plants were that had corn-cob looking things hanging off them and was told they were banksias, named after Captain Cook’s botanist Banks. Many of the trees were completely black from bush fires that had gone through in 2000. Smooth red trees = agoraphora???
Gum nuts were miniature and cool, would have like to bring them home. Mountain devil = plant.
As I took my bag off from over my head the strap caught my earring and it dropped through the metal walkway. I had no sooner said, “Oh no, I’ve dropped an earing!’ than Pete dove underneath and rummaged through the leaves to look for it. Luckily there weren’t any snakes and he found it! Hooray!
The cave was quite small and more handprints showed up in the photos than when just looking at the stone. They’re said to be about 4,000 years old and were all sizes, children too. There was one sort of cartoon looking one with big fat fingers. Amazing to think of all the places in all the mountains, people were there and doing that. They’d outline their hands or blow the paint around it.
We finished our day with a visit to a park which gave us our first experience with kangaroos. There were three with one being a female with a Joey in her pouch. He poked his head and feet out at different times.
Monday, March 10, 2008
This Might be Paradise
It's 11:45am Monday morning, and I've just returned from a walk to the river with Liz. Liz and Paul are hosting me for the first 3 nights and have been so welcoming and wonderful. On our walk, a king parrot flew up from the ground in front of us into a tree. She was a young one, all green with a blazing red chest and belly.
It is so green here, and warm! Breakfast was out on the patio in our barefeet, something we won't be able to enjoy at home for eons. A nice surprise after breakfast was a Skype conversation with Michael, I could see him and Simon in the kitchen.
There's a butcher bird here in their backyard, which backs up to a golf course; Liz was tossing it bits of food that it caught mid-air. Just saw 2 beautiful parrots, as well, at their feeder ... they rather put our cardinals to shame!
One day in, and we've already met so many wonderful people. Our flights were fine, and I must say Tylenol PM is a wonder - I slept more than I imagined I would on the second leg and arrived feeling excited and ready to explore. All our luggage arrived with us, which is always a good thing! We were greeted and driven off in a small bus to brunch at Bohemian Cafe in Coogee, a beach town. We had some coffee and eggs, and Mina tried Vegemite on toast, which may be an acquired taste.
It was presentation day for the nippers, swimming groups for children who go up through the ranks to be life savers one day if they choose, they were all in their swimmers and caps, receiving medals.
After brunch, drove to Bondi Beach, which did something to our airplane-squashed souls: we kcked off our shoes and headed for the water. Pete and Amy Beth had a race, and Pete's quote of the day is 'I've never seen anyone run so fast in my life! She was a cheetah, a gazelle ...' I have a photo of the race I will try to post soon, but we all landed in the water and got a little bit wetter than planned when a large wave snuck up on us while our picture was being taken, but we didn't care! We were in Australia, getting soaked in the Tasman Sea! Life is good! After splashing around a bit, we walked from the beach to Tamarama (i think i'm missing a few syllables, will have to check that later), which, when I first saw the sign, I didn't realize was the name of the town, I thought it was a tanorama, doh. Anyway, it was a lovely barefoot walk along the sea with lovely overlooks and rocks carved smooth by the wind and water. One bloke was doing a very good impression of shark bait, swimming far, far out to sea by himself. It's only safe to swim between the flags of the life savers, because that area is 'fenced in' with netting to keep out the nasties. Good luck to that guy ...
We saw some cricket being played, but I'll need another explanation before that game makes sense.
On the drive to the mountains, we stopped at Dover Heights and scrambled up a hill to - gasp - a stunning overlook from which we could see Sydney below us. There was the Opera House, there was the Harbor Bridge, there was everything needed to confirm that somehow, after sitting on our backsides for days and not doing anything of noticeable effort beyond surviving a long flight, we had indeed landed in Australia. Wow! Beautiful. At least a few people began thinking right then that moving to Oz might be a very good idea.
Took lots of photos. There are loads of dogs here, and Amy Beth met a puppy. Then back into the van to the mountains, over the Anzac bridge, past the soldier guarding its entrance, and up, up and away. Fun fact: here they say bush bashing, not bush whacking for wandering through the woods : )
Breakfast really is brekky, but people have pointed out that with all the American media, we basically speak the same.
