A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out! Traveling Solo at 63…on a Budget.

Posted on by connieottmann

Kununurra in the East Kimberley:  Adventure in a Wild and Ancient Alternate Universe.  (Part 1 of 3)

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View of the Bungle Bungles in Purnululu National Park, a World Heritage Area that only became widely known in 1982. These “beehive” domes are striated with beautiful colors of ocher, orange, and black!

 

When I told a friend that my travels would be taking me to Kununurra and the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, he snapped to attention, eyes wide, brows raised, and exclaimed, “Wow!  You’re going to the outback of the outback!”   My well-traveled friend is right.  Over and over I’ve been told here that most Australians don’t ever get to this beautifully remote, wild, and rugged region, let alone Americans.  And I was spending a month!

As luck would have it, I would be house sitting for the month of June(during the “dry” season May -September) for friend Gayl’s daughter Victoria, a nurse in Kununurra for the past five years.  Best of all,  Gayl would be meeting me here from Perth to help me settle in. That would mean three things:  five star hospitality, a whirl-wind of activities, and fantastic eating planned for the week.  How many people do you know fly with their travel baggage packed with farm fresh eggs, specialty goat cheese, and an organic shoulder of lamb (just to name a few)?

I’ve known Gayl since she was an exchange student at my high school back in 1971 when we were seniors. She’s had a love affair with Maine ever since and continues to visit every couple of years.  After leaving my teaching career and leaping into the unknown, well-traveled Gayl and her daughter Victoria, on a recent visit to Maine, mentioned travel and posed the question: “What are you waiting for?”  They have been both instrumental and a great support system in making this odyssey a positive and life-changing event.

Gayl is a force to be reckoned with.  Strikingly elegant, youthful, and charged with electricity and charisma, I elect her our Boomer poster girl for “Sixty is the new Forty.”  Before I knew it, we had exchanged our excited hellos, and she began rattling off all the adventures planned for the week including a camping trip to the Bungle Bungles!  But not before she and daughter Victoria (her mother’s daughter and very much her own person) acquainted me with my new home and surroundings.

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Toasting my first day in Kununurra with Gayl and Victoria and an action-packed, upcoming week.

Kununurra is a young town established in 1961 and now has a population of about 7,000.  During the dry season, the number doubles with tourists, many of them known throughout Australia as “Grey Nomads”–retirees traveling in a wide array of campers and caravans(RVs). On any given day, the local Coles supermarket is jammed with campers and backpackers, and the parking lot is filled with a multitude of vehicles resembling a tamer version of Mad Max engineering!  Eggs are always the first item to sell out.

My home while in Kununurra!. Great location right in town with the library right across the street.
The Kununurra Community & School Library right across the street. I was able to get a temporary library card. Great selection of movies too! The high school is right next door.
A view of the very good i Site Center in down town Kununurra. To the left is the town park.
A view of the park in town and the Saturday morning market. Right around the corner from my place.
Typical sunset outside my house in town.
Local business Kimberley Find Diamonds, home to the rare pink diamond mined only at the Argyle Diamond mine nearby. They are very expensive!
A Kimberley icon, the Boab Tree (there are relatives in Africa). Only found in this region and native to Australia. Some are 1500 years old or older. One of my favorite parts of the landscape.

 

The CBD (central business district) isn’t overly impressive, but located on the outskirts are interesting cafes and businesses.

The Hoochery is the oldest continuously operating legal still in Western Australia, owned and operated by a former California native. In addition to fine rum, the wife makes a terrific Ord River Rum cake!
Inside view of the Hoochery, which offers dining and is a great venue for celebrations.
The Zebra Rock Gallery and Coffee Shop. The beautiful cream and brown striped rock is found only in the East Kimberley of WA.
Shot of Ivanhoe Cafe and the shaded sitting area just outside the Kununurra CBD.

One of Kununurra’s chief industries is agriculture (cattle, mining, and tourism too) thanks to its most famous landmark the Ord River Conversion Dam constructed in 1963. Water is released from Lake Argyle( created in 1967 as a major storage reservoir) into the Ord River, into Lake Kununurra, which then is irrigated to thousands of acres of farmland.  Some local crops include mangos, watermelons, melons, citrus, and seed crops such as chic peas and sunflower and chia seeds.  Australian sandalwood is also grown here, and the pure sandalwood oil is used by many of the world’s luxury perfume houses.

View of one of the many irrigation channels in Kununurra, a great dog walking spot.
Shot of an irrigation channel at a local farm.
Visiting one of the local farms in Kununurra growing seed crops such as chic peas and chia seeds.
A beautful crop of chia seed growing at a local farm in Kununurra.

After familiarizing myself with the town(a friend of Gayl and Victoria lent me a car for the month–hospitality), we were off on our second day to El Questro (just over 700,000 acres in size) and a hot soak in Zebedee Springs.  This is truly a tropical paradise with palm trees, hot shallow pools, sheltered by rugged, orange rock looming from above. We enjoyed ourselves until a small snake slithered by my left shoulder, and we suddenly burst from the pool like waterfowl hearing gunshot!

Gayl and I in front of the turn off sign to El Questro on our way to Zebedee Springs for the morning.
Enjoying the hot springs with Gayl.
Zebedee Springs–nothing better than a hot soak in a this tropical setting…until a small snake swam by my left shoulder!

On day three, Victoria’s boyfriend Joel, a helicopter pilot who mustered cattle up here for ten years, joined us for a visit, and we headed to Wyndham, the Kimberley’s oldest town and once a thriving port when Wyndham Meat Works was operating. The abattoir closed in 1985, and the only thing happening now is the occasional export of live cattle to Indonesia. Most “live export”(pretty controversial) is shipped from Darwin or Broome, and it’s common to see the mammoth, three-vehicle-long “road trains” coming from various cattle stations on the roads.

A popular tourist attraction in Wyndham is the Five Rivers Lookout on top of the Erskine Range, where you can see all of Wyndham and the whole Gulf Coast where the Forrest, King, Durak, Pentecost, and Ord rivers flow into. We also made our way past the salt flats to the Prison Boab tree, but not before a stop at the popular Rusty Shed Cafe.

The view of Wyndham, the salt flats, and Gulf from the Five Rivers Lookout in Wyndham. The Forrest, King, Durak, Pentecost, and Ord Rivers flow in the Cambridge Gulf.
Enjoying a stop at the Rusty Shed Cafe in Wyndham with Gayl and Joel. Tori took the picture.
Close up of the Prison Boab Tree outside Wyndham.
“Prison Boab Tree” in Wyndham. After using Aboriginals for tracking, they were held captive in this tree at night according to one story.
Thanks to a photographer friend of Victoria’s, we were given directions where to view this Aboriginal rock art.
Aboriginal rock paintings at a location known to a few locals.

Barely taking a breath and barely containing our excitement, we were off day four and five camping in the Bungle Bungles at Purnululu National Park, a World Heritage area.  If you are going to spend any time in the Kimberley, a four-wheel vehicle is a must. There are a variety of trucks and SUVs on the road up here, many of them with “snorkels” attached for stream and river crossings.

An iconic, Australian vehicle in these parts is the “Ute.”  The popular story goes that in 1933, a Gippsland farmer’s wife wrote a letter to Ford Australia asking, “Can you build me a vehicle that we can use to go to church in on Sunday, without getting wet, and that my husband can use to take the pigs to market on Monday?” A young designer modified a 1933 coupe with just a tray on the back and strengthened the chassis so it could carry a load, and the rest is history.

The Ute, a popular vehicle in the outback.
At the Kununurra Agriculture show and a typical 4-wheel drive SUV.

Fortunately Victoria had a Toyota SUV for the four of us and all our gear because the drive in to the Bungle Bungles involves about two hours of off-road driving on narrow, deeply rutted, dirt roads over numerous creek crossings of various depths.  (I later met a very large, cane-toting  74-year-old woman who told me she was visiting Kununurra for two days and driving to the Bungle Bungles.  After I talked with her, she thought she might fly over them instead.)

The landscape in this part of the world is like nothing I’ve ever seen.  Not only is it visually stunning with its changing light and colors, but it also touches you on some deep, cellular level that you can’t quite understand. The land vibrates with the mysteries of the human condition, its traumas and its joys…  OK…. it’s just feels *~x#1+$%) OLD!

The Beehive formations of the Bungle Bungles with horizontal lines of ocher, black, orange, and red are truly unique.
With Gayl inside Cathedral Gorge (I know. I have that same outfit on…shirt Salvation Army shirt…skirt:Prana!)
Walking into Cathedral Gorge. Joel, on the right.
Inside the Bungle Bungles heading for Cathedral Gorge.
Setting up gourmet snacks at the viewing station to watch the sun set over the Bungle Bungles. A very expensive APT tour group set up next to us. What they were serving couldn’t compare with Gayl’s “foodie” nibbles!
Sun setting on the Bungle Bungles. The light glows with changing oranges, pinks, and lavenders that is other worldly.
The changing colors and sky are like now where else in the world. Watching the sun set over the Bungle Bungles.

Having not done a lot of camping, I experienced the pleasures of sleeping under the stars in my “mozzie dome,” comfortably curled up in my “swag.” (Does LL Bean have these?) The Milky Way is visible in these parts.  Another wonder to behold.

Victoria helping me set up my “mozzie dome and swag” at the Bungle Bungles campground. The mozzie dome allows for great star/night sky gazing!
Gayl, Joel, and Victoria setting up camp and preparing a delicious meal.

Back home on day six, Gayl and Victoria made sure I got my library card, visited Birdland Functional Pottery and the Artopia Gallery where I signed up for life-drawing classes, enjoyed “cuppas” at their favorite cafes, connected with the Waringarri Art Center, where I would be volunteering with the Aboriginal artists, learned Banjo the dog’s routine, and, finally, (whew!) met some of the locals I could call on.  I have never felt so cared for.

Then, Gayl left, followed by Victoria and Joel the next day.  I would be meeting up with Gayl again in her hometown of Perth in three months and seeing Victoria and Joel after their holiday abroad.

They left in their wake, a colorless vacuum:  The house quiet…a sense of loss. But I relish being in one place for four weeks, in one of the remotest parts of the world.

Every day I wake to sunshine*  The laundry dries in 15 minutes*

A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out! Traveling Solo at 63…on a Budget.

Posted on by connieottmann

Darwin: The “Mostest” Little City in Australia.

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One of many signs posted along the harbor esplanade in Darwin.

To say that I’ve learned a lot while traveling on my own is a gross understatement, but where my  learning curve has shown the most dramatic rise, is on the subject of how to be a gracious host.  Over and over I have been warmly greeted and then entertained by folks who have taken time out of their busy lives to make me feel welcome.

This certainly was the case when meeting Nan, the cousin of my friend Gayl’s husband, Tom.  What a comfort it was to be picked up at the airport in this new city, and to be free from the stresses of finding a shuttle or cab to some little known address.  I’ve come across lots of blog posts and Facebook postings that feature stories about good deeds and kindness shown to strangers. Over and over on my travels, I have been the lucky recipient of these acts of kindness. Nan is just this kind of person. She exudes benevolence.  Nan showed me incredible hospitality for three days in Darwin, and  after spending time with her, I felt like I had connected with some long, lost relative.  And, I learned a lot from her about the city, including history and global politics.

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Nan and her husband Pete who shared their home with me.

Darwin is Australia’s most northern city, and the most diverse (with more than 75 ethnic groups–10% Aboriginal).  It has the youngest median age of any city, and its population is the most transient. With just under 130,000 people, Darwin also has one of the highest crime and homelessness rates.

While driving around the city, Nan pointed out the Darwin Military Museum.  I didn’t know that during WWII, on February 19, 1942, Darwin, seen as a key port and filled with Allied ships, was bombed by the same Japanese commander who a year earlier bombed Pearl Harbor…and they dropped more bombs on Darwin than they did on Pearl Harbor.

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A view of Parliament house from the front. It is Australia’s newest Parliament building.

Next, we stopped at Northern Territory Library located in Parliament House and visited an exhibit about The Stolen Generations   and Kahlin Aboriginal Compound in Darwin, which existed from 1913 to 1938.  While many Aboriginal children were forcibly taken there, Darwin’s Aboriginal workforce and their families were required by law to live at the compound as were children of mixed descent.  It’s an important piece of history because the people from the compound helped to build Darwin.

We drove around Darwin’s impressive harbor and stopped for a walk on the esplanade where I encountered, for the first time, crocodile warnings.  All that water and no place to swim!  Of all the deadly things that inhabit Australia, salt water crocs (salties) freak me out the most. I wasn’t up in this part of the world more than a couple of weeks when it was reported that a 40 something-year woman, with  a friend she was visiting with in Queensland, decided to go to the beach at night(stupid).  Her last uttered word, reportedly was, “Crocodile!!”   Authorities searched for her body for a couple of days.  Nada, zip, 0…. Death by crocodile?  Terrifying.

I also learned something about the importance of Darwin harbor and how it is not only  strategically placed as an entry way to Asia, but it is also the base for the Royal Australian Army’s border protection operations.

In 2015, the Northern Territory government(with clearance from the Defense Department) signed a deal for 506 million to lease Darwin Harbor for 99 years to the private Chinese company Landbridge, which purportedly has ties to the People’s Liberation Army.   The U.S. was never consulted (nor were a host of other people) and only found out about it after the fact (an article in The New York Times).  It is understandable that Obama was a little angry since the U.S. is an important ally, and the port hosts annual visits of more than 1000 marines. Since 2011, Darwin has been an important staging post for U.S. Marines, and up to 2,500 are expected to be on rotation.

Some in Australia see this harbor lease as a big economic boon, others see it as holistically short sighted.  Although China is Australia’s biggest trading partner, it is not a major ally. (The Chinese also just bought Carlton Station also in NT for 60 million.)  I point this out because a new goal of mine is to be a better informed U.S. and global citizen.  I know little about foreign policy, especially from the perspective of other countries.

On a lighter note, Darwin is host to many bustling outdoor markets featuring delicious food from around the world.  Nan took me to the Rapid Creek Market, one of her regular shopping stops, and my senses were overloaded with fresh, colorful, and exotic foods and produce.

Another view of fresh produce at Rapid Creek Market.
Nan, on the left at Rapid Creek Market.
Rapid Creek Market variety.

Darwin’s climate is tropical, and features several “seasons:” cool dry, hot dry, build up, hot wet, cold wet. I was there the end of May, and it wasn’t very cool or dry.  Build up is pretty rugged as the humidity soars and the clouds fill with moisture for weeks before finally letting loose the wet season.  Suicide rates rise during this time.  The only thing I can compare it to in Maine is what we call “cabin fever,” when spring never comes and it can be cold with snow well into April.

You have to love the warm evenings though!  Sunsets in this part of the world are spectacular.  Viewed from the patio of the Darwin Boat Club, or the Mindil Beach Sunset Market, pinks, oranges, and reds ignite the sky.

