Kangaroos in the Mist

Leveraging two business trips, Margaret and I met in Melbourne last Friday for a wonderful date weekend.  Renting a tiny car, we drove to the Grampian Mountains through increasingly wild range lands dotted by scattered sheep and ruminating cattle. Blue haze hung from eucalyptus trees. After a stunning sunset, we arrived in the small village of Halls Gap with the full moon washing the sandstone cliffs above our honeymoon cottage.

Waking up the next morning, we gazed across the misty field to see a mob of kangaroos grazing in the meadow. As we snuck closer a few bounced off with their outrageous and effortless jumps. Later that morning, while driving to our hike, we saw a pair of wild Emus cantering across another field.  And then as we stomped thru some exotic scenery on our way up Mt Stapleton, we flushed rock wallabies from the bush. Totally cool!

The scenery was also magnificent. Exposed slickrock had eroded to look like twisted elephant hide. Massive ferns and leathery leafed plants mixed with delicate flowers. Beehive falls tricked down a mossy cliff, coyly denying the majesty which it must command during “The wet.”

That's my Australia!

Computer Science pays the bills, but where’s the excitement?   If I’m going to take a sabbatical, shouldn’t I learn something new?  Initiate a new career?  That’s what I was thinking when Margaret left for a business trip to Melbourne.  With oversight eliminated, I quickly dashed to the casting office and was very pleased with the outcome. Of course, I do miss Margaret, but I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Nicole…

Cookbook Climbing

2/20/11 At a whopping 364m, mighty Mt Tibrogargan was today’s destination and it nearly defeated us. Located in the absurdly steep Glass House Mountains north of Brisbane, Tibrogargan baked in the sun.  Hoping for cooler temperatures, we had foolishly waited until late afternoon for our ascent – unaware that the class 4 scrambling route ascended the exposed west face.  As we started the adventure, I wondered if the day’s blazing heat had produced enough  thermal energy to return the igneous boulders to their original, molten form?  Clambering upwards, our palms were repeatedly seared as we grasped holds on the dark volcanic cliff.  “Baking sun” seemed the obvious phrase, but half-way up I realized that it wasn’t at all appropriate.   Rather, this climb resembled some newfangled sous vide cooking – the humidity was so high that I was continually basted in a salty jus.

Eventually, of course, we reached the pinnacle’s top and savored splendid views of Tibrogargan's shadow on the surrounding plains as well as the nearby expanse of the Sunshine Coast.  As the sun set, the temperature relented and the descent was actually quite pleasant. But next time, I’ll time the climb for early morning. 

The Glass House mts are steep!

Margaret pauses to cool her hands.

Olivia and Stephanie's Visit

2/19-28/11 Since before her tearful departure from Seattle, Leah has been anticipating the visit by her good friends Olivia and Stephanie. I have to say that it was every bit of a fantastic hit as she hoped. Right after picking them up from the airport, we drove N to the Sunshine Coast - with the girls chattering excitedly in the car the whole way. On Tues and Wed, the girls dressed in uniforms and went to school with Leah. Together, they held a Koala at the Lone Pine Reserve. Then, on the final weekend, we drove S to the Gold Coast, visited Olivia's aunt Barbara and hiked in Springbrook and Lamington National Parks. 

Yes, we want to bring a Koala home, but I'm afraid that Customs will check our bags...

A pair of Ibises stalked fish just a few feet from our cabin by the Balina beach.

Can you believe such an incredible beach with no one on it?

This is the incredible (if unimaginably named) "Natural Bridge" in Springbrook Nat'l Park.

Claustral Canyon

3/6/11 - I had a chance to visit the Blue Mountains one last time before antipodean winter hit - this time with just Adam and Galen.  We chose to try the classic, Claustral Canyon, through the new approach route (the Dismal Dingles). It was cold (mid 50s) and drizzling and this bushwack added 2-3 hours of wet, leech-infested interlocked barbed vines and ferns, but it was worth it! The three rappels down the Black Hole of Calcutta were fantastic as was the intersection of Ranon Brook, the 700m section to Thunder Gorge and the amazing Tunnel Swim. When we finally reached the car, 11 hours later and chilled to the bone, we were zonked, but the canyon was truly fabulous.

The first rappel (down into the Black Hole of Calcutta) starts underneath this boulder!

Adam, on the first rap.

Galen, entering the upper (open) part of the "Black Hole" - the next rap takes you deeper and darker.

At the junction with Ranon Brook

Looking back up Claustral, from the Thunder Gorge junction.

Downclimbing the hand-line, right before the tunnel swim.

50m of cold, dark swimming!  Rocks have clogged the narrow canyon, creating an intermittent roof

Galen lives for this stuff!

What is a Flying Fox, Really?

Emu

Everyone knows Australia has odd animals. Torn from Gondwanaland 50 million years ago, it developed the kangaroo, wallaby, wombat, echidna, emu, and other curiosities. But few people know how dangerous these creatures can be. Australia has the most species of poisonous serpents (32 varieties of venomous sea snake alone), including the world’s deadliest, the taipan, whose bite is 50 times worse than a cobra. Salt water crocodiles, exceeding 20’ in length, stalk small motorboats. Poisonous cone shells await the beach collector, deadly box jellyfish speckle the surf, blue-ringed octopus haunt the reefs, and in the deep water prowl great white sharks. While sharks and snakes generally avoid suburbia, this cannot be said of red-backed spiders, whose tiny bites are also lethal.

Rainbow Lorikeet

But there are also endearing animals down under. Real Tasmanian devils, sadly, don’t whirl like my memories from Bugs Bunny; they amble like playful puppies with cute rat faces. Mostly black and adorned with a white striped midriff, their large ears are so thin that backlight burnishes them blood red. When I asked a zookeeper about adopting the adorable creature as a pet, he told me that its eerie nighttime scream would conjure terrifying images and likely trouble my neighbors. The kookaburra’s cry is also unexpected; how can a mere kingfisher sound like a troupe of gamboling monkeys? Rainbow lorikeets, seemingly as common as robins, have no unearthly cry, but they dazzle one’s eyes.  The shy, nocturnal platypus is surprisingly cute, but top honors go to koalas. They don’t do much besides savor eucalyptus and snooze, but boy they beg for hugs.

Koala

Let me end by mentioning the flying fox, a creature owning an exotic name. But what is a flying fox, really? I imagined something like a flying squirrel, a bit bigger, and with a cute whiskered nose. I was wrong. The flying fox is a gigantic bat, whose wingspan can exceed six feet! At sunset, thousands launch over the Brisbane river, and the sky fills with their spooky silhouette. Last night dozens soared close above our heads, crashing into nearby trees and squabbling over fruit and nectar.

Australian Weather Forecast...