We arrived at the Cooks' home, where Steve is staying, and enjoyed tea and snacks until 3, when we had a meeting about the program.
Oh! Have to go now, off to the caves, etc. More later!
It is so green here, and warm! Breakfast was out on the patio in our barefeet, something we won't be able to enjoy at home for eons. A nice surprise after breakfast was a Skype conversation with Michael, I could see him and Simon in the kitchen.
There's a butcher bird here in their backyard, which backs up to a golf course; Liz was tossing it bits of food that it caught mid-air. Just saw 2 beautiful parrots, as well, at their feeder ... they rather put our cardinals to shame!
One day in, and we've already met so many wonderful people. Our flights were fine, and I must say Tylenol PM is a wonder - I slept more than I imagined I would on the second leg and arrived feeling excited and ready to explore. All our luggage arrived with us, which is always a good thing! We were greeted and driven off in a small bus to brunch at Bohemian Cafe in Coogee, a beach town. We had some coffee and eggs, and Mina tried Vegemite on toast, which may be an acquired taste.
It was presentation day for the nippers, swimming groups for children who go up through the ranks to be life savers one day if they choose, they were all in their swimmers and caps, receiving medals.
After brunch, drove to Bondi Beach, which did something to our airplane-squashed souls: we kcked off our shoes and headed for the water. Pete and Amy Beth had a race, and Pete's quote of the day is 'I've never seen anyone run so fast in my life! She was a cheetah, a gazelle ...' I have a photo of the race I will try to post soon, but we all landed in the water and got a little bit wetter than planned when a large wave snuck up on us while our picture was being taken, but we didn't care! We were in Australia, getting soaked in the Tasman Sea! Life is good! After splashing around a bit, we walked from the beach to Tamarama (i think i'm missing a few syllables, will have to check that later), which, when I first saw the sign, I didn't realize was the name of the town, I thought it was a tanorama, doh. Anyway, it was a lovely barefoot walk along the sea with lovely overlooks and rocks carved smooth by the wind and water. One bloke was doing a very good impression of shark bait, swimming far, far out to sea by himself. It's only safe to swim between the flags of the life savers, because that area is 'fenced in' with netting to keep out the nasties. Good luck to that guy ...
We saw some cricket being played, but I'll need another explanation before that game makes sense.
On the drive to the mountains, we stopped at Dover Heights and scrambled up a hill to - gasp - a stunning overlook from which we could see Sydney below us. There was the Opera House, there was the Harbor Bridge, there was everything needed to confirm that somehow, after sitting on our backsides for days and not doing anything of noticeable effort beyond surviving a long flight, we had indeed landed in Australia. Wow! Beautiful. At least a few people began thinking right then that moving to Oz might be a very good idea.
Took lots of photos. There are loads of dogs here, and Amy Beth met a puppy. Then back into the van to the mountains, over the Anzac bridge, past the soldier guarding its entrance, and up, up and away. Fun fact: here they say bush bashing, not bush whacking for wandering through the woods : )
Breakfast really is brekky, but people have pointed out that with all the American media, we basically speak the same.
We arrived at the Cooks' home, where Steve is staying, and enjoyed tea and snacks until 3, when we had a meeting about the program.
Oh! Have to go now, off to the caves, etc. More later!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Welcome to Australia
We arrived in Sydney after a very long but mostly uneventful flight at 7 am. We had a 6 and half hour flight to San Francisco and 14 more to Sydney. The weather was warm and wonderful. It seemed like we were arriving in Aruba with similar vegetation.
We were warmly welcomed by our hosts in district 9690. Our hosts took us to breakfast near Coogie beach. We also went to the famous Bondi Beach and got our feet in the water. After the beach tour we climbed a hill to a park overlooking Sydney and had some great views.
The afternoon finished with a barbeque at the Cooks home where we had lamb chops and sausages. All in all a very good first day. We are working on connecting our photos to this blog so stay tuned.
We were warmly welcomed by our hosts in district 9690. Our hosts took us to breakfast near Coogie beach. We also went to the famous Bondi Beach and got our feet in the water. After the beach tour we climbed a hill to a park overlooking Sydney and had some great views.