Sunset at the beach at Mindl Market.
Having drinks at the Darwin Boat Club and enjoying the view.
View of Mindil Market.

When previously in Alice Springs, I was advised by my airbnb host to be sure to go to Litchfield National Park, home to huge magnetic termite mounds and many stunning waterfalls that cascade into crystal clear pools.   Without even mentioning this to Nan, she had already made plans to do just that the next day.  The park is about a 2 hour drive from Darwin and the waterfalls are just off the main road.  This is swimming at its best!

One of the many huge termite mounds.
More giant termite mounds. Somehow these tiny armies of termites build these on a north-south axis to protect the interiors from the brutal sun!
Florence Falls, my favorite. This is where you go to swim. No crocodiles here!
Florence Falls. Hidden around the corner to the right is a twin waterfall. That’s Nan on the right. No crocodiles here!
A view of Tolmer Falls, which was closed that day, but I could still walk out a short distance on part of the viewing station.
Easily accessible Wangi Falls and another swimming pool to enjoy.

 

There is nothing more pleasing than the music of splashing water, bird chatter, and happy voices. Couple that with the silken embrace of clear, tepid water and I’m taken back to those old Johnny Weissmuller, Tarzan movies I watched as a kid where he and Jane swam in exactly such a place.  The only thing missing is an elaborate tree house.

My visit wouldn’t be complete without some art, and Darwin doesn’t disappoint.  The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory has everything including a great collection of Aboriginal art and terrific views of the ocean from the huge veranda near the cafe.  I was able to see the NATISSA winners(National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Art Awards) of contemporary and traditional media by established and emerging artists.

Sweetheart, a huge salt water crocodile that became a Top End (nickname for NT) personality after attacking several fishing dinghies.

After three great days in this cosmopolitan city, I’m off to the east Kimberley and the real wilds of Australia.  I’m told that 17 people last year “disappeared” (a good place to go if you want to disappear– not so good if you get lost and run out of gas).

As I travel farther west and north, the colors and mysteries of this land are a source of wonder.   This quote by one of the artists captures it best: “I am not painting for pleasure.  Out in the Top End, the land is not empty.  The land is full of knowledge, full of energy, full of power.”

A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out! Traveling Solo at 63.

Posted on by connieottmann

Alice Springs: “What’s in a Name?”

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Kalaranga Lookout :Impressive red sandstone formations on the way to Palm Valley.

Alice Springs is a pretty interesting town.  Surrounded by desert with the MacDonnell ranges running east and west, it is smack dab in the middle of the country approximately 750 miles from the nearest ocean and about 930 miles(1500km) from Adelaide to the south and Darwin to the north. Since I was in Uluru and headed to Darwin and then to the Kimberley, I decided to stop in “Alice” and check it out. And you have to admit the name is kind of intriguing.

Alice Springs was actually the name given to what was thought to be a permanent waterhole discovered by a government surveyor exploring the area for the Overland Telegraph Line (OTL). The surveyor named the waterhole after Alice Todd, wife of the Superintendent of Telegraph Sir Charles Todd, and the repeater station was eventually built adjacent to it. The OTL was completed in 1872, and the settlement became known as Stuart after the famous explorer John McDouall Stuart who earlier in 1862 had led an expedition through the center of Australia to the north coast. (Stuart Highway is named after him).  To avoid the confusion of two names, the town was officially named Alice Springs in 1933.  And then there are camels.

An expanding country requires ingenuity, and before there was a railway line linking Alice Springs to Adelaide, provisions had to somehow reach central, outback settlements. Since horses and steer weren’t suitable in the desert, camels were.  Between 1870 and 1920 approximately 20,000 camels and 3000  Afghan Cameleers (called Ghans) drove camel trains across the desert delivering supplies. They were crucial to the exploration and development of the interior, and it is only in recent years that their story has been told.  Today, many tours around Uluru and Alice Springs feature camel rides. (Australia’s wild camel population is the largest in the world, and if you’re looking for a good movie, watch Tracks, a true story).

Considered the central hub of the Australian outback, I immediately liked the town.  With a population of about 26,000, it’s bustling, diverse (I met a bearded lady working at one of the coffee shops…didn’t ask), with a good energy that offers everything a traveler would want, especially great Indigenous art galleries.  Eye-opening to me was the fact that this was my first real experience with contemporary Aboriginal Australia and a peek at some of the present day challenges that exist.

A view of Todd Mall, the town’s focal point. Outdoor cafes, shops, and art galleries are everywhere.
Another view of Todd Mall in the town center.
My favorite gallery, Papunya Tula Artists, featuring art of the western desert.

As I’ve mentioned before, airbnb is a great accommodation option.  As luck would have it, I booked a room with a lovely young family at their home about a 30 minute walk from the CBD.  Clare is a teacher originally from the Melbourne area, Moga, her partner hales from Sudan and is studying Law, and Danny their four year-old will soon have a sibling.  Clare and Moga have traveled extensively throughout Australia, love art and culture, and were a great resource of where to go and what to see….one of many benefits staying with locals!

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Danny, Clare, and Moga, my terrific airbnb hosts in Alice Springs.

I spent my first day ambling around town and hanging out at Todd Mall, the town’s focal point. With outdoor cafes, shops, and galleries lining both sides of the pedestrian-only street, it’s a pleasant and lively place. But I quickly learned not to use the public loo because “there might be someone passed out in there” but to use a pay toilet in the mini mall nearby.

Like our native Americans, Aboriginals have had a long, sad history of alcohol problems, and since Alice Springs is a central hub, it draws Indigenous people from outlying communities to its great services and often trouble breaks out.  I did notice that each day at one end of Todd Mall there was a constant police presence at what appeared to be a local hangout.

Alice Springs has had, in the last several years, a history of violence, domestic and otherwise.  Adding to the problem are the deplorable conditions at “town camps” (Indigenous public housing). I did drive by a couple of these camps, and they looked to be pretty run down and miserable. You get the sense that a strong racial divide exists here.  Adding fuel to the fire, a few months ago the Northern Territory Government decided to put a private company, Zodiac, rather than an Indigenous community housing group in charge of managing the camps.  Like the racial tension that exists in US, it’s much more complicated than what I am presenting here; nevertheless, it’s not a good idea to be out walking alone at night.

On a positive note, the town has much to offer.  My hosts recommended a very good cafe in town which happened to be part of and next to the Royal Flying Doctor Service Museum. Royal Flying Doctor Service’s inception and vision is credited to Reverend John Flynn, a missionary in the central outback in 1912, who wanted to provide better medical services to remote areas of Australia. This service still operates today.

Interior view of one of the early planes operated by the Royal Flying Doctors Service.
the tiny cockpit of the same plane. Today, “There is nowhere in the 80% of Australia covered by RFDS where a patient cannot be reached within two hours.”

Close by is the National Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame and the Alice Springs Reptile Center.  I wanted to see the Araluen Arts Center, a bit of a walk heading out of town. Since it was late in the afternoon, I took a suggested short cut, crossed over a sketchy part of town and almost got lost. Arriving twenty-five minutes to closing time, the Center let me in for free, and I was able to see this year’s 39th Alice Prize show celebrating contemporary Australian art from across the country.

Naomi Hobson, from Queensland. High Pine. Synthetic polymer paint on linen. One of my favorites!
Tiger Yaltangki, Northern Territory, Malpa Wiru (Good Friends). Acrylic on Canvas. Another favorite.

Realizing it was late and I should get a cab, I walked out to the lobby, and, low and behold, there were Clare and Danny!  After a little playground time, Clare took the long way home pointing out other places of interest.  Still got good mojo going on. (Thank you Peter Rivard for your “blessings!”)

With one full day to get in a tour, Moga suggested Palm Valley, one of the family’s favorite places. When I visited the i site center to book the tour, I found one that also included a visit to the Hermannsburg Historic Precinct.

A view of Hermannsburg Mission. In 1982 control of the Mission lands was restored to the tradtional Aranda owners under the Aboriginal Lands Rights Act.
Inside the chapel at the Mission.
Interior view of one of the buildings.
Albert Namatjra and his wife Rubina. Namatjira is famous for painting landscapes of Western Aranda Country.
One of Albert Namatjira’s paintings.
An example of Hermannsburg pottery at the tiny gift shop in the Mission. Pieces are hand built using the coil and pinch techniques. I should have bought it when I saw it in Hermannsburg. Pieces are twice as expensive at galleries!

Hermannsburg was the first Aboriginal mission in the Northern Territory established in 1877. Later, it was home to the famous painter Albert Namatijra.  Today, Hermannsburg is internationally renown for its pottery, which originally started as a training program in the 1990s for Indigenous families living in the area. Our tour stopped here first for high tea before continuing on to Palm Valley. (I much prefer high tea to coffee break!)

I am happy to say that this tour company–Alice Wanderer–had a great tour guide who was only 23 years-old but really knew the land and loved what he was doing. Tours are really the way to go if you don’t have a lot of time. Who you share your tour with is the luck of the draw as is getting a seat assignment on a plane.  The average tour age is somewhere in the late 50s, mostly couples.  Earlier that morning we were kept waiting when picking up three women from Sydney. When they finally showed up, they were wearing what looked to be night club attire. (Note: dress comfortably and wear good walking shoes).  I bumped into two of them the next morning at a pharmacy. One of the women had broken her toe and was waiting for medical attention–unfortunate because they were heading south to Uluru the next day.

Getting out beyond Hermannsburg to Palm Valley, part of Finke Gorge National Park, is about a 2 hour drive from Alice Springs. It’s 4 wheel driving most of the way and truly spectacular scenery along the Finke River, the oldest river in world.  Palm Valley is so named because it is the only area in central Australia where red cabbage palms are able to survive thanks to small pockets of spring fed pools.  It’s a real outback oasis!

Another view of the rock formations in the amphitheatre also known as Kalaranga.
We were lucky to see small pockets of water in mid May.
View of Palm Valley with red cabbage palms.
It really does look like an oasis in the desert.

When we arrived back in town, it was dark. My hosts had offered to pick me up, but since I was the last person to be dropped off, my tour guide insisted on delivering me to my front door.

At this point, I’ve been five months on the road.  I think I’m officially a seasoned traveler. It’s exciting to be heading farther north to Darwin, Australia’s most northern city and the tropics… where hungry crocodiles live!!    Seasoned traveler could take on a whole new meaning..

 

A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out!

Posted on by connieottmann

Uluru and the Red Center: The Spiritual Heart of the Country.

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Driving up to Uluru. It really does take your breath away.

“It’s not that Uluru is bigger than you had supposed or more perfectly formed or in any way different from the impression you had created in your mind, but the very opposite.  It is exactly what you expected it to be.  You know this rock.  You know it in a way that has nothing to do with calendars and the covers of  souvenir books.  Your knowledge of this rock is grounded in something much more elemental.”

Bill Bryson, In a Sunburned Country

After reading Bryson’s travel book, I knew I couldn’t come to Australia and not see Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock).  In addition, British artist Bruce Munro’s Field of Light solar- powered art installation had just opened in April. How lucky to have this added bonus!

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is located in the Northern Territory, smack dab in the middle of the country and about four and a half hours from Alice Springs, the nearest major town.  I flew directly from Melbourne to Ayers Rock Airport and was happy to learn that the Ayers Rock resort,  which has sprung up to provide visitor accommodations and other essential services, also runs free buses from the airport to the resort

I had read that accommodations at the resort were expensive–and they are.  Be prepared to spend anywhere from $220 to $475 a night for a hotel …unless you are willing to stay at a campground or share a hostel dorm.

After doing some research, I found that the Outback Pioneer Lodge and Hotel (cheapest hotel with rooms running $220 to $300) also doubles as a YHA hostel with a section of dorm units.  These tiny rooms house up to four people and consist of two bunk beds, and that’s about all, but close by is a kitchen, large shower/bathroom/laundry facility, and lounge room.   The price: $34.00 a night.  AND the best view of Uluru in the whole resort can be seen from the viewing station out back behind the dorm section!

The Outback Pioneer Lodge and Hotel. They also have hostel dorms where I stayed for a lot cheaper!
Walking to the center from the Outback Pioneer Lodge and Hotel. Yes, this is the color of the ground!
View of the Town Square, just a 15 minutes walk from The Outback Pioneer Lodge or campground. Buses also run every 10 minutes from other hotels to the square and back.
The best views of Uluru are at the Outback Pioneer Lodge’s viewing station just behind the hostel dorms!

 

Initially when I found the dorm rooms online, it appeared that only mixed dorm units were available.  I was put off at first about a “mixed dorm” and hemmed and hawed a little before deciding, What the hell. It was only for three nights. But when I arrived and checked in, I realized that my only other roommates were two women.  I have a feeling they advertise mixed dorms on purpose to discourage people from from taking the cheaper rate, and the hotel sells the more expensive rooms.

At first I thought I would splurge and treat myself to a private hotel room. But then I remembered my goal of meeting people, and what a wise decision.  Returning to the dorm later, I was greeted by two lovely young women, Mika from Japan and Rena from Indonesia.  After chatting and exchanging introductions, Rena turned to me and said, “I am so glad you’re here.”  I was somewhat taken aback, and she must have read my expression because she went on to explain that what she loved about traveling was meeting people. What a beautiful thing to say to a complete (and older) stranger who would be taking up one quarter of a very tiny room.  All in all, we ended up spending about eight hours of sleeping time together as most tours left before sunrise or ended after dark in the evening.

Aboriginal artists demonstrating their painting techniques near the The Town Square.
Some story telling and ceremony objects at the Town Square.

 

I had booked ahead a sunrise tour of the Field of Lights art installation with AAT Kings and  was picked up at 5:30 am the next morning.  Excited about seeing this, I had done a little reading  ahead of time to pick up a few facts. Munro created 50,000 hand made globes on flexible light stems that allow the lights to sway in the wind like wild flowers. The palette of colors changes from the deepest purple, to red ocher, to a soft white and cover an area the size of four football fields with Uluru majestically in the background. It took forty people and many volunteers six weeks to plant the stems of light and install 144 light projectors and miles and miles of fiber optic cable.

I paid $89.00 for this tour which consisted of a short bus ride to the location and a few nibbles of cookies with tea or instant coffee.  Expecting some great commentary, imagine my dismay when the tour guide got on the PA and said  well most of you have probably already read about the Field of Light, but here’s a little background information.  What?! That’s it?!  Nothing about what inspired the artist?  Not even a few anecdotes about the installation?  Surely people have tried stealing the lights!(there’s 24 hour security)  A few of us asked questions, but I felt cheated somehow.

Fortunately, I quickly quit my grumbling when we arrived in total darkness to a jeweled landscape of glowing color that stretched as far as the eye can see.  Even better, we were allowed to walk down into the installation and see it up close.  The globes are about the size of tennis balls on flexible stems that sway above a tangle of  illuminated cable. You have to wonder how the hell did they install this?

At the Field of Lights sunrise tour, Bruce Monroe’s light installation of 50,000 radiant hand made frosted globes at Uluru. The lights slowly change color under a tangle of lighted cable.
Dawn approaching at the Field of Light installation. Munro visited Uluru in 1992 and was inspired to become an artist. That same visit inspired this installation.
Dawn at the Field of Lights installation. As the sun comes up, the lights turn white and slowly melt into the red earth.

In total silence, we were left to wander and wonder.  This is what it must be like to walk among the stars.  Slowly the night sky began to lighten, and as dawn seeped through, Uluru loomed in the distance–the face that launched 50,000 lights and enraptured an artist for 24 years.  As light filled the sky, the spheres slowly faded in color to a soft white then gently melted into the red earth. This once in a life time experience ended up being the perfect first act to introduce the main attraction.  The next day I would get up close to Uluru.

The changing colors of Uluru as the sun goes down from the sunset viewing area.
Sunset and the striking color changes of Uluru.
The sun has set!

As I did with the Field of Light tour, I also booked ahead my Uluru sunset tour for the following day.  For $119.oo plus $ 25.oo for the Park ticket, my trip included the base tour and Kuniya Walk, a visit to the Kata Tjuta Cultural Center, and then late in the afternoon a stop at the Uluru sunset viewing station to watch the sun go down.  For an additional $136.00 I could enjoy the sunset barbecue (kangaroo fillets included) under the night sky with star gazing too.  I initially balked at the price but  later changed my mind and figured when in Rome…  The bus picked us up at 2:35 pm, and we were on our way.

The atmosphere on the bus was infused with a kind of electricity of anticipation the closer we got.  I actually felt a little twinge in my chest. Was this anxiety?  And then we were up close and personal.  Uluru is spell binding and totally arresting.  Those weren’t chest pains; I could feel it in my heart. Arriving at the base you are not only hypnotized by its sheer size but also overwhelmed with the feeling that this is a living, breathing, brooding entity, millions of years old. It really feels alive, and you can’t stop looking at it.  Up close, the surface of the rock has what looks like a red, flaky skin. If extraterrestrials have ever visited earth, they had to have been drawn here.

Another view of Uluru from the Kuniya Walk.
A walk around the base of Uluru is about 5.8 miles. It is higher than the Eiffel Tower or the Chrysler Building.
A section of Aboriginal rock paintings on the Kuniya Walk at Uluru.
At the base of Uluru, on the Kuniya Walk. The beautiful Mutitjulu Waterhole.

This tour provided some good commentary, but I preferred to wander off a little on my own.  After our base visit, we continued on to the Kata Tjula Cultural Center and then to the viewing station, joined by other tour groups, to watch the sunset color Uluru in array of subtle shades.  With some snacks and assorted drinks, the mood was festive, and  I met some Australian tourists who introduced me to legend Slim Dusty and another country singer John Williamson and his famous song “Raining on the Rock.”

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Enjoying nibbles and drinks at the sunset viewing station at Uluru.

When it was time for the barbecue, we were told that it looked like rain and that dinner was being moved indoors at the Cultural Center –a total cop out as it had been partly sunny all day with only a few clouds. I did, nevertheless,  have a lovely dinner sharing a table with a grand mother and grand daughter from the states (a high school graduation gift to go anywhere in the world), and I even tried the Kangaroo, a mild and pleasant dark, red meat.  With wine and champagne flowing, it was a great way to end the day.

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Saying goodbye to my terrific hostel mates Mika from Japan(left) and Rena from Indonesia (right).

Although I wasn’t impressed with the resort and the accommodations offered (they have  a captive audience here), it was worth every penny to see Uluru.  After three quick days, my roommates and I said goodbye early the final morning. But while waiting for the bus to the airport later, we met up again and were excited to have another chance to see each other.  We embraced once more, but when Rena and I hugged, this time we held each other for a few extra seconds…and I felt it in my heart.   Maybe Uluru is the personification of love?

A”Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out!

Posted on by connieottmann

 A Trip Across The River Styx to the Underworld:  The MONA Museum, Hobart, Tasmania.

 

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Arriving at the MONA on the Mona Roma ferry. You can also drive or take a coach. I recommend the ferry!

Tasmania (known as Tas or Tassie by locals) certainly lives up to one of its slogans: The Island of Inspiration.  This Commonwealth, island state just south of Melbourne is home to approximately 500,000 residents, half of whom reside in the port city capital of Hobart.  Known for its World Heritage wilderness, good food, and clean air, I think most people would agree that what has really put Tasmania on the map as a destination is the privately owed MONA museum(Museum of Old and New Art), which is dedicated to sex and death.  With only three and a half days in Hobart, it was the focus of my visit.

The MONA is like no other museum in the world.  Since it  opened in 2011, it has been hailed as both visionary and profane and has drawn over 1.65 million visitors from around the world (Tasmanians have embraced it and get in free).  The man inspired to create this is as interesting as his collection of modern art and antiquities. David Walsh grew up in a poor, working class suburb of Hobart(across from where the MONA is built), was considered a shy nerd, developed an algorithm, and became one of the world’s top gamblers earning millions. A self proclaimed atheist, Walsh gambled 150 million dollars on what he describes as “a secular temple and subversive adult Disneyland” with art that he wagers could become worthless in a decade or two.

Going to the MONA for one day just wasn’t enough… too much sensory overload. I had to go back a second time.  Even so, it was several days later before I could make sense of it all. The experience  had to be ingested and digested before I could excrete anything I could express verbally ( you will come to appreciate this analogy later).

Visiting the MONA is like crossing The River Styx to the Underworld, but this time Charon is taking you across the Derwent River on a luxury, two story ferry, and it only costs $20.00 round trip for the half hour ride. If you want to “escape the riff raff,” a $50.00 Posh Pit ticket will get you an exclusive lounge and lots of extras including a 30 minute wine tasting at Morilla Winery next door to the museum.

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The Mona Roma ferry, takes you on a half hour ride from the harbor to the museum for $20.00 round trip. If you are Tasmanian, you get to go to the museum for free.

A light drizzle, grey skies, and cold temperatures (by Australian standards) provided what seemed like  perfect weather for my first visit.  It’s quite dramatic approaching the museum from the water. This steel and sandstone edifice sits theatrically  up high on a promontory, and after docking at the ferry wharf, a ninety-nine-step climb takes you to the entrance.

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Mirrored entrance to the MONA. Walsh is an avid tennis player, so, of course, there’s a tennis court at the entrance.  Nothing intimidating or high brow here!

 

View from the entrance of the MONA, across the tennis court, of James Turrell’s piece, “Amarna,” a kind of gazebo of light best viewed at sunset or sunrise when colored light is reflected on the canopy ceiling. Turrell has built 80 of these Skyscape installations all over the world. This is his largest.
Sandstone lined stairway. You have to climb 99 stairs to the museum entrance.
Another view of huge, metal sculptures outside the entrance to the museum.
View from the entrance looking down to one of two metal sculptures.

What I immediately loved about the MONA is that there is nothing sanctimonious about it.  So often when entering museums, and even some art galleries, there is an atmosphere that suggests conversations should be spoken in whispers… that maybe genuflecting is required.  There’s serious stuff at the MONA, yet the place doesn’t take itself too seriously.  There’s a healthy dose of humor and irreverence everywhere.

First of all, there is no writing or labeling of artwork on the walls.  After getting through the lobby, a smart phone-like device called the O is handed out. The O is the first system in the world designed to replace traditional artwork labels. Walk into any of the galleries and a click on the device brings up pictures of the artwork. An additional click on each piece shows a selection of information you can access such as ideas, artist’s interviews, art wank, Gonzo (Walsh’s commentary–he thinks Madonna is shit), music, and videos. Who wants to read stuffy art discourse bunched up against other viewers when you can listen, at your convenience, to what interests you? Save your tour gets you an email later that night of your path through the museum including a list of viewed, loved, and hated works.

Armed with the O, you are directed by “front of house staff” to a circular, steel staircase that descends 55 feet (17 meters) to the bowels of a dimly lit underworld… complete with a bar. The basement level is otherworldly and  feels a little cave-like, with a narrow hallway lined with a huge wall of ancient sandstone left exposed. It seems fitting that Cinerarium, velvet drapes surrounding three shelves containing elaborate, egg-shaped cremation urns, is the first artwork seen.   A reminder of death, but also a reminder to celebrate life. Just beyond, a huge water installation, Bit.fall, rains paintings of words most commonly seen on the internet.

Descending to the bottom level where the new exhibitions are housed.
The basement museum bar “The Void” The brochure reads: “Think velvet, sandstone, and making eyes at the chick with the black nail polish while you slurp your postmodern martini.”
With the bar behind you and a seating area to enjoy drinks, this entrance takes you to the Cinerarium, on left. For AUD $75,000, you can enjoy an eternal membership to the MONA. When you die, they have you cremated and put in an urn in the museum! Walsh’s dad is interred there.
View of the basement looking down from the second level.
Julious Popp’s water installation “Bit.fall, that “rains paintings” of different words most commonly read on the internet. It begs the question: Are our brains being altered by the age of communication technology?

The remainder of space in this level is dedicated to new exhibitions that change every few months, and the latest,  Field Lines, by Cameron Robbins had just opened up.  Robbins somehow harnesses nature using “instruments” set up outside that draw the wind and map geothermal dynamics using neon light against a night sky.

Cameron Robbins wind drawings–pigment ink on paper–duration several days.
One of the contraptions used to create wind drawings.
Anemograph, Mt. KcKay. An anemograph is an instrument for measuring wind. Robbins’s anemograph “draws” with wind-powered light and slow photograph exposure!

 

The remaining three levels house Walsh’s collection of contemporary art and antiquities, and the two are intermixed.  An ancient Egyptian coffin stands along side a contemporary ink on paper drawing inspired from forensic photography and scientific textbooks.

Skull: Beetle carapaces, taxidermied bird, and plastic.
“Live” art, Tim’s tattooed skin is becoming a work of art over a period of years. Already sold to a German collector for $260,000 AUD, the work will be completed when Tim dies, and the work is handed over to its purchaser! This is Tim, live! He doesn’t show up on the O. Walsh wanted people to wonder What the hell is going on!
Anslem Kiefer’s sculpture Sternenfall. Materials: bookcase comprising two iron elements with lead books (190-200 volumes) and glass.
Extra rolls of toilet paper in one the bathrooms off the library at the MONA.

If you should ever meet someone who has been to the MONA, he/she will undoubtedly mention the wall of vaginas.  Entitled Cunts… and other Conversations, the installation features 77 life- size, porcelain, molded sculptures of women’s vaginas modeled by women from all walks of life ranging in ages from 18 to 78. It’s a little titillating and pretty much in your face (literally, they hang at eye level). But what inspired the artist(a man) was an article about three young women who had undergone labioplasty surgery because “…they feared men wouldn’t find them attractive if their labia did not conform to a standard seen in pornography, in which labia are airbrushed out.” These women models wanted one thing: for young women to be free of growing up with fear, ignorance, and loathing of their bodies and sexuality.  Let’s face it. How many of us women really know what we look like down there?   It’s amazing how different we all are. Who knew?!  (The gift shop sells vagina soap replicas, apparently very popular).

One of the most hated and popular installations is Wim Delvoyes’s Cloaca Professional, a large machine that replicates the human digestive system turning food into feces(remember that earlier metaphor?).  At appointed times of day, you can witness it  being fed or taking a dump (making fun of modern art?).

On the other hand, one of the most disturbing and painful works is that of Jenny Holzer who makes words into art, and in this case, words printed on human skin.  Inspired after reading about rape as an act of war carried out in Bosnia, Lustmorde, is a series of photographs with a narrative from three different perspectives: the perpetrator, the victim, and an observer (most often a family member).  They are excruciating to read. Hotzer’s work hangs near a Goya etching entitled This is Worse, from a series known as The Disasters of War.   Walsh is right when he says a lot of blood and guts are represented.

A visit to the MONA  isn’t something that is quickly forgotten.  It confronts, it entertains, it stirs things up.  Its effects are residual.  Almost six months into my trip, I realized that this was the first time I had felt lonely.  Maybe it was a combination of things.  The skies had remained overcast the whole time with the constant threat of a cold rain. My airbnb room was not in a welcoming, private home but rather in a kind of chilly rooming house, and I appeared to be the lone occupant. During this visit, I was totally on my own and never met up with anyone to share a meal with or have a friendly chat over coffee.

The MONA did what it does best, and that is it left me overwhelmed with a lot of mixed feelings.  Like an unwelcome visitor, that what-is-the-meaning-of-life existential angst crept in during the night, kept me awake, and wouldn’t leave. I finally figured the only way to get angst to leave was to make him laugh and not take myself or it too seriously. For me, the MONA reminds us that we are mortal–and to find the humor in that.

 

 

Postscript : Hobart is a beautiful city. I loved it!

Another view of the harbor.
A view of the harbor from the MONA Roma ferry.
Next to the harbor Salamanca Place with its backdrop of sandstone warehouses dating back to the 1830s now house cafes, restaurants, galleries, and designer shops.
Entrance with partial view of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Australia’s second oldest museum is right in the CBD and a short walk from the harbor.

 

 

A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out: My Solo Adventure at 63 Down Under…On a Budget!.

Posted on by connieottmann

It’s Back to the Big City!

Melbourne, a Genteel, Well-heeled Lady with a Complexion of Many Colors.

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A view of the Yarra River Bridge walking from Southbank the Arts Precinct  to Federation Square and Flinders Street Station in the Central Business District, early evening.

Living with uncertainly is a skill I am slowly acquiring–on second thought– quickly acquiring.

I suddenly found myself in Australia’s other big city of about 4.5 million people, Melbourne, for close to three weeks. And this time I didn’t have anyone picking me up at the airport. ( But I did learn to book flights that arrived during the daytime, avoiding late night wanderings.)  All I had was an airbnb address in South Melbourne along with directions from my hosts to take the SkyBus to Southern Cross Station in the city, find Williams street, hop on tram number 55, and get off on Park Street.

Needless to say it didn’t run all that smoothly. After asking LOTS of directions, I did find myself on tram number 55…but heading in the wrong direction.  I have to say that people were incredibly helpful (pointing out the correct tram on the other side of the street),  chivalrous (lifting my suitcase on and off the tram), and caring (one young couple getting off at the same stop, walked me to my address).

Initially, I didn’t think I liked Melbourne as well as Sydney.  Melbourne doesn’t have that beautiful harbor, and I didn’t find the trams and myki card particularly user-friendly.  I was somewhat acquainted with the long-standing rivalry that exists between the two cities reading that it might have started back in the early 1900s with the intense competition between Melbourne and Sydney for the new national capital. Canberra had to be built to end the fighting. Still others posit that it began back in the 1850s during the gold rush making Melbourne for the next 40 years one of the wealthiest cities in the world.