The afternoon finished with a barbeque at the Cooks home where we had lamb chops and sausages. All in all a very good first day. We are working on connecting our photos to this blog so stay tuned.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Farewell, winter
Snow and rain - and that lovely combination, sleet - is pounding New London this morning. Make the coffee, scrape the car, wiggle up the slushy hill to work ...
Meanwhile it's 70 degrees at 2 a.m. in Sydney, with Penrith predicted to hit 92 today. Ha! We haven't seen grass - green, brown or otherwise - since November.
Yes, things are about to get very different.
Meanwhile it's 70 degrees at 2 a.m. in Sydney, with Penrith predicted to hit 92 today. Ha! We haven't seen grass - green, brown or otherwise - since November.
Yes, things are about to get very different.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
So Far, So Good
We haven't even left yet, and GSE has already been a good experience.
I've just returned from having lunch with my high school tennis coach, a woman I haven't seen since I was 17. It was surprisingly easy to meet again as adults, and we talked for nearly two hours. The reason for this reunion? She read the article about my going to Australia, and she had just visited there in the fall, so she got in touch. It turns out she spent her senior year of high school as an exchange student - through Rotary - in Australia, about 150 miles west of Melbourne. She told me about the changes in the decades since she studied there, and her recent adventures, which included a reunion with quite a few of her classmates.
So, in addition to opening doors ahead of us and exploring the unknown, GSE is inviting the past in, too.
So many adventures await.
I've just returned from having lunch with my high school tennis coach, a woman I haven't seen since I was 17. It was surprisingly easy to meet again as adults, and we talked for nearly two hours. The reason for this reunion? She read the article about my going to Australia, and she had just visited there in the fall, so she got in touch. It turns out she spent her senior year of high school as an exchange student - through Rotary - in Australia, about 150 miles west of Melbourne. She told me about the changes in the decades since she studied there, and her recent adventures, which included a reunion with quite a few of her classmates.
So, in addition to opening doors ahead of us and exploring the unknown, GSE is inviting the past in, too.
So many adventures await.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Not Long Now ...
Monday snuck up on me. It always does.
Australia is sneaking up on me. This is a new, pleasant surprise. After months of anticipating our adventure Down Under, departure is finally in sight, and it doesn't even seem real. The countdown is in days now, not weeks.
Thanks to the wonderfully detailed itinerary we've received, we have the rare treat of knowing exactly what we will be doing a week from now - in this case, getting to know our host families and visiting Glenbrook in our first full day in Australia.
Yesterday, I appreciated my last full day at home, spending extra time with my horse, Fredd, who also benefitted in the form of a few extra peppermints. In a guilty attempt to make up for my absence, I made dinners and baked, putting things in the freezer even though Michael's a better cook than I am and is completely capable of keeping himself fed for a month. I took care of the things that needed doing. Half of me is already gone, thinking, A week from now our team will be doing this ... and half of me is still firmly at home, thinking, This is the last time I'll do this for a while, or this, and before I go I need to make sure that ...
It's a strange thing to realize that life as you know it is about to be suspended.
I can't wait to see what happens next.
Australia is sneaking up on me. This is a new, pleasant surprise. After months of anticipating our adventure Down Under, departure is finally in sight, and it doesn't even seem real. The countdown is in days now, not weeks.
Thanks to the wonderfully detailed itinerary we've received, we have the rare treat of knowing exactly what we will be doing a week from now - in this case, getting to know our host families and visiting Glenbrook in our first full day in Australia.
Yesterday, I appreciated my last full day at home, spending extra time with my horse, Fredd, who also benefitted in the form of a few extra peppermints. In a guilty attempt to make up for my absence, I made dinners and baked, putting things in the freezer even though Michael's a better cook than I am and is completely capable of keeping himself fed for a month. I took care of the things that needed doing. Half of me is already gone, thinking, A week from now our team will be doing this ... and half of me is still firmly at home, thinking, This is the last time I'll do this for a while, or this, and before I go I need to make sure that ...
It's a strange thing to realize that life as you know it is about to be suspended.
I can't wait to see what happens next.
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