The rivalry still exists today, and you’re apt to hear little quips about the weather differences: Sydney is sunnier and has the beaches. Melbourne is colder and can have four seasons of weather on the same day, or remarks like: Sydney is “fashionable and luxurious,” while Melbourne is “intellectual and cultural.” I came to realize that I didn’t prefer one over the other. They’re both great, just different. Friends in Australia told me I would love Melbourne. They were right.

Melbourne has a way of capturing your heart. Like the beginnings of a  promising relationship, you aren’t necessarily dazzled by a blinding attraction. There are no immediate fireworks and adrenaline rushes.  It’s more a kind of like, and over time as you get to know each other, a slow, passionate burn. As you plumb the regions below the surface, more and more of the city’s fascinating personality is revealed, and you slowly fall in love.  This city is no light weight. There’s depth here… and always something to do. The pace seems slower, and people don’t appear to be rushed.  Yet there’s a lively, celebratory ambiance and a multi cultural beauty that makes for a great “global village.”

Don’t get me wrong, Melbourne is not without its deficiencies. Housing costs are exorbitant, negative gearing (investors who lose money on a property can deduct losses on income tax) and real estate investing are making it nearly impossible for young people to buy a first home. (Housing prices in Sydney are higher). Yet people want to move here like the young man with his two young kids I met on a tram who hailed from Los Angeles but recently relocated.

View of Federation Square, where there’s always entertainment.
Celebrating Buddah’s Day and Multicultural Festival at Federation Square.
One of the many trams in the free zone of the Central Business District.
Entrance to China Town on the corner of Swanston Street and Little Bourke Street.
Another view of Swanston Street, in the CBD.
Outside the State Library of Victoria, also home to the Wheeling Center, and a host of free activities and lectures.
Gertrude Street just outside the free tram zone. Great shopping and fashion with a hipster edge.

My first four days were booked through airbnb with hosts Christian and Sean in South Melbourne. I highly recommend airbnb and renting a private room.  Sean gave me a myki card for the tram saving me six dollars, and they both were a wealth of information about getting around the city. (They also had just returned from a great weekend in  Hobart, Tasmania, where I would be going next.)

The tram stopped right outside their door, and if I was up for some exercise, a thirty minute walk would take me to National Gallery of Victoria, past the Arts Precinct, to the CBD (Central Business District). I opted to walk because the best way to learn the city layout is on foot, and walking is just plain good for the soul.

Melbourne’s CBD is well organized in a rectangular grid with five main streets running horizontally and seven streets that bisect vertically.  The tram is free to ride within the city center, but if leaving the tram free zone, a prepaid myki card is required, and you have to touch your card on the card reader either entering or before exiting the tram. They do police this with surprise checks as I found out heading back home one night. There is a fine for not having a myki card. I’m told it’s either $75.00 cash on the spot or a billable $200.00 later.

The city is fairly easy to navigate once you learn which trams take you into the CBD and which take you outside.  Then there are all the Lanes and Little Streets in between.  For instance, Flinders Street has a Flinders Lane, Collins Street( a mini Paris!) has a Little Collins Street, Bourke Street has a Little Bourke etc.  THEN on many of the main streets, there are Arcades, like the beautiful Block Arcade, which are little mini malls stuffed with more interesting shops, cafes, and restaurants, AND particular buildings (The Nicholson Building, Curtin House) that house several floors of shops and artist studios. Hosier, Rutledge, and Union Lanes are known throughout the world for their iconic street art.  Every nook and cranny surprises.

Enter down, through the red door to the fabulous shop, Christine’s on Flinder’s Lane. A bit of a Melbourne legend, Christine previously was a buyer at the former George’s department store. I’ve been told it was a lot like Bergdorf Goodman in NYC.
Inside Christine’s. Expensive, but merchandising at its best. A visual treat/feast for the eyes of accessories, jewelry, and clothing.
The window of the tiny, but top end flower shop, Pollon, on Flinder’s Lane.
View of the Hopetoun Tea Room in the Block Arcade on Collins Street. Established in 1892, it was celebrating 124 years in business–and always a waiting line for afternoon tea.
The entrance to the Metropolis Books, at the Curtin House.
The Curtin House, home to several floors of great shops and restaurants to explore.

After getting around by myself for four days, I met up with Carol, from the BroadsAbroad website, who invited me for a total of three days at her place, also in South Melbourne. Carol, a long time Melbourne resident, is a savvy business woman who has her own HR consulting company.  She, along with her very sharp 89 year-old mother, took me for a ride around the city and beyond pointing out the different suburbs (the very posh Toorak) and the many precincts.

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Having breakfast with Carol from the BroadsAbroad network at St. Ali Cafe in So. Melbourne.  St. Ali roasts their own coffee and gets my vote for the best coffee in Australia…so far. They also feature dinners with special pairing of coffees for each part of the meal! For the true afficionado!

Aussies love sports, and Melbourne is considered the sporting capital of Australia. The sports precinct is home to the Melbourne Cricket Ground(MCG), also called the “G”, a premier venue for cricket and Australian Rules Football (footy for short),  and has a seating capacity  100,000. Melbourne also hosts the Australian Grand Slam (at Rod Laver Arena), and since 1996, the Formula 1 Grand Prix, set up in beautiful Albert Park, part of the track using closed- off, city roads and a car park. The Melbourne Cup, Australia’s most prestigious thoroughbred horse race with over six million in prize money is a short train ride from either station to Flemington racecourse.  Other precincts include the medical, university, and arts/cultural precinct (my favorite). It makes sense to me to group these together.

After our ride, Carol’s mother Doris took us to brunch at IL Vicolo in the Italian section of the CBD, near Lygon Street. Italian immigrants are credited with bringing outdoor cafes to Melbourne.  Ohhh, the food…

The best sandwich to be found (only $3.00–2 for $5.00 later in the afternoon) at Boreks, in the Queen Victoria Market. Piping hot choices of lamb, spinach and cheese, and vegetable.
View of the South Melbourne market, my favorite! Not as large as the Queen Victoria but it has the same quality produce, fish, meats etc, but not as touristy with higher end shops.
South Melbourne Market. Chocolate, nuts, and dried fruits!
Novel “swings”seating at the Seratonin Cafe in Richmond a short train ride from the Melbourne CBD. Healthy, delicious food for the brain.
More comfortable seating and interesting interior at the Seratonin Cafe. Water is served in beakers, and their deconstructed sushi is served with a plastic hypodermic needle of soy souce!

Since my hosts Sean and Christian were booked for the coming weeks, I found another airbnb room in South Melbourne, even closer to the National Gallery of Victoria and the arts precinct.  Sydney has its captivating harbor, but Melbourne has Southbank and the arts precinct, and most nights I found myself walking along St. Kilda Road with the opera, symphony, and theater goers, enjoying the beautiful lights and being part of a happy crowd celebrating La Dolce Vita.

A view of St. Kilda’s road along the Arts District, with its illuminated trees issuing a heavenly, blue glow at night.
Entrance to the National Gallery of Victoria in the Arts District.
Art Book Fair at the National Gallery of Victoria. I was able to browse and meet some of the most creative Australian and international publishers, designers, artists, and writers. “Zines” ( self-published magazines) are being published by many of the small companies at this fair.
Looking back to Southbank and the Arts Center with its beautiful spire crossing the river to the CBD.
Melbourne Art Center, right next door to the National Gallery, Australia’s busiest and largest art venues hosting opera, ballet, theater, and the symphony. Every Saturday morning, there is a craft fair along the Arts Precinct and at Federation Square.
Buying tickets for the Opera at the Arts Center, Southbank.
The Melbourne Recital Center right around the corner from my apartment and across the street from the National Gallery and the Arts District. The Metropolis New Music Festival was going on and many of the events were free!

I was definitely living the good life, with introductions to Melbourne folks from Gayl and husband Tom’s friends and colleagues back in Perth. I’ve visited with many great people who met me in the city and took me to lunch(Maria, not pictured), to the Yarra Valley region, and to Mt. Macedon, once the summer retreat of wealthy city dwellers.

Lunch at the Cumulus Cafe with Jasmine from Perth, visiting family in Melbourne.
Meeting up for coffee with David and his wife Yasmin, both entertainment lawyers and friends of brother Jake.
Lunch at the Innocent Bystander after a lovely day visiting the Yarra Valley Region with new friends Janet and her husband Barry. Janet was the source of many insider places to visit while in Melbourne!
The TarraWarra Museum of Art in the Yarra Valley. It operates as a not-for-profit institution and displays art from the second half of the twentieth century to present. Home to a winery and restaurant as well.
A view of the landscape at TarraWarra Museum of Art in Healesville, Australia (the Yarra Valley).
Visiting Elly and Alfred in beautiful Mt. Macedon.
A pathway in the many gardens at Elly and Alfred’s home. Seen in the fall, it is hard to believe that brush fires are a constant threat during the summer months.
Transported to another world up in the mountains of Mt. Macedon at the home of Elly and Alfred. Avid gardeners, they have turned their property of ten acres into a magical retreat.

I’m five months into my travels at this point, and although I miss family and friends, I haven’t been lonely.  This low budget trip has been rich in the relationships I’ve formed, even the short stays with hostel mates and airbnb hosts who have shared with me little pieces of their lives.  I wouldn’t swap a luxury suite for any of these experiences. (But if anyone wants to take me on a five star, we-cater-to-your-every-need cruise, I’m there). Without a traveling companion, I’m more engaged, more conscious of me viewing people viewing me. There’s no one else to hide behind, act as a buffer, or take the edge off.  I’ve gained confidence. And who couldn’t use a little more confidence?

So I find myself, as I have more and more frequently, enjoying coffee at a little cafe, this time the Barista Cafe on Flinders Lane, and I’m overcome with an intense feeling of joy. It hovers and it’s fleeting, but not before the molecules are vibrating and I’m infused with a happiness that life is good.  Damn, I’m glad to be alive.

 

(And then I went to the MONA(Museum of Old and New Art)….next)

A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out! My Solo Adventure at 63 Down Under…On a Budget.

Posted on by connieottmann

Byron Bay and the Hinterland, Part 2:  Finding a Sanctuary at Sanctuary in The Pocket (WWoofing?!)

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Entering The Sanctuary in the Pocket retreat.

What a surprise to find out that my next exploit in the Byron Bay Hinterland was also in The Pocket, literally just up the road from my housesitting hosts, and since Lani knew the address, she offered to drive me there.  As we pulled off the dirt road and entered through the gates of the Sanctuary, we both let out a slight gasp. A little disoriented, I could have sworn we had been magically transported to some tranquil, exotic, Balinese retreat. My blood pressure must have immediately dropped because my physical body registered: peace.

If I had any quandaries about my new situation and who I’d be working for, they were quickly dispelled when I met Susie, one of the owners. Susie is dazzling with bright blue eyes that smile and an infectious, ready laugh that is instantly both welcoming and endearing. Her husband Jonathan was away in Sydney where he works four days a week, and I wouldn’t meet him until later.

My quarters would be the cabin, a charming, little house with all the modern conveniences (including a big screen TV with Net Flicks) that they often rent. My initial impression was akin to being eleven again and taking in with delight new and unfamiliar surroundings and imagining all the exciting  adventures in store–even more pythons, spiders, and snakes.

Dubbed “The cabin,” my residence when not rented!
Beautiful, carved Balinses door leading out to a section of the gardens.
Another walk way in the gardens showing the results of my weeding handiwork.
A walk way in the gardens that shows the fruits of my weeding labor!
“The Cottage” where I often stayed when “The Cabin” was rented.

This stay at the Sanctuary came about, once again, through the great networking of my friend Gayl. Several years ago, Gayl spent three months living in NYC, and while there she became involved with an organization called Australian Women Living in NY. Gayl put me in touch with BJ, who is married to an American and currently lives in Brooklyn.  While in Brooklyn celebrating a family birthday in November, I met BJ, and she recommended a work exchange stay with her friends Jonathan and Susie. She made the introduction through email and sent them a copy of my profile.

Jonathan and Susie are transplants from Sydney where they ran a much smaller retreat. Wanting to locate closer to relatives, they spent ten years looking to find the perfect property. It took a year of renovating the three rental units and their home, in addition to creating the desired gardens. During this time they hired wwoofers , who often stayed for up to three months, for landscape work and small building projects.

WWoofing (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) is a loose network of national organizations that facilitate placement of volunteers, who work four to six hours a day on a host’s farm in exchange for meals and accommodation. Hosts do the hiring, and wwoofers often stay anywhere from a few days to three or more months. People (typically young) from all over the world who want to experience a place and maybe learn a new skill and save money, leave the tourist trail behind and live with the locals.

Jonathan and Susie emailed to say that as long as I brought a positive attitude,  I could wwoof as long as I wanted, so prior to my arriving, I agreed to a two week stay.  But after only two days with Susie’s great company (Jon was in Sydney) and generous, delicious cooking, I quickly asked to stay for three weeks!

Jonathan and Susie, owners, hosts, and new friends at The Sanctuary in the Pocket
The Hinterlands landscape surrounding Sanctuary in the Pocket.
A shot of “The Retreat,” a two bedroom one bath, beautifully appointed cottage looking on to the private pool.
The five star “Retreat” cottage includes this beautifully landscaped deck, private swimming pool, and Balinese gazebo.
Another view of the gardens. I got to mow the five acres on Jonathan’s big riding lawnmower.

My work schedule consisted of six hour days Monday through Friday with the remainder of the day free and weekends off. Work days started with breakfast with Susie around 7:30, work commenced at 8:00, followed by a mid morning break, a lunch break, and finishing  at 3:00. Most of my time was spent working on the five acres of botanical gardens weeding, pruning, transplanting, and hauling palm fronds to the burn pile. To break things up, I also did interior painting, pool cleaning, mowing with Jonathan’s big riding lawn mower :), and helping Susie with cleaning the guest cottages. (And to think I was paying big bucks back home lifting weights and doing squats with a trainer.)

I worked hard, but they both work a lot harder! Susie’s days never end. After hours of cleaning, doing laundry, preparing me a nice lunch, doing more laundry, she’d have a home cooked dinner ready for us at seven. This was when we could relax and talk about the world and life in general.  I think she enjoyed having me, a contemporary, for company.

Jonathan and Susie have hosted may young wwoofers from around the world, most of them of great people, but life would not be complete with out a few intermittent bouts of drama, most often the broken heart kind. One Canadian young woman called Susie and Jonathan in the middle of the night in tears because she was not only heart sick missing her new German boyfriend who had returned home, but also because she was living in squalid conditions at a new host farm. They promptly went up north to pick her up.

They are both still in touch with several young people who worked for them, and while I was there, Susie played matchmaker and fixed up a Brazilian woman now living in Sydney with a guest also from Brazil who was relocating there.  Many a Friday night wwoofers would find themselves treated to pizza and music in town with Susie and Jon.  Anyone would be extremely lucky to find themselves wwoofing at Sanctuary in the Pocket. And then there is the beauty of the place and the peace and quiet.

Each morning donned with rubber boots, gardening gloves, and hat, I grabbed my wheelbarrow and entered a sub tropical world of exotic plants and manicured gardens surrounded in the distance by lush pastures and the rolling hills of the hinterland. But most of all, I relished the silence--intruded on only by the lilting trills and warbles of the Australian butcherbird, the occasional raucous, staccato laugh of the kookaburra, and depending on where the neighboring farmer was grazing his herd, the occasional, lowly baritone moo of a cow.

There is something so satisfying about doing physical work, particularly working the land.  I’m the kind of person who tends to be in my head a majority of the time.  Having worked as a high school English teacher for many years, papers to correct and constant planning always came home with me.  I savored summer vacation and the meditative time working in my gardens. I am reminded of Antaeus, the giant wrestler in Greek mythology, who tapped his power from the earth and was invincible as long as he kept his feet firmly planted on the ground. Heracles defeated him by locking him in a bear hug and lifting both feet off the ground, crushing him. Feeling a little crushed and dinged up myself after months of traveling and city life, I felt restored (and slept like a rock at night).  Jonathan (as genial as his wife), an accomplished gardener, with a keen eye for landscape design, was happy with my work and glad that I knew what I was doing.

Two weeks into my stay, I was joined by Victor and Cleaya, a young French couple from Lyon.  On vacation for three months in Australia, they came to wwoof for four days having worked on a bamboo farm nearby the previous four days. A little older and more mature, they were both looking to make career changes, and since the job market is tough in France right now, are even considering making a move to Australia. Like- minded travelers, they wanted to experience all aspects of life in a different part of the world.

Looking back, it is beautiful how we all touched each other in some way having come together from different countries, backgrounds, and age groups, living and working in tandem for a few short days and doing simple, physical but satisfying work bringing us closer to nature  without modern distractions.  I am forever thankful to Susie and Jonathan and many of their friends who welcomed me and shared little slices of their lives.

Susie and I saying goodbye to Victor and Cleaya.
My water color of Jack and Bella, Susie and Jon’s faithful companions, and a gift to Susie and Jon. (I think they help keep the snakes away!)
Victor and Cleaya, two “Woofers” from Leon, France, who joined us for four days.

As life in The Pocket was quickly coming to an end, it was time to figure out where I was off to next.  At this point, I only knew my next stop was south to Melbourne, and I had already booked a flight from Darwin in the Northern Territories to Kununurra in  Western Australia on May 31st where I would be spending the month of June. But what was I going to do with the five weeks in between?  This kind of thing really throws me as I can become overwhelmed easily when faced with making concrete plans, arranging plane reservations, and figuring out accommodations. And doing all this online, navigating web sites, juggling credit cards and bank accounts–and keeping it all straight. But this is about growth, right?! And panic is a natural part of the process of growth.

I had to move forward. I couldn’t stay stuck.  So I went back and re-read  Steven Pressfield’s powerful little book, Do the Work, and called on stubbornnes and blind faith, a couple of champions on my side, and “slayed that dragon resistance.”  The end result….pretty amazing…. the adventure continues.

 

A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out!

Posted on by connieottmann

Bryon Bay and Country Life in the Hinterlands–Part 1

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The beach at Byron Bay. Clean and still undeveloped!

If you measure distance in time, you must be either in the state of Maine or the huge country of Australia.

For some reason, I was thinking that Byron Bay was only a couple of hours north of Sydney… wrong!  It’s about ten hours by car and twelve to thirteen hours by bus or train.  Flying is the best option, but for some reason I found myself, a lone senior, on a Greyhound stuffed to the gills with fresh-faced millennials leaving Sydney at 7:00pm and arriving in Byron Bay at 8:00am the following morning.  Trying to be an optimist, I figured I wouldn’t have to find accommodations for the night.  I could sleep on the bus.  In a stiff, narrow, barely reclining seat….pillowless.  End result…snoozeless! (Yes, I made up these words)

Arriving thirteen hours later, I  wanted to kiss the ground as I stepped off the bus weary and bleary-eyed. But this is a comfortable and soft place to fall.

Byron Bay has a “turn on, tune in, drop out” hippie past, but it still has that “be cool”, laid back vibe, and keeping with the tenor of the times, it is also infused with a healthy dose of New Age. Downing two cups of coffee in quick succession at the Byron Cafe, my eyes scanned a heavily papered wall of posters advertising an array of festivals (Moonlight Mystic, Starlight, Spirit, Writers, Blues) and every imaginable service or class for the mind, body, and soul.

View of the beach right off the business district.
Section of Byron Business District.
Getting a little bit of sun and jotting things down.

Life style is important to Australians, and this region with its beautiful beaches, warm weather, lush country side, and long growing season is drawing more and more people from the big cities who want to either buy vacation homes or move here permanently.  A  fun and relaxing place to be on my own, I booked an airbnb private room within walking distance to town and the beach for three days until my new hosts were ready for me.

I was planning to be just twenty minutes north of Byron Bay in the hinterlands, known as the Northern Rivers Region, for a month, first house sitting for two weeks and then doing a work exchange for room and board.  Experiencing rural life is another goal of my adventure.

Once again, thanks to the great networking of my friend and travel mentor, Gayl, I was introduced to her young friend Katrina, originally from this region and now a busy lawyer who splits her time between working in Melbourne and coming here on the weekends (did I mention life style?).  Katrina put me in touch with childhood friends who have also moved back to the area from Melbourne, and they offered me a house sitting position while they’d be away on vacation.

This really is God’s country. Still very rural, the rolling hills and lush green landscape is dotted with farms and open pastures. Practically anything can be grown here due to the subtropical climate and rich volcanic soil. Although beef is still a major producer, fresh, local, organic food sourced from local artisan producers have joined the ranks with crops like avocados, macadamia nuts, bamboo, and coffee.  Farmers’ Markets laden with fabulous produce can be found almost any day of the week.

My host family lives in a little village called The Pocket, so named because it is surrounded by foothills. The closest town is Billinudgel a short drive away and home to the historic Billinudgel Hotel, which has been open since 1908. Some other towns close by and part of this region are Mullumbimby (Mullum), New Brighton (Newie), and Brunswick Heads (Bruni). Australians love to shorten words.

 

The historic Billinudgel Hotel, which has operated since 1908.
The other side of “downtown” Billinudgel.
The Yum Yum cafe in New Brighton. Right around the corner is a beautiful beach and across the street every Tuesday is a terrific farmer’s market.
One of the many outdoor markets in the region. This one in Mullumbimby on a Saturday morning.

Lani and Paul’s lovely home is a restored school house with soaring cathedral ceilings and an open floor plan.  The property also boasts a swimming pool, two small cottages, and three acres of land. Lani, the consummate gardener, has created a landscape of exotic flowers, fruits, and vegetables. My duties for the next two weeks were to water the gardens and plants, vacuum the ever-present cob webs, and haul away the palm fronds (they collect water and breed insects) to the burn pile (everyone here has a burn pile). I was scared out of my wits a few times hearing the sudden BANG of a large palm frond hitting the roof.

My young host family at dinner time.
Paul and Lani’s house in the Middle Pocket north of Byron Bay.
The pool on the property!
Exotic flowers in one of Lani’s gardens.

Since this is the country where all things poisonous dwell, she also educated me about red back spiders, a host of snakes, and even pythons. Lani related a story –this is firsthand not hearsay–about a young mother who suddenly awakened in the night, went to check on her new infant, only to find a huge python coiled around the crib!

I later found out that there was a python living on Lani and Paul’s property. I never saw it, but on a return visit after their vacation, they told me they found the skin it had shed on the front porch hammock.

I did have a minor spider encounter. One morning I woke up to find a HUGE spider (Huntsman?) on the wall just above the bathroom door.  Too freaked out to kill it AND not knowing how to take it alive, I left it there for two and a half hours, skulking back every few minutes to check to see if it had moved.  Finally, realizing I couldn’t leave it there only to find it later (or not) in some other part of the house, I took out the vacuum cleaner and …

This is just life in the hinterland (rats too!), and I did become acclimated to my new surroundings and found lots of time to paint and write.  But I would still find myself at dusk (when snakes are apt to appear) skittering from building to building like some terrified bug avoiding its prey, trying to make it to safety. (I’m kidding…bit just a little.)

I did find time to paint! My still life painting inspired by Lani’s purple ginger flowers, lemons, passion fruit, and yellow flowers I don’t know the name of!
Another still life painting I completed while at Paul and Lani’s home in The Pocket.

I might have felt a little isolated but for the incredible hospitality of friendly Australians.  Katrina, home for the weekend, took me to lunch and a drive around the area. This resulted in another invitation from Katrina and her parents to a family dinner on Good Friday of Easter Weekend. My special treat was the traditional dessert, Pavlova, consisting of meringue, fresh fruit, and whipped cream.   And yet again, an outing with Katrina’s dad to the Tweed Regional Gallery, and Margaret Olley Art Center, lunch, and a drive to the lovely town of Bangalow, known for some of the region’s best street architecture.

One of several panoramic views looking outside the Tweed Regional Gallery.
Margaret Olley, famous for her still life paintings.
The Tweed River Gallery, featuring the Margaret Olley Center where an exhibition of her home in Sydney has been recreated room by room. Organized chaos!

Paul’s mother, Jeanette and a friend stopped by for the night to attend the Blues Festival. (The Byron Bay Blues Festival this year featured 82 bands, a total of 633 artists and their touring crews, and recorded over 100,000 attendees over the Easter weekend. Brother Jake’s band, Kaleo also headlined.) Jeanette raised four boys, and at the age of 55 decided to become a nomad of the sea. For the past fifteen years, she has been living on her boat “Ariel,” a Down Easter, 38 foot sloop and migrating up and down the Queensland coast. Simply amazing. Simply the best.

Pretty idyllic all around, but as we all know too well, “Into each life some rain must fall.”  Literally, this is the rain forest. It rains.  Metaphorically, this is life.  Shit happens.  The day after Paul and Lani left for vacation, I drove Paul’s car to a busy gas station and … backed into the car behind me.  Not just any dumpy, beater car, it had to some bloke’s just restored 1971 Camaro.  He was not happy.  I felt really stupid, but I had to learn (once more) to forgive myself. We all do stupid things. It’s part of the human condition.

Several hundreds of dollars and a bartered painting later(I decided to be gracious about it), I tried to figure out what I was supposed to learn from this.  The best I can figure is this: first, if you are offered the use of a car, be sure to check that your name has been added to the insurance policy; second, I realized that I can be rather cheap with myself in an effort to save money, but I control nothing! Life deals you a hand and you have to play it, or in this case pay it.

Needless to say I was a little skittish about driving again (but I did…staying left).

 

Part 2: Finding a Sanctuary at Sanctuary in the Pocket–stay tuned 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out!

Posted on by connieottmann

Australia’s Beautiful beaches: Ettalong Beach, a quaint vacation spot, just north of Sydney.

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The 2016 Surf Life-Saving Championships at Umina/Ocean Beach, in Ettalong  just north of Sydney.

There is no shortage of beaches in this part of the world, and Australia is home to approximately 10,000!  Popular beaches to visit in Sydney are Manly and Bondi, both beautiful but very crowded. A little further north and just an hour’s drive from Sydney’s CBD is Ettalong Beach, a relaxed little enclave, and for many Sydney natives, a favorite summer vacation spot growing up.

I had plans to do some house sitting further north in Byron Bay, but I wasn’t expected for another week. A couple of friends confirmed that this was a nice place to visit, so I checked the BroadsAbroad.net site and found Ally.

My trip involved taking the train from Wynyard Station in Sydney to Woy Woy then  catching  a bus to Ocean Road in Ettalong.  Ally wasn’t expecting me until after 4pm, and always early, I had time to kill in Woy Woy.

A byproduct of this nine month adventure has been an exercise in patience– not one of my strong suits. Waiting for flights, trains, buses, hosts, check in times…waiting, waiting, waiting. It’s been a real lesson in acceptance and letting go.  I’ve also become quite comfortable dealing with new and novel situations.  That feral cat fear is slowly being tamed a little more each day.

When I did arrive, I was greeted by Vic, Ally’s husband,  who informed me that she was in  bed suffering from a severe migraine. An affable guy, we chatted a while, and then he showed me to my room with its own private bath.  Not wanting to be in the way, I decided to take a walk and explore the area.

Walking to town along the esplanade in Ettalong Beach.
A cardio exercise station on the esplanade going in to town!
Ettalong has a quaint downtown with everything you need including a movie theater.

The town of Ettalong is set right on the waterfront and a short walk from Vic and Ally’s place. The esplanade takes you along one side of a lovely cove where boats lazily cruise about. Enjoying this tranquil scene after the brash, noisy city of Sydney, and hearing the low, murmuring sounds of boat engines off in the distance, made me a little wistful and nostalgic for my long ago, childhood summers spent on Lake Cobbosseeconte in Maine.

When I returned, Ally materialized, and I was met with a tall, willowy blonde draped in brightly printed shorts and tank top–the proverbial surfer girl!  My first impression was a good one, as I found out that becoming a surfer is a long term goal of hers.  For many years, she and Vic longed to move from the colder climate west of Canberra to the warmer central coast of New South Wales, and they made that happen three years ago taking out a  substantial mortgage to realize their dream, yet not compromising their life style which includes working part-time. It’s worked for them.  They love it here.

I’m reminded of my brother Jake and sister-in-law Lauryn’s three life rules to live by: 1. always write a thank-you note; 2. always wear a good pair of shoes; and 3. never let money get in the way of what you really want.  I’ve embraced these rules myself (except my shoes at this writing are looking a little shoddy).  There’s never enough money, there’s never the right time. You have to listen to that voice deep inside and just DO IT!  And then prepare yourself to make new friends. They will appear.

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Taken by Vic, a selfie of me, Tarni (Ally) and Vic.

True to her ever expanding self, Ally decided she wanted a new name and has chosen the Maori name Tarni, which means salty water. An array of interesting new friends have entered into Tarni’s life, and feeling better the next morning, she invited me to join her and her group, who call themselves Waves of Wisdom or WOW for short, for a swim at Avoca Beach, famous for its great surfing.

This golden, sandy beach is patrolled by members of the Avoca Beach Surf Life Saving Club who put up a set of flags each day indicating where it is safe to swim. On this day the seas were roiling, and we were only allowed to swim between a very narrow section.  While Tarni’s friend Chris, a life long surfer, tackled the high waves, a few of us went swimming and were not only dragged outward by the strong undertow but also pummeled by high breaking walls of water, tossed ashore like so much abandoned cargo. I’ve never taken in so much sand or had so much fun!  What a workout.

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A shot of Avoca Beach and flags showing the safe swimming area.

After swimming, others joined us for coffee and conversation, reminding me of my own special group of dear friends back home dubbed The Coffee Girls.

Since Tarni had to take it easy for the rest of the day, her friend Nikki offered to take me to Bouddi National Park nearby for a hike and a picnic. Armed with great snacks and lots of sunscreen,  we climbed up to spectacular views of cliffs and more golden beaches below while Nikki educated me about the many different species of trees and the diverse landscape.

Nikki and I on our hike in Bouddi National Park.
Having a picnic at Bouddi National Park near Ettalong Beach.

I was lucky that during my three day stay, the New South Wales Surf Life Saving Championships were going on in Ettalong on Umina Beach, another short walk away.

Surf Life Saving is one of Australia’s largest volunteer organizations. These volunteer, life guard groups help keep beaches safe. A whole sport has developed as a result, and for nine days every year, up to 7000 members from Australia’s 313 surf clubs, along with over 600 volunteer officials come together to compete. This uniquely Australian organization brings together people of all ages and looks like a great way to make new friends and do important work.

Teams from all over New South Wales compete in various races and relay events.
One of several entrances on the beach for the events.

Making new friends has certainly been a hallmark of this trip.  I regretted leaving this relaxing paradise and saying goodbye to Tarni and Vic and their wonderful hospitality, but they assured me I was welcome anytime should I make my way back to the Sydney area.

I continue to stay in touch with Tarni on Facebook and was delighted to read recently that she caught her first “green wave,” an unbroken wave and not just white wash.  I wish I could have been there to witness her unbridled enthusiasm and excitement.  Once again, I end with a quote. This one is dedicated to Tarni:

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!”

Goethe

 

A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains out!

Posted on by connieottmann

Australia:  It’s BIG ASS and BAD ASS

(Australian friends, Bad Ass is slang in US for a good/cool thing!).

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How do you keep her down on the farm after she’s seen Sydney?!

The city of Sydney, Australia, has a population of about 4.2 million people.  That’s a little daunting coming from New Zealand, whose total population is about 4.5 million.  I was faced with flying into Sydney at 8:30 in the evening, and after getting through customs, it would put me at 9:30 at night trying to figure out how to get from the airport to the Bounce Sydney Hostel. (It’s a good idea to book flights that arrive during the day—even if you have to pay a little more, I’ve learned).

Since this whole scenario was anxiety producing, I decided to check the Broadsabroad.net  site for hosts in Sydney. Low and behold, I got in touch with Colleen who immediately responded that I could cancel my hostel reservations and stay with her in the central business district (CBD) at her inner city apartment. She also stated we could break the three night stay rule and offered three additional nights while she was away for the weekend.  Wait.  There’s more: she volunteered to meet me at the airport!  This from a total stranger who’d I’d only messaged a few times. I’ve always thought I’d like to win the lottery, but, in fact, I have won—the lottery of meeting remarkable people.

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Colleen, always ready for an adventure.

As I made my way through customs, there she was sporting a big grin; I liked her immediately. Colleen directed me to the train and we enjoyed a short ride stopping at many points of interest like Town Hall and the Circular Quay (the Sydney Harbor stop) before reaching our destination at Wynyard Station and Colleen’s tony apartment on the 4th floor of a former Presbyterian Church. Here I was in the ideal location and a short, five minute walk to the famous Sydney Harbor.

Colleen is a woman after my own hart.  A divorced, middle school math teacher with three grown children, she decided that the city is where she wanted to be, so she rented her home in the suburbs and made it happen. Colleen is bigger than life and beautifully bohemian in her attire and accessories.  If there is one word to describe her, it’s unflappable.

Having met her, I recalled a quote from Leonardo DiCaprio I’d read recently that resonated (and made me like him more):  “Every next level of your life will demand a different you.”  He’s right.  As we get older, our vision of ourselves should expand, not contract. Colleen…and, actually, all the women I’ve met… seem to embody that philosophy.

The next morning after Colleen headed to work, I headed out to explore.   Sydney’s happy vibe quickly cast its spell.

The harbor is smaller than I had imagined. It doesn’t overwhelm.  I actually felt like a kid again taking in, with childlike wonder, the bustling activity of ferries toting passengers to and fro, the latest cruise ship docked for a couple of days, tourists taking in the sights along the harbor promenade, outdoor cafes serving flat white coffees, buskers entertaining, and presiding majestically over all, the iconic Sydney Opera House.  Maybe it’s the warm weather and the fact that everything appears so clean, or maybe it’s the huge expanse of sunny skies over sparkling blue water…a feeling of lightness permeates this city.

The Sydney Harbor Bridge.
The Carnival Spirit docked at the harbor promenade.
The Sydney Opera House. Is it any wonder that Sydney is one of the most photographed cities in the world?
Looking across the harbor at Luna Park.
A harbor view of The Rocks, historic area whose original buildings were made mostly of local sandstone. The Rocks market is open every weekend.

Wanting a picture of myself with the Opera House behind me, I stopped and asked a young man, who seemed to be showing his mother and sister the sights. He flashed me a huge smile and enthusiastically told me he was from Thailand, and after five years, had just gotten his Australian passport. Australia has a universal visa system. All non citizens (excluding New Zealanders), must have a visa to get into the country.  Getting one can be tough, but I can see why people come visit and then want to stay.

For the next week, my days began at the Circular Quay (it’s addictive; you really just want to hang here and soak up the atmosphere) frequenting Starbucks (yes, I broke my own rule) because there is great internet and the employees don’t care how long you stay. There’s lots to do close by including the Botanical Gardens right on the edge of the harbor, The Art Gallery of New South Wales, and one of my favorites, the Museum of Contemporary Art and a terrific exhibition of work by Grayson Perry, Britain’s most acclaimed contemporary artist known for his ceramics and large scale tapestries.  A visual chronicler of popular culture, Perry has a shrewd humor and his work reflects many themes about what it is to be human.

Perry’s work explores various themes such as the history of taste and class and gender and sexuality.
One if a series of Perry’s huge tapestries from ” The Vanity of Small Things” series.

I had to take a ferry ride, so I went to Luna Park on Sydney’s North shore and then strolled over to Lavender Bay and Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden. The widow of Australian artist Brett Whiteley, she has transformed what was originally a railway garbage dump into a sculpture garden and sanctuary right in the middle of the city.

Entrance to Whiteley’s Secret Garden with views of the harbor.
One of many winding pathways at the Secret Garden.

Being in the city necessitates walking, and it felt like I clocked ten mile days that often stretched into evenings. But I always felt safe. In conversations with other foreign travelers, I’ve heard the same sentiment:  Australia feels safe. With strict gun laws and new alcohol initiatives enforced across Sydney and New South Wales (ie. a ban on takeaway alcohol sales after 10pm and 1:30am lockouts), I never felt uneasy. The threat of terrorism doesn’t seem to loom as heavily as it does in the US and Europe. People are friendly and accommodating, hence the lightness again.

Inside Queen Victoria Station, a 15 minute walk from Colleen’s apartment on York Street.
Interior shot of Queen Victoria Building at Town Hall Station
Queen Victoria Building that houses many premier specialty shops.
Looking up to the dome at the Queen Victoria Building.

Speaking of walking, I trekked from Wynyard Station all the way to Chinatown to get to the Powerhouse Museum, a trip well worth it. This museum of applied arts and sciences holds a wide array of treasures. On view was the world premier of an exhibition by artist Nathan Sawaya using hundreds of thousands of LEGO pieces, a beautiful exhibition of 70 garments designed by Australian fashion pioneer, Collette Dinnigan whose signature lace dresses have been favored by celebrities like Cate Blanchette and Taylor Swift, and a exhibition celebrating jewelry dating from antiquity to the present.

Signature lace collection of Collette Dinnigan.
A contemporary piece from the exhibition, A Fine Possession: Jewellery & Identity.

These wonderful places are available to any tourist with a brochure and the internet, but meeting  Colleen was what really enriched my stay.  After work one night, we took a ferry, this time from Darling Harbor, all the way to Sydney Olympic Park, built for the 2000 Olympics and now a suburb 10 miles west of Sydney, to have dinner with a couple of her friends.

While Colleen was away for the weekend, her friend Cecilia, who I’d met earlier in the week, invited me to the magical Blue Mountains, home to some of the most incredible scenery in Australia and less than two hours from Sydney by car. Having worked in this area for many years, Cecilia knew the region well and showed me the best viewing spots to see the blue-hazed beauty at Echo Point.

View of the Blue Mountains included in the National Heritage List in 2007.
Our trip included a visit to Scenic World and a ride on the Scenic Railway, and Scenic Skyway the steepest passenger train in the world and the highest cable car in Australia respectively.
Densely populated by oil bearing Eucalyptus trees, the atmosphere is filled with finely dispersed droplets of oil, which, in combination with dust particles and water vapour, scatter short-wave length rays of light which are predominantly blue in color. Reminds me of blue/green Grand Canyon.
A view of The “Three Sisters”, an unusual rock formation representing three sisters, who according to Aboriginal legend were turned to stone.

After a visit to Scenic World and a late lunch in Katoomba, Cecilia zoomed me back to my doorstep in Sydney in her Mazda sport’s convertible (I so appreciate great driving).  It just doesn’t get better than this.

I had to leave Colleen’s place, but I wasn’t ready to leave Sydney, so I booked a three day stay through airbnb  in nearby “chic, metro”Surrey Hills, right next to busy Central Station. Surrey Hills has a wonderful mix of cultures and a strong sense of community.  I was really excited to meet up with my young friend, Victoria on holiday from the Northern Territory in Kununurra, where I will be in June. I felt quite urbane meeting up for a drink in another neighborhood of this fabulous city.

Downtown Surrey Hills, a bustling collection of shops, restaurants,cafes, and bars.
No city is complete without a great, independent bookstore!
Meeting up with Victoria in the Sydney neighborhood of Surrey Hills.

WOWED is how I would describe my initial visit to this vast country with so much to see and experience (and I haven’t even mentioned the beaches yet).  This quote from Mark Twain comes to mind:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Cut the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Sailing from my safe harbor…what a good idea.

A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out!

Posted on by connieottmann

Christchurch, Akaroa, and, sadly, goodbye to New Zealand!

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The TranzAlpine Train from Greymouth on the west coast back to Christchurch and east coast.

My trip across the country and visits to Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph Glacier were a bit of a bust as it poured buckets my entire stay. When I mentioned the weather to a clerk at the general store at Fox, his apt response was, “What do you expect; It’s the rain forest.”  Holed up at the Holiday Park resort in a small cabin for two days, I looked at the bright side and decided it was a good time to read and quietly reflect!  Still raining as I headed north to Greymouth for two additional days, I looked forward to the scenic and relaxing ride on the TransAlpine Train back east to Christchurch.

Christchurch was not a much anticipated city to visit on my itinerary of what to see in the South Island.  It was simply a destination because it was where I would fly out of NZ to Sydney, Australia. To confirm this indifference, I had met a couple of travelers who had recently been there, and they kind of made a face and shrugged it off as being still in ruins  and still very much under construction.  And then I met Ashley who showed me the real Christchurch and the strong and hopeful people who call it home.

I was ready for a little company, and since I had such great experiences with the “Broads Abroad” friends I had made in Wellington, I contacted Ashley–who had recently relocated to her home town– and requested a stay. She readily agreed and mentioned that the next day was the fifth anniversary of the 2011 earthquake, and would I like to go with her to the River of Flowers memorial where she would be speaking, one of many memorials being held in different parts of the city.  Indeed, I would.

On February 22, 2011, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake occurred on a fault line that was shallow and close to the city of Christchurch killing 182 people, 115 of whom died when the six story Canterbury Television (CTV) building collapsed. It was particularly devastating because it happened at 12:55 PM while people were still at work and children were at school.  As a result of the quake, 7000 people lost their homes and many still have unresolved insurance claims. More than half of the buildings in the central business district have since had to be demolished.

Ashley was kind enough to meet me at the train station(we were an hour late!), and then took me on a tour of the city. It was immediately evident that this vibrant person loved her city, was very civic minded, and was committed to seeing it restored to its former glory. My first impression was that this city was one big construction zone with many buildings left standing in the same condition since the quake. It will take years to completely restore the city’s electricity and water networks to pre earthquake  standards. Huge cranes fill the sky, street access changes daily, and what was unsettling was the fact that the city had just experienced a 4.5 quake the week before! This shook up quite a few people.

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The crumbled remains of Christchurch Cathedral. The debate continues whether it should be restored.

The transitional Christchurch Cathedral also known as the “Cardboard” Cathedral as it is the world’s only cathedral made substantially of cardboard!
The Cardboard Cathedral.
View inside the Cardboard Cathedral.

At the River of Flowers memorial the next day, people gathered for a moment of silence at 12:51. Ashley said a few words and then invited people to toss flowers into the river and write small notes of hope and remembrance. It was moving to listen to first hand accounts of that day from several local residents. Across the street was a former neighborhood, now empty land designated as the red zone. There are several of these “red zones” throughout the city, and the council has yet to figure out what to do  with these large tracks of land.

One of many reflections posted at The River of Flowers memorial.
Hope for the future.
Remembering the 2011 quake.

I spent the next two days exploring the CBD (central business district), a nice 25 minute walk or short bus ride from Ashley’s home. The city gets an A+ for resilience:  Amidst the rebuilding, life goes on. Who would have thought to construct a new retail section called The Re:Start Mall out of colorful shipping containers?

View of The Re-Start Mall with its cleverly arranged shipping container modules.

There is plenty of work available in Christchurch. Approximately 1,100 commercial buildings were lost in the quake.  If the number of cranes is any indication, New Zealand’s second largest city has lots of employment opportunities and has drawn workers from other countries.  As an interesting aside, an article in the local paper caught my eye: ” Late-Night Crane Climbers Putting Themselves at Risk.” It seems that all those cranes at all those construction sites inspire selfies.  Alcohol is usually involved.  Isn’t is comforting to know that we are just one big human family. To quote Maya Angelou: “…we are more alike than we are unalike.”

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Don’t we just love heavy equipment.

Christchurch can still be called the Garden City of New Zealand. Hagley Park, roughly 400 acres, is home to the Botanical Gardens left seemingly untouched by the damage. At the edge of the park is the Canterbury Museum, a good place to explore the country’s cultural and natural heritage. It’s also a good place for school kids to hang out. While I was there, a group of boys from Christ’s College were running about in their distinctive uniforms (all school children wear uniforms).  Coupled with the building’s Gothic Revival character, it felt like scene out of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

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Would we have fewer behavior problems in school with uniforms like this?

Right in the same neighborhood I was lucky find the newly reopened public Christchurch Art Gallery. The gallery became the Civil Defense headquarters for seven months after the earthquake and then needed extensive work. Housing one of the largest art collections in New Zealand, it has everything from contemporary sculptures to twentieth century Canterbury landscape paintings. Just as impressive and a work of art is the building itself, a massive metal and glass structure with front courtyard.

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Christchurch Art Gallery.

What a difference it made seeing this bustling city with Ashley.  She provided me with a more intricate and personal perspective and shared interesting anecdotes like the one that pulled at my lapsed- Catholic heart strings.  Legend has it that the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, also severely damaged by the earthquake, had a statue of the Blessed Virgin in front of the middle window on the second floor, facing into the church with outstretched arms. After the quake, she, remarkably, was completely turned around–undamaged–facing out leading people to believe she now protects the city!

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Catholic Cathedral generally held to be the finest renaissance-style building in NZ.

I had a few more days in NZ before leaving for Sydney, so I opted to go back to Akaroa and the Banks peninsula for four days, one of my favorite places. Just an hour and a half south of Christchurch, Akaroa is a historic French settlement and a weekend getaway for many in Christchurch. It’s an enchanting place, and I was able to rent the same second story, self contained unit with French doors that open up to a private little  balcony in the turret.  Akaroa has a scenic harbor and beach, and the village has a lovely harbor promenade with cafes, boutiques, and galleries that showcase local arts and crafts. It even has its own cooking school in town.

La Rive Motel with turret on Rue Lavaud a five minute walk to town.
One of several cafes on the promenade.
Enjoying the Stables cafe and a long black coffee.
Daly’s Warf on the harbor.

There’s plenty to do including harbor cruises to see dolphins, great walking tracks, a movie theater and library. I would have been happy to stay another week, but it was time to head back to Christchurch.

Ashley was kind enough to have me back for another night in Christchurch, so I could get my flight to Sydney the next day. How incredibly lucky to have met such an intelligent, beautiful, and accomplished woman. How incredibly lucky to now call her my friend.

Enjoying dinner in Christchurch with Ashley!
At the beach with Ashley and her dog Heetie.

Although I was excited…and a little anxious…. to be flying to the big city of Sydney (4.2 million people), it was with sadness that I was leaving this tiny country with the big heart I have come to know and love. This quote by Lawrence Durrell says it best:

“It is a pity indeed to travel and not get this essential sense of landscape values. You do not need a sixth sense for it. It is there if you just close your eyes and breathe softly through your nose; you will hear the whispered message, for all landscapes ask the same question in the same whisper. ‘I am watching you — are you watching yourself in me?’ Most travelers hurry too much…the great thing is to try and travel with the eyes of the spirit wide open, and not too much factual information. To tune in, without reverence, idly — but with real inward attention. It is to be had for the feeling…you can extract the essence of a place once you know how. If you just get as still as a needle, you’ll be there.”
― Lawrence Durrell, Spirit Of Place: Letters And Essays On Travel

New Zealand is a magical place.  I will be back.

A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out! Traveling Solo at 63 for Nine Months in New Zealand and Australia…on a Budget!

Posted on by connieottmann

To the South Island of New Zealand on the Interislander Ferry!

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The stunning harbor of Picton in the South Island with the Interislander Ferry in the background.

 

In order to get to the South Island of New Zealand, you can either fly or take a cruise on one the world’s great ferry rides from Wellington to Picton. This three hour journey across Cook Strait has something for everyone including food and beverage facilities, children play areas, WiFi, and, of course, spectacular sight seeing. Aratere is one of three ships that carries up to 600 people, 31 staff, 32 train cars, and 1000 vehicles. Fortunately, it was a sunny, calm day for the crossing as it can become quite rough when windy and stormy!

Friends in both Wellington and Rotorua advised me where to visit while in the South Island, and the city of Nelson and Abel Tasman National Park nearby were high on their lists.  I had made arrangements to spend the night in Picton and then possibly rent a car to get to Nelson, but there wasn’t a car to be had upon arriving in Picton. I know I wanted to stay in Nelson for a few days and visit Abel Tasman National Park, so I booked an interesting accommodation called the INNBetween Lodge and Backpackers. After visiting the i Site center and setting up a combination boat cruise and day hike to Tasman and a car rental for after my stay in Nelson, it was back on the bus.

Nelson’s population runs about 60,000 and is known as an artsy kind of place attracting  creative people who work with glass, stone, metal, wood, clay, paint, fabric, and paper. The city center has a beautiful, pedestrian-friendly Trafalgar Street lined with cafes, restaurants, shops, galleries, and boasts the shop of the gold and silversmith, Jens Hanson, creator of THE ring for the Lord of the Rings movies.  At the end of the street is the imposing Nelson Christ Church Cathedral.

Stairway leading up to Christ Church Cathedral.
Restaurant on Trafalgar street.
Ford’s cafe on Trafalgar street.

 

I was happy to find that the INNBetween Lodge was right around the corner from the cathedral close to everything.  Wayne and his wife Ann own the lodge and take pride in what they’ve created. Having under gone a big renovation recently and decorated by Ann, I  was shown my small but beautifully appointed single room with shared bath for the night. My remaining nights would be a bunk bed( I made sure I got the bottom bunk)  in a six bed dorm room aptly entitled the “Audrey Hepburn” room done in shades of turquoise and lavender. Sharing a hostel dorm room was a first for me, and my lucky day, as I got to meet two young women solo travelers, Nina from Iceland and Emily from France. Later in the week there were two women my age who joined us late in the night, so hostel dorms  are not just for the young.

The INNBetween Lodge and Backpacers, a great place to stay in Nelson city center.
My dorm mates, Emily and Nina in the Audrey Hepburn room.

At one point I decided I wanted a single room to myself for a night and booked another small motel operated by a woman with ties to Maine and whose family had owned the French and Brawn store in Camden. Small world. She also happened to be a blessing in disguise as the next morning while trying to open a plastic shampoo packet with my teeth, I chipped a front tooth!  She knew to call the hospital emergency room to locate the dentist on call for Saturday–yes the weekend!  I had a sinking feeling this might be expensive, but imagine my amazement when I got an appointment early that very afternoon and my front tooth expertly repaired to the tune of $100! That’s $67.00 USD.

Nelson really is a lovely place. Only a short walk from the city center is the Queen’s Gardens, opened in 1891 to commemorate the 50th jubilee of Queen Victoria’s coronation. This Victorian styled garden with paths that meander through a combination of native tall trees and formal plantings of annuals and perennials that edge the serpentine Eel Pond, once considered an ugly mud hole, is a refuge for many city dwellers.  On the other side of the pond is the Suter Gallery, closed for renovation, but there is a temporary location in the city center.  Just beyond the Gardens is what’s called the Center of New Zealand, a short hike up to a fabulous look-out of the city and beyond and considered the geographical center of the country.

 

The now beautiful Eel Pond, Queen’s Gardens.
View from the top of The Center of New Zealand.
Contemporary Mauri Artist at the Suter Gallery.

Nelson claims having the sunniest weather in the country (Whakatane and Napier in the North Island claim this also!), and that was certainly the case when I visited. It was another perfect day of sunshine to visit Abel Tasman National Park. The Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle picked me and another guest up at the lodge to take us to Kaiteriteri to catch our boat for a full day combination cruise up the park, and a four hour hike to the South Head lookout, over the magical Falls River Swing Bridge, and to Cleopatra’s Pool before being picked up at Anchorage Beach. Many hiking enthusiasts do a five day hike of the park with overnights at huts or camping out along the way.  I think I’ve discovered where Gilligan, Skipper, Maryann and crew were ship wrecked all those years long ago!

Cruising Abel Tasman on the Sea Shuttle
View from South Head lookoutout
Cleopatra’s Pool.
On the Falls River Swing Bridge.

Nelson also has a great movie theater, so I decided to see The Revenant, touted as being “violence porn” by some critics ( a Game of Thrones fan… not deterred).  But I loved it because the cinematography was so visually stunning and rivaled its human counter parts for the leading role.  Perhaps it’s because I’ve been exposed to such dramatic vistas everyday here in NZ.  I feel my senses are more acute since being on the road. I’m in my head less and in my heart more.

Since I needed to plan the remainder of my South Island visit, I was back at the ubiquitous i Site center for some help. I was hoping to continue west and then head south to Franz Joseph Glacier and Queenstown but quickly found out that lodging was booked in these popular areas.  Still the high summer season, there was some big triathlon going on, and it was Chinese New Year to boot. I had read recently in a local paper that holiday arrivals in NZ were up 16.2 percent this year bringing in 220,000 extra visitors. The South Island demographic has also changed with Chinese tourism up 50 percent! With the helpful agent’s assistance and what we could find for lodging, I planned to head down the east coast to Kaikoura for two nights at the Lady Shagg hostel (the name should have been a warning), on past the city of Christchurch for a night in Akaroa (a great find!).  I would then drive across the South Island over the famous Arthur’s Pass to the west coast and spend two nights at Fox Glacier before heading north to Greymouth and taking the TranzAlpine Train back east to Christchurch.

Due to limited accommodations in the south, I happily spent another night in Nelson and was able to attend The Nelson Opera in the Park event. Camped out in the early evening with about 7,000 others, I got to experience a real family- friendly show that not only featured six opera numbers accompanied by the Wellington Symphony Orchestra, but also showcased the popular Modern Maori Quartet, the Wellington Choir, and several contemporary numbers that included the Beach Boys and the Moody Blues.  All this under the lights with a grand finale fireworks show.

City center Opera advertisement.
Nelson Opera in the Park stage.

It was finally time to say goodby to Nelson and the INNBetween Lodge (where a number of young guests were staying on) but not before Wayne advised me to go to the WOW (World of WearableaArt) & Classic Cars Museum.  This unique museum has on display the winning entries from the annual international design competition and exhibition extravaganza  held in Wellington each year.  Artists from around the world compete for over $165,000 in prize money and internships with leading creative companies like Weta Workshop, and will likely become costume and set designers of the future. Check out the WOW video of a spectacular exhibition. An exhibition tour this year includes a stop at the EMP Museum in Seattle in July 2016! ( Oh, the collection of classic cars was impressive too.)

Dress made entirely of chop sticks!
This amazing outfit is made of bra hooks!
Leather, wood, and ?
Plastic!

It was great to be at the helm of a rented car again, taking my time with only check -in and check-out times to consider.  But it wasn’t long before I was reminded of the white-knuckle driving in store as I headed across the country on a narrow, two lane highway through Arthur’s Pass….in the pouring rain…with monster trucks as company. I’m not a gamer, but this was like PlayStation Driver trying to avoid sudden hazards ahead all the while being distracted by the panoramic views. Take your eyes off the road for a few seconds, and it’s GAME OVER!

I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said, “Do one thing everyday that scares you.”

It’s good advice. I met the challenge that day.

 

A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out!

Posted on by connieottmann

Well, Well, WELLINGTON !

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On the waterfront in the city center of Wellington on a summer afternoon.

Wellington is one cool city. Located at the southern most tip of the North Island, New Zealand’s compact capital city has a population of about 254,000 people and is the third largest city after Auckland, also in the North Island, and Christchurch in the South Island.  It is home to Peter Jackson and to booming digital technology businesses like Weta Workhop and Weta Digital , and Wellingtonians even brag that they have more cafes, bars, and restaurants per capita than New York City. What’s more, the drinking age is eighteen and prostitution is legal. Wellington is also where you take the Interislander Ferry across Cook’s Strait to Picton and the South Island.

 

Happy hour in the city.
Craft beer capital.

Since I had been on my own for several days and heading to a “big” city, I thought it might be a good idea to access a social media site called “Broads Abroad” I discovered just before leaving the states. Created by an Aussie woman, this female only online social network lists opportunities for members traveling solo to stay free of charge with other like-minded women all over the world. Since this sounded like the kind of authentic travel experience I was after, I applied to the site and was accepted.

I emailed and requested a two night stay with Ellie and a three night(maximum )stay with  Katie before continuing my journey on the ferry to the South Island.  They both readily agreed to host me!  Ellie even offered to pick me up at the station when I arrived and invited me to dinner with a friend of hers who happened to be celebrating a birthday. I can’t tell you what a comfort it was to be greeted by the beautiful, smiling face of a friendly local! Rob and Ellie chauffeured me around the city showing me the landmarks and then took me to dinner at a favorite spot located on the iconic Cuba Street. Call it serendipity: we three Aquarians celebrated birthdays on the third, fourth, and sixth of February!

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Celebrating birthdays with Rob and and my host,Ellie.

Ellie’s lovely home in Khandallah, is just outside the city center and up in the hills with a spectacular view. Ellie has an advanced degree in journalism and now works in her “dream job” writing, revising, and editing documents for members of Parliament. In addition to Ellie’s great company, I got to meet her gracious kids, eighteen-year-old son Max and twenty-three-year-old daughter Maddie who helped me with bus schedules and places to see. A must see in Wellington is the city’s world famous, national museum Te Papa (it’s free), a recognized leader in “interactive and visitor focused experiences.” I spent almost five hours visiting the five different levels that featured the geological, cultural, and social history of the country, a Dreamworks Animation exhibit, and a moving exhibit marking the centenary of the WWl  Gallipoli campaign with spectacular, life-like sculptures created by Weta Workshop.

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Te Papa, Wellington’s world famous national museum.

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Giant Sculptures at the Gallipoli:The Scale of Our War exhibit (2.4 times human size) created by Weta Workhop.

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The City Gallery, Wellington

 

A short walk from the museum took me to the City Gallery of contemporary art and an interesting show of 1960s Auckland when its population had just surpassed half a million (now almost a half of the entire population of NZ lives in Auckland!) seen in photographs, film, and paintings, condemned at the time for being “too gritty and bohemian.” After making my way back to Khandallah, Ellie made me a great dinner, and we enjoyed a visit with her brother, Hamish and neighbor, George. The next morning before I left and Ellie went to work, I also met her father. Experiencing this small slice of her close family life made saying goodby all the more poignant… I was leaving a friend.

And then I met Katie…. and had what I call my first travel disaster.

Katie asked me to meet her just outside the city, so I took the local bus and hoped I was getting off at the right stop. I had a moments conscious thought that I should keep my arm through the strap of my backpack.  With all my gear, I didn’t want to leave anything behind.  But anxiety got the better of me. My arm came out of the strap, and that heedful thought became an undetected blip off the radar. When I got to my stop, I just grabbed my suitcase, handbag, and lumbered quickly off the bus.  Moments later standing on the busy highway, a strong physical tremor of shock registered (about a 5.8);  I realized I had left my backpack–containing my laptop– on the bus! Dread overtook me. My laptop was my lifeline these many months! But the funny thing is, at the same time another thought popped into my head that this was somehow going to be OK?!  Angel speak?

Having never met Katie, I ran to her car and met her with the panicked words that I’d screwed up and left my backpack on the bus.  Without missing a beat, she punched some numbers into her cell, got connected to the Metro, identified the bus driver from the number on my ticket, and found they had my backpack! (When I mentioned this later to other New Zealanders, they were not surprised it was turned in.)

That’s Katie–a -take- charge-competent-“no flies on her”- kind of person. Active in her community, a busy realtor, and a part-time guide at Zealandia, the world’s first fully fenced urban ecosanctuary, Katie was not only hosting me for three days, but was also hosting a young Japanese student Tamami studying at the university for two weeks.

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With my host Katie at her Brooklyn home in the suburbs of Wellington.

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At Katie’s home with Tamami from Japan.

Katie’s home is located in the Wellington suburb of Brooklyn (they have a  Central Park), a short walk to the central business district. Also located right down the street is a great movie theater called the Penthouse with nine theaters, a great selection of movies, and, of course, a terrific cafe. I satisfied my movie cravings and saw the movie Brooklyn and The Big Short. Another special treat was a unique night tour of Zealandia set up by Katie. Armed with torch lights with red filters, our guide took us through the special predator exclusion fence and we looked at birds and listed to birdsong that has been absent on mainland New Zealand for more than a century. The big thrill was actually seeing the nearly extinct, flightless, nocturnal Kiwi bird.

Wanting to be useful, the following night I went with Katie to a “client appreciation” party she was giving in town and helped out by selling raffle tickets. I met her aunt and several of her friends who were genuinely interested in what I was doing and extremely helpful  giving me the inside scoop of where to stay and what to see when in the South Island.

Experiencing all these wonderful places has been exciting, but what has really moved me are these exceptional women who have invited me, a perfect stranger, into their lives and homes. I feel like the ancient traveler experiencing the tradition of stopping in a strange city, and when asking for a room for the night, given unconditional hospitality.

It has taught me to trust people. I don’t mean be naive about it. But trust people until they give you a reason not to because the majority of people are good and want to give and be of service in some way. When you just let go, remain open, and become a little vulnerable, some amazing things happen.

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
― Ernest Hemingway

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.worldofwearableart.com/

A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out!

Posted on by connieottmann

Napier: The Art Deco Capital

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On the waterfront promenade along the Marine Parade.

 

It’s amazing how attached you can become to a place after spending a few days and regret leaving when it is time to move on. But then I arrived in Napier. Is it possible  you can fall in love with one town or city only to find that the next is even better?

Napier is a city seaport of about 58,0000 people located in what’s called Hawke’s Bay, a large, semi-circular bay that dominates the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island.  In 1931, it suffered a devastating earthquake that took 265 lives and destroyed the vast majority of buildings in the commercial district. (Nine thousand eight hundred acres of now Napier were undersea before the earth quake raised it above sea level!)  Rebuilding began almost immediately and reflected the popular architectural style of the times, Art Deco.  As a result, Napier has the most comprehensive collection of inner city Art Deco buildings in the world.

Getting off the bus and trying to locate accommodations in any new place can be somewhat daunting, especially shouldering a heavy backpack, toting a handbag, and wheeling a suitcase. I knew the hostel in town was close by, so without a map I spied a young cab driver sitting in his car and asked directions.  Maybe it was information overload–all this “newness” again– but my mind just couldn’t make the call; I was dialing up a busy signal. What I wanted was someone to simply take control and deposit me there!  Five bucks later, I got a few sight seeing tips and was plunked right at the front door of the Criterion Backpackers.

Formerly a hotel built in the Art Deco style with a second floor balcony running across the front, I found a “weathered” albeit  welcoming place. I was taken to my single room with a double bed and sink located right across the hall from the shared bathrooms, then shown the living room with pool table, kitchen facilities, and, best of all, a large dining room where in off hours, I could practice being extroverted or just work comfortably alone. Oh… this place also offered a breakfast of all the toast you can eat with butter, jam, peanut butter,  dry and hot cereal, and tea and coffee (instant, but who cares). Best of all, it was a minute’s walk up the street to the i Site Visitor’s Center and the tree-lined waterfront promenade on the Marine Parade.

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Criterion Backpackers on the guided walking tour of the Art Deco inner city.

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The dining room at the Criterion Backpackers

Napier feels very much like a resort with palm trees that line the city, and the Marine Parade, with its various parks, gardens, and memorials, that runs along the shore of the city.  This makes it perfect for long walks, people-watching, and one of my favorite things to do– lounge, ponder, and drink coffee– at one of the many cafes. My pick for best cafe is the Cafe Divine whose motto is: Coffee is our lover.”

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The Cafe Divine is divine.

When you pay and place an order at any of the cafes in New Zealand, you are given a number which you place on a small, metal stand and take to your seat, so your order can be delivered. There is no tipping here (including cab drivers and house keeping staff). People make a decent minimum wage.

Every city has its criticisms, whether it be a sculpture considered “art” or some other expenditure of taxpayer dollars that residents find questionable. Napier has its “viewing platform.”  Completed recently to the tune of 1.4 million to cover an unsightly storm water pipe on the shoreline, it looks like a pier, but it isn’t one and will always sit on dry land except when there’s a storm.  To extend it further out in the ocean and allow fishing and boating opportunities would cost the city significantly. The local news did a humorous piece on this the other day emphasizing the play on words Napier–Na  pier (no pier) and funny quips from interviews with different residents. Kiwis have a great sense of humor and can laugh at themselves.  People either love the platform or hate it. I rather liked it.

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Napier’s “viewing platform..”

Since Napier is all about Art Deco style ( stream-lined and geometric shapes), the first thing I did was to take a two and a half hour guided tour around the city to view the architecture discovering that many examples incorporated Maori motifs. The tours cost $20. (NZ), and guides appeared to be retirees with a passion for history and their city.  Maybe we should offer tours like these in Hallowell during the summer months?!  If you happen to be here in mid February, there is the Art Deco  Weekend, a whole week of celebrations and events where everyone dresses up in 1930s styles.

Napier and the whole Hawke’s Bay area is wine country with dozens and dozens of wineries including the oldest, The Mission Estate–recommended by that earlier cab driver. Wine tours are very popular and would have been interesting to visit, but since I don’t drink, I didn’t see the point when I couldn’t participate in all that tasting (my apologies to all my southern Maine wine-tasting-group-friends who would have loved a NZ Sav Blanc!).

One thing I was intrigued to see was Cape Kidnappers.  An agent at the i Site Center highly recommended an overland, guided tour run by Gannet Safaris, that included seeing not only the 5000 acre Cape Kidnappers Station, but also the largest mainland nesting place of gannets (20,000) in the world. Gannets are members of the Booby family(!) with distinctive black eye markings and a pale gold crown and live to be on average 25 to 40 years old!

With a name like Cape Kidnappers, there has to be a story… In 1767 a young Tahitian servant on board Captain Cook’s ship Endeavor, which was landed at the headland, was kidnapped while swimming and taken on board a  Maori fishing canoe. Shots were fired and several Maori were killed and the boy was rescued, hence the name.

I was picked up at the i Site Center and met Jo, a get-right-to-business, wiry, handsome woman, who would serve as our tour guide.  Along with four other couples and another single woman from New Zealand, we boarded the small coach with me riding shot gun getting the best view.  (One guy worked somewhere in northern Canada, and for every three years of work he puts in, he gets one year off with pay. His wife told me she agreed to marry him with the stipulation that he takes her somewhere warm each winter.  Must be cold…and isolated!)

It was a half hour’s drive to the base at TeAwanga, and since this is private property, we had to be buzzed in at the gate. Cape Kidnappers Station is a “farm” of over 5000 acres with ocean boundaries on two sides. What followed was a three hour trip traversing riverbeds, broad rolling pastures, through stands of native bush, steep gullies, and really scary inclines… there are always scary inclines…all accompanied by Jo’s fascinating commentary.

One of the great views of the station property.
Spectacular view on the peninsula!
Looking out at the Devil’s Tooth.
The Gannet colony on the peninsula.

Jo, herself, was intriguing. There was something I intuited about this woman’s intense affect and look in her eyes when she was describing this rugged coastal property that suggested this was more than just a job: she knew and loved the land. I ended up being right when I found out from the other single woman on board that Jo had confided to her during our tea/coffee break that her brother had been the previous owner. After a year of negotiations, he sold the place to a New York billionaire named Julius Robertson, with the provision that the family continue to have access over the land to continue their  Gannet Safaris business.

The new owner has built an eighteen hole golf course ranked 16th in the world. I think it was sarcasm when Jo mentioned that she’d heard there was a greenskeeper for each hole! The course is open to the public with a greens fee that runs $400. (NZ); Kiwis can play for $200. The views are absolutely spectacular. The new owner also funds a bird sanctuary on the property and erected an elaborate fence created to keep predators out. Feral cats have joined the list that also includes rats, possum, and stoats( part of the weasel/ferret family) that have contributed to the decline of many native birds including the kiwi.

The putting green next to the club house.
Ariel view of one of the holes (Google photo).

Later, back in town, it was walking, walking, and more walking just soaking up the sunshine and beautiful landscapes.  I recently read this quote from a blog that aptly sums up how I am feeling these days:

“There are three things we cry for in life: things that are lost, things that are found, and things that are magnificent.”
― Douglas Coupland

 

A “Boomer” and Tripping My Brains Out!

Posted on by connieottmann

Rotorua: New Kiwi Friends & A Hotbed of Activity in the North Island

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Okere Falls, Rotorua , one of the best rafting places in NZ, boasts the world’s highest commercially rafted waterfall at almost 23 feet and is a short hike from Mal and Jen’s home!

One of the reasons I decided to travel alone was that I wanted to meet people and explore the culture. If I was traveling with one or two other friends, I don’t think I would have had the invitation to come and spend a few days with Kiwi natives, Malcolm and Jenny, who I met during my visit with Val in Whakatane.

Mal and Jenny are world travelers who rent their home or do house exchanges which enable them to experience a new place for months at a time. They are both a wealth of information and tell insightful travel stories not only about their native country, but also about  Europe, Australia, Canada, and the United States. On a visit to D.C. they were hijacked by a taxi driver who threatened to drop them off in a bad part of town unless they paid ten times the fare, and because of a bad experience at L.A.X. airport with an incredibly rude customs agent who treated these intelligent people like morons, they now fly into Vancouver, British Columbia, when entering the U.S. or Canada (this doesn’t speak well, does it). And yes, when I reveal I’m an American, I get asked about “The Donald.” It’s embarrassing.

Mal and Jen's home on Lake Rotoriti in Okere Falls, Rotoru

Mal and Jen’s home on Lake Rotoiti (meaning little lake–13 miles!) in Okere Falls, Rotoru. Glad I brought my togs (swimsuit)!

Enjoying another great meal prepared by Jenny

Enjoying another great meal prepared by Jenny. I do the clean-up!

Malcolm’s expertise is in transportation, overseeing and maintaining the painting of those yellow and white stripe, highway markings (Kiwis have emotionally intelligent road signs like: Other people make mistakes. Slow down  &  Eyes on the road. Focus on the drive), while Jenny is a retired elementary teacher/principal, who really knows how to get kids to problem solve on their own with fun, hands-on lessons. Judging by her beautiful flower, fruit, and vegetable gardens, she nurtures nature as well as young minds.

Together, they spent a year in Ontario, Canada, while Jenny was on a teacher exchange and got to experience a full season of winter.  A really good question they often ask people when abroad is, ” What makes you a Canadian/Italian/Croatian”? By the way, asking, and just plain creating questions is really important. According to the book The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking, authors Edward Burger and Michael Starbird state:

Constantly formulating and raising questions is a mind-opening habit that forces you to have a deeper engagement with the world and a different inner experience.  Asking yourself challenging questions can help you reveal hidden assumptions, avoid bias, expose vagueness, identify errors, and consider alternatives. Generating questions can help direct your next steps toward deeper understanding and creative problem solving. (74)

When they put that question (What makes you a Canadian?) to Canadians, nine times out of ten, their first response was, “Well, we’re not American.” Canadians are proud of their heritage and don’t like being seen as just a northern appendage of the US.  Mal and Jenny put that challenging question –What makes you an American ?– to me, and I have to tell you, I really had to think about it and came up with:  We have a real can do attitude, we’re creative entrepreneurs and have a great system of democracy, but we’re also a little self absorbed with blinders on and don’t know a whole lot about other cultures or the rest of the world. If a foreigner were to ask you that question, how would you respond?  I’d like to know!  I’ve been asking myself a lot of questions lately, but I digress….

Rotorua, famous for its sparkling lakes, mountain biking terrain, and geothermal attractions, is just a twenty minute drive from Jen and Mal’s home in Okere Falls. Right in the city center is a park on the shore of Lake Rotorua, dotted with geothermal hot spots and bubbling mud holes. Driving into town on most days, you can really notice the “unique” eggy smell, which is associated with hydrogen sulphide (H2S).

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City park in Rotorua featuring one of geothermal spots.

A recommended, guided tour I took was to Wai-O-Tapu (Sacred Waters) dubbed the “thermal wonderland.” It’s about a twenty minute ride from Rotorua city center and well worth it. To view all twenty-five sights takes about an hour and a half and includes such attractions as various craters, mud pools, explosive geysers, and thermal pools of startling colors including Champagne Pool, and Devil’s bath ( the color is the result of excess water from the Champagne Pool mixing with sulphur and ferrous salts. Cloud cover and reflected light affect the color also).

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The multi-hued Champagne Pool.

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Devil’s Bath

Jenny and Mal generously let me borrow one of their cars during my stay, so on their recommendations, I had a chance to explore two other landmarks.  Lake Tikitapu is known as Blue Lake by the locals because of its striking blue color. Legend has it that in ancient times, the daughter of a chief lost her tiki, a sacred greenstone neck ornament while swimming, and it still remains hidden beneath the blue waters of the lake.  While there, I walked the track around the perimeter of lake and watched families swimming, water-skiing, and enjoying the last days of their summer vacation. It really is this color!

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On the walking track, an hour’s walk, with Blue Lake peeking through.

Another great place to visit for free and only five minutes from town is Whakarewarewa Forest or “The Redwoods.” Originally established as a test site to grow different native and exotic forest species, it is now known for its array of walking, running, biking, and horse trails that start off in the imposing Redwood Grove. I opted for a two hour walk on one of the many trails and met with all of the above sport’s enthusiasts, many accompanied by man’s best friend.

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A view of The Redwood Grove on a walking hike.

There is just so much to do here, I barely scratched the surface. I didn’t get to the Hobbiton movie set which was a little expensive and generally poo-pooed by the locals I met who considered it too touristy.  I still would have liked to see it though. I also would add to the next to-do list the myriad of spa and wellness options available like mud baths and alkaline sulphur soaks. Who wants to come back with me?!

I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again. The visitor iSite centers located in almost every town are just amazing and staffed with friendly and knowledgeable folks who can take care of your every need.  Most buses stop right at the sites or close by, and it’s a comfort knowing there is someone to help whether it’s for directions or a much needed bathroom break. The buses here in NZ are plentiful and dependable. I really like the Intercity Bus service (air conditioned, free Wifi, run on time) which links all the major towns and cities, but you have to book ahead as it’s a popular mode of transportation.

I hated to leave my new Kiwi friends–and Jenny’s excellent cooking! She introduced me to a new fruit called feijoa (fee jo a) originally from South America which she made as a feijoa crisp. Hard to describe. Maybe a fragrant taste? Delicious. And the ice cream……

On my own again and off to Hawke’s Bay and the Art Deco capital, Napier!